Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave seemed to have a penchant for fighting powerful people in high towers with the intent of subverting their governance. This was the second time—not a lot by any measure, but even still, it was strange that it had happened twice. This time, Argrave had a lot more at his disposal than a bag of Ebonice arrowheads and a gutful of spite.

Magister Vera held both of her hands out, palms whirling with spell matrixes as she contested Ivan with her magic. The margrave became aglow with golden sparks as he took blow after blow as though they were nothing. Bolts of lightning exploded into pillars of frost, flames soared out like gusts of wind… yet still he resisted, taking them all with the aid of the enchantments inscribed along the wall, the floors, and the ceiling.

Vera’s A-rank ascension, [Two-Faced], imbued all of her elemental spells with another element of her choosing. It defied the conventional logic of all the elements, yet its effect was undeniably powerful. She could send lightning-fast projectiles that exploded into ice or send fire through the air with the structure and force of wind magic.

Margrave Ivan, her target, was far from a static target. He stepped about the room, commanding the spells writ into the stone in magic to assault them at no expenditure to himself. Spears of ice came from the walls in relentless waves, lightning rained down from above, jaws of fire bit from below like wolves nipping at the heels…

But then, Vera was not alone.

Closely bunched with the others, Vasilisa handled all attacks with the grace of a figure skater. With a snap of her finger, a stomp of her foot, a clench of her fist, a whistle from her mouth, or even a turn of her head, wards rose to confront each and every attack like the woman had an enchanted array just like Ivan’s hidden out of sight. Hegazar and Anneliese’s magic defense, though robust, seemed lacking sorely beside hers.

Vasilisa’s ascension was singular in effect and somewhat underwhelming by simple observation. She needed no spell matrix to cast magic. She needed only vague gesture and clear intent: as such, her ascension bore the name [Matrix of the Body].

Even then, Hegazar, Vera, and Anneliese together were not enough to resist Ivan’s relentless barrage. Galamon was the only able to deal with the faster magics—with one Giantkiller held in his right hand to ward lightning and the left hand occupied with his Ebonice axe, his weapons soared through the air as though he fought ghosts. Their position was so unfavorable even the four of them could not block all attacks, and the wounds mounted—slight, yet building.

attacked me in my tower,” Ivan declared

down once again, redoubled in intensity—Galamon had to drop his Ebonice axe and retrieve the other Giantkiller to receive the sparking assault. Anneliese, once idle, had to join in the

and his reserves of enchantments within the tower were without an end. With so many variables in this battle, though… it was forgivable to forget a

stood in the corner of the room, keeping a low profile to avoid stray attacks. He was concealed by Hegazar’s magic. Maybe if Ivan hadn’t been trying to end three Magisters, he would’ve seen through the

his arm slowly lost the essence within it—not blood in its liquid form, but rather the core mystical constitution of blood magic. This essence had been gathering for well over a month. He poured all of it within the

to course through his wrist, and Argrave winced. The bracer was drained. Even still, he held. Argrave rose from his crouching position and walked as the spell tore at his vitality. Hegazar’s illusion magic shattered from the intensity of the spell, revealing Argrave in earnest. Ivan’s gaze rushed to Argrave, his recognition slowing turning

one opportunity… if the Magisters restrained him long enough to get an attack off, it would be over. But Argrave remembered well nearly missing his target the first time he’d use [Bloodfeud Bow] all those months

He took aim… and released the arrow towards the floor

describe it simply… the first few floors beneath them merely vanished as soon as the

with an undeniable advantage… Argrave didn’t believe it was prudent to engage in

to the whims of gravity. The sound was so deafening his hearing vanished in wake of a simple ringing. He looked back up, dazed and full of adrenaline, to witness the utter shock and dismay

were

of a car, pinning him to the still-stable wall while suspending everyone except Argrave in the air. The complete destruction of all the tower’s floors weakened the protective enchantments, but did not diminish them totally—still, Ivan coughed up blood from the blow, displaying his weakness plainly.

wondered if he should be concerned about the rapidly approaching floors below. Above, he spotted someone diving towards him. Anneliese caught Argrave, maneuvering with