"...I'm leaving it to you, Danse."
Danse watched as Lauri shot toward the Whispering King in a flash of brilliant light.
Despite Lauri's confident words, Danse could only drag a hand down his face, a troubled expression settling over his face.
"Dead Gods, he's still running off and doing whatever he wants. Even after we had that talk."
Vick shook her head.
"That's our Captain."
Looking around at the rest of his team, Danse adjusted his grip on his greatsword. He let out a deep sigh, drawing in a long breath before turning to address them. In the distance, he could already hear the thunderous clash between Lauri and the Whispering King. There was no time to wait.
He pointed at Sansa and Mele, gesturing toward the Rhino.
"You two know your roles; let Lucky know he'll be joining you. I can't risk that fool dying out here and all of his Echoes going poof halfway through the battle."
He turned to the two remaining ladies, resting the flat of his weapon on his shoulder.
"Vick, Katrina, with me."
Turning away from the group, Danse strode toward the front of the gathered Echoes. As he passed, he spared several of the creatures brief glances – towering beasts, shrieking horrors, armoured monsters of every imaginable shape standing at the ready.
'This kid… This is just ridiculous…'
He looked toward the Rhino.
Lucky was still standing atop it, blue sparks gathered around his hand and waist.
"Lucky!"
Danse roared, thrusting his empty hand high into the air before clenching it tightly into a fist.
A grin spread across Lucky's face as blue sparks condensed into a bow and quiver in his hand and waist, respectively. In one smooth motion, he drew an arrow from the quiver and nocked it against the bowstring.
"Attack my Lucky Legion!"
All hell broke loose.
The gathered Echoes surged down the frozen slope like an avalanche of monsters unleashed from a nightmare.
A massive six-limbed ape led the charge, pounding down the hill on all fours before launching itself bodily into the ranks of the Whispering Legion with enough force to scatter Pawns through the air like broken dolls.
Above it, a flock of skeletal birds with burning blue eyes descended screaming from the sky, their rusted talons tearing into the Legion's front lines as they passed overhead.
An enormous wolf made of translucent crystals sprinted through the snow with unnatural speed, frost spreading beneath its paws before it crashed headfirst into a formation of Rooks, detonating into a storm of razor-sharp shards.
Nearby, a towering creature covered in seaweed, carrying what appeared to be half a ship as a club, swung downward with devastating force, flattening several Nightmare Creatures in a single blow.
A serpent covered in white scales slithered through the battlefield behind them, its body weaving between combatants before suddenly erupting upward and swallowing an entire group of Pawns whole.
But the Whispering Legion's retaliation was just as deadly.
The front ranks of Pawns surged forward without hesitation, their rusted weapons rising and falling in perfect unison as they met the charging Echoes head-on. Smaller summoned creatures were cut apart almost instantly, bodies ripped open or crushed beneath the Legion's relentless advance before dissolving back into clouds of blue sparks.
The Rooks moved to attack, massive and heavily armoured, they smashed through the battlefield, their colossal frames ploughing directly into Lucky's Legion. One swung a jagged cleaver large enough to bisect a reptilian Echo in a single strike, while another simply grabbed a shrieking creature by the head and crushed it between its hands.
And then came the twin Bishops.
The pale figures moved across the battlefield with terrifying speed, gliding between combatants like ghosts. Wherever they passed, Echoes were destroyed.
One Bishop leapt into the air, piercing through a winged monster with a single thrust before vanishing into drifting mist and reappearing several yards away. Another carved through three smaller Echoes in rapid succession, each creature bursting apart into showers of blue sparks moments later. Again and again, the Bishops moved through Lucky's chaotic army, leaving trails of dissolving Echoes behind them as the summoned monsters vanished back into essence faster than Lucky could replace them.
Danse moved through the battlefield alongside the Echoes, using the larger creatures as living cover as he advanced through the chaos. He burst out from behind a leopard-like Echo covered in jagged spikes just as a pawn stepped forward to engage it.
Danse's greatsword had the advantage in reach over the Pawn's short sword – meaning he struck first.
The blade bit deep into the pawn's chest before he violently twisted the weapon and tore it upward through the creature's shoulder, the dull metal splitting apart beneath the force of the blow.
And as was always the case with Danse's attacks, the exact same wound suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the pawn's body, as though an invisible second blade had pierced through it in perfect synchronisation. The armour bent inward, flesh rupturing.
The pawn staggered once before the leopard-like Echo pounced on top of it, its clawed limbs digging deep into exposed flesh as it tore the Nightmare Creature apart in a frenzy of violence.
With the pawn finished, Danse immediately shifted his attention forward.
He moved through the battlefield without hesitation, already angling toward a nearby rook – its towering form cutting through Lucky's legion like a moving fortress. Danse adjusted his grip on his greatsword, preparing to commit to the clash.
But he never had the chance to reach it as he saw the mist that was drifting all across the battlefield condensed beside him.
A Bishop emerged from the mist like a phantom given form, pale and silent, its presence pressing down on the space around it. In an instant, it moved.
Danse barely managed to shift his stance in time as the Bishop engaged him directly, its movement impossibly fast – no wasted motion, no hesitation, only precise, lethal intent aimed straight at him.
Danse and the Bishop collided head-on.
Steel met steel in a violent burst of force as Danse swung his greatsword with everything he had, forcing the Bishop back for the briefest instant. The impact sent sparks flying across the frozen battlefield, each clash echoing like a struck bell amid the chaos of war.
The Bishop did not yield.
Its sceptre moved with precise, merciless intent, meeting Danse's blade again and again in rapid succession. Every strike was perfectly timed, every counter calculated to break his rhythm, to force him into a defensive pattern he could not sustain for long.
Danse grit his teeth, pouring strength and essence into each swing as he refused to be pushed back. His arms burned, as he anchored his stance, he gave nothing less than his absolute focus – meeting each blow, every feint, even the slightest of the Bishop's movement with raw determination.
'If Lauri can take on a Corrupted Tyrant, I can take on a mere Fallen Devil… Surely.'
Sparks exploded between them with each clash, scattering across the snow like burning fragments of a dying star.
And yet, neither of them gave ground.
----
On the other side of the battlefield, Vick was locked in combat with the second Bishop.
Vick wielded a one-handed sword, held tightly in her grip, while from her other hand extended five fine strings – each one trailing from her fingers like threads of light.
The Bishop was forced onto the defensive.
It moved with its ghost-like speed, but Vick's strings followed it relentlessly, curling through the air in unpredictable arcs, attempting to bind its limbs, wrap around its movements, and sink through its armour, attempting to dig into the Bishop's body. Each time the Bishop managed to evade, another thread was already waiting to cut off its next path.
Vick pressed forward without hesitation, her blade moving defensively whenever the Bishop managed to close the distance and attempt an attack of its own. Every attack it launched was met with a counter – blade met sceptre in rapid exchanges – while her strings continued to weave through the space between them like a tightening net.
As Vick was moments away from ensnaring the Bishop, it shifted – subtly, almost imperceptibly – its presence flaring as a bright cyan light began to emanate from the tip of the Bishop's sceptre.
In an instant, Vick felt it.
Her ability to control her essence stuttered. The fine threads extending from her fingers wavered, then collapsed entirely, dissolving into fading strands of light as she was unable to supply essence to her power.
Her eyes widened.
"What is this–!"
The Bishop moved immediately to capitalise on Vick's moment of weakness.
It surged forward with brutal efficiency, sceptre already rising for the killing strike, closing the distance between them in a blur of pale motion.
But before it could reach her, two Echoes barred its path.
One smaller Echo that seemed to be made of pulsating flesh crashed shoulder-first into the Bishop's side, while another monstrous, bear-like construct made of stone planted itself directly between them, both acting without hesitation.
The impact forced the Bishop to pause for a split second, its strike denied as its advance was violently interrupted.
Vick staggered back a step, regaining her balance as her essence steadied once more, eyes narrowing sharply at the gap Lucky's Echoes had bought her, and then at the Bishop's sceptre.
'That… the sceptre. Whatever that thing is – that's how the Bishop managed to kill Morn so easily.'
Her gaze cut across the battlefield to where Danse was locked in combat with the other Bishop. She squinted, confused, watching the exchange carefully. Strangely, the Bishop facing Danse hadn't used that same power yet.
'Is it because Danse's Aspect isn't as obvious as mine? I'm sure that'll change once he lands a hit, or if he gets hit–'
A sudden sound of breaking stone snapped her attention back.
Vick turned in time to see the bear Echo – its massive body carved from stone – shatter as the Bishop drove its sceptre into the Echo's head, its form collapsing into sparks. The pulsating flesh was currently wrapped around the Bishop's shoulder, but it wouldn't be long until the Nightmare Creature managed to destroy that Echo, too.
So Vick did the only thing she could think of.
She turned on her heel and ran.
As Vick sprinted across the battlefield, she cut past Katrina just as the latter brought her mace crashing down onto a Rook. Katrina activated her Aspect at the moment of impact, the force multiplying tenfold as the blow detonated through metal and flesh alike, shattering the creature in a violent explosion.
Without slowing, Vick slapped Katrina on the shoulder.
"Come on, Kat!"
Katrina turned, blinking in confusion.
"Wh…"
Looking in the direction Vick had just come from, for the reason she was hauling ass. The reason became immediately clear – the Bishop was already in hot pursuit, cutting through any of Lucky's Echoes unfortunate enough to cross its path, closing the distance far too quickly.
There was no hesitation in Katrina's mind after that. Tightening her grip on her mace, she immediately broke into a run, following after Vick without wasting another second.
They ran across the battlefield toward Danse, ducking and weaving through the chaos as Lucky's Legion of Echoes and the Whispering Legion clashed with ever-increasing intensity.
The Whispering Legion held the advantage in sheer numbers – far more Pawns and rooks pressing forward in rigid, mostly unbroken formations – but the Echoes made up for it in raw unpredictability and overwhelming individual power – most of them were Dormant, many were Awakened, and a significant number were Ascended in rank.
Vick and Katrina weaved through the battlefield, moving with an incredible sense of urgency as they slipped between the most violent pockets of fighting. They cut through collapsing lines where Pawns were being torn apart by Echoes, and darted around sudden eruptions of power where rooks smashed into a pair of towering Echos composed of green goo.
Danse was still locked in combat with the Bishop; their clash had not gone without blood, as Danse's armour of leaves was showing signs of damage. The Bishop had not escaped unharmed; a number of wounds were littering its dull armour.
Then Vick and Katrina arrived.
The moment they broke through the surrounding chaos and entered the edge of the duel, the Bishop's movements shifted. It did not retreat in panic or haste – but it seemed to re-evaluate its position. The relentless pressure it had been applying to Danse eased, as it stepped back through a glide of pale mist, disappearing.
Danse exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulder as he turned to Vick and Katrina.
"I had that handled."
He grunted, attempting to catch his breath.
Vick flexed the fingers of the hand she had been using to manipulate the strings created by her Aspect. She turned to look where she had come from, so did Katrina and belatedly, so did Danse. He deeply sighed, seeing the Bishop who had been chasing Vick arrive. Bishop Danse had been fighting materialised from the mist beside its sister.
Danse grumbled.
"You couldn't handle your Bishop, so you brought it over here?"
Disregarding Danse's complaint, Vick raised her short sword.
"The sceptres, they have some power that allows them to disrupt our essence. It's what led to the scout's death. I love these Echoes, but I'd rather have someone like you covering my back."
Danse, Vick, and Katrina lined up side by side, the three of them aligning as if it were instinct.
Across from them, the two Bishops of the Whispering Legion stood in eerie stillness.
Their armour was the same as the Pawns, Rooks and even the King. The dull colour of metal, showing off countless scratches and a few dents from previous fights they had been in. The Bishop's armour showed subtle differences in their bodies beneath it as well – one frame slightly broader through the shoulders, another more pronounced at the waist and hips. Unlike the Pawns and Rooks, whose armour seemed mass-produced and identical in every way, the Bishops had a certain identity to them, as if each set had been tailored to a specific form rather than assigned to one.
Around their waists hung layered capes, draped and segmented like skirts, flowing in thin sheets of ruined fabric that moved wildly in the strong winds that whipped around them. Their upper bodies were composed and regal – upright posture, with motion that was reduced to only the most necessary of movements. In their hands rested their sceptres. Gems were fitted into the tops of the sceptres, and within them, more of the mist could be seen.
Katrina's eyes locked onto the gems.
"If the sceptres are what disrupt our essence, I bet it has something to do with those gems… We just need to break them."
Danse tightened his grip on his greatsword, lifting it as he nodded once.
"Then let's just break them and get this over with."