Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Sixthmonth, 1634 PTS
Karie sighed with relief as she finally arrived at the Redwater Sect. She had been laying low for several days, and had finally found a chance to return. She had been happy to learn that the others had also made it out of the situation. At first, she had simply assumed the rest to be dead. Not only had there been the titan and the Supreme Elder, but there had also been the Shade that she had been warned of, their true target.
Despite the dangers and threats, Karie had been happy to witness Juen’s death. With him gone, the only threat to her appointment was Lorelei. It was almost embarrassing to think about how she was so threatened by a woman who had not even completed her core formation. In fact, it was rumored that the only reason Lorelei had reached that stage at all was her use of medicines and treasures to forcefully boost her realm. Regardless of whether or not that was the case, Karie had no doubt that the other woman would have done it if necessary.
As always, the front entrance was guarded by a pair of sect members from the Iron Palace, and with nods of their heads, she was immediately allowed inside. The building’s veneer had already been replaced, leaving no exterior sign of damage from the explosives that had been tossed inside mere weeks before. Even the char marks on the streets were gone, having been erased from existence by the street cleaners.
The moment Karie stepped past the sect members, she found herself immediately faced with the appearance of Vice-Leader Rachel. Karie’s stomach dropped as she witnessed the cruel smile on the woman’s face. Had the woman been waiting for her? How had she known when Karie would arrive?
“Why don’t you follow me?” Rachel asked, and Karie could tell that it was not a question at all.
“Is something the matter? I communicated my survival to you the other day.”
Rachel began walking down the hall without responding, and Karie followed, anxious about what might be happening. Was the extant practitioner annoyed at her disappearance, that she had missed two days worth of teaching disciples? That couldn’t be it, she thought. Rachel was known for being rather lax with such things.
Karie found herself unsure what actions to take. There was a chance that this was a minor affair and Rachel was acting serious without a particular reason. That would be very much in character for the eccentric woman. Still, something felt off to Karie, and she debated attempting to leave the sect. She was only stopped by her ambition; Karie still needed the Redwater Sect’s power and influence if she was to have any hope of competing with Lorelei.
Karie found herself untying and retying her hair, a nervous tic she would have to fix at some point. She was not quite sure why she was so uneasy. Was it because she had no idea how she might fight Rachel, if the two were to be at odds? Perhaps it was simply because of her aversion to Rachel in general. She was rarely able to even sense the extant practitioner’s soul, a matter which bothered her very much. It was unnerving, as if the woman was not actually present.
She was still pondering the matter when they arrived at a familiar part of the sect, Karie’s hands still remaining by the back of her head. Moments after they arrived, the Sect Leader stepped out of the room that had been restricted for the exclusive use of himself and his disciples. Karie had initially been curious, but it had become clear over time that the room was merely designed to assist with meditation.
Cyrus frowned as he noticed the two’s presence, and glanced backwards at his meditation room.
“...Not here,” he said.
“Let’s go to one of the training rooms. We’re not doing this in the conference room. That table was far too expensive,” replied Rachel.
“Do you plan to tell me what is happening?” asked Karie. “I have only been gone for two days.”
“While you were gone,” said the Riverfiend, “We had a meeting about our plans moving forward, and decided that we would be waiting for an opportunity.”
As they walked, he gave Karie more details about the situation in Little Celah, some of which she had seen for herself during her escape from the district. It did not take long for them to arrive at the training room, which was already empty, its hatch opened as if in preparation for their arrival. The moment the three stepped through, the pressure lock sealed the room shut behind them.
Karie relaxed her hands, taking a deep breath and settling them to her side. She got the feeling that it might be best to be ready for whatever might happen within this room.
Rachel smiled, starting the conversation.
“Before she died,” she explained, “Janottka and I had quite the conversation. As it turns out, she had quite a lot to say. About you specifically.”
Karie’s blood froze, and internally, she cursed the Shade for selling her out. It seemed the stereotypes were true. One could never trust a machine. She hesitated, trying to decide what to do. After a short pause, she frowned, slightly flustered, and let out a long sigh.
“I did meet her,” she admitted, “and we made a deal. She suggested I join up with you, and told me there would be an opportunity to deal with my enemies if I did. But she did not ask for anything in return. I assumed she was just trying to use me to cause problems in the clan.”
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, unsurprisingly doubtful of her words.
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“That’s likely the case,” admitted Rachel. “But I would have thought you would inform us about this in advance. Such as when we told you we would be hunting her.”
Karie tensed, prepared to react to any attack that might arrive. It was clear from the previous conversation that the other two were concerned that there might be a fit. Without such concerns, there would have been no problem having this conversation in the meditation or conference rooms.
“I didn’t believe it was pertinent,” she said. “There would be no conflict of interest if I was hunting Juen while you hunted the Shade. I did not even know she was a Shade until you told me.”
“Loyalty is too much to ask for, but you agreed not to be a liability,” Cyrus insisted.
“I agreed to no such thing,”Karie replied. “I agreed to serve you for a time, and ultimately to give you influence over my clan. I made no promises about telling you everything I knew.”
Rachel sneered.
“Do you think we care about the semantics, Karie?”
Something in the way the Riverfiend was glancing at Karie made her feel concerned.
“What are you looking to achieve here?” she asked. “We both know that trust is too much to ask. You aren’t acting logically.”
“Do I need to?” the Riverfiend asked. I simply wish to preserve our working relationship. The current situation does not appear to be working.”
“This isn’t just about the lie of omission, Karie,” Rachel added. “You also left us to die.”
“What could I have done?” she snarled. “You know full well how dangerous that place was. I might not have escaped if I started hunting you down.”
“We aren’t partners, Karie. You need us far more than we need you.”
As if on cue, the Riverfiend suddenly lunged towards Karie, his sword sliding up smoothly from its sheath as if it was sliding along a rail.
The martial world could be harsh at times, thought Karie. But it was not as if she had not seen it coming. The moment she saw even the slightest twitch from the Riverfiend, Karie reacted by expelling thick green mist from her body, stalling his motions before they finished. Her hands flashed to her twin scabbards, raising her blades just in time to parry away an overhand strike from the man.
“You want to kill me for this?” she asked, shocked by his actions. But the strike swerved back, the first in a torrent of motion it took all her ability to restrain.
“We want to teach you a lesson,” Rachel explained. “It was my idea, though Cyrus was not difficult to convince.”
“And they call me the demon,” she sneered, stepping forward in an attempt to pressure Cyrus back. He took the step, but used his reach advantage to losslessly continue his fusillade of motion. However, with the assistance of Karie’s enhanced senses, she was able to discern minor details about the attack. The blows were slowing, the man’s sword shaking slightly at the tip. He was weaker than when they had last fought, still slightly injured, it seemed. But from his movements alone, it was difficult to discern. If nothing else, Cyrus Yu was certainly a hardy individual.
“Bold,” she muttered, focusing her blows with as much strength as possible, sending vibrations scattering into Cyrus’s sword so as to weaken his grip. Hoping to regain his bearings, Cyrus quickly retreated, moving so rapidly that Karie found herself unable to prevent it.
Before she could close the distance, the world suddenly seemed to spin as copies of Cyrus split up from the source, skidding around her at the limits of heer perception. It was impossible for Karie to guess which was real, and which was just an illusion. This was Rachel’s doing, she thought. Karie sneered
“Can’t beat me on my own, so you’re resorting to cheap tricks? How dishonorable of you.” The Riverfiend did not respond to her provocation, but Rachel laughed as if she had made a joke.
“How ironic to hear such words emerge from your mouth. I find myself doubtful you even know the meaning of ‘honor.’” Karie was now the one who had to actively disregard the goading words, aware that she would not be able to handle the other woman at least until Cyrus was injured or dead. She slashed at one of the clones, but her blade passed through without issue, as if the image did not exist at all.
Karie attacked clone after clone, but her blades passed through all of them, not even dispersing like mist around the area. Just how did this technique of Rachel’s function, she wondered? It did not seem to work in the same manner as any of the extant techniques she had witnessed before. Even Karie’s soul senses did not appear to be functioning properly, as she could sense traces of a ‘soul’ from each of the images.
Karie continued to fend off the image clones, but found herself tied down by them, to the point where she was unable to get her bearings, still unsure of the location where the Riverfiend might be hiding.
“Coward,” she muttered, in hope of a response. Seeing that there was none, Karie slashed out her right arm to check another of the clones, but inadvertently left her backside unguarded. It was not an opportunity that the Riverfiend would miss. He slammed into her from the side, sending Karie skidding across the ground.
It seemed that in the end, she thought, none of the clones had actually been him in the first place. Due to the force of the collision, which sent her sprawling, it took Karie another moment to get her bearings, but that moment alone was enough to end the battle. Karie felt the cool touch of a blade’s top, drawing just the slightest of cuts into her throat. She scowled, embarrassed at her mistake.
Rachel chuckled, standing over Karie’s downed body, as she was held down by Cyrus’s blade. A bitter taste was left in Karie’s mouth due to the fight, and she had half a mind to defend herself, to claim she would have won if Rachel did not involve herself. To her credit, she did not do so. Instead, Karie simply kept quiet, and listened.
“We’ll be giving you a second chance,” said Rachel. “I just wanted to make sure you were aware of your standing here. Matters will change once you become the Matriarch, but while you are in the sect, you are our subordinate, and making deals with our enemies will not be accepted. We could always hand you over to your second cousin or the Justice Office. It might be best to keep that in mind, going forwards. Do you understand?”
Karie glared at the pair, but was left with no choice. She gritted her teeth, and spoke the words that Rachel was looking for.
“I understand.”
The woman smiled, and Karie decided that of the three of them, neither she nor the Riverfiend were the demon. Without a doubt, Rachel fit that role the best.
The Hunt for the Twinjade Demon: [Due to the pressing manhunt for the terrorist Triezal, the hunt for criminal Karie Hadal has apparently been placed on the backburner, as it seems wherever she is, this martial artist has hidden herself well. The Hadal Clan has again promised that they are not hiding this prodigal daughter of their Matriarch, though many still doubt this claim, particularly in online spaces. The Justice Office’s official statement is that the hunt will restart once they acquire actionable intelligence.]