The women kept begging and crying, but my colonists kept drenching them with oil. I could see the expressions of doubt on my people's faces, but it was all for their sake. I don't want them to have a bigger disaster because I was negligent.
Seb also kept yelling for his fellow colonists to stop, but no one paid any heed. Meanwhile, Alice could only look down in tears.
Now my colonists threw sticks and other flammable objects at the women while Manu made a long trail of oil.
"Don't you guys have a heart!!??" Helda exclaimed in exasperation.
"Sorry, we didn't really want to do this." With trembling hands, Leva carried a piece of wood with a burning tip that she had brought from the bonfire.
"You monsters!!!" Seb screamed with all his might. "What's wrong with you guys!!?? They have not resisted, and not all of them are guilty! You can give Tom some mercy. Why can't you all just let them go!"
Alice gasped and lifted her face. "It's just a threat, right? You guys are doing this as a bluff, so they don't mess up in the future, right?"
No one answered. The bound women had also fallen silent. Their faces all looked so desperate.
"Again, I'm sorry. Nice to meet you, even if it's only for a moment." Leva burst into tears. "Goodbye."
The red-haired woman lit the trail of the oil. The flames spread rapidly, grabbing the women's bodies, causing anguished screams.
I kept looking at the fire that was just getting bigger. The tormented screams also grew louder.
***
I saw the yellow guardian spirit figure kneeling on a mound of ash and bones. He looked at me before finally disappearing.
My colonists stayed awake until morning until the fire was finally extinguished.They all fell silent, and the women had tears in their eyes. Gwen walked away from it, slightly covering her mouth, then bent down and vomited violently.
"What have we done?" Leva hissed with trembling lips and mouth.
"Even I can't find the words to justify this." Manu, who is sitting on the ground, responds. "We really are crazy."
"Gwen, check Alice's mind," I whispered to the blonde-haired woman.
Taking an unusually long breath, Gwen walked over to Alice and crouched down in front of her, performing her usual ritual: pressing her forehead against the person her mind was about to read.
Alice looked resigned. Her face was so pale, and her eyes were puffy. She didn't respond at all.
Instead, Seb was the one screaming. "What are you guys going to do with Alice after this!? You guys are going to kill her too!? Get your forehead off her, Gwen!"
Eric had to hold his father's body to not disturb Gwen.
The others gathered around Gwen. It took a long time before Gwen finally pulled her forehead.
"She will be fine." Gwen hissed as she wiped her tears.
Kat untied Alice's hand. "Forgive us."
"I know I can't live out there without you guys." Alice got up. "So…. Please, don't follow me…. I just wanted to be alone for a while…."
The woman ran as fast as she could from my colonists. There were no pop-ups indicating that she had broken away. Well, basically, it's a rare occurrence for someone to leave the group as they wish.
"This is madness!" Seb stood up with a flushed face full of emotion. He pointed to his colleagues one by one. "You, you, and you. You've all gone mad! You guys are monsters! You are killers! I didn't think you could do something so heinous!"
"Dad, maybe you're tired from being up all night." Eric reached out his hand to pat Seb's shoulder.
However, Seb rebuffed his son's hand. "You know what?" The man looked around his comrades. "I'm done with you guys. I will go from here. I don't want to be friends with vile people like you."
"No, Seb. You will stay here. Your existence is crucial." I looked at the others. "And all of you, stop Seb from leaving here. You are free to use any means, even locking up Seb and persuading him to stay here."
Seb rushed to the shelter to get his things ready. However, nothing prevents it. All my other colonists just stood there in silence, looking the other way.
"Hey, why are you guys so quiet…." I choked, realizing something. My colonists had just been mentally shaken and now so exhausted.
So, I can only watch Seb pack his things in a hurry.
Eric—the only one who looked at Seb—finally joined in organizing the things. Seb, who realized that, only glanced at his son briefly.
"I'll protect you, dad," Eric said in a low voice.
Seb didn't answer and left. Eric hastened his activities to pack his things, then followed his father.
Without saying anything else, Seb passed the others. Meanwhile, Eric stopped before his comrades. "I have to protect him. He won't survive if he goes alone like that."
Surprisingly, the first to hug Eric was Gwen. "Take care, Eric."
Then, the others took turns hugging the man without saying anything. I was also speechless, aware that neither Eric nor the other colonists would do it no matter what my orders were.
I will really miss those two.
"So, see you later." Eric flashed a faint smile. "I hope this isn't our last meeting."
***
Both Yvonne and Tom gasped at the sight of the mound of ash and bones near my colony. They then turned their heads to my people, sitting quietly in the shelter. I did tell them to take the day off. They didn't even collect things from the women's group.
They should really rest today.
"Hey, what's really going on?" Yvonne approached my colonists.
"You'd better see for yourself." Gwen stood up, gesturing for her two friends to approach her.
"Do as Gwen asks." I gave orders.
At first, the husband and wife were confused, until finally, Gwen pressed their foreheads against hers. I did purposely ask Gwen to do that, as well as to check whether they had any treasonous intentions or not.
The couple gaped in unison for the few minutes Gwen did this. When Gwen finished, Yvonne ran from there in tears.
"Holy shit." Tom held his head, then fell to the ground. He was utterly speechless.
***
"Hey, Mr. Spirit," Gwen called out to me, sitting naked on a boulder. "I haven't seen you in a long time."
Ah, I haven't seen a scene like this in a long time.
"I always see you, Gwen." I sighed. "I'm sorry for what happened."
"I know this because of your orders. But, strangely enough, we did it anyway, even though we should be able to fight back like we were going to the lake before it exploded. Is it because we saw your point, as Eric said?" Gwen said with teary eyes.
"I don't know either."
Gwen took a deep breath. "I could have checked the others to find that answer, but I prefer not to."
"Again, I am sorry."
The blonde woman jumped off the rock, then looked at me. "I used to think being in this lawless place was a godsend. However, it turned out that I was wrong. There are still people who impose their will. It is you. And of course, many threats lurk."
I rubbed my face. "Listen, I just want you to be safe. You guys experienced betrayal from Mila and her friends yourself, right?"
"Enough." Gwen shook her head. "I didn't actually meet you to talk about this."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Maybe this is really goodbye." Gwen looked at her hands. "This is different from what happened with the mermans. At that time I really didn't want to see you again. It was due to my will. However, I could feel my psychic powers starting to lock up this time. Either because of trauma with the events that I experienced or other reasons…. What's clear, maybe I won't be able to see spirits or read minds anymore after this."
I did feel pain in my heart, but I had expected this. Slowly, I caressed the woman's face, then brought my lips closer to hers. However, she just walked away from me, shaking her head.
"After everything you've done, you still expect love from me?" Gwen's tears began to flow. "No, you don't deserve anything from me."
I was silent for a few moments. "I understand your feeling."
"Why am I saying this goodbye?" Gwen's voice was getting hoarse. "I just wanted to emphasize that soon you will be lonely again. You can see your people, but they will never love you…."
Gwen gasped, looking left and right. Looks like she can't see me anymore. Sighing, the wavy blonde-haired woman started to put on her clothes again.
"What do you want?" I snorted, feeling someone's presence a few meters behind me. "Did you enjoy the show, H?"
"Not really." H replied in a relaxed tone. "I just came to check what's going on. Unfortunately, I'm late. Seeing what's going on here, I salute you, my son."
The applause from the orange guardian spirit pissed me off.. I turned to rebuke him, but that orange spirit was nowhere to be seen.
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