“Prophet Rabka! Trouble is brewing!”

“Ambassador, a whole sector has been lost to the infidels!”

“What shall we do?! Please give us orders, your holiness!”

One after the other, soldiers who defected to join Rabka’s uprising have been bringing terrible news from the front. For the entire time, the last ambassador remained at the gates as he wanted his followers to gain their spurs and conduct the purification, while he keeps his core group rested. He also wanted to enjoy the view of how the scarlet and blue flames devour the entire city.

Alas, his cautious posture proved well founded on reason as the reports come in to reinforce it. Doing the sign of the horns on his raised right hand, his middle and ring finger folded down while the rest of the fingers remains stretched up, Rabka ordered them with a strong voice.

“Rally to me!”

The horns sounded from Rabka’s group to force the retreat of his remaining forces in the city. Meanwhile, those with him raised their hands as well, featuring the sign of the horns, Bel Kabab’s symbol, and roaring for yet another war cry.

Despite their losses in the urban struggle, morale has remained high as they are confident of retaining superiority against the enemy. Besides, Rabka himself is still standing. For them, he is worth at least ten thousand troops. Or perhaps even more.

As they waited for their comrades, their last ambassador assured his followers with a strong voice, “There’s nothing to fear, lovers of Bel Kabab. We are protected by god’s divine…”

He has not finished speaking when they heard an explosion. It was from the cannons at their rear. Since they have not realigned the cannons before entering the city, the metal balls would surely hit their positions regardless of its unreliable accuracy. One hurls directly at Rabka.

“Your holiness!”

The supporters around him can only wail, but Rabka shouted back, “Fall back! Now!”

Rabka jumped to meet the metal ball going for his position. With one swift motion, he has drawn Ziferate, and used it attack the ball. Those who have witnessed the last ambassador can even see sparks fly as the ball and the blade clashed in midair, as if there was a challenge. Eventually, it seemed to have not even broke a sweat. Rabka prevailed as quickly as he countered the metal ball. Ziferate has cut it into two, which halves crashed into the ground.

The people with him cheered as they saw Rabka land on his two feet almost perfectly, and why would they not? The metal ball used by the cannons is around 72 pounds (33 kilograms), a projectile that may be as heavy as a teen-age human, but could sink a Dragon Ship when it is opportune to hit a vital spot. Besides, it is another thing to be able to cut the ball as it flies full force through the sky.

“Prophet Rabka is our conqueror! He is the last ambassador of this world!”

However, Rabka was too furious to even appreciate their praises. The other sectors did not have the same experience as that with their last ambassador as the remaining metal balls landed home.

He shot back at them, “Sabotage! Rush to the cannons! Quickly, there’s no time to waste!”

The salvo did not seem to faze Rabka nor his followers as they run for the cannons’ positions. Then again, they saw the cannons fire again.

This surprised even Rabka because it would have been quite impossible to load the cannons as fast as they were now. They know they cannot. Also, instead of cutting the metal ball once more, Rabka decided to make an uphill dash to find out for himself if he was being betrayed. Casualties mounted for sectors receiving direct hits.

“Traitors in the ranks!”, Rabka declared as he arrives first before the rest of his followers.

“No, Rabka! I’ve never seen as much fervor, but I suppose that’s why they’re called fanatics.”

It was Kayapa. Accompanying him were the female soldiers who operated the cannons. At the sight of Rabka, they fired the cannons once more, this time aimed against the rest of the cannons. Smoke and fire filled the area as Rabka tried to avoid the debris from the disintegrating weapons. Kayapa used this diversion to escape with the women. While Rabka raced his mind to figure out how they did it, there was definitely no magic involved.

Kayapa and his troops did not fire the cannons all at once, as Rabka’s did in the opening phase of the battle. Instead, they fired twelve of the cannons each time, making the illusion of loading them faster than normal. Then, they used the last batch of loaded cannons to destroy the used ones, hoping that there would be enough damage to permanently incapacitate the experimental weapons.

As the smoke began to clear and the fire began to weaken, Rabka can see the bodies of his followers, those who he left to guard the cannons. None of them seemed dead just yet, but they were surely knocked out of action. He cannot rely on them supporting him soon.

“May Bel Kabab deal with me, may it be so severely… I’ll surely bring them down!”, the fiery ambassador swore to his god as his followers begin to coalesce around him after the explosion.

One of the higher ranking soldiers approached Rabka, “Your holiness, our men have spotted a secret passage near here. It appears connected to the city’s water tunnels.”

“Are you not an Aramathian soldier?! And you mean to tell me you’re knowing this just now?! Fine, never mind that… How many can go with me there?”

“Y-yes… A-are you sure, your holiness?”

“Do I look unsure to you?!”

“Forgive me…,” the soldier said with a bow, “I believe a hundred or so, but…”

“But what?”

“I… If you allow me to speak my opinion, your holiness, would it not be too few a company…?”

From his sheath, Rabka drew Ziferate to slash the soldier’s helmeted head off. Blood burst and spilled on the ground as the soldier’s lifeless body collapsed in front of him.

After wiping away blood from his sword and putting it back to his sheath, Rabka muttered, “I don’t need impure cowards who can’t die for the Pure Land.”

As the last ambassador regrouped his forces, Kayapa’s group ventured the narrow passageways lighted by lamps and built along Pasco’s water tunnels, which already smells because of bad water management. The sudden increase of the city’s population ensured that both water consumption and sewage production would be too much to handle for the current infrastructure, so much so that some of the tunnels initially purposed for bringing clean water in were mixed with the outgoing sewage.

The secret passages, which Horden’s father built as an emergency escape system, are no exception. It probably was so secret that the governor’s urban planners thereafter did not have the chance to note it. At the least, Horden himself knew of it, and after long minutes of enduring the tunnels, Kayapa’s group emerged unscathed, except for the lingering odor that caught those who were splashed with waste water, and the minor scratches caused by mix of concrete and stone walls.

“That went well,” Kayapa remarked jokingly as they emerged at the palace garden.

“You could say that again, sir,” one of the female soldiers said, “It’d take time to wash this off.”

From the palace came rushing Alus, the head guard, and some of their remaining troops.

“All sectors are cleared, Taraga,” the head guard reported, “Our side counted a thousand casualties, while we estimate Rabka’s casualties to be around ten thousand, excluding those who you attacked at the gates.”

Turning to them, Kayapa asked, “No deaths?”

The head guard shook his head to signify that there is indeed none. All were injured only to take them out of the action, not to end their lives.

“Good, are the archers ready?”

“Yes, Honorable Assemblyman,” Alus responded, “B-but…”

“Lord Exquisitor? What do you have in mind?”

“Pardon me… I guess, I get the idea that we split them up to destroy Rabka’s forces… But, well, I mean, is it wise to gather here and…?”

“The last stand, you mean?”

“Um… is there no other way?”

“I know it’s your brilliant idea to round them up one by one, and I commend you for it, my lord. But the same trick’s not going to work twice on a crafty cult leader like Rabka. His cannons may be out of action now, but he’s still got the numerical superiority, and the element of surprise would not be of much use to us when the sun rises. They’d have as much visibility as us by then, and he’d surely concentrate his strength against us. Besides…”

The colonel nodded and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

“This… I can’t thank you enough for the opportunity, my lord,” Kayapa continued speaking to Alus, “but I’d gladly meet death if it meant saving your… our people. To die is gain.”

“Sir Kayapa!”, one of the watchmen shouted from the palace, “Rabka’s cult is on the move! They’re marching straight to the palace!”

Kayapa smiled, “I figured, Rabka. You want to finish it now.”

Meanwhile, the head guard walked away and bawled, “Troops, ready!”

All troops, male and female, gathered around the palace, with some stationed at the garden to accompany their leaders. They prepared seats and other props taken straight from the governor’s office for the three. Kayapa motioned for his company to the seats, but the head guard allowed Alus to sit first, and then motioned for Kayapa to take a seat before him. Kayapa looked at the head guard for a moment, and then seated. The head guard was the last to sit.

Meanwhile, those who remained in the palace, including Horden himself, halted their orgy to watch Alus and the others at the garden. As for Horden, he can only worry about the palace garden he has painstakingly designed being destroyed by the imminent engagement. When dawn has broken, Rabka himself emerged from the palace’s hidden door, which means he also used the secret passages Kayapa earlier made his daring exit with. It was as if the sun rose along with Rabka’s dignified and solitary entrance, only to be followed by two hundred more soldiers.

Kayapa welcomes Rabka with clapping, “Rabka! You sure know how to make an exciting entry.”

One of Rabka’s men went in front of his leader and drew out his sword.

“Shut it, Kayapa! How dare you address the last ambassador so casually?!”

Alus, the colonel, and the rest of their troops subtly prepared their weapons at this outburst. And so did Rabka’s followers. However, the last ambassador did not appreciate his follower’s action, leading him to push the follower away from his path. He did not mind the intense apologies thereafter as he slowly walked towards the seated Kayapa.

“That’s the governor’s seat,” Rabka calmly replied, “Do I have to assume that I’m facing the right person to take it away from?”

“Hmm. You don’t mind being surrounded by my troops?”

Rabka smirked, “Why should I, Kayapa? Clearly, you’re the one surrounded here.”

There is truth in Rabka’s claim. With little opposition against their march across the city, Rabka’s main force has surrounded the palace, albeit neither side chooses to start the battle. At least, not yet at that moment. Meanwhile, seeing their leader brimming with confidence, the last ambassador's followers accompanying him in the palace cheered with raised hands featuring the sign of the horns.

“I know,” Kayapa answered while crossing his legs, “So let me propose to you something.”

“Your surrender?”

“You humor me, Rabka. But you’re close enough. I’ve seen how devoted your followers are. If I can only see as much devotion from Ieso’s new believers, it’d be most satisfactory!”

“What are you saying?”

Kayapa stood up and said, “Instead of having all these people fight our battles, why don’t we take it in our own hands, huh? What do you think? It’d be an easier task for you, right? Nobody else intervenes. The winner determines what will happen to Aramathi.”

“Are you that confident of your abilities? Don’t you think your prime days are over, old man?”

“Look who’s talking! Forty is the new twenty.”

Murmuring can be heard among all people witnessing them, but none of them can relax yet. Behind his chair, the teacher drew a wooden spear with a leaf-shaped iron blade, as well as a red and blue tassel below it. Meanwhile, Rabka unsheathed the Ziferate.

“Ha! I’ve heard of the Dragon Spear, Kayapa. Don’t make me laugh!”

Without another word, Kayapa rushed with his spear pointed towards Rabka. He twirled the spear, which can easily be done due to the wooden handle’s rubber-like flexibility. Rabka stepped back and avoided the Dragon Spear as it slashes through thin air.

Before Rabka can swing his sword, the teacher pulled back the Dragon Spear, reversed it, and thrust the handle against Rabka’s dominant hand. This caused Rabka to lose his grip of the Ziferate, which flew away from him. Kayapa then pointed the blade again at the last ambassador.

“Behold, Sishengdi!”, Kayapa declares.

Kayapa launches a quick four-strike attack towards Rabka’s torso, which aims at vital points near the arms and the legs. However, the last ambassador was fast enough to deflect all four strikes with his bare hands, leaving the Dragon Spear wobbling after the attack, and keeping his body clear from the sharpness of its blade.

Rabka then lunged to land two clean punches done in such rapid succession that it almost looked like one hit between Kayapa’s stomach and ribs. Feeling the power behind Rabka’s counterattack, the teacher sidestepped to the opposite side to prevent himself from being doubled over.

Meanwhile, the last ambassador beautifully tumbled backwards to retrieve his sword. With that counter, morale was boosted among Rabka’s followers, some of which even clanged their weapons to make more noise, an enthusiasm not shared by Kayapa’s side.

The head guard leaned to Alus and whispered, “My lord, this isn’t looking good…”

Alus whispered back, “What do you mean, colonel?”

“The reason why I insisted on him to wear armor… Taraga’s not good at taking hits.”

Alus then looked towards the injured teacher, who already seemed catching his breath as he gripped the Dragon Spear. As for Kayapa himself, he thought an armor would only slow him down. Speed was his specialty, but staring at Rabka, he wondered how his opponent saw through Sishengdi. Nonetheless, Kayapa was again the first to launch his offensive.

Rushing towards the last ambassador, Kayapa directed the spear’s blade at Rabka’s feet, swaying it side by side in an attempt to keep the opponent off balance. Rabka was backing up, but his feet can keep up with Kayapa’s increasing flurry that destroyed all the grass it went through. The advancing teacher then pulled his spear and slashed it upwards, slightly cutting through Rabka’s headwear. Thereafter, Kayapa hastily spins the spear, the sound of it sweeping through the wind and cutting the ground almost deafening.

“Shengsi!”, Kayapa announces.

A speedy six-strike attack has been launched to target points at Rabka’s limbs, chest, and head. Undoubtedly faster than the Sishengdi, the last ambassador appeared to have difficulty deflecting the Shengsi, but Kayapa soon realized that his opponent used the attack to weaken the wooden handle by letting the spear slightly graze the Ziferate during the first five strikes. At the sixth strike, the teacher felt something hinders him from pulling back the spear.

He was surprised to see Rabka having the spear go right through one of Ziferate’s holes. As Kayapa attempts to use the spear’s flexibility to have the blade slap Rabka’s face, Rabka turned away, exerting a strong twisting force against the trapped spear. Within a split second, the Dragon’s Spear snapped. The leaf-shaped blade fell on the ground along with its tassel. Kayapa jumped away to recover his balance, which was almost taken off by Rabka’s maneuver to destroy the spear.

However, Rabka’s not letting his adversary get some rest. He took a step, and then leaped towards Kayapa, with his sword pointed to the same direction. Kayapa bends backward to avoid it before springing back to kick Rabka with both feet, only to have it screened by the Ziferate. However, the force of the kick was enough to stop Rabka’s advance. The teacher spun away from Rabka, throwing the wooden handle as a distraction, while drawing out two short swords.

With a tight smile, Rabka shouted, “Insulting! If the Dragon Spear can’t do it, what makes you think two standard issue swords can?! Besides, you shouldn’t announce your moves first!”

Rabka’s followers booed at Kayapa, and then applauded once more their leader. Kayapa remained silent, which struck a nerve in Rabka. Suddenly, the last ambassador was out of his sight. Kayapa’s eyes immediately searched the surroundings, but he was nowhere to be found. With nowhere else to look, he looked up, only to see Rabka almost suspended in mid-air, and still rising.

It was such a strong jump that he almost exceeded the top of the palace in terms of height. He then spins like a wheel as the gravity pulls him down with amazing speed, so much so that Kayapa did not realize Rabka has already hit him. The spinning attack not only broke the two short swords, but also slashed through Kayapa from the chest to the thigh. Hissing can be heard after the attack destroyed Kayapa’s swords, which fell off from his hands.

It was blood forcing its way out of Kayapa’s body. The upper part of his teacher’s clothing was torn into two pieces and became seas of red. Kayapa knelt, his hands trembling as it let go of the swords, and his scream of pain heard in the entire place. Upon seeing this, the head guard stood up in shock. He firmly grasped his sword, preparing to intervene, but cannot make himself move. Was it fear? Anger? Shock? Dismay? Whatever it is, the head guard was visibly shaken by the sight.

As he looked on, Kayapa staggered to stand up, turned his head to him, nodded, and smiled. The head guard’s eyes widened, tears beginning to burst from them. Rabka seemed unfazed by his high jump as he stomped his left foot forward, causing it to go deep into the ground, and wrenched his dominant hand.

Thereafter, as if springing from a coil, Rabka thrust his sword as both his hand and his body twisted with such speed and power. It penetrated the part of the teacher’s body which Rabka punched earlier. The sword’s tip went out of Kayapa’s back, exhibiting how much depth it has reached. The twisting motion did even more damage than a typical strong strike due to the Ziferate’s design.

“No! Taraga!”, the colonel wailed.

Rabka said softly in reference to his high jump, “How’d you like my Flaming Circles of Heaven?”

Before the last ambassador can pull out his sword, he sensed a shadow lurking behind Kayapa.

“Seven Deacons!”

The shadow spoke.

It was Alus, who already ran ahead of the head guard, commencing a simultaneous seven-strike attack against Rabka’s torso and limbs. When Rabka finally got his sword off and made some distance, he was grazed in both arms, causing little cuts on his garb, and shallow wounds on the legs, where some blood can be seen seeping through. Standing in front of him, the pretender exquisitor seemed shining to Kayapa’s eyes, who collapsed flat on his back.

“I never… thought…,” the teacher weakly said while coughing badly, “That technique… To see it… with my own eyes…”

Without looking at him, Alus replied, “You seem to know this, so yes. It’s what you think it is.”

The head guard, who was still crying, rushed with some medics to treat his friend. Blood kept spilling from his body, with some of it staining the head guard’s hands. The medics frantically tried to cover the wounds, but blood keeps on seeping out of them.

“Hey!”, Rabka complained, “Who’re you?! We had a gentlemen’s agreement! Deal with it!”

The last ambassador’s followers insisted that their leader already won the right to rule Pasco and Aramathi.

With his face filled with rage, Alus firmly spoke, “Your worst nightmare!”

He then ran towards Rabka, who already had his Ziferate ready. Suddenly, Alus began to look like splitting into two. And then three. Rabka could not believe his eyes as he repeatedly blinked in attempts to correct his vision.

However, Rabka correctly assumed that it was an illusion, and his eyes are being deceived by the opponent’s agility. The only problem is to determine which one of these figures is the real enemy, and he quickly thought of an adequate counterattack. Rabka spins full circle with the Ziferate still dripping of Kayapa’s blood. With this compact swing, he hopes that his adversary would block his middle of the body slash, and when that happens, Alus would be stopped in his tracks.

Alus pronounces, “Twelve Disciples!”

When Rabka’s spin springs back to face Alus, the Ziferate catches nothing but air. The slash would have been fatal as it caused a sharp sound cutting through the wind. Those behind the pretender exquisitor even felt the aftershock of such force since it created a sort of breeze. Without sight of his enemy, Rabka looks up, but there was nothing there but the azure sky.

Terror filled the last ambassador’s eyes at that moment. There must be something off in that situation. Before he knew it, Alus ducked below his attack, and from the ground, initiated a rapid barrage of twelve simultaneous strikes against Rabka’s body. All strikes landed accurately from head to legs. Rabka’s followers were surprised, many of them unable to see what happened, and so were Kayapa’s, but what they know is something extraordinary just happened.

Their leader just stood there like a statue, his sword still extended from his last attack, but he was already unconscious. Rabka’s veil fell off from his head, his tunic was shredded, but no blood came out from any of his wounds. Meanwhile, the pretender exquisitor walks towards Rabka’s followers as he sheathed his sword. Even though they were more numerous, none of them dared to cast the first strike.

“The battle has been won,” Alus coolly said, “as the sun breaks another dawn. Whatever you plan to do now, the decision is yours.”

Rabka’s followers took off their armor, shed their weapons, and ripped their clothing as they cried without ceasing. However, the government forces are still dumbfounded. They do not know how to react, or what to react.

Then, they heard clapping. It was not from their ranks. The sounds of clapping came from inside the palace, which meant Horden and his associates. The soldiers looked at each other before laughing. They threw up their helmets and cheered. Some of them whistled, while others leaped.

Alus turned to his allies, and upon seeing their joy, he collapsed on his knees. Looking up, with the sword still at his hands, he smiled. The battle for Pasco is over, and Belebeth remains a dream unfulfilled.

What will happen to Rabka and Kayapa? How will the Aramathi Coup affect Dalreida? What technique did Alus use?