The Merciful Reaper

Impatience finally got the better of the black-clad Raider facing Dunce. With unnerving grace, he blurred forward, practically weightless. Dunce roared, channeling his nascent Knight energy into a massive overhead cleave. The air seemed to vacuum around the blade, locking the Raider in place, forcing him to block. Dunce felt the power surging within him, stronger than ever—his Life Rockforce-Rockforce Energy, tempered by recent breakthroughs, was clearly growing.

 Unfazed, the Raider twisted, short blades flashing cold steel. *Ting! Ting!* Both blades struck the spine of the Heavy Sword of Heavenly Might (Tianangang Sword), deflecting the colossal strike. But twin lances of piercing energy snaked up the blade towards Dunce's hands. *So that's how Miao lost his sword!* Panicked, Dunce drove liquid Life Rockforce-Rockforce Energy into his palms. The swirling energy barely repelled the needle-like assault, but numbness set in.

 Though the Raider had parried, the sheer mass of the sword fueled by Dunce's energy still jarred him back a step. Instantly, he surged forward again. Blades became streaks of cold light—one slicing towards the throat, the other plunging towards the heart.

 Death sharpened Dunce's mind. He twisted desperately, wrenching the Heavy Sword free from the earth and swinging it upwards in a savage parry. The Raider snorted, refusing another direct clash. He vanished from Dunce's sight. Trapped mid-swing, Dunce only sensed twin points of frigid death erupting behind him. Too late to block! He threw himself forward, slapping the ground with his left palm at the last moment, using the rebound to launch himself five meters away in a clumsy roll.

 Pain erupted across his back like searing brands. The Raider's blades had scored deep gashes. Corrosive energy raged inside him, tearing through his channels. He crumpled, body convulsing, struggling to contain the invasive force with his depleted Life Rockforce-Rockforce.

 No time to breathe! Death whispered at his spine again. He knew he was finished. Helpless shouts erupted from his friends as the Raider's descending blades promised oblivion.

 Then—heat exploded in Dunce's left hand! A surge of warmth, alien yet potent, flooded his body. His Life Rockforce-Rockforce Energy, supercharged by this unexpected influx, erupted outwards in a blinding corona of white light.

 The Raider, who'd been holding back for surrender, instantly shifted to kill. His blades hit the luminous shield. *Thud!* Like hacking at thick, resilient leather. The shield flared violently, blasting the Raider backwards through the air.

 The recoil slammed through Dunce. His throat convulsed, coughing up bright arterial blood. He still didn't know where that warmth came from. Girln Shi and Girln Li lunged, catching him as he sagged. The Raider landed lightly, breathing just noticeably faster.

 Propping himself up with the Heavy Sword, Dunce swallowed the coppery taste. "I'm… okay," he rasped.

 Girln Shi shook his head grimly. "Enough, brother. We gave it our all. These Raiders… they're too strong. Beyond us."

 Girln Li's face was stony. "Even if we all went at them? Hah. Reminds you there's always someone tougher. The elves… they're doomed."

 "No!" Dunce pushed himself upright, voice raw with defiance. "We CAN'T let them take the elves!" He glared at the Raider. "I'm not beaten. We keep going. Brothers, step back."

 Seeing the fire in Dunce's eyes, Girln Shi and Girln Li exchanged a glance, shame briefly replacing defeat. Girln Li growled, "Alright! Then we fight together! All of us! Might still have a chance!"

 Dunce shook his head. "Too many of them. Stick to the duel. I might still win." He shoved away his brothers and stumbled towards the Raider, each step an effort.

 The Raider watched him approach coldly. Dunce stopped three paces away, driving the Heavy Sword point-first into the earth. He met the Raider's cold stare.

 "You're not a match for me. Send another."

 "Wanna bet?" Dunce whispered. His right hand closed around the glowing Bloodstone Amulet of the Dragon God at his neck. He intoned the words Mystic Mystic Moon had taught him: "*Grand Dragon King, lend your boundless might. Forge an unyielding shield! Guard the Dragon's Right!*" Then, inexplicably, he turned his back to the Raider and thrust both hands towards his friends.

 White light erupted, vast and blinding! The Raider recoiled, stunned. What trick was this novice pulling now?

 The radiant shield slammed down, engulfing Dunce's friends—including the elves—in a dome of holy light. Light's Ward—a powerful barrier magic. Only Mystic Mystic Moon recognized the strain it must put on Dunce's limited mana reserves, amplified wildly by the Amulet. She muttered a desperate prayer, "Dunce… stay safe!"

 The shield, while protecting allies, also cut off sound and sight. Girln Shi desperately tried to break out to help, but Mystic Mystic Moon stopped him. "Trust him," she said, though her own heart pounded with uncertainty.

 As the radiant dome solidified, every Raider, including Dunce's opponent, froze in confusion. Why shield the others, not himself? The lead Raider silently cursed himself—he should have struck while the idiot was chanting!

 "What's the meaning of this?" the opposing Raider demanded, regaining his poise.

 Dunce turned back to him, his expression chillingly calm. "Precaution. Didn't want them caught in the crossfire." His right hand drifted to his chest.

 An unnatural cold swept through the clearing. The Raider shivered violently. The clumsy kid was gone. Dunce's eyes burned with predatory menace. Wisps of gray vapor seeped from his skin, thickening into a palpable aura of *pure malice*. Lesser Raiders moaned, shivering uncontrollably. Even the Acquisitors (精英盗贼) flickered with unease.

 The corruption swelled, an invisible tide centered on Dunce. His opponent hunched, the freezing aura locking his muscles. Blades raised, he prepared to lunge. "Wait!" The Black Acquirer's command cut through the tension. He blurred forward, the other five Acquisitors flanking him instantly, forming a deadly wall before Dunce.

 Dunce stared back, no fear, only cold calculation. Vital Life Rockforce-Rockforce Energy poured from his right hand into the pommel of a sword unseen. The oppressive, soul-chilling pressure intensified. He *felt* it—the potential to unleash annihilation hung on a hair trigger.

 "What? Finally decided on a gang-up?" Dunce's voice was a low rasp.

 The Black Acquirer pulsed with sapphire-blue energy, a defense against the creeping corruption. "Young man… if I guess correctly… you're an heir of the 'Hades Boss,' aren't you?"

 Dunce gave a barely perceptible nod.

 The Black Acquirer laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "Surprising! Shades have gone soft? Rescuing victims? Fine. Out of respect for the King… we withdraw. *But*… we need proof." His gaze shifted to one of his men. "Little Four. Verify his blade."

 A lanky Acquisitor stepped forward, twin blades ready, eyes locked on Dunce's right hand.

 "Draws His Shadow-Steel… leaves no breath," Dunce murmured, the threat implied. "Leave now. While you can."

 The Acquisitor called "Little Four" sneered. "The 'Hades Boss' was the continent's peak assassin… but how much of his skill did *you* inherit?" He exploded into a black streak, blades stabbing heart and slashing throat with lethal intent. No hesitation this time. Raiders and Shades seldom crossed paths, but Shades weren't enemies to make lightly. Silence was the only safe policy.

 Dunce's eyes blazed with glacial fury. He roared the dark invocation: "**Dunce Strikes… SKY—AND—EARTH—BOW!**"

 He drew the blade. The *Soul-Reaver Sword* (冥王剑).

 No one saw the blade—only felt the world twist. Dunce's vitality *screamed*, wrenched towards that single point of unearthly, *hungry* indigo light before him. Life Rockforce-Rockforce Energy plummeted. Dunce moved—impossibly fast, yet agonizingly clear—past his foe. The air congealed around the baleful aura; every Raider froze, limbs locked by terror. The indigo flash wasn't light—it was the absence of hope, a piece of damnation carved into reality.

 Dunce appeared behind his attacker.

 Little Four's eyes widened in stunned disbelief. Color fled his eyes, leaching into lifeless gray. His body sagged, *diminishing*, drying before their eyes. *Clang! Clang!* The blades fell. He collapsed, a withered, desiccated husk—a mummified corpse.

 The Soul-Reaver vanished. The suffocating pressure lessened but didn't vanish. The Raider who'd fought Dunce screamed, "**UNCLE FOUR!**" She lunged for the corpse.

 "**FALL BACK!**" The Black Acquirer bellowed. He moved faster than light, scooping up the screaming girl with one hand and the desiccated remains with the other. The remaining five blurred, all six streaking towards the dense forest like terrified shadows.

 The lesser Raiders, already saturated by the blade's residual malice, didn't move. Life Rockforce spark faded from their eyes, snuffed out. Their bodies slumped, shivering as vital essence slowly drained away. Dawn would find them cold, victims of a touch not meant for mortals.

 Dunce didn't watch them go. He stood rooted, locked in an internal battle against the Soul-Reaver's insidious hunger. Drawing it *once*, unleashing only the first death—"Dunce Strikes"—had drained his reserves to the brink. Another strike? Impossible. But the fear his Master's name instilled had saved him. The Raiders chose retreat over a gamble with oblivion.

 Sweat beaded his brow as he fought to cage the sword's corruption again. Finally, a weary breath escaped him. He looked up—straight into the terrified eyes of Roma Elf the elf. She'd awakened to the aura of wrongness, witnessed the soul-draining horror. Rooted in the living heart of the forest, bathed in natural magic, she'd resisted the worst. But now, she saw only a conduit for unspeakable evil.

 "A…Are you Death?" Roma Elf stammered, trembling violently. "What… what will you do?"

 Dunce coughed, staining his lips red again. "Do? Nothing. They're gone." He saw the terror in her eyes. "You're cold?"

 She nodded mutely, the image of Dunce's merciless execution seared into her mind. Was this savior… or something far worse?

 Dunce knelt stiffly, placing his right palm on her quaking shoulder. The faintest trickle of pure white Life Rockforce-Rockforce, tinged with sacred energy, flowed into her. Warmth fought back the invasive cold, cleansing the remnants of dread. She sagged with relief.

 Dunce's breathing hitched; the edge of collapse loomed. He met her eyes, his own pleading. "Sister Elf… promise me… one thing?"

 Roma Elf flinched slightly. "What?"

 "Please…" Dunce gasped, each word an effort. "Tandor't… tell anyone… what you saw. What I did… My secret…" He saw her hesitation. "I swear… I mean you… the elves… all who are good… no harm. I… never *wanted*… to kill. They… forced me." His eyes held only exhaustion and desperate sincerity.

 Roma Elf's innate kindness warred with her terror. These outsiders had saved them. Without them… she'd be a slave like her lost sisters. This clumsy, seemingly earnest boy had fought for them. With a soft sigh, her fear yielding to compassion, she gave a small, reluctant nod.

 A ghost of relief touched Dunce's face. He managed a weak smile, then slumped forward, consciousness fleeing, as he collapsed onto Roma Elf's lap.

 His faint triggered the shield's collapse. Girln Shi and the others erupted from the vanishing light of Light's Ward, sprinting over.

 Girl Yuan flitted beside Roma Elf. "What… what happened?!"

 Roma Elf hesitated, holding Dunce's limp body. "It… it was him. This human drove them away."

 Girl Yuan's eyes widened in disbelief. Before he could question, Girln Shi scooped Dunce up, channelling energy to probe his meridians. The group huddled anxiously.

 Mystic Mystic Moon pushed through last. "Girln Shi! Dunce! Is he—?!"

 Girln Shi exhaled heavily. "He's fine. Empty. Needs rest." He frowned at the scattered bodies. "Why more dead?"

 Roma Elf spoke carefully, avoiding Dunce's secret. "I don't know… the other Raiders ran… these ones… just fell."

 Miao scratched his head. "How'd Dunce suddenly get that strong? Was he holding back?"

 Girln Shi cut in, impatient. "Not important. Brother Elf, we need shelter. Now."

 Just then, the rustling became a roar. Over a hundred elves descended, led by three radiating potent energy. Girl Yuan brightened. "Reinforcements!" He flew up to greet them.

 The elves landed. The lead male, radiating authority, stepped forward. "Our thanks for saving our kin. Tianan Ying, Elf Master of this forest, greets you." He scanned the group, gaze stopping on the burly Puyan warriors.

 Girln Shi shifted Dunce carefully. "Master Tianan Ying? Do… do you remember me?"

 Tianan Ying looked hard at him. "Puyan Tribe? Have we met?"

 "Thirteen years ago! With my father, Chieftain Rock! I'm Girln Shi!" Girln Shi said, hope in his voice.

 Girln Li shouldered in. "And me! Girln Li!"

 Tianan Ying's stern face cracked into a brief smile. "Ah! The lad who took an axe to my guardian tree! Your father's thrashing, I recall!" He chuckled, the grim atmosphere easing slightly. Girln Li rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Master, let's… maybe forget that bit?"

 Girln Shi gestured to Dunce. "He needs a place to recover, Master Tianan Ying."

 Tianan Ying thumped his chest. "Tandore. Girl Yuan told us. Damn Raiders! Growing bold, ambushing our scouts." His eyes flashed dangerously. "Time to sharpen our thorns. Come! To the Enchanted Glade!"

 He waved, and the elves surged around the travelers. As they moved deeper into the verdant heartwood, Tianan Ying asked, his tone softening but purpose clear, "Now, Girln Shi… tell me. What brings the Puyan to our woods amid such peril?"