3 v 1

It was 9.00p.m. and the bustling activity of Ashwick had faded into stillness.

Evelyn stood at the rear of the evacuation zone as her eyes looked at the crowd gathered near Penelope. Her role was clear; signal Penelope to evacuate the townsfolk the moment Aric entered the town hall.

A single snowflake shot upward would serve as the cue to get out.

Seraphina positioned herself closer to the action, concealed within the shadows of a nearby building. From this vantage point, she could intervene swiftly should the situation spiral out of control. 

Meanwhile, Aric strode confidently toward the town hall. He holstered a few magazine on his waistband and concealed them beneath a loose shirt. In his hand, he clutched the legal papers that was also trapped documents designed to screw them over when they signed it.

[Woah.] Ivy appeared on his screen, she was dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie,

[You actually put so much mumbo jumbo in there that it hides the fact they're admitting to fucking over Ashwick for nearly a decade. How did you even do that?]

Meh. Aric replied mentally, I just threw everything in there because that's how I got screwed when I took that underground job back on Earth. I wish I'd read the fine print then, but hey—we're in medieval times.

Chances are, these guys are dumb as hell.

As he walked, Aric carefully avoided any mirrors or reflective surfaces, ensuring no accidental glimpse of Vayne's face would throw them off balance. Simultaneously, he began manipulating the walls around him using matter manipulation, embedding explosives like C4 throughout the structure.

Once the "negotiation" concluded, he planned to detonate the entire town hall. Whether it killed all of the mages outright or merely slowed them down enough for Seraphina to finish the job didn't matter.

The C4s would go off in 15 minutes.

Ivy decided to lighten the mood. [Hey, fun question! You know I've been browsing your Earth social media lately and there's this trend about 1 gorilla versus 100 men. Who do you think would win?]

Aric furrowed his brow in confusion, What? Like…a buff gorilla? And what about the guys? Do they have weapons?

[Nope. The gorilla is buff, at its prime, and bloodlusted. The men have nothing—just hands and legs.]

Aric mulled it over as his fingers continued manipulating the walls,

Well, technically, the hundred men would win. Of course, the casualties would be brutal, but anything goes, right? Gorillas have low stamina, so after killing maybe ten or twenty men, the rest could probably swarm it and take it down.

That's not really the question. The real question is whether all 100 men would have the balls to fight. Everyone can say they'd stand up to a gorilla, but when push comes to shove, most people would run away.

And honestly, that's the logical thing to do. So yeah, technically we'd win but only if those 100 men actually had the guts to stick around and fight.

[Interesting perspective.] Ivy mused, [Didn't expect such a philosophical answer from you, boss.]

Well, I am a philosopher. Aric said dryly as he finished placing the last charge. It had only taken him five minutes. A testament to how far he'd come since arriving in Narxiua.

He pushed the heavy oak entrance open and stepped inside. The interior of the town hall was lit by fluorescent lights. At the center of the room sat three figures, their hoods lowered to reveal faces both human and monstrous.

The leader, a towering hybrid of man and demon, rose gracefully from his seat. He had mini horns, pale skin and red eyes.

"Ah, Vayne Arkwright. Come come." the leader welcomed him with open arms. 

"I am Kylien. Two centuries of life have taught me many things, yet never have I met someone as cunning or dangerous as you."

Beside him sat two others; Kayla, a woman with blonde hair and her hands crackled with electricity. The other was Leone, a brutish figure whose muscular frame seemed barely contained by his fiery armour.

So the leader is a halfling with demonic powers I'm assuming. Or maybe just a demon straight up. Could he be the one who screwed Sebastian over?

The woman has electrical powers...So that means whatever generator we have lying around, I gotta kill the woman first. I wouldn't want more explosions.

The other dude looks buff as hell, he probably uses brute force with magic amplification I'm assuming.

Aric approached the table and sat as close as possible to Kylien. Despite knowing peace was impossible, he maintained the façade of diplomacy to delay violence until absolutely necessary.

I have about 9 minutes left before the C4 goes off. Aric reminded himself.

"Kylien. You've made your demands clear so let's discuss the agreement."

Kylien leaned back in his chair, "Straight to business, I see. Very well. Show me these terms you mentioned earlier."

Aric slid the documents to Kylien. He examined them briefly and is happy with the terms.

Huh, what a foolish human. As Kylien flipped through another page,

I guess Vayne is still dumb as he looks. Only his 'creation magic' is carrying him huh.

He signed the papers while seemingly oblivious about the traps Aric had laid. When it came time for Aric to sign the papers, Aric just stared at the signature,

Wow. These guys really have an IQ of a rock.

"What's this?" Kylien asked "Getting cold feet already?"

Aric sighed inwardly. Man. I expected them to read these papers for at least 10 minutes. He skimmed through it in 5. My explosion won't go off yet for another 4 and I need to buy some time.

If I sign the papers now, I'm pretty much dead since I can feel the bloodlust pouring off this bastard. Hmm... Guess a practice shot won't hurt anyone.

With lightning speed, Aric drew his pistol and aimed squarely at Kylien's head. He fired it instantly and while the bullet struck true, it ricocheted harmlessly off an invisible barrier of fire protection.

Aric's jaw dropped slightly, Are you fucking kidding me?! A PASSIVE BARRIER?!

"What was that!?" Kylien growled, rising abruptly from his seat. 

"That." Aric said flatly while firing at Kayla, "Was your first mistake."

The second bullet struck Kayla in the shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain.

Before they could retaliate, Aric manifested a flashbang and popped it, blinding everyone but himself. In the chaos, he threw a smoke grenade while simultaneously manifesting a mask over his own face to protect against the haze.

Outside, Evelyn couldn't tell if Aric had entered the town hall yet, but what she did hear was the shots echoing through the city. Without hesitation, she raised her hand upward and released a burst of icy magic.

A single crystalline snowflake exploded into the air, signalling everyone to get out.

Penelope sprang into action immediately, ushering terrified townsfolk away from the danger zone as Borin began constructing thick walls of stone to shield them further.

Meanwhile, Seraphina intercepted two master mages attempting to breach the perimeter. With ruthless precision, her tendrils pierced through their legs, immobilizing them where they stood,

"Well, Aric was right about the other mages." she muttered under her breath,

"You have a few minutes before I enter that building, Aric."

Inside, pandemonium erupted as bullets whizzed through the air, embedding themselves in walls and furniture as the trio retaliated with devastating force.

Flames surged forward, melting the very pillars Aric sought cover behind. Yet even as the heat intensified, Aric remained unfazed as he retreated to another pillar while reloading his pistol.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that." Kylien sneered, hurling a fireball at him, "But persistence won't save you."

"Oh, I'm counting on it!" Aric quipped sarcastically, taking aim once more. This time, his next shot hit Kayla directly in the knee. She collapsed with a scream, clutching her leg,

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! I WILL SHOCK YOU TO DEATH!"

Well. Aric thought, I was right on one thing. Unless you're like Kylien, you need to be actively chanting or manifesting a barrier. Even with a barrier, the bullets still weaken them, judging by how Kylien doesn't want to get shot.

"Kayla!" Leone roared, charging forward with brute strength.

Aric quickly adjusted his aim, firing two rounds into Leone's legs to slow him down. The larger man stumbled but didn't fall which made Aric a little frustrated.

"Catch this!" Aric called out mockingly, tossing another flashbang into the fray. The device detonated with a flash, temporarily blinding Leone and Kayla. Kylien started to adapt to the flashbang as he raised his arm defensively against it.

Aric continued his relentless assault as he used the chaos to his advantage. Pillars crumbled under relentless barrages of flame and it was only a minute left before the C4 goes off.

"You know." he quipped, reloading mid-retreat, "For someone who's lived two centuries, you'd think you'd learn to duck faster."