After Elder Ennoren's announcement, the dryads had been kind enough to offer us their hospitality. They quickly ushered us to an area reserved for their guests, a section of the basin where treehouses were built on the branches of the tall trees. The treehouses looked old and abandoned, with overgrowth and moss growing all over them, evidence that the dryads did not have guests for a long time. A closer inspection revealed that the treehouses weren't ‘built,’ but were rather made from the living branches of trees that grew in the shape of a treehouse.

After the revelation of my secret, I expected Selise to start questioning and being mad at me for fooling her with my identity. Instead, she avoided me. No conversation happened between us, although she did talk with Taloress, glancing at me from time to time. I wanted to listen through my puppet's ears and learn what Selise thought of me now, but Taloress requested privacy for the first time. I grudgingly agreed.

While Selise spoke with Taloress in the treehouse assigned to her, I spent the time speaking with the dryad that was acting as our host in my treehouse, asking questions about their lives here in the Sanctuary.

“When's the last time you guys had guests?” I asked as I carefully walked on the slippery carpet on the floor. Then I realized that the carpet was actually a thick layer of moss growing on the floor.

“It was a veeery long time ago. Back then, our treehouses were filled with aaall sorts of people! According to Elder Fenninda, there were normal people, small people, pointy-eared people, and animal-people!” the dryad replied cheerfully. Our host was named Disserla, and judging by her innocence and her bubbly personality, she was one of the younger ones.

“And how long ago was that?”

“I forgot,” Disserla replied dumbly. “But I think it was that time when everybody was fighting against Aldrich.”

“Who the hell is Aldrich?”

“Those dark creatures that threatened the world a looong time ago.”

I gave Disserla a flat stare, although she couldn't see it behind my mask. “I think you're referring to the Eldritch, Disserla.”

“Oh.”

Did that grumpy Elder send an airhead as our host?

“How come you guys have no guests anymore? Is it because of your surly Elders?” I asked as I shaped Mr. Marion's arm into a flat shape and started scraping the moss off a corner of the room's floor.

Master, the moss is clinging to my precious fabric… Mr. Marion complained.

Sorry, Mr. Marion, but I'm not sleeping on a pile of disgusting moss.

“Hey, our Elders aren't surly,” Disserla complained. “Maybe except for Elder Ennoren. And Elder Grininda. And Elder Zarelbis. And Elder Kerseris. And Elder Lesseris. Wow, now that you said it, half of our Elders are surly!”

“No wonder nobody visits you,” I muttered.

“But the real reason why we have no guests is that nobody knows where we live anymore,” Disserla said sadly. “The Elders are happy about it too because nobody's attacking us for our resources anymore. They even created Ferti to conceal our Sanctuary from the outside.”

“Isn't that a good thing? Nobody's gonna bother you anymore.”

“I guess…”

“Then why do you look so sad?” I asked.

Disserla looked dejected. “Well, to keep ourselves well-hidden, the Elders prohibit us from venturing outside our Sanctuary. I know the Sanctuary is the only safe place for our kind, but I can't help but feel trapped here. For the past fifty years, the only place I've known is the Sanctuary. Only the Sentinels are allowed outside Ferti, and even then, they're only allowed to stand guard nearby.”

I skipped the fact that the beautiful dryad speaking to me was far older than both my lives combined and shrugged. “Sucks to be you, huh?”

“You don't have to be so insensitive about it!” Disserla exclaimed with a pout, then her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement as she went close to me. “Oh, I know! Since you come from outside, tell me stories about life outside the Sanctuary!”

Disserla grabbed my arm with both her hands and started tugging me like a child asking her parents for something, except for the fact that this dryad was fucking strong and popped my shoulder out of its socket.

“AAAARGGH! MY SHOULDER!”

The treehouse went into chaos as everybody screamed. I screamed, Disserla screamed, and my puppets screamed mentally as well.

The pain was debilitating, but I gritted my teeth through it and sent a mental message to Taloress and Mr. Marion to tell them that everything was fine. If I didn't, I was sure they'd kill Disserla.

After painfully popping my shoulder back in place and healing it with magic, I sweated my eyes out (not crying) and glared at Disserla. “What'd you do that for?!”

“I'm sorry! I didn't know you were that fragile!” Disserla cried, tears streaming down her face. Even though she was the one that put me in immense pain first, I felt guilty after seeing her tears. “I didn't mean to do it! Please don't be mad at me!”

I sighed as I massaged my healed shoulder gently. “It's fine, Disserla. Just make sure to limit your strength next time, alright? I love my arm right where it is. Are all dryads as strong as you?”

“No, some are stronger,” Disserla said with a sniffle. “I'm just a Steward. The Sentinels are far stronger than me.”

“What's that? Is that a job or something?” I asked.

“Dryads are born either as a Steward or as a Sentinel. Stewards, such as myself, are responsible for caring for the forest and maintaining the balance. Sentinels are the ones responsible for defending our forests from threats, and they could change into a more powerful form to make them stronger.”

So that meant Wennena was a Sentinel. If their Sentinels were all as powerful as Wennena, then doesn't that make them extremely powerful? I guess I'd have to thank Selise for stopping my stupid self from making enemies with the dryads.

In my fabric sense, I detected Selise and Taloress approaching my treehouse. So she's finally going to face me.

When the two girls arrived, Disserla waved at them enthusiastically, the action making her breasts jiggle. Isn't she made of wood?! Then why are her boobs jiggling?!

Taloress pouted at me, but I ignored her and faced Selise instead. “H-Hello Selise,” I greeted awkwardly. I didn't know if I was supposed to talk to her as usual or if she didn't want to be friends with me anymore.

“Mr. Marion,” Selise greeted with a nod before joining me and Dissurla. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier. Is it true that you're an Ascendant?”

At Selise's question, Dissurla made a choking noise as she scooted away from me. “You're an Ascendant?!”

“Yes, it's true,” I replied to Selise, ignoring Disserla's reaction. My attention was focused only on Selise's face.

At my words, a hint of fear passed through Selise's expression, but it was gone as soon as it had passed. Instead, it was replaced by awe and excitement, just like when she first spoke with Wennena. “Really?! That's amazing! I approached Taloress about it earlier to verify if it's true, which was why I was avoiding you, and she said it was. Now that it's coming directly from you, it must be true!”

“Aren't you afraid of me?” I asked hesitantly.

“Well, I am a bit spooked by the fact that one of my friends is a thing of legends, but I find it more impressive! I have an Ascendant for a friend!” Selise exclaimed. Taloress seemed to enjoy seeing her friend's elation and clapped her hands silently.

A warm and fuzzy feeling bloomed in my chest and I exhaled deeply. I realized that I had been holding my breath after I asked my question. But there was no more need for nervousness because I finally had my answer. Selise called me a friend.

The relief that washed over me after hearing Selise's reply almost made me pass out, but my mind was too happy to shut down. All this time, I expected Selise to be afraid or furious, but I didn't expect her to be happy about it. She's accepted me!

“But earlier, when I was about to, uh, kill Wennena, why did you look so fearful of me back then?” I asked curiously. Her expression back then was very different when she saw my power.

“Oh, that? I wasn't afraid of your power at that time, Mr. Marion. I wasn't afraid of what you are. I was afraid of who you are,” Selise replied.

“Who I was?” I asked with confusion. “Well, you said it yourself that I'm your friend. Are you afraid to be friends with an Ascendant?”

“I'm not afraid of my friend, I'm afraid for my friend,” Selise replied as she looked me straight in the eyes. “When you were about to kill Wennena, you looked… scary, Mr. Marion. We've known each other for a relatively short amount of time, but you were never a ruthless killer. Are you… have you killed somebody, Mr. Marion?”

I did not expect the conversation to go this way. We were supposed to be talking about my powers, about my Authority. Why were we talking about who I was? But do I even know the answer to that question?

I am Brogen Arte. I'm a depressed nobody who finds interacting with other people a challenge. I had a family once, but I lost them. A lot of misfortunes happened in my life and I found it pointless to continue living, so I gave up and killed myself. Wait, that's not me, is it? That was me, but I'm different now, aren't I?

I am Brogen Arte. I reincarnated into this world to a loving mother, born with a tremendous power that acted both as a blessing and a curse. I experienced worse misfortunes here than on Earth, but I'm still alive. People have wronged me and I fought back. I was a better Brogen than in the past. The new Brogen is the better Brogen. But why are my hands wet and sticky?

I rubbed my thumbs over my palms and I felt blood. The new Brogen is a killer as well. I've killed a man by stabbing him dozens of times. I killed several people at once by ripping them apart with my thread. I disemboweled, beheaded, stabbed, skewered. The new Brogen is a murderer.

“Yes,” I answered Selise. That one word was enough to make her eyes widen in shock.

“You're a kind man, Mr. Marion. You'd never kill an innocent person. The person you killed… deserved it, right?”

“Yes, they deserved it,” I said with a cold and even voice. The memory of Mom slowly dying as I cradled her in my arms made my mind numb. The hatred I nursed inside me flared and blotted out the guilt I've felt for the people I've killed.

“‘They?’” Selise asked in horror, but somehow, her fear no longer affected me. The memory of killing my Mom's killers renewed my hatred for men already dead.

“Yes, they. All of them deserved it, and if I had a chance, I'd kill them again.” My hands shook, the sensation of blood dripping from them intensifying. But I didn't hate it, because I knew it was the blood of the men who killed Mom.

The horror in Selise's eyes slowly dissipated and was replaced with pity, and it hurt me more than her fear did. “They're already dead, Mr. Marion. I couldn't imagine what kind of atrocity they did to make a kind man such as you burn with so much hatred, but it's time for you to let it go.”

“What do you know about my hatred?!” I screamed. “You don't know what it feels like to have your loved one taken from you! You have a loving father who cares about your well-being, but you spurn his concern because it inconveniences you! You don't know how precious your time with your family is until they're gone.”

I knew I shouldn't be taking out my anger on Selise, but I was just so… angry. Who did Selise think she was to tell me that I should just let go of my hatred? My hatred of people like the Baronet was one of the only few things that kept me going. Knowing that I could stop them from harming even more people gives me more reasons to live.

When tears began sliding down Selise's cheeks, my anger vanished instantly, as if blown away by the wind, and replaced by guilt.

“Oh god, Selise, I'm so sorry. I did not mean… Please forgive me for taking out my anger on you.”

Selise sniffled as she rubbed her eyes. “You're right, Mr. Marion. I might be taking Dad's concern for granted. But what I said wasn't wrong. You need to let go of your hatred before it festers. You're right that I haven't lost a loved one yet, and I don't want my friend to be the first one I lose because he let his hatred consume himself.”

Selise's words felt like a punch to the gut. I was too busy shouting and raging at her that I didn't realize Selise was saying all those things for my sake. She was saying all those things not because she was insensitive, but because she cared for me as her friend.

“I think I better go now,” Selise said as she stood up.

“Selise, wait!”

My friend didn't listen and ran away from the treehouse, leaving me alone with Taloress and Disserla. The stupid dryad was crying as well, as if she just watched some cheesy television drama. I guess she did.

Taloress looked at me and shook her head. Master needs to be more sensitive about His friends.

Taloress squealed as I smacked her on the head.

●●●

Dust and dirt flew in the air as Kane's syrons plodded along the dirt road. The large bison-like beasts moved slowly, but not for being tired. Syrons were slow monsters, but they made up for that with endurance. They've been pulling Kane's heavy wagon for a whole day and they were barely even panting. I really got my money's worth on these two, Kane thought in satisfaction as the beasts of burden pulled his wagon to the city of Halros.

Throughout his younger years, Kane had traveled throughout the Kingdom of Edria and visited its numerous cities. From the maritime city of Colis in the south where the air constantly smelled of fish and saltwater, to the grand capital Edrana in the north where the richest nobles lived in luxury, Kane had seen the beauties and flaws of the kingdom he lived in. With his experience, he was confident to say that the city of Halros embodied the foulness of Edria.

Most cities in the kingdom usually held all their citizens inside their walls to protect them against monsters, yet Kane was still a few hundred meters away from Halros' gates and he was already surrounded by houses, although it would be too generous to call them that. Small shacks and shanties surrounded both sides of the main road that led to the gates, the structures built with flimsy materials that could be blown away by a strong gust of wind that carried the stench of the slums.

As Kane guided his syrons through the road littered with trash and debris, he spotted little urchins moving between the shanties and small allies, eyeing him and his wagon. When they realized who he was, they quickly scattered. “Damn rats,” Kane snorted.

When he arrived at the gates, he saw a man carrying a large pack arguing with the guard.

“This is blatant corruption!” the man exclaimed. “Since when did His Majesty charge a silver for entry into a city?!”

“It used to be fifteen coppers, but the fee just increased this mornin',” the guard replied with a smile, his yellow teeth visible beneath his dirty beard. “Now, if you ain't got the money, then get lost.”

“I'll have you reported for this!” the man exclaimed, red-faced. The moment the man turned around, the guard looked to the side where a young urchin was hidden behind a pile of trash. At the guard's nod, the urchin rushed away to signal his other companions that the man was fair game.

“Doing your work as usual, Grink?” Kane greeted as his wagon rolled up to the gate.

“Good to see you too, Mr. Kane,” Grink replied with a smile. “You look happy today, sir. Didja finally get a promotion?”

“Not yet, Grink, but it'll be soon,” Kane replied with a smile of his own.

“Then good luck,” Grink replied before letting Kane pass through the gates.

The state of the city inside the walls was different than the slums outside, but only barely. The buildings were made of stone instead of rotting wood and lampposts lined the sides of the paved road, but that was the extent of the difference. The roads were littered with garbage and the sewers were clogged, filling the city with the stench of human waste. The people walking around in the area had gloomy looks on their faces, although they didn't seem to mind the smell. They were already used to it.

Kane grimaced and covered his nose with a handkerchief as he made his way through the city's residential district. He would encounter bands of guards patrolling the streets, but maintaining the peace was the least of their priorities. Kane would spot some of them extorting the citizens who had the misfortune of coming across them.

With his large wagon and expensive syrons pulling it, Kane caught the attention of the guards. But instead of harassment, they would nod their heads in his direction or ignore him completely. A deal was made, after all.

Kane eventually entered the more affluent part of the city, separated from the rest by a checkpoint manned by numerous guards. Just like what happened at the city gates, the guards let Kane pass through without any challenge.

The more affluent part of the city, which was colloquially known as the ‘inner city,’ seemed like a whole different world compared to the rest of Halros. The streets were clean and lined with beautiful houses and shops. The stench of the city was nonexistent and the people walking in the streets looked bright and cheerful. Kane could hear jubilant laughs and greetings now and then from people dressed in expensive clothing, complimenting the weather and commenting how great the day was.

This city is like heaven and hell put side by side. The only thing separating them is a checkpoint of corrupt guards, Kane thought with a snort as he finally arrived at his destination. It was a nondescript warehouse located in the business district of the inner city where expensive restaurants and shops catered to the rich.

“A person could be anybody beneath the cover of a hood,” Kane said to the large man guarding the warehouse doors. The guard nodded at the passphrase and opened the doors for Kane.

Inside was a large space filled with numerous shelves containing hundreds of crates. Kane parked his wagon in the unloading area where a nervous-looking man with thin limbs was waiting for him. “Kane! C'mere, c'mere, you came at the perfect time!”

“What got your panties in a bunch this time, Tilton?” Kane asked as he climbed down from his wagon. “You better make it quick because I've got some new merchandise that'll multiply our profits several-fold!”

“We can discuss that later, there's something more urgent,” Tilton replied. Kane's expression was one of stupefaction after hearing the man's reply. Tilton, like Kane, was a man who always put profits before anything else, but to see him put away the talk of money for something else meant there was something more important.

“What is it?”

“Purplehood Belor had been killed two days ago. The Shadow is here in Halros.”

“What?! Fuck!” Kane immediately started backing away towards his wagon as he eyed the darkness of the massive warehouse, cold sweat dripping down his back.

“Calm down, Kane! It's not as bad as it seems!” Tilton shouted.

“Are you out of your mind?! You know the stories!” Kane shouted back as he sat on his wagon's driver's seat. “Wherever the Shadow strikes, none of us gets out alive!”

“Shut up and listen for a moment! The Hooded Man has sent a Blackhood here to deal with the Shadow. The new Blackhood is holding a meeting later.”

“Fuck that, Tilton, I'm leaving,” Kane said as he picked up the reins.

“If you leave, you'll die,” Tilton said, making Kane freeze just as he was about to drive out of the warehouse. “The new Blackhood demanded that all Hoods in the city should attend the meeting. Some had similar thoughts as you and wanted to get out of the city. Their heads came back yesterday, and only their heads. If you leave, the Shadow won't kill you, but the Blackhood will.”

Kane's hands shook as he squeezed the reins hard in anger. “Where and when is this meeting?” Kane spat.

“The Blackhood will be holding it in the auction house an hour from now.”

Kane sighed in surrender and let go of the reins. He had no other choice. Even if he managed to escape Halros successfully, he was a Redhood. Unlike a common Brownhood, his position was important enough that his absence would be obvious. The leadership never tolerated disobedience among its members, and if Kane disobeyed now, he'd have to constantly look behind his shoulder for the rest of his life. Dammit, why did the Shadow come here?! We're supposed to be protected! What the fuck are those nobles doing?!

Complaining was pointless, so Kane decided to do what he intended to do before Tilton gave his grave news. “I've got a new shipment of potions from Wildpost.”

“Good, good. This should last us quite a while, especially now that our numbers had been reduced drastically,” Tilton muttered as he inspected the crates of potions that Kane withdrew from the wagon, scribbling furiously on his clipboard as he did so.

“I've got something new to show you, too,” Kane said with a grin, his earlier frustration forgotten. He pulled another crate from the wagon and opened its top with a crowbar. “Look at these babies. They're all made of monster fur.”

Tilton's eyes widened in shock as he picked up an exquisite red dress from the crate. It was beautiful enough to be fit for a queen, but what caught his attention was the fabric and the expertise with which it was sewn. It was the softest piece of fabric he'd ever felt, and when he caressed it, his fingers smoothly slid down its velvety texture with no hints of roughness or coarseness. “This is marvelous, and all of them are made of monster fur?!”

“I know, right? I've got a hundred pieces of clothing of the same quality,” Kane said with a grin. “And you know what's crazier? I've got another batch coming next week.”

Tilton goggled at Kane. “Where did you get this from?”

“Ah ah, that's a secret,” Kane said with a wink. “Now let's talk money, Tilton. I'm selling you this for thirty gold per piece.”

“Are you mad? I'm not going to make a profit off of this if I bought it at your price!”

By the time Kane and Tilton finished their negotiation, the time has come for the meeting. Despite his nervousness, Kane walked to the auction house with a smile. The deal he made with Tilton was going to make him extremely rich. With each piece of clothing sold for twenty-five gold, Tilton would be paying him two thousand and five hundred gold. Subtracting the nine hundred gold he spent buying the clothes from Mr. Marion and the amount he loaned from Kath, Kane made more than a thousand gold. This much gold in one trip! Kane thought in glee. If my deal with Mr. Marion continues steadily, I'll finally be able to become a Purplehood!

In order to ascend through the ranks of the Hoods, each member had to fulfill a quota to proceed to the next rank. When he was a measly Brownhood, Kane worked as a normal thug, doing normal grunt work. But when he paid the thousand gold quota, he was promoted into a Redhood, giving him some measure of freedom to operate freely under the organization's banner. And being a Purplehood is now within my reach, Kane thought happily.

But despite his new money-making machine that was Mr. Marion, it was still going to take Kane a long time before he became a Purplehood since the quota for it was a hundred thousand gold. But I don't need to rush. As long as Mr. Marion is mine, I have all the time in the world, Kane thought.

The auction house where the meeting would take place was called Dagula's, and it was the finest auction house in the entire business district. Every day, valuable items worth hundreds of thousands of gold are auctioned off to the richest nobles of the city, making Dagula's one of the businesses with the highest revenues in the entire city. And it belonged to the Hoods.

Before they entered the auction house, Kane and Tilton both reached for the hoods tucked inside their shirts where nobody would see them and pulled them over their heads. Once their red hoods were in place, they entered the auction house through the back entrance.

After making their way through lavishly-decorated hallways, Kane and Tilton arrived in the secret auction room hidden deep inside the building. Dagula's had numerous auction rooms categorized based on the value of the items being sold there, but the secret auction room was the place where only the most valuable—and illegal— items were sold.

The secret auction room was built like a theater, with each row of seats placed higher than those in front of it and arranged in a semi-circle that surrounded the stage at the very front. When Kane and Tilton arrived, their faces concealed under the shadows of their hoods, half the seats were already occupied. There were already at least a hundred members of the Hoods, most of whom wore brown hoods.

“I think we're supposed to go sit at the front,” Tilton whispered.

Kane looked at the front-row seats and saw that all the other Redhoods were there. He felt his stomach drop. We're going to be at the center of the Blackhood's attention!

It would be more attention-catching if two Redhoods sat with the Brownhoods, so Kane reluctantly followed Tilton down the stairs to the front seats.

Out of the hundred Hoods in the theater, there were only ten Redhoods present, including Kane and Tilton. The moment they took their seats, the doors at the entrance slammed shut. When everybody looked behind them, they saw a figure cloaked completely in black by the doors. The Blackhood was here. We were the last to arrive? Kane thought incredulously. But there should be ten other Redhoods!

The Blackhood slowly made their way toward the stage, their footsteps not even emitting a single sound. The Blackhood might as well have been an apparition.

When the Blackhood arrived at the center of the stage, they spoke. “I'd like to thank all of you for attending the meeting today. I know you have busy schedules, so I'm glad that you took the time to come here.”

The voice was sultry and feminine. Just listening to it made Kane think that he was being seduced by a beautiful lady. But this is no simple lady, Kne thought grimly. The Blackhood spoke as if she gave them a choice whether they wanted to attend the meeting or not, but Kane was sure that all the Hoods absent today were either dead or dying. The Blackhood spoke sweetly, but it concealed venom underneath.

“Two days ago, Purplehood Belor was assassinated in his own mansion along with all thirty of his guards. Rumors are spreading among our ranks that the Shadow was the one that did it, thus inducing fear among you.” The Blackhood paused before continuing. “The rumors are true. The Shadow is here in Halros, but that's not all. The King's men are here as well, and they came to hunt us down.”

Terrified murmurs began going up in the audience. The Blackhood let her words sink in before speaking again. “With this grave matter at hand, the Hooded Man has sent me here to personally oversee our operations and ensure that they continue without delay. Halros is too important for our operations and we cannot lose our foothold here. As of this moment, I will be replacing the role of the Purplehood in this city and all of you will be answering to me. So, does anybody have any questions?”

A Redhood raised his hand like a student. “Blackhood, shouldn't we just cut our losses and run? The Shadow is— URGH!”

The dagger had been thrown with such force that it impaled the Redhood's throat and pinned him to his seat. The theater was deathly silent save for the pitiful gurgles of the dying Redhood as he weakly pulled at the dagger stuck at his throat. After a minute, only the dripping sound of blood could be heard. Holy Mother, Kane thought in horror.

“Didn't I tell you not to even consider the thought of running away?” the Blackhood asked with an innocent voice. “Oh, wait. Silly me, I didn't say anything like that. I guess I shouldn't have killed Redhood Kip right off the bat!”

Everybody stared in horror at the Blackhood, who brought her hand to her mouth shyly as if to say ‘Oh my!’ Kane trembled in his seat, his lips quivering as he exerted effort to keep his whimpers silent.

“Does anybody else have any questions?” the Blackhood asked in her sweet voice. The theater was silent. “Oh, don't be so scared. I was going to kill Redhood Kip anyway. He was leaking information to the King's men. Which brings us to our next agenda: we have traitors in our midst.”

Everybody immediately started looking at the person beside them in suspicion. Only Kane and Tilton didn't doubt each other. They were not quite friends, but they have known each other since they were mere Brownhoods.

“I will call you here one by one and decide whether you are a traitor or not,” the Blackhood said, much to the horror of everyone.

“But how will you know who's a traitor?! You're just going to kill us off randomly!” one of the Redhoods exclaimed angrily, the fear of possible death making him forget who he was talking to.

The Blackhood shifted her gaze to the Redhood. Despite the shadows of her hood hiding her eyes, her gaze froze the Redhood in his place. “It does not matter whether I make a mistake or not, Redhood Eilif. I am a Blackhood and my word is absolute. But rest assured, Redhood Eilif. I seldom make mistakes.”

Kane saw Redhood Eilif stiffly take his seat again, probably thanking his luck that the Blackhood didn't kill him for his outburst. Lucky bastard.

“Let's start the fun,” the Blackhood said gleefully. “Redhood Tilton Ballard.”

Kane glanced at his companion and gave him a nod. “Don't worry, we have nothing to be guilty of. We've worked for the Hoods for years.”

Tilton nodded as well, although his hands still shook from nervousness. Kane couldn't blame him. He had been clutching the armrests of his seats tightly for the past few minutes to steady his trembling as well.

Tilton climbed the stage and stood before the Blackhood. Everybody could see his fear, but nobody thought him any lesser for it. Everybody was terrified of the Blackhood.

“Before I judge all of you, I want you all to know who I am,” the Blackhood said as she removed the hood from her face. A stunningly-beautiful face was illuminated by the dim lights of the theater, graced with small lips that smiled cruelly. Her straight black hair fell behind her like a waterfall and her dark eyes stared directly into Tilton's. “I am Blackhood Rella, and to all you traitors, I am your death.”

Blackhood Rella's arm blurred as she swiped with her dagger before Tilton's head fell to the stage with a dull thump, followed by his twitching body. Blood slowly poured from the stump of his neck, creating a crimson puddle on the stage.

“Next. Redhood Kane Talvin,” Blackhood Rella called out. Her gaze closed in on Kane's position, and the only thing he could do was whimper in fear.