The edge of Kael's spear cut through the air with such speed that it let out a dull ring as it moved towards the Shaman's neck.

The woman's eyes had widened at the sudden attack, and by the time she realised what was happening, Kaels' spear had already sliced into her throat.

Unfortunately, despite the concealed attack and Kael's blinding speed, they were unable to execute the maneuver completely.

Hermes appeared next to them with the speed of a bullet and knocked the strike from its path.

The change in direction turned what could have been a lethal blow into a shallow cut—far less damaging than they had hoped.

The woman screamed, but Hermes didn't hesitate to capitalize on their failed assassination. He pressed Kael back with a wide sweep of his weapon. The bulk behind the titanic mass of metal only made it impossible for him to contend with a direct attack, so Kael absorbed the impact on his weapon and launched himself backward.

Emily didn't want to let this chance go to waste, so she swung her hand down with a blade running from her forearm. Hermes responded, but he only needed to twist his weapon to defend. To make matters worse, that small movement held enough force behind it to send Emily tumbling back with a sickening crunch

The bone in her arm gave out with a wave of fiery pain, and all Emily could do was back away to avoid losing her head.

It was at this point she realized something was off about Hermes' spear. It was a heavy weapon, that much was certain, but the impact behind it was not something he should have been able to produce.

It had felt like a mountain was pressing down on her.

Emily confirmed this less than a second later when he closed the distance and swung again. She used both her blood and a Vital Shell to block, though it seemed to do little good.

Both measures were strong on their own, but the weapon broke through them with its weight alone. Not even Tested Flesh could help. Emily could only grunt as a heavy spearhead stabbed into her ribs. She groaned as Ruby Guardian was already closing her wounds.

One would think that Hermes would be excited about his handiwork, but he looked about as interested as someone watching paint dry. Even as Emily spilled blood and jumped back.

The wound was closed at incredible speeds, but Hermes wasn't about to let up. He arrived beside Emily again. This time, bringing the spear down on her thigh. The blade, along with its weight, cut through the muscle, creating a resounding crack through her femur.

She screamed, and her left leg gave out from underneath her. She caught herself by falling to one knee, but that only sent pain shivering up her spine.

The third and final attack was set to cleave her head from her shoulders, but before it could get any further, Kael arrived.

Vapor surrounded him like armour as he stabbed at Hermes.

The man in question saw the attacks and dodged through each one with minimal movements; however, he was forced to back off.

Seeing as they were regrouping, Emily watched as he moved back to his Shaman's side. The woman looked pale at her near-death experience, but all Emily could feel was annoyance. If they had managed to kill the bitch things would have been a lot more straightforward, but now things would get dicey. For a moment, they were back at square one as they stared off at one another.

Kael glanced at Emily, shooting her a glance that said, 'You got any more bright ideas?''

She just shrugged and began to pull blood from her shoulders to thicken her mantle.

"You're going to need to keep him occupied. I'll take her out, but whatever you do, don't die before I get there."

Kael pursed his lips before shooting her an unimpressed look.

"I make no promises, but I'll try my best."

Emily grinned. All she needed was an opening. Going for the Shaman again wasn't the best bet, but Hermes would be hard to fight otherwise.

Emily caught a glimpse of their enemies muttering something to one another.

What followed was a powerful wave of light, aiming at blinding them. Sadly for them, Emily had already anticipated this kind of attack. A thin membrane of blood was already between them before the Shaman even built it up to unpleasant glare.

The world turned to vibrant white, but all they could do for now was to hunch behind her shield. Emily felt movement in the space beyond, and she cursed.

"Move!" she shouted as she took to the air.

Hoping he'd heard her, Emily sent three large spears of blood in the direction of the source of light.

This temporarily dulled the surrounding light enough that she could make out Hermes charging at Kael again.

Emily created a huge wave of blood and flattened it out. Spinning in midair, she twisted her body and brought the crimson wave down from above. Hermes was fast, but he'd been focusing on the screen above, and in a movement, the attack connected.

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Emily felt a sense of satisfaction take hold, but it didn't last even a second when she saw the attack sweep over the man like water around a rock.

She could just see his expression shift to annoyance before the light returned. She tried to wrap him up in the blood, but he battered it away and disappeared from the spot. The light made it almost impossible to track his movements after that, but Emily was growing increasingly tired of this woman's interference.

From the air, she splayed out her arms and called her blood, sending it below in all directions. She fashioned a veil similar to the one she'd used against I'llva and her men. The dome that formed looked like a glowing ruby for the outside, as light passed through the screen, casting an ominous glow about the space.

Emily managed to catch sight of Kael and Hermes already locked in battle, but she didn't bother to check who was winning. Instead, she turned her attention to the dome.

Emily then created a dozen spears and began spinning them. The only advantage she had was that the Shaman didn't have much combat experience. So when several bolts of flame began to pierce through the dome, creating shafts of light, she didn't realize she'd given her position away.

Emily let loose five spears, aiming to end this quickly so she could help Kael. Unfortunately, the first shot hit nothing but air—so did the second, third, and fourth. Only the final spear struck true. The moment it landed, she wasted no time drawing the blood from her failed attacks inward, wrapping it around the Shaman. A scream rang out, and Emily saw the glow around the woman dim almost completely. The spear had pierced her stomach, and now, shrouded in blood, Emily could feel that she had passed out.

The shock must have overwhelmed her. At the same moment, the waves of power reaching Hermes abruptly faded.

Emily would have finished her off then and there, ensuring no lingering threats, but a glance back at Kael forced her hand.

In the short time she had spent dealing with the nuisance, Hermes had clearly come to the same conclusion: eliminate future problems.

His spear now protruded from the center of Kael's chest.

Even on his best days, Kael was already a few steps behind Hermes, but with the strength of his entire people enhancing him, this was a fight Kael couldn't win.

Emily's brows drew together as she gathered her remaining spears and sent them towards the duo.

Hermes noticed them coming and smiled. He lifted Kael off his feet using only the spear, causing the man to grunt in pain as he tried to pull himself free.

Then Hermes did something truly ruthless; he moved Kaels' body directly between the attack and himself. Using him like a shield.

Emily could almost appreciate the attempt as the man's cruel intentions became clear.

Unfortunately for him, Emily could only smile as the attacks stabbed directly into Kael.

Surprise appeared on Hermes' face as he'd expected her to abort the attacks. They thudded into his back but never pierced his skin. Instead, the spears broke into countless needle-like projectiles and swept around him.

Splattering Hermes like buckshot.

Because it was a direct hit, even he couldn't just shrug it off. Hermes hissed and jumped back, destroying as many as he was able, but Emily managed to worm a few projectiles into his wounds. Stabbing them into his skin and burrowing into his muscles. Emily dropped from the skies, and with the remaining blood, she wrapped it around Kael to pull him back towards her.

She caught him and while he looked worse for wear, there was still light in his eyes. He glared his thanks at her, and she responded by moving blood over the wound in his chest and sealing it. He looked like he still wanted to fight, but the wound was debilitating. At best, he could move around.

"What did I say about dying?" she said wryly.

Kael clutched his chest and snorted.

"And what did I say about trying not to?"

Emily had not taken her eyes off Hermes, and right now he was inspecting the two of them.

His face had returned to that expressionless mask, but there was battle-hungry light in his eyes. What she didn't expect was for him to speak.

"Such a shame you were born an outsider. You could have made such a difference to our people. We could use that willingness to do what needs to be done".

Emily rolled her eyes. She wouldn't deny his ruthlessness fit her MO to a T, but he was the last person she wanted to hear that from right now.

"Sure, buddy. But while you're at it. You might want to check on our current ally before you try to crawl into bed with me."

Hermes' eyes flickered over to the collapsed Shaman for a brief few seconds before his lips pressed together.

If Emily could just get him to head in the Shaman's direction, she could set a trap with the blood already in her vicinity.

Hermes squinted at her and then at Emily.

"It's her duty to die for our cause. Why would I rob her of that honor?"

Emily's shoulders drooped as she glanced at the unconscious woman.

'You really know how to pick 'em, girl,' Emily thought.

Glancing back at Hermes, she shrugged.

"I don't suppose I can get you to forfeit, and disappear into the deserts never to be seen again?" she asked politely.

Hermes scowl was the only answer she got, as he shifted his stance to that of a javelin thrower.

"Thank goodness. That was your only way out of this alive," Emily muttered under her breath, relieved that he didn't take the easy way out.

She still owed the man payback for everything he'd put her through.

Sadly, Emily's next thoughts were not so composed. As she saw him crunch down on the pill in his mouth, then vaulted into the air to throw his spear.

If it had been a normal weapon, Emily might've tried to block it, disarm him, steal the advantage. But she remembered all too well the crushing weight of that hunk of metal, how it had broken her arm the first time. She wasn't eager to relive that.

The spear blurred toward them—too fast to follow. Kael shoved her aside just in time and leapt back himself. The weapon screamed through the narrow space between their bodies, the wind of its passing lashing Emily's face like a slap. Her heart hammered. Even with his shaman down, Hermes was far from finished.

The visible streams of power from earlier were gone. And yet, somehow, his strength hadn't faded at all.

She was shocked he would abandon his weapon so eagerly.

But it all made sense when he made a clenched motion with his hand.

The spear that had crashed into the area's surface suddenly ripped itself free and shot back towards the now-falling Chieftain.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered as she got ready to dodge.

As soon as he caught the weapon, it came hurtling at them once more. All the while, he was closing the distance.

The ground trembled with each throw, until they were at the edge of the ring.

The two of them had been ducking and dodging to avoid the repetitive strikes, but they were running out of space to maneuver.

Then Emily realized something. Nothing said they had to remain in this area. It was just the location they had picked to start the fight. Close-range combat wasn't in their favor—so why were they playing right into his hands? It was time to stop fighting like one of their Shamans and start fighting to her strengths.

With one quick motion, Emily created and charged a blood rune with earthen dome. The surrounding packed soil, sand, and rocks rushed up into a half dome before the spear arrived. The two forces collided and detonated, releasing a cloud of dust that obscured everyone's vision.

Blood points: 701

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