Kral felt utter defeat as he lay on the ground helpless with his limbs bound. The rest of his brethren were in the same situation as him, the only difference being that they trembled in fear while Kral remained calm. Kral knew this was probably the day they all died, but unlike the children, he didn't fear it. After all, he had already gone through the Discovering.

The small human that acted like the leader of the weirdly-dressed humans approached, and Kral bared his teeth in defiance. The little human spoke words that Kral did not understand, so he didn't bother listening and snarled like a wild beast. If he was going to die today, he wasn't going to die whimpering and trembling in fear.

The little human shook his head and walked away. He was going to kill them now, Kral was sure. The human no longer had any use for him, so of course he will. All humans were like that: they would assess something and see whether it had any use for them. If it was useful, it would be taken. Otherwise, it will be ignored or destroyed. Even Kral's simple mind could understand that much.

Despite having no fear of death, Kral still had his regrets. They came here with a single purpose in mind: to save their tribe. But with how things were going, Kral despaired not for his short life, but for the destruction of his tribe.

For the past two weeks, the Stone Axe Tribe, of which Kral was a part of, had been under attack by a savage beast. ‘Urka,’ they called it in their language, for it lurked in the dark and only struck at night.

Even the mightiest of his brethren fell before Urka, who simply found their tribe as a plaything. Every night, Urka would kill five, and only five, of their tribe before disappearing in the night. Come morning, Kral and his brethren would find their corpses, ravaged beyond recognition.

For two weeks straight, the Stone Axe Tribe lived in a nightmare as the hobgoblins faced Urka fearlessly every night, but their resistance proved futile. Day by day, he watched their numbers dwindle steadily. When Kral awoke this morning, only two hobgoblins, including himself, and thirty children were left.

In a last desperate attempt to kill Urka, the other remaining hobgoblin, the Shaman, thought up a plan. According to her, since Urka aimed to eradicate their entire tribe, the beast would never let a single one of them escape, and so the Shaman created a plan that took advantage of that.

Before Urka's arrival, there were only two things that Kral's tribe feared in the entirety of the Wild Woods: the tree-people, who lived far to the north and once decimated their numbers when the goblins tried to attack them, and Modrogg, the great bear whose pelt was impenetrable and whose claws ripped asunder goblin flesh as if they were twigs.

The Shaman planned to lure Urka into the territory of Modrogg by having Kral bring a large portion of the tribe with him to pretend they were ‘migrating’ and let the two monsters kill each other. But Kral did not expect that the humans have already extended their reach in this part of the forest, even killing Modrogg, the terrible bear that had remained the apex predator for a long time. Without Modrogg, nothing would be able to stand up to Urka.

Even without doing it on purpose, the humans have doomed his tribe, just like they always did, Kral thought bitterly.

The only consolation that Kral felt was knowing that the humans would soon die from Urka. It was a small comfort before he finally joined his forebears in the afterlife.

The small human suddenly began shouting in panic at his companions, and that's when Kral knew Urka had come. His heart hurt when he saw his young brethren cry as they struggled in their bonds. Endless nights of thinking about whether they were Urka's next victim had traumatized them, and now that the beast was here, they were terrified.

When Kral looked at the edge of the clearing, he finally saw the vile beast that would be the end of his tribe. The bushes parted and a large feline monster emerged, its fur as black as night. Its familiar amber eyes gazed at them as it slowly prowled through the clearing.

Urka's gaze induced terror in its victims, but as Kral accepted his inevitable death, he stared right into the beast's eyes and felt rage and hatred. He remembered the sleepless nights when he and the other hobgoblins stayed awake to fight Urka in the dark, only to find themselves picked off one by one. He remembered the mornings when the Shaman announced five of his unfortunate brethren who died from Urka's cruelty. He remembered the love of his life, Fevva, who was nothing more than a pile of ravaged flesh when he woke up.

“URKAAAA!” Kral bellowed with pure rage, but even as he struggled with all his strength, the threads that bound his limbs remained unbroken.

Kral's rage paused when he felt all the hairs on his body stand up as magic crackled in the air. He forgot about his rage as everything suddenly started exploding.

●●●

“Mr. Marion, Taloress, get ready to fight! Spider, let me in!” I shouted as I quickly stepped into Spider's maw to enter his body. “The panther is coming!”

What do we do with the goblins, Master? Taloress asked, pointing at the bound goblins.

“There's no time to take them into the cave. The panther is coming in fast— shit, it's here!”

When the panther emerged from the treeline, its familiar amber eyes sent a chill down my spine. I recalled my first encounter with it and how it could have killed me easily if it wanted to. Seeing it again after all this time terrified me, especially when I had no idea whether it would let me go again a second time. To make things worse, I haven't even finished all my preparations yet!

Now that the panther was here, my plan to ambush it in its own home after making my preparations was useless. I would have to fight the panther again with the resources I had now, and I wasn't sure if it was enough. I'll have to make do with what I have.

Mr. Marion, Taloress, both of you will be fighting the panther in close quarters. Do everything you can to kill the damn cat, I said mentally as I readied my spells. Spider, keep your distance from the enemy as much as possible. We can't let it come close to us or I'm dead meat.

My puppets gave their affirmations and took their positions, with Mr. Marion and Taloress in front, Spider and me behind them, and the bound goblins at the very back. I intended to keep the goblins alive, but I wouldn't be able to do much if they ended up getting caught in the crossfire.

The panther prowled warily in the clearing in front of us. If it recognized Mr. Marion's appearance from back then, it showed no indication of it, simply assessing us with a predatory gaze. I guess I'll make the first move.

Before I could cast my first spell, the adult goblin suddenly cried out with a shout full of rage that echoed throughout the clearing. “URKAAAA!”

Everybody in the clearing suddenly looked at the adult goblin in surprise. The shout was filled with so much rage and emotion that for a few seconds, everyone's attention was on the adult goblin, including the panther's. Which was why I quickly activated my spells while the enemy was distracted.

With an ear-splitting roar, a Force Blast burst forth from underneath the ground ten meters ahead of me, at the edge of my spell-casting range. The Force Blast flew quickly towards the panther, but the bastard was even quicker. Even with the distraction, it still reacted quickly with plenty of time to spare before the Force Blast hit it, jumping to the side. Just like what I expected it to do. Got you.

My second spell activated the moment the panther's feet left the ground. The magic circle flared to life and with a loud boom, an overloaded Force Lance flew through the air at breakneck speeds toward the airborne panther. With no footholds, it couldn't change its direction.

But of course, we're talking about the panther here. Surprising me once again, the panther tucked its body in the air like an acrobat, dodging the Force Lance that was supposed to be invisible by a hair's breadth. You damn, slippery…

But my tricks didn't end there. Mr. Marion, Taloress, go go go!

Before the panther could land, my puppets charged across the clearing with a speed only ragdolls could make with their light bodies. Taloress approached the panther from the front while Mr. Marion charged its flank, their arms already transformed into sharp spikes.

When the panther landed, Taloress was already upon it. My puppet stabbed with blurring speed that should be impossible to dodge at point-blank range. I was wrong.

Almost like a glitch in reality, one moment the panther was looking at Taloress' descending spike arm, the next, it disappeared as my puppet's midsection turned into a tangled mess of thread. The panther ‘reappeared’ a few meters away with a whole different stance that told me it had just swiped with its claws. Its appearance was entirely different as well, its body surrounded by a squirming aura of shadows. Holy shit, Taloress' body is made of a Grisly Bear's fur, but the panther could still easily cut through it like butter?!

When it was Mr. Marion's turn to strike, the panther disappeared again as it moved, tearing apart my other puppet as well in a blur. The panther reappeared again and this time, it was looking at me. Since I was looking through a small hole I made in Spider's body, the panther and I were making eye contact, and I realized it was looking at me with amusement in its eyes.

“Oh, so you think you're so clever, huh?!” I shouted. “Don't look so smug when you haven't even learned your lesson, pussycat!”

Taloress, who had been pretending to be a dead lump of fabric, suddenly burst into motion and charged the panther, her body a large mess of threads with only her head intact. The panther must have thought Taloress was dead because it failed to dodge my puppet's charge.

Like a large net, Taloress wrapped her entire body around the panther, trapping it in a mess of tangled thread. Just like what happened during our first encounter.

The panther roared in frustration, a majestic one that would have awed me under any other circumstance, but only succeeded in making me laugh as I reveled in the bastard's frustration as it tried to struggle free.

The panther began using its claws to cut its way out of Taloress' trap, but I simply regenerated her body again and again, making the panther's actions futile. It tried cutting faster, which admittedly, was way quicker than Taloress' rate of regeneration, but it didn't matter because Mr. Marion was already behind the panther, his body partially regenerated and his spike arm raised high.

With a violent finality, Mr. Marion brought down his spike arm and stabbed the panther in its flank, eliciting a horrendous screech from the monster. Mr. Marion didn't stop and stabbed with his left arm, then back to his right arm, then back again to his left arm. Right, left, right, left.

For every stab, blood splattered around Mr. Marion as the panther continuously screeched like a mad animal. The screeches sounded like several panthers were making the noises at once, but when I looked behind me, I realized it was the goblins.

All of them, including the adult goblin, were shrieking as Mr. Marion continued his work. I thought they were lamenting the panther's death, but I realized they were cheering. The little critters were cheering, crying as they did so. What the hell is up with that?

I returned my attention to the panther. Even after being stabbed several times already, the panther still looked strong as it continued trying to claw its way out. If it didn't die soon, it'd overwhelm Taloress' regeneration and come directly for me. I guess I should help.

As I readied five more Force Lances to impale the panther with, I couldn't help but think how easy the fight went. Not only did the fight last only for a few minutes, but the panther also didn't even manage to come anywhere near me! Compared to my first encounter with the damn cat, the fight was completely one-sided! Well, I guess several factors gave me an advantage.

Since I already encountered the panther once, I already had an insight into how it acted, which was why I was able to predict how it would dodge my Force Blast earlier. The panther was too arrogant as well, and I was willing to bet that when it came strutting into my territory, it expected another easy win and let down its guard. Hmm, looking at it from this perspective, doesn't that mean I just got lucky?

Right as I was about to send my Force Lances flying, the panther underwent a change. It should have been an obvious indication that it needed to die sooner, but my dumbass thought watching the transformation was harmless like some third-rate villain in a movie watching the protagonist slowly transform before beating his ass.

The aura of shadows that surrounded its body darkened and grew, wrapping around its entire body like a thick mass of goo, leaving only two orbs of yellow light where its eyes were. Then the shadows started forming sharp edges and flat surfaces along the panther's body. The panther was forming an armor made of shadows around itself.

That was the only time I realized that I needed to get rid of the panther ASAP and launched all five of my Force Lances, the deafening explosions kicking up snow and blasting air everywhere.

What happened next was fucking unfair.

The panther, still trapped, suddenly moved like a whirlwind and lashed out with its claws in all directions, tearing apart Taloress' entire body in seconds without even giving her a chance to regenerate. Mr. Marion stabbed again but to no avail, his arm sliding off the armor. The panther's arm blurred and in two seconds, Mr. Marion was nothing more than a pile of finely-shredded fabric.

The panther disappeared once again, this time reappearing directly behind Spider. Spider, dodge forward!

My mental messages to my puppets were instantaneous, allowing them to receive and understand my thoughts in a literal instant. That was the only reason why I was still alive.

The panther had ripped through Spider's huge body with its claws mere centimeters from where I was. If Spider hadn't moved right as I gave the warning, I would be cat food right now.

I immediately began channeling my spells as I ordered Spider to move around erratically. The panther moved too fast, so I told Spider not to bother trying to dodge but to instead focus on moving randomly and make himself unpredictable.

The panther chased us with fury. With its ridiculous speed, it looked like it was teleporting all over the place as it struck at Spider with its claws. Thanks to Spider's erratic motion, I was still in one piece, but sooner or later, the panther would get lucky and I'd end up with a furious monster's claws right in my face.

“Don't fucking underestimate me!” I shouted with equal parts fury and fear.

Magic circles made of thread lit up around us and formed invisible Force Shields that completely surrounded Spider. More magic circles activated and Force Blades suddenly started flying everywhere in random directions except for where the goblins were. I felt my body slowly heat up from all the magic I was casting, but I didn't pay it any heed. Since I wasn't overloading my spells, I was still far from giving myself serious burns.

The panther easily dodged my Force Blades, darting in now and then to strike at my shields. To my horror, its claws easily tore apart my Force Shields as if they were paper, and that's when I remembered that the panther once destroyed my spells with its claws during our first encounter. Its claws could destroy magic!

A new wave of nervousness washed over me as I rushed to build more shields just to keep the panther at bay. I still had a decent amount of mana, but I won't last long at this rate. I was creating Force Shields and blasting Force Blades everywhere nonstop while Mr. Marion and Taloress were eating up a good chunk of my mana as well to regenerate their shredded bodies. My mana pool was emptying at an alarming rate. Shit, I only have one last trump card to use and I'm not even sure if it's going to work.

I dearly hoped that the panther was going to tire sooner than me. The bastard's shadow form was extremely powerful, which must mean that it also has a high cost. It shouldn't be able to keep that form indefinitely, and when it tires, it will retreat to lick its wounds.

When the panther darted in to strike again at my shields, it roared in triumph. It had wrapped its paw in an aura of shadow in the shape of claws, extending its range significantly. The shadow claw ripped through my shields and reached Spider's body.

Just like what Spider did during my battle with Kazimir, he shifted me inside his body and moved me away from the claw, but it still managed to graze my arm. A burning sensation different from the one caused by the heat of my magic erupted on my arm and I stifled a scream. Spider, trap it!

With the panther so close, Spider quickly wrapped his tentacles around the monster's body and pulled it in. The panther easily cut through the tentacles, but there were dozens of them and they were regenerating. It would escape eventually, but all I needed was to delay it.

With perfect timing, Mr. Marion and Taloress arrived, their body still partially regenerating, but whole enough to get back into the fight. They stabbed with their arms at the same time, striking the panther in its vulnerable belly.

The panther screeched as blood spurted from its wounds. In an unpredictable move, it covered its tail with sharp-edged shadows and whipped it at the tentacles holding it in place in one smooth move, freeing it.

But instead of growing more nervous, I was happy. The panther was panting as blood dribbled from its mouth, its body riddled with wounds. The armor of shadows around its body slowly dissipated as well. It was no longer in any condition to fight and the panther knew it. The only choice left for it was to retreat.

“You wanna fight some more?!” I shouted, although it was pretty much all bravado. I was tired as well and I was on the verge of running out of mana.

The panther looked at me with pure fury in its amber eyes before looking away. I thought it was going to retreat when I realized it was looking at the goblins. With a furious roar, the panther pounced for the adult goblin, who shouted back fearlessly even with his limbs bound.

Right when the panther was nearly on top of the adult goblin, a small something moved behind the green-skinned monster and jumped to meet the bastard. It was Tedd, and in his hands was the broken blade of my enchanted sword.

For the Master! Tedd cried mentally and stabbed the blade right into the panther's eye.

The panther screeched incoherently as it crashed to the ground and started thrashing around wildly. It swiped its claws at Tedd, who flew off into the distance in pieces, and mewled loudly as it hurriedly ran away into the Wild Woods while trailing blood.

“Holy shit, my trump card actually worked,” I whispered in disbelief as I watched the panther disappear into the forest.

Before the battle began, I hid Tedd under the adult goblin as a surprise if I had to retreat. I knew the panther would kill the goblins if I lost, so I might as well leave behind something that would remind the bastard not to mess with me. What I didn't expect was for Tedd to actually be successful in hurting the panther. The bastard must have been greatly weakened and tired to actually fail in reacting to a stuffed toy trying to stab it.

Are you alright, Master? Mr. Marion asked as he approached Spider and me.

“I'm alright. The bastard managed to scratch me, but it's just a small wound,” I replied as I emerged from Spider's body. The wound on my arm was still bleeding, but after a quick Heal, my arm was as good as new. Aside from my recently-healed wound and my intense perspiration from all the spellcasting, I was unscathed. “Is everybody fine?”

I'm fine, Master. Just need to get myself together, Tedd answered with a chuckle as he slowly walked back toward us. His lower half was upright on the ground as it walked, dragging his upper half across the ground behind him, connected only by a few strands of thread.

When I checked the goblins, though, I realized that three of the small ones were dead, their bodies cut cleanly in half. “Shit, did I do that?”

It was the panther, Massster, Spider replied. When it freed itself from my tentaclesss, its long tail whipped aaall the way over to the goblinsss.

That was unfortunate, but I guess I could say it was a small loss. We were talking about the panther here, which I was starting to realize was probably way stronger than the Grisly Bear. Three dead goblins seemed like a good outcome in exchange for surviving the encounter.

What do we do with the goblins now, Master? Taloress asked as she crouched beside the adult goblin, poking it in the face. The adult goblin didn't seem to complain, unlike earlier. Instead, its eyes were blank as it absently looked around.

“What the hell's wrong with him?”

Maybe he doesn't like seeing trees getting destroyed? Taloress offered.

“What do you mean— oh.”

When I looked around me, I realized that the battle was more destructive than I thought. Scores of trees bore marks of my Force Blades, some even completely cut down. The ground once covered with a smooth layer of snow was now etched with numerous gouges from my Force Blades and Lances. The only part of the clearing that was saved from destruction was the area around the goblins.

“It seems we'll have some redecorating to do.”

●●●

The residential district of Halros always slept early. When the sun dips below the city's towering walls, the entire residential district transforms into a ghost town. Doors are locked, windows are barred, and candles are extinguished. The only sources of light during the night come from the lampposts in the streets, but at most, only a single lamp would be lit for every street. Lighting all the lamps in the residential district would take hours, and even the dumbest lamplighter was wise enough to know that walking in Halros' streets at night was suicide.

Halros was infamous for the numerous gangs that prowled its streets, pushing people around with their influence, but that was the extent to which outsiders knew about the city. For the locals, they knew a more sinister truth that children had to learn if they wanted to live long within Halros' walls: the gangs were the law, and at night, their rule was absolute.

The noises of women being kidnapped and houses being broken into were almost a normal occurrence every night. It was a vile thing, but the locals had long learned that the only thing they could do was hope it was not them or their family being kidnapped to be put into brothels.

But tonight, there was only silence. Even as the night grew deeper, the residential district was silent save for the occasional flapping of crows looking for an easy meal. For the crows, there was always an easy meal to be had in the city.

But tonight, it was peaceful and quiet. No crying, no shouting, and no houses being broken into. Exactly how things should be, Esta thought as she squatted on one of the tall rooftops in the residential district. The night was dark, but on the rooftop where Esta was, it was even darker. No light escaped from her position, making her invisible in the sea of blackness that was the residential district.

If not for the damn Hoods, every night would be this peaceful and quiet, Esta thought as her eyes constantly scanned the streets. Despite the dark, her eyes could see the entire area as if it was day. Darkness was her ally, and it would not impede her sight. After tonight, Halros will be free of the scourge that plagued its streets for years.

Esta jumped from rooftop to rooftop, her steps making no sound as she jumped and ran. She looked at the streets around her, where thugs and crooks used to walk like they owned it. Now, it was empty of criminals. That tended to happen when the Shadow of Edria personally cut their throats in their sleep.

Esta arrived at the wall that separated the inner city from the rest. Unlike the outer city, the inner city was more alive during the night. The red-light district was packed with men excitedly walking the streets as prostitutes called out to them, and even the business district contained some dubious shops and businesses that opened only during the night. In the absence of the light of day, Halros shed its flimsy appearance of a city of the Kingdom of Edria and took on its true nature: the largest den of debauchery and sin south of the kingdom. Esta clicked her tongue in disgust.

The Shadow easily sneaked her way past the wall and entered the inner city to rendezvous with the other operatives of the mission. She made her way to an abandoned warehouse that was the designated meeting point, near the infamous Dagula's Auction House.

Esta entered through a shadow in an isolated alley and emerged from another shadow inside the warehouse, shocking the operative assigned to meet with her.

Esta quickly assessed her surroundings first. The warehouse was extremely spacious, probably enough room to house hundreds of large crates. The only source of illumination was from the moonlight spilling through the broken windows high up on the walls. The only people present were the shocked operative and three other cloaked figures behind him. Probably the extra reinforcements the King told her about, the ones who would help with the important mission.

“Spymaster, there's been an emergency,” the operative said in a low voice. “Our lookouts outside the city had informed us that your familiar had returned from the Wild Woods, albeit with grievous wounds. His handlers informed us that he will not be able to participate in the coming battle.”

Esta shifted uneasily. Jet was a shadow panther she personally raised since he was a cub and the one she bonded as her familiar. He was as powerful as the strongest B-rank monsters and should have been dominating the monsters of the Wild Woods. A powerful monster has been born in the Wild Woods. If Jet failed to kill it, it's probably an A-rank, Esta thought with a grimace.

“Should we continue with the mission, Spymaster?” the operative asked.

Jet was supposed to be a vital part of the plan that would support Esta once she fought with a Blackhood. With his support gone, Esta would have to fight a Blackhood alone, a very risky endeavor, but one she would not walk away from.

“Operation Salvation is still a go,” Esta replied. Without Jet, things would be more difficult and more soldiers would die, but this mission could not be delayed any further lest they risk the Hoods reorganizing and making a counterattack.

“Well now, that's unfortunate,” the operative replied with a sinister tone.

Esta didn't bother showing surprise. In one smooth motion, she drew her blade from its scabbard and beheaded the operative, who was about to draw his own sword. His head fell to the ground with a dull thump, but his body continued moving and slashed at Esta, only to hit nothing but shadows.

The headless body turned this way and that, as if looking for its target. Esta looked on with a neutral expression as she hid in the shadows of the warehouse.

“Well now, that is unfortunate indeed,” an aged, raspy voice said. It came from one of the three cloaked figures who were supposed to be the reinforcements. “Our advantage of surprise is now gone.”

“If you went for the kill right off the bat instead of saying your usual lines, we wouldn't have this problem now, would we?” the cloaked figure in the middle said with a melodic feminine voice, unconcerned.

“I didn't expect the Shadow to be that paranoid. She beheaded the man who was supposed to be her ally without a second thought. That only means she had always been considering the possibility of treachery from people that should have been her most trusted allies for her mission,” the aged voice said with amusement.

“What else did you expect of the Shadow?” the female asked before turning her hooded head at the shadows of the warehouse. “We know you're still in here.”

Esta did not reply, keeping herself hidden among the shadows. She made sure to keep herself invisible from the mana sense of the old man. She was sure he was a necromancer and that he turned the operative into his thrall. Only an undead could keep moving even after getting beheaded.

“You are overstepping your bounds, Shadow,” the woman continued. “You must think yourself unstoppable after wiping us out in three cities, but Halros is ours. The Hoods rule this city, and if you want it, you'll have to take it by force.”

“Hehehe, and let me remind you that our influence is not limited to controlling local gangs,” the old man said with a raspy chuckle. “Your King's position is precarious, my dear Shadow. I wonder what would happen if the nobles decided that it was time for a change of leadership? Without vassals, the Crown is a fickle thing, and what more for a King without an heir?”

Esta gritted her teeth in fury and frustration, but she forced herself to calm down. These bastards spoke easily of treason, but that didn't mean she'd start fighting them out of rage. They may be the lowest of all low-lifes, but that didn't make them weak. After all, the three were Blackhoods.

Esta was sure the woman was the Blackhood known as Rella. There was only one known woman among the Blackhoods, and Esta was willing to bet it was her. She was also sure that the old man was Razar the Defiler, one of the most notorious necromancers still active on the continent.

That left Esta with one more unidentified Blackhood. She could try to guess who it was, but it'd be useless if she didn't have any clue to go by. Up until now, the third Blackhood had remained silent, not revealing anything about their identity.

“This will be the only warning we will give you, Shadow. Leave Halros or your King will have a greater problem than gangs running one of his cities,” Blackhood Rella said with glee. “Oh, and by the way. Don't bother checking in with your men hidden throughout the city. I've already given them the privilege of a peaceful death,” the woman added with a cruel laugh.

We've been had, Esta thought grimly as she retreated from the building without looking back. Weeks of preparation had been done for this operation, only to end up as a failure before it could even begin. They had underestimated the Hoods' power.

Even though Blackhood Rella said that she killed all the undercover soldiers who were sneaked into the city over the past few weeks, Esta still checked the safehouses where they were supposed to be hidden. True to the Blackhood's word, some of the safehouses only contained corpses, all of them killed instantly through beheading. Esta cursed. All of those soldiers were good men that the King trusted, in service to the Crown for years. They were irreplaceable.

Fortunately, it seemed that not all of the safehouses were compromised. When Esta visited the others, the men inside were still alive and were waiting for the signal that would start the operation. Esta informed them of the mission's failure and ordered them to leave the city quickly.

Tonight is a big loss for Edria, Esta thought as she watched over her retreating soldiers from the shadows. Their hunched shoulders and downcast expressions drove the point home that they were running away in defeat. Esta clenched her fists. We may be defeated tonight, but that doesn't mean this is the last battle.

Esta looked back one last time at the inner city of Halros, bright and cheerful amidst the backdrop of the destitute outer city. This is only the first blood. The next time I leave, it will be after I cleanse this city of the filth that stains its walls.