“So good to see you again, Master Talgatov,” Fiona said as she greeted the approaching Zaatsu.

  “Where the hell is Renekom?” he asked. “He should’ve been here by now!”

  Zaatsu Master Talgat Talgatov was the overseer of operations at the Eye’s outpost in Kazakhstan. This 48-year-old Martial Artist was revered as a stoic enforcer and an exemplary arcanist with immense knowledge of Cults and the underground circuits.

  “Have you tried establishing contact with him?” the bearded, tall man asked as he adjusted his robe.

  “No use.” Fiona shook her head. “We haven’t been able to reach any of them.”

  “What about Hugo and Faris?”

  “Same. No replies yet.”

  They were standing at the battlement beside the western gate of the City of Ayn.

  Talgatov wondered for a few seconds. “How’re the preparations here?” he eventually asked. “All borders secured?”

  “Yes.” Fiona nodded. “I’m overseeing Ayn’s defences personally. Master Hedish is at the Palace with two contingents.”

  “Are we concentrated on the border or are there operatives inside as well?”

  “Borders. The repellent ward is in place to defend against teleportation. So, no one is getting in directly. They’ll have to go through us. But just to be safe, we have left academy seniors and in training Mystics to patrol the streets and help civilians.”

  “Good.” Talgat looked around. “How many do you have?”

  “Enough… for now.” The Mystic took a deep breath. “More are inbound.” After a pause, she added, “The entire Japanese outpost has already arrived strengthening our defences manyfold.”

  Wide-eyed, he stared. “All of them?”

  “Yes. Nearly five-hundred.”

  “And would that strengthen you or weaken you?” Arms akimbo, he leaned ahead. “You know those are Cult heavy areas they look after. I had to leave most of my regulars at station and on high alert. The same Cults that used to be our eyes and ears have become semi-violent entities now who believe we are the oppressors, the enemies. Plus, after Europe, no telling where he’ll hit next.”

  Fiona looked at Talgat with a narrowed gaze. “Who?”

  He immediately leaned back. “Did you people not receive any news from Europe yet?”

  “Cults have declared war.”

  His face in his palm, the Zaatsu sighed. Looking away, he said, “Fiona… the Basilisk has been brought back to life…”

  “What!” Her heart raced. The horrors of the 90s ran in front of her eyes like a highlight reel. Her mouth remained open but no words came out. The air suddenly felt heavier. She gasped for breath.

  Talgat exhaled with closed eyes then looked away. “That’s why they were stealing the remnants of the diamond.”

  “But his body… how did they…?”

  He sighed then looked at her once again, chuckling. “Oh, come on now, Master Bennett. These subtle discrepancies aren’t new for either of us…”

  Lost for words, the Mystic could not reply. So, Talgat asked, “Well, where do you want us then?”

  Coming about, Fiona asked, “How many do you have?”

  “Of the four-hundred-something I’ve got, I could only bring five dozen – some Zaatsus, some Sokidus.”

  “Alright.” The Mystic nodded and then explained the defensive layers they had formed. “So, as you can see, Masters Zara and Rickard are leading platoons in the east; Masters Orlov and Sen are heading the defences in the south. Here on the west side, I have Master Owusu, the City Guard legend, leading the frontline soldiers. And I am looking after them from the back. Other senior Zaatsus and Parliamentarians are scattered throughout.”

  Talgat smiled. “That Yaw Owusu can take down five hundred wizards alone. So, I guess I’ll split my group.”

  The Zaatsu decided to split his men and women to assist the City Guard while he himself remained stationed with the Mystic herself.

  As soon as his subordinates left, they felt a strong energy surge seven miles out west of the city limits near the shore of Lake Baikal.

  They were both experienced. Their knowledge was vast. Immediately they recognized the energy signatures.

  “Wizards,” Talgat said, nodding. “And they’re all charged with pure Demonic Ki.” He gulped. “So many…”

  Her fists balled as her chest tightened. Fiona felt another strong presence – a terrifyingly familiar presence. She whispered, “Behind them…”

  Ambris Ferrer, the Basilisk, had arrived. He was sitting atop a rock behind his army.

  A wizard from the Devil’s Hearth’s army approached. “My Lord,” he addressed the Basilisk, bowed in vassalage. “We are within striking range. We can bring down their defensive wards and reveal the city.”

  Ambris looked up. All he could see was the vast expanse of the cold forest. He smiled. “You needn’t worry about that.”

  The spells that rendered the City and the Regal Palace invisible and transparent, also served as a strong Ki barrier. When weaponized, it repelled all intruders.

  “We will have to bring the ward down, my Lord,” the wizard pleaded. “There’s no other way of getting in.”

  The Basilisk chuckled. “You seem to forget – I know how their systems work. The Ki boost I gave you… well, let’s just say that the Ki barrier will no longer register you like a threat and you’ll walk right through it…”

  At the city’s gate, Talgat looked at Fiona. “They’re in firing range,” he said. “The barrier?”

  “It’s ready.” The Mystic shook her head. “But I know him. I know Ambris won’t bother.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He knows more Magicism than almost anyone left alive.” She looked at him. “We need to assume that the barrier is not there… not for him nor for his forces.”

  Excited as they were, the wizards waited. Ambris asked for a cigarette and was presented with one within seconds. Smiling, he took it and placed it in his mouth. Slowly then, he looked up at the cloudy sky.

  It was half past 11 a.m. there. Ambris turned his collar up as a cool wind rolled in from Baikal. With a tiny Ki flame, he lighted the cigarette. Smiling, he removed the roll-up from his mouth, clasped between the index finger and thumb. As the wrist came and rested on his knee, he looked at the wizards and nodded. “Give em’ hell…”

  Primal war cries filled the air as the wizards advanced. The City Guard along with all additional Zaatsus, Mystics, and Sokidus, observed the army of more than a thousand men and women, all dressed in black cloaks and glowing bright maroon, fill up the western horizon of the City of Ayn.

  Ambris glanced at the prison bubble behind him. He blew smoke at it and laughed.

  The prisoners looked on helplessly. Renekom had been strict on Cults and had abolished the Outsiders. His policies brought arcane crime rates down but peace was built on hollow ground. While on the surface the wrongdoers disappeared, they found ample shadows underground to flourish unchecked. The practical implication of his hasty, unjustified actions was now in front of him – unhinged, all-powerful, and ready to bring an end to the Eye.

  His partners felt a similar weight falling on their minds and hearts as well. Their souls ached in that moment of utter vulnerability. However, their weight opened doors to doubt as well.

  Rebecca’s mind drifted, unbidden, to the protocols Renekom had enforced – no Cult intermediaries, no Outsider contingents, no shared operations. They had called it necessary discipline. Standing there, trapped and powerless, she wondered when discipline quietly became isolation.

  From the inside, the Eye compatriots observed the Demonic Ki clashing with the Ki barrier ward of the City of Ayn six miles from the border. Defenders stationed at the city limits began to dive down into the forest as well.

  However, just as Fiona had predicted, the barrier failed. The Demonic army walked right through it.

  The Eye’s soldiers halted. Several Zaatsus and Mystics pointed the obvious – they understood that Ambris had tampered with the Ki signatures of the wizards.

  Immediately, all squad leaders ordered the Martial Artists to prepare to hold their ground. They were to allow the wizards to attack first. All squadrons from the east and south rushed to their aide as well.

  Amidst the chaos, Fiona summoned an evocation – a red-eyed owl appeared and sat on her shoulder. “Be my eyes out there,” she whispered. “Show me how they move…”

  The bird flew high in the air. It moved fast, and as soon as it approached the attackers, it split into several smaller owls. They moved wide to cover as much area as possible.

  “What do you see?” Talgat asked. “Did you find Ambris?”

  A few lines appeared on her forehead. “Tch! Dammit!” Fiona shook her head. “I found him, but he isn’t with the army. He is still sitting back there… at the shore.”

  “Why?”

  “The Seear.” She looked over at the Zaatsu. “The Seear, Obadiah, and several others… he has them trapped in some sort of a sphere back there.”

  “Shit! Those idiots!”

  Talgat put a hand on Fiona’s shoulder. “We need to do this on our own, sister. The Eye needs us just like it always has. Forget them and let’s go to work.”

  Fiona’s gaze suddenly widened. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

  “What?” Talgat asked.

  Charging her Ki, she leaped towards the Eye’s soldiers. Talgat followed suit. Approaching the soldiers, she screamed at the top of her lungs, “All Sokidus, fall back! Parliamentarians to the front line!”

  Several Parliamentarian Mystics accompanied her. “Do you see something, Master Bennett?” one of them asked.

  “They are wearing extremely powerful Demonic charms,” she replied. Looking at the other Mystics, she added, “Their strength is being amplified by their leader, Ambris Ferrer…”

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  “What?”

  “Spread the word. No Sokidus and inexperienced ones should come in direct contact with them until we shut off their Demonic defences.”

  Talgat, tailing them close behind, exclaimed, “The Zaatsus can help too. Let’s spread the word and restructure the lines.”

  Immediately the group split. The messages were relayed. Fear gripped the defenders of Ayn but it was necessary. Without knowing their adversaries they could not have established sound strategies.

  Sokidus and some of the Zaatsus pulled back and held their lines close to the border, the Parliamentarians, assisted by many Zaatsus, established a wide front line to counter the Demonic charms, while the strongest of the City Guard and the remaining Mystics occupied the space in between them.

  Talgat arrived at the west gate with Rickard. The duo pushed the Sokidus farther back and stationed them atop the wall and the battlements.

  “Do not engage them until we give you the signal,” Talgat exclaimed.

  Zaatsu Master Pique Rickard added, “And on our signal, your first priority will be long range shots and Magicism. Either they kill you or you shoot them before they get to the wall. Close range combat is your last resort.”

  At the front line, a mile outside the City of Ayn, Fiona stood waiting with other Parliamentarians. “Dismantle their Demonic shields!” she exclaimed.

  “If this fails…” someone began.

  Fiona never took her eyes off the approaching army. “Then it fails with us in front.”

  Martial Artists of the Eye had already been briefed about the peculiar strength and capabilities of these wizards after the battle the Zeta Squad and Faris fought in Spain. But Fiona could see – she could see that these thousand had been further amped by Ambris. The Eye was no longer simply facing the Devil’s Hearth – they were facing Ambris’s aides, his Serpents of God.

  Swiftly changing the layering of their force, the Martial Artists braced. Sooner than they would have liked, the Demonic army crashed into them –

  The war had begun…

  Ambris looked to his right. “About time,” he said.

  Derek had arrived. With him, 41 men and women – the last remaining set of bandits who aided Ambris during his reign of terror in the 90s – the last remaining remnants of the original Serpents of God.

  With a fist on their chest, the bandits bowed their heads in respect of the Basilisk.

  Derek joined them. “Should we join the Hearth now, my Lord?”

  “No.” Ambris smiled. “Let them do what they were always meant to.”

  “My Lord?”

  “While they keep the Eye busy, we will go and fetch our prize…”

  Elsewhere, in Romania, Gina Hart’s dismembered body was lying on the ground in front of Vincent who shook the blood off his sword and looked at the Zeta Squad.

  “What the hell did you do?!” Hugo asked, panting.

  The White Bolt raised an eyebrow. “Saved your Mystic…”

  Moving a step closer, Neil said, “No.” He pointed at the white haired bounty hunter. “You just killed a spy who could have talked. What beans did you not want spilled?”

  “Watch the tone, bub.” Vincent placed his katana back in the scabbard. “I’m not in chains anymore.”

  As the group slowly regained composure, he further said, “She was working for Derek.”

  “And just how did you figure that out?” Camille asked.

  “Oh, come on! She was the only one added to your team exclusively by your leaders. A spotter who served at outposts, a Magicist with their hand on her shoulder… are you people really that blind or just fucking stupid?!”

  She stopped and stared.

  He glanced at her. “If you must know, I went to that motel, the one where we found Derek, and got the security footage. It showed exactly how he read me so well.” He shook his head. “It was my shadow.”

  Hugo’s hand slowly came up and rested atop his head. “She manipulated the shadow… that’s how that son of a bitch knew!”

  Vincent nodded, looking at Hugo. “Now, can you imagine how far this goes, clown?” He paused for a moment then said, “She was personally added to your squad by Hedish, wasn’t she?”

  The Zaatsu looked away as Camille whispered, “Oh my God…”

  Breaking the subsequent silence, Marcus asked, “How did you find us here?” He paused and stared at Vincent with a narrowed gaze. “Why did you find us here?”

  “I came to Europe following the Devil’s Hearth, just like you, I presume.” The White Bolt took a deep breath. “But I was intercepted by goons of the Order. Been dealing with them for the past hour…”

  Camille chuckled. “You don’t look like you’ve been fighting the Order for an hour.”

  “I never said I was fighting.” He paused and then looked away. “Anyways. I sensed the commotion at the forest and rushed as fast as I could… being preoccupied and all delayed me quite a bit. But then I sensed you here. So, I came to kill the bitch.”

  “Not capture or question or interrogate?” Hugo stood arms akimbo. “Why was killing her your first instinct?”

  “Ah…” Vincent dropped his head. “Everyone’s involved, clown.” He looked at the Zeta Squad. “The Order was wasting operatives to catch me but they couldn’t spare operatives to get to Hoia-Baciu.” He smiled. “And you know what’s the funny part? Now the Order will do their job. They control everything. They’ll use their influence to manipulate satellite imagery and other cameras to keep anyone from noticing the very visible bursts of energy over there. Any civilian who caught it will be defamed well before anyone will bat an eye. They’ll even erase or obscure the memories of people who might have noticed it.”

  A breeze blew past the group. Their hair and robes and coats swayed in the wind. Vincent began walking away. He was not running nor was he leaving the scene – he was merely moving away from the blood and the dismembered carcass. The others stayed there for a few moments longer. How could they not? Gina had been a part of the Zeta Squad from the beginning. They had worked together for so long and had functioned more as a family than a squad of operatives. She was a friend, perhaps even more than that. They felt betrayed, shocked, disgusted – the confusions were piling up.

  Eventually, the Zeta Squad made their way to where Vincent was several meters away. The White Bolt ran his fingers through his hair removing it from his face.

  “They were following me, you know,” he said. “I am more dangerous to them than that damned Basilisk!” He chuckled as he looked at Hugo once more. “Why? Only because I don’t fall into any of their defined categories. I don’t play by their well-defined rules. I don’t fall into one of their boxes. That’s it. But neither do you, do you?” He pointed. “They tried to kill you off in Spain. That bitch played her part over there as well.”

  “Gina?” Camille leaned ahead, wide-eyed. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Yes, Camille. When you two brought up those walls to trap the wizards, how did they escape? How did they survive the huge Ki blast?”

  Marcus asked, “She helped them? How?”

  “Her wall had holes in it.” He shook his head. “You had let your guards down. I never do that… blame it on the nature of my job. I felt it. I felt them linked to her Ki. She not only provided a way out, she shielded them from the blast even. And in time they slipped underground and rushed at you to attack.”

  “No way!” Neil looked away.

  Camille looked at her brother. “He did call out the attack before it actually happened.”

  Hugo took a deep breath and moved ahead. “Alright. Let’s say I believe you, Vincent. Just tell me one thing: why were you helping us? The way you escaped, you could have done it earlier. Why stay that long?”

  The White Bolt turned away. “I needed answers…”

  “Bullshit!” The Zaatsu leaned ahead. “Dammit, Vincent, they are already at Ayn! I don’t have time for your shit! Tell me right now! Why did you help us?”

  “Like I said, I needed answers. The Eye had cracks. The roots of filth were buried deep within those cracks. And I needed to understand who’s who.” The bounty hunter looked at Hugo. “You are you.” He then looked at the squad. “They are they.” And then he smiled and looked back at Hugo. “But they are they… without identifying them, I could not have understood the plans.”

  “What plans? Whose plans?”

  “The remnants… Derek’s plan. The Serpents’ plans.”

  Hugo had heard enough and had finally figured it out. Vincent was not a rogue, he was not a Cultist, he was not aligned with the Eye, nor the Order, nor even the Outsiders. He was a cosmic anomaly – a necessary correction. And he was a man with the exact discipline, restraint, and brutality required to see it through.

  Smiling, the Zaatsu closed his eyes and nodded. Looking at Camille, he said, “Set up the teleportation, Cami.”

  The Sokidu immediately drew the circle of sand. Vincent quickly stepped out of it.

  “Aren’t you coming with us?” she asked.

  “No,” the bounty hunter quickly replied. “You go your way, and I’ll go mine.”

  “Ride with us one more time,” said Hugo. “I’ll need you for this one.”

  “I’ll ride my own horse, clown.” The White Bolt smirked. “See you on the other side…”

  The Zeta Squad teleported and arrived at the shore of the Lake Baikal – nearly 5 miles away from where Ambris had arrived. They sensed and searched – the Ki patterns explained the war that had just started.

  Hugo sensed Ambris and waited. “He’s not moving.” He looked around. “There are some others with him.”

  Neil came up and sat beside him. “What is he waiting for? Why is he not with the army?”

  “That man is a master tactician.” He looked at the young Zaatsu. “He is a master of deception and misdirection.” The captain pointed. “If the platoon is attacking there, then that usually means he wants to head in a different direction.”

  “Where?” asked Camille.

  Hugo looked at her but did not say. He simply turned his head towards the Palace.

  Vincent then appeared next to them. “I can sense that damn Alchemist with him too,” he said.

  Captain of the Zeta Squad smiled. “With his peculiar masking technique, even I couldn’t sense him. I wonder when you learned to do it…”

  “When he showed us his smorgasbord of primitive alchemy.” After a moment’s pause, he further said, “He’ll send them to the Palace.”

  “You think Ambris won’t go.”

  “Not yet. If he wanted a fight, he would have joined in already.”

  Neil interrupted saying, “Then let’s just go in and intercept them.”

  The duo smiled. “Neil,” Hugo said. “Take the squad and join the border defence forces. They’ll need every hand they can get.”

  With scrunched eyes, the young Zaatsu asked, “What? The city’s defenders outnumber the wizards by nearly twenty to one.” He looked at his squadmates. “Why don’t we stay here and help you?”

  “Just do as I say. They’ll need you more than us.”

  “What about you guys?” asked Camille.

  Everyone waited, but so did Hugo and Vincent. They were not certain either.

  The youngest Baylis moved a step ahead. “You’re not thinking of stopping them alone, are you?”

  Hugo looked away. “We’ll see.”

  Understanding they had no time to waste, Camille, Ella, Marcus, and Neil teleported away to join the defenders of Ayn.

  Once they left, Hugo stood up. Vincent walked up and stood beside him.

  “Do you feel that?” the White Bolt asked.

  The Zaatsu nodded. “Yeah, I feel it. Serpents’ moving towards the Palace and they’re rushing fast. He’s charged them all with Demonic Ki just like the rest of them.”

  Vincent drew his sword and tossed the scabbard aside. “He always did that.”

  “Not like this. That Ki was pulled from Pyrenees directly. They’re way too strong. The limited soldiers at the Palace might not be enough to stop them.”

  “What are they doing then?” Vincent asked pointing in Ambris’s direction.

  Hugo nodded. “Let’s go and find out…”

  After sending the Serpents to conquer the Palace and leaving the prison bubble at a high enough altitude to witness the destruction of Ayn, Ambris and Derek were casually strolling towards the Eye’s stronghold as well. They were accompanied by two more bandits.

  Amidst cold winds and swaying trees, the trio walked confidently behind their leader. Victory for them was but a matter of time. Their strategy, the misdirection had worked cleanly. The Eye was busy defending Ayn. Hedish could only get a limited contingent to cover the Palace with him, and it was never going to be enough. They had nothing left to worry about until a Ki charged gust of sharp wind rushed at them…

  Ambris countered it while the other three leaped away and avoided it. When they looked, Hugo and Vincent were standing right in front of them.

  “That’s as far as you’ll go,” the Zaatsu said.

  Derek and the other two Serpents came and stood behind Ambris who smirked. “Hugo Baylis… what a trip down memory lane.”

  “That’s him, my Lord,” Derek chimed in. “That’s the Zaatsu I mentioned. And then that’s a bounty hunter with him. He’s a peculiar case as well. He knows wizardry, Magicism, demonic magic, the lot of it.”

  Ambris’s smirk slowly vanished as he observed the white haired young man. “That’s no bounty hunter,” he whispered. His eyes left wide opened, he slowly began to smile again and then eventually started laughing. “Oh, you’ve outdone yourself, Derek my boy!”

  The Alchemist looked at him and leaned ahead. “My Lord?”

  “You’re no bounty hunter.” Ambris pointed at Vincent. “You’re the demon kid!”

  ‘Demon kid?’ Hugo wondered. ‘What does he mean by that?’

  “Can you counter alchemy?” he asked.

  Vincent nodded. “Yeah, why asking?”

  “Then take Derek and his partners. Leave Ambris to me.”

  The White Bolt glanced at him. “Are you stupid? I thought you’ve seen him in action.”

  “Yes, Vincent. I’ve seen him. But that is exactly the kind of action I was trained for…”

  As an operative of the Eye, Hugo Baylis had to watch his back constantly. He could never show his true motives, his intentions, he could never mention all that he knew nor his missions or allegiances. He was watchful and kept a low profile. But there was a reason why he faced much stronger opponents without any fear. He knew. He knew that if and when push came to shove, he could always let go, unleash himself, and hold nothing back…

  ‘No holding back.’ He began charging his Ki and with closed eyes, took a deep breath and whispered, “Charm release…”

  An explosion of Ki pushed everyone back as Hugo’s Ki reserve expanded. Vincent stared wide-eyed as the Zaatsu’s strength and energy shot up far higher than what he witnessed in Spain.

  An aura of glowing energy pulsated as crackles of static electric charge radiated from his body.

  He began walking towards Ambris. “You will go no further…”