“Tell me again what this is about?”

Lukas dug into his left ear with his pinky, watching Tanya as she stared at him with a look of irritation and amusement. The two of them were back in the dressing room, with him sipping on what went for a cold drink in these regions. There were other options at the mini-bar, but he didn’t think trying out something alcoholic was a good idea.

Then again, given the circumstances, an alcoholic beverage might be just what he needed.

The battles had been paused for some time. The organizers had apparently determined that even he was entitled to a little relaxation before he had to face his final, and most significant, opponents — something about the fight not being one-sided because he was too exhausted from the beginning. Of course, the fact that he had been fighting fourteen people one after another at a stretch hadn’t seemed to matter earlier.

The cruelties of bureaucracy.

Tanya let out a mildly suffering sigh. “You will be facing Zuken, Olfric, and myself in a three-on-one fight. Apparently, Zuken raised the stakes to a record-high, and the other nobles arranged matters in ways that none of us can afford to dish out anything but our best shot.”

Lukas laughed. “What happened now?”

Tanya dumped herself into the chair. “You know how Zuken put my name up as a claimant for the Shimizu line?”

At his nod, she continued, “Well, this match is my chance at demonstrating my prowess. The fact that my kami is actually Ezzeron is something of an open secret, so showing them my proficiency with Windcrafting, and my control over him is a sure-fire way of proving my rightful descent from the Wind King. Naturally, they do not care for me or my talents, only for the successor to the Wind King..”

Lukas winced a little. “And your… other power?”

She shook her head. “I gave it a fair amount of thought, and… decided it’s not worth the risk. The fewer people who know about it, the better. I might have Zuken and Olfric convinced for now, but sooner or later, people will start to notice if I use it too openly.”

“And Ezzeron?” Lukas asked.

“What about him?”

“Will you use him? Like, really tap into his powers?”

She bit her lip. “I’ll try to. My bond with Ezzeron isn’t the same as Zuken’s or Olfric’s with their own kami. Theirs are bound to them through the Shikigami Ritual. Mine is different. I guess Ezzeron understands my true nature on a deeper level, being a creature of the Ikai world himself. We have… a partnership of sorts. It comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.”

“Like?”

Tanya’s lips curled into a smirk, and her voice turned wry. “I see how it is. Make your opponent talk about their shortcomings before the match.”

“Why Miss Shimizu?” he whispered, taking a step towards her. “Are you feeling vulnerable?”

Tanya poked him in the stomach with a finger. “The Shikigami Ritual comes with its pros and cons. Pro is that being in the Empire, under the Sun Goddess’s domain does not weaken them. Unlike…” She trailed off.

Lukas nodded. He knew for a fact that one of the reasons Tanya stayed in the main Empire was because Frost was severely weakened in the Goddess’s dominion. Not that it stopped it from hatching plans and manipulating situations to the extent of provoking a possible war, but that was neither here nor there.

“Con is that these kami are bound, chained down by restraints. It allows their bearers to use their powers without being mentally and spiritually affected by their presence, but also keeps them from using the kami’s fullest potential.”

“But that’s not the same with Ezzeron, I presume?”

Tanya shook her head, her voice dropping into a lower, coarser register. “Ezzeron is free. Unbound. He used to be a chained thing when I first encountered him in my youth. But when I bonded with him, he was free. Wild. Letting him loose in public would probably weaken him significantly, but it would also allow him to use his fullest potential.”

She was keeping something from him. Lukas decided to go out on a hunch.

“Have you ever let him out?”

Tanya stilled. “Only once before. It wasn’t a pretty sight, to say the least.”

I can tell. Lukas mused. “I should warn you though. Arah and I have a good working relationship. And he’s unbound as well. I guess that puts us on an equal footing.”

Tanya gave him an impish grin. “You don’t need to make me feel better. It’s not me that’s facing three Spiritists, two of them Bronze-rank, in a single fight. Just Avriel and Meciel should be able to give you a hard time.”

Lukas knew that Avriel was the name of Zuken’s kami. A marid capable of terrain manipulation. But Meciel?

“Olfric’s kami,” Tanya replied because his face was just that easy to read.

Lukas frowned, feeling the first stirrings of territoriality within him. “Why is he Olfric? His name was Burger, right?”

Tanya’s eyes gleamed with amusement. “Oh? Is someone feeling jealous?”

Lukas roughly grunted. “Oh no, I’m just happy Burger finally gets to have his ass kicked. He’s been begging for it since Day One.” His eyes narrowed. “Wait a sec, that’s what this is about, isn’t it? You want to make me angry so I take it out on him.”

She let out a throaty laugh. “Maybe? Or maybe I just like seeing you get possessive.”

Lukas growled.

Tanya made a pleased little sound. Then, her expression hardened. “Make sure you take this seriously, Lukas.” Her fingers brushed against his cheek. “This fight… It will push your limits. I know you're powerful, but you have not faced me at my best. And while Olfric is a braggart with a boulder-sized ego, he’s a Bronze-rank for a reason. And while Zuken might not be an active adventurer, his family has been Earth-shaping for centuries. There are some very interesting things he can pull out of his sleeves, and with the current stakes, he will no longer restrain himself.”

“You’re telling me I’m going to be overwhelmed? You?”

Tanya clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I have no doubts that you can outclass all of us in raw power. I have seen that happen in the Anomaly. You were a force to be reckoned with back then, and in addition to that ifrit has only gained you an edge. But I have witnessed the ifrit’s power up close, and despite the elemental advantage, Ezzeron can more than put up a stand against it. What I truly fear is not the power difference, but the skill.”

Lukas arched an eyebrow.

“All three of us have had years to hone our spiritist abilities. You on the other hand…” She sighed. “I just… I don’t want to see you overwhelmed and… lose control. Maybe I am just overthinking stuff. You always have a way out of situations, so maybe things won’t be so different this time around.”

Lukas’s lips twisted into a smile. He grabbed Tanya’s chin and met her eyes. “Let me tell you a little secret. It is true that you witnessed my fight with Arah in that borderland. But here’s what you didn’t notice.” His eyes glinted, as the fire spirit bound to him was trying to escape through his very eyes. “After our Compact, Arah leveled up. And that was before I got lost in the misty Haze.”

He took a step back and turned around, grabbing his urathril ax and placing it back upon his spaulder. “You think that facing you guys three on one makes me vulnerable. Maybe you ought to rethink that. Maybe… it’s the other way around.”

Lukas smiled. “Good luck. Your team’s gonna need it.”

It turned out that there had been substantial alterations to the battle arena itself during that break. The normal barrier circle had been taken out and replaced by a larger, far more ornate battleground with several pieces of rocks jutting out like headstones in a graveyard. The air itself lacked the smoky spell, meaning that the mana-saturated air within the circle had been replaced with a newer version. There was a tiny pool of water in one corner of the arena, probably to enhance Burger and his kami’s ability.

Earth. Water. And of course Wind. All three of them had been provided for. One’d have thought they’d have left a tiny bonfire burning, just to make it seem unbiased.

Bias, Lukas chagrined, thy name is Asukan.

His three competitors entered from three directions, with Tanya facing him head-on. Banksi on his right, and Burger from the left, where his tiny water well was located. Being a Wind type, it was possible that Tanya would be using a deflective battling style against his flames. From his previous skirmish with Banksi, it was probable that he’d go ahead with quick offensive attacks and try to tank the damage that he could dish upon their collective whole. Burger being the Water-shaper of the group was probably going to act as a nullifier to his flames, allowing Banksi to try and overwhelm him using his elemental advantage.

Or, Lukas mused with a wry grin, they might act in an entirely different way, catch him by surprise and toss him out of the match.

Okay, Arah. There are just two rules that you need to keep in mind for this match. Rule number one. Make every single hit count. Try to put them out of the fight, but without injuring them.

He considered Arah.

….Injuring them too much, I mean.

“And what’s the second rule?” Arah asked.

Lukas grinned. If shit hits the fan, don’t forget to overlook Rule number One.

Arah laughed. It sounded like someone was dragging a piece of chalk against a blackboard.

“Okay,” Lukas replied. “Everyone ready?”

“Are you?” Tanya retorted.

“I did challenge you to it in the first place,” Zuken replied.

“Get ready to bow down to your superiors,” Burger gloated.

“I would,” Lukas threw back, “but I’d need to find this superior first. But yes, three on one feels a tad discomforting. Do you mind if I even the odds a bit?”

“Do your worst.” Burger jeered. “It will make the victory just that much sweeter.”

“Well,” Lukas drawled, “so long as we are all in agreement.”

And then they went to war.