Bonus Chapter: Ragnor's Last Raid
The night Autumnvale burned would be remembered for generations.
The village was painted in shades of red and ash. Flames licked at the timber roofs, goats scattered into the hills, and the air itself pressed heavy on the chest like an unseen mountain. Mothers clutched their children tight, dragging them through the smoke. Old men shouted orders that were swallowed by the crackle of fire.
And at the center of it all, two figures stood locked in battle.
Hunter J. Craft, fists raw and clothes torn, grinned through bloodied teeth. Opposite him, towering like a fortress of muscle and iron, stood Ragnor — Commander of the U.I.C., his axe etched with the runes of Density, glowing faintly in the chaos.
Every step Ragnor took bent the world around him. The earth cracked, beams sagged, and even the air seemed to weigh heavier. The villagers hiding at the edges of the square felt it in their bones, the pressure that made knees buckle and lungs strain.
And yet Hunter stood.
Barely. But he stood.
"You mock me while your body breaks," Ragnor growled, his crimson eyes glowing in the firelight. "Stay down, boy. You should already be crushed."
Hunter coughed, spat blood onto the ground, and swayed like a drunk who'd refused to quit the tavern. Then he smiled — wide, reckless, defiant. "What can I say? I'm stubborn."
Ragnor's jaw clenched. "Then you'll die stubborn."
The commander lifted his axe high. The runes along its blade flared, and the very air thickened like stone. The ground screamed as if crushed under invisible giants. Hunter dropped to one knee, sweat beading instantly across his skin as every bone in his body begged to collapse.
The axe fell.
Hunter rolled at the last second, the blade cleaving deep into the earth. A shockwave split the cobblestone, tossing debris across the square. Villagers screamed and scattered.
Hunter staggered upright, arms trembling but grin unbroken. "Missed me! Y'know, Raggy, for a guy who can bend the world, you've got terrible aim."
The name — Raggy — drew a snarl from the commander. "You dare?"
Hunter darted forward, fists flying. His punches hammered against Ragnor's armor like pebbles against a wall. Each strike stung but barely dented the chestplate. Ragnor swatted him aside with the flat of his axe, sending him crashing into a crumbled cart.
Villagers gasped. One whispered, "He's insane. He's going to get himself killed."
Another muttered, "Maybe he deserves it — bringing this trouble here."
But a child hiding in the crowd pointed with wide eyes. "He's… smiling."
Because Hunter was already climbing out of the rubble, laughing breathlessly.
"'Cause screaming takes too much effort," he wheezed, dusting off his jacket. "Besides… if I go down frowning, people'll think I gave up. Can't have that."
Ragnor's expression flickered — confusion breaking through fury for just a heartbeat.
Then he charged.
The Density enchantment surged, making the ground itself quake. Every step he took was heavier than the last, each swing of his axe dragging the air down like chains. Hunter's legs buckled, his breath came ragged, but he pushed forward anyway.
He dodged one swing. Another. Then another — until the blade nicked his shoulder, tearing cloth and skin. Pain seared through him, but he laughed again, wild and sharp.
"C'mon, Raggy! You're swingin' like my grandma — and she's dead!"
The villagers flinched at his madness. But Ragnor… Ragnor's crimson eyes narrowed, fury mixing with something else.
"You think this is a game?" he thundered. "The Accord will crush men like you beneath its heel. Power is the only law that matters!"
Hunter stumbled but didn't stop moving. He planted his feet, cracked his bloody knuckles, and grinned wide. "Law, power, Accord… you sound like a boring old goat herder."
And then he jabbed a thumb toward the hillside where Ryder's herd had fled earlier. "See those goats? They climb mountains, eat grass, and smash heads for fun. They don't need an Accord to tell 'em what to do. They're free. That's what makes 'em the real GOATs — Greatest Of All Time!"
The words rang louder than the fire.
Ragnor froze. Just for a moment.
And in that moment, Hunter lunged. He drove his fists forward with everything he had, hammering against Ragnor's chestplate. One punch. Two. Ten. His knuckles split, blood spattering across the glowing runes.
Ragnor swung his axe down. Hunter ducked, surging upward with a headbutt that cracked against the commander's jaw.
The crowd gasped as the giant stumbled.
"You're strong, Raggy," Hunter growled, forcing his battered body to move faster than it should. "But strength means nothing if all you use it for is stomping on people weaker than you."
His final punch struck dead center on the axe. The glowing runes splintered like glass. A shockwave blasted outward as the weapon shattered, the fragments scattering into the flames.
Ragnor was hurled backward, his massive frame smashing into the stone square. The impact left a crater, dust and rubble billowing into the air.
Hunter swayed where he stood, chest heaving, vision blurring. His body screamed to collapse, but he refused.
In the silence that followed, only the crackle of fire remained.
Ragnor groaned from the pit, coughing blood. His crimson eyes flickered as he looked up at the boy who now towered above him.
"…Why don't you finish it?" His voice was low, rough, but steady. "Strike me down and be done."
Hunter stood swaying, fists clenched, his grin crooked but real. "Because…" He wiped blood from his chin and looked down at the commander with defiance burning in his eyes. "…there's no Accord telling me what to do."
Ragnor's breath caught. For the first time in years, he felt the weight of silence heavier than his own enchantment.
Hunter turned, staggering away toward the smoke where his crew waited.
In the crater, Ragnor tilted his head back, staring at the stars barely visible through the haze. His lips curled faintly, not in rage but in something stranger.
"You're a fool, boy," he murmured.
Then — almost against his will — a smile broke across his bruised face. "I hope you won't die easy."
And with that, he let the night swallow him, his fate unclear, his shadow lingering in the flames of Autumnvale.
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