Two guns. Both of their dark barrels stared at my chest.

My first instinct was to shoot back.

Without lifting the barrel of my gun, I fired a Cold Grenade straight into the ground. I waved my hand, summoning a spiraling shield of water, right in time to block two pistol rounds from the strangers in suits. A short delay later, the Cold Grenade detonated, engulfing the shop in chilling mist. My foes froze solid. I took the chance to grab the Mask of Lost Shadows and retreat behind the store's counter.

That bought me time to assess the situation. In that moment of fight-or-flight, I had chosen to fight. In hindsight, that seemed like the wrong choice. I wasn't even in real danger. At this point, I could easily take several bullets and walk away with nothing more than scratches.

I heard the strangers writhe free from the frost encasing them.

"Let's all calm down," I shouted. "I hand you the mask, and we all move on."

"Stand down, you're outmatched!" the skull-helmed warrior roared.

Pistol shots pierced the counter next to me. I popped up, fired, and retreated back behind cover. Bullets and projectiles darted across the shop, decimating the walls and furniture. A bullet nailed my wrist, then bounced off, leaving a painful bruise.

Soon the enemy fire stopped. I had taken out both the strangers in suits, I realized. They weren't dead, but their HP fell too low for them to remain conscious.

The skull knight shook his head.

"They should've listened," his voice boomed.

I frowned. "...Why didn't you stop them?"

"I literally told them to stand down," the armored warrior said, his words echoing within his helmet.

"Oh. I thought you were talking to me."

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"Wait. Was it not obvious?" The blood-red pits of his eye sockets stared at me.

"Not really," I said.

"Oh. Ahem. Well, do forgive them for their rudeness. We generally don't threaten people with violence like this."

I nodded. "Mhm, I, uh, that's good to hear."

"Yeah," he said.

One of the strangers with guns groaned while crumpled on the floor. The dust of our firefight began to settle and clear. I looked down at the mask I had snatched.

"So, I guess you can have this, and I'm free to go?" I asked.

The warrior laughed.

"Muhahaha! After you've beaten my subordinates to pathetic little pulps? My honor will not allow it!" He reached behind his shoulder and brandished a flanged mace. "Wizardling! PREPARE TO FACE MY WRAAAAAATHHH!!"

He charged into me with a shoulder tackle. I gagged as the impact carried me along and slammed me into the wall behind. I was squished, for a moment, before the impact broke me through the wall.

We went farther, into the next wall behind. And the next wall.

And then we were out on the streets. He had just knocked me through multiple stores.

I ached all over, but I could still fight. Despite his bulk, he moved faster than I could react. And I had lost my grip on the mask. It was probably buried back in the wreckage somewhere.

"That hurt," I wheezed. "Must've been a special ability. What's the cooldown on that?"

"Fourteen seconds," he replied.

…Did he really just answer my question? For free?

Was he lying?

As I was recovering, the knight charged at me, though this time slower. I ran away to keep my distance while peppering him with shots and spells. I fired my abilities at full power, strong enough to pulverize the asphalt road, but he took the bombardment without much issue. The knight roared a battlecry. He leaped into the air at me. A dark aura engulfed his mace, pulsating and flaring as he brought it down towards my head. I made a quick sidestep, narrowly avoiding the blow.

His weapon struck the wall of a cafe behind me. A wave of energy burst out, tearing through the wall, filling the entire cafe, and obliterating it from the inside-out. The building blew apart into smithereens, like it had just been hit by missile strikes.

All that remained of the cafe was a smoldering, rubble-lined crater. Bits of debris rained down from the sky with arrhythmic thumps and clangs.

So that's how you want to play it, huh?

I planted my palm upon the fractured pavement. So be it.

"Final spell," I muttered. "Maw of Leviathan."