It was said that the only thing worse than a skilled opponent was an unstable one. Facing the erratic combat style of Raven, he could partially agree. The boy was a lot more skilled than he imagined. The Moonstone he had absorbed made his speed match that of Dallion’s. Significantly inferior in the combat splitting department, the boy made up for it through spell knowledge. Aether shards and bolts of magic flew all over the place, often neutralized by the room’s own defenses. As any snob, the archmage had made sure to cast protective spells on his valued items while alive.

Ruby, get out of here! Dallion ordered, while casting a series of spells of his own. Hundreds of emerald shardflies had died since the start of the fight, the overall amount negligible compared to what was in store.

I can fight, the creature countered, somewhat annoyed.

Not against a Moonstone.

Running along the walls, Raven performed a multi-attack, attempting to strike Dallion with the tip of his blade. Several instances were almost skewered, Dallion quickly causing them to fade away before the magic draining dagger could make contact.

I would advise not using any further music skills on him, Nil said. You’ll only irritate him more.

“How much more?!” Dallion hisses, directing the shardflies near his right hand to form a blade with which he slashed at Raven.

The attack caught the boy by surprise, digging into his leg. Before the wound could get deep, Raven twisted around, slicing the blade with his weapon.

Chunks of dead shardflies fell to the ground, completely drained of magic.

That has to be an echo, Dallion thought. There’s no way he’s that good.

The children of nobles learn combat from a very early age, Nil explained. His style is well practiced, if lacking a bit of polish.

Dallion didn’t agree. This wasn’t the style of a sheltered awakened. Whoever was controlling Raven had experienced practical combat. It wasn’t as skilled or efficient as the echo who had controlled Phoil; this type of opponent was something else, almost as if Dallion was facing a mercenary, or another hunter.

“Who are you?” he asked, performing a double slash spin, followed by a piercing plunge.

“I’m Dreud,” the boy replied, his face twisting in a creepy smile.

“Raven wouldn’t fight like that.”

“Is that so, hunter scum?” The boy pulled back.

Simultaneously, both sides took advantage of the pause to cast a new volley of spells. Barriers and combat magic erupted yet again, destroying large chunks of the floor between them. This time the defensive spells weren’t able to prevent the devastation from occurring.

Lux, peek in his realm, Dallion ordered.

On my way, boss! the firebird replied from Dallion’s realm.

I can say for certain that Argus isn’t in there, Nil noted. His spells are too amateurish.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Dallion filled the space between the two with magic barriers, then had the shardflies draw magic symbols of heat on them, doubling the temperature on Raven’s side of the room. When it came down to it, both were fighting against time. There was no telling whose Moon magic would end first, but it wouldn’t be too far apart from the other.

The bladebow appeared in the sky above. The kaleidovristo pointed in the direction of Raven, revealing the inhabitants of his realm.

There’s just one, boss! Lux chirped.

“I knew it,” Dallion whispered, vindicated. “You’re just an echo, controlling him!” he shouted. “So, how does it feel to hide behind a child high on magic?”

“Much better than you’d ever know!” Came the response. “He must feel honored being a minor part of history. Both of you should! From today, a new dawn is here—the age of the Seventh Moon!”

Nil, is it possible for an echo to go crazy?

It seems to be. The old echo seemed just as puzzled.

You think the Moonstone caused this?

Impossible. If that were the case, I would have been affected as well. No. if anything, it has to do with the echo itself. It doesn’t seem to be a symbiotic echo.

It has to be. What else can puppet a person?

Not many things. There is one other possibility, however. The person might have voluntarily relinquished control to the echo.

Dallion was just about to ask what sort of person would do that, when he remembered: Raven was a child. No amount of training and echoes could change that. He had skill, knowledge, and probably considerable experience in the realms, yet he remained a scared little boy who had never faced hardship alone. In such circumstances, it was natural he’d hide and put all his trust in the only person left.

“Are you the Star?” Dallion asked.

“The Star?” The boy laughed. “A shadow to scare the weak and mess up the mind of the stupid. The Star didn’t achieve this! I did! Me!”

All magic barriers shattered simultaneously as purple light flooded the room. The air heated up, changing the room into an oven, but thanks to the Moonstone’s power, Dallion was able to ignore the effects. A dozen instances of Raven charged at him, striking at his collarbone. An upward part prevented the attack from reaching its target, although in the process Dallion had to retreat several steps back.

A dozen shardflies flew off Dallion‘s living armor. Taking advantage of them, Dallion cast a spell sending twenty aether projectiles right into the child’s torso. The spell was strong enough to defeat most beasts and awakened, but in the case of Raven, they merely added some more holes to his clothes.

You’re right, Nil. Dallion jumped further back. He is an amateur.

“You can’t harm me.” Raven laughed. “Even if you’re good enough, you’ll only hurt him.”

“Won’t that get you in trouble with his parents?” Dallion used his music skills to make his opponent even more overconfident.

“Why would it? They’re my parents as well?”

“Somehow, I should have guessed.” Dallion tried to create the impression of being calm. “Only someone more arrogant than him would do away with all the assisting echoes.”

“None of them were willing to pay the price for victory. Argus kept going on about the value of the Moonstone. As if that matters in the grand scheme of things. When the new age begins, we’ll have more magic than he could imagine.”

“Won’t that be counterproductive? If others have magic, defeating them will be more difficult.”

“You still don’t get it.” Raven’s smile widened. “When the Tamin empire falls, there won’t be anyone left to fight. The Order won’t go against a favored of Galatea. The Alliance of Stone and Steel might be a bother, but others are taking care of that. We’ve already won!” The boy laughed maniacally. “I’ve won!”

Come on, Dallion cursed internally. As talkative as the person controlling Raven was, he was still giving him mere crumbs. One might almost consider that a ploy if it wasn’t the increasing sense of instability emanating from the boy. Dallion could feel two sets of motions, constantly intermingling like fruit and water in a blender.

Attempting to peek into Raven’s memory didn’t help, either. The Moonstone probably prevented that from happening.

He won’t tell you, Nil said. The only way forward is to defeat him before your boost is gone.

Do you know who he is?

Of course, I know who he is. There isn’t a noble in the empire who doesn’t know who he is, but I still can’t tell you. The only thing I can say is that you’re lucky he’s not here in person. His echo must have somehow been affected, bringing it to this… pitiful state.

If that was pitiful, Dallion definitely didn’t want to see the real deal. Something told him that should he survive this encounter, he very well might. The person behind the echo didn’t sound like someone who’d leave things unfinished. If he was willing to sacrifice his brother without a shred of remorse, one could only imagine what he’d do to people who really annoyed him.

“How about we make a bet?” Dallion suggested. “If I win, you’ll tell me—”

The sentence remained unfinished, for at that moment Raven charged forward again. Casting a quick spell with his left hand, he sent nine orbs of fire in Dallion’s direction.

Unlike before, Dallion recognized the spell—it had been available in the library section of the Learning Hall. Each orb was a concentrated fireball, guided by a simple levitation spell. There were a few symbols that Dallion hadn’t learned at the time, though now he could recreate easily.

“Resorting to novice spells?” he mocked, bursting into instances.

With the amount of magic put into the spell, even such simple orbs were capable of devastating damage. Several of them drilled through a few of Dallion’s instances, creating holes in the wall behind. In the other cases, Dallion was able to combine his athletic and guard skills to evade. Twice he almost completed a guard sequence, but Raven attacked before Dallion could gain his bonus.

“Why didn’t you let your brother flee?” Dallion asked, casting Cheska’s chain spell. “There was enough time. The archmage was already dead.”

“He wasn’t dead before you got here. And even if he were, what’s the point? My brother was the key to the Academy, nothing more.”

“He seemed a bit more than that.”

“Because he thought he was? He’s nothing. Even with magic, he couldn’t do a tenth of what he was supposed to. He’ll never be able to increase his awakened level, remaining a pitiful mage till the day he dies. He’ll never become a noble.”

“And you have?” Dallion sent out shardflies all over the room. A few attacked Raven with their razor wings, but for the most part they merely landed on the walls, creating a second layer on top.

“Indeed. I have real power. No one gave it to me. Not my parents, not Argus, least of all my useless brother.”

“Enough power to take on the emperor?”

The shardflies were everywhere. Dallion had set the trap. Now all he had to do was to extend his magic to them at the right time. Raven had proven he was strong enough to counter any attack or spell, but could he be able to react to a hundred spikes flying towards him from all directions?

Lux, be ready, Dallion thought. If he tries to fly out, hit him.

Yes, boss! the firebird cheerfully replied.

“The emperor is a hollow shell. No one has seen him in over a decade. Even the orders don’t come from him anymore. The inner court is playing games they cannot control.”

Nil?

Pay no attention, dear boy. The emperor rarely makes appearances. None of them have.

Then how can you be sure that he’s still in charge?

Because it doesn’t matter. Whoever’s giving the orders has full control over the guardians of the imperial capital. There’s no going against that.

A flutter of shardflies flew off Dallion, filling the space between him and the nearest wall.

Got you! Dallion extended his magic.

Purple threads spread along the walls, like electric currents. Within moments, they had connected every shardfly in sight. Magic symbols formed, followed by an explosion of spires that shot out from the walls, all aiming at Raven.

Dallion didn’t have the heart to kill the boy, so all of them targeted just his arms and legs. In the back of his mind, a voice told Dallion that such mercy was a mistake. If the attack failed, he might not get a similar opportunity.

There was a sound of metal hitting stone. The magic draining dagger had fallen to the ground along with the hand still holding it.

Get it! Dallion extended his right hand, sending a torrent of shardflies in the direction. Unfortunately, he was too late. A green sphere had appeared around Raven, regenerating all wounds and missing limbs. The boy squeezed through the spikes, grabbing his weapon. One strike and all nearby shardflies shattered to dust. One more and the spikes were no more, crumbling to dust.

Damn it! Dallion cursed.

It had been a perfect plan, and it had failed.