Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 49: Confronting Lucius. Part 2

Opening the door and moving to the sides, Lucius gestured his hands to invite Olivia in.

"Come in." Lucius said in a mild tone.

Olivia did not stand on ceremony and directly let herself in. She walked right in and took a seat on Lucius' bed which was situated to the left of the entrance, directly against the wall.

The room provided my the academy wasn't anything special. It was very basic with one hall/bedroom, a study, a laundry room and a bathroom. The furniture provided included a bed, a wardrobe. a desk, a washing/drying machine and the basic bathing facilities.

Upon entering through the door, one would directly enter the hall /bedroom. Apart from the bed that was against the wall in the left and the wardrobe directly across the door, nothing else was present in the room. Making your way further in, two doors led to the right and the left respectively. To the right lay the study and on the left lay the laundry and the bathroom.

Lucius, originally and also currently was a neat freak. He did not like having his items disordered and was keen about their arrangement.

His room was so clean and ordered, that one could take a picture of it and refer to it as the 'model' room.

After Olivia took her seat, she sat there silently with her head looking down. Her abyssal black hair, was loose with the majority of it falling forwards, hiding her face. Her feet were unconsciously shifting about, producing a dull sound against the room's floor.

Her thoughts seemed to be in conflict, as she repeatedly tried to voice her thoughts but couldn't find the right words.

Looking at her act like this, Lucius confirmed his earlier conjecture. He was sure that his act was seen through. Letting out a mental sigh, he started the conversation.

"Tell me Olivia, why are you here?", Lucius spoke in a cold tone.

He no longer bothered to act or conceal his change. The sooner he could get this over with the better.

'There is no point trying to lie to her either. I don't remember such a person in my memories, yet she is very familiar with me.' Lucius analyzed.

Hearing him talk like that, Olivia's body involuntarily stiffened. Slowly looking up, she looked at Lucius face. That ice cold voice and that emotionless face.

Looking at his pitch black eyes, silently staring at her, Olivia felt suffocated. Her worst thoughts had come true.

'He really has changed.' Meeting Lucius earlier today, Olivia knew something was different about him. She could see him fake his expressions and tone, hiding his change. If Lucius was interacting with a stranger, or a new acquaintance such as Reyna, they would not be able to see through his facade.

Lucius' acting was almost perfect, save for some tiny discrepancies. Though these discrepancies were ignorable, Olivia who had basically grown up with Lucius could clearly identify them. She was intimately familiar with his behaviour and therefore immediately identified it.

Still, being silent and hesitant was not going to clear her doubts. Although Olivia felt a vague premonition, she wanted to know the truth. Suppressing that ominous feeling, she voiced out her question.

"Lucius did you kill someone?" she directly got to the point, without beating around the bush.

Immediately upon asking this question, she closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She did not want to look directly at Lucius, when he answered this question.

"Yes, I did." Lucius directly answered. He did not bother hiding the matter and spoke of it in a casually His tone was so casual, similar to when talks about the weather or asks for the time.

"And before you ask. I wasn't forced or threatened. I killed them simply because I did not like the sight of them. Pathetic bugs like that are better of dead." he continued speaking, his tone filled with disdain.

Olivia body quivered. 'Nooo!!', she screamed within her mind.

'My Lucius would never do something like that. He is a kind and honest boy.' Olivia was in denial. Her ears clearly heard Lucius' words, yet her heart refused to accept the contents.

Ignoring her reactions, Lucius continued to speak. His voice was no longer emotionless but was filled with contempt and scorn.

"Not just one. I killed the whole colony of those bugs. It's better to get rid of such filthy things, en masse."

"Stop." Olivia said in a faint voice. It was so faint, that nobody except her could hear it.

"Ha! You should have seen that pathetic face they made. Tears and snot covering their filthy faces, they begged at my feet. Begged me to spare their lives."

"Stop."

"As if their lives were worth anything in the first place. Like I even cared about their 'inferior life' in the first place. Bugs are meant to be crushed."

"STOP!!" Olivia screamed. She leapt off her seat and raised her hands to slap Lucius on his face. Her face was livid and anger had long since exceeded her tolerance levels. Hearing Lucius, continue to refer to those people as bugs and inferior life, finally snapped the last bit of thread holding her.

Due to her sudden action, most people would have been caught unaware and her slap would have landed on their face. Olivia was also not a frail and dainty maiden. Her reflexes and strength were top-tier, with her body also being high-spec. That combined with the training provided in the academy, gave her a reasonable amount of strength.

Alas, Lucius was unlike most people. This top-tier strength was nothing but a joke in his eyes.

Without evading her slap or even shifting his position, Lucius directly raised his left hand caught Olivia's hand. Upon her initial attack being thwarted, Olivia clenched her right hand and punched in Lucius' direction.

As it neared his body, Lucius directly slapped her hand away.

"Are you done?" Lucius asked, reverting back to his cold, emotionless voice.

Ignoring his words, Olivia repeatedly clenched her fist and continued to attack in Lucius' direction. Her eyes were tightly shut and tears fell from them. Lucius continued to slap away her hands mercilessly.

"Why?", Olivia asked, her body no longer had the energy to continue attacking.

With her voice being too faint, Lucius was unable to hear it, "What?" he questioned.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KILL THEM?!" No longer able to restrain her emotions, Olivia bellowed in a loud tone. Her voice contained rage, guilt, indignation and various other emotions.

Her tears started falling ceaselessly and her body was uncontrollably quivering. Olivia was feeling a multitude of different emotions. Her mental state was no longer calm.

Olivia's dream was to protect the citizens of the Alliance. She strived to serve them and if needed die for them. Ever since a young age, Olivia understood that the world was endlessly large. Her world wasn't simply contained to her town, or her city. It expanded to encompass the entire Earth Alliance.

She knew that in the grand scheme of things, she was but an insignificant existence, yet she wanted to change that. She wanted to be more than just an insignificant figure, to protect the Alliance, the people and her family.

This was Olivia's dream.

And the cause of that dream was a single young boy. That lonely figure that was abandoned by his family, the people and ultimately the world itself.

Olivia still remembered the day, she first met Lucius. She was 8 years old.

She and her father were out in the town, to purchase some provisions for dinner. Olivia's mother had died when she was still a toddler and her father had been the one taking care of her since. It was a normal evening and the atmosphere was happy.

They had just passed through the various stalls, when Olivia noticed a shadowy figure lying in the shadow of the one the buildings. The figure wasn't moving. Olivia told her father and the both of them made their way to that figure.

In the shadow lay a thin, young boy. His body was pale and yellow-ish. His skin was wrinkled with black scorch marks being present all over the body. His arms and legs were as thin as twigs, holding little to no muscles. All his bones peaked from his skin, each seemingly trying to escape. Cuts and bruises filled that young boy's body and his face showed traces of physical abuse.

His eyes were limped, as he struggled to open them. Using his broken mouth, he articulated a few sounds.

"P-pl-le-,,-se, sp-aar-,,, m....e" his throat made a voice had could not be considered human.

Looking at his condition, Olivia's father took pity and eventually adopted the boy, in hopes that his family would try to find him.

This was the first time, that Olivia met Lucius. The image of that hopeless figure, lying at the doors of death had burned itself into Olivia's memory.

She did not want to see him like that again. Lucius' importance to Olivia was greater than her very life. That's why she established that dream of hers, and strived day and night, sacrificing many things to work towards it.

To serve the Alliance, protect the people, all of this to ultimately protect that young innocent boy.

Yet, that very same boy currently stood before her, looking at her with his scary,emotionless gaze. He wasn't gazing at her like a normal person would gaze at another. His gaze was filled with indifference. He gazed at her in a way similar to how one would gaze at a fly, bothering a person.

Olivia's heart was tearing into pieces as she felt that gaze directed at her. SHe felt her very existence being invalidated.

"Why, you ask?", she heard him speak with that cold tone. Hearing his voice, did not fill her with warmth as it originally did. Instead, his voice made her feel a chill at the depths of her bones.

"Because they tried to kill me and failed, paying the price with their lives. I killed them because I was able to, no other reason." Lucius flatly told her.

"But that did not warrant their deaths! They must be tried under official law. Only then, can their verdicts be decided! No single person has the right to judge another person's crimes." Olivia bellowed, trying her best to have her beliefs, heard by him.

"Stop." Lucius unhesitantly cut her off.

"So you're telling me, that when someone tries to kill me, I have to simply die and wait for them to be convicted in the court of law? Hahaha, what a joke."

His laughter directly shattered Olivia's belief.

"They tried to kill me, but did not have the ability to do it. Since I had the ability, I killed them. There is no other reason to this situation. They were weak, hence they died."

"Similarly, if one day I met someone stronger than me, one that has the ability to kill me. Then I would die in return. It's simple."

"But! The Alliance would protect you! I WILL PROTECT YOU!" Olivia screamed loudly, her true thoughts finally out loud.

She understood the logic in Lucius' words, but could not accept that. Wasn't the system of law, birthed to protect weaker people against the strong.

Yet, Lucius upon hearing her words simply laughed and said a single line.

"You? With that pathetic strength of yours? Don't make me laugh." his tone was filled with mockery.

Olivia was stunned. She did not expect Lucius to reply like that. Her tears and body froze at that one sentence.

Lucius walked towards Olivia who was sitting upon the ground. He kneeled close to her and used his hands to hold her face. Locking her eyes into his, Lucius spoke.

"Listen closely, little girl. Fairness and justice are nothing but a fairytale. If you hold on too the hopes of someone strong standing up for the weak, then I have to say, 'Stop deluding yourself and wake up'. Do you honestly think, those who stand up high, care about the lives of those beneath them?"

"Dreams are the object of perusal only for those who are truly free."

"Only strength can guarantee one's life. This so called peace and freedom is nothing but a joke. Human weapons? Warships? They are nothing in front of true, absolute power."

"Humans are nothing but insignificant bugs. Weakinglings who delude themselves, thinking they are the strongest."

"You want to protect me? But how are you going to protect yourself?"

Saying this, Lucius unhesitantly stood up and walked towards the door. Opening the door, Lucius paused for a second and spoke, "Weakness is a sin. In the face of 'Them', no amount of strength is enough. Your pathetic 'Alliance' or your insignificant 'laws', are lower than dust in their eyes.'

Leaving behind these words, he walked out into the night sky. Olivia sat there on the floor in silence for a few seconds, before her tears resumed to pour out in greater amounts. Her whole body was shaking and her sobs were clearly heard.

Olivia who was upright and determined, had finally broken down. Her beautiful figure, almost heavenly in comparison and her ignorance , had been marred by the truth of the world.

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