245 Chapter 243
Jin and the humans were taken aback by his statements because, despite Pesia's lack of religion, many people still followed certain customs when dealing with the deceased.
The astonishment was slight because Aron had previously overlooked corpses; rather, it was just strange for them to witness the way in which their own species was being handled.
"That's for the best, if you leave them here and other predators appear they'll also gain a taste for human flesh, making the lives for those still surviving far more difficult. Correct?" Lady Rose asked as she comfortably hovered on her scouter.
"That's right." The others realized that this was, in fact, the best course of action after he validated the information, adding greater clarity to the situation.
Because Rose knew Aron wasn't the kind to worry about such things, she felt compelled to speak up and dispel any lingering questions.
He believed that even if people loathed him for being chilly in the future days, they would still need and depend on him. This in and of itself was fine, but Rose it would be great if the skepticism subsided and they began to view him favorably.
'My fascination towards you grows by the day, how odd.' Before, Rose had little interest in Aron's affairs and only wanted the knowledge he possessed, but the more time they spent together, the more she became interested in Aron as a living thing.
Why did this happen? Even she was clueless.
Even if her small changes were hardly perceptible to the untrained eye, certain people had exceptionally strong intuition and could recognize some unusual behavior.
"Hm?" After receiving confirmation from Aron, Rose observed Evanora gazing blankly at her for a brief period of time before gazing back to the ground; it was difficult to even conceive what she was thinking about in those icy, lifeless eyes of hers.
Even Rose was barely able to pass it off as being Rose.
"Evanora commands you to burn." She casually held out her palm towards the pile and envisioned it all burning away.
Voosh!~
The next instant, a fire erupted from the center of the pile and quickly consumed the entire structure.
Aron, who was closest to the blaze, could feel his armor rapidly heating up just by being there.
They silently observed the fire as it grew, covered the landscape, and then gradually died down, leaving just scorched ashes behind.
"Well done; let's move on. The fire although brief should've attracted some other Yurg or predators."
Evanora simply gave Aron a thumbs up as she followed his lead and smiled in response to his comment as they both went by one another.
As soon as the others turned to depart, Kalel, Mrah, and Jezir were the last to do so. They simply couldn't help but continue to believe that if they parted ways with Aron and set out on their own, this was what lay in store for them.
….
Other groups that had also arrived in Limbo started to act in the opposite way as Aron and his gang started to become more united.
The organization that Henry and his sister were leading was one such instance.
Given their ignorance of the weather in Limbo, they had been going slowly but without a sense of general direction.
"It feels like a day should've passed by now but the sun is still setting!"
An disgruntled man spoke with a strong sense of fury. Although he had been a simple aristocrat belonging to a middle class family, his life was perfect.
In comparison to the horrific circumstances they were in right now, he felt like he had everything: wealth, significant power, women, respect, and status.
Henry was understanding and could appreciate the man's rage, but he was also filled with a tremendous deal of rage.
"Listen, none of us asked for any of this to happened but it did okay! Now we have to survive and rise even from this situation, I don't believe with our talents and knowledge that we can fail to establish ourselves even here." Henry had the enthusiasm one would expect from a leader when speaking.
Unlike his former self who tried to ensure everyone was someone pleased, this one knew such lofty thinking was pointless. The belief he held had been completely demolished by Aron.
His statements caused many to feel more hopeful, yet some people found them to be inconvenient.
"Oh, yes! Let's all listen as the esteemed Rosenberg heir flatly lies to our faces. You don't care about us, you're just trying establish your name in this new world and rise to power again while bringing us along like some subordinates." As he left the crowd, a disgruntled voice argued.
His entire body was clad in a silver-plated armor, with the exception of his face, which had straightforward features and dark hair.
"I don't know who you are but does now really seem like the time to care about prestige and rising to power when we don't even know if we'll survive?"
As Henry responded to this blatant attempt to foment discord within the group, his rage became increasingly apparent.
Anastasia decided to intervene because she could see by her brother's attitude that this wasn't going to turn out well.
"He's the only child of the house Siris, Ilon Siris. I don't know what your agenda is nor do I care but if you confident in leading us to safer conditions, mapping out the environment, determining edible foods and fighting off predators then by all means, do it." Anastasia stared at the young man, who was now frowning, and said coldly while holding her arms crossed.
As much as he desired to have a leadership position, doing so was risky.
"I spoke carelessly, please forgive my words Miss Anastasia." He decided that backing down would be more practical after assessing the benefits and drawbacks of taking on such a responsibility.
'I wanted to have people turn against him but that won't be possible with her around. No one is stupid enough to take the role now that she mentioned all those responsibilities.' Ilon pondered as he made a modest bow while sporting a tiny scowl.
"It's fine, it wouldn't be the first time a bottom feeder forgot their place. You can take responsibility for your words by helping the leader scout ahead or is it that you wanted the benefits of a leading figure without doing any actual work? Instead using your fellow members."
The longer Anastasia spoke, the worse his reputation became because not only did she destroy his endeavor, but she also used it as a springboard for her own assault.
Now that her comments made sense, the others turned to stare at him. He wasn't trying to be the one giving them commands, was he? Ilon was insignificant in comparison to Henry, who assumed a lot of responsibility.
"Understood." For fear of having his reputation called into further doubt, he could only respond with acquiescence.
"I offer to assist scouts as well." When it appeared that the scenario could not possibly grow any stranger, someone volunteered to perform such a risky task.
Anastasia whirled around to face the voice and saw Lucas, who had a determined look on his face.
'He could either become a very capable ally or…' When it came to Lucas, Anastasia had her doubts since she noticed so many resemblances to her brother in him that she was concerned it may jeopardize his position.
She smiled and nodded because she could not currently deny because it would appear to be far too unusual. "Thank you, your bravery is welcomed."
She showed a small smile, which seemed rare from a figure many considered to be an icy beauty.
Lucas, a straightforward country kid, couldn't help but feel a little nervous about this.
'If I take a major role early on then once humans rise again I will become a leading figure. This new world, I will ensure there's no discrimination!'
She had no idea that even a straightforward man like him had lofty goals that, given the chance, he would work hard to achieve.
This conversation was being held when a booming roar could be heard coming from the nearby woods.
"Kreee!!
"
Despite coming from a great distance, it was harsh and painful to the ears. Everyone was made aware of their plight by this cry, and they were all reminded that they needed to get to safety before worrying about the leaders.
No one objected when Henry said, "I think we should go now."
…
The source of the cry was a gigantic, four-legged, canine-like creature that was several meters tall and was lying on the ground with eyes that were gushing lifeless blood.
The only person on top of the monstrosity was none other than Juliet Lamarck, who was wearing severely tattered armor and wielding a dented sword.
She gave her armor a moment's thought before immediately removing it. She then continued to wear binding tape over her breasts and dark, tight leather shorts that reached her hips.
"This way, we can go more quickly." She thought while rubbing her tummy before she crouched to pick up the cloak attached to the armor, separating it and then using it to cover her body up and shield it from the elements as she moved.
Now, all she had to do to fight during battles was quickly take it off. She also made the decision to completely throw away her boots and walk about barefoot.