The man’s face brightened with a pinkish glow; the way Emil grabbed him in front of his peer made him feel embarrassed. Just because of that, he grabbed Emil’s collar and tried to slap him, but before he could.
A portal opened beside Emil; golden mana waves traced across it. Through the portal, Atlas stepped out and right away grabbed the man’s wrist, making him unable to move freely.
The man tried to pull his hand back but failed. His wrist started to hurt pretty badly; blood stopped flowing through his veins, which made his hand turn purple. Still, he tried to act like it was nothing to him because if he showed fear even once, his authority might be put at risk.
The look on the man’s face intrigued Emil, but still he waved at Atlas to leave his wrist. Though Atlas didn’t leave it for a few more seconds, eventually he let go of it.
The man staggered back a step, the pain clearly reflected on his face as his eyes welled up with tears. But he faked a smile on his face, composed his voice, and muttered. "Another lowly summoner? You people never learn a lesson from other examples."
His words made Emil frown; a thought curled inside his mind. ’Examples? What is this fool talking about? And why is his tone so childish?!’ Emil questioned inwardly.
"What kind of examples are you talking about?" Emil asked.
A malicious grin tugged at the corner of the man’s lips as he stepped forward, reaching out to grab Emil. Before he could lay a hand on him, Emil glanced at Atlas.
Understanding the silent command, Atlas raised his enormous axe and brought its edge to the man’s throat, which forced him to stop his steps.
The man’s confident expression from before began deforming. He stumbled back a step, sweat drenching his body as fear spread across his face. Even his companions could clearly see the terror in his eyes.
Right away, murmurs exploded through his peers, which weren’t encouraging.
"How can a level fifty mage be scared of someone who belongs to a summoner class?"
"Yeah, I expected him to blow that person right away. But he’s just slacking away at this point."
The mage’s face brightened with a slight blush; his cheeks turned hot because of sheer embarrassment. After seeing this state of his, Emil let a faint chuckle resonate through his mouth.
But Emil’s expression turned serious again; he stepped forward and questioned the man. "What kind of examples were you talking about?" He asked.
"Y-you lower your gaze in front of me, lowly summoner."
"I belong to the fire tower, and messing with me will make you lose your life."
Emil’s face turned neutral, but then he raised a brow as his hands trailed down to his waist. ’Seriously? Even after all this, his ego is still intact.’ He said inwardly.
"You also know what just happened to you; don’t indulge in this act anymore, or else you might leave with a broken wrist."
His gaze dropped down, fists clenched as his nails buried deep inside the palm, making the skin turn white. His ego wasn’t allowing him to cooperate, but the fear stuffed in his mind made him do so.
He directed his finger towards a woman sitting on the ground; his peer circled her. "I-I meant her... She’s an example..."
Emil’s gaze swept across the chamber and looked at the woman. She was ragged with dust from top to bottom; her chocolate hair was ruffled as if someone had snatched and pulled it. The lenses of her specs were cracked; her brown eyes were welling with tears, which rolled down her cheeks. Her body seemed like it didn’t have any more strength left.
Emil’s jaw clenched; he was just a millisecond away from letting Atlas do whatever he wanted. But unexpectedly, he took deep breaths, calming himself down.
He ignored everyone else in the room and walked straight toward her. Lowering himself to one knee, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Though his touch was careful, his voice was laced with unmistakable anger as he spoke.
"Being a mage doesn’t grant you permission to lay your filthy hands on anyone, be it a summoner or beings from another race."
"I’ll give you a minute to get out of here; if you don’t, then I’ll force you out," Emil said, coldness dripping through his tone.
Everyone present there spared each other a look; the mage who was supposed to be their crime leader had started to shiver abruptly. No one had expected this, but he was the first one to walk through the door; his group seemed a bit confused, but no one argued and followed behind his trail.
After everything settled, Emil returned his attention to her. She was weeping; her voice hitched as she tried to speak. "I-I... just came to purchase some equipment."
Emil’s eyes softened; a flicker of sympathy flashed over him as he muttered to her. "Don’t worry, it’ll not happen to you again."
By how she was acting, Emil had already predicted that this happened multiple times. ’That’s why that man said, "multiple examples," huh?’ Emil said inwardly and clenched his fists tightly.
Emil helped her back up, then took a step behind to not overstep his boundaries because even if he just saved a random girl, getting close to her wouldn’t be a good scenario.
There was a bottle of water kept on the reception table; he picked it up, twisted the cap open, and directed it towards the girl. "Drink some water; you’ll feel better," he said.
She hesitated once but still grabbed it and took small sips of it, letting the water pass through her throat. Her scared self began to calm; slowly, she also wiped the sweat on her face.
After she had fully composed herself, she said. "I was here to purchase some materials; I came here a few days ago... but whenever I came into this trade hub, they’d force me away... Today I tried to resist, but then I ended up like this." She said, gaze fixed at the ground.