"Evil. Evil. Evil."

Reed muttered the word like a madman as he stepped out of the trees and toward

the members of the Torville gang.

With another wave of his hand, one more spear of light formed in the sky and

stabbed through another mafioso.

"W-what the—!" Lorenzo quickly turned to face Reed, his heart racing. These

people had fought each other before, so why—!

"F-flank him! Damn it!"

The mafia members, too shaken by the sudden deaths in front of them, snapped

back to their senses at Lorenzo’s screams and scrambled to circle the man. Just

then, a few more CEF members arrived—a small band of mages and knights.

"GAAAH! DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

One of the mafiosi swung a blade at a CEF soldier. It sliced through the

soldier’s hand, but light burst from Reed again. The wound was sealed.

Completely.

The CEF soldier kicked the mafioso in the stomach. Without wasting a single

second, a magician sent a fireball hurtling toward the mafioso’s face right as

he was pushed back.

BOOM!

It was a cold, hard death. A faint scream escaped the man as he succumbed to the

fire consuming his flesh.

"God damn it!" The Obscurer activated.

"Hah... How evil. Abandoning your own people?"

Reed muttered those words. His voice reached no ears other than his own, but he

kept repeating them. Behind him, the mages and knights of the CEF fought with

the rest of the mafia.

He, too, cast spell after spell to kill the roaches.

It happened then.

A giant, ethereal magic circle formed in mid-air. His eyes rolled back as he

sensed the mana. Taking a deep breath, his blood ran hot, his ears burning.

Reed turned to his left.

A giant sword formed, emerging from the circle.

"HAHA!" Reed screamed in ecstasy. "[Axis: Aegis]!"

A giant shield emerged, resulting in a violent clash. A few CEF knights stepped

ahead of Reed and held the magical shield with their hands, stopping it from

being pushed back.

A click resounded.

"Storm."

The blade broke into hundreds—no, thousands—of smaller swords that flew outward,

all of them ignoring the rest of the CEF and heading straight for Reed.

"Hahahaha!" Reed screamed, laughing once again as a sword stabbed through his

chest. Blood poured out. "Guwhhhh..."

The bastards of the CEF. Their bishops were the biggest problem.

The motherfuckers just never died.

Another blade came rushing straight at him, tearing a hole through his neck.

Then another pierced his left foot, and another his right. Reed let his blood

pour out the entire time while a magic circle formed in the sky.

"[Axis]"

A massive chunk of mana was expended.

"[Retribution]"

The thousands of swords coming his way stopped mere centimeters from his skin.

Frozen. Completely stopped. Within a second, they spun around and flew back the

way they had come.

It was the grandest spell of the members of the Order: the hijacking of any kind

of magic. Retribution, the perfect mirror.

For Reed, it went a step beyond. He could sometimes control the redirected spell

even better—certainly better than some hack who needed a base like a tattoo to

cast magic.

The swords shot outward, some turning and twisting back, finding their way into

the necks and heads of the remaining mafiosi.

While others shot straight down, seeking out Lorenzo.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

They drove into the ground over and over.

And finally.

Blood spurted from thin air.

A small, round magical device with lettered rings around it fell to the ground,

and with a gaping hole in his chest, Lorenzo collapsed beside it.

"Gah..."

Lorenzo bled out.

—CLANG CLANG CLANG.

Three more swords struck him—piercing his back, hands, and legs.

Lorenzo, gasping for every breath, looked at Reed. No, he was looking past the

bishop, at the remaining Torville members.

Tears welled up in his eyes before his gaze hardened and settled on the bishop.

"I..." he muttered with his final breaths, "I took... revenge..."

Reed chuckled.

Lorenzo breathed his last as Reed looked around. Swords were still impaled in

Reed’s own body. As Lorenzo’s mana drifted away along with his soul, the spell

he had conjured also crumbled into dust.

Reed collapsed to the ground, his eyes still wide.

"Evil... I will... Haha! My forefathers, I found it all!"

There was no reviving the fallen soldiers anymore. Two were dead. The rest were

still alive, so he still had his forces—they were just no longer unkillable.

As for himself...

A small vial worn around his neck like a necklace shattered into tiny pieces.

Divine energy flooded his body, and all of his gaping wounds began to

regenerate. Flesh reached for flesh, clinging together across the massive gashes

until they joined and made him whole.

It was the last resort of a bishop. It would be deeply unfair for them to simply

heal and then die—any enemy could defeat the CEF that way. No, they would have

to kill a bishop twice.

And so, he rose back to his feet.

"Lord Reed!" "Sir Bishop..."

The CEF soldiers ran toward him and helped him up. Reed accepted their support

for only a second before waving them away.

He walked over and grabbed the Obscurer.

Not a single thought about the Torville gang he had just massacred entered his

mind. The Consigliere had died thinking he had avenged his friends, but it

didn’t matter. A dying breath was just that—nothing more, nothing less.

Reed inspected the Obscurer carefully.

"They use this to pass through the forest," he muttered, arriving at the most

logical conclusion. "The evil witch and her lapdogs... Hah. Come hither."

"Lord Reed," a knight said, stopping him. "We should wait for the rest of our

forces..."

"No." Reed shook his head. The CEF soldiers, loyal as they were, huddled close

to him, ignoring their two fallen comrades.

Click.

Mana flowed into the orb.

The Obscurer activated.