“What was that?” Caz asked, not understanding what his fellow priest was saying as Toltho screamed out into the crowd.

“I said no! Who are the gods to say that we should die for them? Who are they to say we should kill the ones we love before running away like cowards? Is our community so fragile? Are the bonds we share so weak? Could you all go on living with yourselves if you just let the lives of your parents and your young, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbours end so easily? I say no! If the gods would ask this of us then why do we even worship them? What’s been the point of all of this?”

The crowd was a mix of looks, a few seeming to agree but more looking shocked that a priest would say such a thing, while others looked enraged at him for daring to say something that would go against the will of the gods like that, with his fellow priests being in the latter group.

“You go too far Toltho!” Pleht screamed at him, a ball of fire already in his hand before turning to the crowd. “Look at what we have! The gods gave it all to us. The food of the forest, the waters of the river, the sun in the sky, even our very lives! If they gave it all so freely then who are we to say they can’t take it away? Are you so great that you can decide what is right?”

“You don’t have to be great to know this is wrong!” He yelled back. “And if the gods are wrong about this then what else are they wrong about? I’ve seen the strange ones! They care for one another as any of us do! Maybe they are coming to kill us, but then what difference is it from now anyway? I’d rather die fighting than live with the consequences after!”

The voice of Quox screamed through his head.

“Perhaps I am wrong for this, but in that case it’s better to be wrong!” He yelled back at the same time the other priests attacked.

With how coordinated it was he could only assume it was directed by the gods as the four of them moved as one, two of them firing off flame spells towards him as the others used earth, leaving him little room to avoid as he had to decide what hit to take, choosing the weaker of the flame spells in the end as he felt his flesh sizzle and fur burn as he activated the one skill in the village that no others had managed, he brought forth his invisibility.

As the awakened version of the stealth skill, turning it into a non-affinitied magic when it did, he was the only one in the village to achieve such a feat in its entire history, needing just what had happened explained to him as a result, but when he had he couldn’t have been more thrilled. He attributed it to the gods, and now it was going to be the only thing keeping him safe from their wrath.

With the skill activated he couldn’t be seen, a similar effect to what some light spells could achieve, but as a skill descended from stealth it could do so much more. It silenced his movements, helping to erase what noises he made while at the same time reduced his impact on the world, though not completely erasing it. The steps he took in the dirt left almost non-existent traces, though they were there, and the smell of his body lessened enough that even his kind’s sharp senses typically couldn’t pick him up unless they were focusing on it and right by him. At least that would be how it usually was if the stench of his burning fur wasn’t so strong.

After slipping past their first attack they had much more trouble aiming for the second without the aid of their eyes, but that didn’t mean they’d miss, it just meant each attack had to be bigger. Instead of the controlled blasts of fire and earth, carefully made to conserve mana, they went wider, doing their best to strike the areas he could have gone to in the time that he vanished while he struggled with just what to do. He knew they would kill him, that was the clear aim of each spell, the only question was if he would respond in kind.

He knew he couldn’t just put them in a state where they’d be unable to fight. Among the five priests, he was the only one with access to death magic, but the rest of them were skilled at life and could use it masterfully to heal whatever wounds they received.

But if I kill for my own convenience am I any better? He couldn’t help but ask as he made his choice.

In the case of fire magic that was being shot to find him, increasing the spread of it lowered its power unless more mana was put into it, and Toltho was sure the two priests were trying to conserve what they had as they shot off their spells so he went for them first. They were minding their backs as each followed him the best they could with their noses so he took a risk. When one fired off her spell he jumped through it as it started to clear, creating a clear image of where he was before she could fire off another for the others to lock in on as he used his powerful strength to slam her into the ground, knocking the air out of her as he did before he dodged the coming attacks, watching as she was caught in the crossfire.

It looked like the others knew this could happen so they’d held back, but they’d done him a service in the meantime. His one attack would have just stunned her, but they’d taken her out, at least while she worked to heal her wounds and for just a second he thought he actually had a chance, right up until he’d heard the screams of children in the crowd, looking to it for the first time since his fight began and feeling horror grip him.

There were a dozen bodies laying around as he struggled to understand what was happening. It seemed that more had chosen to take their lives as their gods commanded, but Then there were the ones taking an active part among those who resisted. People were fighting for their lives, but worst of all was a small group of the particularly devote closing in on the parents trying to protect their young.

NO!

He forgot about the other priests as he kicked off the ground and threw himself into the crowd, tossing those who would try to kill the children without any care for whatever injuries they sustained as he stood in front of them, waiting for someone else to make a move as a water mage stood up, filling the area with mist.

For all the good it did him, his invisibility wasn’t perfect, and as moisture filled the air he was able to be seen as a hole within it, a clear target both for the priests as well as the most devote among them as he fought, knowing that while he might die in the end, if enough people were injured the gods might have no choice but to change their plans, so he canceled his invisibility, not seeing a point in wasting the mana as he clad his fists with death magic instead, taking a fighting stance as he prepared to give everything he had.