Page 1
A long corridor. Quiet footsteps.
A man walks slowly, carrying a written file. The number seven on his shirt. Second Assassination Squad.
He reaches a closed door. He knocks.
"Come in."
Page 2
He enters.
Linsan sits behind his desk. One leg crossed over the other. He looks at the door with eyes that don't change.
"Report on the mission, sir. We speak: we went to the target location at the designated time. We found signs of massive combat. We found one of the Jouki Gang's commanders lying on the ground. And in front of him — the body of Number Five from the First Squad."
Page 3
Linsan raises his head slowly.
He remembers.
He drives one fist into the table.
"I didn't tell him to pull back."
He breathes.
"Continue."
"We apprehended Marnos. Then we went to the warehouse. We found two bodies. The first belonged to the Jouki Gang's leader… Ginzo."
Page 4
Linsan shifts in his seat. He straightens.
His eyes narrow.
"And the second?"
"It belonged to someone — but the body had turned to wood and split into several pieces, so we couldn't identify it."
Linsan stands.
He drives both hands into the table until it breaks.
He shouts: "Get out. Now."
Number Seven leaves without a word.
Page 5
The door closes.
Linsan stands alone.
Inside his mind — one image that won't leave.
A face in the middle of a fire. Covered in blood. Killing everyone in front of him without stopping. Without expression. Without mercy.
The old man's face.
He opens his eyes.
He takes his coat from the chair.
Page 6
He goes downstairs — fast steps.
He reaches the Orange Armor squad. He selects twenty of them with one look.
"With me. Now."
They ride toward the old man's village.
Page 7
The village. Midday.
Linsan dismounts. He walks slowly toward the old man's house. As if taking a stroll.
He reaches the door. He kicks it open.
He enters. He looks right. He looks left.
Nothing.
He comes out. He looks at the soldiers.
"Search every house. Every corner. Bring everyone in this village in front of me."
Page 8
The soldiers spread out.
Doors are broken open. Women scream. Children cry.
Within minutes — a long line of villagers stands in the main square.
Frightened faces. Shaking bodies.
Yuzuha, Karki, and Totoki stand in the middle of the crowd. Not moving. Not speaking.
Page 9
Linsan walks slowly along the line. Hands behind his back.
"One simple question. Where is the old man who lives here? He and his grandchildren."
Silence.
He repeats the question.
Silence.
He stops. "So none of you will answer." He smiles — a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.
"Then I'll have to use my other methods."
Page 10
He extends his hand. He grabs a woman by her hair. He pulls her in front of everyone.
He draws a knife. He places it against her throat.
The woman freezes. She begins screaming and crying. Her eyes squeeze shut.
"People. You have ten seconds."
"Tell me where he went."
Page 11
"Let her go!"
Her husband breaks from the line and runs.
The orange soldiers step forward: "Stop where you are."
The husband doesn't stop. Spears pierce his body before he reaches her.
He falls.
The crowd erupts. Screaming. Chaos. People running in every direction.
Linsan looks at the woman in his hand.
He looks at the fleeing crowd.
"Damn."
He draws the knife across the throat.
And walks.
Page 12
The soldiers scatter through the streets.
Sounds. Impacts. Screaming that cuts off suddenly.
Linsan walks through the chaos as if it doesn't touch him. He stops in front of a man who has fallen to the ground.
He kneels in front of him. He places his hand on the shoulder of the soldier who was about to stab him. He signals him to wait.
"Friend. Where did the old man go?"
The man cries: "I don't know. I wasn't here yesterday. Please. I have children."
Linsan looks at him for a moment.
He lifts his hand from the soldier's shoulder.
He stands and walks.
The sound of a scream from behind him.
He doesn't turn.
Page 13
Yuzuha breaks from the crowd. She enters her house from the back door. She closes it. She grips her scythe with hands that don't tremble.
From outside: footsteps. Screaming. The sound of something breaking. The sound of something falling.
She looks through the narrow gap in the door.
Page 14
A person crashes through the window — a soldier stabs him — the screaming ends.
The soldier looks at her through the window.
The door is broken open. The soldier advances toward Yuzuha. She readies herself.
A punch from the side sends the soldier into the wall.
Karki stands at the broken doorway. He draws his axe.
Page 15
The soldier stands. He charges at Karki at speed.
Thorns pierce his face from every direction.
He stops.
He puts his hand over his face.
"My eyes…"
Karki's axe finds him.
Karki grabs Yuzuha's hand. "Back door. Now."
They run.
Page 16
The forest behind the village.
Totoki stands between the trees. Beside him — a small group of villagers. Their faces pale. The sounds from the village reach them from a distance.
Yuzuha and Karki arrive.
No one speaks.
They sit in the darkness. They wait.
Page 17
Linsan stands over a man lying on the ground.
He looks at him with completely calm eyes.
"Tell me."
"They left yesterday. With them was someone badly injured. They took the horses and rode east."
Linsan drives his knife into the man's mouth.
"Thank you."
He stands.
Page 18
He mounts his horse.
He stops in front of one of the soldiers before riding.
"Gather the bodies. Then burn the entire village. I don't want anyone to hear about what happened here."
"Understood, sir."
Linsan rides — alone.
Page 19
Elsewhere.
The old man and Thian ride hard. Mabu between them. The green light still wrapped around his body.
Thian: "How much farther until we arrive?"
He looks at Mabu.
"And this incantation… does it have a time limit?"
The old man doesn't answer.
He rides faster.
Page 20
Thian turns toward the road ahead. His face tightens.
Then.
On the wide horizon.
A massive wall. It stretches left and right until it disappears. Its stones are ancient. Its towers pierce the sky.
A smile appears on Thian's face despite everything.
"We're almost there."
Page 21
Above the wall.
Two guards watch the horizon.
"Do you see what I see?"
"Yes. Two riders. A third between them on a horse."
"Visitors?"
"Looks like it. Shall we go down?"
They descend.
Page 22
The guard opens the small door in the base of the great gate.
They come out.
The old man and Thian arrive. They stop.
The guard raises his hand: "You two — halt. What is your business here?"
The old man speaks — his voice exhausted: "We have a patient. We need treatment as quickly as possible."
Page 23
The guard looks at Mabu — surrounded by green light.
He looks at the old man. Then at Thian.
"Which kingdom are you from?"
Thian: "The Kingdom of Shalubi."
The guard nods slowly.
"Very well. There are some papers that need to be filled in before entry. It may take a few hours."
He pauses.
"Or I can bypass that — for a small consideration."
Page 24
The old man looks at him with eyes that carry no patience.
He dismounts.
He walks toward the guard slowly.
He grabs him by his shirt. He lifts him. He drives him into the wall.
"Open this gate."
His hand turns black.
He strikes the wall beside the guard's face. The stone shatters.
He shouts: "I said open the gate. DAMN IT!"
The guard screams in a shaking voice: "Open the gate! Open it NOW!"
Continued in Chapter Twenty-Eight