Michael moved his gaze from the nearest pillar of light to the young woman next to him. Rose was still looking at the pillar. It turned from red to blue with a blinding flash; she let out a small breath and spoke.

“It seems to be working.”

He nodded, sitting down on a large rock. The glowing mushrooms on its sides illuminated his frame. Behind him and Rose, a team of seven people stood silently. Michael glanced over his shoulder, carefully evaluating them. There were five men and two women. The two women both had brown hair and an average appearance, but their clothing differed; it was clear that one of them was a Healer. The men were more diverse: some of them were rugged and muscular, while the others – who appeared to be Mages – were thin. This group was Rose’s team. He looked at her once more. She continued to speak.

“I’m glad you managed to think of using Derek’s own forces against him. Capturing Redglow’s Territory has become much easier.”

Michael nodded again. It was true. The number of people defending the Flags had definitely been reduced, while he managed to obtain bits of information from the ones he’d “recruited.” The results of his actions were already starting to show themselves. Of course, there were still people committed to fighting against him. He spoke.

“How are the talks with the other teams?”

Rose hesitated for a second before speaking.

“They’re still… Not very on board with our plans. Stories about what you did have spread. I think they’re afraid.”

“And you’re not?”

She nodded matter-of-factly.

“I am. But I believe you are our best shot at contending against the other Villages and taking first place in these Territory Wars.”

Michael smiled.

“Maybe. Come to think of it, you and I didn’t get to know each other too well. It makes sense that you’re afraid.”

The two of them went silent for a few seconds. Despite that, there was an atmosphere of tranquility, even if adorned with some unfamiliarity. Suddenly, Rose spoke.

“I’m sorry, you know.”

“About the way we met? Don’t worry, I-”

“No, let me finish saying this. I’m sorry. If you weren’t as powerful as you were when we met, you would have died. I was desperate and terrified, but for me to wield my daggers against you with lethal intent like that… I surprised even myself.”

“…”

“Allow me to make it up to you. I know that so far we have been nothing but strangers, but I’ll follow your lead in the Territory Wars, and so will my team.”

At the mention of them, the seven people standing behind them flinched, but none said anything. Michael replied.

“That won’t make up for anything. To be frank, I had no desire to associate myself with you.”

She turned to look at him, but he kept his gaze on a distant point. He couldn’t see her expression; he continued to speak.

“But… I believe your regret is sincere.”

Rose had had the opportunity to act against him more than once. Most notably, she could have allied with Derek to plan his demise and become Bluestone’s key figure, but instead, she sought him out. From the moment they’d met, apart from their initial fight, she had never acted against him.

“Keep this in mind, Rose. The moment you prove me wrong, you’ll become my enemy.”

Silence.

She spoke.

“…Would you kill me too?”

Michael hesitated. To be frank, he wasn’t willing to kill more people, but he knew that he couldn’t show his hesitation. As such, he spoke in a firm voice.

“You have already tried to kill me before. I don’t see why not.”

He didn’t know whether he would be capable of killing her or not, but he tried to steel his heart. Michael turned to Rose. Unlike his expectations, her expression was calm and collected. She nodded.

“That’s a matter of course. I’m glad we’re on the same page. I won’t betray you, Michael. Kill me if I do. It’s what I can offer you for my previous sin.”

For the first time when talking to her, Michael smiled. He stood up and turned around, clapping his hands once as Rose also turned. The group flinched. They had been silently listening to Michael and Rose’s conversation, and their conflicting expressions showed what they felt. Anger, outrage, calmness, distaste… Myriad emotions could be seen on their faces, but once Michael turned around, they seemed to try to get their emotions under control as fast as they could. He spoke.

“Now, shall we discuss our plans for this War?”

Rose nodded at one of the men.

“Carl. Can you share what you’ve learned?”

Michael eyed the man in question. He was thin and of average height, with an unremarkable appearance. With an uneasy expression, he replied.

“Of course,” he looked at Michael, “I’ve talked with the leaders of various teams. Or, at least, of the ones that were willing to talk after being told you were our ally. As expected, Bluestone is having trouble capturing and keeping Territory. There is no coordinated offensive or defensive; each team is acting pretty much on their own.”

Michael nodded. This was what he already knew. He let Carl continue.

“In stark contrast, under Derek’s influence, Redglow’s Territory is growing rapidly but it’s not being properly defended anymore because of what you did. Because of that, Yellowbright’s been capturing Redglow Territory much faster than before. I have no information about Greenwood.”

Michael scratched his chin in thought. He didn’t know anyone from Yellowbright or Greenwood, since he had been focused on freeing his friends from Derek’s control. At the very least, this information helped him have a broader view of the Territory Wars. He spoke.

“Tell the other teams to focus on defending our Flags and Territory. We’ll be the ones going after more Territory. Remember, we’re going after Redglow. We’ll deal with Yellowbright and Greenwood when necessary.”

Rose looked at him with a complex expression.

“Are you still going to go after Derek?”

Michael nodded.

“Derek is my highest priority, even more than conquering more Territory. I’ve got friends under his thumb. I need to free them.”

“I understand. Please tell us if we can help in any way.”

He turned his gaze from the rest of the group to her.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean. We all know that going after Derek is much more dangerous than just struggling for Territory.”

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She shrugged.

“In both cases, there’s the risk of death anyway,” she faced the rest of the group, who were watching the two of them, “I’m not going to tell you guys to throw your lives away trying to help me and Michael, but I’ve got a debt to repay.”

Michael narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t believe that you’ll put yourself in harm’s way just because of what you’ve done.”

She smiled at him.

“I don’t want to die, Michael. I think you’re stronger than Derek and his people, so I’ll stay on your good side. I also need to make up for what I did when we met.”

He also smiled. It was refreshing to see someone being honest about their intentions, even if they weren’t entirely pure.

“Alright. I accept your help. Remember what I told you; don’t become my enemy.”

“I won’t. It would mean my death.”

Michael looked at the others, who were silent. Some of them eyed Rose with clear warning in their eyes. They looked as if they wanted to say something, but were holding themselves back. Michael waved his hand.

“Just say it. What are you guys’ thoughts?”

After a brief moment of silence, Carl spoke.

“I don’t agree with Rose. If you want to go after Derek,” he hesitated, but continued after a few seconds, “Don’t drag other people into it. Just do it yourself.”

The man donned a tense expression, as if he were expecting backlash for what he said. Instead, Michael just nodded.

“I agree, of course. I’m not trying to pull anyone into this. You guys can just focus on getting more Territory.”

A burly, tall bearded man spoke.

“And we won’t be punished for it?”

Michael frowned.

“Why the hell would I punish anyone? I’m just another dude. Don’t worry about that.”

The entire group let out a small sigh of relief. The sight made Michael grin. He spoke.

“Alright, you guys worry about the Territory Wars. I’ll try to find out more about Derek’s organization.”

The group nodded, including Rose. She spoke.

“Whisper me if you need anything.”

“Okay.”

Michael took a deep breath. It was time to go to the next step of his plan. He also needed to complete quests and kill monsters to stay ahead of the others. A dangerous glint filled his eyes.

He would succeed, no matter what.

***

James looked at Elizabeth with wide eyes. He whispered, and she whispered back.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Good. That’s good.”

Nearby, Anthony and Dylan hurriedly kept throwing glances at them in warning. They stopped talking just as one of Derek’s loyalists walked by. James tried his best to act naturally. The loyalist looked at him with sharp eyes but kept moving. Internally, James let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Elizabeth once more.

“Either way, those are great news. Michael is fulfilling his role.”

The topic of their discussion had been simple: the growing unrest and disorder among Derek’s ranks. As they were an organization that had been formed suddenly and forcefully, there was little sense of loyalty and camaraderie between its people. Derek surely had his plans for establishing himself as the boss and how to create a connection between the people and whatnot, but before he managed to actually follow through with any of them, he had the bad luck of running into Michael. An unstoppable enemy who had butchered a group of eleven battle-hardened, prepared warriors. He had appeared at the worst possible time.

Word had spread with a little help from James and his friends. Michael’s position as an invincible opponent had been established, and what little trust there was in Derek’s organization was in danger of fizzling out. Nobody wanted to be sent to the place where Michael was. Even if Derek directly ordered them to do so, they would go somewhere else entirely as soon as they left Redglow Village. Even those who sincerely followed Derek and believed in him were hesitant; after all, survival was the number one goal among all of them. Without effective means to police and control the organization – which had grown far too much without proper planning – Derek had been forced to rely on violence and forceful means. Yet, his methods had only fueled the chaos.

Now, it’s all just a colossal clusterfuck.

People were leaving the organization arbitrarily and hiding, or even changing Villages in spite of the consequences. Derek had no way of stopping them due to their high number. In the end, the newly-born organization was already falling apart.

Elizabeth spoke.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Derek has ordered everyone to focus on Yellowbright Village and Greenwood Village. It’s the most sensible move he could make, in spite of being seen as someone who’s just running away. He could recruit more people from those Villages and conquer more Territory through the sheer number of fighters at his beck and call.”

It was true that the organization was crumbling at the seams, but its core remained strong. It was composed of people with the same viewpoint and desires as Derek: power-hungry and violent. The deaths of eleven of them had scared them off for a bit, but soon they would get over it. Due to the organization’s growth, the number of these warriors had grown as well. James was willing to bet that there was already a plan for how to deal with Michael. These vultures would peck at anything even resembling a weakness. If the connection between James’ group and Michael was revealed, they would certainly be used for blackmail and threats, and that was if they weren’t executed outright.

No matter what, it’s the one thing we can’t let them find out.

No, they wouldn’t be executed. If he were in Derek’s position, he would certainly make better use of this weakness. For both Michael’s and the group’s sakes, their friendship could not be discovered.

“What about those Villages? Any news?”

“Greenwood Village hasn’t responded too differently from Bluestone Village; scattered groups going after Flags, not too many defensive measures. Yellowbright was different. They’re reacting in a coordinated fashion, like a well-oiled machine. Every part aids the other. That’s all I know.”

James went silent for a bit. He looked over at his friends. Naomi and Thomas were talking with smiles on their faces, Anthony was eating silently, and Dylan spoke with his parents in a calm, patient tone. He spoke.

“…Do you think our parents are in those other Villages?”

“…I don’t know, James. Don’t think about that too much. It’ll-”

“Yes, I know it’s pointless to worry about it right now and that it will only hinder me, but I can’t help it. They’re my parents, not anyone else.”

“…I understand. I hope we find them soon.”

“You don’t seem too worried.”

The comment was made under his breath, but then he flinched. Elizabeth was staring at him with eyes sharp enough to cut him in half. He regretted saying those words as soon as he saw the pain within those blue eyes. She talked in a brusque tone.

“Don’t mistake my silence for lack of grief. At least one person in this group must remain focused. I understand your anxiety and pain, but that does not mean you get to judge my own.”

Silence ensued between them. Their friends had stopped talking and looked over with questioning gazes, likely having noticed the shift in atmosphere.

“…I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I wasn’t trying to invalidate your feelings, but… No. No excuses. I was wrong. I apologize.”

She stared at him for a few seconds before giving him a small nod. Now, her previously serene expression now looked like someone who was trying hard to hide their suffering. The small episode had changed James’ view of Elizabeth. He had thought her to be rather cold and unfeeling, but he realized now that he was mistaken.

Man, I fucked up.

It was his mistake, one that was entirely his fault. He bowed his head in shame. Elizabeth waved at their friends, letting them know that everything was fine. Still with some doubt in their eyes, they went back to what they were doing. At that moment, the door to the room was opened. James raised his head, immediately identifying the man who entered the room as one of Derek’s most dangerous loyalists. He had his right hand lifted in front of him, and floating above it was an ethereal, illusory mouth. The others in the room – around twenty people – looked at him as well.

The mouth spoke.

“This is Lohann. I bring a direct message from Derek to all of you: you are to conquer and protect as many Flags as possible from Greenwood. It should be your focus. Proceed carefully against Yellowbright. Bluestone should be considered to be off-limits. Achieve this through any means necessary. Killing is acceptable. That is all.”

At first, James thought that it was just a message containing things he already knew, but once the last two sentences were spoken, he felt the air in the room change. A few men even smiled widely.

Crazy bastard.

Saying “killing is allowed” was about more than could be seen on the surface. It made the “any means necessary” part much more significant. Simply put, both explicitly and implicitly, Derek was saying that everything was allowed, including other heinous crimes. It was beyond just killing. James feared for the unlucky women who ended up running into one of Derek’s kill squads.

James glanced at Elizabeth, and noticed she had that minute frown on her face, the kind that only her friends could notice.

Right. I shouldn’t reveal too much. Stay calm.

Once the message was over, the loyalist looked around at everyone in the room. His gaze hovered over Elizabeth for a few seconds before he simply left. The moment he did, Dylan got closer and sat at the same table as James and Elizabeth.

“There’s no way that they’re going around with that thing repeating the same words for every room in the Village, right?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“No. They’re likely only doing so in rooms with certain people and hoping that the message will spread on its own.”

James knew what she meant by “certain people.” He glanced at the smiling, chuckling men at one corner of the room. Most had their hands on their weapons even though they were eating. He spoke in a low voice.

“I guess they’re right. It will spread.”

“It will.”

The game would now become much more dangerous for all parties involved. The moment Derek’s men started killing indiscriminately, the other Villages would respond in kind. It meant that James’ group’s attempts at blending in by only taking a few vacant Flags might escalate to fights to the death just because of the actions of Derek’s men.

We’re going to need to do a lot of explaining.

He wasn’t ready to kill people, especially not innocents who were simply protecting their Territory. On that note, he admired Michael’s ability to kill eleven of Derek’s men, even if it had been a difficult decision.

I hope you’re okay, my friend.

They would continue to struggle. Survival was paramount.