[REDACTED]

  When I had first laid eyes on Feyre, I was intrigued. I knew quite quickly she'd have been a perfect fit for Eurani. She was but a child then, barely five, but her strength of mind and natural magical affinity were higher than even some of the more renowned fighters I had seen on that other world. Sure, I felt a bit scummy to mark a kid for reincarnation so early but I wasn't going to pass that up, and it meant that she was going to have a godlike luck until she was an adult.

  Such are the perks of those fated to die. I had thought that perhaps she'd live to a proper well lived adult but maybe not as old as she might've when I marked her. But unfortunately she was not long off her thirties when she died on Earth. An assassin. Who would have predicted that? I was hoping I wasn't to blame for that but deep down I was fully aware I probably was the main reason it succeeded so thoroughly.

  So sure, I felt bad. That feeling meant I sent her to the best one of our Admins I could. He was usually reserved for Legendary Hero Summoning explanations so I had faith that she wouldn't be left wanting for information.

  She was.

  Well, not technically. But she had.

  That stupid cat had told her the bare minimum and sent her on her way.

  When he was being punished I found out that he was under a time limit due to his manager's stupid rules.

  That manager didn't exist anymore.

  Then, not only was she underprepared by normal standards but the System itself was rejecting me. Me! As if that were even possible. So I set my best Developers on it, and got involved myself as well.

  Time was a bit of a strange thing. Different for every realm. There was no straightforward way to measure it unless on the world you wished to be measuring. Not even a week later for her and a whole lot of time had passed on Earth.

  Another took it upon themself to avenge her unjust end. And I may have helped them along a little, behind the scenes. Once they were caught I decided that they would be the target of the summoning spell. I gave the cat it's last chance. With one final look, I turned away from Earth. Perhaps a little apocalypse would be fair, it had been so, so, so long since the last one. There weren't even any recorded sapient creatures on Earth last time. So I sent the order to the Earth. I wasn't as powerful or well known in the earth circles but I was still me. I was still...

  Tyrril

  It wasn't often that I paid much attention to the guards I took with me, they were usually good but not very sociable. However, when it came to the three Gold Ranks that were currently guarding my carriage directly as we moved I could just feel the tension between them. I was a merchant, I could tell people's rough emotional state when looking at their faces and, well I didn't need the skill to know that Emrik was absolutely livid with Karrlund who was in turn very much not happy with Emrik. Pavolia just seemed tired and sad, which was obviously less that ideal when I thought about these three being able to level this entire forest if they had enough time. Gold ranks were rare, just getting there put you to the equivalent of roughly forty basic footmen or roughly a hundred normal civilians in the Kingdom of Erriol.

  I poked my head out of the carriage and gestured to Emrik to come closer. He nodded and promptly appeared in front of me in the carriage, slouching on the sofa languidly.

  "What do you need?"

  It wasn't impolite, per se, just not what he'd usually do.

  "I wanted to ask what was going on between you three. I obviously trust you three are professional enough to not let get squabbles get in the way of your job... However, I would consider myself at least on the cusp of being a strong acquaintance, if not a friend, and it worries me to see such a tight knit group like this fray at the edges. Can you enlighten me to the issues?"

  Emrik paused as I said my piece. His face moving through so many different and conflicting emotions that I almost missed what he replied with.

  "Tyrril, be honest with me here. You knew Lucius better than I did. Do you think he was the sort that would... uhm... impose himself on a woman? When we explored the surroundings of where he was assumed to have been killed by the Dire Wold we found evidence that Feyre had not only fallen over, as proven by some of the shift being caught on the brush and the like, but also that she scrambled back, facing towards him as he stood over her. We know this due to the footprints and the like, but there might be an explanation that isn't quite so worrying."

  I paused. To speak ill of the dead was one thing. But to speak ill of a man who'd been lauded as a hero by the other guards? I can see how an argument broke out between the two. If I was honest, Emrik always saw the worst in people whereas Karrlund always saw the best. I was about to speak but he cut me off. I forgave it due to him giving me more information.

  "Karrlund believes she fell when trying to escape the Dire Wolf. The only problem I have with that is that her blood on the ground is older than his. If only partially. I really don't want to believe my idea to assign Lucius as a guard to Feyre had led to him using her as a sacrifice or attempting to force himself on her, but Karrlund is refusing to see any reason at all. To him both Feyre and Lucius were saints who are now martyred. It's unbecoming of him as a Party Leader to refuse to see that not everyone is as honourable and perfect as he is."

  I raise an eyebrow at the jab, and hum. Lucius had a slight reputation among the ladies of being quite... promiscuous, sure, but in all the tales I'd heard, the ladies had thrown themselves at him and he had simply indulged them. No matter what I was a bit miffed. How had such a short stay led to such a rift. And that had reminded me that I still had those notes of the game Feyre had told me about which would lead to a tidy profit.

  "I dare not think Lucius would force himself upon a maiden, not even one so fair to the eyes as Feyre had been. Lucius, if he was going to do something to her at night and away from camp, would be more likely to execute her for being to dangerous. That's my take on it anyway. Maybe he saw her doing something or she snuck out and he took it into his own hands."

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  At that Emrik stilled. He nodded slowly. He suddenly got up and was next to Karrlund instantly, standing on the side of the carriage without having ever opened or closed a door.

  Karrlund

  I saw Tyrril and Emrik talking and huffed. No doubt Tyrril, with or without his sharp eye would have noticed the tension. In truth I wasn't being fair to Emrik. I knew that whatever had happened in the forest that night was suspect. They weren't heading back to the camp, Lucius was clearly leading Feyre away from it in the dark.

  I refused, however, to believe that such a noble man as he had given into such baser temptations as-

  "Hey, I uh... I wanted to apologise. I guess. Tyrril said something and now I think I know what was actually going on... Lucius was planning on killing Feyre before the Dire Wolf came. Maybe, maybe she'd done something? Or maybe he just didn't agree with us taking the risk she wouldn't try something because honestly? Tyrril is probably right?"

  The words I was going to say die in my throat. My mouth opening and my tongue moving as if trying to form words and yet, and yet nothing comes out. This was an unfortunate stain on my opinions of Lucius but a much lesser stain than what it would have been if I believed what Emrik had been saying. I relaxed slightly and smiled apologetically at the man. He was a steadfast companion for so long and I knew that he struggled to trust anyone after the upbringing he had endured so I did what had wanted to do ever since our spat started.

  "Emrik, I must apologise as well, I'm certain. You had rightful fears and thoughts but I dismissed you so harshly because I refused to see the logic behind your words. I owe you a drink at the next stop alright? Now get back on your horse before she tries frying me with a fireball again."

  I tilt my head at Pavolia who is currently staring daggers into my back as me and Emrik talk. Leave it to the wife to be the more dangerous of the duo even when the husband in an assassin. Thankfully Emrik blinks away and probably fills her in because she's back to sunshine and murder for our enemies rather than storm cloud and murder which was being aimed at me.

  Pavolia

  I wasn't actually going to kill Karrlund. Probably. Possibly. Maybe. No, I definitely wasn't going to kill the only person other than Emrik who I saw as a genuinely good influence on the world. Tyrril was nice but he was also a merchant and that meant that he sometimes acted like one too. Too often for my liking but who was I to judge? No one else was quite as open to our little band of misfits as he was.

  Then, right as I was about to suggest we stop for the day, night, evening, whatever time it was, I was almost thrown from my horse as a familiar light grey box of text filled my screen.

  [Universal Announcement: High Lord of the Druatari, Vanquisher of Hythangir, The One who hung a thousand men, brutal warlord of the Druatari and Duke of the Realm of Undrel has been slain and cannot be Resurrected. Not even the Gods are eternal in Eurani.]

  "Woah!"

  I tucked in close as my fairly ignoble and brutish steed decided to buck as soon as I lose even an inkling of control. Out of fear or just surprise, the entire world seemed to stop. The last Universal Announcement had been to inform the world that the previous [Saint] has ascended to the level of deity and that his successor had been chosen. A mere peasant boy who'd worked his way up to the title of [Inquisitor] had been promoted that very day and since then there hadn't been a Universal Announcement. I think what scared me was that this meant that this Druatari High Lord's death was the same level as a [Saint] ascending to Godhood.

  Insane.

  Absolutely insane. That was the only thought I could have about this. After all this time. The current [Saint] was appointed over a century ago, closing in on two, so her mother hadn't even been conceived yet.

  Huge deal.

  Absolutely massive and great big deal.

  "Oh the Druatari are going to flip over this. Maybe they'll be too busy fighting each other to answer the summons to this realm that the [Cultist]s and [Ritualist]s keep accidentally or otherwise doing aye?"

  That was Emrik. My beloved Emrik. I had no idea how my fist ended up lodged into his gut and him wheezing on the floor. None at all.

  Feyre

  Kuryuk after Kuryuk rushed in with lethal intent. I could maybe block one or even two at a time but slowly and surely I was losing ground, health, and patience. I was growing tired of blocking one's slash only to get stabbed in the leg. I wasn't very good at keeping my composure and apparently [Temporary Absolute Nullification] was just that... Temporary. I was dully aware that even after the nullification wore off I was feeling less of it that I should've been. Not that it mattered to me anymore. I was tired, annoyed, and most of all, I was nearing the end of the swarm.

  There were roughly twenty Kuryuk that rushed in to try and gut me after killing their boss. Now there were nine. I was far more powerful, and moderately more powerful than any one of these disgusting little ladies. However, they were clearly superior at swarm tactics because they were well... swarming me. Jabbing and cutting at every thing they could.

  I had tried using my Storage but that resulted in me losing focus and getting a gash on my stomach. Of course my enchanted clothing was actually saving me from the worst of the strikes, or at least one or two. I think I would be dead again if not for my bonuses from [REDACTED]. I'd have to thank them properly later, if I didn't die first.

  I swung horizontally and caught one in the side as it raised it's arms to strike, my arming sword tearing through flesh and muscle and digging into bone thanks to my high strength stat I assumed. The Kuryuk fell, unmoving as the others screech in annoyance.

  I was slowing down. Clearly my endurance wasn't at the point where I could cut through twenty enemies without a care, but I was certainly on my way there.

  I paused for a second.

  That was all it took for the remaining eight to decide I was finished and all run in like one massive mob. I was kind of lucky, they gave me just enough time to use that super duper healing potion that I got.

  The first Kuryuk who was running at me, also the tallest left, was skewered and like some terrible kebab, another impaled themself too.

  With six remaining I wrench my sword away and make a wide sweep. The wolves were better at dodging, or at least were when I only had a normal human's strength. One of the Kuryuk were too slow to dodge, so their head was lopped off their body.

  Five left and I get stabbed right in the gut.

  That hurt and I was very very glad that I had been able to activate that temporary pain absolute remover or whatever.

  The Kuryuk which stabbed me pulled back, so I grabbed her machete and repeatedly slammed my pommel into her skull. I only stopped once she stopped twitching.

  The final four weren't that much smarter than the previous sixteen or so. All of them rushed towards me at once but didn't even change tactics with their attacks.

  One got one of their friend's machetes to the gut and keeled over as another got a swords against the ribs which instead of slipping between them like in the books and films it instead just shattered. They fell and I quickly hopped back, taking some more of that insanely good healing potion as I did so.

  Having all your organs and muscles and stuff basically knit itself back together was uncomfortable even without being able to feel pain.

  I glared at the final two Kuryuk. That was, until one of them ran away.

  I blinked and opened the storage, launching some machetes at her retreating form and also at the other one which was stuck in place.