B5 C54: Oathbound

AN: Shorter chapter today. Hope to fold it into the next chapter in edits, but it felt right as it is for now. Hope you all enjoy!

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Reactive Armor activated!

Right before Cal’s blade could lop my leg off, my plate armor materialized. While I didn’t have time to send much mana into the armor, the class trial bonus from Overload Armor came to the rescue, passively empowering my defenses for free. It might have not been enough had Cal taken the time to fully charge her weapon, but combined with the usual defense from Arcane Armory, it was enough.

Damage blocked!

Mana Sink has activated, absorbing a portion of the attack’s mana.

Wincing, Cal reappeared next to Verin, both of them donning grim expressions.

Time was ticking, and I knew there were more important things to say, but only one thing came to my mind right then.

“Did you two seriously just try to chop my legs off? What the hell!” I liked those legs! Speaking of which, I yanked them upwards, freeing myself by overpowering the ice that coated my feet.

Verin looked away, but Cal merely shrugged, surprisingly unrepentant. “Not like we couldn’t regrow them once we got you through the portal. Gotta say, was really hoping that would work. Now do I have to try again, or are you going in?”

I tried and failed to suppress a sigh. So they know. Fine. That didn’t really change anything. 

A quick check of my mana revealed that I was running on fumes, only the mana I’d stolen from Cal’s Empowered Strike giving me anything to work with. We need to wrap this up before the portal closes, but for now, I should stall a bit until I have more mana.

“How’d you two figure it out, anyway?” I thought I’d done a pretty good job of hiding my intentions.

To that, Verin scoffed. “Do you truly think so little of us? For one, in what world would Sett ever let all three of us go? Do you expect us to believe that the demon who’s currently locked up for repeated acts of regicide is some paragon of selflessness?”

Well, she had me there, but I thought I’d fibbed my way through that issue pretty well, all things considered. “I told you guys. It’s better for him if we escape with his locator token. If we all die, then he’s stuck here. If we tell Xander’Callis where he is, then he can send another team here to save his master.” It wasn’t even false, either. I genuinely had given Verin a locator token for that exact reason. Admittedly, it was enchanted to not work for the next few years, but she didn’t need to know that.

This time, it was Cal who took exception to my words. “Yeah, which is why he needs at least one of us to escape. But he’d never let all three of us go. What if we just ditched him and held onto his token? Plus, let’s be honest, you’ve been weirdly clingy these last few weeks, spending as much time with us as possible. Just admit it. You’re planning on staying behind.”

And there it was.

They were right, of course. There was no way Sett was going to give me that ritual without some insurance. Contrary to what they likely thought, though, I’d been the one to suggest it.

For all of Cezerra’s faults, her words had rattled around in my head for the past few months. A safe place to grow, free from any outside forces. Did I really want to go back to Emer’Thalis?

I mean, eventually, sure, but right now? All the problems I’d accumulated were due to resurface as soon as tomorrow? I thought about running around Emer’Thalis, getting status updates from Amak, Tuk, Ava, and Carpin. Of mending my relationship with Nadja and checking in on Rock. Of spending time with Hartha and Elphaea. All good things. All things I genuinely wanted to do… eventually.

But right now, it all felt a bit too overwhelming. And gods only knew that I wouldn’t manage it all without interruptions. Some other Antagonist would show up. Warram’s mother would find me and do who knew what. Emperor Diorus would find out that we’d messed up his pocket space. Someone would throw me in jail for my newfound levels of Demonic Summoning.

The point was, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew it would be something.

And I didn’t need to deal with something right now.

While there had undoubtedly been ups and downs along the way, the dungeon had been pretty good to me. Countless skill levels. New hobbies. Four, closing in on five, new levels. That wasn’t even as many as I could have grabbed, either. Without the debacle that was the spatial region and then the months taking care of Verin, I probably could have grabbed another one or two.

Really, what was the issue with staying one or two more years? I’d level up, making myself safer from Antagonists whenever I left. I’d work on my mental space, readying myself for my return to proper society. I’d free Sett, paying back my debt to him. And in the meantime, Cal and Verin would be safe.

A win-win for everyone.

I wanted to say exactly that, but even if there’d been enough time, I knew they wouldn’t listen. Already, they were taking my silence as an admission, barrelling on with their arguments.

“Do you truly think we would leave you here alone? If the dungeon is dangerous to all three of us, do you not believe it might endanger you as well? What happens if you get trapped in a region you have no defenses against? As you yourself said, one bad matchup, and you might die.”

All I could do was shrug. “That’s why I got Recall. I can’t be trapped anymore. It’s a risk, but it’s next to impossible to kill me instantly at this level anymore. I’ll just teleport back home and train until I’m ready. But look, it doesn’t really matter. Even if you manage to convince me, Sett made me sign a soul oath.”

After all, why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t as if the powerful mage would take me at my word. I’d signed a soul oath to stay, and that was that.

Both Cal and Verin sucked in at the same time, locked in twin grimaces. “The exact terms. Now. What were they?” As a practitioner of soul oaths herself, Verin was the first to regain her composure.

Thinking back, I laid out the agreement as best I could. “He helps me out with spells and knowledge and owes me a few favors once I get him out. I make my best effort to stay in the dungeon and free him. If the problem is truly insurmountable, the oath expires naturally in ten years.”

Rather than discouraging them as I’d hoped, my words only seemed to perk the two up.

“Wait, is that exactly what you agreed to? Your best effort?” Cal beamed at me, some of her usual roguish charm returning.

Hesitantly, I nodded.

“So… if something completely outside of your control pops up, you’re not breaking the oath, right?”

Once again, I agreed. With the oath written into my very soul, I had an instinctive understanding for what would set it off, so I was certain she was right.

“Which means if we take you home by force, you won’t be breaking your oath, right? In that case, you tried your best, but there was nothing you could do.” Bouncing from foot to foot, it seemed like Cal was daring me to contradict her, except she was exactly right.

Sensing where this was going, I made one last-ditch attempt to defuse the situation. “Look, he made me sign the oath, but I wanted it too. It’ll be good for me. You two have things to take care of at home. Cal, you need to check in on your dad and make sure he hasn’t started anymore wars. Verin, you have your entire family waiting for you. I just want to stay here and train for a bit more. And besides, with the time dilation, you’ll probably see me in a few months. Please just go. We don’t have to do this.”

I thought that I’d had a chance there, but it was clear before they responded that my words hadn’t found purchase.

“Lady Tess, if you believe we’re leaving you here, you are far more thick-headed than I could have imagined. Regardless of your desires, we are not leaving you here to die in our absence.” 

While Verin appeared far sterner than I’d seen in her ages, Cal hit me with a wide grin and two thumbs up, making it clear she was in full agreement. “Yup. Sorry, Tess. But we’re taking you home by force if we have to.”

Once more, I sighed.

From their perspective, it wasn’t a horrible plan.

Only, it had one glaring problem. Ignoring the fact that I didn’t want to go in the first place…

“That’s assuming you can.” 

My mana was hardly full, but I’d stalled enough. Any more would risk the portal closing on us before we finished things here.

This wasn’t at all how I’d wanted to end things here. I’d been planning on throwing a note through the portal that explained everything. My oath, however, was clear. I needed to try my best to remain here, and so, try my best I would.

I’d been planning on making the first move, but it seemed that my intentions hadn’t gone unnoticed. Either that, or the others were of a similar mind.

“Lady Tess, let us apologize for this in advance. We hope you do not hold it against us. But if you believe you are winning a two-on-one without any mana, then you have been sorely underestimating us.” 

Thus said, frost mana erupted around Verin, and the fight began.