Zrocker119: Man, my fingers are on fire! I think this may be the fastest I've updated a story in recent years. Well, let's hope that I can keep up the pace. Speaking of pace, this chapter officially marks the end of Yuji and Irene's quiet life, so be prepared for the next couple of chapters to be less of a slice of life and more like the JJK we've all come to know and love. Take this information and do with it as you will.

P.S. Not sure what's going on, but I haven't been receiving any notifications from for well over a month now. I've tried reestablishing my email as the site suggests, but nothing seems to be working. If anyone knows a fix, please let me know.

-Chapter 7-

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Start

This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. That was all that Ur could think of at that moment. She had given this fight everything. Her body. Her magic. Her very soul. And yet it hadn't been enough in the end.

Her magic reserves, touted as being some of the highest ever recorded in history, were nearly empty. Didn't help that she was forced to use what little magic she had remaining to create an ice prosthetic for her right knee and downwards. If she was conservative, she might be able to squeeze out another spell. Maybe two if she was lucky.

But if Ur was being honest with herself, she didn't see a way for her to get out of this one alive. Let alone with her students. The odds were just too heavily stacked against her. This opinion was only reinforced by the sight of the massive, 30-foot-tall demon rampaging not too far away.

Deliora.

She cursed the monster's very name.

Why did it have to exist? If it weren't for its seemingly endless desire for destruction, dozens of villages would still be around and at least one of her two students would still have his parents.

Gray. She looked back at his unconscious form lying in the snow. Her sweet, foolish, and brash student. Why did he have to come here? Why couldn't he have waited? Why did he have to run off and bring them into this mess?

Ur stopped that train of thought before it could delve too deep. She knew all too well the reason behind his foolish decision. Revenge. Revenge against the demon that had murdered his family and made him an orphan. Such a powerful motivator. So yes, she understood him. Didn't mean that she agreed with it, but she understood.

"Ur!"

Her head snapped to the side. She let out a sigh of relief. "Lyon."

Her first pupil came to a stop beside her, hands on his knees and gasping for breath. Once he had his breathing under control he shook his head. "I-I couldn't find anyone that was still alive. They're all gone."

So another village had suffered the same as all that came before. She had been expecting as much but still. It was disheartening to learn that not a single soul had managed to survive Deliora's relentless onslaught.

Lyon suddenly developed a look of excitement, "B-but that means you can go all out now!"

Ur stared down at him like he had grown a second head. She had always known that he had an inflated opinion of her capabilities as a Mage. It was the reason that he had sought her out to be his teacher. After all, the strongest taught the strongest. That was his logic. But did her current state not register to him or was he just deliberately ignoring it?

"Lyon," She said. "I'm fighting to protect you and Gray. At what point and time did you think I wasn't battling this demon with everything I've got!?"

Lyon stepped back as if she had struck him across the cheek. "W-w-what do you mean?" He had to have misheard her. Yeah. That's it. There's no way that Ur-.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Lyon?" dropping to a knee, Ur placed her hand on his shoulders. "I'm strong. But there's always someone better." She looked over her shoulder and at the demon. "And this is just one of the ones that are better than me."

"That's not true!" Lyon shoved her away. "You were offered the chance of being a Wizard Saint! No one is stronger than you!"

She sent him a sad look. "Lyon-"

"No!" he ran past her and toward Deliora.

"Lyon!?"

"You're the strongest!" Ignoring her pleas for him to come back, the young boy ran till he was a mere hundred paces from the demon and came to a stop. Widening his stance, he thrust his arms forward, once crossed over the other with his palms facing opposite directions.

Ur became even more panicked than before. She recognized that stance and knew what the outcome would be should Lyon continue. "Lyon! Where did you learn that!?"

"I saw it in one of your books!" He grinned, appearing almost manic. "You may be afraid to use this spell, but I'm not! I'll kill Deliora and surpass-" He didn't get to finish. There was a brief blossom of pain in his skull and the world seemed to drift away.

Ur caught the boy before his body could hit the snow. Counting her lucky stars that the demon hadn't noticed their approach, she carried him back to a relatively safe distance and set him down beside Gray. "My stupid, stupid pupils."

Though her words were harsh, she spoke them with a certain fondness. She sure knew how to pick them. If only her daughter was still around. The three of them would've gotten along like siblings.

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time nor place to be thinking such wistful thoughts. Banishing any further distractions from her mind, Ur reassessed the situation. Down to the last dregs of magic. Barely able to stand. And now with two unconscious seven-year-olds that she had to look out for.

Yep. She was well and truly fucked.

"Well then." She brushed back a stray hair. Standing on wobbly legs, she turned and faced her foe with steel in her eyes. "Looks like Lyon may have been onto something after all."

With her magic reserves at an all-time low, there was no other option available to her. She would have to use Iced Shell. Looking back at how even when going into this battle at full power, she now saw that it had been the only option. Deliora was just too strong for a mage of her caliber.

No matter. While she couldn't kill it, Ur could at least make sure that it could never kill again. Even at the cost of her own life.

Getting into the required stance, she began to cast her final spell. The flare of magic caught the attention of the demon, breaking it out of its destruction-induced trance.

"That right you bastard," growled Ur. "Take it all in. This'll be the last sight either of us ever wit-"

There was a flash of light.

Ur blinked. Why had her left arm gone numb? Looking at the aforementioned limb, her eyes went wide when all she saw was empty space. All that remained was a cauterized stump that started at the shoulder.

Stumbling, she fell to her knees and looked back at the demon just in time to see the remnants of energy before it dissipated from its mouth.

How had she not seen the attack? How had she not sensed the build-up? Numb to everything due to the shock, she could do naught but watch as the demon drew closer. It came to a stop right before her.

Craning her neck back, she stared up at the towering monster and into its impassive eyes. It was in those red orbs that she found her answer. It hadn't been taking her seriously.

Ur laughed. Had there been anybody still alive and around to watch, they probably would've thought that she had gone insane. Given how she looked, she wouldn't have blamed them for thinking so.

Tears trickled down her cheeks.

She had given it her all. Willing to sacrifice her life to save those precious to her. Only now as she faced death itself did she realize just how naive she had been. She could've been killed at any point.

Deliora had just been humoring her.

The demon raised its fist. There it hung for a moment before it came crashing down. It struck with such an immense force that all the accumulated snow for over a hundred meters was blown away from the resulting rush of air.

Pulling its fist from the earth, Deliora was confused to find the freshly made crater vacant. While its strength was immense, it hadn't put enough behind the blow to completely disintegrate the body.

Ur was startled when she suddenly found herself being cradled in someone's arms. Looking up at her savior, she found herself face to face with a rather handsome man with pink and black hair.

"H-How?" She had seen the demon's fist mere centimeters from her just a second ago. There was just no possible way that she should still be alive right now.

"Easy now." The man spoke while setting her down on the ground that was distinctly lacking snow. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Her eyes went wide. "T-the boys! Where are-"

The man pointed. Following his finger, Ur let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Gray and Lyon lying a few feet away and being tended to by a scarlet-haired woman. And just past them and off in the distance was the towering figure of Deliora.

"We-we need to leave." That was all she managed to get out before delving into a fit of coughs. A second later, she was hacking up a mouthful of blood. Even though she had been saved from the demon, internal bleeding would do her in soon enough.

Thoughts of her imminent demise came to a grinding halt when the man suddenly placed an open palm in the valley of her breasts.

Now. Under any other circumstances, such a move would normally result in the offending person in question being turned into a highly detailed ice sculpture. But the moment his hand made contact, Ur felt a wave of relief wash over her form. Within moments the aches and pains subsided completely. With nothing but exhaustion remaining.

Healing magic. Her savior was capable of using healing magic. Now she really did have to count her lucky stars. But even if she had been stabilized, Ur knew that they were all in incredible danger and needed to leave the area immediately.

Before she could give voice to her thoughts, the man stepped away. Panic taking over, Ur utilized whatever strength remained to force herself into a sitting-up position. With her new point of view, she now had a clear line of sight of the man walking towards the demon that had spelled the doom of hundreds, if not thousands, with hands casually tucked into his pockets.

"Stop!" Ur cried. Was the man insane or had he not noticed the level of destruction all around him? No mage could hope to defeat what could only be described as destruction incarnate.

"Easy." Ur nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't even noticed the woman's approach. "Yuji may have stabilized your injuries, but you'll only end up reopening them if you keep moving around."

The woman laid a hand on her shoulder. Ur tried to shrug her off but found the woman's grip to be like that of steel.

Not one to be deterred, Ur swung her remaining arm out and pointed at Deliora. The demon had finally taken notice of them and the approaching challenger. "That's one of the demons created by Zeref! Your man is going to get himself killed! We need to grab the kids and get the hell out of here!"

Surprise shone in the woman's gaze, but her expression remained unchanged. She looked towards the man's back and smiled. "He'll be fine. Besides," She shook her head. "If I can handle that thing, then it doesn't stand a chance."

Ur hung her head in dismay. Seriously? What was it that these people didn't understand about the situation? She opened her mouth to speak when the man, Yuji if she had heard correctly, disappeared from view.

In the span of an instant, he had gone from a casual walk to appearing directly before the demon. For what felt like an eternity, nothing happened. With hands still in his pockets, Yuji stared up at the towering demon with an unflinching gaze. The entire area seemed to fall silent. Even the icy wind had died down.

It was only due to the sudden silence that anyone could hear what Yuji said.

"So. You gonna run?"

The ancient demon responded appropriately. With a roar that shook everything within the vicinity, Deliora swung one of its fists so quickly that Ur hadn't even seen the movement itself. But she did witness the results.

There was a loud crash.

Ur's eyes widened to an almost comical degree and her jaw practically became unhinged at what she saw.

Yuji had removed one of his hands from the confines of his pockets and interposed it between him and the oncoming strike. But rather than being sent flying or being turned into a fine red mist, the demon's attack had been completely halted with just the back of his hand. Not even the ground beneath his feet had so much as cracked.

He had taken the full force of the attack and hadn't so much as budged an inch. And then, Yuji moved. It had been a small thing. All he had merely done was splay out the fingers of the fist he had used to block to demons' blow.

The instant he had finished flexing his fingers, Deliora's upper body exploded in a visceral display of blood and gore. Turning back toward them, Yuji returned his hand to his pocket and walked away as cubed hunks of meat rained down around him. A second later the demon's legs toppled back, hitting the ground with a colossal crash and covering the ground with even more blood.

It proved too much for Ur to handle and she fell back, unconsciousness accepting her with open arms.

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"I think you overdid it," Irene stated.

Sparing a glance back at what remained of the creature he had just killed, Yuji turned to Irene and shrugged. It wasn't like he had expected the thing to explode like it had. Judging from how much energy it had been giving off and the level of destruction it had left in its wake, he had assumed that it could take a hit.

Clearly, he had overestimated its capabilities.

Forgetting about the creature and the ever-growing pool of blood surrounding its remains, Yuji knelt beside the woman they had saved and picked her up in a bridal carry. Though he had stabilized the majority of her wounds, she was still in the danger zone. It was times like this that he wished he was as capable of healing others with his Reverse Curse Technique as he was himself.

But alas. Wishful thinking wouldn't keep any of their new charges from dying. First things first. They needed to get the woman and her kids out of this cold. At least, morbid as it may be, there were plenty of empty houses to choose from.

If only they had arrived sooner. Then just maybe those who used to call this village home would still be around.

He banished that treacherous train of thought before it could begin to take root. Focus, Yuji. Focus. They may have been too late to save the village, but there was still hope for these three.

With Irene carrying the boys and Yuji the woman, the pair moved as fast as they reasonably could given the circumstances. Thankfully, they needn't travel far for shelter. Within minutes they found a desolate home that was serviceable. The inside wasn't in the best condition, but the walls were still standing and had a functioning fireplace.

Moving what comfortable furniture they could into the main living space, Yuji laid the survivors down while Irene used her magic to get a fire going. As the temperature in the room slowly heated up and their charges were resting comfortably, the two finally took a moment to relax.

Sitting in front of the fire, Irene held her hands out to warm herself up. She may have a resistance to the elements, but even she would begin to feel the cold after going days without seeking suitable shelter.

"I think it's safe to say that our usual training trip didn't go as expected."

There was a snort of amusement followed by the sound of him sitting behind her. There was a brief flap of fabric before a blanket fell over her shoulders. From below, she felt his arms snake their way around her waist and pull her into his lap.

Leaning into his chest, Irene felt his warmth wash over her and sighed. After all of the excitement of the day it just felt so good to relax. And for the next couple of hours that was what they did. They didn't talk or move. They just sat in the warmth of the fire and one another.

But while Irene would've loved for things to continue like that for as long as they could, they were both aware that that wasn't an option.

"So. What's the plan now?" Irene asked.

Yuji gave a brief 'Hmmm' before speaking. "Ideally? We give the woman a couple of days to recover and I teleport us all back home."

"Why not take us back now?"

Yuji shook his head. "Too risky. Her condition is barely stable as is. The strain of the technique could put her in an even worse state."

She looked at him. Puzzled by what she had just heard. "The same technique that you used on Erza when she was barely over a year old?"

He returned her look with a dry stare. "Yes. But she was completely healthy and hadn't been suffering from both major external and internal damage."

Well, when he put it like that. Looks like they were staying for a little while longer.

"Well then," she snuggled into his embrace. "Looks like you can add killing a Demon of Zeref to your list of accomplishments."

Irene frowned. It had been a fleeting moment, but she had definitely felt Yuji tense up just now. She looked back at him with concern. "Yuji?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. It's just that, that's a name that I haven't heard in a long, long time."

Okay. Now he had her undivided attention. Moving so that she was no longer sitting in his lap, she turned around and faced him fully. "You knew Zeref? The Dark Wizard."

Yuji cocked his head and blinked. He was getting the distinct impression that they were thinking of two entirely different people. Shaking his head, he clarified, "I knew a Zeref. I doubt we're talking of the same one."

Irene raised a brow. "How long ago was this?"

"7-no," he snapped his fingers as it came to him. "800 years ago. Give or take a decade. Actually, give me a second."

Holding out his hand, Irene watched in morbid fascination as his palm split open to reveal a mouth. Even more disgustingly it then proceeded to cough something up. That something appeared to be a chain with a ring and locket of sorts attached to it.

Yuji stared at the pieces of jewelry. Neither was an overly ostentatious piece. If anything they were quite weathered with a few pockets of rust spattered about. But the moment they had appeared a heaviness that wasn't present before seemed to press down on him.

With great hesitance, he applied a minimal amount of pressure to the top of the locket. The front swung open and he gave a stuttering breath. He quickly thumbed away the tears before they could truly gather and held out the locket for her to take.

Following his lead, Irene took the locket into her hand. Turning it over her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her. Unsurprisingly, a picture lay within. But it was the subject of the image that caught her off guard.

The image was of three people. The one that she recognized was Yuji, though instead of his usual casual clothing, he wore a rather formal white haori over a dark-colored yukata. The next one that drew her attention was a woman.

She was very beautiful, possessing a figure that rivaled Irene's. Her eyes were large and dark, and she had black hair that was tied into a bun with bangs framing her face. She wore rather revealing tribal wear. The front was open, exposing the center of her chest, and had dark sleeves covering her arms.

Held within the woman's arms was a small child. It was a boy. Couldn't have been more than two and clearly took after his mother as he possessed her dark hair and facial structure.

While the child slept peacefully, Yuji and the unknown woman both sported loving smiles. Yuji's arms were wrapped around her waist, drawing attention to the noticeable baby bump in her belly.

Irene felt a tear fall down her cheek. It was a beautiful photo.

"That," Yuji began as he took the locket back, "is the Zeref I knew. Though he wasn't mine, I loved him all the same."

Hugging her knees to her chest, Irene asks. "What was her name?"

"Lara," his smile became one of regret. "I quite literally bumped into her while passing through a small village. A plague had swept through the country a couple of months back, claiming the lives of tens of thousands. Her husband amongst them."

Yuji hadn't meant to fall for her during his stay at the village. But very rarely did love give one the option not to. He had been traveling from village to village, offering what aid that he could. But rather than move on, he had decided to be selfish for once and had stayed. Just so that he could be with her.

"What happened to them?"

Yuji, who had been running his thumb lovingly over the picture, froze. Suddenly, the mouth returned, swallowing the locket whole and his hand clenched into a fist. Anger overtook and consumed the love that had been present in his gaze.

And then just as suddenly as it appeared, the look was gone. He relaxed his fist and ran his hand through his hair. With a great sigh, he returned his attention to her.

"I don't know," he said in a defeated voice. "A few weeks before our son was due to be born, a courier bearing a message from an old ally came to the village. My friend, at the time, requested that I help him save his home. Seeing as how I was the strongest, I didn't think it would take too long and left."

His eyes were no longer on her but instead stared into the flame that flickered just past her. "What a fool I was."

"Yuji…"

"I was betrayed." He shook his head and sighed. "By the time I managed to escape the situation and return, my home had long been destroyed."

"Were the ones responsible-"

"No. He wasn't responsible." Yuji interrupted, having known where her inquiry was going. Even after learning how much of a bastard his so-called "friend" was, there was no way he could have known the reason why Yuji had been staying in the village.

"Unfortunately, so much time had passed since the attack that there were no energy residuals for me to track. Wasn't until a chance meeting that I would learn that a dragon had been responsible."

Irene shook her head. Of course. It all came back to dragons. Seems she wasn't the only one to suffer due to their callous nature. Returning her attention to Yuji, she saw him staring at her with a raised brow. She was momentarily confused until she realized that she had said that out loud and covered her mouth.

He stared her down for a moment longer before a snort escaped past his lips. And with that, the whole facade came crumbling down.

Face beet red, she reached out and lightly swatted him on the chest. "You jerk."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. Wiping away a stray tear he grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his lap. "You just look too cute when you're embarrassed."

His words earned him a swift elbow to the side before she crossed her arms. But as always, it was impossible for her to stay annoyed at him for any length of time and she was soon leaning into his embrace.

"Thank you. For sharing more of your past with me."

She felt him shrug.

"It's only fair. After all, I know so much about you."

Irene shook her head. It wasn't about fairness and he knew it. But she wouldn't argue the issue.

As they basked in the warmth of the fire, Irene found herself thinking of the families that the two of them had lost. A few minutes later, she idly rubbed her stomach. Neither of them was human anymore. But that being said, the picture in that locket and Yuji's own admission revealed that he was still capable of producing children despite being what he is.

Did the same apply to her though? The thought of having another child had never crossed her mind until now. She pictured herself heavy with a child. Specifically with hers and Yuji's child. The mental image of the two of them surrounded by several red or pink-haired children, all of whom were playing with Erza brought a smile to her lips.

So long as it was with him, she found that it was something that she would be willing to try.

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Kagura ran. She ran as fast and for as long as her legs could carry her. Her lungs worked overtime, screaming in protest as her chest rose and fell. When the soles of her feet bled and the muscles in her legs burned she kept moving.

She couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. Her Papa and Mama had told her that she had to run. Just ahead of her, her big sister led the way through the forest. The forest that had terrified her ever since she was small. And to some degree it still did.

But the fear of running across a woodland monster that she couldn't see was dribble compared to the monsters that she was running from.

Sweat poured down her brow and into her eyes. She wiped it away with the back of her arm. In the brief instant that her gaze was covered, her foot got caught on a root. She hit the ground with a cry, scrapping herself something fierce. Sniffling, she pushed herself to her knees, noticing that her hands and the exposed parts of her legs were now bleeding slightly.

"Kagura!'

Tears brimming in her eyes, Kagura looked up to see Erza come to kneel in front of her.

"B-Big sis," Sitting on her butt, Kagura couldn't hold it in any longer and started to cry. "I-I-I'm so scared! I want my m-mommy and daddy! I want big brother!"

The little redhead was quick to envelop the younger girl in a hug, shushing softly in her ear.

"I want my mama and papa too." Erza had managed to keep herself from bursting into tears, but only barely so.

The day had begun like any other. With her parents still out on one of their trips and with Uncle Choso not around either, Erza had been staying with Simon's family for the last two weeks. She liked being around Kaguya and Sid, seeing the two as her Aunt and Uncle as they had been a constant in her life.

But then night had come. And with the darkness, the monsters.

They had been about to start eating dinner when the screaming started. Sid had ordered them to stay while he went and looked out one of the windows. Whatever he had seen had caused him to freeze, but only for a moment. After the initial shock had passed, he had marched into the living room and retrieved the sheathed sword that had always rested above the fireplace.

"Kaguya," Sid spoke with a voice devoid of emotion, drawing his blade. "Take the children and run. Run into the woods. I'll come and find you all once it's all over."

The last image Erza had of Sid was of him marching out the front door with a white glow surrounding his body. She hadn't even known that he was a wizard before tonight and hadn't been given long to question it as Kaguya had quickly gathered them all up and urged them out the back door.

Unfortunately, they had been spotted before they had made it into the treeline. Kaguya had pushed the three of them forward, magic enveloping her form as she swung a hand in the direction of their pursuers.

"Run!" Kaguya said as she sent out another wave of gravity magic. "Run and don't look back!"

The children had done as ordered. Erza knew the woods well, even better than Simon as she had spent even more time exploring them. But even with that being the case, she had yet to travel any deeper than normal. And sure enough, they had reached the end of what she had explored all too quickly.

It had been in that moment of confusion that Simmon had gotten hit in the shoulder by some sort of paralysis spell, making him drop to the ground, his face frozen in horror. Erza had no other choice but to grab Kagura and run, looking back just long enough to shout that they would be back and save everyone.

And now here they were several hours later. Tired and bloodied from running through the undergrowth. Strangely enough, even though they had been running for the same amount of time, Erza was almost entirely deprived of sweat or exhaustion despite having carried the younger girl for a fair bit. However, due to the emotional rollercoaster that was the last few hours neither girl noticed this anomaly.

Hugging Kagura close, Erza peered over her shoulder and stared in the direction that the two had run from. While the younger girl steadily calmed down and caught her breath, she simply stared. Watching. Listening. Searching for any sign that they were still being pursued. Only after several minutes of hearing nothing but the sounds of the forest did she allow herself to breathe easily.

"Come on. We need to keep moving." Pulling Kagura to her feet, Erza did the best she could brushing the dirt and twigs off of her.

"B-But where?" Kagura hiccupped.

That was an excellent question. One that Erza wished that she knew the answer to. Where would they run to? She hadn't exactly been paying attention to the exact direction that they had run whilst fleeing Rosemary. Not only that but not once had she left the village until now.

They were well and truly lost.

But she couldn't tell Kagura that. She was barely holding it together as is. Hell. It would take only the slightest push and Erza would be in the same mental state. They were in a terrible way. But there was still hope.

"We just have to find someplace safe to stay," She gave off her best smile. "Just for a little while. My Mama and Papa should be back by then and they'll set everything right."

Kagure sniffed, "Really?"

Taking hold of her hands, Erza bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Yep! They're super strong!"

"Is that so?"

"The strongest-"

Erza froze.

The voice had come from behind her. And it most certainly hadn't been Kagura.

She grabbed Kagura, throwing her into a piggyback carry then bolted. She moved so quickly that the ground cracked beneath her. Not that she was paying any attention to that. All that she was focused on was getting as far from that place as possible.

Rounding a rather large tree, Erza stole a glance back. Only to come to a sudden stop as she crashed into what felt like a steel wall. Landing on her behind, she looked up in terror at the man who now stood in her path.

"That's some impressive speed," Marcus praised. "It's no wonder that you managed to run as far as you did."

They needed to run.

Run.

Run!

RUN!

But no matter how much Erza repeated that mantra, she couldn't get her legs to work. Kagura's arms tightened around her, burying her face in the redhead's hair as she shook. They were both frozen in abject terror.

Marcus knelt so that he now stared her in the eyes. Dull grey into brown. And then she was falling forward. She hadn't even felt the blow to her neck. The man's movements had just been too fast.

Marcus stared at the now unconscious children for a second and shook his head. Hoisting the two onto his shoulders, he began making his way back towards the village, covering hundreds of meters in an instant.

This entire mission had been a waste of his time. Not only had they had to travel to the ass end of nowhere, but the mage that had had the entire cult in such a twist that they had even bothered hiring him and his partner in the first place had been nothing more than a letdown.

The infamous Sidonis Mikazuchi, the man who had slaughtered an entire battalion of Alvarez soldiers, hadn't managed to last more than a single exchange with him before getting cut down. Both he and his evident wife had been nothing but disappointments.

Well. At least he got a new sword out of it.

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-End-