“Holy zjik, it’s The Artillery!” “What’s he doing here?!” “When’d he escape?!” “What do we do?!” Unrest swept through the ranks of Humanity at the mere sight of Xard. A few looked to be genuinely considering his proposal to turn tail and run. But someone just had to come along and stoke the flames.

“Form up!” someone took charge. “To your stations! Pick up your guns and prepare to fight! This is what we’re here for. Not to piss about while they rot away, but to take down these mawhging Fiends that terrorize our world! It’s time for Humanity to fight back and prove once and for all that we’re the dominant species on Rathe!”

That sort of spouting drivel was assuredly what had landed them in Bisomote in the first place. They’d been there for months and accomplished nothing of actual worth, so Xard was a bit surprised that they still had the will to fight. But he guessed that’s what they’d been waiting around for. So he wouldn’t deny them. The man didn’t care about the dividing lines between humans and Fiends. But that wouldn’t also stop him from showing them their limits—just how deluded they were.

The redhead took one step out of the compound, beyond its safety and security, and stopped. There was no further exchange of words, not that they’d had a dialogue to begin with. But brutish types like these usually preferred spouting their manifestos and ill thought beliefs than actually doing something about them. So it was almost refreshing when they opened fire.

Dozens of ‘soldiers’ began shooting at Xard. The man almost felt tickled by the barrage. Most of it was just regular ammunition since they still hadn’t learned after all this time, or perhaps they never thought they’d actually fight him or the other generals, emboldened by their imprisonment.

There was one thing of note in some of their rounds. It appeared they’d taken a stab at their own homebrewed paralysis ammunition, but it was nothing more than a prick that made Xard’s skin go numb for a split second. His best guess was that they’d tested on each other and called it good, never actually trying against a real Fiend.

“Get on the energy cannons!” someone called out. How they got their hands on such high tech weaponry, Xard wasn’t sure—likely provided by whoever was bankrolling the group from the shadows. But it was time to start taking this seriously.

The cannons opened fire, shooting laser-like projectiles at the man. Just from what he experienced in the past, he guessed they were some sort of plasma ammunition, stuff that would eat away at him upon impact. The plasma splattered, but not against the man, and he continued to stand there, entirely unscathed.

Energy swirled around Xard like a vortex, continuously flowing from his body. He had spent so long circulating the limitless force throughout his veins that it had become a part of him, an extension of himself that he could control and manipulate, bend and reshape.

Once he exuded the energy, the man could now move it freely until it impacted or dissipated, and he could now weave it through the air like a stream of water. While it still wasn’t perfect, since he hadn’t much time to practice it in combat, it meant that nothing could touch him, if he didn’t let it.

Bullets whipped around and were sent flying back at his attackers. The plasma from the energy cannons splattered every which way. Grenades that fell at Xard’s feet were either sent shooting off elsewhere or the shrapnel was launched after it exploded. Either way, the asphalt he stood on would be in need of serious repair, but they’d take care of it later.

Xard held up both hands, and two jets of energy soared forward. They zoomed around any enemies, slithering past them like a serpent, and striking the two energy cannons that were still bombarding him. He’d purposefully avoided any of Humanity, still wanting to give them some chance to realize their folly. But he did then target one person: the man who’d been barking orders.

The Artillery gunned him down, a brutal death to make an example for all to see. And it worked for some. Those who had just been approaching, drawn by the commotion, turned right back around. But most who had already committed themselves to the fight only doubled down, rallying around their fallen comrade.

But unfortunately for them, that just sealed their fate. The idea of this massacre had been weighing heavily on Xard’s mind ever since he’d received the order, hoping to never repeat an incident such as Bastion ever again. But as the man looked around, seeing what Humanity had done to Bisomote, it became much easier for him.

The shops he often visited were boarded up. Some had clearly been raided and robbed. They’d vandalized nearly every surface with their propaganda, and driven everyone away who had just been living happy lives. He hadn’t understood the full extent of the damage when he was flying overhead, but now seeing it with his own eyes, his gut wrenched. This was his home, and they’d destroyed it.

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And this was just supposed to be a siege, where all they did was sit around and do nothing all day. But elsewhere in the world, they were actively hunting Fiends, imprisoning them. Just how bad had things gotten? If they were this terrible here, what other chaos had they wrought? And no one was doing anything to stop them.

That was enough to remove his reservations, and maybe his time in prison had helped harden his heart. But Xard no longer felt an ounce of pity or remorse. These were vermin that were plaguing the world, and they needed to be exterminated.

Xard raised both hands again, and streams of energy shout out of each finger. He didn’t even need to aim. The energy bullets found their targets, killing them all instantly. He wanted to give them more painful deaths, possibly vaporize them from existence, but that would risk damaging the town further. After a few more rounds, once all of his immediate attackers were neutralized, he rose up into the air to get a better grasp of the remaining situation.

A few trucks were speeding away in the distance, fleeing for their lives. He had to pull back his hand from attacking them. His instincts flared to remove them now before they could become a problem again. But he still had to give them a chance if they were making the correct decision. If even one could be redeemed, they deserved the opportunity to do so. And if they fell back into their old ways, his mercy would be missing when he saw them again.

Those at the northern gate had all already been slaughtered, and Gatrim and Kaizu were making their way along the western wall. “Face your guilt!” he heard Kaizu scream, likely facing the leader of this fake army.

The sky turned black above them, and something started raining down. After squinting his eyes, Xard recognized the objects as stars of Cosmos, covered in shadows. He was a bit surprised. After talking with Tize, he assumed Kaizu’s Curse would always pit someone against a person from their past. But guilt came in all forms. And how exactly was someone supposed to fight back against that?

“Where is he?!” Itsy roared, having emerged from the tunnels. She grabbed the nearest vagrant, crushing their body in her hand, and she screamed in their face again, “Where is he?!” Those around her opened fire, but she didn’t even flinch. The bullets embedded themselves in her skin, barely penetrating at all. And any energy rounds merely slid off her body.

After not getting an answer, Itsy got impatient and splattered the thug to the ground. Then she grabbed another and repeated the process. After a few more, she finally got her answer, and the footsoldiers pointed towards their ramshackle prison. Itsy ran in and emerged just a second later, Crucion in her arms.

The rampaging giantess then plowed straight through the enemy forces, beelining straight back to the compound and wrecking everything in her path. So much for not destroying the town, but at least she kept to the roads which they’d have to fully replace anyways.

Itsy only took one step into the barrier, setting the boy down. She leaned him up against the wall and checked up on him. He was conscious, but clearly exhausted from the ordeal. The woman gave him one more hug and then turned around, heading back to the battlefield. She grabbed the two nearest abandoned Humanity humvees, one in each hand and raised them up. “These mawhgers gon’ pay!”

Back over at the other end, the shadowed rain had already stopped, its victim found guilty and judgment served. Kaizu had already begun the next trial while Gatrim skewered any that tried to attack her. Really, even if Xard did nothing, this would end rather quickly.

But he couldn’t leave it to them, wanting as little of their own guilt to weigh on their consciences as possible. And the sooner things ended, the sooner the town would be liberated, and they could start rebuilding. Xard flew back towards the ground and began soaring down each road and alleyway.

Along his flight, the man eradicated anyone still left, like mowing over weeds. He kept energy spending around himself, so all he had to do was touch them—a horrendous game of tag. That was all it took to wipe out the weak humans and Lessers in disguise. He found himself watching their eyes, to see if he could tell, but they really were well hidden.

And in just a few minutes, not a shred of Humanity remained. The streets that had been filled with over a thousand terrorists had become a ghost town, a mass grave. Even after that mass cleansing, it all just looked worse than before, making Xard’s stomach twist once more.

The four fighters regrouped at the front gate, and Itsy immediately ran off to help Crucion. Kaizu and Gatrim went to get themselves cleaned up. And Xard just stood around for a moment, staring at it all—his work that was just beginning.

“Hey there, kid,” the redhead suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and he craned his neck to find Roque. “Welcome back. It’s good to see ya. And a happy New Year to you. Since it’s a special occasion, I’ll be providing a free service and get this cleaned up for you. And then, leave the town in ole Roque’s hands. It’ll be back to normal before you know it. No… better than ever before, but it’s gonna cost ya!”

Without even letting The Artillery agree, the man stepped out into the town, laughing to himself. A contract unfurled next to him, and every corpse vanished in the blink of an eye. Xard knew he could leave it all to the crazed businessmen, even if it bit him in the ass later, but it was a price he was willing to pay. So he turned around and began walking back towards the mansion.

It wasn’t long before he was intercepted by Tize, greeting him with a yawn. “I didn’t even get around to laying down yet and you’re already done.”

“Well, you can get back to your nap soon,” Xard assured him. “I won’t be taking up much more of your time.”

“Guess you’re not sticking around then,” Tize’s mouth twisted into a frown.

“No,” Xard was more resolute now then ever. “I’ll be heading off on a solo crusade around the world, to destroy Humanity.”