Movement from the shadows, fast and nearly invisible.Kui Hong, the second warrior, appeared with a poisoned dagger already descending. Marco read the first strike in time to sidestep it completely. The second dagger came from an angle that shouldn't have been available, grazing his belly before the figure disappeared again.Marco's hand went to the graze. Blood. The poison effect was already starting, a cold thread moving inward from the wound."That's better," Kuang Chi said, his confidence returning. "Two against one. More honest.""You call this honest?" Marco said."I call it efficient."A child's voice cut across the street like a flat hand hitting a table."Enough."Everyone on the street went to one knee. The motion was immediate and automatic, bodies responding before minds could process the instruction. Even Kuang Chi and Kui Hong dropped without visible decision.Marco stood.A small figure walked onto the battlefield. City Lord Nathan stood barely over half a meter tall, h

"I find it clarifying," the old man said. "I recommend it."Marco looked at him directly. "What exactly would it take to make you care about something?"The old man considered this with genuine thought. "That's a better question than most people ask me." He looked at the document still open on the table. "You search for the Ancestral Demon Eye.""Yes.""You've read this document.""Just now.""And you're thinking about Nathan," the old man said. "About his soul attacks today. About the fact that he recognized your Judgment mark without hesitation. About whether the final notation in this document is accurate and what that means for your mission."Marco went still. "You've been watching since I came in.""I've been watching since you entered Westford City," the old man said pleasantly. "You're interesting. Interesting things don't arrive here often." He moved toward the study door with footsteps that made no sound Marco could detect. "Since you search for the Eye, I'll give you guidanc

Victoria's hands gripped the table edge, her knuckles pale with the pressure of someone who had committed to a direction and was now holding onto it with everything available."Brother Davis told me," she said, her voice carrying the specific conviction of words that had been practiced. "You took what wasn't yours. The position. The estate. The family name. I am the true heir of this family and everyone in this room knows it."Kenneth's teeth came together. The warmth that had been his default expression since Marco arrived was entirely gone, replaced by something that had been waiting behind it."Someone has been coaching her," Kenneth said, not to Victoria but to the room. His voice was very even. "Someone has been putting words in her mouth and sending her in here to use them at a family dinner in front of every member we have." He looked at Victoria for a long moment, and what was in his eyes was not the anger of a guilty man and not the patience of an innocent one. It was somethi

The dining hall went quiet in the way places go quiet when a body hits the floor.Thomas stepped over the pieces of the man he'd just killed without looking down. The man had been in the third row, had stood up when Thomas asked his question, had taken too long forming his answer while fear worked through his body.Thomas had twisted his head off while the words were still being assembled."You answered too slowly," Thomas said, setting the head down on the nearest table with the care of someone placing something they didn't want to damage further. He looked across the rows of Whitmore family faces with a patient expression. "Let me ask everyone else while there's still time to answer quickly. Years ago, Kenneth secretly removed Victoria's father from the position of Family Head. Victoria has discovered this truth. Knowing the clan was coerced and that no one could seek justice, she came to me for help."Victoria nodded with the fierce enthusiasm of someone who had finally arrived at

As the light of destruction dissipated, the scene came into focus across the ruined garden.Thomas held the Blood Holy Sword with both hands, straining against it, his palms pressed flat against the blade's edge. Marco's other sword, the dual half he'd kept in his right hand, had already pierced clean through Thomas's chest."Quite a pity," Marco managed, forcing a smile that cost him considerable effort.Neither of them had simply survived the singularity. They'd kept fighting inside it, trading blows while the sky above them tore itself apart in purple and crimson.Thomas looked down at the blade in his chest with something close to genuine respect. "I didn't expect the Human Race to produce a young powerhouse like you. This time, my victory is unearned." He coughed once, blood at the corner of his mouth. "I shall seek guidance from you again in the future.""Do it sooner rather than later," Marco said, "or you might not catch up to me."He said it like a man with the upper hand. Th