Shards of granite split the air, moving faster than the defense markers could keep up. Vend and Gloria had immediately dashed to Lady Marigold’s position, using their guard skills to block and deflect any possible threat. Veil remained in close proximity to the guardian, trying unsuccessfully to attract its attention once more. His attempts were strongly hindered by the air mesh that had thickened to the point that even Hannah’s sword had trouble cutting through.

Meanwhile, amid all of this chaos, Dallion floated in the air, a few feet above the scorpion’s body, thanks to his firebird familiar.

Well, dear boy, while I must say that it’s impressive that you’ve found a non-magical way to fly, it doesn’t look like it’s doing you much good, Nil commented. Good thing, at least, that Vend excels in providing protection.

Somehow Dallion didn’t think that was good at all. Thankfully, the Lady seemed amused, remaining in place almost on purpose while two people were exerting their defense skills to keep her safe. The absurd thing was that the noble was the most protected person in this realm. If she wanted, she could destroy every creature and awakened in the realm within seconds and everyone knew it.

Should I use Nox? Dallion wondered. With his claws, he might well create a rip in the mesh of air currents, which would allow the noble to finish the job. Maybe using the dagger would be enough?

The scorpion’s tail kept making stinging motions, each time launching a rock shard at its target like a catapult. The interesting part was that the protective mesh simply let the rock pass through without visually changing. In Dallion’s mind, that meant several things: either the air currents were directional, made to let things pass from inside out unimpeded—a rather unlikely scenario—or the guardian weakened an entire area of its protection at the right moment to let them through.

Nil, anything you can tell me about this sort of creature? Dallion asked. Vend seemed familiar with it.

That’s because, unlike you, the boy did a lot of cleaning when he joined the guild. It takes skill and effort to become an elite at a young age. You can normally find stone scorpions near rivers or sewers. They aren’t usually this big, but their behavior is pretty much the same. Instead of poison, they launch rocks at you. Some of the especially annoying varieties shoot poison rocks.

And they aren’t guardians?

Apparently, they can become one, although I suppose this is a case of this guardian being innovative.

Any chance he’ll consider surrendering?

After you chopped off an arm? Nil thought about it. There is a small chance, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Surrendering is the same as killing it, but not exactly. For one thing, the nobles who made the bet will be rather pissed. For another, the city lord won’t be happy knowing an area guardian in his domain might have future loyalties towards someone else.

That made a lot of sense. If someone managed to get enough domain guardians under their control, they could effectively steal control from the city lord, at least temporarily. If so, that meant that Dallion still had a claim to his village of Dherma, thanks to the well.

What about the air mesh? He asked.

What about it?

How is it connected to the guardian? I don’t see any links.

Oh? The echo sounded amused. Don’t you?

Dallion looked around. There didn’t seem to be major currents connecting any part of the scorpion to its protective air shield. Convinced there was more to it, he didn’t give up, focusing his music skills on every inch of the rock creature.

Lux, get me up. Just not too close to the mesh, okay?

The firebird obeyed. Soon Dallion could see the entire guardian beneath him. A single set of emotions went through every rock from the tip of the tail to the legs. There, however, Dallion spotted something else—air tendrils spreading along the ground.

Initially, he had thought that to be part of the guardian’s protection, ensuring that it couldn’t be attacked from above or below. Thinking further, he found a more logical explanation—that was the means through which the guardian extended its air currents to form the mesh. Looking from the outside, such a detail wouldn’t be seen. Even on the inside it was difficult to be noticed, but now that Dallion had, it made all the sense in the world.

I need to chop the legs off, he thought.

Well done, dear boy. Nil clapped within Dallion’s realm. If you had gone for a leg from the very start, instead of an arm, the air layer would have been weakened slightly longer. Don’t be hard on yourself, though. The effect wouldn’t have lasted long. No one was aware that a guardian could transform like this. In fact, I’d go as far as say this is a first.

Does that mean if I chop off its legs, it’ll transform again?

Everything is possible, although at this stage I’d say it’s rather doubtful. Getting its health reduced too much will make the guardian more cautious. The only thing to be careful about is not to kill it off. Severing a limb or targeting a tendon might prove fatal.

TERMINAL WOUND

GLORIA’s health has decreased by 100%

The red rectangle mercilessly let Dallion know that he didn’t have time to hesitate. One of the rock shards had gone through her block, killing her on the spot. Seeing that, Veil quickly stopped his attack attempts, rushing back to support Vend. While having no guard skills of his own, the blond knew that he could at least serve as a flesh shield for one go.

Whatever you do, do it fast, Gen suggested. Give up or go for it.

Giving up meant that the bet would be lost and the guild would most likely get nothing out of their efforts. On the other hand, it was better than getting the city lord upset with an unexpected area improvement. Or was it?

Dallion took a deep breath, then recited the names of the Moons.

Think you can get me down there, Lux? Dallion asked as he summoned his Nox dagger.

The firebird chirped. Moments later, Dallion shot down. If nothing else, Lux didn’t believe in half measures. In a matter of seconds, Dallion was right where he wanted to be. With one strike of his dagger, he created a crack at the very end of the scorpion’s rear left leg. The creature writhed in pain, as one of the eight air tendrils connecting it to its air mesh disappeared. Thankfully, only a minor wound red marker appeared. Apparently, using crackling methods wasn’t as harsh on the guardian’s overall health. That was good. It also meant that the creature could withstand six more attacks of that nature. Everything considered, Dallion would be happy if he managed four.

“Forward, Lux!” Dallion shouted. “Let’s get the other legs!”

TERMINAL WOUND

VEIL’s health has decreased by 100%

Flying over the next leg in the sequence, Dallion performed another slash attack. Still confused by the first attack, the Guardian had remained static, allowing a second air tendril to be severed. However, that’s where things became complicated. The massive stone body turned around, in an attempt to get Dallion with its pincer. It wasn’t the attack that worried Dallion, however. Rather, it was the shifting position of the remaining two legs of the side. Still, the firebird had caught on to the plan and moved him close enough to manage another successful attack.

That’s three, Dallion thought.

Already it should be easy for Vend to throw a knife through the weakened side of the air mesh, but Dallion wanted more.

Two more legs, he told himself. As long as he got the front to legs dealt with, then he might as well let the guardian snip him in two.

Forcing what concentration he had, Dallion split into two instances and directed Lux towards the front left leg. One instance got swatted out of the air by a pincer blow, ending the attempt. The other, thankfully, managed to avoid it by the hair, allowing Dallion to reach his target.

A double slash with a spin and half of the deed was done.

Almost there, Dallion thought. All I have to do is get to—

TERMINAL WOUND

Your health has decreased by 100%

Suddenly Dallion was back in the carriage, along with everyone else. Confused, he looked from person to person. Gloria and Veil were just as eager as him, turning towards the guild elite, in the hopes to learn the job’s final outcome.

The answer became obvious moments later, when everyone noted that the stones in the garden had acquired a faint green fluorescent glow.

“Damn it, Vend,” Lady Marigold said in mock anger. “If I knew your team was this good, I’d have put more money on this.”

“Life is the thrill of the uncertain, milady,” Vend said, letting go of her hand. “Would you like to admire your handiwork?”

“No. This is enough excitement for one day. I guess I’ll just go to see the faces of all those who bet against you.”

Her tone was casual, but everyone knew this was an invitation for them to get off the carriage, which they immediately did.

With as little as a general thank you, the carriage drove off. Leaving a very speechless group behind. Vend seemed relieved to be over. Mostly because he didn’t like dressing for such occasions. Gloria, Veil, and Dallion, on the other hand, still had no idea what had fully happened. And while Dallion was used to getting killed before the end of a job, the Luors weren’t.

“We did the job,” Vend said with a sigh, seeing their confusion. “That means we can go to the guildhall to get changed. Money will be available in a few days, I think. It’s always complicated with city jobs.”

No one said a word.

“What?” Vend crossed his arms.

“I got an achievement,” Veil broke the silence. Unsure what to say, he started with the only thing he knew for a fact to have happened. “Noble sacrifice.” He didn’t sound overly happy about it.

“A pun achievement. Well done. Fiver?”

Veil nodded.

“What happened in the end?” Dallion asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Well, after you cut off the air currents to half the mesh, I managed to find a few holes and throw some daggers through. Lady Marigold was convinced that I could kill the creature if I wanted to, so told me it was enough. I then let one of the shards hit me.”

He was lying. Normally Dallion wouldn’t have noticed, but having a perception of sixteen let him see the momentary twitch in the corner of Vend’s mouth.

“Why green?” Gloria asked, picking up a pebble.

“Because she could.” Vend replied. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You go,” Dallion said. “I have something I must do.”

“What?” Veil asked. “Do you have a date or something?”

The question made Gloria immediately redirect her attention to Dallion.

“No.” Dallion let out a nervous laugh. Thanks a lot, Veil! “I just want to deal with the cracklings we created during our scouring. Vend said I can do that once this was over. Right?”

“Sure. You’re not getting paid extra, remember.” The elite looked at him.

The explanation seemed to put Gloria’s mind at ease. At the same time, it made Dallion feel worse. There were going to be problems once Eury returned, and he had no idea how he would handle them.

“I know. I just don’t think we should leave the place messy. Maybe it’s because it’s my first area, but… I don’t know. it doesn’t feel right.”

“Hey, I understand,” Veil put his hand on Dallion’s shoulder. “Was the same for me first time I leveled up Dherma. It makes you feel part of the world, as if you’re part of something larger.”

“Yeah,” Dallion lied. In his case, he simply didn’t feel it was right, leaving cracklings in a perfectly good area. Also, he wanted to check on the guardian.

“Knock yourself out.” Vend shrugged. “I’m taking these two to the guildhall. Just be careful not to rip the clothes. If you do, someone will be really pissed off and I won’t be saving you from her wrath.”