Invincible Blood Sorceror

Chapter 208: Tell me why shouldn’t I kill you

Grace was crying now, her hands covering her mouth, her body shaking.

"You’re a monster. You’re just killing everyone. This isn’t justice; it’s a massacre."

"It’s both," Jorghan replied.

"Justice delivered through massacre. The Empire sent agents to establish a military foothold on Earth. Those agents are now dead. That’s appropriate consequences for hostile actions."

He turned away from the bodies and looked at the final group remaining on the platform.

*

Jamie Moorne stood protectively in front of Luke and Grace, his expensive suit rumpled from hours of crisis management, his face showing a man who’d finally understood he’d made a terrible mistake.

Luke stood slightly behind his father, his earlier terror now mixed with desperate calculation. He was still trying to find an angle, still looking for a way to talk his way out of this situation.

Grace stood between them and Jorghan, her body language still suggesting she’d physically shield them if necessary, despite having no ability to actually stop violence.

And scattered around them were the last remaining corporate security forces, maybe a dozen guards who’d stayed out of loyalty or duty or inability to process the speed at which everything had collapsed.

Jorghan walked toward them slowly, his blood essence swirling gently around his hands, his crimson eyes fixed on the three people who represented the core of the Moorne family power structure.

"You," he said, pointing at the security guards.

"You have ten seconds to leave. After that, I’ll assume you’re choosing death over desertion."

The guards broke immediately. Whatever loyalty they’d felt evaporated when confronted with someone who’d killed three hundred soldiers and multiple S-Rank awakeners. They fled through side exits, abandoning their posts, their weapons, and their employers.

Within twenty seconds, the Great Hall contained only six people.

Jorghan.

Grace. Luke. Jamie. And two corporate executives who were too paralyzed by fear to move.

"You two," Jorghan addressed the executives.

"I need you to prepare the best ship. I know you people have multiple ships for space travel, so pick the best one with some artificial assistance."

They nodded vehemently.

The two of them fled so quickly he tripped and fell, scrambled back to his feet, and kept running without looking back.

Now only four remained in the center of the hall.

Jorghan looked at Jamie and Luke, these two men who shared Grace’s love, who’d ordered the attack that killed Scarlett and took Grace, who represented everything he’d come to Earth to destroy.

"Kneel," Jorghan commanded.

Jamie’s face went red with anger.

"I will not—"

Blood essence manifested around both men’s legs, compressing their muscles, forcing their bodies into compliance regardless of their will. Jamie and Luke collapsed to their knees with cries of pain as Jorghan’s power overwhelmed their voluntary control.

Grace screamed. "STOP! Don’t hurt them!

Please, I’m begging you!"

Jorghan ignored her and addressed the two kneeling men.

"Jamie Moorne. You authorized the attack on my settlement. You ordered the retrieval operation that killed over a dozen elven warriors. You commanded your forces to burn Scarlett alive rather than let her continue fighting. Is this correct?"

Jamie’s jaw clenched with rage and fear. "She’s my daughter, and I can do whatever with her; it doesn’t concern you."

"Is it correct?" Jorghan repeated, his voice becoming colder.

"Yes," Jamie spat.

"Yes, I ordered it. Grace is MY wife. I had every right to retrieve my own wife by whatever means necessary!"

"And Luke," Jorghan continued.

"You were present when Scarlett was killed. Correct?"

Luke’s earlier calculation had evaporated into pure terror. "I was following orders. My father told me to do it. I didn’t know they’d—I didn’t think—"

"Did you participate?" Jorghan cut through the excuses.

"Yes," Luke whispered.

"Yes, I participated. But I was just trying to take my mother back! I argued against killing the elven warriors! I only agreed when Father said it was necessary to protect Mother!"

Jorghan stood before the two kneeling men, looking down at them with an expression that showed nothing, no rage, no satisfaction, no emotion at all.

Just cold assessment.

"Grace is your wife and mother," he said.

"You love her. You wanted her back. You were willing to kill to retrieve her. I understand that motivation. It’s logical, even admirable in its way."

He paused, letting them feel brief hope that understanding might mean mercy.

"But Scarlett had become someone I could talk to, someone I could share my bond with. She fought for me, traveled with me, and trusted me to keep her safe. And she died because I left her in a settlement you attacked. That makes her death my responsibility and your crime my burden to address."

"You shouldn’t have done that."

His blood essence began manifesting more visibly, crimson energy swirling in increasingly dense patterns.

"The question I’m facing now is simple. What punishment fits your crimes? You killed someone I cared about. You attacked people under my protection. You created this entire situation through your actions."

He looked at Grace, who was crying so hard she could barely breathe.

"Your wife and mother is begging me to spare you. She doesn’t want to watch you die. She’s choosing you over me, choosing her life here over any future in the elven realms. That’s her choice."

Then he looked back at Jamie and Luke, and his expression became something that made both men wish he’d just killed them quickly instead of talking.

"But I’m trying to decide," Jorghan continued, "whether her choice means you live or just means she doesn’t get to watch when you die. Whether I should honor her wishes and let you survive or honor Scarlett’s memory and destroy you."

He stood in silence for a long moment, his crimson eyes fixed on the two kneeling men, his blood essence swirling around him like a living thing, the fate of the Moorne family hanging on whatever decision he reached.

"So tell me," Jorghan said finally.

"Give me a reason. Explain why your lives are worth more than Scarlett’s justice. Convince me that letting you survive serves some purpose beyond making Grace happy. Because right now, I’m not seeing it."

The Great Hall was absolutely silent except for Grace’s crying and the faint hum of blood essence charging the air with power that made breathing difficult.

Jamie and Luke knelt before their judge, awaiting a verdict that would decide whether the Moorne family survived the night.