The fight was heading exactly where I had feared from the start.
A battle of attrition. Who runs out first.
And in that contest, Thalia's summon Leena was losing miserably.
Her firing speed had slowed considerably. She was conserving aura now—the fundamental resource behind every arrow she launched. Each shot drained her further and she couldn't afford to waste any.
Meanwhile, Vaelis was closing in. Faster than before. He had grown so accustomed to this rhythm that I actually saw him yawn.
YAWN.
Mid-combat.
He even released one grip on his saber, letting the blade rotate lazily from momentum alone while he stretched his jaw.
The arrogance was suffocating.
The prince spoke up. Playful. Mocking. "What happened? Why aren't you using your ultimate move?"
He knew exactly why. Leena's sacrifice beam would be useless. Vaelis could simply block it with his relentless saber attacks. Sure, there would be some explosion damage but not nearly enough to bring down a B-rank summon.
Thalia clicked her tongue.
TSK.
"Leena! Shoot frost arrows on their path! Make the whole ground hard to move on!"
Leena kept firing even as she responded.
"Master, it will consume most of my remaining aura, and I am—"
"Just do as I say!"
Leena obeyed.
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
Frost arrows began raining down on Vaelis's approach path. Ice spread across the ground wherever they landed. Creating a treacherous, slippery surface.
But Vaelis moved with pure arrogance.
He didn't bother taking a longer route to avoid the ice. He walked straight through it.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Every step shattered the frozen surface beneath his boots. He even jumped further ahead at one point planting one saber into the ice as a pivot, launching himself forward, and crushing down on the frozen ground with deliberate force.
The prince didn't follow that path. He stayed there only, safely within Vaelis's protective frame. Smart.
Then Thalia shouted.
"NOW, Leena!"
The elven archer sprinted to the right. Creating space. Creating an angle to aim directly at the prince himself as she had successfully created a gap between the master and his summon.
She ran fast. Shooting basic arrows at Vaelis to keep him occupied.
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
He was sluggish now. The ice had slowed him slightly. And he had to focus on protecting his master rather than advancing.
But the prince just smiled.
He knew this was a useless attack.
They both turned toward Leena. Watched her reposition. Watched her not use her ultimate move despite having the perfect angle now.
Instead, she channeled all her remaining energy into a single arrow.
It was massive. Three times as long as her basic projectiles. Glowing with concentrated aura.
FWOOOOSH!
She released it.
The prince shouted. "VAELIS!"
The swordsman reacted instantly. Not with his body but with his weapon.
He hurled his black saber—Waning with tremendous force.
WHOOOOSH!
The throw was so powerful that crushed ice from the ground went flying in its wake.
The shot was precise. Impossibly precise.
CLANG!
The black blade struck the side of the massive arrow. Tore it apart from the middle.
The projectile shattered. Dispersed into harmless fragments of fading aura.
The prince smiled triumphantly. Turned toward Thalia to deliver his mockery.
"So this was your trick—"
He stopped.
Because Thalia wasn't there anymore.
"MASTER! ON YOUR RIGHT!"
Vaelis's scream came too late.
The prince whipped his head around.
Thalia was already charging. A dagger in her hand. Pointed directly at him.
I blinked.
'Is this the Eren Effect? Is she copying me?'
I looked down at the axe in my hand.
Before she could press the dagger against his throat and make him surrender or before she could do something truly insane and wound him—
SHING!
The dagger was gone.
A white blur had intercepted it. The silver saber—Waxing thrown with the same deadly precision as the black one. It struck the dagger perfectly. Sent a jolt of pain through Thalia's hand.
But instead of crying out, she smiled.
She grabbed the prince instead.
Locked her arms around him. Pinned him in place.
He hissed. "What are you doing?!"
Then he followed her gaze. And saw it.
A bright light. A beam of pure destruction streaking toward them.
Leena's sacrifice.
She had used the enhanced arrow as a decoy. The real attack was always going to be this her final move.
The prince trembled. Struggled. Put every ounce of strength into breaking free.
But Thalia didn't let him.
She held on. Ready to take whatever damage the beam would inflict on her too.
I was proud of her in that moment.
Genuinely proud.
Not only had she executed a double bluff, but she had thrown herself into the fight without hesitation. Without caring about the pain she would suffer.
She had improved so much since yesterday.
Fighting against a summon two ranks above her own. Analyzing every detail of her opponent. Recognizing that Vaelis was only powerful because of his sabers.
And now he had neither.
She was winning.
But then everything changed.
Vaelis moved.
Not toward Thalia. Not towards his master.
But Directly into the Beam's path.
"VAELIS! PROTECT ME!" The prince's desperate command.
And the loyal summon obeyed.
He threw himself in front of the beam. Stood there as the concentrated light tore into him.
CRACKLE! FZZZZZZT!
His mithril armor began burning. Evaporating. Melting away like cheap fabric under a furnace.
He screamed.
"AAAAARGHHHH!"
His body was seared. Charred. The final explosion threw him several meters away.
BOOM!
He crashed to the ground. Smoking. Barely recognizable.
And yet.
He was putting effort into standing back up.
That broken, burned summon was still trying to fight.
I looked at Thalia.
Her face had changed.
That same expression from yesterday. The horror. The defeat. The look of someone who had already given up.
She had completely surrendered.
And that made me furious.
The prince grinned. Freed from her loosened grip now.
"Vaelis. Make her beg. Make her surrender."
The charred swordsman rose. Unsteady. But determined.
He ran toward them with bare hands. No sabers. No armor. Just raw, desperate loyalty.
And that stupid elf just stood there.
Frozen.
Before Vaelis could reach her before he could scare her any further—
I stood up from my human seat.
"Zenos." A single command.
I began walking slowly toward the two cousins who were pissing me off.
FWOOOOOOSH!
A wall of fire erupted in front of the charging Vaelis. Cutting off his path completely.
When the flames settled into a controlled barrier, Zenos stood there.
Hands clasped behind his back. Eyes locked onto Vaelis with cold, absolute authority.
The message was clear.
'Move, and I will burn you alive.'
Vaelis froze. Stared in confusion. Unable to comprehend what had just happened.
But I had already walked past them all.
I was heading straight toward Thalia.
Ready to throw every curse I had at her.