Sirens flashed on the Martial vans, and the helicopters spun their blades, sending flurries of snow all over the courtyard. Akari’s instincts told her to run, but she had to see this. She had to see how strong Relia truly was.

The girl stood perfectly still amid her enemies. The only movement was her jacket and red hair, which both thrashed in the wind. She kept her face blank as she surveyed the scene.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Relia spoke loud and clear, projecting her voice through the clearing. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“That’s good.” Frostblade nodded as if they’d just made a deal. “Neither do we. Come with us, and we’ll talk.”

“Is that what you told my master?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he replied. “But we—‍”

“Then send someone who does,” she interrupted. “My master won’t hold a grudge. Let him go, and we’ll leave in peace. No one needs to die.”

“Enough,” he bellowed. “We’ll talk later. After you’ve surrendered.”

The others adjusted their aim, making his words a silent threat.

Like all law officers, Frostblade clearly loved the sound of his own voice. He couldn’t listen if his life depended on it, which it probably did. Then again, hadn’t Relia said she’d never killed another human before?

First time for everything.

Relia lowered her eyes in defeat, but a faint blue glow colored the skin of her hands. The Martials attacked a second later. Their Missiles tore through the clearing, and the sight was brighter than ten strikes of lightning. Assault rifles fired in rapid succession, and the sound shook her to her bones.

A Construct formed around Relia—a perfect dome of transparent blue mana. It rippled like the sea as a hundred bullets and Missiles struck its surface. She thrust out her arms, and pieces of the shield flickered out as she unleashed her own attacks.

One Missile struck a man’s chest and hurled him back into the nearest van. Windows shattered, and clouds of dust erupted as the others slammed into the brick wall.

Several more injuries followed—all too fast for Akari’s eyes to see. Relia moved in a blur of motion. No sooner had she launched her first few techniques than she raised another shield to catch her enemies’ attacks.

“Come on.” Kalden grabbed Akari’s arm and pulled her back from the wall’s parapet. He let go before she could protest, and she followed behind a cluster of evergreen trees. The view here wasn’t as good, but at least they wouldn’t get hit by a stray bullet or Missile.

The chaos continued, and it was impossible to say who had the upper hand. Most of the Martials had taken cover behind their vehicles, still attacking with guns and rods.

“They’re wearing her down,” Kalden said. His words sounded distant in Akari’s ringing ears.

He was right. Emberlyn’s father hadn’t used a single technique, and he was supposed to be the Martials’ best fighter. He would lose to Relia in a straight fight, but that wouldn’t matter if her mana ran dry.

Barely thirty seconds had passed, and Relia had disarmed more than a quarter of the enemy ranks. Unfortunately, she was no closer to escaping. The helicopters still loomed above, bombarding her with constant machine-gun fire. The vans surrounded her on all sides, and the Golds waited in reserve.

How could she hold that shield for so long? Akari didn’t know much about Constructs, but they obviously drained your mana faster than Missiles. Relia must have noticed the same problem, because her legs glowed blue and she launched herself at the vans opposite Frostblade.

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The Golds joined the fight, raising barriers of ice between Relia and the Silvers. Relia didn’t lose her momentum. Instead, her muscles shone brighter as she charged the nearest Construct. It shattered like a sheet of glass, but more Martials stepped forward, adding their own layers to the first. All the while, the others kept up their bombardment, and Relia couldn’t attack and defend herself at the same time.

She shot several Missiles into the dirt beneath her feet, launching herself a dozen feet in the air.

A helicopter shifted, and another ice Construct formed around its base.

Relia twisted her body in midair, kicking off the newly formed shield and landing back in the circle. Several bullets struck her, but they ricocheted off her skin like titanium.

The Martials seized the advantage, closing on all sides. This time, Frostblade leapt into the fray. His Missiles weren’t like the others’. While most law officers aimed to capture their foes, his techniques were harpoons of solid ice.

Relia abandoned her offensive techniques for another full shield. The Martials doubled down on their own assault, and her barrier flickered like a dying flame.

Akari caught a blur of movement behind Relia. Inside her shield.

The black-clad shadow artist materialized out of thin air, and he raised his blade for the kill. Akari could only watch it happen. Even if she shouted her warning, the sounds of battle would have washed it away.

The man plunged his blade straight through Relia’s back, and half of it emerged from the center of her chest. Relia spun in a blur, and the assassin’s body dropped to the ground. Her knees buckled a second later, and she collapsed in the snow.

Despite everything, Relia kept her left hand skyward, feeding more mana into her shield. Her blood pooled around her, staining the snow a dark crimson.

Talek. She kept underestimating them. She’d blunted her Missiles, aiming to injure rather than kill. She also held back her life mana, which was probably her best offensive tool.

Several heartbeats passed, and Relia forced herself to sit up inside her shield. She brought both hands to the flat sides of the blade and pushed the weapon back through her chest. The sounds of gunfire drowned out her screams, but she kept pushing until the blade was free. It dropped out the other side, and her chest glowed with golden-green mana as she sealed the hole.

Three more shadow artists appeared around her shield, shattering the Construct with swipes of their blades.

Relia re-formed her technique, but they’d already made it through, blades angled for the kill.

She leapt toward the nearest black-clad man, gathering mana in her palm. Akari expected another soft attack, like all the ones before it. Instead, her Missile pierced the man’s visor, and he dropped like a rag doll.

Relia snatched his blade as he fell—just in time to parry the next assassin’s strike. She shot a Missile at his knee, and he lost his balance. Then she swiped the blade across his neck, severing his head from his shoulders.

She followed through on the swing, dodging left as the next blade missed her by mere inches. Another blur of motion and mana, and she slashed the blade across his belly.

Akari looked away as more blood stained the snow. Even from back here, she swore she could taste it in her own mouth. She turned from Kalden, ready to empty her breakfast in the snow. But after taking a few breaths of the winter air, her nausea subsided.

In that moment, Akari didn’t regret her decision. She’d wanted real training, but this was a blood bath. When she finally looked back at the battle, half a dozen more Martial corpses littered the surrounding snow. Frostblade and the Golds stepped forward, boxing her in with sheets of solid ice mana. The helicopter lowered another Construct beneath its landing gear, trapping her in a massive box.

Several members of the Silver SWAT team stepped forward, carrying what looked like gas and explosive grenades. Relia slammed her body against the barriers, but they held firm. The blue glow in her muscles had begun to fade.

Frostblade moved his shield aside, and the SWAT team threw a dozen grenades into the open gap.

Akari held her breath as the enclosed space filled with a brown vapor. The edges must have been airtight because nothing escaped.

The courtyard sat silent for several heartbeats, and the survivors seemed to hold their breath in anticipation. Three full seconds passed, and the gas spread to every corner of the space.

Then the ice walls shattered into clouds of broken mana. Frostblade and his fellow Golds ran for cover as Relia hurled the grenades outward, each one encased within a sphere of pure mana.

Several explosions followed as the grenades hit the vans, and Akari felt the heat of the flames on her face. By now, the other hunters had retreated, and she and Kalden stood to follow them, heading for the train station.

When Akari glanced back over her shoulder, Relia was already gone.