Killian sprinted inside-
-and saw the Abbots head on the floor in a pool of blood. His body still kneeling in blood.
Above him stood a hooded man with a bright red blade, stained and beginning to ignite with fire.
Killian's mind broke.
The sky darkened instantly. The earth trembled. Lightning exploded from the clouds as Killian's eyes ignited with blazing light.
The hooded man sensed the sudden danger. He turned and bolted, leaping toward the rooftops. Killian hurled a bolt of lightning into his back, sending the assassin crashing over the roof, injured but alive.
He escaped into the night.
And Killian... snapped.
He stepped outside, to see the scene before him, rain soaking him, thunder screaming overhead. Enemy soldiers charged him-
He didn't fight.
He destroyed.
Wind flung bodies like ragdolls.
Lightning incinerated men into ash.
Earth spears impaled charging soldiers.
Water wrapped around throats and drowned them mid-scream.
He was rage incarnate, a storm given flesh.
By the end, the invading forces lay dead, scattered limbs, scorched corpses, shattered stone.
Killian walked toward the village gate, trembling, soaked in blood and rain. He stared at the sky, barely breathing.
If he'd been even slightly faster...
Maybe the Abbot-
His knees gave out.
Liwei arrived moments later, stopping dead at the sight-
Killian on his knees, bodies across the ground, the storm fading.
"I... I couldn't save him," Killian choked. "I wasn't fast enough."
Liwei's heart broke. Tears filled his eyes as he knelt and embraced him.
"A wise man once told me, Killian..."
His voice cracked.
"...that sometimes... we cannot save everyone."