As William and Halsin were about to shake hands, suddenly, there was a commotion coming from the upper levels, and a powerful glow of infernal flames shot up into the air, forming a twisted pillar of fire that seemed to instantly turn the dirt beneath it into a solid mass of obsidian glass.
Just across from the pillar of flames stood the figure of Wyll, his hand radiating a powerful Eldritch energy.
His usual jovial expression was gone, replaced by a chilling mask of rage upon his face as he stared at the pillar of flames that dispersed slowly revealing Karlach seemingly enraged, her eyes smoldering like miniature suns as she glared at Wyll.
"SAY THAT AGAIN I DARE YOU!"
Every single word she spoke seemed to be accompanied by a thick, white steam, as if the very water that filled her body was evaporating directly before her eyes.
Wyll let out a sarcastic sneer, his usual composed demeanor completely gone in that moment. "I simply pointed out that Zariel's attack dog, or whatever you want to call it, doesn't belong among people who are supposed to be peaceful and civilized... Why, do you have something you'd like to say about that?"
The flames around Karlach seemingly reacting to her rage, surged forwards in the direction of Wyll but also unfortunately in the direction of a couple of children who did not leave when they should have.
Wyll, with a sudden, almost instinctive movement, stepped directly in front of the children, and his Eldritch energy surged forth, piercing straight through the wall of flames. The result was an ever-expanding hole in the wall, one that allowed them all to pass through without suffering any harm.
A wave of regret washed over Karlach as she saw the flames pass the children, but before she could utter a single word, Wyll let out a sharp intake of breath and lunged forward, his rapier held with deadly precision.
Caught completely off guard, she found herself unable to defend against the sudden attack. The rapier sliced through her abdomen for an inch before momentarily stopping, as though her very abs were somehow performing the task of more powerful armor.
Karlach snarled, her fangs glinting in the fire as she reared back and kicked Wyll in the stomach, sending the young noble flying backwards until he rolled on the ground.
Boom
Boom
Boom
Every step Karlach took seemed to cause a crater to form directly beneath her feet, and as she drew closer to the target, she effortlessly removed the massive battle axe from her back, holding it with a surprising grace and ease that seemed to completely defy the laws of physics.
As Wyll moved towards Karlach, his legs trembled visibly, a clear indication that that kick had indeed done some significant damage; he felt like he could practically hear his rib cage cracking under the force of it.
He held his blade pointed directly at Karlach, his expression a grim blend of pain and determination.
"You shall cause no harm to innocent lives in this place, demon!" He spat on the ground, a vile and hateful gesture, and prepared another crackling bolt of Eldritch blast. This time, the bolt seemed to appear as black lightning, slithering up his forearm and then across his fingers, a grim display of his power and his intent.
Karlach's rage snapped, and she shot forth with her battle-axe in a downward swing, preparing fully to bisect Wyll in one critical blow.
Time slowed to a crawl as Wyll cast something other than Eldritch blast, he cast a spell called haste which allowed him to surpass Karlach's combat speed for moments at a time.
With a sudden, almost telepathic motion, he shot forth, seemingly appearing right in front of the children directly behind him. His right hand was raised in a gesture that closely resembled holding a gun, and he muttered under his breath just as the haste spell faded away, "BOOM!"
BOOOOOM
The crackling bolt of Eldritch energy that he had carefully prepared shot forth and made contact with Karlach's chin, causing her head to snap backward as she went flying in a forceful motion.
She was only able to stop her trajectory when she slammed into a nearby tree, leaving behind a distinct burn mark in the bark of the tree that resembled a person's shape.
A sudden wave of panic spread through the entire grove, as if a nerve had been struck.
The Druids, their voices sharp and filled with urgency, were shouting warnings. Meanwhile, parents frantically scooped their children up, pulling them towards the deeper roots of the surrounding trees and the natural shelters that offered some protection.
Fear was overpowering reason, pushing them forward faster than they would ever have chosen to go under normal circumstances.
Plates clattered to the ground, cooking fires were abandoned, and the once-warm clearing dissolved into chaos as people scattered in every direction.
Even the animals seemed to sense it; the birds erupted from the canopy, their wings beating furiously in frantic spirals, as if the very earth beneath their feet were trying to recoil back.
And still, the two in the center did not stop.
You could tell just by looking at him that Will moved with a kind of unsettling grace, as if he'd learned his dance steps not in a ballroom, but in a battlefield.
A sharp pain shot straight through his ribs with every ragged intake of breath, but he refused to acknowledge it, letting the raw instincts of his training simply carry him forward.
His rapier danced across her in a series of precise, controlled arcs, each thrust deliberate and calculated.
His goal wasn't to inflict harm but rather to master the situation, slowing her momentum and redirecting that furious force before it had the chance to claim another innocent victim.
With each momentary lull in his storm, his free hand snapped outward with a hiss, and crackling bolts of Eldritch energy erupted from his palm, striking Karlach directly in the face.
The bolts of energy struck against her body with a series of sharp, thunderous impacts, sending shockwaves rippling outwards into the surrounding air.
The intense blasts scorched her skin, leaving smoking brands on both her arms and shoulders, but they never managed to slow her down for very long.
As the rapier struck, its blade pierced through the muscle only to meet with unexpected resistance.
It was as if the flesh had been replaced by something far more substantial, something that felt like tempered iron wrapped in a layer of intense heat.
Karlach let out a roar that echoed through the air, shaking it with its raw, primal intensity.
She responded with violence, refusing any pattern or display of patience.
Her battle-axe swung wildly and with great force through the air, its blows carving deep and brutal paths.
It was not the skill or finesse of the swing that made it effective; rather, it was the fury and raw power that fueled each movement.
The rhythm of her attacks was utterly chaotic and almost feral in its unpredictable nature, making it virtually impossible to gauge or anticipate.
The blades of wind seemed to follow the axe head as it moved along, effortlessly shearing leaves from branches and leaving deep gouges in the earth where Wyll had stood only moments before.
Most of the time, he wasn't there.
With a twisting motion, his body moved aside by only inches, and he rolled beneath the horizontal sweep of the axe, his momentum carrying him backward as the axe crashed down with such force that it shattered the stone beneath it.
The sweat stung his eyes, making it difficult to see, his lungs burned with effort, and luck seemed to be his constant companion, whispering warnings just moments before something terrible could happen.
But luck, like all things, had limits.
Karlach's eyes, usually filled with a strange, almost unsettling intensity, now held a clarity that made his blood run cold.
She didn't swing.
She lunged.
With a swift, surprising movement, her hand shot forward, her fingers closing around Wyll's shoulder with an unexpected strength.
The pain came on instantly and was so intense that it nearly blinded her, the bones in her arms creaking under the sheer force of her grip.
Before he even had a chance to gasp, she abruptly yanked him closer, her forehead colliding with his.
It made a sound that was surprisingly loud, almost like the impact of a hammer hitting a hard piece of stone.
Wyll's vision exploded into white.
The world tilted violently as he was hurled backward, his body skidding across the dirt before he finally collapsed, face-first, the breath torn from his lungs in a choking gasp.
Before he could even make the slightest effort to push himself up, his strength completely gave out on him, and he was forced to collapse onto one knee, his rapier point scraping against the ground for a precarious balance.
Blood was dripping down from his nose, staining the dark earth a deep, dark red.
Karlach stood over him, her steely gaze fixed on him.
Steam erupted from her body in furious bursts, and her axe hung heavily at her side, its edge glistening menacingly in the dim light.
And for the very first time since the fight commenced, Wyll found himself completely still and utterly defenseless.
Karlach took one slow step forward, then another.
With every step she took, the earth seemed to give way beneath her boots, the soil beneath her feet growing darker and harder as if the very ground held its breath in grim anticipation of what was to follow.
The air itself seemed to warp and distort around her, radiating an intense heat that manifested as visible waves rippling outward.
The leaves surrounding her began to curl and blacken, falling to the ground in a chaotic manner.
The flames that clung to her skin surged higher, no longer flaring wildly but drawing inward, coiling tight around her like a predator gathering itself for the kill.
Her muscles tensed to their absolute maximum point, becoming completely taut and trembling violently, yet she managed to hold back the urge to unleash the pent-up aggression within.
Veins glowed faintly beneath her skin, a faint luminescence emanating from within, lit by the inferno that burned fiercely within her chest.
Wyll struggled to rise.
His arms failed him.
He remained on one knee, head bowed slightly, rapier embedded in the dirt to keep him upright.
His lungs burned.
His vision swam.
With every shallow breath he took, a distinct taste of blood and ash seemed to linger on his tongue.
Karlach reached the perfect distance.
No wasted motion.
No roar.
She lifted the battle-axe.
The weapon emitted a piercing shriek as it moved, its metal glowing intensely, transitioning from its dull steel state to a molten red as it absorbed the heat radiating from her body.
The air surrounding the blade was filled with an intense shimmer, and from its sharp edge, sparks flew out, each one falling onto the ground as though it were a miniature meteor.
Wyll closed his eyes.
Not in fear.
In certainty.
So this was it.
With a determined straighten of his spine, which was far from its best, he gritted his teeth and kept his hands steady enough to hold his blade firm, despite the shaky tremor running through his body.
In his mind, the story was already written.
The devil's hound revealed at last.
Violence answered with violence.
A lesson carved into the grove in blood and fire.
If this is how it ended, then at least the truth would be brought to light.
The axe descended, like the scythe of death himself.
And stopped.
The heat was so close that it actually felt like it was kissing the back of his neck, making his hair singe and his skin blister slightly.
The scent of burnt flesh curled into the air. One inch more and his head would have rolled free.
Time stretched.
The grove seemed to hold its breath.
Wyll's eyes snapped open.
The axe trembled in Karlach's hands.
Then she pulled it back.
In a single, swift motion, the flames that had been swirling around her body suddenly collapsed inward, extinguishing themselves as if someone had ripped the fire from her very being.
The oppressive heat finally gave way, leaving behind only a landscape scorched dry and a stunned silence that hung heavy in the air.
Karlach lowered her body, bending her knees and crouching directly down in front of him.
Up close, the fury was gone.
In its place was something rawer.
Desperation.
Hurt.
A pain so deep it had nowhere left to hide.
Her voice, when she finally spoke, was hoarse but remarkably steady. "I'm not the monster you're looking for."
There was no plea in it.
No apology.
Just truth, hammered bare.
She didn't wait for him to answer.
Didn't wait for judgment.
With a mighty heave, Karlach rose to her full height, the infernal glow that had previously consumed her now gone, leaving behind a towering woman scarred by hellfire but also bearing the visible marks of her struggle to overcome it.
She swung the axe up, and then with a final, firm movement, she settled it firmly onto her back, a weight that felt heavier than any blow.
Then she turned away.
Her footsteps, echoing through the clearing, took her past scorched trees and the broken remnants of the ground, finally disappearing into the deeper shade of green, where the shadows seemed to engulf her entirely.
Wyll remained where he was, frozen in place as his entire reason for existing seemed to collapse on itself.
"What have I done?" he mutters, as tears well up in his eyes, the realization that he had almost murdered an innocent clawing at his soul.
Hehehehehe...
Wyll heard the faintest of laughter from within himself where his contract lay but soon the laughter faded into nothingness.
His hands were clenched around the grip of his rapier with such a powerful grip that his knuckles had turned a startling white color.
He spun in place and walked in the opposite direction, disappearing further into the grove and past William and Halsin, who were mere observers to this battle.
William and Halsin both looked towards Wyll, and then they turned and looked back at each other, their faces filled with a shared sense of defeat as they let out a collective sigh.