"This must be where she landed," Kumo said and Gi had to hold back a sarcastic comment as the three of them stared at a broken boulder that was more than a little Rhino shaped. Poe flitted back and forth nervously and looked ready to rush to her if he only knew what direction that was.

Gi placed one hand on Poe and the dragonfly's barely constrained panic slowed. "Do you see a path?"

Kumo continued looking as she picked her way through the rubble and what she saw seemed like the most straightforward course when you considered the remnants of Georgia's clan was still on the mountain.

Her path rounded back towards the lake and the entrance just past the Underbridge. Even from here, the sounds of battle were loud around them. The Adolescents and Classers were just a dull roar compared to the sounds of the Myshkin and Igna leaders blasting out attacks that sounded more like claps of thunder than true attacks.

"Let's search from the air," Gi said. With only one arm, Gi carried Kumo like Richard had held Noah long ago with her balanced on his hip. Aether poured off of him and evaporated, letting the two of them rise into the air. Keeping her steady meant the muscles that spread to his injured left side were agony and he had to hold himself back from panting at the pain.

"Let's go!," Poe said impatiently.

Not wanting to be the reason they were slowed down, Gi pressed on despite the pain. The three of them took a lazy loop around the base of Igna. The Underbridge was swarming with Leaf Elementals all of them pressing towards the large ramp that led up to the Commons. On the side furthest from them, Gi even saw a sea of Noose Snakes slithering up Igna to make their own way into the fight.

Grung's shop and many of the other old buildings in the Underbridge were destroyed, but Gi wasn't sure if that was from the army of monsters or from the earthquakes that seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as the battle wore on. Still, Georgia was nowhere to be seen in the churning mass of monsters. That meant she was either dead or...

"She must have already pushed past," Gi said more confidently than he felt. Poe could read his thoughts if he was listening, but he didn't think the little dragonfly was at all focused on him. Poe was about race up to the next level when a brilliant flash of light in the sky stopped them.

His eyes caught a gout of flame dying even as he looked upward. He started to dismiss it as another of Siht's attacks, but his eyes fell on a strange battle. In the tier above the Fort, he could just make out the Fire Elementals fighting against small white monsters wielding giant two handed swords.

It took his brain a minute to translate what the small figures were, but he eventually realized that it was the Angelic Mice that the Fire Elementals were battling against. But why? Had one of them betrayed Igna? Gi thought back to the Assemblies that he'd been a part of and the Fire Elementals insistence on taking the war to Myshk.

Were the Fire Elementals just looking to complete the Clan Stage by any means necessary? Gi's eyes widened. Maybe this was the opportunity that Galvina had referred to? He'd thought it had been the Myshkin attack itself, but perhaps, it was the Fire Elemental's betrayal as well. How many monsters did she have control over?

Gi's idle curiosity was cut off as Poe shot forward to continue the search for Georgia, forcing Gi to follow after with a slight groan as the sudden momentum caused the pain in his side to flare again. Gi shot a few shadow spears out of the air from the Slendermen Adolescents that were spread throughout the Commons, but his mind was increasingly pulled to the pain in his side.

It had hurt ever since his battle with Fader, especially considering he hadn't properly rested, but after the assault on the Spiked Eagles, the pain had continued to grow. Now it felt like his entire left side was being pressed into hot, sharp coals and every extra movement dragged him against its sharp edges.

It was with blurry eyes that Gi scanned the Commons for any sign of Georgia or her body, but the pain was becoming harder and harder to ignore. A phantom mace made of water appeared out nowhere and smacked a shadow spear out of the air that Gi hadn't even seen coming.

He caught Kumo's concerned stare. "You all right, Boss?"

"I'm fine," Gi said through a gravelly breath. As best as he was able, he used his steady Heart and his realized Blood to take command of the pain, but the best he could do was force it into one side of his mind.

There would be time to collapse later, but he couldn't afford it now.

With there being no sign of Georgia in the Commons, they flew up to the Bazaar following the same path as if they had walked.

The battle here raged hot. Classers of both city-states had chosen here as their battleground. Market stalls had been broken down and ripped apart by the ferocity of the battle that raged all over Igna.

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Ignition Wolves cut swathes through the rabble until they were blocked by the boars of the other side. Classer Noose Snakes had made it up here and were clinging to rocks jutting out from the Fort tier to strike at those below. Above them, Captain Mesano had organized a defense of mostly goblins wielding slings to attack the enemies below while he and his two minotaurs kept the Noose Snakes from ascending any higher.

Through the chaos, their eyes finally landed on a huge bulk of grey that was only a a couple dozen feet away from the side path that would lead to Elizabeth's manor. She battled against a group of strange half turtle and half goblin monsters that shot blasts of water from their heads.

"There!," Kumo shouted out first, and when Poe's multifaceted eyes locked in on her fighting, he shot towards her.

Only a little slowed by the effort of keeping his pain locked away, Gi zipped after him and the three of them were thrust into the thick of the battle. Six golden otters appeared around him as [Archbishop] was activated to full and a kaleidoscope of exploding light killed or pushed back all of the Myshkin monsters surrounding Elizabeth.

Georgia was gasping for air and her war hammer flagged with her exhaustion. Even for a monster with as high Vitality as her, fighting through an entire army was no easy feat. Dozens of small wounds were spread across her form including one long cut across her eye that was now closed. Trails of blood had turned her hide a dark red, but she didn't look ready to give up.

Six streams of water burst from the turtle goblins towards her. Unsteadily, Georgia held her warhammer up to block as best as she could, but she didn't need to.

Poe had grown to his full size, and with a cry of rage that seemed alien from his friend, he did... something. Gi's soul could just tell that he was working a huge amount of Aether inside of him and then the six beams of water just disappeared.

No... they shrank.

Without the same bulk, they landed in a harmless drizzle against the ground, never reaching Poe or Georgia. Gi assumed it had to be some facet of Poe's Domain, [We Might Be Giants], but he hadn't known it could do that.

"I DIDN'T KNOW I COULD DO THAT!" Poe shouted, echoing Gi's thoughts before turning to Georgia. "I'M HERE TO RESCUE YOU."

At his words, Gi sent out another wave of [Divine Ire] that obliterated the forces arrayed against the exhausted Georgia.

"Oh and I brought the Boss," Poe said as though it was an afterthought. Georgia gave him a weary smiled and bumped her head against his enlarged body affectionately. Another quake rocked the mountain and changed their affectionate gesture into one of support as the ground under their feet shook wildly.

"We can't stay here. We have to get to my clan." Georgia jogged towards the side passage that would lead to Elizabeth's manor and Gi barely swam a few feet after her when a body crashed into the mountain beside them.

It was an oddly humanoid looking monster with a slight red tint to her skin and short horns that stuck out from the top. She wore a rich noble's attire that was finely tailored and had various gems sewn through its lapels.

The demon slammed her rapier's hilt against the ground in frustration before Galvina pulled herself out of the rubble where she'd crashed with her eyes fixed to the sky. Far above, Gi could see The Faithful Progenitor standing on a violet disc of light.

"So annoying," Galvina said, pulling a flask out of her pocket that sloshed with a yellow liquid, and downed it in one go. The minor wounds that Gi had been able to see closed instantly, but he didn't think it was some kind of healing potion. Power seemed to pulse off of her to even Gi's weak Soul senses.

If Gi's thoughts hadn't been so sluggish, he might have thought to continue on before she spotted him, but instead, he hung in the air until Galvina finally caught sight of him a smiled like a serial killer who just learned a young woman would be alone in the house.

"Fight with me." Her voice slammed into Gi's mind, taking his already shaken Soul and practically strangling it. Unsure what ability she'd used on him, Gi raised up his already exhausted Heart and Blood, but his hastily constructed wall was quickly bypassed as though he'd simply opened the door.

His entire Body and Soul shook as waves of pain washed over him. He dropped Kumo and his Elite immediately dashed for Galvina, but a casual kick sent his Elite flying back into the mountain. Poe and Georgia hadn't even realized that he'd stopped as the two were so focused on getting back to the remnants of the Peach Clan.

Gi grasped a hand to his chest and drifted down to the ground as he took in big gasps of air. The pain from the ability itself wasn't so overwhelming, but he no longer had control over his left side and its pain felt like he was being flayed with knives.

"What did you do to me?"

Galvina took a glance towards the Faithful Progenitor, but there wasn't much information to glean from her mask. "[Demon in the Details]," she said, "You made a deal with me. As long as I fulfill my portion, I can force you to fulfill yours in the manner of my choosing. The more valuable my contribution, the stronger it is. Didn't you wonder why I so freely gave you the priceless Robes?"

Gi had known that she was working to her own ends, but he'd never expected to get trapped like this. With all the pain burning through him, Gi could barely think, let alone fight, and only Kumo getting back to her feet to rush towards Galvina again snapped him into any state of consciousness.

"Stop!" Gi yelled, and for once, Kumo obeyed. "You're no match for her."

Galvina snorted, again still keeping an eye on the Faithful Progenitor. "As long as you agree in your mind to fulfill your end of the bargain, the pain will subside."

Like a man dying of thirst reaching for water, Gi clawed towards that agreement in his mind, forcing back the pain just long enough to have that one clear thought. As he did, the pain finally subsided just as she'd said, giving Gi just enough time to beat back the agony of his left side to something survivable if not manageable.

Gi gasped as the pain finally relented and turned his haggard eyes to Kumo. "Head back with Poe and keep the Clan safe. I'll catch up shortly."

Kumo's expression was grim as she looked from Gi to Galvina. She wanted to obey, but she wanted to help more. The only thing that kept her from staying was her own understanding that she was hopelessly outclassed. Like she'd bitten a lemon, she slammed one fist to her stomach and then rushed down the path after Poe and Georgia.

Galvina chuckled and tossed Gi a flask with yellow liquid in it. "Drink up," she said. "This is just the first part of the battle. The most important part is yet to come." Her eyes moved past the Faithful Progenitor to where Queen Siht still battled against the towering humanoid formed of shadow.

Gi popped off the cork with his claw and stared down at the yellow liquid. He wanted to rage, to declare his superiority and strength, but his body was horribly weak after all his fights. His Heart and Blood were wrung dry and even together, it was all they could do to keep him alert.

The biggest issue was that Galvina was only holding him to what he'd already agreed to. He'd just assumed it would never matter. That he could dance away from his word as easily as Elizabeth guided those trolls to their home. Maybe it was the exhaustion and pain, but he knew it wasn't Galvina's fault that he was here.

Ultimately, it was because of his own mistakes.

All I ever seem to get is your mistakes. The memory of Danna's biting words echoed in his mind and Gi laughed bitterly. Danna. The Father. His Elites. Himself.

Noah.

He'd been trying so hard to figure out what it all meant, but here he was back in the same position as Richard had been. Things were falling apart all around him while he stood on the precipice of his own death. He'd turned himself from a weak human into a monster stronger than steel, and yet, his problems remained. Would he fail again? Or could he make himself even stronger?

"So there were two traitors." Gi's eyes flicked up. The Faithful Progenitor had appeared directly in front of them. Violet discs hovered a few inches above the back of her palms and her white mask with red claw marks faced directly towards Gi.

Gi stared right back. "I've betrayed the trust of others before. I think I'm done doing that. This time I'm coming back alive." With a flick of his wrist, Gi downed the yellow potion. Unfiltered, raw power flooded into him. "But you won't."