BXBX NOVEL Chapter 56: Unleashed Fury
"For my cause, of course," he replied, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Their lives were but minor sacrifices, insignificant compared to the grand design I'm working toward."
"Dammit!" Lucy snapped, her voice rising as she took a step forward, her entire body tense. "Don't you have any sense of morality at all?"
"Morality?" Bork's lips curled into a dark chuckle, his eyes gleaming with condescension. "What is morality to me? Can it protect me? Can it fill my belly? Morality is a luxury for those who don't have to struggle to survive."
Lucy's face twisted with contempt as his words sank in. Her fists clenched tighter, her knuckles whitening. "I don't care if you've killed those who deserved it, but to slaughter innocent lives... children, families... for your twisted cause? That's beyond evil.
I can never forgive you for that."
Her eyes blazed with righteous anger, and without another word, she charged at Bork, her fists raised and ready to strike. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing—only pure, unrelenting determination.
Bork watched her advance with a twisted grin, a mocking laugh escaping his lips. "You think you can stop me?" he sneered, his voice dripping with scorn. "Let's see how you handle this!"
With a wave of his hand, Bork summoned his army of corpse puppets. The twisted, grotesque figures moved toward Lucy with jerky, unnatural motions, their lifeless eyes glowing with a malevolent light.
Lucy's charge faltered as she recognized the faces of the villagers, now twisted into monstrous versions of their former selves. For a brief moment, her resolve wavered, her heart aching at the sight of what they had become.
"Don't hold back, Lucy," Zeus's voice cut through her hesitation, firm and unyielding. "Destroy those corpse puppets. Only by killing them can you set their souls free in the afterlife."
Lucy's eyes flicked to Zeus, her determination returning with renewed force. She nodded, understanding the harsh truth in his words. Taking a deep breath, she let go of her doubts and let her fury guide her.
Her first punch landed with devastating force, shattering the puppet before her into pieces. Then another, and another—each strike fueled by the righteous anger that burned within her. The once-mournful hesitation was gone, replaced by the resolve to end their suffering.
With every puppet she destroyed, Lucy's determination only grew stronger. Her fists became a blur, delivering blow after blow with sheer physical power, until the air around her was filled with the sound of splintering wood and cracking bone.
There was no hesitation now, only the unstoppable force of her rage, each strike a promise that she would bring justice to those who could no longer fight for themselves. The corpses, once villagers, now twisted by Bork's dark magic, fell before her like wheat before a scythe.
Zeus stood at a distance, his arms casually crossed over his chest, watching the chaos unfold with a small, amused smirk on his lips. He made no move to join the fray, content to let the storm of destruction play out in front of him.
[Why don't you help your sister, host?] the system inquired, its tone dripping with mockery and a feigned concern that was as transparent as glass.
Zeus didn't even flinch at the sarcasm. "Right now, Lucy's in full berserker mode," he replied casually, his eyes fixed on Lucy as she tore through the puppets with terrifying efficiency. "She's destroying everything in her path. If I step in, I'm likely to get caught up in her fury."
[Oh, come on,] the system prodded, its voice laced with arrogant amusement, as if it found the entire situation deeply entertaining. [Are you really afraid of her? A little two-star cultivator?]
Zeus chuckled, shaking his head slightly, as if the system had just told a particularly amusing joke. "Of course, I am. She's not just any two-star cultivator—she's got a divine scripture backing her up. I'm still just a one-star, and I'm in no rush to meet an early end."
The system, ever the shameless provocateur, couldn't resist needling him further. [So, you're just going to stand there and watch while your sister does all the work? Isn't that a bit cowardly?] Its tone was dripping with arrogance, as if it were daring Zeus to prove it wrong, fully expecting him to back down.
Zeus's smirk widened, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Cowardly? Not at all. I prefer to think of it as being smart. Why get in her way when she's doing such a thorough job? Besides," he added with a casual shrug, "it's better for her to vent her anger alone.
I'm just an observer in this little drama."
[I see,] the system commented, its tone shifting slightly, as if it were re-evaluating the situation but still holding on to its mocking edge. [So, you're just going to sit back and let her handle everything? I would've expected more from you, host.]
Zeus let out a soft chuckle, watching as Lucy continued to tear through the remaining puppets with relentless force. "Believe me, I'm more than happy to let her take the lead here. It's not every day you get to see such raw power in action."
His gaze softened slightly as he continued, "But I'm also relieved that even though her personality has become more ruthless, maybe even a bit villainous, she still holds onto the morals that matter—like not harming innocents."
The system, still not ready to drop its superior tone, chimed in smugly. [Host, she's only changed on the surface because of her special physique. Her mind, however, remains intact. Don't go giving yourself too much credit.]
Zeus's smile lingered as he absorbed the system's words. He knew the truth of it, but that didn't stop him from appreciating the small victory of seeing Lucy maintain her integrity, even in the midst of chaos.