Emrys suddenly sat upright, every fiber of his body tensing instantly.
He was lying on the bed in his room at the inn, unable to find the semblance of rest he sometimes allowed himself out of habit more than necessity, when his Haki detected several masses hurtling straight toward the village. Their size and speed were enough for him to immediately understand that they were not simply debris carried by the wind.
Rocks. And enormous ones at that.
Emrys didn't need another second to understand what was happening. Their trajectory was far too precise to be natural, and they were heading directly toward Fondval.
Someone was attacking the village.
"Trace On."
Five swords appeared in the air, each directly above one of the rocks. Emrys didn't even need to hold them. He simply created the weapons where he wanted them, then immediately made them explode.
"Broken Phantasm."
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The five explosions rang out almost simultaneously, shaking the windows of the inn and probably waking every inhabitant who was still asleep. The rocks were destroyed before reaching the first houses, their fragments falling into the fields and onto the hills surrounding the village.
Emrys remained in his room for several seconds, his face turned toward the outside.
Doors opened throughout the streets. Voices began to rise as the inhabitants came out of their houses to understand what had just happened. Some looked toward the sky, others toward their surroundings, but no one seemed to have seen the rocks coming. They had only seen the explosions.
Emrys, however, knew perfectly well that this was only the beginning. The moment he sensed the rocks, he had expanded the range of his Haki.
Around the outskirts of the village, he sensed about fifty presences. Some were massive, like Dubs', while others had wings on their backs.
Giants and fairies?
With this formation, there was no doubt. His fear had come true.
He grabbed his mask and quickly left his room.
*
A few minutes earlier, on a hill located outside the village, Goldard watched Fondval with a satisfied smile.
Around him, several giants had already gathered the rocks intended for the first assault. Each of them was simply waiting for the signal to throw them.
Goldard raised a hand.
"Are you ready?"
The giants nodded.
"Then throw them."
The enormous projectiles were launched one after another toward Fondval. Their trajectories had been calculated to hit different parts of the village and cause as much damage as possible during the first seconds of the attack.
Goldard watched their progress with satisfaction.
"That'll teach them to protect demons, those damn traitors."
A few dozen meters above the ground, Montante was also watching the scene. Several Stigma fairies were scattered around the village, ready to prevent the inhabitants from escaping.
"Hold your positions," she ordered. "As soon as the rocks hit, descend into the village and begin the extermination."
"And if some of the inhabitants try to surrender?" asked a fairy.
Montante turned her head toward her.
"There will be no prisoners."
The fairy immediately nodded.
"Understood."
Montante looked at the village again.
"We received a report about a demon hiding here. The inhabitants who have protected it all this time have made their choice. They know what they have done, and they will suffer the consequences."
Goldard burst out laughing.
"I prefer it that way. No need to waste time sorting out who knew and who didn't."
"Exactly," Montante replied. "The entire village will be considered complicit."
The giants watched the projectiles continue on their way.
Then five explosions rang out across the valley.
Goldard's smile disappeared.
The rocks had been destroyed before even reaching the village.
"What was that?"
No one answered immediately.
Montante observed the surroundings, searching for whoever was responsible.
"Stay alert."
Goldard clenched his fists.
"I thought I saw swords appear for a moment. Someone actually dared to intercept the attack?"
"Looks like it."
A presence had appeared in the air.
Emrys now stood before them, his mask concealing his face and his crimson cloak flowing behind him. He observed the soldiers surrounding Fondval.
Stigma.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
During these more than six years of war, Emrys had heard countless rumors about them, but he had never had the opportunity to directly meet one of their members.
Until today.
And it had to be said that his first impressions were not the best.
"Who are you?" Goldard asked.
Emrys did not answer immediately.
His Haki allowed him to clearly distinguish the different presences around him. Giants were gathered on the hill. Several fairies occupied the area around the village. There were no humans among the attackers.
Emrys had already understood this when the first attack came, but he wanted to be certain.
"You're from Stigma?"
Goldard frowned.
"You don't answer a question with another question, but I'll make an exception. Yes, we're from Stigma."
"Why are you attacking this village?"
Montante spoke before Goldard could answer.
"Because a demon is hiding here."
Emrys slightly turned his head toward her.
"You know about it."
"We received a report."
"And you decided to kill the entire village?"
Montante showed no hesitation.
"Yes."
The answer was so direct that Emrys remained silent for a moment.
Goldard continued with a smile.
"A demon has been hiding among them for years. The inhabitants are protecting it. So there's no reason to leave anyone alive."
"Are you certain that all the inhabitants know about it?"
"That doesn't matter," Montante replied. "They live in this village. They are responsible for what happens here."
Emrys frowned slightly behind his mask.
"There are children."
"And so?" Goldard asked.
The giant genuinely didn't seem to understand the problem.
"The children probably don't even know what's happening."
"Then they'll have the chance to join their parents in death," Montante replied coldly.
Emrys remained silent.
He had imagined many things when he discovered that Stigma might eventually learn about the demon hiding in Joran's home. He had thought they might try to capture the demon, interrogate it, or simply execute it. Him and everyone else connected to the matter.
He hadn't imagined they would condemn the entire village.
But he couldn't really say he was surprised.
For three years, he had fought demons almost without interruption. He had seen what they were capable of doing to humans and had eventually understood why so many people feared them. He had also begun wondering whether his own convictions were too rooted in his old world.
In his old world, there was no conflict between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Everything was a matter of interests and points of view.
But after three years of seeing the same scenes repeat themselves, he had begun to doubt. He was starting to wonder if this world wasn't more black-and-white than he had thought.
Then he arrived in Fondval.
A peaceful village.
Inhabitants who had accepted to protect a demon without treating it like a beast.
A demon who, despite its nature, had not attacked the humans who had welcomed it.
That had been enough to bring back a glimmer of hope that he had almost allowed to die out. Perhaps things simply weren't that simple after all. Maybe there really were good people among demons.
And now, Stigma had just given him another piece of evidence.
Evidence that a war could never be holy.
Goldard took a step forward.
"Move aside."
Emrys remained where he was.
"No."
The giant smiled.
"So you intend to defend these traitors?"
"Yes."
Goldard began laughing.
"Then you're an enemy too."
Montante raised a hand to calm the giant.
"Don't waste your energy. We'll deal with him after eliminating the village."
She turned toward the fairies waiting around Fondval.
"Begin."
The fairies immediately moved.
They descended toward the village at high speed, some heading toward the main streets while the others spread out to cover the different exits. The inhabitants, who had only just begun to understand that an attack had taken place, were already running in every direction.
Emrys followed their movements.
He could sense the confusion among the inhabitants, their hearts beating faster, the children searching for their parents and the adults trying to understand where the danger was coming from.
They knew nothing.
They hadn't even seen the rocks.
And yet, they were going to be massacred over something the majority of them didn't even know about.
A fairy passed in front of Emrys on her way toward the village.
He didn't even turn to look at her. A sword appeared directly above her.
The fairy barely had time to notice it before the blade struck and impaled her. Several more swords immediately appeared around the fairies accompanying the first.
They were impaled as well before they could reach the first houses.
The remaining fairies suddenly stopped.
Montante stared at the scene in disbelief.
"What the..."
Emrys still had his hands at his sides. He hadn't even needed to draw a weapon.
The remaining fairies backed away slightly, realizing that they couldn't simply charge toward the village.
Goldard stared at the swords floating around Emrys.
"Those swords again."
Emrys turned his attention toward him.
The giant took a step forward.
"So you're the one who destroyed the rocks."
"Yes."
"And you think you can stop all of us by yourself?"
Emrys didn't answer.
Goldard cracked his knuckles.
"Fine."
He was about to move when Montante stopped him.
"Wait."
She observed Emrys cautiously.
"Who are you really?"
Emrys remained silent.
He had no reason to answer her.
Montante then looked at the swords still floating in the air.
"It doesn't matter. You just declared war on Stigma."
Emrys turned his head toward the village.
Behind him, Fondval was still standing.
The inhabitants were beginning to gather, some trying to help their neighbors, while others were simply trying to understand what had just happened.
Joran had to be among them.
Lira too.
Elna.
Iklia.
Rou.
All these people were now threatened because a demon lived among them.
And that demon hadn't even harmed anyone.
Emrys thought back to the conversation he had overheard at Joran's house a few days earlier. He remembered the fear in the old man's voice perfectly, but also the decision he had made despite that fear.
Joran had chosen to protect someone.
The other inhabitants who knew the secret had made the same choice.
They had made a choice.
Stigma had just made another.
Emrys looked at the fairies who were already beginning to reposition themselves and the giants waiting for the order to charge. He understood that he could no longer remain on the sidelines.
For three years, he had fought demons because they attacked humans.
Today, members of Stigma were attacking humans because they protected a demon.
He could no longer ignore what that meant.
He had wanted to believe that things could be different.
Fondval had shown him that it was possible.
And Stigma had now shown him that this possibility existed on both sides.
Emrys stared at the soldiers before him.
"Like I thought, if there have to be two sides, then both sides are on the side of evil."