Darkness covered the mist. It was everywhere, opaque. And it was almost enough to separate the group as they could not see each other. But they stood close to each other, yelled I AM HERE and were looking all around.

They knew the darker was there. It was his power, his element. And it was his voice that suddenly resonated:

"Kill… Kill… Kill…"

It felt like it was rotten, more monstrous than in the Ironhorns' memories. It was different yet very similar to what he remembered, enough to trigger something in him.

Pure rage.

"Where are you! Show yourself!" he yelled.

He thought seeing something, a form. He jumped on it. It was nothing.

"Qualt! We have to stay together!" said Gloria.

"Myst! I'm going to kill you!"

He saw a form again. He spat his ice on it!

Nothing.

"Like you did to my teammates..." he continued.

He looked all around him.

"Like you did to Gloria."

And the whispered continued:

"Kill… Kill… Kill…"

There was a lightning. They all could see the shadows in the mist. Quat could see his group.

But he mostly saw the slender darker. Usvork was slowly lurking all round them. And when the darkness came back, only his glowing yellow eyes remained. That when Ironhorns jumped towards them, all his claws out. But he missed as the eyes closed themselves. He turned back saw them glowing behind the mole.

"DOUG!"

But thunder covered his voice.

And then he heard a scream.

Another lightning.

The mole was okay. Milhrio protected him by punching Usvork, who then continued to lurk around them.

"Qualt! Behind you!" yelled Drer.

And it all went black again as Ironhorns's throat was grasped. He then was thrown away form the mist. As he hit the ground, thunder rumbled. He rolled around until a wall stop him. What ejected him was strong and it wasn't the darker. He looked up and saw in a moonlight beam, a blue dragon getting out of the mist. He had a developed musculature and he was bigger than Qualt. He looked like he was seventy years old. It was him that Doug Harmot talked about.

He got one of his horn-daggers out and rushed towards him! He tried to plant him with a single strike. But the dragon took the Qualt's wrist as the blade was about to hit him. And he then took him by the throat again as yells came from the mist. Ironhorns looked at it and wanted to protect the group from Usvork. But he was stuck now. The dragon almost strangled him and made him look at his face as another lightning covered it. It had four eyes painted on it.

And he then looked in his true eyes.

They were deep… and strange… He lost himself in the iris in a second, ignoring the green pupils. And he felt… weird… like if he wasn't himself anymore… There were screams but he wasn't listening… he wasn't hearing… He felt groggy… He released his iron horns… And he had the impression that an order was given to him...

He then was thrown away again, towards his group this time. He closed his eyes.

"Qualt!" said a voice.

And there was no more mist. Only silence. It was calm again. The fight was over. Usvork wasn't here anymore. Nor the blue dragon.

He got up with difficulties. But the others were here to help him.

"What happened?" said another voice that, this time, he recognized as Drer.

"I… uh… saw him… The blue dragon…"

Œl lit another torch so they could see around again. Gloria saw the horn on the ground and took it to give it back to Qualt. This one still felt really groggy.

"Usvork didn't attacked us really much and then ran away… Weird…" said Doug.

"Yeah… He was way more violent last time..." replied Ironhorns.

He took his breath and put his iron horn on his head. But then the world began to sway. Yet he was not drunk…

"Hey, Qualt, are you okay?" asked Gloria.

He cough and wanted to puke. He took a great inspiration.

And he saw Doug's head falling off to then roll on the ground. He looked at it, in silence. He could not say a word… Something was in his throat. He wanted to cry, to yell, but nothing, only tears. He looked up and then saw the darker behind Milhrio.

"Behind you!" he succeed to say.

But it was useless as Usvork planted his claws into the blood dragon's eyes and then ripped off a part of his head. Qualt jumped on him while yelling his despair and anger. But the darker dodged and jumped on Œl to quickly eviscerate him. Blood and guts fell on the ground.

"Stop it! Please! Don't kill them!" yelled Ironhorns, completely powerless.

But the darker wasn't listening and then killed Drer and took Gloria. He threw her on the ground and, with his fangs…

Slowly killed her in a way that was too similar to another murder for Qualt.

The ice's dragon breath was jerky. The world continued to sway. He suddenly saw, over every corpses, a darker. There was six Usvork all around him. And that's when madness got him. Without controlling himself, he tried to slash each darker! But they all dodged, looking at each other. Qualt yelled and cried and punched one of them away, that hit a wall.

And someone hit him behind the head. Everything around turned dark.

…

"Qualt!" a voice said.

It was familiar.

He tried to open his eyes. His eyelids were heavy… but he still succeed to see a little in front of him.

"Qualt! Wake up!"

He recognized the voice.

It was her voice.

Was it…

Was it a nightmare…?

He opened fully his eyes and saw, in front of him, a red dragoness.

"Are you okay…?", she said, really concerned.

"Gloria? Are you… You're alive…"

He then realized what he said.

"You're alive!" he repeated.

He jumped on her to hug her. He then saw the entire group. They were all alive.

"I thought you were all dead… I saw the darker kill you one by one…"

"You tried to kill us all, and you really brutally punched Drer", said Milhrio.

"Yeah, I almost lost a tooth", added this one.

"We had to put you on the ground", finished Gloria.

"What? Oh… I was seeing six darkers, they all were Usvork. And I couldn't control myself, I tried to attack them all. And the world was swaying. And I… I… I'm sorry, guys… I'm happy that you are all alive…"

"Hmmm…" then said Drer. "You said that you looked that blue dragon in the eyes and then that happened. So it's maybe the fear element, but that doesn't work because he's not a darker, or it's the hypnosis one. Or it's something that we don't know, like some sort of strange magical powers. But it's really possible that it is the hypnosis element, yeah."

"That would explain a lot of things", added Doug Harmot. "That's maybe why Usvork don't attacked him: because he used his element on him and ordered to not attack him… and maybe to obey him."

"Possible, yeah", answered Qualt. "He also had four eyes painted on the face."

"So it does make the thing obvious", replied Gloria, who still had her husband in her arms.

"But we must continue", said the ice dragon.

"I injured the darker", said Œl. "There's some yellow blood on the ground. It makes a trail we can follow."

Qualt nodded and then replied:

"It's not over. And we have a darker and a blue dragon to kill."

Outside, the thunderstorm continued just as the hunt.

They followed the yellow stains on the ground. They were sneaky to try to take Usvork by surprise and thus to kill him quickly. Only their heartbeat could be heard. Unfortunately, they still had to have a torch with them to see a thing, which made them more visible. So they were stealthy only with the sounds they were and, most important, were not making.

Qualt was in the front: he wanted to be the first to hit the darker. But his determination and stubbornness didn't mean he wasn't paying attention to what was surrounding him. In fact, he still was looking all around him non stop as he felt observed and knew that Usvork could come from everywhere. Him or the blue dragon. And if it was this one, the only instruction was: do not, at any cause, look at him in the eyes. The fear and sort of nightmare he had, where he saw everyone die, even reinforced his lust for darker's blood and hypnosis dragon's guts.

"Over there, I see light", whispered Gloria.

"Yeah, I see it too", replied Drer.

They approached. Slowly. Really slowly. They tried to do as less noise as possible. And where they were close, they could hear someone talking. They could not see him yet. Maybe it was the blue dragon.

"Listen to me, my son… And look at me… Good… You'll continue to obey me… Follow my voice… Do everything it says… Kill them… Kill… Kill… Kill…"

It was the blue dragon.

His voice was suave, as sweet and gentle as fresh silk, hypnotising: if he was a singer, he would have been really popular.

The group didn't move. They waited the perfect moment to strike. And there was a total silence after that. Then, footsteps. The blue dragon was getting out of the room the darker was in. They were lucky: he didn't took the door which Qualt was near of. They waited again. And other footsteps could be heard. They were lighters. And they were going away from them. The ice dragon looked at the rest of the group and, with a move of his claws, showed that…

… it was the moment.

Qualt took one of his horn-daggers and rushed into the room. It was enlightened by the moons light from the window. Usvork turned around and screeched before mist covered him entirely.

"Oh no you don't!" said Ironhorns before jumping on him.

But the darker dodged and everyone else rushed on him. There was an extraordinary melee. Drer was the only one who stood in the distance. He had a plan. Gloria spat her fire, which hit Usvork. But this last ran and rammed her. Doug tried to hit him with a blade but his adversary dodged. Milhrio could then give him a slash from his claws. It wasn't lethal nor too deep but it was enough to make him bleed and to put him on the ground. Then, Œl jumped on him but the darker caught him and grasped him. He then put him on the ground and putted his sharps and bloody fangs near his head. He was about to die. But Qualt planted his iron horn in his side. He screeched and spat his word three times again while slashed Ironhorns chest. This one yelled in pain but he had the reflexes to step back so the injuries didn't kill him.

"Stop! Come to me!"

It was the blue dragon's voice.

The darker looked towards it.

It was Drer.

Usvork then looked all around in incomprehension.

It was the perfect distraction for Qualt Ironhorns to rush on his target! The darker turned around too late and couldn't escape his adversary's wrath as he was rammed over and as they both brutally went through a closed window, glass shards flying away and planting themselves in both's flesh at the impact.

And they both fell to the mud like rain drops during the thunderstorm.

Usvork's bones were crushed as Qualt fell on him when they hit the ground. The ice dragon rolled on the side as lightning flashed. He looked at his enemy and got up, ignoring the pain that the impact and the glass shreds were doing to him. The darker tried to get up but two of his members were dislocated. Then, mist began to emanate from his body. But that didn't bothered Qualt, who went closer to Usvork. Thunder growled and almost made the earth tremble.

It was now… He was in front of Usvork, of Myst, of the darker that killed all his teammates, that killed his sister, that broke his horns and thus made them in iron. It was him that he hated the most, him that he swore to destroy just as he destroyed him. And it was the moment where it was coming to an end, where his thirst of revenge would be delighted. It was the moment he waited since he saw Gloria's neck break, the moment for which he took so many lives.

It was now.

Finally…

They looked themselves in the eyes.

Qualt was on the verges of crying.

And he was on the verges of madness.

He took a deep breath and…

"Kill… Kill… Kill…" he whispered. "Kill… Kill… Kill…"

Mist enveloped the dragon and the darker.

It was covering and hiding both of them from the world.

Qualt took his iron horns as he continued to say the fatal word.

Then Usvork joined him.

"Kill… Kill… Kill…" they both whispered.

The dragon could now only see the glowing yellow eyes.

"Kill… Kill… Kill…"

It was like a ritualistic sacrifice.

He rose his daggers.

They both began to say the word louder and louder.

They were yelling it.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Qualt, then, stroke with his horns.

And yellow blood squirted.

And flesh was slashed.

And bones were broken.

And guts were torn apart

And resonated both of their voices, none recognizable from the other.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Mist began to fade away.

Their forms were now visible.

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

The movement repeated itself.

The sounds repeated themselves.

And only the voice of Qualt Ironhorns was heard yelling.

The other now remained silent.

Forever.

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

Mist was now gone.

Forever.

Qualt was crying.

He couldn't stop it.

He rose his daggers again.

And his movement was stopped. Someone took his wrists. He turned around. It was Gloria. Behind her was the rest of the group.

"It's over now. He's dead…" she whispered to him.

Qualt fell on her to cry as she took him closer.

There was a long moment of silence as he continued to sob in her arms.

"It's over…" she added again.

Qualt took a deep breath.

"Not yet", he said as he turned around to Usvork.

He then symbolically planted and let one of his iron horn-daggers on his corpse.

"The other will be for the blue dragon."

And he walked away from the body.

It continued to rain. The corpse was covered in mud. Two arms, then, took it and rose it from the ground. It was the blue dragon. He was waiting for the group to leave before coming. He embraced the body. And tears flowed down his cheeks. He closed his eyes and cradled Usvork against him.

"I am sorry, son… I am sorry… Sleep well, now… May the ancestors protect you…"

And he slowly mumbled a lullaby.

A lullaby he couldn't finish.

He then rose his head and opened his eyes. With rage, he took out the iron horn-dagger and swore that he was going to eliminate one by one the entire group in his castle and that he was going to do everything to kill kill kill Qualt Ironhorns.