A mercenary charges ahead wielding a glowing sword. Zanrit runs in to counter them, smming his club into the ground. As the club hits the floor, the ballroom shakes and suddenly pilrs of earth shoot up out of the ground. The mercenary stops as Tisha appears, leaping off of the pilr and firing off a flurry of arrows at the crowd of mercs. The arrows hit and tree roots grow around the rest of the group, pinning them in pce as the st mercenary stands in the middle of the ballroom. Before they can move, Mi rushes in, smacking them down as they fall unconscious on the ground.

  Tisha nds on a rocky pilr and aims at Fenwick firing off an arrow. Fenwick, in a single motion, unsheathes his sword and slices through the arrow. The wind around his sword spirals like a cyclone as he leaps into the air. He thrusts his sword down as a gust of wind shoots from the bde and breaks his fall. He nds on the ground and holds his sword out to Glyn, who gres at him.

  “You still have that thing?” Glyn asks.

  “Yes. It’s a trusty weapon, after all.”

  Glyn shakes his head. “Whatever. Even you should see you’ve lost. Give up now before we have to kill you!”

  “I know you, Glyn. You’d never take a life if you could help it. So, I know you pn for me to make it out of here alive.”

  Glyn clenches his teeth. “It’s over. Just give up before this goes any further.”

  “I still have my mercenaries outside. If I can let them in, then I may be able to swing this around.”

  “Unlikely.”

  Fenwick smiles. “We won’t know until I try.”

  Fenwick rushes forward and Glyn shoots out a bst of lightning at him. He dodges the attack as Zanrit swings his club at him, knocking him into the opposite wall of the ballroom. He pushes himself forward, avoiding a series of arrows from Tisha as Mi shoots out a barrage of small fireballs. Fenwick thrusts his sword forward, dispelling the fmes as he stands again, breathing heavily as he grips the hilt of his sword.

  “So, you aren’t just some spoiled, selfish brat?” Tisha asks, aiming with another arrow.

  “I may not be a warrior officially. But I have trained in the ways of swordsmen and carry this Sacred Bde Windstorm. With it, I won’t be beaten so easily by commoners.”

  Zanrit charges in swinging his club. As he does, Fenwick swings his sword as the wind spirals around the bde. The two weapons collide with Fenwick’s, pushing Zanrit back as he tries to stand his ground. Zanrit moves as Tisha fires off a series of arrows with Fenwick blowing them away with a burst of wind.

  As she nds, he stabs at the air, sending a series of wind bsts out at her. She leaps away, dodging the strikes as she fires another arrow at Fenwick. As the arrow flies, stabbing into the ground, her bow shatters into pieces and she nds on the ground, hiding behind the pilrs. Zanrit sms his club to the ground, rising a wall of earth to separate the group. His club shatters in his hand as he hides behind the wall of dirt. Fenwick stares at the wall in a rage as the air around him forms into a raging cyclone.

  “You can’t hide forever!” He yells out, bsting at the wall.

  Chunks of earth go flying as he walks ahead, paying attention only to the wall in front of him. Tisha peaks out from behind the wall, waiting for the right moment. He steps next to the arrow Tisha fires, and she holds out her hand.

  “Got you now!” She yells, closing her hand into a fist to cast the spell.

  The arrow erupts into a rge tree that wraps itself around Fenwick, pinning him in pce.

  “Do you think this will be enough to stop me!” He yells out.

  “No. But it works well for what comes next.” Glyn says, standing at the top of the wall. “Mi if you would?”

  Mi leaps up, holding onto the sword as fmes erupt from the bde. Fenwick screams out as he swings his sword, a torrent of wind following the ssh. Mi swings, using all of her momenta as bzing sshes shoot from the bde. The attacks collide, exploding as Mi throws the sword and stabs Fenwick’s hand, forcing him to drop his bde as the sword burns in his arm.

  Without his sword, the wind quiets as everyone surrounds the trapped Fenwick.

  “It’s over,” Glyn says.

  Fenwick forces a smile on his face as he looks at Glyn. “Well pyed.”

  “Hardly. Once I knew what the game was, it was easy to devise a winning strategy.”

  Fenwick ughs as the tree fades away and he falls to the ground. Mi takes his sword as Glyn approaches. Tisha and Zanrit stand at the ready, waiting in case he makes a sudden move as Glyn reaches out for Fenwick.

  “So ready to call it quits?” Glyn asks.

  “Yes. It appears I have no other choice in the matter.” Fenwick says, holding out his hand.

  A White King Piece emerges from his hand as Glyn takes it. The Piece shatters in his hand, leaving a singur shard in his hand. His King Piece emerges, absorbing the shard and then glows brightly before returning inside of him. Glyn lets out a sigh and colpses as Mi rushes to his side.

  “Glyn!?”

  “Sorry. I just got really tired all of a sudden.”

  “With my Piece gone, you’ll grow stronger and all of your Pieces will grow stronger by proxy.” Fenwick colpses to the ground. “Glyn. You…. Are an….”

  As Fenwick passes out, Tisha and Zanrit shake their heads. The sounds of battle continue to echo outside as they turn to the bound mercenaries.

  “Hey, mercs your boss just loss,” Tisha says. “Can you tell your comrades outside that this game is over?”

  They nod nervously, afraid to speak as Zanrit approaches them.

  “Now I guess….” Tisha thinks before Mi stands.

  A third tail grows from her back as she takes in a breath. “We’ll have to rest until Glyn wakes up. As for Fenwick, he should be jailed until they can escort him off of the isnd. We’ll need to clear out any mercenaries who refuse to stand down.”

  “Mi?” Tisha approaches cautiously. “Are you….”

  “I’m fine. We should work now. The sooner we finish this up, the sooner we go back to Jubert Isnd. Brother is waiting for me to return, and Glyn needs his rest.”

  Tisha nods. “Alright. I guess I’ll follow your lead, then. But your……”

  “It’s fine. Just a brief surge.” She holds out her three tails as fire burns at the tips. “Now let’s stop that mess outside.”