Sara walked behind Lane for a while. Then she grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Where are we going?"
Lane turned to Sara. A serious expression settled on his face.
"Sara, I'll speak plainly. You are too soft-hearted. Don't underestimate people. One day, that soft heart of yours will be your downfall, mark my words."
Sara's face tightened.
"What are you trying to say? What you did was inhuman. How do you expect me to accept that?"
Lane did not lose his composure.
"Sara, you were the only one who objected, do you realize that? Look around you. Look at your own situation too. Do you really think it makes sense to act on conscience here? I'm telling you again, if you keep going like this, one day you'll bring about your own end."
Sara flinched when she heard that.
Lane continued speaking.
"I may be a child, but I'm not stupid. This life taught me only one thing: conscience is only used when judging someone. Not against the cruelty of life."
Sara shook her head from side to side.
"But... no. This shouldn't be right."
Lane clenched his fist.
"This shouldn't be right? Then follow me."
Lane grabbed Sara by the arm and pulled her. He was dragging her along seriously.
Gorn grunted when he saw that. But Morris stepped in and spoke in a cold voice:
"This was something that needed to be done long ago. Sara has remained too childish."
Lane pulled Sara away to a place far from everyone else and stood her in front of him. Then he placed his hand on her head.
Sara flinched and tried to pull back.
"What are you doing?!"
Lane replied in a harsh voice.
"Stay still. I'm going to share my memories."
Lane cast a memory-sharing spell on Sara. He showed her everything he had observed since coming to the village, one by one. A succession of images began to fill Sara's mind. People slaughtering children, men looking lustfully at another man's wife, stained faces, hidden truths...
Under the effect of the spell, tears began to stream from Sara's eyes.
After those uninterrupted images that lasted a full three minutes, Lane removed his hand from Sara's head and spoke in a heavy voice:
"Do you understand now? Life always treats everyone equally... But once humans are involved, everything changes. Not every human is good. Even the person you call good is sometimes not good. There is no truly innocent human. Never forget that."
Sara dropped to her knees. Seeing that the villagers she had tried to protect were actually steeped in filth was too much for her. She could not bear the shock of that truth.
Crying, she spoke:
"Why is all of this happening to me? Why are people so cruel? Uwahhh..."
In the end, she could not hold herself back and began to cry.
Lane crouched down, moved closer to Sara, and embraced her.
"These kinds of things happen to everyone. If you are going to cry, then you've already lost. But if you do not cry and keep yourself strong, you will move forward. I experienced these things at a young age. Some people go through it at forty, some experience it from birth. But the only thing that matters is staying on your feet."
As Sara heard those words, she clung to Lane even more tightly.
Inside, Lane thought, Ugh... tight.
After a while, Sara's crying slowly began to subside. Within Lane's embrace, she tried to calm herself. In the end, Lane gave a faint smile.
After Sara calmed down, not even the slightest smile remained on her face. She had seen that the people she wanted to protect were actually a bunch of bastards. Even so, the thing that hurt her most was the innocent children who were left all alone.
But now there was one thing she understood clearly. Lane's goal was to keep those children away from such people and train them.
Turning to Lane, Sara spoke:
"I want to be alone for a while. I need to clear my head. What you showed me turned my life upside down. I realized that what I wanted to protect was nothing but a lie."
After a brief silence, Lane replied:
"I understand. If you need help, you can come to me or Morris."
After that, Sara and Lane parted ways there.
Lane returned to Morris and Gorn. Gorn immediately asked:
"Were you able to talk with Sara?"
Giving Gorn a serious look, Lane answered calmly:
"She's trying to clear her head right now. Don't disturb her."
Then he took a deep breath and continued in a stern voice:
"Gather everyone. I have things to say."
After saying that, he went to retrieve his sword. Morris and Gorn also called out to the people and ordered them to gather. Edwick and the soldiers who had been setting up camp also slowly began to come together.
Within fifteen minutes, everyone had gathered.
Lane approached a tree. He swung his sword and cut it down. Then he stepped onto the stump of the fallen trunk and raised his voice:
"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME!"
After taking a deep breath, he continued speaking:
"From this point on, a unit has been established. As I told you before, no one will live however they please anymore. Everyone will have a duty. If any one of you thinks the old way of life will return, you are mistaken. Everyone will receive military training, learn how to fight, and most importantly... LEARN TO SUBMIT TO CENTRAL AUTHORITY!"
Lane continued speaking loudly, openly explaining the situation to everyone.
At that moment, objections and anxious looks began to rise from within the crowd. Some people shouted angrily:
"We didn't choose you as leader for this!"
The others standing beside them also began to show the same reaction.
Without losing his calm, Lane spoke:
"I see that most of the ones objecting are certain women and old bastards. Do you think I'm unaware of what you've done? The only reason I didn't kill you is because you'll still be useful to me. You old men who raped children... did you think I didn't know that? And you women who are objecting... did you think I wouldn't realize that you tried to destroy other people's families and used magic?"
Lane's words threw everyone into shock. Even Edwick, Gorn, and Morris had opened their eyes wide and were staring at Lane. For a brief moment, the entire crowd froze as if the air itself had gone still. No one had expected Lane to expose them so openly, and certainly not in front of everyone.
Sara was also hearing the conversation from a distance. Tears were slowly running down her face. She had already seen the truth with her own eyes, but hearing it spoken aloud before the whole village made it feel even uglier, even heavier.
All at once, arguments broke out among the villagers. The fact that the very people objecting had done such disgusting things caused fights to erupt among the other villagers. Voices rose from every direction. Some shouted in denial, some cursed, and some turned on the very people they had stood beside only moments ago. The order that had barely held together a moment earlier began to crack apart under the weight of truth.
Lane, however, merely watched the people tearing into one another. He did not step in immediately. He simply stood there and observed them in silence, as if he had expected this from the start. To him, this chaos was not surprising. It was only the natural shape of people once the filth buried inside them was dragged into the light.
Silently observing the scene, he thought to himself:
Humans only reveal the depth of their depravity when they cross the limits set by their own conscience. If you wanted to prove it, sometimes all you had to do was whisper the truth into their ears...
In the middle of the chaos, Lane shouted at the top of his voice:
"Everyone, shut up!"
His voice cut through the disorder with brutal force. At once, everyone fell silent and the arguments stopped. All eyes turned toward Lane. Some faces were pale, some trembling, some twisted with anger and shame, but none of them dared to speak over him again.
Lane continued speaking:
"I will give you one last chance. The price of the sins you committed will be paid by serving the very people you wronged. From this point on, you will obey the hierarchy I establish. Whoever does not obey may consider themselves dead... ANY QUESTIONS?!"
Then he slowly began to release his power.
At first, it was only a pressure in the air, something heavy and unnatural pressing down on the village. Then the ground trembled. The earth began to crack as though an earthquake were happening. Dust rose from the soil, small stones shifted, and even the tops of the trees bent downward as if the entire area had lowered its head before him.
Under the pressure, the villagers collapsed to the ground one by one. Some dropped to their knees immediately. Others tried to resist for a few seconds before their legs gave out beneath them. Everyone began to feel that terrifying weight deep in their bones. It was not just force. It felt like something far greater was pressing down on their bodies and minds at the same time, crushing pride, resistance, and even the thought of defiance.
Even the children were caught under that pressure. Fear spread across the crowd in an instant. The few who had still held traces of protest in their eyes no longer looked angry. They looked broken.
But Lane did not stop there.
He began to use his lightning mana as well.
Lightning started forming all around them. Thin arcs of electric light twisted through the air, gathering and flashing with violent intensity. The crackling sound spread through the village like a warning from the heavens themselves. Yet not a single bolt struck the tree. Not one touched the ground beneath Lane's feet. The mana was controlled with frightening precision, and that only made the scene more terrifying. This was not wild destruction. This was power under absolute command.
Everyone began to tremble in fear. Their bodies shook, and not only from the pressure. It was the realization that the boy standing before them was not simply stronger than them. He was beyond them. Beyond resistance. Beyond argument.
Lane withdrew his mana, stood still, and shouted again:
"ANYYY QUESTIONS?!"
Everyone remained collapsed on their knees in silence. Not a single person dared to open their mouth. No one objected. No one even lifted their head properly. The answer had already been given without words.
Without stepping down from the stump, Lane spoke one last time:
"I swear that I will give you a good life. You, in turn, swear that you will follow me unconditionally... The world we live in now is no longer a place fit to live in. The Demonics have infiltrated everywhere. If you want to protect yourselves, then you will trust the authority I build. And together, we will wipe out the Demonics' bloodline."
This time, his words spread through the crowd differently. Before, they had been hearing orders. Now they were hearing the shape of the world they had no choice but to face. The Demonics were no longer some distant danger whispered about in fear. They had already seeped into lives, lands, and people. The world outside was no longer something that could be endured through weakness, laziness, or old habits. Anyone who wished to survive would need structure, force, and obedience.
At once, oath after oath began to rise from within the crowd, mixed with fear. Some spoke with hesitation, some under the effect of the pressure, and some because they truly understood that there was no other way left. Their voices did not rise with pride, but with surrender. Still, the result did not change. In a short time, everyone had accepted the weight of the order Lane had built.
At last, Lane stepped down from the stump. He walked straight up to Morris and spoke in a low but clear voice:
"I'm leaving my bag here before I go. I'm also leaving the device my master gave me here. I adjusted it, so you can contact me whenever you want. There are books inside the bag. Train and manage the soldiers according to the system in there. I already explained the building plans to Edwick."
Morris nodded, accepting this. Then, slightly furrowing his brows, he asked:
"Are you going somewhere?"
Lane's gaze hardened. His answer came without delay.
"Yes. I'm finally setting out on my real journey. I will take revenge for what was done to my family... and I will wipe out the Demonics' bloodline. My journey here is over."