(Max)

"Max!" Boss yells. "Come here!"

Me charge over to Boss, nearly run into him by accident.

"Hi, Boss!"

Stop wagging, stupid tail!

"Max," Boss's voice be very, very serious. This must be serious. "No goofing off today, okay? You need to focus on actually acquiring Levels right now. Braden, Gavin, and Luca are going to need the additional help during the fight against the Candy Beast, so don't goof around. Just fight the monsters, kill the stronger ones you can, and get stronger, okay?"

"But me like having fun chasing monsters!"

"I know," Boss tells me. "And you can do that later, after you four kill the Candy Beast, okay? But for now, focus on acquiring Levels rather than just having fun."

"Okay," me feel me ears and tail dropping. That not be fun. "Me will do that, Boss."

Me walk off, not very happy. Me understand Boss and why he be wanting me to do that, but still does not mean me have to be happy about it. Max need be stronger so that me can support me team much, much better. Boss be right that Candy Beast need us be higher Levels.

Lots of higher Levels. Me guess that be why Boss took us out here, since Candy Slimes and Candy Bunnies be stronger than the money slimes. Not by much, just a little bit.

Suppose me need remove tunic, so me pull it off and put it in me Inventory. Do the same with me boots, because they will get bloody, too, probably.

Oh. Not me. My boots. My tunic. Okay. That be better, right? Suppose me need to remove my tunic, so pull it off and put it in my Inventory, then do the same with my boots. Yeah, that sounds lots better and closer to what Boss says.

With those safely tucked away so they no get ruined from me – my – fighting, Max stretch. Hm. Boss said no goof around, but what if me still have fun, anyway? I know! Gold! Whoever be the one to kill the most Candy Bunnies and Candy Slimes starting now wins! Loser has to massage winner's back!

Gold not like idea of massaging my back. He says I need be get my tail under control so it not smack him. But his tail wags, too! But he be doggy beastborn, not wolfy beastborn, so he not really need stop tail from wagging. Doggy beastborn's tails don't stop wagging in excitement when they no longer kids.

Hrm.

Yeah, me guess can see why he not want to do a massage. Me not want to massage him, if his tail just gonna smack me because it be take him awhile to calm down at excitement of massage. Me no blame him for that, they help relieve tension and relax muscles.

Hrm.

Me look at Boss. He be tense all the time, yet he never have a massage. His muscles must be knotted up like crazy. Boss needs a massage to loosen up. Max bets Boss would be way more dangerous if he got one!

Stop. Suggest Boss get relaxing massage to loosen muscles later! You need think up a punishment for loser to do! No, Gold, me not going to agree to that. Because me no like that! How about loser be winner's servant for a day?

Right, he be has a job and bunches of others to watch. How about… well, that's stupid. It is! Me think we both be coming up with stupid ideas. How about loser has to give Boss a massage so that he's not so tense? Oh, yeah, then winner gets nothing. You be right, Gold.

Ooh! Loser has to bake winner a pie! Winner picks flavor. Must be good pie, not sabotaged! Yeah! Deal! Ready! Set! Kill!

Me drop to hands and knees and run towards nearest bunny, drawing knife and cutting through it. Woo! Me gonna make Gold bake me a blueberry-peach pie! No, you be baking me one! Hah! Me twist and send three Electric Spikes at the Red Candy Slime Gold be about to attack, killing it before he can!

Then me turn back and go to kill a Green Candy Slime, not moving fast enough to kill it before the Fireballs Gold sent do. Oh! Me could've used magic, huh? That be a little faster, too. Sometimes.

Darn it!

(Zack)

Well, that wasn't what I had in mind, but at least it's working. Poor Aurum, though, he just looks confused and lost by their sudden competition. I suppose he was too focused on killing that Pink Candy Slime to have actually noticed what was going on between the other two beastborn until they started attacking each other's targets.

That conversation was amusing, especially with all the images they were sending at each other. Apparently, they have tried giving each other massages before, to help them relax and loosen their muscles after all of their training. That's no doubt how they learned that their tails will smack the masseuse.

And both started thinking about how tense and knotted my muscles must be. They're right in that I'm tense all the time, but I have good reason to be. My team is constantly in danger. One wrong move by me, and Alexander will kill them.

At least I can relax a little bit, now that I know that he has turned the brother who will realize against him. But who is it? Big S said it's nothing to worry about, which was part of why he felt guilty over preventing me from knowing, but I'm still curious. There has to be more to the vision than Big S wants me to know.

I can't really find that out until things come to pass. I'll eventually learn who the brothers are, and since the one whose realization ends the war is Alexander's enemy, the war will end in our favor. At least, so long as the realizer doesn't somehow change sides. But Big S made it clear that won't happen, so I doubt it.

Turning my gaze back to Braden and Gavin, I find them hunting near each other, but not close enough to actually interfere with the other's fighting. Braden is keeping an eye on Gavin, supporting the warrior when needed.

Then there's Luca, who's moving about, buffing and healing as needed as he really tries to go for that Experience. He used the token immediately, and I'm curious how he knew how to, since I never told him. Speaking of stuff that works that way, I still have to give my team presents, like I did with Gold and Bryce.

Thinking of my brother depresses me again. I want to put him to rest, but Big Flame's told me to wait on trying to get into Kaelmar again. He says I can probably fight against the avatar equally or on superior terms, but that I should still grow even more powerful first, to ensure my victory. He also says I should wait until after the battle for the valley, but I'm not sure why. Apparently, he isn't, either. Big S told him to keep me from putting Bryce to rest until then.

Not from fighting the avatar, from putting my brother to rest, which… honestly annoys me. I guess it's to prevent Alexander from doing something else? I'm not sure. Big Flame did mention that Alexander is pretty pissed about me killing his second teammate. The third one's dying soon, too, and Alexander's moving his forces while gathering as many more as he can in order to take us out. We have no more than two months before the battle comes, but it could be as soon as a month.

I want to put Bryce to rest now, though. But I know it'll probably cause problems if I do, and that Big Flame will pull me into his temple to move me elsewhere, so I can't.

Argh!

All of the nearby monsters freeze up at my mental shout, and I sigh. This is why I moved a fair distance away from my team, drawing near only to talk with them, like with Max a minute ago. Me doing that would leech some of their Experience if they killed one affected soon after. And this isn't the first time I've done that, either. Not that my team would notice, though, because of where I am when I'm not interacting with them.

Something catches my attention, and I look further down the valley.

"They're here," I project to the Adventurers in the neutral zone.

My team isn't aware that others are here because of the 'neutral zone'. A Rank 5 Skill which Scholars can utilize is the Illusion Wall, which creates, well, an illusionary wall. They're one-sided – we can see through it just fine, but those on the other side? They see no Adventurers, and any fighting that happens is changed through the wall's appearance. They also can't hear through it, which means we can converse normally.

But with two dozen Dark Knights, a dozen Paladins, a dozen Priests, nine Scholars, twenty mages of five other types, and four rogues here, it's easier to just talk telepathically.

There are two Illusion Walls up, both created by Level 150+ Scholars, spanning the entire width of the pass. One of them is aimed at Maelnor, so that my team won't see or notice us, while the other is aimed down the pass, so that those coming won't see or notice us. The walls are being sustained by four Scholars each, who are drinking strong Mana Potions as needed.

"It looks like both expected parties are coming," I project. "Handle anything that gets past me, and make sure the guests are treated. They are no doubt exhausted after their fighting and journey."

They Adventurers nod, and I switch into Eidolon form. Demon Form is known, after all, so this is better. Even if they know there's a powerful kid around like me, the different form will temporarily throw them off.

In fact, it's caused some slight confusion with the Adventurers here, as most of them weren't aware I had another form.

I stretch out my wings, the flap them, soaring high up into the air. Before I pass through the Illusion Wall, I project my mind to the falcon soaring ahead. It's a familiar, and will report back if it passes through the wall or sees me. So I converse with it, convincing it I'm an ally and that it shouldn't mention me to its masters, before telling it to just soar in circles while avoiding going too far. I'm convincing enough that it won't tell its master there's anything suspicious.

That completed, I soar up even more, then fly forward, moving as fast as I can towards the travelers, which are still a few miles away.

There is a small party in the front, with an older man dressed in a cloak, but armor and a sword visible underneath as he runs. He's covered in injuries, his cloak tattered and ruined from the fighting. A pair of Dark Knights are running alongside him, with a mage casting Barriers to stop attacks. The Priest is out of Mana, but he'll no doubt use Heal again as soon as he's able. Those five are putting as much power into their run as possible, though they'll be fine.

The second team consists of more than fifty mages. We were hoping the two teams wouldn't show up at the same time, because the mages serve the Shadow of Life. Max unintentionally warned us about them, and isn't even aware of it. His former master was a member of theirs, and Max recently mentioned 'Kitty', a cat beastborn. He's probably one of the ones tied into the back of a wagon, which is being pulled by one of the mages.

When 'Kitty' was mentioned, I had Nik look into it, and we discovered their plans on sneaking through the pass and establishing a hidden base in the uninhabited portion of Maelnor. The only reason they didn't was because a beastborn missed his 'friend'.

Honestly, I think Max and Kitty were more like friendly enemies, the way Max's memories of their encounters are. But that sort of thing isn't in Max's mentality, so he just thinks they're friends.

Taking a deep breath, I ready myself. All of those in the second group have been found guilty of treason against the Crystals, espionage in the war, heretical actions, murder of the servants of the Crystal, and more.

This is not a fight. This is not a battle. This is not a rescue mission. We may have been here to ensure the first team arrived in secrecy, but we are also here for the second team. To stop them from reaching Maelnor and doing what they can to sabotage us from the shadows.

No.

This is an execution, and I am the executioner, the angel of death.

I am death incarnate.