Adeline saw both Tymon and Bihse surrounded by an earth wall, her eyes were especially fixated on Bihse. She looked injured, with her hand pressed firmly on her side, covered by some of her armor. Luckily, she was healing steadily as she started to make various movements. A wide smile appeared on her face as she gave Tymon a hefty hit on the back, who groaned. She then turned to Lorenzo and Risin, who simply stared at her.

  “I lost someone I called a friend today; his name was Joseph.”

  Tymon frowned as he processed the news. He was not close to Joseph compared to other elves, but he was an ally nonetheless. He was more concerned about Adeline’s emotional state and how she would react. Bihse, on the other hand, climbed over the walls and hugged her.

  “Once we are done here, we will give him and the other trolls a proper warrior send-off.”

  “Thank you, Bihse.”

  Lorenzo and Risin quietly sounded a retreat as they slowly moved backwards; this was not a fight they could win. Bihse moved and stood next to her as Tymon followed suit. He had tried his best to convince Risin and in the process lost a lot of time. He would have to ask for forgiveness from Adeline and Bihse ter.

  “Where do you think you are going? Did I permit you to leave?”

  Lorenzo remained quiet as he stared at Risin. “Risin, hold them as long as you can; I will go back and alert the empire!”

  Risin’s face contorted as he stared at the Duke. He had conflicting emotions but had no choice but to accept. It was an order from a noble. Lorenzo turned and started to flee with some of the knights but was blocked by Alfred’s massive body. He spewed poison everywhere, killing some of the knights as trolls also appeared, finishing them off.

  “I have grown tired of giving you people warnings as if something different would happen.”

  Adeline stepped forward as Risin unleashed his levitating weapons; they all bounced off her skin. He charged for an attack as he poured his mana and unleashed it, but Tymon lunged forward and blocked the attack. Adeline stared down at Risin with an indifferent gaze.

  “If it wasn’t for him, I would have torn your body into pieces and fed it to the wolves.” Adeline’s threat had a tinge of anger as she walked past him. Risin closed his eyes, letting her pass as her wings slightly brushed his arms. Bihse also jumped into action after fully recovering and passed both Adeline and Tymon, releasing a powerful attack as Lorenzo blocked.

  “Adeline, he’s mine!”

  With newfound strength, she was faster than before as she sshed in a trance. Lorenzo summoned his mana as he parried and blocked the attacks in succession. It felt as if he was fighting a tornado; he started to lose footing. In that moment, he made a critical error as one of Bihse’s axes dug into his left shoulder, almost cutting his entire arm off. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.

  “Risin! Help me now!”

  Risin did not dare to even turn as his screams echoed through the destroyed buildings. Bihse, now bathed in his blood, pced her axe on his head and looked down on him. Adeline, floating behind him, looked very horrifying in his eyes. It was as if he was staring into the eyes of the devil herself.

  “The only regret that I have is that you will not see a new age, the age of recmation.”

  “We will never kne…”

  Bihse split his head in half, then took her other axe and finished the split as his body fell in two. She reached down and retrieved a sizeable magical core, then ate her rightful prize. Her body glowed with a violent hue as her muscles contracted and started to look more humanoid, as a singur horn protruded from her forehead. Her skin turned darker, with her hair now fully violet in color. She roared in pleasure while sheathing her two axes. The red mist retracted into her body, but her wings and horn remained, though her eyes returned to normal. She walked towards Risin, who was the only human remaining as the trolls started to collect the bodies of their fallen brethren.

  “My question is, what will you do now?”

  Risin let go of his sword, defeated, but did not look at Adeline. “I am your prisoner; it is up to you.”

  “I was not talking to you.” Adeline dismissed Risin as Tymon stepped forward.

  “I could not find the strength to kill him, even though I promised that I wouldn’t waver.”

  “I would have been disappointed if you did, but my question remains: what now?”

  Tymon turned to Risin, who looked defted. “This may be hypocritical of me and selfish, but I would like to mentor him. If he lives among the different creatures, maybe he will change for the better.”

  “If he turns his sword to you or my people, he will be put down. I hope you understand that.”

  “He will be my personal responsibility.” Tymon bowed, thanking Adeline.

  “I also forbid him from having a branch of the world tree. I don’t care what that old elf says. I doubt the tree would even want him.”

  “I have a question.” Risin spoke in a low voice as Adeline turned to him.

  “Speak.”

  “What will you do with the residents of this town?”

  “If they follow my ws and act accordingly, they can live under my protection. If they choose not to, they can leave or be executed.”

  “What will those ws be, if I may ask?”

  “Everyone will live equally under me; there will be no discrimination, and those who you call monsters will be walking the same street as you. Tymon will work out the finer details.”

  “Thank you for sparing the citizens.”

  That word set something off inside Adeline as she violently lifted Risin by the neck. She started to squeeze tightly as Tymon and Bihse only watched, shaking their heads.

  “Thank you? I will let you in on a secret. I personally think the goddess and everyone else are wrong; your kind don’t deserve shit. I would have impaled every single one of you on a pole right through your asses outside my walls, and every morning I would enjoy the sight of vultures eating your dead bodies.”

  Adeline let go of Risin, who fell to the ground, holding his neck. Adeline turned towards the city with Bihse and Tymon next to her. Tymon gave Risin a stern look as he got up and walked several steps behind them. Alfred slithered from a nearby colpsed house, covered in wounds which slowly healed. Adeline lifted him up and affectionately gave him pets. He then slithered towards Risin and curled around his neck. He opened his rge mouth, revealing a set of fangs, and let out a hiss. Risin understood the threat and continued to obediently walk. The trolls saw this and joined them as an army of about one hundred trolls took to the streets. The morning sun slowly rose as the destruction of the previous war was on dispy. It was a disgusting sight: half-torn bodies and the smell of blood harassed their senses. The buildings were also extensively destroyed, with rubble everywhere.