Chapter 426: The Past That Started It All Part 4

Kana"s voice could be heard all over the sea of stars. Ar"en, who was sitting on his throne, heard the voice and instantly shot up from his seat and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was high in the sky. Below him was a large bubble of death energy. In the center of this bubble was a young woman. Because of the girl"s distinct features, he could easily remember the young girl he met that day. "To think our paths would cross again like this."

He looked past the girl and at the scene below, and his brow furrowed. He then looked at the girl again, at her face that was full of sadness. He could see her tears as they rolled down her cheeks. He did not know why but he felt a sudden urge to pull her into his arms and tell her everything will be okay. But the scene below and the immense amount of death element would not allow it. He could only watch from the sidelines as the girl who he once helped out, who had now blossomed into a beauty, fell into deep sorrow and despair. He had not even realized he had his fist clenched so tight that his nails were digging into him, causing blood to drip from his hands.

Kana looked around her at all the humans who did not realize they were now trapped like pigs to the slaughter and raised her hand. "To those who have committed sins, you shall now pay for those sins."

Every human within her bubble suddenly let out agonizing screams as their bodies began to be drained of their lifeforce. This was not Kana"s normal withering, where the soul would still be intact. No, this was a more advanced form of her withering that was pulling the soul apart slowly, causing excruciating pain to fill their entire being. Bit by bit, in a long slow process, even after their body had collapsed, they were slowly being sucked into a stream of energy heading towards Kana. This energy was causing Kana"s power to grow more and more. In just a few moments, she had gained enough energy to surpa.s.s all that she had gained over the past ten years, and it was still far from being over. Kana did not let a single human off as the souls within them were fully torn apart, never being able to enter the river of reincarnation.

Only when she was done, and she sensed no more humans did she slowly float back to the ground. The bubble of death energy she created slowly retracted back into her. She looked around at all the destruction and dead bodies all over and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the citizens of this city were not turned into her strength. She wanted to give each one a proper burial, this was all she could do for them.

Her eyes returned to their ruby red color but were blurry due to the tears that continued to well up inside them. Kana walked over to where she would buy meat skewers every morning and spotted the old man who was happily chatting about his retirement after she left the city just early that day. Now, he was covered in blood. He had been stabbed repeatedly. She knelt down next to his body and lowered her head. "I"m sorry…. I was not here to protect you all..."

She blamed herself. She blamed herself for going out to hunt down monsters to grow stronger. If only she had been here, she might have been able to save them all. If only… "Ahhh! Why!? What have I done for everything to always be taken from me!?" Kana let out a scream. She was filled with sorrow and hate. She wondered why everything had to be taken from her. She wondered what mighty being did she offend that they would cause her to lose everyone she came to care about.

Ar"en heart stirred for the first time in his life. As he watched the girl cry out her grievances, he could no longer control himself. In a flash, he landed behind the girl. His presence immediately alerted her. He saw that she was about to attack, so he threw his hands up into the air as he said: "I am not here to hurt you. Do you remember me? My Name is Ar"en. We met in this same city many years ago."

Kana stared at the man for a few seconds before completely ignoring him. Instead, she scooped up the stall owner in her hands and walked towards the outskirts of the city. She had decided she would bury each and every one of the people of this city. "Miss Kana!?"

A voice rang out. Kana turned her head to see an old woman coming out of a broken down building. "You… The fruit lady..." Kana"s tears once again began to well up. She was able to save someone… She was actually able to keep someone alive. She once again collapsed to her knees with the stall owner still in her arms.

Ar"en heart hurt. He walked over and finally placed his big palm on top of Kana"s head. And in a warm melodic voice said softly: "You did good. You did what you could. You are not at fault for what happened here today. I am… If I only settled more soldiers here to protect this border town, this would never have happened. So do not blame yourself."

Kana looked up at Ar"en with her teary eyes and did not say a word. She stood back up and continued to walk towards the city exit to the north, opposite the human territory. Once she was a good distance away from the city, she laid the stall owner down and began using her hands to dig a hole. The old woman and a few other survivors all gathered together and followed after Kana. There were only about thirty survivors in total out of a city of a few thousand. But each one knelt down next to Kana and, with their hands began helping her dig.