Luc slumped against the stone doors, panting. Ahead of him, the tunnel narrowed, leading to a set of stairs, carved in stone, leading downwards. Like the room with the statue, the walls of the tunnel were lined were torches instead of glowing mushrooms.

At his back, Luc could feel the shaking of the ground. Loud booms echoed through the air as the stone statue launched its assault. Luc resisted the urge to look inside. All of that is behind me now.

A moment later, Cloud dashed out of the doors, followed closely by Ritha. Bending over and putting her hands on her knees, Ritha only rested for a moment before forcing herself up again. Glancing around frantically, her eyes fell on Luc.

“Mister Luc!” shouted Ritha. “Mister Luc, you have to help!”

Luc winced at the noise.

“Tissa, he…he…” Ritha grabbed at the hem of her tunic, twisting it in her hands.

“I know what he did,” said Luc, rubbing his ears. “But that’s his job, right? As the Duelist, he’s supposed to be the one doing the fighting.”

Ritha fell quiet, eyes falling to the ground. In a very small voice, she spoke.

“…but he’s going to die…”

From inside the room, Luc heard a loud thud followed by a scream of pain. Grimacing, Luc tried his best to ignore the sounds.

“Listen here,” said Luc. “You came down here to find someone, right? How can you find that person if you’re dead?”

It didn’t look like the words were getting through to Ritha. Her eyes had gone blank, and her breaths were growing shorter and shorter. Her hands squeezed the hem of her tunic, knuckles white.

“I-I have to go back,” muttered Ritha, turning back to the door. “I have to go back!”

Luc reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder before she did anything rash.

“Have you lost your mind?” said Luc, dragging her back. “Look at yourself! Do you really think you can do anything to help?”

Ritha’s face fell. For a moment she was silent, blinking furiously and lips trembling.

“M-maybe everyone is right,” said Ritha, voice frail. “Maybe I really can’t do anything.”

Luc sighed and opened his mouth. But before he could speak, Ritha raised her head, meeting his eyes. For the first time since he had met her, Luc saw a strength in her gaze that hadn’t been there before.

“But the things people say don’t matter if I don’t believe them myself.”

Ritha tore from Luc’s grip and began rummaging through her satchel, placing the potions into several different piles. Luc watched her in silence, mind twisting and turning? It wasn’t like he wanted to see someone die. If anything, that was the last thing he wanted. But he knew that there was nothing he could do that both kept him out of danger and helped save Tissa.

And if I have to choose between the two, I’ll choose my own life every single time. Just like I’ve always done.

Ritha stuffed her potions back into her satchel. Leaning down, she gave Cloud a quick pat on the head. Then, without looking at Luc, she began heading back towards the doors.

…nothing I can do?

Luc remembered Dante, wrestling against the warg. He remembered Maho, standing in the middle of the spirit vessels. Back then, he could do nothing but stand and watch. But now, with the pendant and the curse, were things really the same?

“Wait,” said Luc.

Ritha ignored him. Reaching out, Luc grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back once more. Ritha, despite the fear evident on her face, tried her best to glare at him. “You already told me what you think. Let me go!”

“I know,” said Luc. “But all you’re doing is throwing your life away. You can’t do anything to help.”

He took a deep breath and clamped his hands down on her shoulders. “But I can.”

Ritha’s eyes widened, and a spark of hope lit up on her face. “…you can?”

Luc nodded. “But only if you have more of those blue potions like the one you gave me before.”

“Brio potions?” Ritha fumbled inside her satchel, coming up with a handful of the vials filled with blue liquid.

I was hoping she wouldn’t have them! But his choice had already been made. Snatching the vials from Ritha’s hand, he hurried back over to the crack between the doors. Peering around the corner, he looked inside.

In the large room, the stone statue chased after Tissa. Luc was honestly surprised to see that Tissa was still up and about, given the strength of the enemy. However, it didn’t look like he could keep it up for long. His tunic was adorned with a fresh coat of blood, coming from scrapes and scratches all over his body.

Why doesn’t he get back to the other side of the room?

Luc got his answer as Tissa tried to do just that. Before Tissa could even begin moving, the stone statute continued its relentless barrage, smashing both of its swords down on top of him. Tissa dashed to the side, but the stone statue caught up with him in an instant. Unlike the man, the statue seemed to have unlimited strength and unlimited stamina – no matter how evasive Tissa was, the stone statue would catch up eventually.

“Mister Luc!” said Ritha, shaking his arm.

There was no time to waste. For a moment, Luc looked at Ritha. There’s no way she’s in league with someone like Yata. Praying that he was right, Luc turned to Cloud. “Back in the pendant.”

Ritha’s eyes widened as the swirling white circle appeared from the pendant Luc’s chest. Cloud trotted up to the circle and hopped in, vanishing into thin air.

“Bones.”

As Cloud disappeared, Bones stepped out of the white circle, dropping to a knee in front of Luc. Ignoring the look on Ritha’s face, Luc turned to Bones and pointed a finger into the room.

“I command you to kill that stone statue.”

Bones turned towards the crack between the two doors. Then the white aura of the dog spirit burned to life, engulfing the entirety of Bones’ body. In an instant, Bones shot through the crack of the door, heading straight for the stone statue. Luc put a hand to the side of his head, controlling his breathing. After increasing Bones’ loyalty, it was much easier to keep her under control, but he could still feel the slight pressure weighing down on his mind.

In an instant, Bones reached the stone statue. Drawing her fist back, she threw a punch at the stone statue’s back. Almost faster than Luc’s eyes could follow, the stone statue whirled around, smacking Bones with the back of its fist. Bones hurtled backwards, crashing into the wall with a boom, cloud of dust rising where she had impacted the stone.

Even Bones can’t touch it?

Bones shot back out of the cloud of dust, hurtling back at the stone statue. This time, the stone statue swung one of its swords at her. Bones dodged the blow with ease, darting to the side. But before she could make any more progress, the stone statue lashed out with a foot, knocking Bones back once more.

Even though Bones’ attacks weren’t doing anything to harm the stone statue, they did distract it from continuing its attack on Tissa. Tissa, while the stone statue was occupied, swung his head to look towards the crack in the door. Upon seeing Ritha, waving frantically with her hands, Tissa began stumbling towards the door, using his lance as support.

The stone statue saw through the ruse almost immediately. Swatting Bones aside like a fly once again, it bounded towards Tissa, raising its swords over its head.

“Behind you!” screamed Ritha.

Tissa’s eyes widened. Right before the stone swords crushed him, he leaped to the side, rolling out of the way. But this time, he didn’t entirely avoid the blow. One of the swords glanced off the stone floor, smashing Tissa in the side. Tissa careened off the stone blade, flying across the room. He slid to a stop a short distance away from Luc and Ritha, body still.

Bones?

Luc glanced around the room frantically. Next to one of the walls, Bones was struggling to her feet, one of her arms hanging limply at her side. In front of Luc and Ritha, the stone statue approached the motionless form of Tissa, raising a sword over its head.

Ritha burst out from behind Luc, scrambling towards Tissa.

“What are you doing?” roared Luc, tearing at his hair.

There was no time to think. Any second now, the statue would swing down, crushing Tissa and Ritha in one blow. As Luc watched, time seemed to slow.

Is she going to throw it all away? Just for a random peasant she’s never met before?

Luc simply could not comprehend the way peasants thought. He, the heir of Tosa, could not even begin imagining doing anything of this –

Even a noble’s gotta try new things, right?

Luc sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes. Then he looked up, wrapping his hand around the pendant hanging from his chest.

“Hopper!”

As the circle of white mist glowed to life once more, a weight heavier than anything Luc had experienced thus far burst into Luc’s conscience. Instantly drained of stamina, Luc slumped against the door, gasping for breath. In front of him, Hopper emerged, dropping to one knee. Raising a trembling arm, Luc emptied one of the Brio potions into his mouth. The fatigue vanished for a moment, just long enough for Luc to give a single command.

“Protect them.”

Hopper sprang into the room, passing Ritha in a single hop. Extending his tongue, Hopper grabbed the base of it, hardening the length of the tongue above his webbed hand. The hardened tongue glistened, taking on the appearance of a razor-sharp blade. Hopper landed in front of Tissa right as the stone statue swung down. Hopper met the blow with a slash of his own. With a clang, the blades met. Hopper collapsed to a knee, buckling under the weight of the blow. But he did not fall.

Ritha finally reached Tissa. Grabbing him by the tunic, she began hauling him inch by inch towards the crack between the doors. At the crack, Luc downed another one of the Brio potions, trying to replenish his stamina. But no matter how much he drank, his breaths began to grow more and more ragged, his vision pulsating with black and red.

I can’t keep this up for long!

“Bones! Back to the pendant!” Luc shouted.

Bones zoomed across the room, skirting around the fight between Hopper and the stone statue. Arriving in front of him, she hopped into the swirling white circle, vanishing into the pendant. As soon as she was gone, the weight on Luc’s head lifted, allowing him to get a good look at what was happening.

Ritha had almost made it to the exit, face red with exertion. A little ways away, the stone statue repeatedly tried to attack her, but all of its attacks were foiled by Hopper. While the statue’s power seemed to be much greater than Hopper’s, the swordstoad knew how to deflect the incoming blows with its tongue-sword. There was no way for Hopper to defeat the statue, but the same held true in reverse.

The stalemate bought enough time, finally allowing Ritha to pull Tissa through the space between the doors. The moment they made it through, the stone statue abruptly halted its attacks. It simply stood there, staring through the crack, hollow pits of eyes gazing at Luc. Then it turned and headed back towards the pedestal it came from. Leaning back, Luc tilted his head upwards and closed his eyes, sending a prayer up to the gods.

It was over.