Alex walked calmly towards the bandit leader, who lay on the ground, clutching the bleeding stump where his hand used to be. His face was pale and his voice trembled as he pleaded for help.
"Please... don't let me die here..." he murmured, his words broken by pain.
Alex looked at him with a cold, serious gaze. Behind him, EMI held the wounded Serena, who was slowly beginning to wake up. Upon opening her eyes and seeing EMI carrying her in her arms, a strange thought crossed her mind: she imagined EMI in a groom's suit, while she herself wore a white wedding dress. Unable to stop it, her face flushed as she replied weakly:
"Yes... I'm okay."
EMI smiled softly at her. "That's a relief."
The woman quickly averted her gaze, confused by her own feelings, and it was then that the bandit leader's shouts captured her attention. Seeing Alex standing in front of him, she approached with EMI, who gently helped her down.
"Aria," Alex said firmly, turning to the girl, "close your eyes."
Aria, understanding the tone of his voice, obeyed without question and hid behind EMI, who, realizing what Alex intended to do, covered Aria's ears to protect her from what was about to happen.
Alex leaned over the leader, staring at him intently. "You know? It's ironic. You took advantage of the vulnerability of so many women, but now that you're the vulnerable one, you beg for help."
The leader tried to stammer a response, but Alex gave him no opportunity.
"Maybe I don't have magic. But now that we're on equal footing..." Alex clenched his fists tightly, "...this is all I need."
And with that, Alex began to beat the leader. Each blow carried a mixture of pent-up rage and justice for what the man had done. He threw him to the floor, then against the wall, not stopping as the leader's screams echoed through the room.
Finally, Alex stopped and took a deep breath before turning to the woman.
"Your magic can disintegrate anything you touch, right?"
The woman nodded slowly, knowing exactly what Alex was suggesting.
"I know this is hard for you, but perhaps letting him live with this memory is crueler than letting him die."
The woman clenched her teeth and responded bitterly:
"I hate men... especially touching them. But if it means he'll suffer for what he did to all of us, then I'll do it."
With determination, the woman approached the leader, who now groaned in fear. Without hesitation, she placed her hand on him and disintegrated a crucial part of his anatomy. The man's scream of agony echoed throughout the hideout as the woman stepped back, her face impassive.
After the confrontation, the group gathered outside the base. The woman looked at them uncertainly.
"Now that it's all over, are you going to arrest me and hand me over?"
EMI crossed her arms, pondering the answer. But before she could speak, Alex gently took the woman's arm.
"You can go. You didn't hurt innocent people, so you have nothing to worry about."
The woman looked at him incredulously. "Why are you doing this? There's a large bounty on me."
Alex pulled out a flyer he had taken from the guild's bounty board, showing an image of the leader. "Because the bounty on this guy is ten times larger. But before you leave, stay a little longer. I found something during the fight."
A few hours later, the jailer arrived with a group of guards—and with Duke Alaric, Aria's father. They were ready to take the woman into custody, but EMI stopped them and explained that they had captured the bandit gang and its leader.
The jailer thanked them and offered the reward, but EMI responded:
"We don't want the reward. We just want you to stop pursuing her and drop the charges against her."
Duke Alaric shook his head. "That's not possible."
Seeing the situation, Alex played his final card. He turned to Aria with a smile and said:
"Aria, could you convince your father? I'll give you a kiss if you manage it."
Aria's eyes shone with determination. She looked at her father with puppy-dog eyes, tilting the scales in her favor. The duke sighed and finally looked at Alex.
"Do you trust her?"
"Yes. And besides," Alex pointed to a desk full of documents, "we found evidence linking the leader to other crimes."
The jailer, surprised, examined the documents. After a brief discussion, both the Duke and the jailer agreed.
"If the documents are authentic, the woman will be released. Thank you for your work."
With the leader and his gang arrested, the group could finally return home—knowing they had done the right thing.
Back in the shadows of the cell, the mutilated leader whispered a promise between bloody teeth:
"The all-seeing eye... will know of this... He will come for you..."