“Please take a moment to calm down. You’re in no shape to fight right now,” Ignis begged, grabbing Vaughn’s shoulder before he could storm off.

 

The ghoul just shrugged his underling off. “Calm down?!?! I let Lyssa die. I was just two feet away, and I couldn’t do anything because I was distracted.”

“That was their plan, and it was a good one,” Ignis replied. “Charging into their defenses alone won’t fix anything; it’ll just make the situation worse.”

 

“I don’t care, as long as I get a shot at the one that shot Lyssa,” Vaughn hissed as he turned to run after the Anthophilans. A wave of calm washed over him.

 

[That’s enough of that. You may be popular with the audience because of your impulsiveness, but we can’t have you throwing the match. Lyssa’s death is a setback, but as long as we can conquer one of the wings of the manor, we can always bring her back] Nor’goth declared directly into his head as the Draconid fluttered over and landed on one of the nearby walls.

 

“I don’t appreciate being at the receiving end of your mind tricks,” Vaughn growled.

 

[If you don’t want me in your head, stop having a tantrum every single time Lyssa gets hurt, or things don’t go your way.] Nor’goth snapped. [Grow up. We’re in the middle of a match.]

 

“This probably wouldn’t have happened if you had warned us ahead of time,” Vaughn grumbled.

 

[My job is to let you know the enemy’s movements, and their exact lineup so you can prepare,] Nor’goth replied. [I don’t have time to micromanage; I have to trust you’re competent enough to deal with your opponents yourselves.]

 

Vaughn snarled at the little dragon kin, but didn’t say anything.

 

[That was an unfortunate exchange, but at least it wasn’t a complete loss. The loss of the Anthophilan queen should cause the rest of the swarm to fall into disarray,] Nor’goth declared. [And even though the Lich Guard has taken some damage, you still outnumber Sullivan and his guards two to one. Concentrate on getting the job done and moving on, so we can resurrect Lyssa.]

 

“Fine,” Vaughn spat. “I’ll conquer this floor for you, if only so I can get my revenge on those pests.”

 

The little draconid shook its head. [I cannot wait for Lyssa to come back, you’re so much easier to deal with when she’s around.]

 

Vaughn ignored that last mental barb and swiveled toward his remaining troops. The lich guard were extremely hard to destroy; their armor acted as a makeshift phylactery, so they could quickly recover from most damage. Unfortunately, the Centaurs' lances had been strong enough to punch through that thick armor on the charge completely.

They did trade two Lich guards for two centaurs, leaving three of the monstrously resilient warriors, but it was still a little annoying.

 

His own followers, the spellblades, still hadn’t taken any losses. A combination of swift blades and shields of wind had kept them quite safe from the sporadic arrow fire earlier.

 

“Alright, you lot, it’s time to push forward,” he announced. “Since we don’t have Lyssa and her Miasma to wear them down slowly, we’re going to switch up our tactics. We drop the slow, defensive approach and go full aggressive.”

“Are you sure that’s smart?” Ignis asked quietly.

 

Vaughn shot a quick look at the younger ghoul. “The Anthophilans have only seen us while we’re on the defensive; there’s a good chance they don’t know what we’re capable of. That we’re capable of striking at them while they’re buzzing about like pests, we’ll take advantage of that to catch them off guard and deal them a serious blow.”

 

[It probably won’t be that easy. I suspect the manor’s strategist has already warned everyone, so they know exactly what you’re capable of,] Nor’goth muttered.

 

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Vaughn growled. “We have to break through their defenses somehow.”

 

[No better suggestions, I actually approve of your change of tactics, I just thought I should warn you… It probably won’t be as easy as you expect,] Nor’goth replied.

 

“I have faith in my team,” Vaughn muttered. “We’ll bring those pests down. They may have been warned about us, but there’s a difference between being warned about something and seeing it in action for themselves. Trust me, they won’t be prepared for us.”

[Very well, I look forward to hearing about your victory,] Nor’goth said. The little draconid sat up straight and turned its head to the side, as if it was listening to something in the distance. [I’ll leave you to it. I need to check on our other teams. Good luck.]

 

“We won’t need luck,” Vaughn grumbled as the intelligence drained from the little creature’s eyes. A second later, it cocked its head to the side and chirped at him. “No, I’m not giving you any treats right now. You know how your mother gets when you beg.”

The little creature chirped a couple more times indignantly, then took off, disappearing further into the dungeon.

 

“Did Nor’goth have anything to pass on?” Nils asked, her bony hands clamped tightly around the pommels of her magical blades.

 

“Only that he trusts my judgment, and that the fight probably won’t be as easy as I expect, or made it out to be,” Vaugh declared. “Why? Do you doubt my judgment? Or your own skills?”

“Of course not,” the ghoul girl replied as she fiddled with the blades. “It’s just that… usually you follow Jyssa’s lead.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking the lead when the situation calls for it,” Vaughn snarled. “I’m the one who trained you lot.”

 

“She’s just nervous,” Ignis explained, stepping in front of his sister. “You have to admit, things haven’t gone very well so far.”

“Well, that changes now,” Vaughn replied. “I want you two to concentrate on binding the Anthophilans one by one and bringing them into range of the rest of your squad. By methodical and merciless.”

He turned towards the trio of silent armored figures standing to the side. “And you three, I need you to keep Sullivan busy while we deal with the Anthophilans, understand?”

 

The closest lich guard nodded almost imperceptibly and let out a single raspy word. “Yesssssss…”

 

“Good, then let’s get going,” Vaughn declared as he strode towards the exit. The rest of his team quickly fell into step behind him without further complaint. He could feel hesitation in their steps, but he didn’t want to sit around any longer. Not when he was so close to settling the score.

 

Even though the floor was quiet, and the Anthophilans had claimed to be retreating towards the boss arena, Vaughn didn’t advance carelessly towards the battle. He stalked forward, carefully checking the blind corners and overhangs for any ambushes.

 

After such an embarrassing showing during their last fight, they couldn’t afford to be ambushed now. Not only would he be unbelievably embarrassed, but there was a good chance that Lyssa wouldn’t get a chance to be resurrected, and that was something he couldn’t afford.

 

As they approached the final area, a massive stone arena that had an unnaturally thick fog rolling out of it, Vaughn finally paused. “Are you all ready?”

 

“Would you actually stop and wait for us if we said no?” Ignis huffed.

 

“For a moment. At least long enough for you to prepare yourselves,” Vaughn replied. “I’m eager to get in there and even the score, but I’m not willing to throw my life away.” He paused, “Not anymore anyways, not since Nor’goth got in my head and cooled me down. The rest of the Sanctum is relying upon us to break through to the next floor, and going in there unprepared is the fastest way to fail.”

 

He looked at the younger ghoul and raised an eyebrow. “Do you actually need a minute?”

Ignis shook his head. “No, I just wondered if you had calmed down yet, or were still driven by your need for revenge.”

 

“The need remains, but it’s tempered by practicality,” Vaughn grumbled. “Any other questions, or can we finally get this over with?”

 

Ignis glanced over at his sister, who nodded. “After you,” the boy said, gesturing to the tunnel.

 

“It’s about time,” Vaughn replied, as a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Let's get this over with.”