Ike backstepped furiously. Lightning Dash let him keep pace with Lord Nors’ charging head, but he couldn’t outpace it. A remaining scrap of wall loomed behind him. To avoid it would mean to slow down enough for Lord Nors to catch it. Ike gritted his teeth. He drew his sword and struck with the same motion, meeting Lord Nors’ blade with his own.

The blades clashed. Sparks flew. Ike put Shawn’s weight behind it, using every ounce of leverage in the hit. Lord Nors fought back, using weight from some location Ike didn’t understand.

“Shawn! I need more!” Ike shouted.

“Hmm…? More weight? Mkay,” Shawn replied sleepily. The weight on his shoulders bore ferociously down.

Ike planted his feet and threw it at Lord Nors. At last, Lord Nors’ head flew back, unable to withstand the majority of a small mountain’s weight.

Ike sagged. His feet dug holes in the earth. The stones cracked beneath him. “Shawn, take it back!”

“Huh…?” Nothing changed.

Lord Nors leapt up from where he’d fallen. His hand flashed out, leading the way this time. His head followed close after. The blade shimmered in his teeth. A piece of stone impacted its edge. The blade severed it neatly in two. It didn’t even snag in Lord Nors’ teeth.

Shit. I don’t know how, but he is stronger. That blade was not that terrifying earlier. Was that metal straw-thing a ruse? Was Shopkeep just trying to empower his other half? Ahhh, dammit. It’s too likely! Panicking, Ike patted the boy on his shoulder. “Shawn!”

“What?” Shawn demanded, annoyed.

“Take your weight back! As much as you can, anyways!” Ike shouted.

“Mmkay.” The weight on Ike’s shoulders lessened. The blade zoomed toward him. Lord Nors’ eyes narrowed, a vicious grin of victory already spreading over his face.

Ike dashed to the side. Without Shawn’s extra weight, he all but flew with Lightning Dash. Lord Nors struck at nothing. The second he was behind Lord Nors’ back, Ike drew out the wolfskin and slung it around himself.

Lord Nors turned. He stared for just a moment, then laughed. “How childish. I can feel your aura, you know. You’re as clear as day to me!” He dashed at Ike again.

Ike dodged to the side, still wearing the wolfskin, but Lord Nors’ head tracked him. He grimaced. He can see through it, dammit. I guess it wasn’t going to work forever. Lord Nors was Rank 4, after all. It made sense that he’d be able to see through a few of the tricks Ike had also been able to see through.

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Then again… Ike raised his brows. Shifting his sword to one hand, he rushed to meet Lord Nors.

Lord Nors twisted his head. He parried the strike. A dismissive laugh echoed from his hollow throat.

Ike slammed his other hand down on the side of Lord Nors’ head. A wide crack opened in the porcelain. Lord Nors’ eyes widened. He turned his eyes in shock, unable to believe what he saw. “What… your bare hand?”

“I thought you could feel my aura,” Ike taunted him. He sent the invisible wolf’s fang dagger back into his storage ring before Lord Nors had the chance to examine it. It was unlikely he’d land a second hit, but it never hurt to try a trick a second time.

Little feet skittered over the stone. A spider ran over the floor, somehow unaffected by the whirling wind. The little spider held a metal rod in its mandibles and raced toward Lord Nors at speed.

Ike’s eyes widened. Wisp! Now only one question remained. Did they trust Shopkeep and try the metal rod again, or ignore him and try to crush Lord Nors themselves, on their own terms? He hesitated just a moment, then shook his head. We stick to the plan. Even if it empowers Shopkeep or Lord Nors, I think we can still take them on individually. And I highly doubt Shopkeep would deliberately empower Lord Nors without good reason. He didn’t seem fond of the man.

If the next hit of the metal rod only makes Lord Nors stronger, though, we give up on it. At that point, there’d be too much evidence to ignore. He’d have to assume Shopkeep and Lord Nors were collaborating, and strike down both of them. It was an odd move for Shopkeep to make, when Wisp and Ike both knew his ultimate weakness—that beating heart beneath the city—but perhaps he was confident or full of himself enough to believe he could stop both of them from reaching it.

Ike rushed at Lord Nors again. Wary this time, Lord Nors dashed away. Ike sped up with Lightning Dash. He put his all into it and managed to catch up to the disembodied head. Lord Nors had enough time to look surprised before Ike smashed him back toward Wisp. Lord Nors’ head hit the ground and knocked around, rattling on the stones.

“You filth!” Lord Nors started to hop up again.

“No, you’re filth!” Wisp countered. She leaped onto Lord Nors’ face. Gripping the metal rod between her forelimbs, she drove it home. It pierced through his eye and into the hollow behind.

Despite himself, Ike shuddered. The ultimate nightmare. Not the being pierced through the eye so much—although that was horrific. No, having a giant face-sized spider sit on your face: that was true horror.

Lord Nors screamed. He thrashed around on the floor, knocking Wisp off. Energy spewed off of him, but it rushed into him as well. The energy densified inside him. The aura of mana grew stronger from one moment to the next. A tiny dot of glowing blue appeared in the depths of his cracked-open head. The dot grew larger. It condensed into a palm-sized blot, then kept growing, growing, growing, building up to fill his head.

“Wisp! Get away!” Ike shouted, recognizing the technique. He fled himself. He’s going to explode!

“Wait! He’s right over the heart! If we let him explode—” Wisp shook her head.

Ike stared. Shit! She’s right. I don’t want to let Lord Nors kill Shopkeep. No—if Lord Nors wants to kill him, then I definitely don’t want to kill him! “How do we stop him?”

“If I fuckin’ knew, I’d be doing it already!” she snapped back.

Ike stared. His brains worked overtime, searching for a solution.

Overhead, lightning snapped. A charge built up around Ike.

“Wisp, get back!” he shouted again. But this time, he charged in. As the blue light reached a fever pitch, he dove for Lord Nors’ head.

Please, make it in time! Even as he called those words in his heart, he activated Lightning Caller.

KA-BOOM!