The Burning Flowers

Chapter V

It was around ten minutes after Lord Cartigan led Abi and Iris from the lounge that The Angel spoke in her mind. They were rushing through the ground floor, in the direction of the front gates, with multiple members of the Castle Guard having met up with them on their descent. Abi’s mind was already racing, so when The Angel said what it did, she skidded to a sudden halt, her eyes going wide at such a terrible revelation.

“Abi, Leiolai Sartella and Barron Kristoff are in the castle. I just sensed a surge of mana not far from here that I would never mistake as anybody’s but those infernal cultists! They’re in the direction of the dungeon!”

Abi hadn’t believed she could feel any sicker than she already did, but as she processed those words and realized that they were almost certainly attempting to free Uma Miyon, she felt like she was about to vomit. Had she not emptied everything she’d eaten that day onto the carpet of the tower library, she may have just collapsed to her knees and puked. For all they knew, Leiolai and Barron had already freed Uma, for his magicless nature would make The Angel unable to sense his presence. Having the doctor in their captivity was one of the only significant victories they had experienced in their two and a half year conflict with the Kosah-Rei, so if they allowed him to escape after everything that had already happened, then they truly would have failed their assignment in every sense of the word.

But… This is a chance to try and gain something from this nightmare, right? If we can kill even just one of those three, we’ll make the Kosah-Rei pay for what they’ve done here in Stellareid! Killing Kristoff is probably beyond me, but I’ve beaten Sartella before, and Miyon is magicless. He won’t stand a chance against me!

“Then you could always leave Kristoff to me. Acostav proved back in Noctalus that his armor isn’t the most efficient against light magic. The only drawback is we’d have to go alone so as not to expose my existence. Cartigan and Mackia would have to remain behind.”

Obviously! They’re needed in the city anyway! Iris isn’t a combatant, so—!

“Reiner, what’s the damn holdup?!” Cartigan’s irritated shout yanked her from her thoughts as the Lord of Stellareid furiously glared back at her. “We don’t have time for you to be staring into space!”

Abi slowly turned her head to regard him before noticing Iris’s concerned expression. Given that her pupil had been the one to find her limping down from the tower library, it was a near certainty that she had deduced the fact that Abi was hiding something. Iris might have been polite enough not to pry, but she was obviously biting her tongue, leaving Abigail wishing she could be honest with at least her. But that wasn’t an option, for The Angel’s existence could not be revealed to anybody, so if Abi wanted to use it against Barron Kristoff, she would need to continue lying through her teeth, just as she had been constantly doing from the very second she returned from Omaruo all that time ago.

“I-I’m going to stay here!” she declared with as much confidence as she could muster. “I thought I’d be okay but I’m still not fully recovered from my collapse this morning, so I’m worried I’ll be a hindrance to you out there! I’ve already pushed my limit with Lunara and Nigreos! Please, My Lord! Let me remain in Saientia!”

Cartigan’s upper lip curled with a sneer, but to her relief, he rolled his eyes and grunted, “Very well. I don’t have the time to argue with you, but you are not permitted to merely sit here and relax. If you’re going to stay behind, at least meet up with my daughter and provide her with nature magic should any attempt to rescue Miyon be made. By now, she should have already reached the dungeon.”

Abigail’s heart seemed to stop, her palms growing even more sweaty as she did everything she could not to visibly show her reaction. Lady Ella went to the dungeon? When?! I mean, I saw her briefly when Iris and I got to the lounge, but…I don’t think I ever heard where they were sending her! If she’s gone after Miyon, then that magic The Angel sensed could be…

“U-understood,” she managed to answer, though Cartigan didn’t remain behind long enough to hear as he, the soldiers, and a reluctant Iris continued on their way to the front gates.

Abi spun on her heel and took off at a sprint the second the others were out of sight, her legs moving almost on their own as she flew around a corner and made her way in the direction The Angel had indicated. She used wind magic to increase her speed, and she did her best to not cry from the stress and fear assaulting her at every angle. It was too much. She could feel her mental state on the cusp of completely shattering, and there was nothing she could do about it. When she lured Lunara up to that library, she had been so confident that there was a reasonable explanation to all of the strange happenings that had been taking place that day.

Maybe it wasn’t really Lunara Noctis?

Or perhaps her sense had been failing her?

Never in a million years did she expect it to be the real Lunara who was giving her that terrible reading nor had she thought a person she had become so close with would admit to joining the Kosah-Rei. It was one thing to despise the leaders of the Kosah-Rei for what happened in Hiriech and another to witness a close friend of hers doing what she had been disgusted by all these years. That would have been hard enough, but then Nigreos took Luna’s side. Nigreos Noctis, one of the closest friends she ever had, listened to what Luna said and decided to choose her. He stood between The Angel and his sister, buying her enough time to activate that ring and plunge the city into hell.

Nigreos had betrayed them.

Nigreos had betrayed her.

She knew she should have been utterly furious at him, cursing his name and wishing only misfortune on him for what he had helped to do, but instead, she was just sad. She had cared for him the same way she cared for all her other friends, but he raised his magic against her for the girl that killed his mother. He turned his back on her, and she could only wonder what she should have done differently. Why wasn’t she good enough? Why had she been unable to get through to him?

And now it’s all over… I told the others what he did. They’re traitors now, and they will be punished as traitors. I know I could have lied and tried to handle it myself, but… I couldn’t do that to Album. She deserved to know what happened to her parents… In that sense, maybe I’m happy that the Kosah-Rei have appeared in this castle? It means I don’t have to go out into the city. I don’t have to face Nigreos again…

Abigail felt horridly revolted at herself for feeling that relief, because the second she sensed the presences around the next corner and poked out her head to check who was there, she bore witness to the millionth soul-crushing sight of that night. Twenty-five yards down the corridor, in front of the wide open doors of Saientia’s dungeon, a man who could only be Uma Miyon was holding the severed head of Ella Cartigan by her hair, a smug and victorious smirk on his face.

“Not so powerful now, are you, bitch?” he growled, then released his grasp and kicked the head so hard that it flew down the darkened stairs of the dungeon and vanished from view. “Good riddance.”

Lady Ella! N-no! I don’t… WHY?!

Beside Uma stood the massive red-armored form of Barron Kristoff, as well as a woman who looked like Ella, but was without a doubt Leiolai Sartella given what The Angel had told her before. Scattered around their feet and littering the marble floor of the corridor were four bodies dressed in the black and gold armor of the castle guard, not a single one so much as twitching, as well as the headless corpse of who must have been Cartigan’s eldest daughter. They were all dead, meanwhile the three Kosah-Rei stood at the entrance to the dungeon, completely unharmed.

Wait… Unharmed? Miyon looks to be in perfectly good shape! How?! I understand that Sartella healed him, but his legs… How did she regrow his legs?!

“Changeling magic, I presume. It seems we were too late. Do we still attack?”

Abi hadn’t been given even a second longer to ponder that question before Barron abruptly straightened up and spun on his heel, his massive glaive turned towards the spot where she was hiding. She had never encountered the red knight, having only been told stories about him from Ryokumo and Faye, but she could say without a doubt that he was just as terrifying as they had described. The second he realized she was there, a shiver went down her spine as her instincts begged her to flee. This was the man who nearly killed Ryokumo in Aquesen—the man who took on Faye’s entire team and may have won had Acostav not arrived when he did. He was a force of nature that she could not beat. It was too late to run, for a wind mage like Barron would chase her down without issue. She was left only with her initial plan: confront and kill Uma and Leiolai while leaving Barron to The Angel.

“Ah, what’s this? Do we have an audience?” Uma called out upon noticing Barron’s reaction.

The magicless doctor turned around, giving Abi a much clearer view of him, and it was then she noticed the strange metal gauntlets and boots that he wore. It was faint, but she could still sense a mana signature emanating off of them, putting her on her guard more than she already was.

“Well?” the man pressed, raising his voice as he stepped over the corpses and gave a grin that was full of sadistic pleasure. “Sir Barron already sensed you so you might as well step out and face us, yes?! We just killed your lady, after all! Don’t you want to take some revenge?!”

“He’s oddly cocky for somebody who should be at the mercy of the magical,” The Angel noted. “Proceed with caution, Abi. Those gauntlets are not to be ignored.”

Abigail took a deep breath, knowing that she had her own ace up her sleeve, and stepped around the corner to reveal herself. Meanwhile, she drew wind mana to her hands, aware of the high possibility that they would attack the second she gave them a clean shot, and as she narrowed her eyes in challenge, the word “Nex” hung ready on her lips. Uma raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if having expected another soldier, while Barron was unreadable beneath the red helm. Since Leiolai was the only one among them who had met Abigail before, she was the one who visibly reacted. Abi took pride in the flicker of fear that crossed her face, for the changeling had not come close to winning their last encounter.

“Abigail Reiner,” Leiolai called out, feigning confidence. “Now isn’t this a surprise?”

Uma’s eyes went wild as his head snapped towards Leiolai then back to Abi, his eyes rapidly scanning her form with excitement. “Abigail Reiner, is it?! I thought you looked familiar but given I only saw you at a distance during Aeyir Malloway’s ball, I couldn’t put my finger on it! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance!” Bending his back horizontally to the ground, a sign of respect that was instead filled with mockery, Uma let out a soft chuckle. “And speaking of that ball, did you enjoy our performance out in the Fifth Ring? As you can see, we’ve become more thorough since our debut in Hiriech! I do believe this night will be one for the history books, don’t you?!”

Abi didn’t speak, and though she wanted nothing more than to send a blade of wind straight for his throat, she knew that Barron would block it with ease. She needed an opening, one only The Angel could provide, though it was not Uma they would try to kill with that opening. If she could close the distance enough for The Angel to use light magic, reach Barron, and blast his skull apart before anybody could react, taking out Uma and Leiolai would be simple.

The problem is that we still know next to nothing about how Kristoff survived in Noctalus! Faye said that he had somehow disappeared in the second between Master Acostav cornering him and the casting of Luminetta. On top of that, Master Acostav destroyed the armor, but it looks completely untouched… Even if The Angel does take him by surprise, it might not be enough.

But Abi couldn’t afford to think pessimistically. She was a member of the royal team and a trained Academy student. She had to believe this was winnable, and to do so, she needed to clear her mind. These three Kosah-Rei leaders were the only things that mattered, so she shut everything else out and focused.

Every report I’ve heard about Uma Miyon described him as someone who loves the sound of his own voice. If I can keep his mouth going, I can make this work!

“I really don’t understand you,” she retorted sharply, barely holding back her anger. “You’re going to stand there and revel in one of the biggest losses of life this empire has ever experienced and then try to claim you’re doing this for the greater good? For peace? I’ve heard about every argument you cultists have, and still… What the hell is wrong with you? Who do you think you are? I just saw you toying with the severed head of an innocent woman you killed and you still want to claim you’re the good guys?!”

Uma shrugged casually, taking a few more steps towards her, much to the obvious dismay of Leiolai. “I’ll have you know I was tortured by that innocent woman. She and her guards have spent the last month and a half ripping apart my body, causing me the most agonizing pain I have ever experienced in my life, and you’re wondering why I took pleasure in seeing her put down like an animal? Come now, Reiner, I know there’s a brain in that pretty head of yours so USE IT!” The doctor’s grin spread so widely across his thin face that it appeared as if the corners reached his ears. He seemed almost inhuman, like he was a beast wearing a human’s skin. “At first, I thought it was a damn pity that bitch wasn’t marked, but now I’m thrilled to have witnessed her death with my own eyes! I don’t expect a person like you to understand, but welcome to the world, Abigail Reiner, where the rule of thumb is kill or be killed! Your pacifism will get you nowhere!”

Slumping his shoulders and exhaling, Uma clicked his tongue with a bitter venom. “You know, I may not have taken the side I have if it wasn’t for Ijiria’s damned laws. I’m a man of science, always have been and always will be. When I discovered that realm dagger and found myself in a world of magic, I was enthralled! I was fascinated! Everything I had ever believed was undone in that single instant! I entered in the southern region, in a town near the Great City of Krato, and had Lady Firrik not been there waiting for me, I would have been erased and forgotten before I even understood what I had done wrong… All because I was magicless.”

“Uma,” Leiolai hissed, finally growing fed up with his yammering. Abi could tell she wanted to flee, for they wouldn't know whether Abi had backup coming or not. If Nigreos, Album, Ryokumo, or even Viiro were to rush to her aid, Barron might not be enough to protect them. Yet, Uma ignored his ally, rambling as if he was invincible.

“I wanted to learn more about Ijiria, Abigail! I wanted to see what this world has to offer, but I was told that I was to be killed should my magicless nature ever come to light! Lady Firrik adopted me into her family, promised to protect me, and even helped me gain access to some of the resources here in Stellareid! She provided me with The Angel, and I was given a lab in Aquesen by dear Mallicent! All I wanted was to research magic, to satiate my curiosity, but instead I was pulled into a political war between ideologies I didn’t really give a shit about because I had no other choice! It was erasure or Kosah-Rei, and now having experienced enough of Ijiria, I find that I’m glad I never became filth like you!”

A pang of recognition stabbed Abi in the back of her head, and though she certainly did not want to compare what she was hearing to what entered her mind, she could not help but make the connection.

“I want to understand the science of our world, and the last two hours have undone everything I thought I knew about it. So in exchange for risking my life, I want you to tell me everything you can about magic and the other realms. I want to know everything. I’d even risk my life for it!”

Scott had said that to them the night they met, and they were uncomfortably similar to what Uma was now shouting about. Had Scott found the dagger instead, would he have become like the monster standing before her? Would Ijiria’s laws have pushed him to that?

No, shut up! Don’t compare Scott to Miyon! They’re nothing alike!

Yet, Uma wouldn’t stop talking, seemingly wanting to get everything off his shoulders, and his words only continued to resemble Scott’s philosophy. “Back in Omaruo, I was nothing! I was an outcast! I was bored! I felt like I was misplaced—like I was born into the wrong fucking realm! I wanted nothing more than to fade into the fantasy worlds my novels described, but in order to reach that dream, I was forced to fight! Well, Reiner, I’m plenty willing to fight for it! You saw Omaruo, didn’t you? You were among those who chased Mal to that boring old place! Surely you can understand why I’d want to run away from it all!”

I don’t… Of course I don’t! You didn’t appreciate what you had… That simplicity and peacefulness of Wilham…

“But this is not what I wanted!” he snarled furiously, sticking his finger towards the windows on his left, as if to indicate the burning of the Fifth Ring. “I didn’t want to become a killer, but I was left with no choice! I couldn’t go back, but I can only stay here by uprooting your damn government! And that’s what I’ll do, so look at me as you please, judge me as if you know me, but I will never go back and I will never back down!”

“He’s deranged… A madman damaged by his past… And I do believe he tells the truth. He will not back down, so killing him truly is the only way to be rid of him. I’m ready when you are, Abi. I’ll take care of the red knight. You have my word.”

“Are you done throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler?” Abi asked calmly when Uma fell silent aside from his heavy breathing. “Why should you get to live when they have to die? Nothing you Kosah-Rei say or do will ever convince me that every single one of your victims is evil. Nothing.”

“Then I suppose I’ve wasted my breath…though I do feel much better.” Uma straightened his back and cracked his neck, then spread his hands out expectantly. “I honestly thought one of your friends would have arrived by now, but it seems you really do intend to fight us alone. Unfortunately, Reiner, I have a sneaking suspicion I can’t kill you. Just a hunch based on what I know, but no matter…”

“Uma, don’t!”

“I’ve been wanting to try out my new toys for weeks, so let’s have a little sparring match, shall we?!”

Not only had Abi expected she would have to make the first move, but she hadn’t been ready for the surge of wind magic that exploded from his boots, launching Uma Miyon down the corridor and straight towards her. Behind him, Leiolai looked furious and Barron bent his legs to rush to Uma’s help, only for The Angel to choose that moment to act.

Black and white slime burst from the inner pocket of Abigail’s coat, closing the distance between it and the knight in the blink of an eye. The Angel and Barron Kristoff were both sent tumbling down the dungeon stairs and out of sight, so relying on the ancient being of Cansi to do as it promised, Abigail pivoted to the right, allowing Uma to fly straight past her, before she released her built up wind magic with a casting of Perkari directed at his back—one that he instantly avoided. His feet hadn’t hit the ground when his left hand reached behind him and sent another burst of wind that pushed him away from her attack in midair despite the fact that his back was turned. It was as if he knew that was coming, and when that detail entered her mind, she cursed herself for forgetting that one important fact: Nakoma Taurus had once told them that the magicless doctor could see the future.

Every single window lining the left-hand wall exploded in a spray of glass shards as thick vines tore out of the courtyard garden and lunged for Abigail, filled with Leiolai’s mana. She was almost amused that the changeling thought she could beat her with nature magic of all things, and before any of the tendrils could so much as graze her, Abi extended her left hand and usurped control from Leiolai, moderately surprised by how swiftly the changeling lost.

“Damn it all!” Leiolai cursed furiously. “Uma, we can’t fight her! We need to go!”

Landing with a roll on the ground and spinning around, Uma shouted, “To hell with that, Leio!” The doctor’s hands erupted into flames as he clenched his metal palms around forming balls of fire and hurled them at the vines without so much as a misstep, continuing his charge on Abigail.

So those gauntlets have fire mana, too?! Just what are those things?!

The vines were engulfed in flames instantly, and with Uma already right in front of her, Abi reluctantly sacrificed her control in order to prioritize wind defense. The problem was that Uma’s gauntlets didn’t increase their mana signature right before an attack like mages did, implying that there was a limited amount of power he had stored in there, but while it was helpful to know he had a limit, the downside was she couldn’t predict when he would release that power. That was why, when his first punch came and was propelled at the last second with a burst of wind from the wrist, she was unable to avoid it.

The uppercut struck her in the chest and launched her off her feet, all the while, Uma cackled. “That was The Angel just now, wasn’t it?!” he was screeching. “I hadn’t realized you were the one who had my dear subject! I wish it had come out to join our chat!”

Abi hit the ground, rolled, and propelled herself to her feet just as Uma reached her from the front, already so close that she had little room to maneuver. Luckily, now that she knew the punches could be enhanced, she was prepared. Uma’s left hand swung in a haymaker for her head, and predicting the trajectory, Abi backpedaled before thrusting out her right palm and casting Corsikei, launching the doctor back down the hallway like a ragdoll with a shockwave so large that he wouldn’t be able to avoid it even with future sight. Then, having found it suspicious that Leiolai hadn’t done anything more to help her ally, Abi was caught off guard by the sight of the changeling hopping through the window, as if to abandon Uma.

You are not getting away from me! Not after everything you’ve done!

“Condite!” Abi hissed reactively, extending her other hand, forming ropes of wind around Leiolai’s legs that pulled her back into the hallway and slammed her into the floor with a surge of dust.

Abigail was tempted to use Infernus, for at their range, she was close enough to completely incinerate her enemy without doing any damage to herself. Unfortunately, she had to remember that her mana capacity was not what it usually was, and back in Soladney Park, fire magic had been responsible for its rapid depletion. Killing Leiolai quickly was ideal, but it would be foolish to use her mana like that with Uma still on his feet. Sticking to less powerful wind spells was smarter at the moment, but as fast as they were, they did less damage.

Using the leftover wind mana from Corsikei, her right hand snapped around to throw a blade of wind at the changeling. Leiolai lifted her head from the ground just in time to see the attack and tried to dive away, evading just enough to take it to the shoulder and avoid losing any vitals. The blade cleaved through the muscle between her shoulder and neck, not deep enough to open her throat but still causing her to gasp in pain, a thin line of red blood running from where she was struck.

The changeling’s eyes went wide, as if she was surprised that Abi had shot to kill, and perhaps that was to be expected. Abigail hated killing people and had only ever done so out of defense for her life when all other options had been exhausted. Leiolai may have been banking on the chance that Abi wouldn’t attack somebody who was trying to flee, but all thoughts of honor were gone with the victims of the Fifth Ring. Abigail needed to make up for her failures in that library, and since Leiolai was the one who manipulated Lunara with promises of Neah’s safety, Abi had a specific vendetta against her.

The problem was that Uma had already returned to the fray.

“Trying to run away, were we, Leiolai?!” he teased with a laugh while sprinting toward them, as if not offended even a little that she would try to leave him behind. Cocking his arm back, the doctor slammed his wind-powered fist into Abi’s hastily-erected shield of wind before bouncing back to the floor. “Come now, are we not promised survival by our dear Goddess?! Is there any reason to flee like cowards?! Tonight is a night of revelry so why shouldn’t we enjoy ourselves?!”

Uma ignited another ball of fire in his other hand at the exact moment that Abi altered her shield of wind, the barrier splitting before condensing down into two blades. Her snarl of Perkari echoed through the corridor while the magicless doctor’s flames soared straight for where she stood. At least, that’s what Abi had expected, but she realized too late that as she dodged to the left, the fireball was actually aimed at her new position. The only reason she avoided it was because she had left some of her mana in her legs just in case, so even before she had consciously acknowledged her mistake, she sent a burst of Proto through her feet and was pushed backwards, only to land just at the top of the dungeon staircase. In the distance, she could hear the sounds of The Angel’s fight with Barron Kristoff, telling her that she would not be receiving help anytime soon.

Clenching her teeth, knowing how furious she would be at herself for letting this opportunity slip away, Abigail swiftly debated whether she should use a more powerful attack or not. If it landed, she would kill at least one of them, but if she missed, she’d be at a severe disadvantage. They might kill her, and if they didn’t, they would at least manage to escape. At that moment, Uma was already charging her with another burst from his boots, seemingly trying to mimic what The Angel did to Barron by dragging her down into the dungeon. As for Leiolai, her features were firm with frustration at Uma. She was already stumbling back to her feet and towards one of the shattered windows.

I can’t allow them to get away, which means I need to increase the power of my attacks without increasing the mana I use… There’s certainly a way to do that, but I’d be opening up the battlefield and providing Sartella with more opportunities to get away from me. But…I really don’t have much of a choice, do I?

“Leio, watch out!”

Grateful that Leiolai was far too focused on running to heed Uma’s sudden warning, Abigail cast another powerful burst of Proto. She was propelled past the doctor, whose momentum carried him down the staircase, as she flew towards Leiolai Sartella. Body-slamming her with all the strength she could muster, Abi sent them through the window and tumbling out into the grassy courtyard beyond before they hit the lawn and bounced apart.

However, falling prone was not an issue for a nature mage among plantlife. Abigail could sense the place where Leiolai had landed, so all she had to do was slam her hand into the ground and chant “Vino”. She heard the explosion of the vines before she saw them, and when she pushed herself up into a crouch, her hand remaining against the ground, Abi watched with relief as thick green vines entangled Leiolai’s small form, intertwining with her limbs and wrapping around her chest as if to crush her ribcage. One of them was around her neck and a final one had stabbed straight through her abdomen, scattering blood onto the grass and staining her clothes red.

The changeling’s eyes went wide with horror as she flailed in a desperate attempt to break free. Abigail could sense her mana fighting back to take control of the vines, and while Abi was certainly stronger than Leiolai, she found herself struggling to finish the job. Perhaps she was already running low on power, or maybe Leiolai had tapped into her strength while facing down a possible death, but regardless of the reason, they were stuck at a stalemate. Abigail screamed out her rage, sending even more of her mana into the attack, for if it took her too long then Uma was sure to return and tip the scales back in Leiolai’s direction.

Which means I need to throw her off and force her to make a mistake!

“How dare you?!” Abi spat as the vines continued to hold Leiolai in the air. “How dare you manipulate Lunara the way you did! How dare you exploit Neah’s condition to convince her to kill her parents! You took advantage of a damaged child and forced her to stain her hands with all this blood while still believing you’re the good guys?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

Leiolai’s eyes flickered down towards Abi, shock filling those brown orbs, and just as Abi had hoped, that momentary shock upon learning Lunara had been exposed threw her off just enough for her to lose their magical tug-of-war. Through her power, she could feel Leiolai’s ribs snapping and she reveled in the squeal of agony that slipped through the changeling’s lips. It was just for a second, but Abigail Reiner truly felt glee at the prospect that Leiolai Sartella was about to be killed by her hands.

Wait…what am I…?

Her conscience pressed back against her rage, asking her how she could ever feel such overwhelming joy towards killing a person—one that her sense had told her was pure. Abigail hesitated, the vines weakened ever-so-slightly before a large burst of sharpened wind severed them all at the base, cutting Abi’s mana off from the tendrils and allowing Leiolai to collapse to the ground with another grunt of pain.

No, damn it!

Uma Miyon was upon her once more, having jumped through the window to save his ally at the very last minute, before sending more wind into his punches that he mercilessly aimed for every vital of hers he could reach.

“So Lunara was caught, was she?!” Uma sneered between breaths. “And you seem to think that we were the ones who made her do what she’s done?! Bullshit!”

Abigail was barely defending herself from the attacks, dodging the ones that she could and using smaller bursts of Nex to block the ones she couldn’t get away from. All the while, the magicless doctor continued to screech at her.

“Viiro Noctis was the one who pushed her to do what she’s done, not us, Sweetheart! Lunara Noctis was already leaning towards our ideals before we ever made contact, and when we informed her that we could save her sister, we did so without any strings attached! Regardless of how much she helped, we would have tried to save Neah because it is the right thing to do! A little girl like her does not deserve to die because her dipshit of a father won’t waste his precious time curing her! So don’t you dare try to make us out to be the vile ones here! Burn in hell, Reiner!”

Stop! Shut up! Please, that can’t be true! It just can’t, because if it is…then who the hell am I supposed to be fighting for?! Why is this all so difficult?! Why can’t it just be cut and dry—black and white?! I want to help as many people as I can, but if both sides are in the wrong, then where am I supposed to plant my flag?!

As if to mock her further, Lunara’s words from back in the library ripped into her brain, ensuring she would not be allowed to forget them. “Remember Piriit, Abigail…I don’t know all the details of that incident, but what I do know from Vesh is that Pastor Saechak was a savior in that town—a beacon of hope for a hopeless populace that you guys murdered. I’ll have you know that the town guard did a thorough investigation after you left to determine who was attending Saechak’s sermons. You know what they did to the people they tracked down? They executed them. Men and women who only sought to live happier lives were hung from the trees naked and bloodied then left there to serve as a warning to anybody who witnessed the grisly sight! It was over a hundred, if I recall. Maybe two? Certainly more victims than Aquesen’s fucking ballroom!”

And as all that was echoing in her mind, the cherry on top was the final words of Mikea Tarva as she gazed at Abigail with raw hatred and betrayal.

“Go to hell, you treacherous bitch.”

“SHUT UP!” she screamed out, and though she knew it was a foolish idea, the incantation “Repulsa” was already leaving her lips as flames erupted around her wrists.

Uma’s eyes went wide, telling her that just like Leiolai back in Soldanay Park, he had not expected her to be able to use such a powerful fire spell. With him at such close range, he would be burned alive and would have almost certainly died instantly, but fate had other plans and it just seemed to love laughing in her face. At some point while Uma was demanding all of her attention, Leiolai had discarded her overshirt and used biological magic to both heal her wounds and grow the massive wings of a dragon on her back before flying forward and scooping Uma up seconds before Abi’s fire seared through everything within fifteen feet of her. Like in Noctalus, her hands also suffered horrific burns all the way up to her wrist, but with the adrenaline still pumping through her body, she had yet to feel the pain.

All she knew was that Leiolai and Uma were going to get away if she didn’t react instantly.

Abi sprinted after them, condensing her mana within her hands before stretching them into the sky. “Condite!” she chanted, forming ropes around her arms that connected with Leiolai’s foot. “Proto!” Then adding the propulsion beneath her feet, Abi blasted off into the sky and used her ropes to direct her flight straight for the fleeing cultists.

At the sudden added weight, Leiolai jerked through the air and her head snapped back with surprise, but Abi was moving too fast for her to maneuver away. Just like when she sent them into the courtyard, Abigail slammed into the changeling with enough force that she lost her grip on Uma just before the three of them plummeted down towards the burning Fifth Ring.