By the final day, everything is prepared.
I know this because of Aphrodite.
She comes to me at night.
Quietly. Carefully. As if the world might break if she makes too much noise.
She sits across from me and speaks—about her dreams, her ambitions, the world beyond this village. She teaches me what she can. About kingdoms and their wars. About creatures that roam beyond human lands.
She tells me of goblins and orcs no longer scattered, but moving together. Organized. As if bound by something unseen.
She speaks of nobles locked in endless conflict.
Wars without end.
Then something else.
Violence… is increasing.
Everywhere.
I listen.
I say little.
But I do not ignore her.
Her visits become… familiar.
Something I do not acknowledge.
On the final day, Kane enters my cell.
"You'll be leaving soon," he says.
His voice is steady, but his body is not. The strain still lingers in his movements.
Then—
"I need your help."
I look at him.
"The beasts in the surrounding lands have grown bolder," he continues. "They're getting closer to the village."
His jaw tightens.
"Normally, I would handle them myself."
A pause.
"But after our fight… I'm not fully recovered."
There is frustration there. Quiet, restrained.
"I won't send more young men to die," he says. "Not when I have another option."
His eyes settle on me.
"They're not mindless. They move with purpose. They communicate. They fight like a tribe—armed, organized… standing like men."
Silence.
I stand.
"That's enough."
My voice is low.
"Tell me where."
A brief pause.
"There will be blood."
Kane studies me, then lets out a short breath.
A grin follows.
"Very well."
He turns slightly.
"Ignis will escort you. She'll guide you there… and make sure you don't disappear."
His tone hardens.
"Do not expect her to fight for you."
Another pause.
"I've given her orders to retreat if necessary. Her life comes first."
As if called—
she appears.
Stepping from shadow into light.
Ignis.
Her eyes lock onto me immediately.
"Are you ready?" she asks.
I nod.
We leave.
We walk through the village.
I keep my head lowered, my hair shielding my face.
Still, I feel them.
The stares.
The whispers.
They follow us.
I ignore them.
We pass beyond the village and into the forest.
Ignis walks ahead.
We do not speak.
But I can feel it.
Her tension.
How did I let this happen…
Her thoughts press beneath the silence.
I'm alone with him.
This man… no—this thing…
Her grip tightens.
He could turn at any moment.
On me. On the village. It wouldn't matter.
She exhales slowly.
And that presence…
That pressure…
His mana… it's wrong.
Her eyes narrow slightly as she walks.
It feels like standing in a battlefield…
Even here—
in a quiet, unmoving forest—
it does not fade.
Then—
I move.
I rush forward.
Fast.
Behind her.
She hears it instantly.
Turns—
hand rising, mana gathering.
"I knew you couldn't be—"
I pass her.
A black blade forms in my hand.
An arrow splits in two.
The sound is sharp.
Too close.
It would have killed her.
Silence.
She stares.
For a moment, she doesn't understand what happened.
Then—
the forest answers.
Howls.
Low.
Then rising.
Rough. Wild.
Not mindless.
Close.
Very close.
Ignis steadies herself, scanning the trees.
"…We're just in time," she says.
Her voice tightens.
"They were heading for the village."
It settles.
This wasn't chance.
It was a raid.
I step forward.
Blade raised.
they were always there.
Hidden.
Watching.
Waiting.
But they cannot hide from me.
Not fully.
Their bloodlust gives them away.
Their intent.
Their hunger.
And the sound—
low growls, shifting bodies, the restless tension of something ready to strike.
I wait.
Still.
Then—
they emerge.
One by one.
From the trees.
They stand upright.
Weapons in hand.
Crude. Worn. Effective.
Not beasts.
Not fully.
A raiding party.
At least thirty.
I feel it again.
That pull.
That rise.
Something inside me answering.
A slow grin forms.
At last.
"I will enjoy this," I say quietly.
My grip tightens on the blade.
"I will enjoy the bloodshed."