The blade was already inside Zareth. Amon didn't hesitate.

He twisted his sword hard. Muscles screaming, bones protesting, as he dragged the blade sideways through Zareth's stomach. The steel carved a brutal horizontal arc. Blood exploded outward.

"AAARGGGHHH!"

Zareth's scream tore through the darkness, raw and animal. His body convulsed as the wind mana around him shattered, dispersing into nothing but weak gusts that died instantly in the thick shadows.

His knees buckled. He fell forward.

Amon ripped his sword free, staggering back a step as blood poured from the wound like a ruptured dam. Zareth tried to breathe. Tried to speak. Only a choking sound escaped his throat.

Amon didn't give him time. His left hand tightened. The hatchet, still coated in writhing shadow, came back to his hand.

CRACK.

It tore through Zareth's forehead. Bone crushed. Skull split. Shadow flooded inside.

Zareth screamed one last time. Short, broken, terrified before the sound cut off completely.

His body collapsed. His body was lifeless. Silence reclaimed the forest.

Amon stood there, swaying. Blood dripped from his sword, from his hatchet, from his own shattered body. His chest rose and fell violently, each breath burning like fire in his lungs.

Yet he was still standing. Slowly, he looked down at Zareth's corpse. His smile never left his face.

But right now, it was not wide. Not manic. It was a satisfied smile.

"I… killed you," Amon whispered, voice trembling. "Hah…"

He laughed softly, almost breathlessly, more disbelief than joy.

Using his sword as support, he bent down and retrieved his weapons properly. His sword in his right hand, his hatchet in his left. They felt heavy. Familiar. Real.

The darkness around him remained unmoving. The shadowy figures still watched from afar.

They did not approach. They did not follow.

Amon lifted his head and looked ahead. There was no path. No light. Only endless darkness. It felt good. The darkness felt familiar.

He turned away from the direction of the demon camp and began to walk.

Each step was slow. Uneven. Pain clawed at every nerve, but he forced his legs to move. One step. Then another. Blood marked his trail.

The forest did not stop him. The shadows did not restrain him. Time lost meaning. At some point, his vision blurred. His grip loosened. His legs finally gave out.

Amon collapsed forward into the darkness. His body hit the ground once and did not move again. He was unconscious and alive.

For now.

Slowly, humanoid shadows surrounded him. Those figures kept looking at Amon's battered form. Then they lifted him from the ground.

Their elongated black hands held him as their bodies slowly started to submerge into shadow… or darkness. No one could tell. Amon vanished from there with those beings into the darkness. The forest remained silent.

Only the rustle of dark leaves in the cold wind remained.

---

Back at the demon base.

The fire had finally calmed down. But multiple tents had burned. Some supplies were damaged.

The controlling system was also destroyed.

There were injured demons with burned skin.

But only two demons were dead. Both burned in the fire.

The demon soldiers were sitting on the ground, talking about how this had happened.

A few demons wanted to patrol the forest, but after seeing those dark beings, they avoided going in.

The forest had also caught fire, but its flames were slowly subsiding.

They were confused about how the fire had started. Everyone should have been sleeping. Yet they could smell fuel in the air.

That meant someone had poured it on the tents and spread the fire. And those grenades as well.

A group of five captains gathered to talk.

"What do you guys think? What might be the reason for this fire?" one of them asked, seeking the others' thoughts.

Currently, their two commanders were out. It was their responsibility to take care of everything. Yet they had failed.

"I think… someone might have sneaked in," a female demon replied.

"No, that's not possible, Morgalina," another male demon responded quickly, his expression cold. "The controlling unit clearly said there was no movement of anything entering our base." His name was Valeryss.

"That means… someone was already inside. That's why they didn't detect it. Did someone from our side do this?" the first one asked again.

"No, Iskara. I don't think so," Valeryss denied it.

"Do you guys think… one of the prisoners might have done this? I heard from the soldiers who were checking there. They say only two burned human bodies were found. Though only a few parts remained. Most of the bodies turned into ash." It was Lina who shared her thoughts and what she knew.

Everyone's eyes widened at this information.

"Zareth was the one in charge of those prisoners. Let's ask him… but where is he?"

Only now did they notice that Zareth, one of the captains, was not present.

"I don't know. I saw him running toward the tents where those humans were kept. But after that… I don't know where he went."

Everyone grew tense.

"Look for him, everyone. Something might have happened to him. Search everywhere."

The five captains split up.

Orders were shouted. Lanterns were taken. Groups of soldiers moved between the half-burned tents, stepping over ash, broken poles, and melted equipment. Smoke still lingered low to the ground, making every breath heavy.

"Zareth!" someone called.

No answer came.

They checked the command tent ruins first. Nothing but collapsed frames and scorched ground. They searched the medical area. Then the supply lines. Then the perimeter. Still they found nothing.

"This isn't right," Morgalina muttered, her tail flicking uneasily. "He wouldn't just disappear."

Valeryss crouched near the prisoner tent ruins. His eyes narrowed.

"Here," he said.

The others gathered.

The tent where the prisoners had been kept was almost completely burned, but the iron cages inside stood open. Bent bars. Unlocked handcuff. Blood stains darkened the ground nearby.

Two human bodies were nearly burned. Only a few parts remained.

Iskara swallowed. "So one of them escaped…" Thier assumption became true.

Lina pointed shakily. "Look. Behind the tent."

Beyond the ruined tent, the forest began and it was burned in a strange way. Not wide. Not random. It was as if the trees were burnt in one direction.

The fire marks formed a rough path, like something had moved through it deliberately. Some trees were scorched on one side only. Others were untouched, even though they stood close to burned ones.

"That's not natural fire," Morgalina said quietly.

Valeryss stood up. "Lanterns lit up.Weapons ready. We're going in."

No one argued. They stepped into the forest together. It was not wise to enter alone at night. They also took some more soldiers.

The deeper they went, the quieter it became. Even the crackling of dying embers felt distant. The light from the lanterns seemed weaker here, as if the darkness swallowed it faster than it should.

After several minutes, one soldier froze. They saw it. Signs of a fight that had occurred here just recently. The ground was shattered. Trees were cut and bent. Faint mana lingered in the air. It was clear that someone fought here.

"A fight broke out here. Just recently. It must be Zareth and that human," Valeryss said.

"…Captain," one of the soldiers accompanying them called.

Everyone turned. They moved ahead, deeper into the forest. Blood could be seen on the ground and trees by the light of the lanterns. It was still fresh.

Then they saw it. Something lay on the ground. They approached slowly. The light revealed a body.

It was the dead body of Zareth.

He lay face-up among blackened leaves and half-burned roots. His clothes were torn open.

His stomach was cut wide, dried blood soaking into the soil beneath him. His sword lay a short distance away, snapped near the hilt.

But it was his head that made them stop. His forehead was crushed inward. Bone fragments were visible. His eyes were open wide, empty, frozen in terror.

Even Valeryss took a step back. Morgalina covered her mouth. "That… that human killed him?"

Silence followed. They cannot belive it. Zerath was dead. If they know it right, all three humans were tortured by him severely.

Iskara clenched his fists. "Zareth was a captain. A demon from a higher bloodline. From a noble family. And he was killed like this?"

Lina whispered, barely audible, "By a human…"

No one corrected her. They stood there, lantern light shaking in their hands. It felt as if shadows dancing over Zareth's ruined face.

Valeryss finally spoke, his voice low and controlled. "This was not an ordinary prisoner."

He looked around. The forest felt wrong. Too still. Too watchful.

"We take the body," he said. "And we leave. Now."

No one disagreed.

As they lifted Zareth's corpse, several soldiers glanced deeper into the darkness between the trees. But there was nothing.

They walked back to their camp in silence. No one spoke a word after seeing Zareth's dead body.

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