Three of the Crimson Falcons are dead. Marina was the last one left, and the weight of that thought almost made her break down.

Elias laughed weakly, even though he was still having trouble standing. "Hahaha! That's three... and then one more so that bitchass Greyson will have completely failed to be a hero."

The Guardian had finished with Ryn and was now focused on killing Elias. It moved forward, shaking the room with each step, clearly determined to finish what it had started.

Elias lifted his sword again, but his hands were shaking. He was frightened for the first time since he got his dark powers.

This creature was too much for him to handle. His confidence had been a mask, and now it was starting to show.

"Come on then!" he yelled, trying to sound tough. "I don't care about you! My name is Elias Grimhart! I am a hero who has come back to life! I should be special in this world so that I can make a wonderful story for the readers!"

The Guardian retracted its fist, preparing to strike. And then the whole room shook when something hit the ground with enough force to break stone.

Everyone stopped moving, even the Guardian, until there was a moment of complete silence, and then a voice came from the entrance to level ten. It was cold and empty of everything but deadly intent.

"Leave her alone."

Greg stood at the door with his war hammer still raised from where he had hit the ground. The weapon glowed with a light that was both holy and destructive. The crater he made with that one blow was at least twenty feet wide.

Cracks spread out from the point of impact like a spiderweb, and one big crack opened right under the Guardian's feet. The giant thing had just enough time to look down before the floor gave way. It fell into the dark with a roar of rage that could be heard long after it was gone.

Greg didn't see it fall. His eyes were glued to Marina, whose face was streaked with tears and whose clothes were stained with blood. He also saw Ryn's body in her arms and the fact that the rest of the Crimson Falcons were missing.

"Marina," he said, his voice shaking a little. "I'm here. Sorry I'm late."

Marina looked at him and couldn't say anything for a moment. Then the words came out all at once. "Kael. Denna. Ryn. Greg, they're all gone."

"I couldn't save any of them... they... they are all dead."

"I know," Greg said in a soft voice. "I saw everything, and I'm going to do the best I can to fix this."

"You can't fix this!" Marina's voice was a mix of crying and screaming. "They're dead!"

"Nothing you do can bring back my family because of that asshole...!"

Greg said, "No, but... I can make sure the asshole you're referring to pays for it."

He looked at the silver-haired reincarnator, who was slowly backing away, his confidence completely shattered. As Greg walked forward, his war hammer left a trail of light in the air, and with each step, reality seemed to bend around him.

The calm blacksmith was no longer there. Replaced by the one and only Warhammer Saint, a legend who had spent forty years perfecting the art of destruction, he was now only focused on one target.

Greg said, "You," and his voice was cold. "You did this."

"You hurt them... You broke them... You killed them..."

Elias tried to find the arrogance that had gotten him this far and bring it back to life. "They fucking earned it because of what they did to me back then!"

"Don't act innocent, Greyson! You're the one responsible for making me look bad!"

"That village, the shadow figure, and everyone treating me like I was worthless when I should be special! I am a reincarnator! The gods picked me to be the main character of this world!!!"

Greg said, "So was I. And I made a different choice without saying I have the main thing of this world."

"You made the wrong fucking choice by being a pussy about it!" Elias's voice got louder and louder until it was a shout, letting out all of his pain and anger. "You think you're better than me because you won't make weapons?"

"Do you think your dumb philosophy of peace makes you a hero in this world!?"

"Greyson, you're not a hero! You're just a pussy who hides behind nice things and words!"

"You're not unique! You are not the chosen one!"

"You're just lucky that people are dumb enough to believe your lies!"

"I earned my power!" Elias kept talking, and spit flew from his lips. "I accepted what the gods gave me!"

"I got strong by working hard and giving up things. So what did I get? Mockery! Disrespect! That shadow figure told me I wasn't worthy enough, that he even came back just to make a fool out of me again!"

"Do you know how that feels? To be told you're nothing after you've done everything?"

"To be thrown away like trash by some cosmic being that won't even show its face?"

"Yes, I did torture them!"

"Yes, I did kill them!"

"Yes, I made them hurt! That's what happens to people who follow you! People who think that peace can exist in a world built on violence end up like that!"

"I wanted you to see it!"

"I wanted you to see everything you cared about being destroyed! I wanted you to finally get that your philosophy is useless and that you've been wrong the whole time!"

"And you know what the best part is?" Elias laughed, and it sounded crazy and broken. "You still won't kill me, even after all I've done."

"Because that would mean I was right. That would mean turning into what you promised you would never be."

"Come on, Greyson! Show me I'm wrong! Show me that your peace can stop someone like me! Or say that violence is the only answer and that everything you've built is a lie!"

The room became quiet. Greg stood there with his war hammer in hand, staring at the man who had killed three of the Crimson Falcons, tortured Marina and dozens of others, and destroyed his friends.

And he lifted his weapon, which made Elias smile. "There it is... how special of me to make you lift your weapon like that. That's probably your first, huh?"

"Do you want to know what makes us different?" Greg asked in a low voice. "You think that having power gives you the right to do whatever you want."

"That being strong means you can hurt people."

"But you're wrong....having power means you have a duty and being strong is hard."

"Peace isn't about not fighting. It's about fighting for the right reasons to earn it."

"I would rather not make weapons."

"I would rather not be the same person I was in my past life."

"But you gave me no choice."

"Yes, Elias. You did get one thing right."

"Sometimes the only answer is..."

"...violence."

"But not because peace is weak. It's because some people are too broken to be helped in any other way."

The war hammer started to glow brighter, echoing years of hidden knowledge and anger. Greg said, "I'm not going to like this."

"But I'm going to do it anyway. "I will do it for Kael, Denna, Ryn, and everyone you have hurt."

"And the most important thing is for Marina."

Elias's face changed from fear to anger. "Finally! At last, you admit it! You're just like me!"

"We're the same!"

"No," Greg said and stepped forward again. "We're not the same at all. Because I would rather not do what I'm about to do. And you loved every second of being cruel."

"That's what makes you a monster. That's why you need to be stopped."

Elias raised his sword in a last-ditch effort to protect himself as the war hammer rose. Marina couldn't take her eyes off of them as they walked away, her arms still wrapped around Ryn's body.

This was it. The last fight between two reincarnators, two philosophies, and two ways to move forward in a world watched by both gods and shadows. And in the dark above level ten, the shadow figure watched with interest, waiting to see which vision of power would win out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.