Roskal's runic construct activates, releasing a torrent of white-hot flames close to the ceiling that falls upon us like a deluge. Leomi lowers her posture once again, curling up to present her armored back to this blaze.

As I lion's step away to swiftly avoid the fire, I feel that my fiancee is shaping a construct thanks to our connection but know she is under too much strain to quickly complete it or even perhaps use it when it is finished because of the Duchess' assault of unstructured flow.

Just as I resolve myself to intervene at the risk of angering my kitten, the jay flickers forth into the storm of energy. It lets out a silent cry which propels a wave of flow that scatters both women's energy.

Leomi uses this lull as an opportunity to concentrate her will on finishing her construct. She establishes a dome of swirling air which traps the white flames in a fiery whirlwind that will never reach her.

This is perhaps the cleverest defense I've ever witnessed and she thought of it in moments under tremendous stress. Leomi is using very little flow to counter what must have taken at least fifty portions to set in motion and will cost much more to maintain over time.

She isn't even directly fighting Roskal's construct so the Duchess can't overwhelm her with brute force. Leomi rises back up. She takes her knee off the ground just as her helmet finally cracks and falls apart around her head, releasing her pure white hairs which falls upon her pauldrons.

Roskal swipes her arm out, causing the origin of the flames to shift and rush at Leomi from a different angle. My fiancee's expression tenses as she controls her whirlwind to defend against this change.

The intense heat should have set the floorboards on fire, not to mention the ceiling, yet the wood remains untouched albeit beginning to turn black with soot. Roskal and Leomi's battle drags out with neither gaining the upper hand while the temperature of the room becomes unbearable.

The situation worsens as the Duchess begins sending flames from multiple directions which destabilizes Leomi's whirlwind and threatens to shatter it by attacking the stability of the construct.

Unable to merely keep watching, and unwilling to witness my fiancee's hair be singed, I raise my liangi and activate the Rykz runic construct engraved within it.

Setting the target to Roskal's construct isn't difficult but my weapon appears insatiable as it draws in my energy. It absorbs ten portions and then twenty- only to force me to pour a total of forty for it to finally activate.

A hazy sphere quickly expands from the center of the weapon and goes through the flames as it narrows onto the walls. Roskal extends her other hand out to counter my move but Leomi picks up on this opening.

My fiancee swipes her left hand, from which her pinky is barely hanging on, at the Duchess and this movement serves as a trigger to direct her whirlwind of flames at her enemy.

The white blazing tornado billows towards Roskal, forcing the woman to defend herself instead of countering my move. As the hazy sphere comes into contact with the runes engraved within the walls and obliterates the flow they contain, she crosses her arms and erects a barrier construct that blocks the blaze.

Leomi moves before the flames dissipate, she lion's steps up to Roskal and delivers a powerful lion strike with her blade enhanced by an armor-piercing construct but the blow fails to pierce through the barrier.

I twitch and experience an intense desire to gorge myself upon the Duchess' blood, to drink straight from the source. Yet, I cannot do so as we sisters have promised to leave the woman to our fiancee.

Our target has yet to arrive, the situation remains too even for Wraith to poke his nose out. I fall back into a resting stance, flicking my liangi to rest against my back as I observe my kitten baring her claws.

Leomi delivers several powerful strikes against the barrier to try to breach it while Roskal sends out dozens of portions to reactivate the runes I drained. I scowl in worry but know I cannot afford to burn through another forty portions despite the fact the Duchess has lost more.

Lance leaps back before being forced to by a deluge of flames, showing steely self-control despite the rage present in each of her strikes. She lands in a low stance with her whirling construct rebuilt and ready to be used once again. Both women have drops of sweat on their foreheads.

“Yvonne Shipwold did not die.” Roskal calmly declares.

“What brought you to that conclusion?” Leomi asks without confirming.

“The two of you working together.” The Duchess responds with a raised eyebrow.

“Elizabeth merely removed the advantage this location gives you.” Leomi corrects.

“Why wouldn't I? Jessica Freepath cannot prevent me from taking Lance if I so wish, whenever I feel the desire to do so.” I utter with a chuckle. “You drew too extensive conclusions from a single conversation spied upon.”

“There was more than one clue so as to your conflicts, but I do tend to agree. Wraith has failed even in the task he intended to accomplish, it was a mistake to involve him.” Roskal calmly acknowledges. “ But, no matter, I shall bring this to an end with power rightfully mine.”

“It bears to mention that these walls, no matter how reinforced, will not stand forever with such intense flow coursing through them.” Leomi murmurs with a predatory smile.

“Let us see which will break first then, you or the runes!” Roskal exclaims as she swipes her arm out, causing another gust of white-hot flames to fall upon Lance.

Leomi once again deflects the blaze but this time adds an air-shield that soon intercepts air-javelins that come out of the fire. The projectiles bounce off and burst on the floorboards without doing much damage.

She then discreetly shapes a lance construct behind the cover of her shield and the jay quickly lands upon the point like it did on Izla Meria to breach the fleeing assassin's barrier construct.

Roskal once again tries to destabilize Leomi's defenses to scorch her but my fiancee handles the maneuver with more ease now that the element of surprise is gone.

My fiancee finishes her lance and seizes it in her left hand as she leans forward to attack. I experience a tremor of fear, realizing the fact the Duchess wouldn't be so predictable as to only launch a single volley of constructs.

Yet, before I can do anything, Leomi leaps towards Roskal who sends a gust of flames towards me. It forces me to defend myself by deflecting the attack with an air-shield of my own and stand as a spectator while the two clash again.

The Duchess manually erects her barrier again only for Leomi to smash her lance and its riding jay into it. The defense cracks and shatters on contact with the beak only to have a shredding cloud come out to engulf both.

Leomi wastes no time with her life at risk. She launches her lance construct into the hazy golden cloud and detonates it, shattering Roskal's attack but also blowing herself back as a result.

The detonation is such that her openly fractured left pinky flies off from her hand which held the construct. I gape at my kitten's mutilated hand, horrified that she lost one of her beautiful lithe fingers.

Lance lands with a shivering left arm and her sharp traits twitching from the pain of having a part of you ripped off. She looks down at her hand and sneers in disgust at the sight of the stump.

My sister sighs in relief in a corner of our mind at the fact our fiancee received such a small injury when the intense energy in play could have easily ripped her arm off. Roskal emerges from the chaotic storm of flow their clash caused with several wounds on her face and body but little else.

“Fix this, Liz.” Leomi snaps at me with an urgent tone. I gaze at her through my mask, uncertain of what she means until she lion's leaps back to me with her left hand extended out. “Do whatever you feel is best.” She instructs.

I blink in surprise but nod in understanding. I raise my liangi and activate the sundering construct to bring it down, slashing the stump off along with that extremity of her palm.

“Cleaner like this.” My sister explains unnecessarily.

“Whatever.” My fiancee responds through her grit teeth, showing disdain to conceal the hurt of her loss.

“You're still perfect, kitten.” I speak up as I shift my mask with the bloody point of my weapon to give her a gentle smile.

“Don't show your canines, you look like a wild animal.” Leomi berates while concealing a soft smile of her own.

Roskal growls in the distance, showing her anger but holding back to recover from a blow that must've reopened the injury I left her. Leomi takes the time to bandage her profusely bleeding left hand without bothering to turn back to the Duchess, showing supreme confidence.

Most of the white cloth turns bright red before she even finishes applying it to her hand. She does so with expert movements, which isn't surprising considering the time she spent learning the techniques to help my sister deal with having a single arm.

“I can end her in your name, my love.” I offer as I awkwardly place my mask back to conceal the fact I'm trying to avoid looking at her injury.

“You're being unusually squeamish for a woman I've caught licking the blood of her enemies off her fingers.” Leomi calmly notes. “And no, Roskal's life belongs to me.”

I make a slight bow of acknowledgment and return to my resting position, holding my liangi at the ready behind my back with a tense arm that can strike at any given moment.

The two enemies face off against each other for the third time, and likely the last. The Duchess does not send any more flow into the walls while my fiancee shapes no more lance constructs.

Lance raises her sword to take an aggressive overhead stance while Roskal chooses to step back next to her brother's coffin and establish a perimeter with her flow, challenging her enemy to cross it.

My fiancee approaches and tentatively probes this veil of flow with an air-blade which goes through without issue. It flies at Roskal but shatters on the barrier that appears.

Leomi takes a step and slashes down with her sword, aiming the tip at Roskal. The weapon crosses the veil without issue but as soon as the base of my lover's hand touches upon it, the flow billows out.

The construct rapidly turns itself inside out and envelops Leomi in a hazy golden sphere. She tries to break out by striking out with her sword to no effect as only her flesh is blocked.

The odd construct worries me but I've not forgotten about the jay, lost earlier in the tempest, so I don't overstep the boundaries my kitten set by intervening.

Roskal spreads her arms out with palms inclined down at the construct she made, causing air-needles to take shape and rain down on Lance who displays an extraordinary skill with the sword by blocking each using the least possible amount of movement.

Yet, the deluge of projectiles does not stop and Leomi is soon forced to shape an air-shield that she controls with her left arm to aid in her defense. As I observe, I hear rapidly approaching footsteps and smile.

I throw a quick glimpse over my shoulder to witness who it is that has arrived. I'm baffled to find Pierre, the Hospitalier that had his right hand destroyed by a construct in the battle to get here.

“Dame Vil! Nobles requested the Order's intervention after your unprovoked assault, the Exemplars agreed!” The man exclaims.

Plausible but a lie it remains, the Order isn't so fickle after making a decision. His advance is non-threatening in a way that only experts or true innocents can achieve. It takes a lot of control and extensive knowledge on how to approach experienced warriors to move like this.

“I applaud your efforts and self-sacrifice, Wraith, you almost fooled me to the end.” I burst out laughing as I slash out with my liangi's aft-blade, attacking from a low angle that would surprise most.

Liz, no! What if... My sister's panicked thoughts are cut short by the fact the man raises his bandaged right hand to block my attack. A barrier identical to the one Roskal uses appears and stops my slash dead.

“The name was Pierre, was it not?” I quietly ponder. “How long ago did he die?” I question.

“Not long, this morning.” Wraith replies with a cool tone that fails to conceal how vexed he is to have been found out. “It took a long period of observation, how did you figure it out?”

The assassin doesn't wait for an answer and begins slowly removing his iron helm which causes his face to shift repulsively. The way his cheekbone moves towards the center of his cheeks is repulsive but most disturbing are the eyelids that lose their eyes.

Wraith throws the iron helmet aside, it bounces towards the two Ladies still locked in battle with my fiancee having not yet found a way to escape her small prison.

The man then pulls on the short brown hairs to remove the fleshly sheathe from his head, revealing an even more ordinary face than the one he put on as a disguise apart, perhaps, from his high brow and defined jaw.

His hair is covered in soot for some reason while his skin is shining from a sticky transparent substance. I've seen and done much but the sight of Wraith taking another human's face and scalp off still makes me shiver, something the killer doesn't miss as he smirks.

“Erase that from your face or I will discard my patience to end you on the spot without further exchange of words.” I coolly instruct Wraith who obliges with a grimace.

“I would prefer to avoid that outcome, I wish to witness Jessica Freepath flying to her fiancee's rescue for the first time.” He responds.

I incline my head to the side as I observe him through my mask's eye-holes and burst out laughing as I realize he's seriously trying to get a rise out of me. His expression falls by the slightest margin but it is enough to tell I got to him. I flick the flat of my liangi's blade at his shoulder, sending him stumbling back a step.

“You truly do not understand who I am, do you little Wraith?” I remark.

“All I know is what I heard, that you're pathetic for working with women who have betrayed you.” He coldly responds. “I thought we were similar beings but you've not the necessary ruthlessness.”

“Little human, you have no idea the extent my cruelty can reach but you will learn tonight.” I honestly tell him.

“The truth is you've gotten weak.” He gripes. “It is disappointing.”

“It is true, I am currently far from my peak, but I could still devour you at my weakest.” I mock.

Shrrkrhm. The shaking is a result of Roskal's latest attack against Leomi's defenses which cracks the floorboards under her feet. I frown and ignore the assassin whose fate matters less than my kitten's.

The Duchess takes advantage of Lance's staggering to launch a series of air-blades that shatters her air-shield. My fiancee shrivels up from the impact and barely manages to raise her sword to block the next volley.

Roskal approaches the veil of flow keeping Leomi imprisoned to bombard her with constructs from outside while also shaping a construct to finish her enemy off. I straighten up in anticipation towards how Lance will end this, refusing to believe the woman I love is at the end of her rope.

“I set her up perfectly yet you struggle so much to kill her. How crudely you've handled this when there were many ways to bring Roskal to her end.” Wraith mocks. “Shall I take over?”

“Silence, your words lack truth.” I rebuke, growing annoyed by his crude attempts at manipulation. “Your turn will come soon enough.”

“Would you know? You've lost yours on so many occasions.” He sneers.

I frown but keep my attention on what matters because now is the moment Leomi's right vambrace shatters into steel splinters. As Roskal smiles victoriously, my fiancee strikes out with her sword.

Roskal shifts to avoid the weapon and retaliates with an air-blade but fails to notice the jay falling on her construct. As it shatters, Leomi leaps to to the side to dodge and presses forth with her swing to slash at the Duchess' flank.

The woman tries to avoid the blade but she is too slow and it bites into her side, tearing through her black dress to leave a deep bloody gash in her belly. She presses down on the wound with her left hand as she stumbles back, a retreat Leomi confidently allows.

“You are transparent to me, little killer.” I coldly snap as I turn to Wraith. “Murder no longer satisfies you, it is mayhem you now desire.” The man stiffens. “The issue is you've not the skill-set, nor the intelligence, to play this game.”

“What makes you think so?” He questions defiantly.

“Your arrogance in approaching within striking distance of Elizabeth Vil thinking you could later flee from her grasp, not even Cenwalh dared to take this chance.” I explain. “Yet you need not worry. I will allow you to step away because it would be too easy to take your life now when you must suffer defeat after defeat before your horrific and untimely demise.”

I do not wait for an answer as I return to observing Leomi's revenge. I hear the man move a meter aside with great satisfaction while my love gets rid of her armor's broken pieces to only keep her breastplate and pauldrons on her upper body.

She doesn't even seem winded while Roskal now has to deal with another grievous injury. Yet, the Duchess does not have the appearance or expression of a defeated opponent which means she holds cards in her sleeve.

“It is over for you, Roskal.” Leomi calmly declares as she raises her sword vertically before her silvery eyes, showing off the roaring silver lion head on the pommel while the jay lands on the very point. “My next blow will sever you in half, the only question that remains is whether you prefer to be split in twain at the waist or from head to crotch.”