Delph’s cloak shifted, lengthening until it touched the ground behind him. Second raised a hand and sent a beam of green energy burning through the air towards the professor.

The air before Delph warped. With a loud zing, Second’s attack shot into the twisted space and launched off at an angle, disappearing into the sky above them. Delph took a step forward, slamming his foot into the ground and making a grasping motion.

A series of massive explosions tore through the mountain as a line of destruction tore out from Delph and slammed into Second, obliterating everything in its path. The bandaged man flew out from the destruction, wisps of white smoke rising up from his cloak as he landed on his hands and flipped himself out of the way.

Delph twisted into a mote and vanished, reappearing behind Second and driving his foot into the other man’s back. Second shot off like he’d been launched from a catapult. He tumbled through the air, disintegrating before he could fall off the side of the mountain.

Second reformed across from them. His cloak had been knocked back, but it did little to reveal his appearance. The man’s face was completely bandaged. The only thing Damien could make out his eyes, which burned like two green coals.

“Who are you?” Second asked. “You were not in the previous cycles.”

Delph snapped his fingers. A translucent bubble of gray energy formed around Damien. Lines of energy shot out of Delph’s hands like hundreds of snakes. They zigzagged through the air towards Second.

He disintegrated before the attack could reach him, pulling himself back together on the other side of the plateau beside Delph. The lines of energy snapped back, completely reversing their direction to dart after Second.

The bandaged man teleported once more, appearing just in front of Damien. The lines of energy suddenly accelerated, closing the distance in an instant. They punched into Second’s body, pinning it against the bubble.

“Amusing,” Second said, completely unfazed by the situation. “You have some skill, but it will get you nowhere.”

Damien narrowed his eyes. Whether Second’s words were true or not, the man was still trying to destroy the Mortal Plane. Killing most of humanity’s population wasn’t all that much better than killing them all.

He formed his net of mental energy and cast it out. As he opened his eyes, Damien drew in a sharp breath and nearly lost concentration. Second was lit up like the sun. Nearly every single line of Ether in view was connected directly to the man.

With a grunt, Damien refocused himself. He stuck out with a lance of mental energy, trying to gain purchase on the Ether surrounding the man and rip it free. The blow sank into Second and vanished. The man didn’t even glance back at him. It was like trying to strike ocean with a droplet of water.

“I presume you would take offense if I killed this one?” Second asked, his head twisting to look back at Damien like an owl.

“Pay attention to me when we’re fighting,” Delph growled. “Havel, restrain him.”

Delph’s cloak leapt off his shoulders. It flitted through the air and wrapped around Second’s body like a cocoon. The man’s eyes widened just enough for Damien to notice as his head spun back to look at Delph.

“What is this creature? A companion?” Second asked, struggling against the professor’s cloak. It didn’t budge. “How is it restraining my magic?”

“Like I’d tell you,” Delph said, raking his hand through the air. His fingers left trails of gray energy behind them. He grabbed one of the lines and pulled it to the side, tearing open a portal and reaching inside it.

Delph drew a large book out from within it. He flipped the book open while Second struggled, then pressed his hand against the page.

“Let’s see you ignore this, you squirmy asshole,” Delph snarled. He barked several words out in a language that felt like slimy water rushing over Damien’s ears. Silence washed over the mountaintop.

Delph said something else, but no sound emerged from his mouth. The book in the professor’s hands shimmered as he drew a huge war axe out from within it. The weapon was made from plain metal and had little beauty. It was as plain as a weapon could get. Delph tossed the book back into the portal and strode forward until he was directly before Second.

He reared back, then brought the axe down towards Second’s neck. His cloak rippled out of the way at the last second, avoiding the strike. Second managed to twist his body, taking the strike on his shoulder instead of his neck.

Sound rushed back with an ear rending screech. Malevolent energy poured out of Delph’s axe with enough force to rip the breath out of Damien’s chest even from behind the barrier. Second’s arm fell to the ground in a puddle of sizzling acid.

Second drew in a rattling breath. A wave of force erupted out from him, knocking Delph’s cloak back just long enough for him to dematerialize and dart across to the other side of the clearing to stand beside Dredd and Sylph, who were still standing frozen.

He held his hand to Dredd’s neck, his chest rising and falling heavily. “One move and I kill this one,” Second rasped. “Sheathe that artifact, or we’ll see just how fast you can move. Your cloak will not work a second time. Drawing the Ether into it in the reverse of the patterns I use is clever, but it will not work a second time.”

“You kill him, I kill you right after,” Delph said. “Even if you can teleport, you’ve seen what this axe does. All I need is one good hit, and I’m faster than you are.”

“Then it seems we are at an impasse,” Second said. The acid leaking out of his wound started to slow, but his arm showed no signs of reforming.

The side of Dredd’s mouth quirked upwards. The man’s grip tightened on his staff and a blade of red energy shot out from it. Second disintegrated, reforming several steps away and narrowly avoiding Dredd’s attack.

“Damn,” Dredd said, rolling his shoulders. “I thought I had you convinced.”

“Impossible,” Second spat. “Another unnamed one. You multiply like rats. Is the girl also capable of breaking into my domain?”

They all glanced at Sylph, half expecting her to start moving as well. However, she remained frozen in time. Second clicked his tongue.

“Good. I would have gotten seriously annoyed had I miscalculated that badly,” Second said, cracking his neck. “I would normally engage you all, but such action would be inadvisable on this day. Enjoy your stay of life. And, Damien Vale, come to a conclusion quickly. If you are not on my side, you support the Void. And the Void will fall this cycle. Will you fall with it?”

A wave of rancid air tore across the damaged mountaintop as Second exploded into a pillar of green particles. His arm disintegrated as well, flying up to join the cloud as it slowly faded away.

Delph and Dredd watched the sky for a few moments, but Second showed no signs of returning. The bubble around Damien vanished and Delph’s cloak shot back onto his shoulders of its own accord.

“What,” Damien asked, his eyes wide and his breath ragged, “was that?”

“The Corruption,” Delph said, wiping his axe off in the snow with a bored expression.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. How did you fight against Second like that?” Damien demanded. “How strong are you, Delph? Second didn’t even recognize you! How can you surprise something like him?”

“I’m your professor,” Delph said. “And that guy wasn’t that strong. Even his name has him in second place, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.”

Damien opened his mouth, then let out a defeated sigh and shook his head. Delph wasn’t going to give him anything else, and he was still trying to process what had just happened.

The strange hue that had covered the world faded and Sylph staggered forward, her head darting back and forth as she tried to figure out what had happened. At the same time, Damien felt Henry’s presence rush back into him.

“Where’s the Corruption?” she asked, dropping into a fighting stance and scanning the area.

“Ran away,” Delph said, tearing a portal open and tossing his axe into it. “He used time magic, so I’m afraid you missed the fight.”

Sylph frowned, lowering her arms. After receiving a nod from Damien, the blades retracted. “What happened?”

“He seemed to have something to say to Damien,” Dredd said, leaning on his staff. “Do you happen to know anything about this Second character, Damien?”

“I don’t,” Damien said, shaking his head. “Henry, do you? Delph and Dredd already know about you, so there’s probably no reason to hide anymore.”

His shadow lengthened, stretching upwards as Henry commandeered it to form himself a body.

“That was the Corruption,” Henry said. “A very old form of it. Maybe as old as I am. Maybe older. I don’t know, and I’ve never interacted with it before. That magic he used was specifically geared to keep me out, so I was unable to witness your fight. However, I’ve already analyzed his magic. It won’t work a second time now that I have countermeasures.”

“That’s good, I suppose,” Delph said, crossing his arms. “But this is very much out of our pay grade now. That thing took a direct hit from a very powerful weapon and survived with almost minimal injuries. We’re going to need more firepower.”

“What was that axe anyways?” Damien asked. “It sounded like it was screaming when you hit Second.”

“Classified,” Delph said. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. Just suffice to say it shouldn’t exist, but someone foolishly assigned its destruction to me and I liberated it for more appropriate purposes. Don’t tell anyone you saw it.”

“You’re going to keep secrets from us?” Sylph asked, raising an eyebrow. “Even given the situation?”

“If you’re confident you want to know, I can tell you,” Delph replied, frowning. “But trust me, it’ll be more problematic than anything and won’t bring you any benefits. It’s just another secret you have to keep.”

“I think we’re fine,” Damien said. “If you don’t think it’s relevant, then it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy with not getting killed, but we still need to figure out the location of the Void creature you released as well as seek out as much Corruption as possible before school starts again.”

“Then it looks like we’ve got a lot of work cut out for us,” Dredd said. “There don’t appear to be any more Corrupted creatures in the area, so we can relax here for a little bit before continuing. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover this summer.”

Damien and Sylph both nodded. The four of them sat down in a small circle, leaning against their packs as Delph and Dredd distributed some fruit and fresh food. It was a welcome change from the jerky and cheese they’d been surviving off for the past few weeks.

“There’s obviously no reason to camp around every day anymore,” Delph said. “Dredd can just teleport us wherever we need to go. Of course, if you aren’t wandering alone in the woods, we’ll need a new cover story as to where you went.”

“I’ve got a cabin they can remain at in between hunting the Corruption,” Dredd said, rising to his feet with the help of his staff. “So long as they clean it up, it won’t be a problem. It’s deep enough in a forest that nobody should find it, so we don’t have to worry about unwanted visitors.”

“That will work,” Delph said with a nod. “And I think you might as well show them to it. We’ve done more than enough today, and I want to go back over what we’ve seen to make sure nothing got passed over. We can get back to hunting tomorrow. Does that work for your schedule, Damien?”

“It’s certainly faster than what we were doing before,” Damien said. “And frankly, I don’t care what Herald wants right now. I’m pretty sure he set us up so that you’d accidentally free the other Void creature.”

“I’d like to think that,” Delph muttered. “Makes me feel like less of an idiot. Dredd, take them back. I’m going to do one last sweep of the mountain before joining you, so leave the portal open.”

Dredd nodded. He traced a circle in the air with his staff. A red portal crackled to life in its path and he stepped into it, vanishing with a pop. Damien and Sylph followed after him, leaving Delph behind them on the mountain.

They emerged in a small wooden room. The smell of cinnamon and cloves hung in the air, and a small fireplace crackled at the far side. Dredd strode over to a table at the center of the room and pulled out one of the four chairs, sitting down with a sigh and leaning his staff against the side of the table. He took a pastry from a plate in the center of the table and took a bite out of it.

“You leave the fireplace on while you’re out?” Damien asked.

“The house is runed,” Dredd said, wiping the crumbs away from his lips. “It’s not going to burn down. It’s almost as protected as Blackmist is. Of course, I still expect the two of you to keep it tidy. This is my house, and I will not be happy if you leave it a mess.”

“We can take care of ourselves,” Sylph said, setting her pack down by the wall. “We aren’t animals.”

“Good,” Dredd said. “There are two beds through the door behind me. Feel free to use them. There’s also an icebox in the kitchen with some ingredients. I presume you know how to cook?”

“We know enough,” Damien replied.

“Then I’ll take my leave,” Dredd said, polishing off the last of his pastry. “I will return with Delph tomorrow to continue your quest. Be ready early in the morning.”

He rose, grabbing his staff and striding past them. Dredd stepped through the portal and it snapped shut behind them, leaving only the crackle of the fireplace to keep them company.

“Well,” Damien said, rubbing his forehead. “That was a day.”

“That it was,” Sylph said, peering out one of the windows. “Does it feel good to have your secret out at least?”

“A little,” Damien admitted. “I just wish it had come at less of a price.”

“So do I,” She replied, pulling her shoes off and sitting down at the table with a sigh. “But with Dredd and Delph, we have a much better chance of fighting the Corruption.”

“That’s true,” Damien agreed, sitting down beside Sylph. He didn’t realize how tired he was until the weight was off his legs. He let out a satisfied sigh, slumping back in the chair. “I still wonder who that Second person was.”

“No clue,” Sylph said, shrugging. “I didn’t get to see much of him. I’m going to need to figure out a way around that time magic, but I don’t think we have to worry about that for now.”

Sylph took a pastry from the table and offered it to Damien. He took it with a small grin. They hadn’t exactly won the day’s fights, but they hadn’t lost them all either. Whoever Second was, Delph posed enough of a threat to scare him off. And for now, that was enough.