Chapter 30: Sorrow and Joy
Tristé winced as she felt the cool, sharp blade cut the side of her face. Desperate, she hurled a fireball at the Kasama, who easily dodged it. As he rolled out of the way, he deftly tossed another dagger at her. Surprised, she somehow managed to stagger out of the way though she lost her balance and landed headfirst into the sand. “What’s wrong, Tristé?” the Kasama called out tauntingly as she sat up, spitting grains of sand out of her mouth. “I thought you’re supposed to be one of the best fighters in Idilarys, but I guess that rumor was untrue.”
She wiped her mouth as she glared at him. Dammit, if her body wasn’t in such terrible condition, she would do so much better. It still ached due to the severe beating she received. Not to mention the fact that Adalynn Tolbert wasn’t a fighter so her body wasn’t used to this type of situation, which was most likely why she was now repulsed by all the gore. When Owain was going to give her a new host body, she’ll make sure that her host was accustomed to fighting.
Nevertheless, now wasn’t the time to think such thing. Forcing herself to stand up despite the pain, she stared at the Kasama defiantly. Her feet felt wobbly in the sand as she tried to remain steady. “Somewhat unfair that you’re in better physical condition than me, don’t you think?” she retorted.
He smirked back at her. “Oh, Tristé, I thought as a warrior, you should know by now that no one fights fair and square in real life. You just have to make do with what you have.” As he said those words, he tossed another pair of daggers at her.
Knowing that she didn’t have time to evade, Tristé quickly snapped her fingers. Blue flames burst from her hand and burnt the weapons into ash. Undeterred, the Kasama just deftly snatched another pair and flung them at her. Again she incinerated them with ease. They repeated their little game; he would throw his knives at her while she used her flames to burn them out. Both were determined to fight until the other one falters.
As Tristé launched another flame attack, she began to feel frustrated and grind her teeth. She was sure she burned twenty daggers by now, but the attacks kept on coming. Dammit, how many did he have? This was getting a bit aggravating! Kissing her teeth, she destroyed yet again a pair of daggers when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her right thigh, causing her to topple over. In intense pain, she forced herself to sit up and was stunned to see a dagger handle sticking out of her leg. When did he throw that? Was it when she was too distracted with destroying the other blades?
Just then another dagger struck her on her left shoulder. Screaming with agony, she fell back and clutched her new wound. “Got you now,” she heard the Kasama’s taunt as he sauntered toward her. Realizing that she was in trouble, Tristé tried desperately to crawl away, but she was too weak due to her injuries. She barely moved a few steps when a pair of boots appeared right in front of her face, blocking her way. Despite knowing who it was, Tristé still looked up to see the Kasama’s gloating face.
“Leaving so soon?” he asked and kicked her in the face so hard that she was knocked over to her back. Dazed, she barely spat out the blood out of her mouth and started to sit up when she felt the Kasama grabbed her by the throat before slamming her back to the ground. Sands flew up in the air before scattered back to the ground.
Panicking, she clawed his hand that was around her neck and tried to pull it away. However, the touch of a cold, metal blade against her cheek stopped her struggling. The amused Kasama began to stroke her face, cheek-to-cheek, with his weapon and mocked, “For being a warrior, you’re acting rather pathetic.”
The leader of the Velscendus cult then lifted the dagger slowly up as Tristé watched. “Any last words?” he asked softly, but she refused to answer. She won’t give him any satisfaction. “Oh well, you’re stubborn as ever. Farewell, Tristé. I’ll make sure that your beloved emperor and his family will join you soon.”
As soon as he said those words, he swung his weapon down. In spite of her fear, Tristé refused to close her eyes. She was a warrior of Idilarys after all so she wouldn’t look away no matter what even if she was witnessing her own death. Time seemed to slow down as the dagger came ever so closer to her body. It was only a few centimeters away when all of a sudden, the night sky began to light up.
“I told you already – it isn’t going to work. We had made sure that no one can leave here using the needle rings,” Zen said calmly as he heard the Dalenthi cursed once again.
He felt a sharp jab on his back. “Shut up, Sendoan!” one of his captors snarled. The Ilmarian of Seasons just grunted though inwardly he smiled at their frustration. Even though he was surrounded by Dalenthi pointing their weapons at him right now, he wasn’t alarmed by his current situation. After all, he knew that their only escape is to the desert, which would make things easier to search for them. At the same time, he waited patiently for an opportunity to strike when they were too distracted and based on the growing frustration, it was going to happen soon.
“What should we do now, Xyrem?” another Dalenthi wondered aloud.
Zen heard their leader answered, “We have no choice but to head to the desert. Are the barriers still gone, Miushe?” He had to smile. Just as Xyrem had said that, he received Marika’s message informing him that the needle ring was now working. Talk about good timing! Although it wasn’t going to help him in his current situation.
“Still gone,” was the reply.
“Good. Now collect his needle ring, and make sure he won’t be able to follow us. A simple knock behind his head should do the trick.”
“We’re not taking him with us?” Miushe asked, confused.
Xyrem shook his head. “It would be too risky to have two immortals with us. The Aerian would be easier to keep an eye on since she has been marked with our insignia already.”
Shit! He needed to act fast; otherwise, the cult would be long gone by the time he woke up – with Alethea in toll. He was about to send out a wave of lightning when he abruptly felt someone shoving something to his chest. Startled, he instinctually reached down to catch whatever it was and was surprised to find out it was his needle ring.
“What are you doing, Angox!?” Xyrem shouted angrily.
Angox didn’t answer his superior but looked up at Zen instead. The Ilmarian of Seasons was stunned to see that the Dalenthi’s eyes were glowing a bright red. In fact, half of the Dalenthi had their eyes aglow, which only meant one thing. “Shintra...?” he breathed in disbelief as the moon peeked through the dark clouds.
Just as he said that Duermon’s name, all hell broke loose.
Hessin was baffled at the sudden change of events. At first, he was struggling against his opponents. He couldn’t do much except block the Dalenthi’s relentless attacks and swung his sword wildly in the dark, hoping to hit someone. The next thing he knew it, the moonlight was shining down on them again. Stumped, he turned his attention to the magic casters’ location and was stunned by what he saw - some of the Velscendus cult members had stabbed them in the chests. What was going on? Why did they turn against their colleagues when they have a full advantage?
“Master, look out behind you!” Hearing Istra’s warning, he cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. He quickly turned around as he began to swing his sword and saw his would-be attacker dead at his feet instead. Another Dalenthi stood above his dead comrade, his axe bloodied, as he stared at Hessin; his eyes aglow. That was when the Ilmarian of Justice realized what was going on – Shintra must be using his power to control some of his former men to do his bidding! What was Kejuta thinking!? Wasn’t it risky for her to allow that Duermon to use his power like that?
She must have knew his opinion because the Dalenthi said, “Kejuta wants me to tell you that she didn’t have a choice. Now hurry and go on ahead! My comrades and I will provide assistance.” He gestured at the other cult members who was under Shintra’s control and already fighting against those who weren’t under his control.
Before he could object, he felt Istra’s gentle hands on his shoulders. “Let it go for now,” she told him. “We should focus on helping Talic save Armita.”
Knowing that she was right, he nodded. “All right,” he said reluctantly and turned his attention to the Dalenthi. “You better tell us what’s going on here once this is over.”
Smirking, the cult member just nodded before he charged into battle. The Ilmarian of Justice shook his head as he headed toward Talic’s direction.
Owain had to shield his eyes as the light abruptly appeared. One of them must have stopped the person causing the blackout, he thought to himself with a smile. Now it would be easier for him to catch up with the others. As he scrambled through the throng of Dalenthi, he noticed something odd. Whenever one of them stood in his way, another would push his comrade out of the way, allowing the Lycian to pass. What was up with that?
“Owain!” Hearing his name, he slowed down and turned to see Chiara blasting a path toward him. Next to her was a familiar face.
“Chiara! Lord Brenton! Are you all right?” he called out as he headed to meet up with them. He was so glad to see them! They were definitely a better sight to see than the Gods of Retribution.
“We’re fine,” she replied. Even though her face was covered in sweat and her dress was scorched, she seemed to be unharmed. On the other hand, the God of Knowledge appeared to be untouched by the battle around them. “And you?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He glanced around the battlefield, but it was hard to see anything in the mayhem. “Have you seen the others?”
She shook her head as she shot a blast of water at an enemy. “Not since we got separated.”
The Lycian cursed underneath his breath. “We need to find a way to get to them before it’s too late. Do you know which direction any of them were heading?”
“Yes, but… they might change their route after they were attacked by the gods.”
That was when Lord Brenton spoke up. “Based on what I saw in Historia, I think I know where the others are.”
“You do?” Owain asked. He immediately shot an arrow at a Dalenthi trying to attack Brenton from behind. Even though it only wounded the Duermon on the shoulder, it caused him to stumble onto his knees right in front of the god.
“Of course,” Brenton simply replied and slammed his heavy book on top of the Duermon’s head. Owain winced slightly as the possessed man collapsed to the ground. That got to hurt. “We need to head east to meet up with Talic and Armita. Afterward, I can use my needle ring so we can reunite with Tristé.”
“Wait, I thought you said that Lady Marika prevented anyone from leaving here,” Chiara said, confused.
“She recently removed that seal so transportation is now possible.”
“Then wouldn’t it be easier for us to teleport to Talic and Armita’s locations instead of running there?” Owain pointed out.
The God of Knowledge just smiled. “It would, but based on the different versions of the future I’ve foreseen, we would cause more trouble than necessary if we do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I might confuse you, but I’ll try my best to explain it to you on the way there. Based on my vision, we should be heading out now so let’s go. Your friends’ lives depend on us arriving there on time.”
Armita tried her best to wiggle herself free from her captors’ grasp but to no avail. Their grip on her was ungodly strong. “Stop struggling, sister. Just relax and enjoy the performance,” Ithani cooed as she swirled and pranced in front of her. Despite her “sister’s” reassurance, she was anything but relaxed. Once again she would be forced to be that imposter’s puppet and fight against her own free will. She needed to do something fast, but what?
Just as she was beginning to panic, a thought occurred to her. The last time she recalled feeling woozy during the Duermon’s performance. However, she wasn’t feeling that way at all; she still felt alert and focus. That would mean Lady Alethea’s protection was still in effect! Armita wanted to shout for joy but contained herself. Since Ithani did not know about it, she could use it to her advantage.
She slowly relaxed her body and pretended to have trouble staying awake. As soon as she slumped her shoulders and dropped her head, she overheard one of the Dalenthi informed Ithani, “It worked, Ithani! She’s completely under your spell now.”
“I figure sooner or later she’ll give in. No matter how hard they try, humans can’t resist my spell. You can let go of her now and cut her free.” Armita felt their hands lifted off her shoulders and the ropes that bind her hands fell to the ground as they cut it off. “Now hand her weapons to her.”
“Are you sure it’s a wise idea?” another Velscendus cult member asked worriedly.
“Of course.” The Isharan then felt someone tilted her head up and found herself staring face-to-face with Ithani. A small part of her began to worry that the Duermon would notice something amiss, but her sister’s imposter must not notice because she continued, “She’s completely harmless now and is on our side now. She only listen to my orders so she won’t attack us. Isn’t that right, sister?” Armita nodded. “See? So give my sister her knives.”
She then saw the Dalenthi trudged over to her. After turning her hands palm up, he slammed her butterfly knives into her hands, which caused her to wince slightly. The cult member didn’t seem to notice (or care, to be precise) as he closed her hands around them. “Are you ready to protect me, Armie?” Ithani inquired, beaming at her. Even though she was tempted to stab her right then and there, Armita restrained herself. Now wasn’t the time to strike especially when she’s surrounded by a small group of Dalenthi. Instead she nodded. “Good. That Eireneridan is trying to tear us apart because he wants to keep you all for himself. We don’t want that, do we?” She shook her head though her body quivered slightly with anger. Ithani giggled happily. “As expected from my big sister! I know you will always protect me. Now get rid of him and his mutt so we can be together forever. He’ll be arriving anytime soon.”
Armita turned around to see that Ithani was right. Even though she could barely make them out, she could see that Talic and Cuzo were fighting their way toward her. Despite being swarmed by Dalenthi, they refused to give up. Whenever she see them struggling, she wanted so badly to shout at them to stand up, urging them to keep moving, but she had to keep up her charade. The Isharan maintained her composure and stared coolly ahead; nevertheless she tightened her grips around the hilts of her knives. She could feel Ithani’s penetrating red eyes studying her. Finally, her possessed sister asked, “Ready to fight, dear Armie?”
“Yes,” she whispered, making sure her voice was devoid of emotions. Watching the frenzy battle in front of her, she gulped nervously. Hopefully her plan worked. Otherwise, both she and Talic would end up dead.
She wiped her mouth as she glared at him. Dammit, if her body wasn’t in such terrible condition, she would do so much better. It still ached due to the severe beating she received. Not to mention the fact that Adalynn Tolbert wasn’t a fighter so her body wasn’t used to this type of situation, which was most likely why she was now repulsed by all the gore. When Owain was going to give her a new host body, she’ll make sure that her host was accustomed to fighting.
Nevertheless, now wasn’t the time to think such thing. Forcing herself to stand up despite the pain, she stared at the Kasama defiantly. Her feet felt wobbly in the sand as she tried to remain steady. “Somewhat unfair that you’re in better physical condition than me, don’t you think?” she retorted.
He smirked back at her. “Oh, Tristé, I thought as a warrior, you should know by now that no one fights fair and square in real life. You just have to make do with what you have.” As he said those words, he tossed another pair of daggers at her.
Knowing that she didn’t have time to evade, Tristé quickly snapped her fingers. Blue flames burst from her hand and burnt the weapons into ash. Undeterred, the Kasama just deftly snatched another pair and flung them at her. Again she incinerated them with ease. They repeated their little game; he would throw his knives at her while she used her flames to burn them out. Both were determined to fight until the other one falters.
As Tristé launched another flame attack, she began to feel frustrated and grind her teeth. She was sure she burned twenty daggers by now, but the attacks kept on coming. Dammit, how many did he have? This was getting a bit aggravating! Kissing her teeth, she destroyed yet again a pair of daggers when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her right thigh, causing her to topple over. In intense pain, she forced herself to sit up and was stunned to see a dagger handle sticking out of her leg. When did he throw that? Was it when she was too distracted with destroying the other blades?
Just then another dagger struck her on her left shoulder. Screaming with agony, she fell back and clutched her new wound. “Got you now,” she heard the Kasama’s taunt as he sauntered toward her. Realizing that she was in trouble, Tristé tried desperately to crawl away, but she was too weak due to her injuries. She barely moved a few steps when a pair of boots appeared right in front of her face, blocking her way. Despite knowing who it was, Tristé still looked up to see the Kasama’s gloating face.
“Leaving so soon?” he asked and kicked her in the face so hard that she was knocked over to her back. Dazed, she barely spat out the blood out of her mouth and started to sit up when she felt the Kasama grabbed her by the throat before slamming her back to the ground. Sands flew up in the air before scattered back to the ground.
Panicking, she clawed his hand that was around her neck and tried to pull it away. However, the touch of a cold, metal blade against her cheek stopped her struggling. The amused Kasama began to stroke her face, cheek-to-cheek, with his weapon and mocked, “For being a warrior, you’re acting rather pathetic.”
The leader of the Velscendus cult then lifted the dagger slowly up as Tristé watched. “Any last words?” he asked softly, but she refused to answer. She won’t give him any satisfaction. “Oh well, you’re stubborn as ever. Farewell, Tristé. I’ll make sure that your beloved emperor and his family will join you soon.”
As soon as he said those words, he swung his weapon down. In spite of her fear, Tristé refused to close her eyes. She was a warrior of Idilarys after all so she wouldn’t look away no matter what even if she was witnessing her own death. Time seemed to slow down as the dagger came ever so closer to her body. It was only a few centimeters away when all of a sudden, the night sky began to light up.
“I told you already – it isn’t going to work. We had made sure that no one can leave here using the needle rings,” Zen said calmly as he heard the Dalenthi cursed once again.
He felt a sharp jab on his back. “Shut up, Sendoan!” one of his captors snarled. The Ilmarian of Seasons just grunted though inwardly he smiled at their frustration. Even though he was surrounded by Dalenthi pointing their weapons at him right now, he wasn’t alarmed by his current situation. After all, he knew that their only escape is to the desert, which would make things easier to search for them. At the same time, he waited patiently for an opportunity to strike when they were too distracted and based on the growing frustration, it was going to happen soon.
“What should we do now, Xyrem?” another Dalenthi wondered aloud.
Zen heard their leader answered, “We have no choice but to head to the desert. Are the barriers still gone, Miushe?” He had to smile. Just as Xyrem had said that, he received Marika’s message informing him that the needle ring was now working. Talk about good timing! Although it wasn’t going to help him in his current situation.
“Still gone,” was the reply.
“Good. Now collect his needle ring, and make sure he won’t be able to follow us. A simple knock behind his head should do the trick.”
“We’re not taking him with us?” Miushe asked, confused.
Xyrem shook his head. “It would be too risky to have two immortals with us. The Aerian would be easier to keep an eye on since she has been marked with our insignia already.”
Shit! He needed to act fast; otherwise, the cult would be long gone by the time he woke up – with Alethea in toll. He was about to send out a wave of lightning when he abruptly felt someone shoving something to his chest. Startled, he instinctually reached down to catch whatever it was and was surprised to find out it was his needle ring.
“What are you doing, Angox!?” Xyrem shouted angrily.
Angox didn’t answer his superior but looked up at Zen instead. The Ilmarian of Seasons was stunned to see that the Dalenthi’s eyes were glowing a bright red. In fact, half of the Dalenthi had their eyes aglow, which only meant one thing. “Shintra...?” he breathed in disbelief as the moon peeked through the dark clouds.
Just as he said that Duermon’s name, all hell broke loose.
Hessin was baffled at the sudden change of events. At first, he was struggling against his opponents. He couldn’t do much except block the Dalenthi’s relentless attacks and swung his sword wildly in the dark, hoping to hit someone. The next thing he knew it, the moonlight was shining down on them again. Stumped, he turned his attention to the magic casters’ location and was stunned by what he saw - some of the Velscendus cult members had stabbed them in the chests. What was going on? Why did they turn against their colleagues when they have a full advantage?
“Master, look out behind you!” Hearing Istra’s warning, he cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. He quickly turned around as he began to swing his sword and saw his would-be attacker dead at his feet instead. Another Dalenthi stood above his dead comrade, his axe bloodied, as he stared at Hessin; his eyes aglow. That was when the Ilmarian of Justice realized what was going on – Shintra must be using his power to control some of his former men to do his bidding! What was Kejuta thinking!? Wasn’t it risky for her to allow that Duermon to use his power like that?
She must have knew his opinion because the Dalenthi said, “Kejuta wants me to tell you that she didn’t have a choice. Now hurry and go on ahead! My comrades and I will provide assistance.” He gestured at the other cult members who was under Shintra’s control and already fighting against those who weren’t under his control.
Before he could object, he felt Istra’s gentle hands on his shoulders. “Let it go for now,” she told him. “We should focus on helping Talic save Armita.”
Knowing that she was right, he nodded. “All right,” he said reluctantly and turned his attention to the Dalenthi. “You better tell us what’s going on here once this is over.”
Smirking, the cult member just nodded before he charged into battle. The Ilmarian of Justice shook his head as he headed toward Talic’s direction.
Owain had to shield his eyes as the light abruptly appeared. One of them must have stopped the person causing the blackout, he thought to himself with a smile. Now it would be easier for him to catch up with the others. As he scrambled through the throng of Dalenthi, he noticed something odd. Whenever one of them stood in his way, another would push his comrade out of the way, allowing the Lycian to pass. What was up with that?
“Owain!” Hearing his name, he slowed down and turned to see Chiara blasting a path toward him. Next to her was a familiar face.
“Chiara! Lord Brenton! Are you all right?” he called out as he headed to meet up with them. He was so glad to see them! They were definitely a better sight to see than the Gods of Retribution.
“We’re fine,” she replied. Even though her face was covered in sweat and her dress was scorched, she seemed to be unharmed. On the other hand, the God of Knowledge appeared to be untouched by the battle around them. “And you?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He glanced around the battlefield, but it was hard to see anything in the mayhem. “Have you seen the others?”
She shook her head as she shot a blast of water at an enemy. “Not since we got separated.”
The Lycian cursed underneath his breath. “We need to find a way to get to them before it’s too late. Do you know which direction any of them were heading?”
“Yes, but… they might change their route after they were attacked by the gods.”
That was when Lord Brenton spoke up. “Based on what I saw in Historia, I think I know where the others are.”
“You do?” Owain asked. He immediately shot an arrow at a Dalenthi trying to attack Brenton from behind. Even though it only wounded the Duermon on the shoulder, it caused him to stumble onto his knees right in front of the god.
“Of course,” Brenton simply replied and slammed his heavy book on top of the Duermon’s head. Owain winced slightly as the possessed man collapsed to the ground. That got to hurt. “We need to head east to meet up with Talic and Armita. Afterward, I can use my needle ring so we can reunite with Tristé.”
“Wait, I thought you said that Lady Marika prevented anyone from leaving here,” Chiara said, confused.
“She recently removed that seal so transportation is now possible.”
“Then wouldn’t it be easier for us to teleport to Talic and Armita’s locations instead of running there?” Owain pointed out.
The God of Knowledge just smiled. “It would, but based on the different versions of the future I’ve foreseen, we would cause more trouble than necessary if we do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I might confuse you, but I’ll try my best to explain it to you on the way there. Based on my vision, we should be heading out now so let’s go. Your friends’ lives depend on us arriving there on time.”
Armita tried her best to wiggle herself free from her captors’ grasp but to no avail. Their grip on her was ungodly strong. “Stop struggling, sister. Just relax and enjoy the performance,” Ithani cooed as she swirled and pranced in front of her. Despite her “sister’s” reassurance, she was anything but relaxed. Once again she would be forced to be that imposter’s puppet and fight against her own free will. She needed to do something fast, but what?
Just as she was beginning to panic, a thought occurred to her. The last time she recalled feeling woozy during the Duermon’s performance. However, she wasn’t feeling that way at all; she still felt alert and focus. That would mean Lady Alethea’s protection was still in effect! Armita wanted to shout for joy but contained herself. Since Ithani did not know about it, she could use it to her advantage.
She slowly relaxed her body and pretended to have trouble staying awake. As soon as she slumped her shoulders and dropped her head, she overheard one of the Dalenthi informed Ithani, “It worked, Ithani! She’s completely under your spell now.”
“I figure sooner or later she’ll give in. No matter how hard they try, humans can’t resist my spell. You can let go of her now and cut her free.” Armita felt their hands lifted off her shoulders and the ropes that bind her hands fell to the ground as they cut it off. “Now hand her weapons to her.”
“Are you sure it’s a wise idea?” another Velscendus cult member asked worriedly.
“Of course.” The Isharan then felt someone tilted her head up and found herself staring face-to-face with Ithani. A small part of her began to worry that the Duermon would notice something amiss, but her sister’s imposter must not notice because she continued, “She’s completely harmless now and is on our side now. She only listen to my orders so she won’t attack us. Isn’t that right, sister?” Armita nodded. “See? So give my sister her knives.”
She then saw the Dalenthi trudged over to her. After turning her hands palm up, he slammed her butterfly knives into her hands, which caused her to wince slightly. The cult member didn’t seem to notice (or care, to be precise) as he closed her hands around them. “Are you ready to protect me, Armie?” Ithani inquired, beaming at her. Even though she was tempted to stab her right then and there, Armita restrained herself. Now wasn’t the time to strike especially when she’s surrounded by a small group of Dalenthi. Instead she nodded. “Good. That Eireneridan is trying to tear us apart because he wants to keep you all for himself. We don’t want that, do we?” She shook her head though her body quivered slightly with anger. Ithani giggled happily. “As expected from my big sister! I know you will always protect me. Now get rid of him and his mutt so we can be together forever. He’ll be arriving anytime soon.”
Armita turned around to see that Ithani was right. Even though she could barely make them out, she could see that Talic and Cuzo were fighting their way toward her. Despite being swarmed by Dalenthi, they refused to give up. Whenever she see them struggling, she wanted so badly to shout at them to stand up, urging them to keep moving, but she had to keep up her charade. The Isharan maintained her composure and stared coolly ahead; nevertheless she tightened her grips around the hilts of her knives. She could feel Ithani’s penetrating red eyes studying her. Finally, her possessed sister asked, “Ready to fight, dear Armie?”
“Yes,” she whispered, making sure her voice was devoid of emotions. Watching the frenzy battle in front of her, she gulped nervously. Hopefully her plan worked. Otherwise, both she and Talic would end up dead.
