The two of us stood atop a cliff and glanced down at a massive estate below us.
Tens of mansions merged into one, and a garden that was as big as a small village.
"So this is the Loreta estate."
I nodded.
"It's pretty big, isn't it?"
"Mmm... It's definitely not small. Though, are you sure that starting off with Duchess Loreta is a good idea? She seems like one of the more important people on that list."
"She's one of the worst, yes. Though, the faster we strike the ones at the top, the less time they'll have to reinforce their defenses."
I pointed at the estate.
"Duchess Loreta was responsible for sending resources to the demons in this part of the continent. Because of her immeasurable wealth, she was basically like the demons' main sponsor. They protected her with their lives."
And so, she, just like a couple hundred more nobles, was among the biggest thorns in humanity's side.
"I see... Then I'm guessing we're not holding back this time either?"
"We're not."
As I glanced at the giant estate, I had already made up my mind.
Every trace of these nobles.
Whether it was their estates or territories... even the servants.
The servants who handled the messages with the demons, and those who even now dealt in shady deals.
They were just as guilty as Duchess Loreta.
"Should we take turns?"
"Turns? What do you mean?"
Clementine smiled.
"I mean, you kill one corrupt noble, and I kill another. I know it's silly, but it's best we conserve our strength."
Sure...
I honestly didn't mind.
"I'll start first then."
She immediately backed off a few steps.
As for me, I walked closer to the edge of the cliff and then stared at the sky.
In an instant, dark clouds appeared out of thin air.
At first, the clouds were pretty small.
But within just a few seconds, they grew and covered the entire sky as far as the eye could see.
It was flashy.
And yet, the amount of energy I could channel by doing this was insane.
But in the end, I didn't want anything fancy.
Thunder crackled in the dark clouds, and soon enough, loud booms resounded in the sky.
The servants from the estate stepped out.
I even saw a couple dozen soldiers.
The soldiers were surprisingly powerful, as I could tell five of them were at least at Grade 20.
They were one of the top mercenaries plain gold could buy.
But sadly for them, they chose the wrong client.
CRACKLE!
BOOOOOM!
It felt like I could channel a lot more of my energy into the dark clouds, but any more, and I might wipe out a neighboring city.
So I stopped.
And with a smile, I snapped my fingers.
All I saw was a flash of lightning.
Not a single pillar of lightning.
But thousands upon thousands of flashes of lightning.
And right as I exhaled...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The lightning tore through every building in sight, reducing the estate into nothing more than a pile of rubble in the blink of an eye.
The servants weren't spared either, as they turned to dust, and the soldiers who thought they could block the lightning were met with a reality check as the lightning pierced straight through their bodies and disintegrated them.
BOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOM!
Another bout of lightning.
BOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOM!
BOOOOOOOOOM!
And then another...
By the time the dark clouds faded and cast a golden glow onto the ground, it was all over.
Total destruction.
There were craters tens of meters in size spread throughout the whole territory.
Carriages were destroyed, the estate was gone, and every servant, soldier, and whoever else was down there was dead.
But of course, I spared the best for last.
In the far corner of the estate was an untouched flower garden.
Inside it stood a blonde woman with a beautiful dress covered in all sorts of jewelry.
Duchess Loreta.
"Wow..."
Clementine approached.
"You can really cause some destruction, huh? Did you use Telekinesis at all?"
"Nope. That would've been a bit overkill."
She let out a chuckle and then followed my lead as I jumped down the cliff and landed in the flower garden.
The flowers reminded me of the ones I had back in Aldraazan.
They were beautiful.
Though I wasn't able to admire them for long, as Loreta ran out of cover and glared at me.
"Y-You! Were you the one who did this!?"
I saw a gem fall out of her palm.
It was honestly sad.
She had a Gift that allowed her to create gemstones as long as she ate enough food.
But instead of using that to get rich, she turned to shady methods that involved human trafficking and above all else, slavery.
She was a shit woman through and through.
"Duchess Loreta, it is a pleasure to formally meet you."
I bowed mockingly.
"However, our circumstances for this particular visit include your death."
She flinched and turned around to flee.
Before Clementine could react, I simply froze her with Telekinesis and then walked over to her.
Carrying the list with all 25 names, I brought it to Loreta and placed it into her hands.
Then I pulled out a quill, dipped it in ink, and placed it into her remaining hand.
"Cross off your name, Loreta."
"Guhh... Is this some sadistic fantasy of yours!? Just kill me!"
Was it sadistic?
Probably.
Though, I hated this bitch with all my heart.
In every route where she lives, two heroines die.
Because of her, I wasted so much time and effort.
And now that the game had become reality, I didn't want to see her ever again.
So I forced her hand with Telekinesis and made her cross off her own name.
Then, without hesitation, I slashed my hand vertically.
CRACKLE!
A thin blue line appeared on her neck.
"W-What just—"
Before she could even finish her words, her head fell clean off.
And just like that, Duchess Loreta, one of the people I had sworn to kill, was dead.
Though the way I did it was pretty gruesome.
As I turned around, I met Clementine's gaze.
Yet she was completely unfazed by what I had just done.
If anything, she wasn't even staring at Loreta, and instead, she was focused on my eyes.
Jeez...
I wonder if buying a ring for her birthday would be too overkill?
No... it might be a bit too early to propose.
Something subtle... subtle...
I'll figure it out hopefully.
"It's my turn now, right?" she asked.
"Yep. Take your pick."
"Hmm... Can I really pick anyone?"
Uhh...
"Yeah?"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Then I pick the sixth imperial prince of the Ravenheart Empire."
"..."
Damn.