Severance crossed the space between himself and Gorvoth in a split second. He got a glimpse of eyes widening in genuine surprise, of thin lips parting to speak.

"Sto-!"

"Pivot Cut," Severance snarled, cutting Gorvoth off. He didn't know if the Trader possessed the same Gift as his brother, but he wasn't interested in finding out.

He spun around to the backside of Gorvoth, one electric blue slash of his war fan slicing through the golden chalice embroidered on the back of the man's coat.

Gorvoth staggered forward. Severance wasn't about to give the Trader a chance to react. A grim determination had settled over him like a cape. He wasn't thinking about anything other than downing his target.

"Suppress!"

The electrical blast slammed into Gorvoth and stunned him. Severance took the opportunity to dart around again, and sliced his fan once, then twice across the Trader's throat.

Chances were that death wouldn't stick, but Severance was prepared for that. He moved back, ignoring the noise from the surrounding players. Somewhere behind him was Maknite's angry bellows, nearly drowned out by Vast's snarls.

"You fool! Do you know what you have done?"

Severance watched as the stun ran out and Gorvoth's body fell to the ground. He drew his fans together and began to cast Revive. Some part of him was recoiling, unable to believe he was actually doing this. (What was he thinking?!) But the calmer, more rational part of him was holding firm.

The world didn't need another Ervante. Especially one that was well aware of the Veiled.

Some Free Trader players pushed through the crowd:

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Is that the guy the quest was talking about?"

"Who cares? I'm down for some PK."

Valentin calmly stepped between them and Severance, his long glaive held horizontally in his hand. He said nothing, but his actions were very clear.

"Haha, you going to stop us? You're just one guy!"

"Come on!"

The players ran out. One dropped to a knee so he can smash his fist into the ground. "Fault Line!"

A fissure opened up, splintering and cracking all the way to Valentin in the blink of an eye.

Valentin leaped, his body arcing gracefully in the air. He twisted in midair like a gymnast, his glaive sweeping out the moment he touched down.

One player was blown back. The second player received a lightning-fast jab to his face. Not even three seconds had passed and Valentin had taken them both out like they were soggy pieces of toilet paper.

Excited chatter rippled through the crowd. Chaos was unfolding before them and they reveled in it. More players ran out to face Valentin, eager to challenge him.

Revive finally fired off. As the silvery light forcefully raised Gorvoth to his feet, Severance stood in front of him, waiting grimly.

"What's going on? Why's he just standing there?"

Sherry Berry's confused questions drifted out, but no one answered her. To everyone's perspective, Severance was doing nothing while Valentin and Vast kept everyone off his back.

But Maknite was quick to understand. He'd seen enough of the ugly side of Eliona to know exactly what Severance was intending. With a ferocious roar, he kicked Vast aside and charged at Severance.

"No!"

Vast bounded after him. The vastlhidan's powerful muscles shifted beneath his fur, bunching and gathering before releasing in a terrific pounce. Jaws clamped tight around Maknite's calf, and with a ferocious twist, the big man came crashing down. He howled in pain.

Gorvoth's feet settled on the ground, the last of the silvery light fading away.

At the same time, a loud commotion rippled through the crowd. Armored guards shoved their way through, the golden chalice gleaming brightly on their breastplates. There were over half a dozen of them. And in their wake was a group of high-leveled players, all proudly displaying the Trader symbol somewhere on their person.

Severance's heart pounded in his chest. The situation was growing worse by the second. Yet he was determined to finish what he started.

He stepped forward just as Gorvoth's eyes opened. Before the haze fell away and the Trader gathered his bearings, Severance struck.

Down Gorvoth went once more.

Maknite shouted angrily and all the guards came stampeding in like a wall of steel. The air plummeted and snow began to fall. A tiger roared and bells rang sonorously in the distance.

"Rush!" A woman's voice cried. Next thing Severance knew, a blur streaked towards him.

He dodged sideways. She appeared right where he had been, a lithe figure in all black high-end Shade gear. Surprise flashed across her face, but in the next second she launched herself at him.

"Venom claw!"

Severance evaded her again, and her claw blades sliced harmlessly through air. Her expression twisted.

"Assassinate!" She lunged, both claw blades stabbing at him. They missed as he darted out of reach.

Not one to be deterred, she came at him again and again, burning through all her attacks. It was a strange feeling for Severance. As a Shade, she was very quick and agile. But so was he, and it wasn't all that difficult to avoid her. Still, she kept all his attention, making it hard for him to do much else.

He twisted to get a glimpse of Gorvoth's body. Maknite had dropped to his knees beside the Trader, looking almost panicked. It was a weird look to have in this situation.

"Just stand still already!" The Shade snarled.

A loud rumble rippled above the chaos like thunder. Severance, still avoiding the Shade's attacks, risked a quick glance around. Vast. That sound was Vast.

But where was he?

Players and guards milled everywhere, skills firing off in a tight space. A tank's roar created a stir in the mayhem, drawing attention their way. While the players weren't as affected, all the Elionan guards shifted that way, lessening the pressure on Valentin.

An ally? And then Severance caught a glimpse of a massive tank in chainmail, wielding a massive spiked tetsubo with all the grace and style of a baseball bat. There was no skill involved, just wild swinging and solid brute strength that crunched bones and caved in armor.

It was Chad.

A flaming arrow streaked out of the sky. Severance backstepped to avoid it, and it flew harmlessly past before sticking into the ground. The Shade still tried to catch him, using basic attacks since all her skills were on cooldown.

More guards and Elionans poured onto the scene. Snow began to fall, a small group of players fighting near Valentin began to freeze solid. Allies? Or not? It was impossible to tell. A great lion of all things bounded past Severance, only to get a whistling arrow to the forehead. It burst apart in a shower of bright sparks.

Severance briefly wondered where on earth—or Eliona—a lion had come from, but he wasn't able to worry for long. All his focus went towards keeping himself alive. The Shade chased him around in a crazy game of tag. More arrows fell, trying to cut him off from Gorvoth, who was still on the ground.

Severance gritted his teeth in frustration. He couldn't wait any longer. He'd wanted to save this skill as a back-up, but there was no choice.

"Flow Mastery," he murmured.

At once, his body grew lighter. He backpedalled from the Shade's relentless pursuit, while pressing his fans together in front of him.

"Revive," he intoned. Silvery light immediately spun into existence around his feet, following him like a trail of smoke as he continued to evade.

Another arrow thudded into the ground, just barely missing him. The Shade tried to use Venom Claw on him again, but failed. She growled.

"What the hell are you? How are you doing this?"

Severance ignored her. He focused entirely on keeping mobile, avoiding arrows and the Shade and whatever else tried to kill him. Meanwhile, Revive continued to build.

Thanks to Valentin, who wielded his glaive with frightening skill, very few players managed to get past. If Severance wasn't already busy, he would have watched in amazement as the knightglaive acted like a one-man army. He already knew Valentin was strong. Like Severance, Valentin had already learned other methods in wielding his weapon, striking in unexpected ways that weren't strictly limited to the System skills. The knightglaive took it to a whole other level, however.

Every move he made dealt damage. Even when drawing back to create space, Valentin didn't miss an opportunity to attack. Knightglaives were creatures of momentum, growing stronger the longer they could attack without interruption. And that was where Valentin exceled. He ripped apart armored tanks in a matter of seconds. Shades, cryomancers and healers got flattened in one hit.

It made Severance extremely glad he'd invited Valentin along.

Revive finished casting. Severance ran to get Gorvoth's body in his line of view, then let the skill go.

Someone in the chaos screamed, loud and shrill. The crowd of players scattered in one area, revealing a flashing length of gleaming silver. It was a long, deadly blade that Severance knew all to well. It belonged to Knight Rohhk, the freak who had toyed with Vast.

Oh no.

The Fallen Knights had officially arrived.

"Look out!"

Severance instinctively spun towards the shout, only to see a dark figure get sent flying over everyone's heads. Was that Awesome Dude?

"Shadewalk!" The female Shade yelled, alerting Severance to her movement. Her agility doubled in an instant and she came at him with the frenzy of enraged hornets. He reacted instinctively, Flowing around her. Her claw blades still managed to catch his sleeve and tear it open.

Severance's heart leapt into his throat. His breathing quickened. So much was happening at once now. He could barely keep track of everything. Something had to be done or it would all come collapsing down on him.

Flow. He still had Flow. Then—

"Ionize!" he cried.

Electrical energy sparked and began to build, gathering around his fans even as he continued to dodge. The Shade moved so much quicker now, and her claws slashed him more than once. His health bar flashed red, and a poison debuff icon appeared.

But there was no time to deal with it. Knight Rohhk's long silver blade flashed again, closer now, and four players dropped in a single instant. It didn't matter what clan they were part of it. It only mattered that they were in the way.

Severance frantically steered towards Gorvoth. Even if he died here today, if he could wipe this Trader off the face of Eliona, then it would be worth it.

His instincts shrilled and Severance immediately dove to the left, using his shoulder to catch his fall so his building skill wouldn't be interrupted. The ground where he stood erupted into a rain of dirt and gravel.

A single sword embedded itself in the small crater. It was broad and straight with a unique hilt. Severance recognized it on the spot. This sword was part of a set of two.

He rolled up into one knee and didn't hesitate. The air around him buzzed with the power of storms, ready to go. The instant Knight Traal stepped forth to claim his blade, Severance let Ionize loose.

Blue lightening licked up towards the sky, nearly impaling Knight Traal on the spot. The sky rumbled, and an answering storm of brilliant electricity rained down from the sky. The world flashed blindingly bright.

Severance used the opportunity to start casting Ionize again. He had time for one last cast before Flow ran out. He began to run in Gorvath's direction, electric energy writhing around him.

Spots danced before his vision and his ears rang. Even he was not immune to Ionize's flashbang effect. Blurred shapes rushed towards him and he pivoted and danced his way around them.

Where was Gorvoth? Had he overshot him?

The noise was incredible with screams and skills turning Ascendance into an absolute madhouse. It was a miracle that he even managed to hear his name being shouted somewhere to his left.

"Sev! Hey Sev!"

Severance turned, eyes a little wild, and saw Awesome Dude's grinning face in the midst of an entire cluster of Trader guards. It was absolutely ridiculous. How was the Shade even still alive?

There was no time to think. Ionize crackled eagerly around his fans, so Severance focused on the guards and released it. Just as the first flash of lightning stabbed up into the sky, Severance switched his focus to Awesome Dude.

"Saving Grace!"

The skill latched onto the startled Shade and yanked him out of the mass of guards just as a curtain of lightning rained down upon them.

Awesome Dude appeared by Severance's side in a flash. "Whoa!"

"You crazy person!" Severance exclaimed. Flow abruptly ended, and he grimaced, suddenly feeling heavy and off balance. "What are you—?"

"Ah, watch out!" The Shade abruptly shoved Severance aside.

Severance staggered and nearly fell. He turned, just in time to see Awesome Dude's head fall from his shoulders. The Shade's body crumpled to the ground in a dark heap.

A familiar Knight calmly flicked his long slender blade to the side, shaking off the blood, before turning to face Severance.

"We meet again," Knight Rohhk said. "Severance, was it?"

Severance felt the strong urge to start laughing hysterically. What kind of situation was this? Just how much worse could it get?