Chapter 106 - Saintess Of The Lower District
Leon's flight speed was very fast, he arrived at his home district in a very short time. He descended to the ground after depleting most of his fire essence. He surveyed the streets that was littered with bodies; both dead and alive. Some were trampled to the point of having their five organs crushed, but they still managed to cling to life dearly by sheer willpower.
"Young hero… there's no hope for me, but my son… please take my son…" A young mother begged after seeing Leon descending from the skies. Her concern for her child was the only thing keeping her alive.
"Wuuu…. mummy…" The child cried.
"Please save me…" A middle-aged man with broken legs also pleaded.
Many others on the streets witnessed and also pleaded for Leon to rescue them as well. Leon sighed at the turn of events. There were a lot of people that needed saving, but there was only one of him. There was only so much one person could do. If he tried saving them all, he would have no time to look for Aria.
Leon popped a pill in the mother's mouth and a few others who were in life-threatening conditions. He wasn't sure if the All-Purpose Healing Pill was enough to keep their life, but he had done what he could. Their life now depended on fate and their own willpower.
The pill efficacy worked quickly, and some with less life-threatening conditions discovered the miraculous effect of the pill quickly after they felt their life was no longer in danger.
"T-This is a miracle pill! Thank you, young hero! N-No… divine doctor!"
They words triggered the surprise envy of those who didn't receive any. They were immobile, but not in life-threatening conditions.
"What about us!? Please give us a pill too!"
"Yeah! This is unfair! We need should be treated too!"
"Your lives are not in danger. I will send someone else to come to rescue you all later." Leon said coolly, while giving them a sweeping glance. He wasn't obligated to help these strangers to begin with. If he handed out all his recovery pills, his hands would be tied when he encountered more people who truly needed them.
"Wait! Please come back! I can't walk!"
"You can't leave us here!"
They started roaring at Leon, when they saw him that he had no intention to give them any healing pills. Leon looked back at them coldly.
People expect too much when they don't need. He already said he would send help, but some people just weren't satisfied.
Leon ignored them and soon left the scene. He headed in the direction of the Golden Lion Gang headquarters. He didn't know where Aria lived, but he believed that she would be heading there for refuge. Suddenly, remembering that she was already awakened, he didn't worry too much.
Along the way he found that not every building hit by flying debris were razed to the ground. They came in various sizes and many were able to survive the collapse.
There were people that chose to hide inside their homes during the explosion and while some were unlucky to be killed under the crushing weight of their own homes, many others survived.
The chaos of the Lower District did not seem to have settled even after the flying debris and embers ceased raining hell upon them, and only seemed to have escalated the matter.
Some people took advantage of the chaos to raid other people's homes and plunder their goods and valuables. The illusory law and order in place was completely shattered by the explosions. People became depraved and did whatever they want like it was the end of the world.
Right in front of Leon, a woman was forced to escape from her own home before being pinned down by a man, who was not her husband.
"Please let me go! Why are your doing this!?"
"Kekeke." The man laughed lasciviously.
Leon frowned at the ugliness of men. It was unseemly and disgusted him to share the share gender. Without much thought, the man became a headless corpse under his black spear before he continued his way.
"Thank you, young hero."
The woman was grateful, but she could not hide the sadness in her heart. The man had invaded her home and killed her husband.
Leon did not look back. After dealing with a few similar cases, he finally arrived at the nightclub that was surprisingly still in one piece.
"Boss." Manager Doug instantly recognize Leon as he did not conceal his face.
Manager Doug was pleasantly surprised to see their boss again after many days of absence. He always seems to arrive in a timely manner, when they needed him most.
"What's the situation?" Leon asked.
"Terrible, boss. The city walls exploded, and the ground collapsed along with the thin veil of law and order that held the Lower West District in place."
The Lower West District was the most stable of the of the four lower districts. The fact that it still descended into hell could only mean that it was worse for the other three districts.
Leon creased his crows. "I already know this. What is the situation of our members? How many are present?"
"All of them are present." Manager Doug answered. "…Along with their families crowding every floor, Boss."
"Gather all the core members for me. I have something to say." Leon nodded.
"Yes, boss."
The core members were assembled before him shortly. There were old faces along with new ones for a total of forty core members. Leon distributed all of them awakening pills indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were already awakened or not.
"All of you were once maggots, miscreants and ruffians, whom bully the weak in one way or another to benefit yourselves. You have neither earned the right to these awakening pills nor deserving of them, but today I am bestowing them upon you!"
"There are hundreds to thousands of people in the lower districts that now need your help. Save them and prove to me that my choice today was not the wrong one. Go!"
The boss's words and actions struck a chord with them. The benefits the boss provided was much better than what the great families had given them before. Even if they had no sense of justice in their heart, they were still eager to prove themselves to the boss. The group swallowed their pills with concealed excitement and determination before dispersing outside.
"Doug, you stay. Someone needs to take charge of the headquarters and these people." Leon ordered.
It wasn't wise to send all his men out. He, himself wasn't staying for long. It would be a big joke if they return later, only to find out their headquarters have been looted.
"Yes, boss." Manager Doug answered with utmost respect and awe. There was a majesty to the boss that weren't present before.
"Where is Aria?"
"Miss Aria… is not here."
Leon was momentarily silent.
"I'll go look for her."
…
"Mum, dad, come with me. I know a place that can keep us safe!" Aria said with her ethereal voice as she tugged on her parents. They had just managed to escape from their collapsing home.
"No! We need to hide!" The father rebutted strongly.
The streets were littered with dead bodies. It wasn't safe to stay outside.
"Trust me!" Aria was strong-willed and pulled her parents.
To the man's shock, he was no match for his daughter's strength. Since when did his delicate little baby grew so powerful?
"Alright." The father soon became compliant.
His daughter's thin and delicate arms couldn't possibly contain such strength unless she was… awakened.
Along the road, the family of three found other survivors on the streets but was horrified by what was happening. They couldn't comprehend why people were committing violence, robberies and rape.
"Noo! Stop!" A young lady fought back her man forcing himself on her desperately.
When Aria saw this scene, her expression frosted over. It had triggered her bad memory when she was still weak. She ran up and kicked the man right in his family jewels with great force and sent him flying. The lecherous animal died with his family jewels exploded.
Her father felt a cold breeze over his own. His daughter seems to have bad blood with this type of people and transformed into a ferocious ice queen. Thankfully he wasn't like this, the father gulped.
"Thank you very much, sister. I am very grateful for your help. You are very powerful." The lady put on a smile, despite being in pain from her broken leg.
"Next time, you must fight back and kick them where it hurts." Aria said coolly.
Women were taken advantage of because they were timid and weaker. They had to show these men how ferocious they can be so they would not be bullied so easily.
However, Aria wondered why she was so unfeeling towards killing and suddenly felt afraid, afraid that she was turning into someone she wasn't.
There weren't too many evildoers in the area, but there were a lot of victims that had been trampled on. Aria made quick work of these evildoers nonetheless, and began helping her parents carry the victims to a safe spot away from the burning and collapsing buildings.
"Thank you… Thank you…. Thank you…" The victims were very grateful for the trio's act of kindness.
Their work took many trips as there were dozens of injured people, while only the three of them were able to move freely. As an awakener, she was able to carry two people at a time and made more trips than her parents at a time.
Soon, words of her great act of kindness was spread among the common people. While she was powerful, she had unmatched beauty and kindness. The people of the lower district needed hope and she had unwittingly became that symbol of hope in this time of chaos.
By word of mouth, tales of her feats were soon blown out of proportion and soon began calling her the Saintess.
…
News made their way to Leon's ears, whom was searching and helping in another area of the Lower West District. His recovery pills were almost depleted in the process. He decided to head over to the source of the news.. He thought it was worth investigating.