Chapter 97: Chapter 97 - A Man's Grief
"BOOOOM!"
That tiny flicker of fire, coming into immediate contact with the gas, triggered an explosion that engulfed the entire area surrounding the assassination team and going far beyond.
The explosion was so immense that it could be seen from five miles away, and even at that distance, it was remarkably clear.
Looking even further, one could observe a dome of light resembling a grand display of fireworks.
After a long while, the explosion finally subsided, revealing the devastated scene.
The once damp area was no longer damp; it was now engulfed in flames and marked by melted regions.
Other than Alexforge Nile, nobody else managed to use any defensive spells to shield themselves. Even so, Nile\'s body was riddled with numerous cuts and third-degree burns.
When he first regained consciousness, the initial sight that greeted him was utter chaos.
It was like a scene from a nightmare: some of his comrades lay dead with burn marks covering their bodies, and most didn\'t even have bodies anymore—only chunks of flesh were scattered around due to the explosion.
Nile couldn\'t fathom what he was seeing.
There lay his friends, his comrades, his brothers, and sisters.
There lay the one family he could truly trust, the one he could always rely on to have his back.
The ones who never gave up on him, even when he gave up on himself.
The people who would always have his back, no matter what situation he found himself in. But now, as he looked at them, he saw that not a single one had survived the explosion.
He couldn\'t accept that not even one of them had survived.
He looked at Tanner, whose wife was about to give birth to their son. Tanner\'s face was now so burned that it was unrecognizable.
He looked at Alica, who had a three-year-old daughter. Alica\'s husband had died in service to their kingdom... and now her mother had too.
He finally looked at Netly, his best man, his right hand, the one who would always pat his back whenever they faced a setback.
Netly\'s parents were disabled, and their only reason for smiling was their son, who now didn\'t even have a body left to show them or to bury.
Nile surveyed each of his fallen comrades, searching for those whose bodies were blown into so many pieces that they were no longer recognizable as human but merely chunks of meat.
He laughed maniacally as he observed their decomposed state, but then the realization struck him like a wall as he couldn\'t stop the tears from flowing as he looked at what was once his big family, now reduced to nothing.
He wanted to cry out loud, to scream at the top of his lungs and curse the gods for their cruelty. He wanted to call out their names, hoping they might respond to his desperate cries, but nothing came out.
He couldn\'t speak nor scream, and when he did, it only came out as a horrifying wail that could burst the eardrums of anyone who heard it.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
"AHHHHH HHHHHAAAAA!"
Nile cried like never before, questioning the meaning of life and death. As he contemplated his worth, Nile\'s heard a heavy voice.
"Who the f*ck is crying like a f*cking baby! Man, it feels like my ears will burst from this horrifying wail."
Nile stopped his wailing and watched from the ashes of his slain comrades as a figure emerged from the flames and smoke.
The figure was taller than Nile, dressed like a street thug with a questionable style of clothing, walking and talking with a huge Cuban cigar in his mouth, which he was smoking in this smoke-filled area.
Nile saw the man approaching him and stopping sixteen meters away. The guy had the audacity to step on his best friend\'s body, placing one leg over him and speaking with a casual smile on his face.
"So... You survived, huh. Kudos to you, man. Not everyone survives that blast, and those who do are destined to live the rest of their lives in great pain," Delmar said with a nod that conveyed how proud he felt of the man in front of him.
Nile\'s couldn\'t recognize the man due to a concussion from the recent blast, so he asked, "Who are you? And... How do you know about this blast\'s effects?"
Delmar widened his eyes behind his colored lens sunglasses before he laughed like a madman.
"Haha hahaha haha!"
Nile\'s couldn\'t understand why the man was laughing in such a situation. It seemed he found the question very amusing. But Nile didn\'t interrupt him, as his instincts told him that the man was very dangerous. So he remained silent because it was not the best time for him to fight in his current state.
Delmar, still laughing, addressed the pitiful man in front of him, "Wow! You don\'t even recognize me anymore. Who would have thought that the explosion would have such an effect on people. Hahaha."
Nile\'s, seeing him laugh in such a dire situation, screamed at him for answers.
"What the f*ck is so funny to you, huh? Don\'t you see so many people lying dead here? Is this sh*t funny to you? Answer me!!!"
Delmar stopped laughing as he heard the man\'s anger, but he couldn\'t stop the maniacal smile from returning to his face as he answered.
"Oh!... I\'m the one responsible for this horrifying state you got yourselves in.
Looking at your face, I almost feel pity for doing this to you guys... almost, but not actually. Hehe."
Nile\'s face morphed into one of immense shock upon hearing the man\'s answer. He had thought that the perpetrator took advantage of the situation and left long ago.
But the man hadn\'t left. No, he was standing over his brother\'s body, laughing in his face, and mocking him like no one ever had.
Nile was so stunned that he didn\'t know what to do until he heard what the man said next.
"It\'s such a beautiful thing, isn\'t it? The simplicity of a man\'s life. In one moment he was running and flying through the air like no man could, and in the next moment he is lying in a pool of his own flesh, unrecognizable even to his own mother."
Nile\'s finally responded, looking at the monster before him with bloodshot eyes.
"How dare you!"
Delmar snapped out of his distant self and looked into Nile\'s eyes before smiling cruelly.
"Ah! Finally got the reaction I wanted from you. Man! It took you a long time to have that expression."
Nile screamed as he heard that.
"Reactions? Expressions?... Are you f*cking kidding me with me? How can you look at so many innocent bodies lying here with such a nonchalant face? Do you know how many families you have destroyed today?"
Delmar, hearing him, adopted a deadpan expression as he replied, "Innocents? Families? You motherf*cking bast*rds shouldn\'t even have those words in your dictionaries."