"Must I?" Constance asked. "Can we not travel at night instead?"
"Travelling at night would mean we'd travel slower," Link said. "Stalfos would be mobbing us. With our camp wards, we can keep them off of us in the night."
"But I don't want to travel in the sun," Constance said. "The sunlight...it scorches at my soul. Leaches the spirit from me."
"She's not exaggerating," Hapi said.
"I'm sorry, but we have to keep moving," Link said.
"Wait," Hubert said. Removing his cloak, he summoned a cloud of darkness to his hand, then poured it into the cloak. "I attached a myrk to the cloak. With the hood up, it should cut the amount of light reaching you in half."
Constance donned the cloak, then stepped out of the shade into the nearby clearing. "It works! I am in your debt, Hubert."
Suddenly, they heard slow clapping. A man in a Yiga uniform stepped out from the trees on the other side of the clearing. He wasn't wearing a mask, instead allowing the Company to see his face. He had brown skin like that of the people of Lurelin, and a moustache. "I see you managed to get your hands on the Master Sword."
Several members of the Company pointed their weapons at him, but he raised a finger in warning. "Uh uh uh!" He pointed to the treeline, where they saw four people tied up, a man and three women. "Attack me and my men kill them."
The Company members lowered their weapons. "Good."
"What do you want?" Link asked.
"My name is Dzu-Teh," the Yiga man said.
"Dzu-Teh? The one who killed Elder Kaneli?" Claude asked.
"Yes, that was me. I had planned for you to take the blame," Dzu-Teh said. "Had you not kept the fire from spreading, you likely would have. But back on topic. There are four ways this confrontation can end. First, you can kill me and let the hostages die. I doubt you find that acceptable."
"We don't," Link confirmed.
"Second, you can use the Master Sword to kill either one of the hostages, or one of the members of your company," Dzu-Teh said. "Surely there's someone in the Rising Sun Company willing to give their life for these people."
"But doing that would unmake the Master Sword," Link said.
"That's the idea," Dzu-Teh said. "Once the Sword is broken, the Yiga Clan will trouble you all no longer."
"No," Link said.
"Fine. The third option is that you let me kill you, Hero," Dzu-Teh said. "My men and I will leave your companions alone afterward, even if one of them takes up the Sword."
"You're giving us these unacceptable options," Yuri said. "If you keep giving us only choices that give us no chance of saving both the hostages and Hyrule, we'll have to sacrifice the hostages. You have to give us an all-or-nothing chance."
"Of course," Dzu-Teh said. He stared down Link. "My fourth choice I give you is this. Hero, you can face me in unarmed combat. Kill me on your own with nothing but your bare hands, and my men will not harm the hostages. I will attempt to kill you with nothing but my hands as well. Should I win, I and my men will leave, without harming the hostages."
"I accept your terms," Link said.
"I would have been disappointed if you didn't," Dzu-Teh said with a smirk. Link noticed he only had four fingers on his right hand as he beckoned Link into the clearing.
Link took his sword and shield and placed them on the ground. He then walked up to Dzu-Teh.
Dzu-Teh was fast, but Link was faster. He jabbed twice with his left hand, connecting both times with Dzu-Teh's face. He felt the Yiga clansman's nose break with the second punch. He tried to follow up with a right hook to the jaw, but his first two punches had been too successful, and had sent Dzu-Teh reeling out of his range.
As Dzu-Teh recovered, Link tried a jab to his solar plexus. However, as he tried to follow up, a shattering right hand from Dzu-Teh hammered against his cheekbone. This time, Link was the one sent reeling.
Dzu-Teh tried following up, but Link recovered just in time and dodged his roundhouse punch. He jabbed at Dzu-Teh again, landing two more punches. He tried for another right hook, but Dzu-Teh caught it and dragged him forward.
As Dzu-Teh wrapped his other hand around his throat, Link kicked him in the groin. Surprised, Dzu-Teh dropped him. Before Dzu-Teh could recover, Link drove his fist into the Yiga clansman's throat with all of his strength.
Link felt Dzu-Teh's neck break, and Dzu-Teh fell over, dead. After waiting several seconds, the others went to untie the hostages.
"I was going to shoot him if you didn't look like you could win," Claude admitted to Link.
"Why didn't you?" Link asked.
"Something told me you would still win," Claude said. "So I decided to wait until the last second."
"Thank you for waiting," Link said.
"No problem," Claude said with a smile. "Let's get these people back to the trading post."