System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

Chapter 738: Chapter 738: Decisions and Chains

They all began gathering their belongings in a hurry, but seeing them trembling like that, Ethan merely smirked. With a faint flash of amethyst light, he reabsorbed his divine aura and sealed his transformation, returning to his usual human form.

"It’s still me," Ethan said in a calm tone. "Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan, but that’s just how it is. My name is Ethan. I am native to a small world... more like an island to you. The Crimson Sect destroyed my home and captured me. Princess Isabella von Dragonia freed me and gave me a second chance at life: to come here, take my revenge, and bring back the heads of the three strongest sects in this realm: Heavenly Sword, Black Mountain, and the Crimson Sect. Although, thanks to what happened today, I will also be taking the Thunder Dragon and Evergreen sects as a bonus gift."

He paused briefly, looking the group straight in the eye.

"You are free to leave," Ethan continued. "Only Ash must remain with me. To the rest of you... I am sorry for deceiving you, but it was necessary."

The maidservants from his medical pavilion were crestfallen. They had experienced the total destruction of everything they knew, and now felt as though they had boarded a pirate ship with no way off. The sheer terror that Ethan would not keep his promises and would instead dispose of them was consuming them from within.

"What were we to you...?" Louisa asked in a broken voice, tears brimming in her eyes.

Beside her, Mary and her young son, Roy, stared at him intently, waiting for an answer.

Ethan looked at them with complete honesty, making no attempt to sugarcoat his words.

"You were a convenient alibi to infiltrate the sect," Ethan replied. "I needed a good excuse to move around without raising suspicion, and you were there to play that part."

Both Louisa and Mary burst into tears at the cold confession.

Hearing those words caused Roy to clench his fists in unbridled rage. The pain and sense of betrayal shattered his understanding of the sword, sparking a sudden and unprecedented breakthrough straight into Sword Aura. In a fraction of a second, Roy drew his weapon launching a deadly thrust aimed at Ethan’s head.

Ethan didn’t even blink. With an almost imperceptible movement, he extended two fingers and caught the steel blade right by the edge, stopping it dead in the air.

In that very instant, the two Death Knights moved like shadows; their dark swords plunged into Roy’s neck and torso. However, the boy did not stop, ignoring the metal piercing his flesh.

"You bastard! How dare you say that...?!" Roy screamed hysterically, spitting blood as he tried to push the sword forward. "My sister loves you! My mother does too! I’ll kill you!!"

Roy threw himself forward recklessly. The undead blades sliced through his neck and torso with ease, but the young man continued to charge with pure fury. Ethan simply raised his other hand and, with the tip of a single finger, struck the center of his chest with precision, paralyzing Roy’s heart for a second and bringing his advance to a dead halt.

"That was at the beginning," Ethan continued, keeping his eyes fixed on Mary and Louisa while holding Roy’s sword. "Afterward, I loved being with you... I even doubted my mission for a moment. If you still wish to, you can remain by my side forever, and I will protect you. If you decide to leave, I will give you enough wealth to live in peace for the rest of your lives."

Maeve, the leader of the maidservants, let out a bitter, desperate laugh.

"You sound so merciful!" Maeve exclaimed, the fear of death shattering any trace of prudence in her conscience as she shouted at a being who could wipe them out with a flick of his finger. "But it’s nothing more than tying our hands and sending us into the forest to die! If we don’t go with you, we won’t last a moment in these lands. Without your protection, we’re dead! So... what damn freedom are you talking about?!"

Ethan gazed at the scene for a second and then smiled coldly.

"You’re right about that," Ethan said. "I am a miserable, possessive bastard. Since you have been mine once, you will be mine for eternity. Now move your asses and follow me; I have business to take care of in the Crimson Sect."

Maeve was trembling, her breath coming in ragged gasps and her hands clenched into fists after blurting out those words. The silence that followed was dense, suffocating, broken only by the panting of Roy, who remained on his knees, bleeding faintly where the Death Knights had held him.

Mary looked at her wounded son and then raised her eyes to Ethan, abruptly wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Maeve is right," Mary said, her voice steady despite the tremble in her body. "We have nowhere to go. Our Sect was destroyed, our families no longer exist, and this world devores the weak. Remaining in this forest is a slow death sentence."

Ethan observed the group in silence. The determination mixed with desperation on their faces brought neither mockery nor pity from him; it simply settled the reality of the situation.

Roy, still clutching his chest from the impact of Ethan’s strike, spat a thread of blood and raised his head with bitterness.

"I don’t want to die here..." Roy muttered, glancing at his mother and sister before locking a gaze with resentment onto Ethan. "I won’t let anything happen to them. I’ll go... but not for you, you bastard."

"I don’t care who you do it for, as long as you move," Ethan said, unmoved by the boy’s glare. "I am not asking you to love me or forget what I did. I am giving you a pragmatic option: you come with me and survive under my protection, or you stay behind and test your luck with whatever roams these lands."

Maeve let out a defeated sigh, lowering her head.

"We will go with you," Maeve said, resigned. "It is better to follow a familiar monster than to be devoured by beasts or recaptured by sect survivors."

"Wise choice," Ethan said, turning around as the two Death Knights fell back behind him like obedient shadows. "Ash, make sure everyone is ready. We leave for the Crimson Sect immediately."

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