He never slept that night. Fear, excitement, and everything in between kept him wired on the eve of battle. When the maidens knocked on his door, he was already standing, having paced the small room for several hours already. Hector returned the room key to the clerk for the final time and walked through the city with his momentary allies.

Darius joined them towards the end. Without a word, he gestured towards the skyline to reveal a figure following their path across the rooftops. The spear maidens held a spirited debate among themselves while Hector studied the leaping figure in a bid to determine if it was One-Shot Jerry or Chief Enforcer Felix. Killer or cop? Ultimately it didn't matter. He knew both would be close.

The spear maidens finished their argument and fell silent. They hadn't decided to ditch the guys and run for the opposite gate, which was a plus in Hector's estimation. Worst case, everyone went their own way the moment they left Toll Burgh. If he could form up a transit sphere before Jerry arrived, then the man would have to hunt the maidens instead.

Maybe it would be the smartest move to form a sphere no matter what happened the moment he passed out of the suppression field. That would certainly demonstrate humility in his own capabilities and respect for his enemies. Offering the maidens a ride could even be his charity – whether or not they accepted would be their decision. Yet that course ​felt wrong.

Changing the plan at the last minute would not be fair to people he claimed as allies. If they refused – due to shock or out of concern for his intentions – then he was betraying them to their deaths. And Darius may not even get in the sphere.

Loyalty.

That word floated to the top of his consciousness. Loyalty to his friend and his allies required him to carry out this fight in the manner he agreed to. It wasn't some personal flaw that brought a new virtue to his attention this time. He was generally loyal to those people who were important to him. Even Hector's adherence to this hopeless treasure hunt in Stein was the result of his loyalty to Riley. The disloyal thoughts inspired by his fear of chaos bolts had created a tension within him, one that revealed a deeply held belief.

Though he'd long since forgiven Jen and come to understand his role in the downfall of their relationship, to this day he still felt the sting of her betrayal for dating other men. He didn't know if she'd been intimate with any of them – though out of a certain malice during their separation he assumed so. He did know that she was shopping for his replacement. That was enough of a knife to the heart. He would never have made that move first no matter how long they lived apart. Because for all his flaws, he was inherently loyal.

Hector found a certain relief in knowing that if he died in the upcoming battle it would be because of a virtue he naturally exemplified instead of one he cultivated to remedy his shortcomings. Walking to his death for the right reasons… well, he still didn't like it. But he could respect it.

As they reached the gate, the figure above jumped down from the rooftop to meet them. Felix gazed at a ridge along the foothill side of the city. "You should hurry. If the conflict comes close to the city I will end every one of you."

Hector glanced towards the ridge and noticed a figure barely visible, with close to zero trace of cosmic energy. The veil technique was quite annoying. Mei, leader of the Azure Spear Maidens, chopped her hand towards the gate and everyone began to sprint towards freedom.

The four maidens and Hector and Darius shot through the gate and onto the road that transitioned from stone to gravel to dirt with surprising rapidity. The sprint took them among the trees of the forest in under a minute. The road curved around a protrusion of the mountain, hiding the city entirely from view.

Darius slowed to a stop and turned to face the rear. Hector joined his friend and began to summon his transit sphere. The spear maidens bristled at the sight. Isabel addressed the matter. "You intend to abandon us before the battle?"

"I'm laying some cover," Hector said. "If Jerry tries to shoot his way through my sphere, he's going to need to change his name to 'Million-Shot'."

"Your humor has not improved," Isabel growled. "And your plan will not work. His chaos bolt will push your externality out of phase with reality. Shields or weapons or spheres, it is all the same. Chaos bolts cannot be blocked, only avoided or triggered to explode prematurely. Your sphere will be gone at the first strike."

Hector snapped his fingers at Darius. "We need a test. Hit my sphere."

"Too late." The eunuch raised his hand and a purple beam stretched forth from him towards a figure rounding the bend. The beam didn't reach its target before exploding in all directions. One-Shot Jerry threw his own chaos bolt back, one that was both wider and coherent enough to cross the distance before exploding. The spear maiden named Jia had her arm caught in the beam. Not only did she lose the limb, but her body was thrown violently into a tree.

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Before anyone could check on their downed ally, another beam arrived. This one, more hastily thrown, missed the human targets and connected with the ground first. Its explosive force threw them further into disarray as Darius went flying in one direction and Isabel another.

That left just Hector, Mei, and Yan still standing. The spear of Mei hurtled through the air, carried most of the distance by a cable before flying unassisted as it surpassed the range of her domain. One-Shot launched a chaos bolt at the spear. The two intersected. Spear winked out of existence and bolt exploded.

They were too far away to bring their offense into play. One-Shot Jerry could fire from a distance, safe from harm while he slaughtered them. They had to draw their opponent in if they wanted any chance of victory.

Before Mei manifested her spear again, another chaos bolt already flew their way. Hector dragged Yan with him behind his sphere. Mei dodged the other direction. The bolt exploded when it reached its maximum length, chaos boiling free in a thunderous clap.

Hector couldn't see where Darius had landed, but Isabel crawled towards the immobile Jia. Another bolt lanced towards them. Hector moved slightly to ensure he would be covered from the subsequent explosion.

And almost went blind.

The entire surface of his sphere flashed luminescent in the moment of contact with chaos, then came the sound of thunder, the entire experience like a massive flash-bang. Hector vaguely sensed the conversion of chaos into cosmic energy happening by reflex, but mostly he was focused on the fact that his retinas might have been burned out. Another bolt hit his sphere, causing another flash.

Yan shoved away from him. "Light stop!"

Another bolt, whose thunder came with its own lightning special effect.

He was turned away from his sphere, so when his vision returned, he was able to see Isabel digging a core out of the skull of her fallen sister Jia. She shouted something to Mei when that was accomplished. Mei then issued a command in the Zing language. In an instant, the three surviving maidens soared into the air and disappeared.

Well, now he didn't have to stay loyal to the departed ladies. That suited him fine. "Darius! Get over here! We're leaving in the sphere!"

No response.

Hector searched about, still struggling to see well with the afterimage of that first sphere flash in his eyes. He couldn't see his friend, but he did spot Jerry repositioning for a clear shot. With a blast of cosmic energy from his domain, Hector zoomed around his sphere to avoid an incoming bolt and squeezed his eyes shut just in time to avoid another bout of blindness.

"You are an odd one, Hector! Blocking bolts! Still weak, but very strange as well!"

He couldn't figure out where Darius had gone. Hector grit his teeth and shifted his position once more. Jerry worked his way closer, throwing bolt after bolt as he circled tighter. For Hector the main battle was regaining his vision in time to seek cover. Being closer to the sphere meant he had less distance to travel but suffered greater from the flashes of light.

He pulled the vial of poison free of his pocket and threw it to the road. After the toss he worried about shattering the glass. Fortunately, it survived. "You can have an elixir, just let me go!"

Jerry laughed. "I will drink the elixir at the same time as I eat your core."

The other man was close enough now that Hector didn't think he could invert his sphere fast enough to travel to safety. Not that he'd leave without Darius. Well… being so close to each other meant Hector could finally return the attacks.

He lashed out with a cable to sweep Jerry's ankles. The man jumped up and flew above the cable while launching another chaos bolt towards Hector. His sphere fluoresced as it converted the stream of chaos.

Hector went to turn once more, still half blind, and a chaos bolt shot intentionally wide exploded, its shock wave sending him tumbling across the ground. He looked up to see his sphere no longer between him and his opponent. One-Shot Jerry was closing in fast, feral grin growing wider.

"I told you this is how it would be, Hector." The bald, muscular man known as One-Shot Jerry looked like he was in the grip of ecstasy. "I cull the weak from the herd."

The break for boasts allowed Hector's eyes to fully clear. He noticed random blips of light like static on the mirror surface of his sphere, places where chaos in the atmosphere had drifted too close to his raised externality. There might even be enough for mental cultivation. It was a shame he wouldn't live long enough to take advantage of that.

Jerry raised his hand. "I think you die by gut shot, Hector."

He began forming cables to trip his opponent or gouge out his eyes or wring his neck. Dozens of cables all woven at once. If he was going to go out, it would be with a fight and while demonstrating the skills he'd built. The cables, half-formed, were never finished.

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