"You're surrounded!" Zork and his three duplicates demanded in unison.
Alongside the orc, the troops of soldiers advanced toward the group in the plaza: dancers and acrobats with owl masks concealing their faces.
One of those dancers, the one at the forefront, locked eyes with the original Zork. A chill of terror shot through the orc, as the mask had only two large black circles for eyes. Zork chalked it up to coincidence.
"We're not surrounded," the masked figure said.
Zork laughed.
"Clearly, you've lost your minds," Zork said, reaching out to grab the masked man.
"No," the man in the mask replied. "You're the ones who've lost your minds. You're the ones surrounded."
From the houses and buildings encircling the plaza, all sorts of shadows began to emerge. Figures barely distinguishable in the thick darkness of the night.
They were the citizens of Lower Galandria.
Armed with crude bows, they aimed decisively at the orc's troops.
But among the shadowy figures, one stood out above the rest…
"Fire!" a voice roared at full volume. It was none other than Louis.
From the windows and rooftops of the plaza's houses and buildings, a merciless rain of arrows fell.
Arrow after arrow poured down relentlessly. The soldiers barely had time to react. Some managed to raise their shields in defense; others were protected by their thick silver armor, which deflected the slender arrows like they were nothing. But the less fortunate took hits that were one in a million.
In other words… the sheer volume of arrows raining from the sky brought down more than a few unlucky soldiers. The thin arrows slipped through the gaps in their armor.
Mako was safe, as he hadn't marched with the main group of soldiers. He was near one of the alleys, taking cover with the men behind him.
Zork, on the other hand…
"Damn you!" all four Zorks bellowed.
The orc looked like a pincushion. Arrows riddled his body, dark green blood oozing from his flesh. They collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain…
When the orc looked ahead, he realized the masked dancers and acrobats were unscathed. Broken arrows littered the ground in front of them, yet they hadn't moved…
The owl-masked figures, ready for battle, formed a tight line. Trusting blindly in their allies' aim, they'd created a barrier against the falling arrows.
From above, Louis shouted again:
"Attack!"
The battle began.
The masked men started clapping their hands together. Zork felt a wave of déjà vu, recalling that this hand gesture was the same one Rebecca used…
"Impossible…" each Zork muttered in unison.
The orcs stood, ready to launch a decisive attack, but what was meant to be an offensive turned into a desperate defense for the crown's soldiers.
Each Zork, armed with his own axe, swung at a masked man in front of him, but quickly had to use that same swing to block an explosion of energy, deflecting it with his weapon.
They weren't just like Rebecca—they were worse. Each orc felt a massive weight forcing them back to the ground. When Zork's eyes refocused on the acrobats, he realized they'd separated their palms in mere seconds.
Each acrobat had summoned at least two energy swords, like those Rebecca or Arthur (before his death) wielded.
Mako watched from the rear. As soon as the arrow barrage stopped, he ordered his troops to support Zork and retrieve the wounded from the battlefield.
Mako charged forward too, but not before noticing a sea of people descending from terraces and windows, armed with ropes, shoddy daggers, and low-quality swords.
"To the center!" Mako shouted as an order.
But before he could reach the center, something slammed into his side with tremendous force. It felt like an overwhelming pressure enveloping his entire body, pinning him against a wall.
Luckily, Mako gripped his sword fiercely and didn't lose it, but he couldn't move. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing around him.
Some of Mako's rear-guard soldiers, about six, stared in shock as Mako seemed to float—or rather, seemed glued to the wall.
"You…" Mako growled through gritted teeth, wincing in pain.
The few remaining soldiers around him snapped into combat stances. They turned at Mako's words and saw none other than Rebecca.
Not a single word was exchanged.
The soldiers lunged in perfect coordination.
Rebecca, her palms pressed together, parted them with a swift clap.
An energy sword materialized at the neck of one soldier, just inches from Rebecca, and he crumpled lifeless to the ground.
Another, closing in to stab Rebecca with his sword, took a deep cut beneath his armpit, a blind spot in the armor. His sword clattered to the ground as he writhed in agony.
The alley was narrow. The soldiers, though well-coordinated, had little room to fight…
The third and fourth soldiers came closest to landing a blow. Rebecca dodged gracefully, slipping between them as their swords crashed against the building wall she'd emerged from.
Both soldiers froze, not even turning. They collapsed, each with a deep abdominal cut from Rebecca's third and final energy sword.
"Run…!" Mako shouted, still pinned to the wall like a crushed insect.
The remaining two soldiers, determined to defend their honor rather than follow orders, charged…
Their fate was no different. Their heads rolled across the ground. Though Rebecca had used her three energy swords, she generated more with unprecedented speed.
Mako still ached from the wounds Arthur had inflicted on his leg and arm. He could see it with his own eyes: while he'd been bedridden, Rebecca had spent that time perfecting her skills.
"I wanted you to see my face," Rebecca said, surrounded by the soldiers' corpses.
In the background, the fierce battle erupting in Lower Galandria's plaza echoed.
Rebecca kept her left hand steady while her right slipped into her dress, pulling out her owl-shaped mask.
"Now that you know who I am, prepare to die, Mako Sol. I, Rebecca Lux, will be the one to end you. But before I kill you like the filthy dog you are…"
After donning the mask, Rebecca aimed her right hand at Mako, palm wide open.
Mako felt an even heavier weight pressing him further and further. He thought he'd be crushed to death.
"…I'll defeat you with the honor you nobles lack, under my father's teachings: in a duel."
With those words, Rebecca jerked her right hand skyward.
The strange force pinning Mako to the wall began to lift him. Like a bull charging, it dragged him up the building's wall, shattering tiles, windows, and even parts of the structure.
Mako was flung into the air, crashing onto the rooftop alongside debris from the building.
The impact could've killed an ordinary person. Mako didn't see it directly, but a quarter of the building had been destroyed in the process.
As Mako struggled to his feet, he saw Rebecca floating up from the ruined side, three energy swords hovering around her.
Rebecca's voice, now emanating from the owl mask, sounded far more menacing.
With the white moon behind her, she was a terrifying figure suspended in midair.
"The verdict is set," Rebecca declared, seconds before launching her attack.