Pax was no longer alive.
The headless body fell to the ground.
Pax was a witch servant, an upgraded version of the animal familiar. In his veins flowed the blood of magic and chaos.
This magic could strengthen his body. Along with that, Pax may have some unique abilities that the witch might have granted to him.
But he wasn't able to show any of his strength at all.
Because of his arrogance, Pax's life had ended in a flash.
Silence filled the mining camp. The only sound that existed was the crackling and popping of the blue flame.
A miner fell on his butt. His shaky hand pointed at the corpse and his eyes opened wide.
Following him were many other miners. They were shocked and in disbelief.
It was then that Siderius knew he had won.
He strutted toward the corpse of the witch servant.
A miner was in his path. He was a tall man with two big arms that tried to attack Siderius previously. However, he already lost that guts.
The man dropped his pickaxe and quickly crawled backward. His movement was so pathetic that he didn't look any different than a cowardly dog.
The man didn't stop and kept dragging himself backward, scraping his back on the dirt.
"Please! Please don't kill me!"
Siderius didn't mind the man. He didn't even give him a look. The lone hunter kept moving forward in the crowd of miners.
The miners moved away, leaving a clear path for Siderius. There were many but none dared to even block his way.
Some gulped involuntarily. A few sweat like rain. A young miner trembled like a tree in the wind.
Siderius was already terrifying with his sword skill and sigils. The miners had experienced that first hand.
But those abilities were in the realm of their acceptance. They still thought that with enough people, enough time and enough blood, they would be able to kill him.
The projectile was different. It was otherworldly gruesome. The witch servant died a violent death. How could they dare to try and follow his footsteps?
Siderius approached the corpse but kept a fair distance from it. Pax was a servant of the witch. He couldn't be too sure if Pax wouldn't return as an undead.
He grabbed a handful of salt from his pouch and was ready to exorcise the corpse, making sure no amount of magic nor supernatural element could bring him back.
Suddenly, a black raven flew down from up high and landed on the burning corpse. The blue flame was still present even to that moment. But that raven wasn't actually a living being so it paid the flame no mind.
"I must give it to you, Snow. You are always able to surprise me. Your power grew much more than my anticipation.
And you are even in tune with fire! The most powerful magic of all!"
The raven spoke. The voice of Lyara came out of its mouth.
"Hmmm. A puppet." Siderius recognized the magic Lyara was using.
Familiar could share senses with its owner. But a witch could never speak through their familiar. That action needed to take over the familiar's mind and body.
With the power of a low level witch, that act would surely destroy the familiar's mind in the process.
But a puppet was different. It was similar to a familiar but better. It required no food nor sleep, only magic to maintain. The witch could also take over the body of the puppet whenever they wanted.
The only downside was that the puppet was difficult and costly to make. Its power couldn't grow over time as well. Normal familiars could fuse with their owner's magic and grow stronger with them.
The raven opened its mouth and tried to speak again. Siderius didn't want to listen to any speech.
He suddenly spun the sling and sent an explosive ammo toward the raven.
The fire consumed it and the raven turned back into its original form. A quilt with a black feather on top. The quilt scattered into pieces and landed on the burning corpse.
The blue flame consumed it entirely.
The voice of Lyara echoed throughout the area.
"You are no fun!"
Siderius turned his head toward the miners. Everyone shrunk involuntarily.
Ashe ran out of her hiding place.
"Master! You've won!"
Siderius nodded. He had won. But no smile nor pride present on his face. Only a cold facade.
This was wasteless death and violence. He had killed too many people to even care about the idea of it.
Nadia lowered Alex to a bench then walked toward Siderius.
Alex grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?!"
"What do you think? Fixing the mess you have made.
He is capable of wiping us all out."
"But what if he kills you?!"
"That is the consequence I'm willing to take. After all, I am the boss."
Alex released his shaky hand. He finally understood. It was him who was the idiot. Nadia was the finest leader this god-forsaking mining camp could have.
She was much wiser and honorable than him.
"You're right… You are the boss."
Ashe watched the blue flame that was still burning. She curiously asked.
"Will it ever stop, Master?"
"Of course it will. Once the Phosphorus burns off, the flame will disappear."
"Oh!" Ashe carefully registered the name Phosphorus in her mind. It must be some kind of magical element like Aether.
Siderius noticed Nadia. She had changed and her attitude toward him had changed.
They were no longer equal.
Nadia dropped down on her knees. She didn't say anything at all and waited for Siderius to allow her to stand.
"There is no need for such formality, Nadia. Stand up."
"Thank you, high lord!"
Even though Siderius acted friendly, Nadia didn't drop the etiquettes. She kept her head low even when standing up.
"Forgive us for our sins, high lord! These… commoners are blind to your lordship.
I beg you, high lord! Please spare them!
In exchange, I will give you my own life!"
"Nadia, no!"
"Boss!"
"Kill me instead!"
The miners broke into chaos. The people who stood in fear watching her die, now had no hesitation in dying for her. They had also changed.
"Shut up! I'm trying to save all of you! If you ever consider me as your leader. Shut. The. Fuck. Up!"
Nadia shouted with all her being. Her throat was dry and hurt.
Siderius watched everything with amusement.
"Fascinating. Half of them betrayed you. All of them watched as you were getting killed. And you still wanted to save them?"
Nadia's hands trembled. She was afraid. But she did not let fear control her.
"Aye. I want to save them. It is my responsibility." Nadia said with her shaking tone.
"You don't need to convince me of anything, Nadia."
Siderius sheathed his sword. It was broken in two and was only half of a sword.
"What they did, they had paid for it with their lives."
Siderius looked at the open field. The corpses of the miners he had killed were still laying bare.
"I will take no grudge toward them or this place. You can count on that."
Nadia let out a relieved breath. Siderius was much more forgivable than she thought. She was ready to offer her head right then and there to save these people and to quench his rage. But it wasn't necessary.
"You are a good leader, Nadia. A woman with a good heart. But you will need much more than a good heart to lead." Then Siderius looked at the surrounding miners. "They see who you truly are, Nadia. And you have created something much more powerful than magic.
You have created a faithful legion of your own."
Siderius gestured to Ashe. The apprentice took out a second bottle of orange liquid from her pocket.
The vengeful hunter had predicted that there would be trouble. It would've been idiotic if he didn't have a spare cure.
"Is that…" Nadia's lips quivered.
"As I said, I'm a man of my word. And a deal is a deal. This is your cure."