Neither fighter moved. Both still held the handles of their weapons, not yet drawn. Rosa’s eyes traced Bauph’s golden armor and the immense cross on his back.

Her voice soft, she asked, “Are you from the Holy Order?”

“Huh? Well, I guess I’m still counted as one, but—“

Rosa drew her weapon. The curved blade of the scythe glinted dangerously as she held the scythe out in front of her with two hands. The ease at which she held her weapon was at odds with her slender form. Appearances could be much more deceiving down here in Sanora.

Her eyes were dark, almost hateful as she glared at Bauph. Clearly she had some beef with the Order. Curt wasn’t so fond of the religious group either, but the way she was looked at Bauph was almost as if he had personally offended her.

“Then die,” she said.

She moved way too fast for someone holding a heavy scythe. Curt expected to see Bauph cut to ribbons, but her swings were deflected. A nearly invisible bubble surrounded Bauph. Bauph began to chant an assortment of prayer spells within the safety of his barrier, and Curt watched as he began to radiate with light.

Rosa backed off and began her own, darker incantation. Black magic swirled over her scythe. She swiped at Bauph, and a loud crack rang out as the scythe’s tip began to fracture the forcefield. But Bauph was also done casting.

Just before the scythe could bite into his flesh, Bauph parried the strike with his cross that now gleamed so brilliantly that Curt’s eyes stun as he stared at it. The weapon illuminated the dark room like a bright sun, and Curt could see the Blood Moon fighters clearly in the sidelines.

Rosa didn’t seem fazed. If anything, her attacks became more frenzied at the sight of Bauph’s shining cross. The dark energy of her scythe roiled with anger, mimicking its master’s mood. But her strikes kept getting parried or blocked by temporary barriers as Bauph held out.

Rosa’s eyes sparked with enmity as each of her swings got deflected. She backed off, and took a deep breath. Her face went smooth as she composed herself, eyes closed. Reopening them, Curt noticed the swirling dark magic around her scythe became calm. The magic had condensed onto the blade, turning it pitch black and opaque. No light was reflected in its metal anymore. She readied for a wide swing. Bauph readied his cross to block the attack.

Bauph swung his cross right as Rosa swept her blade. The impact sent out a shockwave that nearly knocked Curt to the ground. Even Blood Moon’s fighters had to brace themselves. Only Layil seemed unbothered as his long hair whipped in the air.

Shadow and light collided viciously, and Curt could barely keep his eyes open to watch as light flashed amidst the obscuring shadows. He didn’t know Bauph was this powerful; Curt thought that Bauph was a normal guy too. Seeing Bauph fight now made Curt realize how much of a weak link he was in Point Blank. Regardless of what Xujen, Tera, and Jesse thought, Curt knew he was the weakest.

Rosa was circling Bauph, eyes probing for an opening, any opening. But Curt could tell that Bauph had no openings. Despite his ridiculously heavy cross, Bauph now hefted his cross like it was nothing more than a twig. All of Rosa’s strikes were stopped short by the massive bulk of the cross, which Bauph used the minimal amount of movement to position.

Rosa wasn’t winning, but neither was Bauph. Every clash had Rosa as the attacker, with Bauph simply guarding against her. She left no time for him to retaliate, and he didn’t bother either.

“Why don’t you fight back?” Rosa asked.

Bauph shrugged. “I don’t see a point in this fight to begin with. I don’t know why you hate me or the Order so much, but I don’t have any gripes with you.”

She stared. “I don’t understand. You and I are enemies.”

“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been dragged into this mess. I don’t plan on making enemies out of Blood Moon, and I don’t exactly like fighting either.”

Curt began to wonder if the only reason Bauph volunteered himself to fight was so he could avoid having to heal the next fighter. He wasn’t entirely sure, but the healing spells Bauph seemed like a different sort of magic. At the very least, healing Jesse’s broken arm and injuries didn’t seem to have tired him out, so maybe he wasn’t trying to skip out on healing.

“You… don’t want to fight?” Rosa’s scythe lowered a fraction. She seemed genuinely confused by Bauph, who didn’t bother to attack back.

“I’d rather not,” Bauph said. “I figured I’d put up a show, and once I started running low on mana I’d tap out.”

“No.” Rosa raised her scythe again, her dark eyes once again seething. “Liar. All Holy Order members are liars.”

Her entire body began to get enveloped by her shadowy magic. Curt’s skin prickled and the hairs on his neck stood up. The candles around the room began to flicker wildly, the flame looking like it was struggling to stay attached to the wick. Even Bauph’s radiant aura seemed to dim as a strange haze seemed to settle.

“Rosa, stop.”

Layil’s voice cut through the room like a scalpel for bloodletting slicing through skin. The haze disappeared. The candles stopped flickering. Bauph’s golden glow brightened once more. Whatever that ominous feeling Curt had was gone without a trace.

Layil casually held out Rosa’s scythe. Curt didn’t even see Layil move. He didn’t even see when her scythe was taken from her, and Rosa looked just as surprised. Her hands were still posed as if the scythe had never left her.

“You know what?” Layil said. “I’ll let this match go to Point Blank.”

“What?” Despite the surprised tone, Bauph’s relief was almost palpable.

“Rosa did something she shouldn’t have. She deserves to be disqualified.”

Rosa grabbed her scythe and stalked off. Now that Bauph dropped his illuminating aura, Curt couldn’t tell where she went once she disappeared into the shadows.

Layil faced Point Blank. “Congratulations on an unearned victory. Sadly, the last match wasn’t as entertaining as I hoped. I suppose that’s partly my fault though; I overestimated Rosa’s ability to control herself.”

“Well, that makes it two for two,” Otto said. He was on his last cigarette and the tension in his face was gone. Curt figured he was glad the last of the matches were over, and even ended in an unexpected victory. “What now?”

“This whole affair was a decent distraction, but now I tire.” Layil propped his legs over an armrest. “You may leave.”

Otto opened his mouth to argue, and Curt was ready to back him up. They didn’t suffer through the duel just to end up leaving empty handed.

Before Otto got a word in, Layil continued, “I’ll send Rosa once she’s reflected on her actions. She’ll get rid of that curse for you. Come back when you’re done recruiting those thieves, and we’ll work out the bounties as well.”

“So, you sayin’ we won the duel?” Otto asked.

Layil smiled. “No. Consider it a favor. Point Blank now owes Blood Moon, and one day, I’ll come to claim that debt. But for now, rest easy. You were amusing — for a D-rank guild.”

----

“That was humiliating.”

Tera slumped into one of the kitchen chairs when they returned. Jesse was still out, and Mahku carried him to their room to rest. Otto had already disappeared into room. Xujen was nodding his head in agreement with Tera.

“Indeed,” he said. “Never have I suffered such a severe loss.”

“Blood Moon is a strong guild,” Mahku said. “Even other A-rank guilds would have been defeated.”

“Strong? They were monsters. Each of them was as strong as a dojo master,” Tera said. “I’m surprised none of us died.”

“Jesse nearly did,” Mahku reminded her. “But he also won. They are not impossible to defeat.”

“He won because his opponent gave him sympathy. That Damang could’ve ended Jesse in the first second of the match. The only reason he didn’t was because he was playing with Jesse. It was just a game to Blood Moon.”

“Jesse won because he was underestimated. Just like how you lost to a guy with a broken mana center before,” Curt said, feeling a need to defend Jesse. He didn’t deserve to have his victory talked down like that. “Doesn’t make the win any less legitimate. In a real fight, you should never take chances.”

Tera opened her mouth, about to argue, but then changed her mind. She sighed. “You’re right. Jesse did do well. More than well. He’s been in Sanora for less than a month and he’s a natural at using magic already.”

“I’m just glad I lucked out,” Bauph said. “I had at most a minute before completely running out of mana. Keeping so many spells active isn’t easy.”

“That’s still impressive,” Curt said. “At least you could keep up, even if for a little while. Me? I wasn’t even allowed to fight.”

“That’s for the best,” Mahku said. “With your broken mana—“

“I know. I would kick the bucket in the first second. It’s just…” Curt trailed off. He was just venting his frustrations, and the guild didn’t need to hear it. They had just fought against a legendary assassin guild — they had their own frustrations probably.

Curt glanced towards Jesse’s room. He felt like he really let the young man down. Jesse was a far better fighter than Curt. Even when you took the mana centers out of the equation, Jesse had something Curt didn’t. And that something is why Jesse would win and Curt would lose if they ever fought.

Mahku gave Curt a sympathetic look. “It is not easy to fight in this world without mana. The best you can do is hone the abilities you currently possess.”

“You’re welcome to join me in training in the morning,” Xujen offered. “I will be starting two hours earlier than usual. To have been defeated so easily… I will make sure it won’t happen again.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Curt said. Two hours earlier meant well before the sun rose.

Xujen nodded. “Very well. I hope your own training goes well then, Curt. I shall excuse myself now. There is much I need to reflect on.”

“Same. I’m beat.” Tera headed back to her room.

Mahku was frowning. “Are you sure, Curt? While in that previous duel you opted not to use anything that I taught, I still think you should learn--“

“If another pebble is thrown at me again, it’ll be too soon,” Curt interrupted. “Besides, I have an idea going forward that’ll hopefully make me less useless.” He just needed to figure out a good time to pay Kirina a visit. Maybe once the whole business with the Viper and the Shroud was settled.

Assuming everything went well and the two were recruited, that meant Point Blank only needed one more member. One more member and one more month before the tournament began. Curt wanted to be sure that he’d be able to even compete by then. The level he was at wasn’t going to cut it.

The sound of shifting sheets and blankets them all that Jesse woke up. Mahku headed into the room first, with Curt and Bauph following behind. Curt wanted to make sure he was alright, and Bauph tagged along in case Jesse needed any more healing.

Jesse blinked up at them. “What happened? I was fighting… The fight!” He tried to sit up abruptly, but Mahku gently stopped him, prompting him to lie down again.

“It’s over, but don’t worry, you won.” Mahku said reassuringly in response to the

“I… won? I won?! How the hell did I win?”

“Damang gave the match to you,” Bauph said. “He considered it his loss.”

“That bastard—“ Jesse tried to sit up again, but Mahku firmly kept him in place.

“Relax,” Curt said. “You were great. Better than Xujen and Tera even. You should be proud.”

Jesse’s eyes flicked to Curt. “Really?”

“Yeah. You pulled off some really cool moves out there, ‘Trick Shot Jester’.”

Jesse beamed. “I try.”