Inej faces Dunyasha on the cathedral roof, better prepared than in their first encounter. Padding sewn into Inej’s clothes by Jesper stops Dunyasha’s throwing star, and Inej uses the familiar roofline and acrobatic movement to distract Dunyasha and cut both of the mercenary’s calves.

Dunyasha claims she is an agent of justice, chosen to destroy criminals like Inej. The accusation forces Inej to confront her own guilt over theft and killing, but Inej decides innocence is a luxury her Saints do not require. Inej recommits to survival and refuses Dunyasha’s belief that Inej should serve her in death.

The duel intensifies as Dunyasha switches weapons and uses superior training and reach to wound Inej’s arm and ribs. Remembering Kaz’s advice to look for tells, Inej notices that Dunyasha takes a deep breath before attacking. Inej uses that pattern to dodge, wound Dunyasha repeatedly, and drive a blade beneath Dunyasha’s chest guard.

Dunyasha, bleeding heavily but still proud, pretends to honor Inej as a worthy opponent. Instead, Dunyasha blinds Inej with red dust and presses the attack, cutting Inej’s forearm and knuckles while trying to force Inej over the roof’s edge. Nearly defeated, Inej realizes that Ketterdam’s rooftops, born from her suffering and survival, are now her home and her advantage.

Inej lures Dunyasha onto a loose piece of metal scrollwork. Dunyasha slips, loses her footing, and falls silently from the cathedral roof to her death below. Inej offers a brief prayer for Dunyasha’s next life, then hurries to the chapel with Jesper’s rifle, only to find Jesper missing and realize she may be too late for the next part of the plan: Kuwei Yul-Bo has to die tonight.