‘A… ttt… a…ack…’

  Eres ignored the sound that was no doubt of Scar’s making. She was far too deep in thought. This was a critical moment. A crossroad. She had to make a choice, and it had to be correct.

  Being assigned as Shamura’s escorts came as a surprise to her. Certainly, putting distance between them made an attempt on Otto’s life more difficult, but that was not enough to justify the risk.

  Eres assumed that Otto was spying on them through Shamura at all times, or at least in constant communication. Her Ventriloquism would certainly allow as much. Thus, if they made a move, he would become aware of it immediately.

  Shamura herself had proven much stronger than she expected. Each of those strange beasts she conjured rivaled the wight they had fought. Perhaps Otto thought that enough to protect her, or the threat enough of a deterrent. Shamura certainly carried herself with the composure that matched that line of thought.

  But there was still too much risk.

  Otto knew the extent of their power. Banda alone was stronger than the beasts now. If they fought together, Shamura had slim hope of survival. And separating them a few yards would not prevent their cooperation.

  Eres felt she was missing something. Perhaps Shamura was even stronger than she seemed. Perhaps they had taken precautions against assassination that would allow her to survive. Perhaps it didn’t matter to Otto whether she lived or died.

  Eres refocused her mind. She was overthinking things. Getting lost in the missing details. She contemplated the paths before her again.

  In the first possible outcome, they fail to kill Shamura.

  “Then she returns to Otto’s side. We most likely fail to assassinate him.”

  “A dead end.”

  In the second outcome, they kill Shamura.

  “We ambush Otto. Myself and Scar confront him directly, with Banda lying in wait. Otto can’t use the Soul Seeds with the threat of Banda’s ambush. Either we wear him down or Banda assassinates him.”

  “Then what of the horde and Barosa? How much of the horde is left? How strong is its leader? Stronger than the wight? Will it pursue us? The answer must be yes.”

  “Even Warlord did not dare attempt to escape in the opposite direction with several Rank 2 vassals. The leader must be too strong. The horde must be too challenging, even for us.”

  “We ally with Barosa against the horde. He has no choice. Then we kill him. It will be easier than Otto.”

  “The horde is defeated. The only threats are dead. That just leaves those who saw my Avatar. We don’t need to kill everyone immediately, just Barosa’s demonic lackeys. Then we can take our time.”

  “A victorious path.”

  Simmering frustration mounted in Eres’ expression.

  “The path is too clear… It’s not absolute, but it is very likely. Otto must see this too, so why did he allow it? There must be something I’m missing...”

  “Does he have a way to escape? No, that shouldn’t be possible. He is only mortal. His aura will run out. His stamina will deplete. Even he wouldn’t survive this horde in the wild.”

  “Is he hiding another advantage? Did I misjudge him? Is he that overconfident? Or is it all just a bluff? Did he truly wager his life on mere chance…?”

  “No. A schemer like him would never let himself be carried by the whims of fate. This path is an illusion. A dead end. I should wait for a better one…”

  Golden light flared within Eres’ eyes. A seething disgust for her cowardice boiled up from her core.

  “My true enemies are far greater than this. How can I stumble on mere pebble in my path? A trial of this level?”

  “I am not mistaken. This is a valid path to victory. I must merely walk it.”

  Eres’ face steeled as she prepared to use her Avatar. But the echoing gong of the town bell snapped her out of her thoughts. Its dull steady gongs paled in comparison to the roars of the horde. But to Eres it felt as though all else was silent.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Good news.” Shamura spoke up, her gaze still locked ahead. “Otto has slain Barosa.”

  Eres’ eyes sharpened intensely.

  “A lie. A bluff. It has to be. Is the gong fake? Shamura can manipulate sound, but I can see the bell swinging with perfect timing. Is that also an illusion? Shamura has shown no such art before.”

  “She has revealed three already. There’s a limit to how many she can have. Did she swap one out for just this moment? Had they planned that far ahead? How…?”

  “No, that’s not important… Is was she said true? It’s possible… We stand no chance if it is. If it is… this path is a dead end…”

  “Att…aa…ack.”

  “A…tta…ck.”

  Scar sent her hidden message after hidden message, each time growing more desperate and distressed. But Eres did not respond. She held still where she was, trapped in thought.

  ---

  The ogre roared with rage as it failed to hit either of its foes again. It battered and smashed but the ground remained the only victim of its club. In its failure, it once again set its sights on the slowest of the two.

  Barosa grunted a curse as he deflected the heavy swing and darted back before a second came. The brunt of the monster’s aggression fell upon him more often than not, a product of his false ally’s treacherous manipulations of the battle. Otto was proving more cunning and audacious than he expected.

  The ogre caught sight of Otto out of the corner of his eye, running inexplicable past his side. It smashed its club down again as Otto rolled away with perfect timing, guiding its sight back to Barosa.

  Barosa cursed as he noticed the monster corpses on the ground and the ogre raising its club to the side. The ogre thrashed the ground, whipping the bodies towards them as Otto flickered out of the volley’s path with a smile.

  Barosa’s face tensed as dark red mana enveloped him just in time before the corpses battered him with lethal force. The infernal energy vanished to reveal Barosa unharmed and unmoved, but his expression only worsened. He was at a stark disadvantage.

  Worse still, the pink mist of the monster repellent was starting to thin. With his lack of mobility, he would be at an even greater disadvantage were the horde to swarm. Barosa pulled out more dark red pills, and a scimitar soared through the air straight towards him.

  He lurched just in time to escape with a mere scratch, but that gave Otto enough time to flicker in close with his sword already slashing. Aura surged through Barosa as he cleaved his axe at Otto, but the town lord flickered away without warning. And the ogre’s club descended.

  Barosa just barely managed to deflect it in time, but the rush made his technique sloppy. A sharp crack sounded from his shoulder and blood spurted from ruptured veins in his arm.

  Barosa ignored the pain as he searched for Otto, who he knew would target him while he was weak. And found him at an unlikely place.

  Otto stepped from the ogre’s arm onto its shoulder and slashed out its eyes. A line of blood splashed through the air, and Otto jumped away as the ogre slapped its shoulder with its giant meaty hand.

  As the ogre turned his head, a fur cloak with Otto’s scent sailed past its face, guiding its focus back in the direction of Barosa. The ogre smashed the cloak into the ground, the only thing with Otto’s scent its powerful nose could detect, and barrelled towards Barosa again. It’s rage more intense than ever.

  A relentless barrage rained down on Barosa as he was forced to devote all of his focus to the titanic foe. And in that lapse, a ram the size of a horse with massive curved horns charged straight towards him through the depleting mist.

  It took Barosa only a brief instant to make a decision. He could not avoid the charge, so he did not try. Barosa slackened his feet and let the bucking horns land clean. He crashed away as the ogre’s club squashed the ram.

  With not a moment’s delay, Barosa sprung to his feet and fled. Remaining would only lead to his death. He would take his chances elsewhere. But a scimitar cut through the air towards him.

  Barosa raised his axe to block the blade on its handle, but Otto kicked him hard in the gut, sending him back a few yards. And that was all the delay the ogre needed to catch up.

  With a desperate expression, Barosa swallowed a blood red pill and his body swelled with power. So much so, that his muscles started to tear. He turned to face the ogre with bloodshot eyes and blocked its log tree club with sheer strength.

  The ogre unleashed a barrage again and Barosa met them all with nearly equal strength as he remained vigilant against Otto. He deflected and cleaved and bashed as the blood from his fraying body soaked his clothes and the ground beneath.

  Finally his leg staggered from the weight of a blow as his strength started to fail. And Otto took the bait as that false opening.

  Barosa snapped around with renewed vigor, cleaving his axe to meet Otto’s lunge with perfect timing. But Otto’s lazy smile did not change. He slashed early, and splattered Barosa’s eyes with the blood on his blade. And darted away.

  Barosa raised a hand to wipe the blood from his eyes, but was forced to twist again to block the deadly strike of the ogre. The barrage resumed, and this time Barosa’s strength faltered against it.

  He channeled the infernal energy again and readied his axe to sink deep into the ogre’s gut. But it dispersed as soon as he cast it. Barosa lurched desperately at the last moment, but he was too slow. The club crashed into him.

  Barosa vomited blood among the debris. He tried to stand but his legs would not obey him, mangled from the club. Before he could think any further, the ogre’s hand grabbed him and pulled him towards its face.

  “Nooooooo!”

  Barosa’s dreadful bellow ended as the ogre crunched down on his head. It devoured him in several vulgar bites, armor and all. A red mist started to rise from its wounds. The ogre’s eyes healed fully in moments and it turned towards Otto with a roar more ferocious than any before.

  Otto simply looked back with a calm smile and sharp eyes that saw the world exactly as he envisioned it.