'He... that bastard. I must kill him.'
Kael's feet dragged with a chaotic and unmeasured walk. Each step had a length and spacing greater or lesser than the previous one, with no pattern.
"What's happening?"
"Whose voice is that?"
"Do you think it was real in the first place? Yuste had already mentioned that madness existed in this world… Maybe a strange being affected us on purpose."
Several old people were gathered together with adults who could well be young, theorizing about that strange voice.
"Short old man... Several of us are somewhat short... Could they mean Pleyt? He usually helps the camp too much to be hostile."
A girl's ears twisted slightly upon hearing this; she turned to look at them with suspicion, then saw Kael. "What happened? You've been acting weird for a while..."
"Sahima." A calm and soft voice resonated nearby.
Amara, with her dark blue eyes, was focused on the cat girl. "I need you for a few questions; don't bother Kael."
"But he looks bad..."
The dreamer ignored Sahima; her hand pulled her toward her. "I. Have. To. Ask. You. Some. Questions."
Forcing Sahima, she took her away from the young man.
'Amara has been strange since we suspected Adriel's death. Lately she's very close to Elena…' The circle in Kael's eyes didn't stop moving monotonously.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale—this action was repeated by Kael. 'She is succumbing to the succubus... Liora died; Adriel isn't here…' Little by little, the circle spun harder as his breathing quickened.
His heart sounded like a fast, steady drum.
'We're rotten.'
He turned to look at a pile of small wooden sticks.
...
"Hey, let me go already!" Sahima extended her claws and tried to scratch the brown skin that was pulling her.
Amara reacted quickly; with one hand she stopped the scratch, seizing her wrist, then, releasing the cat girl's arm, she grabbed her chin with two fingers.
"Sahima, we need to leave him alone. You want to survive, don't you? That's why you hired Kael; now he's in the perfect state to save us from a catastrophe. He's going to recover from whatever he has; just let him be."
"Tsk."
A strong movement from the cat girl forced Amara to release her.
Free, she stared at Amara; her feline eyes were narrowed with hostility. "Do you know what's happening to him? I don't remember very well, but he seems to be in the middle of an episode of semi-madness!"
"Really? Well, that's going to save us."
"You're his friend, aren't you? You should be more worried than me!"
Amara moved closer to the cat girl, invading her personal space. "Yes... I already saw the solution, leave him as he is, in the end all you have to do is this"
She held the girl's cheeks and opened her mouth, then kissed her with passion.
After several seconds, she released her. "A cat's tongue is very different, somewhat rough." She mentioned calmly.
Sahima stood still in place for a few seconds, her eyes now wide open.
"Do this with Kael when I tell you that we're already okay."
'I hope I can do it with him too.'
Amara thought a little about Adriel and blushed, while Sahima was left with her tail straight and motionless.
'I'd better take her with me. Elena must have already finished the preparations. We're going to survive.'
...
A strong wind began to blow in the camp; hair, clothes, and grass waved rhythmically in that fierce weather.
The tree leaves fell in piles onto the ground only to then fly away.
A person was making constant friction with two sticks. Their hands were already bright red from the time that had passed; their body completely covered the sticks from the wind. Dancing under the light of the moons.
A small dancing flame emerged after a while; that bright red soon jumped to the grass near the person's arms.
Kael stood up upon seeing this and moved aside. The strong wind touched the flame instantly; oxygen helped the small fire expand and strengthen.
Tree leaves fell nearby, providing a source of fuel and making the fire spread.
'Even if the old man is in the forest, the flames will soon consume him.'
The protector summoned his shield, a gift from his friend who could well be dead. 'Adriel, even if you had wanted to kill Yuste, I know you would have left him to me in case something else appeared.' He convinced himself.
Tonight, a massacre will take place.
The small flame spread much further; it quickly consumed the wooden wall, the grass, and the surrounding trees. The strong wind moved the sparks to more places, starting more fires throughout the camp.
A dance of red and yellow appeared everywhere quickly; screams of fear arose from the old people and adults in the camp.
Kael walked with a firm, calm step toward a single person, a small old man with an unsettling gaze and a small beard.
Thanks to the light provided by the flickering flames, he could discern his target with ease.
The old man turned around, easily detecting Kael. "You have a great killing intent, young man." He pointed out with a frown.
He summoned a sword in his left hand; it was of deplorable quality, clearly a goblin drop. "This morning I saw it. You killed Liora, a brown-haired girl."
"Even if I deny it, you'll kill me, won't you?"
"I saw it clearly with my own eyes: denying it and not defending yourself means you regret it."
"Ha, I suppose I have no options."
Strong wind blew around them, moving their clothes and spreading the flames further. The young man's face was icy; in his eyes, the circles were moving more slowly.
With his right hand he protected his stomach and part of his back, while his left pointed sharply at the old man.
The old man's eyes narrowed; two invisible leaves struck the wooden shield, marking it, but nothing more.
As if this were the gong that starts the fight, Kael lunged at the old man. His foot planted firmly on the ground in front of the man and he twisted his waist with a horizontal slash.
Before Kael's attack could cut Pleyt, he summoned his weapon, a long, shining saber with a clear, lethal edge.
The corners of his lips twitched after completely stopping the attack. "How's that? Am I too strong for you?"
Pleyt raised his foot and kicked Kael's shield to push him back, but there was no reaction; it was like hitting a well-made brick wall.
"Did you think my dominant and weak sides were the same?"
Now Kael kicked him, sending the old man several steps back, but he didn't knock him to the ground.
Barely holding himself up, the man looked at the protector with a smile. "Are you the one who started this fire?"
He didn't answer; he approached the old man eagerly, looking for an opening to kill.
Again invisible leaves attacked the protector; one struck the shield with force, but the other cut a little of the young man's left side.
The pain didn't stop him; he could resist it; his class was made to receive such punishment. Without hesitation, he inserted his sword into his enemy's left side, stabbing the old man deeply.
He quickly pulled it out and protected everything he could with his shield.
"This is quite dangerous, huh? Well, it is for someone unprepared."
Pleyt reached into his pocket while slowly walking backward. Soon he took out a brown paper with something inscribed on it in an unknown substance.
"Ice Enchantment." He whispered in a moderately audible way, soon placed the talisman on his wound and it froze.
Even near the flames, this talisman and the ice left by it felt cold.
Kael narrowed his eyes slightly upon seeing such a scene. "Useless."
He ran fiercely and threw his sword at the man's upper section, then threw his shield down.
Pleyt deflected the sword and received the shield's blow with a terrifying smile; Kael's weapons had run out.
He looked around for the young man, but he didn't see him in front, at least not at his eye level.
He was almost touching the ground, his fist tensed and overflowing with vitality; right in his knuckles was the young man's center of gravity, all the weight of his body and the strength of his muscles.
The old man received the punch directly in his stomach, a punch so strong that it sent him flying.
He fell on his back to the ground—no, he fell on his back into the scorching fire created by Kael. 'Damn useless, when I moved back I didn't check how close I was to the fire.'
He summoned the large blanket he used against the ogre and threw it over the old man so he couldn't escape, then picked up his shield and cleaned it with one hand.
The heart-rending screams of the old man burning alive resonated throughout the camp and part of the forest.
'Trash.'
"Congratulations, you have killed a human. Phase: Initial Category: B. Description: A [Predator] with invisible and lethal attacks and a great sense of smell for negative feelings."