Presence B4C13

My mind raced for a solution, and to my horror it fell on the woman responsible for it all.

Her gaze met mine.

"You have something to say, Deceiver?"

"This isn't very fair, you know. Qrow has no chance against Tyrian."

"Should I concern myself with that? His weakness is not my issue."

"No, but you asked Tyrian to kill us," I said. "You specifically instructed him to kill us."

"I did. What of it?"

"If he kills us because we can't move, then it won't be him killing us." I reasoned. The fact her eyes were on mine continued to make my heart race but I forced myself on, no matter how terrifying it was. If I didn't, we'd all surely die. "It won't be him so much as it is you. Do you really want that to happen? It won't prove if he's the right person to be your Hero."

"You are adorable, Deceiver." Salem flashed from the altar and appeared before me, crouched and cupping my face. Where her fingers touched my skin burned and froze at the same time. "Attempting to trick me with word games… that is either incredibly foolish or incredibly brave. Considering you also tried to harm me before, I would suggest the former."

I tried to ignore the agony. "B-But if Tyrian is weak, he won't be able to help you take over Mistral."

"You're forgetting something, silly human. That is his wish. Not mine. I care not for Mistral."

And if she didn't care about that, then she didn't care if Tyrian won or lost, which meant she had no reason to care about how strong he was. Having him fight Qrow wasn't to test him at all but merely something she had orchestrated on a whim.

Keeping us trapped was the same thing, then. Whether she killed us or Tyrian did made no difference.

"But I suppose it would be more entertaining, wouldn't it?" she mused. "Very well, but we shall make a game of it. You are the one who initiated it, so I shall allow you to be the one who chooses."

A game… with her?

"Chooses what?"

"I will release my presence from three of your companions." Her eyes strayed to the balcony the others were behind and she grinned, making sure I knew they hadn't fooled her. "Pick your representatives and I shall free them to face mine."

Just three…?

"What happens if they lose?"

"They die, naturally. But you will die anyway if Tyrian is victorious."

That was true, but the deal felt too good to be true. "What's the catch?"

"I have no need of tricks, Deceiver. I am not like you. What I do, I do for my own purposes. Take my offer or leave it. It is the only one you will receive here."

I swallowed and looked to Pyrrha and Ruby, hoping for their advice. Both were focused on the fight between Tyrian and Qrow however, and judging from Ruby's cries, it wasn't going any more in their protector's favour. Qrow didn't have time, and neither did I. If there were some price to pay, I'd just have to be the one to pay it.

"I choose Pyrrha, Blake and Weiss!"

Not me. Not even close. If our lives were to hang in the balance, it would be on the shoulders of those I felt were the strongest. That meant Pyrrha and Blake for their Levels and skill, and Weiss because she would be the best able to support them with her spells.

Salem's eyes flared. "It is done."

She vanished as a dagger shot through her body to clatter against the flagstones. The dread woman appeared back on her altar, unimpressed and bored as she looked back to Tyrian and Qrow. Hands appeared under my shoulders a second later.

"Jaune," Blake hissed, trying to drag me away.

I batted her hands aside.

"Forget me. Blake, you need to kill Tyrian. You, Qrow, Pyrrha and Weiss." I looked over to the fight in time to see Pyrrha attack the Paragon from behind, catching him off-guard, though not enough to actually score a blow. It gave Qrow time to disengage and counter-attack, but Pyrrha only just managed to block Tyrian's attack with her shield.