Footsteps approached from multiple directions. Ethan's armoured form dominated Richard's vision as other residents emerged from the settlement's ruins.
There were residents who'd lost friends, family members who'd watched loved ones die, survivors of the sabotage that had nearly claimed their lives.
"Look around you, Richard," Ethan's voice was emotionless. "Look at what you've done."
Richard's eyes darted across the faces surrounding him, seeing nothing but hatred and barely contained violence. Bodies lay scattered throughout the plaza, testament to the slaughter his actions had brought to their peaceful community.
"I made mistakes, yes, but I can help! I know things—"
"Like how to weaken support beams?" Ethan's voice cut through his pleading. "How to sabotage peoples work? How to endanger children?"
Richard's composure was cracking. Tears began streaming down his face as the reality of his situation became clear. "Please, I'm sorry! I was angry, I made terrible choices, but I can make amends!"
"Like how you made amends after you used Maria's children against her?" Ethan took another step forward. "When you held Isaac and Noah hostage to control their mother?!"
"That was different!" Richard protested desperately. "I was trying to maintain order! Someone had to make the hard decisions!"
"Maintaining order?" A woman from the crowd spat. "You were terrorising people!"
"You call sabotaging our safety maintaining order?" another voice shouted.
"You lived like a king while we scraped by," Eric said, his anger building with each word. "You made people beg for basic necessities."
Richard fell to his knees. "I can change! I can be better! Just give me another chance!"
"You had your chance." Ethan replied.
"Please!" Richard's voice rose to a wail. "I'll do anything! I'll work, I'll serve, I'll—"
"You'll die," someone from the crowd shouted. "Just like the people your brother killed!"
"Make him suffer!" another voice added.
Richard's breathing became panicked as he looked from face to face, seeing nothing but condemnation. The arrogance that had sustained him throughout his rule, throughout his imprisonment, and the battle itself—it all crumbled away, leaving only terror.
"I don't want to die," he whispered, his voice breaking completely. "Please, I don't want to die."
Ethan studied the pathetic figure before him. This was the man who'd ruled through fear and intimidation, who'd used children as leverage, who'd brought death to their peaceful community. Now he knelt in the dirt, sobbing like a child.
"You fell so far from your high and mighty pedestal," Ethan observed. "When you ruled this place, you acted like a king. Even after we took over, you maintained your pride and arrogance. Now look at you—pathetic."
That's when something changed in Richard's expression. The terror remained, but underneath it, a flicker of the old Richard emerged—the man who'd clawed his way to power, who'd never accepted defeat gracefully.
"Fine," he snarled, wiping tears from his face. "Fine! You want to execute me like animals? You're no better than I ever was!"
He lunged to his feet. "I won't die grovelling in the dirt for you people!"
He bolted through the crowd, shoving people aside as he fled towards Valentra's borders. His desperation gave him speed, the residents were too shocked by his sudden action to react immediately.
"After him!" someone shouted, Ethan was already moving.
The armoured giant pushed through the crowd, his heavy footsteps sounding out as he pursued him.
"As if I'd let you get away!" Ethan roared.
Richard's breathing was becoming laboured as he pushed towards the grassland beyond Valentra's borders. His legs burned with exertion, but the sound of pursuit drove him forward.
"I'll disappear!" Richard shouted over his shoulder. "You'll never see me again! I'll leave this continent entirely!"
"You should have thought of that before, it's far too late now" Ethan replied, gaining ground with each stride.
When the inevitable happened near the settlement's edge, Richard spun around to face his pursuer, a dagger trembling in his grip. "Stay back! I'll fight you!"
Ethan's laugh was cold and humourless. "You'll fight me? With that knife?"
Richard's desperate attack scraped harmlessly off the metal plating. Ethan's gauntleted hand closed around Richard's wrist with crushing force.
"Drop it," Ethan commanded.
The bones in Richard's wrist started to crack under the pressure making him scream and release the weapon. Ethan backhanded him across the face, sending him sprawling in the dirt.
"Please," Richard gasped, tasting blood. "I tried to run. I was leaving. You don't have to—"
"Do you remember the last time we did this?" Ethan asked, looming over him. "When we took over the settlement?"
Ethan's boot came down on Richard's right arm with deliberate force. The snap of breaking bone was audible even over Richard's agonised scream.
"This is for your previous crimes," Ethan said calmly, moving to Richard's left arm.
Another sickening crack, another scream that echoed across the grassland.
"This is for sabotaging our hard work," Ethan continued, positioning his boot over Richard's right leg.
Richard writhed in the grass, his desperate pleas cut short by waves of agony as bone after bone splintered under Ethan's feet.
"And this is for every person who died today," Ethan said, moving to the final limb.
The last break left Richard barely conscious, his voice reduced to weak whimpers as shock began to set in.
Ethan grabbed him by his neck and began dragging him across the grass, away from Valentra's walls. Richard's agonised wails grew weaker with each metre they travelled.
He released Richard far from the settlement, leaving him broken and bleeding in the wilderness. Blood seeped from multiple wounds, staining the grass around him.
"Suffer in hell you scum," Ethan spat.
He turned and walked back towards Valentra, ignoring the fading cries behind him. By the time he reached the settlement's edge, Richard's voice had fallen silent.
Justice had been served.
---
Ethan's return to the plaza drew immediate attention. The residents who'd witnessed Richard's attempt at running away looked at him with a mixture of satisfaction and unspoken gratitude.
Around the plaza, the sounds of battle were beginning to fade as the remaining Iron Vanguard soldiers realised their leaders were dead.
AJ's form shifted back to his normal human appearance as he and Ethan moved towards the housing area, where confused voices and the clash of weapons still echoed from various directions.
The surviving Iron Vanguard members were scattered throughout Valentra, and each one needed to be dealt with before the community could truly be safe.
Near the destroyed bridge that had once connected the northern and southern portions of the plaza, they found Victor's team cornering three Iron Vanguard soldiers. They had their backs to the rubble, weapons drawn but their faces showing despair.
"Surrender now and we can let you live," Victor called out, his dagger held ready.
Two of the soldiers dropped their weapons immediately, their hands raised as they sank to their knees. The third, a scarred veteran with wild eyes, spat at the ground.
"I won't surrender to the likes of you," he snarled, raising his sword.
Alex moved faster than the man could react, his twin daggers ending the veteran's life before he could cause any more problems. The body collapsed beside the bridge's broken stones, adding one more corpse to the day's grim tally.
"Two prisoners," Victor reported as Tyler and Zoe secured the surrendering soldiers. One was a young woman with short dark hair who kept her eyes fixed on the ground. The other was an older man whose hands shook as he was being restrained.
"Lyra," the woman said quietly when asked for her name though she refused to respond to any other questions.
Throughout the settlement, similar scenes were playing out. The remaining Iron Vanguard soldiers found themselves facing a choice between death and surrender, with most choosing the latter once they understood their leaders were gone.
Near the agricultural areas, Lily had cornered two fleeing soldiers with her bow. They surrendered without much resistance, their weapons discarded in the dirt.
Walter emerged from the residential district with another prisoner, a young soldier who couldn't have been much older than 16. The boy's face was streaked with tears as he stumbled along, guided by Walter's firm hand.
Sam appeared from the workshop area, his spear bloodied from an encounter with a soldier who'd chosen to fight rather than flee. The man's body lay crumpled amongst scattered tools and debris.
As the last of the Iron Vanguard stragglers were hunted down or surrendered, Valentra's residents began to emerge from their hiding places. Children's voices rose in confusion and fear as they were reunited with parents, whilst adults surveyed the damage to their community with solemn expressions.
The eastern gate was now a pile of rubble, houses lay in ruins, their walls collapsed or burnt. The medical centre stood empty, its supplies scattered and equipment destroyed. Personal belongings lay trampled in the mud, whilst bloodstains marked where desperate fights had taken place.
Doc Hayes moved through the plaza with Claire and her remaining assistants, treating wounded defenders as best they could with their limited remaining supplies. The doctor's face was grim as she worked, her movements efficient despite the obvious exhaustion weighing on her shoulders.
"It's just a shallow cut, you'll be fine," she told a man, wrapping a bandage around his arm. "Keep it clean and it should heal quickly."
She moved to the next wounded resident, her practised hands assessing and treating injuries swiftly. A dislocated shoulder here, a deep gash there, countless bruises and minor wounds that spoke to the violence that had swept through their peaceful community.
Maria moved in the direction of the safe house her kids should've been in. Her movements were strained and unsteady but she couldn't relax until she knew they were safe.
"Mum!" Noah's voice cut through the noise as he spotted her.
Both boys ran towards her, their faces bright with relief. Maria dropped to her knees as they crashed into her arms, holding them tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"You're safe," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You're both safe."
Isaac pulled back to look at her, his young face serious. "We heard the fighting. Mrs Janet told us to stay hidden, but... she didn't come back."
Maria's expression tightened. "Where is Janet now?"
"We don't know," Noah replied, his voice small. "She went to stop some bad men from following us."
Realisation dawned on Maria, a wave of grief and something like guilt washed over her but she forced herself to maintain composure for her children's sake.
"She was very brave," she managed. "She made sure you were safe."
Maria, still holding Noah's hand whilst Isaac leaned against her side, noticed the others approaching. Walter limped over, his cane tapping against the broken stones, whilst Sam appeared from the direction of the workshops, his spear strapped across his back.
Lily jogged over from the watchtower area, her bow slung over her shoulder, and Victor emerged from where he'd been organising the prisoners. while AJ and Ethan were already nearby.
They stood together in a rough circle, seven friends who'd survived the worst day in Valentra's short history.
The exhaustion was evident on every face—Walter leaning heavily on his cane, Sam's shoulders sagging with fatigue, Maria's movements were still slightly unsteady.
But there were small smiles too, quiet expressions of relief as they took in the sight of each other, battered but alive.
"We made it," Lily said softly. "All of us."
"Barely," Victor replied, though his tone carried no complaint. "I wasn't sure we would."
Walter nodded slowly, his weathered face showing the weight of the day's events.
"What about Marcus and Richard?" Sam asked, glancing towards where the Hale brothers' bodies had been.
"I defeated Marcus, he naturally didn't survive," AJ said simply.
Ethan's voice was equally matter-of-fact. "I took care of Richard." The others quickly picked up on his meaning.
"Good," Maria said quietly, her arms tightening around her children. "They have no one but themselves to blame for it."