Entering through the smoke, the group was met with a booming alarm and an uncomfortably long and empty hallway. Lexi silenced the alarm with a quick thrust of her sword into some kind of device that hung on the ceiling. The alarm rang out one final time before going silent.

“What? No welcome party?” Romeo said, deflating some of the tension in the party, if only the smallest amount.

“Make sure not to get separated, no matter what happens,” Lexi ordered as she headed forward at a brisk pace. “Makina, if you remember anything at all, now would be the time to share it.”

At the back of the group Makina quickly shook her head back and forth. “No but… I can feel them. We are close.”

Set in the middle, Cross said nothing. The pressure behind his temple steadily grew with every step they took, quickly turning to pain. His hands tightened to fists and he willed the pain to subside, but no such luck.

“Cross?”

Lexi was staring at him. He gave her a small shake of his head. She stared at him a moment longer before nodding.

“Someone is coming! Lexi?” Romeo called out, his hand dropping to his belt.

“Cover!” Lexi bounded forward and Romeo whipped a bomb from behind her. It arced just over her shoulder and landed in front of the approaching Sons. As it clattered to the ground in front of them, they hesitated.

A mistake.

The bomb exploded with a blast of light and smoke. Lexi burst through the confusion. Nightmare flashed twice and two bodies dropped to the floor, their weapons only halfway drawn.

“They were likely just sent to check and see what set off the alarm. More will come when they don’t return,” Lexi said as she spun Nightmare around, sending droplets of blood splashing against the walls. “We need to keep moving. Don't fall behind.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Romeo shouted as he raced past her, an explosive charge held in each hand. As he came upon another door he threw both of them, a giant grin plastered on his face.

Lexi dove through the door almost in sync with the explosion, her feet gliding along the broken splinters as she rushed into the room, the rest of her team only a breath behind.

The doorway opened up into a large, circular room. Positioned along the curve of the walls were five massive stone pillars, each glowing an ominous purple save for the one. Instead of smooth, unblemished stone, its surface was pockmarked and cracked, with a large potion completely missing, showing the hollow interior.

The members of the Sleeping Dragon Guild, however, did not pay this fact much mind, as the room was also currently occupied by a considerably amount of fully armored, and fully armed Sons. Though surprised for a moment, the shock soon faded and the Sons drew their weapons. Moving into a semi circle, they swiftly surrounded the small group.

"Right, then, that's bad," Cross sighed as he positioned himself in front of Banksy and Makina.

"It could be worse," Romeo said, unperturbed by the fact they were outnumbered at least three to one, maybe more. Reaching down, he rested one of his spiked hands comfortably on his bomb belt, caressing the explosive.

Lexi said nothing, her eyes firmly set on one particular Son. Unlike the others he had yet to draw his sword, instead breaking through the ranks and stopping only a few strides away from her. His silver armour was spotless, accented with a gold cape that hung loosely over his left arm. Reaching up, he removed his horned helmet and tucked it under his arm.

He was an attractive young man, with piecing green eyes and blonde hair set in a short military cut. He smiled at Lexi, ignoring the long black blade she held towards him.

"My lady." He dipped his head politely. "I'm afraid I must ask you to lower your weapon, or my friends here will be forced to harm you."

Lexi didn't move, though her eyes narrowed slightly.

The Son sighed, reaching up his hand and pressing it against his chest. "My name is Sir Safir. I am in charge of this regiment, and tasked to defend this outpost against any intruders. Despite the length of time this outpost has existed, you would be the first to infiltrate it. For that, you admittedly deserve some praise."

Lexi still didn't move.

"That said, unfortunately, I cannot allow you to leave, it simply won’t be possible. Especially now that you’ve seen it." Safir dropped his hand down to rest against the hilt of his sword. "However, I can allow you to live. But that is dependent on you, and your friends, dropping your weapons."

Lexi blinked.

"I see." Safir turned his attention to Romeo. "You there, highborn."

Romeo raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Perhaps you will understand," Safir said. "I would rather not cause an incident here, you see, the operation we are conducting here is of the utmost importance and it is rather…. sensitive."

"How dare you!" Makina suddenly pushed past Cross, tossing back her hood as she wedged herself between Romeo and Lexi. "How dare you speak of your abhorrent acts with such arrogance! How dare you lay your vile, mortal hands on the Gods. How dare you imprison my family! I remember you. You loathsome scum. You pathetic creature! You shall not live passed this night. I swear it!"

"Makina!" Cross hissed, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back behind him. She struggled to fight her way back, Lexi's dagger clutched in her tiny fist.

"Oh! My, my, my. You've brought our little escaped Spirit Goddess back to us, have you?" Safir let out a bark of laughter, leaning forward and gazing at Makina. "I would never imagine you would return on your own. I wouldn't have wasted Balan on retrieving you if I had known. I see you've made friends. A shame you will never see them again." He thrust his arm towards the broken pillar. "Don't worry, we've kept your room exactly like you left it."

"That's magic," Lexi said, stepping between Safir and Makina, lifting up Nightmare to point at the pillars. "Shouldn't you destroy it as well?"

"She speaks!" Safir grinned. "Why yet, it is quite a repugnant situation, I admit. However, in order to truly kill a Spirit God, it requires much more than steel alone. It's a necessary evil. At least, for the time being."

Makina began to struggle more violently, the weapon falling from her hand, but Cross tightened his grip on her and held her in place behind him.

"Why?" Makina cried. "Why are you doing this to them."

"Why?" Safir gave her an incredulous look. "Because magic is nothing more than a tool of destruction. It has killed thousands, if not more. Look, look! The proof is right in front of you. Magic will destroy you pathetic Gods of old and this world will finally be free."

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"Magic is a gift!" Makina yelled. "Even with us gone, it will persist."

"A gift? Was it a gift when Jerrah burned my country, my ancestors to nothingness? Was it a gift when he marched freely along this world, destroying whatever he saw fit? Killing whomever he saw fit? Will it be a gift when another, worse than him rises?" Safir's eyes lost the amused glint and a sneer slipped onto his face. "What's to stop a Spirit God from following his path? Should we be forced to live in a world where our fates rely on the whims of you creatures?" He looked at the others. "If they ever felt the need, they could kill us by the thousands. Our sacrifice is a small price to pay to create a better world. A new world, where we are the masters of our own fate!"

"We would never do that!" Makina’s head shook back and forth violently, tears beginning to drip down her cheeks. "We gave mortals magic to help this world. We watch over it, we protect it! If you kill them, you'll kill yourselves!"

"Silence!" Safir threw his helmet down and drew his sword. He leveled it at Makina "You would say anything to retain your power. This world needs not your magic, nor your help. It needs only your death!"

"You have no right." Lexi whispered, silencing the room. The lights in grew dimmer. Her fingers gripped Nightmare like a vice, knuckles growing white, as her voice grew louder. "You have no right to make that decision on your own! This world does not belong to you. You may choose to hate magic. You may choose to live free from it, but you will not make that decision for others!"

"It is too late!" Safir roared. "Do you understand the sacrifices we have made for ungrateful scum like you? We have sacrificed our own lives, our own futures, to sustain this spell. Our very life force to keep the Spirits imprisoned! For over a hundred years, we have given everything for this righteous cause. We became abominations! Tools of magic, nothing more than fuel, to be forfeited to this cause. Because of our strength, because of our resolve, the Spirit Gods will soon fade from this world, and in the void there will be nothing but us! Nothing but human progress. The true Divine Progress!"

"He's insane," Banksy muttered as Cross pushed Makina back towards him. Taking her firmly by the shoulders, Banksy fell back a few steps into the doorway.

"That is the perfect world that I will die for." Safir lifted up his hand and pointed at Makina. "Bring that little bitch to me, kill the res-"

Lexi dashed forward, her feet scarcely touching the ground, and thrust Nightmare into Safir's chest before the order passed his lips. Even with his chest plate, Nightmare easily pierced through, shearing through the armor as though it were tissue paper. Mouth agape, Safir stared down at Lexi in shock, his arms dropping down to dangle uselessly by his side.

There was a moment of stunned silence before one of the Sons let out a shocked curse and took an unsteady step towards Lexi. Turning her eyes on him, Lexi snatched Safir's sword from his limp fingers and flung it towards the Son. The blade impaled him through the stomach and sent him falling back with a scream.

"Kill her! Kill them all!" Safir let out a gurgling cry as Lexi pulled her blade free from his chest and pushed him to the ground. She held Nightmare towards the others, blood dripping off the black blade. There was a beat of hesitation before a few of the braver Sons broke ranks and charged towards her.

"Don't let them get to Makina!" Cross yelled, jumping next to Lexi and engaging the closest Son. Ducking under his sword, Cross lifted his arm and fired a flashbang directly into the Son’s helm. He let out a cry of pain as the fireball burned against his skin and Cross took the opening to wrench the sword from his hands. It was heavy two-handed blade. Unable to do much more, Cross swung it around with all his might and cracked the still incapacitated man against the head with it. The sword dented in the thick metal of his helmet and the Son crumpled to the ground. Dropping the weapon, Cross dove backwards as more attackers swarmed him.

xXx

A series of explosions rocked the room, sending a handful of Sons to the floor as Romeo threw himself into the fray with gusto. Though the gloves adorning his fists were not nearly effective against the armored Sons, his remaining explosives were working with telling effect. Slipping past the thrust of one overly eager Son, Romeo gave him two quick punches to his exposed ribs, the spikes able to somewhat pierce through the thin chainmail, before slipping a smoke bomb under the Son’s chest guard.

Despite the lack of lethality, the tight constraints and the resulting explosion was enough to leave the Son screaming on the floor. Romeo gave him a hard boot to the head to silence him before throwing up his hands as a sword came arcing towards his head.

His hands made contact with the blade and sent a tremor down his arms, but the sword unable to slice through the reinforced palms.

“That’s the funny thing about chainmail,” Romeo grinned as he tightened his grip on the sword and pulled the Son closer to him. “It’s real hard to cut through. I have a similar problem with my gloves sometimes. So you need to get a bit more clever!” Romeo slammed his head forward, butting his head into the Son’s nose. The attack was enough to disrupt the man’s grip on his sword and Romeo wrenched it free. Swinging it like a club he cracked the man across the head before throwing it as hard as he could at the back of another that had began to approach Banksy and Makina. It wasn’t able to do much more than stumble him, but that was more than enough for Romeo.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” Romeo roared, diving on the man’s back, another bomb already clutched in his fingers. “Turn you’re back on a Lovejoy and you won’t live to regret it!”

xXx

"Ignore them and get the girl! The girl!" One of the Sons screamed, tearing her helmet off and thrusting her sword towards Makina and Banksy. She managed to take only a handful of steps before Lexi was on her. Coming to a sliding stop, Lexi positioned herself between Makina and the Son. Blood splatters covered Lexi's clothes as she spun Nightmare around, daring the woman to advance.

"You dishonorable little whore!" The Son hissed, stepping forward to engage Lexi.

Lexi gave no response as she parried the Son's initial thrust and returned with a slash, forcing the Son to take a step back. Sliding to the side, Lexi unleashed a vicious underhand swipe that forced the woman back another step. Keeping up the pressure, Lexi forced her further and further back until, with wide eyes, the Son lost her footing as she stepped onto the corpse her fallen comrades. Letting out a cry she swung her sword wildly as she fought to stay upright. Stepping forward Lexi calmly blocked her ill-timed attack with Nightmare and drew a knife with her free hand. With uncanny precision she swiped the blade across the Son’s exposed throat. The woman dropped to her knees, clutching vainly at her throat. Without a thought, Lexi kicked her hard in the chest, sending her permanently to the ground.

She was already on to her next target.

xXx

"Right, then." Cross breathed, licking his lips as he sized up his opponents. He would call them Axe and Sword. Not his most clever names, but for the moment it was the best he could come up with. Behind them, he could see Lexi moving like the shadow of death, her sword cutting a bloody swathe through the enemy. Sword's attention lapsed for a moment as he heard a particularly horrible scream from Lexi's many victims and Cross pounced.

Charging forward, he dipped under Axe's wild swing, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the blow entirely. The razor sharp blade easily sliced through his right shoulder, burning white hot, but Cross’s momentum powered him forward. Gritting his teeth he slammed his shoulder into Sword and knocked him off balance. Turning back to Axe, he lifted up his uninjured arm and just managed to block next strike.

The axe clanged painfully with his bracer and sent him stumbling a step back and off balance. Unable to recover he swung his arm down and fired off a flash bang, blinding Axe for a moment and buying himself a few precious seconds.

As he regained his footing he turned his attention to Sword and immediately was forced to twist his body to the side, narrowly avoiding being impaled through the chest. Spinning behind the man, Cross kicked Sword hard in the back, sending him stumbling into Axe. The pair fell to the floor and Cross took the opportunity to grab a discarded spear that had rolled near him. Stepping forward, he plunged the blade through Sword's vulnerable back.

Driving forward, Cross pressed down with all his weight. He felt the spear slide another inch before meeting a resistance. Baring his teeth Cross pressed even harder, forcing the spear through Sword and into Axe, effectively nailing the pair to the floor.

The two Son's struggled vainly for a moment before finally going still. Letting out a grunt, Cross pushed off from the embedded weapon and stumbled backwards, clutching at his bleeding arm and looking around the suddenly silent room with tired eyes.

"I think… I think that's all of them." Romeo said, breathing heavy as he staggered over to Lexi. His forehead was bleeding heavily, but beyond that he looked practically unfazed by the violence. “Wasn't so bad.”

The double doors on the far end of the room burst open and what could only be described as a behemoth stomped into the room. His right hand held a monstrous claymore, easily held aloft as though it weighed nothing. His left dragged behind a long length of thick, iron chain. It rattled loudly as he walked, the links screeching against the stone floor.

He came to a stop near the center of the room. Through his helm he slowly panned the room, stopping on each member of the Sleeping Dragon guild.

“Intruders.” His voice was like thunder. “ Must. Die.”