The human side

"Who are they?!" Mirelle cried.

The place was a disaster. All anyone could see was the thick smoke blanketing the city. The air vibrated with the intense shock of an unseen collision, only heard.

As they advanced, two figures grew sharper through the smoke.

"Isn't that… Manel?!"

It was Manel, his sword Clarent glowing with a dull light beneath the moon. He wasn't alone.

Facing him was the leader of the Saqras, imposing in his dark armor, wielding daggers that emanated a ghostly aura. In that instant, they knew they were magical. Hadrian, alarmed, exclaimed:

"Those daggers… those are what he used to murder my brothers!"

The fight was brutal. The Saqra leader moved with unsettling cunning, while Manel stayed on the defensive, waiting for the precise moment to launch his attack, Clarent emitting its familiar purple aura.

The kids didn't stand idly by. They readied their weapons, and Illari was the first to strike with her bow, an arrow soaring directly for the Saqra leader's head. With quick reflexes, he dodged it.

Realizing what had happened, he turned, and with immense fury, he roared.

"Damn you! I gave you a chance, and this is how you repay me?!"

The fight paused for a brief moment. Manel observed the kids:

"Sorry I didn't make it to the bar where we were supposed to meet, but I had a chance to kill the wielder of the ghostly daggers. Too bad he has good intuition. Your head comes with a hefty price, my friend," he murmured, letting out a slight chuckle.

"You know, Manel? For five years you've been in the organization's ranks, and I always doubted you."

Intrigue spread through the air.

"You were always so good to the villagers, but when it came to invading other towns, you'd slaughter them without mercy. You're truly a hypocrite."

Manel remained on guard. The kids weren't surprised; after all, they knew Manel was a bounty hunter who molded his personality to whatever suited him.

"That sword you carried was so special. Every day I wondered how a vagabond could get that kind of sword, but can I tell you something even more intriguing? You can never kill me."

A tense silence filled the air. Illari, Ikari, Mirelle, Hadrian, and Manel felt the "Leader's" dark presence grow stronger with each second.

"How did you like that beast's strength? Too strong, right?"

The kids couldn't believe it. Was Rob's appearance supposed to be an ambush?

"HAHAHAHAHA! EVERYONE SELLS OUT FOR COINS, MANEL! EVEN ROYALTY! HAHAHAHA! DON'T YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY?!"

The criminal's laughter spilled over with a thirst for blood. Panic gripped the scene; the kids were horrified by this criminal's behavior.

Manel remained serious, frowning, his gaze fixed on the leader of the Saqras.

"I don't know how you and your group of incompetents survived, but after your death, that precious sword will be mine," the Saqra leader said.

"Theron Stonehaven, son of one of the nobles of the kingdom of Veridia, exiled and condemned over twenty years ago for assassinating one of your nation's heroes. You mysteriously vanished the day before your execution, taking his daggers. You were very careful not to reveal your name. Your head has been priced ever since," Manel revealed.

"Well… you're just another bounty hunter. You knew the origin of these beauties."

"So many years passed that you forgot eight swords were being forged; this is one of them," Manel replied.

Theron's expression shifted to surprise. Despite having some spies in the kingdoms, he had limitations on high-level information. He thought about the trouble he'd have with Rob and the kingdom of Zylor. He couldn't remember what kind of sword that was; he only knew three. When the kingdom of Zylor and Veridia went to war over territory, which Zylor ultimately won, among those he knew was Rob/Goliath.

"Who gave it to you, you bastard?! I'll kill you quickly!" Theron whispered.

He considered returning the sword to avoid conflict; the desire to make it his own vanished. Someone as aberrant as him also feared the remaining seven swordsmen.

As if relaxing his body, Theron vanished. Everyone was on alert, assuming it was one of the ghostly daggers' abilities. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Mirelle, pointing his weapon at her neck.

"First, I'll reclaim this druid staff," Theron said.

In a microsecond, everyone turned, pointing their weapons at Theron. Manel unleashed his purple aura:

"Silence!" Manel roared.

The ability shot toward Theron as fast as a dark, wind-charged gust, but he nimbly dodged it. Immediately, he became invisible.

The kids formed a circle, covering each other's backs.

Meanwhile, Manel's aura intensified even more. Theron appeared behind Manel, plunging the daggers into his shoulders.

As if nothing had happened, Manel looked at Theron, grabbed one of his hands, and hurled him against the wall. The impact was so strong that Theron's armor shattered.

Vomiting blood, he said:

"Damn you! How much magic does that sword carry? It's not normal!"

Manel pulled the daggers from his shoulders and put them in his pocket. Without a word, he went straight to Theron's inert body and plunged his sword into his right shoulder.

"Wait!" Ikari exclaimed. "I have to kill him!"

Manel looked at Ikari, pulled his sword from Theron's shoulder, and walked away, but not before telling him:

"You're right, I can't kill you."

Ikari moved toward Theron, clutching his spear tightly, when he felt a firm grip on his hand.

"Ikari, I'll do it too," Illari said.

A furious Hadrian, without a word, went to his greatest enemy. Mirelle, with a somber gaze accompanied by the desire to finish him, also went to him—the man who started this irreversible nightmare.

Theron, completely weak, tried to get up but simply couldn't. He watched as the four children slowly approached him.

"Hey! We can fix this, I left you alive, I'm like you!"

Ikari, Illari, Hadrian, and Mirelle looked like demons seeking to unleash their most human side: revenge.

"Please!"

A spear embedded in his left shoulder; agonizing screams echoed throughout the village.

Mirelle proceeded to heal Theron's wounds. He thought she would save him, but she didn't.

Hadrian raised his axe and cut off his left arm. The scene repeated: Mirelle healed tirelessly, Illari raised her bow and took out his eyes. The screams of pain didn't stop, reaching beyond the forest and the mountains.

The night was stained with blood. More than three hours passed, those echoes of pain resonating, which even death refused to silence.

In the midst of the stormy rain, the screams abruptly stopped. Manel lay waiting on the outskirts of the village, contemplating the rainy sunrise, his wounds already healed by Clarent's unexpected power.

He watched as the four children approached him, drenched in blood and rain.

In that instant, they looked at Manel without a hint of regret for the massacre they had just committed.

Ikari stepped forward and spoke for everyone:

"What's the next mission?"