"Zephanie, you're on the bear. Joyeuse, take the dragon," Ondun called. Without hesitation, his Mons dove into the fray. On his heels was Sylphie. "Maggie, help Joyeuse take down Snowflake. Wispy, Winnie is trouble too, focus on area denial with your fire!" Her Mons also plunged into the fray. Winnie, the odd white bear, unleashed a savage roar that staggered the other Mons for a moment. Snowflake took a sharp breath in and with a cry of "Froswyrm!" blasted the area with a wave of frigid cold that made rime crystallize on every surface, living or otherwise.

  The City Leader's Mons each faced off against one of both Sylphie's and Ondun's, but the man only smiled. "Two on one may allow you to have a chance. But, seducer of my daughter..." Ondun scoffed loudly at that, "...you get to deal with me."

  Immediately the man flung himself forward, with a blast of light in his wake. An outstretched palm cut through the air as Ondun spun quickly to one side. Unfortunately the man had foreseen the move and swung his leg into a solid kick that slammed into the side of the Draconian adventurer's cuirass, sending him skidding back about ten feet. From the force of the blow on his mighty artifact armor, Ondun knew that had been a 'friendly' greeting, and not an attack intended to do real harm.

  Sylphie charged her father, the blade of her greatsword prepared for a sweep. In a flash of motion that reminded Ondun of his shukuchi art from the Shinobi schools, the man appeared safely behind her, and gently nudged the blade so that the point aimed itself at Ondun, who had to Jump out of the path of the charging Shadow Knight. He smirked. "I can see that you've not been using that for a long time. By way of lesson, my daughter: Don't point a weapon at anything you don't intend to destroy."

  The young monster coach arrested her momentum and faced off against her father. Ondun shouted a few quick orders to their combined monster force. Immediately, Zephanie was able to block an attack that would have dealt grievous damage to Wispy, so the the Wispowill could land a well-placed ember on the massive, pale bear that took. The bear immediately dropped and began to roll, to put out the fire before it could debilitate the creature. This gave Zephanie and Wispy more openings to pelt the larger, more powerful Mon with blades of wind and gouts of fire.

  The battle against Snowflake the Frostwyrm was going much less favorably for their combined force. Joyeuse's strikes were bouncing harmlessly off the creature's pale blue scales; Maggie, on the other hand, was getting the hang of her lightning powers. Unfortunately, the avian didn't fully realize that lightning would appear almost instantaneously where she aimed it; she was still leading her target as if slinging Wind Blades at them. "Maggie! Lightning strikes where you aim it, unlike your Wind attacks! Also, ware the breath!" Maggie began to chirp her name in confirmation, only to have to quickly fall to avoid a wave of cold air from the giant enemy Frostwyrm.

  Lee Lee nodded with approval. "Good. Mister Ondun, why don't you worry about the monster battle? I need to have a word with my daughter. At least she brought home a competent coach."

  A wave of shadow was flung at the man, who materialized a partial barrier of light with one palm, that immediately cracked under the onslaught. "My daughter, that was a powerful strike. You sure seem to hate me. I'm sure it was the poison this thing poured into your ears. I bet Ying Biyu didn't help."

  Sylphie's eyes went wide. "What!? No, it's not like that! It's never been like that!" Immediately the man closed to his daughter, and slammed his palm into the black cuirass, sending her flying through the air. She seemed to have been prepared for this, though, because she curled midair, and planted her feet on a ruined wall, then pushed off it. Her form cloaked itself in gloom as she used a move she'd perfected in the forced march from Cheng to Liangjian.

  She pushed her heel against a small platform of condensed shadow, which made it seem as if she was leaping in midair, but for a tiny pop of the anima detonation under her heel. She flung herself at her father, only for him grab the wrist of her gauntlet mid-flight, and slightly twist, so that she went careening into Ondun, knocking him to the ground. Were I a more learned man, Ondun thought grumpily as he helped himself and Sylphie up, I would say that what just happened is an apt metaphor for my entire relationship with Sylphie.

  Sylphie pulled her blade back up. Lee Lee sighed. "You know you can't defeat me, child. Not physically, and certainly not emotionally. You don't have it in you to harm your own father, and if you can't do that, you can't beat me in a contest of brawn. Your Mons may be doing well, I'll grant, but you're completely outclassed. I've fought in skirmishes you can't and don't want to dream of. Just come to my side, and drop that archaic weapon. We can be a family again."

  Ondun sighed. Over a week of traveling with Sylphie informed him of exactly what was coming next.

  "Daddy, you're more of a moron than this guy," she jabbed her thumb at Ondun. "We've always been a family, but I didn't walk away from you. When mommy died, you walked away from me. It was all about this 'cultivation', all about your City Leader duties. The last time we ate together was when mommy was still alive. Don't you dare say I walked away from you!" She blasted the man with another wave of shadow, but this time the cracks in his shield were larger. Once again she flung herself at her father, only for him to redirect the plunge. This time, there was a lot less finesse.

  Ondun shouted a few more orders, but now his mind was furiously at work. The man's right. Blow-for-blow, Sylphie isn't an experienced enough combatant to win through brute force. Fortunately for her, brute force isn't the answer. She just needs her father to stop fighting, and to agree to stop fighting. Her words did get through...how can I help her see this?

  "Sylphie, I agree with your father on one thing. You can't beat him by fighting." She and Lee Lee turned. Sylphie's mouth was agape, while Lee Lee had a smug expression. "That being said, I think I reject your father in all other ways. To walk away from one's own child? That's shameful. Sylphie, I'll travel with you to the ends of all worlds. But him? He's a failure of a man who can't see what's important, even when it's charging him with a greatsword."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Ondun saw the emotional wounds his words opened up. The idea that Ondun would reject him was clearly not something the man had countenanced. Sylphie took pause at the unexpected declaration, as he hoped she would. Sylphie was very emotional, but she was also very intelligent. She had single-handedly taught him basic reading skills in a few days, and had made significant contributions to their monster coaching. Thus, Ondun watched with satisfaction as the woman paused, calmed herself, and quickly reconstructed the conversation. She went over every word with a metaphorical fine-toothed comb.

  He knew that she'd won the entire fight the moment her eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her face. "Thanks, Ondun."

  He nodded. "Joyeuse, fall back, another breath attack incoming! Zephanie, finish Winnie off, and help against Snowflake!" A loud thud sounded across the battlefield as the bear was slammed to the ground, leaving the white dragon facing off against four Mons.

  Lee Lee was still speechless at Ondun's rejection, but Sylphie got up. "Father, you know what? I agree with Ondun. You are a failure of a father, but I still love you. I'm disappointed in you. You're supposed to be a damn adult. You're supposed to help and guide me, even if that time is almost at an end. You were supposed to help and guide me after mommy died, but you didn't. The hell of the thing is, I still love you. To be disappointed in you, learn, and move on...maybe that's what it is to love one's father in my case. Our Mons are overpowering yours, but this fight? Maybe this doesn't need to happen."

  She slid her sword over her back. "Ondun, tell me when we've won. We're leaving as soon as that's over with. We need to chase down the real threat to Monastria. We can't waste time with this guy." she jabbed her thumb at her father. This made tears well up in his eyes. Not quite to the level of Aenora rejecting that one warlord, but still savage...and deserved.

  Ondun played along. "You heard Sylphie. Finish that dragon off, then we've got places to be. We've tried to help this moron save his city and his family, but if he doesn't want it, there's not much else we can do. You can lead a horsebird to water, but you can't make it drink," he added sagely.

  Lee Lee looked back and forth between Ondun and Sylphie. "No, daughter...Sylphie...wait. Please wait!"

  The entire fight skidded to a halt. He quickly returned his unconscious bear Mon, then ran to his daughter, who was giving him a shoulder so cold, Snowflake would have needed a sweater. "Do...do you still love me? Are you really going to leave me?"

  She turned her head a fraction of an inch. "Daddy, I already did. I told you I was setting out for my journey weeks ago. You never even graced me with a reply. I was already walking away. I would love for us to be a family again. I've wanted that for so long." She turned, and her entire form was cloaked in gloomy anima as her grief, her love, and her disdain warred for each other, and the power within expressed itself the only way it could. "But you keep pushing me away. Always it was 'I'm too busy'. Always it was 'I'm too tired'. Daddy, I know you miss mommy. I know you still love mommy. I miss her too! But she's GONE!" she had yelled, and she tried to calm herself. "She's gone. I'm what's left of our family. I have no idea if you can love me."

  The man was in tears. Sylphie was in tears. Ondun noticed Snowflake and the Mons growling and chirping amongst each other. It seems a ceasefire has been agreed to, he thought with satisfaction.

  For a moment, Ondun considered saying nothing. This wasn't his family, and he was an interloper not just in this situation, but also on this world. He quickly realized he would hate himself if he didn't do something to help Sylphie regain her tattered family.

  "Mister Lee," he began, and put a gauntleted hand on the man's shoulder. "Sylphie does love you, but you've also hurt her terribly. The reason she lashes out at me is she's so used to just not getting your attention. When she realized I took her seriously, she practically started clinging to me." Sylphie nodded while sobbing.

  "Sylphie is an amazing woman, and I care for her so much I struggle to put it to words. I've tried to warn her away from my path. Trouble either follows me, or makes itself apparent where I go. Still, she keeps choosing to be with me. I...I do love your daughter," he said, finding conviction in finally voicing feelings that had been welling in him for a long time. "Because I love Sylphie, I also want to ask you: Do you really mean to keep things as they are? Monastria is on the edge of ruin. Even if we do everything right, there's no guarantee we can defeat the ones who've instigated this. There's no weapon, or technique that can solve everything. Why don't you reach out and let your daughter embrace you?"

  He immediately answered. "I see so much of my wife in Sylphie...I fear I won't keep it together. I fear...I'll fall apart."

  Ondun extended a hand to Sylphie. She took it. He extended a hand to Lee Lee, the man who a few moments ago was all but a sworn enemy. He took it, and pressed the hands of father and daughter together. "Then, if only for a moment, fall apart. It..it can help. I lost a good friend a year ago, and I've been fighting ever since." He closed his eyes. "I think Sylphie does love me, but I worry she loves me because I was basically doing what you were doing. She deserves healthy relationships, with men who can mutually love her." He pushed away from the father and daughter, amidst the ruins of their home city. "So, please, for the love of the All-Mother, break down. Here, and now. No harm will come to you, either of you. I won't allow it...and neither will Sylphie."

  Lee Lee looked down to his daughter, as if seeing her for the first time. "I...I can't get over my grief that easily..." he said, before he embraced his daughter. "I shall try, though. It's as you say: Everything seems to be pitched on the edge of ruin. It would be foolishness to keep going as I have."

  "Sylphie, please forgive me. I love you so," he choked out, between the unbidden, unrelenting tears that had built up over years.

  "I forgive you." The Shadow Knight held her father close as the gloom blasted out and cleansed the tainted air about them. Immediately the not-radiance became a true radiance. Ondun's mouth was agape at the change in the air. How did she do that?

  "Ondun! How did she do that?" Aenora asked. She, Hiro, and the two very soggy Rangers had walked up. They must've tried to make a fight of it, he reasoned. He shrugged. "My tentative guess is the magical power of love. No, really!" he added, seeing their shared incredulous look. "I mean, I wouldn't believe it either, if I hadn't seen it happen..."

  Aenora looked around. "The anima has been largely neutralized, though the entire area seems vaguely attuned to Positive Light. The corrupted Mons will need to be hunted, and treated...but at least here in this area, she's effectively ended the most vexing part of the crisis." She rubbed her chin. "Now all we need to do is get that information to someone who can make use of it..."