Between the aisles and shipping containers, bullet trails of blue, red, and yellow wheezed past the single fluorescent lightbulb that lit up the centre. Gale watched the magical gunfight, entranced by the spectacle of magic bullets flying through the space.

  The AK spewed out blue bullets that trailed to Ollie's. Red Jacket's pistol shot bullets that ignited the air. Ollie, on the other hand, only shot normal rounds from his two big pistols. It was like a higher adrenaline Harry Potter fight scene. And now, the outfits they wore made sense.

  Red Jacket's coat glowed whenever he fired a bullet. Ether connected from the coat and into the trigger. Based on the ether pattern, the coat helped with the activation of the fire bullet.

  A shipping container flew through the air into the aisle where Ollie took cover from. Tank Top quickly dashed behind another container. Looks like all that muscle wasn't for show, and the muscles themselves had ether patterns.

  Ollie dodged, sliding behind a concrete barrier. He moved differently from what Gale remembered. Before, in the dark forest, the boy moved slower and grounded himself more to aim at enemies. Now, he moved efficiently, dashing in and out of cover from aisle to aisle to shipping containers.

  "You're insane!" Red Jacket shouted. "This was our operation!"

  "Correction: it was my operation that you borrowed without asking." The marble spun faster, pitching up the whine and creating a translucent gray orb around Ollie. "Though I still do like your distribution network. Very clean. Very professional. Very demure."

  "Enough of this shit!" Tank Top swatted away the shipping container he hid in and charged at Ollie. In the blink of an eye, he caught up, took the AK in his hand, and swung it like a club.

  "Such hostility," Ollie simply stepped aside. "And here I was offering you a legitimate business opportunity."

  Red Jacket's rounds swam across the aisle, superheated air igniting cardboard and pallets. "You think we're stupid? This is a setup!"

  Sweat started beading again on Gale's forehead. This time, not from the tension. More from the superheated air that was getting shot everywhere.

  "A setup?" Ollie laughed. The marble orbited around him to deflect another fire bullet. "If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd have simply let the UK raid this place next week."

  Tank Top hesitated and stopped his charge. "The UK? What do you mean next week?"

  "Oh, did I say that out loud?" Ollie's smile widened as he sidestepped another burst of flame bullets. "My apologies. That was supposed to be confidential information."

  Red Jacket's crew had started to fall back toward the exit, their shots becoming more sporadic. "He's playing with us! Just like he plays with everyone!"

  "Playing?" A blue outline enveloped Ollie as he floated to the top of the aisle. "I assure you, my offer was quite genuine. Well, until you started shooting at me. That rather soured the negotiations."

  Tank Top's men maintained their positions. Their boss stood below the aisle Ollie had gotten on, still holding on to the AK like a club. "Why are you really here, Glory?"

  "Finally, a reasonable question." Ollie walked back to the centre of the warehouse, floating down to where the single fluorescent light covered. He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the whole warehouse. "I'm here because you showed initiative. Intelligence. The ability to operate without drawing attention. Those are valuable traits in my line of work."

  "Shut up! Just shut up and die!" Red Jacket fired another burst, the rounds curving and homing in on Ollie.

  The gray marble spun and orbited faster, and the orb of gray around him became more opaque. Bullets curved around the gray orb, ricocheting off the concrete walls. "Now that's just rude. I'm trying to offer you a promotion, and you respond with violence?"

  Gale saw the change in the air before the bullets hit the shield. The gray marble didn't just deflect bullets. It seemed to bend or distort the air around to deflect projectiles away, similar to a Leidenfrost effect.

  Tank Top's eyes darted between Red Jacket and Ollie. "What kind of promotion?"

  "The kind that comes with benefits, health insurance, dental plan, hazard pay, and a significantly reduced chance of being arrested by the UK next week." Ollie smiled. "Though I suppose that last part might be off the table now."

  "You're lying! Everything you say is a lie!" Red Jacket shouted, emptying his Glock in Ollie's direction.

  "I prefer to think of it as selective truth-telling," Ollie's grey marble swatted away the oncoming bullets. "For instance, I wasn't lying about the UK raid. That's happening regardless of how this plays out."

  Tank Top raised his AK again by the barrel, but the shaking and tremors were on full display. "Why tell us this? Why come here at all?"

  "Because I believe in second chances," Ollie said, "and because you've demonstrated real potential. The question is: what are you going to do with that potential?"

  The warehouse fell silent for a moment. Neither of the crews moved. Red Jacket's stood by the exit door while Tank Top's men pressed their backs against the aisles they're using as cover.

  "Last chance," Ollie straightened out his tie. "We can end this peacefully, discuss terms like professionals. Or..."

  Ollie paused briefly as the grey marble stopped orbiting and spun at the top of his head. "We can continue this rather one-sided exchange of gunfire, but the other way around."

  Another drop of sweat dripped onto Gale's chin. It dropped. When it hit the concrete floor again, the fight continued.

  Red Jacket emptied another magazine onto Ollie's position as his answer. Tank Top charged again, barreling down against the concrete barrier and warehouse aisles.

  "Pity," Ollie floated back up onto an aisle, dodging Tank Top's charge and deflecting all of the flame bullets. "I really did have an excellent benefits package in mind."

  But before Ollie could draw his gun, a shot from one of the suited men on the catwalk barked. High caliber rounds from the sounds of it, but it only managed to graze Ollie's cheeks. Blood dripped down his face as he took cover behind another aisle.

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  "I was wondering when you'd join the party," Ollie said, touching the cut. "Path agents, right? AWP and Bizon man. Care to tell me who's fingers you're sucking on?"

  The agent with the AWP fired again. The shot shattered crates behind where Ollie had been standing a split second before. His gray marble spun faster, creating a whine that increased in pitch until it could no longer be heard.

  The second Path agent opened fire with his Bizon. Double drums glowed with glyphs whenever a bullet escaped the barrel. The rounds curved through the air, leaving trails of blue and homing in on Ollie.

  "Such enthusiasm!" Ollie slid away from his cover and into a concrete barrier. The bullets bit into the concrete, momentum stopping. "But you guys need to mind your manners. I was in the middle of a business proposal."

  Suddenly, the glass shattered from above. Two figures crashed through the skylight. A man in riot guard armour, except metal and blue gilded at the edges, wielded a bastard sword. The other was a woman in similar armour who gripped a mace covered in glowing script. Their cloak finally gone, Gale could see them clearly.

  "Aqua prodire!" the swordsman shouted. Water coalesced around his blade as he dropped toward Tank Top's crew.

  "Auxilium confirma!" the woman's mace blazed with golden light, casting against the Red Jacket's men by the exit.

  "United Knights too?" Ollie laughed, ducking between two shipping containers. "From the 24th order! This is turning into quite the party!"

  Tank Top's men scattered as the water flooded against their position. On the other hand, Red Jacket's crew scattered to take cover near the shipping containers as a yellow light covered the exit door.

  It was similar to Annett's magic, but also different.

  "Goddammit all! This is your fault! Security my ass!" Red Jacket shouted.

  "Corpus aquam!" The swordsman's blade unleashed a wave that knocked three of Tank Top's men off their feet. Water snaked around their limbs and froze onto the concrete, binding them.

  The AWP agent had put his barrel on the railing. Shots fired at any of Tank Top's men who tried to peek. Bizon agent emptied a magazine at Red Jacket's crew, herding them towards the centre where the only single light source shone.

  "You know!" Ollie shouted. "This could have been avoided with a simple 'yes' to my offer!"

  The mace woman swung at Tank Top himself. He blocked with his AK, but the rifle shattered in two instead. Golden energy wrapped around him, slowing his movements to a crawl.

  "Sanctus velocitas!" The swordsman blurred forward. His blade sliced Red Jacket's remaining men's guns, disarming them in one swift motion.

  "Mr. Glory!" Tank Top shouted. "We accept! We'll take the deal!"

  "Bit late for that," Ollie replied, his marble blurred into a gray orb surrounding himself, deflecting another magazine from the Bizon. "Besides, I don't think my new friends here are interested in negotiations anymore."

  Red Jacket sprinted for the exit covered in yellow. The swordsman's water whip caught his legs, yanking him back.

  "The United Knights send their regards," the knight said, freezing Red Jacket's hands onto the floor.

  "Speaking of friends," Ollie continued, rolling under the mace woman's swing, "you Path agents are quite persistent. But those Glory-tech weapons? A bit obvious, don't you think? Let me guess who it is. Lennard's gang?"

  Ollie jumped into another concrete barrier by a shipping container. The grey marble hovered above his head.

  "Tempus tardus!" The macewoman's spell caught three more of Tank Top's crew in golden stasis. The swordsman's water constructs wrapped around them, slamming them down onto the concrete and freezing.

  The AWP agent lined up another shot, but Ollie was already moving. The marble spun onto the trajectory of the high caliber round. A bright flash of spark lit up the entire clearing.

  "But you're all missing the bigger picture," Ollie said. "If you wanted to investigate my operations, you could have just asked!"

  The mace woman shouted, "Glory Industries is under investigation for illegal weapons distribution and dust trafficking! Halt now! You're under arrest!"

  Another high-caliber round from the AWP sang past Ollie's ear, close enough to ruffle his hair. He clicked his tongue, sliding between containers as the Bizon agent unleashed another barrage on the other side of the walkway.

  "Aqua vinculum!" The swordsman whipped his sword in a circle, water spiralling outward. The liquid formed chains, snaking toward Ollie's position.

  The marble reacted, spinning and orbiting onto the oncoming water, scattering into mist. Ollie emerged from the vapor like a stage magician, straightening his tie.

  "Tempus carcer!" The macewoman slammed her weapon into the ground. Golden light snaked in a zigzag across the floor.

  Ollie's smile broke as he backpedalled. Grey marble embedded itself onto the snaking golden light, stopping it from spreading. "Shit. The one with the mace was the resonant."

  Mace swung at the ground again. Golden waves of light rippled across the warehouse floor. Ollie jumped up to the remaining aisle that stood.

  The macewoman followed, jumping on to the aisle and making chase. Ollie ducked the mace but got caught by a wave of light. Grey marble shot back out from the ground and raced to Ollie's side. The waves of golden light dissipated as the translucent gray orb appeared to cover him.

  The AWP agent pulled out a purple glyphed magazine from his pocket and inserted it into the rifle. One shot and a boom of shockwave followed the bullet.

  Grey marble sparked and exploded in front of Ollie. Bullet bit into his shoulder, not coming out the other way. The marble had taken most of the stopping power.

  "Getting sloppy, Glory!"

  "Shit," Ollie muttered, blood seeping through his suit jacket.

  On the other side of the warehouse, Tank Top threw a wild punch at the swordsman. Water coiled around the knight's bastard sword as he deflected the blow.

  "Your resistance is futile," the knight said. "Aqua catena!"

  Water chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Tank Top's legs. The big man launched onto the warehouse's walls. The water froze before he could fall to the ground.

  Red Jacket tried to use the distraction. Shot at the warehouse's glass window.

  However, the macewoman had already appeared beside him. One strike to the chest and Red Jacket was engulfed in a yellow stasis. "Not today, criminal. You're under arrest."

  The Path agent with the Bizon unleashed another spray of homing rounds. But instead of targeting Ollie, the bullets curved toward the macewoman, forcing her to break off her assault.

  "What?" She raised her weapon, covering her head with the mace. The mace deflected the bullets. Others punched through the unarmoured joints. "You dare betray the alliance?"

  The Path agent smirked.

  The swordsman's head snapped toward the catwalks. "Helena, move!"

  The AWP barked two more times. Two shockwaves followed each bullet. One round punched through Helena's thigh armour. The other punched straight through her shoulder. She stumbled. Golden script on her mace flickered.

  "Gabriel!" she called out as she fell to one knee. "The Path! They're in collusion!"

  "Aqua tempestas!" Gabriel burst into motion. A torrent of water surged upward, knocking both Path agents off the catwalk.

  The Bizon agent caught himself on a lower railing, but the AWP user crashed hard onto the warehouse floor. Gabriel's water froze, pinning them both before they could recover.

  "Tempus vincula!" Helena thrust her mace forward, light chains materializing around Ollie. "You won't escape justice, Glory!"

  The marble was gone. There was nothing else that could protect Ollie. "Justice? Please. This was never about justice."

  Golden energy crackled along the chains, slowly constricting around Ollie.

  "In nomine regis," Helena began the final incantation, "tempus career-"

  A black blur dropped from the shadows above. A glint of the flat of a sword littered with circuits flashed against the single fluorescent light. The flat slammed onto Helena's flank, launching her into the wall beside the exit. The golden waves of light scattered as all light chains in the warehouse broke one by one as rubble from the concrete wall fell on her.

  Ollie's eyes widened as he looked up at him as he held on to his bleeding shoulder. "What the… Gale? Aren't you dead?"

  Gale looked at each group one by one, not sure whether he was doing the right thing or not. So what? His friend was in danger.

  - 400/400 Followers - PASSED. New goal -> 500

  3 chapters will release tomorrow instead of two.

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