The trio made their way to Faeron's tent mostly uninterupted. It seemed that every guard had more important things to attend to than scrutinizing two recruits and the poison mistress.

  Dane had to hand it to the woman. His stealth missions had been a mixed bag. When it was down to the wire and Dane had to dissolve in the shadows or die, he would succeed.

  However, as soon as a blade was in hand, he needed to go full murder mode and couldn't keep it together long enough for an infiltration to run smoothly.

  Two men stopped in front of Dane and Zeph.

  "Hey, ain't that the one the boss showed us last night?" The larger of the two said.

  "What... Oh, I see what you mean." His tiny counterpart said.

  "Are you those runaways?" The brutish, large guard said, missing a word or a vowel in his pronunciation.

  Zeph drew his blade and attacked. "Go, I'll handle them!"

  As Sara and Dane left their comrade, they heard swords clashing and another horn blow from the closest watch tower.

  Faeron's tent was so close that Dane could spit on it. Well, since he had stats and water magic, that distance was absurdly far.

  "Dane, focus. Are you listening?" The Kitsune said while snapping her fingers in his face. "We need to attack him swiftly. He is a real druid, that's why he dresses everyone up in their garb to trap guests. So watch out for his vines, and if you see forest green, he is casting magic; we need to dodge or rush him. Most of his spells are area of attack, so he does well against multiple people, but he will struggle against two duelists."

  "What about other guards that we need to watch out for?" He questioned.

  "He doesn't use them anymore, after none could stomach his appetites, he decided that it was best for morale if he was left alone."

  "As much as I think a plan would be nice, I mean, you definitely seem like a planner. Anytime I strategize, things go sideways and I end up scrapping the plan and finding a different way. So, how about we skip this part and get to the fight?" Dane said with a wry grin.

  Sara was speechless. This man didn't know who he was talking about. Faeron was the boogeyman and not to be taken lightly. Sara's breathing grew labored as they approached. Dane could feel the tension thrumming off her in waves, and could see the way her hands flexed as if she meant to tear through the canvas itself.

  "It'll be okay, we got this," Dane murmured, soft enough only she would hear.

  Her jaw still tensed, but her shoulders slumped slightly. Dane took it as a win even without an answer.

  They reached the flap. The leather straps hung loose, carelessly tied, as though Faeron feared nothing. Dane glanced back at Zeph in the middle of a typhoon of enemies. It was easy to forget that he was strong. When the bird hit his stride, he really knew how to carve runes and crack heads.

  Dane drew in a slow breath and pushed through thick vines that acted as a door.

  The air was heavy with the stink of wine and musk. Faeron sat hunched over a table, armor half-shed, the gleam of steel scattered across the floor. His eyes lifted sluggishly at first, then sharpened as recognition set in. There was a whimpering woman behind him. It was one thing to hear the stories about the man, but the sight of what he was doing was enough to send molten fire through Dane's entire body.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  "I knew there was more to you," Faeron spoke calmly. "Pity you would have made such a good arena fighter. Now I have to kill you and make an example of what happens to those who cross me. Who knows, maybe in your reincarnation I'll have the chance to sell you as a child." His face twisted in a sick grin.

  Dane surged forward, dagger already in motion. Steel rang out in a dull thud as he struck a large tree that hadn't been there a moment before; the force of his daggers sank into the tree's bark. He pulled hard, but it was like quicksand; the harder he pulled, the further they sank.

  Sara lunged with a hiss, her own dagger flashing, but Faeron twisted, dragging his staff along the floor, controlling the tree limbs to intercept the blows. The blade carved at the arms of the tree instead of Faeron's throat. He roared, and he shapeshifted into a bear. He was a wolfish beastman, and the transformation seemed silly, but with his new form came an increase in strength, and he barreled into Dane and Sara, knocking them out of the side of the canvas.

  Dane looked at his HUD, and his HP was at 10,057. The bear charge had taken 17,000 HP with one strike.

  Sara started muttering something that sounded vaguely like Beast Speech, and purple and green vapor began to seep out of her pores. The slaver's face was pale, twisted in terror, but he refused to yield and rushed the Kitsune, trying another charge. With perfect timing, she spun like a matador and sliced twice along the bear's spine.

  Her vapor lunged and was drawn into the wounds. Faeron was forced from his wild shape back into his normal form. He was completely paralyzed and looked like a man trapped inside his own body. Both eyes could move, and tears welled up in the man's eyes.

  Sara straddled him and started to carve him with her knife. She dragged it against his fur delicately and then would prick him just a little. She enjoyed this a little too much, and the face she made wasn't the face of a sweet girl but a villainess.

  "Don't," Dane said, stepping closer, his hand still bare without a weapon. His voice was low and commanding, but not cruel. "He deserves death, probably more than most. But torture? That's not justice. That's not strength. If you go through with it, you're no better than him. Don't let him take anything else from you.”

  Sara's head snapped up, her eyes wild, teeth bared like an animal. "Easy for you to say," she spat. "You didn't live what I did. You don't know. Get back or I'll kill you too."

  She reached out a hand, and Dane felt the poison in his bloodstream twist and turn, ripping up his insides. He was down to his last 100 HP when he felt his DE flare, and the 11 points of essence responded in kind, locking in an internal battle in his body.

  Sara's rage burned hot; she was past words, past restraint. Dane saw it. The edge she stood on. He reached out, but anger had twisted her into something cruel, and there may not be any going back.

  Zeph moved to her side. His fight had concluded, and the bird looked like he could barely stand. "You mind if I kneel? A guy with a hammer did a number on my back.". His voice was steady, and she looked at him for half a second; her snarl softened, then she looked back at Faeron. "Sara. Look at me.”

  Her trembling gaze met his, and in it, he saw her desperation.

  "It wasn't Dane that broke you," Zeph whispered. "It was Dane who saved you. All of you. You swore your oath because you wanted to live, not to keep bleeding. Don't twist that now.”

  For a long moment, Sara didn't move. Her hand hovered, fingers trembling inches from Faeron's throat. Then, with a strangled cry, she ripped herself back, staggering away. Fury bloomed in her heart not for Faeron, but at Dane. Hatred, hot and bitter, flashed in her eyes before Zeph steadied her with a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

  Dane stood over Faeron. The man wheezed, broken and defeated. He did not beg, he did not bargain, he was just an empty husk of the Bandit captain.

  Dane lifted the sword he had grabbed from Zeph. For once, his hand wasn't sweaty. The strike was clean like an executioner's chop.

  As the silence washed over the room. Dane knew this would be the death that marked him. Not because Faeron was the worst he'd killed, nor the first. Sometimes, to find your boundaries, you needed to toe the line on becoming a monster. And he decided that some may require the blade as a form of punishment. None deserved the type of pain that could ruin a person's soul.

  Sara turned from him, refusing to look back, clinging to Zeph like a lifeline.

  Dane exhaled. It was done. His gaze drifted to the horizon, to the rising twin suns staining the east in fire. "What god do I see next?" he asked Zeph quietly. "Who's waiting for me?"

  Zeph's eyes followed the light.

  "The Phoenix," he said. "To the west."

  The first rays bled across the battlefield. The name of the beast resonated with him, and he felt Daedala tug on their connection. Faeron's lifeless body disappeared, being replaced by a chest.