A group of armored men marched into the village. These didn't seem to be the same men that attempted to get rid of Dmitri. Their armors were thicker and furred. The shells were metallic, unlike the wooden layered breastplates of the village's guards. They looked heavier, their feet sank on the snow at every step. Among that stood the most was a tall, thick, red-haired man. His proud and stern stance showed him to be the leader of this group. He scanned his eyes around the village. The villagers froze and ran from the sight of these intimidating men. This was something all of them were afraid of all along, an attack from a foreign nation. What did they want from them?

The red-haired man approached a mother with her child in her hands. The shadow darkened her pale face as she cradled her newborn nearer to her chest. The man's eyes burned in blood.

"I believe you have seen a Kivan boy in this village," the man spoke so naturally in the native language, "where is he?"

"I-I don't know, sir," the woman stuttered, cradling her crying baby.

"I know you have," the man argued back.

"He ran away from here! I've never seen him after that!"

The crystal around the man's neck glowed brightly. He knew Dmitri was still around. With a wave of his hand, his men ignited their torches and set the houses blazing.

Ashes started to fall from the sky. Dmitri stopped walking and looked up to see smog and flakes of black char smearing on his hands. The next he heard was the walls of men and women behind him. He turned around to look at the village. His eyes widened.

"Oh no..." Dmitri ran.

Rin held Dmitri's arm instantly, restraining him from going back. The boy shook his head, sweeping off his limb away.

"I can't just leave them like this! This isn't what I intended!" Dmitri made a run downhill for the village.

Rin sighed and looked at Vlad for answers, but the plush didn't do anything but stare back. With a wailing kick, Vlad pushed him downhill, rolling back down to the village.

The smoke made Dmitri's eyes water and squint. The condition was terrible. The sky became too dark for him to know where he was going. The fire's light wasn't helpful because of how it kept generating the gray smokes that blinded him. If he was a normal person, the smoke could have killed and poisoned him. It was too thick.

He sped around the village and around the scrambling men and women who were fleeing away from the chaos. An ax flew by Dmitri, splitting hairs by inches. He skipped a beat, and when he turned around, he saw someone that he never wanted to see ever in his life again. He could still recognize the red hair and the stained steel armor. The sight witch hunters already made Dmitri's body stiffen, but to see his own older brother wanting to murder him was even more excruciating.

This isn't what mother asked of us!

"Casimir... why?" Dmitri's char-smeared face was watered yet not rid by his tears, but even more by the pain of the sight of the man, "why can't you just leave me alone?"

Casimir's face was set in stone. Not even a wink of emotion or empathy was seen on his face. Dmitri wasn't surprised, he had been that way since Dmitri was born. Not even once Casimir showed any sign of love towards him.

Casimir slid his sword off of the sheath, walking carefully towards Dmitri with a murderous streak. Dmitri ran for his life as his brother drew closer.

"Surrender already. Stop running!"

Casimir leaped with a large strong wave of his sword. Dmitri turned around, pulling out his fingers as he chanted a strong spell.

"Sc'an Zhiem!"

Dmitri was aware that he shouldn't be using his magic haphazardly. However, his life was at stake. Due to being unable to control the extent of his powers, half of the village houses were destroyed by the large wave of the earth erosion. When the ground shook, everyone cried louder.

Casimir was left collapsed when he was hit on the back by a boulder. His body ached from the blow. While he tried to regain his balance, Dmitri made a run to the opposite the direction. Because the houses weren't there to divide him and the other roads in the village, Dmitri was easily spotted by the rest of the witch hunters. Dmitri kept running. His bottom of his shoes was getting singed slowly by the burning pieces of ashes lying in the ground. When Dmitri finally took a sharp turn around, and he was cornered.

Dmitri looked up and saw flurries of snow drift down sharply with cold winds. It was Rin, who leaped perfectly down to save. The witch hunters ferociously pointed their spears and axes at Dmitri and Rin. As soon as they charged, Rin took a deep breath, drifting up in the air, and blowing out a strong, freezing breath. The witch hunters were solidified into ice. Rin stepped back down to the ground gracefully, taking a slow deep breath and shutting his eyes.

"This isn't the West Continent, by the way," Rin took off immediately after.

Dmitri kept his eyes on Rin with wide eyes as he left, "this isn't... what!?"

Rin leaped from roof to roof, circling around the village to check the size of the fire he needed to cover. Once he got the approximate distances, he took a bigger leap, maintaining himself floating in the air. He put his arms out, and the snow around the village drifted towards the directions of his hands. It swirled, shushing every fire as it melts to water. He grunted and glared, he hadn't held this much snow in control all at once before. It was heavy. Because of its thickness and the fire, he started to feel slightly warm. Slowly, the village was no longer ablaze and full darkness started to set in, and not even the moon was present to lighten the night.

Casimir's knees trembled as he finally erected himself. He made a furious stumbling sprint towards the snow spirit. Rin peered over his shoulder to see the man climb up to the roof violently. Rin looked around again and leaped to another roof. Another chase began above ground. Knowing it was impossible to capture Rin, Casimir was diligent and tailed him despite the spirit's ability to be able to fly and levitate. Casimir was getting impatient with this race, and with perfect aim, he threw his sword, and Rin was lucky to block the blow with a wave of his ice shield. However, there was so much force placed, and Rin fell with a booming depth into the ground.

More of the witch hunters surrounded Rin.

They were about to become busier. Dmitri climbed up to the roof and witnessed Rin fall to the ground. He was startled when he saw Casimir on the opposite roof from him. Dmitri made another for it, and Casimir tailed him accordingly.

Casimir pulled out his dagger from inside his armored coat, hacking a throwing towards Dmitri. The boy held his head and crouched down. He panicked at how close he was about to neatly cut his head off. Casimir had always been excellent at hunting, and he wanted to give him no reason to throw as much as possible. Dmitri had no intentions of killing, or even at least hurting him. The earth erosion magic was the first time he ever hit back. He knew their mother wouldn't approve of their fighting. But...

Dmitri looked around for the tallest place he could land on. The entrance arch. It wasn't a building, but it was the highest he could reach. As he ran and hopped up to the arch, Casimir caught up. His hand gripped tightly on the boy's ankle. Dmitri yelped in pain, Casimir was pressing and pulling tightly. He felt as if his leg was going to tear. Casimir dangled, and with a free hand, he tried to claw his way up to Dmitri. The boy managed to shake him off with a heavy kick to the forehead and finally stood carefully on the top beam.

"Alright," he took a deep breath and rose his right hand.

The black sky turned slightly lighter and grey so quickly. Thunder roared. Lightning sparked. Casimir looked up, growling and glaring. Picking up a nearby spear, he attempted to climb back again with nearby tables and barrels.

Dmitri shut his eyes to concentrate. The sky's rumbles became louder. The clouds cycled directly above Dmitri. His curly hair whipped around violently from the summoned turmoil in the sky. Rin watched him from the corner of his eye while he kept freezing his opponents away from Dmitri. Rin was curious at what he was going for to do, and this was something he has never seen someone attempt in his life.

When lightning finally struck the boy, his eyes were fueled with might and power.

"Mwolyna!" Dmitri shouted.

A massive lightning strike rained down on the village, explosive and loud. The boulders of dirt splattered everywhere. A massive crater was left at where it was mainly directed. None of the witch hunters died, however, they were left unconscious from being knocked away. The villagers became even more devastated by Dmitri's careless performance.

"Yikes," he cringed.

Casimir stood up and looked at the damage that was caused by the ambush and attacks. He balled his fists until they were white in anger. It wasn't a good sign, they shouldn't have attacked this village and underestimated the cambion's powers.

A torn witch hunter lifted a wounded ally around his shoulder and turned to look at his leader.

"What should we do now? If the Taigan king were to know about this—"

"We leave, immediately. Get all the witch hunters out of here. Now." Casimir commanded.

Finally, Casimir and his party left.

The villagers cheered and rejoiced, hurdling around Rin. His face shaded with color as he looked around the impressed and happy faces. He never had this much attention before. There was a little bit of him that wanted to sing. His knees collapsed down to the ground. Slowly the sky started to become clear, and dawn could be seen from the horizon. The snow around him started to melt and greens peered all over. Summer has regained back to the village.

As the crowd kept cheering, Dmitri hurriedly hopped down the arch. Without warning, he leaped and slid into Rin's arms, embracing him tightly. Rin looked watched Dmitri as he cries in his rags softly with a nuzzle. They felt warm, Rin thought. He hadn't felt this warmth from an embrace since his younger brother died. Rin gently hugged back, patting his back gently.

When Rin and Dmitri broke their hug, the villagers were in silence with serious expressions. Aia, behind the crowd, frowned and shook her head.

"Thank you, child. We appreciate you saving our village, but we believe you should go separate ways," the woman said, who stood in front of them.

No matter what Dmitri could do, he knew he wouldn't be welcomed in this country. It was understandable. He was the one who caused the destruction of the villages.

"Alright," Dmitri lifted Vlad up from the ground, turning around with gloom, "I'll go ahead. Thank you for having me."

As Dmitri was about to head to the main road, Rin held his hand again. Dmitri looked back, pained. Making a new friend meant he had hope in himself, that someone cared for him. He was definitely going to miss Rin.

"I will come," Rin unexpectedly declared.

Dmitri glanced at the villagers, he thought he misheard him, "but-"

"Rin, please, stay," it was the old man from the inn. "I promise you good pay... I will get rid of all your debt! Please! I take back all I said and done to you!"

Dmitri could smell something rusty. He looked at the old man, noticing something shiny behind his back. Dmitri furrowed his brows and clenched Rin's hand.

Rin shut his eyes and shook, then looked up to the sky, at the sun. A fresh breeze swept his hair off his face. He felt as if his youth came back, freed, and his sadness melted away. He's ready to venture out and see the world he has missed so much.

As Rin and Dmitri walked away from the distance, Aia looked at them with a hopeful smile. She finally turned around and headed to the village.

You brought yourself back, Rin. She thought.