Edan doubted Yaw’s Constitution was on par with his own, thanks in part to his class's modifier, but it was more than enough to see the man back to fighting shape in a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes where Edan spent more time scrambling away from Kumi and Lorien than he cared to admit.

  Whatever stunning effect Marcus’s howl had on the trio didn’t last long, and the werewolf was too busy trying to reach Vraga at the moment to howl again. Or perhaps the skill was on cool down. Edan didn’t know.

  Blocking a staff strike with his forearm, Edan ignored the sting and pushed it away. He grabbed the shaft of Loriens trident, just below the head, and struggled to hold it steady. Lorien twisted her weapon, trying to dislodge him. Even now, strained as she was, her face showed no reaction.

  Edan was forced to release it and dance back as Yaw ducked around Lorien to attack him. The speed boost Edan got from [First Blood] allowed him to avoid the flickering blade but then Yaw, the bastard, activated a skill. The blade twitched, almost bending, and Edan felt a thin line of fire across his shoulder even as the blade missed.

  Instinct, and anger, made Edan grab a throwing knife from the sheath on his chest. He only had two and had been hoping to save them, but he needed space. [Throw] activated and the part of him that Edan associated with his paths seemed to flex. When the throwing knife left his hand, Edan thought he saw thin lines of electricity dancing across the metal blade.

  Yaw swiped the dagger out of the air dismissively but froze as a current ran up his weapon, locking his muscles in place.

  Edan saw a notification icon in the corner of his vision but was too busy to look.

  The ground shook hard enough to make Edan stumble back, almost landing him on his ass. Kumi had to use his staff to steady himself. Lorien had been moving forward and she fell face first. Yaw, still locked in place, toppled over like a statue.

  Glancing over his shoulder Edan saw Tali standing on top of the Laviathan’s head. Or rather on the side of its head. The massive sea creature was splayed out across most of the port, its long narrow head smashed into the cobblestone. Dark black blood leaked from its eyes and cracks along its skin.

  Tali raised her hand for another punch and Edan saw she wore gauntlets made of golden metal that hurt to look at. The blow, when it landed, rippled the Laviathan’s flesh, making its tentacles flop, and bursting both eyes. Cracks ran along the ground under its head and Edan felt the ground under his jump.

  Tali’s laughter cut through the sudden silence as she punched the creature again. Its head caved in, the soft flesh looking like it deflated, and the tentacles thrashed madly causing even more damage to the surroundings before going still.

  Vraga’s scream of rage rivaled Tali’s laughter.

  Edan heard feet slapping against stone and rolled on instinct. The three-pronged tip of Loriens trident narrowly missed skewering him in the shoulder. Edan kicked out from his place on the ground, connecting with Loriens knee. There was a crack and her knee bent in the wrong direction. Even as it folded under her weight, Lorien didn’t make a sound.

  Edan rolled sideways, getting to his feet in time to parry Yaw’s sword with his dagger. Having learned his lesson from the previous attempts, Edan angled his short blade so Yaw’s sword would slide off, diverting most of the force behind him. The blade hit the ground with a clang and Edan stepped forward.

  [Flurry] activated. Edan focused the skill on his empty hand. His fist flew out, connecting with Yaw’s chin in a perfect uppercut. The follow-up flurry, while not as effective without a weapon, was still devastating considering Edan’s strength stat. It also had the added bonus of not killing his ex-classmate.

  Yaw’s head snapped back, and he staggered. Edan saw Kumi approaching from the corner of his eye, the staff in his hand glowing yellow. Lorien was already getting to her feet on the other side of Edan, one knee still facing in the wrong direction.

  Edan finally knew why fights between cultivators ended in surrender, a draw, or death. There were no knockouts. Their constitutions wouldn't allow it.

  Kumi pulled his staff back in preparation to stab it forward, the tip aimed at Edan’s ribs. Yaw was still off balance.

  Edan had a choice.

  Kumi lunged.

  There was no choice.

  Grabbing Yaw’s arm, Edan activated [Charge], his target Lorien. Yaw was pulled forward, taking Edan’s place as Edan’s skill dragged them both sideways. Kumi’s staff arrived a microsecond later, the metal-capped tip landing on Yaw’s exposed back.

  There was a soft thump and the hole was blown through Yaw’s chest. Edan let go of his arm, the [Charge] skill still pulling him towards Lorien even as bits of Yaw flew through the air. Through the hole in the man’s body, Edan could see Kumi withdraw his weapon, that same empty look on his face.

  Edan slammed into Lorien with enough force to send her toppling back over, the trident slipping from her hand. Bits of Yaw splattered down on them like warm rain. Edan felt his stomach roll but he ignored it. Head butting Lorien he felt her nose crunch under his forehead.

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  He could have died. They would have killed him.

  [Slash] drove the sharp edge of Edan’s blade across Loriens calf. He’d aimed for her uninjured leg in the hope of doing enough damage that she wouldn’t stand. Edan wasn’t sure if he’d done enough, but he needed to move. Rolling off Lorien, Edan grabbed the last blade from his chest and turned to face Kumi.

  The staff took Edan in the sternum, the tip digging deep. The throwing knife flew out of Edan's hand. For a second Edan was sure the staff would blast a hole in him and that would be that, but when he went stumbling back, his chest on fire, Edan realized he was alive.

  Joy was short-lived though as Kumi attacked again. The tip of his staff moved like the head of a snake. Edan batted it away, trying to step in so he could attack Kumi directly, but the larger man switched his grip on his weapon and spun it around, forcing Edan back.

  Frustrated Edan activated [Charge] hoping to blast through Kumi’s defense, but Kumi reacted with a skill of his own. His staff blurred, like Edan’s daggers did when he used [Flurry] and Edan’s charge did little more than earn him new bruises as he was rebuffed.

  Glancing over his shoulder quickly to make sure Lorien remained out of the fight, Edan was pleased to see she was. He refused to look at the mess that was Yaw.

  Edan jerked his head back, the staff passing close enough to his nose that he felt a breeze, and then jumped forward. Kumi was a bit too slow on the return and Edan got close enough to stab out.

  Kumi was still a skilled martial artist though and removed one hand from his weapon to slap Edan’s forearm, directing his attack to the side. Kumi stepped back, his foot coming up. Edan took it to his ribs. The kick was strong enough that he folded around the leg, but Edan refused to miss the opportunity. He grabbed Kumi’s leg, holding it against his body, and stabbed the other man's thigh with his dagger. He saw the staff descending on him from above but continued with his attack. His blade slid through flesh even as the staff slammed him to the ground.

  Edan groaned. Kumi fell backward, the blade still sticking out of his thigh.

  Getting to his feet took effort, but Edan managed it.

  “You should leave that in.” He said conversationally to Kumi as the larger man pulled at the blade.

  Edan looked over at Lorien, she was dragging herself towards them slowly. Her empty eyes stared at Edan making him shiver. Edan moved slowly towards his dropped throwing knife, one hand cradling his ribs. A quick look showed him his health was down to the high two thousand. Not critical, but not great either. He’d done better than he had expected against them.

  Yaw…Edan refused to think about that for now.

  Scooping up the fallen blade, Edan risked a quick glance over at the rest of his group.

  They had managed to get Vraga on the ground, though the bird still streaked through the air harrying them. The corpse of the Leviathan created a morbid background to the face-off currently happening.

  In the distance, Edan could hear shouting and guessed a force had been rallied to attack the Leviathan.

  The fight hadn't been that long. It just felt like it had been.

  Edan wondered why none of the higher members of the sects had appeared. They were the only cultivators allowed to fly around the city afterall and should have been the first on the scene.

  Then Edan wondered why Vraga looked so calm. Even when he was surrounded by 7 people.

  There was the scrape of wood on stone from behind him. Kumi was moving.

  "You would have killed me." Edan muttered, his shoulders slumped in defeat for a second before he squared them. His voice grew steady as he continued. "But you taught me a lesson, so thanks."

  [Throw]

  His blade flashed through the air before sinking into Kumi’s throat as he tried to rise. Edan looked away, ignoring the wet gurgling behind him and the tear that fell from his eye. Whether it was for killing his classmate or killing his own innocence, Edan didn't know.

  To distract himself, Edan watched everyone circling around Vraga. The Leviathan behind them was left to deflate slowly. Marcus, by far, looked the worst of wear. The hair that covered most of his body was matted with blood and dirt and stood up in odd clumps. Tali still wore the golden gauntlets but didn’t advance, instead, her eyes tracked Vraga carefully. Sanik, Reema, Gem, Lem, and Vroth stood near the back of the group. Each of them looked worn out and covered in wounds.

  Vraga stood calmly before them, his hands tucked behind his back. His ragged robes still for once.

  Edan could see the Four Star Heavenly Sect elder was fiddling with something in his hands. It looked like a beaded necklace.

  The gurgling behind Edan petered out, and Vraga touched another bead.

  His dark eyes turned slowly to Edan, then looked past him at the bodies on the ground.

  “If you are going to kill the female, could you make it quick?” he asked. “It sounds like we’ll have company soon and I’d rather clean the evidence up all at once.”

  Before Edan could answer the bird landed next to Vraga, its beaked head almost level with his. Vraga let out a sigh.

  “It matters not. I suppose she wouldn’t make much of a difference to the end result and I learned something interesting today.” Vraga rested a hand on the neck of his pet, stroking the feathers. “You are more powerful than our reports, Genesis Titan. We were also wrong to dismiss you, Guild Head.”

  Marcus growled low in his throat, the sound carrying enough bass that Edan felt his bones shake.

  Vraga just gave him a cocky smile, his hand still stroking the flaming bird, heedless of the flames that burnt his palm. When he spoke again he sounded almost sad. “[Clean slate]”

  Then he snapped the bird's neck.

  The Leviathan had been slowly deflating but once Vraga said those words it seemed to melt, the flesh wriggling before sloshing off in great sheets. Marcus and Tali stepped back along with the others as black blood spilled out of the creature in a wave.

  Edan looked away from the disgusting sight and then gasped as he saw the same thing happening to Yaw’s body. Turning in shock Edan saw the same thing happening to Kumi, the blade in his throat slipping out as the flesh around it fell apart. Edan could see fat white worms wriggling through the flesh before they burrowed into the ground.

  Edan looked to Lorien, expecting to see the same. She wasn’t falling apart, something Edan was very thankful for, but she was writhing on the ground in pain as things crawled beneath the surface of her skin.