"..." The leading figure stopped.
Ralph, the tracker, crouched low, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the faint marks in the dirt. His face twisted, not in confusion, but irritation.
Again.
"Finally, we caught up, Jack man, you could have waited for me a bit," the fat man muttered as he arrived behind the group, breathing heavily. The stout man placed his hands on his knees and looked around. "So why did we stop again?"
Beside him, Jack, thinner and sharper-faced, clicked his tongue. "Nick, shut up, breathe like a human first."
"Is it another diversion? But it just happened." The man behind Ralph asked.
"Yes," Ralph spat. His fingers dug into the dirt. "This annoying fucker again..." He stood up and glared into the dark forest.
"Everyone, look around for the real tracks. This fuckface is starting to piss me off." The ten of them spread out.
At first, the tricks had worked beautifully.
The first false trail had led them straight toward poisonous vines. Ralph had noticed only after one of the men nearly stepped into them, and they were forced to backtrack.
The second had drawn them toward the mouth of a Natural Dungeon, almost trapping them. That one had been closer. Too close.
After that, the diversions came again and again.
A broken twig placed too obviously. Footprints pressed too deeply. A strand of cloth caught where no fleeing person would leave it. Each fake trail was worse than the last, and the very repetition made them easier to recognize.
Fear became caution. Caution became annoyance.
And annoyance slowly became something far more dangerous.
A strange sense of safety.
So, when Ralph gave the order, they searched carelessly. Not in pairs. Not in formation. Not even with their eyes on each other.
They believed they understood the trap.
That was why they had already fallen into it.
...
'These are the ones chasing us...' Hidden among the trees, Mercy watched the bandits scatter through the moonlit woods.
'Well, no shit. No, actually, they are searching for someone else.'
Tiana's voice sounded inside her mind, dry and unimpressed.
Mercy ignored the tone, or at least tried to.
'Oh?' Tiana suddenly said. 'It's beginning.'
Mercy's eyes shifted.
At first, she did not understand what she was seeing.
Reason was walking.
Not sneaking. Not crawling. Not darting from shadow to shadow.
Walking.
Slowly.
Calmly.
As if he were taking a morning stroll through the village.
'Huh? Wait... why is he just walking in?'
'Watch.'
'What do you mean, watch? They are right there.'
'Then watch better.'
Mercy held her breath.
Reason stepped between the scattered bandits. One man turned his head. Another lifted his torch. A third bent down to examine the ground. Reason passed between them all.
No one reacted.
'What... what the fuck? Why aren't they seeing him?'
'Simple. Do you hear him?'
'Hear?' Mercy focused.
She heard the bandits muttering, their boots crushing dry leaves.
She heard leather shifting, weapons clinking, nervous breathing.
But she did not hear Reason.
Not his steps.
Not his breath.
Not even his pants or skin brushing against the wind.
'Exactly,' Tiana said. 'You don't hear Reason, you can't, but that isn't all.'
And she was right. That was not all.
Every step Reason took looked careless, almost lazy, yet nothing about it was accidental.
He moved when they moved, as their boots scraped the ground.
He passed through torchlight only when the shadows stretched and bent with the flickering flames.
He stayed at the edge of their sight, never hidden completely, but never present enough to be noticed.
He was not invisible. It was worse.
He was familiar.
A shape the mind dismissed.
A movement placed exactly where the eyes expected nothing important to be.
Reason walked among the scattered bandits while they searched for the deliberate tracks he had left behind. He had separated them. Irritated them. Taught them the pattern he wanted them to believe.
People thought there was chaos in movement and action.
Reason disagreed.
The mind searched for familiarity. It clung to patterns, leaned on habits, and trusted what it had already understood.
That was where it was comfortable.
That was where it was weakest.
Reason stopped behind the leading tracker.
"Ralph." The tracker turned immediately.
"What is it!?" For one brief second, Ralph's mind tried to place the face in front of him.
It failed.
"You lost." Reason's hand moved.
Too fast.
Too direct.
His fingers struck into Ralph's throat and tore through flesh before the man could even understand he had been attacked.
Ralph fell, choking on the sound he could no longer make.
"What—?" The two closest bandits reacted to the wet sound of a body hitting the ground.
That was their misfortune.
By the time they turned, they were already within Reason's reach.
One strike. Then another.
Both fell the same way Ralph had.
Mercy's eyes widened. 'What... what is happening?'
Three enemies had fallen before she could blink.
Tiana was silent, then, almost softly, she said. 'This is Reason.'
For some reason, Mercy felt pride in that voice.
Not arrogance.
Pride. As if Tiana still felt like a part of them.
"What was that!?" The bodies had not fallen quietly. They hit the ground hard, twitching, bleeding, flailing in the dirt.
The remaining seven turned.
Two of them were already too close.
Reason stepped once.
The first fell.
He turned.
The second followed.
"Draw your weapons! Ambush!" The shout finally shattered the daze.
Half of them were already down.
"Hmh?" Reason looked down.
Ralph had grabbed his leg.
The tracker was bleeding out, unable to raise his head, unable to breathe properly, but his fingers had locked around Reason's ankle with every last bit of strength he had.
Reason looked at him without pity. "Good. That is all you were."
Ralph's eyes trembled.
"Not exceptional. Not careful. Just good."
The others drew their weapons, but Reason did not look away from the dying man at his feet.
"Insolence, anger, pride. Each one caught up with you."
Ralph's grip tightened.
"But your fatal mistake was simpler." Reason's voice did not rise.
It did not need to. "You came after Temorsth."
Fear flickered through Ralph's eyes.
Reason stepped forward. "In your next life, do not try to meet us so soon."
Although such a lengthy monologue would be a mistake for most... but we are talking about Reason here. Obviously, this was also a part of his plan. It's only reasonable.
Before his final word fully faded, he dashed forward.
Ralph's body dragged for half a step before the force tore the grip loose.
Reason moved straight toward Jack, the thin bandit standing near the back.
"Ah!" Jack stumbled backward and tripped over a root.
Reason's strike missed. At least, that was what the others thought.
Two blades came down from either side, trying to punish the opening.
Reason shifted by a hair.
The blades passed so close they nearly cut his skin.
His body twisted with the dodge, but the motion did not end there. His elbow crashed into one attacker. The man staggered, disoriented, and Reason followed with a kick to the knee.
The joint snapped. The man dropped.
Reason used the falling body as a step and turned toward the next.
Everyone froze again.
They had ten people. Five had died before most of them drew their weapons.
Two more were on the ground. Only three still stood before this thing.
And none of them could move.
They had met frightening people before. Their Boss was one. They had fought beasts, monsters, things with claws and teeth and hunger.
But this was different.
This was not a strength they could understand.
This was a fight that had ended before they realized it had begun.
"What the..." A monster.
Not because it looked like one.
Because fighting it felt meaningless.
As that truth settled in, the swords in their hands lowered.
Like men reaching the end of a road and finding nothing beyond it.
Watching their eyes shake, Reason's foot pressed down.
"F-Fuck!" A crack sounded as the man beneath him stopped moving.
Jack scrambled backward, his face drained of color. He ran before he even managed to stand properly.
"Uh? Fuck, wait for me, Jack!" Nick saw his friend flee and followed after him.
They ran in the exact direction Mercy was watching from.
'How...' Mercy stared at them, still shaken. 'How is this possible? It happened exactly as he said.'
'Don't be concerned with that now. Don't let them get away.'
'Ah, yes. You are right for once.'
'You—!'
Even as they argued, Mercy moved.
Jack passed beside her first.
Mercy jumped from the dark, dagger in hand. It was the only weapon she had, one Reason had picked up from the enemy boss earlier.
Her blade aimed for Jack's neck.
"NO!" Nick threw himself forward.
He shoved Jack out of the way and took the dagger through his shoulder instead.
Mercy pulled back instantly. The blade almost stuck in bone, but she yanked it free and landed a few steps away.
"Fuck, Nick! Get up!" Jack grabbed Nick and dragged him to his feet.
They recovered faster than Mercy expected, too fast for her to close in.
"An elf...?" The two froze for only a heartbeat when they saw her.
Then Jack shouted, "Run!"
They turned and bolted in another direction.
Mercy chased them without a word.
The forest blurred past her.
A moment later, her arm snapped forward.
The dagger flew. "Agh!" Nick hit the ground.
"Nick!?" Jack turned.
The dagger was buried in Nick's back. For one terrible second, Jack stood still.
He should run. He knew he should run.
There was nothing he could do.
"Run! Run, Jack!" Nick screamed, forcing himself back onto his feet. His face twisted with pain as he turned toward Mercy.
Jack's mouth opened. He choked on his words.
"Sorry..." he whispered, backing away. "Fuck, sorry..."
As Mercy approached, Jack turned and ran.
Nick let out a shaky breath.
"No worries, man..." he muttered, though Jack probably could not hear him anymore. "I wasn't built for running anyway..."
He leaned against a tree and raised his sword with both hands.
"Come on then." The moon gave light, but the forest was still dark. Too dark for him.
And he knew it. He had no chance against an elf in the night.
Mercy dashed forward, and Nick swung desperately.
She slipped past the blade, moved behind him, grabbed the dagger, and pulled it from his back.
Then she raised it again.
*Crack.*
A branch snapped beneath a foot.
Mercy threw herself sideways.
A sword cut through the space where she had been standing and nearly carved into Nick's back instead.
"Fuck," Jack cursed. "Almost."
Nick turned, eyes wide. "Jack? Why are you here, you twig!?"
Jack gripped his sword tighter, though his hands were shaking. "I'm gambling on you, pig bastard."
"With your life?" Nick barked, blood running down his back, sweat welling on his forehead.
"You and your dumb addiction. You really are stupid as hell."
Jack swallowed, then forced a crooked grin. "Like you're any different."
The two stood side by side.
As they spoke, Mercy vanished into the dark between the trees.
They raised their weapons, fully ready to die fighting.
But her dagger lowered.
'What are you doing?' Tiana asked.
Mercy did not answer.
'I know you don't like killing, but I feel your anger still. It isn't like you haven't killed before. So why are you hesitating?'
Silence.
'They are with the ones who hurt the villagers and us. They are the same scum. If you want, I can kill them for you.'
Mercy's fingers tightened around the dagger.
'They are the same...?' The thought sank deeper than she expected.
They were bandits.
They had followed murderers.
They had helped chase her and Reason through the woods.
They were enemies.
And yet one had thrown himself into her blade for the other.
The other had run, then returned, even knowing he would likely die.
Mercy hated that it mattered.
She hated that it made her hesitate.
She hated, even more, that she could not deny it.
Slowly, she turned away.
'Shut up,' Mercy snapped, though her anger was thinner now. 'You just want my body again.'
Tiana clicked her tongue. 'Tch. Like I even care.'
But she did not push the matter again.
Maybe, Mercy thought, it was not so bad to have someone to talk to at times like this.
Even if that someone was Tiana.
...
"Mercy." Reason's voice called from ahead as she stepped out from behind a tree.
"You let them go."
She stopped. "Uh, muh—" For a moment, Mercy could not tell whether he was asking, stating a fact, or judging her.
"Uhm, yes. It's just because—"
"You do not need to explain." Reason turned slightly.
"I already knew you would. As I said, I already let them go. You had nothing to do."
Mercy frowned.
"Their reasons were strong," Reason continued. "They would hardly die here unless I acted."
"Uh, then why?" Why had he let her chase them?
Did he want them free? Did he want her to decide?
Or was there another reason she could not see?
Reason looked ahead. "Let's go. We have no time."
"So you're not going to answer..." She folded her arms, honestly annoyed for a very good reason.
But the anger faded quickly. In the end, she had been the one to let them go.
Her eyes shifted past him. Two more enemies lay on the ground not far from where she had last seen them.
"You dealt with them fast."
Reason said nothing.
Mercy looked back at him.
"You really just stood here waiting for me?"
"Yes. And yes." Of course he did.
"Now, let's go," Reason said. "We should return. The enemy has either left or already prepared their trap by now."
"We are going back?"
"Yes. Did you not want to save the villagers?"
"Ah, yes, but..." Mercy hesitated. "How do you remember that? Didn't I only say that to Liam?" She was almost asking herself more than him.
"We can share common memories,"
"Oh... sorry. It's still strange."
"Fine." His eyes shifted toward the village's direction.
"Let's move. The others do not want to calm down. It will be troublesome if something happens while I am dealing with the enemy."
Mercy stared at him. "That sounds like something that will definitely happen now."
Reason did not react.
"Ah, but don't we need weapons? We can take theirs."
"You are right. Take two and follow me."
...
It did not take long to return to their home.
When they reached the hill, Mercy stopped.
"Everything..." Her voice almost disappeared.
From above, she could see the village. Many houses were already burned black.
Some still burned, flames crawling up broken walls and collapsed roofs. Smoke rolled into the night sky, hiding the stars. The peaceful place she knew had been twisted into something unrecognizable.
Then she saw them. A large group had gathered near the village entrance.
They were not moving but waiting.
Mercy's stomach tightened. "They are waiting for us..." She looked at Reason. "What should we do?"
Reason did not answer immediately.
His eyes moved across the scene, counting. "The numbers..."
His gaze shifted from one cluster to the next.
"Twenty-eight villagers captured. Thirty-nine bandits remaining. It seems to be all of them."
Mercy followed his gaze.
Only then did she see the bound villagers. Some knelt. Some stood with blades near their throats. Others were barely holding themselves upright.
Reason's eyes stopped on a man standing on a roof, watching over the others. "He is the Vice Leader."
The man on the roof was not shouting. He was not laughing.
He was waiting.
Reason's voice remained flat.
"This is a challenge. His reason... to kill me... Quite a strong one."
Mercy looked at the Vice Leader, then at the villagers, then back to Reason.
"What will you do? Should we just run away?"
"That is not what you want."
"Ah, but..." She could not help but sigh at herself.
Again.
Again, she was pushing him into danger.
Reason held out his hand. "Give me a sword."
"...?" Mercy looked at him.
He did not seem afraid.
He did not even seem bothered.
He looked fully ready to walk into a trap laid by nearly forty armed bandits, with twenty-eight hostages between them.
Mercy had seen what he could do.
She had seen the bodies in the forest.
She knew he was not normal.
And still, she was afraid.
Reason looked at her.
"I will not die." His hand remained open.
"We cannot die." The words were not soft. They were not comforting in the way Liam's words would have been.
But the intention was there.
Mercy exhaled.
"Ah... alright." She placed one of the swords into his hand.
"Please save those you can. And please..." Her voice tightened. "Please don't die. No, don't even get hurt."
Reason looked at the blade. "Hurt..." he said, as if considering the request seriously. "I will see what I can do about that."
Mercy almost laughed, but nothing came out.
"Hide now," Reason said. "If they capture you, this becomes much harder."
"Yes. I didn't plan on walking into that death trap anyway." She glanced down at the village. "I think only you are crazy enough."
"Hm." Reason stepped forward.
"Now go hide."