To arrive at such a conclusion was easy. Lith could accurately gauge who's doing it was, and what the tool used was too.
Iron, when heated, had a somewhat rough texture. It wasn't heated to the point where it would melt, but enough to hurt somebody superficially.
It was a pipe and not a solid rod because the gush wasn't deep. Rod weighed more and could cause deeper damage.
Like moving a feather on a skin, the person must've traced the boy's body with the iron pipe.
The boy had clothes on and wasn't naked, but Lith could figure out that the scar ran through the lengths of his body, meaning he was stripped, tied, then tortured.
The boy that looked no older than seven suffered through such hardship. It pained Lith's heart. It really did this time.
If something similar had happened to mature men and women, he wouldn't have such a strong reaction. But a child? What had this poor thing done to deserve this? He didn't even have a magic core to cultivate and was helpless.
As his sorrow rose up, so did his guilt this time.
Lith had a flashback of the time he was training with Lucifer and the time when he was in Keith's memories.
He had killed a whole werewolf village when training with Lucifer. He had a dream and in that, a brat annoyed him to no end. He was tortured severely before getting killed.
During Keith's time, the village humans that were cursing Keith were killed. To not have any uprising in future and to eliminate things from their roots, Lith wiped off all their descendants too.
Those times and this time.
Why do they feel different yet similar at the same time, Lith could not figure out.
Being ignorant would've solved a lot of problems, but he wasn't, and even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to.
The night felt cold today and eerily silent than usual.
Lith closed his eyes and said after taking a deep breath, "Fei, do you know, I've always thought I could do anything and anything I want. I thought it wouldn't matter if I was a hypocrite and took actions accordingly."
Fei was silent. She knew Lith wasn't asking for a solution or response, but wanted her to listen to sort his own feelings out.
Lith half opened his eyes and saw the young boy's hand. He raised them up and stared at them. They were filled with callouses, scratches, and bruises.
"The halo above my head is a legitimate proof of my identity as a killer. I've killed people across a wide range of age spectrum. In it, there were some like this boy. I felt nothing when I wiped them, but now…"
Lith looked up at the boy.
"…looking at him, I feel really sorry for him, and have guilt creeping up on me. Due to my actions, and now the realization…"
Lith turned to look at Fei and smiled. That smile was the one a man flashed when he was holding back a lot of pain.
"…I am one step away from developing a heart demon."
Fei's eyes widened in shock. A heart demon was absolute bad news! It would greatly hinder Lith's growth and set him back for many centuries.
'Shit. I need to call Madam!'
Fei wanted to leave this place and be back with Lilith, since she was the only one who could handle such an unstable Lith, but she found herself unable to do so.
Lith's eyes were locked at her. There was no moving away.
'This is bad… really bad…'
Fei had a small panic attack and worry filled her mind.
Oblivious to her chaotic emotions, Lith continued with the same sad smile, "I felt very cool that day when I said I would be a hypocrite and that I don't care about the world or what others thought of me."
Lith turned to look back at the boy.
"Today, however… I still don't care about the world or what others think of me."
Lith chuckled at the lame twist he just made.
"But… I have these guilty feelings because I care about the opinion I have of myself. I care about the opinions my loved ones give me."
"A person is shaped by the people around him and has a small piece of each of them. They retain their individual identity, but there are some influences from others."
Fei nodded her head lightly. What her Master was saying was correct.
"Right now, I feel that I've done something wrong. The guilt is slowly eating me up."
Fei remained silent. The situation was dire, help was needed, but doing anything reckless would only harm Lith, so she continued to listen to him without interrupting.
Lith held the boy's hands. While staring at them, he continued, "I do not regret my actions in the slightest. Even if they were the scummiest thing I've ever done, I don't regret them."
"But, I want to know just why am I feeling so conflicted right now."
Lith let out a deep breath and shook his head.
"Figuring out my feelings would take time. And this is something I would need to find a solution to on my own. For now, what I want to do is help children. The world may be peaceful, but it's a cruel place at the end of the day where the strong devours the weak."
Determination flashed in Lith's eyes.
"I've already experimented once during the world war. Shelters for children are working well. Though, there's infighting amongst children there with bullying being really common, it's much better than getting beaten by an adult and having a lifelong trauma."
"Some bullying is needed to shape the children. But excess of it would inflict irreversible damage. In the shelters, I've given orders to have control over these things, and so far, things are going well."
Lith rubbed his thumbs on the boy's bruised palms.
"No child is undeserving of love and care. They are the purest soul until they slowly get tainted by the ones around them and develop."
"One at a time. I'll try my best to save every child out there in every single world. It's overly ambitious and quite hypocritical of me to say this, but I don't regret the wish I've made. I'm no hero and I don't plan to be one either. I just…"
Lith bit his lower lip.
"…I can't bear to watch a child suffer. After everything Keith's gone through and watching her be tormented like that, something within me has changed. Whenever I see a hurt child, I imagine a future where their life would turn out like Keith's."