They hit the rooftop ledge together, backs pressed to crumbling stone, and for one long second neither of them moved at all. Below, the spectators had already started murmuring, voices carrying easily on the open air.
⠀
"Are they even capable of bringing down a DA-level threat?"
⠀
"Sure, it's possible. But they aren't Fixers yet."
⠀
"I heard even the Sanguine Awakening struggled with that one."
⠀
Antollio clapped his hands together, sharp enough to cut through the chatter entirely.
⠀
"Mitchell, darling, could we pause the exam? Our two contestants are going to need a hand. We wouldn't want any casualties on the books, would we?"
⠀
Mitchell's frown deepened. "What exactly are you implying?"
⠀
He raised his nakiri, more warning than weapon, and Antollio only sighed at the sight of it.
⠀
"Everyone here already knows you planted something to draw the ARCH's attention in the first place. Viscoso Coalition tech, wasn't it?"
⠀
A pause. Then, unbothered: "Right on the money."
⠀
Mitchell closed the distance between them without lowering the blade.
⠀
"I'd put that dull thing away if I were you," Antollio said, mild as ever. "You do understand the gap between your power and mine, do you not?"
⠀
"A First Division Fixer against an Elegy. Not the worst matchup I could ask for."
⠀
They held each other's stare a moment longer than either needed to.
⠀
"Fine," Mitchell said at last. "We help them. You remember what happens if we go down there."
⠀
"I remember." Antollio's eyes had already begun to catch the light strangely, gold threading through them like something waking up. "Everyone, stay ready."
⠀
Mitchell cracked his knuckles, grinning despite himself. "Watch what a regular Fixer can do without some fancy title attached to his name."
⠀
The spectators scattered into motion, weapons and stranger things drawn all at once, and Mitchell dropped onto the rooftop first, Antollio a heartbeat behind him. A third shape landed beside them without either of them seeming to notice the fall.
⠀
"Heng Jing." Antollio's smile widened. "Glad you could join us."
⠀
"I had hoped to keep watching a while longer. But if this is what the ARCH desires, I'll see its hunger properly satisfied."
⠀
A guandao came into Heng Jing's hand from somewhere that wasn't anywhere, spun once around his body with the ease of long, unthinking habit, and a phoenix bloomed to life on his shoulder, its whole body a controlled column of amber flame.
⠀
"Perhaps one of you will find your way to the Qianren someday," he said, to no one in particular. "If so, allow me to show you what the Flame Blades bring to a fight like this one."
⠀
He extended his arm.
⠀
"Soar, Flameborn Phoenix."
⠀
ARCH: Flameborn Phoenix
Threat Level: NA (나) (Varies depending on user mastery; can temporarily reach DA output)
Associated Individual: Heng Jing (Qianren – Heng Family Patriarch)
Ability: Manifests as a phoenix composed entirely of condensed, high-intensity flame. The entity behaves semi-autonomously yet remains tethered to its wielder's will and emotional state. The Flameborn Phoenix possesses the following properties:
Combustion Manipulation: Generates and controls flames that can melt reinforced alloys and disrupt ARCH structures. Heat output scales with the user's emotional intensity and focus.
Aerial Dominance: High-speed flight and maneuverability allow for rapid strikes, dive attacks, and sustained pressure from above.
Reconstitution: Upon destruction, the phoenix disperses into embers before reforming after a short interval. Reformation speed depends on the user's stamina and resonance stability.
Predatory Targeting: Prioritizes weakened or exposed structural points, making it highly effective against damaged ARCH bodies.
Weight: ~0 kg (Variable). Registers negligible mass under normal conditions. However, the impact force suggests momentary mass acquisition during strikes, estimated at 200–400 kg upon contact.
Height: Approx. 250–320 cm (wingspan up to 600 cm)
⠀
The phoenix tore off Heng Jing's shoulder and dove straight for the ARCH's chest, flame licking deep into gear-work and paper alike, and the creature barely registered it happened at all. Mitchell was already moving, boots cracking loose tile as he closed the distance.
⠀
"First layer!"
⠀
His nakiri came down wrapped in old, talismanic script. The strike landed, and did nothing.
⠀
"Trying to get these two rookies killed, Mitchell?~"
⠀
He didn't answer. "Second layer!"
⠀
Nothing again. Yuhuan's patience gave out before Mitchell's third swing did, and he darted in on his own, blade catching the ARCH's exposed knee in a shower of sparks. The thing twisted, one metal limb swinging wide enough to shatter tile where Yuhuan had stood a half-second earlier, and he rolled clear with barely a hand's width to spare.
⠀
Yuhuan turned to Mitchell. "I'll keep it distracted! You work on your count!"
⠀
"I don't need—! Agh, forget it..." Mitchell raised the blade again. "...Third layer!"
⠀
Still nothing. The clang of it snapped Mori fully out of whatever daze had held him since the flare. Around him, the whole rooftop had become a single, moving argument: Antollio vaulting an outstretched limb to put a shot of gold light square into the ARCH's eye, Heng Jing's phoenix crashing into its shoulder in a burst of fire and sparks, the air thick with gunfire and shouting and the endless grinding tick of the thing's insides.
⠀
Mori checked his rounds without remembering deciding to do so. Yuhuan fell in beside him.
⠀
"We can't just stand here. On my mark."
⠀
He lunged first, a feint at the knee drawing the creature's weight sideways, and Mori fired into the exposed clockwork of its chest. The shot sparked uselessly off metal, but the impact staggered it a step regardless, and the rooftop cracked further beneath all of them, the ARCH's chest ticking louder with every passing second, like the whole building was holding its breath for whatever came next.
⠀
"Now," Mitchell said, grinning despite the blood already beading along one arm, "time for the finale."
⠀
"Took you long enough."
⠀
"Shut it, Antollio." He wrapped the blade in a final, glowing red talisman. "Fourth layer. Critical strike!"
⠀
The nakiri hit home and detonated, crimson light blasting the ARCH's lower half clean across the rooftop in a spray of shrapnel and burning paper. It shrieked, staggered...
⠀
...And began, immediately, to put itself back together. Clock hands rewound. Pages reassembled into legs. Whatever damage they'd just done was already unmaking itself.
⠀
Antollio fired again, gold beams tearing into the reforming wound, Heng Jing's phoenix diving to bite deeper into the same gap. Then the ticking changed pitch, and the ARCH's attention turned, with sudden and total focus, on Mitchell.
⠀
Three things happened almost at once. A loose tile shot upward and cracked into Mitchell's arm, spinning the nakiri from his grip. One of Antollio's beams ricocheted wide, catching the phoenix full in its wing. And the rooftop beneath Mitchell simply gave way, dropping him a full story with a shout that ended in a wet, ugly crunch of impact.
⠀
"It's using its ability!" he called up, clutching his side. "Watch for the third hit! Every time!"
⠀
Antollio's eyes found Heng Jing's across the rooftop. "Ready?"
⠀
"As long as the wind blows."
⠀
The phoenix flared brighter, wings spreading as if in answer, and Antollio stepped forward at the same instant, gold threading between his fingers.
⠀
"Try to keep up."
⠀
"I won't fall behind."
⠀
Fire and light struck the ARCH together, and for one satisfying moment, it actually staggered.
⠀
Then...
⠀
Tick.
⠀
The stone beneath Heng Jing's feet split without warning, forcing him back mid-strike.
⠀
"First," Antollio said, quiet.
⠀
"What?" Mori flinched at the word more than the sound.
⠀
Tick.
⠀
The phoenix's flame guttered as debris clipped its wing, sending it spiraling into the rooftop instead of its target.
⠀
"Second," Heng Jing said, this time.
⠀
"...You're counting?" Mori's stomach dropped.
⠀
"Just pay attention!" Antollio didn't look away from the ARCH long enough to explain further.
⠀
Gears ground. A jagged limb rose overhead, clock hands fusing into something shaped, unmistakably, like a spear, and time seemed to thin out as it began its descent, directly toward Yuhuan.
⠀
"MOVE!" Mori shouted.
⠀
Yuhuan threw himself sideways a half-second before impact, the spear obliterating the tile he'd occupied a breath earlier.
⠀
"Third," Antollio said.
⠀
Yuhuan rolled to his feet, breathing hard. "How did it move that fast? If you hadn't warned me—"
⠀
"No idea," Mitchell cut in, dragging himself upright below, blood tracking slow down his arm, expression sharpened despite it. "Pay attention, like the man said. It stacks. Two bad things, then the third one kills somebody. That's the whole trick."
⠀
Mori counted it out on his fingers like a child working through a lesson he already resented. "...Two. Then three."
⠀
"It's not complicated, kid! Just follow our lead!"
⠀
"O-Okay."
⠀
The ticking picked back up, closer now, and this time Antollio and Heng Jing moved with real caution, the phoenix sweeping low to force the ARCH's stance while gold shots chipped at every joint they could reach.
⠀
Tick.
⠀
A shard of loose metal ricocheted wild and caught Mori's shoulder, spinning him half a step off balance.
⠀
"First!" he called, before he'd even decided to.
⠀
"Nice catch," Mitchell said, readying himself.
⠀
Tick.
⠀
Yuhuan's foot slid against nothing at all, and he barely caught himself before the blade left his hand entirely.
⠀
"Second!" Mori's voice came out sharper now, more certain.
⠀
The ticking surged all at once.
⠀
"Spread out!" Antollio called.
⠀
The ARCH's head snapped toward Mori, arm already rising, the spear reforming in its grip.
⠀
"Third—!"
⠀
The strike came down.
⠀
And this time, Mori moved first, throwing himself backward on instinct alone, the spear burying itself into the ground inches from where he'd stood, the shockwave rolling past him in a wave of dust and heat.
⠀
Silence, for one stretched-out breath.
⠀
"...I did it," he said, mostly to himself, disbelieving.
⠀
ARCH: Third Misfortune
Threat Level: DA (다)
Ability: Takes the form of a large humanoid entity composed of gears, clock hands, loose documents, and shifting metallic debris. Emits constant auditory distortions resembling ticking and scraping. Induces the phenomenon known as "bad things come in threes." Upon recognizing two prior misfortunes among nearby subjects, the ARCH imposes a third event with near certainty. Environmental instability increases as the third instance approaches, resulting in structural failure, misfires, or lethal accidents. The third event will always target the most vulnerable individual within range and result in death or irreversible loss. Elegies or people with intense ARCH resonance show partial resistance to cognitive effects but remain susceptible to physical outcomes.
Weight: Unknown
Height: Approx. 400 cm
⠀
Heng Jing's mouth curved into something that might have been delight. "The sun bestows its blessings on the spirit of new life. Let us celebrate this moment."
⠀
Antollio smacked the back of his head without breaking stride. "No time for that."
⠀
Mitchell shoved himself upright, gripping his nakiri hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "Move. I'm finishing it."
⠀
"You'd strain your ar—"
⠀
"Shut up." Something raw slipped through the usual bravado. "I'm tired of you talking down to me, Antollio. I'm First Division now. You're not my mentor anymore."
⠀
Antollio's smile faded, just for a moment, into something quieter.
⠀
"Thank you," he said, and meant it, and stepped back to let Mitchell through.
⠀
Mitchell tore the dull talisman half-loose on his approach. "First layer!"
⠀
The blade connected. Nothing happened.
⠀
Then...
⠀
Tick.
⠀
Debris exploded upward into his side, doubling him over with a gasp that had real pain behind it. His grip failed entirely, the nakiri slipping loose mid-stagger, and rather than let it fall, he threw it.
⠀
"You! Use it!"
⠀
Yuhuan barely got a hand up in time to catch it. "I don't—"
⠀
"Just swing!"
⠀
He did, blade catching the ARCH's leg in a clang that accomplished exactly nothing.
⠀
"Now what?!"
⠀
"Pass it!" Antollio jumped, gesturing that he was open.
⠀
Yuhuan didn't throw it to him at all. He threw it to the phoenix instead, and Heng Jing's eyes flickered with something like approval as the bird's talons closed around the blade mid-flight, circling once before releasing it above the ARCH's head.
⠀
The third strike landed. The creature's whole body jolted, something inside it shifting loose, and the nakiri ricocheted off solid metal, skidding clean across the rooftop.
⠀
Straight toward Mori.
⠀
"...Me?"
⠀
"Pick it up!" Mitchell roared.
⠀
The ticking climbed again, faster now, and Mori's hands shook as he closed them around the hilt anyway, the weight of it landing all at once, heavier than anything he'd held all day. The ARCH turned toward him. Its arm began to rise.
⠀
Tick...
⠀
"Do it!" Yuhuan shouted. "NOW!"
⠀
Mori ran. No plan behind it, no technique, just forward, straight under the shadow of the rising limb, and swung with everything he had left.
⠀
The blade connected.
⠀
This time, it detonated.
⠀
Crimson light tore clean through the ARCH's head, metal screaming outward, paper catching alight mid-air, gears scattering across the rooftop like shrapnel finally let loose. And then, all at once, the ticking simply stopped.
⠀
ARCHtype: Eclectic Writings::Nakiri
Threat Level: NA (나)
Ability: A nakiri gifted to those the ARCH, Eclectic Writings, favors most. The first three strikes dealt by the nakiri are completely dull, but the fourth strike will always inflict damage equal to that of a KKA-level ARCH or an Elegy. This ability can be countered, as the nakiri must deal strikes within 10 seconds of one another for them to count toward the fourth and final strike.
⠀
For a moment nothing moved at all. Then the ARCH's body folded in on itself, unraveling into scorched paper and dead metal, scattering across the rooftop before fading out of existence entirely.
⠀
Mori stood frozen, the nakiri slipping from his fingers.
⠀
"...We actually..."
⠀
Yuhuan let out a long breath, both hands still white-knuckled around his own blade. "That was insane."
⠀
Mitchell dropped to one knee, grinning through the blood on his arm. Antollio brushed dust from his sleeve like none of the last ten minutes had happened to him personally.
⠀
"Not bad."
⠀
Heng Jing watched the last embers of his phoenix dissolve into the air, calm as ever. "An interesting outcome."
⠀
The rooftop went quiet. No ticking. No grinding gears. Just wind, and the settling dust, and the particular hush that follows anything that was never supposed to be survivable.
⠀
It took some convincing, but Antollio talked Mitchell into ending the exam early, with ARCH interference being an easy excuse to cite. The tally still went up before anyone was allowed to leave.
⠀
#1 - Saoirse Farrelly
#2 - Yuhuan Lau
#3 - Mori Ryunosuke