Chapter 112: Promise
"And now... is that everything you know?"
Rios asked with the same gentle smile. Not a single trace of emotion had changed on his face.
"I... once... heard... them... say... they wanted... to... get rid of... you... and... the Queen..."
The man struggled to breathe and barely managed to utter those few words before losing consciousness from the overwhelming pain and torment.
He hadn’t wanted to confess this earlier because he knew that if he did, his death would be guaranteed... but now, he had no other choice.
Rios nodded, then turned to look at the other prisoners.
Without saying a single word, without any warning whatsoever, he extended his hand toward them. Dozens of flexible branches shot out from it, each branch piercing into a prisoner’s body before beginning the same cycle of shattered bones, torn veins, agonizing healing, regeneration, and making them experience that unbearable pain all over again!
Several seconds later, Rios withdrew the branches from the traitors’ bodies and looked at them coldly.
"You’ve already experienced my torture, and what you felt was only a few seconds. You’re all sentenced to death anyway, so why not confess everything at once and receive a painless death instead of making me come back every so often to give you a session a hundred times longer than this?"
Rios spoke in a dangerous tone before adding,
"And I promise you... if any of you have families, I won’t lay a finger on them. I’ll personally provide for all of their needs, and I promise they’ll never go to bed hungry."
Hearing those words, the traitors looked at one another.
Some broke down in tears of regret.
Others finally opened their mouths.
"Your Majesty... I know one of the hideouts where they gather."
One of the bound traitors called out to Rios.
"Speak. What do you have?"
Rios turned toward him and nodded.
"Before I tell you... you have to promise me something."
The man met Rios’s gaze firmly, as though he had finally accepted reality.
Seeing this, Rios narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased with the man’s tone.
"And what exactly do you want me to promise?"
"Promise me first, and then I’ll tell you."
The man remained resolute, refusing to back down.
"You expect me to promise something I don’t even know? What if it’s something I can’t possibly do? Do you think I’m an idiot?"
Rios replied sarcastically, his patience nearly exhausted.
"You can do it... and very easily."
The man remained unwavering, staring directly into Rios’s eyes.
Rios looked at him silently for several seconds before narrowing his eyes once more. Finally, he nodded.
"Very well. If it’s within my power and doesn’t go against my principles... then I promise."
Hearing that, the man’s expression finally relaxed, and his heart eased slightly.
"I have... a five-year-old daughter. She has no one in this world except me. I left her with one of my neighbors before I set out on this mission. She’s probably frightened... crying because I’ve disappeared."
"Please... you promised me. Take good care of her and don’t..."
The man broke down in tears of regret and couldn’t continue.
In the end, however, he forced himself to finish.
"...don’t tell her... that her father was a traitor."
Rios stared at him for a while with narrowed eyes before nodding once more.
"I promise."
He then turned toward the rest of the prisoners.
"If any of you have something to say... speak now."
"Your Majesty, I do...!"
"So do I, Your Majesty...!"
"I have something too, Your Majesty...!"
.
.
.
One after another, the prisoners confessed their crimes and spoke their final wishes.
None of them wanted to experience that torture ever again.
All they wished for now was a peaceful, painless death.
After Rios showed them this measure of mercy and promised to care for their families without exposing the truth to them, they finally decided to do one last righteous thing before leaving this world.
The guards brought over a large map of the City of Light, along with numerous sheets of paper and pens, and began recording every piece of information the prisoners confessed.
They marked numerous locations where the traitors gathered and uncovered even more traitors who were still walking free.
"You know what needs to be done."
Rios gestured toward one of the Royal Guard captains.
"Make their deaths as painless as possible."
"By your command, Your Majesty."
The captain bowed before signaling the other guards to escort the prisoners to the execution grounds.
Rios didn’t stay to witness the executions.
He had far more important matters to attend to.
Moments later...
He vanished from the prison.
.....
Under the cover of night, Rios walked through the streets of the City of Light, wearing a long cloak with a large hood that concealed his face.
At that moment, he walked with tightly furrowed brows, his expression filled with pain from the countless thoughts swirling through his mind.
The wave of doubt had returned the moment he left the prison.
It had quieted down for a while, to the point that Rios had believed he had finally gotten rid of it.
But now...
It had proven that it had never truly disappeared.
You’re heartless!
Are you even human?!
You could have shown them mercy!
They were weak! Poor! Forced into it!
.
.
.
One accusation after another echoed through Rios’s mind.
Each carried different emotions, influencing his thoughts and decisions.
He had no idea where those feelings were coming from.
Fortunately...
it wasn’t an unsolvable problem.
Rios still possessed a temporary way to suppress them.
He flooded his body—especially his heart and mind—with vast amounts of Life Energy, then calmly answered those voices one after another.
I don’t even have a heart.
I’m a tree... not a human.
There is no mercy for traitors.
There are no excuses for traitors.
.
.
.
The doubts and accusations gradually subsided under the influence of the Life Energy.
After walking for some time...
Rios finally reached his destination.
He stopped before a shabby little house on the outskirts of the city, one built by refugees after years of relentless wars.
Extending his spiritual sense inside, he confirmed that this was indeed the place he was looking for.
Inside the house, in one of its tiny rooms...
A woman was sleeping on the floor while embracing two young Elf children.
But in one corner of the room...
A little girl who could barely have been five years old sat hugging her knees, quietly crying.
I’ve found you.
Rios smiled, raised his hand, and knocked on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He waited for a while before the door finally opened.
The woman appeared, while the little girl peeked out from behind her, staring at Rios with hope and curiosity.
"Excuse me... who are you?"
The woman asked with a trembling voice.
Rios noticed that she was hiding a knife behind her back.
"Don’t worry. I mean no harm. I came on behalf of the little girl’s father."
Rios reassured her before pointing toward the child behind her.
"And how do I know you’re telling the truth?"
The woman remained unconvinced and didn’t lower her guard.
"Do you know where my daddy is?!"
The little girl cried out hopefully in her innocent voice, but the woman immediately pulled her back.
"There’s no need to worry. I’m telling the truth."
Rios reached into his cloak and revealed a pendant bearing the portrait of a family of three.
It was well known to belong to the girl’s father.
The little girl wore an identical pendant around her neck.
"It’s Daddy’s pendant!"
This time, she cried out excitedly, pushed past the woman, rushed toward Rios, grabbed the pendant from his hand, and looked directly into his eyes.
"Do you know my daddy?"
"Come back here right now!"
The woman shouted in panic, finally pulling the knife from behind her back and pointing it at Rios.
"Don’t worry, little one."
"Your father was a brave man... and now he’s flying with the angels."
Rios gently patted the little girl’s hair with a warm smile before removing his hood and looking toward the woman.
"Thank you for taking care of Asil. But she’s in safe hands now."
"You may visit her whenever you wish."
The woman stared at Rios’s face in astonishment.
Her astonishment quickly turned into shock.
Then finally...
Into pure terror.
That hair.
Those eyes.
That face.
They were unlike those of any other Elf.
There wasn’t a single Elf alive who didn’t recognize that appearance.
Countless portraits and paintings of him had spread throughout the city.
Anyone claiming they had never seen his face even once would be lying.
"Y-Your Majesty... p-please come inside and rest!"
The woman’s body and voice trembled as she stepped aside to invite Rios into the house.
But when she turned back toward him...
Neither Rios nor little Asil was there anymore.
Instead...
A small bag lay quietly on the ground.
The woman cautiously approached it, picked it up, and slowly opened it.
Her eyes instantly widened.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
She broke down in tears, wiping her eyes with her sleeves.
Then she frantically looked around to make sure no one was watching or spying on her.
Finally, she hid the bag filled with gold beneath her clothes, hurried back into the house, and firmly locked the door.
With that money...
She planned to leave that desolate place and move somewhere much safer the very next day.