Rintal had just reached the castle gates when the fog split in two — and he saw Areday fighting a woman.
The woman wore black armor, the emblem of the Sons of the Dawn engraved on her chestplate — but reversed, as if the dawn itself had turned into darkness. A hood was pulled tight over her head, freckles marked her sun-tanned face beneath her brown eyes. She was slim, fast, and agile — equal in height to Rintal and Areday — and fought with two daggers, with such precision and cold-blooded calm that only a seasoned assassin could possess.
Areday could barely stand anymore, his bleeding wounds almost made him collapse, when the woman prepared for the final strike. She aimed for his throat — fast and merciless, as if she had done this a hundred times before. At that moment, Rintal's seal flared up, and the power within him propelled him forward like a lightning strike.
In the blink of an eye, he threw himself between them, grabbed the woman's arm, and already raised his blade to finish her — to end the fight with a single move. But the woman — Cassadee — was faster than he thought .Surprised, yet immediately reacting: she spun, freed her arm, leapt back, and landed gracefully on her feet while Areday sank to his knees in pain.
– "My twin… get up," Rintal said quietly but firmly. – "Everything will be fine."Areday smiled bitterly. – "Didn't expect anything less… Cassadee won't stand a chance."
Cassadee laughed, her voice sharp as a blade, her tone dripping with mockery.– "Two pathetic thieves think they can stop me? You have no idea what you're playing with. I don't care about you… I only want the relic."
Rintal tightened his fingers around the dagger's hilt.– "I can't give it to you," he said softly but firmly. – "It's probably… bound to me."
Areday looked at him in shock. – "What? Then… the legends about it are true?"
Cassadee's eyes narrowed. – "If that's true, then you're already the devil's servant. You'll die here and now… or come with us. Only our leader can control that orb — and only he can take it from you. Him… and the devil's son himself."
– "Don't trust her!" – Areday growled, trying to stand. – "The Sons of the Dawn are abominations… born mutated, rejected by the world. They became assassins because they had no other choice. You know it too, Rintal — creatures like them are hunted wherever they go. Every word they speak is a lie. They'll do anything to survive."
Rintal answered quietly, bitterly:– "Just like us… my twin."
Cassadee's voice dropped, cold and metallic.– "Then there is no other path… only death."
Rintal's eyes gleamed as the seal's light flared on his palm.– "If that's the only way… so be it. But tell me — how could the devil's son ever find me?"
Cassadee almost whispered:– "Because he walks among us. Half human, half demon. He craves his father… and maybe he's already here. Watching you."
The air froze. The ashes stopped midair, as if time itself held its breath.
Cassadee spoke again, now with a painful, cracking voice:– "Tell me, Rintal… what happened to Loran?"Cassadee felt something had happened to her lover.
Rintal answered coldly:– "I killed him."
The woman's face went pale, her eyes filled with sorrow.– "He was my dearest love…" – she whispered. – "I will avenge your death, my love."Then she raised her blades and continued in an icy tone:– "I will take the orb from you… and bury the past along with your bodies."
Areday growled.– "The Sons of the Dawn never leave witnesses… that's what everyone said who ever saw them. Or… who lived long enough to tell."
– "And that's what you planned with Loran too," Areday shouted angrily at Rintal, narrowing his eyes. – "That's why he went after you."– "Precise cuts, clean work, not a single witness left… the bodies of the werewolves — that was your doing too, Cassadee?"
The woman laughed coldly.– "No. I only killed the phantoms when your little thief friend here broke his chains and started fighting."
The wind howled, and the ashes whirled around them.Cassadee raised her daggers, madness blazing in her eyes.– "Enough talking! Let me avenge my husband's death!"
The three figures faced each other in the fog before the castle.The seal glowed on Rintal's hand, the wind roared, ashes spiraled around them — and the air tightened, heavy with the promise of bloodshed.The seal spoke a single word, firmly, metallic and clear:"Kill."
The air tightened; every sound faded, as if the fog itself withdrew to make room for the silence before the storm. Cassadee's daggers flashed, two blades slicing through the haze — fast, venomous arcs that would have cut Areday's throat in that very instant.
Rintal's rage and cold calculation ignited at once; as the seal on his palm flared, a sharp, metallic spark ripped through the air — that old, familiar feeling he once used against Loran: the reflection.
Cassadee's momentum struck like an explosion, the whistle of her blade cutting through the tension. But Rintal moved even faster: the seal suddenly, as if claws of reality itself, seized the motion's arc and turned it back.
The strike, which a second earlier promised certain death, now changed direction in slow motion — the blade deflected from Cassadee's control, slicing the air in a half- circle.The reflection wasn't just a block: Rintal adapted to the energy of her attack, mirrored it, and turned Cassadee's force against her. For a brief moment, the world expanded; every clash of metal echoed like thunder.
Already in that instant, Rintal summoned the same "leap" he had used on the bridge.He didn't step — he launched himself through a single, lightning-fast burst using the seal.To the eye, it looked as though the air itself reached out for him — a bluish, sparkling trail remained behind him as he crossed the distance.
The motion was so fast it stretched the second apart: surprise flashed across Cassadee's face as Rintal appeared before her, his blade aimed at her neck.
But Cassadee was a veteran; her reflexes were forged from steel.She twisted to the side, jerked her arm to free her weapon from Rintal's grasp.Steel screeched — metal against metal — the edge of the dagger tearing the fog.
Rintal's hand burned from the strain, but the seal held firm. He could feel magic and muscle merging — he wasn't only using his own strength but the feedback of the seal itself.
Cassadee twisted her hip sharply, breaking the clash — the dagger spun out — and in that split second Rintal redirected the seal's energy, not just holding back but turning the motion against her.
Cassadee spun, golden ash glimmering in the fog behind her. Her attack was no longer purely physical but tactical: she charged with both daggers, one arm caught by Rintal, the other slashing backward.
Rintal felt the vibration of the blades in his grip, the splinters, the bitter scent of blood at the corner of his mouth. The seal whispered softly, like an inner hourglass; when he pushed back with the reflection, her balance broke, and the daggers drew short, broken lines in the mist.
Areday knelt on the ground, panting, struggling to rise. Pain from his wounds mixed with the taste of blood. He watched the two fighters with one open eye — pride and anguish battling within his gaze.
While Cassadee pushed Rintal back, he reached behind him and grasped Areday's arm. No words — only the pulse of the seal transferred — a brief, steady impulse that kept his brother from collapsing.
Cassadee now not only attacked but surrounded herself with a small, glowing ring of smoke — the ash vortex pulsed with magical frequency. Her daggers dimmed for a moment, as if their light had been devoured.
Cassadee attacked like her husband — hungry, like a predator following orders.
Her face tensed, twisted in rage; a quick, precise motion — she sidestepped, raised her knee, and swung it toward Rintal.The impact was strong — the scent of blood filled the air; pain flared through Rintal's body.
But the seal's reflection worked again: the woman's attack, striking with full force, rebounded through her own motion.The counter-energy fed back into Cassadee's movement — her dagger slipped off-course, she lost balance, and staggered back.
The Final Strike
Rintal used the seal at full power, "gathering" the energy of her attacks. The air solidified around him, the fog stopped.
A dense, charged impulse shot forward, hurling him ahead.The wave was too fast for Cassadee's reaction — she tried to defend, but her movement reversed, her leg swept out from under her; she let out a sharp cry as she fell backward, her confidence breaking before her body did.When she hit the ground on her stomach, Rintal stomped down on her spine.
The daggers screamed as they hit the dirt, Cassadee's hand trembled, blood pooling under her fingernails.Her spine broke.
Rintal stepped closer, breathing heavily; the seal faded slowly in his palm, like something that had burned for too long. The fog swirled again, and the mist and ash shimmered golden in the air.
Areday slowly rose, leaning on his knee; his gaze was hazy but thankful.Cassadee crawled sideways, her daggers stuck in the ground, yet fire still burned in her eyes — she hadn't given up.
Slowly, she stood."Impossible," Areday muttered in shock.
She ran her fingers over the blood streaks, a coarse, hissing laughter escaping her.Then Cassadee pulled up the sleeve on her left arm — tattoos along it began to glow. "My wounds are healing. There won't be any more surprises now."
Rintal's eyes narrowed."Areday, stay behind me."
Areday answered without hesitation: "Got it, my twin… Not that I could fight her in this state anyway," he thought sadly to himself.
– "This isn't over yet," Cassadee said in a steel-hard voice. – "My vengeance will be fulfilled. And you two… will disappear."
Then Cassadee charged at Rintal, knowing no fear of death — but the ground suddenly burst open beneath them.
Chunks of earth flew in all directions, and a beast lunged out — straight at the woman. The wolf Rintal had once encountered — and survived.
Rintal immediately recognized it.This was the pack leader.
The alpha attacked the woman with all its rage and strength, growling words that echoed through the air:"Devour. Evolve. Grow stronger."