The moment the branches fell apart, Ed moved.
His body didn't wait.
His mind didn't think.
It just acted.
SHING—!
Steel flashed in the moonlight.
A clean cut.
The village head didn't even have time to react.
His beady eyes widened, his mouth barely parting—
Then—
His head rolled off his shoulders.
A dull thump followed as his lifeless body collapsed onto the dirt.
Silence.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the wind whistling through the trees. The faint rustling of leaves.
Then—
A shriek.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The village head's wife screamed.
Loud. Piercing. Horrified.
Her wrinkled hands clutched her chest as she staggered backward, pointing at Ed with a trembling finger.
Zareth and Vynesaa snapped awake.
Their eyes, once clouded and distant, cleared instantly.
Zareth blinked, still dazed.
