Rebellion: Prince of Dawn

Chapter 8.8: To Each Their Vows

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ERINA TINSEL

King Arthureus didn't even have to pull a name for everyone to figure out who was fighting next. By process of elimination, Roswaal and I would be going up against each other.

If I was asked who I didn't want to fight, I'd have two answers depending on the context of the question.

The first was that I didn't want to fight Ilias or Thaddeus. Not because I didn't think I'd stand a chance against them, but because we'd been so close these last few weeks that going against them would be difficult. I wouldn't have been able to get myself to attack them all out.

The second was that I didn't want to fight against Roswaal because he was the most dangerous foe here.

Zwergin told me that it was Roswaal that outsmarted Jay Geils and got them their peggy. It was Roswaal who kept Bad Attitude and Earth, Wind, And Fire safe during the last two days of phase one. Roswaal was confident in his abilities-he didn't hesitate to show us what they were.

I'd been so anxious the moment I knew I was going up against him that I wasn't even paying attention to Ilias and Asher's fight. In my head, I was trying to figure out ways I could defeat an opponent that was clearly far above my level.

During the second fight, he had a calm smile on his face as if he was enjoying the battle and not worrying about our upcoming fight. That terrified me even more.

Is he that strong that he doesn't even consider me a threat to fret about?

After taking the gympie fruit, Asher didn't want to watch the final fight and exited through Gluttony's portal.

"I don't think it's a mystery trying to figure out who the last fight will feature." Ivan looked at us. "Let's get this over with, you two."

Ilias lent me his wand as I headed to the middle of the shattered arena. There were divots in the ground, shattered earth, and pools of water in certain areas.

Roswaal, who was on the opposite side, smiled at me. "Let's both do our best, shall we?"

"Yeah..."

"Begin!" Ivan announced.

The moment the fight began, I hopped backwards, enlarging the distance between my opponent and me. Roswaal didn't bother to move at all. He simply stayed still, observing me with that creepy smile.

"Are you trying to say you're better than me? Are you trying to say that I'm so weak that I'm not worth moving away from?" I asked.

"You've got it all wrong. I'm simply observing you to see what type of person you are. You're the cautious type that won't let me go near you. And since you know I'm a Stand User, there's no way I can just attack you head-on. Especially at this distance."

"But you can," I corrected. "Just because you're a Stand User doesn't mean you can't attack me from afar. We all just witnessed Asher do that to Ilias. I've only seen one of your abilities. For all I know, you could be hiding more."

"Clever girl."

Let's see how fast his reactions are.

I pointed the wand straight at Roswaal, casting six different Fire Balls to come from different heights and speeds.

"White Stripes," Roswaal giggled.

His Stand manifested in front of him, the cloud clown punching my Fireballs into nothing as it cried. "Durarararararararara!"