NOVEL NEXT Chapter 366: Kill Them All!
Before Aisha could demand answers, Skadi suddenly darted forward, nose twitching. She leaned in close, sniffing Cassius shamelessly.
"Skadi, what in the world are you doing?" Julie blinked. "Does he really smell that bad?"
"Of course not, Captain." Skadi giggled, rubbing her head against his arm affectionately. "Master smells like sweat, sure, but that's only natural after tossing so many bodies around. I was just making sure it's really him. His face is covered...but it's definitely Master."
Aisha exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable…" She then stepped forward, her tone snapping with impatience.
"Enough games, Cassius. Tell us what this is. Why are you doing this? Why break their legs, why throw them in a pit? What's going on?"
Cassius tilted his head. Though the scarf hid his mouth, his smile could be felt, warm and playful.
"Isn't it obvious? I already told you last night."
Aisha froze, caught off guard. "…What?"
"What I'm saying is this is your birthday gift, Aisha." Cassius spread his arms wide, eyes glowing brighter. "I've been preparing it just for you."
Julie's mouth fell open, utterly dumbfounded.
"Birthday...gift?" She repeated, incredulous. "How in the world is this a birthday gift? Since when does a birthday present involve hundreds of criminals with broken legs tossed into a pit like cattle? What are you playing at, Cassius?"
Cassius tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "It's quite simple, Julie." Then, slowly, he turned his gaze toward Aisha as he said slowly,
"Tell me, Aisha. For most of your life...what has been your one desire? If you had a wish, one single wish that could grant anything, what would you choose?"
Aisha froze. The question pierced her so deeply that she could not form words at first. For a moment she looked like she didn't know what to say. But then, without her realizing, the truth slipped from her mouth in a trembling whisper.
"If I...truly had one wish, anything at all…" She exhaled, her throat tightening. "…then it would be that no more children are ever orphaned. That every boy and girl can live a happy life with their parents."
Cassius's scarf hid his mouth, but the way his eyes softened made it clear he was smiling. He crouched down so he was level with her, eyes locking on hers.
"That's a noble wish." He said softly, almost tenderly. "One of the noblest I've ever heard. But…" He shook his head. "...even as powerful as I am, even as a noble of the Holyfield bloodline, I cannot grant it. I cannot erase all the pain of this world. I cannot stop children from becoming orphans everywhere."
Aisha's lips curved into a faint, bittersweet smile. "I know. That's impossible."
"But..." Cassius cut her off, his tone suddenly sharper, brighter, filled with conviction. "...just because we cannot save everyone...doesn't mean we cannot save anyone."
"We can do something. We can make sure that no child suffers to a certain level, not while I still breathe."
He stood tall again, spreading his arms out toward the pit, his eyes glinting.
"And that, Aisha, is your birthday gift."
She froze, her heart racing, her chest tightening with confusion. "…What do you mean?" She whispered. "What are you going to do, Cassius?"
Cassius turned his head, the scarf twitching. "Watch...Watch as your wish unfolds."
And with that, to the shock of everyone, he suddenly leapt.
Before anyone could stop him, he suddenly vaulted over the edge of the pit. The crowd gasped in shock as he landed gracefully among the broken criminals, his boots crunching against the dirt. He then walked slowly, stepping over groaning bodies until he reached the center.
"Attention!" His voice boomed, sharp and commanding, cutting through the chaos. "Attention, everyone! I want your attention!"
The noise fell away. The criminals looked up from their suffering, confused, desperate. The crowd leaned forward at the rim. Aisha, Julie, and Skadi froze, their eyes fixed on him.
"Good." Cassius straightened, arms spreading wide. "Thank you for your silence, for your patience. I know all of you are confused, confused about what's happening, about what will happen next."
"...Allow me to explain. Allow me to speak the noble decree I was entrusted with."
The murmuring grew again as he continued, his words rolling like thunder.
"This order comes directly from my master, the third young master of the Holyfield household, Cassius Vindictus Holyfield!"
The crowd erupted in gasps and mutters. Faces turned pale, others tightened in disbelief. The name struck like a whip crack.
Everyone had heard of Cassius Holyfield, the infamous lecher, the black sheep of the Holyfield family, a spoiled noble who wasted coin and chased skirts, who's name was especially run through the dirt after so many rumours about him stealing women left and right emerged out of nowhere.
Why was he being mentioned here? Why was his name dragged into this spectacle?
And none of them yet realized...the man speaking was Cassius himself.
"This all began..." Cassius's voice rang louder, silencing them. "...when the young master sought a perfect gift for a girl he wished to woo."
Aisha's heart skipped a beat. Her knees almost gave way as she realized what he was doing.
Julie and Skadi also both turned sharply toward her, their eyes wide with knowing smirks.
"The young master was hopelessly in love with this girl." Cassius went on shamelessly, every word purposely echoing across the pit. "He cherished her, treasured her, and on the day of her birthday, he vowed to give her the one gift that would outshine all others, the gift she desired most."
Aisha's cheeks burned bright. She wanted to scream at him to stop, but her voice caught in her throat.
Julie nudged her slyly, whispering. "Oh, he's talking about you all right."
"Of course he is...Lucky cat." Skadi added, her grin wolfish as her tails flicked in amusement.
"He thought about it night and day...What would be the perfect gift?" Cassius's eyes swept over the pit and then toward the crowd. "A jewel from the royal treasury? An artifact worth a kingdom? A relic with power untold?"
He shook his head, the crowd holding their breath.
"No. That girl was not greedy. She was not selfish...She was kind-hearted, so kind that despite her own suffering, she wished to end the suffering of others."
"She loved children most of all, and more than anything, she wished that children could grow up safe and happy, never again robbed of their families."
The crowd broke into soft murmurs.
"What a good girl…"
"So selfless…"
"To wish such a thing, so rare…"
"She must be princess from a fairytale."
The words washed over Aisha, making her face even redder. She clenched her fists and looked down at the ground, unable to meet anyone's gaze.
"And so the young master resolved to honor that wish." Cassius spread his arms wider, his tone theatrical but brimming with conviction. "To help children, to prevent them from being orphaned, he decided to act."
"...At first, he considered the noble's way, donations, building orphanages, schools, charity works. The respectable path. The simple path."
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing, his voice steady.
"And he did all of that. Every single thing I just said, he built orphanages, gave away gold, fed and clothed the children, made sure they could learn their letters. He made good on that promise."
At this, the crowd that had been listening in the square shifted uneasily, glancing at one another.
Murmurs rose, carrying a mix of surprise and reluctant admiration.
For all the rumors of Cassius being arrogant, ruthless, and reckless with women, this story painted another picture. Even if, as some whispered, he had only done it to win the heart of a girl, the fact remained, children had been helped.
Orphans had been fed. Lives had been changed.
And so, more than one person in the crowd found themselves thinking the same thing: Maybe he wasn't as bad as they thought.
Julie blinked in shock, turning to Aisha. "He really did all that? For your birthday?"
Aisha's face flushed. "Not yet...but he promised he would."
Julie smiled knowingly. "Then it's as good as done. You must be pretty happy about this birthday."
Aisha only nodded, glancing back at Cassius with a small, helpless smile.
But just as he things were going smoothly, his eyes burned hotter, sharper, as his voice deepened.
"But then…" Cassius's voice carried clearly through the square, drawing every single gaze to him as he stood at the bottom of that pit, surrounded by broken men. "My young master realized something."
"...That building orphanages doesn't stop children from becoming orphans..."
"...That schools don't stop families from being torn apart..."
"...That charity comes after tragedy, not before it."
The words cut through the night. The crowd fell silent, their breaths caught in their throats as they strained to hear every syllable.
"He realized then...that what he was doing was half-hearted. And half-hearted is something my young master could never, never accept. Not for her."
"...Not when it was meant to be the greatest birthday of her life. Not when it was about making her wish come true."
The crowd shifted uneasily, whispers sparking again, yet none dared speak over him, while Cassius continued, his voice rising, a strange blend of passion and cruel joy.
"He knew he had to strike at the core of the problem, to stop the pain before it even began. Not to sweep up after it like a servant with a broom, but to prevent it altogether, to tear it out from the roots so that it never grew again."
"And so...that is why we are gathered here tonight."
He swept his arms outward toward the crowd, toward the pit, toward the heavens themselves.
"This gift, this birthday gift, was meant to have the greatest effect possible. So my young master chose the perfect place...A place drowning in thieves, crawling with bandits, diseased with lawlessness while the innocent suffered and begged for protection...This place."
At his words, many in the crowd stiffened. Heads bowed. Faces twisted with grief and rage. They knew. Every word he spoke was true. They had lived it.
Cassius's voice dropped lower, heavier. "That is why he chose this region. To purge it completely."
His eyes burned like twin torches as he thrust out a hand, pointing at Aisha, then Julie, then Skadi.
"...And with the help of the Holy Guard..."
The three women stiffened as dozens of gazes suddenly turned toward them.
"...with their guidance, their relentless duty, their divine judgment...we captured ninety-nine percent of every criminal in this entire southwestern region!"
The silence that followed was absolute, until it broke into a storm of disbelief.
"What—?!"
"That's impossible!"
"Ninety-nine percent?!"
"No, no, it can't be true—"
Shouts rose like waves, crashing into one another, a mix of denial and desperate hope. But Cassius only chuckled, his voice cutting cleanly above the storm.
"Unbelievable, isn't it? Hard to swallow, I know. And yet...with the aid of the Holy Guard, with their sacrifice and their unwavering pursuit, it was done. We did it." He paused, letting it sink in. "And here, right in front of your eyes, are 849 criminals."
"...849 rapists, murderers, kidnappers, bandits, mercenaries, and thieves who stained your streets red and made you live in fear."
He pointed downward into the pit.
"They are here...Every last one of them."
A sound rose from the villagers, low at first, then swelling like thunder: hatred.
"Kill them!" One voice roared.
"Kill them already!" Another screamed.
"Chop them into pieces!"
"Don't let them draw another breath!"
More voices piled on, louder, sharper, until it was no longer a crowd but a mob. Many shouted until their throats cracked, tears streaming—not of sorrow, but of long-delayed vengeance.
Fathers whose daughters had been taken. Wives whose husbands had been cut down. Children who had watched their homes burn.
And still, the criminals below, gagged, broken, powerless, shook in terror as hundreds of eyes glared down at them with no mercy.
Some squirmed uselessly, others froze like stone, but all of them trembled as the reality of their fate pressed in...