"The people are once again questioning the competence of the authorities as well as the noble houses who let such a tragedy unfold..."

"The bodies are still being counted, but it is clear that more than..."

"I am standing before one of the major branches of the Syma Alchemists’. As you can see, the entire structure has been destroyed, right from its entrance. Many people are severely injured, while the number of dead has already crossed a hundred. We are here to interview one of the staff members, who still seems to be in a good condition to talk to us."

One of the news channels showed the live footage of the interviewer walking closer to the person, who was covered in bandages and sat on a chair that had been arranged for him.

"The world is listening to you right now. Please tell us everything that you witnessed here."

Another mic was given to the staff member, as he cleared his throat, sorting out his thoughts.

"I... There isn’t much to tell. The day was going as usual, and suddenly there was a huge explosion at the entrance. All of us were disoriented from the blast, so it took us some time to come to our senses, but before that... they had already arrived."

The victim paused as he remembered all the details of the attack.

"All of them were dressed in black, and the moment they arrived, the slaughter had already begun. It was only because I was at the far end of the hall that I managed to witness everything, but for those who were close to the entrance—"

The victim stopped midway, as replaying that incident sent visible shivers across his body.

"How many attackers were present? Can you tell—"

"We were about to die, ma’am, and you expect me to count—"

"Alright. That’s it. Thank you for your cooperation, sir."

Another interviewer, probably the woman’s superior, calmed down the staff member, who was about to take out his frustration on the poor woman.

Maybe... it was insensitive of her to ask a question that was too ridiculous for the situation the victims were trapped in.

As the victim left the area, the superior turned to face his junior, who in return smiled bitterly.

"I hope you will be more considerate with your questions from now on."

On the superior’s words, the woman went silent for a second before looking around to see whether there were any victims near her.

"Sir, but it was just a basic question. I don’t think it was something over which one could get so—"

"You weren’t present during the attack, and neither was I. These people, many of them commoners, had never even participated in any form of combat throughout their entire lives. If they suddenly witness their friends getting slaughtered, heads flying across the area, and the hall dyed red—"

The superior paused, moving his gaze across the scene, which was the same as he had described.

Though the dead bodies had been shifted and the area cleaned up a little, it still carried traces of the tragedy that had taken place here.

"It’s only natural for the victims to feel fear over the events. I am not stopping you from asking questions; after all, that is what we are paid for."

"..."

"Just remember to take a softer tone during the interviews."

"..."

The woman just nodded her head in silence.

"Haa... but I don’t really understand how an attack on such a massive scale was carried out and there was no one to stop it. How are the people in power so careless? I can’t really understand the way the rich think."

Shaking his head in disappointment, the superior moved towards another victim, who was being treated by the doctors from the authorities.

"Sir, is it okay if we ask you some questions?"

The superior stood beside the victim, who looked lost in his own thoughts.

This one wasn’t from the guild, but a regular customer who had come here to order some potions on behalf of his employer.

"Huh? I—"

The man, who was in his fifties, paused midway as tears began to stream down his face.

The superior looked at his junior, motioning for her to help the victim calm down.

The junior quickly grabbed a water bottle before offering it to the man, who simply stared at it.

"Please calm down, so we can have a—"

The superior’s words weren’t required, as the man gulped down the entire bottle before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

No one commented on such behavior, as it was normal for the victims of a tragedy to be lost in a world of their own.

"I should have never brought my d-daughter with me."

The words were enough for the interviewer to understand the situation.

"Did you by any chance see the faces of the attackers? Something that could help the authorities—"

"They had covered their faces with black masks. There was no way to identify them. Even if they hadn’t covered their faces, the slaughter... it was too fast to even understand what was going on around you. One second, I was talking to my daughter, and the n-next—"

Another long pause, as the man couldn’t go on with his story.

The superior sighed gently before patting the man’s shoulder.

"Everything will be fine, sir. The authorities will soon—"

"Fuck those bastards! Don’t dare take their fucking names!!"

The man shouted, swatting away the interviewer’s hand.

"No one came to help us! Even when we were helplessly begging for our lives, not a single one of those bastards came to rescue us. Not them and not those..."

The victim cursed the authorities as well as the noble house that owned the city in which the guild’s branch was located.

"May your daughter’s soul rest in peace."

The interviewer wasn’t offended by the outrage of the victim.

Giving his condolences, he left the area before standing against one of the walls of the guild that was still in good shape.

"This is Amir reporting from Actos News. Stay tuned for more updates."