A silence had fallen over the entire rocky field, interrupted only by the crackling inferno above. With just a thought, Levi dismissed the spell. As he ensured the fire properly died out – the thing about magical flames was that they oft had the tendency to gain a will of their own – he realized with a slight wince that perhaps he should’ve chosen a more inconspicuous diversion, considering how he’d just technically caused an international incident. All of Durlistle would likely be aware that something had happened now.
Ah well. There was a reason why they said hindsight was clearer than even True Sight at times. He’d deal with it.
The light and scorching heat disappeared as the last of the flames winked out of existence, bringing back the darkness of night. A breeze generated by the vacuum effect blew through the clearing, and Levi took a moment to appreciate the brief rush of coolness.
Then, he turned around.
The commander and soldiers were practically gaping at him, all decorum and protocol forgotten as they looked at him as if he were a nine-headed hydra in disguise. When their eyes met, they flinched backward, half of them bringing their weapons up and half of them dropping their weapons to the ground. Levi noted with some amusement that the commander was part of the former; he was even able to temporarily shake off his stupor to shoot the men in the latter a scathing look. Levi had a feeling they’d be stuck doing substantial amounts of latrine duty after this.
Anastasia seemed to be torn between being overjoyed that the refugees had been successfully rescued and being worried about the potential political fallout that’d follow as a result of it.
Selene’s expression was more intense than usual as she regarded him with calculation in her eyes – ah, it must be due to the magic he’d just displayed. This was the first time she’d seen him cast some proper spells, and even though they were allies, Levi could recognize the familiar look of someone trying to size him up and determine whether or not they could take him in a fight.
Judging by the pensive note that flickered across her expression a moment later, it seemed she wasn’t able to arrive at an answer.
The refugees had more of a mixed reaction. The older ones were staring at him with a conflicting mixture of relief and gratitude but also suspicion and fear. No doubt they suspected he had some ulterior motive in saving them. The younger ones, however, had yet to be burned and disillusioned by the ordeals of life. They openly stared at him with pure awe and admiration. The girl from before outright beamed at him.
That alone solidified Levi’s conviction that what he’d just done was worth it.
Now it was just a matter of convincing everyone else…
“What have you done?” the commander whispered, his tone horrified.
“What I had to do.”
The commander ignored him, instead looking down at the three unconscious, restrained, and mutilated Huntsmen by Levi’s feet. “You just… They just…” He swallowed. “There will be war.”
“They attacked me first–”
“Bullshit!” the commander snapped. “We all know you cast the spells to save the refugees.” He let out a low moan. “We’ve barely recovered from the Third Blood War from five years ago. Once Yukihasa finds out what you did… They’ll surely attack. And once they do…”
Levi narrowed his eyes. “So what, I should’ve just let them die?” He waved his hand at the refugees. “Just watch the Huntsmen slaughter them one by one while twiddling my thumbs on the side? Is that what you wanted me to do? Is that what you’ve done every other time?” He shook his head. “How do you live with yourself afterward?”
“I DON’T!” the commander roared. Levi blinked, taken aback by the sheer vehemence. “Do you think I enjoy this? Any of this? Over the past ten years, I’ve watched hundreds of civilians die, unable to do a single damn thing. Men, women, children, fucking infants cut down before my very eyes. Infants! All because they weren’t able to cross the Goddess-forsaken line in time. I see them everywhere I go. When I eat, when I train, when I sleep. I’ll never forget their screams…”
Behind him, his men had similar haunted, shadowed looks on their faces. Hollow thousand-yard stares that gazed into nothing.
“But I had no other choice,” the commander said quietly, all the fight leaving his voice, replaced by profound pain and self-loathing. “If we interfered, if we did anything at all, then… Yukihasa has attacked other countries for less in the past.” He looked away, unable to hold Levi’s gaze. “I couldn’t risk an entire war. What… What else should I have done?”
Levi regarded him for a long moment.
Then, he sighed.
“Yukihasa won’t attack if they don’t find out.”
The commander blinked. “What?”
“I’ve been monitoring the other side of the border for the past few minutes. I’ve detected no signs of movement within a mile radius — it seems these three Huntsmen were the only ones on duty.” Which made sense; leave only a few high-tier individuals to secure the border so the bulk of manpower could be allocated to internal conflicts. “Swear your men to secrecy, and if Yukihasa asks, just claim that there was some external monster attack. They won't be able to prove anything.”
“There’s no way that excuse holds up for long.”
"It doesn't need to," Levi said. "Just long enough. You can trust me on this.”
“I…” The commander hesitated. “If anyone finds out… if the Royal Sentinels find out… we’ll all be executed for conspiracy.”
“So then what?” Levi asked softly. “You’ll turn me in? Give the refugees back to Yukihasa in the hopes that they’ll forgive this transgression? Because that’s what the Royal Sentinels will do if you tell them, I guarantee it.” His voice hardened. “I’m offering you a choice here. A choice you never had before. You can save these people, and countless more, or you can take the safe route.” He looked over the commander’s shoulders. Behind the gates, he saw a large crowd rapidly approaching in the distance. “But you don’t have long to decide before reinforcements arrive. The more people who know, the harder it’ll be to keep the secret. So what will it be? Do we have a deal?”
The commander was silent for several seconds. He exchanged a look with his men. They all looked back at him, determination evident in their faces.
He turned back to Levi. His expression set.
“Go.”
Levi smiled.
“The commander was right,” Anastasia said. The landscape was a mere streak around them as they entered the forest on Yukihasa’s side of the border. A stealth field covered them, ensuring none of the reinforcements behind were able to spot them. “There’s no way Yukihasa will accept the excuse of a monster attack for long. I don’t know how long it’ll take – perhaps they’ll attempt an investigation – but one way or another, they will end up declaring war.”
“Don’t worry,” Levi said. “By the time Yukihasa finds out what actually happened…” He grinned. “Well. Let’s just say that by then, it’ll be the least of their worries.”
Anastasia physically stumbled, skidding to a stop. Levi and Selene came to a stop as well. She whirled to face Levi. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to…”
“Okay. I won’t tell you.”
“Levi!”
“Look, all I’m saying is that Yukihasa can’t declare war on us if we declare it first.”
Anastasia stared at him for a long moment, aghast.
“Come on,” Levi coaxed. “You know you want to as well.”
“I…” Anastasia looked like she wanted to object on principle, but in the end, there was a reason why Levi held her in such high regard. She coughed lightly into her fist. “I suppose it can’t hurt to attempt to persuade Yukihasa to change their policies…”
“No, I think it very much can hurt.”
“And as a High Priestess of the Goddess, I have a duty to preserve life whenever possible. Yukihasa’s regime runs counter to that, so I’m oathbound to do what I can to change it…”
“I’ll never understand priestesses,” Selene said. “Such inauthenticity and self-repression must be damaging to the self.” Anastasia bristled, but Selene continued. “Though, just to confirm, are you planning to dismantle Yukihasa’s government?”
Levi nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. I was originally planning to start with Luminarche–”
“What?!” Anastasia exclaimed.
“–but now that we’re here, there’s no time like the present.”
Selene nodded. “Excellent. I look forward to it.” She smiled. “It’s been too long since I’ve helped destroy a human country. It’s almost nostalgic, in a way…”
“I will purify you if you go overboard,” Anastasia threatened.
“You can try.”
“That said, our priority is to locate the Source first,” Levi interjected. He looked back at the three hostages floating in the air behind them. “We should be far enough from the border by now. Shall we begin the interrogation?”
“What is the current state of Yukihasa?” Anastasia asked the three Huntsmen, each of them tied to the trunk of a tree. “How bad has the civil war gotten? What are the current territories still under the control of the imperial government?”
The three Huntsmen stonily stared back at her, eyes hard and jaws firm.
“You will not get away with this,” the lead Huntsman, the one who’d stabbed Levi in the heart, said. “We will invade your country, slaughter your people, and salt your lands. For your actions, for your insult, Luminarche will burn. Our Emperor will make sure of this.”
Levi snorted from the side. “I don’t think you’re in a position to be making threats.”
“It is not a threat,” the Huntsman said calmly. “It is a promise. Prophecy.” He looked at Anastasia. “Even the Goddess will be unable to protect you from the Emperor’s wrath. He is above all. You will beg for mercy, and when it comes not, I dearly hope you will remember this moment.”
“I told you that won’t work,” Levi said. He stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves. “You can’t talk to these sorts of people. Here, let me–”
“And you…” the Huntsman said to Levi, his stare suddenly piercing into him. The air became charged with power, a foreboding sensation filling the clearing. The other two Huntsmen whipped their heads over to stare at him in panic. “Rot in hell.”
Levi’s eyes widened–
And then the Huntsman activated the runic script embedded in his body.
A dark purple sphere brimming with malevolent energy expanded outward from his core, a hundred meters in diameter. Though it had radiated out faster than the speed of sound, it released no sound of its own, due to the magic containing no mass.
The sphere pulsed for a second. Then, it disappeared, revealing nothing but empty space where it had once been. Everything within the sphere, all the trees and rocks and earth and air, had been disintegrated. The surrounding trees in the forest swayed, the rustling of a million leaves filling the air, as the vacuum formed by the sphere pulled everything in proximity toward it.
“Fascinating,” Selene said from where she hovered in the air, a thousand feet in the sky. Black wings of shadows extended from her shoulder blades. She peered down at the hole that’d been carved deep in the ground, a perfectly circular scar marring the green forest below. “Spatial magic of some kind?”
“He activated it with no hesitation,” Anastasia murmured, golden wings keeping her aloft. “I didn’t even sense a hint of bloodlust.”
“Professionals,” Levi said, his eyes narrowed. “I admit, I didn’t expect him to do that.” He hadn’t seen the runic script until the very last moment; it must’ve been surgically carved inside the Huntsman’s body to prevent it from being detected. “Sloppy of me. I was only able to save one of them.”
He held a Huntsman by the collar. Reinforcing his muscles, he brought the Huntsman up to look him in the face. The Huntsman was pale, whether from the blood loss or the near-death occurrence, Levi couldn’t tell.
“This is very unfortunate for you,” Levi told him. “I had originally planned to create a sort of prisoner’s dilemma situation… But with both of your friends dead, I’m afraid I have no choice but to resort to old-fashioned methods to make you talk. Anastasia, please avert your eyes. And you… I suggest you brace yourself, because I’m about to–”
“There’s no need for that,” the Huntsman said smoothly. “I’ll talk.”
Levi paused. “Wait, what? I haven’t even finished my threats yet.”
“I’ll answer your questions.”
“Is this a trap? This feels like a trap…”
“I’m telling the truth. The priestess can confirm it. I am not particularly inclined to stay silent and be killed for information that you’ll find out anyway. Besides, you won’t survive the country, and I intend to live long enough to witness your demise with my own eyes.” The Huntsman paused. “Also, I’m a professional. I don’t believe in unnecessary suffering. Especially not my own.”
Levi stared at him. “You sure I don’t need to drop you to the ground a few times to convince you?”
“Quite sure.”
“Huh.” Levi considered it. “Well. Fair enough, then. Let’s start with the detection barrier then, shall we?”