The ball of swirling energy left the woman’s hand, streaking toward Gregory like a shooting star.

Before it could reach him, one of the dark figures jumped up, intercepting the attack in midair. The two collided, and the creature vanished without a trace. One second, it was there. The next, it wasn’t. The dark energy exploded where it had been stopped, dissipating into a rain of glitter.

For an instant, it felt like the air was heavier. It was so heavy, Anastasia felt like her body was being crushed. The raw power of the attack was enough to shake her to her core. This wasn’t normal magic.

“What… was that?” Anastasia murmured, her eyes still glued on the woman in the sky.

“I don’t know,” Sadie answered right away. “I’ve never… seen anything like it.”

The shining remnants of the woman’s attack hung in the air for a moment, slowly drifting in the wind. It was quiet. Anastasia let out a ragged breath.

Then it started.

Beams of fire, water, and lightning erupted from both sides. As soon as they came into range of their intended target, they slammed into magical barriers, breaking into fragments that hit nearby buildings.

The dark figures were frantic with their attempts to get to the three floating women. They leapt up, claws ready, only to be smacked down by wind magic immediately. One came flying past Anastasia, breaking through part of the building and falling off the edge.

“Get down!” Sadie forced her to duck just as a scythe passed over where their heads had been. They hopped back to get distance. Walter stayed where he stood, readying his weapon for another attack.

Anastasia bit down on her bottom lip. She was so engrossed in the sudden outburst, she had completely forgotten about Walter. If she kept on like she was, she was only going to be a burden for Sadie. She was only going to put Sadie in danger.

Anastasia threw up her hand toward Walter with all her might. Her mana flew past the gate, and a rising sensation built up inside of her. She flicked her wrist, and Walter’s scythe was ripped from his hands.

“No,” Anastasia gasped. With a simple jump, the scythe was already back in Walter’s hands. She was hoping to keep it away long enough to give them a chance to get away. He reclaimed it so fast, there wasn’t even a point in trying again. She would only waste her stamina.

Walter came at them, and Anastasia’s adrenaline started pumping. Was he coming for her? For Sadie? If only she had been trained to fight. Should she attack? Dodge? No time to think. The scythe was bearing down on them. She had to dodge.

Just as she moved to jump away, the scythe was torn from Walter’s hands again. “Ana,” Sadie called out. “Now!”

Anastasia didn’t even think. She just let her mana pour out of her, firing another blast a wind. It hit the scythe, knocking it away from Walter. It went flying back, getting stuck in the ground near where Gregory stood.

Walter looked caught completely off guard, as if he was unsure whether to go back for his weapon before pursing them again or not.

Just then, something caught her eye. Something bright in the sky, like another sun. It took her a moment to notice the woman with red hair holding it. A giant ball of flames, big enough to destroy the entire building.

“Sadie, watch out!” Anastasia yelled

The woman fired a burning sphere in their direction, sending a blazing wind blowing past them. This was insane. Even if that hit a force field, would that be enough to shield them from the explosion?

Just as she turned to run, something jumped out in front of the fireball. The attack grew smaller, until it disappeared completely, like something had sucked it up. In its place, was a blue dragon. Wait, that couldn’t be right. Was this Lem? It couldn’t be. Lem wasn’t the size of a truck, was he?

Walter was going for his weapon now. Should she try and move it even further away? Anastasia extended her hand again.

“Fuck you!” the red hair women yelled.

The force of her voice made Anastasia hesitate, and another burst of fire shot toward the dragon. Gregory was yelling something now too, but she couldn’t make it out. A molten ball of fire shot from Lem’s mouth, colliding with the woman’s attack. Their explosion came into contact with the magic barriers, shattering them. Cracks ran through the roof of the building like hundreds of lightning strikes tearing through the sky.

This was their chance.

“Ana,” Sadie held out her hand. “We gotta jump!”

“Okay,” Anastasia nodded. She took Sadie’s hand tightly in hers. The roof continued to crumble below their feet as they ran, leaping off the edge without a moment’s hesitation.

As they fell past the side of the building, Anastasia noticed the sensation of Sadie’s hand. It was only a week earlier that Sadie had dragged her through the street, but somehow, the feeling was nostalgic. It was a feeling she didn’t want to lose.

She wasn’t going to let Sadie die, even if it cost her own life.

They reached the ground, firing a blast of wind below them to cushion the impact. Their feet touched the ground, and they came face to face with two bystanders, a teenage boy and girl. Before they had a chance to say something, another figure landed next to them.

“Walter!” Anastasia pulled her attention away from the teens. “Please, you have to try to stop.”

“I’m sorry,” Walter’s tears were gone now, and tone was as formal as the day she met him. “I’m afraid it’s impossible for me to disobey my orders.”

“This isn’t right,” she said. “I… don’t want to fight you.”

“You can’t protect everyone, Miss Harrow,” Walter readied his weapon again. “Strike me down.”

“I can’t!”

Walter stepped forward, swinging down his scythe diagonally. She and Sadie moved together, knocking the weapon from his hands again. It hit the building next to them.

“Ana!” Sadie screamed.

His weapon was gone, so she hadn’t expected his attack to continue. Walter’s fist made contact with her stomach with a sickening crunch. She went flying back, ramming into a car’s windshield.

The impact was like being hit by a truck. This was the first time she had ever been hit, but it was obvious this was no normal punch. She could hardly breathe. There was blood in her mouth. She was suddenly overcome with the fear that something inside of her had ruptured.

She was nauseous. In just one attack, he demonstrated the difference in their strength. Protect Sadie? Defeat him? It was impossible. She wouldn’t even be able to protect herself.

It looked like Sadie hit Walter with a blast of water, but Anastasia’s vision was getting blurry. She could feel electricity in the air. Was Sadie using lightning magic now?

She placed her hand against the windshield, and tried to lift herself up. Wait, why wasn’t the glass broken? With the force of the punch, it didn’t make any sense for it to still be intact. Did someone cushion the impact for her?

“Uhh, are you okay?” a voice came from next to her.

“Huh?” she turned her head to see the teenagers from earlier. What were they still doing here?

“She’s totally out of it,” the boy turned to the girl.

“Ouch,” the girl winced, moving her hips so that her skirt danced back and forth.

“Can you stop that butler guy?”

“I don’t think so. He’s not like those monsters from before,” the girl said. “Plus, he’ll target us. We have to find Urara, you dummy. We don’t have time for this.”

Anastasia felt a shiver run through her body, but it wasn’t from fear or pain. No, it was the complete opposite. She was warm. Strength coursed through her. She knew this feeling. It felt like when she had put her hands through the pillars of the gate. No, it was even stronger. What was this?

She could see again. Walter was bearing down on Sadie now, striking her in the face. This was Walter. The same Walter that smiled at her. The very same Walter that protected her from those detectives. The same Walter that reassured her that he understood how she felt.

How could it have ended up like this? Rage overtook her, blocking out all of her other thoughts. Rage not for Walter, but for Gregory. Rage for how disgusting this was. Absolute fury.

“Ella, get back!” the teenage girl’s voice came from her side.

Burning heat welled up like a volcano ready to erupt inside of her. No more. She wasn’t going to keep losing the people she cared about.

She put her hands in front of her, rubbing them together. A white hot spark ignited. Walter and Sadie were both looking at her now. The fire’s light seemed to envelop everything for a moment before shrinking back down between her hands. She let it go.

“Ana!” Sadie cried out.

The flame shot forward like an arrow, striking Walter directly in the face. His head moved with the impact, but his feet stayed in place. He was knocked off his balance, slamming into the pavement before the fire had even dissipated. There was no scream, no shout. Only silence.

“What… did I just do?” Anastasia stammered.

Sadie sunk to her knees. She didn’t answer.

Was he dead?

“…me,” Walter choked out.

Anastasia and Sadie exchanged a surprised glance. She jumped off the hood of the car and ran over, kneeling down next to him. Sadie did the same.

“Walter!” she cried. His face was almost unrecognizable, his skin burned off and charred black.

“Finish… me,” Walter repeated.

“What are you saying?” Anastasia fought back tears. “It doesn’t have to be…”

“If you don’t… I’ll be forced to track you down,” he let out a blood filled cough. “I can never stop. Not until I kill you. Master Gregory… won’t have it any other way.”

“Then I’ll take you on as my own familiar,” Anastasia said. “That’s what he did, isn’t it? He took you from his dad.”

Walter looked long and hard at her. Another explosion rocked the building above them. “You… would have to kill him.”

“Then I’ll kill him.”

Walter contorted his face in pain. “Those words… do not suit you.”

“I’m not letting Gregory get away with this,” Anastasia continued. “I can’t. Not after what he did to you.”

“Miss Harrow,” Walter closed his eyes. “Please… do not let revenge consume you.”

“You’re giving me mixed messages,” tears filled the corners of her eyes. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I’ve already told you. Kill me, then escape.”

“Walter,” Sadie finally spoke, her voice coming out strong and resolved. “You’ve been in my life for as long as I can remember. Sometimes, I wonder if you and the other familiars took care of me more than my own… mother did. I can’t let you die.”

“Miss Sadie…” Walter’s voice faltered.

“And Ana,” Sadie took her by the shoulders. “I understand how you feel… trust me, I really do.” She tried to smile. “But this is my brother. I can’t kill him, no matter what kind of… terrible things he’s done.”

Anastasia was suddenly overcome with shame.

“But I can’t let him get away with this either,” Sadie gripped her shoulders even harder, pressing her forehead against hers. “I need your help to stop him, okay?”

“Sadie,” Anastasia felt a tear streak down her cheek. “Okay. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

“Thank you.”

Just then, a horrible creaking sound rang out, and the ground beneath them swayed. Was this an earthquake? The aftershock of an attack? No. It was a warning.

“We have to get out of here!” Anastasia yelled as the realization hit her.

The building had reached its limit.