Kael Ashvane barely had time to understand he was about to die.
The Unbreakable Marshal's burning fist came down like a falling tower.
Kael shrieked and threw himself sideways with every scrap of instinct he had. His body rolled through grass and loose stone a heartbeat before the giant fist smashed into the place where he had been standing.
The summit exploded.
Rock shattered.
Dirt blasted into the air.
A crater nearly ten feet wide opened in the mountain, and every patch of grass around it blackened and curled into ash from the heat.
Kael stared at the smoking hole with bulging eyes.
Then he looked up at his creation.
The forty-foot stone giant stood in a storm of embers, molten light pulsing through cracks in its body like blood through veins. Its blazing eyes locked onto Kael with murderous intent.
Kael's voice cracked.
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA—what is this? I made you! I'm your father!"
The Marshal answered with a guttural roar and charged.
Its footsteps shook Vane's Summit.
Auryn Gale's face hardened.
"Backlash."
Sylva Dreyn was already rereading Kael's formula scroll, her elegant brows tightening.
"It's the Red Serpent venom," she said. "Mixed with the flame crystal essence. They're reacting against each other."
Selene Voss still had a faint flush on her cheeks from Kael's earlier kiss. The blush only made her glare look deadlier.
"Serves you right," she snapped. "Maybe if you spent less time acting like an idiot and more time training, this wouldn't happen."
"Very supportive, Sel!"
"Don't call me Sel!"
The Marshal lunged again.
Kael screamed and bolted.
He used the Ground-Sprint Art as hard as he could, his feet barely touching the earth as he darted across the summit.
It didn't matter.
The giant was enormous.
One stride from it covered twenty feet.
Kael ran.
The Marshal followed.
Kael zigzagged through trees.
The Marshal smashed through them.
Kael leapt over boulders.
The Marshal kicked them apart.
Kael was discovering, in real time, that building an unstoppable war construct had been a magnificent idea.
Building one without a proper kill switch had perhaps been less brilliant.
The giant closed the distance.
A flaming fist swung toward Kael's spine.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!" Kael screamed as he dove forward. "I GAVE YOU LIFE!"
He rolled through dirt and narrowly avoided becoming red paste.
Selene shouted from behind him.
"Stop trying to reason with it, idiot! Use the restriction command!"
Kael froze.
Right.
The restriction command.
That important thing he absolutely remembered creating.
He began shouting a string of command phrases.
"By the authority of Lord Ashvane, cease movement! Halt! Kneel! Sleep! Stop trying to murder your father!"
The Marshal roared louder.
Its flames intensified.
"Oh no."
It started running even faster.
"Oh no!"
Mira Stonwell gasped.
"That thing is huge... and it's on fire... if it catches him—"
Selene folded her arms.
"I'll laugh."
"YOU'RE ALL MONSTERS!" Kael screamed while running for his life.
The Marshal nearly stepped on him.
Kael dove clear.
The mountain trembled.
Mira rushed forward.
"I'll help!"
She formed hand signs, channeling earth Vitae.
"The Mire Art!"
The ground beneath the Marshal liquefied into a deep pit of mud.
The giant sank to its thighs.
"Yes!" Kael shouted.
Then the Marshal simply planted both massive arms on solid ground and hauled itself free through sheer brute force.
Kael's smile died.
"That seems unfair."
The giant charged again.
Sylva sighed softly.
"It appears Kael cannot control his own creation."
Her hands moved gracefully.
"Then we'll do it for him."
She pointed.
"The Python Vine Art."
The earth burst apart.
Six massive vines erupted from below like striking serpents and wrapped around the Marshal's legs.
They coiled upward.
Waist.
Chest.
Arms.
The giant strained.
For a brief moment—
It was trapped.
Then its chest expanded.
Golden fire exploded outward.
The vines burned to ash instantly.
Everyone stared.
Auryn narrowed her eyes.
"That shouldn't be possible."
Sylva nodded grimly.
"The materials he used were absurdly rare."
Kael straightened proudly while still running.
"That's because I'm a genius."
Selene shouted back—
"You're a corpse in motion!"
The Marshal suddenly turned.
It abandoned Kael.
Its burning eyes locked onto the women.
Mira yelped.
"We didn't bring our weapons!"
Selene stepped forward with a cold smile.
"I want to see how strong this ugly thing really is."
Water Vitae exploded from her body.
Her sleeves danced like living waves.
"The Surging Tide Dance."
Invisible currents slammed into the giant.
Its charge faltered.
Its flames scattered.
The giant staggered like a drunken beast.
Selene smirked.
"That's it?"
She spun gracefully.
Her movements became faster.
More fluid.
More beautiful.
Each movement amplified the force of her water technique.
The Marshal's lower body began lifting from the ground.
Selene's eyes gleamed.
"Fall."
She snapped both sleeves upward.
The currents combined into a massive surge.
The giant was lifted entirely off the ground.
Kael stared in awe.
Selene looked incredible.
Then the Marshal roared.
Golden flames erupted from its body—
And surged backward through Selene's own water current.
Her eyes widened.
The fire struck her face.
She screamed and stumbled back.
"My face!"
The giant crashed safely back to the ground.
Then it charged directly at her.
Auryn moved.
Fast.
Terrifyingly fast.
Her hand sliced through the air.
"The Gilded Astral Slash."
A crescent of golden light tore across the battlefield.
It carved a deep wound into the Marshal's abdomen.
Stone exploded outward.
Fire burst through the crack.
The giant roared.
Auryn struck again.
Another slash tore into its leg.
Kael paled.
"Don't damage it too much!"
Auryn ignored him.
Sylva rushed to Selene's side.
"Are you hurt?"
Selene clutched her face in panic.
"My face…"
She slowly looked up.
"Am I scarred?"
Sylva smiled.
"No."
Selene nearly collapsed with relief.
Then rage returned instantly.
"I'm getting my Jade-Wave Blade and cutting that thing into pieces!"
Before she could move—
The earth exploded.
Four enormous mud golems rose from below.
Mira stood trembling, sweat running down her face.
Her hands shook from strain.
The giant stared at the new arrivals.
The golems were massive by human standards.
They looked like children beside the Marshal.
The Marshal threw back its head and roared.
Almost mockingly.
Mira swallowed.
"Attack!"
The golems charged.
The Marshal punched once.
One golem's head exploded.
Three others struck the giant.
It barely moved.
The Marshal swept one arm sideways.
Another golem was torn apart.
The remaining two pounded it repeatedly.
Chunks of flaming stone fell.
That was all.
Kael's eyes lit up.
"Yes! That's the thunder-pattern stone shell working!"
Selene looked ready to strangle him.
"You made a monster!"
"A magnificent monster."
"It's trying to kill you!"
"That part needs refinement."
The Marshal kicked apart another golem.
Then punched through the last one.
Its blazing eyes returned to Kael.
Kael's face turned white.
"Oh no."
He ran.
Again.
Mira collapsed to one knee.
"That was my limit…"
Auryn's expression grew serious.
"The Dream Nest is nearby. We cannot let that thing rampage across the mountain."
Selene lifted her chin.
"I'll use the Banishing Thunder Pearl."
Auryn shook her head immediately.
"No. Your foundation isn't stable enough. The backlash could cripple your channels."
Then she leapt into battle again.
Sylva shouted after her—
"The heart! Its weak point should be the fire-lion core in its chest!"
Auryn flashed around the giant in streaks of gold.
Her Gilded Stride was almost impossible to follow.
Golden slashes rained down relentlessly.
The Marshal's body became covered in wounds.
Kael finally stopped running long enough to watch.
His eyes sparkled.
"One day I'll move like that…"
Then he noticed his creation being carved apart.
His face twisted.
"Please be gentle!"
Auryn ignored him.
Again.
The Marshal suddenly stopped chasing her.
It heard Kael.
Slowly—
It turned.
Kael blinked.
"Oh no."
The giant charged him again.
"Oh no!"
Kael ran toward the edge of Vane's Summit without realizing it.
Sylva shouted—
"Kael! Stop! Cliff!"
He turned.
Too late.
The cliff edge was directly behind him.
Below—
nothing but endless forest and a drop deep enough to erase his existence.
The Marshal cornered him.
Its footsteps slowed.
It approached like an executioner.
Kael's breathing became ragged.
"Why do you hate me this much?"
Then a soft voice spoke beside him.
"Oh? What exactly is that thing?"
Kael turned.
And forgot how breathing worked.
A woman stood beside him.
He had no idea where she came from.
She was breathtaking.
Tall.
Voluptuous.
Skin like polished ivory.
Lips soft and pink.
A jeweled violet ornament rested on her forehead.
Her robes clung to dangerous curves Kael absolutely should not have been staring at while facing death.
He stared anyway.
His exhausted brain offered one final thought.
By the gods…
Selene would murder me if she knew I was comparing—
The woman's chest was magnificent.
Absolutely catastrophic.
The Marshal charged.
The woman didn't move.
Kael panicked.
He tackled her.
They hit the ground together.
Kael landed directly on top of her very soft, very warm body.
His face ended up buried against her chest.
His mind briefly left the mortal realm.
The giant's foot came crashing down.
The woman calmly asked—
"What is your name?"
Kael looked at her like she was insane.
"We are about to die and that's your question?!"
The giant's foot descended.
The woman pulled a glowing violet hairpin from her hair.
She flicked her fingers.
Purple light flashed.
The hairpin shot forward.
It pierced through the giant's foot.
The Marshal froze.
Cracks spread through its leg.
Then the entire lower half exploded into rubble.
Kael stared in stunned silence.
The woman looked down at him with amusement.
"Little rogue… are you enjoying taking liberties?"
Kael realized his hands were still gripping her curves.
He recoiled like he'd been struck by lightning.
"I—no—I was saving your life!"
The Marshal roared again.
Its remaining arm swung downward.
The woman lazily gestured.
The pin returned.
Purple light flashed again.
The giant's arm exploded apart.
Kael laughed in disbelief.
She was absurdly powerful.
Then she raised her hand toward the Marshal's chest.
Kael's eyes widened in horror.
"No!"
Too late.
Purple light pierced the fire-lion core.
The world went silent.
Then—
The Unbreakable Marshal exploded.
A fireball consumed everything.
Burning stone rained from the sky.
Kael stood frozen as pieces of his masterpiece crashed around him.
The woman caught the returning hairpin and slid it back into her hair.
She smiled.
"What's wrong?"
Kael trembled.
"You…"
She blinked innocently.
"Yes?"
Kael exploded.
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO HIT THE HEART!"
His voice cracked with grief.
"That was my only fire-lion core! Five months of work!"
She laughed.
"That took you five months?"
Kael nearly blacked out from rage.
"It wasn't a monster!"
"What was it then?"
"He was my son!"
The woman laughed harder.
"Your son?"
"The Unbreakable Marshal!"
That made her laugh even more.
Kael nearly wept.
Then an enormous azure bird descended from the clouds.
A majestic elderly woman rode upon it.
Auryn's face brightened instantly.
"Elder Velda!"
Sylva dropped to one knee.
Everyone followed.
Kael glared at the beautiful stranger.
"This isn't over."
Then he hurried forward and knelt.
Elder Velda smiled warmly.
"Rise, children."
Her gaze moved to Kael.
"You did well. That construct had tremendous potential."
Kael nearly cried.
"It did…"
She continued.
"You simply made an error in its core balance. Be more careful next time."
Kael pointed accusingly at the beautiful woman.
"She destroyed it!"
The woman gasped dramatically.
"I saved him."
"He ruined my life!"
"She saved your life," Auryn corrected.
Kael ignored her.
Elder Velda sighed.
"You called her names before learning who she was?"
Kael blinked.
"What?"
The beautiful woman folded her arms smugly.
Elder Velda smiled.
"This is Shreve Lyra Farrow."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Kael's soul left his body.
Lyra Farrow.
The legendary prodigy.
The greatest artificer of her generation.
Closed-door disciple of Primus Valder.
One of the most terrifying women in the world.
And Kael had screamed at her while accidentally grabbing her chest.
His vision darkened.
He wanted death.
Immediately.
Auryn and the others bowed deeply.
Kael followed with burning cheeks.
"Forgive me, Shreve Farrow."
Lyra smiled sweetly.
"Oh, get up."
Her eyes stayed fixed on Kael's face.
"You're clearly still angry."
Kael slowly rose.
Lyra continued staring at him.
Far too intensely.
Like she'd found something she desperately wanted.
Selene noticed.
And narrowed her eyes.
Why was this terrifyingly beautiful woman looking at Kael like that?
And why—
why did that make Selene irrationally angry?