NOVEL NEXT Chapter 117: Sincere Gratitude
When the berserk man noticed his meal was disturbed by another person, their eyes turned bloodshot.
"How dare you ruin my meal!" They roared furiously. Soon, their aura rose up, and they began to emit a deadly pressure.
'Hmm?' Mirelle's eyes narrowed upon seeing the situation. It appeared that the berserk slave of this event was inherently different from the ones in the capital.
How was it possible that their strength could continue to increase and explode tremendously?
Naturally, the sudden surge of power came at a deadly cost.
In less than a few seconds, the man's body started to decay rapidly, but their state remained intoxicated. They only had one thing in mind.
And that was to eliminate the person who dared to interrupt his mealtime!
"Become my meal as well!" The man scoffed.
After the declaration, their muscles twisted unnaturally as black veins bulged across their skin. They kicked the ground heavily, using it as leverage to propel themselves toward her.
Mirelle raised a hand lazily in response to the aggression. Her emerald robes fluttered softly as the mana around her stirred like a restless storm.
"Pathetic ant," she murmured, her voice carrying a frigid undertone.
As the berserk man lunged at an increased speed, they released claws that sprouted from their fingertips as his decaying flesh tore under the strain.
Mirelle's expression remained calm. But silently, she was disgusted by the appearance.
'I should end this quickly.' With a sharp gesture, a barrier of translucent light snapped into place before her.
The man slammed into the barrier with a thunderous bang. Cracks of spiderwebbing began to spread across the surface, but the barrier held on.
"Since you're done with the attack. It's my turn now." Mirelle uttered. Using her other hand, she traced a sigil mid-air.
Sixth Circle Art: Chains of Aether!
Almost immediately, from the ground below, glowing chains erupted as they swiftly wrapped around the berserk man's limbs with movement like a snake.
"Ugh, what are these chains?" Frustrated by the restraints, he thrashed violently, his muscles swelling further as if sheer madness was fueling his strength beyond reason.
Soon, the chains started creaking, and fissures spread under the unnatural force.
"Tch. He's burning his own life force." Mirelle's eyes flickered coldly.
The action of burning one's life force was to temporarily increase one's strength. The increased strength was extremely high, but the repercussions and action of doing so were very detrimental.
Unless necessary, nobody would be willing to burn their life force!
After all, life force contained mana, the very essence that everyone had, regardless of whether they could form a magic circle or not.
"It seems like they have lost all rationality." Mirelle deduced in a bittersweet tone.
She had held on to some hope that maybe they could regain some of their sanity. But seeing the situation of how much he was willing to burn that would damage his foundation, she realized they were a goner already.
A few seconds later, she raised her palm. Flames of pure sky blue burst forth, enveloping the man in a roaring inferno.
"No, what is this flame? Why am I burning!' His howl split the air, yet he fought on even as his flesh was removed from his body.
The berserk state was the only thing keeping him alive.
Still, the term alive was somewhat incorrect for the man.
"Good night!"
It was only when Mirelle snapped her fingers and the flames condensed into a single lance of fire that pierced his heart that the madness ceased.
The man collapsed, smoldering, and leaving behind the stench of charred decay.
Before they completely succumbed to their death, it appeared that some of their consciousness had returned.
"Thank you, kind Madam…" The man's eyes returned to a tranquil state as he gave his gratitude. He held a warm smile and appeared very relaxed despite having been burned to death.
A sour expression soon appeared on Mirelle's face when she heard the man's final words. She thought the man was a vile being with no redeemable quality.
Yet that final remark caused her body to be jolted slightly. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
She could discern that the tone and voice were filled with sincere gratitude, which emphasized that their consciousness might still be awake, but they couldn't control their body.
While she was left dazed by the situation, the three women cautiously peeked their heads out from the crates.
They all glanced at Mirelle with a trembling look.
"T-Thank you, heroine…" One of them mustered their courage and said gratefully.
"Thank you for saving us." Another one quickly followed suit.
The remaining woman had lost her voice from fright and couldn't express her gratitude. Thus, she chose to bow her head to pay her respect. Even when kneeling, her body could be seen shaking uncontrollably.
Death had come so close to them had it not been for Mirelle's timely rescue.
"This place isn't safe." Mirelle lifted them up with her magic and said, "You should all retreat to the buildings to take cover."
Upon hearing her suggestions, the three women suddenly turned bitter.
Seeing their abnormal reaction, Mirelle furrowed her brows.
"What's wrong?" She asked in concern. It couldn't be that they had lost someone dear to them?
While Mirelle held such a thought, a voice echoed from behind.
"It's not that these three women didn't know that retreating to a building is more secure and safe. But they couldn't enter the building because of their upbringing."
Mirelle's body jolted slightly. She turned around and glanced at Leonard with a confused expression.
"Y-You're saying they were denied?" Even when asking this question, Mirelle couldn't believe what she had just said.
Leonard didn't respond right away.
Instead, he lifted his chin and gazed at the nearby buildings with some people's shadows hovering next to the windows.
When the people next to the windows realized they had been spotted, they hurriedly took cover.
'Hmph, do they take me for a blind man?' Leonard found their reactions laughable.