Kichi, Masahide, and Akisane stood shoulder to shoulder with swords bristling, but William’s smile didn’t falter.

Ideas swam in her head that she barely comprehended. The memory of the other world was only a residue. Some ideas were helpful, such as grabbing control of others' power. Masahide had shown the first step of tandem magic, but now she knew one could wrest it from their hands if they weren’t prepared. She knew the best way to win was to utilize tandem magic, but she didn't have time to explain or coordinate with the others.

She had to use her largest ring to stand a chance because any lag would allow them to resist.

William stared down his nose at the three of them as if he were about to lick his lips before a meal. There was no fear there; he didn't believe they could do anything to harm him and that he was in complete control of the situation like a cat playing with a bug, taking its time disassembling them. Worse, as a necromancer, he would control them even after death. His energy staff lengthened to ludicrous proportions, at least three times the height of a man, and he's spun it around.

She wrestled with Masahide's magic but hit a wall. Once he understood what was happening, it flooded into her control. He looked at her for a brief second of acknowledgment.

With the combined strength of the two, she grabbed Akisane's power like the snap of a whip, just in case he was strong enough to resist. He shouldn’t have stood a chance, but as the magic slipped from him, suddenly, just as she had most of it, a gigantic yank almost tore it away. It felt like getting burned, like a rope sliding through one’s hands. She played tug of war with a giant, but that giant didn’t have a proper hold, so she took the last bit desperately.

It’s time. However, the strength of the combined energy was too great, and time and direction seemed meaningless until Kichi struggled to hold it down.

William lashed out with the staff. A single hit could cut through all three if no one blocked, and she didn’t attempt to. Instead, she brought down Black Star Rain that drizzled from the ceiling and pelted William. He brought the staff up and whirled it so fast that it sprayed the black rain. But she sent the droplets back at him, and it forced his concentration and magic to protect himself.

In horror, she realized that she was using corruption. But did it matter? Was this life just a game or not? Either way, she wanted to be a good knight. Yet this was the only way to win, the only way to help Whitebeard escape, and the only way to save her friends' lives. And how dare Whitebeard! He knew what she had to do, and now he was just sitting there watching her do it.

She realized that she was still connected to Ema. That was a different type of magic, if you can call it that at all. It was the control of reality itself. However, Ema was weak and wouldn’t stand too large a drain.

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But Kichi used the Everywhen arua to cast another spell. She had to end the fight quickly before William could strike back.

The worst thought was that the necromancer that created William was vastly stronger than he was. If she had double the vertical rings… well that was a lot more power, and who knew the wisdom of long years and the collection of mystic items imbued her. If they succeeded here, there was nothing to stop her from killing all of them, save for possibly revealing herself to the orders of knights. In fact, remaining clandestine was the only reason Kichi and her friends were still alive.

I have to use Vanquish.

The trick now was to use a spell designed explicitly for creatures of the underworlds.

She knew it would work because Akisane had a depthless ocean of Corruption to draw from. It felt like floating in dark water where one’s feet couldn't touch the bottom. It was terrifying yet thrilling, and like Ema’s arua, it boosted the magical energies.

The blast of Vanquish impacted William. For a moment he was a ghostly figure who screamed out. Yet skeletal ghost fingers refused to release the staff. When the attack ended, his face held two emotions. On one side, there was a smirk, that same smug twist of the lip, and on the other, there was fear in a widening eye.

William stumbled backward in confusion, or perhaps he was hurt gravely, she couldn’t tell. He released the staff, which shrank into nothingness. “Nooo,” he bellowed.

Masahide looked to akasani. “It's trying to trick you. It failed to overpower us and will resort to deception.”

Akasani ignored Masahide and stepped forward. “You're in there, William.”

William’s face looked up in a strange twist, with one half smiling and the other frowning. “He’s here, but so am I. Yes. Here.”

Akasani continued toward William. “I’m sorry, William.”

But his brother turned and ran so fast that he fell and scrambled before heading into the shadows behind the high seat. Then, his footfalls pattered down the corridor towards the secret library.

“We need to follow and end this,” Masahide said.

Akisane held a dangerous look in his eye. “No one follows me.”

Kichi nodded and watched Akisane follow his brother before looking down at the lumps of the dead underworld hounds with pockmarks from the rain. She stabbed into one with her pure sword.

Kichi

Level: 14

Focus: Prescience

Secondary focus: Lava+4, Tandem Dream Sword, Fire Sword, Spirit Dipping, Tandem Black Star Rain, Tandem Vanquish

Weapons: pure sword - 5% pure

Items: Near Field Amulet (Prescience+2, focus)