Mila’s second assault was just as easy as the first. The hardest part had been finding the place among the chaos and the ever-changing layout of the city.

More and more of Stilag was torn down by fights and fires while people tried to build shelters to guard against the hazards. The night stretched long, seemingly stuck above the suffering city for eternity to hide it from the world.

While Polonomia had told Mila where to look for these barrier-feeding spots, they weren’t easy to find in the chaos. She had to run towards where she thought the next target was while using her senses to scout for the underground powerlines.

Only by finding the extending mana lines did Mila pinpoint her target precisely. She had also considered searching for vulnerable military personnel and getting them to speak but had dismissed the idea. It wasn’t likely a random person knew what she needed.

Besides…

Most military Mila saw were doing their duty by protecting the lives of the citizens. There were exceptions, of course. But only a few. She had to admit that whoever was their commander had done an excellent job of instilling the proper values in the kingdom’s soldiers.

Mila didn’t want to interrupt their valiant work and helped herself - although at a decreased rate. She was increasingly desperate in her search as time went on.

With the fall of the second battery, Mila had noticed some frantic movement around the walls. She expected the rumours of the weak spots appearing to spread faster than the fires filling the city.

There.

Mila finally found the line leading towards the third target. She quickly moved alongside it, finding yet another warehouse under desperate assault. Her senses didn’t find anyone notable, and cleaning this place was just as easy as the first two.

The improvements in her physical performance were incredible. Without them, Mila wouldn’t be able to do it. She wondered if the old Ghost had known but dismissed the thought. Of course, he hadn’t. The ancient thing wasn’t omnipotent, just experienced and smart.

With three targets down, Mila once again studied the barrier around the city. There were changes.

It was hard to see in the dark, but the inferno eating the city gave enough light to see distortions in the barrier. Mila moved while inspecting a particularly large spot of unstable wavering.

It would fail soon. It would not be enough. But if Mila could destroy the fourth target…

Mila almost froze as her expanded senses brushed against a chilling mana pool. A moment later, she jumped back, vanishing into the long shadows the fires created.

This place was guarded. Mila found an advantage point, then scanned the surroundings, finding no military in the vicinity.

The cold, massive mana signature Mila had sensed was in one of the building's larger, untouched ones near yet another warehouse. She continued to retreat while checking for any incoming attacks.

There was none. Mila stopped and calmed her heart. It wasn’t that bad. While short on time, there-

A loud crash in the distance interrupted Mila’s thought process. When she looked at the source, she saw a person hovering above the city and exploding the buildings beneath her by pointing at them.

In another distant spot, a lighting storm devastated a large area. Then, there was what seemed like a moment of silence as Mila struggled to process what she was seeing.

Then, cheers came from those places. Mila didn’t understand. What were the Inquisitors doing? In the distance, she also could see the strongest fighters from the Military face off against the rebels.

Next, those cheers were silenced. Both Inquisitors travelled towards the large distortion in the barrier while raining down destruction on the city.

Mila paled. The fuckers were making sure people couldn’t use that spot. They had started to kill everyone indiscriminately. Her efforts had decreased the time limit she had drastically.

There was no time to search for the next place. Mila gritted her teeth, trying to decide how to proceed. She looked at the building where the third Inquisitor was hiding, trying to figure out why that person wasn’t joining the killers in the air.

“STOP!”

A loud booming voice interrupted Mila again. She looked at where the Military forces had been fighting. A single person was flying towards the two Inquisitors, clearly intending to interfere.

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“WHY?” The person asked, his voice full of disbelief and desperation. “WHY? STOP!” He demanded while sending a shattering wave at the Inquisitors.

It didn’t hit. Mila watched Astra do something, disrupting the incoming attack, then return to killing.

The man sent more attacks, clearly faltering as his subordinates started to fall at the hands of rebels. In the end, he decided to try and stop the Inquisitors.

All Mila saw was a man heading towards his doom. He was spent. The long night and the horrors they had faced before had clearly marked the man, making his might be just a faint reflection of what it had been.

Still, the commanding man would take some effort to get rid of. Why wasn’t the third Inquisitor joining the fight?

Mila returned her full attention to the mana pool at the edge of her senses. It hadn’t moved. She didn’t believe whoever was there hadn’t noticed the loud, continued voice shaking the city.

As the shockwave from the fight washed over her, Mila began moving closer to the large mana pool.

It was risky, yes. Mila understood it was. But she didn’t have time to search for the next place. And if…

And if whoever was inside was injured and couldn’t move… Which, with each passing moment, became more likely. Perhaps…

Mila didn’t dare to raise her hopes that high. An Inquisitor was too dangerous to her, even if they were injured and dying.

But if the person’s condition was poor, Mila could sneak inside the place that hid the reservoir and ruin it. She was sure of it. With each passing moment, more people would die.

As a lengthy chain of lighting shot through the streets, Mila concentrated and began to move towards the mana signature. She didn’t go straight towards it, rounding it, searching for a window, hole or perhaps doors from which to peek inside.

There had to be one. There had to be a place from where the person inside watched the reservoir containing place. Mila soon found it.

The open doors revealed a tired, feeble-looking man in his sunset. He wasn’t very old, but his very being radiated exhaustion, as if he was about to leave this world. His eyes still held light as he kept up his poise.

Mila hesitated, then narrowed her eyes to watch the man’s surroundings with more care.

There was something off. As Mila studied the ground beneath the man’s feet, she spotted a slight sheet of ice on it. There was a translucent frosting of ice on everything in the man’s surroundings.

Reluctantly, Mila turned away. She circled the building, finding a way inside from the other side.

Only to realise there was ice on the ground here, too. It appeared the Inquisitor was guarding the place properly, and it proved once again these enemies could never be underestimated.

But in this case, the problem could be solved easily. After making a small detour, Mila managed to collapse a burning building just right, making debris land near where she had to step to enter the warehouse.

That was all it took for the ice to begin to melt. The frozen sheet tried to resist, reform and fight against the hot air. There was a will to this ice, clearly being an extension of the mage behind it.

After checking to see if the Inquisitor was coming and seeing he wasn’t - Mila stepped closer to her target. She silently cursed upon noticing yet more ice on the walls.

There was no other choice. With great care, Mila kicked for the burning debris closer to the wall of the warehouse. This would raise suspicion.

While waiting for the ice to melt, Mila glanced at the battle in the sky. The person from the Military was making a valiant effort. He hadn’t stopped shouting, causing a wave of terror and panic to wash over Stilag.

People were trying to get away from the rampaging lunatics massacring them and their families.

It was only a question of time before this wave of escaping people would reach this place. Mila didn’t know what would happen to them.

Would the Inquisitor kill them? Or was he too weak? Should she take a chance and try to kill him at that point? It would cause unnecessary deaths. She simply didn’t know which answer was the correct one.

To Mila’s chagrin, she also gave serious consideration to using the civilians as a distraction.

So many things would be easier if Mila stopped caring about the morals of the situation. But she had made the decision not to…

Unless the situation was truly dire. Which it was…

Was it worth going for the man’s life without these tactics?

Mila hesitated. The more seconds passed, the more irritated she became. Her logical mind fought against the ideals she wanted to uphold.

In the end, Mila decided to trust in herself. She had changed. It was a forced change, but her mind wasn’t what it had been when she had just arrived in this world.

With her improved body, Mila felt confident in slipping inside the building. She waited another moment for the ice to melt, then scaled the wall, finding herself on the rooftop.

It was dangerous to stay on the roof for long. Mila hurried to break a larger tile and slipped into the hole. Before closing her entrance spot, she glanced at the distant fight.

The military officer of an unknown name fell. His body was torn apart by invisible bolts until a large bolt of lightning reached his eyes, extinguishing the light in them for eternity.

With that, the two terrible Inquisitors had free reign to do as they wished. Even the rebels kept their distance, not daring to draw their ire. The few remaining fight-capable soldiers had reached the Inquisitors, but they too quickly died.

Mila vanished inside the attic, carefully stepping forward, paying attention to any ice that could be there.

Luckily, there wasn’t much. Some sneaking ice trails here and there. Nothing Mila couldn’t step around. It seemed there were limits to the ice-wielding Inquisitor’s skill. Or perhaps it was his condition that hindered his ability.

After killing the first patrolling guard, Mila infiltrated deeper. Here, too, no one could stop her. She killed freely, occasionally adding to her mana pool by finding a weak mage or untapped potential in a fighter.

Mila was careful to not touch the ice at any moment. She silently rushed down and found the battery feeding the barrier.

Ruining it didn’t take long. Mila soon stood back on the first floor, wondering how to proceed next.

For one, Mila heard civilians coming this way. And when she peeked outside, she found a few already frozen dead or shattered.

The perpetrator still sat where he had been when Mila first saw him - now, even more tired and closer to death.

Yet, the Inquisitor continued to slaughter.

And that could not be allowed. Not when Mila had promised herself to do better. She gripped the black dagger tighter, planning out the best way to assassinate this dangerous opponent.