Once the fort was taken, I left men to defend it and then jumped back through the Portal with a contingent of men. There was probably a safe room in that fort too, but it would have to wait until after I dealt with the Demon Prince. I gathered the troops, and began another Portal, ready to head to the fort that was currently under siege. As I did that, Carmine came running out, holding up her dress as she quickly made her way over to my side.
“You should stay here, Carmine. It’s where you are safest.”
“I won’t!” She declared back stubbornly, and then lowered her eyes. “It’s just, you’re going after the champion, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “He’s our greatest opponent in the gladiatorial match. He’s in a position where he could leave the dungeon any time and snatch the victory from us. More than that, he’s personally picked me as his enemy. For that reason, he should be eliminated. He’s dangerous.”
She bit her lip. “The old you would never have sought to wipe out an enemy like that.”
“Well, maybe it’s better that I’m the new me now. I don’t keep any delusions of being able to protect and save everyone. That’s why I want you to stay behind. I mean no offense, but I won’t allow you to be hurt.”
I knew that I was a bundle of contradictions since I had my body spliced. For example, I was more careful in my decision making, but I was less hesitant in carrying it out. On the other hand, I had less empathy. I wouldn’t say I had no empathy, but it was diminished. That meant, I worried less about the girls and how they were doing. That was good because it meant I could focus on the now and what had to be done, rather than worrying about them crying over my death back home. On the other hand, I was less tolerant of loss, and couldn’t stand the thought of any of my women being taken away from me. That was the unsaid other reason that I absolutely couldn’t allow him to live. He wouldn’t threaten me or my women. If any man sought my women, I’d kill them!
“Master… ahem… I mean commander…” Soldiers passing nearby had given her a strange look when she said Master, as it would be strange for a princess to call anyone master. “Bernard seeks me out the most.”
“What are you suggesting?” I asked, my eyes narrowing slightly.
“Right now, we have conquered two of their forts. Once we destroy his forces, he’ll be cut off completely from the capital and effectively removed from the campaign while we can move on to the castle and defeat Aberon. What I’m saying is that we should make sure that he tries to take out the fort with everything he has, and we should cause the maximum damage possible.
“You know as well as I do that the best way to do that is to use me. If he sees me in the fort, he will use all of his strength to reach me. Only by using me to taunt him will you be able to maximize the damage!”