One hour later--

“RAARGH!” Almac yelled as he flew and hit the tiles of the arena’s round fight ring. He slid all the way until he was a foot away from Dorthaunzee’s feet.

“Damn it!” Rolf cried as he forced himself onto his feet, his shield dented and his hammer’s head resting against the floor. “This guy—he’s unreal! How can we possibly win?”

“Don’t give up!” Faye screamed as she conjured up a fire arrow and readied her bow.

A deep, bellowing laugh came from the mass of muscle on the other side of the ring. “What an interesting ability you wield, lad.”

There, on the other side, was Toldon Bismark. He was a gargantuan brown-skinned and shaggy man, standing at eight-foot-two and as wide as two fridges put together. His beard was as black as tar, and his hair was as bristly as a bear’s fur. His body was packed tight with muscle--every group above his waist--exposed for the world to see. All he wore were a pair of wristbands and pants reinforced with metal plates. Incidentally, he was very popular with the ladies and some men.

This mountain of muscle crossed his log-like arms as he looked down at the party. Across his chest was the trace of a single slash--one that Almac had delivered after consuming 50% of his HP.

“An ability that consumes your HP to power up your attacks?” Toldon continued. “It is interesting, but that kind of ability wielded by a half-assed kid won’t go far.” He cocked his head, exposing his impossibly rippling neck muscles. “If you want to kill me, you have to go in with all you’ve got; otherwise, I’ll revive myself from the damage. Heck, even this wound, while impressive, has already disappeared.”

This was The Reviver. He was a man with the ability to heal certain critical wounds so long as he wasn’t at zero HP. To defeat him meant having an offensive power that could take him from 100 to 0... Or, if one had poison, that would work too. He was also deathly allergic to shellfish, though everyone that knew that secret had long been rolled into balls of flesh.

Dorthaunzee wasn’t having any of it.

After seeing how Toldon had turned Almac into a rag doll to be thrown around, she had resolved herself. She would use her tentacles for only a moment. She was sure they were enough.

“For Elma!”

She stepped forward, crossing Almac as she did.

“Oh? The little lady is getting brave?” Toldon said, sincerely impressed.

Before she could make her sixth step, she felt a tug on her robe.

“Hold on,” said Almac, panting like a dog on a hot day. “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself for us, Miss Maiden!”

He stood up and dragged himself in front of Dorthaunzee.

“Almac is getting up! He’s getting up to protect the maiden!” the announcer declared.

The crowd roared. The announcer loved the display and hyped the crowd up further.

Dorthaunzee, meanwhile, was mildly annoyed he was getting in her way.

“Yeah! You stay at the back, Miss Maiden,” Rolf followed. “What kind of man would I be if I let a holy maiden get hurt because I was too weak?”

Man? Rolf wasn’t a man in Dorthaunzee’s estimation. He was a child. Now, if they wanted to speak about men, Fainn--that was someone worthy of being called a man in Dorthaunzee’s estimation. Fainn wasn’t afraid to show he cared, wasn’t afraid to make hard choices, and trusted her ability when she, herself, didn’t. These kids couldn’t hold a candle to Dorthaunzee’s (possibly inflated) image of Fainn.

“I won’t let Miss Maiden be hurt either!” Faye followed. “Our strategy can still work!”

Toldon laughed as he applauded the party. “That’s good! That’s what I want to see!” He sneered at Almac. “You have good friends there, kid. I can’t wait to crush them. I’ll give the crowd a good show! If you want to leave, now’s your chance!”

“”"NEVER!""" the trio shouted back.

Faye started shooting fire arrows, rapid-fire style, as Rolf sprinted toward Toldon.

“Guys! We have to go all out!” Almac roared. He flung his gaze toward Dorthaunzee. “Heal me! I promise I’ll end it!”

Dorthaunzee shrugged and started healing him. She was still perplexed and mildly amused at how a child could pretend to be a man.

As his friends attacked, Almac placed his hands on his sword, and dark wisps started leaving his body. Those wisps found their way to his sword and wrapped around the blade.

“It’s all-or-nothing...”

Ahead of the Hero, Rolf roared as he slammed his war hammer into the bare flesh of Toldon’s arm.

Toldon’s arm barely shook. Instead of showing pain, he smiled at Rolf. “Like I said, kid, you’ve got a good swing there, but my muscle’s stronger--“

“Alm’s not the only one with a crazy ability, old man!” Rolf hopped back a few steps as a flurry of Faye’s ice arrows struck Toldon’s body. Rolf wound up and roared, “I’ll clear the way for Alm!”

A red aura erupted from Rolf’s body as the visage of a muscular and bearded man appeared behind him.

[God of fire, forge, and hammer. Fibers of steel, will of fire. Forge the hammer that will demolish the mountain of obsidian obstructing the return.]

Incantation complete, the red aura swirled around the hammer until its head grew twice in size, and blazing flames coated it. Faye stopped firing her ice arrows. Rolf stepped toward Toldon, his face catching fire as he did.

“A cleric?!” Toldon said, grimacing.

“I’m a war priest, old man!”

Rolf swung his hammer, and this time, Toldon countered with an open-palm strike. Two monumental forces met, emitting a shock wave as soon as they did. Both combatants roared as their abilities resolved themselves. A crack echoed, piercing through the air. Toldon’s strike destroyed the hammer and went on through to strike Rolf’s chest.

Rolf cried as he flew out of the ring and into the wall of the arena.

“That’s it!!! Rolf ISSSS OUT!!!” the announcer declared.

His efforts were not for naught. Toldon’s arm--the one that met the hammer--had broken. He was without an arm.

“Heh.” Toldon looked at his arm. “That’ll take a bit…”

Rolf cracked an eye open. “Get him, Alm...”

Faye got within a few steps of Toldon and fired electric arrows into his body.

“Stop that, you annoying little gnat!”

He swung at her, but he was stunned just enough by the electricity that Faye could escape with a light graze that only cracked a rib. She fired light arrows into his eyes which he blocked. When he did, they burst into blinding light, searing his retinas.

Meanwhile, Almac had almost finished charging up.

“Rolf, Faye, Miss Maiden--they all believe in me!”

Dorthaunzee looked at the Hero’s back with utter surprise.

She didn’t believe in him. That was a laughable notion. She had healed him twelve times since the fight started. She wouldn’t be aggressively healing him if she believed in him. No, Dorthaunzee had no faith in the Hero. To have faith in him was like believing a child could handle the ever perilous and ever-changing minefield that was workplace romance between a superior and a wretched, impure underling. No, she was in a position where she was ready to drag Almac across the finished line--metaphorically speaking, of course.

“Our bonds will let us beat you!” Almac roared.

Well, Dorthaunzee wasn’t going to ruin the moment. She just kept pouring out her healing magic. As long as he didn’t die, everything would be fine.

Almac held his sword to the side as ominous energy swirled about it. He dashed toward Toldon.

Rolf screamed out for him. “Go!”

Faye backed up a few steps as she fired electric arrows. “Go, Alm!”

Dorthaunzee silently kept her magic up while dreaming of Fainn chewing up her naughty tentacles.

“Rolf, Faye, Miss Maiden,” Almac muttered as a tear fell from his eye.

Toldon’s eyes recovered in time for him to see Alm within a few steps.

“Boy!” he yelled as he tried to raise his one good arm.

“We’ll take you down!” Almac screamed as he brought his sword down across Toldon’s body.

Toldon’s and Almac’s yells mixed as Almac’s magic tore through the man’s body. Black magic discharged, and shortly after, a fountain of blood shot out from the gash on Toldon’s body.

The giant fell backward, his eyes in the back of his head, and his mouth wide open. His HP had gone straight down to zero. Almac’s desperate move—95% consumption, paid off.

Almac stood over top of him, panting. The crowd was quiet, and they kept quiet until Dorthaunzee walked up to Almac, grabbed his wrist, and held his hand up.

The crowd erupted into cheers, drowning out the announcer.

Dorthaunzee sighed with relief inwardly. She didn’t have time for any confusion to be had. She also wanted the match to be called before the giant woke up.

“Miss Maiden...” Alm said. “We did it!”

Dorthaunzee responded with a thumbs-up and smiled with her eyes.

As stupid as they were, kids were adorable.