Everything happened far too suddenly.
The skinny man didn't even understand what was going on before a sword pierced straight through his chest.
The pain made him scream.
"Aaahhhh…!"
Blood dripped steadily from the tip of the blade that had run him through, splashing onto the ground.
It flowed down his chest, spilled from his mouth, and yet his mind couldn't grasp what had just happened.
Slowly, the skinny man lowered his head and stared at the sword impaling him.
"Why.."
Before he could finish his words, the big man yanked the sword out and muttered under his breath,
"I told you…"
"I told you I would kill you."
A crazed smile spread across his face, and he burst into loud, manic laughter.
"Hah… hahahaha…!"
Blood dripped from his sword his friend's blood falling to the ground drop by drop.
The tall man beside him heard the sudden screams and insane laughter and turned around.
He had been walking ahead, so he hadn't seen what happened.
When his eyes fell on the scene before him, he couldn't believe it.
His entire body trembled.
Panicked, he raised his sword, but fear rooted him in place, unable to do anything.
Meanwhile, Zev and Subedei who had been focused on killing the spirits ahead heard the screams and turned around in shock.
They saw the big man raising his sword again, preparing to slash the skinny man once more.
"You won't die that easily."
At that moment, Zev rushed in and blocked the attack.
Without stopping, he raised his other hand and drove a powerful punch into the big man's stomach.
The blow made the big man vomit violently.
Clutching his abdomen, he collapsed to the ground.
Zev didn't hesitate he struck the man's neck, knocking him unconscious.
At the same time, the skinny man could no longer hold himself up.
Still clutching his chest, he collapsed forward onto the ground.
A single word kept escaping his lips.
"Why…"
Zev rushed to his side and turned him over.
The skinny man's eyes were wide open but he wasn't breathing.
He had died from massive blood loss.
His expression was frozen in disbelief, as if he still couldn't understand what had happened.
Zev let out a heavy sigh and shook his head as he looked at the tall man.
He gently laid the skinny man's body flat on the ground and stood up.
Seeing this, the tall man rushed over, collapsed beside his friend, and began crying and apologizing.
"I'm sorry…"
"I'm so sorry…"
No other words came from his mouth.
At that moment, the big man slowly opened his eyes, regaining consciousness.
He looked around in confusion and asked,
"What just happened?"
As he took in the scene before him, confusion spread across his face.
"What happened…?"
"Who killed him…?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the blood-soaked sword in his own hand and then onto his friend's corpse.
Only then did he realize what he had done.
His hand began to tremble violently.
He dropped the sword and burst into tears.
"Did… did I do this…?"
"I'm sorry. I never wanted to do something like this."
He fell to his knees, his face pale as death.
"I was bewitched by the demonic whispers…"
"I saw you as a monster."
"In my eyes, you were killing everything I loved…"
"I…"
Unable to say anything more, the big man crawled over to his friend.
At that moment, Zev glanced at the Whispering Spirits circling them and gently closed the skinny man's eyes.
Turning to the two men who were clinging to the corpse and crying, he spoke quietly.
"I won't tell you to stop crying."
"Let's stay here tonight. Bury your friend."
"Subedei and I will deal with the Whispering Spirits."
The two seemed not to hear him, remaining seated beside their friend.
Zev sighed and turned away, no longer paying attention to them.
From a distance, Subedei watched everything unfold with a faint smile almost as if he were mocking them.
Seeing that smile, Zev stormed over, furious.
"What the hell are you smiling about?"
"Are you laughing because someone died, you bastard?"
"Don't you know grief?"
"When a true friend dies, even a hero sheds tears!"
Subedei ignored everything except the last sentence.
A soft smile formed on his face.
Zev clenched his teeth.
"If I died, you'd smile like that too, wouldn't you?"
Subedei didn't respond directly. He merely said,
"You don't know anything about me. So stay quiet."
Hearing this only made Zev angrier.
"I've known you since we were kids. What is it that I don't know?"
Subedei said nothing more and simply walked away.
Zev stood there, watching him leave.
Looking at Subedei's retreating back, he felt as if the distance between them was growing wider.
As Subedei walked on, Zev's words echoed in his mind.
If I died, you'd smile like that too, wouldn't you…
After a long silence, Subedei whispered to himself,
"Maybe…"
Elsewhere, the two men continued crying as they dug the ground and held a small burial for their friend.
Beside the skinny man's grave, the tall man planted the dead man's sword into the earth.
After finishing the burial, he walked over to Zev.
"Let's leave this place quickly and rest somewhere else."
Zev nodded silently.
They moved away from the burial site.
Subedei remained standing apart from Zev.
Whenever Zev tried to approach, Subedei deliberately kept his distance.
Knowing Subedei's stubborn nature better than anyone, Zev decided to wait until he cooled down.
Everyone became far more cautious.
They had witnessed with their own eyes how the demonic whispers could control a person and force them to kill a friend.
No one dared to lower their guard or put down their weapons.
Strangely, the demonic whispers had no effect on Subedei or Zev.
To them, it was nothing more than an irritating noise.
Killing the Whispering Spirits was easy but their mana drained far too quickly.
[You have slain "Whispering Spirit".]
Since entering the tower, these spirits were the easiest enemies they had faced.
They never dodged, never resisted easily dispatched with light attacks.
Eventually, dawn began to approach.
The fog thinned little by little, becoming visible as it faded.
Everyone felt relieved especially the tall man and the big man.
After spending the entire night eyeing each other warily, they were overjoyed to see morning.
For now, the nightmare of possibly killing a friend with their own hands was over.
As the sun rose, the fog dissipated, and the demonic sounds faded.
The two men finally relaxed, letting out deep breaths.
Subedei and Zev immediately fell asleep.
The other two stayed awake, grilling meat and eating.
Later, they woke Subedei and Zev, then lay down to sleep themselves.
Subedei awoke and moved away from them, lying quietly while gazing up at the silent sky.