Hidden behind a curve on the mountain side, a government official observed a fight between some of his own and a team of priests. He scowled as he watched one of them get bludgeoned to death in one hit, and from a sword, at that. Not even a blunt weapon.

He would’ve had a negative review for the man if the priest that killed him wasn’t holding off a gold. It meant the monster of a priest, because he was just that large, was either a gold or an unnecessarily powerful silver.

As for the rest of the priests, they were an encyclopedia of information to watch. They inculcated basic and advanced martial arts with the use of their skills. However, he noted more martial arts than skills. Their use of their weapons were masterful where most mages dedicated that much energy to mastering their skill. But it didn’t mean their skill usage was poor.

When one of them deflected a blow from his opponent only to slap him across the face and shove him away with his hand, he’d thought the priest was being disrespectful, arrongantly displaying his superiority. He realized differently when Davis, the mage in question, doubled over and clawed at his face and chest. In a matter of moments, Davis was dead. His face was as rotten as an age old corpse.

He heard a shuffle behind him and hushed it with a raised hand.

This was the problem with carrying people motivated by nothing but ambition: they were always impatient. The team he’d sent forth wasn’t meant to survive, but he was the only one that knew this. Their job was to draw out as many of the priest’s skills as possible so that when the main force attacked, they attacked with enough knowledge to win.

So it was taking all his delegated authority to keep those behind him from rushing in to save their comrades.

As he watched, he found a priest who fought without skills. Two, actually. However, the one that held his attention was the one being bullied. There was something about the way he was losing to Angel that bothered him. It was almost anathema to see a priest fight so weakly against another of the same authority. This was not the light the rumors had shed them in.

What’s he playing at? he worried.

There was always a chance that the priest was simply gathering knowledge of her style of fighting, which was hard to believe considering he evaded strikes as if he feared one hit would kill him. Still, it was easy to tell Angel wasn’t the better fighter. Yet, she bullied him.

Her spear struck at him with speeds he seemed too slow to keep up with. She oppressed him with baited attacks and dropped him to the floor with just two kicks. Watching the fight was like watching a mage struggle against someone of higher authority. It was appalling.

At some point, someone had to use a skill on Angel just to save the priest. Judging by the color of the skill and its effect, he judged it was the priest who’d killed Davis with a touch.

Rather than capitalize on Angel’s weakness, however, her opponent seemed hesitant, worried. He was just beginning to think his worries were unfounded, that the priest was actually the weaker of both parties, when something in his bearing changed.

He stood straighter suddenly, somehow seeming taller than his short height was. The minute signs of weakness fell away like the shedded skin of a deadly snake. And as Angel steadied herself on her spear, he turned his attention from her and surveyed his surroundings. She was, ultimately, discarded as unimportant now.

Yes, he grinned. He had been right. He was always right. Whatever this priest was, he was the mastermind of the team.

“Why isn’t she attacking?” a silver beside him asked angrily.

He grabbed the man’s face in his hand, silencing him. Idiots spoke when they had no reason to. When he met the man’s eyes he saw a frown in them. The man was angry at being silenced so rudely in front of his colleagues but would say nothing of it. The gold in charge of their contingent had given him authority over the entire team. Perks of being related to someone so politically powerful. Still, as his grandfather always taught him, there was no point in making enemies of idiots. They were the more difficult enemies to deal with. They acted without logic which often made them difficult to predict.

He released the man’s face gently and answered quietly. “She’s not attacking because he’s not showing any openings. Something about him has changed.”

While he wasn’t certain of the first one, he was sure of the second. She was wary of her opponent now, because he was different. Whether he had any openings or not was an entirely different conversation.

After a moment of his continued disregard, she finally attacked. She raised her spear, hefted it in both hands, and crossed the distance in a sharp thrust.

The priest, head still assessing his fellow priests’ fights, stepped away a moment before her spear got to him. Then, as if anticipating her, he ducked and pivoted away as she turned her thrust into a slash, following his evasion.

The priest flowed in his motion, his movements precise where they had once been hurried, smooth where they had once struggled. When his evasion was complete, he stood just outside the reach of her spear, fearless, unbothered.

The government official’s eyes narrowed as he tried to gleam more from the fight. But when he expected another exchange, the priest started a conversation. He frowned when it happened and wished he had someway to communicate with Angel when she chose to indulge the man. Men like the priest weren’t people to hold conversations with during a fight. They had the ability to play with the mind in words and break a—

“Where’d he go?”

This time, the speaker was a different idiot. Rather than silence him, the government official frowned. The priest had just disappeared. In the time it takes for a sharp inhale he was gone. Angel was left talking to herself.

Why? He wondered. Did he already learn what he wanted to?

His worry itched him horridly, like a thousand sores after walking through a field of poisoned ivy. Angel had fumbled and told the man something and he needed to figure out what it was. But he couldn’t allow his impatience mess up his plan. If he did, a lot of things could go wrong.

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He sought out the priest as his mind eased back to a time over two years back. A time before the government had sent him into the adventurer’s guild as a spy. A time when he’d met the famous urban myth: the oracle.

It was what made him know he was special. The oracle had called for him personally and told him his future. He was to be great. His calculated actions in this world crack would cause an event that would save the world. But to do so, only one thing was required of him. He still heard the man’s jovial voice in his head.

“You know those weak things called Iron mages,” the oracle had said. “Y’know, like you. Just make sure from now till the world cracks that each one you kill stays dead. If you’re not sure they’ll stay dead, don’t try to kill them.”

“And what exactly will I do during the world crack?” he’d asked/

“If I tell you, how sure am I you’ll do it? Just make sure you earn your place in the world crack… oh! Before you go, remember: if you kill an iron, make sure they stay dead.”

He’d obeyed that complicated instruction for over two years now.

………………………………………..

Seth leaned away from another attack and countered with [Quick Strike].

His opponent dodged, stepping out of the way and his twin blade struck another mark on the boulder. At this rate it would take forever before he even broke it. He was beginning to think what he needed was a gold mage.

Worse, as he’d learnt over time, the less reia he had, the more the reia within the crack pressed down on him. So with his reia dwindling, he was running out of time. He was growing sluggish. He knew he needed to save up enough to at least use [Quick Step] two more times, but the woman wasn’t making it an easy task. At this rate he would run out of reia. When he did, moving within the crack would become another kind of task.

His minds began calculating alternatives to his initial plan when someone passed him in a blur of motion. A loud boom echoed from the boulder he’d been striking as something crashed into it and it took him a moment to realize it was Triton.

Triton held the woman by the neck, pinned against the boulder. Hairline fractures spread from where he held her against to encompass it.

“We must move,” he said, holding her firm as she struggled. “Now!”

When she twitched, raising her spear, he forced her deeper into the boulder without strain. The cracks spread further and she coughed up blood.

“If we don’t move now, there’ll be hell to pay,” he said. “This is an order. Command your monster and let’s be on our way.”

“Y…you…t…”

He turned his attention to the woman for the first time and eased his hold on her neck.

“You think we’re going to let you?” she smirked. “You’re already surrounded.”

Triton sighed like a tired father. “I guess there’s no point explaining anything to you.” He turned to Seth. “Were you trying to break this boulder?”

“Yes.”

“And let those things loose on us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Seth gestured at the woman. “As she said, we’re surrounded. I doubted we could escape without some distraction. Ergo…” he gestured beyond her. “Distraction.”

Triton frowned at his nonchalance, eyes squinting as he studied him. “Are you alright?”

Seth nodded once.

Where are the golds he was fighting? His mind asked.

Dead, another answered. They’re dead.

Seth didn’t spend anytime dwelling on the thought, instead, he asked, “If not them, how are we going to survive this?”

“You know what’s on the other side of these rocks,” Triton said, choosing not to answer his question. “You know what you’ll be unleashing. You saw them.”

Whatever was going through the woman’s mind must’ve taken a new turn because her expressioni morphed to fear, one worse than being held by a gold authority priests, and Seth saw her barely restrained head trying to look behind her as if there was no boulder there.

She was curious. What would make a priest so worried?

“I know,” Seth answered.

“And you still think it would work.”

“Yes. Unless you believe you can get us out of this mess.”

Triton mulled it over, then shook his head. The air around him distorted as he channeled reia to his hand and snapped the woman’s neck. Her body fell limply to the ground, lifeless.

He looked at Seth with a frown. “I cannot.”

“Good.” Seth stepped over the woman’s body and touched the cracked boulder. It remained solid under his hold and he removed his hand. “I don’t know why they’ve chosen not to interfere. But something tells me going to them will change that.”

Triton sighed then struck the boulder with a powerfull blow and it cracked further. One more strike would break it.

He struck it once more and it shattered.

The first thing Seth noticed was the precision each beast turned to them with. The second was the presence of more soul mages coming around one corner of the mountain.

“And the party begi—”

Triton shoved him aside, and a blast of force reia flew past him. It shattered the air where he’d been standing and seemed to go on forever. When it struck a random part of the mountain, it shattered it too.

The new entrants, all fifteen of them, froze.

Seth picked himself from the ground and looked at Triton who hid from the beasts behind another boulder and smiled. The government had sent over twenty mages just for the seven of them.

It was flattering.

With the emotion, and touch of arrogance, came a realization. [Heart of Winter] had worn off.

“Take your brothers and run,” Triton ordered then took a deep breath. “I’ll keep everyone here.”

A mild panic was rising in Seth. Now that they had the Volgars’ attention, what next? He knew the way back but what was the assurance he and his brothers would make it back? He’d been confident in the plan just a moment ago, but that was because it wasn’t an escape plan, it had been built around a different premise. A premise that he would achieve his quest objectives and escape while everyone else played distraction to the powerful beasts.

All that confidence was gone with [Heart of Winter]. Not for the first time, he was reminded that the skill was only dependable for the period it was active.

“Go!” Triton barked, then, for the first time since Seth knew the man, he activated a skill. “[Fallen World].”

The priest stepped away from the boulder, walking towards their new assailants and something strong shook the air. Above all fifteen government mages, the air fell and most of them dropped to their knees. Some remained standing, and they struggled with every forward step they took.

Triton frowned at Seth’s continued presence beside him. “Take your brothers,” he said, “and go!”

Seth turned and found his brothers were already done with their fights. If anything, they were victorious in their battle and were waiting for the new enemies.

They’d resolved themselves to die fighting. Just as the seminary had raised them.

Considering what we were about to do, it’s a good thing they did, one of his minds thought.

That much was true.

He ran towards his brothers, ignoring those dead at their feet, and pulled Timi by the arm.

“We’ve got to go,” he told them, dragging a willing Timi. “Now!”

The rest of them took hesitant steps, second guessing their decision.

“What of Triton?” Fin asked.

“Triton’s doing his best to keep us alive.”

As one, they looked back. All except Timi.

Then Forlorn looked at the restrained enemies. “He’s doing that? Alone?”

“Move, brothers!” Seth shouted, already charging on ahead of them with Timi in tow.

Another wave of force reia shot past them and this time a part of the mountain wasn’t shattered. The skill crossed the distance and hit one of the restrained mages and the woman simply exploded. All that was left of her was a spray of blood that stained some of her companions.

Behind Seth, his brothers gasped. He didn’t need more words to gain their compliance.

“In one shot,” Fin muttered, easily outrunning Seth. “Impossible.”

“Unless…” Forlorn began as he past Seth as well.

“That was a gold authority skill,” Barnabas finished, then passed Seth.

You’re kinda making us look bad, one of Seth’s minds thought. Just saying.

Seth cussed under his breath as they rounded a corner, put everything away from sight, and kept charging forward. As if waiting for their escape, the ground beneath them shook as countless skills came alive. It didn’t light up the dark red skies, but it had an impact.

Enough of an impact for Timi to pick him up and surge forward.

Inside the discomfort of his head, another mind echoed. Really making us look bad.