"I sincerely apologize, Miss Aoi!" Kateshi bowed so deeply that his forehead nearly slammed into the floor.

"Please get up. I told you, I'm okay." Aoi responded with an embarrassed smile as Kateshi's over-the-top apology drew gazes from the nearby medics and Fiend patients.

"I was tasked with keeping the focus on myself during the battle to keep you out of harm's way but I became the reason you were injured," Kateshi said somberly as if what she said hadn't registered. "I hope your injuries were not too severe. How are feeling now? Are you parched? Perhaps you have built up an appetite? I shall return with edibles at once!"

"Kateshi, I told you you don't have to go to such lengths for me!" Aoi reached out a desperate hand to stop him but it was too late as he'd already disappeared through the tarp.

After he left, the medics returned their attention to the injured. Most of them suffered minor head injuries and had regained consciousness a little before she had. Like the Fiends around her, she only suffered a few cuts and a couple of bruises but the medics had strapped her to an artifact to monitor her vitals as a precaution.

Although she didn't mean to eavesdrop, it was hard not to when the Fiends were in earshot.

"I almost had that guy!" One exclaimed, frustrated.

"Calm down. You got one good hit in then got bonked immediately after." His friend snorted to his left.

"If it wasn't for that healer"—a man with a scar running down his neck glanced at Aoi—"that barbarian would've fallen a long time ago."

"Sure but I think the real threat was that other kid. If he hadn't messed with our coordination, we could've taken down their main dealer and the healer." A blonde woman chimed in.

"No, the real problem was you guys!" A lanky man, too tall for the bed as his feet dangled off the edge, accused. "There were only three of them and like a lot of us. How is it possible that you guys couldn't overwhelm them?"

The others looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Weren't you one of the first ones to get taken out?" A bald man recalled as the lanky Fiend's face flushed with embarrassment.

He immediately came up with flimsy excuses as to why he lost and fired more accusations but his teammates just ignored him at that point. She listened carefully for any news on their clan member who tried killing them earlier but to no avail as they began spitballing ideas on how they could've approached their fight with Kateshi differently. In fact, no one had even mentioned their rogue clan member.

After a few more minutes of listening to their conversations, Kenji walked through the tarp. The stress deflated from his body after seeing she was awake.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked, approaching her bedside.

"I'm doing much better, thank you." She smiled. "Have you heard any news of that conjurer by any chance?"

"You mean the one with the elixir?" He assumed, getting a conformational nod from her. "Not much other than his disqualification. Sentinel Sokuba brought him to a private infirmary in a separate area of the encampment for questioning but I haven't heard anything since then. That was an hour ago."

"Oh, I see. Are more Fiends in possession of that elixir as well?"

"Not to our knowledge."

She remembered first hearing about the elixir. Even then, they didn't have much information on it but if was more potent, she couldn't imagine what kind of internal damage it would've caused. Curious about the others, she asked, "How are teams 2 and 3 progressing? Was our diversion successful?"

"It seems like it, yes. They hit a couple of snags but it wasn't anything too serious. They should be approaching the palace soon."

"What a relief."

Kateshi walked through the tarp with a mountain of delicacies on a plate. The mixture of aromas harmonized seamlessly with one another, filling the musty tent with a pleasant smell that drew attention to him.

"I have returned Miss Aoi! Ah, Sir Kenji. Surely you must be famished as well." He slammed the plate down on a tray, the sudden stop swaying the food.

"Uhm, Kateshi. I don't think we can eat all of this." Kenji said, embarrassed.

"Nonsense! You must satiate your hunger after such a vigorous battle. Let us feast!"

*****

Even with its color lost and gloomy atmosphere blending with its surroundings, the royal palace's spiraling towers made it stand out, making it easy to identify when closing in. The tip of one of its towers had crumbled away while the other had toppled over onto a neighboring building. Vines burst through the walls as nature was still in the process of reclaiming its territory.

Fuyumi checked her talisman and saw that it was glowing at the same intensity as it was an hour ago.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"We're still on schedule." She said as Kazeki surveyed his surroundings cautiously.

"Good to know. Let's find a way inside before we're caught."

Even at that distance, they could spot multiple entryways—holes in the walls they could use to get inside. As expected, however, there were a handful of Fiends still patrolling the area, confirming Kane had made this his base. Taking cover inside an old inn, they observed the patrols. After staking out the area for almost an hour, they realized a pattern in the Fiends' patrol routes but their security was too tight for them to sneak past confidently.

"Should we try the back?" Kazeki whispered.

Fuyumi checked the talisman for the fourth time this stakeout. Its glow remained at the same intensity even after they decided the stop, confirming that Yakeru and Itsuki were likely doing reconnaissance as well. "That'll take too long."

"Then how about I be the bait?"

"There's too many of them and we don't know how many of them are high-ranking. You won't stand a chance."

"I don't have to beat them. I just have to stall."

Fuyumi shook her head. "You'd run out of reserves before then. Kane's lieutenants are still unaccounted for so I don't know how long our fight will take too."

"Then I guess you better end it fast. Besides, you still have Itsuki and Yakeru to back you up." Kazeki smirked, moving to another part of the building.

Before she could protest, he'd already imbued his chain dart and flicked it through what was once a window. Surprised shouts and panicked screams erupted outside.

"You better get a move on." Kazeki urged, forcing Fuyumi to dart outside as the Fiends scrambled for cover.

Weaving her way through the chaos her partner stirred up, she crawled through the hole in the palace wall. Kazeki continuously struck from the shadows as the Fiends retaliated. However, since he could manipulate the trajectory of his dart, it made it difficult to avoid.

"Keep moving!" A short Fiend yelped.

"Move where? It keeps following us!"

"Don't worry. I got this!" A petite Fiend reassured as she raised her staff, firing a continuous beam that tore through the building's first floor.

Kazeki leaped out of the building as its already crumbling support pillars gave way. The small building collapsed into a heap of debris, producing a smoke cloud that obscured the Fiends' vision.

He dashed through the smoke to get a line of sight only to find numerous orbs of radiance levitating above their casters, waiting for him to reveal himself.

"Fire!" The petite woman barked before everyone released a volley of spells at the lone ranger.

Kazeki sprinted as he whirled his dart around his body, creating a dome of rapid swings. What he couldn't outrun was either deflected or sliced in two by his dart. Eventually, a projectile slammed into the ground in front of him, hurling him back.

As he recovered, gasping for air that had been forcibly knocked out of his lungs, he found himself backed into a corner. Fiend conjurers were atop rubble, readying their attacks should Kazeki make any sudden moves while warriors and brawlers cautiously closed the distance.

'Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all...' He regretted.

"Where's the rest of your team?" A man with a scraggly beard interrogated the cornered rat.

"Ha...ha...like I'd tell you that...ha." Kazeki squeezed between pants.

"Don't push us, kid," he growled, pointing his sword at the boy.

"It's funny how you think...you have leverage."

The man gritted his teeth but before he could act, an explosion resounded between their formation. Taking advantage of the sudden commotion, Kazeki whipped his hand, sweeping the Fiends to make his getaway.

Looking up as he was crouched against a wall, he saw an outstretched hand.

"On your feet, kid." A familiar voice said.

Kazeki followed the hand to its owner to find Itsuki. Accepting his hand, he was lifted to his feet.

"What are doing here?"

"I told Yakeru to keep moving while I drew their attention. Since I don't see Fuyumi with you, it looks like we had the same idea."

He feared something like this would happen. Without communication artifacts, they couldn't inform each other of any change of plans. Fortunately, Yakeru would have Fuyumi as backup.

"Let's keep 'em busy," Itsuki said as the Fiends started to recover from his surprise attack.

Itsuki exploded into battle while Kazeki hung back as support. Itsuki plowed through the wave of Fiends, using arcs of radiance to disorient before closing the distance to strike with the flat of his blade. Conjurers attempting to target his blindspots were met with failure. Kazeki's dart whistled through the air, intercepting their launched spells. The air around them boomed as the sky lit up in chaotic flashes of amber, seemingly bringing life to Terv's depressing atmosphere in sporadic bursts.

Although they shared their strengths before the Skirmish began, it was still an amazing sight to see how another A-rank fought. Kateshi and Itsuki both had similar physiques and heavy weapons but it was interesting to see the difference in fighting styles.

Unlike the barbaric style Kateshi had adopted, Itsuki implemented more thought into his style. Although the nature of a claymore would inhibit his precision, he made up for it with calculated swings. At first glance, his build seemed like it wouldn't allow for nimble movement but he had little trouble evading several attacks at once.

His impressive demonstration of skill showed he became an A-rank mostly through experience whereas Kateshi had become one mostly through strength.

After dealing with the wave of Fiends guarding the palace, Itsuki fell to one knee.

"I think that's all of them. Thanks for the support, Kazeki." He said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, the exhaustion of the battle weighing him down.

"Not a problem," Kazeki retracted his dart, wrapping it around his arm. "Not to downplay your prowess, but it seemed like these guys weren't all that strong."

"I was thinking the same thing," Itsuki stood to his feet, looking down at the unconscious unconscious Fiends. "If I had to guess, these guys were D and C-rank with a few B-ranks sprinkled in."

"I see. Weird how Kane had a bunch of guys like these to guard him."

"That's because Master Kane isn't keen on recruiting anyone that could threaten his spot on the throne." A voice sounded from behind them.

Whirling around, the two saw another Fiend walking up to them. His confident strides echoed off the shattered walls and his narrowed gaze locked onto the rangers. His uniform was, of course, identical to his other clan members with the exception of his gold reaper insignia branded to his light chest plate.

Itsuki readied his sword while Kazeki unraveled his chain dart, cautiously observing the man's every move.

"Even his second lieutenant was a D-rank when she was recruited." The man added.

Itsuki raised an eyebrow but Kazeki nearly burst out laughing after hearing this.

His experience fighting against the Fiends had been...strange to say the least. The choice of having mediocre Fiends defend the palace was odd and promoting a D-rank to a lieutenant was questionable. Unless she was now an S-rank, neither Yakeru nor Fuyumi would have any trouble dealing with her.

Itsuki on the other hand only grew more unsettled but kept up his hardened front. The golden reaper told him he should remain cautious.

"And you are?" Itsuki questioned.

"Master Kane's first lieutenant, Marcus," he answered, drawing his longsword and pointing it towards them. "And this is as far as you'll go."