Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 379 - 316: Lorei

"As you all know, the Great War began over 300,000 years ago and ended about 100,000 years ago. But how much do you really know about the cause?" Cotton stated.

Some nodded. Others looked lost.

"One major cause was the racial hatred that divided the lands. Another was the arrival of heroes from other worlds," he explained.

"Any questions?" Cotton asked.

A hand raised in the back.

"Yes, Aurianna?"

"Is it true the High God intentionally summoned heroes with wicked hearts?" she asked. "Aren’t heroes supposed to be righteous? And yet, every single one summoned has brought ruin, not salvation."

Cotton paused, visibly uneasy. "Ah... some topics... can’t be discussed."

"I see. That’s all I needed to know," Aurianna replied with a smug smirk.

"Right... now then, back to history..."

_____

Two hours later, the class ended. Students began to leave quickly.

"Aurianna! Let’s go to the cafeteria together!" Elena beamed, looping her arm around hers.

"Sure," Aurianna smiled, "but shouldn’t we wait for the others?"

"They’re off socializing. Let’s go before all the good food gets taken!"

They arrived at the cafeteria, greeted by a wave of delicious scents. The area was massive, buffet tables stretched wall to wall, filled with all sorts of dishes.

"Is there a limit on how much we can eat?" Aurianna asked, eyes scanning the food.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Elena grumbled. "They don’t let us enjoy ourselves, so rude."

The two filled their trays and sat down to eat, their conversation light.

"Do you like it, Aurianna?" Elena asked between bites.

"Of course. I’m not picky," Aurianna said calmly.

"You bitch! How dare you show your face here?!" a shrill voice rang out.

Aurianna didn’t even look up.

"I’m talking to you, Aurianna Vanluad! Don’t ignore me!" the voice barked again.

Aurianna slowly raised her gaze. Before her stood a blonde girl with piercing dark blue eyes and a face twisted with fury.

"And who are you?" Aurianna asked, utterly indifferent.

"You destroyed my country, Shinia!" the girl roared.

"Hmm?" Aurianna lifted her gaze lazily, her fork halfway to her lips.

"I’m Princess Lorei!" Lorei shouted, her voice cracking with rage. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she pointed at Aurianna. "Because of you, I no longer have a country or even a last name! Because of you my family is dead! How can you sit there, smiling, eating, living so happily, when you’ve slaughtered so many?! You monster!!"

Aurianna snorted, unfazed by the weight of Lorei’s words. She chewed slowly, swallowed, then said flatly, "I destroyed your capital and some land around it, not the entire country. I gave your people a chance to flee. If they were foolish enough to stay, that’s not my problem." She dipped her spoon back into her food, dismissive.

"The capital was half of our nation!" Lorei screamed, her voice rising so high it drew stares from every corner of the hall. "Who in their right mind could escape with just one hour’s warning?! Are you insane?!"

Her fists trembled. "That day... four million people died. Four million! My family, my friends, everyone I ever knew, and you don’t even care?" Her voice cracked as the tears finally spilled down her cheeks.

Aurianna set her fork down, eyes cold. "Why must I care? My father has the throne now, doesn’t he? Let him deal with your broken people."

"You... You’re vile! I had to abandon everything, to run like a fugitive, because of you!" Lorei’s voice was raw, echoing in the silence of the stunned onlookers.

"And so?" Aurianna leaned back, her smile gone, her tone sharp as a knife. "Would you like me to remind you what your father did to me? He tried to sell me into slavery."

The hall fell into a shocked murmur.

"What?! I was told but I didn’t think it was by a King," Elena gasped, her eyes widening.

"Yes," Aurianna said coldly, never breaking eye contact with Lorei. "By her precious father. If I hadn’t been strong enough, I’d have been chained and auctioned off to some filthy noble. Fortunately for me, I was strong. So I slaughtered every last one of them." Her words were so sharp, Lorei physically flinched.

"But that doesn’t give you the right to kill millions of innocents!" Lorei’s voice was hoarse, but still defiant.

Aurianna chuckled darkly. "A king’s country is his property. So I killed the king, and everything that belonged to him."

She tilted her head, her rainbow eyes glimmering faintly. "In hindsight, I should’ve hunted down and wiped out every remnant of your royal bloodline. That way, little pests like you wouldn’t crawl back to annoy me."

"How... how would you feel if the same fate befell your family and your country?!" Lorei demanded, her voice trembling with fury.

"Nothing," Aurianna replied instantly. "They are protected by people far stronger than me. Besides..." Her lips curled into a bitter smile. "It would save me the trouble of doing it myself. But why would I give someone the honour of doing that?"

Elena frowned, uneasy. "Aurianna... shouldn’t you be scared at least? They’re your family..."

"Scared?" Aurianna turned to her, her smile twisted. "With that pathetic family? I’d take pleasure in gutting them one by one. So don’t worry, Lorei. When school is over for me, you’ll hear of Sandeph’s downfall. And its ruin will be far worse than what befell Shinia."

"You... you’re insane," Lorei whispered, her knees weak. "Your own family? Your own people?"

"You don’t need to know anything more," Aurianna said icily. "Now scram, child. Before my patience runs out."

"You’ll regret this one day! You—" Lorei turned to Elena, her face twisted with desperation. "And you! A vampire, hanging out with a human like her? Do you have no shame?!"

"Don’t drag me into this," Elena said calmly, though her gaze softened as it landed on Aurianna. She remembered the night Aurianna had confessed her reasons in that space, her hatred, her pain. Elena knew her actions were cruel, maybe even unforgivable, but who was she to preach morality when she had never lived through such torment? She would not condone Aurianna’s sins, but neither would she condemn her.

Aurianna’s expression softened for just a second as she reached over and patted Elena’s head.

"Hey!" Elena swatted at her hand. "Stop that, you’ll ruin my hair! It’s hard enough to comb as it is!"

Aurianna smirked faintly, then turned back to Lorei, her smile vanishing. "Now leave."

A pulse of her mana surged outward, flooding the island like a tidal wave. The air grew heavy, suffocating. Everyone around fell silent, trembling under her pressure.

"How... how can a child possess such monstrous power?" Lorei gasped, her voice barely audible as she staggered back, her legs shaking. Gasps spread through the people around like wildfire, fear etched on every face.

Far away, in a quiet office, Vanuer paused mid-sip of her tea. She felt the flare of power ripple through the air, immense yet restrained. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I thought I managed to seal her powers. But it seems that child was just playing nice with me," Vanuer muttered, a smirk tugging at her lips even as her brow furrowed. "What a terrifying little monster."

Her smirk faded into a nervous chuckle. "She’s already so close to a Primordial Human? That child.... she’s truly insane."