Chapter 25:

I jumped from the platform, summoning my staff as I did so. The wood slammed into the forearm of the butler, pushing him a few steps back as I landed next to Askret. I immediately pushed my strongest heal into him, before looking up. Behind the man facing me, I saw similar actions of brutality carried out across the room. With Askret’s attack, there were those quick on the uptake, and used whatever means available to defend themselves. Gale raised his new sword to block a swing from one of the assailants who had sprinted at us as we left the platform. 

Mira soared in from the sidelines, her spear sweeping through the air, but the butler barely deflected it with a dagger. I left the fight to her and ran from person to person casting heals as quickly as I could. Was Askret dead? I had no time to check. 

As I stooped to heal another person, a foot came swinging at my side, catching me in the chest. I rolled a few feet, yelping, catching Gale’s attention as he called out. The figure, still draped in a cloak, walked towards me, the tip of a longsword gleaming from underneath the cloth.

I scooted back, recovering my footing, and raised my staff in defense. The figure approached, and in three quick moves broke through my guard and slashed my wrist, disarming me. 

I gasped in pain as the clatter of the wood on the ground met my ears. The sword raised towards me, pointing at my eye. I heard heavy footsteps sprinting towards us from the side, but a blade of fierce wind caught the figure before Gale’s incoming slash did.

They dodged, the cloth tearing apart, and they jumped backwards as the cloak fell to the ground. A woman with long, blonde hair pirouetted as she sturdied her footing, raising her blade into a fencing position. 

A moment later Gale’s blade met hers in a shower of red and purple sparks, with her parrying it easily. They traded a few blows, Gale gaining the upper hand when he used his strength to force her arm into an awkward position. 

A man next to me kneeled, blood spurting from his throat. My attention snapped away from their fight, and I resumed my duties as healer. I bit my lip. Would Gale be ok? We’d been in few fights since reincarnating, and she seemed formidable. I’d hurry back as soon as the clergymen were healed. I kept an eye on the fight all the while, ready to sprint in if needed. Damn! I should have cast enhancement on Gale when I’d had the chance. I looked over again. 

Gale beat down on her blade with more strength than skill, which she quickly adjusted to. She matched her footing to his, sliding his blade along hers and rotated in quick flicks to cut across his unarmored skin. 

Lines of red flowed from him, staining his shirt as they battled. The golden flashing light of Aspis brightened the room with each use, and before long Gale was back to relying on his own skill rather than the artifact I’d gifted him. 

I had been correct — Gale was not her match. I sprinted towards them, foot stumbling on a puddle of blood, but regained my balance just in time to see her pierce her sword through Gale’s guard into his shoulder. 

“No!”

I raised my hand and tried to summon something, anything to help him. The tattoos on my arm hummed with power, and a shadow formed into a blade in front of my hand, much the same as Gale’s wind. I shot it forth, but the woman deflected it with little effort. She turned her head towards me, clicking her tongue in annoyance. Gale jumped out of her range, approaching me. I quickly healed him back into fighting condition. 

“Looks like I’ll need to take care of the little rabbit first,” She said.

I was still trying to parse her words when she flew towards us. Time slowed, and the tip of her blade was an inch from my eye before something pushed my waist, and I was sent flying. Gale’s upper arm caught the edge of the blade, the price of saving my life. I looked up in horror as she pressed the attack, tracing lines of blood across his arms and body, toying with him. Who the hell is this woman?!

Gale kicked, catching her waist with his unexpected movement, gaining some distance. He held his sword in front of him, guarding, breathing heavily. Blood and sweat intermingled on him, painting his clothes. As he stood there, something flashed across my eyes.

[Activate special ability of Navira’s Tear?]

I couldn’t waste time thinking this over, we needed the edge now. “Do it.”

Gale’s watch thrummed with power, scattering a shower of golden sparks as the inlays of it shone with light. Both he and the woman looked down, confused. The watch unraveled, climbing from his wrist to the handle of the sword, before finally fusing with the hilt. 

The blade split in two, straight down the middle, and extended one part of the blade to each side, leaving a gap. Gale looked baffled before a golden light in the middle suddenly shot forth, extending well beyond the tips of the blades. Lilac purple energy hummed from the hilt, surrounding the gold before shaping into a massive blade. Gale’s hands sunk for a moment as he adjusted to the new weight of it. His arms shifted, and the greatsword he now held pointed towards the woman. 

The energy crackled as he held it, lighting the room aglow. Every face turned towards them, the crowd unconsciously parting for the confrontation. Where had Mira gone? I didn’t spot her in the room. As the woman was distracted, I sent another blade careening towards her head. She barely dodged it, a line of blood drawing across her cheek, and Gale took the opportunity to swing overhead with all his might. She brought her sword up to block reflexively, but realized the decision was poor, and stepped back as her sword was severed in two, the middle melting into slag. She discarded it as she felt the heat with her hand.

Gale rushed in, using his weight to swing the sword in a wide arc. She stumbled backwards, cursing as the tips of her hair caught the edge and vaporized. Gale pressed the attack, but couldn’t land a hit, huffing with the exertion of the fight. He chased her around the room for nearly a minute, unable to land a decisive blow.

[Warning. Unable to sustain the energy cost of Navira’s Tear. Deactivation imminent.]

My eyes widened. I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, “Gale! Finish it!”

The woman, pressed by the attack, leapt backwards onto the pulpit, standing next to Askret’s body. She moved to retreat further, but a sudden grasp on her leg forced her to stumble, and she looked down at the man tightening his grip on her. Askret, mouth bleeding, but eyes triumphant, grinned up at her wordlessly as he clawed into her flesh. Her eyes widened, returning to the incoming attack. She grit her teeth, unflinching as the blade careened towards her shoulder blade.

Gale’s victorious grin turned to dismay and horror when, right as the blade cut into her flesh, the energy dissipated, leaving only the closing tips of the blades to trace across her chest. Blood showered from the wound, but it wasn’t fatal. She raised a fist and struck Askret, sending him flying from the pulpit into one of his follower’s arms. Gale tried to attack again, but exhausted from the fight, she easily sidestepped it and elbowed Gale across the face. With a sharp crack, blood shot from his nose and mouth, and she kicked Gale in the chest, sending him flying to the floor below. 

I rushed to him, healing him as soon as I could. The woman stared down at us from on high, a mixture of amusement and frustration evident on her face. She raised a hand to her chest, examining the crimson liquid on her hand, before licking it off. She spat her blood at our feet. 

“I really didn’t think this job would be so tough,” She said. She raised a hand to her side, and one of the rings adorning her fingers flashed with a light, before transforming into an ornamental looking sword. I could feel a pressure of magic power from it as she flourished it. 

“What’s your name?” She asked Gale. I helped him sit up. 

“Gale.”

She nodded. “My name is Sylvia. You’d make a fine hero. Shame I have to kill you.”

Gale opened his mouth to respond, but she was in front of us in a blink, her form crackling with lightning. My eyes couldn’t track her movements as she swung towards us. Had she been holding back this entire time…?

Just as I thought my life was about to end, a bright red light of flame burst forth from behind us, slamming into Sylvia as a ball. A whoosh of air nearly cost me my balance, but I steadied Gale against it with my body. Lightning crackled from within the smoke, dispersing it, and she appeared annoyed, but unharmed. She clicked her tongue.

“You again?”

A young man with black hair, earrings and ostentatious clothing stepped out from the crowd, his hand still smoking from the magic he’d cast. He shot us a smug grin. 

“Am I late?”