Mash was standing behind Red along with the other two. All of them were in a conference room of sorts, the three eldest members of the Linwood family sitting in front of them. The lord of the household was known as Albert Linwood, and he was an imposing man. Somehow, Mash had missed that earlier, but seeing him sit in what looked like a wooden throne, the man seemed much more the overbearing emperor. His clothes weren’t anything fancy, but he felt more like a noble now. Or maybe Mash was just projecting because of his suspicions.

Either way, he had Priscilla start preparing some magic. If things came down to it, he could probably stun them long enough for the rest of his group to respond. Thinking about it he informed the others through a mental message.

He couldn’t get a response from them but knew that they would be quick enough to react with just that much forewarning. Red stood confidently, ready to present her case. She was going to use her position to her advantage, making it seem like she was truly angry and vengeful. It was something she had already revealed to them and would hopefully lead to the situation escalating quickly. She started by asking a very pointed question.

“Why did you poison Rebecca?”

The accusation in her tone was quite obvious, and Mash thought she did a good job of projecting her anger. She was really good at lying, and he wondered if her race change had anything to do with it. He didn’t know much about intelligent undead, and nobody else would have any better information. Liches weren’t really open to conversation, and intelligent undead tended to be too dangerous to learn things about. making sure that people didn’t find out about Red’s race would be extremely important.

Mash’s eyes were focused on the lord, and he noticed the slightest shift in the mana around the man. It wasn’t an attack, but he was preparing for something. Mash matched the man’s mana preparing his own attack but stopped when he heard Edward speak.

“You dare accuse my father of poisoning his own daughter! Do you even-“

Edward really was the angry type, and some veins bulged on his forehead, as he rose to his feet. Mash didn’t feel any mana radiating off of him though and guessed that he wasn’t planning on actually fighting. Robert just stared dumbly at his father. That seemed like a good sign, and Mash sent a message to the others.

Mental communication was proving just as useful as he would have expected, and he conveyed the information to the others. He didn’t know if they had noticed, but he wasn’t missing any details with his draconic domain. Watching things like the movements of someone’s face and mana was extremely easy. He had a good situation of what was happening, though it still felt like a toss-up between Edward and Albert. So, he prepared to fight both of them if needed. Red cut off Edward during his tirade, speaking words that seemed to freeze the man.

“Do you really think I would be here if anything else was the case? We went to the demon lands and know that your father is working with them. How do you think they keep getting into the village? Why hasn’t he dealt with it?”

Her head turned towards Edward for part of her words, and Mash noticed the hesitation dashing across his face. Edward wouldn’t trust them automatically, but Red had adopted the role of someone who cared deeply about his sister, and Mash himself had some credibility in the town. Furthermore, he had experienced firsthand the nastiness of the demons and would be more inclined to believe them. There was clearly a conflict in Edward’s mind, but it had also become clear that Robert trusted them. Taking the risk, Mash sent him a message and made sure his friends received it too.

In Mash’s mind, everyone he could get would be a valuable ally, and he hoped that Edward would join them. From the way things were going, he expected that Edward would join them but wasn’t sure yet. Hearing Red’s questions, he thought that she didn’t see him as the culprit. Trusting her, he turned his attention and focus entirely on the lord. It finally looked like he was ready to respond.

“You lay all this accusation on me, without even the smallest bit proof. It sounds like you have little more than speculation.”

That reaction told Mash all he needed. Those words condemned the man. The only people that asked for and expected proof were those that were guilty. Also, it was only those who understood the laws that said things like that. This situation was outside the laws, and words like that didn’t really provide any defense. They didn’t actually need any proof. Mash noticed Edward’s face turn towards his father, and the lord seemed to notice his mistake. How had he done something so foolish, shouldn’t a man like that be more capable?

He noticed Red smirk slightly and guessed that she had baited him somehow. He didn’t know what she could have done, but the argument had quickly turned into an interrogation. Edward’s questioning gaze added to their side, and Mash knew that the fight was coming.

“Why Rebecca?”

Robert’s voice was a mix of sadness and anger, and Mash saw tears beginning to form in his eyes. Those two words ended up being the start of the fight, as Mash felt the lord’s mana swell. That was his cue, and he let out a blast of blinding lightning. It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone but would sting anyone’s eyes. The lord’s attack delayed slightly, and it was enough time for Robert to ram a fist in his father’s side. There was a resounding explosion from the attack, and Mash wondered if the attack would kill the elderly man.

The old man was sent crashing through the wall behind, straight out of the house and into the nearby hill. The flowers got crushed under some of the falling rock, but the lord actually seemed unharmed. He didn’t even land on his back, and it seemed like the punch had been little more than a shove. The old man held his hand forward, and Mash saw black lightning crackle across it. That actually made Mash relax, as lightning was something he could handle.

Mash had already begun turning into his dragon form, knowing that the man would be stronger than the black demons. He was even more powerful than the twins and holding back was an obvious mistake. Mash heard some steps coming from the rest of the building but ignored them as he jumped at the old man. The old man threw his lightning at him, and Mash brushed it aside with one of his wings. They were indeed a lot more durable now, but the lighting still managed to singe his soul. He was surprised that it had managed even that and would need to warn the others.

First, he would push the old man back. Preparing to punch the man as Robert had earlier, Mash watched as the old man prepared to catch the blow. Mash was confident that the man couldn’t handle his strength, but he didn’t even need to contest with him directly. Jill appeared within his domain, and he could tell what she was doing easily. Letting her magic bypass his defenses, he appeared beside the old man. The lord’s eyebrows rose slightly, and he tried reacting, but he wasn’t fast enough. In reality, he only had a golden body and wasn’t as strong as Mash was physically, especially when he was in his dragon form. He certainly wasn’t as fast, and Mash’s fist slammed into the man’s rib. There was a cracking sound, though the old man had actually managed to jump with the blow. Mash swung while turning his body and sent the man toward Red and Luke.

Even if they weren’t as strong as the man physically, they were close though and both had magic that ignored most defenses. The old man wasn’t completely defenseless though, and his body was wrapped in black flames. Which Luke matched with his own golden variety. Both Red and Luke prepared to attack the human projectile that was the lord. That ended up being pointless too, as Jill appeared behind the two of them. She teleported them again, this time she just moved them so that they would be beside the man rather than in front of him. The old man couldn’t do much to respond as both Luke and Red attacked him.

The golden flames clashed with the black ones, and the man’s veins burst as Red’s blood pierced his skin. The man tumbled to the side, rolling against the ground. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and jumped at Jill. He had realized who was making the fight difficult, but he would have had a better chance of hitting the stars. Jill was already on the opposite side of the battlefield, and Robert instead jumped the man. Robert was surrounded by fire much like his father, though his fires were colored normally. The pure flame clashed with the blacked one as Robert ignored the damage to attack his father.

Mash was tempted to help, but Jill appeared before him and held her palm towards him. He felt a strong desire to ignore the gesture and realized that his pride was overwhelming him. Dismissing his transformation, he listened as she spoke quickly, all the while watching the fight.

“Edward asked to let him, and his brother handle it for now. Let’s give them the chance, I think they need it.”

Mash nodded watching as Edward run behind his father, floating metal swords spiraling around him. His father yelled and the fire pulsed out from him, and the wounds he had sustained seemed to be healing. Edward ignored the fire, forming a clone in front of him to block the blow. He didn’t give his father the chance to heal. He grabbed one of the floating blades and swung it with extreme precision. An obviously smooth and practiced strike, it seemed to part the flames as it cut through his father’s arm. It sliced through his ribs too, and the arm fell to the ground.

The old man seemed stunned for a second, before looking at his son. Mash could have sworn he saw a bit of pride in that gaze. The old man wasn’t done yet and reached towards Edward with his good hand. His back was turned towards Robert though, and a flaming fist punched through his chest. The lord didn’t even look down at the wound, instead resting his hand atop Edward’s shoulder. He said something, but it was too quiet for Mash to hear. A second later, Robert tore his hand out of his father’s chest. The old man’s body fell towards Edward, who grabbed it and slowly lowered it to the ground. He never really had a chance, the man was too old to handle his much more capable children.

At this point, both Edward and Robert were shedding tears. In the distance Mash could make out other people. They had finally noticed what was happening. The whole fight had only lasted a few minutes if that, and most people wouldn't even know that there had been a fight. Although they would catch on pretty quickly.

The ground had been ruined, and the building had a hole in it. Not to mention the twins clutching their dead father. Mash started walking towards the twins, though he stopped when he felt something shift in his domain. A second later the world shifted, and he was surrounded by darkness.