My thoughts raced along with my heart.

  *I will consider your suggestions, my ass.*

  The heavy door shut behind me.

  The Shadow Knight hidden behind the doorframe bid me farewell with a respectful "Legatus Argus."

  The respect in the salute to the chest contrasted sharply with how I was just excused by Pythia. She remained alone with the Otherworlder, and I marched quickly down the hall.

  *People are dying on the front lines while we wait for the Otherworlder to feel better.*

  My fist clenched.

  *We must act now: assess him, find his talent, and make the most of it for the good of all of us. His included, whether he likes it or not—he's here with us now.*

  My stomps - not footsteps - marked my path.

  *Instead we waste time, like with Pylades. One of my best, but when I send him on a mission to assess security, what he brings back? Useless report stating all looks good.*

  Smoothing my face with a hand failed. My eyebrow remained together.

  *Except, he noticed that merchant trading with the clinic, his eyes became hollow before security check, and snapped to focus only after the guard called his name. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?*

  Guard I passed shrunk during salute. I slammed my chest to reply. Loud thud.

  *And his damn comment - "it gave me chills" - for fuck sake!*

  My fist ached a little.

  "You seem pissed, Argus." Seal warmed up when my spirit-squire Hermes spoke.

  He tried to hide his mischief, but failed.

  "Damn right I am. I need to blow off some steam," I replied through gritted teeth.

  "Oh? Should I notify the armory for the usual… therapy?" my spirit teased me. He knew me too well. He didn't really need to ask.

  "Please do, my friend."

  The Priest in the Armory was expecting me. My Sacred Armor standing on its own. It welcomed me with a cold breath hissing from the back plates.

  When I mounted the armor, Priest's touch traced my forehead and down my body. My armor's ornaments chimed in response, lights blinking as the tension held me.

  Finally, the priest's wrist joined mine. My senses sharpened, the blessing extended me. The armor went under my control. We made a quick prayer and I picked my favorite weapon—Fate.

  I impatiently walked to the gym in the back. My steps were accompanied by the hum of the Sacred Armor's iron plates, a low song of enchantment.

  Each step pressed down, yet the weight lifted away, as if unseen hands bore half the burden. The armor breathed with me, steadying my stride—my faithful ally in battle. The Fate was resting in my hands, ready to strike.

  The gym welcomed me with the smell like no other. Freshness after the storm mixed with oil and dried sweat.

  Warm up. Then a few light swings, before getting more serious. When I finally did, the fifth dummy barely held together.

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  A weak sting around my wrist interrupted my stress relief. Hermes. The mental report hit like a punch during last swing.

  *The Royal Palace is under attack and the Queen and Princess are missing?*

  *What!?*

  *How!?*

  Hammer finished its arc - dummy fell into pieces rolling on the floor.

  *Royal Guards are probably running all over the place trying to find them.*

  *Will they manage?* I pondered for a moment.

  *No, better safe than sorry.*

  "Request permission to dispatch—" Hermes interrupted me mid-sentence: "Done. No restrictions."

  "Good, Pythia gave me a free hand. Now summon Pylades and—" Hermes interrupted me again-urgently. Stunning contrast to playful tones just moments before:

  "Aegis Shield in effect"-The surge from my wrist integrated my senses with the Sacred Armor.

  "Your charge: Highest Priestess"-My helmet closed off-"Her spirit points to her study."

  Reality sharpened—every detail became crystal clear.

  To reach her, I had to make a roundabout way: out of the gym through the Armory, then one hallway, roughly forty steps until the intersection to the hallway leading to her room.

  I snatched Fate and turned toward the exit. "I'm on the way."

  A heartbeat later, Hermes updated the orders: "Second charge: Otherworlder. Same location."

  As I made a few steps toward the Armory, Hermes said urgently, "Multiple enemies are approaching your charge!"

  "Arrival in eight heartbeats." I stopped cold.

  *Damn it, I won't make it in time!*

  "Hermes, show me a straight line to her position." Her room was somewhere on the other side of the wall.

  He answered, not with words, but with insight.

  A thread of golden fate burned into my vision. A direct path through the wall revealed only to me.

  *There you are, Highest Priestess. Now, a shortcut-*

  Muffled bang. No tremor.

  *Stun magic?*

  "Help me find a weak point," I ordered Hermes as I grabbed the hammer in both hands. Its weight, shared with the Sacred Armor, was like normal hammer's.

  "Done," he replied as one spot in the wall started to shimmer.

  *Good, let's hit it a few times.*

  "Charge in combat!" Hermes exclaimed.

  *I need to get there immediately!*

  "Unleash everything, including the secondary hearthstone, for forty heartbeats." Hermes protested— "It's too much, the armor—" but I insisted with a shout, "Commence, now!"

  The Sacred Armor hissed with anger as it poured every reserve into my swing. Mana crackled across my back and shoulders.

  Dust rained down, and though the wall still held, a crack echoed like thunder.

  The next blow landed with the force of a catapult. Spiderweb fractures racing across the stone.

  On the third strike, the wall burst open, and I leapt through the hole.

  The Armor instantly localized the Shadow Guards struggling with hostiles. I tossed the guards aside and sealed the fate of the enemies with Fate's charge. One tried to run.

  *You can't escape Fate—not on my watch.*

  The fleeing creature fell under the rubble I threw.

  Pythia was unconscious on the floor. Her Shadow Knight was picking her up. The Otherworlder... was on his feet. Held by the second Shadow Knight, but still.

  *If that was a stun magic artifact, any ordinary civilian without enchanted armor would be rendered useless for hours.*

  *Interesting.*

  Then the Otherworlder shouted, "Grenade!" His voice was thin and weak as he tried to push the guard, but the message was quick and clear, without fear or hesitation.

  "Movement behind!" Hermes warned a heartbeat after the Otherworlder. I had a split-second to react. My armored boot came down and crashed the artifact, and it gave a pathetic pop.

  *He stands despite the stun magic that should leveled him, and now he gives me a warning?*

  *Good instincts, Oth-*

  A dozen goblin-class hostiles rushed toward us.

  "Mana discharge to Fate, commence," I ordered, already dashing to meet them.

  The hammer's impact ended the lives of the front rank instantly, while those behind were fried by the arcing lightning.

  A final thud echoed in the hallway, the air thick with the tang of scorched monsters and burnt mana.

  But before the echo faded, a new danger approached—a massive creature that filled the hallway.

  A giant shield in its left hand blocked the entry while it sprinted toward me. Fate needed time to recharge.

  Time I didn't have.

  I managed to execute the swing just in time to meet its momentum. The shield bent and the hammer got stuck.

  Monster's tremendous strength allowed it to smash me against the wall. Its right hand followed with a stab.

  I grabbed its wrist midway and deflected the dagger—*an unfamiliar design*—which hit the wall and burst with mana.

  The "Grrr!" full of anger left the monster's mouth.

  It was cut short when my right hand switched from Fate to the monster's throat, and ripped it open.

  The hobgoblin-class monstrosity fell on the ground, lifeless, and a second thud echoed through the hallway.

  My eyes landed on the mysterious dagger, now covered with black ash from the burst.

  *The security breach is one, inexplicable thing, but goblins with such sophisticated weaponry?*