Jamie turned, his grin stretching wider with an almost delirious glee. The aura from the gate tried to force its will on him. Emanating an oppressive mana wave. Yet he stood as if its crushing force were nothing more than a soft breeze. Jamie flicked one of his daggers and caught it by the tip, feeling the balance of the blade.

Theren stared, baffled by Jamie's resistance. Even the antler-like horns curling from Theren's forehead seemed to quiver with uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Maria, pinned by the weight of divine power, could barely move her gaze. She was straining every muscle to remain conscious. Serana knelt among the fallen soldiers, her mind wearing out under the torrent of energy. Blood spread from Andrik's body in a crimson pool near her feet. The horror of seeing him stabbed by Theren's blade had nearly stolen her will to stand.

"How in the hell are you still on your feet?" Theren demanded. The voice from behind the mask was part incredulity, part rage. "This much divine power should keep any mortal pinned to the floor. You were a common bard, were you not?"

"A bard? Yeah. Common? Not so much." Jamie gave a half-shrug, rolling his neck as though loosening knots in his muscles. "Who's to say? Maybe my partner's shouldering the burden."

"Partner?" Theren asked, his confusion deepening.

"That's none of your concern," Jamie replied, voice dropping to a predatory hush. "Let's settle this, you and me. I doubt you'll stand there and let me carve you to pieces, but it doesn't hurt to ask."

"What in hell are you talking about?" Theren retorted, shifting his stance.

"Shush! I'm talking to him, not to you." Jamie said, pointing his dagger at Theren while looking down.

Jamie didn't allow him another word. He sprang forward in a blur, daggers lashing out in swift, practiced strikes. Two shallow thrusts hammered against Theren's midsection. Yet each time, Jamie felt a resistance deflecting his blades. He vaulted backward, feeling something was wrong.

"Impressive," Theren managed, still sounding rattled. "But I told you. This body, this mask, they're forged by the gods themselves!"

Theren's cloak thrashed behind him, as though possessed by a will of its own.

"Blah. Blah. Blah. Are you here to talk or to fight?" Jamie said, moving one hand as if mimicking Theren's mouth.

"Give me your BLOOD!" he licked the blade of his dagger before attacking once more. "What do you mean, that's disgusting? Fucking hell, let me fight!" Jamie answered to no one.

"Destroy!" Theren commanded, pointing a fingertip at Jamie. The cloak quivered, then twisted into a series of sharpened, tubular shapes that shot forward. Each part of the clock was like a serpentine tendril with the mission of tearing its enemy.

Snarling, Jamie leapt backward, crossing his daggers to parry the tentacle-like cloak. Each clash reverberated through his arms. The force behind every strike was almost ripping the blades from his hands.

"You'll have to be faster," Jamie taunted, his breath steady despite the effort behind each parry. He bobbed and weaved with his agility. The bard contorted his body just enough that the cloak's attacks sliced through the air inches from his skin.

"DESTROY! I TOLD YOU TO DESTROY HIM," Theren roared again, his patience fraying. With every blocked or dodged strike, the cloak's fury escalated.

For a moment, Theren's masked face jerked toward the gate, as though an invisible chain yanked him in that direction. "Yes… I hear you, my lord," he muttered just loud enough for Jamie to catch. "I will complete the ritual. And then… your power will be mine."

"Holy fuck. A battle where half the fighters are in someone else's minds. Seriously, this is so pathetic," Jamie said, as if judging both himself and Theren.

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"Don't let him finish!" Jessica screamed from the stone platform.

"Silence!" Theren spat back, voice raw with rage.

Jamie almost seemed to ignore them both. Though he wanted to finish Theren, he had an immediate problem to solve and a battle to enjoy. An irreverent grin played over his lips, as if the entire thing were little more than a game.

All the while, a persistent message hovered in his vision.

[A new Dagger Dancer is born.]

He could feel its effect within him. Jamie knew the difference. He had a new strength in his limbs and a sharpened awareness that made everything clear. 'Might be worth exploring what that does for me,' he thought, dodging another attack that nearly caught his shoulder. 'But for now, I'll settle for enjoying how… light it makes me feel.'

Jamie sighed, unable to spare a moment to read the effects of his newly acquired class. Across from him, Theren's cloak lashed the air like a living, rabid beast.

"If this cloak is part of the ritual," Jamie questioned himself aloud, voice laced with a mischievous edge, "what happens if I cut it to shreds?"

He grinned, looking like a child preparing to unleash a prank. Just then, another spear-like extension shot from the cloak, aiming to impale him. Jamie sidestepped, letting the fabric hiss past his ribs, and countered with a swift slash of his dagger.

At first, the blade met rigid resistance, metal ringing against something as hard as steel. But on the second strike, no such clang sounded. Instead, Jamie saw a rip appear across the cloth.

Jamie let out a triumphant laughter, his eyes lighting up with savage glee. "Hah! So you need time to toughen up," he said, narrowing his gaze at the cloak.

With its secret exposed, Jamie pressed the advantage. "Bad! Bad! Bad cape. You need some manners," his daggers blurred in his hands, launching a flurry of cuts and stabs that tore into the once-impenetrable garment. Each rip bled a small amount of mana and divine power.

"What's he doing?" Theren muttered in confusion, his masked face jerking side to side as if listening for guidance from the unseen entity. "Why is he able to damage it?"

Even as he spoke, ragged strands fell from the cloak. As they fell, they strangely curled into blackened wisps. Jamie could sense it; each severed fragment disrupted part of the ritual's power.

"Stop!" Theren howled.

Jamie only grinned wider, launching another onslaught. "Make me, bitc-. Shit. You've bitten my tongue. Yeah, I know it's also your tongue."

Seeing no other choice, Theren pressed a trembling hand to the mask covering his face. "Damn you," he spat, voice trembling with anger and a hint of desperation. "Yes. Yes, my lord. I understand. I will handle this."

"Careful!" Jessica's warning reverberated around the cavern.

Theren raised both hands, directing his power toward two unconscious soldiers on the ground. Their chests heaved, unnaturally, before rupturing in a spray of entrails and blood that splattered across the floor. Jessica recoiled, throat constricting at the sight.

"At least these remain under my command," Theren muttered with a twisted satisfaction in his words. He spread his fingers, and the blood from the bodies surged toward him, coalescing into two crimson spheres.

He did several intricate gestures, guiding the red orbs into tapering shapes. Before Jamie's eyes, the blood hardened into a pair of menacing lances, darkening from crimson to an abyssal black.

[Corrupt Spear]

With a snarl, Theren hurled both spears toward Jamie.

The bard was still dodging the cloak's attacks, but he hadn't overlooked the cultist's movements. As the spears whistled through the air, Jamie planned his response.

'I'll dodge the first one and parry the second,' He reminded himself.

One spear flew close to his head, striking the wall. The instant it made contact, it reverted to a thick, oily fluid, not red but pitch-black, spreading in a corrosive streak that ate away at the stone.

With the second spear, Jamie raised his dagger to deflect it. Yet seeing what had happened to the wall, he released the blade before impact. Droplets of the black ooze spat across the ground. It was repulsive in both sight and smell, dissolving metal and stone where they landed.

"Damn it. Really?" Jamie swore through clenched teeth, forced to watch as the dark slime consumed his dagger in seconds. "I did ask for blood, but not like this."

"That was just my first strike," Theren said, voice ringing with cruel triumph. "Let's see how much more you can endure."

For a split second, Jamie allowed himself to glance at his status page. While his opponent was rejoicing in his new power, Jamie needed to see what his class was capable of.

'Ok. Let's try.' The bard thought as he looked at his new skills.

"Go ahead and gloat when this is over," he answered, locking eyes with Theren once more.

He let the remaining dagger slip from his fingertips. "I never thought I would say that to you. But, let's dance."

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