"Good. If you're that pissed off, it means you're alive and lucid." Gwen threw the blanket over Lulan, then picked her ragdoll body up from the floor. There would be time for barbed words later.

The commotion from behind their battle-line seemed to have alerted the Slavers crowding the tunnel entrance. They turned to what they presumed was the corpse of the berserker girl only to see a blurred outline lifting the girl's body into the air, underneath which was a pair of familiar legs in leather booties—all in all, a somewhat surreal sight.

"Stop her!" a husky female voice cried out, revealing the source of their unexpected struggle finally.

From underneath her cowl, Gwen finally caught sight of the leader of the Slavers. To her surprise, it was a woman, and an exceedingly exotic one at that, with honeyed skin and dark eyes and a head full of dark hair that fell to her waist.

She looked nothing like the Slavers Gwen had fought, people like Bozza, who appeared as caricatures from a Mad Max movie. If Gwen saw this woman on the streets of University Boulevard, she would have felt delighted to have met a fellow expatriate. But that was just her naivety. Gwen thought dangerously. It's not as though the head of a kidnapping operation would dress up and advertise the fact. All that wealth and ill-gotten gains had to be translated into life's little luxuries, all of which existed only in the 'real' world of the Tier 1 city.

She held Lulan close to her as she manifested another Dimension Door.

Next, she materialised in the middle of the enemy Mages as a burst of inky Void.

"Wocao!"

"Shit!"

"Arrrgh—!"

Four Shields burst into brilliance, cobalt, ochre, yellow and brilliant white, sending their Mages stumbling backwards, their limbs akimbo.

"Dimension Door!"

Another burst of tenebrous ink, then Gwen was gone.

Nephres Zalaam studied the pulse of her mana conduits as her shield absorbed the splash of Void-tainted mana.

She additionally noticed with dismay that the hungering energy had consumed a semi-sphere of concrete below where Gwen Song had landed, four-inches deep.

Nephres felt a sudden unease gripping her imagination.

Weren't the Sword Mage and Gwen Song mortal enemies? What was she hoping to accomplish? They had no healers, and no potion could restore the Lulan girl. Did they have a high-tier Wand? That was impossible as Wands usually maxed out at tier 4. How about a scroll? No, that still required the relevant Schools of Magic.

"Bless!" She continued her pastoral care over her monsters. "Mass Cure Wounds!"

Once her 'meat shields' sufficiently topped up, she carefully eyed the three separate exits. Though she wanted accolades, Nephres Zalaam had not made it this far in the Organisation by being liberal with her followers and quick on the uptake.

In all honesty, she had not expected the students to last this long against a two-sided assault, and most importantly, she had not at all expected the tier 4 Dimension Door to be in Gwen Song's repertoire. As someone who regularly worked with Maguses, she knew it was virtually impossible to catch teleporting Conjurers.

The only saving grace was that Dimension Door was a costly spell that most Mages could only manifest half a dozen times. Still, if the girl chose to run, abandoning her friends, catching her would be a significant chore.

"Sui," Nephres called out to her Second-in-command.

Sui was the one who had been transmuting the concrete in the tunnel. Now it was evident that a certain Void Sorceress had access to short-range teleportation, Nephres realised that she needed to make some contingencies.

Raising her head, Sui looked to her mistress for further instruction.

Nephres threw her a mana injector, then activated her earring to deliver a Silent Message. Without access to a Divination control tower, the devices only worked within line of sight.

"Seal the tunnel. Keep the kids in with the Crawlers. We'll cut our losses and retreat to B9. We'll be leaving via the service tunnel in B12."

"Yes, Mistress," Sui replied via her embedded device. The Mage had questions but needed no answers, for Nephres knew her word was divine.

Sui turned her attention back to the tunnel and redoubled her efforts.

"Stone Shape!"

At the same time, their Evoker took the opportunity to send in a few Magic Missiles that rattled the Water Mage's Shield, which then instantly replenished its flowing facade.

Nephres' second Evoker sent in another ball of blasting air, but the Water Abjurer had layered a double-Shield this time, preventing the same feint from happening.

Thinking of Gwen's Dimension Door and grinding her teeth at her team's incompetence, Nephres pondered the questionable _advantage_ gained by their ambush against their present stalemate.

Within the tunnel, the student Mages were:

One Spirit Abjurer with an insane water affinity.

One Ice Mage with at least tier 4 in both Evocation and Transmutation.

One Diviner who burned about 400 HDM wands like matches.

And Gwen Song with a near-dead Clanner Sword Mage.

That meant the Void Beast and the Mongoose both belonged to Gwen.

In addition, the object of Nephres' assault was manifesting both Evocation And Conjuration.

The question then was, _why did Gwen save the Metal Mage?_

When they descended the tunnel, she had felt the shock of the blast in the Crawler's abode. From the vibration through the shaft, Nephres figured Gwen's lightning must have ignited the residual mana that flooded the chamber whenever a filter broke down.

Observing the Mages now—what if she was wrong, and Gwen Song had a trump card capable of destroying that chamber wholesale? What if Gwen were to use it and slaughter everyone here, allies and enemies, indiscriminately?

Nephres Zalaam was no fool.

_Those fucking Dossiers!_

Who was it? Yi? Unlikely. Choi? That she could believe. Did Choi know about her connection to the Ravenports? Or to her Mistress? Impossible. She could think of the only reason that Choi had felt he could use the student Mages to clean the District.

Nephres bit her lower lip vehemently.

_The fucking rat bastard!_ How many thousands of HDMs had she sent him to keep her operations running?

Seeing that the tunnel was almost closed, Nephres carefully backed away toward the side tunnel connecting B7-4-3 to its adjacent filtration chambers.

If she had to leave, then time was of the essence. Once she mingled with the flood of magical signatures in the Metropolis or escaped into the Outlands, not even Diviners would be able to locate her.

"Mistress, it's closed," Sui announced her success. It was far easier sealing the tunnel than trying to enclose the interior to crush the inhabitants.

The other Mages had stopped attacking and were looking toward their leader for further instruction as well. Nephres wondered if Sui obsessed over her enough to leave the others. Unlike Nephres, who had taken command of the operation months ago, these warren rats had known each other all their lives.

"Sui, get the men to—"

A burst of lightning erupted in the middle of Nephres' Mages. This time, they hadn't stood so idiotically close to each other, and their Shields had not crowded one another onto their buttocks.

Gwen Song and the Sword Mage emerged with a brilliant flash of silvery Conjuration. The girl no longer had her camo-optic cowl, giving Nephres a good look at her striking mien and flashing eyes.

But it wasn't Gwen's striking appearance that took her breath away.

It was the Sword Mage.

To Nephres' disbelieving eyes, the girl was restored from head to toe. Not only that, she was the very picture of vitality and haleness. With only a loose shirt and shorts to cover her shame, the Mage's exposed skin glowed with a metallic sheen of iron, her eyes two garnets flashing with merciless bloodlust.

_How the fuck?!_ Nephres felt her reality invert. Even the girls' hair had grown back!

"Expeditious Retreat!" Nephres turned and fled down the closest service tunnel. She had never been one for sentimentality.

"Mistress!" Sui called out to her desperately.

"Enhanced Agility!" Nephres sped up.

When fleeing, time was of the essence.

Only moments ago, Gwen had returned to her companions with the battered Lulan in tow.

"Mao above!" Mayuree was made to swallow a mouthful of bile when her eyes fell upon Lulan Li.

Lulan's face was a ruined, corroded mess. She had bits of cheek absent from an inquisitive tentacle as well as missing the soft tissue of her nose. Her arm was a stump kept from bleeding out by the paralytic poison of the Carrion Crawler. She was topless as well, one breast almost entirely flayed of its dermis, with pockmarks of suction-cup wounds running up and down the left lumbar. Only her legs, which had been submerged beneath the water, remained unmolested by the worm.

Yet, her wide-open eyes indicated she was alive and lucid.

Gwen materialised a healing injector and punched the solution into Lulan's chest. She needed to stabilise the girl so they could make their deal.

As the potion worked its magic, Lulan coughed, clearing the blood constricting her breath.

"We don't have much time, so here goes." Gwen watched the red fluid enter Lulan's body, then produced a Cure Poison injector. She pulled, then punched the anti-venom adrenaline into Lulan's thigh.

The Sword Mage's body shuddered and convulsed as the remedy took effect.

"Kill me," Lulan grunted when her muscles regained motion, her voice barely audible. "Put me down. I don't need your charity."

Gwen licked her lips drily, observed by her companions.

"Lulan, I am going to make you a deal."

"Kill me!"

"Listen, Lu—"

"Just get it over with!" Lulan gasped.

"Hey! Listen! "

"Bitch! Just kill me already! I am ruined! Look at me! I—" Lulan made a supreme effort to rise.

_PA!_

Gwen slapped her across her remaining face.

Lulan opened her mouth to speak again.

_PA!_

Gwen slapped Lulan across the face again.

Lulan looked like she wanted to speak again until Gwen raised her hand as a warning.

She met Lulan's burning eyes. "Good. Now shut up and listen. I am going to make you a deal."

Gwen produced a Spell Cube from her ring that glowed intensely with emerald energy.

"I have a tier 7 Regeneration spell cast by a tier 8 Healer in here. It is capable of restoring every wound, regrowing every limb, and repairing every scar on your body."

At her words, Lulan's chest rose and fell as her eyes rested upon the Cube.

"I am going to save you. In return, you will help us repel our enemies, Yes. That's right—yours and mine. I am sorry for what happened with the Elemental Sphere. It was an accident. I don't know if I can return Kusu daggers, but I will ask Caliban where they have gone and try my best. I also want no more trouble from you afterwards. Do you understand? Nod if you do."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Behind them, the pressure from the Stone Shape had ceased. Now there was the sound of shifting concrete coming from the furthest part of the tunnel.

After several seconds, Lulan nodded.

Gwen waited. She couldn't think of a reason why Lulan would disagree. _Just look at the state of the poor girl. Jesus fuck._ Apart from her legs, Lulan didn't have a single piece of her torso and face that wasn't mauled beyond all recognition.

"Gwen! I don't know what they're doing next!" Mayuree cried out. Her wand's charges were almost out. "I don't know what they're trying to do! Flood the tunnel? More crawlers? AOE attack?"

"I am getting close to being OOM," Richard informed them. "Going to use my last potion soon."

"Whatever you want to do, you better do it now!" Kitty hissed at Gwen.

"Okay." Gwen incanted the lock release on the Cube gifted from Petra, then redirected the manifesting spell from herself toward Lulan.

Instantly, the healing energies of the tier 7 spell suffused the Sword Mage, its potency so powerful as to lift her bodily from the floor. With a rapidness that defied even their wildest expectations, Lulan's lost limb restored itself, growing from a bloody stump to pale white, flawless arm in less than ten seconds. Her dermis likewise regenerated, her face returning to its usual comeliness, and even Lulan's hair, which had been burned off by Gwen's lightning, grew long and silky down to her shoulders.

"Alright then—" Gwen's eyes fell upon her one-time foe. "What's it going to be, Lulan Li?"

Lulan bolted upright, her body alive with renewal.

Her heart pulsed, transmuting her Earthen mana into motes of iron.

She regarded her surroundings, but there was no haze.

What she saw, she observed with crystal clarity!

The red mist… it was gone!

Doubtfully, she circulated her mana. From her reflection in the water, she could see that her mana-lit irises were twin garnets, but they were no longer a cloudy wine or a rusty red. As the volume of mana running through her body reached an apex, her eyes became two vermillion rubies, clarified and unblemished. Her everpresent headache, the oppressive feeling that something hot and rusty was hammering her brain, had all but disappeared.

Trembling, Lulan touched a hand to her left breast—the incision below her bosom, where the catalyst for the Heart of Iron was implanted, was gone. Furthermore, as she circulated her mana, her motes of Elemental Iron felt unimpeded and rarified, flowing through her conduits with complete ease. All those injuries she sustained, all those conduits cut off by her brute-forced training, sending the iron roughshod through her body, were thoroughly restored.

Even now, the healing energies in her body were continuing to repair hidden injuries.

"I…" Lulan looked around her, unsure what else to say. "Thank you."

Gwen handed her a single and a pair of shorts.

Her face aflame, Lulan slipped the borrowed shirt overhead, then got to her feet.

"We'll talk later," she informed the Void Sorceress, the clearness of her voice strange to her, the clarity of her thoughts utterly terrifying. "For now, use me as you see fit."

"Sweep!"

The sword that protruded from the space between the Planes was bright and razor-sharp, its edge honed by the monomolecular split between the Prime Material and the Elemental Plane of Earth. Its surface was speckled with impure ochre, but it was no longer rusty and misshapen.

With the sound of whispering steel slicing through paper, Lulan's sword penetrated the Shield of the Transmuter before she was ready to defend herself, then sliced off her legs at the knees.

The expression on the Transmuter's face was still one of disbelief as she fell to the floor. Her head landed with a thump, staring at her own severed feet before a torrent of blood turned the brackish water crimson.

The Fire Evoker let loose with several beams of Scorching Rays.

"Parry!" Lulan materialised a second blade that absorbed the blast.

"Lightning Bolt!" Gwen called down a bolt from the blue, sending the Mage's shield into a dazzling display of crackling energy.

She readied another Blast Bolt, but Lulan was faster than even that.

"Thrust!"

A second blade shot from the Elemental Plane of Earth and took the Fire Mage in the face, entirely unimpeded by its passage through the feeble Fire Shield the Mage erected.

"Onslaught!" Gwen allowed the lull in danger to provide her with the liberty of commanding her hasted void-spider to make quick work of the Carrion Crawlers, now isolated from healing and frostbitten by Kitty's spells.

The Air Mage turned and fled.

"Lighting Bolt!" Gwen let loose another spell. This time, it penetrated the Mage's Shielding, struck the water, and lit up the salty liquid.

"Impale!"

Like a flung javelin, a length of polished steel flew through the air and landed in the water with a heavy 'Thunk!' In the next moment, the water turned the colour of red wine.

Which one of these was the Crawler handler? Gwen searched the scene. There was no point to it now, though.

"Gwen, take us to the other side. There's three more." Lulan informed her quietly. "My Misty Step cannot teleport outside of the line of sight."

Glancing at the dead and dying around her with a grimace, Gwen wrapped an arm around Lulan's waist and initiated a Lighting based Dimension Door.

At the same time, Caliban informed her that it had torn through the first Crawler and was now moving on to the second.

The duo appeared on the other side of the tunnel complex with a blast that sent the Abjurer stumbling.

A dozen of the Slavers were here, though apart from three Mages, the rest looked to be NoMs carrying various apparatus' like netting made from a nylon-like substance and an assortment of melee implements.

"Shockwave!" Lulan initiated another offensive Earthen spell, striking the floor with a swing from her iron slab.

A rippling wave of upturning concrete spread throughout the room, sending the Mages off balance and flatfooted. These untrained magicians of the warrens had not undergone formal training, meaning their mana reserves were woefully low, and their prolonged casting quickly disrupted.

Lulan's irises flashed as her killing intent swept over the Slavers, sending a few of the NoMs to their knees.

"SWEEP!"

An enormous blade almost four meters in length and half a meter across swept through the crowd. The stunned NoMs and hapless Mages screamed and cried as the iron blade harvested their lives in one swoop, sending a spray of blood and guts in a crescent arc.

_CLUNG—!_ When the Abjurer stopped Lulan's blade, the Sword Mage's eyes narrowed.

"Sweep!"

"Thrust!"

"Impale!"

"Sweep!"

" _Please! Mercy—!_ "

"THRUST!"

There was a sound of splintering glass; then, a severed head rolled away. The Abjurer had dodged and deflected Lulan for almost an hour prior, and he had furthermore tanked Gwen and Kitty's bolts for the last five minutes. Unfortunately for him, there was only so much a Shield could take.

As if waking from a bad dream, the rest of the NoMs began to flee for their lives.

Lulan moved to intercept, but Gwen held Lulan's shoulder.

"I think that's enough." Gwen was a single corpse away from hurling up all the contents of her lunch at D-35.

No more purpose would be served by cutting down more NoMs. Though disturbed, Gwen grew glad that the sight of slaughter stifled the growing feeling of satisfaction.

_What a fucking abattoir._ Gwen thought. _That's enough vengeance for today._

Lulan retreated beside her, her face serene, cold and calm.

Richard, Mayuree and Kitty emerged from the tunnel. They soon informed Gwen that the already wounded Crawlers were accounted for between Caliban, Ariel and Kitty, for sans their healer, the worms were easy targets in an enclosed tunnel.

As they arrived at the scene of Lulan's merciless retribution, her team members baulked at the steaming mass of corpses. Mayuree's face paled, while Kitty had a look of vindication; only Richard seemed to be energised by the total victory that Lulan and Gwen had wrought.

"There's one more who escaped—their leader," Lulan stated with finality. "Shall I give chase?"

The foursome regarded the Sword Mage strangely, as did Gwen. _Who was this young woman, and why was she so collected?_ Where was the crazy-eyed Sword Mage?

"Shall we give chase?" Lulan further enquired.

"Of course we give chase!" Richard looked rejuvenated by a second wind. "I bet she's worth 20 CCs."

"Wait, let me try," Mayuree stopped them. "We're looking for that Middle-Easterner, right?"

"Yes," Gwen nodded. She had gotten a good look at the woman. "What are you going to do?"

Lulan used another Stone Shape to clear the blockaded tunnel. Employing her Greater Detect Magic, Mayuree caught motes of the healer's diffused mana still lingering on the Crawlers.

"I don't know if this is going to work," Mayuree stated hesitantly. "Too much mana floating around, from both the filter and our fight."

"Do your best, Mia," Gwen said.

"I always do my best." Mayuree grinned, turning to the task at hand. With a flick of the wrist, she summoned two obsidian tubes bent in the shape of bananas.

_Dousing?!_ Gwen's mind was still reeling from the slaughter and took every opportunity to distract itself.

"Dousing!" Mayuree finished her chant.

_Well, there it is_. Gwen nodded approvingly.

To their surprise, the sticks shifted and tilted until they were pointed downwards and toward the northeast.

"This way!" Mayuree indicated.

The party began to move for one of the side tunnels.

"No need," Lulan interjected, surprising them all with her impromptu helpfulness. "You'll never catch her at this rate. I'll make us a shortcut. Stone Shape!"

Gwen observed that their restored ally appeared to have a near-perpetual supply of Stone Shapes. Was it because of her high Affinity? No. It was more probable that Lulan's peculiar elemental compatibility with Earth made her low and mid-tier spells extremely cost-effective.

As for their final prize, for now, she could only follow the direction of Mayuree's dousing, with Lulan creating an entirely new system of tunnels that cut diagonally from B7 to B12.

"Restoration!"

Expeditious Retreat, when used excessively, exacted a terrible burden on the body. Even after healing herself, Nephres felt enough exhaustion to be on the verge of falling to her knees.

She had raced the entire length to B12, running, crawling, sliding and leaping across collapsed sections and hidden crevasses to get to the service tunnel that would lead her back up above ground. She had a vehicle stashed at the exit warehouse, where once she made it into the city, Nephres Zalaam could safely disappear.

With great care, she checked her reflection.

After all, she was currently Invisible.

Potions of Invisibility were absurdly tricky to obtain—most for its controlled catalyst extracted from Pixie-winged Mayfly's scales. A single brew was almost 200 HDMs at the source, escalating in price from trader to black market until it was close to 800 HDMs.

Nephres didn't mind. Anything was better than falling into the hands of the PLA, especially Secretariat Choi.

Thereby, with a burst of fearful adrenaline, she made it past the final section of the crisscrossing tunnels and found herself twenty or so meters from the iron grate connected to a hidden exit. Before she took on the role of a procurer, her predecessor had built the escape tunnel into the exhaust port.

Therefore, Nephres was confident she was the only one who knew of its existence.

As she approached the tunnel, she became aware of a white-furred creature sitting on its haunches. It looked like a ferret, or perhaps an ermine, with beady eyes that stared straight at her.

Nephres readied a Shield of Faith as he approached.

There was something familiar about the ferret that caught her eye. A particular hint of ozone, perhaps, that lingered in the air, or mayhap the way its fur reminded her of a larger beast she had seen earlier.

The ferret sniffed the air with its nose.

Nephres froze mid-movement, scanning her surroundings.

The ferret made a throwing motion with its neck, tossing a white crystal toward her general direction before fleeing down the tunnel.

Nephres felt her stomach lurch as the crystal landed a few meters away.

_BUNG!_

A burst of light and sound struck the shield Nephres had prepared, momentarily negating her Invisibility as her barrier absorbed the sonic force and lumen brilliance of the blast. In the next moment, a torrent of water gushed from the tunnel, pooled around her semi-dome Shield, and unveiled her whereabouts.

"Jump!"

She leapt for the exit, but the water pinned her firmly against the floor. Nephres' heart tumbled like a boulder down a sheer cliff as her assailants emerged one after another.

The Water Mage, Richard Huang.

The Ice Mage, Kitty Liang.

The one named Mayuree.

Gwen Song emerged with her accursed ferret.

And finally, the Sword Mage, who had gone berserk earlier, followed behind the Void Sorceress with a grim expression.

Nephres gulped. Had she not seen such misery and agony under her mistress that would drive an average Mage insane, she would have fallen to her knees and despaired.

"Enough with the invisibility," Gwen Song pronounced in her general direction. "Come out."

Nephres bit her lower lip. It wasn't as though she could turn off a potion!

The Sword Mage behind Gwen huffed with displeasure, then motioned with her hands.

"Shield of Faith!" Nephres swore, frantically channelling her mana into the staple Cleric defensive incantation.

An iron blade, polished and gleaming, struck Nephres with the force of a small truck. Nephres was lifted from the air as her shield shattered, sending her skittering and sliding across the concrete pavement.

The impact and the damage were jarring enough to dispel her Invisibility.

"Why did you attack us? Who are you? Who do you work for?" Gwen Song fired off a rapid series of questions as Nephres was lifted into the air by a pocket of sentient water. "I suggest you tell us the truth because Richard here can be very persuasive."

Nephres knew then that her time had come.

It wasn't that she couldn't 'talk' to the student Mages. They had no desire to kill her, nor were they uncivil. The problem for Nephres was that she knew death was preferable to what her future held.

She could easily bullshit the students. Gwen Song had no idea who she was. Then what? Then she would be handed to the PLA—to Secretary Choi. Did Choi know who her employers were? Nephres wouldn't bet her Arcane Soul on it. Of course, they would torture her, that was without doubt; take liberties with her sweet body even. As a healer, she could withstand that—survive without lingering symptoms. Then what? Then the MSS would bring in the Mind-Mages, and those nasty Enchanters would comb through her drugged mind, sifting through the sand of her incoherent memories for gold.

What would she say?

Without a doubt, Geas or no, Nephres would reveal her true identity under delirium or fever.

But prod her brain deep enough, and she would speak.

She would tell them everything.

About Spectre.

About the Outsiders.

About Outland.

And her Mistress.

If someone had asked Nephres whether she would be a martyr for the Organisation one day, Nephres would have laughed in their faces.

When she woke up this morning, what had she portended for herself?

A fuller lunch would have helped. Nephres thought. A final meal of her favourite things. Maybe another round with Yi, fulfilling another appetite.

Her eyes moved from student to student until they landed on Gwen Song.

The girl was impatient with triumph, flanked by an obsidian serpent and a white marten.

_Ah well,_ Nephres scoffed. _Her mistress did say that salvation came in all shapes and sizes._


As one sensitive to others' expressions and emotions, Gwen was the first to notice the fatalism that befell their captive.

Richard held the woman aloft in his water prison, exposing only her head. The rest of her body was tethered by invisible tendrils beyond the ability of a Mage unbolstered by advanced Transmutation to break.

"Well, let's have it." Gwen examined the woman more closely now that they were face to face. She figured that they could start with some straightforward answers to gauge her level of cooperation. Her cross-examination techniques were solely derived from Ian Flemming novels, but it would have to do for now.

"What's your name?"

"Nephres Zalaam." The woman had a skewered smile unbefitting of a captive. Her eyes were bright and intelligent, lacking the anxiety Gwen had anticipated.

"Who do you work for, Nephres Zalaam?" Gwen continued, a little taken aback at the candidness of Nephres' reaction.

As someone who had enjoyed a night in the MSS Hilton, Gwen felt flustered that the woman appeared entirely too relaxed for one now-imprisoned and soon to be handed over to Secretariat Choi. What awaited her was torture, maybe even a Mind Mage who would peel her brain like an onion.

Then what? Stasis? Execution? Show trial? For a moment, a little voice at the back of Gwen's head asked if this was like aiding and abetting an autocratic regime, but her concern was quickly quelled by her remembrance of Nephres abandoning her companions.

The Healer raised her head and met Gwen's eyes with defiance. It was difficult to tell how old the Healer was. Her appearance said the twenties, but the woman could be fifty for all she knew. Even in her captive state, the echoes of her Positive Energy affinity was palpable, radiating from the woman like a beacon and setting Caliban on edge. Alarmingly, the woman made Gwen think of Elvia.

She broke eye contact, afraid that she would be drawn to that halo of positivity and life.

"Come closer if you want the truth," Nephres murmured in her husky voice. "I'll tell you."

Her party regarded one another.

Lulan's aura grew tangibly sharper.

"You can tell all of us," Gwen derided the questionable attempt at gaining her empathy. If that's the game the woman wanted to play, she figured a little white lie couldn't hurt. "If you satisfy us with the validity of your answers, I'll put in a good word for you when we hand you over. It'll make a world of difference, trust me."

The Healer's citrine irises scanned her audience. Her sensual lips were split from their previous battery but now formed into a cruel crescent.

"Alright." Nephres beamed in an overly friendly manner. "It's your funeral."

Gwen looked at Richard, who nodded imperceptibly, indicating that he would not allow her to escape. She then looked to Mayuree.

"We're clear," Mayuree replied with a Silent Message. "No Mages within range as far as I can tell."

"I am all ears." Gwen folded her arms. Besides her, Ariel leapt onto Gwen's shoulders in a show of force, menacing Nephres with its dainty little horns.

Not far, Caliban slithered to and fro, patrolling their surrounding as much out of curiosity as following Gwen's orders.

"I work for Elizabeth Winsted Sobel," Nephres said. "Of Spectre."

As the last syllable sizzled through the air, Gwen felt as though a _Petrify_ had been cast on her.

Her companions watched as her entire complexion, from her brow to her hands, turned from pink to pale, to ashen, as though Caliban had leeched out every drop of vitality from her body.

Unconsciously, she moved her face closer to Nephres.

"You better not be _fucking_ with me," she spat with so much venom and vehemence that she startled herself. "I swear to God, _Nephres—_ if that's your real name. I am going to do to you things you cannot imagine if you're lying to me. Your Astral Soul would be begging for mercy for the rest of eternity."

"Touché, I see you know my Mistress," Nephres continued carelessly. "She always did wonder what happened to her little-sister of the Void."

"W-where is she?" The voice that emerged from Gwen's blanched lips was quaking with emotion.

"I am frankly surprised you're not taking advantage of your aptitude. There's no shame in it. We do what we do to survive. Certainly, my Mistress is living proof—"

"WHERE IS SHE?" Gwen couldn't care less that her Void mana ran uncontrollably through her conduits, consuming the whites of her eyes. Around her, her companions' perception of space seemed to distort for a moment, not as a tangible thing, but one that alarmed the souls of the living.

Mayuree, the weakest of them all, suddenly vomited as nausea overwhelmed her senses. Kitty stared at her with suspicion and incomprehension, then moved in front of Mayuree, relieving the pressure on the Diviner. Lulan touched a hand to her chest, surprised by the fear reflexively gripping her body.

Her cousin, comparatively, could read the writing on the wall.

"Gwen," he put up both hands to show he would not be stopping her, whatever her choice may be. "Hold it steady."

Under Gwen's dire gaze, Nephres' complexion fluctuated, though as a Positive Energy user, the mental abuse wasn't enough to break her.

"… do your companions know about the Consumptive aspect of the Void?" the woman mocked her. "According to Mistress, not all Void users are capable of absorption. You are sisters in more ways than you'd think."

"Shut up!"

"Ha! Was that what Henry Kilroy saw in you? Did he enjoy your youth as he did our Mistress? Did your _dear_ _Master_ —"

_Thwack!_

To the surprise of her companions, Gwen punched Nephres across the face, tearing open a gash across her lips and breaking the bridge of her nose.

A trail of vermillion sprayed from a nostril, drooling down from Nephres' chin.

Her companions stared.

Gwen knew but didn't care. She couldn't think straight. Her brain was fire, her hair felt like snakes.

"Did he feed you!? How did he start? Prisoners?! You're a fool if you're not consuming every Mage you lay your hands on, think how quickly you can—"

_Thwack!_ Another strike, this time in the kisser, filling Nephres' mouth with blood.

"SHUT UP!" With every word from Nephres' lips, Gwen felt her head grow hotter and her blood run colder. _Elizabeth Sobel!_ She had not expected to hear that name so soon, and certainly not like this. So this whole ordeal occurred because of Sobel? They were ambushed because Nephres had a history with her? Sobel was alive then. If so, she had to tell Gunther!

"Fine, fine, that upset you, I get it." Nephres swallowed the blood in her mouth. "Let's change the subject. Do you remember Edgar, Gwen? He _loved_ you, you know, even if he didn't know it himself. The man talked of nothing but you for weeks on end."

Unpleasant memories ravaged Gwen's mind. Memories she'd thought were long buried and gone. Her temple throbbed, her neck ached, her throat felt parched. Where Edgar had intruded, she could still feel the Mind Mage's presence like a lesion across her subconscious.

"He's dead!" Gwen hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ah yes—we have no idea who killed him. Some say it was the one called the Pink Salt Saviour."

"Does it matter?"

"Do you wish to know Edgar's real name? Do you want satisfaction?"

Gwen's complexion blanched and burned simultaneously.

"I can see that you do. You have very talkative eyes, Gwen. Did anyone ever tell you that? Edmund, that's Edgar's real name. Hmm... what lovely eyes. I believe Ed would have kept them as a fetish once he was done with you."

"Shut up."

"See? I know you very well, Gwen. I know everything about you."

"Who is this woman?" Beside them, Kitty interjected, turning to Richard and then Gwen. "Do you know her?"

"We don't," Richard answered for Gwen. "I've never seen her before."

Nephres smiled sweetly at Gwen's companions, showing them teeth pink with gore.

"It seems your friends are not in the know," she said sardonically. "Shall I tell them? Shall I be explicit?"

"You have a death wish." Gwen raised a quivering hand. The initial anger had gone from her. She now felt a screaming paranoia and a rising urge to silence the woman before she could blurt out more of her secrets. Secrets that Gwen didn't even know she had.

"Playing?! I am not _playing_ , Gwen Song! I've won! Guess what I did before you came? I sent off your data to Lord Ravenport! Oh! You don't know who that is!" Nephres laughed in her face. "It's alright. You'll find out soon! He'll find you, and then you'll know just now exquisite the retribution can be from a member of the House of Lords!"

"What—who?" Gwen's voice wavered. Edgar's father? Lord Ravenport? _The House of Lords?_ What did the Mageocracy's home Parliament have to do with this?

"Oh, my dear, Magister Ravenport will have a field day with you. The things that repugnant man will do to a lovely thing like you. He will tear you apart. He will make you wish you were never born. Hahaha!"

While Gwen stared in stunned silence, her cousin took the uncomfortable lull in the action to audibly explain to Kitty and Mayuree that peerage positions made up the House of Lords, and at the very top, was the man on Nephres' lips, meaning if there was any truth at all to Nephres' claim, then it foretold trouble.

"Can we shut this woman up and just deliver her to Choi?" Kitty growled. "She's insane. A Slaver rat in a hole, connected to a British Lord? Who can believe that?"

Gwen heard the sound logic from Kitty's mouth but still made no move to secure the woman. She knew things they did not. She knew Edgar, or Edmund, as it were, and she believed Nephres.

Perhaps sensing that she had their undivided attention, Nephres continued her tirade.

"Oh, hand me over to Choi, sure. That prick will hand me over to the MSS after he has his fun. You'd love that, wouldn't you, Gwen Song? I wonder if the MSS knows about the Mistress and her connection to you. The bond you share with us! Shall I tell them how useful you will be in the future? What great hopes my Mistress has for her little sister of the Void?"

Gwen slowly shifted her downcast face until she was at eye level with Nephres. The darkness over her orbs had become pure pitch.

"That's right! _Make no mistake!_ " Nephres' voice took on a new volume and octave. "I'll tell them everything! About Henry Kilroy! About Edgar! About Sydney! About YOU!"

Gwen raised her right hand.

To her surprise, the trembling ceased.

"No, you _won't_ ," she said quietly, her voice suddenly taking on an obsidian edge.

"Void Bolt!"

"SLEET!" Kitty, observing her, caught her bolt cold with a sheet of ice that half-covered Nephres, freezing a portion of her water prison. "What the fuck are you doing? Gwen Song? Are you killing prisoners now?"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Kitty…" Mayuree stood between Kitty and herself. "Leave Gwen be. Whatever this is, it's Gwen's business."

"No! She's crazy! Mia, get back here! What did I tell you?!" Kitty pushed Mayuree aside then stood between Nephres and Gwen. "You Mao-damned hypocrite!"

"Get out of my way, Kitty!" Gwen snarled, her mind bubbling with broiling emotions. "This doesn't concern you—"

Her protest fell away when a part of Richard's watery prison, the frozen section, fell apart. Before the riled teenagers could react, Nephres Zalaam tumbled from Lea's grasp.

"Crap!" Richard tried and failed to reform the prison. "Gwen! Don't let her get away!"

Lulan stood to the side, watching the confrontation unfold, likely confounded by the in-fighting.

To Gwen's horror, Sobel's servant landed on all fours. Then, she sprinted for the tunnel entrance with a burst of supernatural speed.

"Lea! Gwen! Stop her!" Richard hollered.

"Kitty! Get out of my way!" Gwen reached out to push Kitty from her path.

"No way, not until you explain what the fuck you think you're doing," Kitty snarled. "Mayuree can track her down. But I am not letting you kill her. What does she have on you? Dirty secrets? What did she mean by _Consume_? What _Prisoners_? Who's _Elizabeth_?!"

"GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY!"

"NO!"

"CALIBAN!"

"SHAA—" Caliban leapt for the fleeing Healer.

Kitty swore before she lifted from the air and turned towards the fleeing figure of Nephres. "Glacial Spike!"

Where Caliban had aimed to land and ensnare Nephres, a precisely aimed ice spike shrieked through the air on an intercept course.

"ONSLAUGHT!" Gwen poured her vitality into Caliban, causing it to gain the properties of Haste.

"Cone of Cold!" Unexpectedly, Kitty had another trump card. Her expertise was far beyond the likes of Gwen, whose mastery was wrangling the brute power of Lightning and Void.

"Lea!" Richard made his move.

Kitty's Glacial Spike struck a body of water, turning into brittle ice. Lea quickly discarded the solidified part of her body, then intercepted Kitty's Cone of Cold.

When Gwen made herself ready for another interruption from the Ice Mage, Kitty's forward momentum was stopped by a gleaming iron blade embedded into the concrete, threatening to split her in two.

"YOU!" Kitty turned to Lulan, her pale blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"Stand down." Lulan had made her decision. "Or be put down."

Now uninterrupted, Gwen poured her soul into Caliban, who had finished transforming into its spider form and was almost upon Nephres.

"Don't!" Kitty's voice shrieked beside her. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

"CONSUME!" Gwen spat pink froth between gnashed teeth, her eyes wholly smothered with tenebrous purpose. "CALI! DO IT NOW!"

"SHAA—!" Caliban fell upon Nephres, who futilely put up a Shield of Faith.

Engorged with more vital force than it had never obtained from Gwen in any point of their master-Familiar history, Caliban hurled itself upon the hapless Healer, opening its torso to reveal a secondary mouth under its cephalothorax.

"Mistress!" Nephres cried only once. Then the spidery fiend was upon her.

Tentacles lashed out at Nephres, one blue and one red. A crimson lamprey lip swelled and expanded, swallowing her head wholesale. The other punched into her abdomen, seeking out her liver and heart.

To the observers, it seemed as though Caliban simply tore into the woman before bringing her toward its gaping maw. With a delicate crunch, Nephres disappeared, clothes and all, into the Void of Caliban's maw.

Her over tense body relaxed, though she dared not witness what expression Kitty might now be wearing. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Mayuree held trembling fingers over her mouth, then vomited into her hand. Richard remained impassive, his face impossible to read. Lulan glanced from Gwen to Caliban, then Gwen again, her eyes as wide as hen's eggs.

Gwen opened her mouth to make an excuse, but no sound could escape her quivering lips.

Her Astral Soul was on fire.

And her physical body was in ecstasy.

More terrifyingly, perhaps, her consciousness remained unimpeded, wholly free to perceive Caliban's gift of vitality.

Richard caught her as she fell backwards, her vision rolling in their sockets.

"What the _fuck_ is this?" Kitty's protest filtered through as Gwen landed in her cousin's arms, her legs as soft as steamed spaghetti. "Mia! We're leaving! Come on! We can't party with these… I don't know! Psychopaths? Wackjobs? _Fengzi_? They're a liability! They're insane!"

Lulan's eyes gleamed dangerously at Kitty.

Kitty averted the Sword Mage's gaze and turned to Mayuree.

Her childhood friend refused to budge. Instead, after cleaning her hands with a quick cantrip, she knelt beside Gwen and produced a healing injector.

"Is Gwen going to be okay?" Mayuree asked softly, kneeling by her side.

Richard placed a hand on her forehead, where beads of sweat formed.

Ariel helped by lapping up her perspiration, nudging her cheeks with its little pink paws.

Not far, Caliban slithered back in its serpentine form. After the terrifying deed, it had become well-fed and docile. From the looks of its slim body, there was no likelihood that Nephres still existed anywhere in the multiverse. For all they knew, the Healer was now particles of Void drifting in the lightless and lifeless liminal space.

"Get the fuck away!" Kitty shouted at the Void creature.

"Shaa?" Caliban came closer, feeling very pleased with itself, a little drunk on the payload of life-matter. "Shaa?"

Kitty raised a hand in warning.

"Kitty!" Mayuree stood. Her face was no longer sweet. "That's enough. Calm down."

"NO! Did you see what the fuck that thing just did?"

"I did," Mayuree replied stoically.

"Then why—"

"KITTY!" Mayuree snapped, her face reddening. "I am upset now."

Kitty's instantaneous silence was louder than a full-faced slap.

"It's my duty to protect you," the girl replied weakly.

"Protect me then." Mayuree's tone had a serrated edge to it. "If you're not helping. Stand down."

Gwen attempted to direct her faculties toward taking control of her shuddering body. Her eyes balls were moving—she was sure of it, but her consciousness felt as though drifting through a lucid dream.

"So, what happens now?" Lulan spoke, her voice full of concern.

"Is Gwen going to be alright?" Mayuree asked.

"I don't know." Richard took her hands and folded them over her thighs. He then checked her pulse and measured the temperature of her body using the palm of his off-hand.

"Gwen's strong," he confidently informed the others. Always thinking of her even when she showed them such weakness. "Gwen might bend, but she won't break."

"What should we do?" Mayuree asked. "Take her back?"

"No," Richard rested her head against his legs. "Now we wait."

After several unhelpful attempts, Gwen descended into a meditative state to stitch together her fractured psyche through sheer force of will.

She decided to rally her mind by thinking of her many "firsts", beginning with something utterly random, like her first taste of durian, which made her puke.

Others were more pronounced, such as her first Royal Easters Show cotton-candy filling her mouth with sugary happiness while Helena watched with disapproval.

She recalled the first time she visited the underwater aquarium in Sydney, watching the penguins being fed.

Other recollections were blended with the Gwen of this world, such as her first day at school. Her first time meeting Yue, her first sleepover. Debbie was there, seething with jealousy.

Her first crush was Blackwattle's blue-eyed School Captain, who turned out gay. She savoured her first date with a girl—something of an eye-opener.

She recalled her first-ever job selling ice cream at Darling Habour. She cringed at the time she was harassed by a man, a customer who wanted to pay her for something other than ice blocks.

A girl's life was filled with many firsts, from innocence to experience.

Now she was having another.

The _first_ time she had consciously consumed a human being sans the buffer of the Kirin amulet.

How did she feel about that?

_Orgasmic_ was too gentle of a word, for the sensation was akin to religious rapture. Where she had felt revitalised after being fed by Magus Kumiko's Wildland summons, now she had touched the body of Christ.

Every cell in her body sang. The fatigue accumulated due to her ceaseless expenditure disappeared, growing intoxicated with fortifying life.

Gwen cautioned herself.

Having eked out a decade with Celexa and Buspar, she was well aware of the dangers of alchemical indulgence.

When finally the euphoria faded and Gwen regained control of her faculties, she tried to reorientate the time. How long was she out? Minutes? Hours? A day?

A few minutes, she realised. But it had felt longer.

As the last vestige of liquid joy soaked her body, she felt the oncoming of guilt swallowing her once-white body, turning her skin black as tar.

The abyss was lovely, dark and deep, and she had avoided staring for as long as she could.

But all that now came to an end.

Nephres Zalaam. Gwen etched the name into her mind. Was Nephres her first, or was Faceless her first?

With Faceless, it was revenge.

With Nephres, it was self-preservation.

_Self-preservation?_

Gwen wanted to laugh.

Even Brutus had limits to his self-aggrandising moralisation.

She had protected herself, made a choice, paid the mana, and Caliban did the deed. If she had allowed Nephres to live, she would have been exposed. The CCP would find out about the truth of the Black Sun, her connection to Amuldj, and her life and freedom would be forfeit. At best, she would be a specimen. At worst, she could be mind-raped and stowed in stasis. Worse still, her siblings-in-craft, her friends and her babulya would get involved, then what?

They would all be in a world of shit.

What was there to regret then?

Her choice was right.

Her actions were dignified.

Her remorse was great, but she would live with it.

She had killed the serpent whilst in its egg. There would be no more mischief from Nephres.

Maybe it was the rapture, but Gwen felt buoyed by a strange calm; she was out to sea, far out and alone, but it wasn't an unpleasant kind of loneliness.

Slowly, her long, vibrant lashes fluttered, then Gwen Song, gleeful villainess, opened her eyes.

Her pupils, which had been vivid before, had now taken on a vital hue that was more opal than peridot. Her skin glowed with divine radiance, plump, pale, and tender as a babe's. As Gwen lifted herself from Richard's arms, she noticed something falling from her face, exposed arms, and thighs. Dead skin, replaced by her rejuvenated dermis, fell like dandruff.

"Everyone—" Gwen spoke, her voice intense and thrilling.

Her Familiars, now in their docile form, rushed in to nuzzle her.

Gwen placed a hand on Ariel and scratched its head; her other hand tickled Caliban's faceless mien by reaching under its uncertain chin.

"Gwen, how do you feel?" Richard asked.

"I would be lying if I said I felt anything other than great," Gwen replied with an unhappy truth.

"You okay now?" Mayuree took Gwen's hand. "You have the aura of a Healer..."

Her friend's words struck Gwen's heart like a festival dancer striking a tabla.

"Help me up," she implored Richard.

Her cousin obliged. Gwen stood, feeling taller than before.

"Thanks, Mia. I am happy you stayed," Gwen said earnestly.

"I had full confidence in you." Mayuree beamed at her.

"I am sorry, Kitty, for that sad display." Gwen turned to their deeply affected mutual companion. "One day, I'll explain it to you, I promise. For now, I assure you that I won't lose control like that again."

Kitty's cold snub came as expected.

"Lulan…" Gwen turned to the Sword Mage.

"We're not friends." Lulan put up both her hands. "Our matter is hardly resolved either. Let us return to your superior officer with the news of what's happened. Whatever happens, you saved my life and gave me a chance. If I survive this ordeal, _then_ we talk."

The girls shook hands.

"You don't have Kusu's daggers. Do you?" Lulan asked, her voice hopeful but measured.

"I don't," Gwen apologised. "Sorry for lying."

The Sword Mage smiled wryly.

"It's fine," she replied, the timidity of her tone uncharacteristic of the berserker they knew. "Where I am going, none of that will matter anymore."

While the threesome pondered Lulan's cryptic message, Richard pointed upward.

"Shall we?" He pointed upwards.

"Let's go." Gwen led the way. "Let's end this and go home."

B11 basement.

B10 basement.

B 9 Filtration Chambers.

The service lift ascended.

In between flashes of light and dark, Gwen saw that her companions were alone with their thoughts, their minds digesting the scene they had earlier witnessed. Even if they tried to delude themselves that Caliban's consumption of Nephres was just like another attack, they couldn't deny that the Gwen who now strolled in front of them was no longer the girl that had descended only hours ago. Occasionally, one of them glanced toward her, then averted their eyes. Only Richard seemed unfazed, watching her with such benevolence that one might have mistaken him for a young father.

_Ding!_

The door opened, revealing one of the PLA guards serving under Choi.

"Oh, thank Mao, you're all back!" His eyes scanned the party, then stopped at Lulan.

"What's wrong?" Gwen inquired.

"The Major will see you at once!" The Private saluted. "They're all waiting for you! We were going to send out a search party just now!"

"Who's waiting for us?" Gwen asked quizzically.

The soldier met her eyes, stunned by her electrifying presence.

" _E-everyone!_ " The private stammered. "Directors, Professors, Magisters and Maguses, the whole lot!"


Gwen's party stepped into the oppressive atmosphere of the conference room, watched by guards and strangers alike. She bowed at the door, raising her head to meet the half-closed eyes of Secretariat Choi, his face wearing a habitual, fox-like grin.

The man directed her attention to his left.

Gwen's eyes followed, then widened to their utmost limits.

"B-babulya?!" she blurted out.

She could scarcely believe it. Why was her grandmother here?

"Gwen, dearest." Her babulya's face broke into a smile. "I am glad to see you're safe. I had feared a more unfavourable outcome."

Gwen had to resist the urge to break ranks and rush toward her grandmother. After Nephres Zalaam, she sorely desired a heart-warming hug.

Behind Klavdiya was another familiar face.

"Magister Birch!" Gwen blinked. What was her Conjuration professor doing here?

Magister Birch sat beside her grandmother, dandy as ever, looking unhappy in his vest and suit.

Incredibly, beside Birch sat Professor Ma, who scanned the party until his eyes fell unpleasantly on Lulan.

Gwen followed Lulan's eyes until she reached Choi's right, where a Mage in his forties stood, wearing a mandarine jacket in blue silk. Standing beside the stranger was the final guest—Kusu Li, which left little doubt that the unusually dressed man was his Sect Elder.

Her party proceeded until their members stood in a row before the austere company seated on the opposite side of the conference table.

Director Song.

Magister Birch.

Professor Ma.

Secretariat Choi.

And the Huashan Elder, whose expression was unreadable.

They bowed again.

"Good, everyone is here." Choi put his hands together under his chin. "Elder Luwei, you have the floor."

The Elder named Luwei seemed taken aback that the entire party was only looking a little worse for wear.

When his eyes studied Lulan, who looked as though she'd emerged refreshed from a day-spa, his expression grew thoughtful.

"Perhaps, we should listen to what these young Mages have to say first?" Luwei spoke to Kusu, who looked equally flustered and confused at his sister's presentation.

"Very well." Choi motioned a hand toward the party. "This is not an interrogation, so say what you will. So long as its believable."

Magister Birch and Gwen's grandmother both turned to look at Choi, who chuckled at his joke.

Luwei passed the Secretariat an irritated look.

"Lulan, you first," the Elder instructed his unruly adherent.

Lulan looked visibly nervous as she stepped up in front of her audience.

With a motion that made Gwen flinch, she dropped to her knees on the vermillion carpet and kissed the plush fabric with her forehead.

"Sirs!" Lulan implored the panel. "I disobeyed Elder Li's orders directly and attempted to seek out Gwen Song, who I believed at the time, was hiding my brother Kusu's implements. Despite my uncle's and my brother's advice and warning, I chose to take action of my own accord. I allowed my rash anger to overcome my better judgement. For this, I am deeply apologetic. In my thoughtlessness, I have destroyed valuable infrastructure endangered and harmed the citizens of this District. The fault is mine, with no relations to either Kusu, Elder Li, or the Huashan Sect."

Lulan's audience nodded. It was an excellent appeal for leniency and a favourite show of loyalty for Lulan's brother and the Huashan Sect. However, when Gwen saw Kusu and Luwei's open mouth, she completely understood their confusion.

_This was their Lulan?!_

Shouldn't Lulu be stepping out of line, screaming at the top of her voice, refusing to admit fault, and blaming it on Gwen? Shouldn't she be red-faced, eyes glazed, bursting with Earthen mana? Who the hell was this model student? What happened to the firebrand? Was Lulan under an Enchantment or a Mind Control spell of some kind? Had Gwen Song skin-change Lulan?

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Secretary Choi chuckled. "That settles it then, shall I announce the sentence?"

"A little hasty, don't you think?" Klavdiya interrupted the man. "Earlier, Secretariat, you informed us that three levels of Filtrations Systems were disrupted and one destroyed. I would like to hear more details before severe punishments are passed onto one so young. Gwen, my dear, can you volunteer?"

Secretariat Choi's eyes moved between Gwen's Director grandmother and her granddaughter, trying to gauge their game. Gwen could tell the man was only giving her grandmother "face".

"As you wish, Director. Please elaborate, Miss Song. Miss Li, you may be at ease."

Gwen nodded. She had been building a narrative in her head since they'd left B12. When Richard had announced their return, she'd known that she'd have to spin like Fox and Friends on an Election Year to cast their fiasco in a good light.

As for Lulan, her displeasure for the girl had been derived from self-preservation, only now her ambient feelings of enmity had trickled into sympathy. When Lulan further made her grossly overstated confession, sympathy had turned into compassion.

Lulan wasn't right in the head because of her magic, wasn't it? The haywire magic had belonged to her Sect. And now that their human battering ram had accidentally pounded its way into the wrong castle, they wanted to throw her under a bus?

That was precisely the sort of thing that she could not stomach. Certainly, Gwen herself was no stranger to bouts of dark passion—with Nephres as a case-in-point.

Earlier, when they ascended the rickety lift, she had spoken to Lulan, whose transparency and fatalism was both sad and aggravating. Before Lulan's near-death experience, her manifestations had been rusted iron—now her swords were gleaming steel, indicating that Lulu had gotten an unexpected new lease on life.

And since the Sword Mage had amply demonstrated her usefulness, Gwen's desired outcome would be to preserve the girl and placate the Sect. Or, at the very least, retain the girl and vex the Sect. If someone had to gain from this sordid, chaotic ordeal, it might as well be her.

Additionally, for Lulu's sake, she had spent a Tier 7 Regeneration Cube made by Magister Wen and Magister Dao. And so, having sunk that cost, Gwen expected investment returns.

She took a deep breath, smiled, and stepped forward with an aggressively provocative air.

"Of course. Magister Song. Secretariat Choi. Magus Li. Magister Birch. Professor Ma. I will endeavour to reach the truth."

Gwen met her babulya's eyes, swept her gaze over the rest of her audience, then began.

"Good Magisters, honoured Elders. Madams and Sirs. Lend me your ears for a moment and allow me to relate. In the beginning, we arrived as per Magister Choi's advice on Basement level 7. There, pertaining to Professor Ma's coursework, we interacted with the locals and partook in some sightseeing activities, mingling with the locals in a friendly manner."

Choi's smile grew more rigid than the man had likely intended. Perhaps he hadn't expected her to have a way with words?

"When we reached the filtration section, Mayuree, our Diviner, informed the party that there were Mages following us. We further ascertained our circumstances and revealed that these were not neutral parties but Slavers. Next, we logically ascertained that since Boss Yi has promised us that his men would not intervene with our operation, the culprits must be a rogue-party not under the control of the PLA nor the militia of D-109."

Gwen quickly scanned her audience.

They were not in disagreement, which meant she could keep pushing.

"At this point, we were presented with the dilemma of whether to wantonly seek the death of our potential enemies, who, by Mayuree's Clairvoyance, had announced their intention to harm us—or to proceed with a slight detour. Therefore, our party resolved to complete Secretary Choi's quest without further bloodshed in honour of Professor Ma's guidance for the last six weeks." Gwen nodded at the NoM Professor. "For every NoM in the Lost Districts are our fellow human beings, each capable of pain, joy, love and the pursuit of happiness."

Professor Ma inclined his head sagely, pleased with her name drop.

"Our party found our way to the lower section of B7, where via an Arcane Eye, we found no less than four groups seeking to ambush us should we engage the Carrion Crawler. Furthermore, the size and scale of the Crawler indicated that it was purposely bred for combat, not reagents and ingredients. Therefore, we chose to complete our task remotely via my Familiars."

"And your Familias could destroy this beast by themselves?" Secretariat Choi enquired.

"Yes, Sir." Gwen gave no more details. "Just ONE familiar. I have the means."

Choi made a porcine snort.

Gwen continued.

"Having then deployed my Familiars, our would-be assailants were unfortunately alerted. Next, my Familiar delivered its payload in the chamber that housed the target. Unfortunately, this was when Lulan intruded into the scene. I am not in a position to state why she was present, but she did not interfere with the operation at this point."

Elder Li's brown eyes drift from Lulan onto herself with both brows knitted in growing suspicion.

"Once the Crawler died, we had planned to evacuate to our preplanned route, expecting to extract via the levitation platform to inform Secretariat Choi of the presence of the rogue Slavers in his tightly controlled District."

Secretariat Choi looked to protest, but Gwen pushed on, raising her tempo and octave.

"The ceiling was then Stone Shaped by Lulan, at which point she descended, demanding why she was attacked. As you can imagine, there was significant confusion due to the unforeseen circumstances of the friendly-fire incident. Had we known beforehand of her presence, we could have informed her of our danger-close operation."

"It was incidental then." Gwen brushed off the incident euphemistically. "That Lulan's confrontation delayed us significantly, and we became surrounded. My party became trapped in one section of the tunnel while she was stuck outside with the Slavers. A chaotic melee ensued, after which we emerged as the victor. Lulan scored most of the kills, and we escaped largely unscathed."

"When our party finally regrouped with Lulan, she informed us that the Rogue Mages' leader, a Healer, had escaped. Taking advantage of Mayuree's Divination and being very mindful that Secretariat Choi had promised us another 20 CCs, we gave hot pursuit until we cornered the woman—an individual called Nephres Zalaam—at B-12."

"The woman struggled free when we tried to discern her identity and intent. I am sorry, Secretary Choi, I know we had overstepped our boundary, but Richard and I are starving for CCs. As a result, I allowed the heat of the moment to overwhelm me, and I erased the woman with the power of the Void. All I can offer is ocular evidence that we encountered and destroyed your enemy for you."

"We then checked the area for loot—I mean _evidence_. After which, we arrived here and were informed of your august presences, Magisters and Elders."

The group looked at Gwen, each with slightly dazed expressions.

Choi's face was scarlet.

Her babulya expressed support and courage.

Birch had no expression at all.

Luwei had one that was dark and contemplative.

Kusu's expression said bewilderment and surprise.

Lulan herself faced the floor, her eyes staring into the carpet.

Choi opened his mouth to speak but had no rebuttal to give. Her story appeared to have covered all the angles: after all, everything the student Mages did, they did for Choi.

"Fine. That leaves us with the matter of Lulan Li," the Secretariat said after a moment's hesitation, putting Gwen's spell-proof narrative aside. "Unauthorised intrusion into the Lost Districts is punishable by stasis imprisonment up to ten years, pending sentencing. Besides, she has caused extensive damage to the District, resulting in the death of no less than eight citizens and up to thirty with grievous injuries."

"What do you say to these charges, Lulan?" Choi demanded.

"Guilty," Lulan answered quietly.

"Lulan!" Kusu stepped forward, but a calloused hand barred his approach. It was Luwei, his Uncle and Master.

"What did I tell you, Lulan?" Luwei spat, finding his stride after Gwen took the words from their mouths. "I gave you explicit instruction to stay put. I told you exactly that if you take action on your own, I will excommunicate you from the Sect if you bother Miss Song again. Well, I suppose that's what you wanted. The moment you left your brother's apartment to seek out Miss Song, you were no longer a member of the Huashan Sect. We are not responsible for any action you perform. I hope you are at peace with the decision you have made."

In the wake of Elder Li's verdict, Gwen's sympathy for Lulan swelled like the moon tide.

_Excommunication from the Sect?_

She felt personally attacked.

Kicked out from Sect and family?

_Well, well, well,_ she thought to herself as her compassion for Lulan solidified into sympathetic indignation. _Now ain't that a familiar kick in the ovaries._

Lulan Li slowly moved her face upward until she met her uncle's stoic mien. She could see the cogs turning in her uncle's eyes and sense the slow building of bitter bile in her chest.

With the clarity of her mind came the clarity of understanding; all those put-downs, those punishments, the slaps across the face, the public humiliation and the gaslighting. Her uncle had been planning this for some time.

To her knowledge, Uncle Luwei belonged to the faction of Pei, the youngest son of the Sect's Head, a rare prodigy. Lulan and Kusu's old Master, the third son, would have desired his disciple, Kusu, to play a more critical role in the Sect's affairs. Lulan knew that she'd always been a thorn, particularly the Sect Head's, because her raw power had always excelled the boys, even if she wasn't entirely lucid or stable while wielding it. In a fair duel, if she supported Kusu, she could potentially demolish the authority and, most importantly, the "face" of any of Kusu's competitors.

She was, therefore, an existential threat to Pei.

Lulan thought once more of when the innocuous Pei had convinced them to challenge Gwen Song to build Kusu's reputation. The boy was still in high school, but he was as dangerous as a Rock Viper.

Was she the sacrificial lamb then? Was an offering of her head what it took to keep Kusu safe? Without her, there would be no threat to Pei, and Kusu could live on in the safety of mediocrity, eventually becoming an Elder, taking a wife, becoming yet another branch family of the Sect?

That wasn't so bad, was it?

"Do you concede?" Elder Luwei demanded.

To Lulan's surprise, her lips refused to move. With the red mist gone, she realised just how much she desired to live in a world of restored colour. Even Gwen Song's confrontation with the Ice Mage filled her with curiosity and wonder, fulfilling Lulan with a desire to uncover the world's secrets.

Who was Nephres Zalaam?

What about Elizabeth Sobel?

Where did Gwen draw her powers?

An endless array of questions assailed her mind.

How could she die now? How could she leave Kusu alone to suffer under Pei? How could she allow this smiling villain to succeed?

"Very well, I will take your silence as compliance," Choi answered for her.

Her Elder did not protest. "Lulan Li, Disciple of San Li, I officially strike your name from—"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Don't! Uncle! No!" Her brother interjected.

Luwei ignored Kusu, his face flushed with anticipation.

"—from the annals of the Huashan Clan and Sect. Henceforth, you will return to Huashan the arts bestowed upon you by the ancestors. I—Luwei Li—Elder of Huashan, will carry out this sentence in the name of our Sect Leader."

With the sentence delivered, Luwei Li swung his arm toward where Lulan knelt. A thin blade, barely visible, appeared from a slit between the Elemental Planes and moved toward her chest, aiming for a space below her heart.

_CLANG!_

The blade struck a thick slab of iron which caught Luwei's attack mid-air. Upon closer inspection, where the metal had kissed metal, it was evident that the whisper-thin blade had chipped itself on Lulan's materialised length of gleaming iron.

Her uncle winced, then his eyes grew dangerous.

"The Iron Sword!" The senior Sword Mage sucked in a breath of cold air. "How can you manifest the Iron Sword?! That's impossible! You're a woman!"

"Lulan?" Kusu was incredulous as well. "You are healed? How?"

"Miss Li owes me a tier 7 Regenerate." To Lulan and the other's surprise, Gwen stepped in between Luwei and herself. "Elder, I would appreciate it if the Clan of Huashan does not come between creditor and debtor. I can't collect my dues from Lulan if you maim or kill her."

"This wouldn't be the one Magister Wen, Petra and myself acquired for you, would it?" Klavdiya, Gwen's grandmother, immediately gave her support, making Lulan's chest tighten. "If so, that was a personal favour from Magister Dao."

Choi's beady eyes shifted between the parties and Lulan. "That may be so, but what do you intend to do with her, Gwen Song?"

Gwen turned to Lulan, her face hidden from the adults.

"Don't you think you should repay me, Lulan?" The Void Mage winked at her.

Lulan's eyes glanced upward for a microsecond. Then her head fell lower in shame. "Yes, I cannot repay such an auspicious gift, but I cannot leave such a debt unpaid by duty and honour. Elder Uncle! Please allow me the chance to repay Gwen Song!"

"You're not a member of our Sect or Clan Li anymore!"

"Is this how the Clans repay their benefactors? For shame!" Gwen snapped back at her Elder. "Elder Luwei, do you think tier 7 _Regeneration_ spells grow on trees?! Lulu was a member of your Sect when I expended the treasure, so I am waiting if you can pay me back."

Luwei's lips twitched. Her Elder was turning a shade of red more akin to pork liver.

"Sorry, Miss Song! I cannot allow it!" The words issued from his lips were accompanied by spittle. "If you think the Sect will suffer a rogue possessor of the Iron Sword to live—"

"Uncle!" Kusu interjected, now standing between his Uncle and Lulan, his face a mask of fury. "You told me tacitly that you'd spare her life! You said you would only retrieve the Iron catalyst for Huashan's techniques!"

"Foolish child! Get out of the way! She has the proper form of the Iron Sword now! You want to be excommunicated too?" The Elder warned.

" _Please_ , Uncle! Please show us some compassion! We're your nephew and niece!" Kusu stood before her and besides Gwen. "I can't let you harm Lulu!"

"Ha!" Choi suddenly burst into laughter behind the three of them. "This is why I love Clanners. Never a dull moment. Luwei. Assuming the girl lives, make sure you leave Lulan behind. I am not done with her yet."

"But—Secretariat!" Gwen Song butted in again, speaking out of turn without blinking. "I already informed you that the NoMs and Mages who assaulted Lulan were Slavers."

"Oh?" Choi raised a critical brow. "What proof do you have?"

"We also killed a dozen of them just a few minutes ago," Gwen stated. "That is proof."

"You expect me to believe that, do you? What makes you think the ones Lulan killed were Slavers?"

"Are you suggesting that the ones we killed are not Slavers, Sir?" Gwen cocked her head. "Were you watching us? "

The Secretariat furrowed his brows.

Lulan felt the hair rise on her neck. A Secretariat had unparalleled power in his domain. How is it that Gwen could stand up to these august members of the PLA without bending her spine?

"I suggested no such thing." Choi's voice gained an edge of defensiveness. "I merely ask for proof."

"Fine. If these NoMs are not Slavers." Gwen stepped forward once more. "Then are they fishermen?"

"What?" The Secretariat appeared genuinely flustered by Gwen's pivot.

"They had fishing nets, Sir." The girl's voice grew mocking. "And shackled. Maybe they were looking for fish in the Filtration Chamber?"

"What are you talking about, girl?" Choi's voice took on a keen edge.

"I am saying, Sir," Gwen continued with a cadence that allowed Choi no room for rebuttal. "That within your District, your citizens are Slavers, and the Slavers are the citizens. They do what they must to eke out a living. The ones who attacked us are citizens, but they are also Slavers. The Slavers who attacked Lulan are citizens, but it doesn't make them less capable of being Slavers. Besides, isn't that why the excursion takes place in the Lost Districts? Isn't that right, Professor Ma? What difference does it make if one or two parties of Fudan students must defend themselves against the malicious elements of the _Lost_ _Districts_? Where are our seniors? Are they in the building still? Have they encountered any difficulties? Are their hands dyed in the blood of your innocent citizens?"

"They are progressing with their quest," Professor Ma informed them. "I loathe to admit it, but the girl has a point, Choi. You and I both know how this works. Why are you drawing Barrier Sigils in the air now of all times?"

Secretariat Choi stared at her, ignoring Professor Ma.

"Lulan defended herself while lost in the District!" Gwen countered tartly, her tone rich with malicious sarcasm. "These Mages she killed, UNSANCTIONED. These NoMs that perished, UNREGISTERED. From the state of this District that I have seen, Secretariat Choi, harping on about the lives of your beloved citizens is a rather _precious_ proposal when the reality is so different from the words issuing from your mouth."

Again, Gwen cut in just as Choi was about to speak.

"Professor Ma! In your lecture, you stated that the Lost Districts are outside of the laws that govern Shanghai and that many of the laws exist in grey zones of ambiguity differing from District to District, is that not true?"

"Without question," Ma affirmed Gwen's verbatim reproduction of his own words.

"Then Secretariat Choi has no legal authority over Lulan. Only law-enforcement outside of the District can pass sentences on the judgement of citizens who are not under the jurisdiction of the Lost Districts, am I correct?"

"You are," Ma stated with a look of strange exhilaration. "Indeed you are! Section XXII, article 4 of the District charter states that officers of the state overseeing a District only have the power of execution and imprisonment over citizens of the District, not anyone who is a citizen of the city! Mao! Can you imagine the chaos if carte blanche power is given to a mid-tier official to act as they please over anyone! Chaos! There would be absolute chaos!"

"There you have it—Secretariat!" Her saviour gushed sweetly at Choi. "If you wish Lulan to be prosecuted, I am afraid you will have to engage a third-party officer from the Judicial Division of the Magistrate's Office to oversee the trial. They will have to engage in a thorough investigation of whether or not these citizens were Slavers or if they were innocents, though I contest that I believe my party and Lulan innocent. I am sure you would welcome an investigation, no? After all, for us who possess clean consciences, a trivial inquest from the MSS touches us not, am I right?"

Though Lulan was more used to taking a beating while on her knees, she could still discern that Gwen's threat slapped Choi's face like one of her Iron Blades.

"Nothing to add? Then I rest my case, Sir," the girl ended with a flourish.

The Secretariat looked as though he'd been stabbed, though the man was just as quick to recover. "Is Gwen Song's summation of your actions in B7 correct? Has she omitted any important information you would like to add? There should be a substantial reward if you were to aid in my proper administration of this matter."

He turned to the eager looking Richard. "Mr Huang?"

Richard grinned. "Make it a hundred CCs, Sir? Make it a good bribe, at least."

Choi grunted with displeasure.

"Then I suppose not, Sir."

"Miss… Mayuree?" The Secretariat continued to Gwen's next companion.

"I have nothing to add, Sir."

"Miss Liang?"

Kitty turned her head toward Gwen. The temperate dropped a degree or so.

Mayuree coughed.

"I didn't see anything," Kitty said coldly.

"There you have it, Sir." Gwen posed like a teapot, with one hand on her hip and another showing Choi just how it is.

Choi, unperturbed, then looked to her Elder.

As if on command, Luwei once again turned his attention to Lulan.

"Gwen Song, move aside. I need to retrieve the Heart of Iron."

Gwen moved instead in front of Lulan until she blocked Luwei entirely.

"I am afraid I can't let you do that, Sir."

"Move aside!" Luwei's mask of congeniality had shattered. "Will no one control this child? Will she listen to nothing?"

Gwen glared at her Elder with disdain, making Lulan's body ache with fear for her saviour.

"You are gravely mistaken, Sir. I am not a member of your Sect, and you are not a Magister. You have no authority to tell me to do anything I do not wish to. Here is not Huashan, _Elder_. Sir, this is Shanghai."

"Pufft—!" Magister Birch almost spat out the glass of water he'd been nursing.

Gwen's babulya was smiling as well.

Lulan could only marvel at her saviour's devilish tongue, for the truth could sting like a Hawk Wasp.

Though the old Sects had always thought of themselves highly, their numbers made them increasingly less significant. How many Mages could the People's Liberation Army field against the Undead? How many Mages did even the largest Sects possess in comparison? The reality was that the Sects were no more than a mantis blocking the cartwheel of history.

A few metes away, her Elder turned to Kusu. "Kusu, retrieve the Heart of Iron from Lulan."

The blood drained from Lulan's face.

For the Elder to be so devious—she had not expected that. Kusu was likewise pale and wobbling. His hands trembled.

"Ha! What a crock!" Before Lulan's hope could even begin to wane, her saviour set upon her brother like a vengeful Harpy. "Is this the honour you hold like a precious baby bird, Kusu? A family that detests Lulu? Don't you know why your sister was sick? Wasn't it because she was given _defective_ magic, Kusu? All those years she suffered, and yet year after year, your Sect did nothing! Are you even her sibling, Kusu?! Do you know what Lulan was doing? In the deep dark of the District, she came after me, demanding your daggers! Her hair was _cinders_! Her skin was _charred_! She was barely _conscious_! You know what Lulu said to me?!"

Lulan quivered.

Kusu's whole body shook.

"She said—GIVE ME MY BROTHER'S DAGGERS!"

Lulan's thoughts grew blank even as her chest grew warm. When had ever anyone spoken up for her like this?

"KUSU! Has your heart gone to the dogs?! Is your honour fed to brutish beasts?! _Are you a man?!_ Lulan! _Get up!_ "

Gwen took Lulan by the hand and pulled her up.

Lulan rose in a daze, trapped in some unimaginable dream. With a finger, Gwen poked a spot just below the soft mound of her bosom.

"This is the _unkindest_ cut of all, Kusu! What will it be? SPEAK UP!"

Lulan held a hand protectively against her chest, feeling a tenderness where her saviour had intruded into her heart. In her passion, Gwen had poked with rather too much enthusiasm.

"I—" Kusu tried to speak.

"Do you want to be _exiled_ as well, Kusu?!" Elder Li shouted behind the wavering Sword Mage. "Are you and your worthless sister ferrets of the same den!?"

Kusu froze, then turned to his uncle.

Lulan knew the answer before her brother spoke.

" _Wocaoni-ma..._ " Kusu muttered.

_F-fuck your mother_? The audacity of Kusu's profanity was enough to make Lulan's knees weak. Perhaps sharing her sentiment, the whole room grew silent.

"Kusu, say that again..." Elder Li pointed a shaking finger at Kusu.

"Wocaoni-MA!" Kusu spat out between gritted teeth. "Screw you and Huashan! Make me attack my sister! Rip her heart out? GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

Lulan did her best to suppress the delirious happiness building inside her chest. Comparatively, her Elder looked as though he was ascended into a new Plane of existence. "D-Do you know what you are doing?"

Kusu spat back, gave Li the finger, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lulu, get up. Let's go."

Her brother's touch dispelled every ounce of doubt in her body, causing her body to rise all on its own.

"YOU DARE?!" The bark from her Elder was punctuated by the distinct sound of manifesting Sword Sorcery.

_Schwing—!_

An eye-blink later, the sharp trill of metal cleaving air hummed like a struck chime. A barely visible blade moved through the air toward Kusu and herself.

"Dagger Barrier!"

"Thrust!"

"Shield!"

Each of the students activated their defences.

Her brother manifested the two dozen or so daggers he had that remained in a futile attempt to block the incoming swing.

Lulan, meanwhile, had taken her deceased Master's instruction to heart. The best defence was an offence. Luwei wanted to kill Kusu? Fine, if the vain bastard were willing to trade his life for that of a disciple, then she would call his bluff.

Unfortunately, while she and Kusu had spent years working together, their number three knew only self-preservation. Faster than both her brother and herself, Gwen's shield instantly ballooned, knocking Kusu and herself to the ground.

So it was that Kusu fell forward, she fell backwards, and to Lulan's horror, Gwen became the unintended target of Luwei's sudden assault.

_Keeekkeeeekeeee—_

The screeching blade bit into Gwen's life-preserving barrier and made instant progress. As bits of her crystalline mana sprayed into the air, the observers could visibly see its cutting-edge vibrate with an ear-splitting frequency.

Lulan cursed. Her Elder had used a Sonic Blade variant, meaning he was cutting through Gwen's shield like a hot knife through soft lard.

A vision of her saviour being decapitated flashed across Lulan's frontal lobe. Here was a foe turned friend who had spared her life, saved it again, then freed her heart from bondage.

Where Gwen had touched, Lulan's Heart of Iron jolted into life. _Should saviour be maimed_ —Lulan told herself. Then she would tear her Elder limb from limb.

_Keeekkeeeekeeee—_

Luwei was as surprised as anyone else in the room when his famed Barrier Cutter bit into not Lulan nor Kusu but the girl who was Secretary Song's grandaughter.

To his credit, the attack was rich with killing intent—though the target, much to his chagrin, was one he could not maim.

"JUN!" a shrill cry from Director Song sliced through the air even as Luwei did his best to pull his weight.

In answer to the Director's outraged howl, Luwei heard and sensed the manifestation of a spell he dared not even dream of possessing.

"Disintegrate!"

A thin white ray instantaneously appeared, connecting Luwei's sword hand to an invisible point in space, creating a brief vision of spontaneous cubism.

The spell that stuck Luwei also revealed the caster, a man in his late thirties wreathed with a halo of Elemental Ash. With every pulse of his mana, the carpet beneath the Mage's feet turned into white particles that swirled in tiny eddies as the residual energy from the spell dissipated.

Where the white beam had struck the vibrating blade's pommel, Luwei's implement ceased to exist, becoming fine dust. The unconsumed particles then ate into the hand that had carried the murderous length.

Luwei tossed his weapon as though he was scatting hot ashes, but even so, his fingers were gone. Worse still, before Luwei could feel fear, rage, or any emotion, all attachment drained from his body. Like a viper of Element Ash, the Negative Energy from the Mage's unique talent demolished his will to fight.

Epiphanically, he looked around him as though awakening from a dream. _What's the use in fighting?_ He wondered. Why bother with a girl who would die from foolishness anyway? He should return to the Clan and meditate on his Dao.

He carefully studied the stumps that now made up his sword hand. He then looked at the mocking faces of those around him.

Somehow, he felt too tired even to summon shame.

"Know your place!" The Ash Mage lowered his finger, wagging it like the tip of a smoking Wand. "Who gave you the nerve to harm my niece? Does the Sect of Huashan wish to be excommunicated from Shanghai?"

The girl whose face he was about to disfigure a moment ago was only now recovering from her shock.

"Uncle Jun!" She called out. "Oh my God! Why are you here?"

Elder Li shook himself awake from the Negative Energy induced stupor to regard the Mage called "Uncle Jun".

_Jun Song?_ The Mao-damned _Ash Bringer_ of the Northern Front?! The _Ash Bringer_ himself just mutilated him?

If so, Luwei looked at the stumps that now made up his sword hand. Dared he even mend the injury?

"This man is deranged, Uncle! He just attacked me out of the blue!" Gwen Song pointed an accusatory finger at Luwei.

Luwei sighed. Should he tell the girl that there was no need for theatrics now that Jun Song was involved?

"No doubt." The Ash Bringer's pupils were white-hot orbs. "I saw."

"I saw it too." Klavdiya had a hand over her heart. "My heart nearly leapt from my throat! Gwen, dear, are you alright?"

The Director gave Professor Birch a kick in the ankles.

Magister Birch looked up at the ceiling for just a moment, then stepped forward.

"I too bore witness to this assault," he said flatly.

"Count me in." Professor Ma joined in as well. "I may not be a Mage, but as an attaché to the Shanghai Inner Regional Magistrate Advisory Board, I can attest that Gwen Song was assaulted without provocation!"

Luwei looked at them disinterestedly, unable to summon the emotions he knew he should feel. _So this was what it is like to be afflicted by Elemental Ash_ , he thought. What a _unique_ experience.

"I… I apologise for my indiscretion," Luwei replied unceremoniously. "Deal with me as you see fit."

"Are you alright, Gwen?" Jun approached, leaving behind ashen footprints on the carpet that made Choi wince.

The girl looked up at her uncle with a pained expression, her eyes twinkling wickedly.

"I am alright." Gwen winced painfully, then affixed her eyes on Luwei. "I feel so traumatised though… nothing short of a concession or compensation may shake this debilitating experience from my heart."

Luwei understood the girl's hostility was a bad sign, but he couldn't summon the energy to retort.

"Gwen, that's enough." The girl's grandmother approached Luwei. "Allow me to apologise, Elder Li. My son is overzealous. Give me your hand."

Luwei obeyed.

"Restoration!"

Verdant motes of Positive Energy infused Luwei, dispelling the Elemental Ash tainting his Astral Body. Several seconds later, Luwei felt his faculties return.

"Give me your hand." Gwen's grandmother commanded the Clan Elder.

Knowing he wasn't out of danger yet, Luwei obliged like a child.

"Lesser Regeneration!" Director Song's Clerical sorcery, Luwei had to confess, was some of the best he had seen in the PLA.

An intense, bone-rending itch travelled from his hand to his heart, then to his head. Luwei gritted his teeth as fingers, white and pale, sprouted from the charred stumps.

Armed with a new hand, he looked at the collection of Mages now standing in front of him.

This time, Luwei felt fear.

He quickly glanced at Lulan, whose mouth was wide enough to fit a quail's egg, then regarded Kusu, who carried the same stony expression the day his Master San died.

"Alright, Elder Li." Gwen Song's voice was sickly sweet as she once more took her old place. "Now that you've cooled down—let me make you an offer you can't refuse."


* * *

Alrighty everyone here it is again! Character summaries.

If there is typo, will get to later.

New CH coming soon, editing it now.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Update:: Edited Gwen Image to be both cool and smug as per comments. Get a compromise going.

* * *

  * __ Friday, August 10, 2018 12:49:03 PM
  * __

__**Bio:** I write on the phone and edit at home. Times are tough!

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