"However, I refuse." Alaric's voice was cold and unyielding.
"According to the rules of the battlefield, since you've already become my prisoner, everything about you should belong to me, your life, your body, your spirit.
All of it now belongs to me, under my control. Isn't that so?"
"…That's true," Hippolyta admitted reluctantly, then quickly argued, "But you didn't capture me through a fair fight. You used despicable tricks."
"Despicable?" Alaric sneered.
"Please. I'm not some reckless warrior like you, I'm a mage.
Mages and warriors fight differently. You can't expect me to abandon my strengths and brawl with you after spending years mastering magic, can you?"
As he spoke, his tone grew more doubtful.
"So what you mean by 'not a fair fight' is just that you couldn't handle a mage's fighting style, and now you're making excuses? Don't tell me you just can't accept losing?"
"I'm not making excuses!" Hippolyta's reaction was immediate and fierce. "As a warrior, I'd never deny my defeat. I just… I just…"
Her voice grew softer and softer.
"Just what?" Alaric pressed.
"I just can't accept that I lost to someone like you!" Hippolyta said bitterly. "I was so close to winning, then, in a single move, you caught me! You, !"
She trailed off, words dying in her throat.
So it was pride. Just a proud girl who couldn't bear losing.
Alaric smiled inwardly, then asked again,
"So, you admit you're my prisoner now?"
"…Yes."
Having acknowledged her defeat, Hippolyta couldn't meet Alaric's gaze. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Alaric didn't mind. He continued evenly.
"My companions are surrounded by your people, so they're half captured too. That means we can call this a prisoner exchange."
That reasoning seemed acceptable to Hippolyta. At last, she calmed down.
Meanwhile, Penthesilea, seeing the Argonaut heroes supporting one another as they retreated, shouted to Alaric.
"Despicable man! I've fulfilled my side of the deal! Now release my sister Hippolyta at once!"
"Not yet." Alaric shook his head. "How do I know you'll keep your word? I'll release her only after I see all my companions safely aboard the ship."
"You dare to doubt me?" Penthesilea was furious. "An Amazon warrior's word is as sacred as an oath, we never break our promises!"
"I don't know you," Alaric replied coolly. "I only trust what I can see."
"If you don't trust me, then I don't trust you either!" Penthesilea's anger flared higher. "What if you take the chance to kidnap my sister and flee?"
"How about this," Alaric proposed after a pause, "I'll keep hold of Lady Hippolyta and go with you to the shore.
Once I see everyone aboard, I'll release her. But until then, none of you are allowed to come within ten steps of me. Agreed?"
"…Fine. Have it your way, you shameless man."
Penthesilea had no choice but to accept.
The Amazon warriors moved to surround Alaric and Hippolyta, forming a circle with a ten-step radius, tight enough to keep him from escaping with her.
In that formation, the Amazons escorted Alaric and his captive toward the sea.
At the shore, the wounded Argonauts scrambled onto the Argo in disarray, while Alaric remained on the beach with Hippolyta.
The heroes were filled with gratitude toward him.
Only moments ago, trapped by the encirclement of the Amazon warriors, they'd been convinced that their entire expedition would end here in failure.
Who could have imagined that Alaric, the man they'd always regarded as a scholar, a strategist, not a fighter, would step forward at the most critical moment and accomplish something none of them dared attempt? He had saved them all.
But their relief was mixed with worry.
To ensure their safe escape, Alaric had put himself in mortal danger, surrounded by enemies.
The Amazons hated him now more than ever for daring to threaten Hippolyta, and it was far from certain he could make it out alive.
Onboard, several heroes even offered to trade places with him, to stay behind and hold Hippolyta hostage in his stead, allowing Alaric, their savior, to board first.
But Alaric refused flatly.
"I'm a mage. I have my own ways to escape their encirclement. You don't. In your hands, this situation would only end in disaster."
Of course he couldn't agree to that.
He had indeed planned to take advantage of the Argonauts throughout the journey, but even manipulation required precision, not recklessness.
Now that he'd chosen to save them, he would see it through. Maximizing benefit was part of his plan.
If he accepted the exchange, he might cause one of them to die, but he'd lose their trust, and the goodwill earned by risking his life to rescue them would be gone.
If, however, he stood alone, "risking his life" to threaten Hippolyta while ensuring everyone else escaped safely, every Argonaut aboard would owe him an immense debt of gratitude.
His reputation among them would soar. Later, even if he made a few questionable moves, no one would easily doubt him.
Thus, Alaric's decision to stay behind alone moved the Argonauts deeply.
They began to see him not merely as a mage, but as a true hero, noble and selfless.
When the last Argonaut climbed aboard and the ropes were cast off, every Amazon warrior's gaze turned toward Alaric.
"Well?" Penthesilea's voice was sharp as a blade. "Now you can release my sister, can't you?"
Her eyes blazed with fury, as if the slightest refusal would make her strike him down that instant.
The other warriors raised their weapons, ready to attack.
"What's this? Planning to break your promise?" Penthesilea asked suspiciously.
"How could I?" Alaric shook his head. "You've kept your word, and I always honor mine."
With that, he tossed his dagger to the ground and snapped his fingers.
The iron chains coiling around Hippolyta loosened instantly and fell with a metallic clatter onto the sand.
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