The tension in the air was suffocating.
Athena's eyes stayed fixed on Nate, her heartbeat thrumming in her ears. Whatever was going through his mind now, it wasn't peace.
He was furious.
Dangerously so.
"Nate…" Eden began hesitantly.
But Nate's cold glare silenced him instantly.
"Stay out of this, Eden," he said, his voice devoid of warmth, sharp enough to cut steel. "This is my conversation… with these little fellas."
He barely turned toward the group, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk before facing the three remaining enemies.
"Right, fellas?"
The men flinched. Confidence once radiating from them now crumbled into anxious twitches and silent gulps. The fresh memory of their comrade's head rolling across the ground clung to the night like fog.
"You just got lucky with that one," one of them growled, drawing his sword. His companions followed suit, masks of bravado covering their trembling hands.
Owen tensed beside Athena, whispering, "If they feel overpowered, they usually call backup. Be careful."
Athena shot him a glare, jaw clenched. Why tell them that now? Giving Nate more reason to slaughter them didn't seem like the smartest move.
Owen
He didn't want Nate to kill them.
But a darker part of him whispered that these men deserved far worse than death.
"Thanks for the heads-up, Owen…" Nate chuckled, but there was no humor in it. His voice was a shadow, and his crimson-gold eyes shimmered beneath the moonlight—beastlike.
"I owe you one."
Then it happened.
Everything stopped.
The air thickened.
Nate stood still, motionless—so did the three men before him.
All four frozen like statues, trapped in a moment stretched beyond time.
Nate
Devil's Dream.
The illusion snapped into place like a bear trap.
In their minds, they moved first. One lunged forward and severed Nate's hand in a single strike.
Pain tore through him like lightning. He screamed—raw, animalistic. Another enemy blurred past, faster than human eyes could follow. The same one who'd crippled his Ogre form earlier. His other hand was sliced off like paper. Then came his legs—gone in flashes of steel.
Nate collapsed, writhing in imaginary agony, the trio's cruel laughter echoing like drums of torment.
"Told you," the third one sneered, his eyes cold. "You just got lucky before."
He stepped forward, conjuring a dark glyph in his palm—a spell crackling with black fire.
"Now die."
The infernal flames consumed Nate's body, burning him to nothing but charred ash.
They stood over his remains, smirking in triumph.
"How foolish," one of them spat. "Let's go."
They turned their backs—
And froze.
A voice slithered out from the darkness like smoke.
"My, my… you think the game is over already?"
Terror gripped them as they turned.
Nate stood there, unharmed—waiting.
Before the second man could even blink, the third's head rolled onto the dirt, severed cleanly.
The remaining two stood in paralyzed horror.
"Did you really think those weak attacks could kill me?" Nate's voice was no longer mortal. It was dark, reverberating, monstrous.
His fingers curled—and the second man's head burst like a melon in his palm.
Blood sprayed across the cave wall.
Only one remained.
He stood shaking, pale as a ghost.
Nate took a step forward, tilting his head.
"Now…" he whispered, his grin growing feral.
"Wanna play tag?"
His crimson-gold eyes burned with demonic glee.
"I'm it."
The last man bolted.
Nate didn't chase. Not yet.
He counted aloud, mockingly.
"Twenty-nine… twenty-eight… twenty-seven…"
The man raced through the forest, nearly a thousand paces ahead before Nate took a single step.
One step—and the gap closed to a quarter.
Another step—cut it in half.
His speed was inhuman. But he didn't rush.
He enjoyed the hunt.
Just before his hand could close around the man's neck, the coward darted into a cave.
Nate halted at the entrance, took a breath, and vanished—slipping into Shadow Stealth.
Inside the Cave
The air inside was fetid, humid, tainted with fear and cruelty.
A group of battered female adventurers huddled near the back—some with clothing torn, others silently weeping. Monsters weren't the only beasts in this world.
The fleeing man stumbled inside, panting. "I swear—he killed all three of them in an instant!"
He knelt before a towering figure on a makeshift throne—clearly the leader.
"And yet," the man muttered, "he let you live?"
The leader's voice dripped with suspicion.
Laughter erupted from his men.
"I—I ran…" the man stammered, trembling.
"Oh, you did?"
The voice came from behind.
They all turned in unison, blood draining from their faces.
Nate stood at the entrance—smiling like a demon let loose from the underworld.
"So this is where your leader hides," he said. Then the illusion twisted.
A dark tapestry unfurled before their eyes—the slaughtered bodies of their comrades, the broken limbs, the dismembered heads.
"How… how did you—?" the leader gasped, backing away.
"You've been under my illusion this entire time." Nate's eyes gleamed with madness. "And the only way out of it…"
He stepped forward.
"…is death."
A low, manic laugh spilled from his lips as the shadows devoured them.
Athena
When Nate finally returned, his face was unreadable. Pale, composed, but something darker lurked beneath.
"Follow me," he commanded.
Eden stepped forward, his concern almost tangible. "What did you do to them?"
Nate's eyes flicked to the severed head in his grip. He tightened his hold.
"I placed them under a dark dream they'll never wake from," he said softly. Then looked up at the stars.
"What I did to the first one… was wrong."
A pause.
"But I feel no guilt."
Athena shivered.
They followed in silence.
Minutes later, they reached the mouth of the same cave Nate had seen within his illusion.
"This is where the leader is hiding," Nate said. "We have two options—call the knights… or we go in and save the people ourselves."
The group hesitated.
Owen looked back at Nate—and nodded.
One by one, the others followed.
"Good," Nate said, his expression sharp and calculated. "I know you all hate bloodshed. So here's what we're going to do…"
He began laying out a plan—intricate, daring, and insane.
Emily blinked in disbelief. "You're… insane," she whispered.
Athena stepped forward, voice steady. "Yeah. I'm ready."
Emily hesitated… then nodded.
A grin slowly curved across Nate's face.
"Good. Then let's do this."