“Senator Thomas Evans of Wisconsin has successfully negotiated a recognition and alliance treaty with rebel Senator Casel El Tiberius. This treaty has been pushed by the White House to establish a post-war exit strategy.

There have been many issues that have blocked progress of the treaty. Many Senators and House Representatives have been uncomfortable in negotiating after the failure of the first treaty. Others feeling the lack of public support and are up for reelection in the Midterms have baulked at the idea.

A strange turn of events occurred when Crown Prince Diabo El Caesar spoke at a Senate hearing after a tour of London, Paris, and Rome. He gave a long speech about what he had learned from seeing the long history of Europe, noting the Roman Colosseum pastime.

The Prince spoke on how far Europe has come in the timespan of the Empire's existence. He talked about the common history of their people and believed there is a peaceful future between both worlds. That he now sees the vision his sister is fighting for.

As part of the treaty, the United States and NATO will recognize Piña Co Lada as Empress of the Empire and provide legal support. The US will also send an olive branch to any Imperial force that surrenders and transfer them to Empress Pina Co Lada command, given the opportunity. Once the war is over, Caesar and Tiberius agree that all war criminals will be handed over to the United States to face war crime trials.

The list of individuals will be created by the US which is expected to include all of the Oprichinia, Haryo Tribe, Zorzal and his inner circle, and other key members of the Falmart League. Once the war is over, the new Sadera Republic will be responsible for handing over these individuals who have committed War Crimes within the ranks if captured and any leadership who refuse to end fighting.” - National Interest

***

--- Magic Academy, Rondel ---

Date: June 16th, 2026

Lelei looked around the academy graduation chamber. While some of the teachers there are allies to NATO, the others are the opposition. The Pro-Empire side, now led by General Pepreos, is here with some of his swordsmen to protect his supporters.

Lelei is not afraid of the General, being a well-known man in Rondel. Standing there is risky as it makes her an open target however she wanted to do this. Not wanting to be bullied away by a hidden enemy. Someone is trying to divide both factions, and she feels a sense of duty to discover who this hidden faction is. All she wanted to do was bring a new golden age of magical and scientific development to Rondel, but now the fight is for the city's survival.

Taking a deep breath and speaking into the microphone. "Hello, everyone. It is nice to see that we can still meet in the same room without killing each other." Then she heard someone mumble disrespectful in the background, but she ignored it.

The room then remained silent. The tension in the air was so thick it felt like an ominous fog. However, the one positive feedback Lelei noticed was from the microphone.

Usually, the speaker must speak loudly for people in the middle row to hear. The people in the back, unless they are a species with enhanced hearing, will certainly miss the topic. Noticing how everyone up to the rearmost row clearly understood what she had said, she continued.

A string of positive comments came flowing from Lelei's earpiece from the Rangers, all of them telling her that she’s got this. Even Alicia making bold statements on how they will go to the club, get drunk and meet boys to celebrate.

"I am here today to explain the achievements I have made while working with the Terrans. As you saw in my demonstration, I have been able to take our magic to the next level, all just because of their better understanding of the world around us."

---

On the balcony, Sharpe watched Lelei give her graduation speech. Impressed by the topic she chose, superficial, but deep. The fight against the Flame Dragon by using her hypersonic spell. A story with a journey is usually an excellent way to keep the audience engaged.

She started with the story when Vanguard-7 first faced the Flame Dragon, explaining how helpless a mage would normally be in a situation like that. All she would have done was support. She gave examples of her sonic boom spell and then the development of hypersonic magic, taking a formed object and increasing its speed, using kinetic energy to do the damage.

While Sharpe knew he needed to keep an eye out for any strange activity, listening to Lelei, he could not help but feel pride. It had been a long year and a half, seeing her at this point had become a reward.

"We're getting old sir," Randy said.

"You might be," Sharpe replied. After a chuckle, he looked down. "But yeah, getting old. It feels like only yesterday we just met."

"I remember when we were practicing magic for the first time. It hurt a lot but was a lot of fun. She was so scared to do anything in fear of messing up."

"Don't worry sir," Randy said. "My kids are growing up quickly. Once this war is over, I will be going home. Consider yourself lucky; you can watch Selina grow up and be there. Don't forget it."

"Even Selina has gotten bigger," Sharpe said. "Can you believe she is going to be turning fourteen soon?"

"And soon your little Princess will follow in your footsteps," Randy said. "That would be an interesting story to see."

After a moment of silence thinking about their children, Sharpe glanced at his HUD. His Delta team had successfully breached the Magic Guild with little resistance. While he needed his Rangers and Rose Knights here, he sent Tuka and her friend, Welulia, with Delta Squad.

"Sharpe."

Hearing his name, Sharpe turned around as his smile faded, his face now filled with anger. To his shock, he saw Albus Russus, the ex-head of the Rondel Knights. "What are you doing here?" He spat.

Russus leaned against the railing and spoke, "you might have stripped everything from me, but this is still my home. I wanted to see what the big fuss was."

Feeling an engulfing rage building, Sharpe had to put much effort into stopping himself from tossing Russus over the edge. His senses were screaming 'red flags', knowing there must be a deeper reason why he was here. Welulia had mentioned that Russus was working with the Guilds to undermine NATO’s goals in Rondel.

"I see she went with the glory story, the Battle with the Flame Dragon," Russus ridiculed. "Predictable."

"Predictable but a good story," Sharpe replied, trying to keep his emotions in check. "Her spell leveled the playing field, wounding it enough to be killed. I would like to see you try to charge with your sword against it."

"Only a fool like yourself would charge forward like that," Russus replied. "I know the story; on the plains staring down the dragon. If it was not for others, you would have been killed."

"So, you’re saying a Knight like you would hide away from a fight? I guess that means I have more balls than you do." Sharpe firmly stated.

"It is amazing how that phrase can also apply to how stupid someone is," Russus said. "What a waste of magic. Though, as I saw that spell during the demonstration, I noticed it wastes a lot of mana, worthless in a fight."

“If you come here with the intention to be a heckler then I suggest you leave,” Sharpe gave a firm warning.

“I am not going anywhere Sharpe,” Russus boldly stated. “Nobility rights and this is a public form. If you touch me, you only embarrass Lelei over there.”

Hearing Randy's distressed words, Sharpe looked below and saw five men in Imperial and Rondel armor storm in. A tall man held his sword high and began shouting.

---

"She is good."

"Indeed, she has been the most amazing student I’ve had so far," Soredin replied to Ambassador Henson.

To Soredin's surprise, Lelei's speech is well thought out, having a lot of heart and soul. During the preparation, Henson wanted Lelei to talk about why aligning with NATO would benefit them all. On the other hand, she wanted Lelei to speak about the collaborative process of combining Earth and Falmart magic, showing how it will create a golden age for each group.

To no one's surprise, Lelei went to Sharpe for advice. Known for his philosophical speeches, it made sense for her to go to him. Soredin found it cute, like a high school student looking for father insurance. Sharpe gave her simple advice, speak what you believe is right.

While Soredin disagreed with the topic, it is up to Lelei. Based on the speech, it seemed Lelei made the right choice.

"I still believe she should have gone with the State Department speech," Henson said.

"We cannot control what she says," Soredin said. "While I wished she said what I wanted her to say, she needs to say what she thinks is right. Otherwise, it will sound hollow, defeating the purpose of being here."

Reading the room, Soredin believed that Lelei made the right speech. Not picking sides, purely talking about the city, its pride, history, and reminding everyone what the city stood for. A quick history lesson to remind people what they have in common is always an excellent feel-good way to start a speech before getting into the details of the presentation.

As Lelei explained the details of sound magic and its benefits, Soredin suddenly heard a loud noise coming from the back. There was some shouting afterwards, so she stood up. "What the?”

To Soredin's surprise, five men in Imperial and Rondel armor rushed in, yelling and screaming as they waved their swords, with one of them being a mage. The first question that appeared was how those soldiers got through the Rondel Knight protecting the chamber. Seeing two in knight armor, she concluded there was a traitor who allowed them in.

As everyone in the chamber's attention is focused on the five intruders, Soredin suddenly sensed an increase in mana. Even with all the mages around her powering up, this sensation felt different. Like the one Vanguard-7 ran into while on the way here, a Rune that had formed a hole in the ground(1).

Turning around, Soredin saw Lelei's eyes glowing blue, being wrapped by this mystical energy force. She had seen this before on Earth; a type of spell like this to trap rogue witches. This Rune is draining the mana out of Lelei.

As Soredin tried to free Lelei , a middle-aged woman to her right caught her eye. Noticing that the woman was a mage and fired a deadly inferno spell at Lelei, Soredin countered by redirecting the inferno toward the ceiling. "You will not harm her!"

To Soredin's surprise, this woman was already in a defensive stance, spells at the ready. Looking at her posture and sensing her mana level, Soredin can sense that this witch was very dangerous. “I warn you, if you try anything,” Soredin told the witch as her arms began to envelope in a type of aura, and continued,“I will make you regret it, dearly.”

The strange woman chuckled. "You people are always three steps behind." Holding up the blue crystal in her hand, she activates it with her mana and crushed it into the ground, forming a glowing blue sphere. A moment later, a large man appeared in thick, ancient-looking armor. "My love. Kill."

From her petite figure, Soredin could only look up to see the towering figure that was summoned in front of her. Her jaw was ajar as she assumed this man to be over six feet, maybe closer to seven feet, combined with the physique of a professional weight champion. Hearing Lelei struggle but unable to turn her back, knowing this woman will kill her, she yelled, "Cato!"

Cato and two other mages fired spells at the man and woman. By himself, the man stopped the three spells and reflected the spells at the crowd. One of the mages was cut down by his magic without effort.

Looking over, Soredin watched as the five men from earlier started attacking the crowd. More mages and swordsmen pour into the chamber and attack like it was pre-arranged. She could not tell if the Guilds staged an all-out attack as Welulia theorized or the Imperial Army conducted a coup or both. Above she watched as Sharpe and the others struggled with an unknown force.

Barely dodging an acid-like attack, Soredin ripped off the shoulder part of her coat and burst forward, blocking the woman again from reaching Lelei. Both begin their battles, spells casted one after another, trying to take down one another.

"Soredin!"

Hearing Sharpe's voice approaching closer, she continued to focus on this woman so he could help her. She formed a protective wall, covering Sharpe and Lelei. "Lelei is trapped in that Rune. I don't know what it is, but I think it is sucking or blocking her mana. I will cover you." Sharpe used his full physical strength to successfully yank Lelei out of the rune floor circle and rush off to the back, the anger in the woman's eyes clearly visible. "I guess you are behind now."

"Damn, they anticipated this!" the woman said. "My love!"

Hearing his wife's voice, he burst into another knight and mage, killing them both.

Looking over, Soredin saw the man, she now assumed was the husband, kill a mage with a spell she had never seen before. She tried to stop him by forming a barrier, but his wife shot her left hand, weakening the spell. The man quickly broke through the barrier as he chased Sharpe and Lelei. The man nearly killed her, but she quickly used her Ground Dash spell to dodge out of the way; however, was forced to counter a strike from the woman, capitalizing on her distraction from the charging large man.

As Soredin sat up, holding her bleeding arm, she saw the shadow of that woman on the floor. The woman is above the podium, her right-hand glowing black with a powerful black magic sphere. Sensing the magical signature, it reminded her of the magical signature she detected at the Arrun Labyrinth(2).

Soredin quickly turned into black smoke and dashed away as the woman threw the sphere at her, causing a powerful dark explosion that caused the floor to corrode into a big crater.

"Nice trick Grand High Witch," the woman said. "You Earth Mages surely are evasive. Centuries of hiding, escaping, and evading many Witch Hunts really paid off after all."

"You were the one who told Drasho about me?" Soredin asked. "Who are you? How did you find out that information?"

"You can call me Kagash," she said. "To be honest, it was far easier than I expected. Nothing a little fairy could not find out."

Soredin felt anger at this revelation, how could she allow this to happen. She was so excited to come to Rondel, experience this world and its wonders. She thought she was prepared for everything and confident but failing to account for the small but vast details that are different in this world.

"And let me guess, you are the one who was at those ruins?" Soredin asked. "I am getting that same feeling from before. It was you who created all those abominations that nearly killed Lelei."

"As I said, I am impressed," the woman said. "Of course, there was no way I could have planned for her getting bitten, but I was pleased to hear that. Everything has worked out better than expected. You people are so predictable."

"Why were you doing that?" Soredin asked. "Why would the Empire want an outbreak? Are you planning to create an army of infected to keep this city and use it against NATO?"

The only reaction from the woman was a calm smirk, ignoring Soredin's question. The woman is acting with purpose, maybe being the one that had been pulling strings?

Kagash made the first move, taking her staff, and she thrusted it forward. Debris around her glowed and was flung toward Soredin.

Soredin easily countered with her magic barrier but saw the potted plants in the chamber transform into mini plant monsters. They jumped toward her, but she quickly created a flaming sphere to protect herself and incinerate the plant monsters into ashes. "That distracting trick won’t work on me."

Looking toward Kagash, Soredin was shocked by what she saw. The woman held a strange-looking crystal and amulet. Merging the two, she tossed it at Soredin, creating a purplish orb around her.

Suddenly getting dark, Soredin used her mana to lighten the area. Seeing herself trapped, she touched the edge before being zapped. Inside the sphere she felt her strength being drained, probably like what was happening with Lelei. She understood why Kagash had been so confident all this time.

"You thought I was not prepared for someone as powerful as you and the others? You thought you could walk into Rondel unopposed? You are out of tricks, Grand High Witch, there is no escape now."

"You are correct, just in the wrong way." Soredin placed her hand on her chest. "Merlin, please grant me your strength. Please aid me in our quest to save this world from darkness so they don't make the same mistakes that we did. Please help me show the light." She is about to drain her mana and limit her abilities however she sees no choice. Soredin pulls a small object from her chest and focuses her remaining Mana to enlarge it.

Pulling Excalibur out of herself, she felt her body drained. With one thrust, the orb was destroyed, freeing herself. Kagash stood there shocked, not understanding how the orb was easily destroyed.

"You wished to see Earth's magical might, so be it!" Soredin stated.

“How, how!” Kagash stood there shocked by the sight. “No magical weapons can break that sphere! It absorbs all magic.”

“The sword is magic, magic you will never understand Kagash,” Soredin stated. “It was created by legendary arcane blacksmiths Nimue, also known as the Lady of the Lake. It was designed to slay dark sorcerers like you.”

Blocking an energy attack, Soredin moved in and sliced Kagash’s staff in half. "Surrender now agent of darkness. Without your staff, you cannot effectively cast magic."

“Do not think you have won, Soredin.” Kagash retorted as she held her hands up and glowed.

Not understanding, Soredin decided to put an end to her. As she was about to thrust the Excalibur through Kagash’s heart, she turned around and saw a dozen corpses standing, facing her. The ghouls began moving toward her, so she aimed against Kagash but realized she was already gone. "Damn."

Looking at the Ghouls, she charged forward and decapitated two down with a magical energy wave from the Excalibur in one swing.

---

Watching as the chaos unfolded, Sofia saw Imperial soldiers attack the school mages and politicians. "Bastards. People say I’m a racist, crazy bitch, but how many times have I been proven correct?"

Looking right, Sofia saw Sharpe and Randy suddenly be attacked by Rondel Knights, one of the knights being the ex-leader Albus Russus. One the left, Pina, Panache, and the others are fending off several knights and Imperial soldiers. Hearing Andrew complaining that he couldn’t get a clean shot of Russus, she rushed over and slammed the back of her M5 rifle butt on Russus's armor, pushing him aside.

"Sirs, I will take care of him, help Lelei and the others!"

With a nod, Sharpe ordered Randy to meet up with Pina and get everyone out. Both men left as the other Rangers followed Randy or provided cover from the balcony.

"How dare you get in the way of my revenge." Russus stood there, fighting his right gauntlet strap. Before Sofia could aim, he sliced the rifle barrel in half, shocking her. "You think I did not come prepared? It was a mistake to make me into an enemy." Sofia could see his blade had glowing runes in it, indicating that his sword was enchanted.

Sofia tried to pull out her M17 but Russus threw a dagger at her hand. The dagger left a deep cut on her hand, forcing her to drop her M17. Distracted, Russia took advantage of the situation and lunged his enchanted sword at her. Using her smaller frame, she dodged and then jumped up, headbutting him, forcing him back.

As she stood up, the man's size and strength forced Sofia into the defensive as she grabbed her combat knife. The movements of Russus shocked her, realizing how he became the head of the Rondel Knights. In heavy armor and enchanted longsword, he is still quick, just barely missing her.

With a quick dodge, using her smaller height and frame to its maximum advantage, she sliced the open joints of the armor. However, she felt Russus grabs one of her vest straps and was swung into the railing.

"I have fought hundreds of battles over decades," Russus calmly stated. "You think I've never been stabbed in the side before?"

Sofia smirked. "I am from South Philly. I knocked out thugs like you every Saturday night." Moving around, she quickly struck, aiming for the only available part, his head. With the knife, one extended cut went up the cheek.

Not wanting to get trapped, Sofia backed away and got in a defensive position. From her experience in dealing with the Imperial knights, she knew Russus was not some thug with pocketknives. Involved in dozens of dark alleyway street fights growing up in South Philly, she knew she had to fight smart otherwise she would be a goner. Taking advantage of her smaller and lighter female frame, she used the weight of his armor and his longer weapon against him.

After a few moments of probing, trying to keep Russus unbalanced, Sofia swooped in, forcing him to swing his sword. With an armlock, she tried to fling him to the ground so she could go for the kill. However, Russus grabbed her arm, preventing her from getting into a killing position.

Quickly reacting, Sofia kneed Russus as hard as she could. Even with patting on her knee it hurt like hell, but she noticed a small groan coming from him. Even with armor, the impact was so hard it hurt him. The only issue, he refused to let go of her. "Fuck."

Russus twisted Sofia's arm until she dropped the knife and pushed her back. He then punched her hard in the face, breaking her nose. With one toss, she fell to the ground.

Surprised that he didn't capitalize on her vulnerable position, she stood up but felt a firm grip on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw the new Head Knight Reldom Masulk, the man who had been protecting Vanguard-7.

"Reldom," Russus said, pleading to Masulk. "Listen to me. The old-world order is dead. We both knew that before all this chaos happened. It is why we did what we did. But these Other Worlders… they cannot be trusted; look what has happened below us. You saw what happened with me; you know what the Earth people did to their own mages, they will strip us, oppress us until we are no more. These are not people we can trust. The era of the Empire and this so-called League has come to an end. They will fall from the root. Join me, and we will build a new future for us and this city. Remember where your loyalties are with this city."

Glancing at Masulk and seeing that same internal conflict Sofia had experienced, she looked back at Russus. "You sick fuck. The only reason you want a free city is so you can fuck and traffic kids. That is all you want, to protect the root of your own fate and damn everyone on the streets.”

Sofia glanced back at Masulk. "Is that why you did all this?"

“I understand why you froze at the Arena but think about it, Reldom!,” Russia boldly said. “I saved you, I brought you into the noble ranks, an honorable life outside the farmlands or a labour slave in the horse pits. Everything you are because of me. Don’t you dare turn on me!”

"No." Masulk pushed Sofia out of the way and charged at his former mentor.

Recovering, Sofia watched the two-sword duel. It looked like they were dancing, blocking each other's attacks while striking when the opportunity arose. She can tell that Russus is enraged that Masulk, his former protege, turned on him and has full intent to kill.

Looking below, Sofia saw Pina and Randy getting what is left of the pro-NATO faction out the back door. The strange witch-woman called Soredin is trapped in a peculiar bubble before breaking free with what she assumes is King Arthur’s legendary sword that Soredin always talked about.

Hearing the duel, Sofia took a deep breath as she built up the strength. She is surprised that Masulk is fighting his former leader – underestimating his loyalty to the cause. If Lelei had that much effect on this young Knight to betray everything he knew for this new cause, maybe Sharpe has a point in reaching out to this world.

While Masulk put up a good fight, Russus’s experience allowed him to dominate the duel. Russus grabbed his former student by the cheek, stepped on the sword so it could not be used, and raised his sword. With that enchanted sword, it punched through Masulk’s armor like it was nothing. While not killing the young man, the fight was over.

Seeing only one option, Sofia dived into the ground and slid on the floor. Grabbing her dropped M17 with her bloody hand. Reldom is in the line of fire, but she doesn't consider it an issue. Pulling the trigger, the bullet hit Russus in the shoulder.

The shot did its job; giving Masulk an opening to attack as the bullets caused Russus excruciating pain, distracting him. Masulk began bashing on the traitor with all his might. The two men separated, exhausted from the fight. Two men in Adventurer S rank armor appeared and grabbed Russus; however, Rondel Knights rushed up the ramp. Seeing that, the Adventurers took the wounded Russus away.

Hearing that the battle was calming down, Sofia grabbed her radio, "need backup on the balcony. ASAP! Enemy. Medic!" Getting up and rushing over to Masulk with her knife, trying to block him from the other knights.

"Wait, they are with me!" Masulk yelled in pain.

"I saw them launch an attack below," Sofia said.

"They were not us," one of the knights said. "Someone pretended to be us…."

---

Sharpe rushed through the halls of the Rondel Academy. If it was not for the tour from Arpeggio, he would be lost. In his arms is Lelei, struggling to break free from this strange rune wrapping around her.

Lelei explained that this type of rune is unknown to Rondel, and she assumed it was from Darlko. What makes it unique is that it absorbs her magic, making her weak and helpless. "I am sorry."

"Don't be," Sharpe said, setting her down on a couch. "But you are totally grounded once we get back to Alnus. Even Selina knows not to give me a heart attack twice in one mission."

"At least you had practice," Lelei said.

Before responding to the stress-breaking jokes, Sharpe heard the wall bust apart as the giant man gave chase. While he hates leaving his team behind, he trusts Pina, Cato, and Randy to take care of the thing. The enemy objective is Lelei, and that is where his focus needed to be.

"Where are you, Rory? I could use some backup now!"

"My hands are tied here, Jackson. Someone had a bright idea of inviting three Apostles here to overwhelm me!" Rory replied as she struggled to fight.

Using Nett Warrior, Sharpe saw Rory's camera as she fought Jasis Phisaris and two other Apostles. One is an elvish female called Envira, Apostle of La. The other being Mabel Forn, Apostle of Zufmuut.

“Keep them busy until I get Lelei to safety. Do not let any one of them chase after us,” Sharpe replied, he knows well the consequences if one of them chases him and Lelei without Rory’s support. “WIll come and help once things are dealt with here.”

"Sharpe!"

Stopping, Sharpe saw Arpeggio waving. Specializing in enchantments and alchemy, he contacted her over the radio to meet up somewhere. She said she needed to go to her classroom to get her gear. Not wanting to lead the Darlko mage there, he had to play cat-and-mouse. "Can you remove the rune?”

"I think so, but I don't know what to do until I examine it," Arpeggio replied. "This will take some time."

"Dammit." Looking around, Sharpe analyzed the layout. While he has gained experience in fighting against mages, it is not a fight he enjoyed having. Everything is a wildcard with mages, no logical path for magic as the user can switch styles of spells in moments. Lelei quickly informs him that he faces a powerful Warlock from Darlko, warning him to be careful. "Stay here and figure this out. I will distract the guy."

"Colonel." Arpeggio handed out five bullets. "I also got these from my workshop. I was practicing enchantment on them for my research. I was trying to expand on what they could do as part of a project for the Empire. Some are explosive while the others are defensive. I don't fully know what they can do as I never could test them.”

"Roger that." taking the 9mm rounds, having a mental debate on how to use them. Unable to use them with the .45 M1911, he remembered about Lelei’s M17 pistol(3). Taking Lelei's handgun, he rushed off as he switched out the bullets.

Moving down the hall, he yelled at students to get to safety. Being forced to stop from a strange orb being formed in front of him, Sharpe took cover before the hall exploded.

Raising from cover, Sharpe fired his Colt, but the shots deflected from a magical shield. The Warlock channeled magical energy over to his enchanted gauntlet, reusing the mana from the shield and firing multiple mana bolts.

"Fuck." Sharpe took cover behind one of the marble pillars. The bolts exploded around him as cracks could be heard spreading throughout the pillars.

Peeking over, Sharpe saw the giant man extend his hand out. Before he could figure what the man was casting, Sharpe heard the nearby wall tearing apart.

Tossing a smoke grenade to help balance out the situation, Sharpe rammed through a door and headed into a nearby room. "Ok, Sharpe, now what?"

Heading to the other door, Sharpe opened it, and his VISOR quickly detected the large man. Knowing the large man outside heard that, he decided the direct approach was best. Taking a fragmentation grenade, he used it to blow a hole in the wall and then force himself through the small hole. Tossing a frag into the semi-smoked hallway. The fragmentation explosion caught the Warlock off guard.

Storming out of the room, Sharpe aimed his M17 and fired. The Warlock’s shield was reestablished, coming from one of the amulets around him. The 9mm bullet hit the shield and exploded into a colorful energy blast like, knocking the Warlock into the wall.

Sharpe stood there confused. "Hmm… that is what it does.” Arpeggio really outdid herself for having no knowledge of US weapons technology, a mini-airburt round. To think that this was being developed to be used against NATO. He is happy Arpeggio was just doing the research for a school project rather than some loyalty towards the Empire. “I hope the others don't blow up on me."

To Sharpe's horror, the Warlock quickly responded with a dark energy blast. Firing a shot from the enchanted bullet, it goes through the orb and explodes behind it, doing nothing. Firing another shot, this one deflected the orb. "Ok. The bullets can do different things." Assuming all the bullets did the same thing, he did not prioritize an order; now, he knows each shot will be random.

As the Warlock gets up, he is hit by an energy blast. It did nothing against his magical armor, just annoying him. Looking to the right, he noticed two students just stood there with fear. The Warlock quickly formed a dark disk and decapitated the two.

Seeing his opportunity to kill the Warlock, Sharpe grabbed his Colt but was interrupted by three Imperial swordsmen rushing around the corner. Seeing that he was about to be outflanked in a four vs. one fight, he remained behind cover. To his shock, the Warlock burned the three soldiers alive. He wondered if it was the cliché lousy guy boss wanting to fight his opponent alone or the imperials are not on the same side.

Either way, Sharpe saw his opportunity, and he aimed but the Warlock anticipated this and blasted him.

Moving to the right to prevent the Warlock from attacking, Sharpe jumped on the ceiling debris and slid down. Landing on the floor, he turned around, back toward the Warlock. Firing at the center of the marble pillar, the upper stage of the post and ceiling collapsed onto the Warlock.

Dropping the M17 knowing it was useless now, he aimed with this Colt, waiting for movement. Seeing nothing, he rushed to Lelei and Arpeggio.

"Watch out! Tempest Blades!" Lelei warned as she ran in front of Sharpe, waved both her hands in circular motions in two directions creating a powerful air pressure wave.

Stopping, he watched the air pressure wave slice the heads of the three Imperial soldiers and two mages behind him. From a closer look, they all look like they were turned into ghouls. "Thanks, kid. And good job in taking care of that Rune business."

“Thank Colonel, It wasn’t easy,” Arpeggio happily stated.

"The fight isn't over yet," Lelei said, panting as she regained her mana.

Arpeggio walked over ready to fight. Sharpe saw the Warlock standing in the rubble, banged up but standing tall. He started using his right hand to magically lift a large piece of ceiling debris and raise more dead bodies at the same time.

Lelei stood there watching, unable to believe what she witnessed. "I cannot believe it, with one hand? I cannot even do that without my full concentration."

“Look carefully at his arm, Lelei! That Gauntlet must have also amplified his magic to a large degree,” Arpeggio stated.

The debris was flung towards them. Both women raise their shields to block the debris.

"There is a will, so there is a way, Lelei," Sharpe stated. "Lelei, Arpeggio. Fire."

Both women fired intense arcane barrage at the Warlock but stood there in defiance, forming a barrier. The joint blasts hit the barrier, creating a blinding light.

"Arpeggio, maintain blast to pin him down, Lelei, switch to armor-piercing," Sharpe ordered.

While Arpeggio continued her attack, Lelei stopped and aimed at her staff. It glowed blue and formed an arrowhead . She then fired it at hypersonic speeds. The next moment a large explosion happened where the Warlock was, shaking the room.

As the smoke cleared, it looked like the fight was over. Sharpe has seen Lelei use that spell many times, and it is usually a death blow, a high mana cost that usually finishes a fight. Her Hypersonic spell helped defeat the Flame Dragon, Lord Valker, and other powerful enemies. Hearing the gasps from the two women, he is shocked to see Warlock still standing there.

For the first time, the chamber hallway was silent as both sides stared at each other. Then the Warlock fell to one knee. He coughed up blood and struggled to move due to the immense force of Lelei’s blast however that is not what everyone was thinking.

"How can he survive that blast?” Lelei shockingly asked.

"Because he has sacrificed more than any other man for love," a woman said as she walked into the hallway. She looked battered, like she was in a tough fight. "You are strong, Sharpe, with a reputation, and I am surprised you lived this long against my love, but you will never understand his determination."

"You think that," Lelei replied. "But raw power never wins out. We have survived many suicidal situations purely on our, on his determination to win, to survive."

"A few fights against the Apostles are nothing," the woman said. "When my family tried to sacrifice me, he made a deal with the gods to save me. He traded his soul to save me, you will never know what he had to do, and that is why you cannot defeat him, my husband, my love, Galrik."

"That is very romantic, Kagash," Soredin said as she approached the scene with Cato and Mimoza. "I admire what he sacrificed for you and what you had to do for him. But that is no excuse for what you have done here."

While Sharpe had no idea if the story was true, he did feel a sense of respect for this Galrik Warlock. In that situation, he would do the same if it would save Sarah or Selina. But that does not change the current situation.

"Your plot failed Kagash,” Mimoza stated. “We have you surrounded, and Galrik is heavily injured now. Your plot to assassinate Lelei and to overthrow the city has failed."

"While you were attacking me, we sent another team to the Guild's headquarters," Lelei explained. "I was just a distraction to you, lure you out into the open so we can capture the Guild leaders and find information to spoil your plot. You have failed."

Kagash looked at everyone and then burst into laughter, confusing everyone. "Did you really believe that I would risk everything in a slug fight with you all? Or that I care about the Guilds or what the League’s desire is to keep Rondel? This was a side quest, just to add more chaos to the city. Killing you would have been a bounce, nothing more."

What Kagash said, Sharpe believed. The confidence radiating from her is too strong to ignore. "Kill them now."

Kagash pulled out a crystal, activated it with a spell. A bright blue glow formed around them, and both disappeared.

"Damn, they got away," Soredin said. "I thought those teleportation spells were rare?"

"They are," Cato said. "While carrying the crystal to activate it, the hard part is setting it up in a previous position. The Guilds? Or did they go to the Imperialist side?"

“Something does not make sense here! Why is Dalko doing this? They work for the League and yet they are trying to undermine the League’s effort to keep this city,” Lelei asked.

"This means, Darlko has their own interior motive in this mess," Soredin said.

"Agreed, Cato and Mimoza, get everyone and fall back to the Villa," Sharpe ordered. "Rory is fighting three Apostles, so let's move out."

"Hold on." Cato walked over with a radio. "Your team is heading to the Villa, but your daughter is contacting you."

Taking the radio, Sharpe answered, "Selina?"

"Daddy, Mom is on the other radio," Selina said. "She said a gunship and cargo plane is heading to assist Rory, so don't worry about it."

Finding that information confusing, but right now, he is out of the loop. If Captain Sarah Sharpe said she has it covered, then he trusts her. "Roger that. Selina, we are all coming over to you. Tell Yao to get everything ready for a siege.