Chapter 71: Silent Shards

There should’ve been screams. Leo should’ve been able to hear the sound of stones cracking as the Echoes crashed into the earth. Stray rocks and dirt sprayed from the impact, scattering across the street. The ground shook. An Echo landed atop a lamplight, bending the metal pole clean in half.

But there was no sound. There was nothing but the same pervasive, hollow silence running through his ears. The soundless images didn’t feel real, as if they were nothing more than a dream.

In front of the masquerade hall, an Echo plunged down into the center of the road and rose to its feet. It was large, the size of a small house, with hunched shoulders and long arms that dangled limply at its sides.

In sharp, jerking movements, it turned towards the nobles gathered on the street. Eight whip-like tendrils hung down from its mouth, brushing against the ground as it moved.

A few people stumbled back while others froze in place. Eyes kept flitting upwards, as though the ward might appear again if they looked a second time. The sky remained empty.

The Echo advanced, cracking its neck as those tendrils rose and pointed straight at the crowd. It readied to lunge.

Just as it reeled back, however, a blade pierced through its chest. Dark liquid splashed across the earth, and the creature lurched. Before it had a chance to retaliate, the blade twisted, flaying surrounding flesh and widening the wound until Leo could see clear through the Echo’s body.

With a final twist, the Echo fell to the ground in a twitching heap. Behind it stood Spade.

The [Executioner] yanked her sword out and stabbed it straight down into the creature’s skull, not flinching as more of that liquid sprayed outwards, staining her face and arms. The Echo finally fell limp. Its limbs began to smoke, and she kicked it to the side.

Spade looked up, face an expressionless mask as grey eyes swept across the street. She jerked her head at the gathered nobles, and the silent gesture finally broke through the shock.

The crowd erupted into chaos. Mouths opened in silent screams. People pushed and shoved at each other in their frenzy to get away while the guards from the auction rushed forward as more and more Echoes landed. Leo’s eyes darted about wildly, but the rooftop where he’d seen the man before was now empty. Where had he gone?

A sharp tug drew Leo’s attention away. He turned and met eyes with Allan, who was frowning and gesturing at the fleeing nobles. The street was already becoming a mess of bodies, rubble, and Echoes; if they stayed much longer, it would be hard to escape. Still, the [Fragmentholder] hesitated.

On the other side of the road, Noah Suchet was hiding from the Echoes in an alleyway. Others elected to sprint down the streets, tripping over their evening wear as they scrambled away. Leo turned his head just in time to see a finely dressed noble stumble, pierced through the back by an Echo’s spindly finger.

More people poured around the street corner. It looked like most of the Echoes had landed in the marketplace, and the people there were trying to escape.

A block away, a building collapsed. The field of Silence still hadn’t vanished; smoke trails continued to swirl in the night sky as more and more Echoes formed.

The guards were already struggling to hold the ones here back. It would be even worse in the market square where there were less guards to begin with.

Leo set his jaw. He shook his head at Allan, trying to convey his plans with his eyes. The [Healer] furrowed his brows in confusion, glancing between Leo and the ongoing battle.

Finally, understanding dawned on him. He nodded slowly, and Leo couldn’t help but feel relieved. He would’ve stayed regardless, but it was good to know Allan would have his back.

Mind set, Leo didn’t hesitate to turn and run straight towards the hoard of Echoes.

He easily spotted Spade as the grey-haired [Executioner] blocked a blow from a skeletal Echo. She glanced in their direction.

Shoving the Echo away with a sharp kick, she used the brief reprieve to turn and hurl her bag over at them before blocking the next incoming blow.

Leo caught the bag, yanking out his dagger and throwing knives and thrusting Allan’s axe into his hands. He scanned the street rapidly; it looked like most of the Echoes here were already being dealt with by one or two guards. He focused on the marketplace.

Fingers tightening around his dagger, Leo sprinted down the street, leaping over rubble and ducking under a whipping tail that slammed into the building behind him.

More people rushed past him, some limping or clutching broken bones, blood spattered. The [Fragmentholder] moved determinedly in the opposite direction of the crowd until he’d turned the corner and reached his destination.

It was worse than he’d expected. The entire square was ruined, carts overturned and broken window shards littering the cracked ground. There must have been some sort of event going on considering the number of civilians present, all of them now desperately trying to get away. Collapsed bodies already littered the earth.

Leo rushed forward, slicing into an Echo’s back before it could lunge at a cowering teenager pressed up against a wall. That succeeded in getting its attention, and the creature whirled around.

A single large round eye peered down at him. This Echo’s body was amorphous, skin soft like a slug’s and bubbling whenever it moved. A rotten stench filled Leo’s nostrils. He scrunched his nose in disgust.

The Echo whipped a thick tail at him, but it was slow and Leo easily dodged to the side. He surged forward, plunging his blade into the creature’s chest. Its flesh was so soft that the knife simply sank in.

Leo gritted his teeth and tilted the blade, carving up the Echo’s body just as the tail swung at him again.

The dagger reached its eye seconds before Leo was forced to duck down to avoid the tail. He rolled away, stray stones digging into his back, and hurried back to his feet. Would that be enough?

It was. Just as Leo readied to lunge again, the Echo’s body split open. A crack formed across its eye, spreading into a web of fissures until the whole thing had disintegrated into a pile of dust.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The [Fragmentholder] exhaled, but he didn’t dare celebrate just yet.

He spun around to face the rest of the square. There weren’t nearly as many guards here as there’d been at the auction, but the few present were battling the Echoes furiously. He caught Allan carving his axe straight through an Echo on the other side of the square.

Just as he moved to go help the [Healer], three more Echoes dropped down from above. Leo’s shoulders tensed. He adjusted his grip on the dagger and took a deep breath.

Before the Echoes could rise fully, he activated [Sprint] and plunged the blade into the closest one. It fell limp, but before the [Fragmentholder] could relax, a curled fist the size of his whole body barreled straight towards him.

Leo leapt away, heart racing as he narrowly dodged the blow. The ground split where he’d been standing mere seconds ago, shaking from the impact.

Leo scrambled back to his feet and eyed the hulking Echo, tracing the line of its arm up to its squat head. He made a split second decision.

Equipping [Acrobatics], he ran up the massive creature’s arm and vaulted over its head, barely avoiding snapping rows of gleaming teeth. Leo landed roughly on its back, but he didn’t waste time steadying himself.

Instead, he dug his dagger into the Echo’s neck, trying to aim where Spade had shown him. Echoes didn’t have a set anatomy, so there was no telling what was and wasn’t a weak spot, but in this case it seemed his instincts had been correct.

He struggled to bring the dagger all the way through the creature’s thick neck, but when he finally yanked it free, the Echo fell forward and collapsed into a heap on its chest.

[The skill [Dagger Proficiency] has leveled up! Current level: 2]

Before Leo had a chance to finish reading the notification, a sharp pain burst from his upper arm. He yelled and grabbed at it, but no sound escaped.

Whirling around, Leo hurled a knife in the direction the blow had come from.

The third Echo dodged to the side, limber limbs coiling like liquid. A mass of sharp spikes bloomed like a flower across its back. One of them dripped red where it had slashed his arm.

Gritting his teeth, Leo ducked behind a piece of rubble as those spikes shot outwards. He activated [Renewal] and felt instant relief. It looked like the cut on his arm wasn’t too deep, thankfully.

From here, he could see most of the surviving civilians had fled the square, but new Echoes were still forming up above. If the Silence didn’t go away soon, the Echoes would simply chase them down the street. It looked like a few of the guards had come to the same conclusion. They shoved away Echoes and moved to follow and protect the fleeing civilians.

Leo waited another second, then rushed out from behind the rubble, throwing another knife at the Echo.

This one landed in its chest, and the creature lurched. More spikes surged towards him, but Allan was suddenly there, axe raised to block them as Leo ran at the Echo.

The spikes trembled. Before the creature had a chance to attack again, Leo aimed his dagger and activated [Sprint].

The knife pierced straight through the Echo. It burst like a bubble, clear droplets spraying out and staining the ground.

Leo stumbled, nearly tripping from the abrupt loss of momentum. He gasped out a breath. He paused, eyes widening. He could hear himself breathing again.

“Leo!”

The [Fragmentholder] turned to see Allan hurrying towards him, his axe hanging in his grip. One of his arms had a nasty cut running down its center, but it looked like it had already stopped bleeding.

Leo glanced around; the Echoes had indeed stopped forming, and the last few remaining in the square were being taken care of by the guards. He could hear the sounds of battle ringing the next street over.

“What’s going on? What happened to the wards?” Allan asked.

“That guy at the ball, I saw him on the roof,” Leo said. “He shot one of the ward stones and broke it.”

The [Healer]’s brows furrowed. “Why?”

Leo shook his head. “I don’t know. He disappeared right after the Echoes landed, I don’t know where he went. It’s like—” his voice caught. The [Fragmentholder]’s eyes widened in realization.

“Shit!”

Leo spun around, ignoring Allan’s concerned shout. “I’m an idiot!”

Not wasting anymore time, Leo bolted down the street. He was vaguely aware of Allan running behind him as the former [Thief] jumped over rubble and fallen bodies, sprinting towards the auction hall with single-minded determination.

Leo cursed at himself for not realizing it sooner. The odd behavior at the ball, the way the man had seemed so out of place among the nobles. Him appearing just as everyone left the auction only to break the wards and send the city into a panic.

All of it had been nothing but a distraction. They’d been hearing about fragment hunters this whole time, and somehow he’d still failed to put it together.

Up ahead, city guards continued to push back the remaining Echoes. A number of injured people huddled in a destroyed shop nearby, and Leo could see smoke rising in other spots of the city where Echoes must have landed. A chimney collapsed, bricks tumbling down and clattering onto the street.

Leo ignored it all, his feet carrying him towards the alleyway he’d last seen Noah Suchet in. He skidded to a halt.

In the center of the alley, Noah Suchet lay on his back, an arrow embedded into his chest. Glassy eyes stared unseeingly up at the night sky. The package containing the mirror and fragment was missing.

Leo looked about wildly, searching for any trace of the man. He was vaguely aware of Allan’s voice in his ears, but his own growing anger and panic were drowning everything else out. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been for not seeing it sooner. And now he’d not only lost the fragment, he’d stood by and let that bastard unleash a hoard of Echoes on the city as a distraction.

“Leo!”

Allan grabbed his shoulder and yanked him around until he was facing the other man. The [Healer]’s eyes were hard and serious, jaw set in a grim line. His features seemed sharper like this, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. Memories of that alleyway flashed in Leo’s mind.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Allan demanded, voice firm and leaving no room for argument.

Leo swallowed. He took a deep breath, forcing his rising panic down. He needed to calm down before he made another impulsive mistake.

“He was a fragment hunter,” he blurted. The words poured out in a rush. “Breaking the ward was just a distraction. He took the fragment.”

Allan’s eyes shifted over to Noah Suchet’s dead body, sweeping across the scene clinically. He nodded.

“Okay. Is he close?”

Leo’s eyes darted around the alleyway. Now that his momentary panic was dying down and his mind was clearer, he inspected it more closely, noting the angle of the arrow, the faint traces of mud leading up the roof on the right wall. His eyes narrowed.

“I think so.” The man couldn’t have gotten that far; it might be possible to chase after him, especially since carrying the mirror would slow him down.

Leo shifted his gaze to the main street. There were still Echoes left, and he could see Spade fighting alongside a few guards. Several people were injured, and while a few doctors were beginning to arrive, it was clear given the suddenness of the attack that they were severely understaffed.

Leo exhaled and turned to Allan. He kept his voice steady. “You and Spade stay here, help the survivors.”

The [Healer] didn’t look too happy about that, but he nodded. If it came down to a chase across the city, he and Spade wouldn’t be able to keep up. Neither was slow, per se, but navigating the city rooftops was a different sort of beast.

“What about you?”

Leo turned back towards the mud trail, hazel eyes tracing its path up the wall and to the roof. He could still remember that chilling gaze watching him at the masquerade. He clenched his fist.

“I’m going after the fragment.”