BXBX NOVEL Chapter 79: Harsh Reality
The thugs who remained.in the slums were never the kind to train themselves. They survived by licking the asses of someone stronger, leeching off their power. They had neither the foundation nor the strength to even remotely compare to someone like Kai, let alone Levi.
And Levi? He had just emerged from the Sanctum, a place that would chew up and spit out weaker men. He had risked his life and fought like a man possessed. There was simply no way these pitiful thugs stood a chance against him.
But while the physical battle was one-sided, the mental toll was another matter entirely.
Levi stared at his blood-streaked leg and then at the two lifeless bodies lying a few feet away, a heavy silence settling over him.
He had just killed two people—humans, not monsters. People like him.
Yet, he felt...nothing.
\'This is strange,\' Levi thought as he surveyed the scene.
The bodies lay crumpled, motionless, and devoid of any trace of life. He had taken two lives, but there was no horror, no nausea, no sense of guilt that one might expect.
Instead, there was just an eerie void.
His mind flicked back to the time when he had killed the fat boy in the maze. The guilt, the revulsion, and the overwhelming sense of wrongness had nearly crippled him back then.
He had hated that feeling, the sensation of his humanity slipping through his fingers. But now?
Now, there was nothing.
\'Why?\' he wondered.
Was it the harrowing experience of the Sanctum? The battles with monsters that stripped him of innocence, forcing him to confront life-and-death situations at every turn?
Or was it something more sinister? Was the demonic energy within him eating away at his conscience, dulling his sense of right and wrong?
He didn\'t know.
But whatever the cause, it didn\'t sit well with him - he had to do something about it.
But not now.
With a deep sigh, Levi turned away from the gruesome sight and walked toward Ian, his steps slow and deliberate, as if each one carried the weight of the world. Blood clung to his clothes, dripping onto the floor in a rhythmic pattern, painting a grisly picture in the dim light of the hideout.
Ian, despite his own terror, managed to croak, "Levi? Is that really you?"
Levi glanced at his friend, his voice a low murmur, barely audible amidst the chaos of his thoughts.
"Yeah, who else would be dumb enough to save your sorry ass?"
Without another word, Levi knelt down and began untying the ropes that held Ian to the chair. Despite the blood staining his hands, his movements were gentle, and careful. The violence from moments before was nowhere to be found in his touch.
Once Ian was freed, Levi turned toward the girl—Marie. She sat in the chair, trembling, her eyes wide with fear. He approached her slowly, not wanting to startle her further, his posture relaxed but deliberate.
Marie flinched, her body recoiling as Levi neared.
Her wide, terrified eyes locked onto his bloodstained figure. She looked fragile, like a bird trapped in a cage. His heart clenched at the sight. She wasn\'t his sister, but in the twisted reality of the slums, she had become family—just as much as Ian was.
"Marie," Levi whispered, his voice softer than before. "It\'s okay. I\'m not going to hurt you. You\'re safe now."
She didn\'t respond, her gaze flickering between Levi and the bodies on the floor. But as he reached out and untied the ropes binding her wrists and ankles, she didn\'t pull away.
His touch was light, like a feather brushing against her skin, a stark contrast to the carnage that had just unfolded.
Marie\'s eyes shimmered with a mix of confusion and gratitude, though her body continued to tremble. Tears silently traced paths down her cheeks, her sobs barely audible - she didn\'t say anything, neither did Levi expect anything.
But Ian did, his voice still hoarse and shaky. "Levi… what the hell happened to you?"
Levi sighed, raking a hand through his matted hair. "It\'s a long story. I\'ll explain later. Right now, let\'s just get out of here before anyone else shows up."
He extended his hand to Marie, who hesitated for a moment before tentatively placing her small hand in his. As she stood, Ian quickly moved to support her from the other side.
And as she got up - the harsh reality was on display.
Marie\'s legs were unfunctional!
She hadn\'t been able to walk for as long as they had known her. Some said that was why she was abandoned in the slums, left to die with Ian, her supposed brother.
Whether they were blood-related or not had never mattered. They were family now, bound together by the circumstances of their lives and nothing else mattered.
Levi led them toward the exit, stepping over the still bodies of Dadua and Chota without a second glance. The heavy door creaked open, allowing the trio to slip out into the night air, leaving the horrors of the hideout behind them.
As they made their way out into the alley, Levi glanced back at Marie, her tiny hand clutching his tightly. He knew the world was a cruel place, and the sooner she understood that, the better. But for now, he would protect her.
There in the empty and dark building, the sound of wings flapping broke the silence, and Levi turned just in time to see a dark flock of Phantoms descend upon the abandoned building.
The Phantom flock of Noir tore into the corpses of Dadua and Chota with savage efficiency, their beaks, and claws reducing the remains to nothing in mere minutes.
Flesh, bone, and evidence—everything was consumed and obliterated, leaving behind only the faintest traces of bloodstains on the floor.
Levi watched, expressionless, as the Phantoms completed their grisly work. Soon, there would be nothing left to show that Dadua and Chota had ever existed.
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