Carnivac sprinted out from the trees, headed for the golem mages to take them out in the confusion. Just steps away from his target, a row of kunai throwing knives sprung up between him and the mages as he dodged out of the way. Carnivac skidded to a halt and turned to see Ryuski glaring at him.

“Well, if it isn’t the fake wolf,” Ryuski began. “I was hoping that we’d run into you. Your little buddy is talking with the Prince so I won’t have to worry about you pulling that little trick again.”

Carnivac glanced to the side of Ryuski, but his owner didn’t appear to be with him.

“Don’t worry, we have a couple of minutes before she notices,” Ryuski said. “I have to say, curiosity got the better of me and I ran your program.”

“And still you side with them?” Carnivac asked, keeping his blades at the ready.

“It’s... complicated.” Ryuski said hesitantly. “I now know who I am, and I know who Victoria is. You see, she’s my little sister. I’d vowed to protect her and I will continue to do so no matter what.”

“Does she know?”

Ryuski lunged forward and clashed his sword against Carnivac’s.

“No. And it’s going to stay that way. I don’t care about your little revolution or the guild or any of it. All that matters is protecting my sister.”

Carnivac parried the blade and slashed with his second but Ryuski dodged backward, out of range.

“You!” a shrill, female voice yelled out.

Carnivac stepped back just out of the way of a downward attack from Ryuski’s sister-slash-owner. She lashed out with a flurry of strikes, forcing Carnivac back but she wasn’t able to get past his two wakizashi with her single katana.

Ryuski rushed in with his own attacks, swiping to Carnivac’s left as Victoria attacked from overhead. Carnivac blocked Ryuski’s blade and deflected Victoria’s blade towards Ryuski, but Ryuski was quick to recover and chopped downwards biting the blade into Carnivac’s shoulder. The blade clinked on Carnivac’s metal frame and sliced open the wolf skin, spilling the mana slurry but otherwise didn’t do any damage.

Carnivac ducked under the blades, dropping to a crouch and spun, lashing out with a kick that Ryuski evaded but caught Victoria. Victoria squeaked as she hit the ground with a thud.

Carnivac slashed down with a blade for her throat but it was caught by Ryuski’s. Carnivac dropped the blade and grabbed Ryuski’s wrist pulling him off balance as he stabbed with his second sword into Ryuski’s armpit where there would be less armor or protection for the mechanical joint.

The blade met some resistance as it punctured through the joint and broke apart the internal linkages. Ryuski tried to pull away, but Carnivac pulled him in another direction by the wrist, forcing him into an armbar as the blade in his armpit worked around the joint and the whole arm severed cleanly off.

Ryuski fumbled to the ground, slamming into the dirt where his arm might have caught him had it been attached. Victoria rolled out of the way and came up with her sword at the ready and thrust forward. Carnivac leaned back but was caught by Ryuski on the ground and couldn’t dodge out of the way in time.

Victoria’s sword sliced cleanly through Carnivac’s leather armor, the thin metal of his torso housing, and out the other side. Victoria, breathing hard, glared at him with contempt.

“It’s over, you freak,” she growled, “now just die.”

She released her grip on the sword and did a complicated hand gesture and blew into her fist. Fire erupted from her hand, blasting Carnivac in the face at close range.

Carnivac turned his head as the flames burned away the wolf fur and skin. He shook off the embers as the flame died down. Glowing blue mana slurry bubbled and sloughed off, revealing a smooth, undamaged, metal wolf skull where his face had been and glowing green Automata eyes. Victoria’s eyes grew wide and she stumbled backward a step.

Carnivac tilted his head sideways like a confused dog and stared her in the eyes as he casually took the hilt of her sword in hand, bending it 90 degrees from where he was stabbed.

“What? Whatwhat??” Victoria cried, wrenching her now L shaped sword free.

Carnivac looked down at Ryuski, who was still holding onto his leg.

“Your sister isn’t the brightest candle in the chandelier, is she?”

“Ha! Stupid fake! Your tricks won’t work! Ryuski’s just a machine, he doesn’t have any sisters!”

Carnivac gave her a look and then back to Ryuski with a shrug and a gesture as if to say “See what I mean?”

“Idiot...” Ryuski muttered in a low voice.

Victoria shot Ryuski a confused look but before either could recover, Carnivac lashed out with his remaining sword. Victoria shrieked and vaulted back into a back handspring, dodging the attack and discarding her bent sword.

Carnivac stepped over Ryuski and spun around, regripping Ryuski’s severed arm at the bicep and whipping it around and catching Victoria with a Dhalsim-like extended backfist. Ryuski’s metal hand slapped across her face and sent her spinning as she flew backwards.

Victoria smacked into the back of a coach, bouncing off and hitting the ground in a crumpled heap.

“Vicki!” Ryuski called out as he scrambled to push himself up on his remaining arm. Once he got his legs under him, he rushed over to Victoria and pulled her over into his lap, looking terrified.

Carnivac dropped the arm and picked up Ryuski’s fallen sword instead. Calmly, he walked over and shoved the sword through Ryuski’s back and out the other side. Ryuski had managed to grab the blade as it projected out of him, holding it fast to keep it from also thrusting into the unconscious Victoria.

“I spared you once as a kindness, to spare you again after you continue to hunt and attack me would be foolishness, right?” Carnivac growled as he leaned his weight into the blade.

Ryuski’s Automata strength crumpled the blade in his grip and forced it to bend back around in a U shape as Carnivac pushed. The tip of the blade punched back into Ryuski’s chest and he held it fast, no matter how hard Carnivac pushed or pulled.

“I won’t... let you hurt her...” Ryuski said with degrading and glitching sounds.

“Reinhold?” Victoria said, confused and dazed. Fresh blood matted her gray fur, trickling into her blue eyes. She gently reached up to touch his face. “Big... brother?”

“Just... just kill mick-ick-ick me... lee lii let her live... plee-ee-ees,” Ryuski said, his voice beginning to short out.

This would be my first time actually killing someone... I felt ill. This felt less like killing an enemy in the heat of a fight and more like murder. They were beaten, but I knew that if I let them go again, the chances were high that they would just keep coming after me and the others. Still, this setup really didn’t feel terribly heroic.

Carnivac readied the attack but before he could make good, he heard Victoria sobbing. I was really starting to feel like a villain here.

Carnivac cursed and grabbed Ryuski by the head. “If I see you again, I’ll kill you and her both,” he growled. He then slashed his blade across Ryuski’s throat, severing his head and threw it into the woods.

Okay, clearly I’m a fool given what I’d said to Ryuski earlier, but if choosing not to kill someone makes you a fool, then I’m in good company with Batman, right?

“RYUSKI!” Victoria screamed.

Carnivac looked down at her, sheathed his blades and squatted down over her.

“He’s not dead,” he said calmly.

“Lord Fenrir...?” Victoria mumbled, fear etched on her face. “You’re the god of death... aren’t you?”

I admit, Carnivac probably looked like it right now. What with the glowing eyes, skull face, and black fur and gear. Plus surviving things that should have killed a normal, non-automata person.

Carnivac looked up at the trees and made a sighing sound. He looked back at Victoria.

“He’s not dead,” he repeated. “Your brother is still alive.”

“My... my brother?” she asked, confused.

Carnivac patted Ryuski’s shoulder stump.

“You’re brother. He’s floating in the void right now, but he’s not dead. You just need to repair him. I don’t know the details, but somehow your brother became this guy.”

“I don’t.. I don’t understand,” she pleaded.

“I’d really prefer not to kill you, okay? If you and Reinhold here attack me or my party again, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Three strikes and you’re out.”

“Strikes? Lord Fenrir what do you mean?” she said, dizzily. She probably had a concussion at the least.

Before Carnivac could answer, he heard the sound of a woman’s scream abruptly cut off followed by the wail of the Prince.