Shapes, color, and darkness swam in Grehn’s vision, clashing with the clear view of the battlefield Ben was feeding directly into his Mind. If he weren’t on the verge of unconsciousness, it would actually be quite helpful, but as things were, he felt it was more like being bashed in the face with several exquisite paintings.

The sudden wellspring of calm yet sharp Mind didn’t help much either. Meyara was advancing towards the other three, and Grehn knew he had to act. Now. A minuscule amount of Mind escaped him as he activated a Lock; it was an old mercenary staple, meant to give the user a sort of second wind, or something along those lines. Some science around separating the Mind from the body and its pain.

Clarity. Grehn’s senses were suddenly sharp again, and he felt refreshed. Just in time to remember to breathe. Whatever Meyara hit him with, it hurt his chest pretty badly, but he could take it. He scrambled towards the hole in the wall and felt around the darkness for his sword. They needed him on the front line. None of the others had the close-quarters capability to hold Meyara back, or at least delay her for a decisive blow. He had to get back in the fight.

There! He reached with his Mind, grabbing the sword and pulling it back. As he did, he thought he heard something shift in the building’s dim interior. He listened closer as the grip settled in his palm. Muttering - no, chanting. Prayers to the Human. A man’s voice, a woman’s… and a child.

There were still people in the surrounding buildings. It made sense. The cult had been little more than thirty-strong, in a town of over a hundred. There were no children at the congregation in the square, either. Most of Lemonholm was cowering in their homes. But why? The sounds of fighting, of the building Jey crashed into. Wouldn’t that be enough for them to know something was strange tonight? Or maybe they expected things to go awry when the cult was active? Grehn wasn’t sure, but he wondered if the more regular citizens of Lemonholm could be used to their advantage somehow. After all, the Knights would have to kill them all if they got involved, and that probably wasn’t on their to-do list.

He wouldn’t rely on the idea. He charged Meyara, sending a signal through the Link to Vlugh. He would prepare a stronger blast of flame in the opening Grehn would make, something that would surely affect even her.

He thrust as his Mind raged, coating his sword in cool blue. Just off to the side, at an awkward angle. If Meyara noticed him, she ignored him, firing once towards the trio, missing by a tiny margin. It was a bluff - she was actually paying attention to Greyan. She angled her bracer perfectly, deflecting the blow, but the opening was made. Vlugh screamed, one of the loudest Grehn had ever heard, spouting a thick stream of fire directly at the advancing Knight. She was closer. Unable to run. So she met the flames head on, angling her Mind to push it away.

Grehn couldn’t help but sprout a small smile. The gout of flame only curved slightly, as if it were resisting the push of her Mind, and her clothes were set ablaze. Vlugh’s fire wasn’t so easily countered by Mind - dragon fire was strange like that. And against armored enemies, it was like roasting an encased hunk of meat.

It was unreasonably effective. Meyara dropped to the ground, rolling to put out the flames. Jey shouted something and rained gunfire on the trio, making Vlugh dive to the ground. She was a weak link with her injury, and the sooner she was gone, the better.

Grehn yelled within his Mind. “Ben! Switch with me. I’ll defend those two, you take Jey out of the fight.”

“Oh Momma. I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that, man!”

“Have confidence,” Grehn said with a grimace. “You’re fast; surely even faster with Elofan’s Ability. Jey is hurt, angry, and weakened. I won’t let Meyara come after you, so I know you can take care of it.”

Grehn heard a cacophony of buzzing, all cheering Ben on. Triumphant music even began to play, as if Ben were entering an arena to do battle with a powerful foe. Even from there, Grehn felt Ben’s Mind steel.

“I’ll do it. Dang it, I’ll do it!”

With that, ben let out a mighty war buzz and shot towards Jey, faster than Grehn expected. It was like a bullet, except somewhere around the size of her head.

“Not agai-“

Jey was cut short by a mighty clang of stinger on metal, the force enough to topple her back into the ruins of the broken house. Grehn wasn’t sure, but Ben was definitely not aiming for her breastplate - somehow, she’d blocked his initial strike.

Grehn would take what he could get, even as he watched Ben continue the frenzied assault without remorse. He wasn’t giving the Knight an inch. So, Grehn ran, throwing haphazard slashes of water at Meyara, who was finally rising after putting out the flame. She was smoking, some of the leather, chain and metal plate of her armor and underclothes singed, but otherwise, she seemed more angry than anything.

Actually, Grehn probably imagined the anger. In fact, Meyara was deliberate in raising her braces to block the slashes of water, as if simply rising from a too-warm nap. The lack of supporting fire from Jey and another impending breath of fire from Vlugh was enough to keep her wary and in place, though, so Grehn managed to circle around her and plant himself between the current most valuable team-members and the enemy.

“This bee seems to have an Ability similar to mine, Meyara! What a pain in the ass!”

Grehn glanced at the other Knight. Despite Ben’s relentless assault, she had gotten up and was maneuvering about, her rifle missing from her grip. Every single one of Ben’s strikes seemed to either miss or land directly on a piece of armor only to bounce off, each attack more useless than the last. It was so natural, it almost seemed like Ben was deliberately missing. However, it wasn’t hopeless. Jey was on the back foot. Without support, that battle was closer to a stalemate than anything.

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“Just focus on the fight. Don’t let the venom overcome your good sense.” Meyara’s gaze returned to focus on Elofan. “Now. Drevan. I’ve not fought one of your people, nor have I fought a Fernen. Both of you prove troublesome. But all you have is your Abilities. Relying on those is the mark of an underdeveloped warrior. When I inevitably fell your frontliner, what chance do you expect to have? Ah, it makes me sad to see.”

It was more than Grehn had heard Meyara speak, and he was fine with that. Every moment the battle went on, the weaker their enemies became. However, that made Grehn nervous. Surely Meyara, the more thoughtful of the Knights as far as Grehn could tell, knew of their situation? So then why the lecture? He had to make the most of it.

“I wouldn’t call either of them underdeveloped. Maybe having more specialized team members is advantageous. Would we be able to hold our own against you lot for this long if we were more like you? We would just be weaker versions of yourselves, then.” He hoped the provocation would entice Meyara to continue her self-righteous declaration.

“Perhaps. Or perhaps you wouldn’t be so weak? Perhaps if you, Grehn, weren’t holding yourself back by fighting alongside your Ability-reliant teammates, you could be strong enough to fight us - or alongside us. You have some potential - not much, but some. But you all hold yourselves back with your lack of flexibility. Not once have I felt your Mind do more than mere parlor tricks. Simple feats of strengthening, a boost of adrenaline. Though I suppose there is a reason mercenaries enter such a simple business.”

The situation was far too dire for Grehn to react to the insult. He was just glad for the moment of rest and the chance to think of how the hell they would get out of this mess. Meyara was right - Grehn couldn’t hold her off forever, and Vlugh’s Mind would tire, eventually. He didn’t know how long Elofan could maintain her Ability, but it wouldn’t matter if Meyara could just walk up and skewer her.

What they needed to do was wear the Knights down. Chip away at their body, Mind and endurance to complement the effects of Elofan’s Ability.

“My Ability is simple. Easy to understand. I struggled much in the Academy, held back by my incompetent, noble lineage. They had money and status, but lacked the creativity my ancestor used to accumulate it. I couldn’t even beat Jey with the knowledge they taught me, and so I found a way to fend for myself. I am their true inheritor. Greyan saw this. I knew you would stand there - it was your only choice, to protect your team who cannot fend against me. Though I did misjudge the timing. I didn’t expect the flames to be so troublesome, or for you to rush there only to stand still.”

A loud bang rang in the air, and a ghostly apparition appeared close to the trio and tore straight at Grehn’s chest. In his confusion over Meyara’s words, he nearly took the full brunt of the gunshot, but he managed to turn enough for it to blast through his left arm. His senses were dulled, but even Grehn could feel the force of a bullet tearing through his flesh. He doubled over, instinctively touching the wound. Crimson blood stained his hand. No gun had fired the bullet, and it seemed like there had been no bullet at all. It was as if it had simply… appeared.

Thanks to the Lock, Grehn was aware enough to see the armored Knight charging once again. Vlugh’s pistols and fire were a furious barrage, but there was nothing else in Meyara’s way. She weaved, dodging the attacks in a way that would make Toh jealous. Grehn couldn’t move his wide frame like that at all.

The pain was affecting his head. Grehn shook it off and slashed, but Meyara wasn’t there. Obscured by the night sky, she leaped over the group like a shadow. She was still aiming for Elofan.

She stabbed straight down with her bayonet as Vlugh adjusted to her trajectory. Elofan jerked out of the way of the attack, less like a dodge and more like someone pulled her out of the way. She must have pulled herself with her Mind. The stab went straight into the ground, throwing up a burst of smoke and dirt. How had she gotten so much force in that position?

The impact was intense enough to throw Vlugh, right beside the blast, off balance. Meyara landed and continued the assault, but Grehn was there to meet her. They clashed blades - the power behind it wasn’t nearly as ridiculous as when it tore his sword from his hands. Of course, Grehn’s bones still groaned and his Mind still flared with every blow, barely enough to block the much smaller bayonet blade from cutting his body in two.

Like that, the dance continued. Vlugh pressured Meyara to back away with his firepower, Grehn defended and pressured where he could, and Elofan dodged by yanking herself around like a rag-doll. It was less a dance and more a demented game. Meyara was weakening, but not quickly enough. Every strike she made, every bullet she fired, the trio had to be wary that her strange Ability wouldn’t surprise them and create another deadly opening.

Meanwhile, another game was taking place. The game of ‘when the heck will Ben actually land a solid hit for Momma’s sake?’ He could see every single one of the openings Jey left exposed, saw every feint, every dodge, every intent to counterattack. It didn’t matter. His speed didn’t matter. Every time, her movements put her in exactly the right place for Ben’s stinger to whiff entirely, or just ping uselessly against her armor.

“Let me hit you, dang it!”

“Now that’s what a frustrated buzz sounds like. Poor little guy’s having a hard time?”

“Me? You’re turning into a tomato!”

Jey dodged another sting. Ben went a little overboard, overextending. He saw the oopsie occur in real time, understanding the mistake despite being in the middle of it. He saw a vision of his training with Bedivere, the noble warrior shaking his head and sighing at his simple mistakes. Wait, was that real?

A gauntleted chop slammed into Ben’s body, sending him straight into the floorboards of the ruined building. He hadn’t taken the full brunt of the attack, but it still hurt like hell. Mommaroni’s Ability went straight to work healing the dent in his abdomen, but he couldn’t wait. The others needed Jey out of the fight if they were to stand a chance.

He flew up through another section of floor behind Jey. The vibrations appeared around her ears and she jerked out of the way of his attack, so he continued his endless wave of stings.

“You’re not a fighter. You try, and you have good senses. But if that other bee is actually holding off Greyan somehow, you’re nowhere near its level. What exactly are you guys, anyway?”

“Shut your weird human hole! I know you can only dodge my insane speed ‘cause of your Ability, so eventually I’ll catch up. Elofan’s Ability is gonna screw you guys over - the hive says so. And Beelzebub is fine. In fact, she’s gonna wreck your Commander like he’s a chump. She’s strong! Strong and crazy! Crazy strong!”

“Again, I don’t know what you’re saying. But I can tell you’re confident in your friend. I am too. Greyan’s the best idiot ever. He can beat pretty much anyone. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but whatever. He’ll win against your friend despite the Fernen’s Ability and come here to clean up. Watch.”

“Nope! Crazy strong!”