Rage.

The red nearly overcame Yuriko’s mind. Her golden light slowly bled, her Anima quivered.

Grief.

Maru…

Who?

That archer.

Yuriko saw her, still alive, but gravely wounded. Her hands tightened on Fri’Avgi’s hilt, and the red rage of her Anima flooded into the artefact. She felt the spirit within it respond. She felt Damien shift in the back of her mind, felt his touch.

She felt her consciousness begin to fade and knew that if she didn’t resist, Damien would control her body and wreak havoc and vengeance in her name. She could simply close her eyes, and the dreadful vision of Marron’s fallen body would disappear…

No.

She would fight on her own behalf! Her rage wrapped around her mind, her Anima, and she felt her Mien shift to accommodate her.

Fri’Avgi’s spirit…it had slumbered all the while, hiding in a chrysalis within the red gem, but it…she…stirred now, feeling the depths of Yuriko’s rage and grief.

Along Fri’Avgi’s blade, red and gold lines crept from the crossguard to the tip. A moment later, the blade shattered into seven fragments with six spinning around Yuriko while the last one remained connected to the hilt. The greatsword had turned into a short sword, except that the handle was as long as the remnant blade.

The six sword shards all turned translucent, and the next moment, each of them thrust into the fabric of Rumiga’s Veil, and tore it. Chaos poured into the plane, but Fri’Avgi, linked with Yuriko’s Radiant Ennoia, took hold of all of it.

From three rifts, obsidian cranes tipped with Radiant energy flew out. The flock careened towards the Kadrac Rangers, split into three groups, then flew towards the Federation encampment and the warriors gathered there. The other three rifts funneled their energies into Yuriko’s Anima, and molded themselves into Radiant Lances. From around her, golden red lances materialised, then were flung by her kinesis towards the bunkers. While they remained out of sight, she remembered their positions based on the map, and if she missed…

More lances materialised around her, and were flung at the bunkers. The flight paths had a little bit of deviation and as long as she kept it up, it would eventually strike home.

As for the archer…

Yuriko roared and launched herself towards the hateful woman. More lances formed around her, and were flung towards the other. She vanished in an explosion of golden flames a moment later, and all that was left of her were the broken bits of her weapon.

“Maru…” Yuriko sobbed as she approached her brother, then…

His chest stirred. He was still breathing! The arrow had struck his cheekbones and skidded down into his jaw. Frost and blood covered half of his face, but she could see the Animus from Niamh’s healing charms working to keep him alive.

This…this wasn’t the time to go on a rampage!

The red around her Anima retreated, and she covered his body with her Anima, forsaking her own defences to keep him safe. Tendrils of power sank into his body, and sought out the invading Ennoia, and burnt it away. She dared not pry the arrow off him, lest it make his wounds worse. Instead, she wrapped him in a protective cocoon, picked him up, and ran towards the town.

As she left, Fri’Avgi’s shards returned from piercing the Veil, and the rifts closed on their own.

She glanced back at the battlefield once, and noted the carnage left behind by the cranes and the lances. Fri’Avgi’s shards returned to the main body and reformed, but the light within the red gem seemed dim. She sheathed her weapon into her Anima, and leapt over the walls.

The healers’ quarter…

Her kinesis molded around her body and she propelled herself through the town. She didn’t bother using the roads as the rooftops were convenient platforms to kick off against. She arrived at the town center soon enough, and shouldered her way through the crowd.

The temple of the Church of the Everlasting Order served as the town’s hospital and Yuriko hurried into the triage area. The healer on duty took one look at Marron, paled and pointed at a cot.

“Put him there, I’ll get Elder Ramus!” the middle aged man yelped.

She lowered her brother gently on the cot and arranged his limbs so he’d lie comfortably. Her Anima lingered over his wounds, and sought out foreign contaminants to his Anima. Every now and then, the air above the wound, around the arrow shaft, would spark as her golden Animus clashed and eliminated the icy cold remnants. It was denser than hers, but not as much as Marron’s. It took nearly ten times as many lumens to eliminate but Yuriko’s reserves were deep.

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She didn’t know how long it took for the old Celebrant to arrive, but the man’s presence washed over the room after what seemed like a few hours.

“Knight Marron,” the old man rumbled as he came close. His steps were slow and measured. Yuriko wanted to scream at him to hurry, but she swallowed her anger and worry.

“An enemy Knight’s arrow,” Yuriko said. “Cold Animus. I’ve eliminated as much as I could…”

“Yes. I can see,” Elder Ramus rumbled as he sat down beside the cot. His hands hovered over Marron’s face. Blood seeped out of the puncture, and it had already formed a crust. Or was it frozen blood instead? Yuriko’s perception focused on the entry point.

Now that she wasn’t running, or fretting to tears, she noticed a few more things. One, the arrow had struck near his eye, and there was a gash across his right eyelid. No, not just the eyelid. His eye had been hit, and only the healing charm’s Animus prevented the orb from bursting. He…might lose the eye.

The arrow head and punctured the cheek and rammed into his mouth. Some of his teeth got knocked loose, and the front part of his tongue was hanging by a thread. The tip poked into the other side, halfway through the cheek, but didn’t quite push through. The invading Animus had rampaged down his body, and the skin around his torso was frostbitten. His heartbeat was erratic and his breathing shallow.

Yuriko choked a sob, and bit her lips. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, and streaked down her cheeks. But he was alive, and Ancestors willing, he would continue to stay alive.

Elder Ramus frowned as his yellow Animus swept over Marron’s face. Every change in his expression was caught by Yuriko’s perceptive aura, and each frown or twitch made her heart skip a beat. Finally, he channelled his Animus into a pattern Yuriko didn’t recognise, but it coalesced around the arrow head, and on Marron’s wounds.

He grabbed the arrow by the shaft, and slowly pulled. The head was a bodkin, thankfully, which meant it wasn’t barbed. Coming out, it still cut into the flesh, widening the wounds and creating new ones, but Ramus’ Animus covered the damaged flesh and reknit it.

“You should leave, give the elder space and allow him to focus,” the receptionist said gently.

“I…” Yuriko swallowed the rest of her words. She was useless here. She’d helped all she could, and none of her techniques dealt with healing someone else. Unless…

‘Damien!’

Hmmn? Don’t look at me. I’ve never bothered learning the healing arts. Once you’ve completed the Radiant Body Refinement, you’d only need time and Animus to return to wholeness. Even if you’ve lost a limb or a major organ, you’d regenerate them without issue. As long as you have breath left in you, and later on, as long as your Anima holds a shred of Animus, you’ll survive.

‘But what about your friends and allies?’

Everyone was as strong and resilient as I was. Those who weren’t…died.

Yuriko swallowed the urge to swear at the man. Did that mean when he wasn’t as powerful he never wanted to learn?

I am a warrior. I left healing to the others. Even though I lived a long time, I focused on my art. I wouldn’t have reached the heights I did if I had split my focus. Your brother… from the looks of it, he’ll live. Whether he’d be whole afterwards depends on your Empire’s knowledge and skill.

‘What use is power if I can’t protect those I love?’ she whispered in her mind.

You just don’t have enough of it yet. Now… the only thing you can do is avenge the wrongs done to you and yours.

Yuriko shook her head as she left the room. A last lingering look at Marron didn’t reassure her. He hadn’t stirred at all. When would he wake?

“Little sis?”

“I’m sorry,” Yuriko could only say to Niamh. The smaller woman’s eyes sought out the inside of the room, and Yuriko moved to let her see. Niamh gasped and made to run inside, but the triage attendant stopped her.

“Let me…”

“Big sis, please calm down,” Yuriko said, “Elder Ramus is attending to Maru.”

“I… Oh no… What happened?”

“He duelled a Federation Knight. Their attacks bypassed each other and both got hurt. I killed her,” Yuriko said grimly, “and I came back as soon as I realised…”

“Oh no…” Niamh collapsed on a chair. Yuriko sat beside her. Neither of them said another word.

___________

A few hours later, Elder Ramus came out of the chamber looking pale and withdrawn. He had a neutral expression on his face, and his eyes darted towards Yuriko, Niamh, and Rami.

“You’re all here, good. Come inside.”

After they shuffled into the room, Yuriko stared at her eldest brother. The moment she noticed his chest moving she heaved a sigh of relief. But…he was still unconscious. Her eyes stared daggers at the elder’s back, and Ramus coughed in discomfort, and eyed her with mild reproach.

“He’s out of danger and will live. I’ve put him into a healing coma, which should last for a couple of days. I’m sorry…his right eye was too damaged. When I accelerated its healing, too many scar tissues formed. It’s beyond my skill.”

“What?” Yuriko gasped, but Niamh just rushed to Marron’s side and embraced him.

“I’m only at the Knight level,” Elder Ramus explained, “my skill and power only goes so far. Miss Davar, I’ve heard that you’ve been to Realmheart? You can seek the Imperial healers there and they can repair his eyes and remove the scarring on his face.”

They were at war though, and the Chaos Channel to Delovine was still closed. Yuriko gritted her teeth. She’d have to take him through the Tidelands…or she could ask for Finan’s help. The thought made her shake her head. She was sure he’d be more than willing, though she wondered what he’d ask in return. She was afraid she knew what it was he wanted, but…

Hmmm.

“In truth, I was surprised that he was able to weather a cursed technique,” Elder Ramus continued. “Most who got hit that close to their brain would have died long before they got help. Miss Davar… Knight Yuriko, your speed in bringing him back helped quite a bit. Ah, his physique is also much better than expected.”

Basic Body Forging. Damien helpfully reminded her.

Yuriko nodded absently and asked, “What happens now?”

“He should stay under observation until he comes out of his coma. Then bedrest for a few weeks, or until his body completely recovers. Then, he’d have to learn how to deal with having only one eye.” Elder Ramus shook his head, “In our current circumstances, he could be considered out of action. Unfortunate.”

“I’m not sure how many of them I took out,” Yuriko said grimly. “But I’ll make sure to even the odds and tilt them in our favour. Soon.”

“Ah, that’s the spirit,” Elder Ramus reached up to clap a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve grown so much.” He murmured under his breath as he left.

Yuriko sighed, but her mind worked to figure out what had to be done to return Marron to full health. Whatever stood in her way…