When they asked Kai what the plan was, his answer was simpler than anyone could have imagined.
"Just burn everything."
He smiled as he looked at the mayor.
"Simple, isn't it?"
The mayor looked him up and down for a few moments.
"But how?" Kai laughed in amusement.
"Amphiptere—ever heard of it? One of Condor's most famous failed attempts at creating a dragon. A winged creature capable of emitting explosive mist, but incapable of igniting it on its own."
The mayor grew thoughtful once more, but soon agreed with the plan and went off to make other important preparations.
Meanwhile, Kai bought time, day after day, waiting for Euphy to return with the winged serpent and for the mayor to finish the preparations.
Finally, when Euphy returned with the winged serpent coiled around her neck, she asked as she took in the scene,
"Why the hell are you cutting down the trees?"
She watched as an entire alliance of cultivators tore trees out of the ground like weeds, for no apparent reason.
"To control the fire we're going to create, this way we won't set the entire forest on fire, but rather a specific area of it." Kai replied, his gaze heavy with sorrow. "Besides, we can build barricades in front of the village to fight the survivors of the fire."
"I'll be surprised if there are any…" Euphy sighed before setting the serpent to produce the mist.
She soon frowned, feeling the wind flowing toward Shattered Sky, her eyes drawn to a heavy storm approaching.
"Cultivators can alter the weather. In this case, I asked for more than just cutting trees. The wind will help direct the attack, the rain will contain the fire, and the lightning will serve as an assault."
Kai lay down, watching the creature begin to emit the mist that would reap hundreds of lives.
"Do you still have those pills? To replenish its Primordial Force? In case it needs them," he asked Euphy, who nodded immediately.
"Great…"
Euphy continued watching as cultivators raised barriers of compacted earth shaped like cone.
"And what is that?" she asked, to which Kai only let out a dry laugh.
"The mist will rob the enemy of their vision, forcing them to move toward a closed cone, blocking easy escape routes and giving the cultivators a positional advantage from the top. We'll attack them in the middle or near the end of the cone—this way they'll be exposed on all sides, and escaping without exposing themselves to further attacks will be difficult."
Euphy then pointed to small stream flowing around the area.
"Their leader uses blood-based attacks, so I thought of using water to dilute his attacks."
Euphy's eyes widened the more she heard. Kai was reshaping the entire battlefield for a single purpose.
"And even so, I don't feel like I'll win…" he said with a sigh. "I've never fought a demon, and the idea of him surviving all this truly haunts me."
Euphy sighed and sat beside him.
"Honestly, I think this battle is already won. But even if he survives, what will he do next? Deprived of men, trapped in a snare with dozens of spells and arrows raining down on him."
"Maybe that's the worst part, Euphy," Kai said. "He'll be cornered like a rat, with no option but to fight with everything he has—even if he dies in the end."
"Are you afraid of a rat's final bite?"
"No. What I feel is terror."
Euphy laughed, stroking his fur.
"Calm down. Nothing bad will happen. Not this time."
Kai let out a muffled laugh.
"Honestly, I think everything could go wrong from the very beginning. I even wonder if I'm on the right side of this fight."
"Hmmm?" Euphy tilted her head, ears twitching in confusion.
"Think about it, Euphy—it's almost an ethical dilemma," Kai said, carefully choosing his words.
"A traveler encounters two peoples on the brink of conflict. One is poor and so hungry that they even eat rats. The other, however, lives well and leads a peaceful life."
"And as you might expect, blessings and curses are born on the same day. The first people are miserable for the same reason the other lives well: history. The ancestors of one exploited the other, took their lands, and so on. One was blessed by history, while the other was cursed by it."
Euphy nodded, intrigued.
"The first will enter into conflict because they are hungry, and the second doesn't want conflict but will defend itself—they just want to keep things as they are. After all, they didn't do anything wrong, and they owe nothing to anyone."
"You can decide who will win the conflict, but you can't avoid it. What do you do?"
Euphy looked thoughtfully at the sky.
"Personally, I think the second is in the right. They didn't do anything and don't deserve to be attacked. Not to mention that what they eat is the direct result of their hard work. The past is distant, while the present reveals a hardworking people and a violent one."
Kai laughed drily.
"And you—what do you choose?" Euphy asked. "Not that I find it hard to imagine your answer."
"I'd say the peaceful village. But in truth, I know I'd side with the first one I met."
Euphy frowned.
"The other side wants to do terrible things. You'd still ally with them?"
Kai shook his head.
"I'd never ally with them knowing the heinous acts they would commit—but who says I'd know?" Kai laughed lightly. "I ate from the tree of good and evil. I know how battles work, Euphy."
"So that's your fear…" she sighed, looking up at the sky.
"The traveler—no matter which side he chooses, they'll always show him the bright, glorious part while hiding their shadows. In the end, the battle is always about protecting the miserable or protecting the pacifists. You'll always be the hero."
"I'm tired, Euphy."Kai lowered his face, the black tears on his fur taking on a new meaning for Euphy rather than scars.
She sighed softly and stroked his fur.
"Don't worry about that. You can be the hero of this story," she said. "If it calms your heart, I'll embrace all the shadows of this whole wide world so that you can only see the light."
"…"
The world seemed to fall silent in that moment as the two simply watched.
"Will you take part in the battle?" he suddenly asked.
"No… I'll take the opportunity to rest a bit…" she said, already forming a plan in her mind.
'While they're busy fighting, I'll investigate the village. Just to be sure.' She thought.
"Kai, they're coming!" the mayor shouted, making Kai stand and approach a magical formation.
...
"This is your last chance—turn back or face my wrath."
Kai spoke, drawing laughter from the barbarians. He sighed as he watched them march toward certain death.
'I hope I chose the right side…'
"May the gods have mercy on your souls."
Kai summoned his flames, and in the next instant…
"Poor souls."
BOOOOOOOM
The entire forest erupted in flames.
Shockwaves spread in all directions, threatening to knock everyone down.
Even so, Kai remained motionless.
And then, shortly afterward, the green forest was reduced to ashes as everything was destroyed, with a single exception.
A large red cocoon.
Around it, dozens of bodies had been reduced to ash.
Kai sighed, anticipating what would come next.
Vlad emerged from the cocoon with several dozen men, still stunned and trying to understand what had happened.
Kai and Vlad exchanged silent gazes.
Meanwhile, atop the earthen walls, cultivators began activating their spells, and archers took aim.
"I warned you."