“Oh orc lord, what is your name?” Lunella asks the hulking mass of orc

“Tuvaki, and you?”

“It’s Lunella,” she frowns. “Are you sure we must fight? Is that really the only way?”

“Yes, the only way I’ll set those humans free is if you can best me in a bout of ritual combat.”

“Right . . . I’ll accept then,” Lunella responds, gritting her teeth

“A challenge must have terms,” Tuvaki bellows. “If I win, I will take you as a sacrifice. I’ll be the first orc lord ever to consume a demon.”

“Tuvaki, If I am to fight, I ask you for one favor.”

“What is it?”

“Whether I win or lose, I want you spare those humans. If I win, I will take those humans and walk away. If I lose, you’ll take my life, but you’ll spare them.”

“How honorable of you, Lunella. What sort of demon are you to be willing to sacrifice your most precious life for the likes of some humans.”

“I decided that I would save them, that’s all.” Lunella smiles, “This world is cruel, but I won’t be tainted by it.”

The orc lord’s face crawls into a smile. He beams, “Hohoho, I don’t think I’ve ever had a challenger of your caliber. Very well, in respect of your resolve, I’ll accept your terms.” The orc raises his arm and screams out to his army, “Form a perimeter for a duel! The battle will begin in one minute.”

Lunella turns around and faces the adventurers who are just crawling out of the hole. Eliza begs, “Are you seriously going to give your life for us?”

“Hopefully, it won’t come for that.”

“Never did I expect a demon like you to exist.”

“Neither did I,” Lunella says, frowning. “Look, No matter what happens, protect Amara, okay?”

“I will.”

Lunella looks at Amara and reaches out her hand. “Amara, I know we’ve had our troubles. I’m sorry for what happened that made you stop believing in me. I’ll save you here, and you don’t owe me anything. If I don’t survive . . . live your best life. Go and become the knight you dream of being.”

Amara doesn’t say anything but nods through a thin veil of tears. Lunella thinks to herself, I don’t think she’s ready to process this. I doubt our friendship will ever be the same. I haven’t forgiven her either, but I won’t let her die.

“I’m ready, Tuvaki,” Lunella yells towards the massive orc chief, “We can begin anytime.”

“Wonderful, it’s the time at last.” The orc chief gives a wild grin and calls out to his orcs, “Aldo, give us a countdown.”

“Yes, Tuvaki!” The orc called Aldo responds, and the non-combatants are escorted beyond the perimeter by the orcs. Once all the humans are out of the ring, Aldo begins a countdown.

3

Lunella grabs her sword, assuming a fighting stance.

2

Tuvaki stretches his arm and takes a stance resembling a sumo wrestler.

1

Lunella grips her sword, and Tuvaki does a quick glance over the battlefield.

Fight! Aldo screams out with full force.

Sword in hand, Lunella immediately sprints full speed towards Tuvaki—before her blade hits, Tuvaki turns to the right and runs. While Lunella stands awestruck, the massive orc runs far faster than he should towards a small log hut. He reaches out and grabs the base log, whips it around, and swings it through the air at a breakneck speed.

Before Lunella can react, the log flies straight at her and pounds her in the gut. The huge weighted log takes her off her feet, and she falls to the dirt, only narrowly avoiding getting crushed by underneath it. She slowly stands up, shaking off the hit and attempting to catch her runaway breath.

As Lunella catches her breath, the orc chief picks up another log from what used to be a house and lifts it over his shoulders. He steps forward and chucks it as if it were a spear toward Lunella. No longer surprised by the somewhat unconventional fighting technique, Lunella manages to dodge to the side and regains control of her sword.

Before the Massive orc has a chance to pick up more ammo, Lunella jumps into the air and circles around to the orcs backside from above. She drops into a falcon dive, sword outstretched and aiming at the orc’s arm—crack! Just before she reaches striking distance, the orc swings up a log and swats her out of the air as if she were a fly. The hit is so hard that the log breaks into two. Her body is flung on a projectile trajectory, crashing down to earth; she slams into the sacrifice pit, breaking the rest of the wood mesh.

With scattered logs and wood surrounding her, Lunella tries to get up but finds that she cannot do so. She struggles against the wood mesh that she’s caught in. She hears the now-familiar sound of another house being destroyed for use by the orc-catapult. Her body quivers as she anticipates the coming pain, she focuses on her mana, and a large flame erupts from her good hand. The fire weakens the shattered pieces of the pit’s cage, and she can finally escape from the mess she’s in. She jumps out of the pit just in time as another log comes flying down, causing ashes to scatter everywhere.

Lunella, feeling exhausted from the dangerous conditions on the ground, flies up into the air and attempts to hover in place. Until she can recover just a bit of her stamina, she’ll just wait here. While she rests, the orc begins to punch a log. What is he doing? Lunella thinks to herself. The orc answers her question immediately when he hurls a barrage of splinters towards her—the shotgun of wood shards pierce her wings.

Pain shoots through her body from several different sources. The shock is so nasty that she immediately stops channeling mana to her wings and drops from the sky. Her ragdoll-like body nearly bounces as it collides full force with the dirt, causing a huge dust cloud to form around her.

A wet sensation. Blood. Her wings are dripping blood all over the ground. Crunch. Noises come from somewhere beyond the dust cloud. Vreeeeeeeew. Something in the wind? A log flies at her body—a hit. The weight of a complete oak log forces her head backward, slamming into the hard ground. A ringing sound fills her ears, and her vision runs black.

The dust clears, and the massive orc sees the demon’s limp body lying on the ground and snorts. “For all your resolve, you sure were weak.”