Princess Astaroth was her friend, something which would have surprised those who knew Emma before, because it usually took her much longer to warm to people. She wasn't exactly hostile, as a rule, but she was never the most extroverted either, and was content with just a small circle around her, formed by shared interests and schedules, without actively seeking out others beyond that. The fact that just a few meetings was enough for Emma to start caring? That was new.

[Bonds forged in battle are often the strongest of all; what was true in Thermopylae is the same today.]

Whatever the cause, it was enough for Emma to start off slow; she wasn't going to throw the match, far from it, but she didn't immediately go for the kill either, aiming for victory by disarmament instead. Princess Astaroth batted away her intentionally clumsy swings, using the longer reach of her staff to create space with a few wide sweeps from side to side. The retaliation was similarly meagre; a swing for the side of Emma's head, blocked with the flat of her blade, and a soft tap to her knee outright ignored.

Sectmaster Horizon had briefly demonstrated staff combat during their intensive training session, and while the Princess was nowhere near as skilled, the same dynamic played out. The staff had an advantage while distance was maintained at arm's length, being able to bat away the sword and retaliate with quick, bludgeoning blows to the extremities. On the other hand, the lack of sharpness was a significant weakness, because it meant Princess Astaroth was relying on blunt force trauma to prevail; what would take her a dozen blows could be replicated by a single precise stab, if Emma could close the distance.

Emma tried Oversoul next, still aiming for a bloodless victory, only to receive a peculiar response.

[Target not alive.]

"How'd you manage to die since we last saw each-other?" Emma teased. "It's barely been two weeks."

"What kind of necromancer would I be without a few tricks up my sleeve?" Princess Astaroth retorted. "I watched you use some form of possession back in Scholomance, it wasn't hard to work out a counter."

That was the other annoying part of fighting a friend: they could be annoying well-informed at times. Moreover, it was a one-sided advantage, because Princess Astaroth had mainly used spells and rituals, so Emma didn't really know what she'd do up close. It was enough for Emma to contemplate giving up, because there was no way she was ever going to win this, and it would be much less effort to stop trying altogether. Wait a minute…

[Null Zone (Toggle: ON)

Curse of Sloth dispelled.]

Emma's thoughts cleared up immediately as her anti-magic came alive, banishing the unnatural defeatism that had coursed through her, which was only now revealed by name.

"That was a dirty trick," Emma complained, double-checking her status page just in case; there were no other debuffs to be seen, though that wasn't a guarantee either.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Should've known that wouldn't work on you," Princess Astaroth huffed, the corner of her lip lifting in amusement. "Nobody with a weak will survives to reach this level. Still, it was worth a try, wouldn't you say?"

Emma responded by pointing Epitaph at her chest, a one-handed duelist's salute, followed immediately by extending its length with Flying Sword in an attempt to impale. Princess Astaroth grinned, jagged purple lines appearing all over her skin, all of them pointing in one direction as she gave the incoming blade a gentle tap on the tip.

[Anima: 400/500]

Emma was already summoning a second blade in her off-hand, just in case, which proved prescient when her dominant arm came off at the elbow, sent flying by an immense invisible force.

"Your anti-magic dispels external attempts at interference," Princess Astaroth noted. "But it doesn't cancel all magic that's internal and innate to one's being. It just can't, otherwise your body wouldn't function at all."

"I didn't meet any resistance at all," Emma frowned, staring down at her stump of an arm. "That wasn't me losing in a contest of strength, everything within a certain distance of you just vanished. Some kind of predefined manipulation; gravity, velocity, or something along those lines."

"Gravity," Princess Astaroth acknowledged. "Massively amplified in the direction of my first movement after activating the ability."

She was good, Emma had to acknowledge; even with the advantage of preparation, not everybody would attain the same insights.

"Alright, I think that's enough of a warmup," Emma decided. "Before we go any further, do you have a lifesaving ability or item active? Just so I know how far I can go."

The answer was almost certainly yes, given how prepared she'd been in every other aspect of the match, but it never hurt to double check, and sure enough, Emma's opponent showed a flicker of hesitation on her face for the first time that night, before slamming her staff into the ground.

"I invoke the oath of the forlorn, in the name of Kadath," Princess Astaroth intoned. "Let the night claim the vanquished, and the victor have her due."

Emma wasn't sure what that meant, but it didn't sound good, and by the end of the first sentence, she was already queuing up a simulacrum to make a mess of things.

[Stop.]

She aborted her summon just in time, keeping her Duplicate from appearing; the ritual took effect, black smoke pouring from Princess Astaroth's staff and swiftly filling their small bubble with darkness. Contrary to expectations, the smokescreen didn't cut off sight entirely, leaving a tiny spark of light behind, just enough to see each-other's outlines, and nothing more.

"Alright," Emma grimaced, not too fond of the invasive smoke that smelled faintly of fish. "Mind explaining what this is about?"

"You have some way to avoid being observed as well?" Princess Astaroth asked instead, in lieu of an answer, getting a nod of confirmation from Emma. "If so, how exactly does it work? Is it all-encompassing?"

That wasn't quite what Emma had been expecting, but after a moment's thought, she figured the information wasn't too sensitive to disclose.

"It's a passive ability, one that affects those bearing ill-intent towards me, and I get notified when they try to peek at me." Emma explained. "So far, we've been in the clear, but keep in mind that's only for people watching remotely. I'm not sure how Master Europe counts for that, since he's maintaining this battleground, or the spectators from earlier rounds for that matter. It's also not visible, not like whatever this is."

"That's fine," Princess Astaroth heaved a sigh of relief. "Great, actually. My spell cuts off mundane surveillance, so paired with your ability, we should hidden from those that matter. Master Europe can definitely see and hear everything happening inside his creations, but he's trustworthy, and more importantly utterly disinterested in petty politics, or anything besides personal strength and growth."

That matched more or less what Emma had seen of the towering man, but it still didn't explain what was going on.

"So," Princess Astaroth continued, oblivious to Emma's musing. "Now that we're completely in the dark, and under plausible deniability, want to help me fake my death?"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.