The last zombie clattered to the floor, and all was silent. Many of the cobblestones surrounding the gallows were slick with blood, and six mutilated corpses of what were once human beings now lay on the floor in various states of destruction. Now that the noise of battle had cut off, the lack of sound felt sudden, unwelcome, and bleak. Seven innocent lives had been ended, and the killer was still at large. The people of Sveto had thought that the killings would end today. Instead, the total dead had doubled.

The people who fled the attack had retreated to their homes, where they hid and waited out the fighting. Now that they could no longer hear the fighting, a few curious souls ventured out to see what had happened. They climbed back up the hill, slowly, many still shaking in fear. And when they saw what was left of their friends and neighbors, their reactions were myriad. The most stoic simply stiffened and paled, looking on somberly and silently. Many cried. For most, it was a devastating tragedy. A handful, the wisest, understood that a considerably larger death toll had been planned. Had the zombies not been engaged and defeated immediately, they would have gone on to kill many more in the crush as people fled the square. This was what victory felt like.

A hard-faced, brown-haired woman of her late thirties was trying to stop her son from seeing the dead body of his father in a pool of blood a short distance away. He knew something was wrong, but he was too young to understand what.

The blackbird was barely visible in the distance, a tiny speck in front of the grey sky. Lillith had successfully fought him off, but he was still alive, flying eastwards, towards where the rivers met. He glided around a hill and out of view.

Lillith made her return to the square shortly afterwards. She surveyed the chaos from a distance, but did not participate. She could see what the people needed: a firm hand and a strong voice. Someone who could tell them they were under protection, then live up to that promise. But charisma was not her forte. She could not help reassure the people, but she could help deal with the root of the problem. And this time, it would be done properly. Lillith approached the group of warriors that had dealt with the attack, and said, simply "It seems that I owe you."