The four rushed to the balcony. A charred wound smoldered in the wall nearby. Below people spilled from the gambling hall and melded into the crowd of feeling citizens. The people stampeded and crashed south down the wide stone boulevard. Tim looked to the north through the smoke, to the source of the disturbance.

“Hey, isn’t that Katsuki up there?”

“Black outfit, no sleeves, and reckless abandon? Yep, that’s him.”

A quarter mile away was one of the many waterfalls. Wide and tall staircases lined it on either side. At the top a stood a mage hurling spells. In the middle of a stairway, a shimmering compound barrier protected a single individual. A roar of fire blasted down and engulfed the shield. The stone steps blackened and the waterfall steamed. But the barrier held firm.

As one spell ended another began as Katsuki shot a ray of intense cold. But the magic slid over the compound barrier and flung away. Randal leaned out to yell but jerked his head back as the stray bolt whizzed by. Snow sprinkled from its trail before it hit a tree, coating it in ice.

“Katsuki, knock it off you fool!”

A platoon of Yoriki came running down the central boulevard and shoved Katsuki out of the way. In the face of reinforcements, the suspect chose to escape. The barrier dropped and the person bounded down the stairs at superhuman speed. In a few breaths, they were drawing near the gambling house.

“It’s a demon!” cried McKenzie.

McKenzie was correct, now that Tim could see the suspect more closely. Its armor was unusual as if made from insect parts. The skin was ruddy and dark. Between two small horns, purple hair waved like flames. Its golden eyes met Tim’s for an instant and it yelled as it ran below them.

“What’s it saying?”

“Who cares, kill it!”

“Wait, there’s Genzo!”

Genzo flung himself from the top of the stairway. He soared over the Yoriki and landed on the second level, four stories below. He rolled, sprang up and gave chase. Genzo alone was unarmored, wearing only a sleeveless shirt and thick pants. He ran at unnatural speeds, each of his great strides gaining on the demon. Wrapped inside the fist of each studded gauntlet was a short sword of unusual length.

“Maybe we should go help him out.” McKenzie drew back the string on her bow and unleashed one of her secret skills. An invisible bolt of energy traveled at the speed of magic. The creature tumbled forward and scraped along the ground. Slowly it clawed its way back to its feet. A trail of blue blood leaked from its thigh as the demon limped away.

“Oh look Genzo almost caught up with him. Her. It? I can’t tell.”

The central boulevard was wide and traveled on for miles before descending to the next level. Trees lined the road at even intervals and after every five blocks a plaza opened up. Normally this area would be flooded with people out dining or drinking. But in the wake of the explosions, it was eerily vacant. It was at the closest plaza where the demon chose to face its pursuer.

A tremor shook the building and Hoban fell from his seat.

Ribbons of magic flowed up and entwined with the demon. Tim could almost see the spell as it was being woven. The design was simple, almost primal. It was as if the creature was summoning a single word within itself; strength.

A second spell chained into the first, and Tim saw it more clearly. The outer circle control network and inner network were surprisingly simple. There was but one subshape in the central network. But that subshape was so densely packed that it glowed with meaning. As it came to live within the demon’s body a howl erupted that rattled windows and knocked Hoban to the ground. Even as he crashed he somehow kept the wine bottle upright.

Down in the square Genzo had caught up. He lunged at the purple haired demon and their swords sparked. Tim could not follow the motion as steel flew in a tempest of attacks that nicked blades and shredded armor. Back and forth they danced and exchanged blows. The demon did a feint and Genzo bit. He swung high and left himself open. The demon reached out his hand and let flow a glittering spray of magic. Genzo managed to duck, but the spell was not over.

Another simple spell Tim noted. He wondered if that was the key to their magical strength, and how demons could cast so quickly. Instead of the kind of deep precise magic that backline mages use this was gritty and savage. It was magic for front line fighters to smite down whatever stood in their way.

Crouched like a tiger Genzo put strength to his legs and shot forward. The demon moved its hand to chase him with the spell. Right as they were about to connect Genzo landed and rolled behind a large shade tree. The tree withered, its bark cracked and shattered as its wood petrified. With a roar, Genzo smashed his shoulder into the calcified tree and pushed. The trunk fissured and fractured then twisted and toppled. A shadow passed over the demon as the branching limbs of the stone fell.

Tim thought it was all over, but the demon stood its ground. The spell of strength moved from the demon and channeled through the blade. With a massive downward swing, the blade intercepted and split the tree. Branches shattered and turned to gravel as it crashed upon the ground. Genzo rose and crested with the last of the branches, over the top he flew at the demon. But the demon moved with unnatural speed. The downward slash defied inertia and reversed direction in an instant. The blade found Genzo’s belly.

To the surprise of the demon, Genzo smiled as he pushed farther onto the blade. Genzo grabbed onto the demon’s wrist so it couldn’t withdraw the sword and pummeled him with his free hand. Genzo’s spiked gauntlet connected with the demon’s face again and again. Bashed and battered a broken fang flew from its mouth.

The creature fell to its back and with its good leg kicked Genzo off its blade. The last of the spell’s strength was spent to send Genzo flying. He crashed through stony limbs and landed in the rubble near the edge of the square. They slowly got up at the same time. As they approached for another round the demon’s eyes narrowed. The demon was covered in nicks and gouges; its thigh poured blue blood. But Genzo’s wounds were already closed up.

“Hum,” McKenzie said “that one seems to be different from the others we fought. Maybe we should go down and help him.”

“Nah, he’d just get mad again. An’ the fights jus’ about outta that one.”

As Randal spoke a light spread out from the demon’s feet and engulfed the square. Light rose up and reflected off the white stone walls. Genzo put up his guard but the circle condensed back down to the demon's feet. Tim sensed the flow of magic, it was different than before, more predatory. It was as if the spell was powered by the demon’s life force. As the spell concluded the demon’s body changed. Its wounds closed as muscles grew thicker and tougher. Horns grew, veins bulged and claws elongated as it transformed into terror.

The demon disappeared under a cloud of dust. Only fractured stone remained from where it had kicked off. Then Genzo’s screamed as he erupted in a volcano of blood. The demon stood behind him, its fist though Genzo’s chest. Bloody claws reached down and dug into skin. Genzo fought back in time to intercept the demon’s other arm which threatened to slice open his neck. With red-rimmed eyes, Genzo looked up and screamed at McKenzie.

“Shoot me!”

“What?”

“Shoot me you dumb bitch!”

McKenzie didn’t hesitate again. Or feel bad about shooting Genzo. A hail of unseen bolts flowed down in a monsoon. They pierced human and demon alike. Blue blood joined the fountain as they became riddled with holes. As Genzo worked to free his neck a lucky bolt passed through him. It shredded his stomach and shattered the creature’s spine. The demon went limp and Genzo pulled himself free.

Randal jumped down and ran to Genzo to help, but Genzo’s chest was nearly fully regenerated. Together they looked at the broken creature. The unable to do more than twitch the creature gasped for air. Genzo roughly grabbed it by its hair and yanked the demon up. With a sneer, he severed its head.

“You can clean this mess up. I’m going to go home to rest.” Genzo turned away and started to walk off. Then almost as an afterthought “And thank your bitch for me.”

In a few moments, the Yoriki arrived and proceeded to waste everyone’s time. Tim felt if it wasn’t for him and Hoban being gold level AG employees they might have been detained overnight. And he was quite sure that the letter they sent to his manager wouldn’t do them any favors. Still, he headed home that night with a heavy coin purse, filled with McKenzie’s loan.

Tim arrived back in his comfortable room much later than he had intended. He took out some paper and added sleep deprivation to the list of reasons tomorrow would suck. Under the glow of a magic light, Tim worked late into night drafting letters. The next day couriers would deliver the letters to various agencies across town. Well paid intermediaries would act on his behalf. By his next day off the stage should be set and his venture would begin.