Galloweyna's soul fled his body.
Reyn didn't check how much his energy charge had increased. His hearing caught approaching footsteps—seven or eight castle guards gathering outside in the corridor.
All Superhumans. Their gazes slid through the shattered door and fixed on the two corpses on the floor. They froze.
"Viscount!" someone croaked.
"Captain Inok is dead too..."
Some began quietly backing away. Even Inok, the Steel Knight, was killed in under half a minute. Advancing meant certain death.
"Kill him!" the chief Marksman shouted. "All together! Avenge the viscount!" He raised his spirit weapon and aimed at Reyn's back in the study.
Bang!
The shot rang out, but the Marksman fell.
Reyn moved with ghostly speed. Dodging the bullet, he arced a Charge out of the study. The gigantic sword swept a wide arc, creating a wall of steel. The Marksman and two guards beside him were instantly bisected.
Blood fountained onto the corridor walls.
The remaining guards, seeing this, felt their legs buckle. One thought remained—flee. Against such a horrifying enemy, especially after the viscount's death, resistance was futile.
But more guards ascended the stairs, blocking retreat.
Reyn's gigantic sword continued its dance of death.
With each forward step, he struck. None of these demoralized Superhuman guards could last a second against him.
Like a reaper at harvest, he slashed right and left. Guards fell one by one, gasping death rattles.
"Run!..."
"Don't push, out of the way!"
"Save us!"
In desperation and chaos, the corridor guards trampled each other, fleeing the monstrous foe, not hesitating to attack their own comrades.
Reyn remained cold as a merciless killing machine, reaping souls with strike after strike.
In just over ten seconds, he reached the corridor's other end. Not a single standing man remained before him.
Behind, the floor was littered with body parts, everything awash in blood. The corridor walls turned crimson, like a bloody hellscape.
Reyn's black armor took on a dark red hue.
Burke Castle's elite forces were annihilated in under a minute. Only a few who oriented quickly and retreated survived.
Reyn exhaled. Killing so many, he felt no regret whatsoever.
In his eyes, they were all Galloweyna's accomplices.
Some might have been decent folk, done no wrong. But serving Galloweyna made them his enemies.
Reyn descended the stairs quickly, intent on leaving the castle.
He knew Galloweyna's study held considerable wealth. During the fight with Inok, he'd spotted a vault behind one wall. Return and crack it, and the haul would be substantial.
But Reyn suppressed the urge.
He'd come to avenge, not rob.
Secret Flame Guardsmen might already be racing from Longsand. He couldn't yield to greed and waste time, risking capture at the scene.
Descending the stairs, he reentered the banquet hall.
The hall, once gleaming with luxury, was now a sorry sight. The manager's two halves still lay on the floor; the air reeked sharply of blood.
The Voice of All Things sensed many servants huddled in the castle's corners. They trembled in fear, hands clamped over mouths, afraid to make a sound.
Reyn had no intention of harming these ordinary folk.
Crossing the hall, he suddenly saw a brother and sister burst from a side door.
The sister was twelve or thirteen, the brother eight or nine. Dressed in fine clothes, their features resembled Galloweyna's. Clearly his children.
They tried to flee but froze upon seeing Reyn, pale with terror.
Reyn looked at them.
Fear, grief, and hatred filled their eyes. They'd remember this day forever.
As ducal family members, these children wouldn't end up on the streets after their father's death. They might even vow revenge.
Reyn's sword wavered, but he turned and walked away.
While Swift Run lasted, he tore through the hall like a whirlwind, Charged across the courtyard in one bound, and leaped through the gate breach.
This time, no guard tried to stop him.
Fleeing the hill where Burke Castle stood, Reyn returned in minutes to the spot outside Burke-town where he'd buried his gear. Digging it up quickly, he left the town's vicinity.
He skipped Longsand, continuing south.
After running over half an hour, Reyn found a secluded riverside spot. He doffed his armor, tossed it with the gigantic sword into the water, washed off blood and scent, then swam several kilometers underwater before surfacing.
Emerging, he headed south again.
Galloweyna was dead, but Reyn hadn't forgotten: Inok's men still awaited him in native Iglmarsh. He needed to return immediately and deal with them.
Iglmarsh lay south of Longsand, administratively under Ponda city.
Ponda was also Duke Silver Star territory. An unremarkable Empire town of under two hundred thousand, near Longsand.
Reyn ran over two hours, reaching Ponda's outskirts before dawn, then veered west.
Less than half an hour later, he arrived at Iglmarsh.
The familiar surroundings stirred faint emotion in Reyn's heart. He slowed, gazing at the approaching village with mixed feelings.
Iglmarsh was as he remembered. But he was no longer the same man.
Reyn glanced at the sky—dawn was still a bit off. He needed to hurry; daytime crowds on streets would complicate things. Besides, everyone here knew him; they'd recognize him for sure.
Using pre-dawn gloom, Reyn entered Iglmarsh.
The village had just over a thousand souls, under three thousand with surrounding hamlets. One main street, houses spaced out, each with a large yard.
Reyn easily found his home. Not on the main street but on the edge, by a field and small grove.
A compound with two houses, fronted by a large pond. The water surface covered in wilted leaves, fish swimming below.
Seeing the pond, Reyn recalled a past moment.
Half a year ago, father Bad said he wouldn't pay for his Academy of the Supernatural tuition anymore. They argued; in anger, Reyn threatened to drown himself in the pond. Bad stood firm, and the old Reyn lacked the guts to follow through.
Now Reyn stood at the yard fence, sighing silently.
The Voice of All Things caught four breaths inside the house. Reyn exhaled in relief.
In the family there were six: besides Brisetta, who was studying at Kleyden Academy, there was also the younger brother Karlodi, twelve years old, and the youngest—the sister Cassie. Cassie was not a biological daughter; she had been adopted a few years ago from distant relatives. She had just turned ten.
Everyone was home. It seemed Inok's people hadn't started acting yet.
In fact, Reyn had assumed even before returning that his family was most likely safe. Inok was dead. Even if they communicated via communication watches, he wouldn't have had time to give the order to attack. Now his subordinates had probably lost contact with the castle.
But he still needed to check personally to feel at ease.
Now it remained to find where these people were hiding.
Reyn stood in the courtyard for a few minutes, not giving in to the surging emotions, and then walked along the path by the pond to the main street of the town. He tuned the Voice of All Things to maximum sensitivity and walked down the street from beginning to end, scanning everything around like a radar, trying to detect outsiders.
By heartbeat and breathing, Reyn couldn't determine the enemy's strength, but he could easily identify Superhumans.
Soon he detected something suspicious in the town's only inn.
Several guests were staying in the inn's rooms. Reyn didn't know how many of them were Inok's people, but three were Superhumans, and all were asleep.
He knew the situation in Iglmarsh well: the only Superhuman here was the constable, an Iron Guard of the second level.
The appearance of these three was highly suspicious.
Reyn didn't act rashly. Killing people in the inn would be unwise and could lead to unwanted consequences.
After thinking it over, he left the town and hid in a grove on the outskirts, from where he could observe the inn.
Dawn was breaking. The townspeople were waking up and starting their day.
Smoke rose from house chimneys, conversations could be heard. Farmers went out to the fields, gathered vegetables, loaded them onto carts to take to Ponde.
Reyn watched this peaceful scene, and his gaze softened.
Movement began in his house too. Father Bad, after breakfast, hurried to work at the town mill—the family's source of income that allowed them to pay for their son's studies at the Academy.
Soon mother Marinda, with her younger son and daughter, headed to the town church. She was a teacher at the church school and a devout parishioner respected by all.
Reyn watched his family from afar. They were exactly as in his memories. His heart stirred; he involuntarily thought of his family on Earth, and his eyes misted over.
Only after a long time did he pull himself together.
"I'm not the real Reyn after all; the feelings are like through a veil... But I won't shirk responsibility."
Reyn sniffed, closed his eyes, and sank into thought.
The sun rose higher. A cart drove away from the inn.
It quickly left Iglmarsh. Reyn tracked it with the Soul's Eye. The driver, looking like an ordinary peasant in simple clothes, was actually a Shooter of the first level. Judging by the wheel tracks, there were another three or four people in the cart.
Reyn perked up. Most likely, these were Inok's people. Why were they leaving Iglmarsh in such a hurry? Had they received news from the castle?
The cart raced at top speed and vanished from sight a few minutes later.
Reyn emerged from his hiding spot. After pondering, he decided not to pursue them. Killing these people might give him away instead and arouse suspicion.
When they returned to the castle and found Galloueyn and Inok dead, they'd have to abandon their old plan. With Galloueyn dead, these people had no one to rely on, and they'd scatter soon.
However, for safety's sake, it was worth watching the house for a few more days.
Hiding in a secluded grove, Reyn finally found time to open the interface of his "phone" and assess the loot.
Last night at Burk Castle, he had staged a real massacre. About thirty kills were on his account, most of them Superhumans. Their souls had been absorbed and charged his energy.
After reaching the fourth level as a mage, a beginner-rank Superhuman's soul gave less than one unit of charge. A mid-rank Superhuman—three to seven units.
Galloueyn, a Shadow Warrior of the sixth level, had been quite strong; his soul gave seven units. A fifth-level mage—only five.
The most valuable soul was Inok's, a Steel Knight of the seventh level—thirty units of charge!
The bloodbath at Burk Castle had brought him a total of 60% charge.
Considering he already had over thirty percent, he was very close to the next mage level.
Reyn pondered. His plan was to integrate more "Lightning Affinity" elements, but finding another one anytime soon was unlikely. So there was no rush to level up as a mage. His real strength had long ceased to depend on levels.
To maximize his power, he should invest the gained charge into enhancing existing elements.
Reyn glanced over the elements available for enhancement and stopped at "Swiftness." Last night he had fully appreciated the importance of speed. Even at the third level, this element significantly compensated for his weaknesses. Enhancing "Swiftness" was the most profitable investment.
Without hesitation, Reyn targeted the "Swiftness" element icon and pressed the down arrow. The progress bar began filling, and the energy charge decreased.
"Swiftness" at the third level was still a common element, so it took relatively little energy to enhance—less than thirty units. The icon flickered, and it reached the fourth level.
Reyn checked the World Tree of Soul sheet—as expected, "Swiftness" at the fourth level had become a rare element.
He tried enhancing it again but found the costs had spiked. The remaining charge wasn't enough for the fifth level—it required at least a hundred units!
Then Reyn enhanced "Swift Run" to the third level. His speed increased slightly, and the duration extended by three minutes.
After two enhancements, the energy charge dropped below fifty percent again.
Reyn stopped enhancing and spent some time getting used to the increased speed in the secluded grove.
For the next three days, Reyn hid in the vicinity of Iglmarsh, constantly watching the house to prevent any surprises.
Convinced those people never returned, he finally left the area.
Reyn didn't go home or meet his family. He felt the time for that hadn't come yet.
After resting a day in Ponde, Reyn boarded a ship and headed downriver along the Ferreglen back to Longsand.
Disembarking at the Los district pier, Reyn immediately heard music.
"A phonograph!"
Reyn smirked. The sound was painfully familiar.
He didn't take a cab but walked down the street on foot.
Every few steps, music poured from phonographs. Many shops, eager to attract customers, had bought the devices and played records nonstop. Crowds gathered around each phonograph, eyeing the novelty with curiosity and admiration. Some even sang along to the music amid approving applause from the onlookers.
In just half a month, Longsand had transformed into a city of music.