A Bored Lich

"If you hadn't let them die," the words spilled out of Cardinal Ver Dilen's lips and the next moment Wilhelm's blade was to his throat, the motion an automatic reflex rather than a conscious decision.

Wilhelm didn't see the Cardinal move nor could he react in time as golden life essence flooded his vision. Wilhelm may have been the goddess's champion but Cardinals were the pinnacle of strength and faith. He'd seen what golden life essence could do first hand, and assumed himself to be dead. His only regret was that Dag had followed him into hell.

"You've always been a hothead, and that will get people killed one day," a strange, source-less voice echoed in his head like a faded memory as the world slowly pulled back into focus.

Wilhelm took in a breath of air, alive and his heart still beating. His vision was a mix of gold and blurred figures. The slight pressure of his blade against the Cardinal's neck was gone. He lifted his head up and his vision was slapped away by a second flash. He was being moved in great leaps.

In the split second between the first, second, and subsequent flashes, there were slight fluctuations in his form: his left arm was a little lower or his feet shifted to the right. He teetered left to right like he was walking a tightrope.

After the third and last flash he found himself standing hundreds of feet in the air atop the tallest tree in the forest, the same tree which he'd been sent to exterminate the Ghoul population three weeks prior, the hidden ruin within its hollow trunk now full of unmoving corpses. His mind unconsciously spat out images of his body being added to the pile of the dead, forgotten.

He glanced behind him. Dag, Sindre, and Merlin were a few steps behind him, frozen with fear. He pictured Dag's body, Sindre's, and Merlin's being tossed in with him, their eyes just as lifeless. His grip tightened and his focus flicked back to his enemy.

Cardinal Ver Dilen stood a dozen paces away smirking under the canopy's shade.

Copper life essence and a white, flaming aura roared out of Wilhelm's body. He darted forward three steps. The Cardinal's smirk sank with the rest of him as the wood beneath his feet suddenly rotted - Wilhelm's aura had ripped the life out of it.

Wilhelm swung at Cardinal Ver Dilen's falling figure, yet his blade was met with an ethereal chain that had sprouted up from the ground. A magic circle appeared at his feet as more chains wrapped around his body.

"Clever," Cardinal Ver Dilen said as he stepped out of the section of rotted wood, but he wasn't talking to Wilhelm.

"W-why?" Wilhelm looked back and gasped at a small, goblin boy with neat, snow-white hair, white skin, and floppy ears. The albino Goblin, Merlin, swept his claws towards Sindre and Dag, and more chains wrapped around them.

"What are you doing," Sindre asked, looking pale as a ghost. "We need to kill him before he kills us."

Merlin's outstretched magic twitched, but his expression was like a calm lake. His silver, slitted eyes slowly shifted to each person in front of him. "If he wanted us dead, we would be so," he said in his usual high-pitched, scratchy voice. He didn't dare to look the Cardinal in the eyes. He kept his head low with his gaze on the floor. He glanced at Wilhelm, making sure that he wouldn't resist before dissolving the chains.

"Sorry, Dag," Wilhelm said.

Dag sheathed his dagger. "If you're going to kill someone stronger than you, don't stab them in the front," he whispered.

"Indeed," Cardinal Ver Dilen said. His expression shifted slightly as he examined their expressions carefully. "You all seem awfully calm for people facing death."

Sindre swallowed her saliva. "That's because we've been in enough of those types of situations to recognize that this isn't one," she said while maintaining a poker face.

Cardinal Ver Dilen chuckled. "Of course, child." He glanced at Wilhelm. "Maybe I have underestimated you guys a bit. I'll admit that none of us are actors, but the goddess had given me express permission to utter heresy and retain my connection." To demonstrate he held out his hand. His hand trembled for a moment before radiant energy emanated, and then it steadied.

"The goddess can give permission to utter heresy?" Sindre gasped.

"It only suits a man of god," Cardinal Ver Dilen said. "I'll get to the point. Wilhelm's actions were correct, though also incredibly stupid. I'll also admit that only half of what I said was a lie. Wilhelm, how can a man be so spineless yet so prideful? You let me give you crap for three weeks and to top it all off, when you finally lose it, you draw a sword on me? You dragged your friends into it. How can they call you a friend? How can you call them friends? I don't acknowledge you, but my position dictates that I give the hero a chance."

Wilhelm's expression twitched uncontrollably.

Cardinal Ver Dilen sighed. "Here's my test. You all have one hour to hunt me down within this abandoned ruin or I'll leave without you. As for the rest of you, you are his handicaps. I pity you for having to look after this arrogant boy. I'll still be holding back. As an additional rule, if I touch Merlin, he's considered dead and he will withdraw. It's not like he would survive a punch, even if I hold back. The time begins now." He vanished in a puff of golden life essence.

Wilhelm collapsed onto a knee as soon as he was gone. The release of all the tension made him lean on his sword to keep himself upright. Even Dag looked slightly nauseous.

Both Merlin and Sindre rushed over to him.

"What the hell were you all thinking?" Merlin growled. He slapped Wilhelm on the back of the head and grimaced as cold sweat wet his palm. He rubbed it on his rags. "And why were you acting strange?"

"I'm sorry," Sindre cried, hugging Wilhelm's back. "That was a bit much to ask. You didn't have to go that far."

Wilhelm let out a slightly-manic laugh. "It was fine. I'm fine," he insisted. He looked to the sky and cursed. His back was drenched in cold sweat. "I heard what the Cardinals were capable of but…I could barely move my body."

"But the plan worked," Sindre said. "I knew you could do it."

"Plan?" Dag gasped. "What plan? Wilhelm, how come you didn't go for the Cardinal's head. He can't beat you, can he? Only the Demon King can."

Wilhelm shook his head and slowed his breathing. "I can't die to anyone but that's it. Anyone can still beat me to the brink of death. There's no way I could have won against someone like that."

"But how come you challenged him then?" Dag spat. "God damn it. I thought I was dead."

Wilhelm wore a pained expression.

Sindre patted him on the shoulder and turned towards Merlin and Dag. "Let's give him a second to recover. I'll explain. It was my plan after all."

Dag's frown deepened. "I see. Even Wilhelm isn't that much of a fool."

Merlin chuckled, then thought for a moment. "I think he noticed your acting."

"Really?" Sindre asked.

Merlin nodded. "Even I realized something was off. You went from having the fear of god in you to this annoying know-it-all within two seconds."

Wilhelm looked back at Sindre's blushing face. His breathing steadied. "It was good enough. That's what mattered."

"Get to the point," Dag muttered.

Wilhelm glanced at him. "Are you good?" he asked.

"Fine," Dag said. His eyes narrowed on Sindre. "Just don't make this a habit."

Sindre nodded. "I asked Cardinal Ver Dilen's men what they thought of him - harsh but fair. It didn't match with how much of a jerk was to Wilhelm. I wasn't certain, but I thought it might be some kind of test. If Wilhelm could endure, there might be a final test. I told him that, when the time comes, act as if you've taken the bait."

"Isn't that backwards?" Dag asked. "Normally when people are pushed, it's to see if they can restrain themselves. Wilhelm took the bait, and now he looks like even more of an asshole than the Cardinal."

Sindre shook her head. "Cardinal Ver Dilen required a special approach. He upholds the beliefs of War Monks, but he would never respect someone who lets themselves be treated like garbage. Too much restraint and it appears as weakness. Too much pride and it appears as arrogance."

Dag rubbed his chin. He seemed to understand her explanation, but he kept probing her reasons. He stared at Sindre all the while, keeping close attention to the shifts in her expression. "So if we didn't take the bait…"

"We wouldn't have been given a chance to prove ourselves," Sindre said. "I couldn't tell you or Merlin. To get what we wanted, we had to fail."

Merlin shrugged. "I'm not even going to pretend to understand human dynamics. It sounds like it worked out so I'll let it go."

"If only you were as good a fighter as you were socially," Dag muttered.

"Still, I was impressed with both of you," Sindre remarked. "Wilhelm, I really thought you had lost your mind for a second there. I was convinced."

Merlin and Dag nodded in agreement.

A pang of guilt shot through Wilhelm's heart. He smiled wearily. "It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was nothing…really." His expression sank for a moment, but he shook it off quickly, took a breath, and stood up. "Cardinal Ver Dilen is waiting for us. We need a plan."

Sindre, Dag, and Wilhelm all turned towards Merlin.

Merlin smiled, displaying his dagger-like teeth. "That man has been working me like his dog. I've been waiting for a challenge like this. I've already got a few ideas."