Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 215, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 79 –

“I knew it,” growled Yancey.

“We’ll warn the others,” said Logan. He and Romana left the group.

“I’ll ready the magic defenses,” said Saul. “If they’ll bare their fangs at Syn, we’ll pull them one by one until they regret it.”

Yancey subconsciously channeled mana into his clenched, skeletal fist. Afterwards, he followed Saul.

“We should get everyone that’s currently out to return immediately,” said Ying.

“I’ll take care of it,” said Olivienne.

“Thanks for the early warning,” said Ying.

“You should thank Amelia,” said Matteo. “Her space magic and scroll crafting made it possible. And if anyone can get the mission canceled at this point, then Amelia.”

“Sadly, I don’t think…” Ying furrowed his brow. “The likes of Vicious…” He narrowed his eyes. “But what really troubles me is Silver-Eyes.”

“Even Jee would require coordinates, wouldn’t he?” asked Megumi. “I did not include any in the report.”

“That may be what the other Guildheads are for,” said Sigille.

“If it’s Jee, then he would teleport in a pattern to do binary searches,” said Matteo. “He once told me that he finds that annoying, so I doubt they can pay him enough.”

Matteo shrugged. “Anyway, all the rankers have their own ways. It may take a while, but if they keep at it, they will find this place. Then they’ll have the coordinates.”

“How long do you think we have?” asked Ying.

“Hard to say,” said Matteo. “Depends a bit on where everyone was when the mission was issued.”

“Let’s hope the creeper was far away on another mission,” grumbled Sigille.

“Yes, he would be the first to find this place.”

“With ‘the creeper’ you mean Sudden Death? Carlos?” interjected Cadence. “Isn’t he a pure channeler? I’ve never heard that the worshippers of Pax gain scouting abilities.”

Sigille snorted.

“He has opened his mind further than anyone else I’ve ever seen,” said Matteo. “His channeled abilities are not the problem but the whispers he is receiving through his channeling.”

“Apparently, the otherrealm creature they call Pax already has an understanding of this realm.” Sigille scowled.

“Anyway, not everyone would drop what they’re doing immediately. Sudden Death would never interrupt an ongoing mission unless ordered to do so by the Guild. Others move when they feel like it. If we take skills and motivation into account, then my guess is that the first to find this place will be some of the death hunters.”

Matteo smacked his lips. “Not much longer than it takes to travel directly by air. There are quite a few vampires among the death hunters.”

“The sort that did not choose to become vampires?” Ying sighed.

“The two strongest among the vampires would be Elenec, who was turned against her will when she was a teenager, and Vell, whose daughter was attacked and turned when she was still a toddler. Vell chose to become a vampire himself so that his daughter would not have to go through it alone.”

“That with Vell only happened a few years ago, didn’t it?” asked Megumi. “Last I interacted with him, he was still…”

“Yeah. Luckily, the two are sensible,” said Matteo. “If it’s those two, I think we can talk them down. Unfortunately, that won’t work with everyone. Once the likes of Apex arrive, battle becomes inevitable.”

“That mad lass,” grumbled Sigille.

Ying held his head in both his hands and inhaled deeply. “Alright, I would be grateful if you could write down some information about whom or what we need to be prepared for. Abilities and the like. We have some idea about the rankers, but I’m sure you can supplement that intel.”

“““Will do.””” Matteo, Sigille, and Megumi all responded.

“I’ll join the defense preparation.” Ying stood up when he remembered something. “Ah right, Terry?”

“Yes?”

“When you left last time, you seem to have dropped a throwing needle. We put it in the room assigned to Devon and you.”

“Thank you,” said Terry. “Sorry about that.”

“It was strange though.” Ying looked at Terry in puzzlement. “None of us could place the needle into a storage item.”

Sigille raised an eyebrow.

“Once the trouble has been dealt with, I would be curious to understand why.”

That makes two of us.

Terry wrinkled his forehead.

“Normally, something like this only happens with active and incompatible spellwork or with fiendish items.”

“I had aspected it with oscillating mana,” said Terry.

“I thought that did not show any success?” interjected Megumi.

“It was the first time that the mana became self-sufficient,” said Terry. “Only reached that point shortly before we left.”

“Strange, but I have to take my leave for now,” said Ying and went on his way.

***

Terry wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked over the sparring area.

It had been a few days since they had arrived back in Syn. So far, there had been no signs from the Tiv Guild, but everyone was on edge, nonetheless.

Terry had initially planned for some experiments with his aspected needle. However, he did not have the mental calmness for theory work, nor did he want to bother Ying at the moment.

So instead, Terry spent most of his time exercising to take his mind off the situation.

The aspected needle was left alone on Terry’s sheath belt.

At least you haven’t lost it again.

Terry concentrated on his mana sense. He had become accustomed to the cloaking interference during his previous visits and he could sense the signatures from all the mana users in Tiv.

Megumi was the person with the deepest military experiences and she assisted Logan and the others in readying the defenses. For some reason, Ethel’s signature was sticking close to Megumi again.

Terry raised an eyebrow.

Ethel had changed since the first time he had met her. Saul had prepared the inscription base metal from the dungeon constructs and he had crafted a black skeletal body for the death specter.

Ethel could freely possess and move the body. There were even some inscriptions for her to wield mana equipment. Her appearance was not the only thing that had changed. Apparently, Ethel had gotten interested in the Captain and at times, she followed her around like a puppy. A mouthy puppy that always felt wronged and tended to pick fights with everyone else.

Sigille was walking through the streets and did her own checks for possible vulnerabilities.

Ying was still wandering around near the Heart – together with Saul. The talk of Silver-Eyes Jee’s involvement had terrified Ying. Matteo had voiced his opinion that Jee would not take an active part, but Ying did not want to rely on this, and defenses were practically meaningless in front of a dimensional mage. No one in Syn could match Silver-Eyes Jee in that aspect.

Matteo had shared all his knowledge on the nominated Guild-members with Syn. Afterwards, he sat silently and focused on the links in his signaling cube. He had registered links with some of the unranked Guild-members whom he knew from his death hunts.

Lizzy, Cadence, and Devon were near the shelters for the non-combatants in Syn. Cadence had been silent since their arrival in Syn. Devon, on the other hand, was as lively as ever, and his presence did a lot to distract the children.

Lizzy was keeping an eye over both Devon and Cadence. No one really knew Cadence, which meant that they did not really trust her. Watching Devon was one part because it was Devon, and another part because now would be the worst time to experience dungeon fairy shenanigans.

Terry smiled when he noticed an approaching signature.

“Terry, dear, you should take a rest and eat something,” said Gretchen. Her soft elderly voice stood in stark contrast to her intimidating appearance.

Gretchen and Wilhelm both had evolved to the third rank. Apparently, the knight-class death aura creatures evolved quicker than the mage or specter classes. In exchange, they had fewer ranks available and, after a certain point, they could only grow stronger by training their abilities.

Wilhelm had evolved into a death reaver. In contrast to a normal death knight, a reaver could absorb more mana and life energy with every hit that connected with the enemy. The color of his mana equipment had changed from blue to a dark red.

Gretchen, on the other hand, had evolved into a death executioner and was wearing black mana equipment.

“Take a cookie.” Gretchen offered a plate to Terry. “I haven’t poisoned them yet. I think. Imagine me winking.” She chortled at her own joke.

An executioner specialized in inflicting poison and other maledictions with every hit.

Terry smiled and took a cookie. “Thank you.”

Terry’s expression changed again when he sensed that Matteo was moving.

***

Three people were gazing at the sky: Matteo, Devon, and Terry. The others were observing the expressions of the three.

The rest of Syn’s greeting committee included everyone from Sigille’s group, Megumi’s group, as well as Ying and Logan.

Further behind them, Gretchen, Wilhelm, Ethel, and others were watching from within Syn’s boundaries.

“As expected,” muttered Matteo. Megumi and Sigille relaxed somewhat.

Two silhouettes dropped from the sky. A woman dressed completely in black with a rapier at her waist and a one-handed crossbow to match. A man that was wearing dark goggles and whose body seemed to be completely wrapped in bandages.

“Greetings,” said Matteo. “I hate to tell you that you have picked a bad mission.”

“What the…” The woman looked around.

“What is going on, Matteo?” asked the man. “Wait, Captain?”

“Vell?” Megumi examined the bandaged man.

“This can’t be good,” interjected the woman. “Matteo, care to fill us in?”

“Like I said before, Elenec. The nominated mission is bad. I was not able to get a hold of you before. I have refused the preliminary oath, which is why I don’t know what they told you exactly, but I doubt they told you that the Tiv citizens voluntarily emigrated to a new city and that they are living together with the deathfolk.”

“They chose to form a city with undead?” asked Vell with audible skepticism.

“Deathfolk,” stressed Ying.

“It’s a long story,” said Matteo.

“Mind influence?” questioned Elenec.

“No. Ma and I did the checks,” said Matteo. “So did the Captain’s group. You can do so yourselves, but I doubt things will stay quiet around here. You will need to make a decision quickly.”

“No need.” Elenec held a hand to her forehead. “If you all say it’s clear, then… Wasted demon shit. We already saw Apex on our way here.”

Matteo frowned.

“Damn it. We verified the whispers on the street, but the mission sounded urgent and we…” Rage washed over Elenec’s face. “Whose arse do I have to kick for this?”

“Our guess is the Preacher,” said Sigille. “Unfortunately, that arse hangs a bit too high for a kicking.”

Elenec’s expression soured. “Minister Kipkoi is one of the few Tiv politicians that considers deathfolk on equal standing. Kicking him would make the situation— Argh! Why would he mess around here? Why did we get tangled up in this? I should have—”

“You would have needed access to the Captain’s report for Guardian management to suspect the mission,” said Matteo. “I was personally involved. Otherwise, I might have accepted the mission myself.”

“Is the sunlight causing you problems?” Megumi asked Vell with concern in her eyes. “I would have thought your mana pool protects you from that.”

Vell shrugged. “Kind of embarrassing, really. My little girl is already able to walk in the sun while I still blister at the slightest ray of sunlight.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” said Ying. “The later the turning, the worse the effect of sunlight becomes. We have sun-shields in Syn if you want one.”

Vell had his goggles turned to Ying in silence.

“Ying is something like the mayor of Syn City,” said Megumi.

“Do you intend to go against the others?” asked Elenec. “Some may be reasonable. Some may back off when faced with your lineup. However…”

“Some others are batshit bonkers?” suggested Sigille. “We have considered where this would lead, yes.”

Elenec seemed to struggle with herself. Vell, too, was quiet and lowered his head.

“It’s alright,” said Matteo. “I understand the penalties and I am aware of your situations. It would already help if you don’t follow through with the mission.”

“No favor there,” exclaimed Elenec. She looked from Matteo, to Sigille, and eventually to Megumi. “I’m not batshit bonkers yet.”

“Amelia is trying to get the mission canceled,” said Matteo.

Elenec nodded. “We can at least intercept some of the death hunters before they get drawn into the fight.”

“Do…” Vell spoke up, but paused again while looking at Ying and Megumi. “What about the children in Syn? How do…”

“There are some vampire children, too.” Megumi understood his thoughts. “The children grow up together. No differences between lifefolk and deathfolk. They play with each other without stigma.”

Vell lowered his head slightly and took a deep breath.

“What about the feeding urge?” asked Elenec.

“We have a way to suppress it continuously and non-invasively until the individual has grown enough to control it,” said Ying.

Elenec narrowed her eyes.

“Long story,” said Matteo. “Involves rituals and voluntary life siphoning.”

Elenec and Vell shared a glance.

“If things turn ugly and you need support, send us a signal,” said Vell to Matteo. “I’ll keep an eye on it.”

Vell looked at Ying. “I would like to visit this Syn City at some point.”

“Thank you,” said Ying wholeheartedly.

“Is it okay to talk out here?” asked Terry. He recalled Matteo’s initial concerns about making it easier to trace Syn’s location.

Elenec snorted and smiled wryly. “At this point, it won’t make much of a difference. Vell and I could find this place through smell. Some will go by the traces of cloaking. Going by some whispers, others have apparently acquired some copies of Guardian signals.”

“We did not know which signals they were talking about, but I guess we can tell now.” Vell looked over at Megumi’s group.

Megumi’s expression darkened.

“Bets on the link with management,” said Sigille. “The frontline coordinators would not pull crap like this.”

“They will find their way here,” said Elenec. “No matter if you stay inside or outside the cloaking. As mentioned, Apex was already sprinting in this direction. Everyone else could simply follow her coattails. Her movement isn’t exactly subtle.”

“Thanks for the heads-up,” said Matteo.

Elenec and Vell then soared into the air and distanced themselves from Syn.

“Seems like Apex will be the first headache,” said Sigille. She glanced at Matteo. “The lass will probably try to pull your pigtails again.”

Matteo’s facial expression made it clear that he did not look forward to it. “Stupid Guild ranking.”

“Dunno,” said Sigille. “She seemed already interested in your pigtails when you were still below her in the ranking.”

“Apex is a battle junkie,” grumbled Matteo. “If I wasn’t on that stupid ranking, she never would have investigated my combat power. She’ll pull anyone’s pigtails as long as they have a pulse or a mana system that substitutes for it.”

“Dunno. She never wants to spar with me.”

“She never wants to ‘spar’ with anyone. She always wants to fight for real, and while Apex is a battle junkie, she is not delusional. She is looking for whetstones to sharpen herself. A real fight with you…” Matteo contemplated the idea. “Maybe you can scare her off.”

“What?” Sigille gasped in fake shock. “But that would be Guardian-interference with a Guild-mission! I can’t do that just for the sake of your pigtails.”

Sigille snickered and grinned. “Seriously, though. You need to learn to handle these types. Most I can do is give some verbal support for my own amusement.”

Matteo grumbled silent complaints.

***

I can see what they meant with the movement not being subtle…

Terry stared at the red dust cloud on the horizon. Someone was kicking up a disturbance in the Red Sand desert that was very hard to miss.

“Pay attention to their fight, Terry,” said Sigille from next to Terry. “That’s something you are unlikely to see in Arcana.”

“Do they have to fight?” asked Terry.

Terry somewhat understood that there were serious consequences with outsiders interfering in Guild business and that this was why Matteo had to be the first line of defense in this encounter.

However, Terry had trouble coming to terms with the notion that Guild-members would aim to crush Syn City even when everyone present could testify that the mission was bad. That would never fly in Arcana according to what Samuel had told him.

In Arcana’s Guild, people would risk their membership if they were that negligent in information gathering. They would be personally liable for all resulting consequences.

Just like you had to be cautious of rookie traps, you also had to be wary of malicious missions. Someone might put up an assassination mission for a target for whom there was no official death warrant. If a Guildhead failed to confirm the warrant, then they would be liable for murder.

“Haaaahh…” Matteo sighed deeply.

“We are outside Tiv’s border. Isn’t this like starting a war?” asked Terry. “Doesn’t this overstep the bounds of the Guild?”

“Nice sentiment, but somewhat off,” said Sigille. “The Guildheads are different from soldiers, yes. However, that just means that they need to be willing to face the consequences. The specific consequences very much depend on the specific situation. If the interests of the local parties in power are aligned with the mission, then there may not even be any consequences worth mentioning.”

“Haaahhh…” Sigille sighed this time. “You also said it yourself. We are outside Tiv’s border. The Tiv Guild won’t punish its most valuable members for something like this unless they are forced to. And remember that we are suspecting an imperial minister of being the client. One of the most influential members of the Assembly, in fact. Still young too.”

Sigille glared into the distance. “It used to be that the interests of most Guildheads stood in opposition to acting as mere footsoldiers. Not so much anymore perhaps.”

Matteo walked forward.

A moment later, a silhouette jumped towards him and threw a punch.

Matteo tapped his foot on the ground, and a rock wall rose to block the punch. It was pulverized in an instant.

Matteo moved his feet over the ground and it became covered with a sheet of slippery ice. He took a deep breath and then exhaled a powerful blast of wind to repel the opponent.

“Hmph.” A woman slid back over the ice and smirked. She was wearing simple black combat robes and wore her hair in a tight ponytail. “Will you stand against me?”

“Haaaahhhh…” Matteo narrowed his eyes tiredly. “This mission is bad, Apex. Amelia is already working to get it cancelled.”

“Who gives a shit? I take that as a yes.” Apex smirked. “Finally, you can’t run or hide.”

“Ugh…” Matteo groaned in annoyance.

“Appy, lass, I don’t think he ever ran from you,” interjected Sigille.

“It’s Apex, you old hag!”

“You can’t seriously expect everyone to call you that,” teased Sigille. “You’re not even the first in the ranking.”

Matteo shot his accepted mother a reproachful glance because this statement was essentially oil to the fire.

“I will be,” growled Apex.

“I can consider your name when you beat me in a spar,” said Sigille.

“Screw spars,” jeered Apex. “They mean jack shit.”

“Why hide your real name? Is it embarrassing?” teased Sigille. “Should I guess? Mildred? Buttercup? Brutus?”

“OY! SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG!” Apex’s face had already turned a crimson shade.

“Or what?” taunted Sigille. “Appy is going to get maddy? Awww.”

Now, even Ying was sending reproachful glances towards Sigille. He was not looking forward to Appy going ‘maddy’ in Syn.

“Sooner or later you will need to grow up, lass.” Sigille’s tone of voice became stern. “Or you’ll get yourself killed.”

“Screw off.”

“Make me.”

Apex’s face was closing in on purple. After clenching her teeth, she spoke again. “So now that Matteo can’t run or hide, you are going to shield your little baby?”

Sigille tilted her head and looked at Apex as if she was a tap-dancing terror grizzly. “Matteo is standing right there. Not his fault that you prefer spending your time bickering with me instead of having a proper battle.”

Matteo groaned loudly.

Sigille’s words were apparently more than Apex could take. She blew a fuse and charged at Matteo.

“Pay attention,” said Sigille to Terry.

“I don’t understand what I’m seeing,” mumbled Terry.

The mana signature in Apex looked different from what Terry was familiar with. It did not seem abnormal in essence, like Devon’s or Matteo’s. It was more abnormal in form and structure.

Like the mana cores in the dungeon beings? No, it seems more fluid and there are multiple centers...

The image of a red and yellow flood dragon appeared behind Apex when she threw her next punch. A weird fire surrounded by yellow lightning attacked Matteo. In the next second, Apex shifted her feet and suddenly vanished.

“Thunderfire,” said Sigille. “Among the most attack-oriented specialties of the mana martialists.”

Of the what?

Matteo soared into the air while being surrounded by raging winds that were lifting him up. The thunderfire followed him. Matteo clapped his hands and an icy blast field was created with him at the center.

“No spellwork,” mumbled Terry.

Sigille glanced at Terry and then went back to carefully observing the fight. “There are not many aspect beings in Arcana. Did you learn about demons?”

“Beings possessed by elementals,” replied Terry.

“With the elemental in control, yes. The thing that makes demons so dangerous is manifold, but at its core, it’s that they completely integrate the host. That means its intelligence, its memories, its abilities, even some of its vices. An elemental has instinct and mana abilities. An elemental possessing a mana corrupted can additionally use and develop the corrupted’s abilities.”

Matteo raised two fingers of his right hand above his left shoulder and then struck out to the ground below. Blue lightning escaped from his finger-tips and impacted on the earth.

Apex became visible when she dodged. She stopped her movement technique and spread her arms to the side with fingers outstretched. She curled her fingers and bared her teeth. An image of giant bestial jaws appeared behind her.

Apex rotated her arms and attacked the earth. Countless thunderfire blasts shot up from below to attack Matteo.

“A demon with a folk host learns to strategize and to plan long-term to develop its own abilities. With a mage host, a demon can learn proper spellwork and cultivate in addition to developing all of its elemental powers.”

“Then Matteo…”

Matteo placed his left palm in front of his chest so that it would point to the sky. He put his right palm on top of his other hand and moved the hand in a circular motion. A fire vortex was created that absorbed the thunderfire.

“Matteo is in control. He is using the abilities of the elementals,” said Sigille. “He was training to become a mage proper before the possession but since then, spellwork had to be given lower priority.”

“So it’s similar to soul spirits?”

“Similar but very different,” replied Sigille with a somber expression.

“A soul spirit does not develop new abilities,” said Ying from the side. “You get what you catch. That’s it. You can raise a soul spirit within its potential, but you can’t train a low rank soul into a high rank one. And while there is the risk of a soul overpowering and damaging your own soul while trying to catch it…”

“It does not put up a constant struggle or try to take over control,” said Sigille. Then, she muttered to herself: “Matteo has become much better at keeping his calm. Good kid.”

An image of a coiled flood dragon appeared around Apex and she jumped while being surrounded by thunderfire.

Matteo narrowed his eyes and moved the winds to dodge.

The fire surrounding Apex changed to form wings as well as claws on her feet.

“Heh,” uttered Sigille. “The lass has found a way to step forward with her cultivation technique to cover her old weakness. Impressive. Matteo is probably grumbling right now.”

“Ugh…” Matteo groaned in frustration.

Apex displayed foot movements similar to her earlier movement technique – only this time, it incorporated her fiery claws and wings.

Apex vanished and instantly appeared behind Matteo and kicked at him.

Matteo changed the winds to cushion the impact, but he was still propelled towards the earth.

“How is she doing that?” asked Terry.

“The lass is hiding her history, but it is likely that she’s from one of the martial sects in the Free Factions Union. She is displaying techniques of a mana martialist.”

“Mana martialist?”

“Arcana as a whole is very orthodox in its mana use,” said Sigille. “Spellwork, mana cultivation, magic items – those are the broad orthodox paths. There are many others.”

“I thought soul spirits are not part of orthodox spellwork?” retorted Terry.

“Are they common in Arcana?” interjected Ying.

“Uhh…” Terry scratched his cheek. “No.”

“Soul spirits are one example of unorthodox mana use,” said Sigille. “The categorization is more than just academic. The orthodox paths have in common that they do not create any compatibility issues. You can learn spellwork and mana cultivation at the same time without conflicts. On the contrary, one benefits from the other.”

Apex was pursuing Matteo on the ground. She was at an advantage as long as she kept Matteo out of the air. Matteo had to rely on his elemental abilities because his own body was not fast enough to keep up with her movement and attacks.

“Unorthodox paths are different. A step on an unorthodox path will block you from following other paths. Every step is one you can’t take back. There are countless mana applications with varying conflicts. Take the lass, for example.”

Matteo summoned a net of lightning, which seemed impossible to evade from Terry’s perspective and yet, somehow, Apex managed to dodge it.

“Orthodox mana cultivation nourishes your whole body with mana. It is balanced. By contrast, Appy’s martialist cultivation technique focuses on speed and attack. The mana flow in her body has been permanently altered for that purpose to create the martialist structures in her body. That is a step that cannot be taken back without tearing down her whole path and starting from the beginning.”

“What about soul spirits, then?”

“Same story,” said Ying. “Soul-channeled spells can have conflicts too. Attempting to use soul purification would be suicide for someone that has developed soul spots.”

“There are many unorthodox paths,” continued Sigille. “Mana martialist is a broad categorization term for those that intentionally and permanently alter the balanced flow of mana inside their bodies. They create clusters and structures to guide the mana in a specific manner to power their techniques.”

“What about the weird images?” Terry had hesitated asking before, because he was not sure if he had been hallucinating those.

“A form of resonance with the surrounding mana,” explained Sigille. “The lass is on the cusp of a breakthrough, I think. Resonance techniques are like tiny rituals to summon a specter of past magic. Beasts mostly. Sometimes artifacts. The martialist mana structures in her body act as the ritual anchors. The ritual triggers a memory in the realm’s mana, which then plays out as part of the martialist technique.”

“I’ve never seen something like that in Arcana,” muttered Terry.

“The martial sects are an eccentric bunch,” said Sigille.

“Are there other mana uses I should know ab—”

“DRAW YOUR DAMN SWORD, YOU BASTARD!” Apex screamed at Matteo.

“Ooohh, Matteo made her mad.” Sigille snickered.

“Why should I?” questioned Matteo.

“YOU!” Apex put her hands behind her and then punched out with both arms at the same time. She smashed through Matteo’s ice defenses.

Matteo exhaled a gust of air to maintain his distance. Apex suddenly appeared behind him and struck out with a knife-hand towards his neck.

Matteo tapped his foot on the ground and the earth under his feet tilted and then rose, which allowed him to evade the attack.

Before Matteo got far away, however, Apex formed a fist and a thin line of thunderfire escaped and burned Matteo’s cheek.

“Draw your sword, or I’ll kill you outright!”

“You haven’t drawn a weapon either,” retorted Matteo. “And you treat this as a fight to kill, anyway.”

“I. Don’t. Use. Weapons.”

“You can go buy one. I’ll wait.” Matteo kept a deadpan expression. “You can take your time. Please.”

“You little shit.” Apex charged at him and rained down a barrage of punches and kicks.

Finally, one of her kicks connected, and Matteo was blown away.

Apex snarled at Matteo while he was getting back on his feet.

“Haaahh…” Matteo frowned. “I can’t use Soul Fury now and you know it.”

“Like hell I do!” Apex rushed at Matteo.

They exchanged blows until Matteo summoned raging winds combined with hail. Apex jumped back but had to shield her eyes to prevent damage.

Matteo prepared a sheet of ice and then propelled himself with a strong wind from behind. He dashed behind Apex and cut her at her thigh with his heart-seeker dagger.

Afterwards, Matteo watched her with eyes that were filled with white fog.

“Finally tired of your misplaced gallantry?” Apex displayed a toothy grin. “Draw the sword. Not that shitty thing.”

“Gallantry?” Matteo cursed under his breath: “My wasted butt, you…” He returned the dagger to its sheath and shouted: “What the Wastes is wrong with you?! Not everything revolves around you, you damned mad-woman.”

Matteo was glaring at Apex. “Want me to cut you up? Fine. Stand still for a second and I’ll show you how gallant I really am. But not with Soul Fury. That blade is to kill—”

“You are too weak to kill me!”

“Not the point,” retorted Matteo tiredly. “Drawing Soul Fury right now would be akin to me attacking myself. Screw gallantry. This is self-preservation.”

“What nonsense!” Apex scoffed and charged at Matteo.

“What does he mean?” Terry asked Sigille.

“The sword would destroy the current stale-mate in his mind,” said Sigille. “Emotions, remember? Unless he’s overwhelmed with fury or completely determined to kill, the dragon soul might upset the balance. Matteo might kill the lass if he had to, but that is very different from actually feeling the desire to kill her.”

Matteo threw out a barrage of blue lightning bolts.

“Appy is different from the creeper or the slimeball. The knuckle-brain is obsessed with strength and might tear the city apart in her fight. However, that’s because she is fixated on challenging herself. For that, she needs strong opponents. She would not intentionally involve the weak. Extremely troublesome, but not necessarily deserving death. That’s the type that is still problematic.”

“I could use a spatial spell to send her to a different location,” offered Ying.

“And ruin the practice?” retorted Sigille. She snorted and snickered. “Also, that probably won’t work. Appy learned that lesson when she challenged Amelia. The lass is crazy, not stupid. She’ll have an item prepared to counter transfers. At least unanchored transfers. A gate might still work, but I would wait with that for now. No point in showing your cards early.”

Devon, who had been staring absentmindedly at the horizon this whole time, suddenly spun his head towards Syn. He narrowed his eyes and then sprinted towards the city.

Ying’s nervous gaze followed the crimson back of the running Devon, who was wearing one of the salvaged Thanatos uniforms again.

“Huh?” Terry and others were surprised by Devon’s actions.

Before Terry could order his thoughts, he jerked his head back to the fight between Apex and Matteo because he sensed a strange mana signature that he could not pin down.

A black condensed torrent of liquid rushed at Matteo from the ground.

Matteo’s expression darkened and his eyes grew cold. He jumped back to dodge while raising an ice wall in his defense. He moved his right hand to the hilt of Soul Fury. However, before he could draw the sword…

“You rotten bastard!” Apex tore the ground apart.

Black viscous liquid retreated from Apex’s violent outburst, and then slowly rose from the ground.

“Don’t you dare to barge into my fight or I’ll end you!” Apex looked more furious than ever before on this day.

The black liquid that had attacked Matteo had been blocked momentarily by the ice wall, but the wall had rapidly melted away. The grass on the earth that was hit by the repelled, viscous substance was sizzling and rotting.

“Heeheehee…”

Cadence scowled at the rising liquid and summoned a red-golden baton from her storage item.

***