Garina found herself just as stunned as the rest of the Apostles around her. She stared at the hologram in disbelief as the spinning fragments of the prize rune spun through the air around Noah’s corpse.

The rewards that the Apostles gathered for the Spilling Grounds were not cheap. Noah had just destroyed a rune that pretty much every single noble family would have gone to war twice over for. It was practically priceless.

But he didn’t seem to care. It was hard to tell if there were even thoughts passing through his head at this point. That was the only explanation as to why someone would be foolish enough to shatter such a powerful object.

But it didn’t look like he was done.

Noah raised his hand.

Garina blinked in surprise. He wasn’t dead yet. For some reason, Noah was holding onto life. Even as the fragments of the rune rained down around him and energy lit the air around him, Noah pressed the fingers of his one remaining hand together.

Then he snapped.

Ash swirled through the air with a roar. It rose up from his body and congealed from raw magical energy to twist into existence all around Noah as if he were the center of a furious black tornado.

The ash swallowed both Noah and the falling fragments of the broken rune in its embrace.

And that, finally, was enough to draw the attention of the two Rank 6 mages that were still locked mid-fight. They broke apart from each other, skidding across the stone as they both spun toward the vortex surrounding Noah.

Garina resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Really? That’s just dramaticism for the sake of it, bud. You could have just let yourself die by now. What’s the point of putting on a show after you’ve already made your point clear?

The magic Noah had summoned vanished almost as quickly as it had come, falling away just a second later to reveal nothing but his charred body and the plain stone pillar where a Rank 6 Rune had once sat in wait.

“You,” Alice snarled, dread and realization mixing across her features in an instant. “What have you done?”

“He shattered the rune. I felt its power in the air,” Carmen said. Unlike Alice, she didn’t sound particularly bothered about the loss. She seemed more impressed than anything else. There was a strong note of respect in her voice. “A final act of defiance? That is commendable. A warrior should always die with a blade in their hands.”

“Respectable?” Alice exclaimed. “He spits in our—”

The rest of her sentence never made it free from her lips. Alice’s eyes abruptly widened and a hand shot to her throat. She spun back to Noah, her eyes thinning instantly. She looked more surprised than uncomfortable.

“I hate to interrupt,” Noah rasped. His voice was torn and harsh, like someone had taken a piece of sandpaper to his voice box. He extended a hand and ash twisted up from the ground, materializing in his grip to form into a staff as he dragged his failing body toward them. “But I don’t have much longer. I really don’t have the time to listen to your blathering.”

“You’ve rendered the air unbreathable,” Carmen observed, touching her throat. “Interesting. Not a particularly powerful Master Rune, but I can see why you kept it around.”

Alice snapped her fingers.

Carmen blurred. A resounding clang echoed through the Spilling Grounds as she appeared before Noah, her blade raised to block Alice’s invisible magic. Fury washed over the other woman’s features.

“You insufferable fool. Why are you protecting him?”

“I would never silence a warrior’s final words. Even if were my greatest enemy. Such a thing is reprehensible. He must be allowed to speak.”

“Thank you,” Noah said. “That’s very kind. These aren’t my final words, but I appreciate the thought.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“You really think you’re going to live through this?” Alice asked. “Not even Carmen can protect you. Your body is about to fall apart. If anything, I’ll give you respect for managing to stand in that shape… but that’s it. You won’t live to see tomorrow. Nobody will be healing you.”

“The compliments really are flowing freely today, aren’t they?” Noah asked. “But they fall on deaf ears… and that’s only partially because one of my ears is melted. I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint both of you. I’m no closer to dying right now than I was five minutes ago.”

Garina’s brow furrowed.

What is Noah up to? He’s antagonizing them on purpose. Does he have a plan, or is this just his normal nature finally getting a chance to come through?

“This is pathetic,” Alice said in disgust. “The pain has driven him mad. You’re going to make me watch this wretch’s delusional blabbering as his body fails him?”

“One of my bodies,” Noah corrected. His charred lips pulled up into a sneer. “As I was saying… I’m no closer to dying now than I was before Somnus paid me a visit. Similarly, I feel no more pain now than I did then. This form is meaningless to me.”

Carmen’s eyes narrowed. “Bodies? You—”

“Puppet user,” Alice realized. “You’re a puppet user.”

“There we go,” Noah said with a cackle. “Very good. Took you long enough. I’m honestly a little disappointed. Did you really think Garina would have taken a mere Rank 5 on as her disciple?”

“Impossible,” Carmen muttered. “You’re pure organic material. I didn’t notice any magical energy connected to your body. No puppet is that indetectable. There should have at least been some signs.”

“There’s more than one way to make a puppet,” Noah replied with a shrug. “Now, as much fun as today was, this body is definitely going to keel over and die soon enough. I can’t have that happening before I get a chance to chat with Kyyle. That’s why I got your attention. Can we go ahead and get out of the Spilling Grounds somehow?”

Alice’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you need to—”

“He can hear you,” Carmen said. “All the Apostles can. They watch the Spilling Grounds to observe how we perform.”

“For real?” Noah tilted his head to the side. “From where? They can see me now?”

“Yes,” Carmen said.

Noah turned to look up at the sky — which, while it didn’t put him directly looking in the direction of all the Apostles, was more than close enough — and raised his hand toward them.

Noah released his ashen staff. He lifted his hand in a fist.

Then, slowly, with a great amount of determination and effort, he raised his middle finger.

“Just to be clear, this means go fuck yourself,” Noah said. “Wouldn’t want anything to get lost in translation.”

The half of his face that wasn’t a melted mess twitched up in a smirk.

Then the light blinked out of his eyes. He pitched back and landed on the ground with a thud. And there he laid, dead at last.

“That little shit,” Kyyle exclaimed, driving his palms down on the table as he shot to his feet. “Who does he—”

“Sit down,” Vaugh said. “We do not interfere in the events of the Spilling Grounds. No matter what they are.”

“This is blatant disrespect,” Kyyle snarled. “Forget interfering. That was a Rank 6—”

“Are you so desperate for power that you can’t stand the loss of such a relatively unimportant Rune?” Garina asked, arching an eyebrow. It was taking everything she had not to bust out laughing. “It’s was only a Rank 6.”

Actually, I’d be pissed beyond belief if that was my rune. What a massive waste. Good thing it wasn’t mine. Well, that’s that. Noah’s dead. I can’t believe he clung to life and threw his magic around to get everyone’s attention for just long enough to insult Kyyle.

“Was he telling the truth?” Audren asked. “Your disciple is a puppet user?”

“I can say that I’ve killed him more times than I’ve counted,” Garina said honestly. “It certainly takes the stress out of teaching him. He’s an insufferable little shit.”

“Don’t you think information like that would have been wise to share earlier?” Kyyle demanded.

Garina arched an eyebrow. “Oh? I’d have been happy to. Its customary for an Apostle to introduce their disciple. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance. You threw him into the Spilling Grounds before I could say anything. Idiot.”

“That’s why she was so calm,” Vaugh said. The regal man threw his head back in a roaring laugh. “His real form wasn’t even here. But he must be quite the adept mage… I cannot remember the last time Somnus was tricked so thoroughly.”

“Nor can I,” Somnus said, leveling a flat gaze at Garina. The thin man’s expression didn’t belay any of his thoughts. He was as unreadable as a corpse. “What manner of magic was that?”

“You’ll have to ask him the next time we meet,” Garina said. “Unlike the rest of you, I have an important job. And, now that you’ve gone and killed my apprentice before I got my chance to, I’d like to get back to it. Let’s wrap this joke of a trial up so I can head back. There’s no reason to delay. The contest is over.”

“Yeah. Everyone lost,” Audren grumbled. “But Garina is right. There is no reason to linger here longer. Let us handle this matter.”

Garina smiled. But, inwardly, she couldn’t shake her confusion.

Why would Noah have gone through all that effort to insult Kyyle? He’s petty, but was that really all there was to it? And what was the point of destroying that rune and making enemies of all the other Apostles’ apprentices without getting anything for it in return?

What are you playing at, Noah?