I sat on the bed. Aurelia leaned against the wall, waiting. Rela stood near the wall, her face, an expression of boredom. Looking like she's aching for action.
"Where's Dominio?"
Aurelia's face was focused, calculating. Her eyes narrowed as if she was thinking of ways to solve this predicament.
"He's near your room, fighting Rowan and his allies."
"WHAT?!" I stood and walked toward her. "What do you mean he's fighting him?"
Aurelia looked at me. "I told him to fight long enough to anger Rowan—to make him a suspect in the eyes of others."
"What if Rowan has his friends with him? He commands a militia of eighty adventurers."
"I understand that, Zain. But Dominio is strong enough. He can use his rogue techniques and his unique skill to escape. Rowan seems like the type to be controlled by his emotions."
"You've only seen him once. What makes you so sure?"
"He was the bodyguard of the Bishop of Solorus in my family's city. I've seen him. He's more emotional than the others. I saw him kill an entire mob after they vandalized a Solorus statue."
I froze. "What? A whole mob? A man without arms... beat a mob?"
Aurelia's face softened slightly, as if she was finally acknowledging Rowan's true capabilities. "I wasn't there, but... my father said it was half a hundred. That happened three years ago, when I was twenty-three winters."
Half a hundred. Fifty people. And Rowan had killed them. Without arms. Without weapons.
Dominio was strong, but we hadn't seen his full capabilities. And Rowan still had eighty adventurers at his command.
"I'm going to help him."
I turned and walked toward the door. Aurelia grabbed my wrist.
"Zain, you don't have a weapon. You don't even know martial arts."
"I don't care. Dominio is still there, and I don't want him to die." I looked back at her. Her face was worried now. Unsure.
"Alright... I'll go help you."
"Finally!" Rela exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "I was waiting for you two to agree!"
She grabbed her two axes, then looked at me. "Do you know how to use an axe?"
"No, but I'll try."
I glanced at Aurelia. She was sitting hunched over, looking defeated.
I walked to her. "Aurelia, are you alright?"
"No, I'm not." Her voice cracked. "I really messed up, didn't I? I made Dominio fight alone. I was so stupid. He was my first ally before all of this. Now the person closest to me on this ship is going to die because of that bastard."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Did I... lose? Did we lose?"
"We haven't lost yet." I knelt beside her. "Knowing Dominio, he's crafty. We're just reinforcements. Even at a huge disadvantage, I'd rather fight than accept defeat."
Aurelia nodded and smiled faintly. "No wonder Dominio said you're interesting. You'd rather die than lose." She stood up. "Alright. Let's go."
---
I grabbed the axe. It was much heavier than my claymore. Worse, it was a one-handed axe—my fighting style needed two hands on the weapon.
I needed to improvise.
I scanned the room and spotted a three-legged chair. I detached one of the legs. Now, how to attach them?
Aurelia approached me. "I have a spell that can act like glue."
"I'd really need that. Thanks, Aurelia."
She placed her hand over the stool leg and the axe handle, speaking in a language different from Drakvan. Blue Lumin swirled from her palm, weaving between the wood and the metal, pulling them together. When the light faded, they were fused into a single, two-handed axe.
"Thanks."
I stood and tested it. Slash after slash. The long axe was more of a finesse weapon—it needed smooth, precise movements. I would have to be slower. More deliberate.
"So, are you two ready?" Rela looked back at us with a wide grin.
"Ready," Aurelia and I said together.
I pulled on my damaged scale vest and gauntlets, then collected my last three daggers.
We rushed through the hallways. I reached for my berserk state—but this time, after merging with the jaguar, I could control it fully.
---
I stopped at the familiar corridor near my room.
There they were.
Dominio was trapped in massive golden hands made of Lumin. Rowan stood nearby, one hand braced against the wall, the other still clutching his face.
Behind them, six figures.
The olive-skinned woman with the heavy axe. A man in boiled leather armor, carrying a standard steel sword and a wooden shield. A woman in a blue-and-white coat with a staff topped by a green orb, wearing a bronze owl mask. A muscular lizardman with eight javelins strapped to his back, a mace at his hip, and a kite shield in his grip, wearing blue mithral-like vest plate armor. A man in a cloak with a mask covering the lower half of his face, daggers longer than Dominio's hanging at his sides. And a woman in full steel plate armor, her face hidden behind a helmet, twin long swords in her hands.
Seven enemies. Three of us.
This is going to be a problem.
Dominio looked up. His forehead was bleeding. His right eye was blackened. His nose was broken. His lip was split. His face was bruised beyond recognition.
He smiled faintly.
"Sorry I failed, boss."
Then his face went slack. Silent.
He was unconscious.
---
Rowan's vision cleared. He looked at us.
"You've finally come. By Solorus's soul, I thought you'd wait until he was dead."
I turned to Aurelia. Her eyes narrowed. Her face tightened. Lumin flickered from her eyes like embers catching wind.
"You bastards." Her voice was low. Cold. "You will regret this."
Rowan smiled. "Oh, the noble finally speaks. I suppose Solorus planned this punishment. For your blasphemy. For abandoning your fate." He spread his golden arms wide. "Truly, the Sun God has blessed me. He gave me Dominio. Then Zain's judgment. Now your judgment."
His voice rose, echoing through the corridor.
"AND I WILL BE YOUR EXECUTIONER."