Ezra flipped and jumped his way up to the top of the guild building. A moment later, Dumrivil followed after him. When he got to the peak, he stopped and looked out.

Monsters streamed out of random spots and systematically went through the town, killing en-masse. A mercenary group to the southwest tried to fight off some of them, only to end up surrounded.

“They’re coordinated,” Dumrivil muttered. “How the hell are they coordinated?”

“It’s that thing attached to Villscha’s back. It’s letting him act as their commander,” Ezra said.

Dumrivil’s eyes went vacant as he absorbed the destruction.

“It’s all over. This whole town is going up in flames.”

Ezra looked through the skies for Villscha. Where was he? The only reason Ezra was still here was to kill Villscha.

“I can’t believe this is how it ends,” Dumrivil said.

Ezra looked across the skies for a single sign of Villscha. Had he already made his escape? If that were the case, then Ezra needed to hunt him down.

“Ezra,” Dumrivil said. “We’ve got to do something about this.”

“Like what?”

Dumrivil faced back toward Ezra, a hint of fire in his eyes. “Fight, or, I don’t know, something! But this place is about to go up in flames! We need to save them!”

Ezra waved his hand out. “Come on, Dumrivil. The town’s dead. There’s nothing we can do. We’re only two people.”

Dumrivil grabbed Ezra’s collar. “I know that everyone has all these stupid rumors surrounding you, saying you can do the impossible. I know it’s ridiculous. But I also know that you’re one of the toughest, most determined bastards I’ve ever met. If anyone can save this town—no—this kingdom, it’s us.”

“Your belief flatters me,” Ezra said dryly. “But it’s vastly mistaken. Besides, what exactly do I get out of this?”

“You need a reason? Fame, power, and an entire city forever in your debt. How’s that for a reason?”

“That’s a pretty good reason,” Ezra said. “But is it worth my life?”

Dumrivil took a step back and folded his face into his hands. “Damn it, you don’t want to do this, don’t you? Fine. Screw it.”

Dumrivil hopped down into the road and rolled. He charged off in a random direction, presumably to save the day.

Ezra crawled his way down and dashed into an alleyway. He’d be out of the city soon enough.

“What then?” Filamenta echoed in his mind.

“Then, I’ll slip in during the chaos of Villscha’s attacks and kill him.”

“But not after thousands of innocents have been killed.”

Ezra stopped and pressed his back to the wall, letting a troll run by in one of the alley intersections.

“Yeah,” Ezra muttered. “So what? I don’t owe these people anything.”

“What about Nobinar?” Filamenta said. “He turned a blind eye to you when you were escaping.”

Ezra resumed his running. “Doesn’t mean that I’m going to get myself killed for his sake.”

“And what about Prise’s mother—didn’t she save your life?”

“She was partially responsible for almost killing me, I owe her jack-shit.”

“But what about Dumrivil, and your classmates who’ll have to deal with this? What of Yuki, and Pete, and Synica—“

Ezra stopped in the middle of the alleyway. “Didn’t you say you’d support me, damn it? This is the right play!”

“No, it isn’t,” Filamenta said. “You can’t flee from conflict, Ezra. You owe it to yourself and to everyone who’s helped you to fight alongside your allies.”

Ezra gripped his hand tightly around his needle.

“I’m so fed up with this,” Ezra said. “The lies, the backstabbing, the politics. Why shouldn’t this town burn to the ground? Don’t you get it?”

“Ezra, I understand you,” her voice lowered to a whisper. “I’m on your side, and that’s why I’m pushing you to do this. You must pay off your debts, Ezra. You might never be a good man, but I won’t allow you to become a craven one. You’re better than that. I know you are.”

Ezra ground his teeth together. Filamenta just had to make this difficult, didn’t she?

Shouts of fighting echoed out from the street. Ezra poked his head out to see Nobinar and Dumrivil fighting against four trolls. Nobinar’s party had been knocked out and strewn all over the rubble.

Nobinar blocked a strike from one of the trolls, then slashed through one of the troll’s stomachs. Green blood poured out from the wound. Another troll ran into Nobinar and threw him to the ground. Nobinar pulled back his sword.

Ezra jumped forward, Filamenta outstretched. He stabbed into the troll’s brain, instantly causing it to die and explode into ashes.

Ezra twirled his needle in hand. Dumrivil coughed from the ashes and looked back at him. “You came back!”

Well.

Ezra supposed that since he was already here, he might as well take care of things.

----------------------------------------

The first troll rushed Ezra immediately. Ezra jumped to the side and threw his needle at the troll’s brain. Impossibly, Filamenta bounced off the skin.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

This might be a little bit more complicated than he was expecting.

Dumrivil rushed forward and swung his oversized sword toward one of the other trolls. A second troll jumped at Dumrivil, forcing him to duck down and stop his attack in mid-air. Nobinar watched all this with suspicious eyes. When the third troll rushed toward him, Nobinar leaped up and wrapped his arm around the troll’s neck. He squeezed, even as the troll began ramming him into walls.

“Indirect attacks!” Nobinar said. “Or blunt force! That’s how you kill these things!”

Ezra looked at Dumrivil. “Like the Chimera!”

“Quick, use your restraints!” Dumrivil said.

Ezra held out his hand.

“[Restrain]! [Entangle]!”

Threads shot up and around the other two trolls, slamming them into the ground. Dumrivil leaned his sword back and crashed it into one of their heads with full force. The troll’s head embedded itself into the dirt and its body went limp.

[1633/2500]

Dumrivil leaned back to throw one more attack. At that moment, the third troll broke out of Ezra’s restraints and slammed into Dumrivil, sending him flying back.

Ezra searched for a source of water and was unable to find it. He spotted a spilled lantern on the ground. If he couldn’t starve them of oxygen via water, what about starving them of oxygen via fire?

Ezra snaked [Bind] into the ground and into the oil of the lantern. The two trolls rushed toward them, and Ezra’s ability activated.

Instantly, the ground was swept away, replaced with a cloudy white liquid. The trolls fell into it with a cry.

Ezra grabbed a burning piece of wood and threw it into the oil. It instantly lit on fire. The trolls screamed and splashed, sending burning oil all over the place.

Nobinar’s troll fell to the ground. Nobinar stepped off the creature’s back and looked at what Ezra did. He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged.

“Well, if it gets the job done.”

[You have leveled up!]

Ezra needed to get something stronger in his arsenal… but the only thing he could think of was using [Bind] in some manner.

He looked into the air. He’d sucked at physics in school, but maybe…?

“Come on,” Ezra said. “We need to get back to the guild hall. If the other mercenaries are anywhere, then they’re going to be there.”

Nobinar carried half of his teammates while Dumrivil carried the other half. Ezra was the vanguard, clearing the way and making sure they’d get back safely.

As they got closer to to the guild hall, a group of mercenaries waved them in. Once they were inside, the group slammed the doors shut.

Ezra caught sight of bushy hair poking out from behind a guild counter along with the smell of herbal tea.

Prise.

The guild hall itself had a surprising amount of mercenaries. Easily 20 or 30. It seemed that everyone had the same idea as Ezra. A few people glanced at him before looking back toward the floor. Whispered conversation filled the air.

“Oh, hey, you’re the guy with the bounty,” one of the men said.

Ezra gave him a raised eyebrow. The guy raised his hands.

“Nah man, I’m not looking for a fight. This isn’t the time,” he said.

Ezra peeked out the window. This was a disaster. Dumrivil and Nobinar laid the bodies of the men and women down.

“They should survive,” Nobinar said. “But we need healers.”

“What are we supposed to do now?” Dumrivil asked. “We need a plan.”

Ezra was silent for a moment before nodding.

“Right, we need to organize a counterattack,” he said.

One of the mercenaries who’d let them inside laughed. “How? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s not a whole lot of us. Not enough to take back the city. Besides, who’s going to lead us?”

Ezra looked over at Dumrivil and Nobinar.

“Nobinar, you’re a soldier, right? I assume you’ve been trained in city defense and tactics.”

Nobinar rubbed his chin. “I have, but… that was a long time ago.”

“Better relearn quick, because everyone’s going to be counting on you.”

Nobinar gave a short nod. Ezra glanced over at Prise. He still hated her guts… but there was no denying that when it came to logistics, she had the most experience out of all of them.

“Prise should be in charge of getting together a medical camp, reinforcing this place from attack, and taking care of the civilians,” Ezra said.

Prise poked her head out. “What?”

“You’re not going to do it?”

“N-no, I’ll do it, I was just surprised,” Prise said.

Ezra looked over at Dumrivil and the other mercenaries.

“We’ll need to go out and find more mercenaries to give Nobinar troops to work with. They need to be told that the guild hall is the place to go. In more extreme cases, they’ll need to be saved.”

The guy who let them into the building sneered at Ezra. “And who the hell are you to boss us around, huh?”

Ezra’s face screwed up, he stepped forward and stabbed Filamenta into the wood beside the guy’s head.

“I could’ve left, you little shit,” Ezra said. “After half of you people tried to kill me, it would’ve been real easy to walk away and let this place burn to the ground. Don’t make me regret my decision.”

The guy paused. He nodded.

“Noted,” he said.

One of the mages raised a hand. “I can use a spell to allow us to communicate for the duration of the battle. This way, we’ll be more coordinated.

Nobinar pointed at the mage. “Do that. I’ll be able to direct you to the squads most in need of your help.”

Ezra stepped toward the door. He heard footsteps approach him. He turned around to see Prise looking at him.

“W-wait,” she said. “If you happen to pass by the inn… please, check in on my mother?”

Ezra rolled his eyes. “Why should I do that exactly?”

Tears started to come to her eyes. “Please, I’m begging you.”

“Offer me something. Make it worth my while.”

Prise fidgeted, then sucked in a breath.

“[Herbalism],” she said. “Everything that my mother taught me, I’ll teach you, and I’ll give you access to my family’s notebooks—potions that could enhance your power, potions that can kill others. A-and I’ll support you in the guild. Whatever you want, I’ll do. I’ll cheat, steal, whatever it takes, just please—“

Ezra held up his hand.

“Good enough.”

Prise relaxed and swayed on her feet. She reached up for her heart and sucked in a few slow breaths.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”

Ezra unbarred the door and stepped outside. Footsteps echoed from behind. He turned around to see that about half of the mercenaries were behind him. The mage from before approached Ezra.

“May I link you to our communication network?” the mage said.

Ezra sighed, then nodded. “Do it.”

The mage held out a wand and the tip glowed. There was a bright flash, and then it was gone.

Ezra turned around and then shot off in the direction of the inn.

----------------------------------------

Ezra raced through the streets, killing the monsters he could on the way to the inn. The bigger ones he avoided, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to kill them quickly enough.

“Prise just said for you to check in on her if you happen to pass by,” Filamenta said with a glow. “Why are you heading straight for her mother?”

“If she dies, I doubt Prise is gonna honor our little deal,” Ezra said.

A monster up ahead. He jumped into the air and shot Filamenta out and straight through the brain. A few mercenaries and some civilians looked at him in shock. He fell to the ground.

Ezra turned his head. “Get back to the guild hall!”

One of the mercs nodded and started running in the direction Ezra came from.

“Good job saving them,” Filamenta said.

“It’ll aid my reputation, and the more this town is indebted to me, the more I’ll be able to leverage it against the kingdom later on.”

“Uh-huh.”

Ezra continued racing his way through the burning rubble. The bodies of the dead lined the buildings and ground the farther out he got. Despite this, there were less and less monsters.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Filamenta muttered.

“Me too, it’s too quiet.”

They eventually turned a corner and arrived at the inn.

Ezra took a few slow steps forward. He put his back against the wall and reached out for the handle.

The door opened, the hinges creaking loudly. Ezra took a step inside. It was poorly lit, like always.

He took a few steps forward, [Cat’s Grace] silencing his movements. He stepped to the door behind the counter—the one where Prise’s mother was, presumably.

He reached out and opened it.

To the side, there was a dying fire. Prise’s mother was lying on her bed, unmoving. Ezra approached her and put his finger to her pulse. Her heart was beating. He breathed a sigh of relief.

And then his stomach dropped. Every part of his internal senses screamed at the top of his lungs that something was wrong. It was so disorienting he nearly fell over. He looked from left to right, then turned around.

Lesser Demon - Lv. 57

He barely had a moment to scream before its claws slammed into him.