At several times the speed of sound, Emrys was crossing the sky toward the Fairy King's Forest. Each impulse from his feet against the air solidified by Pridwen propelled him forward, while Blink brutally reduced the few meters still separating him from his destination. His Observation Haki already covered a huge part of the region, and the powerful magical presences he sensed were becoming more numerous as he approached.
"I sense immense magical powers clashing near the Fairy King's Forest... but fuck, what have those seven idiots gotten themselves into?"
A little farther away, in the heart of the forest, not far from the magical powers Emrys had sensed.
Trees had been ripped from the ground, several areas of the forest were covered in overturned earth, and enormous craters bore witness to the violence of the fighting. The cries of the fairies mixed with the roars of the giants as several fighters battled in the middle of the trees.
And among them were Rou, Farel, Adrian, Grey, Heim, Nono, and Lonni.
Rou had just knocked back a fairy with a powerful blow. It was sent several meters backward before he rushed toward it. His weapon pierced through its defense, and the fairy collapsed. Rou immediately turned toward another opponent approaching from his flank. He dodged, pivoted, and struck again.
Another enemy fell.
Then another.
The battle seemed as though it would never end.
Farel was fighting a giant whose blows made the ground tremble with every impact. Adrian, a little farther away, was fighting several fairies simultaneously. Grey and Heim advanced together, each covering the other's movements, while Nono and Lonni made their way through the enemy lines.
They had come here with one specific objective.
Revenge.
For years, that idea had been enough to push them forward. Hatred had fueled their training, their decisions, and even the way they viewed the world. Today, they had finally arrived before those they considered responsible for their misfortune.
Rou struck again.
A fairy collapsed in front of him.
He remained still for a moment.
He looked at his opponent lying on the ground.
Then he looked at his own hand.
Nothing.
No satisfaction.
No relief.
No feeling of victory.
Rou frowned slightly and resumed moving when an attack came toward him. He dodged it before knocking his attacker back, but this time, he did not deliver the finishing blow.
The fairy retreated.
Rou watched it leave.
He turned toward a giant running toward him at full speed, making the ground tremble.
He then concentrated his magical energy and projected it outward.
"Black Hounds!"
Dozens of completely black dogs appeared in front of him and rushed toward the giant.
The first one opened its jaws wide and bit into the giant's leg. Its bite met no resistance and simply passed through the flesh, immobilizing the giant.
"Argh!"
The other dogs rushed toward the giant and bit into its entire body.
The giant tried to protect itself by covering its body with magical energy, but it was useless. It was still being torn apart.
This was because of Rou's magical power.
Rou's magical power was called 'Distortion'. Distortion's basic ability was to create teleportation portals.
But after years of training with Emrys, he had developed his ability to the point where he could alter the shape of these portals.
That was exactly what the Black Hounds were. They were moving portals that did not tear through things with their mouths like ordinary dogs, but instead literally teleported away parts of Rou's opponents' bodies.
After making the giant's body completely disappear, the Black Hounds vanished.
The people around Rou stared at the place where the giant had previously stood, where nothing remained except blood and pieces of flesh.
His gaze was empty, and he was lost in his thoughts, yet the battle continued around him without slowing down.
"Rou!"
He turned his head.
Farel had just pushed back his opponent and was signaling for him to continue. Rou nodded before turning back toward the battlefield.
He continued fighting.
But he did not kill anyone anymore.
He parried attacks, pushed enemies back, and incapacitated them whenever he had the opportunity. His companions, meanwhile, continued advancing with the same rage as before.
Rou did not try to stop them.
He did not yet know what to tell them.
A new attack appeared in front of him. Rou ducked, passed beneath the giant's arm, and struck it hard enough to make it fall to its knees. He could have finished it.
He did not.
He simply turned away.
A few meters away, Farel was fighting several enemies at once.
"Rou! Left!"
Rou turned around.
An attack was heading toward him. He dodged it, but the movement carried him farther away from Farel. When he looked in his direction again, several enemies had surrounded him.
Farel pushed one back.
Then two.
He tried to break free.
An attack struck him.
He staggered.
A second attack came before he could regain his balance.
Farel fell.
"Farel!"
Rou rushed toward him.
He pushed away the enemies trying to stop him and finally reached his companion. Farel did not respond. Rou remained beside him for a few seconds before raising his head.
Adrian was still fighting.
Grey and Heim were also still standing.
Rou gritted his teeth.
He moved again.
Adrian had just pushed back a fairy when a giant appeared behind him. He turned too late. The attack struck him head-on and sent him crashing into a tree.
"Adrian!"
Rou took a step toward him.
A fairy blocked his path.
He pushed it away without killing it, but when he looked toward Adrian again, he was no longer moving.
Grey and Heim arrived in turn.
They fought fiercely, pushing back the enemies surrounding them. For a few moments, their coordination allowed them to hold their ground against several enemies simultaneously.
Then Grey was hit.
He fell.
Heim continued alone.
He pushed back several more enemies, but eventually collapsed as well.
Rou remained frozen.
Farel.
Adrian.
Grey.
Heim.
All of them had fallen.
Only Nono and Lonni remained.
Nono was fighting with difficulty. He already had several injuries, and his breathing had become irregular. Yet he continued advancing.
An attack came toward him.
He dodged it.
A second forced him to retreat.
Then a third struck him.
Nono had fallen.
Rou looked in his direction.
"Nono..."
He did not get back up.
Lonni was now alone.
He continued fighting with an almost desperate rage. His gaze suddenly fell upon Gerhard.
The fairy was already injured and struggling to remain standing.
Lonni rushed toward her.
Rou immediately understood.
"Lonni!"
He ran in his direction.
Lonni raised his weapon.
Rou intercepted him at the last moment.
Their weapons collided with a sharp clang.
"Move!"
"No."
"She's one of them!"
"That's enough, Lonni."
"After everything they've done to us?!"
Rou did not answer.
He simply knocked Lonni's weapon aside.
Lonni tried to attack again, but Rou parried his strike once more.
"Precisely. They haven't done anything to us."
Lonni looked at him in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"Look around you and tell me if you don't recognize even a single face. And tell me if you feel anything from this slaughter."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Rou kept his weapon raised in front of him.
"All this time I've done nothing but kill them again and again, but I still don't feel anything."
Lonni remained silent.
Then he gritted his teeth.
"Then let me do what you refuse to do."
He tried to get around Rou.
Rou pushed him back once again.
It was at that moment that an attack coming from another direction struck Lonni.
Rou turned around sharply.
Too late.
Lonni staggered.
He placed a hand over his wound before falling.
"Lonni!"
Rou rushed toward him, but his companion did not respond.
Lonni had fallen.
He was now alone.
Gerhard had also been injured during the battle. Both of her legs were now missing, and one of her eyes had been gouged out. She leaned against a tree, her face contorted with pain.
Rou approached and took her in his arms.
The din of the battle seemed to gradually fade away.
Rou looked around him.
There was no one left.
Everyone who had come with him was dead.
Gerhard watched his face.
"Why?"
Rou raised his eyes.
"Why what?"
"Why did you come here?"
Rou remained silent for a few seconds.
"To avenge ourselves."
"For what?"
He slowly inhaled.
"Long ago, my village was attacked by members of Stigma. They had come because they had learned that some villagers had taken in a demon. A genuinely kind guy, just an ordinary good person. But Stigma didn't want to understand. To them, everyone who was related to a demon had to die. They intended to destroy the entire village and exterminate all the inhabitants, even those who knew nothing."
Gerhard listened without interrupting.
"A man saved us. He offered us a place to live. He took us in even though he had no reason to do so."
Rou lowered his eyes.
"He trained me and my friends. For twenty years."
Gerhard's eyes widened slightly.
"Twenty years?"
"Yes."
Rou continued his story. He told her about those years, about the training they had received, how they had grown and the strength they had eventually acquired. He told her about his companions, their shared determination, and how their past had continued to haunt them despite the new life they had been given.
"And despite all that, you left."
"Yes."
"For this revenge."
Rou nodded.
"We thought it was necessary. We thought that even if no one from our village had died, Stigma must have done this to other villages. We demanded revenge for all those people."
Gerhard remained silent.
Rou continued.
"But all we managed to do was betray our master's trust."
He looked at the ground.
"He had given us a new life. And we used everything he had taught us to come here and pursue a pointless objective."
Gerhard watched Rou for a few seconds.
"Did you really think this revenge would change anything?"
Rou did not answer.
The fairy looked away slightly before speaking again.
"There's a woman in your thoughts."
Rou raised his head.
"A woman?"
"She keeps appearing."
Gerhard looked directly at him.
"She really looks a lot like me."
Rou remained silent.
"Who is she?"
"Iklia."
"Iklia..."
Rou nodded.
"She's a girl from the village I grew up with."
Gerhard waited.
"She was there before we left. She's always been there."
Rou lowered his voice slightly.
"Before the attack, I was convinced that I would marry her someday."
Gerhard said nothing.
"She was rendered disabled by the attack."
But at least she was alive.
He could have stayed.
He could have lived with her.
He could have devoted his life to the woman he loved.
Instead, he had chosen revenge.
Rou looked once again at the bodies of his companions.
This time, he did not look away.
For all those years, he had told himself the same story. He had believed that revenge would give meaning to their existence.
But it was over.
And he felt nothing.
His companions were dead.
Everyone who had followed him was dead.
The man who had saved them had given them a place to live and devoted twenty years of his life to making them strong. He had trusted them.
And they had betrayed that trust for a revenge that, now that it was over, had given them nothing.
Rou closed his eyes.
He had Iklia.
He had had a reason to live.
He could have stayed by her side and built something with the woman he loved.
Instead, he had devoted his entire life to hatred.
And worse still, he had dragged his friends down that path with him.
"I'm sorry..."
Gerhard turned her head toward him.
Rou did not specify whom his apology was meant for.
The sound of wings suddenly echoed behind them.
Rou violently turned his gaze toward the source of the massive magical energy they had sensed.
Gerhard raised her head.
A red-haired figure had appeared above them.
Rou straightened.
"No... this can't be... Gerhard?"
His face was mortified, and his voice was trembling.
"Rou... let go of my sister... right now."
"No... Gloxi..." Gerhard tried to say before changing her mind and speaking to Rou instead. "Run... quickly."
"No need," Rou replied. "I'm ready."
He turned to look Gerhard in the eyes.
"Stay alive, Gerhard."
Meanwhile, anger and betrayal had taken over Gloxinia's mind.
"You really... made a fool of me."
He moved his arm, and the gigantic Spirit Spear Basquias appeared behind him.
Then, with a movement of his hand, he designated Rou as the target.
Rou let Gerhard fall to the ground and turned toward Gloxinia.
"Go ahead and kill me," Rou said with a smile.
Seeing this only made Gloxinia even angrier.
"What makes you smile?"
But strangely, Gloxinia seemed to realize something and clenched his fist to stop the spear.
But before he could do so, a wave of invisible energy spread throughout the entire surrounding area.