For once, time seemed to crawl for Arwin. He and Lillia had found the house that Rodrick indicated on his map without too much difficulty, but waiting for Tix to actually show up was agony. He sat inside the house while Lillia lurked in the alleys just beyond it, watching for Tix. There was no way to know exactly when she would show up, and Arwin was pretty sure that his face would raise at least a little suspicion if she spotted him. If they wanted to properly get the jump on Tix, they needed her inside. She was a warrior, so Arwin doubted that he’d have long to take her out if he wanted to make sure she couldn’t call for help. After some discussion with Lillia, they’d come up with a strategy that Arwin felt was about as reliable as they were going to get. There was no way to keep Tix from calling for help – even if he could kill her in a single blow, there was no point. Arwin didn’t just need Tix dead. He needed answers, and that meant she had to be able to speak. And, if she could speak, she’d have a chance to cry out for help. There was only one way they could realistically think of that would keep Tix from calling out the moment she came under attack. She needs to think she’s in control. Tix was definitely a warrior of some sort. If she’s convinced that I can’t put up a fight or I’m not strong enough to defeat her, she’s unlikely to go running for help. Her reputation would be ruined. I can’t rely on that for long, but it’ll be enough. It has to be. Unfortunately, before any plans could come into fruition, Arwin still had to wait for Tix to actually show up. The fact that he couldn’t even see Lillia was making things worse. He knew she was just outside, waiting for an unsuspecting Tix to pass by, but that didn’t make him any less tense. Seconds felt like minutes as they ground by. He could have sworn the hours had passed thrice over already, but still the house was silent. Arwin’s hands were clammy – not out of fear, but out of anticipation. The temptation to summon Verdant Blaze was strong, but he resisted it. Based on the way Tix was fighting, she was probably somewhere in the high Apprentice Tier. She knew what she was doing, but she wasn’t at the point where should overpower Arwin through either skill or ability. Of course, she hadn’t quite figured that out yet. “Not me,” Arwin said, his knuckles whitening as his grip tightened. [Soul Flame] ignited at the head of Verdant Blaze, illuminating the darkness with its hungry light. “Who worked with you, Tix? Who destroyed my smithy that night?” “We heard you forging in it,” Tix said, taking a step back. “You can’t be alive. There’s no way a smith could survive that.” “The smith didn’t,” Arwin said, advancing on Tix. “You killed him. He burned to death in that building, Tix. Just like you wanted.” “Then how are you here?” Tix demanded, lunging at Arwin again in an attempt to get past his guard. He activated [Scourge] and twisted out of the way, slamming his hand down on her wrist and breaking it with a snap. The sword flew from Tix’s hand, clattering against the ground. Arwin’s other hand slammed over her mouth, muffling the scream before it could escape her lips. The anger in Arwin’s chest burned brighter with every passing second. “Answer the damn question,” Arwin growled, barely even able to form words. “Who–” Tix bit down on his palm. Arwin snarled in pain, yanking his hand back and dropping her. She lunged for her sword, grabbing it with her good hand. Tix’s bite was a lot stronger than it should have been – an ordinary human’s bite wouldn’t have been able to get through [Indomitable Bulwark], so she must have had some body enhancing buffs active. “I don’t care how you came back to life. I’m sending you back to the grave,” Tix snarled. Ghostly white energy swirled across the edge of her blade and she lunged, her entire body blurring to the point where Arwin completely lost track of her. The only thing that saved him was his instinct born from years of battle. His hands shot up, protecting his neck, and Tix’s sword carved into the back of his forearms, splattering blood across the ground. By the time Arwin lowered his hands, she’d vanished again. Arwin spun, jumping to the side. A screech rang out as her sword bit into the side of his armor. Energy poured out of Arwin as the armor activated, sending a whip of [Soul Flame] streaking through the air. Arwin didn’t see it connect, but he heard Tix hiss in pain. He didn’t have any time to gauge how effective the injury had been, though. Another blow carved across his back, digging deep into his armor but failing to penetrate it. “Just die already!” Tix’s voice demanded – and a flicker of ironic amusement struck Arwin. She was trying to be just as quiet as he was. They both thought they were the hunter and the other the prey. There was only one way to find out who was right. Arwin couldn’t tell where Tix was going to come from, but she’d already tried attacking him from behind several times. Her buff made her considerably faster than anything he could hit, so there was only one option left to him. He spun, raising his hands once more. As he’d predicted, Tix’s blade slammed into his forearms deep enough to strike bone – but not enough to cut through it. And, in the brief instant that Tix was standing still to execute the strike, Arwin used [Arsenal] to banish his helmet and yanked his hands up, taking the sword in his forearms with it. Tix’s grip on the blade was too great to pull the blade free of her hands, but he caught her by enough surprise to move it up just a few inches and worsen the wound in his arms. Tix didn’t try to resist, and it wasn’t a surprise. When an opponent helped you injure them, there wasn’t a reason to oppose it. After all, moving the sword even closer to your own throat wasn’t a move that would benefit anyone – other than Arwin. With a roar and before Tix could pull the sword back to strike at him again, Arwin bit down on the blade. There was a brief moment of resistance as the item desperately tried to hold its form. It was more resistance than anything else had ever given him, and it was just long enough for Tix to voice a surprised, “What the fu–” The blade shattered. Power pumped through Arwin’s body and his fist shot out, slamming into the side of Tix’s head. She tumbled back, the fragments of the blade clattering down as she rolled, slamming into the stone wall with a thud. Arwin dropped his hands, ignoring the blood that dripped down them and onto the ground as he closed the distance between Tix. She tried to stumble to her feet, but the dazed look in her eyes told Arwin that she’d hit her head against the wall. His hand shot out, wrapping around her neck as he activated [Scourge] and lifted Tix into the air. Pain pumped through his arms from the deep wounds, but it didn’t even come close to distracting him from the ache in his heart. “Who worked with you?” Arwin demanded, his helmet re-forming around his face as Tix nose-to-nose with the mask. “Tell me their goddamn names, Tix.” “How?” Tix wheezed, trying and failing to draw in air. Even if she wanted to call for help now, Arwin’s tight grip wouldn’t let her. “What are you? How can you be alive?” Guess she didn’t put two and two together. Can’t really blame Tix when she’s getting the life choked out of her.