Published at 21st of April 2026 6:40 am

Chapter 164. By the gate

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We moved into the side streets, making sure to steer clear of any noise. We went as fast as possible, hoping to catch up to the first groupand, to our relief, we managed to do just that.

They were a few streets away from the gate, standing in one big group alongside the party that had gone there. They werent in the best shape. Curiously, they werent missing anyone, but all of them had similar injurieshits to the head, a few broken arms here and there. The guards had most likely tried to drag them deeper into the city, but without killing anyone.

The moment we rounded the corner, they tensed, but when they recognized us, the anxiety quickly turned into relief.

Youre back quickly, Ophelia said, looking at me as William ran to Luna.

Yeah. It was pretty easy, I said, giving Clementus a look that he returned with a light smile. I had a strange sense that the man was scheming something, but I had no idea what. Whatever it was, he kept his word. Pulling the vial of blood from his robes, he approached Luna. We could all sense the power radiating from the decorated glass. Clementus popped it open, and I felt a seal give way without resistance.

William looked to Luna.

She nodded weakly, and he tore the black icicles from her body.

A large portion of her abdominal flesh was frozen to the projectile, forming one jagged mass. Even though I couldnt feel the pain, watching her fight through tears to stifle a scream made my throat tighten.

Anger at the thing in the sky welled up. It was dumb, blind anger, weirdly hard to let go of. Luna lay there, eyes barely open, fighting through the agony of having a chunk of her body missing. William pried her mouth open, and Clementus let a drop fall into her throat.

Will looked like he was about to rip the vial from the mans hand and pour it down Lunas throat, but before he could, something changed. Luna closed her eyes, and her body began to spasm.

Vampires fed off life energy by converting it into their brand of undead energy, and she had a lot to convert now. I watched blood form into a scaffold-like structure within the open wound as flesh slowly grew around it. The process was slow, but the life energy kept her alive even with wounds this severe. She was unconscious, but stablefor now.

It felt like a boulder had been lifted off my shoulders. The sensation was so real, I actually stood a little taller as my muscles loosened. Then I heard a low hum, almost like a battle-horn. It took me a second to realize it was Darius sighing beside me.

Dont forget our deal, Clementus said as he tucked the vial back into his robe.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering whether he meant my debtor the other deal, since Jacob was still alive.

So how does the situation at the gate look? Helga asked from beside the pope.

Not good, Aron said. The gate is sealed with something, and theres a whole patrol in front of it not letting anyone through. There was a sizable crowd when the fighting started, but they got escorted deeper into the city. We almost did too.

How did the guards look? I asked.

The same as the escorts, though there were a few standouts: the undead ones we saw by the city entrance, and something like a captain. It wore armor and was giving orders. But thats all we got from a distance.

You think the silver pieces will work? Nathan asked.

A few others shook their heads. The barrier was the problem. The city was sealed, and the dome over our heads could take and stop attacks from the kind of people who ran the ancient world. I doubted even a guard captain would have a key for a barrier like that.

Do we wait for the battle to be over? Aron proposed.

No. This isnt a battle. Its a reenactmenta memory symbolizing what happened. It could go on until the next change, or forever for all we know. We have no idea how the singularity adjusts. We should get out before the next change happens, I said.

The seal on those gates should have been placed by the church. The crosier should open it, Clementus added.

Will the guards let us through? Leo asked for the first time.

Turning to him, I saw hed moved to the side, close to his paladin, looking subdued. His question was met with silence. We had no idea.

One way to find out, Helga said.

We formed a rough battle formationfighters in front, then mages and the woundedand moved toward the gate.

Once close, we left the side alley and stepped onto the main road. The patrol waited aheada mix of normal escorts with eye-columns, headless guards trailing behind, and a creature in decorated armor reminiscent of church paladinsthough forged from an unknown white metal with golden decorations. Some were purely ornamental, others threaded with live runes.

Stop. Turn back. We will escort you to safety. The eye-column leaders barred our way, speaking over one another as the headless creatures behind them echoed.

A few moved forward as if to grab us, but Clementus raised his crosier, and the staff glowed golden.

In the name of the Holy Father. Let us through, he said.

The creatures stopped for a second, as if pondering, then continued toward usno longer speaking. Their postures turned hostile, hands outstretched. I readied to fight. Helga stepped in front of Clementus, the Jester at her side.

But Clementus spoke again, loud and clear.

In the name of Saint Peters successor, I command you to let us through!

To my surpriseand everyone elsesthe patrol reacted. The eye-columns froze for a second, but the armored paladin and the decorated guard moved.

We welcome the Holy Father, the paladin said, dropping to one knee. The decorated guard followed.

We gave one another looks.

Let us through, Clementus said.

Give way, the paladin commanded, still not raising his head.

The eye-columns shifted asidebut as they did, they began twitching in jerking motions, hissing something unintelligible. We walked past in silence. Most of the fighting now seemed concentrated over the center of the city. Once we were out, we should be able to run for the gate.

I felt the eye-columns watching our backs.

Clementus approached the metal gate and, in the tense silence, touched his crosier to the center of a sealing rune.

A click.

The dome barrier didnt give way, but the complicated seal on the gate out of the city began to unwind.

Sadly, things rarely went according to plan.

Cant leave! the patrol screeched.

They began rocking back and forth, twitching like broken machines.

No, no, no. Cant leave. Alivealive. Alarmscant leave, they shrieked.

I looked at the seal. An array that complicated wouldnt come undone instantly. We needed more time. Thankfully, Clementus wasnt a fool.

Move to stop them, he ordered the kneeling paladin.

The gate guards and the armored paladin executed the command without hesitation. But that was also a signal for the patrol. The fight began with the abominations shriek. The eye-column patrol was more numerous but thankfully weaker than the guards.

The paladins intercepted, but some of the headless creatures behind them slipped past. One leaped into the air toward Clementus.

Dariuss massive kopesh flung it out of the air. The blade bit into its flesh but didnt cut deep. The thing skidded asideonly to be replaced by another charging at us.

The fighters surged forward while the other casters and I began firing spells. I focused on physical attacks and control. One of the patrol got past the paladin and swung at the Jester. I caught its leg with Deaths Grasp. The Jesterno longer protected by his paladin armor, in his usual apparelpulled out two sickles and brought them down on the creatures throat, the sharp edges barely biting into its strange skin.

It idnt go down. It grabbed the attacking arm and swung at him. The Jester barely blocked. It followed with another strike, but then a massive white weasel lunged from the back line, raking a claw into the wound the Jester had opened, taking the creatures head off. I heard Aiko shouting commands as the weasel went for another target.

I switched targets and fired Bone Spear into another enemy, pinning its still-squirming body to the wall.

Helga was forced to leave the popes side and join the Jester to stop enemies from pouring into our backline.

Clementus started casting too, and for the first time, I saw his magic clearly. Support spells activated, followed by sudden flashes of light, as weapons and claws gleamed right before deadly strikes, now tearing deep instead of leaving shallow wounds. The chaotic clash lasted barely half a minute, but it felt like hours. We dumped our strongest spells just to keep the patrol from advancing past the guards.

I saw Nathan stumble back as a kick nearly took his head off. He glanced toward Clementusthen froze.

So did I.

Clementus was moving forward. Slowly but surely, he advanced into the second lineright beside mejust behind the fighters. We were being pushed into the gate, packed so tightly the front and back lines began to mix.

And then the first screams of the dying sounded in the air. The weaker ones couldnt keep up with the battles tempo. I saw Bolesaw retreat half a step, wiping blood from his face, only for two of Jean dArcs nobles to fall to the ground, killed in one fast attack. Bolesaws saber glowed bright with the popes light, reminding the man to bring it up to block.

Nathan looked like he wanted to rush in, but then we saw it.

One of the front guards holding back the stronger enemies fell. An eye-column swung its elongated head like a massive club, crushing the creature, and used the opening to plow forwardstraight toward Clementus. I spent third-circle mana without hesitation, casting Deaths Grasp. Multiple hands latched onto the enemy, but it was too strongI barely slowed it.

Helga stepped into its path only to be swatted aside as if she weighed nothing.

Fuck, I swore, starting to shape eldritch magicbut before I could fall into myself, an aura of light and order radiated beside me.

Nails of light appeared in front of Clementus. Before the creature could take another step to swing its elongated head like a mace, two of the four nails pinned it to the ground.

It stiffened for a second.

No! roared the paladin, acting as the guards captain, still locked in battle with eye-columns.

He raised his sword high and let the enemy strikes land. Claws and heads slammed into his armor hard enough to shatter bone beneath, but the paladin didnt fall. Instead, golden flame exploded from him, setting the enemies ablaze. Right after using the spell, the aberration collapsed, and the clank of the decorated metal armor falling on the stone road was followed by a deep thump as the final seal came off the gate behind us.

Run! Clementus commanded, turning to the doors.

Unlike the seal, the gates metal wings jumped aside in a split second, revealing the exit. Everyone bolted through as creatures burning with the white light wailed behind us.

I turned to followthen stopped.

I couldnt cross.

The moment I tried to move, I felt it. A strange resistance. No physical barrier, but as if my soul was stuck to the ground. When Clementus pivoted to run, he lowered the staff and fired the last two of the orbiting nails from the crosierinto my legs.

There was no wound, no painjust the sensation of my soul being pinned, like I was trying to move my flesh while my spirit stayed behind. Everyone was already through. We were squeezed against the gate, so it took them only a few steps to cross.

The first to notice was Ophelia. Halfway through, she turned, eyes snapping to me. The others followedWilliam was furthest away, Luna in his arms. Ophelia took a step back toward me without hesitation, back into the city, but then a sudden variation on the Force spell fired by the pope shoved her back.

Clementus was already touching his crosier to the gate.

I thought about risking eldritch magicabout tearing through the pinning spellbut the look in Clementuss eyes stopped me. He met my gaze with a light smile as the gate closed. The metal doors snapped together as fast as they had opened. Even if the seal took a minute to fully re-knit, no one could slip through now.

But the strangest thing in all of it was the pope himselfhe stayed with me inside the city.

Behind us, I heard screeching as the burning patrol died in the golden flame. The paladin and guards died alongside them, using sacrificial magic. Ahead, I could hear banging as the rest tried to pry the gate open from the other side.

Then the nails released me.

I stood, staring at Clementus in a mix of confusion and anger.

I would like to call in that favor, he said with a mild humor in his voice.

Thats a big fucking favor.

Thats a big fucking sacrificeto give up a true saints blood for a friend of the opposing factions leader. He shrugged. You owe me a big favor. And all I need is a quick detour.

No use saving Luna if theyll be killed staying at the gate.

They wont be let into the city. They can bang all they want. Assuming theyre not idiots, theyll move to the corridors and wait there in safety. Are your friends idiots?

No.

Then no worries.

I tilted my head. So whats the favor?

He looked toward the mansions visible on the stone shelf beyond the walls.

I need an escort.

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