The northern trade road was painted gold by the setting sun, the wind carrying the smell of distant pines.
Kael crouched near a splintered wagon wheel, his sword resting across his knees. His companions were spread out around him, their faces tense but focused.
Corin, the archer, had already climbed into a nearby tree, his bowstring pulled back ever so slightly, the arrowhead glowing faintly — enchanted to pierce armor.
Lyra, the healer, sat cross-legged on a flat rock, eyes closed, her hands hovering in the air as faint silver light traced symbols over her palms — a protective ward ready to burst into a shield at the first sign of trouble.
And Jarek, the heavy fighter, was cracking his knuckles, steam rising faintly from his skin as the fire in his blood stirred. His ability let him turn his body into a living furnace, his strikes igniting the air itself.
And then there was Belphegor.
He stood in the middle of the road, cloak thrown back, arms crossed, crimson eyes glowing faintly in the twilight. His dark hair hung loose, wild yet regal, and for a moment Kael's group looked more like his escort than his allies.
He wasn't hiding. He wasn't crouching. He was daring someone to appear.
"Subtlety," Kael muttered, glancing back at him. "Ever heard of it?"
Belphegor smirked. "If the raiders are here, they will come. Why waste time creeping through the bushes like frightened children?"
Corin hissed. "He's going to get us all killed."
"Or flush them out faster," Jarek grunted.
The forest was silent for a moment longer — then, like wolves closing in, shadows moved between the trees.
Kael raised a hand, sparks of lightning dancing between his fingers. "Stay sharp," he murmured. Lyra and Jarek flanked him, weapons ready. Belphegor stayed at the back, arms folded, that ever-present air of disinterest about him — but his crimson eyes glowed faintly, drinking in every detail.
The first arrow came whistling out of the dark.
Kael reacted instantly — a violent gust of wind tore through the air, catching the arrow mid-flight and snapping it in half.
"Ambush!"
The ground erupted as a wave of cloaked marauders surged from behind the broken walls, shouting war cries. Kael met them head-on, crackling with electricity. He became a blur, lightning flashing as he struck the first assailant with a shocking palm-strike that sent the man convulsing to the ground.
Corin's bow thrummed — his first arrow punched through a raider's pauldron, sending him spinning to the ground.
Lyra darted forward, her twin daggers flashing as she cut through two attackers. Jarek roared and swung his hammer, knocking back three at once, but a spear caught his shoulder, forcing him to grit his teeth as blood stained his tunic.
Belphegor still hadn't moved. He simply watched.
Kael spun, kicked another enemy in the chest, and used a wind burst to throw two more off balance. There were too many.
"Lyra, cover Jarek!" he barked.
She tried — but a spear grazed her side, sending her to one knee. Kael's heart seized — and in that instant, three arrows hissed toward him from different directions.
Belphegor finally moved.
Time seemed to slow. A translucent ripple shimmered in the air as Belphegor's Chrono Shield unfolded around Kael, freezing the arrows midair.
Kael barely had time to gasp before Belphegor stepped past him — and the slaughter began.
He vanished.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared inside the enemy ranks, his fist driving into the nearest man's throat with a crack. The body crumpled before anyone realized what happened. Belphegor's hand closed around another's head and smashed it against the wall, leaving a crater in the stone.
"Wha—what is he?!" someone shouted.
He didn't answer. His movements were too fast, too deliberate — each step, each strike a calculated execution. When three marauders tried to surround him, he let them. Then he Shadow Stepped behind them and dropped all three with a single brutal kick.
Lyra stared, breathless. "He's—he's not even trying."
Kael regained focus and summoned a vortex of wind that pulled two archers off the walls before frying them with a lightning arc.
The marauders panicked. A hidden caster stepped forward and hurled a barrage of glowing spears — pure conjured force.
Belphegor smiled.
The Chrono Shield bloomed again — but this time he moved inside it, weaving through the frozen projectiles like a predator stalking prey. When time snapped back, the spears slammed harmlessly into the dirt, and Belphegor stood over the caster, twisting his wrist until bone cracked, then tossing him aside like trash.
Kael and his team fought hard, but by the time they caught their breath, the battle was over.
Belphegor stood among the fallen, not a scratch on him, crimson eyes faintly glowing as he surveyed the carnage.
Lyra wiped blood from her cheek, still staring. "What… what are you?"
Belphegor's lips curled in a half-smile, dangerous and cold. "Someone you don't want as an enemy," he said simply.
Kael let the lightning dissipate around his arms. He was breathing hard, tunic torn and singed, but his grin was wide. "Remind me never to spar with you again."
Belphegor didn't reply. He simply turned away, surveying the battlefield as if judging whether the fight had been worth his time.
Lyra stepped forward hesitantly, glancing at the fallen men. "You didn't have to kill them."
Belphegor turned his head toward her, expression unreadable. "They raised weapons against me. Their lives were forfeit."
Jarek grunted. "I like him."
Corin scowled. "He's a monster."
Belphegor's crimson eyes glowed faintly. "I am what I am."
Kael fizzled out and he stepped forward, forcing Belphegor to meet his gaze. "Next time, you try not to make a public execution out of it. We need survivors for questioning."
Belphegor tilted his head, amused. "Then you should have said so before I broke them."
They searched the bodies and found a map scrawled with crude markings — a camp deeper in the forest.
"Good," Kael said, rolling it up. "We follow this trail tomorrow, find whoever's giving the orders, and end this for good."