Kai-Se knelt before An-Ri who growled at her busted arm. A faint plume of smoke curled into the air from her skin. "An-Ri, rest for a bit," he said, holding his necklace towards her face. "Please."

The fox spirit slapped it away. "I'll summon all my tails if I have to," she said. "I'm not leaving you here."

"Just for a while?" Kai-Se pleaded, his tone growing closer and closer sounding desperate. He looked back to see Nao-Zai parrying and advancing against the war god. Time. They needed a bit of time if he's going to get the soldier out of there. "You're not going to help anyone if you're tired."

An-Ri frowned. "Fine. Just for a short time."

The pendant shimmered orange as An-Ri's essence melted inside. Kai-Se turned to find Nao-Zai grunting as he held Gansai's sword back with his own. The war god was slowly gaining on him, forcing him back. Then, with a quick swipe, Nao-Zai fell to the ground, Gansai's leg sweeping from underneath. Kai-Se's breath hitched as he watched the god's golden sword swing in the air for Nao-Zai's neck.

Metal hit metal. Sparks lit the air orange. An isolated hairpin bounced on the tower's wooden floor before rolling to a stop at Kai-Se's feet. What...?

"You dodge well for a human," Gansai growled. Kai-Se raised his head to find Nao-Zai still parrying the god's attacks with his sword. "Shame on your hair, though."

The soldier sniffed. "It'll grow back," he said, lunging to catch the god's sword before it swung in a direction he couldn't anticipate.

True enough, as Kai-Se watched them trade blows, Nao-Zai's hair was scattered in all unknowable directions and clearly sheared so close to head. As much as Kai-Se wanted to say the soldier looked like a used mop, now wasn't the time for that. Kai-Se looked at the darkening sky and, for the first time, saw the thin web woven by Nishi just to keep them here until Xuijae receives word of his capture and the possible demand for ransom. He had to figure out how to break through that.

Just as his magic burned in his fingertips, a distinct cry rang behind him. He turned to see blood spray in the air and Nao-Zai stumbled back after dropping his sword which clattered to the ground. Gansai licked his lips knowing he'd already won. "You put up a good fight, human."

Then, the war god lunged. Kai-Se couldn't reach him in time. Nao-Zai growled as he dove forward, ducking the swinging sword aimed for his neck before tucking his body into a roll. He snatched the hilt of his fallen sword on his way back up. He brandished it with his left hand, the gaze he gave the god wasn't far from murderous.

Kai-Se had to leap back just as Nao-Zai lashed forward, slashing his sword with his non-dominant arm just as well as he would with his other one. His right arm hung useless at his side but his footsteps remained sure and steady as he held the war god back. "Kai-Se, any idea how we'll get out of here?" the soldier called.

"Yeah, I just need to break the web," Kai-Se summoned his magic and turned to the sky once more. It might not be enough to completely break through but all they needed was a small rip. That should be fine. "Nao-Zai, on my count—"

Gansai laughed as he smacked Nao-Zai across the face with the butt of his sword. The soldier crumpled to the ground. He was already bleeding from a dozen cuts along his arms, legs, and torso. His clothes hung in tatters and he managed to lose one shoe.

The god loomed over Nao-Zai with a manic grin. "Nishi said I could kill you if you draw my blood," he said, stepping back to draw a second sword from behind him. He leveled it in Nao-Zai's face who struggled to get up but failed. "Stop bothering, human. I will give you an honorable death."

Nao-Zai's face contorted into an angry scowl. "Don't give me that speech, old man."

Before the god could react, Nao-Zai lunged and kicked the god's hand. His sword flew into the air and Nao-Zai launched forward to catch it by the hilt just before it hit the ground. He swung it just in time to block the god's other sword from cleaving his head in half.

Kai-Se stood there, with his magic hot against his fingertips and An-Ri recuperating in his necklace. Something...

There must be something he could do.

He watched as the god drew his sword back and slammed it down. Nao-Zai's sword shattered. Then, the god drove his foot into the soldier's gut, cackling as he watched the soldier's frame sail into the air before knocking the door clean from its sliding hinges. A strangled cough and a distinct cracking sound rang from Nao-Zai.

"You're finished," Gansai raised his sword and dashed.

No! Kai-Se threw himself forward, his legs carrying him faster than he's ever had to run in his lifetime. He reached the god with no plan in mind. His magic flew past his fingers and flared in the god's face. Except it wasn't his magic. It was...

"An-Ri!" Kai-Se gasped. "I told you to rest!"

The fox spirit grunted against the force of the war god bearing down on her. Some cuts on her arms still haven't healed fully. "Get out of here," she said through gritted teeth. Bright light burned from her hands as she held a force field over her head. "I'll buy you time."

"What about you?" Kai-Se felt tears burn at the edge of his eyes. "I can't leave you here."

An-Ri smiled at him. "You wouldn't have a choice."

Kai-Se's feet lifted off the ground and before he could break out of the influence of her magic, she threw him off the balcony, with Nao-Zai's lumpy frame right after. The last thing he saw were orange lights erupting around An-Ri. She lunged at the roaring war god with all of her nine tails out. The central tower exploded in a haze of fire, electric pink sparks, and splinters of wood.

No!

The wind shoved Kai-Se and Nao-Zai down as they fell closer to the earth. With a grunt, Kai-Se gripped Nao-Zai's unconscious frame and directed the last of his magic towards the ground, summoning a breeze to cushion their fall. They hit the ground with enough force to rattle their joints but never to kill them, stirring dust and debris from broken cobblestones.

When it cleared, Kai-Se stared up at the heavens, searching for any sign of the ancestral spirit he had known since forever. A furry tail. A flap of the off-white fenhai she always wore. A flick of her white hair.

Nothing.

An-Ri was...

She's gone.

Nao-Zai stirred and pushed himself up. He surveyed his surroundings as a soldier would and, having confirmed he was on solid ground once more, turned to Kai-Se. "What happened?"

That sole question drove out the tears he had been holding back. Soon, his shoulders were shaking and he couldn't stop the sobs racking his body. She couldn't be gone. Not like that. She's An-Ri. She'd come back.

Wouldn't she?

No matter how much childish fantasy Kai-Se told himself, he knew the answer to that at the back of his mind. The pendant felt light against his collarbone. She was...she was gone.

Strong arms wrapped around him and he didn't fight it. Instead, he leaned against Nao-Zai's embrace even though his clothes smelled like blood and sweat. The soldier's warmth was enough to calm him down but not to numb the ache of losing An-Ri forming inside his gut.

Out. They needed to get out of here. That's what An-Ri sacrificed herself for. Kai-Se should at least honor her last wish. He broke free from Nao-Zai, wiped his tears with his wide sleeves, and stood up no matter how shaky his knees were. He raised his eyes to the heavens, letting his arms follow suit. Then, he drew from the residue of magic An-Ri had left and aimed to cast his one last spell.

"My, what have you done to Gansai," Nishi's voice rang through the fog suddenly present in the wide, Imperial City grounds. It cleared enough just as the entire council stepped through with all of their weapons drawn. "You will have to pay for that with your blood and the blood of your people. Gods are beings who wouldn't stand to disrespect."

Kai-Se lowered his hands and faced the council. "Just so you know," he said. "You're all disgusting and filthy."

He didn't know how he could fight eight gods when none of his allies could even hold their own against one. Nao-Zai knelt beside Kai-Se, holding his side like he's afraid his guts would spill over from his wound if he didn't. An-Ri died by buying them time. There's no way he'd be able to get out of this pickle alive with just his stories.

The gods angled their weapons. A conch horn blew, its sound sweeping over the compound. From the walls, tiny figures dressed in armor and bearing weapons of all kinds, dropped into the courtyard, screaming at the top of their lungs. The gods looked at each other, lowering their weapons in confusion.

"W-what is this?" Nishi sputtered, digging his spectacles deeper into the bridge of his nose just to attempt to see the charging horde. "Why is the Liberation Army here?"

Nao-Zai chuckled from beside Kai-Se. He looked down to see the soldier grinning. "Looks like Gang-Sen made it inside, after all."

Then, from all around Kai-Se, the rebellion crashed against the council and a whole new kind of pandemonium began.