"Demon's Divide!"

  Sayed cut a solid line through the soldiers, taking the opportunity that Jean had provided before going down. His sword cleaved through the men, its heated blade ignoring any resistance from their bodies as he jumped through them and came out the other side.

  "Pierce!"

  He did not have time to relish in his victory, nor did he have time to check on Jean as the woman attacked again with her spear, sending it careening across the battlefield and toward his back the moment he stood still. Sayed turned, slicing with his blade as the spear point came for him.

  Ting.

  He caught the spear's point, stopping it midair before sending it flying to the side. It flew away, not falling, but turning on the point to crash into the nearest wall. It was like the spear ignored every part of the world except for a straight line.

  "Retract!"

  Brrt.

  The spear vibrated as it recoiled back to the woman, who stood a fair distance away from Sayed. Near her was a fading illusion Sayed had made to distract her long enough to take down the soldiers. From her curled lips, he could see she was unhappy with his deception.

  "That is such a strange power for a swordsman," she said as the spear finished its retraction, and she retook her stance. "From the stories I've heard, I never would have expected you to have a coward's curse."

  "Coward?" Sayed shook his head, placing himself between Jean and the woman with his sword raised high. "You wound me. My mirage is no different from a blade. It is in the use that the intent is revealed."

  "We'll see about that," she said. "Pierce!"

  Sayed threw his sword to the right and held it vertically, catching only a faint blur. His arm shook as the spear slammed into his blade from the left before sliding past and across his shoulder. He clenched his teeth as the blade sliced across his skin, though he kept it from piercing into his muscles.

  "Retract!"

  Brrt.

  Even as he thought she would keep her distance, he noticed she was riding behind the spear, the length of the shaft pulling her forward while the spear tip remained by his side. Sayed reached out with a free hand, his nails glowing bright orange as he fed aether into them.

  "Demon's Claw!"

  Crack.

  Her fist caught his closing hand in the palm, and the reverberation shook through his arm all the way to his teeth. Sayed clenched his fist down over her hand out of habit as a boot slammed into his chin. She had pushed out with her arm and managed to throw a kick despite her position. Sayed had to admit that it was impressive.

  Clatter.

  Sayed couldn't let himself be outdone. He dropped his sword and released her hand, allowing her to fall before him before slamming forward with both fists. He caught her in the chest, sending her flying back. It was no technique, but he was strong.

  Crack.

  Ribs cracked under his strike before she fell to the ground a distance away. Sayed reached down and retrieved his sword as the woman forced herself up from her lying position.

  "You are fast," Sayed said, taking in a breath. "But you will find that I am your equal in speed."

  He held his sword above his head, targeting the woman's chest with an outstretched palm as she rose. He wished he had his clawed gauntlet, but it had long ago been destroyed. His muscles bulged as he prepared his technique in an instant, leaning forward as he slammed his feet into the ground a thousand times to kick off with blinding speed.

  "Demon's Thrust!"

  He shot forward, shooting out with his blade in a line right at the woman's heart. As his blade came within range, she knocked it aside, deferring some of the blow as she sidestepped him before turning into a hard kick and catching him in the ribs.

  Sayed grunted as he was knocked to the side. He wasn't thrown far, but it was enough to put him off his balance as the woman planted her foot and brought the spear point back to bear.

  "Pierce!"

  Again, the spear moved blindingly fast, and Sayed swung his blade down with only a trace of the movement to catch his eyes. Sayed slammed his sword against the spear's tip again as the blow rang through the night.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Ting.

  "Retract!"

  Sayed pushed the spear away with his swing. The woman came at him again, riding the spear to his jaw with her fist. Sayed took the hit, spinning with his sword swing as he careened toward the crowds, still watching the fight. The people parted, creating a new circle as the combat moved further away from Jean.

  Sayed did not want to leave Jean alone, but there was little choice. He had to admit that the woman was faster than he was, even if it was just by a little bit. He had the power and could take her out if he could land a strike, but she was too mobile for him to pin down. He just needed one moment to land a solid hit, and the fight would end.

  Sayed didn't have long to contemplate the attacks as the woman's spear came for his face.

  Ting.

  He deflected it, pushing the tip to the side as he grabbed hold of the woman's spear. He held her there, one hand keeping her still while the other kept the spear under control.

  "You are an odd opponent," Sayed said after he caught himself on his foot and turned to the woman. "You have no technique beyond your cursed weapon, yet you hold me at bay. On any other night, I would relish this fight!"

  "Keep still for a little longer, and it can be the last fight of your life!" the woman smirked as she angled the spear toward the ground. "Pierce!"

  The spear shot down to the ground before bouncing straight up toward Sayed's arm. Sayed let go of the woman's shoulder, pushing himself away as the spear shot up into the air where his arm had been.

  "Retract!"

  Brrt.

  "No technique is wrong, though," the woman said as she regained her footing, the spear retracting from its odd angle and back into its normal shape in her hand. "I can't let you insult me, though. I have my own technique from the Five Paths, as does every lieutenant."

  Sayed took in a breath, his lungs burning as he adjusted his stance. The woman took the spear, spinning it in a circle around her head, before switching the hand she held it in, spinning it in another circle, and then returning it to her right hand and bringing it to a stop. The vortex created by her movement stopped with a sudden snap, and her long hair flew back from the gust of wind.

  "I am a ceaseless warrior, unable to tire from combat," she said. "I am Lieutenant Brunhild, a follower of the Path of Breath."

  Sayed wished he understood what that meant. She had said it with such conviction that he was sure it held great meaning to her. It was a part of the grand stories she sought to tell with her spear, and he did not know it would be an insult. He knew of some of the paths. Alex knew two of the paths. However, Sayed hadn't thought to ask about them. They were so different from his techniques and story that he didn't think they were that important.

  "I see." Sayed lowered his sword, focusing on his heartbeat. "Then, Let me show you what I have to answer your conviction. Mirage Blade."

  More heat rose from his body as he brought his khopesh high above his head. He brought up his free hands and wrapped them together around the hilt of his sword. In the next moment, he released his hold on the sword, keeping his hand wrapped around a hilt as he came away with two blades, one in each hand.

  One blade was an illusion. Sayed held no sword in that hand, but that didn't matter. He focused his mind on recreating the sword in perfect detail. It was the blade he had lost on the last island to the rust-cursed sword. It was a blade he had carried even before coming to the Erth, back in Hajh, that had carried him through the civil war.

  Sayed held his illusory blade forward as he brought the real one above his head, the curve of the blade facing the night sky above. "Come now. Let us test your path against my own. Devil's Divide."

  He charged, not giving the woman time to think as he came down with the illusory blade. The woman's eyes went wide as she brought her spear up to defend. She hoped to catch his blade on the haft and defer the blow, but no sword cut down on her staff. Sayed's right arm bulged as he brought up his real sword, cutting a vertical line through the spear without hesitation.

  Crack.

  With the full force of his swing, Sayed threw the spear up in the air. The wood of the shaft chipped away as it was knocked out of the woman's hands. Sayed saw the woman's blue eyes widen as he knocked away the weapon. However, he did not see despair in her eyes. Instead, she looked straight above.

  "Pierce." A smirk crossed her lips.

  Sayed moved to the side without thinking, leaving a copy of himself where he stood as he disappeared and rolled to his knees nearby. The spear shot down from above, its length extending again as it came for his duplicate. The tip of the spear crashed through his illusion's head, and Sayed changed the illusion to match the damage, the point spurting blood before the spear crashed all the way through his illusion's body and into the ground.

  Sayed wasn't sure what it should look like, but he did his best. He had but a moment before the trick would be revealed and aimed to take advantage of that. The woman watched his illusory self, her head tilting as she examined the spear sticking through his supposed body. As she reached out her hand, Sayed charged, thrusting forward with his sword the moment her hand touched his illusory self's chest.

  "Demon's Thrust!"

  She saw him at the last moment. Her eyes went wide as she tossed herself to the side. Sayed's sword caught her shoulder, and he drove into her hard, his sword cutting through muscle and bone and coming out the other side with a burst of blood. He drove her to the ground, standing over her and holding her pinned with his blade as he breathed hard.

  "A nice trick," she said, clenching her teeth.

  "You as well." Sayed smiled down at her. "What say you give up here so we can fight another day? I would hate to kill such a promising fighter."

  "Save it," she said, her grimace turning into a smile as she looked beyond him into the sky. "My captain will take you down."

  As she spoke, a shadow passed through the sky, long and thin over the square. Moments later, a second shadow followed, long and wide with what looked like wings. Sayed looked up, spotting the Nighthawk against the moon with a shadowy creature not far behind. He gulped down a lump in his throat, realizing what it was.

  Even his people had legends about giant scary creatures that ruled the skies. He had never seen one in person, but from time to time, they would discover massive piles of bones of gargantuan creatures out in the desert.

  A dragon. A dragon was chasing their ship through the skies above Aherlow. Sayed's heart slowed, and his blessing dimmed as the heat fled his gate.

  "There he is," the lieutenant whispered as she closed her eyes. "And there goes any chance for you to escape."