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Leaves were parted like buzzing flies, scattering as the air secluded itself from the immediate area of the hunter. Complete stagnation came to that spherical zone, caught within a perimeter of a few meters as the harken froze in place.

"Hyuuu—"

As rare as a shining diamond, noise left the hostile elf\'s throat as he suffocated. There was always the same response that the caster could predict when using the oxygen-depriving spell: when one completely lost their breath, they would always freeze and panic, however—

The harken bolted forward, deprived of oxygen, yet forcing his body forth like a starved beast, only moved by the instinct to "kill."

For a moment, Emilio found himself frozen by this unexpected choice by the elf; the figure swiftly approached him with murderous intent oozing from their pores. Before the hostile hunter could reach him, the Dragonheart stomped his boot down, unleashing a roar of wind that disrupted the elf\'s balance.

"Burn."

With his metallic hand held towards the stunned elf, he commanded an overwhelming torrent of flames to envelop the harken. There was no trouble for the crimson blaze to wrap itself around the figure\'s body, burning through leather and flesh hastily.

What was perhaps worrying was the fact that the harken did not scream in pain, nor fall and writhe in agony upon the soil; the lanky elf, drowning in merciless fire, stood there.

–

In the aftermath of the battle, another pair of harken were dealt with by both Sirius and Everett, though the main contributor was quite clear by the lightning burns left on the bodies of the hunters.

They regrouped, with Sirius snapping away the threads of electricity that coiled around his hand, now facing the nearby village belonging to the man-eating elves. It could be sparsely seen behind a wall of trees–no, rather, it was the barrier of trees; curved into a dome-like shape, an impossible large and thick tree, as if fused into a far-spanning barrier, marked their targeted destination.

"Woah, what kind of place is this?" Everett asked, looking up.

The peak of the wooden structure couldn\'t be found by the crowded nature of the swarm of branches above. Emilio softly placed his hand against the sturdy, rough hide of the wooden dome, focusing silently for a minute as his two companions waited.

"Yeah, this is it. I sense a lot of people past this wall," Emilio quietly said.

Sirius casually whistled, placing his hand over his brow to block out the orange rays of light that dipped through the leaves, "A lot is an understatement. We\'re walking up against an army here."

"…I see," Everett nervously chuckled upon receiving such information.

"You don\'t have to come in, you know," the warning was given calmly from Emilio to his bumpkin friend.

It was abundantly clear that beyond the bark-forged set of far-spanning walls would be nothing less than a bloodbath. Standing outside of that wall, knowing what lay beyond it, knowing that confronting it was a choice of his own, the Dragonheart paused for a moment, finding his own words returning to him.

\'Was this always the sort of choice I\'d come to first? Did I always choose to kill my enemies as a first option? I wonder when I began doing that,\' Emilio thought.

"I\'m with ya. All the way."

The assurance reeled him from his own thoughts as Emilio looked at the shaggy-haired man who spoke to him, who provided him with a thumbs-up that seemed to secure his own bond.

"What we\'re doing isn\'t necessary. I know how you are when it comes to taking another life," Emilio said, pointing his words to the loyal shielder, "This is a choice we\'re making on our own–a choice to take the fight to our enemy before they do it to us. It\'s not like we\'re acting with a knife held to our throats here–we\'re the ones doing it first. Do you get what I\'m saying?"

"Yeah, I think I getcha…" Everett quietly said, looking down briefly as he seemed to put it into deep thought.

"There\'s nothing heroic about it. All it is for us is acting on our best chance of survival–the best chance of protecting our friend that\'s still out there, alone," Emilio explained as his hand twitched somewhat, "I\'m not losing anybody else. I won\'t let my choices be the reason my loved ones die–not when I have the strength to make a move for myself to stop that from happening."

Sirius chimed in, "You\'re sure she\'s not in this very camp, right?"

"Of course. I didn\'t sense her mana signature at all," Emilio confirmed with a tired breath.

Everett stepped up, wielding his heavy shield that never seemed to weigh down on his reliable arms, breathing out as he provided his lungs with the confidence he needed before finally giving his answer, "I ain\'t about killin\'. Just can\'t bring myself to do it. But, I know this is somethin\' ya gotta do. If we\'re on this island, at some point or \'nother, these Harken will come after us. It\'s, uh…pragmatic, right? That\'s the word?"

"Yup," Emilio confirmed.

"Well, I\'ll always be the shield that stands with you–in front of you, when you need it. Do what you have to, and I\'ll make sure not a single scratch comes up on ya\'," Everett guaranteed with a smile.

Emilio placed his hand on the shielder\'s shoulder, looking at him before giving him a nod with a quiet response, "Thanks, Ev."

The Dragonheart then turned his gaze to the magenta-eyed man dressed in a military-esque uniform beside him, who looked calm and ready.

"How\'re you planning on handling this, if I may ask?" Sirius inquired with a curious smile.

Emilio carefully tugged at the tip of his leather glove, sliding it off as he placed his bare palm up against the wooden walls of the Harken\'s home, "This way. There won\'t be any bloodshed."

"Oh?" Sirius said curiously.

Everett watched as well, "Wait–how? What are you doing–?"

The question from the well-meaning shielder was cut-off by the sheer look of focus left on the Dragonheart\'s face; Emilio had already closed his eyes, slowly and methodically breathing through his barely parted lips as if he was sleeping peacefully.