Andrew Rowe - Sufficiently Advanced Magic

If Keras came for me, I didn’t like my odds of being able to stop him. I thought of nearby door with wistful longing, but I didn’t even know if I could open it. It wasn’t like I could check without enraging the visage.

I could have sided with Keras, of course. He had survived Katashi’s opening moves. There was a possibility he had the upper hand in this conflict. But both my gut and my common sense told me that was unlikely.

Keras was terrifyingly strong, one of a dozen people on the continent who might have had more than two attunements.

The visage, though… He’d have all of them, including some that no human had access to. Scholars argued about how many total attunements existed, but the best guess was at least fifty, each providing a broad variety of abilities associated with a particular theme. Their benefits were cumulative, so someone with two defensive attunements would be extraordinarily resilient.

With fifty attunements? Well, I mentioned the broken Kingdom of Feria before. Its destruction had taken the Visage of Law less than a day.

The Visage of Valor gave me a nod, apparently approving of my position. There was still another exit to block, but Vera wasn’t moving for it. She stayed behind the pillar, giving herself as much cover as possible. Her eyes were scanning everywhere, searching for openings. Opportunities.

“I would prefer not to bring other people into this.” Keras folded his arms. “And, moreover, I would rather not fight at all.”

It was somewhat endearing that Keras was still trying to reach a diplomatic solution, even if it probably was just to save his hide. I felt bad about standing in his way. It was a small betrayal, even if it was mostly symbolic.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

I think he heard me. I hoped he did.

Katashi lowered his weapon, shaking his head. “Though it may seem contrary to my title, I do not relish battle. Nevertheless, you are a threat to the residents of this tower, and I cannot permit that. If it is any consolation, I will make your end quick.”

Keras turned his head down, shaking slightly. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was laughing. As he looked upward, a grin spread across his face.

“It never can be easy, can it?” Keras turned his head toward where Vera still hid behind the pillar. “Get the kid out of the way before we start this.”

Vera began to move, but Katashi spoke a single word. “No.”

No?

Why wouldn’t Katashi want the kid to be clear of the battlefield?

I raised the dueling cane, my hand still aching from my earlier uses of the weapon pulling mana through my veins. I was no longer pointing it toward Keras.

I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it.

Several things happened at once.

Vera broke from cover, rushing toward the fallen child.

Katashi raised his left hand with his palm forward, golden light forming in his grasp. His palm was pointed at Vera.

Keras moved. He was a blur, impossible for my ordinary eyes to discern. When a twisting helix of light ripped forward from Katashi’s hand, Keras appeared in front of Vera, deflecting the blast with a casual swipe of his own left hand.

“Go.”

Vera grabbed the child and lifted him over her shoulder, moving toward me with almost painful slowness.

Katashi’s jaw tightened. “I did not permit—”

Keras was next to him in an instant, smashing a fist into the visage’s armored chest. I saw a blast of concussive force on the impact, a spherical wave of disruption.

Katashi took a single step back at the impact, his expression unchanged.

Keras flickered back just in time to avoid a slash from the visage’s crystalline blade.

When Keras reappeared, I realized the left sleeve of his coat had been burned away where the blast of light had connected. The skin beneath was burned and cracked.

He might be faster and stronger than me, but Keras isn’t invincible. This isn’t an even fight. It’s not even close.

What could I do to alter the outcome?

I didn’t even know what they were fighting about, let alone their strengths and weaknesses. If a visage of the goddess said someone needed to die, conventional wisdom said that they needed to die.

But conventional wisdom had also abandoned my brother in this same tower. Conventional wisdom and I hadn’t been on speaking terms since then.

That single punch from Keras looked like it had carried more force than anything I could put out from my dueling cane and it had barely affected the visage. I knew how to pour additional mana into a burst, but I doubted I’d have an impact. Katashi fought armies, some of which contained attuned.

A cheap shot to the head? The lack of armor might have made a difference, but I couldn’t count on my ability to land the shot.

What else did I have at my disposal?

I shrugged off my backpack and found the book.

By the time I looked back, Katashi was surrounded by a flickering aura of burning light. He pointed his crystalline weapon at Vera. I could see the fiery aura gather in his left hand, then flow through his body, glowing brighter until it gathered in his sword, turning the blade white.

“This must be.” There was no inflection in his words.

Vera wasn’t moving fast enough to avoid the helix of incendiary light that emerged from the blade.

Keras blurred again. A streak of silver severed the air, splitting the bolt of light in twain. The deflected energy smashed into the floor, leaving long cracks in the marble.

The swordsman stood a little straighter, his expression grim. The sword he held was long enough to be used in two hands, but he held it with his right with no sign of effort. The silvery blade had only a slim flat surface toward the center, the outer portions angled into viciously sharp edges. A subtle white glow flowed within the blade, a clear sign of an enchantment.

I doubted it would be enough.

I set my dueling cane down, letting Vera approach while I grabbed my quill and flipped through the book to the end.

You have reached the entrance to the second floor of the tower.

You must flee. The visage will not permit you to leave with the prisoners. You don’t stand a chance.

You’re not reading this right now, but if you do…

Please, leave. Please. While you can.

That ink was dry, but new writing appeared as I watched.

The visage will not be distracted for long. You must leave.

I raised the quill to write.

You’re clearly watching here. Can you help us?

No words appeared in the seconds that followed.

Keras shrugged off his coat, revealing a black vest crossed with leather straps. Six sheathed knives were attached to the straps on his back. He kicked his coat to the side, drawing one of the knives with his left hand.

Katashi remained at the top of the stairway, turning his gaze toward Keras and maintaining an impassive expression. He jammed his crystalline sword into the stone floor, bringing his hands in front of him. Globes of flame appeared in the air around him, one after another, spinning and rotating.

Keras flipped the knife in his hand and hurled it straight at the visage’s face.

The visage didn’t even move. The knife impacted an invisible barrier and clattered harmlessly to the ground.

Keras gave the slightest frown.

The burning orbs did move. They weren’t as quick as the lightning, moving only at the speed of a thrown ball. But there were eight of them… and they had different targets.

Seeing Keras’ expression sink, I knew that he couldn’t stop them all.

Vera had almost reached me.

The dueling cane was in my hand before I processed what I was doing. Two clicks in rapid succession. I felt the mana surge through my chest, burning hotter than it ever had.