I aligned the Frost Missile at Brandon's chest. Even if he knew someone was here, he'd have no idea it was me rather than Saber. He wouldn't be expecting an attack from this range. He wouldn't know to dodge.

After the Frost Missile lands, I'd follow up with a Cold Grenade. That had less range and traveled slower, in a parabolic overhead arc rather than a straight line. Despite its large blast radius, it was the easier attack of the two to land. But once I slowed him with my Frost Missile, Cold Grenade would become near-impossible to dodge, as long as I aimed well. And after I froze him solid, I'd fire my Vortex Shield for a sure hit.

Frost Missile, Cold Grenade, Vortex Shield. In terms of reliability, it was one of my more optimized spell combo sequences. It wouldn't kill Brandon right away, not at his current HP. He'd be bloodied, perhaps even mangled, but he'd be alive. After my barrage of spells I'd need to close in and finish him off with my crossbow.

"I surrender!" Brandon shouted in my direction. "Please, Saber! Are you there? I know you don't want to do this." He stood alone in the darkness; the golems to the side heeded not his plea in the least.

"This isn't who you are!" he yelled, voice hoarse and desperate.

The Frost Missile spun like a drill as it floated in front of my outstretched palm. I couldn't remember my plan anymore, about which spell to use next, about how to win the fight.

This wasn't right. I was about to shoot my innocent friend to death.

But what else was there for us to do? We had already started the fight. The damage had been done, the towers toppled. The precarious balance of power had been broken. Even if we stopped, the golems wouldn't. On the now-asymmetrical map, it could easily be a mere matter of time before one team's golems took a few more towers, then the enemy's base.

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The ground beneath me bulged. A faint, reddish glow seeped through from under the surface.

Magma erupted from beneath me. I screamed, dodging aside as the flaming geyser splashed outward. Pain seared my feet and legs, and I crumpled into the forest soil several yards away.

[HP: 620/770]

The vegetation around me burned.

From the smoldering eruption-hole, a figure clad in armor crawled out. I knew that silhouette.

Sylvia.

[HP: 1250/1250]

Hah. So that explained who farmed all those cave zombies.

Right here, right now, no explanations were given or needed between us. Not during this fight to the death.

I didn't wait to fire my crossbow at her. Then a Frost Missile. Then Cold Grenade, which nailed her dead center. Then another crossbow bolt, then Vortex Shield, then a third bolt. That was my max damage combo at mid range.

But she had 1250 HP. Even with my maximum firepower, I had no chance of bringing her down. And she could already be level 6, armed with her Ultimate ability, whilst I was still level 3.

I scrambled up, turned, and ran. Branches ripped at the blistering skin on my legs. Each step on the ground felt like flaming coals under my feet. I gasped for breath and sweated from the pain.

I heard Sylvia's voice behind me. I couldn't make out the words this far away, but it had the rhythm of an incantation. I turned back, to see that an array of stone lances now hovered in front of her. The first one launched itself at me. I tried to block it with the frame of my crossbow, to little avail. The force of the impact knocked me airborne.

I careened into the dirt some distance back, disoriented, gritting my teeth, having the breath knocked out of me. I noticed too late that the rest of the lances now flew toward me. One after another, an entire swarm.

For a split second, I saw them drill into my body, rip apart my limbs. As the excruciating pain began to register, my life came to an end.