Chapter 284: The Suicide Incident
If the same absurd accident had happened to an ordinary person, the crowd would have burst into laughter.
There was something inherently ridiculous about a man of Saint Felix's size tumbling from another person's back.
But he was a Celestial Dragon.
No one dared laugh openly.
Even those who found the scene amusing forced themselves to remain silent, though a few faint chuckles still slipped through the crowd.
With the help of his bodyguards, Saint Felix slowly climbed to his feet.
His bubble helmet had protected his head from striking the floor, but the impact had still jolted him hard enough to make his nose bleed.
Feeling something warm beneath his nose, Saint Felix reached a finger inside the helmet and wiped it away.
Bright red blood stained his hand.
"This... is blood?"
He looked toward his attendants.
The black-clad bodyguards trembled and lowered their heads.
None of them knew how to respond.
It was an easy question, but nothing was simple when the person asking was a Celestial Dragon.
Saint Felix drew the pistol from his waist and aimed it at one of them.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the corridor.
The bullet left the gleaming golden barrel and buried itself in the man's body.
Blood poured from the wound.
A moment later, the bodyguard collapsed, his complexion draining of color until he lay completely still.
The others did not even glance at their fallen companion.
They feared that the slightest movement might draw Saint Felix's attention toward them.
A muffled groan came from the female slave.
That sound pulled Saint Felix's gaze away from his attendants and back toward her.
"You filthy wretch!"
His face twisted with fury.
"How dare you make someone as noble as me fall!"
The injury itself was enough to condemn her to death.
She had damaged his body and caused his precious blood to spill.
But what enraged him even more was the humiliation.
He had been displaying his superiority before the assembled delegates, basking in their fear and reverence, only for the slave beneath him to collapse and make him look ridiculous.
For the first offense, death would have been sufficient.
For the second, even dying a thousand times would not satisfy him.
The woman kept her head lowered and said nothing.
She already knew what awaited her.
The kindest fate Saint Felix could offer was death.
If it came quickly, she would consider it a blessing.
Her silence only made him angrier.
A cruel smile spread across Saint Felix's face as he raised his pistol.
Bang!
The first shot struck the floor beside her.
Bang! Bang!
More bullets followed, grazing her skin or passing close enough for her to feel the wind from them.
Most Celestial Dragons possessed reasonable marksmanship.
Guns were not merely weapons of protection to them.
They were toys.
Human beings often served as their targets.
Saint Felix was especially skilled. He could aim at another person and pull the trigger without hesitation, treating the act as something perfectly natural.
For someone awaiting death, the cruelest thing was often not death itself.
It was being forced to wait for it.
A condemned prisoner might believe he had accepted his fate, but watching others die one after another could slowly destroy that resolve.
It was the same reason soldiers sometimes fled after surviving too many battles.
The woman's pupils widened.
Fear crept across her face.
She tried to convince herself that all she needed to do was move slightly.
One bullet would strike her.
Then everything would end.
But she could not force herself to do it.
She closed her eyes, only to open them again a moment later.
Her reaction delighted Saint Felix.
This was exactly what he wanted.
He intended to break her with fear before killing her.
It was both punishment and a warning to everyone watching.
Disgust spread among the surrounding delegates, but no one spoke.
Slavery existed in countless kingdoms. A slave's life belonged to their owner, and outsiders rarely interfered no matter how cruel that owner became.
More importantly, this was Mary Geoise.
The territory of the Celestial Dragons.
No king would risk his nation to save a stranger.
Even if someone rescued the woman now, they would earn the hatred of the World Nobles.
And when retaliation came, who would save their kingdom?
The woman's eyes gradually lost focus.
Saint Felix decided that the game had lasted long enough.
He raised the pistol and aimed directly at her.
His finger pulled the trigger.
The bullet left the muzzle.
Then it slowed.
It moved through the air as though trapped inside thick gel, spinning more slowly with every inch until it stopped directly in front of the woman's face.
A quiet sigh followed.
"How malicious."
The voice was calm and close.
"I don't understand what you find meaningful about this."
"Who's there?!"
Saint Felix recoiled and looked around.
The voice had come from directly ahead, yet there was no one there.
Only the wounded slave lay before him.
No one else stood nearby.
At least, no one he could see.
A child was standing in the middle of the corridor.
Straight white hair framed a flawless face, and brilliant red eyes watched Saint Felix without emotion.
Axel looked at him.
"Who?"
His tone remained indifferent.
"Does that matter?"
As those words fell, Saint Felix slowly lifted the pistol again.
The crowd assumed he was preparing to finish off the slave.
He reached into his pocket and loaded the weapon one bullet at a time.
Then he raised the barrel.
But instead of aiming at the woman, Saint Felix pressed the pistol against his own forehead.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
His finger moved against his will.
Bang!
Saint Felix completed what appeared to be suicide.
"Saint Felix!"
Panicked shouts filled the corridor.
The bodyguards rushed toward him and began checking his condition.
It was pointless.
The bullet had passed through his forehead.
Even a powerful fighter would have struggled to survive such an injury, and Saint Felix possessed no such strength.
The people who had been kneeling slowly rose and began retreating.
The situation was strange, but the result was clear.
A Celestial Dragon was dead.
Remaining nearby would only invite trouble.
Most of them were not kings, merely officials and attendants brought by royal delegations.
If the World Government demanded someone be sacrificed to restore order, their rulers would abandon them without hesitation.
The once orderly residence district became tense and eerie.
The two Revolutionary Army members also withdrew into the crowd.
"Saint Felix didn't say anything before he died," one whispered.
"There was no change in his expression either."
"It felt like something was missing, as though someone deliberately cut out the moment between his anger and his death."
His companion looked at him.
"You think someone killed a Celestial Dragon?"
"Don't you?"
The second revolutionary fell silent.
"That child?"
Based on the available clues, it was the most likely conclusion.
It also gave new meaning to Axel's words about survival.
With Saint Felix's death, chaos would soon engulf the World Conference.
No one knew whether the gathering would continue or be suspended.
Whatever happened next, Mary Geoise would become far more dangerous.
"For now, we stay hidden," the first revolutionary said.
His companion nodded.
That was all they could do.
....
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