Sinful Pride - Volume 1 Chapter 8 Murderer

It was a boy. No older than ten years. His face was filled with despair. His eyes with hate and fear. He was probably unconscious during the fight. Pride was confident in his ability to sense magic power but it was a talent that he didn’t process as a Demon so he wasn’t used to it yet. If he did none of these would happen.

He looked at the boy’s lifeless eyes. His thoughts were a mess. He wanted to scream but he couldn’t speak. When he heard the voice in the rumble he didn’t understand it was someone asking for help. He thought it was an enemy. He thought he was going to be killed. His body moved without him thinking. He wanted to scream….

‘I didn’t mean to….’ he tried to say but couldn’t. It wouldn’t make a difference. No one was there to hear his excuses now. ‘I didn’t…’ he kept repeating in his head. He let go of his broken sword. He didn’t dare to pull it back.

He saw his blood stained hands and felt sick. He hurled. It was a very human reaction. He wanted to scream but couldn’t.

Humans were creatures that lived in communities. The act of killing each other was unnatural. As one of the six generals, Pride committed such acts without a second thought. He burned cities to the ground and killed humans with a sadistic smile. Demons were such beings. Who knows how many children he killed in the past. But that was also war. Innocents are always hurt in war. But this…

‘Murder….’ he thought in his dazed mind. ‘I didn’t mean to…’ he kept repeating. He felt as if something inside him broke and it could never be repaired. His once beautiful face was now filled with barf, snot and tears. He wanted to scream but he couldn’t…

He buried his head to his knees. If he lifted his head, he was going to see these eyes again. Who knows how long he stayed like this. It was already night but he couldn’t sleep. He stayed there thinking of nothing. How could he ever atone for this?

Into the night, he finally lifted his head. He met the boy’s eyes. Pride dug threw the rumble and pulled the child out. The dried blood had stained his well made clothes. He was probably the son of the innkeepers but now he was nothing more than a corpse. He closed the child’s cold eyes and pulled his broken sword from his neck. He carried him to deep into the forest. He made an unmarked grave and buried him and his sword with him.

“I will be back once every year. If you come back as a Demon, I will be there for you…” he said to the boy but received no answer. He didn’t know if this was the right thing to do. Maybe he should have helped him pass to the afterlife. Who knows how it is over there? Maybe the boy could see his parents again or maybe there was nothing. But he wasn’t like other humans, who saw Demons as evil. Demons weren’t inherently evil. There were violent and unruly, sometimes disgusting to look at, but there were many Demons who preferred to live in peace, even some who sneaked in to demi-human lands and lived their lives among theirs. He didn’t know if the boy would ever come back as a Demon but if he did, he was going to offer his life. It was the only way he knew how to repent. Until then, he was going to keep living this sinful life of his. He couldn’t go back anymore. He wanted to. He wanted to hug Helene and tell her everything. That he was Pride, that he wasn’t who she thought he was. That he was a murderer. He couldn’t go back though. He didn’t deserve such warmth.

He looked to the South-West and then into the night sky. The stars and moon were beautifully shinning. Pride thought they were mocking him. It was there that he made a promise. To live his life as a human. To bury his old self. He was no longer Pride, one of the Seven Deadly Sins General. From now on he was Keita Raigon. He was going to give everything for humanity. Even his life if it came to that. Thoughts of glory and fame faded and a conviction was formed.

He knew he couldn’t become an actual hero. Not only Pride didn’t deserve such a thing. Hero wasn’t just a title given to great warriors. Heroes were humans who after showing the making of heroes with their own strength, received the blessing from the goddess Arcione, protector of humans. They received divine magic power and Skills as a gift only if their devotion to the greater good of humanity was genuine.

At first he thought that he was reincarnated by Arcione to help humanity in their struggles, but after knowing that his soul wasn’t completely restored, he started having doubts.

He wasn’t going to let his pride, his sin, rule over him any more. He was going to struggle as much as he could. Keita knew he must struggle from now on as he struggled before. If Envy could win over her nature, so could he. Especially since it wasn’t as sever as it was when he was a Demon.

After looking at the sky for a bit he noticed the sun was about to rise. He wasn’t anywhere close to Atestari city but he didn’t panic. If what that rider said was true, if he run he could still make it barely in time.

Atestari wasn’t a well defended city. It was in the middle of a river and had no walls. Thankfully, it was the headquarters of the Aerch Militia in Shierna so there were many fighting men to defend it. The city wasn’t going to fall without a fight. The village chief called it an Orc horde but who knows how many Orcs were really marching towards the city.

Keita looked one last time to the unmarked grave. He made sure to remember the path he took so he can find this place again. Then he turned and run towards Atestari. He wouldn’t make it in time to register with the Militia but he could take care of that later. For now, there were people he had to protect and enemies he had to fight.

He didn’t have a weapon and he felt like shit but he couldn’t turn back anymore. He had to become someone before he went home again. Someone he could be proud of.