As the bear-druid slow-blinked and puzzled over the information delivered by the queen, Azure pinged Aodhan mentally again. “Remind me why I’m doing this, please? This place is a disaster. What good are they to our cause?”

  Once more, Aodhan responded with strong airs of resigned longsuffering. “They’re difficult to manage, yes, but if you do manage it, you have no less than thirteen realms of war-capable fae to join the fray. Again, their entire lives are filled with conflict. The prince realms do not war with this central realm, but they do amongst each other, to attempt giving conquered realms over to their sons. Currently, five sons rule, three grandsons, two great-grandsons, and… well, I forget the others. Most recently, the imprisoned prince of one realm was broken free and aims to retake, with strong signs he’ll succeed.”

  It was answer enough, she supposed. “You know more than Redberry does about them.”

  “Her memory is more damaged than most, after all. Furthermore, she wanted to forget. Her direct realm forgot with her. In any case, we’re at no one’s beck and call but our own. Our knowledge exists for our benefit. Our ancestors spread it and paid the price. By learned necessity, we’re more careful.”

  “I don’t want to kill this druid.”

  “Want and need are often different. Do as you will.”

  The great bear shook its head, then turned to Azure. “Perhaps you could just run now? It would save the trouble, and I might accidentally kill you trying to scare you.”

  Azure took a deep breath. “I’m not running at all.” She looked from the bear to the queen. “In fact, I’m going to win.” She raised her hand and the dagger Deathsting flashed into it, pointed at the queen. “His blood is on your hands for doing this. Are you ready for that?”

  The queen opened her mouth, ready to say something barbed, but her eyes flickered to the bear and she hesitated. Her mouth closed and she slowly sat back down on her throne, eying both of them on the edge of her seat.

  The giant bear approached as all the guards backed far away from them — as did Aodhan. “A noble conviction,” the bear said. “Give it your all, then, but you can always change your mind. We shall begin on your hurrah.”

  Azure took stock of her surroundings. The platform's base was almost, but not completely clear of much obstruction, perhaps to allow large numbers to present themselves to the throne. On the other hand, the outer steps had water flowing from the tree's roots, which inevitably fell down into the abyss. This made a natural border other than the narrowing approach, with a bottleneck that maybe three could walk abreast.

  I know from his guiding us that he is quite nimble despite his size, and he did say he helped build the city, so I doubt I can easily make him fall off.

  “What are the rules?” Azure asked as she moved to her left, circling, allowing decent clearance in every direction, but not getting too close. He is almost certainly going for melee strikes.

  The king answered, voice morose and resigned. “All that occurs to me is that you must face each other alone. Otherwise, rules are only as there are between you. Hmm. You… aren’t from this realm. There are global rules. Some are forgotten. The unforgettable one is always relevant: The Rule of High Rulers. Except for the natural creatures of the realm, only the highest royals may ascend and bypass the wicked medium of nature.”

  Azure had to ponder that for a moment. “Flight. You mean only you can fly?”

  “The sky is for our royal duels, where all may see our majesty on display in battle. We do not trouble ourselves with the affairs of the lesser folk in war, whose results as a whole always reflect ours. Mere mimicry. They have their lesser glories, of course.”

  “My husband has always been unbeatable,” the queen offered. “Twice in memory was a prince so bold to think he could challenge him. They fell. Short and to the ground.”

  The king turned to regard the queen. “The sky is also for our royal spring mating, where even a contentious harpy such as this cannot resist the call of-”

  “Enough!” the queen cried sharply, as she put her hand right over the king’s face and mouth. “She does not need to hear those details, you vulgar and despicable creature!” Despite her audacity, the king fended her off and pulled away with great humor on his face, laughing jovially at her.

  Weird. Despite the thought, Azure felt sudden urges rise up at the thought of sex with Samantha while flying. Quickly, she pushed such distracting thoughts away, however, primarily due to the impending death-defying fight she had to go through.

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  “Wielder,” Deathsting suddenly offered into her mind, “this being will likely resist my poison mightily, but it is no golem, either. Thus, it is not immune. Enough cuts, enough time, and it will weaken.”

  “Noted. Questionable whether I’ll have that time.”

  “Yes. I will enjoy this. Until you die, of course.”

  “As always, I’ll try to avoid that.”

  Dagger in hand, Azure readied herself into a loose combat stance, then nodded to the giant bear across the stone platform. “Alright, then, big boy. Hurrah!” As she said it, she hurled Deathsting at the bear.

  It did not dodge, instead ducking its head and charging right for her with blistering speed. The dagger hit home right along its body, but the runes etching into the bear’s fur lit up brightly, and the dagger failed to penetrate, cutting over the surface and then beginning an arc to carry itself back to Azure.

  “Temporary wound contest upgrade,” Deathsting offered with a derisive tone. “A vast value. It functioned like a physical barrier. No blood drawn.”

  Similar to a wound negation. I have something like that — in addition, that is.

  Azure threw herself to the side to dodge the giant bear’s charge. A paw flashed at her at tremendous speed, talons aimed low. With its reach, she couldn’t quite get away — claws slashed her legs, the force coming against her wound negations even as her skin suddenly hardened protectively.

  Well, isn’t that handy?

  The force of the talons threw her off-balance but she turned it into an acrobatic roll. As she came up, she activated the full power of [Statuesque Figure], hardening her skin to the tune of 10 extra levels and improving her wounding thresholds for the lower-level wounds. It would take more to injure her severely in one go. On the other hand, exceeding by 7+ always killed her instantly as she would shatter. This was no different than most warriors, though — and, as a whole, it was almost unthinkable in terms of level comparisons.

  She had no Mortal Wound state at all: Minor Wound at 3, Major at 4-5, and Critical at 6. A peasant or spellcaster would be 1/2/3/4/5, while [Brutes] and the like upgraded the thresholds in Major at low level, and more progressively with higher levels.

  The hardening was a bit like flexing a muscle and took effort that would fatigue her over time, on a ‘minutes’ scale. When she'd tested it ‘cold,’ she'd found that she could maintain it for around six minutes, but it would be longer when pumped with adrenaline and need.

  The dagger flew back into Azure’s hand just as she altered course from her dodging pattern, angling right for the bear. He was just spinning around as she breakneck charged for him, intent on unleashing a flurry of dagger strikes.

  The bear immediately attempted to ‘parry’ her, which for him was tantamount to another attack. Azure darted away from the wild swing while running the blade over the paw. The sound of resistance came again, but she spared no time for consideration. With the opening, she dashed forward at the snarling beast and double-slashed it in the face, one cut catching him right on the nose. Both strikes made his runes flare and sputter in great intensity.

  More resistance. The bear simultaneously recoiled and swept its massive paw back, this time aiming high. Azure rolled under it in another acrobatic display and immediately jumped backward. At the same time, the bear was backing up, too, a paw briefly going to its nose. There was no cut, but there was an indentation. He must’ve felt it.

  The king, queen, and the crowd in general gasped collectively.

  He doesn’t like his nose hit, eh?

  “Effective, Wielder,” Deathsting offered approvingly. “His ablative resistance from those annoying runes is wearing down. In two or three more, we will draw blood.”

  Azure and the bear took new stock of each other as they circled. Azure felt like she had the ‘jump’ now, that indentation tantamount to the very carving of doubt itself.

  The bear bared its fangs. “A cloaked assassin. I should’ve expected it. You have my admiration. I see that your true toughness is equal or greater than mine. I will no longer hold back.”

  Great. Azure did not let any doubt register on her face. She grinned like a demon and took an intimidating, predatory pose as she waved her dagger around, invoking the [Nightblade] class. “I did not come as an assassin, but in so being forced to present my prowess, I seize and relish the opportunity!”

  With that, she gave a warcry and charged. It was an effective act, as the bear edged backward and adopted a defensive position instead of counter-charging.

  “I suggest a feint for better positioning with your superior maneuverability — and his pathetic hesitation. He looks poised for a counterattack, though. Bait him.”

  “Thanks, but I’m way ahead of you!”

  Azure dashed in as the bear waited and indeed seemed poised. She stutter-stepped to bait out the strike, and it came in a jabbing flash of movement — well short. The bear hopped back, and Azure’s segue into going for a flank was spoiled as the bear’s motion was revealed to be a feint as well.

  Just as she was getting a feel for how to proceed after the unexpected mutual hesitation, the bear leaned back on its hind legs and brought its paws together in a massive slap. A shockwave blasted out, catching her in it with ease — deafening and jarring her to the core.

  Oh no.

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