“Let’s take care of this giant prick first!” Dashing towards the gigantified Thorvald, Harold prepares to swing his longsword at him. The barbarian in question is unable to block or dodge the attack as the knight quickly comes upon him with deadly force. Upon striking his hardened flesh, the knight yells out, “Go to Hell!!” Upon his declaration, the barbarian starts to shift out of this existence as his figure starts to rapidly disappear. 

Seeing what is happening to his ally, Damon reacts as fast as he can. “Oh shit!! Counterspell!”

“Not this time, you shitty excuse of a musician! Counterspell!” The knight this time is prepared for the counter, as he uses the bard’s own spell against him: causing the two magics to cancel each other out. Unable to stop the forceful transportation, the Red Talon Troupe look on as they watch their companion disappear before their very eyes. Shifting his gaze towards the bard, he relaxes and states to him, “I’m glad you used that. Now I am positive that you are running low on mana now.”

Damon doesn’t say or speak anything. Instead, he just glares at the knight with scrutiny. Searching from what he knows and heard over the years, the bard recognizes the kind of higher tier magicks that the knight had used just now. “That was… that was Plane Shift… You… you know 7th level magic…And the spell that you used on Aurelian at the start… that… that was Power Word: KILL wasn’t it?”

“Impressive. You must have gone to college to know that one.”

“How do you know 9th level spells?!”

Interrupting the troupe’s bard before he could go off, Graham poses a question. “What did you do to our barbarian?” the leader asks as he distances himself from the knight. Unsheathing his weapons once more as he does.

Ignoring Damon, he answers Graham with some glee in his voice. “Your bard just gave you your answer. I just sent him to a place that isn’t here. Care to guess where?” Marius immediately shoots an arrow at Harold, but the knight simply deflects it with his blade as he continues his query. “Want a hint? It starts with an H… and ends in Hell.”

Reacting to his answer, Aurelian immediately evokes a spell upon the knight. “Ice Storm!” As he says those words, large chunks of hail start falling at his target’s location; watching the surrounding area be buffeted by sleet and ice as it engulfs the knight in a frosty storm, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect on him as he stands amongst the hailing ice and snow.

“Yes! YES!! Use more of your mana!! That way I don't need to worry about THIS BEING COUNTERED, YOU FUCKING JAG!! FINGER!!”

Saying the vocal component, Harold sends a massive blast of negative energy at the sorcerer. “UWAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!” Aurelian screams as his entire body is engulfed in searing pain as his frame crumples to the floor; leaving him dead on the spot.

“DAMN!!” Graham curses as he readies his swords; running towards Harold armed and ready. Swinging his blades with power and precision, he tries to push or stagger his enemy back away from the more fragile members of his troupe as he focuses his strikes at vital areas and openings he can perceive.

“BOSS!! CAREFUL!!” Marius shouts. His leader quickly steps back upon hearing his warning; barely dodging Marius’s incoming arrows. “LIGHTNING!!” The ranger casts infusing magic into his equipment; his bow string electrifies with a violet hue as he shoots volley after volley of arrows-turned-lightning bolts at the black knight. 

With combat having started again, Damon quickly targets Harold’s armor to be transmuted as he follows up and supports Graham’s and Marius’s  joint attacks. “Heat Metal!” The discolored plate armor that Harold is wearing turns red-hot with heat as the transmutation takes its place, causing his flesh to burn and smoke as he continues to wear it. 

Ignoring the burning pain that he feels upon his skin, he uses his shield to deflect or block the lightning arrows as he shifts his attention from the ranger to the bard while giving a seemingly random order. “HEY ASSHOLE!! GO ATTACK YOUR FRIENDS!!  AND YOU I CAN HANDLE YOU LATER!! BUT FOR NOW, IT'S YOUR TURN TO DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!” Pointing his sword tip towards Damon, he shoots a thin green ray at him. “DISINTEGRATE!!”

Damon upon seeing the ray coming at him, reacts with the one spell that he knows could save him. “Counterspell!” he casts as he tries to dodge out of the way at the same time.

“Bitch!! You know that I can do that too!! Counterspell!!”

 The bard’s attempt to negate the disintegration fails as he tries to simultaneously roll out of the way, but his dodge action comes a second too late as his leg is still hit by the beam. Being quickly enveloped by a green light moments later, his body collapses into a pile of gray dust; giving him no chance to even scream and consequently ending his concentration on the Heat Metal spell.

Disengaging from Harold due to Marius’s lightning charged arrows, Graham notices that Aurelian’s corpse has gotten up and is shambling quickly towards him. Seeing this he diverts his attention momentarily to cut the deceased’s head off with his longsword. 

Taking advantage of his momentary lapse of attention, Harold teleports himself to where the ranger is instantaneously. “Dimension Door!!” he casts as he poofs right next to Marius on the roof of the manor. Taken by surprise, the ranger takes out an off-hand dagger and tries to stab at the newly teleported enemy. However, his shiv only makes contact with hardened plate armor. 

“Thought you could stay up here and keep taking potshots at me without end?” Saying that he clutches his shield in his hand and bashes the edge into the ranger’s face; knocking him down. Harold then quickly gets into a straddling position and continues to use his shield to pummel him thoroughly. The sound of his bones crunching reverberates in the air as blood spurt from his orifices. Harold only stops after Marius’s face is completely deformed. Broken and shattered teeth, eyes swollen completely shut, and a completely flatten nose. With the ranger moaning, the black knight grabs Marius by his hair, dragging and tossing him over the roof as he lands head first into the ground; breaking his neck on impact. Harold then places a foot at the edge, leans over, and stares at the last member left alive: Graham Kite. “How does it feel to be the last one standing?”

“It’s… unpleasant to see what you did to my men…”

“Ahhh. Isn’t that sad, but don’t worry. I’ll send you to where your friends are soon. In hell; where you all belong.” Saying so, Harold then feels a shockwave from the floor beneath him. Under his breath he quietly asks himself, “What the fuck was that?”

Feeling the aftershock of the abrupt activations of the Beads of Force, the manor divulges into a confused chaos. Harriet and Daniella are scurrying about the ground floor as they try to deduce what is currently happening. 

“Daniella!! Did you feel that?! What was that!?”

“I-I don’t know!! I’m just as lost as you are!! What is going on?! I thought we didn’t have to worry about anything because of the mercenaries! Did something happen to them?!”

A guard is then seen bursting through the hallway door in a panic. “EVERYONE!! GET OUT OF HERE!! SAVE YOURSELVES!! THE MERCENARIES!! THEY’RE!! THEY’RE ALL DEAD!!”

The already panicked atmosphere is heightened as they receive the bad news. Shouting, screaming, and furniture being tossed and broken are then heard as the normal people start to hastily pack their valuables in hopes of escaping premises fast. They do not know whether or not their lives will be spared, but none of them are willing to take that chance. 

Hearing the ill news, Harriet turns to Daniella and grabs her shoulders. “We need to get Sarah!! I don’t care if she is servicing that hedonist!! These nobles can burn in hell for all I care!! But I’m not going to abandon that girl!!”

“But! But! But what about the assassins outside!! We’ll be killed if we don’t leave now!”

“That doesn’t matter! That girl needs us!”

Daniella gives a wry expression, but nonetheless she nods in agreement as she sees in Harriet’s eyes that she will not budge on this. “Okay… but we need to grab her and leave now then!!” 

“Gather whatever you can carry!! While you do that, I’ll go get Sarah and we’ll meet up at the side entrance and make our escape into the woods!! You got that!?!”

Daniella silently agrees with much vigor as she and Harriet part ways; Daniella then goes to their shared room to get the coins, clothes, and whatever valuables that she can stuff into a sack as Harriet runs to the first floor to retrieve Sarah from the sodomist Albert Coulkett.

With the house in disarray, Harriet runs past her coworkers as they try to leave the premises as fast as possible. Running up the stairs, she comes across the aftermath of what had happened before her sudden arrival. 

“Oh… God…” Harriet states covering her mouth; closing her eyes off from the bloody scene. “I think I’m going to be sick…” While stepping over the mangled and dismembered bodies, the house servant calls out for her young companion. “SARAH!! SARAH!! WHERE ARE YOU!? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” Yelling out for Sarah, Harriet comes face to face with someone unexpected; a teenager walking with a slight limp. Lauren. Her expression is dark and her eyes are in a frenzied state. Her visage seems to blend into the background; making it difficult to see her in the dark. Harriet would have easily walked passed her if the girl in question wasn’t directly in her way. “Who… who is--”

“STAND BACK!! OR ELSE!! I’M NOT AFRAID TO USE THIS!!” the teenager screams at Harriet, whipping out a wand from her bag; clutching it with both hands. The troubled girl points it at the house servant, issuing her warning again. “I’LL KILL YOU IF YOU GET ANY CLOSER!! I SWEAR ON MY PARENT’S GRAVE!!”

Harriet feels the animosity being emitted by this teenager and backs away. “Are… are you with the assassins?” she asks cautiously.

“THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!!”

“Please… there… there is a young girl that looks to be around your age that works here. She… she was upstairs when all of this happened… please just… just let me check if she’s alright and we’ll leave here without bothering--”

“STOP!!” Shouting her command at her, she discharges the wand causing bolts of magic to shoot out from the tip; smashing the ground in front of her into bits. Harriet flinches as she watches wood splinter in front of her. She moves her eyes from the newly made hole to Lauren's figure. She notices that the teenager is shaking. “J-JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!!”

Frowning, Harriet walks backwards and makes room for the teenager to pass by. Through that opening, Lauren darts down the hallway and quickly turns; leaving the maid’s sight. Watching her run by, the ex-servant shifts her attention to Albert’s bedroom. “Sarah!!” Harriet screams as she sees the state that the girl and the room are in. Gore and viscera cover her as the headless corpse of Albert Coulkett lies dead near the bed. Taking her eyes off the dead body she shifts her attention to the bedroom entrance. That girl… Did she do all this? Hearing quiet whimpers, Harriet takes notice of the sobbing Sarah still lying in the middle of the gruesome scene. “Sarah!! Sarah!? Sarah are you okay!? Can you stand?” Not hearing an immediate answer from the girl despite her insistence, Harriet picks her up and proceeds to escape the vicinity with her in tow. 

From the outside, Harold is watching the drove of people swarming out of the mansion as a reactionary cause to the abrupt vibration he felt underneath him. “Shit… witnesses are escaping…” Harold says to himself as he shifts his attention. “You know… your group or troupe or whatever really fucked things up for me. The plan wasn’t supposed to go down like this.”

“Plans often don’t go as planned… I didn’t plan on losing most of my crew in this encounter with you…”

“Heh… you make it sound like you’re going to be the sole survivor tonight.”

“I don’t plan on dying. I have a family I must return to…”

“That’s pretty sentimental coming from a mercenary-type like you, but… that won’t change the outcome.” Saying so, Harold grabs one of the various trinkets on his belt. What he reaches for are a pair of rusted and discoloured shackles with a lengthy chain. The knight then begins to cuff himself with the relic as he continues to speak. “No one’s leaving here… ALIVE…” The moment he gives his ominous announcement, Harold finally cuffs both of his wrists with a dissonant and ethereal clinking sound. It rings and echoes out for everyone to hear; whether they like to or not.

“What in the…!! What in the hell is happening?!”

“I can’t get them off me!! Get these chains off me!!”

“Why are we being tied up!?”

The commotion roars as dozens upon dozens of spectral chains shoot up all over the manor; cuffing themselves onto those nearby. Anyone and everyone within the vicinity has quickly found themselves shackled by ethereal chains. Whether they were trying to escape the scene or loot the nobles coffers, one thing was for certain. They were bound to “something” and that “something” scared them.

“What is… this?” Graham questions as he swipes at the shackles with his sword. His blade goes right through the spectral chains, dissipating its form only for it to restructure itself anew. “Did you use a magic item? I can still move decently and I don’t seem to be restrained, but this is nothing like what I have experienced before.”

Being carefully watched by Graham, Harold doesn’t answer him. Instead, he grabs a hold of his sword and shield as the black knight proceeds to jump down from the roof. Landing with a thud, he stands upright as he shakes both of his knees; stretching them out in the process. Rotating his head and sword-hand he says, “Unlike before where you had your annoying buddies around to help you, this time we’re strictly one on one.” Walking closer to Graham, Harold asks, “How long do you think you can last? 10? 20 rounds? Or maybe 30? Ah. It doesn’t matter. I’m ending this now.” Soon after he finishes his inquiry, Harold then starts sprinting as he raises his longsword. Coming upon Graham in mere seconds, he smashes his weapon down upon the mercenary leader. 

Blocking Harold’s strike from above with both of his swords, Graham grunts in discomfort. “You’re not going to answer my question? Alright. Have your secrets then!!” Yelling, the mercenary leader pushes Harold away from him, separating himself from his assailant. Taking a combat stance, Graham dashes in and cleaves, slashes, and stabs at his opponent; becoming a fury of blades.

Harold takes a few steps back, dodging a couple of Graham’s swings and parrying others, but he is not totally left unscratched as Graham’s blades scrape and nick Harold’s armor. Clicking his tongue he asks, “Don’t you know when to give up? You just saw me wipe your entire party out, yet you keep fighting. Is it because of that family you mentioned? You do know that’s not admirable. That’s just being stupid and idiotic.”

“It seems that you never had anyone you truly loved in life. I personally would rather see my family, whom I love, once more than die a beggar’s death here.”

“Bah!! Enough with the family crap!! You’re only prolonging the inevitable!” Harold screeches as he sends Graham sliding back with the sheer force of his strike. “Just give up already! You’re not going to win this. You should know the disparity between us by now.” 

Feeling the vibrations coming from impact he had blocked, Graham feels his hands and arms start to go numb. Assessing his situation, The mercenary ignores Harold’s words and lowers his center of gravity as he clenches both his blades, readying himself for what’s to come. “Disparity or not. I will fight to survive. And nothing will change that.”

Stopping in his tracks momentarily, the black knight stares at the mercenary leader briefly and shakes his head. “Screw it. I’m done with this shenanigans.” Saying so, he lowers his guard and utters one word. “Stupefy.” The instant Graham hears him speak that single word, magic wracked his brain with the most intense migraine he has ever felt in his life. His visions blurs as he keels over in extreme nausea; unable to stand upright any longer as he is left stunned. Watching him try to keep his balance, Harold strides over to where Graham is. The mercenary looks at a blurry visage and tries to speak, but before he could say anything; the black knight simply points his sword tip at him and invokes his spell. “Disintegrate.” Unable to dodge, much less move, Graham becomes enveloped by a thin green light and is subsequently turned into a pile of gray dust soon after. The black knight lets out a sigh as he speaks to himself. “What a dumb prick.” Taking out the Sending Stone, Harold speaks into it. “I’m done on my end. Where are you?”

“You’re done? I’m hiding in a closet within the manor.”

“What? Why? Ah nevermind. Just hurry and come outside now. We need to wrap this up.”

“Right. I’ll be out.”

After running away from the gruesome scene and bumping into someone unfamiliar, Lauren finds herself inside a dark closet with various cleaning supplies. A wet mop and a dusty broom keep her company as she listens to the shouting and screaming coming from the hallways. Crouching and holding her knees with her arms, hoping that no one finds her, she waits for a sign. Any sign. Something to let her know that it’s finally safe to move. Thinking that, spectral shackles then suddenly shoot up around her and immediately seize her. Binding themselves to her wrists. Initially startled, Lauren swipes at the ghostly chains to try to get them off, but her action proves to be useless. Giving up quickly, she resumes her crouching position. Assassinations. Magic explosions. And now ghost chains. Thinking about what has happened so far tonight makes the girl rest her head on her knees in distress. Taking a deep breath, Lauren stares into the darkness. Waiting ever so anxiously for the man she porters for.

“I’m done on my end. Where are you?”

Startled, she hastily fumbles around to grab the Sending Stone out of her pouch. “You’re done? I’m hiding in a closet within the manor.”

“What? Why? Ah nevermind. Just hurry and come outside now. We need to wrap this up.”

“Right. I’ll be out.” Sending out her response, Lauren puts away the magic item and leaves her hiding spot. Making her way out of the mansion within a few minutes, she sees the black knight fiddling with his spellbook. Quickly walking over, she finally meets up with Harold as he stands there distracted. “Mr. Sasse! Are… are these chains yours?” she asks as she holds her wrists up quizzically.

Noticing her presence, he takes his eyes off his spellbook and welcomes her. “Finally. You’re here. Don’t worry about the chains. They won’t affect you,” he states as he jangles his shackles before bringing his attention back to the page that he was on. “Well now that you’re here, it’s time to finish the job,” he states as he resumes flipping through pages in his grimoire.

“Mr. Sasse you say that we need to ‘finish the job,’ but what does that even mean? I… I thought we were done after… um… you know… killing Albert Coulkett, the target.”

“Not really. We still got a multitude of witnesses that need to be taken care of and they’re scattered all over the fucking place. So, I need to take care of that before leaving,” Harold groans as he continues to thumb through his spells. “Shit… where is that spell that I need…” he mumbles to himself in frustration.

“Wouldn’t… wouldn’t it be alright if we just go now? We already accomplished what we needed to do. I don’t think we need to do anything more than that.”

Cranking his head to the side, the knight glares at the teenager. “Lauren. You do know that we just killed a noble right? Breaking into their home with ill-intent? I don’t need to remind you what happens to criminals who murder nobles, right? And even then, professionals need to have a certain degree of discretion when working.” he informs as the knight closes his book with a snap.

“No… You don’t need to remind me, but then… What do you plan on doing with all the people here? Make them swear to secrecy?”

“What? No. How would I be able to make a person swear to secrecy?”

“I thought you could do it with magic. Isn’t there a spell or an item that can make them keep a secret or something?”

“Don’t be fucking stupid. Haven’t I told you before that magic isn’t some all-powerful force? It has strict rules that need to be followed and doing something as seemingly mundane as making a person keep a secret or something like altering a person’s memories takes time and effort to do. Both of which I don’t have the time nor the patience to spare at the moment.”

“Then what are you going to do then?”

“Well, when it comes to discreet jobs like assassinations, it will always end in two ways. Either it’s A: You kill your target without being seen, or B: You kill anyone that saw you do it.” 

“But… practically everyone here saw you fighting outside. It would have been impossible to miss you amongst all that.”

“Yeah. Exactly. That’s why I’m going to kill everyone here. No witnesses. No survivors. Equals no liability. It’s all part of the plan.”

“E-excuse me?”

The knight huffs at Lauren’s response. “I’m going to kill everyone here so that there’ll be no witnesses to tell the tale,” Harold restates as he adjusts his shackle cuffs. Grabbing at the air, he takes a hold of something invisible to the eye. Only when the knight takes a firm grasp of it does it reveal itself partially; a pair of ethereal chains. 

“But!! But!! But those people didn’t do anything wrong!! Why do they need to die?!”

“Holy shit. I feel like a fucking parrot having to repeat myself over and over with you.” Feeling frustrated, Harold stops and pauses for a moment before answering. “First of all: they saw me. Second: they know what happened here. And third: I can’t guarantee their silence. Therefore: they need to die. Sorry, but not sorry.” Dismissing her, he regrips the ghostly shackles and yanks the chains with force. Lauren is left there gaping in disbelief as she watches Harold start to reel someone towards himself as screams for help can be heard in the distance with every pull. Eventually a man covered in scratches and dirt wearing a servant's uniform is dragged before him. Letting go of the ghost shackles he questions him. “How many people were here tonight including your masters?”

“O-oh… please… please don’t hurt me…” he whimpers as he cowers in Harold’s shadow.

Taking a momentary breath, Harold asks again, “How many people were here tonight including your masters?” 

“I… I have a young son… please… just… just let me go please…”

“SHUT UP!! I’M SICK OF CONSTANTLY HAVING TO REPEAT MYSELF OVER AND OVER FOR YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!! I SAID HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE HERE TONIGHT!? I’M NOT ASKING AGAIN!!”

“Uh… uh… ah… maybe… maybe three dozen people… if… if you include the guards and mercenaries that were hired by the baron…”

“Great. That’s at least 30 more people I need to reel in. Thank you for your service, but you are no longer needed,” he groans bitterly as he unsheathes his long sword.

“Wait!! Wait!! Please!! Plea-!” the servant cries before being cut down by the knight’s blade. Whipping his sword clean, he stabs it into the ground and grabs the ghastly chains once again and starts reeling in the next person.

Witnessing the murder of an innocent man in front of her, Lauren snaps out of it and runs towards the black knight, trying to stop him from taking his next victim’s life. “Mr. Sasse!! Please stop!! Don’t kill them!! These… these people don’t deserve this!! They… they didn’t do anything wrong!! Please!!” Lauren begs as she clings onto Harold. “They are just normal people!! Just let them go!! Mr. Sasse please!!”

Incessantly being tugged, pulled, and screamed at to stop exacerbates Harold’s already irritated mood. Right then and there, he snaps. Letting go of the spectral chains, Harold whips his backhand across Lauren’s face; making her stumble and fall. The teenager stares in disbelief as the black knight stands menacingly before her. “You dumb bitch. Are you oblivious to what’s going on? Do you not possess any semblance of logic? Are you that fucking stupid? Yeah? Is that it? Do you even have a brain inside that thick skull of yours? Hello!! Anyone in there?! Is there someone with some fucking intelligence inside?!” he berates her as he knocks on her noggin like a wooden door. “Hello!! Hello!? What?! No answer?!” Harold hollers as he begins to grind his knuckles into the crown of her head.

Touching her face slowly and gently, Lauren is left speechless. The stinging sensation left on her cheek is all she can think about as Harold thumps away at her skull. She stares at the man in front of her in disbelief as she tries to form her words. 

“Why… did you hit me…?” she whimpers.

He stops his taunting and scoffs, “Because you were being fucking annoying.” Harold then crouches in front of her and makes eye contact. “Who do you think you are to tell me what to do, hmm? Do you think that you are some sort of benevolent saint? A protector of the weak and downtrodden? Or perhaps you think that you are some sort of hero? Tell me. Who is it that you think you are?”

“...”

“I didn’t ask you a rhetorical question. Answer me. Who do you think you are?” 

“I… don’t know…”

“Hmph. It seems that you have forgotten, so let me remind you who you are exactly then. You’re an orphan girl from a backwater village that burned down months ago. By all means you should have died that night but because of either dumb luck, maybe fate, or sheer coincidence that you’re alive and under my supposed protection right now. You should have been grateful for me saving your pitiful life and for letting you tag along when I clearly did not want to but instead… you take my kindness for granted and you even have the audacity to give me orders. KNOW. YOUR. FUCKING. PLACE. BRAT,” he states as he jabs and digs his finger into Lauren’s forehead. 

“But… but…”

“But… but what?! Killing people?! Oh come on!! You need to grow up already!! I’m doing this for your brother!! What are you not understanding about all of this?!”

“It’s… but it’s… it’s wrong though…”

“Enough!! If you don’t want to see someone die then look away! Whether you want it to happen or not, I’m going to do this. And if you try to stop me again… I will slap the shit out of you. That I promise. So sit your fucking ass down.”

Turning his back on her, Lauren watches the black knight resume reeling in innocent bystanders. Unable to move from her spot, she looks away as she tries to block the ceaseless wailing, screaming, and begging from coming into her ears. One by one, Harold ousts and dispatches the servants of the Coulkett household regardless of their pleas and sob stories. Eventually he reels in a man kicking and cursing wearing fine silk robes adorned with precious gemstones and a gold trim.

“Baron Frederick Coulkett I presume?”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!? WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT IS THIS!? WHY ARE THESE THINGS ON ME!? YOU RUFFIAN!! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM SOMEONE WHO STANDS ABOVE YOU!! A NOBLE OF THIS COUNTRY!! ONCE THE INQUISITORS CATCH WIND OF THIS YOU ARE FINISHED!! I MAY SPARE YOU IF YOU RELEASE ME NOW!! BUT IF YOU DARE HARM A SINGLE HAIR ON MY BODY I WILL GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL EXECUTED IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY POSSIBLE!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, PEASANT?! RELEASE ME OR FACE--HRMPH!?!”

Grabbing the Baron’s face while simultaneously covering his mouth, Harold lifts him up to the point where his feet could not touch the ground. The noble struggles relentlessly as he tries to escape the painful vice by kicking and grabbing at the black knight’s arm. “I’ve had enough screaming and yelling for one day. Blight,” he groans as he tightens his grip. Invoking his spell, the Baron’s muffled screaming can be heard as he starts to violently flail. Soon he ceases his erratic movement as his figure starts to shrivel up and wrinkle with his skin losing its color; turning into a dull gray. Dropping the shriveled corpse, Lauren finally opens her eyes and uncover her ears and looks at the corpses around. 

“Is… is… is it finally finished?”

Looking at her, Harold rolls his eyes over before inspecting the shackles on his wrists as he replies, “No. I still have some left.”

“I… I see…”

Clutching the spectral chains again, he starts lugging in the last few remaining survivors. “What the…? Why did it get heavier all of a sudden?” Harold asks as he digs his heels in and starts to heave the chain instead. Taking about triple the effort, a small group of women appear before the black knight shrieking and clinging onto each other as he drags them out of the forest. Looking over his catch, he gives a statement of surprise. “Isn’t this a first? Didn’t think I’d catch three in one go.” 

One of the women stands up and protects the other two. “What do you plan on doing with us?” she asks without fear. 

He gestures around to the sprawled out mutilated corpses of their coworkers. “Isn’t it obvious?” 

“You’re going to kill us?” asks the cowering maid as she tightly holds onto the quivering young girl with her.

“Yup. Is that a problem?” he answers; grabbing his sword as he walks towards them.

“But… but… but we were so close to escaping…”

“Not my problem.”

Noticing who the women were, Lauren recognizes two of them. The teenager with Albert Coulkett and the maid that she had bumped into earlier. Seeing the frightened eyes of the quivering girl makes Lauren grit her teeth as she remembers what had happened in that bedroom. Finding some inner strength and some resolve, she stands up to face Harold. 

“Mr. Sasse… these people… can… can you at least let them go? Please? That girl… she… she went through too much tonight… please… can’t you show any mercy to them? Just this once?”

Stopping in his tracks, he stares at Lauren. Taking a deep breath, he lets out a sigh.

“No.” 

Stating so, he bisects the maid in front of him, beheads the other, and stabs through the heart of the last one. Sliding his blade out of the corpse of the young girl, he flicks the blood off his long sword and sheaths it back into his scabbard. He then beckons Lauren to come over. Shocked by what had happened, she timidly walks over to where Harold stands. Standing in front of him, he abruptly strikes Lauren down with an open palm.

“Stand up,” the black knight commands.

“Uuughhh…”

“I said STAND UP.”

With her world spinning, she is barely able to comprehend what was said to her as she dizzily stands up. The moment she does manage to stand on her feet, albeit unsteadily, she is met with another open palmed strike that sends her crashing down again. She spits up blood from the cuts inside her mouth as she lays on the ground moaning. 

“Didn’t I say that I would slap the shit of you if you stopped me?” he states as he turns towards the mansion. Opening his spell book, he goes to a page that he had marked down earlier. Skimming through it he casts a spell at a higher level. “Rise and walk for me.” Stating so, the corpses surrounding him and beyond start to stand up in unison. “Walk into the mansion and stay inside.” Following his orders, the undead start to shamble towards the Coulkett Manor. Waiting for all the zombies to enter the building, Harold casts another spell at a higher level. “Fireball.” A bright streak flashes from his hands as the noble’s home bursts into a roaring blaze.

Watching the fire from the cold ground, Lauren couldn’t help but flashback to when Norbury Village lit up in flames. The screaming. The chaos. And the loss of life. This all floods into her as she stares directly into the burning light. Unable to think straight due to the dizzying pain, she closes her eyes as the fires consume the scene and the evidence with it.

I’m… I’m… I’m so sorry…