[Ron.. hurry!] thought Erwin, who strengthened his body as much as possible by letting the mana flow inside him.

Rudolf was certain that Erwin was weaker than him; it was enough to look at the way he trembled to understand that Erwin was also aware of his inferiority; Yet, Rudolf couldn't understand how someone as terrified as him could standing in front of him, with those eyes full of determination and hope; it wasn't a normal thing, in fact, for Rudolf, Erwin's behavios was stupid and crazy.

Furthermore, he really didn't have time to waste with kid in front of him, since he didn't felt Ron's mana nearby: maybe he was far from them, but for Rudolf it was as if Ron was there at that moment, watching him with cold eyes, ready to kill him without thinking about it.

"...Die...Die!!"

Rudolf snapped, and after forgetting the promises he did to Ron, he used his magical bow again, and this time, to not leave anything to the fate, he immediately gave his 100% by attacking Erwin with a multiple series of arrows, ready to knock him down without waste any time;

[Will I be able to dodge all these arrows... ?] thought Erwin, turning pale before the imminent danger: since he had left that cave, the only thing he had done since he had learned to use mana was to run, do basic movements and little else; he had never fought combining his martial arts and the mana inside his body, and in a certain sense, he was afraid that he would make a big mess and then die. But at that moment, Erwin was too focused on the arrows, and without even realizing it, his body moved towards the arrows out of pure instinct; Rudolf, convinced that there was nothing that the kid in front of him could done, he still looked carefully at the boy, as if somehow he was expecting something; Elaine also did the same, wanting to understand why that boy was so confident.

Erwin took quick steps, and began to dodge the arrows: at first, his movements were so clumsy that Rudolf believed he would be hit shortly thereafter; however, Erwin's movements became increasingly rapid, fluid and effective, to the point of leaving the two siblings stunned, who did not expect a certain mastery in the movements. It even stunned Erwin himself, amazed that all those complicated movements came naturally to him.

"It's not possible... you're not that strong!" said Rudolf, starting to scream in anger, throwing his bow on the ground.

"Or maybe... you're wack!" Erwin said out of breath, who at that moment saw his confidence go through the roof; Rudolf at that moment felt as if Ron would appear at any moment: he was literally terrified by that figure, so much that he began to tremble with fear in his eyes; letting Elaine go was the best solution, but at the same time, it meant having to face the King, and that terrified him as much as facing Ron again; Rudolf was thus caught between two difficult choices, but rather than running away from a human, he preferred to stay there and complete his task, even if it means dying.

[I have to hurry... I have to hurry!]

Rudolf, in a panic, created a sword of ice and, with the fury of a bloodthirsty beast, hurled himself lightning-fast at Erwin, who was taken by surprise by the absurd speed of the enemy.

"RUAHHHHH!"

Rudolf tried to strike Erwin with a quick slash; his sword came down at a frightening speed, but Erwin, with the agility of a feline, managed to awkwardly dodge the attack, throwing himself to the side before rolling and jumping to his feet.

[...I don't think I can avoid all these dangerous attacks for much longer] thought the boy out of breath, surprised by his opponent's speed; However, Rudolf noticed Erwin's disorientation, so he decided to press him even more forcefully using all his speed: he attacked Erwin with a barrage of blows, with the latter that was was forced to step back and dodge all those lethal blows, also using the trees scattered around the forest as a shields, which unfortunately, were cut down with disarming ease by Rudolf's blade, who seemed totally out of his mind and practically unstoppable both for Erwin and for Elaine, who stood there watching with her hands folded.

But if Erwin felt Rudolf's suffocating physical pressure, at the same time Rudolf felt completely mocked: he knew that he was clearly stronger than Erwin, both in terms of technique and strength, and above all in terms of experience. And yet, that boy managed to dodge each of his blows by the skin of his teeth.

And although Erwin was under pressure, his expression seemed to suggest something else by making a slight smile, almost as if he was enjoying the fight like a kid, despite the fact that nonetheless Rudolf's huge sword was lightly slashing every part of his body.

And that little smile on Erwin's face, which not even the boy himself realized he was doing, sent Rudolf completely haywire: distracted by the scenario he was facing, his attacks becames more predictable, repetitive, and above all, he started to waste a large amount of mana in a futile way; This was noticed by Elaine, who was completely shocked by this event, and Erwin also began to notice it, who began to dodge Rudolf's ferocious but out-of-control attacks more and more nimbly.

[Maybe... I can win!] thought Erwin, that as soon as he saw an gap in the defense of Rudolf, he started his counterattack: with a kick, he hit Rudolf's hand who was holding the sword badly, disarming him with extreme simplicity; after that, Erwin went on the attack, hitting Rudolf's face with a violent 1-2, with his head tilting backwards; after which, Erwin hit Rudolf's ribs with a flying kick, who ended up ruinously a few meters away on the ground;

[I-I don't believe it.. did he really beat him?!] was the first thought of the girl, who was surprised by the boy's skills: certainly Rudolf for some strange reason that Elaine didn't know, committed a series of amateur mistakes, but the boy had shown excellent agility and a frightening sense of fighting for someone of his age, adapting to the different situations he was placed in.

" Mom, dad... I'm safe....!" the girl said with tears in her eyes and her gaze turned towards the sky, thanking his two saviors.

Thinking of his two saviors, Elaine was curious to know what happened to Ron: he had been the first to intervene, and judging by his power, Elaine thought that he must have been able to take down Rudolf with ease; yet, for some strange reason, Rudolf was still alive, and Ron wasn't here. For several minutes during the battle, she had sensed Ron's mana, but for some time he had completely disappeared, wondering then if anything had happened to him.

While the girl was lost in her thoughts, however, Erwin had other things to worry about: sure, he had managed to hit Rudolf multiple times, but at that moment his hands were seriously injured, with one wrist sprained and the other even worse with several fractures, with his ankle hurting inexplicably: he thought that perhaps he had used the mana too recklessly, but he immediately had his answers the moment when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rudolf get up from the ground in perfect condition.

"What the--!!"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Rudolf approached him with extremely rapid steps, hitting him with a violent punch in the stomach, making Erwin vomit blood; Erwin wasn't able to track Rudolf incredible movement, and because of the extrem pain he felt, Erwin fell on his knees, then releasing a terrifying scream of pain.

"This is how you throw a real punch..." Rudolf said in an arrogant tone of voice, regaining again that confidence which, until recently, had gone underground; Elaine was completely stunned to see her brother standing, Thus seeing his escape plan further complicated;

[Mr. Ron... where have you gone?!] She thought, realizing that the only thing she had left to do in that moment was praying for her and Erwin's life.

"It's incredible that I was afraid of a being so inferior to me..." - whispered Rudolf, who in the meantime hit Erwin with a violent kick, powerful enough to lift him to the ground and break his jaw; - "You're talented kid, but compared to me, you're just shit!"

Rudolf incorporated ice gloves with strange spikes around his fists, hitting Erwin again in the stomach, who was thrown violently against a tree, which immediately broke in two due to the impact, causing a great noise that was audible even to several kilometers from the battle zone;

"...Stay there if you don't want to die!" said Rudolf, looking at Erwin's body; as he looked at him, he thought that it was very lucky for him that the boy was a simple amateur: in fact, although his mana control was good, he was not able to strengthen his attacks properly, making his attacks ineffective.

[If that kid had a bit more of experience... Fuck!] Rudolf thought nervously, with a smile that, however, did not seem due to happiness.

Rudolf then turned to Elaine: they both looked at each other with annoyance and contempt, and it was obvious that their relationship was rotten to the core; [...Let's end this as soon as possible...] thought Rudolf, who wanted to end the thread that bound him with his real family once and for all.

However, when Rudolf began to approach the girl, he heard strange noises behind him: when he turned to look at who or what that noise was, he was astonished to see Erwin standing again;

[How is this possible?!] the two brothers thought in unison, however having contrasting reactions: if Elaine was somehow happy to see him alive, the same could not be said of Rudolf, who was particularly annoyed by Erwin's tenacity.

" Eh..ehehe..." - Erwin began to laugh, who could barely stand up - "Not bad, but this is only the beginning..!"

------

*Ron's POV*

Several minutes before...

Had I made the right choice in letting that bastard go? I wasn't sure, but I didn't owe that girl anything, I didn't even know why I had interfered in the first place; I felt sorry for that girl, it was clear that she was a good and beautiful person, but I couldn't afford to put the inhabitants of Hakvill in danger because of her: if something had happened to them, it would have been my fault, and I had already caused too many disasters in my life.

I didn't know why a guy from that household had come all the way here just to catch that girl: what I was sure of was that I didn't want to start another war.

At that moment, with my spirits at the bottom, I wanted to get away from there, take a walk to refresh my thoughts and then maybe go back to the inn, but when I started to think about that girl, Unpleasant memories regarding a "certain" person surfaced, which for years I tried to erase, failing miserably.

"No.. it doesn't look like her.." I whispered annoyed, grinding my teeth; at that moment the feelings of guilt were gnawing at me inside, and I was certain that the resemblance I saw between that girl and... "her", was the result of my feelings of guilt... it had to be like this... I wanted it to be like this.

"At least... I should make sure that he wont hurt her anymore..." I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the energies around me expanding my sense: it was a technique I had learned from a strange old orc during my trip to the north when I was young; thanks to this technique, I was able to observe images at distances greater than 10 km... he called this technique "Eyes of God", but I, in addition to not believing in God, considered it a high-sounding and embarrassing name to pronounce in front of people;

"Mmh...let's see...huh?" I saw the girl, completely unconscious and feverish, and at that moment I felt guilty, but immediately afterwards, within my range of "sight", someone else entered: I got very angry and nervous, seeing that that "someone" was Erwin himself!

"Of all the moments..."

Furthermore, my mood worsened further when the latter decided to take the girl up with him and then take her who knows where. At that moment I knew I had to hurry, before that idiot would find himself in front of that damned elf with the twisted mentality; I moved at high speed through the woods, keeping my mana quite low, until, thanks to the "eye of God"; it was enough for me to sense his energy to realize that the bastard, at that moment, was really pissed...

"Ugh...Fuck!"

By now the situation was critical, and I knew that Erwin, given his character, would do something irremediably stupid; that's why, when I saw that he left the girl on the ground, and got into position to face Rudolf, I wasn't surprised.

I hoped that Erwin, after being terrorized by that damned elf, would let the girl go and try to save his own life. And initially, things went just as I hoped! But when I saw that damned Elf attacking Erwin, besides being furious with the Elf, I was furious with myself: once again, a decision of mine was going to bring suffering and pain to another person.

Therefore, with the blood boiling in my veins, I drastically changed my mind: I was going to kill that son of a bitch on sight, without thinking about the aftermath! I was going to personally deal with that shit house!

Determined more than ever, I was now ready to destroy the elf, when, however, something stopped me, as I arrived in the vicinity where the fight was taking place, with a clear view of what was happening: Erwin was terrified, he was scared to death; yet, his eyes were more alive than ever, and he had a strange smile that was not normal.

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In fact, his smile was not a smile of nervousness; no, his smile was one of excitement for the imminent fight.

...In the family in which I come from, there is a saying, which is "Don't step on someone else's grass, you might ruin your shoes and your friendship"... It's a saying that my father often said, and it meant not to meddle in other people's battles, and even though at that moment Erwin was in danger, that light in his eyes made me hesitate, so much so that, in an act of madness and stupidity, I did something even more reckless than before, in the hope that, with this battle, Erwin might grow even more.

I then decided to minimize my mana to a minimum level, and hide in the trees to observe that battle...

I expected that he would suffer greatly; therefore, I was shocked in front of what I saw: the movements of Erwin were imprecise and clumsy, he didn't have the necessary strength to beat Rudolf and his use of mana was ridiculous, almost embarrassing; yet, his fighting instinct was so high that it covered all the major gaps he had in his arsenal; I was amazed by what I saw, because his talent for fighting must have been so great that it could almost be considered something "divine".

Of course, the Elf that Erwin was facing was so panicked that he started to throw attacks without the slightest common sense, but what Erwin was doing was more than admirable, especially with an opponent several times stronger than him.

Even though everything seemed going well, he too had to deal with his limits, and in fact, when Rudolf sensed Erwin's shortcomings, he hit him as hard as possible, hoping to knock him out in one fell swoop; But there were two things he hadn't considered: the first, it was the boy's sixth sense, which even in that case, had saved him from a potential mortal wound; and second, that damn Elf had used an absurd amount of mana, both against me and against Erwin, and he hadn't had time to recover his energy properly; for this reason, that attack which was supposed to be the final blow, was in truth a total fiasco.

At that moment I wanted to intervene, however, as soon as I saw the glaze in Erwin's eyes, the words my father used to tell me rumbled again in the antechamber of my brain, blocking me; Erwin's eyes were those of someone who, in spite of everything, was still having fun-and who, in spite of everything, did not want to give up: How could I intervene?

At that moment, I understood so many things about that boy, and at the same time, it made me understand something more about myself, namely, that I was much more similar to my father than I wanted people to believe, and that, like it or not, I was still living as I had been taught, and what was happening "inside me" was a clear evidence of that.

And my mind then led me to think about that letter Ludwig gave me in the afternoon coming from presumebly from my father , a letter that I had not yet opened, but now, despite everything I felt for my family, I felt inside me the desire to read its contents.

"Not now... I need to focus on Erwin!" I thought, thus observing that boy who, against all odds, was rising up to face a wall that was currently impassable for his physique, but not for his mind....

*END Ron's POV*

-------

Several minutes had now passed since Erwin, to the general shock of those present, had managed to get up. Since then, however, things had not improved, on the contrary, they had even gotten worse: although Erwin had somehow managed to avoid the worst with that violent punch, the pain was still extreme, and this severely limited his movements; Rudolf had also noticed this and, having abandoned the idea of fighting with the sword or arrows, he wrapped his fists in cold gloves made of ice, and started a close hand-to-hand fight, in the which the evil elf clearly had the upper hand; However, with his instinct, Erwin somehow managed to avoid the decisive blows, while taking other blows, with great power yes, but not lethal.

Rudolf believed that now the boy would collapse, and it wasn't even such a stupid thing to think: his eyes were so swollen that he could no longer see; the bones of his hands were completely destroyed, as was his jaw, which was fractured in several places with some teeth knocked out from the force of the blows. By now, his body was crying out for mercy, it seemed that at any moment his body would crumble, but with every blow he received, it was as if Erwin gained experience, became more agile, and could parry the blows received better, despite the extensive injuries that had now covered his body.

Rudolf was confused, extremely confused: [his body is destroyed, now it doesn't take much to kill him, but then why does he get up again? He doesn't value his life?!] thought the elf, who at that moment was tormented by Erwin's stubbornness;

" Damn it... STAY DOWN!" Rudolf shouted, who with a powerful kick to the chest, pushed Erwin several meters away.

"Why do you keep getting up....Why do you keep fighting for that damn girl?!"

Erwin, as had been happening for some time now, rose from the ground like a zombie; he had clearly heard Rudolf's question, but due to the serious fracture of his jaw, he was unable to pronounce even a word. At first, his goal was to protect that girl and waste time for Ron to arrive to resolve the situation. But for some time now, the boy was no longer aware if this was the reason that continued to push him not to give up; during the fight, he felt his heart beating wildly, as if it wanted to explode; he believed it was fear at first, he believed that facing someone much stronger than him terrified him; but if on the one hand it was true, on the other hand, he felt a strange excitement with every exchange of blows they had, an excitement that he had only felt once.

Erwin looked at Elaine, remembering their first daring encounter: even on that occasion, as soon as Erwin sensed the danger he became nervous, but he was in a certain sense happy to be able to fight...

[Yes, that's how I feel, I'm not fighting for Elaine... I'm doing it because I like fight!]

Erwin thus stood up completely, looking with determined eyes at Rudolf, who, looking at his gaze, almost had a shock: his eyes, that great determination that almost seemed like an obsession, he had only seen in another man, a man he hated almost as much as his real father.

"Don't...Don't make that look!!"

Rudolf lost the control of himself another time, desperately throwing himself at Erwin and strengthening himself as best he could, attempting to hit him with a powerful punch; but only when he increased the circulation of his mana within his body, that he realized that he had used more than 70% of his energy without even realizing it; but now he couldn't stop his motion, and he had to hope that the blow was powerful enough to kill him.

Erwin could no longer move, but looked at the situation very calmly; Rudolf was completely exposed, and was attackable in several places; but Erwin was aware that he didn't have the strength to beat him with a single blow. He therefore thought of a solution, when, suddenly, an old teaching from Ron came to mind...

[It should work... Come on!!!]

Erwin, with extreme difficulty, strengthened his body, but what happened in that moment was almost a miracle, and everyone present rushed to it and were surprised: in that desperate moment, the circulation of his mana improved considerably, to the point of leaving Rudolf stunned, who now wasn't even sure he could take down Erwin with a single punch. The boy gathered all his strength, and with a superhuman effort, overcoming the limits of his tortured body, and with awkward movements, he approached Rudolf, ready to hurl one last, desperate attack at him.

Rudolf knew that this was his best chance to take him down, since he noticed from the human's movements that he was having enormous difficulty to even stand up;

"Die!" - Rudolf exclaimed, attacking him without further hesitation; but as Elaine had noticed before, Rudolf's shots were repetitive and had also become slow for some time, and that's where the boy took his biggest opportunity.

"UAHHHH!"

Erwin, partly due to his instinct, partly because he had now memorized Rudolf's pattern of attacks, managed to dodge that powerful punch, being able to feel the air near him being completely cut: he was certain that such a blow would have been capable of killing him if he actually connet with his skull.

"Shit!"

The blow that Rudolf gave, in addition to being easily dodged, lacked base: in fact, his body, in the molment in which he hurled his fist at Erwin, was completely unbalanced, to the point that after he missed the target clumsily, his body became more unbalanced than it should have been, thus leaving him with an exposed defense.

Rudolf possessed defensive magics that he could use in situations like this, but for a simple reason, first with Ron, and then with Erwin, he did not use: namely, the shock of being faced with unexpected situations, not making him think clearly and making him did questionable choices. And here again, instead of creating a barrier, he stood helpless, wide-eyed watching Erwin, shocked at the "iron mind" of his opponent, shocked at his own emotional fragility, which was once again betraying him at the most important moment. And Erwin was certainly not going to let this golden opportunity pass him by.

[NOW!] - Erwin, without hesitation, clenched his broken fist, putting into it all the mana he had available at that moment, launching his right hand which would probably have been his last blow: Rudolf sensed the danger, and he strengthened his body so that he had at least a chance of counterattack;

[RRRAHHH!] - Erwin's violent fist crashed into Rudolf's chin, causing a small roar, and dislodging the dead leaves around them; This time, Erwin didn't aim to hit him under the chin, but aimed to hit him with a quick, sharp and precise blow to the side of his chin, causing Rudolf's head to move unnaturally.The blow had been decidedly strong, and Rudolf retreated a few meters, while Erwin, who had exhausted all his strength, collapsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes; looking up, he realized that Rudolf was still standing, and at that moment, an heavy feeling of disappointment assailed the boy's body;

[No! Have I failed!?] The boy wondered, cursing his weakness.

"What the hell...was that?" Rudolf whispered, rubbing his chin lightly; Erwin's blow had been so fast and precise, that even if he had been at his full strength, that blow would still have been difficult to block; At that moment, while observing Erwin, he came to two conclusions: first, that humans were dangerous beings for the continuation of "his" dream; second, that Ron, especially Erwin, were potential threats, and that they had to "eradicate" them as soon as possible.

"...It's not the time for this!"

Rudolf had wasted too much energy and too much time, and he did not know when that old bastard named Ron would show up, although, throughout the struggle, he had not felt his presence. He therefore decided not to drag his feet too much, thus deciding to limit himself to finally capture Elaine, who at that very moment, saw her hopes shattered to smithereens, throwing her into a state of utter despondency.

But the moment Rudolf decided to head towards Elaine, the evil elf felt a sudden flush of heat, with a strange dizziness.

"Huh? What...?"

Rudolf attempted to take a step, but his movements were totally unbalanced and awkward, and after a few steps, the elf fell to the ground, visibly confused. He tried to get up several times, but when he reached a certain point, his legs seemed to suddenly lose their strength, falling to the ground again. He did not know what was going on, but he had a vague inkling that the reason for what was happening to him was Erwin.

"What's happening?! What trick did you use?!" Rudolf exclaimed, pouring out his anger and confusion at Erwin who, after his initial despondency, began to laugh at the sight of Rudolf's confusion.

"You were too reckless, Rudolf" - said Elaine with a smile on her face, looking at Rudolf who tried in vain to get up - "It's inconceivable how a magician of your level allowed himself to be beaten in such a trivial way...You don't know that if you hit a person's chin in a certain way, the brain is shaken brutally, briefly paralyzing you? You are really idiot..." the girl concluded, looking at her brother with satisfaction.

"Y-You dirty bitch..." Rudolf said softly, gritting his teeth in anger, slamming his fists against his legs trying to somehow "reactivate" them; he couldn't conceive how such a trick could knock him out;

"It's no use, Elf, you've lost. For a while you'll stay there with your ass on the ground..."

Meanwhile, Ron appeared out of nowhere, walking with ease, with the Elf starting to tremble with fear as soon as he saw the Old man approached him.

But Ron ignored the elf, and decided instead to heading towards the boy, battered by the fight, who was about to lose consciousness, but that at the same time he was kept awake by the immense pain that every second punished him.

On several occasions, Ron was tempted to intervene in their fight, not being able to bear the massacre that Erwin was suffering; but every time he saw Erwin's look full of determination and somehow happy, he knew that intervening would perhaps damage the boy's spirit, and he didn't want to make such a mistake unless it was really necessary.

" You fought well, Erwin..." the man said, placing his hand on his chest; Ron's hand lit up slightly, and at that moment, the man had passed him some of his mana to relieve him of the immense pain; sure, his broken bones and massive wounds were still there, but now he could relax for a moment; and so he did, as soon after, he fell asleep.

"Heh, this kid..." said Ron, smiling slightly, lifting Erwin off the ground and carrying him with both arms;

"As for you, elf..." - said Ron, looking with contempt at the elf, who at that moment didn't see a chance of saving himself - "I gave you a chance, but you..."

Ron, with extreme speed and enormous malice, hit him with a violent kick on the chest, shattering his ribs in several places;

" AAAAAARGH!"

Rudolf doubled over in pain, and after a few moments, he began to struggle to breathe; he felt as if with every breath he took, the amount of air going in and out of his lungs became lower." I won't kill you for attacking the boy, after all, you held back on several occasions. But get out of here, disappear from these lands, don't let me see you again. Be fast, otherwise you could die of asphyxiation..."

Rudolf looked Ron straight in the eyes, and in that moment, in front of him, there was not a human being, but a demon ready to tear away his soul; the fear had completely pervaded Rudolf's body and spirit, to the point that he couldn't even argue in front of Ron.

He looked away immediately, and despite the pangs of pain that shot through his body, and the terrible headache he felt, he managed to get up, and awkwardly, between one stumble and another, walked away from them.

Before disappearing into the middle of the forest, however, he turned to look at Elaine: the two looked at each other intensely, and while Elaine hoped with all her heart not to meet Rudolf again, the latter was already contemplating his next move to kidnap his sister, since it was not certain that she would remain in Hakvill;

But before thinking about that, he knew well that he had to first think about surviving the punishment that awaited him, knowing that perhaps, he would not see the realization of his and his master's dream.

But before thinking about that, he knew well that he had to first think about surviving the punishment that awaited him, knowing that perhaps, he would not see the realization of his and his master's dream.

"If you think you can escape from Umarth , you are very wrong..." said Rudolf, who sadly walked away from them, without looking back...

Elaine, who at first was relieved by the outcome of the battle, upon hearing that name, reminded her of the horrible things that she and especially her deceased relatives had to suffer.

[I have to go!]

The girl, despite the wound to her belly, managed to get up and then tried to walk away; but as soon as she took a step, Ron suddenly found himself blocking her path.

" Let me go, please..." said Elaine, who absolutely didn't want to waste time;

"Where do you think you can go with that wound? Now you will come with me to my inn..."

"Thank you, but I have to decline your invitation... I have to get out of here, before Rudolf or someone worse comes here and puts you all in danger..."

"Maybe you didn't understand..." - said Ron, looking with annoyed eyes at the girl who, scared, took a step back for fear of being attacked; - "We are all in this together now, whether you like it or not. Even if I let you go, those bastards will surely come here to take revenge on me, endangering my people. So, until you are cured,and until you tell me everything I want to know., you will not leave this place."

Ron turned his back, heading for his inn; Elaine was confused by the behavior of the man who had rescued her, since she had formed a completely wrong image of him in her mind: after a few moments, she came to the conclusion that the reason Ron had not come here earlier was because he had given Rudolf the chance to capture her without too much fuss; probably, she thought, Rudolf had said something to him that had prompted Ron to act accordingly.

At first, the girl was annoyed, for she certainly had not expected such behavior; but then, seeing the situation Ron was in, she said to herself that she would probably do the same, for the sake of his people.

Elaine wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but she knew that was impossible with a monster like that; for this reason, without saying a word, she followed him, ready to reveal to him the truth about who she was and what was happening.

But she didn't yet know that what she would tell on that cold night in Hakvill would change the fate of the three protagonists forever.

END OF CHAPTER 7 - ERWIN'S DETERMINATION