Arrows flew through the air. Just before they hit the ground in front of Gale, they opened up as chains. At the same time, Brother David lunged forward. A single line of script 'salus populi suprema lex esto' glowed in yellow on his brass knuckles.

  Gale backflipped up to a toppled over aisle, dodging both the arrow and the lunge. Sword lengthened to a spear in a swiping motion to keep Brother David at bay.

  "Gale! Take the wanna-be archer and brass boy," Ollie said as he floated to the catwalk with double deagles drawn. "Water boy and that stuck-up maiden are mine."

  The warehouse erupted into chaos once again.

  Ollie's deagles blasted similar shockwave rounds to the AWP, although smaller. The shockwaves and the punching force of the rounds exploded the water tentacles, but that absorbed most of the momentum as the bullets bounced off of Gabriel's armour.

  Two arrows pierced the air toward him. The grey marble orbited around Ollie at high speed, producing a translucent gray orb around him. The arrows opened up as chains and dissipated when they hit the gray orb.

  "Is this the best the UK can do?" Ollie taunted. "I've seen better water shows in Vegas, water boy!"

  Gabriel prayed with one hand and whispered, "In nomine regis, aquae surgant... et lancea iudicii hostem perforent!"

  Water droplets formed behind him and coalesced into a giant ball of water. Suddenly, the ball of water shot out a high pressure water jet the diameter of a pen at Ollie.

  The marble stopped its orbit and stayed exactly at the jet's trajectory as it spun faster into a high pitched whine. The jet met the marble and steam rose and clouded the entire vicinity.

  Two flashes of light, two shockwaves punched through the steam. Gabriel dodged, but Ollie's grin said everything. The two bullets trailed to exactly where Helena was.

  Helena tried to swat away the bullets mid air. Mace hit the bullets. She slid backwards into another wall, coughing up blood and then holding her shoulder. The wound had opened up again.

  "That injury slowing you down, stuck-up maiden?" Ollie called out as he moved behind a shipping container and dodged another stream of water jets. "Maybe you should sit this one out!"

  "Sanctus velocitas!" Helena shouted. Her image blurred as her dash left a trail of golden light. The single second had put her beside Ollie, mace already overhead to swing down.

  Ollie had put up his palm. A blue glow enveloped his hand, and a telekinetic shockwave emanated from it. However, the golden light reacted against the wave, barely pushing Helena away.

  The mace swung down. Grey marble blocked the golden mace for a microsecond, allowing Ollie to jump backwards.

  "Lancea iudicii hostem perforent!"

  Two more jet streams pierced in his direction. Blue light enveloped Ollie and created a shield slightly redirecting the streams to barely graze his chest.

  "Your arrogance will be your downfall, Glory!" Gabriel shouted.

  "Arrogance implies I can't back it up!" Ollie's guns roared again. This time, he aimed at the constantly forming ball of water. The ball of water exploded from the shockwave. "Learn the difference!"

  "Sanctus velocitas!" Gabriel shouted as he zipped past the steam, bastard sword already mid swing aimed at Ollie's neck.

  On the other side of the warehouse, Gale moved low to the ground, using the fallen aisles as cover from the arrows.

  As he reached the corner, the brass fist was on its way to meet his cheeks. Gale spun his body sideways. Using the flat of his blade, he swooped in on David, using his own momentum to launch him into a wall.

  An arrow flew at Gale's head. Instinctively, he slashed his blade at it. However, the arrow wrapped itself like chains, making the blade heavier.

  [Warning: Time Chains applied to Weber Blade. Threat Level: moderate]

  Tell me something I don't know, stupid Guide.

  Gale tried smashing the flat of his blade at the concrete multiple times. At the fourth time, the chains broke, freeing the blade.

  "What…?" Sister Mary said before knocking another arrow. "Stop resisting! Criminal!"

  Gale looked at the catwalk. The wannabe archer proved to be more annoying than brass boy. He'd have to jump three stories to be able to reach there. He hadn't done that before, but he'd run faster than cars.

  He jumped, just missing the handhold of the catwalk by a few centimetres. Below him as he fell, Brother David had already taken position. His fist already cocked back.

  Sword lengthened to a spear's length, pointed downwards. Gale kept his body steady, aiming directly for the brass knuckles.

  Spear met knuckles.

  David's punch sent him flying. The height of the launch reached the railing of the catwalk, just enough for him to hold on to.

  Gale ran down the path of the catwalk to where Sister Mary positioned herself. She nocked four arrows that covered the path with chains. He launched himself onto the ceiling and used it to vault himself over the chains.

  Just before the flat of Gale's blade met Sister Mary's face, she shouted, "Sanctus velocitas!"

  She zipped for 1 second then stopped where Brother David was on the catwalk.

  Gale made chase, using the same roof vaulting assault to propel himself to Sister Mary. But before he could touch the roof, the arrow landed where he was about to vault on. His footing on the roof became slightly off to avoid the chains, launching himself to just a couple of meters ahead of Sister Mary.

  Brother David ran to where he would land in a boxing stance. A straight punch towards Gale's torso as he landed. Flat of the blade blocked the knuckles. Golden light punched through the metal and into his chest. Blood dripped from his lips.

  "You're fast," David sneered. "But speed won't save you!"

  Gale flipped backwards, swinging the flat at Brother David and forcing him to block. Before he landed, sword already lengthened to a spear.

  Spear lunged pointed at the neck. Knuckles punched upwards at the spear's point, and his chest was wide open for a punch. At least that's what Brother David thought.

  Gale allowed the spear to fly up. Using the momentum of the earlier thrust, he slid down through Brother David's legs. Behind him, Sister Mary nocked an arrow on his sliding form.

  Too late. He already pushed himself up and ran along the walls. Arrows missed completely. Instead, it blocked Brother David's path back to her.

  "Sister Mary!" Brother David shouted as he looked back. He smashed his knuckles together and said, "In nomine regis, fulgur divinum me comitetur... et iustitiae celeritas inimicos opprimat!"

  Golden light enveloped Brother David as he turned into a blur. Gale could only react. Right hook. Dodge to the left, allowing momentum to carry him. Uppercut straight to the chest.

  His feet landed on the wall. Launched himself up to the roof, then down to the concrete warehouse floor. Brother David followed him down with a downward punch aimed at the top of his head. The flat of the blade met the knuckle head on at an angle. Fist met concrete. Concrete exploded upwards, and the floor webbed with cracks. The flat of the blade then met Brother David's cheek, sending him back up onto the catwalk.

  Gale hadn't perfected Dainv Combat Arts, but the innate knowledge had told him the multitude of opportunities and openings that Brother David had. He didn't need to understand when to use a spear and sword. What mattered in the combat form was how to keep striking even when defending.

  "He's only awakened. How is he…" Sister Mary mumbled. "Brother, it must be a demon! He must be arrested!"

  "Hmph. In the name of the Lord, stop resisting, demon!" David shouted. The golden light dissipated from his body.

  Holy shit. These people are crazy. Are all Aurians this crazy? First it was Tank Top and Red Jacket being completely out of place in modern Earth. Now these zealots are calling him a demon.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Meanwhile, across the warehouse, Ollie dodged another jet stream. "Getting tired, water boy. Those fancy water tricks aren't doing much!"

  Helena tried to circle behind him as the jet streams funneled him into her range, but her shoulder wound dripped with more blood, slowing her movements.

  "Your crimes end tonight, Glory!" Helena's mace swung wide at Ollie's head. Waves of golden light hit against the grey marble, and the high frequency pitch of the spin lowered an octave.

  "Crime implies I broke a law," Ollie floated back up to the catwalk. "I prefer to think of it as creative interpretation!"

  The catwalk then broke apart and fell to the concrete floor. Jet streams had sliced through on two sides of where he landed. Ollie lost his balance, blue light enveloping him flickering. Before he hit the floor, he fired two more shots at Helena.

  Helena blocked with her mace. Sparks flew. The first bullet pushed her back. The second bullet sent her mace flying upwards in her arms.

  Ollie slid into a concrete barrier, ejecting both of the deagle's magazines mid motion. Two magazines covered in blue glyphs floated back into the magwell.

  Back to Gale's side of the warehouse, the floor had been completely littered with golden chains from Sister Mary's arrows.

  He realized this was their plan all along. Even the toppled aisles were littered with golden chains that reached for his signature whenever he neared them. It was better to not find out what would happen to a demon stepping on golden chains.

  "Not so tough now, are you?" David moved to his inner right and sent a left straight.

  Gale grimaced. His elbow groaned as the force of the punch once again punched through his block. A momentary heaviness hit his whole body.

  Brother David and Sister Mary saw their chance. A volley of arrows flew towards Gale's back. A punch came for his gut.

  Blocking the punch with his blade, the force sent him sliding across the concrete to where the arrows were about to land.

  He flipped backwards. Brother David was already mid air, aiming a punch again at his gut. The punch struck true.

  Gale's body hurled towards the warehouse walls, breaking through the wall.

  "First blood!" David's arrogant laugh filled the warehouse. "Ready to surrender?"

  Gale rose slowly, testing his ribs where the punch had landed. The two awakened in front of him were strong. There was no way he could hold back against them.

  Adrenaline started pumping through his veins. Eyes dilated. Breath of the Void seeped in, controlled so as not to let it control him. Lines of intricate patterns and shapes bloomed across his skin and face. Colours slightly inverted and the darkness of the warehouse disappeared.

  Screw hiding. He could talk about it later with Ollie. Now it was personal with these assholes.

  A golden arrow shot through the air. He noticed the colours didn't twist. It remained the same as before. But that was a question he didn't need an answer to.

  Gale twisted away, jumping back onto the wall. Brother David followed, fighting again.

  "Not laughing now, are you?" David advanced, arms up like a boxer and throwing straights at Gale's face.

  Each throw dodged by just a millimetre by moving his head slightly.

  "Mary! Pattern 3 to 1!"

  An arrow flew ahead of the aisle where Gale was about to jump to. David pushed him harder.

  An uppercut to his chin forced him to jump up onto the aisle's platform, an arrow already coming at his head.

  Gale twisted sideways, the blade already sweeping to the side, aimed at David's head.

  David dodged by tilting his head. The brawler's laughter rang out as another combination forced Gale to give ground. "Running out of space, aren't you?"

  Hand on the aisle's railing pushed him away mid swing. Mary nocked more arrows behind him while David punched him to the chains. The knights had worked together, creating patterns that should've been impossible for the normal awakened to defend against.

  Should have been. Gale smirked.

  Gale shifted his grip on the weapon, dropping it low to his side. First form offensive stance. The blade rippled with essence. Circuits pulsed a slow moving blue green. Phase Touch ran along the edge of the blade.

  As David's straight came at him, Gale met it directly. The Phase Touched edge carved through the brass knuckles. The glowing line of script dissipated on the knuckle and then shattered. Fragments scattered everywhere.

  David's eyes widened as he staggered back, staring at his bleeding hand. "What the-"

  Mary loosed a barrage of arrows. However, Gale's outline blurred. Distort activated. Her arrows passed where he just was.

  "Fall back!" Mary called out.

  "Demon! I won't lose to some lowly dem-" David's words cut off as Gale's weapon slammed into his temple with the flat of the blade. David flew to a shipping container, crumpling and unconscious before he hit the ground.

  Mary's arrows had become erratic as she tried to track Gale's blurry trace. His blade seemed to appear whenever he was about to be hit by an arrow, even though his blade was nowhere near the spot she had aimed. Every arrow of hers was deflected with ease. And in a split second, Gale was in front of her.

  "Surrender," Gale said quietly, his blade resting against her throat. Distort faded, revealing his solid form once more.

  "Everyone stop!" Ollie called out, his guns trained on Helena and Gabriel. "Let's be reasonable here. No one else needs to get hurt."

  Gabriel's water tentacles hovered around Helena as she clutched her wounded thigh. "Reasonable? After this?"

  "Hey, you started it," Ollie shrugged. "I offered a perfectly good deal earlier. That offer still stands, by the way. Despite the whole 'trying to arrest me' thing."

  "Why should we trust you?" Helena said through her gritted teeth.

  "Because I could have killed you both already," Ollie said. "And my friend over there could have done a lot worse to your teammates. But we didn't. Think about that."

  The warehouse fell silent. David unconscious on the crumpled shipping container didn't move. Mary stood frozen, the sword at her neck drawing a drip of blood. He moved the blade away from her neck slightly, remembering he didn't need to kill as long as Ollie was safe.

  "The deal was full transparency," Gabriel said. "No more games."

  "No more games," Ollie said. "But no more surprise attacks either. Lab 7 stays off limits. That's non-negotiable. Everything else, we can discuss."

  Helena looked at her injured comrades, then back at Ollie. "And if we refuse?"

  "Then we finish this fight," Ollie's marble spun faster. "But I don't think any of us want that. Right, partner?"

  Gale kept his blade steady against Mary's throat. Her eyes turned to the side to look at the Phased Touched edge.

  Gabriel lowered his bastard sword, water tentacles dropping onto the floor. "Fine. Your deal stands, Glory. But one wrong move..."

  "Yeah, yeah, you'll sick your dogs on me. We've done this dance before." Ollie kept both his guns trained on Helena and Gabriel. "Tell you what. I'll even throw in the location of three more unauthorized dust labs. Not mine, of course. Competition's been real nasty lately."

  Gabriel reached for the dust vial in his pocket, only to find gray powder scattered across his palm. The vial had shattered during their fight, leaving only fragments of glass and ruined product.

  "Don't worry about that. It was counterfeit shit anyways. Won't give you the needed power." Ollie grinned.

  Helena pushed herself up against a crate, blood seeping through the hole on her shoulder. "The Path agents..."

  The chains on the floor dissipated, and Gale pulled back his sword, releasing her. She rushed to check on David, still unmoving.

  Gabriel spun around, but the Path agents were gone. The two must've used the chaos to escape.

  "Well, would you look at that." Ollie holstered one of the deagles, keeping the other trained on the Gabriel. "Seems they didn't wanna join in on the conversation."

  On the other hand, Tank Top and Red Jacket remained bound by Helena's light stasis. Their earlier bravado completely vanished, replaced by those who looked like they've accepted their fates.

  "Hey, cosplayers!" Ollie called out to them. "Time to go. We've got some business arrangements to discuss."

  "You're seriously taking them?" Helena hissed.

  "A deal's a deal, stuck-up maiden. They work for me now. Officially this time." Ollie smiled. "Consider it my contribution to cleaning up the streets. Better they operate under my rules than run wild, right?"

  Gabriel helped Helena to her feet, supporting her weight as she struggled to stand. His eyes fixed on Gale, who'd stepped back to flank Ollie. "You. I don't recognize your fighting style."

  The weapon in Gale's hands had returned to its base form, a pitch black sword with glowing circuits.

  "That's because you've never seen it before," he said in the lowest possible voice he could muster, causing Ollie to shake his head.

  "Your name." Gabriel's tone made it clear it wasn't a request.

  "Gale."

  "Full name."

  "Gale Hathie."

  Mary's head snapped up from where she tended to David. "Hathie? That's not possible. The records show-"

  "Shows what?" Ollie interrupted. "Hold on. Don't answer that. We're done here."

  He backed toward the exit.

  The stasis disappeared from Tank Top and Red Jacket. They scrambled to follow Ollie.

  "Almost forgot!" Ollie reached into his jacket with his free hand and tossed something that looked like the familiar gun syringe he used in the Eclipsed. "For the stuck-up maiden's shoulder. Consider it a goodwill gesture."

  Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

  "Because contrary to what you might think, I'm not actually the bad guy here." Ollie grinned. "Just a businessman trying to keep the peace. Remember that next time you want to crash one of my meetings."

  Ollie continued walking to the exit and reached the door without incident. Tank Top and Red Jacket followed, while Gale brought up the rear.

  They made it twenty feet before Ollie's composure cracked. The marble that orbited him fell to the ground as he stumbled forward, legs giving out. The remaining deagle in his hand almost slipped from his grip.

  Gale caught him before he hit the ground. Up close, he could see the toll that Ollie had endured. Torn suit, shoulder completely taken off, revealing black and purple bruises. The tie around his neck still remained, loose.

  "Sir," Tank Top started forward, but Ollie waved him off.

  "Just... give me a minute." Ollie fixed his tie. "Keeping that marble spinning that long takes more out of me than it used to."

  Gale adjusted his grip, supporting more of Ollie's weight. The warehouse door remained closed behind them, but he kept track of the United Knights' positions through his Breath of the Void. They hadn't moved to pursue, probably too busy dealing with their own injured.

  Guide, Gale mouthed.

  [Analysis: Subject shows signs of continuous severe Ether depletion. Severe sleep deprivation. Severe muscle fatigue. Threat level: Minimal.]

  I'm not running away again, Gale said to himself as he supported the half-conscious Ollie.

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