“I kill all of you.”

Dem chuckled to himself. “That’s not going to happen. You can’t kill all of us, let alone even a single one.”

“We’ll see about that,” I growled.

I extended my hand, and my cobalt gladius materialized out of thin air. The blue and gold short sword was pointed straight at Dem as I attempted to form a spell core for Earth Lances. Unfortunately, every time I tried feeding mana into my spell core, I lost track of the flow, and the spell core failed, taking my mana along with it.

“What did—”

“See? I told you so. Cloudy Mind was created with mages in mind, heh, get it? And without your magic, you are just some kid with a pointy sword. This is why we didn’t want things to get physical. So please… don’t do this,” Dem begged, sounding somewhat sincere.

Magic? I don’t need magic, then.

“Tell me something. Did all of you agree to this?” I asked.

I scanned the faces of everyone present, and although they didn’t say anything, I could see their response plainly enough. I imagined Dem called a vote, so the majority must have won. I can’t be sure, but Anna might have been the only one who voted against everyone, judging by the fact she has yet to look me in the eyes.

Either way, none of this matters.

Seemingly taking that as a final threat, Dem unsheathed his bastard sword and started running at me. Alce drew her bow while Silent unsheathed his twin jins, and Ilme unslung her new steel war hammer while making their way toward me.

I wouldn’t allow myself to be betrayed. Never again.

Dem dropped his sword and brought his hands to his neck like he was trying to pry away someone’s hands. Anna face-planted into the ground, unmoving. Silent and Ilme stopped dead in their tracks, arms and legs shaking, teeth chattering. Alce fell to her knees but not before letting her arrow lose.

I dodged to the side, and the arrow scratched my shoulder, but nothing more. This poison wasn’t allowing me to use magic. It also seemed to be affecting my mana enhancement as it has taken a nosedive. My veins pulsed with power from the drug and what little mana I could use as I closed the gap on Dem’s writhing body. He looked at me in pure confusion and fear as I lowered my sword to lob his head off, but I had to take a quick back step as a gray blur swung for me.

Ilme had met me in the middle and swung her massive war hammer in a wide arc. She was still shaking, and I could see the fear in her reptilian eyes, but it was to be expected. Ilme had fought in the most recent war as a mercenary. So she was probably the most familiar with death.

I can’t even think. I don’t even care about bloodlust. They all just need to die.

Sparks flew as Ilme blocked my sword with her hammer. She let out a low hiss that was both angry and afraid. “I thought you were a mage!”

“Who decided that?” The words came easily out of my mouth, so I didn’t even try to stop them anymore. It didn’t matter what I said to these people.

Either I was dying here, or everyone else was.

My heart thumped in my chest as I quickly put Ilme on her back foot. I swung wildly while tossing punches with my free hand and kicked as much as possible. Ilme was no slouch in close-quarters combat. The Dragonkin warrior was strong, and punching her full plate did little else than cause her a minor amount of annoyance.

Finally, my blade slipped past her guard, but I only managed a grazing blow on her neck. I reared back and kicked her dead center in the stomach, sending her backward just in time to meet Silent’s double short swords.

The man from the mists liked to perform acrobatic moves, so while in midair, he also tried kicking me. I grabbed his kicking leg with my free hand and slammed him back to the ground. My sword point was already thrusting down, but I heard the thundering footsteps and Dem’s roar as he charged toward me. My sword sank into Silent’s chest, I had just missed his lungs.

I quickly unsummoned my sword and turned just in time for Dem to bullrush me. He dropped his shoulder into me at full speed that his mana-enhanced body could manage. He sent both of us sprawling into the snow and he tried getting on top of me in the fall but I grabbed him by the collar and set both my feet onto his hips. While falling backward, I rolled and tossed Dem over me using my legs.

Training my body so rigorously these last four months was the correct choice. As a result, I’m in perfect shape.

Then, I got back up to my feet and met Ilme’s hammer head-on in the same movement. My bones vibrated from the impact, and my sword hand went numb instantly to the point where I released my sword. Thankfully I had unsummoned it and used Ilme’s momentum to sidestep her completely.

Too close to summon my sword, I opted for the old dagger I had stolen from those adventurers who tried to shake me down. The crummy iron dagger appeared in my hand. It chipped on Ilme’s armor, but it still found purchase in her side as it cut through with my mana-enhanced stab. I tried retracting the blade, but it was stuck in her scales and armor, so instead, I just continued punching at her wounded side while forcing the dagger deeper.

Ilme growled in pain and, in a panic, managed to push me away. I resummoned my sword and was about to make another attempt on Ilme, but I heard a whooshing sound and turned the flat of my blade towards the sound. An arrowhead cracked and broke against my sword.

I wanted to try and close the gap between Alce and me, but Silent had just finished getting healed by Anna, who had regained consciousness. Silent was sweating profusely, and his hands were still shaking, but he continued to run at me regardless.

This wasn’t getting me anywhere. They are coming at me one at a time and protecting each other in the process. Anything short of a killing blow or serious maiming won’t be enough if they can just retreat to Anna to be healed. They are trying to wear me down like a dangerous monster.

I have to focus on one of them and ignore the others.

Silent began blocking each of my swings with ease. He was a far better swordsman than I was, but I was a great deal stronger and much faster than him now, even without the full breadth of my mana enhancement.

The days of people being quicker and stronger than me because I was a child are over.

Instead of trying to go for a kill on Silent, I pushed him back with wild swings until I reached where I wanted to be. I swept my sword across the ground and kicked up a snow and dirt cloud. The mixture smacked Silent in the face, momentarily blinding him and giving me enough time to close the distance on Dem.

Dem was still reeling from my toss and was bleeding from the head. He staggered around like a drunkard. He attempted to make it over to Anna, who was busy healing Ilme’s wounds. Alce tried firing another two arrows at me, but one missed entirely, and I cut down the other with my sword.

Dem shakily turned around and faced me with concussed eyes. Fear and pain mixed around his face as he half-heartedly brought shaky arms up to stop my blade. My heartbeat was deafening as the sound of rushing blood pulsed in my ears. The gold and blue gladius came down as a blur as I tried to cut Dem’s head from his shoulders.

Right before the blade made contact with his flesh an emerald green barrier shimmered to life. My blade sunk into the barrier and then stopped abruptly. It felt like I had just sliced into a steel wall.

Everything seemed to get really quiet for a moment. The green barrier pulsed once, then twice as I tried forcing my way through the barrier. Then, it pulsed once more, and the sound of something shattering echoed out. I saw a silver and green pendant around Dem’s neck dissolve into dust and scatter in the wind.

That’s the pendant from the dungeon. What the—

A loud humming sound assaulted my ears, followed by a concussive force that smashed into my body. My vision was filled with a brilliant green light, blinding me. I felt weightlessness as I soared through the air and crashed into the ground.

I bounced across the cold, snowy ground and stood up quickly. I rubbed my eyes, trying to dispel the green imprint it left on my retina. My heart was beating even louder in my ears, so I couldn’t tell if somebody was approaching me. After a few seconds, my vision finally returned to me, and I could take stock of what had just happened.

From what I could tell, that pendant exploded and sent me and everyone else flying backward. That must have been at least an S-class magic item. The only unaffected person was Dem, who was near to where Anna was, and the others were trying to recover.

I forced mana into my legs and bolted straight toward them. Now was the time to kill at least one of them while they were dazed.

But I stopped when my left leg hit the ground, and I crumpled to the ground like I was made of gelatin. I tried pushing myself off the ground, but my body's left side wouldn’t answer my calls to move it. My vision started darkening, and the sudden realization hit me like a brick.

Oh, I’m having a heart attack. It’s been a while.

The pounding heartbeat in my head had vanished, and I wasn’t breathing anymore. So what should I do? I can’t just give in now. I can’t go back, let alone die like this. Ah, I wonder…

No time to think about it I guess.

From my outstretched hand, I tried forming another spell core. Unfortunately, I repeatedly failed as mana left my body from the failed spell cores. I lost track during the feeding process, and my vision faded even faster.

Screw it.

I pushed all the mana I could from my chest straight into my arm and into a core. I must have used over half my mana just to complete the core, but the spell fired off. This amount of mana would have killed me instantly if I were in my pre-puberty body.

A bright yellow light filled my vision, and my body jolted and convulsed. I barely managed to roll onto my back, and I couldn’t hear anything anymore, but I could feel myself breathing again.

I slowly got up from the ground and opened and closed my left hand. It reacted slowly, and I couldn’t make a solid fist anymore. I glared over at everyone else, and they were just staring at me wide-eyed in horror, the smell of burnt flesh tickling my nostrils.

My time to kill them just got shortened. My heart and body won’t last very long.

Perhaps the combination of the combat drug and whatever drug they used caused me to have a heart attack. Or maybe the effects of my drug are finally catching up to me. Either way…

I scoffed and sliced one of Alce’s arrows with my sword. Ilme ran towards me, war hammer at the ready. She reared her head back and must have let out a deep roar, but I couldn’t hear it. The vibrations rattled my chest. I moved to block her war hammer, but Silent followed close behind her and swung his twin swords at me. I dodged underneath Ilme’s hammer and blocked Silent’s swords.

Ilme tried countering with a punch, but I batted it away with my weak arm while kicking Silent away from me. I disengaged as I sensed Dem coming from behind me. He had retrieved his sword and was thrusting it towards me. The blade bit into my side, and I felt a warmth leave my body. I paid the flesh wound no mind and continued parrying and blocking Dem’s sword.

Silent joined in, and I was put on the back foot immediately. The two of them danced around me, constantly trading spots and blows. I snuck in plenty of my own cuts and slashes onto them, but none of them was a critical hit. As swords crashed against each other, I could feel a warm liquid seeping out from many minor cuts across my body and the giant gash on my side.

Silent held his swords low and attempted to pierce me through the chest, but I deflected them to the side. I watched as the blades went straight through my cloak.

Mother’s cloak.

I snarled and stepped into Silent’s stance while unsummoning my sword for a moment. I was a blur as I grabbed Silent by the throat with my right hand and twirled him around. Dem had to stop his slash short but not before it cut into Silent’s back. It looked like Silent screamed from the pain, but the next thing he saw was my limp fist punching him in the face.

Deciding that was far too weak of a blow, I tried to increase my grip around his throat and crush his windpipe, but I struggled to improve my grip. Finally, I lifted him off the ground, and his nearly black eyes looked down at me in fear. Sweat drenched his long black hair and slicked his skin. It was hard to maintain a grip around his oily neck. His thrashing around, trying to break my hand away from his neck, didn’t help me either. Finally, I summoned my sword to finish him, but I dropped it to the ground from my limp left hand.

Since I couldn’t use my hand, I tossed him into the charging Ilme with a grunt. I bent down to grab my sword and barely managed to unsummon it before falling face-first into the cold snow. It felt as if the warmth from my body had left me. I felt cold. And very tired.

I looked up, expecting Dem to be coming to finish me off, but he wasn’t even facing me anymore. Instead, he was running, and I could tell he was yelling something.

I followed his eyes only to watch as Alce frantically losed multiple arrows off at an incoming blur. Then, a small shockwave carried dust, and snow moved past me, and my eyes went wide as I watched a black blur grab Alce’s arm and twist. Alce’s arm came straight off in a stream of blood as if it was barely attached to her in the first place.

The masked woman wearing all black thrust her silvery-white Estoc through Alce’s sternum and spun around behind her. Her single dark blue eye glared at everyone as she put a hand on her mask. Then, the mask vanished, and I watched in slow motion as Sylvia sunk her fangs into Alce’s neck.

Sylvia’s eyes were completely red, and bloody tears leaked from them. Crimson veins pulsed around her neck and face. The swirling of Alce’s blue eyes faded quickly as she was reduced to a husk in moments.

Sylvia clenched her jaw as Silent, Dem, and Ilme rushed toward her. Anna had fallen onto her butt with wide dead eyes and a blank expression.

Ilme was first to reach Sylvia, and she brought her war hammer down in an overhead swing. Sylvia moved in a blur and blocked the war hammer straight on with her small sword. Ilme doubled over as Sylvia retracted her first from Ilme’s chest, her armor dented inwards.

Dem was already swinging, and Sylvia brought her sword arm up to block the blade. Dem cut Sylvia’s arm straight off from above the elbow, but Sylvia didn’t stop. Instead, she kicked Dem in the chest with her foot and sent him tumbling through the snow.

Sylvia’s arm wasn’t even bleeding, and Silent was the slowest of the three. Sylvia glared at him, and I watched as her arm began growing back immediately. The white bone came first as muscle and flesh began grafting back onto her arm in real time. Finally, a red spike left Sylvia’s recovering hand, and Silent barely managed to cut it out of the air.

Sylvia fired off a barrage of blood spikes at Silent, and he quickly deflected or cut them down. But Sylvia wasn’t even looking at Silent anymore. Instead, our eyes met, and she grimaced. Then, with a few Blood Sorcery-enhanced steps, she scooped me off the ground in one fluid motion.

I felt the numb sensation of Sylvia’s needle-like fangs break the flesh of my shoulder. Then, I felt the wounds on my side knit together, and my mind started clearing. I wasn’t struggling to breathe anymore, and I could feel my heartbeat steadily in my chest. My hearing was the last to return as Sylvia pulled away and looked at me.

Bloody tears rolled down her eyes, and her face was a mixture of anger, frustration, and maybe even a little sadness. “You came… how did you—”

“I smelt your blood, and I came running. They! They did this…” Sylvia growled in a low voice. “Are you okay?”

She smelt my blood? We are over a mile away from the ranch… she ran the entire way in just a few minutes. Ah, her eyes…

“You used that blood ritual again? Didn’t you? And I’m okay now… thanks to you,” I said softly.

Sylvia closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, I used Blood Burn to— that doesn’t matter. I’m okay now that I was able to feed…" Sylvia let me down from her arms and averted her eyes while wincing in pain.

She is probably bothered by killing Alce that way…

“You did what you had to do to save me. So thank you. I can handle things from here.”

Anna had managed to heal the others again, and they were coming toward us. The fear they showed earlier was gone and replaced by angry scowls and teary eyes. Even Anna was scowling at us while attempting to form an offensive light magic spell as she yelled profanities at Sylvia.

“Be burned by the light, you monster!”

Too bad for them. They should have just killed me or knocked me out instead of going this roundabout way. Did they think they were doing me a favor?

Four orange balls of fire left my hand and floated into the air. They skittered to a halt as they looked up at the balls. Ilme dropped her war hammer and brought her hands out in front of her.

“Dragon—!”

Orange streaks left my balls of fire and sailed towards the group cutting Ilme’s voice off in the process as things started exploding. I changed the spell around a little, and each individual streak exploded on impact at nearly the strength of a fireball. The ground shook from the force, and snow and scorched earth shot into the air.

I rolled my shoulders and started walking toward them. I knew Ilme had erected her barrier in time. Sylvia grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

The crimson veins on her face had receded, and her eyes had returned to normal. The bloody tears were already drying as she gave me a pained expression. “I’m helping you,” she said sternly. “I can’t use my Blood Sorcery offensively anymore because I used too much blood, but I can still fight.”

“Sylvia, you don’t have to—”

She yanked my arm harder and glared at me. “Shut up! Please…. I’m not letting them take you. Besides, they saw me too so… it has to be done.”

My spell continued firing off cluster fireballs at the barrier as I looked at Sylvia. She seems set on doing this for whatever reason. I don’t understand. She’s changed so much since the dungeon.

“If that’s what you want, then okay. I’ll accept your help.”

Sylvia gave me a slight nod as my spells finished their job. Finally, the dust and snow settled, and the smell of brimstone and burnt soil smacked my nostrils. A red dome was left standing in the middle of a rocky crater. Ilme glared at me with hatred, but otherwise, it seemed they were all unharmed. I could see Anna thrashing around violently as she screamed and pointed at the two of us.

Mmm, I wonder if it’s a complete sphere?

I’ve only seen Ilme put up single pane barriers, not a dome, before. I stomped the ground, and the earth shook once more as a small fissure opened up and raced towards the barrier. The land around the barrier collapsed and I formed more spell cores for Earth Lances. Once the dust settled again, the red barrier was left standing with everyone still inside of it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

So she can make complete domes as well? And her barriers stop all spell cores, it seems. Interesting…

Her barrier destroyed even the spell cores for my Earth Lance. Which meant I was left with only one option.

“Start running towards the barrier. You kill or hold off Dem and Silent. I’ll kill Ilme and join you when I’m done.”

Sylvia looked over her shoulder at me and frowned, but she just nodded at my order. She took off at a jog, and I summoned my cobalt gladius again. It’s been over seven years since I’ve tried to cast this spell. Last time I used an arrow, but I had a feeling I could replicate it without using the shoddy bow in my ring.

A white orb flicked to life at the tip of my sword and swirled with power. The heat gradually turned up as I fed more mana into the core, and the orb reacted by getting more prominent. Ilme flashed me a savage grin from the other side of her barrier, but I could tell she was nervous.

As she should be.

A small white bolt of fire left the tip of my sword in a straight line. The white trail was no larger than my blade's tip, so it was difficult to tell what happened immediately when it connected with the barrier. That was until screams of agony filled the air.

The red barrier fizzled out, and Ilme fell to her knees, clutching where her left arm used to be. Anna desperately tried to stem the blood flow with her light magic, but Sylvia timed the blast perfectly and was already on top of them. I ran to catch up.

It seems that worked pretty well. I sacrificed all the explosive power of a White Fire Lance and transferred it straight into penetrating power. That spell was the magical equivalent of an armor-piercing tank round.

Sylvia was locked in combat with Dem and Silent. Sparks flew as these four swords clinked off each other. Dem and Silent slowly dismantled Sylvia as they were the better swordsmen, but any wound Sylvia suffered was healed instantly. And despite being outnumbered, she kept up with her superior speed and strength.

Ilme was still being treated by Anna when my Earth Lance came flying at the pair. Ilme straight up punched the spell with her gauntleted first and howled in a mixture of anger and pain. Her frustration boiled over as she shook Anna off and took up her war hammer with her last remaining hand.

I knew that if I went after Anna, they would all focus on me instead so I just concentrated on Ilme. Sylvia was keeping the other two busy, so I needed to finish off Ilme while I had the chance. Anna might have been trying to cast an offensive spell, but I knew she wasn’t capable of doing it.

The High Elf woman was drenched in sweat, and her skin was almost as pale as her priestess garbs. She has been healing everyone’s wounds, which showed as she could barely stop Ilme’s stump from bleeding.

Ilme was swinging wildly at me with her hammer. Any finesse she once had was gone as she desperately tried to land a blow on me. The muscles in her arms bulged with power as she forced more mana into her limb. A grunt in frustration came with every swing as I dodged her attacks with little effort.

I wreathed my blade in a white-hot fire and met Ilme’s steel war hammer. I didn’t even feel any resistance as I separated the hammer in two, watching the pieces fall to the snow with a thud. Ilme must have seen it coming as she was already trying to back up long before her strike connected. The searing hot blade severed her wrist as she roared in pain.

I formed a gravity spell core and punched Ilme in the same spot as Sylvia. My fist, enhanced by mana and gravity, hit straight through the weakened plate armor. Metal gave away, and I felt the hard red Dragonkin scales underneath, but my fist continued into her soft flesh. Ilme spat out blood as I ripped my hand from her chest, and she sunk to her knees. I spared no time in separating her head from her shoulder.

That took nearly all my mana. Gravity magic is still too intensive to be used at a lower mana pool.

Anna let out a blood-curdling scream, but I silenced her with an Earth Spike through the chest. Then, I turned my attention to Sylvia and found Dem staring at me with dead eyes. He mouthed something at me, but I didn’t try to understand it. Instead, I closed the distance between Dem and me with just a few mana-enhanced steps.

Dem brought his sword up to block, but my heat condensed around my sword as a blue glass consumed my blade. My Plasma Sword slashed clean through his blade and sliced straight across his chest. His eyes went wide with fear as I gripped his face with my open hand.

“No, please—”

Dem’s pleas fell on deaf ears as a blast of fire magic left my hand. Reducing his head to ash. His final scream only lasted a moment.

With only one left to go, I moved towards where Sylvia and Silent were having a battle to the death. Silent jumped in the air and brought down a single short sword on Sylvia’s blade while his second sword slashed across her chest. Sylvia let out a snarl of frustration mixed with pain as Silent kicked off her face with a backflip.

When Silent landed, I was already locking blades with him. His face was tired, and blood splattered across his black uniform and cheeks. Then, just like he did to Sylvia, he locked my blade with one of his and attempted to thrust the second one into my chest, but I caught his arm in the process.

I jerked his arm up, and he let out a muffled moan of pain as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Loud snapping noises came from Silent’s arm as I broke it, but he continued fighting to the bitter end. He blocked and parried my sword with his arm hanging loosely at his side. He stumbled backward over something in the crater left by my barrage, and I capitalized with a Lightning Bolt.

The yellow lightning arced off my blue and gold blade, and Silent managed to bring his to bear. The lightning struck his sword, and he convulsed only to drop his sword to the ground. His body tensed and locked up, and I sent a mana-enhanced kick into his chest. Silent flew backward and was impaled on my summoned Earth Spike. He let out one final moan as the light of life left his eyes.

Seems your luck finally ran out.

I turned to Sylvia, who had already healed her wounds. She looked directly into my eyes and just gave me a sad look. She brought out a hand and was about to say something to me, but I stopped her.

“We need to go.”

My body is aching from overusing so much mana. I’m on the verge of passing out. I can’t afford to continue fighting.

Sylvia brought her hand back to her chest and nodded meekly. I immediately started burning the bodies, but I stopped short of Dem’s when I heard coughing and moaning. I found Anna lying on the floor in a pool of her blood. She had managed to walk herself off the Earth Spike and heal her wounds.

Anna looked up at me with foggy eyes. “Why… why did… we had a plan…why are you with a Vampire! You said… you said…” her voice was weak, and blood was still seeping from the partially closed hole in her chest. It was a miracle she was still alive.

“A plan?” I scoffed.

She nodded weakly. “We… were going to buy you back as soon as we turned you in. To free you from your bounty and slavery…”

I shook my head and narrowed my eyes at the dying Elf. “Then you never really cared in the first place. If you truly believed the Sanderviles would let me go, let alone live, you are the world’s biggest fool.”

That’s right. It’s just how I imagined things. So I shouldn’t be surprised at their betrayal. I shouldn’t even care. I always knew they were comrades with Voker Winterheart, not Kaladin Shadowheart.

Dem even told me he did this job for the money. With eight large gold marks split between them, some of the group could have retired in luxury. Dem and Silent both would have lived comfortable lives until they were old and gray. Even Alce and Anna could live a few decades in excess.

“I—”

Whatever Anna was going to say wouldn't change a thing, so I made sure my second Earth Spike didn’t miss her heart. Finally, she let out her last breath as she joined her comrades in the void.

The sickening feeling I got assaulted my mind when I killed people and made my stomach churn. Maybe it was even worse this time. This was the first time I killed somebody I was close to.

I spared Anna’s burning body a moment. I should have looted all of them for their belongings, but… some things just aren’t worth the money. And it’s not like I’m strapped for cash. So I used my mana's last vestiges and buried the ashes in a layer of earth magic.

If anyone dug up the remains, they wouldn’t find much, let alone be able to trace it back to Sylvia and me. I was unsure if Dem or anyone else told people about my identity, but I found it unlikely.

They weren’t doing this to catch an escaped criminal or for a sense of justice. The bottom line is that they wanted money. And telling other people about my identity means more adventurers would have come for me.

I also don’t believe Dominick knew. Or maybe he did and just didn’t show it and decided to help me for whatever reason. I can’t be sure.

I started walking back to the ranch to collect what little things we had left there while Sylvia followed closely behind me. The two of us trudged through the snowy night in silence. We needed to go. I didn’t want to put the Pruits in danger.

The further away from them, the better.

—

Sylvia Talgan’s POV

I watched slowly as Voker started placing his hand on his clothes and belongings. One thing after another vanished into his ring as he worked in silence. He hadn't said a single word since he spoke to Anna.

I thought maybe monsters or bandits had attacked Voker, so I rushed out to help him. I used Blood Burn, a different type of Blood Sorcery ability that enhanced my body to its absolute limits but at the cost of double or even quadruple that usual amount of blood.

When I arrived, I was ready to pass out from fatigue. I barely had any blood left because I used it all to get to him. I don’t even know why I did that. It’s not like I could have helped him in that state.

But something snapped when I saw that he was fighting Dem and Ilme. Voker watched me from the ground with a listless face. He was bleeding badly from his side, and red lightning-like scars were burned on his tan face and chest. He reeked of burnt flesh and blood.

Before I even knew it, I had attacked Alce. My mind went blank, and I ended up draining her in combat. Mom always told me that there might come a day when I had no choice but to drain someone during a fight. It sickened and disgusted me. It was also my first time killing a person. Regardless, killing Alce still left me feeling empty inside.

I didn’t particularly care for any of them. They were nice to me, but it felt more like they were just doing it because I paid them. I don’t understand how Voker doesn’t even seem fazed.

It’s more like Voker doesn’t even seem to be himself right now.

In the last few months, I’ve seen a side of him I never thought I would. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was smiling underneath the mask every time Myla waddled up to him or when Ealric asked to play with him. I never even imagined Voker agreeing to entertain the children, let alone spend that much time with them.

Voker also seemed close to Mr. Pruit. I often heard them talking at length about random things, and I never once got the impression that he was forcing himself to speak with him. Of course, sometimes those conversations turned awkward as Voker petered out, unsure what to say, but at least he was trying. So yeah… these last few months have been nice.

I think I got a peek into the type of person Voker wants to be. But all this time and effort vanished in the span of a single night.

Even the way he moves reminds me of when I first saw him. Stiff and uncertain. I can tell he is on high alert. Every noise I made or small step I took, he stopped to listen just in case somebody moved.

I… I don’t like him being this way. It reminds me of whatever the shadow thing version of him was. I want to stop him from becoming that monster.

Or maybe he already is that monster?

No! No… no, no… people can change! I shouldn’t think like that! I know for almost a fact which version Voker would rather be!

At least… I think I know.

He took a knee and reached into the bottom drawer. This would be the last thing, and then we would leave this place forever, never to return, most likely. I can tell he is trying to think about the Pruits and their safety even now. He doesn’t want them to get involved like he doesn’t want me to get involved.

But it’s too late. I have already made my decision.

Voker asked me a long time ago to find something to help me come to terms with things. I had nobody left in this world. My family was all gone. And if most people knew who I was, they would probably just kill me.

So that’s why… I think I found something… even if it’s just this much.

I took a quick step, and I watched as Voker immediately tensed. He tried twisting his body around, but I hugged him tightly from behind. His large back muscles quivered with mana, and I thought for a moment he was going to try to break free from me. Not that I would have let him.

His body relaxed, if only a little. “What are you doing?” he asked. His voice was deep and devoid of any emotion. He sounded tired. Unbelievably tired.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered into his ear.

“What is there for you to be sorry about?” he asked, confusion leaking into his tired voice.

“That all of this happened to you.”

“It is what it is. It was bound—”

I hugged him tighter. “You know I won’t ever betray you, right? No matter what?” I whispered into his ear.

His body finally relaxed in my grip as his shoulders slumped forward and his head dipped forward. “I hope so,” he muttered quietly.

Voker's words stung my heart for a moment, but I realized this was all I should expect from him right now. I knew he didn’t mean to come off like that. I believe that was just his way of accepting what I said.

I could trust Voker with just about everything in a fight or battle. He was far stronger and more intelligent than I was, and even with me going nearly full force, he could still beat me in a fight. And if things got serious, I doubt I would stand a chance against him. But, of course, I never planned on fighting him like that.

But with people and words… Voker had… much to desire. Not that I was any better… but I like to think I have a little more skill than him. Then again, I feel like that's putting the bar really low, even for me…

Regardless, Voker has been trying to be better. At least in my eyes, he has.

The second I hugged him tighter, Voker tensed against me and craned his neck back towards the door. He must have heard it a split second before I did, but he jumped up and faced the door. It slowly opened to reveal a sleepy-eyed Myla dragging a pink blanket behind her.

Damn… the one time we didn’t lock the door…

Myla’s bright blue eyes scanned me, then Voker. She lazily dragged her head around and looked across the room until she eventually settled on us again. Myla blinked a few times, and I could already see the tears forming in her eyes as snot began dripping from her nose.

“No, no… Myla, please don’t—” Voker pleaded softly, but she started crying the second he spoke.

“Don’t go! Don’t go!” she whined.

Voker looked at me and motioned for me to close the door as he slowly crouched down in front of Myla. The second I closed the door, an earth wall took shape and blocked it, hopefully muffling some of Myla’s cries.

“Myla… Sylvia and I have to—”

“No! Don’t go! Don’t go!” she kept saying over and over again in between sobs.

Voker slowly reached his hand out but looked down at it and retracted back towards him. He slowly opened and closed his hand, and I could feel the sadness and defeat radiating off of him.

I gave him a light tap to the butt with my boot and waited for him to look at me. I gave him a dirty look, and he seemingly understood somehow as he started shaking his head.

He slowly brought his hand up and wiped the snot off Myla’s nose. “I’m sorry, Myla. But Sylvia and I have to leave. This isn’t goodbye forever—”

Voker was speaking surprisingly softly for how he was earlier. Maybe Myla brought out some latent big brother or fatherly instinct inside him. Even if I had to help him along sometimes...

But Myla was having none of that. She started crying even harder as she tried shoveling away the tears with the sleeves of her red nightgown. She just kept repeating the same thing over again and wouldn’t even look at Voker.

Voker sighed and extended a dirty open palm. Half a piece of dark chocolate was lying in his hand. It wasn’t wrapped like all the candy he had before, and its shape was different from the other candy he usually gave the children. It was crude and looked like somebody had melted down the chocolate and reformed it.

Myla ignored it until Voker put it up to her mouth. She immediately began eating the candy without hesitation while crying the entire time and wailing in between bites. But once she started chewing, her face contorted into disgust and confusion, which made Voker sigh even deeper. Nevertheless, Myla finished her chocolate even if it appeared she didn’t like it.

You know, I’ve seen Voker eating that kind of chocolate before. I’m pretty sure he eats it before bed sometimes. I thought it was just a guilty before-bed snack, as he never brought it up to me, but maybe there was something different about that chocolate?

What happened next made me even more uncertain. I audibly gasped as I watched Voker take off his mask. His ash-gray hair that I had trimmed recently turned jet black, and his cream-colored skin faded into a light tan. Even Myla, who was crying and showed no intention of stopping anytime soon, suddenly halted and watched with wide eyes as Voker transformed.

The little girl scanned his face. Confusion and worry mixed on her sleepy face, seemingly unsure what to think of what just happened or the man that had suddenly changed before her. Even I was wholeheartedly confused. But for a fleeting second, I became apprehensive.

Voker never shows his face to anyone. Even around me, he wears his mask all the time. He only takes it off when he is locked away in a room and needs to eat or clean his face. There is… there is no way Voker would hurt Myla… right?

I know I said I would never betray him, but… the Voker I know wouldn’t hurt a child for any reason.

Then Voker started smiling. Sadly, his smile was the most strained and depressing thing I had ever witnessed in my entire life. Voker looked utterly defeated and almost like he was in anguish. His smile didn’t reach his tired sunken eyes, but he was still trying to put up a facade for Myla.

“This is how I really look, Myla,” he said softly.

Myla brought her hand out slowly and touched Voker’s face gently. He winced slightly, but he maintained his pained smile. His purple and gold gem-like eyes slowly watched Myla as she traced her finger across his face.

“Pretty…” Myla mumbled in between wiping her nose. Voker chuckled lightly to himself and just stared at Myla for a time.

I’m so unbelievably stupid and mad at myself for even thinking he would hurt Myla. I feel like an idiot for even considering it a possibility.

Voker slowly brought out his hand again and thumbed away Myla’s tears. “We will see each other again, Myla. I’m sure of it— no, I’m positive of it. I’ll make sure this isn’t goodbye. So the next time we see each other, we can talk about everything we used to do. I’ll make sure I get you some better chocolate, okay?”

Myla’s tears started flowing again, but she wasn’t crying like before. She tried talking, but she was mumbling to herself as her eyes fluttered. Eventually, she started swaying until, at one point, she almost toppled over. Voker was ready, though, and supported her with his hand. He quickly put his mask back on and scooped the now sleeping Myla up into his arms.

“Voker… what did you do to her?” I asked.

“Just a little something to help her sleep. I usually take the stuff when the nightmares get worse. The sleep isn’t all that great, but… it’s sleep. I gave Myla just enough for an already sleepy child,” he said solemnly.

I… I had no idea… I knew he had nightmares… sometimes in the middle of the night, he would thrash around violently, but… I didn’t realize it was that bad…

The stone wall crumbled into dirt as Voker opened the door with Myla. I followed close behind him as he went into her room and gently tucked her into bed. Ealric mumbled something and stood up slightly in his bed.

He wiped the sleep from his eyes. “Sir? What are you—”

“Just putting your sister to sleep, Ealric. And don’t call me sir…” Voker said with a small sigh.

“Ah… okay…”

“Ealric?” Voker asked.

“Yes?”

“Take good care of your sister. And your parents, okay?” he said quietly.

“Yeah, sure… of course…” Ealric mumbled sleepily.

“Good. Now go back to bed.”

Ealric grumbled something but the second his head hit the pillow; he was already back to snoring. Voker shook his head, and a small pouch of coins appeared from his outstretched hand.

The same coin purse Mr. Pruit paid us with…

He carefully placed the coin bag onto the nightstand, and a piece of paper, along with a quill, came out next. Voker began writing something quickly but stopped short as he tapped the quillpen against the paper. Eventually, he settled for something, and the quill disappeared into his ring.

We left the children’s room and left to go outside. But not before Voker stopped by the kitchen table and left a handful of gold coins. I wanted to ask him many questions, but I decided to wait until we put some distance between us and the ranch.

After we had been walking in silence for a bit, I spoke up. “Why did you show Myla your face? That’s not something you would normally do…”

“Is it? I just wanted her to stop crying. Besides, I don’t see how her knowing can hurt me in any way. By the time somebody comes out here to check on us, we will be long gone. And I doubt even more that they would believe the words of a shy little farm girl out in the boonies.”

I winced slightly but clicked my tongue in frustration. “You’re lying to me,” I said coldly.

Voker stopped walking and turned to me. I could tell he was looking me up and down when he started shaking his head again. “Yeah… you’re right… I was lying to myself and you…sorry.”

He was lying to himself?

“I’ll forgive you if you tell me the real reason,” I said, trying to sound playful. I didn’t want to force him… but I still wanted to know…

Voker let out a deep breath and looked up into the cloudy night sky. “I… I have a bad habit, you see.”

“A bad habit?” I asked.

“Yeah… a bad habit of making little girls cry when I leave them behind. I just didn’t want there to be a third one out there,” Voker said, his voice sounding sad.

Leaving little girls behind? Oh… his friend… but who else is he talking about?

“Who’s the second little girl?”

Voker tilted his head to the side. “You want to know?”

“Of course. I want to know everything about you…” I said sheepishly.

Crap, I can’t believe I just said that out loud!

Voker let out another breath. “Sure… we have a long walk ahead of us. I’ll tell you all about her.”

“Oh, okay…”

That night Voker told me his entire story about his time in Sandervile. About Muriel. About Adria. I learned everything, and now I understood why he was withholding some things from me…