They galloped across the square and into the bustling main street, the crowds thinning as they rode east. With the entire city out celebrating the Luffe Aros Festival, even the usually busy artisan district along the Domeili River seemed deserted.
“Are we…there yet, Patausche?!” yelled Teoritta, clinging to Patausche’s back, her voice broken by the violent shaking.
“Xylo is…on the move…right?”
“Yes! But I lost…contact with him…a few moments ago. It’s like…”
It had to be a sacred seal weapon causing the interference, but who had activated it? Whoever it was, they had to be the mastermind behind this entire plot. Patausche was certain of it. Someone was hunting Xylo and Tsav, trying to isolate and eliminate them. And here was proof right before her eyes: a group of five armed men blocking the alley leading to the Domeili River. Although they wore the uniforms of the city guard, they were most likely impostors; they lacked the blue hazel insignia on their arms.
“This street is closed for the festival! Get outta here!”
An imposter guardsmen thrust out his sword, trying to block their path.
“Goddess Teoritta, hold on tight.” Patausche urged her steed into a gallop. “I’m about to force my way through.”
“Yes, we have no time to waste! We must rescue Xylo!”
Patausche could feel Teoritta cling to her even more tightly as she spurred her horse forward, her spear poised. The fake guardsmen roared, their swords and lightning staffs aimed right for her. Nevertheless, it was going to take more than just five soldiers on foot to stop Patausche on horseback.
“Niskeph!”
With a swift swing of her spear, she activated its sacred seal, summoning a shimmering blue shield that effortlessly deflected the bolts of lightning soaring at her.
“Out of our way!”
It would be difficult to stop such a charge from a cavalryman. Patausche’s azure barrier, forged from the Strike Seal Compound Niskaphol, effortlessly shattered her enemies’ swords and sent them flying backward. It had taken a little extra time, but she was glad she’d taken the extra time to put on her full suit of armor.
The guards were no match for Patausche, and she effortlessly galloped into the alleyway, where she and Teoritta ran into exactly what they’d been expecting.
“Here they come, Goddess Teoritta. Just as we predicted…” Shadows leaped overhead, followed by the sharp howls of doglike beasts with horns protruding from their brows. “Bogies! Around seven of them!”
“Which means…!” Patausche didn’t even have to look at Teoritta to know that her eyes were sparkling. “It is…finally time…for me to shine!”
She summoned her swords with perfect timing. A flash of light pierced the air as blades materialized and rained down upon the bogies, fatally skewering each one.
“Perfect! I am not done just yet, though!”
Mechanical faeries surged forward in relentless waves, their steel forms barricading the path—the coblynau that Xylo and Dotta had warned about. Meanwhile, from below, fuathan were slithering up through the sewer grates.
“Take that!” Another blinding flash was followed by a shower of sparks, then a cascade of swords rained down, dispersing the fuathan with ruthless efficiency. “There is still more…where that came from! I am Teoritta! The great! Powerful! Goddess of Swords!”
Teoritta seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy. Loudly praising herself, she summoned forth another blade—a brutal, colossal sword that burst from the ground to skewer and immobilize the coblyn, leaving it perfectly positioned for Patausche’s finishing thrust.
There was no stopping their momentum, which left Teoritta with only one concern.
“Where is Xylo? Patausche, have you spoken with my knight?!”
“Something is still jamming our signal, but if we can keep this up…”
Xylo was most likely moving, and Patausche had a good idea where he was headed: toward wherever the enemies were densest. He seemed to be making quite a scene as well. A thunderous explosion reverberated from the artisan district’s workshop-lined streets—unmistakably the work of his sacred seal, Zatte Finde. As planned, they would meet up along the Domeili River, where Xylo could be as noisy as possible, making it easier to find him.
That man’s instincts when it comes to combat are truly uncanny.
Xylo’s foresight was terrifyingly accurate. It was as if he had anticipated this exact situation. Of course, it was only natural for a soldier to prepare for anything, but for him to have foreseen such a disadvantageous outcome and have saved up enough energy and resources to deal with it was simply astounding.
“Over there, Goddess Teoritta!” shouted Patausche. “Let’s push our way through!”
“Yes! Please hurry!”
Patausche spurred her horse forward, clearing the path of any human obstacles while Teoritta handled the faeries. It took only a few dozen seconds to reach the neighboring street, where they found a lone man in black stumbling forward, clearly fatigued. Ten soldiers surrounded him, armed with lightning staffs and short spears, with twenty faeries—a mix of bogies and coblynau—accompanying them. Xylo was putting up an impressive fight despite the poor odds. He was dodging lightning bolts and throwing his knives as if he were putting on an acrobatic performance.
Though he was keeping the soldiers in front of him at bay, none of his knives were exploding—a clear sign to Patausche that his luminescence was almost depleted. Nevertheless, his strikes proved lethal at close range. Yet with so many faeries closing in, and the troublesome bogies hiding behind the steel coblynau, it seemed the enemy was beginning to overwhelm him.
There are too many… He was fighting all these by himself? Impressive as always, Xylo Forbartz.
It was clear to Patausche that the one behind this had a serious vendetta against the man and desperately wanted him dead. Thankfully, she’d made it in time to save him.
“Xylo!” she roared, her spear piercing through a soldier and his shield with brutal force. She was in no position to show any mercy. “We came to save you! So you’d better thank Goddess Teoritta and me when this is all over! Jump!”
“Yes! You’d better be grateful!” the goddess chimed in.
Teoritta began to spark once more, summoning a swirling vortex of razor-sharp blades that swept across the ground—a new technique of hers. The lethal whirlwind proceeded to impale and shred all the coblynau and bogies in its path. Xylo, immediately spotting her telltale sparks, vaulted onto a nearby workshop’s robust wall. Though his jump lacked its usual height, he still managed to dodge the deadly whirlwind of blades just in time. If he was using Sakara, he should have been able to jump even farther.
“Xylo, have you—?!” But before Patausche could voice her doubt, something happened. “Above you! Watch out!”
Had Patausche been able to warn him in time? A figure sprang from atop the workshop’s roof—an armored warrior brandishing a longsword, flowing hair framing a face with an unusually sharp gaze.
Patausche recognized him instantly—she’d seen him both on the training grounds and at the Sword Offering.
It was Adelat Fuzer, originally a top contender to win the tournament and a key member of the Fourth Northern Front Unit. His allegiance to the coexisters seemed incomprehensible. Were the military and the temple really that deeply compromised? The First Capital, Patausche realized, was nothing more than a den of schemes and conspiracies.
They’re reading our every move.
Pitting a skilled human against Teoritta was their best bet, since she would be unable to harm them. They were exploiting her weakness, which meant that they had planned for all of this from the very start.
“Hmph!” Adelat’s lengthy hair, gathered at the back, danced in the wind as his sword carved a lethal arc downward before rebounding skyward—a strike so blindingly swift that Xylo could only roll to one side, unable to parry. Adelat gave him no time to recover, pushing forward relentlessly.