After overcoming the obstacles and climbing over the fortifications, the group of Reapers gradually made their way deeper into the village.
Their plan was simple: sneak inside unnoticed and start fires. The flames would distract the main defense, forcing the defenders to deal with the fires and weakening the positions at the entrance.
While everyone's attention was fixed on the burning houses, it would become much easier for the rest of their comrades to break through.
As it turned out, this was a newly arrived reinforcement group that hadn't participated in the battle from the beginning. But, having learned from the bitter experience of their comrades, they already knew how to bypass the obstacles, slip inside, and remain unnoticed.
Well… almost unnoticed.
Just as they began preparing their torches, five people ran toward them from around the corner.
.
.
.
After the plan was agreed upon, Garen and his group headed immediately toward the place where the intruders had entered the village.
But when they arrived, they found no one there — only numerous footprints in the dirt leading deeper into the streets.
— Damn it, we missed them!
Garen quickly examined the tracks, trying to determine the direction. A second later he dashed off along the trampled path.
The others silently followed.
They didn't have to run long. After a couple of turns, unfamiliar voices reached them.
Garen sped up.
Rounding the corner, they finally spotted the Reapers — who were already preparing to start fires, holding lit torches.
— Stop right there!
The riders turned sharply toward the shout and froze, still gripping their torches.
— Get out of here, or you'll regret it!
Garen shouted openly at the Reapers. This wasn't some act meant to look brave.
He meant every word.
And so did the others standing beside him.
— Damn… they told us there wouldn't be anyone here.
One of the Reapers lowered his head with a disappointed sigh. But the next moment he lifted it again, chuckled quietly… and started laughing.
Zorru and Garen exchanged glances, confused by his sudden amusement.
— What's so funny?
The Reaper wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and smirked.
— Sorry… just remembered something.
— Mm? And what exactly?
He tilted his head slightly.
— Oh, nothing special… just remembered how people scream when they burn alive.
After those words, the faces of Garen and the others visibly hardened.
But none of them rushed to attack.
According to Zorru, there should have been about ten enemies.
However, during the time they spent discussing the interception plan, their numbers had grown.
Now there were twenty-one of them.
And Garen's group numbered only five.
An open fight under those conditions would almost certainly mean casualties. So they could only stall for time and hope for reinforcement.
Garen quickly assessed the situation.
In his mind appeared the device Oven and Suron had been assembling.
The bomb made from the Thunder-Fox core.
If used properly, it could turn the tide.
But there was a problem.
The Reapers were spread across the wide street. For the explosion to be effective, they needed to be gathered into a tighter group.
Now he just needed to find a way to make them cluster together.
And then an idea formed.
Garen was primarily a swordsman, but he could use magic as well.
Back when he commanded the knightly order, he often used fire barriers to divide enemies into smaller groups and deal with them more easily.
Now he intended to do something similar.
He would create walls of fire along the sides of the street, limiting their room to maneuver. If it worked, the Reapers would be trapped in a narrow space and forced closer together.
That would create the perfect conditions for the bomb.
But before acting, he decided to stall a little longer — distract them with conversation and dull their vigilance.
— Well… maybe it really is funny watching someone burn. So tonight I'd like to laugh while watching you burn instead.
— Huh? What are you talking about, old man? Lost your mind in your old age? In case you didn't notice, we're the ones holding the torches.
— Maybe you're right. I'm not young anymore. But that doesn't mean I don't have the strength to deal with you. And if you haven't noticed — I'm not alone.
With that, Garen glanced at his group.
But the Reapers weren't impressed. If anything, his confidence amused them even more, and laughter echoed down the street.
But Garen's plan was already working.
Their caution slowly faded. A few Reapers who had been standing farther away moved closer — wanting to hear the conversation better and perhaps join in.
Suron, Vost, and Zorru didn't fully understand what Garen was doing or where all his confidence suddenly came from.
But Oven, being an old friend, knew him well. He immediately realized that Garen was deliberately stalling.
So he decided to play along.
— Laugh all you want, but I'll tell you this… whether you've heard it before or not — he paused briefly — the one who laughs last laughs best.
The Reapers burst into even louder laughter.
One of them wiped tears from his eyes and said through chuckles:
— Whew… we'll have something to tell the guys back at camp tonight.
— Ha-ha-ha… that's for sure! For entertaining us so well tonight, you'll get credit for it in heaven.
After saying that, he nudged his companion in the side and they both burst out laughing again.
But the performance continued.
— Hm? And you're talking about heaven while slaughtering civilians?
The Reapers stopped laughing and looked more closely at the group standing before them — quickly finding something to mock.
— And what about you? If you haven't noticed, two monsters are standing beside you. Or has your religion started calling them people now?
Zorru, who had been silently watching until now, finally decided to speak.
— They may call us monsters… — he said calmly. — But we don't slaughter entire villages down to the last person like you do. So tell me… which of us is the real monster?
— Hm? Wasn't that exactly what your kind used to do?
— Don't compare us to our ancestors, — Vost replied coldly. — We were born from the magic of this land. They… were true spawn of hell.
— Well, excuse me for not knowing your history.
Without realizing it, the Reapers were slowly moving exactly where Garen wanted them.
In battle, it isn't just strength that matters — but the mind.
And that seemed to be their weak point.
While the tieflings and Owen distracted the Reapers with conversation, Garen slightly turned to Suron and whispered:
— Be ready to use that thing.
Suron nodded and slipped his hand into his pocket, gripping the bomb so he could pull it out and throw it into the crowd at the signal.
But there was a problem.
There was nothing solid nearby to strike the detonator against.
Looking around quickly, Suron noticed the metal shoulder guard on Vost's armor.
"That should work."
Nodding to himself, he returned his attention to the conversation, hand still in his pocket.
— If you're so brave… why not face me one-on-one?
One of the Reapers addressed Garen, but his companion immediately stopped him.
— Trying to prove yourself by fighting an old man?
— Huh? When did we ever care about that?
Seeing that they had finally relaxed, Garen knew it was time.
He grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it from the scabbard in a sharp motion.
— So you finally decided to accept my challenge? — one Reaper smirked.
— Not exactly.
— What do you mean?
The answer came immediately.
Garen flipped the blade downward and drove it into the ground.
Then he pressed his palms together like in a brief prayer and quietly said:
— Flame Barrier.
In the same instant, glowing lines raced along the sides of the street.
A moment later they ignited, rising upward as walls of fire closed in from both sides, cutting off the Reapers retreat.
Some of them remained outside the fiery walls.
But that didn't matter.
The main group was trapped inside.
And Garen had no intention of letting them go.
— Now!
At his command, Suron instantly pulled the bomb from his pocket and slammed the detonator against Vost's metal shoulder guard.
— Huh?
— Sorry, pal.
Without wasting a second, Suron swung his arm and hurled the device straight into the middle of the crowd.
The Reapers stood in a semicircle, still not fully understanding what was happening. The two fire walls were already rising along the sides of the street, gradually closing in.
Then a strange round object landed among them.
It hit the ground, rolled slightly across the stones, and stopped right between them.
All eyes turned toward it.
At first there was silence.
Then the object began glowing brightly. A sharp crackling sound followed as thin bolts of lightning ran across its surface, trying to burst out.
And then they understood.
— It's a bomb!
In the same instant they scattered in panic. Some tried to leap over their comrades, others stumbled backward.
But it was already too late.
The ring of fire closed completely, sealing every escape.
The sphere glowed brighter and brighter, emitting a shrill whine and crackling sound. A few Reapers tried to charge through the flames, but the wall was far hotter and denser than they expected.
And the next moment the air exploded.
A thunderous blast rolled down the street.
The bodies of the Reapers caught inside the fiery ring were thrown through the flames like rag dolls by the shockwave and scattered across the ground outside.
Some lost limbs — arms, legs…
Others were torn apart by fragments.
Those who survived rolled on the ground in agony, groaning hoarsely.
Immediately after the first explosion, a second one followed.
A burning fragment struck a barrel of gunpowder — the very one the Reapers had planned to use for demolitions.
But now the barrel detonated prematurely.
Fortunately — or perhaps unfortunately — the second explosion injured no one else.
However, outside the fire wall there were still Reapers who hadn't been caught in the trap.
They stood at a distance — shaken, but unharmed and still capable of fighting.
.
.
.
Just as I sprinted toward the explosion, another blast followed — weaker than the first.
That only made things more worrying.
I instinctively sped up.
Thoughts flooded my mind one after another: the villagers… Garen… Oven… Suron… the tieflings I had promised would survive this night.
And my chest tightened at the thought that everything might have gone wrong.
I quickly calculated the distance and realized running would take too long.
For a second I hesitated, understanding what it might lead to.
Then I spread my wings and took to the air.
Right now my secrets mattered far less than the safety of the people who had already become dear to me.
When I reached the area, I looked down from above.
Garen and the others stood with weapons in hand, but hadn't moved yet.
But what I saw next truly surprised me.
Nine or ten Reapers lay motionless on the ground. Some were still alive, writhing in pain across the street.
«Did they do all this…? What happened here?»
But that wasn't all.
About ten more were still standing — and clearly ready to fight.
I was about to intervene when Zorru, Garen, and the others suddenly rushed forward.
Owen stayed behind with his crossbow ready.
I decided not to interfere yet — to watch how things played out and step in only if necessary.
And then Garen did something I absolutely didn't expect.
He simply disappeared.
One moment he was there…
The next moment five Reapers running ahead suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Only then did Garen appear behind them.
As if he had been standing there the whole time.
— What the…
I narrowed my eyes.
What was that?
[Recorded: New Special Skill acquired — "Severing Step."]
— Huh?… What?
Even from this distance?
No way…
Now I understood how he did it.
Even my "Advanced Sense" hadn't detected that movement.
No surge of magic.
No shift in the air.
Nothing.
It was as if he had been cut out of space itself and placed somewhere else.
[Would you like to evolve the Advanced Skill "Advanced Sense" into the Unique Skill "Sixth Sense"?]
— What?
Evolve… straight into a Unique skill?
Skipping an entire tier?
I hesitated for a moment.
But if even my current skill couldn't detect that…
Fine. Do it.
[Accepted. Evolution process initiated.]
And then it hit me.
During evolution I could lose one of my existing skills.
Ahh! Wait, wait, wait!
[Denied. Process already initiated.]
Are you kidding me?! Damn system!
Elaris, say something!
*I can't. It already said the process started. Besides… you agreed*
Traitor!
For a moment my vision darkened, then everything returned to normal.
What was that…
[Success. Advanced Skill "Advanced Sense" has successfully evolved into Unique Skill "Sixth Sense."]
*That was it*
And what did I… lose?
[No existing abilities were lost.]
Wait. What?
[All abilities are stored within the space of the Special Skill "Abyss" and were unavailable during the evolution process. The evolution was completed using the accumulated magical energy within your body.]
I froze for a moment.
So…
— Wait… are you saying I just got a Unique skill… basically for free?
[The wording "for free" is incorrect. A significant amount of accumulated magical energy was consumed.]
Wow…
Didn't know that was possible.
— What other skills can I evolve?
[Due to the large expenditure of magical energy, initiating another evolution process is currently unavailable.]
— Damn… later then?
[That is possible.]
I couldn't help smiling.
Alright… we'll deal with that later.
Now wasn't the time to dig through the system. The fight was still going on below.
As I turned my attention back to the battlefield, I suddenly felt hostile intent coming from the forest — about a kilometer away from the village.
I froze for a moment.
Seriously…? I can sense threats from that far now?
Damn.
That's awesome.
.
.
.
Zorru had finally gotten the chance to take revenge on those who had destroyed his home and his people.
Maybe these weren't the exact same men.
But they belonged to the same organization.
That was enough for him.
Garen had already done half the work, and now they just needed to deal with those still standing.
Owen had already taken one down with a magical bolt that put the man to sleep instantly.
Suron didn't disappoint either — in a one-on-one fight he knocked his opponent out cold.
But two enemies still remained.
One for him.
One for Vost.
Vost was already fighting his opponent, while Zorru and his own opponent stood facing each other at a short distance.
For several seconds they simply stared at one another.
Zorru had one question he wanted answered before the fight began.
— Let me ask you something… why do you even do this?
The Reaper smirked.
— You mean the harvesting? Isn't it obvious? Money and pleasure, of course.
The answer came too calmly. There wasn't a hint of regret in the man's voice.
That hurt more than anything.
Something cold tightened inside Zorru's chest.
Killing innocents for coins and amusement… it simply didn't fit his understanding of the world.
Once he was sure there was no reason to show mercy, Zorru moved first.
Their blades clashed with a sharp ring.
The Reaper pressed forward immediately, trying to overpower him. Zorru stepped back, deflecting the strike and answering with a quick thrust.
Steel clanged again.
The Reaper bared his teeth and suddenly changed tempo, swinging downward. Zorru caught the blow on his guard, slid aside, and almost simultaneously lashed forward with his tail.
The Reaper didn't react in time.
The tiefling's tail wrapped around his leg and jerked hard.
The man lost his balance.
That was enough.
Zorru stepped forward, knocked the sword from his hand with a strike to the wrist, and pressed his blade against the man's throat.
The Reaper froze, staring into Zorru's eyes.
— For pleasure, huh? — Zorru said quietly.
Those were the last words the Reaper heard.
A second later Zorru drove his sword into the man's throat, twisted the blade, and pulled it free.
The Reaper choked, clutching the wound, but it was already too late.
He collapsed to his knees… then fell forward, drowning in his own blood.
Zorru didn't bother watching the end.
Looking around, he noticed that Vost had already finished his opponent as well.
Vost wiped his blade on the fallen man's cloak and sheathed his sword.
The two of them turned and walked back toward the others who were waiting.
— Good work, boys. Nicely done, — Garen said, having watched their brief fights.
Zorru and Vost simply nodded with faint smiles.
— Looks like we've dealt with all of them, — Oven said, scanning the street. — The front line is finished too. People are already pulling back to rest.
— I think Lord Rein will be pleased with us, — Zorru said.
The night finally seemed to calm down.
At least… that's what they thought.
Suddenly the night sky lit up with a bright glow.
They looked up.
A winged figure hovered above the village — one that looked very familiar.
— No way… Rein?
Oven was the first to recognize him.
.
.
.
While the others were fighting below, new enemies were slowly approaching the village.
«How many of you are there…»
They had already reached the fence and were about to climb over when I decided to ruin their plans.
They had no idea I was watching from above.
And they definitely weren't expecting an attack from the sky.
I raised my hand toward the heavens and decided to use the same attack I had used earlier when speaking with the Reaper leader — back when I was inside the shell body.
But now I was back in my true body. The limits were gone.
Energy rapidly gathered in my palm. The small dark sphere grew larger, expanding into a dense mass of black flames intertwined with crackling lightning.
The street lit up like daylight.
— Lightfire!
I swung my arm and hurled the attack straight at the Reapers.
They barely had time to look up before the flames swallowed them.
There was little doubt anyone had survived.
But I still checked with my "Sixth Sense" to be sure.
And sure enough — they were all dead.
I lowered my gaze toward the village and noticed that everyone below was staring straight at me.
Looks like it was finally time to explain.
And finally tell them the truth.