I think about turning the other way, but feel a weird dryness in the air that quickly turns to burning heat. On instinct I dive forward and land near the fountain—the next second a massive explosion booms behind me, its shockwave making me stagger. Out of the corner of my eye I catch green flames. It hits me that I just nearly died.

  Can't stay in one place, reflects clearly in my head. In normal circumstances I'd be scared and go into shock, but the stimulant dampens all such emotions, leaving only cold calculation.

  I jump to the left and look to where I think the enemy is, firing at the same time. The enemy dodges with a roll and stands in the middle of the stairs. I examine him closely: a tall man, his head completely covered by a large dark green helmet, a cloak of the same color on his back, bare torso, tight leather pants on his legs.

  Wow, Boar actually looked normal... If this is his magical attire and not a strip club outfit, I have many questions, I thought. So, the opponent is Helmet.

  "Whoa, you're riding the bat!" the man said in a friendly tone, his voice muffled by the helmet. "Good to meet another fan. Used to be on it myself but been clean four years now. Too bad the knight's code bans substances. Yeah, I'm temporarily kicked from the guild, but I still rock the faction helmet and follow the laws! When I get back I'll proudly say I never strayed from knightly ideals. And I'll definitely add cleansing your drug-poisoned soul to my achievements—"

  I aim at Helmet's heart and fire two bullets—first at the target, second with delay at the point where he should dodge, based on logical calculations. He likes pointless chatter, that's a positive factor.

  The knight manages to dodge the heart shot. He moves in my predicted direction... but very awkwardly, causing the second bullet to hit the helmet instead of his solar plexus. There's a small flash, the helmet's side caves inward and the man barely keeps his footing.

  Seems the bullet damaged the helmet's magical protection. Jane didn't mention they could do that too.

  "YOU BASTARD RAT!" the knight screamed furiously, all friendliness vanishing from his voice. "How am I supposed to return to the guild with a dented helmet?! Everyone will say I'm worthless, couldn't keep the faction's main relic intact. You'll pay for this, asshole. IN THE NAME OF THE FORMER KNIGHT OF THE GREEN HELMET, I DECLARE YOU UNHOLY! Initially I planned to be merciful and give you a painless death, but now I'll dent your head the same way—"

  I shoot again, aiming for his kneecap. Helmet stretches his hands forward and a flat yellow field forms in front of him, "absorbing" the bullet. Crossing his arms, he splits the field and transforms it into several pulsating clusters that immediately fly towards me. I manage to calculate their trajectory and barely dodge, almost falling into the fountain.

  Shit, only ten bullets left in the magazine. Why the hell did I take this raid so casually?!

  I mentally thank Jane for forcing me to take the pill, otherwise I'd be dead by now.

  Helmet leaps down the stairs in one bound and raises his right hand back—a massive white mace appears in it, as long as his own height. I understand that the situation has turned sharply in his favor—impossible to block this monster with a pistol.

  Time to bail and catch up with Jane, can't deviate from her strategy, I realize.

  Helmet charges forward with a wide swing of his weapon. At the last second I jump aside—the mace destroys the fountain wall, water spilling onto the ground.

  Without looking back, I try to dash for the stairs, but Helmet uses three explosive fire spells at once, forcing me to jump back.

  "YOU WON'T ESCAPE, PIECE OF UNHOLY SHIT!" he yelled, winding up for another strike.

  I manage to duck and roll forward, but due to its size, the mace partially hits my back. Thanks to the stimulant, I only feel a slight tingling in my lower back, but I can imagine how much it really hurts. Hope nothing's broken.

  I straighten up, run back to the fountain and end up right against it. Turning my head slightly I see Helmet taking another running start and winding up.

  Damn it, he won't hit the wall a second time.

  I quickly look around—nearby is only the corpse of that man with the blown-off head. His shotgun catches my attention, though water-soaked it's physically intact.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  No way am I dying today.

  I sprint for the corpse, grab the shotgun and charge the knight, swinging it to counter his mace. The shotgun shatters and the head catches me in the chest, leaving a scratch. I fly backward into the fountain's center and splash into the water, but stay alive—which was the whole point of the counter. By some miracle the Glock stays dry.

  "So why aren't you using your fierce magic that took everyone out here? Or does it only work on weaklings, can't handle equals?" Helmet burst out laughing, juggling his mace.

  "Here's your magic, asshole," I yell, following my tried and true plan of firing two bullets. He dodges the one that flies at his heart, but the second one hits his helmet again, denting his face and throwing him off balance again.

  "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!!!!!!!" I scream at the top of my lungs, using the seconds gained... But she doesn't appear.

  "You piece of shit," Helmet snarls. "Can't win so you're just being a pain in the ass before you die? I'll crush your fucking head into your neck.

  He charges to attack, I react and throw a large chunk of stone from the fountain wall at his mace. This lets me dodge and run back to some distance.

  Fuck, he doesn't give any breathing room. I can dodge two or three more times, then he'll get me. Need to think of something fast. Since I can wound him in the helmet, I should be able to make a serious wound.

  When the man starts running again, I suddenly realize that he always runs straight ahead and strikes in the same style. The logical calculations that followed immediately gave me an idea.

  I bend my knees slightly and aim carefully at his arm. When Helmet is almost at the point of impact and has already lowered his mace, I make a small roll to the right. When I land directly behind the knight, I shoot him in the elbow.

  Blood sprays, Helmet drops his weapon with a scream and grabs the wound with his other hand.

  "FUUUUUUUUUCK!!!! YOU VERMIN!" he roars with insane rage.

  Five fiery explosions follow. I dodge most of them, but the flames catch my left leg—hurts like hell.

  Happy about my luck, I try to run back, but suddenly the knight jumps at me and throws me onto the stairs with a punch. I hit my head hard on the steps, vision going blurry.

  What a bastard.

  Before I can recover, I see my opponent looming over me, preparing to smash my face. I manage to roll left—the strike destroys the step.

  I jump from my knees to my feet and run for the entrance to the mansion, but another fiery explosion explodes right in front of me, knocking me back to the ground and burning my arm.

  "This is the end for you, unholy one!" Helmet shouted triumphantly, grabbing my neck and raising his fist to strike.

  ~ Chime.

  My face was about to become mush when suddenly a figure flashes behind Helmet. In the next second someone yanks his shoulder and throws him back with insane force. The knight slams into the path in front of the stairs with a crunch.

  "About damn time, it hasn't even been..."

  My vision focuses and the words stop—instead of Jane, I see an unfamiliar girl hovering slightly in the air. She's quite short, wearing a short white dress and black-and-white striped stockings, but what draws most attention are her snow-white hair in two pigtails and turquoise eyes unnatural for a human.

  Her expression is so haughty that Jane's arrogance now seems like kindness. Her presence alone is somehow psychologically oppressive, and when our eyes meet, I literally feel like dirt.

  After several seconds of staring, which for me stretches into hours, the stimulant breaks the spell and I regain my clarity of thought.

  Interest in her eyes and hair vanishes, I focus entirely on her height. Jane's words come to mind about Caroline destroying some company over an employee's small joke about it. Connecting these facts, I shudder.

  Is this really her...? But where's Jane then? If they've already fought, what was the outcome? And what the hell do I do?! many questions fill my head. I remember Caroline's nickname, so I decide not to make any sudden moves. I guess if she wanted me dead, she wouldn't have saved me.

  The girl shifts her gaze from my face to my right wrist where the bracelet is. After brief examination she snorts.

  "Stay down," she says authoritatively, turning her back. Her voice is sweet enough, but I clearly get it—this is an order that can't be disobeyed.

  The girl stretches, flexes her arms and slowly floats down to Helmet. The knight still hasn't recovered from landing and barely stays on his knees.

  "You can't imagine how deeply you've disappointed me, Paul," her extremely stern voice sounds.

  "Princess, why did you—"

  "I didn't permit you to open your mouth, worthless one. And second, are you really so stupid you don't understand why?"

  So this really is Caroline. And the name Paul definitely doesn't suit this idiot. WHERE IS JANE?!?!?!

  "Princess, f-forgive me if I somehow messed up. But I truly don't understand what you m-mean," Paul started stuttering, his voice trembling with fear.

  "Too bad for you, I'm not surprised. You think I'd ally with a mage who can't even kill a normal human in a few minutes, and loses to him in a fight?"

  "Normal human?! Princess, you're mistaken! That guy is an incredibly strong, crazy and unstoppable mage. Look how he turned all the guards into mincemeat—"

  He doesn't finish the phrase—Caroline kicks him in the head and he flies back in a somersault. The helmet dents for the third time.

  "You think I can't tell bullet holes from cuts made by a damn scythe? Answer the question, worthless one."

  The knight pulls his body up with a wheeze and returns to his knees.

  "Princess, forgive the m-misunderstanding. I have no doubts about your brilliant mind, you're one of the smartest people on the planet. Of course such a great sorceress can't possibly ally with a pathetic mage unable to defeat a normal human. But please don't think I fought him at full strength. I was just playing with the stupid weakling, that was obvious."