Kallen actually had another way to resolve the situation before him: take off his mask.
Although Ponce Manor stood in a remote location, most members of the family were Order Clerics, not people living cut off from the world. They certainly knew his face.
Once they recognized him, unless these three intended to "declare war" on Church Headquarters on behalf of their family, they could never force him to fight again.
Even though the Order Temple was the church's sacred ground and Temple Elders enjoyed an exalted status, she could not drag her entire family into the temple to live with her. The family's development and continuity still had to rely on the Order God Church system.
Moreover, removing his mask would bring the conflict between their identities into the open. Elder Xidi, who was watching the spectacle from some unknown vantage point, would have to step in and resolve it.
Yet people were contradictory creatures.
On the one hand, Kallen felt that participating in a contest like this with his current status was like an adult lying on the ground playing marbles with children. It felt incongruous and beneath him;
Yet, after this Kuluoyin Ponce repeatedly obstructed him and pointed a longsword at him, he could not suppress the anger rising within him.
He found it beneath him, yet had to admit that he craved this base pleasure.
He would leave the mask on, but someone had to pay for this blatant provocation and manipulation.
Little Kangna sensed what Kallen meant and quietly moved behind him, resting both hands on his waist. She looked like a little girl hiding behind her father in the face of danger.
Kuluoyin pointed the longsword at Kallen and said, "You didn't bring a weapon?"
The higher the level of a duel, the greater