The air hung frosted and taut as Gunther aimed his assault rifle at James' chest. James stood tall and unflinching, his muscular build covered in chainmail. Bluish-white energy swirled and compressed into his open hand, solidifying into a spear of twisted ice.

Roger, with one hand still around my wrist, summoned his own weapon with a burst of grayish vapor. A heavy, flanged mace.

"Go for the setup," James simply said. Roger returned a curt nod, then charged in toward Gunther. The air around his mace seemed to distort and suck inward, into the weapon's black-iron head. Gunther quickly redirected his rifle at Roger, who zigzagged out of aim and closed in. He lifted his hefty mace, then struck down.

Saber bashed his weapon aside with a jab from her sword-pommel. The mace smashed into the ground near Gunther, pulverizing the carpeting of ice and cratering the asphalt below. Roger shot her a death glare. He reached out to seize Saber by the throat. SHe leaned away to dodge, then grabbed his outstretched wrist. In one swift pivot, and borrowing her backwards momentum, she threw Roger over her shoulder. The man managed to hit the ground feet-first and standing, and he swiped his arm free of Saber's grasp.

"Don't get in our way," Roger ordered her.

But Saber stepped between Roger and Gunther. She held out her sword in front of her, tip pointed up and slightly forward. A defensive stance.

"I apologize," she replied. "He is a student of mine, you see. Let's put away our weapons and discuss things like civilized people."

James tightened his grip around his spear. He closed in towards Saber and Gunther, pincering them between himself and Roger.

"The Bounty Hall does not negotiate," James said. "He has stolen from our comrades. The guilt is his alone to bear."

"Y-your guild takes everything," Gunther barked back shakily. "You grab everything you find like it's your right. How are we supposed to survive? What are we supposed to survive on?!"

"Is that true?" Saber asked Roger.

"Excuses of a thief," Roger replied simply. "Now sheath your sword, paladin. This is your last warning."

Saber kept her guard up. "I'm afraid I must protect my friends."

James gave his spear a forceful twirl. Its tip left behind a shimmering, white trail. "And I'm afraid that's obstruction of justice. Sorry it has to turn out this way, I was beginning to like you." He wound his arm back, poised to throw the spear.

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"Drop it," I snapped. I raised the sights of my railgun to his skull. Without hesitation, he hurled his spear at me. I sidestepped and squeezed my trigger. A bolt of pure arcane force shot out of the railgun's bore, and it manifested itself into a glowing, translucent tetrahedron. James stretched out his hand, and with a flare of cyan rays he conjured a hexagonal shield of ice. It took the shot for him and shattered into powder.

"SOPHIA! JAMES!" Tanin shouted. James and I kept our eyes on each other.

"James! Roger! Listen, you can't fight this," Tanin insisted, his voice low and edged.

James scoffed. "My friend, we fight these for a living. A couple new arrivals from Silver is a warm-up."

"No, you don't understand. These are the cream of the crop. They're on Fink's level. You need to let this slide."

"That's not how we do things here," James replied. "Your buddies from Silver are on thin ice. Literally. They aren't just opposing us. They're going against the whole Bounty Hall."

"Starting to sound like you're just a gang of criminals," I scoffed. I conjured a Cold Grenade inside the bore of my railgun and readied it for fire.

James crafted a new spear of ice. "You think so? Then you ought to be scared. Take us down, and you can bet you'll have a six-digit bounty of your own. Still wanna act feisty?"

If there was one thing I hated, it was threats. Screw anyone who thinks they could manipulate me.

"Oceans, roar," I muttered beneath my breath. "Darkness, mourn. Solstice of the desolate land, drink the blood of kings."

Trails of light darted beneath me, leaving iridescent arcs that intersected to form a magical, eight-sided diagram. The geometrical construct extended outward from me, encompassing everyone. The ever-present fog of the suburb cleared around us. The clouds overhead swirled and darkened. I continued my incantation.

"Do not ask the tide from where it comes. Do not ask the moon to where it returns. O creatures of dust, heed the supplications of this asymmetrical world and forfeit your lot from among the livi–"

"You win!" James said. He tossed his spear to the ground, where it shattered into little pieces. "You'll make this a meaningless death for all of us, you absolute muppet. Roger, hunt's off. We'll let someone else handle this mess."

James touched a finger to the frozen ground below. The rink of ice beneath us began to melt away. And the ice-fences around the perimeter, too, thawed and broke apart and toppled.

"Thank you for understanding," Saber said. "James. Roger."

"You think this is where it's over?" James asked. "Your troubles are just about to start. And oh boy, will they –"

A burst of gunshots interrupted him. Before any of us could react, Gunther took off running. He sprinted behind the corner of a house, then disappeared out of sight.

And then we realized what he had shot.

Upon the pavement, where James had left the Seekflower, was its remains. The pot irredeemably broken, the soil scattered, and the flower itself torn to shreds by bullet-fire.