Edwin walked still. He swung his sword in a few arcs as he craned his neck to the left.

The arrow has been shot.

He saw a cart coming towards him as he moved up another road. The driver wore red. An archer sat beside him. He shot an arrow at Edwin seeing the bloodied sword in his hand.

Edwin had moved beyond the range of the arrow before it had been launched. Then both the archer and driver screamed simultaneously. The driver screamed for the reigns had snapped and the archer screamed as his stomach had been torn, armour broken and bow snapped. Edwin moved to the left as the cart toppled over itself burying the driver under the weight of his own loot.

****

There are times when complex human emotions like sense of purpose, faith, belief, duty leave a man. He is reduced to primal instincts like fear, despair and survival.

Such a time came when Tim of the hidden wind guild, launched a shaft from his crossbow at the man below. He had decided, a man who could topple a whole cart in a single stroke was a dangerous one.

Then time seemed to have paused. The man faced forward but caught Tim's crossbow shaft in mid air with his left hand. He slowly turned to look at the offender. Tim froze as he saw the man's face. His features would have been called calm, no frown, no mocking smile, in fact no expression at all, was it not for those eyes. His eyes were menace itself.

And thus such a time came for Tim.

Tim started shivering as the man made his way inside the house. The house on whose roof he stood. His shivering hands made a flailing attempt at reloading the crossbow. Footsteps were clearly audible. He fumbled to aim at the only opening for the roof. As the door to the roof opened revealing the man, Tim launched the shaft. The sword deflected it, such that the shaft lodged way past its target.

Tim continued to reload as he started inching back across the roof as the man moved towards him.

The next instant was a crimson blur as he felt a kick on his lower jaw and was flung into the street below.

****

Edwin leaped from that roof to another. A feminine scream riddled the night air. He turned to move towards the source.

A hoarse voice mocked, "You have grown juicier than I last met you, darling."

Edwin saw four men surround a girl in a back alley. A fifth stood guard to prevent anyone from entering the alleyway. The man with the hoarse voice pulled her arm as she shrieked. The man behind her tried to grab her hair. Her next scream was mingled with a hoarse shout as Edwin descended in the alley to spell end for the man. The raider who was pulling her hair backed away as he saw the sight.

The raider to Edwin's right tried to stab him with his sword, only to find out his sword had been deflected to stab his companion. Edwin jabbed his own sword forward as if to teach the man how to stab. The only difference remaining, he won't ever be able to use it. He moved in a smooth arc and gave a low kick that connected to the last man's diaphragm. All air was pulled out of his lungs as his back hit the narrow wall of the alleyway. He fell with a dull thud on the ground.

Edwin moved to the fifth fully armoured man. The man had noticed him only too late. Edwin grabbed the raider's neck with his left hand and lifted him off the ground. He left him suspended in the air as he started choking. The man tried to swing his sword, but Edwin was faster. The raider was disarmed as a cut opened up from his elbow to wrist. He tried to grab Edwin's left arm to get him to loosen his grip. That only led to Edwin digging his fingers deeper. Edwin looked unflinching at the raider as he eventually stopped struggling entirely. He threw the man's limp body in the back alley.

Only the girl's sobs could be heard in that back alley as Edwin made his way out in the streets.

Edwin moved from one street to another, from smoke to fire, from crimson to black. His dance continued as the streets were slowly freed of any noise beyond what the flames made. The voice of the flames that Edwin traversed in, slowly started fading. The smoke did not; the smoke still rose. And that was what Edwin did not approve of. For the smoke hid the remaining sparks, the ones that could once again rise to be flames.

He walked towards the last of the raiders that were left in the town. His sword was the end of six of them and only one remained. The last raider shivered as he grabbed a little girl and put a sword to her throat," Move and I kill her."

Edwin's expression remained unchanged. He moved forward, only then did the man realise if he killed the girl then, he would have no leverage left. He would be a dead man. So thinking, he pulled her harder towards himself, the girl shrieking as his sword touched her neck, "I will really kill her."

But his threat met the smoke ridden night air as he saw there was no longer anyone in front of him.

A cold blade met his neck as Edwin's voice spoke from behind, "So you like playing games." His voice had a usual tone but somehow it sent chills down the man's neck. Blood slowly trickled as Edwin's sword dug deeper in his neck.

"So let us play a game, shall we? Where is your guild?" asked Edwin.

"I...here," mumbled the man.

"Where is the guild?" Edwin's voice had lowered. What was it about this voice that  scared the raider such?

"Just...just along the river, go along the river, keep going below. And...and there will be a slight turn. You..." Blood flowed instead of words, as the sword did its job.

The little girl ran screaming to her mother as Edwin started walking down the river, the flames still roared.

****