And then the next day came. It was silent in the village, there was no murmur of open markets, no sound of children playing in the fields, no chatter of men and women. Everyone gathered in the cemetery, where the funeral ceremony took place. The inhabitants which dressed in black clothes brought candles and flowers. Peter stood by Ian's closed coffin. His whole body was trembling, he clenched his eyelids and sobbed quietly. After he calmed down, he spoke:

„His name was Ian Visivio Jenkins... He was a wonderful friend, heir to the Jenkins family... A medic who fought to overcome a deadly disease... But his time in this world is over.” He said these words in a breaking voice, with tears in his eyes, which he rubbed off immediately. „Goodbye, Ian.”

Two men slowly started lowering the coffin into a dug hole. Ian's burial did not last long. A stone slab with his name and surname, and a date of birth and death was set up. Flowers and candles were placed on the grave. After a while people went back to their homes, only Ed, Peter, Kasei and Cassandra stayed.

„He did not come to his funeral...” Ed whispered, clenching his fist tightly.

„Are you talking about Matevigo? No wonder, if the army is after him.” Casandra answered. „But I can see that your wounds have healed a little, that's good. Still, don't strain yourselves, I advise you to rest now.”

„Okay” Ed nodded. „Come home now.”

~

A black-haired man was sitting in a dense forest, by the pond. He took off his clothes and started to looking at his body. The wound reached from his face to his waist. Every time he touched it, he gave out quiet groans of pain. He looked at his reflection on the surface of the water and saw that wounded face, which reminded him of only one thing...

He carefully approached the door, put his hand on the doorknob and pulled it. When the door opened slightly, the thick essence of magic made him choke.

„Ian?!” He screamed and opened the door wider. Magic in the air was so thick that it could be seen, it was hovering all over the room; but he could see his brother barely leaning on his desk and writing something on paper. After a while, Ian looked at Mateo. Blood was spilling from his mouth. He smiled.

„Forgive me, Mateo....” Ian said with a weak voice. „I thought I was doing the right thing...”

„DUMBASS! WHY BLOOD MAGIC?!” The black-haired screamed and ran into the room. Then he saw circles painted with blood shining with a blinding glow. Mateo covered his eyes, but wanted to take his brother out of the room.

„Please, run away...” Ian insisted. „If you don't escape, then...”

He didn't have time to end the sentence. The circles sparked even brighter, the walls started to crack, Ian's body was torn from the inside, and Mateo was blown out by the explosion into the corridor, and then through the destroyed wall into the courtyard. He was lying there, still having before his eyes the image of his brother, whose body had been ripped apart. In addition, he felt awful pain, not only psychological, but also physical, stretching from his face to his stomach. He started screaming. He was screaming and crying, crawling towards the house.

„Ian, Ian...! Please, Ian, be okay!” He begged. He crawled into the house, then, bumping into the rubble, he fell to the ground and squeezed his lips in pain. He tried to get up. He succeeded, and with a lame step he went to his brother's room. It was completely silent there, no sparkling circles or signs, no dazzling light... There was only the stench of blood and magic that was still hanging in the air. Mateo fell on his knees, approached the dismembered body of his brother, whose face looked very calm.

„Ian...? Hey... Ian... say anything!” He started to poke him, hit him, every move he made was more and more hysterical. „IAN, GODDAMN IT, LIVE! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! IAN, IAN!”

But the grey-haired man was dead. With a peaceful face, with his whole body torn apart, he was lying still, not moving. Mateo started screaming again and grabbed his head.

„It’s all their fault...” He started laughing all of a sudden. „Yes... They... they... took my brother away from me...” He laughed, cried and screamed alternately. He got up with difficulty and sobbed... He didn't even know where to go. He fell down the stairs, and there he laid for a few hours, until he felt a desire for revenge...

Once he cleaned his body from blood using pond water, he got dressed. He had no idea what he was going to do now. He didn't even know what was overflowing his mind: Despair? Anger? Hate? But he didn't have much time to think.

„There he is!” One of the soldiers shouted out. There were two of them. Mateo did not move. „Matevigo Jenkins, you are arrested on the charge of breaking a magic taboo, and for severely hurting three people.” The second soldier said, drawing his sword. His partner focused magic in his hands.

„You know what?” Mateo said, turning around. His pupils narrowed to small points. „You're pissing me off.”

Then he focused the magic himself and started throwing it at them. The soldier-magician jumped away, and the other one, holding a sword, bounced the thrown missiles away, but it didn't stop there. Mateo struck the ground with his fist, which caused it to break under the swordsman feet, yet he jumped and cleverly charged at the black-haired. Mateo barely escaped the stabbing, but suddenly the pain from his extensive wounds tore at him again.

‘Ow, fuck. I can't do it like this.’ He thought, putting his hand on his stomach. He looked around quickly, wanting to withdraw. When the bullets made of magic started flying in his direction, he started running. The soldier with a sword charged towards him, but Mateo jumped away very quickly. This did not last very long, however, as the pain was so severe that it started paralyzing him. The black-haired man fell to the ground when his back was suddenly hit by a magic beam.

„Well, that's the end of fun for him.” The soldier-magician said. „Comrade, what shall we do with him?”

„We'll take him to the General.” The swordsman grabbed Mateo by his hair and lifted him up and put a sword blade to his neck. „What now, citizen? You are probably not guilty of breaking the magic law, but you are indeed guilty of a severe assault. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Mateo looked at the face of the man who was holding him. He smiled lightly.

He grabbed the blade of the sword with his hand, tore it away from swordsman, and before he could see it, the blade of his own sword was stuck in the soldier. A trickle of blood flew out of his mouth. He fell to the ground. The magician wanted to react, but Mateo, with the rest of his strength, quickly focused magic in his fist and hit him in the face. The magician began to scream while covering his face with his hands, and soon afterwards he fell as well. He threw himself on the ground and cried loudly from the awful feeling of burning.

„And now you wriggle like a worm...” Mateo commented with disgust, and got up slowly. He pulled the sword with difficulty from the swordsman's body, which was slowly bleeding out into the ground, and then he approached the magician and stabbed the blade into his chest. After this, Mateo also fell to the ground. He had difficulty with breathing and his wound hurt terribly.

‘You impress me, Matevigo Sivio Jenkins.’ He heard a dark, masculine voice. He slowly opened his eyes, began to look around, but saw nothing.

„...Who the fuck?” he asked out loud.

‘Huh, I see you like some sharp vocabulary. I feel the bitterness in your heart, it was the reason that made me choose you.’

„Choose...? Who are you, and what do you want?”

‘Some say that I am the devil, others call me a god... Some think I do not exist, and yet for some I am something for which they are ready to kill. Aren't mortals funny creatures?’

„Bullshit... You can't be...”

‘Oh, yes, I can.’ The voice laughed. ‘So, Matevigo, would you like to play a game?’