After almost another hour of painfully tedious fighting of their forces against the heavily fortified stronghold, Phoenix noticed something entering her aura range that sent her on high alert: a Crystal Caster closely followed by a Sapphire one.

  She quickly reyed the information to the rest of the party, and Dazien utilized his [Noble Subjects] to inform his direct commander, who he had added to his communication network in addition to their party and Paul before they had left the initial staging area above ground.

  Phoenix felt the battle energy begin to climb within her as the two auras kept getting closer and they took up defensive positions; all of them preparing to meet a potentially much stronger opponent that came with a higher likelihood of resulting in their deaths.

  She couldn’t allow that to happen. Phoenix didn’t think she could handle losing another family member, which she knew now was exactly what her companions had become.

  Pushing her fears down, she smothered them with the adrenaline that spiked and her heart sank when the Casters came into view.

  The Crystal aura belonged to a young cinderen who was clearly wearing the attire of one of the city guards and was bleeding heavily while running for their life. The Sapphire was a runeforged that was closing the distance behind the guard and was moving fast, a silver bow pulling back arrows composed of blue fire that were aimed straight at the retreating ally.

  Dazien raised his shield and triggered [Lead the Charge] once again as Rayna and Phoenix unched themselves forward to help intercept the archer, much like they had done a handful of times by now. Though, this would be their first Sapphire Caster they would be attempting to stand against.

  Uriel and Saiya positioned themselves behind the temporary half-walls erected as a makeshift barricade to cast from afar.

  “Let dreams become reality,” Phoenix muttered as she passed Dazien, conjuring a swarm of illusory birds to help keep the enemy’s attention off of the retreating guard and buy them time to close the distance.

  Rayna began the slow cadence of drumming footsteps as her speed increased, dodging fming arrows as best as the bard could, which was far better than Phoenix. However, she was slightly able to cheat with her gravity ability shunting her to the left or right by pulling herself towards the walls when needed.

  All three of them ignored the Crystal Caste guard as they moved to intercept the enemy and hopefully provide cover. The rain of blue arrows didn’t seem to care who they were attacking, however, as the Sapphire Caster let loose his abilities upon them.

  When the [Starlight Companions] were all destroyed from blocking the initial projectiles they hadn’t managed to dodge, all of their forms blurred further as the shadows gained strength in the darkening corridor.

  Phoenix pulled the enemy archer towards her and the bdes she wielded, causing them to collide and she immediately regretted the encounter as the sheer force of his Sapphire Caste counter strike with the bow itself sent her hurtling backward.

  Rayna struck from behind then, making the archer stumble slightly at the blow from the opposite direction but he recovered quickly, triggering another ability that sent him further back the way he had come from in an instant, disengaging from the melee.

  A few seconds ter, Dazien’s Crystal Caste shield met the Sapphire Caste bow as the runeforged seemed to enchant it with another ability and a resounding ‘crack!’ filled the corridor.

  An explosion of magic forcibly separated them as the shield was sundered in two.

  Dazien let out a cry of pain that she rarely heard from the frontliner as his arm was visibly broken in multiple pces. They were all thrown backward from the backsh of a destroyed magic item. Normally, minor damage wouldn’t be enough to cause such a reaction, but the shield was fairly new so its magic hadn’t been gradually worn down from use and the irreparable attack released it all at once.

  Phoenix recovered almost as quickly as the archer, pulling herself towards the ceiling to dodge another incoming volley, while incanting coldly, “Gaze into the abyss.” She scowled as she felt the enemy resist the Banes she had tried to apply.

  “Bow before your king!” Dazien recited, but the Sapphire Caster just made a rude gesture with a free hand and ughed at the resisted Spell.

  Rayna moved to attack once more as Phoenix unched herself towards the enemy in an attempt to push the runeforged into having to deal with two-on-one odds. She had managed to nick the man with her dagger as the sword got blocked, and she heard the musical hit of Rayna’s [Percussion Strike] nd on the enemy’s face.

  Then, he surprised them both by simply holding a hand out towards Rayna and saying “May the frostfire arrow fly true!” Another of those fming blue arrows shot directly from his palm and lodged itself into the bard’s neck.

  Rayna stumbled backwards, clutching at her inhibited throat preventing her from speaking or even breathing properly. Panic soared through Phoenix as she worried her friend might die from the blood loss if not from suffocation first.

  “You have forsaken my rule and thus forfeit your freedom!” Dazien incanted as he tried casting another controlling spell, and they could see the magically reinforced cage ability begin to take form around the enemy.

  In response, the archer triggered that same ability to teleport further back and incanted “Burn in the vortex of the frozen gale!” He seemed to use his bow as a staff by smming the end of it against the ground. It began to glow a bright blue, and the same blue fmes that comprised his arrows now covered the bow, and wind began to pour out from it in a growing swirl that seemed to be increasing in speed with each passing second.

  Phoenix unched herself at Rayna, trying to avoid the protruding arrow and grabbing her around the waist. Using her gravity ability once more, she pushed both her and Rayna back toward the rest of their party and out of range of the unexpected melee ability. The winds had seemed to ignite at some point in their retreat as a tornado of blue fmes surrounded the enemy, creating an eerie lull in the fight.

  Dazien moved to help the retreating guard. They were still stumbling their way down the hall toward Saiya, who sent a bolt of her [Heal Life] ability to assist. Uriel took the chance to move to the opposite side of Dazien in order to grab the other side of the injured ally, and the pair helped haul the guard behind the barricade.

  Phoenix followed closely behind, her mind churning as she attempted to think of a solution to their Sapphire Caste problem, while simultaneously fearing for Rayna’s ability to speak. She thought about casting her heal on the bard, but she was pretty sure they needed to somehow remove the magically constructed arrow first.

  As she set Rayna down behind the barricade, she overheard Uriel ask their leader, “He kept resisting my spells. How far out for reinforcements?”

  “Too far,” Dazien replied with a pained frown at the increasingly angered archer still in the vortex of his spell. “Will Rayna be alright?”

  Phoenix refocused on Rayna as Saiya came over and told her, “Phoenix, it might hurt you, but I need you to pull out the arrow while I cast my heal then you cast yours, alright? We’ll need to work quickly.”

  She nodded and let Saiya count down before giving the arrow a yank. It did hurt as the icy fmes licked at her palm, but it only sted a moment as she tossed it aside and incanted the severe cost of her Spell. “As surely as the sun will rise again, let life shine brightly from within, and you will see the dawn of tomorrow.”

  As Rayna took a gasp of air, Phoenix felt her panic finally lessen and she looked back towards the problem that still lingered before them all. With Dazien’s arm broken, which would need a stronger healer than Saiya to mend quickly, and Rayna still recovering, that only left Uriel and her as damage sources. The only option was to retreat or…

  She suddenly remembered something Rayna had told her a while ago and an idea formed in her mind. An insane pn that would require a crazy stunt of desperation and likely get her killed, but had a high chance of taking the enemy with her.

  “Saiya, I’m gonna need you to boost me in a second,” Phoenix quickly said as she conjured more sparkling birds to engage and distract the enemy.

  “What crazy scheme are you concocting this time?” Dazien asked with a slight growl as Saiya began to focus on healing him next, now that the guard and Rayna were resting.

  “I admit it’s crazy, but ‘scheme’ might be a little misleading,” she replied, trying to sidestep the question. “I just figured if we’re gonna die anyways, I might as well go all out. Can’t use some of my more devastating abilities without damaging the city, but this one should be fine to take on this guy.”

  “He’s a Sapphire, Phoenix. He swatted you away like a bug before,” he argued.

  “Hence the boost… plus a few other boosts…” she admitted, then said firmly, “I just need you all to trust me with this. You and Rayna should just stay back to protect the others, I’m just pnning to buy some time till the reinforcements arrive. If I’m lucky enough, it’ll only take a couple minutes to end this.”

  Dazien was about to argue, but Uriel’s hand stayed his retort. Instead, their leader stated firmly while lifting a pair of uninjured fingers for emphasis, “You have two minutes to burst him and return, otherwise I’m coming to drag you back before Lord Waynd murders me.”

  She gave a curt nod and turned to Saiya. “Wait till I’m a bit closer, then hit me with it.”

  “Alright.”

  Phoenix didn’t wait another moment as she sprinted down the stone hall, conjuring one of the Magi Fortune Booster potions she had helped craft, and tipping the concoction into her mouth.

  Item: Magi Fortune Booster

  Potion created from the luck of a Spotted Ladybird, the strength of a Dragon, and the magic of an Arcane Wyrmling.

  Caste: Crystal.

  Avaibility: Rare.

  Type: Consumable, potion.

  Requirements: Crystal Caste.

  Effect: Variably increases the effects of the next ability cast. Once the effects of the ability end all attributes are equally reduced for a moderate duration based on how greatly the initial effects were enhanced.

  A second ter, Saiya’s power flowed into her, adding yet another recoil effect onto the stack.

  Ability: Crescendo

  Type: Boon (recoil, magical, song)

  Cost: Severe mana.

  Cooldown: 6 hours.

  Current Caste: Crystal 9 (34%)

  Crystal Effect: Mind, Agility, and Fortitude attributes, along with maximum capacity and regeneration of mana and stamina pools, are greatly increased for a target ally for a moderate duration. When this effect ends, the targeted ally is temporarily debilitated, suffering the inverse of all previous effects.

  Once the Boon settled on her and the fming vortex of the archer dissipated, Phoenix triggered [Avatar of Bakunawa] again and immediately opened her mouth to spew the white and bck dragon fmes all over the enemy Caster.

  It was the very next moment that she registered an additional message from the book trailing nearby and internally grimaced wondering why the world seemed determined to spoil the best cheats for her.

  Warning: The selected ability, [Avatar of Bakunawa], combined with the [Magi Fortune Booster], has resulted in a good compatibility match for slightly increased effectiveness. You have been temporarily enhanced beyond current Caste levels. The ensuing recoil will result in reducing attributes below current Caste levels.

  Not wanting to waste any of the precious time she had, Phoenix was ready as soon as the [Eclipse Breath] ended to follow up with another spell.

  “Gaze into the abyss,” she incanted through the odd fangs, and now that she was temporarily pushed into Sapphire Caste power levels, she felt the Bane take hold.

  An arrow managed to pierce her shoulder, but she ignored the burning pain, pleased with the knowledge that he felt the retribution damage for his attack that her [Call of the Abyss] had ensured. She raked her [Cosmic Talons] over the man, trying to put him at a disadvantage with the enclosed distance.

  Phoenix went for his face, but her aim was off, unused to the Sapphire Caste Agility she was working at now but her boosted Mind was helping her quickly adjust.

  She was also not the best with using cw weapons. While she had done some hand-to-hand training with Bliss and her party to better embed the knowledge she had gotten from her Banced Body tome from Warrior, it wasn’t as second nature to her as she would have liked.

  Phoenix pushed her bits of training to its limits as she punched, kicked, and attempted to slice the man to pieces. She tried her best to emute the murder-kitten who had been her training partner for a while and who very much preferred using cws, only stepping back to breathe fire again.

  The enemy was struggling slightly with her close range, trying to block as much as he could with his bow and continually attempting to put distance between them. He tried to use that palm arrow again but she was ready for it this time and was able to avoid that one.

  Knowing she needed to end things quicker so she wouldn’t end up as a weakened Mundane while going toe-to-toe with a Sapphire Caster, she called in backup, “Ta, cover me.”

  As her Familiar emerged, she engaged the man again, and [Star Fire] consumed both of them. Her [Moonlit Eyes] passive helped her see clearly through the bright fmes as the archer let out a cry of pain and attempted to cover his eyes.

  When he dropped his guard, that gave Phoenix the moment to pour more mana into her [Ruler of Retivity] to increase the speed and force of her thrust towards the archer’s chest.

  Silver cws buried themselves into his chest and she felt his lung colpse.

  However, he didn’t gasp for air like she had expected and it dawned on her a moment ter that Sapphire Casters didn’t need to breathe. She needed to try again and go for the heart this time, he should still have one of those.

  Phoenix was out of time though, colpsing to her knees as the power faded from her, and the crippling after-effects of the two recoil abilities plus potion stripped away any remaining power she tried to cling to, threatening to take her life as well.

  Her vision blurred as she looked up at the Sapphire Caster, who was still standing despite the hole in his chest, and a final fming arrow was leveled at her face.

  “You forgot the Rule of Caste, bitch,” the archer spat, blood coating his chin as he opened his mouth, and she braced herself for yet another death.

  It never came, though, as a diamond sword smmed into the runeforged, knocking him backward down the hall, and Phoenix glimpsed amethyst hair and kitsune tails pass by towards the downed enemy.

  With a stray thought, she triggered both her mana tattoo and the stored-up glitter bomb of [Starlight Q in an attempt to stave off the quickly draining pools that would likely render her unconscious in a moment. Trying her best not to fall over as she tried to endure the sudden drop.

  “Sweet flower, what did you do…” Saiya’s voice whispered nearby and Phoenix thought she caught a glimpse of a glowing tail. A wave of healing life energy flowed into her, forestalling the death that attempted to cim her once more. She slumped to the side, her cheek resting against the warm wet floor as her injuries were mended.

  Phoenix attempted to sit up only to have Saiya push her back down while getting another pulse of the [Heal Life] spell sent into her. She knew she had managed quite a bit of damage to the Sapphire Caster but he was still a threat that she wasn’t sure the others could handle alone. At the distant sound of battle, she tried getting up again, only relenting once the Sapphire aura finally vanished from her senses.

  It looked like her efforts had been enough for her friends to win.

  She stared at the ceiling, trying to gather any sembnce of thought, as the pain continued to pulsate through her entire body. Meanwhile, Saiya continued to fight back the aftereffects of her having gone far past her physical limits and the cost the magic demanded payment for.

  “Will she be okay?” Dazien’s voice asked from somewhere she couldn’t see. What she did see was voxen features staring down at her, and she wasn’t quite certain if Rayna had come over as well or if she had started seeing double.

  “Yes, but I’m not sure when she’ll be fighting fit,” Saiya’s voice replied. “Should I use [Restful Retreat]?”

  “No, that’ll take us all out of the fight, and we need to defend this point,” the leader replied as she wearily turned to look at him. The healing Life magic wasn’t doing much to help when all of her base Attributes were plummeting into Mundane realms. She really hoped it didn’t kill her, but she already felt as weak as she had back on Earth.

  “I don’t have anything to just boost her Fortitude up a bit to keep her from dying if her attributes keep going lower,” Saiya informed with a hint of distress that Phoenix couldn’t recall hearing before.

  “Rex, help hold the line,” Dazien commanded. Then the hall was filled with a scream, which took her a second to realize was her own when someone picked her up from the floor.

  The Healer scolded her torturer, “Be careful! The inverse effects of those combined abilities and that evil potion have made her even weaker than a normal Mundane child. You could break bones at this point if you’re too rough.”

  “We have to move her back to the staging point. The other healers can tend to her there. Just because the Sapphire Caster is dead doesn’t mean it’s safe here,” Dazien firmly said as he began moving. Phoenix groaned through clenched teeth, trying to hold back another scream as Dazien ordered, “You three stay here and guard this point. The reinforcements should be here any minute and you can come meet us.”

  “Why don’t I take her? Your arm is still fractured and I’m faster than you by far,” Rayna spoke up, sounding much better than when Phoenix had left her recovering.

  “Because you’re a better choice for killing whatever enemy might come down that hall than I am. Hopefully, there’s a healer that can mend my bones more quickly. They’re usually harder to break because of my species, but they’re also harder to mend, too. If another Sapphire appears, you’re the best chance for holding them back. Be sure to contact me through the voice chat if there’s more trouble or when you’re on your way.”

  They must have nodded because Phoenix didn’t hear any more voices as Dazien moved quickly back towards the encampment.