The chamber pulsed with tension. No tricks now. No diversions. No masks.
Only war.
Zee moved first.
Spellsteel shimmered as his blade erupted in crackling light. He charged the Marshal like a bolt loosed from storm, metal screaming through the air. Their swords met with a thunderclap.
The Marshal didn't stumble.
He pushed back with force that almost sent Zee off his feet. The man was fast. And worse.. precise. No wasted breath. Every move born of discipline honed by decades.
The bodyguard stepped forward next.. a living mountain in red and steel. Torren intercepted. Blades flashed, but the giant caught one mid-air, crushing it in a gauntleted fist. He backhanded Torren into a pillar. Stone cracked.
Sevi blurred into motion, casting quick flares of blinding light. The Marshal shielded his eyes, giving Zee half a breath to strike, but the bodyguard blocked him instead, intercepting with sheer brute presence.
Vile danced around the edges, carving at gaps in the armor. Her blades bit, but the bodyguard didn't flinch. One swing of his massive blade sent her skidding. She rose... but slower.
The Marshal surged toward Sevi. Zee dashed between them. Their blades met again. Sparks. Grit. Pain.
Then.. a cry.
Vile.
A cruel backhand from the bodyguard shattered her stance. She fell hard, a line of blood across her side. Her leg twisted beneath her.
She tried to rise.
Fell.
The Marshal struck again, and again Zee blocked him, but barely. Sevi crawled to Vile, shielding her with shimmer-illusion. Torren, bloodied and limping, distracted the bodyguard just long enough.
Zee found his moment.
Spellsteel lit once more. Fire laced the edge. The Marshal raised his blade...
Too slow.
Zee drove his sword through the chestplate. Not sideways. Not clever.
Straight through.
The Marshal gasped. Eyes wide.
Then silence.
Zee yanked the blade free. The body fell.
The bodyguard roared.
He charged, staggering now, bleeding from a dozen cuts. Torren lunged low. Sevi struck from behind. Zee turned, catching the monster's blade with his own. It cracked.
Still the brute swung.
Zee didn't move in time.
But Vile did.
She hurled her dagger..
It buried in the man's neck.
But even as he dropped to one knee, the bodyguard's blade came down in the same breath, piercing Vile's side.
The bodyguard staggered, dropped to one knee, and..finally..fell.
Silence.
Only four remained, bloodied, gasping.
Zee.
Sevi.
Torren.
Vile.
Standing where power once ruled.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
Vile winced, trying to push herself upright. Blood streaked her leg, the wound still open, her movements stiff and strained.
"My master doesn't need a broken blade," she muttered, trying to rise again.
Zee moved to her side without a word. He knelt, pulling cloth from his pouch, hands already stained from the fight.
"We don't leave anyone behind. She will get a patched up one," Zee said.
He wrapped the wound tightly, sealing it with practiced efficiency. Vile didn't protest.
When he was done, he slung her arm across his shoulder.
"I'll lend you my shoulder," he added quietly.
Then, without another word, the four of them turned toward the shattered hall doors, and walked forward.