Crack-boom.

The dragon fell from the sky into the square, his form shrinking as he plummeted. Sayed smiled, but he did not have time to gloat. He turned away as a blast of dust slammed into his back, focusing his gaze on Jean's prone form.

Whatever happened in the next few moments, he had one job.

"Do not move, brother!" he yelled as he ran through the dust and debris that folded around him.

Skrrt.

His boots touched upon a hard object in the dust, and he slid to a stop as the dust settled around him. He knelt, finding Jean lying on his back with eyes wide open. Sayed touched Jean's cheek with one hand and found it cold.

"But that may not mean the end for a skeleton," he whispered.

The dust was settling around him, and he needed to move quickly. He reached down Jean's robes, finding a hole in them and feeling a solid chunk of metal. The moment he touched the stone, his strength fled him. He nearly fell over on top of Jean, and only his arm kept him upright.

"What is this?" he whispered, taking his hand from the metal before pulling at the hole to get a better look.

Rip.

The cloth tore away easily under his fingers, and the fading dust allowed Sayed to see the problem. A metal ball had forced itself between Jean's ribs. The bones around the ball had cracked, and they held tightly onto the metal like a clawed hand.

"Just wait, brother." Sayed took his khopesh and pressed the tip against the metal ball. "I will free you soon."

Sayed was often thought not to be the smartest of the group. He knew this, and his antics often made his friends doubt him. However, he was no fool. By touching it, he could readily see that the metal was leeching away Jean's strength.

Tink. Thap.

With a grunt, Sayed knocked the piece of metal out of Jean's ribcage, sending it clattering to the back of his robe moments later. Sayed reached through Jean's ribcage with the tip of his blade and knocked the metal from underneath Jean and to his side. He picked it up with a grimace and tossed it away, only feeling the draining sensation for a fleeting moment.

"It's like my entire life has flashed before my eyes," Jean whispered as his eyes fluttered open. "I thought it would be longer."

"It may have been, brother," Sayed said, reaching down with a hand that Jean quickly grasped. "But we are not at the end yet."

Jean stood up as the dust cloud faded, and Sayed took the opportunity to survey the area around them.

As the dust cleared, a massive crater opened up before him, and the entire park that had been there before was destroyed. At its center stood a scaled man in a dark red and black uniform, covered in scales with a sharp-toothed visage. Sayed recognized him from Diamond Peak; considering his dragon form, it had to be the same person.

"Is it a blessing, a curse, or some strange magic?" Sayed drew his blade.

Crick. Crack.

"It doesn't matter," Jean said, stepping up beside him as a purple aura surrounded him, and Eliza pulled herself out of his shadow. "If he can take that form again, he will be a threat to the ship. We need to bring him down now."

"Agreed." Sayed smiled.

As he spoke, the woman, Lieutenant Brunhild, rose from the dust, spear in her hands as she staggered to her feet. She glared at both of them, and Sayed sensed the anger behind her stance before she uttered a word.

"You'll have to go through—"

"Demon's Thrust!"

Before she could make a move, Sayed charged across the battlefield, thrusting his sword forward with all his might as he cut the distance between them to nothing. She tried to dodge, but it was too late. Sayed's sword bit into her shoulder, and he forced her to the ground.

Clatter.

The spear fell from her hands as he stood over her, and Sayed kicked it away with one leg before withdrawing his sword.

"You are strong." Sayed withdrew his blade. "But make no mistake. If it is a choice between fighting one or both at once, we will kill you first."

"Aah." Brunhild gasped as Sayed stepped over her, facing the lizard man as he approached.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The strange man hadn't said anything since he landed, and despite his long fall, he appeared unharmed. Sayed doubted that he could take down such a man easily. However, he already knew he wasn't in the fight alone.

"We'll need to defeat him to clear the way," Jean said, Eliza resting on his arm as he stepped up beside Sayed.

"Indeed," Sayed said. "I would normally ask to take the fight alone, but he went after the ship. We need to make room to return to Artur before Alex needs to escape."

"We'll take him down together." Jean smirked at him. "Then we'll get back to the ship. Everything will work out in the end."

"That kind of confidence is admirable," the lizard man's voice echoed through the dust-filled streets. "The last time we faced each other, you all ran."

"We had other priorities," Jean said. "But now, suffice to say, you have our complete attention."

"Is that my lieutenant behind you?" the lizard man asked, a trail of smoke rising from his maw as his eyes flashed red.

His gaze looked behind Sayed to where the bodies of the restrained soldiers lay.

"And my soldiers." The smoke turned from a faint trail to a plume. "It seems my plan to corner you didn't work."

"Not for lack of trying," Jean said.

"We were just too mighty to be contained." Sayed clenched his muscles as he drew in a breath. "Perhaps you should have come for us yourself. Then this all could have been avoided."

In the distance and all around them, the crowd out in the street began to move. Some crawled out from the dust and debris, while others remained motionless under rocks and wood from collapsed structures. The man's landing had caused much collateral damage, and Sayed was seeing it for the first time.

"It is our job to protect people from outlaws like you." The lizard man shook his head. "If you hadn't been here, none of this would have happened!"

"But we were here," Jean said. "And the machinations of fate have bent us to meet. Either let us pass or try to stop us. We cannot wait for you to ponder the consequences of your actions."

"If you truly believe you must help these people, then make way for us and start helping them." Sayed narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, what is your duty? Empty lies."

He came faster than Sayed could track, his clawed hand outstretched as he jumped the distance between them. Sayed dropped his sword just in time to catch the claws, holding them back from piercing his neck in the first blow.

Ting.

His sword shook in his hand as he held the claws at bay. The lizard man's yellow eyes stared unblinkingly into his own, and Sayed smiled. The man wanted to kill him with every part of his being. Sayed would have to give his best effort in return.

"Spirit Step!"

Jean appeared above the man, Eliza extending down the length of his arm as her leg blurred in a flurry of kicks at the man's head. The man raised one clawed hand without looking, catching Eliza's skeletal leg on the first kick and holding it tight.

"I am Captain Drake," the man said as he held them both at bay. "And I will show you the full power of that rank."

Lieutenant Brunhild stood again, her vision swimming as blood trailed down her useless right arm. She was covered in dust and dirt, and her spear had been kicked out of sight. She would be unconscious without the Path of Breath fueling her body.

However, she had a job to do, a mission to accomplish. She may not have been able to fight anymore, but she could still do her duty. She stumbled over to the bodies of her men, holding onto her shoulder to keep everything put together.

They lay in a pile where the swordsman had bisected them, covered in the same dirt and debris as everything else from the captain's landing. Brunhild grimaced as he saw their state. It would take minutes to restore them back to operating condition.

That left the possibility of using them to fight the outlaws. However, the fight would be over before enough of them were ready so she could start the rescue process.

All she needed was a little blood.

Boom.

Over her shoulder, the two outlaws faced off with Captain Drake, sword and kick slamming into her captain as he fought them off. She shook her head, focusing on their men. She needed to get them back up and running. She needed to focus.

Rip.

She tore away some cloth from her uniform, holding the blood-drenched cloth in her hand as she hobbled over to the pile of bodies. She held the cloth over their bodies and focused on the flow of aether through her blood. It dripped down on the fallen men as she closed her eyes and drew in a breath.

The men were on loan from Doctor Ozymandius, creations from one of his many projects around the Empyrean. She didn't like what he called them. It made a mockery of the lives of her usual troops, but they were already showing how necessary they were.

"Arise."

She let out her breath, putting her will into the blood as it dripped down onto the bodies. It was small, but it would be enough to get a few of them back on their feet. She just needed to maintain her focus.

Crick. Crack.

Bones shook and shuddered as the torsos of three of the soldiers drew themselves together. Brunhild kept her eyes closed, but she knew what it looked like. She had seen the test logs that Doctor Ozymandius had sent with the soldiers. She knew precisely what it looked like.

"Arise, Copymen."

Crick Crack.

Faster. Tendrils would pop out from their torsos, reattaching themselves to the nearest legs without caring which ones belonged to which. They were stitched together by monstrosities under their masks, pieces of soldiers lost in battle being put to a new purpose, and she was their keeper. Despite the chill that ran up her spine at the thought of that, she pushed forward.

"Arise. Copymen. Arise."

Crick. Crack.

Despite the opinions of some within the Military Police, they did serve the purpose of helping the citizens of the Empyrean. Even if not all they did was good, they were sworn to protect the people until death and after. The Military Police existed to serve.

Thump.

Brunhild opened her eyes as two of the soldiers regained their feet. She sagged as her vision blurred, but one of the soldiers grabbed her with one hand, holding her up from falling down the length of his arm. She grimaced and gasped as fire jolted down her arm, and a burning sensation settled up her shoulder. However, she kept breathing and thus didn't pass out.

"Orders?" the man asked through his mask, hissing out a small stream of steam from the canister over his mouth.

"Rescue any wounded around the square," she said, regaining her feet and stepping out of his grip. "Stay out of the fight at all costs, but get as many people to safety as you can."

"Understood." The two soldiers saluted before starting into the wreckage around them.

Brunhild wanted nothing more than to slink over to the nearest wall and collapse with something strong behind her back, but she knew she couldn't yet do it. Instead, she ripped off her sleeve and tightened it as tightly as possible with one hand across her arm. When she was done, she followed after the two soldiers to help.

Whatever happened now, her mission was clear.

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