Fae got to her feet uneasily, faced Violet, and pointed the head of her axe straight at her. Violet grabbed the handle of her sword, shook it free from the ground, and pointed the tip right at Fae in turn. A few seconds of silence passed before Fae and Violet simultaneously rushed towards one another again. Fae swiped her axe, Violet dodged. Violet thrust her sword; Fae blocked. They were swinging their weapons at each other at a speed that Kenrich could barely pick up with his tired eyes. Sparks were flying, but no one was budging. With more training and five more years of combat experience, Violet finally was at a point where she could almost keep up with Fae’s raw skill. Blows continued being thrown, but Kenrich noticed that Violet was starting to become much more defensive. Fae seemed to be overpowering her. A few more moments passed before Violet pushed herself out of the skirmish trying to regain her strength. Fae did not let her get far though and kept the pressure on Violet even as she was retreating. Violet was becoming unsteady on her feet. One mistake and this fight could be over.

It is not as if Violet would not enjoy Fae’s company during their travels. There were so many things that Violet wanted to tell her and so many feelings she wanted to express. That is exactly why she wants to make sure she stays safe – to be able to tell her these things. Violet had already died three times just getting here, and the journey is only going to get more dangerous. She also was not confident that she could handle seeing Fae die again even if she could bring her back. One time was enough to cause a lot of mental strain to Violet’s psyche. She also worried about how distracted she would be if Fae was around. Would she be able to protect Kenrich as well? If she could not, and Kenrich unleashed his power again, would he hurt Fae? There were too many variables. If it was just her and Kenrich, she felt like her mind would be clear enough to continue. Violet did know that her overprotective nature was not as much of a virtue as she would like it to be, but it is something that she could not shake.

As Violet’s feet got uneasier, she thought even more about all of this, causing her to make even more small mistakes. Fae was picking up on her weakness and acting accordingly. Violet could no longer throw any blows at Fae. Fae was the only one making any offensive moves. All she had to do was wait for Violet to mess up, which was bound to happen soon.

Fae knew that Violet’s overprotective nature would make some things difficult if she joined, but Fae was also very confident in her own skills enough to believe that it outweighed any negative impacts to her presence. Having three capable fighters makes a hell of a lot more sense than sticking with two, especially with one having already died several times. That is how Fae saw it at least. Dying three times must have been traumatic for Violet, and Fae wanted to do whatever she could to stop that, and to accomplish that, she needed to win.

Violet was getting close to the back wall as she was backing away from Fae’s onslaught. They both knew that if Fae trapped her against this wall, the fight would be as good as over. Fae continued spinning and swinging her axe as if it were made of paper. Violet continued to sloppily block the attacks, but she was getting tired. Violet was sweating hard. She did not realize how weak her body still was from all the fighting her and Kenrich had done the day before. Suddenly, Violet felt her body hit the wall. She was cornered like an animal. This was exactly what Fae wanted, and Violet knew that, but she intended to give her hell anyway. With the last of her strength, Violet blocked another attack with her sword, but instead of getting ready to block another, she poured all of her power into her foot before powerfully kicking the head of Fae’s axe, causing it to swing behind Fae’s back, putting her off balance. Violet’s sword flew out of her hands during this kick, so the only attack she could muster now was a punch which landed square on Fae’s chest. Fae did not budge though. The blow was not strong enough to knock her off her feet. Fae easily picked her axe back up and swung straight at Violet’s unguarded neck. Violet and Kenrich could only watch.

“STOP!” Kenrich yelled from the wall, running towards them.

Violet closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact, but before the axeblade could make contact with her neck, it stopped. After a few seconds, Violet reopened her eyes and saw Fae looking at her while sticking her tongue out.

“I guess I win, huh?” Fae said, looking back at Kenrich who had a look of confusion and relief on his face.

“Did I give up?!” Violet barked. “This is not over!”

“I believe I heard the words ‘STOP!’ coming from our appointed judge here, so I’d say the win belongs to yours truly. It was a good battle, Violet. You really did get a lot stronger!”

Violet shot a death glare at Kenrich while still pressed up against the wall.

“D-don’t look at me like that! You’d be dead if she continued that swing!”

“I had her right where I wanted her! This is not fair!”

“I’m sorry, but as the judge, I pronounce this fight over.”

“God…damnit…” Violet said, her body sliding to the floor.

“I guess that means I get to come with, right? I promise that you’re better off with me than without me. I haven’t lost a step after five years rotting away, have I?”

“You haven’t…” Violet said, putting her head in her hands, pouting.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“So, I can come, can’t I? Back me up, Kenrich!”

“I think we should bring her along, V. We’ll need more manpower anyway with where we’re going.”

“Ugh…fine. I concede.”

“Yay!”

Fae ran up to Violet and threw her arms around her neck before giving her a big kiss on the cheek. Violet rolled her eyes but embraced Fae right back.

“You sure love playing hard to get, Vivi. I always know how to get my way though~”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go clean up. We have to meet with Queen Puri this morning to get more details on the mission.”

With a third member officially in their party, spirits were high for Kenrich. Little did they know that plans for their downfall were being put into action in different corners of the world during the same time.

*15 minutes earlier*

Location: Coalition of the Full Moon Headquarters - Leader’s Antechamber

“The boss is not going to be happy about this…,” said a masked man.

“Just leave the talking to me, Ralis. Misdreva could never resist my silver tongue,” said the other masked man.

“That’s only because your mask is almost full, Grant! You commanders always get special treatment…”

“Well, I was the first one to spot our prey on that road from Lampeer. To think that the ring was within our grasp, and I tragically and dramatically let them go…No use crying over spilt milk though! They’ve managed all the luck they could possibly muster. Besides, I love the hunt. Now, let’s go tell Misdreva the news.”

Ralis and Grant walked to the end of the antechamber. Grant was in the lead, but Ralis passed in front of him once they reached the door to open it for him. Grant walked into the large dimly lit room which was filled with nothing but a large desk at the end of it. At the desk, was a masked woman who was facing away from the door. Once Ralis followed Grant in, Grant announced their presence.

“Hello, Misdreva! You look as lovely as ever today! We come bearing news of our target’s latest movements.”

Ralis stood next to Grant warily. Being in the presence of Misdreva was not something that most low-level members ever got to experience, but being Grant’s right-hand man, he had the privilege. He still always felt very out of place though. The masked woman sat up in her seat, before slowly turning her chair to face them. Her mask shone with a brilliant white that covered the entirety of her mask.

“Blind flattery in a dark room without even facing the person in question – how very like you, Grant,” the masked woman said.

Her voice was deep and strong sounding, and her words were clear and articulated perfectly. She was the type of person who could make someone feel lesser just by opening her mouth. She exuded an aura of pure strength that Ralis was trembling at. Grant, on the other hand, was unphased.

“I don’t need to see you to know your beauty, Misdreva! We’ve known each other so long at this point it might as well be common knowledge! I am one of the few to have seen you without that mask after all…”

Ralis was trembling and tugging at Grant’s sleeve whispering for him to be more respectful. As he was, a large ball of fire that looked like a perfect representation of the sun, shot from Misdreva's finger before taking its place in the middle of the high ceiling like a chandelier, lighting the room. Ralis fell to his backside with a yelp at the sight of it.

“Oh, good show, Misdreva! You always were quite the magician! It was definitely a bit…dank in here before. Why don’t you thank her, Ralis? She turned the lights on for us!”

“Th-thank you Moon Empress! I am ever so grateful for your hospitality!” Ralis said, returning to his feet with a salute.

“Enough of the formalities, Grant. Tell me about our target. Are they still on the run?”

“Regretfully, they are not. It seems that Queen Puri has taken them in at her palace.”

“I thought they were apprehended by Admian forces in Ravine?”

“They escaped. Our sources said that the man, Kenrich, unleashed some strange power both in the prison and when fighting against Tinsen Entilin that bought them an escape from the city.”

“‘A strange power?’”

“Tell them about our investigation, Ralis.”

“R-right!” Ralis said, as he fiddled with papers in his hands. “So, bystander accounts and our survey of the area showed us that this power produced an immense amount of heat, and with him being able to both escape a guarded dungeon and take down an Admian division commander, we can assume that he is quite formidable when using this power.”

“Were there any records of him using this power before?”

“None that we know of, ma’am. It seems to have started in Ravine.”

“Seems like those cockroaches have gained a bit of momentum.”

“How do you wish for us to proceed, your full-ness!” Grant asked, comedically.

“Keep tabs on their movements. Find out where they are going and crush them once they get there. I want you to see to it personally, Grant.”

“It will be done,” Grant responded.

“Is that all you have to share with me?” Misdreva asked.

“I actually have something for you to take a look at,” Grant said. “I got a list of the magic stones that our targets have in their disposal.”

Grant approached Misdreva’s desk before handing her a black notebook.