"By Oslo, what did we do to deserve this?"

"Nothing, like those living in Pankow suffered a similar fate. Sheer bad luck."

The two humans were looking at the gruesome bloody plain that was in their sight, just a little farther away from Archet. When they had heard the horn of the army nearby, they had rushed toward the ramparts, but could only see the scene happening without being able to do a single thing about it. In the short minutes that were used to completely dry the green herb red, they were joined by nearly every officers and elders of the important families. Some even began to throw up, after witnessing so many brutal executions.

The only one that was still capable of ushering anything but prayers or mad thoughts was Gwendoline. Even if it was still visible that she was shaken by the ordeal, she still managed to maintain her smile, albeit stiffened. For that, even those that were displeased by the fact that she earned her position thanks to a miracle in their eyes were a bit reassured to have someone to rely on. Thinking inwardly that if it was them in her shoes, they would have already begun to flee in panic, knowing that the Mayor of Archet will probably have an early end.

"I pray you, Aria, for in those dark moments ..." Murmuring the last song of that country, Andre was looking with worry at the young woman next to him. He would have never thought that his gift would turn out to be a trap. But he truly knew that she was one of the best candidates, if not the best, to appease the citizens living in the city. And she had proved that there was only a very slight amount of chaos after the knights of Kirov left. Without the guards to protect the houses, pillages, murders and rapes could have happened, spreading across all the districts of Archet.

But fortunately, by personally helping everyone to return to their normal lives, she had alleviated that risk by a lot. Coupled with a redistribution of many goods that were without any owner, the inner greed that was growing was satisfied. Of course, those that received the largest amount of gold from this operation was the surviving guards, to which no one had any complaints. As for the adventurers, some tried to conduct improper actions but were met with the resistance of the entire population. Even they couldn't fight hundreds of mourning and angry civilians and expect to escape with their lives.

"Mayor, we will talk about our ... mutual problem later. I wish you good luck." The only elf in the tall stone wall began to walk away with great speed. As a representant of the elves, he was here to deal with rumors about elven bodies found in some basements. With the abolition of slavery and the friendship between the two nations, it had become a pressing issue for Gwendoline. Even the day before, she had to prevent the elf to capture a few aristocratic families and bring them to justice inside the forest.

As for whether the rumors were true, well ... they were. It came as a surprise for the woman, but she had managed to become so trustworthy that they had come clean before her. Expecting the Mayor to defend them against the representant. Faced with the fact that, even if they were guilty, she would need the help of everyone to rebuild Archet, she could only delay as much as possible the cunning elves. She had also bribed many mercenaries to, fortunately, patrol near the inn where the pointy ears were sleeping, to prevent any of them to sneak out in the dark. While also denying her responsibility when the envoy came knocking on her door the next day.

So, when they all saw him virtually flying in the air to flee as quickly as possible, she could only sneer in contempt. But that spectacle did not bring a smile to anyone, even those that were guilty. When he was too far away, she turned toward those that were sighing in relief. "If we survive this, I hope all the prooves will be truly destroyed. For good this one." For the dumbfounded officers, they couldn't understand what she meant, but those elders and wealthy men quickly got the intent.

"Of course Mayor, nothing happened in Archet." " Those were groundless rumors in the first place." "Thank you, Mayor." Those that had a free conscience, for this crime at least, looked toward the air like they had not learned everything. Of course, some still threw a black stare at those men, that couldn't even manage to keep their secrets secret, as the Lord Eltritch did. With this, she finally looked at the man in uniform next to them, that was looking with horror at the grand massacre. He was part of the group that barged in her office the other day, with the Butcher of the North.

"Commandant, I don't think Archet needs you anymore. You should personally transmit the news to the capital." The soldier tried to speak a few times, but he was still shocked by what his eyes transmitted to him. At the same time, he wondered what this bunch of old and young people had experienced here to be so quick at regaining their spirits. But seeing the smile of Gwendoline slightly warmed his heart, he still bowed in front of the Mayor.

"Yes Mayor, I will leave right away ..." but after only two steps, he realized what she implied by this. Looking at the fearless woman, he could only lament about the way the general treated her. If the later had known her even a bit more, he would have not acted as he did. "Are you sure you don't need an experienced officer for the defense?" The only answer he received was Gwendoline shaking her head. Both ashamed and grateful, he silently left, only looking back when they were just dots in his vision.

"You truly think it is hopeless?" Andre was starring at the leaving man, that was visibly conflicted with his new orders. All wished that they were him, for he was escaping Archet before the arrival of the Dark God. As for them, it was a bit too late, even if they were to begin their preparations right now, they wouldn't be able to outrun the black army approaching. And seeing the fleeing soldiers being hunted like it was nothing, any hope was utterly crushed.

"An army composed of all the troops available in Avenio, led by the most accomplished general of this country managed to last ... a minute? Less than a minute? If it had been that undead army we faced, I am certain they would have defeated it in an hour. But now ..." Her young voice faded silently in the air, the worries inside it not concealed. Truthfully, Gwendoline did not know about that attack and was a bit fearful. Remembering the legends, it said that not all the Dark Gods were allied, so it could be the same right now. Meaning that her Mistress and those monsters were not working together.

"But! But! There is something we can do? Right? Anything? You, tell me! Anything!" The old man from the Eltritch family began to shout at an extremely muscular officer, with a weirdly cut beard. If it had been any other situations, some could have found funny that a frail elder was acting like that in front of such a tall warrior. But because of the oppressing silence, this only reinforced the weight that was on their minds.

"Let him, whatever we had was used before. And I guess that not even the White Hand can save us now." Andre laconically brought up the only name that had a sliver of chances to do something. After all, it was no secret that their new Mayor was truly appreciated by the criminal organization, even if it made no sense. Moments later, before the first survivor could reach the ramparts, an inconspicuous man approached the group.

Some recognized him but were too numb by what they saw to even be shocked. The fact that someone that belonged to darkness was willing to walk in broad light was enough to confirm the sentences pronounced by Andre. The only specificity that could differentiate him from a normal citizen was his limp leg, that was significantly slower than his other leg. But that was only a minute difference since it was barely perceptible if it wasn't known beforehand.

"Mayor, Andre, gentlemen. I am sorry to inform you that we have decided to remove all our agents from Archet from this very moment. This will be the last time we see each other in Archet. Farewell." His elegant posture and fluent speech did not reduce the impact of what he said. But at the same time, everyone understood the logic behind it. Unlike the nations, like the Republic of Avenio, that had a duty of protecting those living under it, the Organization was not bound by those rules. It was often that protecting a certain individual or a group was in their interest. But they would not sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

Right before the envoy of the White Hand left, he still turned around to give his personal advice. "Just one last thing. Try to submit to them. Even if they had not left a single survivor from my peers, they still sparred a group of adventurers for no obvious reasons. I can only hope your luck is good, but it is worth the shot."

"Thank you for your advice, we will try everything to save Archet."

"Good, good. That's good" Descending the stairs, he was nowhere to be seen after a cart coincidentally cut their line of sight. As for his advice, that was just a hopeless dream. They will try it, they will bet their lives on it because that was their only choice. Nothing else could save them anymore, not even the intervention of a god. "If you have anyone to pray to clean your mind and cleanse your sins, it is the moment." Gwendoline was seeing with them the hundreds of humans running for their lives but were still hunted like stray dogs.

There was now barely a few hundred meters before they will reach the walls of Archet, but the chances that even one could manage to do this were slim. The dark armors were relentless at slaughtering the soldiers of Avenio, not sparing a single one. Because of this, the guards responsible for opening the gates could only look at their superiors, not knowing what to do. They did not want to condemn another fellow human to die by closing the door but did not want just one monster to enter the city.

As uncertain as them, they could only look at the only one capable of making that decision. Only the Mayor could free them from the guilt of thinking for themselves instead of helping others. Noticing the insisting gazes of the officers nearby, she looked at the direction they were pointing. Linking quickly the two together, she did the only thing she could do, shoulder the blame alone. "Close the gates!" Her order was spread with the speed of light, but this also made the quickest runners shout in panic.

Those standing on the ramparts could only decide to not hear anything, some even putting their hands on their ears. The already weak minds of some collapsed with such close proximity, and they left the premises. Whether they were part of the group of Gwendoline or real guards, none prevented them from doing so. The already scarcely populated ramparts began to be even emptier. The deserters were not even caught, letting them spread panic in the clueless population. Seeing the mess that was being created under their eyes,they still did not move.

When the last living being in the outside fell down on the ground, his heart pierced by a sword, they could see some dark armors looking at them, menacingly. Surprisingly, that was the extent of their actions, they began to fall back silently, returning toward the bloodied battlefield. Seeing that maybe their prayers had worked, a few began to murmur a bit louder what they were psalming. Even Andre was slightly dumbfounded. "Could the gods truly hear us? After all those years?"

The non-believer that was Gwendoline could only shake her head. From what she knew, the being called a god was not worthy of all the praises he could receive. But if it could pacify the other humans, that was good enough for her. Nonetheless, she could not resist expressing her disbelief. "Not necessarily, they could only have orders about that. Weird ones, I agree on that. But that was not the action of a god, it's not like we would see the birth of a Hero under our very own eyes, ri..."

She was suddenly cut by the apparition of a pillar of light on the horizon. Remembering what the Mayor had said seconds ago, they could only think of one thing, something that would have been unthinkable weeks ago. A Hero. Shouting in happiness and even hugging themselves, none noticed the crumbling expression of Gwendoline. All she could think was that now that she had chosen a side, she could no longer be considered as someone to protect for the Heroes. And could even be hunted down.