Isaac was sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor meditating when he first felt it.

  The wave of murderous Aura that hit him came from afar, but its intent was unmistakable. It had been sent to intimidate—to terrify. Eyes snapping open, he grabbed his katana and leaped to his feet. Normally he would send out his Aura to meet the threat, but he had an idea of who it belonged to and he didn’t want them to know that he was here. Another Aura surged outward, clashing with the first. This one, he recognized.

  Aja.

  Her Aura slammed against the invader’s—two forces wrestling for dominance, neither overpowering the other. After a tense standoff, they both fell away.

  Issac moved to the window. From the forest, he saw them—bodies rushing toward the town like a tide. Even from this distance, he could tell they were the same bandits who attacked them in the forest. Screams rang out, snapping his attention back to the interior of the town.

  Some of the enemy had already broken through, dragging people from their homes. The unfortunates who lived in tents had their shelter set ablaze and kicked to the ground, while the people inside scrambled for safety.

  Isaac viewed the scene with heavy burden.

  This was a fight he was trying to ignore. This fight wasn’t his to overcome. But once again, he was being dragged into it against his will.

  The reason he said no to helping Aja wasn’t because he didn’t care about these people; it was because he had a mission, a goal to complete, and the sooner he accomplished that, the sooner scenes like this would be a thing of the past.

  He learned once what happened when he stuck his nose into other people’s business.

  The cost had been heartache. Pain.

  He could still smell the icing on— He shook his head.

  He opened the window. The sounds of pain and anguish surged up to meet him. The chilly night air hit his face as he closed his eyes for a second and took everything in, katana in hand, fist closed around it while the sounds grew in volume until it reached a fever pitch in his mind, and he could take no more.

  He leaped out of the window feet first—like a stock trader who’d made one too many bad investments.

  Isaac landed on one knee in front of a group of bandits who were dragging a disheveled woman from her house. The group looked up and took in Isaac. Silence came from the group, as they didn’t know what to do with this new threat. Even without sending his Aura out to them, Isaac could tell no one in the group he faced was stronger than a Baron. Which meant he wouldn’t have to deal with any Ink abilities.

  Destroyer of Gods was still sheathed.

  He redoubled his grip on the tsuka, allowing the thin black rope with its purple diamond cross hatching to dig into his callused palm. The saya the blade was kept in was the same deep purple.

  The biggest one from the group took a step forward. “Who the fuck do you think—”

  Destroyer of Gods delivered judgment.

  The blade slid from the saya and swept across the man’s throat before he could react. Blood sprayed in the air as the others from his group looked on in shock.

  “Normally,” said Isaac, flicking the blood off his blade, “I would allow you to surrender, but people like you do not get that luxury.”

  Still, they stood frozen until their leader fell to the ground face-first. It was the trigger they were waiting for. They attacked en masse.

  Isaac welcomed them.

  He moved his torso from left to right as blades looked to cause damage. A masked female with a grinning horned demon mask jabbed a spear at his midsection, but he knocked it to one side with the saya and returned with a stab that blinded her in one eye. A shrill shriek escaped her lips, and he kicked her in the torso, sending her flying into her surging companions. Her body knocked over two, entangling their feet.

  Before they could get up, Isaac delivered killing blows to the bases of their necks.

  A man who wore a grinning red demon mask bellowed in rage as he swung his broadsword at Isaac. The sword’s width was as large as Isaac’s thigh, and there was no way he would have been able to maneuver it if he didn’t have the strength of a Baron. Leaping back, Isaac tried to keep his distance, but two more of his party separated themselves from the melee and took up a position on either side of him.

  Each carried a kusarigama.

  The weapon comprised of a sickle with a length of chain at its base with a weighted ball at the end. It was the perfect weapon for fighting in close but also for keeping an enemy at a distance. Isaac dropped to his knees as two weighted balls zipped past his head. Each ball sounded like a zipper being undone at a hundred miles per hour. Before Isaac could formulate an attack, the asshole with the broadsword was on him.

  The impact of the sword forced Isaac to roll backward in the mud.

  Mud sprayed in his face. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to close his eyes. Kicking out, he swept the broadsword attacker’s feet from beneath them—and leaped out of the way of one of the weighted balls. Getting to his feet, he blocked the other kusarigama user who attacked with the sickle end and grabbed the back of the man’s head. The man tried to back away, but Isaac kept him locked in place, using his body as a shield.

  “Mas, get the fuck out of there,” said the other kusarigama wielder.

  “Don’t be a dick. Can’t you see I’m trying, too?”

  Mas tried everything in his power to escape, but he was still only a Baron, and Isaac’s Viscount strength easily overpowered him.

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  “Let go of me, you Afro Samurai piece of shit.”

  “Aww, I’m hurt,” mocked Isaac. “Am I an Afro Samurai because I’m black, or because I use a katana?”

  “Wha?”

  “Or should we ask your boyfriend? I bet he’s called something like Bas.” No one said anything as an uncomfortable silence spread. “I can’t fucking believe it! He is called Bas, isn’t he? Are you two fuckwits lovers or simply a comedy duo?”

  “Fuck you!” screamed Bas as he charged at Isaac.

  “No!” said the broadsword wielder, but it was too little too late, as Isaac waited until he was in range and pushed Mas into his path. Tangled limbs caught in chains, became further entangled as each party hurriedly tried to untangle themselves.

  Isaac saw the opportunity and took it.

  Mas was the closest of the two and turned around in slow motion, as Isaac cut him deep across the torso before removing one of his arms. Blood squirted like a mains pipe, covering Bas in red.

  “No! Mas! Mas.” Bas caught his friend as he collapsed to the ground, blood continuing to pump from his severed arm.

  “One down,” said Isaac. “Two to go.”

  Bas looked up at him, body shaking uncontrollably. “I—I—I—arghh!” He rose to his feet and sprinted toward Isaac, but before he could complete his attack, an arrow stuck him in the upper chest.

  Bas looked at Isaac in shock, while his forefinger trailed along the length of the shaft. It wasn’t a killing blow, but that mattered little to Issac, who took advantage when he saw one.

  “For all the pain and suffering you have caused, you seem new to this—a fair fight, that is—so let me give you a piece of advice for your next life. Don’t allow your opponent to get under your skin or inside your head.” Isaac tapped his head. “Every battle is won or lost in here.”

  Bas backed away as Isaac continued to walk forward.

  “That sensation you are feeling, it’s realization. Realization that you’ve picked a fight you can’t win. That you are about to die. I once had a mentor called Minato who trained me in weapons. He worked for people that would give the devil pause, and do you want to know how he described it?

  “The feeling you are experiencing right now?”

  Bas looked at the broadsword wielder for help but found none.

  “He said that it was like having a rat whose hair was sticking out on end trying to claw itself out of your guts. It is the fear of knowing that no matter what you do, no matter what you say, that you are going to die. I would say I feel sorry for you, but you guys have killed so many innocents whose crimes was simply existing. So take this as judgment for the crimes you have committed.”

  ***

  Felicity fired off an arrow that embedded into the upper chest of the attacker lunging at Isaac—the one wielding the weird weapon that looked like a sickle with a chain. Without hesitating, she drew again, pulling the bowstring back and firing with everything she had. She knew that as she grew in strength she could imbue her weapon with her Aura. The training manuals she got in Noobcity hinted at being able to do it, but she would need a higher level of training from someone who could show her the way or a more advanced manual, if she ever wanted to unlock those secrets.

  Her arrow flew straight and true and did what it needed to do. Although the attack didn’t kill her target, it left an opening for Isaac to move in and finish what she couldn’t.

  Isaac looked for her but couldn’t see her initially.

  The shadows concealed her, and the idiot didn’t notice the brute behind him, wielding a sword as big as she was. About to shout a warning, she didn’t need to; Isaac spun on his feet and rolled under the sword strike meant to carve him in two.

  He got to one knee and sliced his attacker’s leg at the kneecap, causing the man to fall backward like a tree that had been snapped at the roots.

  Isaac got to his feet and walked casually toward him. The man struggled to get up. He waved his sword feebly Isaac’s way, but it was a token effort.

  Isaac didn’t even block.

  Felicity’s heart stilled as Isaac looked upon his attacker—his victim, with a look of pure, holy judgment. It was a look given to the disgraceful—the undeserving—the dishonorable. A look that she had only seen one other time.

  On the face of HIM.

  Felicity took a step back as the man at Isaac’s feet lifted his hand up for mercy. None was to be found as Isaac drove the point of his blade through the man’s chest. With a twist and a pull, death came to him quickly.

  Felicity watched as Isaac stood motionless over the corpse while chaos ran rampant through the town. It was like he was alone. Lost in his own world. She couldn’t tell what he was going through by his body language, but the blank expression on his face almost made it seem like he was standing on a hill blossoming with wildflowers, contemplating on his life choices.

  Surely, he must feel something? Anything for the life he had just taken.

  Using a technique she learned from her training manuals, she sent out her Aura gently to probe Isaac’s Aura to get a sense of his emotional state.

  Jaws like a shark snapped back at her probe, and Isaac locked on her position like a predator.

  She froze on the spot.

  His eyes filled her entire vision. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. She wanted to run—

  His Aura pulled back as fast as it leaped forward. “You should be more careful.”

  She stepped out of the shadows, bow lowered. “I was…I was just worried about you. That’s all.” He said nothing as he looked at the corpse at his feet. “Do you not feel—”

  But her words were snatched out of her mouth by innocent screams in the distance. They fled their way.

  Isaac flicked the blood off his blade. “Cover me.” He didn’t wait for a response as he rushed to aid them.

  A group consisting of ten chased after a collection of men and women. The bandits had an array of weapons, but mostly the group used clubs wrapped in barbed wire.

  Felicity tried to get a shot, but the fleeing townsfolk made it impossible to get a clear view without causing friendly fire. She needed to get to higher ground. Sprinting to the nearest building, she put her bow away and ran up its wall like a monkey, using grip strength that would put the strongest human to shame.

  Fingers digging into the smallest cavity, she made the climb in no time and found herself on the building’s roof.

  The enemy surrounded Isaac, while the townspeople did their best to escape. Isaac sliced and diced, moving from one target to the next, but attackers still slipped past him, eyes locked on the people who fled.

  Bow back out, Felicity took a deep breath and steadied her breathing.

  She located on her first target.

  A man who waved a cutlass in the air.

  She aimed for his head but knew she couldn’t take the shot. They deserved death, the attackers who tried to lay waste to this place. But she still couldn’t do it. Not now, maybe never.

  A woman tripped and fell.

  The cutlass wielder hooted and laughed, an eager grin on his face.

  “You evil bastard. I should end you—”

  She lowered her aim and shot two arrows into his kneecaps, dropping him to the ground. He screamed in pain as others from his party leaped over him. They didn’t get far as Felicity shot arrow after arrow, hitting kneecaps—feet—shoulders—hands.

  Screams of pain from the village attackers now overrode the ones from villagers as incapacitated bodies quickly piled up.

  She checked on Isaac and found that a similar body count lay at his feet.

  Good. If they continued as they were, then they would get out of this without any injuries—

  DANGER!

  Her Aura flared, warning her a split second before the attack. She leaped back as something impacted the roof tiles where she had just been.

  Tile dust flew into the air as she backtracked.

  Again and again the roof tiles exploded at her feet, causing her to leap and roll. Coming to a knee, she looked for her attacker but couldn’t find— There! Standing opposite her on the roof of a building across the street.

  It was the same Viscountess Aura she had felt when the bandits stormed the town.

  Felicity lifted her bow, but before she could take a shot, her attacker’s hands covered themselves in water and launched two blue, fist-size orbs her way.

  She jumped out of the way as the watery orbs impacted the roof. Rolling until she came to a stop on her back, she stared up at the night sky and breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived as the roof moaned and groaned before giving away.

  She fell into nothing but darkness as a ton of bricks and roof beams came with her. The one thought that went through her mind was, Who was that water bitch?

  And how was she going to get payback?