The knocking didn't stop, so Gregor walked down the stairs, leaving Sirius in the attic, ready to jump from the window.

"Priest Gregor, If you don't open right away, consider yourself a traitor." Emotionless male voice loudly stated outside.

The moment Gregor removed the latch, Silver Inquisitor barged inside, nearly knocking Gregor to the floor.

"Where is he?" A man in a black mask turned around, after hearing a thud outside. "Stop right there, you sinner." The Inquisitor drew sword, that began glowing red hot.

"As if I have a choice." Answered Sirius with spite, standing in front of the doorframe, not moving a step.

"You violated the terms of the agreement you had with the Bishop of Ravenloft! In the name of the Silver Order, I hereby sentence you to death!" Inquisitor raised his sword.

"I refuse!" Shouted Sirius, not afraid to act against him anymore.

He stretched his arm, grabbing the air in front of him, and forcefully tugging. F heavy staff flew from the depth of the house, its iron end being pulled by the flow of mana. It collided with Inquisitor's wrist, making him lose his sword. With a loud ring the scorching sword fell to the ground, sizzling in the morning dew. Sirius pulled his weapon from the air, spinning on his heels to deal with momentum. Glaring at his oppressor, he took a stance, holding his weapon in front of himself.

Surprised Inquisitor regained composure and focused his gaze at Sirius. Without a word he condensed icicle and flung it at Sirius, trying to deal with him in one shot. The ice shattered at wooden staff as Sirius barely managed to put the shaft in its trajectory. Inquisitor huffed and began firing more icicles, constantly increasing the rate of fire, while walking towards Sirius. Icy spears went left and right, without rhythm, constantly challenging Sirius' focus. They whizzed past his head, missed his body my thinnest margins, as Sirius barely managed to move his arms and legs from the ice lances' path. Sirius retreated bit by bit, entirely focused on the onslaught and something else. The Inquisitor didn't notice that, but Sirius' movements of the staff were not hectic, but precisely practiced. On one end of the staff a thick clump of mana was forming under the rhythmic stirring of bronze end.

Suddenly, Sirius ducked, and took staff by one end, relying purely on his spatial perception to dodge two simultaneous spears, that would have impaled him. He forcefully swung the staff along the ground, flinging the dense ball of energy forward. As the mana blob left his staff, Sirius transitioned the swing in the overhead strike, forcing the Inquisitor to either shield himself or dodge. He chose neither.

Inquisitor made a step forward, crouching a little. The amount ice lances that he cast expelled enough residual hot mana in the air, and he was using all that to finish the perpetrator. An inward wave began gathering right under Sirius, threatening to scorch him alive in a blazing inferno.

Then... A sound of shattering glass and a grunt of pain. Sirius finished the strike.

The metal end impacted the ground near Inquisitor's head. Inquisitor was lying on the ground, his leg mutilated, bone shards scattered across the ground.

Sirius leaned and hissed. "Leave me alone!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"You... will pay." Inquisitor snarled, clenching his teeth from pain.

"We'll see, who is the one to pay." Said Sirius and darted towards the western gates. He ran, carrying only his quarterstaff. He tried to get out so as not to confront anyone else. If possible, he would liked to avoid hurting the villagers. Shouts from behind indicated that people woke up and hurried towards him, alerting the guards. When he reached the gates, he was upset to seethe gates that were closed overnight. He either had to break through the gates, or jump over the walls twice as high as him.

"Sirius! You must stop!" Yelled Captain Rody, holding a spear in shaky arms.

"Move!" Screamed Sirius and took a swing with his staff, as if it was a lance.

When the Captain made a sidestep, Sirius threw the staff, pushing it faster with mana. It flew like an arrow, shattering the air, eventually landing on a latch, splintering it into pieces. "Sorry, Cap!" He shouted, while running past him and picking up his only weapon, sprinting in the direction of the World Tree.

He ran without stopping, and arrived totally out of breath, only focused on his goal. He stood still, listening to any rustling in the depth of the forest. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he went inside the hut to gather anything he could take with him. In a small backpack he put some uncommon tinctures, ingredients, and small metal bars. A couple of everlasting vials found their place on his belt, and the notebook on his hip. He tried to avoid taking what he could find on his way, only packing everything of value.

Then he felt a cold blade on his neck.

"Found you." Said Emissary.

"You did." Calmly answered Sirius, lifting his hands in the air. With his Mind Eye he could finally see her features. Soft face, sharp eagle eyes, and short hair,barely covering her ears.

"Why did you do that?" She vaguely asked.

"What exactly?"

"You know."

"Actually, I don't."

"..." She stared at him for a moment. "Why did you violate your end of the deal?"

"Will you believe it happened on its own?" Sirius tried turning around.

"Don't move. Why did you injure the Inquisitor?"

"He tried killing me first. And what about you? Why are you not killing me?"

The question stumped her for a moment.

"In a fair fight you might overpower me, now that you possess Astral Body."

"Could I before?" Inquired Sirius.

"No."

"That's a shame." He agreed. "Will you detain me until people from the Order arrive?"

Instead of an answer Sirius heard loud hissing, a yelp of pain, and a clink of a sword.

"Seth! No! You must not! Why would you do that!" Shouted Sirius into the air, and crouched to look at the bite.

"Don't come close!.."

"Wait, I won't hurt you. He is not poisonous, but you have to treat the wound anyways." Sirius calmly explained and took out a bottle of disinfectant.

"Why are you doing this? I tried to kill you." Emissary was sitting on the floor, while Sirius tended to small bite marks on her hand.

"What do you mean?"

"Inquisitor tried, and you broke his leg. And I also tried to."

"You call that trying to kill?" Sirius chuckled.

"So why?"

"I didn't want to hurt anybody I could consider a friend. Inquisitor was a nuisance all this time, but you see me as a person, despite the doctrine."

"Understood."

They sat a minute in silence, thinking.

"You can say that I have learnt the cloaking spell and you didn't manage to perceive me."

"They would detect any lie, and you know that."

"They wouldn't, if it wasn't a lie." Said Sirius with a smile, his presence disappearing without a trace.

"I have to go." Said ethereal voice, sounding as if from every direction at once. "Take care."