The adventurers guild had turned into a war camp. No, that wasn't quite right—it had already become something similar in response to the siege. But the once darkened mood had shifted, taking on an energy it hadn't had before. Across the courtyards, swords were sharpened, bowstrings were waxed, and armor was donned in preparation for the battle ahead.

Wyn supposed it was the helplessness that had held everyone down prior. They'd been like rats in a cage, trapped within the walls by the hordes outside, with nothing to do but wait. But now, they had a goal, a mission, and an enemy to defeat. It was a small change, but it was enough.

Wyn jolted as a heavy hand clapped him on the back, clanking with the weight of metal.

"Have you been in a pitched battle before Wyn?" Guildmistress Shani asked.

He pursed his lips, glancing upwards. "I haven't. I'm not sure this really counts either. The whole point is they don't know when we're coming, right?"

Shani laughed. "That's good, you've got some humor about you! I'm glad to see you're keeping your head."

"I don't fear a battle guildmistress, especially not a necessary one like this. And well, monsters aren't something I fear either."

"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow. "I can't tell if that's youthful arrogance or not."

He shrugged.

The guildmistress looked around the open space of the guild. Adventurers ran back and forth, preparing with more vigor than they had before. Everywhere he looked, armor was being donned, blades were being sharpened, and liquid courage was getting downed by the barrel. Wyn didn't think that was ideal for fighting, but he knew just how common it was.

"Our enemies aren't just monsters you know," Shani said. "Have you taken a life before Wyn?"

Wyn clenched and unclenched a fist. "I'd rather avoid it if I can, guildmistress. But if it comes down to it… Yes."

She searched his eyes for a moment, then nodded approvingly. "That's good, because you're with me for this battle, and we're going headhunting."

"I'm afraid I don't catch your meaning." Wyn frowned.

"Military term," she explained. "We'll be going after any particularly powerful channelers, or leaders among the enemy. In this case, I'd imagine that's going to mean this Acolyte of Delusion we spoke of earlier."

Wyn eyed the guildmistress's armaments. She wore mostly leathers, but vambraces and greaves adorned her arms and legs respectively. They must not be steel or iron, else they would interfere with mantling—but they certainly lacked threads for the Acolyte to manipulate. His own leather armor was similar, held by rivets, buckles and straps rather than thread.

Still, he was a bit confused. "Why me?"

"You mentioned you had a blessing suited for monster-slaying didn't you? That's perfect for supporting me when a mage would have a harder time keeping up. Besides, you and I are the odd ones out, or haven't you noticed?"

"Ah," Wyn nodded. Everyone participating in the raid already had people they knew and were teaming up with, or were sticking with their already-formed parties. It made sense—they weren't soldiers, and trying to act like them may end up doing more harm than good. "I'm a bit surprised though," he admitted. "I wouldn't have expected you to fight with us."

"What, due to my age?" Shani chuckled. "I'll be just fine. Even if my body's a bit weaker than it used to be, your aura reserves and control can keep growing without limit. I've hardly lost a step since my prime."

"That's good to hear. And you were a gold-rank? I guess I'll let you lead the charge then. I wouldn't put myself on that level yet."

"You're a humble one aren't you?" She slapped him on the shoulder again. "Keep the monsters off of me, and I'll run that bitch through."

"I'll support you as best I can," Wyn declined his head.

"Not arrogance then. Get some ego in those bones of yours Wyn, a little pride is healthy for a young man."

Wyn bowed dryly. "Of course guildmistress."

Shani snorted. "Have you finished your preparations?"

"I have." Wyn nodded, glancing at the strands of spirit fire reaching out from his body. There was a weight to them, as always, though these were far heavier than the light spirits he'd contracted earlier.

"That's good. We'll be moving out any minute now, and we're going to be fighting the whole way. Make sure to save your strength—stay in the back. I need you to be useful when we confront Delusion."

"I—" Wyn hesitated. "Yes guildmistress."

She clapped him on the shoulder one last time before walking off. "Good man."

A few minutes later, the gate of the adventurer's guild yawned open to the sound of a battlecry from within. Spells launched from the walls as adventurers streamed out into the fray, pushing back the siege on the guild.

Wyn watched from the back ranks, anxious, fidgeting with the pommel of his sword.

The advance began.

***

Much like the main guild, the northern entrance wasn't a singular building, but rather a collection of government offices and stalls, all of which catered to adventurers as they entered and exited the dungeon, a mini district all its own. The lone wall separating it from the outside stretched across the front of the district, which was surrounded on the three remaining sides by a thick, twisting root of the tree, acting as a natural bulwark.

It had been a slog, reaching this point, bringing such a large force out of the guild and through the city streets, battling monsters and cultists aiming to slow them down. But finally, almost an hour into their mission, they arrived.

As the force of adventurers came just outside a bow's reach of the walls, guildmistress Cennet raised a hand up, open-palmed. The chanting of mages began, an eerie sort of sound, and mana thickened in the air, storm clouds forming above.

Wyn felt the hair on his arms start to stand up, but he wasn't worried. This was all part of the plan.

Then the air was light and sound. Thunder like he'd never known shook the world as a barrage of lightning struck down behind the walls, and a cheer went up among the warriors gathered. But as Wyn looked at the guildmistress, her eyes were still calm. She brought her hand down, pointing it towards the walls, and the second siege spell began.

Under the cover of the lightning, countless silvery bugs—shikigami as he'd learned—condensed in the air, then swarmed forwards, latching onto the walls. They began to eat away at the stone, devouring it through means Wyn didn't quite understand. Though each bug took away only a small amount of material, there were thousands of them on any given section of wall, weakening the structure with each second.

After about a minute, the storm above dissipated, and a different chant could be heard within the walls. The cult mages were countering the spell.

The guildmistress clicked her tongue. "Faster than we'd hoped, they have some good mages." The wall began to crack, chunks falling off as the bugs ate away more of its vital structures. Shani grinned. "But slow enough. They must have been hesitant to reinforce the walls further without drawing attention. Lucky us."

With a sound like a landslide, the entire stone wall crumbled under its own weight, opening the way to the interior.

Shani slammed the butt of her spear into the ground twice. "Show these rats the might of our guild! Advance!"

Dozens of spells flashed across the gap as a frenzied charge began. There were no organized lines—the adventurers weren't soldiers, and weren't used to tactics for a group so large—but it was effective nonetheless. Some charged straight ahead, supported by mages in the back, others flanked around the sides, climbing up onto the roots to seize high-ground over the district, and others patrolled the rear guard, keeping monsters and cultists from reaching the mages, letting them cast unimpeded.

Wyn's grip tightened around his hilt, but Shani placed a hand on his shoulder. She wasn't looking at him, but rather scanning the battlefield with a calm gaze.

"Patience. Keep your eyes open for Delusion, Wyn."

He took a deep breath and nodded, relaying instructions to Eia, who was able to zip above the battlefield and look for anything important.

An eternity ticked by as the battle dragged on, the guildmistress forcing Wyn to stay back with the mages. The space had devolved somewhat, and the adventurers were bogged down attacking the entrenched position. Blood spilled onto wood and stone alike, and soon, what seemed like hundreds of the glowing green butterflies had gathered, descending onto the battlefield, healing both sides without reservation.

Wyn studied them idly as he scanned around, watching as they worked. There was something there, in the way they took in mana and stored it…

"Found her," Shani interrupted, voice hard.

Wyn followed her gaze to the top of one of the roots, set slightly apart from the rest of the battle. Were it night she would have been almost invisible, but in the light of the morning, her dark robes stood out against the sky.

Callithea's jet black hair was undone, blowing sideways in the wind, a good meter out past her body. The loose cloth of her purple robes billowed similarly, though something seemed somewhat unnatural about its motion. She held in each hand a dagger, glassy like obsidian, but she made no move to use them at first.

In an instant, a dozen mages on the right flank collapsed, grasping at their necks as their specially woven robes turned against them. It hadn't been practical to guard everyone against the acolyte, especially when doing so would only weaken them for the rest of battle. No, preventing her from disrupting the countersiege fell to the two of them.

Wyn finally drew his blade, stepping up beside Shani.

"Let's—"

There was a crackling, thunderous noise, and lightning arced across the ground as the guildmistress disappeared from his side, wasting no time racing towards the acolyte ahead.

Wyn cursed and ran after her, feeling entirely slow as he called on the spirits he'd contracted, the air growing hot as he drew them in. By the time he caught up, the first exchange had already finished.

Shani's spear was wreathed in lightning, hissing with the sky's wrath. As she approached, the haft dropped low, tapping once against the ground. Then, she accelerated even further. There was a flash, and the sound of clashing metal, Wyn only caught the aftermath of her thrust, deflected off of Callithea's daggers, just in front of her chest.

The acolyte laughed with glee, and a strand of her hair thrust back towards Shani's shoulder. Another crack of thunder, and Shani appeared a few feet away, the wooden root smoking beneath her feet, blackened.

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"Quick aren't you?" Callithea tilted her head with a grin. "For such an old hag I cannot believe how fast you are! Lightning channelers always make my hair so frizzy—it is absolutely, incredibly, terribly irritating. And yet I lament your plight, you poor miserable thing. Wrinkled skin, graying hair… your beauty fades and your body begins to fail you. Isn't this world terrible? Shouldn't it change?"

Shani said nothing, but rather set her stance and leveled her spear. The acolyte's smile faltered slightly.

"It's rude not to reply when spoken to you know?"

"What reason do you have to poison Haoma?" Shani's voice was steady. "Why besiege the city?"

Callithea's reply was sing-songy. "I wonder why…"

Shani's grip tightened on her spear. "Watch my back Wyn, stay alive."

Callithea turned, as if noticing Wyn for the first time, her amethyst eyes flashing with interest. "Now who might—"

The guildmistress blurred forwards again, her body flashing with light, and Wyn thought he saw the outline of her skeleton for a moment, but it may have just been a trick of the light.

The acolyte snarled and jumped back, black hair snapping taut to catch the blow. Lightning seared through them, charring the strands, but Callithea simply tossed them aside, countless more pulling away from her hair and sleeves, alive and wreathing.

Shani jerked her spear back and slammed its haft against the ground, letting out a pulse of crackling mana that seemed to linger in that spot. Using it like a lever, she kicked twice at the acolyte, lightning arcing from her silvered greaves. But Callithea's robe was ready, billowing up and cushioning the blows like a pillow. She got knocked aside and tumbled across the root, but didn't seem bothered at all.

"I was talking!"

Trying to press the attack, Shani took a step forward, but her ankle caught on threads that had embedded themselves into the root beneath.

Callithea laughed, lunging forward to capitalize. Shani tugged at her leg, and lightning sparked at her feet, but the threads held fast, twisting to pull her footing out from under her. She fell just as the acolyte struck, but caught the obsidian daggers on her vambrace.

Wyn saw her lips move, and then sparks exploded outwards, and the guildmistress was gone, appearing several paces away, panting. The threads that had held her were torn and burnt.

Callithea didn't even look her way, her eyes quickly refocusing on Wyn, crossing the space between them in an instant. She lashed out with thousands of strands, and Wyn desperately slashed them away, but there were just too many, and he was quickly overwhelmed.

As threads wrapped around his limbs and hoisted him into the air, he realized they'd underestimated her. The acolyte's ability to manipulate threads was beyond what they'd predicted, and to top it off, she was a channeler on par with a gold-ranked adventurer.

Reaching up, the acolyte grabbed his chin, turning his face from side to side with a look of glee.

"Oh I like you…" She brushed a finger against his cheek. "Striking eyes, strong jaw—yes, yes you'd do so nicely. What did she say your name was?"

Wyn's spine tingled, and he bit down a retort as the grip on his wrists grew tighter. Instead, he reached for his new contracts, and was answered by heat.

Flames, red hot, engulfed the acolyte, and the threads holding him snapped as she jumped back screaming. Wyn dropped into a crouch, rubbing his wrist as six flame spirits began to orbit above his head.

"I can't keep up with you directly," he said, calling one of the spirits into his palm. It spun softly, a ring of fire forming around its spherical shape. "But I won't be so easy to toy with either."

The flames on the acolytes body slowly petered out, smothered by her own aura, though they left her robes and hair both singed. Her skin was reddened, like she'd been in the sun too long, but nothing that would cause lasting damage. He could only hope it would actually help weaken her. She smiled ruefully. "Spirit arts? A shame, it seems we're not compatible after all."

Another crackle, and Shani appeared at his side again.

"Sorry, I underestimated her," she admitted with a grimace. She adjusted her grip on the spear, holding it in one hand and tapping it against the ground. Lightning arced from the ground onto the weapon, and as she turned the tip to face Callithea, it seemed to almost get drawn up from below. "Use those flames as best you can. I'm ready for her now."

She lunged again, the stored charge streaking across the space towards Callithea, who caught it on her hair once more. Shani's spear flashed in quick, efficient jabs. Each impact sprayed sparks, and when the acolyte twisted away, the haft tapped the root beneath with a crack of thunder, leaving little burns behind that crackled in Wyn's mana sight.

The two women became a storm of motion, and the fight spilled off of the top of the root, falling into the city below. Wyn followed, sliding down the side, heart pounding as their clash carved into wood and stone alike.

Callithea's robes unraveled as they fell, stretching into longer and longer strands that spilled across the rooftops below, tangling into chimneys, doors and gutters.

Shani landed, and the scattered threads sprang towards her like a bear trap. Her spear whirled around, but more coiled from her blind side, tugging at her arm. She tore free in another flash of lightning, but Callithea was there, dragging a dagger across her chest.

The cut wasn't deep, but Shani cried out in pain as blood splattered onto the tiles, and she spun away. The butt of her spear slammed into Callithea's chest as she did. It wasn't a particularly hard blow, but the acolyte was caught off guard, and stumbled back, coughing.

Realizing this might be his only chance, Wyn kicked off the side of the massive root and thrust his arms out to the side, feeding more spirit fire into his bonds. Flames erupted beneath him, burning away the sea of thread between him and Callithea, who spun towards him with bloodshot eyes. Her hair rose higher, thrashing wildly as he raced towards her.

He brought his sword down in a clean arc, but it was caught by strands of hair, reinforced with mana. Another set of strands lanced towards his shoulder, tightly woven into a point, and he shifted out of the way, grabbing onto them as they passed and igniting them again. She grimaced, but wrapped the flaming strands around his wrist anyways, pouring more mana into them.

I'm better than her, Wyn realized with some frustration as she held him firm. But even still—

The gap in their power was just that great.

Shani returned, thrusting her spear towards Callithea's head, but with both hands still free, the acolyte calmly deflected it with one of her daggers.

An eye flicked back to Wyn as he struggled to pull his blade free, and she brought the back of her other hand against his ribs. Something cracked, and he was launched back, losing his sword in the process. He tumbled over the roof before pitching over the edge and crashing through the wooden wall of the next building over.

For a moment, he just lay in the rubble and let out a long, strained groan. He sucked in a few painful breaths, squeezing his eyes closed to cope with the pain. Then spirit fire flared up, and helped to dull it.

One real blow, and I'm on the ground, he thought, letting out a single weak laugh. It really was laughable how useless he felt here. He laughed again, ignoring the sharp pain in his chest, until the laughter became strained through his gritted teeth.

He pushed himself to his feet, spitting out a bit of blood.

Wyn shouted, but his voice was still weak from the blow, and his chest ached as he did. "Damn it!" He punched out a chunk of what remained of the wall, smashing the already-splintered planks of wood. There was no time to think about how weak he was, no time to lament not training harder.

Wyn leapt back up just as the fight dropped into the streets.

Only as they reentered the main battleground could he see the cost of their counterattack. Dozens of adventurers bled on the ground, matched by monsters and cultists alike. Wyn's stomach turned as he looked at all the death around him. But the fight wasn't over.

From all over the district, robes unraveled, stretching towards the acolyte of Delusion as she fought amidst a massive tapestry of thread. The fight was moving quickly as Shani continually pressed Callithea back, and Wyn had to chase after them, trying to keep up. Callithea's hair sliced into the buildings around them as she fought like some sort of sea monster, waving tentacles of deadly thread around. Shani closed distance in bursts of light, her spear's butt striking every surface she touched—the root, a rooftop, the side of a crumbling wall. Where her spear struck, a blackened scar remained, crackling with lightning.

Everywhere she went, threads tried to ensnare her, wrapping around her limbs if she stopped for even a moment. And as the battle drew out, she began to slow. Her dodges came later, her attacks lost their edge, and she bled from countless small wounds across her body.

Wyn's chest clenched and he pushed himself faster, trying to catch up and help.

But the guildmistress held up a hand towards him as she finally broke off of her attack, and he stumbled to a stop. Her eyes were locked onto the acolyte, who was suspended on threads in the air above, grinning triumphantly, confident in her own victory. A few loose spells streaked towards her, launched by mages further back, but she deflected them with contemptuous ease.

"Seems you've reached your limit," she called down towards Shani. "Since I feel such pity for you, I'll be sure to finish you off quickly."

And Guildmistress Shani… smiled.

"If you can." She raised her spear into the air. "Dance of thunder." And then slammed it down onto the stone.

She disappeared in a flash of lightning which streaked across the street, impossibly fast. It collided with a wall and deflected, arcing over the roof and back down with a thunderclap. It flashed again, and again. Each mark she'd made with the butt of her spear—root, roof, wall, street—the lightning arced between them in an instant, thunderclaps echoing together until Wyn couldn't hear anything besides the continuous deafening booms.

It was impossible to follow, faster than Wyn could see or think. Her route was completely unpredictable, and with each strike, she gained even more speed. But as the storm went wild around him, his eyes fell onto one mark in particular.

Callithea's chest was glowing, crackling with a faint charge, and Wyn remembered the one strike Shani had landed. He ran into the storm, towards the acolyte. Callithea seemed to realize what was happening a moment after he did, and she threw out her hands, spreading thread in a web around her body

Lightning struck from below, flashing towards the mark on Callithea's chest. Shani materialized from the lightning like a living thunderbolt, her spear glowing so bright it hurt to look at.

She lanced forward for the decisive strike, aimed straight for Callithea's heart.

The threads snapped taut. At the last instant, Callithea's cords caught her arm, locking her mid-thrust, the spear's tip inches from its mark.

The acolyte's laugh rang out, triumphant—until Shani's teeth clenched. She let out a roar of defiance, and her spear spun.

Blood splattered, and her own arm fell away, cut clean just above the elbow. Freed, she spun the spear back around, twisted and drove it upwards into Callithea's shoulder. The strike cracked the air as lightning arced into the acolyte's body, sizzling flesh with its heat.

Callithea screamed. She wrenched back, thrashing wildly as threads tore her away from the strike. Smoke curled in the wound, but her laughter returned, ragged and half-screaming.

"You bitch! How dare you pierce my skin? How dare you ruin my image, you envious old hag! And yet and yet and yet it was not enough!" Her snarling laughter reached a fever pitch as she pressed a bloody hand against her head. "I live! You cripple yourself just to strike a futile blow! How pathetic, how wretched and sad you are! My pity has run out, it's wasted on you! Now fall and die like the worthless creature you are!"

The final threads snapped, and Shani's body dropped through the air, drained of strength. Wyn rushed forwards, catching her before she hit the ground. Threads lashed at him, but he burned them away.

"Don't save her!" Callithea screeched as her retreat slowed just a bit. "How could you save her after what she did to me?"

More threads reared up, and Wyn glared up at the acolyte. A vision of his sword buried in her chest flashed through his mind, but the weight in his arms was heavier, and he knew he couldn't win. He turned and ran, carrying the guildmistress with him. Though a few threads tried to stop him, Callithea didn't follow.

He carried Shani back to the mage lines, barely avoiding monsters and cultists until they were back to safety, and she urged him to let her down. She dropped to a knee, clutching her wound as she grit her teeth. Blood poured from the stump of her arm, dripping onto the stone.

"I failed," she rasped. "Missed… her heart."

A strangled cry came up from ahead, and Wyn saw another mage clutching at his throat as several others bent down to try and cut him free. He turned and scanned the city, but couldn't pick out the acolyte so easily again. The rest of the battle had stalled as well, and though the adventurers weren't losing, the conflict seemed balanced on a knife's edge. The guildmistress was out of the fight, and Wyn couldn't match Callithea. Though they'd injured her, there had been a clear winner after all.

Wyn swallowed hard, his shoulders feeling heavy. They'd underestimated—no, that was an excuse. Callithea had only been in real danger once through the whole fight. She'd taken everything they had… and it hadn't been enough.

"We lost."

Shani's face was grave, and her eyes raged with all the fury of a storm. But she nodded minutely. "No choice. I'll staunch…the bleeding myself. Sound the retreat."

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