IRM Chapter 100

Brandon’s mind was in chaos. Although he had vague suspicions before, when he actually discovered the truth, he still felt a stifling sensation in his chest.

He turned his face away, not wanting to look at Evan, and said with quite a bit of misery, “Yes, I originally didn’t want to come. But if I hadn’t come today, when would you have assassinated me…”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Evan move his arm, and closed his eyes, saying even more miserably, “Why did you become like this, Evan? I—I didn’t do anything wrong, and I even considered you a very good friend. Why would you want to kill me…”

Brandon felt both wronged and confused. His eyes and nose turned red, and as he spoke, he became more upset, with heartfelt words that he would normally never say pouring out along with his emotions.

The old butler had originally been vigilantly watching Evan’s every move, but as he watched, he relaxed and was nearly made to laugh aloud by his young master.

Hearing the muffled laughter, Brandon slowly lifted his head: …?

Evan was the most confused person of all. He raised his hand slightly and looked at Brandon with an indescribable expression, truly unable to understand what kind of tragic scenes he had imagined in his mind. “I’d also like to know—why would I want to kill you?”

Brandon didn’t quite believe him. “Then you—then why were you at—”

A bolt of lightning shot toward them, interrupting Brandon’s words. He hastily drew his longsword and hunched his neck, trying to block the attack. But he saw Evan quickly chant a short incantation under his breath. A corner of the magic array beside him flashed, and a solid wall of light suddenly shot up a few steps away from Brandon!

Light and lightning collided with each other, crackling sparks and electric flowers bursting open, causing nearly half the people in the arena to reflexively raise their hands to shield their eyes—

Seeing this, Evan frowned. Not wanting to explore the young master’s rich inner world, he stepped forward and grabbed Brandon’s arm forcefully, complaining somewhat, “Hurry! I’ll send you out. It’s too dangerous here! If you had told me in advance that you were coming to the arena, I definitely wouldn’t have let you stay here!”

Before the riot broke out, Evan had already used various excuses to send everyone he knew outside the venue. He had thought he could control everything, but when he suddenly ran into Brandon, a strong sense of fear still surged in his heart.

No matter how well prepared he was, he still couldn’t guarantee against accidents happening.

Brandon suddenly shook off his hand and retreated several steps, with some anger. “I won’t leave! Ji Chi and the others are still inside! Aren’t they in danger? Don’t you care about them at all?”

Evan’s form froze, and his voice also deepened. “Is that what you think of me…”

Evan pressed his lips together, his movements becoming faster. He took out his wand and waved it rapidly over the magic array. Bright lines interwove, and an opening was about to form. While doing this, he said in a low voice, “The center of the arena is safe. How could I possibly let anything happen to them?”

A portal glowing with a ghostly white light appeared to the side. Evan turned to look at Brandon, his gaze carrying both urgency and a hint of dejection, saying softly, “You should leave first. I won’t let them suffer even the slightest harm, and… I’m not with the Gladiolus Guild—”

“Over there! Is that the magic array exit over there! It’s on the west side of the arena!”

“Yes! And next to it is the mage who set up the magic array! I saw him! It’s that guy in the black cloak!”

“Hurry over! Don’t let him escape!”

Quite a few nobles, attracted by the flash of light, noticed this corner. They had already accumulated a bellyful of rage and fear, and like a swarm of moths seeing firelight, they surged madly toward the west side!

Evan glanced back, not particularly nervous, but his hands pushed Brandon toward the exit even more forcefully, his voice unconsciously taking on a stern tone. “Hurry up and get out!”

Brandon was pushed by him in silence. Just as his toes were about to touch the exit, he suddenly spun gracefully, hooked his right foot, and tripped Evan’s leg.

Completely unprepared, Evan stumbled from the trip. Then his eyes widened in astonishment as he watched Brandon give a light push on his chest and hold his sword horizontally in front of himself.

At some point, Brandon had already acquired the bearing of an excellent warrior. The way he gripped his sword with both hands was extremely similar to how Ji Chi had looked in the Dark Night Forest back then.

The young master glanced at him sideways, pulled at the corner of his mouth and snorted, asking in a not-at-all-gentle tone. “You forgot that we’ll always stand by your side, didn’t you?”

Evan’s eyes instantly turned red. He was too familiar with this phrase. Just the night before Ji Chi moved out of their dormitory, he had already hidden this phrase deep in his heart, recalling it over and over again, drawing more courage from it.

“Who are you? Get lost! Let me kill him!”

“As expected of lowly, brutal commoners! I should have killed every last one of you!”

“Go to hell! Filthy thing!”

Brandon saw those twisted faces. They had nearly lost their reason, their bodies wrapped in an ominous blood-red glow, becoming muddled monsters who would attack anyone standing in their way without caring whether they were actually the “hateful commoners” in their minds.

The young master frowned, staring at the red light on their bodies. “That is…”

Evan explained in a soft voice, “That’s judgment. I drew a layer of illusion magic array on the ground. It can evoke the most evil memories in everyone’s hearts… The more innocent people they’ve killed, the heavier the judgment, and the less clear their minds become.”

As Evan spoke, he glanced at the clean young master. “We’re all within the judgment. Even I can’t control this array.”

Brandon was stunned for a moment, suddenly understanding that Evan was explaining—the area around his body was also completely clean, without a trace of red light.

Brandon finally breathed a sigh of relief. His little companion hadn’t gone too far wrong after all. But soon after, he suddenly noticed a thread of red light as fine as hair floating over from not far away, stopping in front of Evan and dancing gently around his waist.

Evan also saw it. His azure eyes trembled, and intense emotions churned and struggled in their depths.

“Is this what you wanted?!” Brandon suddenly shouted at Evan somewhat angrily. He flipped his longsword halfway around and used the smooth surface to slap away a noble with a crimson face. “You don’t want to do these things at all, do you!”

More and more red light appeared on Evan’s body. From the direction the red light was drifting, a child’s sharp cry suddenly pierced the air! He shuddered violently and couldn’t help but run toward that direction!

But it was almost too late. A noble lady had completely lost her senses, her body covered in glaring blood-red light, her eyes also completely bloodshot. She was holding her three-to-five-year-old child high by the throat, her long, sharp nails embedding into the child’s tender neck skin, with traces of fresh blood trickling down along her fingertips.

“Hahahaha! That’s it! Cry more! I just love the children who cry the loudest!” She laughed wildly, obviously not recognizing that the one she was now tormenting was her own precious child.

The child’s face gradually turned purple-red, and his cries weakened. This somehow enraged her. Her eyes flashed with severity, and her fingers were about to snap that fragile little neck!

Whoosh—a flash of black sword light interrupted Evan’s anxious chanting. Ji Chi caught the falling child in the crook of the arm holding his longsword, and with his other hand, used a bit of force to pry the severed arm from the child’s neck.

He casually tossed the bloody arm into the distance and took out a shiny red potion bottle from the magic pouch at his waist. Using his teeth to gently bite open the stopper, he dripped the potion into the child’s lips, which barely showed any breath.

The potion emitted a relaxing herbal fragrance. The child’s complexion eased, and looking at the handsome, peaceful face before him, he blinked his eyes and fell asleep, both frightened and reassured.

The noble lady regained some rationality amid the severe pain. She first covered her severed arm and screamed several times, then glared at the youth before her with fear and hatred. “What did you do?! Put down my child! I’m definitely going to kill you—”

Ji Chi expressionlessly swung his longsword and cleanly cut off the piercing screams.

The thread of blood-red light on Evan’s body had already disappeared without a trace. He had no mind to pay attention to this, but instead clenched his fingertips and looked nervously at Ji Chi, his lips moving several times without knowing what to say.

Ji Chi walked up to him and looked him over blandly with his pitch-black pupils. Just as Evan couldn’t help but want to shrink back, Ji Chi stuffed the sleeping child from his arm into Evan’s embrace.

“You regret it.” Ji Chi stated with certainty. His eyes, like sharp swords, cut through the disguise that Evan was desperately trying to maintain. “You simply can’t do these things.”

“That makes sense…” Ji Chi suddenly smiled at him. “After being that kind of foolish child who would rather hurt yourself than save others for so many years, how could you have the courage to do bad things?”

Evan clumsily held the child, looking at him at a loss.

“But Evan.” Without even looking, Ji Chi swung a fireball to the side, turning several people who looked like blood-red demons into ashes. In the blood-like firelight, he stared intently at him. “It’s not that we don’t believe in you—it’s that you don’t believe in us. What exactly are you afraid of?”

“Let me guess.” Under Evan’s anxious gaze, Ji Chi casually swung his longsword, flicking off the fresh blood stained on the blade. “You’re afraid for us. You’re afraid we’ll get hurt.”

“So you want to use every method to face the Church alone?” Seeing Evan’s face turn pale for a moment, Ji Chi roughly rubbed his head, saying through gritted teeth, “You really are…..I’ll settle accounts with you later.”