Meera had half a mind to throw a bunch of chakrams in the swordsman's face but didn't on the off chance he didn't know where she was, and he was flying on a hunch. She took a sharp left turn in the air towards the darker part of town.

The Phoenix Protector's head turned in her direction as he flashed her a vicious smile as if he could see her. He turned towards her at blinding speed. Meera's eyes widened. She threw a chakram downwards and Stepped to it, landing on the street safely, but the swordsman was close behind.

How can he see me?

She went down a dark alley while stepping on air using Nimbus to avoid creating noise. The swordsman's fiery wings were enough to light the dark alley, but Meera was already gone, running as fast as possible.

She wasn't afraid to fight him, but she needed an advantage. An outright confrontation would not end in her favor.

After taking a couple of twists and turns, she ended up in a wide circular intersection with a dry fountain in the middle. Leaves and dirt lay in the fountain like it hadn't seen water in years. The houses around the intersection didn't look like anyone was living there. The whole place was dark as it was a moonless night or, in this world, a cloudy night to block the light of Mirithia.

Using her armor's ability, she launched many tiny mirrors and placed them all over the intersection. Then she threw a chakram to the roof of a house and teleported to it. She looked at his wings' orange glow, which was slow-moving for now. He was looking for her, but the task couldn't have been easy since she hadn't left any tracks behind.

Okay, Ambush Tactics, how do I ambush a person with impeccable defense and a crazy offense.

The first and the most apparent thing Ambush Tactics showed her was filling the areas with mists, then using illusions to distract him while falling on his back with her chakram. It was a basic plan, but it was as good as any.

Meera Stepped to the top of the fountain and used Mist Concealment, filling the entire intersection with her mists. It was like lighting up a torch for her assailant to follow, but she had no other option. She threw a chakram in each of the four directions and impaled them in the walls.

Just as she had finished setting everything up, she saw the swordsman rise into the air. His fiery wings lit up the sky, and he smiled upon seeing her mists. He dove down for her at full tilt. Meera had the urge to dissect him with a chakram then and there, but she didn't want to give away her position just yet.

He landed in the mists with his fire armor and wings, burning away the mists. He pulled out his swords, and the metal glowed red hot. The hole in her thigh might have healed, but the pain it had caused still lingered in her mind. It was the worst, second only to the Edwyn's darkness beam.

The swordsman's eyes scanned everything. Meera was safe. She was on the far side of the street, away from his line of sight. Come on, just a little closer.

"You cannot escape, assassin," the swordsman said.

Meera created an illusion of herself and made her rest on the fountain's edge, making sure the swordsman could see it.

"Who says I want to escape," Meera replied through her illusion. "You're the one who made the mistake of coming here all by yourself."

He casually slashed through her illusion, dispersing it into mist.

"I came because I was curious," he replied. "How do you, a Varshan assassin, have the skills of Mistblades?"

Meera brought out another illusion to his left. "That is not all I have."

He stabbed it lightly. "You're boring me with these illusions. Come fight me, yourself."

Meera moved away from her position as his light began reaching her. She cast another illusion, this time creating more than one illusion of her, and sent them all towards the swordsman.

"I will," Meera said, and her illusions mimicked her. There were five in total.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "If you keep this up, I will blow up this whole neighborhood." He slashed his blade in an arc through her illusions. They all dissipated, save for one.

Her chakram blocked his sword. His eyes widened, but before he could do anything, Meera extended a hand and shot him point black with a Mirror Shard Barrage. He flew back into the fountain.

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Meera Stepped away, leaving behind another illusion. She wasn't sure how much that hurt the swordsman, but it definitely made him angry as he lunged for her illusion, ripping it to shreds.

The flames on his body intensified to the point where her mist was evaporating fast. Meera had to activate Mist Concealment again and fill the area with fresh new mists. She feared that might give away her position, so she moved in a circular motion away from the Phoenix Protector.

"These mists will protect you for only so long," he said.

"You keep throwing idle threats," Meera taunted him. "Can you even do anything, or have you already used up all your greatest attacks?"

His jaw tensed, and he tightened his grip on his swords. "Well, let me show you what I can do."

His blade heated up till they were white. Even from afar, Meera felt the heat stemming from them. He slashed in the air, and a wave of white-hot flames launched off the blade, coming towards Meera. She Stepped away, but he kept throwing slash after slash in that same area until that house was in a pile of flaming rubble.

I hoped to learn more of his skills, but I can't draw this out any longer.

She motioned with her finger, and the chakram closest to the swordsman flew at him. It looked like it would take off half his head, but he vanished, leaving behind only ashes. He reappeared to the side, but Meera brought the same chakram back with Mirror Wing.

He teleported again to safety, making Meera smile. He had positioned himself right in front of another chakram. She flicked a finger, and the chakram zipped into his back, making him cry out. She couldn't see how much damage it did, but it did more every instant as Meera recalled the chakram. The best thing was his spine was in the way.

He vanished again, leaving her chakram behind, which returned to Meera's hand. The swordsman flinched and cried out as he tried to reach for his back to check the damage, but his armor was in the way.

"Oh, are you hurt?" Meera asked. "Do you want me to take a look?"

He finally stopped fidgeting about and looked straight ahead. "You whore." His eyes blazed white, and he blew up.

Meera activated three mirror shields and was still thrown into a wall. Her head smashed so hard against the wall that she blacked out for a few seconds. When she came to, her mists were gone. Most of the houses and the fountain lay in blackened ruins. The wounded swordsman stood in the middle of a small crater, huffing.

His eyes still glowed as he laughed. "Found you."

He vanished and appeared on top of her, thrusting down with both of his swords. Meera used Mirror Step to one of the few remaining mirrors. Smoke fizzled from her stomach where his sword had touched her, but she was okay. Her armor saved her.

She used her armor's ability to liter the area with tiny mirrors. The swordsman with the glowing eyes didn't care and vanished again, but so did she, moving only a few feet forward, hoping she calculated the distance correctly.

She did. He appeared behind her, slashing the air, thinking she would be there. She turned and punched his back with her chakram in the same spot as the wound and left her chakram there. He screamed, turned around, swinging his sword in an arc.

She pulled off two chakrams and deflected his first sword, but his second came too fast. She tried to deflect it, but it only grazed the sword, not enough to alter its trajectory. His blade landed in her shoulder.

Meera screamed as his sword drove her to her knees. She Stepped away at once. There was a big hole in her right shoulder, and smoke rose from the charred wound. She activated Vitalize, and the pain lessened, but the burning sensation made her heave, and she couldn't move her arm at all.

The swordsman laughed and pointed his glowing sword at her. "Your armor is something. Usually, that cuts a person in half."

Meera huffed as she let go of her chakrams, but they stayed in the air. She stood, glared at her enemy, and recalled her chakram still wedged in his back. He cried out and winced forward but teleported away.

She launched all three chakrams at him as soon as he appeared. They shot toward him at blinding speed, leaving behind a streak in their trail.

He brought up his sword to defend himself. He deflected and blocked each attack. The way he moved was unreal, even despite the wound in his back. He was a true master of the sword. But Meera kept the pressure on him. Her chakrams went at him, one after another. Finally, she had him on the back foot, driving him closer to a wall.

Just when she had him where she wanted him, he vanished and appeared behind her, mid-swing. He was too fast, and Meera couldn't teleport away in time. He slashed out her upper back, cutting her hair short by several inches.

She stifled a scream as she teleported away. Despite the pain, she wanted to end this bastard. She reappeared behind him and pulled off her level 2 chakram. She swung at him, but he turned in time, deflecting the blow with one of his swords.

It saved his life, but it cost him a sword.

Her big chakram broke his blade in two. He gasped as his broken blade cluttered to the ground. He looked at the broken sword in his hand. There was only one expression on his face—rage.

He stabbed at her with his remaining sword. The burning sword went in just below her ribs. The pain was unimaginable as the sword burned her insides.

"After today, I can put Varshan on the things I've killed," he said.

"Your name?" Meera said weakly.

"Go to the Lord of Deeds and tell him Garas sent you."

Meera gripped his hand, activated Druvis Power, and broke his hand. He cried out, but she didn't let go of him, even when the flames on his body burnt her. "Goodbye, Garas…"

Three of her chakrams hit him in the back of the neck, taking off his head. She was washed with his blood as the flames extinguished, and his body fell.

Meera dropped to a knee. She had Vitalize on full blast but wouldn't last long with the sword inside her. She gripped the sword with both hands. The sword still burnt hot as the sun. She screamed as she ripped the blade out of her.

Meera fell to the ground, huffing. It was all she could do not to cry cause of the pain. She reached inside her belt and downed two Health potions. She had just begun to think that she might survive this when a man melded out of the shadows and struck her on the head.

Meera fell into darkness once again.