The Last Experience Point

The flames were intense, but they were also short-lived. Though, during their brief existence, they burned brightly enough that this entire section of the roadway lit up, and now, Anelia could clearly see the sheer depth of the pain in Alex's eyes. It was subtle, but the subtlety of it did not in any way diminish the extent of the anguish; if anything, it might've even amplified it—because it was sincere, and there was so much remorse.

True, genuine remorse.

And yet, the determination was there, too, in his eyes as well as his actions; it was in the way his lip stiffened or the way he conjured a blade out of thin air and swung it several times in front of himself with a whipping motion as though to signal his readiness for whatever lay ahead. This, Anelia was glad to see. Because right now, she needed him at his best. The two were about to get into a little "scuffle," and there was no conceivable way that this would end without significant bloodshed.

"They're stopping, just like you said." Anelia felt her posture becoming more rigid as she continued to chase after the four slowing DEHVs. She slowed in turn, her sprint turning to a jog and then into a fast walk. "Be ready."

"Of course," Alex replied.

The two-seater sport DEHVs halted first—and likely reluctantly. The larger ones came to a stop behind them, and now, about two-dozen feet away, Anelia at last halted with Alex right beside her. Her guns were already drawn and in her hands. Together, the two of them watched as the four DEHVs disengaged their hover engines and then slowly floated to the road before landing gently on their rubber ground tires.

About a half-mile ahead of her, a thick column of smoke was billowing up into the sky from the two burned-out husks of the SUV DEHVs that Anelia had detonated. She grunted as the front-left, driver-side seat of the DEHV on the right popped open, and a dead man slid out of it. His badly burned body was still attached to the safety harness, and so rather than fall onto the concrete, he instead dangled upside down with his lower half still inside the vehicle.

"Well, well, well, you sick, twisted bitch. There were kids in one of those DEHVs, you know," a familiar voice said with a laugh, drawing her attention. She narrowed her eyes as, emerging from the front passenger side of one of the larger, white-colored DEHVs, a man she recognized immediately as Vazzal Shelen emerged. And she was sure it was him, as few people looked the way he did.

There you are, fucker, Anelia thought, her rage building. Finally caught you.

Vazzal was one ugly son of a bitch—and that was being kind about it. His face was overly pale, jagged, and asymmetrical. His teeth were discolored, and he had awkwardly angled front teeth that were impossible to ignore, as each sort of jutted off to their own side. His short black hair, which he probably should've shaved off, was unevenly balding, giving him a few misplaced patches on an otherwise barren, crusty-looking scalp. And he also had the most grotesque-looking nose ring that Anelia had ever seen.

By all accounts, Vazzal looked like a man who was trying to be ugly on purpose. The Gods only knew how he managed to find a wife. What woman would be desperate enough to fall in love with a face like that? Not that Anelia looked much better. But still, even without being in a position to judge, she found the man to be repulsive.

"I had a feeling I'd end up having to deal with you," Vazzal said as he closed the DEHV door. He was wearing a business suit and tie that looked almost comical on his viciously ugly face. At the moment, his hands were stuffed in his pockets, and a gold watch was visible on his right wrist. Anelia raised her guns and pointed them at the man. Alex, likewise, raised his blade.

"Where is he?" Anelia demanded, her voice trembling with rage, her fingers on the trigger.

"Return the boys to us, and I can promise you that your lives will be spared," Alex said. "Escape is impossible for you. Even if you were to kill the two of us, the Elves know you're here and are on their way. You can't possibly outrun them."

Vazzal scowled. "Hey, you or them try anything at all, and I'll kill 'em both. Anelia knows I'll do it, too."

Anelia nearly pulled the trigger. She'd never wanted to kill anyone as badly as she did right now. Gods, she would do anything to see his brains splatter out the back of his skull. This piece of shit. How dare he threaten her boy? How dare he? She was so intensely angry that her hands had begun to shake. This had never happened to her before: not on a job, at least. This was personal in a way that few things ever were.

Vazzal looked directly at her, and then he tsked. "Look at you, Anelia. Getting all upset over personal shit. The fuck happened to you?"

She extended her arms even farther, her fingers practically begging her brain to allow her to pull the trigger. "You should be more worried about what's gonna happen to you, Vazzal." The rage exuded out of every word as she asked, "Where are Adim and Peter?" She looked at the vehicle he'd emerged from. "Are they in there?"

Rather than answer her question, he replied with one of his own. "Why don't we have a little chat and talk it over? A quick one, though, because I have no intention of still being here when the Elves arrive."

She felt herself on the verge of snapping. She nearly did. She almost shot him. But then she paused as the doors on the four DEHVs opened, and several people began to emerge: people Anelia never would've expected to see together. And now, as though struck with a missile, Anelia felt such a strong sense of shock that she reflexively took a step backwards and almost dropped her guns—another reaction that was atypical for her.

But this time, it was justified. Completely justified.

You've got to be kidding me.

Anelia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Just how much money had the Guild of Gentlemen spent? Just how resourceful were they? And how had they even made something like this happen? Never—not once in all the years she'd been in the game—had she ever seen a team like this put together.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked her, his tone calm but his eyes betraying his urgency. The fact that he'd even ask meant that, despite his position as second-in-command of the Lords of Justice, he didn't know shit about the bounty-hunting game or the leveled underworld. Clearly, the political guilds were ignorant on a whole lot of things, because anyone in the "know" wouldn't ask such a stupid fucking question.

"Anelia?"

Without taking her eyes off Vaz, she said, "His team."

"What about them?"

"They're…they're good. Really good. Never seen some of these people work together before."

"How good are they?"

"Very. They're nothing like the disposable riffraff that took over that hotel in Ziragoth. Looks like Vaz kept the best with him and left the weak to die. And 'best' is putting it lightly. This…this isn't what I expected to find."

Alex sighed. "Well, Angelica did warn us."

Anelia swore, and Vazzal laughed. He could obviously spot the worry on her face, and to be honest, there'd be no point in hiding it, anyway. There wasn't a bullshit artist alive who was good enough in the art of bullshitting to bluff her way through something like this. No matter how convincing, no one would believe their coolness in the face of what now emerged from those four DEHVs.

I can't believe it.

Right before her on this roadway, assembled together perhaps for the first time in their careers, were the best of the best of the best: legendary bounty hunters either as good or better than Anelia herself; only, in their case, they hadn't been out of the game for a year like she had.

Fuck!

The Guild of Gentlemen had spared no expense. That much became abundantly clear as a grinning, olive-skinned man wearing an exaggerated, silky, and purple dress shirt with a feather cap stepped onto the road and tipped his hat before slamming a cane he was carrying into the ground with one hand while pulling a rapier out of it with the other. A high-pitched sound filled the pre-dawn air as the weapon emerged. He extended his arm and pointed the bladed-end of the rapier towards Anelia as though it were one of her guns.

"Long time no see, 'Nelia," he said.

"Purple," she growled. Lowering her voice, she said, "That's Fletch Reynard, but everyone calls him Purple." She swallowed down the worst of her angst, but she was still uneasy. "I fought with him once before. We were working opposite sides of a job. Bastard nearly killed me. That rapier of his—don't be fooled, Alex. It ain't for melee. He shoots these…these thin streaks of needle-like light out of them. I've never seen anything like it. They can pierce almost anything, and there's this big flash that can blind you for around fifteen seconds if you look at it."

Alex nodded. For some reason, he didn't look worried in the slightest. "Primer Shot III," he said.

"Huh?"

"That's what you're referring to. The ability, I mean. That's what it's called. It's a rapier-only attack. The user shoots multiple piercing projectiles from the rapier. Three at a time. Anyone who happens to be staring at the light is also blinded for a period of between 8 and 22 seconds."

Anelia wasn't sure what he was talking about. "No, it's not that. At least not from what I can remember. When I fought him, he only shot one out at a time, not three."

"Ahh, okay. So it's only Primer Shot II, then, not III. My mistake. Good to hear, though."

Anelia was confused. Was he out of his fucking mind? What did he mean by only? Whatever. She couldn't waste her time thinking too deeply about it. She had far bigger things to worry about.

Shifting her eyes to the left, her attention was drawn to a man barely managing to squeeze out of the opposite side of the same DEHV. The man was wearing a massive, full suit of marble, granite-like armor. Upon exiting—and damaging the vehicle with his body—he reached back inside the DEHV and pulled out a large, rounded shield that looked more like a boulder. Now, he smiled at her.

"Anelia," he said in a deep, discomforting voice as he addressed her. "It's been a minute."

The man was tall, almost seven feet in height, black, with no hair on his head and a fearless face that was as cold as the dark side of Galterra's moon. Gripping his boulder-like shield with both hands, he raised and readied it. The shield served as both his offense as well as his defense. Anelia had never faced off against him before, but she'd happened to end up on the same side as him during a few open-field guild battles back when the SOHLA was still in effect and conventional warfare was unthinkable. She'd seen him bash in a number of skulls with that thing. He was strong. Very strong.

"Iron Jaik," she said, addressing him by his moniker. "Never thought I'd see you entering into the kidnapping trade. Abducting innocent people was one of your 'uncrossable' lines, wasn't it? I guess any line can be crossed for enough gold."

"It's hardly kidnapping," he responded, his voice so deep that it was almost difficult to understand him. "We're just bringing little Peter home where he belongs."

"And how do you explain Adim?"

"Who?"

Anelia frowned. "The other little boy you stole."

Iron Jaik shrugged. "No idea. Wasn't there when they took him. I got nothing to do with that."

She spat on the concrete. "Yeah, you do. And you'll die for it."

"Enough chatter," said a grumpy-sounding voice that emerged from the seat in front of the one where Iron Jaik had been sitting. Anelia shifted her gaze to see a small, four-foot-tall bounty hunter hopping out of the side of the vehicle.

Thangord.

An outcast of his people, Thangord was a Dwarf who had found tremendous success here in North Bastia by pulling off daring jobs for the various guilds. Anelia knew of him, though she'd never met him before. Nevertheless, his reputation was one of brutality and an inability to compromise—kind of like her own. He was also supposedly a man of very few words, and this proved to be true as he said nothing further. He simply stroked his large, bushy, and red beard with one hand while drawing a staff from his back with the other.

Thangord, Purple, and Iron Jaik—all three on the same team, she thought, pursing her lips. Alex's source was right. We'll probably die here.

Yeah, their chances weren't good at all. Really, they weren't. Anelia had no idea who "Angelica" was or how she'd come by whatever information she had, which Alex had tried to explain earlier, but it was all just gibberish to her. Regardless, she turned out to be correct. The situation here was terrible for them.

And yet, things quickly became even worse: so much worse.

The rest of the doors opened up, and the remaining bounty hunters appeared. And now, Anelia was utterly blown away by the sight of them. It had already been overkill with just those three, but Gods, it got so much worse so fast.

First, she spotted Shadow, a woman clad in all black cloth garb with a matching mask that covered everything but her eyes. She was a mysterious figure from an unknown region with an unknown background. The bumps on her chest were the only way someone would be able to tell she was female. She had a massive, two-handed claymore sheathed on her back as well as two daggers on her hips. She was also likely the most dangerous of them all.

The Guild of Gentlemen hired Shadow for this?

No one knew Shadow's identity. She hadn't even chosen the name "Shadow" for herself. It was just what she was called. And whereas most bounty hunters took on a variety of different jobs, Shadow dealt almost exclusively with assassination missions. There existed no assassin in all of Galterra who could match her. For this reason, her presence here was even more baffling. She alone would be a threat bigger than Anelia and Alex could likely handle. That was the extent of how fierce she was.

…and yet there were more.

An unassuming man wearing a casual t-shirt and sweatpants joined her side. With wavy, blond-colored hair and a genuine smile, he was unmistakable as Tem Hanzen, a man whose relaxed appearance and down-to-earth attitude were intentionally calculated to put people at ease. But he was a monster just as terrible as the rest, and seeing him here was a shock as well, because he was known to work alone.

"Hey, Anelia," he said, waving at her, a deceptively innocent and cheeky smile on his face. "Guess we're enemies this time, huh?" He laughed and waved his palms at her. "Go easy on me, okay? I hate pain!"

From the other DEHVs, another four bounty hunters emerged. Anelia only recognized one of them: a man covered in brown studded armor called Argald "Keen-Eye" Petim, an archer-assassin who, 20 years ago, earned his reputation when he assassinated the fifth-ranking member of the Lords of Justice with an arrow between the eyes—at the age of 12. The man had a strange, but not exactly "ugly" face with unusually large, milky-white eyes that made it look like he was staring into your soul.

This isn't possible, Anelia thought. Most of these hunters would never work with one another. The pay must be astronomical.

Vazzal seemed to delight in the look on Anelia's face. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he turned over his palms and lifted his shoulders as he took a few steps towards Anelia. "Didn't expect that, did ya?"

Anelia tightened her grip on her guns. "It changes nothing," she said. "I'll kill every one of you. I'm not leaving here without Adim!"

Of all things, Vazzal nodded at her words. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Which is why today is your lucky day."

"Hm?"

Something was happening: there was movement behind Vaz. Suddenly, the driver-side door to his DEHV opened, and a tall, thin man with maroon-colored eyes wearing a suit similar to Vaz emerged. Anelia recognized him. He was Melken "First Shot" Janamer. Melken used Ether Cannons like Anelia, though he was merely above-average. He was also first cousins with Vazzal, which likely explained why he hadn't been left behind with the weaker members of their bounty-hunting entourage.

For a split second, their eyes briefly crossed, and then Melken pulled open the passenger-side door, reached in, and yanked out a crying child: a small boy with eyes that had become stained red from tears. And the sight of him lit a fire in Anelia: one that burned with every bit as much rage as it did fear.

"Adim!" she yelled, shouting for him.

Her fingers twitched on her guns as the man, Melken, spun the boy around to face Anelia while grabbing his jaw with one hand. With his other, he drew his Ether Cannon and pointed it to the side of his face. Anelia's fingers continued to twitch. She didn't know what to do. She needed to be decisive but this fear…this fear was new to her. The last time she had ever felt such terror had been when the dragon had spawned, but even that paled in comparison to what she now dealt with.

"Anelia!" he cried back. "I'm scared!"

"It's gonna be okay," she called to him. She turned her head and regarded Vazzal. "I swear to the Gods, if you—"

"Relax," he said, interrupting her. "Like I said: today's your lucky day."

"Explain yourself."

Before he could do so, a sigh came from Alex, and the kid actually spoke up before Vazzal had the chance. "Let me guess," he said. "You're going to offer Adim to us in exchange for backing off, right?"

"Almost," Vazzal said, now approaching even closer so that he stood before all of his companions and only around eight feet from Anelia. It made it so that they could hear one another without having to raise their voices. Though, that too was becoming difficult as DEHVs began slowly building up behind them. Soon, there would be a major traffic jam filled with hundreds if not thousands of angry, irate drivers.

Vazzal made a flick of his chin as though to gesture at Melken. "I want you two to back off, but I also want you to undo the STO that you two triggered so that we can get back in our vehicles and leave in peace." His lips twisted into a malicious grin. "You can do that, can't you, High-Lord Oren? Perhaps with a phone call."

"I can," Alex said. He paused, then added, "But I won't."

Anelia snapped her head in his direction as her brain was finally able to weigh what was being said to her. Then she immediately looked back at Vazzal, who was standing across from her. "Wait, you're saying you'll just hand Adim over just like that? And all we have to do is let you go? You'd just willingly give up a bounty? I don't believe it."

"I don't blame you," Vazzal said. "You used to be one of us. So of course you'd think that. But the thing is, Anelia." He again glanced over his shoulder at Adim. "That kid isn't our bounty. We don't want him. We only grabbed him to coerce the little prince into behaving. Transporting someone alive against their will becomes difficult when they aren't level 1."

Anelia exhaled sharply. His words made sense. From the start, there had never been any logical reason for why Adim had been taken. And though she wouldn't be so stupid as to consider Vazzal an "honest" man, the things he was saying actually did make sense and were believable. He likely had absolutely no use for Adim whatsoever. And as a bounty hunter, it therefore became a matter that was simply transactional. There was no reason for him not to offer and honor such a deal.

Once more, Anelia whipped her head in Alex's direction. "Take the deal, kid."

"Absolutely not."

"The fuck do you mean 'absolutely not?' Take the deal!"

"You're not thinking clearly."

Anelia's anger and confusion merged into one singular, powerful emotion as she glared at him, "He's telling the truth. Trust me."

Alex nodded. "Oh, I'm sure he is. Of that, I have no doubt."

"What's the problem, then?" she snapped. "Is this about revenge? Because I get it. But we're dealing with the life of an innocent—"

"Of course that's not why," he fired in immediately, almost sounding offended that she would even suggest such a thing. "Anelia, this isn't about revenge or justice. It's about the other little boy they've taken. Peter."

Anelia's grip on her guns tightened to the point she almost discharged one of them by mistake. "Alex, Adim has nothing to do with any of this." A desperation that was completely unlike her began creeping into her voice. "You promised you'd help me get him back. Don't fuck me on this!"

"I'm not. I assure you." Alex stepped forward. He walked beyond Anelia until he was only three or four feet away from Vazzal. At around the same time, a loud series of angry honking sounds began to emanate from somewhere behind them, and pissed off drivers began shouting out of opened windows. All of this, however, was ignored.

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"Vazzal Shelen," Alex said, addressing him. "Like I've told you. I have no problem letting you or your comrades leave here. I'm even willing to guarantee that I won't pursue you. As far as I'm concerned, you can speed away to safety and evade capture for the rest of your lives. Then again, I suppose as long as you leave Whispery Woods, the other guilds will still hire you even despite your participation in this operation. All of you can walk away from this. But to do so, I am demanding both boys be released into our custody."

Vazzal didn't take so much as a half a second to consider the offer before declining with a powerful, firm shake of his head—which anyone with sense knew he'd do, as no bounty hunter with a solid reputation would willingly part ways with their bounty.

"Fuck off, Mister High-Lord," he said. "My offer is for Adim, and it's only for Adim. If you refuse, I'll just kill him right here on this highway and let you worry about telling his mother."

Upon hearing these words, Anelia charged forward, extended her arm, and pressed the barrel of her Ether Cannon right into Vazzal's forehead with enough pressure it'd likely leave a bruise. Her finger was shaking. She was so desperate to pull the trigger.

"I'll kill you if you even try it."

"Then I'll be dead. And so will your boy. And that will be the end of that."

Anelia shook her head. "No, that won't be the end of it, Vaz. Do you really think it would be? Do you really think I would be satisfied with that? No, I'd have to go after your wife and kid." Once again, she came so close to blasting him through his skull. "And I wouldn't be quick about it, either. If you hurt Adim, I would hurt everyone you've ever loved."

Vazzal grinned as though undeterred by her threats. "And here I thought society had finally tamed you, Anelia."

"Tamed? Yes. Domesticated? No. Hurt that boy, and I'm coming for your family. You'll never see them again."

"I'm never going to see them again as it is, Anelia. Thanks to you and High-Lord Oren." The grin faded, and what looked to Anelia like deeply personal anger caused his lower lip to tremble. "High-Lord Oren told her everything about my mission. Not just her, but my child, too. That was low. Really, really low."

Anelia hesitated. She was so conflicted. So torn. She wanted to shoot his brain out of his head. She wanted to make a deal. She also wanted to run straight for Adim. She felt herself being pulled in so many different directions.

"Alex," she said, speaking to him even as her eyes remained fixed on Vazzal and her gun pressed into his forehead. "Please. Just help me get the boy back."

"I am helping you," he replied.

"How?" she asked, her scale-armor-covered hand becoming sweaty despite the extremely cold, early-morning temperature. The first rays of the sun were now filling the sky, and a soft, diffuse light had begun settling over this stretch of the roadway. "How are you helping?"

Alex smiled at her. A glint of something—of satisfaction—began glowing in his eyes. "It's quite simple, Anelia." He took a few steps back and then even grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in his direction, which caused her to briefly lose her balance and stumble away. Confused, she watched as her gun was removed from Vazzal's head, though it did leave a rounded, purple bruise behind.

"What are you doing?" she asked, wondering if perhaps it was him whom she should be shooting. "How in the hell are you helping?"

"I'm helping," he said, his smile widening, "by stalling."

"Stalling?"

He said nothing in reply. But even if he had, Anelia wouldn't have heard it, as a much louder sound erupted: a loud, burning flicker of something streaking right by her. Amid this sound, a bright orange flame whipped across her vision, one moving so fast that it almost seemed to go through her. This flame then continued on, moving beyond Vazzal and slipping between Thangord, Iron Jaik, and Purple—and all so fast that neither of the three even had time to react, their bodies practically frozen in comparison to the speed of this flame.

Is that…?

The flame continued, burning onwards until at last it came to a halt upon reaching Melken. It slammed into the man's chest, causing him to release a startled cry as he was hurtled in the opposite direction and off the side of the roadway itself, where he then fell several-dozen feet down to the farmlands below. His Ether Cannon went with him, too. But the flame vanished upon impact, and it left behind an Elvish girl, who was now standing in his place. At once, all heads turned in her direction, and immediately, a sense came upon Anelia that things were about to change.

"P-Princess Kalana!" Adim cried giddily as she scooped him up into a hug, carrying him in her arms.

Thank the Gods, Anelia thought. Alex was grinning.

"I've got'cha," Kalana said as she turned around, still holding him. "Where's Pete?"

"He…Pete is in that DEHV," Adim replied, pointing.

"Okay." She put him back down and smiled at him. "You wait right here."

The bounty hunters all began turning in her direction. They no longer looked quite so cocky, but they were clearly unwilling to back down. They moved in unison towards the DEHV that Pete had pointed out as though to defend it and prevent the princess from coming any closer. But then they stopped as one of them in particular spoke up. And as she did, all the others fell silent. The woman who spoke was one that Anelia couldn't imagine anyone had actually expected to hear, as it was often said that, typically, she very rarely allowed anyone to know the sound of her voice.

"Stay back," Shadow said, reaching behind herself and drawing her massive, two-handed sword, which made a dull scraping sound as it was removed from her scabbard. Her words were somewhat muffled behind the cloth mask, but it was still easy to make out what she was saying. And even muted, she still came across as powerful and commanding. "I'll handle Her Highness."

"You sure about that?" asked the casually dressed Tem Hanzen, whose sweatpants and t-shirt made the sword and shield he was wielding stand out and look odd due to the contrast. "That's an Elf, Shadow. And not just any Elf."

"Stay back," she said again, her grip solidifying on the large weapon.

Anelia froze. This could be her chance. Perhaps, while everyone was distracted, she could slip in, grab Adim, and—

CLANG!

Gasps of pure awe came from everyone and everywhere, including from Alex and even Anelia herself as this woman, Shadow, moved with such impossible speed and precision that no one, including even Kalana, seemed prepared for it. One moment, she was standing there, weapon ready, and the next, she was several-dozen feet away with her claymore crushing down on Kalana, whose two daggers were raised and resisting against it. But it had happened so fast that it appeared almost instantaneous.

"Oh, shit," Purple said. "Anyone else seeing this or am I finally losing my Gods-be-damned mind."

"Nah, we all see it," Argald "Keen-Eye" Petim said in his smooth-spoken voice, his bow now raised and an arrow knocked. "Shadow's better than I thought."

The princess also looked shocked and amazed—and perturbed. And Anelia was downright baffled. Kalana was actually struggling. Her knees were bent, her daggers were raised, and her arms were twitching as though they might actually give—as though this assassin was actually powerful enough to pose a serious, genuine risk to Kalana's life.

Anelia didn't know how this could be. She didn't understand how this was possible: how a bounty hunter, however skilled, could exert so much power that even an Elf could find herself challenged. But the answers to those questions didn't matter. Anelia owed Kalana. She cared about the princess. She had grown very fond of her. And so, on instinct alone, Anelia swung her arms, aimed, and fired off two shots from her Ether Cannons, which caused two loud bangs to fill the roadway.

Immediately, the angry, shouting drivers, who had just gotten out of their DEHVs demanding to know the reason for the holdup, proceeded to get right back in them so that they could flee in the opposite direction. But this only caused an abrupt, widescale STO—Safety Takeover—to activate, as the computers on the DEHVs would not allow drivers to willingly operate their DEHVs such that an accident or collision was likely to occur. The moment the front row of DEHVs came close to colliding with the DEHVs behind, the STO disabled just about every DEHV now caught up in this traffic jam. As a result, people were scrambling out of their vehicles and running away on foot.

But none of this mattered. None of this even really registered. Because Anelia was so utterly, totally astonished by what she saw that she momentarily forgot where she even was.

Shadow, who was busy pressing her claymore down on top of Kalana's daggers, made a series of explosively fast movements that created a storm of fear and disbelief within Anelia—and Alex, too, by the look on his face.

In less than a fraction of a second, Shadow pulled back, releasing the pressure on Kalana and removing her claymore. Then she spun completely around and swung the massive sword horizontally across from her chest, which created two loud pops as Anelia's shots were blocked; simultaneously, she kicked out with her back foot and struck Kalana in her chest, causing her to slide ten feet away along the roadway, her boots making a loud screeching sound as she left sparks and cracks in the concrete.

Then Shadow turned once more in the princess's direction, the princess raised her daggers, and with teleportation-like speed, the two clashed again. Only, this time around, they did not lock weapons. Kalana's eyes glowed with a fierce determination, and Shadow's were partially obscured. The assassin swung her claymore with brutal efficiency despite its larger size, and Anelia felt her heart pump faster each time Kalana nearly lost her head. In less than just a few seconds, Shadow delivered dozens of very close strikes, which Kalana pivoted around.

Once again, Anelia shot her Ether Cannons. But this time, Iron Jaik leapt forward from where he was standing, extended his boulder-like shield, and absorbed both hits, each landing with a loud ping as they were blocked.

"Shadow's got the princess locked down," Iron Jaik said. "We can easily take these two."

"Take down Anelia first," Purple said, pointing his rapier in her direction. "Bitch is meaner than a Pitbull with rabies. She's the bigger threat."

"Agreed," said Tem, who crashed the grip of his sword into his shield as though to psyche himself up for combat.

The other bounty hunters seemed to move into place as well. Once again, the situation looked dire and hopeless. "I'm moving in," Iron Jaik said as he began to approach. "The rest of you, don't underestimate those Ether Cannons. I've seen Anelia blow a hole through tanks with 70 constitution wearing adventurer gear. Don't let your guard down for even a—"

"Watch out!" Thangord called in warning as a purple, ball-shaped, and spiraling mass of energy came crashing down on top of Iron Jaik who, if not for the Dwarf's warning, would've certainly found himself in its path. Instead, it landed where he'd been standing, and then it detonated with a hybrid sound of a crunch and a bang, leaving a ditch in the middle of the road that was several feet deep.

"What the hell was that?" Iron Jaik asked, lowering his two-handed shield and glancing over his shoulder.

Unable to resist the unbearable curiosity, Anelia briefly took her eyes off the enemy in order to see for herself.

Kalana!

It was highly unlikely the princess had expected to come here and find an enemy who'd force her to fight with every last ounce of strength she was capable of putting out. And yet, that was clearly the case, as Shadow and the Elvish princess began unleashing powerful, dangerous magic at one another.

The two had separated somewhat, and they were now mutually launching all manner of variously colored magic. Kalana, twirling her daggers, summoned a handful of meteors, which caused loud booms and a rumbling to fill the highway. This prompted the drivers who had chosen to remain in their DEHVs rather than flee to finally reconsider. Anelia could hear the sound of them scurrying out of their vehicles behind her.

What's going on here? Anelia wondered. How is Shadow this powerful?

The black-garbed assassin managed to deftly evade each one of the meteors, and then, still standing about ten feet across from Kalana, she swung her claymore, and another of those big, purple, and spiraling balls of magic flew off the tip of the weapon and made its way straight for the princess, who released a grunt as she swung both of her daggers and knocked it away, causing it to go flying off again.

And this time, it was she who stupidly warned the enemy.

"Excuse me, um, Dwarf-person!" she shouted.

Thangord made a low grunt and turned around. "Hm?"

"You should move!"

"Why?"

She pointed her dagger upwards as though to gesture. Thangord looked. Then the Dwarf nearly lost his beard as he shouted out several profane swears and ran off to avoid being in the way of Shadow's deflected magic. Another crunching bang filled the Blood Rain Expressway, and this time, the debris traveled far enough that a few chip-like pieces of concrete even managed to rain down over her and Alex's heads.

Anelia knew she needed to focus on the other bounty hunters. Years of experience told her that the absolute worst thing she could do right now was become overly concerned with how the princess fared. And yet, as more proof that she had changed, she simply could not pull her eyes from Kalana's battle with Shadow. She was worried. Very worried. As impossible as it was, the truth was plain to see: the princess was outmatched.

Shadow burst forward, and with a ruthless assault, she swung her sword down on top of Kalana, who threw herself backwards and away. She was now being effectively pushed back. Anelia gritted her teeth. She had to do something. But she herself was outmatched even just in dealing with the other bounty hunters. And she certainly knew she couldn't rely on this science bitch to hold down an entire pack of legendary bounty hunters while she ran off to assist Kalana with Shadow.

"Alex," she said. "Alex, we need to—"

He interrupted her. Forcefully. With a tone of voice that was stronger than any she'd ever heard from him—with a level of command that left not even the slightest hint of room to disagree or disobey, he shouted at her.

"Take two steps to the left, duck, and then bend backward as far as you can!"

Anelia didn't know why he wanted her to make such an odd series of movements. She didn't possess the slightest clue: not even a hint. Yet, something in the way he said it—the absolute imperative of his tone—she decided to do what he said.

Hastily, she stepped twice to the left, and even as she did so, she could visibly see two sparking, electrical arrows fired by Argald whizzing past her. Impressed, confused, and amazed, she ducked down, and then, right over her head, a needle-like projectile of light fired by Purple sailed by. Then, even while squatting down, she bent backwards to the point the back of her head hit the concrete, and a flaming, I-shaped missile made of a greenish flame from Thangord barely cleared the air where her face had been.

"Get back to your feet," Alex said. "And open your eyes! Purple is about to cast Sapping Resolve!"

"What's Sapping R—"

Alex flung himself and collided into her as she was sent stumbling off to the side. Then, in the exact spot where she'd been standing, a bunch of white-lettered "Zs" were floating in the air, each being partially obscured by a larger, denser cloud of smoke, which lingered in place for several seconds before disappearing along with the letters.

"You almost got hit by Nodding Cloud," Alex said. "Crowd control: thirty-second sleep." He narrowed his eyes. "Anelia, watch out for that strength debuff." His eyebrows raised, his head was moving around, and his eyes were darting every which way. "On second thought, get out of the way completely. They're using Ground Smasher!"

Anelia felt so lost. So confused. "What the hell is gr—"

Rather than explain, he grabbed her scale-covered hand and physically dragged her back. Then, right where she'd been standing, a thick, silver, purely metal, and cylindrically-shaped piston burst up from the concrete roadway. First came a crunch, and then a loud thwang sound as it jutted out nearly ten feet before slinking back below the surface and disappearing below the ground— only to reappear once more, but this time just a bit off to the left. Then it disappeared and returned a third time. Then a fourth—and all while Alex continued dragging her away.

"It's a random, terrain-based AOE," Alex said. "It lasts 20 seconds. We need to be out of the area. Watch out for more CC."

She felt herself dragged every which way as shimmering lights fell down on her. So much was coming at them from so many angles that she was confused and lost. She wasn't even able to offer any return fire. And while all this was going on, the piston continued to randomly appear in a wide area. On three occasions, it popped up and completely totaled a DEHV caught in its path, in some cases splitting the entire vehicle in half and creating even more noise.

This relentless, ranged assault continued for a short time that felt way longer than it actually was. And through it all, she could not stop chiding herself for the way in which her soft spot for Kalana had become such a weakness. Nevertheless, her eyes kept darting over, and now, she became alarmed, as it seemed Kalana might finally succumb to the assassin.

The girl was fighting her heart out. That much was beyond a doubt. No matter how close the assassin's claymore came to claiming her life, she somehow always found a way to navigate around it. The combat had become frantic and chaotic. And as a testament to that, despite the black-garbed assassin clearly having the advantage, the explosive, nonstop motions both were making led to an opening that Kalana seized.

It began with Shadow slamming her claymore down on top of Kalana, who lurched backwards and away before jumping up over her head and flipping once then landing back down. Shadow, whose claymore smashed right through the concrete, ripped her weapon free and spun it in a half circle while turning her body. But this, Kalana ducked beneath while kicking out with her left foot. She managed to connect with a shin strike, and though her face was veiled, Shadow's body language indicated that she felt at least some degree of pain, as she flinched. Yet, she nevertheless managed to avoid slowing down. She tore her blade from right to left, and this time it really, truly looked like she'd get Kalana. Her blade came so close to ripping into the girl's chest that Anelia winced in advance of the blow.

But with almost no time to spare, Kalana managed to spin her entire body around the blade—and also behind Shadow. Continuing with this motion, the foolish girl now had a clear, perfect, and easy window to put an end to her fight. Despite unquestionably being outmatched, chance and circumstance had combined to provide her with one and only one chance. And all Kalana had to do was take it. And yet, instead of jumping at this golden opportunity to plunge her dagger deep into the assassin's spine, Kalana stupidly chose to change her grip so that the bladed end pointed downwards, and thus, instead of piercing her, she turned her attack into a punch—one that hit hard enough to make the assassin vocalize a bit of pain, but not one strong enough to neutralize her completely.

Shadow scurried away, reset her position, and then raised her claymore—but Kalana was already charging at her. She swung her daggers in a staggered pattern, left then right. Shadow blocked with her larger, heavier weapon, but having been put off balance, the second slash managed to knock the claymore out of her hand. The weapon spun in the air before crashing through the window of an unoccupied DEHV and causing its alarm to go off.

And still, this did not slow Shadow down. She merely removed her own daggers, and the two continued their contest. Things only seemed to heat up from there, but Anelia had to take her eyes off their battle for a moment, and so she did not see what happened next. She merely heard the clashing as the two struck out at one another with impossible speed. The next time she glanced over, however, Kalana had somehow scored yet another lucky blow—an elbow strike to the face, one with enough force that Shadow was flung in the direction of the other bounty hunters, requiring them to scramble out of the way as Shadow landed flat on her back in the middle of the road.

But she didn't stay down for long. She flipped her body backward and onto her palms, her thighs chambered into her chest, and then sprang herself forward and upright onto her feet. Even as she did so, Kalana was already rushing forward. But then, for a reason Anelia did not know, the girl stopped short. Her eyes went wide. Her body trembled. Her grip on her daggers loosened. Her entire face became filled with something—something Anelia couldn't quite place. It wasn't terror. It wasn't pain. It was something between confusion and excitement.

Whatever had happened, it eventually drew the attention of the other bounty hunters, which meant it was significant enough to actually distract the best of the best from their mission and bring a real, tangible lull to the fighting, however temporary.

Tem and Iron Jaik, who had yet to advance and had been content to let the others fight at range, were the first to notice whatever it was that Kalana saw. "No fucking way," Tem said. "I refuse to believe it."

"Gods," said Iron Jaik.

Alex glanced over, having finally decided to pay the situation some attention. And then even he gasped. Finally, Shadow's body turned somewhat so that she could pick something up off the floor—her mask, which had at some point gotten knocked off her head. And it was here that Anelia finally understood what had jolted everyone, as she had a brief, but meaningful look at the woman's face.

She was young, perhaps in her early 20s, with golden blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She was conventionally beautiful with high cheekbones and full lips. But it wasn't her physical attractiveness that had so stunned even her own allies. No, it was her ears. Her ears that were clearly, unquestionably not human.

She's an…

"You're an Elf?" Kalana half asked, half yelled. "Gods, you are. But how? Who even are you? Why are you trying to hurt people?" She didn't reply, so Kalana kept talking. "Under the authority of the queen, I order you to put down your weapons and stop this! Right now!"

The woman said nothing for a moment as she placed the mask back over her face and adjusted it. Then, with her voice once more muffled, she looked at Kalana and said, "Fuck the queen. And fuck you too. Die."

And with that, she threw herself at Kalana, who now appeared so rattled that it was affecting her performance. This, despite the fact that she had suddenly gained a bit of help. That boy and that girl who were there when Anelia had been arrested—Trelvor and Seiley—the two Elves arrived on the scene right around that time. Trelvor was fighting by summoning what looked like a tiny male fairy with many wings, which fought to a tune he played on the flute, whereas the other female Elf launched magical projectiles whenever the opportunity arose. And yet, still, Shadow was able to fight all three of them off.

"My Princess!" Trelvor cried. "We're here!"

Kalana looked at him after dodging a dagger aimed at her throat. "She's an Elf!"

"Huh?"

"This woman, Trelvor, she's Elvish!"

"Impossible," Trelvor said. "How could that even be?"

Kalana shook her head. "I dunno, but don't kill her. We gotta find out who she is and how…how she ended up this way."

And that was when it happened. Her soft, childish nature got the better of her. She should've just killed the assassin when she had the chance. But no. Every opportunity she'd had, she chose to be merciful. And now, at long last, she paid a price for it.

The assassin moved in close, ducked beneath an attack from Kalana, and then made a vicious slash with her right-handed dagger, which had begun to glow with a black, pulsing energy. The slash connected, and in unison, both of Kalana's hands were severed from her arms at the exact same time. It was a horrifying sight: even to someone like Anelia who had once killed a man by shoving her entire fist up his ass and pulling out his intestines. There was something about seeing that sweet girl suffer that burned her. There was something so, so awful about seeing the blood shooting out of both of Kalana's sockets as she screamed, likely in more pain than she'd ever experienced.

Anelia felt her eyes widening with anger. She became so enraged that she nearly lost her senses. But this anger, it paled in comparison to something that changed in the eyes of the white-cloaked Elf, the one called Trelvor. The boy's eyes bulged with rage. He made a croak—a sound of pain combined with thunderous anger. Without any hesitation or care, he threw down his flute, causing the creature he'd summoned to vanish. He simply abandoned his own weapon. And then, unarmed, he launched himself forward and tackled the assassin, who seemed taken by surprise as he slammed into her and brought her to the ground, where he then began to bash her over and over in the face and the sides of her head, causing her teeth to begin flying out of her mouth and her daggers to fall free of her grip as her hands unclenched and went limp.

Trelvor screeched as he slammed his fists over and over into her face. "Die!" he screamed. "Traitor! Die! Traitor! Dieeeee!"

"Stop him!" Kalana yelled to Seiley, who not only refused the order, but began to stomp on her face and body in blind anger. Her mask was shredded, and so was most of her black garb. Blood began pooling out of her. "Stop it now!"

If not for three of the other bounty hunters—those Anelia did not recognize—rushing in to assist, she would surely have died. She may already be dead. But for now, Shadow's fate was left unclear as Trelvor and Seiley were forced to disengage and deal with their human attackers. Kalana, on the other hand, was now on her knees, her arms raised to her face as though her eyes were searching for hands that should be there but weren't. She looked like she was in shock. The girl needed a red stone: probably a few red stones. Maybe a yellow as well, as the blood was gushing out of her limbs.

"It…it hurts," she said. "It hurts!"

And yet, as all this went down, Anelia could only think of one thing: the question of what might have happened if Zach had been here. Gods, that was a truly scary thought, for if Zach had been here and had witnessed that, the kid would've probably gone on such a destructive rampage that the entire highway would end up covered in body parts and blood. If he had seen what just happened, by the time he calmed down, there probably wouldn't even be enough physical evidence left over to identify the bodies. Even Adim and Peter would likely have gotten caught up in it. He would lose his sanity and unleash a darkness upon these bounty hunters that none of them would be prepared for or know to expect.

Anelia had seen that darkness in him once before. It made even her tremble.

"Anelia!" Alex shouted at her. "You're distracted!"

"I am," she admitted. She shook her head to snap herself out of her trance. "You were right, Alex. We can't win against these—"

"No, you were right," he said. "Angelica was wrong."

She looked at him. "Huh?"

Alex raised his sword. "I've seen enough. We can handle them. All of them."

Anelia tilted her head to the side. "Each one of them is more powerful than the two of us combined."

"Perhaps," Alex said. "But having higher stats doesn't make their abilities anything special. The…the Elf…she's the only one I'd worry about, but she may already be dead. As for the rest of them, I've now had a chance to see what they can do. They're better than the political guilds for sure, but they're not at the level of an adventurer. Just follow my instructions, and I swear on the soul of my dead mother that we'll beat them."

He seemed so confident: so sure of himself. Deciding to trust him, Anelia nodded. "Let's hurry, kid. Kalana needs our help."

***********

Zach yawned and opened his eyes. Today was the day. Today, he would crush that damn spider boss and make his way farther up into the tower. Maybe he'd even reach the top and finally make it to Albion IV.

He'd had a dream last night. One that felt so real. He'd seen the faces of his friends. They were alive. They were partying. He'd felt such joy at seeing them. It gave him hope. He wanted so badly for it to be real.

Sitting up in his sleeping bag, he rubbed his eyes. He was still so tired. He estimated he'd gone to sleep around 3 or 4 in the morning, and had only woken up right now, just after sunrise. Still, he had way too much to do and couldn't afford to become lazy. It was time to get back to work. He'd grab a few more cards—twenty or thirty—and then crush that Gods-be-damned arachnid.

But first—breakfast. Yeah, that would be nice.

Getting up and stretching, he looked around. Then he sighed, the sound of it carrying a bit of sadness. Despite everything that'd happened between them, and despite what he'd said, Zach had still sort of hoped he'd open his eyes to see that Landy had come back. He just couldn't help the fact that he missed that crazed little item shopkeeper. He hoped Landy hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble. Messing with the "Gods" was never a great idea—even if Zach had done so himself on a few occasions, particularly Adamus.

At any rate, he had a busy day ahead of him. Banking on his own success, he decided to pack up after breakfast and get everything put back into his two big, suitcase-sized bags. From today on, he would no longer be setting up camp out here. He was determined to beat the boss and keep going. No more turning back.

He was sure he could do it this time.