At night, the dream came again.

  The same as before… but now much clearer.

  I was standing again on dead, black earth.

  All around me—demon shadows, hundreds. Thousands.

  They came at me like a wave, and I… cut them down.

  Lightning.

  Ice.

  Whirlwinds.

  A power that tore them apart.

  But now I could see everything more clearly.

  One demon jumped—and I split it in half.

  Another—and I drove ice through its head.

  But then…

  the shadows began to change.

  Huge claws vanished.

  Wings fell away.

  Horns withdrew.

  And instead of demons, there were people standing in front of me.

  Soldiers.

  Academy students.

  Women.

  Old men.

  Children.

  And I kept killing anyway.

  No difference.

  No hesitation.

  No emotions.

  Demon. Human. What’s the difference?

  I felt only one thing—the urge to keep going.

  I wanted to stop.

  To scream.

  But my body wouldn’t listen.

  My hand struck again—and a person fell like a doll.

  A scream that sounded like Finn’s voice.

  A groan that sounded like Reinar.

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  Strangers’ faces—and my own breathing, cold as ice.

  I killed everyone.

  Everyone.

  And I didn’t… care.

  — Zen! — someone was shaking me.

  I opened my eyes.

  Haras was in front of me. Huge, anxious, tense.

  — Are you okay? — his voice was quiet, like he was afraid to wake me the wrong way. — Your amulet… it was glowing so brightly it lit up the whole camp.

  — A nightmare, — I said.

  And lay back down again.

  Haras wanted to say something… but didn’t.

  I closed my eyes.

  Their voices whispered in the dark—Haras, Seteya, Norris:

  — Norris… I think something’s wrong with him. At night he… grits his teeth like an animal.

  — I know, — Norris said quietly. — And the amulet… it shouldn’t be glowing like that.

  Seteya stayed silent.

  But her silence was worse than any words.

  We had been riding for several hours already.

  I tried not to listen to their whispers.

  But I heard them.

  Every word.

  And then, about a hundred meters ahead, I felt movement.

  Not demons.

  People.

  — An ambush, — I said calmly. — Humans.

  Everyone tensed at once.

  Norris stopped the group with a gesture:

  — Don’t kill them. Humans will be dealt with by Haras, Seteya, and me. The rest—stand still.

  He turned to me:

  — How many?

  I listed them evenly, without emotion:

  — Ten.

  Two mages—one a healer, the other water, weak.

  One archer.

  Four novice swordsmen.

  One swordsman in heavy armor.

  And… one in black gear.

  Like ours.

  That one.

  Norris’s face changed instantly.

  — You’re sure?

  — Yes.

  Haras gripped his axe tighter:

  — Black uniform. Heavy armor… That’s very bad.

  I asked just as coldly:

  — Should I kill them?

  Their reaction was… icy.

  Seteya’s face changed first:

  — Kill them? Do you even understand what it means to kill a human?

  I thought.

  Bandits in childhood…

  The ones I killed without even thinking.

  Were they human?

  Bad people—yes.

  But were they human?

  — They’re… not human, — I said quietly. — If they stand in the way—it doesn’t matter. The bad ones die. What’s the problem?

  The silence was so thick it was like the air had turned to glass.

  They looked at me like I was a monster.

  Norris only said:

  — No.

  — Stand and watch.

  We kept riding as if we suspected nothing.

  From above—water rushed down.

  From the front—another surge.

  They wanted to knock us off our horses.

  No one even flinched.

  Haras caught an arrow with his hand.

  — Predictable, — he muttered, snapping the arrow in half.

  Three swordsmen stepped forward, and the one in black with them.

  Behind—four novices.

  Seteya vanished.

  She appeared behind the three swordsmen—and struck three times.

  They all went down.

  Haras hit with the blunt side of his axe—and the knight in heavy armor flew into a tree, cracking the bark.

  The remaining swordsmen dropped to their knees:

  — Mercy!

  — We surrender!

  — Don’t kill us!

  Norris walked up.

  — Who hired you?

  The talk was short.

  Demons bribed them.

  They were supposed to kill everyone heading south.

  Haras raised his fist—and struck each of them on the head.

  — Go home.

  — If anyone finds out—I’ll find you.

  They ran so fast they dropped their weapons.

  Meanwhile, Seteya climbed a tree and shoved the healer down.

  He hit the ground with a shriek.

  Haras dragged the water mage out of the bushes by the collar:

  — Who were you trying to wash away?

  — M-mercy! — the mage screamed. — I’ll go to the front line! I swear! I swear!!!

  — Go, — Norris said. — Or Seteya will carve you up.

  The survivors ran so fast they lost their shoes.

  Only one remained—the black knight.

  He was lying unconscious.

  — Astra, wake him, — Norris ordered.

  Astra walked up and lightly touched him with her electro-magic.

  He jerked awake:

  — AAA! Where am I? Who—

  — RIBS!!!

  — SIDE!!!

  — WHAT THE—

  He saw Haras.

  Then Silver.

  Then Norris.

  His face turned pale.

  — I-it’s… it’s you?..

  — I really have terrible luck today…

  Norris walked up in silence.

  The knight understood.

  — N-no, wait! I’ll explain! I was forced! I—

  The blow was fast, clean, precise.

  And it was over.