Chapter 30
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The plan this time might have been more foolhardy than usual, but I did have a back up in case it failed. Now, the linchpin of our strategy was the item I created with Varda and Zarz, and as long as it functioned the way we intended it to then our victory was all but assured.
Ashley passed me the metal canister she was carrying. "Are you sure this will work?"
The skepticism showing clear on Ashley's face was emphasized by a raised eyebrow that reminded me so much of Arah's smoldering gaze that it made me miss my two friends. They wouldn't have doubted me. I think.
"It'll work if we did everything right," I held the canister in my hand. "But just in case... tell Donar to get ready, Varda."
Varda, who stood beside Ashley, glanced behind to our troops positioned in the rear. "Commander wants you to get ready for when the experiment fails, Donar Firemonger."
I sighed after hearing Varda's words, but I shrugged off her pessimism and transferred my focus over to Luca's battle in the arena below.
He was doing pretty well. At least, it looked as if he and the young leader of the fallen drow clan were evenly matched as they traded sword blows and parried each other's shadowblades.
"Why don't you just use your fairy gift to paralyze your brother's opponent so he'd win easily?" Ashley asked.
I had considered it but there was a simple reason why 'Basilisk's Eye' couldn't be my first option. Although it didn't mess with my vision afterward like regular Fool's Insight did, using the skill meant I would be unable to call on Fool's Insight for the rest of the night like that time right before Aura and I were ambushed. If I did, I might have been able to notice our enemies before the bad stuff happened.
Of course, I couldn't admit this weakness to Ashley so I came up with a different excuse. "The target's too far away..."
I glanced down at the item in my hands and inspected it one final time.
The metal canister was the size of a soda can and made of a thin aluminum sheet capped on both ends by wax that could melt quickly in hot temperatures. There were round holes on the metal surface's upper half that allowed for a sneak peek at what we'd crammed inside it, a brown sack carrying a portion of the light-emitting gemstone as well as the mixture of aluminum and magnesium shavings we'd filled the sack with.
"Is it time to set this place ablaze, Commander?" said a husky male voice in a humorous tone.
I glanced over to Donar Firemonger who had arrived to stand beside Vada.
Although they weren't related, the male salamander was similar to Kallista in many ways. Even in his red magician's robe, I could tell that they shared a similar toned build. He also possessed the same fiery scale marks under violet reptilian eyes, as well as the hair that seemed to burn at the tips.
Donar sent me a toothy smile that revealed the two sharp fangs in his teeth.
"Almost," I answered. "Get ready to fire on my command."
I closed my eyes and read the words floating in my mind's eye, "Oh great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable," and the fairy gift inside me awakened.
With Fool's Insight activated, I would be prepared for anything. It was time.
"We charge down into that arena after we hear the boom," I instructed my men. "Circular formation around the two fighters. Ashley and Edo will assist Luca in subduing the enemy leader. Don't kill him. We need information on where to find Aura."
I glanced over at Edo who nodded back to me in an affirmative way.
"The rest of us will keep the formation and block any drow that comes to the commander's aid," I finished.
I pulled at the wick that was out of the sack inside the cannister and lit it by pressing it onto the tips of Donar's hair. He was a convenient alternative to a matchstick.
The wick lit up like a fireworks' fuse because I'd coated it earlier in niter from the gemstone and aluminum dust ground from our aluminum shavings.
"We go as soon as we hear the boom," I tossed the canister out our opening. "Oh, and close your eyes, everyone!"
I glanced down below.
"Close your eyes, Luca!" I yelled at the top of my lungs right before I followed my own advice.
There was a loud clang as the metal landed on the rocky ground, and then—nothing.
I counted to five but still hadn't heard the intensely loud bang that should have come from the explosion of my makeshift flashbang. All I could hear was the startled cries of the onlooking drow who were no doubt surprised to find that their home was under attack.
"Shit," I cursed before yelling at Donar, "Use your Flashfire!"
But then I heard Luca's voice loud and clear against the rising clamor of the panicking drow, "Dean, stop! Don't do anything!"
Despite my mind telling me to keep going less we lose the initiative, my hand instinctively stopped Donar from turning the fireball he'd conjured over his sharp-nailed hand into a shower of blindingly bright sparks.
I wondered why Luca had asked me to stop, and I glanced down at my brother who was looking up at me despite the danger he was in.
"Don't do anything else... there are innocent women and children here!" he called.
Of course, that's what Luca was worried about. Nevermind the murderous glare of the drow leader or the bows that were now targeting my position, the innocents were first on Luca's mind.
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I slapped my forehead with the palm of my right hand. "Luca..."
"Well, this is hilarious," Ashley said, and she really sounded like she found the current situation comical.
"Aw, shucks, Commander... it didn't go boom," Varda added like our failed experiment was the more pressing concern. "Maybe that wick didn't make it inside the sack?"
"I told you!" I heard Zarz yell from the backline of my thirty-five man troop who all looked as sheepish as I felt. "We need a better trigger mechanism to make it explode properly!"
I sighed. Things were certainly not going as planned.
It was a minute later—after I'd deactivated Fool's Insight and given instructions to Varda to keep the recruits in our corridor ready for an all-out battle—when I jumped down into the arena with Edo and Ashley as my backup.
The warrior drow surrounding us from above kept their bows trained on our moving forms but didn't attack, and I assumed it was because their leader hadn't given them the order yet.
Luca walked over to us and I slapped him a high-five before I asked him why he'd stopped me from taking the initiative in this battle.
"Did you know why the drow were running away from the guards?" he asked instead of answering my question.
I did, and Luca could read the truth in my face.
"Then you know this is all my fault... And there's no way I'm going to put others in danger at my expense," he insisted. "Let me make things right..."
"You want me to let you continue this deathmatch?" I asked, incredulous.
"It won't be a deathmatch if I win... the drow leader agreed to let me go safely if I beat him in single combat," Luca explained.
I looked over at his opponent. The drow's hood was down and I could see his face clearly now.
He had a pointed face and a long, pointed nose with pale eyes that were almost white but had a shade of red in their irises. His skin was ebony but a lighter shade than the deep black of his shoulder-length brushed back hair. His lips, pale in color, were set in an amused smile.
"Do you think you can win?" It was Ashley who asked the question. "I've fought drow before. They fight with deception and stealth... kind of like ninjas..."
"I can... no... I will," Luca insisted.
He turned his gaze on me and I could feel the intense determination flowing out of him.
"Fine... but I have a condition," My eyebrows knitted together. "I won't let him kill you... if it looks like you're about to lose, I'll stop the fight and unleash hell on this place to protect you..."
Luca's own brow creased. "Don't you believe in me?"
I smacked his chest lightly with my fist. "Of course, I believe you... you're the one guy I can't defeat."
Edo reacted to this comment with a fake coughing sound. Technically, I hadn't beaten him in a one-on-one fight either but that's because I was smart enough to never spar with him.
"Besides, dad didn't train us to be weaklings," My face turned serious. "But I'm your big brother and it's my job to protect you. Alright?"
Luca nodded. "Alright."
He struck my chest with his own fist. "See you later."
"Go kick some drow butt, Luca," I agreed.
While Luca returned to the center of the arena to face his opponent, I turned my head back to my other two companions and warned them to be ready. We would rescue Luca the moment things looked like they were going to go badly for him.
Luca, being the white knight he was, apologized to his opponent with a slight bow of his head. After he explained to the drow leader that we wouldn't interfere in their fight, Luca insisted that they continue. In response to Luca's words, the drow glanced over at his warriors and signaled for them to guard us.
Out of nowhere, five light-footed drow came down from their holes and surrounded me, Ashley, and Edo. Among them was the knife-wielder I encountered outside broken Sellsword's Canyon. However, neither of my teammates drew their weapons because we'd agreed we would act calmly unless the tide changed. This way, the enemies might be caught off guard.
With everyone satisfied that things were not going to devolve into a huge melee, Luca and the drow leader continued their fight.
Their initial exchange was a series of sword blows that weren't aimed at killing each other. It seemed they were both still feeling each other out and probing for weaknesses in the other's guard.
While this was happening, I'd reactivated Fool's Insight so I could better understand their movements. This allowed me to scrutinize every twitch of their limbs and every turn of their gaze, helping me to predict how the next clash would go.
The drow was much faster than Luca but he was able to barely ward off his enemy's blows through a combination of experience brought about by constant battle and the intense training we'd endured throughout our lives at the insistence of our dad. And it was in times like these that I appreciated dad's foresight.
Although no words were exchanged, you could feel the emotions pouring out of them with each slash of their blades. Their shared regret at the death of a drow who was only trying to save his people was apparent in the heavy swings of shadowblades.
Eventually, Luca drew the first blood. He'd dodge the drow's katana that was meant to slice at his neck by going under him and cutting him near the abdomen with a sideswipe of his new broadsword. However, the drow was quick enough to turn his torso away so that the cut wouldn't bite deep into him.
Instead of anger, it was amusement showing on his face while he inspected the wound Luca cut into him. Clearly, he was a battle freak like everyone else we've met in this damnable realm of fairies.
The drow raised his katana with both hands and positioned his right leg before him. It was a high guard stance I was familiar with because I'd practiced it enough in Kendo.
Luca, who'd trained the same way as me, copied the drow's stance.
A second passed. They both remained in place. Another second. Then another, and another. Still, neither fighter took the initiative. Then, as if his shadow rose up in an instant to swallow him, the drow disappeared.
"Luca, watch out!" I yelled.
Luca's form never wavered. His breathing was calm and leveled. It was the complete opposite of how he was whenever he activated his Foolish Strength. It was only then that I realized my brother had been hiding the fact that he too had gained new powers from bathing in the mana well.
A fraction of a second since he disappeared, the drow leader's form rose up from Luca's shadow with his blade rising up in an arc to slash Luca from the back.
Even if I moved now, I wouldn't have made it in time, and all I could think about was how much of a fool I was for letting my little brother risk his life this way.
But then something miraculous happened. Luca proved me wrong.
As the drow jumped out from his shadow, Luca exhaled a long breath. And although I didn't hear his voice, Fool's Insight read his lips when he whispered, "Second Wind."
In a speed that would rival Azuma's reflexes, Luca jumped and then rotated his whole body downward like a wheel which moved in tandem with the drow's rising blade, forcing it to miss. If that wasn't acrobatic enough, my brother's momentum continued his rotation past the point where his head was at the bottom while his feet were at the top, and with the force of his powerful arms, sent his shadowblade in a reverse rising slash at the now exposed body of his opponent.
Luca's wheel-attack bit deep into the drow from the right side of his stomach up to his right shoulder, and blood gushed out in a spray of red.
Almost in unison, the spectating drow gasped out loud.
The five guarding me and my friends screamed bloody murder at Luca who had slowly risen from the kneeling position he was in after he'd finish his wheel-attack.
Edo was the first to move. He raised his glaive in such a threatening manner that the drow closest to him backed away instinctively.
Ashley pulled out her sword and shield in front of her.
My own shadowblade came to life in my hand.
It seemed a battle was going to happen anyway. However, before the rumble began, a loud arrogant voice screamed for everyone to stop moving.
I looked back to Luca who had his broadsword's shadowblade tip point mere inches away from the fallen drow leader's heaving chest. He was still alive, after all.
"I gave... my word..." His yell was ragged. He was obviously in pain, but he did manage to say one more thing. "Enough fighting... I lost..."
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The plan this time might have been more foolhardy than usual, but I did have a back up in case it failed. Now, the linchpin of our strategy was the item I created with Varda and Zarz, and as long as it functioned the way we intended it to then our victory was all but assured.
Ashley passed me the metal canister she was carrying. "Are you sure this will work?"
The skepticism showing clear on Ashley's face was emphasized by a raised eyebrow that reminded me so much of Arah's smoldering gaze that it made me miss my two friends. They wouldn't have doubted me. I think.
"It'll work if we did everything right," I held the canister in my hand. "But just in case... tell Donar to get ready, Varda."
Varda, who stood beside Ashley, glanced behind to our troops positioned in the rear. "Commander wants you to get ready for when the experiment fails, Donar Firemonger."
I sighed after hearing Varda's words, but I shrugged off her pessimism and transferred my focus over to Luca's battle in the arena below.
He was doing pretty well. At least, it looked as if he and the young leader of the fallen drow clan were evenly matched as they traded sword blows and parried each other's shadowblades.
"Why don't you just use your fairy gift to paralyze your brother's opponent so he'd win easily?" Ashley asked.
I had considered it but there was a simple reason why 'Basilisk's Eye' couldn't be my first option. Although it didn't mess with my vision afterward like regular Fool's Insight did, using the skill meant I would be unable to call on Fool's Insight for the rest of the night like that time right before Aura and I were ambushed. If I did, I might have been able to notice our enemies before the bad stuff happened.
Of course, I couldn't admit this weakness to Ashley so I came up with a different excuse. "The target's too far away..."
I glanced down at the item in my hands and inspected it one final time.
The metal canister was the size of a soda can and made of a thin aluminum sheet capped on both ends by wax that could melt quickly in hot temperatures. There were round holes on the metal surface's upper half that allowed for a sneak peek at what we'd crammed inside it, a brown sack carrying a portion of the light-emitting gemstone as well as the mixture of aluminum and magnesium shavings we'd filled the sack with.
"Is it time to set this place ablaze, Commander?" said a husky male voice in a humorous tone.
I glanced over to Donar Firemonger who had arrived to stand beside Vada.
Although they weren't related, the male salamander was similar to Kallista in many ways. Even in his red magician's robe, I could tell that they shared a similar toned build. He also possessed the same fiery scale marks under violet reptilian eyes, as well as the hair that seemed to burn at the tips.
Donar sent me a toothy smile that revealed the two sharp fangs in his teeth.
"Almost," I answered. "Get ready to fire on my command."
I closed my eyes and read the words floating in my mind's eye, "Oh great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable," and the fairy gift inside me awakened.
With Fool's Insight activated, I would be prepared for anything. It was time.
"We charge down into that arena after we hear the boom," I instructed my men. "Circular formation around the two fighters. Ashley and Edo will assist Luca in subduing the enemy leader. Don't kill him. We need information on where to find Aura."
I glanced over at Edo who nodded back to me in an affirmative way.
"The rest of us will keep the formation and block any drow that comes to the commander's aid," I finished.
I pulled at the wick that was out of the sack inside the cannister and lit it by pressing it onto the tips of Donar's hair. He was a convenient alternative to a matchstick.
The wick lit up like a fireworks' fuse because I'd coated it earlier in niter from the gemstone and aluminum dust ground from our aluminum shavings.
"We go as soon as we hear the boom," I tossed the canister out our opening. "Oh, and close your eyes, everyone!"
I glanced down below.
"Close your eyes, Luca!" I yelled at the top of my lungs right before I followed my own advice.
There was a loud clang as the metal landed on the rocky ground, and then—nothing.
I counted to five but still hadn't heard the intensely loud bang that should have come from the explosion of my makeshift flashbang. All I could hear was the startled cries of the onlooking drow who were no doubt surprised to find that their home was under attack.
"Shit," I cursed before yelling at Donar, "Use your Flashfire!"
But then I heard Luca's voice loud and clear against the rising clamor of the panicking drow, "Dean, stop! Don't do anything!"
Despite my mind telling me to keep going less we lose the initiative, my hand instinctively stopped Donar from turning the fireball he'd conjured over his sharp-nailed hand into a shower of blindingly bright sparks.
I wondered why Luca had asked me to stop, and I glanced down at my brother who was looking up at me despite the danger he was in.
"Don't do anything else... there are innocent women and children here!" he called.
Of course, that's what Luca was worried about. Nevermind the murderous glare of the drow leader or the bows that were now targeting my position, the innocents were first on Luca's mind.
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I slapped my forehead with the palm of my right hand. "Luca..."
"Well, this is hilarious," Ashley said, and she really sounded like she found the current situation comical.
"Aw, shucks, Commander... it didn't go boom," Varda added like our failed experiment was the more pressing concern. "Maybe that wick didn't make it inside the sack?"
"I told you!" I heard Zarz yell from the backline of my thirty-five man troop who all looked as sheepish as I felt. "We need a better trigger mechanism to make it explode properly!"
I sighed. Things were certainly not going as planned.
It was a minute later—after I'd deactivated Fool's Insight and given instructions to Varda to keep the recruits in our corridor ready for an all-out battle—when I jumped down into the arena with Edo and Ashley as my backup.
The warrior drow surrounding us from above kept their bows trained on our moving forms but didn't attack, and I assumed it was because their leader hadn't given them the order yet.
Luca walked over to us and I slapped him a high-five before I asked him why he'd stopped me from taking the initiative in this battle.
"Did you know why the drow were running away from the guards?" he asked instead of answering my question.
I did, and Luca could read the truth in my face.
"Then you know this is all my fault... And there's no way I'm going to put others in danger at my expense," he insisted. "Let me make things right..."
"You want me to let you continue this deathmatch?" I asked, incredulous.
"It won't be a deathmatch if I win... the drow leader agreed to let me go safely if I beat him in single combat," Luca explained.
I looked over at his opponent. The drow's hood was down and I could see his face clearly now.
He had a pointed face and a long, pointed nose with pale eyes that were almost white but had a shade of red in their irises. His skin was ebony but a lighter shade than the deep black of his shoulder-length brushed back hair. His lips, pale in color, were set in an amused smile.
"Do you think you can win?" It was Ashley who asked the question. "I've fought drow before. They fight with deception and stealth... kind of like ninjas..."
"I can... no... I will," Luca insisted.
He turned his gaze on me and I could feel the intense determination flowing out of him.
"Fine... but I have a condition," My eyebrows knitted together. "I won't let him kill you... if it looks like you're about to lose, I'll stop the fight and unleash hell on this place to protect you..."
Luca's own brow creased. "Don't you believe in me?"
I smacked his chest lightly with my fist. "Of course, I believe you... you're the one guy I can't defeat."
Edo reacted to this comment with a fake coughing sound. Technically, I hadn't beaten him in a one-on-one fight either but that's because I was smart enough to never spar with him.
"Besides, dad didn't train us to be weaklings," My face turned serious. "But I'm your big brother and it's my job to protect you. Alright?"
Luca nodded. "Alright."
He struck my chest with his own fist. "See you later."
"Go kick some drow butt, Luca," I agreed.
While Luca returned to the center of the arena to face his opponent, I turned my head back to my other two companions and warned them to be ready. We would rescue Luca the moment things looked like they were going to go badly for him.
Luca, being the white knight he was, apologized to his opponent with a slight bow of his head. After he explained to the drow leader that we wouldn't interfere in their fight, Luca insisted that they continue. In response to Luca's words, the drow glanced over at his warriors and signaled for them to guard us.
Out of nowhere, five light-footed drow came down from their holes and surrounded me, Ashley, and Edo. Among them was the knife-wielder I encountered outside broken Sellsword's Canyon. However, neither of my teammates drew their weapons because we'd agreed we would act calmly unless the tide changed. This way, the enemies might be caught off guard.
With everyone satisfied that things were not going to devolve into a huge melee, Luca and the drow leader continued their fight.
Their initial exchange was a series of sword blows that weren't aimed at killing each other. It seemed they were both still feeling each other out and probing for weaknesses in the other's guard.
While this was happening, I'd reactivated Fool's Insight so I could better understand their movements. This allowed me to scrutinize every twitch of their limbs and every turn of their gaze, helping me to predict how the next clash would go.
The drow was much faster than Luca but he was able to barely ward off his enemy's blows through a combination of experience brought about by constant battle and the intense training we'd endured throughout our lives at the insistence of our dad. And it was in times like these that I appreciated dad's foresight.
Although no words were exchanged, you could feel the emotions pouring out of them with each slash of their blades. Their shared regret at the death of a drow who was only trying to save his people was apparent in the heavy swings of shadowblades.
Eventually, Luca drew the first blood. He'd dodge the drow's katana that was meant to slice at his neck by going under him and cutting him near the abdomen with a sideswipe of his new broadsword. However, the drow was quick enough to turn his torso away so that the cut wouldn't bite deep into him.
Instead of anger, it was amusement showing on his face while he inspected the wound Luca cut into him. Clearly, he was a battle freak like everyone else we've met in this damnable realm of fairies.
The drow raised his katana with both hands and positioned his right leg before him. It was a high guard stance I was familiar with because I'd practiced it enough in Kendo.
Luca, who'd trained the same way as me, copied the drow's stance.
A second passed. They both remained in place. Another second. Then another, and another. Still, neither fighter took the initiative. Then, as if his shadow rose up in an instant to swallow him, the drow disappeared.
"Luca, watch out!" I yelled.
Luca's form never wavered. His breathing was calm and leveled. It was the complete opposite of how he was whenever he activated his Foolish Strength. It was only then that I realized my brother had been hiding the fact that he too had gained new powers from bathing in the mana well.
A fraction of a second since he disappeared, the drow leader's form rose up from Luca's shadow with his blade rising up in an arc to slash Luca from the back.
Even if I moved now, I wouldn't have made it in time, and all I could think about was how much of a fool I was for letting my little brother risk his life this way.
But then something miraculous happened. Luca proved me wrong.
As the drow jumped out from his shadow, Luca exhaled a long breath. And although I didn't hear his voice, Fool's Insight read his lips when he whispered, "Second Wind."
In a speed that would rival Azuma's reflexes, Luca jumped and then rotated his whole body downward like a wheel which moved in tandem with the drow's rising blade, forcing it to miss. If that wasn't acrobatic enough, my brother's momentum continued his rotation past the point where his head was at the bottom while his feet were at the top, and with the force of his powerful arms, sent his shadowblade in a reverse rising slash at the now exposed body of his opponent.
Luca's wheel-attack bit deep into the drow from the right side of his stomach up to his right shoulder, and blood gushed out in a spray of red.
Almost in unison, the spectating drow gasped out loud.
The five guarding me and my friends screamed bloody murder at Luca who had slowly risen from the kneeling position he was in after he'd finish his wheel-attack.
Edo was the first to move. He raised his glaive in such a threatening manner that the drow closest to him backed away instinctively.
Ashley pulled out her sword and shield in front of her.
My own shadowblade came to life in my hand.
It seemed a battle was going to happen anyway. However, before the rumble began, a loud arrogant voice screamed for everyone to stop moving.
I looked back to Luca who had his broadsword's shadowblade tip point mere inches away from the fallen drow leader's heaving chest. He was still alive, after all.
"I gave... my word..." His yell was ragged. He was obviously in pain, but he did manage to say one more thing. "Enough fighting... I lost..."
The plan this time might have been more foolhardy than usual, but I did have a back up in case it failed. Now, the linchpin of our strategy was the item I created with Varda and Zarz, and as long as it functioned the way we intended it to then our victory was all but assured.Ashley passed me the metal canister she was carrying. "Are you sure this will work?"The skepticism showing clear on Ashley's face was emphasized by a raised eyebrow that reminded me so much of Arah's smoldering gaze that it made me miss my two friends. They wouldn't have doubted me. I think."It'll work if we did everything right," I held the canister in my hand. "But just in case... tell Donar to get ready, Varda."Varda, who stood beside Ashley, glanced behind to our troops positioned in the rear. "Commander wants you to get ready for when the experiment fails, Donar Firemonger."I sighed after hearing Varda's words, but I shrugged off her pessimism and transferred my focus over to Luca's battle in the arena below.He was doing pretty well. At least, it looked as if he and the young leader of the fallen drow clan were evenly matched as they traded sword blows and parried each other's shadowblades."Why don't you just use your fairy gift to paralyze your brother's opponent so he'd win easily?" Ashley asked.I had considered it but there was a simple reason why 'Basilisk's Eye' couldn't be my first option. Although it didn't mess with my vision afterward like regular Fool's Insight did, using the skill meant I would be unable to call on Fool's Insight for the rest of the night like that time right before Aura and I were ambushed. If I did, I might have been able to notice our enemies before the bad stuff happened.Of course, I couldn't admit this weakness to Ashley so I came up with a different excuse. "The target's too far away..."I glanced down at the item in my hands and inspected it one final time.The metal canister was the size of a soda can and made of a thin aluminum sheet capped on both ends by wax that could melt quickly in hot temperatures. There were round holes on the metal surface's upper half that allowed for a sneak peek at what we'd crammed inside it, a brown sack carrying a portion of the light-emitting gemstone as well as the mixture of aluminum and magnesium shavings we'd filled the sack with."Is it time to set this place ablaze, Commander?" said a husky male voice in a humorous tone.I glanced over to Donar Firemonger who had arrived to stand beside Vada.Although they weren't related, the male salamander was similar to Kallista in many ways. Even in his red magician's robe, I could tell that they shared a similar toned build. He also possessed the same fiery scale marks under violet reptilian eyes, as well as the hair that seemed to burn at the tips.Donar sent me a toothy smile that revealed the two sharp fangs in his teeth."Almost," I answered. "Get ready to fire on my command."I closed my eyes and read the words floating in my mind's eye, "Oh great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable," and the fairy gift inside me awakened.With Fool's Insight activated, I would be prepared for anything. It was time."We charge down into that arena after we hear the boom," I instructed my men. "Circular formation around the two fighters. Ashley and Edo will assist Luca in subduing the enemy leader. Don't kill him. We need information on where to find Aura."I glanced over at Edo who nodded back to me in an affirmative way."The rest of us will keep the formation and block any drow that comes to the commander's aid," I finished.I pulled at the wick that was out of the sack inside the cannister and lit it by pressing it onto the tips of Donar's hair. He was a convenient alternative to a matchstick.The wick lit up like a fireworks' fuse because I'd coated it earlier in niter from the gemstone and aluminum dust ground from our aluminum shavings."We go as soon as we hear the boom," I tossed the canister out our opening. "Oh, and close your eyes, everyone!"I glanced down below."Close your eyes, Luca!" I yelled at the top of my lungs right before I followed my own advice.There was a loud clang as the metal landed on the rocky ground, and thennothing.I counted to five but still hadn't heard the intensely loud bang that should have come from the explosion of my makeshift flashbang. All I could hear was the startled cries of the onlooking drow who were no doubt surprised to find that their home was under attack."Shit," I cursed before yelling at Donar, "Use your Flashfire!"But then I heard Luca's voice loud and clear against the rising clamor of the panicking drow, "Dean, stop! Don't do anything!"Despite my mind telling me to keep going less we lose the initiative, my hand instinctively stopped Donar from turning the fireball he'd conjured over his sharp-nailed hand into a shower of blindingly bright sparks.I wondered why Luca had asked me to stop, and I glanced down at my brother who was looking up at me despite the danger he was in."Don't do anything else... there are innocent women and children here!" he called.Of course, that's what Luca was worried about. Nevermind the murderous glare of the drow leader or the bows that were now targeting my position, the innocents were first on Luca's mind. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease click www.webnovel.com for visiting.I slapped my forehead with the palm of my right hand. "Luca...""Well, this is hilarious," Ashley said, and she really sounded like she found the current situation comical."Aw, shucks, Commander... it didn't go boom," Varda added like our failed experiment was the more pressing concern. "Maybe that wick didn't make it inside the sack?""I told you!" I heard Zarz yell from the backline of my thirty-five man troop who all looked as sheepish as I felt. "We need a better trigger mechanism to make it explode properly!"I sighed. Things were certainly not going as planned.It was a minute laterafter I'd deactivated Fool's Insight and given instructions to Varda to keep the recruits in our corridor ready for an all-out battlewhen I jumped down into the arena with Edo and Ashley as my backup.The warrior drow surrounding us from above kept their bows trained on our moving forms but didn't attack, and I assumed it was because their leader hadn't given them the order yet.Luca walked over to us and I slapped him a high-five before I asked him why he'd stopped me from taking the initiative in this battle."Did you know why the drow were running away from the guards?" he asked instead of answering my question.I did, and Luca could read the truth in my face."Then you know this is all my fault... And there's no way I'm going to put others in danger at my expense," he insisted. "Let me make things right...""You want me to let you continue this deathmatch?" I asked, incredulous."It won't be a deathmatch if I win... the drow leader agreed to let me go safely if I beat him in single combat," Luca explained.I looked over at his opponent. The drow's hood was down and I could see his face clearly now.He had a pointed face and a long, pointed nose with pale eyes that were almost white but had a shade of red in their irises. His skin was ebony but a lighter shade than the deep black of his shoulder-length brushed back hair. His lips, pale in color, were set in an amused smile."Do you think you can win?" It was Ashley who asked the question. "I've fought drow before. They fight with deception and stealth... kind of like ninjas...""I can... no... I will," Luca insisted.He turned his gaze on me and I could feel the intense determination flowing out of him."Fine... but I have a condition," My eyebrows knitted together. "I won't let him kill you... if it looks like you're about to lose, I'll stop the fight and unleash hell on this place to protect you..."Luca's own brow creased. "Don't you believe in me?"I smacked his chest lightly with my fist. "Of course, I believe you... you're the one guy I can't defeat."Edo reacted to this comment with a fake coughing sound. Technically, I hadn't beaten him in a one-on-one fight either but that's because I was smart enough to never spar with him."Besides, dad didn't train us to be weaklings," My face turned serious. "But I'm your big brother and it's my job to protect you. Alright?"Luca nodded. "Alright."He struck my chest with his own fist. "See you later.""Go kick some drow butt, Luca," I agreed.While Luca returned to the center of the arena to face his opponent, I turned my head back to my other two companions and warned them to be ready. We would rescue Luca the moment things looked like they were going to go badly for him.Luca, being the white knight he was, apologized to his opponent with a slight bow of his head. After he explained to the drow leader that we wouldn't interfere in their fight, Luca insisted that they continue. In response to Luca's words, the drow glanced over at his warriors and signaled for them to guard us.Out of nowhere, five light-footed drow came down from their holes and surrounded me, Ashley, and Edo. Among them was the knife-wielder I encountered outside broken Sellsword's Canyon. However, neither of my teammates drew their weapons because we'd agreed we would act calmly unless the tide changed. This way, the enemies might be caught off guard.With everyone satisfied that things were not going to devolve into a huge melee, Luca and the drow leader continued their fight.Their initial exchange was a series of sword blows that weren't aimed at killing each other. It seemed they were both still feeling each other out and probing for weaknesses in the other's guard.While this was happening, I'd reactivated Fool's Insight so I could better understand their movements. This allowed me to scrutinize every twitch of their limbs and every turn of their gaze, helping me to predict how the next clash would go.The drow was much faster than Luca but he was able to barely ward off his enemy's blows through a combination of experience brought about by constant battle and the intense training we'd endured throughout our lives at the insistence of our dad. And it was in times like these that I appreciated dad's foresight.Although no words were exchanged, you could feel the emotions pouring out of them with each slash of their blades. Their shared regret at the death of a drow who was only trying to save his people was apparent in the heavy swings of shadowblades.Eventually, Luca drew the first blood. He'd dodge the drow's katana that was meant to slice at his neck by going under him and cutting him near the abdomen with a sideswipe of his new broadsword. However, the drow was quick enough to turn his torso away so that the cut wouldn't bite deep into him.Instead of anger, it was amusement showing on his face while he inspected the wound Luca cut into him. Clearly, he was a battle freak like everyone else we've met in this damnable realm of fairies.The drow raised his katana with both hands and positioned his right leg before him. It was a high guard stance I was familiar with because I'd practiced it enough in Kendo.Luca, who'd trained the same way as me, copied the drow's stance.A second passed. They both remained in place. Another second. Then another, and another. Still, neither fighter took the initiative. Then, as if his shadow rose up in an instant to swallow him, the drow disappeared."Luca, watch out!" I yelled.Luca's form never wavered. His breathing was calm and leveled. It was the complete opposite of how he was whenever he activated his Foolish Strength. It was only then that I realized my brother had been hiding the fact that he too had gained new powers from bathing in the mana well.A fraction of a second since he disappeared, the drow leader's form rose up from Luca's shadow with his blade rising up in an arc to slash Luca from the back.Even if I moved now, I wouldn't have made it in time, and all I could think about was how much of a fool I was for letting my little brother risk his life this way.But then something miraculous happened. Luca proved me wrong.As the drow jumped out from his shadow, Luca exhaled a long breath. And although I didn't hear his voice, Fool's Insight read his lips when he whispered, "Second Wind."In a speed that would rival Azuma's reflexes, Luca jumped and then rotated his whole body downward like a wheel which moved in tandem with the drow's rising blade, forcing it to miss. If that wasn't acrobatic enough, my brother's momentum continued his rotation past the point where his head was at the bottom while his feet were at the top, and with the force of his powerful arms, sent his shadowblade in a reverse rising slash at the now exposed body of his opponent.Luca's wheel-attack bit deep into the drow from the right side of his stomach up to his right shoulder, and blood gushed out in a spray of red.Almost in unison, the spectating drow gasped out loud.The five guarding me and my friends screamed bloody murder at Luca who had slowly risen from the kneeling position he was in after he'd finish his wheel-attack.Edo was the first to move. He raised his glaive in such a threatening manner that the drow closest to him backed away instinctively.Ashley pulled out her sword and shield in front of her.My own shadowblade came to life in my hand.It seemed a battle was going to happen anyway. However, before the rumble began, a loud arrogant voice screamed for everyone to stop moving.I looked back to Luca who had his broadsword's shadowblade tip point mere inches away from the fallen drow leader's heaving chest. He was still alive, after all."I gave... my word..." His yell was ragged. He was obviously in pain, but he did manage to say one more thing. "Enough fighting... I lost..."
