Chapter 35

When the fight started, it did so without abilities. When fighting, it was essential to conserve your Aura and not over-extend, for if your Aura were to deplete, then you've essentially lost. It was always smart to gauge your opponent's strength before using your ability. Of course, not everyone was as good in hand-to-hand as William. Orion was decent enough, exchanging blows evenly with a Royal woman. Hendrick fought two. The rest kept intermingling. William had gone straight for Heimdal. The fighting went like this for a minute, until abilities started to be used.

Orion was first, conjuring a greatsword made of Aura and slashing in a wide arc at his opponent. The swing would've cut anyone in single blow, Aura kept the woman from being cut in half across her waist, and healing the wound. She used her ability as a counter, vines rose from the ground, slithering across the concrete and entangling Orion, trapping him.

Klaus and Sera were fighting three Royals. Klaus ability wasn't designed for combat, there little he could do in changing objects to look like another, unless if what you wanted was to confuse or distract. And the bigger the object, the more Aura it required. As for Sera, she need water in the vicinity for her ability to truly show it's potential. Two of the Royals they faced weren't using their ability, but the third seem to be able to shoot out Aura Spikes from his body. Klaus was a good fighting, so he dodged easily enough. Sera had gotten hit by one, penetrating her shoulder. Blood was seen for a moment, before her Aura healed the wound.

Things began to get chaotic when one of the Royals grew in size, as tall as a house, becoming a giant and attempting to squash Hendrick with hammer blow. The ground shook, the concrete broke beneath the weight of the blow. Hendrick had dodged backwards and used his ability to tether a car and a light pole on opposite side of the Royal. The two object flew at each other, the pole was ripped from the ground, hitting the Royal.

"It doesn't matter how many abilities you have." Heimdal said. He and William had yet to exchange blows. It was meaningless. Heimdal knew William had his ability and neither of them wouldn't be able to land a blow on each other. "What do you suppose we do now?" Heimdal added.

Good question, William thought. There was no point in fighting Heimdal. But, for Spectre to win today, he didn't have to. He could easily use Arlong's ability to run past the man and into Imperium. Get to Anna, and kill her. Destroying the dome and ending Royal rule. But William was sure that the Lord Ruler was watching the fight from one of the building's top floors. And like William, he can see Aura, which meant he'll know William's intent if he runs for Anna. And right now the only advantage Spectre had was the fact that the Lord Ruler didn't know the true goal of today's attack. So how could William get to Anna fast enough before the Lord Ruler notices?

William brought his attention back to Heimdal. He had to try something. Then an idea came to him. He conjured two Aura swords on each hand using Orion's ability and readied himself. Heimdal would see his attacks coming, but every ability had a limit. How many simultaneous attacks can Heimdal see in advance?

"I can see you intend to try something." Heimdal said, smiling. "But will it work? I wonder. Come then. Try it."

William noticed Arlong, using his ability to remain invisible, creep behind a Royal and inject her with the dampening serum. He knocked her unconscious with a blow to the back of her head. Shit. William had to work fast before Heimdal notices it. He charged Heimdal, sword on each hand. He thrust with one, while slashing while the other. Two simultaneous attacks, from two directions. Heimdal kept his smile as he effortlessly dodged both. William kept on the offensive though, swinging and thrusting faster and faster, as fast as he could. Heimdal dodged all and tried to retaliated with a punch to the face. William saw it coming, Heimdal's ability allowing to, and ducked. Then a kick from Heimdal, which William had to dodge backwards.

"See." Heimdal spread his hands out. "Though I cannot beat you, you cannot beat me. Pains me to admit, but we are equals. And unfortunate for you, copycat, I just need to keep you occupied until my Elites finish your friends off. Then I'll beat you. And this time I won't need my Lord's ability."

To his right, William saw Klaus get overpowered by the combined efforts of two Royals. One of them used her ability to freeze ground beneath his feet while the other kicked him when he lost his balance, dropping his greatsword which vanished in a poof of golden mist. The ice woman followed with punch that sent him flying backwards, crashing through a concrete bench that was shattered by the impact. The woman met William's eyes and smiled, mouthing the words 'you're next'. She seems familiar. Had William fought her before? He felt a strange sensation, a tingling in his skin. An attack. Though he couldn't see it, he knew it was coming from his back. In his minds eye, he feel it. He dodged it by stepping aside. It was another Royal. A muscular man. He recovered quickly, pivoting, and threw another punch. William aimed to take a step back to dodge but felt like he'd hit a wall. The Royal nearly landed the blow, William had moved to the side. Then he saw it. What he'd hit wasn't a wall, but a large disc made of Aura. Solid Aura. The Royal's ability. He created another Aura disc and threw it at William like a frisbee. William broke it with a conjured ax using Orion's ability.

"Leave him, Cisco." Heimdal told the Royal. "You focus on the others. "The Royal, Cisco, nodded and ran to join another, fighting Hendrick.

Shit. William looked up at Imperium again, then back at Heimdal. Should he take the risk? Charge for Anna and hope he gets to her before the Lord Ruler stops him? No, that wouldn't work. Not after what Hendrick did, removing the element of surprise. The Lord Ruler can just use his ability to nullify William's, stopping him before he could do anything. Which begs the question… Why hasn't he?

***

"Look at them." The Lord said. He stood with hand clasped behind his back, watching the fighting down at Imperial Square through the glass wall. Lady Ada was by his side, also watching the chaos below. Wren had to strain his Aura to be able to make any relevant detail from up here, but from what he gathered, Spectre was winning. A few of the Royals were already out of the fight. Wren suspected Spectre was using the stolen serum to nullify their abilities. A good strategy, and had not they been betrayed, it would've worked. Now, however, the Lord Ruler was prepared for that eventuality. More Royals came out of Imperium. There were more Spectre too, but Wren knew they were probably clones of that superhero's ability. 

But what Wren was mostly interested on was the Copycat. William was fighting Heimdal, or to be more precise, they were holding each other at bay while the rest fought around them. With all the abilities being used, in a few more minutes, Imperial Square will be a pile or rubbles.

"Look how they fight…" The Lord Ruler said. "These… Spectre. They fight down there while Lunam watches from above. Uncaring. If only Spectre realized the futility of their struggles. If only they realized that even if they win, it'll mean nothing once I join Lunam in divinity."

"Repairs are going to be a bitch." Natalya said. She had been standing by the Lord Ruler's side, watching the action below. She had repaired Imperial Square once before using her ability.

"What are you talking about, Adrian? " Lady Ada said.

The Lord Ruler looked at her and shrugged, smiling. "It doesn't matter. They can't overthrow me. I thought they learned that lesson when I captured their Vigilante Lord." The Lord Ruler paused. "And even after learning that they had been bettayed by one of their leaders, they still chose to fight me today. They are either fools, or," He paused again, eyes on Lady Ada. "Or they are fighting for something else. Something I'm not aware of."

Wren noticed Elek twitched next to him. A slight movement of nervousness, for the Lord Ruler was on to something. It surprised Wren when that Hendrick fellow omitted Spectre's true goal in today's attack. The Lord Ruler didn't know that the dome's secrets were no longer secret. If he were to get wind that Spectre knew, then he'll undoubtedly step in and end the fighting.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Lady Ada said.

"My Lord," Natalya said. "It seems Beodulf has been beaten."

When Wren had heard that Beodulf wanted to intercept and fight the Time Witch, he had been worried. Then he remembered fighting her himself. That woman was a good fighter. This wasn't surprising news. Still, none of Spectre's victories will mean nothing if the dome is not destroyed today.

"Noted. Thank you, Natalya." The Lord Ruler returned his attention to Imperial Square. "Ada, if you mean to help your friends, then you have my permission to do so."

"What?" 

"Were you not meaning to use your ability on them? Then I'm saying you can do it. So long as you use it on my Royals too. I want this battle to be remembered for years into the future." The Lord Ruler threw his hands out, looking up at the sky. "Let Lunam see what kind of god they will be making of me."

Wren looked at him. Has he gone mad? It is true that the Lord Ruler had been steadily losing his mind when it came to his experiments. As far as Lady Ada had said, he used to be a good-natured guy who cared for the Royals. Until he started experimenting on those who disobeyed. Now he was delusional?

Lady Ada cleared her throat. "Ahem… Very well." 

"My Lady. My Lord." Elek said, looking at both. "If I may ask permission. I would like to join the fighting down there." 

Lady Ada nodded. So did the Lord Ruler. Elek smiled. Electricity exploded around him and he jumped, crashing through the glass wall, shatting it. Lady Ada had likely amplified his Aura,so he'll survive the fall. Natalya sighed, then walked up to the glass wall and put a hand on it. Seconds later, the broken section of the glass wall seemed to put itself back together with no trace of ever being broken.

After a long pause, the Lord Ruler said; "Seems it'll rain soon."

***

William was looking up at Imperium's top floor, wondering on which one was the Lord Ruler watching from. If only the range of his innate power to see Aura was larger... A moment earlier he had seen the Royals run out of Imperium's main doors way before their Aura's became visible to his eyes. Royal reinforcements. Spectre's reinforcement came in the form of Gavin's clones, which did little to aid in the fight. Arlong had been doing a good job, managing to knock out three Royals before they were alerted to his presence and started to be more cautious of their movement. Spectre's reinforcements came in the form of Gavin's clones, which did little to aid the fighting. They served more as distractions than an actual fighting force.

That's when William felt his Aura flared within him, the fire intensifying, filling him with incredible power. Like torches being lit, he could now see the golden fires of Royals scattered inside Imperium, and all around him. He became aware of more than a dozen Royals hidden behind buildings surrounding Imperial Square, now that it had become a battlefield. The statue at its center had been shattered by an ability, and the cars parked nearby had been blown, cut, or destroyed. The damage was the same, if not worse, than during Beodulf's capture a few weeks back.

But it wasn't just William's who's Aura had been amplified by Lady Ada's ability. He looked around and noticed that everyone around him, Spectre and Royal alike, had paused for a moment, shocked.

"Seems my Lord has given Ada permission." Heimdal said. No doubt his ability had been amplified too. "Now everyone gets to enjoy this brief moment of power."

"Tsk." William looked up at Imperium again, he found Ada immediately. Her Aura was pouring out of Imperium's top floors, a thick, golden mist. Besides hers, there were a few more, smaller golden flames. Royals. William recognized all but one. A strange, dark yellow fire of equal intensity to Ada's, though not as vast. It didn't take much for William to guess who it belonged to. That was the Lord Ruler's own Aura. It wasn't ignited, yet William could still see it. One of the smaller flames suddenly flared. A figure whirling with electricity burst out the window. The Royal landed with a loud boom, electricity exploding around him. It was Elek, and he brought William a useful ability.

He copied it immediately, as well as another he'd been meaning to use. The Royal had used its vine earlier to entrapt Orion, before he cut it to pieces with his swords.

"How many abilities can you hold now, I wonder." Heimdal said. The man had not moved a muscle for the past few minutes, just standing there watching William and smiling. "Now that you're amped up."

William felt like he could hold at least ten, but he wasn't going to tell that to this bastard. He needed to take Heimdal down, and an idea had just occurred to him. He had remembered how Claudia had caught Heimdal in her ability, saying that it only worked because she was trying to hold him, not hurt him. Then there was the Royal from earlier, Cisco. William hadn't sensed the man's ability, since the Royal wasn't trying to attack him with it, only prevent him from dodging, which meant that Heimdal's ability only allowed him to see future events intended to hurt him.

"You're going to try something." Heimdal said, his smile widening. "I can see it in your eyes. Come then."

"If you say so." First, William used his vine ability to hold Heimdal in place, the Aura vines burst out from the ground near Heimdal's feet behind him and wrapped around them. It was merely meant to hold him, keep him from moving. William made sure his intent wasn't to hurt Heimdal. Next, William used Elek's electricity to call down multiple lighting bolts from the sky. He followed that with throwing Aura knives made using Orion's ability. Multiple attacks, lighting bolts, Aura knives, all attacks unleashed in quick succession. William aimed to overwhelm Heimdal's ability by overwhelming his senses, while restricting as much of his movements as he could. The idea was simple: how many abilities can he dodge at the same time, while unable to properly dodge.

It turned out, all except one. Heimdal dodged tthe lighting bolts with anticipated relflexes, all the while making sure that his movements also served the purpose of dodging the knives. The Aura knives missed, all except one. It sank into his shoulder, drawing blood for an instant, before his Aura healed him. His smile faded as he yanked the knight out and crushed it between his fingers, the Aura dispersing like smoke. 

"So that was your idea." He said. "Not bad." He yanked free of the vines. William felt the pull on his Aura as he tried, to no avail, to keep hold. The vines broke, dissolving into golden mist. William prepared for a counter, but Heimdal didn't attack. To be fair, there was little he could do while he held his ability. And it's not like he had an arsenal of ability to throw at him.

"Well?" Heimdal raised an eyebrow. "Come on then. Keep trying. It's not like I'll be able to hit you while you hold my ability."

Willam didn't need to be told so. Hewas going to try again anyway, but his priority was to find a way to get to Anna without the Lord Ruler noticing. For the time being, he'll entertain Heimdal. Hopefully an idea will pop up.

***

"Wren, with me." Lady Ada turned from the glass wall and left the room. The Lord Ruler didn't so much as pay her any mind, so preoccupied was he watching the fighting below. Natalya also seemed disinterested, looking at her cellphone. Wren followed Lady Ada out of the room and into the hallway outside, heading towards the stairs. They started descending the stairs in silence, Wren wondering why she hadn't taken the elevator. He was about to ask just that when she finally spoke.

"Spectre won't make it." She said. "William will not make it to Anna now that my brother is keeping an eye on him. And I think he knows it."

"He's fighting Heimdal?"

"Unfortunately, yes. And as far i could tell, he won't be making a run for Anna, and even he were to beat Heimdal. If Adrian notices, he'll use his ability to put an end to the rebellion."

Wren knew the Lord Ruler was arrogant, but his arrogance was borderline delusional. So confident was the man in his power that he's purposely letting Spectre fight and beat his Royals, giving them hope. But if he were to learn that Spectre knew his little secret. Knew about Anna. Then he'll surely squash the rebellion without a moment's hesitation. Still, he's taking a risk. Wren knew it was for the purposes of not only defeating Spectre, but also defeating any future rebel group as well.

"What do you suggest we do?" Wren asked.

"There's nothing we can do." Despite her age, Ada kept a quick pace as she descended the stairs, Wren following close behind. They had gone down three floors already. Where was she going? "We are bound by Symvasi's ability." She said. "We cannot harm Anna even if we wanted to." It was true enough. Wren could feel the pull of the Royal Knight's power every time he considered killing Anna.

"And Spectre won't be able to get inside Imperium." Wren nodded.

"Yes, which leaves only one other person who is not in Spectre, and is not bound by Symvasi's ability."

Wren didn't have to ask who it was. He already suspected. In fact, they found that person sitting by the stairs deep in thought. "Johnathan." Wren said, greeting the man with a smile. 

Johnathan looked up at them, startled. "Wren. My Lady." He stood and gave Lady Ada a slight bow.

"Well, have you made up your mind?" Lady said said, her voice calm and soothing. Motherly.

Johnathan was quiet for a long moment before answering. "I have, my Lady."

"And?"

"I do not wish to give up my ability." He said. "I do not wish to give up being a Royal." He paused. "But I also understand that the Royal Hierarchy System is corrupt and needs to end for New Miami to move forward. For the Commoners to truly feel free."

Good man, Wren thought, smiling.

"Good." Lady Ada placed a hand on his shoulder. "Because you are the only one who can end it."