At the center of the town, inside a large stone room, a man tilted his head back and lifted a jug high, pouring wine straight into his mouth.
"I have warned you enough. You shouldn't drink this much, Sir Gyno," soone said in a tired voice.
"Waahh!"
The man called Gyno gulped down the contents until his throat burned. Wine spilled from the corners of his lips as he lowered the jug.
"Gurryaaa!" He shook his head hard, then broke into a wild grin as he looked toward Jas, who stood nearby smoking quietly.
"You don't understand the beauty of chugging wine," Gyno said loudly. "That feeling of escapism is exactly what we need in this war."
Jas narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing.
"This euphoria," Gyno continued, waving the empty jug, "this rush in the blood, the guts to take over enemy land and stand there proudly. This calls for celebration, right?"
He laughed, then suddenly paused and smirked.
"Ohhh, I forgot," Gyno added mockingly. "It's your land, and you defected. Kurraaaaaaaaa!"
Jas bit down on his cigar, his eyes turning cold.
"Sorry, sorry," Gyno said quickly, laughing hysterically. "I was joking. Take a chill pill, man."
Jas did not laugh. He wondered how he had ended up stuck with a man like this in the middle of a war.
Just then, a loud warning bell rang through the town.
Both of them froze.
"An attack!" soone shouted from outside.
Gyno and Jas jumped to their feet and rushed out of the room.
The mont they stepped outside, both of them stopped in shock.
Dense flas rose into the sky. Thick black smoke rolled over the town like a dark cloud.
"What the helllllll?" Gyno roared.
"Which shithead did this?" he shouted, his face twisting with rage.
Jas stared at the spreading fire, his expression darkening. He could already tell that if this was not controlled quickly, it would not only burn the entire forest but also choke the town itself.
He turned sharply toward the soldiers who were running around like headless chickens.
"Stop running around," Jas shouted. "Go and extinguish the flas."
"We are trying," one of the soldiers yelled back desperately. "But it's getting out of control."
Gyno cursed loudly, spitting on the ground.
"We need a mage," Jas said, taking another puff from his cigar.
"A mage?" Gyno turned toward him. "Do we even have a mage here?"
Jas shook his head slowly. "No."
A heavy silence fell between them.
"Then why are we even standing here?" Gyno shouted in frustration. "Hell, let's go slash this thing apart. Maybe our attacks can push the flas back."
Jas nodded. There was no better option.
The two of them shot toward the forest, moving fast.
...…
Jas landed in the middle of the burning area, heat washing over him. Flas crackled all around, and smoke stung his eyes.
He drew his sword and swung.
Slash! Slash!
Sharp arcs of wind burst from his blade, cutting through the flas and blasting parts of the fire away.
"It's working," Jas shouted. "Not effective, but it's working."
"It's working," a calm voice echoed behind him, "but you won't be living."
Jas felt a chill crawl up his spine. That voice.
He turned sharply. "Who?"
He slashed his sword behind him in one clean motion.
The sword light tore through the smoke, ripping the thick screen of fire and ash apart.
But there was no one there.
"Who… who is playing this pra—"
His words cut off halfway.
A strange thought struck his mind.
'Why can't I sense the presence?'
Before he could finish that thought, the air around him suddenly compressed, pressing down on his body like invisible hands.
Jas snapped his head back.
A man stood right behind him.
One hand had already grabbed the hilt of Jas's sword near his waist.
"Sorry," the man said calmly. "I don't have much ti, so I have to make it swift."
"Shut up!" Jas roared.
He didn't waste ti acting shocked or afraid. Jas grabbed his sword with both hands and burst forward, closing the distance in an instant. His body appeared right in front of the man as he raised his blade to slash down with full force.
But before his sword could fall, a cold, clear phrase struck his mind.
"Dinsional Slash. Second form."
The man's figure blurred.
In the next mont, a crimson arc of light flared across the burning land.
The world itself seed to split.
From the horizon, it looked as if soone had drawn a straight line across a massive painting. Everything in that line was cut apart without resistance.
Flas parted. Smoke was sliced cleanly. Even the air trembled.
When the crimson light faded, silence followed.
A head slowly began to slide down from a standing body.
Before it could hit the ground, a hand reached out and grabbed it by the hair.
Kael stood there, holding Jas's severed head, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Devour."
...
BANGGG!
Gyno slamd into the ground with his full body weight, sending rippling shockwaves across the burning forest floor. Ash and dust leaped into the air as the ground trembled beneath him.
He pushed himself up, gritting his teeth hard as his eyes darted around.
There were many ways to fight a war, but he had never imagined soone would dare to burn farmland and forests like this. It was plain madness. Even if one side won, the losses would be beyond repair.
"Which son of a bitch started this?" Gyno roared.
"I swear, if I get my hands on him, I'm going to tear him apart."
"Are you talking about ?"
Gyno's ears twitched.
His instincts scread danger.
He instantly shot toward the voice, smashing through thick smoke with his fist and clearing a path through it.
"Who is it?" he shouted.
BANG!
But there was no one there.
His heart started pounding. He spun around, scanning the area, his breathing growing rough.
"Who is it?" he scread again.
"Where are you, bastard!"
Sothing suddenly flew toward him.
Gyno raised his fist to punch, then stopped halfway and twisted his body, barely dodging it. The object slamd into the ground and rolled a short distance before stopping.
When Gyno saw what it was, his blood froze.
"Jas…"
It was Jas's severed head, his expression still twisted in shock and pain.
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