“Why did you kill him?” Solus asked in surprise.

“Six against one is a little too much, can’t afford to miss any chance to even the score.”

“Then why did you let the other one live, before?”

“A two-stage attack, where the first is aimed to a random target and the second to his rescuers is a classic guerrilla tactic. I didn’t just pin him down, I also left a fireball ready in case someone tried to free him. Divide and conquer.” –   Just like the icicles had missed Terion’s vitals, the fireball had been intentionally weak. Despite the boosted effect from the barrier, both Terion and Recca were incapacitated but alive.

They were badly burnt, but the remaining hunters could clearly see them writhing in pain. Lith did it on purpose, forcing his opponents to choose between abandoning their companions or fall twice for the same trick.

They had no way to know if there was another fireball ready to explode.

– “You scared the heck out of me, back then. For a moment I thought you had gone… soft.” Solus hesitated before finishing the phrase. It seemed nonsensical to push him to become more kind, just to worry whenever he wasn’t ruthless.