Chapter 147: Head In A Stake
"Ugh..."
Because Cillian was still unable to rest enough to genuinely sleep, he started leaving the makeshift camp once he realized he could at least walk around instead of lying in bed and staring at the wall.
If he had to spend any more time staring at the ceiling, especially when he still needed several hours before he could sleep soundly, he might have gone crazy by then.
Of course, before that, he visited his mother and sister in their rooms and found them resting quite well.
His father didn’t recognize him at first because his face still looked like Ivana’s, as there was still a little over twelve hours before he could revert his face back to normal. However, Leo had to leave right away after Lloyd called him over with a hardened expression.
That’s why he didn’t get to explain that he was Cillian and not just a stranger who went inside his family’s room.
After that, he also left while thinking that everything related to important matters would come later.
For now, he wanted to refresh his mind and take in his surroundings. To breathe some fresh air—or not.
The disastrous attack on the Viola Family was laid bare for everyone to see. Just because Cillian’s main focus was on Hensel Hospital, the Ancient Ruin, and the Hidden One’s rampage didn’t mean that the destruction was limited to those places.
The Viola territory was devastated.
Roofs from houses were flung here and there. Limbs peeked through the piles of rubble, the corpses belonging to those who had been unable to survive the onslaught unleashed by the Shepherds.
Other people had been sent all around the area, moving through the destruction and searching for those who needed to be rescued.
This kind of aftermath had already been seen once at the Academy. However, only a few hundred people had managed to live to tell the tale.
But that could no longer be said this time, now that many more people had survived and witnessed the danger of the Shepherds themselves.
If people had still been doubtful about this threat even after a Sorcery Academy had fallen, then a half-destroyed city should have been enough to put everyone’s focus on this group.
’A lot of things will be happening from now on. I see, then destroying the Shepherds should be smoother now. After all, there’s a lot of help I can use.’
However, as he roamed around, Cillian couldn’t help but stop as he remembered the conversation he had with Arthur and his departing words.
’If I take Arthur’s words seriously and not just as something he said because he wanted me to overthink, could there be a chance that the Xesie Family isn’t the only one working with them?’
This thought somehow made Cillian tremble ever so slightly.
He couldn’t deny that this type of trope in the webnovels he had read was neither common nor rare.
The huge conspiracies behind the plans of these families, who worked from the shadows while ordinary people bore the brunt of their actions, were something he had read before.
The powerful only grew more powerful, while those who lacked such strength could do nothing but accept the outcome.
Just because that’s how these families worked didn’t mean Cillian was willing to be played into their hands.
There’s no way Cillian would allow himself to be controlled now when he was having so much fun.
However, there was a hole in this deduction, and it could simply be explained by the fact that this world wasn’t completely under the influence of the Shepherds.
Aiden’s real body might not have been roaming around this world before they met. Aster should’ve already been caught, and his Sword of Chaos would’ve been stolen right away.
At the very least, half of the authorities in this world hadn’t been that heavily influenced by the Shepherds, who preferred working from the shadows.
There might have been others who were already fighting this group back then if people had caught a sniff of these crazy people.
So, for now, Cillian couldn’t conclude who was working with whom, aside from the Xesie Family, who were on the verge of being put into that category but weren’t quite there yet. Still, there were already too many clues pointing in that direction.
After all, even if he didn’t consider what Arthur had told him, the way his squad had died at the Runic Gate that appeared in their area already said a lot.
There had already been a lot of corpses inside the gate before they entered. And Arthur would have already investigated the matter, probably finding some clues because of his desire to uncover the true reason why they had been given the wrong information.
Suddenly, as Cillian roamed around, his gaze stopped at the spot where a huge manor should have stood, alongside a gate where soldiers were supposed to be stationed.
Nothing about it was the same as before.
This particular area had a lot of people coming in and out, as if they didn’t mind the people living in this place.
’What the fuck?’
This was the Viola Family’s main residence.
This was also the same place where several people who had survived the Academy had stayed for a while.
And it was completely wrecked.
However, as far as Cillian remembered, this place hadn’t really been affected by the Hidden One’s rampage. In fact, it was also very far from the Ancient Ruin and Hensel Hospital.
This area was supposed to be the least-damaged part of the city after the Shepherds’ attack, which was why it was used as a safe spot to house the victims and set up makeshift camps for everyone to rest.
Yet this residence in particular had been completely destroyed, as if someone had harbored a deep hatred for the Viola Family and this destruction was the result of their vengeance for what they had done.
Cillian slowly walked inside, careful not to step on any splinters that might hurt his feet and avoiding the broken debris that might suddenly fall.
’Something had gone very wrong with this family...’
Eventually, Cillian’s suspicions were confirmed when he spotted several people looking toward one particular spot, where a head had been staked onto a spear, its eyes devoid of life after receiving the greatest shock of its life.
There were also many other heads placed on stakes beside it, but they were largely ignored because the person in the middle was the most important.
Leo, his father, and Lloyd, his brother, were also there watching in shock.
’That’s...!’
There was only one time when Cillian had been this close to this person, and it was back at the Academy when they were being rescued.
However, this time, Cillian was seeing him in a completely different situation.
This person, whom Cillian had thought to be strong and who had a Death Flag hovering right above his head when they first met, had died.
’Is that the Lord... Khalish Viola?’
Cillian paused, finding it ridiculous.
’Is this someone trying to instill terror in the people, pretending to be the head of Khalish? But if that’s the case, they’ll surely find the culprit who did this.’
Yet, looking at the faces of the people nearby, Cillian realized that this wasn’t a fake, but the real Lord who had died in the attack alongside the thousands of other victims of the Shepherds.
’What in the fucking world? Why would they kill the Lord? Is it another objective they have stored in mind? How long have they been planning this just to make this attack this successful?’
Arthur’s case. The Hidden One’s case. The attack on the Lord.
"Father!"
However, if there was a silver lining for the Viola Family’s future, it was that the last surviving member of the family was still alive.
"No... Father!"
Fergus Viola continued screaming as the people around him restrained him, looking at the scene with distaste.
At the end of the stake, Khalish Viola had died.