The tavern froze as if Rall's trembling Fairylight had sucked all the energy in the air. Violently waving, the orb of light suddenly shrank to the thickness of a nail. Then, a dense beam of white energy shot at the speed of lightning towards Inquisitor Broly. A horrifying whistling sound came from the spell, telling stories of stern divine judgment and righteous execution. When the blinding beam subsided, all in the tavern looked in shock at the ashen gaping hole in the inquisitor's chest. Discharges of white electricity crackled around the deadly wound, signs of light magic lingering from Rall's unexpected offensive.

Broly understood those were his last moments, so he turned to Artalia as if to say something he had been holding in his heart forever. However, fate had chosen silence for him. His last breath came quicker than his words.

The Head Inquisitor watched as her colleague's body fell face-first on the ground. She was astonished. The golden armor that the enforcers of the Inquisition wore was said to nullify the effects of light magic. So how did a mere boy's spell surpass that absolute defense? Were the legends about the white Fairylight true?

As for Rall, he fell on his knees. He had practiced the formula for Smite as his father wrote in his notes, but it was the first time he had let go of all that energy. He felt empty like his whole body was hungry for rest, and his Fairylight had retreated to his body. However, the boy's mind was somewhere else. I-I have killed a man...

Tui helped him stand up. She felt like an idiot, thinking he was playing around during their training while instead, he was preparing a trump card. She had to get him out of the tavern at least. Together they moved, one step at the time, slowly edging closer to the double swinging doors of the Wrecked Vessel.

"Where do you think you are going?" Wheezed Artalia.

The mermaid stopped in her tracks. They were almost out, which she already thought was a miracle. With Rall in his current state, they had no chance against the High Inquisitor.

Suddenly, a familiar lanky figure appeared behind Artalia, hugging her tightly. At death's door, Hopps' face betrayed pain unimaginable. Yet, he was smiling - not his explosion-maniac smile, but exuding his usual calm bearing.

"Get off me!" The inquisitor shouted while stabbing Hopps' side with her blade. He flinched, yet his hold did nothing but strengthen.

His face turned to Tui and Rall. "Go."

The mermaid nodded and turned her back to the two. There wasn't anything the two light mages could do anyway.

"You think you can keep me here? Fool!" Artalia yelled, her strikes increasingly desperate against a man who did not seem capable of dying.

Hopps smiled when the two exited the tavern, then opened his mouth to show the inquisitor a dark purple button lodged under his tongue. That was when she understood, but it was too late.

Sturmwater awoke from the sound of a violent deflagration. Rall and Tui flew through the air, landing on the hard ground ten meters away from the explosion. Rall was stunned, disoriented by a constant whistling in his ears. Tui did not fare better. Pains from the fall at the Opal Palace still reemerged from time to time, and this new hit would certainly not help. Still, they were alive.

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Pieces of the Wrecked Vessel rained on the city, many returning to their original spot in the gulf. Conrad saw the explosion from the piers and recognized the alchemical purple of the smoke. He quickly handled several tasks to the crew's officials, then hurried towards the massive tower of smoke that was forming from the ruins of the Vessel.

The figure of a large redhead man appeared from a hiding spot around the corner of the street. With him was his daughter, who looked at the man in confusion. Donny had convinced Dori to leave her place in the tavern for a couple of hours, telling her that he would explain everything to her at another time. Of course, the girl had no reason to doubt her father's words. Now, she did not know anymore.

"Dad. Did you know?" She asked reluctantly.

Donny's face held a strange expression, which morphed into something terrifying when he saw the two kids lying on the ground. His face became red, his eyes teary, and his breathing irregular. Without a word, he walked towards Rall and Tui, every step heavier with boiling emotion.

"It's all your fault," he whispered under his breath. "If you hadn't come, everything would still be the same."

"Dad? What are you doing, dad? DAD?" Screamed Dory, unable to get through to him.

"Go away, Dory. It's better that you don't see this."

She could not accept that answer, fearing his father's hot blood.

She raced to him and reached to grab his arm.

Donny reacted instinctively, swiping his arm and tossing her on the ground with all his strength.

"Leave, I said!" He screamed.

Dory had never seen her father like this. She didn't know what happened, but if he let him go, he would do something stupid that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Luckily, a group of city guards arrived at the scene to investigate the explosion. One of them instantly noticed a golden orb of light floating in the night air.

"Wait, lads! Isn't that Lady Cossak? The one with Admiral Delaux?" One of them asked.

They got closer and saw the redhead man reaching for a blonde boy next to the noble light mage.

"Donny! Thank the gods you are safe! What in all Hells happened to the Vessel?"

The guard's friendly approach broke the boiling atmosphere around Donny. A second before he was reaching for Rall's neck. Now, he made it look like he was checking if he was still alive.

He sighed, acting relieved theatrically. Then looked up at the three guards. In Sturmwater, everybody knew Donny, and he knew everybody.

"Oh, Bobby! One of the clients brought some smuggled explosives. Dory and these two kids are safe. But there were still a couple of people in there. Can you check? I'll look over these two, don't worry."

"Oh shit. Quick lads, someone may still be in there!" Courageously the guards ran into the rubble. They had the lowest rank in the imperial military, but that did not mean they halfassed their duty.

Donny looked at Rall and Tui. He had lost his chance, and they were already standing up. Moreover, a familiar elder in official attire was rushing to the scene.

Tui completely disregarded Donny and hooked her arm around Rall's shoulders for support.

"What- happened- here, Arianna?" Asked a panting Conrad.

Her eyes fell to his feet for a second, unable to hold his gaze. But then she looked up with grief on her face. "Hopps... he sacrificed himself, for us..."

She knew the strong relationship between the butler and the Admiral, so she was surprised when Conrad just nodded and said: "That's a pity."

Instead, he instantly moved to check Rall's condition. "How is he?"

Tui took some time to process the man's question. "He is fine. He needs rest."

"Good."

"Good?! Hopps died. Do you not care?"

"He was a good man. I will have someone send flowers to his family."

"And that's it?!? He devoted his life to you?"

"What do you want me to do?" Asked Conrad, slightly annoyed. "He knew what he was doing."

Defeated, the girl looked down. Through the disheveled black locks of her wig sprouted a couple of strands of blue hair that betrayed her lineage. The Admiral noticed it and fixed it, meanwhile gently caressing her head.

"Listen," he said in the sweet voice that sounded almost like a grandpa reading a fable to his grandkids. "Hopps and I go back a long time. I know he would not want me to mourn for him. In the end, he went out the way he wanted." He lifted the mermaid's head from her chin. "So, don't cry for him. He would be offended if you did."

"We found someone!" Shouted the guards from the rabble for the tavern. "Help me! Leviathan's spit, she is heavy!"

One minute later, the three guards brought out the body of a half-naked woman. She had a slim but strong body, her elegant beauty both enticing and deadly. The air around her was at times colder, at times warmer. It was like her whole body was breathing to repair her injuries. Of her armor, only some chunks remained, bent in angles that betrayed both the high quality of the metal that composed it and the power of the deflagration.

"She is still alive! How did she..."

At that moment, one of her eyelids opened, revealing the feline pupil beneath.

"Where is he?" She hissed lightly.

"I am sorry, madame, can you repeat?"

"WHERE IS THE BOY?" This time, her voice contained a little of her internal energy, which was enough to scare the three guards shitless. They turned around, hoping the blonde boy was still there.

Instead, there was only a speechless Donny, looking at the gulf while hugging his daughter. There were no signs of Conrad, Tui, or Rall.