It all happened in a breath.

Crimson mist rolled violently around Gabriel's body, tearing at the street, clawing up anything in its path. The ground beneath his boots cracked as the pressure settled.

His stance adjusted.

Both blades steadied in his hands, their edges wrapped in a thin sheath of red, With embers flickering across them.

His breathing slowed, each breath dragged in through clenched teeth and forced immediately back out.

The shaking stopped, but the fear was still there.

It was pushed down deep, rage took its place.

Gabriel's eyes burned solid red now, the glow steady as he fixed on Lucius.

The fog responded, tightening further, compressing until the air around him vibrated with the contained force.

All of the pressure condensed in his arms.

This strike was meant to destroy.

For a heartbeat, the world froze

Even the battle beyond the gate seemed to fall away, the sound thinning to a murmur.

The sensation climbed up his spine, sending an unnatural heat through his muscles and bones, flooding into his hands and spreading to his swords.

Gabriel lunged, boots shattering the already cracked ground as he launched forward, the red fog snapping tight around him instead of trailing behind.

His blades came up together.

"LUCIUS!" the former Paladin screamed as he closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Gabriel brought both blades down with everything he had.

Steel and crimson fog crashed toward Lucius's head in a single powerful swing. The force behind it enough to tear the street apart.

Lucius didn't move.

He raised his blade just enough to meet the strike as Gabriel's swing came down, tapping the face of Gabriel's swords. There was no clash.

The former Paladin's swords were knocked off target.

The force redirected cleanly, wrenched away from its path as if it had struck something immovable. The red fog tore loose from the edges, scattering into the air without resistance.

His boots skidded across frozen ground as his momentum carried him forward, balance gone.

Behind him, Lucius lowered his sword.

He paused.

Just long enough to look at Gabriel's back.

He shook his head, a small motion, almost imperceptible, and slid the blade back into its sheath.

Gabriel twisted. Rage tearing what little control he had left apart, both blades snapping back behind his head as his body coiled into the motion. The crimson fog flared again in a condensed blaze as he launched himself forward a second time.

"I'll kill you!" Gabriel screeched as he brought both swords down.

They didn't reach Lucius.

He reached up, catching the edges in his hands mid swing, bare fingers locking around the blades.

The former Paladin's motion stopped dead.

"Four years and you're still this weak, brother," Lucius whispered.

The words landed harder than any blow.

Gabriel snarled and shoved forward, muscles screaming as he tried to force the blades down through Lucius's grip.

…

Tess dragged herself out of the wreckage, coughing dust and splinters as she forced a shoulder through the broken wall of the house.

Her ribs screamed in pain when she moved, but she ignored it and hauled herself upright, sword coming up out of habit as her vision cleared.

The street came back into focus in pieces.

Scattered clumps of bodies.

Shattered carriages.

Weapons strewn across the ground.

Gabriel was on his feet again, but barely. His body was pitched forward at an impossible angle, every muscle straining as he fought to push down blades that weren't moving. Crimson fog flared around him in violent bursts, collapsing and reforming.

The man in front of him wasn't budging.

They were stood close enough that Tess could see Gabriel's face twisted with effort, hear the raw sound tearing out of his throat as he shoved forward with everything he had left.

Gilbert moved first.

Adan was already stepping in beside him, jaw set, hand tightening on his weapon as Tess followed without thinking.

Ennu appeared between them and the street in a blink, as if she'd always been there.

"No," she said, voice firm. "He will kill us all."

Tess scoffed, disbelief cutting through the fear. "There's five of us. Including Gabriel."

Ennu met her gaze. With fear in her eyes. "That's His Holiness Lucius Tudon," she said quietly. "The Executioner of the Church."

Gilbert froze.

Adan's grip loosened.

Both lowered their weapons without a word, recognising the name.

Tess didn't.

"He's going to kill him," she said.

Ennu didn't argue.

She looked back toward the street, toward Gabriel straining against something that would not move.

"Yes," she replied.

The elf straightened up. "We need to gather horses."

…

Lucius tightened his grip.

The blades buckled inward, metal folding under the pressure with a sharp, tearing crack. Gabriel felt it before he heard it, the vibration ripping up his arms as both swords shattered at once.

Broken steel fell from Lucius' hands and clattered against the frozen ground between them, fragments skidding away.

Gabriel lurched forward, momentum carrying him into empty space as his grip closed on nothing. His balance went with it. He stumbled, breath tearing from his lungs as his arms dropped.

The resistance vanished.

His Holiness didn't wait, he lowered his body, thrusting his fist forward towards Gabriel's stomach in one quick motion.

Crimson fog burst from Gabriel's core on instinct, flaring outward in a tight, desperate shell around his abdomen as the fist closed in.

Lucius' punch didn't slow.

The crimson mass split apart on contact, torn open. The force ripping straight through it without resistance. Causing it to disperse on impact.

The full force hit Gabriel's stomach with a sound like stone breaking.

His body folded instantly, lifted off the ground as the impact sent him flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed hard into the street.

The fog scattered uselessly around him, thinning as it bled away into nothing.

Lucius was instantly on top of him, raining down blow after blow to the former Paladin.

Not giving him time to breathe.

He was on Gabriel in an instant, fists hammering down in short, brutal arcs. Each blow landed with bone-cracking force, driving what little fight he had left from his body.

The former Paladin tried to raise an arm.

It was swatted aside.

Lucius reached down and grabbed him by the throat, fingers locking tight as he hauled Gabriel off the ground with one hand. His boots kicked uselessly, blood spilling from everywhere as his vision blurred.

Lucius' other hand moved.

He tore the medallion free from Gabriel's neck, the chain snapping with a sharp crack. Throwing Gabriel as it tore free.

The former Paladin slammed through the air and crashed into a wooden wall, timber exploding outward on impact. Gabriel hit hard and dropped in a heap amongst the splintered boards.

Lucius watched him for a moment. He stepped forward.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The sound carried down the ruined street, slow and measured, each impact heavy enough to feel through the soles of the feet.

His Holiness turned his head toward it.

Hanitz emerged from between the shattered buildings, a massive axe resting easily over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing at all. His frame filled the street, boots crushing debris with every step.

He didn't slow when he saw Lucius. He didn't acknowledge him at all.

He kept walking straight past him, eyes fixed on Gabriel.

crossing the space between them without hesitation.

He bent once, hooked an arm beneath the former Paladin's shoulders, and lifted him with ease.

Hanitz turned and headed toward the gate, pace steady, posture unchanged. He passed Lucius again, close enough that their shadows overlapped for a brief moment.

Lucius didn't move.

His eyes tracked every step as Hanitz carried Gabriel away.

Hanitz didn't slow as he approached. He shifted Gabriel once and passed him over. Adan caught the weight immediately.

"Get him out," Hanitz said. His voice steady. "I can hold him till you get to the treeline."

Adan hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded once, turned, and headed through the gates.

Hanitz watched him go.

His eyes lingering for a moment.

He turned. Stepping back into the mouth of the gate, broad shoulders filling the space completely, axe lowering into both hands as he planted his feet.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.