Chapter 31: Death Sentences

[She whispered: "Elder Jerka."]

[“Elder Jerka”, you repeated.]

[Congratulations! You learned the truth! You have found the culprit of the Zombification skill.]

[Reward: +Full Recovery] [You may claim the reward whenever you like. It will be stored in the reward section.]

[You looked at the system screen blankly as your mind wandered around, hardly comprehending... 'Betrayal!?' Your eyes widened in anger as you learned the truth about how Elder Jerka, an Ogre, had betrayed and caused the demise of the Ogre clan!]

[But more importantly, two questions lingered in your mind, 'How?' and 'Why?']

['How did she learn about his identity?' and 'Why did he betray his own brethren?']

[You couldn't help but think about it. However, more than the confusion and curiosity to find the answer, your anger was much more revealing. The old ogre in front of you had weak knees. Your killing intent made her fall to the ground and lower her gaze.]

[You knew that she wasn't lying; the system's notification was the proof! However, you still lowered your gaze and asked in a dominant voice, "Are you absolutely sure? Do you know the crime of framing someone without any proof?"]

["I-", her lips trembled. She wanted to answer, perhaps make up an excuse, but you didn't let her. You made yourself even more dominating, "You are framing an Elder. The consequences won't be good. So I'll ask again, do you have any proof!?"]

[She nodded before replying, "I saw it with my own eyes. Elder Jerka used zombification on an injured ogre and a corpse. I rushed outside immediately, but he caught a glimpse of me. I... no, wait, you know about zombies too, could it be!?" You saw her entire body tremble as she took a few steps back.]

[She misunderstood that you and Elder Jerka were allies and were conducting the experiment or had joined hands to betray the ogres. This thought only came now, making her heart escalate and her eyeballs tremble.]

[She wanted to run as far as possible and inform someone trustworthy. Unfortunately, she was someone deemed crazy. No one would listen to her, even she knew that. She had no choice but to scream in front of the Ogre King's camp. To do that, she had to first outrun Chilly, which she couldn't do due to her old bones. Her only choice now was to attract the attention of the ogres that were surely not too far! She took in a deep breath, ready to scream, but you intervened.]

[You chuckled as you said, "I'm not a part of this zombification scheme. I'm totally unrelated to Elder Jerka. And granny, if you had the suspicion, you shouldn't have said it out louder... what if I kill you here?" Your eyes glowed in red momentarily as you released a tiny amount of murderous intent. This killing intent was enough to paralyze her momentarily.]

[She dragged herself behind in fear. The poor lady, who was close to death due to old age, finally met it in person. But, of course, you suppressed the killing intent instantly.]

[Why did you scare her? You knew that she wasn't lying, so what was the point in doing that?]

[You looked at the system momentarily who asked you the question. You didn't change the expression on your face and replied to the system, "I simply wanted the granny to be cautious."]

[You made sure that the old female ogre heard this. Gulping several chunks of saliva, she stood up as her misunderstanding cleared a little but you took another turn.]

["I respect Elder Jerka a lot. He is someone who painstakingly has kept the elders in a group! He is the smartest, wisest, and the most worthy of the title of Grand elder! Also, he is far better than Elder Jir Aaya! So, just because you are siding with Elder Jir Aaya, doesn't mean you can talk whatever you feel about Elder Jerka. Your words are an insult to him! I hope you don't spout bullshit in front of others," your words were surprising.]

["B-but-", the granny was confused as well, but somewhat understood that you didn’t get to know her intentions. She wanted to make you understand. However, You didn't interact with her anymore. You simply walked past her before she could say anything else after all, the real reason why you scared her was because Elder Jerka was watching you.]

[When you pulled the granny to the side, you noticed that along with the ogres, Elder Jerka also followed secretly. As you sent others away, Elder Jerka too pretended to go but stood close by behind a boulder and a small bush to listen to your talks.]

[He was too far to hear you, so he started peeking at you. As you conversed with the lady, you peeked a glance and noticed him. You behaved rashly and made your disbelief known in order to make sure Elder Jerka doesn't take any big actions against you. Also, by praising him, you created a solid image in his eyes.]

[Elder Jerka smirked as he heard all the praises devoted to him.]

[As you passed close to the bush, you once again caught a glimpse of Elder Jerka who stood there silently.]

[When both of your gazes met, you pretended to be surprised.]

["E-elder Jerka!? You? Here...?", you moved your eyes here and there and glanced back at the granny as you raised your voice.]

["T-that... she-", before you could say further, Elder Jerka intervened and with a scoffing yet calm voice said, "Don't even try to defend her, Warrior Chilly. She needs to be imprisoned this moment for slandering me. Guards!"]

[Two ogre guards who stood beside Elder Jerka, guarding him always, came running and captured the old female ogre. The granny tried to escape, but her attempts were stopped when one of the guards, named Tyrn, grabbed her by her long hair and pulled her. "Ack!", she flinched in pain as she fell to the ground. Then the second ogre, named Bjorn, stomped her abdomen, making her cough.]

["Stop resisting, you bitch! Putui!", he spat on her before punching her once more in the face. She stopped resisting and let them drag her away as tears drenched her face with mud sticking tightly.]

[While being dragged, as she passed beside you, she stumbled upon your fearsome visage. Your mouth was shut, and your body was straight. Your expression was monotonous, and your eyes were covered by shadows, yet, amidst the dark, your pupils glowed in red. Your gaze was cold, one that filled with killing intent.]

[The granny turned her head away after biting her lips, regretting the fact that she revealed it to you. She accepted her doom. But you... you didn't think that way. You didn't particularly look down on the old feeble ogre. Rather, you stared right at the two ogres whom you saw abusing the old granny.]

[Tyrn] [Level 23]

[Bjorn] [Level 26]

[Your gaze became intense as time passed.]

[Chilly] [Level 34]

[Their death sentences... had already been given out.]

A/N: Do take a look at character arts of Bozo, Lila and Chilly in the novel. Thank you for the comments, power stones and golden tickets.

Just a simple comment like ‘TFTC’/‘Thank you for the chapter’/’Thanks’ will also help. It keeps me motivated! Do comment!