“Oh dam-!” I tried to break free of her iron grip, but then she spoke. One soft word that cut through the din of the engines with chilling clarity.

I froze. I felt immense pressure on everything, my arms, my legs. My heartbeat slowed to a crawl, I couldn’t breathe, my vision wavered. The messenger’s presence overpower my own. She drew a dagger from within her robe. I was locked in place, frozen like a fly in an amber of the messenger’s overwhelming aura.

“I am a messenger of The Divine Will. In His Holy Name, I proclaim your sentence.” Her dagger’s blade darkened into deepest midnight. I felt a primal sickness emanating from that blade, as if its steel was the very embodiment of death itself.

I willed every single fibre of my being to move. To no avail, her aura had seeped so far into me, stifling my anima, the energy of my divine soul, that I couldn’t even draw upon my reserves of faith. Was I really going to die like this? My journey ended before it was begun? Strangled sounds emerged from my throat as I struggled even to speak.

“May He, whose mercy encompasses those who oppose Him, grant you peace.” She thrust her dagger at my throat.

Where it shattered on impact.

“Wha-?” Her eyes widened in disbelief. In her shock her aura wavered, slightly, almost imperceptibly, but it was enough. I seized upon that one moment her grip on my anima loosened and drew upon my faith, fed my aura, and in one massive burst, purged her presence from within me.

I could move again. It felt like my body was made of lead, but I could move again. I tapped into the Domain of Battle, and swung a fist that would’ve felled ten men.

She jumped back, gracefully landing on the aisle. Her immaculate face was contorted by a sneer of utmost contempt.

“So you actually begged for protection from one of those false idols, you filthy pagan.” She spat those words with so much venom that I felt her hatred permeate throughout her aura. “No matter.” She drew several daggers, shorter than the ones she used earlier. “None are stronger than Him. You will fall.”

I barely had enough time to move out of the way as she threw those daggers at me. I ducked low, grabbed my backpack from under the chair, and rolled my way into the aisle. By the time I stood she was already gone, disappeared into the shadows.

Something hit my lower back, where my kidneys were. Behind me I saw one of her daggers fall to the floor, making no sound as it did. I looked to my seat, and saw twelve daggers embedded into the wall where my head was. I didn’t hear those striking the wall either. I couldn’t hear anything at all. Not the plane’s engines, not the air conditioning, not even the breathing of my fellow passengers.

I swiftly scanned my surroundings. The people were still there and, from the steady rising and falling of their chests, I could see that they were still breathing. None of them were awake, even the ones that I’d seen eating dinner were slumped over, half-chewed food spilling from their mouths. One of the effects of the messenger’s aura, I assume.

I couldn’t see where she was, it was as if she’d melted into the shadows themselves. And I couldn’t sense where she was, because all I could sense was her; the entire plane was so thick with her presence that it was impossible to pinpoint where she was based on aura alone. As absurd as it was, the messenger had seemingly turned this plane into her domus with just one word.

A brief flash of steel, a feeling like I’d just been punched in several places, and three daggers aimed at my heart, throat, and lungs soundlessly fell to the ground. Hydrargyrus’s protection was still holding, but it could only do so much. Even if I drew upon my authority over the Domain of Battle, it wouldn’t do much to protect me and would only delay the inevitable.

I was the Mistress of War, Patroness of Warriors and Soldiers, undefeated in combat. But this wasn’t the field of battle. She stuck to the shadows, took away her enemy’s ability to fight back, and her techniques emphasized killing as quickly and as efficiently as possible. This was no honourable battle, this was an assassination.

She appeared before me in a flash. Before I could react, I was already in midair, my legs swept out from beneath me. I landed on the floor, and the she drove a lightning wreathed fist directly into my sternum. Sharp pain pierced my side, I tasted blood as as I felt one of my ribs crack. I moved to push her away, but she was already gone, disappeared into the shadows once again.

Hydrargyrus was no longer in his prime, and his protection was beginning to fail. It couldn’t completely safeguard me against a blow that strong, a blow filled with that much faith. Worse, it was beginning to waver even against her thrown daggers. It was only a matter of time before she wears me down and kills me. I couldn’t just stand here and keep playing her game. I don’t know how, but I had to draw her out.

-Your posturing disgraces you, messenger.- I said. It was so disconcerting, how I couldn’t hear myself talk, – And it fools no one. How can you claim to be an agent of El’s will, when he’s too divided to even think coherently? –

Another brief flash of steel, and I was brought to my knees as I felt heavy blows land on all of my vitals. I saw that one of the daggers had a drop of blood staining its tip. It had broken skin, but only just.

“Do not blaspheme.” I heard her voice echo throughout the entire cabin, masking its location. I guess it was foolish to hope that she didn’t think of that. “All I do, I do in His Name. If I act, it is only because He wills it.”

I needed something to defend myself with. But I had nothing, the only thing I had was… the backpack. It was just large enough to cover my torso. Most importantly, it, and everything in it, was mine.

Yes. This could work. The only question was whether or not I could do it without her noticing. Not like I had a choice.

-Do you expect me to believe that?- I said, even as I tapped into the Domain of Battle and invoked my authority, while firmly keeping my backpack, and its contents, in my mind’s eye, -That El’s myriad personae have once again united as one consciousness? Even while his followers continue to divide their worship across a multitude of divergent identities? I may have lost my power, messenger, but I did not lose my mind.-

I felt her anger flare through her aura, and it gave me enough time to react. I brought my backpack up to meet the daggers that flew towards my heart and they were repelled, sent back the way they came. I turned around instantly, and managed to block the daggers that were sent toward my spine. My backpack held strong, its cheap fabric withstanding the messenger’s steel. I can’t believe that worked.

“You even had your patron turn your backpack into a relic? Just what kind of idol did you sell your soul to, pagan?” Her surprise was palpable, but my relief even more so.

I had a hunch that my initial impression was wrong, this plane had not actually turned into her domus. Her aura was just so strong and so stifling that it felt like that was the case. It was a risky gamble, if I had misjudged the situation, she would have sense what I was doing to my backpack and instantly disrupted the process, robbing me of my one weapon against her. But the gamble paid off, now I could fight back. Against someone who commanded so much faith that her aura was strong enough to be mistaken for a domus. Survival was never easily won.

Wait a minute, didn’t she just say my idol blessed my backpack? She couldn’t possibly…

-Do you not know who I am?-

“Who you are is irrelevant. What matters is that He decreed your death. It is not my place to question. Only to act.” Unbelievable. Have I really fallen so far that even the messengers of El didn’t recognize me?

-You know the first part of battle is knowing your enemy, right?-

“Indeed. But this is no battle, and I see no enemy. Only a dog begging to be put down.” I didn’t even need to feel her aura, the smugness radiated from each syllable spoken.

-That hurts.- I shifted into a defensive stance, placing my backpack behind me. -It’s been quite long since I’ve had the chance to teach someone the fundamentals of combat. I’ll take great pleasure in making sure that these lessons are ones you won’t ever forget.- I modified my stance a bit, made it less effective, and waited for her attack.

“Big words from a dog who begs for protection from a false god.”

-About as false as yours is, I would think.- I said, and braced for impact.

I felt a gust of wind as she appeared in front of me, aiming to strike at the opening in my defences. An opening which I knew was there.

She still managed to land a hit on my chest, several more ribs cracked at that. The pain was excruciating, but I had to power through. I caught her arm at the wrist and, using the momentum from her blow, pulled her to the floor behind me, without loosening my grip. I felt her arm pop out of its socket. Her agonized screaming resounded throughout the cabin.

-Lesson one, underestimate your opponents at your own peril.- I said, as I placed my foot directly on her shoulder, bracing her arm against my leg, and twisted. I saw her elbow bend unnaturally, If I could hear anything other than her voice I’d have lost my appetite for several days.

-Lesson two, always attacking someone’s weak points makes you predictable. Variety is key.- She forced herself to her knees, tried to wrench herself away, pulling at her broken arm. When I felt her pull with all her might, I let go.

Her own strength worked against her, and she found herself face first in the ground once again. When she turned, I was ready. I smashed my foot down on her chest, feeling the slight sinking that told me that I’d just broken several of her ribs.

My opponent was an assassin, all of her techniques were focused on killing as quickly as possible. As such, she always aimed for my vitals first, with my heart being her priority target. Barring that, she exploited any opening in my defences, any weakness in my stance. Combined with her ability to cloak her presence, it was brutally effective, no one could defend from an attack that could come from any direction, no defence was absolutely perfect.

Which is why I decided to do something that would’ve been horrifically stupid in any other circumstance; I left a hole in my defences. Not so big as to be blindingly obvious, but big enough that it’d be impossible for me to defend from attacks coming at that angle. That way, even if I couldn’t avoid her attack, I at least knew precisely where she’d be coming from, and have enough time to react. It was a risk, if she’d broken through my protection at that point, or if she hadn’t taken the bait, then I would’ve been back at square one. But it paid off.

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-And last, but most certainly not least, lesson three.- I opened my backpack and took out my weapon. The silver rectangle, shining in the plane’s emergency lighting, was like a guillotine’s blade.

-Do your homework.- I drove my laptop’s edge into her throat with as much force as I could muster. Her eyes bugged out, a strangled, gurgling sound escaped her lips as I crushed her windpipe and severed her spine. Her head lolled to the side, lifeless, blood leaked from her lips and pooled on the floor. I had won.

I collapsed, breathing freely for the first time since the battle started. That was far more difficult than I’d expected. It’s as if I was a support at minute one, and I just got ganked by a carry with end-game stats and items…

By the seven hills, I’ve done way too much streaming.

I looked at the messenger’s corpse. She wasn’t moving, she wasn’t even breathing. Sounds should return any minute now. Any minute now. Any min- Was her aura actually growing stronger?

An invisible force slammed into me, sending me flying several feet backwards. I looked up, and saw that the messenger had started floating in mid-air, her body contorting unnaturally, as if every single muscle in her body decided to seize up at once, over and over again, in an absurd mockery of human form and motion. Her head lolled forward, then as if being manipulated by an amateur puppeteer, it slowly rose to look at me.

Undying hatred burned in her eyes. Quite literally, I could smell her eyeballs boiling with the amount of energy she was releasing. Her broken arm twitched, and inky black lines began to constrict it, forcibly straightening it out and holding it in place.

“To think that I am forced to use this on a mere pagan…” My hair stood on end as I felt the sheer amount of energy that thrummed within her aura. Blood began to leak from her eyes as she spoke, “You should feel honoured, scum. Only the demon lords have ever warranted my true power. Before now.” I felt shockwaves of energy emanate from her body, even as I saw her limp arm blacken and shrivel.

-Your bravado fools no one, least of all yourself.- I said. I grabbed my backpack and held it in front of me while holding my laptop to the side, like I was some sort of modern day gladiator. -Had you opened with this, I might have been worried. But, as it stands, I’ve broken your body too much for it to withstand the power you’re outputting. Cease this foolishness at once, and I promise to end your life quickly.-

“AHAHA-” a wet gurgle drowned out the rest of her laughter. Her face split wide with a manic grin, her teeth stained dark red. Rivulets of blood flowed freely from her eyes and the sides of her mouth, the scarlet ichor tainting her once immaculate robe.

“You should have listened to your own lessons, pagan!” Her bloodshot eyes seethed with frenzied malice. “I am the messenger of His Divine Word, She Who Bears The Gift of Silence. I swear upon His Name that you will never again see the light of day!”

Her aura intensified, and the darkness grew deeper. The last I could see were her eyes glinting with cruel anticipation. And then, nothing.

I was robbed of sight, as well as of sound. I could feel her presence worming its way into me once again. Tendrils of deathly cold seized upon my anima and threatened to rob me of my strength. Her aura had intensified to a point that each movement felt like I was forcing my way through wet cement.

A massive blow from nowhere sent me flying. Then another. Then another. I feebly raised my backpack in one direction, only to be struck in another. I tried to catch her with the same trick, but I couldn’t see her coming, my movements were slowed, I couldn’t react in time. I felt her strike my solar plexus, but she was gone before I could grab on to her. In my desperate groping in the sightless dark, I’d overextended my reach, and was rewarded with a strike that used my own imbalance to drive me, face-first, into the ground.

“What’s the matter, pagan?” I swiped my laptop in front of me as I tried to stand up. To no avail. Her fist collided with the back of my skull and bashed my head into the ground once more. “Weren’t you supposed to teach me a lesson?”

A knee into my abdomen, taste of iron in my mouth.

I hit the roof, fell to the floor. “Where’s your bravado now? Where are your worthless words?” Gripped my lapels, lifting me several feet of the ground.

Smelled blood in front of me, felt her hot breath on my skin. “Has your blasphemous tongue finally fallen silent?”

I spat in her face.

She threw me to the side. Pain shot from everywhere where I landed. I fell to my knees, coughed up more blood. I imagine she must be looking down on me. Smug satisfaction written on her face.

They all looked down me. On that bloodstained battlefield. Among the corpses of my brethren. Him atop his throne. Surrounded by his messengers. Him looking down, his eyes never meeting mine. I can never forgive him. Him. He took everything from me. Him. El.

El.

EL!

I gasped for breath, braced against the seats, stood up. I can not die here. I will not die here. Not to one of his. Not again. Never again.

“What’s this? Another attempt at resistance? Pathetic.” She grabbed me and rammed me through several seats, pinning me against the wall. “You are a resilient pagan, I’ll give you that. But you only delay the inevitable, your body will break in due time.”

-Same as… you-

“What was that?”

-Should have killed me already ten times over… Can’t… body too weak… Only matter of time… before breakdown…-

“Such a shame it won’t be enough to save you.” She slammed her arm against my neck, and slowly started crushing my throat. “Goodbye pagan. Before you fade, tell whoever gave you protection to come find me. I’d love to add an idol to my kills.”

Everything was going dark. Her voice was muffling. No matter how I struggled, I couldn’t break free. This was the end.

Spots of white to my left drew my eye.

Huh. The window must’ve been jostled open by our fight. City lights below us. The giant statue of El’s avatar with its arms spread wide. welcoming me to Rio de Janeiro. One final insult, before I die. I felt myself slipping away.

I’m sorry Vanafreya.

Pale moonlight caressed my cheeks, calling me home to the aether.

My eyes shot wide open. I could see. The inside of the plane was still pitch black, but I could see out the window.

In the night sky shone the soft light of my salvation.

“Wha-?” The messenger said, as I begun to push back on her arm. The full moon showered me in its gentle radiance, I reached out to it, to its form within the Thoughtstream. To the Domain I held the most power in.

“Impossible! What are you?!” I stood within the inky darkness, undaunted. I poured more faith into my connection to the Moon, and I began to glow with a blinding light. My wounds healed in an instant, her overwhelming aura was instantly purged from within me, and I felt myself overflow with power.

“You said you wanted to add a god to your kills?” I said, breaking her spell of silence with my divine word. My voice thrummed with energy that I had not felt in a long time. “Well, here I am, come get me!”

“You-! Know your place, pagan filth!” I felt her begin her charge, to swiftly attack me from the cover of darkness.

But I was faster.

With one thought, every window in our cabin flew open. My moonlight flooded in, its beams scouring the darkness and purging her aura. The oppressive silence was gone, replaced by calm serenity as the moon gently illuminated all. Even the messenger, who I now saw stood in the aisle, was speechless.

I moved forward, only to stop when I felt a wetness to my side. Splintered plastic and broken glass intermingled with pulped flesh and shattered bone. When she’d slammed me into the wall, she must not have cared what was in between. Or who. Collateral damage was an unavoidable in any battle, they didn’t deserve this. This wasn’t their war, they had nothing to do with this. I dragged them into it.

I looked away.

“When I said you should’ve done your homework, this is exactly why. Had you known who I was, you would never have made the mistake of fighting me at night. Let alone while the moon was full.” I stood before my opponent, every bit the goddess that I am. To her credit, she refused to cower.

Now that she had no shadows to hide in, I could see the full extent of the damage she had done to her body. Her arms had been burnt to a crisp, a consequence of overcharging them with power, one of her eyes was simply gone, and her legs looked as if they’d been broken in several places from overexertion. Her insides must have been worse, no one, not even me, could output that much power while as injured as she was without grossly damaging their anima. The only reason she was still moving was the inky black strings that constricted each of her limbs, reinforcing them and allowing for a grotesque mockery of motion. She was essentially a flesh marionette, one who had to pull her own strings.

Still her spirit held through, and, with unerring speed, she pulled several of her daggers and threw them at me. Where they bounced harmlessly off of my backpack.

“Had you known who I was, you would’ve realized that these were no mere relics.” I held my laptop and backpack aloft. “These objects are mine, completely mine, and I linked them inextricably to the Domain of Battle, my Domain. These are now the symbols of my divine authority. These are my regalia.” She threw a wild haymaker at me, and I caught her wrist with my laptop. “Granted, I would’ve picked something less… well, this… but I had to make do.” I bashed her with my backpack, sending her stumbling backwards. Still she stood her ground.

“Blasphemous… idol! You will not break me!” She lunged at me with all her might.

“You still don’t have any idea who I am, do you?” She froze in midair, caught like a fly in a web of moonlight. “Allow me to enlighten you. I am the one who ruled over the greatest empire humanity has ever known. I am the one who rightfully holds the throne that your master stole. I am the Lady of Strategy, Mistress of Battle. The Moon Indomitable. I am Luna Invicta, goddess of war and the moon incarnate, and I say kneel.” With that, beams of light severed everything below her knees.

Agonized screams resounded throughout cabin as I unceremoniously dropped her. Pools of blood stained the plane’s upholstery. It was a good thing that the effects of her aura were lingering for everyone else, otherwise I don’t know how I’d be able to explain this away. She crawled towards me, desperately trying to reach me, to do whatever harm she could.

“Stop it.” I said, I held her in place once again. “It’s over. You lost.”

“No. No no no no no!” She struggled against her bindings, the effort causing her blood to spray out of stumps that were once her legs. “I can’t fail! I mustn’t fail! I must not displease Him! I must do as He wills!”

“El’s not willing anything, messenger.” I said. “He hasn’t for decades. And he likely never will, ever again.”

“Foolish idol. So powerful, yet so blind. I pity you in your ignorance of His Divine Majesty.” she said. “He came back to us, idol. And He, in His infinite wisdom, saw fit to entrust me with your death, personally.”

“Somehow, I highly doubt that.” I said. Though it seems that she’s not lying. Or, at least, she thinks she isn’t. One of El’s personae must be performing a power grab, and managed to convince this poor soul that he was El reborn. Pitiful.

“He gave me this task, idol. And I will not fail. Even if it means my death, I gladly give my life in service to His Will.”

I felt a sudden surge of of power coming from her. Something so massive that she couldn’t possibly sustain her form with it. She couldn’t possibly be thinking of doing that, isn’t she?

“You… Are you converting your anima into energy?! You can’t seriously be considering sacrificing your soul just to kill me!”

“By His Will, I am born. By His Will, I shall die. My life, my soul, my everything, I offer it all, in service to His glory.”

“You’re insane! This plane is filled with people, most of whom are probably followers of El!”

“The sinful shall be judged, the righteous shall see paradise. He shall know his own.” she said, even as her form started to vibrate uncontrollably. Pieces of her skin began to flake off, beams of light shining brightly where they once were.

This was bad. Someone spending their anima accesses power far beyond what they’re capable off, at the cost of permanently destroying bits of their soul. The more of their anima they spent, the stronger the energy released. No one was ever crazy enough to use all of their soul at once, until now. At the rate she was going, she’d let out a blast that would be so powerful that I wouldn’t be able to defend against it, even as I am right now. Even if I were to kill her, she’d already spent enough of her anima that it would just set her off prematurely, still having enough force to kill me instantly.

There was nowhere to go. I was trapped in an enclosed space with a lunatic who would sacrifice even herself in order to ensure my death. Unless…

“I am the messenger of His Divine Word, She Who Bears the Gift of Silence.” she said with a serene smile. “I am no more than His instrument, and with this sacrifice, my purpose is fulfilled.”

I picked her up,and ran for the emergency exit. I sent out my will throughout the plane’s interior, and came back with nothing. Of course there’d be no parachutes. Of course it was never going to be that easy.

She was beginning to glow white now, I had to make a choice. Open the door mid-flight, endanger the passengers, and possibly die? Or stay in the plane, wait for her to explode, and definitely die, along with everybody else?

The choice was simple. Didn’t mean I had to like it.

“If I survive this, Hydrargyrus is going to murder me.” I said. I enhanced my strength as much as I could, and forced the exit open.

I was immediately sucked out of the plane, holding on to my regalia for dear life. I drew upon my faith, drew upon my connection to the moon, drew upon anything, everything, even the remaining dregs of Hydrargyrus’s protection, and reinforced my body.

Before me, the messenger saw what had happened, and simply closed her eyes. I felt the final surge of faith from her and I pushed her away. I put up my backpack to shield myself, pouring as much power into my regalia as I could muster.

“His Will be done.”

There was blinding light, deafening sound, and then the shockwave slammed into me, rattling me to my very core. Everything was spinning, the rush of air threw me around as I fell to earth, all I could hear was a high pitched whine, all I could see was the endless sky. It was taking everything I had to stay conscious.

So I didn’t.