Chapter 4037: Sick Play (Part 2)

"It’s not the amulet’s fault. It was Meln’s doing. Where are you? The attack is over. You can come out." Lith said.

"For out, we are out." Zekell replied. "Where are you, son? Lutia is no longer a small village. We can’t hope to meet just by looking around the central plaza."

Lith’s inability to process the obvious stunned him, further proving to Solus that he was shaken beyond what he let transpire on his face.

"I’m..." His eyes fell on Feela’s corpse, and his voice trailed off.

The Behemoth had never been a close friend, but she had always been a trustworthy ally since Lith had joined the Awakened Council under Faluel’s tutelage. Feela had helped Lith train after he became a Tiamat and been of invaluable help in the Council.

Lith couldn’t believe that she was gone like that and didn’t want to haunt Zekell’s and Sirma’s dreams as well with the macabre display of her demise.

"I’m in front of the smithy. Where are you?" Lith Warped in front of the pile of rubble that, until a few minutes ago, had been Zekell’s pride and joy.

"Right there." The blacksmith walked through a Warp Steps of his own, followed by his wife and Salman. "I never thought that having a permanent house guest would one day save our lives."

Zekell said while patting Salman’s muscular arm.

"How are Rena and Senton? How are the kids?" He asked.

"They are fine." Lith gave the Rezar a thankful nod. "Meln sent his Upyrs in the Blood Desert as well, but they managed to harm only our hosts. What about you guys?"

"I need a fresh skirt and a long bath, but I’m otherwise okay." Sirma was glad that her unkempt condition hid the mark of the fear that had overwhelmed her when she had seen the ceiling crashing down on her.

"Same, aside from the skirt part." Zekell sighed. "Salman caught us both and dived into the ground. We got a bit dirty, and there wasn’t much air, but we survived, and that’s all that matters."

"Lith, there’s something you need to know." Salman pulled the Tiamat’s arm as Brina and her parents also walked out the Warp Steps. "After bringing the Proudhammers to safety, I came back to rescue the Cornerstones."

The Rezar had no idea why he had done it, but couldn’t say it out loud without sounding incredibly rude.

"They know what I am."

"A hero." Brina said, her eyes sparkling like stars.

"Son, you saved my family." Vexal looked at the sorry state of the smithy and thanked the gods for their mercy. "You could be a troll, and you would still be an honored guest in my house any time you want.

"Assuming I still have a house, of course." Zekell and the baker lived in Lutia ever since it was still a small village.

Vexal needed but a glance to spot the smoking ruins of his family’s business.

"What are we going to do?" Sirma sobbed, reality hitting her in the heart like a frozen knife. "We have lost everything and are too old to start from scratch. Where will we live? How will we afford to eat?"

At those words, Vexal’s wife fell to her knees and joined Sirma in her desperate cries.

"You don’t have to worry about that." A wave of Lith’s hand Warped everyone to the branch of the Mage Association, where all the injured and the survivors had been brought to be treated.

His Demons kept scouring every corner of Lutia, slithering under the shadows of the collapsed buildings in search of survivors. The army of shadows was swift and efficient, rescuing those who were trapped and tending to the injured as soon as they were found.

Lith knew of the assembly thanks to the Demons of the Darkness and had moved to the Mage Association because he had something to say.

’I want the Lutians to hear it from me, not read it from an impersonal Royal Decree projected by their amulets. I owe them as much.’ He thought.

Rizel was there as well, and Faluel stood by his side to protect him. The truth behind Orpal’s attack spread fast, and many who had lost everything didn’t care about logical explanations.

They only wanted someone to blame for their misery, and since Orpal was gone, Rizel was the next best thing.

"People of Lutia." Lith said, drawing all eyes on himself. "I’m sorry for what happened today. None of you deserved this. I’m also sorry that I couldn’t be here to protect you.

"Know that the Dead King sent his forces against me as well, and did everything he could to keep me away until he was done with his petty revenge. Otherwise, I would have fought by your side, and maybe things would be a bit better.

"What I won’t do, however, is apologize for the Dead King’s actions. Our shared blood doesn’t make me his brother more than his birth in Lutia makes him one of you. It’s just an unfortunate coincidence.

"As you’ve heard from Rizel, even if the Dead King succeeded in one of his past attempts to kill me, he would have still come here to destroy Lutia. I wasn’t his target, and neither were you.

"We are just extras in the sick play he wrote for us." Lith waved at what was left of Lutia, the sight bringing many to tears and a few to their knees. "That insane bastard thinks that all this is funny. Right now, he’s gone back hiding like the coward he is, and he’s laughing at us.

"He kept me away and Rizel alive on purpose. He killed and destroyed because he wants to see us despair and revel in our pain. He wants us to turn on each other, just like in his deranged mind Lutia turned on him back when he tried to kill me for the first time.

"Well, the Dead King can go fuck himself for all I care!" Lith’s snarl was human, his rage kindling the fury of the Lutians that still smoldered under the tears-soaked blanket of their pain. "He’s taken too much from me already, and I won’t give him any more satisfaction.

"This is why I promise you that I’ll do everything I can to convince the Royals to provide the funds necessary for the complete reconstruction of Lutia." Lith paused, letting his words sink in, arousing hope and a healthy amount of disbelief.

"I won’t lie to you. The chances that there is enough money for everyone are slim. The Dead King ravaged the entire Griffon Kingdom today. Countless people lost everything, just like you, and their needs are no less important than yours.

"The Royals have to care about their subjects equally, and giving Lutia preferential treatment would brew resentment, playing in the Dead King’s hands." Hope faded, leaving only disbelief in the crowd’s hearts.

"Yet I’m not bound to the Royals’ standards. I wasn’t born in every city of the Kingdom at the same time. I was born in Lutia. This is my city. My fief, and I have every right to do what I want with it.

"Whatever the Crown can’t afford, I’ll pay it out of my own pocket." Lith paused again, watching hope bloom.

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