Erik gripped the dagger in a reverse hold and stalked forward.
Evin's men moved too — slow, unsure — until one finally snapped and charged.
"You little shit!" he roared.
He swung his axe wide.
Erik shot forward — fast, brutal.
The man froze for half a second. That was all Erik needed.
Steel punched through his throat, blood bursting out.
The man gurgled, hands clawing uselessly at Erik's arm before he went limp.
Erik ripped the dagger free and kicked the corpse into the next man.
Shock flashed in the second man's eyes — too late.
Erik slammed into him, caught his wrist, and buried the dagger into his chest.
Deep. Final.
This was Erik's way.
Let them rush. Kill their nerve. Kill their bodies right after.
No wasted motion. No mercy.
He tore through them — stabbing, dodging, cutting — always moving.
By the time they realized what was happening, they were already bleeding out.
He spotted Evin bolting for the trees.
Four men still breathing.
Erik ducked a wild swing. Pivoted.
Threw the dagger — fast and clean — into Evin's knee.
"Fuck!" Evin screamed, crumpling to the mud.
Erik snatched up an axe from a dead man. Then another.
An axe in each hand now.
The four remaining men hesitated.
Bad mistake.
Erik rushed them.
One jumped back — panic all over him.
Erik hurled the axe.
It hit him square in the face.
The body hit the ground before the others even twitched.
The one on the right lunged at Erik.
Erik ducked under the blow, twisted, and hacked the man's arm off at the elbow.
The scream barely left his mouth before Erik was already moving —
Snatching up the axe he'd thrown —
Charging the last two.
They swung together. Erik slipped through them like water.
He threw the axe.
One dodged — but Erik followed up — smashing the blade into the other man's jaw.
Bone crunched.
Erik swung around the axe smashing him into ground, down by the face, splitting it open on the ground.
One left.
He threw his axe in panic.
Erik caught it and sent it flying back.
It slammed into the man's chest — hard enough to knock him back.
Still breathing.
Erik didn't blink.
He tore the axe free and drove it back into the same wound.
The last man gasped once.
Then nothing.
Erik turned to the man crawling toward a fallen axe, blood pouring from his severed arm.
He walked over, slow and steady.
The man rolled onto his back, eyes wide with terror.
"Wait! Wait! I won't—"
Erik didn't let him finish.
He slammed the axe down into the back of his neck, ending it.
Rising, Erik's eyes found Elsa.
She stood frozen, trembling, her face pale.
Understandable.
Without a word, Erik turned toward Evin, who was struggling to crawl away.
"Wait! Wait! We can talk about this! Look, I made a mistake! I didn't mean to—" Evin babbled.
Erik stepped down hard on the dagger still stuck in Evin's knee.
"Aaaah! Fuck! Fuck!" Evin screamed, writhing.
"Nobody kills without meaning it," Erik muttered, yanking the dagger free.
Evin howled in pain.
Erik glanced at Elsa again. She hadn't moved.
Huh. Should've dialed it down a notch.
He sighed, then knocked Evin out cold with a punch.
Grabbing Evin by the leg, Erik dragged him toward Elsa.
"Oi. Snap out of it," he said sharply.
Elsa flinched. Erik crouched down in front of her.
"What are you gonna do with him?" he asked.
Trembling, Elsa whispered, "I want to know... why he really killed Vince."
Erik dropped Evin's leg with a thud.
"I'll find some rope," he said, already scanning the area.
"We'll tie him up. Deal with him when he wakes up."
He strode off without waiting for a reply.
The forest pressed in, thick and damp.
The only sounds were their breathing — and the slow drip of blood into the mud.
Erik spotted a small warehouse tucked behind the trees.
A lock dangled from the door — open, recently used.
He kicked the door open and stepped inside.
What he saw made him pause.
Gold bars. Diamonds. Fine silk. Silverware. High-end goods stacked in crates.
Enough wealth to choke a noble.
Erik whistled low and waved Elsa over.
"These are the missing shipments!" Elsa gasped.
Then her face twisted in realization. "Oh shit. These bastards — they're the ones robbing the noble carriages!"
"Well. I wasn't expecting that," Erik said.
Without wasting time, Erik dragged Evin deeper into the forest, into a denser patch where no one would stumble across them.
He tied Evin's wrists and ankles tight, then waited with Elsa until the bastard woke up.
Eventually, Evin's eyes fluttered open.
"Wake up!" Elsa said coldly.
Evin stared at them for half a second — then panic set in.
"Wait! Wait! Let's talk, alright? Before we do anything crazy!" he babbled.
"Why did you kill Ed?" Elsa snapped.
Evin swallowed hard. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you!"
He took a shaky breath.
"We heard Ed was sending messages to the Royal Guard. So we took him into the forest to 'talk.' But he's the one who snapped first, alright? He attacked us! We had no choice!"
"Bullshit!" Elsa shouted.
"I swear! He came at us first!" Evin insisted, voice cracking.
"Then why'd you say that crap to him?" Elsa growled. "About wanting me?"
"What— What the fuck? How— How do you even know that?" Evin stammered, face draining of colour.
"Stop lying," Elsa hissed.
"Because I liked you!" Evin blurted out, voice high, cracking under the weight of desperation. "Alright?! I liked you, Elsa!"
He forced a pitiful look on his face. His hands twitched against the ropes.
Elsa stood there, stiff as stone. Her breath trembled out of her, sharp and broken.
Erik said nothing, only narrowing his eyes slightly.
"You're lying," Elsa whispered, her voice barely a thread.
"No! No, I swear—" Evin pressed, his voice climbing higher, panicked. "I liked you, I was trying to protect you, it's all a misunderstanding, I—"
He was spiraling. Scrambling for any excuse. Still hoping — foolishly — that if he just said the right thing, they'd let him walk away.
Erik watched him with cold detachment, like a wolf watching a rabbit dig its own grave.
Then, he spoke.
"Doesn't matter," Erik said casually. "We caught you red-handed. Sitting on a mountain of stolen noble goods."
The words hit like a hammer.
Evin's mouth stayed open... but no sound came out.
His whole body sagged.
The panic drained out of him like air from a punctured lung. His eyes dulled. His breathing slowed.
There was no more fight left.
For the first time, he stopped lying. Stopped acting.
Only now did he truly look at Erik — not with fear, but with a tired sort of bitterness.
A grin twitched at the corners of his mouth.
"You got me," Evin said, almost laughing. "Took you long enough."
His voice was calm now — low, cocky, almost proud.
Erik said nothing.
Evin jerked his chin slightly.
"There's a box of cigarettes in my pocket," he said lazily. "Hand me one, will you?"
The sudden shift made Elsa stiffen, her instincts screaming that something had changed.
Erik didn't rush. He slid his hand into Evin's pocket and pulled out a battered metal tin. Inside, four cigarettes. Perfectly lined up.
He shook one out, lit it with a small flick of fire from his fingertip.
"Oh, that's handy" Evin said.
The flame caught for a second, casting long shadows over Evin's sunken face.
"This from the stolen loot too?" Erik asked, dry.
Evin chuckled lowly, taking a drag.
"Yeah. Noble shit hits different."
Smoke curled up into the heavy air.
Erik's gaze stayed steady, unblinking.
"You know you're dead either way," he said. "Even if we hand you over — thieving from nobles? They'll hang you by morning."
Evin smiled around the cigarette, almost fondly.
"Yeah," he said. "I know."
He turned his head slowly to Elsa. His eyes — once frantic and pleading — now gleamed with a cruel, bitter light.
"You wanna know why I killed him?" Evin asked.
Elsa didn't move. Didn't speak.
Evin exhaled smoke from his nostrils, savoring the moment like a man savoring his last drink.
"Because I hated him," he said. Voice steady. Unapologetic. "I hated that fucker. To my core."