“Who are you?” Arcturus said.
“The redeemer, come to cleanse you of your sins, the eternal fire forever lit.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Are you some sort of simpleton?”
The stranger’s nostrils flared and his eyes widened in anger. “Shut up! I’m Relm Masters. I’ll have you know I’m at the top of my class at Divine Protector Academy. That means I’m the best, so I mustn’t speak like some sort of commoner. And for your information, I work very hard on my prose.”
“You’re from the Academy? Since when did they get such pathetic uniforms?”
“We made these ourselves! I won’t have you insulting them.”
“Whatever,” Arcturus said. “I take it you’re here to collect the bounty?”
“Indeed. Now, then—I must get back into character. Ahem.” He was silent for a moment before speaking again. “The twice’d traitor, lost to all who held him dear, now begs for release.”
“Uh…no. You’re not my type.”
“Not that type of release, you imbecile! Oh, forget it. Let’s eliminate the formalities and attend to the business at hand. Arcturus Reich, I have come for your head!”
A weapon formerly, called a halberd, appeared in Relm’s hands. It consisted of a pole with an ax in the middle and a long narrow blade protruding from said ax.
He dove at Arcturus. The halberd hit only ground, however. Arcturus easily jumped on top of the pole and balanced on it with the sole intention of making a fool out of this Relm Masters.
Relm roared, lifting up his weapon. Arcturus back-flipped off of it before landing gracefully on the ground. By now, the tourists at Stonecroft had gathered to watch the display, thinking it was part of the attraction. Based on their murmuring, at least a few of them had come to the conclusion Arcturus and Relm were reenacting a famous duel, and the guy with the long pole-arm was reenacting an inept hothead. If only they knew he wasn’t acting.
Relm stabbed repeatedly at Arcturus with little effect. Arcturus deftly sidestepped each attack. After that, Elm switched to swinging the ax part of his weapon in the hopes of taking his enemy’s head. Arcturus simply got in close and blocked the pole section with his arm. He then punched Relm in the face with no care at all. This was like swatting an arrogant fly.
“You pooslicker!” Relm yelled. “You broke my glasses!” He held the shattered remains of his eyewear in his hand as if it was his only child.
Arcturus shrugged. “They weren’t doing you much good anyway if you couldn’t see you were no match for me.”
Relm leapt to his feet angrily. Arcturus thought him the spitting image of a child throwing a tantrum. “You’ve merely gotten lucky up until now. Just wait; I’m going to crush you!” He picked up his halberd and twirled it in his hands. That was probably the most impressive thing he could do with it.
Arcturus said, “I’m going to level with you. I gauged the strength of your two friends in Adlo before coming here. They’re fairly strong. But you? Not so much. I intentionally led you away because it would have been an insult to Ev to make him deal with you. It’s obvious you’ve been relying on your friends’ combat ability while you developed your book smarts.”
Relm pointed his weapon at him accusingly. “Bastard! Of the three of us, I am the greatest. And after having battled you, I say this for a certainty. Of the three of you, you’re the greatest. That’s why my skills don’t seem as impressive as if I were to face, say, Ev Bannen.”
Arcturus’ eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. “Did you just insult Ev?”
“What does it matter? By now, I’m sure Jorg has butchered him already. You fools never stood a chance against us.”
“Ev will win,” Arcturus insisted.
Laughing, Relm replied, “Even if he were to somehow beat Jorg and Priscilia—an impossibility, I assure you—I would put him in the ground without fail.”
Arcturus clenched his teeth. He had heard just about enough out of this upstart. “You seem awfully determined to murder my friend.”
“Yeah? So what?”
“So,” Arcturus conjured his katanas, “I can’t let that pass.”
* * *
Maya launched several more arrows at Priscilia with little effect; she easily blocked them with her shield. And even when she threw it at Maya, she still managed to dodge any incoming attack.
Behind her, Ev’s life continued to drain away. Maya desperately wanted to save him from Jorg, but she couldn’t turn her back on Priscilia.
“You about ready to die, Maya?” she cackled. “I know Bannen sure is.”
Maya tensed up. She could not let them get to her. She had to figure out a way to beat the both of them. But the more she thought of it, the more that seemed like an impossible task. These two were the best the Academy had to offer. They excelled at everything, including combat. How could she hope to overcome them?
“Maya! You…can…do it!” Ev managed to speak in spite of the wire around his throat and the blood issuing forth. “Just need…an opening!”
“Quiet, Bannen!” Jorg squeezed even tighter, and Ev went silent again. However, his words had relit the fire in her heart. She would save him, no matter the cost. She just needed to find the right moment to attack.
Without warning, the police arrived in at least a dozen cars. They quickly filed out and leveled their guns at all the participants of this chaotic play. “So, it’s trouble you be startin’? That’s enough out of you. You best be getting on the ground with your hands behind your back,” one of them announced through a bullhorn in that lyrical accent of theirs.
Things had just gone from bad to so much worse. With the local authorities involved, this complicated matters exponentially. They were surrounded.
Nevertheless, the police presence failed to stimulate any emotion stronger than annoyance in Priscilia. “Get lost.” She hurled her shield at the police cruisers. It bounced between two of them, knocking them over and tearing deep gashes along the sides. The officers quickly scattered.
“What are you doing?” Maya yelled. Picking fights with other gods-in-training was one thing, but now Priscilia risked war with an entire country.
“Shut up!” The shield returned to her, and now Maya finally realized the important thing that lay just out of reach of her consciousness. Whenever Priscilia reached out to grab it, her attention wavered for a split second. She had to focus on safely retrieving it or else she might get skewered. That was the opening Maya needed. As soon as Priscilia tossed the shield again, Maya would get her.
But to her surprise, the haughty woman didn’t throw it. Instead, she charged in and began swinging it like an ax. Maya frantically dodged left and right while struggling to adapt to Priscilia’s new tactic. She raised her bow to block; it might not have been a proper shield, but she had made it durable. In response, Priscilia pressed forward, forcing her back. The shield gave her greater leverage.
Abruptly, though, she withdrew the shield and tried bashing Maya with it. Maya gave it a swift kick, knocking it into her face and sending her careening back down the street.
When she recovered, she lowered the weapon, revealing a smashed and bruised nose. Blood dripped down. Her face contorted in rage as she realized what had happened. “You yurring bitch! I’ll kill you!” I thought we had already established that, Maya thought.
Having seemingly abandoned all rational thought, Priscilia launched the shield with all the force she could muster. It came in much faster than Maya had expected. She hit the ground, the weapon coming within a hair’s breath of taking her head off. Her knees and arms scraped against the harsh gravel of a street torn up by that thing.
It hit a car behind Ev and Jorg and came back toward Maya. She rolled out of the way a split second before it pounded her location and caused a shower of concrete to explode upwards.
Now it was headed back to Priscilia. This is my chance! Maya focused intensely on this single moment, almost seeming to slow down time. Come on, come on, come on, come on! She
drew her bow and prepared to fire.
Despite Priscilia’s enraged state, she still had the presence of mind to turn her attention to safely retrieving her weapon. Her hand reached out to take hold of it…
Now!
She let her arrow fly. It sailed through the air like the most majestic bird alive seeking to take down its prey. In no time it closed the distance between them, spearing Priscilia in the throat. She fell to the ground and made incoherent gurgling and coughing noises. The shield then fell on top of her, puncturing her midsection.
Maya had scored a victory, but there was no time to celebrate. In the blink of an eye she leapt to her feet and trained her bow on Jorg who still held Ev captive. The color had drained from Ev’s face, and she became deathly afraid for him. He just stared out into space with lifeless eyes.
“Drop the bow, Brünhart!” he yelled. “I hold Bannen’s life in my hands, and even if you shoot, you’ll hit him.”
She hesitated. Jorg was right. What would she do? What could she do? Take a chance on hitting Ev?
Without warning, he sprang to life, grabbing Jorg’s arms and wrapping one leg around his. “Maya! Now! Shoot!”
She froze. “W-What? No! I’ll hit you!”
“In the shoulder! He’s—urk!—taller than me. His heart!”
In that instant, she understood. With their height difference, shooting Ev in the shoulder would also pierce Jorg’s heart.
There was no other choice. She lined up her shot.
“No!” Jorg yelled. He knew what was coming and desperately struggled to avoid it. Nevertheless, Ev held on like a madman.
Maya launched what she prayed would be the shot that ended this. It did not disappoint, embedding in Ev’s shoulder. He gave a pained grunt, and both men fell backwards onto the street.
Maya rushed over and ripped the arrow free. Ev rolled away from Jorg and began convulsing, a sure sign the damage he sustained was great. She quickly applied healing to his throat, and within moments he started taking labored breaths. He was no longer convulsing, so she gave silent thanks for that.
She helped him to his feet, and they looked down at Jorg to make sure he was dead. As with Medusa, Jorg’s cold, unseeing eyes stared up at them. They may as well have been discarded eggshells for all the life they showed. Maya’s arrow had pierced his heart without fail.
But she had not pierced Priscilia’s heart. Her aim had been off in that moment she let her arrow fly, and as a result she had only gotten Priscilia in the throat.
With Maya’s help, Ev staggered over to where she lie, the shield still on top of her. She had removed the arrow from her neck and was busy healing the wound now. However, the numerous sections of her body, impaled by the spikes, remained wet with blood. Her uniform, such a point of pride for her, was soaked crimson. When she saw the two of them approaching, she said, “I guess you’re pretty proud of yourselves.”
“I’m proud of Maya,” Ev said. “I’m not proud of myself. I never have been.”
Maya knelt and examined the wounds. As none of the spikes had gotten to her heart, Maya ripped the shield free. Priscilia cried out in agony as her flesh was further torn. “Quit complaining,” Maya said. “I’m saving you. We both know you wouldn’t have done the same for us.”
She moved a glowing hand over the shredded areas. They mended right before their eyes, and within moments Priscilia was fully healed.
She got up and turned her back on them. “I hope you’re not expecting thanks for that.”
“Not really,” Maya replied.
“Why did you do it, then?”
“There’s been enough killing. No more.”
Priscilia laughed. Ev didn’t think she could breathe, she was laughing so hard. “‘There’s been enough killing. No more’? I didn’t take you for a comedian, Maya.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded to know.
Priscilia stopped laughing long enough to answer her. “I may not know what the future holds, but I do know one thing. You pissed off Zero Grade. There’s still a bounty on your heads. I promise you this: the killing’s only just begun.”
“We’ll deal with that later,” Ev said. “But for now, I don’t ever want to see your face again. As long as you don’t return to the Academy, we’ll tell them we killed you. If you’re lucky, no one will look for you. Fair enough?”
For a moment, she was silent. Then: “Fine. I’ll leave. But I’ll leave you with fair warning. You’re living in a fantasy world, Ev Bannen. I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, but there’s a price to be paid. And before you know it, more people will come to collect.”
And with that, she took off into the sky. “You think we’ll ever see her again?” Ev said.
“I seriously hope not.”
He stretched his arms and legs to get them going again. “Well, we’d better—”
He stopped short. The ground began rumbling. It quickly escalated to the point where the surrounding buildings were now shaking. “Is that an earthquake?”
Now the rumbling was joined by a loud noise reminiscent of a foghorn which assaulted every fiber of their being. “I don’t think so,” Maya said.
Ev looked up. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s coming from the sky.”
“Look!” Maya pointed to just above the buildings where a shimmering distortion was moving towards them. Within moments, it coalesced into a solid object the likes of which they had never seen. It resembled an inverted pyramid. The thing seemed to be made of some sort of crystal and was easily the size of the largest building in Adlo. Despite this, it hovered effortlessly through the sky, shining like the sun as it reflected its light.
Ev stared intently at it. It was at once alien and beautiful. “Is that…?”
Nodding, Maya said, “Yeah. I think it is.”
* * *
Earlier...
On the floor of the cave, Arcturus used a stick to draw an upside-down triangle. “Look closely. This thing’s called the Sancta Praesidium. It’s Zero Grade’s flying fortress. Normally, it’s cloaked and no one can see it. But when it uncloaks, then you have a real problem on your hands. If you see it, run like hell to the rendezvous point.”
“Is this where the Flawless Few live?” Maya asked.
“No. If I had to describe its function, I would say it’s more like their emissary. It goes and conducts business in their place. Often that means punishing their enemies. They would have sent it against the Academy by now if they could find it. Don’t underestimate this thing; it’s heavily armed and its weapons can kill even a god with ease.”
* * *
As the Sancta Praesidium hovered a hundred feet above them, Ev and Maya stood in awed silence. Within moments, though, a dozen panels opened up along the exterior and out popped what could only be described as sci-fi ray guns. The barrels swiveled about, seemingly looking for a target.
Ev was now very, very nervous. “Uh, Maya?”
She remained transfixed on the scene before them. “Yeah?”
“What did Arcturus say to do if this thing showed up?”
“‘Run like hell’.”
“Yeah…I’m thinking we should probably do that.”
The gun barrels were now pointed directly at them. The blaring noise abruptly ceased, and Ev got a sickly, terrifying feeling in his gut. Without knowing precisely what he was doing, he tackled Maya. At that instant, a brilliant violet light erupted from one of the guns protruding from the Sancta Praesidium, vaporizing the spot where they had been standing. There was no debris; everything in the path of the light was instantly and cleanly incinerated. Zero Grade’s toys were annoying.
They took off flying up the street. They were fast, but so was the flying fortress above them. Now all the guns lit up the city blocks around them, annihilating everything in their path. People; cars; streets; even buildings came down around them. Ev and Maya zipped about, going up and down, left and right—anything to dodge the death rays now focused on their obliteratio
n.
This deadly chase took them north through progressively older sections of the city. Sadly, the Sancta Praesidium gave no thought to the history it now laid waste to. Making matters worse, the farther north they went, the smaller the buildings became, providing them with less cover. Although, as Ev reflected, that may have been for the best; smaller buildings meant fewer people being killed.
Throughout the episode, there were a few close calls. The deadly beams of light came within mere inches of ending Ev’s existence permanently. He felt the intense heat and knew that were he a normal human, he would have been roasted alive. The whole time, he had a morbid curiosity to take a look back and see how close the flying fortress was. He knew, though, that any distraction would likely result in his death, and probably Maya’s as well.
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