Chapter 655: Pests.

Aris pulled out Aristoria’s Greatsword from thin air and stared at the blade as the moon reflected on the blade that hit directly into her eyes. She stared at it for minutes when she felt a presence behind her. She slowly lowered her sword and looked over her shoulder when she saw Lina hiding behind a wooden pillar, stealing a glance at her.

"Yes?" Aris turned around and pressed the tip of the blade against the ground as she rested her hands on the pommel.

"H-hi..." Lina shyly and nervously waved at Aris, still mesmerized by Aris’ beauty and appearance that made her look like a goddess from fairy tales she read. "I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to take a short walk. And... I accidentally saw you staring at that sword," she added, still hugging the wooden pillar.

Aris looked down at the greatsword that was three-fourths of her height, and she was a giant for normal humans due to her height that almost reached 7 feet. She noticed the way Lina stared at her sword with bright eyes, and a tug on the corner of Aris’ lips appeared.

"You want to touch it?" Aris asked as she patted the blade.

"Can I?!" A wide smile appeared on Lina’s face as she pushed herself away from the pillar and tip-toed toward Aris. "This sword is huge! I have never seen a sword like this before! It’s as tall as a spear!" She said with her eyes widened, her height was only half of the sword’s size.

Lina was about to touch the handle by reaching up toward it when suddenly Aris grabbed Lina’s forearm that startled her.

"Be careful," Aris gently pushed Lina’s arm away from the sword.

Lina looked at her robe sleeve that had been cut open all the way up to her forearm. She was shocked and stunned that the blade was that sharp. She slowly retracted her arm and kept it close to her chest. She realized how dangerous it was to be near Aris’ sword, and she had never seen a sword that sharp before.

"I’m sorry..." Lina muttered.

"This sword is dangerous as you can see," Aris slowly knelt down and let the sword rest on the ground. "This sword is meant to kill Gods," she teased.

"Gods?!" Lina gasped with her mouth and eyes wide open.

"Yes, there’s nothing that this sword cannot cut," Aris nodded.

"Wow..." Lina knelt and looked down at the sword as she carefully put her fingers on the blade, feeling the cold and sturdy steel on her fingertips. "This is so cool..." she muttered to herself.

Aris smiled and nodded as she kept her eyes on Lina’s fingers to make sure that they wouldn’t go near the edges of the blade. However, she suddenly felt another presence near Siyen’s family estate.

"You felt it too?" Serena suddenly appeared out of the corner. "Looks like they came back for more," she added.

Lina turned around and saw Serena in her white sleeping gown that made her look like another goddess. She then looked at both of them with a worried expression because she realized that her family was far from safe after what had happened to her family. She slowly stood up and unconsciously sought Serena’s warmth.

"Go, I’ll protect the estate," Serena said as she stood beside Lina and put her hand on Lina’s shoulder.

Aris slowly stood up as the greatsword began to float and flew into her grasp. She stored the sword in her spatial ring and at the same time pulled out a black cloak to wear and a hood to cover her hair before she disappeared into the night.

‎"Is she going to be okay?" Lina looked up at Serena with a worried expression. "I know that she’s super strong, but we don’t know what kind of people and how strong they are," she frowned.

‎Serena chuckled as she caressed Lina’s long hair gently.

‎"You know that she’s an Orthias. She’s the oldest race of this world, and she called humans as pests. That’s how insignificant humans are to her, no matter how strong they are, they’re weak in her eyes," Serena answered with a playful smile.

‎"P-pests?!" Lina’s eyes widened, thinking about how scary Aris truly was.

‎"Well, she used to call humans pests, but now, not everyone," Serena chuckled as she nodded. "She has grown softer now, more caring and more interested in humans," she added as she stared at the distance, knowing that Aris might have found the intruders. "Now, let’s head back inside. It’s getting cold out here, you might catch a cold," she said and guided Lina back into the manor.

‎Aris landed on top of the wall near the entrance gate and stared at the dark alleys in the distance before she jumped from one building to another. When she landed on the roof, she saw five men, wearing black attire and a mask that covered their faces. Although she was right above them and she was exposed by the moonlight, none of them noticed her presence.

"(Rasmus...)" Aris telepathically called Rasmus.

Rasmus was standing on the cliff while the others were sleeping in the tent because they were in the middle of nowhere to avoid the chaser that wanted Nie dead.

"(I forgot that we can speak telepathically)" Rasmus responded. "(What do you want to ask?)" He asked.

"(There are intruders that are going to cause trouble to the Siyen family)" Aris said as she looked at the distance and noticed there were three more groups that were scattered outside the Siyen family’s estate. "(I want to interrogate them. What’s the best approach to do so?)" She asked.

"(Torture is the easiest way)" Rasmus answered and looked down the cliff where the steep and sharp edges of rocks awaited at the bottom. "(But that if we assume they’re weak-willed)" He added.

"(They’re not ordinary people. I can feel some of their Mana is corrupted, but not in the same way as those Fallen Watchers. I assume they’re connected to the Evil Gods)" Aris revealed.

"(Then torture them even more)" Rasmus revealed. "(Find not the weakest because they won’t know anything. Don’t find the strongest because you might waste your time if we assume they’re fanatics. So, find their second-in-commands. They should know something, and the chance they would spill any information would be higher)" he explained as he sat down and let his legs hang down.

"(I see. I’ll do just that. Just wait for a bit)" Aris nodded.

Rasmus leaned back and put his hands on the ground to support his weight as he stared at the two moons. It didn’t take half a minute when he heard Aris’ voice in his head again, informing him that she spared four men.

"(What now?)" Aris asked.

"(Ask them who sent them. Wait for only a few seconds before you kill one of them, but make sure they can see how painful the death is)" Rasmus answered and looked at his nail where a dirt stuck in his nail.

"(Slowly?)" Aris asked.

"(No, painfully. You want them to think that you’re not playing any games)" Rasmus answered. "(The less they can think, the more they will speak)" He pointed out.

"Who sent you?" Aris glanced at the men she captured.

It was as Rasmus had predicted, that none of them answered her question. With that, she approached one of them and she grabbed the man on the left by the head. She tightened her grip on the man’s crown until the others could hear the sound of his skull breaking. They saw the man’s eyes pop out as he screamed in pain, but then the scream faded the moment she crushed his brain and pulled his head out and along with his spine. The two men were terrified and their eyes trembled in fear when they saw there was a person who could do something like that with ease.

"I asked once again, who sent you?" Aris asked as she held the head with its eyes hanging down to its cheeks.

"We are from the Order of Silence!" The man in the middle answered.

"(Second man, quick death. You got a lead)" Rasmus said.

Aris listened to Rasmus and immediately bashed the decapitated head against the man’s head on the right until they were crushed and combined into one. The man in the middle shrieked and his body had given up on him with no chance of escaping.

"I asked who sent you. Names..." Aris stared into the man’s eyes with a cold gaze.

"I... I don’t know. We are just doing what we are ordered from the higher-ups," the man in the middle answered with a trembling voice.

"(Kill him. He’s telling the truth. It’s a common practice that they made sure they have no loose ends if things like this happens)" Rasmus pointed out. "(You already got the name, Order of Silence. You can get the answer from there)" He added.

Aris stared into the man’s eyes and she punched him right in the chest, crushing his heart and watched him slowly die.

"(Thank you)" Aris said as she slowly watched the bodies turn into ashes by using her Mana.

"(You’re welcome)" Rasmus nodded.