The Monstrous Bianca stands above us. In the blink of an eye, she disappears and reappears behind me. Her monstrous claws slash down towards me, aiming to crush my head, but before she can, Penelope appears, parrying the attack with her greatsword. Bianca then disappears again.

  Standing up, I go back to back with Penelope. “This is certainly fun,” I say sarcastically.

  “Focus, Charlatan. She could appear from any direction,” Penelope says as she readies to parry the next attack.

  “I focus more when I’m talking. I find it helps me organize my thoughts,” I say as I look around for the slightest movement.

  “Well, I focus better with complete silence.”

  Bianca attacks from my left, which Penelope barely parries. She quickly disappears right after.

  “How much MP does she have?” I ask, trying to get my thoughts in order.

  “Monsters usually have an unnatural amount of mana, but the amount she’s used is certainly not a good sign for us. Whatever she is, she’s at best [LvL. 25], at worst [LvL. 40].” Penelope explains.

  Bianca appears in front of me. As she goes to attack, a volley of arrows pierces through her arm, sending her reeling. She quickly disappears.

  “You notice she’s gotten slower,” I say, internally thanking Hopper.

  “Yeah, but only barely. Although her attacks haven’t lost the weight behind them. What are you thinking?” Penelope asks.

  “I’m thinking that when you cut her head off, it did more than she’s letting on. The problem is, I was hoping that would kill her.”

  My eyes flicker over to Eidrel, who is protecting Yvena. They haven’t gotten attacked this entire time. Well, at the beginning Bianca did try to kill Yvena, but after that she left them alone. Why?

  As I focus on Eidrel, Bianca appears, blocking my view and slashing towards me. Penelope blocks the attack, sending sparks everywhere. Bianca’s claws stop barely a hair's breadth from my neck. As my eyes meet hers, I give a devilish smile.

  “Eidrel, what do you know about this thing?!” I shout over to him.

  Bianca's eyes flare with anger as I speak to Eidrel. There it is.

  “She’s a Krone!!” Eidrel yells out much to Bianca's displeasure.

  Penelope struggles against the weight of Bianca’s claw. “A Krone? I thought the last of them was wiped out by the previous Chosen One,” she says in surprise.

  I [Throw] a pebble at Bianca's eyes, blinding her for a second. With that second Penelope gives her a swift kick to the chest, sending her back a couple of steps. Bianca then disappears.

  “What’s a Krone?!” I ask as I grab a sword shard off the ground.

  “They’re magical monsters that are infamous for abusing [Contracts]. They aren’t usually this strong or immortal, unless...” Penelope trails as she looks at Eidrel. “What did you do?”

  Distracted, Penelope doesn’t have enough time to parry Bianca's as she suddenly appears. Rushing forward, I tackle Penelope out of the way as arrows stab into Bianca's head.

  “Focus on defending, Penelope. You, what kind of [Contract] did you make?!” I yell at Eidrel.

  “It’s a [Contract] that’s passed down in my family. Every time she dies, she’ll shave years off my life,” he yells out.

  “Are you an idiot?! Why would you agree to a [Contract] like that?” Yvena yells at him.

  He hesitates for a second. “The Blight had made it to our lands, and she was the only one who could stop it from spreading. My grandfather didn’t have another choice! I didn’t have another choice!”

  As Penelope blocks another attack from Bianca, she puts on a conflicted face. “How did the Blight make it to Duke Ofkald's lands?”

  [Throwing] sword shards at Bianca, I state the obvious, “Bianca obviously brought it. It’s manipulation 101. Create the problem, sell the solution.”

  “You may know the secret behind my immortality, but that won’t save you. Breaking the [Contract] will forfeit little Eidrel's life and will release my spell on the Blight. You already have a Blight problem to the east. Can you afford another in the north?” Bianca taunts.

  Penelope hesitates for a second as Bianca disappears. Eidrel looks ashamed. Yvena is mixed with anger and desperation. These fools. They’re playing into what Bianca wants. She hasn't said a single thing since she changed forms. So, why all of a sudden did she start taunting? Simple, she's bluffing. About what? I have no idea, but she doesn’t have to know that.

  “What was the exact wording on that [Contract], Eidrel?” I yell out to him as I keep an eye out for the next attack.

  Eidrel racks through his mind before reciting the [Contract]. “As the head of House Eidrel, I pledge my lifespan to the Krone Bianca for her to use as she sees fit. In exchange, she will stop any incursions of Blight that may occur in the lands controlled by House Eidrel.”

  “Penelope, guard me. I need to think,” I say as I put my life in her hands.

  With a groan, she responds. “Think fast!!”

  Think, CJ, think. Where’s the loophole? There’s always a loophole. This is a [Contract] passed down in his family. You can’t make a [Contract] on someone else's behalf. So, he had to make this deal. When did he make this deal?

  Penelope pulls me back as she blocks an attack. “When exactly did you make the [Contract]?” I ask.

  “Eight years ago! When my father died!” Eidrel yells at me.

  He was young. The [Contract] was made when his father died. Why did she get involved now? Eight years, but she only became his fiancée a couple of months ago. If I were the one doing this, I would try to stay a comfortable distance away from him. So, why become his fiancée?

  Penelope shoves me down as she pulls up a triple-layered magic shield. Bianca's attack shatters through the first two layers and struggles against the last shield. A volley of arrows flies towards Bianca, causing her to disappear. Yvena yelps as one of the arrows lands near her.

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  Yvena!! Bianca only started to get involved when Yvena came into the picture. It’s like she was trying to get in the way of their relationship, but why? Penelope said their families have hated each other for centuries. Their families would never approve of their marriage, so why bother? Wait, his grandfather started the [Contract] and then his father, and finally him. The men of House Ofkald, or more specifically, the heads of House Ofkald!! If Eidrel decided to run away with Yvena, he would abandon his role as the head of House Ofkald. No head of House Ofkald equals no lifespan for the Krone. It would nullify the [Contract] without actually breaking it, but if that were the case, why is she still immortal? Eidrel had decided to run away with Yvena. Unless… He hadn’t officially abandoned his duties yet! Paperwork, something official! A contract for a contract.

  “Penelope, I need you to marry Eidrel into Yvena’s House!” I yell.

  Bianca appears beside me and swings with her meaty claws. Penelope blocks the attack with her greatsword, leaving a large crack down the side of it. Bianca then disappears.

  “What!? Do you understand the political-”

  “Place the blame on me if you have to. Just get it done.” I interrupt, while dodging out of the way of Bianca’s next attack.

  “Fine! Do you, Eidrel Ofkald, take Yvena Calor to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Penelope says as she blocks a flurry of attacks from Bianca.

  Eidrel looks Yvena in her eyes and answers, “I do!”

  “Great! Do you, Yvena Calor, take Eidrel Ofkald to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Penelope asks as Bianca disappears from sight.

  As Yvena goes to answer, Bianca appears behind her and goes to strike, but before she can, an arrow hits her in each eye, blinding her.

  “I do!” Yvena says as she dodges out of the way.

  “By the power vested in me by the Goddess of the Sun and the Nova Empire. I pronounce you Husband and Wife. Congratulations, Eidrel and Yvena Calor,” Penelope says in the most sarcastic way possible.

  Eidrel and Yvena pay no mind to Penelope and seal their marriage with a kiss. As they do, a blackish red energy grows around Eidrel and Bianca. It grows and grows until it finally shatters.

  “Now!”

  A volley of arrows flies towards Bianca, but before they can reach she disappears. Reappearing behind me, I watch as her claws tear up my chest. The pain radiates through me with an intensity I have never felt before as she lifts me with her claws embedded in my chest.

  “You’ve ruined everything! This was my life's work! I had it easy! I was going to live the rest of my life in luxury and decadence! I-” Bianca says with her voice fluctuating between monstrous and that of the human she was pretending to be.

  An arrow flies towards her head, cutting her off, but it doesn’t find purchase in her head.

  Having caught the arrow, she scoffs. “I grow tired of your incessant arrows, Bunny!” she yells in the general direction of where the attack came from.

  The arrow in her hand suddenly glows light blue as her hand starts to freeze. At the same time, Penelope appears underneath her with a white, blinding energy in her hand. Bianca goes to disappear, but can’t as I wrap my hand around the claw in my chest. Checkmate. A beam of light bursts straight through Bianca's chest, leaving behind a large hole. Life leaves Bianca's eyes as she falls back dead.

  Also falling to the ground, I carefully pull the now dead Bianca's claws out of my chest. Pain pulsates through my body as the wound thankfully heals a bit. Thank the Gods for the timing on that [Level Up]. A nauseous feeling bubbles forth, and I quickly find myself dry heaving on the ground. I hate [Leveling Up].

  A bloody and tired Penelope walks over to me as I lie in the cold snow. “Are you okay?” she asks.

  “Just peachy.”

  Hopper appears from out of a bush and walks over. “That was rough. Are you guys going to need healing?” he asks.

  “We should be fine. The [Level Up] should heal most of the more dangerous wounds,” Penelope says as she looks over at the couple.

  Still locked in an embrace. I watch as Penelope starts to head over. Grabbing her hand, I stop her.

  “Let them have a moment,” I say.

  “I need to talk to him about the Blight. Now that the [Contract] has been nullified, the Blight will start to spread through Duke Ofkald’s domain. We need to contain it as soon as possible,” she explains.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. The Blight was a lie.”

  Hopper and Penelope look at me in surprise. “What do you mean?” she asks.

  “Well, based on the wording in the [Contract], there is no incursion of Blight up north. My guess is she caused similar effects with magic and then tricked House Ofkald into the [Contract]. Now that she’s dead, the ‘Blight’ up north should disappear," I explain to the two of them.

  Eidrel and Yvena walk over to the two of us. “My father had suspected as such, but he could never risk breaking the [Contract] without being entirely sure,” Eidrel says.

  “And a great risk it would be. I’ve seen the effects of the Blight firsthand. It is not something you want to play with,” Yvena recounts.

  “Even then, to make a [Contract] with a Krone,” Penelope says.

  “I know, and I’m willing to atone for my crimes as you see fit, Princess. Be it beheading or incarceration, for you have already given me the greatest gift I could’ve asked for. Thank you for ridding my family of this curse,” he says, bowing to Penelope.

  Penelope hesitates, obviously conflicted. “I… I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says.

  “Princess?” Eidrel asks, confused.

  “The Krones were eradicated by the previous Chosen One. So, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she says.

  Eidrel recognizes what she’s saying. “Thank you, Princess.”

  Yvena pulls him by the sleeve. “We need to leave,” she reminds.

  “Again, thank you. Although we are married, our families will never approve of us being together. So, we must run away together as we planned before. Goodbye,” he says as they bid their farewells.

  Catching my breath, I tease, “That was nice of you, Penelope.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Nothing happened tonight,” she insists.

  “Sure.”

  Hopper looks between us. “Let's get some rest,” he says.

  As we begin to walk back to our rooms, I crack a smile. “So, next time we fight a Dragon?”