I scowl and prepare to launch at her when the facade I've just breached lights up with silver flow. It doesn't take long for energy to spread and turn all the room's walls golden.

I hastily tighten my protective blood-weave just as a wave of flames ignites the air around me, causing a moderate blast as it interacts with dust. I manage to block it but the heat is rapidly sapping the integrity of my construct.

Thus, I rush at Roskal's previous position with a lion's step but I encounter naught which means she relocated. Wipe the room. I decide to follow the intent behind my sister's advice.

I release the blood, which I can no longer harden enough to cut with because of the temperature, allowing the fire to engulf me briefly as I swiftly seize control of the surrounding air fueling the blaze to integrate it to my weave of air that I turn into dozens of air-blades.

Since the fire is being projected by runic constructs integrated to the wall, I encounter no difficulty and it is snuffed out almost instantly. I send out my attack and the constructs pepper the room.

The air-blades leave gashes in the interior wooden walls as they destroy desks, shelves, and paintings but fail to breach Roskal's barrier which is now also protecting the tall large man she was speaking to.

A current of fresh air bursts inside, saving me from suffocation, but then the Duchess spreads out several hundred portions that she uses to create a shredding cloud across the entire room.

I reflexively launch a dozen bolts of lightning across the room, costing me three portions, but all of them are attracted to poles with metal points attached to the walls and engraved with runes that absorb the electricity. The attempt burnt portions of her construct but was entirely energy inefficient.

She received news of my attack on her manor, pretty much as it was happening, and either acted on it immediately or this Midnight Palace already had the defenses to counter this Rykz construct.

I snarl and bring my liangi around to try to end her because I've enough energy to fight back but I won't last long if she's starting the fight with this much flow, especially considering the support she'll get from the Palace's defenses.

I lion's leap to her and slash down at her head but the brawny man moves in with his sword, blocking my liangi just at the base of the blade. I press down on his weapon with all my strength, causing the man to struggle to hold but failing to break him.

I angle the liangi to make it slide off and swing the other end at his flank. The man reacts by taking a half-step back and manages to block once more. I scowl and turn the liangi again to slash out with the fore-blade but this time from below.

As my blade arcs up towards his belly, Roskal's shredding construct takes shape. With no more time to waste, I saturate the liangi's runes with flow to cut directly through my opponent.

The Noble strikes out to deflect my attack a beat too late so he fails to aim at the handle but he's put as much energy as he could in his weapon as well so the impact of our blades will be decided by their quality and that of the constructs enhancing them.

Unfortunately for him, I surpass him in both so I cut through his sword and then crack through the barrier that takes shape to protect his stomach. I carve a deep gash into his belly but my liangi's handle encounters the edge of the barrier construct and is stopped from entirely slicing through his chest.

I hear Roskal scream and witness her shredding construct destabilize but it doesn't last long as she quickly activates it while pouring even more of her flow into it, which thickens the concentration of sharp flakes floating dangerously in the room.

I deflect the attack with unstructured energy but my reserves of flow are quickly being drained so I front-kick the Noble, propelling him at her which forces her to catch him. I thrust my liangi at them as I saturate my sundering construct with energy again.

As my blade closes in on them, they both panically activate their barrier construct which only ends with them interfering with each other and thus losing their stability.

I smirk as the blade enters the gaping wound in the Noble's torso without much difficulty, finalizing his evisceration, and then impales Roskal in the center of her chest.

Sadly, my attack caused the man's barrier to collapse which means Roskal's could properly activate to block my blade at the last moment, preventing it from going any deeper.

Roskal drops to her knees which pulls my liangi out of her torso while her companion falls to the side with my weapon's handle stuck in his stomach. The Duchess, despite her grave wound, throws everything she can at me.

She increases the pressure of her shredding construct. It forces me to take several steps back, dragging her companion along with my liangi. Roskal even begins shaping a massive fire construct.

If I let her finish, the resulting blaze will mix in with the dust cloud carried and spread by her shredding construct. The resulting explosion will undoubtedly blow me to bits but I'm already struggling to hold my own so I've no attention to spare on disrupting her concentration.

My focus is already split between controlling my left arm as well as resisting her attack with unstructured flow, which is already headache-inducing even with my sister helping.

Watching a fire construct come into being while a shredding tempest fights against my intent-guided flow shield as it dismantles the flakes of sharp air is exhilarating. Death itself is closing in on me, melting my flow reserve like snow in the summer.

“Kh, kh kh, khua, ka, kah!” I erupt in an insane bout of laughter.

My reserve of energy is dwindling and I'm not sure I have enough to breach the shredding cloud to reach Roskal again since my hard leather armor will only protect me for a short while.

I jerk the dying Noble's body behind myself and lift him with my liangi to throw him at her over my shoulder. The two seem close, Roskal screamed when I stabbed him.

My thinking is that she might make an opening to save him but the psychological attack fails and the man is shredded into pieces during his flight towards the Duchess.

Roskal is splattered by bloody chunks of flesh and a body hollowed out of most its meat but her will doesn't waver. The shredding cloud keeps assaulting my defense, proving her survival instinct and fears are stronger than whatever bond she had to the man.

Her traits twist as a result of this. Her expression turns into an ugly patchwork of fury, grief, and terror as I am left with only one option. I can only gamble on a full-on attack and hope it'll take her out.

The most intense section of the shredding cloud is obviously between us so walking through it is akin to moving through thick acid. My energy keeps me safe but I'm down to fifty portions and it barely feels enough to get to her, not to mention powering my sundering construct.

There is a real chance getting to her will cripple or kill me but I'm not about to take a step back so I push forth with all I have to ensure she dies first. As I grasp my liangi and prepare to launch two linked slashes with the weapon before the Duchess activates her fire construct, a silver arrow pierces through the wall behind me to impact a rune behind Roskal.

It is soon followed by several more and each projectile destabilizes the shredding cloud, proving Roskal has been relying on the runes to stabilize her construct. Even her fire construct falls apart which means she's in no state to fight by herself.

As Archer disables the room's runic network, Roskal begins attacking me with wild strikes of unstructured energy that burn her reserves much faster than mine, although it remains in doubt who'll run out first.

The deadly golden cloud fades to reveal a parquet covered in scratches and debris all over as no object or piece of furniture survived the onslaught. Roskal bashes my shield of unstructured energy with a strike of kinetic force which I easily return at her.

The woman is blasted into a wall and drops half-unconscious but then the door is slammed open. Soldiers in chain-mail rush inside with drawn swords with golden blades likely enhanced by armor-piercing constructs.

I try to lion's leap to grab Roskal but she unleashes a thick whip of unstructured energy that isn't relying on air or kinetic force so it goes through my defenses.

Instead of burning my last forty or so portions trying to block with no guarantee of success, I decide to reinforce my armor's defensive construct. The impact is oddly far softer than I expected but her attack propels me directly out of the building without giving me a chance to resist it.

I tumble head over heels during my fall and barely manage to harden a stream of air that I use to regain control over my descent. I land on my feet and disperse the kinetic force to avoid breaking a leg.

I immediately glance up to the hole I made in the wall only to witness Archer leaping down the building in retreat. I swear under my breath but know I've been beaten. Roskal's resistance was far fiercer than expected and I didn't have enough energy to quickly overwhelm her.

With my heart seizing in harsh pain every few beats, I decide to leave it at this for the night. I've planted the seed of terror in their hearts, it is best to let them wallow in fright over my next attack and leave under the ostensible reason that Roskal fled than show weakness by futilely slaughtering until I am forced to retreat myself.

Don't fly, it may create a link between us if you do. I flew to Roskal's manor. They only saw you land and crack the ground, just leap away. You can fly back in the night when out of sight. I'm not done yet.

I wait for Archer to lion's leap up to me before making my way out with him which isn't too difficult considering the elites guarding the Midnight Palace never leave the structure, likely held back by frightened Nobles.

We evade several patrols of soldiers and crush through one who cooperated with others to intercept us at the steel bar fence. I jump over it and land in the street from where I use flow to send me up to a roof on the other side that Archer climbs to join me.

I turn to observe the surroundings, but mostly to catch my breath and give my heart much needed rest. There are no imperial guards, a clear sign someone is tampering with their assignments.

“Aisha?” I question, implying she is the one making moves in the dark.

“Me.” Archer responds with a raspy voice. “Brute was... a friend.”

“How long do I have?” I ask.

“The night, but the Order is already intervening.” He replies.

I narrow my eyes to peer into the distance and indeed spot a group of three Templars in plate riding down the street. I open my palm and flick my liangi with the thumb to make it spin, angling my hand down so the blades pass over my head.

“Roskal spoke of a contract with Wraith.” I speak up, making my voice even graver than it naturally is so that he doesn't recognize it.

“A deal made for his release from the gaol.” Archer explains.

“Any ideas where it could be?” I ask.

“The Duchess may leave it in the open but Wraith would not allow proof against him to be found.” He argues.

“You're mistaken, the two are falling apart.” I deny. “Apparently over an order given to breach the Vault.” Archer takes a deep inhalation that I take as a warning, which I then naturally ignore. “The Vault is an excuse, Wraith stopped trusting the woman from the moment she put him behind bars and has been working for himself ever since to create an opportunity to turn on her.”

“You're suggesting Brute's murder was a ploy.” The man utters with a chilling tone.

“No, a coincidence Wraith took advantage of.” I correct. “His plan is likely to kill Roskal himself by creating enough chaos it creates a weakness in the Duchess' security.”

“How do you know?” He asks.

“It is what I would do if lone and relatively weak.” I reply.

“Comparing yourself to that waste?” He utters questioningly with an almost threatening tone.

“There is a limited set of solutions to any problem so the reasoning applies even if we are very different beings.” I explain because my sister insists. “Wraith would not rely on others to do his killing for him, he likes it too much. That is a weakness I will use to end him, but until then I need proof Roskal is behind the massacre at the inn so that my sister can work during the daytime to setup my nightly hunts.” I say, certain the trick with Yvonne didn't fool him or that he was told by Aisha.

“...” The Shade exhales and falls deep in thought. “With her brother dead, even Roskal may not know where it is at the moment. I'll find it.”

“Have it sent to Lance if you do.” I coldly utter.

Archer doesn't respond as I turn to leap off to another building and then the next. I make my way back to Roskal's manor using the roofs to avoid the several hundred Templars now spread through the streets.

I spot dozens of carriages, the type that Nobles use, rolling through the avenues of Kruzser despite it being the dead of night. It feels like I've kicked an anthill into panic and it feels good.

As I approach the manor, I notice there are far more troops on its grounds now than there were before. Several hundred Hospitaliers are trying to occupy the property but they're running into interference from Nobles and the imperial guard.

There are also Templars led by a couple of Exemplars but the Order is standing to the side as if they're unwilling to get involved in the political skirmish when they already are.

They might not be. Explain. I think they're here for you, sister. ... because I'm forbidden to use the mask except in defense of the Empire? That's likely it, yes. I forgot about that. I could tell.

I bark out in laughter at all these warriors too afraid to pick a fight as I raise my hand at the manor and gather thirty portions of my energy. Wait, stop! I'm making a point. Idali and Rowland know, don't do this! Come on sister, you enjoy it as much as I do.

I shape a large air-blade, causing hundreds of eyes to snap to my position on a house's roof. While Jess whines about her reputation, I take my time to integrate a feedback loop for kinetic force that'll activate upon impact and compound the damage.

Calls for evacuation soon arise as people realize what I'm planning to do so I give them all a few more tens of seconds despite the temple guards charging in my direction.

I finally launch my construct at the manor's facade which caves in upon impact to implode a split-second later, causing the structure to fall in a cacophony and a large cloud of dust.

I leap down the roof and kick the wall of the building as I use flow to launch myself into this cloud, concealing my landing and the path of my escape. Unfortunately, not everyone is fooled and I'm discovered by an Exemplar when I reach the outskirts.

The figure in full plate stands tall with a straight spine and a greatsword held in two hands with the point on the ground. I could fight, I want to, but I'm running low on energy and endurance.

“Elizabeth Vil, you are in breach of a result of Arbitration which was rendered in your favor for consideration of your service to the Empire.” He declares, likely preparing to demand my surrender.

“I'm a busy being, make an appointment next time.” I jokingly dismiss one of the few representatives of the holy Emperor.

“Elizabeth Vil!” Lance's rage-filled voice cuts through the noise and strikes directly at the base of my spine, causing me to shiver excitedly as I shift to the left. “You dare show yourself before me?”

Leomi Lance is stomping forth with her sword in hand and left hand open by her side. Her armor is sparkling despite the grime filling the air and her reserve is filled to the brim with flow. I can't help but grin as I raise my liangi.

“Why wouldn't I?” I question. “Are we not lovers?”

“Are we?” She returns harshly as she stops before me, causing me some pain. “Your actions prove you do not respect me or our agreements.” She adds coolly.

The Exemplar flicks a look to us both and prudently moves back, undoubtedly determining I am not about to leave so he can wait for reinforcements.

“You lied to me, why should I hold onto my word if yours isn't worth the air they're spoken through?” I return to my kitten with a chilling tone.

“I lacked knowledge, it cannot be taken as a lie and does not invalidate your duty to keep to your word.” Leomi justifies after a pause.

While her aggressive tone hasn't wavered, I know her enough to read between the lines. The admission means she is saying she didn't trick me. I incline my head to the side to affect consideration but mostly to tell her I acknowledge her answer.

“I am impulsive, you used to love that about me.” I say, making the response sound like an accusation when it is in fact telling her I recognize my mistake.

“Lay down your weapon or face mine.” She threatens.

“I think not, kitten, you're mine and I've use for this liangi in ensuring you remain so.” I return.

I raise said weapon before me and focus on my left arm to slide the hand down the handle for a stable grip. She directly lion's leap at me with a lion's slash that I block with the handle.

Leomi slams her palm into the intricate Vuskyt chain-mail protecting my torso and I feel dozens of portions of flow pour into my body. I push her back with a shove strengthened by kinetic force.

My act has almost no impact on Lance as her defenses are too sturdy but she still slides back despite the small spikes on the soles of her greaves and the weight of her plate armor, showing off my strength.

We then start battling without holding back our speed but restraining our strength as we make this an exchange of technique. It's unavoidable some experts like Exemplars will see through this but not all will.

It does not matter much as they are likely to put our restraint on account of our affection for each other. In the end we have a good sparring session that ends when Lance launches a sideways slash that blows me towards some stables.

I flip in mid-air, land on the roof and leap away using my flow more than my muscles. It takes me a half hour to lose my pursuers and take off into the night sky to return to the Hospitaliers headquarters.