Once Samuel was less than ten feet away, the Primeval let out a screech of rage and attacked. In spite of the vast difference in size between the blades, the ease with which Samuel parried the blow sent a shiver down Eric’s spine. It clearly frightened the Primeval as well, who recoiled away, desperately avoiding the lightning-fast backhanded slash that Samuel answered with.

“Well done,” Samuel said, the mana along his body crackling in a sinister fashion. “You dodged that well. Let’s see if you can repeat it.”

To Eric’s eyes, it looked as though Samuel did nothing more than take a step forward. But by the time his brain had caught up to what he was seeing, Samuel was behind the hulking form of the Primeval, his sword raised. There was a faint silver line in the air to describe the path he’d taken. It hung, frozen in time and space, for several seconds. Then it crackled, forming a line of pure electricity, and shot forward like an arrow, burrowing itself into the Primeval’s chest.

It didn’t seem to do much physical damage, but the Primeval was still thrown back several feet, to land in yet another building, which collapsed on him, much as had happened when Eric had used Ancient magic to repel him. Except that Samuel had made the attack seem effortless, and it took a great deal longer for his opponent to recover. When he finally broke free of the rubble and clambered out, he was shaking all over, and bright blue lines of electricity were still dancing across his body.

Samuel clicked his tongue as if annoyed that hadn’t been a killing blow, and held his free hand back. “Megan, if you would be so kind.”

Eric glanced back to where Megan was standing, uninjured but wide-eyed. She, like Eric, had watched the first few seconds of the duel with fear and fascination. They’d known that Samuel was strong, but the level of casual power that he was displaying frightened them. And it was clear that he wasn’t putting in a real effort just yet, either.

Megan seemed to understand what he wanted at once, and, after a moment of fierce concentration, sent a massive flood of raw mana in his direction. It wasn’t an attack, but that amount of energy hitting a person would surely cause some damage. Inches away from his body, Samuel caught the wave, wrapping it around himself in a loose ring before condensing it. It shrank in on itself until it could have fit into the palm of his hand, and it glowed so brightly that Eric had to look away for fear of being blinded.

He didn’t see what Samuel did with the spell, but he looked back at the sound of a roar. Something felt familiar about that sound, he thought, and turned just in time to see a white wolf appearing, diving towards the Primeval faster than the eye could see. At first glance, he thought it was Hunter, and wondered how his companion could have recovered so quickly. But then he noticed the lightning dancing across the beast’s flank, and the aura of chaos that radiated so strongly from it, and knew it was something different.

The beast rammed into the Primeval right as he regained his feet, the massive head catching him in the chest and throwing him back onto the rubble he’d just escaped from. He let out a grunt as he landed on the tumbled rocks, a sound that was quickly drowned out by the roar the wolf let loose. It lunged at the Primeval, clamping its jaws down and locking him in place. Then, without warning, it exploded.

The blast of all that chaotic mana dispersing obliterated what remained of the two nearest buildings, and knocked Megan over. Eric, protected by the wall behind him, didn’t move, but the energy that washed over him felt red-hot, and he cried out as he felt its touch, sure he’d be incinerated. But he was uninjured, and when his vision finally cleared, he could see Samuel standing, his robes rippling as if it had been nothing more than a strong breeze to him.

“My apologies,” he called to Eric and Megan. “I didn’t have time to warn you, and it would have been less effective if I’d let him prepare.”

“No worries,” Eric groaned, shifting his body back to a more comfortable sitting position. “Was that it, then? Is he-”

“He’s not dead,” Samuel replied, cutting him off. “Unfortunately they managed to shift just in time, and Averin was able to protect himself.”

Eric felt his jaw drop in shock. He’d been at the very edge of the blast, and it had still been searing. How powerful of a mage did Averin have to be if he could protect himself from the same explosion, being right next to the center of it? But as he watched, Averin was indeed stepping out of the pile of rubble, his face twisted with rage and his chest heaving, but uninjured.

“You meddling little-” the disgraced Archmage growled, too angry to complete his sentence. He pointed a finger at Samuel, his eyes burning with hatred. “You should have stayed out of my way!”

Eric could feel the energy that built in and around Averin, collecting from somewhere that he couldn’t see. Averin pointed the same finger down, and suddenly, Eric felt a massive weight fall on his shoulder. It crushed down upon him, slamming him to the cobbles. A shriek from Megan’s position seemed to indicate that she’d been caught up in it as well. Even Samuel was driven to his knees, barely able to prevent himself from collapsing entirely.

“You may think you’re the master of all magic!” Averin screamed. “But there is an entire branch of the arcane of which you are ignorant!”

Samuel gritted his teeth as he fought to remain partially upright. He’d dropped his sword, as the blade was too heavy for him to hold. “I see you’ve discovered how to tap into your Draul powers. I didn’t think it would be possible, as you are only a descendant.”

“You thought wrong!” Averin screamed, goaded beyond the point of reason. “My sister and I learned how years ago! She thought the power was too much for us to wield, but she was wrong!”

Eric found that even the wind was being driven from his lungs. There were little spots of darkness in his vision as his body was compressed further and further. Any second now, he was sure that his ribs would splinter apart, and that would be the end of it. It was only his Ancient body that had allowed him to remain uninjured for now. That thought made him worry for Michael, who, as a normal mortal, was doubtless faring much worse than him, Samuel, or Megan.

“Are you confessing to killing your sister, then?” Samuel asked, lifting his head with a great effort. “Am I to understand that the rumors are true, and you murdered the scion of your clan?”

Averin laughed, a sound that was far more deranged and malicious than amused. “You care about such a trivial matter that happened years ago when I’m about to kill you?”

“I wonder about that,” Samuel grunted. He made eye contact with Averin then, and his eyes flashed brightly, indicating magic.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Averin shouted, and the weight seemed to almost double on them all. Samuel’s head was forced back down. “If you attempt to attack my mind, your body will be destroyed again!”

“Well, I do still have two more,” Samuel said, more to himself than his foe. “But I’d prefer to avoid the inconvenience if it’s all the same.”

Averin laughed again. “What can you possibly do in this moment? I have you pinned, Champion of the Mind! I have mastery over a magic far more ancient than you!”

In front of Eric’s eyes, Samuel’s body finally went limp, and crashed down to the cobbles, lying flat. But he could still see the eyes and noticed that they’d changed drastically. They were a faint blue in color, not violet. Seconds later, Averin staggered backward, as if he’d been struck by some invisible force. He looked around in alarm, looking for the source of the attack, and then his jaw snapped to the side, then up as someone hit him twice.

That last combo of hits seemed to have dazed him, and Eric felt the pressure holding him down vanish in an instant as the spell was interrupted. A half-second later, Samuel’s eyes flashed violet again, and he leaped to his feet, scooping his sword off the cobbles. He’d done something, launched some kind of spell to attack Averin and end the magic that had pinned him in place. Now he charged his opponent, sword raised, to finish it.

He was within reach faster than Eric could blink, sword swinging back for a vicious back-handed blow. Then he vanished, reappearing behind Averin just as a large dent was formed in the cobbles where he’d been standing. He’d teleported faster than it would have taken a mage to say the incantation or even form the thought, and dodged another weight spell. Averin only had time to glance fearfully over his shoulder to see Samuel before he spun, adding extra strength to his arm, and slashed.

Averin toppled to the scorched and broken cobbles under his feet slowly, as if it took a while for his body to realize that he’d been slain. His head, sent flying into the air after being severed from the rest of him, landed a half-second later, rolling to a stop. Samuel held his position for a moment longer, as if making sure it was over before he allowed himself to rise properly, letting out a long sigh.

“Is everyone alright?” He asked, looking up from the body of his fallen opponent. “You’re not too badly hurt by his spell, are you?”

“I’m fine,” Eric replied, as did Megan, though he felt as though his lungs would never be full again. He dragged in a shaky breath now, wincing as he felt something inside him resisting. His ribs might not have broken, but he was certain that one of them had been pushed out of place, and was putting extra pressure on his lungs. “Just a dislocated rib, I think.”

“I’m sure I have a few fractures,” Megan commented. She’d already regained her feet and was stumbling over, a pained expression on her face. “How is Michael? He had to have taken that worse than all of us.”

“You continue to underestimate me,” a voice said, and Michael sat up. Strangely, apart from the wound on his head that was sending a sheet of blood down his face, he looked uninjured. “I woke up just in time to protect myself.”

“Excellent use of a barrier,” Samuel told Michael, his tone light and cheerful as if complimenting a student on a clever answer. “I notice you’ve stopped using static barriers in favor of a more malleable defense.”

Michael nodded, then winced at the movement as it set his head to ringing. He touched the wound on his head lightly, healing it just enough to stop the flow of blood, then laid back against the collapsed wall with a sigh of relief, as if it were a comfortable bed. “It took me a while to work it out, but I got there in the end.”

Samuel rested one hand on Eric’s shoulder, pouring more energy into his body. He felt the rib shift back into place with a sharp pain and took a full breath at last. He could feel his body repairing itself fully under the Archmage’s care, and in seconds he was fully restored.

“What did you mean by having backups in place?” Eric asked. “Did you use the simulacrum spell without telling anyone?”

“In a way,” Samuel grinned. “It’s a unique spell I created, more of a permanent copy. Only Grimr knew that I could do it until today. As you can see, it came in handy.”

“No arguments here,” Eric replied, accepting Samuel’s hand and getting back to his feet. “So that’s it, then? It’s all over?”

“Not quite,” Samuel said, and for the first time, his cheery expression dimmed. “We’ve settled the issue of Milagre, but a new problem has arisen that will require our attention. I’m afraid it may be even more challenging.”

“What are we doing?”

“We have to rush to confront Bora Bora,” he said grimly. “He’s let chaos consume him, and will continue on a killing rampage if he’s not stopped.”