Spirit's Ascension-Chapter 119—Cruelty of Man.

All of the members of the settlement didn’t bother interfering; they just stood their ground and stared at the guard leader.

They knew for sure that something was wrong, and the settlement leader was well aware of what was going on.

"Spill it; there’s no hiding anymore," Linda pitched from the side.

The settlement leader looked around in fear, hoping someone from the crowd would be willing to help him.

Seeing there was no one willing to hold out their hand and help him, the settlement leader’s eyes suddenly shifted.

"I guess I will be doing it myself," he muttered.

The settlement leader rose to his feet as his body slowly began to expand all over like some sort of giganticification. This sort of increase in size looked completely different from the one Cole saw in members of Quinox.

This one was more of an homogeneous increase, like the settlement leader was utilizing an ability.

"Since you have decided to push me towards a wall, then you won’t mind us deciding this all with some physical combat, do you?" he asked in a thicker tone.

Seeing the highly enlarged body of the settlement leader, the people quickly shuffled backwards, creating a space in the center.

Just as Cole was getting into a battle stance, ready to take care of the man as soon as possible, he was stopped in his tracks by Linda’s movement.

"Please let me take care of him," Linda said softly.

She wasn’t done speaking when a sword appeared in her hands and flame slowly came to life on it.

The flame coalesced little bit by bit and slowly became bigger and hotter.

Seeing the charging attack, the settlement leader immediately rushed forward, ready to disrupt Linda’s actions.

But the power gap between the two was just too enormous for him to have any chance; Linda stepped a little before sending a flaming slash straight at him.

The movement was so fluid and concise it hit the man directly across the chest.

Pwuahh!

Blood spurted out of his wounds in a large arc.

Still keeping the momentum of his previous charge, the man fell to the ground before sliding on the ground.

"Pathetic," Linda muttered.

"Are you done? Or do you want more?" Cole asked coldly.

"Why did you do all of this?" Cole asked.

The settlement leader turned around with a defiant gaze, not ready to say a single word.

"Why would you be so callous and heartless? All for what? Fun?" Cole shouted.

The settlement leader seemed to have been pushed to the edge as he shouted out in annoyance.

"Why not?"

"Why should I leave in abject poverty in such a low-end place like the slums because of a battle between two powerful people?"

"Why not just sacrifice some lowly slum children for a better life?"

"Since the stronger ones can trample on us like that, why can’t I do the same?"

"Why be nice to the poor people when I can just use them?"

"I am a well-respected noble of the lower ring; no one should trample on me like that," the settlement leader shouted out.

The more he listened, the more annoyed Cole got; every word the man spoke just made him more and more irritated.

"This was the set of people that made the world the scum it is now, and if left alone, it will worsen," was the only thought running through Cole’s mind.

It was taking everything he totally had for him not to charge straightforwardly and kill the man instantly.

"Bastard," even the mostly quiet Bryan muttered.

Linda was standing in her spot with so much disgust in her eyes that it was almost palpable.

Even the crowd in the surrounding areas were absolutely shocked by what they were hearing.

No one had ever expected to hear such a thing from anyone, not to talk of their so-called leader.

"Detestable,"

"Kill the scum."

"Trash like him shouldn’t exist," Cole heard the people shout from all over, but he stood still and fixated on his spot.

He knew the effects his raging emotions have on his Innate Spirit, so Cole was making sure to keep them in check.

After a bit of time, Cole began approaching the settlement leader that was lying on the ground, sapped of strength. He must have used all he had to express what was on his mind.

"You really deserve death," Cole said when he got close enough.

"But I won’t be granting you that escape; you will pay for this in full," Cole said while bringing his fist straight down.

Cole’s hand moved with unimaginable momentum before striking the leader straight on the head. Knocking him unconscious instantly.

"Let’s return now," Cole said to his teammates.

"But shouldn’t there be one more leader here?" Linda asked.

"Yes, there should be, but he has probably escaped by now. Let’s just head back," Cole said.

His teammates had noticed his psychological state, so they didn’t try to press on and dig for more information. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Imagine children having to deal with so much because of selfish prick actions," Bryan thought while moving.

Cole and Linda had begun heading back home with slow steps.

Bryan slowly moved towards the leader’s unconscious body before picking it up and speeding up to catch up with his teammates.

The people of the settlement didn’t attempt to enrage Cole’s team or try anything at all; they only made way for the trio to leave gently.

The journey back towards their temporary base was awfully quiet. Everyone was currently stuck in their head thinking of all that they had just experienced.

From having their emotions almost hijacked to having their bodies hijacked and them having an encounter with that mysterious person and finally to the leader’s words.

"This really is a crazy night," Linda said.

But no one in the group was in the mood to respond; everyone just maintained their silence as they moved.

In Cole’s mind, something was shifting. His previous thoughts have now been confirmed and amplified.

"I shall try my best to rid the world of scum like this." He thought while looking at the unconscious body.