Karna lashed out at me. Not with a dagger. Not with an arrow. He charged me with his fist.

“You!”

He swung hard as I raised a hand. There was a flash. A barrier shrouded me, blocking his attack. It wasn’t a weak, simple barrier— the same one he easily tore through back when he trained me. I could cast spells far beyond the levels of a mere Force Barrier now.

The Goblin glared at me. “How dare you show yourself here! How dare you show yourself before me!”

“Karna,” I said, voice cool. “I’m not here to fight you. I only want to talk.”

“Talk?” he sputtered and leapt back. He drew an arrow as I braced for his attack. “There is no talk. Your actions have spoken loud enough!” He loosed the bolt, and I narrowed my eyes.

It was enchanted to explode. Not just a small blast. But one which would rival the strength of a Fireball. It would draw the attention of the others in this warehouse. I would, to put it lightly, be screwed if that happened.

I pointed at the arrow.

Fracture Side. Dispel Magic.

The light limning the bolt flickered out as it whizzed by me, and I spoke with slight exasperation. “Karna, I did not betray—”

He ran up to me and jammed a bolt into the barrier. It tore straight through the translucent yellow surface. I barely threw myself out of the way just in time.

I aimed a finger at him as I rolled out of the way, thick bindings shooting out at him. The Goblin was too quick. He dodged it with ease as I barely stumbled back to my feet. Before I even knew it, he was already pressing me with a pair of daggers.

I reinforced my barrier with multiple layers now, so it wouldn’t be as easy for him to break through it. I gritted my teeth as I spotted cracks and tears forming on their surface.

“I—” I paused.

This scene was very familiar; there was something about it which made me feel like it happened before.

Karna broke through my multi-layered barriers, and I threw a punch. It caught him off-guard. It caused him to reel back, not really in pain, but more so in shock. I quickly backed up and created another barrier.

His eyes sharpened as he faced me, no longer recklessly charging in. He circled around me, focused on me like I was some kind of a prey. Yes, this happened before, didn’t it?

I stood in a burning room. A wooden beam crashed from the ceiling as a young man stood across from me. The flames danced and leapt, slowly burning the building into nothing but ashes. The gray particles rose up, like a curtain that forestalled our fight. An intermission in the middle of a play.

I tried to speak, but he didn’t listen. My words were like the desperate cries of a baby lost in the woods. His handsome face twisted, turning ugly and cruel. The man who saved my life revealed himself to be the devil.

I believed, despite what the Dark Crusaders were doing, that he was good. That it was all a necessity. I only realized after I reasoned with him that I had been lied to since the very beginning.

Yet, some naive part of me still tried to plead. It only led to death.

Karna was not Victor. The Goblin was rude and prideful. He believed that the strong should rule the weak. But he didn’t think that it should be derived from pleasure.

To be strong was to be good. But to be strong— to be superior to others— one couldn’t unnecessarily cause harm to those who were inferior. That directly contradicted their conception of what was just. Benevolence, they believed, was a virtue.

It was the philosophy of the Dark Crusaders. Or at least, that of Gerritt and those under him like Karna. But not Victor: the Human man thought he could do as he wanted.

That was what distinguished the Goblin from that vile person. And that was why I would act now, to ensure the same outcome didn’t occur as then.

Karna nocked three arrows. He loosed them rapidly. Unenchanted bolts. Just for distraction. He mixed in magic with a few, and I couldn’t react. They moved too fast. I wasn’t able to discern them apart.

The first magical arrow pierced one layer of my barrier. The second blew another apart. And as the dust settled and the third came, the ground shot up and formed a wall of stone.

It was too late. The explosions would draw the other Dark Crusaders to him. But that was only if they could get to him first. His Explosive Bolt— not the spell as powerful as a Fireball— blasted apart chips from the stone wall. He drew an arrow back, preparing another spell.

But Frost Javelins lanced out. They swirled through the air, glinting under the lamplight. His eyes widened and he leapt back, rapidly firing his bolts at the dancing projectiles. They were fast. And he barely held them off while I stepped out from my cover.

“Fine,” I said. “If you don’t want to listen to me—” I heard shouts from outside. I pointed at the doorway, summoning a pillar of earth to block it. I met Karna’s gaze as Explosive Orbs formed around me. “I’ll make you listen.”

The Goblin snarled, making a dash for me. The balls of yellow light shot out by the dozens. He dodged around them as they shredded the earth. Powerful magic, each rivalling his own Explosive Bolts.

He moved with determinations, yet I could see the shock in his face. The surprise he was overcome with. It seemed like he was asking a simple question: how?

How was I casting such powerful magic? When we last saw each other, I was his apprentice. He was tutoring me in magic. I was a fast learner. He knew that. But to see the stark difference after over a year apart was something else entirely different.

Well, the reason was simple: I was born to be the most powerful spellcaster of this world.

That was it, really.

I hurled a Fireball into the mix. He couldn’t possibly evade it. Its blast sent him flying crashing into a wall. Just as he tried to get back up, a pair of bindings wrapped around him and restrained him. I marched up to Karna as he stared up at me.

“You— this isn’t—”

“Do you understand now?” I glared at him, crossing my arms.

“Understand… what?” Karna grunted, trying to break free from his bindings.

But I raised a hand and sent another pair of chains around him. And another. And another. “This,” I said, spreading my arms wide. “The difference between our strengths. I am stronger than you.”

The Goblin frowned. He eyed me with a moment of contempt. Then he paused as he understood the same thing I did.

“I could’ve killed you if I truly wanted.” I raised a hand, a spell circle forming on my fingertips. A red glow shone— a spell more powerful than anything he could counter.

Annihilate.

“And yet, I didn’t.” I let the spell dissipate. The Goblin hesitated as I continued. “If I truly held the Dark Crusaders— held you— in contempt, I wouldn’t walk up to you, defenseless, trying to speak with you.”

Karna had no words. His round yellow eyes just held me within it. His jaw was clenched, tightly shut. He was still torn. His reality was conflicting with his preconceived notions. And I understood that that was hard for him to accept right now. But what I needed was his ear, just for a bit.

If he refused to accept it, no matter what I said, then I would have no choice but to let him go. Not to kill him. But to give up any chance of saving our past friendship. However, I was going to try while I still could.

Sighing, I spoke softly. “I’m sorry.”

That earned a glare from Karna. He spat. “Don’t apologize for being stronger than me. It is only more humiliating.”

“No, not that.” I shook my head. I waved my hands exasperatedly as I tried to find the right words to say. “I know you’re upset with me over the Free Lands.” Was what I did truly a betrayal? I did what Karna himself wanted to do. Stop Victor. Free the victims. But— “I killed Victor. I did what I thought was right then. And I have no regrets about it, even now.”

Karna’s eyes narrowed. “You killed a Dark Crusader. A Dark Acolyte. Someone from the Infernalis himself. You betrayed us.”

“I did,” I said, nodding. “But I did more than just that. I betrayed the Dark Crusaders, yes. But an even greater sin I committed was betraying you. Betraying Gerritt. Betraying Ihsan. Everyone there who had been so kind to me. Who had accepted me when the world itself shunned me. A former slave, brought into your ranks, treated as an equal. A girl on the run. Given a home.”

The Goblin said nothing. He couldn’t possibly dispute me, because it was true. He thought about it. He felt it. For over a year.

“I acted on my own. You were my friend, and I didn’t even consult you. I didn’t tell you about what I was going to do. Nor did I return to clear the air after I did what I did. When I chose to act on my own, I betrayed our trust. When I ran from the Dark Crusaders, I betrayed our friendship.”

I slowly stepped away from Karna, letting my bindings around him dissipate one after another. He fell to his knees, still facing me, but he wasn’t trying to kill me any longer.

“You have hated me— faulted me— for over a year. All because I’m too scared and afraid of facing my consequences. Just like I always am.” I looked down at the palm of my hands, before letting my arms droop to my sides. “I… am sorry.”

That was it. I spoke no more. Karna waited silently, holding his breath as if I had more to say. I didn’t.

“...sorry?” He finally piped up when he realized I was done.

“Yes. I’m sorry. For betraying you. For hurting you.”

He struggled to get back to his feet. He placed a hand on a knee as he forced himself up, slightly burnt from the Fireball I had blasted him with. “You did all that, and you came back just to say sorry?”

“Yes.”

It seemed stupid, really. Like something a kid would do. And while I wasn’t a kid… I wasn’t really acting as an adult would either. At least, not in this situation. They wouldn’t infiltrate the hideout of a group of people threatening to kill them just for a measly apology. It was naive.

But I didn’t think any ordinary adult would have lived as long as I did under my circumstances. In fact, I probably shouldn’t be alive right now. I was being kept alive for a reason. So, I used that knowledge to my advantage. The only boon I had been given when thrown into this harsh world.

Karna straightened. His gaze sharpened fiercely— and it softened. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t grapple with what. So, the two of us just stood here in silence. I had made my peace, now it was time for him to make his. And I was perfectly willing to wait as long as was necessary to hear what he had to say in response.

At least, until the stone pillar blocking the doorway was blown open. I whirled around, readying my magic for whoever was through the door. I watched as Goblins and Beastkin and Humans drew away from the hole in the wall as a black figure stepped forward.

Gray-skinned. A single horn. A black sclera.

“Estia,” Karna breathed. “Wait—”

And the Demon raised a hand.

“No.”

A Grand Fireball shot out as my eyes grew wide.