There was a long spell of silence as both parties watched the proceedings with different thoughts coursing through their minds. On the side of the homestead, there was relief and reverence, whereas on the side of the bandits, there was horror and anger.
Shanks, for that matter, slowly approached Darius. He knelt down and inspected the state of Derek, his stiff smile lightening when he found that his son was - as a matter of fact - much better than before.
Once he rose to his feet and locked gazes with Darius, his smile widened further as he nodded towards the lad.
"You have my sincerest thanks, Lord Darius. I will never forget this," Shanks stated happily.
Darius responded with a humble smile. "After providing me with shelter for the past few weeks, this is the least I can do."
Darius' eyes suddenly sharpened as he revealed a strange grin towards Shanks. "However, I plan to thank you for your generosity even more. How about cleaning up some rats?"
Shanks' eyes gleamed in much a similar manner to Darius as he heard the lad's suggestion. "Lord Darius doesn't need my permission for doing a good deed. Everyone from the homestead would be glad to have your help."
The duo simultaneously turned to face the bandits who had sneakily begun to retreat. After all, the situation had gone to shit. They had lost their only advantage and trying to continue the fight would be utter foolishness.
Darius noticed that Jorge and some of the Garwen bandits had already escaped, while Diato and Foldo's brother were still trying to extricate themselves somehow.
With Shanks' attention on them, they immediately broke ranks and a panicked full escape began. The sheer chaos from over a hundred or so bandits trying to run away was quite a funny sight to behold.
Shanks lifted his axe and rushed forward, his speed far outstripping any of the runners as he cut them down one by one, surgically and methodically. His strikes never surpassed a single one, and there was nothing but the sound of flesh being split or shattered.
His targets didn't even get a chance to scream before they died.
Darius nodded to Gunner. "Chase after the Garwen Bandits who fled. I'll handle the Diato Bandits."
Gunner clapped his palms and beat the earth as he used that force to propel himself forward like a bullet. With his greenish energy surrounding his form, and a crazy smile on his face, he looked really dangerous.
Darius activated his Blink spell and disappeared from the area.
* * *
Jorge was currently flitting through the forest as fast as she could, her body covered in sweat as she felt her panic subside only marginally the farther she got.
The moment her eyes had locked onto Darius as the young boy stepped forth to save Derek, Jorge had had an epiphany, allowing her to see through everything.
That height, that voice, and the fact that he had been disappearing and re-appearing earlier… why did it hit her so late?
That boy was the same mysterious mage who had paid them to attack the homestead!
In those few seconds, it had been as if time had stopped for Jorge as her cognitive functions spiked.
Foldo himself had not been present and had instead sent out his unruly brother. It was an open secret that the fool wanted to usurp the position of his elder brother.
Garwen and his crew had remained hidden at the back, while there was also the strange outbreak of monsters timed with their attack provided by Foldo.
What if... What if after visiting them, Darius had visited Foldo next? What if, knowing that old fox, he and that boy had struck some kind of deal to get rid of them all?
Alas, just like bees to honey, they had fallen for the trap. None of them were supposed to survive this day, they were all expected to be killed by that mage for some purpose Jorge couldn't yet discern.
Yet, the little she had gleaned of the entire picture was enough to horrify her. To play both sides so deeply, how could that mage be so… horrible?
He had presented them a gold coin, all to spark their greed!
To Darius, this gold coin was just a piece of metal since he could easily Transmute more, but to any Andrato citizen, the gold coin represented so much.
To Jorge, Darius was a monster who could even sacrifice the mighty Gold Ando Coin just to achieve his aims in orchestrating both sides. He was a master deceiver and tactician that must never be crossed.
And yet, this was just a pretty basic scheme in Darius' book. Anybody from Earth with more than room temperate IQ could have thought up something of this degree. Still, actually going through with it would require someone of a certain mindset.
To him, this was only phase 4. Although it might seem like the climax, the true climax lay in phase 5, the aftermath of this entirely orchestrated event.
It was there that Darius would strike for his goal and achieve the target he had set out for himself.
Jorge jumped from branch to branch, trying to reach her rendezvous point with her handler on the frontier when she discovered to her shock Darius seated on a branch in front of her, his handsome face smiling genially towards her direction.
However, to Jorge, that smile was that of the devil himself. Her movements slowed as her body lost steam, coming to a stop on the tree directly opposite Darius.
"My name is Darius Stone, and I'd love to make your acquaintance." Darius greeted pleasantly before his eyes shifted to serpentine slits as he added. "Your real acquaintance, Georgina."
Georgina shivered then shuddered strongly. She had never felt so naked as she did now. It was like, before those hazel eyes, all her secrets were nothing worth mentioning.
Georgina gave up. She surrendered to her fear and despair, her mind telling her that it was impossible to escape. He could just use his magic to chase her and her identity had already been seen through.
Rather than fight back in futility, why not give in? What was the worst thing he could do aside from killing her? Whatever it was, it was far better than dying so young, not when she hadn't achieved any of her personal goals.
Darius just watched the disguised woman have a breakdown right before him with an amused smile. He hadn't expected her to be sharp enough to piece everything together, but it made things easier from here on out.
