The chains connecting the shackles around Garret''s wrists and ankles are broken. There''s ice on the tips. His frizzy hair is almost touching his shoulders. There is dirt on his hands, feet, and face. Penny doesn''t look great either. I can tell she''s in pain. She is hunched over. She''s using Garret''s arm as a support.


    "Move aside," Penny says. Ulrika responds with a difant pose. She stands at the ready, both hands on her sword. I can hear the gloves gripping the handle. I raise my sword, too, and hold it firmly.


    "Oh," Garret says and smirks before letting a single chuckle emerge. "I remember you two. How''s your lip?" I gnaw my teeth to keep myself from reacting.


    "Do you want him to rip your head off?" Ulrika says. "I suggest you shut your mouth and return to your cell." He laughs behind a snarky smirk. "Last chance, Garret. We are not going to be merciful."


    "Screw this! Let''s just kill them!" Penny says.


    "That Kromagian is mine!" Garret says. He sprints towards me with his arms out as if he''s going to grab me. Lightning encircles his hands. I step back moments before Ulrika stands between us. Their lightning hits a barrier and then sparks across the ceiling, cracking it. Some of the pieces fall to the ground. The ones that fall over them burn up before they touch them. They continue their standstill for three more seconds and then vanish in a flash. For one full second before fading away, I see their lightning trail moving down the hallway behind Penny.


    Oh great!


    "Damnit, Garret!" Penny says and slaps her forehead. She walks away, heading the opposite way.


    "Hey! Where are you going?" I say. She doesn''t answer me and continues walking. I run after her. When she checks over her shoulder, I stop.


    "You don''t want this fight," she says, smiling. A part of me doesn''t want to. She''s crazy and deadly. But I can tell she''s hurting. I''m perfectly fine, thanks to the exlixers. If I attack her now, I might be able to win easily.


    "Face me!" She doesn''t stop walking, so I tether her left foot to the ground to show I''m dead serious.


    "You do want this, huh?" Her eyes open wide. She grins tightly while laughing with her mouth closed. "Free me, Kaioson. I''ll give you the death you want." My heart is racing. I can''t let my guard down for a second when we fight.


    "Come at me!" I say, breaking the tether.


    Penny forms two ice-curved swords. The tips have two points. She waves them around to intimidate me. All I see is nothing but a stupid show. I''m no stranger to facing duel-wield opponents. Ulrika being my first. I know how to attack and defend against one, but Penny''s weapons are made of ice. How strong are they? Will there be unexpected complex mana-related forces against me? The more I question the abnormal, the less confident I feel in my skills in defeating her.


    "I can do this," I whisper to myself. "Thyrna taught me well."


    "Having cold feet?!" Penny says and then sprints at me.


    So did Ulrika!


    We fight for a full minute. No pauses or outside interruption. She''s the first to break away. I take a half step back and thrust my sword to aim at her stomach. She slaps it down with her swords by crossing them over the top. My sword pierces the floor and gets stuck. I jump back just in time to avoid getting my chest cut open.


    "Come here, you son of a bitch!" Penny says. I call my sword. It breaks free from the ground and travels between her legs to reach my hand. Another minute of fighting ensues. She backs away again but with her weapons protecting her torso. I back off too. "That sword is quite special. Zadione says it is elven. Is it true?"


    "That''s right."


    "Fascinating. Who made that weapon?"


    "I''m not telling you." I conjure it to float between us to intimate her.


    "Fine. I''ll just steal it from you!" She tries to smack it away. It doesn''t move from the position I placed it in. She tries for a second time to no avail. A portion of her sword chips off when she strikes it for a third time. "What the hell?" She says, examining the chip. I take an opportunity to strike while she''s distracted. She drops her chipped sword and uses the other sword to defend herself. "Whoa! Where did all of this aggression come from?" She says, giggling throughout the fight.


    I''m trying my best to break her defense. She''s better than I expected. I don''t think I can win with pure orthodox swordsmanship. I''ll have to use my fire and force magical art to defeat her. I must hold nothing back. Every swing and thrust I do aims to kill, yet her counters are making it difficult to land a hit. If I stream fire from my hands, she creates a wall of ice to block it.


    As I''m about to change tactics, she goes on the offensive. She tosses razor-sharp ice crystals at me. I wave my hand up every time she throws a crystal to construct a wall of flashing heat that instantaneously melts them. One of them misses me and sticks into the wall on my right. It''s so cold that it condenses.


    "So close!" She says. A loud lightning strike from outside stops her in mid-sprint. The thunder afterward rocks the building. "Damnit, Garret." For a short moment, she draws back from the fight. Her attention seems elsewhere. She stares at the wall as if she''s looking past it.


    "What are you doing?" I say.


    "This was fun," she says, walking backward. "But I must go."


    "Excuse me?"


    "Do worry, Kaioson. You''ll get your shot. I have a task to complete." She runs the opposite way.


    "Get back here!"


    I sprint after Penny. She encases a block of thick ice behind her. It completely fills her side of the hallway. I try blasting my way through, but it isn''t effective. A stream of fire does the job of making it through. Unfortunately, the ice can''t melt quickly enough for me to catch up to her. By the time I make it through, she''s long gone. I return to the potion room to grab a few helpful elixirs and then go on the hunt to track her down. The only logical lead I have is to head outside.


    I follow Penny''s possible route to the front of the building. I''m unaware of what lurks on this side of the building. There''s a big chance I might lose her if I don''t hurry, but I''d rather not get killed in the process. So slow and steady are my best options from here forward. The gods only know what kind of forces Zadione has lurking within the facility.


    At the end of the hallway, there''s a ledge overlooking another section of the first floor. No one but dead bodies from both sides lies here. I leap over and use my sword to float safely to the ground. A familiar voice calls out to me somewhere within the corpses.


    "Drake?" I say, looking directly at where I think he is.


    "Help," he says. He''s under a pile of dead bodies. I roll the corpses off of him and help him to his feet. "Whoa! Easy! No, so fast," she says, bracing through his teeth.


    "What''s up with you?" I say as I notice a bloody wound around his right lower abdomen. "I might have something for that."


    "Please give it to me. I''ve lost so much blood since they attacked." I administer a healing potion. His wound bubbles red. It fizzes out and all that remains is a scar.


    "Have you been wounded since the attack?"


    "I''m no fighter," he says, chuckling. "The second I took arms, I was stabbed."


    He''s lucky to be alive.


    "Stick close to me," I say.


    "Okay." Instead of staying around me, he holds on to my right arm.


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    "Not that close." He takes one arm off. "I need space to move around."


    "Oh!"


    "We''re heading outside."


    "Why?" He says, following me with a hand on my back. "Can''t you hear all of that fighting?"


    "Like I said. Stay close." I step outside into a hectic scene. Men, mages, elves, cultists, knights, and soldiers slaughter each other. There are bodies everywhere.


    "Gods!"


    "I know," I say under my breath. "Hey, what kind of magic do you know?"


    "Quite a lot."


    "Excellent. I''ll need your power to help me take down a Paragon."


    "Wait a second," he says and grabs my arm as I take one step down the steps. "Are you expecting me to use them?"


    "Yes."


    "But I can''t. I don''t wield anything. I''m just a librarian." How can a champion help us if he isn''t a magical fighter? What makes him so special?


    "If you can''t do anything for me, you need to find a place to hide." I scan the road and everyone in it to find any glimpse of Penny. No one is standing out. I send my sword in to search for her. It flies through any cultist in its pathway. I can so them fall over one by one.


    "You can conjure your weapon?" The sword stops as a wall of ice springs forth from a space outside the fighting.


    "There she is." All of a sudden, the wall of ice shatters into pieces by a lightning strike going upwards. Chunks rain down from the sky. Some of it hits me.


    "Who could that be?"


    "Hopefully, my wife."


    "Hopefully?" I summon my sword to my hand. The handle smacking my hand makes him jump. "Gods! Where did that come from?"


    "Go! Find some place to hide!"


    The left side of the road has a nearly unobscured view of where I need to go. My path is not as smooth as I wish it to be. I feel as if I am a magnet to trouble. Fighting is the only option. One simple task has me deep in the middle of a quarrel for my life. In the heat of battle, I hear someone calling out to me. They say my full name instead of using my nickname.


    "Kaioson!" Elred says, bashing his shield through two cultists. They fall to the ground. He turns his sword and shield into two spears, and then skewers them in the back. "Here! Takes this," he says, throwing one of his spears at me. It morphs into a shield when I grab it. We stand back to back, rotating in a circle to cover all angles. "Rhyndac brought me here. She''s bringing the others too." I look around to see if I can spot anyone familiar. At the top of the steps of the agency, I see Thubet looking down at us. Her sword is drenched with blood and her hair is stained red.


    "What''s wrong with Thubet?" I say. "Is she injured?"


    "No!" He says as he jabs his spear in and out of a cultist. "She''s resting, I think. There were a ton of cultists west of here."


    "They seem to be everywhere."


    "Yeah," he says and pauses. "Where is your wife? You two are usually inseparable."


    A battle horn blows from somewhere where I need to go. It riles up the cultist into a bloody frenzy. It takes me minutes to respond.


    "I don''t know," I say, panting. "I''m trying to get over there and see if she is."


    "Where?" Elred says. When I point my shield at where I think she is, I see her taking on Penny and Garret.


    "There!"


    "Get me behind me. I''ll make a pathway to them." He forms two shields, one in each hand, and then morphs it into one wedge. The front comes to a rounded point. I follow closely to protect his flank as he jaggedly plows into the crowd. We make it in time to surprise Penny and Garret. They retreat up a road with civilian bodies spread around the ground.


    "Are you okay?" I say.


    "Nearly burned out," Ulrika says, panting while keeping herself upright. "You came at the perfect time, my love."


    "Check my hip." I stand close to her, keeping my eyes on Penny and Garrett. "I have something for you."


    "I fucking love you. Blue one, right?"


    "Correct." Elred''s shield forms into a spear. He stands by my side with it pointing at Garret. "Keep your distance. These two are highly skilled."


    "I can take them," Elred says.


    "Oh?" Penny says. "Is that so? Why don''t you come and see if it is true?"


    "Don''t listen to her," Ulrika says, whispering. "It''s going to take all of us to kill them."


    "Plus, she has ice manipulation magic," I say.


    "Shit," Elred says under his breath. "What about him?"


    "Lightning."


    "Oh..." Penny whispers something in Garret''s ear. She tries to lightly shove him behind her. He doesn''t want to budge. His attention is set on us for some reason.


    "Don''t run, coward!" Elred says.


    "Shut your mouth!" Garret says, then sticks his hand out in front of him. Lightning shoots from his fingers. It hits Elred and arcs over to me. As I fall to the ground, I hear someone else''s voice writhing in pain.


    "What the hell?" Ulrika says. "Drake? Where the hell did you come from?"


    "I was flying around," Drake says.


    "Flying?" I say winded. Ulrika helps me to my feet. My body stings and my legs are wobbly, but the pain is not too unbearable. "I didn''t see or hear you."


    "I can shrink."


    "Huh?" Ulrika and I say together. While Drake explains to us how he can diminish his size to fit inside the palm of someone''s hand, I notice Elred''s ears twitch several times. He''s watching Penny whispering something to Garret. All of a sudden, she tells him to run.


    "Go! I''ll come find you later," Penny says. Garret takes off up the street. Ulrika quickly intercepts him using the speed of lightning.


    "You just won''t quit!" Garret says.


    "Come on! Let''s get them!" Elred says.


    "Wait a second," I say. Penny manifests a spear moments before he attacks her. I want to help Ulrika, but don''t want to leave Elred fighting alone with Penny. "That kid is going to get himself killed."


    "Indeed. Ice is a unique arte," Drake says, still writhing from the pain. "Fire is the only defense."


    "I''ve tried a few spells. She always seems to have a counter."


    "Have you tried Flaming Ringo?" The spell''s name brings back a special memory of my training with Thyrna. Flaming Ringo summons homing fire rings from the user''s sword. The mana comes straight from the chest and passes through the arm and then funnels out the tip of their weapon. There is no limit to the number of rings. Once one is formed, the user twirls their weapon before pointing at the intended target.


    "I haven''t used that since I learned it as a kid. How do you know it will work?"


    "If it doesn''t. I know a lot more." I''m starting to see why he''s Coretha''s champion. If he can guide me on which spells I can use, that''ll be splendid. Most of the spells I use are not cutting it.


    "Excellent. Get somewhere safe to coach me through this."


    "I''ll do this." He suddenly vanishes in a mist of yellow sparkling dust. One of the sparkles flies over to me and then lands on my head. "Can you hear me well?"


    "Yes, I can hear you."


    "I''ll watch you from here. Do your best and if it isn''t enough, I''ll propose alternatives."


    I assert myself in Elred''s fight by blasting Penny on the ground. At first, he gives a concerned gaze. I wave him off, hoping he''ll get the hint, and stand aside. His spear vanishes once he disengages. I wave my sword and perform a show of acrobatic force to challenge her.


    "You look stupid," Penny says. My performance works. She comes at me harder than before. I execute the usual song and dance routine. Nothing seems to work. She counters and anticipates everything I hurl at her.


    "She''s scary good," Drake says. "I think I''m glimpsing cracks in her performances."


    "Like what?" I say as I lock blades with her.


    "Who are you talking to?" Penny says.


    "No one," I say and blast her away. "I''m going to do it now."


    "Go for it!" Drake says.


    "Flaming Ringo!" Three rings of fire spring forth from the tip of my blade. She immediately forms an ice wall. The first ring melts through. She puts up a second wall that is higher and thicker than the first one. The second ring has the same results.


    "What the hell is this?" Penny says. "Why is it so hot?" It''s hot because the rings resemble the searing heat of lava. Anything it touches vaporizes. My eruption spell uses the same kind of heat.


    "Tell me when it is over," Drake says. "I don''t wish to see the outcome." There''s nowhere to run other than into the fire or Ulrika.


    "I''m not going out like this!" Her breath begins to fog. Then her hands. The air suddenly gets cold to the point it stings my skin. Ulrika and Garret stop fighting. He drops his sword to wrap his arms around his stomach.


    "Penny? What are you doing?!" Garret says. Ice forms on the ground around Penny. It spreads in all directions. When it touches the heel of his boot, he jumps and shouts.


    "What''s going on?" Drake says, shivering.


    "Nothing good!" I say. "I think she''s trying to freeze those orbs."


    "By freezing everyone?"


    "Ulirka, come to me!" Ulrika tries but can''t get around Penny. She''s aggressively rubbing her arms to try to stay warm. I heat up my body and the air around me to keep Drake from dying from hypothermia. The colder it gets, the more condensation comes out of everyone''s mouth. "Elred, get over here!" Elred wobbles over to my side.


    "Gods!" Elred says, shivering heavily. I run with him over to Ulrika. She fumbles to place her sword away and ends up dropping it. I wrap my arms around her back to let my heat wash throughout her body.


    "I''ve never been so cold in my life," Ulrika says, squeezing me.


    "Stick close to me, guys," I say. The more Penny drops the temperature around her, the slower the rings approach her. Their red glow starts to dim.


    "Penny, stop it now! You''re going to freeze me to death!" Garret says.


    "That would be a great thing," Ulrika says.


    "Shut up! You''ll live!" Penny says.


    "Who is he?" Elred says. She informs him that Garret is a proficient electromancer working for the cult.


    "You let us take him. He''s highly dangerous," I say.


    "And... vulnerable."


    "Vunable?"


    "This might be our chance!" He steps out into the frigid weather while forming a bident. The ends of the hook have two sharp ends with two hooks bending away. He throws it hard enough to make him grunt. It impales in Garret''s back. "Ha!" He says with a quick chuckle.


    "Damn," Ulrika whispers. Elred''s bident lands deep in Garret''s back. Only the shaft is visible. He falls flat on his face. Elred runs back to me, smiling.


    "One less cultist to worry about."


    "That''s... right," I say, still shocked.


    Penny eventually freezes all rings, seconds later.


    "Garret," Penny says, panting and slowly turning around. "Zadione is waiting..." Garret''s body interrupts her speech. When the bident disperses, she looks directly at us. Her eyes have the gaze of death within them. She isn''t frowning or making any sort of face.


    "I don''t like that one bit," Drake whispers.


    "That," she growls, pointing at Elred. "Was a big mistake." She slowly reaches for something behind her back and then keeps her hand there. "You made me fail my mission," she says, laughing slowly and deeply.


    "You don''t look too mad about it," Ulrika says.


    "Oh, but I am. I''m fucking pissed! That''s why I''m doing this!" She throws something in the air between us. A portal opens. The color is different than the portal rings. This one is white. It reminds me of an Ivish Rune. The more I stare at it, the more I feel it to be true.


    "Guard up, guys! She''s summoning someone." I say.


    "This someone isn''t just anyone, Kaioson." Whoever they are, they slowly descend. When I see the tip of a golden sword, my heart stops.