SSSSS-Rank: Negative Leveling

Misha watched Luthra's hands twist Silas's head clean off his shoulders. The sound was wet and final. Blood sprayed across the courtyard stones, and Silas's body dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

The head rolled twice before stopping face-up, eyes still wide with surprise.

'He just killed a B-rank hunter with his bare hands. While injured. After fighting for ten minutes straight.'

Her legs wouldn't move. None of the guards moved. The entire courtyard had gone silent except for the drip of blood hitting stone.

Luthra stood there holding his broken ribs with one hand, his other hand mangled and dripping red. He looked around at the frozen crowd of guards and hunters. His face showed nothing.

"Anyone else want to try something?"

Nobody answered.

Borris took half a step forward, his hand going to his mace. Jako's fingers twitched toward his daggers. Even some of the regular guards started reaching for weapons.

"Stop."

Misha's voice cut through the tension. Borris turned to look at her.

"What do you mean stop? He just killed the boss. We need to—"

"We need to stay exactly where we are if we want to live through the next sixty seconds."

"You're scared of this guy? After what we just watched? He can barely stand."

Misha kept her eyes on Luthra. His breathing was steady despite the injuries. His weight was balanced perfectly on his feet. The chain in his left hand hung loose but ready.

"Look at him, Borris. Really look. You see weakness because he's bleeding. I see a man who just killed someone two ranks above us while half-dead. Right now, at this exact moment, he's running on pure adrenaline and combat instinct. His body doesn't even know it's injured yet."

She took a careful step back, making sure her hands stayed visible and away from her staff.

"If we attack him now, while he's still in that state, he'll kill us all before his brain catches up to his injuries. I've seen it happen with berserkers. They fight for minutes after taking fatal wounds because their bodies don't know they're dead yet."

Jako's hand moved away from his weapons slowly. He'd fought alongside Misha long enough to trust her combat assessment.

"So what do we do?"

"We wait. Maybe thirty seconds, maybe a minute. Let him come down from the combat high. Let his body remember it's broken. Then we can talk about what happens next."

Borris's jaw clenched. His pride wanted to charge in, to avenge Silas and prove he wasn't afraid. But his survival instinct was stronger.

"This is wrong. We should—"

"We should stay alive. That's what we should do."

Luthra turned his head toward them. His eyes were still that flat, empty black that looked through people instead of at them.

"Smart woman."

He took one step toward the mine entrance. Then another. Each movement looked painful but controlled. Rebecca ran up beside him, her face pale but determined.

"You did it. You actually did it."

"Yeah. I did."

They walked past the line of guards. Nobody tried to stop them. Misha kept her arms at her sides, watching as they headed for the mine's main entrance.

'He's going for the slaves. Of course he is.'

One of the younger guards, barely eighteen and too stupid to know better, started to raise his crossbow. Misha's hand shot out and pushed the weapon down.

"Don't even think about it."

"But he killed—"

"I know who he killed. And if you shoot him in the back right now, one of two things happens. Either that little girl tears you apart with whatever nightmare magic she's hiding, or he turns around and kills everyone here before he bleeds out. Is that what you want?"

The guard's face went white. He lowered the crossbow.

Luthra reached the entrance to the mines. He looked back at the assembled crowd of Syndicate members.

"The mine belongs to me now. Silas lost. That was the deal. Anyone who has a problem with that can discuss it with me directly."

He held up his mangled hand, two fingers bent at impossible angles.

"Though I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow. I'm not in a talking mood right now."

He disappeared into the darkness of the mine shaft, Rebecca right behind him.

The courtyard erupted into chaos the moment he was out of sight. Guards started shouting questions. Some wanted to flee. Others wanted to chase after him. A few started looting Silas's body.

Misha ignored them all. She walked over to where Silas's head lay on the ground, his face frozen in that last moment of shock.

'Fifteen years of absolute rule. Hundreds of people turned to stone. All that power, all that fear he created. And in the end, he died like any other man. Violent and surprised.'

Borris appeared beside her, his face red with barely controlled rage.

"We can't just let him take over. The other Syndicate branches will think we're weak. They'll come for the mines."

"Let them come. I'm not dying for a dead man's pride."

"You're a coward."

Misha turned to face him fully. Her voice stayed calm but her eyes were hard.

"I'm practical. Silas is dead. The Heart-Lock binding us to him should release soon. We'll finally be free to use our full power again. Why would I throw that away by charging after someone who just proved he can kill B-rank hunters?"

Jako joined them, wiping blood off his hands with a rag.

"She has a point. With Silas dead, we're not slaves anymore. We could leave. Start over somewhere else."

"Or we could take this place for ourselves. Run it properly without all the slavery and statue gardens."

Misha shook her head.

"You're both thinking too small. That man just declared himself owner of the mines. He's going to free the slaves, obviously. That's what heroes do. But then what? He can't run this place. He doesn't know the business, doesn't have the connections. He'll need people who do."

Understanding dawned on Borris's face.

"You want to work for him?"

"I want to survive and maybe make some money while I do it. If that means working for the man who killed Silas, so be it. Better than dying for my pride."

Deep in the mines, a sound started to echo up from the tunnels. Metal on metal. Chains breaking.

'He's freeing them already. This is going to get complicated fast.'

Misha turned and walked toward the mine entrance.

"Where are you going?"

"To offer my services to our new boss. Before someone else gets the same idea."

She paused at the entrance and looked back at Borris and Jako.

"You can stand out here arguing about dead men and wounded pride. Or you can come with me and maybe live through whatever happens next. Your choice."

She walked into the darkness of the mine.

Behind her, she heard footsteps. First Jako's light tread. Then, after a long moment, Borris's heavy boots.

'Smart boys. Maybe we'll all survive this after all.'

The darkness swallowed them, and somewhere below, the sound of breaking chains grew louder.