Silver stood in the middle of the village as chaos unfolded around him. The villagers, gripped by madness and anger, screamed and moved frantically. Murad, Pothelmir, Jin, Jon, and several other halflings stood at the village entrance, holding their ground thinking of what they're next move would be.
Suddenly, Redly broke the silence, speaking with trembling emotion pride ,fears , angers, "My father will make you regret this , just for it!"
Murad glanced at him and shouted, "Redly, get back! And Take cover!"
Then he turned to the others. "Jon, Jin—handle the villagers. If peaceful ways don't work, use force yours safety first ."
Pothelmir added, eyes locked on Silver, "We have to end this. I've already sent word to the Forest Guard, they should be near us if know the preparation take some time but they come."
Without another word, Murad raised his axe and charged at Silver. But his strikes landed on nothing but dust—Silver dodged them all effortlessly, his body moving like a shadow avoid all Murad attack .
"I don't need to waste my power on you," Silver said calmly, his voice cold let's it be quickly we both have important matters to do he added on dramatic tone.
From hiding, maddened villagers sprang out and surrounded Murad, their eyes wild with rage. They came at him with whatever they could find—spoons, knives, tools.
While Murad was distracted defending himself, Silver attacked—hurling a knife shrouded in dark aura.
Redly froze in place, horrified—but just in time, a shimmering barrier formed and blocked the blade.
Pothelmir stood tall behind it.
"Thanks for the support," Murad said.
Before they could regroup, a thick cloud of black smoke swallowed the entire village.
"Make a circle! Pothelmir—barrier!" Murad shouted.
Pothelmir hesitated for only a second before realizing what Murad meant. He raised a protective shield.
But then, a massive wave of black fire crashed down on them—scorching everything in its path. The fire consumed everything… and then, silence. Nothing left just silence.
Hidden within one of the village houses, Murad whispered, "Pothelmir… you did great. Now take care of Redly and the others. I'll handle this."
Pothelmir look at him tired it looks like he used a lot of his powers for that trick.
Redly stood frozen, overwhelmed by everything he had just seen the new world he just discovered while everything would fall a bart with one single mistake. A terrifying thought crept into his mind:
What if Pothelmir hadn't understood what my father meant? What if he hadn't teleported us out… and replaced us with illusions?
Guilt and dread began to weigh on him, but Murad placed a reassuring hand on Redly's head.
"Don't think too much," he said softly.
Silver, standing in the burning ruins, looked into his dark flames and muttered, "That didn't take long… maybe I've gotten a little stronger."
But before he could move again, Murad lunged from the smoke with his axe raised.
Silver noticed the ambush—but a second too late.
At that moment, a dagger came flying toward Murad. Silver grabbed it mid-air and used it to block Murad's attack.
"That was close," Silver said. "You're not one of the Forest's top ten. If it weren't for my friend… I wonder what would've happened nothing happened that easy, i start to doubt the easy win from know on."
Emily appeared beside him. "Master Silver, we need to go. The Forest Guard will arrive any moment—we don't have time we still have to dandle it ."
Murad rested his axe on his shoulder and said, "Do you really think you could handle me… if I came at you with my full power?"
Silver narrowed his eyes. He knows I can't overuse my flames… he's testing me.
Just then, a new voice echoed from the smoke.
"Well, that'll be fun to try."
It was Lulu and Lily.
As the smoke cleared, Murad's eyes met Lulu's. Silver turned to Lily and said, "What about the dress?"
Lily replied with a sly smile, "Do you have it?"
"Not in front of our guests," Silver said, casting a glance at Murad. "See you again."
With a burst of Lily's flames, they all vanished—engulfed by fire and disappearing in a single flash.
Pothelmir's expression darkened. "The masked one... it's him."
Murad clenched his jaw. "What are the Forest Guard doing? That's one of the most wanted criminals in the Forest. Manipulating the balance like that... his crimes can't be ignored."
Turning to the others, he barked orders. "Jin, Jon—clear the smoke. The rest of you, tie up the villagers until the Guardians arrive."
He took a breath and looked around. "I hope nothing happened to you, Halfad…"
Elsewhere…
Halfad stood up slowly, clutching his chest. His eyes widened as he looked around.
"What… happened?" he whispered.
He turned—and saw Halfy.
Tears welled up in Halfad's eyes.