Chapter 25: Arc One: Epilogue (Various)

Chapter 25: Arc One: Epilogue (Various)

Magical Girl Everglaive looked down into the pool of water where Naiad sat, a young girls head propped up on her lap while the rest of her body was submerged. The faintly glowing water was stained with red, and the girl was pale. So pale.

She turned away from the scene, her heart tight. The girl was in bad shape, and Ever knew saving the girl was going to be a close thing. If any other healer at Naiads level were here, Ever would have seriously doubted her survival. With only second tier magic and no Finale-class spells, bringing somebody back from such serious injuries while they were already over their healing limit was a slim prospect at best.

Thankfully, Naiad was more than just her stats. Everglaive had seen Naiad work literal miracles before, even saving a Guardian who had been cut into three different pieces. More than just her abilities, it was Naiads dedication. Whenever she wasnt directly fighting Anathema, Naiad was out patrolling hospitals, healing as many people as she could until she was literally falling asleep on her feet. It was a fairly common occurrence that Ever had to force the younger girl to take breaks and recharge herself.

Naiad might have been younger and under the level 200 milestone, but Ever still trusted her more than any other healer shed worked with. Even if Naiad didnt have confidence in herself, Ever believed in her.

The only real question was if the rest of them would be enough to hold off the oncoming horde.

Ever turned, studying the surroundings. Gildscales and Thorina were alert, weapons at the ready as they watched the entrance. So far, the Anathema had failed to get past her Signature Magic. The glade would hold for a while, but as the Anathema began breaking down the other three doors into the room, Everglaives magic would quickly be strained.

She took a deep breath before making her decision.

Plan B. Gild, head back up through the dome and take care of any flyers that try to get in. Thorina, roaming defense. Go out the entrance and work your way around the circular hallway surrounding this room. Take out as many as you can, and try to make sure they dont get any more doors open. Both of you, fall back as you need to, and play it safe. I can defend while you recuperate. Save your Finale-class spells if you can and assume Naiad wont be participating. No healing or buffs but what we can buy.

Both of them nodded, Thorina giving a wide grin as she twirled her mallet. Theyd planned for this contingency in the helicopter, the possibility that Naiad would be out of action while she healed the new Magical Girl. Granted, theyd hoped it would only be for a few moments. Naiad being taken out for the entire fight was problematic.

This Usurpation zone covered multiple city blocks and had been going on for multiple hours un-culled, meaning there were hundreds or even thousands of Anathema. Their only saving grace was that based on the miasma quality, none should have been higher than level 150. The rest of her team was just over level 200, and Everglaive was considerably higher than that, giving them a significant power advantage. It would be a war of attrition, minimizing their mana and stamina expenditure while maximizing the damage they dealt.

And without Naiad, they were missing more than just a quarter of their firepower, they were missing their dedicated healer. While they could always use the Gate to buy healing items, they were never as effective as outright magic, especially not from a Blue.

Everglaive shook her head as her team went into motion. Golden light bloomed around Gilds back, the glittering embers of light forming together before giving off a flash and manifesting into two draconic wings with yellow scales. The giant wings flexed as he crouched, and then he jumped, a wave of wind blasting out as the force of the motion made his entire form disappear instantly.

Meanwhile, Thorina was skipping her way to the already opened door, avoiding some of the still smoldering bodies of Anathema. Evers glaive trees parted for the Magical Girl, and she hopped onto the charred body of an Anathema lying halfway through the doors before disappearing into the hallway beyond. A second later, thunder boomed through the building.

Ever sighed. She was sure Gild would be able to properly pace himself, but Rina tended to lose herself in battle too easily. Though, with how much fighting they had ahead of them, maybe this was the exact situation Thorina would thrive in.

Everglaive opened her Status to check her mana before nodding. Her Finale-class spell had taken almost 1,700 mana, nearly a third of her total. With the mana regeneration penalties for using so much mana in such a short time, shed have to be careful with what spells she cast for a bit. Ever would have to rely on her Glade of Glaives combined with her teammates to buy her enough time to recuperate.

In all, the situation was not ideal. If it came down to it, her team could certainly escape, especially with Gilds Signature Magic, but that would mean leaving the girl behind. In the condition she was in, Ever had no doubt it would take time to just stabilize her wounds. Naiad would let them know the second she was transportable, but until then, it was up to Ever and her team to protect their healer and hope for the best.

Ever sent some mana to her earpiece, reconnecting it to the main network. There was no point in staying out of touch if the Anathema already knew where they were, and getting information from Error and Guardian Command would be vital. Reaching out with her mind, she pushed her communicator to connect her to Error.

She got a waiting tone, and frowned but resumed looking around the room as thunder continued to rumble through the building. As her eyes roamed, she noticed a backpack sitting next to the shielding crystal. Walking over to it, she used her glaive to push it across the floor next to the pool of water before she resumed her vigil, making a mental note to look for any other items around the room that might belong to the girl.

Her communicator clicked a moment later, drawing back her attention..

Ever, its Error, an out-of-breath voice said. Tell me you made it in time.

We did, Ever replied calmly. But barely. The girls critically wounded and at her healing cap, forcing Naiad to do deep healing. No ETA on when she might be done. Were going to have to hold out until the girls stable enough to move.

Is she going to make it? Error hissed.

Everglaive hesitated for only a moment before responding.

I believe so, yes. The main issue will be us surviving the incoming siege. If you have any resources to support us with-

That wont be a problem, Error growled. Just keep her safe. Were coming to you.

Ever blinked, frowning as she tried to parse the words.

What do you mean?

I mean that after my announcement, almost 80% of the Guardians in Arcadia broke off from their tasks to redeploy around your zone. The second the shielding station began restarting, it drew the Anathema out of their hiding spots and into the open on the streets. They started rushing inward in clumped, massive waves and-

-And then the Guardians struck, Ever finished breathlessly, eyes widening in realization.

Its a slaughter, Error growled with savage satisfaction. Hundreds of Guardians falling on Anathema with their backs turned? I havent ever seen anything like it before. That poor girl didnt just save that shelter with her Death Wish, she set us up to retake the biggest, most problematic Usurpation Zone in the city. So you just keep her safe, okay? The Guardians of Arcadia are on their way.

-------

Wearing a hooded leather coat and designer skinny jeans, Magical Guardian Breakdance bobbed and weaved his way down the road, the towering buildings of Arcadia clumped on either side of him. Dramatic, orchestral battle music played from his spell, and he bounced and bobbed to the tune, moving around the dozens of Anathema corpses littering the road towards his opponent.

An Anathema faced him, a straggler who had survived the initial, fast moving assault of the first Guardians. It was a thick, humanoid creature with rippling muscles and four arms. Its face was dominated by a large, quivering eye, a jawless mouth underneath with dozens of tentacles that wiggled hungrily. It lunged at him, but Breakdance was ready.

Four arms swiped at him, each ending in a clawed hand whose bladed fingers would easily rip through flesh and stone alike. None found their mark as Breakdance slapped and twisted the blows aside, each counter parrying the flurry of blows to the beat of his music. Every motion built up the energy inside him as his Signature charged up, and once it reached its peak, Breakdance struck out, doing a partial, backwards flip onto his hands and kicking upwards straight into the Anathemas tentacled chin.

Scarlet energy flashed through the monsters head, exploding it into a pulpy mist of gore as his Signature unleashed his stored power into the strike. The Anathema dropped, but Breakdance didnt miss a beat, continuing the back handspring and landing on his feet in one smooth, continuous motion. Never stopping, he resumed his dancing even as he moved further down the street.

Absently, he wiped his sweat soaked brow, pushing away a few stray, scarlet hairs. He knew he wasnt the most powerful Guardian around, thus relegating him to cleaning up any Anathema the higher level Guardians had missed on their mad-dash towards the center of the zone, but Breakdance didnt mind the job.

As long as he was helping to save that new Guardian, or at least avenge them, he didnt much care what he was doing. Sure, it would have been cool to be part of the vanguard, sweeping through the streets and killing dozens of Anathema with every spell, but he wasnt anywhere near that level yet. More than that, he was still a solo Guardian, unbound to any team or Guild. Being only a D-rank Guardian with nobody to support him, it only made sense for him to be on the cleanup detail.

So Breakdance continued moving, taking his time as he built back up his Signature for the next Anathema he encountered. Judging by his Rival Sense skill, there was at least one more monster in the area, though he couldnt pinpoint its exact location. However, with his Center Stage skill actively challenging any Anathema in the area, he wasnt bothered. Combined with the enchanted battle music playing from his spell, his opponent would be taunted out into the open in short order.

[Alley on the right, watch out for its might,] Breakdances Familiar rhymed in his head, and he twisted as a new figure slunk from the shadows between two towering apartment buildings.

It was big, easily ten feet tall with a worm-like body. Eyes and tentacles covered its slick black body, a human face topping the worm with a gaping, circular maw. It hissed, revealing dozens of teeth as it reared at him, increasing its height even further. Jagged bits of bone wrapped the entirety of its body like barbed wire, each undulating movement rasping the bone blades through the ground like it was butter.

Breakdance felt his heart skip a beat as his skill Size Up told him he was way, way out of his league. The thing had to have at least twenty levels on him, and judging by the hissing sound and noxious fumes from where its spit landed, it had some kind of acid ability.

It only took Breakdance a second to decide to retreat, but as he began gathering his mana to cast his go-to combination of escape spells, a figure jumped from the roof of the apartment building behind the Anathema. Breakdance saw little more than a shadowy form as the figure descended with unnatural speed, a long katana blade flashing in the night before sweeping down to cut the monster clean in half. A whispering scream wailed out as reality itself seemed to tear along the blades cut, a black and violet portal opening up in the center of the Anathemas body.

The monster hissed out a scream before its body was violently jerked into the rift in one pull, and just like that, the monster was gone. The gaping portal remained a moment before seeming to let out a sigh, gently shrinking and then popping out of existence. The figure who had landed in a crouch rose, and Breakdance felt his heart start to race as the hairs on his body prickled in fear as the figure wearing all black rose before him.

The Dark Magical Girl wore a samurai-esque outfit with a ragged black cloak draped around her body. She wore a large, conical bamboo hat dyed the color of shadows, its brim hanging low enough to cover the upper half of her face. In her hand was an oversized katana, the guardless hilt wrapped in black, bandage-like cloth while the jagged blade was almost longer than Breakdance was tall. Dark Anathema blood flowed through small indents on the sword, filling up sharp-edged symbols that seemed to whisper with malice.

The Magical Girl looked around slowly before taking slow, steady steps towards him, and Breakdance felt himself tense. Hed heard the rumors of the rare Dark Magical Girls, and although he wasnt one to normally let things like that sway him there was something about every Dark hed met so far that made him intensely uneasy. It was never the same, some simply giving off a creepy vibe while others appeared completely normal except for the occasional social tick. If it was just a little weirdness, he was sure it wouldnt be an issue.

No. The problem was that to go with those traits, they always had some sort of power, some ability that absolutely set his teeth on edge. Out of curiosity, hed once used his Size Up skill on a Dark Magical Girl he knew was at least ten to fifteen levels below him. Instantly, hed broken out in a sweat as his skill sent a wave of nauseating cold through him. There was no sense of power or danger, just cold.

Not even an Anathema had given him that feeling before.

After that, hed asked around, but hadnt gotten much information. The general advice was to be extra courteous and stay the hell away from them. If you were ever in trouble, there was nobody you would rather show up as reinforcements, but any other time, it was best to stay away.

But for every relatively neutral opinion, there was one that was much darker. Hed heard stories of teammates being betrayed or even other Guardians being attacked out of the blue. Unstable was maybe the most courteous word hed heard describing them. Worse, they had a reputation for being unbeatable fighters in solo combat, meaning this exact situation was the last thing he ever wanted to happen. Every nearby Guardian was busy, leaving him completely alone with a girl who had just killed a powerful Anathema in one strike.

Breakdance swallowed, his throat suddenly dry as the Dark approaching him stopped ten feet away, her katana resting across the back of her shoulders nonchalantly. He put on his best smile, still continuing to dance as he used his will to change the music playing from his spell to a more passive, background tune.

Yo, girl, thanks for the assist, he grinned, hoping his nervousness didnt show. That was one scary mofo you just took down. I probably would have bailed if you hadnt come along. Wasnt expecting a mysterious savior, you wont hear me complaining. Oh, Im Breakdance by the way."

The girl looked up, the brim of her hat lifting enough to give him a look at her face. She was Asian, perhaps in her mid to late teens with thin, severe features. Her eyes were the color of silver, the pupils ragged, vertical slits like the edge of her katana. Her skin was a pale gray, almost corpse colored, but a soft smile raised the corners of her black lips as she watched Breakdance continue to dance in place even while he talked to her.

Mourning Edge, she replied, her voice surprisingly soft. Are you on cleanup duty too?

You know it, Breakdance said, ignoring the shiver down his spine. The joys of being solo, ya know? Whole counter attack was sorta last second, so I got stuck with the lame job. No goin off rescuin the damsel for me, nope. Just me, a buncha mostly dead Anathema, and the occasional passing Guardian. Kinda lonely, actually.

Breakdance didnt know what he was saying. He knew he should just shut up and let the scary, reality-cutting girl move on, but his nerves just kept him talking. Even worse, the girl was kind of cute in the scary goth samurai who could totally murder you and nobody would ever know kind of way. If he kept talking, and there was no way he could stop himself now, he was sure he would say something to offend her. Hell, it happened with just about every other person he talked to, and that was when he wasnt sweating up a storm remembering every scary story hed ever been told about them.

The Dark Magical Girl smiled as he did a nervous spin, and Breakdance desperately hoped that it was amusement twinkling in her eyes and not hunger as she watched him continue dancing in place. There was no way he was going to stop now, though, not when his Signature powered him up the longer he danced. Worst case scenario, he could always channel the magic he was building up into a burst of speed and run from the girl.

Im being ridiculous, Breakdance thought to himself. Shes a Guardian just like me, right? She wouldnt just attack me. Pull yourself together, Breakdance. Since when have you cared about gossip?

Well, I happen to be solo too, Mourning Edge said almost hesitantly, pulling the brim of her hat down over her eyes. So maybe we could team up for a bit?

No! Absolutely not! Breakdance screamed internally.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Hell yeah, girl! he replied, dismay washing through him as his mouth moved independent of his common sense. Lets kick some ass! Think you might be a little stronger than me, though. You sure you want to party up with me?

The girl stiffened in surprise, lifting her face to look at him with wide eyes, and Breakdance felt himself start to panic. Did he say something to offend her? Oh god, was it because he called her girl? Everyone knew Guardians tended to keep their youthful looks, making it hard to tell their actual age. Maybe she was actually older than him? Should he have gone with miss? Maam? Wait, was he just assuming her gender and-

I think Mourning Edge interrupted his fumbling thoughts. It should be fine. Im over level sixty, but Im fine only taking on the stronger ones and watching your back. Safety in numbers and all that If thats okay?

And again.

He tailored his spells to each instance, sometimes only summoning a group of legionnaires to act as meat shields and other times calling forth one of his powerful Angels to swoop in and rescue an injured Guardian. He kept his eye out for any truly critical situations, but no matter where he looked, none of the Guardians were truly desperate. There were simply too many Guardians fighting in the zone, and every time he spotted a situation he thought might turn really bad, another Guardian swooped in to flip the battle around.

Even Errors interventions proved to be mostly redundant, other reinforcing Guardians often arriving just as his spells took effect. He even recognized some of the long-range spells taking effect as coming from other Guardians working as Operators, lashing out from their own ritual rooms. Quickly, the biggest problem Error faced was making sure he didnt waste his mana overlapping his support magics with another Guardians.

Error took a deep breath, forcing himself to slow his pace as his mana dropped to less than half. He knew he was pushing himself too far, too fast, but he couldnt stop himself. Even with his emotions artificially boosting his mana regeneration, he couldnt keep up with the dozens of situations he was throwing himself into, often casting more spells than he knew was necessary just to ensure the Anathema would be slaughtered as quickly as possible.

His attention turned as a distress call to an Operator caught his attention, and he flicked his attention to the spot in question, sucking in a deep breath as he saw the Guardians in distress. The Anathema they faced was strong, and Error barely had to check the miasma readouts to know the monster was the Seed Bearer, the source of the Usurpation Zone itself. Error built up his mana, his muscles beginning to ache as arcane power rippled through him, and then he unleashed his fury.

Hang on, khai. I promise, this will all be over soon.

-------

Magical Girl Cutie Pie panted as she jumped back from another of the Anathemas attacks, beams of dark energy shooting out in a rain of death from the dozens of black magic circles glowing on the monsters wings. One of the beams clipped her side, blowing completely through her Aura and ripping a gash beneath her ribs. She bit back against the cold, gnawing pain as her flesh disintegrated, forcing herself to continue skipping back and forth as she twirled through the rest of the beams.

Kitten dashed past her a second later, twisting through the dozens of attacks with ease as she rolled, twirled, and launched herself over the endless barrage of death until she reached the body of the Anathema. She let out a shout, scarlet energy gathering around her clawed glove as she slashed upward from three feet away. Five crimson lines of energy hissed outward, flashing across the distance and into the Anathemas torso, tearing through its flesh with ease.

Blood sprayed out in a crimson mist as the Anathema roared, aborting the beam attack as it folded its wings protectively over itself. Cutie took a step forward to press her own attack but stumbled, the pain causing her to stumble on the rubble of the destroyed road beneath her. Sugar was next to her in an instant, reaching out a hand to Cuties injured side and whispering a word. Blue light began glowing from her hand, glittering motes of sapphire gliding into Cuties wound and slowly easing the throbbing pain in her side.

The Anathema began to unfurl its wings only for Metal Maid to come flying in, unleashing twin beams of green plasma from her palms. The Anathema crouched back behind its wings, the beams dispersing against them harmlessly, but a sonic boom exploded the windows of a nearby building as a glowing pink arrow shot out, stabbing into the Anathemas wings before exploding in a kaleidoscope of color.

Another Guardian joined in, a classic fireball shooting from a rooftop down on top of the monster, but still the wings seemed to hold against the inferno. More Guardians struck out, launching their own strikes in an endless rain of spell strikes to keep the Anathema pinned down. Lightning bolts, spinning discs of water, and even iridescent musical notes flew into the Anathema, exploding against the creature in a relentless onslaught of magic.

By Cutie's guess, there were another six or seven Guardians aiding them now, but they were all staying on the backlines. None of them must have been high enough level to stand front and center with Cuties team, but the constant flow of support magic and long-ranged attacks was more than just appreciated. In fact, It was only due to their constant interruptions of the Anathemas attacks that Cuties team was still standing at all.

Still, even with all of them working together, it wasnt enough. The Anathema probably had at least ten to fifteen levels on Cutie, which was hardly insurmountable with her entire team backing her up. The problem was that this was no ordinary Anathema, it was a Seed Bearer, an Anathema that fused with the Curse Seed responsible for keeping the Usurpation Zone anchored in reality. Anytime an Anathema fused with a Seed, it made the creature significantly stronger.

And judging by how tough this particular Anathema was, it had already been an Elite or Rare even before eating the Curse Seed. It was big, tough, and capable of using basic magical attacks. Worst of all, this Anathema had a ridiculous amount of regeneration. Every attack they landed healed up in only a few dozen seconds. It wouldnt be able to keep up forever, but it was a war of attrition, a question of if they could wear out the Anathemas abilities before it took one of them down.

So far, Cutie wasnt liking her odds.

There, Sugar gasped from her side, staggering away from Cutie in exhaustion. Best I can do for now. Those beams are definitely curse magic.

Cutie let out a hiss of air through her teeth. Plenty of Anathema could use magic, but dealing with curse magic was an entirely different story. Combined with the monsters already absurd physical abilities, Cutie knew it was just too much for them to handle.

Cutie raised her hand to her earpiece even as more spells fell upon the Anathema from a new Guardian that joined in. With an effort of will and flick of mana, she sent out an emergency call to Command that was accepted immediately.

Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Cutie Pie of Maid Cafe, rank B. My team and other Guardians have engaged the suspected Seed Bearer of UZ 15-01 and are being overwhelmed. Target appears to be capable of using curse magic. Requesting immediate assistance, 150 plus only! I say again-

Before she could finish, the Anathema let out a roar, a wave of black energy exploding outward. The spells caught in the blast of energy disintegrated, and Cutie was forced to jump back as the wave ate away at the ground beneath the Anathema, dissolving it into flecks of darkened ash in a twenty foot circle around it. Street lights and cars caught in the wave simply broke apart into blackened ash, creating a perfectly empty circle around the monster.

It growled, raising a crab claw hand at Cutie, and three tendrils of shadow began to curl between its pincers like a whirlpool, forming into a ball of darkness that sucked in the color from the world around it. Violet lightning sparked across the orb as it began to grow in size, and Cutie let out a warning shout as she felt the gathering miasma and mana spike to massive levels. She grabbed Sugar Rush and physically threw the girl away from herself, calling up her own mana and beginning to cast a shield spell even though she knew the gesture was futile.

Before she could cast, a grid of emerald light spread across the ground beneath her while a giant magic circle with a pattern of repeating ones and zeroes bloomed into existence next to the Anathema. From the circle, an eight-foot tall figure rose. They were made entirely of emerald light, their form a mere wireframe outline that showed a vaguely angelic figure wearing a dress with plate armor covering their chest, shoulders, and arms. Wings spread out from the figure as it hefted a giant sword of buzzing emerald energy, and with a flickering slash, the angel cut off the arm of the Anathema in a single, elegant motion.

The orb of shadows held between the pincers flickered before exploding in a vortex that vaporized the dismembered limb, and the Anathema let out a roar of agony. Cutie stared in dull shock as she heard calm, assured footsteps echo out behind her, and she turned to look at the approaching figure.

The young man walking towards her wore a skintight suit of dark green with emerald pieces of glass-like armor covering his chest, shoulders, hands, and legs. A completely featureless, angular mask of black metal hid his face but left his moss-green, spiky hair uncovered. Glowing emerald lines lit up his outfit in a pattern like circuits, and his entire form was semi-transparent, as if he was some kind of ghost or a hologram?

He stepped forward with utter confidence, walking up to the Anathema without a care in the world.

Good work, Cutie, a modulated voice said, and Cutie blinked in surprise as she recognized it as Error Machinas. Looks like you got it under half health. Ill take it from here.

Error continued walking forward, passing by the towering angel figure as he neared the Anathema. The monster snarled, swiping out a claw with lightning speed, and Cutie let out a gasp as the claw hit Error and-

Went completely through him, leaving him utterly unharmed.

Thats right, dumbass, Error snarled, and Cutie swallowed as she felt the mana in the air building up. Im not actually here. Unfortunately for you, youre still in my domain.

Error reached out a hand towards the towering Anathema, a magic circle appearing beneath his form and spinning at a sickening speed. The small hairs on Cuties skin prickled as she felt more mana building up in one place than shed ever felt before, and then Error snarled words that made reality ripple.

Force Close.

The Anathema froze in place, utterly unmoving. A loud, staticky crackle like feedback from a speaker ripped through the air followed by a shrill, long beeping tone. Pieces of the Anathema turned blue and featureless while others jittered out of place like jigsaw pieces, entire sections of the Anathema flickering from one spot to another as if it was glitching out. The monsters entire form blurred, suddenly becoming horribly pixelated, and then-

It disappeared. No flash of light, no gradual disintegration. One moment the Anathema was there, and the next it was gone, leaving the dark, ruined intersection of the city utterly empty.

[Defeated (Cursed Centipede Chimera - Level 153)]

[Bonus experience awarded for defeating an enemy more than fifteen levels above your own!]

[Bonus experience awarded for defeating a Rare Anathema!]

[Bonus experience awarded for defeating a Seed Bearer!]

[Experience split among all combat participants based on participation.]

[Congratulations! Youve leveled up multiple times! You are now level 137!]

[Stat Points Available: 20]

[Congratulations! Your Class Pastry Princess has leveled up multiple times! You are now level 126!]

[Congratulations! Multiple Skills have leveled up! Check Status Log for more information!]

Cutie looked on in awe at Error Machina as he lowered his hand, a subtle snap echoing through reality as a tension in the air seemed to relax, the Usurpation Zone dropping around them. Error turned, giving Cutie a nod before his form vanished in a flash of light along with the emerald angel and the grid beneath them.

Cutie stared for all of a minute before taking a deep breath, forcing herself to move. The Usurpation Zone may have fallen, but there were still plenty of Anathema to clean up, even if they were now significantly weakened. Besides, after what she had just witnessed, Cutie knew she still had a long, long way to go if she ever wanted to be like Error.

So she moved, giving orders to her team to form up. The battle may have been won, but they still had a war to win.

-------

On the roof of the Grand Arcadian Mall, next to the broken dome of glass peering down into the shielding room, a spherical patch of reality appeared oddly smudged. It was a slight thing, as if the colors of the world had bled slightly into one another. Even then, it was an almost imperceptible change, and Gildscales failed to notice it as he fought on in the skies above, releasing arrow after arrow into the endless stream of flying Anathema.

His spells split apart into dozens of golden shards, streaking through the night like comets before exploding in brilliant golden flashes that lit up the darkness. Still, the tide came, but it was never at a pace Gildscales couldnt seem to keep up with. Anytime more than a few creatures gathered together, a spell from the Guardian would lash out, vaporizing the group before they could overwhelm him.

Beneath him, the two invisible figures inside the patch of cloaked reality did nothing to interfere or reveal themselves, merely watching as he fought on.

I cant believe I didnt make it in time a voice sulked from near the edge of the glass dome.

We cant be everywhere, a second voice comforted the first. Besides, it all worked out in the end. Just not how we might have expected it to.

Still Were usually on top of things like this.

Youre being too hard on yourself. Being in all seven Sanctuary Cities at once had us spread too thin, especially with Eden being our priority. We had no way of catching this in time, not with how things played out, and definitely not with this being caused by a completely new Guardian popping out of nowhere.

There was another grumble, and the second voice sighed.

If it makes you feel any better, Im sure this girl will be part of your next assignment.

Really? the first voice piped up, her voice quivering with excitement.

After what happened here? Of course. Theres too many questions left unanswered, and shes a Dark anyway. Im guessing youll be spending more time on her than the others, too.

Yes! the first voice giggled. Its been too long since I had a proper muse!

The second didnt respond, simply watching as the events in Arcadia unfolded. Even as they observed, there was a snap, and reality seemed to relax as an invisible tension disappeared from the air. Both figures let out a sigh as the Usurpation Zone lifted.

Thats our cue, the second voice sighed. Onto the next city, then.

A moment later, the blurred patch of reality flickered back to normal, but the two figures were already long gone.