Ienaga Yumi evaluated the demons as she fought—she didn’t have time to pause and size them up. They were stronger than she was, in theory, but it was the realm of fools to judge an opponent based only on the raw power that they wielded. Yumi firmly believed that a weapon was only as great as the one wielding it. Case in point, of the two demons she faced the woman was more powerful, but the man was a greater threat. She could see it in the way they moved, and in their eyes—the woman stayed behind the larger demon and attacked from a distance, she was not used to fighting equals. The one with the ox horns was a fighter through and through, almost more beast than man.

Dasheng lunged towards her, his attack was all savagery and no technique, but that presented a danger in and of itself. Yumi lightened her steps with gravity ki—the same technique used by the Hayakawa clan, though Ienaga had recreated it independently decades ago—and slipped beneath his claws. Whirling around, she struck at his side with her blade and infused the strike with the essence of fire. The impact had such force that the shockwave churned up the earth and left a crater ten meters wide. The demon ignored the flaming gash in his side and twisted to strike out at Ienaga in retaliation, but she was already dodging away from another implosion of space from Yu Meiren.

Ienaga would have gone after the woman first, but she couldn’t afford to take her attention off of Dasheng. He was all power, but it was a lot of power. She doubted that she would survive a direct hit. She watched impassively as his bubbling flesh extinguished the flames and reknit itself back together—another failure. Fire didn’t stop his regeneration. Nothing seemed to work, but at least she was keeping the two occupied long enough for her disciples to escape. Still, she had no intention of letting these monsters loose upon the world—they would die here and now. The female demon mocked her.

“What’s wrong, little girl? Afraid of a little love-tap from Dasheng? You shouldn’t pick fights with your betters, you know!”

Yumi almost chuckled. Yu Meiren couldn’t have known her history, and she wasn’t interested in sharing, but Ienaga had spent most of the last century backing up her claim of being a xiantian martial artist—fighting those stronger than her was her specialty. They underestimated her—they all did. She was new, young, and her command over divine essence was miniscule compared to a true xiantian cultivator. So they said.

These two were just like all the others. Confident in their power, without any understanding of how to properly wield it. Ienaga had her body of pure ki—without corruption, she could wield any element with the full power of one with the proper affinity. She had her sword—a work of art as great as any her uncle had ever created—an artifact worthy of her power. Finally, she had her experience—not as a cultivator, but as a warrior. The other deans were experts on the subject of power, but Yumi had over a century of experience studying its application.

Ienaga stretched her domain out as far as it would go—sensing her students were still well, and more importantly that they had reached a safe distance. It was time to end this. She adjusted the grip on her sword, holding it straight out towards her enemies in a traditional stance. She took a deep breath, and prepared her ki for the next strike. The air within her domain went still, and the demons tensed as they realized what she was doing. Dasheng charged forwards, and Ienaga could feel the essence of the void building up next to her head from Meiren’s attack.

Yumi called upon the power of heaven, the divine essence from which all things were wrought, the origin of all elements. She had precious little at her command, but it was enough. She surged forward to meet Dasheng’s charge, leaving no disturbance in the air despite her superlative speed. For the first time, Dasheng attempted to block her attack, infusing his body with divine essence of his own to defend—an attack carrying divine essence couldn’t be taken lightly.

The elements gathered within Yumi’s blade—the opposite elements, void and gravity, with a touch of the essence of destruction, all bound together by divine essence and her domain to create something greater. Her blade fell before she had even finished closing the distance, the power it channeled amplified by its affinity with the artifact blade she wielded. Though Ienaga didn’t do something so crass and prideful as speak the name of her technique aloud, it nevertheless rang out within her mind.

‘Sacred Art: Soul Severing Strike’

Dasheng’s eyes widened as he was struck by the technique that had felled countless arrogant xiantian cultivators who thought to put the young upstart in her place. The wave of energy passed through him, all but unhindered by his attempts to block it with his divine essence. Behind him Yu Meiren was caught unaware, losing an arm to the inexorable force of Ienaga Yumi’s blade. For another mile behind her the land itself was split in twain. The bulky ox-horned demon collapsed forward in pieces, bisected from shoulder to waist through the demonic core, which had been cleanly sliced in two.

Almost as an afterthought, Yu Meiren’s attack manifested behind Ienaga Yumi, causing an implosion with an anti-climactic ‘pop’. Sensing that the demon Dasheng’s domain had vanished, Ienaga turned her attention towards the surviving demon, who clutched her bleeding shoulder.

“How dare you!? Sovereign Longyan won’t forgive you for this!”

Master Ienaga didn’t respond as she advanced, staying as silent and calm as she had since the start of the fight. Yu Meiren took a few nervous steps backward before drawing a glyph in the air and turning herself into a wisp of smoke and vanishing into the air. Ienaga frowned, but she could no longer sense any trace of the demon—she’d escaped. With a sigh, Ienaga flicked the remaining blood from her sword and replaced it in its sheath.

An explosion from the direction of the academy caught her attention and she grimaced as she began to make her way over. She was exhausted from that fight, but it had been worth it to save her disciples from wanton bloodshed. These invaders had already destroyed nearly everything Ienaga Yumi and the other deans had been building, but she had no intention of letting them get away with it. There was so much more to do.

Lee Jia had seen her mentor fight—seriously fight, not the hand-holding play fights that had been their sparring sessions. It was terrifying. She didn’t need any more encouragement to flee with all her strength, but witnessing that fight had given it to her anyway. In the skies above the academy, she saw an enormous magical circle appear and rain down rays of burning light upon some unseen assailants—Magus Hwang. Everything was falling apart and she had no idea why. It reminded her of her dream—once forgotten images of the academy being reduced to ash and rubble now vividly replaying in her head.

As she caught up with the others, she heard what sounded like the end of an argument. Eunae’s voice was plaintive as she tried to calm a furious Kasai Hanako.

“—sorry, alright!? I didn’t know if it would work.”

Whatever she was talking about, Hana wasn’t having any of it.

“You didn’t even try! Your gaze might have saved Miyata and the others!”

“I—I was panicking! I didn’t think about it—I don’t use my gaze on people, Hana!”

“Don’t you dare call me that! Those three are dead because of your hesitation!”

Eunae stared down at her feet, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. Rika looked like she was about to step in to defend her, but it was Eui who spoke up first.

“Shut the fuck up, Hana. Eunae couldn’t have done shit against them—none of us could, and you know it. If you’ve got breath to spare yelling at her, you should use it to run. Just because the immediate danger is gone doesn’t mean we’re safe!”

Hana didn’t exactly look chastened, but she didn’t press the issue. Eunae and Rika nodded at Eui in thanks as the group made their way towards the south gate. Every so often, Jia would feel another domain sweep across the area, or the earth would shake, explosions, blasts of lightning, it was as if the sky itself was falling upon the earth.

“Are fights between xiantian cultivators always like this!?”

Yue glanced back at her with a nervous smile and answered between heaving breaths.

“Yes! Especially large scale fights like whatever is happening here. It’s not unusual for a city to be reduced to rubble as collateral damage.”

“What is happening here!?”

“I know as much as you do, Jia, but if I had to guess, the academy seems to have fallen under attack.”

Jia shot Yue an angry look. Real helpful. Before she could respond, there was another earth-shaking explosion as something struck the ground nearby, sending a geyser of loose earth up into the air where it landed. Another demon crawled out of the small crater, covered in injuries. It was struck by a barrage of enormous icicles that each exploded into razor shards that twisted into a deadly vortex, tearing the creature to shreds.

From the origin of the attack, Seong Misun flew down to the earth, alighting gracefully despite the terrified little girl clinging to her back. She didn’t pay any mind to the shocked students before dropping Haeun off, bending over the pile of gore that had been her opponent a moment ago and plucking the pristine blue core from the mess.

“Hmm, low grade, but still xiantian. Not a complete waste.”

As if noticing them for the first time, Misun turned her gaze toward Lee Jia’s group and approached, her six tails swishing majestically behind her.

“There you are! Eunae, we’re leaving.”

Eunae seemed startled by the sudden declaration.

“Wh—no, wait. Misun, what is going on!?”

Misun shrugged, her usual carelessness was jarring in the face of the crisis they found themselves in.

“The Snake ran off somewhere, and now the academy is under attack by demons. Clearly it’s not safe here—as if the Yan boy wasn’t proof enough of that. You’re coming home with me.”

Dae’s ears perked up at the mention of his master.

“Master? What do you mean? Is he alright?”

Misun glanced at him, frowning.

“The apprentice...Hyeong, was it? Your master disappeared this morning—nobody’s seen him all day, yet somehow the formations he’d set up around the academy all failed at the same time—including the ones prepared for the tournament. Until this moment, my first guess was that he had dropped the shield and consorted with these demons in a conspiracy to kidnap Eunae, or perhaps the Hayakawa girl there.”

Dae’s eyes widened with alarm, and he shook his head in a vigorous denial.

“Absolutely not! He’d never do something like that. I know he’s eccentric but he’s always been loyal—”

“Enough! I’m not here to argue. Even without the kidnapping, all evidence points to your master’s treason. Unless you want to share his charge, I suggest you come with me.”

Dae was flabbergasted, but Eunae put her foot down and shook her head in defiance.

“No! I’m not leaving until my friends are safe.”

Misun scoffed.

“I don’t recall asking, Eunae. I am taking you and the Hyeong boy with me whether you wish to come or not. Now!”

All eyes fell on Eunae. The expressions on the students present mixed between envy, resentment, and concern. Eunae took a single faltering step forward, then clenched her fists, looked up, and met her sister’s eyes.

“Misun! Protect my friends and me while we escape the academy!”

Little Haeun covered her mouth with her sleeves and gasped, while Misun staggered back, clutching her head and crying out as if in pain.

“Aaaagh!”

She stepped forward, then struck Eunae across the face hard enough to send her sprawling. Misun shook her head, flicking her ears in irritation as she looked down contemptuously at Eunae.

“You’ve gotten stronger, you little brat! But some things never change, do they? You’d think by now you’d have learned that your little tricks don’t work on family!”

Eunae shrugged, smiling miserably as she held a hand up to her cheek.

“I had to try.”

Misun rolled her eyes and grabbed Eunae by the sleeve, dragging her up to her feet.

“Haeun, we’re leaving. Hyeong, you have exactly one second to step within my reach before I simply obliterate you where you stand. The choice is yours.”

Dae gulped nervously, and leapt forward before Misun grabbed him with her other hand—Haeun was already clutching the skirt of her sister’s robes. An intricate spell circle made of blue light appeared underneath them, and in a moment of inspiration Yoshika took a moment to memorize it with Absolute Awareness. Before the spell was complete, Eunae smiled sadly at them.

“Sorry for the sudden goodbye. Rika, Jia, Yue, should any of you find your way to Goryeo, you’ll always be welcome as my guests.”

“Tsk, don’t promise them that, idiot.”

Misun chided her sister, but had the good grace not to interfere with their farewell. Dae nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure we’ll all meet again. I look forward to it!”

Jia held a hand up, fighting back tears as she waved goodbye to her friends. She’d already planned on returning to Goryeo one day, and this was just another reason to do so. At the last moment, Eunae pulled something out from inside her sleeves and tossed it at Jia, who caught it out of the air.

“You little shi—”

Misun’s protest was cut off as the spell finished and all four within the circle turned into a gust of wind and vanished over the horizon. It was the first time Jia had ever seen a long-distance transportation spell—though it seemed to be quite similar to the technique that Yu Meiren had used to escape Ienaga. Jia stared down at the tiny piece of jade in her hand—Eunae’s speaking stone. Did Eunae plan to contact her through it later? She tucked it away inside her ring for safe keeping.

After an awkward moment of silence, the group resumed their retreat back towards the southern gate in a sullen mood. It felt like everything was going wrong at once. As if the heavens themselves had taken her errant thought as a challenge, another xiantian cultivator appeared before them—literally appeared, as if from thin air. Jia recognized the rigid, inflexible domain of the eerily similar soldiers at Yan Ren’s command. He spoke in a dull monotone as he approached.

“Secondary objectives identified in the southwest quadrant. Miss Lee Jia, Miss An Eui, Young Mistress Yan, I am to take you under my custody.”

Yue put her hands on her hips and huffed with exasperation.

“Oh for the love of the emperor, what now!? Last I checked, we were under Elder Qin Zhao’s protection. This academy may be doomed, but unless I have completely forgotten my lessons—and I haven’t—the imperial family still holds authority over the Great Sects on foreign territory.”

The man nodded once, answering in the same emotionless drawl.

“That is accurate, however the former Elder Qin Zhao has been declared a heretic, and no longer holds the authority of the imperial clan. In the absence of another representative, Yan Ren and Yan Hao have been granted temporary authority. They do not recognize the protection of Qin Zhao.”

Yue chuckled sardonically, but the cold sweat forming on the back of her neck betrayed her nerves.

“There seems to be a lot of that going around. On what basis was this declaration made? Where are my so-called ‘uncles’ now?”

“Qin Zhao’s disappearance corresponds to the appearance of multiple demonic incursions in the vicinity. Additionally, it is known that he was harboring a demonic cultivator as a disciple. Individually, these charges would be considered circumstantial, but together they are sufficiently damning. Yan Ren has left to pursue the heretic, while Yan Hao defends the evacuating citizens. Please do not resist capture, I have been authorized to apply lethal force if resisted.”

He was so—rigid. Jia looked around at the remaining group. Hayakawa, Satou, and Hana had been prepared to abandon her to demons a few minutes ago, and while she couldn’t exactly blame them—she still sort of did. Still, this didn’t concern them, and she trusted Hayakawa to help keep Rika safe.

“Rika, Hayakawa, leave us here. We’ll—we’ll meet again.”

She wanted to say that they’d catch up, but no matter how she imagined it in her head...that probably wasn’t going to happen. They were so close. The Yamato evacuation was in sight, but Lee Jia didn’t think there was much chance that she’d be able to join it. Hayakawa nodded in approval, but Rika hesitated. Without warning, she all but bowled Jia and Eui over with a hug.

“I’m going to miss you guys!”

Rika was crying, and Jia couldn’t hold her own tears back any longer as she returned Rika’s embrace along with Eui. Rika sniffled, squeezing them tighter for a moment before finally letting go.

“Don’t you dare die, you hear me? I’ll fight my way into the underworld and kill you myself a second time if you do!”

Eui cackled and pushed Rika towards Hayakawa’s group, who had already started moving away.

“Not if I get you first! Now get the fuck out of here!”

Rika choked back a sob and nodded before turning to join Hayakawa. Jia whispered to Eui, though she was certain that the strange man in the pristine white robes could still hear her. He seemed content to just stand there and wait for their response for now.

“Yue, be honest with me. What are our chances of getting out of this alive?”

She bit her thumbnail as she considered her response.

“For me? Maybe fifty-fifty. I lost value in one aspect, but with the fall of the academy, I’ve gained a great deal of value in other ways. It’s a question of whether it’s enough to outweigh my betrayals. For you two, though? Zero. You’ll be dead the same day we arrive at the sect, and that’s assuming Yan Ren bothers waiting to carry out ‘justice’.”

Jia nodded grimly. She had expected as much—in fact, it sounded like Yue had better prospects than she’d hoped for.

“We...might have something. We’ve never tried it, but it’s the only thing I can think of that will get us out of this, except—”

Yue giggled, shaking her head.

“You are far too sweet for your own good, Jia. Leave me. Save yourselves, if you can. I’ve earned my fate, and I’m prepared to face it. Thank you both...for everything.”

The man—imperial host? Jia had no idea what to call him—had clearly picked up on their conversation and advanced.

“Do not attempt to resist or flee, I have been authorized to—”

Jia stopped listening, gripping Eui’s hand tightly in her own, fingers entwined. Eui knew exactly what she was thinking—they often did, these days. Yoshika withdrew her domain as far into herself as it would go, circulating the meager shadow essence remaining within Jia’s soul. After seeing what xiantian cultivators were capable of doing, it felt so meager. A tiny portion of something greater than the sum of its parts. It would have to be enough, and she wouldn’t be able to do this alone. She called out to the space in her soul.

“Heian. Are you ready?”

She felt confirmation—confidence, even—resonating from the spirit within her soul. Heian had been waiting for this moment, knowing before Yoshika did that it would eventually come. Yoshika let every last mote of shadow essence swirl through her domain, where it was devoured hungrily by the spirit of shadow that lived inside her soul. Heian became the shadow within her domain, her domain spread out through every part of her body—those parts that were partially made of ki took on its aspect, infinitely recurring into deeper and deeper parts of her existence.

Finally, Yoshika became one with her familiar—body, mind, and soul. She took a new step on the path her spirit halves had guided her towards—

—and ceased to be.