Johannes Volkner bid farewell to the idea that this would be an easy fight. Battling Boudica inside crowded alleyways and streets had turned out to be a rather horrid idea from the outset, nullifying Jill's advantage in the fog almost entirely. If Jill's attacks could only come from a narrow angle, then the lack of vision's effect on Boudica was drastically lowered, even if the fog also seemed to have a disorienting effect when active. Worse yet, in her current state, Jill would not be able to escape and back out from combat range easily, as she'd been maddened and overtaken by the 'ripper' already. Not only that, she'd taken a wound directly at the start of the fight, even if it seemed to be a relatively shallow one.

  Letting out a deep breath, he began to consider his options as Flash of Inspiration helped him parse through them. The first thing to come to mind was to use the Command Array to pull Jill back, and then bring Boudica into the open. A bad idea, he'd be burning half of his remaining most valuable resource, putting himself closer to harm's way, and there was no guarantee she'd even take the bait to begin with. It wasn't viable in the slightest. The second idea that came to mind was to rush forward and join Jill in striking, and it was rejected even quicker for several obvious reasons. His armor was tough, but he wasn't sure it could stop Boudica's blade, even in her weakened state. The difference between a Spirit and a mage who had taken on the role of a Caller was still massive, even if this armor was well made and reinforced with the defensive array from his coat.

  The third option, to keep the fight as it was and provide fire support to Jill, was appealing at first, but ultimately he would have to strike past Jill herself in order to do so. In her current, wild state, he had no idea if she would be able to dodge, much less take advantage of any openings he provided her against Boudica.

  Branching off from that, he came to a much better conclusion. If he could not support the battle by attacking Boudica, why not support the battle by uplifting Jill? Her current advantages weren't enough to defeat Boudica, but if he could tip the scales in her favor just a little more, it would become much more manageable.

  Pointing Beissende Hunde forward, he knew that this would have less of an 'impact' than many of the other options, but ultimately was the one with the least downsides. The rune of Kenaz formed as he poured magical energy through the blade, and a small touch of clarity returned to Jill's eyes as she ducked past Boudica's follow-up strike. She dashed forward at a whirlwind speed, only for a jet of flame to pour down from the pommel of Boudica's sword and force her back once again, creating a line between them in the alley that served to prevent her from continually harassing and aiming for a weak point at her preferred close range. Before Johannes could try to change the tides again, Jill had already found her own way around it, kicking off the ground with a cloud of dust before striking the wall of one of the houses, blowing it apart and using the force of her kick to flip over Boudica, striking downwards in time with the sudden acrobatic movement.

  Boudica suddenly dashed forward at that same time, rushing through her own flames as Johannes's eyes widened. Shit. Jill had stopped interposing herself between the two of them, and that meant he was a wide open target for Boudica's blade. He moved even before Flash of Inspiration panged in his head, trying to raise Beissende Hunde into a guard against the inevitable slash that would be coming.

  And yet, he didn't even see the attack that came his way. In an instant, she had covered the distance between them in what might have been two or three steps, and pain exploded through his body as he heard the crumbling of yet more stone. His vision was swimming and filled with splotches of black, and he could barely hear the world around him, yet it seemed to be a cacophony of noise that made his head practically scream in pain. Even with the SKALMOLD array, the speed at which she'd moved was simply too much for him and what he was capable of. Over the next several seconds, he pieced together what had happened. He was currently embedded through the mud-bricks of a house, the pain numbing just enough for him to tell he'd been hit somewhere in the chest, by virtue of his chest feeling like it'd been repeatedly slammed with a sledgehammer.

  More importantly, Jill had lunged back after Boudica, and the two were again fighting. This street was more open, and Jill was clearly having less of an issue maneuvering and striking from blind spots. Yet, without his support, she could no longer find an opening or perform complex maneuvers, once again reduced to fighting in a manner befitting a wild beast or a killer unused to fighting opponents that could fight back against them. Slowly, he raised Beissende Hunde, and channeled the rune of Berkano, mending the wound in her shoulder as the two continued to clash in a manner that was blinding and painful to his damaged senses. If he hadn't been lent the armor, he was fairly certain that strike would have killed him on its own. Even now, it was risky to try and continue helping Jill fight, yet what other choice did he have?

  He was far enough away now that the disorienting fog could likely prevent him from being easily tracked, but if Jill continued to fight without help, she would surely die. Even so, once her arm was healed she was able to take a slight advantage, maneuvering around Boudica in a slightly cramped, yet not one note environment. Perhaps this wider street, just closed in enough for her to hide and maneuver, but open enough for her to be unpredictable, was the ideal killing field for Jill to fight in? Given her past, and the places she had killed, it certainly made sense.

  He grit his teeth as he continued to send magical energy through the blade, changing out the rune of Berkano once she was more or less healed for Perthro, the rune of cups, caves, fruit trees, and the unknown. In this way, he dulled the noise and appearance of Jill's movements even more, making it all the harder for Boudica to track her.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Soon enough, she had slipped under Boudica's guard once again, and planted a knife between the thin gaps of her armor, where it was weak enough to pierce with superhuman strength. Unfortunately, it seemed that Jill was fighting according to her nature as a serial killer, rather than a fighter. She hadn't gone for the open neck or head, where she could end the fight quickly, but rather stabbed the blade into Boudica's abdominal area, causing her to cry out in pain as no doubt some organ Johannes couldn't identify from his view was pierced.

  Boudica began to slow down after that, taking only small steps and developing somewhat of a limp, as if she had not been stabbed in an organ, but perhaps a bundle of nerves or part of her hip joint. By now, she was entirely on the defensive, no longer throwing out swings and attacks of her own despite the look of frustration and pain on her face. She had swapped to almost pure defense out of necessity as Jill only seemed invigorated by the spilling of blood, moving faster despite her own ragged panting. It was then that Boudica pushed Jill away with a lucky knee-strike to the chest, sending her spiraling in what almost seemed like a repeat of their first bout, and yet Jill didn't drop to the ground this time. She rolled with the force, rolling along the ground for several feet before quickly pushing up to her feet before she'd come to a stop.

  With a scream of rage, Boudica tried to press the advantage, seemingly no longer restraining herself or worrying about her magical energy - or that of the one who had Called her. With a swing of her blade, she let loose a torrent of flame that covered the street, setting several goods and even the mud bricks of homes alight as Jill ducked into an alleyway, thankfully still having at least the most basic of self preservation instincts. Yet Boudica did not stop there, rushing into the immolated area even despite the wound on her leg forcing what might have normally been a blindingly fast run to become a quick yet unbalanced and hobbling jog. The flames seemed to not burn her in the slightest, treating her like one of their own and leaving her in a place of relative safety where Jill could not easily step, lest she allow herself to be burnt and open a disadvantage for herself.

  Slowly, Johannes forced himself to his feet, despite the pain echoing through his entire body, as Jill stalked around, having clambered to a rooftop and looking for an angle by which she could attack Boudica despite the flames around her making a standard ground assault impossible. The battle had seemingly lulled into a standstill, which Johannes realized would only be an issue for himself and Jill. Jill's lantern had a large amount of magical energy, being an Artifact, but it was not endless. If the battle carried on for too long, she would eventually lose the main element that had been giving them an advantage up until this point.

  Once more, he swapped the rune that was in play, changing to Laguz, the rune of flowing water, of seas and rivers. A rune he, frankly, was pretty terrible at using due to his innate lean towards fire and wind elements. In this case, though, all he needed was a raw torrent of water to help remove the flames, and he got what he needed. Dozens of gallons of water poured out, covering the ground and quickly putting out most of the flames, as well as preventing the ground in that area from easily catching again.

  Despite that small victory, it was only in a localized area. The buildings around them were still burning, and altogether the battlefield was still alight. Worse yet, a familiar bellowing engine started up, and Johannes could see out of the corner of his eye that the massive aircraft had finally gotten off the ground, rising above the city.

  Surely the Aztec emperor wasn't so insane that he would bomb his own capital to remove the invaders, right? At the worst, they would have to deal with sprays of shots from that makeshift chain gun. Surely, they wouldn't--

  Even as Johannes tried to dissuade himself of the idea, he could see the bomb doors beginning to open, and his eyes widened. The bombs that came out were still massive, but unlike the bombing runs previously, they seemed to be a completely different make. Were they stronger, perhaps, or designed to do something entirely different?

  Before Johannes could even hear or see the answer to his question, another massive explosion sounded out through the air. In the distance, atop the nearby hill, a bright flash of light echoed with an erupting thunder, as a cannonball suffused with some spell or another tore through the massive, undulating aircraft's hull and into what seemed to be a critical engine, secondary explosions erupting within and beginning to bring it down.

  When the bombs did drop, they erupted with noise, but far less than the prior earth-shattering impacts. What they lacked in gravitas, they made up for in effect. Rather than explosions, Johannes saw as flames covered nearby alleys and homes, incendiary bombs ordered on their own positions. He couldn't understand why they would do that, why they would sacrifice dozens or hundreds of their own people in a bombing run, when it seemed that they had either only taken out some of the militiamen, or perhaps not even inflicted any casualties on the enemy.

  Then he saw Boudica raise her sword, and everything made sense.

  In a low voice, seething with what might have been hatred, or fury, or regret, she spoke.

  "Burning of the Iceni - Passion of the Futile Rebellion!"

  The world around them seemed to distort in that moment, space twisting and warping as the flames and smoke overtook all. Even if he tried to use his glasses and risked exposing his head again, Johannes had the feeling that he wouldn't be able to see through this haze.

  All that remained in that dark, unseemly world was Boudica herself, standing as if down on a stage, looking up to an audience rather than having control over them. Was that really her Aristeia? It seemed almost to be the inverse of the ones he had seen so far. If nothing else, he understood what Flash of Inspiration had warned him about in their first battle.

  This Aristeia would decide it all. His response would decide his survival.