Lydia and Shao danced around the King, keeping him pinned down. Yet, every attack either girl launched, no matter how tricky, managed to get deflected harmlessly. Celeste filled in the gaps, throwing in a blade of air whenever the King looked like he might get one on one with one of the girls. Miki launched attacks to weaken him, but he seemed to be able to shake them off very quickly.

As for Terra, she mostly kept me protected, preventing the King from suddenly turning and launching an attack in my direction. They reckoned that he’d think similarly to Alysia in this fight, and would want to knock out both the weakest and the most game-changing person on the board. The result of this was a stalemate that continued on for fifteen minutes. At first, the King had acted arrogantly, but it was quickly becoming apparent that the six of us were about equal against him.

“If it wasn’t for that potion, you keep drinking and your continuous healing and refreshing, this battle would already be over!” The King cursed, blocking a triple strike from Lydia before narrowly dodging a backstab from Shao.

“You think a healer in battle shouldn’t heal? What next? Should a magician not use magic? Is a Swordsman using a sword cheating against a Pugilist?”

“He’s got you there, my former husband.” The Queen was just lying down with her chin in her hands, casually watching the fight as if the outcome meant nothing to her.

“Not helping, honey!” He shot back through gritted teeth before shooting me a look. “You seem to misunderstand something.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“I can defeat you whenever I want to. I’ve intentionally been holding back. I admit that you have given me a better fight than I expected.” He wasn’t breathing hard as he fought, suggesting that he was probably telling the truth. “Since you claim to fight under the orders of my son, and fight for Aberis, it would only be too pitiable if I defeated you. Therefore, I will allow you to live!”

“How kind of you,” I sneered, “I’m already willing to put my life on the line, so don’t think such soft tactics would work. Instead, I will give you an offer. This is your last chance to return to Aberis and help your son. This was a country your wife built. By abandoning it to place a ghost on a literal pedestal, you’re not only not doing your wife any honor, but you’re more like a disgrace!”

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that his wife was nodding, clearly in agreement, but the King was long past ignoring such arguments. He was extremely stubborn. Well, I could be stubborn too.

A vicious smile formed on his face. “I figured you’d say something like that. I did say I wouldn’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t make you wish you died.”

“What does that mean?”

“After I defeat you, I’ll play with your woman—just one of them. I’ll let her experience the love of a real man. I’ll have to thank you, actually. My wife, in her spiritual form, is something I am unable to touch. Her body is composed of miasma, and even for someone like me, if I were to touch her, she would cause my body to rot away. That means it has been months since I’ve enjoyed the pleasure of a woman! I’ve decided, I’ll allow you to flee, but I’ll keep one of your women to be my playmate to fill my lonely vigil.”

“Y-you’d rape a woman right in front of your wife?”

The Queen let out a sigh. “Husband really is incorrigible. I should warn you he is not fibbing. As for the woman he chooses, that should be obvious! It’d be the maid girl!”