[Chapter 62] Wise – Blood Arena II

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Wise cradled Rose, weeping. Everything, all of it, is my fault. He should’ve anticipated Hope’s kidnapping. He could’ve warned Rose. Yet he’d failed because he’d been content to wallow in inadequacy. And his sister had paid the price.

I WILL NEVER LIE AGAIN. THIS I SWEAR. Biting down furiously, Wise did what he should’ve done weeks ago. As he tasted blood, the dynamics of the chaotic fight became clear. Sion was fending off berserking phoenixes while his siblings pursued in a blind rage. This wouldn’t last. Once Rose’s familiars fell, they’d be slain one by one. The future held a massacre. Unless I change it.

I WILL PROTECT MY SIBLINGS NO MATTER WHAT. NEVER AGAIN WILL I PROCRASTINATE OR DELAY. THIS I SWEAR. Even if late, the declaration felt good. But it’s not nearly enough. To overturn this hopeless situation, to redeem himself, he needed more.

Sion smashed a firebird out of existence. Two left… Time was running out, yet his mind blanked on what to pledge. There were so many possibilities, but none promising enough. As another phoenix was impaled, he saw Soul charge fearlessly, and the answer hit him.

I WILL BE A HERO. I WILL SLAY ALL EVILS BEFORE ME. I WILL DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS. I WILL BE THE TORCH THAT ILLUMINATED THE DARKNESS. I WILL BE THE WALL THAT PROTECTS ALL, EVEN AT THE COST OF MY LIFE. THIS I SWEAR. He chomped down hard.

Clarity washed over him surpassing anything before. Blood running from his mouth, Wise tore off his headband and yelled, “All-Knowing Grasp!”