Seth and Ellie worked across from each other, their faces covered in cold sweat, fully devoted to the task before them-- setting up the diffuser. Another boom shook the earth and traveled up the perimeter peg Seth was holding. The earth had been shaking non-stop since they peeled back the coating of the first peg and was growing louder and closer by the minute.

“How is he still alive?” Seth said, his eyes briefly wandering to the thundering forest behind them.

“Focus! ”Ellie whispered furiously. “Focus, or we won’t be done by the time he gets here.” A tree not too far from them exploded, sending up splinters of wood raining down on them.

“How is it going back there,” Brick called out as if to prove her point. He and Sera stood guard, weapons pointed at the looming churning forest ahead of them.

“We are working as fast as we can,” Seth called back.

Setting up the anchors for the diffuser went slow because, out of all four of the Ravens, only Ellie could weave magic to some extent. Her reserves naturally grew after she’d received her single Diving rune. It was not as bountiful as a knight who received an accumulation Rune, and her control was not as fine, having received no formal training, but it was more than enough to activate her runes a few dozen times and interact with artifacts and weapons easily.

They were done with the first two pegs and were on the third. Once the fourth was in place, it would fall on someone to activate the diffuser with a convincing throw and rush into the activated field to provide Hanson support, should he need it the second the device went off.

Though he was a threat, Seth thought it prudent they kept him alive. The General would be less likely to reward them if his prized Knight died, and they stood no chance against whoever was inside the temple without his aid.

The rest of the team agreed with him, also seeing the need, and Ellie elected that they would lie in wait, hidden behind trees, and join the fray once the light faded. Ellie insisted she’d be the one to help Hanson, but after a short debate, the team agreed Seth was the better option. He was not as skilled or powerful as Ellie, and he was the only other disposable choice. Sera provided ranged support, and she was not half-bad with her shortswords, and Brick provided defense.

Ellie had agreed reluctantly and provided him a little pouch containing ear waxes and a thick blindfold she had stored away in one of the crooks of her bag. That was well before the shaking started.

They worked in silence, and it took them another minute and a half to finish the third peg and finally move on the last corner of the border. Four-minute into work, with the anxiety of the coming conflict mounting, he spoke out.

“Do you regret it? Setting all this up? You might have doomed us to die."

She hesitated but answered all the same, “No. It was our only chance, Seth. The plan was supposed to have worked. It could still work”

Another boom resounded behind them. It was closer this time. Her eyes never left the peg as she weaved mana. She pursed her lips. “I didn’t think they’d be this powerful. I’ve fought a few vampire knights, but two knights shouldn’t be able to cause this much destruction... I fear they’re more seasoned.”

“They were left behind by the leadership to protect whatever, or whoever is in that temple. It is not entirely unexpected that they would be formidable,” Seth ribbed as he peeled back another layer of metal.

“Perhaps,” she conceded, still feeding the exposed runes mana.

“Perhaps!” he snapped. “You should have known better. You are our leader. You should have protected us. Expected this.”

She was taking no responsibility.

The rage poured forth from him. It was so hot, it overwhelmed him, yet she didn’t react. Her focus remained on task. It wasn’t until the runes came to life with a multicolored shine did she speak.

“It’s done, Seth. All set in motion now. We grew up with nothing, Brother, and if I had done nothing we’d have nothing even after nearly 11 years of service.”

“That is not entirely true,” he said. “We might have gotten runes, even though they might be partial, but we would be alive to try again.”

“Are you content with the scrap, Seth?” she asked, staring deep into his eyes. He could feel her icy blue eyes read his mind, his defiance. He wanted it all. Good food, to feast with friends, to not steal wine from the table of snotty nobles and merchant sons and daughters.

“I know you’re not,” she said, so sure of herself. But his eyes still remained hard and angry, so she cocked her head. “If you don’t care about a better house or sweeter wine, then what about our enemies, Seth? You might have forgotten about them. I’m sure they have not forgotten about you.”

Some of his anger melted, and he looked away. She spoke of their mercenary days. They’d robbed caravans, carried out assassinations, and wronged too many people just to survive.

“I didn’t want to this, but there was never a choice. I would always pick you over everybody, brother. I would betray Hanson, Brick, Sera, the General, and all of the fucking Empire if it meant I could keep you safe,” she said with a soothing whisper, but he pulled back.

“Doesn’t the last four years mean anything to you?” he asked in a scathing voice.

“What are bonds that are a few years old compared to a lifetime, Seth? None of them know who we really are, what we’ve done to survive. They did not suffer with you through those cold nights you spent at the Hag’s cave after our drunk Father sold you for more wine money while I was away. They didn’t help you escape, train, or pay back the Hag when she tracked us down.”

“Stop!” Seth growled, the memories coming back to him after all those years.

His sister hadn’t been entirely correct. His father had sold him off to settle a drinking debt to a visiting Serpent hag who pedaled arcane cure-alls. She kept him in chains, among her other slaves for a year, forcing him to taste potions and hunt for her. His time with her made him harder, and after Ellie came for him, he swore he would get revenge one day.

What he hadn't counted on was the hag tracking them down a week later, and poison them in their sleep. The poison was one of her slower ones, and she was set on chaining them up and slowly watch them suffer and die until she discovered Ellie was a half-knight and a damn good one at that. Not wanting to let a good opportunity pass, she offered to spare their lives for a deal instead. They hunt down certain alchemical ingredients for her and pay her lots of gold for an antidote.

He picked up the blade and became a rogue after that. He robbed, killed, and cheated man or woman with coin stupid enough to trust him. The Hag reluctantly cured them after their debt was paid in full.

His experience with the hag made him hungry for power and apprehensive of anything beyond him-- the church, the gods, and vampire knights. After some time, he joined the army and let the memories of his friends, the battlefield, and runes replace the older ones. He chose to bury that former life until Ellie went digging for his skeletons.

“None of them were there through the nightmares and training. Day and night, we toiled, sparred, and killed for three fucking years, all the while I lied to the Empire and protected us. We’ve both sacrificed too much, and our entire life has been leading up to this….”

“I remember,” he snapped, grabbing her by the wrist, but she twisted herself free and pulled him by his collar to his feet.

“Good,” she said and rose up to her feet. “At the end of the day, Seth, we are all that we have. Never forget that.”

“I won’t,” he grunted and rose up to meet her, but his voice still lacked certainty. The very earth tremored beneath them, spilling waves of aetheric aura into the air. Even the mist that clouded the vast forest had receded, sensing the evil, the malice that approached. His heart drummed against his chest, and his knees felt weak. He felt like he was back with the hag again.

“Seth," she said, holding him by the back of his neck. “You have to be here, with me. This is just another battle, Seth, and this one is no different. Draw on your experience, Brother. Fear will not help you now.”

Seth slowly nodded and balled his fist. He sucked in air and steadied himself as he did before every fight. The stakes were considerably higher, but she was right. It was just another mission, another battle, and he would fight till his enemy perished.

“Are you…ready!” A voice called out. Seth didn’t almost recognize the voice among the echoes of the chaos.

Hanson!”

The voice came from glowing crystal on his sister’s belt, and she clawed it, bringing it between them. It glowed with a bright blue light.

“They are nearly here,” Hanson’s voice came from the crystal again. It was labored, tinged with panic. Seth couldn’t imagine a man like Hanson afraid of weak.

“The perimeter is set up. We are ready. How long do we have?” Ellie rasped into the crystal, but no immediate reply came.

A heartbeat passed, then two more, and still no word came. The booms and crashes grew louder and louder still, ripping through the forest like violent thunder. The air churned with magic was so thick Seth could nearly taste it.

“Sir Hanson!” Seth yelled into the crystal, growing impatient.

“Hanson!” he screamed again dropping the honorifics, the panic clear in his voice. He’d already feared the worst. Their entire plan hinged on him surviving. If he was dead…he dreaded the thought.

Seth!” Ellie yelled and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Get your blindfold ready, and plug your ears. He’s probably dead, and we need to be ready to activate the diffuser.”

“Hanson…” his mind fogged up with strange grief. He hardly knew the man.

“Now!” her voice rang out, forcing him to refocus. Then, she suddenly lowered her voice and soothed. “Remember, it’s just another battle.”

Her gaze burned through him with a familiar intensity, and he gave a quick, curt nod and resettled himself again with a deep breath, letting most of the anxiety flow out of him. His years of experience and training took the fore, and he said, “join the rest of the team. I will be ready.”

She gave a quick nod and handed him the diffuser box after quickly rumbling through her bag.

Even with their destruction looming, he still found time to take in the box. Fine spindly cursive circles scratched deep into ancient redwood, tastefully decorated with gold. The Runescriver who made this took pride in their work.

“Be safe,” Ellie whispered and heaved her bag. She gave him one last look, then rushed to join the rest of the team.

Seth swallowed hard and got to work. He opened the leather pouch he’d been given and stuffed both his ears in protective wax. He worked the blindfold over his brow, jogged to the edge of the perimeter, and set his eyes on the approaching battle.

The very air seemed to vibrate, and streaks of red hot plasma and darkness coiled around each other in a violent tumble for dominance. The ground beneath him shook, and he sucked in air. The battlefield. It reminded him of that dark, hopeless stretch of land he’d fought waves of nightmarish creatures. I survived that somehow, and I’ll survive this.

A silhouette wrapped in red-white flame burst through the trees bordering the first peg. He had several larger shadowy figures on his heels, launching jagged projectiles and crescents wreathing in sinister energy. It was Hanson. He’d survived. They still stood a chance against their enemies.

Seth nearly laughed when he saw the man, but he did not let his joy distract him. He chucked the diffuser box the moment he spotted his frame enter the barrier and pulled down his blindfold, but not before he saw a shadowy, armor-clad soldier pause from his chase to fire a well-aimed arrow at the box.

He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding in when the vampire missed by a few inches, and the world turned white.

Seth shrunk back as the brilliant light of the diffuser pierced through his blindfold, as thick as it was, and pressed against his tightly shut eyelids. He was human, and it nearly blinded him. He could only imagine what it would do to the vampires. Seth’s heart drummed as he unsheathed his runed shortsword. He might need it sooner than he hoped.

The seconds of waiting felt like months, and when the light finally receded, he ripped off his blindfold and wax, and the vampire’s voices assaulted him. Their panicked screams and ghoulish moans clawed at his ears, and he fought the urge to cover his ears. Several half-bloods laid on the floor, wreathing in slow agony, blood pooling from their helmets, but somehow, two vampires remained standing, albeit barely.

They were each down to one knee, hands gripping their weapons as blood drained from their dark helmet silts. Seth’s breath caught when he spotted their copper horns.

Vampire knights, he cursed internally.

He immediately knew he only had minutes to find Hanson if he was lucky, so he rushed ahead. The charred remains of the diffuser were the first thing he came upon, then a bundle of discarded black metal weapons from when the half-bloods panicked, but there was no sign of Hanson.

He made several laps around the perimeter, his fear deepening after each lap as he watched the vampires visibly recover. There were fewer screams now, and the vampire knights were nearly to their feet.

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After his sixth lap, he changed course. He only felt a tinge of guilt when he lanced towards the saber-wielding vampire. Seth figured they were all dead if the vampire knights recovered, Hanson included. “Blade of light,” he hissed, and the runes on the blade flared to life. His shortsword blade blazed white, and he slammed into the vampire with a running stab. The shortsword slipped through his black armor like it was cloth and stabbed deep into his chest. The saber-wielding vampire let out a shriek and grabbed at him, but Seth pulled back, leaving his shortsword behind.

The Saber wielding vampire let out a viscous cough, spilling blood from the silts in his helmet, and pulled the blade free from his chest. The armor around the wound cracked unnaturally, black blood pulling out, and he dropped back on its knees and clutched his leaking chest. He looked like he was in so much pain, but Seth felt no pity for him.

He knew he wasn’t going to survive, so he turned his attention to the hammer wielder and was lucky enough to dodge her swing with a duck before it took his head. She’d struck out at him the moment she was lucid.

What in the hells!

She would have killed him before he realized it. She didn’t follow up with another strike immediately though, pausing to take a cursory glance at her partner before charging him with a growl.

Her hammer came at Seth faster than he could blink, and he needed to call for his Haste rune to dodge at the very last second. However, he did not recover in time to dodge the third strike that followed.

It crushed his breastplate and swept him up like a hurricane, dumping him on the hard bark of a faraway tree. His body screamed out from the pain, and his eyes blinked open as another hammer strike came down. Suddenly, a burly mass stepped in front of him. It raised its shield with a roar, and Seth’s ears rang as the hammer crashed into it.

“Are you okay!” A gruff voice asked, but everything sounded dull against the ringing. Thankfully, Seth’s vision was clear enough, and he recognized his savior to be Brick. He saw the hammer-wielding vampire knight stand across from them with what Seth assumed was a menacing scowl under her helmet.

“You are all going to die,” she said. “I am going to enjoy caving your heads in with my hammer.”

Two fiery arrows shot at her from a tree above, and she parried both with a wave of her hammer like they were no threat.

“How is she that fast? She's using a hammer.” Sera dropped down beside him with her Haste already alight.

“Glad to see you’re alive,” She said without looking back. She lined her bow with three more arrows, ready to fire.

Seth grunted and struggled to his feet. He freed his longsword from its scabbard. It hurt to move, and he nearly dreaded the pain yet to come. “Where is Ellie?” he asked.

“She’s dealing with the rest of her kind before they can recover. She’ll join us when she can.” Ellie answered.

“All we have to do is hold that back until she arrives,” Brick said as he unsheathed his axe. He wore his playful grin, and sweat pooled from his face.

“If we last that long,” Seth said, and he stepped forward to join Brick and Sera.

“She hits harder than you think,” he warned. He looked down at the state of his armor. The Wind cushion rune that sat below his chest was dead. Only the Haste rune, which still burned, and the Earth Reinforcement rune survived the blow.

“We have the advantage. There are more of us, and we have weapons blessed with divine light,” Sera said with more confidence than he expected. “All we need is one hit.”

With the way the vampire moved, Seth was almost certain they wouldn’t manage a hit, but he fell into his battle stance all the same and said to Brick with a sneer, “looks like you’ll get your chance to split a vampire in half, after all.”

Brick gave a savage grin, and the vampire snorted. “Come at me already, cattle. I will take your heads for what you did to Hovi and leave one of you standing to question. And when I’m done with you, I’ll take your knight’s head.”

She heaved her hammer on her shoulder and urged them to approach with a gesture. Seth swallowed hard and fired his haste rune. Brick followed close beside, and Sera let her arrows fly. The vampire’s body blurred, and she reappeared with a shoulder tackle, slamming into Brick. His boots plowed through wet earth as he slid back, and Seth advanced with a ghastly overhead slash.

The vampire knight blocked the strike with her hammer haft and let its heavy top lead-in for a head strike. Seth leaned hard to the left to dodge but could only watch in horror as she shortened her swing mid-attack and directed that momentum into a faster strike.

Sera’s arrow puckered the Hammer knight’s armor just in time, distracting the vampire and buying him enough time to activate Earth reinforcement before he was swatted to the side.

He cringed as he went down, but the wave of pain never came. The attack didn’t substantially less than he'd expected, and he sprung to his feet almost immediately and charged the vampire again. Each rune lasted 5 minutes, except Blade of Light, and he intended to fight his hardest before they ran out.

In front of him, the vampire and Brick were at it. Seth watched Brick’s armor and shield shine with a yellow light right before the vampire’s hammer fell. His grin grew wide as he tanked the hit in full with his shield. The runes had given him the boost he needed.

“Bless the General’s heart,” he laughed in delight.

“Pay attention,” Sera snapped as she fired another fire arrow when she saw the vampire try to circle around his shield. Seth returned to Brick’s side, and they both charged the vampire as one this time.

The vampire ducked under Seth’s cut, and he followed up with several more, each one faster than the last. She blocked most of them, parried the last one, and went in for a counter swing. Brick shifted in place with his tower shield to block it and advanced with three savage cuts of his own. He managed to push her back for a moment before she shortened the distance between them with an inward step and knocked him back with a hefty punch to his exposed frame.

Sera rained down a volley of arrows before the vampire could press her advantage. Two well-aimed arrows pushed through her crooks, breaking through chainmail, and she stepped back to dodge some, parry a few, and catch the very last shot aimed at the eye slit in her helmet.

“Your army should be marching back as we speak, leaving the fog lands,” she said. “We halted our advance, and our leaders agreed to allow our retreat. What are you doing here?”

“Why don’t you drop that hammer and come a little closer,” Brick said with a dangerous grin. “I’ll whisper it in your ear.”

The knight laughed and slowly circled them with her hammer hanging dangerously low. Her laugh was long, and it grated Seth’s ears.

“I like you. I didn’t know they taught jokes in the Mormon army.”

Seth’s eyes never left her hammer. It was longer than most, wrought from black Iron and covered in runes.

“Oh yeah, they do. They teach us a lot of useful things in the army,” Brick said with a sneer. “Like how cowardly and stuck up you pureblood vampires really are.”

His words seemed to cut her because she paused in place. “I would have let you live longer if you held your tongue,” the vampire snarled. "You are as pathetic as your magic knight. He ran like a common rogue, and I’ll hunt for his head when I’m done with all of you.”

She spun the hammer in the air once and shot forward once more, faster this time. Seth and Brick rushed ahead to meet her, but she glided over them with a powerful leap, closing in on Sera, their support. Both men realized too late, dug their heels in the wet ground, and spun around, but they were too late.

The vampire struck the ground with a vicious thump, landing on the very spot Sera formerly stood. She’d skillfully backpedaled when she saw the vampire leap. She worked her bow hard and peppered the vampire hard with more arrows as the armored fiend rose to her feet. Some of them struck through, othhers bounced off her with a wave of her hammer.

“You are not bad with that bow. You could make an excellent half-blood. Surrender yourself to me, and I'll help you shed your weakness and become more. You don’t need to die.” Her voice was cold and metallic as it filtered through the air slits of her dark helmet.

“I’d kill myself before I become something as vile as your kind,” Sera scowled. She pulled five arrows from her quiver, bunched them up in her palm, and fired them at a startling speed.

"Enough of this," The vampire snarled, and a dark aura billowed from her torso. It floated and danced like ink as it melted in the air. She crossed the distance between them with a blur. All five arrows puckered her armor awkwardly; she moved unhindered. Sera's eyes grew wide in shock and scarcely had the chance to react before the vampire plowed through her with a deft kick to the side. She tumbled a few paces, and the vampire followed after her with a shadowy dash.

Seth stared in astonishment as the vampire moved. He and Brick hustled behind her at full speed, but they couldn't keep up. He could only watch as the knight heaved her hammer high and brought it down hard on Sera’s chest. Her protection rune flickered and still shielded most of the damage, but her armor still twisted and sunk. Her breath was rough. The vampire raised her hammer a third time to finish.

“No!” he growled and flung his sword at her with a desperate scream before the hammer came down. It slapped hard against her black full plate armor, interrupting her, and Brick staggered her further with a well-placed axe throw. Sera gurgled blood as she screamed "Blade of Light", and one of the five arrows she'd stuck in the knight's body burst with light. It was stuck to the left of Vampire's breastplate, and she let out a long metallic shriek as she lost control of her hammer, letting it thump to the floor.

“Yes,” he yelled, with a heft to his voice. He knew they might not get another chance. “Brick!” he yelled out, and the Gaint immediately understood. Brick tossed Seth his shield and two-handed his runed axe. "Blade of light!” he cried out as he swung at her heart, but the vampire once again, leveraged it's unnatural speed.

She fell low at the very last moment, taking the light blade on her right shoulder instead of her heart. It cut through her armor, collar bone, but it didn’t sink any further. She let out a savage victorious laugh as she grabbed onto Brick’s hand and crushed it. Brick screamed, and she pulled him closer to deliver a punch right at the center of the depression in armor she’d made earlier with a shadow-clad fist. His armor crunched like paper, his runes guttered out, and he dropped to the floor, completely limp.

“Brick,” Seth called out, his voice thick with grief, but he didn't charge in to rescue his friend. His eyes misted, his breath caught. Cold sweat trickled down his neck as he realized he was the only one left.

The vampire climbed to her feet in a staggered stumble and ripped off her helmet. Her face was oval and white, and her hair was black and bunched back. Dried rivulets of blood ran down her ears and wrinkled wildly at her cheeks to occupy her predatory smile.

“It would seem you’re the only one left. You will have to answer my questions then. Hovi died by your blade, and I should bash your skull in, but I will afford you small mercy,” she said with a false consideration in her voice. “Answer my questions, and I promise I won't drag your bloodied body to the temple”

"What's at the temple?" Seth asked, somehow managing to keep the stammer from his voice.

Her smile grew wider. "Nothing good. So make your choice."

Everything screamed at him to run, give in, plead for mercy. After all, the mission had been forced on him. "I…” his voice trailed off, and his eyes shifted to Brick and Sera's bodies on the floor, then to fractals of light dancing in the distance. Ellie was still fighting. Maybe there was still a chance.

The knight's body stirred, and a dark aura leaked from armor, flooding the air with a stifling, malicious intent.

"Don't test my patience." Her eyes grew dark and severe. "I will not ask you again."

Seth swallowed hard and slowly shifted into his combat stance. He unsheathed his dagger--the only blade he had left on him-- and raised Brick’s tower shield high. He spread his feet apart and wound his core tight like a loaded spring.

"You will fight then." Her lips curled into a smirk, and she stepped forward with a blur.

She came down on him with the fury of a tornado. Her fist came down on the shield heavier than her hammer, and the kick that followed slipped through and caught his side. He was sent flailing, still miraculously holding onto his shield. He tumbled several times but picked himself up quickly, barely dodging the heel strike that tore up the forest floor. He briefly touched eyes with her and saw the savage smile. Fear gripped him, but it was not enough to keep him from exploiting an opening he saw.

With his speed rune still burning, he swept low and slipped his dagger under a leather crease by her calf-piece and pulled hard. Instead of brooking fresh, the blade hissed like it grated solid steel as her aura suddenly thickened. The vampire laughed as she brought her hammer down.

It slapped him hard into the rough wet grassy floor but did not kill him. He’d somehow managed to raise his shield in time again. His Earth reinforcement and Haste rune blinked several times before finally failing, the impact too hard to bear. He felt his bodyweight suddenly double.

The hammer came down a second time and rang him like a bell.

Several cracks ran up and down the shield, and light slipped through. Seth's entire body screamed in pain, and he gurgled blood. His runed armor sliced into his battered body as it violently folded in, and he closed his eyes as he braced for the third and final hit… but it never came.

A violent jerk ripped the shield from him, and the vampire raised him high like a child, with barely any effort. He screamed as his body shifted and the crumpled armor dug out flesh and muscle.

His eyes met hers, and he managed a gurgle. "How..." He should have cut her, but the aura stopped him somehow.

She ignored his question and looked towards the temple. "I've run out of time. Tamir won't be pleased. We need to go now, but first, I will take care of the rest,” she said regarding Brick and Sera. “The half knight will come after.”

No. He would have rather died than watch everyone he cared for perish at the vampire’s hand. He felt anger overtake him. Anger at the General for using them as fodder, realizing that when they failed, he would just send a more potent fighting force. Anger at his sister for getting them into this, but most of all, anger at himself for not being enough—being powerless before beings above him.

Just before he could stew deeper into his depression, he saw Ellie at the very edge of his vision. She had her rapier pointed towards them, and she muttered something furiously. A beam of light coalesced at the tip of her blade, and just before it fired, the vampire noticed her.

Her body whirled like a top. In less than a single breath, she threw Seth’s battered body to the side and raised what remained of the Brick shield.

The beam hit the shield with a boom and scorched it till cracked and shattered, and the residual charge slammed into her armor, shoving her to the ground. Ellie lit up her rapier with the chant and closed the distance between them. Surprisingly, the Hammer wielder did not rise immediately. Instead, she struggled to her feet and spat to the side with a tired pant, cursed, and only dodged at the very last second, her aura suddenly flaring.

It was until that moment Seth realized how close they’d gotten to actually killing her. Ellie pivoted on her heel and followed her failed thrust with a tight cut, a diagonal slash, and five quick stabs. The attacks came in a flurry, and she wore an imperious glare as she chained her attack effortlessly. The vampire dodged every single one, but slowly her aura became less viscous, and her speed slowed. She could not strike out as dodging alone seemed to occupy her fully.

Seth didn’t sit still while they fought. He rummaged his belt for a healing potion. Only one of the three he brought survived. The murky glass bottle was chipped by the side, and he uncorked it and downed its contents.

It was sickly sweet and kicked into effect immediately, filling him with a strange warmth that touched all his bruised and battered bits and mended it. Health potions were extremely rare, and Healing priests and Life Mages, even rarer. His life would have been forfeited if none of the potions he carried survived.

His gaze swept to his other companions who laid unconscious, ways away from him, and hoped their potions survived the fight too. He wanted to check on them, but he had the presence of mind to stay back instead, letting himself heal and move when he saw the opportunity. The potion gave him enough strength to move without much difficulty, but most of his wounds still stayed open and stung horribly. Soon enough, an opportunity did present itself, but it was not in the way he expected.

Ellie relented in her ruthless dervish for a fraction of a moment to catch her breath, and it was all it took for the vampire to recover from the onslaught. She landed a vicious kick that made Ellie nearly double over, and the aura surrounding her receded entirely and flowed into her fist. With a wave of her hand, she summoned her hammer and filled it with so much shadow mana that it shone with an aetheric whiteness.

Her cloak was down, and this was his chance.

Seth was already to his feet as the vampire screamed in triumph and flung his dagger long before she started her swing. With her aura lowered, the blade slipped into the side of her neck, cutting off her attack mid-swing. Her hammer flailed to the side as her grip failed, and she lost her balance and collapsed. Blood fountained from her neck in every direction, and Ellie finished her off with a light-coated thrust to the heart and one shot of “Holy missile” for good measure as she gurgled and thrashed. Her hammer laid to the side, buried in a small amount of loose dirt.

Ellie rushed over to Seth, who dropped to the floor as soon as the vampire fell, eyes wide and breath ragged. He could not believe that his gambit worked, that they’d somehow survived.

“Seth!” She dropped to his side and gasped at the state of him. His chest piece folded in at awkward angles, and several wounds scattered through his limbs and torso.

“I should have never agreed to send you in first. I should have gone after Hanson myself.” She said in a panicked teary voice. She tried to peel off his chest piece, but he stopped her.

“Brick and Sera, check on them. They need you more,” he whispered through the pain. She hesitated for a moment, scrunching her brow deep in thought, but nodded eventually and hurried off in their direction, leaving Seth to his thoughts.

He stared at the cloudy, misty, forest sky for a long while before he broke his silence with a bitter laugh. He killed her. Ellie had been the one to deal with the last blow, but he’d opened her neck with that knife throw. It was his kill as far as he was concerned.

He’d survived, despite his fear nearly robbing him of his wits and the plan going to complete shit. Hanson was nowhere to be found, and the vampire with the blade would have ended them with a single swipe. He also came to recognize that the hammer wielder was not at full strength, Hanson had wasted a lot of her reserves, and the light from the diffuser had weakened her greatly.

They had all been unbelievably lucky, and he’d reckon they'd never be that lucky again. The vampire’s words echoed in his mind, and he looked in the direction of the temple and thought of this Tamir personality she spoke of in reverence. If he was more powerful than the vampire knights, and Seth could bet his beaten-up runed armor that he was, they stood no chance. They could not continue this mission.