Cassien didn’t bother waiting.

He held his left index finger on the trigger and shot.

Crack!

The boss was much stronger than he thought.

The D-Ranked in front of Cassien blocked himself with a green leaf-like barrier, layers covering one another.

He watched the boss as his mouth murmured words he couldn’t clearly hear.

But he knew exactly what it was.

A magical spell. But it wasn’t leaf this time. It was another element, one Cassien knew all too well.

Illusions. More related to Umbra, the direct magical essence it came from.

This world isn’t tied to magical elements. It can be any essence that inhabits this wretched place.

The novel always expressed how open everything was.

And that’s what enraptured everyone, just how beautiful the world was and the possibilities for greatness.

That’s why everyone stuck by and continued reading Chapter by Chapter.

Once the illusion was activated, Cassien began seeing three consecutive images of the bandit boss rushing at him.

But there was an easy trick to get past it.

Stab!

Cassien cut himself lightly, snapping himself back to reality as his smug grin widened.

The boss rushed in with a sturdy sword in his hand, preparing to strike.

But then, Cassien dodged low, calmly moving behind him as he avoided the leaf barrier covering the front.

And then...

Stab!

Right in the guts.

"Krrrkk."

The person whom Cassien had just stabbed began vomiting blood.

He pulled out a pen weakly, trying to form a magical circle on the floor. Probably a healing type.

But Cassien kicked the pen out of his hand.

"Just what do you think you’re doing?" Cassien asked, staring downward at the kneeling bandit boss. "Actions have consequences. Everything you’ve done, every step you took, led to this moment now, where you kneel before me as if I’m your master."

He spat more blood, trying to form a disrespectful sentence.

"Damn you!"

Cassien chuckled lightly. Everyone around stared at him in shock. Some felt uneasy.

’Just how strong is this person?’

’Who even is he?’

’Is he on our side, or against us?’

The thoughts continued to rise while Cassien started speaking.

"What did you say ’damn me’ for?" He lifted the bandit’s head by the chin, with freckles of blood all over his face. "Never blame others for mistakes you made. It isn’t my fault that you’re about to die. Never has been, and never will be. Everything in life has meaning, and my killing you now has meaning. So don’t blame me for something unavoidable."

The sword slammed onto the floor. Cassien stared at it carefully.

He took a look around at the people he had just saved. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Examining them all, he finally found his little sister.

A gentle smile left him, one of true gratitude.

The boss didn’t want to end like this. He clutched his chest, trying to escape the pain, but Cassien didn’t let him.

He took the bandit’s mask off and pulled his hair upward aggressively.

"You can’t escape fate," he said casually. "Just die peacefully."

Cassien didn’t really like torturing others that much. I mean, he wasn’t that cruel.

As long as he got his way with them, he was happy to leave.

Even though there are people who deserve death, everyone in this world, no matter who they are, deserves to die peacefully, reminiscing about their past mistakes and finally coming to a conclusion of who they are.

The boss, with the strength left in him, gripped the sword’s handle, trying to pick it up.

But Cassien shot both of his hands in place.

The boss screamed in agony, but no one came to his rescue.

No one to help him, no one there to speak to him on his deathbed.

No one but Cassien.

"You done, old guy?" he asked. "If you never messed with my family, I might’ve let you live. But that’s a given."

Then, the boss started chuckling casually.

"Hahahah!" He laughed out loud, stealing everyone’s attention. "Just like you say, ’Actions have consequences.’ You don’t think killing this many people here and now, some of them being innocent lives I forced into joining me, won’t lead to a horrible ending for yourself?!"

More blood came out.

Cassien fixed his posture, calmly opening his palms as he let go of the bandit’s hair.

His gaze darkened as he looked down at the pathetic man kneeling before him.

"Of course, there will be consequences." Cassien looked around until he met his little sister’s gaze. "But for now, I will do what I think is best. Until that time comes, I’ll face it head-on and accept my punishments. I don’t need to worry about tomorrow when I’m currently living today."

The boss gasped, confused by the kind and wise choice of words, then his body fell onto the floor.

Cassien looked around and left the people with one last speech.

"All of you! Stand up! You are people of Htrae! Humans who fight against the impossible!"

Everyone’s sparks of motivation started to rise.

"Why lie there and accept defeat when you can improve and come out victorious?! Be as it may, I was here to save you. But next time, don’t expect to rely on others."

As he started approaching them to untie the ropes around them with his mana-infused knife, his consciousness began fading.

-----------------------

[Mana Updated]

Current Mana: 0

Maximum Mana: 50

Mana Recovery: 1.2 per minute

[Consciousness Fading...]

------------------------

’Fuck, not now!’

He started to fall, trying to catch himself, but he couldn’t.

Once someone has their mana reserves depleted completely, they start to fade, not into death, but just for a couple of hours.

And Cassien had unfortunately used it all.

’Fuck, fuck, fuck!’

He had to move and release them, but he couldn’t.

And that’s when Cassien heard yells in the back.

The royal capital’s justice service had finally arrived.

"Scan the area, report back to me as soon as possible."

"Got it, ma’am!"

A gentle smile left Cassien’s lips as he closed his eyes.

"Brother!" His sister yelled in desperation upon being released. "Brother, no!"

He felt cold tears dropping on his skin right before everything went dark.

"A bit too late for that."

...

And then, his consciousness faded.