The projectile slammed into the ground directly in front of him, mere feet from the village's edge.
Draven stared down at the gruesome sight – the upper half of a woman, her face frozen in a mask of utter horror, her internal organs spilling out onto the dusty ground, a crimson tide of blood spreading around her.
"AHHHH!!!!"
A chorus of terrified screams erupted from within the village. Several women collapsed onto the street, their bodies succumbing to the shock of the brutal and instantaneous death. A dangerous glint flickered in Draven's crimson eyes.
"What happened now?!" Alexandra's voice, laced with alarm, echoed from the doorway.
Alexandra and Alice emerged from the house, their steps faltering as they froze, their eyes fixated on the mangled corpse before them.
"This??!!" Alexandra gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
"What happened, sister?" Atticus' worried voice called out from inside the house.
"Stay inside, Atticus!! Don't come out!" Alexandra yelled back, quickly closing and locking the door, protecting the young elf from the horrific scene.
The two women cautiously approached as Draven squatted beside the dismembered body, his gaze sweeping over the remains, his expression unreadable.
"Nora," Alexandra whispered, her voice barely audible.
"You know her?" he asked, glancing up at her over his shoulder, his eyes sharp.
"Yes." Alexandra nodded, her voice thick with emotion. "She is John's only daughter," she managed to say, her voice choked with grief.
Draven let out a long sigh and stood up, his posture suddenly radiating an ominous aura. "Call him. He should see this with his own eyes."
With a swift snap of his fingers, a long coat of swirling black and crimson materialized around his body, its edges seeming to writhe in the air.
He turned sharply and began striding purposefully towards the village gate.
"Where are you going?" Alexandra asked, her voice filled with concern.
"A fool dares to throw a woman's body in front of me... That alone is an unforgivable insult to her and to me. He will regret this for the rest of his miserable life," he stated, his voice dangerously low, a chilling killing intent emanating from him like a palpable force.
Alexandra and Alice instinctively took a step back, their faces pale with a mixture of shock and horror.
'How can the usually carefree Draven unleash such terrifying killing intent? Saying the truth, I don't know him well at all,' Alexandra thought, her mind racing.
"Go and inform that old man. I will go with master." Alice said quickly, her own apprehension evident, before hurrying to follow Draven's imposing figure.
_
"This... This?!" A guard stationed on the village wall trembled visibly, his eyes wide with fear as he peered through the crude telescope at the approaching enemy soldiers.
"This is bad... They are far more numerous than we anticipated," another guard muttered, his voice heavy with dread.
"I desperately hope that first vile attack didn't claim any innocent lives," a third guard whispered, his knuckles white as he gripped his spear.
They watched in stunned silence as Boco and his vast company of soldiers halted approximately fifty yards from the village perimeter, the ominous catapult being maneuvered into position behind them.
The guards on the wall watched in mounting horror as they observed two grotesque, hulking figures carrying the bloodied lower half of a woman's body. With callous disregard, they placed the severed remains onto the waiting catapult.
"Was that their first attack?" one of the guards choked out, his face paling further.
Their expressions instantly turned sickly, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
"Bring out Alice! This is what awaits you if you don't!" Boco's voice boomed across the open ground, laced with a sinister triumph.
"This monster!" the guards on the wall gritted their teeth, their hands tightening on their weapons in impotent rage.
"Open the gate!!" Alice's sharp command cut through the tense silence.
All eyes on the wall swiveled downwards, their gazes landing on Draven and Alice standing resolutely below.
"What?!" a guard exclaimed in utter surprise.
"Open the gate," Alice repeated, her voice firm and unwavering.
The guard hesitated for a few agonizing seconds, his gaze flicking uncertainly towards Draven's imposing figure before finally signaling to the guards below. The two guards at the massive wooden gate exchanged a nervous glance, then nodded and began the arduous task of unlocking the heavy chains and pushing the gate open.
Boco let out a harsh chuckle, but it died in his throat as he saw a man stride out of the village alongside Alice.
"Who is this?" he demanded, a suspicious smirk twisting his lips.
"My Lord, that is the human known as Draven," the soldier beside him replied cautiously.
"Alice?! You betrayed me for a human who doesn't even possess a single iota of energy?!" Boco roared, his eyes blazing with fury.
"You bastard—" Alice began, her voice filled with righteous anger, but she abruptly fell silent as Draven raised a hand, stopping her mid-sentence.
Boco frowned, his gaze narrowing on the seemingly ordinary human. 'Alice is a fiercely independent woman who would never willingly submit to anyone, least of all a man... Yet, a mere gesture from this human silenced her. Who exactly is this man?' he pondered, a seed of unease beginning to sprout in his mind.
"You are Boco, right?" Draven asked, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of menace, his piercing red gaze locked onto Boco.
'Such eyes?! Why do they feel like the gaze of an ancient, terrifying monster?!' Boco thought, a shiver of primal fear momentarily gripping him. He quickly shook his head, dismissing the unsettling sensation.
'He is just a weak human!' He scoffed inwardly, nodding dismissively at Draven.
"Are you blind, human?! Give Alice back to me immediately, or we will launch this... this price into your pathetic village!" Boco bellowed, gesturing crudely towards the severed lower half of John's daughter.
Draven's gaze flickered down to the gruesome remains, then slowly returned to Boco, his expression remaining impassive.
"Answer one question," he said, his voice dangerously soft.
"How do you want to die?" He asked, his tone utterly devoid of emotion, sending a chill down the spines of all who heard him.