Part 1 — What Derpy Promised
The clearing held its breath.
Derpy leaned close to Lenora, close enough that his words didn’t have to belong to anyone else.
“If we win this,” he said, “then when we get to the next town… that tea date you mentioned.”
Lenora’s ears twitched.
Derpy kept going.
“We don’t stop at tea. We turn it into a full day. Activities. Getting to know each other. Holding hands—what couples do in this world.”
Lenora’s posture went rigid.
Derpy’s voice stayed low.
“We’re not a couple,” he said. “But I want to get to know you, Lenora.”
Heat rushed into her face so fast it looked painful.
She stared at him like she was trying to decide if she should bonk him again.
Derpy turned his head toward Seraphine’s chosen champions.
Ace.
Joker.
“Who do you want?” Derpy asked. “Because if one of us goes down, the other gets forced to take two at once.”
Lenora didn’t answer.
Her eyes were still stuck on the words he’d said.
A day.
A date.
Hands.
Derpy exhaled through his nose.
He leaned in and blew into her ear.
Lenora shuddered.
“What,” she snapped, voice too sharp for how red her face was.
Derpy repeated himself.
“Who do you want, Lenora?”
Lenora blinked hard, then forced her focus back onto the clearing.
“This is your fight,” she said. “What do you want to do? I’m here to back you up.”
Memories hit Derpy in a rush.
Meeting Lenora.
Then Vespera.
Then Lewd.
Then Vambasta.
Then Vemi.
Then Riven.
A chain of people he’d hurt.
A chain of people he cared about.
A chain of people he didn’t want to lose.
Derpy’s jaw set.
“I’m bruised and exhausted,” he said. “I’ll take the dragon girl.”
Ace.
Lenora’s gaze slid to Joker.
“You’ll be okay against him?” Derpy asked.
“I should,” Lenora said. “I’m better prepared.”
Part 2 — Allies Step In
Two hands touched Derpy.
He turned.
Lewd stood there, calamity book raised.
Her eyes were steady.
“Blight Vein wants to work with you in this battle,” Lewd said.
She held her book closer—like offering a blade with the hilt first.
Seraphine watched.
“This will be interesting,” she said.
Riven stepped forward.
“Friend,” she said.
Her mouth opened too wide.
A void.
Her calamity book showed itself—then she reached into the darkness and pulled out two things.
A cursed sword.
A mirror shield.
Riven handed them to Lenora.
Lenora’s fingers closed around the grips like she was afraid they’d vanish.
Derpy and Lenora looked at each other.
Then Derpy accepted Lewd’s offered power.
Blight Vein.
Lenora accepted Riven’s weapons.
Joker’s mask tilted.
He began his usual theatrical words—aimed like knives wrapped in velvet.
Derpy didn’t answer.
Lenora didn’t answer.
They let the words fall to the dirt.
Part 3 — Seraphine’s Rules
Seraphine stepped forward.
Her fan closed with a clean snap.
“Done preparing?” she asked, voice smooth.
Derpy and Lenora held their ground.
“The rules are simple,” Seraphine said. “This battle ends when both parties on the same side can’t continue.”
She lifted her chin.
“No killing.”
Her gaze pinned them.
“Does that sound fair?”
Derpy nodded.
Lenora nodded.
Lewd’s calamity merged temporarily with Derpy’s—Celica’s embers shifting under a new weight.
A new title burned into the feeling of it.
Celica’s Blight Embers.
Blight Vein’s voice slid into Derpy’s mind.
This is temporary, Blight said. I’m here to help.
A pause.
Lewd begged and pleaded for you to be okay. This is me helping.
Derpy swallowed.
Blight’s presence pressed closer.
You can release your sinister side if needed.
Derpy’s stomach turned.
His pets padded up in their chibi forms.
Mia.
Sphinx.
Small bodies. Sharp eyes.
Derpy looked at Seraphine.
“Are pets allowed to help?” he asked.
Seraphine’s tone turned dismissive.
“What can a mere dog and cat do?”
Joker’s head snapped toward her.
“My Queen,” he said, voice edged with real worry, “they’re highly dangerous. Don’t let them help.”
Seraphine let out a laugh.
“Nonsense,” she said. “They’re harmless. Look how cute they are.”
Her fan lifted.
“Ace. Joker. You two can go all out.”
Her voice sharpened.
“No mistakes. No wrong moves. And no killing. Am I clear?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Ace said.
“Yes, my Queen,” Joker said.
But Joker’s mask didn’t hide the tension in his posture.
Seraphine’s fan snapped.
“Very well,” she said. “Begin.”
Part 4 — The Charge
Derpy moved.
Lenora moved.
Mia and Sphinx dashed with them.
Ace and Joker held their line in the distance—two silhouettes that didn’t look like they belonged to the same world as “no killing.”
Beyond the clearing, figures in masks watched.
Observing.
Measuring.
A mysterious voice spoke from the dark.
A Riven doll stood beside him.
One masked figure held a great axe.
Another held a magic tome.
“Master,” one said, “I sense a defect in the area. Can I take it out?”
The voice answered without urgency.
“No. Worry about the battle. Let them fight until they can’t continue.”
A pause.
“We’ll deal with the defect later.”
Up in a tree, Riven perched—still, tense.
She sensed the dolls.
Not her.
Not the defect.
Her gaze searched the shadows.
And worry sat in her posture like a weight she didn’t know how to name.