Olivia had thought that things were going far too smoothly. Yes, while they were besieged on all sides without so much as a wink of sleep for the past forty-eight hours, the Denominator barely counted her kills even as her Resolve continued to rake in kill after kill. Each floor they passed was bereft of any sort of enemy resistance after her and Lady Frost went through them. Even the occasional Num was no match to her speed, the poor fools barely even registering her presence before they found their heads rolling on the ground beneath them. In truth, most of her time was better spent worrying if her Big Sister was doing fine with Isaac as her partner. The boy had been training well under Grigori and occasionally, herself even if only a short amount of time has passed. He was progressing leaps and bounds, perhaps even better than she anticipated. Still, Olivia could not help b

*CLANG!* With zero regards for strategy, I rushed towards my opponent like a raging bull. The Firebrand clashed with the woman's halberd with a resounding clang, her face still colored by anger and confusion as I kept up the pressure. *CLANG! CLANG!* Two more strikes. Twice blocked, but it didn't deter me from pressing the attack. The Prime was clearly getting annoyed now, if the look on her face was any indication. "Enough!" *SLAM! CRACK!* I quickly jumped back as she managed to slam her halberd down on the ground. Spikes made of gemstones immediately followed her movement, skewering the air that I was once at before more erupted towards me. Sprinting around the Prime, I felt Livia assume her stance from my mind's eye as I outran the

For a brief moment, I saw stars and lights light up in my eyes. A burning sensation in my sides only exacerbated the situation, my ribs creaking with each breath that I took. That, and the numerous shards piercing my body was starting to register in my head as I came to. "Had enough, Crimson?" With a groan, I blinked the confusion out of my eyes, the pain searing through my very being ignored by the pressing concern of actually losing. I found myself looking up to my adversary, her halberd dangerously pointed at me as she stood at attention. Well, that wouldn't do, now did it? Forcing my body to move, I vaulted on top of my staff once more, my entire upper body straining at the effort that I think I actually screamed in pain a little bit. "Oh no, you don't!"Read more