A young man was begging in front of him. He was the first person Nightmane had killed, under the duke's order. Looking down on the pitiful man who used to be a baron of the country, he burst out laughing frantically.

“Look at what you came down to, shitty noble, you always looked down on us, yet you are crawling on the ground now!” Nightmane jeered.

“Is that what you think?” The man suddenly stood up. His pitiful appearance was no longer there, as he smirked.

“But you are about to join me now. Aren't you just the same?” The man grabbed Nightmane's head, and he started slapping his face.

'Wake up! Wake up!'

As if she was chanting a spell, the little girl was slapping his face periodically.

'Deja vu.' He could only realize it at this point, that he was on the verge of death. Maybe because he had already experienced it once, he could notice, the warm embrace that brought his life back into him. It was certainly a high level healing magic.

He didn't know what was her purpose. The only thing he knew was that she was going to keep doing it.

Her hand started moving down from his neck. After poking a few different places, it reached his chest.

“Please stop!” He had already experienced death twice. Even though he was still alive after that, he couldn't bear it anymore and he would do anything to avoid that from happening again.

“I will do anything! Anything you want, please spare me!” If he could at least read the girl's expression, he would have done better than just begging for his life. However, her motivation, her background, her emotion... everything was unclear.

“...” However, the girl didn't respond. Silently, she kept poking his chest as if she was trying to gauge it.

“No! I told you to stop! Please!” He struggled. Since he didn't have his limbs, he was like a splashing fish out of water.

“Stop moving.” It was the first time he heard her talking. It was a soft and sweet voice befitting her appearance, but it didn't cross his mind. He frantically nodded as she finally made a request.

“Then you will spare me, ri..” Before he could finish his sentence, she had pierced his chest. Although a beastman's chest was packed with muscles enhanced by mana, her blade had easily penetrated, and destroyed his heart in one go. As his consciousness faded a third time, he saw the girl staring at him, as he was slowly dying.

Nightmane was surrounded by people from different races : humans, demons, and even beastmen.

“It's all your fault.” Bleeding from his eyes, a noble human grabbed his shoulders. He was another target he had assassinate under the duke's order.

“O miserable dog of Metalclaws. Having lived without honor, you are about to follow us.” A severed head was looking down on him. It was a beastman noble he had killed because he was in a faction that opposed his master's.

“I hope you will die the most painful death.”

Countless faces were surrounding Nightmane. From nobles to warriors to women and children, they all had the appearance of when they were killed. He couldn't recognize all of them as there were too many of them, but one common thing they shared was grief and hatred. Facing so much enmity, Nighmane trembled.

“No, no... I...” He couldn't continue. It was normal for them to die, because they were weak, and he was chosen by the duke. But then, why was he trembling so hopelessly, more than he ever did before he obtained the power?
It was normal for those who opposed his master to die.
It was normal for the inferior humans to die.
It was normal for the powerless slaves to die.

It was a truth he had learned while he was living in the slums, while he was trying so hard to save his little sister. They were looked down on, and nobody cared for them when she had to die from a trivial illness. Then again, why was he so terrified?

“I'm sorry.” At his third experience of death, he had finally realized. It was in a living being's instinct to not want to die. None of the deaths he had caused was normal, and none of those in front him deserved death.

“I'm sorry.” Tears started flowing down his eyes.

“I'm sorry.” If this was his punishment for everything he had done, then he should gladly accept it.

He kept bowing over and over. His forehead started bleeding from banging it against the floor, but he didn't care. For some reason, the gaze of the deceased ones appeared to be softer.

The girl was tapping on his forehead as he slowly opened his eyes.

“I'm sorry.” The girl tilted her head as he suddenly started apologizing.

He tried to grab her hand, but he realized he had no arm, so he tried to stand up, and realized he had no leg. He splashed his body in an attempt to raise himself. The section where his leg used to be had stopped bleeding, but it still created agonizing pain as he tried standing on it. Without being bothered in the slightest, he stood up, and tried to bring his chest to the little girl's hand.

The girl stepped backward in repulsion. Even though he couldn't read her expressions, he naturally started explaining himself.

“Please continue what you were doing. If this body of mine can be purged by those hands, I will accept it gladly.” She had opened his eyes. He had been wrong the whole time, and he had committed too many sins. He didn't think it was possible to make up for what he had done, but if it was the girl in front of him, maybe she could do it for him.

“...” Each time the girl stepped backward, he took one step forward. His wound opened again, and a trail of blood followed him, but he didn't even flinch.

“You must have been sent by the heaven to correct me. By crossing the border between life and death multiple times through that small hand of yours, I realized the true meaning of life.” Driven into a wall, she couldn't walk back anymore.

“Yet, the grave sins I have committed can't be undone just by realizing them. O, the angel of conviction, as an envoy of the gods, you must know. What do I need to do? Please guide me, please purge me! Handle me as nothing more than object, nothing more than a lump of flesh. Because it is what I am, and it's the treatment I deserve.” He tried putting his chest against her hand, to urge her to continue.

“...” The moment he saw her raising her leg, he got sent flying, even though there was so much difference in weight between them. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, he was lying flat on the ground.

“That's it! For that small leg of yours to possess such an extraordinary power! You are truly an envoy of the gods” He frantically laughed while coughing blood.

“... Are you going to do anything?” He could hear a small voice. It was the same sweet voice from earlier, but it was now filled with grace.

“Yes, certainly!” He tried turning his body towards her. If his savior was about to give him instructions, then it was his responsibility to respond wholeheartedly.

“Where is your money?”

'Why would an angel of conviction ask for money?' He shook his head at the thought he had, as it wasn't his place to doubt her. In his shady business, he had dealt with a lot of money, and she must have chosen the most suitable way for him. It all made sense now that he thought about it.

“I have them in the coffer in my home, but how much will be enough?” His voice got smaller near the end. It occurred to him that no amount of money would be enough to purge his sins. However, realizing that he just doubted the angel, he got so embarrassed that he couldn't look straight at her anymore.

“... Ten thousand gold coins.”

“Ah... Truth to be told...” He hesitated before continuing. It was a price befitting of all the lives he had taken. However, he didn't want to miss out on this opportunity. It was only chance for him to redeem himself, and he had to meet her demand at all costs.

“I don't have that much money on me... But I should be able to gather that much in a short amount of time! It's just I usually send the money to the duke Metalgrips...” He tried to explain himself, and appeal that he could fulfill the demand soon enough.

“Does duke have money?”

“Yes, he is a greedy beastman who loves to collect valuables. He surely has a lot on him.”

“And a noble's emblem?”

“Yes, of course! He is a duke, so he has an emblem representing the highest rank of the nobles! But why... I'm sorry!” He tried to wave his hand to apologize for questioning her once again, but realized that he had no hand. He was truly a stupid beastman who couldn't learn from his past mistakes, he thought.

“Where?”

“What? Ah.. the duke? He lives in the capital. His mansion is located near the palace in the center. You will be able to see the palace from afar, and his mansion is also easy to find if you ask anyone over there... Wait, I'll draw you a map!” But he couldn't draw since he didn't have his hand. If he had a paper or something similar, he could use his blood to draw it, so he started frantically looking around.

“...” She walked towards him. Nightmane realized that was all the questions she had, and his punishment would continue.

'Last time was a death by piercing my heart, so what would be the next?' He wondered, looking forward to what kind of death awaits him.

As she approached, she lightly kicked on his neck. However, the consequence of the gesture wasn't what one would expect from such a simple act. A red line appeared on his neck, which then got severed following that line. It was what happened if a master of swords had swung his sword, yet she had replicated it in a simple kick. Separated from the body, his head started rolling on the ground. It wasn't what Nightmane had expected, but he gladly accepted the punishment. As his eyes closed with a satisfied expression, his life truly ended.