Roskal straightens her spine with an offended expression as she faces off with Lance but keeps pressing on her wound. I keep my attention on Wraith who clearly had planned for Freepath to be in my place and Elizabeth to arrive during the fight.

Since he showed up anyway, in a poorly chosen disguise for the situation, he definitely stuck to his prediction while modifying it to await Jessica Freepath but didn't expect to be uncovered. He is likely hoping that I'll have to help and it'll allow him to escape, which may yet happen.

“I do not understand that construct of yours, how is it able to breach my barrier?” Roskal questions.

“It is of no concern to you, dead woman.” Leomi coldly replies.

“Hrm.” The Duchess clears her throat with a grunt, causing a trickle of black blood to seep from the corner of her lips. This fight will kill her even if she wins it. “Then come, see if you can give me the quickest death!” Roskal defiantly proclaims. “If not, then you'll burn for your sins against the Lake sooner than you thought!”

“Slow painful torment before demise it is.” Lance utters.

She lets her sword fall to the left and strikes out with a straight horizontal slash with the jay riding upon the blade. A barrier upon which Roskal lays her palm appears and blocks the weapon.

This time, the jay fails to break through in one go. I narrow my eyelids because my sister theorized that the bird has absolute control over flow within the bounds of its body, meaning it can obliterate any construct.

Yet, it seems things aren't that simple as Leomi fights not by pouring her energy in her armor-piercing construct to tear through Roskal but into the jay which begins glowing even more intensely golden.

Unfortunately, the Duchess has access to far more energy than her by virtue of ruling a much larger demesne than Izla Meria and being on home ground meaning she could easily access her stock of flow before the battle.

Leomi was far more efficient in her use of energy than our enemy and it would have been enough had Roskal not figured out a way to deal with the jay, turning the tide of the fight with a singular gesture.

Still, both are closely matched enough I am able to overturn the outcome. I reach out to Leomi's reserve and send all my energy except forty portions which is my highest estimate of what I assume Wraith could have gathered.

A golden halo soon forms around the jay and it clashes against Roskal's barrier, causing splinters to fly out that leaves small wounds in Leomi's flesh. My fiancee is using a localized version of her hybrid lance construct but it isn't breaching and so she has to withstand the blow-back of these shards.

The Duchess' energy is leaking faster than Lance's thanks to the jay but my love's injuries are piling up. She's bleeding from a gash on her right temple, not to mention dozens of light cuts from shrapnel that made it through her hard leather armor.

I tense up as the fight reaches its conclusion, both women are pushing back as hard as they can with their flow and muscles, whoever breaks first will undoubtedly die.

In an act of profound trust I've only ever extended towards my sister, I make the decision not to intervene and let Leomi achieve victory or defeat on her own terms. I could support her indirectly before but it would be insulting to act when the struggle reaches its apex.

Wraith suddenly shifts his posture, he's out of my field of vision but no movement could escape my ears when I'm focused to the fullest. I detect a silver cube rushing at my flank and flick my liangi's handle in the way.

The armor-breaching torch construct impacts my weapon without any effect as it is made of the best Vuskyt the Rykz can create and enhanced with a defensive construct specifically optimized by Princesses.

I push through with the block to turn it into a slash aimed at his torso without turning. The assassin lion's leaps towards the two combatants while my blade impacts a barrier that protects his back.

I rush after him to ensure he cannot strike at my kitten and disrupt her concentration. As the two of us close in on their fight, Roskal smirks victoriously while glancing to her assassin over Leomi's shoulder.

Lake, don't let this distract her! I pray with my entire being while Wraith shapes a dozen of his cubes to aim them at Lance's back. The two are running low in energy but the Duchess still holds the advantage, a single moment of inattention on my fiancee's part could cost her the victory.

Instead of ascertaining what danger threatens her, Leomi goes on the attack in a deep show of trust towards me. She suddenly delivers a palm strike on the Duchess' barrier one finger to the left under the point of her sword.

Roskal's jaw drops a fraction as she suddenly pales and her eyes widen in disbelief. She attempts to pour more energy into her barrier but the jay makes use of the blow and a last-minute influx of energy from our fiancee to pierce through with its beak.

The barrier construct shatters like dry wood and my fiancee's blade is freed to cut through Roskal's waist without encountering any resistance, splitting the Noble in twain as she promised while the jay goes through the Duchess to fly out on the other side.

While both pieces of the woman drop on the floorboards, I close the distance with Wraith and slash at the back of his neck with the full intent of forcefully breaking through his defensive barrier.

The killer, likely convinced by his former Liege's failure, chooses to launch the torch constructs at me while he scampers away under the Duchess' gaze. Roskal's expression is equal parts baffled, horrified, and furious.

She doesn't seem to realize she has died just yet but Leomi's approaching her to ensure she comes to her senses. I keep chasing Wraith as he barges into the Duchess' Imperial Suite which has a silk couch and armchairs as well as more paintings than any walls should adorn.

He directly beelines towards a window, there were none in the lobby, and jumps through it. I could catch and force him into a fight right now but I'm in no hurry and plan to shatter the man bit by bit before ending him.

Thus, I pull ten portions and use them to shape several dozen constructs from lightning bolts to fireballs including air-blades while he slowly drops to the ground from the Midnight Palace's highest floor.

Upon landing, Wraith rushes to leave the area while I aim my constructs in a very specific pattern meant to look as if I'm trying to hit when I am in fact guiding his zigzagging retreat towards the ambush my minions should've set.

I keep my gaze on him as he dodges my constructs and enters an alley. A large man hops from a nearby roof directly atop of him and smashes the assassin into the ground with his bastard sword. Wraith doesn't suffer any injuries thanks to his barrier but it doesn't prevent him from rolling a few meters and crashing into a wall.

“Graaah!”

Roskal's shrill wail tells me Leomi began. I smirk at our two enemies' fates and make my way back to the lobby where I find my fiancee with her right foot plunged into the Duchess' mid-section. Lance rummages through the woman's exposed entrails and then pulls her greave out, dragging intestines out with the spikes on the sole.

I shudder at the sight and have no issue acknowledging I've never done anything quite like it, yet. Roskal's gaze wavers, seemingly on the verge of passing out, but Leomi leans down to deliver a backhanded slap that wakes the woman back up.

“Not yet, bitch, you're going to scream until your lungs burst and then I'll skewer your head on my sword.” Leomi utters with a snarl before turning to me. “Go, I've got this under control.” She commands.

I incline my head to the side and wait long enough to make it clear I'm not following her orders before nodding. I make my way to the same window and directly plunge down towards a marble terrace I shatter upon landing.

There are scattered squads of soldiers all around, some evacuating their Lieges from the area while others seem to be here to court trouble with me or the Hospitaliers.

I plan my trajectory out of the garden and launch while making swirling slashes with my liangi. I go through groups of soldiers like a red-hot drill through butter, leaving bloody remains in my wake.

The squads, as well as each of their members, very quickly split and run away in different directions. I adjust my course to go through the largest concentrations, venting my bloodlust so that I do not immediately murder Wraith once I catch up.

I slice through the steel fence and step into the street where three squads of Exemplars await but with arms bared and runic gauntlets at the ready. I incline my liangi's blades because cutting through plate armor takes a bit more precision than mere leather armor even with a sundering construct.

This slight movement is enough to cause these Exemplars to tense. Some raise their shields while the braver bring back their blades to be ready to counter my assault.

“Shouldn't you all be on the front-lines?” I question with a touch of sarcasm.

“Being a friend of the Rykz does not make you immune to being prosecuted for your crimes, Elizabeth Vil.” An Exemplar harshly replies.

“You've made yourself guilty of two dozen counts of murder during these last few minutes alone.” Another mentions.

“Twenty-three, one fainted but will survive as I did not hit the artery.” I calmly correct.

“Do you have anything to say in your own defense?” A woman to my right questions.

“They are soldiers working for Nobility upon which I've declared war, they have chosen their side.” I say with a shrug.

“These soldiers and Nobles are part of the Empire, are you so arrogant as to believe yourself our Emperor's equal to be declaring war?” A temple guard asks.

“I do not see why not, he is mortal after all. Otherwise he would take to the front-lines and beat back the Rykz.” I proclaim with a touch of disdain that causes these fanatics to freeze in surprise at my audacity. “No, he is human as you are while I am not, making me superior.” I note.

You're not making this easy for yourself, are you? Just keep my blood flowing and I'll be fine. I activate my perception construct and focus on my left arm to ensure I don't lose control of it.

“Treachery.” The first Exemplar utters between grit teeth.

“Heresy!” The second screams. “All of it, heresy!”

“I hereby officially proclaim Elizabeth Vil as an enemy of the Empire.” The third proclaims with finality.

“All this nonsense tires me, I shall not only slaughter those who stand against me with aims against my life but those who have earned my wrath. I need no empty justifications nor do I recognize pretentious Rulers that claim dominion over lives not their own through illegitimate laws.” I throw back. “Attempt to kill or constrain me and I will end you. This will be your only warning, Exemplars!”

Without any time to lose, and with an anguish nestled next to my core about leaving Wraith alive for so long despite it being my decision, I have no reason to be nice to these Exemplars.

I launch forth and land smack in the center of the first squad. Some slowly thrust and slash with their swords while others try to bash me with their kite shield.

I anchor the framework of my left arm to the pavement and strike out with the liangi while letting the handle slip along my palm until I catch it right above the aft-blade.

I enhance the attack with kinetic force just as the fore-blade smashes into a shield but don't stop there as I channel the energy of the impact that disperses into the air and into my arm back into the swing, causing a feedback loop that blows three Exemplars away despite their countermeasures.

I flick my liangi back and catch the center of the handle only to launch another similar blow with the experience of the first, succeeding in blowing away another five Exemplars. Their sympathetic constructs can do no more than spread the damage while the triangular blades coming out of their gauntlets do no more than a blade would against pure force.

With their formation destroyed, and the pavement under my feet shattered from being my left arm's support, I am free to destroy the next targets. I lion's leap to the second squad and shatter their formation in the same way I did before.

This is the difference between me beginning the fight seriously or not, I simply move too quickly for them to react with the perception construct activated now that I know what it is they're using against me. It does help that they've not learned enough about my current capabilities to truly assess my strength and so came here unprepared.

One last tall Exemplar with large shoulders stands before me and the alley Wraith ran towards a couple of minutes ago. I casually thrust my liangi at his shield, causing the elite temple guard to reflexively block with his shield.

The man's monstrous stature with his plate armor doesn't prevent him from flying off while another section of pavement cracks. He lands in a cacophony of steel with his, and the rest of his squad's, breastplates bashed in.

“Monster.” The Exemplar mutters in disbelief.

“I try my best.” I murmur with a squint of my eyes.

I adjust my mask to ensure it didn't slip and lion's step away, leaving one intact squad of Exemplars who wisely chose to help their companions rather than foolishly pursue me.

You know this isn't over, right? Don't you have a plan? I do, but... I remain silent as my sister struggles with her bruised self-confidence. I do, act as you wish. The firmness of her thoughts makes me smile.

I hear a steel blade impact stone and immediately take a turn into a side-alley where I find half my minions, Uhla and Nahl, sprawled on the ground with the other half, Rowland and Idali, fighting Wraith.

They've received injuries but clearly have a handle on the man whose two serpentine daggers have too short a reach for his superior skill to allow him to gain the upper hand.

“You've done your duty, now leave him to me.” I tell them as I rush over.

Wraith, as predicted, instantly shifts posture upon hearing my voice and extends his right arm out to slash at Rowland's throat while blocking his sword with his left.

While the strong Hospitalier dodges back, Idali's spear smashes towards the assassin's chest but encounters a barrier. The killer takes advantage to put some space between him and them but Idali keeps pressing forth using her symbiont to move much faster than him.

The man clearly tried this before because he reacts to her attack as if he saw it coming and parries the blow behind his back. I extend my palm out and send bolts of lighting at his legs while I chase after him, using them again to guide the path he chooses.

Rowland, Uhla, and Nahl are quickly lost but Idali manages to keep up with us despite her attacks being too straightforward to even force the activation of Wraith's barrier. I can't blame her, she was trained as a city guard and it is very difficult to deliver clever strikes when pursuing someone as slippery as Wraith.

The assassin picks up in speed at the turn of a corner and tries to lose me by making another sharp turn immediately after. I trigger a burst of kinetic force to catch up and slam my liangi at his back which his barrier blocks.

I planned to deliver a second blow but pause as Imperial Guards cross the street in front of us with a house's soldiers in shackles. Idali flashes past me to thrust her spear between the killer's legs who merely steps over it without tripping.

Wraith flicks around while swiping his left dagger at her throat, forcing me to snatch her collar and pull her out of the way. He misses as a result but it gives him enough time to shape torch constructs which he sends at Idali as well.

I intercept most of the cubes with my liangi but not all so as not to lose the assassin's tail. Idali barely manages to intercept the constructs before they burn a hole through her body and loses much ground as a consequence.

It bothers me not as these minions achieved more than I thought they would. I lion's leap after Wraith and burn flow to propel me to run by his side. He tries to pass me by leaping to the right.

I feint an intercepting slash with my fore-blade but shift my aft-blade to strike left. The assassin doesn't realize what I did soon enough and steps into the path of my weapon which smashes against his side, sending him barreling into a wall.

His barrier construct protects him but its weakness is that it is anchored to his body. It has the same defect as my left arm which has its strength limited by what I use as a fulcrum, my body or a fixed point. Yet, I've an overwhelming advantage in that I can control kinetic force and so negate the recoil of a blow by channeling it back into the strike.

“Arhg!” Wraith groans as he bounces off the stone.

“You're an open book to me, little ghost.” I mock.

“Am I?” He returns with a smirk.

I detect silver cubes emerging from the ground all around me and swear because, while the assassin may not have planned to get hit, he still had enough of a handle on the situation to bait me where I now stand.

Wraith thrusts at my chest with his left dagger while swiping at my throat with his right, coordinating with his own constructs. I accelerate my perceptions as much as I can, fully aware I won't come out of this unscathed.