The soldier threw the document to the ground, his arms falling to his sides as if losing strength as the pages scattered everywhere. He had an expression of total disbelief on his face after recognizing the lyrics that reveal a shocking truth; which was slowly replaced by something more cruel and terrifying.

Arisella could see Arman clenching his fists as a dangerous atmosphere surrounded him. She watched as John Miller rested peacefully with veins protruding all over his body; His yellow eyes glowing like those of a predator staring at his prey.

Frankly, almost everyone was scared after seeing him make an expression filled with malevolence with his naturally terrifying face. Arisella didn't even expect that reaction when she gave him the document.

I had hoped to see some minimal reaction that would show that the Orkus had voluntarily been a part of the whole sacrifice thing, like acting confused or something. He even imagined Armán reading everything written to finally just say with mockery 'This is interesting for the script of a cheap movie, he asked me who wrote it?'

Of course, he didn't imagine seeing him act as if his 'friend' was the biggest traitor in history; His 'aura' even seemed to almost scream “Why, Brutus, Why!?” as she glared at the old man with murderous intent spilling over in waves.

It wasn't an act, she was sure...because thanks to her great spiritual powers, she could feel that his anger was real.

The hairs of many stood on end; Priscilla even screamed in fear as she looked at the Orkus with trembling eyes, and her husband approached her as if to protect her from danger. 

Several [Soldiers] broke out in a cold sweat from the dangerous atmosphere their General exuded, and Tasha even put herself in an instinctive fight-or-flight stance, unconsciously growling at the situation that seemed to awaken her animal instincts; pulling out little claws from her fingers that no one expected she had.

Hugging the girl who was getting tense, Lucelle looked at Armán and asked, frowning, “Mr. Armán, what's wrong?” What had he written in those documents to make him so furious with this man? “

She was the only one who confronted him in this environment and questioned him about what was more or less on everyone's mind.

Breathing deeply as if to try to contain his fury....which only ended with him inadvertently inhaling more of the thick scent of blood in the cave, Armán coughed in disgust and exclaimed absolutely indignant.

”This….bastard, ordered the Major General that we will be deployed along with the military police to arrest several groups of homeless people in the sewers on charges of assisting in illegal mineral smuggling! They told us that they were criminals and, obeying orders, we took them to the military prison in a secret operation hidden from the public…regardless of whether they were children or the elderly!”

Ignoring the surprised looks thrown at him, Armán continued with a mocking tone in his voice. “Supposedly it was a secret operation because they didn't want it to be publicly known that the infallible mines of Madarhem were compromised by criminals who helped foreigners…But now I know it was a damn lie!”

“They only wanted human sacrifices to get technologies from the ancient civilization from another force! That's all they were to them…sacrificial animals!” Armán barked angrily.

Hearing that, Maximiliano opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“Technology of the Ancient Civilization….The Age of Humanity?” The Arcantus murmured inclusively next to Priscilla, his body trembling, and his wife looked at him with confusion and concern.

As for Armán, he was furious at having been fooled by such a farce, and he was also angry at himself for being so stupid and thoughtless.

How did he not realize, when the signs were there?

It was already strange enough that an investigator like John Miller of all people would come and order Armán's superior to deploy his brigade in a joint operation with the military police to arrest hundreds of homeless people, furthermore, secretly. Ven stranger was that the major general obeyed him so easily.

Although the investigators in Madarhem had great power and could order soldiers to perform certain tasks, they should not have so much authority over the military. Not to mention, it was even stranger that it was a member of a Research Department, rather than an official of the Grand Elder's Government, who gave them such an order.

Of course, Armán had no way of knowing that it was because no one other than those enthusiastic investigators were willing to suffer the consequences of such a matter falling upon them; and the others just let the Department of Magical Engineering voluntarily become the scapegoats if everything is discovered later by the public... along with Arman and his brigade, as well as the military police, as collateral damage.

Also, he forgot the fact that being one of the few magicians in Madarhem, John Miller had a fairly high status in the state, which gave him enough authority to give such orders.

Not forgetting to mention that the military leaders did not want to be on the bad side of the Department of Magical Engineering, since they are the ones who manufacture their weapons and technologies.

Naturally, they would obey them as long as they were not impossible orders for them, guaranteeing themselves that they would have that advanced equipment in good quality. Anyway, if things went wrong, they would always have their trump card…

“We just follow orders!”

It was corruption in all its splendor.

Anyway, what really made the soldier angry was that, if he had thought about it more carefully, he would have realized that something was wrong with the whole smuggling story.

That so many kilos of iron ore and so on could be smuggled through the sewers that would justify such a display of military force? How could they smuggle those things without getting caught by the newly developed security systems installed in the sewers in the first place?

And how were they supposed to obtain that 'merchandise', if the distribution of those things was strictly regulated by the army!?

Unless the miners and the military were going to be part of a complicated overseas smuggling scheme… It didn't make sense!

Armán now understood that everything was a lie, a casual justification for mobilizing the soldiers. And all to capture innocent people to be lab rats for an unknown machine that called itself Prometheus.

As to why would those powerful individuals bother to make such a lie instead of ordering soldiers to follow orders without caring about their thoughts and opinions?

It was quite simple.

––Because for the soldiers of the army of Monte Cartus, there was something more important than following orders from their superiors or the interests of the Great Elder; It was a creed instilled in them, to protect all civilians of Madarhem from magical beasts and other threats.

They were taught from the beginning that this was the most important thing, as the lives of the demihuman population were valuable due to their low birth rate compared to 'true humans'. That is why they had to put their lives at risk to protect the fortress city and all the towns and villages that are part of the state.

It was a duty above any military order.

Furthermore, they mainly fought monsters instead of other humans like in ancient wars. Here military strategies were rarely used unless the situation was bad, and how soldiers fight monsters is only slightly more sophisticated than that of adventurers and mercenaries. The main objective of all these soldiers is to guarantee the safety of the population.

Of course, there were punishments for violating orders, but unless you were a rather selfish individual or did not fear a bad reputation among your peers, you would prioritize the lives of civilians over the wishes of a high-ranking military officer.

Asking those soldiers to break the creed of protecting civilians, becoming the monsters that ruin their lives?

Unless the government wanted to start a mass defection or even a mutiny, they would avoid it as much as possible. After all, they couldn't be forced to obey something like that when they are part of a population that highly values ​​their numbers due to their innate fertility.

Of course, as the current situation showed, they could lie to the soldiers to get them to do what they wanted as long as they were clever enough. There was no reason to doubt since in reality they were not killing anyone nor were they dealing with ordinary civilians, but with supposed criminals who even used children as carriers of contraband.

Under the deceptions of their own government, these soldiers infiltrated the sewers, let down the guard of its inhabitants by saying that they were looking for some corrupt military personnel, and caught them all off guard, quickly arresting them. Even the children were taken with the idea that they could be fed because of how malnourished they looked, since they did not believe that those in prison would be so cruel to ignore the circumstances of those children and would give them fair treatment.

Armán believed that he and his brigade had done a good job; He never imagined that he was being used for something atrocious and that all his thoughts were just an illusion. If he had known all that beforehand, he not only would not have done such a thing; He even might have started an attack on the Department of Magical Engineering.

But no, that was nothing more than a fantasy; Armán could only blame himself for being so stupid.

Sorry guys…..by my incompetence, I put an indelible stain on your lives because I am not smart enough…I did not doubt your deceptions and shattered our honor and the lives of many innocent people!

Will the gods have mercy on our souls?

Thinking like this, Armán looked again at the Terario who dared to call him his friend even in his stupid documents in which he revealed his true cowardly and greedy nature. He was a bastard who even committed blasphemy to the Imperial Clergy for the sake of his intellectual curiosity, and he never saw it, but he once even admired it.

Armán was actually somewhat smarter than other Orkus, but there were many things that he could not understand compared to other human races... no, it was even shown that children were smarter. That led him to admire intelligent people who could think and understand things that he never could.

And John Miller was one of them.

He had once respected this little old man for his great intellect and enough magical energy to be a wizard; something very rare among demihumans other than Nox, although it was also rare to have mages among Nox.

Anyway, Jhon was an inventor who had been part of the research and design of the new generation of Monte Cartus weapons and other incredible inventions such as magical security systems; a genius unmatched in his own history and the face of the Department of Magical Engineering; It was even stated that one day he would take Torinus Kherson's place as Director of the Department.

He was someone who could lead Madarhem to an incredible future, unlike a brute like Armán.

Unexpectedly, both men from two different worlds met when Armán participated in a series of tests to analyze the physical and energy capabilities of soldiers in order to create power armor that is highly adaptive. 

Armán did not remember the exact details nor did he understand it to be honest, but while the measurements and calibrations were being carried out, Jhon himself began to speak to him in a friendly tone.

From then on, they talked to each other from time to time, mainly Jhon who voluntarily spoke to Armán with shining eyes.

He couldn't say they were close enough to really consider themselves friends, but they knew each other well enough that they didn't have any awkward interactions and John Miller seemed like a kind old man who cared about others, didn't carelessly use incomprehensible technical terms while talking to Legos. like Arman and even joked with him.

He was very different from most Terarians, who acted grumpy and were narrow-minded, or so he thought at the time.

Not only that, as the designer of much of the equipment that allowed Armán and his brigade to survive on the battlefield, he and many soldiers were grateful and held this man of science in high esteem.

However, that same esteemed person did not hesitate to use them for the benefit of himself and other intellectuals as well as a government willing to sacrifice its people. Because of his greedy desires, they condemned not only him, but also thousands of soldiers to the judgment of King Minos to finally be sent to the depths of the underworld for their sins.

They had all performed significant feats for their homeland and strove to live righteously not only as soldiers, but as good people. They were fathers, brothers, daughters and sons who walked with the pride of being the guardians of Madarhem, carrying upon them the respect of their families and the civilian population.

They all held the belief that whether on their deathbeds or falling on the battlefield, they would eventually be rewarded by the Gods to go to the heavens of their respective families in Elysium; where the souls of those who have the same last name as them rest.

However, due to their own rule, they were doomed to eternal suffering...and as unfair as it may be, compared to the 'No Surnames', they would deserve it simply because they assisted in such a crime, whether they knew it or not.

Tears came out of Armán's eyes as he thought about it, stunning Lucelle and the others at how sudden it was to see this terrifying Orkus crying in sadness.

Ha… how selfish I am… What worries me most right now is if they would allow us to go to heaven…

Did I ever stop to think about what those people went through when we took them to prison despite the fact that many insisted on their innocence ? Not to mention that they became victims of an experiment….because of us….Now they are no longer in this world…

Maybe we weren't the executioners... ¡But we were his damn jailers!

Armán's heart was filled with guilt, regret and self-hatred. Then, the emotion called resentment filled his entire mind, with an objective in front of him to receive the weight of his anger.

Thoughts full of violence overwhelmed Armán's mind as he looked like a crazed beast at the old dwarf he once respected.

“I'm going to kill you!” He roared wildly, surprising everyone as he seemed ready to attack.

Just when he was about to carry out his murderous desires, Armán faintly heard the sound of hurried footsteps and then suddenly felt that a warm body wrapped around his with two delicate and small hands hugging him.

Huh?

Dazed, Armán lowered his head, watching a blonde beauty surrounding his body with her thin arms.

It was Lucelle, who for some reason was hugging him. The scene was like a bucket of cold water that cooled her head. He was totally surprised by his behavior, since he did not expect to be suddenly hugged by the Alchemist.

“Lucelle!?” Arisella screamed in surprise with her left hand almost covering her mouth, and Tasha's eyes widened at the unexpected behavior of this 'big sister' of hers. Lucelle, for her part, ignored them.

Suddenly, the thought came to Armán that he had never been hugged by any woman other than his mother, grandmother or aunt, and Lucelle was quite beautiful too...

And immediately becoming aware of it, Armán finally registered the soft sensation of her large breasts pressing against his chest. 

The fact that they had such intimate contact immediately filled him with shame; removing any murderous thoughts he held in his head.

“Eh….ah….T-this….”

Armán's gray face turned red as he stuttered; His stunned expression along with his teary eyes and red cheeks combined looked absolutely ridiculous. However, no one laughed; everyone was completely dumbfounded by the scene.

Even John Wick broke his stone face as he showed a speechless expression.

Why did this go from a possible murder to a romantic comedy scene!?

Everyone's thoughts could be described roughly like this, as everyone looked at them with eyes reminiscent of people watching an entertaining drama. Arisella even regretted not having 3D glasses and popcorn to watch the scene comfortably while she wondered uncertainly.

Will Lucelle put a green hat on Merion?

Coincidentally, Amelia was thinking the same as her lady while watching the drama.

Merion, who was quietly arranging his library in the Taylan village, suddenly sneezed and dropped some books; The poor guy who rushed to pick them up while he complained about the dust had no idea that his wife was hugging another man...

“Mr. Armán…I don't understand exactly why they are so angry, since I don't know the whole story. However, I strongly request that you take control of her emotions, so that she does not do something that she will regret later” Lucelle spoke to him in a clear and soft voice, with rational eyes as she looked up.

There wasn't any particularly sweet tone or anything like that despite hugging him. Rather, she sounded like an adult trying to calm a child, which was a funny image. However, there was something in her attitude that calmed the Orkus' embarrassment a little.

“I….T-there is no way I would regret killing that bastard! “He and our superiors turned me and my men into horrible criminals with their lies and machinations, making us help them commit an unforgivable act against hundreds of people! He can only pay for it with death!”

After a while, Armán declared while looking away. However, just as he weakly let out an “Ah….” When he felt his unnecessarily intimate contact with Lucelle disappear, a pair of soft white hands grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at the woman in front of him.

He had the strength to avoid it, but he was so confused by the situation that he let himself be guided by it.

Lucelle had serious eyes as she brought him to focus his full attention on her, and she spoke to the Orkus with a firm tone that sounded like a reprimand. “If this person committed a serious crime that ruined the lives of many people, it is not for us to decide.nWhat is their true final destiny, since we are only mortals. He will pay for his sins under the judgment of the Goddess Lusticia."

Lucelle paused for a moment as she turned to look at Priscilla, who felt somewhat uncomfortable being the object of her observation, before smiling and looking back at Armán.

“We simply must prevent him from escaping until then…. Furthermore, if this guy is really a Wizard like you said, we should take advantage of him and his powers while we are stuck in this life and death situation. The best thing would be to make him believe that he wasn't discovered until it's too late... Don't you believe it? “She told him with a playful tone, making Armán blink in bewilderment before chuckling.

“Yes…Lady Asher is right. It would be too bad if I gave in to my anger and killed a good slave…I mean, combat support against the monsters…Everything else will be a worry for when we get out of here. And by then….he will not be able to escape justice!”

"That's true. There's no reason to get rid of a good slave-I mean, combat support right now. He will pay justice later” Lucelle also laughed with him, while she looked at the Terario with an intriguing smile.

Arisella and the others looked at each other uncomfortably at this scene. Just like that, the elderly researcher's fate was sealed as the group's combat slave...and he won't even know it until he faces charges.

However…..honestly, no one felt sorry for him.