“Received, General” The woman replied behind one of the gallery pillars. She was wearing all white; A hat with a short veil, suit, coat, and gloves. Her hair was concealed under the hat, and her words were received through a black transmitter that extended from her left ear to the side of her mouth.

She stood alone, adjusting her tie with her hands. This woman was the Secretary of the Union of the Maxim. At the moment, she was inside the education center where terrorist actions were reported.

“I checked. I firmly believe the caller is not a student here” I close my eyes. Lying to Preston might become a problem later, but as of now… “I don’t have to answer that question, General. All matters will be revised by the Senate. There’s nothing else to discuss. Make the strike team deal with any terrorists as accorded” I finish communication and switch to the line being used by the soldiers at the education center “Bring him in” It shouldn’t take long.

As of now, all I can do is pray for the S.L.S.T. Another mistake will mean their dismantling. And if they fall… No, they have to succeed. The daughter of Ellis doesn’t even have an agent implanted, or formal training. The strike team… could save her and gain a lot of lost reputation too.

Two soldiers enter, holding a businessman at gunpoint. They push him down to his knees, keeping his hands locked behind him with the handcuffs.

“Are you sure about this, madam?” One of them clears his throat, taking his visor off. He thinks I will torture him.

“Yes, I’m certain” I nod “Please, retire from the gallery until I call you back” With a soft smile.

“Understood, madam” They both say in unison, bowing for a few moments before leaving us alone. I’m glad to know neither of them questions my authority.

“Wait! I have d-done nothing wrong!” He squirms, falling to the side “Please! This is a misunderstanding!”

He isn’t acting. The man is truly drowning in fear.

However, he is lying. I bend forward “You work for the Doctor, don’t you?”

“W-wh-what are you saying?!” He sits on the floor, shaking.

So, he doesn’t know who he works for. Well, just one thing left to ask… I do wonder about that stone he is thinking of. I might have to check his pockets.

“Tell me something. You are intimate with the police force, aren’t you?” That would explain a lot.

Oh, well, that’s not surprising.

“I…” He looks down “I made some deals with some former officers but- but I have done nothing that ever broke any law!”

I was correct, and he did break a few. Very interesting, this means someone from the Lord’s Armed Union leaked information to the Lord’s Police Force. The L.U.A. is full of tiny holes, but I never knew they’d be so close to the core.

I only have a few minutes left. He moved something in his pocket. A transmitter?

Her eyes grew wide, shining like emeralds hidden in the veil. By the time she realized it, the man had already crushed the red stone under his thigh.

A mage?!

She didn’t quite hear it or see the glimmer. It wasn’t necessary. This was because the Secretary could read minds.

“Go forth! I beg of you!” He yells “Ill spirit Agharates! Give her pain! Free me!”

A dark aura grew behind him. Almost exactly 4 minutes before, a truly terrible man was prepared to mirror this action. He was at the end of the street, and Holly hovered about a hundred meters away. She was prepared to close this distance the moment her instincts ignited. The man whispered; his voice as quiet as a drizzle.

“Agharates” This is the child of Ellis, I see… Oh, what a pity, that I must kill her here. I’ll save some runes for the S.L.S.T. The Doctor dealt with the mother using only the ghost of silver and the spirit of Agharates. However, her gear had fully depleted its main battery by then, so she did not bring it with her. This girl has gear and it's fully charged. Not only that, it’s a full-flight and assault system. Her soul must be worth a lot…

“Everyone! Run away! Houses and establishments here are unsafe, even with windows and doors locked!” The girl warns the remaining civilians “Get in transports and get as far as you can!” She amplified her voice using a gadget on her wrist. How cute of her.

Such a delicious opponent… I can barely contain my laughter.

I break three runes inside my fist “Armed specter Gholimn. Await orders and let me know if any member of the Legion or any soldier approaches me. When I call you, pierce her heart” This will be interesting. I only have to waste their time for a few minutes until Eugen completes his mission. Although, if he continues making those ridiculous questions, I’ll have to eliminate him sooner rather than later.

But oh… it’s been a while since I… had a real fight.

The Ellis child lowers her wrist, facing me with unsightly rage “Your eye. It’s bright red under your hideous mask. Is that what makes you a mage…?” Her expression only distorts more “Then I’ll rip it out first thing! Right after I shut your ugly mouth…” The wings shine brighter than the artificial lights of this floor. She is headed straight to me, gliding over the street. Fool.

Ghost of gold, hand it.

The gold rapier materializes in my hand with red sparkles. Holding this weapon, I can’t lose against a light-using buffoon. As much as I wanted to toy with my food… the Doctor was clear.

She has her suit but hasn’t pulled out any of the weapons. Does she intend to beat me with the assault system only?

I point at her with my golden rapier.

A kick? I block it no problem. Say goodbye to your leg.

Hmph! She rotated her whole body in the air and kicked me on my side. I only grazed her leg.

The Ellis child falls back a few meters, never touching the floor, and keeping her hands high. She must have trained her whole life to achieve this level of mastery. I’ve seen veterans mess up their control of this type of system.

Do it, Agharates. Behead her.

I smile under the mask. The hand of darkness pulls away reality to manifest behind her, all the way to its third dark elbow.

Her wings blow hot steam upwards, nailing her to the ground. She stances herself with two legs and one hand, keeping the other one forward. She’s using a reflector gadget on the back of her hands…

“I knew you would only be able to beat Mom with dirty tricks and backstabs like these…” Such menacing eyes, but oh, so full of tears.

But you are weak. Agharates, vanish. Tear her ankles apart when she jumps again, use the fifth elbow if you have to.

She jumps indeed and… flies by my side. Too far to reach her with my rapier, but right within the range of Agharates’ long arms. Now, “Gholimn! Pierce!” The silver dagger, Gholimn, is born just over her back.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Agh-!” The child inverts the wings and the blue pushes her back toward me, making the dark elbows contract on themselves. The dagger follows her heart with conviction, trying to carry out my order.

Agharates, hold her in place so she can’t escape from the dagger-!

I block a blue rectangular light with my rapier. It came from her wings, and it wasn’t alone. I maneuver the rapiers to disperse the lights as they arrive.

The child is up in the air and surrounding me.

Gholimn is aiming at me now? “Gholimn! Redirect!” The dagger stopped right as it touched my shoulder and turned to the Ellis child, following her again. Her hands are bleeding… she must have caught it with her fingers and thrown it back at me. But how did she escape Agharates?

I turn to look at the two long arms, holding stiff white boots only. She’s insane; leaving her footwear will make her flight more unstable and her kicks less potent. Every part of the suit adds to its overall strength, even a foot soldier knows that!

She’s almost behind me. Not a chance. Next time you are trapped, you’ll have to sever your ankles to move! I will not waste one more rune on you, child.

Agharates, vanish. Ghost of gold, hand it.

I get a second rapier when the girl spins right over the street, trying to encircle me. You want me to get hurt by my dagger as it chases you. Not a chance.

Both of my weapons dance with my hands as I deflect another plethora of pointless shots to the ground. This time she is also using the enlarged rifle. The dagger makes two sharp turns to avoid me and get to her. This time, there’s nowhere to go. You must be upset that we took your mother’s knife… poor thing.

Agharates, last time. Catch her ankles, she will try to hide in one of the buildings to avoid the dagger. When I call you, appear three arms from the wall, use the third one to choke her and break her neck, please.

I sidestep a blue light that came from behind me. It’s all of the shots I deflected onto the ground going back… good move. She must have a full-brain agent. The lights are directed at her, piercing the wall and the window behind her. Did you expect me to call Agharates now? Oh, no luck for you. She did manage to slightly alter the dagger’s trajectory.

Now. Pin her in the air and kill her.

The girl glows and explodes in a blue sphere of electricity, taking down the wall and half the three-story building, not to mention the black arms. There goes half your total gear battery capacity, and my remaining order to Agharates as well… The remains of the building blow deep smoke all over the air.

I underestimated her. If the S.L.S.T. has any brains to combat like her, I can guarantee a good showdown with this new order “Gholimn. Make me aware of any attack that comes from outside my field of view” I kneel to slash her boots and destroy them… No, I can’t see them anywhere. It matters not, I can feel the warm blood over the dagger’s sharp edges.

‘…Careful’ Gholimn warns.

I lift my rapiers and block her kick, slashing down her leg and piercing her abdomen twice. She lets out six lasers from her wings, which I have no problem decimating with my weapons as the recoil pushes her back and down to the ground, into the cloud of smoke.

My attack failed to sever her leg… and without the warning, she might’ve hit me. Maybe even with the warning… if she had her boots with her…

Gholimn was stuck inside her rifle, which turned into a handgun. She left it over her chest and let the dagger pierce through the gun and a part of her breast. But oh, the strength of the specter leaves it pinned there, unable to break the weapon apart. She must be having a bad time breathing now, even if the dagger failed to pierce her heart, her lung must be severely damaged now. Her whole chest is also under the pressure of the specter.

Good… very good… what a great fighter… just like your mother was… good…

Fine. You’ve amused me. Oh, child, the right to see the power of a mage has just been bestowed on you! “Rejoice! You’ll die knowing you made me fight with more than three runes!”

‘…They are close’ Gholimn warns. Quiet it, specter! This is such a great moment! I’ll kill her on her next attack, I swear!

She walks out of the dust and smoke, gasping for air and holding her torso “…You killer…” She bleeds from her mouth, chest, abdomen, and right thigh. Oh, but the willpower! Sorry, Doctor! Just let me enjoy myself for once! Like those times when we used to fight one another! She struggles to talk “…You really like… keeping your magic a secret… huh…?” I see she put on her boots again. She must have pushed them back when she recalled the shots behind me. Oh, but to see such minor details in such a delightful encounter!

Why do you smile, child? “Yes, we do indeed…” The artificial gust waves my coat “Is there anything you want to know before you die?” I crush a rune “Meoelia”

“You…” The girl smirks “You spend one rock… every time you call one of those entities” She coughs blood “…You talk and refer to the silver dagger by its name… but you control the black arms with your mind, same with the golden weapons… I wonder which of those two is Agharates…” Smiling with bloodstained teeth.

“Making a call so our conversation can be heard by the L.U.A?” I laugh “Great idea! But I will reveal nothing! You hear me?” I guess it’s about time I make Gholimn cut her up to bits “Oh, but before you die, would you tell me your name?”.

She appears almost instantly in front of me. Incredible! Was that the remainder of your battery? What now? Show me another glimpse of your insanity!

“Gholimn! R-“ Oh? I’m pushed back.

It burns…! I see, she hit me with a fist covered in blue light! To generate this heat would require her whole arm to get incinerated! Yes…!

“My name is Holly…!”

What a beautiful name…! only more beautiful when said by one who’s met their end! That’s someone’s most beautiful state! Good…! You’ve burned my entire mouth and teeth, along with my tongue and part of my nose. Oh, but at what cost? Your ribs have been completely drilled by my rapiers! And your rapid acceleration caused the dagger to dislodge and go into the side of your chest!

Your life, for one single hit! Yes! You are nothing like the Doctor! This is a real fight!

I swing my rapiers down so she crashes on the street. The momentum drags her over it, painting it red with her pretty red blood as the wings die off. Oh, this hurts… I’ll have to use a spirit to fix it. The heat cauterized the bleeding, but…

‘…They are here’ Gholimn warns.

What do you mean here? Close by?

…

Of course, I can’t talk like this. Meoelia will do for now.

There goes the dagger, vanishing to dust. Gholimn vanished knowing I can’t issue orders right now. I’ll close the contract after I’ve disposed of the S.L.S.T. It will continue to warn me of surprise attacks as long as the contract remains open.

Meoelia. First of all, you have to take this corpse so that her soul…

That’s weird. There was a pool of her blood right there. Now there’s only a red stain and no sight of her corpse. That’s a waste, we’ll have to investigate that, for sure.

Meoelia, I need to borrow some teeth, a tongue, a nose… I mean, you see this don’t you? Make them pretty this time, please. I know that I should have summoned a shield but… come on, she was trying so hard! I’ll wait for you to fetch them, thanks in advance.

Alright, let’s see… I spent four runes here. That means I have two more in this set, and 26 left in total. Of course, minus one to close the contract.

…

…Is that a mouth on the ground? That’s interesting. This must be the S.L.S.T…. Bunch of weirdos. The mouth grows bigger and bigger until a whole person comes out swinging at me! What a barbarian! Just in case, I’ll cast these last two for now.

Wearing a sleeveless white shirt and wide pants held by three belts, a man appeared from the mouth. He was cut down by the shiny golden rapier… and turned to smoke.

The mage heard another warning from the specter, but he had no time to move. His back was hit by a bare fist. The punch shattered two red auras around him. They were forces summoned by the runes, but they only served to cushion the hit.

On the 11th Venue, the S.L.S.T. had him fully surrounded. They had heard every piece of information exchanged between Holly and him.

The face of the striker grew red. White spikes came out of his holed shoulders “Die! You jawless bastard!” He flexed every inch of his extreme musculature, with an impact that made the knot of his black bandana face the opposite direction entirely. The mage was sent flying to the end of the street, where Holly first landed.

What a hit… at least my back isn’t broken. I’ll have to get the second set now.

The mage rose from the attack like it was just an exuberant push. His right eye glowed, emitting a light as if it were a spotlight. The face of the mage was repaired slowly by what seemed to be… traces of ink. Gaining depth but remaining black and watery, he recovered his missing parts.

A few kilometers from here, a big cloud of purple smoke had been rising. This meant that the mission was complete, and the mage was to leave.

But he smiled, with a wicked, painted expression. Between his fingers, four red runes “Well now…” A dark smile covered half his face “How many devils can they handle?” Only the top half of his flesh mask remained.

The grotesque mage, Zeke, defying orders… was raring to kill.

It is the truth, that some people have no qualms about murder. The businessman laid on the floor, bathed in darkened blood. The eyes of the Secretary are now black, but they remain in hiding under the veil.

He had thoughts of closing some sort of contract, but… my reading state ran out before I could hear it all. I checked to see if he had a pulse, and he still did. I just hope the strike team is fine. They need this victory, we Inhumans need some recognition before it’s too late.

I didn’t want to risk it, so I shot him twice in the head. It was a surprise to see blood as obscure as this.

…But that is one weakness I have. When my power is activated, I can only read what the person is thinking and their overall state of mind. Nothing more. No memories. That’s why I need another way to figure out who exactly is Lysander Maverick, and how he knew about the Doctor and the conditions of Brigadier General Ellis’ murder.

He didn’t leak any information directly to Ellis’ daughter, that’s certain. It was clear from his thoughts that he didn’t even know where she was.

“Yes, it’s me” I speak through the transmitter “The Maverick was with Lieutenant General Harlec, I know” I can watch cameras too, don’t be a fool “Bring him to me. I’ll also need a cleaning crew; the suspect was a mage and committed suicide. Yes, just now. Yes, I’m fine” Stop being nice, I don’t like getting attached to foot soldiers “I’ll wait here” Closed communication.

…Even through all of that, I still don’t think he is in his right mind. I don’t think the Archon is… or maybe I just don’t want to believe he could be the Doctor.