If the paladins had all been big, this man was gargantuan. He was easily two heads taller than Cass and twice as wide at the shoulders. A pair of bull horns protruded from either side of his forehead. His skull bulged under his skin, and his nose was flat like a cow’s.

  His equipment was much like his men’s: heavy armor, green tabard, shield, and sword. However, the details were taken to the next level with each element.

  It wasn’t enough to have heavy plates of metal like his men. The pieces of his armor interlocked with each other, creating a gapless defense, and were covered in tiny runes glowing with defensive energy.

  It wasn’t enough for his shield to cover from shoulder to knee. No, his shield stretched from his ankles to his chin like a mobile fortress.

  It wasn’t enough to have a short sword, not by a long shot. His sword was huge too, at least as tall as his shield and a blade width greater than her open hand. On Earth, it could only have been a two-handed sword. Here, with his stats, he twirled it effortlessly with one hand as he stepped toward her.

  She didn’t stand a chance. She turned and ran.

  She was uncomfortably familiar with impossible odds: the Centipede, the Keeper, the Lightning-phased Lion, the Lord of the Pass, Fioreya. Each had been well above her level. Each one she’d beaten, escaped, or outlasted.

  So she knew this wasn’t a fight she would win via conventional methods. If she were going to ‘win,’ it would be through one of the latter options.

  “Stop her,” the captain grunted, his voice deep and low.

  His men charged after her, spreading through the room.

  She Stormstride Sprinted for the furthest hallway from the captain, Stepping onto the gust before any of them could get close enough to strike her.

  Focus: 191/549

  She dematerialized, slipping into the wind.

  Behind her, the Captain slammed his shield against the ground, and a shockwave of energy burst from him, racing out in every direction. It rolled through Cass.

  Her guts twisted. She fell out of the wind, corporeal again.

  What?

  She hit the ground, stumbling, too shocked to make use of her Alacrity.

  What did he do?

  He’d knocked her from the wind? How? What skill was that? How often could he use it? How many times?

  The paladins were catching up. She had to run.

  She Sprinted, her eyes fixed on her escape, the hallway opposite the paladins.

  The gust built around her. She just needed to Step—

  The skill fizzled in her mind. Like a candle drowning in melted wax. Everything was right for it to ignite, but it sputtered out anyway.

  She spammed the skill. Willing, wishing, it would activate.

  It didn’t.

  What had he done to her? Was it permanent?

  Cass pushed that possibility aside. There wasn’t time. They were still chasing. She was still faster. But she had to run.

  Behind her, a mass of energy grew. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She stepped over the threshold of the room and into the hallway. Whatever they were doing, she would leave them far behind.

  The energy burst, and with it came a gust of air. All of it shooting toward her at incredible speeds.

  She glanced over her shoulder.

  It was the captain. He charged forward, his shield raised and glowing.

  Shield Rush

  [Charge forward at double your top speed with your shield raised. Crush any in your path.]

  No, no, no, no! There wasn’t room in the hallways to dodge that attack. She had to outrun it.

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  Stamina: 19/138

  But there wasn’t much left in the tank. Her legs felt like jelly. Her lungs burned.

  And even running Stormstride Sprint at full tilt, he was catching up.

  Ahead, she saw her answer—a crossroads, three yards ahead.

  The captain was six yards behind her, and gaining.

  There was no way he could make a ninety-degree turn at his speed. Not with his size. Not with the way his skill was propelling him forward.

  Or so she hoped. She’d made similar assumptions with the Epherwing, and that had gone poorly for her.

  But, no. With his equipment, his speed must come from an incredible Strength, not Dexterity. He couldn’t make this turn.

  She just needed to make it to it.

  Two yards away. The captain four, and gaining.

  One yard. The captain one.

  She whipped around the corner, barely avoiding ramming into the wall with her momentum.

  A whoosh of air passed behind her as he careened past her turn without stopping.

  She didn’t wait to watch, Sprinting away as fast as her legs could carry her.

  Atmospheric Sense told her he continued for half a dozen yards before grinding to a stop over the slick floors. It showed him pounding down the halls after her, now running ‘normally’ with no skill propelling him faster.

  It showed her a familiar room ahead. A room filled with paladins she’d left behind only moments ago.

  Four of them were waiting for her at the hall’s mouth, their shields pressed together to create a wall before her.

  And why wouldn’t they be? Where else would she appear but in the center hallway in front of those double doors?

  She wanted to kick herself. She should have seen this coming. She should have found another answer already.

  But what else could she do? The captain chased her. His grunts waited for her ahead.

  She pressed at Wind Step, begging for it to work. It didn’t.

  Fine. What else could she do? She couldn’t run through the mess of them ahead. There were no more turns between her and them. There was no way to let the captain behind her run past without him grabbing her.

  They were bigger, heavier, and likely stronger than her; she couldn’t just bowl them down.

  But she had lightning now. Could she do something with that? Their shields protected them. She couldn’t just stun them and run through.

  No, through was impossible. But what about over?

  The ceilings here were high. Maybe half again as tall as that in a standard building? And while the paladins were tall, all of them were crouched behind their shields, minimizing the exposed area of their bodies.

  She put her head down, putting everything she had into Stormstride Sprint. Tempest Blade whirled to life on her staff, sparking with electricity.

  Ahead, the paladins hunkered down, bracing for the attack they imagined she was preparing.

  There was only a step between her and them. Their captain was only a handful behind her. Cass jumped.

  With her Strength and Dexterity, she practically flew. This was little different from how she’d jumped onto the arms of obsidian golems in the catacombs, her body light as air. Except, this time, instead of landing on the shifting body of her opponent, she twisted mid-air, throwing her Tempest Blade down at them.

  It struck the middle paladins, their bodies convulsing as lightning ravaged their muscles and nerves.

  The rest turned to close in on her.

  Two remained ready behind her, their captain quickly closing behind them. Two spasmed but would recover all too quickly to join them if past experience was to predict the future. One more stood at each of the other pathways, a total of four, all moving to surround her.

  And here she was in the middle of it all, not any closer to escape.

  Alacrity burned as she looked for another answer.

  How did she get out? Atmospheric Sense scanned the halls, finding only looping, stagnant air and more bodies converging on this location.

  This last attempt had been the shortest loop. Was this a Lost Woods puzzle? A maze of twisty little hallways, all alike?

  If it was, how big was the pattern to get out? How long would it take her to map it and escape? How many times would she have to try before she could conclude it wasn’t?

  And could she do it while chased by these people? Already, they’d worn her resources down.

  Stamina: 13/138

  Focus: 182/549

  Health: 86/133

  Her legs begged for relief, and the rest of her body sagged with exhaustion. How much longer could she keep outrunning the paladins? Even if Wind Step returned, she only had enough for three more Steps.

  She had Health to burn, but that was a last resort. Something she only wanted to do if she had a plan or there were no other options.

  She refused to give up, but she was running out of time.

  The nearest paladin—lvl-33—was already close enough to swing at her. She Dodged around his sword, stepping past him and away from the others.

  She needed more time. There had to be an answer here somewhere. Some way out.

  The next paladin, lvl-29, was close. Two steps and he could swing at her too?

  33 turned, his sword chasing her.

  Did she dare run again? Run and find herself caught between the paladins waiting for her here and the ones that gave chase?

  Would that be better or worse than being surrounded here like she already was?

  The paladin furthest from her, one of the two lvl-31s, raised his shield. It glowed with aura as he charged another Aura Bash.

  One of the two lvl-32s charged her. The other circled behind her. A lvl-30 was charging an Aura Bash. Another ran at her.

  Lvl-33 swung again. The others were too close. There was no space to Dodge.

  She raised her staff to block, the edge of Tempest Blade igniting in a crescent of lighting along its end.

  The metal blade slammed into the wood of her staff. There was the smell of burning metal as the lighting bit into the blade.

  And then came the crack.

  A sharp noise Cass recognized as the splitting and splintering of wood.

  A noise that didn’t make sense here.

  A noise that perfectly accompanied the visual of her staff snapping under the weight of the paladin’s sword strike.