‘I ’t lose him now,’ the Bck Lion thought, rushing through the alleys, following the trail of blood. A cry interrupted him as he turned a er, and he readied his bde, before seeing a young b, having fallen, while a blood sptter tinued past him.

  “Are you okay?” the Bck Lion asked, halting beside the boy, pg a hand on the boy’s shoulder, sending warm healing through him.

  “The man pushed me ahat way,” the boy said, pointing to the opposite side of the sptter. “He pushed me and threw his blood.”

  The Bck Lion he blood sptter, which did look to have been tossed from the side. “You are such brave young man, thank you. Quickly, head back to your house, before the demon es back.”

  The boy’s eyes went wide and his lip quivered. He began to sob again as he ran away while the Bck Lion tio follow the path away from the blood sptter, another Bck Lion catg his sight before following him, while another followed the blood sptter, just in case.

  The boy rushed away from the area, darting into a building, before he stopped sniffling. “Ha! Really, to think you’d have to ask me to py the fool. Kids these days, holy.”

  “I must thank you again, Master Sage.”

  “That’s Death Sage to you, Death Sage, you goat of a boy!” The boy huffed out, before raising his hand, and various small cy bottled floated towards him. “Since you’ve e to find me, leading those damn kids near my home, it must be an emergency.”

  The wounded Bloody Viper didn’t want to admit that he had met the figure by pure ce, especially sidering he had thought the Death Sage had died, rather than having gohrough the mythical procedure all martial artists strived for. Though he was going to hold these wounds for the rest of his life, at least he had mao find the Death Sage.

  Thus Fate was forever ged.

  While the evening sun fell across the Iyr, Jirot tag her greataunt’s leg, while Jarot clutched at the other.

  “My Jirot, my Jarot, what brings you to me?” Gangak asked, lifting the boy and girl up.

  “I missed you, nano,” Jirot said.

  “I miss you too,” Jarot added.

  “Yes, I missed you too,” Gangak said, lifting the pair up within each arm, sh them in kisses. “You have e to me without that annoying old man.”

  “Daddy is not annoying,” Jirot said, pointing her finger up towards her greataunt. Then her lips formed a small smirk. “Daddy is annoying.” She cackled with joy.

  Gangak raised her brows to Sonarot, who merely replied with a smile, before leaving the twins with their grandaunt. Gangak took the children to her ow within her estate.

  “Which story should I read?”

  “Mmmm. The big story.”

  “Which big story?”

  “Mmmm. The boy, mmm, the she big sory.”

  “I will read you a story with a big snake,” Gangak replied, sending one of the children t back a book.

  “Nano, your hand is so big,” Jarot said, pg his hand against the back of her hand. “My hand is so small.”

  “My hand is big because I am big.”

  “Nano, your head is bigger,” Jirot said, pointing at the woman’s head.

  “Yes.”

  “It is because you are bigger.”

  “That is right.” Gangak smiled.

  “My heart is big,” Jirot said.

  “Why is that?”

  “I love so much,” the girl said, tossing out her hands as though to show the extent of her love.

  “Who do you love?”

  “I love nano, I love babo, I love nana, I love…” The girl thought, narrowing her eyes.

  “Do you love your daddy?”

  “No,” the girl said, cag, befng around. She held a hand beside her mouth, as though to whisper, but she spoke the whisper loudly. “I love daddy, but it’s secwet, okay nano? It’s secwet.”

  “I see, you love your daddy, but it is a secret.”

  “No, I do not like my daddy.” Jirot gnced around again, before she pced a finger on her lips. “Ssh.”

  “I love daddy,” Jarot said.

  “No,” his twin stated.

  “I do not…” Jarot replied, pouting slightly.

  “You love daddy, I will not, okay?” Jirot said, reag out to brush his hair gently.

  “Who do you love more? Nano or daddy?”

  “I love…” Jirot thought for a long moment. “I love my Jawoh.” Jirot poio her brother.

  Jarot smiled shyly, before he reached over to hug his sister within his greataunt’s arms.

  ‘Why did my children not behave this way? Should I have spoiled them?’

  “I do not like nana,” Jirot said, smirking.

  “Why do you not like nana?”

  “It’s secwet, nano, secwet.” Jirot pced a finger on her lip.

  “I see.” Gangak kissed them adly again. “I love you both so much. It is .”

  Jirot giggled and Jarot smiled, the pair embrag their grandaunt tight.

  “Nano! Look!” Jirot said, revealing a stone from her pocket. “We boat it for you. It is yift, be happy, okay?”

  “It is a gift for me?” Gangak asked, smiling.

  “Yes, we fand it for nano.”

  “Oh, thank you.” The woman took the stone from Jirot. It was small and smooth, and clear of dirt. She tio shower them with affe.

  “Nano, look,” Jarot whispered, raising a tiny stone. “Is for daddy.”

  “Oh, you found a stone for your daddy too?”

  “Is one,” Jirot stated.

  “You are such good children.” Gangak brushed their hair gently. ‘How my Jirot and Jarot be so cute?’

  “I will not give daddy stone because I do not like him.” Jirot smirked.

  Gangak smiled, kissing her forehead. “Your daddy loves you so much.”

  “Yes, I am so luvlee.” Jirot sat taller with pride.

  Gangak chuckled as the book was brought, before she read the story to them and all the ak children withiended estate.

  While the twins were beio, their eldest sibling pyed chess against her grandmother’s brother.

  “You are not dado?” Konarot asked.

  “Do you wao be your dado?” Tonagek asked, pausing while it was his turn.

  “You are my baba?”

  “I be your baba or your dado,” Tonagek replied.

  Konarot thought deeply, but said no more. She decided not to tihe versation, not yet uanding what it meant. Tonagek tio py against her, though part of his thoughts were taken by what she had spoken about.

  ‘Is she warring with my mind?’

  While the children teased their elders, their father was also teasing an elder.

  Mana: 18 -> 14Spell: Searing Smite

  Attack - WraithD20 + 10 = 25 (15)Omen: 20 -> 020 + 10 = 30Critical hit!Wraith: 3 -> 0Mana: 14 -> 10Ability: Divine Smite4D6 + 8D6 + 12D6 + 10D6 + 9 = 127 (2, 4, 4, 5)(1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6)(1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 6)(1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5)127 damage!

  The fire engulfed the First Hope, while the chill slipped through his armour, and the holy magics fshed through his entire body. Robert had never been struck so viciously before, and not with so many elements. From fire to frost to radiance, his entire body flooded with a pain he had never had the displeasure of feeling previously.

  As he swung down his bde, his body torted, and the angle of the bde shifted, cttering against Adam’s side harmlessly. Robert held in a grunt of pain, a pained sigh slipping out as quiet as a shadow.

  “Hey, Bobby boy,” Adam growled a whisper, “you better not fall down just yet, I’m not done.”

  Robert’s eyes fell to the side, through his visor, ahrough even Adam’s visor, to see the look within Adam’s eyes. It was a gre full of hope, hope that Robert wouldn’t step back. The look was a look of the Iyr. Robert irying to pull up his sword to csh once more.

  “Enough,” called a voice, breaking through the air.

  Adam stopped. Adam allowed many voices to stop him, but there was only one from the Order of Life’s Rose which he would have stopped for, but she wasn’t the oo speak.

  “Manager Vonda,” Adam said. “Isn’t it awkward to stop this duel.”

  “Please stop, Adam.”

  “ I stop?” Adam couldn’t stop, not when Jaygak had put her faith in him. If he stepped baow, wouldn’t these troublesome noble priests cause even more trouble iure. “It has to end ly.”

  “Will you step bad sider this a draw?”

  “A draw?” Adam asked, gng back towards her. “Manager Vonda, every time things up a draw, it’s always troublesome.”

  “I’ll take responsibility,” Vonda said. She stared at Adam with the most serious gaze. Adam wasn’t certain if she eaking as a Sister or as a Manager, but she was certainly speaking for the be of both sides.

  “I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop, not until one of us is clearly beaten,” Adam said. “I will accept it even if I lose.”

  Vonda wasn’t sure what else to say to try and stop him. There was only one reason why she wanted him to stop, and it was because Adam wasn’t going to lose. No, not only wasn’t Adam going to lose, he was going to defeat the First Hope far too easily. Such a thing couldn’t occur even if it brought Adam and the reat honour. The sequences could ripple out into a tsunami that Aldnd couldn’t handle, especially not the home which raised her.

  “Have you taken a breather, First Hope?” Adam asked, uo keep his voice from causing issues, the pyfulness beating down the First Hope’s pride.

  Robert stood, tall and ready, his bde poiowards Adam. The bde which had been so sturdy and proud, shook slightly. It was not the shaking of fear, but the shaking of a body which had been battered by a young mahan half the Hope’s age.

  “Even if I’m going to take pleasure iing you, I’m doing this for the Gak family which has always treated me politely,” Adam said, clutg Wraith tight in hand.

  “Will you step forward evehe children are looking at you like that?”

  Vonda’s words caused Adam’s eyes to looked past the shaking bde poiowards him towards the children, whose eyes were glued to him, with darkness across their faces. Adam’s axe lowered slightly. He had never seen any children look at him like that. The look was not that of awe, but of sheer dread. The eyes of the children poured a heaviness onto Adam’s shoulders.

  ‘Why are you looking at me like that? I’m doing all this for you.’

  The eyes of Copper were wide. Leah was clutg at Julia’s leg. Max had grown pale, as though he had just thrown up. Even Alex had pulled back, the eyes of a boy who had been so brave, ing to speak with Adam to sacrifice himself for the rest of his siblings.

  Adam was so close. One more blow and he would have beaten down the First Hope. A victory, the est one may have ever seehe victory, which should have bee, couldn’t feel any hollower.

  :(