“It’s you!” Tyler said, shield up and sword out.

The lead man, who looked a bit hawkish, opened his mouth to speak. I didn’t give him the chance. I was already running straight for him, claws out. My speed seemed to take them all by surprise, judging by the looks on their faces.

‘Sneak’ attacks can go both ways. They’d already attacked us, what was there left to say? That attack was meant for Tyler’s neck.

At the last moment, right before I made contact with this foreign Hero, I felt a whole lot of wind be used against me. It poured out of all the people here and part of me frowned. I’d never fought a wind mage before, especially not eight wind mages before. My speed instantly died, cut in half, as the full force slammed into me. They had been smart enough to be a decent range away and but… well…

I was very fast. I closed my hand, punching the leader in the face, watching his eyes go wide. I felt his nose break and his head crack beneath my fist. The only reason I hadn’t used my claws was for positioning. The man got knocked back, falling back a bit, nearly stumbling to the ground.

My tail swung, and I ran past him, towards the other mages. They reacted in fear, pushing masses of wind at me. I’d been inside a tornado and dodged that. This? This did not compare. But the area to get them was small. Their attacks threatened to land and there was no reason to take damage for no reason. This wasn’t that kind of fight.

I flared my wings… and jumped. My strength hadn’t become as insane as Konohora, but it was more than enough to launch me. I leapt up and turned my body, as my feet smacked into the roof. Before anyone could even turn their heads at me, I was already kicking off the roof, rushing right towards them. They were grouped up. Maybe there was some logic to that.

I’d never know.

They died. My tail swung three times, my claws flashed once, and seven heads fell to the ground. It was the most surefire way to make sure someone died quickly. Mages needed their bodies and minds, both rendered near useless in microseconds when their heads were gone.

The man I’d originally punched into a better position still stood. Slowly, his head also fell from his body, sliding off his neck.

I felt a smile come to my face. That had gone pretty well! I’d gotten revenge for Tyler and we’d barely even slowed down really. He really had just been way, way too careless if he let these people injure him at all. Hell, there were only four around when he fought but well, I guess we all let our guards down sometimes. It was good a lesson really, to keep vigilant while in danger.

I turned back around to my teammates, feeling pretty good about myself. I had gotten much stronger than even I thought, my power gauge needing something to compare to that wasn’t one of the strongest people in the city. I felt much, much more sure of where I was at now compared to others with it.

“So, let’s contin-”

I paused. The looks on Riary, Konohora’s, and especially Tyler’s face were not… good. No, no it was pretty awful actually. They all looked like I’d slapped them.

“Uh…”

“You… you killed them?” Tyler said, in disbelief and what sounded like… sadness?

“Well, yes. They tried to kill you.” I said simply. To be fair, they’d probably have tried to kill us all, but they hadn’t gotten the chance.

“You… you can’t just-! You!” Tyler didn’t seem okay. “You… you… they could have surrendered! We could’ve, we could’ve taken them to the guards or or, or, or disarmed them! We…”

I blinked, waiting.

“How could you?” Tyler eventually said, voice seeming to break.

“Tyler, you killed bandits before. This isn’t different.” I said.

“Of course it’s different! They… they only…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say. He closed his eyes, tears threatening to spring out.

“His name… his name was Rhicontinu Vegarl, of the Vegarl Kingdom. His father died in the war, to demons. He… it’s not…” He trailed off.

“His fault? Is that what you’re trying to say Tyler?” I asked.

Riary and Konohora looked on, with different expressions on their face. Konohora’s was pity and Riary’s… was bitter. This was a conversation that needed to happen. An understanding between me and Tyler… no, between Tyler and the whole team, that needed to happen.

Tyler seemed at a loss for words. He may feel it wasn’t fair or not the man’s fault… but how could he say that after being attacked? Tyler wasn’t stupid or shameless, just a bit innocent.

“Tyler. We told you, over and over, we were going to be attacked by people. Assassins. More. Adventurers for sure. People who hated us. What did you think was going to happen?” I asked, gently. I wasn’t trying to accuse him, I genuinely wanted to know. I walked back towards him, trying not to get blood on my shoes.

“We… would fight and…”

“And let them live? Tyler… did that work out with the bandits the first time? There’s time for mercy and this wasn’t it. They attacked you twice Tyler, a third time would’ve appeared. No one, no god I know of, gives third chances.”

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Konohora looked thoughtful at that statement, seemingly trying to figure out if she knew a god that gives third chances. Well, I suppose there must be a god or goddess of mercy right?

“I know… but… he only… it was only because he’d lost someone! It…”

I understood and hated the words I was about to say.

“Tyler. Look at Konohora.” Tyler blinked before doing so. “Konohora frowns any time someone lies. You know that.”

Tyler nodded.

“I, strangely, like Riary.” The sudden mention of Riary seemed to catch everyone by surprise. Konohora seemed to catch on the quickest though, her eyes going wide. “She’s… fun. Mean, but fun. I don’t want to really hurt her, besides maybe a few pranks. I don’t want to kill her, not really. I have forgiven her for trying to kill me and my friend. No harm, no foul… more or less. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t bitter and go out of my way not to think about what could’ve happened.

“But…

“Tyler. If I was as strong now, as I was then, I’d have killed her. She’d be dead.”

It was like lightning had struck both Tyler and Riary.

“I don’t just let someone try to kill me Tyler. Especially not someone who tried to kill my friends. The only reason she is alive is because I was weaker. Because might makes right, even if it morally shouldn’t. The only reason she is still alive right now is because I have, mostly, forgiven her and hold no real ill will. What I’m trying to say is… I don’t care about their backstory or their past or their history or their reasons. If they come after my team, after you or Riary or Konohora… I’m going to kill them. I’m unsure about how you and Konohora feel, but for me and Riary… we don’t give mercy easily.”

Riary looked at me with a complex gaze, many emotions swimming, before she nodded at me and I at her. Tyler still looked at Konohora, not seeing a frown on her face, looking like he’d bit into a lemon.

“We can’t…” Tyler finally said. “Just… kill people like that.”

“Only the ones that try to kill us.” I said.

“No!” Tyler said, turning back around to face me, anger in his eyes. “We… we have to be better! So… so many people hate demons! We can’t just… kill them all!”

“Even if they try to kill us?” I said, raising an eyebrow. Tyler was silent for a long, long time. I gave it to him, also staying silent.

“...Yes. Riary… Riary tried to kill you and we did nothing.” Tyler said, pain but iron in his voice. “If she succeeded… I’d have lost someone who would one day be a friend. If you had won, had killed her… I’d have lost someone I’d loved. Rhicontinu, his friends, the people I didn’t even know… maybe they could’ve been friends. Maybe they could’ve changed.”

“Tyler, one of the first things you taught me was about mindset. Letting everyone who tries to kill you get away is-”

“No.” Tyler interrupted. “Not get away.” I swear, for a moment I thought I was looking at Riary the way fire burned in Tyler’s eyes. I was reminded once again that unlike me… Tyler was a True Hero. That wasn’t just a name for power… there was a reason they had that name. He was like a character straight out of a storybook. He seemed to stand taller, radiating an aura I’d expect to see on a man in armor fighting against a demon king.

Hell, he just might the way things are going in my life. My jaw dropped slightly as I looked at his whole Aura seem to firm up.

“If they’re weaker than us, we take them down but don’t kill them. We incapacitate and turn them into the guards. If they’re too strong or it’s too close, we kill them. Might makes right? No. No Derek. You have it backwards. The right must have might. We don’t need to kill those who aren’t threats. We have to be better, especially when we are strong.”

He looked at me, deep into my eyes, and I felt like I was a shadow before a holy sun. Still…

“Fine. But that’s a team decision. Not yours alone. So, ask.” I said, staring back at him.

He nodded. He looked around at us all, me, Konohora, Riary. Konohora seemed pretty neutral but I could see a smile tugging at her lips. She was happy that Tyler wasn’t becoming a Tyrant and was acting like a hero. Riary had an incredibly complex mix on her face. She didn’t agree, I could see it plainly, she didn’t care. They attacked with the intent to kill, so kill them. Simple, direct, fast, easy. Not even morally wrong. It fit both our worldviews nearly perfectly.

But while I could see different sides and shades, having grown up on earth in a culture of peace and seeing just what the heights of peace could do… it was a much harder pill for Riary to swallow. But still… she was smart and in love. A deadly combination.

“Fine.” She said, bitter. “But if they hurt you, they Burn.”

Tyler smiled bitterly. A real ‘what can you do’ look on his face. Konohora simply nodded, the smile finally tugging free onto her face.

“If that is what the team wishes, I shall follow as well.” She said.

Tyler smiled, happy, until he spotted the bodies. His expression had changed quite a bit over such a small time frame.

“Alright, alright. So… we’ll be pulling our punches I guess. If we have to go all the way back to the guards every time we run into people trying to kill us… it might take a few days to even get anywhere but fine. And Tyler, please don’t be stupid. The guards will probably either let them go with a slap on the wrist if they’re corrupt, try to put us in prison or jail if they’re really corrupt, I mean there’s really no proof who attacked who here after all, or might just hang them and kill them if the laws say they should. Which, if they do, would mean I could just knock out a C-Rank team and bring them up, say they did X, and they’d be killed. I assume the law is a bit stronger than that here, but don’t go thinking laws are the same thing as morals or justice. They aren’t even remotely close.”

Tyler seemed stunned, while Riary and Konohora nodded along. If he wanted to really go gung-ho into Hero mode and bring us along, fine, I could match his sensibilities. But that meant he’d have to make tough choices and couldn’t be blind to nuance, no matter how much he wanted to be. Tyler, Heroes never stay innocent, and only the ones with shitty character stay stupid. Good luck my… friend. You’re gonna need it.

“Shall we continue on?” Konohora asked. We all more or less nodded and continued on.

This wasn’t over though. Tyler was asking the whole team to put themselves at risk because he suddenly found his moral line. I was absolutely going to grill him over and over on why killing the bandits or the cultists or etc was fine and on hypotheticals. Because this wasn’t a ‘dungeon’ thing. This was how Tyler wanted us to fight from now on. Not immediately murdering people trying to kill us. He better be damn sure about nearly every freaking scenario then. I was going to put those morals over the fire, until they were solid and sure.

We left, heading down more floors, leaving the bodies cooling there.

A shadow appeared nearby a while later, looking at the bodies with a frown, before disappearing once again.