Compromise

“Soul of Domination: Sidewinder Arrow.”

When Bianca chanted those words, Roz wasn’t sure what to expect.

A golden arrow of light formed above her bent elbow. At first, it seemed like an ordinary arrow, but Roz noticed that there was something off about it. To him it looked……slithery.

Roz knew he had to raise up his guard for this next spell and focused his eyes on the floating arrow. It shot away from Bianca’s arm, but instead of shooting straight, it curved to the right side. Roz anticipated where it was going to go and moved his buckler towards its projected path. However, the arrow suddenly stopped midway and took a sharp turn to the left. Then, it took a second turn and flew straight for Roz’s head. The masked man was swift to react, shifting his buckler right in front of the incoming projectile. But instead of piercing through the buckler, the arrow shot straight down to the floor and bounced right back up, slashing through the side of his frozen mask.

Roz staggered back from the impact. He tried to keep his body steady, but his eyes caught the arrow flying straight back towards him. With barely a second to think, Roz pulled off a back handspring to evade the persistent piercer.

“Soul of Invention: Ice Dagger.”

Right as his feet returned to the ground, he held his dagger and focused his eyes on the arrow. The arrow sped through the air and cut through every direction around him with sharp angles, making it even harder to follow. Roz realized that he couldn’t keep up with its erratic movements, so instead, he chose to stay still. He took a deep breath in, then he watched the arrow fly past his field of vision. A split second after, Roz spun back, crouched down and swung his dagger in one swift motion, slashing through the arrow with utmost precision.

Bianca’s eyes widened in disbelief. “H-How did you figure out where it would go?!”

“I kept my body low, so the arrow could only come from above.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Roz!”

Lupa and Sonia made their way up the stairs and came to back up Roz.

“Soul of Evocation: Storm Wolves!”

The two canine beasts flashed into existence and chased after Bianca.

“Soul of Domination: Arrows of Light.”

Bianca distanced herself from the prancing wolves and fired a barrage of arrows. The wolves moved like lightning bolts, weaving through every attack that came their way and leaving nothing but sparks along their trail. They showed no signs of slowing down. The gap closed in on the lady Hero, but there was no way she was going to let those things catch her so easily.

“Soul of Domination: Strings of Light.”

Bianca jumped away from the wolves, then she released the strings from her fingers and manipulated them to wrap around their bodies. After that, she pulled on the strings, tying both wolves together and rendering them immobilized.

“Soul of Domination: Sidewinder Arrow.”

The arrow shot right through both of their heads in a single line, taking down the summons in one fell swoop.

“Soul of Evocation: Storm Wolf Alpha!”

Lupa summoned her giant lightning wolf this time and sent it after Bianca. The lady Hero directed her arrow towards the wolf, but the wolf managed to catch it with his fangs and crush it into pieces.

“Don’t underestimate my wolves, Bianca!” Lupa said.

The large predator charged after Bianca, but she was quick to react to its approach.

“Soul of Domination: Light Barrier!”

Bianca raised both of her hands, creating a wall of light that forced the wolf to stop in their tracks.

“Back off!”

The wall moved forward, pushing the wolf further back.

Roz, Lupa and Sonia caught up with Lupa’s summon and pushed their bodies against the wall, preventing it from moving a few more inches.

“Stop this, Bianca!” Lupa said, struggling to keep her legs from sliding.

Bianca clenched her teeth. “You know I can’t stop! How can I, when the person who killed my brother is standing right in front of me?!”

“It’s frustrating, I know!” Lupa’s eyes began to shimmer. “I can’t get myself to forgive Roz either! I care about Lucian just as much as you do!”

“Then why are you helping him?!”

“Because-”

“Shut up, both of you.”

Bianca and Lupa both looked at Roz.

He took off the frozen mask and showed them his true face, then he looked Bianca straight in the eyes.

“I’m not expecting any of you to forgive me. I could care less if you do. But I know for certain that Lucian would have never allowed you to offer yourself to the barbarians.”

He slammed his fist on the wall.

“So don’t you dare think of sacrificing yourself. I won’t allow it. That should be my burden to bear. That is my way of redemption.”

Roz let go of the wall and knelt down with his head against the floor.

“If I must die, then allow me to die fighting the barbarians. That is all I ask of you.”

The color returned to Bianca’s eyes, and her gaze softened. They began to moisten into a misty emerald, but Bianca lifted her head to the air and snivelled everything back inside. There was still a hint of dark hatred in her eyes, but her other emotions began to intertwine with that darkness. Perhaps she had been suppressing those feelings all along.

The wall of light disintegrated into thin air, and the tensions began to fade away.

Bianca walked over towards Roz.

“Stand up,” she said.

Roz complied without a second thought. Bianca slapped him square in the face. Sonia and Lupa gasped at the sudden strike, but Roz was unfazed and didn’t seem to mind.

“Fine. Go do what you have to do.” Bianca walked away from him. “Don’t you dare think of running away from this.”

“Not a chance,” Roz said.

“Taiga and his men will return once the sun rises again. I expect you to be ready by then. We will stand guard by the wall facing the Far Lands.”

“You don’t have to go out of your way and help me,” Roz said.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” Bianca said. “My brother wouldn’t want me to back out from this fight. The best chance we have of taking down Taiga is by fighting together.”

“All right!” Lupa cheered. “Let’s go, team!”

Everyone stared at Lupa with dead silence.

“Why do you all have to be so mean to me?!” she stomped her foot.