Stanis got up and bowed his head toward the empty mountain-top. “Thank you,” he said, before beginning his climb down.

The wind nipped at his back as he jumped from ledge to drop, causing a strange excitement to build up. The danger he faced was now like a game to him, just harmless fun. Deep in him, however, was a beast who wanted more. It wanted Jen, and her head. And it wanted it now.

But he knew he couldn’t. He had been confident before about beating Jen and look where that had laid him to waste away: in the hands of three scumbag backstabbers, as sly as sly came. No no no, he held his excitement back and allowed it to bubble. He needed to at least equip himself first.

Close to an hour later, the village came into sight. He wanted to pick up a sword and rush to hunt down Jen and so he walked around the village towards its backside. The reason why he did this was, despite wanting to receive a specially-crafted sword of top quality like his last one, he also wanted to kill Jen without her catching wind of him surviving. And that meant time was of the essence.

He walked through the outer-buildings like a spectre, haunting all who saw him. One second they saw a dark-eyed figure walking with murder on his mind, the next he was gone, nowhere to seen and nowhere to be found through mana searches.

It was as he was going to leap the wall that he heard his name in the distance.

“Has Stanis come and seen you yet?” he heard. Usually, he would have ignored the comment as another one of the hundreds that included his name every day. He was quite used to hearing other people talk about him after emerging to large-scale power in the village. But after hearing this comment, he stopped, crept towards a house next to the wall, broke the lock and strolled in. The voice behind the comment, it was Jayesh…

To Stanis’s luck, there was no one in the house, although even if there had been, he simply would have knocked them out before they even got a chance to scream. He lowered the mana fluctuations coming off him to the best of his ability, before covering his presence with a mana shield. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be able to sense him.

The conversation had silenced ever since Jayesh had asked the question. It was only a few seconds later that Stanis finally heard who he was talking to.

“No. And I prefer him not doing so,” Sil said.

Stanis grinned as he heard them bicker back and forth. He had reacted the second he had heard Jayesh’s voice because it had brought along with it roused suspicions. The village was up to something and it was something that had to do with him. And yet no one would say it to him. He had previously buried this thought after lack of evidence from both Orena and Rikkey but it had never truly gone away. He had always known that they were hiding something from him.

“I still wish he had seen me though,” Jayesh said.

“Why? You said you two left on bitter terms the last time you saw him,” she replied.

“Ahh” Jayesh was caught off guard and so turtled up for a few seconds. “Maybe,” he hesitantly said, “ But I’ve known him since all this shit began. We were together in the first group stage in the tutorial,”

“You’ve already told me this,” Sil replied. Stanis could practically see her rolling her eyes at the large- Indian man.

“No, you don’t get it,” Jayesh said. “He was different then, normal, just like any other person. Worried for his loved ones and scared for the future. He wasn’t always what he is now,”

“Yes, he’s changed,” Sil interjected. “So has the rest of the world if you haven’t noticed,”

“But that means he could change back, change back to the human he once was, no longer the beast he is now. I wish he had come to see me this time. At least then, I could have tried to help him and we hopefully wouldn’t be doing this now,”

Stanis bit Jayesh’s words and spat them out. Help, hmmph. He started laughing in his contained barrier, straining his psyche with each chuckle. Where had Jayesh been in any of his dark hours? Not anywhere close was the answer, even when they had been in the same battle or camp. And now he wanted to redeem himself and act like a saint. Stanis spat at the room’s wall once more for good luck.

“Don’t stress it,” Sil said, “He brought this on himself. You don’t need to feel sad or sorry. Hopefully, once the week’s done, we’ll no longer have to worry about him and the disease of death he brings alongside,”

Stanis perked his eyebrows and felt his head ringing with joy. He knew it; he knew the village had been up to something. Now it was just figuring out what they were up to and how brutally he should crush it. He stood by the wall for a few more minutes, waiting for more information that never came. The two of them moved on with their conversation and so Stanis found himself thinking up another strategy. Instead of waiting for them to stumble upon the topic by accident, it would be a lot easier if he could directly ask them. And even better if they were encouraged enough to answer truthfully.

Close to two hours after he had first arrived, the two of them finally split up. He could have taken both but that would have left one enough time to scream and shout. He thought between Sil and Jayesh; the bitch and the hypocrite. Minutes later, he found himself stalking the streets outside, following Sil towards a shop.

She walked into an empty alleyway while cutting her route, and he moved. Before she could even react, he took her by storm and struck her across the neck. But unlike the movies, she didn’t faint but instead struggled. So, he simply overloaded her with electricity, waiting till she fell limp before dashing out of the village.

****

Sil woke up and immediately panicked. She was energyless and her mind was foggy, struggling to think, let alone drag her slack head out of the mud. Nevertheless, she tried and tried again, although to no avail. Luckily, she felt someone pick her head up by the hair. She stared out of focus at the blur of colours, loosening some tears to clear her eyes.

A warm rush of mana soothed her body and she felt her eyes come into focus. And then she felt all the feelings of appreciation leave, instead mortified by the beast she found in front of her.

“Long time,” Stanis said, cocking his head towards the village which was visible in the distance. If she could scream, maybe then. But of course not. She looked closer and noticed a partially visible barrier; he would kill her before any help arrived.

“So, what is it?” he asked, “What is the plan to kill me?”

Sil felt a cold shock and anger rise inside of her. Had he been listening to her and Jayesh? Had the two of them just dug her own grave? Or had he just picked it up from elsewhere and decided her to be target number one. Depending on which one it was, she could play it very differently and have very different outcomes.

“No need to think so hard about it,” he reassured her, “All I want is the truth, not some made-up crap,”

She nodded but otherwise didn’t respond, still thinking up a well-enough connected tale to spin him in.

She heard thunder next to her and started back in shock. In Stanis’s palm, a lightning bolt danced with menacing footwork. If that landed on her, well… She felt her heart stop and her body cool. Gulping down the tale she had just thought up, she looked up to gaze at his face.

He grinned at her, a glint visible in his eye. “I survived this, but will you? Well, I’m sure we can find that out.”