Plan B

February 19th, Imperial Year 880
Cordelia Estate, Armory

I almost went for my sword, but quickly realized that a four on one was risky. Rayne and I are basically equals, so Anya would have to fight three on her own...

"H-hey Rayne. Feel like it hasn't been long since I've seen you."

Rayne flashed me a faux-friendly smile.

"Oh yeah, Jason. Back from the dead I see. Beastkin girl save you?" He asked, in an artificially friendly tone.

"I don't need to tell you that." I flashed him what I could only presume was an equally artificial smile.

"Shame, didn't expect you to cheat on Phoebe like that."

I'm going to fucking strangle this guy someday.

"Oh, the jokes you tell. Rayne, you have always been a jokester."

"You're welcome, Jason." Rayne drew his sword, his fake friendly smile rapidly shifting to something more vicious.

The guards, noticing the conversation's coming to an end, grinned, and began to make their way for us.

I flooded my crest with mana. If I remembered correctly, I had discovered the existence of certain...what I called "presets" within my crest along the way. No need to go through the trouble of having to manually craft each and every projectile. 

A flash of sun appeared in my mind, and the screams of pain and agony. Orange metallic plate. Shields. The sun. The ritual practices of the old pagan gods.

A perfectly formed spear appeared in my hands. Immediately, I threw it at the first guard that tried to rush for me. It pierced his forehead, and he fell over, dead.

"Alright Anya, let's go!"

Anya and I immediately took off, speeding away from Rayne and his soldiers. The now-trio of men ran after us, one throwing an axe at us that missed Anya by mere inches, thanks to a careful dodge.

I flooded my crest with mana once more. I quickly formed a small round bronze ball bearing in my mind, and imprinted it into my head. I wasn't entirely sure how, but a part of me could almost feel a new preset being formed. Somehow...somehow I could make more of these.

I liberally sprinkled the floor with the ball bearings, even as my hand screamed for mercy. The skin upon which my crest was formed burned, but the gauntlet soothed it, somewhat. The last thing I noticed before I turned back was a look of complete shock on Rayne's face, as he tried, and failed, to stop running.

I didn't turn around to see them land on the ground with a sickening thud. Still, Rayne's calls appeared to have alerted the entire castle. Just as we were about to emerge from one of the buildings, we saw an entire cluster of soldiers running straight for us.

"Hey you two! Stop right there!"

"Nope, not this way!" I grabbed Anya's wrist despite the burning sensation in my hand, and turned back into the building.

"What now?"

I checked my mana vision, trying to remember just how exactly castles tended to be built. It had been a while since I'd visited a castle this large.

"Up here!" We ran for a small door to the side, which if memory served me correctly, at least based on my memory from viewing it outside, would lead us up a tower and onto the curtain walls.

I yanked the door open. Bingo.

"Someone go around, they're heading up the stairs!" The soldiers yelled. "Quick, before they shut the-"

I slammed the door behind me, and we began to ascend up the spiral staircase. The door wouldn't hold for long, I realized. Halfway up the stairs, I heard the sound of a door being smashed in, and dozens of men following us onto the stairwells.

"Can't you do anything, Jason?" Anya panted. "Do some more bronze magic, or something!"

"I can make caltrops!"

"Then do it, don't tell me!"

I flooded my crest with mana, trying to figure out the shape of bronze. The gauntlet felt tight on my hand, as if it was reminding me to check something. Instinctively, I felt deep within my soul, trying to find a quick preset to mass produce, rather than shaping each one from scratch.

"Wait..."

I felt something deep within my crest, almost as if there was something ancient pulled out. Something that I had never seen before, and yet, still felt familiar. Dust. Blood. Screaming. A flying victory banner. Bronze against bone, metal upon stone, blade tearing flesh.

"Stop right there!" The distant voices of the soldiers grew closer and closer.

"Quick, they're catching up!" Anya yelled.

Something untouched, something that no one had bothered to create in millennia. I stopped and turned around for a split second, and poured in more mana into my crest than I ever had in my entire life. My hand burned.

"What the-"

A vicious looking chariot appeared before us, jamming itself in between the stairs. It was of a bronze construction, and had several blades sticking out of the front. There was what I presumed was a bow holder and a pair of quivers on either side.

What the hell? I could do that? My hand burned, only the glove keeping the pain numbed.

"There they are! After them- wait, what?"

I put my foot against the chariot, and booted it down the spiral staircase, knocking over scores of soldiers along the way. The sickening crunches of bone and the clattering of the chariot grew distant, as it raced down, and us upward.

"Nice one!" Anya shouted as we reached the top of the staircase. We burst forth, onto a wall rampart and began to charge across as arrows began to rain down on us.

"Watch out!" An arrow bounced off of my helmet, denting it slightly. I ignored it.

"What now?" Anya asked, as we ran, ducking under the merlons.

"Towards the keep. That's where mana concentration is the thickest! That's where Phoebe is!"

"You think she's really there?"

"Only one way to find out!" We arrived at the other end of the wall rampart, and we quickly entered the doors, locking it before men with ladders began to move up onto the walls.

"Jason, how far are we?" Anya asked as we charged down the interior hallway now. The hallway was lined with large open windows - probably an area that they didn't quite expect to get breached. Large golden ornaments lined the hallway's walls.

"Not too far. I think we're close!"

A distant thud from behind us indicated that the door behind us had likely, been breached.

"Uh oh." Shouts rang out from both ends of the hallway, surrounding us both. "Quick, Jason! Over the ledge!"

"Wha-what?" I watched in shock as Anya leapt out the window. "Ah, whatever." I too, took a breath and jumped out, only maintaining my grip on the wall itself.

I turned my head. Anya too hung from the wall, and gave me a grin.

"Where's they go?" The voices of the soldiers asked, from the top. "Must have slipped into one of the rooms!"

Anya giggled, quietly.

"Alright, split up team! Check every room! If we see anyone, just holler!"

The sound of rustling boots and clanking armor gradually grew quieter and quieter. I slowly peeked out back into the hallway.

"Coast is clear."

Anya and I leapt back into the now empty hallway.

"So, you said you have the mana signature of this girl you're looking for. Care to explain what that looks like?"

"It's...well, it just is." I glanced around. "That way. I can't explain. I just...I just know it's her."

We snuck past a pair of guards, who were frantically checking the rooms.

"That's mighty convenient. Are we close?"

"Almost. Wait..." I stopped, just before a pair of great wooden doors. The hallway here intersected in a T formation, and right at the center of that T was a pair of large wooden doors. "I feel like she's here."

I put my hands on the door.

"Ready when you are, Jason."

"Alright."