Grief

Wu Lei had several thoughts going through his mind, most of them negative and directed towards Asher.

He saw Immortal Han Mu's state and knew that she had been injured. It was a thing that he normally would not have expected to happen at all as he knew just what kind of defenses and Immortal had, being one himself.

Thus for someone to be able to injure and immortal would be considered a grave sin.

Even if it had been Immortal Han Mu who had used the spell on Asher, Immortal Wu Lei's ire was only directed towards the boy… For the Immortals were inviolable.

"Leave him!" All of a sudden, Tess lunged towards the knights. "This is all wrong, he cannot be a Heretic!" 

The expression on her face was a mix of disbelief mixed with anger which she herself could not understand. On one hand she was furious at the knights for handling her grandson like that and on the other side, she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Asher could be a Heretic in anyway.

'It's not possible… it's not possible at all… Aura was definitely not a heretic and Asher had been with me this entire time and never had contact with Heretics or demons before this.' She thought to herself.

The very fact that they said Asher was a First Generation Heretic seemed a perplexing fact. And it wasn't just Tess and Asher that were having a hard time believing this, as even the Mages were stunned at this fact since the time line would not match up with Asher's age.

"Get back you old hag!" The knights were not going to let some old woman stop them and pulled her hands off them. 

~THUD~

They eventually pushed her, but Tess was not one to stop that easily.

"Grandmother!" Asher's eyes turned red as he watched his grandmother getting pushed around.

"Leave him! I SAID LEAVE HIM!" Tess was no longer thinking rationally and only wanted Asher to be let free. 

She didn't see how everyone was looking at the scene and what their expressions were. Even those that had been with Tess for a long time and were acquainted with her started to look at her with an expression of distaste. 

The same could be said for their opinion of Asher as he had already been proven to be a First Generation Heretic.

But as the old woman and the knights tousled, along with some watching it with delight, a sudden movement was seen.

"ENOUGH!" A furious shout was heard before a flash of light blinded everyone's eyes.

~ZAP~

The front knight felt a heat that even his armor could not insulate for a moment while he were blinded. Then in the next second, he felt a weight falling on him.

"What?" The knight were a bit taken aback by the sudden addition of weight before he finally saw what it was. "The old woman?" 

The others could see it now too and found Tess lying face down in the arms of the knight. 

A burning smell seemed to be coming from her, and she was no longer struggling.

"What even…" The Knight was confused and pushed the old woman back.

~THUD~

Tess fell to the ground on her back, revealing her stated.

A Six inch wide hole could be seen in her chest that had been charred black. One could see the soil through it, as well as fragments of her internal organs that had all been burned into coke. 

Her face was frozen in the same expression she had before, one of anger and confusion. Her eyes glared at the sky, as if questioning what had happened even now. But there was one thing missing in those eyes… Life.

"GRANDMOTHER!" Asher who finally comprehended the horror that had unwound in front of them let out a torn cry. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he growled.

Perhaps it was the shock of the other knights or the rage and sorrow that Asher felt at that second, which seemed to fill him with momentary strength, he managed to free himself and jumped at the corpse of his grandmother.

Cradling her to his chest, he let his eyes flood with tears.

"No! No! No! No! Noooo!" His heart did not wish to accept the reality in front of him as he flailed on the ground.

In his sorrow, he even forgot the state of his body that was already not well. The injuries he had sustained earlier worsened while a few cuts he had gotten from the struggle with the knights opened up again.

Blood started covered his already dirty clothes, and stained the the left flank of his clothes dark red.

"Grandmother wake up! Please wake up!" Asher pleaded. "I won't go anywhere! I won't leave you anymore, I promise!" he spoke, only to be replied by the dead eyes that could not answer.

Tess' dead eyes looked back at him, carrying anger that had not been forgotten even after her demise.

"Filth will only beget filth," Immortal Wu Lei spoke, disgust apparent in his eyes as he witnessed Asher's grief.

The grief was enough to touch the hearts of a few people that watched, especially those that knew Asher and Tess, having been close to them in the past. But there were some that only found it bothersome, or disdain.

~Ptui~

"Good! That old hag was just a waste of food and resources." The Supervisor scoffed.

Asher continued to cry on the ground, ignoring everything else that was happening around him for his mind was utterly filled with grief, not allowing him to comprehending anything.

"Take him away and clear the area." Mage Clor finally ordered having had enough of the drama.

He had no pity for the boy was a Heretic and as such his family was heretic too.

"Yes, Mage Clor!" The Knights replied and quickly went to do their task.

Asher flailed and thrashed in their grasp, but ultimately couldn't do anything as they took him to the side and chained him alongside the other Heretics.