Headed by a Snake

Well over a hundred on-lookers were crowded around the area.

There were people of every nationality, and persons of different races and species. It was a demonstration of Guild Invictus' binding power-- as well as the threat posed to all by the ever-increasing dragon-worshipper empire.

Zashleigh Yates saw it for the briefest of moments, but she was certain she saw the fluffy blue fur of an Iredar!

She'd always wanted to meet an Iredar...

But more important things were at hand.

The crowd had gathered around the olive-skinned teenager-- the girl that had put down the entirety of Alpha Squad by herself.

The white-robed girl had her arms crossed, was impatiently tapping a sandaled foot... and was looking right at her.

"More of you?" she groaned, "How many Witchlings do I have to put down before Sapphira realizes her stupidity?"

The crowd began to shout and stomp their feet. The haughty, white-robed girl raised her arms, basking in both praise and bawdry mockery.

"Stars and stones, she's enjoying this," Heartsong muttered.

"Hey, Heartsong, do you think I'd look good wearing bracelets like that?" Dessi asked-- "the ones on her hands and feet."

"No comment," the elf frowned.

Dessi turned to her-- "Zash?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, Dessi," Zash frowned, "but you don't make enough coin to pull off that look."

"And how do I *not* take that the wrong way!?" Dessi snapped.

"None of us make that kind of coin," Heartsong reassured her.

Zash sensed sudden movement out of her peripheral vision.

Mana.

The very air around her was shimmering with mana.

She raised her physical shield, activating the defensive Formation she scrawled into its back, and even layered it with her own quickened ⌈Barrier⌋.

Something hit.

Zash didn't see what it was, but the impact broke through her magical defense's outer layer, crashing violently onto the inside.

She dropped to a knee as the force drove her downward.

Her shield arm felt numb and her entire body was shaking.

She felt sick to her stomach-- but she didn't sense any weird Spell effects.

It was a Spell, though.

And its raw strength was what rocked her world.

Zash shakily got back to her feet, glad the dust in the air hid her silhouette.

When it cleared, the bracelet-girl slowly lowered her casting arm, "Hoh?"

She was surprised. That was good.

Zash swallowed the bile in the back of her throat before speaking.

"You can't just use force to get what you want," she growled.

"Congratulations for being the first to block my Wind Bullet," the olive-skinned diva said with a bored voice. "Oh, sorry-- did you say something, just now? I wasn't listening."

Zash grit her teeth, "I said... I'm. Still. Standing, BITCH!!"

It felt good to say.

The entire crowd, Witches, men and monsters, alike; everyone shut their mouths and paid attention. That was *exactly* the kind of respect Zash deserved.

Only a few suns back, she was humbled on the field-- but that was a once-in-a-lifetime exception. Zashleigh Yates was NOT a humble woman! She was the baddest b*tch in the Tower, next to Chief Executive Badass Bella gods-damned Sapphira.

She was a Spellbreaker-- one of the rarest Classes in the Realm! And that meant--

"Oi, where are you two going?"

Decemberleigh and Heartsong were sneaking away.

"Oh... you know," Dessi said. "It looks like you got the situation handled!"

Did it, really?! It didn't feel like it!

"Is something wrong?" Heartsong said, tilting her head. "You need space if you're going to fight that person, no?"

Yes, that was true! But to Zash, it looked and felt like she was being abandoned~!!

"Looks like your friends are smarter than you are," mocked Bracelet Bitch.

That was only half true. Heartsong passed Necronomics just fine.

"Listen up, Princess," Zash began. "Since I'm the highest-rank Witch present, I can probably help you with--"

"⌈Wind Bullet⌋."

Again! Zash was ready, though-- or so she thought.

She activated a third defensive layer, drawn in the sand, and she primed her Beithir Blaster to allow for a quick counter-attack.

All three of her layers shattered almost simultaneously.

Zash tried to stand fast, powering her legs with mana, her stance reinforced with an incredibly situational Spell called ⌈Rock of the Earth⌋...

She ended up tumbling backward like a circus clown, skinning both her knees, as well as her left elbow.

That... was the power difference between the crazy lady's ⌈Wind Bullet⌋ with and without a verbal component.

And the worst part about it? Zash identified the Spell as essentially an uber-powered First-Circle Spell!

--wait, a First-Circle Spell?

Zash rolled backward one more time with the momentum, propping herself up to stand with her staff. It was hard to stifle the grin crossing her face.

Bracelet Bitch was ridiculously powerful... and her casting speed was downright terrifying-- but her magic's simplicity would be her downfall.

And the reason?

Her opponent was a gods-danmed Spellbreaker.

The olive-skinned woman scowled in disgust, "Ugh, very well. You have earned the right to speak. Your name?"

Zash swallowed her saliva.

...It tasted like copper.

She had internal bleeding. That was not welcome news.

"As I was saying... my name is Senior Witch Zashleigh Yates."

"You will take me to the man named Tycondrius, Senior Bitch Yates, wherever that coward is hiding."

A sharp pain jolted through the side of Zash's head.

The spoiled noble brat wanted to see the Commander?

--and more than that, she called him a coward? That was more than a little annoying...

"Put her down, Squad Leader!" yelled Dessi, her voice cutting through the murmur of the crowd. "This is our camp! You can't let her walk around like she owns the place!"

"Shhh!" Heartsong immediately shushed her senior, "Not now, Gilchrist."

Zash *really* needed to get that elf promoted, as soon as possible.

And maybe Dessi needed to be hit in the face with a ⌈Silence⌋ hammer.

The crowd was huge-- with witnesses in the hundreds; Zash's actions were absolutely going to be heard all across the Sol Invictus alliance.

Worse still, the woman with her head up her own ass was definitely not human. And non-humans tended to be highly sensitive about the way humans treated *other* non-humans.

"With all due respect," Zash started, "may I have your name and rank, so I can properly pass along your message?"

The olive-skinned woman closed her eyes. She didn't look pleased... but after she took a deep breath, she groaned and shook her head.

"War Princess Cassiopeia of Charm," she said. "And as for my message, inform that person that I'm going to tear out his fangs and drive mana spikes throughout the length of his spine."

Zash narrowed her eyes.

Though she personally had trouble dealing with the Commander, he was someone she respected-- and that had been the case for a very long time.

Sir Tycon played an integral part in Zeta Squad's mission in Making-- and, on top of that, he'd even saved her life. Zash could *not*, in good conscience, lead a venomous snake to his doorstep.

[We're covering you Zash,] Heartsong said through their mental connection, [just give us a signal.]

Zash crossed her arms and shifted uneasily. She needed to appease the Free Nation Princess, but giving her what she wanted was out of the question.

[Stay your wand, Heartsong. I'd rather we avoid an international incident. For now, let's count on my defensive magics.]

[Hey, Zash,] came Dessi's voice, [who's going to take over if you die?]

A smirk found its way to Zashleigh's mouth, [Why, you are, dear sister.]

[Um. Please survive,] Dessi replied.

Zash snapped her head up.

The Princess's eyes were aglow-- and she was furious.

She shot her hand forward at a speed Zashleigh's human eyes could barely comprehend.

⌈Wind Bullet⌋

It came.

And another.

And then a third.

[Zash!!] Dessi yelled-- mentally, [Zash, we're coming!!]

[Not yet, Gilchrist!] Coraline warned.

The crowd had grown quiet again. The successive casting kicked up a whole lot of dust.

"How boring," the War Princess said. She planted her feet and turned to face the crowd, "it seems I've run out of opposition."

Zash quaffed her emergency healing potion before swiping her shield to cast a quick ⌈Dust Clear⌋.

"That's interesting," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "because I've just run out of patience."

"You... insolent," Cassiopeia snarled in anger, "f*cking--"

Zash wasn't about to let her finish. She charged mana into her legs and crossed the distance with ⌈Shield Charge⌋.

Then, she cordially introduced Bracelet Bitch to her Beithir Blaster.

The tip of the magical staff was stopped by Cassiopeia's ⌈Mana Ward⌋, but a bolt of lightning and a peal of thunder shattered that into a dozen pieces.

"You B*TCH!!!!" Cassiopeia shouted, instilling mana into her f*cking voice.

A basic, unfocused blast of mana launched Zash up and away.

She didn't want to give the Princess distance, though; Cassiopeia seemed to be the type of mage that preferred to fight at range.

Zash immediately abandoned her shield, activating a function to briefly stop its movement in mid-air. Then she bounded off of it with her legs and attacked the Princess from above.

The staff swing met with... Cassiopeia's magic hair, which had struck out like a bundle of standing snakes.

That... was a little unexpected.

[Zash!] Coraline's voice rang in her head, [Don't look directly into her eyes!!]

Oh. Oh, no. The situation was even worse than Zash had imagined.

",