Once the Magister died we were able to clear out the rest of the lions pretty easily. Even without Callen, a concentrated effort from the rest of us was more than enough to take them out, and we mopped the monsters up quickly with help from Gabe and the formation holding them all in place. Once we were done, we waited for Callen to finish his Ascension.

I’d seen rank ups before, but this one seemed different…weightier. Whether because he was reaching D-rank or because he was moving PAST D-rank by virtue of all that accumulation, it was still impressive to watch.

I was distracted though, as I felt a smaller form slam into my side, and felt Callie clamp her around me like a steel vise. “You idiot.” She mumbled into my chest. “I’m so glad you’re ok. I thought he was going to kill you. Even with the wishes I just felt like there was nothing we could do to stop him.”

“Yeah.” I said slowly. “I get that. That was…I felt like death itself was coming for me. I can’t believe we survived.”

Gabe rode up next to us, hopping down from his charger as it dissolved into sparkles of starlight. His lance vanished into his ring as he laughed. “We shouldn’t have. D-rank is a sublimation of life state. Not just defensively but offensively. I don’t even know how your wishes were able to do that.”

“Triple’d Impact.” I said with a laugh. “Honestly I expected it to work better. I think the main issue was that the constructs were stable binding manifestations, and made to be temporary. He didn’t have the Impact to break free all at once, but his hundred Impact attacks did erode the bindings, and he was cranking them out as hard and fast as he could. We’d have been dead if he broke out. Even that slight window at the end wasn’t a full break, the bindings fractured from the strike but they weren’t compromised entirely, just fading.”

It was spine tingling to think about him getting loose. Not only would his stats be higher than ours, AND more effective because of his Impact, but the suppression wouldn’t have been affecting him either, so he’d most likely have been getting the thousand pounds per point maximum. Even as a magic user he could have swatted us all to death like flies with his bare hands.

“So do we know what’s up with Callen?” I gestured to the other man, kneeling with his sword driven into the ground, light radiated from the blade in strange, shimmering patterns, shifting and warping like it was being shone through moving seawater. It drained into the big warrior, and aside from Impact, I could feel something else, presumably stats, pouring into him.

Gabe nodded. “His blade had more than enough to rank up. There’s diminishing returns past the next rank, but the power is still there. He’ll probably hit halfway or even three quarters of the way through D before it stops.”

I sighed. I was happy for the big guy, but we sort of needed him. I was in bad shape, and Callie wasn’t much better. Gabe was pretty fresh, but Benny was sprawled out behind me wheezing from the effort of density shifting that huge stone giant. We needed to go help the others, but Callen was our best chance at doing that properly, especially considering the powerful lions that were probably over in that direction.

We’d killed a LOT of them, and while I doubted these were the full complement of even the F-ranked lions, it was most of them. The stronger centuries of the elite division would be able to handle the others, especially with the enemy to redirect the aggression onto, but I had a feeling whoever Spencer got to help him kill Camden wasn’t going to be a pushover. If he could mobilize the Earl and the Magister, D-rank assassins were on the table for sure.

“Looks like we can ask him ourselves.” Said Callie, gesturing to where he knelt. “The light is dimming.” And it was. Even as we watched the sense of pressure around Calleb dropped to a manageable level and he opened his eyes.

I looked at him guiltily. “So…you ranked up huh? Congrats.”

He grinned. “Don't sound so unhappy. Killing a D-ranker at E-rank is a hell of an accomplishment. That's going to get my story out there for plenty of people to hear. Combined with how far into D-rank I started I got a serious head start. Now, I believe there was some mention of rescue?”

I laughed, turning toward the direction the main battle was going to be. Before I left though, I wanted to check on my century. “Alanna!” I bellowed. “Front and center.” The fire user had been disengaging from the turtle shell formation and appeared in front of me post haste.

“Reporting for duty sir!” She snapped off a crisp salute, and I had to fight not to grin at the total shift in demeanor after she’d seen me fight. “What are our casualties like?” I asked quietly.

She grimaced. “About fifty percent.” She admitted. “We did what we could, but with the walls collapsing like that and the Magister distracting you. Commander Nightstrike probably prevented us from breaking and losing the rest. Will we be joining the main battle, sir?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“No.” I said firmly. “Get to the med tent. Agria will take care of you all. You’ve done more than enough.” I glanced down at where my friend was laying. “Benny, you go with them. The soul strain you just went through is no joke. You need time for your spiritual calming to take effect.”

Groaning, he sat up. “You’re right. But I think that was the last push I needed. I can feel my soul stirring, it’s going to sublimate when it recovers. After tonight I’ll officially hit Sapphire.”

I grinned at him. “Lucky bastard.That spiritual calming belt is pretty convenient huh?”

He chuckled at my obvious jealousy. “Yeah…” He trailed off in worry. “I’m…just be careful, ok Shane? This little sortie might be over, but the bigger mess is still going. That Spencer guy is a vicious bastard, and he doesn’t strike me as the type to leave things half done.”

“I know.” I said firmly. “I’ll be careful. And even if I wasn’t Callie is with me. You know she has better sense than either of us unless something shiny is in front of he-ow!” I feigned a yelp as she elbowed me in the ribs from where she was standing next to me, glaring up at me challengingly.

We said our goodbyes to Benny and the others, then took off headed for the manor. Camden had told me ages ago that the final showdown between nobles was usually at their personal estates. It was a big mess that needed a lot of manpower, but for a last push it was doable, especially with the Magister around to help (well…formerly around).

We took off at a dead sprint, and given our respective power we made it to the estate pretty damned quickly. When we arrived…we all came to a stop, staring in horror.

‘The manor was on fire. MULTIPLE TYPES of fire. I saw blue flames, green, the telltale gold of Mel’s attacks in some places. There were ragged units outfitted in full gear posted up at the entrances, and I could see bodies, both from our own people and from soldiers dressed in Clairdon’s livery strewn about.

Clairdon’s people were gone, the assault clearly having been driven off, and I could see why, because as Camden had hoped, the centuries acting as a strike plate had held the enemy still for the lions to hit from behind, tearing into them like so much meat.

Of course, that was hardly the extent of it. Some of the units had been wiped out completely, and I saw blasted and destroyed sections of manor that revealed stone forms prowling inside.

“Camden will be inside.” I said with a grimace. “He played defense this time, and once the external guard collapsed he would have moved deeper in. My guess will be the basement, down where Sonia does her thing. It’s heavily fortified and likely to have some dangerous weapons lying around.” Glancing at the lions, I turned to look at Callen. “You mind taking point?”

He just smirked. Turning to walk in through one of the blown out entrances on the side of the manor, we went slow just in case we ran into someone really dangerous. Lucky for us, the manor seemed pretty empty, hallways littered with rubble and the occasional body.

On second glance, MOST of the bodies were decked out in Clairdon’s house colors. I guessed they’d dragged the others off to Jessie and succeeded in getting them patched up. It was nice to know that had worked out for them. The Magister’s presence had made that something of a moot point for us, and I gritted my teeth, knowing the Earl had been part of this and wouldn’t receive an ounce of trouble for it.

I wished he’d been here, ready to attack me. I’d have loved to watch Zeke crush him for what he’d allowed to happen. I wasn’t too worried about it though. I ranked up fast, and with my Solid Path already part of my soul, I’d have no bottlenecks until I hit B-rank. The Earl was immortal, I’d have plenty of time to pay him a visit myself.

When we came to the stairs where Sonia’s basement was, I grimaced to see that the door that would normally have kept us out was just…gone. The whole thing was ripped clean off, jagged metal edges all that remained.

Callen held up a hand, wanting to go ahead, and began to inch down the steps nice and slowly. It was staggering to see such a big man move so quietly, and the giant sword that had been on his back was held up in front of him, dark metal almost eating the light as he moved toward the bottom.

There was a roar and a form dropped from above us, and I barely had time to process the lion before a line of pure cutting force bisected both the lion and the ceiling above us as Callen put the sword that his whole reputation had been based on to use.

We all stared at him in shock and he grinned. “My blade has been nurtured with Impact and stats just like I have. I’m not the only one who hit D-rank.”

I whistled as I stared at the huge sword, noting how terrifyingly sharp it looked even in the low light. When we reached the bottom of the steps we came upon a new scene. And I froze in place as I observed what we were up against.

Camden was in the center of the room with Sonia, Alister, and a few of his most trusted guards and commanders. Around them a giant spectral anvil of blue light glowed, the surface littered with symbols and patterns. Around it, stood what looked like three different D-rankers and about ten E-rankers, all deferring to one man.

Spencer Tolbert (I assumed) looked…normal. He had delicate features and soft eyes, the kind that looked like he was always concerned about everyone and was always there to listen when you had a problem. He wasn’t very tall, and was kind of skinny, but his warm blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair made him look like someone’s kid brother.

It was almost paradoxical how eyes that seemed so naturally open and compassionate could sit over such a sadistic smirk. I was betting this was the smile he’d worn that day in the maze, when he watched his little sister drown.

Of course, everyone in the room was an Ascendant, so when we arrived they all turned to regard us warily. I sighed internally. Callie and I were tired but we’d been resting a bit. I’d have taken the two of us and Gabe against ten E-ranked mooks, but those D-rankers outgunned Callen three to one. Or at least, they would have. Over their shoulders, I saw a shift in the dark and Anna stepped silently out of the shadows, invisible to the enemy who were looking at us. She shot me a wink and put a finger over her lips before melting away again. Ok…that, I could work with.