✦ ✦ ✦
It shouldn’t have surprised him, he supposed—he knew Jack had the speed to hit Pluto before the Demon could get off a spell. Still, Orphen decided on the pincer attack because he knew that Jack wouldn’t be able to kill Pluto and dodge an attack from behind him at the same time. He’d made the man abandon his attack to dodge their spells, forcing him to focus on evasion instead of offense.
Pluto roared. He charged Jack, swinging his fist at him. Jack didn’t even turn to look, just spinning and deflecting Pluto’s punch with his left arm. But he didn’t just deflect it; he dragged Pluto’s whole body to the ground without even taking hold of him. Jack held his fist low as the Demon of the Capital was forced to crawl around on the ground.
Orphen thrust out his right leg before Jack could land a killing blow. Jack backed up to avoid it, opening up a few steps of distance between the two of them.
He feinted like he was going to attack again, but stepped back farther instead. Orphen took the opportunity to draw his shortsword. This wasn’t an opponent he could hold back against.
The quiet wasteland rumbled with the aftershock of the explosions, but that wasn’t the only noise. The Thirteen Apostles were starting to stir, alerted to the disturbance. The white flames burning on the ground illuminated the group of men like torchlight.
Jack looked the same as ever—he showed no signs of panic, anger, or anything else.
Orphen, on the other hand, couldn’t be happy about the prospect of the Thirteen Apostles rushing to join them. This man had massacred dozens of people in the Imminent Domain. He might not find over fifty highly talented sorcerers such easy prey, but that didn’t mean the results would be much different.
“I’ll bring you down...” Pluto whispered viciously. The Demon of the Capital was enraged, sand slipping through both of his hands on the ground.
Orphen stepped forward to get in front of him. Pluto’s groaning was causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end, but he couldn’t pay attention to that right now.
The man in the priest’s robes was watching him carefully. It was the same as when he’d first appeared... At least, it looked that way at first, but Orphen suddenly noticed a difference. At some point, Jack had reversed his stance, no longer attacking with his right fist. Now, his right shoulder was forward, his left fist pulled back.
Orphen shifted his position as well with a grunt of suspicion. Now that he got a better look, Jack’s right arm was dangling limp in front of him, not a finger moving. He’d hurt his right arm. Enough that even moving it was difficult.
What? When did he injure himself?
There was one other thing too. Another difference in his foe. He was smiling. The man’s rugged face had a strange smile pulling up both cheeks. It really did look like he was possessed by an evil spirit. The expression was in part mocking and in part celebratory. A dark smile, lit by sorcerous white flames.
“So your name is...Krylancelo,” the man in the priest’s robes suddenly muttered. “It’s a name I believe I’ve heard somewhere before. You’re interesting. I know just one other sorcerer as strong as you. But you’re not like him... You’re similar, but the exact opposite...”
“Your right arm’s broken, isn’t it?” Orphen said, ignoring his remarks. He stared down his enemy, practically praying. “Go back to the sanctuary. Your victory yesterday was overwhelming, yet you’re still sending out an assassin to try to take out the Thirteen Apostles. It really shows just how desperate you are right now.”
“I won’t deny it. The sanctuary is ruined. Just as the rest of the continent is.” The Doppel X raised his uninjured left arm and the smile faded from his face. His now expressionless face tilted upward as if he were staring into empty space.
The sky stirred with black and gray as dawn approached, lightened by the white of the stars and illuminating the flames smoldering on the earth. The man’s voice dissolved into the chaotic mix.
“It’s not a large problem... I just want to answer Ryan Spoon’s despair. As one who despairs in the same way...”
“That’s—” Orphen started, but he swallowed his words. Jack had disappeared. He looked around with a shudder, thinking the man had escaped his field of view again, but he didn’t sense him anywhere. The sanctuary must have collected him somehow. He was completely gone.
“What was that...? Does the sanctuary have so much contempt for us?!” Pluto griped, grinding his teeth. He no longer had a target for his anger.
Orphen shook his head. The flames had gone out by now, the curtain of darkness descending once again around them.
The chaos, however, grew. There were quite a few pairs of footsteps approaching, all panicked. Orphen heard screams as well. Maybe some sorcerers had finally reached the ends of their ropes after this surprise attack.
There were only fifteen or so minutes until the time Pluto had set. Orphen groaned to himself.
...Did they really plan on leaving now? Did they really think they could?