All were seated near the campfire. Only Grey was still standing.
"May I add something about the history part?" Bardy asked calmly.
"Yes," Grey replied. The crew grew curious.
"Will you tell some weird joke stories?" one of the crew members asked.
"Weird! weird!" the crew shouted.
"Maybe yes, maybe no," Bardy said, smiling. "Maybe... what, wait... what is this inside the campfire?"
While everyone turned to look at the campfire, Bardy raised his eyes without moving his head and glanced at Grey, then at Aki. He slipped his left hand into his pocket. Slowly, he stood and moved toward the campfire in a way that placed Aki on his left side close to his hand.
"There," Bardy said, pointing with his right hand. "Can't you see?" he asked, surprised. "You have to keep watching it constantly for a few minutes," he added.
While they were watching the campfire, he snapped his right arm forward, hurling the dagger straight at Grey's throat and simultaneously took out his left hand. He was holding a six-inch-long, half-inch-thick piece of wood, shaped into a pointed weapon similar to a spear. Without looking in Grey's direction, he instinctively focused on Aki.
When his left hand came out, his palm was open, and he was holding the pointed weapon with his thumb. As his hand emerged from his pocket, he immediately changed the position of the pointed weapon. He held it upside down. With his four fingers, he gripped it tightly and pressed his thumb against the bottom of the weapon to give it greater piercing power. His hand struck directly toward Aki's neck.
The dagger found its mark with a sickening thud and pierced Grey's throat. Grey's body collapsed backward and hit the ground with a dull thump. The pointed wooden weapon followed. Because of the stress, Bardy pressed too hard. Less than half of the weapon penetrated the right side of Aki's neck. The rest snapped off, shattering and cutting into Bardy's left hand. Aki fell on his back with the broken shard stuck in his neck.
The people were tired, and the darkness limited their view. Bardy made sure the campfire was big enough to cover his actions. Bardy acted fast and unexpectedly, so fast that no one saw it coming. He was breathing heavily, his eyes cold and unreadable. Wetness dripped from his face. His right arm was fully extended forward in a thrust, his ring finger and little finger curled tightly into his fist. His left arm was half-extended, along with his shoulder, waist, and chest, twisted backward like the recoil from a brutal strike swung backward with full force. When Grey and Aki fell, there were no gasps or dying sounds. They weren't moving.
Silence was broken by a dull thump as Grey's and Aki's bodies hit the ground. The crew instinctively looked around and saw them lying there.
"What? No!" Arrdun yelled, rushing to Grey's side.
Others turned toward Aki to check on him. When Arrdun and the others arrived, it was too late. Grey and Aki were lying unconscious. Bardy knew exactly where to strike.