“I’m going to need you to stay here, okay?” Gridel says, patting Tiv and Zan on the head. “Where we’re going, it’s very dangerous, and you might get hurt.”

“We can take a little bit of pain!” Zan harrumphs, puffing out her chest. “Well, maybe not Tiv since he’s a scaredy-cat, but—”

“I’m not a scaredy-cat! Stop spreading lies!” Tiv cries, throwing a punch at her arm. Zan merely ducks out of the way, giggling.

Gridel sighs, her hands on her hips, arms akimbo. She meets Ren’s gaze, who only returns an apologetic look. Vane’s already preparing their supplies, and Penny is currently having a grand old time chatting with Chief Grimm. They haven’t even set foot outside of Gyldon and they’ve already encountered their first roadblock. “Look, there’s no telling what Minister Berg is going to do, and I’d feel more at ease without the two of you around.”

“What? Why?” Tiv and Zan whine in unison. “We’re not useless.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… there is the possibility that we need to fight both Berg and the Horseman if they are colluding,” Gridel says.

“Colluding?” Tiv asks.

“Why?” Zan pipes up.

Ren can see the veins popping in Gridel’s temples, and he decides to step in. “If Berg is helping the Horseman, then it stands to reason that the Horseman would come to her aid if she’s so much as threatened.”

“So? You can beat them both up! You’re strong!” Zan says, mimicking Gridel’s pose.

“Well, we had a few close shaves, I’m not gonna lie,” Ren says. “Usually, it’d take all four of us to take on the Horseman alone. And if we throw Minister Berg into the mix…”

He trails off. From the looks on Tiv and Zan’s faces, he figures they’re getting nowhere. The duo is intending on fighting alongside them no matter what. Just as Gridel opens her mouth to argue again, a clearing of the throat interrupts her. Ren turns to find Chief Grimm hobbling towards them, his staff clacking against the ground.

“Children.”

Tiv and Zan stiffen, both of them averting their gazes, refusing to look at Chief Grimm. Like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Gridel flashes him a thankful smile.

“Gridel is only looking out for you,” Chief Grimm says. “I’m sure she has your welfare as her topmost priority. Besides, I’m sure there are important things for you to do here in Gyldon. Such as learning to grow and harvest medicine, isn’t that right?”

“But that’s boring,” Zan mumbles.

“If that is not exciting enough for you, there are quite a few pests running around the fields every so often,” Chief Grimm continues, a twinkle in his eyes. “Perhaps you would like to lend us a hand in catching them? Big rats and moles that try to tear up our lands sometimes?”

At that, Tiv and Zan’s faces light up. “Big rats and moles?”

“Why yes. Spend enough time catching those monsters, and you’d be the best in the land. What say you have a little competition between yourselves, eh?”

“I’m definitely better at pest-catching than Tiv,” Zan says, arms folded. “He can never beat me.”

“Oh yeah?” Tiv puffs his cheeks out. “You’ve never even caught moles before!”

“The only way we will know who is better is if we put it to the test,” Chief Grimm says, placing a hand on both their shoulders. “Come along now. We’ve got some farm work to do.” He winks at Ren and Gridel, before jerking his chin over at where Penny and Vane are waiting.

Chief Grimm handled that like a pro, Ren has got to give him that. Now, all that’s left is for himself and Gridel to join their friends at Gyldon’s barrier. It is Chief Grimm’s daughter, Lady Gisella, who opens the barrier for them with a tap of her staff against its hardened shell.

The green barrier fizzles away, allowing the Luminaries and their crew to step out and back into the forest. Once they’re through, Gisella summons it again with a stab of her staff into the dirt.

“Bye!” Penny calls, as she waves to the citizens of Gyldon. “We’ll be back before you know it!”

Ren offers them a wave as well, as they set off back through the forest. This time, they’re headed for Beville to confront Berg. Whether she likes it or not.

*

The trek to the city takes a while—but all they had to do was to follow a winding trail past the trees, trails that carriages and wagons trundled on to deliver to the city herbs grown in the village. They do pass by the portal again, and only Penny makes an offhand comment about how it’s still there, but no one really pays much attention to it. They have a mission to accomplish, after all.

But when they arrive, the city’s the same as when they were here last. The corpses have been cleaned up, but the atmosphere is still no less depressing. Ren lifts his head, looking straight up at the giant clocktower peeking out over the roofs of the other buildings. The tallest and most shimmering building in the city, housing the Council, and their target.

If anything, that is most likely where Minister Berg would be. In her office, counting the gold pieces she’s making, bleeding the townspeople dry, whilst she sits snug and cosy in her office high in the clouds. They’ve got to force her to release the spell she’s put the Horseman’s heart under and end this farce once and for all.

Speaking of the Horseman, Ren does find it a little strange that he hasn’t seen hide nor hair of the knight. They did steal his heart, and the Horsemen are able to lead a team of equines and gallop across the sky. But for some reason, he hasn’t come to look for them yet?

Is there something they’re missing?

Ren shakes his head, as though he is trying to convince himself. No, he’s just overthinking things. Maybe the Horseman has some other matter to attend to back in his palace. Maybe the children are giving him some trouble, and he has had no time to look for them. Even though Hal may no longer be around, the children can still act as soldiers and guards. Afraid of death and the disease, now that their protector is gone, they are easily ruled over by fear.

“Okay, I think we might need to go about this in a stealthy way,” Penny says. “Like, those guards over there? I’m sure Berg’s got them under her thumb.”

Like she said, Bevillian guards patrol the borders of the city. They carry spears, holding them upright, as they walk from point A to point B, accompanied by husky-like dogs. The very same dogs that saved their lives… may be out to kill them this time.

“Any bright ideas?” Ren asks. “Look, none of us can act as a distraction—those guards probably know our faces.”

“True.” Gridel nods. “We did go with them on an expedition. The only person who didn’t is…” Her gaze trails over to Vane. Penny and Ren follows it. Vane glances from companion to companion, his frown growing deeper by the second.

“What?” Vane asks with a furrowed brow, as though he doesn’t already know. Or, at least, Ren thinks he’s not dense enough to be entirely oblivious.

“Okay,” Penny says. “I think I’ve got a plan.”

*

Bushes are a terrible place to hide in, Ren thinks. Especially frozen bushes with all their thorns and their spiky branches. However, this is the only hiding spot that grants them a good vantage point to watch the entire operation unfold. It’s not so much an operation as an excellent excuse to embarrass Vane.

“Are you… are you sure this is gonna work?” Ren asks, not even bothering to conceal the scepticism in his voice. “Look, he was getting treated for two days at the hospital, right? What if they recognise him?”

Penny shushes him. “Trust me, it will. Don’t worry about it.”

Oh, he’s worrying way too much about this, if Ren’s being honest. He falls silent once more, already feeling the second-hand embarrassment crawling up his neck, heating his cheeks. Goddammit, this is like watching a bad comedy. He cannot quite hear what Vane is saying from this distance—he can only see the man’s mouth move, along with his wild gesticulations, as he approaches the guards.

The soldiers immediately go on guard, spears held out in defence. Ren has no concern for Vane’s safety—the man can certainly hold his own in a fight, and these soldiers are no threat to him at his best. However, what worries him is that the more Vane speaks, the more agitated the soldiers become. Just what is he saying over there?

“Penny,” Gridel whispers. “I don’t think it’s going well.”

Penny hums, gaze on an innocent butterfly flapping its wings as it flits through the bushes. “Isn’t it?”

“No,” Ren says flatly, clutching Ifrit tightly between his fingers. “Are you even watching? Vane’s got his sword out and he just cut down one of the guys.”

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“He what?”

But Ren has already sprung out of the bushes and is heading Vane’s way. With a single wave of his staff, he sends a spiral of fire at the guards. The stream turns into a fountain of flames as soon as it hits the ground, hurling the congregating guards and huskies back. Vane glances over.

“I’m glad to see you,” Vane says tonelessly, but also gratefully. “The situation was getting rather dire. They didn’t want to listen to a thing I said.”

“Yeah, figures,” Ren says. Behind him, he hears Penny and Gridel plodding along. He glances about. More and more guards are running towards them, their spears at the ready. Oh God. Their plan at distraction was a total failure; they’ve alerted the guards now. Better start running.

“Quick, let’s go!” Gridel calls.

With his walls of fire on both sides, Ren parts the soldiers like Moses parting the Red Sea, creating a clear path for them to dash through. Penny takes the lead, cutting down straggling soldiers and leaving them unconscious on the side of the road.

From the clocktower, soldiers emerge, none whom Ren recognises. One of them raises a cane, a blue glyph appearing over her head of her staff.

“Dodge it!” Penny cries.

Someone grabs Ren’s arm and yanks him to the left. Ren staggers into Vane, the man steadying him with an arm around his shoulder. An icicle crashes into the ground, splintering and shattering into clear, crystal shards. Gridel fires a bolt at the mage, the implement stabbing her in the arm and forcing her to drop her weapon.

However, she isn’t the only enemy they need to contend with. Sprinting from the other borders of the city are soldiers, each armed with spears and staves. There’s no way they can take down so many at once. They’ve only one way forward, then.

Into the Clocktower they go.

Vane drives his sword into the ground, forming a wall of earth that keeps the wave of soldiers at bay. Gridel scares a few more with her bolts of wind, most of the arrows crashing into the ground by their feet. Not hurting them in any way, but they’re enough to make them wary. Penny weaves ribbons of water from Mira’s edge, slicing through a group of soldiers with the whooshing blade.

Ren rams his shoulder into the door, barrelling into the room. The first floor has been abandoned; the receptionists are gone. Penny heads immediately towards the stairway, taking the steps two at a time, followed closely by Ren and Gridel. Vane erects a wall of earth, blocking off the entrance to the Clocktower before joining his companions.

The climb is long and arduous. They meet almost no resistance—the government officials must have either escaped or are cowering in their offices. They practically fly up the stairs, the adrenaline rushing through them drowning out all soreness of their thighs as they ascend.

“Here!” Penny shouts, amidst her gasps for breath. Ren drags himself up the last few steps, panting hard and leaning against the wall. They find themselves in what looks to be a giant hall, the Clocktower’s bell hanging from the ceiling above them. Just ahead of them looks like the clock’s face, its numbers and needle hands faintly visible from the interior.

And sitting before it just so happens to be… Minister Berg’s desk. The woman herself stands behind her chair, her backs to them, and with her staff in hand. This is… unlike what Ren expected, he’s not going to lie. It would probably have been more appropriate to have an entire legion of guards idling around her, ready to leap into battle when they arrive.

Berg turns around, amusement dancing on her smirking lips. “Welcome to my humble office. Whyever are you here? I distinctly recall telling you to stay out of Beville.”

“There’s a little something we need to do here,” Penny says, pointing Mira at Berg. Ren, Gridel and Vane ready their weapons, bodies tensing. The smirk does not disappear from Berg’s face.

“Well, it would make sense that you would seek vengeance in the most unsightly way possible. Knocking out my guards and storming the city? Does this thrill you, or excite you, in the slightest?”

“It’s not about the thrill,” Gridel says, her crossbow trained on Berg. “It’s about returning Zenthos to normal.”

“Why would I do that?” Berg asks, spreading her arms wide. “The Horseman and I, we rely on each other for success. He supplies me the patients, and I keep his heart safe. See? It’s a win-win situation.”

“But you’re profiting off other people’s pain,” Ren argues. “Have you ever thought of the people who can’t afford your expensive healthcare?”

Berg nods. “Of course. If they can’t pay up, they’re useless to me. In other words, they have no choice but to die, or leave. I don’t have the resources to care for every other useless creature in my city.”

How did a woman like this even become minister? Not to mention the head honcho?

Penny clenches her fists. “You… How can you say that? People aren’t meant to be used as tools!”

“Indeed, we aren’t. What a hypocrite you are.” Berg laughs. “Aren’t you just a pawn in the spirits’ game too? They’re using you to eliminate the Horsemen, whilst they sit on their comfy behinds and watch it all happen.”

“They’re severely weakened, and they lack the corporeal bodies to carry out such duties,” Vane says, gaze steely. “Surely, you understand that much.”

Berg smiles. “Have you never considered the idea that your actions are—”

“Oh, we don’t fucking care,” Penny snarls. “Now, undo the spell that you put on the Horseman’s heart. Right now.”

Berg’s lips twist into a frown that mars her fair features. “You truly believe that you have the power to command me? You’re nothing but peasants that should bow at my feet!”

With a wave of her staff, Berg conjures glyphs of ice, frozen spears stabbing out from the walls and straight at them. Vane moves quickly—with a spin, he slices off the incoming icicles. The spears shatter, raining to the ground in shards gleaming with the colours of the rainbow.

Gridel fires a bolt propelled by the power of wind. It soars through the air, just nicking Berg’s cheek as the minister ducks out of the way. She taps her cane against the ground, pulling down a curtain of crackling blue sparks that slam to the ground.

Ren’s eyes widen. What the hell was that?

“Electricity?” Penny stares as the bolts fizzle away, leaving no trace behind.

“I’ve never seen that element before,” Gridel mumbles.

Neither has Ren. He assumed that there only exist four offensive elemental attacks in this world: fire, water, ground and wind. It makes sense that ice could be a subset of water-elemental moves, but…

Ren jolts at the sudden wind picking up. The shards of ice begin to swirl around them, caught in what looks to be a blizzard. Berg flicks her wrist, and the shards turn into hailstones, carried by the cyclone and battering their bodies. Ren grits his teeth, hissing as a shard cuts his skin and drawing blood. The wind grows so dense that he cannot even see two feet in front of him, made even worse with the enclosed space—

Something cracks his skull. Ren screams, his ears ringing and his temple throbbing as he hits the floor. It feels like someone’s just smashed his head in with a mallet—maybe Berg did, with her staff. Either way, Ren’s vision swims, as though it weren’t swimming in white before.

Another yelp and thump of a body against marble has Ren stiffening. Berg’s got someone else, but he’s not sure who. Judging from the tone of the scream, though, it must be either Gridel or Penny. Is she intending on taking them all out like this? By blinding them with ice and hail and striking when they least expect it?

But how is she braving this storm? How is she not getting hurt? Something of this calibre should be dangerous to the mage herself, isn’t it? Maybe that means that…

She’s got her own form of protection? A magical shield, maybe? If so, is there any sort of visual cue, like a glow, or an audio one, like a soft buzz? Ren keeps his eyes and ears peeled, willing the incessant humming in his ears to be gone. He squints in the ferocity of the blizzard, looking out for anything. Just anything at all that could point him in the right direction—

He sees it. A faint orangey aura, encasing someone’s shoes in the dead of the blizzard, stepping past his hand. It’s not a pair of shoes he recognises; before Berg can single-handedly knock them all out, Ren will…

Ifrit burns in his hand, and Ren makes a lunge at her feet. His icy fingers close around a slender ankle, and with a shriek, Berg trips and falls flat on her face. When that happens, the blizzard completely dies down, leaving naught but a rain of broken hailstones pouring to the floor.

The one who took the brunt of that hit, currently lying on the floor, unconscious, is Penny. Gridel rushes to her aid, and Vane jams the blade of his sword into the ground beside Berg’s head. Berg squeaks, scrambling for her staff, but Ren does not let her get the chance. He grabs it instead and shoves it away, the staff spinning along the floor and smacking into the wall.

“Maybe it’s time you gave it up, Berg,” Ren says. “Or, should I say, Genmiol of Gyldon?”

“Sylph… Sylph told you, huh?” Berg mutters. “I figured as much.”

“Yes, she did, and so did Chief Grimm,” Vane says. “You were the one who stole Gridel from Gyldon back when she was just a child.”

“Gridel? I don’t know anyone by that—” Berg starts, only to scream and flail when Gridel yanks on her hair, having laid Penny against the wall.

“I am the woman named Gridel.” Gridel squats beside her, pinning Berg with the most fearsome glare. “And you were the one who ordered the raid that killed my parents and upset the village.”

“Oh, that,” Berg croaks. “That was… revenge. It was nothing personal.”

“Revenge?” Vane asks.

“Oh, yes. Revenge against the people who took my loved one away from me. Revenge against Grimm, and the very spirit Sylph herself.”

“Your loved one?” Gridel asks. “What does that mean?”

Berg grins, a sickly sort of grin. “My mother was killed by a Bugbear, one that wandered into the village by accident. No one ever saw it coming—no one ever thought that a Bugbear would wander past the barrier. It was impregnable, those two said. They apologised, and they said they were sorry, but nothing they say or do can ever reverse what their negligence caused.”

“But that’s no reason to toy with the lives of so many people!” Ren snarls. “And to make deals with one as evil as the Horseman? You’re insane!”

“Evil? The Horseman has done nothing but good to me. He’s only doing what he’s supposed to do. It’s his life’s goal, decided by a higher being.” Berg’s voice drops to a whisper. “Dare you call such a creature, with no choice but to follow his orders, evil?”

Gridel frowns, but she chooses not to say anything.

“You’re doing what some other higher power commanded you to do as well,” Berg says. “You just happen to be on the side of ‘good’, as dictated by the majority of your people.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Ren shakes his head. “I’m not doing this just because a spirit told me to. I’m doing this because I want to free the people of Zenthos from their centuries-long torture. And I’m sure that goes for everyone else here.”

Berg barks out a laugh. “Such tough talk for one so young. You’d make a great actor in my personal theatre, boy.”

“If I was really following orders, I would have noped out of here when I had the chance,” Ren says. “And I did find my chance, in fact.”

The room falls silent, but Ren presses on. “But I didn’t take it, because I knew that I still had left something unfinished. If everyone’s believing in me and my friends, and if we’re the only ones who can deliver them from darkness, then you’d better damn right believe I would do it.”

He certainly wouldn’t have thought this way months ago. He wouldn’t have thought this way back when he was still lodging in Gravelle. Perhaps it was his travels with Vane and Gridel, perhaps it was meeting people like Betty, Isla, and even Tiv and Zan, that ignited a flame within him. Burning bright in his chest.

Berg drops her head against the ground, her cheek resting on the cooling floor. “You really… are full of it, aren’t you? You say you want to save Zenthos? Just give up, why don’t you? It’s incompetent wannabes like you that really make me angry.”

“Incompetent? You’re the one who—” Gridel sighs, the tension released from her body like air from a balloon. “Whatever. Just… undo your spell on the crystal, and we’ll let you go.”

Berg eyes her with a mocking stare. The hairs on the back of Ren’s neck stands on end. “Let me go?” Berg says. “Oh, there’s no need to. You will do it whether you like it or not.”

A shadow whips by their window, and Ren glances over. However, it’s gone as quickly as it came. What was that?

Aerius clatters to the ground. Gridel rushes to the window, throwing it open and sticking her head out of it. Vane peers over her shoulder, fingers clenched tight around Claymore’s grip. The fire that once inhabited Ren’s body smoulders away, extinguished by a startling revelation.

The Horseman hovers a distance from the window with his crystal heart in his arm. And beyond that, in the frozen forest, a village burns.