Since Evelyn’s confession four hours ago, she locked herself in her room and cried. Ryner stayed away from her and worked on getting his emotions under control. His expressionless mask slipped off while she was talking and he showed her an embarrassing face. Just remembering it put him in a foul mood. Seeing as how meditating didn’t do him any good, he decided to go vent his frustration. The Avalon had arrived at its destination, so he headed out to retrieve the second Heaven’s Blade. Leaving Evelyn a short message of where he was going, he picked up Mi, who had been quietly sitting next to him, and went for the hangar.

Using his plane, he reached the ground and started walking. There was no one around, so he wasn’t seen on this open plain. His target was still a fair distance away, according to the golden globe. When he pressed on the white dot, the surface rippled like water and the engravings changed. It zoomed in, showing him his location with more accuracy. Using it, he knew where he was going. Furthermore, Motyx had told him who currently possessed the Heaven’s Blades, so he had an idea of what he was looking for.

Led by the globe, he headed straight for a remote village where his weapon as well as the current owner awaited.

“Rick, you sure this is ok? We could have kept some for ourselves or sold them.” [Mercenary]

A mercenary in worn-out light armor asked as he tossed the body of a woman with torn clothes in the pile of corpses. Others were doing the same as they gathered the dead and set them aflame.

“It is. Keep cleaning up.” [Rick]

“You’re the boss.” [Mercenary]

Their leader, who was sitting on a broken wooden pillar, said and waved him away, telling him to get back to work. Despite his clothes and armor as well as his robust body that gave him a wild air, his well-trimmed beard and neat hair made him look like a dandy middle-aged man. His hair was black and his eyes were green. Although he was lazing about, confidence was oozing out of him.

“But why’d we attack this village anyway? We aren’t running low on food or money. They don’t have much of value either. The women weren’t too bad though.” [Mercenary]

“Someone asked me to and that’s why we did it.” [Rick]

“That really strong and scary someone? When are you gonna tell us who it is?” [Mercenary]

“If that someone ever wants to meet you. Until then, shut up and do your job, or you’ll wake up without a head someday. They’re strong and scary for a reason. Now go and pick up the meat around here. The smell is killing me.” [Rick]

Doing as he was told, the subordinate went to pick up another body. He looked around at his surroundings as he walked through the broken path. What was once a peaceful village was now a sea of blood and fire. All of the fifteen houses were pillaged for food and valuables. Most were destroyed and set ablaze. Some were still crumbling and puffing out black smoke from their remains. Debris littered the streets as well as corpses that were torn up. Many were shredded to pieces, making the cleanup job more gruesome and disgusting.

Most of this scene was their handy work. Although they were mercenaries, when there weren’t any jobs and they were in need of money, they would change their occupation to bandit. Peaceful times were hard for men like them who made a living by fighting. Of course, they could go to the frontlines in the war against the demons, but none of them planned on dying. The only one among their group of sixty that was confident of returning alive was their boss. Unlike them, he was S rank and had a very powerful Artifact.

“We’ve got survivors!” [Mercenary]

Someone suddenly yelled, though his voice didn’t have much tension. Five people, two men, two women and one small boy, were on the run. They were hiding behind what used to be their neighbor’s house, but were found. With fear covering their faces, they pushed their legs to move as fast as possible.

“I got this.” [Rick]

The boss of their gang declared as he stood up and picked up the weapon next to him. It was a black bow. It was his Artifact, the weapon that allowed him to stand at the top as the boss. He raised his bow and aimed for the escaping villagers. When his men saw him, they all hurried to get away from his line of fire and take cover. The bow expanded and became a longbow. The string stretched to its new size without problem. The mercenary leader took a deep breath and pulled the string back. A black, shimmering line was formed, taking the place of an arrow. The next moment, he exhaled and released the string.

The strange arrow was set loose and instantly split into numerous projectiles. A single black line became a rain of darkness as the deadly storm caught up to the targets. The villagers couldn’t defend against this onslaught and were repeatedly pierced all over their bodies. The black arrows tore through their clothes, flesh and bones, drilling holes into them and ripping their limbs off. When the storm suddenly disappeared like smoke, what were left were pools of blood and chunks of meat. No one could tell how many just died from looking at the remains.

“You guys got more to clean up now. Get to it so we can leave.” [Rick]

When he saw how he utterly destroyed the villagers, Rick smiled to himself and shrunk his bow. Then, he relaxed his stance and casually ordered his men to dispose of the corpses. He sat back down, put his treasured bow next to him and took out a pipe to smoke. The other mercenaries quickly got to work again. They didn’t want to anger him and fall prey to his ridiculous magic bow.

“Damn. Wished I could do something as crazy as that.” [Mercenary]

“Rick will kill you if you touch his Artifact. He’s an S rank and he doesn’t joke around.” [Mercenary]

“I know. I meant I’d like to be able to do something like that with magic. Shoot unlucky bastards full of holes from a distance as a magician.” [Mercenary]

“Magic? Magician? You were born with a rank E mana pool and you can’t beat a rank D. Hell, you’ve got zero control and can’t even use basic body strengthening. You’re not a magic user or a magician. You’re damn useless.” [Mercenary]

“Why don’t you keep that mouth shut or I’LL SHUT IT FOR GOOD, YOU PIECE OF SH-!” [Mercenary]

“BRING IT ON, FU-!” [Mercenary]

“YOU TWO! SHUT UP AND WORK!” [Mercenary]

While the mercenaries were burning corpses, buildings and checking their loots, they carefreely talked to each other.

“Say, why does Rick not want to take on bigger jobs? Us Black Crescent mercenaries would become way more famous if he showed off that magic bow more often. Instead, we’re stuck doing little jobs and making sure no one sees our strength. Well, Rick’s Artifact.” [Mercenary]

“That’s just how he does things. Likes to keep a low profile, he said. You were told how we do things before joining.” [Mercenary]

“I’m not saying we should get hired to deal with demons, hell no. The countries in the west will figure something out. But, there’s a civil war going on in the north. We could make a killing there, whether we join the rebels or the king’s side. And it’s gotta be tough to keep sixty men fed on small-time jobs.” [Mercenary]

“That’s why we’re raiding villages when we’re short on money. Ah, I just did this girl. That’s a nasty cut she’s got. Could barely recognize her.” [Mercenary]

“Pfft. You raped this brat? I prefer the busty ones with a nice, plump ass.” [Mercenary]

“She said she was sixteen, so she’s actually an adult… And I did her mother too. You were there, genius.” [Mercenary]

While everyone was steadily doing their work to make it look like a village was burned to the ground, those on lookouts rushed to report to their leader.

“Rick, there’s a man coming over here. What do we do?” [Mercenary]

Rick took a puff of his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“What I keep telling you to do. If someone saw us while we’re doing a job for my ‘friend’, then he doesn’t leave alive.” [Rick]

“Got it!” [Mercenary]

The three mercenaries rushed back in the direction they came from with their weapons drawn. Their leader saw them off while smoking and patting his beloved bow. A few moments later, something came crashing down from the sky and rolled on the ground in front of him, ruining his peaceful time. It was his subordinate who was still twitching despite having his broken face covered in blood.

“R-RICK! HELP!” [Mercenary]

All of the mercenaries turned to the hoarse and frightened voice calling for help. They dropped the loot or corpse that they were carrying and pulled out their weapons as their instantly readied for combat. There, slowly walking towards them was Ryner who held a dead man in one hand and a live one in the other. He stopped and took a look around, ignoring the tense and bloodthirsty atmosphere. Boredom and exasperation were present in his ever sleepy eyes.

“… Guess you guys had found in this village.” [Ryner]

He released the man that he was holding by the neck. The mercenary dashed off towards his boss as quickly as he could.

“R-R-Rick! This bastard! He kill-!” [Mercenary]

“Yeah, I can see it.” [Rick]

Rick tossed his pipe away and grabbed his bow as he stood up. When Ryner saw the black weapon, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I’d like you to, well, hand over that bow unconditionally, if it’s not too much trouble.” [Ryner]

He said in a carefree manner to which Rick snorted in ridicule.

“Oh? You picked a fight with us, killed my men and now you’re gonna steal my Artifact?” [Rick]

The mercenary leader asked as he expanded his bow to a longbow.

“No. I don’t sell fights, I buy them. Your men wanted to kill me, so I just accepted the challenge. Also, I didn’t say I was gonna steal it.” [Ryner]

Ryner raised his hand and pointed at the Heaven’s Blade that the mercenary leader was holding.

“I told you to hand it over unconditionally.” [Ryner]

His voice that lowered a pitch caused a chill to go down the backs of every man present and some nervously gulped. Even Rick, who was S rank and was given an incredible magic bow, felt pressured by this unassuming man.

“Too bad, but this is mine. I could sell it to you, but I expect a mountain of gold in exchange.” [Rick]

He forced himself to smile and joke around. His confidence hadn’t wavered.

“I’m not in the mood right now because of this and that. Just give it back.” [Ryner]

“Back? I told you it’s mine. And besides…” [Rick]

Rick pulled back the string and a black arrow appeared. His subordinates already got out of the way.

“You’re not walking out of here alive.” [Rick]

The moment he spoke those words, one of his men, who was bravely and stealthily circling behind Ryner, pounced on him. With his sword that was strengthened with his B rank mana pool, he planned on stabbing him through the heart to obtain the achievement. However, just as he got in range, Ryner lightly raised his dead comrade in front of him without taking his eyes off Rick. The sword dug into corpse. When the mercenary hurriedly tried to pull it out and launch another attack, Ryner dropped the corpse and his hand jumped to his throat.

“K-kah!” [Mercenary]

The mercenary, weaponless, struggled in his grip as he tried to get him to let go.

“Are you picking a fight with me?” [Ryner]

Ryner, ignoring his captive who couldn’t breathe properly, asked their leader while tilting his head.

“… Isn’t it obvious?” [Rick]

Rick replied, but he was a bit nervous because of how easily his B rank subordinate was handled.

“(So a B rank’s powerless against him… This guy might be S rank like me… I need to kill him in one hit.)” [Rick]

He guessed that his opponent had quite the large mana pool and was probably A, no, S rank. Like him, he was one of the blessed that was born with the power to stand at the top.

“Wait! Boss, he’s got T-!“ [Mercenary]

Ignoring his subordinate’s panicked voice, Rick let loose the black arrow. The magical projectile turned into countless arrows, like a storm of huge, black needles. Ryner, who reacted when the initial arrow was fired, pulled out the White Wing from his pocket dimension. He set it up in front of him and a barrier of light appeared, blocking the countless arrows.

“What?!” [Rick]

For the first time in a while, Rick was surprised and his eyes grew wide. His subordinates were in an uproar and were also staring in disbelief. His attack that slaughtered countless failed and the man took out from nowhere that beautiful white sword.

“So you’ve got an Artifact too… And it actually stopped my arrows…” [Rick]

Standing calmly under their cautious and somewhat scared stares, Ryner lowered his sword and cancelled the barrier.

“You know, this is pretty good timing.” [Ryner]

He said casually, causing Rick to watch him quizzically as he pulled the string back.

“I need to vent some stress right now and this is the perfect chance to do so. That’s why, with all my heart, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!” [Ryner]

He threw the mercenary that was still struggling in his grip at Rick. The human became a high speed projectile that could break through a stone wall. His leader reacted instantly and let loose another black storm. Abandoned, the brave man who dared to sneak up on Ryner was pulverized by the arrows that could puncture steel. The deadly rain continued unimpeded and closed in on Ryner who once more raised his sword. The barrier protected him like before.

Once all of the black projectiles disappeared, he swung his sword horizontally. A blade of light that was more than ten meter long cut everything in its path. Pillars, walls and buildings were cut through like butter. The mercenaries that couldn’t react in time were sliced in two. Their halves gushed out blood and fell to the ground with a wet sound as innards flowed out. Those that survived either jumped or ducked under the deadly light by reflex. The surroundings grew quiet as they stared in shock at the instant devastation that magic sword brought.

“That takes care of the slow ones. Feel like giving it back?” [Ryner]

“… Don’t screw with me… DON’T SCREW WITH ME!!” [Rick]

Witnessing more than half of his men dying so easily, Rick, who escaped unharmed, instantly switched gears. No longer handling the situation calmly, his expression was fierce and his back was drenched in cold sweat. He didn’t know where that man got it from, but that Artifact had a dangerous reach. His bow wasn’t the only long-range weapon. Without pause, he proceeded to unleash storm after storm furiously at his opponent.

His men had broken out of their shock and were either backing away or running away. The first bunch was still willing to fight and was waiting to jump in and assist. The second batch was screaming with some falling down and even crying as they took cover behind him. He would need to get rid of them later, but right now, he needed to focus on the one in front of him.

“(What the hell!? What the hell!? How come I never heard of such a powerful magic sword!?)” [Rick]

“Stop shooting and give me back my bow, idiot!” [Ryner]

His unceasing rains of arrows were being utterly stopped by a shimmering wall of light. In the sea of black needles, a point of shimmering white light was visible, telling him that he wouldn’t win until he snuffed it out.

“(Who is this guy!? Walking around with something like that! Don’t those damn idiots in the Order know about him?!)” [Rick]

“Why the hell do you look like a buffed up butler anyway?! You should have an eyepatch, you thief! And be bald!!” [Ryner]

“SHUUUT UUUUPPP!!!” [Rick]

Although Rick was internally panicking at how futile his attacks seemed to be, they did have an effect. The barrier was gradually crumbling under the relentless onslaught as the White Wing stopped hundreds of arrows from its sister without rest.

“(Damn, Motyx really did good work…)” [Ryner]

Ryner, knowing this, ran to the side and broke through the window of a house that had been pillaged, but was left relatively intact. Not knowing what he was up to, Rick kept raining death on him.

“Eh?! Wai-!” [Mercenary]

“Gyaah!” [Mercenary]

Some of his men, who were in his line of fire, got caught up in the attack and turned into chunks of meat, but he didn’t even flinch and focused all his senses on the building. The bricks couldn’t weather the black storm. The structure was crumbling as the walls and ceilings came crashing down. Then, the attack stopped.

“Tch!” [Rick]

It wasn’t by Rick’s will. Although he pulled back the bowstring, no new arrow took shape. Whenever this happened, he needed to wait for a while. His Artifact was powerful since he could fire over a hundred arrows in an instant, all of them possessing enough force to go through steel armor. However, it couldn’t keep creating and firing indefinitely.

The mercenary leader had cut loose too much to eliminate the man that had that white Artifact as quickly as possible. As he waited after overusing his Artifact, he drew his sword with his right hand and vigilantly watched the collapsed building. His men, who kept a wide berth during the shootout, gulped and fixatedly stared at what was left of the house.

Then-

“I saaaaiiidd…” [Ryner]

They heard a whirring noise as well as that man’s voice that actually came from behind them.

The mercenaries, who had put all their attention on the house, didn’t notice when he got to their backs. They hastily turned their heads just in time to see the large, cylindrical object on his waist breathe fire.

“GIVE. IT. BACK!!!” [Ryner]

The minigun he held by his right side with his two hands rapidly fired exploding bullets at the mercenaries. Its nine barrels rotated without stop as it spit out small flames, piercing sounds and deadly steel. The mercenaries screamed in pain as they dropped one by one like flies because of the unknown weapon. The bullets tore through their flesh and riddled them with holes. Those that couldn’t completely penetrate their targets exploded. Some B ranks and a few A ranks that used body strengthening suffered such a fate as the explosives smashed their bodies.

“GUH-!” [Mercenary]

“AAAAAHHH!!” [Mercenary]

“What the fuc-!!” [Mercenary]

The battle hardened men who fought for money were powerless before this sudden barrage. It looked similar to what their boss did against their enemies, but this time, they were on the receiving end. Ryner sprayed bullets everywhere without minding how quickly he went through his ammunition. He wore a large backpack that contained bullets for his weapon which had an ammunition belt linking it to the backpack.

“Hii! Sav-!“ [Mercenary]

“RIIIICCKK!! DO SOMET-!!” [Mercenary]

The mercenaries, fallen into panic, ran around to escape or took cover behind the buildings. The exploding bullets mercilessly mowed down everything in their paths. Rick, who crouched behind the pillar he sat on, was forced to endure since his cover was blown away. His S rank mana pool fiercely fueled his body strengthening spell and allowed him to survive the attack. However, his tough body was being peppered by small explosions over and over again. He couldn’t withstand the tempest forever.

After what felt like an eternity, though it lasted less than thirty seconds, the minigun stopped firing and the barrels slowed down until they no longer spun, smoking hot from the shootout.

“Still alive? Shoulda guessed. People from here aren’t half-bad.” [Ryner]

Casually standing in the devastated village, Ryner dropped the minigun and took off the backpack.

“*Cough* … You… What the hell was that…?” [Rick]

Rick, who was down on one knee, asked as he groped for his black bow that he put behind him. It wasn’t destroyed during the attack and just that gave him the strength to stand up. With a quick look at his surroundings, he knew he was the only one left. Most of his subordinates couldn’t be identified anymore. The lucky ones still had their heads and torsos intact, or at least their heads.

“This was a great way to vent stress, but I need to get going now.” [Ryner]

Once Ryner, who ignored his question, put his weapon in his pocket dimension, he calmly walked towards him.

“I have to deal with an unexpected idiot after this.” [Ryner]

Rick, who was taking deep breaths and checking how much mana he had left, jumped back and pulled the bowstring in the air. As he expected, the Artifact finished recharging and a black arrow was formed. Just as he let loose another black storm, Ryner ran to the side with inhuman speed to dodge and threw something at him. The mercenary leader stepped to the side and the object deeply impaled itself in the ground right next to him. When he saw that it was the White Wing, his eyes opened wide for a second and his surprised expression was replaced by a gleeful smile.

“Are you dumb?! Throwing me your Artifact!” [Rick]

While mocking his opponent, his hand went for the powerful magic sword that could stop his arrows and slice his subordinates with light. The moment he gripped the handle, he felt the familiar pulse that every Artifact possessed as power flowed into him. However, the next moment…

“GUUUUAAAAAH! *Cough cough* Arrrrggh… *Cough*” [Rick]

He suddenly threw up blood. All over his body, his flesh tore open and his bones creaked. He fell to his knees and dropped both Artifacts to the ground. His expression was a mix of shock and agony.

“Guh! Uhh… This… The hell…?” [Rick]

“That’s what happens when you use two Heaven’s Blades.” [Ryner]

A nonchalant voice answered his silent query. When he looked up, he saw Ryner standing before him.

“It’s forbidden.” [Ryner]

He said as he looked down on him with his half-closed eyes. At some point, a green and black scythe was in his hands. In a split second, he swung it at the defenseless mercenary’s neck, causing him to fly off to the side and roll on the ground. A gust of wind accompanied his swing and blew the dirt and debris around him away.

“Yeah. You’re tough. Then again, Wind Reaper’ wind doesn’t cut as well as White Wing’s light. Wonder I should try it next…” [Ryner]

Calmly, lazily, the man who murdered sixty men in five minutes picked up the white sword and black bow, and walked towards his prey. Rick, who was bleeding at the side of his neck, groaned in pain and struggled to get on his back.

“(My, my bow. Without it, I can’t fight.)” [Rick]

Then, he searched his pants’ pocket and pulled out a round medallion that fitted snuggly in his palm. A crest was drawn on it. It was the crest of those he served. He crushed it in his grip and the pieces fell to the ground.

“Watcha doing there?” [Ryner]

Right at that moment, the grim reaper showed up, squatting and watching him curiously.

“… Heh… Hehe…” [Rick]

His heart nearly stopped from fright, but Rick forced himself to laugh. His pride and utter confidence in his bow were completely crushed by this man.

“* Cough* … Whoever you are, you can’t win… You just messed with the Black Crescent mercenary group…” [Rick]

Still, wanting the last laugh, he squeezed out his words as blood steadily flowed out from his wounds.

“I’m pretty sure there’s no more group.” [Ryner]

Ryner pointed with his thumb at what remained of his subordinates.

“Yeah… Maybe… But not us… Others will search for who wiped us out… They gave me my bow… And I obey them… They’ll find you… Definitely… AND KILL YOU, BRAT!!!” [Rick]

Although badly injured, Rick was still an S rank and punched his worse foe with inhuman speed. However, without changing his sleepy-looking expression, Ryner easily caught his last ditch attack and threw him in the air. The last Black Crescent mercenary landed hard on the ground, but didn’t receive much damage. He struggled to get back on his feet and was on all fours. Then, he noticed that, for some reason, there was a red and white puppy looking at him. He thought it might be one of the villagers’ pet and that it somehow survived.

“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!” [Mi]

The annoying dog barked at him. Having lost his team, his bow and on the verge of being killed by some unknown, random man, Rick, gritting his teeth, grabbed a rock.

“RAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!” [Rick]

He roared at the injustice that befell him and raised his arm to throw the rock. But, Ryner, appearing behind him, stepped on his back, making him fall flat face first. The earth cracked because of the force that he exerted in his stomp.

“Touch my dog and I’ll rip your head off.” [Ryner]

The scythe scooped out the earth as it went under his neck from the side and lifted his head. The blade didn’t cut his skin because of his body strengthening, but he felt dread because the next moment, Ryner stepped on the back of his head.

“W-wait… You’re not-.” [Rick]

“Don’t call me a brat, you brat.” [Ryner]

The scythe’s blade dug into his throat as Ryner forcefully pressed his head down with his foot. It was too fast for him to put up a fight and his limbs only flailed about for a second. Wind was being released from the scythe’s blade, continuously cutting up his flesh. As he gurgled up blood, he stopped moving completely with his eyes wide open. The blade had sunk into half of his neck.

“… Ah.” [Ryner]

Ryner realized his mistake one beat too late.

“I forgot to grill him for info on who else would show up.” [Ryner]

He pulled his scythe up and beheaded the last mercenary. Then, from his pocket dimension, he took out one of the pieces of the medallion that Rick crushed, having collected them all after throwing him away.

“Damn it, Evie. You’re making me lose my cool.” [Ryner]

He muttered and scratched his head as he stared at the sky.

“Woof!” [Mi]

A bark and a running puppy interrupted his thoughts.

“… I thought I told you to stay behind? Suky didn’t train you well enough.” [Ryner]

He put away his scythe as well as the medallion’s piece and picked up Mi who ignored the dead bodies around her.

“Whatever, let’s go back to Avalon. I’ve calmed down a bit after getting in a fight. So, I need to talk to that idiot.” [Ryner]

He said and started walking out of the destroyed village.

“But, first…” [Ryner]

Then, he stopped, bent over and threw up.

“*Cough cough* … Uurgh, sorry you had to see that, kid… Okay… I’m alright now… Let’s go.” [Ryner]