Present. The battle at the capital.

Lilliana, Albert, Élise, Rich, and I resurfaced in front of the castle’s porch. The magic circle we were standing on faded.

I looked around. As expected, panicked citizens were surging through the front door, exiting the castle The streets behind us were also filled with fleeing citizens.

I heard someone shouting, "Everyone! Take refuge in the Cathedral! You'll be safe there!"

I forced my way through the front door against the flow of people. I didn’t care about these nobodies right now. I had to get to the shelter and fast. I didn’t have time to worry about being rough.

The flow of people got thinner as I crossed the entrance, so I sped up the pace and distanced my teammates.

**Acceleration**

There were no enemies in sight.

**Something’s off**

Swiftly, I reached the door leading to the underground. It was the only door in the castle leading there. Before the battle, this door had been locked and barricaded from the inside.

I was relieved to find it closed. It meant Ana was still safe down there.

Surprisingly, an odd-looking old man stood next to the said door.

“Lynch, you are here at last.”

“Warden? The fuck you’re doing here?” I gathered my thoughts for a second and, before he could answer, “Actually, It's not so surprising. You’re always at the weirdest place at the weirdest time.”

“I stand here to deliver you some advice. Remember that there is a time for everything. Haste makes waste. Play it slow, young man.”

“The fuck are you saying? You and your meaningless enigmas.”

“The enemy is down below. You should hurry.”

“Oh, now I should make haste? Stop contradicting yourself, old man.”

That fossil definitely knew something about this. In any case, I blew up the barricaded door with a Conflagration and sprinted downstairs.

On the way, I re-organized my thoughts.

**The alley was empty. No enemies, citizens, or evidence of fighting. But the Warden clearly said the enemy was down here. The only entry point to the underground is the door I just passed by, and it is inconceivable that the enemy came through there because the barricade set up before the battle was still in place.**

**Could it be?**

There was one possibility. It seemed improbable, even impossible, but the facts were there. As I stated before, the shelter had an exit. An emergency exit leading to a farm owned by our trusty Humfrey.

You know what I’m getting at, don’t you?

An exit can also be used as an entry.

But here’s the tricky part. Only a few key people knew the existence of this escape route, and only the members of the royal family were given the seal to reveal the passage.

If the enemy was down there, it had to be the shelter. Or maybe they simply dug through the crystalline rock on thousands of paces. Thinking about it, that made more sense. A lot more sense than having a member of the royal family undo the seal and unleash an army of mutants at the core of the capital.

The future ahead didn't look too bright. The only one that had a weapon at the shelter was prince Léopold. Terrified people and swords didn’t make a good pair, which is why only Léo was allowed a weapon. But he was still a kid. If the mutants really invaded the passage, how long could he hold them off?

Worrying is inefficient, yet the most human thing to do at times like these.

Let’s not forget Ana was there. She was gifted in such a way that she could effortlessly ease one’s bloodlust. For all I know, she could be drinking tea with the mutants as we speak.

I had countless questions. But somehow, I felt like I would find all of the answers at the shelter.

After what seemed like an eternity, I reached it.

The door was locked and barricaded, and there were people behind it, so I couldn’t blow it up with a Conflagration.

**Iron Resolve! Titanic Might!**

I still had Acceleration active, and with these new physical buffs, I’d charge right through the door.

At least, that was the plan.

I hit the door at full speed, bounced back, and landed on my bottom.

This door was going to pay for humiliating me.

"Conflagration!"

Forgetting the people hiding behind the door, I blew it up with a Conflagration.

I jumped across the blazing entryway. My fearless blond hair crossing the flames evoked without a doubt the elegance of a phoenix. These were my own flames, so they obviously couldn’t burn me.

I landed inside the room.

Reflexively, I took a step back and stumbled on a fragment of the door, falling on my rear.

All the preparations in the world would not have helped me withstand the shock I felt taking my first look at the inside of the room.

Countless corpses layered the floor, their blood covering the integrality of it. Hellish creatures, half-goat, half-man, were laughing while they were pulling out the intestines of a dying noble. Right next to the bloody corpse, some mutants were drinking a thick red liquid from a cup. I guessed the origin of that liquid when I spotted one plunging its cup in the belly of a victim that had her innards already ripped off.

In the corner of the room, someone was still fighting. A young man, covered in deep and shallow cuts, stood tall. He seemed to be defending a young girl, who was curled up in a fetal position behind him. She was drenched in blood, most likely the young man’s, because she didn’t bear any visible injuries.

The young man’s name was Léopold. He was the heir to the throne of the Human Realm. The young girl he was protecting was his only sister, princess Tanya.

I was about to jump in to defend them when I spotted right in front of me a familiar silhouette. Her hair was in a dark shade of red, unlike her usual lighter color, and they were sticking to her frightened face. Her clothes were torn off, leaving her shoulders and parts of her swollen belly exposed. The embryo sleeping underneath that skin was probably still living. In her blue eyes, despair was taken over by a ray of hope as her gaze crossed mine.

Something was standing behind her, holding back her head with a strong grip on her hair.

He was taller than me, and I couldn’t see any horns poking out of his hood. He was different from the other mutants, that was for sure. He looked almost… human. Elven, perhaps.

In his right hand, he was holding a red blade soaked in the blood of his last victims.

His blade was moving toward my wife’s inner thigh. I couldn’t see his face, hidden by the hood, but it looked like he was enjoying himself.

I didn’t hesitate. My aim was true, and my spells nearing the speed of sound. And most importantly, Anastacia was in danger.

I would kill him swiftly.

**Soul arrows!**

Three bluish arrows flew right ahead at high speed. My aim was true, as expected, and my arrows would reach their target before the bastard could react. An arrow for each of his wrists so he would drop his knife and his grip on Ana’s hair. The other arrow would fly right through his neck. He was a lot taller than her, explaining why I had a clear view of his neck.

I would kill him and save my wife without fail.

Why would I have been gifted this overwhelming might if not for this very moment?

My arrows landed on each of the targets, as expected.

And vanished, leaving no damage whatsoever.

The arrows aimed at his wrist dissipated as they collided with his wrists. The arrow aimed at his neck dissipated as it collided with his collar.

My spell, which had been perfectly cast, faded into nothingness, my soul arrows returning to the air as ambient mana.

He looked at me, and I caught a glimpse of his face. Through his well-furnished red beard, there was a wicked smile. He looked similar to Ana’s father, but the nature of their smile was day and night.

I tried again. This time, aiming straight for his despicable face.

He turned it sideways, and the arrow collided with the side of his hood.

And vanished, leaving no damage whatsoever.

This time, he was laughing audibly. A cruel, distorted inhuman laugh. Considering he was even human in the first place.

My Soul arrows were useless here. I had no other spells as fast and precise as this one. If I ignored that, I’d risk hitting the hostage.

For the first time in my life, I felt fear. A paralyzing terror that locked me in place for a few seconds. I realized that the danger was indeed very real. For as long as I could remember I had never found myself against such a tangible threat. I had always succeeded with ease. Winning every battle in an instant, so finding myself against unfavorable odds was something I had never experienced before.

I was not prepared for such a development. The magic that I was so proud of turned out worthless the only moment I truly needed it.

I was afraid. Afraid that I would fail to protect what mattered most.

A drop of sweat poured down my forehead, crossed my eyelashes, and reached my eye. I blinked a few times to restore my blurry vision, bringing me back to my senses.

Fear was a biological mechanism protecting a living organism by urging it to flee a threat.

In other words, this was completely meaningless for me at this moment. I was not a prey trying to save itself. I was a guardian protecting what was most important to my world.

If he was a wolf holding onto a sheep, I was the shepherd at the top of the food chain.

This bastard humiliated my wife. This bastard was laughing at me. He deserved death, and I would grant him.

By my own hands, if I had to.

**Acceleration! God Fists!**

I re-casted Acceleration because it expired when I stopped moving earlier. Iron Resolve and Titanic Might were still active. I also added God Fists, another physical buff, this one strengthening my fists, making them harder than steel and increasing even further their explosive power.

I became an unstoppable mass of pure destruction. If I couldn’t defeat him with precise mana handling, I would overthrow him with raw power.

My opponent would, without a doubt, use Anastacia as a shield. I would simply use an air spell, Breeze, to alter my trajectory and circle around him. Finally, I would take his filthy head in my hands and twist his neck. That was the plan, anyway.

I charged straight ahead, with no hesitation whatsoever.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl.

I spotted his hand, the one holding the dagger, and kept it in sight while he raised the dagger in a swift motion.

He settled his blade on Anastacia’s throat.

I thought he would reflexively try to defend himself, but I was wrong.

I thought even if he didn’t, I would be quick enough, but I was wrong.

She opened her soft lips. I didn’t hear what she said, the intensity of my concentration at the moment disconnecting me from the world. But I read on her lips, “I love you, Lynch.”

Those were her last words as this sickening human waste slit her throat.

“Double Kill! HAHAHAHA!!!”