A ringing in her ears; weak knees from a ringing in her entire, very crystalline body. Azure, body rang like a gong, fell backward in a semi-senseless state. For some reason, it all felt like it was in slow motion. She felt philosophical about it in that moment— did a lack of control over the body cause it? The mind went faster with so little else to occupy it?

  Hitting the floor was almost gentle compared to the shockwave. The blade wanted to come free of her hand but she held it in a death grip. That was good. Probably.

  The beautiful decorative ceiling and the branching tree above quite suddenly became shadowed by a huge paw consuming the vision and falling on her. It impacted and smashed her body, grinding crystal on the stone below with the feel of many angles roughly smudging and smoothing. The stone under her took far worse and cracked. A mingled sound of two constructs and their damage; a terrible inorganic shriek. She felt pain.

  Eep. Nice totals, but then, I am disadvantaged here.

  The paw rose back up, and Azure’s senses fully returned, aside from hearing, which was reduced to nothing but a slowly fading ringing. When her eyes met that of the bear’s, she could tell he was lifting his paw wondering just what he’d see smushed and ruined underneath — there was a subtle expectation of horror.

  She noticed the glaring white runes on his body had all turned red. She understood. Defense converted to offense. That’s how he wounded me. Nasty. Enough for most. But, for me…

  With a snarl, the bear lifted its paw to bring it down again, if not with more force, certainly with more anger.

  Azure threw herself to the side and rolled, adding her bonus from [Rogue’s Luck], because she could not afford wounds getting stacked. Narrowly, she cleared the paw as it smashed into the stone.

  “Quickly, you fool!” Deathsting grated in her head, incensed for some reason. “Release me — throw me!”

  She did so even as she rolled up to a knee, hurling Deathsting right at the bear. But the bear’s cautious eyes noted it. Its free arm flashed and talons impacted the blade, sending it careening to the floor with another clang. Momentarily, the red runes changed back to white.

  “Hrrrragh! Damn him! Kill, kill, kill — I will kill him!”

  “Easy, Deathsting! We do this my way. No wyvern form, for sure.” Azure moved evasively as she grabbed the bouncing dagger and created distance between her and the bear. The bear appeared very annoyed by this. He had reared up onto his hindlegs already, likely ready to repeat his prior success with the shockwave, but Azure spoiled it with quick lateral movement.

  “What are you doing?! Press the advantage!”

  “How many times do I have to say it? What is your problem?”

  “If you’d not had that deathgrip on me, I could’ve attacked him even as he struck! You’re snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”

  As much as she could, she mentally glared at the dagger. “The duel is not to have participants, Deathsting. I need to win in honor and do it myself. Stabbing, throwing you, that’s fine. Adding to my base. But no self-guidance. No attacks with you as the base.”

  Deathsting was dead silent for a moment. He calmed. “Hmmph. I see. A duel is a duel, honor is honor. I’ll respect it. But do not think you need to hold on to me in future similar situations. You’re cursing yourself to do it. We are better together, but when you cannot act? I can.”

  “I understand. Now then. Duel though this is, I have other” — She almost said ‘weapons’ — “tools that are allowed. I think I need to leverage them.”

  There was no answer to this from Deathsting, just a sullen glower.

  Circling her enemy — who remained cautious thankfully — Azure pulled some sleight-of-hand to clandestinely reach into a dimensional pocket and pull out a stack of mirrored disks. Bit by bit, she released them behind her, keeping out of direct line of sight to lay them flat and hidden. Just as Samantha, she had a version of [Mirror Control] and could levitate them.

  With whom I serve, stacking the deck is only natural.

  The bear did not initially notice, either. However, there was shifting — and likely murmuring — from the crowd, as Azure realized they must’ve seen something suspicious in what she was doing. The bear picked up on this, eyes shifting from them to Azure. He turned his head sideways as if puzzled. He must’ve said something, then, but at that point, Azure’s hearing had not returned enough to hear more than an indiscernible mumble. Azure just stared back at him blankly.

  The bear charged like a runaway juggernaut. Azure wasn’t going to fall for trying to take advantage, but she feigned like she would. As expected, the bear stopped short before reaching her, rearing up on his hind legs for a clap she would be hard-pressed to avoid-

  Not today, you big-ass, one-trick pony.

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  Azure utilized [Spacial Transfer] and fled through a mirror instantly, dropping one of her daily uses to preserve an action. She morphed back out at a distance, directly behind the bear, who was slapping and causing a shockwave mostly upon the air — technically he got something, as the mirror was in radius and shattered.

  She felt a special kind of predatory gloating at this act. How many times? How many worlds have we ended the quest of arrogant adventurers with this simple turnabout? Like when I tracked the path forward to get through the forest on the way here and the terrain changed on my flank unseen. Our eyes cannot help but be forever forward. Therein lies a vulnerability. It takes but one split moment for destruction to take advantage.

  Sadly, the distance was too great for the penultimate vitals stab, as she’d been dropping the mirrors in a wide circle around the platform by necessity. So it was either try a throw or go with something else.

  His stupid runes probably preclude vitals exploitation anyway.

  Highlighted by the amazed gasps of the royals and the crowd, Azure gestured and called out her spectral daggers, immediately generating an array of nine. Three flung at the bear in quick succession.

  The first blindsided the bear as it impacted him in the spine, exploding into shards and eliciting a howl even Azure’s damaged hearing picked up. The second hit the bear in the side as he staggered and tried to turn around, exploding for damage again and causing the glowing white runes to flare with incredible brightness, and even vibrate.

  The third dagger of magic took him in the arm as he tried to shield himself. It exploded into shards and with it, all the white runes on the bear exploded too, erupting and dissipating. The bear howled as it collapsed onto its face and belly.

  Azure did not relent — she charged forward and unleashed three more spectral daggers. The bear, stunned and unable to react, took them all. The first blast knocked it onto its side even as it drew blood — it still shattered. The second blade impaled it, embedding in its hide and pushing it slightly, sliding it over the stone. The third, Azure instinctively adjusted and aimed for the neck…

  Possibly sheer chance caused its arm to move in the way — that or some trick of an ability to prevent a fatal strike. The spell dagger shattered on its meaty arm, numerous shards embedding and causing another wound.

  Not enough! Would it have been fatal? Did I want that? Do I have a choice?

  Reeling, the tough foe still managed to get up. Azure flung Deathsting for her next action. It seemed the right play — close range but not too close range, the potential for a fatal strike, the security of a near guarantee of drawing blood.

  Deathsting flew, triumphant laughter resounding in Azure’s head. This was precisely the sort of thing he relished.

  Amazingly, with a great cry, the bear mounted a defense, physically rolling away as the dagger sped unerringly toward him. Despite a deft dodge, the dagger curved in flight and sliced him terribly over the body, cutting a deep and nasty gash before soaring past, still laughing maniacally as it began spinning back to Azure.

  The bear came up on its feet and stumbled… teetered… then planted suddenly. It threw its head up and roared loud enough to shake the foundations. She felt it in her bones. All present did. She knew what it had just done; knew what ability it was. [Frenzy].

  He had no choice. Behold: desperation! Dangerous nonetheless. I needed to go lethal in intent — I’m certain of that now.

  The bear charged her at breakneck speed. Azure did not spare even so much time to throw one spell dagger. She caught Deathsting out of the air and fled through a mirror. She did not waste a daily use either, opting to expend PFE instead to save them.

  Azure watched from a safe distance as the bear growled furiously and flung a great, taloned paw at the mirror hovering in the air, smashing it into the stone floor. Frustration was palpable. Instead of charging her, its eyes located another mirror nearby and it charged for that.

  Hmm. Snap change of strategy.

  She made it levitate away a bit as if trying to flee, but inevitably let him destroy it. Of the mirrors hovering in the air, she pretended to hide them low. The bear went for the next, chasing it down and smashing it.

  “Stop it!” Azure cried, channeling her acting talents with an undercurrent of nervousness. “Can you not face me head-on, beast?!”

  Her hearing was restored enough to hear his incensed reply. “Come and stop me, then!”

  She displayed two remaining mirrors, floating them as far away from both parties as she could, making something like a square if it were drawn between them. The bear howled and charged toward one, clockwise. Azure fled with the mirror counter-clockwise, meanwhile moving the other and sprinting herself at the same time.

  It was a ‘chase.’ The bear picked up speed as it charged, sprinting like mad. In truth, the head-on speed of the beast was legitimately faster. It gradually gained on the mirror. The crowd was cheering, the courtly folk pushing as far as they dared on their back platform, nearly becoming flush with the throne. The queen was, too — Azure caught sight of her face, rapt with attention at the spectacle. Meanwhile, the king had a smirk on his face. He seemed to be sharing it with her.

  He knows. Azure laughed inwardly. This is so completely absurd. Bear included, they are all too easily ensnared by such things, aren’t they?

  Blood pumping and pumping in its rather long-term frenzied state, the bear finally reached the mirror and triumphantly smashed it into the floor out of the air despite the mirror’s last ‘attempt’ to dodge. The crowd cheered and Azure mimicked a frightened cry.

  Its charge began toward her. She morphed through her present mirror to the other, letting it chase the ‘last’ one. This one she moved all over the platform.

  By now, the bear was visibly slowing. Huffing and puffing. Blood was trailing everywhere. Despite the endless cheering-on from the nobles and servants, the bear did not pick up speed again. Inevitably it grew sluggish, slowed to a crawl, then finally collapsed on its belly, its chin draping on the stone, eyes heavy-lidded.

  All present were dead silent now. Azure summoned her actually hidden few extra mirrors to float up, catching the light to gleam in blatant evidence to everyone that she’d pulled a ruse. She smiled as she turned to the king and queen and all those behind, still breathing heavily from the run.

  Azure thrust up her dagger. Deathsting morphed and changed to a spear. “So, then, cousins… would you have me finish the job? Is that your requirement for victory? For me to belong here in supposed respect?”

  The king, his voice dark, called back loudly, “So it would seem.”

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