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'Hector killed him,' Garovel repeated. 'I watched it happen. It was pretty crazy and--if the Queen will excuse my language--fucking awesome as hell. Rarely have I ever been so pleased with the outcome of a battle.'

The Queen seemed surprised, but it was Mehlsanz who looked the most shocked by far.

'I don't...' She stared at Hector directly. 'H-how...? The Man of Crows... is incredibly dangerous.'

'Was,' said Garovel.

'You really killed him? Permanently?'

The intensity of her reaction was making him feel a little awkward again. He managed to give her a nod, though.

'Albert Crowe was an infamous killer of rising stars in the Vanguard. I personally knew three good servant-reaper pairs who died at his hands. I never encountered him myself, but from everything I heard during my time with the Vanguard, the man was an absolute menace to deal with. And now you're telling me he's dead at your hands? I... I don't...'

Hector felt the need to clarify. "I-it was just a lucky shot, honestly. His reaper picked the wrong moment to escape and gave me an opening to land a killing blow. And Lord Abbas beat the crap out of him beforehand, so he wasn't at full strength or anything. So, er, I just, uh--"

'He's being modest,' said Garovel. 'Not only did he kill the Man of Crows, he saved Abbas' life, too. Scored a lot of points with Hahl Saqqaf as a result, I think. They were singing his praises at Warrenhold.'

'I don't believe what I'm hearing,' said Mehlsanz. Her tone was on the brink of laughter. 'That's... phenomenal.'

'Yes, it is,' said Garovel. 'But it also probably pissed off Abolish quite a bit. There's a solid chance that Bloodeye will come looking for a rematch.'

'You fought Bloodeye, too?!'

'Oh yeah. Very strange powers on that guy. No idea what was going on there. Abbas still kicked the shit out of him, though.'