Six men entered the room with sticks in their hands.

Rayen stood up. "What do you want?"

They looked from one side to the other. "Where are your crystals?"

Rayen noticed that one of them had two crystals on his hand. "Are those... Vesh's?"

"Where are your crystals?!" Losing his patience, a guy slashed with his weapon.

Rayen crouched and the stick passed above his head. The attack was nothing Rayen couldn't handle. 'Much slower than Takuya.' Rayen was about to snatch the stick away, when someone tried to kick him. He jumped back, barely evading it. He saw another stick coming his way; another guy had attacked him. *Baam* This time, they hit him. He collided with the wall and fell to the floor. A warm trail of blood traveled across his head.

Pain filled Rayen's head. He tried to get up, but someone kicked him. *Paa* Another guy punched him.

"Where are your crystals?" One of them walked forward.

"I... I don't have any." Rayen looked at them. He recognized two of them. They were the servants who stared at him while he was waiting for the books. The others might have been there too; Rayen didn't pay attention at that time.

The guy took the book in the floor. "You could've asked for crystals, but you asked for a few stupid books? What a retard," their leader said. "Search the room, he must have hidden them somewhere."

The guy who first attacked him slammed his stick on Rayen's face. "How dare you evade me. I will make you pay for that." He stepped on Rayen's stomach.

*Cough cough* Rayen coughed blood. He moved to his side, his whole body hurt.

"Remember that we can't kill him," the leader said.

One guy kicked the bed and the books fell. "I found them." He took them out. "Foundation, foundation, foundation. Why the heck do you want so many foundations?"

"He really is a retard. Take them anyway."

"Look, a barrier technique."

The leader knelt in front of Rayen and held him by the neck. "Next time get us some crystals, okay?" He threw him to the floor and kicked him one last time.

Rayen sat down. 'I have to wait. If I open the door now, they will come back.' He put his ear on the floor. One door closed, two doors closed, three, four, five... "Now." He quickly opened the door and saw how the last door closed. "Okay, so he lives there." A man came to him, covered in blood.

"Vesh?"

"Indeed." Vesh brushed off some of his blood. "It befell to you as well, uh? Those lowly bastards assailed you. Yet, here you are, outside, observing them."

"What do you want?" Rayen frowned.

Vesh smiled. "If my guess is correct, as I hope it is, we possess identical intentions."

"Justice. Right?"

"I would call it revenge, but yes. Justice. They committed an abhorrent mistake; they didn't went all the way on their attacks. When you attack, you should proceed with vehemence. Not stopping until the conclusion. They failed to do so; they did it inadequately. And they will suffer for that."

"First, we must check Yune and Saya. I hope they are alright."

Vesh nodded. "I will go to paradise. I mean, I will inspect my beloved's room. You go check Saya's."

"Hmm... Let's both go to check Yune."

"Knock first," Rayen said. Vesh didn't hear him or didn't care, since he opened the door without knocking. A stick evaded Vesh and went in Rayen's direction. He didn't have time to react. *Pooom* He fell to the floor, bleeding. 'Much faster than Takuya...' It hurt him more than the other guys' attacks together.

Saya stood at the door, not letting them pass. "What are you doing entering a lady's room in the middle of the night?"

"Ugh..." Rayen held his head to prevent it from moving from side to side. He wanted to respond, but couldn't.

"My princess, I have forged my path to examine your welfare. If something terrible were to befell to my beloved, I would be willing to annihilate the entire planet, since a planet without you isn't worth existing."

"Little Ray, are you alright?" Yune dodged Vesh and went to check on Rayen.

"I'm not." Rayen pointed at Saya. "That almost killed me."

"Oh, don't exaggerate," Saya said. "It was a light strike."

"You used mana." Rayen pointed at her hands. There were still some traces of mana on them.

"Let's see if I can do something to heal you." Yune put her hands on Rayen's head and a warm light appeared.

"I also pray for your divine assistance," Vesh said.

Rayen didn't felt anything except the warm.

"Uh... I'm not skilled enough. Sorry."

"Thanks anyway," Rayen said. "I'm glad you two are alright."

"Come inside." Yune went back to her room.

"My queen. I'm utmost honored. The most acclaimed time has finally occurred. I find it hard to believe, but in the depths of my soul I knew it will happen promptly. The time in which you would summon me to the most sacred of places, to your holy abode."

"What happened to you?" Yune asked Rayen.

"We got attacked by six servants."

"That is indeed what transpired," Vesh said. "Those six lowly savages did unspeakable things to us. Unassisted, they're weak, even in groups of two or three, but with them being six and armed, we couldn't guard ourselves satisfactorily."

"I thought you two came to do unspeakable things as well," Saya said.

"We would never do such a thing," Rayen responded with a firm tone.

"..." Vesh, on the other hand, didn't say anything.

'Vesh, come on.' Rayen stared at Vesh.

"Why would they do such a thing?" Yune put her hand on her mouth and looked at him with an anxious look.

"The servants hate us," Rayen said. "They saw us getting books and crystals from Kris, so they came to attack us."

"What are you going to do?"

"Justice."

"I imagined." Yune exhaled. "Do you need help?"

"No," Vesh said. "This is something we must do ourselves. I cannot put you in danger. It needs to be us and only us. We must show them what happens if you mess with us. If that doesn't happen, everybody will come vent with us. First is this incompetent group, but the next one may not be so amateurish. They will go all the way. We must strike first and hard. Set them as an exemplar. Then protect ourselves."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I agree." Rayen nodded.

"Men..." Yune sighed. "With their honor and stuff. It's safer if all four of us go. Five, with Stone as well."

"We will be fine," Rayen said.

"I'm sorry, my princess, but I must excuse myself now." Vesh bowed and looked at Rayen. "Let's proceed with our revenge."

"Let's check on the rakuyas and Stone."

"Stone will be fine," Vesh said. "I pity them if they go against him."

Rayen and Vesh went to Remya's room. This time, Rayen went ahead and knocked first. No one answered. He did it again, then entered the room. The room was empty.

Rayen stepped back, his heartbeat increased. "Do you think something bad happened to them?"

"Don't be afraid," Vesh said. "They must be together in the other room."

They went to Sonya's room. Rayen knocked.

"Who is it?" A voice asked inside.

"Rayen and Vesh."

The door opened. The two rakuyas were there together.

"What happened?" Sonya asked. "You two are covered in wounds."

"Six servants attacked us."

"Why?" Remya asked. "For skipping work?" There was clear annoyance on her tone of voice.

"We went with Kris to take out some books and crystals. They saw us and attacked us to steal them."

"You left us all alone in there," Sonya said.

"Right, right... If there is a next time, we will tell her to take you too."

"Okay." Sonya nodded. "So, books and crystals? Did you asked her to rely the message to the rakuyas?"

"I forgot," Rayen said.

"What?!" The two of them screamed.

"Eh..." Rayen scratched his head. "I was too busy thinking about foundations. It just went over my head." 'It will take years for the village to get in danger anyway,' Rayen thought. He didn't want to say that outloud for fear of angering them.

"..." They just looked at him in silence.

"I remembered it," Vesh said. "But I don't think it will be appropriate yet. Think about it. Kris doesn't have anything, how is she going to prove them that she is telling the truth. She can't even get inside the Rakuya Forest. And even if she meets a rakuya outside, the rakuya won't believe her a single word."

"What do we do then? The holy trees are still in danger."

"I don't know," Rayen said. "We will think about this later."

"You guys... Are the worst." Remya pushed them outside and slammed the door.

"Well, the rakuyas are fine," Rayen said. "Let's go."

They went outside to look for the things they needed. Half an hour later, Vesh came back with an unlit improvised torch and a big rock. Rayen only had a stick he found, probably from a broken shovel. It was quite sturdy.

"No mercy," Vesh said.

"No mercy." Rayen nodded.

Vesh left the torch on his room. He won't need it for now.

They went to the room of the sixth one. The one Rayen saw.

"Who is there?" He got up. He was reading a book, he dropped it on his bed.

Without saying anything Vesh dashed toward him and attacked him with his rock. The rock hit his chin, breaking it. A few teeth and blood stained the wall. The guy fell to the floor.

"Where are the others?"

"Fa fiu." His jaw was hanging. He couldn't pronounce the words correctly. He tried to get up, but Vesh put his hand on the guy's mouth and slammed the rock on his left knee. His leg bent in an unnatural direction. The guy screamed through Vesh' hand.

Vesh looked at Rayen. Rayen was taken aback. "No mercy," Vesh repeated.

Rayen nodded and straightened himself.

"I will say it clearly, so that even an idiot like yourself can understand me," Vesh said. "If you don't tell us where they are. One by one, your limbs will break. Is that what you want? Let alone learning magic, you won't even be able to leave this room. Am I clear?"

"Fan fan." He nodded. "Wa twel fiu."

They dragged him outside. "Point to the rooms."

He pointed to five different rooms. "Good." Vesh dragged him back to his room. "I know where two of them reside, and he pointed them faithfully." Vesh threw him to the floor and hit him again with the rock.

"Aaaaahhh."

"Are you going to go back on your word?" Rayen took Vesh arm to stop him.

"He will apprise the others."

"You cannot go back to your word."

"Wa won't, wa won't," the guy protested.

"No mercy." Vesh raised the rock.

"No." Rayen took the rock from Vesh's hand.

"Then what if they come to us?"

"We can take them all."

"That will put us in jeopardy for nothing."

"We can carry him with us."

"Carry him? Too much of a hassle. We need to carry many things and he will be a liability."

"I won't go back on my words."

"You may not desire to do it, but I will."

"I won't let you." Rayen put the stick on Vesh neck.

"Ugh... Fine." Vesh stood up. When Rayen took out the stick from Vesh neck, Vesh punched the lame guy twice to knock him out.

"Hey." Rayen glared at Vesh.

"At least that."

Rayen took the book the guy was reading. They left and entered the room he pointed at. What he said was true. There was one of the attackers there. He was meditating with a crystal on his hand.

Vesh slammed the rock on the guy's head. He fell back in pain, not knowing what had happened. When clarity came back to his eyes, he saw Rayen and Vesh punching him. His body filled with pain and blood.

"Heeelp!" He screamed.

"Shhhhh..." Vesh covered his mouth. "It will be a problem if someone hears us."

Rayen approached the guy. "If you didn't want to suffer, you shouldn't have done those things you did." He slammed the stick right on his arteries. His hand wriggled.

"Argh."

"This is justice. Once you attack someone, you allow them to do the same thing to you."

"Don't talk so highly," he said. "You're doing what we did."

"No. It's not the same. Attacking an innocent and attacking someone who attacks innocents are two different things."

"You guys made a mistake," Vesh said. "When you attack, you must go all the way. Not leave things unfinished. You must attack swiftly and leave everything on your attack." He held his mouth and with the other hand he raised the rock. "Like this" He slammed it on his elbow. *Crack* The guy screamed, but his voice was lost. Vesh raised the rock once again, and slammed it again. Blood splashed everywhere. *Poooom poooom* He slammed again and again. His elbow broke completely, leaving the arm hanging half-broke. It was one hit short from completely breaking.

"Rayen, your turn." Vesh gave the rock to Rayen. "I need to get the torch."

Rayen looked at the rock on his hand. The last time he attacked someone with a rock was with Lena. He smashed her head until she died. And now he was using a rock once again to attack someone.

"Are you not going to do it? Are you a coward?"

"I'm not." Rayen's sight left the rock and went into Vesh's eyes. "I was remembering the last time I killed someone with a rock."

Vesh was taken aback. He could tell Rayen was telling the truth, but he never expected Rayen to say such a thing. The guy on the floor squirmed.

"Don't worry." Rayen held the guys mouth. "I won't kill you. I can't kill you. The oath prevents me from doing so, but not from crippling you." He slammed the rock on the guy's shoulder. It was harder to break the arm that way, but Rayen just had to slam more times.

Vesh left the room and went to look for the torch.

*Pooom poooom* He kept slamming the rock on the guy's arm until it fell to the floor. The guy was crying as the floor became a pool of blood. Rayen stood up and went to the bed nearby. The blood fell on his clothes. Thankfully, they were easy to clean. So he had no trouble cleaning them. The guy couldn't move anyway.

Vesh came back and used the torch on the guy's arm to stop the bleeding. The guy squealed as his flesh blackened. He took the rock and did the last strike to break his other arm. You could see the guy's white humerus and tendons hanging out. He closed the injury with the fire once more.

"Now your legs." Rayen took the rock and knelt to attack his legs. He discovered a yellow fluid mixed on the pool of blood. "Disgusting." One by one, he broke the two of them. Vesh looked at him while holding the guy's mouth and the torch. Once Rayen finished, he applied the torch to the guy's open injury.

In a few minutes, it all ended. The guy stood on the floor, unconscious. His legs and arms at his side, not connected to his body. Below him, a pool of blood and piss.

"Five more to go," Vesh said. Rayen nodded and the left the room. The next room was completely empty, and so was the following one.

"Where are they?" Rayen opened the door. A stick sped toward him. It hit him on the face. He walked back, his face covered in blood.

"I advised you to dismember him," Vesh said. "Yet, you didn't heed my counseling."

Four of them walked outside. "So, it was you guys. How dare you do such a thing?!" He slammed the stick on the floor and broke it. "Dismember him you said? I will dismember each one of you and then torture you until you understand that you should never had messed with us."

Some of the servants went outside to enjoy the show; others just closed the doors and made sure no one could enter.

Vesh moved the torch to their faces. The two servants attacking him moved back. When they tried to hit back, Vesh defended with the rock. The stick broke in half. And Vesh pressed forward.

While Vesh advanced, Rayen receded. Rayen received a constant barrage of strikes from both sides. He had a hard time blocking them. Some attacks slipped past his defense and hit his body and arms. It wasn't much damage, but he didn't have a chance to counterattack.

Rayen exhaled. Time slowed down for him. He saw their sticks pass in front of him, one by one. He evaded each one of them. He took the initiative to smash the leader's leg. Once he knelt on the floor. He aimed at his eye, just above his nose, not too close, not too far away. He used both hands to put as much power as possible in this attack. *Paaaam* The hit was perfect. His eye became red and bright scarlet blood filled his iris. His hands shook in front of his face. Rayen took the chance to slam his neck. The other servant was trembling. He couldn't believe what had happened to his leader.

With the guy like this and now in a one versus one, it took Rayen only a moment to defeat him. Vesh as well took advantage of the moment. He burned a guy's face and slammed him with a rock. Only one guy was left.

When the guy saw that his companions were defeated. He knelt on the floor. "Please, forgive me. Let me go. I won't do anything to you guys aga..."

His speech was interrupted by Vesh's rock. His jaw deformed and pushed back in an unnatural fashion.

Vesh dragged the two he knocked into the room. "Drag them to the room."

Rayen did his part and dragged the other two.

"I... I..." The guy with the broken leg who informed them from before trembled as they entered the room.

"I forewarned you that this will ensue," Vesh said. "We should had removed his extremities before."

"Everything turned out okay."

"But what if it didn't?" Vesh shook his head.

"It's cleaning time," Yuhal shouted. "Servants, get out of the room in one minute."

After the minute passed, most of the servants were outside. Rayen's face was covered with bruises and blood, which made stark contrast with his impeccable clothes. Vesh was equally bruised, but he had less blood on him. His clothes were a mess.

"We're missing six." Yuhal noticed. The servants went silent. If you heard carefully, you could notice six different screams. Five of which came from the same room.