Gen yelled as his shield broke into fractals of energy. Raising to conjure another, the golem knight lunged at him ferociously, missing only a step away as Gen dodged its blade. The marble pavement cracked into fragments; some were sent flying around the vicinity. The knight did not take a single break, it unnaturally bent half of its body, lifting the sword buried on the ground with one arm and slashed in a crescent clockwise in its front, the momentum turning it into a horrifying ballerina. The apex of the swing brought the sword back to the knight’s shoulders.

“How does she… that construct’s powerful!” Gris exclaimed, using his armaments against the swarm of shades that overwhelmed them. Sweat drew from his arms and hands each time he clashed his finger against the trigger.

“We need to plow through this force, but that red-hair is backing her up! We can’t—” While Gen was busy yammering, the knight hollowly cried, wasting no time to batter the distracted Vassal with the edge of its sword.

He called out to Gris, but the big man already had shades crawling all over him. He raised his hands to conjure a shield again, but they were heavy, shaking when Gen clenched them. His heartbeat rose, while his feet were planted on the ground. He cannot dodge the full sweep; if he were to step backward, he’d trip on the steps, and the shades currently distracted by Fein and the others will likely attack him at a moment’s notice. He vouched to take on the knight with Gris and Shear, but Gen did not anticipate its animalistic movements.

He felt the wind close in on him like a vortex. Then, a heavy blow erupted at his front, accompanied by a loud, unrelenting force of the wind. The impact did not hit him, however, and what greeted Gen was not pain, but a voice.

“Stop standing there!”

Opening his eyes, the stoic mercenary, Shear, was holding the knight’s sword back. Gen realized that the gust he felt seconds ago was Shear’s ability; he generated a blade of wind powerful enough to parry the knight’s gargantuan sword.

“Move!” Shear yelled as the knight recoiled from the blade’s force. Regaining its composure, it rabidly swung at their position. Inaccurate, but enough to ravage the area.

Knights are symbolic paragons of justice, who were valiant protectors of the old Alto. Such tales were told for the now-modern era, thus their image persisted. This creation, however, relied on its unnatural movements with an intent to wreak havoc. As Shear parried each attack, countering with a slash of his blade, the golem seemed to show frustration, emanating guttural, hollow sounds and going as far as mindlessly hitting the shades Aurelia’s ability summons.

It's the opposite of a knight. It’s a perversion of one.

Meanwhile, Mido fired golden flames against the horde. With Fein backing them up with his agility, the flames posed as their current primary source of firepower, as the others were busy distracting the golem. He had a bad mishap hours ago, but thanks to Wizbette’s regeneration, Mido felt the energy to give it his all.

Maybe it was courage, his pursuit for justice, and his own will that pushed him. Or perhaps it’s the adrenaline, making his veins pump faster, his nerves more sensitive, his tones bolstered.

Or, perhaps it’s fear? The fear of pushing himself to the brink once more. The fear of losing their footing against Aurelia before he can dare touch the fabric of her dress. The anxiety and anticipation, seeing that his questions might be answered by the opposition.

Like the fog that surrounded them, Mido’s mind is hazy. He had only one thing to cling to: that he needs to fight.

“Mido!” Wiz yelled. As soon as his flames disintegrated the shades back into the fog, more crawled back. He conjured another plume of fire.

“Thanks, Wiz!”

Suddenly, Gen came into view, holding back the knight’s blade. They were only a few feet away, making the two battles supposedly separated converge.

“Mido, your ability seems to be effective against those ghouls. Can you—shit!” Gen tripped into a piece of pavement, losing his posture and subjecting him to both the swarm and the looming golem above him.

“Gen!” Enna exclaimed at a distance, but it was too late for her to run to his position. Fein was distracted by the sheer number of shades, as well as Gris, who’s currently swapping his gems. Shear was at the back of the golem; his distance alone cannot compensate for how swift the golem levered down its sword.

Gen was kneeling on the floor, the knight’s sword hovering above him. He had time to use his ability, but he was too weak to maintain it. The sword’s blade cut through his shield as if it was nothing. He felt the tones of his ability crackle and break, letting out a yell as shards fell on Gen’s body.

What if the shield does not only bash?

But also burn?

What would you feel, then?

If you’re caged in pillars that churn?

Firis: Scorching Curtain!

A ripple of golden fire clashed against the sword, protecting Gen in a shroud of searing flames.

Windshear.

Shear cut into Gen’s position, sending him and the piece of pavement he sat on flying a few feet away. He suffered an impact, but it released him from the otherwise deadly position he was on. He looked back and saw Mido was in his place, single-handedly keeping the knight at bay.

The firestorm rose and engulfed the golem, and that appearance alone became a harrowing sight.

“He’s using that ability again… Mido! Stop!” Fein exclaimed, releasing his frustration against the shades in a flurry of lightning.

“Kid!” Shear yelled from the back of the now-writhing knight. Arcs of fire spouted out of its armor back and forth, with Mido conjuring much of it in the hopes of destroying the golem completely.

Without wasting a breath, Shear rushed to Mido’s position, but not before making cuts on the golem’s knees, sending it into a kneeling position.

“Incinerate its head.”

“I can’t control it!”

“Just try to!” Shear pointed, and in a flash, dashed to the Golem’s extremities, weakening its joints with a flurry of steel and wind.

Mido concentrated his eyes on the wailing knight. In happenstance, its glowing eyes locked with his. The abyssal construct turned its focus against the Vassal. Somehow, staring at it fueled Mido, as he sent the raging flames into the entirety of its head.

Now covered in a swirling mass of golden fire, the golem’s armor began to twist and melt from the heat. It roared and wailed, its sounds manifested into a human-like voice, horrifyingly screaming as it was cooked from the inside. It trashed its arms around, begging to be let out of its fiery cage.

Debris came flying. Mido was scratched in his cheek from a flying shard of marble. Shear was nearly hit by the knight’s sword as it flung about. The more the flames raged, the knight’s cries became ever so apparent.

It seemed to be crying for help. It’s guttural, yet human sounds spelled out ‘help,’ ‘stop,’ and ‘it burns’ repeatedly, unnerving Mido and everyone in the vicinity that heard it.

Its humane movements surfaced, its gauntlets dug through the pavement as it groveled and thrashed in the ground, melting.

“Just… sleep already!”

In a last burst of power, Mido unleashed an explosion that shook Reiss’ ground. Shear backed away just in time to grab him away from the radius.

After what seemed like seconds, the dust settled, and what was once the knight’s position was now just a hole covered in black.

Mido panted as he stood up. Wiz immediately rushed to him, as the others regained their perimeter. She quickly looked at her face.

He was exhausted, but his veins were not dark. His complexion was not pale, and he was not weak anymore.

“Thank goodness…” She exclaimed.

“Gah!” Aurelia exclaimed as soon as Mido’s ability exploded. The sheer burst stunned her, making her ability wane as the shades turned back into the fog. She fell to her knees and coughed up blood.

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“Milady!” Woodcarver assisted her, inadvertently losing her guard.

“That Flame… I underestimated it. That shade had a part of me, and…” She shuddered, and rested on Woodcarver’s lap.

“I felt its surge… My head is burning... ugh! Woodcarver… Myrrh…” Moaning in pain, she grabbed hold of Woodcarver’s clothes. The once unfeeling woman who mantled the void was now stricken with the human affliction that is pain.

“Milady, keep it together!” She assured her, but inside, Woodcarver was afraid. At this point, Mido will have the intent to sear her skin soon…

Screaming, she lashed out against D-7. Retreating the wooden walls around the plaza, she focused on attacking the group by herself, sending out tendrils so swift that she could overwhelm even Fein and Shear. Enna was knocked out, as well as Gen and Wiz, who were too weak to fight. The three were effortlessly thrown by a single whiplash of wood.

“Wiz—” Mido was nearly pierced by a tendril, but he quickly immolated it. Running to Wiz, he secured her position with his ability.

On the foot of the building, Aurelia was still stunned, slumping on a pillar, as Woodcarver stood tall to shield her. Her ability was relentless, uncaring for the people that might get killed.

Her wrath compared to that of her first encounter with her ability. The night where her mother was killed inadvertently by her own hands.

The night where everything started for her.

And now, it’s the same night. Only this time, she had the power to prove to herself she can protect someone. However, this stand of hers was not out of skill, but of pure rage she poured against them, all to protect her lady.

The energy beacon above Reiss beat and roared louder as if mimicking Aurelia’s heartbeat. The two who split from the group scaled the rooftops of the buildings near the plaza.

“That explosion…” Sora noted, but Leva was busy securing a vantage point from the edges of the plaza.

D-7 was moving forward against the warped wood that came lashing at them, but they were drowned by what remained of the horde. The viewpoint of Leva and Sora on the rooftops, which miraculously weren’t detected yet, told as such. Woodcarver stood against D-7, mustering all of her might to keep their attacks at bay with her ability.

“The fog is thick, Sora. Can you see through all of that?” She asked, going prone on a building’s flat roofing, conveniently covered by a piece of rubble. They had sight of Woodcarver, but Aurelia’s fog limited much of their vision. The trail of warped wood became their instrument to locate both her position and D-7’s.

Theian Precipice.

With a burst of energy, Sora stood up and scanned the building inside the plaza. On his eyes, he saw trails of tones moving erratically like spores of different colors. He delved deeper, and eventually located Woodcarver’s position.

“Oh~” Leva yelped as Sora yanked the rifle from her grasp.

Without a word, he shouldered the rifle and placed his eyes against the scope. Leva stared at Sora’s stern face for a second and knew what to do. Slowly replacing his hand on the trigger, Leva positioned herself on the back of Sora, with only her left hand touching the rifle.

“Tell me if the sights rear on her head~” She whispered, ushering a nod from Sora.

He slowly adjusted a few more millimeters. However, his prolonged use of his ability made his eyes strain, but he eventually positioned the rifle’s barrel straight to Woodcarver’s head, who was idly standing in front of the building.

“Shoot, Leva.”

“Hai~”

“Grantor, let this weapon become the tone’s vessel, and its bullets will stay true…”

Translocational Armament.

Her hand touching the trigger glowed deep blue, and currents of energy traversed the rifle’s body. A ringed receptacle manifested in front of the barrel, where its eyes stared against Woodcarver’s head.

She pulled the trigger. The recoil sent the two back, but the bullet connected to its destination the moment it passed through the receptacle.

“Did it hit her? Did it hit her!?” Leva’s confidence surfaced. She leaned against the unguarded roof to look, so Sora had to pull her petite body back.

Looking back at the scope, Sora pointed to Woodcarver’s position.

He had expected her head to be shot by now, and her body unmoving on the cold pavement.

And there she was, still standing. Head still intact.

“Leva… The bullet did not hit…”

“Huh?!” She grabbed the rifle and looked.

Goosebumps formed on her skin because when she stared at the scope, something stared back at her. Something abstract. A disturbance rippled through the space the bullet should have traveled in.

Setting aside the rifle silently, Leva stood up slowly and looked at Sora.

“Bro, we should—"

In an instant, a blast and an explosion sent the two flying.

“Hold on!” Sora embraced Leva to protect her from debris.

“Kyah!”

They fell from the roof straight to the ground. Luckily, a still-intact cloth shade cushioned their fall, but the two sustained injuries, especially Sora.

He wheezed as his back took most of the impact. A rib or two or his spine might have already broken if it were not for his suit. Leva completely hugged his chest, who immediately regained her composure without so much as a reaction.

“You fine?” She asked, lending a hand to Sora.

“Yeah…”

Both looked up and saw the rooftop they stood on seconds ago, now reduced to rubble.

“Something stopped my ability…”

“It was like a shield, which I’m certain is neither Woodcarver nor Aurelia’s.”

Leva’s arms quivered. “Are you suggesting…”

Sora shrugged. “Let’s regroup with the others for now, and notify them.” He tapped his comms, but no signal was registered.

“Let’s move, Leva.”

“Okay…”

Meanwhile, back at the plaza, D-7 held their position against the weakened shades and Woodcarver’s warped wood. Gris noticed something as he shot and slashed the tendrils that came after them.

“The wood. It’s getting thinner!”

“Hmm… We’re exhausting her ability’s capacity. Good.” Shear pondered as if he had time to.

Dashing a few meters ahead of them, Shear called. “We’ll make a break for it!”

Mido and Fein nodded. They were the only Vassals fast enough to outrun Woodcarver’s already-waning ability.

They ran through the horde and warped wood beneath the fog. Mido rushed with fire. Fein rode with lightning. Shear danced with the wind.

Eventually, they reached the foot of the building, right in front of Woodcarver.

“Take out Aurelia, Mido. We’ll take care of the girl.” Fein ordered.

“Right!”

“Die!” Woodcarver taunted, raining down a hail of splintered wood against them. Shear masterfully placed a wind barrier above them, but a stray splinter got into his eyes, making him fumble.

“S-Shit!” He closed his left eye and tried to yank the splinter out, effectively eliminating him from the conflict for a good few seconds.

Woodcarver shot out a tendril against Fein’s chest as he approached, with a late sidestep, he sustained a gash on his lower abdomen, the sharp wood tearing the fabric of his suit. At the same time, Shear successfully regained his composure and moved in to attack.

Fein, able to dodge Woodcarver’s attacks at the last second, managed to get the drop on her. He aimed for Woodcarver’s head to shock her unconscious with a jolt of electricity as Shear aimed for her legs to incapacitate her.

Woodcarver’s breathing became rigorous as time passed by slowly around her. She saw Fein’s lightning above her, and Shear’s wind blades below her. She reached out her hands, trying to protect herself. But when she looked in Aurelia’s direction, the lady was defenseless against the plume of golden fire already barreling towards her.

She had no time to defend Aurelia, as she herself was preoccupied with her self-preservation.

“Aurelia!!” She screamed, as the first tongues of flame chained Aurelia’s body.

“You’ve done well, servant of Vita.”

Woodcarver felt heavy air around her. A deep reverb that seemed to devour sound itself permeated her eardrums. She had the urge to vomit, as her head went dizzy. When she looked at her front, both Shear and Fein’s faces were frozen. She wondered why, and it must be because an otherworldly aura rippled like a shield against both of their abilities. She saw a gauntleted hand extend from her back.

That was when she was entertained by the presence behind her. A hooded man, with a height much taller than hers, reached out his left hand to her assailants, shielding her in devoured space, and his right hand against the golden flames that threatened to devour Aurelia, conjuring his purple flames to combat the other. His vested ebony armor glinted in the darkness and stood an imposing aura against his enemies.

Purple flames.

Mido saw and immediately was frozen.

Woodcarver’s sudden ally surged past her and took on both Fein and Shear.

“Who is that?” Fein exclaimed as he let out a burst of lightning against the figure. It instead connected to the devoured space that seemed to absorb Fein’s ability. Shear sent blades flying against the man, accomplishing the same result.

Recoiling his hand, he simply shrugged it off and looked at the two.

“Thank you.”

His right hand burst into purple flames, as tendrils latched at both Shear and Fein. The fire overwhelmed them as much as they were close to apprehending Woodcarver.

Suddenly, Mido came rushing behind the man.

Firis!

The golden flames clung to the right side of his armor. In retaliation, he threw an orb of purple flames to snuff Mido out, which he narrowly dodged. Mido positioned himself and threw a constant stream of fire against him, to which the man responded with his right arm emanating the same flame.

“That flame… I thought I extinguished that already…”

“So, you are…” That statement made Mido fall into a fit of rage. He did not remember much, but this man’s flames and his demeanor alone checked.

He must be the one who destroyed Mido. He must be…

They were locked in a standoff, or so it seemed. With his agile stature, Mido dashed using his ability towards the man, not caring for his own hide. Grabbing his hand, Mido yelled as he incinerated his armor.

Firis: Immolate!

In a swirling mass of superheated fire, one will surely lose an arm. However, it took only the armored man’s left hand to wipe it all entirely. His hand sent out ripples of devoured space against Mido’s flame, snuffing out the raging fire from his armor, and confusing the Vassal…

“What…”

“You’re a ghost. I killed that old man… but why do I still see his golden flame, when I already flicked it out…”

“Old… man…” Mido cannot remember, but the horror of his town being reduced to cinders still lingered in his mind.

“You were the one who killed them all!?”

“…All for Faust’s retribution.”

Mido fell into his flames. He did not grasp the concept revolving of this ‘Faust,’ but his rage was enough to incite him to bring justice upon this man.

Golden flames rose once more, now enveloping Mido’s body. The man threw him back a few meters away with his ability, its force sent Mido flying.

“I planned to extinguish Mido down to every Vassal. Guess I’ll do the same to you, then.”

“Whoever you are… I’ll kill you…” Mido growled, his head stuck deeply into his rage.

As he made his way towards the man, stories of eras past drifted into Mido’s consciousness, like sand drifting through the dunes, carried by the wayward wind.

Beneath the abyss… the flame rises.

As guiding comfort for those who were lost.

But most of all,

Because the abyss is where light is at its brightest.

Firis…

This is your final destination, one that can rival the sun.

So, engulf yourself in it, and watch as the people bask in your power.

Firis, the people of Sitis need light. And you can be that light.

“Mido…” D-7 was perplexed as they saw the Vassal take the aura of something otherworldly. Golden flames engulfed him but did not harm to scorch his skin. Rather, it glowed so much that the buildings and what’s left of the plaza’s marble pavement glimmered in its brilliance…

“Hmph. You’re more formidable than that old man. Nevertheless…”

The man turned to a stance and readied himself.

“The void devours all.”

Null, and Void.