—"TELL ME!!"
Kano's voice cracks the sky.
—"IS THERE ANYTHING REAL IN THIS WORLD?!"
—"DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HONOR IS?!"
—"DIGNITY?!"
—"HUMANITY?!"
He screams so fiercely that everyone forgets who they are.
This is no chieftain.
This is a man who was never given the chance to be a man.
And he is silent.
He stands in the fire. He trembles.
But not from fear. From forging himself anew.
This is not that Kano anymore.
This is Kano, broken. And now—better not stand in his way.
The fire around Kano has not yet died.
He stood wrapped in a red glow, pulsing like a heart torn from a chest.
He saw no one.
Only the void.
"I've been broken again.
I failed again.
My power is nothing. I am nothing.
I left those women unprotected…
And I won't be able to look in the mirror again."
And then—a step.
One. Bare. Straight into the fire.
Naira.
No armor.
No fear.
Only her and his pain.
The fire did not part.
It licked her hands, her shoulders, her cheeks.
Sweat began to run down her face, dripping to the ground.
Her breathing grew heavy.
But she stood.
Then—she sank to one knee.
—"Chieftain…"
—"If you go, we'll lose more than we gain."
—"If you're gone, this world will rot back into chaos."
Her voice trembled, but did not break.
Her skin blazed. But she did not retreat.
—"Let me."
—"I'll take five hundred. We'll find them."
—"We'll punish them. But you…"
—"You must stay. Because you're the core. The heart."
—"One command from you—and the world will shudder."
Kano finally lifted his gaze.
And saw… drops of sweat mixing with ash upon her skin.
But in her eyes—a fire that doesn't burn, but leads.
The fire around him began to quiet.
Not because it went out.
Because, for the first time, someone touched the heart.
Another figure joined Naira.
Selina. Pale, quiet, spent.
Yet she walked with certainty.
And stepping into the heat, she did not scream.
She went to both knees.
Set her hands on her thighs—steady, calm.
—"I've seen better days."
—"And worse."
—"But this… this should not be."
—"And I know you… still believe."
—"That's why we're here. Because you gave us that belief."
Lianel appeared last.
She did not hurry. But her gaze was like an icy wind after the storm.
—"You know what's scariest?"
—"That those who did this believed no one would stop them."
—"Because we're weak. Because we're afraid."
She took her place beside them. To both knees.
Only then did she lower her eyes.
—"We are not afraid. Because we have you."
—"And we are with you."
Kano lowered his eyes.
Before him—three women.
Different.
But each chose to stand in the flames. For him.
And he… fell to his knees.
Not in defeat. In gratitude.
For the first time—without shame. Without a mask.
—"I will go."
—"And I'll make them regret it. Every last one."
—"Anyone who laid hands on them… with hands that never deserved to touch life."
But Selina whispers:
—"No. Not now."
Lianel adds:
—"If the king of the dwarves returns and you're gone—we'll lose face."
Naira—the last, the sternest:
—"If you go in wrath—you'll lose yourself."
Kano closes his eyes.
And again… he breathes.
—"Grimtar."
—"I'm here."
—"Rest. Tomorrow you'll gather five hundred of the best."
—"You'll follow the trail."
—"When you find them—send Bul."
—"And I'll join… when the king departs."
Naira lifted her head.
Her eyes said, "Why not me?"
Kano met her gaze.
His answer was quiet. But sharp.
—"You will stay."
—"Because this is your city."
—"Because these people are yours."
—"And they need to know someone stayed with them. To the end."
He rose. Slowly.
The fire no longer blazed.
But it banked within—not as rage, but as a call to act.
—"We will be the example."
—"Proof that even in a world without morality…"
—"There are still those who haven't broken."
—"And who will break no one."
And then, from the side, Elgot approached.
Slowly. Like someone who had seen everything—and more than he ever said.
—"Welcome..."
—"To a world of degenerates."
—"On a continent where strength is the highest currency..."
—"And morality is something long forgotten here."
The fire died.
But not in the heart.
Not even in the air.
A banked heat lingered in the souls of all who stood there.
Kano still stood where he was.
The wind teased his clumped hair. His palms ached—from clenching, from power.
But the pain was needed. It kept him here.
The three women rose first.
Told him with their eyes: "We are with you."
And slipped into the dark, like sentries fading into the night's hush.
Grimtar nodded. Wordless. And led the warriors to rest.
The dwarves headed for the forges—not out of duty now, but out of dignity.
Only Elgot remained.
He stood a little apart.
And as always—kept silent until words truly carried weight.
He came up to Kano slowly, as if he didn't want to startle the silence.
—"You did well."
—"Not everyone keeps themselves when the soul is burning."
Kano didn't answer. He only drew a deeper breath.
—"But..." Elgot leaned closer.
—"If you want to find the ones who did this…"
—"And find them fast—you don't ask the honest. You ask the… clever scum."
Kano turned his head just a fraction, a question in his eyes.
—"We've got one like that in our city."
—"Too beautiful. Too vulgar. And far too… well-informed."
A pause. The mage's smile, ironic as ever.
—"She wears shirts that can't contain the pressure of her figure."
—"And she likes to call you 'darling.'"
Kano closed his eyes.
In his memory—red lips, a predatory smile,
and breasts on the verge of…
Yes. Her.
He turned.
Walked past the mage, who tossed after him:
—"But remember…"
—"A demoness doesn't play at honesty. She plays at power."
Kano didn't even stop. He only answered:
—"Now I do too."
The square emptied.
And when night had fully conquered the sky,
she stepped out of the shadow.
The street drowned in half-darkness.
Only the tremble of bonfires and stray torches splashed light across the stone—
like a stage lit not by masters, but by chaos.
And in that mottled hush, only two remained:
him—scorched by fury,
and her—clad in sin.
Kano had almost reached the dwarves' workshop
when behind him a familiar voice purred, silky and poison-sweet:
—"Darling…"
—"Why do you always run when I'm looking for you?"
Kano stopped.
But he didn't turn at once.
He already knew what he'd see.
Revena moved toward him slowly, with the precision of a snake that knows—it will not be stopped.
Her outfit—a peasant blouse, stitched with coarse thread,
yet it hugged her body as if the cloth itself begged for mercy.
Her giant breasts quivered with every step, nipples pressing through the thin fabric,
and the buttons looked ready to pop and free them from their prison.
She liked it that way.
She felt Kano watching.
And thought, "Now I'm the picture of a demure little girl about to disgrace herself. It's genius."
She stopped right in front of him.
Too close. Close enough that every breath was a touch.
—"You burned so hot, darling…"
—"I got curious: is it just as hot inside?"
Her smile—playful, sultry, heavy with promises.
But this time Kano didn't lower his gaze.
His eyes—even. Sharp.
And that, it seemed, interested her most.
—"You know…"
—"I was told an army was seen in the forest nearby."
—"Maybe demons. Maybe not."
—"I don't want a war. But if they're yours—I want to know."
Revena arched a brow.
For a heartbeat the smile vanished—just a heartbeat. Then returned.
—"You want to use me?"
—"I'm not even offended."
—"That's… cute."
She stepped closer.
Drew a finger across his chest.
—"At last you're starting to think like a true ruler."
—"I like this new… dark side of yours."
Kano stayed silent. In his eyes—tension.
Revena snapped her head away and drifted off, hips speaking in slow arcs.
And her inner monologue—no longer playful. Precise. Calculated.
"I took only half a step forward—and he's already asking me for a favor."
"Good boy.
You're bringing yourself to me… like a gift."
"I'll find out everything. Because I want to.
But not for you."
"I will conquer you."
"And you'll beg me for it yourself."
Her body slipped back into the shadows, but the street stayed electrified.
And Kano, standing silent, only clenched his fist.
He didn't know…
That she was already on her way.