Daen
Lasin, drenched in blood, fought her way toward me. I was near the wall, where the fighting had already died down.
"You're not hurt?" I blurted out.
She had taken several wounds, but they looked shallow.
"You're asking me?" she snapped.
"I can see you're hurt, that's why I'm asking, isn't it?" I shot back. The pain was still crushing me. How long was it supposed to last? I should have asked Jurian.
"Don't ask me that. Can you still fight?" she asked.
The pain eased a little, and some strength began to return to my body. I nodded.
"That's good."
Using what remained of my strength, I got to my feet and looked toward the crowd that was still fighting. Jurian was toying with a few cultists as if he were bored, and Azi was battling a Grasion with the last of her strength. Judging by Jurian's behavior, it looked as though we were winning, but in reality the opposite was true. Twenty more men with the cult's crest on their armor rushed in through the main entrance. Their numbers had practically doubled.
Bruno turned away from Finra and Breias, who were lying on the floor, no longer capable of using magic. Lasin and I both looked back at him.
Her gaze was filled with relentless hatred. I knew that feeling well, but seeing it in Lasin was not pleasant.
Bruno moved toward the middle of the hall beneath the shattered dome. A strong scent of magic began to spread through the air.
That was not good.
Lasin raised one of her short swords and threw herself at him.
"Don't do it!" I shouted after her.
It was about as useful as trying to stop a charging bull. Lasin was an excellent fighter, but I doubted Bruno would do anything other than crush her.
She almost reached him when Bruno conjured a wall of magic and hurled her to the ground. She rose again and tried to reach him a second time.
There was no point.
Bruno threw her back again, and the magic around him began to build. Limping, I made my way to Lasin. Most of the pain had faded. I helped her back to her feet. Bruno was wrapped in magic so thick that he almost seemed to merge with it.
The fighting began to slow.
All eyes turned toward him.
Was he really planning to destroy the whole place? They were still winning. He would wipe out his own people too.
With a casual movement of his hand, he unleashed a wave of orange magic.
The impact was brutal.
We tried to keep our footing, but the force smashed us to the floor. The tiles beneath me cracked, and the agony surged back through my body. Cries of pain rose behind us. I tore my gaze away from Bruno and looked at the others still fighting. Half of them were on the ground. The other half were finishing them off.
Bruno had sent out a wave that affected only members of the organization.
The numbers of the Twelve Swords had dropped sharply. Hope was beginning to fade. Barely a dozen of them remained.
Jurian would have to do something impossible if this fight was going to turn around.
I got to my feet and hauled Lasin up again. With the last of my strength, despite the pain tearing through me, I ran straight at Bruno. If I could split his magic again, maybe I could at least wound him.
Bruno saw me coming clearly. He looked into my eyes and then at my hands gripping the sword so tightly my knuckles had gone white. He took a fighting stance and formed a sword of magic.
He considered me a threat.
In an instant I had crossed the distance between us. He did not use the same wave of magic he had used on Lasin. I slashed at him. With a quick movement, he parried the probing strike. We both stepped back out of range.
"It's over," he declared. "The work is done, and all of you are dead." He laughed. "The city is under siege, and no reinforcements are coming. The Cult of Truth will take it from within and hand it over to the Empire."
Hatred burned inside me.
From the depths of my mind rose a memory of the day Detruisia fell, when the royal family died and the whole land came under Imperial rule. Flames and burning houses flashed before my eyes. The memory was hazy, but I pushed it aside. This was not the moment.
I looked back at Bruno, who was still smiling.
"Hm. The end?" I paused. "As long as I'm still standing, it can't be the end."
Bruno's expression hardened. I was badly wounded, so it was only a bluff, but his triumphant smile disappeared. He struck from the right. Our blades scraped together. It was only a quick testing blow. He did not want to reveal everything he had.
Despite the pain, I turned the attack aside and countered. My sword cut through the air. Bruno stepped back and blocked it with practiced ease. I withdrew again, out of reach. I gripped the sword tighter. My heart was beating so fast it felt as if it might burst through my chest.
I knew this might be my last chance.
I looked at Bruno's face. It had grown wilder, heavy with gathering magic. He was preparing to strike. The power began swirling around his body again. He was not planning another wide attack. This time it wrapped itself around his sword.
He intended to pour all of it into one blow meant for me alone.
I stood still and focused on every movement of his hand, every sign of magic about to culminate in destruction.
Bruno swung his sword at me. The magic rose and tore through the air, straight toward me. It was too wide to dodge.
I reacted on instinct. I did not command magic the way he did, but because of my Ming blood, some of it still lived in me. I raised my sword and cut into the wave. I hoped I could do something to it.
For the first time that day, I managed to stop magic.
If I could ever learn to control that power, it would change everything.
But this wave did not stop.
With the last of my strength, I braced myself for the impact.
It passed right through.
A sharp pain tore across my chest. Even though it was only a wave of magic, it felt as sharp as a dagger. I dropped to my knees in agony. Ragnar's wound reopened, and blood burst from both cuts. I let go of my sword and tried to stop the bleeding with my hands. It felt as if I had nearly been split in two.
I coughed up blood and gasped for air. When I looked up, Bruno was smiling again.
"I thought you'd be more of a threat," he said. "Anything else you want to say before I kill you where you kneel?"
My chest barely rose and fell. In spite of the pain, I spat blood in his direction. It did not even reach his boots. He raised his sword of magic.
So this is where I die, I thought.
Bruno grinned. The pain in my chest did not let up for a moment. The magic had missed my organs, but the size and depth of the wound meant I could bleed out at any second. He lifted the blade slightly, then changed his mind and let it dissolve.
Blood loss was already pulling me toward unconsciousness.
Then Bruno lashed out and struck full force where my wounds met.
Agony ripped through me.
He hit me again and again. I could not defend myself. When I managed to raise my arms, another blow sent me flying several yards backward.
Lasin forced herself to her feet. She was exhausted too.
"Daen!" she shouted.
She had watched the whole duel and knew without doubt that I was about to die here. She tried to run toward Bruno, but another wave of magic knocked her back to the ground. Jurian and Azi were tied up with the swarm of cultists, and Breias and Finra lay motionless on the floor.
Then Bruno stopped. He stepped aside and began gathering magic again.
I felt it too.
The presence of someone stronger.
At that moment, Thesmar soldiers burst into the building. Most of the cultists were too caught up in the fighting to react in time.
I focused on the soldiers. Markus was at their head, cutting down five cultists in one smooth motion. They carved their way through the enemy with precision and discipline.
They were our allies.
Our hope of salvation in that dark hour.
For the first time, the last surviving members of the organization could breathe, if only for a moment.
Bruno gathered magic and unleashed the same wave that had knocked down the members of the Twelve Swords earlier. It shot through the air toward the soldiers, then stopped abruptly. They raised magical shields, and together they held the attack.
I looked at Bruno. He was no longer paying me any attention. His eyes were wide, jumping from one person to another.
Markus had noticed him. He had undoubtedly sensed his magic.
I did not envy Bruno for what came next.
I had seen Markus before, and from his stance and magical aura, I had already guessed he was one of the strongest men in the city.
He rushed forward and, moving faster than I could properly follow, appeared right in front of Bruno. Bruno barely had time to form his magical sword again. Their blades scraped together. Markus forced him back step by step with precise footwork and careful strikes. Bruno tried to gather magic again, but Markus gave him no room to do it.
Markus's expression hardened, and he put more magical force behind his next blow. Bruno stumbled back again, and this time he even lost his balance. His eyes went wide.
In the next second, Markus cut off both his hands.
Bruno dropped to the floor.
Without them, he could no longer defend himself.
The remaining cultists were overwhelmed as well.
I let out a breath of relief.
Jurian, Azi, and Lasin were beside me a moment later.
"Didn't I warn you not to go back into the fight with that wound?" Jurian said reproachfully.
"The situation called for it."
He wanted to say more, but I cut him off first.
"Why were you avoiding Bruno this whole time? You could have ended this battle much earlier." My voice sharpened. "Can't you fight someone who's at least a little worthy of you?"
The words hurt coming out.
Jurian laughed.
"You think Bruno is my equal?" he said with a chuckle.
"Then why the hell didn't you kill him first?" I snapped. "You're a Detruisian soldier. You're supposed to know who the greatest threat is and take him out first!"
Both Azi and Lasin stared at me in disbelief. Jurian grew serious.
"I had personal reasons."
"Personal reasons? Then go fuck yourself somewhere else with them."
Jurian stood there without speaking.
With effort, I pushed myself up, hissed in pain, and started toward the exit.