In a World without God

Chapter 62

The darkness of the night hid the bloodstains on the floor. The faint moonlight and cold night air woke her up. She opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet.

"Ugh... what happened?"

She bent down to examine her body. She wasn't hurt, but she found it hard to move as if there was a delay in her body accepting the orders from her head.

"Ugh...."

It took her a long time to get to her feet, and it bothered her that it was already night, given her physical condition. Lucretta's orders to her were to check in on Bashme's progress on the mission, which shouldn't have been that difficult, but she took too much time. How long had she been down?

Struggling, the woman sat up, swallowing air between her teeth.

"Ayresha, did you sleep well?"

Someone said. The woman called Ayresha turned her head in the direction of the sound, and her whole body shook. There stood a woman with long, red hair, holding a blood-red greatsword. Behind her stood a group of men in black robes.

"Lu-Lucretta?! Why are you here...."

"Stand up and explain. Why did you kill Bashme?"

"What?!"

Ayresha gulped. What the hell was she talking about? Killed Bashme? Lucretta's red eyes looked like they were boiling with lava. Ayresha stammered, avoiding Lucretta's eyes.

"Oh, no, Lady Bashme was already dead when I arrived, what reason would I have to kill her?"

Then one of the people behind Lucretta said. "Ayresha usually enjoyed cursing little children. She might have wanted Bashme's mission in Agade."

"What, you! Even if I wanted to, how could I defeat Bashme with my power?"

As Ayresha hastily excused herself, another spoke up.

"I can smell Leaf here. Leaf is a witch of great power, yet she insists on being a servant of others, and we can never guess her true intentions. It is clear Ayresha has joined hands with Leaf. With Leaf's help, she killed Lady Bashme."

"That's not true! By the time I got here..."

Lucretta took a step forward, then raised her sword. "Enough with the excuses, Ayresha. If you had nothing to do with Bashme's death, why does your heart bear her mark?"

"What?!"

Ayresha looked down at her chest once more, realizing that Bashme's energy was hovering near her heart. Bashme's mark would alert all who bore Granadilla's blood to the location of her killer.

"Ayresha, you really made a mess. The curses Bashme gathered have lost their power, and the shard of Lutea is gone. Where is it? Did you give it to Leaf?"

"I swear, Lucretta! I really didn't do anything! I was just looking around Rekabi and suddenly.... Yes, that's right, someone switched hearts with me, and this one is my heart...ugh...ugh!"

Ayresha couldn't finish her sentence. Lucretta's sword had sliced off one of her arms. A red maggot wriggled from the cut.

"Ayresha, I hate futile conversations. Who would covet the heart of a mere mortal like you? Tell me now. Where's the shard?"

Ayresha groaned in pain and clutched at the severed part. The injustice was beyond her comprehension.

"Who did this to me? What did I do to deserve this?!

But she knew it wouldn't work. Lucretta is not the type of person who listens to others and Lucretta's other subordinates want her to go away so that they can rise to higher positions. No one is willing to stand up for her. But confronting Lucretia was not an option either. Yet, Airesa didn't want to die.