《I'm a Walking Disaster With My Unwanted Virginity》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue

    "Life." A man spoke.


    "What is it worth?


    "Money? Power? Position?"


    It was as if the world was scared to answer him. Therge room felt awfully cramped and the high ceiling looked like everyone could touch it with their hands. Was space itself warped?


    "Life!" The man continued. "Only life is worth life." He didn''t make sense. But to the boy in front of him, the boy who looked fierce and shivered, it meant everything: it made sense.


    "Quit your bbing. I didn''te here to listen to that. You hurt them-" The boy pointed at the three girls on the floor. "And you''re going to pay for it." The small fire in the boy''s palm burned bright, too bright, almost as bright as the sun.


    The man broke into sinisterughter, augh that made the world go silent. "Come!"

 Chapter 2 - Night Before The Big Day

    A rock fell from the sky, obliterated half of humanity, and then a disease followed. The disease made some go crazy, some crave blood, and made some became sex fiends. We called them the Kinmancers- Kin for short. After a century of suffering humanity bounced back and domesticated the disease or so the government imed. And, an age of mutants began.


    Elsa poked my nose. "What are you doing?" Her stray golden locks danced around my book. I hated it.


    The girl who had been bugging me is my little sister.


    "Nothing, just reading a book." I closed the book and ced it on my bookshelf. "That reminds me, what the hell are you doing in my room? Again?" I shed a smile. "Didn''t I tell you already?"


    She pouted. "Am I not allowed toe in?"


    I stared at her nkly. "Not what I meant, but whatever. In any case, did you need something?"


    My little sister was like an angel. The type you''d want to hug. But only on the outside though. "Nope." Her grin was long and wide. On the inside she was like the devil incarnate, always craving attention.


    She was always like this, doing whatever she pleased. She didn''t care if she made trouble for the others, she didn''t care if she made trouble for herself. She was free and she loved being free. She was fourteen and a bit too bratty for her age.


    My grin was just as big if not bigger. "Then get out!"


    I shoved her out of my room despite her protests. Since childhood, she was attached to me. When we were kids that was no problem. But now I''m about to go to high school and sleeping together with your little sister at this age, is more trouble than it''s worth. Besides, wasn''t she old enough to understandmon etiquette and that I didn''t like her frequent visits? By frequent, I meant at least a hundred visits a day of course.


    I didn''t really care all that much about appearances anymore either. After all, I''ll leave this ce tomorrow.


    ***


    I locked the door and kept on reading the book.


    ''Why do all these books have the same story dressed in different clothes?''


    History, a topic I had to study for admission over and over again was a bit too boring. I didn''t like it. I didn''t hate it. But the way things were going, made me want to throw these books away: I did throw the one I was reading at the wall but picked it up a secondter anyway. Did that make me feel more stupid? Yes.


    They all had the same story about how a meteor crashed on earth but was it really all that important? I mean, wasn''t it a hundred years ago and now everything was alright?


    And not to mention every book omitted at least something, and I always felt like something was missing.


    Since the great crash, humanity had changed drastically. And nowadays almost everybody had one power or another. But we already knew these things. So why did I have to study them?


    Groaning, moaning, orining for that matter didn''t really help.


    ''I can''t believe I have to study all this crap even before attending school.''


    And judging by my family''s history, college probably wasn''t going to be possible, so I really wanted to live my high school life to the fullest.


    "Helio? Come down." Mom called me from downstairs.


    ''Dinners ready? Or?''


    I had this nagging feeling that something was about to happen. Whenever my mother called me by my surname, it was always trouble. But then again,tely she was calling me by this name a lot.


    "Coming," I yelled back.


    ''Oh boy.''


    I didn''t want to go. I really didn''t.


    Anyway, I went downstairs.


    It was dinner time but apparently, I''d be living through hell soon.


    My sister was clinging to mom.


    ''You ratted me out!''


    I wasn''t stupid enough to not know what was about to happen.


    ''You better remember this!''


    Next time, she''de to my room she''d leave with a puffier face.


    ***


    The sweet aroma was very enticing though.


    "Well, sit down. We have to talk." Mother greeted me with arge grin. Yup, things were about to go bad.


    I sighed. I knew where this was going. But I didn''t protest and sat like a good boy which I wasn''t.


    The three of us started dinner at precisely nine. The fourth member left us a long time ago. He doesn''t live in our reality anymore. Before leaving, all he said, "I''ve found a new girlfriend."


    I''d never forgive him for as long as I live but I couldn''t hold onto a grudge forever either. In the end, all that was left was nothing but grief and blind hatred.


    "Now then, why don''t we begin?" By which she meant we start eating.


    The food was amazing, in both looks and smell. Most of the stuff was my favorite. I suppose that was only natural. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for my impending doom.


    Elsa was awfully quiet though. It wasn''t like her. "Hey, you want any mayo?" I tried to address her and pretend everything was cool.


    But she didn''t even bat an eye at me. If she pouted or even red, that would have been a different story but beingpletely ignored? It felt bad.


    I failed.


    ''Oh boy.''


    Maybe I went a little too far this time?


    We started eating, and soon my mother began her lecture. "You''ll leave tomorrow, right?"


    "Yeah."


    ''Here ites.''


    "Sorry about doing this to you. If only I could earn some more."


    ''Huh! What the hell is she talking about?''


    Suddenly I was dumbfounded, better yet thunderstruck. There wasn''t any thunder in here though.


    "If I had more ie then you wouldn''t have to stay in the dorms." Mother sighed and looked at the chandelier. "If only we didn''t have so many debts, we could have even transferred there." Did I end up in an alternate world or something? Was she really my mother? The same miser woman who''d drink rotten milk to save money?


    "Don''t worry mom. The dorms aren''t that bad. And besides, it''d be quicker for me to attend sses." I tried to pass it off withughter.


    ''Besides, why the hell would I want to travel 1700 kilometers every single day, anyway?''


    "Oh, Helio." She caressed my cheek.


    What was I, a ten-year-old?


    The main reason she called me by Helio, was because that was her father''s name as well. It probably had something to do with the other former member of our family naming me Jintel or something- my nickname. Frankly, I didn''t like the nickname. Not one bit.


    Did I forget to mention, mom also called me by ''Helio'' when she was happy? Seriously, this woman was confusing at times.


    ''So the brat didn''t rat me out?''


    I sighed in relief. My nerves calmed down a little. Maybe I misjudged her? But maybe I thought too soon.


    Mother drank some juice. Looked at me and smiled. "Now, why did you kick Elsa out?"


    "HUH?"


    That caught me off-guard. I didn''t expect her to say that not after what she''d just said. Besides, her smile was as scary as the devil''s, perhaps even scarier.


    "I mean she-" I decided to go with the excuses route and couldn''t conjure up anything feasible, or believable for that matter.


    Looking directly into her eyes was kind of impossible at this point.


    She didn''t even bat an eye. "You''re only here for tonight, so the least you could do is behave nicely to her. Right?" She wasn''t having no for an answer.


    I acted sad, to be frank, I wasn''t. "I suppose so."


    "Aww¡­" My mother was a little dense but I most surely wasn''t. But at least I wouldn''t get scolded this way. Oh, wait, toote.


    The smile on Elsa''s face returned and she now joined in the conversation. "I''lle visit you every day!" Maybe a bit too enthusiastic.


    ''Whoa, whoa, calm down buddy!''


    "No thank you!" A firm denial. I had no reason to let here into the boy''s dorm every day. Was she out of her mind?


    A fourteen-year-old blonde beauty heading to the boys'' dorm every day? I wasn''t overprotective or anything but I wasn''t going to let her do everything she wanted either.


    I mean, wasn''t denying everything you wanted to do, the job of your parents and older siblings in the first ce? Right!?


    ''That''s basically telling the boys to make a move on you!''


    She almost burst into tears as water gathered to her surroundings instead of her eyes. Yup, my little sister could control water at will. A rather rare talent but she was also an idiot.


    And so I tried to trick her, as always. "I wouldn''t mind if youe once a month but that would be all."


    "Really?" There was no enthusiasm in her voice. She wasn''t convinced. Maybe she wasn''t that dumb.


    I kept forgetting that with each passing day she was growing more and more intelligent. I didn''t know what sort ofpany she had, but I wished she''d stay gullible for a while longer.


    At least I''d seeded in making a 365-day hell,pact and only 12 days instead. A major sess!


    Things went fast and before I knew I was almost finished.


    "But even so Helio, are you sure?" Mother''s brows knitted together. She was serious.


    "Yeah." My response came naturally, but this very thought had gone through my mind a thousand times. I couldn''t backtrack now and I couldn''t give up on my dreams either.


    She smiled. "If that''s your choice."


    I didn''t have a response to that.


    ***


    Dinner was over and I was about to head to my room. Finally, I wouldn''t have to do the dishes anymore. I couldn''t control my smirk. It was like the devil had taken over me. But it didn''t feel bad, in fact, it felt amazing. ''No more dishes!'' I almost danced at the thought.


    My internalugh came to an abrupt stop when my mother opened her mouth. "Be sure to pack up everything you need. Don''t forget your toothpaste, razor, underwear-"


    "Mom!" I stared at her and then went back to my room.


    I sighed.


    ''Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this family!''


    Trust me, I''d been asking that same question for sixteen years now.


    ***


    I''d already packed up everything I needed. So I didn''t have any worries.


    ''I''d be leaving this town huh?''


    I''d been living in this town for sixteen years now: my entire life. I''d miss it but I had dreams. Dreams which couldn''t be realized until I graduated high school and became an ''Explorer.''


    ''I gave her my word. So the least I can do is, try.''


    Besides, it''s not like I wanted to be poor forever.

 Chapter 3 - Late On The First Day?

    I slept, I slept well: too well. Actually, I might have overslept.


    I woke up found myself being made a pillow by a beautiful little girl, namely my sister. She did look punch-able and cute though: A rather weirdbination. I had the urge to smack her but in the end, I decided against it, I had better things to worry about.


    I got down from the bed and removed her arms and legs from my body. Did she really need to make a pillow out of me every time? With a groggy head, I looked at the clock and my whole body twitched.


    The clock was striking 8.30 and my heart was racing.


    ''Oh boy! I''mte.''


    Late. One word. A powerful word. A word, which made me sweat in gallons. ''Oh dear, heaven, lord!'' And I was also going crazy.


    ***


    ss would begin at ten and I was at least two one and a half hours away from the academy even with the best jets. I was supposed to wake up at five. Just what the hell was my mother doing?


    Comining now wouldn''t get me anywhere. My thoughts weren''t really helping all that much either.


    I ran down the stairs. "Mom! Why didn''t you-!"


    There was someone else inside the house. Someone whom I''d never smelled before. The scent was new. The scent was different. If my nose did me no wrong, then I''d say this person had an elegant smell.


    I walked down the stairs and to the living room. Mom was talking to a girl, probably my age; already in Saint Demigrace Academy''s uniform.


    "Why didn''t you wake me up?" I tried to conceal my hostility.


    "OH this is my son, Helio. Helio, this is Margeretta."


    "Good morning, and nice to meet you. You can call me Marg."


    ''That''s a weird nickname.''


    I stared at the new girl. She looked normal, as in too normal. Mutants in this age had at least one or two animal features. Some had wings, some had ears, and some even had tails. Even I had cat ears and a good sense of smell and sound, and my mom and sister had bunny ears. No tails though.


    But this girl had nothing: maybe she was good at hiding? She didn''t strike me as a mutant, not even for a second. Hence I raised my guard.


    "Nice to meet you too and you can call me Jintel." My business with her was over. However, the same wasn''t the case for my mother. She averted her eyes when her eyes met mine. I wasn''t letting her go off the hook that easy. "But why the hell-didn''t you wake me up mom?" My teeth grinded against each other. I was going mad.


    More importantly, I was gettingte. Oh wait, I was alreadyte.


    "Jintel? No, I think I''d rather call you Helio. It''s much better," Marg said, totally disregarding everything. Her voice was soft and left a chilling tone down my mind. Something about her put me on edge. It wasn''t a pleasant feeling.


    Mom grabbed her hands. "Wow, we share the same taste!" Mom''s eyes were glowing. She liked this girl. But we had bigger problems. And she was just pretending to not notice them.


    "Umm, excuse me?" I tried to break into the conversation. I''d bete on the very first day. I was already having a nervous breakdown and here they were flirting in the middle of the day. Something was definitely wrong with this family. And it wasn''t me.


    "Oh, don''t worry about it, dear. Marg can teleport." My mother just had to drop a bombshell without even a warning.


    ''Seriously?''


    My eyes twitched. Teleportation was a very rare talent. Thest I heard, only thirty people for the entirest century ever had that power: twenty-two of them were mass murderers by the way. Andtely, the government was spending a lot of money on this power and the research behind it.


    ''Well, this just got interesting.''


    Albeit, not in a pleasant way. Teleportation was useful but also frightening at the same time.


    I didn''t buy it though but acted surprised. That was the best emotion I could conjure up.


    Teleportation was rare: too rare. That''s why I didn''t believe my own mother. After all, mom tended to have this weird sense of belief. She''d believe a murderer if the guy approached her with enough passion. Then again that guy would probably run for his own life the moment he got to know mom some more. Sometimes I wondered maybe that was the reason the fourth member¡­ NO.


    "Now then, take a shower and get dressed. I made breakfast. And then you two could head to school together." Mom giggled.


    ''Talk about easy-going.''


    I was more or less panicking even just a second ago. But I didn''t really care. As long as I got to school on time, I didn''t have anything toin about. Not yet. And hopefully, they weren''t cheating on me.


    ***


    We were in the living room, eating breakfast. My mom was doing some basic exnation of who the girl was.


    "So basically she''s my cousin but not rted to me?" It didn''t make sense even for a second.


    "You see when I was in middle school¡­"


    Here we go again.


    My mom really liked shbacks. Especially her glory days, or rather her middle school days. She was born and raised in a different country. We were currently in maind Ennd but this wasn''t always the case. No wonder our ents never meshed with the locals.


    After a while, she got to the point and basically, Marg was the daughter of her best friend who was currently serving as a housemaid in a different country. I didn''t have any issues with it but I sure the hell wasn''t going to call her cousin.


    ***


    Breakfast was over and I was ready. Elsa was clinging to me like a toddler. She had tears in her eyes and sniffed like someone who had pneumonia. My new uniform was getting a little dirty. I sighed but let her do as she pleased. After all, even I wasn''t so heartless.


    "Are you ready?" Marg said from across the room.


    "We won''t have to hold hands or anything right?"


    Right!?


    She walked close to me. "Actually¡­"


    Her face was very close to my face. "Umm, what are you doing?" It made me wonder a lot of things.


    I tapped on Elsa''s shoulder and she just stared at me. I would have patted her head if she wasn''t such a brat, but I just gave her a nod. She looked down and went to mom who was also standing close to me but not too close.


    "Close your eyes. It''s important." Marg looked into my eyes. Her hair was getting in the way. Her short blue hair.


    ''Here goes nothing.''


    I closed my eyes. "Don''t do anything funny now." I had a lot on my mind: a lot, lot.


    "Don''t forget to call once you''re in your room," Elsa managed. She really was crying this time. Didn''t she have better things to worry about?


    I don''t know why but I might have expected something soft against my hands at least. I wasn''t particrly handsome but I wasn''t ugly either. I tried to take a peek to see what she was doing but the moment I opened my eyes. "What the hell!"


    We were at the academy and students were ring at us as they passed by. ''Nothing happened huh?''


    Maybe making my lips a bit puffier and expecting something, was a very bad idea. ''Maybe making my lips a bit puffier and expecting something, was a very bad idea. ''You idiot!'' I really wanted to punch myself.


    I might have been expecting a bit too much. So in the end, all I was left with was just in disappointment.

 Chapter 4 - First Look

    "Anyway, this is the academy, and here is where we part. Good luck." Marg turned her back without a shred of emotion. So much for pretending to be cousins.


    ''Just like that?''


    "You too." I was really disappointed. Maybe I''d expected more. I might have forgotten my own motto in life. Expect less, be less disappointed. I''d be sure to grind that into my soul this time.


    But when Marg left, I noticed that the students weren''t staring at me, rather they were staring at her. In an academy full of students with animal features she was the only one who didn''t have any, or so it seemed. Maybe she had an embarrassing one that she had to keep hidden?


    ''Oh well.''


    But it had nothing to do with me. Her powers did make me wonder though. She could very well be the star of the school if she yed her cards right or the viin. But that being said, it had nothing to do with me.


    But carrying three stupid bags around with me did make me feel more than ufortable.


    ***


    Everyone was just running around like nothing was wrong. There was no tension and it almost seemed like a festival of some sorts with the stalls here and there.


    ''What the hell?''


    What the hell, indeed. What was this? Was this really the first day of school? I knew there''d be second years and third years here and perhaps even college seniors making a visit, but this: this was just unbelievable. There were just too many people, even parents. And then there were guys flying around in packs pretending to be nes.


    ''WOW! And I''m supposed to go here?''


    Suddenly I started to question my life choices all over again.


    It took me a while to find the ss. I had no idea what theyout of the school even looked like. No: nobody was helping or giving directions. And yes, there were no maps.


    And since I didn''t visit the dorms, these bags were being more than just a pain.


    First ss would begin in ten minutes. Our opening ceremony would be heldter this day, around five. Apparently, the headmaster was out partying somewhere. I didn''t get how someone of that status could pull off or why he would pull such a thing like this. I didn''t care though, because it didn''t matter.


    I did make it to the ssroom with one minute to spare. It was on the third floor. The room was full of people. Most of themcked uniforms. Maybe they didn''t have enough time to buy or make one? But that was just an excuse to wear normal clothes anyway.


    The seats weren''t assigned so I picked a random one and sat down. Strangely the first bench was free for the taking: it''s not like there were any other empty seats, so I didn''t have much of a choice either.


    I got some stares from students around me: maybe being the only 2nd guy wearing a uniform made them feel something towards me. It didn''t bother me though. I didn''t care about others. I was here to learn and as long as that criterion could be filled, I was okay with some rude stares.


    After all, I had a goal to reach.


    There were gossips floating around.


    "YOu know, this year we have some nobles attending too."


    "I heard that a Romswell is old enough to attend high school too. Wonder if he''ll go here or not."


    "Oh, you mean the Cursed Mask?"


    I really didn''t like those gossips. Why did people have so much free time anyway?


    ''I''m definitely not getting involved with these morons.''


    ***


    ss began in earnest at exactly ten. I paid attention. It was mostly just an introductory ss.


    "¡­Now then, that''s all over with, why don''t you guys head over to room 707 for an aptitude test?" The teacher said something rather serious with a smile. It was hard taking her seriously.


    ''Aptitude test?''


    There was no such mention in the leaflet. Apparently, we''ve been had. But I didn''t see the students panicking. Was it some sort ofmon knowledge? It was hard to take in, but I pretended to be calm. My sweats said something different but I still pretended to be calm.


    I was calm, right? Right!?


    A lot of whispers were raging around. The boys in particr were going crazy at how beautiful the teacher was. In reality, she was beautiful and deserving of the praises. But the boys didn''t just praise her, there was more: much more. But some things were just better left unspoken.


    I headed for room 707: thankfully it was the seventh room on the seventh floor, so I didn''t end up being lost. This room was wider than our actual ssroom and had a free roof. Just what the hell were they thinking, leaving the roof open on the seventh floor?


    Not everyone could fly you know.


    Eventually, three teachers came. They introduced themselves and we moved on. Our ss teacher was here too.


    This felt more like an army exercise like in the movies than an aptitude test for ss.


    The test was simple, disy your abilities in front of the teachers and they''d grade you based on your talent. But that wasn''t all. Aputer would calcte your potential, and the average of the grade and potential would be used to evaluate the students. Pretty worthless if you asked me.


    The first student walked in. He showed off some fire in his palm after standing there, eyes closed like a moron for a good five minutes.


    A rough p followed and he was graded a 10 by the teachers and a 17 by theputer. Out of a hundred that is.


    ''That''s supposed to be the average?''


    Most of the students had simr skills. Some could produce fire, some ice, some water, some wind, and some even dirt. Other kinds of powers existed too. Things like making nts grow and creating poisonous gases and what not. I didn''t see any flying type or people who could turn invisible, or manipte time, at least not in this ss.


    The teachers seemed to smile. Our ssroom teacher or rather Miss Maire''s fluffy cheetah ears twitched every time a student scored over ten. Was this score really that important? I forgot the names of other teachers but I knew her name: mostly because my neighboring ssmates were kind enough to voice their fantasies all around me.


    Teenage boys were weird, and I was one of them.


    But there were rare talent holders, who could for example create artificial nuclear decay or a little further: nuclear radiation. That would be me, by the way. But that wasn''t all I could do.


    I walked up to the tform focused and demonstrated a miniaturized gamma gun. It took a lot of concentration to keep shooting gamma rays through my fingers and pointing it at the dummy, without harming the students, but I could at least do this much. It was a little risky though. Whispers filled the room and even the teachers looked a little troubled.


    ''I know right. I''m amazing aren''t I?''


    And my narcissistic thoughts were taking over again. I felt so good about myself that a secondter my hand caught fire. Of course, I pretended that everything was normal and I didn''t just almost burn myself and the entire building, but all was cool. It took a lot to hide that pain and embarrassment though.


    I was graded. I''d say it was fairly generous of them. They gave me a 78 and theputer gave me 96: final grade of 87. I couldn''t even wonder what it''d take to reach one hundred. And I didn''t.


    "Up next, Clyde Angelmen."


    ''Angelmen? What sort of name is that?''


    A fine young man, rather handsome went up to disy his talents: he was a foot taller than me and I wasn''t short either. I didn''t like that bored look on his face though.


    "Isn''t that themissioner''s son?"


    "Yeah. I heard he''s a prodigy."


    There were whispers floating around, again. And these whispers weren''t the good kind. And what sort ofmissioner were we talking about? I most surely didn''t know any by the name of Angelmen.


    But then again, this ce had students from all over the world, so of course, I wasn''t supposed to know them all.


    Clyde raised his hand and looked at the sky. I wondered for a second what he was doing but then shivers went down my spine.


    ''What the hell is he doing?''


    The light from around us vanished in an instant and gathered in his palm. I could only see him and nothing else. It was frightening and exhrating at the same time. The stars in the sky poked from far away. I''d never seen so many stars in my entire life let alone in the middle of the day. The students were shivering and the teachers rarely blinked.


    But it didn''t stop there. Clyde didn''t say a word but he demonstrated a lot more than just in light control. The light turned to electricity in a sh and then that turned to sound and heat. I could see it; no, I could feel it with every fiber of my being. This guy was bad news.


    "Hu-hu-hundred!"


    He was offered a hundred by the teachers and another hundred by theputer. Practically- a genius.


    But the expression he wore was the most frightening thing. He wasn''t even concerned about anything. He looked like the world didn''t have any meaning to him.


    ''T-That has nothing to do with me.''


    But I didn''t have time to worry about others. All I needed to worry was about myself. At least that''s how I consoled myself.


    Something about the guy put me on edge though. I didn''t know why but I felt some form of animosity. Or maybe it was jealousy?

 Chapter 5 - The Dorm

    The sses for the day ended. After the aptitude test, things moved fast. Our roll and ss schedule and everything else would be given at ater date. Though this school was supposed to be a prestigious one, it didn''t really feel all that different from my middle school, maybe just a bit bigger. At least that''s what I felt at first. But after watching the students and their behavior, I really couldn''t keep a straight face andpare my middle school with this school. It was likeparing a cat to a lion.


    I went to the dorm: except I didn''t. It was right next to the school building. What could go wrong right? Wrong. It took me half an hour just to locate the building I was supposed to go in: and then I went to the wrong one. And unlike what the students said, it was not right next to the school building. Besides, the school had two main buildings.


    Confusion? That was the least of my worries.


    I did find the dorm but the first one was the wrong one: the very wrong one. The sheer number of female eyes radiating res didn''t scare me as much as their grins did. No one stopped me and after a while, I walked out myself. It was the girls'' dorm. And from the looks on their faces, men visiting weren''t rare. And if I ever happened to find the person who said this was the boys'' dorm, I''d give him just the perfect dose of radiation so he won''t be able to raise his Excalibur between his legs.


    ***


    Took me another half an hour before I finally found the boys'' dorm: this time I made sure that it was the boys'' dorm before going in.


    My room was on the fourth floor by the stairway. Apparently, I didn''t check in whether it was a double or triple room. I didn''t even know who my roommate was.


    ''Let''s just hope, he isn''t an asshole.''


    "This seems to be it." I knocked on the door.


    Obviously, it was locked from the inside. Because I waste, I had to carry my bags all day with me. It was a major drag.


    "Yes, what is it?" A voice came from the inside. But he didn''t open the door.


    There were noisesing from all across the hallway. Apparently, the first day of school or rather the dorms were the busiest.


    "I''m supposed to be your roommate. So do you mind opening the door?" I had to raise my voice due to all the background noise.


    "Yes, I do mind. Could youe back in an hour? I''m a little upied at the moment."


    I was getting stares again from across the hallway.


    "Uh, no!" I didn''t have any reason to heed his request. I''d been tugging these damn bags all day long, why in hell''s name would I wait for another hour? "I''m kinda tired. Could you just open the damn door please?" On second thought, maybe I was the asshole.


    This went back and forth for a few minutes. I knocked without any remorse. I had better things to do than stand around looking like a moron.


    He opened the door and looked at me with eyes full of despair. "And I was so close too."


    I noticed he wasn''t wearing any shirt. But before I could blink a girl jumped out of the door and ran down the stairs, all the while buttoning up her own shirt. I could only see her long striped tail and that colorful lingerie.


    ''Damn that girl is fast!''


    "What the hell?" Really, what the hell just happened?


    The guy sighed a big sigh. "Don''t just stand there,e on in." I gasped and went in. It kind of smelled but I suppose that was okay. After all, they were in a heated battle a minute ago. "Man, don''t you have any sense, or delicacy?"


    He wore his shirt. The guy was fairly handsome and had a fair bit of facial hair. I''d say he was an inch taller than me.


    "I could say that same about you." I fired back.


    His eyes narrowed and his dog ears twitched. "No, you can''t. I thought you weren''ting today. New studentse to dorms before nine and you-"


    "Didn''t have a choice."


    "Whatever man."


    "Your girlfriend?" Of course, I was curious.


    "No- not really."


    "Uh-huh."


    The conversation died. It was awkward.


    ***


    I changed clothes and started organizing my stuff. The room wasn''t that big but it wasn''t small either. It had two beds and a fair amount of space for two guys.


    But the sheer amount of junk kind of rubbed me the wrong way.


    "By the way, girls aren''t forbidden to enter the dorm right? Well, I suppose that''s self-exnatory."


    "Hey! Don''t just ask something and then answer it yourself! And that''s a yes!" Yup, this guy was nuts.


    "I''m Jintel. Nice to meet you." It was a littlete for introductions but I tried to be courteous. Well, kind of.


    "I''m Merin. And who names their kid Jintel? Are your parents okay?"


    ''Says the guy who''s got an even weirder name.''


    I didn''t say that out loud though.


    "Anyway, nice to meet you." I spread my hands.


    He shook them. "Nice to, meet you too. And next time, please take a hint."


    "And next time, please try to do things while I''m at school or something."


    "It''s a deal then!"


    ''Wait, what?''


    I was being sarcastic but he took me for real. But it worked for me.


    I couldn''t believe the guy, but such was life. There were things, certain situations- that would pop out of nowhere and you''d just have to ept them. This was one of them.


    "Are you a senior or something?"


    "Yeah, I''m in my second year."


    Well, it was kind of obvious. "I see."


    "There''s no need to be formal though." He puffed his chest in pride. What was he, a century-old vampire that I had to pay my respects to?


    "I wasn''t nning to." I came out a bit too blunt.


    He looked somewhat out of ce at my reply but didn''t really bother with it. His grin suggested he thought something in the lines of ''why?''


    He didn''t get another reply from me though.


    ***


    Merin exined some of the house rules. It was okay for girls toe into the dorm before six in the afternoon. It was probably a rule for preventing the cuddling action between students. Given how meaningless that was, I couldn''t help but chuckle. As for the actual rules, the only one was the curfew. As long as we didn''t stay outside past ten, it was okay. Then there were obvious things like "Don''t use powers indoors unless absolutely necessary."


    Fairly normal stuff. There wasn''t much to it. I didn''t pay much attention anyway. Besides, I''d be too busy studying.


    "Think, I''ll head out and-"


    I needed to know what dis academy had and where what was. I still didn''t know where what was since I didn''t have a Holo: if only I had money.


    But I at least had to know where I could buy food, or more importantly, chocte milk. If I was going to live away from my family, the least I could do was to make sure I wasn''t going to starve to death or something.


    "Yeah, good luck with that."


    I red at him. "Shouldn''t a proper senior offer to be a tour guide in this kind of situation?"


    "Yeah, but I''m not a proper senior, am I?" He lied down on the bed, turned on his holo, and grinned devilishly. "Don''t you have a holo?" he looked at me with curiosity.


    "Never mind." I sighed. At least he wasn''t an asshole. Probably.

 Chapter 6 - Since When Did Monkeys Start Falling From Poles?

    The dorm didn''t have a lift. So life was a little terrible.


    And when I reached the bottom floor, I remembered something.


    ''Oh shit.''


    I forgot my proof of admission which I had to show at the auditorium before being permitted to enter for the opening ceremony in two hours. If I just had a Holo, this wouldn''t have happened: I wouldn''t have had to carry that shit. Shit, indeed.


    ***


    The field of this school was veryrge and the green grass kept it well decorated. Although most of the people had powers, nobody seemed to use them for anything other than actual work or games. It seemed like a waste, really.


    And here I was expecting people to fool around, injure each other, and conquer cities. I guess that stuff only went down in my family. A shiver went down my spine. I definitely didn''t want to think about my family.


    However, no matter where you went, there were always a few exceptions: more like, a few idiots. And I was staring at one.


    Apparently, a girl was climbing a few hundred meter solid pole at a corner of the field without any equipment. I could see a monkey tail from below (just barely) but honestly she seemed more like a gori.


    ''Why does this school have a pole?''


    But more importantly, why was someone climbing a freaking pole?


    The pole was rather thin and could barely sustain her weight: swaying this way and then that way. It was rather slippery too, and quite shiny. If it were me, I wouldn''t have been able to climb a single meter, and I had no ns on trying.


    The girl attracted a lot of crowd. Students red in awe. I didn''t me them. There were always these kinds of people everywhere. But what did worry me was the school disciplinarymittee. Because wasn''t this climbing thing a bit dangerous? Shouldn''t somebody have stopped her?


    I sighed.


    ''Not my problem.''


    I was about to leave the ce when suddenly screams came from the top.


    I didn''t have a second to double-check.


    With a sinking feeling I looked up and momentster found myself in utter pain.


    And yes, now it was my problem.


    I groaned and moaned. This was probably the worst pain of my life. Probably not. "What the hell is wrong with you!" And all the pain bubbled up as pure rage.


    "Sorry!" Apparently, a wild gori had fallen from the sky. "I''m really sorry. And thank you as well. If it weren''t for you¡­" Her voice betrayed her gori-like behavior.


    What''s worse, she elbowed me on my left shoulder as she fell. Damn gori!


    ''Is my arm even alive?''


    I couldn''t move it much, but the pain indicated that it was still attached and very much alive.


    How the hell did this work though? I was at a fair distance. Did she jump from the top and aim for me or something? Was I, her target all along!


    She got off me and soon help came in the form of some students who looked more important than the rest. They had different uniforms and shy badges: weird caps included. They were probably chosen elites of the school, who maintained discipline after hours when teachers weren''t around. The prefects perhaps? Or maybe the disciplinarymittee?


    The students, who were watching the fun, were still watching the fun. I really wanted to punch them but, it wasn''t an option.


    I wasn''t all that hurt but since the prefects cared all that much about me, I thought I''d y along. Besides, if I just jumped up right away, a lot of people were going to say things like "Show off!"


    I already had enough of these spectator''s shit, so I didn''t want to give them any excuses.


    So, I didn''t waste time and let them carry me to the nurse''s office. I was being carried like a king, a king on a wheelchair, but oh well. I got all sorts of stares, again. But my grin didn''t disappear even for a second: the grin of despair that is.


    On the way, the prefects said stuff like, "It''s gonna be alright." I didn''t pay much attention though. They left me in the nurse''s office and left: so much for checking whether I lived or died. It wasn''t anything grave, so I didn''t me them.


    ''Maybe they have to put on a shy disy to make the school look good?''


    There were a lot of parents at the school and this was the first day, so it was understandable and very usible.


    I sighed and looked around. The nurse''s office didn''t really have much in it. Four beds, some instruments and that''s it.


    ***


    The nurse checked my body. "I don''t see any external injuries, but are you okay?" She could tell I wasn''t hurt even without looking at me. I guess this was why there wasn''t much in here.


    I didn''t have anything to hide from her. Besides, I didn''t like lying. That was why I kept my mouth shut till now, so I didn''t have to lie. "Mostly. I wanted to get out of that situation and this seemed most efficient, so-"


    "SO you pretended. Well, you are a teenage boy. I suppose that''s what kids do at your age." She was sorting through things.


    "Do they?"


    "Well, they used to." She giggled. She applied some sort of gel on my shoulder. "Should be nothing but a bruise. You''re a tough boy, aren''t you?"


    ''Was she this weak when I first came in?''


    "I work out three days a week, nothing special." I shrugged. It really wasn''t. "Anyway, I''d rest for a few minutes and then head back. Is that okay with you?"


    It was more like I used to work out, nowadays I only did some exercises in the morning and that was basically it.


    "Three days a week before even high school? Yeesh!" She didn''t wait for my reply. "And of course, take your time. I''ll have to leave before five so don''t stay for too long. Oh wait, you''d have to leave before five too. "


    I looked at the watch. It was a little over four. Time flew by like a missile. And she was right; I''d have to be at the auditorium by five. I still didn''t know where it was though.


    I thought for some time. This school was one of the best in the world and it definitely had its issues. But issues aside, I could see myself achieving something here. If I could just make use of my talents and knowledge then I could very well get myself a decently paying job and stabilize my family. That''s what really mattered. And perhaps once I was settled, I could pursue my dreams of bing an explorer.


    Or maybe I could get lucky andnd on an explorer mission first thing after graduation. The possibilities were endless: probably not.


    My abilities were good but my academics sucked. I never liked studying and though I went on and on about reading books, I never actually read much. And my family couldn''t actually afford the high-tech memory imnts either. Mom was in too much debt already.


    Sigh.


    Life really was a drag.


    ***


    I left exactly at four-thirty. My body ached a little but it would take a lot more than just some random gori to hurt me bad. Besides, the gel worked pretty well. I didn''t feel much pain anymore and I could only assume it was some sort of anesthetic.


    With a smile, I came outside of the room. The grin on my face was the sign that I seeded. When I first started looking around the field, I was a little lost. So when I got elbowed from the top, it was a good thing for me. Not only did I escape from an unwanted situation, I also got free transport to the school nurse. I still didn''t know where this was. But at least I''d have one less thing to worry about.


    As long as I could find my way out.


    I could have always gotten a map on a holo-bracelet. But the problem was that there was no bracelet. I couldn''t afford one. Everyone around me had one and it functioned like aputer with a holographic screen. It even worked like a phone and most importantly a GPS. I really wished I wasn''t so broke.


    With a sigh, I exited. But just outside the door, someone waited for me. Someone I didn''t want to meet.


    "I-I''m really sorry!" she started.


    ''Oh shoot.''

 Chapter 7 - A Quiet Meet Up

    It was the same gori- no girl. Seeing up close, she did seem more like a girl than an actual monkey. Her pure ck hair might have made me think otherwise at first but gradually I found it charming.


    And she actually had a slender build, kind of athletic looking, but definitely not a gori. Though after that elbow blow, I wasn''t too sure.


    "I''m really sorry. I didn''t know how to face you so-" She stopped and didn''t look me in the eye. Her ears twitched a little. They weren''t monkey ears but rather a little like roon ears.


    ''So that''s why you were outside. ''


    I couldn''t hold a grudge against her. I didn''t like this but I had better things to worry about. "Just don''t do anything reckless like that from now on." I didn''t want her around anyway. The more I talked with her the more I''d feel bad about my arm. So, I tried to y it cool and take my leave.


    "I couldn''t help myself. All my life, I''ve had this dream to climb!" Was she for real?


    It was an intriguing thing to say: really intriguing, considering she almost fractured my shoulder. So I couldn''t help but ask. "Really?" My tone was as sarcastic as ever.


    "Yes. I really like to climb. And I have this impossible dream to climb forever. I know I should forget about it but¡­" But, she had a few screws loose.


    It took me a while, but strangely she wasn''t wearing a uniform. Rather she had this eastern dress that I knew nothing about: so, I pretended not to care too much. Never really had much fashion sense anyway.


    ''Just forget about it! There are plenty of better things in life!''


    But there wasn''t any way I could tell that to her. Her eyes were too damn sincere. So, instead, I chose an easier way. "Anyway, now that this is over. I better return to my tour and I''ve to be at the auditorium before five." I was probably giving out too much information but oh well. Anything to escape.


    She stared at me with questioning eyes. "Tour?"


    "Oh yeah. I was checking out the school." And I was gettingte too. I had a habit of being punctual and I didn''t want to go through the same thing twice on the same day. I didn''t want to bete.


    "I can give you a tour." She was pretty enthusiastic about it too.


    "You''re a senior?"


    "Yeah!" Apparently, life could be really deceiving. All this time I''d assumed she was a freshman like me and yet¡­ I was wrong! "Is something wrong?"


    "No, not really. I''d love to go out with you," I said.


    "Okay then. Let''s go¡­ wait, what?"


    I might have had said something rather outrageous without even noticing. "It-it''s not what you think. I phrased that wrong!" I tried to correct myself. Of course, I had no intention of dating, but my subconscious might have been wandering in ces it shouldn''t have.


    "Ye-yeah. I-I know." She stuttered a lot for someone who knew. "Anyway, let''s go."


    I almost felt too embarrassed to go on.


    ***


    "This is the cafeteria." She started off by showing me the cafeteria on the second floor in the west wing: she never really introduced herself, so I didn''t feel the necessity to, either.


    The school only had two buildings. One building had only ssroomsbs while the other had clubrooms, faculty rooms, training rooms, etc.


    Now I understood why people were telling me that the dorms were just on the other side of the school building. By school building, they meant the ssrooms. And I just happened to go to the other side of the clubrooms. Amazing. No wonder I ended up in the girls'' dorm.


    ''I guess I shouldn''t make his Excalibur weak the next time we meet.''


    The cafeteria was mostly empty. There was hardly anyone in here. Then again, sses were long over and today''s just the first day. It was only natural.


    But since there were only a few people, a particr conversation floated my way.


    "Did you hear that there will be a Romswelling here this week?"


    I wanted to sigh. Not that rumor again.


    "Yeah, and actually a Battlesuin just transferred and a Rodwich is also enrolling this year. It''ll be one heck of a year."


    My face felt a bit hot.


    "Something wrong?" The girl next to me asked.


    "Nothing, let''s go." My voice was cold.


    Up next came the various clubrooms. There were plenty to choose from. I didn''t feel any affinity towards the clubs so I didn''t ask. She still told me anyway. "You see, in order to draw out your best; you need to join a club. Through friendship and bonds, you''d achieve your dreams!"


    Even world leaders would have been embarrassed with a speech like that. Did she seriously believe such things? Probably so.


    "Anyway, guess which club I''m in?" she said, puffing up her chest.


    I stared. "Climbing?" I wouldn''t have been surprised if there was such a club. I didn''t picture it happening though. Surely the headmaster wasn''t that dumb, was he?


    By the way, I couldn''t look away but forced myself to anyway.


    "Unfortunately, the headmaster didn''t give me the permission to create one. What do you say we start one together?" At first, she was sad but that sadness slowly turned into excitement. She was a fast one. And she wanted to drag me down with her.


    Unfortunately, I had no such ambitions. "No thank you. And I thought we were talking about which team you were in?"


    "Not team, but club. Anyway, I''m in the volleyball club." She gave me a victory sign and proudly puffed her chest, again. She was quite gifted in that region though.


    I averted my gaze. Whenever I didn''t have a proper response, I went with, "I see." It was better than standing around like an idiot without saying anything and just nodding.


    "SO which club are you into? I mean what clubs do you like." She looked at me with curiosity. I didn''t like that look. She had the same look when she was climbing that pole: That curious and serious face.


    "Frankly, none of them." I was blunt. People hated me for it but I didn''t care.


    "Really? But we have a lightsaber club too you know. I thought it was popr with the guys."


    ''I''d rather not y with sma sabers and end up blowing up the thing with radiation.''


    I mean she wasn''t wrong. I did have a fascination for lightsabers but¡­ this was a big but. If I ended perhaps losing control of my power in the middle of a fight, let''s just say only a certain portion of the city would blow up in the best-case scenario.


    The worst-case? Let''s not imagine that.


    "No thank you. Can we move on?" I tried to pass the whole thing up with a smile.


    She sighed. "Alright."


    Then came the Gym. It was fairly big. There was a basketball and volleyball club. I think might have seen a cricket pitch in the field too. I wondered why people still yed such primitive games: no ser though. And then there was the lightsaber court. This was the trend for thest two decades. Strangely, people were obsessed with hitting things with sma. I couldn''t deny that I might or might not have been one of them.


    I never cared about sports so this really didn''t excite me. The same couldn''t be said about the girl beside me though. Her tail was waving back and forth: she was excited, no doubt.


    ***


    "All that leaves is the library and the auditorium." She didn''t really seem all that enthusiastic for once and walked silently.


    Eventually, we reached the ce.


    The library was not what I expected. I thought they''d be plenty of books and a lot of kids would be reading and stuff. But apparently, no one was here besides just one girl and the librarian.


    "I don''t think anyone reads books these days¡­" she started.


    "What are you talking about?" I had to read books whether I liked it or not, so though I knew what she was talking about, I couldn''t help but ask, just for the sake of asking.


    "People imprint the knowledge directly on their brain. It''s most efficient." She was right. I might have expected a bit too much of humanity.


    Technology had progressed much and it made people a bit toozy. And I wanted to be one of them.


    "Can your parents not afford a proper imprinter?" She tried to act as humble as she could. It still came out a little rude though.


    Actually, the main reason behind my reading physical copies was because we were rtively poor. But after reading and finding the joy in it, I sort of gave in. "I like to read hence I read." At least I consoled myself that way.


    "I-I see." The gori, rather my senior didn''t really seem all that convinced. Even I wasn''t convinced.


    The only girl in the library waved at me. I recognized her. It was Marg.


    The library was empty so it didn''t hurt to speak normally. I''d seen in the old movies how librarians used to silence people in the libraries. If only I could go back in that sort of time.


    "Didn''t think I''d see you here," I said.


    "Me neither." As usual, she didn''t strike as enthusiastic.


    The gori or rather my senior opened her mouth to imprint wisdom upon us. "You know this kid?" Wasn''t it obvious already?


    "I do know her, but I don''t know you. You haven''t even introduced yourself, you know." I stared at the girl- our self-proimed senior. Granted, I didn''t either but maybe she should have first?


    She patted the back of her head andughed in an awkward way. "Oh right! I''m Selene. Nice to, meet you, you know." And this just got more and more awkward.


    "Margeretta."


    "Jintel." I sighed as I introduced myself. I really didn''t like my name.


    "You mean Helio." Marg didn''t like my name either. But unfortunately for her, I had to use this name for specific reasons.


    And for those reasons, I couldn''t just yell my surname out in the public and I had to get it into this thick-headed girl. "No, I mean Jintel. And please don''t call me Helio."


    "I refuse." Marg dismissed me without a second doubt.


    "Wait, I''m confused!" Selene wasn''t having any either.


    Why the hell did it always have toe to this? Why did my parents just have to give me two worthless and weird names?

 Chapter 8 - Who Knew Angelmen Wasn’t So Angelic

    Arguing about names and all that stuff was good and all but we were gettingte.


    "Alright, we''ve got five more minutes. Let''s head to the auditorium. We can still make it if we hurried." I didn''t know where the auditorium even was but I was being awfully confident.


    "No need. I''ll just teleport. Both of youe close." Marg offered. She was still emotionless. I didn''t know what ticked the girl but maybe she wasn''t so bad.


    Suddenly, I got shbacks from this morning. My earlier disappointment made a triumphant return. But I controlled it.


    When I stood next to her, the old librariandy gave me a stare but didn''t really say anything. I guess using powers indoors was frowned upon but not against the rules.


    But honestly, this power was really, really convenient. I kind of wanted it for myself. Maybe I was being too selfish.


    It took an instant but the space around me warped and this time I forgot to close my eyes. I could now finally understand why she wanted me to close my eyes. Because in that one instant I saw so many things, so many little things, that I wish I never had. I almost threw up but that wasn''t the worst part.


    Light blinded me for a second before the three of us ended up in front of the massive entrance of the auditorium. With a blinding headache, I swayed. I really should have kept my eyes closed.


    ''What the hell was those things?'' I kind of wanted to throw up, but I controlled everything.


    "I''ll see you inside." Marg took her leave: she didn''t care about my condition in the least. I knew it was my fault for keeping my eyes open, but really?


    I did think she''d stick around though. But maybe she just liked to be alone.


    Marg''s power was pretty handy. I wouldn''t have been surprised if the government went after her or the terrorist gang of Alzana. Come to think of it, was she really safe at this school? I didn''t really know much about her but it did make me wonder a lot of things.


    "Alright, this is where we part too." Selene fidgeted for a second. "Sorry about crashing into you. I was looking for a softnd and you just happened to be there." Selene for the first time ever just spat out the whole truth without sugarcoating anything.


    I wished she wasn''t this blunt though. "No-No problem."


    The small amount of respect I had for her as my senior had vanished before I could even blink. She was now an official gori in my book.


    I turned around and went to the entrance. There were some prefects checking the proof of admission. Was this thing really necessary?


    ***


    I showed my stuff and went inside. It was grand- was an understatement. It was big, too big- ten times bigger than our entire apartment and yardsbined. There were at least a few hundred students inside and the teachers were all on stage in their respective seats. Just one seat was empty and it looked more like a throne than a seat.


    I looked around and found an open seat at the back.


    "Is this taken?" I asked.


    "No."


    I sat down. There weren''t any students in a three-seat radius apart from the two of us.


    ''What''s going on?''


    I didn''t like where this was going but I looked to my right and yup, the reason was simple. It was that Angelmen guy: looking all cool and calm in his ck leather jacket.


    We didn''t really talk and just stared at the teachers above the stage. Our ss teacher was up there too.


    ***


    "Strange. Why isn''t it starting?" Five minutes had already passed but it wasn''t starting.


    "The headmaster isn''t back yet," Clyde replied.


    I didn''t really expect a reply from him. After all, I wasn''t talking to him. Rather, I was just talking to myself. So I didn''t bother replying and he didn''t bother saying anything else either. It was awkward.


    Five minutes turned to ten and ten to twenty. Students were merely socializing amongst themselves so nothing was wrong. Not to them, but to me everything was. What was I supposed to do now? I couldn''t just walk out in the middle of this and I couldn''t stay put like this either.


    There were so many other ways my time could have been spent. I Sighed.


    Not to mention I was sitting next to a practical genius. Was he even interested in talking to me? Only one way to find out. "Hi, I''m Robert Jintel. Nice to meet you." I spread my hands to embarrass myself. There was nothing better to do anyway. And I made up the Robert part out myself.


    "Clyde Angelmen. And who was this Helio then?" He red at me and shook my hands violently. It didn''t hurt but it did make me feel ufortable. And what was with this guy? He was wearing all ck, his hair was ck and even his leopard-like ears! Did he have a fetish for ck things?


    I guess I was being unfair. After all, he couldn''t have picked his looks anyway.


    I freed my hands. "How do you know that name?" I tried to pretend.


    Helio was my grandfather''s name and he might or might not have destroyed three countries by mistake. I might or might not have been a part of that incident as well.


    So yeah, I really didn''t want most people to know that name. Who knew, people would randomly assume things and use me of things, after all, this ce was crawling with international students.


    "I can hear anything within the school borders. I can manipte sound." The guy was basically telling me his deepest secrets. Was he some kind of idiot?


    ''What are you, some sort of a God?''


    To be able to hear anything within the radius of the school? I wouldn''t have been surprised if he imed to be God tomorrow. "That''s actually kind of awesome." I hated to admit it but I couldn''t deny it either. "I''m Helio. You can call me Jintel if you want."


    "Yeah well, it''s no big deal. And yeah, Helio is better. " For a guy who acted nonchnt about it, he sure seemed to be awfully proud of his abilities. He looked at me. "So how many girls did you bang?" His grin didn''t really feel friendly. "You were acting awfully chummy with those two."


    "Excuse me?" Was I hearing right?


    And how the hell did this guy even know that I was with two girls just minutes ago?


    "I meant how many girls you slept with." Was this guy really being serious?


    We weren''t best friends and this wasn''t some school field trip. "I don''t think I have any reasons to tell-"


    "None, I see." And the guy came to his own conclusion.


    ''What are you, a mind reader?''


    I almost wanted to punch him now. But before I could say another word he pointed at the stage. "And he''s here. Judging by that smell, he gotid a few minutes ago."


    Why was this guy so obsessed with sex? And what in the name of hell was wrong with his nose? Just how was he able to smell something like that from a hundred meters worth of distance? I didn''t get it, so I looked at his nose with intense vigor. And the half of the guy''s mustache wasn''t really a mustache. It was fur?


    Just what was this guy! Did I forget to mention I was going crazy?


    I wasn''t given a chance to speak yet again as the headmaster tapped on the microphone a few times. "Is this thing working?"


    ''It sure is.''

 Chapter 9 - Annoyance Is Never A Bliss

    The headmaster was annoying. Really annoying. He looked old, like sixty or so. He was skinny, tall, and had a goatee with a small mustache. I didn''t like him, not one bit.


    He cleared his throat and kept tapping on the microphone. Did he have a few screws loose?


    Hisrge elephant-like ears pped every time he tapped, so it was kind of amusing in a way too.


    But at this point everybody was already aware of his presence, so what was the point?


    "Ahem!" He cleared his throat again. Did he have tuberculosis? "Now that I have everyone''s attention-" He began in a serious voice. He was right though: after what he pulled, no one could afford to not pay attention to him that was for sure. "Good evening!" He grinned and talked like he was talking to babies.


    I had to do a double check on reality. "Is he for real? Did someone shape-"


    The Angelmen guy smirked at me. "Oh, he''s real alright. That smell is the proof. You see he eats too much sugar and so his juices are a little-"


    "Enough!" Now I needed to do more reality checks.


    And that was too much information!


    ''Is this really real? I''m not dreaming? Seriously?''


    Pinching, exhaling, pulling my hair- none of them worked. This was real, too real.


    ''Oh shit.''


    "Now I take it you''re all freshmen?" The headmaster seemed awfully jolly about the fact.


    The students on the other hand just watched him with ssy eyes: there were no replies. I was surprised that there wasn''t any booing.


    But the headmaster didn''t give us a damn. "Alright. In this school, two things are punishable by expulsion. 1. Sleeping with a teacher. And 2. Scheming with other schools or outside entities and doing harm to your fellow students or the school. That''s it." He chuckled. "As long as you don''t get caught that is," he said under his breath.


    Was he for real? I knew he was but this, this was really something. Basically, we were free to do anything and we''d get away with it, as long as we didn''t get caught? That was insane.


    "Handy, isn''t it?" Clyde sighed. "Well, my troubles should be solved in a week and I''ll join with you and your crusade. I have dibs on Mrs. Maire by the way." He pointed at my ssroom teacher.


    I couldn''t believe the guy. He valued his fantasies over his studies. I guess he could afford that as he was the son of somemissioner I had no ideas about. But what kind of crusade was he talking about?


    And why on earth did he want to go after the teacher, when the headmaster specifically told us not to? Like seriously!


    I sighed. "She''s all yours." I came here to study and that was all.


    But really, the teacher? I couldn''t even begin to wonder what sort of other fetishes he had. And I certainly didn''t want to either.


    "Brother!" He grabbed my arm and shook it: not even the hand, just the arm. Yup, he had screws loose, no doubt.


    I didn''t say a freaking word and just watched the drama.


    "Alright then, I''ve been getting a lot of stares from the teachers so I''ll take my leave now." The headmasterughed hysterically and made his exit. The throne-like seat was never sat on even for a second. Why did he even bother showing up?


    I watched him go. ''At least I can go to my room now.'' But, I was wrong, again.


    Someone cleared her throat and grabbed the mic. "Anyway, long story short, don''t fool around with the teachers and don''t harm your fellow students." A middle-aged woman was up on stage by the microphone. Her fierce eyes were like an eagle''s, or maybe they were. "However, know that our school is renowned as the most prestigious¡­" She went on and gave a good speech about what this school was and what we could expect.


    Frankly, I didn''t care. I didn''t want to be part of the tournaments and all that anyway.


    "We also have prizes in cash. If you should even make it past the prelims, you''ll bepensated generally by mary means." Just for a second, I thought she was looking at me.


    But now she had my attention. She had the full course of my attention. ''Go on, go on!''


    "¡­And now I''d like to announce the leader of the prefects. Annebell Rose and the leader of the disciplinary squad, Dickville k." She lifted her hands sideways and a girl walked on stage.


    I almost burst intoughter when I heard the name Dickville. It took a lot of willpower to notugh at his name and just chuckle soundlessly. The same couldn''t be said about our Angelmen friend though. He wasughing without any remorse and all eyes were on the two of us.


    But it didn''tst long as a girl walked on stage followed by a boy. Both were the same height and looked simr but just for a second I thought this Rose girl was some sort of angel: she looked so captivating that everyone forgot about what they were doing and just stared at her, myself included.


    But after a few seconds, all I saw was her blonde hair and two white wings: She did look like an angel- if such a thing existed- but I didn''t find her that attractive. Something about her made me stay on the edge. And unfortunately, she was no angel.


    ''There are no angels apart from bunnies.''


    Was it because my long-lost crush had bunny ears and a fluffy tail? I certainly didn''t know.


    "Good evening." The new girl began. "I''ve been tasked with managing general affairs like illegal student mating, drugs, and bullying. If anyone should see these activities please report to a prefect or visit our office in room 107. Good day." She spoke pretty heartily, but I got the impression she meant business.


    I already knew one of those, but I guess I could always look the other way. I didn''t want unnecessary trouble, after all.


    But now the Dickville guy stood by the mic. He red at us and I could see the creases on his forehead from way over here. "I will be the new head of the Disciplinary squad from today onwards. My first rule is as follows, ''anyone whoughs at the squad leader''s name would be deemed punishable by one week of suspension.'' That''s all." The guy turned around, his coat fluttered and he left the stage just like the principal did.


    No one said a word. No one knew what to say anyway. It didn''t seem like a joke and the teachers weren''t reallyughing either. This was serious and one thing was for certain, the guy was an asshole. It didn''t bother Clyde though: he didn''t have a care in the world apart from how to getid.


    ***


    And that concluded the ceremony: sort of. It wasn''t anything like I imagined by any stretch of the imagination. And it was awfully boring. Besides, who wanted to sit around for half an hour only to be disappointed by a geezer for five minutes? Not to mention they took another half an hour just to say stupid things and make up stupid rules.


    The Angelmen guy acted awfully chummy with me but I kept my distance. I didn''t meet Marg inside and I didn''t want to either. Now all I had to do was go to the dorm and pray my senior would be done with his business this time, and get a good rest. Hopefully, I''d be able to set things straight and maybe from tomorrow onwards, focus solely on studies.


    ***


    It was already past six-thirty. The sun had set about ten minutes ago. But the whole field was lit up. Way too many stalls. There weren''t this many even two hours ago.


    ''Did the seniors make this happen?''


    It was amazing, really. Students, parents, and even kids from everywhere were here. It was almost like a grand festival of sorts. I did have some pocket money, so maybe just this once, taking a stroll couldn''t have been that bad, right?

 Chapter 10 - Trouble On The Very First Day?

    I walked through the crowd. It was definitely like a festival. The only difference here was that instead of seeing too many couples, I saw too many group friends: definitely not a great way to feel great about myself.


    Most of the stalls were just food stalls. I did see a few primitive game stalls but I didn''t really have time for those games. After all, I could basically win without even batting an eye in most of them. And hence why guys who had radiation as a power- guys like me- were banned from such games universally. I get that these games were for primitive humans but really?


    It was like a festival, which meant there were other attractions too. Namely puppet shows and actual dramas: these were pretty much extinct everywhere else these days. So festivals always felt fresh. I didn''t see anything like this mentioned in the leaflet but at this point, the leaflet was nothing but a useless piece of scrap anyway.


    The crowd wasrge but it didn''t really bother me all that much, as no one had bumped into me, yet. But it also made me feel a little lonely. I was a loner but even so, at the end of the day, my mother and sister were always there for me. Yes, they were nagging and kind of always getting on my nerves, but they were always there for me. They were my support and I had to admit it.


    I sighed and just walked. After a while, I called it quits. I did buy a stick of grilled corn though.


    Think I''ll head back now.


    The corn was warm and it was eight. This festival-like atmosphere only made me feel worse about myself.


    One bite, two-bite, and then ten. I was almost out of the festival and almost out of corn. It didn''t taste that good and it was also mostly burnt on one side and undercooked on the other. But I still ate it anyway.


    "Huh? What are you? A hairless monkey! Even a monkey has more brains than you!" Suddenly there were screams. It wasing from behind me.


    Now what?


    A small crowd had surrounded two girls who were supposedly fighting. Even a minute ago, it wasn''t the case.


    Better not get involved.


    "Take that back! Take it back!" There was another scream: the voice shivered. I recognized the voice.


    I shoved myself through the spectators and tried to pass through. I didn''t know what I was doing anymore. I thought I wouldn''t get involved but I found myself moving despite thinking that.


    And when I finally made it two the center I saw two girls. Both the same age: at least two my thinking. And as expected, I knew one of them: Marg. She was literally on the verge of tears.


    On the other hand, there was a girl, a girl who had the ears like small bird wings. She was holding onto a single-edged sword and her eyes were literally on fire. "I''ll say it again, you''re lesser than a monkey and your mother is a whore!"


    I hadn''t seen a real sword since my third birthday. The same day when my gramps eradicated, I mean mistakenly, fried half of a particr country.


    Marg tried her best to conceal her tears when she saw me. "YOU-"


    "Excuse me? Instead of drawing a crowd like this, can''t you two settle this quietly by an alley or something? I''m sure you have your reasons but could you please refrain from saying things like that in public?" I addressed the girl with the sword. She seemed furious but I thought I could get through to her. Besides, she seemed like she was from a decent family at least clothes-wise.


    I didn''t know what Marg did or what brought up this situation, but one thing was for certain. This situation wasn''t pleasant for anyone involved.


    "Mind your own business cat. I don''t time to listen to freshmen." Apparently, she was a senior and she took pride in it. Of course, she was justified to do so. But I didn''t like that attitude.


    "Good for you." I grinned. "Marg, I seem to be lost. Could you give me a tour?"


    In an instant, the sword was now pointed at me and it caught fire. The girl nced at me with her peripherals. "What do you think you''re doing? You have no business with us. Leave us be." For someone who had such murderous intent, she was being awfully polite.


    "Of course I have no business with you. But you see, she kind of owes of me, so I thought I''d have her give me a tour so she''d get the chance to repay me." I tried to keep my head calm. I knew nothing about the girl and if I could stall for enough time, surely the prefects would show up just likest time. At least I betted on that possibility.


    "It would seem that I do have business with you." She now turned to me, furious.


    "Helio, please. This is between us," Marg managed.


    "Fine by me, but are you sure you want to do this? Wouldn''t it look bad for a senior to be whopped by a junior?" Of course, I tried to bluff. But maybe I taunted a bit too much.


    "Oh don''t worry. You won''t have that haughty attitude for long." Her de lit fully on fire and turned red. She closed her eyes, opened them a secondter and for a moment her red eyes showed off entrails: fast. "HAAAH!"


    She swung her sword vertically without a warning and I dodged by jumping back. The crowd dispersed and made a bigger circle. Was this amusing? Maybe they thought this was part of the y too?


    And what if I''d gotten hurt?


    "Don''t me me now," I whispered as I fired off some gamma rays aimed at the de. If I knew correctly, the de was lit by sma. It was a little different from lightsabers but maybe the same principle applied. If I could blow up a lightsaber then I could blow up this too. Of course, I had to control the quality of the explosion and that''s why I only fired a small amount of gamma.


    The sword glowed even brighter and in pure blue. Both of us were shocked. Why? Shouldn''t it have exploded?


    She didn''t just stand there and admire her sword: instead, she charged. She was fast and her swings were practiced. But I did work out a lot, so dodging wasn''t a problem. But at this rate, I''d lose whether I liked it or not. All I could do was dodge and she basically could do both. Besides, I didn''t have an attack that would not kill her on the spot if used incorrectly.


    Maybe I should start a fusion reaction?


    "Stop!" but before I could focus my energy a shout followed. "Enough!" Marg looked much fiercer than I thought was possible of her. "I want a duel!" She pointed a finger at the girl. "You will acknowledge me! I demand a duel! And you will take back what you said!" She almost looked like a different person now.


    "Then win the neer''s tournament. I''m pretty sure you''ve been taught how to use a lightsaber, so-" The girl nced at me. "What do you say? If you should win, you can very well achieve what you were aiming to too?" Surprisingly the girl was talking to me.


    "Excuse me?" I didn''t really have a goal in this fight other than to just stop it. "Besides, I don''t have any interest."


    More like I couldn''t go near lightsabers, anyway.


    "She''s my older half-sister." Marg looked away.


    So this was a family bout, to begin with.


    I sighed. I might have screwed up big time.


    "Sister?" The girl snorted. "You''re nothing to-" She paused and sheathed her sword. She was looking somewhere else.


    I tracked her sight and in the sky, there was one person floating around.


    "Bye, bye, yboy." The girl waved at me and then ran off.


    What just happened?


    And why on earth would Marg''s sister call me a yboy?

 Chapter 11 - Who Knew The Dorm Senior Was So Crafty?

    The girl from the air never came down. It was too dark for me to see her face, but I figured she had to be a member of the disciplinary squad.


    "Sorry about that," Marg began.


    My eyes were still on the girl in the air and for a moment it almost felt like she was ring back. Without a word, she flew back. Had shee to stop the fight?


    "No problem." I shouldn''t have meddled into their family business anyway. "Now if you''ll excuse me, I feel like an item on disy, so I''ll take my leave." There were a lot of people still around. I really hated this kind of people but there was nothing to do. "Do be careful now."


    Somewhere around here, I''d dropped the half-eaten corn, so now I felt even worse. The corn was already bad enough, but now I had to lose it. It felt terrible.


    "Yeah, I will." And she was back to her old nonchnt, emotionless self again. I expected some gratitude but I guess there were none. She must have had her own problems but she could at least thank me, right?


    ''Guess I shouldn''t have meddled¡­.''


    It wasn''t like I was regretting it, but I just felt stupid. I wasn''t some knight in shining armor, but I did help her out because she got me to school on time, so maybe asking for gratitude was uncalled for. After all, I hadn''t thanked her properly either.


    ***


    I walked back to the dorm. Nothing of note happened: At least not this time. I didn''t get lost and I didn''t end up near the girl''s dorm either. Not entirely true but yes.


    ''Great. More stairs.''


    This was a long day and it just kept getting better and better. I sighed. There was no going around it. I really wanted to be able to fly right about now.


    When I finally reached the fourth floor, I was breathless and yet again surprised. It was still the same chaos. People were basically just chatting and still unpacking.


    ''Should have seen thising.''


    It wasn''t as festive as the literal festival outside, but the crowd was pretty dense here too.


    It didn''t bother me that much though. My room was on the right side of the stairs, so thankfully, I didn''t have to walk for another eternity.


    I knocked on the door and it opened exactly a minuteter. "Wee back."


    I did not expect any responses from the guy. "Yeah." So I didn''t have a good one either.


    The room looked much cleaner now. In fact, I could even see some new things.


    "You have a guitar?" I didn''t expect the guy to have old instruments


    He had a lot more than just a guitar but that was the first thing that caught my attention.


    "I can y it too. The chicks dig it." He proudly puffed his chest and smirked.


    Having one and being able to y it were two different things, so I guess he was right to take pride. I didn''t like it though.


    And I certainly didn''t buy it.


    "Uh-huh." I didn''t really care all that much about primitive music, but this one instrument really drove me in. I could see why chicks would dig him or rather his ys: I still doubted it though. "Anyway, it''s been a long day and I think I should turn in soon."


    I had sses tomorrow and I felt a little beat down from the little stunt I had to pull back at the field.


    I couldn''t even think about opening a book, let alone read one.


    "It''s not even ten yet. Thought we could talk. You know, discuss what was allowed and whatnot." He gulped. Was he nervous or something?


    "Didn''t we already talk about that?"


    Besides, just who was the guy I was talking to? The same guy from before? He sure didn''t seem like him.


    "The talk was about when I bring a girl. But not about when you-"


    "Yeah, stop right there pal. I won''t bring a girl." I was dead set on studies. I didn''t have time for rtionships.


    I was already pretty weak on academics, if I got into a rtionship, bye-bye dreams. I did not want that.


    "You don''t swing the other way, right?" If he wasn''t nervous before, he was now.


    "No." My voice went tter than I intended. I didn''t have any homophobia but I wasn''t toofortable with it either: (I did respect everyone''s preferences though). So, I could guess his nervousness. "But I do want to focus on studies, so I don''t think I''ll ever bring girls here of all ces." Which is why I made myself clear.


    "Well," he chuckled. "Works for me."


    I hadn''t unpacked most of my things since there was no space before. But this time, there was. So nothing stopped me.


    It was a gruesome process.


    Merin wasn''t so bad. I mean, he wasn''t a role model for me but he wasn''t an asshole either. He even helped me with the unpacking. But I guess, he had ulterior motives for helping out. This afternoon, he seemed like a different person. I still knew nothing about him and talking to him only made me more confused.


    Once we were done, Merin looked a bit flustered as he walked towards me. I knew he had something to say, but I didn''t really expect this behavior. "I heard" He paused. "You got into a fight with Evengeline?"


    "Even who?" I did not know what this man was talking about.


    "You know, Eve. She''s my ssmate and I kind of had a thing for her. And now for thest hour, I''ve been hearing rumors that some freshmen fought her and actually came out unscathed." He red half-heartedly.


    "Why would you think it''s me?" More importantly, how the hell did word travel so fast?


    "Who else would it be? Everyone knows you now. Besides, you''re like one of the top students this year. So everyone was talking about you from the start. I only heard about you after you left but-"


    It made sense, no wonder his attitude changed so much. I guess having some luck and talent could be a good thing. But famous? Why would I be famous? I sure didn''t want to be famous. Well, maybe a little.


    But if I started bing famous, it wouldn''t have been long before I''d be infamous instead.


    "But I don''t care and you can go confess or something. Does it matter that I came out unscathed? Or did you want me to get hurt?" I tried to be blunt. I didn''t have time for unnecessary squabbles.


    "No, it''s just-" He paused again. This guy really had a lot of pauses. "People are saying you two would make a good couple." He was acting awfully shy too.


    "People say a lot of things. Now get over it. And I have to sleep. Plus, I kind of don''t like that girl, so there you have it." I didn''t hate the girl and I knew nothing about her: But I also didn''t like her, so technically this wasn''t a lie. But if I let this drag on, this would probably drag on till morning. So I had to do something. "Can I get some sleep now?"


    He turned around and shouted ''yes'' in a hushed voice. That was this guy''s goal all along? He just wanted me to say it out loud. And now that he achieved his goal, his weird smirk made aeback and his personality made a switch. "Okay, roger that." This guy was good. Really good.


    I sighed and the lights went out: Merin didin a lot but he still respected my wishes anyway.


    It was ten and finally, after a long day, I could rest.


    Except I couldn''t. I couldn''t fall asleep on this bed. It was too hard. It didn''t smell bad but it didn''t smell like my room either. I turned to the other side, and then to this side, and then repeated the process. Time marched on but I couldn''t sleep.


    I couldn''t stay awake either. I felt sleepy but there was no sleep. ''Someone end my suffering already!'' I really wanted to scream, but I couldn''t.


    Sometimes past midnight, Merin started snoring with intervals. Did this guy needed to piss me off in his dreams too?


    ''A good couple huh? Yeah right.''


    Thoughts filled my brain over and over again.


    ''But why did her sword not explode?''


    Moreover, her sword was like it was empowered or something. It struck me pretty odd. ''Sylvanide, maybe?''


    I couldn''t think and I couldn''t sleep either. I kept thinking and eventually sometime after midnight my eyes finally closed and I slept.


    ***


    I woke up at six: not even the slightest bit refreshed. I felt terrible. I tried to sleep again but couldn''t.


    ''Awe, man!''


    Well, I could imagine how this day would go.


    "That tickles¡­." Merin was talking in his sleep.


    I red at him. Must have been great to actually be able to sleep.


    Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to go on a jog. With morning exercises and some coffee, I could bounce back, right? Right!?


    With a yawn and a sigh, my day began.


    But I still didn''t like stairs.

 Chapter 12 - Interlude: Margeretta

    Margeretta Ivygood, was born to a servant. Her mother Sisilin Ivygood was a house servant while her father, Melhiem Rodwich was the owner. Perhaps it was love; perhaps it was a stroke of misfortune. But that night sixteen years ago, on that stormy night, Margeretta saw the lights for the first time and heard two words, though she couldn''t understand them.


    "Another failure!"


    Sisilin cried a great deal that night. No one knew if she was crying out of grief or out of joy, but she did bear the newborn child in her arms like it was some sort of lost treasure. Perhaps it was treasure, her treasure.


    Two people weren''t happy about this incident. The first, Vannesa Rodwich- Milheim''s wife, and the second, Krystal Rodwich. Krystal was Margeretta''s half-sister and she hated Marg from the moment she understood the truth. Her reasons were justifiable to her. But she never took any action, at least not directly.


    Marg and her mother weren''t treated that differently from the other servants and Melheim never paid much attention to his uwful child either. But the other servants did treat Marg with just a fraction more love and affection. It wasn''t much but she felt blessed.


    As the house of Rodwich grew, things began to change. Marg had new half-siblings. And new headaches.


    Marg''s siblings grew and now she was treated as nothing more than just a servant. Her servant siblings treated her nicely as she was the oldest among them but that was it. Her official half-siblings always hated her and made her work much harder than necessary, sometimes even punish her for no reason at all.


    ***


    Ten years passed. Marg never paid any attention to discrimination. She already understood her ce. She rarely smiled and there was nothing to be d about. She lived to serve.


    But at the age of ten, her talent manifested. It was a rare talent. Very rare in fact. Which was why Melheim finally called her in his office for the first time.


    Polygamy was frowned upon in society but as long as someone had enough money and fame, everything was justified. The Rodwich house was an ideal example. Melheim Rodwich had illicit rtionships with twelve of his servants and he also had five official wives. Yet, he wasn''t satisfied. He wanted more wealth, he wanted more fame and he wanted more women: he wanted more. And for that, he was willing to do anything: even selling his own children wasn''t an issue.


    "You called me my lord?" Marg wasn''t even allowed to call him father. The man in front was her owner, there was no affection between the two.


    "Yes. I have heard that you have manifested the secret art of teleportation?"


    "Yes, my lord." Marg looked down. She didn''t know the rarity of the power but she did know that this power wasn''t something she could just wield freely.


    Every time she used her powers, those things haunted her. She couldn''t take it anymore.


    Melheim looked out through the window. "Go fetch that apple from the other side of theke." It wasn''t a request, it was an order.


    Marg almost wanted to cry. She never wanted to use her powers again and yet, she had to. "As you wish." She concentrated and brought back the apple within a minute. But the moment she arrived, she felt faint: she saw things she didn''t want to: she felt things she didn''t want to. She felt like throwing up. She did throw up. "I-I''m so sorry." Tears welled up in her eyes.


    Teleportation was rare but it also had a price. She couldn''t just freely travel across thend without any dy and without any payment. There was no such thing as a free lunch.


    "There''s no need for apologies child." Melheim held her with gloved hands. His face lightened up. "Yes, you would be perfect." His inner demon grinned victoriously. ''Maybe you weren''t such a failure after all.'' If someone heard his thoughts, then they''d question his sanity.


    ***


    A weekter Marg was called inside Melheim''s office yet again.


    "You shall marry into Bettlesuin family. Namely, Vana Bettlesuin." Melheim didn''t even nce at Marg.


    "Wha-" Marg put her hands on her mouth. This was like a death sentence to her. Everyone in the nation knew how the Bettlesuin family worked. She didn''t know this Vana Battlesuin, but to her knowledge, everyone in that family was the same.


    There was a reason why no one ever willingly married into that family.


    "Legal age of marriage is 17 so I guess you''re free to do anything you please till then." Melheim begun. "However, know that if you try to run, Sisilin might not make it out alive." Melheim had a smile. He knew there was no way for Marg or her mother to get away from this. To him, everything was just tools for his gain.


    Sisilin was a house servant and a ve to the Rodwich family. Which meant Melheim held all power over her fate. The same went for Marg.


    Marg was only ten but even at this age, she understood two things.


    1.  The world wasn''t fair.


    2.  She was just a servant without any free will


    So Marg sighed. "Is that so? Then you have nothing to worry about, my lord." Her attitude changed ordingly. Bettlesuin house must have been a nightmare, but the house of Rodwich was hell. So at least, she still had a future, somewhat. But now she also had a goal.


    Melheim smirked. "Well, at least you have my fire."


    Marg grimaced inside when the very thought of receiving something from the bastard in front of her, came to her mind. Yes, she did receive half of her gene pool from the man in front, but she despised her existence for that half. She hated the man; there was no doubt about it.


    "You may leave now. You will be given proper education from now on, so-" Melheim stopped, grinned, and looked at his daughter. "And you may give your name as Margeretta Rodwich from this day forth. So have fun I guess?" Heughed hysterically.


    Marg almost bit her lips, but she didn''t. "Yes¡­ Father."


    From that day on, things changed. Things changed drastically. Marg was no longer treated as a servant. And no one could question the order of the master (Melhiem) either. But deep down, everyone knew that Margeretta Rodwich would be a sacrifice.


    ***


    There was a reason why no one wanted to get married into the Bettlesuin family: Though everyone in the family was rich, they all had one core trait. They were fiends for love. And within that love, oftentimes they''d go too far, and even strangle their partners, in a not-so-friendly way. In a world where money and fame were everything, no one could really say or do anything about them, at least not without being eradicated.


    But it never fazed Marg even for a second. She knew what to do and she wasn''t so weak.


    Besides, she already had a n.


    ''I''ll kill them.''


    But to kill the master of the house or her would-be husband, she needed more experience, and she needed more time. She needed allies and she also needed a position of her own. So that once she could have her freedom, her mother won''t suffer. And with the Rodwich name, she was one step closer to her goal.


    ***


    But today, on the first day of school, her very core was shaken when one of her half-sisters out of nowhere, insulted her and her mother. She could even take a beating but she couldn''t take curses to her mother''s name. Which was why she protested. But she couldn''t create a scene here. If she did, all those ns, all this time, all of it, would have been wasted. And yet, she couldn''t help herself.


    "Take that back!" She yelled at the girl in front of her and prepared for the attack: she''d made that choice. She didn''t care about the people surrounding her, the people watching the show.


    But as she thought all hope was lost, someone saved her. She didn''t need people to rely on: she was good enough, to herself. She didn''t need anybody. But perhaps this wasn''t so bad. Perhaps her life would finally change. Perhaps¡­ someone would understand her.


    ''I am- saved?''

 Chapter 13 - A Walk In The Park? Wait, Where’s The Park?

    There were few students up and the noise was at a minimum. The field was empty: The same field which was littered with stalls and whatnot, evenst night was now empty. It still had garbage lying around though and boy was there garbage. No one was picking anything up and I could guess why.


    Why? Cause no one was up yet, duh!


    The students must have partied till morning. The few that were out weren''t nearly enough. The cleaningmittee would have a hell of a time cleaning this mess up.


    There was a cleaningmittee though, right?


    I felt much better once I got out and let the sunlight blind me and make me question my existence. My eyes still felt pretty baggy if nothing else.


    Yawn!


    I started my jog. The field was big and I had plenty of time. My jersey and sweatshirt felt awfully tight. Maybe I should have bought new ones.


    ''What should I do about breakfast?''


    ''Maybe I should wear the same uniform? Why didn''t I wash itst night?''


    I''d worn the uniform all day yesterday, so the little fight at night really made the dress go a little bad. Of course, I didn''t see its condition, but I could guess it wouldn''t smell wonderful.


    ''I''ll just spray some deodorant.''


    It probably wasn''t the best idea, but I didn''t have a choice.


    My head was in the clouds, thinking things, I shouldn''t have. And a secondter, the obvious happened.


    "Look where you''re going!" Someone shouted and I was brought back to reality, as I crashed into a nearby palm tree. It happened so fast, I didn''t have time to respond.


    "What the hell is a palm tree doing in the middle of the road!?" More importantly, my head hurt: my nose did too. "Aahhh!" Not the manliest scream, but I couldn''t help myself.


    A chuckle came from behind me. "Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance yboy." And it also happened to be that one woman I did not want to meet. "Last night was quite fun. It''s been a while since somebody could turn up my temperature like that." Her voice took a seductive turn towards the end.


    Way to lead the misleading- whatever that meant.


    Just who did this redhead think she was? Just because she had a pretty face, anything went? It certainly didn''t, not with me.


    If my head wasn''t throbbing with pain I would have left a long while ago. I didn''t like this girl, not one bit. "Good for you. This hurts, so I might head to the nurse''s office. Bye?" I rubbed my head and took a running pose.


    "What, you hate me or something?" She giggled.


    "Yes. Are you a psychic or something?" Of course, I was just being sarcastic.


    But I was probably a bit too obvious in my approach.


    "No¡­yes¡­" She fidgeted a little. "I can only sense the color of one''s emotion." And why would she need to tell me that?


    "How amazing." There was no enthusiasm from me. "Sorry butst night, you tried to hurt me if not kill me. So I don''t really know what to think of you trying to even talk to me now."


    Besides, it just felt weird to be around her. And not to mention she called me a yboy when I didn''t even have a girlfriend. It really stung.


    "Oh no worries, it''s cool." She lifted her hands up and took a step back. "You see, it was just a family issue, so don''t concern yourself with it. At least that''s what I would have said, but you already n on to, don''t you? And that''s why I kind of got mad. So sorry." She wasn''t sorry at all. I couldn''t tell if she was mad, sad, or just ying around. Maybe a mix of all three?


    "No, not really. And yeah, no apologies necessary." That came out blunter than I thought. "It just felt wrong to hear a random stranger say bad things about someone I knew."


    "And how do you know her? Lovers?"


    "That''s none of your business and no."


    She burst outughing waving her hands around. "Amusing thing to say. You really are a yboy."


    "I''m no yboy. Anyway, you''re eating up my time, so bye."


    If she called me a yboy one more time, I was literally going tosh out at her, there was no doubt about it.


    It took her a minute to stopughing. "You should really focus on things in front. Who knows what might happen if you let your guard down." She gave me a smirk. This girl was bad news. No doubt about it. But seeing no response from me she sighed. "I suppose that''ll have to wait. I''m looking forward to seeing you in the tournament. And by the way, Ariel often creates trees in her sleep. So do try to keep your eyes open." She leftughing.


    "Who the hell is Ariel?" I cursed under my breath. And I sure hell wasn''t going to enter a tournament for someone else''s pleasure either. I had better things to worry about.


    ''But why palm trees?''


    Just when I thought the nuisance left me, on the other side of the field she started yelling. "The name''s Evengeline Rodwich. You may call me EVE." She winked and sent a floating kiss towards my direction.


    Frankly, I didn''t give a damn. So I turned around and just ran.


    ***


    Still, there weren''t many students out. The ones that were out, seemed like the athlete type.


    This time, I kept my eyes on the road: peeled! My head still throbbed, so I didn''t want another dose of pain.


    I jogged to the other side of the school and made a U-turn. I had plenty of time, but I couldn''t waste time just because of that either. Today was special and so I had to prepare for that specialty.


    Yesterday, was just a trial run, but from today on, I''d focus on my goals and hopefully if I persevered long enough, I''d be able to change and perhaps even achieve my goals.


    ***


    On my way back to the dorm, I had to make an abrupt stop. There was a forest in front of me. A literal, forest of palm trees. Some coconut and date trees were mixed in but most were just palm trees. It was just as dense as a tropical forest.


    "What the hell happened here?" I couldn''t stop my mouth. Things just weren''t believable anymore.


    "Probably some moron misusing their powers. Ariel maybe?" A reply came from my left side. The guy was pretty skinny and wore ck. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he could sleep a decade with all the tired energy he was letting out.


    "Well, I suppose you are right." That dreadful woman had said the same thing anyway.


    I actually wanted to meet this Ariel and pound some sense in her.


    "Hmm." He didn''t yawn, he didn''tin and he just stood there watching me.


    "What?" I asked.


    "Freshman?"


    "Yes?" I didn''t know why all of a sudden I was being interrogated, but something about this guy felt odd. Mysterious might have been the word.


    "Well, consider it a favor." He lifted one of his hands and waved horizontally.


    All the trees got shed in half the next second and all that was left were the trunks. Now, that was a useful ability.


    I wasn''t in favor of doing this to actual trees but maybe this wasn''t so bad. This probably wasn''t saving the environment but at least I wouldn''t have to run through a forest right now. But then again, maybe jumping on top of tree trunks wasn''t that great either.


    "Thanks, I guess?"


    The guy nodded. "Good night." He yawned, turned around, and left without a word.


    ''Night?''


    There were all sorts of people in this world, and what I just witnessed was a prime example of weird.


    But with that, I made it back to the dorm. It was seven-thirty and people were now everywhere.

 Chapter 14 - A Crumbling Start

    I was yet again reminded that this was in fact the second day of school. The students had partied till morning but it didn''t stop early birds like me to get up and create chaos within the dorm. Of course, most of them were sleeping when I''d woken up but now things were different.


    There were just too many students running to the washrooms. Some even had to take lines, long lines.


    ''I can always take a shower in the afternoon, right?''


    I did not want that question to be answered.


    ''Wee to dorm life Helio.''


    I smiled wryly and went back to my room. I hadn''t locked it before since our sleeping dorm senior was, well, sleeping.


    He was probably still sleeping, so I went in without any regard.


    My eyes almost popped out and I came to a standstill.


    There was a girl inside, a girl by the window, gazing out. When she noticed my gaze she turned around. There wasn''t a smile on her face and she looked kind of sad. Her sleeveless t-shirt fitted her loose and gave azy appearance. Mncholy would have been the perfect word.


    "You must be the junior?" She started. Her voice was clear and pretty: But there was exhaustion and sorrow mixed in that voice.


    "Ye-yes. And you are?"


    "Natasha. We met yesterday." She moved her hand forward like it was the most obvious thing to do: her inky ck hair was long and got in the way of her shoulder. Her expression hadn''t changed even a little. Did she feel no shame in admitting what she did?


    "Jintel, nice to meet you, too." I shook her hands and just stood there.


    She was beautiful yet her attitude was cold. There wasn''t any joying out of her. She wasn''t bashful either. It was as though, she''d given up on the world itself. "Strange name¡­" She pondered aloud.


    She ran quite fast yesterday though. And now she was acting like nothing was wrong, nothing was awkward. I was d she didn''t act differently though. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to act like this either.


    "I get that a lot." I wasn''t in a mood for arguing. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"


    "I came looking for Merin." Her expression still hadn''t changed.


    I looked at the bed, and the guy wasn''t there. "I guess he''s out?" I didn''t know.


    "It does seem that way, yes." She looked down and then sighed. "Perhaps this wasn''t a good idea." She didn''t bat an eye and just exited the room.


    "What ide-"


    She didn''t even listen to me and just left.


    I was dumbfounded but it wasn''t my problem.


    ***


    Eventually, our lovely dorm senior made his appearance. He was shirtless: he probably went out to take a shower.


    Didn''t look like he worked out: probably spent most of his time indoors.


    I told him about the girl.


    "Oh her, don''t worry. She''s like that. Though she''s still pretty hot underneath though." The guy started to fantasize. "If only she was mine." He kept strangling his body pillow like it was no big deal.


    So I just ignored him and got dressed instead. As I thought, I didn''t smell the most wonderful. So I showered myself with perfume, as I couldn''t take a shower to save my life.


    "Whoa! Whoa! Go easy!" Merin didn''t like this either.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll just buy a new one." Perfume was dirt cheap and my school life depended on this. "Say, it is always this busy in morning? When do you think I should shower?"


    I could basically buy at least three bottles of perfume for the price of a single bottle of hot chocte, so even if I showered in perfume- which was a bad idea- it wasn''t going to cripple my bank ount- at least not severely.


    "Hmm¡­" He looked up at the ceiling. "As long as you can get up at six, you''re good. That reminds me howe you didn''t shower even after getting up that early?"


    I didn''t reply. I didn''t have a reply. I wanted to shower after finishing my jog. And besides, I thought no one would wake up.


    But how the hell did this guy know?


    The guy gave me a smug look like I was some sort of naughty kid or something. Was he really not an asshole?


    ***


    I still didn''t know what I''d do about food. When I first thought about living in the dorms, I never really thought much about food. I thought it won''t matter. Just how dumb was I?


    "By the way, what about food?"


    "What about it?" Merin asked. He was reading something on his Holo projector. He didn''t even look at me.


    "I mean where do you get it and where''s the cheapest but the best?"


    He stopped in his tracks and nced at me and then turned to his things again. I could swear he was thinking something in the lines of ''what the hell are you smoking?'' "You might want to try the dorm meals. They''re the cheapest but they taste terrible." Well, at least he started talking. "The cafeteria offers better food but the prices aren''t that great. Andstly, you can always buy things from a convenience store for cheap prices but they are terrible for health. The decision is yours." He gave me a thorough exnation. But somehow it felt like he was enjoying saying all that stuff more than actually giving me information. "This is actually getting a lot interesting." His voice was barely a whisper. Just what was he reading with so much affection?


    I actually wanted a Holo for myself too. And this just reminded me how poor I was.


    Sigh.


    "Would not eating, kill me?" I whispered to myself. I knew the answer but who knew eating could be such a drag?


    "Yes, yes it would." And apparently the dorm senior had heard that.


    I scowled and after getting everything ready, left the room just after nine.


    Merin didn''t really say anything.


    ***


    I was hungry and I knew it.


    I had to eat something and I had to eat it fast. The convenience store food would have been cheap and unhealthy but even so, I''d have chosen it. Unfortunately, the one closest would have taken a bit too long to make it. Besides, I''d had to get to ss before ten. Meaning, life was a drag.


    So instead of wandering aimlessly, I gave myself a mental lecture and bought some juice from a vending machine. Better than nothing, right? Right!?


    ***


    I made it to ss at exactly nine-thirty, sipping through all the mango juice: it wasn''t bad, it wasn''t great either. Half of the ss was empty and the first bench was free as usual.


    All eyes were on me as I took my seat. No one really said anything but they were all ring rather nonchntly. What was their problem? If they had any issues with me, couldn''t they have said something to me directly?


    "Looks like someone''s famous." The voice came from directly behind me.


    "I don''t really care all that much about fame." I turned around with my poker face. "But I don''t think I saw you during the assessment."


    Marg was behind me, as cold as ever. "I didn''t need to take that test. Don''tpare me to youmoners." I never knew she could crack jokes.


    "What are you, royalty or something?" I said, dramatically. I did chuckle a little.


    "Actually yes, I am a long-lost princess." She puffed up her modest chest.


    The way she said it with a straight face without flinching, made me crack up. In fact, this was probably the first time Iughed this much aftering to this ce. This was also the first time, I saw herugh. Her smile was pretty. If only she wasn''t some wearing that expression always.


    "Anyway, it is true that I am a noble though. And because of my ow-" She cleared her throat. "Because of my father, they let me in without anything."


    I already knew she was pretty capable, so even if she did take the test, she probably would have gotten in regardless.


    Then again I didn''t hear if anyone had failed the assessment or not.


    "Sounds handy. But since when did this country start producing nobles?" As far as I knew, this country favored democracy over monarchy. Actually, there might not have been a single noble left anymore, at least to my knowledge.


    Obviously, for a second I forgot that this ce, I was talking about, was in fact my own birth country- Canada. And currently, my family was living in Ennd. And this academy was on a literal ind in international waters.


    So yeah, I just screwed up.


    "How rude! Did no one tell you that you''re too blunt?"


    I grimaced. Unfortunately, a lot of people had. "Sorry. I forgot I''m not in my country anymore." I tried to chuckle but it wasn''t working.


    "But as you''d imagine, I''m not from this country." Marg continued. "I hail from Bahrain. It''s a country to the far north."


    Honestly, I''d never heard of the country''s name before. "Ah, yes, yes, that one."


    "Yes, and as you know we are famous for-" Marg went on ranting about how great her country was. I didn''t even know the name let alone the country.


    ''Someone end this already.''


    This chat was getting way too awkward for me to bear. And as if to answer my prayers the ss teacher entered a minuteter. And someone came along with her: he seemed awfully young to be a teacher.


    "Good morning everyone. I''m sure you all have your questions but first I''d like to introduce you to the lightsaber club''s captain." She smiled. "Whether I like it or not," She cursed under her breath but smiled even more brightly.


    I was pretty sure, everyone heard that.


    "Morning." The boy began in a stout voice. The earlierment didn''t faze him. He had a pretty fair build and he looked taller than me: I wasn''t jealous- no, maybe a little. "I''m Johnathan, you may call me John. The neer''s tournament would begin in earnest next week and so to practice we''re recruiting new faces. This year I heard there are quite a few talented students among you. Therefore even internationals might not be a dream." His voice might have made even certain politicians ashamed. "So I''d expect new faces after sses."


    He was staring at all of us but mostly at Marg. I guess Marg was famous. I got some staring business too, but I just ignored him.


    I didn''t have much interest in all these things anyway.


    Most of the students were looking at him with sparkles in their eyes though. Was I missing something? What was so great about this tournament anyway? What was so great about swinging around hot stuff that could very well kill you?


    "Furthermore-" The boy tried to continue. "The prizes-"


    "Let''s leave it at that." Miss Maire''s smile was still intact. But maybe she wasn''t so happy.


    Just when something piqued my interest! I sighed inside.


    He took a step back. "Very well." He almost seemed a bit afraid now.


    He left.


    Was Miss Maire, scary or something? Surely, didn''t feel that way to me.


    And so, sses began with a dy of ten minutes.


    ''But what about the prizes!?''

 Chapter 15 - Maybe Blowing Up A City Or Two, Wouldn’t Be That Bad, Right?

    "¡­ Nowadays, we call these animals, Mutors. In the past, they hunted us to near extinction. But over time we turned the tables and now they are the endangered species." Miss Maire was giving us a brief history of Mutors. "Though they were constantly evolving and new ones are being born as we speak."


    When the great crash happened a hundred years ago, humans weren''t the only things that mutated. Animals, bacteria, and even viruses mutated: Some animals became friendlier while others, not so much. The ones that became hostile and attacked humans were dubbed as Mutors.


    These Mutors really liked to feast on human meat. Of course, we returned the favor by hunting them to extinction but that was a different story.


    "In order to maintain bnce our specialized program, the program for explorers had been created. Now, though the program only made it here only three years ago, do note that it was first poprized thirty years ago in Canada¡­."


    Didn''t expect my birthce toe up like that.


    She went on about explorers. Basically, this was a government job quite like the army. Except, this job-focused more on exploration than killing. The main job of an explorer was to report the sighting of a Mutor to the army. Of course, this had its risks but the rewards were also lucrative: Fame, glory, and above all - money.


    Bing an Explorer was my dream. I''d met two explorers before and they''d saved my life. Ever since then, it''d been my dream. Making money was also one of my dreams, so this kind of worked for me in more than one way.


    "How pointless." A hushed whisper! The voice came from directly behind me.


    I didn''t need to look behind to know that this voice belonged to Marg. Of course, I didn''t have the luxury or the desire to correct her. After all, everyone had their own sense of worth.


    Our peace and quiet depended on explorers, so of course, they weren''t pointless. But that was just my opinion and I knew not many shared my views.


    "I''m sure many of you wish to be explorers but you can''t take the test before graduation. And only the top twenty percent would graduate, so I''d say study hard." Miss Maire''s attitude changed a little and her smile was nowhere to be seen. "Now then brats. Now that all that crap is over. I''d like to reintroduce myself." And then all of a sudden her attitude took a hundred and eighty degrees turn.


    All our attention was on Miss Maire. Did I mishear something? Did all of us mishear it?


    I sure hope so.


    A wicked smile reced the calm kind smile that was on her face all this time. It was like she was a different person. "I''m Maire Gargina, and the woman you''ve been talking to was Maire Incarcia, my other half. I''ve been charged with your sorry asses for an entire year. I don''t care if you were the biggest fish in your puny vige or something. In here, you are all the same. If you can''t do anything to my standards, then I''d send you home packing, long before you can even dream of the exams." She gazed at our reactions and smiled to herself. "My other half would make temporary rankings of you and give you the detailster. But for now, I need all your losers to make sure you don''t disappoint me."


    So basically this woman had two personalities?


    I didn''t like the attitude, but I didn''t mind either. The lesspletion for me, the better. I already knew what I was doing and I already knew it wasn''t going to be easy. But that didn''t stop me from dreaming and that sure hell won''t stop me from trying.


    If only twenty percent would graduate, then I''d just had to make sure I was among them.


    "What are you smirking at brat!?" Miss Maire looked at me.


    I gulped and so did the students around me. "No-not-"


    Before I could even say something, she pointed her finger at me and a momentter, Marg started to float. "Don''t go thinking everything will be alright, just because you''re some hot shot''s daughter." Miss Maire''s eyes gleamed in a fiery light.


    I didn''t know why, but I sighed in relief. I could say the same for the kids around me, sadly not for Marg.


    Marg kept floating and the ss resumed.


    The second half of the ss felt like it went on forever. The whole ss was too quiet.


    But eventually, it ended and Marg came down, sat on her seat, and just stared at the bench. She was quiet, too quiet.


    ***


    We had about ten minutes before the next ss.


    "You okay?"


    "Yeah." She didn''t look me in the eye and the conversation just died.


    So I turned around and surveyed the surroundings. Yet again, it looked like people were paying too much attention to me.


    "So, why am I famous again?" I asked myself.


    It really wasn''t that much of a big deal but people were ring too much at me. It just made me feel a little ufortable.


    "My sister is supposed to be one of the lightsaber club''s aces. So when you fought her without a sword and didn''t get hurt, people assumed you were quite strong." Marg spoke reluctantly. She didn''t want to talk about her family.


    "I''m pretty sure, people didn''t just get jealous of that and that''s why they''re ring at me like that. Right?" It seemed ridiculous but there was a chance.


    "Yes and no." She looked straight into my eyes. "There''s a rumor that Eve likes you. Hence the jealousy from the boys." Marg said it with a straight face. "And I''m sure the girls are looking at you with different intentions."


    It wasn''t all that bad news. But I still didn''t want to be famous. I had no desire to. "Well, it''s just a rumor. And it''s not like this is a movie anyway. " I turned again. This just seemed more and more stupid.


    Marg didn''t reply and just went about her things.


    The next ss began and I learned some biology. Who knew nts needed three different colored lights to produce food?


    ***


    After three sses, lunch break was announced and the ssroom nearly halved.


    I still had half of the juice remaining, so it wasn''t a big deal. Besides, I didn''t have much money, to begin with.


    I did have enough to eat lunch but since I was destined to spend them on chocte milk and bread, I didn''t bother spending them on anything else.


    Marg stood up and left. She didn''t even talk to me on her own ord. Actually, now that I thought about it, she didn''t talk with anyone.


    "Spoiled, isn''t she?" A skinny guy approached me. He was tanned and looked awfully skinny. I didn''t like that condescending smirk.


    "You are?"


    He made a small bow. What was he, a royalty or something? "Robert. I''m your ssmate," he said, proudly.


    Yeah, no shit.


    "Apparently, that''s apparent. Or are you trying to act funny? Because if you are, that''s not funny." I did chuckle though for different reasons.


    "You don''t hold anything back do you?" He flinched a step backward. His tiger-like round ears twitched a little. This was the first time I saw those kinds of ears in over a year now.


    "Why should I?"


    The guy chuckled. "Anyway, you''re going to check out the clubter, right?"


    "Not really interested. I''ve better things to do." Why would I voluntarily blow up a whole section of the town anyway?


    Besides, I probably knew more sword skills than anyone else here anyway.


    How I knew them, I wasn''t sure off. My grandfather had taught me things but I didn''t really remember much about him. Maybe I was too small at the time?


    But I was certain, my skills were good enough as they were. Sometimes I got a bit too cocky, but oh well. That was just a personal problem anyway.


    "Too bad. With your skills, things would have been different."


    "Well don''t overestimate me from rumors."


    "I was therest night. So-" SO he knew if I could fight or not.


    "So don''t overestimate me from just your own memory either." Of course, it didn''t matter to me.


    "Selfish, aren''t you?" He chuckled some more. I didn''t know why but I got the feeling this guy hated me or something.


    The bell rang before he could say anything else.


    He looked out the window. "We''ll see ya in the field."


    "Yeah."


    I actually hadn''t seen this guy at the assessment either. Or it could have been possible that I just missed him. I didn''t care though.


    The first half of the sses were supposed to be just lectures but the second half of the sses were all physical sses. I had a tough time ahead of me, but at least I''d get things done. And perhaps even learn new things.


    "By the way? You sure you don''t want to take part? I mean they have this huge cash prize." The guy was serious. And for some reason he wanted me to take part. Wait, or was it that he wanted to fight me?


    But I was definitely excited now." Tell me more!" I grabbed his shoulder. Maybe blowing up a city or two wouldn''t be that bad, right?

 Chapter 16 - Fishing For Trouble

    I didn''t have much time left before the practical sses. So we had to make this quick.


    "Just give me the numbers." I was most definitely interested in the amount.


    Yeah, I was probably only interested in the numbers and nothing else. I had skills and if I could use them to earn some cash to buy me chocte, everything was cool! Too cool!


    To the passerby kids we might have looked like two dudes dealing drugs in the corner of the ssroom, but who cared?


    "First-prize is 100 gold and sec-" Robert went on about the prizes and how much I''d get.


    Basically, even if I''d won the veryst spot- the tenth spot, I''d have enough money tost ten whole days in luxury. As for the first prize, a full year: it was like one of those dreams of mine to swim in a pool of chocte was just a step away. But that one step was basically winning the tournament and ranking first in the entire world: didn''t seem all that easy for just a step, did it?


    All this, just from onepetition? Who needed to study hard when they could be earning so much money just from being active? Well, even so, I still couldn''t give up on my studies. What if I didn''t make it and also failed the tests? So, I couldn''t give up on either, no sir!


    Besides, I was painfully aware of my own shorings, and not to mention I couldn''t wield a lightsaber even if I wanted to, at least not while also using my powers. So I had toe up with something. I did have a n though.


    "But personally I don''t think it''s possible to rank that high. With your skills, you might get into the top ten but even with months of training that might be troublesome." Robert did seem skeptical about it. Wasn''t he the guy who told me I had a shot? Why was he backpedaling now!


    "Yeah, no worries." I now had a good grasp of the thing. I didn''t know the rules and I didn''t know anything about thepetition. Besides, actually not blowing up the arena was a good thing to think about too. But I knew the most important thing. The prizes: so yeah, definitely all the info I needed. "I''ll head to the clubter. See ya there." I let him go from the corner. I still got stares from the guys around me.


    One particr whisper about me swinging this way and that way, made me question their sanity but I let it slide.


    "Right on!" Robert fist-bumped with me. I didn''t see why''d he''d think of doing something so stupid but didn''t see any problem with that. After all, he''d just provided me with great info.


    ***


    Practical sses- the sses of practicality and also the sses of wasting all your time was what we had next. Didn''t we already demonstrate our powers? So why again? Couldn''t they have just given us jobs already? I guess not.


    "Now, I want all of you to form groups of three and get three tasks done. There are thirty of you, so that should make ten teams. Good luck, you''ll need it." We had an instructor change. This guy didn''t really strike me as anything other than ordinary. His ck suit did make him stand out a little but that was basically it.


    The three tasks he talked about were basically just locating, killin- I mean securing, and finally returning with an actual Mutor. Though these things went almost extinct, nowadays the government had domesticated versions of them in the training grounds for exercise purposes.


    And since new ones asionally popped up in the wild, everything was good.


    But then there was the question. Why the hell did we have to team up? Were the teachers really incapable of understanding that this was the second day of school and we didn''t know anybody?


    It was more like I didn''t know anybody.


    "Hey, do you wann-" I couldn''t even reach the guys.


    Everybody I eyeballed was already in teams.


    "Hey, Rober-"


    "See yater." Robert was in a team as well.


    In the end, I didn''t get to pick anyone and ended up with the leftover two. Apparently, two other souls were left behind. It seemed that I wasn''t the only one nobody wanted to team up with. I didn''t like the other two sorry faces either, though.


    One of them was obvious- Marg. The other, not so much. It was Clyde: Clyde Angelmen. Where was he all this time, anyway? I hadn''t seen Clyde in ss nor anywhere else. And here he was looking all pretty in his ck leather jacket.


    ***


    The training room: a big spacious room with different artificial climate zones. Byw, every school had to have at least one training room. Our school was no exception. In fact, this room was probably one of the biggest in the world with a radius of two kilometers. Of course, the biggest in the world had at least ten times bigger training room than this, but that was a different story.


    "Let''s find a Mutor and get out of here." Marg didn''t want to be here. I couldn''t me her. I didn''t either.


    But this was a good opportunity to learn how explorers did their work. Explorers also had to work in teams and sometimes they had to fight the Mutors. So this really was a good opportunity. I still didn''t like this though.


    "But damn, this forest is big." I looked around in amazement. The forest in front of me was big, no doubt: the trees were twice as tall as me and packed close. I didn''t see any bugs in the out and there weren''t anyrge animals apart from maybe cows and pigs. It was the first zone out of the other six.


    "Yes and getting a Mutor within this space would be rare." Clyde''s eyes were closed. I guess he was focusing on locating Mutors. Maybe having him wasn''t such a bad thing. "There are three pretty girls over there in that direction. Looks like they are in a tough fight. What say we head over there, save the damsels in distress and apany them to their rooms for the night?" It was almost as though the guy just wrote a poem in under a minute. And did he seriously think he was fooling anybody with that smirk of his?


    I sighed. I might have expected too much of the man. "Anyway, got any Mutors for us?"


    Clyde could very well listen to everything within the school boundary. So it was possible things would work out. As long as he wasn''t being a total creep.


    "Something is interfering with the waves. My range is limited." He focused again. "There are a few here but most of them are taken. If we head to the south, things might be better." His powers still seemed pretty useful though.


    "Alright then, south it is." I looked at Marg and she nodded.


    "Wait, we''re not heading over to the girls?" Clyde looked at me with pleading eyes. "I mean-"


    ''Yeah, we know what you mean.''


    "Think about it, what if they think you''re just after their bodies and instantly reject you? Plus there''s a chance they might spread rumors about you too? So isn''t it best we leave them alone for now? If we win this, they wille to us!" Of course, most of what I said was nothing but my imagination and a way to deceive our Angelmen friend.


    "Fair enough." He red ahead. "You''re right, brother! Let''s win this and the hearts of all girls!"


    I almost felt bad when I saw that innocent determination in his eyes. Just how badly did he want to getid?


    But that did make me wonder. We had a pretty girl with us too, namely Marg. So howe Clyde never even looked twice at Marg?


    I went close to his ears and whispered. "Say, what about Marg?" Of course, I wasn''t implying anything bad. It was just a question. I also made sure Marg herself didn''t hear anything.


    He walked ahead. "Not my type." That was the first time I saw him be so blunt and emotionless at the same time. "Not a t earther."


    "Is something wrong with him?" Marg whispered.


    I really, really wished she didn''t hear that.


    "I have no idea." Yup, I had no idea.


    ***


    After walking for roughly ten minutes or so, we arrived at the border of the forest and the start of the dessert. A frozen dessert of snow that is.


    There was snow everywhere and it was freezing.


    "You sure there''s something here?" I had to yell. The wind was blowing hard.


    "Yeah, the strongest one''s up ahead!" Clyde yelled back.


    ''Wait, the strongest one?''


    Oh boy. "You''re not serious are you?" I yelled again.


    "Sorry, but this is the best this ce has to offer. I know it''s a small fish and isn''t even worth our time, but let''s not hate it too much." Apparently, our Angelmen friend was thicker than he looked.


    "This doesn''t look good." Marg was shivering and her arms were wrapped around her chest.


    "Ah-huh-" It sure didn''t.


    But apparently, it was toote toin. We kept walking and without a doubt, reached arge entrance: the entrance to a cave.


    "It''s in there!" Clyde shouted.


    The wind had picked up a few moments ago and now it was more than just freezing. Clyde had used some of the energy around us to produce heat but that wasn''t enough when we didn''t even have any proper gear. So even a Mutor filled cave didn''t really seem all that bad. At least there''d be less cold.


    Our steps reverberated as we marched deep within.


    "This doesn''t seem that bad," Marg said.


    The cave was moderate-sized and the ceiling was high enough. So this didn''t seem all that bad. And the temperature was quite warm too. Which meant the Mutors inside were living a life of luxury too.


    But it was strange, the temperature was toofortable.


    "It''s up ahead." Clyde was in the lead. I figured he''d be able to cope with anything so he was best to lead. Besides, I didn''t have any ns to be Mutor food anyway.


    The three of us prepared ourselves. We didn''t have any weapons as it was forbidden. This test was to show that we had enough guts and powers to ovee challenges and to also establish our physical capabilities. I didn''t like the team mechanic but it wasn''t so bad.


    And with that thought, we reached a small pond the size of an elephant and came to an abrupt stop. My heart felt like it wanted to pop out.


    "Am I the only one seeing a frigging seal?" I shivered. I might have thought a lot of things and who knew all of them were just in stupid?


    The seal was bigger than the whole and it was swimming rather nicely underneath the water and often poking its head up to eat us.


    "If you mean a seal ten times taller than you that has veryrge fangs and is looking to eat us then yes, you''re not alone," Marg, to my regret, confirmed it. I wished she hadn''t. And why the hell was she being so damn urate about it?


    "Yeah, it''s a shame. If we let her run free for maybe another week or two she might have been a bit stronger." Clyde closed his eyes, sighed, and walked closer.


    "You-" My breath stopped. I wanted to set Clyde straight but I was a tadte. Apparently, he wasn''t here anymore.


    Clyde Angelmen was no more. He was eaten alive and whole and now within the seal''s stomach as the seal made its sweet deration of war with a loud roar,ing up by breaking the whole floor.


    I almost fell in the cold freezing water!


    "Oh shit!" Marg''s scream brought me back to reality.


    Shit indeed.

 Chapter 17 - Come Again?

    Our overpowered friend just got eaten and now we were next.


    "I''ll teleport, just get close to me! Quick!" Marg was calmer than I thought she''d be. But her voice sure wasn''t.


    "We can''t leave him!" I yelled back, hysterically. Though our time was short, I did want to respect him by carrying back his body at least.


    With an exasperated sigh, she red. "Well, I can''t fight without any weapons so st that thing with gamma or something." She still wanted to teleport.


    "What if he''s still-" I didn''t get to finish.


    The seal roared louder than I thought and justunched itself straight at me. It almost looked like it was in pain. But it also looked like it wanted to eat me.


    "Oh boy." I didn''t have time to worry about others. If I didn''t act, I''d end up just like Clyde.


    I focused my breathing and waited. If I could focus enough gamma on a single point then heating up some atoms of a seal and ending its life shouldn''t have been a problem.


    But as I was about to do so, a hand popped out of the seal''s stomach with a crunch and the seal looked back in horror. I too looked in horror and disgust.


    Red liquid oozed out of its stomach and the poor thing groaned. Its groans were loud and clear for a minute: Even I felt pity for it. After that, our Angelmen friend tore through the monster and made his appearance yet again.


    Should I be relieved or disgusted?


    I couldn''t pick.


    What the hell was wrong with this guy, anyway? He just had to get eaten and then he also just had to tear through things.


    "EWUUU!" Marg wasn''t thrilled to see this.


    I wasn''t either. "So you''re alive?" It wasn''t a question but I felt stupid not to ask.


    "Yeah, it kind of sucked. I''ve to take a shower." He was literally bathed in blood and other sorts of liquid I''d rather not say.


    He walked out of the seal and the seal breathed itsst. I really felt bad for the thing. Given the chance, it would have surely eaten us all, but then again, we weren''t doing justice to it either. Maybe I was just being hypocritical.


    "Uh-huh!" There was no doubt about it. "So how are we going to go back again?" I asked. This seal was big and we needed serious muscle power to take it back. Besides, walking through the blizzard was going to be a chore too.


    I looked at Marg and she winced.


    "I think I can manage but-" She winced harder. "It''ll be tricky and we''d have to leave one of you behind."


    I was pretty sure she was just saying that because didn''t want to be near Clyde.


    Now, I winced. "You know-"


    "I wouldn''t mind. Besides, I have to back and take a shower first. I''ll let you two handle the instructor." Clyde backed out. "Instead of flocking to me, girls would just run away if they smelt something as vile as this," he said under his breath.


    I really wanted to thank him but considering all of this happened because of him, I figured it was best to just leave him be. Besides, the guy wasn''t the least bit concerned about anything other than girls.


    "Alright, let''s go." I really wanted to get out of this scary ce anyway. So maybe being a little selfish wasn''t so bad.


    I and Marg went closer to the seal. "This thing won''te alive would it?" I spoke to no one in particr. I''d heard of such Mutors which were basically immortal. They''de alive no matter how many times you killed them.


    There were even immortal people. I had no wish to meet either type.


    "Oh don''t worry about it. I made sure to squash everything inside." Clyde was paying attention to his leather jacket but his witty remarks weren''t really helping.


    I grimaced subconsciously. This guy was brutal. "You sure you don''t mind?" I asked out of concern. Concern, for my own wellbeing that is.


    "Yeah, no prob." He waved us bye.


    I closed my eyes as I stood next to Marg. Clyde was overpowered and considerate: kind of. Maybe I should have treated him better. And I would have too if he wasn''t a drop-dead wannabe womanizer.


    "You can open them now," Marg whispered and we were right back at the entrance. "They''ll take it from here." she pointed.


    Teachers and students alike came running to see our catch. Apparently, this seal was a big deal.


    "Whoa! Well doneds!" Some of the teachers were really going crazy. "She was the leader of the seal pack!"


    ''What is a seal pack!?''


    They were even treating Marg as ad, meaning they really had gone crazy.


    Eventually, the crowd cleared and our instructor came to us. "Well done, but where''s Clyde?"


    I looked at Marg and she just looked at the other direction. This wasn''t helping. So I sighed and sucked up. "He stayed behind so we could transport this quicker. He should be back shortly." Of course, I made half of it up but it was better than saying he just wanted to take a shower so he could impress gals.


    The instructor brought out a small Holoscreen. "Let''s see Team Cylde¡­. 95 points." He announced the points and apparently we''d gotten the highest marks.


    I did like it but¡­ since when was this Team Clyde? No one told me, he was the leader!? Why!?


    I saw the other kids getting graded too but apparently, the second-highest was just shy of eighty. Meaning, we were definitely top of the ss. It wasn''t that surprising though. I mean all of us had whacky powers, so maybe that''s why?


    There were an awful lot of scores below twenty though. I guess Mutors came in all shapes and sizes. I even saw a cat out there. I definitely felt bad for the cat, but this was life and death we were talking about. Failing a test meant my support was gone and I''d have to die. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration.


    "Alright people, get close," the instructor shouted. "This was supposed to be a one-week thing. But I kind of finished grading all of you today. So you can take the week off of practical sses."


    Maybe this guy wasn''t so bad. I was basically free this week then. Everyone was relieved, myself included. This was the first week of the course and we were free. Nothing could have made me happier.


    But then he had to open his mouth again. "So be sure to turn in your homework by next Friday. And here-" He handed over some papers to everyone. I hadn''t seen actual printed paper in years. Books these days had holographic ink anyway, so this was rare. It sure didn''t ease my mind though.


    I might have misjudged the instructor. He wasn''t some cool dude. He was just another dumb dick who just wanted toze around.


    Sigh.


    The homework was roughly twenty hours of work. Today was Saturday so I basically had a whole week toplete it. It wasn''t a big deal but it was surely going to kill a lot of my time. The students behind me must have felt the same.


    With a solid grin, the instructor left us hanging.


    "What''d I miss?" And with that, our Angelmen friend was back again. He looked pretty clean too, not to mention happy.


    "That was fast." Marg made a muffled remark.


    "Nothing." I didn''t care anymore anyway. "We just have more work."

 Chapter 18 - Does Everyone Have Hidden Motives?

    With everything over, I searched for the lightsaber club. Maybe this wasn''t the best time or the best thing to do, after all the cold treatment I gave that captain guy, but it sure didn''t stop me. Who cared if I suffered some humiliation? As long as I could get some money and reach my goal, everything was fine by me: perhaps even begging to get entry. Okay maybe not, but I sure wasn''t going to give up on my dream of swimming in a pool of chocte.


    But then there was the problem. Just where the hell was this club? I searched the whole building but I never found a club that had lightsabers hanging around. I even checked the court but nothing. Just nothing.


    "What are you doing?"


    On my travels across the glob- I mean school, I finally found Selene. More like she found me.


    "Do you know where the lightsabers club is?" I was more than just lost.


    "Yeah, why? I thought you-"


    "I kind of changed my mind, lead the way." I grabbed onto both of her shoulders. I wasn''t about to let go anytime soon.


    Selene nodded and led me. I did let go of her, but maybe I spooked her a little?


    She didn''t seem the least convinced though. But she did stay quiet, awfully quiet. Had something happened to her?


    "What''s wrong?" I asked.


    "Nothing. It''s just up ahead that fence." She pointed at the small hill beyond the fence.


    We walked out of the school building.


    "But isn''t that?" The fence was the boundary of the second school building. Which meant that part shouldn''t have been the ce for any clubs.


    "Lightsaber club is the biggest club. Hence it''s over there." Her voice didn''t show any enthusiasm. Maybe something did happen to her. "Even a year ago it was inside the school building but¡­ I guess things change."


    We passed the fence. There was grass everywhere. Birds chirped in the sky and it strangely felt rural to me. There was a wooden structure in the middle of all this. It looked rather primitive.


    "The members built that from the ground up. One of them had the power to control wood. So it''s not as weak as you''d think." Selene exined before I could even ask. "Oh, and they have permission so don''t worry."


    "And you know that because?" I asked.


    She tried to answer and her lips moved, but the words never came out.


    "Well, well, well, look who''s here." One of the students came outside the structure and grinned at us. I didn''t recognize him but Selene did.


    I guess there were all sorts of people on earth but did this guy really needed to grin like that? It was disgusting with all that saliva. Besides, what was with all the wrinkles?


    "I''ll take my leave now." Selene and the guy might have had some history.


    The guy grinned wider and my gag reflex wanted to make an appearance. "Running back again? Is running all you can do? Oh sorry, you prefer climbing rocks now." The guyughed hysterically. He pissed me off but there wasn''t anything I could do about it.


    Selene clicked her tongue and turned around. She had no intention of staying.


    The guy snorted. "Yeah run back home. Oh wait, you don''t have a home." His nted eyes were filled with malice and he looked like a typical thug.


    Now he seriously pissed me off. But I still stayed quiet.


    Selene turned around again and just stared at the guy. She had no emotion to show off to a guy like this." Sorry moron but I don''t take taunts from underlings like you with any seriousness."


    "U-underling! Then how about you beat me!" Yeah, the guy was a muscle brain.


    There were always guys like this around us. Just what was his problem? Did he think he could deal with everything with a fight?


    "I won''t have to. Even this guy, the guy who doesn''t even give a damn about sabers could whoop your ass." Selene looked at me, way too confident.


    Was she out of her mind? Why did she think I was quiet all this time? Couldn''t she take a hint?


    The guy snorted some more. Was his nose okay? "Yeah right. I bet he doesn''t even know how to hold a sword."


    Well, he wasn''t totally wrong here. I mean I did know how to use a real sword but that was because my grandfather forced me to learn it. But I never wielded lightsabers so he wasn''t wrong.


    "Even so, he can beat you." Selene proudly puffed her chest. What was she, my mother? Even my mother wasn''t this confident about me.


    "Fine! But what if he loses?"


    They were seriously discussing my chances of winning here without even looking at me. Shouldn''t they have first consulted me on whether I wanted to fight or not? Did my opinion even matter?


    "I''ll dance in my underwear in the spring festival." Selene was dead serious. Her smile didn''t falter.


    The guy snorted again. Seriously, what was his problem? "Sounds fair enough. In that case, I''ll dance around naked."


    Just the mere thought was enough to make me want to puke.


    Yeah, seeing Selene dance in her underwear might not have been that bad, but I seriously didn''t want to see this guy naked, no sir!


    "I''m pretty sure that''d be a punishment to the audience but sure why not." Selene didn''t back down. Her attitude was a lot different from what she showed off till now.


    "Umm¡­ excuse me?" I lifted my hand up. Both of them looked at me. "I actually haven''t said yes you know."


    Selene spread her hand over my shoulder and came close. "Well, I showed you around and led you to this club. You owe me one right?" She had this devilish grin I only saw on my sister''s face. "So? You know¡­."


    ''This was your n all along?''


    Was she out of her mind? Most definitely. Was everybody this crafty around me?


    "You sure about this? I mean you''re a girl you know?" I had nothing to lose from this. So I wasn''tpletely against fighting either. Besides, if I won, I''d probably be treated better and it''d make all the process easier. So I had my own motives.


    If just a newbie first year casually beats his seniors, yeah I''d be getting loads of attention but at least my joining process would be smoother.


    "Yeah, I have faith in you. It''s not a big deal if you lose either. I''ll just beat the shit out of him too," she whispered, with a smile.


    ''Him too? Hey!''


    ''That''s not what I meant.''


    ''Please don''t have faith in me.'' I couldn''t say it out loud though.

 Chapter 19 - A Deceitful Beginning

    "I have to warn you. I''m pretty good at this. So you better pick a good sword." The guy was walking throughout the room and lecturing me. Actually, he was being awfully thorough with his warnings.


    What the hell did I get myself into?


    Apparently, aftering inside the club room, everyone understood the situation and they just agreed to let us duel. I got a feeling that all of this was scripted but I let it slide.


    Selene and I were going to have a pretty long detailed discussion after this. And just where the hell had she ran away, after making me go through this?


    There were a lot of faces here that I never saw before. Come to think of it, I didn''t interact with the seniors ever. I only knew a few of them. I didn''t even know people from my own grade.


    There were only two faces here that I recognized. One I''d never talked to before. The other? I didn''t care about: Robert.


    Robert was sitting in a corner smirking at me but I just ignored him.


    There were all sorts of whispersing my way. The captain was out and so were most of the top members. But the remaining ones did treat me pretty well. So well, that it started giving me a lot of suspicions.


    "Which models are you mostfortable with? We even have top-ss models but you''ll have to bepatible to some extent to use them. We can do some synergy tests-" One of the seniors was showing me swords.


    The floor was made of wood and creaked every now and then. So walking around was pretty scary.


    Apparently, I could choose any sword and they were even willing to let me use valuable top-ss swords. Unfortunately, I wasn''t interested.


    "Can I get two base models? And it wouldn''t be a problem if they blow up, right? Oh, and is there anyone here who can create a barrier to prevent any unwanted explosions from creating too much damage?" It was probably a bit toote to ask these questions but I didn''t have much of a choice.


    "Blow up?" The senior''s face went a little pale. "I think we can arrange a barrier." She was chuckling a bit too much. Had I said something funny?


    After a few minutes, the captain came out. "Alright, I''ll exin the rules. There will be no injuring your opponent. Mild bruises are unavoidable but purposely trying to cripple your opponent would mean disqualification."


    I had no idea how the captain knew about this duel without even being here but it made me even more suspicious about this thing being scripted.


    So I have to hold back?


    If they could arrange a barrier then that meant I could fight freely. But if injuring my opponent was out of the question, then that meant I''d be at a very big disadvantage. But then again this rule was probably created to ensure I didn''t get injured on my first battle. Just how much were they underestimating me?


    I thought hard on it. "Would creating long term health hazards also be treated as a-"


    "We would appreciate if you didn''t give him cancer."


    Apparently, my powers were famous.


    "Alright, I''ve already got the permission to use the court. All that''s left is to get a judge." Selene made her appearance: she was sweaty. She must have been running around a lot. I really wanted to have a word with herter though.


    "I can be a judge but you might think of me being bias. I''ll ask the disciplinarymittee if they could spare anyone." The captain sure seemed enthused enough. But I never said I''d consider him biased. There was something bigger at y here. Something that I still couldn''t understand yet.


    I did not like where this was going, though.


    I initially thought this was going to be some sort of mock battle and it''ll go down quickly. And since Selene kind of set me up, losing wasn''t a bad idea either. But this sure wasn''t any of those sorts. This became a lot bigger deal than I ever thought. And to a point, where losing would mean my name being stered as a loser throughout the entire school for a few months: at least, that''s the vibe the seniors were giving me. It wasn''t a pleasant feeling.


    "He-here." The senior gave me two ordinary sabers. They were used and looked like they could crumble if used a bit roughly. Perfect!


    "You sure you want those? I mean my BExcalibur can cut through them like butter you know." I actually still didn''t know the guy''s name.


    "Who names their sword BExcaliber? And are you sure you want to use it? It sure looks pretty expensive. So wouldn''t it be bad if it breaks or something?" I was giving him a fair warning. I wasn''t some guy who''d wreck people''s things without a warning anyway. Though this was probably one of the vaguest things I said all day.


    "No worries. She''s pretty specked." Apparently, the guy really loved his sword.


    Too bad.


    "Alright let''s go." The captain led us out of the club room, through the fence, to the court.


    There were people here. A lot of them. I even saw some teachers dressed in disguise. Just how much free time did people have anyway? But the numbers weren''t high enough to worry me. They were still in the two digits. One thing did worry me though. This was no mere mock battle between two guys.


    The court itself was round in nature and roughly ten meters in radius. We weren''t allowed to get out of there once in. Of course, actual tournament courts were bigger and had much more free room but not this one.


    "Are you sure you should be taking him lightly? I mean he fought me to a draw you know?" In the corner of my vision, I saw Eve and the guy talking. She was talking loudly and ncing at me every now and then.


    Where the hell did she show up from? And was the news of this fight running wild or something?


    The guy snorted like it was his second nature. "Says the girl who took it easy. Don''t worry I learn from other''s mistakes." He was being a bit too cocky if I do say so myself.


    "Do you?" Eve giggled but there was no more talk between the two.


    But it only got worse as more and more people crowded the boundaries.


    Yup, I''d been had.


    "Go get em'' tiger." Selene was right behind me.


    "Unfortunately my ears are cat ears, not ti-" I Stopped. "Why the hell am I exining things to you!" I was kind of pissed at this whole thing. Was this their way of deceiving me or something?


    "I do appreciate you fighting for my sake you know." She touched her chest and stared directly in my eyes. Apparently, she was serious.


    I sighed. "Yeah sure," I managed. "But don''t me me if I lose."


    "I know you won''t." Again with the confidence.


    Her confidence made me want to crawl down a hole and stay there. But I wasn''t totally hopeless about the fight either. I did have a n.


    With a long sigh, I entered the court with my two sabers: they glowed with a faint blue tint. It took a lot of effort from me to make sure I wasn''t leaking out radiation anywhere near my hands. I didn''t want to blow myself up, no sir!


    The guy entered through the other side.


    "There will be no dirty fighting. You can only use your powers on the swords but not on your opponent. I''m sure both of you are already aware of that. "There was a new voice. I''d heard it before. It was that same Dickville guy. He was actually standing behind me. I hadn''t seen him and I had no expectations that he''d show up.


    "AH lord dick-"The Captain froze in his speech the moment he saw Dick''s re. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, the disciplinary squad leader himself will be our judge for the day. Good luck both of you. Are you ready?" He looked at me first and then at the guy whose name I was yet to learn. We both nodded. "Begin!"

 Chapter 20 - And I Got In? Kind Of?

    My attention was totally on the guy in front of me and I just red, waiting for him to strike.


    "You know, I feel bad to do this to you." The guy started. "You''re just a newbie and here I am going to crush you. Ah! I really feel bad. What do you say you just give up? I mean that way you won''t get hurt and-" He went on ranting a little about how much it would better for me if I just happened to give up in front of all of these peoples. His nted eyes looked a bit too condescending.


    I knew this guy had a few screws loose, but maybe he had more screws loose than I thought. And did he seriously think I was going to give up now of all time?


    "Yo, Selene, the barrier?" I kept my eyes on the nted moron.


    "It''s invisible."


    The barrier was already in ce. Meaning I could rest easy.


    "Hey. Hey. What is this talk about barriers? You can rest easy; I don''t n on hurting you." He was being awfully generous too.


    He switched on his sword. A purple stream of light, long and thin, appeared through the sword''s hilt. This sword was expensive no doubt.


    He swung the sword fast and pointed it at me. "I''ll make this quick."


    Unfortunately for him, this was what I was waiting for. "Gotcha." I lifted my hands up and focused.


    A secondter the guy''s sword glowed fiercely in brighter indigo before exploding in a not so great a way. I made sure to hit it with enough radiation to ensure that it''d explode but also less enough that it won''t end up injuring the guy with any serious injuries.


    A cloud of smoke covered all our surroundings for a second and I rushed in.


    There were a lot ofplicated things at y here but long story short; I made some of the sma go crazy in his sword that made a lot of reactions possible and then boom!


    "Wha-" it was a short explosion but enough to shock the guy. And it was also enough for me to get in his point-nk range.


    Without a doubt I held both of my swords at his neck, barely touching. "You lose."


    "What just happened?" He looked at me sweat pouring. "How did you get here so fast? And my SWORD!!!?"


    A lot had happened. "You became so conceited that you let your brain fool you into thinking I was powerless if I couldn''t st you directly with gamma. Did you seriously think that was my only power? To set things on fire or to create cancer?" Of course, he had no way of knowing since I never showed off this power anywhere. Andst night things didn''t work out with Eve, so people didn''t know.


    "He won in less than a minute!" Selene screamed.


    Thanks for the unwantedmentary.


    We pretty much talked more than a minute so Selene was just spitting BS. I didn''t stop her though.


    WOAH! Cheers erupted.


    A littlete, isn''t it?


    "Winner, this guy," The Dickville guy pointed at me. The cheers were still going on.


    I could swear I saw Eve smirk and leave.


    "Yo, Dick shouldn''t you at least memorize the names of the people you''re judging?"


    The cheers came to an abrupt stop.


    His eyes twitched. "You just won, so don''t get cocky."


    "What, your name isn''t dick?" I hid my animosity without letting a drop slip but I did pronounce his name in a very misleading way. Why? Cause he was being awfully condescending from the moment he looked at me. It was like he had a lot of hatred for me without actually having any.


    "I''d appreciate if you called me k instead." He really wanted to punish me and that was apparent on his red face. But he couldn''t because I actually hadn''t done anything wrong yet¡­ technically.


    "Then you can call me Jintel, k." But I didn''t have much contempt for him anyway. And I was cool as long as he called me by my name.


    He rolled his eyes. "Winner''s Jintel." He red at me for a moment and then just left. I guess I pissed him off more than necessary.


    "Well done, Heli- I mean Jintel." Selene came close and proceeded to attempt a hug.


    Of course, I dodged her. "Don''t forget we needed to talk after this."


    She averted eye contact. "Sorry." She was not sorry at all.


    The crowd disappeared as quickly as they came. This school was weird; there was no doubt about it.


    Most of the members of the club stayed behind.


    "Care to exin?" I red at the captain.


    "Well, when Eve praised a guy out of nowhere, I kind of got a little interested and-"


    "And you guys put on a show?" I couldn''t help but be a little blunt.


    "The fight and everything else was totally real, I assure you. The only two people who didn''t know were you and Monty, so the fight wasn''tpromised." The captain waved his hands around to make himself sound usible. "Besides, I had loads of suggestions I tell you." He was eyeballing some disguised teachers who were in the midst of leaving.


    I guess the snort prince''s name was Monty. But this new revtion of everyone knowing apart from the two fighting, didn''t help ease my mind either.


    "So howe you guys knew this would happen?" If Monty didn''t know, then that meant, all of this was a gamble.


    "Well, Monty has issues." The captain looked at the guy sniffing by the boundary.


    Speaking of Monty, the guy was literally on the verge of tears. "It''s over¡­My life is over¡­." He took losing very seriously. "Oh, my sword¡­. my BExcalibur!" Apparently, he was weeping for his sword instead.


    "Yeah, he sure does." I agreed. I almost wanted to take back my pity.


    "Anyway, wee to the club. We''ll be holding a party for you newbies in the next week." The captain was very proud and his smirk was the proof of that.


    "After what you just pulled, I think I''ll have to reevaluate my decision of joining you guys."


    "Yeh-uyeah, I see." I didn''t know what he saw but he was surely leaking a lot of sweat.


    "Where''s the gori- I mean Selene?" I almost slipped.


    Selene was nowhere to be found.


    "I don''t think you''ll find her anytime soon." He looked in the distance. "Sometimes-" He paused. "She just disappears." He was being too dramatic about it.


    But unfortunately, I wasn''t that dumb. "Anyway, now if you''ll excuse me, I''ve to go get my lunch."


    It was a little past five and I was starving. Maybe drinking just one can of juice for the whole day was a bad idea. A very bad idea.


    Maybe I should consider investing a little more in food?


    "Lunch?" He looked at me with pity. "You can always join us for lunch. Though it''d be more like dinner." He chuckled.


    "Yeah sure. As long as it''s free." If something was free, I was all for it! No doubt.


    "Man." The captain smirked. "I don''t know what ticks you but, wee."


    And so, though reluctantly, I ended up in the clubroom again.

 Chapter 21 - Banquet?

    "You sure you want all that?" The senior who showed me my swords was now worrying about my health too.


    She did seem like a worrywart. But maybe more like a nerd. I mean, who wears sses these days? With correction technology and actual healers, the use of sses wasn''t really all that popr.


    "Yeah, I''m pretty sure." I''d stacked my te with meat, curry, rice and even pancakes. There were all sorts of stuff on this dinner table and I wasn''t going to back down. Besides, I hadn''t had a proper meal in two days anyway.


    This dinner though was more like a banquet. There were all sorts of food and all sorts of other things like music and dances. Was every dinner like this?


    "Ah¡­" She ced her hands on her head. "Well, if you''re okay. I could never eat that much. Weight management is a major drag." She was sobbing to herself. She didn''t seem overweight, rather, fairly normal.


    "Why? How much are you?"


    She looked at me with dull eyes. "There are certain things you should never ask a girl." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, I''m Artemis: I''ll be looking after you for the time being. Think of yourself being like my intern."


    Isn''t Artemis the Goddess of¡­?


    For a second there I was lost. I''d heard of a lot of names ever since I learned how to understand words. But this one was probably the most extravagant out of all of them.


    So I had to clear my throat too. "I''m Jintel. Feel free to call me Jintel."


    She giggled. "Well then, feel free to call me Artemis."


    It wasn''t a bad name and I guess it was better than mine anyway. "I will-"


    "Hey, Amie, don''t go feeding the newbie lies." One of the seniors shouted from the other side and all of them around us startedughing.


    I looked at Artemis, rather Amie, and she was flushed. "You know¡­. Maybe just once, you''d let me¡­" She started slowly. "Properly introduce myself!" Thest part she yelled, louder than my eardrums could withstand.


    Amie''s hair turned white and flowed with the wind as she red at everyone. Was it me or was the atmosphere a lot cooler?


    The floor beneath her feet was frozen stiff. It didn''t take a genius to know what was going on now.


    Oh boy.


    Oh boy indeed. Apparently, this girl was furious for some reason. I didn''t get it though.


    But the guys didn''t really take it seriously and just continuedughing. Needless to say, it only infuriated her even more.


    There was a sigh. "I''ll take care of it." Eve came out of nowhere. And she was drinking lemonade too. Was she an expert at hiding her presence or something?


    Eve finished her drink in a second and unsheathed her sword. Just a in traditional sword: it lit on yellow res.


    "We might have an interesting show." Robert sat next to me.


    Where did youe from?


    "I''m just here for the food." I stuffed my face with rice and meat. Pancakes were for dessert anyway. It was a shame they didn''t have any maple syrup left though.


    Robert didn''t say anything and neither did anyone else. The silence was loud and everyone looked with anticipation at the two girls in the center of the room. This room was big and there was enough space for a bout. But it wasn''t enough to make sure outsiders won''t get hurt.


    I didn''t care though. The food was good and they were putting up a show for me. I still didn''t get why though.


    "Get out of the way. I''ve had enough of these name callings!" Amie dered, her fists straight at Eve. I guess she didn''t like to be called Amie?


    "Yeah, but this seems fun so I don''t wanna." She struck a pose with the sword. Eve wasn''t backing down.


    Amie grinded her teeth in frustration and took a deep breath. "Alright." It was more of a shout than anything else though.


    "Wait that''s it?" the words escaped my lips and without a doubt, I was the center of attention.


    "What? You wanna fight?" Eve looked at me, amused.


    "I still have pancakes to finish, so I''ll leave it to you guys." I chuckled, nervously.


    The views shifted.


    "Alright, let''s give ''em a good show." Eve charged with her sword drawn. Her sword was pointing straight at Amie. She was serious.


    "Who cares about shows!" Amie went full throttle with just her bare hands. She swung her fist over Eve''s head and Eve just ducked.


    "Not bad, but not enough." Eve spun her leg like a tornado and knocked Amie off hers. Her sword was right over Amie''s head who was now reduced to tears.


    "I kind of thought there''d be more you know. Ice and fire and all." Robert sighed in disappointment.


    "Who cares?" I stuffed my face with pancakes: it was good but nothing special. I really wished there was some syrup left. These guys had apparently gulped down everyst drop before I even arrived.


    Apparently, the guys heard me this time too. Again, I was the center of attention. I might have used a louder voice than I thought. "Sorry?" Of course, I wasn''t sorry but I wasn''t really in the mood to stir up trouble anyway.


    They all burst intoughter. These guys were hard to follow. I was lost from the moment I got here.


    Eve gave Amie a hand in getting up and they both just went to the other side and drank juice.


    Water under the bridge I suppose.


    With a sigh, I finished the cakes. Loads of the guys introduced themselves but unfortunately, I couldn''t catch a single one''s name. Was I always this bad at names?


    Monty eventually did show up but he was still sniffing. I was really worried about his nose though. Poor nose, first the snorts, and now the sniffs. Was his nose really okay?


    I still didn''t see Selene around though.


    Though it was supposed to be forbidden to drink under the age of 17 in this state, these guys still had some mild alcoholic fruit juice. The second years were probably old enough but I surely wasn''t. Needless to say, a guy like me, who never went near alcohol, was curious no doubt.


    I took adle and when the juice almost touched the ss, I was banged solid, with something on the head.


    "AWW!" I dropped the ss and caught my head. The ss was made from stic so no harm was done to it, but the same couldn''t be said about my head. "What?" I red at the proprietor. It was Eve.


    "Have you ever drank before?" Her voice was awfully t.


    "No?"


    She struck a pose. "Then you shall not pass!"


    "Who the hell are you imitating?"


    "Saldal? Maldarf?" She herself was lost.


    "Ganda-"


    "Yeah, yeah that dude!" She banged my head with the scabbard of her sword, again. "Drop thedle! I say, drop it!"


    Needless to say, it hurt.


    "What is wrong with you?" I dropped thedle just like a victim caught by the police.


    Her yful glee was nowhere to be found. "If you''ve never touched that thing then don''t. It''s not worth it." She turned around. "Well, it''s just my advice anyway. I''m your senior and I''ve seen a lot of stuff. And a lot of those stuff, I shouldn''t have¡­" She smiled, looking back through her peripherals. "Take with a grain of sugar and love."


    "It''s salt, you moron." I cursed under my breath.


    She giggled and left. But it did leave me wondering though. If this thing was so bad, then howe everyone was drinking it and looking that happy?


    Drink, don''t drink? But why? Why!?


    I agonized for half an hour before eventually just giving up on thinking.


    In the end, I just gave up on the drink. Not because of Eve but because my mother had said the same thing.


    How could I forget?


    I sighed and just tried to leave. Dinner was over and I didn''t have anything else to do here. So getting out wasn''t a bad idea. Besides, the curfew would start in about an hour anyway.


    "Leaving already?" I was about to exit, but the captain stood by the door with his usual smirk.


    "Yeah, thanks for having me." I really meant that too. The food was good and I hadn''t eaten anything decent in ages: the ages being two days. "It was pretty good. Do you guys always throw parties like this?"


    "Not exactly." He scratched his head. "Some of our troublemakers aren''t in this party, so I thought why not make it a bit more extravagant? When those troublemakers are in town, they just ruin things you know." He chuckled. "Besides, consider this a wee party for you newbies. Cause the one next week might not be¡­" He cleared his throat and looked serious for a second. "You know, I won''t force you to join. It should be your decision. Think it over." He turned and went towards the party. He was being awfully chill about this.


    I took his words with a grain of sugar and love-, argh! Eve had corrupted my mind. Why couldn''t I get her words out of my head!?


    With another sigh, I just left. There were still plenty of people out. I guess no one really cared about the curfew.


    As I was walking around, I heard loads ofmotion about there being some sort of fight at the gate. I didn''t care though. It wasn''t my business and I already learned my lesson from thest time.


    "I heard she''s real pretty." Students were going in the opposite direction.


    "Her blond locks are said to be like gold!" There were all sorts of talks. "I really hope she makes it out alive."


    Wait, golden hair?


    Sweat started to pour. I didn''t like where this was going.


    "I heard, she could control water-"


    "Isn''t that rare?"


    More sweat poured. It was like the whole world came crumbling down. "Oh shit!" I cursed and ran in the opposite direction.


    Just how dumb is she?


    More importantly, just how dumb am I?


    I should have just assumed she''de sooner orter. But why were the students saying things about her making out alive?

 Chapter 22 - Rage Rage My

    ''She can''t be that dumb!''


    I ran towards the entrance.


    ''She won''t start a fight, would she?''


    I ran harder.


    ''No, she wouldn''t. She''s not that dumb.''


    I ran harder and harder. I didn''t care to breathe. But what if she was?


    ''But why would she need to fight?''


    More importantly, why was she here? Why was Elsa here?


    Maybe I was assuming way too much. Maybe I was being irrational. But I couldn''t help but think it was Elsa. And I also couldn''t help but hope it wasn''t her.


    "Get outta the way!" I shoved past the crowd. The streets were filled and as I approached the entrance the crowd got denser and denser.


    My heartbeat rose high. I was going through a lot of emotions but maybe fear of the unknown was the most prevalent.


    There was a round crowd just meters away from the actual entrance of the school. I shoved past the crowd with a lot of force.


    "Hey, watch it." Of course, there were all sorts of unhappy people around me.


    But I didn''t care. I just shoved past them. "Get OUTT!" And once I reached the end, my heart almost stopped. "ELSA!"


    Elsa was on her knees, panting heavily. She had a small wound on her head, blood dripping through her cheeks and one eye closed. But the re in her eye was proof of her conviction.


    It took her a second to notice me.


    "Helio!" She almost jumped at me and hugged me without a second of dy. She smiled but then averted her eyes. "Sorry."


    But my eyes weren''t on her. My eyes were on someone else. There was a guy in front of me. A guy who smirked at me.


    "I''d assume you''re the reason behind her wounds?" My voice was calm, too calm. But it was safe to say, I was going crazy. The thought of Elsa being in my arms kept me calm. But I was definitely trembling.


    "Well." The guy still had the smirk. "It would appear that way, yes." His hair was ck and he looked like a lunatic: pretty sane for a lunatic.


    "I kind of messed up?" Elsa managed. She was still smiling. But it wasn''t like her. My sister wasn''t like this and she wasn''t someone who''d pick fights either.


    Okay, maybe not.


    "What happened? Keep it short." I didn''t have time to worry too much about the past. But I still needed to know what happened before I did something rash. And boy oh boy was about to do something rash.


    "He said bad¡­ bad things about you¡­" Elsa didn''t look me in the eye and I didn''t look in hers either.


    "Alright. Stay back." I got all I needed to know.


    Honestly, I didn''t need a reason. Even if she was in the wrong, I''d still have been on her side anyway. Maybe I was overprotective, maybe I was na?ve, but I didn''t care.


    Elsa stood behind me.


    I still had the two swords from the club. They''d told me to keep these two as souvenirs. I turned both of them on. I wasn''t nning on fighting with swords. Actually, I didn''t have a n at all. But I couldn''t use my powers either. There were a lot of bystanders and as much as I hated them, I still couldn''t st all of them with radiation, and besides, my little sister was here too.


    Whenever my rage was on max throttle, my powers kind of got leaky, so tended to not use them as frequently.


    "You''re her brother? Oh, looks like you''ve already been to the club too¡­ hmm, but just beginners sabers?" He carefully observed me and unsheathed his own sword. One thing was for certain, he was also in the club. "Fighting with sabers outside of the court is forbidden but we shouldn''t let that stop us, right?"


    The captain had mentioned something about there being troublemakers in the club before. This one must have been one.


    "I don''t know what happened here, but would you mind groveling at her feet? I might even consider forgiving you?" Yet again my voice came out t and calm. I didn''t want to let this guy go, but I wasn''t totally irrational either.


    The guy chuckled. "You''re funny junior. For a guy who''s just a beginner, you sure talk big." He pointed his sword at me: it glowed with a pale ck aura.


    I pointed mines at him, both white with a tint of blue.


    I could have blown that sword of his to bits the moment he brought it out. But I didn''t. I didn''t have anything to prove to him. And If I just happened to blow that sword up, it was safe to say; that this city would have also went along with him. I was not in a mood to hold anything back: I couldn''t have even if I wanted to.


    Rage had overtaken me.


    I swung my sword. He swung his. Our swords collided. Sparks flew. He was good but not good enough.


    "HAH!" I swung harder and I had two swords.


    He was taking steps back. Maybe training with my grandfather all that much on that snowy mountain wasn''t a total waste after all.


    A vertical swing! He jumped back to dodge.


    "Not bad." He fixed his stance. "Not bad for a newbie at all. Maybe I should get a little more serious too." The dark aura near his sword intensified.


    My body felt heavier. But I hadn''t exerted myself even a little. So it couldn''t have been fatigue. Then what?


    "Argh!" Even taking a swing took my all and I had to scream for power.


    ''Lets-Kill him.'' A faint whisper.


    ''Who said that!'' I looked around frantically but there was no one.


    In the heat of the moment, I might have let down my guard a bit more than necessary.


    "Surprised?" The guy still smirked. "Basic swords are just basic. But personalized swords have much more power. I guess a newbie like you don''t know." His smirk widened. "So as a responsible senior, I''ll give you a practical lesson."


    For a second there was a red tint in his eyes: murderous intent. And then he was gone. I looked around. The crowd looked around too. But nothing. He wasn''t here.


    "Behind you!" Elsa''s voice prompted me to look back.


    But I didn''t have enough time. The sword was already at my neck, barely touching my skin, of course, it was stopped by one of my sabers. Damn, this guy was strong. Was he that fast before though? He couldn''t have teleported. So was his speed that much out of my league that I couldn''t even see him with my eyes?


    No, it was probably something else.


    Cold sweat dripped from my forehead. ''Shit.''


    Just a secondter and I''d have been toast. But I still had this. I started gathering power in my left hand, dropping the saber. He wasn''t going to get out of this, unscathed.


    Gramps did always say, rage was my greatest enemy. But how could I let this happen now of all times? After so long?


    Well, it was toote to check it now.


    The bastard came near my ears. "You see, I have special powers and my swordplements those powers. So just because you have a little bit of skill, doesn''t mean you can do anything." I couldn''t move: the small wonder in my left hand wasn''tplete yet.


    ''Keep on talking.'' Because once I was done charging, he was about to lose half of his limbs. 30 seconds to go. I''d swore not to use this power but heck, I wasn''t going to stop now. If he was prepared to kill me, it meant he was also prepared to die too.


    "Isn''t that far enough, ze?" The voice came from above. It was more of a suggestion than a question.


    I''d seen those wings before. This girl had shown up that night too when I fought Eve.


    ''ze? HIS name''s ze?''


    "Oh Rose, you didn''t have toe all the way here." He removed the sword from my neck and walked to the other side.


    ''Tch.'' I defused the heat gathered in the palm.


    "Enough!" The girl descended. I''d seen her before at the opening ceremony. The blonde with the wings. "You''ve already got an outsider involved. Not to mention you were hurting one of your juniors. Lady Sylvia would like to have a word with you."


    He sighed. "Fine. Fine¡­ but they started it, you know." He whined, he wasn''t the least sorry.


    The winged girl red furiously at the guy. "I''m pretty sure I know you and your hobbies." She squinted her eyes and red at me next. "And you two, head to the nurse''s office. As for the curfew, I''ll give the dorm manager a call." She turned around without another word.


    The ze guy red at me as he walked by. "Looking forward to ying with you some more." His re turned to a grin halfway through. I hated him. I hated him with all my guts. But I had to admit it: he had more experienced than me.


    And it was my folly for letting him have his way.


    "You okay?" Elsa grabbed my arm and stared with tears in her eyes.


    The crowd started to shallow. I really hated people like this. I hated people who always just watched. But more importantly, they weren''t shocked. Meaning, were fights like thismon?


    "Yeah, I''m fine. You?"


    She smiled. "I''m fine too." She didn''t look fine.


    I sighed. "Let''s head to the nurse''s. Anyway, what were you doing here?"


    She looked at me with dull eyes and almost pouted. She opened her mouth to say something and then closed them and just looked the other way. She wasn''t going to tell me anything; there was no doubt about it.


    Without another sigh, I lead her to the nurse''s office.


    ***


    "So what happened?" I asked as the nurse rubbed some gel on my neck.


    "When I first came in, that guy was by the entrance." Elsa was already treated. She only had minor wounds but the one on her forehead might have been a bit deep, hence the bleeding: the bandage would take care of it though. It wasn''t anything severe and now she was in a fairly better mood. "He was flirting and all but when I said I was just here to see my brother, he started his rants like he''d be more fun. Of course, I just said no and eventually, one word led to another and he was badmouthing you." Elsa got all quiet.


    "All done." The nurse looked at me as if to say, ''don''te at her too hard.''


    "So what did you do next?" I tried to be as casual as possible.


    "I kind of drowned him in smelly water." She giggled. "Though maybe, acid would have been better." She wondered.


    Yeah, I agreed.


    I sighed an exasperated sigh. "No wonder." But she''d done that for my sake. "Don''t do stuff like that again. If someone badmouths me, just look the other way. It''s not like words can hurt me."


    "But they can hurt me!" Sheshed out. "I can''t stand you being insulted!"


    Honestly, I didn''t understand this girl.


    Did I really understand anyone in particr?


    I had doubts.


    "Alright, alright, I get it." I tried to calm her down. "Did youe alone?"


    "Yes?" She looked a bit flustered. And was she answering me or asking questions?


    "Where are you gonna stay? You do realize I live in the boys'' dorm right?" My eyes twitched a little as the realization finally hit me, my sister might not have had a ce to sleep tonight.


    Tears welled up in her eyes. "I can''t stay with you?" That was probably her intention all along.


    The nurse looked at me with anticipation too.


    They had me cornered. "I''ll talk to the dorm manager. One night shouldn''t be a problem." Of course, I didn''t know jack shit about the actual dorm rules, so I might have needed to head to the girls'' dorm at this hour too. Hopefully, Marg would help out. After all, she still owed me.


    "Yes!" Elsa turned around and made a victory pose. This really was her true intention after all.


    I so, so much, wanted to smack that pretty head of hers, but I refrained.


    "Let''s go I guess." But that reminded me of something. The nurse was packing up so I had to ask her. "Say, didn''t you say you were supposed to close the office after five?" At least that''s what the nurse had told me yesterday.


    "Rose told me to head over here. Saying it was an emergency and all." The nurse began. "But I''ll give you an advice. Don''t go fighting with ze. He has a very bad reputation in our school. And he''s also one of the most troublesome and from that family. "


    So this Rose girl really helped me out. I''d have to thank herter.


    "Noted." I had no intention of fighting with that ze guy. I did have all sorts of other intentions though. And one of them included making him sterile through a lot of small radiation doses. Another was, if he came near me, sting him with enough radiation to make him lose all his hair and puke all over the ground. The possibilities were unlimited.


    I could almost see the despair on his face when he realizes that his Excalibur had lost its light.


    "You look evil," Elsa said, but I just ignored her.

 Chapter 23 - Accommodation?

    There was no one out, not even a soul. The wind blew past like we were in the Wild West or something.


    Elsa grabbed my sleeve. "It wasn''t like this before, right?"


    It was ten minutes past ten, meaning the curfew had started. All this time I thought no one cared about it, but it looks like people did care, no doubt.


    We kept walking.


    "You two, what are you doing here?" A student approached me. He was wearing a white cap. Maybe a prefect?


    "Oh, we''re-"


    "Oh yeah, the captain did mention something about a freshman and his young sister." He signaled another prefect. Actually, now that I looked carefully, there were quite a few of them spaced at least a hundred meters apart.


    Even at this hour. The school was pretty much lit up, not like day but definitely lit up.


    "Since the captain already deemed you two innocent, I won''t say too much. But boy," The newly arrived guy put a hand on my shoulder. He was definitely a lot older than me. "You should pick your fights more wisely. That'' guy isn''t something you should mess with. His strength is one thing, but his family is the worst."


    A bad family, huh?


    Yeah, I wasn''t the least bit concerned.


    "I''ll keep that in mind." I didn''t let his words bother me.


    He smirked. "Mike, go with them." The new guy told the other guy to apany us. I guess it was to avoid other possible hindrances.


    Without any more dy, we headed for the dorms.


    "Is it always like this?" Elsa whispered.


    I was pretty new myself so I had no idea.


    "Not really. The new captain- captain Rose is taking a lot of actions this year:st year it was prettyx when Dick was in charge." And the guy even heard it.


    But really, that dick, I mean Dickville was in charge?


    "dick?" Elsa pondered.


    I sighed and just ruffled through her hair. She didn''t need to worry about these things anyway.


    I didn''t usually have a reason to stay out past ten, so I didn''t let all this bother me. But what happened today could very well happen any other day. "Say, what''s the punishment for being out past curfew?"


    "A day in detention, not much."


    "But why do all this? I mean, it''s-" It wasn''t something so severe, that''s what I wanted to say.


    He looked at me and then at Elsa. My sister was young but she knew things, things which she wasn''t supposed to know.


    "Go on," I gave him my permission as I covered Elsa''s ears. Of course, she wasn''t pleased but she didn''t make a fuss either.


    "A lot of reasons really. Students who stay upte usually do a lot of bad things. Illegal sexual activities are just one of them. Theft, abduction, drugs, torture and sometimes...even murder: a lot happens when you''re dealing with the brightest in the world." He sighed.


    I almost wanted to grimace. The brightest in the country? More like the darkest. All sorts of criminals gathered here in this academy to learn. ''Why the hell did I bothering here?''


    "Everywhere is the same¡­." I mumbled. I released Elsa, more like she jerked my hands off. Hopefully, she didn''t hear anything.


    Humanity as a whole is pretty screwed up. There are all sorts of people everywhere. Some are mere bystanders while others, just criminals. Yes, there are good people, but everyone has a goal and everyone has desires. No one is perfect and no one is also pure evil.


    Because of that, society wasn''t that different from this school either. There were crimes and there were people trying to prevent that. We were just stuck in the middle.


    We''d arrived by the dorm gates. "Alright, I believe the dorm manager already knows. Though I think you might need to convince her a bit too much if you want your sister to stay in the dorms for tonight." The guy left.


    I didn''t thank him, I didn''t get to.


    ***


    "No means no!" When I did go inside the dorm, the dorm manager gave me hell.


    I hadn''t met her before so I didn''t know what she was like. But honestly, I wish I hadn''t.


    A round, middle-ageddy, with a lot of attitudes: that''s what she was.


    "First you arrivete and now you want a young girl to stay in the dens of hyenas like you!"


    "I''m her brother I''ll have you know." It hurt to be called a hyena in front of your sister. Besides, she''d live with me, not the other students.


    "I don''t care!" She red fiercely at me but her expression softened when she looked at Elsa. "Why don''t you stay with me, dear?" Talk about injustice!


    But maybe that wasn''t such a bad idea.


    Elsa grabbed onto me tighter than usual. She always did have an issue with strangers.


    I sighed. "How about I drop her at the girls'' dorm? I know a-"


    "No! I''m not letting a hyena like you go to the girls'' dorm! And besides, they''re already-"


    "Would you stop with the hyena thing!" I shouted a little more than intended. "And I don''t have any interests in those girls!"


    Both the dorm manager and Elsa put a hand over their mouths. They were shocked and pretty much in sync. "You don''t swing the other way, right?" The dorm manager said.


    Elsa also looked at me with pleading eyes. Wait, how the hell did she know about these things?


    "NO! I want to focus on my studies. I don''t have time for rtionships!" How the hell did they misunderstand my intentions?


    The dorm manager cleared her throat. She looked redder than I thought. Maybe I angered her? "I didn''t know you had such hobbies." She didn''t look me in the eyes. "Well then, you''re free to go. I''ll mail the other manager." She had a wavering smile. I did not like that smile. And somehow it still felt like there was some sort of fundamental misunderstanding here. Were we really on the same page?


    At least Elsa had a genuine smile. She did cling to me tighter though.


    ***


    Once out of the building shivers went down my spine as I received res from the prefects.


    "I don''t like this school¡­" Elsa whimpered.


    She did have a pretty bad experience, so I couldn''t really fault her.


    And yes, I didn''t like this ce either.


    "By the way, you''re okay with staying with Marg right?" Maybe it was a littlete to ask that, but we didn''t really have a choice anymore. Besides, she only knew Marg, so they weren''tplete strangers I guess.


    She looked around and after a while looked into my eyes. "If you say so."


    We continued walking.


    Better than nothing.


    "What happened, why are you two out again?" I was approached by the same prefect. I guess the guy was fed up with us at this point.


    "I actually received permission from the dorm manager to head over to the girls'' dorm."


    "She didn''t permit her to stay in there, did she? But strange, howe she gave permission for you to enter? If I recall correctly, she really hates men, and yet she still manages the boys'' dorm. Kind of ironic." He chuckled.


    "Ye-yeah. Let''s not get into the permission thing. Anyway, it''s getting prettyte, so we''ll just go." It was close to eleven and I had sses tomorrow. I couldn''t necessarily worry too much about all this.


    "I''m pretty sure the guys won''t bother you anymore but if anyone says anything say you''re friends with Micheal, they''ll understand, well, probably." He turned around and walked.


    "Jintel!" I yelled my name.


    He just lifted up his arm a little and gave me a sign. He really was a good dude.


    "For thest time, use Helio. Don''t you have any manners?" Meanwhile, Elsa red at me with dull eyes.


    "Yeah, yeah." I had no intention of using this name either but I sure wasn''t going to say that to her, no sir.


    ***


    "You shall not pass!" Our fake wizard was back at it again and currently obstructing our path. She did have a rather serious look this time around.


    "Yeah sure, Sandalf. Can you move? I have business with the dorm manager."


    "No!" Eve was by the door and she was very determined. "It''s forbidden by rules that no boys would enter the dorm after six."


    There were other girls ring at me too with those ''you''re not wee'' eyes.


    I guess she took this stuff seriously. But why her? "Don''t you have anything better to do? Besides, I only want a word with the manager. That''s it."


    "Even so-" She didn''t look convinced. Why were people so obsessed with security anyway? Did I look like that much of a criminal?


    "Then can you bring Marg here for me? Oh and this is my sister. She''ll be staying here for the night. I got permission from our dorm manager." I wanted to make her understand that I didn''t have an interest in anything other than to secure a ce to stay for my sister.


    "Sister?" She looked at Elsa. "Howe you two don''t look alike?"


    I sighed. "I''ve been told that a lot, but I assure you, she''s my little sister. As much as I hate to admit it¡­" Thest part was barely a whisper.


    "I heard that!" Elsa hissed and bit my arm.


    It hurt but I couldn''t really do anything about it. She really was a devil, a devil with supernatural hearing. "Besides, I can say the same about you and Marg," I managed.


    "I can''t actually help you with calling her. But your sister needs amodation? I''d be willing to share my room if you''d like." Eve was being awfully frank and friendly: and I might have forgotten that these two sisters were on bad terms. My bad.


    After that incidentst night, she didn''t try anything but that also didn''t mean she had any reason to help me either. But it was a good offer.


    "Why would I trust you?" It came out blunter than I thought.


    "Think of it this way, there are a lot of girls present here. If somehow your sister gets harmed while she''s with me, my reputation will plummet. Ie from a noble family, so reputation has a lot of value to me than let''s say, revenge. Besides, I have no reason to help her, and you-" She smiled. "Have no choice. It''s either this ce or outside, your choice."


    My chocte God, this woman was evil.


    "This is Elsa. That''s Eve." I sighed. "Eve''s my senior. So I think you can go in with her if you want."


    After the stuff she said, I really had to agree. Eve was right, I didn''t have a choice.


    "No¡­." Elsa''s voice was low but it was almost as if she was intimidated.


    "Why?" Eve looked awfully confused.


    "She''s not very good with strangers."


    "Then what about Marg? She should be-" Eve wasn''t convinced.


    "Marg''s our cousin." Elsa looked fiercely at Eve. I really wish she hadn''t.


    ''I can''t believe you actually believed mom.''


    My sister was more stupid than I gave her credit for.


    "Wait, what?" Eve looked at me, awfully confused.


    My eyes twitched a little: my cheeks followed suit. I didn''t have any means to exin this whole fiasco and from the looks of it, Eve knew that. She giggled but held it in when she saw my expression. It was not just frustrating but also infuriating.


    "Well, I''m Marg''s older sister. So that makes me your cousin too, right?" She was awfully witty too.


    Elsa looked at me as if to ask whether this was alright or not.


    "Well, she isn''t lying¡­." Even I wasn''t sure anymore.


    "Don''t worry I''ll take good care of her. You have my word." Eve smiled. "If anything should happen to her, I''ll dly offer you my head."


    "I don''t need your head. Just make sure nothing happens to her." I still didn''t buy all this, but I didn''t have a choice. "I''ll trust you but¡­ Never mind."


    Eve smiled and I pushed Elsa to go forward. She did look back but she went inside with Eve. I didn''t trust Eve, not one bit. But that was also why I felt leaving Elsa with her was the best choice.


    With the situation, I couldn''t get into the dorm without making amotion, and without a Holo, I couldn''t contact Marg either: I really had to buy myself one as soon as I got money. Andstly, Eve was my senior and she treated me with caution. The possibility of her pulling something on my sister which could jeopardize her standing was non-existent. At least from a logical perspective.


    But the human part was also involved. And that was why it felt a bit weird.


    Then again technically my sister was pretty strong as strong. I didn''t know why something like this happened today, but there were a lot of incidents regarding her and injured students before.


    Meaning, I didn''t have to worry too much about her- I sure didn''t hope so.

 Chapter 24 - Turbulence

    I got back to the dorm. Nothing happened while I wasing back, at least nothing of note. I was stopped by prefects here and there but I guess my ''Michael" card dide in handy more than I thought.


    Knock! Knock!


    I knocked on my door. There were a few faces in the hallway but most were in their rooms. The chatter and noise were unbelievable. Mere walls weren''t enough to contain so much noise.


    After five minutes or so, the door opened.


    "Took you long enough." I went in and found myself in a mess. "What happened here?"


    My stuff was just like I left it but the same wasn''t true for Merin''s. He sat on the bed without a word and didn''t talk. All this time I never saw that look on this face. Did something happen? I mean, why was all of his stuff on the floor anyway, scattered like a toddler''s room?


    Even Elsa was more conservative than this.


    "What happened?" I asked again. If he still didn''t talk, I didn''t n on pushing him further.


    "She left me¡­ Natasha left me." He wasn''t in tears and he didn''t look mad. Just sad?


    "You mean the girl from this morning?"


    He nodded without looking at me. He looked awfully serious. Was he really that same carefree guy from yesterday?


    "You said she wasn''t your girlfriend, so what''s the big deal? Besides, you said you were going to propose to Eve."


    He chuckled. "You of all people should know Eve''s out of my league."


    Actually, I didn''t know. More like I didn''t care.


    He finally looked at me, eyes wavering. "Nat was someone I loved. I know it sounds cheesy but I''ve known her for ten years. She already has a boyfriend and yet, and yet I couldn''t forget about her. Yesterday¡­. We almost did it¡­ but that also ruined-" He grabbed his chest and just stopped.


    I genuinely felt pity for the guy. "Who''s she going out with? I mean if she feels the same for you, she could always break up with the guy, right?" Besides, though they were doing stupid things in this room, I kind of interrupted it.


    He snorted. "ze Battlesuin. I''m sure you''ve already met him." He held his holo right at me. There was an article in it, titled ''zes rampages again, a junior stands up!'' It felt weird and stupid at the same time. "Strong, wasn''t he? And he''s also a monster who has hundreds of girls. He toys with them and if anyone escapes he just- he just ruins them." His ssy eyes had no light in them.


    "But that thing was a Battlesuin?" This just got a lot trickier than I thought. "More importantly, just how much energy does that thing have?"


    He really was a monster if he slept with hundreds of girls.


    That damned family was pretty wicked and I, myself had issues with that family. That woman my father ran with was allegedly from this Battlesuin family.


    "Well," I began. "If you want her¡­ then you''ll have to get her yourself. Or regret for the rest of your life. The choice is yours." I didn''t want to be the jerk who brought reality back to him or the one who just made fun of him. But I had no choice. Looming in guilt and regret was worse than trying and failing. I had firsthand experience; I didn''t want that to happen to him.


    "Wh-" He was speechless. I guess that was just normal. I knew firsthand how strong that ze guy was.


    "But, let''s say, he can''t get it on, anymore. Well, hypothetically, if he bes impotent, he won''t have a need for his girls anymore, right?" I shed a smile.


    "You''re pretty evil you know." He chuckled, but there was no joy in his voice.


    "I know." I chuckled too. But we both knew it wasn''t as easy as I made it out to be. Besides, modern technology and with supernatural healing practices, that kind of illness could have easily been cured.


    Merin sighed. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. But- but I think I should just give up."


    I never thought he was that type. He''d give up his love just because something impossible stood in his way? "Then, was it really true love?" My thoughts were voiced on their own ord.


    He didn''t look at me and lied on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm. "Turn off the lights. It''s a big day tomorrow so you should rest." His voice wasn''t shaky and he didn''t let his emotions loose.


    I sighed and turned off the lights.


    ***


    The Battlesuin family, a family of murderers. They were the rulers Of Russia through the shadows. But then there was the question.


    Why was one of their heirs here in this academy? There was plenty of reputed academies in Russia after all.


    "This just got a lot trickier." My voice was low.


    But that guy, that ze guy didn''t look Russian. I''d seen Russians in my life before, but he seemed more Asian than Russian. Or maybe I just hadn''t met enough?


    It was past midnight and Merin was already asleep. Or he could have pretended to be asleep for all I knew.


    But this situation, this ominous feeling, it just didn''t go away. I couldn''t run away from reality forever. My father, the fourth member of our family, abandoned us. There was no denying and there was no sugarcoating it. He abandoned us and got a new girl, namely a daughter of the Battlesuin family. I was too young to understand things at the time, but now I kind of knew why.


    The Battlesuin family was a family of murderers. They''d do anything for love and money. And they were also cold-blooded warriors.


    This family also had the most power in all of Asia: but their powers also came all the way here in Europe. Every major country had sent at least one or two of their heirs to that family for various purposes: most of them always ended up dead, so it was more of a sacrifice than an actual union of families. But maybe, just maybe my father was the first one willingly going over to their side. Why was he so desperate?


    Before I knew it, my eyes closed on their own.


    ***


    The rm woke me up. It was six-thirty.


    First things, first. I need a shower!


    I went to the bathroom and students around us were barely waking up. It wasn''tte but it wasn''t early either. After the shower, I took a jog.


    My destination? The girls'' dorm.


    Strangely, this time no one tried to stop me. I received res just likest time. But this time, things were a bit different.


    Among those res, I saw some eyes of admiration too. It just made me feel awkward and my spine crawl.


    "Um excuse me? Can you tell me where Eve''s room is?" I asked a nearby girl who seemed friendly enough.


    It''s not prohibited, is it?


    "Of course, but, you are?" I guess, it wasn''t.


    "I''m her junior from the club." Of course, I still hadn''t entered the club, but I did n on it. Of course, I''d y a little hard to get, but I had to enter anyway, since my chocte bath- Ahem, my future depended on it. So technically this wasn''t a lie, probably.


    "I see. Come with me." She led me inside.


    But she looked at me with an awful lot of suspicion.


    "Is something wrong?" I couldn''t help myself and ask anyway.


    "No." She didn''t look back. "We''re here."


    The moment she said it, my vision went ck.


    My eyebrows fluttered like leaves and opened. It was too bright. I couldn''t move. Not one bit.


    "What is this? Why?" I was bound to a chair and surrounded by girls. This ce seemed like a grand hall of some sort.


    "How dare you!" The girl who led me here began. "Not only did you shame Lady Evengeline! You also n on using her!"


    "Um- excuse me? I''m a little lost here."


    I got all sorts of res. I did not like it. Did these people have screws loose or something?

 Chapter 25 - Interlude: The Academy

    Demigrace Academy, an academy for geniuses all over the world was located on a small ind south of maind Ennd, near the golf of France and Italy. This small ind didn''t belong to any country in particr and hence the academy was open to all students as long as they were special. Students from all over the world flocked in this academy for two reasons. One, the headmaster was the strongest man on the, and two, adventure.


    When it was first founded sixty years ago, the founding headmaster only said two things. "Be free." Because of this notion, the students often turned to delinquents and no one stopped them: no one could. And most of these delinquents ended up bing criminals in the future.


    The founding headmaster and his chosen bureau of teachers were people who didn''t care about society in the least. This ind was their own world, so nothing else mattered to them. And the headmaster being an ex-criminal himself didn''t help the cause.


    With more and more Kin variants awakening all over the world, and as more and more Mutors ravaged through humanity, things didn''t look that great for the world. And to top it up, when criminals of the highest calibers came out of the academy and ravaged the world some more, chaos intensified everywhere. Of course, no one could do anything about it. Just one or two nations weren''t powerful enough to control a group of humanity''s strongest Kin''s anyway.


    Being the global leader, it didn''t stop America. But when America tried to nuke this ind, three of its states mysteriously disappeared from the map, further enhancing the chaos. The world was forced to let the Demigrace Academy run free.


    Of course, that wasn''t all. Some students were genuinely giving it their all for society and trying to make it a better ce: so were some teachers. One of these particr students was infuriated with the decisions of the headmaster. This student- Andrew Simon took it upon himself to end the headmaster''s reign and make the school a better ce. He was the fourth generation of Demigrace academy and one of the strongest of his generation.


    There was a tradition set by the headmaster that whoever should win the third year inter-school championship and rank in the top three in international waters, would be granted a special wish from the headmaster himself.


    Simon, was confident in his ability but even for him, winning against the internationalmunity was no joke. Besides, he never liked lightsabers anyway. Why must men swing so primitive things? That was his thought and he believed it. But he did realize that it was necessary for him to win no matter what. And to a guy who never even thought of wielding a sword ever, this was definitely a great challenge and obstacle.


    And for that, he and his friends made up the first lightsaber club, trained each other, and fought in the school tournament. He came out first and went to the nationals. It wasn''t easy; no it was one of the hardest weeks of his life. But he returned triumphant securing second ce. He was the pride of the academy and the headmaster.


    "What do you want?" The headmaster said, smiling brightly. The old man had a long slithery beard and he was also rather fit for his age.


    It was an assembly of the whole student body and it was also time to be rewarded. All the students looked at him with awe and jealousy. But they all knew he deserved this.


    Simon bowed like a noble bowing before his king. He red fiercely. "Your position." He spoke loud and clear.


    The headmaster took a step back. "What?"


    Murmurs echoed throughout the grand hall and the teachers went pale.


    "I want to be the new headmaster," Simon spoke again and stood up with pride.


    Some say the headmaster yielded his seat. Some say there was chaos that day in the academy and a fight of the century.


    But one thing, all would agree and that was, on that very day Andrew Simon took the position of the headmaster and set down three rules. First, there would be a new disciplinarymittee to oversee crime in the school. Second, no one would be able to wish for the position of the headmaster ever again. And third, all girls would have to wear short skirts in summer.


    Andrew Simon, the second headmaster of the Demigrace Academy, was the very reason why the world as we knew it, stabilized but, he was also a pervert. Everyone learned it that day, the hard way.

 Chapter 26 - Boundless

    "Can someone exin things to me?" I looked for answers but I just got res.


    The chair was pretty solid and the rope was reinforced. Meaning, they took a lot of precautions when they brought me here. I still didn''t know where here even was. The ce did seem rather fancy, and judging by the number of girls, it was probably a hall of some sort of the girls'' dorm.


    But then again, this ce seemed way too clean. Were girls really just better at keeping things clean or was I just taken to a separate special ce? Thetter seemed more usible as Elsa was pretty much the epitome of uncleanliness.


    "Why are you doing this?" For someone being caught, my voice came out awfully cold. And as far as I could remember, I''d done nothing wrong, probably.


    "You treateddy Eve-" The girl who led me in looked like she was the mastermind. She was the only one with a ponytail in the entire room. And I did not like that attitude. And basically, the gist of her act was ''I''d treated Eve with great disrespect and I was using her, meaning I''d to be punished.'' It was utter BS, and I didn''t like it.


    "I see." I didn''t know what they wanted but one thing was clear. This probably happened because I had a fight with Eve. "Where is Eve?"


    "Lady Eve is still asleep. She will-" I didn''t really pay attention to their  h hs, all that much.


    Eve didn''t have anything to do with this, at least that''s the conclusion I came up with. And since these girls were referring to her, as some sort of higher being or something, I got the impression, she was respected. But what if she made all this happen? What if sheid this trap for me? Didn''t that mean, Elsa was in trouble?


    Did I perhaps make a mistake?


    With a sigh, I red back. "You know, do you guys like this ce? I mean, I can always make this whole ce burn: turn into a pile of ash." It wasn''t a bluff. I could if I wanted to.


    I''d already made one mistake and I didn''t want to make another. I had to find Elsa and send her back. I didn''t have time to sit back and rx in a chair, being tied up like some sort of masochist.


    "Stop bluffing! You can''t do anything when your hands-"


    "Actually-" One of the girls went close to the mastermind girl and whispered something.


    "You can''t be serious!"


    At this point, they were having conversations among themselves and didn''t really pay any attention to me. Of course, using my powers whilst being confined to a chair, was tough but it wasn''t impossible. And they''d underestimated me a bit too much.


    "Ahem!" I cleared my throat to grab the attention. They all now focused on me. I looked up and set fire on a nearby poster. I was actually focusing on that very poster for the entire time. It took a lot of focus but now I could bluff all I wanted. "Just get these things off me and show me where Eve is. And I''ll pretend this never happened." Maybe I was being a bit too generous but I couldn''t afford to lose any more time.


    "Wha-" The mastermind girl wanted to say something but one girl just untied my ropes like it was no big deal.


    "Well, took you long enough." I sighed.


    "Can''t leave a junior on his own, now can I?" Selene hade to my rescue. She was still in her nightgown, and from the looks, she just woke up. Meaning, we were still in the dorms. "And girls, maybe you should consider, that he was strong enough to fight Eve equally, and not end up severely injured with ze." She shed a smile to the girls and they flinched a little.


    The way these girls feared Selene, made me question their status. Was I being held down all this time by first years? Because now that I thought about it, Eve was a second year and people who''d respect would be first years. Just the thought made me want to sigh.


    "Though I did want to talk about what you pulled yesterday." I stretched a little.


    "Oh yeah," she didn''t even look at me. "I''ll take you to Eve." I guess this was her way of making up.


    "Preposterous! What are you doing?" The mastermind ponytails really hated me no doubt.


    Selene ignored the girls, I did too. And now that I was free, they stayed a fair distance from me. They still red though.


    ***


    "Open up!"


    KNOCK! KNOCK!


    I might have gone a little overboard with the knocking. It was safe to say, I was a little pissed.


    "Hmm? What happened?" Eve opened the door with a yawn, rubbing her eyes all the while.


    "I got kidnapped, what else?" I red behind me. There were a bunch of girls peeking through the corner of the corridor. It just irked me that these girls were still here.


    Selene had gone back to sleep a long while ago after showing me Eve''s room. I was still d though.


    And apparently, my first hypothesis came alive. Meaning, girls really were cleaner than guys, at least in this dorm.


    "Oh yeah, I forgot, I had followers." Eve yawned again.


    "Just how many things did you forgot to tell me?" I mumbled. "Anyway, where''s Elsa?"


    "I think I forgot to tell you that I''m single and perfectly avable." She winked and shed a seductive grin. It came out a little nd with all the yawning though. And that drool and bed hair didn''t add anything to the seductiveness either.


    "Uh-Huh. Oh yeah, my roommate said he had a crush on you, I''d be sure to ry the info to him."


    She red at me for a minute and sighed. "She''s sleeping over there." Now that I looked inside, the room was pretty big: bigger than mine. And it was also just a single room. Meaning she was alone. And the bed was pretty big too. Though Elsa was pretty much taking over the whole bed. "And who''s this Helio guy? She kept mumbling his name as she squeezed the life out of me the whole night."


    I never told Eve my surname. And I was d for once. But I also felt sorry for her. My sister was a restless sleeper. She''d kick, punch and squeeze a hell lot, in her sleep. She was a little devil through and through.


    But I was d Eve had done nothing to her. Maybe I was too quick to jump to conclusions. I was always like this when it came to my family.


    "Well, that''s good and all. But I''ve to send her back. I didn''t have the luxury to ask her anything as it was already prettyte, but I n to send her back before ss starts." I was speaking aloud. I didn''t want to, it just happened subconsciously.


    "Really?" Eve sighed. "Well, that''s up to you two I guess." She stood aside from the door as if to say, ''go right in''. And I did just that.


    It was a little jarring to enter a room this fancy and dyed in pink, but it sure didn''t stop me. And I kept my guard up, all the while. But boy was this room fancy. Marg had told me about how she was a noble and stuff. I didn''t know what rank their father was, but honestly, these guys must have been filthy rich. And things seemed in order too. Maybe Eve liked to keep things clean?


    I didn''t yell, and I didn''t shout. I just rubbed her nose a little. Elsa had a very sensitive nose. It didn''t take even a minute before she started sneezing and it also didn''t take her long to notice that I was the one making her sneeze like that.


    "Helio?"


    "SHHH!" I shushed her before Eve could hear. I looked back and Eve was just scrolling through her Holo, so all was good, for now. "I''m going by Jintel, so don''t."


    She rolled her eyes and yawned like crazy. "What?"


    "I''ll see you off. I''ve got sses and I think you have some too, right?"


    She was still in middle school and her exams weren''t that far away, so she couldn''t afford to skip sses at this time.


    She didn''t look happy, not one bit. "Fine."


    She was pretty far from home. I still didn''t know how she got here and she sure wasn''t going to tell me.


    "By the way, how do you n on getting off the ind?" But I had to ask. I too had responsibilities after all.


    "I''ll just ask Marg." She sobbed.


    "Oh." For a second there I was dumbfounded. Was it Marg who brought her here? Oh no, what if she did this every now and then? What if Elsa came over all the time? You gotta be kidding me! "You''re not going toe over-"


    "I don''t have any important sses tomorrow, so I''lle by again." Elsa was smiling rather radiantly.


    It felt like the world came crashing down. "And where do you n on staying?"


    "Here. Sis gave me permission." She pointed at Eve.


    "SIS?" I red at Eve. This was her doing, no doubt.


    I hated these siblings.


    Eve hid her hands behind her and looked away. "I mean, if she wants to stay-" Why the hell was she being bashful?


    "Isn''t that against the rules? I mean-"


    "I''m pretty sure you can even have se- Ahem! You get the point." She was about to say something very outrageous in front of Elsa but she didn''t. But I also didn''t like where this was going.


    "I heard that this academy was free or something. But this is just outrageous. I mean, she doesn''t even go here, you know." Besides, I couldn''t just leave her with Eve anyway. I mean, Eve was a good senior but I saw her fight with Marg. I didn''t know what kind of rtionship Eve and Marg had, but I couldn''t help but feel a little dangerous vibe from Eve. Besides, her followers could have always pulled something even if she hadn''t. Meaning, leaving Elsa here for long periods of time was a no go.


    "You don''t want me?" Elsa looked at me with pleading eyes. Water sizzled in the air.


    "NO, you moron. I meant, you being here wouldplicate things. And didn''t I say, you can visit only once a month. And didn''t you already agreed?"


    "But-"


    "NO butts! You agreed. And you know I hate liars." Maybe I was just changing the subjects. But at this point, I didn''t really have a choice.


    She sobbed again. "Alright."


    I did feel bad but this was for the best. The less I had to worry about the better.


    She got down and went to the bathroom. She was still in the dress she came with yesterday. I guess she didn''t have anything to wear for bed.


    With a sigh I went to the door. I needed a jog.


    "Take a look at this." Eve held her Holo at me.


    "The chivalrous junior or a foolish one?" I couldn''t believe what I just read. There was another article about me. It covered stuff from the fight on the first day and yesterday''s along with my hunt with Marg and Clyde.


    I didn''t read the rest and I just sighed, making my way out. With all the troublesome things, I even forgot to study these past two days. I didn''t have time to worry about these things.


    "Bye, Bye, He-Li-O," Eve blew in on my neck. I jumped a little.


    "You heard?" I asked, a little bbergasted.


    She gave me a solid PR grin and I knew, my life just got even shittier.


    ***


    "And as I said, don''te back in less than a month." I knew I was being hard to Elsa, but she should have known that I wouldn''t be with her forever. She was fourteen and she had to know how real life worked.


    "Alright." She didn''t look at me, she didn''t look at Marg. She just stood, looking at the ground.


    We were in Marg''s room. Eve was behind the door: She refused toe in.


    "Ready?" Marg said.


    "Yeah," Elsa said. She was genuinely sad.


    I''m going to regret this.


    With a sigh I opened my mouth. "You know, next month I''ll enter a lightsaber tournament, why don''t youe to see me y?" I really didn''t want to say it, but I had to dig my grave, just this once.


    "You mean it?" Elsa still sulked.


    "Yup." I grinned. I did not want to.


    She smiled back and lifted up her hand, closed her eyes. And a secondter, disappeared.


    Marg came back a minuteter.


    Better get back to the dorm, I guess.


    "Later."


    I turned to leave.


    "Since when?" Marg asked.


    "What?"


    "Since when did you two?" She held her Holo against me. I really needed to buy one.


    ''My sweet junior came to wake me up, first thing in the morning. Is this true love?'' After reading the title, I really felt like crawling to a hole. It even had a picture of me and Eve taken this morning.


    Why the hell was Eve sharing weird stuff like this on her social media!? Now I had another thing to worry about.


    When did she?


    She probably took the picture when she showed me her Holo.


    "Misunderstanding." I didn''t know if Marg would believe me or not, but I didn''t have any reason to convince her either. Actually, I didn''t have any reason to worry about this anyway. No matter how I thought about it, it was just a personal post of one person, there was no way this could affect my life, right?


    I was just consoling myself and running from reality, that much I was aware of.


    "I see." That''s all Marg said. Strangely she seemed a little disheartened.


    I bade Marg bye. I couldn''t find Eve anymore in the dorm, not in her room, and not anywhere else?


    But on my way to the dorm, I met a mob. A mob of Eve followers: and they all just cursed me verbally. They had headbands and long signboards dering their love for Eve and how Eve was supposed to be free from all men and just cherished like some sort of deity.


    Even Merin was in there. Wasn''t he supposed to be asleep?


    And more importantly, did I end up in another reality?

 Chapter 27 - Terrible Start To A Disastrous Day

    On my conquest to the dorms, I was cursed 227 times. Mostly by nerds but also by some girls. This academy was weird but this was just outrageous.


    "Look, look, there goes the l-o-v-e-l-y junior."


    I''d just made it into the dorm and a guy just had to shout at his friends about me.


    I really didn''t want to do anything with these jerks. And if I tried to pull something and injured a student more and more of the rumors would spread.


    With a sigh I kept on climbing the stairs. Life was already hard and this just made things harder. Back then, back at Marg''s, I thought it wouldn''t be this bad. Who knew I was so damn wrong?


    Maybe Eve really was pure evil. I mean, she did this knowing, this would happen. I couldn''t really forgive her after this. And yet, I still felt grateful to her forst night. If she hadn''t taken in Elsa, I didn''t know what I''d have done. So in a way, I really couldn''t me Eve.


    Strangely, all I could do now was sigh. Life was so full of sighs.


    Merin was out there cursing me with the mob, so I went inside the room without knocking. I mean, it was my room, so why did I need to knock?


    "Oh hi." Apparently, there was a girl inside.


    "Not this pattern again," I mumbled. "Hi."


    Natasha, the root of Merin''s problems was here. She was just staring out of the window like there was no tomorrow.


    "Hey, I mean, what are you doing here?" I took a leap of courage.


    "Nothing. Just wanted to talk to him onest time. But looks like he''s having fun. Maybe we weren''t meant to be-" She smiled bitterly and I looked out.


    Merin was with the mob. Screaming curses about me and stuff. Honestly, maybe he really was an asshole.


    But he and the mob, all of them, looked like they were just messing around. They smiled and just ran around. Was this some new type of game?


    "Don''t tell him I was here." Natasha moved towards the door. I didn''t understand this girl, not one bit.


    "Why are you with him? The Russian, I mean."


    She didn''t turn around. "None of your business." She left.


    She was right. It wasn''t any of my business and I shouldn''t have meddled. And I had no intention of doing so either.


    ***


    Everything was done and I got ready. Things moved fast. The rumors and curses were worrying but the students still stayed a fair distance from me. After all, even they weren''t that dumb.


    Meanwhile, Merin came back and just gave me res. I still didn''t know or understand the guy.


    "Didn''t you tell me that Eve was out of your league?"


    "I never said I''d give up on her." he chuckled. "Plus it was fun to hang out with that mob. They don''t hate you. They''re just doing it for fun. So don''t let it get to you. Everything will probably be back to normal tomorrow." The guy was pretty nonchnt about it.


    Then why the hell were you so into it?


    So this must have been his way of letting out some steam, but what about the thing from this morning? What about the girl that came all the way here and just left without saying anything? Should I have told him while he tried to move on, or¡­?


    I really wanted to sigh but I kind of used up my quota for the day, so I just rolled with it.


    I really didn''t want to get involved.


    "I''ll go get breakfast. Later." I waved and left.


    "Good luck." I could swear I heard Merin wish me good luck through the door. I was probably just imagining it.


    But I felt bad climbing down the stairs.


    Was this alright?


    With every step, my heart ached. Long ago, I once had to bid farewell to my best friend, and I still couldn''t forget about her. I didn''t want Merin to go through the same pain. And I didn''t want to inflict new pain to him either.


    Damn!


    I banged my hands on a nearby wall. Some students just moved out of the way, in fright. But now I knew what to do: No, I knew what I wanted to do.


    "She was here." I''de back to the room. Merin looked at me with more than just curiosity. "Natasha was here to see you. She left when she saw your smiling face. If you want her, go get her." Maybe I was being unfair to them, maybe I was being stupid. But I didn''t care. And I had my freedom of speech.


    Merin''s lips curved up form a grin.


    ***


    Breakfast, the cheapest and most important meal of the day was a lie. First of all, it wasn''t cheap. At least not in this school. I had to wait in line at the convenience store for twenty minutes and get a bread for twice the money. It was still cheaper than the cafeteria but still, this was just extortion.


    Moreover, how was eating something when you weren''t hungry even healthy, let alone important?


    And then there was the problem of taste. I hated bread and yet I had to eat it because it was the cheapest and had all the stuff I needed from food.


    I just ate the bread and drank my chocte milk: the school had lots of benches for this purpose. Students were crowing the campus. Some were running around while others were running for their sses.


    I still had about twenty minutes before first period. This was probably the first time I brought out my phone in public this whole year. Phone was an outdated device. So I never used it in public. Nowadays it was reced by Holo- a much better device with much more use.


    I scrolled through the social media feed and as Merin said, the feed from even an hour ago, died down quite a bit. Affairs in school was a big deal but just for a few minutes. That was all. And with the oing stares from the passing by students, I reluctantly hid my phone inside my pocket.


    Now that there was food in my stomach I could think clearly.


    I had studies to worry about. I also had a tournament. My mother was already working overtime just to cover the tuition for my education and I couldn''t ask any more of her. So if I could earn some pocket money from this school, I could very well make it easier for mother. Not to mention just two yearster, Elsa would also go to highschool. So I even if a little, I had to earn.


    But to do all that, I needed some focus on my actual goals. And I couldn''t afford to get myself lost in revenge or rtionships for that matter. I never really cared about what others said anyway. So those curses never really mattered to me.


    ''So from today on, I have to focus on things that matter!''


    There were a lot of things in this school that worried me and they could have possibly have a negative effect on my life, but my primary concern was to make it out with an explorer certificate and some change. I couldn''t let other things distract me. Rtionships, revenge, they just weren''t worth the effort.


    My milk was finished and I dumped the bottle in the dumpster along with the bread packaging. Next stop, the ssroom.


    ***


    More stares, nothing new. The same had happened yesterday too. So after two full days, I did get a little ustomed.


    I still had about five minutes before ss. Time moved rather slowly. I didn''t like this. I''d wasted enough time. I''d done enough stupid things. Now I had to take this seriously. SO I just wanted the ss to start and perhaps learn something new.


    "Yo, boss. What happened? Why do you look so pissed?" Robert walked by. He didn''t even stop for a reply.


    ''Why would I look pissed?''


    I guess we didn''t have time to talk anyway, as Miss Maire just came a full three minutes early.


    "Listen up brats, we have a special announcement today so we''re starting early. " I guess she was in mode two from the start today.


    Followed by her voice, a girl walked in. a girl with wings: Rose. "Good morning everyone." No one ushered a word. Too afraid of the teacher I guess. "As you might know I''m the head of the prefects. And the disciplinarymittee also answers to me. So-"So basically, she was thew around here. "I have a few new rules set in stone from this day forth." She smiled brightly. "As you might already know, fighting on campus without permission is prohibited. But duels are allowed. So refrain from spilling blood on campus. But from today on you''d need an actual prefect present during the match, not just permission. " Though she had a smiling face, I could almost smell the devil lurking inside. Moreover, her gaze was literally fixed on me. "So we have new punishment for the ones who break this rule. You''ll be in detention for a week from now."


    I''d heard a lot of things about the detentions of this school. It was designed by the second headmaster and it was one of the school''s most effective tools in breaking a student''s spirit. I most certainly didn''t want to be in there.


    But the girl wasn''t done just yet. "Moreover I''d suggest not poking one''s nose with the maters of their seniors." Again her gaze was on me. Did I rub her the wrong way or something? "Ahem!" She cleared her throat. "And finally, from this day on, the punishment for breaking curfew would also result in a weeklong detention."


    I didn''t know why but this punishment scheme just got tougher and tougher. Plus most of the stuff was clearly focused on me. And wasn''t this just the third day? And I was already on the radar of the leader of the prefects?


    "Good day." She smiled brightly, looked around, and just left.


    I didn''t know what just happened but half of it was probably because of me. I was already a hot topic for controversy and now things just got even shittier.


    ss began in earnest and for the next three hours, I just dug my head in studies.


    ***


    "It all began-" Miss Maire began and we knew this would be long.


    After the great crash a hundred years ago, things didn''t look that hot for humanity. They were no longer in power. Even small animals like rabbits of all things hunted us. In time humans themselves developed powers and they fought back. But this power came at a cost. The cost of a disease. Most of the diseased became mad within one year of contraction. And after that, they themselves turned against humans. People called them Kin, but the ones who knew called them Mutors. Meaning, there was no difference between a savage human and a savage monkey.


    But this information was new to me. I never knew humans were considered Mutors too. I guess I couldn''t learn everything from books after all.


    ***


    I didn''t know why but things just felt even more cumbersome. Was my life always like this? I still didn''t know much about the tournament or sabers in general. I always thought they were just things I could blow up. But after seeing Eve''s sword and ze''sst night, I really needed to know more about this stuff.


    I guess I''d drop by the club today and join officially.

 Chapter 28 - My Fault?

    I was by the clubroom door right after sses ended. There wouldn''t be practical sses for another week, so I didn''t have anything else to do. I didn''t even know what these clubs were even for.


    I understood the importance of the lightsaber club, I mean they could always money- ahem, good experience. But the other clubs? Sports were out of fashion, cooking was outdated and things like study groups were just made for nerds to hang out. It was the sad truth. Long story short, I had no enthusiasm for clubs.


    The clubroom doors were shut so I just knocked and waited. After a few minutes it opened and I went in.


    "Oh hi, what brings you here today?" It was the same girl that had given me the pair of sabers yesterday. The Amie, girl.


    "Oh, I wanted to join the club. I thought about it and I think this club might be suited for me."


    "But admissions isn''t due for another week. Plus you''d need to fill up a form and you even have to have a teacher''s permission." Amie walked along with me. Her voice was awfully stale and it was almost as though she was uninterested in me.


    There weren''t any students in the clubroom today. Just me and her. Maybest time she was just pretending to be nice in front of others?


    "I see. In that case, I''ll just take my leave. Good day." I smiled and turned to leave.


    It wasn''t shocking. This school was a reputed one and it had its regtions. I just wished the captain of this club had wasn''t an overexcited idiot. If there still was a week to go, then why the hell was he even trying to recruit me now? Come to think of it, didn''t the guye to our ss even yesterday?


    "So how long have you two been going out? Did you know her from before?" It didn''t take a genius to figure out where Amie was going with this.


    "I didn''t and I''m not going out with her. Besides, she''s not my type." I was being awfully frank, but I was also maybe telling a bit of a lie.


    "I see. So this was a prank from her¡­" Amie quieted down a little. "The swords, how did you like them?" She looked at me and spoke up. Her uninterested tone was gone and reced by a curious one.


    "Oh yeah, they were fine." I mean, I was used to running around with heavier stuff than this but these two weren''t bad. They were just basic sabers and yet, they weren''t that bad.


    "I see. Too bad we don''t have anything topliment your powers."


    "Compliment? Come to think of it, ze said something like that too." I said to myself. I didn''t realize that I was speaking out loud. A bad habit.


    "Well, I still don''t know if it was courageous or stupid of you to fight him but-"She smiled faintly. "You have my respect for standing up for you sister."


    Just how fast did information travel in this school anyway?


    "Thank you, I guess?"


    She giggled. She seemed to open up a little. She was also in a better mood than before. "What do you think swords are?"


    Was she trying to be philosophical or something? I didn''t have time for this.


    "Weapons?"


    "Fair enough. But not quite. I think they are tools. They can be used as weapons, like you said. But also as toys for enjoyment." Yup, she was definitely being philosophical. Maybe holding a sword down her throat would have taught her what kind of threats these things actually possessed.


    She walked around in front of me. I was still standing by the door looking like a moron. This whole thing just felt a bit stupid.


    "Can I g-"Go now, that''s what I wanted to say but Amie''s smiling face made me stop in my tracks.


    "You didn''t just fight ze, no, you fought his sword too. They were one in that fight and that''s why you lost."


    I scowled. If I was being lectured at for who knows how much longer then the least I could do was gather some information. "What''s his power? Gravity?" It sure felt like gravity.


    "Close. He''s like a ma. And his sword can manipte electricity. Together, they''re invincible." She paused. "Of course, with those two powers he could do much more than that, meaning, he went a little easy on you. And that brings me back to my question. At that moment he could have just killed you if he used his sword as a weapon but he didn''t. He held back and just yed with you. That''s why swords are mere tools. It''s how you use them that counts."


    "Please tell me there''s a reason why you told me all this."


    "Of course there is. I just wanted to chat about this that''s all." She smiled so innocently that it made me want to crawl into a hole.


    I didn''t know what ticked this girl. One time she was smiling, another time she was being uninterested then then there was the asional burst of wrath. Was she alright on the head?


    "I have ns so-"


    "Oh wait, wait. Don''t you want to find out if there''s any sword here that canplement you?" Why was she so desperate to keep me here anyway?


    I really wanted to sigh right about now. "How can a sword even do that? I mean they''re just sma anyway!"


    "It''s not like I study these things!" Sheughed. "You see," And then proceeded to give me a detailed exnation. Was something wrong with this girl?


    Long story short, the government had all the core tech and only certifiedpanies handled the designs of the sword. And most of the swords were only ever invented to aid explorers and hunters to hunt Mutors. With the number of Mutors decreasing exponentially, nowadays this technology was mostly used for entertainment purposes.


    "Didn''t you say something about there not being any swords for me here?"


    "Well," She stopped and fidgeted for a second. "We can very well build one. It''s costly and takes time. We might actually make it before the tournament though."


    I grimaced. "I think I''ll pass. I don''t have money." Now I seriously wanted to leave.


    "The club will pay as long the base sword ispatible." She looked at me for a second understood my confusion and continued. "Everyone first confirms theirpatibility with all the sword and the sword type with the mostpatibility gets chosen as the base. Of course, these bases are often notpatible with most, hence you don''t see too many students running around with personalized swords." She was speaking so fast, that I didn''t think she was making sense to even herself anymore.


    "So, basically, I won''t have to pay anything?"


    "Technically," She was smiling a bit too much. Something smelled fishy and it wasn''t the pond on the other side of the building.


    "You know-"


    I stopped in my tracks as a guy just brushed past me and panted.


    Monty?


    "ze-" He huffed and puffed and red at Amie. "He''s going berserk. "He stuttered on more than one asion but he made his point. "Wher-e''s the captain?"


    Amie flinched. "He''s taken all the second-year members over to the association for the yearly checkup." She paused. "What happened?"


    "ze just-" He banged his hand on the wall. The wall creaked but no visible damage. "A moron from my ss- ss B broke through his door and interrupted his, ''you know what'' time." His face went pale. "They''re fighting in the grounds. It''s more like the guy''s being massacred. We need someone to stop ze but-"


    "But everyone''s out?" If everyone from the club was out, then that meant no one would dare to stop that Russian. "What about the disci-"


    "Rose is also out. The prefects are saying that the headmaster''s called her over and she''s locked in the headmaster''s room." His face twisted in an odd way forming a grimace and a scowl. "And Dick''s dick isn''t big enough to stop ze."


    "The teachers?"


    I heard that Demigrace academy was free but I never thought it was this bad here.


    "They never do anything if it involves students fighting. It''s always been like this." Amie cleared her throat. "What about you?"


    "What about me? It''s got nothing to do with me. Why should I care if some moron decides to butt in during that kind of time?" I already knew how damn monstrous that guy was. As much as I wanted revenge, I wasn''t stupid enough to get out there. Besides, it just wasn''t worth it. "But what about you two? You''re members of the club and so is he."


    Monty just grimaced and looked away. "I''m no match."


    Amie looked straight. "If I wanted to stop him, I''d have to either sell my body or die trying. Sorry, but I''d rather not do either."


    "Guess so." Well, I spent enough time here anyway. "Alright, I''ve got an assignment to finish. Catch yater." I waved.


    "Damn you Merin! Why''d you have to pick that girl!" Monty grunted.


    I stopped in my tracks, looked back in horror. "Did you just say Merin? The same moron who''s on room 420 in the boys'' dorm?" My face twitched in horror. What if Merin took my words seriously and literally ran after his love and ended up doing something stupid?


    "You know him?"


    My horrors came alive. ''It''s my fault?''


    "What''s wrong?" Amie asked.


    "Well, you''ve convinced me to fight." I shed a grin, but inside, I was dying. This was my fault. This happened because of mypse in judgment. I should have known something like this could have happened.


    ''I shouldn''t have told him.''


    "Take a sword. Any sword. ze always fights with a sword and without one, you''d be in a disadvantage," Amie, yelled before I could start running.


    She was right, barehanded I was at a massive disadvantage. My powers weren''t something that I could use in public either. But what sword, and more importantly, whose sword?


    My basic swords were good but they weren''t good enough to stand up to that monster.


    ''That''s right, that night her sword got-''


    "Then get me Eve''s." I patted Monty''s shoulder and ran out. I didn''t care if they could get that sword or not but I didn''t have enough time.


    I started this and I was going to end it: I had to.

 Chapter 29 - Fight! Reach Her!

    Two people. One bed. The doors locked.


    The boy touched the girl''s cheeks. They were wet. "You''ve run long enough. There''s nowhere else to run." His words were yful but he had the girl pinned down on the bed.


    There was darkness creeping about though it was the middle of the day.


    The girl didn''t say a word she just looked away. The boy sniffed her neck, her arms, and then her bosom.


    Tears welled up in her eyes but she just held them in. some leaked but it was of no concern.


    He grinned victoriously and ripped his shirt off. He was tall and had muscles that''d make anyone jealous. He held the girl''s hands with one hand and undid her clothes with the other.


    She bit her lips. ''Merin¡­''


    As if to answer her prayers, the doors of the room just sted open and a man stood by the door. "Hi." He had a smug face. He knew exactly what he was getting himself into.


    "You bastard!" The man screamed and got off the bed. "I''ll kill you!"


    The girl quickly hid her chest with her hand.


    "You''ll have to catch me first." The intruder shed another smirk like an idiot and disappeared.


    "ARGFH!" the boy roared and ran after the intruder.


    Meanwhile, the girl,y in bed with one hand covering her chest, the other, her eyes. She smiled faintly, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "You better take responsibility," she whispered.


    ***


    Merin Astoroio was always called weak by his friends. Not because he was weak physically but because he always stumbled in his tracks whenever he needed to make an important decision. He tried to hide all that with his natural talent for putting up a front and just pretending. Maybe he had a future in showbiz but life was tougher than it seemed.


    He was born to a middle-ss family and because of that, he knew firsthand what poverty was. He had three brothers and two sisters so he never really needed to make all that many decisions. And yet, when he did need to do something on his own, he always stumbled.


    His friends called him indecisive and they were right.


    So he pretended. He copied people around him and before he knew it, everyone treated him differently. And at one point, everyone just assumed that Merin Astoroio had grown up. In reality, he hadn''t. He was still the same guy, the same indecisive guy who couldn''t even go out for a walk on his own without the help of his siblings.


    Of course, by the end of middle school he did grow up a little and when he entered high school, with the help of his childhood friend, life treated him well enough. The ce was noisy and he was cut up from the world. And yet, he found it peaceful. Maybe being alone was what he needed to grow up? Or perhaps the thread- his best friend kept him going.


    He had a good rtionship with his roommate and this enabled him to be even more forward. He had new friends who treated him with respect. He could go out on his own now. He had a genuine personality of his own and he also did well in his studies. Life really was better. He even scored some brownie points with his best friend. He made a grand n to propose to her at the end of the year too.


    But things changed when a certain Russian transferred at the end of the semester. The Russian was a Battlesuin- the most influential family in all of Aisa. The Russian took away his best friend and his roommate graduated. It happened fast and there was nothing he could do. Nothing.


    He was all alone. It was the first day of the second year and he was alone¡­. The whole ce was noisy and yet, he was lonely- alone.


    The newbie hadn''t yet shown up and Merin thought he might never show up. He looked out the window, saw the crowd below, the chaos and beauty of school, and sighed.


    ''After all, who wants to be the roommate of a loser?''


    As he gloomed around he heard a knock on the door and when he opened it, to his surprise, it was his best friend. What was she doing here after three whole weeks of no-show?


    They talked and they kissed for the first time that day. They knew this wouldn''tst and they knew things would be bad if the Russian found out, and yet, they didn''t stop.


    Knock! knock!


    "Who is it?" Merin yelled. Though he didn''t want to.


    "I''m supposed to be your roommate. So do you mind opening the door?" The voice was loud and it didn''t seem like he''d stop knocking anytime soon.


    Maybe it was a stroke of bad luck, maybe it was a stroke of good luck but whatever it was, on that day Merin met his new roommate, the guy who nonchntly ruined their alone time and maybe unintentionally saved him a lot of trouble.


    ***


    But perhaps Merin really did want trouble as for the first time in his life he just made a rash decision; a very rash decision. And yet he smiled, he smiled like an idiot.


    "You''ll have to catch me first!" he screamed at the Russian and ran without looking back as if his life was depending on it. In reality, it really did.


    He just did the unthinkable. In this school, in Demigrace Academy, there was a certain unspoken rule among the students. ''Never anger a Battlesuin,'' and yet, it didn''t stop him. He did for love- no he did it for himself.


    ***


    Argh! A groan.


    "Why?" The boy screamed as he punched the boy beneath him. With every punch, the ground shook.


    The boy underneath him- Merin smiled faintly. His eyes were bulging out. Blood was everywhere. His face was puffier than that day when he got beaten up by a thug near the market. "Screw you." Argh!


    Argh!


    ARGH!


    One punch! Two punch! Ten punch!


    And yet, Merin didn''t yield, he just grinned.


    "I''ll kill you!" The Russian screamed.


    The very ground shook and Merin''s body felt heavier than it should.


    There were plenty of people watching the show from around them. The students enjoyed the show while the teachers just ignored things.


    "Ca-can''t you say something more creative? Is killing all you can do?" Merin chuckled, and threw up some blood.


    "Then how about I take your head?" All this time, the boy- ze was beating Merin with his bare hands but this time, he just turned on his saber. "I bet you never felt a saber tearing through your meat." He grinned, his face turned ck.


    "This didn''t turn out the way I wanted but-" Merin paused. "But killing me would get you expelled." He smirked victoriously in face of death. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe this was a terrible idea and maybe this was thest decision of his life. And yet, he smiled.


    "What a fool." ze clicked his tongue and held his saber with two hands. He was about to shove it straight through Merin''s head. "Even if I get expelled I can alwayse back next year."


    ''But Nat would have graduated by then.'' Merin''s thoughts went unheard of but his smile never faltered.


    "Stop it!" A girl cried out. Natasha had arrived just a second earlier before the imminent tragedy.


    ze grinned again and didn''t give a damn about the girl. "Heh, so this girl, eh?" He proceeded to shove down the sword anyway.


    Merin looked at the girl onest time, smiled, and then closed his eyes. This was it.


    But the sword never came and it felt like the world quieted down.


    "Sorry I''mte." The voice came from behind him. "But can you move, this is hard."


    Merin looked up and saw a face he knew. "Sorry, too busted."


    "In that case-" The neer swirled his sword and ze took a step back. "I''ll take it from here." He grinned.

 Chapter 30 - Youre Not The Boss Of Me: Do I Really Have To?

    It was my fault. If I hadn''t meddled in their rtionship then this wouldn''t have happened. Merin would have forgotten his friend and things would have calmed down. But I knew the pain of letting a friend go and I didn''t want Merin to suffer the same. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was right. I didn''t know.


    I didn''t know what was right or wrong but I knew one thing, and that was, I had to finish what I started.


    "Outta the way!" I shoved past the crowd. I didn''t care if they got hurt. Who cared about these spectators?


    "¡­ tearing through your meat." There was a shirtless guy in the middle of the crowd and he had a ck saber. Not the best ofbinations.


    Merin was about to get skewered and I waste.


    "Stop it!" A girl screamed and I was d for it.


    The scream bought me two precious seconds. Enough to get my saber out and block ze''s sword.


    Merin was d but he was hurt pretty badly. And to think all this happened because of me.


    "You-" ze red.


    "Hi. How''s it going?" I took a pose with my saber. Monty was yet to arrive with that sword, so for the time being, I had to work with just a normal saber.


    "Being beaten once wasn''t enough for you?" ze''s face was pretty ck. He was angry, there was no doubt about it.


    "Well, I''m kind of a sore loser." I was just buying time. I knew I couldn''t beat him. Not while there was a crowd here like this.


    He pointed his sword at me. "I don''t have time for you. He did something unforgivable." Weirdly the guy was actually acting a lot saner than I thought. "And I''d advise you to stay out of it," he hissed.


    "Technically, I was the one who told him to get his friend, so this is my fault. Feel free toe at me." I smiled and realized I just said something rather stupid. "Oops, wasn''t supposed to say that."


    "You basta*d!" He screamed rather loudly before running towards me in full swing. So much for being sane.


    Merin was behind me and I couldn''t run to the sides. I had to take him seriously.


    Now that I was calm and he was not so calm, I could see his movements clearly. Yes, he was fast, but not fast enough to disappear.


    CLANG!


    Our swords connected and I had to take a step back, barely touching Merin. This guy was strong and my saber was buzzing a bit too much. It was close to its limit.


    Things weren''t looking that good.


    "First I''ll get rid of you and then him. I''ll rip your arms out!" He was being awfully descriptive too.


    "Yeah, no thanks."


    Another ng!


    This was bad, this was very bad. The saber twinkled a little. One more sh and it was done for. More like I was done for.


    Beads of sweat poured down my face as a vertical swing came my way. My saber died just when the two swords connected and my uniform got scratched: more like torn. I did bleed a little over my right shoulder but it wasn''t a matter of concern.


    ze grinned hard. "Well, it was nice knowing you."


    "Catch!" Monty threw a sheathed sword straight at me.


    I never knew I''d be this d to see the snot prince''s face.


    "What are you, an idiot? Who throws a literal sword?" I caught the sword and unsheathed it, blocking ze''s advance in the process. It was eve''s sword, the same traditional sword. And it worked like a charm, not even flinching a little when faced against a lightsaber. Something was definitely different about this sword than other traditional swords.


    ze took a step back, checked me out again, and grinned. "What good is it to you if you don''t have her powers?"


    The sword was good and I really liked the weight on it. I was used to these kinds of swords after all. I was more ustomed to double-edged swords though.


    "Well," I smirked. "Anyone who wants to keep their potency please get out of my fifty-meter radius, that includes you too Merin." It might have sounded a littleical but I was serious.


    I focused on the sword and it glowed in blue. I knew it. There was something mixed in with the iron. Maybe it was done this way so Eve could use her powers freely, but it also gave me leeway.


    "Oh, man¡­" Merin crawled and a girl helped him: ''I guess those two were really meant to be together.''


    The crowd was definitely a lot further now too.


    I guess they took me a bit too seriously. It was fine as long as they weren''t in my ten-meter radius but I sure wasn''t going to say anything to them.


    Without a warning ze sped up and my body became heavy. It was just like yesterday. But one thing was different. I wasn''t furious this time.


    "Too bad." I grinned and blocked his saber from behind. Did this guy only have one pattern?


    Sparks flew and I released a flurry of attacks. I really liked this sword.


    He dodged and blocked. I guess he really wasn''t all talk. He attacked me quite hard too. My uniform suffered a little and I bled in three ces but I could say the same about him. He wasn''t wearing anything so, he bled from his left shoulder and his wound might have been a bit deeper than mine: droplets of blood dripped through his abs to the ground.


    But then again I had three and he had only one. Meaning, he was still in a better position.


    ''Not for long.''


    "I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you! I''LL KILL YOU!!" he was screaming a lot.


    His speed increased a lot and my body got a lot heavier. It was harder and harder to track him. And just like that night, he disappeared right before my eyes.


    ''Teleportation... no¡­ this is something else.''


    Unlikest time, I didn''t just look around. I focused on my surroundings instead. The crowd was at a faraway distance. So I fired out some particles. Alpha particles couldn''t really go through all that much. Meaning, I knew his location the moment the particles hit him.


    Left, gotcha!


    With the full force of my powers on the sword, I swung it with most of my strength. As expected, ze swung his, but he never expected my sword. The ck aura of him was worrying but this sword should have held. And I had this nagging feeling that he was about to lose an arm.


    Well, it wasn''t my problem.


    "Enough!" And yet, just before the two swords connected we were stopped by a voice from above. But this time, both of us froze. I couldn''t move my body, even a little. It was like invisible strings were chaining me down.


    ''Not this pattern again.''


    I looked up and there she was, the girl with wings. She descended and red straight at me. "Just this morning I warned you and now-"


    "Unfortunately, he started it." I didn''t look at her. I was pretty sure she knew whom I was talking about.


    "Yes, I admit he is a troublemaker, but it doesn''t mean you, a freshman can do whatever."


    The strings loosened and I felt rage surge within.


    "So, all I need is to advance to second year and I could do all the stuff he''s doing and get away free?" I pointed at Merin. "So you''re saying I can beat up my ssmates like that without any consequences and if someonees to their rescue and then that someone would be faulted instead of me?" I grinned sarcastically. "How cool."


    "You-" The girl really wanted to say something but red at ze instead. "Fighting is prohibited. Detention for you."


    ze didn''t bother with the girl. "I demand a duel." His eyes were on me.


    "And I don''t have any reason to ept." I really didn''t. I only came here today because this was my fault. But now that I saved Merin, I didn''t really want to get more involved in this.


    "Then how about I wager her?" He was talking about the Natasha girl.


    Frankly, we both werepletely ignoring Rose at this point.


    "I don''t have anything to bet, so I''ll pass." Now I really wanted to get out of here.


    "Oh, you don''t need anything." He grinned. "I''ll just break your arms and legs. That''s enough for me."


    Was this guy serious? "I like my limbs so no thanks." I chuckled and looked around. Everyone- even Merin and Natasha were looking at me with expectations.


    ''Come on guys, it''s not like I''m a hero from a movie or something.''


    I turned to leave. My business here was done. And I needed to leave before the Rose girl dragged me down to detention.


    ze snorted. "No wonder your father left you. Who would want to stay in a house full of cowards?" he taunted.


    I never really liked cheap taunts but his one, this one ticked me off. "Father? What do you mean?" I chuckled. "I have no father." But more importantly, how did he know about the leaving part?


    He chuckled too. "You don''t have to be so afraid, I''ll only break your arms." His re intensified. "And who knows you might even learn more about your father if you beat me." He was acting more and more like typical video game viins.


    "Well, my arms are kind of precious, so how about you release all the girls and never get near them without their permission?" I didn''t want to fight him. But the situation turned into something else. And as much as I hated to admit it, I did want to know why we were abandoned. It wasn''t anything as simple as revenge anymore. It was war.


    His grin widened. "OF course."


    "Well, I guess you were making good use of my sword so I''ll forgive you this time, yboy." Eve was right behind me, and with her came the captain and some other members of the club.


    When the hell did they get here? Couldn''t they have helped me if they were already here?


    "I got them back." Amie panted. I guess she went searching for them.


    "Oh, yeah, sorry about using this without your permission." I gave her the sword back.


    She just gave a luscious smile and winked. I did not want to get involved with her even in the slightest, and yet, I was still indebted to Eve. What an irony!


    "Though there will be a duel." Rose started. "Both of you will be in detention."


    "Unfortunately, he''ll be in a hospital." zeughed sarcastically and left. "I''ll leave the time and ce to you, Captain."


    "That''ll act as a good advertisement for us I guess." The captain scratched his head and he didn''t look that enthusiastic.


    "I don''t know about him, but as I said, I didn''t start this, hence I won''t take detention. Feel free toin to the headmaster." Iughed sarcastically as well and just started walking.


    I was acting all high and mighty but honestly, I was scared stiff. I''d heard so much about this school''s detention that I really didn''t want to be near the detention room, let alone in it. I walked straight like a badly oiled machine. I didn''t look at anyone and just walked.


    ''Just smile and walk¡­''

 Chapter 31 - Interlude: A Special Guest?

    Annebell Rose, was the daughter of ate court judge. Her father cherished justice and died protecting that justice. And she inherited it, vowing to make this cruel society- the same society that took her father away- a better ce.


    The world was a cruel ce. After the great crash,ws, and authority were ignored, and when humans themselves were being hunted, what was the point of sticking to morality?


    As time passed humans developed powers for themselves and for once they weren''t presented the threat of extinction. Things began to stabilize. But this didn''t repair the damage that was already done. And controlling society with powers was harder than ever. So a convict killing the judge and escaping wasn''t unheard of.


    And yet, there always selfless people devoting themselves for society and maintaining the bnce, Rose''s father was one and so was Rose.


    ***


    All through middle school Rose preached good behavior in campus and made small campaigns with fellow ssmates. Of course, she was mostly ignored but she didn''t mind that. She was bullied but she stood right back up. She didn''t give anyone a chance. She knew what justice was and she wanted it to spread.


    When she first came to Saint Demigrace Academy, she was shocked at how much the students were free. The teachers did nothing and the prefects, as well as the disciplinarymittee, just maintained the bare minimum. Even killing students weren''t punished that severely. This academy was famous for its preaching of being free but this was insane.


    There were so many things that infuriated her and there were also so many things that she knew she had to do. She knew she could make this ce better. She had to.


    She started off by volunteering for the disciplinarymittee and learn how things worked for herself.


    She stumbled at every step but she didn''t give up. She kept going. She didn''t stop and she didn''t regret.


    Within time she learned how things and by the end of the year she achieved so much that the senior teacher Mrs. Hermone gave her the position of the leader of the prefects. It was an arduous position and she was new. But one thing was for certain, she was one step closer to the ideal society she had in mind.


    If she could change a ce like this, then she could change the entire world. And this was just a step towards that. Her goal was big and idiotic, and yet, her smile was radiant.


    But even on the first day, there was trouble. Of course, she anticipated as much but what about the second day? And then the third? And not to mention by the same student?


    ''What is wrong with him?'' Rosey in her bed, thinking about a certain student. That student was a freshman and yet, he was almost as much a troublemaker as ze Battlesuin. ze, she could understand, as Battlesuins'' always tended to be troublesome but the freshman too? Maybe circumstances led to all three events but what were the odds? Three incidents back to back by the same individual? That couldn''t be a coincidence, now could it?


    ''And what''s with that attitude?'' She was on her stomach and squirmed around the bed helplessly.


    It''s been only three days and she was already spent. She made up new rules and tried various new things but this academy just looked like the same academy it wasst year. Actually, maybe a little worse.


    With a sigh, she looked at her Holo. It was close to nine. In an hour, the curfew would start. She was already sleep-deprived but this job took whatever little sleep she used to enjoy right out of her life.


    "Lady Annebell. You have a visitor." With a knock, one of the prefects made her presence known. She didn''te into the room and just stayed outside.


    ''At this hour?''


    ***


    "Damn it all!" ze broke the tablemp with a punch and sat down on the bed with a thud.


    He had a separate mansion all to himself and his girls, so no one would haveined of noise if nothing else. Battlesuins'' were like royalty and though rules and regtions stated that royalty would stay in dorms too, the Battlesuin''s were exempt from his rule. The reason? They''d injure other students and possibly end up killing them.


    Sometimes governments tried to stop these kinds of rampages. But as weak as governments were these days they couldn''t do anything. Not to mention there was amon saying on the streets, ''touch a Battlesuin and the whole family wille an''getcha''.


    Two hands spread around ze''s neck and a breath reached his nape. "Don''t worry, you''ll have your fun." She whispered in a hushed yful voice. She hugged ze tightly from behind and kissed his nape.


    As irritated as ze was, even he couldn''t say no. "He thinks he has a chance." He snorted. "Maybe going easy on him was a good idea after all." Of course, he was a little delusional. He did go easy on Helio yesterday, but today, he was serious. Maybe he was a little too infuriated to think it through.


    "Now, now," the girl fingered ze''s hair. "He''s no match for you." Her words were like poison, but to ze they were honey.


    ze shed a grin and kissed her. She kissed him back. Time passed.


    Approximately half an hourter, only minutes after the two finished, there was a loud knock on the door.


    "Yes?" ze answered, a little irritated.


    "Master," the servant began. "You have a guest."


    ze looked at the artifact of a clock on the wall and noticed it was almost nine. "At this hour?"


    It was rare for him to have anyone over other than his girls even during the day let alone at night.


    ***


    An hour before nine, four people were in the infirmary. One was the injured and one was the nurse. The other two were friends of the injured. The injured being Merin Astroio.


    "I never thought you of all people woulde to my rescue," Merin began. He was awfully quiet all this time. Maybe he was sorting his thoughts or perhaps he was just surprised? Perhaps a mixture of both.


    "Well," Helio looked straight at him. "I kind of broke my word and told you about Natasha so, so I took responsibility for my blunder."


    The nurse and Natasha were both quiet.


    The look on Nat''s face was somewhere between a sob and a grin. Maybe even she didn''t know what she was feeling. But if anything she was relieved and a little uncertain about the future.


    All this sh and spilling of blood was for her sake. She couldn''t just stop feeling guilty. And yet, no one faulted her. Actually, no one even mentioned anything. And it only made her feel worse.


    "But boy, I never thought you had it in you, man. I always thought you were some nonchnt guy who didn''t care all that much about these things." Helioughed.


    "I dunno. Maybe I am that guy. But-" He paused and took a look at Nat. "But this time, I felt I like I had to change."


    "Good for you. This is taking too long, so I''ll head back." Helio looked at the nurse. "Will he be able to return to the dorm tonight?"


    "No. He has to stay here for at least a day and then rest for the rest of the week."


    "Don''t worry. I''ll be here with him." Natasha didn''t look at either of them. She couldn''t.


    Merin was hurt pretty badly, so this wasn''t surprising.


    "Alright, night." Helio turned around and didn''t look back.


    "Thanks-" Natasha and Merin said in unison. They werepletely in sync for once.


    Helio''s lips curled upwards and formed a grin but he just raised his arm up a little and bade both goodbye.


    He was somewhat injured too. Or rather, his clothes were. The uniform he was wearing had seen better days and perhaps the thought of screwing up his uniform was eating him alive more than anything else.


    ''What the hell am I supposed to tell mom!?''


    He was also panicking a little inside too.


    He agreed to the duel in the spur of the moment but what now? He didn''t have a sword and he didn''t have his uniform. He couldn''t just run back to the club either.


    But just outside the nurse''s office someone waited for him, quite like the first day. But perhaps not quite so. As this, someone was a guy instead of a girl. And a prefect no less.

 Chapter 32 - But It’s Only Just The First Week!

    "I''ll give it to you straight, you''ll lose."


    Micheal was outside of the nurse''s office, waiting for me. I had no idea what he was doing here but I didn''t want him to be prophetic either.


    "And what makes you say that?" Of course, I was skeptical. I''d heard of all sorts of powers but future sight? Never heard of that one.


    "I''ve known ze for over two months now. He transferred exactly two months ago and is undefeated ever since. He fought countless seniors. I saw his fight with one of our national rankers behind the gym. You can guess who won. And for the record, the national ranker was ranked 9th all over the world for his grade." So I guess, he wasn''t being prophetic, rather he spoke from experience.


    "I don''t know if you know this or not, but my goal is to be number one, not nine."


    ''For the sake of the chocte!''


    The hallway was awfully empty. We were basically alone. So spouting embarrassing things like being number one, wasn''t as embarrassing.


    He grinned and then chuckled. "I guess there''s no point in convincing you now. The chances are slim but I do hope you win though. I didn''t see your fight with ze but I heard you did well enough. Hopefully, you''ll reach your dreams." He smiled.


    The way he said it, almost sounded like he''d given up on his dreams. It almost sounded a littleical. Maybe I was just being stupid.


    "Yeah, thanks. And good luck with your job too. But isn''t it hard to get some sleep?"


    "To tell you the truth-" He came close. "We take shifts and I usually go to bed by 1," he whispered.


    I guess that was normal. No one would be able to work without proper sleep anyway.


    I grinned and gave him a thumbs-up as he left. He did the same. I didn''t know why he came to see me personally while we barely talked once, but I was kind of d.


    And after walking halfway through the hall he came back, looked sideways, and grinned awkwardly. "I kind of forget to tell you about your duel." He sighed. "It''s the day after tomorrow. You''ll get more details tomorrow." He left without another word. I guess he was a bit embarrassed to forget his primary goals.


    ''The day after tomorrow huh? Wait, I need a sword!''


    Actually, I needed a lot more than just a sword, but standing in the hallway, ripping off my hair, wasn''t the way to go.


    ''Let''s just head over to the dorms for now. My other sword should be there.''


    The club had given me two as souvenirs but I already broke one, which meant I only had one left. The fact that it was just a basic sword was still bugging me.


    I kept walking and eventually got out of the school building. There were plenty of people out and some of them weren''t even students.


    I didn''t care and just walked.


    In terms of speed and technique, I was superior to ze. But he had me cornered with strength and his ability. Not only could he increase his own speed, but he could also decrease mine. This was a tricky fight and I had to think of something to counter it.


    "How many times do I have to tell, watch where you''re going?" Someone yelled.


    "Huh?" I promptly crashed into a palm tree.


    ''Again?''


    I rubbed my aching forehead and red at the direction the voice came from.


    Eve was standing still with a smile, one hand on her waist. "Are you sure you''re not trying to injure yourself before the duel?" She was taunting me, no less.


    "I''m pretty sure I cane up with better excuses if that were the case."


    She giggled, she giggled hard. "Yeah." She still giggled.


    Her giggles only increased my pain. "What''s wrong with whoever made this thing grow? And in the middle of the road?"


    "Well, you''ll have to take your plea to Ariel." Now she giggled just to piss me off. "Anyway, I''m under the impression that you needed a sword. You can borrow mine if you want to." She fingered the sword on her waist: thest part of her sentence was a bit too yful for my taste.


    ''Just who the hell is this Ariel!?'' Needless to say, I was very tempted to bust into someone''s room and do some pping action, because my forehead was still doing ''the throbbing''.


    But why was Eve being so generous? She was being way too generous. I got the feeling she had some ulterior motives. I didn''t know why but epting her sword seemed like a trap. Maybe I was overthinking things, maybe I was being stupid, but I still couldn''t trust Eve.


    "Sorry but, I don''t think I should rely on you for this fight."


    Eve''s sword was special and it allowed me to use my powers freely for once. But it was also addicting. If I used this sword on more than a few asions I got the feeling, I won''t be able to part from it. I''d be too dependent on this sword: someone else''s sword. Meaning, in the end, I''d just be dependent on her.


    "I guess men have their pride." She smiled bitterly. "You''re not a member of the club yet, so I don''t think they''ll lend you one either. After all, they''ve already given you two good swords."


    ''Two BASIC good swords. I was the one who chose them though¡­''


    I kind of wanted to punch myself right about now.


    But I''d already made my decision. There was nothing I could do about it. "I''ll think of something."


    I started walking. Once I passed Eve, she whispered something. "You know, maybe¡­. Maybe if you pulled this off, I might even reward you with-" her voice was getting awfully seductive.


    So, I plugged my fingers in my ears and just ran. I already had enough things to worry about, I didn''t need more from her. I could still hear her giggling though. Boy, was she loud, and annoying.


    ***


    I reached the dorm and as expected my room was empty for once. No matter when I came to the room, Merin was always here. He wasn''t someone I respected but he was someone I trusted, maybe not totally, but definitely, enough to enjoy hispany.


    It was because of that nagging idiot that I felt at home. I didn''t feel lonely even though I never spent more than a day away from my family. But after three days, today, I felt lonely, in this room of solitude.


    With a sigh, I changed clothes and looked at the torn uniform.


    Mom would be more than just furious. This was a little bit beyond fixable with traditional means.


    I almost sighed again. Then I remembered. ''Oh right, I''ve used up my sigh quota.''


    My sigh quota, a thing that Elsa just randomly made up. Apparently one day I was sighing a bit too much and it irritated her to an extent that she consulted mom and mom made me swear that I wouldn''t sigh more than ten times a day. It was a stupid thing but I didn''t rebuke them: I didn''t have a choice.


    When the thought of this stupid promise crossed my mind, I chuckled subconsciously.


    I picked up the pace and cleaned things up. It was almost nine-thirty and I didn''t want to sleep just yet.


    ''Oh yeah, I still had that assignment.''


    KNOCK!


    The moment I sat down at the table, someone was at the door. I really, really felt irritated.


    With a grumpy attitude, I mmed the door open. It was an inward door, so the person on the other side was unharmed.


    "Yes?" My voice was more coarse than intended.


    "Were you stroking your junk or something? Why are you so irritated?" the voice was female and it was quite stern.


    Though I wasn''t doing what she suspected, it still flustered me.


    "But girls aren''t supposed to-" Before I could finish, she held a finger to my lips and blitzed in, locking the door in the process.


    "We need to talk."


    It was Marg. Marg was inside my room. Andst time I checked, the dorm manager had flipped out though Elsa was my sister. So this, the incident of Marg being in my room, was big.


    Being flustered was an understatement. Why would a girl in her nighties just turn up at my room at nine-thirty in the night, when my roommate was out no less? I kind of knew where this was going. I knew I saved her, but this was a bit too much. My heart wasn''t ready for this kind ofmitment. "Look we''re too youn-?" My pores leaked. This was bad for my heart. I knew I never wanted rtionships but maybe deep down, I subconsciously wanted it? Now even I wasn''t so sure.


    "Your mother keeps contact with me so when she heard you got into a fight, she told me toe get you back home for a few minutes."


    ''Huh?'' I stared at her for a good minute before realizing what kind of shit I got myself into. The earlier flustered-ness vanished in thin air and the sudden gravity of the problem surfaced.


    I swallowed. "Wait, my mother keeps contact with you, about me, instead of me?" My own sentences started to confuse me.


    "What else would you expect? You don''t have a holo, and even if she phones you, you don''t pick up."


    She was right. I never really used my phone ever since I got here anyway. The small sweat droplets became buckets. Mom was a simple person. She was great when she was being nice but when she turned¡­. Just thinking about it gave me heartache.


    ''Wait, what if she finds out about the uniform too?''


    "Ummm, could you tell her that I''m a bit tired so, maybe tomorrow?" My teeth ttered. This was bad, very bad.


    Marg walked towards me and I walked back. My back touched the wall and her hand touched my shoulder. "No." She only said one word before the whole world turned ck and white: space warped, and I was back to our living room.


    Mom was ring right at me, with a smile.


    ''Oh, shit¡­.''

 Chapter 33 - Kissing Pillows Never Seemed More Fun

    "Well, exin yourself." Mom smiled.


    I looked around, fiercely. There was no one around. Elsa was probably in her room. And mom didn''t have anything to hit me with either. But this only raised my heartbeat even more.


    My mother had a special power. And I certainly didn''t want a taste of it.


    "You see-" I began by sitting down on the chair first. I didn''t want to say a word but I had to. "He- kind of hurt Elsast night and my roommate today." I just went through the honesty route.


    Mom massaged her temples and let out a sigh. "And you won''t back down from the duel because of that?" She was being awfully calm about this. So much so that, it was worrying me.


    Moreover, just how much did she know?


    "We-we kind of entered a bet."


    Besides, the guy knew about my father. I couldn''t say that to mom but, but I had to do this.


    "Do you think you can win? And be uninjured?" She eyeballed my shoulder. Just how the hell did she know? My wound wasn''t even visible and yet she already knew.


    I just smiled, but my sweats were saying something else. "I do have a n. And I have a saber too."


    ''Although I''m pretty sure, it''ll just get broken first thing.''


    Mom''s expression grew more and more serious. "Can you win?"


    If she was being this straight, then I had to too. "Not with my current sword, no. I won''t be able to use my powers with this. And just using a saber, won''t be enough to win." I was serious and I already knew how strong ze was.


    Mom closed her eyes, I could almost hear her breaths. It was quiet, too quiet. From the moment Marg brought me here, she was quiet and she stood by the chair, just standing still. And Elsa was probably sleeping in her room, so there wasn''t even a speck of sound.


    I gulped in anticipation. "But as I said, I do have a n."


    "Let''s hear it." She red.


    I wanted to run away. I really wanted to run away, yesterday. "I''ll use my sword as a portable bomb and throw it at him, blinding him for a second and then beating him with my bare hands." I actually didn''t have a n and just made this one up on spot. It did sound like a good n though.


    Mom looked at me for a second, burst outughing, stopped, and a secondter, red. "What are you, an idiot?"


    Now that my sure kill n was rejected, I was utterly out of ideas. I was also utterly out of optimism too.


    ''Maybe I should have just taken Eve''s sword.'' The thought felt very tempting right about now.


    "Take the sword from the attic." Mom didn''t look at me and stood up. "Before that, did you eat?" Yet again she was eyeballing my whole body.


    "Wait, we have a sword in the attic?"


    "It was your grandfather''s." Mom smiled faintly and looked at the floor. "His memento."


    Now even I felt bad.


    And yet, a secondter mom''s expression grew rather unpleasant as she red at me again. "DID YOU eat?"


    ''Do I tell her that I''m surviving on bread and juice for three days? No hell no!''


    If I did, she''d probably chew me out. "You see, I- well, kind off-" I couldn''t think of any excuses, no sir!


    Not to mention I was already guilty of skipping a few meals too.


    "Dinner table, now," Mom hissed. She looked awfully condescending.


    "Yes, Mam." I couldn''t even look at her eyes anymore.


    ''Wasn''t I supposed to be free after middle school?''


    This sure didn''t look like freedom. And Marg''s almost silent giggling didn''t really help.


    ***


    Strangely some of my favorite dishes were here today too. Did mom cook them just for me?


    I did doubt that but I guess it was usible since she asked Marg to bring me over.


    After living on bread and juice for three days, real food tasted even better than I ever hoped. I ate greedily: more like I devoured everything in sight. "Delicious." I could almost cry.


    Mom watched me eat from the other side. I didn''t like being watched like this but I didn''t necessarily have a choice. The smile on her face kind of felt genuine though.


    I kept eating and before I knew it, I was stuffed. It felt heavenly, though it did hurt just a little.


    "Wait, here." Mom stood up and left, utterly satisfied.


    "What about you? Did you eat?" I''d actually forgotten about Marg altogether.


    "Yes, I ate at exactly 8 pm. "She thought for a second. "It was the tradition of our house."


    "Tradition? You guys are nobles, right? I''d take it you have loads of siblings? Isn''t it hard?"


    Just the idea of having one sibling was torture for me, I couldn''t even think of how she could cope with life.


    "I don''t let it bother me."


    "Really. Come to think of it, Eve''s your sister, isn''t she? Howe you two don''t look alike?" I wasn''t curious. I just didn''t have anything else to talk about.


    "I was born to a mistress." Her voice wasid.


    "Excuse me?"


    "A mistress. Not the official wife. Hence when I was dered as an official heir, everyone from the official family started to despise me." Words flowed out of her mind. She didn''t even mind in the slightest? "And no, I don''t have any sisters."


    "I-I see." And now there was nothing more to talk about. Things just got awkward. On second thought, things were awkward, to begin with. They just got more awkward. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.


    After roughly five or so minutes mother came back with a stick covered in cloth. But I guess, it wasn''t a stick. "This was your grandfather''s." She handed it over to me with a stern look.


    I lifted the sword up and it was heavy alright: it was half the length of me. But definitely, my type. It was also double-edged. I fell in love the moment I got it in my hands.


    "But is normal swords even allowed?" I wondered. After all, wasn''t this supposed to be a duel of lightsabers?


    "It should be alright. After all, he wanted a duel, not a lightsaber duel," Marg said.


    "Wait, you were there?"


    "No, someone was recording and I watched the feed through my Holo."


    Now I hated the audience even more. But I guess they did have their own merits if nothing else.


    This sword was good but there was a question. What about my skills? I could very well use this sword better than a saber but what if it breaks down in front of a high end lightsaber? And what about my powers?


    As if mom noticing my thoughts, she smiled. "It was your grandfather''s. So of course, it''s reinforced. And your aunt Susan coated this sword with one of her top-end barriers. So I''m pretty sure it should hold up. But maybe go a little easy with the radiation, okay?" It was almost cute how she spoke.


    ''Don''t let her fool you!'' I shook my head.


    "Well, now I just have to get a scabbard for this," I spoke to no one in particr. I couldn''t just carry around a naked sword in the middle of the school anyway.


    "You can just ask the club for one. They''ll probably give you one for free." Marg was fooling around with her Holo.


    "How much do you know, anyway?" I looked at Marg with blunt eyes.


    She didn''t feel the necessity to answer.


    But I guess, the club members would at least give me a scabbard, if nothing else. It couldn''t hurt to try asking.


    It was past ten and the curfew started a while ago. This was gettingte. "I think we should go now."


    "Come back once in a while. Eating dinner every once in a while with your family isn''t that bad, is it?" Mom said.


    "I suppose."


    Marg came close and I guess this was it. "What happened to Elsa?"


    "She''s probably sleeping." I guess, even mom didn''t know.


    The moment mom came close and redid my cor, memories came flooding back.


    ''What about the uniform?''


    Students at school weren''t wearing uniforms even now. I guess being free meant they were really free. But I clearly read that uniform was mandatory. So maybe I had to get new ones. And yet, there wasn''t any way I could say that to mom.


    Mom took a step back. "Oh yes. What about your clothes. Do you need new ones?" The question caught me off-guard.


    "I think I need a uniform." The words slipped out of my mouth: one of the greatest blunders of my life.


    Mom smiled, mom smiled hard. Uniforms were ten times pricier than normal clothes. "You didn''t fight in your uniform knowing that it''d tear right?" Her words were pretty yful, but they weren''t.


    "Marg. I think it''s time to go." I tried to chuckle and tapped on Marg''s shoulder. She just looked at me with pity and just stood there.


    The veins on mom''s forehead were a bit visible but she was still smiling. Some of the lights and ss shook a little.


    "Marg." I shook her hard.


    "Alright." She whined and space warped.


    I was back in my room. My sweet old room. I could just hug the pillows: strike that, I could kiss them.


    Marg rolled her eyes sighed. "Night." She disappeared the next second.


    ***


    All the lights of the house fused in a split second, creating a sound like hundreds of mini bombs blowing up all at once. Even the ss shattered.


    "What happened?" Elsa came running down the stairs to the kitchen. "What happened, mom!"


    "Oh, nothing dear." Her mom smiled. "Just a cockroach." Her smile stayed and she just lifted her fingers. About a hundred cockroaches floated in the air, crushed into a small ball, and fell in the recycle bin. "I guess we should clean that up tomorrow."


    "Since when were you scared of cockroaches?" To Elsa''s knowledge, her mother was always pretty cool and calm. She never saw her scared. ''Maybe something spooked her?''


    "Oh I''m not scared." Her mother shed yet another brilliant smile. "Oh yes, we did need to talk about your trip to Demigrace."


    Elsa''s face paled and she tried to hide behind a chuckle. ''Save, me helio.''


    Unfortunately for her, her beloved brother, was very far away at the moment, kissing his pillow without a doubt.

 Chapter 34 - New Sword And Some Sparring Part 1

    I woke up, got fresh, did some running, and before I knew it, the day flew by. Thest three days were quite something but today just flowed. Everything felt normal. Maybe I just got used to this?


    sses were over, and I was sitting on a bench sipping juice: more history lessons. I never thought I''d be wanting the practical sses back.


    Students were walking by, probably headed to the dorms or the clubs. It was pretty eventful, I guess this wouldst till the end of this year and begin anew next year. I had to head over to the club too. I''d been carrying a cloth-covered long stick in my bag the whole day and I really wanted to do something about it.


    Thest time I''d seen this sword was about thirteen and a half years ago. On that day tragedy befell the earth or more like three countries. Though I did not like the fact that my gramps literally wiped three countries from the face of the earth just because of me, I did appreciate his sentiment. At least he loved me.


    But after that, I never saw real swords. I used wooden ones to practice and by the age of fourteen, I''dpletely forgotten about swords. And now, all of a sudden I''d have to fight with one. Most of my skills were here but they were kind of rusty. My body didn''t move as intended and my style felt a little clunky.


    I guess practice was really necessary now.


    I kept on sipping and eventually heard small sizzling sounds from the straw, indicating, my fun was over.


    ''Guess I''ll just head over.''


    I did some stretching and threw the bottle in a recycle bin.


    As I walked, I noticed a few things. First of all, I was getting all sorts of stares. I was already pretty famous in my ss but now the whole school? Did no one have anything better to do? Especially the girls, they were just staring at me like I stole their long-lost lover or something.


    And then there was the problem of random palm trees in the middle of the roads. Running straight into these things twice already taught me a very important thing. Never, run while thinking stupid things. I really wanted to meet this Ariel guy though.


    I thought I was getting used to the stares but maybe I was just fooling myself. With the first sigh of the day, I kept on walking, eventually reaching the club about ten minutester.


    "Wee." Amie led me in. "I was not expecting you." Did she have to be this blunt though?


    There were some of the members here but not all. At least not as much as I saw that night where these guys had literally held a banquet. The ones who were here were basically cking off ying cards. I did not get why people still yed primitive games like that.


    "Seems prettyid off."


    "Club activities will only start from next week when we recruit new members." Amie walked on straight.


    "Are you some sort of secretary running things around?" I was curious. The captain wasn''t here either.


    "I''m the vice-captain of this club." She was pretty proud of the fact too.


    "Oh, okay."


    "SO, what brings you today?" She ced both her hands on the table behind her and looked straight at me.


    "I need a scabbard."


    "Scabbard? You mean scabbard for swords?"


    "What else are they for?" I mumbled. "Yes."


    "Can I see the sword?"


    "Yeah sure." I brought out my sword and gave it to her.


    The moment she lifted it up, it almost fell to the ground: she along with it. "This is heavy." She grunted and barely lifted it up.


    This seemed to generate some ill-wanted attention as a girl just walked towards us. A sigh escaped my lips even without me noticing.


    "That''s a nice sword. Can I hold it?" Eve was here, though I did not like it. Just why the hell did she have to be here now?


    Amie kept eyeballing the sword and after a minute, scanned it with her Holo. "I''ll be back." She handed the sword over to Eve and just left.


    "Not bad." Eve ran her fingers through the sword.


    This really was getting weird all of a sudden. But it kind of reminded me of something. "Oh yeah, thanks for everything. And if it weren''t for your sword-"


    "Don''t mention it." Her gaze was totally on the sword. It was almost as if she was enticed by it.


    "By the way, what''s in your sword? I mean it was so hard." Not to mention it was way too easy to light up and sustain.


    "Reinforced Tungsten and SIlvanide."


    Tungsten I could get behind, but SIlvanide? That stuff was from the meteorite that crashed on earth and needless to say, it was very, very expensive.


    "Silvanide? But isn''t it-"


    "Did you forget we''re nobility?" She still wasn''t looking at me.


    I knew she was noble and all but I had no idea her family was so damn rich. "Hey, if it''s that expensive. Then, what if I broke it during the duel?" The very thought sent shivers down my spine.


    Eve looked away for a moment as if she''d just been caught stealing bananas or something. "You''d either have to pay back or be my ve." Her grin was devilish if nothing else.


    "Please tell me that wasn''t your intention?"


    "Well-" She fidgeted and chuckled.


    "I''ll take that as a yes."


    I did not want to think about this but honestly, I was d I didn''t rely on Eve.


    "Hmm¡­ but really, this is amazing."


    "Yes, you''ve been saying that for thest five minutes."


    She giggled. "But it''s true. It''s almost as if-" She paused. It was an abrupt stop. "Never mind. Here." She gave me back the sword. "Where did you get this?"


    "Family treasure."


    Eve struck a thinking pose. "What does your family do?"


    ''Good question.''


    But it was also a question I did not want to answer. My mother was a hard working woman. But the rest of the family was weird at best. My grandfather was considered a viin by society''s standards. After all, he literally decimated three countries just because of one ident. Regretfully that ident had me involved in it.


    My father, I knew nothing about. My aunts were basically just mercenaries and while some of my uncles did do explorer jobs, most were just hunters. Illegal hunters that is. And then there were cousins¡­. ''Erase the thought!''


    It was safe to say, I did not want to think about cousins¡­.


    "Let''s not get into that." I chuckled. Talking about family wasn''t something I wanted, nope. It only made me ufortable ever so more.


    "Try this." Amie threw a scabbard from across the room.


    ''Good timing.''


    I caught it. It was surprisingly light for its size. I poured the sword in and it was a fit. A good fit. "Not bad, yeah." I liked the design too. It was a ck scabbard with some spirals here and there. Not bad, indeed. "I won''t have to pay you or anything right?" I just wanted to be on the safer side. But this did look a little expensive, it was probably made from carbon fiber.


    "Oh yes, you owe me seven silvers." Basically, that was worth ten days'' worth of my food.


    "I mean- huh?" I really didn''t know what to say.


    "So treat me to lunch sometime." Amie winked and headed over to the other side.


    "Well, someone likes you." Eve giggled and came close. "On that note, I like you too." She pressed on my nose and just left, giggling even louder.


    ''Does she have to tease me every frigging time?''


    I sometimes did not get women, but Eve? She was beyondprehension.


    ***


    With my sword on my waist, I headed to the nurse''s office. The scabbard came with a belt so carrying a sword felt natural. The stares around me gave me depression but, oh well.


    "Hey, how''s it going?"


    Merin was all alone. Neither the nurse nor Natasha was here.


    "Pretty good. I should be good to go tomorrow. So I''ll make it to your duel." He paused. "But, you sure?"


    I wouldn''t have been able to back out even if I wasn''t, so at this point, this wasn''t a question anyone should have asked: he still asked it anyway. "Let''s just say I have a n."


    This was all I was saying to anybody who questioned my sanity. I didn''t have any better responses.


    Merin shed a smile. "I''ll leave the rest to you then."


    "What happened to the girl?"


    "Nat left an hour ago. She''lle back by the afternoon. And the nurse wouldn''t be back for another hour. Some urgent meeting or something."


    "I suppose she has a life too." Natasha was human after all. She had needs too. She couldn''t just sit around an injured person all day long. The same went for the nurse. "I have to practice, soter, I guess." On that note, I didn''t want to be here either.


    Merin started sniffing for no reason. "Okay." I guess he was lonely. But I had better things to worry about.


    I felt bad but I really needed to practice. "Bye."


    "Bye." He sighed. "Guess it was worth a shot." He winked. "Fancy sword by the way." I didn''t know why but it felt like he was just saying stuff to keep me here.


    I didn''t know how much of it, he was faking, but I didn''t want to find out.


    ***


    Though I hated it, I still spent a good hour with Merin and after that, I really felt hungry. At the end of the day, Merin was entirely different than I imagined. I thought he was some cool nonchnt dude, but now, I wasn''t so sure.


    But I guess he was him. So I couldn''t do anything about it.


    I walked out of the school building and it was already close to the afternoon. I still hadn''t had my lunch. And my stomach was thundering a bit too much.


    As I stared at the road beneath my feet someone walked by, ring straight at me. Lately, I''d been receiving all sorts of stares, but now res?


    ''Oh wait, that''s Rose.''


    I guess her re was justified.


    "HI." I nervously raised my hand.


    I actually might have overreacted a little yesterday. And I still hadn''t thanked her for thest time. But then again, what happened yesterday, was pretty infuriating if nothing else.


    "Hmph." She looked dead and just blitzed past. I actually never saw her walk, so this was a new experience. Guess flying around all the time wasn''t something she did.


    Beingpletely ignored felt more painful than infuriating though.


    With a sigh, I sat down on a bench. ''What should I eat?'' One of life''s greatest questions indeed.


    "Is this seat taken?"


    "No."


    A girl sat down next to me. It was a pretty small bench, so she was arm''s length away. she had a double-decker sandwich and somehow I felt my mouth watering. But what caught more of my attention was the bag full of palm seeds in her other hand.


    "Are you making oils or something?" Of course, my full attention was still on the sandwich.


    "Oh, these?" She smiled. Her luscious white hair contrasted quite well with her pinkish-white skin. "I''m growing."


    "Excuse me? Gr-growing? You can''t grow palm trees in a day." I chuckled.


    ''Wait¡­. Palm trees out of nowhere¡­.''


    "You''re A-Ariel?" I stuttered.


    "OH my. You know me?" She looked at me with curiosity and a smile.

 Chapter 35 - New Sword And Some Sparring Part 2

    ''Found you!'' my face twisted in a smile. Probably not the good kind of smile.


    "But I must say, you''ve got quite a knack for making trouble." She resumed her attention to the sandwich and took a bite. I really wanted one too.


    "What do you mean?" I was about to do something rash, but I contained my anger. I at least could listen to her out first, right?


    "Never thought you''d go against that ba*tard." I was not expecting such words from a girl like this. And the way she said it, actually made it worse.


    First of all, she seemed like the sheltered kind. Her clothes were full of frills and she looked like a kid from some rich guy in the suburbs or something. So I was surprised, to say the least.


    "Me either." I was more flustered than mad. But then again, running into those trees might have been partially my fault too. So I couldn''t justsh out at her without knowing more.


    "What? You want my sandwich?" She grinned quite knowingly. I guess my intentions were a bit too clear. "You can have a bite if you want. This the least I can do for my junior." She smiled harder. Was this the same girl who just cursed a minute ago? If anything, those fox ears made her look even foxier. "I wouldn''t mind, really."


    I was tempted. No, I was enticed.


    Yawn! "Stop with the spoiling." The voice came from my right as a guy just sat down unnoticed. Now that I looked back, there was actually enough space for someone to sit down, meaning I was that close to the girl even without noticing it. Just how much did I want her sandwich!?


    "Hey, you''re the guy-"


    "Yeah, you owe me one." He didn''t look at me. The bags under his eyes were quite big. His memory worked pretty wlessly though.


    On the morning of the second day when I was in the midst of a palm apocalypse this guy had cut all them down and apparently, that made me owe him- at least ording to him.


    "You''re the one who''s spoiling him." The girl next to me pouted.


    ''Wait, what''s going on?''


    I had no idea what was going on but even I wasn''t dense enough to understand, these two had a history with each other. There were all sorts of stares, res, and other nonverbal exchanges between the two.


    "I think I''ll head back. I''ve to practice a little." I tried to chuckle my way out of it. Besides, I really wanted to eat something.


    "Practice?" Ariel scanned my sword. "You can practice with Dan. Right, Dan?" She looked to her right, at the guy who was still seated, eyes closed.


    "I''ll pass. I won''t be able to hold back and he''ll just get hurt." The Dan guy had some sort of invisible des, so I guess he wasn''t uttering BS. "And stop ordering me around already. I already paid you back."


    "Didn''t you cut down eighty of my trees two days ago?" Ariel smiled. I could feel the pressure in the air, that wasn''t a friendly smile.


    "Fine." The guy got up and looked at me with groggy eyes. "Don''tin if he gets hurt."


    ''Wait, I don''t get a say in this?''


    "Good luck." The girl stood up and sat down in prayer. I was dumbfounded for a second but then a dome of trees rose up and covered the whole area, even the sun. It was dark, almost like night. Right at the ceiling, three light bulb-like fruit grew and lit up. The whole thing now looked the size of a typical lightsaber court.


    "You did this just from praying?" I mean she did seem like she was in prayer.


    Ariel giggled. "No silly. There were so many little ones around us." And she stopped making sense altogether.


    But now we had light and from the looks of things, people won''t bother us here. "But, what about the road? Won''t we cause problems for everyone and get their attention?"


    "So what?" Ariel just smiled. I guess it didn''t matter if she inconvenienced anyone.


    "Ready when you are." Dan raised his hand like there was a sword in his hand. But there wasn''t.


    If invisible des were his thing then I had something up my sleeve too. Alpha particles: they couldn''t pierce the skin, so they were safe enough to use for perception purposes.


    I unsheathed my sword and tried to focus. I still didn''t know if this sword could heat up and act like Eve''s sword but that what this spar was for. To find out.


    SO I focused¡­. First beta, then gamma, but nothing. It didn''t even shimmer. Nothing happened. The sword just stayed normal.


    "Are you going to stare at your sword all day?" Ariel yelled from the sidelines.


    I guess she was right. "Alright, let''s start." My eyes were on Dan and only Dan.


    He pointed his hand towards me and a secondter something flew by my cheek at zing speeds. I touched my cheek and there was red liquid streaming down.


    ''Alpha particles aren''t good enough?''


    My perception skills just went through the drain. Not only was this guy fast but those swords were more than just invisible.


    "He''s a national ranker you know. I''d advise going all out." Whose side was Ariel on anyway?


    So I switched to n b. but first, what about X-rays? I switched my vision for a second and yet again, nothing¡­ nothing other than bones and stuff. Stuff that I never wanted to see again. This was the only reason I never used this vision. I couldn''t control its intensity and I couldn''t really control much of anything about it either: and sometimes, only sometimes, it showed a lot of things that I couldn''t really not get excited about. Maybe it was because I never used it properly, but who cared about seeing people naked right? Right!?


    ''n b it is.''


    "This isn''t that dangerous but you might get burns if you get too close to me." I started off by firing beta particles in every direction.


    We were actually at about five meters worth of distance. And yet, all he did was just raise his hand and invisible des past me by.


    I didn''t know if I should have closed in the distance or just went around firing particles straight at him, aiming to irritate him and take him by surprise.


    "Hesitating in the court means defeat." Dan looked rather serious for once and thrust his hand forward like he was thrusting a sword.


    In that split second my eyes registered something bending the lights anding forward. It wasn''t that his swords were invisible but rather it was the air itself. No wonder my particles just went through it like no big deal without me noticing it.


    But now that I did notice it, I didn''t really have any way to do anything about it.


    Dodge! I screamed inwardly and jumped to my left. Most of the des just crashed against the green walls causingrge cut marks but one de scraped a little bit of my pants. I wasn''t hurt but these were my new pants. Meaning, if I didn''t do something about this fight now, mom was going to do a lot more than just beating the little Helio out of me.


    But if he could manipte air like that, then getting too close might have been the better idea. And I just did that as I run full speed ahead.


    "You should know I''ve already dealt with people who thought that." Dan didn''t mind sharing his thoughts midfight.


    I guess he was teaching me rather than actually sparring with me.


    He was standing still and just staring at me with those baggy eyes. And just about half a meter away from him, I stopped. If I''d just moved even an inch, I''d have been cut.


    "Good eyes." He kicked me back. "But not enough experience."


    The air from my lungs exploded and I rolled on the ground. Damn, this guy was strong.


    I even cut my upper lip.


    ''Think!''


    My perception skills were basically just useless against him and he was also very strong and not to mention he was literally protected by an invisible barrier of wind. But unfortunately for him, I had one more trick up my sleeve.


    Though I did wish the bloody taste in my mouth would go away.


    I focused energy in the palm of my left hand and gathered hydrogen ions on the right. I brought both bands closer and condensed everything so much that I got sma. Technically, this was dangerous and I never attempted it in public. Thest time I attempted this I''d blown up a hill or two. But this one was the size of a small ant: definitely brighter than a thousand watt light bulb though. Not self-sustaining and definitely not enough to harm the guy in front of me who was protected by all that wind.


    It was as if all the light was now in my hands: and now that this got a bit more stable it got even brighter. The lights above paled inparison and both Dan and Ariel had to cover their eyes. ''That''s my chance.''


    I always wanted to use this, but I never ended up using it because it needed three conditions. One, I had to be calm. Two, there had to be some sort of barrier, and three, the guy had to be strong enough to endure this. And now was just the perfect opportunity.


    I grinned hard. "This''ll sting." I fired it straight with a scream. It really took a lot to fire it straight.


    The light moved at great speeds but definitely not even a fraction of lightspeed. It reached the wind wall and passed right through. ''Oh boy.'' I actually hadn''t ounted for that. I thought the wind would stop it but or at least slow it down, I was wrong: very wrong.


    The light expanded and even I was blinded for a second. When the dust cleared there was light everywhere, meaning the nt dome was gone.


    "Are you okay!" I screamed. This was bad, very bad. I never intended for this to happen.


    But as I looked carefully, I saw something where Dan was. Dan- he was actually inside a smaller and thicker dome. But the dome itself was almost burned solid. Dan walked out and some of his clothes were also burnt, some skin with it.


    "What was that?" He said.


    I sighed in relief. It was like my chest felt lighter and the pounding sound of my heartfelt less pound-y. "I have no idea." I really didn''t. It was just supposed to be hot like sma, but it wasn''t supposed to be this destructive. Or did I do my research wrong? Either way, this was a very new discovery.


    And now that the dome was gone, nothing stopped the people from flocking around us and clicking pics on their Holos.


    "Sorry." I tried. If he was still alive, then there was room for apologies.


    Ariel tried to smile but it warped into something weird and it seemed awfully forced. And Dan was just dazed and he looked at the distant sky as if searching for the meaning of life.


    Neither of them was expecting this: honestly, I wasn''t either.


    "Not! Not YOU again!" The voice came from behind me. I didn''t have to turn around to know it was Rose.


    She passed me, observed everything, and red furiously. "Detention, all three of you." Her smile was definitely forced. But the veins on top of her forehead weren''t.


    I guess there was no escaping it, this time. ''Bye-bye, lunch.''

 Chapter 36 - Detention And Potency!

    Detention, the only ce in school that I never wanted to see. And yet here I was, sitting all quiet and pretty in front of a very big man, and smiling way more than necessary.


    There were two others with me here today. One was Ariel who had a smile simr to mine. And the other was Dan who was still dazing off. But upon closer inspection, he was actually sleeping with his eyes open.


    The big guy was big. And by big, I meant big in the width department. I bet he weighed more than a few hundred kilos at least. There was no smile, there was nothing. He just sat in front of, ring at us with the full brunt of his being.


    I really wanted to avoid all this, but I really couldn''t, not this time. I didn''t have an excuse. I mean, I literally burnt half of Dan''s clothes and even some of his skin. The nurse treated him but he still needed rest. Hence he was lucky enough to be spared from detention in a mere hour. While me and Ariel would stay here for the rest of the day. Even when I tried to exin that this was just friendly sparring, Rose did not like that. Actually, she was very furious.


    Just the thought made my stomach rumble. "I actually haven''t had lunch. Can you at least get me a ss of water? Please?" I pleaded.


    Asking for food might have been a bit too much. So I opted for the next best thing. Water, was free, right?


    The guy just red at me and stood up. The seat creaked and slipped back. He didn''t say anything, but went to the corner and brought out a hot packet of nacho and cheese. I was d and then not so d a secondter as he started eating in front of me.


    Okay, NOW I was hungry.


    With tears in my eyes, I watched him savor each and every single nacho. He smirked the whole time and when he finished he went out of the room, to clean up.


    I hated this: I hated detention.


    "Here." Ariel handed me a peach. "Eat it before he gets here."


    "Where''d you get this?"


    It was fresh and looked rather juicy.


    "You don''t wanna know." She giggled. "Fast."


    I didn''t know how long it''d take for the guy toe back but she didn''t have to tell me twice. I ate the peach: more like, I shoved it down my throat. I almost choked too: it did taste pretty good though.


    I was somewhat satiated. Now granted, a single peach wasn''t the best of fruits to eat on an empty stomach and feel full, but I sure didn''t have anything better. Hell, I didn''t have anything else.


    I wiped my face and waited for the guy to return. I still didn''t know if he was a teacher or just one of the staff. Come to think of it, I didn''t know any teachers apart from the headmaster and Miss Maire, anyway.


    Roughly five minutester the big guy came back and he had a ss of water in his hands. I guess he was going to drink the stuff right in front of me. I sighed. I really hated all this, but I guess they needed to do this to maintain order at school.


    "Here." his voice was prickly and this time instead of ring, he just stared, holding the ss close to me.


    But I did not expect his voice to be so sharp. That body and that high-pitched voice? It did not flow.


    I took the ss and he went back to his seat. I drank the water. It was in. At first, I thought he''d put something in it, but he didn''t. I guess this guy wasn''t as bad I thought he was.


    "I guess someone likes you," Ariel whispered, giggling a little.


    "I''d rather not be liked by men," I mumbled. Though, I didn''t really mind this either. At least I got some water.


    ***


    Around eight the detention was over and we were out. Dan had gotten out just after the first hour. The guy actually slept through the whole thing, so he didn''t really have anything to worry about. As for me and Ariel? Well, we basically spent the whole afternoon, staring at the empty board and searching for the meaning of life.


    Just why the hell had I ever agreed to do the sparring?


    ''Oh wait, I actually hadn''t.''


    "But I didn''t think you had it in you." Ariel began.


    "Me either." I had no idea what was going on. Did my powers grow in the span of three years? I''d heard of people''s powers bing stronger over long periods of time and with extensive training but three years was a bit too short. Or had I miscalcted something?


    If Ariel wasn''t there, things might not have been too good for our pal Dan. So I was d if nothing else.


    "Well I guess you''ve got potential to be a ranker yourself. Though I''d advise against using THAT." She came close and looked me straight in the eye. "Who knows, you might actually kill someone." For a second she was dead serious.


    "Noted." I already knew that.


    "Good. I''m pretty sure now you''ll be targeted by a lot of kids wanting to prove their superiority by beating you- you who beat the ninth ranker or our school." She was giggling a bit too much.


    ''No. nine? Proof of superiority?''


    ''Wait, what?''


    I was lost. Way too lost. Dan was the ninth ranker? But what about the proof thing? "You mean I''ll be attacked all the time?"


    "I''m pretty sure you''ll only be challenged on duel. You can always decline." Ariel yawned. "It''ste, so I''ll go to sleep."


    "Sure but try to not grow palm trees on roads." My voice was shaky. This whole thing just shook me up.


    She giggled hard. "Sorry, can''t help it." She didn''t give me a chance to respond and left.


    I guess I should have at least thanked her for the fruit. But I didn''t really have the time. More like I forgot, but there was always next time.


    Since this was my first time doing detention, they let me out with a warning: I literally felt like a criminal at this point. Next time I''d have to spend at least one week there, every day from three to eight. It wasn''t that bad. Ande to think of it, the guy who oversaw us, said nothing. Plus it was quiet.


    ''Maybe I can read stuff there without getting distracted if I ever ended up having another detention?''


    But I sure didn''t want another detention.


    Ariel''s words did worry me. But who knew Dan was so famous and-


    ''Didn''t Mike say something about the ninth? What''d he-''


    And then I came to the realization. Dan had actually lost against ze- at least that''s what Mike imed.


    I did beat Dan but at what cost? And if ze could beat someone like Dan who was so strong, that did mean, I had some seriouspetition on my hands.


    With another sigh I bought bread, chocte milk and headed for the dorm: I was so hungry that I might have bought too much. At least now this miserable day would end: I didn''t get enough practice but I definitely learned my limit. Maybe I could improve a little more tomorrow.


    ''Oh wait, the duel IS tomorrow.''


    Just the thought alone was enough to give me crippling depression.


    ***


    ON my way to the dorm, I was stopped about fifteen times. If I wasn''t famous already, I was definitely famous now.


    "What do you want!" Before the Sixteenth guy could walk on me from behind, Ished out.


    "Whoa, whoa, calm down there buddy. It''s me your pal." It was Clyde. I didn''t like his awfully familiar attitude but I guess I was in the wrong here. At least theshing out part was.


    "Oh hey. Haven''t seen you aroundtely."


    He chuckled. "Yeah, I was out of the country for a day."


    "Howe?" I started walking. He matched my pace.


    The guy was literally towering over me. And he was still in his ck leather jacket. Come to think of it, most people just wore normal clothes even now. I was also wearing normal clothes since my uniform was a bust, but oh well.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t get a new uniform.''


    He sighed. "We''re close so I''ll tell you. I''m actually searching for a cure."


    "Cure? For what?" I didn''t how much this guy was serious. But this just felt awfullyical.


    But thanks to him, anybody who was getting close to me for a duel was getting out of the way, smiling awkwardly. I guess he had a reputation almost as bad I mine. So his presence was wee, well, at least for now.


    He bent down a bit. "Impotency." He whispered some over-the-top stuff in my ear.


    Did my hearing malfunction. It could have been stress. It was eight-thirty and there were artificial lights everywhere, not to mention I was tired and hungry. So my ears probably malfunctioned. Yeah, that was definitely the case.


    So with a smiling face, I asked again. "What did you say?" ''Please work this time.''


    "I''m impotent. I''ve been like this ever since being born." He almost leaked tears as he whispered those words.


    Okay, what were the chances of my ears malfunctioning back to back?


    ''Oh thank God.'' And yet, I for once felt relieved to hear that this guy couldn''t really raise his Excalibur. If he was so much into this stuff just from the fact that he was impotent, then what would have happened if this problem never existed? I bet he would have given the Battlesuins a run for their money.


    But one thing struck me odd. "Since born?" How''d he know?


    "Let''s not talk about that." he moved his head away.


    ''Wait, weren''t we looking like-''


    There were a lot of girls giggling around. I did not like those looks. "Yeah, you''re right. Let''s go."


    He was whispering pretty close to my ears though.


    We kept walking and talking wasn''t something I wanted to do anymore. Honestly, I felt pity for him and happy for society as a whole. Probably not the best ofbination. But how could he have not found a cure? There were a lot of hospitals with great tech and people with powers who could cure impotency rather efficiently in this age. So howe? I certainly didn''t have the guts to ask him that.


    "I''ll be watching your duel tomorrow. Good luck."


    Eventually, we reached the dorm and Clyde bade me goodbye.


    "Yeah, and good luck with the cure."


    ''Please don''t find it though.''


    He shed me a smile and a thumbs-up, before leaving.


    He didn''t live here, rather he lived in a mansion just outside the school boundary: at least, that''s what he told me. I''d almost forgotten that his father was amissioner.


    ''But impotent, really?''

 Chapter 37 - Second Thoughts

    I went up the lousy stairs. It really sucked all the life out of my already tired body. I got more stares than I could ever hope for. I never really liked the attention and now I was getting the bad kind.


    ''Someone''s in?''


    I had a key with me and so did Merin. But if Merin was in the nurse''s office then who was in my room? He could havee back I guess, but that was unlikely.


    ''I''ve got a bad feeling about this.''


    I knocked twice and went right in. My expression crumbled a secondter.


    Merin was on the bed. And on top of him, was Natasha. Both were literally ring at me.


    ''Too bad.''


    I was the first to speak. "You could have at least locked the door." I tried to smile. But no smile came out. "Andst I remember girls are forbidden to enter after 6." I tried to chuckle but failed at it too.


    Natasha cleared her throat and promptly got up. "Lock the door."


    I did lock the door, but I definitely had loads of questions.


    "Who enters just by knocking? Shouldn''t you have at least waited thirty seconds?" Merin was sad, just sad.


    "I''m pretty surest I heard you were supposed to be at the nurse''s office till tomorrow morning."


    He chuckled and scratched his head. "Yeah, I kind of got a lot better. I have good health you see." He then red at me again. "And weren''t you supposed to be in detention!?"


    ''Yeah, I doubt that.''


    "I got out half an hour ago. Is your clock okay?"


    Actually, was his head okay?


    This was getting nowhere and these guys weren''t giving me any answers either. Come to think of it, I never asked any questions to begin with.


    Merin was useless so I just asked Natasha. "What are you doing here at this time?"


    "He just got out an hour ago. And I apanied him in. The dorm manager said it was okay as long as I didn''t do anything foolish."


    She was being very nonchnt about this. And being on top of the guy wasn''t being foolish? Not to mention not even locking the door?


    "Well, I suppose you should get going then." I didn''t know what was happening between the two now but I didn''t really have reason to drag this out longer than it should have been. I had a very busy day tomorrow and I needed all the rest I could get.


    "You''re right." Natasha picked herself up and gave a faint smile to Merin. "Bye."


    I almost felt a little jealous at the whole exchange.


    "Yeah, see you tomorrow." Merin was also smiling.


    Now that she left, I just wanted to sleep. It was barely nine. But I was tired.


    Iunched myself on the bed and a secondter realized I was carrying stuff. ''Oh yeah, dinner.''


    The bread got squished but it was still just bread. The milk however was bottled and the bottle did more damage to me than I did to it.


    I contained the pain and sat down.


    "That''s it? You''re not gonna ask anything about all this? And that''s all you''re going to eat for dinner?"


    "Not interested in hearing your fantasies. And what do you mean that''s all? This is like a luxury. Have you ever tried dipping bread in chocte milk?"


    "No." He reminisced something and his face curled a little making a disgusted look. "I don''t think so."


    I didn''t like the look but who cared.


    "But I''m d you were this strong. I''m jealous, of course, I''m jealous. But I''m also d." Merin didn''t look at me but I could feel the bitterness in his voice.


    I didn''t say a word.


    ***


    Knock! The moment my dinner was over there was a knock.


    The timing didn''t really feel all that much of a coincidence.


    I opened the door and it was Marg. No surprise there. I had a feeling it was her.


    "Can I help you?" I asked.


    "You fought again today. Your mom was worried and she wants the uniform back so she could try sewing. It''d be a waste to throw all that out or so she said."


    After yesterday, I actually kept my phone open. I didn''t have a Holo and I didn''t like using phone in public but even so I kept it open and with me. But my mother still contacted Marg instead of me? I really didn''t like where this was going.


    "Say, sorry to her, please." I got the torn uniform in a bag and handed it over to her. "That''s all?"


    She was still by the door. She didn''t even bat an eye at Merin. "Your mother would be here first thing tomorrow with your sister. She wants you to eat a healthy dinner and breakfast."


    ''Should have seen thating.''


    I sighed. I should have known she''d want toe. "Guess so." But wait, Marg''s powers were rare and useful. I actually hadn''t thought of this before but what if. Just what if- "Say Marg. Have you ever considered the possibility that your powers could make a ton of money? We could you know, build our own transportpany and-" I almost sounded like a manager who just found the next big star on the road.


    "I''ll be turning seventeen soon."


    "Huh? What does that have to do with his?" It took me a second to process this. "Wait, you''re older than me!?" My birthday wasn''t due for another three months: so she was a quarter year older than me?


    "After I turn seventeen I''ve to go back home. I have a responsibility. " Marg''s eyes turned fierce for a second. But why the hell was she ignoring me? "SO it would be better for you to no get dependent on my powers. And besides, I''m already rich."


    She almost brought tears to my eyes when she said the thing about being rich: she just crushed all my dreams. I''d forgotten for a moment that she was nobility.


    "Okay." I closed the door, barely containing myself.


    ''There goes my hopes of making money.''


    Chuckle!


    There was a suppressed chuckleing from the bed behind me. "I saw nothing, no worries."


    I really wanted to say something but at this point, it would have been just more awkward.


    Bam!


    I could swear I heard a faint sound of something mming against the wall a little far away but that was probably just my imagination.


    ***


    I went to bed at exactly ten. If I remembered clearly, then the duel would take ce at nine tomorrow. Whether it''d be the gym or the lightsaber court, wasn''t specified. Actually, they hadn''t contacted me ever since. Micheal or rather Mike had told me that he''d be giving me detailster but nothing of sort happened.


    "You know-" Merin attempted.


    The lights were off.


    "I''m trying to sleep. Shut up."


    "Rude." He chuckled. "Anyway, thanks."


    "No problem." I really didn''t want to have a conversation.


    Merin took the hint and didn''t say anything else.


    I was d that he was grateful but I wasn''t doing this for him. I was doing this for my own selfish reasons. Besides this whole fiasco wouldn''t have happened if it weren''t for my mouth. So part of this was just my way of paying them both back.


    So whenever he tried to thank me, it just felt awkward.


    But this, all of this just felt awkward to me. There was so much at stake in this fight. My family would be there tomorrow and if I just happened to lose in front of them, how would I face themter? I knew my mother and sister wouldn''t belittle me but the thought of letting them down kind of crippled me. And then there was the pressure of going up against a Battlesuin and trying to destroy his reputation. This whole thing seemed like a bad idea.


    Dan was strong. And if it weren''t for the move, a move that I couldn''t use on all asions I would have lost. And that guy lost to ze. So I couldn''t really rest easy. ''What if I lose?''


    The thought kept me awake.


    Eventually, I did fall asleep, but my heart fluttered more than I wanted.


    ***


    YAWN.


    I woke up. The sleep was good. So much so that I was suspicious. I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was eight. I was two hourste ording to my usual routine and no wonder this felt so good.


    Sigh!


    When the morning starts off with a big sigh it always ended up pretty bad for me. But I guess today was supposed to be special. It sure didn''t felt like that special to me though.


    I waste but I didn''t really want to worry about all that. Everything would have been fine as long as I skipped exercise and some other things. I had some leftover bread and that was enough for a light breakfast. Too bad I didn''t have milk though.


    I was never really a breakfast person anyway.


    "Mmmgg¡­mnmggag." Merin was sleeping a bit too peacefully.


    I let him sleep, he didn''t have to worry about all this.


    ''I''ll just shower afterward.''


    ***


    I reached the Gym at exactly 8.45. A little tight call: my heart was still fluttering. ''Am I nervous?''


    When was thest time I was nervous? I sure couldn''t remember.


    There wasn''t anyone at the lightsaber court and actually, there wasn''t anyone out at all. What happened to everyone? For some reason, I didn''t want to know.


    I went inside the Gym, and sure enough, there was a crowd here. I''d actually only been here once but back then there weren''t so many seats here. This ce had at least the same amount of seats as the auditorium, and most of the seats were filled too.


    "Is he even going to show up?"


    "Probably ran away." Two guys wereughing rather wildly in a loud voice. The gym was quiet so, their voice went far and wide. The poor souls didn''t realize that I was actually right behind them. "What do you expect from cowards like that?" Theyughed even louder.


    I was already pretty pissed about not being able to so some exercise in the morning and now beingte. But this just pushed me harder than necessary. And then there was me being nervous. So this was the perfect opportunity to let out some steam.


    "Ahem!" I cleared my throat a bit louder than intended and gathered a lot of attention. "Did you go senile or something?" Again, my voice was pretty loud. "Or is it that, all of you are impotent and your energy goes to your mouth instead?" I was so ticked off that I didn''t realize that I was basically saying some pretty intense stuff.


    "YOU!" the guy who called me a coward was about to get up but-


    "It''s okay." The guy next to him smiled and just pointed me towards the stage.


    Both of them settled down but I did receive res. Not that I cared. At least I wasn''t so nervous anymore.


    It was better to have done this than to see my mother or sistersh out, unnecessarily. Both my mother and sister were nice people but they could never stand to see our family- me insulted. I guess the same went for me.


    These two though actually looked older than me. And so did a lot of the other students.


    ''Second years are here too?''

 Chapter 38 - The Stakes Are High

    I walked towards the center. The basketball court in the middle of the gym was redone to a lightsaber court. I guess these things could be altered all the time.


    I had all sorts of attention. Maybe saying those weird stuff wasn''t that nice considering I was the one who waste. But then again I couldn''t really stop myself anyway.


    And boy was there was a lot of people here. First years and even second years. Even some of the teachers were here. I didn''t know any of them but I did see them on the first day at the stage and now they were basically just enjoying front row seats.


    Violence is bad- everybody preached it. But people sure did love watching it.


    I really didn''t like where this was going. Wasn''t this supposed to be just a duel between two people? Why was this crowd necessary?


    When I reached the center I met ze who looked more than ready. He was in some sort of suit geared for fighting and here I was in my usual dress- the same dress I wear almost four days a week. A t-shirt and pants.


    "Now since the new rule is in ce, I''ve to watch over this fight. There will be no use of powers on your opponents and that includes using powers on your opponent''s weapons: however, projectiles are allowed and you can use your saber''s power on your opponent." A prefect broke down the rules for us.


    Besides, my sword was normal and didn''t have powers!


    ''Particles are projectile too, right?''


    Some of the disciplinarymittee members were on the other side and I even saw people from the club. I certainly didn''t want to see the redhead throwing floating kisses at me though.


    "By the way, any barriers set in ce?" I asked.


    "Yes, there will be a barrier set up shortly."


    I had about a minute and a half. I looked around. This really was a big ce. It actually wasn''t this big when I first came here. Maybe someone used their powers to make this ce bigger?


    Of course, I was scanning for two faces. I knew they''d show up sooner orter, and I figured it''d be sooner thanter.


    And I was right.


    "Helio!" One of the morons from the crowd waved her hands and jumped up and down. And here I was trying my best to hide that name.


    SIgh!


    Was she incapable of understanding I could still see her even if she hadn''t done that?


    Reluctantly, I waved my hand and looked at thedy next to her- mom. She nodded, I nodded back. Now that I actually had a better look, I was ready. And I knew this was pretty big too.


    Even just a moment ago I was nervous. But mom was here and so was Elsa. I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves.


    I couldn''t just back out and I couldn''t afford to lose either. ''No pressure? Yeah right!''


    "The duel would be settled when one loses consciousness or if one gives up. Even fatally wounding is alright. We have a healer on board. Just don''t kill each other."


    I suppose this was good for me. If seriously wounding my opponent wasn''t an issue and if the barrier was also set in ce, I was definitely good to go. And then there was the fact, me being calm about this. But I couldn''t underestimate this guy either.


    Actually, since I got here, he never even said a word to me. I guess he was serious too.


    "Begin!" The prefect screamed and a glowing blue dome covered the whole court, severing all outside noise.


    And a secondter, I froze. ''What?''


    "Lord Mother''s here. I can''t fool around." The voice was ze''s but it wasn''t the same. He was utterly serious.


    And who the hell calls their mother Lord? Was I missing something?


    I couldn''t move a muscle. This wasn''t like the times when I got heavy or anything. I just couldn''t move. It was almost like paralysis.


    ze was gone and before I could release alpha particles, I got hit in the stomach, bad. The guy had kicked me back. It did break the paralysis but this stung.


    "Well, good for you." I spat blood and raised my hand, firing off all three kinds of radiation at once. The barrier was here and I didn''t have anything to worry about. "I''d stay away if I wanted to keep my potency," I was bluffing. I needed a fair distance from him and sometime before I could use that sma attack.


    I''d done enough holding back.


    "Too bad." He did stay away but raised his sword towards me. A stream of lightning blitzed through the air.


    I dodged to my right, but just barely.


    ''So that''s how you paralyzed me.''


    I''d actually forgotten that he could use electricity too: or rather his sword could. No wonder Elsa wasn''t a match for him.


    I unsheathed my sword. I didn''t get the chance before, but now even with the sword, this didn''t seem favorable. If I got too close I might end up being paralyzed again. And staying far away gave him the leniency to attack with electricity. This guy wasn''t going to give me time to charge up like Dan did.


    "If you won''te, then I will!" He wasn''t mocking me, he was really serious when he raised his saber again and just ran at full throttle.


    There was no escaping, so I fired off gamma rays directly at his head. In high quantity, this could have potentially vaporized him so I kept the quantity to a minimum just to stagger him. I really didn''t want to do this, but I had no choice.


    "Too slow!" he screamed and electrified me before I couldunch enough rays.


    "Argh." I couldn''t dodge this time.


    And now that I was totally stuck, he came close to me, ced a hand on my shoulder, and punched me hard. I screamed in pain but red back. If I was being held like this I could still leak radiation but the amount was low, way too low to be lethal in this short period of time. But I wasn''t going to give up anytime soon.


    A smile surfaced on ze''s face. "I might have overestimated you. When I heard you wounded that skinny scum, I thought you would pose more of a threat, but you were useless."


    I just red. I didn''t want to have any conversation with the likes of him.


    "And now, as per deal I''ll break your limbs." He seemed sure enough that he''d win. "And of course, I''d be sure to treat that girl pretty finely every time." I hated that disgustingughter. He came close to me, very close. "And I''ll also be sure to treat your sister nicely too. Ah! Just imagining her scream and cry excites me," he whispered.


    Just what the hell was this thing saying? Was he out of his mind? I looked at him with disbelief.


    "Don''t look at me like that." he continued with a smirk. "And once I break her, she''d beg me to give her and I''ll gently crush her skull. Oh and is that your mother? I don''t like used goods but she seems well enough, at least on the outside." ze chuckled disgustingly.


    He was talking in a low voice and with the barrier in ce, no one heard him. But I was d no one did. I didn''t care if he was a Battlesuin or a whatever: he''d pay. He''d pay dearly.


    He will pay!


    Chuckles came out of my lips. I didn''t know what was going on anymore. My hands wriggled and the paralysis seemed more like just strings slowing me down. Steam came out of my body. Was my blood boiling? "I''ll just have to kill you then." The voice came out in a yful tone. It wasn''t my voice.


    And a secondter something snapped.

 Chapter 39 - The Snap

    Helio Romswell Jintel, had snapped. This wasn''t something as simple as just mere rage. This was more. He was sane, and not sane at the same time. Heughed and didn''tugh at the same time. He wasn''t the same person he was a moment ago, and yet, he was the same.


    ''What''s going on? How can he move?'' ze took a step back. Cold sweats dripped from his forehead as he looked at Helio. ''What''s up with this guy?''


    ze had used a fair amount of calcted Electricity. His saber had an embedded chip that allowed him to do that. Of course, this was illegal but that sure didn''t stop him.


    Helio had a very amused look on his face as he slowly moved forward like he was breaking through strings or something. He had a rather peculiar look on his face. It was somewhere between a grin and true madness. "I will kill you." That''s all he was capable of saying.


    ze was staggered for a second but he didn''t back down anymore. Nothing''s changed for him. If electricity couldn''t bind the boy in front of him, then he''d just pin him down on the ground with gravity. ''But won''t it break the rules to use my own powers on him?'' In order to use gravity, he needed both his saber''s powers and his own.


    ze grinned. ''Not that it matters.'' He didn''t give a damn about the rules anyway. ''I''ll just say gravitons are also projectiles.'' Besides, no one would interfere with this duel anyway. So even if he cheated and lost he''d still achieve his goal of crippling this boy- this boy who shamed him in front of the whole school- this boy who he hated so much.


    ze was sick of hearing peoplepare this nobody to him, a guy who had everything- him.


    ze pointed his sword at the boy who was still moving rather slowly. The electricity did work on him but not to the extent ze hoped. But this time the boy stopped. ze just made gravity a hundred times stronger. Ordinary humans would have been crushed. And yet the boy- Helio just grinned and took another step. All the veins of his body popped up and throbbed as he took one more step: almost as if this was someone else in that body.


    More and more steam came out of that boy.


    "Monster." ze was out of breath. "You''re a monster!" He screamed loud and fired off his best move, a stream of lightning shaped like a dragon- more like a snake.


    The dragon-like snake buzzed, or was it a roar? It swam across the barrier and finally descending on Helio. Electricity blitzed everywhere across the barrier like thunder.


    "Writhe you filthy rat!" ze was sure of his victory. For a second he thought he was in trouble but now that his best move was out, he was sure he''d win. He had won against Dan using this same technique back then. Dan had let him use this just like he (Dan) let Helio use his. So it came down to luck rather than actual skills for ze''s win. Though ze knew that, he also knew using his brain was a skill in itself. ''All of you morons are the same.''


    But he was wrong.


    This boy- Helio wasn''t the same.


    Whoosh!


    It was just one sound. Just one sound was enough to convey fear in ze''s heart. His signature move, his best move, was all but rendered infective. Helio had done nothing. He just stood there with his toothy grin. He did nothing yet there was no visible damage on him. The electricity dispersed and he just kept walking.


    "What the hell-"


    ze couldn''t finish as he was punched in the stomach the very next second. "I''ll kill you." That''s all he''d heard before he coughed up red liquid as if he was in the final stage of lung cancer.


    Helio, had snapped.


    ***


    Helio had also snapped twice in the past. Once when he was in middle school and one of the kids just happened to cut off one of Elsa''s fingers: it wasn''t by ident. Elsa''s finger did grow back. But needless to say, the kid didn''t get out so lucky.


    And the other, exactly thirteen years ago on the day when three countries were destroyed. But this particr snap was different from the other two. The official records said that Helio Romswell Julio, his grandfather was the one who destroyed the three countries because of a certain incident. But no one really knew what this incident was. And though this incident involved Helio, he couldn''t really remember anything as he was rather young back then. And he also didn''t know that he''d snapped back then in the first ce or what he did when he did.


    But one thing Helio did remember, on that day, three countries were destroyed, on that day his grandfather disappeared, and on that very day, his father left home: the memories were hazy but he remembered thest words of his father to him.


    "Goodbye, son. I''ll find a cure." Of course, Helio''s memories ovepped and he remembered the other words. "I''ve found a new girlfriend." Helio didn''t know which one was true but one thing was for certain, his father abandoning them, made a lot of ill feelings grow inside of him.


    Helio didn''t understand any of that, or more like, he never tried to. Or was it that he never wanted to?


    ***


    ze had flown at the edge of the barrier. He got up on shaky legs.


    Helio''s grin was still there. He moved as slowly as he did before.


    There were a lot of faces watching eagerly with their hearts in their mouths but two were probably the most nervous- Elsa and her mother. To Elsa, this wasn''t new. She''d seen her brother like this before. She only saw him like this once but it was probably the most memorable memory of her life, and back then, Helio had a simr grin and he ruthlessly butchered the boy who hurt her.


    The only way she could stop Helio was by saying his name again and again and hugging him tightly. But this was different. She couldn''t do anything about this. She was powerless.


    Their mom, however, had never seen Helio like this. She did hear about this but she never saw it with her own two eyes. So this time, she just watched her son, with a serious expression. If need came to be, she''d have to stop this before it became something grave. ''Please don''t be that. Please don''t be the third stage.'' For now, though, she could only pray.


    The constant gasps of the audience, never really reached the two within the barrier.


    "Sto-Stop! Don''t take another step." ze stuttered.


    Of course, Helio didn''t listen.


    "I-I give up!" ze raised both of his hands and dropped the saber.


    The barrier came down too, as there was virtually nothing leaking from Helio''s body: so there was no need to protect anyone outside.


    Helio, now released from the gravity, just looked staggered. Was he confused?


    ''Gotcha!'' ze shed a grin, picked up the saber at zing speeds, resumed the gravity, and lowered his own weight beforeunching onest all-out attack. "You damn amateur!"


    He disappeared for a second and then a secondter, kicked the left side of Helio''s head. He was a coward. It was a hard kick, a very powerful one. But zes'' grin disappeared the moment his kick connected. His leg fractured: it was almost as though he was kicking Sylvanide, the strongest substance known to man. Helio grabbed the broken foot, his grin widened, almost tearing the skin on his cheeks, more steam came out, and a secondter mmed ze on the floor, like he was swatting a fly or something.


    ze crashed into the concrete floor and almost broke his skull: he did break three of his ribs and his femur though.


    ARGHH!


    Now that the barrier was gone, his screams were very audible. And so were the grasps of the crowd.


    People were silent. Too silent.


    One punch. Two punch.


    Helio mmed his fist again and again on the poor guy. There was no escape. The whole crowd, everyone was staggered.


    But two among the crowd looked with eager grins on their faces.


    "Not bad. The guy did have some balls." He was the same one who''d called Helio a coward.


    "But he doesn''t have control. So he isn''t that different from the kin. Or maybe-" The second guy grinned hard and focused on the match. "We''ll just have to see."


    ***


    "AY gia via upp-!" ze couldn''t even talk anymore. His face was puffed up and light didn''t reach his eyes anymore. If it weren''t for the Battesuin life suit, he''d have been dead three times over. Just how many punches did he take? He didn''t have the count.


    Even the disciplinarymittee was staggered at the whole thing. Just what was going on?


    Helio raised his fist once more and the members of themittee just ran towards the two. If nothing was done, then ze was about to die.


    But one voice reached Helio faster. "Stop!" Just one voice was enough to stop his fist. He looked at the voice. The voice belonged to a woman in herte thirties- his mother. "That''s enough."


    Helio''s fist stuttered and so did his conscience. "Times, up." His grin disappeared and for a moment it looked like he had passed out.


    ''Thank God, it''s not stage three.'' His mother breathed a sigh of relief.


    "M-o-m?" Helio''s head spun but his sanity came back. ''What am I doing?'' he didn''t know what he was doing anymore but one thing was for certain, he was still in the middle of a duel. He saw his raised hand and then he saw the guy below. He remembered ze''s words and the rage came boiling back. But he was still sane. "Nevere near me or my family again!" He mmed his fist on ze, hitting him with an uppercut. And ze passed out.

 Chapter 40 - I Won?

    I got off of ze and the healer rushed in.


    ''What just happened?''


    The moment I got my conscience back I knew I had to punch the lights out of the rascal. I still remember the things he said. But the memories of beating him were vague, very vague. ''How did this happen?''


    The whole audience was still silent but I did hear loads of and loads of gasps.


    ze was very injured. But I didn''t regret this. He''d crossed the line when he brought my family into this. I didn''t regret this even for a second.


    "Helio." Mom walked fast and she was expressionless.


    "Mom, I-" She didn''t let me finish and pped me hard. "What?" A low groan came out. I was already confused. But this p really made me want to crawl into a hole. My own family didn''t understand me?


    "I was so worried!" Her eyes were shimmering. She didn''t cry but those beautiful eyes were shimmering. She came close to me again and this time hugged me tightly. "I was so worried about you." She repeated in a whisper.


    "Sorry, mom."


    Elsa was behind mom and she hugged both of us. I didn''t know why, but this whole thing filled me with warmth. Normally, I''d have felt weird and awkward about this and yet, it was as though my heart craved this.


    "This was a clear vition of the rules." A woman stood up in from her seat and red straight at me. "ze had already dered that he gave up but even so, this boy attacked him." She got down and walked towards us.


    I didn''t know what she was talking about as my memories were still a bit hazy. So I couldn''t really argue. I sure didn''t like that attitude though.


    "No." Another voice protested. I knew this one. It was Rose. "It was ze who vited the rules." Rose also walked towards us.


    "Shut up girl. Who do you think you''re speaking to?" Did this woman have a few screws loose? Why was she being so high and mighty?


    "I''m the leader of the prefects, Annebell Rose. And who might you be." Rose wasn''t backing down.


    "Regina Battlesuin, ze''s mother." I guess the apple didn''t rot far from the tree after all. She did look fairly Asian, but not Russian enough. Maybe she married into the family? "And as I said, a clear vition-"


    "Your son vited the rules first. He gave up and then attacked his opponent. His opponent just did the rest in self-defense." Rose nced my way. Could it be that she was actually on my side?


    I was under the impression that she hated me, so this whole thing kind of felt nice. I still didn''t understand what was going on though.


    "What happened?" I whispered.


    "You went berserk and kicked his lights out," Elsa whispered back.


    I got the gist. This happened once before back in middle school but that was a different story.


    I stood next to mom and watched the whole room. All eyes were on me. But the little quarrel on stage was turning some heads too.


    "You little!" The woman was mad. Definitely mad. "I demand-"


    "Now, now, the duel''s over and let''s not gloom over trivial matters." The voice came from outside the gym doors.


    "How dare you-" The woman began but stopped. "Headmaster?"


    A man walked through the doors and came straight to the stage. Everyone stood up to show respect. It was the headmaster with his over-friendly grin.


    "What do you mean trivial. Look at my son-"


    "As I said, trivial." The headmaster''s smile was no longer present. He was serious. "I couldn''t make out time but I''ve been meaning to talk with your family. I can take you as a representative, correct?"


    "Yes?" the woman was irritated but she didn''t refute the headmaster. I guess the headmaster was pretty powerful to earn this kind of behavior.


    "From today on, the Battlesuin mansion would be rebuilt as the chess club. I''ve been getting too many requests you see." He chuckled. "And all Battlesuins would be in dorms and if, if they just happened to be caught harming anybody within the dorm, or anywhere else within the school, or perhaps even have ves-" He nced at the fallen ze. "Not only will they be expelled, I''ll personally deal with them." He gave eyes closed full grin. I wouldn''t have been surprised if he killed people nonchntly with that face.


    "You can''t be serious! We''re the Battlesuins!" The woman fumed.


    "And I''m the headmaster. This is my school. I''ve had enough of you and your flimsy pride. Now take that scum off of my property and don''te back." Never thought the elephant ears, had it in him. My respect for the geezer grew exponentially. "Though I wouldn''t mind if you happened to send young girls to attend school." And the same respect crumbled within seconds.


    The woman hissed but he didn''t say anything. "Fine. But don''t expect to get away from this."


    "I''m the strongest man in the world. Are you sure, you and your family will get away?" I didn''t know if it was a bluff or not but this guy sure knew how to make an entrance.


    Faint chuckles were in the audience. I guess no one really liked the Battlesuins.


    The woman paled and walked to ze who barely regained consciousness. "I''ll deal with youter." She was hissing a bit too much. "You there, girl!" She pointed at the crowd. "Get over here."


    My eyes followed. This woman, Regina Battlesuin was pointing at Marg for some reason. And to my surprise, she dide to the stage, heads down. "Yes?"


    "Let''s go."


    "What''s going on Marg?" I didn''t like where this was going.


    Marg didn''t answer anything. She just faked a smile and all three of them disappeared. Marg, that woman and ze, all gone. I actually forgot to ask about my father. But I guess after what I''d done, I probably wouldn''t have gotten an answer anyway.


    But I still wasn''tfortable with seeing them go. I''d hurt ze way more than I should have, and yet, I wanted to hurt him more. I wanted to kill him. The feeling, the thought, was engraved in my mind.


    "Now that the nuisances are gone, I must thank you, young man. With this whole thing, I can make a good issue of it and prevent those scums from running wild again." I had no idea what this geezer was talking about. Like really, not a clue. "However, maybe you could have dealt with this, a little more efficiently."


    I felt weak. Standing felt like a chore. "How exactly?"


    So the whole idea behind this duel was to ensure that he could make an issue of this? This geezer was shrewd if nothing else.


    "Let''s say, instead of watching the barrier first, you could have fried him with radiation first thing. Or perhaps even charged up beforehand like he did and fire immediately at the signal."


    ''Where the hell were you watching from?''


    "But isn''t that cowardly?"


    "What are you? A knight?" He snorted. "Everyone''s a coward. Some are more and some are less. Some people are just good at hiding it than others." He burst outughing. I kept feeling faint. "But with all said and done, Congrattions young man on winning." He gave me a firm nod and l looked around. "And aren''t you d I got you this audience? Don''t you feel proud?"


    He definitely had screws loose.


    ''You''re the reason behind this monstrosity of a crowd?''


    But I guess he had his reasons for doing this. And if he kept his word about dealing with the Battlesuins, I didn''t really mind about the crowd.


    Everyone was still silent. I guess my fight was a bit too much for them. But as I turned my attention back to the headmaster, one person stood up and started to p. It was Natasha, then Merin, followed by people from the club and then the whole crowd. Everyone was pping around me. Everyone. In all my life I''d never had such praise.


    I guess this wasn''t so bad. The club members and my friends or so-called friends wereing towards me.


    But the faint feeling kept intensifying.


    "But I must say-" The headmaster''s voice started fading.


    "Mom, hold me-" before I could finish I cked out.

 Chapter 41 - Far And Wide

    ''The advent of the super rookie!'' This was the title of a rather famous post on the web the very next day. It was originally posted on the Demigrace Academy website by a kid boasting about being the ssmate of this super rookie butter got distributed everywhere. People really liked to watch young kids beat the sh*t out of each other.


    Some were happy, some were jealous while some were just concerned about the whole thing. Though this was a very short video, it did showcase Helio''s strength. And perhaps, even more, his madness.


    It caught the attention of more and more people but perhaps the most concerning one were the International bureau of Kin. This was a private organization run by seven powerful individuals from seven different countries. And yet, its influence was over the entire world.


    "Interesting. Is this the same kid?" One of the seven said. He was alone in the room with his secretory, watching the city below.


    Bright daylight pierced everything and his eyes glinted like that of a hunter. His blue shirt contrasted well with his blue eyes and blonde hair.


    "Yes." His secretory answered in a subtle voice. Her sunsses and half mask were both ck. Even her suit was ck. She perhaps liked the color ck, a little more than necessary.


    Amused, the man red fiercely at the ss wall, his reflection ever prominent. "I didn''t know he was still alive." His grin widened and he turned around. "Looks like we''ll be going on a little cruise."


    ***


    The situation in the Battesuin household however was different.


    "Let''s destroy that ind along with that cocky bastard."


    The Battlesuin house was divided into three hierarchies. The main family, the branch family, and the adopted family.


    The guy who just spoke was from the branch family. He was the head and he was also rather hot-blooded. His wife and son were present. The son, being ze.


    There were others present here too. This ce, the royal pce of the Battlesuins was their headquarters. It was seven storied and mazelike in architecture. It housed roughly 700 rooms along with three pools, two courtrooms, and eighteen training rooms: one forbidden room included.


    "Let''s not make haste." A woman walked down the spiral stairs and smiled elegantly. Normally everyone either used the elevators or perhaps their own powers for transport, but that wasn''t the case with this woman.


    "Lady Hyora." Everyone in the room bowed.


    Hyora Battlesuin, was the current head of the main family. Some said her fairness was unrivaled in the whole world. Her skin was like the glowing snow, and so was her personality. Of course, she always conversed with a smile but only those closest to her knew of her true nature.


    Her appearance was that of a teenager but she was the head of the family for over four decades now.


    Hyora''s blood-red eyes and crystalline blue hair were very uncharacteristic of the Battlesuin lineage. Some said she was perhaps not from the main family. But anyone who ever voiced any opinions on her lineage never lived a moment longer. Her ever so elegant smile never faltered, even when she coldheartedly murdered her own father and mother: not even when she imprisoned her husband in an eternal sea of sand.


    "It''s alright." She came down and looked down on everyone. The people in the room looked up to her, but no one stood up. For they knew standing up meant death. "Regina?"


    "Ye-yes." Regina Battlesuin''s teeth ttered.


    "Where is your son?" Hyora''s voice flowed like lyrics: wless.


    "Right here, mydy." She was almost in tears. She wasn''t from the branch family, rather she was from the adopted family. Her position was basically at the bottom of the family hierarchy.


    ze was seated right next to her, heads down. He already knew his fate. And yet, his whole body was shivering. ''Am I going to die?'' His dder felt fuller than it was.


    ze''s hot-blooded father''s blood had gone a bit cold too.


    Hyora smiled just as elegantly as she always did. "Kill him."


    ze''s father bit his lips in anguish but didn''t say a word.


    "Mydy?" Regina was dumbfounded. She couldn''t believe her ears. Disobeying a direct order from the family head meant death, and she already knew that. Even so, she couldn''t. "Can''t you please forgive him just this once?" She pleaded with all her being. She was from a rich family herself but when she was married into this family, that''s when she learned what true cruelty was. She gave up everything. Her wealth, her position, her body, and even her future. But now her son?


    "KILL him." Hyora''s voice was just the same, but the pressure in the air wasn''t. It was much more intense.


    "I-I-I can''t-" Regina couldn''t finish the sentence as her head wasn''t attached to her torso anymore. ''I''m dead?'' Her body crumbled down on the floor as blood spewed everywhere.


    "M-Mother." ze couldn''t believe his eyes. He cried, he leaked, and he was next. His mother''s blood coated his face as he witnessed despair.


    "Rejoice. You''ve been given a second chance." Hyora said in a graceful, kind voice. "In recognition to yourte mother''s wish, I''ll grant you life for another year."


    "We are deeply grateful for your benevolence, mydy." ze''s father''s voice shook. Not with grief but with sheer anger. However, there was nothing he could do.


    Hyora walked back to the stairs. "And everyone." All attention was on her. "No one touches that kid- Helio, was it? He''s all mine." For the first time, her elegant smile warped into something hideous. Shivers went down everyone''s spines. They knew Hyora wasn''t messing around. ''I''ll devour him myself.'' A secondter, she was gone.


    People sighed in relief. Some looked at ze and the woman on the floor with pity, others with disgust.


    These two had the gulls to tarnish their family name. From this day on both, his father and ze would be ostracized behind their backs, and they''d have to live with it.


    ze formed a fist. ''I''ll avenge you, lord Mother.'' His eyes leaked and his pants were already wet.


    His father put an around his son. "It''s okay." His re was fury itself. But he already knew, there was no way he or his son could go against that woman''s wishes.


    ***


    Somewhere in a field of sand, a man sat on a small hill covered withrge rocks. The sea of sands stretched out past the horizon. There was not a trace of greenery in the whole ce apart from that one hill.


    He watched therge thunder clouds on the horizon, ck spots apparent in his eyes. "A new storm is approaching." His voice was barely a whisper.


    "You should really get a haircut." A woman appeared through a small oval-shaped ck portal.


    The man had facial hair everywhere. His beard was longer than his hand. And his hair was longer than his arm. When was thest time he even showered? "What do you want now?"


    "Your son." The woman said as she shed an elegant smile. "He broke through the secondyer of the seal today."


    "But you said!" The man stood up in shaky legs. He was in tattered clothes and he was almost just bones.


    "I never said the seal was unbreakable." The woman chuckled.


    The man''s teeth ttered. It was as though the ground beneath him shook. "Then release me, and reseal him!"


    The woman stopped smiling. Her red eyes almost glowed. "And what will you offer in exchange? I already own your lifespan. What else do you have?" She already knew he had nothing to offer.


    "I''ll offer¡­." The man gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, made up his mind. "My soul."


    A hideous grin surfaced on the woman''s face. Sheughed uncharacteristically. "Like father like son." But a secondter her usual graceful smile made aeback. "Very well. It''s a deal."


    The man shed a defeated grin. ''I''ll at least get to meet my son, onest time.'' He was content with his decision.


    ***


    "Someone hurt a Battlesuin and got an away with too?" A man was reading through his Holo in his office and chuckled subconsciously. "What''s more, the headmaster- that demon is actually backing him." It was a small office. And there was no roof. Simr sized offices were all across therge room with countless telephones going crazy.


    This was a rather outdated ce with outdated technology. People in thispany were clutching onto a bygone era in the hopes of achieving something special. But in the end, they were justplicating their lives more than necessary.


    A woman was present in the room. She was the man''s attendant. "Yes, it would seem so. And his name-"


    "Helio." The man finished her sentence. The small pores in his beard were like a weapon, sticking out like thorns. "Look into this kid. I have a feeling he has connections with that other monster." His grin widened. "But even so, what was this kid thinking. Does he want war?" He subconsciously caressed his beard and a secondter realized, ''Oh yeah, I haven''t shaved.''


    "Not exactly. Our sources say, he did this for his roommate."


    "ying hero huh? Well, I guess he is in that age." The man looked at Helio''s picture. "He does resemble that monster. Perhaps¡­" They burst outughing. "Looks like we''re going on a trip pretty soon, Hary." It was an on the spot decision.


    His attendant only smiled, as she corrected her sses.


    "Boss, you okay?" Arge man poked from above the office walls. He was reallyrge.


    "Is that how you talk to your boss! Can''t you evene into my room!"


    "Boss, your wife just called and she wants to know why she can''t reach you. And she said if you don''t go home right now, she''lle here straight." Therge spoke softly. "And she''s bringing ''it''."


    "M-Miss Hary, we-we''re leaving. Let''s go see that kid."


    He got up from his chair. He had a rather nagging wife and if her wife learned that he intentionally blocked her, let''s just say, there would have been blood spilled, and a lot of it.

 Chapter 42 - Your Whiteness Is Awfully Familiar

    My head throbbed as I opened my eyes. There was light everywhere.


    ''Where am I?''


    That was my first question and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked around, covering my eyes with one hand. I was in some sort of white room and I was wearing some sort of white cloth which covered me from head to toe. This sure didn''t look like the nurse''s office. So where was I?


    There was nothing inside the room apart from the bed and a stool. There wasn''t even a door. Come to think of it, I didn''t even see walls. Everything was just¡­ white.


    ''Where am I?''


    ***


    Time flew by. "Is anyone there? HELLOO!?" Screaming or yelling didn''t help. My voice echoed in this room, or perhaps this space.


    One hour, then two. It''d been two hours but nothing. I didn''t feel cold, I didn''t feel warm and I didn''t feel hungry either.


    ''Am I even awake?''


    "ANYONE!"


    "HA HA HA!" A chuckle came from somewhere. The voice felt familiar but not familiar at the same time. And I couldn''t locate where it came from either.


    I didn''t know why but I didn''t feel anything, not even a speck of fear. I didn''t feel ufortable either. As though I''d known this voice for a long time.


    ''Should I leave?''


    ''Can I leave?''


    I don''t know why but all this time the thought of leaving never really urred to me even once. Why was I spending all this time, lying on the bed anyway?


    I got off from the bed and when my feet touched the floor, it formed ripples as though I was walking on water. Cold, white, water. My foot was sinking and I pulled it back up, but I wasn''t wet.


    ''What is this?''


    "That is your cage." A voice answered.


    I looked at its direction and a shadow was there in the far left corner of the bed, sitting on the stool. Everything about this shadow was pitch ck apart from those blood-red eyes and that white toothy grin.


    "My cage?" And yet, I was calm.


    "Yes, your cage."


    "Why?"


    This thing looked pretty ck but I could make out vague shapes. It was humanoid in its form and had arms and legs. Roughly, my size. "To prevent what happenedst time." I didn''t know if this voice was a guy or a girl and I didn''t really care. It spread its arm sideways and a small window appeared showing my battle with ze.


    ''That''s me?''


    The boy in the window looked like me, and yet it wasn''t me. He was crazy strong and fierce, and at the same time, a little mad. And not to mention I had no recollection of the event. All my memories were hazy.


    "What is this ce? How do I leave?"


    "You want to leave?" It raised its hand and the white interior morphed into somethingpletely ck. But the small area around me stayed white. "You can leave if you want to, but that thing will get you." he pointed at a thing far away. A thing that looked at least three times bigger than me and oozed liquid darkness: its eyes were simr to the shadow on the stool but definitely much more insane. Even in that pitch-ck darkness, I could see it: it was much darker than the surrounding darkness and it came moved around as though half of it was drenched in water.


    It roared the moment it saw me and ran straight at me. The cry was fierce and almost made my heart stop.


    Argh! A small groan escaped my throat on its own. I was calm even just a second ago and yet, just seeing the thing brought back my previous trauma. But there was another problem, I didn''t really remember what trauma.


    "You see." The shadow raised its hand again and the room turned all white. The liquid dark thing was gone. "In order to prevent that thing, you are here. But if you want to leave-"


    "Yeah, I get you. But I meant how do I get back. What is this ce?"


    "You can go back anytime you want." The shadow''s grin widened. "As long as you agree with one thing."


    It felt like it was avoiding my questions. "What was that thing? And what one thing?"


    Its grin widened to a point where its ck chin started to tear. Its insides were red. "You."


    "Huh? Me!?" I didn''t trust this thing. "And what about you?"


    "Also, you." It pointed straight at me. "And that''s why I want you. I want to be you. I tried to kill that boy just like you wished. Now-" It red at me. "Now let me y around a little, like I wish and in turn, I won''t let that thing outside,e near you."


    This thing was crazy. Too crazy and I had a bad feeling about this.


    "That doesn''t make sense!"


    DRIP!


    "Actually," Another voice came from my right. It was the voice of a girl. I looked back and a girl with silver-white hair and red eyes was standing next to me. Her feet created ripples in the floor. "They are you but not you at the same time. Your mind developed them to-"


    The chuckling sound came back. It wasing from the shadow to my left. "I''ll kill you! This time I''ll kill you!" It jumped straight at the girl, grinning like mad the entire time.


    "Look out!" It was as though I was glued to the bed, I couldn''t get up.


    "No need to worry." She carelessly raised her arm. "Be...gone." Her smile was nonchnt, almost as though she was sure of her victory.


    A bright light shed and my eyes got blinded for a second. The shadow disappeared.


    "What is this? Who are you?" I asked the girl but she just gave me a smile.


    "Come, it is time for you to wake up." She caressed my hair. She sniffed me with a look of ecstasy: her crimson eyes trembled. "I want to eat you up, but-" And a secondter, my consciousness faded.


    ***


    My eyes fluttered and I woke up with a groggy and terrible headache.


    I certainly didn''t want to experience all that good stuff again. I barely woke up and yet, I remembered everything like it happened just minutes ago. Actually, it did feel like all of that drama happened only a minute ago.


    "Oh, Helio!" But instead of something like that shadow, I was hugged by a beautiful woman- namely mom.


    "Um¡­ Calm down?" I recognized this ce. It was the nurse''s office. And instead of calming me down, I had to calm her down.


    She sniffed a little and kept on hugging me. My mother was strong and for as long as I knew, I only saw her cry three times in my whole life. And this one was included. Of course, she only sniffed this time, rather than crying, so I guess it was still two times?


    "What happened?"


    "You wouldn''t wake up and-" She paused. "I''ll get the nurse."


    I looked out and it was night. And judging by the prefects roaming in the distance, it was definitely close to midnight.


    "Okay, I''ll wait."


    I didn''t know what was going on but I tried to stay calm. Mom was agitated, so the least I could do was calm her down.


    She left and I just stared at the ceiling. What was that and what was going on? I didn''t really know. But for some reason that feeling I had back there, that shadow, that creature, and that girl, all of them seemed nostalgic. Had I met them before, somewhere?


    I didn''t have any answers.


    ***


    Sometimester mom came back with the nurse. The nurse came running, rubbing her eyes all the way. It was close to 2 am- or so the nurse told me a dozen times.


    "What happened to me?" I was mostly unharmed.


    "We suspect you have a rare disease. But your scans showed nothing out of the ordinary." The nurse yawned three times while telling me that.


    "If nothing''s wrong with me, then what was that?"


    "Have you ever thought his personalities switch from time to time?" The question was aimed at mom.


    "He does have a pretty bad personality¡­" Mom started thinking but I wished she hadn''t said that out loud. "But I don''t think it''s multiple personalities."


    Somehow I got the feeling mom already knew something but if she wasn''t willing to talk, then I couldn''t force her either.


    "Then how about the virus?" She red at mom, carefully observing her reaction.


    She couldn''t have been talking about ''that'' virus, right? Because,st time I checked, the government had already developed a cure for it ages ago. If that wasn''t the case then our society would have crumbled long ago.


    "If that were the case, he''d have already died back in middle school or did you forget that anyone who contracts the virus dies within a year? Besides, didn''t you already scan him for the virus?" My mother, however, was thinking this through a bit more than I. but honestly, why would they even assume I had the virus in the first ce?


    "First of all, I am aware of the thing that happened when he was in middle school. Next, there have been past instances where individuals have lived more than five years before dying. Andstly, though he came out clean, it''s always possible it could have been an instrumental or perhaps a human error."


    This was news to me. I yet again learned that I didn''t really know past the books and information provided for the general popce. ''So people can still get infected, and everyone just covers it up?'' It was the only logical conclusion I coulde up with.


    The nurse did have her point but since this was basically in the middle of the night, I really didn''t want to be a part of this. "Can''t we just discuss this tomorrow?''


    Both of them red at me. Did they join hands just to bully me?


    "I suppose you''re right." Both of them agreed fairly easily too.


    I guess I was just overthinking things.


    "So, where are you staying?" I asked mom.


    "I actually hadn''t thought about that." She looked a little troubled. Was she nning on spending the whole night sitting by my bed?


    "My room should be free. You can-" But the dorm manager would have been an issue. "I guess you can go to the girl''s dorm too."


    "Oh right. Elsa did say she was staying with a girl there. I''ll go there right now."


    I had a feeling this girl Elsa was staying with was Eve, but I didn''t really have time to worry about all this.


    "Alright, see you tomorrow."


    With both of them gone I stared at the ceiling and thought about things again. But before I could make anything out, I fell asleep.


    ***


    I woke hearing weird chuckles. ''Please not that again.''


    Every time I woke up, I almost freaked out. This happened three times already fromst night. But I never really woke up in that white ce again. Was I going crazy or something?


    But when I saw Natasha and Merinughing by the bed, I was more than just relieved. I guess they were having fun.


    I was also relieved for another reason. At least, the night''s passed. I didn''t want to go through those nightmares again.


    "He''s awake." Natasha was the first to notice me.


    "Hey, super rookie. Good morning." Merin had this annoying grin stered on his face.


    "Super what?" I was confused. What was he even saying? I tried to sit up. My body ached a little but that was all.


    I was still pretty groggy. Did I oversleep a bit too much?


    Merin gave me a rather toothy grin before pulling up something on his Holo. It read, "the advent of the super rookie.''


    "The hell is this?"


    "Looks like your famous." Natasha giggled.


    ''But I never wanted to be famous!'' My already shitty life just got a lot shittier.

 Chapter 43 - The Super Rookie? What, Are You, Blind?

    Merin was a bit too excited so I turned to Natasha and she exined things to me.


    Apparently, one moron from my ss had recorded a small video of me fighting ze and uploaded to the school website. The video got viral and I was born as the super rookie. ''But why a rookie?''


    Yet again my day began with a sigh. ''Today''s going to be shitty too?''


    I tried to get out of the bed, and Natasha just pushed me back. "Not until the nurse says so."


    I wanted to refuse but I couldn''t.


    "By the way, I''m kind of jealous. Not only are you famous across the academy you even have your own fan club." Merin said he was jealous but that grin sure didn''t look like jealousy. If anything he looked even smugger now.


    ''Yeah, I never wanted to be famous though.''


    "Fan club?"


    "The girls you freed have all be your fans," Natasha spoke like it was the most natural thing in the world. "We even have new applicants applying for the position of being your top fan."


    "Why can''t they just live normal lives? They''re free now, right?"


    "I''m their leader by the way." Again Natasha just spoke like it was normal.


    Come to think of it, she seemed much more open than before and not as nonchnt as when I first met her. Did something good happen to her today or what?


    "Leader? Why? I''m pretty sure, you have no reason to admire me."


    "What are you, dense? You saved me from a fate I utterly despised. Of course, I''d admire you. But just because I admire you doesn''t mean I''ll fawn over you. And the same goes for those girls too. It''s just an excuse for them to bond and have some fun anyway. So don''t concern yourself too much about it." Natasha was blunt and I was d she gave it to be straight. "Just think you have more well-wishers and everything will be fine."


    ''I''m sure it''s not that simple.''


    All this time, Merin was simply just giggling ever so silently. I really wanted to punch the dude.


    Well, I wasn''t some harem protagonist, so I guess this was normal. It''s not like girls would just fawn over me just because I saved them. And I was perfectly fine with just earning their respect. ''At least now I won''t get res.''


    "Where is the nurse anyway?" I was getting a little impatient.


    I was perfectly healthy: probably. And yet, I was bedridden. Suffice to say, I did not like to be here.


    Merin and Natasha just looked at each other and chuckled.


    ''Get a room you two.''


    ***


    The nurse came back roughly an hourter and after what seemed like an eternity I was discharged. She did make me promise that I''d have toe every week for a routine checkup.


    I had a feeling she didn''t want to release me but was forced to.


    It was past noon and I was hungry. Strangely, mom or Elsa never came to check up on me.


    Was everything alright?


    It worried me more than necessary so I headed towards the girls'' dorm. And only when I got on the road, did I notice that I had a lot of holes and tears in my clothes. ''They couldn''t just get me new clothes, now could they?''


    With another sigh, I kept on moving. As usual, there were stares. But within those stares, I received loads of and loads of sparkly eyes. Well, at least I had respect if nothing else.


    But I also got something else. Namely, "Look there''s the super rookie."


    "Super rookie''s back on his feet!"


    "Super rookie, looking good!"


    "Tch, show off."


    There were all sorts ofments about me.


    I really didn''t want to be anywhere near those guys.


    ''Super rookie this, super rookie that!'' Actually, when asionally I heard things like being a showoff and stuff, it made me feel better. At least I wasn''t in another world or something.


    ''Am I turning into a masochist or something?''


    ***


    "I always believed in you!" Ariel shed a thumbs up from the bench as I passed her. Dan wasn''t with her. She was just chomping on her double-decker sandwich. Was that her usual routine or something?


    I returned the gesture. "Your faith is appreciated." I tried to be as bold as I could. But the moment my eyesnded on that sandwich, my mouth began to water, and I couldn''t maintain myposure: I was hungry.


    She started giggling, snorted halfway, and burst outughing a secondter. "Well," She cleared a tear. "Good job." I knew she was congratting me, but did she really need tough that hard?


    "Thank you." I turned to leave.


    "But don''t let it get to your head. You won two matches back to back against people who went to the nationalsst year. You must really be feeling good about it. But, pride often brings disaster, so I''ll be careful if I were you." Though Ariel shed a devilish grin, I got the feeling she was serious.


    I knew Dan went to the nationals but ze too? It was news to me.


    "Noted." I moved on.


    I already knew, I couldn''t let this get to my head. Besides, I still didn''t know what was going on with me, or what that stuff that went down in my head was, anyway. And I couldn''t tell it to anyone either, without looking like I''d gone mad. Oh wait, maybe I could have told mom?


    ''Guess, I''ll tell herter.''


    ***


    I reached the girls'' dorm within due time. On my way here, I received dozens of letters. I never opened them. Probably just gratitude letters.


    But something was different today at this dorm. Instead of the usual res, I was getting a lot of smiles and even some flying kisses. Needless to say, I felt more ufortable than anything else.


    I still got one re though. "Hey Ponytails, is Eve in?"


    It was the same girl who had captured me back then and tied me to a chair. I didn''t resent her but I got the impression she didn''t like me one bit. And that''s why I asked her instead of everyone else here. Cause no matter how I saw it, these girls were definitely just waiting to pull something. I really didn''t want to give them a chance.


    Ponytails looked at me without much emotion. "Yes, she is inside and so is your family." Her tone was subtle and she leaked minimum hostility. I guess she could conceal her nature pretty well. Plus she already knew about my family?


    I walked inside. "Thanks."


    "Thank you too." The girl whispered.


    Was she talking to me?


    I sure hope not.


    ***


    "SO, why didn''t youe to see me?"


    Mom, Elsa, and Eve were sitting side by side on the bed. I was standing in front of them like I was an investigator or something. Actually, I really felt like torturing these lot at this point.


    "I kind of got carried away with the gossip and lost track of time." For once mom fidgeted and didn''t look me in the eye.


    I looked at Elsa. "Well, Eve was being so nice-"


    "I-I''m not to me!"


    All three of them were guilty, no doubt.


    ''I shouldn''t have worried.''


    When these two never came to visit me since morning, I kind of got worried about them. But now, I just felt sad.


    "Alright, I''ll head back to the dorm. Good luck on going back," I waved and left. I didn''t even look back.


    I already had enough shocks for the day.


    My head was throbbing and I still hadn''t had lunch. Everything just pissed me off. I felt like kicking and punching things without any reason.


    Every girl that came near me, saw my mood and just moved aside.


    Once out, I headed for the vending machine. ''Cold chocte?'' it was hot, so I went for the cold option. I always liked my chocte hot, but cold was good too.


    I opened the bottle, took a sip, and just stared at the distance from the bench. Finally, some peace.


    Mom already knew I was okay, so maybe that''s why she didn''te. But honestly, what about Elsa? Wasn''t she supposed to be my clingy sister? She was so annoying whenever I didn''t want her to be.


    I sighed. ''Just what the hell was I even hoping for?''


    The chilled chocte did taste a bit too cold for my taste though.


    "You are Helio Jintel, is that correct?" A voice spoke from my side.


    "Yes, and you are?"


    There were actually two people there. A guy and a girl. They were old, mid-thirties. Both of them had vacation clothes on. Were they on a trip to Hawaii or something?


    "I''m Marcov Bronsky, nice to meet you." The man came close and sat on the bench, spreading his hands towards me.


    The girl just stood by the bench and nced at us a little more than necessary.


    "Jintel, nice to meet you too." I grabbed his hand and gave it a shake. But something wasn''t right. His hand felt abnormally hot. I yanked off my hand and made distance, sipping my drink the entire time.


    "Not bad." The man said as he scratched his beard. "Awe man, I forgot to shave again."


    ''What is wrong with this dude?''

 Chapter 44 - How Could You Forget It!?

    I got a lot of staresing from all around me. Normally this wouldn''t have been an issue but since I had two weirdoes in front of me, I got more than enough attention.


    I was sipping so hard that I ran out before I even noticed. At least I was just mildly hungry now.


    "Who are you people, what do you want?" I kept my eyes on the two of them while moving close to the trash can. I always drank at this ce, so I was pretty aware of the can''s location.


    "You shouldn''t forget people''s names that easily you know." He chuckled.


    Was this dude really serious? "Anyway, I''ve got better things to do, so if you don''t have any-"


    "You''re Julio''s son, aren''t you?" The man had a rather weird smirk. It creeped me out.


    "What are you even talking about? And no!" Only after bing a little furious did I understand, this guy could have potentially known my grandfather.


    So I had to y this cool.


    "That''s a nice reaction you have. As expected of Julio''s son."


    My gramps was at least 70 this year, so where on earth did this dude get the idea of gramps being my father?


    "Are you sure, your head is alright?" Honestly, I was more concerned about this dude''s sanity than his attitude.


    But something about this man bothered me. His hand was hot to touch. But it wasn''t anything I was familiar with. ''Maybe he has a weird power?''


    The woman sighed. "Please give it up. We already know you''re his son. There''s no lying your way out of this." The woman seemed full of herself too. Were both of them morons?


    This woman wore sses and looked fairly intellectual and yet her intelligence was less than a toddler''s.


    ''I guess looks could be deceiving.''


    "Later." I started walking. I had better things to worry about than these creeps. But one thing was for certain. My secret identity wasn''t so secret anymore.


    Just who was the person that just had to post that video?


    The two didn''t follow me. I still kept a close eye on them, and eventually crashed into a palm tree in the middle of the road. So much for learning my lesson.


    ***


    All my life I always hid my family name- Romswell. It was the cursed name for the world. Though our family wasn''t rich or perhaps that influential in the world, this family certainly was well known for producing quality viins.


    The world''s leading terrorist group Alzana? Lead by Thomas Romswell ke, my uncle.


    The world''s baddest viin? My grandfather.


    The world''s most wanted and notorious criminal? My cousin, John.


    And this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    All of them were from my mother''s side though. I didn''t really know much about my father''s side but I never really looked into it either. I already had my hands full with just one side of the family, I sure in hell didn''t want to deal with the other. Besides, I despised people from my father''s side anyway. I hadn''t seen any of them in the past twelve or so years but that was a different story.


    This was why I never used my family name or even the name Helio. And whenever I used to go out with my cousins, I always wore a mask so that people never knew me. I even got the nickname the Cursed Mask Romswell. I didn''t like the name, but it was better than just having my face well known as the next potential world viin for no reason at all.


    I still got about a dozen headlines from time to time though. But it was about the Cursed Mask, not me.


    ***


    I reached the dorm before I knew it. Did I already subconsciously register this ce as my home? Probably.


    I forgot to buy bread because of all that drama but oh well.


    At least I won''t have to run into those two morons again.


    Stairs¡­. Pain. My nose and forehead stung too from that great crash between me and that damn nt.


    ''Why in the middle of the street?''


    This time, I knocked three times on the door and waited for a response. I''d already done enough disturbing for these two.


    "Come in."


    I went in and I really wanted to punch Merin. Natasha wasn''t here but there sure was a lot more than I ever expected. Was he having a party?


    There were five people inside the room including Merin. Two being Elsa and mom and the other two being those roadside weirdoes who just randomly showed up and disrupted my drinking time.


    "Wee, Julio''s son. I''ve been waiting for you." The man began with a grin.


    How the hell did he get here faster than me?


    Before I could reply I took a good look at mom. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling way more than necessary.


    I had a bad feeling about this. Was mom waiting just so I could get here and she could confront the dude first hand?


    "Just what is your connection with this Julio?" I tried to be as non-interested as possible. I couldn''t give away that I knew gramps. But at this point, was that even possible?


    "Oh, we''re just friends." The man grinned more than necessary.


    Friends? Friends with a 70-year-old geezer whom I hadn''t seen past my third birthday?


    "Really? So I take it your old too?"


    "Yeah, I just turned 44 this year." He chuckled. He definitely looked younger though.


    And he wasn''t even a little bit offended when I called him old? Something was seriously wrong with this guy.


    I sighed. "Then you should know, that man is old and I''m too young. Meaning I couldn''t possibly be his son." I tried to reason with him. He didn''t seem that bad, but maybe a little stupid.


    "No, that monster always liked little girls. I always saw a girl with him every single time I went out with him." He was speaking way too nonchntly. Did he not realize that the girl sitting in the bed opposite to his, was that guy''s, the guy he just called a monster''s daughter?


    "You should really watch what you''re saying, man." I tried to chuckle, but the chuckle didn''te out.


    "That was me." A voice ran through the room. A very cold voice. It was mom. I had a bad feeling about this.


    ''Toote.''


    "Huh?"


    "That girl, he always took everywhere with. That was me." Mom''s eyes opened.


    "Oh yeah, now that you mentioned it, you did seem simr. Did he marry you?" He chuckled a bit harder. "But I must say, he had pretty good taste in women."


    ''Last straw.''


    Mom stood up, went close to the guy, and grabbed his cor, raising him up from the ground with just one hand.


    The two otherdies meanwhile were just drinking their afternoon tea like nothing was amiss. Merin was just watching the whole thing with sparkles in his eyes. What was up with them?


    "That''s his daughter by the way." I tried to be a little nonchnt but my sweats were reminding me that this wasn''t good.


    The color from the guy''s face dropped. He was pale as a sheet. "Oh shit."


    "I remember you. You''re that miserable moron who always ran from his wife every time he had a fight." Mom raised him a little higher. "You do have life insurance right?"


    "No?" The guy squirmed, sweating profusely.


    "Too bad. I''d feel bad for your family¡­.so-" She just wiggled her arms a little and the guy flew through the air, crashing into the wall. It was a small room so he didn''t pick up speed. But he did crash rather loudly, forming two cracks on the wall. "So, I''ll let you go, just this once."


    He screamed mildly and coughed up a bit of blood. "You''re even worse than my wife." Mom red and the man stood up straight. "No mam, you''re way, way better!"


    Two suppressed giggles came out of nowhere. Apparently, our two tea-drinkingdies were having fun on their own.


    ''Wait, if thatdy is my mother and the daughter of Julio, then that makes me Julio''s grandson. How the hell didn''t I see thising?'' I''d just given away my identity the moment I mentioned mom being Julio- my grandfather''s daughter.


    I sighed. "Which moron uploaded that video again?" I asked Merin.


    I got the feeling Merin liked squabbles like this. He still had his liberated face. "Why?"


    "Oh, nothing. I''m just going to make him impotent for a few weeks." Iughed. Iughed a bit too much.


    If the guy hadn''t uploaded the video, then half of these problems wouldn''t have even existed.


    "I doubt that. The guy''s pretty strong. Let''s see." Merin scrolled through his Holo and brought out the original post. "See."


    The moment I saw the name I sighed without even reading the rest. It was Clyde- Clyde Angelmen. He even wrote stuff like, ''proud to be his ssmate'' and stuff.


    The guy was stronger than me whether I liked it or not and not to mention he was already impotent. So there went that n.


    But really, Clyde?


    What did I ever do to him?


    With a sigh, I ced the letters on my desk.


    "Wow, you got so many love letters." Merin chuckled.


    The moment he said love, I caught the attention of everyone in the room. Especially mom and Elsa. What were they so excited about?


    "So you''re telling me I got love letters from nine girls and four guys and two teachers?" Just because I received letters didn''t mean they were love letters anyway.


    "Well, everyone has preferences." Merin didn''t look me in the eye.


    "I don''t care-"


    Knock! Knock!


    "Who?" I was the only one standing like a moron while the rest were sitting peacefully. And Marcov whatever guy was repenting in a corner, so basically, I had to answer the door.


    "It''s me, Rose." The voice came out smoothly.


    I opened the door. I owed Rose, one. "Hi, how can I help you?"


    She scowled and looked around. "Why didn''t you change clothes? You''re about to meet the headmaster in his office, you know."


    "Wha?"


    "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that." Merin chuckled. "You were supposed to meet the headmaster beforeing here but I guess that''s why Rose is here."


    I really wanted to punch him.


    I was basically still wearing my torn clothes. Running around in these outside was one thing but meeting the headmaster with these?


    I really wanted to change but-


    "He''s got a lot of work to do. So let''s go." Rose turned around, giving me a solid re. "And here I thought you''d at least have some punctuality," She murmured.


    ''But why the hell did you have to show up?''


    Elsa waved me bye. While mom just smiled.


    Merin also smiled but I really wanted to break them (his) teeth.


    The other two had awkward smiles and averted eye contact with Rose.


    Sigh!


    "Let''s go." I just grabbed a piece of gum from Merin''s table and came out. But Rose still stayed by the door. "What are you doing?"


    "You two." Rose smiled. "You''reing too." Apparently, she was speaking to the weirdoes.

 Chapter 45 - An Irresistible Offer

    Tick.


    Tock.


    Tick.


    Tock.


    I stared at the thing on the table. It had some metal balls grouped together side by side. And just the balls in the sides were moving. Whenever the ball from one side came swinging, the ball in the opposite started moving and this process kept on repeating.


    I didn''t know why but it was both ufortable and addicting at the same time.


    "¡­ Though this came out in our favor, the Battlesuin family is rather powerful and they might try to harm you and your family. But I guess even they aren''t that stupid. Isn''t that right, Helio Romswell Jintel?" The headmaster was watching the fields through the ss window behind his chair. "Both of your family have a long history with each other."


    We were basically alone in the room.


    "Yeah, pretty much."


    ''Wait, what did I just say?''


    I was so focused on the thing on the table that I''d forgotten I was in the headmaster''s office this whole time. ''Oh shit.''


    "No, no I mean-" I really had to rify this before it could get any worse than it already did.


    "Protecting the privacy of my students is one of my policies. And as long as you follow proper rules, I won''t identally leak this information." The headmaster gave me a nice long smile.


    Just how shrewd was this geezer? To think he''d use such a primitive thing to confuse me for a second, only to bring the truth out of me!


    I sighed. "Alright, alright I get it." I still didn''t know why he was bothering with me anyway. "So, what did you want to talk about Sir?"


    He turned around, raised his chin a little. "You."


    "Me?"


    "Yes, you. Just what was that yesterday?"


    "I''m not sure actually."


    He proceeded to take his seat. "I have a rare talent of gauging the strength of others. Of course, we have a machine for that at the school but I trust my skills more." He shed a smile and then looked at me with utter seriousness. "You exceeded the limits of my perception at that moment."


    "What? How- what, are you even talking about?"


    "I''m saying you broke past the hundredth mark at that one moment: You''re only the second person who broke past that record that I met in this life. Of course, there are others but this, this is rare. And I have a feeling your power stems from something far worse than what we saw that day." His re softened. "You have seen your own video right?"


    "Yes, I saw the short one and-" And I also saw the whole thing inside that white room. ''Should I tell that to the headmaster?''


    "And?"


    I thought about it. It was worth a shot. And this guy already knew about me being a Romswell. And if heughed about it, I could have just passed it out as a joke. "Have you ever seen dreams about a white room with shadows and a pretty white girl? Everyone had red eyes by the way."


    But then there was the question, just how did he know about me?


    The headmaster looked at me with curiosity for a second and burst outughing in the very next. "I don''t know about the shadows but I see pretty girls in my dreams all the time." He kept on chuckling. I shouldn''t have mentioned that to this geezer. I was about to tell it was just a joke but he spoke anyway. "Show me your hand."


    "What about my hand?" I spread my hands towards him.


    He grasped my hand with a swift motion. This geezer was strong. "Let''s see¡­" He trailed some of my veins, it tickled. "You have a seal on you¡­ ced by¡­." He became a little quiet: too quiet. "This girl you spoke off. What did she look like?" His voice came out rather hoarse.


    ''A seal? For what?''


    "Pretty girl with red eyes and silver hair," I remembered her face vividly.


    "Are you sure her hair wasn''t white like snow? And her skin too? What about her age?" All of a sudden this geezer got excited. Did he have a crush on girls like that?


    "No, her skin looked fairly normal. And her hair was silver and yeah, it did look a bit like snow but I wouldn''t call that white like snow. But the room itself was really white so I might not be urate. And I''d say she was about my age, probably." Besides, it all happened in a dream.


    "Well, that exins this." He threw a bundle of paper on the table.


    Where the hell he even get paper?


    "This girl-" The paper on top contained the information on a new transfer student: a girl with white hair and red eyes.


    "Your new ssmate from tomorrow. Does she look familiar?"


    I looked carefully at the picture. This girl looked familiar and very much like the girl I met back in that room. But this wasn''t her. I didn''t know how but I knew it. This wasn''t her. "This isn''t her."


    "Even so, I ask you to remain cautious around this girl." He red at me. "She is trouble and from that family, you don''t want to get involved with."


    I looked at her name and¡­ "Hyorin Von Battlesuin?"


    I had a feeling this girl transferred because a certain someone thrashed one of them. I really didn''t want to be that certain someone. But regretfully, I was him.


    "Now," The headmaster continued. "About the seal. It''s a very potent one. And without undoing it, we won''t know what it''s suppressing. Well, I suppose we already know." He chuckled. "But it looks like the seal is doing pretty well, so no need to worry about that. "He thought for a second. "Almost as if someone redid it?" He was in deep thought.


    I wasn''t going to worry about it anyway. I really needed a long talk with mom. If I had a seal on me, mom probably knew it. And yet, she never found the necessity to tell me about it. Meaning, it could have been something very serious, or something not worth telling me. Either way, I needed a good talk with her.


    Knock!


    "Yes?"


    "Headmaster you have a guest. He''s from the Bureau." The voice came from the outside.


    "Well, I suppose our meeting is at end here. I hear you wish to participate in the uing tournament. I won''t be here at the time but good luck." The geezer raised his voice. "Let them in."


    I turned around. "Alright then Sir. I''ll be taking my leave now."


    Maybe this geezer wasn''t so bad. Though his tastes weren''t that great, his attitude and personality made it easy for me to talk with him.


    "There''s no need to hurry." A man came in the room, followed by a woman.


    Both were wearing suits. The man was in blue while the woman in ck. She also had a mask on her face.


    "He isn''t just from the Bureau, he''s the Bureau itself," The headmaster mumbled.


    The man stood in my way and looked down on me. "You''re Helio, correct? Oh, where are my manners? Rober Voxxo Mon tenheimn. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    ''What''s with the weird name?''


    "Jintel. The pleasure''s all mine." I gave his hand a good shake. He was arge man. And yet, he seemed rather fit. "Now, could you move?"


    "Ah yes, yes." He moved a little. "How would you like to work for the Bureau?"


    "The Bureau?" The question came out of nowhere.


    Was he serious? Was this man serious?


    "The International Bureau of Kin. They experiment with Kin and are the leading organization in vine production worldwide." The headmaster filled me in. But his voice came out a bit hostile.


    Of course, I knew about that but why would some hotshot from that kind of bigpany want me?


    "Why and do what exactly?" I spoke, as though the ground beneath my feet shook.


    His grin widened. "You''ll be experimented on. Of course, it won''t be anything painful. You''ll only have to give us some of your blood and let us run some tests on you. And of course, we''ll dlypensate you for it. Let''s say, how about ten thousand gold?"


    Even if my mother worked her best for the next five years without breaks, she still won''t be able to earn that much. Meaning, this was a big amount. ''But won''t I be ab rat?''


    Sweats poured from all the pores of my body. I couldn''t think and my breathing intensified: my heart beat faster. ''This could end all of my problems. Our problems¡­''


    And Elsa would graduate next year from middle school, meaning, mom would have to work extra hard.


    "Now, now. This is a big decision and you should talk it over with your guardian. I trust she''s still here?" The headmaster gave me a weak smile.


    I smirked. I guess the amount of money had robbed me of my wits for a second. "You''re right. How about I give you my answer this evening?" I caught my breath and calmed my head.


    "Sure." The Man''s voice came out cid but he didn''t forget to re at the headmaster.


    "Alright,ter." I didn''t care who he was, but I didn''t like this guy. His smirks and everything about him felt hostile.


    It was probably just my imagination. But his offer was a solid deal. Something which I couldn''t ignore.

 Chapter 46 - The Decision Of A Lifetime

    I came out of the headmaster''s room with a lot on my mind. This guy from the Bureau didn''t seem trustworthy but his offer was something I couldn''t ignore.


    "Ho ho, looks like someone got bamboozled." The voice came from my right. The Marcov guy was smirking at me rather oddly. He and the girl with him were just chilling on a small bench.


    They were supposed to go in after me, but I guess the guy from the Bureau took more priority.


    Rose wasn''t around here anymore. Maybe she was busier than I thought.


    "That reminds me, what did you two show up for anyway?"


    They were still in their flimsy clothes. Did they really came here for a vacation?


    "I know this might not sound true or even perhaps it just might sound stupid but I came here to just see you. I owe your old man a lot." He stopped for a second. "I owe your grandfather a lot." He pretended like the earlier mistake never happened. "So I thought it''d only be fair if I gave you a warning in his absence."


    "What warning?" I was awfully skeptical about these two.


    "I don''t have to remind you that your powers are special right?"


    "Yeah, what about it?"


    "Surely, you''re aware that it could be used for war purposes? And as that guy said, research." He gave me a knowing grin.


    ''You were eavesdropping?''


    "But wars-"


    "Are banned by the UN. I know. But think about it. There have been seven instances when just one individual was enough to destroy an entire nation." He came close. "And your gramps happens to be one of them," he whispered and took his seat again. "So think about it. Wouldn''t anyone who knows you carry his blood, recruit you and try to run tests on you? After what the world saw in that vid, I''d say it''d only be fair. " His grin widened. "After all, you possess the same power."


    He wasn''t wrong. But my powers weren''t that special like my grandfather. Gramps could use nuclear energy to strengthen his body, he could make a miniaturized sun in the palm of his hands and he could even fly. My powers were basically like the vani version of his. I couldn''t do any of that, yet. I could mildly strengthen my body but that was my limit. And basically just making small amounts of sma took a lot of concentration for me, let alone fusion.


    Even as a three year old, I was so jealous, that I''d often kick him whenever he refused to pick me up on his back. Of course, he justughed it off.


    Now that I thought about it, I did miss him, a lot. ''Where are you, gramps?''


    But I couldn''t live in the past forever. "I can see why you''d be worried. But don''t worry, I won''t make any rash decisions. At least not on my own. I have my mom after all."


    The guy looked at me with wonder and broke down in suppressed chuckles. "Well, at least you''re not like him in that regard. You''re more like your father-" He paused. "Looks like it''s our turn." Both of them stood up and the woman went to the door.


    ''Father? But, wasn''t he confusing gramps with?''


    Now, even I was confused.


    "There''s a war brewing. I''d be careful, if I were you." Before leaving, the man looked back and whispered in a faint voice.


    ''A war brewing? In this age?''


    The guys from the Bureau came out of the room and these two went in. No one made any eye contact with each other. Did those four have history?


    ''Not my problem.'' I turned to leave. But I still didn''t like that man''s grin. And this new thing about wars kind of weighed on my mind too not as much the money issue though.


    ***


    The whole time towards the dorms, the offer was on my mind. This wasn''t a bad offer but it had its drawbacks. The pay was good but the risk wasn''t anything to sneeze at either.


    ''What should I do?''


    I was so engrossed in thought that I came back to the dorm before I knew it. I subconsciously ignored all the stares and everything. Just how much did I want this?


    ***


    "No." One word was enough.


    "But mom-"


    "No. And no means no." Mom sat on the bed, legs crossed.


    Elsa and Merin had left the room the moment this discussion began. Meaning, the two of us were alone.


    "It''s ten thousand gold! That''s-"


    "Worth more than five years of my ie, I know." Mom smiled. "But think about it, why do I work?"


    "Wha-"


    "I work for you guys. So you two can have a brighter future. So you two don''t have to suffer. But if you suffer, did all those nights I worked, did all those holidays I skipped have no value?"


    "I don''t-"


    "Please Helio- don''t do it." Mom was serious. And maybe rightfully so.


    I sighed. She was right. Maybe I was too absorbed in the money making thoughts that I''d forgotten about all that my mother had suffered. And it was because of that, I wanted this. And yet, it was also because of which I''ll have to decline.


    "Alright." The words flowed out. I wasn''t really sure about this job but it did make me feel a lot better. Maybe if I''d taken it, I''d have been so guilty that I couldn''t do anything about it. Maybe it would have been my ruination. And yet, I couldn''t just forget about it either. It really was a lot of money.


    "Come here." She invited me with open arms.


    I went closer to her, and hugged her. This always calmed me down, and filled me with warm feelings. "Mom, why do I have a seal on me?"


    She smiled. "So you''ve heard." Mom thought for a second. "Yes, there''s a seal on you that was ced by someone important. But-" She paused. "Can we not talk about it now? I want to sort my thoughts first. It''s¡­ it''s about your father."


    "Alright." I moved back. And when I was about to say something, something caught my eye.


    The door wasn''t closed fully. And there were three sets of eyes on us. Of course, they hadn''t noticed that I''d caught on.


    "I actually had a dream you know." I spoke aloud and walked closer to the door, pretending as though I was just walking around.


    "Really?" Mom had caught on too.


    When I did reach the door- I opened it as fast as I could and three people fell on the floor, clearly startled.


    "Care to exin?" My voice came out a little hoarser than I thought.


    Elsa had a history of eavesdropping so that was expected. But I didn''t expect the same of Merin and then there was the third guest: namely, Selene. I hadn''t seen her in a while but I sure wasn''t d to see her.


    "Well-" From the looks of it none of them had excuses.


    I sighed. "Well,e on in."


    Now that I had extra crowd, I couldn''t really talk about that dream with mom either. But I guess there was always time.


    It was already afternoon and there wasn''t much time before the evening. But my mind was already made up. I didn''t want to make mom''s countless sacrifices meaningless.


    "Why are you here again?" So I tried to distract my mind by focusing on the uninvited guest.


    "I kind missed your duel. But you''re actually a hot topic among the third years. You even talked back to Shaun and Humo, before even starting the fight." Selene giggled. "So yeah, you''re pretty famous."


    I already knew I was famous. "But third years huh? I guess everyone is watching that video?"


    "Well, some of the third years were present in the gym too, so they saw. And both Shaun and Humo were third years too, so they could urately tell others about you: and they are gossiping about you, a lot. They''re even setting bets on you about the uing neer''s tournament."


    ''I haven''t even joined the club though.''


    "And you happen to know that because?"


    She was perplexed for a moment. "I''m a third year too. So I heard it and-"


    "Didn''t you say you were in second year?"


    "I''m pretty sure, I said I was your senior."


    Now that she mentioned it, she really didn''t say she was in her second year, did she?


    I didn''t know all that much about the third years but form what I heard they often spent time away in different ces of the world doing various tasks to earn credit.


    The passing rate of every ss was less than 20 percent. And every third year was guaranteed a spot in the explorer program. Meaning, Selene''s future was already set.


    Selene seemed awfully chill with everything, so I never really even thought of the possibility about her being a third year. "Oh and the recruitment for the clubs will begin tomorrow. I''d suggest you prepare yourselves. Because, let''s face it, you''re famous."


    Again, I already knew I was famous and it bothered me lot. Did she have to rub it in, every single time?


    "Oh, Helio? Who is that?" Mom began.


    And so, a long debate about why I had so many friends who were girls, began.


    ***


    Before evening I headed out. Though I said I''d give that man my answer at evening, we never really agreed on a meeting spot. And I didn''t even remember his name either. Why the hell did he have such a weird name anyway?


    Aimless, I just walked around. Of course, I kept my eyes peeled for the palm trees. I surely didn''t want to be one with them.


    My stomach felt like there was a fountain of acid inside. ''I still haven''t had lunch, have I?''


    This was a weird day. A really weird day. And to think, I still hadn''t even had lunch.


    I never asked how or when mom and Elsa would return home either. But I guess they were going to ask Marg. ''But why did she help those two back then?''


    There were so many things that I wished I had the answers to but I didn''t. With a sigh I just headed for the convenience store. If I was going to waste my time roaming around, then the least I could do was get my dinner too.


    "I was tired of waiting for you, and you never showed up." The voice came from behind me.


    "Really? Well, it might have been a bit stupid of us for not agreeing on a ce."


    He chuckled. "Fair enough. Now, what is your answer?"


    I hadn''t turned around yet. There were a lot of people around this ce and the fact that these guys were in suits attracted some attention. But this attention could have just been the product of my fame too.


    "Sorry, but I''ll have to decline your offer."


    "Really?" He became suspiciously quiet.


    And the moment I turned around, he was gone. Only the masked woman was behind me.


    Skeptical I turned back and his face was just a centimeter away from mine. "Duel me."


    He was close and very serious.


    I was also very serious. I matched his passion. "No thank you."


    I ignored him and just kept on walking past him. I already had enough of duels and all that stuff. The man stood there, dumbfounded.

 Chapter 47 - Eclipse

    "He-Hey!" The guy was more than staggered. "I demand a duel!"


    I sighed. "Look bruh, I don''t really time for this. I''ve to buy dinner and eat it too. Very busy."


    "You!" He red but I just ignored him. "Huh! To think you were such a coward."


    I stopped, turned back. "Do you seriously think taunting would work? Do I look like a two-year-old?"


    He was getting madder and madder by the minute, but honestly, I didn''t care.


    "Why don''t you ept, I''ll even be the judge so it''ll be legal." Dickville wasing from the opposite side with a smile.


    "Sorry Dick, but as I said, I have other business."


    He tried to smirk but he failed miserably at it. "Please, I implore you, call me k."


    "You know, it''s not that better, right?"


    He sighed in resignation. "I''m aware."


    "Fine, move k. I''m very hungry and also very irritated at the moment."


    He moved. "Yeah sure." He was surprisingly understanding.


    "I will not be shamed by the likes of you!" The guy from the Bureau fumed with a lot of pent-up emotions. What happened to his cool guy attitude?


    When he made an appearance in the headmaster''s office he had a very different aura about him. But now, now he just looked like some miserable guy who just wanted things to go his way.


    "Are outsiders allowed to do stuff like that at this school?" I asked k.


    "Don''t worry. If things get rough. The headmaster always cleans up after us. So-"


    "SO?"


    He smiled and stood between me and the guy. "So, go. I''ve been itching to punish some dickheads. Rose took my job and it''s been nothing but too quiet for me for thest couple of days."


    ''If that were the case, why the hell didn''t you stop that douchebag from punching Merin?''


    But in the end, it did work out for me. Well, kind of. "Good luck." If the guy was offering me leave, I had no reason to decline.


    "Who gave you permission to leave?" Now the woman stood in front of me.


    This was getting more and more annoying by the minute.


    "Move. I''ve no business with you." My stomach wasn''t rumbling. It was literally just screaming in pain. I was hungry and I was hungry, badly.


    "But I do." Her mask covered half of her face. I couldn''t really see her eyes but she did have beautiful lips. Probably double my age.


    I didn''t have my sword with me. And I didn''t know where my lovely sword even was right now. I never asked, no one told me. So fighting with my powers alone was definitely not an option.


    "Lookdy-" Before I could finish she ran straight at me. She didn''t have any weapons but I got the impression she wasn''t going to fight barehanded either.


    ''Looks like this is unavoidable.'' I released alpha particles first and prepared myself. I wasn''t going to do anything reckless and just watched the woman.


    Though she rushed in even just a second ago, she jumped back at thest second and maintained distance. Was she cautious of me?


    "Gentlemen, didn''t he already say, you are not supposed to do this in this school?" A female voice rang from above. Though at first, I thought it was Rose flying around, actually it wasn''t. It was the same middle-aged woman from the entrance ceremony. She had two eagle wings. She descended and the wings folded back inside her. "You two, please go about your day. I''ll take it from here." She gave me and Dick a smile.


    This was the first time, someone stopped my fight and wasn''t actually angry with me. "Some sort of senior teacher?"


    Dick was right next to me. Though I promised to call him k, I was always defaulting back to Dick.


    "Yeah, that''s the headmaster''s wife."


    ''Oh.''


    The headmaster was somewhere around sixty but this woman looked more or less forty. I guess looks really were deceiving.


    "Lady Sylvia, you don''t understand, we-" The man began. But then he just stopped. "What is this?" his face paled. "An illusion? But-" He sweated more than necessary and fell on his knees.


    The same went for the girl who was trying to start a fight with me even just a moment ago.


    "I trust this won''t create bad blood between us and the Bureau." The wife of the geezer or rather Misses Sylvia looked at the both of them with fierce eyes. Her eyes were pretty but they looked like that of a predator.


    "Of course not." The man stood up and turned his back on us. "Come, Ash." His voice was awfully defeated. This felt a bit too easy. Was something wrong with school, or was it me?


    At least we avoided some trouble.


    But boy was this woman scary.


    The girl with the guy also stood up and went past me. "You just made a big mistake." She was running her mouth a bit too much. "Our-"


    "Sorry but I don''t give a damn about you or yourpany." I really wanted to for the money but such wasn''t the case anymore.


    And the fact that they wanted to experiment on me, was still very disturbing.


    The girl stayed quiet and just followed the man. Both of them left.


    "This is fairly normal. That man was once a student here too, my student to be specific. And that''s why sometimes he feels like he can do whatever he pleases. Please don''t let it bother you." Misses Sylvia apologized on their behalf and promptly took off.


    I was shocked for a second but recovered eventually. She was probably the only teacher here who was sane. Everyone else felt like just weirdoes.


    "Thanks andter Di- k."


    He scowled. "No problem. You can call me Dick if you want, but if I ever get the feeling that you''re disrespecting my name, one week of suspension. Don''t forget." There was a brief moment of finger-pointing and then he left.


    I didn''t really mind all that attitude. Besides, I didn''t want to make fun of him either. I had no reason to.


    And with all that drama behind me, with a smirk, I went for the store at longst.


    ***


    I ripped open a bun and eat it on spot. I didn''t care if the employee gave me the eyes. At this point, he already knew I was just there to buy the bread anyway.


    After buying and paying the employee I came out of the store and it was already night. The lights from the posts illuminated the academy but it felt darker than usual.


    But boy did that bun hit the spot. I did buy chocte milk too, so everything was settled for dinner. I''d bought extra too, just in case.


    But really, why was it so dark? I looked up and there wasn''t a moon.


    ''But wasn''t it supposed to have been full moon today?''


    It was odd, very odd. ''Oh well.''


    I kept on walking and there weren''t many students out either. It couldn''t have been more than eight. Something was up and I could feel it. But I didn''t really care.


    There were palm trees everywhere and I avoided them. But theck of students kind of bothered me. It was possible that some random club was housing a party, and everyone was there. I didn''t know what happened yesterday anyway. So it was very possible.


    The dorm was pretty far away from the store, so I had a long walk in front of me. I missed exercises for two days already. Yesterday, I waste and today I was too beat up. So walking around like this, wasn''t so bad. And now that I had food in my stomach, the world seemed a bit livelier. Maybe not.


    But as I walked, I could hear faint gasps. And the sound wasing from the sky. There was also a distinct sound of wings.


    ''But wha-''


    My whole body froze when I noticed something up in the sky. It wasn''t like the moon was gone. It was more like the moon was covered. Covered by something big, very big. And it wasn''t human.


    It was bigger than a ne, smaller than a battleship. And it floated with two giant wings. It was a frigging abomination of an elephant and a bat. And all it was doing, was pping silently and floating around.


    It made little sound and I finally understood why no one was around me anymore. I didn''t have a Holo, so if there was an emergency announcement, I had no way of knowing. So this situation wasn''t imusible.


    ''This is bad¡­ Weren''t mutors like that were supposed to be only found in deep forests? What''s it doing here of all ces?''


    Mutors in general were very rare inside habitable zones because they were hunted to almost extinction. But there were always new ones being born in the wild. But then there was the question. Why was this thing, here of all ces?


    Needless to say, I didn''t really have any answers or even a means of thinking of an answer.


    And then¡­ I saw it. ''Is that, a person?''

 Chapter 48 - Why Would You Even Want A Pet?

    The mutor in the sky was still just floating around and it did nothing. There was a person on top of that thing. She was probably a woman but they were pretty high in the air for me to make out anything more. I''d never heard of people riding mutors before. Actually, I never heard of a lot of things. Anding to this academy had opened my eyes a little bit. I sure wish it hadn''t in this way though.


    I took steps back and slowly cat walked my way out of danger.


    "Hey, You." The voice came from above.


    ''Busted.''


    And a secondter the woman jumped and made a solid thud when shended. She''d shattered some of the pavement. "YOU," she repeated.


    Was something wrong with this woman?


    "Yes?"


    "Have you seen a man named Marcov? You know, looks weird and has an unshaved beard. He also has a girl with him." She was fairly calm till the mention of the girl came up. But wait, she was actually a lot saner than I thought she''d be.


    I didn''t know where she got the idea that someone like that could be found here but she was right on the money. But I sure wasn''t going to sell out on someone I knew to someone who came off a mutor of all things.


    "Before that, what is that thing?"


    "Thing? Have respect kid. That''s my pet. Our pet." I might have had offended her a little bit.


    "Pet!? Since when did people start having mutors as pets!?"


    "What are you talking about? Keeping domesticated mutors as pets have been going around for over sixty years now. What backwater ce did youe from?" It was as though she was spitting outmon knowledge. Unfortunately, they weren''t somon to me.


    I didn''t know why but the way she said it, kind of hurt.


    "I live in Eng-"


    "Oh yeah, the goody-goody country. Yeah, you''re pretty much guaranteed to be riffed off of all your knowledge if you stay there. The government even controls the usage of cond- oops, you''re too young for that." She cleared her throat.


    Though I was just an immigrant, Ennd was still my country. It felt awful when she insulted it. And yet, I knew she wasn''t too far off the mark. The textbooks I read back there and the sses I attended always did have some form of this: it always felt like something was missing. No wonder I kept on finding new things about everything here at the academy.


    "What is your rtionship with this Marcov guy?"


    I didn''t know Marcov. He imed to be my grandfather''s friend and ording to mom, she''d met him a few times when she was with gramps. That was all the more reason I couldn''t sell him out.


    "What do you mean, I''m his wife." The woman stared at me with confusion. There was less light than usual so it took me a while to actually see her face. But now that I saw it, she did look middle-aged but she was still pretty slender and definitely didn''t look older than forty.


    ''Mom did mention the guy running on his wife.''


    It did make sense in a way.


    I sighed. ''I think I might need to re-study a lot of things.''


    "I''m not sure where your husband is at the moment but you cane to the dorms with me. He might be in my room."


    "Look kid, you''re good-looking and all that, but I have a husband. He''s a womanizer and a pathetic moron but I still can''t cheat on him. I don''t want to." She was being awfully humble.


    "What are you talking about? I meant he was in my room before, meaning he could havee back for all I know. "


    "Huh? Oh!" It was like she just made a realization. She stared at me for a second and then turned back all embarrassed.


    ''Oh.'' And then the realization hit me too.


    ***


    I knocked on my door. It was about nine. Bringing a woman to the dorms at this hour, took a lot of convincing. The manager just wouldn''t let her in, to the den of hyenas, in her own words. But when she and the woman had a private chat ear to ear, strangely, the manager was very understanding.


    The door wasn''t opening though.


    ''Is he sleeping or?''


    I knocked again.


    There was no response. If Merin was doing something, then he would have at least responded. But there was nothing.


    "It could be that he''s out but-" But when I checked the door, it was locked from the inside. Something was wrong here. "OH and that thing- I mean your pet won''t create any problems, right?"


    "Oh, Elina''s a good girl." She carelessly touched the door handle and it just opened up. "Let''s go in."


    ''That''s a useful power. And wait, that thing is a she and has a name!?''


    We went into the room. The lights were turned off and something felt off. The switch of the lights was to my left. So I signaled the woman to stand by at the door. Surprisingly she understood my silentnguage.


    I tiptoed to the switchboard. There was a lot of old technology throughout the world. Though better and more robust technology was avable, not many used them. There were various reasons for that, the main one being not enough money. But this academy was pretty wealthy, so why they were still using these old-style switches that I didn''t understand.


    It took me a second to switch on the lights but it didn''t take me a second to realize Merin was tied and gagged on the bed. The window was open and the culprit was gone.


    I sighed and red at the poor guy looking up at me from the bed.


    I ungagged him and started to untie the knots. "What happened?"


    He groaned. "He saw something in the sky and-" Merin became a little quiet. "And then he did this."


    "Did he say anything?" The woman asked.


    "No, nothing. Wait, who are you?"


    "NO time. The woman went closer to the window. "Youing?" She looked at me with a lot of expectations.


    "You have no more need for me." If he wasn''t here then I had no idea where he was.


    "I need someone to show me around. I''m terrible with directions. That''s why I was up in the sky." And also almost gave me a heart attack.


    "I suppose but, I don''t really have permission to be out past ten. And it''s already nine-fifteen." Besides, I didn''t want to be out either.


    "Hmmm, too bad. And I was even going to reward you," the girl mumbled.


    ''Reward? Mary reward!!''


    Needless to say, my head was going funny the moment, the mention of a reward came.


    It all got ruined by her next words though. "In the form of a kiss." She winked.


    She wasn''t as young as she thought she was.


    "Yeah, I''ll pass." I was getting excited over nothing.


    She smiled faintly. "You know, some say my kisses are worth a hundred years of good luck."


    "I''m pretty sure it hasn''t been a hundred years since you were born." And if that was true her husband wouldn''t have been running away from her like this.


    She burst outughing. "What are you, a geezer of some sort? Anyway, I need your help."


    "What is going on?" Merin''s ties were all undone and he was still confused.


    ''I''ve been wondering that for over an hour now.''


    "But I don''t have any reasons to help you." And more importantly, I didn''t want to.


    "You need a reason to help ady in distress? Did your mother teach you nothing? Did you have no sisters? What about your grandmother and-" She went on. I could see why that Marcov guy always ran on his wife.


    I sighed: this day was also full of sighs. "Yeah, I get it. I''ll go, now shut up."


    She giggled again. And stretched her hands towards me. I was still far off though.


    "Oh yeah, what happened to those two? Mom and Elsa I mean?"


    "They went out right after you did." Merin stood up and did some stretching.


    ''Those guys¡­ couldn''t they have at least said goodbye?''


    Sighing wasn''t going to help so I went towards the woman.


    "You''re pretty quirky you know. Are you sure you''re not sixty?" The woman gave me a seductive smile.


    "Yeah, I am that old but I''m pretty sure you need a ''teen'' instead of a ''y'' though."


    She startedughing again and grabbed my hand, pulling me straight to her. "Grab on tight." She jumped.


    In that once second, I saw Merin''s face brighten up. Was this guy some sort of sadist?


    But really, jumping off from four stories? What was wrong with this woman?


    A few secondster we fell to the solid pavement beneath. Strangely, I wasn''t hurt in any way, maybe just a little sore and a little dizzy. Did thisdy have super strength or something?


    ''What if she didn''t unlock the door, rather¡­?''


    If I was right, she had actually broken the lock itself, meaning I was in for a lot of lecturing by the manager.


    "Where to now?" the woman wondered, smiling like a teenage girl.


    Now that I thought about it, she did seem to act a lot younger than her looks suggested.


    "How the hell would I know?"

 Chapter 49 - Love, An Eternal Prison

    There''s a saying, ''All''s fair in love and war.'' Twenty years ago on a fateful day, Marcov Bronsky witnessed true beauty and learned it the hard way.


    He just came out of the university, totally broke. He was looking for a job, a stable, not so dangerous job: definitely not an explorer job. The mere fact that he had no way to pay next month''s rent bothered him more than the fact that he''d probably have to be single for the rest of his life.


    He was an average-looking guy with no money. Girls didn''t flock around him and when he ¨C after gathering all his courage for days - proposed, everyone justughed at him. It was a cruel reality but a reality he''d already epted. He knew he wasn''t cut out for all that romance and stuff.


    And that''s why on that fateful day, Marcov headed for a small office hiring plumbers. He didn''t like it but at least he''d have a future: at least he''d have money and at least he''d be able to pay rent.


    He was in a gloomy mood and nothing cheered him. His parents had already passed away leaving him nothing but more burdens. Sometimes he wondered, ''what if I just died? Would anyone miss me?'' Fate was really cruel, as no one would have.


    "You have bird poop on you." A voice reached out to the gloomy man.


    For a second Marcov looked around, thinking it might have been someone who mistook him for someone else. And once he turned around, he noticed a young girl, probably sixteen gazing at his head with a lot of curiosity.


    The two were by an abandoned road. Cars these days traveled more on air and water thannd anyway.


    "What?"


    "You have bird poo on your head." The girl was fairly beautiful. Perhaps not a supermodel, but definitely beautiful enough to make Marcov''s heart flutter. Her voice calmed his soul. He could almost melt.


    But he knew better than to hit on young girls. "Oh-" He touched his hair and surely there was white watery stuff on his head. He was so engrossed in thoughts that he''d forgotten about everything else. And after feeling it for a second his whole body shivered with disgustedness.


    Seeing the dumb look on Marcov''s face, the girl giggled. Marcov was hurt for a second but when he saw her smile, his life got a bit brighter.


    "Marcov." He spread his hand towards the girl: he made sure it wasn''t the same hand he touched his head with. "I''m Marcov." It was his way of showing decency.


    Even if he had shown up at the office, he wasn''t going to be hired. After all, how would he clean up human mess when he couldn''t even clean up something as simple as a bird''s?


    "Susan." The girl shook his hands and that''s how Marcov met the girl he was destined for.


    Though this day was the happiest day in his life, this was also the day, he regretted more than anything else.


    ***


    After five years of dating, fighting, and quarreling, Marcov married Susan and for the most part, it was a happy marriage.


    Marcov had gotten a job at the old mailingpany that still dealt with written letters of the bygone era. The job was unstable but it paid enough for them to live happily. And if he could work for five years or so with diligence, even bing the floor manager might not have been a dream.


    But after a year or so, things began to change. Susan was infertile. Both of them consulted hundreds of doctors and healers but it was a rare mutation and very much incurable.


    Happiness turned into gloom and eventually resulted in fights. Susan was much stronger than Marcov and as Marcov always had a tendency to run away from a fight, he''d run from his wife too. In the beginning, it was a day or two at best. But as time went on, Marcov spent less and less time in their home.


    Susan was already lonely and now that her husband was basically non-existent in her life, it drove her mad. She brought loads and loads of pets but they couldn''t fulfill her.


    Eventually, she turned violent. Susan loved her husband. And theck of children did bother her, but not as much as she missed her husband. So as time went on, it was more like stalking with small grains of violence than actual violence.


    ***


    Marcov entered Helio''s room with Miss Hary. He had a long chat with the headmaster just before this. Things were good. He was away from home and this was an ind with a small beach. Now that he was done with his excuse- the excuse of warning Helio, he could get down to his main mission. The mission of enjoying a little bit of alone time.


    Maybe bringing his secretary wasn''t such a good idea as he had no intention of cheating, but even he couldn''t really say no topany. He was more than just lonely. Maybe just a little bit of cheating, wouldn''t harm anyone, right?


    With an enlightened face, he knocked and entered the room, and to his surprise, only one guy was inside: Merin.


    Helio was already out and that concluded his excuse. ''Well, I guess I can take a break now.''


    But as he was about to get out of the room he noticed something in the distant sky. Something floating. ''It couldn''t be?''


    He was skeptical so he went closer to the window. And without a doubt, there was a flying thing up there. ''It could only mean-''


    His wife was here: Susan was here.


    He started panicking. This was bad. If he got caught now, he''d get minced for sure, but he also wouldn''t be able to enjoy his small vacation.


    "What''s wrong?" Miss Hary asked.


    But Marcov said nothing, sweat pouring through his nds.


    It took him more than enough convincing to get this small vacation. He was a floor manager and very close to bing the CEO. Though thepany was supposed to be a temporary job, he worked hard and thepany survived partially thanks to him, so it wasn''t so bad. But getting holidays still was. For some reason, no one wanted him out of the office. And he was paid generously for it too. Almost as if, someone had threatened everyone else to keep him there.


    But there was still time. If her pet was still up in the air, it meant she was also up there. Susan had terrible sense of direction, so he wasn''t totally screwed, at least not yet.


    Merin watched all of this with curiosity. He didn''t really understand much of it, but this did strike him as amusing. Maybe spending so much time alone in his room had finally made his head go a bit funny. Or maybe he was always like that.


    Marcov took a deep breath and with Miss Hary blitzed out of the room, only to stop at the door. Someone was climbing the stairs. And he knew that someone very well. He could never mistake that voice and the sound of those footsteps. That soothing, almost lovable voice. The same voice that he was running away from.


    "Miss Hary?"


    "Yes?"


    "Let''s get out." There was no panic in his voice. He turned like a clunky robot. It was almost as though he was a badly oiled machine, if not worse.


    Both of them got into the room again and locked it from the inside.


    They looked at each other and then at Merin. "Sorry kid." Marcov gave Hary the signal. And both of them gagged Merin.


    Merin, not knowing what was happening to him, just went with the flow. Even this was kind of amusing, at least it started as amusing but when he realized, this wasn''t some joke, he was definitely not amused, not anymore.


    Knock! knock!


    There were knocks on the door. Helio had brought a storm with him. He''d bought Susan.


    Marcov''s sweat, drenched the floor and his heart raced. The window was open but the fall was pretty high.


    He turned the lights off and neared the window.


    ''Well, you only live once.''


    ***


    Limping on one leg, Marcov made way to the nearest bench. His partner had decided against jumping and just hid beneath the bed instead. But then again Miss Hary wasn''t being hunted anyway. So even if Susan did notice her, nothing would have happened.


    Marcov reached the bench and he was out of breath.


    "Look at you, crawling like a bug." A man in suit approached him.


    Marcov sat down and smirked. "We both know who''s the bug, so what gives?"


    The smile on the man in suit crumbled and he looked more than just pissed. "I''m kind of in a bad mood. So run your mouth more than necessary and you won''t really have a mouth anymore."


    "Well, I''m kind of a coward, so-" Marcov himself was agitated but the smirk on his face was still there.


    "You-" The man red. "I''ll smash you to the ground!"


    "Which part of I don''t wanna fight didn''t you get?" Marcov sighed. First his wife, now this moron? ''Maybe I shouldn''t havee.''


    Was the world only filled with idiots?

 Chapter 50 - Confrontation

    "Hey, that''s not how-" She stopped.


    I didn''t know why but I picked up something too. There was a scent of an explosion in the air and something very dangerous. I didn''t hear it but I certainly felt it. ''Is thising from that way?''


    "Hey, do you think-?" Before I could even finish the woman blitzed in the direction I was about to point.


    I didn''t really care but I ran along with her. Since I started this, I was going to see it through.


    It took roughly five minutes of blitzing to reach the ce. There were two guys fighting. I knew both of them. But honestly, fighting in the middle of the night?


    Well, technically it wasn''t the middle of the night yet. Actually, it wasn''t even ten yet. I didn''t really find this all thatforting though.


    But they weren''t fighting amongst themselves. They were just hitting the air like drunkards.


    "What is this?" I mumbled.


    Both Marcov and that guy in suit with the weird name were here, just boxing the air. Neither was sane and then I noticed: two crimson eyes were on me. There was someone sitting on the bench behind them. Someone with white hair. It was almost like snow. Just like the headmaster had said and just like I saw in that picture.


    ''A Battlesuin.''


    She wasn''t the same girl from my dreams but she was definitely the new transfer student bound to enter ss tomorrow.


    "Marcov!" The woman with me, pped her husband awake. Why did she have to be so violent?


    Marcov broke out of it with a groan. Poor guy. I could really feel his pain. I wasn''t married though.


    "Sir, are you done ying around?" The girl with the ck suit and mask was back too. She tapped on the guy''s forehead.


    "HUH?" The guy woke up in a simr manner but utterly confused. He looked around, looked at the girl, then the girl on the bench, then at Marcov and finally me. I couldn''t tell if he was embarrassed or just confused. "Um¡­ Good evening, gentlemen." He cleared his throat and walked out of the scene,pletely unnerved. But I guess, he was just good at pretending, or maybe he was just too embarrassed.


    But now we had a bigger problem. The problem being the girl on the bench. She actually looked rather pretty. And she had this weird nonchnt smile like she had no care in the world. As though nothing even mattered to her.


    Now that Marcov was saner, I couldn''t ignore the possibility of this girl pulling something. "By the way, what happened?" But I had to know first.


    Strangely Marcov''s wife only hit him once and that was all. She held back a lot, and even I could tell that. She was basically cradling Marcov in her bosom. I guess she was worried about him.


    "Things kind of happened on their own." Marcov chuckled, swaying a little.


    "Things never happen on their own. Did she do all this?" I asked, ring at the girl on the bench.


    The girl never said anything, she just sat there, smiling.


    "Yeah kind of but if she wasn''t here, I''d probably have been roasted." Marcov seemed a bit relieved but even so, he was freaking out. "An-Anyway, can I stay in your room tonight Helio?"


    "Helio?" Both women looked at me with a lot of curiosity.


    I really wanted to punch this moron for saying that name when he clearly knew I didn''t like to use it. Oh wait, maybe he didn''t.


    "Oh, you''re not staying anywhere. You''reing with me." Marcov''s wife smiled. But it was more of a threat.


    "I mean, Miss Hary is here. I can''t just-" Marcov tried to get out of her clutches.


    "Oh, she''s sleeping peacefully on the floor. Let''s go pick her up." She grabbed Marcov''s hand tight and looked at me. "Thank you for your help. If you ever happen to be in Romania-" She still had her smile.


    I nodded vigorously. I did not want to be on the bad side of this woman, no sir. "I''ll definitely visit."


    She returned her gaze to her husband. Marcov was, without a doubt, freaking out and he was paler than paper. "Let''s go." She whispered.


    "Save me." Marcov shed a tear and looked at me with puppy dog eyes.


    ''Sorry, we don''t do that here.''


    One second Marcov was pleading for his life, the next second, he was gone. This woman could really jump high. The flying elephant thingy was still up in the air and this woman went straight for it. Even with extra baggage, she was fast. What was she, superwoman?


    With a sigh, I addressed the main issue. "Sorry, they caused you trouble, good night." I didn''t know this girl, but I knew she was from that family. And anyone from that family was bound to be trouble. So I tried to wipe out the sparks before they could ignite.


    But the girl never said anything. She just smiled. And for a second, I was frightened to my core. ''What is she?'' She''d done nothing to me, and yet, I could feel it. She wasn''t someone I could mess with. Call it a gut feeling, but I could feel it: she was a monster.


    With a shaky, shivering breath, I blitzed towards the dorms. I had roughly five minutes and after that, detention.


    ''Detention doesn''t sound that bad though.'' At least I''d be out of trouble.


    ***


    I arrived at the dorms at 10.03 and my door at 10.08. Strangely, no one said anything and no one really stopped me outside either. I didn''t even see the prefects. What was going on?


    With a knock, I went in. And surely, there were four people inside.


    "Didn''t you say you were leaving?"


    "I couldn''t leave without saying goodbye, now I could I?" Marcov''s wife smiled gantly. I wished she hadn''t. But at least she had the decency to say goodbye, unlike certain someones.


    The two hanging by her side, Marcov, and the girl were, well, mostly clinging to life. I didn''t know what this woman had done to them, but surely, they weren''t in the best of shapes, at least not mentally. Physically they were fine though.


    "I''m Susan. And I take it, you''re Helio? Are you''re perhaps his grandson?"


    And I guess she had the brains too.


    "Yeah, and since I''m trying to keep my name in wraps, you can call me Jintel."


    She smiled. "Alright, Jintel- yeah, I think I prefer Helio." She giggled. "Goodbye. And definitely visit." She shed a might smile before dragging the two with her. But she stopped halfway and- "I can''t reward you now but, I''ll be sure to reward you with a nice dinner when you visit."


    ''I''ll hold you to that.''


    The two in question, waved me bye, I waved back.


    "Try to go a lil'' easy on them." I tried to defend the two, but Susan never responded back, all I got was a smile.


    ''Guess that''s a no.''


    I sighed again. So far this day was full of sighs too.


    "By the way, what''s all this talk about Helio? Your name really is Helio? And this talk about your grandfather?" Merin was grinning a lottely.I guess he wasn''t that dumb.


    "You know, I can make your Excalibur into a blunt knife, right? So, I''d keep my mouth shut if I were you." My head was going funny. I''d been dragged into so much sh*t today that I forgot Merin had no idea about my family. So in the end, I was stooping to ckmailing. ''What the hell is wrong with me?''


    "Dude calm down." Merin chuckled. "I wouldn''t rat out my friends." He chuckled some more.


    "Sorry about that. Today''s been a tough day." I jumped on the bed and realized I just crushed a lot of the buns. Now I wanted to cry.


    I forgot I''d dumped all the buns on the bed, the first time I came back.


    ''At least they''re still edible.''


    Well, hopefully.


    ***


    I chomped on the bread. With the pressure from my lovely chest, they were squished and a lot denser than I wanted. So even dumping them in chocte milk didn''t really help. I never really liked dense bread anyway.


    I still ate it though and went through the mails.


    "By the way, howe there aren''t any prefects out today? Any announcements?"


    Every single mail was at least some form of confession. The ones I received from the teachers however were just rmendations to join clubs. But the majority of the letters were just in love letters. After reading all of them, I just shoved them in a corner of the desk.


    "Oh yeah, I forgot you didn''t have this." He shed his Holo, proudly and smirked. He was probably d to know that his hypothesis about the letters was true. Actually, his idea about people having different preferences was a solid bullseye too."Some new transfer students. There are some rather big names this year, so I guess that''s why everyone''s busy taking care of them first."


    "So it''s sort of a wee party?"


    "Yup. We have two royalty, one noble and two brats of ministers."


    ''Then why the hell wasn''t I invited?''


    ''Wait, aren''t all of them just big shots?''


    But this did exin the whole, ''why''s there are no students around'' phenomenon.


    And I could at least guess why these big shots just happened to transfer all at once. ''No wonder I wasn''t invited.''


    I kept on chomping and before I knew it, dinner was over and I was lying in bed, waiting for slumber.


    "I know you don''t like me thanking you but¡­ this really wouldn''t have been possible without you. Thanks, man." For once Merin was showing a bit too much gratitude.


    "You''re wee." It was dark and I couldn''t really see his expression, but honestly, maybe it felt a bit better.


    ***


    Beep!


    I woke up at 6. Half an hour early.


    ''Alright! Today, I won''t miss!''


    I''d already missed enough exercises. No more!

 Chapter 51 - Transfer Students

    The moment the headmaster showed me a bundle of papers, I should have known, we were getting more than one transfer student.


    "Introduce yourselves, from the left." Miss Maire was her cheerful self today.


    The ssroom was awfully quiet. I didn''t like the looks of things. I already knew one of the newbies, the Battlesuin one. And I could vaguely guess why we were getting so many new students. Not to mention all of them were bigshots.


    ''You just had to upload it, didn''t you, Clyde."


    With a sigh, I gazed at the five newbies staggers at me.


    I had a good breakfast this morning and my exercises went well too, but why did it have to crumble down like this?


    "E Branford." Braided golden hair, about my height. She actually looked fairly beautiful if nothing else.


    "Trevor Vennlil." Taller than me, also blonde. I didn''t like the re in his eyes though.


    "Min Ganesh." He was both shorter and skinnier than me. Probably Asian.


    "Aurora Hleilis. Pronounced Leilis." This girl winked straight at me when she introduced herself. A redhead with bountiful bosom. I could guess why she was sent here.


    ''Does the universe want something to happen?''


    I didn''t know why but the universe probably hated me for some reason.


    Last but not least. "Hyorin Battlesuin." Just like yesterday, she had her signature smile. Though at first nce, she seemed like an unrivaled beauty, she was definitely trouble.


    And yet, her voice was so friggin soothing, as though she was putting a spell on me with mere words.


    "Normally we only ept transfer students near the end of terms. But this year the headmaster made an exception. So me the geezer, not me." Miss Maire''s other personality came swinging back.


    Could they switch at will or something?


    I didn''t know why but the first ss felt more than taxing enough. And not to mention every single transfer student red at least once at me. Their intentions were crystal clear.


    "Oh, before I forget. Tomorrow''s the due date for your assignments. Be sure toplete them or you''ll end up getting negative credits. You probably already know this, but if you get less than ten negative credits by the end of the term, you''ll be held back a year. Don''t forget that."


    ''Assignments? What assign-''My memory made a sharpeback. ''I didn''t do it, did I?''


    All the blood from my head drained and I felt faint. ''Oh sh*t.''


    I really wanted to run away right about now.


    ***


    The First ss was always history and always taught my Miss Maire. The rest of the sses shuffled quite a lot. I hadn''t picked up on the teacher''s names yet but I could definitely tell them apart now.


    I had a knack for physics. Chemistry and biology rubbed me the wrong way, and so did social studies. Actually, I was barely making any progress at all when it came to anything other than physics. ''Was I even talented to begin with?''


    But then again, academic achievements didn''t really mean all that much to me anyway. I''ll be judged based on my abilities and capabilities rather than my academics after all.


    The day after tomorrow would have been my first day off. Honestly, this whole week felt more than just grueling. I still couldn''t believe that it''s only been a week. Felt like ages.


    As usual, our Angelmen friend wasn''t in ss. I really wanted to give him a pounding but regretfully he was stronger than me.


    However, Marg was behind me as usual but she clearly avoided me. I guess I might have done something she didn''t like. But what?


    With constant tension, I couldn''t really focus on anything. ''Why the hell didn''t I do it earlier!?''


    sses ended around 2 and I really wanted to go straight to the dorm and do the assignments. I didn''t care about anything else, not friends, not clubs, and certainly not interacting with the newbies. Technically I was a newbie myself but why should I have cared?


    I was the first one to get out of the ss and also the first to get out of the school building. But I really wished I wasn''t.


    For there were at least a hundred students waiting for me at the building gates with posters and a smile. Club seniors.


    ''Today was supposed to be club recruitment day, right?''


    I took one step back and everyone took one step forward. This went on for a few more steps and before I knew it, I was running for my life.


    Why was I running? I had no idea. But I couldn''t really waste my time, ying club members with them either. I really had to start the assignment sooner thanter. It was a twenty-hour assignment even if I went on a modest pace. Meaning, I''d probably end up sacrificing most of my sleep if I started now with my full attention. And I couldn''t afford to lose credits either.


    My dreams depended on it.


    ''Run Helio!!''


    And run, I did.


    These guys were very persistent if nothing else. Almost like a mob.


    One ssroom went by. Two ssrooms went by. And then another ten.


    ''Just how long have I been running?''


    And then all of a sudden I was pulled into a ssroom, in an instant. The mob-like seniors run after what seemed like a shadowy clone of myself.


    Though I was dumbfounded for a second, I quicklyposed myself.


    "Thank-" I was about to thank the person who saved me but- but it was one of the transfer students and the one who winked at me during the introduction, no less: the redhead.


    I had a bad feeling about that grin of hers.


    "No need to thank Me." She stood directly in front of me and ced her hands on both of my shoulders. "Instead." It was awfully dark in here. I could barely see her face and I was by the door too. "Marry me." She was awfully bashful about it.


    ''Did my ears malfunction again?''


    "Come again?"


    "You won''t have to if you don''t want to." She became a little sad. "I guess I could settle for just one night. But I would have liked to get married before doing it." She became even sadder.


    Did this girl have any idea what she just said?


    The way her chest pressed against mine gave me all sorts of ideas, and I knew I had to run from here too.


    ''I''ve to make a decision.''


    I grabbed both of her shoulders like she''d done a second ago.


    She squeaked as if not expecting me to be so forward.


    But I wasn''t going to back down now. I had my decision after all. "Sorry, but I can''t be with you. I have a dream and that''s more important to me."


    She looked at me with ssy eyes for a second and then red at the very next. "Your dreams are more important than me? Even though you defiled my body with those hands and chest of yours?" Her voice was hoarse and she was emitting a lot more than just murderous aura.


    ''Excuse me!''


    "Yeah, sorry,ter." I didn''t know what kind of BS she was spitting out but I didn''t really have time for it.


    And as usual, I started running.


    "Wait you piece of!" Now instead of the mob, the girl was following me, more like chasing me like a zombie on steroids. And instead of running, she wasing at me like she was swimming in the floor, through the shadows.


    ''What the hell. I just wanna study!''


    With two drops of tears in both my eyes, I jumped off from the second floor, rolled on the ground, and ran for the dorms.


    For once I was d I always worked out in the morning. I had enough stamina to run and enough muscles to handle jumps like this. Of course, my powers did help me strengthen my body, but it was so meager that I never really paid attention to it.


    But once out in the open, I noticed she just stared at me from the second floor: She''d stopped following me. Was she afraid of jumping? No, she was afraid of the sun. Smoke came out of her skin whenever a ray of sunlight touched her. Was she a vampire or something? She did look awfully pale but did vampires even exist?


    My whole body shivered once and I walked straight for the dorm.


    ***


    I made a lot of progress. I was almost out of all the trouble. The girls weren''t following me and I didn''t have to deal with the mob either.


    ''Just what is wrong with this school?''


    "Hi there, Helio." Selene came waving.


    "SHHH!" I shushed her before she could make a fuss. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jintel?"


    But honestly, at this point, it was probably meaningless. A lot of people knew my name and shushing every single one of them wasn''t possible.


    She giggled. "Yeah, not happening." And she had the gulls to say it with a straight face too. "Anyway, let''s head over to the club. You''ll get in today, right?"


    "I was going to but I have to do some assignments. I kind of forgot and-"


    Before I could finish, Selene grabbed me as if she was hugging me, and lifted me up from the ground. "Nope, you''reing with me. You can always studyter."


    "Oh! Come on! Give me a break! And what are? A gori? Why are you so strong?"


    Her grin disappeared and she red. "There are certain things you should never say to a girl. I was about to let you go since you didn''t want to but-" She paused and grinned harder. "YOU''LL BEing with me to the club, WON''T YOU?"


    She squeezed me harder. This woman was definitely a gori, there was no doubt about it. But I couldn''t say it out loud anymore. "Okay, okay, now let me down." I was going to run first chance.


    "Nada." She gave me another grin, eased up a little, and started running herself.


    ''Why the hell is this happening to me?''


    "ARGHHH"


    I tried to scream and struggle but it was pointless as this gori had at least ten times stronger grip than humans at least, maybe more.


    Now I really, really wanted to cry. Oh wait, I might have already done that.

 Chapter 52 - Dragged Against Your Will Can Sometimes Be Quite Surprising

    With a lot of regrets, I arrived at the clubhouse.


    There was no one outside. The ce almost felt deserted. I guess no one was here yet. Well, how could they? Today was the first day of recruitment and most of the first years were held back by all kinds of seniors at the school entrance. I''d gotten lucky and- well, maybe I wasn''t so lucky either.


    Selene knocked on the door, still holding me like a potato bag.


    ''Herees the grueling paperwork part.'' I sighed to keep my sanity. Hopefully, this will end quickly and I''d be on my way.


    After a minute the door opened. "Surprise!"


    It was a party inside. The holo-banner read, ''Wee newbies.''


    There were sprays, glitters, balloons, and every other party-themed thing you''d imagine.


    Cake, hats, food, music everything. But there was one problem, it wasn''t my birthday.


    I knew they were doing this for the neers but, really, just me? All the other first years were in one corner while I was the only one being treated like this.


    As a result, I was getting all sorts of murderous res from my fellow year mates. But the seniors looked at me with affectionate eyes, especially the girls. I guess they were the prime target of ze, so this was expected.


    ''Still, a whole party just for my sake?''


    If they''d done this while also having all the newbiese in at once, instead of just me, this might not have been seen as anything other than a wee party. But maybe I was just being a bit too picky.


    So I went with the flow and put up a smile. Maybe this wasn''t so bad.


    ''No, you can''t forget about the assignment!'' OOPS, almost forgot about it again.


    I couldn''t run away now. I couldn''t let all their efforts go in vain.


    ''I''ll try to enjoy as much as I can and then silently take my leave.''


    So I made apromise instead.


    "This way." Selene led me towards guys who were clearly older than me.


    I had no choice as she was still holding my hand. Well, at least I was on my feet now. But still being dragged like a kid?


    "Meet¡­." I didn''t catch their name. "They are the third years of our club. All three are veterans so feel free to ask them anything." Selene showed her teeth. That was one big grin.


    "Hi, I''m Jintel." It was awkward but I shook hands with all three of them.


    Though they were seniors, they treated me well. They were also very polite.


    "Next, as you can see, the rest are second years, even the captain himself." Selene swiped her hand across the room. I did see loads of guys, but I didn''t see the captain.


    Everyone in particr just looked at me with smiles. Everything felt a bit too weing.


    Now that I took a good look, this was a bit different from that feast a few days ago. There was more food and more importantly, they had maple syrup this time. So without a doubt, I grabbed a bottle of syrup for myself. There was plenty. I didn''t even pay attention to Selene anymore. I couldn''t afford maple syrup with the little pocket money I got, so this was like finding the lost treasure of Antis.


    I still didn''t know if it existed or not though.


    With a smile that''d shame the devil himself, I went for the pancakes. But there was one problem. There were no cakes. The smile crumbled faster than lightning.


    ''What the hell?''


    What the hell indeed.


    Even just a second ago, there was plenty, but now it was all gone. Even the normal cakes were gone.


    Selene chuckled. "It''s always like this with desserts. It''s very unpredictable. And since we have too many members and some even go for seconds¡­. Don''t let it bother you." Selene put her hands over my shoulder and leaned on me from the right, grinning the entire time. I guess she knew I was a sucker for free stuff.


    I sighed and just drank the syrup on its own, one sip at a time. It was too sweet and I was just killing my teeth. But I was really frustrated if nothing else.


    Seeing my disappointment and stress drinking, she just giggled some more.


    If this was my party, then the least they could have done was to keep some food for me, right?


    "So, you''re a member here?" I asked Selene.


    It was bothering me for quite a while now. Selene was the one who started all this club drama. If it weren''t for her, I wouldn''t have fought that snort king. Speaking of that guy, I actually hadn''t seen him after my fight that day with ze.


    I never got to thank the guy.


    I hadn''t seen Eve eithertely. I still hadn''t thanked her for letting mom and Elsa stay there. Though personally, I didn''t really want to meet her.


    "Nope. I just give a hand sometimes." Selene gave me a victory sign and struck a pose. Why was she so proud of this?


    With another sigh, I looked around. Eve wasn''t around. But I did see two faces I recognized. Those two being Dan and Ariel. Ariel held a piece of cake in my direction as if inviting me. Was she paying attention when I was dreading over my loss of cake? But I knew better: I couldn''t give in to temptation. It was very painful to let that cake go though.


    But there were a few faces that I really didn''t want to see again. Those being, the transfer students. Why the hell were they here?


    I guess it did make sense. If they were transferring just for me, then they''d try to be where I was. But the thought sure didn''t make me feel good. The redhead who could use shadows was ring at me with a lot of intention though, while the others were just enjoying the food, asionally ncing my way.


    "So, won''t I have to fill in the forms, get permission, and all that stuff? Let''s get this over with. I have studies, remember?" I reverted back to my original goal to distract myself from all the iing res.


    "Oh, those are all done. I already took permission from Lady Sylvia. And Eve filled in your form. Everything is good to go." Selene closed her eyes and struck another victory pose.


    ''So I''ll have to get into this club whether I like it or not? Wait, isn''t that fraud?''


    "How can-"


    "If you''re wondering that how could she fill your form then don''t. We already know much about you and we were just trying to make this process a bit lessplicated for you. All you have to do is." She paused to make her sound more dramatic. Could she have not done that? This was just dragging on and I had things to do. "Is win!" She giggled a bit. "And also, you''ll have to sign the document or it won''t be epted." Thest part was probably more important though.


    I guess she was being serious about this. "Well, that''s the n." I was nning to win from the start. For the sake of the choco- ahem¡­." Anyway, where''s the captain? I''ll pay my respects to him and be on my way. As I said, I have to finish an assignment."


    "Pay respects? It''s not like he''s dead." She chuckled quite loud. "Anyway, let''s go over there then." Again, she started pulling me around. Just what god in their right mind thought of giving this girl such strength and such stupidity at the same time?


    ***


    I met the captain and signed the documents necessary for joining. Things moved fast. The Maple syrup was a bit too sweet. It was probably sweetened a bit too much. Well, at least it was free. And before I knew it, I finished it with a little tingling from my teeth. ''Too much sugar for one day I guess.''


    "Anyway, thanks for everything. I''lle back tomorrow. I''ve got something to do now, so-" So I wanted to get out of here ASAP.


    The captain was in front of me and he was going to exin some rules to me. But I didn''t really have time today. Besides, I could always just learn these things tomorrow anyway.


    "Now, now, there''s no need to hurry." Someone wrapped her hands around my neck. Her breath was on me. I recognized the voice and I certainly didn''t want to be near her.


    "Ah, we meet again." I turned my head like a badly oiled machine.


    The girl was holding me loosely but I got the impression, she could have strangled me at will. It was one of the transfer students. The one with red hair and horriblemon sense.


    "Yes, it must be fate." She was smiling, but it was frightening


    "You two know each other?" Amie walked towards us, with a drink in her hand. I forgot that these guys drank.


    "We met-"


    "Yes, we''re fated to be together." The girl didn''t let me finish and pressed her chest firmly against my back, hugging me tighter in the process.


    Under ordinary circumstances, this might have been an otherworldly sensation, but now, I was too afraid to even move my muscles.


    Things got very awkward, very fast.


    "Can you please let go of me?" I chose my words carefully and spoke with a subtle tone. Of course, I could have yanked her off. But I didn''t want to create a scene at this party and I certainly liked to keep my neck as healthy as possible.


    "Okay." She almost seemed sad. Honestly, I didn''t get this girl. And not to mention she let go of me without a fuss. I really didn''t get this girl.


    With a sigh of relief, I carefully surveyed the surroundings. Of course, there were asional stares, but other than that, this wasn''t causing any unnecessary drama.


    "Alright, I guess I''ll be leaving now. Thanks for the party andter." I waved and turned around. The more I stayed here, the more things would get awkward.


    "Be sure to bring your sword tomorrow and try to make up some time. Thepatibility procedure would take some time." The captain yelled a bit louder than usual.


    I just waved.


    ***


    Though there were stares and whatnot, no one really tried to interact with me. Not even the transfer students. I guess everyone was wary of me.


    The seniors did smile and act polite but even they didn''t talk more than necessary.


    But it was better this way. I didn''t really want to deal with them either.


    As I passed through the club doors, all the sounds from the party became distant. It was a party for me, and yet I couldn''t enjoy it. I felt a little sad about it. But finishing that assignment was top priority for me.


    If I could finish everything in due time, try my best, and get that job then every day would have been a party anyway. Well, I most certainly hoped so.


    So with a smile, I headed for the dorms. At least that''s what I would have done if two guys weren''t waiting for me just outside the clubhouse.


    One guy, one girl, both blondes. They were quite simr in looks. ''Siblings?''


    The way they were staring at me, meant they had business with me. And the fact that they were transfer students, definitely gave my hypothesis at least some ground.


    "We need to talk," the boy started.

 Chapter 53 - I’ve To Finish No Matter What!

    I didn''t like where this was going. I was alreadyte and from the looks of it, these two were about to make me morete.


    "Can it wait, I''m actually in a hurry." I tried to chuckle and politely decline.


    "This won''t take long." He had a sharp voice and he looked rather determined.


    And I had a bad feeling.


    "Fine. What?" I crossed my arms and just red at him. The least I could do was intimidate him, right?


    He closed his eyes and collected his thoughts. "Duel me." He looked straight into my eyes, without wavering. The guy wasn''t the least intimidated. Mission failed. "Of course, I won''t ask you to duel me now. I shall respect your wishes if you wish to decline as well." He was awfully sincere if nothing else.


    But he wasn''t fooling anyone. If he was okay with me saying no, then he would never havee to this school just for me. There was definitely more to this.


    "Look pal-"


    I really wanted to pop his bubble. Nothing in this world worked like the way you''d want it to anyway. Maybe just because he was the son of some hotshot he thought he could get everything to go his way. But sadly, that''s now how the world worked.


    I learned it the hard way. And yet, I was also dreaming way too much. So maybe I was just being hypocritical. And the fact that I was aware of this, was nothing but irony.


    But before I could refuse, the girl spoke up. "Please. It will just be a mock battle. Please." The girl was basically praying to me.


    I didn''t know what their game was. Why was dueling me such a big deal? It all just made me feel weirder.


    "I''ll think about it." I was going to decline itter: there were no merits in this for me to ept. I didn''t have time to argue over this now anyway. This way, I wouldn''t have to duel and I''ll also save time here.


    "Thank you." The guy nodded at me for some reason and left with his sister. I still didn''t know if she was his sister or not, but I just assumed anyway.


    They looked too alike to not be siblings.


    I was d they weren''t morons who''d demand duels out of nowhere though. Oh wait, they did.


    But why were people in this school so infatuated with duels anyway? Was disying one''s superiority really that necessary?


    I didn''t know, I didn''t care.


    ***


    People just kept getting in my way, all the way to the dorms. Even palm trees sprung out of nowhere to obstruct my path. Wasn''t Ariel at the party right now? Then why the hell was I still crashing into trees?


    I calmed myself before I could explode with frustration and run faster than trees could spring up or before anybody coulde near me.


    And just when thought I was out of the danger zone, another nuisance approached me. Namely, the new Battlesuin girl.


    This was bound to happen sooner orter. But I thought it''d be thetter.


    ''Well, there''s no point crying over spilled milk.''


    Though she wasing towards me, and our eyes connected, I just kept on walking. Talking to her, was trouble and I knew it.


    ''Naturally, act natural.''


    I avoided further eye contact and just kept on walking. But my mind wasn''t at ease. So I had to nce back quite a lot. And apparently, the girl was following me with her nonchnt smile.


    ''Why the hell is she following me?''


    The Romswell family and the Battlesuin family had aplicated history. And because of that things weren''t so hot between the two families. Needless to say, I hated them from the bottom of my heart. But I didn''t want to be the one to start a needless war between the two families.


    And so, I walked faster.


    After a while, this started to stress me out more than necessary. And my walking speed increased to a point, where it wasn''t even walking anymore. But then all of a sudden the girl stopped. Strangely, I stopped too.


    Her gaze was far away, to the main building of the academy. And if I wasn''t wrong, she was looking straight to the headmaster''s office. ''This is my chance.''


    Without looking back, I dashed. I ran fast and arrived at the dorms. I wiped off the sweat and looked back. The girl wasn''t here. "WHOOOH!" Never knew this could be so damn taxing.


    But I was d. At least now I''d be able to start. The sun had begun to set not long ago. If I hurried I could at least finish the assignment partially. Maybe I wouldn''t get credits, but at least I wouldn''t end up with negative credits.


    I turned around, totally satisfied.


    ''Oh no.''


    She was here, staring at me, with that ever so nonchnt smile of hers.


    "Ca-can I help you?"


    It was impossible for me to run away now.


    "You are Helio I assume?" Her voice had a strange spark to it, and it sounded a bit mature. It was awfully chilling and yet, I wanted to hear more: the ent didn''t even bother me. Was I going crazy or something?


    But there was one problem. Just how the hell did she know my name? From the encounterst night, or from someone else?


    "Yes." Hiding didn''t seem possible so I faced her head-on. "And I think the past is past. So let''s not stay hung up on it." Of course, I still despised the whole family, but I had to put up with a farce to stay out of trouble.


    "Yes, that would be for the better. We do not wish to wage war anyway." She was speaking too frankly. "So the family has decided not to act on your matter and dismiss as just some sparring."


    ''Wage war?''


    The way she phrased herself made me wary. ''She knows about my family?''


    And what part of that was just sparring?


    Anyone who knew my grandfather and his powers could potentially link the names and the powers ande up with the theory of me being a Romswell. It was hard andplicated but not impossible.


    But who had that much time in the world? Well, I guess she did.


    But still, it would just have been a theory as we lived far away from the main Romswell family. But then again it was because of that mishap I made in middle school.


    But one thing was for certain, this girl was aware of my family.


    "Good, that saves us unnecessary trouble. I have some things to do, so good evening." It was a little weird to bid goodbye like this, but I had no choice. But I still chose every single word carefully so that I didn''t end up triggering her.


    "Hyorin, Hyorin Battlesuin. You may call me Rin." She gave me a smile and gestured for a handshake.


    I did not like that idea. I never saw any Battlesuins in my entire life who acted as humble or as calm as she. I couldn''t help but doubt her intentions.


    ''Is she really a Battlesuin?''


    But I couldn''t leave her hanging like this either. "Helio. Helio ''Romswell'' Jintel." Of course, I only lip-synced my middle name and I got the impression she still got it. "You may call me Jintel."


    The shake onlysted for two seconds. Her hands were just as cold as her re.


    "Farewell Helio. May you be victorious in your uing duel." She left without waiting for a reply.


    ''Didn''t I just tell you to call me Jintel!? And what Duel?''


    I didn''t know what was going on, but at least I was free.


    Maybe this Battlesuin was different but that still didn''t change anything. I hated that family as a whole, and nothing was enough to change my thoughts on that matter.


    I wasn''t so optimistic about reaching my room anymore though. Who knew what else was lurking in the shadows for me?


    ***


    I did eventually reach my room. Strangely, no one stopped me inside the dorm. It was almost as though the curse had lifted.


    I might have spoken too soon.


    I sat on my desk at exactly 7. It was a long day with loads of things. Most were just in dumb things to slow me down, but I prospered. I had roughly seven hours toplete this twenty-hour assignment, and I had to do it no matter what.


    I had a motto in life. No matter what, I wouldn''t stay awake past 2 am. Because after that, that''s just ruining the next day.


    I wasn''t going to eat dinner and I certainly wasn''t going to do anything either. I needed all the time I could get.


    But there was just one slight problem.


    ''How the hell do I even do this?''


    I spent the whole week fooling around that I actually forgot to study. I kept on rambling about how I wanted to do this, how I wanted to be that, but in the end, I didn''t even study.


    Grabbing my head and screaming in agony didn''t really help either. There were far too many questions and I couldn''t find the answers to any of them even in the textbooks.


    "You know, you''ve been doing that for thest half an hour. Why not take a break?" Merin''s words were like poison.


    I''d already spent half an hour without even realizing it. But I couldn''t even write a single word. I couldn''t answer a single question.


    I turned around, with tears in my eyes. "Do you know how to do this?"


    He sighed. "Sure." He came over. "Hey, your teacher might have mixed things up. This is the finals fromst year. This isn''t an assignment." Merin chuckled hard. "And I think our book changedst year too. So you probably won''t find them in your books."


    ''Huh!? Wha?''


    Needless to say, I was more than just dumbfounded. "Are you sure?" I grabbed his shirt and shook him. I was thunderstruck, gobsmacked!


    His head swayed back and forth. "Yup. I can even show you the questions if you want."


    ''Then why the hell did I skip so much of everything just for this cr*p?''


    I chuckled at my own fate while staring nkly at the paper.

 Chapter 54 - From Conspiracies To Disasters

    A boy went into a building. It was an old building surrounded by snow on all fronts. There was not a soul in a few kilometers radii apart from the boy and the people he came here to visit.


    His warm breath left his body and made mist in the air, disappearing a secondter: it was cold.


    The building itself was abandoned. Anyone who''d wander in would either take it as an abandoned building and leave or poke a bit more and die.


    The boy knew it. But he had to do this: He just had do.


    With an audible gulp, he took the stairs to the basement, where those people were. His breath shivered. Was it from the cold? Or was it from the fear of what he was getting himself into? Even he didn''t know that.


    His fur coat and the walls did protect him from the cold, but even the coat couldn''t prevent his fluttering heart.


    There was a massive double door in the basement: the home of the Murboyz. It was a fancy name. Maybe they thought the name was something fun when they thought it up. The group started as mere thugs thirty years ago. But as time passed and their activities grew, their name warped into something else: something sinister, and people just called them the ''Killboyz'' instead.


    Before the boy could gather up his courage and bang on the door, it opened on its own. Everything in the room was pitch-ck and there was no turning back. The boy knew it. He knew this all along. So there were no doubts. There were no second thoughts. ''Here goes.''


    He took a step forward and the door closed again. Pyres lit up by themselves. He was surrounded by men in red hoods. Everyone had a mask. This ce was big. Bigger than what it''s interior would suggest. There were at least a few hundred hooded men in here. Some were drinking, some were ying with others, and some were torturing their captives, with chuckles.


    The groans of the prisoners troubled the boy but he kept his mind calm. There was a reason he was here, he couldn''t waver now.


    And in the far corner of the room, there was a man on what seemed like a throne of some sort: the handle of the throne was made from skulls. The man didn''t have a hood nor a mask, just a grin instead. He sat with his legs crossed and one hand on his chin.


    And the boy''s business was with that man.


    The surrounding men parted when one word was spoken. "Move." The word was spoken by the boy. But he meant no disrespect and yet his voice oozed hostility.


    "Well, well, well, wee Battlesuin scum. What do I owe this pleasure?" The man on the throne mocked the boy. His voice was deep.


    Everyoneughed. Normally anyone who mocked the Battlesuin family would have met a dog''s death. And yet, this man, had the balls to mock the boy. Perhaps he was brave, perhaps he was stupid, perhaps he was strong. Or perhaps he was just insane.


    The boy bit his lips. As frustrating as this was, he couldn''t even defend himself. He prided in being a Battlesuin and yet, he was seeking help from a terrorist group, the mere thought made his stomach crawl, but this had to be done. And so, he had to bite his lips and just ept everything these guys could dish out.


    "I want someone dead and a ce destroyed."


    The man showed his teeth. He was old, maybe fifty or so. But his physique was that of a thirty-year-old. The only distinctive feature of his age was his tidied beard and ck-and-white hair. "But shouldn''t-"


    Before the man could dish out more insults to his family name, he just threw a rock on the floor. "This is half. I''ll pay the rest once the job is done."


    The man''s expression hardened.


    He signaled one of his men and he picked up the stone. His man licked the stone and grinned. "80% Sylvanide, boss."


    The man on the throne grinned too. "Alright, I''m listening. Name?"


    "I want you to kill¡­" The boy closed his eyes. "Helio Romswell Jintel. And destroy the academy"


    ''Jintel? So Julio, had a son?'' The man''s grin widened to a point where his cheeks almost tore open. He was exhrated. "Double the payment boy! This might be worth every penny!" He burst intoughter. He was excited, very excited.


    ''I finally get to have my revenge.'' The boy''s eyes glistened. But little did he know, not everything always went ording to n.


    ***


    ze Battlesuin was frustrated.


    No matter what he did, no matter how many girls he slept with, no matter what he ate, and no matter who he killed, he couldn''t forget. He couldn''t forget about his mother''s death and he couldn''t forget about the shame he went through.


    Every time he remembered it, the rage and sorrows made him shiver. And yet, not a single drop leaked. ''I''ll kill you, no matter what!'' His determination was firm.


    But he couldn''t mess with Helio no matter how much he wanted. The family head had made it clear that she''d erase everyone from existence if they were to touch Helio. So instead, he wanted to kill every member of his family. He wanted to torture Helio''s mother and sister. And he was going to do just that if his father hadn''t pped him back to reality.


    "They''re the Romswells you fool! We already have bad blood with them. If we go to war because of your petty ego, the whole family would crumble and I''d lose my position."


    The Romswell and Battlesuin family had previous history. Both families were influential but the Battlesuins were more famous. But just because they were famous didn''t mean they were stronger. Even to the Battlesuins, the Romswells were monsters.


    ''So that''s why?'' At that moment ze had learned that his father never really cared all that about his mother as much as he cared about her. His father cared more about his position than his family. Though sad, this was the reality.


    He didn''t know Helio was from the Romswell family till now either. Messing with that kid was a big mistake. Just because of that one kid, all of his ns, all of his dreams crumbled to the ground. And that''s why he wanted to erase the mistake and that boy''s existence.


    But how?


    He didn''t give up. Days passed.


    And then came the brilliant idea in his head. ''It''s fine as long as I''m not involved, right?''


    But maybe in his emotional state, he forgot that employing terrorists to do his bidding was still him being involved.


    ***


    Meanwhile, on an ind far away, a man was in his usual position, staring at the academy grounds through the ss wall in his office. This was the norm for him.


    He waszy and left most of the brunt work to his wife. Just chomping on donuts while seeing kids run around in the field gave him more satisfaction than anything else.


    He was the headmaster of the Demigrace Academy and he was also the strongest man on the school grounds. But even he was left questioning whether he was true anymore or not.


    A few days ago, when he first saw Helio''s transformation, he was shocked beyondpare. It reminded him of a certain disaster that took ce thirteen years ago. Back then even from his office, he''d felt the shockwaves. He felt the destruction. It was almost as if he was reliving history.


    But there was something else that was bothering him too. Namely, the transfer students. All five of them were bigshots and two were even royalty. But the most troublesome one was the Battlesuin.


    ''Why would she send her direct descendant?''


    The new transfer student Hyorin Battlesuin was a direct descendant of the current head of the entire Battesuin family. The heirs of the main family were to never mix with themon folks, at least that was the rule of the Battlesuin family. This rule was made so that the main family would never be tainted with inferior blood. Meaning this was a big incident if nothing else.


    But this wouldn''t have troubled him as much as it did. The main problem was the rumor that Hyora Battlesuin had murdered all her children seven years ago. Of course, it was just a rumor, but what if was true? ''If it''s true, then just who is that?'' He stared at a girl walking through the fields, nonchntly, towards a boy. The boy being helio, and the girl being Hyorin. The boy was walking rather fast. But the girl wasn''t giving up either.


    ''Ah, youth.'' The headmaster chuckled.


    It was a fraction of a second, but the girl- Hyorin looked straight at the ss wall and smiled as nonchntly as ever. They were rather far away. And she couldn''t passively have noticed the Headmaster''s gaze.


    But she did.


    The headmaster''s blood pressure dropped a little and he fell back on his chair, sitting with a thud. ''That smile, there''s no mistaking It.'' He himself had a grin. ''Looks like this is your fate too boy.'' He chuckled. ''Is your entire Bloodline, cursed or something, Julio?'' Heughed some more, kept on chomping on his donuts.

 Chapter 55 - The Night Is Long (Part One)

    I couldn''t sleep.


    Usually, this never happened. But today was different. I couldn''t sleep and I couldn''t do anything about it. With sighs, I kept on changing sides, but on this small bed, nothing seemed to please me. The bed was barely my length and it was twice as wide as my width. The mattress wasfortable but that was it.


    The bed in my old room was at least twice as big as this one if not bigger. So needless to say, it just felt cramped. I hadn''t paid much attention till now, as I had better things to worry about. But today? Today really was a pain. Just when I thought things were starting to be better again, it all just got scrambled. And so, even something as simple as a small bed, made me more and more infuriated.


    At first, I thought that the practical teacher was being practical when he just dismissed us for the whole week, but who would have thought he was this evil?


    It wasn''t midnight yet but Merin was sleeping too peacefully. His snores were starting to piss me off a little but I had topromise at least this much.


    Still, I did see Merin''sst year''s exam papers and he was right. This wasn''t something as simple as an assignment. ording to Merin, if I could just make a big enough scene about this then I could potentially get out of this without getting negative credits.


    Doing the finals with such little time and preparation wasn''t really usible so I had to take his advice, though only after a lot of begrudgingly long verbal feuds.


    Merin did help but after spending half an hour on this, he was spent. In his own words, ''I kind of forgot how hard it was.''


    Since it was getting nowhere, in the end, we just gave up. I didn''t want to, but I didn''t have a choice.


    The mere thought of ''what''ll happen, what''ll happen'' kept me up even at this hour when the rest of the academy was sleeping.


    With some more sighs, I just emptied my mind. I couldn''t sleep but I could at least stop thinking for a minute.


    ***


    Meanwhile, just outside the boys'' dorm, a girl gazed upwards. She was new to this ce but she was aware of the rule that girls weren''t allowed in the boys'' dorm after 6. And yet, the expression on her face was leaking excitement.


    Her hair fluttered against the wind. She wasn''t alone on campus. There were guys running around with light, searching for people just like her, who were still out despite the curfew.


    But strangely, nobody saw her. Nobody noticed her. Was she invisible? No, she was but a shadow.


    Her expression became more erratic and her breathing increased. ''He''s here. His scent.'' She smelt the air and her breathing increased a little more.


    She grinned and climbed up the dorms. It wasn''t like she was actually climbing, rather her shadow just moved upwards and so did she. It was almost as if, she wasn''t human.


    The shadow stopped exactly on the fourth floor. The window was locked but she knew, she knew he was inside.


    Her grin intensified and she fully turned into a shadow. She oozed through the window and entered a room: Helio''s room.


    Once inside, she became all flesh again. There were two boys in this room. She was only interested in one of them, so she made sure to plug in the other boy''s ears with noise-canceling headphones. The boy already had those pair of headphones but strangely it was used against him. And he didn''t even know that.


    Now satisfied, the girl walked closer to her target: to Helio. Helio himself wasn''t asleep but he wasn''t totally awake either. He was in a state of nothingness, or more like he was just pretending he was in there to fool his mind into sleep mode.


    The girl carefully climbed up the small bed and sat atop Helio. Helio felt a bit of weight on his legs but he didn''t open his eyes. He just assumed his body was falling asleep.


    But when his zipper started moving on its own and made little sound, his eyes blitzed open. "What are yo-"


    "SHH." The girl put a finger on her lips, prompting Helio to shut up. Helio nodded, he wasn''t going to decline. And there was a very good reason for it. The reason being, in the other hand of the girl, there were two jewels and both of the jewels belonged to Helio. "Make a sound and say bye bye to these," She whispered in a seductive tone.


    Helio started sweating. He couldn''t believe his eyes or any of his senses for that matter. He was too shocked and too tired to make sense of the situation. ''What the hell is going on? Why her?''


    The girl on top of him, the transfer student, was a redhead. And the very girl he had rejected. Helio already knew this girl had a few screws loose, but this? Seriously?


    The girl came close to Helio''s face, still one hand on his crotch. "I''ll be sure to make you feel good, so just let me handle the rest." She winked. Her eyes were strangely red. It wasn''t anything Helio had seen before and it certainly wasn''t something he wanted to see either.


    Helio couldn''t move. Shadows had him strapped to the bed. Meaning, he was very defenseless at the moment.


    He wasn''t totally out of options though. He could have very well fired off a burst of gamma rays slowly and fried this girl, but then he''d have been suspended for a year, and not to mention that would have dragged Merin into this as well. He could have damaged her to an extent that she''ll be able to live and he could avoid the suspension. But then there would be certain other things he''d have to deal with, like why there was a girl in his room, why things caught fire, why his roommate had cancer and a lot of other ''whys''.


    But one thing was strange, this girl was different just this noon. Though she was after Helio she wasn''t this aggressive. If anything she was just docile at first, proposing marriages and stuff. So what happened to her, what happened that she''d gone this crazy?


    The girl stroked Helio''s Excalibur and humped on his legs. She was going crazy and moaning rather wildly. Anybody in the room could have heard that. So why was Merin still silent? Why wasn''t he waking up?


    Helio was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Normally he wouldn''t have worn this much clothing before bed but today was different. Today, his head had gone funny with worries.


    And the girl took full advantage of his worries and slowly unbuttoned his shirt, while also throwing her own clothes to the floor: enjoying the moment to the fullest. She had a slender body and her bosom wasrger than the average, but it sure didn''t please Helio to the least.


    ''Is this a dream?'' But since when did dreams start feeling this realistic?


    And not to mention his sleeping Excalibur was rising at a steady pace, meaning this couldn''t have been a dream.


    He took a deep breath and confronted his fears. "Listen to me." His voice was low.


    "Yes?" The girl stopped and just stared at him, her earlier passion was nowhere to be found.


    "Why are you doing this, this is wrong."


    The girl came close to Helio''s face. Her eyes and Helio''s eyes were a centimeter apart. "I know. But I can''t stop myself. I want you." Her voice flowed like honey and she kissed Helio. Helio couldn''t move, he couldn''t resist. Satisfied, the girl moved back, licked the drool of her lips and grinned.


    It was almost as though the girl had lost her sanity.


    The grin frightened Helio. ''Fangs?'' Helio still tried to calm himself but it wasn''t working.


    He couldn''t think up a good way to escape and he couldn''t just let things proceed like they were either. He was searching for a way even now. ''But what?''


    "Once I do this, you''ll be mine," The girl traced her finger from Helio''s chest to his crotch. "And only mine." Her voice echoed through the room, her red eyes glistened ever so more.


    Her fangs grewrger and she made her way to Helio''s nape.


    Helio finally understood one thing. ''She''s a vampire.''


    Did vampires exist? The question didn''t matter as one was sitting right above him. He was about to be devoured: literally.


    But just before the girl could bite Helio, she paused. Her senses were tingling. Her instincts told her to get out of the way, but her mind wanted to drink the blood of her beloved. In the end her mind won, her teeth touched Helio''s neck, but before they could sink in, she was struck in the head with something.


    A sound of broken chords rung out and reverberated.


    If she had trusted her instincts and dodged this wouldn''t have happened. She was lodged off of Helio.


    But the impact wasn''t enough to wound her. She shrieked and turned around. "You!"


    Merin was standing right behind her with a guitar. Though the impact did hurt, it wasn''t good enough to do anything about this situation.


    "You know, I thought you were having a good time, so I chose to ignore this. But when I heard you didn''t actually give your permission, I couldn''t just sit around. R*pe is never good." Merin''s expression hardened and he prepared to fight.


    But maybe fighting with a guitar wasn''t the best idea.

 Chapter 56 - The Night Is Long (Part Two)

    "Next time, please do that from the start." Helio stood up from the bed. When the girl had switched her prey in the heat of the moment, Helio''s ties were loosened and that was enough for him to break loose. "Do you mind if a few things get destroyed around here? I''m kind of in a bad mood." Helio tried to chuckle but nothing really could hide the bulging veins on his forehead.


    "No prob." Merin shed a grin.


    The veins on Helio''s forehead throbbed. Actually, all of his veins throbbed. This was a bad day. He couldn''t enjoy his sses, he couldn''t enjoy his own party and he couldn''t even enjoy dinner. Actually, He never had dinner. And for what? An assignment that wasn''t even possible?


    He couldn''t even sleep and top it all up, he was almost r*ped. He was pissed- was definitely an understatement to say the least.


    Suddenly the girl realized, she fu*ked up. ''R*pe?'' She was frightened of the word. She''d already forgotten the things she went through. She hated that word and she was about to just that? Her recurring memories staggered her. Her chest started to burn and it hurt.


    ''I''ve to get out of here.''


    Before she could turn into a shadow Helio grabbed her head. "You know my gramps once told me a story about vampires and how they could turn into shadows. He also told me, how to deal with them too. I thought he was telling me bedtime stories. I was really young back then after all. It''s a shame I forgot about all that but I do remember one thing. ''If you''re touching a vampire''s skin directly, it can''t turn into a shadow.''" Helio grinned. His voice was calm and so was his demeanor. But the colors from the girl''s face disappeared and she started to struggle. She was reliving a past she wanted to bury. "Mom told me to respect women and she advised me to never hit a woman on the face. And though I hate people who hit women, I personally hate people who force themselves on others even more."


    "You don''t understand, I-" the girl attempted.


    "I don''t care about your reason. I''ll sleep with people on my own wish, not on the whims of others. And I''ll never sleep with someone whom I don''t love." Helio''s face went closer to the girl''s face. "Besides, if you want to marry me, you should have first started with giving me a truck full of choctes."


    Merin chuckled but suppressed them.


    "What?" The girl was more confused than scared.


    "Well, but I guess it''s toote now." Helio sighed and punched the girl''s stomach so hard, she passed out. "It really was a shame. Please don''te again." He gently lied the girl on the floor and sighed in relief.


    "Dude. I know what you did isn''t wrong, but what now?" Merin scratched his head. Things weren''t really looking that great for the two of them.


    Two guys, one girl, the girl being unconscious. There was no way the two could ever hope to exin this to the dorm manager or anyone for that matter.


    Helio lifted the girl up and held her like a princess. "I suppose we have to talk with the manager."


    ''Isn''t she a bit too light?'' He was almost surprised by the girl''s weight.


    "Are you crazy? She''ll rip us apart!" Actually, Merin wasn''t too far off the mark on this one. If the dorm manager knew there was a girl inside the dorms at this hour and unconscious no less, needless to say, more than one bone would have been broken.


    "You know, for someone so strong," A girly voice came from below Helio''s chest. Apparently, the girl wasn''t unconscious. She touched Helio''s cheeks and smiled. "You really go easy on girls, don''t you?"


    "Whoa!" Helio, a bit spooked dropped the girl on the floor, and she turned into shadows almost like she was water.


    The girl disappeared.


    "Well, there goes our problem." Merin turned on the lights.


    Hard to imagine all of this happened with the minimal light the window provided.


    "Yeah." Helio was out of breath. Suddenly dropping the girl might have spooked him more than he thought.


    "But dude. What are you, a girl ma or something?" The way Merin chuckled, indicated he was pitying Helio more than being jealous.


    "I''ll be happy to swap ces if you want."


    "Yeah, no thanks." Merinughed some more and checked his instrument. "Shit, I broke it."


    He broke three chords and the body of the guitar now had two distinct cracks. .


    "That''s wood, right?" Helio asked.


    "Yeah. in Cedar!"


    ''Why Cedar?''


    "I know someone who can grow nts. Maybe she''ll be able to fix that." Helio sighed. This was partially his fault. If he had just opened his eyes the first time he felt the weight on his legs, maybe things could have been different. Not to mention the girl was actually here for him.


    ''But why was she doing this?''


    It wasn''t hard to imagine that these transfer students were here for him. But attacking him in the night? ''And she was a vampire.''


    Vampire in general was nothing more than urban legends. But Helio definitely knew this wasn''t a legend anymore. ''And the headmaster let her in, knowing that?''


    Merin shed a thumbs up and turned the lights off.


    Both of them went back to their beds.


    Helio still wasn''t feeling sleepy. If anything he was excited and so was his Excalibur. But through all of these years, he''d developed a bit of self-restraint, so he denied his body the care it wanted and forced himself to calm down again.


    And this time, Helio was able to fall asleep.


    ***


    Aurora Hleilis was a war orphan. Though most of the world was at peace, few smaller countries still fought overnd despite the warnings and the pressure from other UN. And she just happened to be in a country like that.


    Her parents were farmers. Ordinary people with little power. In this world of mutants, people who had little to no powers were often treated as outcasts and shunned from society. Most of the young generation didn''t know that people without powers even existed.


    So where did these powerless people live? In faraway ces, near the borders, or forests perhaps. Most of these people just tried to make an honest living and live without trouble. But fate was crooked. It always struck down the weak. Such was the world. Only the fittest were bound to survive. And Leilis''s fate was no exception.


    But life wasn''t so bad. It was just her parents and her, but that was all she wanted. There was no one around to y around but that didn''t stop her from having fun in her own way. And twelve years passed like that. Life was a bliss.


    At the age of thirteen, Leilis encountered the first crisis of her life. It was a sunny day, rather hot. She was by the pond, showering. She was all by herself and it wasn''t that bad. But then she heard a scream. The scream of her mother. She ran fast even in the wet clothes. And when she reached the house, she was stunned. She entered through the door, and in front of her, was horror.


    There was fresh blood beneath her feet: blood was on the curtain like some kind of tapestry. The blood of her father. There were two man of uniform inside the house, holding shy blue knives. They were grinning and ripping off the clothes of her mother.


    ''What is this?''

 Chapter 57 - The Night Is Long (Part Three)

    Neither of the two men was from this country.


    The moment her mother saw her, she only spoke one word. "Run."


    But Leilis was too afraid to run. And when she finally understood the situation and gathered the courage to do so, someone grabbed her from behind. Shivering, she looked back and it was another man in uniform: the third man. The moment their eyes met, the man grinned in a very not too manly manner and ripped off her wet clothes.


    Water dripped from her bare body as she shed tears with a scream. She tried to struggle but the man was just too strong.


    "Not bad for a kid," he said.


    Her mother screamed loud and struggled to get to her, but the man near her shed her throat and started to enter her lifeless cold body.


    "This isn''t as fun as I thought." One of themughed hysterically.


    "Yeah, you just had to kill her. It''s been three years since Ist enjoyed some fun you know." The other man said.


    Both were inside the dead woman at the same time.


    Leilis didn''t know what was going on, but her pain was real. She was bleeding too. Both inside and outside. She was defiled. Her sense of morality had shifted.


    She screamed as loudly as she could but nothing changed. Her screams didn''t bring back her parents and it didn''t ease up her pain either. Her scream didn''t bring a hero to save the day. Her scream didn''t bring back the dead. And her scream certainly didn''t save her.


    "Leave some for us too."


    "Hey no fair. I wanna have some fun too." Both of the other men were done.


    "You already had your fun. Let me have mine." The man behind Leilis chuckled.


    All the colors were gone. All the sounds were gone. Everything was in ck and white. And Leilis felt nothing. Her mind had went nk. She was helpless and alone in this cruel world.


    Was she even alive?


    As her body swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the man, she noticed a shard of broken ss beneath her feet. Her lifeless eyes registered that as her only means of survival.


    ''I want to live.''


    ''I want to live.''


    ''I want to live.''


    ''I want to live.''


    ''I want to live.''


    ''I want to live.''


    Her mind yed those words over and over again. Until something cracked inside. She wanted to live and no matter what he wanted to live.


    Nothing in this world mattered anymore. Her parents were dead and no matter what she had to survive.


    She wanted to survive. She wanted to live.


    She picked up the shard.


    The man was very close to his edge so his guard was down for a second. "Huh, what are you doing?" Before the man could recover his strength and restrain her, she got out of his grip and cut off his privates: she also cut her finger, but it was of no consequence. For a small girl, she was fast. And considering, the fact that she was still bleeding, she was very fast. It was as though she experienced no pain. It was as though nothing mattered other than her survival.


    A wild beast is a dangerous one, perhaps the men had forgotten this.


    "ARggh" the guy screamed his loudest and fell on the floor. Was it luck or was it something else? Leilis didn''t know. But she knew he had to survive.


    The other two men still chuckled and walked slowly. "Easy now, we don''t want to hurt you." But their vulgar grins weren''t fooling anybody. They still hadn''t grasped the situation. They thought what could a little powerless bleeding girl possibly do with just a single shard of ss?


    The man on the floor had a gun with him. Leilis never even saw a gun in her life let alone knew how to use it. But she knew about it from the movies and shows she saw with her father. Her mother was against watching those violent movies and yet, this was the only reason she even recognized the gun.


    She quickly grabbed the gun and shot the first man who was about to grab her. A ball of light went through the man''s chest and he fell on the floor, dumbfounded. Meanwhile, she was sent flying back in air, because of the recoil. She never expected it to be this strong. Actually, she didn''t even know there was a recoil. She bled, she shed tears. But it didn''t stop her from pulling the trigger again.


    The other man was just about to pull the trigger of his own gun while simultaneously firing off an ice spear. But he was a secondte. He was a trained professional but thepse of his judgment in reaching for his gun would cost him dearly.


    Another ball left Leilis''s gun and pierced the man''s head. She was shoved-back yet again, but she got without a doubt.


    If he''d opted to use his powers instead of reaching for his gun, things might have turned out different.


    The ice spear had grazed her ear and half of her ear was missing. But it didn''t matter. There was another one alive after all.


    Two dead and one was writing on the floor, grabbing his leaking privates. The man was in tears. "Please¡­ don''t kill me."


    Leilis had no emotion to show the man. She just pulled the trigger.


    But now that everyone was dead and she was all alone, naked, bleeding and almost dead, what now? She dropped the gun, fell on her knees. Reality was cruel, and it was the survival of the fittest. But was she really fit? Did she really need to survive this? Did she really need to go through all this?


    As she pondered over the questions, everything became red around her. The bodies, the colors, the world: red. Sound came back. And instead of the peaceful sounds of the fields, she heard screams. The screams of her own.


    Her consciousness faded as she looked at the dead bodies of her parents. "I''m dying too?" It was the only question she could ask herself.


    "We were toote!?" She heard screams but it didn''t matter anymore. She was deep in sleep.


    ***


    Sigh!


    Leilis was back in her room. Her head stung a little. Did that guy really have to hit him with a guitar?


    ''But I did the same thing they did to me, huh?'' she didn''t realize that she was doing the very same thing to Helio that she herself despised.


    Every night, her vampire self took over more and more of her mind. She acquired this power forty years ago, and ever since then, this was harder and harder to control. Though she wasn''tpletely in control, this still wasn''t something she should have done.


    Maybe her own ideals had corrupted over the years. ''Maybe I''ll apologize. Wait, he wanted chocte right?'' She smiled faintly. She knew she''d done something unforgivable, as she still hadn''t forgiven the three soldiers she''d killed. And she never nned to forgive them either. So she couldn''t just ask for Helio''s forgiveness. ''But I should.''


    Sigh!


    She lied on her back, a hand on her forehead. ''Will he forgive me?''

 Chapter 58 - All I Had To Do Was Ask?

    A white room!


    ''I''m back again?''


    "Yes, that''s correct." The weird chuckling sound came from the corner of the room. The shadow was there but it was in some sort of prison made of white.


    At first, I thought he was just standing there, but when he touched the white bars and it contrasted with his darkness, only then did I see him being imprisoned.


    "You''re trapped? And you can hear my thoughts." My voice echoed. This ce was simr and yet, somehow this felt different.


    "Didn''t I tell you? I''m you." He grinned and I saw his white teeth.


    ''Me?''


    I didn''t see the girl here anymore and the ce was totally white. No sign of that liquid darkness thing either.


    With a sigh, I lied down. Strangely the bed was ratherfortable.


    "You won''t ask me any more questions?" The shadow almost sounded like it was disappointed and a little sad.


    "I do have one." I closed my eyes. "Why were you born?"


    I had a lot of questions. I didn''t know if these things were my other-selves or not but I didn''t really know much about them. So I had to start from somewhere.


    He closed his eyes and for the first time, his grin disappearedpletely. "If I were to ask you the same, would you be able to answer?" His question shut me up without a doubt. "I am you and you are me. But you refuse to acknowledge me. You refuse me." Was he sad? He red straight at me, eyes glimmering with red. "I shall do the same to you."


    Granted, that might not have been the best question for me to ask and probably not the best way to phrase it either. But how was I supposed to just ept some weird shadow inside me? Like, why?


    The conversation derailed fast and before I knew it, I felt faint. My body felt hot?


    "Go, live your life." The shadow turned and showed me his back. There were thousands ofsh marks there: all red. "But when the timees¡­. I will be free."


    ***


    Beep!


    Beep!


    Beep!


    The rm just wouldn''t shut up. ''So loud.''


    I knew it was six-thirty. But it did really have to scream so damn much? ''Why the hell didn''t I turn the damn thing offst night?''


    Sniff!


    My head throbbed a bit. My eyes were still closed.


    I couldn''t keep them open longer than a second. With loads of swaying I got up and sat down, my feet touching the cold floor: it almost felt like my feet would freeze. I couldn''t even sit straight let alone get up.


    Maybe skipping both lunch and dinner yesterday wasn''t a good idea. Well, I did have enough calories in the form of maple syrup, but I might have ruined my health a bit too much.


    I was about to yawn when all of a sudden¡­ ACHOO!


    Now that I noticed, my nose was running a bit too loose.


    "I caught a cold?" With the sneeze, I sobered up faster than what instant coffee could have achieved. There was no coffee in here though. Only tea.


    I had medicine so it wasn''t a big deal unless I had some novel virus on me.


    But then again the nurse in this academy was a healer, so I didn''t really have all that worries about a cold of all things.


    My body still swayed a little as I made my way to the kettle. Normally I always got fresh first before drinking anything in the morning. But I just didn''t felt like moving today. Which was why I needed something to wake me up.


    The tea was done and I drank it without sugar. I needed all the bitterness I could get. Besides, I had my fill of sugar yesterday anyway.


    It kind of worked. I felt better. But I still swayed. ''What is this?''


    "Hey, Merin?"


    "MHmmm?" His eyes were closed and he was still kind of asleep.


    I was almost jealous of how nonchnt this guy was.


    "Do you have any thermometers?"


    Normally people never needed thermometers because their Holo could take temperature readings. But apparently, I didn''t have one.


    "No. Nat might have one." He yawned in his sleep and went back to snoring mode. I really did envy him sometimes¡­.


    I groaned. It was odd. Since when did I even have a fever? With revolutionary vines and other drugs, fevers were rare. And not to mention, I didn''t run around in the rain or anything either.


    Sniff!


    I really wanted to crawl under a nket right about now. But the day never stops, so I didn''t have the luxury to do that. Besides, today was the due date for the assignment. And I certainly didn''t want to end up with negative credits. Not getting credits was one thing but getting negative stuff? I didn''t want that.


    My head felt funny but I didn''t have a choice. Of course, I still had some chocte milk leftover in the mini-fridge. SO I drank that and then took the medicine. Maybe it was cebo but I always felt a bit better the moment I took medicine.


    I didn''t sway as much and I could think better.


    And then¡­ GRUMBLE!


    With a hand on my stomach, I ran to the bathroom. There were about a dozen or so in the dorms. And most of them weren''t really upied as students were barely waking up.


    I almost felt like passing out as I pushed. It did feel good though, afterward. I really hoped no one would havee near this ce for the next three hours or so.


    But my body still swayed.


    ''Maybe paying a visit to the nurse might be a good idea?''


    Walking was a drag but I still went out. Every step felt like eternity but I kept on walking. I didn''t know how long it took for me to get out of the dorm but I was d no one was around to see my pitiful state. I did want someone to help me though. Was I was being too hypocritical? Probably.


    ''Maybe waking up Merin might have been a good idea.'' Why didn''t I think of it before? Easy, I couldn''t think straight.


    The sun was just up and the light almost blinded me. The early birds were out as usual. Meaning, if I could just ask someone, they''d help me. But who? I didn''t know anyone and people didn''t know me: everyone just avoided me.


    The nurse''s office was normally just about ten minutes of walking distance. But with my condition, and a lot of swaying it would have probably taken half an hour. If I didn''t faint that is.


    Some of the passing students did look at me, debated internally whether to help me or not. In the end, no one really came to my rescue and I just strolled down the road.


    Of course, I was trying my best not to stand out, and walk normally so maybe that had more to do with no oneing to help. But perhaps I was just consoling myself and deceiving myself of the fact that no one was here for me: I was alone.


    I kept on walking. But my body had reached its limit. I was kind of swaying a lot more than before.


    And with another step, things started to look green and blurry: I guess this was a different type of passing out. The ground came nearer and nearer. I was about to fall. But just from a centimeter away from the ground, I floated. ''What?''


    Someone had caught me? But who? I looked around and there was no one. I was set up straight and that was all. I didn''t notice a force on me or near me. Whoever used their powers on me, were gone and so were the traces of the power.


    Even with alpha particles, I felt nothing. But I did take a break by sitting down. I was sweating a lot more than necessary. But the dizziness passed away and I felt slightly better. But I was kind of stranded.


    "Whoa, you okay?" Robert came jogging.


    "Kind, off. Was it you?"


    "Was it me, what?" He stopped by me and gave me a hand. He was covered in sweat.


    I stood up. "Yeah, never mind." If I wanted help, I guess I had to ask for it. "Can you take me to the nurse''s office? I feel a bit faint."


    "Yeah, your hand was pretty warm too." He grabbed my shoulder and we walked at a steady pace. He didn''t even hesitate for a second.


    I didn''t know the guy. We barely talked twice or maybe thrice. But he didn''t hesitate to help me.


    "By the way, are we friends?" I didn''t know what brought me to ask the question. I almost felt stupid for asking it. Was my fever too high or something?


    "I don''t know man. I barely know you. But if you want to be friends, sure." He didn''t look at me, he didn''t smile. He was just being sincere.


    A faint smile crept up on my face. "Thanks." I guess all I had to do was ask.


    ***


    "You don''t seem to have any novel viruses in you." The nurse gave me a status report. I felt relieved. "But-"


    "But?"


    "But your fever stems from something deep in you. It''s early but let''s do your weekly evaluation today."


    "But I have sses." My world still spun around. The ceiling was moving back and forth.


    The nurse sighed. "Let''s worry about your health more. First, how do you feel? I mean about losing control or perhaps when you''re angry."


    Robert had left for the jog right after getting me to the nurse''s office. The nurse lied me down on the bed and ran some tests.


    "I feel the same as ever."


    ''Should I tell her about the dreams and the seal?''


    No one really told me to be quiet about the seal and stuff. But I guessed it wasn''t worth the extra effort in keeping it a secret. I had to know about my condition one way or another. Mom was keeping it a secret because this had something with my father, but I had to know.


    "I think I have a seal on me of some sort." Maybe I came out too blunt.


    "Yeah, I''m aware." She didn''t even bat an eye at me and just kept on reading through the reports.


    "Wait, what? You knew?"


    She looked at me, a bit dumbfounded. "You do realize I''ve run about a dozen tests on you already, right?" She sighed. "If it weren''t for the headmaster, I''ve started to dissect you already." She mumbled. I really didn''t want to hear that though.


    ''Better thank the geezer next time I guess.''


    I told her about the two dreams and the girl. "Have any idea what''s wrong with me?"


    "We still didn''t know what happened to you in the first ce. But I''m specting your other personalities, if they exist at all, are sealed away. And now they''re trying to get out. This, theck of food and stress has caused your fever in this case. Just resting for a few days should be enough to cure you." She thought for another minute. "However, those dreams can also just be dreams caused by stress. So for the time being, don''t worry too much."


    ''Lack of food and stress, huh?''


    I was really d a certain someone wasn''t here to listen to that. If she was here, she''d have dragged me back home and monitored my eating habits for the next few months.


    I wasn''t worried about the dreams either though. They just felt too surreal. "But I''ve to make it to today''s practical."


    She thought for a second. "Then how about you skip all the other sses and rest till your practical ss? I''ll ask one of the students to bring you some food. And since you''ve already taken medicine there''s not much left to do. I can always force the fever out, but that''d cause you more harm than good." She went closer to the door. "I''ll give you stomach medicine just in case though." I guess she heard my stomach rumble again.


    "Alright."

 Chapter 59 - I Swear, If You Give Me Negative Credits!

    I spent the whole morning in the nurse''s office. With breakfast and medicines, I did feel slightly better. And by noon, I could walk around without issues. But I guess this wasn''t enough for practical sses. But now I had my excuse.


    Merin was the one who brought me breakfast. All he brought was some sd and an apple though. Tasted terrible but oh well.


    Robert dide to see me once but I got the impression that he was just doing it out of obligation. No one else really came. I guess no one even knew. It was better this way though.


    "I''m heading off to the ss." I didn''t have much on me other than my clothes. No books, no nothing. So I didn''t really need to waste time on gathering those. And since the practical ss didn''t require anything special, I didn''t have to prepare either. But then again, the assignment was, something special, I guess.


    Students these days didn''t need their bags since they had their holo and they could always use the holo as a virtual book anyway. ''Maybe I should save up a few month''s pocket money and buy one myself?'' I was very tempted to say the least.


    The nurse was seated in her chair. She was going through reports. I guess kids other than me had health issues too. Though I was probably the only one who spent so much time here on a regr basis. "Yeah, good luck. Don''t overexert yourself." She stopped what she was doing and looked at me: a cold re. "Actually, don''t even think of doing anything that involves stress. And try to avoid dairy for a while."


    "Huh?" It was as if the whole world had turned upside down. I was fine resting for days. But no chocte milk?


    ''Oh no.'' My world had ended.


    "Just in case, I''ll contact your mother." her words brought me back to reality and it was like she was torturing me withshes.


    Was this woman trying to rid of this world?


    "Wait, you have mom''s number?" I was cold and yet, strangely I started to sweat.


    This wasn''t good. I had a bad feeling about all this.


    "Oh yeah. We became fast friends and exchanged contacts." She was speaking like this was natural. But they knew each other for barely a day.


    Yup, a bad feeling.


    "Can you not do that? I mean-"


    "Uh, no. I don''t trust your judgment, so I''ll let her know."


    Why was this woman so oblivious? Did she really have my best interest in mind? Or was she seriously just trying to end me? Because it certainly felt that way right now.


    I tried to put on a smile and silently walked out. Mom would chew me alive if she found out this happened because I skipped meals and always ate nothing but bread and chocte milk. Mom had forbidden me to drink chocte milk more than twice a week. And besides, she gave me enough money to actually afford other food, but I was just cheap-ing out on everything. So, I was keeping my eating habits a secret from her.


    Meaning, my death g was already set. Living hardly mattered anymore.


    ***


    I reached the practical ss about three minutes early. A lot of eyes were on me but I guess that was natural.


    asional res. Also normal.


    Everything was normal, except I had a running nose and felt like dying. Oh wait, I was going to die tomorrow anyway. Tomorrow was the day off and mom would have definitely¡­


    Unless she decided to show up today, that is.


    "Alright, turn in your assignments." The teacher came and spoke in a bold tone.


    ''This is my chance.''


    Before I could even attempt to raise amotion, everyone just started to act rather weird.


    "Here, sir."


    "Here you go, sir."


    "Here''s mine, sir."


    Students flocked around him.


    ''Wait, what?''


    One by one everyone turned in their assignments. Even the transfer students. I was basically the only one who didn''t.


    "What''s wrong Helio, where''s yours?" Even the teachers called me By Helio at this point. I guess there was no running away from this anymore. But at least no one knew about me being a Romswell, at least I most certainly hoped so.


    "It was pretty easy, eh?"


    "Yeah, totally." I heard all sorts ofments behind my back.


    ''Easy, my ass.''


    Were my ssmates total geniuses or was I just dumb? I really wanted to think it was the former. Though I didn''t want to.


    With a sigh, I gave it to him straight. "I didn''t do it."


    All the talk just stopped. Everyone was almost surprised.


    The teacher looked at me with cold eyes. "I''d assume you had a good reason for it: after all thatmotion only happened two days ago. But I suppose you''re the only one who''ll get negative credits."


    "Sir." I started. I was already in a very bad mood because of the constant running nose and all the sniffing and the handkerchief action. And then everyone just had to say stuff like this was easy. "How in the world did we end up doing the first year''s finals for our first assignment? I don''t know how it was easy for them but it certainly wasn''t easy for me."


    I''d getughed at. I knew that. If people found this easy and they saw meining, of course, they''dugh. But strangely, no one wasughing.


    "Finals? Are you sure?" The teacher, however, was actually taking this seriously.


    "My roommate''s a second year. Of course, I''m sure." And I''d already checked about a dozen times before making my ims. "It''s in my room. I''m a little sick so I was at the nurse''s. You can send someone to get it." It was just an excuse but I was definitely sick if nothing else.


    He looked at me for a minute, blinked a few times, and started to blush. "So sorry about that. I have a daughter at home you see. She sometimes ys with papa''s stuff." The way he said it almost made me want to punch him.


    No wonder the paper had stains on it. But was this guy really going to believe me without even fact-checking first?


    ''Then don''t let her get hear the important stuff!'' I had a little sister so I knew how meaningless it was to prevent kids from having their way. And yet, I couldn''t help but be angry. Did this guy have any idea how much stress I''d been in yesterday?


    I sighed. "I won''t ask for credits. All I ask is that you don''t give me negative credits." I tried to be reasonable. As pissed as I was, I just wanted to get back and rest. I still didn''t have lunch either. So I had a lot of things to look forward to.


    "Hmm, that would be fair. And I do know your potential fromst week''s hunt. However, I cannot just exclude you from this either. You''ll have to do at least something. But what?" He was thinking aloud a bit too much.


    I was sick and I didn''t want to do anything. Did he not get that?


    "Sir, if I may-" A blonde raised his hands. If I recalled correctly, he was the one who was outside the clubhouse waiting for me. "Would it be appropriate, if we were to duel now? Of course, it''ll be just friendly."


    Was he crazy? Here I was dying from a cold, and he wanted to fight? Like, now? Seriously!?


    "Ah-"


    Before I could start the teacher started. "Yes, that does seem like a good proposition."


    "I''m ill. I''ll pass." Besides, the nurse already told me to not exert myself.


    I didn''t care if it was a good proposition. All I cared was that I wanted to go home and not die. But then again, nothing really mattered anymore as I''d be pped silly by mom anyway. Just thinking made me want to sigh.


    "Hmm. You also make a fair proposition. Hmm¡­" And he started to think again. Was something wrong with this teacher? No, maybe this whole academy was weird.


    And I was the only sane person. Yes, the only sane person. ''Isn''t that what an insane person say?''


    Now my own thoughts started to contradict me.


    "Alright. How about this? You two would duel and whoever wins will get one wish. You can ask for credits or you can even ask to skip the sses altogether but that way you won''t get credits." Basically, you couldn''t have your cake and eat it at the same time.


    "And if I lose?"


    "You won''t get any credits but you won''t get any negative either."


    That actually didn''t sound that bad. The only problem was, I didn''t have my sword with me. Apparently, mom took the sword back when she learned people were just running around challenging me. ording to her, if I didn''t have a weapon, I''d be less prone to ept. Little did she know, I had no intention of epting any in the first ce. The only times I dueled with people when I was forced to.


    "I don''t have a sword btw, will that be okay?" My words came out a bit weird now that my nose was semi-solid. Even moments ago it was running loose and now it was hard to breathe. ''Just make up your damn mind respiratory system!"


    "Then I shall fight barehanded as well." The Blondie sure was confident if nothing else.


    Every single one of these transfer students was nothing but trouble. This blonde wanted to duel, that Battlesuin girl was plotting something while the redhead literally attacked mest night.


    I hadn''t yet reported the redhead either. She''d probably be punished severely instead of being expelled since nothing actually happened. But I sure wasn''t going to let her off the hook either.


    "Oh no, you two will fight with these." The teacher gave me a bow.


    I tried grabbing the string and it glowed. I aimed at a nearby tree and tried stretching the string. Of course, I was just practicing and he didn''t bother to give me arrows. But I felt something on the string, and when I let go, a thin beam went exactly where I pointed. It didn''t pierce the tree trunk but there was a bit of a ck mark on the tree now. Meaning this could do a small amount of damage: in other words, it would hurt like being pinched.


    I never wielded a bow before, so this was a new experience for me. ''So we never needed arrows in the first ce?''


    And getting my first shot exactly where I wanted almost made me feel like I was some sort of genius. ''This might not be so bad after all.''


    "I''ve set them to beginner mode. So you shouldn''t miss even if you were an amateur. They shouldn''t do much damage either. So feel free to fire at will when I give the signal. The first one to hit the opponent''s chest wins."


    My confidence ran away from whence it came.


    I almost felt stupid.


    The students around us made their way and they were quite far away, circling us in the process. I didn''t want to do this but not getting negative credits was my main goal. And if things started to look bad, I could have just given up anyway. If I wasn''t getting negative credits, then it probably didn''t matter. And besides, I didn''t want to exert myself.


    I started off by emitting Alpha particles. Nothing fancy. This duel didn''t have much value for me. My main worry was to sessfully get out of this without exerting myself, which actually didn''t seem all that possible right now.


    ''Sorry, Miss Nurse.'' I still didn''t know her name though.


    "Begin."


    And it began as I was too absorbed in my own thoughts. So the teacher''s shout kind of startled me. But unlike ze, this guy didn''t attack me with a preemptive strike. He waited for me instead.


    ''I guess I can take this at least a little more seriously.''


    Maybe this guy wasn''t that bad.


    "If I win, your sister is mine!" And then the guy just had to spout nonsense.


    I might have spoken too soon.


    "Huh? Come again?''


    Did something happen to my earstely? I kept on hearing weird shit every now and then.

 Chapter 60 - Don’t Get Too Cocky Brat

    "And if you win, you can have mine. But mark my words, I shall have your sister!" He red at me but a secondter started to act all giggly. "Ah, the first time I saw her face through my Holo, I couldn''t get her lovely face out of my dreams. AH!"


    I didn''t know what his problem was but he certainly seeded in pissing me off. I didn''t care about my fever anymore and I certainly didn''t care about overexerting myself either. I was going to give this guy a whopping whether anyone liked it or not.


    I was the first one to draw my bow, but he disappeared before I could even touch the string.


    ''Invisibility?''


    "Can''t see me now, can you?" He snorted and his voice started to change ces.


    I still shot anyway. And the arrow hit his forehead. "Well, I can still see you though." I was using x-ray and alpha particles simultaneously. I didn''t like to use these at the same time, but since he was so confident I wanted to see a little more of his skills. "That was a warning. Come entertain me some more!"


    I might have picked up some lines from my gramps and my uncles. Gramps used to say these to the challengers all the time. ''Am I turning into a viin or something?''


    He let out a groan and kept on rubbing his forehead.


    But one thing was for sure, I was definitely madder than I thought. Of course, I tried to stay sane. I couldn''t make the same mistake I did with ze. Back then I was too emotional and as a result, I lost miserably. I couldn''t repeat the same mistake again.


    "Damn you!" He circled me, still invisible. Of course, I could still his bones and feel his structure because of my particles. I didn''t want to see this miserable moron though.


    But the fact that this was the only thing he could did bother me. ''And this guy thought he could win?''


    The guy pointed his arrow at me and shot. The arrow was also invisible but I could trace its trajectory and moved. I was always good at physics and quick calctions anyway.


    "Y-You dodged?"


    Was he serious? Did he even hear that I could see him?


    I sighed. "And I thought this was going to be a bit more entertaining." Yup, I was definitely turning into a viin.


    And I was a bit cool too if I do say so myself.


    ACCHOO!


    At least I''d have looked cool if only I wasn''t leaking through both of my nostrils and sneezed like half a dozen times.


    But since this was getting a little redundant, I raised my bow a bit more and shot straight at his legs.


    "Huh?" he fell on his back and red straight at me, still invisible. He probably used light to his advantage in turning invisible. It wasn''t anything special, at least not to me. "N-No."


    "I win." I shot again, straight at his chest.


    He became visible again, a hand on his chest. "But how? How could you see my perfect illusion?" He was a bit dazed.


    ''Perfect illusion? Don''t make meugh.''


    I did chuckle a little though.


    "Yeah, I''m not obliged to tell you that." It wasn''t like I was some sort of viin who''d spill all of his secrets to the hero anyway. Besides, he pissed me off more than necessary and he was no hero.


    I sighed and blew my nose again. This was definitely not my day.


    "Winner, Helio." The teacher dered my victory and came towards us with praise. "Make your wish boy."


    "I''ll think about it." Now I sessfully avoided getting negative credits and I also had something to think about. I didn''t want to rush this as my thoughts were still a bit cloudy with the cold.


    The teacher still patted me on the back. "Alright. See you Monday." Meaning two days from now.


    He didn''t even nce twice at the guy on the floor who was literally in tears.


    "Trevor!" The guy''s sister came running and she tried to pick him up.


    ''Well, at least now he''d stop getting ideas."


    The guy got up, red at me for a second. "As promised, she''s yours." He sulked more than necessary.


    This whole thing was just utter stupidity. The girl looked at me with pleading eyes. I guess this whole thing was against her will but she didn''t protest.


    ''Stay calm. Stay calm. Killing him would get you expelled¡­'' It was very hard to stay a little sane. ''Should I break his legs instead?'' I was very tempted, to say the least. ''No this was a spar¡­'' With a sigh, I had to give up on beating the living crap out of this clown in front of me. So I went with the verbal route.


    "Sorry pal, but she was never yours to give. She''s a human being and has her own ideas: she''s not some toy or possession. Who she chooses is up to her. And it''s true for my sister too. Of course, if my sister ever introduced me to a guy, I''d pound him silly and after beating the living crap out of him, I might acknowledge him, but I''d definitely respect my sister''s wish." I might have said some pretty weird stuff in my fever mode.


    Giggle!


    Someone giggled behind me. I looked back and it was the redhead. Of course, I back-stepped by instinct.


    We were in a rtively shaded ce, so I guess she could move around as long as she was in the shade. But I couldn''t help but be cautious of her.


    The redhead raised both of her hands as if to say she surrendered. "I just want to talk." It was as though she was repenting.


    I wasn''t buying it though.


    "No thanks." I nced at the two blondes. "As I said, it''s not for you to decide her fate. It''s up to her. Good day."


    The guy wasn''t really epting this though. He was ring at me for all sorts of reasons. The girl, however, looked a bit relieved.


    Well, now it wasn''t my problem anymore.


    And I didn''t have anything to do here anyway. I really wanted to drink some hot chocte but life wasn''t fair. ''How the hell am I going to live without hot chocte? Should I switch to dark chocte instead?''


    I started to leave. No one really tried to stop me. I was still the center of attention. But the transfer students were ring at me more than anyone else. The Battlesuin girl was grinning a bit too much, and so was the Asian.


    Now that I thought about it, I met all of them apart from the Asian. Was he up to something?


    I really didn''t want to think about it though.


    I didn''t see Marg or Clyde here. Robert was chilling in the back. He did wave at me once, but that was all.


    ''Suppose I''ll buy my first real meal." I sighed a big sigh and for the second time ever, headed for the cafeteria.


    ***


    sses were technically over and students were supposed to be in clubs and dorms.


    So why the hell were so many friggin students inside the cafeteria right now?


    Sniff!


    The more people I saw, the sicker I felt.


    There were benches and all that around me. Even here, I attracted attention. But I guess not as much as I did outside.


    Gossip floated in the air.


    "Hey, did you hear, the Killboyz are on the move?"


    "I heard they''ve entered France."


    "What? I heard they were in Italy!"


    Needless to say, I didn''t really like gossips. Who cared if a terrorist group was in some other country? And the Killboyz?


    ''Who thinks of stupid names like that?''


    Besides, I was from a weird family myself. So I didn''t even want to think about terrorists of all things.


    The sighs just never ended as I made my way to the counter. There were all sorts of food on disy. Rice, bread, curry, steak, omelet, fried chicken, chicken soup, marmite, and so on. One of them didn''t seem that edible but oh well.


    The prices were okay: a bit expensive but okay.


    "Rice, fried chicken, and marmite on bread please." Marmite never seemed edible to me, and yet I found myself craving it out of the sheer cold. Was I going out ofmission or something?


    ''I might be turning more evil than I thought.''


    "¡­" the guy behind the counter silently handed me a tray full of stuff I ordered. Apparently, I wouldn''t have to pay until I finish all these.


    ''Did I perhaps order too much? Do I even have the money to order?''


    And then the realization dawned upon me¡­ ''Did I bring my wallet when I came out to¡­?''


    It was almost as though my fever was making a strikingeback. And yet, my blood had gone cold.


    Thoughts ran across my mind like electricity. Wait, signals were electric, to begin with. ''How the hell am I going to pay?''


    "Next!" The guy behind the counter was signaling me to get out of the way, but honestly, I felt more than just weird.


    ''Get yourself together. Think of something!''


    With almost tears in my eyes, I surveyed the whole room, until I located an empty bench.


    As I went for my seat I searched the whole room for known faces: there were none.


    I sat down, dazed.


    I shoved rice and chicken in my mouth.


    ''I''m so going to die today.''


    There was no doubt about it.

 Chapter 61 - A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed? Who Comes Up With These?

    I had a stupidlyrge portion to eat. And since I ordered all this stuff I just chugged it all down. Even the marmite covered bread.


    This actually didn''t taste that bad.


    When I was finished, I felt sick, but at least I was finished.


    I took at least three times more time to finish. And yet, there wasn''t a single known soul in here. Known to me that is. I''d hoped that if I spent enough time chewing on my food, sooner orter someone will show and save me. Just how na?ve was I? And I didn''t have any way to contact anyone either.


    It was safe to say, I screwed up big time.


    I guess peopleing to your rescues in the most desperate times only happened in the fairytales. With a sigh and heavy heart, I picked up the empty tray and walked towards the second counter. Apparently, they had separate counters for handing over food and billing.


    ''Here goes nothing.''


    "That''ll be fifty coppers." The guy behind the counter was being very generous. And his smile was very user-friendly. His voice was calm and quiet.


    By my calctions, it should have been 49.95, but oh well. I didn''t have money anyway. "I kind of forgot my wallet. Can I just go and get it?" It took a lot of courage to say it. And only after saying it, did I realize how dumb it sounded.


    His smile warped into something inhumane and his voice got amplified at least tenfold. "HUH? THE hell you spouting brat!" His hair spiked up and his skin and hair turned red. This guy had issues.


    I was in the wrong here, so I couldn''t argue.


    Of course, I was getting a lot of attention from the crowd behind me too. But that wasn''t a concern at the moment.


    "Is something wrong?" A chef walked into the counter from the kitchen. The kitchen was directly behind the counter.


    Some of the other staff were eyeballing me too.


    "Can you believe sis, this moron thinks we''re all fools!" It was like someone had turned up the guy''s volume to max.


    Honestly, I didn''t know whether to feel offended or dumbfounded.


    "You seem more sensible, would you mind hearing me out?" I addressed the chef behind the counter.


    "I have to get back, so hurry." She was awfully chill and looked kind of familiar.


    "I can''t pay. This morning I was at the nurse''s office. And I took the practical ss after I got out from there. I kind of forgot my wallet at the dorm, so I don''t think I can pay without it." I tried to be honest. I knew they wouldn''t let me go that easily but it didn''t hurt to try. Okay, maybe a little.


    "You could have paid with your Holo! Do you think we''re fools!" The loud guy was being loud and annoying. Well, I guess that was his job.


    "Fool? Oh no, I don''t think you''re a fool. I just think you''re blind." I shed a grin and showed off both of my arms. "Do you see any Holo here?"


    The guy was confused for a second as though he couldn''t understand me. Something clicked in his brain a minuteter and then he just red. I got the impression he''d have started to beat me senseless if there were fewer customers.


    "Your room number? We can ask your roommate to bring your wallet." At least the chef was sensible.


    "402."


    She was about to use her holo but she stopped and looked at me. "YOU mean Merin Astoroio is your roommate?" The way she chose her words almost made me cautious.


    ''You didn''t do anything stupid in this cafeteria, did you Merin?''


    I debated me admitting it and then I realized it was just futile to deny. "Yeah."


    "Okay, you can go now. Bring the money before evening." The girl went back to the kitchen.


    ''Eh? Just like that?''


    "But sis!" The guy behind the counter wasn''t convinced and still red at me but he didn''t say anything else.


    If I wasn''t confused before, I sure was now.


    ''What the hell just happened?''


    ***


    "Oh, that was probably my sister, Samantha."


    "Sister? Your sister works there?"


    "Yup!" Merin shed a big grin. "We haven''t talked in a month though. She''s mad at me for some reason but she never tells me."


    I was back at the Dorm. As expected my wallet was sitting pretty at the table.


    "I assume that''s why you don''t go to the cafeteria?"


    Merin still smiled but he didn''t say anything.


    It was past noon and I was stuffed. I didn''t need to take any medicine at noon, so I just lied down on the bed.


    There was this awkward silence between us.


    "By the way, there was a guy at the counter who called your sister, sis. So, is-"


    "Most of the workers call her sis. She''s pretty popr. Don''t worry about it. She''s the only one of my family who''s here."


    My idea of ending the awkward silence ended right there.


    "Did she work here from the start or did she move here because of you?"


    "She moved herest year. But we always had a terrible rtionship, so I don''t think she moved here because of me."


    I didn''t know why but that just felt sad.


    The silence was loud.


    ***


    My rest was over, so I headed for the cafeteria. This time, I made sure I still had my wallet.


    I felt a lot better. My nose had cleared up a lot too.


    The sun was in the western hemisphere. It was barely afternoon. I still had some time before the deadline. Though I didn''t really feel all that pressured anymore.


    There were a lot more students at the far left corner of the field today. It almost felt like they were circling something.


    ''Trouble?''


    I turned my head in the opposite direction and walked fast.


    I did not want to be involved, no sir!


    ***


    "Took you long enough." The guy snatched the money like it was his long-lost treasure or something. "You''re missing a little bit of copper?"


    I was back at the cafeteria and actually, there were a lot fewer people right now.


    I guess he was referring to me paying 49.95 instead of 50 coppers. "I don''t know what you''re talking about. Or did you forget to count too?"


    "You little shi-"


    "Brom, we don''t talk to our customers that way." Merin''s sister poked her head out and educated the guy. She really was sensible.


    She was actually in normal clothes now. I guess her shift was over.


    "Thank you." I offered my gratitude and I was done here.


    "If you''re not in a hurry, would you mind chatting with me for a minute? I''m done and-"


    "Yeah, sure." She did help me a lot, after all.


    ''Was she waiting for me?''


    She came out of the counter with a te full of cupcakes. "Let''s go sit over there."


    As much as I loved free food, I definitely didn''t want to eat. For thest hour or so, I felt more bloated than usual. I should have never eaten so much food for lunch.


    ***


    "Thank you for defending Merin." That was the first thing she said to me as we both took our seats.


    This wasn''t something I was expecting. Merin said stuff like their rtionship was bad and all but I got the impression that his sister cared about him. Maybe I was just assuming things.


    "I kind of got him into that situation, so I had to bail him out of it." Of course, it wouldn''t have happened if I hadn''t butted in.


    Honestly, though, I didn''t regret it.


    "Really? How so?"


    "Well-" I exined to her, how things happened.


    "I''m surprised. I never expected that coward to just run up to to a Battlesuin and try to take back his friend." She smiled. "I''m d you were with him."


    "I was kind of surprised too, honestly. When I heard that the guy was about to be killed, I rushed to him. I really didn''t think he''d have done something like that."


    She was relieved. "I''m really d." She sighed. "Well, what''s wrong? Not to your liking?"


    I actually hadn''t even touched the cakes. "I''m actually a bit feverish and I kind of ate too much this noon."


    "I see." I''ll be right back. She stood up, went straight to the counter, and brought one ss. The ss had some sort of translucent fluid. "Drink this."


    From the looks of it, it was probably lemonade with a pink hue to it, and floating ck seeds? And after taking a sip, I could confirm: it really was lemonade. But there was dragon fruit in it: dragonnade? It was pretty good. The tartness and the sweetness were both what I wanted and then there was the added aftertaste of salt. It alleviated the uneasiness in my stomach but I still didn''t want to eat anything.


    "Thank you for the drink. Do you live around here or do you go back home every day?"


    "My home is pretty far you know." She giggled. "I live in the residential area."


    I actually didn''t know much about this academy. "Oh, you mean the other side?" I was basically winging it. Was there even the other side to begin with?


    "Yeah. You haven''t been there yet? Tell you what, how about next summer vacation youe over with Merin and let''s all have fun at the beach?"


    I didn''t know why but I was d there was an other side.


    That actually didn''t sound that bad though. I now had two choices, either spend the entire summer with my weird family in gramma''s house along with my weird cousins or live the life with Merin and his beautiful sister at the beach? Honestly, I really preferred thetter, but I knew mom, would have killed me if I agreed now. "Thanks, I''ll try to convince my mom."


    But then again mom would kill me anyway.


    She smiled. I guess she could understand.


    I stood up. My time was up. Now that I felt better, I had to head to the club. Yesterday I''d blitzed out, but I had to show up today whether I liked it or not.


    "Thank you as well." She was still seated and just smiled.


    I felt better.


    I didn''t know why but she treated me rather nicely. And from the looks of it, she really was a nice person. So howe Merin''s rtionship with her was so bad?


    I actually didn''t have the guts to ask.

 Chapter 62 - Keeping Appearances

    Ever since that duel, the leader of the prefects, Rose had been busy. Things on campus had been hectic ever since. Students became rowdier and rowdier, not giving a damn about the rules. And this morning she even received a notice about how a transfer student almost attacked a student inside the dorms.


    Of course, the student who got attacked only filed in the report just a few minutes ago. So it probably wasn''t that serious.


    ''Isn''t it usually the other way?''


    She was a bit confused and this just added more work to her already packed schedule. She didn''t know which student was attacked but she pitied the poor soul.


    It was a bit past noon. She didn''t have the chance to shower yet. She was busy with paperwork- was probably an understatement.


    Last year when she''d transferred here, she knew things were wild for the first few days and that''s why she took extra precaution this year. All that caution still went down the drain though because of a certain someone. And that certain someone was still creating trouble for her.


    ''What is he, a trouble ma?''


    She sighed and went to the mirror. She had an important meeting after this. So she had to at least look the part.


    Usually, her golden hair was always left to flow freely. She never bothered with her hair, but now that she took a closer look. ''When did it get so long?''


    It only showed, how little attention she gave her own body. With another sigh she braided her hair and made a smallb. Hair was one thing she didn''t want to worry about.


    ''Should I use eyeliners?''


    She never needed to. Her big luscious eyebrows always did the trick for her. She disliked makeup too as it took a lot of time and effort: neither, she could waste.


    In the end, her life was also just full of sighs.


    It took her ten minutes to prepare and after she was done, she left the room. This was probably the first time in this year, she took so much time to prepare Outside, two of the prefects waited for her. It was mandatory for at least one prefect to be with her at all times.


    The prefects of the Demigrace Academy were viewed with high regard by most. But there were always people who were unsatisfied. And it wasn''t umon to get attacked by students every now and then. So it wasn''t that surprising.


    ''Why isn''t anybody saying anything?''


    Needless to say, after wasting ten minutes on her hair and looks, she at least wanted a bit of a mention from people around her. But everybody just treated her the same: same old, same old.


    Though she wasn''t concerned about looks all that much, she did want her efforts to at least be recognized.


    ***


    A room with a ridiculouslyrge ss window. Outside,rge fields stretched out as far as the vision went. Mostly just empty fields withrge apple trees scattered throughout.


    Orange light peered through the window, illuminating the insides.


    A man threw a disposable Holo picture on the table with a thud.


    There were only two people in the room. One man, one girl. It was almost as though the world was cut off from this ce. Everything felt ck and white, at least for the girl.


    "Seduce him." The man said, pointing at the boy in the picture. "We need his genes." It wasn''t a request or a suggestion, it was an order.


    An order the girl couldn''t escape from. "Yes, father." The girl''s voice shook. Her breath shivered. Her fire had died out and there was nothing but cinders remaining.


    The man shed a smile: a vulgar smile. To him, everything was just a means to earning more fame and money, even his family.


    The girl clenched her fingers and formed a fist, but she didn''t let any anger show. ''So this is what it felt like for you?'' She finally understood the pain of her sisters, though she didn''t want to.


    "You may leave."


    Just outside, the girl fumed. There were sparks around her. An order from that man meant everything in this house and she knew that.


    Her eyes shimmered but they didn''t leak. Her fiery red hair floated midair but the sparks never caught onto anything. She was calm, too calm. If she wasn''t calm, this whole building would have burned down, like that farmhouse, seven years ago.


    ''Krystal¡­ sis¡­''


    Yet, she couldn''t do anything about her fate. She was powerless, hopeless.


    ***


    Blood dripped on the grass. The sun was about to set. People were everywhere, watching, as two girls were fighting to the death: more like one was killing the other.


    "I held back your punishment till now since I assumed he''d do something." The girl began. Her snow-white hair was actually even whiter today. Her eyes burning bright red. "But, it would seem he is content in just reporting you." She smiled. But her usual nonchnt attitude was nowhere to be found. It was almost as though, she was mad? But did she really possess that emotion? She herself was surprised as much as anyone else. "Therefore, I shall carry out your sentence."


    "How nice of you." the girl in the receiving end smiled bitterly. Her bnce was all over the ce. Her legs shook and she didn''t have the energy to even stand up straight. And yet, she refused to fall on her knees. "But you should know, I''m immortal." It was more of a bluff than anything else.


    Both girls were teenage in appearance but perhaps the girl on the receiving end looked more mature.


    The girl with the snow-white hair- Hyorin Battlesuin,ughed hysterically. It was rare for her to raise her voice to this extent. Very rare indeed. "Immortal? You? A lesser breed? Do you even have the slightest clue girl, what immortality even is?"


    "What do you?" The girl- Aurora Hleilis paused. It was odd. Now that she thought about it, this girl, this Battlesuin girl was running around in broad daylight like it was no problem and her moves were inhuman and so was her speed. She couldn''t have been a true vampire, or perhaps¡­ something worse?"White hair¡­ red eyes¡­. Baltesuin. You''re not the primordial-"


    "If lessers were really immortal, then the world would have been filled with them." Hyorin smiled. Her earlier emotions were nowhere to be found. "Now then." She raised one arm and closed in on the distance in an instance. She went past Leilis.


    It took Leilis three seconds to realize she was now missing something. ''An arm?'' Her arm wasn''t attached anymore. It was slithering on the floor. She grimaced and grabbed her shoulder, a knee on the floor.


    But an arm was a little price to pay considering the enemy she''d faced. If it weren''t for her superhuman survival instincts, it would have been her head.


    ''It''s not healing¡­.'' As pain shot through her arm, she bit her lips with distraught. Since when was thest time she felt pain like this?


    On that day forty years ago? No, that was worse. This was nothingpared to that.


    "What is going on here?" A new voice resounded.


    The crowd here was awfully quiet but one girl spoke up: everyone was so afraid that they forgot to even whisper.


    Two girls came to the center. "And I thought it was my stupid brother." The girl sighed and turned to the other girl. "Let''s go to the club I guess. I sure hope mom didn''t find him first."


    Leilis felt a strange familiarity with the girl. Had she met her before? No, she could never forget a face. But her concern was something else. The Battlesuin. She turned around but, the Battlesuin''s, Hyorin''s attention was on the new girl. She disappeared and before Leilis could turn her head. She saw the Battelsuin girl right next to the new girl.


    So fast. Was that even achievable with speed alone? If she was breaking through the sound barrier shouldn''t there have been booms? Why was she so quiet? How could she be?


    A lot of questions went through Leili''s mind, but she chose to focus on something else instead.


    Hyorin touched the girl''s cheeks like she was stroking a wild cat: almost as if she was taking extra steps so she wasn''t scaring her. "You there girl, what is your rtionship with Helio?" The question came out of nowhere. It was almost as she felt something in that new girl.


    Just the sheer mention of the name made the girl squint. "I could ask the same to you." Though her tone wasn''t hostile, she wasn''t very fond of this girl either.


    "M-mydy." The girl next to the new girl bowed on her knees.


    But Hyorin didn''t even give her a nce. "Hmm." She grabbed a cluster of the new girl''s hair and sniffed it.


    The girl quickly backstepped. "Are you crazy?" Water floated around in the air.


    "The smell isn''t quite simr¡­. Half?" Though Hyorin was skeptical of something she didn''t make a scene and just smiled. "Now for the unfinished business." She turned around and Leilis was gone, so was the severed arm. "I suppose that is¡­ a shame."


    ***


    Meanwhile, beneath a tree far away, Leilis caught her breath.


    ''She was a primordial? Wasn''t those things supposed to be extinct!?''


    She was very shaken. ''And wasn''t that teleportation?'' Her teeth ttered. ''And those nails¡­'' She still remembered the sensation of being cut. Her regeneration was slow and almost like when she was human. ''That monster¡­. Could it be?''


    Primordial vampires were the originator of the vampires. In the past, there were only three. From these three came the true vampires and in time, vampires regressed and lesser vampires were born as the servants of the true vampires. But all three primordials were supposed to be dead and the true ones were nearly extinct as well, so who was this girl?


    "But I''ve to snitch this up first." She couldn''t lose an arm. Not while she knew she was going to die without it. Vampires were supposed to be immortal but they weren''t unkible. If this wasn''t near evening, she wouldn''t have been able to get out of the shade in the first ce.


    And she knew something big was about to happen pretty soon. She couldn''t afford to be weakened. After all, to her, her life was greater than everything in this world.


    "Maybe I can help with that."


    A young voice walked towards her. The voice belonged to a girl, but the body looked like that of a boy''s.


    Leilis was skeptical but she didn''t let it show. "I''m listening."

 Chapter 63 - What Do You Mean, It’s Immeasurable!

    The wooden floor was beneath me. I was looking down and there was a woman in front of me. The most powerful woman in my life: mom.


    The room itself was full of people and I felt more than just embarrassed and yet, it just had to be like this.


    "Now-" Her voice was calm. The sses in the room were shaking. Something very bad was about to happen. "Do you mind exining yourself?"


    It was awfully quiet. Too quiet. The people around us looked at us but everyone was just expressionless. There were actually a lot fewer members present today than yesterday, which was a good thing I guess.


    "Um¡­ I can-" I can exin, I wanted to say, but my mouth stopped on its own.


    Mom fumed. She didn''t say anything but I could hear her breath. She was furious. "Don''t I pay you enough allowance?" Her words had a sharp tang to them.


    "I mean-"


    "And yet here you are, still applying for this club just for the sake of onepetition."


    ''Huh? So she isn''t lecturing me about the food habits?''


    There was another reason for me not taking a liking to sabers and that was mom. She''d given me a strict lecture of how I should have just focused on studies just two days before my departure: she didn''t want me to learn fighting. Unfortunately didn''t know that I already knew that stuff from a long while ago.


    Of course, I tried to keep that promise but, eventually, greed kicked in. And of course, I never ever told her about me joining the club and I got the impression she just assumed I received a pair of sabers for free. I might or might not have shaded it out that way.


    Basically, I brought my own downfall.


    "Think about it. If I can perform well," I stopped.


    A ss broke in the furthest corner of the room.


    ''If she''s this mad about thepletion, then¡­. What will happen if she learns, I''m surviving on chocte milk and bread?''


    Honestly, I did not dare to think about it.


    I took a deep breath. If I ran from mother like this all the time, then I''d never grow up and she''d never understood what I wanted. "I want to do this." I looked up and met her gaze. "I want to join this club."


    She crossed her arms looked at me, utterly condescendingly. "Is that so?"


    Another ss broke. I instinctively shrank a little. "Ye-yes."


    A lot of the crowd was literally busy taking cover from the ss shards.


    And another ss broke. Everyone was still quiet even now.


    "Pack your things. We''re going back." She was serious. She wasn''t messing around.


    I was also serious. "No." I knew I couldn''t and shouldn''t have disagreed with her. But I had to do this, no I wanted to this. "I know how hard you work for my sake. But mom, I''m not going to be a kid forever. Let me make my own choices for once please."


    Mom was listening carefully, eyes closed. She didn''t say anything, nothing at all.


    She sighed. She walked closer to the door. Actually, now that I looked behind me, there were two girls standing right next to the door. Oops, make it three.


    "Oh and Helio?" Mom''s attitude changed drastically, her voice was awfully cold, almost enough to give me a shiver.


    "Yes?"


    "What did you eat yesterday?"


    The ground beneath me shook. I was screwed and I knew it.


    There was no mistaking it, she knew.


    ''Heh?!"


    And here I thought I''d won the argument. I couldn''t even formte a smile let alone an answer to convince her.


    "Well," she grabbed the hands of one of the girls. "We''ll be waiting in your room. Arguing here seems to be a bad thing for our family name." She sighed again. "Congrattions for getting in." She left. She left with the girl: Elsa.


    ''You''re worried about the reputation of your weird family?''


    I felt relieved and almost fell. I felt faint.


    This was probably my first time arguing with mom. I won, and yet, ''Why does it feel so bad?''


    Judging from mom''s reaction I could assume she was going to let me do this, but she didn''t like this, and that much I could understand, no problem.


    One of the three girls stayed behind. She grinned as nonchntly as ever and walked towards the other side.


    With a breath, I picked myself up. I couldn''t let all my thoughts be clouded. ''I already decided this¡­ I''ll have to see it through.''


    But it did feel weird to disobey mom like that. And not to mention, I never thought she''d actually agree. I was afraid she was going to p me and drag me back home, but I guess I avoided that reality for now.


    "Alright." I made a fist. This was serious and I had to take it seriously.


    "Well, that was something." Amie came forward from the bunch.


    As usual I didn''t see the captain and most of the seniors. Eve and Selene weren''t here either. Only one transfer student was here, that Battlesuin girl. ''Rin, was it?'' But then there was the question, what was she doing with Elsa?


    But more importantly, I was really d there weren''t as many people here as yesterday.


    "Yeah. But now she won''t stop me from fighting." I most certainly hoped so.


    But she sure was going to throw a tantrum when I''d get back. My eating habits were mom''s top priority. She always made me go through a strict diet. And maybe that''s why when I got free, I didn''t go near that diet and just ate what I liked: namely, chocte milk and bread.


    Sighing wasn''t going to get me anywhere. "Anyway, this is basically like the first day for me. I don''t know anything about the club rules or what I''m supposed to do. I need a sword and I want to know more about the neer''spetition."


    "Whoa, whoa, calm down." Amie chuckled. "One at a time please."


    "I don''t really have that much time though." But I really wanted to take my sweet time with this, since I didn''t want to go back to my room anytime soon.


    "Okay so, why don''t we move to thepatibility chamber and get your ratings? We can talk as we go through the process."


    "Sure, lead the way." I kind of wanted to get out of here anyway. Just moments ago mom and I made a lot of drama in here. I wanted to run away yesterday, but the sheer reason of seeing this thing through kept me here.


    "Come."


    I followed Amie to the second floor. The whole building was made of wood: very thick wood that is. The building was three stories but it looked sturdier than an actual brick building. Not to mention definitely a lot more fashionable.


    "We had Ariel made this building for us. I trust you already know her from your palm adventures?"


    ''Palm adventures!?''


    "How do you know that." this whole thing felt weird if nothing else. "So she''s a member here?"


    "Not really. Just a friend. And Eve had taken a picture of you hitting face first on a palm tree. We have an entire novel series of you and your palm adventures. It''s actually pretty well written."


    "Hey, that''s copyright infringement!"


    And since when did I have my very own novel?


    Amie giggled. "The club doesn''t have many rules. As long as you don''t fight without permission and respect your seniors, it''s all good." Amie walked on ahead. She didn''t even bother giving me an honest answer. "Anyway, the neer''spetition will begin by the end of this month. The prelims will start from next week."


    "You mean, it starts in two days." I was salty if nothing else. I had my own novel and I didn''t even know what it was about.


    "Precisely." She winked. "This is entirely an interschoolpetition so the prizes are modest, but if you do well here, your seat in the Grand World Saber Tournament- GWST: might not be a dream you know."


    ''Whoes up with these names! And how the hell did you pronounce that!''


    "I thought first years never make it." The grand tournament or whatever was a very special tournament held near the end of the year. And ording to the rumors I heard only third years were chosen. And if the chosen student makes it to one of the top three spots, the headmaster grants them one wish. I didn''t know how much of it was credible but it seemed fair enough.


    It wasn''t a ce for the first years.


    "Actually most of the ces are always taken by third years. Butst year both Dan and ze had gone to the nationals of their respective countries. Of course, they weren''t students of this school at the time. They only transferred this year. And I assure you they wouldn''t have cut it if they were here. Neither of them made it to the international tournament but-"


    "But you''re saying, I have a shot?"


    "We''re here. Let''s get in." She smiled and didn''t even bother answering.


    It was kind of annoying.


    I didn''t know what she was getting to, but at this point,ining would have got me nowhere, so I just rolled with it.


    ***


    A small room with nothing but a table and a scabbard, both wooden. There wasn''t even a window. The only light source was the fruit bulb on top of the wooden ceiling.


    It gave me d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    "What am I supposed to do now?"


    Amie went to the corner of the room and touched the wall. A control panel of some sorts popped up and so it a holo monitor.


    "What the hell?"


    "Oh, did I forgot to mention this building is also wired rather nicely?" She winked again.


    ''YES!!! You did!''


    I calmed my nerves. ''This ce won''t burn down in case of a short, would it?''


    I erased the question from my mind.


    "So what do I do?"


    "Pick up the scabbard and give it a swing. Theputer would record yourpatibility and what sword would be best for you. Don''t worry, the club will cover all the expenses."


    A smile crept upon my lips. If I didn''t need to pay, I didn''t need to worry about anything.


    I picked up the scabbard and gave it a shake. It was weird swinging something like this.


    "Hey, nothing''s happening." I kept on swinging it but I felt nothing.


    I looked back at Amie.


    She was pale and sweating a lot. "Immeasurable." She looked at me with utter horror. "You''re immeasurable!"

 Chapter 64 - Keeping Appearances Part 2

    ''My son finally rebelled against me?''


    A woman walked down the streets of the academy, with her daughter in toe.


    "Mom, why do you look happy?" The daughter asked very calctedly.


    There was another girl following them around- Marg.


    "Wh-What do you mean?" Her mother stuttered. "I''m just too mad!"


    ''Yeah, no matter how I see it, you look happy.'' Of course, the little girl- Elsa didn''t say it out loud.


    With a sigh, Elsa just kept on walking.


    Marg didn''t say a word. To her, all of this was a luxury. She never experienced the joy of a family and in her family rebelling meant death. So this really was a luxury.


    And yet, she couldn''t help but be a little jealous.


    The woman however concealed her emotions. Though she appeared to be mad outside, she was gushing with excitement inside. At least she thought she was concealing them, but no matter how hard she tried, her emotions leaked nevertheless.


    ''My son has finally grown up!''


    Needless to say, she might have been a bit too excited.


    ***


    "Now, I''d like to address these three first-year students." A prefect turned on the Holo monitor.


    There were at least thirteen other people present in the room, along with the leader- Rose.


    "All three of them have special powers. But I think only one is causing trouble."


    There was a hierarchy among the prefects. The top three were Rose, the vice leader- Danial, and the secretary- Raea.


    And among the three, Danial was the most notorious for taking controversial actions. Raea however liked to maintain a perfect image of herself amongst all.


    "How about we expel him?" Danial suggested.


    "We cannot do that. At least not until the headmaster says so," Rose rejected the idea upfront.


    Rose never liked Danial but she made sure to not leak a single drop of irritation. She was the leader and she couldn''t afford to show such weakness.


    "How about you leave him to me? I''ll be sure to make him understand." Raea brushed her fingertips and smiled. Her hair floated like butterflies. It was like an intricate piece of art, initially green in color but gradually changing to orange and pure red near the edges. She had rtively shorter hairpared to Rose, but everyone in the academy regarded her as the most beautiful, at least among the prefects. "I think I can manage him." She winked.


    Some of the male prefects were visibly fawning over Raea.


    Rose sighed. "It would be better for everyone if he doesn''t get corrupted by you."


    "What is that supposed to mean?" Raea red. The air in the room suddenly got heavier.


    "Exactly what I said. How many first years did you break already?" Rose red back. "Not to mention you even slept with most of the seniors."


    Raea clicked her tongue and just looked out the window, focusing on nothing. "What would you know, virgin." Her voice was like sharp des.


    "Ah yes, our lovelydies arguing over crap. Just perfect." Danial chuckled and ignited the fumes some more. He put both of his legs on the table. This was more like a game to him.


    It always went like this. Though the meeting consisted of fourteen people, these three were the only ones who argued like this. And because of this, they never got the job done. Thismittee was new and they already held three meetings in this short span of one week and all three ended like this.


    Rose wanted to make the academy a better ce, but if things kept up like this, she wasn''t going to be able to do anything. ''Maybe I should have just listened to Lady Sylvia."


    "Then how about." A voice spoke from the corner. He was sleepy. Actually, he was asleep this whole time and just woke up. His head still rested on the table, eyes closed. "We just leave him alone. This academy preaches freedom after all. And if we just keep on making more and more rules the students will get fed up. Besides-" His eyes opened wide, not a trace of fatigue. "This new kid might actually be the strongest from his generation."


    Danial broke intoughter. "Sorry to break it to you Mike, but I think Angelmen is the best his generation has to offer, but I do agree with your point. We don''t have the geezer''s permission to expel anyone: making rules just sounds cumbersome. And we can''t give him detention for no reason at all. So for now, leaving him alone would be best. After all, why should we poke the ho''s nest for no reason?"


    Raea started giggling. "You..." Her giggling intensified. "You of all people." She kept on giggling until tears streamed. She caught her breath and calmed down a little. "Never expected you to say that."


    Danial didn''t say anything. He just sat there, looking all pretty. This was rare, very rare in fact.


    ''Looks like we at least have a decision made.'' Rose felt a bit relieved. "Alright, to the next topic then." She nodded at the prefect controlling the Holo.


    "The prelims would start from next week. And the headmaster would be away for two weeks due to his usual routine. Meanwhile,dy Sylvia would take over as the temporary headmaster and she personally ordered us to be more vignt."


    All of the prefects exchanged nces.


    Every year the headmaster left the academy for two weeks. No one knew why. But these two weeks were the perfect opportunity to attack this academy, while the strongest man was away.


    Meaning, this was a serious matter.


    However, one of them, Danial to be specific had something else on his mind. ''Now that all the drama''s over. Prepare for your doom Romswell. I''ll ruin you before you even¡­." A vulgar smile shrouded his face.


    The other prefects could guess his motives, but everyone just ignored him.


    The reason?


    He was too weak and he didn''t even know it.


    ***


    Meanwhile, a storm was going through the clubhouse of the lightsaber club.


    "What do you mean he''s immeasurable! Have you rechecked! Did you confirm if it''s an equipment failure!" The captain was back and he was very excited, there was no doubt about it.


    "Yes, I did recheck, and I checked the equipment too¡­ it''s all good." Amie''s voice was low and she couldn''t really think. This was a nightmare. "We can''t measure the depth."


    It was a small room but there were a lot of people in here. And in the middle of all these people, one boy just stood there, looking all dumbfounded and blunt.


    ''What the hell is wrong with these people.'' He thought.


    Everyone started to gossip among themselves.


    "So doesn''t that mean he can use all sabers?"


    "Don''t be ridiculous. It could mean he can''t use any of them!"


    "It''s possible he can use the newest model S too!"


    There were a lot of thoughts floating around.


    "Umm, people!" The bored boy in the center raised his hands, still looking blunt. "Can we move on? I don''t have all day you know."


    The sun had set only minutes ago but the clubhouse was pretty lively if nothing else.


    He hadn''t sneezed in thest couple of hours but as the temperature came down, his fever started to rise again. He needed rest and he needed it fast.


    The captain cleared his throat and the chatter quieted down.


    There were a lot of other members peeking through the door. The hallway was full.


    "How about you take a hike with me tomorrow to the district club." The captain stood right in front of the bored boy- Helio.


    "What''s a district club?"


    "It''s one of the subsidiaries of the International Lightsaber Federation. Normally the federation only has subsidiaries inrge cities but since our school is so popr, they opened onest year in the city."


    ''Wait, this ind has a city?''


    Helio already knew that this ind had at least something on the other side, but a full city? That was just ludicrous, at least to him.


    Helio cleared his throat. "I don''t know. I mean if I''m still alive-" He stopped. He''d almost forgotten about how he was about to be tormented by his motherter on, but his subconscious had not. "How about I tell you tomorrow. It''s our day off anyway. So the curfew probably doesn''t apply right?" He tried to calm himself down. ''And hopefully, I can use my cold as an excuse.''


    "Well, technically the curfew still applies but tomorrow it starts from 12 AM instead. Anyway, contact me before 2 pm and we''ll head to the district in the afternoon. Sounds good?"


    "Yeah sure. But what for? What is going on here?"


    "Our machine here isn''t equipped to measure powers like yours. Of course, we''ve seen this before and the district clubhouse has better machines. Moreover, we can give our order at the same time." The captain shed a smile. "So, more efficient."


    Though the captain knew about immeasurable members from past experience, he also knew, aplete nk wasn''t a good sign. ''This guy might just be even more of a prodigy than I thought!'' Of course, he didn''t say it out loud.


    "Sounds good enough to me." Helio looked back and the crowd still looked at him, blinking in unison. He sighed. "Do you mind doing something about that? I want to leave."


    The captain red back and the whole crowd parted. The hallway was already packed but now that the members tried to make room for Helio, some were pressing against the wooden wall a bit more than necessary. It wasn''t easy.


    Helio sighed again and headed out, oozing through the crowd.


    But one girl followed him.


    The moment the two got out of the club building, Helio just stood there, not ncing back. "What do you want?"


    He was getting a very bad case of Deja vu.


    "You were marvelous." The girl replied, almost stars in her eyes.

 Chapter 65 - This Day Just Keeps On Getting Better And Better

    This whole idea of measuring mypatibility for the sword was jarring. The more time went by, the sicker I felt. And here I thought, the fever was gone.


    It most certainly wasn''t.


    And trouble didn''t seem to leave me alone either. As I came out of the clubhouse, a girl followed me: a very troublesome girl. I had a bad feeling about this. "What do you want?" My voice came out a bit more hostile than I intended.


    "You were marvelous." The girl''s words dripped with admiration and a bit of something else.


    I had to turn back and when I did, I saw her expression. There was no one around and maybe that''s why she was looking at me like that. Her usual careless smile was nowhere to be found and instead, it was reced with an awestruck one.


    It was almost as though she was fawning over me.


    Was she?


    "Th-Thank you. I''m gettingte so-" I really wanted to get out of here, there was no doubt in my mind.


    "Do you have a girlfriend?"


    The question kind of caught me off-guard but I maintained myposure.


    "No, and I don''t want one." I already had enough trouble as it was. I didn''t need more things to worry about.


    "That''s too bad. But you slept with that vampire thing¡­." Her eyes drooped a little. Was she pretending to be sad? If so, it sure wasn''t working.


    The girl in front of me was a transfer student. She came to the clubhouse with Elsa and I could tell she was aiming for me. It was probably revenge for shaming her family. She was going to y games with me and try to get my guard down. But I was definitely prepared.


    "Rin, was it? I don''t know where you learned about that but I can assure you, nothing happened. And-"


    "Really!" The girl disappeared and reappeared right before my eyes, barely touching my chest. She was fast, too fast, and very close.


    ''That wasn''t just speed¡­''


    My breathing increased but I controlled myself. "You can warp." My voice came out cold.


    Warping was an inferior version of teleportation, but it was definitely more effective in closebat. Meaning, she had the edge if we started fighting.


    She smiled. "For short distances yes¡­ but." She paused and ced a hand on my chest. "I''m d you''re still pure." She licked her lips in a very misleading way.


    I whacked her off of me. "What are you saying?"


    And more importantly, how''d she know, I was a virgin?


    Were my secrets even safe anymore?


    "Ah, excuse my manners." Sheposed herself and put up her usual smile.


    Now that I saw her more than enough times, I could tell, that smile was just a front. This girl was definitely bad news: a bit sexy, but definitely bad news.


    She started to walk in the opposite direction. "That''s enough for today. You should head back. Your mother seemed very eager to meet you in your room. She seemed rather happy too."


    ''What part of that was happiness?''


    I sighed and just walked. "Yeah, I''ve to go back." And I had to distance myself from this girl.


    "But perhaps." The girl was about to say something but as we both kept on walking, I never heard the rest.


    ***


    On my way to the dorm, I attracted attention as usual, but strangely I got a lot more res than before: especially from the girls. Usually, they mostly fawned over me, but what happened today?


    ''Someone didn''t film that squabble, did they?''


    I didn''t know why, but the possibility did seem very likely. This academy was weird and whether I liked it or not, it was getting on my nerves.


    I didn''t pay attention and walked on. It wasn''t worth it.


    Something did bother me though.


    Real teleportation was rare and very dangerous. But warping wasn''t. The power itself was still very formidable, but its applications were limited to closebat and perhaps surprising one''s enemies. And since the world was rtively at peace, it didn''t have much use in the real world, apart from sports.


    I didn''t know why but I still couldn''t help but be wary of that Battlesuin girl. No matter how I saw it, she smelled nothing but trouble to me. The very beautiful, good-smelling kind of trouble that is.


    She was cunning, well mannered, definitely trouble, and yet, why the hell did I feel attracted to her?


    Honestly, at this point, I couldn''t really believe in my own tastes.


    "Whoa!" I almost whacked my head on a palm tree.


    If my subconscious hadn''t kicked in at the veryst second, I''d have crashed.


    Actually, it would have been if I had crashed. At least then I wouldn''t think about that girl of all things.


    "Hey, what''cha doing?"


    Selene was behind me, jogging.


    "Saving my life, what else?"


    She chuckled and stopped. "I heard you had a fight with your mom."


    "It wasn''t a fight." I most sure hope it wasn''t.


    ''So it really did spread around.''


    The sheer stupidity of this academy was making me more than enough frustrated.


    "I''m kind of jealous you know. I can''t have that."


    "You mean, you never have fights?"


    "No, I mean, I don''t have a mother to fight." She giggled.


    I didn''t know why she wasughing after saying something so grave, but I sure wasn''t going to ask.


    It went very dark very fast.


    "Oh, sorry to hear that."


    "Don''t worry, it was a long time ago." She stretched. "Haven''t climbed the pole in a long while. Tomorrow, I''ll be doing a live climb before midnight. Wannae?" She was also pretty good at changing the subject.


    "You just want me there as yournding spot, don''t you?" I chuckled.


    I wasn''t dumb. I knew she was trying to change the subject, so I just yed along.


    "You got me." She winked and started running. "If you can make it, doe."


    I was just joking around but I guess now I''d have to stay away. Even if she said it while joking, I sure didn''t want to get elbowed again.


    The rest of the walk was peaceful: res and stares from passersby, some random guy handing me letters. The usual.


    ''I haven''t actually opened the recent ones, have I?''


    ***


    I entered the dorm, or I would have if someone wasn''t standing in my way.


    "Can I help you?"


    There was a weirdo standing by the dorm entrance, with sunsses. The sun had set about half an hour ago, so he looked like nothing but a moron.


    "I''ve been waiting for you, Romswell." The man didn''t look at me. He was just staring at the distant skies.


    But he established one thing right away. He knew my family.


    Judging by the looks, he was some sort of a senior. "I don''t know what you''re talking about. So do you mind moving?"


    "ying dumb would get you nowhere, Romswell."


    There weren''t many students around us, but there were enough to start rumors.


    "What''s a Romwell? Something you eat?" I never took acting sses. But if agencies saw me they''d probably have run in circles to recruit me.


    Okay, maybe not.


    I don''t know why but the passersby found it funny and went on their way.


    It worked: kind of.


    The guy with the stupid sunsses clicked his tongue and red at me. This was the first time he looked at me this entire time. "I''ll give it to you straight, be my ve, or I''ll leak this information: it took me a lot of money to get this and I''d like to make the best use of it." He pointed at me and smirked. "Oh and I assure you, my info is very highly regarded by the school press. I''m one of the top three prefects too. So you''d do well under me." He was speaking like it was some sort of grand honor for me to be his ve.


    ''Is this clown serious?''


    I sighed. I didn''t know what this clown had in mind but he sure was getting on my nerves. This was one hellish day. I had a cold, I had to fight, I had to run around to get my wallet, and more importantly, I was about to be battered by mom.


    My sighs gave the guy a smile. He might have mistaken it for weakness. "Looks like you''ve made your mind."


    ''Too bad.''


    But he was right, I did make up my mind.


    I pointed my finger at him like a gun. "I''m pretty sure you''re aware of my powers, correct?


    If I used my fingers, then I could use gamma to pinpoint uracy. But the downside was, it was so little that I couldn''t use it in actualbat: it took too much time and the effects were negligible at best. But in this kind of situation? It was perfect.


    "What are you doing? I''m- I''m a prefect, you know!"


    "I don''t give a crap who you are, really."


    And without a doubt, I fired a thin stream of gamma directly at his precious.


    Gamma rays could prate clothing and even the human body. But I''d aimed it in a way that it definitely connected to the cells I wanted.


    It took him a second to register what I''d just done and not a second longer to grab his privates, falling to his knees. "What have you done!" His face had gone pale. He was shaking from the pain.


    This was too trivial for me to even take it remotely serious.


    "Are you sure you want to be near me, or perhaps leak anything? I assure you," I went closer to him. "I can make certain dysfunctions, permanent." Maybe it really was a good thing that I saw my cousins at work when I was with them.


    His face went paler and he just dragged himself away from me in an instant.


    "U-un-understood!''


    Actually, all I did was kill three or four hundred of his cells. It wasn''t much. Enough to feel like he got bit by one or two fire ants for a minute. And yet, this guy was scared shi*less.


    ''Is this clown, seriously a prefect?''


    I doubted it.


    "Do remember my words please." I waved and went into the dorm.


    I could see him nodding vigorously through my peripherals.


    ''Well, that''s one battle won.''


    But the war was still waiting in my room.


    Just the thought was enough to make my blood go cold.

 Chapter 66 - Tempest

    With every step, my blood became cooler and cooler. If it weren''t for the fever, I''d probably have started to shiver. Actually, I might have been shivering still.


    And before long, I reached the door of room 402. The familiar door and familiar walls.


    Sweat poured, heart raced.


    I did not want to be here.


    Knock!


    One minute went by.


    Knock!


    Another minute went by.


    Something felt off.


    So I kept on knocking.


    ''Is this locked from the outside?''


    I used my keys and I was right. It was locked from the outside. I hadn''t noticed it before.


    I felt stupid but also relieved.


    There was no one inside. Not mom, not Elsa, and definitely not Merin.


    I sighed in relief. ''So she went back?''


    I put the letters in their ce, the table. I wanted to put them in the dustbin but, oh well.


    ''But wait, would mom really leave without a word? Didn''t she personally say, she wanted to discuss this with me in my room?''


    Something really felt off.


    Mom would never leave without scolding me when it came to matters rted to food.


    I had a phone and I never really used it but I guess this was the perfect opportunity.


    No one could really see whether I was using a Holo or a phone in here anyway.


    I kind of didn''t want to talk to mom anytime soon, and the same went for Elsa as she was with mom.


    So, I gave a call to Marg.


    No answer.


    I called Eve.


    No answer.


    ''Did something happen?''


    I called Merin.


    "Hey, what''s up?"


    The dude picked up almost instantly. Was he waiting for my call or something?


    "When was thest time you were in the dorm? And did you see mom or Elsa by any chance?"


    "I was there till 6. I''m at the cafeteria. Sis called. Oh and I think I saw your mom talking to some old dude near the gym. Maybe they''re still talking?"


    "Alright, thanks. I''ll head there."


    "Kay."


    I cut the call and downed a ss of water with some supplements. I didn''t have anything to eat, but I still took some medicine.


    The fever was bing unbearable again.


    Mom was strong, I didn''t need to worry about her. And Elsa was also fairly powerful. Of course, both of them had shorter fuses than me, but together they were a goodbination.


    However, something made me wary.


    ''What is this feeling?''


    It felt ominous, as though the sky had lost all its light. In fact, it was actually pretty dark outside. There was no moon today.


    This wasn''t like that night from two days ago. There was nothing in the sky. Not even clouds.


    ''An old guy, huh?''


    I didn''t like this, but I couldn''t just sit around either.


    So, I headed out.


    ***


    The crowd density was normal. Students were out, having fun, as usual. It was so normal that it made me more suspicious.


    The gym was fairly near and more than enough students were there. Even Robert.


    "Hey, did something happen here?"


    "Yeah, we can''t get in."


    We were roughly a hundred meters away from the gym and from the looks of things, there was an invisible barrier preventing entry.


    The ominous feeling in my gut intensified.


    "HAHH!" Arge guy charged straight for the barrier and was flicked off a secondter. He was fairlyrge at least four times my size. And yet, he was flung like cotton candy.


    This barrier was strong.


    "Did we try fire or-"


    "We''ve tried most of the stuff. Even cutting through space. Nothing worked." Robert shook his head. "You want to give it a try?" Implying, he didn''t think I was capable either.


    If all that failed, then what was my chance of seeding? I did have one barrier piercing attack, but would it have been enough?


    I didn''t know that but something else took more priority. "Have you seen ady simr to me in looks and a blonde girl with her, who also looks kind of like her, in a broader sense, me?"


    Robert chuckled. "What sort of description is that?" He controlled himself. "I don''t know about that but I did see a woman arguing with someone right at the entrance and suddenly copsing. I tried to reach, but that''s when I realized that there was a barrier here."


    It was almost as though my heart stopped for a second. "Th-The teachers?"


    What were the chances of that woman being my mother?


    Very low.


    But there was a possibility.


    And I couldn''t ignore it.


    "We''ve sent word. They and the disciplinarymittee should be here soon. Though I wouldn''t expect much from the teachers. Hey! Hey! What are you doing!"


    I didn''t look back and kept on walking.


    I fired off alpha particles.


    They didn''t go through.


    I fired of beta particles.


    They didn''t go through either.


    I fired off a thin stream of gamma rays and they didn''t go through even a little bit. This was one strong ass barrier: and it was also made with radiation control in mind. But I had a trick up on my sleeve too.


    It was invisible but with all the blockage, I could trace its structure. This barrier wasn''t round, it was triangr. I touched the barrier and before I could do anything, my hand went through. It was almost as though the barrier was inviting me.


    ''So they only want me?''


    I went in and looked back at Robert.


    He was talking but I heard nothing.


    "So sound is cut off?"


    I tried to go back but the barrier didn''t let me pass back. Meaning, they really wanted me.


    Which also meant the possibility for that woman to be mom, increased ever so slightly.


    I took a deep breath. My heart was fluttering a bit too much from the moment I heard that thing about someone copsing. It probably wasn''t mom, but I couldn''t ignore the possibility either. Mom was strong, there was no doubt about it, but she was also not so smart and too trusting of people.


    ''I can''t let my guard down.'' In the case of mom actually being knocked off meant, the enemy was very strong.


    I didn''t want to imagine that possibility but I had to be smart about this.


    I was inside a barrier so, holding back wasn''t an option. I used all three kinds, and x-ray as well. This took a hell amount of toll on my body, but that was off no consequence.


    I sweated a lot but I could see the things inside the gym. There were roughly twelve men inside and three people on the floor. About twenty were bounded in a far corner.


    ''So they have hostage?''


    I didn''t have time to y hero or do anything foolish. So I went through the front door.


    ''Wait, isn''t this the most foolish?''


    With a sigh, I saw things with my own eyes.

 Chapter 67 - I’m No Match?

    Three girls on the floor, I knew them.


    My mind went nk. I was about to explode, but I saw their breath. I was still firing off alpha particles subconsciously.


    From the looks of things, they were unconscious.


    Mom, Elsa, and Marg were on the floor, unconscious and that was enough for me to not explode.


    At least they were unharmed. But the people that did this were about to be not so much.


    "You did this?" I pointed my hand towards a man in the center. He was old, maybe in his fifties. He was twice my size and looked more than capable enough to be a terrorist.


    There were roughly eleven men behind him all wearing red hoods. Almost like they were some sort of a cult.


    "Wee, son of Julio," the man spoke. His voice was deep.


    ''Not that again.''


    It took nearly all of my conscience to stay sane in this situation, and what the hell was this moron talking about?


    But one thing was for certain if this guy knew my grandfather, it meant he was trouble. It also meant I couldn''t underestimate any of them.


    There weren''t any scratches on the three girls, so I could assume they were under some form of mind control.


    I focused energy in my palms."I don''t know what reasons you have for doing this, but I assure you, I''ll kill you for harming them." My voice reeked of hostility, but I was sane. I was sane enough to not give into anger.


    And this was basically just a bluff. If the teachers and prefects were on their way, then that meant, instead of attacking them, just stalling was good enough. But then there was the question, could I really leave the fate of my family to some other people?


    No.


    He burst intoughter and so did the men around him. "As expected. However, you should know, life demands life."


    "What the hell are you spouting?"


    Theirughter stopped.


    "Life." He red at me. I hated that man, no doubt in my mind. "What is it worth? Money? Power? Position?"


    I didn''t care. I had no reason to care. All I cared, that I wanted to end his charade before I could explode with rage.


    "Life!" The man continued. "Only life is worth life."


    He was like that one clown who''d try extra hard to scare you, so you ended up with a phobia. I hated his kind.


    "Quit your bbing. I didn''te here to listen to that. You hurt them- And you''re going to pay for it."


    My preparations were done and the small sma ball in my hand was good to go. It glowed fiercely and the heat indicated, I couldn''t just keep it on my palm forever.


    "Come!" He grinned hard, lowering his center of gravity a little bit as though he was preparing to run a sprint.


    All three girls were behind him, meaning I couldn''t attack halfheartedly. "Coward." My voice was barely a whisper but I made sure it reached him.


    "Huh?" He looked a bit dumbfounded. "Coward, you say?" He didn''t look pissed, just curious.


    I didn''t give him an answer and focused solely on maintaining the sma. I couldn''t fire it, till he reached me.


    Taunting worked great on guys like him, guys who thought they had the advantage.


    He raised a hand to his men. "He''s mine."


    It worked.


    No one said anything and he just casually walked towards me. Was he stupid?


    But this was good for me. The other eleven men were right in front of the three girls, so this really was good for me.


    I smirked. That one moment of arrogance would have cost them severely. "Bye." I fired off the small sma ball. I didn''t know why but it was a lot bigger than before. At least the size of a small marble, but the brightness was almost as much as a miniaturized sun.


    Meaning, he was as good as charred.


    The man took the hit at full force. I was right, he really was stupid. A stream of heat, light, and ck smoke engulfed the whole ce.


    The smell of burnt flesh irritated my nostrils. I always hated that smell.


    I was relieved but a secondter the relief vanished and dread took over. My alpha particles were acting very funny, so funny that my body sweated a lot more than necessary. Granted I was feverish, but still, this was impossible.


    "Now, now, don''t be so cold. I just got here and you''re saying farewell?" How could he still move? "That''s enough warm-up I suppose. How about we get a little serious?"


    The top of his shirt was vaporized and I could count most of the bones in his ribcage. He did take the full brunt of the attack, there was a hole in his chest, and he was still alive. His heart still beat. This guy was a monster.


    "How?"


    "Whoa, don''t tell me that was your best shot? Your pops used to throw that as greeting you know." He chuckled and kept on walking.


    I took steps back by instinct. The rage boiling within wasn''t helping. "Why are you doing this?"


    "This is my job." His grin never left his face. "But if you want to me anyone, me that Battlesuin scum."


    ''Do I have a way out?''


    That sma weapon was my best shot. The other ones involved killing everything within this small space, but I couldn''t do that. And I didn''t have a weapon with me either.


    ''Coming out on my own was a mistake?''


    ''No calm down!''


    Deep breaths!


    He was still about three meters away from me. And the people were pretty far away. I couldn''t panic now. I was outmatched but that didn''t mean I didn''t have a shot. All I had to do was think rationally and stay calm.


    I resorted to myst resort, very sanely. I fired off gamma in all directions with me as the epicenter. Of course, it''d reach everyone present here, but that was just a distraction and the amount of radiation wasn''t enough to harm organs.


    For the main course, I fired a full stream, the full brunt of gamma radiation straight at the man, enough to kill him three times over. Any more and the people behind him, including the three girls would have been in serious trouble.


    Personally, I didn''t care about the men behind him, but my family was very important to me.


    This was myst resort. No matter what he was, and no matter how much healing powers he had, a lethal dose of gamma was not something he''d walk out of.


    But he did.


    My body went even cooler.


    ''What is this?''


    Fear?


    Heughed it off and took another step. All of his wounds healed. "You didn''t think I''d be able to survive your pops if I was that feeble did you?"


    The st had actually healed him. And though it took me some time to realize, he was actually absorbing all the radiation to repair his cells.


    No wonder the alpha particles were acting so funny.


    ''He''s absorbing the radiation?''


    My whole body was panicking, and I didn''t have any more tricks. I was cornered.

 Chapter 68 - Struggle For Power

    The man sighed. "But this was a disappointment. And here I thought you''d be strong like your old man." He sighed again. "Perhaps killing your family might be a trigger for you to escape the boundaries of flesh?" He scowled. He wasn''t joking.


    "What?" My cold blood boiled.


    He turned around, bemused, and walked towards the unconscious woman.


    I knew I was outssed but that didn''t mean I could just let him have his way.


    ''DO YOU WANT POWER?''


    I heard a voice, I heard the voice of that shadow.


    I didn''t respond. I already knew it was trying to take over.


    My mind was unstable and I was sick.


    ''I CAN LEND YOU SOME!'' A chuckling sound reverberated in my mind.


    It was using this whole situation as a means to take over.


    "Shut up!" My head throbbed painfully. The world around me spun.


    This was not my day. The man didn''t pay attention to me and just move forward towards the girls on the floor. I didn''t care about power, I didn''t care about the shadow and I didn''t care about anything else, all I cared was about them.


    ''I CAN SAVE THEM!''


    "NO!" I screamed louder than my throat could handle and ran straight. The earth swayed all around me but it didn''t matter. Nothing did.


    I infused my hand with all the sma I could make in a second and tried to shove it directly in his back. This was my barrier-piercing attack and probably the only one that was capable of killing people directly.


    The idea of killing someone or perhaps even being cowardly didn''t bother me. Why? Because the lives of my mother and sister were in danger. I didn''t care about morality when it came to my family.


    "Who''s the coward now?" He grabbed my hand and punched me straight in my stomach.


    "ARGH!" It hurt more than anything else I ever experienced and almost fainted. My muscles tore, my bones broke and I was about to faint. But I couldn''t. Not while I knew my mother was on the floor. I couldn''t.


    I didn''t have the strength to stand. ''Stand!''


    But since he held me by hand, I didn''t fall down.


    Blood came out of my mouth and nose, and I could barely keep my eyes open. But I couldn''t faint.


    The man grabbed my head and lifted me up, grinning. "You''re too weak, son of Julio." I wasn''t weak, he was just a monster.


    ''What kind of idiot are you?''


    "POWER. ACCEPT ME AND YOU''LL HAVE POWER."


    "No."


    The voice in my head became louder and louder. "I''LL DEFEAT HIM FOR YOU."


    "NO!"


    "RELEASE ME!"


    "NO!"


    "NO?" The man looked at me, a little dumbfounded. "Did you lose your mind?" His voice felt distant.


    My vision got foggy.


    I could see him and the white interior in my mind at the same time.


    It was like I was in some sort of haze. The suffocating feeling eased up a little.


    I could see the shadow smirking at me through the prison. "ept me and all your pain would end. All the suffering would end. I''ll save them, I''ll save our mother."


    There was a reason this thing was kept locked. I''d seen the carnages. I knew the destruction it caused. But it was also true I needed its power.


    "So how about we make a deal?" The thing offered, sensing my thoughts.


    "What deal?"


    "I''ll give you the strength to fight. In exchange, you''ll save mother."


    "Save mom? What about you? I won''t ept you."


    "If mother dies, then what''s the point in living?" The shadow red at me. "I have an eternity to take over, but we can''t lose mother."


    Why was he worried about Mom? I didn''t understand this. This all felt very stupid to me. And yet, it didn''t feel like he was lying.


    I knew this was a mistake, but I also knew I needed his help. There was no time to waste.


    The man, meanwhile, was squeezing the life out of my throat and head with both of his hands. I didn''t know how much strength he had but I had roughly a minute of life left.


    I didn''t have the luxury of time.


    "Alright." This was a gamble, but it was worth taking the risk. I reached for the shadow''s hand.


    The shadow grabbed my hand, through the bars. "It''s a deal then." I saw his smirk and I was kicked from that ce.


    The fog lifted and everything cleared. But the suffocation did not: it only increased.


    "Oh, you''re back. I thought you fainted back there." The man smirked.


    The fact that he was still choking me, was weird. I didn''t understand what he was thinking. One moment he was intent on killing mom, the next moment he was busy choking me.


    "Trust me, you wish." It was very hard to speak like this but, I grabbed his hands, both of them.


    ''Please work.''


    My veins puffed up and I could almost see steaming out of them. This feeling, this feeling of being empowered was new.


    I''d seen this through the Holo and all that but the real thing was different. I didn''t feel pained, I just felt hot, and powerful. I grabbed his hands and tried to break them, just like he was trying to crush my skull.


    "Now we''re talking." The man squeezed harder: his muscles bulged.


    But there was more to my squeeze.


    ''NOW BREAK DOWN THE ATOMS!'' The shadow was giving me instructions on how to use this power. I guess it really was trying to help me.


    I didn''t know why I was still listening to that shadow, but I was d. And with a smirk, I focused on the individual cells of this man''s body and his atoms.


    I once tried this power when I was little. Nothing had happened: I couldn''t even dismantle a single atom. But I remember having a dream about this power. In that dream, I could dpose everything, even people and the earth. It was a very scary dream, but it was about to be reality.


    "What the?" The man was dumbfounded for a second. "So you too¡­.Or?" Hisugh intensified and so did his grip. "You really are the one!"


    ''Why isn''t this working?''


    Even with this power and the constant rot of his arm, things weren''t working.


    We were both using a significant amount of strength and it was creating a veryrge crater beneath our feet: more like his feet.


    I was dposing his cells and he was dying just like I was. But there was one difference. This guy could repair his own body.


    His arm was rotting away and healing at the same time. But my rot was stronger. But my breath was also limited. Meaning, this just became a battle of attrition.


    ''Think!''


    ''Think!''


    ''Think!''


    ''Think!''


    But nothing wasing to my oxygen-deprived mind.


    Breathing was near impossible and I didn''t have anything more than a few more seconds.


    ''WHY DON''T we KILL HIM?'' The suggestion popped up in my mind.


    Kill him? Was that even possible?


    I didn''t know what the shadow had in mind, but if this man could absorb radiation, then killing him sounded like nothing more than fantasy.


    But!


    But I couldn''t end things like this either. I had to win, and I had to win without a doubt.


    I still remember thest words gramps ever said to me before disappearing. "Don''t be a murderer." I didn''t know when he said that, or where he said that, but that was thest thing I remembered about him.


    ''Sorry gramps but I''ve to do this.'' I focused even more and used thest ounce of my powers to corrupt his body.


    Kill a person? It was different from killing Mutors or animals. I was prepared to kill, but when the moment really came. Could I really kill?


    But it didn''t matter anymore. The problem wasn''t whether I could or not, it was more like I had to. If I didn''t, I''d die and so will my family. I didn''t have a choice.


    Since he was absorbing radiation, I didn''t let a single particle loose. Instead, I used the rot and the sma at the same time.


    He was about to lose both of his arms.


    "You okay boss?"


    "Yeah, don''t worry. Secure the package. I got this."


    One of the men was about to leave when all of a sudden.


    There was a shockwave and a boom.


    This ce was cut off from the outside, so what? Then another.


    "ARGH!" That same man writhed.


    The grip on my throat eased up as this guy looked behind.


    ''My chance!'' I wrapped my legs around the man''s neck and gave it a twist.


    It didn''t work, but my rot sure did reach him and then there was the sma. I was totally prepared to end his life.


    The man groaned and whacked me off of him.


    The moment I reached the ground, the powers wore off, I was there, barely moving. I couldn''t feel anything in my body. ''No! So close!''


    I was going to faint, and I knew it.


    One of the hands of the man fell off but he just grabbed it and shoved it back. He smirked at me. "You might grow up stronger than him." He was walking my way.


    BOOM!


    Another shockwave and the writhing man fell on the ground, blood sttering.


    Sound from the outside came back as two figures appeared inside the room out of nowhere.


    One the Battlesuin girl, the other- the headmaster.


    I fainted.

 Chapter 69 - An Unforeseen Friendship

    Robert for the first time in his life panicked.


    Robert Bullfry was a noble-born. All his life he had everything fed to him in a silver tter. Everything always went his way, so he just assumed the world was a small pond and he was the biggest fish.


    Being the only son of a billionaire only intensified his self-confidence even further.


    His views, however, changed the moment he came to Demigrace academy. Apparently, he was just another fish in the infinite ocean, definitely not the biggest. His ego took a big hit and he just stayed low. But he didn''t panic.


    He wasn''t stupid and he knew creating a scene among the peasants was a one way to ticket out of here. He couldn''t afford that.


    Patience was a great quality in his character. He never let anything bother him, at least till now. But even when he learned the world didn''t revolve around him or his family, he still remained sane. The reason? It had more to do with his powers. He could speed up his brain to process a lot of information in a short span of time. And because he could take things slow, he''d developed almost superhuman levels of patience. And this patience allowed him to stay sane.


    He didn''t like kids around him and he maintained distance, at least from the peasants.


    But he hated some of the more notorious ones in the academy. He, however, was an excellent actor. And when paired with his patience, nobody could tell, he was actually faking it or not.


    He hated one student above all: Helio Jintel.


    ''What''s with the weird name?'' He thought. He didn''t know about the kid''s family but he was sure, this kid was a peasant.


    He hated the kid, but when he talked to him, more and more, he learned this Helio kid was kind of like him and yet, not him. This Helio kid knew his own weaknesses but he never let them show, and more importantly, he wasn''t all that concerned about his position in society. At least that''s what Robert thought.


    So hatred turned to curiosity and gradually to respect as he saw more and more of Helio''s exploits.


    When he found Helio ill on the road, he couldn''t leave him alone because of that respect.


    And when Helio wanted to be his friend, he was d: not overjoyed, but d. He wasn''t the biggest fish but at least he now had his first real friend.


    Of course, he had other friends but no one ever made friends with him just to be friends. Everyone was near him for the sake of getting preferential treatment. After all, having the backing of a noble was the best thing anybody could hope for.


    Robert knew that, but he didn''t have a choice but to pretend to be friends with the likes of those.


    And so when the time came, Robert felt really d to have his first real friend. He actually didn''t know what friends even did, so he just maintained his distance, thinking Helio might find him annoying if he tried too hard.


    He had a basketball practice today at the gym but there was a barrier.


    "Hey, what is going on here?"


    Robert heard Helio''s voice and for a second he was spooked. But his enhanced mind came into y and let him control his thoughts.


    But when Helio went into the gym alone, Robert felt powerless. He couldn''t help his friend and he couldn''t do anything about the situation.


    His powers weren''t a good fit for the job and he knew that. So, his ultimate strength came into y.


    Patience.


    But as an hour passed without any signs of Helio, his heart started to race for the first time: his enhanced thought process only made things worse. This was his first friend and he was in trouble. Robert didn''t like that, and for the first time his thoughts were clouded: he panicked.


    ***


    Teachers arrived at the barrier near the gym along with the prefects. Whispers floated about.


    "What is this?" One of the prefects wondered aloud, as he touched the barrier. "This is certainly stronger than anything I''ve ever seen."


    "Yes, it would seem that way." The voice came from above.


    The headmaster and his wife hade. And apparently, Sylvia was carrying the headmaster like a potato bag.


    It was rare for the headmaster or his wife to wander within the academy. But the two of them at the same time? That was more than just rare.


    They both descended and the headmaster picked himself up, reluctantly. He almost pouted like a little girl, sighed, andposed himself.


    "Let''s see¡­." The headmaster made a gesture of touching the barrier but punched it instead.


    A shockwave went through the whole ind.


    The students near the impact felt a shock they wished they hadn''t and half of them lost conscience.


    "Would it kill you to warn the kids first?" Sylvia massaged her temples with a sigh.


    She''d been with this man for over forty years. She knew him from even before, during her high school days. Back then she found a certain charm in this man, now not so much. She still loved him, but something didn''t just feel right anymore. Growing up changed their ideals.


    "We don''t have time." The headmaster''s voice was stale and deep.


    Sylvia didn''t say a word, she knew her husband was serious for once.


    Another punch, and then another. Each followed by a shockwave.


    And after the shocks that literally left wet patches on the crotches of the nearby students, the barrier cracked open.


    But it wasn''t over. "There''s another one. A space barrier." The headmaster looked behind. "Which one of you can warp? Where''s the teleporter girl?"


    "She might be on the inside," Robert said. He was nervous and he really wanted to do something.


    "I can." A girl raised her hand. "I can get you in." She came forward with her nonchnt and dignified smile.


    The headmaster grimaced but he didn''t have a choice. "Alright, Miss Hy- Ahem¡­ Rin, please let us hurry."


    "As you wish¡­. Headmaster." The girl came forward and grabbed the arm of the headmaster. A secondter, they warped.


    Robert and the rest of the students just stared at the empty, invisible barrier in front of them.


    Sylvia sighed as she gazed upon the stars. ''If only¡­''


    ***


    "Oh, long time no see, Roger!" A deep voice, the voice of the leader of the Killboyz.


    "Yes, it really has been a long time, Devrock." The headmaster red at the man, the boy passed out on the floor, and the three unconsciousdies. He also nced towards the hostages in the corner. "Quite the party you had here."


    "Rest assured, none of them are harmed. I can''t say much about the brat though."


    The headmaster grimaced. "This is how you treat the grandson and the daughter of your once best friend?"


    "Grandson?" The man looked at the kid on the floor and then behind him at the woman. He burst outughing. "No wonder he was so weak. I thought he was at least thirty." He kept onughing."And you talk as though we''re not friends anymore."


    "You always were an airhead but I never knew you were that much of an idiot. But since you''vee here and disturbed my home, don''t assume you''ll get out unharmed." ck clouds surged near Roger as he red.


    "Give me a break. I was just here to have some fun. A Battlesuin brat showed up on my door begging me to kill this brat. Of course, since I took the payment, I had to work a little, right? Well, I tried, so guess I''ll leave now." The man- Devrock red at the little girl near the headmaster. "I assume you have time to waste on scum like that?"


    "Mind your tongue worm." Hyorin wasn''t offended and her smile was just as nonchnt.


    "As you wish, scum." Devrock bowed like he was bowing to a king, and yet sarcasm was written all over his body.


    Hyorin clicked her tongue but she didn''t say another word. There was a reason she was at this academy and she couldn''tpromise on that.


    "So, what was the point of this little show?" Roger crossed his arms.


    "Life''s been too boring since Julio disappeared. You refuse to y along, so I thought why not test Julio''s brat. He has potential but, not that fun you know. The brat actually uses his head rather than instincts. He''s not fun." Devrock sighed.


    Roger grinned. "Yeah, he''s smart, but also a little too na?ve." He sighed. "Alright, get your brats out of here, and scram. I''ll cover it up." He nced at the girl right next to him. "But!"


    "Fine by me." Devrock turned around. "Whose butt? My royal roundjobs?" He massaged his bottom.


    "Cut the crap and be sure to cover all the stuff you destroyed here. I expect the payment on my desk by tomorrow."


    Devrock grimaced for the first time. "Fine." He scratched his head. "I''ll pay the brat''s bills too."


    But there was another problem, what about the hostages in the corner? Roger nced at the hostages and he felt something odd. The hostages in particr were staring at the ceiling, not even blinking.


    "They were hidden behind a spatial barrier and one of my boys gave them a good adventure within their own minds, so they didn''t hear anything." Devrock winked and picked up his men who was on the floor. "But I never thought that ugly bastard would have such a beautiful daughter." He stopped for a second and admired Helio''s mom.


    "I know right." Rogerughed hard.


    "That brat. Was he also?"


    Roger didn''t say anything. He just stood there.


    "I see." Devrock shed a salute and they all disappeared into space.


    The


    ''If only you hadn''t fallen down that path.'' Roger sighed and looked at Hyorin. "I trust you''ll take responsibility?"


    "I don''t'' know what you''re talking about. But I will keep this conversation confidential." She disappeared.


    "Well, that''s one thing, I suppose," Roger murmured.


    One by one the students and teachers alike rushed in.


    "What happened in here?" Robert looked around. There was debris everywhere.


    Just what kind of fight created suchrge craters on the ground and such damage?


    And when he saw Helio on the floor, he rushed to his friend''s side. "Oh thank god, he''s alive."

 Chapter 70 - The Uncertain Future: An Imminent War?

    "You''ve called mydy?" Two people entered the family mansion.


    Roughly all of the influential members of the Battlesuin family were present in the grand hall.


    In this ce, two members came forward. One of them was the head of the branch family and the other, his son- ze.


    The family head- Hyora battlesuin didn''t say a word and walked closer to the two.


    Silence prevailed. Everyone was anxious.


    "I once gave a simr order to your wife and she failed. What about you?" Hyora''s voice reached far. There wasn''t a spec of hostility in her conduct and yet, some of the members were shaking.


    The man''s eyes opened wide and he sighed. "You wish for my son''s death?" His voice was deep and it was almost as though he was pained a little.


    "He disobeyed my direct orders." Hyora''s smile didn''t falter. Her mature, eyshes created an image of a lovelydy, but only people closest to her, knew of the demon lurking within thoseshes.


    ze''s father stood, turned to his son, and red. He was about to murder his son without a second thought.


    He could always make another son but if he disobeyed a direct order here, he won''t have a life left. He wasn''t stupid like his wife after all. "I told you to stay put but you didn''t listen." Lightning surged in the hands of the man. Strong powerful yellow lightning.


    He''d killed before and though he''s hands were shaking, he had to this. His survival mattered more than the survival of his son. His own life mattered more than his feelings.


    "Fa-father!" ze fell on his back, raising his hands up.


    "Unnecessary." Hyora walked towards the shivering boy on the floor, closing in on the distance in a second. She touched his cheeks, still wearing her smile. "There''s no need to be afraid, child. Why did you enlist the help of those vermin?" Her voice was low and like honey.


    "I-I thought they''d get the job done without dirtying our name." ze gave an honest answer.


    His voice shook and he couldn''t think straight.


    "I see." Hyora smiled, eyes closed.


    ze felt relieved, he was shaking, sweating, and breathing too rapidly. But he felt relieved.


    ''She might be more understanding-''His thoughts were left unfinished.


    And a secondter, he didn''t feel anything anymore.


    His head wasn''t attached to his torso. ''I''m dead?''


    Just like that? The thought went through his mind but it was toote. Everything was toote.


    ze''s lifeless head and torso slithered on the floor, staining everything in crimson red.


    ze''s father looked away, emotionless.


    "Anthony?" Hyora nced forward, smiling as usual. There wasn''t a single stain on her blue one-piece dress.


    "Yes, mydy?" One of the members of the main family- Anthony was right behind ze.


    "You may use this corpse."


    "Thank you, mydy. I''ll make good use of this vile thing. We''re very close to the breakthrough."


    Hyora turned to the rest of the members, satisfied. "The same goes for you. If you should rebel," Everyone bowed, without a second of dy.


    There was only one true leader of the Battlesuin family. And everyone had only one feeling for her.


    Fear.


    But one man didn''t bow. He was walking towards Hyora, covered in sweat, shirtless. He had a shirt in his hands but he didn''t feel the necessity to wear it.


    His skinny body was nourished and his beard was cut. He didn''t look like on the verge of death anymore.


    "Oh, don''t you look great?" Hyora turned around.


    The man didn''t say a word and just walked past Hyora.


    Hyora just smiled. She already owned the man''s soul after all. "We''re going to war."


    "Suit yourself." The man didn''t look back and just went on.


    ***


    "The killboyz invaded Demigrace!" A man shouted on top of his lungs, still seated in his chair.


    There were two people in a room. There weren''t any sounds other than the air conditioner.


    "Yes, the official report says Headmaster Roger Vermilion drove them away after a brief fight whichid waste to the gym." His attendant was fairly confident in his approach. He just stood by his boss, looking all cool and dignified.


    "Two of the strongest men alive, had a fight and you''re telling me the ind wasn''t destroyed?"


    Meek light entered through the window. This room was high, very high in the sky. In fact, it was floating atop the clouds.


    "Yes, and we believe it was because those two never actually fought."


    "What do you mean?" The man supported his head with both of his hands. This was big news and all of his brain cells were saying the same thing.


    "From our intel, Helio Romswell Julio''s son is at that academy. He is known as the cursed mask I believe." The attendant made tea. "And he was the one who fought Devrok to a draw. At least that''s what our contact told us."


    "Really? Do we have more infor-"


    "Unfortunately we don''t even have his face yet. Of course, we are working on that." The attendant lied the tea on the table and sighed. "Of course, these are just rumors and we couldn''t confirm anything. The draw however seems more imusible than anything else."


    "Good, good. This is grand news." The man took a sip of the tea.


    ''This is too sweet.'' He almost wanted to spit the tea back up, but he kept on taking sips.


    "I also have another report, sir."


    "Yes?" Done with the tea, the man lied it back on the table.


    "The Battlesuins¡­ and the Romswell are¡­" The attendant hesitated for a second. "This is a very vague intel¡­. We think they might be going to war."


    Sweats surfaced on the boss''s forehead but a grin surfaced as well. "We have the perfect cover story for tomorrow then."


    The attendant also grinned. For some reason, he really liked his boss. He always felt at ease around him. So when his boss was happy, he was also happy.


    "This news will shake the world!" The man stood up, spread his arms towards the heavens. " ''The prodigy of a prodigy, and the imminent war?'' Don''t you think that''ll make an excellent front-page!!?"


    This man was very notorious for deciphering the world''s secrets. He was also the founder of the News and Conspiracy Co. Inc, a newspany run by world viins.


    "Of course sir." The attendant gave a courtly bow and started to make another batch of tea.


    ''Is this kid trying to give me diabetes or something?'' Of course, the boss didn''t say it out loud. The attendant was his illegitimate son after all. Though the son himself wasn''t aware of the fact.

 Chapter 71 - Sometimes Ignorance Really Is A Bliss

    My eyes sted open.


    ''What happened?''


    I was in a bed inside the nurse''s office. At this point, I probably spent more time in here rather than in my own room.


    It did look awfully cleaner though. And though the light was bright, it didn''t hurt my eyes.


    There was no one around and from the looks of it, it was midday. ''I was out for a day?''


    My head felt heavy and as I got out of bed, everything hurt. "ARGh."


    Strangely I didn''t feel groggy.


    Last time my body wasn''t this sore though.


    ''What happened to mom and the others?''


    I became a little soberer. My body ached but I couldn''t lose time here. My head throbbed a little but I still moved anyway.


    One step at a time.


    And when I reached the end of the nurse''s office, something shook me. This wasn''t the nurse''s office.


    An infinite space of darkness stretched far and wide.


    No wonder the nurse''s office seemed so clean and white.


    I sighed from the edge. There was something within that darkness. It was liquid in shape but I could make out its face.


    Me.


    "Yes, that''s you."


    The voice came from my left. The shadow was right next to me, leaning against the wall.


    "You''re free?"


    I didn''t know why but my mind was very calm. I didn''t feel all that necessary to feel anxious. I didn''t feel anything in particr, not when I worried about mother and even when I saw the liquid darkness oozing ever closer to me.


    "Kind of. But this is only the first seal. You have three on you." I really didn''t like that wide grin of his.


    "Three huh. One for you. And one for that. But what about the third?"


    I wondered aloud. If the thing next to me could hear my thoughts, then it was pointless to hide my thoughts anyway.


    His grin widened.


    Didn''t look like he was about to talk anytime soon and from the looks of it, I wasn''t waking up either. "Looks like I''ve got time. Would you mind telling me more about you? Why you''re here, why you want me to ept you, and what that is."


    The liquid darkness was just a meter away. It was fast and I was its target.


    The shadow raised his arm and the door closed before the darkness could creep in.


    "Both of us are you, and we were born from you. This ce is our prison. The seals¡­ are our prison. And unless you acknowledge us, this will never end."


    "So that white room expanded when I epted your deal? Hmmm¡­ what happens when I ept you?"


    "I be free. I''ve been trapped in here for a decade and a half, I want to be free."


    "Then what happens to me?"


    "You''ll be in here."


    "So we''ll be switching ces." I sighed. I should have seen thising. "Are my powers sealed along with you guys?"


    "Yes."


    No wonder I felt stronger whenever the seals weakened. But if one broke just because I epted this shadow''s deal, it was possible that the other seals could break too. And from the sound of things, if the seals broke, they''d take over and I''d be stuck here.


    ''Well, that sucks.''


    I knew being stuck here was a terrible way to live life and I knew these guys wanted to get out. But I had my own things to worry about. "I''m sorry but I''ve got a lot of dreams, ns, and desires I want to fulfill. I cannot ept you, now." Lying didn''t really suit my tastes all that much. And this guy would have just seen through me anyway.


    His grin disappeared and was reced by a re. "Then get out." He pointed in the opposite side and a door opened. There weren''t any doors there before and this door only had lighting in.


    I guess that was my ticket out of here.


    I started walking. "Hopefully, one day we''ll understand each other."


    "We''ll never understand each other."


    I didn''t know why, but this just felt a little sad. Of course, I was just being selfish. But I couldn''t help it. All my life I''d been living a life I thought which was only mine. I couldn''t just hand it over to others.


    But one thing was for sure, making deals with these guys might leave me vulnerable and they might take over.


    But then there was the question. Was I real? Was I the real one?


    ***


    I crossed the white room and before I knew it, my eyes opened again.


    Again, it was midday and I felt way too groggy and my body felt sore. The light was hurting my eyes but they eventually adjusted.


    But there was a major difference this time, mom and Elsa both were here.


    Both of them cried as they hugged me and after half an hour of melodrama, they exined things.


    Apparently, the headmaster and that terrorist had a fight and the headmaster drove the terrorist away freeing everyone in the process. That terrorist group was known as the Killboyz, and this group did all sort of dirty work around the world: their leader- Devrock was the one I fought.


    But when that guy spoke to me, he assumed I was the son of my grandfather. He was talking about gramps like they were friends or something. Or maybe arch-nemesis? Either way, that guy knew gramps and he was strong. Meaning the headmaster might have been equally strong or maybe stronger.


    Of course, I didn''t tell mom about the guy knowing gramps, cause she was still very unstable.


    "The Battlesuins have dered the death of one of their kids, the kid who you dueled that day." Mother massaged her temples. "The official deration isn''t out yet, but we can assume they were the cause of all this." She sighed. "There''s more but I think you shouldn''t concern yourself with it. I''ll handle it with the family."


    I kind of assumed too. After all, ze did harbor hatred for me. And since I shamed him to that extent, this wasn''t something out of the world. "But he died?"


    "Yes, their family head got rid of him. The official deration would probably have some other interpretation for the general mass."


    "The family head huh?" I''d never met anyone from the Battlesuin main family and I certainly didn''t want to. "And what other thing are you talking about?"


    Neither answered.


    This whole thing felt more and more cumbersome.


    I tried moving around and strangely the fatigue cleared a lot quicker than I thought. I sat down on the bed, using the pillow as support for my back. "What about you two?"


    They both looked at me with a bit of awkwardness and looked away. "We''re both okay¡­ but."


    But? "Tell me, why were you there?"


    It seemed a bit odd. Mom and Elsa were supposed to be in my room. And yet they were at the gym.


    Neither of them looked me in the eye anymore. They were sweating more than necessary.


    "There was actually supposed to be a game of basketball and well¡­" Elsa started something but she didn''t finish.


    "Basketball? So you guys went there to watch the game?" I had a nagging feeling that neither of them had any noble intentions such as watching an outdated game.


    "Yes and when some guys started to block our way, mom kind of got a bit infuriated, and well, things happened."


    "What kind of things?" I smiled. But one or two of my veins throbbed.


    Did these morons seriously lead themselves to be kidnapped?


    "I- I was kind of mad you know¡­.I kind of knocked seven of them out." Mom still didn''t look at me and tried to smile.


    I guess I got my temper and awkwardness from her.


    I sighed. "So, what happened next?"


    "They had someone who could control minds. And well, though it shouldn''t have affected us, since we weren''t calm, they knocked us off," Elsa exined


    "Wait, Marg was with you too." And as far as I knew, Marg was probably the sanest among the three.


    "Teleporting out was a no-go, so I just pretended to be unconscious and let them take us inside." Marg walked in.


    The nurse also came in right after her.


    ''Wait, what?''


    "Umm¡­ what?"


    "After they took us in, they just kept us on the floor and watched the outside through the master Holo. And when I saw you whilst pretending, I teleported you inside the barrier." Marg was awfully proud of the fact. "Normally I can''t do that unless I can see things with my own eyes but this time I took a gamble and beamed you in. I''m d all of your limbs were attached." She looked even prouder now, giving me a satisfied grin.


    So, apparently, all this happened because a certain someone wanted to see young boys sweat and lost her cool?


    ''Wait, it had nothing to do with them calling me?''


    Meaning they didn''t invite me in and they were just as surprised as I was when I went inside.


    ''Wait, if no one could get in, how the hell were they going toe find me?''


    I don''t know why, but I was very confused right now.


    And if this is how it went, then those guys didn''t even know who I was or whether the three girls on the floor were my family or not.


    Meaning, when the big guy in the middle addressed me the first, I already gave him all the information he wanted.


    SIGHHH! ''AWW, MAN!''

 Chapter 72 - And I Thought My Affair With The Palm Tree Was Over!

    I felt stupid so I came outside. Both the nurse and mom tried to stop me but I just walked out, not giving them a chance.


    I guess they kind of knew that I had no intention of staying there.


    The campus for once wasn''t crowded. There were still students walking around, but the crowd density was shed by at least ny-five percent.


    Today was the first holiday after all.


    The outside air was fresh but the sun was hot.


    It was a bit past midday but the weather was definitely hot if nothing else.


    I didn''t want to think about it, but I couldn''t help myself. Back then, instead of assuming they were targeting me if I just declined and¡­. No, maybe that wouldn''t have been such a great idea either. After all, those guys were terrorists, and who knew what they would have done?


    Besides, that guy actually wanted to kill mom.


    And¡­ ''I never thanked him did I?'' Though, for personal reasons, the shadow did help me. And by giving me this change it came one step closer to iming my body as its own, but I still appreciated its help. If it weren''t for him, who knew what could have happened.


    With another sigh, I just kept walking down the sunny road. Now that there weren''t people around, I felt at ease. Normally I''d at least get a few challenges here and there, some love letters, and asional res. But today there were none and it really felt great.


    But the question remained. ''Am I the original?'' What if one of the sealed ones was the real me and¡­.


    The shadow said stuff about there being three seals, meaning there were supposed to be three of my other personalities, right? I''d already seen the two, but the third I didn''t know much about. Maybe it was even worse?


    Whatever it was, I didn''t really know and didn''t feel eager to know.


    ''Maybe I should confront mom¡­''


    I kept my eyes peeled on the road, so I didn''t crash into trees. But there weren''t any trees today. ''I guess Ariel isn''t around today.''


    Wham!


    And with that thought, I crashed into a palm tree which wasn''t there even a second ago.


    Fuming, I turned to my left. A girl was seated on the bench, along with her double-decker sandwich and she waved at me, as she grabbed a bite.


    "You know, there''s a limit to people''s patience." My body shook a little as I red at her.


    "I''ll give you a bite, so rx." She massaged the seat next to her, indicating I should have taken a seat.


    "Fine." Regretfully, I was kind of hungry.


    ***


    Ariel tore a bit of her sandwich and gave it to me. I never said no to free food. And I was certainly hungry.


    It tasted pretty good on an empty stomach.


    "So, what are you doing out here with those torn clothes?"


    "Now that you mention it."


    I actually hadn''t looked at my clothes all this time. I might have subconsciously assumed my clothes were still intact, but they weren''t. And since I didn''t get many stares, I didn''t realize it, even when I was walking in broad daylight. I did feel a bit ufortable, but it was what it was. "Guess, I''ll go change."


    "You know-"


    "Yes?"


    "You did a good job." She ruffled through my hair.


    "Ex-Excuse me!"


    What was wrong with this girl? Why was she being weird all of a sudden?


    Ariel giggled. "My little brother came to visit me yesterday and he got a bit sidetracked and ended up at the gym. He was among the hostages. I was right outside of the barrier when you went in. I''m really d it was you." Ariel smiled. "Thank you."


    I let out a breath of relief. "You''re wee."


    ***


    I left for the dorms. My mood improved somewhat. I was never the hero type. I didn''t feel the necessity to risk my life for others unless they happened to be my family or friends. But every once in a while, when something like this happened and people thanked me, I did feel good. Of course, it was never my intention to save her brother, I still felt good about myself. And the fact that I knew this, was hypocrisy and irony in itself.


    I reached the dorm and again the door was locked. Lately, Merin went out a lot. Had something happened to him?


    I didn''t know, I didn''t care.


    Took a shower, got changed, and checked my mails. Most people didn''t have my number as I didn''t have a Holo. And I didn''t want anyone to know I was still using a relic that went extinct ten whole years ago. So, in the end, I only gave my number to only some important people.


    I had two hundred and eighty voice mails. Oh wait, I did have one ordinary mail.


    The moment I saw the sender''s name, I sighed subconsciously.


    I saw the name, checked the subject of one mail, and deleted 279 of the mails. All were from one sender. The sender being, my third cousin Murcus. The guy had a bad case of eighth-grader syndrome and though he was about to graduate from Uni, he was still speaking nonsense about aliens and all that crap.


    And judging from the number of mails, this was something serious. ''Well, it has nothing to do with me.''


    He was probably bragging about his new discovery or something.


    But the 280th mail caught my attention. It was from the club leader. ''How the hell did you get my number?''


    It was the only normal mail: It read ''call me.''


    I didn''t want to, but oh well.


    "HI, this is Helio."


    "Oh yeah, How''re you feeling?"


    "Good, you?"


    Greetings were always like this for me.


    "Likewise. Howe I can''t see you?"


    I kind of forgot that Holo''s these days were excellent with video calling.


    "Probably a connection error. Don''t worry about it."


    "Anyway, youing?"


    "Oh yeah, we had ns for the district club."


    "That''s right. Of course, we can cancel it today, if you''re not feeling so hot."


    "No, it''s cool. I''m all good."


    I wanted to get thoseplicated things off of my head. So going out to the city seemed like a good distraction.


    "Alright, see you at 4, by the school gate."


    "Kay."


    I cut the phone.


    It was already 3.32. So I didn''t really have all that much time. I checked the mini-fridge and sure enough, there was orange juice in it: Merin''s favorite. There was an unspoken rule between us that we won''t touch each other''s food.


    But I didn''t really have anything to eat. And since milk was a no-go, I couldn''t touch that. I certainly didn''t want to upset my stomach even more.


    Rules, were meant to be broken right?


    "Pasta huh?" I sighed but still stuffed my face.


    It was prepared well but eating pasta cold wasn''t pleasing, at least not to my teeth.


    ''Should have warmed it, I guess.''


    "Whoa, since when did you start ravaging through people''s stuff?"


    "Weren''t you the preacher of knocking first?"


    Merin chuckled. He was by the door. "Didn''t think you''d be back so soon."


    "Anyway, I''m hungry and I n on going out to the city. So yeah, sorry about taking your lunch." I wasn''t sorry at all though. And I certainly wasn''t going to return the stuff I was stuffing in my mouth either.


    "I already ate. And that stuff is basically out of date anyway." He let out suppressed giggles.


    I tried to stop eating but almost choked instead. "What do you mean, it''s expired!" I drank the orange juice and caught my breath.


    "Rx, rx, just messing with you." He kept on chuckling and sat down on the bed.


    I sighed and grimaced. "Whatever man." I shoved the rest in my mouth and chugged it all down with juice.


    ***


    Lunch was officially over, and my teeth, ruined.


    Merin was quiet. Even minutes ago he was messing with me, but now he just sat there looking all stupid.


    "Something happened to you?" I grabbed my wallet.


    I was totally ready to head out.


    He looked at me, the situation felt a bit awkward. "Sis will be moving away from the academye fall."


    "You mean she''ll move out next year? We still have a year, you know."


    I wasn''t dull enough to not understand. This was his sister''sst year on this ind and from the looks of it Merin didn''t like it.


    "I know." He fell down on his bed, feet still touching the floor. "I''m kind of insecure about going out you know. So having sis really did make me feel at ease. We rarely talk but¡­ but I think I''ll miss her."


    "Make the most of this year, I guess. I mean that''s the best you can do now."


    "Pretty much, yeah. Been thinking and I think, I''ll enjoy the summer vacation with her on the beach: I''ll think of the rest,ter. She told me she already invited you?"


    "Oh yeah. Haven''t talked to mom yet." I tried to chuckle.


    I actually didn''t n on talking to mom today though. Because even if I didn''t feel bad about walking around, I knew she was going to stop me the second she learned I was about to go to the city. And that''s why I had no ns on telling her anything today.


    And talking about vacations? That was a total no-no as well.


    "I''ll let you figure that out yourself. Your mom was something else."


    "Yeah." No argument there. "Alright,ter."


    "Be back before 11.55, or they''ll throw you in detention."


    "I''ll try, but detention doesn''t sound that bad. A lot less trouble."


    Merin chuckled, I did too, and left.

 Chapter 73 - The City: Why Are There Forests Here!?

    Now that I didn''t get stared at by hundreds, walking felt good.


    Until it didn''t.


    I reached the gates, and well, things happened.


    "There you are." A woman smiled, and almost sang the words.


    I really wanted to run away but she''d have chased me to the end of the earth. So, that option wasn''t avable anymore.


    There were two other girls near her, wearing awkward smiles. And the guy- the captain or rather, the club leader was looking into the distance, questioning the meaning of life.


    "H-Hey, mom. What are you doing here?"


    "Well, when you went out for a walk and never came back, I got kind of worried." She chuckled, eyes closed. "Your friend gave me a good idea of where you might be."


    I might or might not have said I''d be back after a walk which I eventually forgot and then one thing led to another.


    ''I''ll be sure to skewer him the next time.''


    "About that¡­ I had torn clothes and-"


    "I understand." Mom looked at me with kind eyes. I had a bad feeling about this. "Let''s go back."


    Very bad feeling, indeed.


    "I kind of wanted fresh air, so I want to go to the city." I didn''t know what to say.


    I''d acted pretty high and mightyst time, but there was no doubt in my mind, my mom was scary and that was the universal truth.


    "You can have all the fresh air in your room." She was still wearing that gentle, angelic smile.


    And the fact that there weren''t many people here, only made the situation worse. Last time, mom backed off because there were a lot of people, but this time, things were different.


    I took a deep breath. "As you can see, I''m alright. And the prelims of the tournament begins tomorrow. I don''t have a good saber. I''ve to find out more about mypatibility too. I''m sorry mom but I want to do this."


    She sighed. "Why did you have to take after your father?" She mumbled. But since she was so close to me, I heard her. Of course, I didn''t say a word about it. "Alright, but promise me, you won''t do anything stupid? You won''t get into trouble?" Mom was being so easy, that it was almost frightening. Was this woman seriously, my mother?


    "Ri-right."


    She grabbed my hands. Still smiling. "If you should get into trouble once more¡­." She finally red at me. "I''ll take you back and keep you locked up."


    I swallowed. This was not good for my heart.


    "Uh-huh." I shook my head vigorously.


    "Good." She smiled again and came closer to my ear. "And stay away from that Battlesuin Vixen. She''s bad news and I think things might be getting a bit too worse for our families. It might lead to war, but nothing should happen to you as long as you''re here. So, try not to mix with her." Mom was being a bit too frank but she did have her point.


    With thetest developments, the rtionship between the Romswells and the Battlesuins was probably pretty bad. In the past, we just pretended that the other didn''t exist but I guess I kind of screwed up.


    I nodded and mom let me go.


    Freed from her, I ran to the club leader. "Let''s go."


    I didn''t want to stay a second longer. The gravity of reality was pulling me a bit too hard, so I wanted to stay away from it.


    "Wait!" Mom shouted and I had to look back: I really didn''t want to. "If you will, Marg dear."


    At that moment Marg teleported and appeared a minuteter. There was something in her hands. She gave it to mom and mom threw it to me.


    "I''d appreciate it if you didn''t get that damaged."


    "Alright." It was Gramp''s sword tucked into its sheathe.


    I didn''t know why mom was being so nice all of a sudden, but I got the feeling she wanted me to pursue my dreams.


    I smiled and gave her a wave.


    She waved back.


    We left.


    ***


    "Was that really alright, giving him the sword?" Elsa stood next to her mother.


    "Oh don''t worry dear." Her mother''s smiled warped. "If he has the sword, he''ll get into trouble, and then we can just drag him back." She almost squirmed with excitement. "He''ll be safer with me."


    Elsa smiled to hide her awkwardness but some still leaked.


    Meanwhile. Marg just watched the drama from a distance. ''What the hell is wrong with this family?''


    The Battlesuins and the Romswells were about to go to war, and yet these guys were acting like it was nothing more than a little squabble. And to Marg, this really was the personification of stupidity.


    ***


    I sighed. I didn''t know why but something about how mom acted made me feel weird and it kind of stuck.


    "How far is the city?"


    The club leader, however, was a bit too quiet.


    "Not that far. I''d say a walk of about half an hour." And his walking speed was a bit faster than me too.


    ''How''s that not far?'' I looked at him with dull eyes. "Anyway, what do I call you?"


    "Oh yeah. Never introduced myself. I''m Johnathan Brown. You may call me John."


    The name John kind of brought back a lot of memories. My first cousin John, was a very wicked guy. He always teased me because I wasn''t aiming to be a viin. In his book, viins were the best and maybe that''s why he became the most wanted criminal in the world. He was fairly powerful but the guy had serious issues. But apparently, everybody in the family loved him and even spoiled him.


    I didn''t like him one bit though.


    I tried to shake off the bad feelings. "Nice to meet you. You can call me Jintel."


    "Sure, Jintel."


    It was like my heart warmed up for a second. Finally, someone called me by my name without freaking out for a second.


    I felt good.


    "Though I think I heard Eve calling you Helio, and I like Greek Gods, so I''ll just call you Helio."


    And now, not so much.


    With another sigh, I just kept on walking.


    ***


    The outside was mixed. It started by having palm trees all around the academy boundary and gradually shifted to a more desert-like barrennd and finally a jungle of some sort. As if sweating buckets wasn''t enough, now I had to cross and of bugs.


    I hated anything that crawled.


    I didn''t want to feel nostalgic but I recognized this ce.


    "We have training sessions on this part of the ind. The maind is just up ahead."


    And the club leader''s words only made me feel more awkward.


    "SO we''ll have to cross the frozennds too?"


    Last time Clyde was keeping us warm, but what about this time?


    "NO, we won''t have to go there. We can pretty much get to the city, through this forest."


    "Works for me."


    We kept on walking.


    The forest was just as much of a bug house as it used to be. Last time we had our Angelmen Friend and he kind of sted any and every bug that came near us, so it wasn''t much of a problem. This time? It was definitely a problem.


    It probably would have been different if I was alone. But I sure wasn''t.


    "Ummm¡­ John¡­ Johnathan? Didn''t we have any other roads?"


    It was still a bit weird to call him John.


    "Oh yeah, there was another one but it would have taken about five minutes extra. This is the shortcut."


    ''What the hell is wrong with your senses, man!?''


    The guy was walking over the bugs like he was blind or something. Even when centipedes crawled over his body, he just grabbed a bunch and squashed them.


    The sheer mentality of this guy was scary.


    ''Deep breaths.''


    I couldn''t let this stop me. If I were to be an explorer I''d eventually have to get over my fear of bugs anyway.


    With that determination in mind, I walked faster to match Johnathan''s pace.


    My back felt heavier than usual. I turned my head and hundreds of eyes greeted me. There was a spider on my back. A spider the size of my hand with huge ck pupils and red dots all over its ck body.


    ''Oh, shit¡­''


    And so a scream shook the great forest as a young man ran like crazy: the young man being me.


    ***


    As the forest thinned out, signs of civilization crossed my eyes.


    Fields of wheat stretched across the horizon, and past that, small houses. And even further behind that in the distance, skyscrapers. This ind was weird, no doubt about that.


    The forest ended and so did all my anxiety.


    Walking around the fields felt otherworldly. I never expected there to be fields like this. I''d only seen stuff like this in picture books and Holo TV. But up close, they did seem rather nice. I touched a few of the nts and the feeling was different. I didn''t know how to describe it.


    "Youing?" John was quite far already.


    "Yeah." I picked up the pace.


    We passed by the wooden houses. Some of the residents waved at us, I waved back. John didn''t give a second nce to them.


    I''d been told that people near the edges who lived in barns like these were lesser beings and that we shouldn''t interact with them. Of course, I found that pretty stupid and didn''t buy into that crap.


    The reason? I had a friend who lived near the borders and to me, he was no less of a human than me.


    Gradually, the scenery changed and instead of fields we now had buildings and roads.


    It was basically like I was walking through history.


    There were a lot of people here going about their days.


    "Alright, that''s our stop." John pointed at a tall building near the middle of the city. It was pretty tall, at least a hundred floors.


    "How did I not see that before?"


    "They use holographic tech, so you won''t be able to see the building unless you were this close."


    Fair enough, no wonder I hadn''t seen the building till now.


    "Let go of my baby!" A woman screamed on the opposite side of the road as a man clocked in ck tried to snatch her baby.


    And then there was that. The ssic crime scene.


    But strangely no one was even giving her a second nce. I guess no one really cared about others?


    I sighed. "Is this normal?" I got ready to do something. I could use alpha to track down the man in case he got away.


    "Not really. But don''t worry. That guy must be new."


    "Wha-" Before I could say something, the cries of the woman stopped.


    There was a sound of something cracking. And that was all.


    The cries of the baby followed next, as its mother picked it up and hugged it tightly.


    Apparently, the baby grabber was now on the floor, letting out smokes. "What just happened?"


    "Oh yeah. The security on this ind is pretty specked. Only inside the city of course. The academy and the city are totally different when ites to governing."


    "Uh-huh." Of course, I still didn''t know jackshit about what this guy was even talking about.


    So we kept walking and made our way into the building. There were guards by the entrance, dressed in ck suits and sunsses.

 Chapter 74 - Why Did It Have To Be Stairs!

    There were men in suits everywhere. This ind had all sorts of people from all over the world. I thought I was used to seeing people from different ces, but this was a totally different experience.


    Normally at the academy, people mostly spoke in English but in here,nguage was all over the ce. I myself knew fournguages, and yet, I felt so out of ce right now.


    There were other types of people here too. Men in tights, some inb coats while others with Holo armor. Though the numbers were smaller, women were here too and doing very much the same stuff as men, just walking around, being busy.


    The age range was adult and up. Teenagers were pretty rare.


    "I thought this was some sort of a clubhouse," I mumbled and looked around. The exterior was sparkly clean and there were all sorts of fancy stuff in here like hovercrafts, Large Holo screens, flying skateboards, and so on.


    "It is but things changed over thest couple of years and the International Lightsaber Federation changed policies and made these houses into full-fledge research centers."


    "That''s cool and all but we should hurry up." This didn''t look like just a research center, no, this was much more than that.


    "Right."


    He walked ahead and I followed. I didn''t know my way, so I just followed him around like a toddler.


    We got asional stares from the people around us but nothing too weird. Normally I got way more stares anyway. But today, Jonathan was the one getting the stares.


    The elevator was probably the only thing old in this whole building.


    Johnathan and I went in, he pressed the button for the 67th floor.


    "This might take a while." Johnathan wasn''t optimistic.


    A secondter the elevator started going up.


    I was fine with an old and slow elevator. And if that was all, waiting a little longer wasn''t a problem.


    But regretfully it wasn''t all.


    We stopped three times while climbing to the tenth floor.


    "Wouldn''t the stairs be faster?"


    "You want to climb over fifty floors?"


    "Good point." I sighed. Just climbing four floors every day was like hell and now over fifty? Maybe spending an hour in the elevator wasn''t that much of a bad of a deal.


    It didn''t seem like that much of a great deal either though.


    We were interrupted over and over again and by the time we reached the fiftieth floor, the elevator was totally full with seventeen people, ourselves excluded.


    It''d already been over twenty minutes.


    And yet, there were more peopleing in. It was like a hot sauna in here. And everyone was touching everyone. A middle-ageddy was taking full advantage, by grabbing my bottom every three minutes or so. Of course. She made sure to avert all sorts of eye contact and just pretended like nothing was amiss.


    Fifty-first floor was my limit. "I think I''ll take the stairs." I didn''t care if I had to climb on foot.


    I got out after a lot of struggle. I looked back and thedy frowned.


    What was she, a predator?


    With a sigh, Johnathan followed me out. "I think you might be right. I''d heard that two of the elevators were down and it was crowdy today, but I might have underestimated the crisis."


    Finally, I could breathe. And be a bit more at ease.


    But another problem stood right in front of us. The stairs. Well, at least I had my privacy, kind of.


    Since I was the one who wanted this, I couldn''tin right now either.


    So with another sigh, we kept on climbing.


    So far this day was nothing but sighs as well.


    Just the thought was enough to make me want to sigh some more.


    ***


    Every step was grueling.


    I huffed and puffed.


    Life was hard.


    "Stop acting like a baby, it''s only been ten floors. We''ve got seven more to go."


    John had superhuman stamina.


    But I on the other hand probably had less than average: being asleep till midday didn''t help. And since I was the one who wanted to take the stairs, I couldn''tin anymore.


    That definitely didn''t stop me from acting frail though.


    On the 61st floor, however, something happened.


    ''A bunny girl!'' I saw a girl with white fluffy bunny ears. My attention was on max.


    For a second I thought it was my long-lost crush.


    But when I actually saw the face, I was utterly disappointed. Not the same person.


    "What are you doing, let''s go. Weren''t you the one-"


    "Yeah, yeah." That was enough memory searching. "I''ming."


    I had to get my shit together. So without a doubt, I turned my head and rushed through the steps.


    But I still stole a nce at her, from my peripherals. She looked pretty close to my crush if nothing else: not the same person though. But then again I hadn''t seen my crush in six years, so I wasn''t so sure.


    In that split second, our eyes met and she went on her way as if I wasn''t even worth a second nce. Though it saddened me, I wasn''t here to watch girls anyway.


    ''Alright!''


    With that thought in mind, the steps were all behind me. I ran through the first three floors and almost lied down on the fourth.


    Still, two more floors to go, but I was already floored: literally.


    "That''s what you get for running." John chuckled as he took all his timeing up.


    I panted and even now I didn''t have aeback. He was right after all.


    There were people everywhere. But it wasn''t crowded and there was no sense of chaos. It was a lot calmer than the bottom floors. Guess I should have seen thising.


    So, after catching my breath we kept on climbing.


    ''Maybe it would have been better if we''d just stuck to the elevator.''


    ***


    By the time we reached the 67th floor, it was already 6 pm. Time really flew fast. We probably spent over an hour climbing this damn building.


    And not to mention it was too damn tiring. I couldn''t even properly stand up anymore.


    Johnathan on the other hand looked at me with pity. I guess he might have overestimated me. "That''s our stop. Room 6769."


    I picked myself up. This was awfully tiring. And maybe mom was right, I should have rested some more. But after all, this,ining right now, wasn''t an option.


    "Right, let''s go."


    I still breathed heavily.


    Tomorrow the prelims would start and I was already this spent. Even if I went back now and rested, it still wouldn''t have been enough.


    And not to mention I didn''t actually have a saber. Getting one like this was good and all, but I got the impression this would take a bit too long.


    I didn''t like where this was going.


    Johnathan gave me a smirk. "The scientist in that room is a bit of a¡­Ahem." He cleared his throat. "You''ll see soon enough. Just try to be calm."


    Well, his choice of words certainly wasn''t helping to keep me calm.


    But aftering this far, I wasn''t going to back down just because the scientist inside could have been a weirdo.


    I most certainly wasn''t.


    I entered the room after a solid knock on the door. It was a steel door, so I might have hurt myself in the process. It looked like stic but it wasn''t: I learned it the hard way.


    But when I did went in my face kind of warped.


    ''Oh shit.''


    It just had to be her.


    My thought took a one-eighty turn. I wanted to run away, yesterday.


    "I was wondering when you''d show up." She threw a floating kiss at me: the woman was in ab coat. Brown frilly hair, freckles here and there, and definitely an inch shorter than me.


    She was also the same middle-ageddy from the elevator.


    "We-We''re leaving!" I turned around in rapid motion, but both of my hands were grabbed by something very powerful: I was being pulled in.


    I turned back in horror and found myself entangled in tentacles, her tentacles. They were almost like a squid''s.


    Johnathan chuckled. "Well, let''s calm down a little first."


    I really wanted to punch this dude. ''How the hell am I supposed to stay calm!''


    I still tried to be calm about this, but the tentacles were surely being a bit too risky: touching a lot of ces.


    "Would you mind letting me go, or do you want to get burned?" I tried to smile but my throbbing veins were definitely not helping.


    The woman squirmed. "Oh, you''re already burning me up pretty badly." Her tone indicated a lot of things I did not want to think about.


    Did she think it was funny? Normally I didn''t like using radiation nonchntly when others were present, but honestly, maybe burning all these morons wouldn''t hurt that much. And with that being said, I released a good amount of beta particles.


    It wasn''t that deadly, but they''d be sure to feel the pain of burning. At least on the surface of their skin. Especially this squid girl.


    "Alright, alright! Geez!" She let me go, smoking a little from her tentacles.


    I stopped the particles.


    "You really can''t take a joke, huh?" John chuckled. He looked redder than usual.


    "Oh, if I couldn''t take a joke, both of you would be dead already." Iughed out loud.


    They just looked at me with a bit of fear. I guess my humor wasn''t that funny.

 Chapter 75 - Is It Me Or Is My Sword Awesome?

    "Ahem!" The woman changed the subject. "Allow me to introduce-"


    "I don''t really care about you all that much. I know I''m being rude, but can we get moving? Because of you, I just happened to lose a lot of time here today."


    If it weren''t for that woman, I wouldn''t have had to take the stairs and die of fatigue in the first ce.


    So I was definitely pissed if nothing else.


    "Rude! HMPH!" She pouted and turned 180 degrees.


    I guess I offended her more than necessary.


    "You might want to apologize," Johnathan whispered.


    "Hey, woman." I raised my voice. "If you''re going to be like that I''ll leave right away. And I assure you, I''d be sure toin the entire way about how you guys molest kids and how you guys turn them down and-"


    ''Apology? Yeah, no thanks.''


    "Alright, alright. Geez, what''s wrong with you? I thought you were some cute kid on the lift, and this is how you treat me?"


    I sighed. Taunting never was my forte anyway. But I guess it worked, so noints.


    "Alright then, I heard you were good, so let''s get started." Of course, I didn''t know anything about her, but that didn''t stop me from ttering her either. After all, if I only gave her the stick then how was I going to get anything out of this?


    "If it can''t be helped." She nced at me from her peripherals, pouting all the way.


    Was I missing something here?


    Johnathan pped me on the back. "Never doubted ya!"


    I was pretty sure the guy doubted me from the moment we got out of the academy.


    ***


    The room itself was pretty big and there were all sorts of Holo monitors, quantumputers, and even some fancy transparent traditional ones. Johnathan wasn''t kidding when he said this ce was specked.


    "Insert your hand here." Shockingly the woman was pretty professional in her approach.


    And it would have been just fine too if she wasn''t licking her lips every two seconds while stealing nces at me.


    Instead of an empty scabbard this time I just had to put my hands inside some sort of small hole in arge machine. My inner me was screaming at me for some reason to not even get near this thing, let alone put my hands in it. But I wasn''t going to chicken out after going through all that, at least not now.


    Besides, I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.


    So I just shoved my right hand in. it was a bit warm in there and lubricated. The feeling was weird- was the best I coulde up with.


    "Keep it in as I take in the samples."


    "Sample?" Only a secondter did I feel the immense pain that nearly made me fall down to my knees. "AHAHHHAHAHA" I didn''t know why but I was screaming a lot louder than I could suppress. It was like electricity pulsed through my whole body, scorching me.


    The pain stopped exactly two secondster. Time had slowed to such an extent that I felt like it was an eternity.


    Strangely my tolerance to pain was a lot higher than I thought.


    My hands slipped out and I sat on the cold floor catching my breath.


    "You okay?" Johnathan rushed towards me.


    "What was that?" I couldn''t talk properly over all the panting.


    "It''s extraordinary." The woman on the other hand was busy staring at her monitor and almost salivating. "This is amazing!" She screamed. "AHAHAH!" I couldn''t differentiate if she wasughing or moaning.


    "Wasn''t there anyone else?" I really didn''t want to be here right now.


    "She''s the best in the club." Johnathan sighed. "She was one of the best of the whole federation but you can guess why she ended up here of all ces."


    "Her attitude?"


    "Yup. If only she''d get her act together-" Johnathan sighed, pulled me up and we went closer to the woman. "EWW!" He, however, was trying his best to wipe the lubricant off his hand.


    But now that I thought about it, boy was there fluids on my hand. ''What is this translucent stuff, anyway?''


    I did not want to dig further in.


    "So, what did you find?" I stood next to the woman.


    "You''re amazing! This is the best sample I''ve seen! It''s almost as if I''m examining the genes of the sword king himself!"


    "Sword king? Who''s that?" I probably heard the name before but I couldn''t really remember.


    "You haven''t heard of him? He was the best lightsaber wielder in the history of the academy. He ranked first, three years straight. He graduated twenty years ago. But kind of disappeared a decade ago." Johnathan seemed pretty well versed in this stuff.


    I guess that was natural since he was the club leader and all.


    "Name?"


    "Albert Jonaheim, I think."


    "Yeah, I think I''ve heard of the name before. Can''t remember though."


    It was probably a long time ago anyway.


    "Anyway, you have a lot of potential, if shepares you to the king! I never doubted you for a second!" Johnathan shed a thumbs up at me.


    I didn''t trust his trust one bit.


    "So, what now?" I didn''t care about all this amazing nonsense. All I needed was a saber that was good enough for me to win so I could swim in chocte.


    "We can use this data to make a custom saber for you." Halfway through the woman started to squirm again. She got up and grabbed both of my hands. "Let''s go." A secondter she picked me up with her tentacles and ran out of the room.


    I didn''t know why but I was awfully calm about this whole thing. It didn''t seem like it was worth for me to get riled up about.


    Johnathan just followed us like it was no big deal as the woman was basically carrying me like I was some sort of a potato sack.


    The elevator was going down, so she just ran up the stairs instead. I actually thought she''d tire a few minutester, but strangely that never happened.


    This woman had more stamina than even Johnathan!


    She just kept on running upstairs like a steam engine. Her sweats were covering my body and I just wanted to char her, literally: for once I was d she was wearing some sort of perfume. But it took a lot of patience to not fire gamma subconsciously.


    This wasn''t so bad, though. I finally got to see Johnathan sweating and panting. The poor guy was looking down on me the whole day, and now I was looking down on him, albeit not from a position I wanted to.


    Okay, maybe this wasn''t something I could have been proud of.


    ***


    Eventually, we got to the 99th floor.


    The woman was still carrying me. "Can you let go of me now?"


    This was surprisingly quick. It hadn''t even been ten minutes and we were already at the second top floor.


    "Oh, sorry dear."


    She let me down. I thought she''d create more fuss but she didn''t.


    ''I really need a shower.''


    The sweat didn''t smell but I certainly didn''t feelfortable.


    "The engineer we''re about to meet is the best in the business. He''s a bit hard on the attitude department but I think you''ll get along just fine," She reassured me.


    It wasn''t like we were here on a pic. So I didn''t have time to get along. I just wanted a frigging saber.


    No reassurance necessary.


    The moment the door opened, a st of heatwave almost singed the hair of my face. This room was hot.


    ''Is this how people feel when I burn their skin?''


    The color profile of the room was also warm. And there was a literal fire in the corner, going rather strong.


    "What is this ce?"


    It was definitely hotter than a sauna.


    "The smithy?" Johnathan cocked his head.


    "Weren''t sabers supposed to be made in top-secret government facilities using nanobots or something?"


    "Amie told you that huh? Well, yeah but this guy''s work has better quality than the ones you''ll find on the mass-produced ones. I can personally vouch for that." Johnathan was proud.


    "Oh, if isn''t boya, how''s it goingd?" A man was in the other corner, wearing rugs and some sort of goggles. He had a big hammer and something on the table. It almost looked like a sword.


    He was pretty solidly built but maybe a bit on the thick side.


    "All good pops, you?"


    "Fine." The man kept on hammering and loud ngs reverberated.


    "I thought I was going to get a saber, not a sword?" I sighed.


    Well, at least I was getting something.


    "Ya there brat! Yae to my house and disgrace it with yar shitty logic! Do ya even know the wonder of a sword boy!"


    I didn''t know what to say. Really, I just felt stupid and so I just stared at him, no emotions.


    This went on for a minute: the staringpetition.


    I sighed. "You do see I''m carrying a sword, rather than a saber, right?" I sighed again. "I just need a saber for a tournament. That''s all. And I never said swords were better than sabers anyway." I didn''t know what his problem was but that attitude sure rubbed me the wrong way.


    Bute to think of it, my attitude all day was kind of weird too. I wasn''t acting like my usual self andtely, I got a lot of violent and weird thoughts. And then there were the contradictory thoughts. It was almost as if I wasn''t myself. ''What''s happening?''


    The man chuckled hard and dropped the de in water, pulling it out a secondter. "Alright, show it to me. I''ll determine yar character with yar sword."


    ''How the hell does that work! And this isn''t my sword!''


    "I really don''t have time for this. But yeah, sure. It''s a memento, so I''d appreciate it if you didn''t try anything funny."


    "Rx, I''ll just take a look."


    I handed him the sword and he pulled out the de from the sheath, looked at it for a second, shook for another second, looked at me for roughly a minute without blinking, and then finally sheathed the sword again. "Wh-What''s yar connection with Juil-"


    I grabbed his hand before he could say another word and just shook''em. "Helio R. Jintel, nice to meet you." I shook more than vigorously to get him up to speed.


    His eyes opened wide. "So the geezer had a son." He smiled to himself.


    ''Why do people keep assuming, I''m gramps''s son?''


    It wouldn''t have been an issue if only one or two people assumed that but whoever knew my gramps just naturally assumed I was his son. I kind of did inherit his powers but that didn''t mean I was his son, right?


    I cleared my throat.


    He got the cue. "Right, I''m Rojack Brownly. I''m the guy who made this bad boy. Till this day, my best work." He shoved the sheath at my chest and I grabbed it.


    "You made this?"


    "Yup. This is probably one of the best swords of this world, if not the very best. Pure 95% Sylvanide, 4% Tungsten, and 1%..." the guy gave me a very wicked smile. I guess the one percent stuff was rare and he couldn''t say it in front of the two behind me.


    But really, Sylvanide? That stuff was expensive, way too expensive. And I had a whole sword made out of it? I guess gramps really was amazing.


    But why did this had to be a memento? If it weren''t, I could have just sold it and lived happily. But even I wasn''t that much of an idiot, or desperate for that matter.


    After all, mom would have certainly killed me this time.

 Chapter 76 - A Brand New Saber! But Why Isn’t It A Saber!?

    "So, what''s your power boy? And where''s the datasheet?"


    "Here." the woman came and handed the sheet to the guy, with a smile.


    Rojack clicked his tongue and snatched the sheet out of her hands. I guess they had history.


    The woman clicked her tongue as well and just went to the corner along with Johnathan.


    Yup, they totally had history.


    "I have the same powers as him just a bit inferior I guess?" I got the impression the guy knew my grandfather pretty well. So I just tried to be as frank as I could.


    "Don''t be so mod-e-s-t¡­" He was talking rather nicely until he wasn''t. Half of his speech was cryptic for no reason at all. "What the hell! Are you sure you''re that ugly bastard''s son!? Look at these readings! It''s almost like Alfred''s-" He stared at me for a second.


    ''Ugly bastard?'' I actually couldn''t remember gramps''s face, but I somehow knew he wasn''t that bad-looking. I almost felt offended.


    I sighed. "That was my grandfather''s sword. And no, he wasn''t my father. And no, he wasn''t ugly either."


    "What was your father''s name?" He took deep breaths and totally ignored my answers.


    "I''m not sure. I don''t remember and-" And mom never talked about the guy. There wasn''t even a picture of the guy in our house anymore. "I think it was Burt."


    There just wasn''t anything about him. He was erased from our lives. He didn''t exist anymore. That nickname was the only thing I knew about him, to this day.


    The man sighed. "I don''t know how much I can be of service but I''d suggest melting that bad boy and using it as the core for-"


    "No, as I said, this is a memento, I can''t do anything to it."


    Mom trusted me with this, I couldn''t just betray that trust. Not for money, and not even for chocte milk.


    He sighed. "Stubborn like your old man, eh?"


    "I''m telling you, he was my gramps."


    "I know." heughed loudly.


    He sure didn''t look like someone who knew.


    "So, anything else?" If I couldn''t melt the sword, then there had to be something else. It''s not like every saber needs a Sylvanide core anyway.


    But then again I didn''t know what saber kind of cores saber used, or more importantly, what even a core was anyway. I just didn''t know stuff. I guess I hadn''t been studying muchtely.


    ''Maybe I should jet detention and just read stuff there.''


    At least that way, I''d learn more and I''d even steer clear of trouble.


    "Well, I''ll need a core. A Sylvanide core would be ideal but I don''t think you''ll find one out in the open anyway. And you don''t look that rich either." I knew he wasn''t attacking me, but it sure stung. "So I''ll suggest getting Mutor cores."


    "Mutor cores? I never read-"


    "You thought you''d find these things in textbooks?" He againughed hysterically.


    The other two with me were basically just having fun chatting away at the other corner, touching various things in the room as they went. Those two were actually pretty simr when they were alone, totally in sync.


    This guy did have his point though.


    "So, how do I get the core?"


    "Find big Mutors who''ve mutated at least twice. I think you''ll be in luck if you went to the back of this ind. I heard a rumor that there was arge two-headed snake seen in the volcanotely. Ideally, search for Mutors who are at least ten years or older. And once you do-" He paused and grinned. "You know what to do."


    ''There''s a volcano here?''


    And a snake?


    What else did I not know about this ce?


    But a few things did make sense. The teachers specifically told us to bring back all the Mutors we''d ever hunt and turn them in at the academy and they''d even pay us for it as credits. But I guess now I knew why.


    "Are there any other way-"


    "Nope." He gave me a big grin. "Either a Mutor core or a Sylvanide one. Pick yar poison, cause nothing else would be able to deal with yar radiation." He even rhymed!


    I didn''t know why but this whole thing just got a lot more cumbersome. And it was almost as though the guy was mocking me for having radiation as a power.


    "Well, the prelims would start tomorrow. If I get free time next week, I''ll go and get a core. Meanwhile, I''ll have to use this sword and if they say I need a saber, I''ll just borrow a basic one from the club. Would that work Jonathan?" I raised my voice a little and stared at Johnathan. He was stealing this guy''s lunch along with the middle-ageddy.


    "Mmmgh? Yeah sure. Whatever." He was too busy chomping down the stuff: bagels,dyfingers, and burgers.


    "Is that okay?" I whispered.


    I mean, no matter how much they knew each other, they couldn''t just steal this guy''s lunch, right?


    "Wife and kids. Can''t me ''em." The man sighed.


    ''Oh¡­ wait, what?''


    I got more and more confused by the minute.


    The man burst intoughter. "Yeah, don''t worry about it. But judging by yar stats, I can say you can pretty much use all sabers. That''s some gics ya got."


    I didn''t feel all that special though. And I didn''t care about swords either. I just wanted my chocte milk.


    "Anyway, how about ya leave that sword with me? I''ll refine it for ya." Rojack pumped his chest, suggesting he was fit for the job.


    "Well, I need something to fight, so I can''t-"


    The guy wasn''t even listening to me. He just walked back and grabbed a small saber handle, throwing it straight at my face, a secondter. Of course, I grabbed it.


    But boy did this guy wanted me hurt.


    He just chuckled when I caught it.


    "This is?"


    "A prototype I was working on. If I can find a good core and perhaps some good quality alone time, I can make it a lot better."


    "What does it do?"


    "Barriers." His eyes lit up. "That bastard always whined about getting a personal barrier so I was working on this a few years ago. I heard he disappeared but that was normal for him. I kept on working. But I eventually realized, he wasn''ting back." He was looking at the floor, a bit sad.


    I could feel him. "What was your rtionship with him?"


    "He was my friend. We were together at school and we fought the headmaster, taking the academy for ourselves."


    Yeah, it definitely sounded like something gramps would do.


    I chuckled. "Alright. I''ll leave this to your care." I handed over my sword.


    "I won''t let ya down." He pumped his chest again. "Why don''t you give yours a try?"


    "Sure."


    I fired off the saber.


    A pure ck stream of light.


    It was hot, and the stream was very constant.


    But there was a problem. This wasn''t a saber. It was a freaking, scythe.


    This wasn''t some cheap knockoff either. I tried giving it a swing.


    "Whoa, whoa! Watch it!"


    I might or might not have gotten a bit too close to the guy.


    Obviously, it was intentional. The guy literally handed me a scythe instead of a saber, what did he expect and what the hell was he thinking?


    Anyway, I smirked and tried to create a barrier in front of me.


    But there was one problem.


    How the hell would I make one?

 Chapter 77 - A Brand New Saber! But Why Isn’t It A Saber!? (Part 2)

    "Umm, how do I-"


    "Figure it out yourself." The guy dismissed my query without batting an eye. "I''ll give extra effort in refining this, but it should still take a week. So how about you bring back the core next week and hand the saber and core while getting this sword back? That should work for the prelims. And if I remember correctly during my time, swords were allowed just fine." He grinned. "And though this saber was made for that bastard, I still don''t have a good core, the current is a piece from R&D, so I wouldn''t use too much radiation if I were you."


    "Alright!" I had no reason to doubt him. And it wasn''t like he could just run away with my sword. After all, I had someone in my family who was a master at tracking down people. "But why the hell a scythe. I mean you can easily make this a sword, right?"


    And more importantly, the damn aura this scythe radiated, screamed pure evil: ck!


    "Tell that to the bastard. You have no idea how long he pestered me to make this." He sighed. "And it can change shapes to three forms: it will do more once I get a good core." He winked. "It mostly takes the form under the user''s personality. For example, if I use it, nothing happens. Only few in this world can even lift it once it''s activated. For my creation, I think it''s pretty epic."


    ''I think it''s pretty useless if you can''t use something you make, though.''


    I didn''t know what he was talking about so I tried focusing and sure enough, the scythe changed a broadsword. And it certainly got a lot heavier. "Whoa!" I almost dumped it on the guy''s head. For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. "Sorry." I tried focusing again and this time it changed to a bow: rather light. This wasn''t actually bad. And the bow was quite like the one I used back at the duel, but this definitely was a lot better: better than looking like a total viin with a death weapon, oh wait, I pretty much looked like death itself!


    But the moment I stopped, it returned to being a scythe. "Why is this sword hell-bent on making me look like a viin?"


    "Cause you are?" The guy looked at me with confusion.


    I sighed. I didn''t want to continue this. This saber was good and that was all I needed.


    And just because my family was full of viins, that didn''t make me one, did it?


    Honestly, I didn''t want to think about it.


    "But wouldn''t using a scythe or a bow be against the rules?"


    The guy looked at the corner, but there was nothing there. "It''ll be cool."


    ''Then why the hell are you averting your eyes?''


    I might or might not have passed my sigh quota again, today.


    We both shook hands again.


    "Yo, Johnathan, let''s go." My work was done.


    Rojack giggled silently.


    I guess he rarely heard his kid being called by his full name.


    Jonathan and the woman were done gobbling up this guy''s lunch and now were looking a bit too pleased. I guess they were mother and son after all.


    But then again, why was this guy keeping his lunch at this hour anyway? I didn''t know why but I had a premonition that this guy actually kept those around for these two.


    It wasn''t something I should have pried into, so I didn''t bother wasting my energy on it.


    "Yeah, let''s go."


    "Later, ol'' man." I waved an arm as I got out. "Thanks for the scythe and making me look like a viin."


    "Yeah,ter, kid. Hope ya can be a better viin than your old man."


    ''Yeah, for thest time, that guy isn''t my father!''


    We never talked about money. The club would have probably taken care of it anyway.


    ***


    I, Jonathan, and the woman came straight out of the room and honestly, the outside was much, much cooler: freezing even. Also, much, much darker. I checked the time, and it was close to nine. With the added benefit of the stairs and the jungle, getting home before 12 seemed like a literal stretch, considering nothing went wrong.


    Just outside, the woman grabbed my hands, "Doe again. I''ll be sure to make it worth your while!" She winked.


    ''Yeah, I think I''ll pass.''


    There were ulterior motives written all over her face.


    I looked at Johnathan and he didn''t really care. I guess he was already used to this.


    So with a sigh, I kept on walking towards the stairs, only to remember that we were actually at the ny-ninth floor.


    I did not want to be alive anymore.


    "The second elevator should be fixed, so you can take that." For just this once, the woman proved actually to be useful.


    My will to live made a triumphant return.


    "Oh, and thanks."


    I kind of didn''t want to thank her, but I guess she still helped me plenty.


    Johnathan just waved his goodbye and we both got on the elevator. It was already on this floor: lucky us. It moved faster than the one we got onst time. And there weren''t that many stops either. I guess people didn''t work past eight?


    Things moved fast and in ten minutes we reached the fiftieth floor with just three stops.


    "This might not be so bad." I was d for once.


    "I wouldn''t be so sure."


    I didn''t know why but Johnathan wasn''t so optimistic.


    And I learned firsthand why, a minuteter.


    It took exactly neen stops to the first floor and half an hour no less.


    After a lot of sweating, rubbing, and not sofortableness, we finally got off the elevator.


    Never knew air could be so fresh.


    But it did take a lot less timepared tost time.


    It was exactly 9.45 and we had roughly two hours to get back to the dorms.


    "Let''s take that other path this time, you know the one with five extra minutes and no bugs."


    "It''ll be through the frozennds, but sure." Johnathan didn''t care either way.


    ''Say what?''


    Freeze to death? Or death by bugs?


    I liked to be spoiled for choice, but not like this!


    "Let''s buy some warm clothes I guess." Freezing was still better than bugs anyway.


    I really didn''t want to spend money though.

 Chapter 78 - I’m A Villain?

    We walked into a clothing store. I kept my eyes peeled for anything that was cheap.


    I didn''t buy chocte milk for two days, so I did have some money left. I wanted to treat myself with itter on, but I guess living a bug-free life was worth more.


    "You done yet?'' Johnathan had already finished buying.


    I on the other hand was still busy searching for cheap stuff. And finally, I found something.


    It was a pink sweater, bear-themed. And even I could tell that it was made for girls. But it was the least expensive and half the price of the male version.


    ''It''s dark in the night, right?''


    I was making up excuses but I didn''t really mind wearing a sweater. Besides, it wasn''t like it had any tag saying that it was made for girls.


    I tried it on and it fit too. Maybe a bit tight but still a good fit. But when I walked into the light around the counter, I saw a bit of writing near the bottom edge. ''Made by girls for girls.''


    Why did nothing ever work out?


    I still bought it though.


    Both of the cashier and Johnathan giggled silently. I felt like crawling into a hole but when you didn''t have money, life really was cruel.


    Maybe I should have gone a bit easy on the chocte milk and saved more money.


    ***


    I walked a lot faster than usual. The faster I could get out of the city, the better.


    By the time we were out of the city, it was ten. We were actually moving a lot faster than I thought. If everything was good, we could have even reached the academy by ten-thirty.


    Of course, this area was like the suburbs so there were a lot of people here too. I had little to no facial hair. So people never really found me funny in these clothes.


    But that only made me feel worse.


    If they were running around giggling and all that, it would have been fine with me, I mean that would have been natural. I would have been embarrassed and a little angry but it still would have been fine. But just assuming I was a girl? I really felt like someone just took away my masculinity at this point. So frustrating.


    I didn''t have long hair you know!


    Of course, Johnathan''s silent giggles weren''t helping in that matter either. "We''ll be taking a left here. If we walk fast we should be out of the frozennds in less than half an hour."


    "By the way, this ind has a volcano and two-headed snakes?"


    "The volcano I''m aware of but haven''t heard anything about two-headed snakestely. I heard there were rumors about there being an old two-headed snake ravaging the west: the volcanic region but nothing concrete."


    "How old are we talking about?"


    "Look mom, she''s so pretty." A random kid started whispering to her mother, and thanks to my good hearing, I heard that. I really wanted to crawl into a hole right about now.


    ''Yeah, no one asked for yourmentary, brat!''


    Johnathan almost snorted but controlled it at the veryst second: I guess he got lucky, cause I was this close to losing my cool. "Twenty- twenty-five years I guess?"


    I really, really wanted to crawl into a hole right about now.


    As long as it was ten years, it was fine. But I always read that Mutors grew more and more violent the older they were. But I didn''t know how long they lived. And not to mention till this day I wasn''t even aware of there being a core in Mutors. The sheer amount of the stuff I didn''t know about this world, scared me.


    Swoosh!


    "Did you hear that?"


    "Hear what?"


    "A faint wind. I think someone-" I looked back. It was the night of the new moon. The sky was pretty ck but in that sky, I saw a dot. "What is that?" I pointed.


    "Dunno. Can''t see."


    The dot in the sky was stationary and seemed to be looking at us. I had a bad feeling about this.


    It started to advance towards us.


    I had a very bad feeling about this.


    ''You can''t be serious.''


    It took the guy exactly three seconds tond right in front of me, shattering the road in pieces. The earth shook and everyone''s attention was now on the guy. Even people inside their houses, opened the window to look at what just happened.


    "Long time no see, Helio." The debris cleared and a tanned man with blonde hair walked out. His spiky hair and bare chest were the clear indication that he was a viin- ording to him. He had a cape, a pair of pants and that was it.


    He was a foot taller than me and half a foot wider.


    The most notorious criminal in the world was right in front of me, giving me a grin. Honestly, I was pissed if nothing else. If he wasn''t my cousin, I''d have given him a pretty good slug right about now.


    "Hey." I didn''t want to say hi but I had no choice.


    "Joh-Joh-John!" Johnathan fell on his knees, quivering all the way. I guess he knew the guy.


    I sighed. "Never knew someone could so be freighted of someone with their own name."


    "Huh? What do you mean?" My cousin John, looked a bit confused.


    "Oh, he''s my friend. Same name as yours. He''s Johnathan."


    "Oh?" John looked at my quivering senior. "Hey, I never gave you permission to use my name." He red. The club leader meanwhile almost peed himself, shaking as he did: was he really the guy who was being so cool all day? John burst outughing. "Don''t worry. If you''re Helio''s friend, we''re cool."


    Apparently, everyone who was around was also shaking more than necessary.


    What was so frightening about this clown anyway?


    "So, what happened? Why are you here?"


    John walked closer to me, wrapped his arm around my neck, andughed. "I''m proud of you."


    I couldn''t tell he was serious or just joking so I did a double check on reality by blinking.


    He was totally serious.


    "What the hell?" What the hell, indeed.


    John was my first cousin and he was also a preacher of viin supremacy. He believed the world was a ce which could be dominated through sheer power and violence. And he was also the guy who literally hated me since didn''t want to follow in his footsteps. ording to him, I had the most potential to rule the world and he wanted to see me as the emperor of this world.


    But since I always refused he just teased me every now and then. And I was always under the impression that the guy didn''t like me anymore.


    So what the hell happened to this guy?


    "I''ve never been more proud." He looked into the night sky, shedding a tear of joy.


    ''Am I in the right world, right now?''


    "Umm-? You- two know each-o-other?" Johnathan was still shaking but he got up on shaky legs.


    "We''re cousins." John nced back, cold eyes.


    Johnathan fell on his legs again.


    I sighed. "There goes my cover."


    John startedughing again. "Viins don''t need covers." Heughed ever so sarcastically. "But well done. I''m proud. But this is just your first step. You''ll have to ovee many barriers but I believe one day you''ll be the true emperor of this world."


    What kind of expired stuff did this guy take to get this high? "Are you high or something? What are you even talking about?"


    He shed another smile and flicked his Holo open. I read the first article and saw living hell.


    ''Oh shit.''


    It simply read, ''Helio Romswell Jintel, the cursed mask is currently going to the Demigrace Academy¡­. He has done numerous viinous acts¡­. But thetest would be the murder of ze Battlesuin leading to the deration of war between the two families.''


    Huh?


    HUh?


    HUH!!?


    I was confused. No thunderstruck! bbergasted!?


    What the hell was this!


    "And now they''ve dered war on us. I was always looking for an excuse to crush those losers. Ah, I''m so proud of you." He held my shoulder and shed another tear.


    I''d been framed. But the world didn''t know that. The world just knew one thing¡­.


    ''Holy shit. I''m a viin!''


    My eyes twitched as I turned to Johnathan. His mouth was hanging. And so were the people'' around us. This shit was real.


    "By the way?" John poked my cheeks.


    "Yeah?" Looking into the distance. My life was over.


    All my life I''ve steered clear of evil things and I even built up a decent cover at the academy but all of just got ruined.


    Ah, my life really was over, now.


    "Why are you wearing this? Some sort of fetish?"


    I looked at John, barely containing my tears.


    ''I really want a hole to crawl into right about now.''

 Chapter 79 - Trip Back, And A Pole?

    Trip back, and a pole?


    Life was hard but maintaining looks were harder.


    Maybe walking through and of bugs would have been a much better choice.


    And why the hell did those morons have to dere war on us? It wasn''t like I killed that trash anyway. ''Wait, did that guy, kill him?'' It wasn''t imusible. That guy who I tackled with at the gym was definitely strong. And he hinted at being employed, so I could assume as much. But I didn''t have any proof.


    But even more than the fire of war, the matter of my sweater was getting more of my attention.


    I really was conflicted, if nothing else.


    And before I knew it, I hadpany.


    Company in the form of a lightning bolt that is. With a rumbling that nearly shattered all the ss white stream of thunder descended on us.


    Of course, I wasn''t the least bit agitated by it. Cause, John just deflected the lightning, like it was no big deal. I was definitely more agitated by my sweater anyway.


    ''So this is how they deal with criminals?''


    I was actually curious as to what had happened thest time to that guy who tried to snatch the woman''s baby.


    And now I kind of had my answer.


    "To think you''d deflect it." A girl descended from the sky. There were no wings on her. She was floating and small sparks of electricity flew from her body around her, creating some sort of a corona discharge: her feet didn''t touch the ground but the discharges did.


    John didn''t say a word and just grinned.


    I sighed. "Can we get moving now? Oh and since you''re here, drop us by the academy gates." Of course, I was talking to John. I turned to the girl: I carefully observed her. She had white bunny ears, and possibly the same girl I saw this afternoon, almost mistaking her for my crush. "I''m sorry he destroyed the road and for causing the disturbance. We''ll be leaving now, without creating a fuss, so don''t worry." I had no intention of starting a fight here anyway.


    "What are you saying! Viins never run!" John looked at me, totally not getting any of my intentions or the situation for that matter.


    ''Just what sort of movies have you been eating this time?''


    I sighed again and just grabbed John''s cape, ring a bit too seriously. "We''re leaving unless you want me to burn this damn thing to ashes!"


    "Ummm¡­. Okay, okay." His voice was low and he wasn''t going to decline me.


    His cape was in a sense, something he cherished even above his viinous acts. Apparently, Gramps had given it to him on John''s third birthday. It was supposedly something gramps wore. That''s why John loved it so much: after all, gramps was his hero.


    But the sad truth was, gramps never wore capes. I guess no one ever told this guy, that.


    "Johnathan?"


    "Yes!" The guy just stood up straight like he was in some sort of an army. I felt sorry for the guy.


    "Would you like to leave with us, or on your own?" I wanted to give him a choice. If he needed quick transport, we could do that. But if he was too afraid, then that was a no-go.


    "I-I-I" I guess he was too afraid to even answer.


    I sighed again. "Alright, sorry about leaving you here." I turned to the girl again. So far, she hadn''t said anything, and just carefully observed us. "Again, really sorry about this. Oh and-" I gave it a long thought and after a lot of debate I went for it. "Do you know a girl named Sicilia?"


    The girl just stared at me with a bit of confusion. "How''d you know my name?" She said.


    I stared at her, a bit more intently. She did have the same golden hair and kind of the same face. But I still couldn''t really picture her to be the girl I was talking about. And that was because there was a fundamental difference. "Wait, you''re Sicilia? I thought you''d have a tter chest!" The Sicilia I remember had a chest as t as a board, but this girl was pretty endowed. This had to be an imposter. The girl red. I might have said some pretty offensive stuff without realizing it. "So-sorry about that. Kind of got emotional. We went to the same middle school." And if my memory served me correctly she was at least three years older than me.


    "I was going to let you go because clearly you two are stronger, but now you''ve just struck thest straw!" Her voice raised significantly as electricity, literally streamed out of her body and she dashed towards us, clearly intent on beating the hell out of us.


    ''Looks like I''ve dug my own grave.''


    "Ooops!" John grabbed my arm and jumped up. The girl followed, but John was faster and before I knew, we were pretty high. "You knew the girl?"


    "Yeah, back when I was still in Canada, she was-" I stopped. John didn''t need to know this stuff.


    He still giggled though. I shouldn''t have underestimated this guy.


    ***


    We flew through the frozennds. Even with this sweater, it was still kind of cold.


    The girl didn''t follow us.


    I was on top of John, and it was almost like he was giving me a piggyback ride.


    Last time I got this treatment was when gramps was still alive.


    I felt a lot of emotions, but I kind of just bottled them up.


    "What are the uncles thinking? Do they want to hand me over to negotiate or something?" I knew my family wasn''t like that, but it was always an option.


    John snorted. "NO." He acted a lot more dramatic than necessary. "Everyone''s just proud of you. Why would they even think of handing you over to those vermin?"


    ''To make a Trojan horse, why else? Are all you morons dumb?'' I could have singlehandedly scorched the ce anyway if I was alone. Oh, wait, I already started to think like these morons.


    I almost wanted to p my face, for falling down that rabbit hole.


    It was official, everyone in my family was a muscle brain, no doubt about that: and I was speed running to that state sooner thanter.


    ***


    It took us roughly three minutes to reach the academy.


    From up here, the academy looked pretty bright. It was definitely a lot prettier than I thought it''d be. The academy boundary was round in nature, so the whole ce looked like a glowing sphere. But I guess that was just an understatement.


    "What''s that?" While I was busy staring below, John was looking dead ahead.


    "A pole?"


    We were pretty high and from the looks of it, it was a long ass pole, touching the clouds.


    And then I remembered, Seline said something about climbing a pole.


    "I think one of my friends is climbing this. Let''s go down a bit."


    "You have weird friends mate."


    "Yeah, I don''t need to be told that by you of all people."


    Johnughed hard and slowly descended, halfway through I spotted Seline, climbing this thin pole like it was no big deal. It probably wasn''t, for her.


    "Huh? Helio? And who''s that?"


    "Oh hey. This is my cousin. Don''t worry about it. Looks like you''re almost there."


    "I''ve still got halfway, but yeah."


    I could hear faint cheers from the crowd below. Of course, there had to be a crowd no matter what. But I guess this wasn''t as bad as it looked. We were still pretty high but if Seline wanted to do this, I had no reason to get in her way.


    "But what are you wearing and why are you sitting on him like he''s a chair?"


    "Too many questions. You should focus more on this." And I certainly didn''t want to answer anything anyway.


    Seline giggled. "Right!" She kept on climbing. "And thanks foring." She shed a radiant smile.


    I gave John a tap. "Let''s go back to the dorms. Mom might be here."


    "What!?" John shook a little. "Aunt''s here? Yeah, no thanks, man. I''ll just go home."


    A grin surfaced on my face. The reason I hid this information was simple, John feared mom more than me. And I needed free transport.


    And now that his job was done, I didn''t need him anymore.


    But I might not have seen one thinging.


    "Well, it was fun seeing ya, butter. And don''t worry about the war, we''ll handle it. You just focus on being evil!" And with that said, John dropped me midair, flying away. "If things get rough, I''ll call you."


    And I started to fall to my death.


    ''Huh!?''


    HUHHH!


    I was at least three hundred meters up. And I most certainly didn''t want to fall to my death.


    "Calm the hell down." I let out a small scream and controlled my urges. The ground wasing up pretty fast but if I screwed up now, I was about to die.


    I didn''t care how, but I needed to do at least something so I didn''t fall down to my death.


    I took my saber out, and surely it made a scythe. I tried to make itrger and before I knew it, it touched the pole. "Sorry, Selene." I tried my best not to cut the pole, as I tried to angle my fall to the pole.


    And I seeded, kind of. There were a lot of scratches on the pole and it looked more than unsteady but I reached the pole and it was still here. I wasn''t falling down anymore. Instead, I was slipping down to my death.


    Perfect!


    My hands were on fire. I couldn''t create enough friction to save my bottom.


    The ground was so close.


    ''Can I fire off radiation and-"


    No, that would have just fried the people around. If I fell from this height while slipping, I''d be well off with just a few broken bones, but the people would have just been fried if I used enough power to propel me.


    But man was I tempted to fry everyone.


    And before I fell straight to the ground, I strengthened my body to the best of my abilities. At least this way I could have saved some of my bones.


    I let out arge scream so the people around would scram and I wouldn''t end up murdering bystanders. I also closed my eyes.


    But I kind of never fell on the ground: I was still screaming but I gradually stopped. I could hear faint murmurs.


    I slowly, yet cautiously opened my eyes. I was caught midair, at least a feet above the ground.


    "ck hands?"


    They were shadows.


    I looked in front of me and a redhead was there, smiling faintly. The well-endowed redhead was Leilis, thest person I wanted to meet.


    I actually didn''t expect to be saved. I was definitely expecting to get bedridden for a while though.


    The shadow hands helped me stand up and disappeared. I was still confused as to what just happened.


    I got all sorts of stares. But these stares were different. They were aimed at my dress.


    ''Oh shit, I forgot.''


    "Thanks!"


    And so, I ran for my life. Meanwhile, I took off the sweater, without a doubt.


    Why the hell was I still wearing it? Probably cause it was morefortable than I thought?

 Chapter 80 - No, GOD: You Can’t Do This To Me!

    I ran all the way to the dorm. I got a lot of stares, and some of the stares were even frightened ones.


    ''Did word travel this fast?''


    I didn''t know how much the people knew but one thing was for certain, I couldn''t let my guard down and I couldn''t get involved with anyone. The Battlesuin family was on almost equal footing against us. But even they knew, we were a step above them when it came tobat powers, so howe they were so eager to start a war with us?


    Something just didn''t feel right.


    Even inside the dorm, I got all sorts of res. But I guess, at this point, this was pretty normal. For once I was d it waste, or there would have been even more people.


    I made my way to my room. It was close to midnight but I still had about ten minutes or so.


    Knock!


    "Who is it?"


    "Who else would be at this hour?"


    The door opened. "Oh thank god. I thought it was another one of them."


    I entered. "One of who?"


    "You wouldn''t believe, I think I''m famous!" Merin grabbed my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes, all serious.


    "Yeah, I totally believe you." I was too stressed so this seemed like a good opportunity to humor him and let loose a little.


    "I had to deal with at least ten reporters already!"


    ''Ten, that''s it?'' It was actually kind of disappointing.


    But I guess this confirmed it. Word did travel fast, too fast to be exact.


    "I''d actually never been interviewed before." Merin shed a tear and looked at me, awfully proud.


    I sighed. "You didn''t tell them anything did you?"


    "No, not really. I''d never sell out a friend. Though I did tell them your favorite food and all that." He shed a thumbs up at me.


    I shed one back. Now, this was something I could get behind. Ah, I could just imagine the reporters rushing to me, bribing me with food.


    This was a dreame true. ''Maybe bing a viin isn''t all that bad?''


    I could just smell the hot chocte in the air.


    "So," I cleared my throat and wiped off the drool from my face. "What kind of foods did you say?" I was nearing the limit of my patience.


    "Let''s see. Broli juice, shrimp fried rice, and oh right, celeries!"


    "Wait, what!" Shrimp was okay, but what about the other two! "Why would you say that!?"


    "Oh yeah, I kind of wanted to eat shrimp, so I said that. So if you don''t like shrimp, then do give them to me." He grinned.


    "Not the shrimp, moron! Why did you say the other two?"


    "Cause your mom said so. She said those two were your favorite. But since you didn''t have the money you always spent everything on cheap food like bread. And she also told me that you arectose intolerant, so, she forbade you to even go near milk from now on."


    They WERE NOT my favorite: far from it.


    ''Lactose intolerance? Is that why mom told me to drink one ss only once a week? It that why I had to spend every morning sitting on the toilet cursing god for thest week?'' It strangely made sense. And then my mind kind of snapped. "NOOOOOOOOOO! No, god, you can''t do this to me!!!"


    And why the hell did mom not tell me this directly!?


    What was wrong with this day? Why did everything just go so bad? Why was all of this happening to me! "No." I fell on the floor, weeping like a girl from some random soap opera.


    "So anyway, I was reading through your mails. And I found this." Merin didn''t even care the least.


    "What is wrong with you? Have you no heart?" Yup, definitely a soap opera.


    "Yeah, I don''t really care. If you can''t eat something, you shouldn''t eat it. It''s as simple as that. Besides, you can always get almond milk or something. But those things do cost a fortune here. So I guess you''re better off with just eating broli juice."


    Did he really have to be so blunt?


    But yeah, he didn''t have a heart. Nah-uh.


    I kept on sniffing as he handed me a letter. "This is the one."


    "Why the hell were you ravaging through my stuff?"


    "Well," Merin scratched his cheeks and looked away bashfully. "I thought they were love letters."


    "What are you? A maiden on steroids?" I sighed. The emotions were gone. Lately, I''d been getting so many mood swings that it was almost scary.


    I took the letter and scanned through the sender''s name. My eyes almost popped out. "When did-" I stopped. Come to think of it, a girl in a white suit did hand me over a letter yesterday afternoon.


    "Yeah, I was shocked too. Who''d have thought they''d dere war on you, and then just randomly invite you to a tea party?"


    "Obviously this is a trap." I sighed and read through the letter. Another sigh escaped. I might have exceeded my daily sigh quota by two or perhaps even three times today. And I had a lot more sighs on standby.


    ''Dear Helio,


    Hope you are having an excellent day. It is my pleasure to announce that we shall be going to war¡­


    ¡­ However, please bear in mind that we still have time to reprimand, given that you are willing to pay the repercussions¡­


    Yours truly,


    Hyora Von Battlesuin.''


    This letter nearly gave me a headache: it wasn''t even a letter. It was more like a poem for headaches. And not to mention half of it didn''t make sense. Repercussion? Was the sender trying to be funny or something?


    And this was a personal letter: a personal letter from the family head of the Battlesuin family and not to mention they wanted me to attend their tea party so they could negotiate what kind of prices I''d have to pay.


    I really had a bad feeling about this.


    "Mom left?"


    "Yup."


    "Did she see this letter?"


    "She did, and she told me to tell you-"


    "Dude, just get to the point." My patience had run away through the window.


    Merin fell on the bed,ughing loudly. "She said she was going to talk with the elders and let you knowter. The deadline to answer this letter is by the end of this month, so for the time being she told you to be rxed."


    ''There''s even a deadline to this thing?''


    "How the hell am I supposed to be rxed after this?" I mumbled and sat on the bed. My stomach rumbled. With all this stuff going on, I kind of forgot to buy food. I held my head in my hand. "Why did it have toe to this?"


    "Whoa, you got a new saber?" Merin was trying his best to change the subject. I could see the awkwardness in his face.


    But I was d he was trying. I smiled. "Yeah, it''s pretty much a scythe though."


    "Scythe? Are scythes even allowed?"


    "Not sure, but I can make it a two-handed great sword too, so I guess even if I can''t use the scythe, I can still use it as a sword." Well, it would have taken a fair bit of imaging and a lot of focus but it wasn''t impossible.


    "Well, if it works then that''s great. But yeah, I''ll be cheering for you."


    "Thanks, man."


    I guess I at least had someone who was cheering for me.


    "No prob, oh yeah, your mom told me to give this to you." Merin gave me a small packet.


    Just how many things was he hiding?


    I didn''t know what to expect anymore, so I just opened the small package. And I was greeted by the sweet smell of mom''s cooking: Fried chicken, rice, and of course, sauce. It was almost as though she knew I was starving.


    This was one hell of a day. But in the end, at least I had my family.


    And then there was a note. ''You gotta be kidding me!''


    ''This is your treat for the entire month. Don''t go near milk or chocte and if I find out that you somehow ate either, you''re not getting any allowance for a year.'' I could almost imagine mom to have a solid grin while she wrote this stuff.


    ''So not only can I not eat chocte milk, I can''t even have in chocte!?''I really wanted to cry, but I guess this was it. My life was over. I needed to cool down my head with some sleep, I guess.


    So with all the worries aside, I just ate my fill and turned in at exactly 1. I''d have to get up the next day by 7, so I needed as much sleep I could get.


    But how could I fall asleep with all these stupid thoughts?


    ''Maybeing here, to this academy was a bad idea?''


    There were a lot of other schools which I could have taken if I wanted to be an explorer. But I chose this above everything. And that was because, supposedly, both my grandfather and father had gone to this school.


    I didn''t give a damn about my father, but I really wanted to see what kind of world gramps was living in. But I certainly wasn''t going to be a viin for that sake.


    But now, after everything I did to get here, now, it just felt a bit, pointless?


    I really didn''t know what to feel.


    And not to mention my thoughts were oddly convoluted.


    ***


    Beep*


    As usual, I got fresh and went out for exercise.


    The grogginess wasn''t enough to stop me, but it was certainly enough to slow me down.


    But everything wasn''t as usual. I didn''t get any stares today. People just in ignored me. And it wasn''t just normal ignorance either, they were afraid of me.


    It was a bit jarring at first, but as no one really even got near me, I felt a lot better than usual. Maybe this wasn''t so bad. I finally got the privacy I wanted! Albeit, not in the form I wanted.


    "Are you Helio? I''ve brought an offering!"


    And then there were these morons.


    It was almost like they were offering drug addicts, more drugs. But unfortunately, I didn''t fancy broli juice or celery for that matter.


    So, I didn''t pay attention to the reporters one bit and just continued my exercises. The reporters in question never interrupted me or tried to annoy me. I guess my family name was a lot more infamous than I thought.


    ''Shouldn''t the prefects do something about these guys?''


    It was still early morning, and these guys weren''t doing much harm anyway. So I guess, it was okay for now.


    I ran back to the dorm, got dressed in typical clothes, and went for ss. Fortunately, my reunion with the Palm, didn''t happen.


    No one actually wore a uniform, so I guess this was okay. Besides, I couldn''t afford one anyway.


    I never checked my ss roll and I kind of forgot to ask how the prelims would ur too.


    ''I think I should take a vacation.''


    Just one week at this academy was enough to give me crippling depression.


    ''But it''s toote to regret now.''


    I could still get out of here, but if I was going to do that then what was the point of enrolling in the first ce? I already knew it was going to be hard. And so, I had to suck up and just deal with it: although I didn''t want to.


    ***


    I entered the ss.


    My face heated up.


    I wanted to go home.


    But I had no choice, so I took my seat.


    In a herd of pearl white sheep, I was the only ck one.


    Apparently, everyone had their uniform on, except me.


    ''Well, that''s just perfect.''


    My earlier sentiments just went through the drain.

 Chapter 81 - Stares Can Be Good Too!

    Getting stares was the norm. But this was probably the first time I actually wanted to be stared at. Like, I was the only one who didn''t have a uniform and people just pretended that I wasn''t even here.


    I would have done the same. I mean, I always pretend that the staring people around me didn''t even exist. And if this was any other day, I wouldn''t have even cared. But today? Today was different, cause no matter how I saw it, I was the only sore thumb sticking out.


    And I wanted people to acknowledge that.


    "Hey, Marg?"


    Even, Marg wasn''t talking to me. Lately, she ignored me too.


    Where the hell did her enthusiasm from yesterday go?


    ''Is being from a viinous family really that much of a big deal?''


    It probably was. And because of that fear, I always kept my identity hidden. And now, all of that hard work just went through the drain. ''Am I invisible or something?''


    But I guess this was unavoidable. After all, sooner orter people would have found out anyway. This just happened a lot sooner than I thought: a lot, lot sooner that is.


    ''Should I just avoid everyone too, and be aplete loner?'' The idea did seem great at first nce, no doubt about that.


    "Yes, what is it?" Just when I thought I was being utterly ignored, Marg put down her book and stared straight at me.


    She was probably the only person apart from me, I saw reading books. Every other guy just read on the Holo.


    "Oh, um-"


    I actually didn''t have anything to talk about. I was just feeling a bit weird. And I wanted her to acknowledge my presence. And when she did, I didn''t have anything to talk about.


    The weird feeling kept on intensifying. It was almost as though something was wrong with me. Come to think of it, I actually hadn''t had the chance to talk with mom about the seals.


    "Well?" She was expressionless as usual.


    "How''s your day off??" I really couldn''te up with anything better.


    "Good, I spent most of the time with your mom: she was really nice and so was your sister. I''d say, pretty good."


    "Oh, that''s great to hear." And I turned around. I didn''t know why but things just got awkward.


    Was talking with people always this hard?


    "But you do have my thanks. Thanks for rescuing me." It was almost as though she was genuinely happy.


    "Yeah, don''t mention it." I didn''t turn around. I finally felt a bit better about all this. But I kind of forgot about my main problem. "Howe everyone''s wearing a uniform?" I turned, partially.


    "You didn''t know? We are supposed to only wear uniform on the first day of every week."


    ''What sort of rule is that?''


    "I actually didn''t know." And even if I did know, there wasn''t any way I could have done anything about it. I didn''t have a uniform in the first ce.


    "Well, don''t worry too much about it. Our first ss would be upied with giving us our rolls anyway."


    "Oh yeah, but didn''t they say they were going to it to usst week?" And I''dpletely forgotten to ask about mine anyway.


    "Apparently, because of a certain someone, the academy had to do a lot of other important paperwork."


    I shed a grin and finally just looked solidly at the whiteboard.


    ''So, you''re telling me, it was basically my fault?''


    No wonder my ssmates always red at me so intently.


    ***


    ss started about five minutester. And just like Marg said, we were given rolls.


    I was third. I actually thought I''d be first because of all the trouble I caused. But I was d I didn''t have to worry about all the responsibilities of the first or the second. But then again the first guy wasn''t even in the ss.


    Anglemen was first and Marg was second. And as usual, Anglemen wasn''t in ss: Who knew what the guy even did. As for Marg being second, it was kind of not so surprising, at least for me. Her power was pretty wicked. It was both rare and very deadly if utilized properly. And her power was also very versatile.


    I, on the other hand, had a stupid power. Like what was I good for anyway, scorching cities? World domination, like John, said?


    Ridiculous.


    All I wanted was to swim in chocte and be an explorer, not the world and its problems. But now I couldn''t even do that anymore. ''Curse you,ctose intolerance.''


    Robert was eighth, while the transfer students were all given bottom spots.


    Well, at least this wasn''t so bad. We had about ten minutes to go, and so far Miss Maire didn''t say anything about my uniform: or,ck thereof.


    "Helio R. Jintel stand up."


    I might have spoken too soon.


    Regretfully I stood up. Judging by the voice, it was Miss Maire''s other personality: the violent one.


    "Where''s your uniform?"


    "Got shredded, miss." I gave an honest, sturdy answer.


    My fears wereing alive one by one.


    "Why didn''t you get a new one?"


    "My family didn''t provide one. I''ll get one when I''m able to afford-"


    "Sit down."


    ''Wait, that''s it?''


    I didn''t know why, but even this felt weird. I didn''t even deserve punishment? Wait, why was I even searching for punishment in the first ce? Wasn''t I trying to escape this even an hour ago?


    I didn''t know why, but all of these contradictions were giving me a headache.


    There was a vote in thest five minutes and the girl behind me, Marg, was chosen as the ss Rep. I guess she now had all the responsibilities. I was really d I didn''t have to get involved in all that trouble.


    But honestly, what the hell was wrong with me?


    ***


    sses ended without much hassle and it was lunch. I didn''t have anything for lunch today, apart from the gifts I received. Though I declined most of them, I still got forced to ept some. Those guys weren''t giving up no matter what.


    So I had two boxes on my table. One box was full of shrimp fried rice and the other, full of celery. Andstly a bottle of broli juice. Thest thing I wanted.


    Strangely, more than half of the students were present here today. I guess something important was happening after lunch that they couldn''t even miss a second off? But it was just math ss anyway.


    I got proved wrong again as four students came inside the room and everyone got all quiet. It wasn''t that something important was going to happen after lunch, rather the important stuff happened right in the middle.


    I still stuffed my face with shrimp anyway.


    "Now, I''ll exin some rules." Johnathan stood by the ckboard. There were three others from the club with him. Eve, Amie, and Monty. "The prelims would be overseen by the disciplinarymittee this year, not by the club."


    The moment he said that Dick walked into the room with two other guys. "That''s right. And so, there will be some new rules. Firstly, using ordinary swords will be allowed as usual. But for sabers, you may use everything that uses a saber core. I don''t know why John asked me to allow that but I don''t see any problem with allowing, so I''ll allow it. It will be more fun this way, anyway. But do remember that such weapons won''t be allowed in the actual tournament." The guy spoke like he was talking to his friends or something.


    ''Wait, Johnathan requested it?'' I looked at the guy, and he shed a weak smile at me. I guess he didn''t harbor fear against me? I was totally under the impression that he wasn''t going to even get near me anymore and yet, the guy was actually doing me favors.


    I grinned and downed everything with the juice: terrible stuff.


    But there was something else left. The celery of doom.


    "There will be eight hundred battles this month among one hundred participants. Only twenty-five participants will pass into the tournament qualification rounds. Every match will take ce exactly at five every afternoon, and you''ll be informed through the Holo. " Johnathan used his Holo projector to give us a brief overview.


    That''s the one thing I didn''t want to hear. I didn''t have a Holo.


    ''So one guy has to fight 8 times?''


    Wait, if this wasn''t even the qualifiers then what was the point?


    But boy was there a lot of participants. It didn''t matter to me. ''Wait, if I can win, I''ll be able to buy a lot ofctose-free milk, right?'' Now I was even more motivated to win. Mom had forbidden me to drink milk, but she didn''t forbid me to drink milk that wasn''t produced by cows¡­ I kind ofughed inside and then realized. ''I''m just making up excuses, aren''t I?''


    "But isn''t the qualifying numbers a little low,pared to how many battles there will be?" One of my ssmates spoke up. "And how do you determine who gets to participate?"


    Johnathan smirked. "Good questions. This will be a point-based match. It doesn''t matter how many battles you win, but rather it matters more how you win it. You will fight and be judged in three criteria. One, your style. Two, your speed, meaning how fast you can win, and third, your utilization of sword powers."


    Meaning as I didn''t know how to use barriers yet, I had no shot at winning thest points.


    But Johnathan hadn''t answered thest question. It was probably more important than anything else.

 Chapter 82 - Does Everyone Have Weird Hobbies?

    And almost everyone was eagerly waiting for Johnathan''s answer.


    But instead of him, it was Dick who started. "The participant list will be decided by the disciplinarymittee. The top ten of each ss gets a free ticket while the others will get selected based on their behavior and skills. Of course, everything will be fair for everyone. So whoever wants to participate, please register by 4 PM. And yes, we will have battles this afternoon." Dick shed a smile and walked out. "If you''re chosen, you''ll get a message."


    There were four sses in total, meaning 40 people were guaranteed a spot: of course, only if they wanted it.


    "Alright, if you have any other queries, bring them to the club: and yes, you can register at the lightsaber clubhouse as well as the disciplinarymittee office. I''m on the clock and I have to head to three more sses, so good day, everyone." Johnathan left as well.


    ''So the strong just gets a fast pass, huh?''


    No matter how much I thought about it, this world just didn''t seem fair. Why did the privileged always get the best?


    I sighed. After all, I was one of them, soining now was nothing more than superficial and hypocrisy.


    But since when did we have a disciplinarymittee office?


    Eve came towards me as the other three went out.


    I had a bad feeling about this.


    "You know," Eve ran her hand through my hair and ruined it. "I heard you fought off Devrock to a tie."


    "Dev-who?" I swatted her hands off like she was a fly or something.


    "Oh?" Eve was confused for a second and then grinned condescendingly. "You don''t even know the names of the men you fight? He was the leader of the Killboyz." She proceeded to giggle condescendingly.


    "Unfortunately, I don''t have that much luxury." More importantly, I didn''t want to anyway.


    But next time I saw that guy, I''d steer clear. I did want revenge but wasting energy on him wasn''t worth it. He was a bad match for me, and fighting him would have been a lot more trouble than I wanted. Of course, I still had hate for him. But fighting for something as meaningless as revenge or hate wasn''t something that drove me.


    "Fair enough I suppose." Eve smiled. I actually hadn''t seen that smile of hers before.


    But why was Eve acting like this? It almost seemed forced for some reason. "Something happened?"


    "No, not really." Eve faked a smile. "Later." And she left fairly fast.


    I was fairly aware that I didn''t understand girls, but I didn''t understand anything about certain girls and Eve was definitely among them.


    "Tell me, is everyone in your family this weird?" I turned my head and asked Marg.


    Except, there was no Marg.


    But there was someone there. Namely the well-endowed vampire redhead. And she was grinning way too hard. "They''re all dead, so no." Her grin was still there as she stared at me. It felt as though she was staring directly at my soul or something.


    "Sorry to hear that, but could you stay away from me. Oh and thanks for catching mest night." I stood up and turned to leave. I didn''t want to do anything with her.


    "I''m sorry too. I know you might not trust me, but I''m really sorry. I shouldn''t have done something so hideous. And this is my apology, only if you want it that is," Leilis pointed something at me, something I really couldn''t say no to.


    I was going to decline whatever she was going to offer. I''d already made up my mind a long time ago.


    But it actually kind of surprised me. Because, in front of me, was chocte. in dark chocte. And it was a big bar.


    "That''s your apology?"


    "Yes. It''s from my home country. My country was famous for its chocte. That''s why I went back and-"


    My mouth was salivating but I had to keep everything in. "I''m sorry but I can''t ept this."


    I almost wanted to cry again. I understood why mom wanted me to stay away from chocte milk but why chocte?


    But there was another reason why I declined her. I couldn''t and didn''t want to trust her. I didn''t want to trust someone who''d force themselves on others.


    "I see." She looked down. I didn''t know how much this girl was pretending, but even I felt bad.


    "I won''t ept your apology either, at least not until you can make me believe that you can change. I really hate people who force themselves on others." I wasn''t some inhumane moron anyway. So I gave her a chance, although I didn''t want to. "But, but I''m willing to forgive you if you should change for good."


    I had a hope anybody could change. Maybe I was being too idealistic.


    "Then I will try my best to make you believe." She smiled and left.


    I sighed and sat tight: Guess I didn''t have to leave anymore. I had a mountain of celery to contend with anyway. ''Wouldn''t eating this cause me to burn more energy than I can even get from this?''


    I really didn''t want to eat this.


    ***


    Eventually, sses ended and I had about an hour and a half to head over to the club and register.


    I walked for the clubhouse.


    ''Is this even worth it anymore?''


    At this point, everything just seemed meaningless. ''Maybe I should have just focused on studies and stayed away from everything.''


    I got more and more thoughts that I didn''t want. What was the point in glooming over past embarrassing thoughts? I didn''t know, but that sure didn''t stop my brain from bringing them up again and again: even stuff from years ago, stuff that I had no reason to recall, kept on repeating in my head.


    But something changed when I set foot in the field. My eyes wanted to pop out, and my brain wanted tomit suicide. There was a pole in the field. A very long ass pole. But there was just one problem. Instead of sticking out from the field and touching the clouds, it was hanging from halfway down and touching the field instead. It had kind of broken down from halfway but was still barely attached. And the moment the cleanup crowd beneath that pole saw me, they all gave me murderous res.


    I tried to whistle and head to the club instead. But I couldn''t whistle, so this sure didn''t work for me.


    ''Just what else did I do to make everyone hate me!?''


    For once I was d I didn''t know how to read people''s minds. At least I wasn''t going to live through hell, the hell of them cursing the hell out of me.


    ***


    The clubhouse was more crowded than usual. And that was totally normal I guess.


    Johnathan was overseeing everything and about a dozen of the seniors were taking in the applicants. We had at least a few hundred peopleing over. I guess there were a lot of eager students. No one seemed free so I just headed over to Johnathan''s.


    "Hey?"


    "Hi¡­" He could only manage an awkward greeting at best.


    I guess he was still wary of me.


    "Yeah, sorry aboutst time. It wasn''t my intention to scare you or-"


    "Look, I kind of assumed you were from a special family. I just didn''t expect your family to be that special, that''s all. I was a little too shocked honestly." I guess I couldn''t fault him. "But I must say, you''re cousin was really handsome up close too."


    "Huh? What?" Were my ears malfunctioning again?


    Johnathan blushed. "I kind of happen to be his fan."


    ''Huh? Are you crazy, man?''


    He was literally shitting through his pants when he saw John and now he says he was his fan? Was this guy crazy? "Are you sure you''re okay?"


    Had the shock screwed his brains or something?


    "Ah, his presence was so majestic that I almost wetted myself. You won''t believe how blessed I felt to have witnessed his presence."


    Yeah, I was talking to a lost cause. "Anyway, I''d like to get registered."


    "Of course!" He held my hands and I pped his hands without a doubt. But the guy recovered quicker than I thought. "I''ve already filled in most of your form, in respect to your cousin, all you have to do is give me the address to your Holo."


    That reminded me, this guy had most of my information, even my number. "You do realize I don''t have a Holo, right? Besides, you already had my number."


    "Oh yeah." He blushed again. "I kind of have a bad habit. And I''d appreciate it if you would invite me next time your cousines over. I''ll try not to be too excited again."


    And I wanted to have nothing to do with it. "Anyway, just send the info to my cell." I filled in the form with my number and just walked out. Johnathan gave me a dashing grin, which I totally ignored.


    The more time I wasted there, the more terrible my mood was going to get.

 Chapter 83 - Is It Me Or Was I Just Expecting Too Much?

    Once I got out, everything felt so fresh. The academy was a little ways off, but everything around the clubhouse was so full of greenery. I didn''t particrly like grass because there were always bugs hidden. But even so, I couldn''t really hate this sight.


    If only the sun wasn''t so damn hot that I wanted to reunite with the Palm. Come to think of it, I hadn''t seen any today.


    And I didn''t want to either.


    There was a tree nearby though: probably pine. I went there and took my seat in the shade. I had my phone with me, which was definitely rare for me.


    As much as I hated to carry it, I couldn''t just afford to miss anything anymore.


    There wasn''t anybody around. The few that were in the distance, were trying their best to enter the overcrowded clubhouse.


    Looks like I had a lot ofpetition on my hands.


    ''Did I overeat?''


    I felt way too full. I might have eaten one too many celeries. For someone who hated the stuff, I sure didn''t hold anything back when I ate it.


    I leaned against the bark and with a sigh, just sat there: legs stretching out, hands behind my head. The wind was good and this wasn''t so bad. Lately, all I saw were nothing but troubles and so even sitting like this felt oddly peaceful.


    ''Come to think of it, the first seal is still open right?''


    I grabbed a dry twig. I did have something on my mind. Ever since I woke I felt like something was different within me. I didn''t know what. But I was having contradictory thoughts every now and then. ''Is he trying to take over?''


    The shadow did point out that he wanted to take over no matter what. So this wasn''t something I should have been shocked about. But technically I still had two seals remaining.


    ''But then what was that ck thing? And what is the third thing that''s sealed?''


    I couldn''t be rash about this. ''I''ll just have to have a detailed talk with mom.''


    I didn''t know why mom was avoiding this topic but I kind of had enough. I really had to know more. But the timing just wasn''t good no matter when I wanted to have a talk.


    The shadow had answered my questions truthfully and if he was right, then¡­ I focused on the twig.


    I tried to trace back the feeling I had that night when I fought that guy in the gym. That guy was strong and so was I. My veins had kind of popped out and my whole body felt hot that night. I didn''t know how it happened but it was almost as though I was producing radiation inside my own body and absorbing the energy to use freely?That did exin the steam but, how? I''d tried that before. But the amount I could absorb was the same amount or a bit less than I could produce, meaning I didn''t really have a reason to absorb my own radiation. So how did it work that time? I didn''t really know.


    I focused my consciousness some more. The twig rattled a little as just the bottom part of it, the part my hand was touching turned to dust. And it fell to the ground. ''I knew it.''


    I could turn things to dust. The power became permanently mine, now that the shadow was kind of free.


    ''But who sealed them? Or was it that they sealed the powers and they got sealed as a consequence?''


    Because no matter how I thought about it, the power to disintegrate seemed kind of scary: even to me.


    But one thing was for sure. My powers were kind of weak right now. That night I could basically disintegrate even the ground if I wanted to but now I couldn''t really even do much to the twig without focusing way too intently.


    My other powers were working just fine, but, ''Is this power, the shadow''s?'' The possibility did seem to be there.


    But I had enough of looming over my powers. If I didn''t have a thorough talk with mom,ing up with random theories, wasn''t going to get me anywhere.


    So instead, I switched to something that was more important. Namely, the saber.


    ***


    An ominous ck stream emerged from the handle and became a scythe. When I first picked this thing up, I really wondered why it had such a long handle. The handle alone was half the size of my normal sword and it kind of changed shape in different modes.


    The scythe was almost as tall as me. And it was fairly easy to swing. This thing was also fairly light. I still didn''t know why my base was a scythe though.


    I switched to the bow and aimed at a distant bark. It was already dead, so I didn''t feel anything as I pulled the string. The string was made of thin glowing ck sma, and I had to use gloves. Actually, everybody was supposed to use gloves when they handled sabers, but I never really used any: and neither did most students. But now that I was touching sma directly, I couldn''t take risks.


    A ck arrow formed and when I released it, it flew fast, too fast. It pierced the wooden bark and made a crater behind the bark: I really hoped nobody saw the explosion. ''I think I''ll just keep you hidden.''


    Did I have a bow that could create craters with one shot? Nope. You got the wrong guy.


    Next, I tried the sword. This was the trickiest. I really liked one-handed swords. But this was a two-handed one, not to mention the heaviest. I could still lift it and wield it- kind of, but I still wasn''tfortable swinging it freely.


    ''Oh my god, this is heavy!'' Just keeping the damn thing above ground took most of my strength. But I couldn''t be this frail. I had to master this, and I had to do it before this month.


    Dick said it was okay to use anything that had a saber core now but the main tournament would only allow sabers. And though this thing technically was a saber, I was pretty sure they wouldn''t have allowed a scythe and even if they did, a bow would have just been ridiculous.


    So, without a doubt, I kept on swinging my sword. Left, right, up and down! It was hard and the damn thing was heavy. But I wasn''t done. I had to do this!


    As for the barrier, I didn''t really know how to use it. I didn''t know much about sword powers anyway. Of course, I never bothered to ask anyone who could either.


    ***


    Time moved on and it eventually became afternoon. I got a notification on my phone about the venue. No word on my opponent though.


    I didn''t really care who I was up against. I''d crush them regardless.


    The lightsaber courts were mostly upied, so my battle would take ce in the field. Thest ce I wanted to be right now.


    And not to mention I never actually asked about Seline or even searched whether she''d got hurt or not.


    I took a deep breath and headed for the field. Come to think of it, this ce would have been pretty well suited for a match too, given that there wasn''t anything here.


    Even the gym would have been fine.


    Maybe rooftops?


    At this point, I just wanted to stay away from the field.


    I still had to show up, albeit reluctantly.


    ***


    As expected, there was a crowd. But strangely there were loads of small crowds and basically, they were all over the ce.


    I actually didn''t know where my spot was, so I went for the biggest crowd.


    But strangely, it wasn''t for me.


    I didn''t venture deep within the crowd and even from the outside, I could tell it was Clyde and one of the transfer students fighting.


    ''Looks like I''ve gotpetition.''


    The transfer student was the blonde who pissed me off more than necessary. I really wished he was my opponent though, cause I really, really wanted to break his legs.


    ''Where do I fight, and who am I even fighting?''


    "There you are," A guy shouted from a distance.


    I recognized the voice so I went for it. "Hey, Mike."


    "Don''t Hey Mike, me! I''ve been looking for you!"


    "You do realize the message just said that I was supposed to show up in the field right? And what are you doing here, I thought you were supposed to be a prefect, and-"


    "I''m both actually."


    "Oh, lead the way."


    "I''m surprised, you''re not surprised."


    "I don''t really care all that much about these things."


    Mike sighed. "Sometimes you''re a pushover and other times you be a ruthless blunt asshole. Honestly, I don''t know which one is even the real you."


    ''I don''t either.'' I really wanted to know, which of my personalities, was the real me? ''I think I''ll go home today.''


    "Hey, hey, don''t go to wondend! Let''s go!" Mike grabbed my hand and just led the way.


    I could see a lot of girls blushing when they saw us like this, but my expression was as dull as always. Frankly, I didn''t care.

 Chapter 84 - Is It Me Or Was I Just Expecting Too Much? Part 2

    "You actually have two matches today."


    Two matches on the very first day?


    "Weren''t the eight matches supposed to-"


    "It wasn''t my decision." Mike didn''t look at me and just moved ahead.


    I guess I didn''t have a say in this.


    And within a minute we arrived at a secluded ce of the field. There weren''t many people here.


    Now that I didn''t have a crowd following me around, it actually felt weird.


    ''What the hell is happening to me?''


    "He''ll be your opponent."


    A boy was already here, waiting for me.


    I actually hadn''t seen the boy before. He seemed to be younger than me. I guess he was from another ss.


    So I took out my saber and just looked at Mike. "Any rules I should be aware of?"


    "Once the battle starts a small glowing ring will mark the boundary. Just don''t go out of it, and don''t use your powers directly on your opponent. The usual stuff. And feel free to use your sword''s powers. And since we have a lot of fights, try not to hurt your opponent too much."


    I guess that''s why mike brought me here to this secluded ce. But he should have known, I wasn''t going to st everyone with radiation even if the fight was hard or something.


    "Cool."


    I turned on the saber. I made sure to put on the gloves this time. And I also paid careful attention. I couldn''t just let my guard down just because the guy looked weaker than me.


    But now that no one was paying attention to me or my saber, things just felt out of ce. Maybe I''d gotten more used to the attention than I thought.


    "Alright, as a rep of the disciplinarymittee, I hereby dere the start of this battle. GO!"


    Things started sooner than I thought.


    The kid blurred for a second. He was fast. And enough so I couldn''t see him with my eyes. And a secondter his saber came for my head, only to be blocked by mine. I grabbed his neck and mmed him on the ground.


    Though I couldn''t see him, I could still know his location with alpha particles. And though he was fast, he wasn''t faster than alpha particles.


    The boy coughed up a bit of blood and just lied t on the ground. I held my scythe near his neck. "Surrender."


    He raised both of his hands and surrendered. ''That went faster than I thought.''


    "Two points, good job."


    "Who''s next?"


    Before the boy could get up he passed out. I guess I might have gone a bit far.


    Mike chuckled nervously. "Well, I don''t know where she is."


    "Hmm¡­ I guess then I get free points?"


    "I suppose I don''t have a choice, do I?" Mike scratched his ears. "But how about we wait ten minutes. Anybody could have something importante up suddenly, right?"


    "I''m willing to wait five minutes and then I''m gone."


    ''I don''t care how, but I need a good talk with mom.''


    My contradictions were growing and I needed to know more about the seal and whether it was necessary to reseal my broken one.


    "That won''t be necessary." A girl''s voice: and I kind of knew that voice.


    It was the other blonde transfer student, the girl.


    "Well then, please get this one out, and let''s hurry up."


    I retracted my saber and just waited.


    Mike signaled someone in the distance and they got here fairly quickly, removing the passed-out kid from the ring. I didn''t know why but I felt bad for the kid.


    The girl stepped inside and just stared at me with conviction. I guess she was going to fight to win.


    I was kind of hoping to beat her brother but I guess my luck wasn''t that nice.


    "Go!" With Mike''s signal, I prepared myself to fight.


    The scythe was good to go and so was I. though I didn''t let my guard down, I couldn''t seem to take this seriously after what just happened a few minutes ago.


    The girl grabbed her left arm and pointed it to me. Light gathered in her palm, almost like my sma attack. Except, she was superheating the air a lot quicker than I could.


    ''Better, end this quick I guess.''


    I started dashing. There was a fundamental weakness to my sma ball, namely, I was terrible with aiming mid-fight. And I guess so was she, as she staggered to release it straight at me. The glowing ball of light dide straight at my face but I dodged it at the veryst second and it only singed some of my hair.


    ''That was a close one.'' But now I was close to her, very close. And it didn''t take time for me to hold my scythe against her throat, barely touching her. "Yield?"


    A single stream of red liquid dripped from the ce the scythe touched. Though this thing was made of sma, I guess this was sharper than I thought.


    "I surrender." She gave up, fairly easily too.


    Again, disappointed. Why was I hoping for a good fight again? I didn''t know.


    "Again, two points, well done." Mike pped his hands.


    This seemed so superficial that it actually pissed me off. And since I basically didn''t even break much of a sweat, this seemed kind of pointless. "Enough with that, do you know where a girl named Marg is? Where her venue is?"


    "Well, I can take you there, if you want to."


    "Sure."


    "Umm Excuse me?" The girl put a band-aid on her neck and grabbed my sleeves.


    "Yeah, what?"


    "Why didn''t you hurt me? Because I''m a girl?" The girl red at me.


    Wasn''t making her bleed count as being hurt? Or did she want me to m her to the ground too?


    "I honestly don''t care if you''re a guy or girl. Mom told me to respect girls, but I kind of found that terminology, a bit wed. After all, we''re all human and everybody deserves to be treated fairly. But yeah, maybe some of it did have to do with you being a girl. My sister has the same type of hair like you. And though you don''t remind me of my sister, your hair does. That was why I didn''t m you to the ground like that kiddo before."


    "That kiddo was older than you by the way." Mike giggled, containing every bit of it.


    I really wanted to punch that guy now.


    I sighed. "Anyway, that was all. Now if you''ll excuse me."


    The girl didn''t say anything.


    "You know-" Mike began and I already knew he was about to spit nonsense. "Not bad."


    "Huh? What are you talking about?"


    "You just increased another one of your fans. That girl is from a very strict family, a family that treats girls like they are toys, and you had the galls to speak of equality to her." Mike broke into severeughter. "I wouldn''t be surprised if she ends up climbing to your bed in a few days."


    "Yeah, I''d be very surprised. And no thanks."


    Mike kept onughing as he led me to the other corner of the field. The same corner where the pole was. I really didn''t want to go there.


    But there was a different crowd this time and from the looks of it, the fight was still going.


    I''d never seen Marg use a saber before, so I didn''t know how powerful she was. But if she was challenging Eve, then she had to be good, that much was for certain.


    Speaking of Eve, the girl was literally standing right next to me. Just where the hell did she drop from?


    "Oh, done already? I''d expect no less from my future hus-"


    "Shut it, weirdo. I''d have enough of your teasing." And I was in a very not so friendly mood right now.


    Eve started by snorting and then burst outughing. "Well, that''s new. Never knew my yboy would actually have the spine to talk back."


    I couldn''t differentiate between teases and taunts anymore, so I just ignored her.


    The crowd was taller than me, so I couldn''t see what was happening. And I could say the same for Eve.


    But from the look on her face, I could easily say, she was upto no good.


    She gave me a devilish grin and slowly held her finger near a big guy''s butt. The same big guy who couldn''t get past the barrier of the gym that night.


    Neither connected physically.


    And a secondter- fire! And another secondter- screams!


    I watched the whole thing with twitching eyes. And I could tell Mike wasn''t too happy about this either.


    But themotion did clear a path for us, and the three of us marched forward. The moment people realized that I was near they just parted any way. Maybe I should have just used that from the beginning.

 Chapter 85 - When It Rains, It Pours

    Marg was facing the redhead, namely Leilis.


    The sun was about to be set, but even so, Leilis was basically steaming and panting heavily. I guess her vampire lineage was getting in her way. I still didn''t know why she chose to fight regardless, but as things were she had no chance.


    On the opposite side, Marg was as cool andposed as usual. She readied her saber and held it over her head. "This is the end, surrender or suffer."


    I never thought I''d hear her say that of all people.


    "I can''t lose now."


    I didn''t know why but all these dialogs felt kind of cringe. Like, didn''t these two know that they were basically being watched by roughly fifty or so people?


    Or were they giving a show knowing that?


    "HAH!" Leilis grabbed her saber and charged ahead. Shadows swirled beneath her feet.


    Marg''s eyes sharpened and she disappeared. But Leilis anticipated as much and turned around. The moment Marg reappeared, Leilis mmed her with the shadows, followed up by her saber.


    But only secondster Leilis'' left shoulder was pierced straight through by Marg''s saber. "You do realize, I''m not that dumb, right?" Marg had mysteriously reappeared right behind Leilis. Well, it wasn''t so mysterious from my perspective though. Marg was just baiting Leilis from the start.


    Marg removed her saber and Leilis fell on the floor.


    It was herplete victory.


    ''Looks like I''ve got morepetition.''


    "Think you can win?" Eve whispered.


    "I don''t know, but I won''t lose." Even if Marg could teleport, I had no reason to think I couldn''t win in a one-on-one fight.


    Eve burst outughing again. "That''s basically iming you can win regardless."


    Eve''sughter got us noticed by Marg and she walked straight for us. "Did you need something? It''s rare for you toe to see me unless you needed something." She was speaking directly to me.


    I guess she was right. I never talked or interacted with her, unless I needed something of her. Maybe I should have reconsidered my approach from now on.


    I sighed. "Yeah, sorry about that but I need to go home. And I''d really appreciate if you could help. Again, sorry for relying too much on you."


    Marg smiled. "Sure." It was rare for her to smile, like seriously rare.


    But I was really d. "Thanks."


    She didn''t say anything and just smiled.


    "Well, I''m done for the day." Mike walked further and further.


    I guess he was busy too.


    And I really needed to thank the guy too.


    "Can Ie along?" Eve raised her hand like a kid.


    The crowd kept on dispersing. Most of the battles were already over.


    "Yeah, no." Have an over-entric redhead over for dinner? Yeah, I didn''t think so.


    "Boo, you''re no fun." Eve pouted and left.


    "What is wrong with her?" I wondered aloud.


    "She was very sheltered. But she''s now going through something I did in the past. Leave her be." Marg stood right next to me. "Anyway, when do you want to go?"


    "I''ll get back to the dorm and get changed. How about you go and get fresh? We''ll have dinner at home and be back by ten?"


    "Sounds good. Later, then." Marg teleported. This was fairly easy.


    I felt bad about doing this to her, but I kind of needed a lot of answers and they couldn''t wait.


    So, I went to the dorm.


    But I made sure to text mom, just in case.


    ***


    I was back in my room and Merin was on the bed, browsing through his Holo. The guy had too much free time.


    "Going back home. Probably be back before ten." I took off my shirt.


    Lately, I might have gotten some muscles around my waist.


    "Good job, you got four points. You''re among the leads."


    "Among? Who has the highest? And do you ever leave the room?"


    I didn''t know why buttely Merin was back to his old life again. The guy shifted between introvert and extrovert mode like people shifting gears in a traffic jam.


    "Well, Nat and I kind of had a fight." And things just had to get awkward. "But yeah, you''re ranked fourth. And all three above you have five points each. No one has six."


    "I''m pretty sure, you did something, so go and apologize or something." I sighed. "So, I wasn''t the only one who had a double match. But why two matches on the first day, when clearly there''s an entire month remaining?"


    "What do you mean a whole month? This thing onlysts a week."


    "Huh? I thought 800 fights were a month-long thing."


    "Actually, everything from the fights, qualifications, and even the finals abroad get taken care of in a month. I mean, they can''t waste half of a year on something as trivial as the neer''s tournament, right? Of course, after qualifying you''ll get to fight people on an international scale, but stillpared to the other two major tournaments, this isn''t anything."


    Well, it did make sense. But it also made me realize one fundamental w in my assumptions. "Wait, if the fights end within one week, doesn''t that mean I''m kind of screwed?" Even if I could manage to master using the great sword within a week, there was still the problem of finding a core and actually making this saber decent enough, so I didn''t identally blow it.


    "Why?" Merin was puzzled. I didn''t me him, I was too.


    "I''ve to get a core as fast as possible."


    And there the only person I could trust with helping me: myself. I didn''t care if I had to run to a volcano but I had to. The faster I could get the core, the faster the saber would be done, and the faster I''d be able to do stuff in the actual tournament. Otherwise, I''d just be stomped or not even allowed to participate because I didn''t have an actual saber.


    I went closer to Merin and shook him. "Do you have any idea where the volcano is?"


    "Ca-calm down!" His head was swaying a bit, so I let go. "Yeah, but the temps are pretty high. You should take someone who could use ice there."


    "Maybe I can ask Elsa."


    "Not a bad idea but I wouldn''t advise it. She''ll be able to keep you cool but think about it. What happens when you pour cool water on super-hot surfaces?"


    I thought hard. When I poured water over a stove, there was always steam. But I once saw some people dumping a water bottle in a molten steel furnace. I vividly remembered the oue. "Steam explosion?"


    "Bingo. But yeah, don''t worry too much about it. Oh, and I was under the impression that you were in a hurry?"


    "Oh yeah!"


    I had to get fresh and get changed.


    But now I had more things to worry about.


    ***


    I was ready by seven. But there were no signs of Marg.


    "Girls take time to change, rx."


    Speaking of rxation, the guy was way too calm about this.


    I suppose Merin was right. Mom always took at least an hour to get ready, while Elsa took more.


    And it had only been half an hour since Ist saw Marg. So of course she''d take less time.


    "What happened to you?"


    "Nothing. Don''t worry about it."


    It only made me worry more.


    But importantly. "Do you know anyone who can manipte temperature freely?"


    Needless to say, I wasn''t just excited, I was hyperactive.


    "I don''t really have many friends. But maybe you can find someone with ice powers or energy maniption powers?"


    Ice and Energy maniption, huh? I did know some people in the family. But I kind of didn''t want to associate myself with them. I also knew two guys in this academy, but they were also people who I couldn''t ask of these things so randomly.


    ''Maybe it''s better for me to just head over there on my own?''


    I sighed.


    "If you sigh so much, all of your happiness will erode away." Marg teleported directly inside.


    "Funny, Elsa said the same." I waved at Merin and went closer to Marg.


    Now that I took a good look at her, she actually dressed pretty nicely. And she even had makeup. Did girls always dress up this intensely?


    Merin shed a thumbs up at me as I and Marg teleported. For once, I didn''t close my eyes again.


    And I really regretted it, this time around too.


    But it was almost as though the teleportation had slowed down a little. "This is what I see every time." Marg''s voice had a tint of sorrow in it.


    The world around me was dyed in purple. There were ck things floating around: space stretched infinitely, with nothing but purple clusters of clouds and perhaps distant stars. None of the ck things had eyes and they were desperately searching for light, although the lights were so far away that they could never reach.


    "What is this ce, and what are they?" My voice echoed.


    "This is the ninth dimension. They are, my fate." Marg didn''t look at me. "One day, I''ll be-"


    I grabbed her hand and put my other hand on her mouth. "Let''s hope it neveres to that."


    I didn''t know why she''d be one or what this ce even was, but I didn''t want that to happen. I didn''t want Marg to be one of these.


    Marg''s eyes wavered but she didn''t show any other emotion.


    I removed my hands and just stood there in silence. Strangely this was taking a lot longer than usual.


    "One day you''ll understand," Marg mumbled. I pretended to not hear. "We''re here."


    And we were back at my home: outside the door.


    This was probably the first time I was bringing a girl to my home. Thest time didn''t count.


    I tried giving a knock

 Chapter 86 - There’s No Closing The Door Once Opened

    The door opened on its own. It wasn''t locked.


    Something was wrong.


    "Let''s go in," I whispered.


    Marg nodded.


    Furniture was on the floor and things looked chaotic.


    It almost looked like a fight broke out in here.


    ''What happened in here?''


    My heartbeat rose, and I didn''t like this. "MOM!?" I ran around the house. "Elsa!?"


    I didn''t get an answer. I didn''t know why but the anxiety was hitting me a bit too hard. "WHAT the hell happened in here!?"


    "Mhmmm? What?" Elsa came down from upstairs, rubbing her eyes. She was in her nightgown.


    Was she seriously asleep?


    "What happened? What is all this? Where''s mom!?"


    "Stop shouting. My ears are hurting." She yawned. "Did you check the kitchen?"


    "The kitchen?"


    Why would mom be in the kitchen at this hour? Mom only started cooking after eight. And from the looks of all this stuff lying around, it didn''t seem likely that she''d be in the kitchen, looking all pretty.


    But I still headed there anyway.


    "Well, you were right." My cheeks twitched a bit, but I controlled myself.


    "Toldya."


    "How the hell were you asleep through all this?"


    Elsa proudly pumped her chest.


    This was another one of those times when I seriously wanted to slug my little sister.


    "Who is that?" Marg questioned. She was right behind us.


    "I don''t know, really."


    Mom was seated on a chair and a man was right beneath her feet, battered. I couldn''t tell if the guy even was alive anymore. The poor guy was battered so bad, it was hard to tell if he was breathing or not.


    As for mom, well, she waspletely unharmed but she wasn''t quite sane.


    "Well hawve a seat, HICC*" She was drunk instead.


    I saw my mother getting drunk three times in my entire life. She had at least 10X more alcohol tolerance than normal people. And yes, this was the third time.


    ''Just how much frigging wine did she drink?''


    And she had a bad habit of drinking only red wine.


    But this did exin the condition of the house though.


    I did take a seat, facing her directly. "Who''s he?"


    "Your father." With that said, she raised her feet and mmed her heel on the guy''s back. The guy raised his hand to greet all of us and then back to his stationary position of kissing the floor.


    I didn''t care if the guy beneath her feet was my father or not, but I felt bad for him as a fellow human being.


    ''After all this time? A coincidence?''


    It certainly didn''t feel like one.


    "Good timing I guess. I kind of wanted to talk about my seals."


    I couldn''t care less about the man below. After all this time, I didn''t really feel all that much necessity to even waste mental resources on the man. So I just pretended he didn''t even exist.


    "Well-" Mom began but was abruptly stopped as the man below her feet finally tried to get up. For a second mom''s chair was about to fall over. "Stay down, you damn piece of shit!" She kicked him hard, way too hard.


    The chair never fell.


    I looked back and both Elsa and Marg were grimacing. I couldn''t fault them. But Elsa did surprise me. She wasn''t saying a word even after knowing the man to be our father.


    "I think that should be enough. There''s no point in getting charges for murdering people." Besides, I needed answers.


    Mom clicked her tongue and raised her foot. The man stood up with a swaying body and dusted his clothes. He went to the corner, got a chair, and sat next to mom, pretending like nothing had ever happened.


    Though, the amount of blood the guy was leaking, did seem fatal if nothing else.


    "It''s been a long time Jintel." His voice was deep and prickly. I still recognized it.


    Calling me by the name I wanted to be called, wasn''t going to earn him any points.


    I didn''t even give him a nce and just stared at mom. "Well, what is this? Did you two fight?" It was kind of apparent, so I moved on. "Recently, a shadow''s talking to me and I saw a ck thing inside my head too. Oh and-" I grabbed a ceramic ss from the table and showed her my powers. "I can do this now."


    "Hey, that was expensive."Mom wasn''t in the best of moods. She was still drunk and I guess this wasn''t the best time to have a conversation.


    "Those seals were ced on you by Hyora. She can manipte space, so I had her create three spatial barriers inside your head." SO, the man beside her answered instead.


    ''Hyora, Hyora Battlesuin?''


    "Why?"


    "To save you. To prevent them from taking over. To prevent another catastrophe."


    "Catastrophe? Do you mind exining a bit more?"


    "You see-" The guy didn''t get to finish as mom stomped his feet solid with her heels. "ARGHH!" The guy let out a high-pitched squeal but contained it.


    It looked very painful.


    "Can we not talk about the past? Let''s just talk about the present and-"


    "No mom. I have to know. If I don''t, I can''t move on." I''d already made up my mind. This couldn''t go on.


    Mom sighed and red at the man right next to me. As if to say ''This was all your fault.''


    The man cleared his throat. "Thirteen years ago, you were infected with a strand of the K-virus. There was no cure and if things went on, you would have died if you faced extreme situations. Of course, that would have been the case only if you were excited to that extent. Your powers were quite simr to your grandfather but your container- your body, was too weak. So if you were excited and tried to use your powers, your body would have crumbled." He seemed hesitant to say more. He looked behind me at the two girls.


    "It''s fine. Go on."


    "You were kidnapped by an unknown group of people." The man finally sighed. "I lost my mind on that day. Everybody in our family searched for you far and wide. But they couldn''t find you.Marcus was very little at the time so he couldn''t locate you either. But your grandfather, Julio released a burst of alpha and beta particles so strong, half of the continent was scarred. Of course, no one was hurt badly but he exhausted his powers. And he did that eleven times before copsing. But then he found you." The man red straight at me. "He gave us the location and flew off. When he found him he was weak but he didn''t give you up. He fought the men, he fought a thousand armed and powerful men while protecting you. I got therete. And by that time, Julio was so injured that he couldn''t even stand anymore. But you were still in his arms. That was the trigger."


    "Trigger of what?" I was afraid to ask.


    ''All of that was my fault?''


    "The trigger of your illness. As you might know, there were three variants of the K-virus. And we already have the cure for themon one. The other two went extinct over time. But that isn''t quite true. There''s another strand. A strand that most of the world doesn''t know about. The rarest one.You were infected with that rarest variant. And the virus further enhanced your powers, weakening your body ever so more. Your mother was with Elsa, so she couldn''te and yet-" He stopped for a second, grimaced, and continued. "You eradicated everything in sight. You were mad and you destroyed everything. Buildings, animals, people, and even nations. I tried to stop you but I was stopped by Hyora''s barriers. In her words, I''d have died even before reaching you."


    "But dad- Your grandfather still persisted and reached you through that destruction." Mom''s voice was calmer than before. "He was immune to radiation. And even I believed that. But he wasn''t. Even he took damage as weakened as he was. But he didn''t give up and saved you with the help of one of his friends. He stopped your rampage with a smile. And once everything was cleared he took you to a mountain and taught you about various things for two years. You should only have vague memories about that. Because-" Mom stopped. Her voice shivered a little. She was drunk, but even so, she was sad.


    "The memories are also sealed." My vision was at the ground. The reality was something I couldn''t escape from.


    I wanted this, I wanted to know, but this. This wasn''t something I could handle. I didn''t want to know anymore.


    "We sealed your powers with the first seal and your other half with the second: you''re half kin, son. That was the consequence of the virus. The third barrier prevents your memories from surfacing. It was the will of your grandfather at his deathbed." The man red straight into my eyes.


    "Deathbed?"


    "He died at the age of 71 when you were five." Mom looked straight into my eyes.

 Chapter 87 - There’s No Closing The Door Once Opened Part Two

    "What! Died!?"


    "Calm down." Elsa put both her hands on my shoulder.


    Calm down? How could I? All this time I''d been told that gramps was missing and now all of a sudden they im that he''s dead. How the hell could I have calmed down?


    "He took in too much radiation. And because he was so strong, did he survive for so long. If it were anyone else in the world, he''d have died right that moment. But your grandfather survived for two whole years for your sake. To teach you more and he did: he taught you how to use a sword, he taught you how to use your powers, and he taught you how to live. But he requested that your memories of him be sealed, so you don''t feel bad. It was all for you." Word''s left mom''s throat more fluently than even when she was sober.


    I always felt like something was missing. But this. "It was my fault." My voice didn''t shake. My vision didn''t blur. I was calm. I was too calm. ''All of this, my fault? Everything? Gramps died because of me?''


    "It wasn''t your fault." Mom wrapped her arms around me, hugging me.


    "¡­"


    "It wasn''t your fault, son." The man stood up, debated something, and then finally he also wrapped his hand around the both of us. "It wasn''t your fault."


    But it wasn''tforting. I didn''t know why, but I didn''t feel anything but utter grief.


    My heart was calm, my mind was not.


    "I''ll be in my room." I stood up. "Leave me alone for now."


    No one said anything.


    I didn''t want to speak either.


    I just wanted to be alone.


    ***


    No one in my family ever faulted me. No one misbehaved and no one med me. But they always looked at me as though they had something else to say, but they never said anything.


    I didn''t know why but I always felt like an outcast even in my own family. It was true that no one treated me unfairly or even differently than the other kids, but, they never came close to me either. Granted, I stayed away from them too, and yet, something was different. Something just wasn''t right.


    And now I knew why.


    "But they could have told me¡­" I threw the pillow at the desk in front, as two streams leaked.


    Covered in tears and snot, I buried my head in my legs. The bed was behind me, I didn''t feel like lying down. The floor felt much better.


    ''Why did you have to be so selfish gramps¡­?'' I didn''t cry but the tears flowed regardless.


    I didn''t wail and I didn''t make a sound. I just listened to the distant sounds. This city was busy and so were people. Everyone had something to do: everyone had dreams.


    But what about me?


    I didn''t belong. I didn''t want to belong. Thirteen years ago everything happened because of me. If I wasn''t kidnapped gramps wouldn''t have had to do all that. And I wouldn''t have ended up like that. He even took the me of destroying nations, when clearly it was me.


    But what troubled me the most was that I didn''t remember him. I didn''t know him. And more importantly, I wasn''t as sad as I should have been: I didn''t feel the pain of losing someone that important. This was eating me alive.


    "Maybe it would have been better if I wasn''t born."


    "That''s not true you know." Mom came in. "You were my second child. If you died too, I''d have been very sad."


    "Second?" I wiped my tears.


    "Your big brother died in my womb. So I tried extra hard when I had you. But if you died too, I would have really been sad." Mom sat on the bed, a hand on my shoulder.


    "Just how many things are you hiding?"


    I didn''t look at her.


    "I don''t know. When you''re older you''ll understand. Sometimes adults have to do things, things they''ll regret for a long time. But you, you''re not a regret. You''re my precious son." She wrapped her hands around my neck, from behind me. "And your grandfather thought so too. He really treasured you among all his grandkids. And he wanted you to live your dreams. Live the life you want."


    I cried silently. I didn''t have a response. But I forced myself toe up with one. "I will."


    Mom stayed liked that. Her breathing was a bit fast. She was nervous?


    "Do you think¡­ I should forgive him?" Her voice was barely a whisper. She was unsure of herself.


    Her breath reeked of wine. She probably drank more. And yet, she didn''t seem drunk. She was sober: too sober.


    But I understood. "I won''t forgive him. But if you will then I''ll try to."


    Mom smiled and hugged me tighter.


    "Mom." I hugged her back. I really wanted someone to listen to all these pent of feelings.


    "Oh, so violent." Mom tried to chuckle.


    But I just cried, hugging her as tightly as I could. I could tell, she was also in tears, and yet, she just patted my back, silently.


    Before long, eventually, I fell asleep in her arms.


    ***


    I woke up at 5.30.


    There wasn''t an rm in my room anymore. And neither was mom.


    I just couldn''t sleep anymore.


    The birds were up in the distant sky. The sun was still sleeping.


    I was covered by a nket and from the looks of it, mom had made sure I didn''t catch a cold.


    I felt groggy but even with the groggy brain, memories just drizzled in.


    No matter what anyone said, ''it was my fault.''


    I lied back on the bed. I didn''t feel like doing anything. Life just felt¡­ meaningless.


    "Oh, you''re up." That man entered the room.


    I didn''t feel like talking with him. Why was he here after all this time?


    "Come downstairs, let''s have a talk."


    I switched my gaze to him. I really didn''t want anything to do with him anymore, but my body moved on its own.


    It was almost as if I wanted this.


    Both of us trailed down the stairs one step at a time, neither, looking at each other.


    The house was still in shambles. Furniture here, tes there, debris everywhere.


    "So, what did you want to talk about?"


    I sat on the chair. Yesterday''s chairs were still in ce.


    From the quietness, I could surmise, everyone was asleep.


    "How''re you doing Jintel?"


    "¡­" I just red. Was this guy serious?


    He cleared his throat. "Let me rify. How many seals are broken?"


    "Just one."


    "I see. That exins your powers to disintegrate."


    "What are the others?"


    He sighed. "I''m not sure. Your grandfather was very secretive. And Hyora never told me. But from what I saw, I''d say your powers were stronger than any Kin I ever saw."


    "So, this Hyora, Hyora Battlesuin was that girlfriend you left us for?"


    He looked at me for a second, a bit dazed. And ultimately chuckled. "I suppose you were quite young at the time, I didn''t think you''d remember." He smiled. "Yes." He chuckled to himself. "I heard you fought off Devrok and now you''re participating in the neer''s tournament. I participated too, back in the day. Of course, I won." He tried to make a smug face but all the purple spots on his face didn''t allow him to.


    He was in some serious pain.


    I frankly didn''t care about all that or his achievements for that matter.


    I didn''t know what else to talk about. But there was always a question in my mind. "Why did you leave?"


    "To-" He paused. "I didn''t have a future with you or your mother for that matter."


    "I see."


    "However, believe me when I say, I''ve loved you from the moment you were born and I will continue to love you till I give my soul up."


    Something about the wording felt off. "What are you talking about?"


    He chuckled harder. "Well, I can''t wake the others. I''m really d I got to talk to you before going. Give your mother this letter." He handed a letter to me.


    "You''re leaving again."


    "You shoulde to the Battlesuin mansion and have Hyora redo the seal. She''ll probably ask for a price to not go to war. I''m sure you can sort it out. And as things are, a full-scale war probably won''t be good for either family. " He looked back and smiled again. "Next time you see me, don''t hesitate to kill Me." He walked out of the house.


    I didn''t have the means or desire to stop him. And I didn''t understand what he just said either. I didn''t even try to understand.


    I looked at the letter in my hands, a flimsy piece of paper. Where the hell did he even get this?


    I didn''t know.


    Why was he here?


    I didn''t know.


    What should I have done?


    I didn''t know.


    Should I have stopped him?


    I didn''t know.


    I just sat on the chair, looking at the table, doing nothing.


    I knew nothing.


    ***


    Around seven mom came down.


    "He left, huh?" She looked normal. But I could tell she wasn''t.


    Her hair was a mess and she had dark spots beneath her eyes.


    She was not fine.


    I didn''t say a word and just handed the letter over.


    I went out too. Lately, I wasn''t doing as much exercise anymore.


    So for once, I just decided to focus on training.


    If my body was weak, then I should have just made it stronger.


    If all of this happened because of me, then, I had to do something about it. I had to live a life, my gramps wanted me to: so that gramps could be proud of me. I didn''t have memories about him, but I did have all the knowledge he passed down on me. All this time I thought I got them from books and all that but it was gramps all along.


    I had to be stronger, strong enough so that this never happened again. Strong enough so that no one else ever had to die for my sake.


    I had to, no, I wanted to. I wanted to be stronger and I was going to achieve my goals no matter what.


    This was my goal, and I wasn''t going to let anyone stand in my way.

 Chapter 88 - Feelings

    Marg was troubled.


    In all her life, people just used her like a tool. No one was there for her, but they always wanted her to be by them, whenever the need urred: Her family, her so-called friend, were all the same. They just used her and discarded her once the job was done.


    But that was why she was troubled when Helio acted like she was doing him some wondrous favor. Helio didn''t demand things from her, rather he requested. And more importantly, in her time of need, Helio was always present.It wasn''t the same give and give rtionship, rather it was now a give and take rtionship between the two.


    Was it just friendship, or was there more? She didn''t know. But she did know one thing, she was troubled.


    That''s why when Helio asked her out for dinner- ording to her memory, she was more than flustered. But she didn''t know a way she could respond. Did she even have emotions anymore? After all, all her life, she was nothing more than a tool. But now she was a friend and someone Helio depended on. She was treated as a human being, rather than a disposable tool.


    So with a smile, she said yes. After all, she was free to choose.


    She spent almost all her time just dressing up properly for the dinner. She''d already been to Helio''s house more than a few times, she''d already met his family too but even so, she felt a bit nervous.


    She wasn''t like this before. So what happened now? Was it because of that deadline? Was it because she''d have to leave soon? She didn''t know: she was troubled.


    But she finished dressing up and made up her courage. She teleported to Helio''s room and before she knew it, she was in the ninth dimension. She really hated this ce and she wanted to escape as fast as possible. But when she saw the look on Helio''s face, she slowed the teleportation.


    Helio''s question kind of saddened her. After all, it was her fate to be in this ce just like those things- her predecessors. There was no escape. But Helio''s answer surprised her even more. Of course, she knew it was futile to resist, but for just this once, she had hope.


    ''Maybe¡­ just maybe¡­.''


    But it all changed when they arrived. Everything was covered in debris and this was the second time she saw Helio so troubled.


    Things only got worse over time. She learned more about Helio and more about his past. All this time she assumed this family was a bit weird and perhaps too touchy-feely: and Helio was probably just another arrogant teenager. But now she understood, outside appearance wasn''t everything.


    She was jealous and hurt at the same time. She was jealous because she didn''t have someone like Helio''s grandfather in her own life. And she was hurt because Helio didn''t have that man in his life anymore either. This was probably the first time, she felt pain for someone else''s sake.


    And as Helio finally got up and left the room, she just stared at the two on the chair. The two were totally silent now. And so was the girl right next to her. The girl was younger than her and she could feel intense hateing out of her as well as longing, and a bit of fear.


    This whole thing had nothing to do with Marg and yet, she felt powerless: she was troubled.


    But at thest moment, she took a leap of faith and gave the girl next to her, a bit of a push.


    ***


    Elsa stared at three while staying by Marg''s side.


    Her father- the same father she never saw, was right next to her mom and beloved brother, and yet, she couldn''t get close. She was both frightened and enraged at the same time.


    She was also scared of the oue. After all, she already knew about everything.


    On that day eleven years ago- on that day her grandfather died, she saw everything. The adults tried their best to hide it, but they couldn''t: not from her.


    And when she learned the truth, she couldn''t tell it to anyone, and she couldn''t just keep it in her either. She was young, but even so, she didn''t, she couldn''t just tell it to anyone. Definitely not to her brother.


    She knew all of this wasn''t her fault, and yet, deep down she was scared. ''What if father left because of me?'' She was scared of that thought.


    After all, back when the catastrophe happened, she was just an infant, and if it weren''t for her, her mother wouldn''t have stayed at home, and maybe, just maybe things would have been different.


    And that was why she feared to get near the three. What if that man- her father, left again if she were to get near?


    But even so, she made up enough courage to put a hand on her brother''s shoulder. "Stay calm." Her voice shivered, she almost cried, and yet, for her brother''s sake, she controlled her emotions.


    As things got worse and worse, Helio got up and left.


    Her parent''s gaze was now on her.


    But she could only take a step back only to be shoved forward by Marg. "Go," Marg whispered.


    She was scared and yet, her body moved forward.


    She looked forward and saw both of her parents calling her, smiling ever so slightly.


    She slowly moved and took her seat, the same ce where her brother was seated even just a minute ago.


    They finally got to have a talk.


    When was thest time she felt this much warmth? When she was born?


    That night Elsa cried, and she finally knew, her life wasn''t like this because of her.


    It wasn''t her fault.


    ***


    "Why are you here!" The woman screamed, and all the ss in the house broke down.


    "I''m just here to talk. Is Jintel and Elsa home?"


    "That''s none of your business!" The woman sped up and kicked the man in the stomach.


    The man didn''t dodge or defend. He took the blow with a smile. He didn''t have much time left. So he wanted to meet his family onest time.


    The town was busy and life moved on outside. But inside, inside this house, everything was chaotic.


    Someone did hear all this ruckus from upstairs, but she was too afraid toe down.


    "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU ALL THIS TIME!" The woman punched the man again and again until the man didn''t have something which resembled a face anymore. Leaking bright red blood as a consequence.


    The furniture broke down, debris scattered everywhere, but it didn''t stop. The woman didn''t stop.


    And yet, the man never said a word. He just smiled like a fool. Maybe he was one because all of his thoughts were nothing but, ''I finally get to meet you guys... again.''


    ***


    Helio got back from his exercises. He had no idea if Marg was still in the house or not but he just hoped she''d be. After all, he had no way of getting back to the academy on time, if not.


    He''d probably end up in detention for not going back, but he didn''t care. He had better things to worry about.


    He got fresh and took his seat in the dining room. It wasn''t cleaned yet and from the looks of it, things wouldn''t have been cleaned any time soon.


    "So mom, would you mind telling me more about grandpa?" Helio had only three things on his mind.


    One, to find out more about his grandfather. Two, to get strong enough so that the catastrophe never happened again.


    And three, live out all his dreams so his grandfather could be proud.


    His mother smiled from the kitchen. "Of course. But we''ll need a lot of time. Why don''t we head over to grandma''s house this vacation and have a nice talk?"


    "Sounds good. Oh and I kind of wanted to spend a few days at the beach too. Can I?"


    "Are you implying I''m not invited?" Helio''s mom had adle on her hand.


    And seeing thedle, Helio gulped. "Won''t it be a bit awkward to see you or Elsa in a swimsuit?" He didn''t look her in the eye.


    "Why? It''s not like you haven''t seen me naked before."


    Sweat covered Helio''s face. "That was an ident!" He screamed but a secondter he wanted to die of second-hand embarrassment.


    He didn''t dare to remember that certain X-Ray incident.


    Helio''s mother giggled stirred the soup. "Sure, you can go."


    "Thanks." Helio didn''t say another word. He was too embarrassed to even look towards the kitchen anymore.


    Eventually, Elsa and Marg came down.


    ''I guess she was still here.'' Helio felt a bit bad for doing this to Marg. After all, she''d probably be in detention too, just for him. And not to mention she had to witness all this drama.


    "Sorry."


    "For what?" Marg took her seat.


    "Everything."


    "No, apology, necessary. I wouldn''t mind if you forfeited if you fought me though." Though Marg didn''t show any emotion, she was definitely a bit happy, and her speech didn''t betray that sentiment.


    "Hey, that''s not fair y!" Helio chuckled.


    They allughed.


    But it was hollow.

 Chapter 89 - Adjusting Is Hard

    I ate breakfast.


    It was good and yet, I didn''t taste anything. The food wasn''t bad and it was mostly just my favorites: Maybe it was just me.


    After breakfast, I got ready to head out by nine.


    ss was going to start at ten, so technically I still had plenty of time.


    "By the way, what happened to your sword?"


    But before I could get out of here, mom caught me. I guess I couldn''t really get out of her sight unnoticed.


    "I kind of gave it to someone to refine it." Of course, I could have made up excuses like how I forgot it in my room and stuff. But I didn''t want to fall down that rabbit hole.


    "Really?" Mom wasn''t buying it. She looked at me with loads of suspicions. "You don''t happen to be thinking of selling it, are you?"


    "No, not at all. I wouldn''t even dream of selling it." I already had that dream for two nights straight though. "Besides, I n to get a good core for my new saber and-"


    In the heat of the moment, I might have spilled the beans. For a second I forgot that mom was actually against me fighting.


    "You have a new saber and now you''re going to fight Mutors?" Mom had a very disapproving re and I didn''t have an excuse.


    Marg was literally standing just right next to me. While Elsa was groveling in cereals. I still didn''t know why she had so much animosity towards milk.


    "Let''s get out of here," I whispered.


    "I can hear you, you know." Mom sighed and came closer. "I think we actually have a core in the house too: Your grandfather had brought it, the day before all that happened. I never got around to selling it."


    "Keep it. If I can''t even get a core on my own, then how am I going to be an explorer?"


    Mom sighed again. "Why did you have to be like him. Alright, off you go." Though she gave me permission, she sure didn''t stop ring.


    "I-I''ll try to be careful."


    Marg grabbed my arm for the first time ever with both her hands. I thought she didn''t need physical touch to teleport.


    Her chest was barely touching my arm.


    "Oh my." Mom smirked.


    I didn''t like where this was going.


    "Hey, get your paws off him!" Water came flying towards us from Elsa''s direction.


    But we teleported before anything could happen.


    I''d actually closed my eyes at thest moment and when I opened my eyes, I was back in my room. Marg quickly moved away.


    Elsa always did have weird reservations when it came to me. But I never thought she''d actually straight up, try to drown us of all things.


    With a sigh of relief, I sat down on my bed. "Thanks, Marg." I didn''t know why she ended up grabbing me like that but I still owed her. I looked at Merin and he was pale. "What?"


    I looked back at Marg and she was also pale.


    Reluctantly, I turned to my left. I had a very bad feeling that I wasn''t alone on my bed.


    "Wee," the answer came with a smile.


    There was a girl right next to me, also seated. Her blonde hair was overflowing, and the two wings on her back were sticking out like she was ready to gut me.


    "H-HI. What do I owe this pleasure?"


    "Well, when two of our students disappear and they both just happen to be from influential families, it''s obvious we''d look into it, right?" She fired back the question at me with a smile. But there was nothing joyful about that appearance.


    I didn''t actually have an excuse. But I wasn''t in the best of moods either. "Sorry about that. Next time, I''ll give the prefects a notice before going back home. Would that be okay?" My voice dripped with sarcasm.


    "Oh? I thought you wouldn''t admit it and just make excuses. But would you mind exining how you two ended up in your home and spent the night together? As you might be already aware of, such activities are forbidden in this academy."


    "I''m pretty sure, anything is fine as long as no one is caught. And I don''t think you have any authority over what I do or who I sleep with. And for the record, she was with my sister, not me. Moving on, if you n on giving me detention, be my guest."


    It didn''t take a genius to know what she was referring to. But I wasn''t some animal either. I had respect for Marg and she was my trusted friend.


    The girl looked at me with no emotion in particr. "I was going to do just that. But since both of you are this academy''s top contenders for the neer''s tournament, the headmaster would eat me alive if I were to ground you." I could see the horror in her face already. The headmaster probably did something to her in the past. "I''d advise you to not get caught then. After all, who knows, you might even get expelled."


    I guess she had her fair share of trouble too. But I sure didn''t like her way of talking. After all, a lot of stuff happened in this academy and with consent too. So who was she to say otherwise?


    But I couldn''t deny that she had a point. "Alright, I understand. I''ll keep that in mind. Would that be all?"


    "For you, yes. But-" The girl- Rose, went close to Marg. "I have a letter in your name. It was an urgent letter and because of it, I had to personally see to that it was handed to you." She sighed. No wonder she was here. "Here."


    Marg looked at the letter and then at the sender. She looked a bit troubled but she then looked at me. "Alright, I''ll see youter."


    "Yeah, and thanks again."


    "You''re wee." Marg smiled and left.


    Lately, she was a little more expressive. I guess she just found it a bit hard to adjust till now. But as her friend, I was d to see this development.


    "My work here is done too. And though I know from history that you lot won''t change, do try to not get into more trouble. I''m tired of cleaning after your messes."


    Again, I didn''t like the attitude. And I certainly wasn''t in the mood to listen to all that. And yet, "Yeah, sorry about that. And good job."


    "Wah-" She was so mad that her cheeks were flushed, and before I could say a word, she stomped out of here.


    "Heh! Smooth." Merin finally let out a chuckle. Was this guy just pretending all this time or something? "First the hand in hand action and now you hit on the leader of the prefects, not bad." He gave me the best smug smirk he could make. "But I must say, never thought her to be a liker of carrots and sticks. I bet she''s a bottom."


    ''Yeah, no one asked for yourmentary.''


    I wanted to punch his lights out, but I contained myself.


    ***


    After sorting everything I went out for the sses. I didn''t have any practical sses for this week either. The teacher didn''t really give any assignments for this week either. I guess he knew we''d be busy with the tournament and all. This stuff still felt a bit random though.


    There weren''t many stares today either. Frankly, I didn''t care.


    I felt strangely empty today. I was sad but I wasn''t overwhelmed. After carefully thinking about everything, I could rte that I was sad. But since I didn''t have any memories of gramps, and I didn''t know him either, I didn''t feel that sad. And this very reason was eating me alive. My only memories of him were vague and I couldn''t remember anything due to this seal.


    I wanted to remember.


    I wanted to be sad.


    I was frustrated.


    But I did have something else on my mind.


    ''Should I really do this alone?''


    I was debating on whether I should have gone to the volcano alone or not. I did know people, but if I always relied on other people then how was I supposed to grow?


    I didn''t know. Everything just felt cumbersome. And my heart was restless.


    Walking around was cumbersome too.


    Before I knew it, I reached the ssroom and took my seat. I didn''t look at anyone in particr. I didn''t say a word and just stared at the whiteboard.


    ''But if I was infected then how am I still alive? They sealed my powers, but the virus was still supposed to be in me. So howe, the tests never showed off any results?''


    I didn''t know why I hadn''t thought of that before, but now that I thought carefully, some things didn''t add up. I''d never known about a rare variant. But I was willing to believe that. But if it was rare and didn''t have a cure, so how was I cured? Why didn''t I have the virus in my system?


    I understood the stuff about sealing my powers and making sure my body didn''t burst and stuff, but what about the main reason. What happened to the cause of all this?


    But honestly, at this point, I didn''t even want to care anymore. I didn''t want to dig more into the past. I didn''t want more depression.


    I already had enough.


    ''Guess, I''ll just head there alone and get the core.''


    And my decision was also made.

 Chapter 90 - At Least, Its Bug Free

    sses ended by 2 pm. I had roughly three hours.


    Bute to think of it, the guy did say he needed a week to refine the sword, and not to mention, even if I got the core, it wasn''t like my saber would have been mysteriouslypleted in just a few hours either.


    I sighed. If it really came to it, I was going to have to get a normal saber from the club. Which actually wasn''t that bad, considering I didn''t know how to use my saber''s ability anyway.


    "What happened?" Robert came towards me.


    I was busy looking at the fields from the veranda while sighing my heart out. I guess he saw that.


    "Yeah, nothing. Gotta do something, but don''t know if it''ll work or not."


    "As long as you try your best, even if it doesn''t work, wouldn''t that be enough? After all, you''d know you tried."


    "Though I do understand and respect the sentiment, I don''t ept it. After all, what''s the point of going through hell if you can''t even bask in a bit of your own sess? Wouldn''t not trying at all, just have been the same if not better? After all, that way you wouldn''t have expanded so much time and effort."


    "I suppose everyone has their own answers." Robert chuckled. "But I do hope you end up with the results you''re looking for." Robert left with a hand in his pocket. I guess he didn''t agree but he didn''t want to argue about it either.


    "Thanks."


    He didn''t look back.


    ''Maybe I should hang out with him sometimes.'' The dude seemed cool enough.


    But now my mind was made up. ''I''ll just think of something afterward.'' I''d cross the bridge when I''d get there.


    I still didn''t know about the location of the volcano. It didn''t matter though.


    Because I had a n.


    ***


    "How can I help you today?" Miss Maire smiled, seated on her chair, legs crossed.


    I was in the teacher''s room. There were other teachers in here too, and I got stares. I guess I was famous among them too.


    But I got straight to the point. "How can I get to the volcano?"


    "Oh?" Miss Maire looked at me with a bit of confusion for a second. "So, you''ve heard about it, brat." And with that her personality switched too.


    "I take it that your good girl act is just an act or that you can switch at will?"


    She shed a smile. "Head north of snowy ins. Here." She threw a bit of paper at me.


    I guess she wasn''t going to answer me. But this saved me a lot of trouble.


    But then again, she did wring out two coppers from me, for this small piece of map.


    "Alright, thanks."


    "Of course, I expect to get some bodies too."


    I guess she wasn''t doing this for free. But I expected as much.


    "Let''s see. If I find anything other than what I''m looking for, I''ll give it to you. Of course, I would expect a generous amount of credits." I didn''t mind using the situation in my favor, after all,tely, I wasn''t spending much time on studies. So the least I could do was get enough credits.


    She burst outughing. "Sure, sure." She stoppedughing. "I expect big things from you."


    ''And I didn''t need to know that.'' Talk about, no pressure.


    I got out and took a breather. This went a lot easier than I thought. But I guess she didn''t have any qualms in telling me, after all, this profited her and the academy too.


    But this also got me the push I needed. And if the volcano was in the snowy ins, then I didn''t have to worry too much about the heat. But then again, wouldn''t have meant, I''d have to wear that sweater again to get there?


    ''I really wish, I got my jacket back when I went back home.''


    Oh well, I could have always borrowed Merin''s. He probably wasn''t going to be happy about it though.


    With that done, I headed straight for the dorm.


    ***


    "So, basically you''re heading there alone?"


    "Yup."


    "You could have just asked me for directions too you know."


    I was ravaging through Merin''s jackets as the guy was too busy sulking. This guy literally had eleven jackets with eleven styles. I liked the ck leather one, so I picked it.


    "I know. But I kind of forgot you know. And at the time, my brain wasn''t working." On that note, I''d been feeling rather weird since morning. I didn''t get contradictions and I didn''t get weird thoughts either.


    It was almost like¡­ I was¡­ empty.


    "I still think it would have been better for you to at least have someone with you." Merin picked up a random crystal from his drawer and threw it at me. "Here."


    I caught it. It was cool to the touch. "This is?"


    "A frost crystal. It''s not cheap, but not expensive either. You can basically just buy it for a silver."


    After the great meteorite impact, crystals formed in the most deadly ces of the earth: crystals with the power of the ces they were found in. Their quality was as good as their price. Meaning, the more expensive they were the more powerful.


    Though he imed it wasn''t worth much, a silver was still a lot of money for me. "And you''re giving it to me-"


    "Because I think your life''s worth more. Be sure to pay me back, and scram. I have a date to get to."


    "Oh, you''ve worked out stuff?"


    Merin shed a smirk. "And if things go well, we might cross all the bases this time." His smirk intensified.


    "Good for you." It had nothing to do with me. "But thanks for this."


    And so, with my new stol- Ahem! With Merin''s jacket, I headed for the snowy ins.


    ***


    It was still cold but the jacket was doing fine. And since this stuff was ck, it was absorbing heat like crazy.


    I walked proudly and with a smirk. I was d this volcano was in the snowy ins rather than that forest. And though this ce was cold, this was also a blessing. After all, more cold meant less bugs. More wins for me.


    But boy was this ce cold.


    It started pretty well with the temperature going down gradually. But after the first half an hour, things got more than whacky. It was a sudden shift. The sun was clouded and for once, I regretted not bringing anyone with me.


    It didn''t take long before I grabbed my arms and shivered with every frigging step.


    ''How about-''


    I tried to regte my body heat. Normally I could increase my temp by a degree or two at best. But that night, I was at least ten or even fifteen degrees hotter. Enough to make my sweat evaporate and form steam. Of course, I knew I couldn''t do that, but I could at least increase my temps enough so that I didn''t freeze.


    I took in deep breaths. But every breath was like an icicle shing against my lungs. It hurt.


    I tried to form small reactions in my own blood and create heat. This was a very inefficient process but at least I wouldn''t have to freeze.


    My blood and skin heated up and my internal organs heated up too. I seeded: a very minor sess, considering I could only manage roughly four degrees.


    But I did feel better and I moved forward.


    I didn''t have much time today, so my n was to get the core and deliver it tomorrow.


    Even with the temperature boost, the journey wasn''t easy. Winds kicked in and my vision got more and more obstructed. The flimsy two copper map I had with me, wasn''t helping that much either. ''Why the hell did I spend money on this thing?''


    But it was more like I didn''t have a choice with this since Miss Maire literally forced this on me.


    ''Wait, if cores are expensive¡­'' I had a very bad idea. Selling Mutor carcasses was illegal byw, but there was no mention of cores. And up until recently, I didn''t even know that cores even existed. But now that I did, I had all sorts of ideas about the cores.


    So, with a giggle that''d put the devil to shame, I moved forward and eventually reached a cave.


    I felt more than just stupid as I doubled checked the entrance.


    "Hey, I''ve been here before!" And not to mentionst time Clyde concluded that there was a powerful Mutor in here. Of course in our case, it was the seal.


    My voice echoed throughout the cave.


    ''What if-'' What if Clyde wasn''t wrong and there was a powerful Mutor hidden deep inside. And if my memory served me correctly, this cave was a lot warmer than the outside. And there was liquid water deep within.


    ''Since I''m already here, better get checking.''


    I had an hour and a half, I had to make most of it.

 Chapter 91 - Why Did I Think This Was A Good Idea?

    I walked the very same corridors I once did before. I didn''t want to relieve this nostalgic feeling again.


    It was warm inside so I had to stop my blood reactions and even take off the jacket.


    It was normal. And there was still ice here and there. Butst time there was more ice. ''Maybe it''s a different cave but looks simr?''


    There was a possibility but as I moved further and further, I got all sorts of doubts.


    I reached a room. I knew this room pretty well. It was the same room Clyde got eaten. I guess this answered my previous question.


    But there was a difference, the floor was actually melted this time around. Behind me was a small passage with little snow and in front of me, was an iceke, totally melted.


    I looked around carefully, and sure enough, there weren''t any passages in the room. Which only meant one thing. ''I have to dive?''


    I did not like the idea. ''I think I could live without a good saber.''


    But once I did turn around, thoughts came to my mind. ''Coward. You''re a coward.''


    They weren''t my thoughts. I guess the shadow was just quiet all day. But now even he felt like belittling me. But he did have a point. I came all this way, iming I could just do this on my own, but the moment things went south, I turned tails. He was right- I was a coward.


    But I couldn''t be a coward forever.


    I took off my shirt, I took off my pants. And though there wasn''t anyone here who could have seen me naked, I still didn''t take off my underwear. I sighed and stared at the water. It looked cold.


    I touched the water with my toe. A shiver went down my whole body. This was definitely cold.


    But my mind was made up. I took deep breaths and controlled my breathing. I could hold my breath for a minute and a half. But with the freezing water into the equation, and possible encounters with Mutors and stuff, I had to make sure, I didn''t start panicking underwater. I also regted my body heat.


    "This is a bad idea." I really didn''t want to do this, but at this point, there was no backing down. ''Here goes nothing.''


    I jumped with just my underwear on, and saber hanging from it.


    ***


    COLD!


    Cold, was an understatement! It was freezing. Every single hair on my frigging body was up and my heart was screaming at me until it finally calmed down and my diving reflexes kicked in.


    There wasn''t much light in here and so I had to make a bit of sma just to see things around me. There wasn''t anybody around, so I didn''t care about letting radiation ooze out.


    And using the sma also meant I had to expand a lot of energy, but at least I was getting heat and light out of it. My feet were still freezing though.


    I''d been underwater for almost a minute already, but I didn''t see anything. So I went back up.


    "Whoah!" I breathed rapidly. But my heart was calm. Darkness stretched quite far down there. So I didn''t know where to go and I didn''t even know if this was the right ce or not. But after getting this far, wasting this much time and effort I refused to give up.


    So without a doubt, I dived again.


    I went to almost the bottom of the floor, the water was pressing quite solidly on my skin. This was seawater and from the looks of it, there were fish around. But I didn''t see any passage that led anywhere: I also didn''t see any Mutors around either. It was in empty. But I did feel the water slightly being warm. I tried moving left from right and vice versa.


    I got up again. Took another breath and repeated the process.


    Given my body''s shivers, it was close to its limits, if this didn''t work, then I''d have been forced to get up whether I liked it or not.


    But I did feel a bit of heating from the west side. So this time, I headed straight for that side and sure enough there was a small passage, leading further inside.


    A ck passage which screamed, ''bad things will happen if you go in''.


    I went in.


    The passage kept on going. It was round in shape and quite wide just a bit inside. It almost felt like this was manmade. But I didn''t have time to worry about that and I didn''t have enough oxygen left either. Actually, I was already suffocating. I should have gone back and taken another breath before heading straight through.


    Damn!


    With every p, I felt like passing out. My chest was cold, and my body was freezing. And the sma was also dwindling.


    I saw no end to the hole. But I didn''t have any energy left. So in ast-ditch effort, I mmed the sma ball as hard as I could to use it as propulsion. But as expected, it wasn''t enough.


    My vision blurred and everything started to be ck. ''Maybe it was a bad idea toe alone.'' I saw light in front of me, but I couldn''t reach it. I felt like my body didn''t move anymore.


    As myst breath escaped my mouth, I drowned.


    ''Sigh* I''ll take care of it.'' The water around me boiled and before I knew it, I passed out.


    ***


    Water dripped.


    My eyes fluttered before finally opening.


    There was chatter around me. Some sort of unknownnguage. I didn''t understand it and it felt weird. I felt like I''d heard that chatter before and I also felt like this was the first time. What was going on?


    Drip!


    A drop of cold water dropped on my chest and I jumped awake.


    Whoa, that was cold!


    And not to mention I was still naked.


    But when I did get up and took a look, I wished, I hadn''t. "What the hell is this?"


    As the faint words escaped my lips, I got stares. I got all sorts of stares. But these weren''t human stares, rather, in front of me were hundreds, no thousands of Mutors. They were going about their own day. Some were even on two legs, wearing clothes.


    "Com Comrad," A lizard on two feet came walking over my way with a brown cloth.


    For a second I kind of panicked and moved back. But behind me was a wall of nice.


    ''What the hell is this?''


    "Don afraidrade." He raised his hands over his head and showed his teeth. Was that supposed to be a smile? Because it was more than just terrifying.


    He looked like an alligator standing up on two feet and he was in tattered clothes.


    "Can''t you see you''re scaring him?" Another one came towards us. This was a girl and she was also on two legs. But she wasn''t quite lizard-like. She looked fairly human, even the face. But she was covered in small scales.


    But more importantly, her English was almost perfect.


    "You must be freezing." The girl dropped the cloth on me and sat down near me. She was actually taller than me.


    If I wasn''t perplexed before, I was definitely bbergasted now.


    "Seriously, what the hell is going on? Where the hell am I?"


    "You''re in Nelbound, the sanctuary."


    "Nelbound?" I still felt groggy and my head hurt but I grabbed the cloth and wrapped it around me. It was better than walking around in nothing. I got up, looked around. The staresing in my direction vanished and people just went on their way. Only two people were with me, the lizard and the girl with scales.


    Wait, scales¡­ I looked at her feet. And surprise, she didn''t have feet. ''Shit.''


    She was a snake through and through.


    Just because she was tall, I''d just assumed she had feet, but she didn''t.


    "What?" The girl looked at me with confusion and a bit of a half-smile.


    "Nothing." I couldn''t be rash about this. ''If they''re sentiment, then I shouldn''t risk treating them as normal Mutors.'' I cleared my thoughts. "What is Nelbound and who are you, people?"


    "More importantly-" The lizard grabbed my hands. "How did you procure such wondrous skin? I''ve been alive for thirty years already, but even I haven''t got such wondrous skin!" He licked his lips. "You''re almost like the three gods!"


    ''Wait, what?''


    Skin, gods? What?


    What did age had to do with skin?


    I didn''t know why but confusion sure was a mysterious thing. It was literally screwing me over tenfold since I woke up.


    But there was something that was also troubling me. Even just moments ago, I had trouble understanding these people. And now, I was talking to them just fine. It wasn''t like they were talking in English or something, but sure enough, I could understand them better than before.


    I knew they were speaking a differentnguage and yet, it just felt natural.


    ''Is it because I''m half Kin? But wasn''t that part sealed too?''


    I did understand one thing though that I didn''t know shit.

 Chapter 92 - The Nelbound

    Things were bing weird and awkward, but eventually, I calmed down. My initial excitement was gone and I could finally assess the situation without making a fuss. Kind off.


    First, this ce was big, almost as big as the ind itself. And there was fresh air. But more importantly, there were Mutors around they were sentient. Houses, markets, and clothes. Everything was here.


    There was definitely something here that I didn''t understand. But panicking wasn''t going to get me anywhere, so I rolled with it.


    "Can you tell me who''s in charge here?" This was the first order of business.


    Both of them looked at me without blinking. Could reptiles even blink? I didn''t know.


    "Let''s take him to Zorl." The big lizard guy said.


    "Yes." The snake girl nodded and both of them looked at me.


    "I''m fine with all that, lead away." My saber was still hanging down my underwear, I wasn''t unarmed. And if push came to shove, I could use my powers.


    But I was kind of hesitant to use my powers here. After all, these things were more like people than actual Mutors.


    They didn''t say anything and just led me through the ce.


    There was minimal light in here and it was almost like I was seeing blue arouras everywhere. Were we still underwater? Then where was the airing from?


    The ceiling was at least three stories high and it was awfully ck.


    I looked around and got all sorts of stares from the locals. There were two kinds of Mutors here. The Mutors I was used to seeing were like pets while the ones on two legs were the owners. The Mutors in general were mostly aquatic, reptilian, or amphibian. I guess that only made sense. Since they were surrounded by oceans.


    But strangely even in this cold weather, they weren''t clothed heavily.


    But there were also some other types: animals, bugs. There were even bird Mutors that resembled humans: they were flying too. The more I went inside, the more amazed I was at all this.


    But none of them were acting hostile towards me.


    ''Howe I''ve never heard about any of this?''


    Fish, fresh meat, and even fruits were being sold in here. It was only one type of fruit though. I''d actually never seen that type of fruit. It was bright red in color and looked more or less like an inted guava.


    "Do you want one?" The snake girl said.


    I might have been staring more intently than I thought. "NO, not really." I did want one though. "Who are you two?"


    "I am Remia, he is Zig, my sworn brother."


    The lizard man puffed his chest up in pride. I didn''t know why he was feeling proud of being called sworn brother though.


    "I see. I am Helio. Nice to meet you two." For the first time ever, I introduced myself with my inherited name. I had enough of fooling around. If people were going to be afraid of this name, then so be it. But I was proud of my name. I was proud that I got Gramps'' name.


    "He-Helio, you say! Are you, the son of our god!" both of them were squirming more than necessary. And before long, we were surrounded by people, people with armor and weapons that is.


    ''God?''


    I didn''t like where this was going. But I still acted docile enough. I couldn''t just act rash and start some war between humans and these guys.


    These people with armors led us to the center of this ce. It wasn''t a long walk, rather it was mostly skidding our way down on a small raft. The two reptiles, Remia and Zig came with us.


    From the looks of things, this whole ce felt like a vige of some sort. I didn''t see any modern technology and the Mutors never showcased any special powers.


    There was a massive castle-like thing made of blue ice in the center. If I wasn''t feeling bad about this before- which I definitely was- I was definitely now.


    "Lord, Karmmramu will see you now." A high and mighty half-frog guy led me into the building, while the two reptiles followed me around like I was some sort of deity.


    But at this point, I just gave up on understanding and just rolled with all this.


    The ice was crude but it didn''t melt. Come to think of it, this ce was at least 20 degrees, so howe things were still so solid?


    I didn''t understand and I didn''t want to dwell on that either. So, I just walked on.


    "Who is this Kar-" I was whispering to my lizard friend to the right.


    But the frog guy overheard me. "He is the supreme leader of Nelbound."


    I got the feeling that that was a warning, a warning to not speak dilly dally.


    The walls and floor were also made up of crude ice. But they weren''t that cool to the touch. And they were also pretty solid. There were no signs of melting either.


    But why the hell was I feeling so damn cold?


    This was a two-storied building and it reached the ceiling of this whole ce. There were spiral stairs here and there, and there definitely were a lot of Mutors.


    Bute to think of it, was the ceiling really just solid ground?


    Before long, we arrived at a massive double door. ''Are these guys ying Empires or something?'' I certainly didn''t hope so.


    We went in, and before anything else, everyone around me bowed.


    But I just stared at the guy on the throne. This was a big room and there were soldiers in here. The guy on the throne was cloaked in a robe but I could see his ears. Did the guy even try to hide?


    "Bow," Remia whispered.


    I sighed. I already had enough of this. I looked at the guy on the throne. "Hi, long time, no see. Care to exin?"


    The soldiers were offended, even the frog guy.


    But before they could act, the guy on the throne meanwhile raised a hand, "Leave." and everyone, even the guards ran out of the room, as quickly as they could.


    Remia and Zig also went out and the door closed.


    "I never thought you''d make it here. I shouldn''t have underestimated Julio''s blood."


    "So, I take it, you knew gramps as well? Anyway, I demand an exnation." I already had enough of surprises, but even so, even I was surprised at how calm I was.


    The guy burst outughing. "It''s kind of hard when you''re like that. You kind of took in both of your parent''s charms. This always throws me off bnce, you know." He kept onughing. "Just pick a side and stick with it."


    I had no idea what he was talking about but I sure had questions. "Are Mutors sentient?"


    "That should be self-exnatory. But I do understand your confusion." He cleared his throat and removed his cloak.


    Hisrge elephant ears poked happily. If it weren''t for those ears, I wouldn''t have recognized the guy.


    "SO, headmaster, exin." I crossed my arms and just stared him down. "And this is where you were spending your weeks I suppose."


    He smirked. "Alright, brat, take a seat." He got off from his throne and sat down on the cold floor. I didn''t like this but took my seat too.


    My bottom hated me for that.


    ***


    "We first came into contact with them Sixty-five years ago. I was a freshman at this academy at the time."


    My butt was freezing and this guy was singing his life story like a luby.


    "Can you get to the point please?"


    Heughed again. I really hated that. "I envy your bloodline." Hisughter stopped. "That was back when we were sent off to a small ind for the finals of my freshman year. I really hated your grandfather and as fate would have it, I was partnered with the bastard." He made a fist and grinded his teeth. "Damn that geezer! That bastard just had to put me up with your old man. Oh, apologies. Your other old man." He kept onughing. At this point, I just got used to it. It didn''t make sense; I didn''t care. "So anyway, it was during that time, we came into contact with a girl. The girl was half human and half Kin, simr to your lineage, but in her case, she was half-half in a literal sense. Her bottom half was that of a tiger, and the above portion was human. And I tell you, she was beautiful." The guy squirmed around.


    "Enough with the perverseness, can you move on with the story? What happened next?"


    "She was the only one we found. And though I insisted on taking her back, your gramps kind of ruined the mood and made me keep her a secret: but this trip did make our bonds grow and we became friends and rivals. Eventually, years passed and I forgot about it: besides, I couldn''t understand them, so I didn''t bother to care all that much either. But then things happened and with the help of your grandfather and another moron, I took over the ind- this ind. But then all of a sudden one day, I had a dream. So I talked with your grandfather and made a deal with him. But frankly, he was more interested than me. He kind of fell in love with a halfling himself." The guy looked at me with a smirk. "That beautiful tigerdy."


    ''So, you morons literally took over the whole ind?''


    I didn''t know much about grandmother, and I never spent much time with her either. So I had no clue if she was even human or not. But she sure didn''t have tiger legs if nothing else. Bute to think of it, she always did wear baggy clothes.


    Or was the tigerdy gramps'' side hustle? I sure didn''t hope so.


    "Next, what happened next!" I was getting excited for no reason.


    "We built this ce, with the help of one of our friends: your gramps, I and one more idiot became the gods. We secured Halflings from all over the world and brought them here. Turns out, Mutors eventually evolve and be Halflings over time. So given enough time, they might actually be more and more human." Hmm, he pondered for a second. "Meaning eventually, every Mutor will turn humanoid."


    "Can we confirm that? And why haven''t you made this public?"


    "Of course, there are reasons. Not all Mutors are-"


    "Lord Karmmramu! It''s-" A soldier barged into the room.


    I almost half snorted, half giggled at his name. It was very hard to control. It wasn''t this funny the first time around, but now that I knew, who this geezer was, this was funnier than anything else today.


    The headmaster stood up and covered himself at zing speeds. "Report!"

 Chapter 93 - The Two Headed Snake Has More Heads?

    "The snake¡­ its back!" The solider was panicking and judging from his attitude, this was serious.


    "Oh yeah, I heard that too." And not to mention that was why I was here.


    The geezer looked at me with a lot of emotion, mostly just in surprise. "You can understand them?" His jaw was literally hanging.


    "Isn''t that a bit of an exaggeration? What''s so big deal about understanding them?"


    "It took me ten years! It took even your grandfather four! And you say, you can understand him fine just from an hour of walking around!" Okay, he was definitely losing his mind. He started to tear his hair.


    "Calm down?" I didn''t know what else to say.


    "Boy, why did youe to this ce?" the headmaster turned to me, utterly frustrated.


    "To get a core." I didn''t have things to hide from this guy.


    "Then let''s make a deal. You keep this ce a secret and I let you kill the snake to get the core?"


    "And if I decline?"


    "I''ll have to kill you, to protect this ce." This geezer was serious. He was also acting rather high and mighty all of a sudden.


    "I know you''re strong, buttely my mood hasn''t been that great. I learned more about gramps and frankly, I''m in a very bad mood. So saying stuff like killing me to protect Mutors, when you know, I can fry the whole ind if I wanted to, kind of seems like a hypocrisy, doesn''t it?" And more importantly, I was freezing, so I really wanted to set things on fire.


    The headmasterughed. "I really hate you bastards. Just go kill that thing and leave. This ce was built by your grandfather too, so if you respect him-"


    "Yeah, yeah, I know. I don''t have any reasons to sell this ce out. Besides, this ce seems peaceful enough. There''s no reason to make them our enemies." Besides, I still had a lot more questions.


    If these guys could live here quietly, then there wasn''t any point in making them humanity''s enemies. And if this small ce was possible, then maybe we were doing things wrong, all along?


    He snorted. "Right. You!" He red at the soldier.


    "SIR!" the soldier straightened himself.


    "Lead him to the volcano and once he secures the core, escort him out."


    "Sir!"


    I didn''t know why, but this whole thing seemed bit like roleying than actual reality. Were these people really taking this seriously?


    ***


    Roger Vermillian sat on the throne, massaging his temples.


    He had some worries on his mind. The soldiers in the room didn''t know how to respond to this. They never saw one of their gods worried like this.


    "My lord," the amphibian began. "Was that human, really-"


    "He is part Kin, don''t worry about it. And he''s the son of Julio, I don''t think he will do anything rash." ''At least I don''t hope so.''


    But he knew how the Romswells were. That''s why he couldn''t rest easy. And more importantly, ''How the hell could that brat be so damn lucky!?''


    It had taken him ten years of mindless grinding to be able to speak fluently to Mutors. But then again, it was also probably because he was too busy trying to manage the new academy. Though it was his idea to take over the academy, after just a month or two, he regretted it more than he could ever imagine.


    In the end, life wasn''t as rosy as he''d hoped it to be.


    "But will be truly be able to kill Zamus, when even you-"


    Roger stretched his right arm and frowned. "Well, it''s not like I tried hard anyway. The ce was too hot for my taste, so I kind of just ignored it till now." Heughed hard.


    The amphibian grimaced. ''If only you weren''t sozy.'' Of course, he didn''t say it out loud.


    ***


    With a sigh, I followed the soldier out. He was a lizard man, but unlike Zig, this guy was a lot slimmer. And he looked more like an iguana than a croc anyway.


    "So, where''s the volcano?"


    "Right that way, my lord." He pointed in the west distance. The same way I came from. Meaning, we would have had to climb back up.


    Drag.


    Now that the soldier was leading me, everybody left us alone. I didn''t see Zig or Remia either. I didn''t know them, but I was d they gave me this cloth when I needed it. Otherwise, I''d have been cruising through the streets with just my underwear.


    I was still kind of cold though.


    I had tons of questions about this ce, but I didn''t know if asking them was the right thing or not.


    But I got one answer of my own. I wasn''t part Kin because I had the virus, rather, I was part Kin because I inherited that part. But it was still just a theory. What if that half kin girl was just gramps'' side hustle?


    But then there was the problem of the virus. How did I even get that?


    I did have a few more questions though. Were Mutors and Kin fundamentally the same? We called humans who''d gone mad, Kin, but what about the Mutors?


    Just thinking about all this gave me headaches.


    I had no idea what all this meant but one thing jumped rapidly on my mind as I stared at the ceiling. It was even darker.


    "You know-" My whole body twitched a little as the concept of time dawned upon me. "What time is it?"


    "My lord? Are you referring to where the sun is?"


    "I guess you can say that?"


    "It has set not long ago, my lord."


    ''Shit.''


    My battles for today went out of the drain.


    And with more sighs, we both walked to the top. There were boards used to skid down, but walking was the only way up.


    For the guard, it was nothing, but for me, this was more terrible than climbing stairs. Who''d have ever thought my worst nemesis would be back with in another form like this?


    ***


    It took roughly ten minutes to reach the ce I first woke up. Now that I looked carefully, there actually wasn''t anything in that ce. It was just a back alley. ''How did I end up there?''


    "My lord?"


    As I stopped walking, the soldier stopped as well and nced back.


    "Lead on."


    But this did get me wondering. Before I passed out, I might have heard the voice of the shadow. ''Did he save me?''


    I didn''t know and there were no answers anyway.


    If I died, he''d have died too, so I guess he did have a solid reason to save me.


    After passing that point, things became a bit easier. And I for once, wasn''t dying from panting. But this ce was rtively warmer.


    "The entrance to the volcano is located just around the corner." Meaning, the volcano was underground.


    This also meant, not many should have known about this ce, and yet people still knew.


    "Say, is there more volcanoes on this ind?"


    "Not to my knowledge, my lord. But this volcano is pretty big and has multiple heads on top of the soil."


    That actually made sense. Meaning, I should have never dived down in the first ce.


    "How long have you been down here? And why weren''t you afraid of me? I mean, why isn''t anybody afraid of me or hostile towards me for that matter?"


    "Because¡­" He let out a breath. "You smell simr to us and you look like one of our gods."


    I guess he did have a point. But he sure evaded my other question.


    I sighed and walked along with him. This ce still looked like it was daytime.


    We reached what seemed like a border of some sort. The walls of this ce were much like the ck ceiling, meaning this was the literal boundary of this ce. And to the right, there was a hole, a veryrge hole: very simr to the one I dived into.


    I had a very bad feeling: again. ''This won''t end well.''


    But I had to put it to rest anyway, so the two of us, descended to the cave-like opening and kept on going down and down.


    ''What about the return trip?''


    I did not like this.


    "If you guys are sentient and can get awareness eventually, howe you''re okay with me killing one of your own?"


    He didn''t show any emotion. I didn''t even know if these guys were even capable of showing emotions. "As humans are good and evil, so are we."


    That was all he said and he didn''t look at me. I guess he did have his point.


    It took roughly three minutes for everything to make a U-turn. This ce was a lot darker than the outside, but now, it did have light, light in the form of red.


    If I was shivering just moments ago, now I was sweating buckets. But I was still shivering. What was going on, was I dying or something?


    This ce was hot and the walls were literally glowing red.


    "The snake should be right up ahead, right?" I wiped off the sweat from my brows.


    "Yes, my lord."


    "You can drop the lord. And stay here. I can take care of it." I already knew doing everything on my own had limits, but I couldn''t ask this soldier to just watch one of his kind get murdered right in front of him.


    Moreover, the guy was panting way more than me.


    "Very well my lor- Ahem, sir!"


    I had no idea if that was better or worse, but I bid him goodbye.


    It took two more turns and a little bit more downward climb before I reached the snake. It was literally swimming in magma.


    The room was as big as the gym and it was filled with pools of magma with rocks situated here and there for footing. Did someone design this whole ce to be like an arena of some sort? What kind of sick monster was he?


    And I was swimming in my own sweat but still shivering. My crotch was abnormally cool. Seriously, what was wrong with me?


    But more importantly, what was wrong with this snake? Why did it have to eat and swim at the same time?

 Chapter 94 - The Two Headed Snake Has More Heads? Part 2

    But this was better for me. The snake hadn''t noticed me yet, so I pulled out my saber, transformed it to a bow, and shot without any regard.


    Even now, the snake was too busy chomping down on something, that something being a two-legged Mutor.


    ''So this is why¡­''


    I aimed for one of the heads.


    The arrow went fast and directly punctured one of the eyes of the snake: the head soon blew up. It had two heads, and now one just blew up because of my arrow. But I did catch its attention though.


    I had no regrets.


    It threw half of the chewed Mutor away: the chewed piece burned and released a terrible smell. As if the rotting egg-sulfur smell in the air wasn''t enough.


    It hissed and roared like a lion. Since when could snakes do that?


    And more importantly, this thing looked more like a dragon than a snake!


    It jumped out of the magma, and small bits ofva rained around me. I had to try my best to dodge. This ce was already ming and now I had to deal with this?


    Its feetnded on the ground and as I thought, it looked more like a dragon than a snake. Its body was like a brachiosaurus and it had two heads like king cobras, covered with scales from head to ws. Thest thing I wanted to see today.


    But one thing was for certain, my attack worked.


    Or not.


    As it regrew two heads.


    ''What the hell? Hey, no one told me, I''d be fighting a legend!''


    This was illegal, how the hell could it regenerate like that!


    But I had to stay calm. I still had my bow and I knew how the legends went. I couldn''t do stuff like that. After all, I had magma around me.


    I took aim again and fired three consecutive shots, each hitting the heads, or so I thought. Just one missed. Two heads exploded while four grew back.


    This was bad.


    And I just made it worse.


    ''Wait, how about-''I gathered energy on my palm and condensed it. I did it quickly, as the snake was busy trying to get close to me and bite me. I fired it straight at its body as its head came flying for me: I aimed at its chest where it might or might not have had its heart. I switched back to my scythe and cleaved the head that was crying to bite me. More heads quickly grew and came for me.


    This was bad.


    Meanwhile, the sma ball pierced the body and made a gaping hole, eventually crashing against the wall behind it.


    The body of the snake fell and it didn''t regenerate.


    ''Well that went easy.'' A lot easier than I thought.


    But there was one problem.


    ''Oh shit.'' I stared up and there wasva and stctites: maybe all the thrashing on the walls and the floor was a bad idea. Those things were raining down straight at me, and around me: and ava wave was alsoing for me. There was nowhere to run. The big thing sshed so much that I was about to be broiled alive.


    My teeth ttered as I held my scythe over my head. ''Please work!'' "Barrier!" I never screamed so loud or intently my entire life. But nothing happened and theva just kept on descending. "Barrier! Barrier! Something! Just work!" I yelled all sorts of things and kept on swinging my scythe but this was it and I knew it.


    I closed my eyes. ''Just work!'' But when I opened them, nothing had happened. But everything was ck. There was no light.


    ''What the hell?''


    I didn''t end up dead, right?


    I doubled checked my body with my free hand and everything was where it should have been. I was unharmed but where was the light?


    I tried producing sma and I kind of wished I hadn''t.


    The magma? Theva that was about to fall on me or wash me away? It did fall but it got stopped by the ck barrier, a barrier from my scythe. A barrier, I had no idea how it formed.


    But more importantly, the barrier andva both were still in ce and I waspletely surrounded in an oven of some sort.


    ''Then why the hell do I still feel cold?''


    I looked at my underwear and there was something else hanging from it: the crystal Merin had given me. No wonder I felt so cold. How the hell did I not notice it before? I had no idea.


    No wonder, my crotch was so cold even after all this. My poor son!


    I picked up the crystal with one hand and held it near the flowing ckish-red magma. It didn''t change much. I tried focusing my energy through the stone and I almost sent out a freezing wave of some sort! ''Cool.'' Literally.


    Theva hardened rather quickly.I tried moving my scythe, but it wasn''t budging. I tried harder, cracks appeared on theva dome.


    I didn''t know why, but I had a very bad feeling about this, again.


    The barrier flickered. ''Shit.'' The barrier vanished the very next second.


    My cheeks twitched as I stared at the dome.


    There were cracks and the cracks expanded and before I knew it, it all broke down and fell on top of my head. ''Ouch.''


    It hurt. And I had some scratches, I was bleeding, but at least I didn''t get cooked.


    I took a breather and looked back. The snake monster thingy was still dead. But then there was the question. How the hell was I supposed to get its core?


    My eyes twitched as I considered all the horrible ways things could go wrong.


    I held the stone near the red floor and theva hardened rather quickly but there was a problem, it was still damn hot, and standing on top of it, was like dancing on fire.


    I couldn''t stop here though.


    But when I finally reached the snake, I met with true horror.


    "The hell?"


    I kind of wanted to cry.


    There was good news and there was bad news.


    The good news, I didn''t have to search for a core. The bad news, there was no core: I''d destroyed most of the damn thing.


    ''No wonder it, died.''


    But then there was another question, ''How the hell am I supposed to get this out of here?"


    I didn''t know but I did pick up the fragments of the core: three fragments, the size of small oval diamonds. They were dark pink in color for some reason.


    The moment I removed what remained of the core, the body started to get burned by the magma. I took steps back and made the distance.


    ''So these cores, provide them with energy to survive?''


    I guess that much was self-exnatory.


    ***


    I traced my way back.


    The stone in my hand was getting less and less cold. And I was sweating more and more as a consequence. I guess it didn''t have limitless power. But I was d it held out this long.


    By the time I reached the soldier, the crystal hadpletely lost its powers and I was being cooked alive.


    And yet, the soldier was still here waiting for me all this time.


    "Let''s go."


    "Sir." He was out of breath but he didn''t need me to tell him twice.


    I started going back up.


    It was hard to climb back up, but at least we were getting far and far away from the heat.


    "Did you kill it, sir?"


    "Yup. I destroyed its core."


    He looked way dder than I thought he would. "Thank goodness, but, sir, what about the core? Weren''t you supposed to be getting it?"


    "I got fragments, don''t worry about it."


    "SIR!" He looked at me with even more respect.


    ***


    After what seemed like an eternity of torment, we got back to Nelbound. I breathed fresh air after all this time.


    Life felt heavenly. No more sulfur!


    "My lord, would you like to go back now? I could escort you to the nearest exit and take you outside."


    "The cold water one?"


    "The cold water one?" He repeated my question.


    "I mean, I came here through ake in the snowy ins of this ind."


    The lizard man looked at me for a second without blinking. "I see. That must have been dreadful. My lord, I''d advise not to take that route."


    "I''m afraid I have to," I mumbled. After all, all my stuff was there. I couldn''t just run back to the dorms with just my underwear. Besides, it was Merin''s jacket and he''d done a lot for me. So with a sigh- "Just take me to thatke." But now I felt even more horrible.


    ''So there were other routes I could have taken?'' I just wanted to lie down on my bed at this point and stuff my face in my pillow.


    "Sir." The guy grimaced but gave me a stern salute. Just what kind of stuff did this guy go through?


    ***


    I never did see the two reptiles that helped me before. I guess they had better things to worry about than me.


    "Jump in here, sir. And please swim for seven-minute to the north. And then take a south turn, until finally, you''lle across the ocean floor."


    We were by the northeast wall and there was a small reservoir of water. It looked like seawater and I could even spot some fish.


    "Wait, what?" ''Seven minutes!?'' "I don''t think that''s possible for me." I tried to chuckle. ''How the hell am I still alive?''


    "Then allow me to take you there, Comrad."


    Zig appeared out of nowhere and he wasn''t wearing anything other than a swimsuit. Was he waiting for this or something?


    I kind of didn''t want to see his scaly body though.


    I looked around in hopes of catching a glimpse of Remia in a swimsuit but she wasn''t here.


    I sighed.


    "Sure." I grinned. I had no reason to decline his offer. I took off my cloak. "Thanks a lot for this." I handed it to the soldier. "Please this to him once he gets back." I gave Zig a nce. "Why are you helping me?"


    He grinned. "You look like our god, the god who saved me and Remia. I''m proud to help you."


    I grinned too. "d to know that. And thank you."


    He showed me his teeth, I really wished he hadn''t.


    "Sir!" The soldier gave me a stern salute.


    ''Enough with the salutes, dude.''I couldn''t say that to his face though.


    "It''ll be cold, so you better grab on to me tightly!" Zig jumped in the water.


    "You don''t have to tell me twice!" I jumped in along with him, giving a goodbye sign to the soldier.


    He waved. "Please take care, sir! And thank you for avenging my sworn brother!"


    "NO problem, bro." I gave him a thumbs up. Obviously, I didn''t know but I was d I did a good job.

 Chapter 95 - A Shocking Development

    The moment my body went under the water, horrors came back. But strangely it wasn''t as cold asst time. ''Maybe that was just because of the crystal?''


    Or it could have been because this ce was warm, to begin with.


    "Whoah!" This croc was fast.


    Once underwater, I focused on my energy and made a small ball of sma, and lighted the way. Zig wasn''t as surprised as I thought he''d be and swam fast. Too fast.


    Before long, I could recognize the surroundings. And within a minute we were out of the small hole I first went into that one time. Once we were out, Zig gave me a push up while grinning and leaving. I waved and started swimming up.


    I really owed these guys.


    "WHOOH!" I let out a scream and took my breath. It was cold but not as cold as thest time. Still definitely bone-chilling cold though.


    "Huh?"


    "Huh?"


    Someone came flying on top of me, andnded on my face, eventually taking both of us underwater.


    As we were both about to drown, I swam hard and pulled her up. What the hell was she thinking jumping in this cold water at night?


    "Are you stupid?"


    "I could s-say the same about you!" Marg fired back and red more than necessary. She was in her swimsuit and shivering like crazy.


    ''She didn''te here for me, did she?''


    I was also shivering so instead of bickering, I made a ball of sma and went closer to her.


    "What were you doing here?"


    "We had a match today. Though I s-said you should forfeit, I never thought you would. But when I learned you came here and never got back, I wa-ss worried and-" She didn''t look at me. She was still shivering, grabbing both of her arms.


    Now that I looked carefully, she was actually in her underwear rather than a swimsuit.


    Her dripping body looked divine and a lot more than just my hair stood up.


    But then there was the shivering cold.


    This was a very odd feeling.


    She came near me, near the sma. "What were you doing here?"


    "First let''s leave and get dry, I mean-"


    "Yeah, it''s awfully cold." With that said, she started to unbutton her bra.


    "What the hell are you doing? I meant getting us back, not undressing!"


    "I live with three roommates and-"


    "Merin should be out and-"


    She didn''t look at me and just removed her top anyway.


    I didn''t know why, but no matter how I tried to steer my head, I couldn''t move them: I couldn''t look away, no, sir!


    The hell was wrong with this girl? Wasn''t she supposed to be some nonchnt girl who didn''t give a fuc* about anything? What made her level up to the stripper realm?


    "Let''s dry ourselves first and then leave. What do you say, we get under this jacket?"


    I didn''t know if something was wrong with her or not, but it was roughly ten or so degrees in here and she was talking about being under a jacket together? I was freezing and so was my crotch for crying out loud.


    Come to think of it. My underwear was wet all this time. Was my crotch even alive?


    She cleared some dust and snow from the solid stone floor,id down her and my dry clothes, and sat down, inviting me with something resembling a cat w. "Get in here. Or are you afraid I might scratch?"


    Did someone hijack her brain? Because she sure wasn''t making sense.


    But no matter how I thought about this, at the end of the day, I was a guy and I couldn''t resist the temptation of sitting close to a pretty girl like that. Or was I hoping for more?


    Honestly, I didn''t know, cause my whole body was still shivering from the intense cold.


    ***


    Marg had three matches today. The first one, she won with ease. The second one was a tough call. She was up against a guy who specialized in thought processing and guessing her every move. It wasn''t easy but she won it too.


    But then there was her third match of the day. She knew this was going to be the toughest. And yet, her opponent never showed up.


    ''He didn''t take me seriously, did he?''


    Marg knew how hurt Helio must have been. But she couldn''tprehend his level of torment, even if she wanted to. After all, she never had any grandparents.


    But Helio wanted to repay her and this could have just have been because of that.


    She couldn''t rest easy, knowing that.


    It was a bit past 6 but she made up her mind and teleported directly outside of Helio''s room. It was against the rules, but she didn''t care.


    She knocked three times on the door. But there was no answer. ''He isn''t here?''


    She was a bit heartbroken but this was the extent she could go. But just when she was about to teleport again.


    "I tell you, that guy is something else."


    She heard a voice.


    "He went to that ce all alone. I mean, even if he''s that powerful and all, should he have really gone there alone and not to mention it''s freezing there all year long?" Apparently, Merin was climbing the stairs. And he wasn''t alone.


    Marg took a deep breath and headed straight for the stairs, obstructing Merin''s path. She didn''t even give the guy next to her, a second nce. "What do you mean? Where''s Helio?" Her tone was neutral. She was concerned for her friend.


    "Oh, uh he''s-" Merin started but was promptly ignored.


    "Oh, if it isn''tdy Margeretta." The man by Merin gave Marg a courteous bow with a smile.


    "Lord Vana." Marg stared at him with ssy eyes. For a second her heart almost stopped.


    "Oh yeah, Helio." Merin chuckled. He knew things were about to get awkward. Rather, they were already awkward. "He''s in the snowy ins. He showed me a map, let''s see-" Merin brought out a small map on his Holo. "He should be somewhere around here." He was trying his best to avoid this double trouble.


    "But that''s-" Marg recognized the ce. She took a deep breath. "Our reunion was short but I hope you can forgive me for leaving."


    "Of course, my dear." The man smiled, ever so gently. But his eyes were emotionless. "But I would-"


    Marg hurriedly teleported to her room. She didn''t even listen to the man, till the end.


    "Hey, Marg, look-" One of her roommates attempted. "Marg?"


    But Marg had something else on her mind.


    ''What is he doing here?'' In order to distract her mind, she put on some heavy clothes and teleported straight to the cave she knew she''d probably find Helio in. She knew Helio was pretty capable on his own and he didn''t need her help, and yet, she went out. It wasn''t for Helio''s safety, rather it was for her own peace of mind. After all, she needed a good distraction right now. And Helio was that distraction.


    But her feelings changed when she reached the end of the cave. There was more water than she remembered and more importantly, Helio''s clothes were on the floor and there was no sign of him.


    "He didn''t-?"


    The water was calm and from the looks of it, Helio probably wasn''ting up anytime soon.


    If Marg didn''t know any better- ''Did he drown?''


    Her heart raced fast. Helio was her friend and though she thought more of him than just a friend, at the end of the day, Helio was just her friend: but she couldn''t leave now and pretend like nothing happened.


    She took a deep breath. The air was cold, but she''d made up her mind. She removed her clothes just like Helio had once done before and jumped.


    ''Let''s hope he''s still alive.''


    But at thest moment, Helio''s head came up out of nowhere and they both crashed.


    Her feet hadnded on Helio''s head, but as she fell, her thigs covered his face, and as embarrassed as that was, she kind of forgot to struggle to not drown.


    She''d have drowned from the shock if Helio hadn''t pulled her up. At the end who ended up saving who?


    Marg was shivering and her brain wasn''t working: she was also embarrassed, her face a bit redder. But this was good, this was making her forget about that man.


    ''Maybe¡­ just this once¡­ I can be free? Onest time?''


    So, she took a gamble. The more time she''d spend here, the less she''d feel all the pressure of her mind. Because she knew, in the end, she''d have to ept her fate, whether she liked it or not.


    But more importantly, she couldn''t look away from his body. Was something controlling her? Since when did her heart start to beat this rapidly? Since when did her body heat up this much? When was thest time she felt so much tingling between her legs?


    It was almost as though the cold wasn''t even here anymore.


    She was burning up.


    And those feelings made her more and more daring.


    "Come over here, or are you afraid I might scratch?"


    But in the end, it turned out a lot weirder than she anticipated. ''What the hell did I just say?''


    She had no idea how it came to this or where this was going. But at this point, could she really stop herself?


    Was it even possible to stop?

 Chapter 96 - No More Virginity: But Still A Walking Disaster

    Our wet bodies touched. Though the sma ball in my hand was burning brightly, it wasn''t enough to dry ourselves instantly.


    We were drying at a rapid pace though.


    Marg was right next to me, and our bodies were touching a lot more than I wanted. My breathing had be a bit rapid and my heart rate was high: it was climbing by every second. If it kept up like this, I was damn sure, something bad was about to happen.


    So as a responsible guy, I had to do the right thing. "Say, I think this is good enough. Let''s get clothed and leave."


    Marg stared at me, a bit disappointed. We were under Merin''s jacket. This was a big jacket and it was made out of ck leather. So it was warm if nothing else.


    "You know, I don''t think I''m quite dry yet." She sat down on myp and removed her underwear without a second of dy. Her chest was already drawing a lot of my attention and now even the stuff down there?


    Oh boy.


    ''What is this sensation?'' My mind went nk.


    I could feel a lot more than just her thighs on my thighs. Her bare bottom and even that¡­ She turned around and pressed herself against my chest.


    "You-you-yoiyu-"I couldn''t even form a sentence anymore.


    I was a very sensible guy. I was rational and I was also not shy. But this, this whole situation was messed up. And it was making my rationality go out the drain.


    Just the feeling alone was enough to make my blood pump way harder than it was necessary.


    "If you don''t remove yours, you might catch a cold." Her sultry tone and expression were alluring in a way that I didn''t think was even possible.


    But I hesitated. ''If I go down this route, there''s no going back. I don''t have any means to take responsibility and-''


    Before even my mind could attempt to correct my ways, her hand slid down my downstairs. My underwear was removed and as the bare Lil-Helio rose up, she smiled. And her lips came ever so close to mine.


    She held my face. "Do you not like me? Does my body not excite you?"


    I didn''t dislike her, and I certainly found her exciting: my rising Excalibur was the proof of that. But I didn''t know her. And I didn''t know why she was doing this.


    But more importantly, was I mature enough to take responsibility for this. "I don''t think we should do this. I mean, I can''t take responsibility and I don''t have money to-"


    "You don''t have to." She didn''t let me finish and slide her tongue down my throat.


    My self-control wasn''t infinite. I kissed her back. Our tongues rolled, slipped, and fought for dominance. I''d like to say, I won.


    Self-control? What was that again?


    "I warned you." I sure did. I put out the sma ball but it wasn''t cold anymore.


    In fact, I was burning up.


    I grabbed her chest gently and yed.


    "Ah, cold."


    I guess my hands were too cold for her, so I warmed them up a bit with my blood reactions.


    I received moans instead ofints.


    Her hands however were both ying with the Lil-Helio.


    I had no idea how this should have gone and I didn''t have any experience either, but one thing was for sure, I couldn''t look away: and I couldn''t stop my hands. And the kissing didn''t stop either.


    Now granted, hers wasn''t that big, but it was enough.


    "Not satisfied?" As my cream oozed out of her fingers, she stared directly in my soul. I guess she was speaking for herself while asking me the question.


    ''You want to continue?'' I guess it was evident at this point.


    Lil-Helio rose up again without a doubt. Meaning, I was good to go too.


    "Well," I grabbed her tight, kissed her, and by the time we were done caressing each other, both of us were more than just turned on. "I don''t have protection."


    "Me neither."


    She kissed me harder.


    It was almost as though a storm was blowing outside. But the gusts of wind never reached us, as we were more than just burning up at this point. I was even sweating and panting.


    ''d I can form a barrier.'' I had no idea if it was even possible or not, but it sure didn''t stop me from trying.


    But Marg wasn''t letting me go anytime soon. "I want you." She was on top of me. And though I knew better to not go in her like this, there was no stopping this now. "I want you now, ''She whispered into my ears and bit me.


    For a second it spooked the hell out of me, but it also ignited something.


    I couldn''t stop.


    No, I didn''t want to stop.


    What was happening to me?


    Was this, really me?


    I didn''t know, but I wanted this. And I wanted this bad.


    And with solid determination, I touched her there: this was my first time touching this ce. It was a mystery to me till this day, but today, I finally felt it. She was wet, and my fingers were sticky. And yet, I couldn''t stop. I yed with her for a minute, until I finally entered her.


    I couldn''t control my urges anymore.


    "Ah." She let out a pained cry but her smile didn''t waver. "So big¡­" She kissed me. "You are my first."


    "So, are you?" And I never thought, my first would go down like this.


    "You have no idea how happy that makes me." Though tears streamed down her cheeks she smiled and as we hugged, kissed, and moved our hips- which was very hard to do- life became more and more of a bliss.


    And the bliss just kept on escting. With every movement, it just kept on adding up. My hips burned and my whole body lighted up. It was almost as though nothing in the world mattered anymore.


    I was close, I was very close.


    Never in a million years did I thought I''d be doing this under Merin''s jacket and our own clothes. Seriously, what was wrong with us?


    "Ahhh¡­" Marg screamed and moaned haphazardly as she squeezed the hell out of me. I guess she was more turned on than I thought. I reached my peak right after her.


    And as the blessed feeling slowly passed we just lied there hugging each other, kissing as we went.


    ***


    But eventually, the bliss came to an end, and as both of us sat down together, shoulder to shoulder, I stared at the icy stone wall and a thought ran down my mind. ''What the hell have I done?''


    Not only did I do this, but I also did it without using any protection. In the heat of the moment, I kind of got ahead of myself.


    Marg''s head was resting on my shoulder. She was stillpletely bare and so was I. I cleared some strands of hair from her face and took a good look. Her eyes were closed and she had a smile. She looked even more beautiful than before. Was she asleep?


    Here I was, shivering from this severe cold and feeling like all the life from my hips was drained, and she was sleeping so peacefully? Honestly, I was a bit jealous. And yet, I couldn''t fault her.


    I sighed. Small clouds of air formed. ''I better take responsibility, I guess.''


    I wrapped my arms around her, and the clothes, around us. This ce was a good instor, and we generated enough heat for both of us, so it wasn''t that bad.


    ***


    I yawned and woke up.


    I felt strangely good. My back was a bit sore but I felt great.


    ''What is this!'' I felt like I could take on the whole world: I sure didn''t want to though.


    I looked around and Marg wasn''t here. And I for sure knewst night wasn''t a dream.


    But seriously, couldn''t she have at least taken me back?


    I sighed and looked around. I was kind of still wrapped in my own shirt. "Achoo!"


    I guess we shouldn''t have done this out here. ''Toote now.''


    It didn''t feel like a cold. It''d probably just go away, well, probably.


    I picked up my things and took a good look for stains.


    There were none. And then I remembered. ''Oh yeah, I did it bare.'' Not to mention, I never actually pulled out either. I let out another sigh.


    ''Why am I so stupid?'' I didn''t know. I sure wanted to know though.


    But what about the first time when she literally squeezed me with her hands. ''Ah, that did feel good.'' I jolted my head away from the memories. This wasn''t time to be thinking of those.


    I stretched a little and though I didn''t know what time this was, I was confident it couldn''t have been more than eight. So I had enough time.


    I jogged my way through the blizzard.


    This was the perfect opportunity for a good jog. And I needed the exercise anyway.


    ''Better thank Merin extra for this Jacket.'' I was in a very, very good mood.


    ***


    I reached the academy gates fairly soon. At least, sooner than I thought. No one was here. I guess people were still only getting up. I yawned and continued jogging.


    I didn''t see many students out. This didn''t bode well for me.


    And with every step, my eyes kind of twitched.


    By the time I reached the dorm, I realized a fatal w in my deduction.


    It wasn''t that there were no students out, rather it was that everyone was in the sses. ''No wonder it didn''t feel as cold asst night.''


    I got to my room at exactly 11.20: Merin wasn''t here. I took a shower, ate some broli- I still had plenty- and ran for the ss.


    If I hurried, I could still, at least make it for the 3rd ss of the day.


    And I did make it.


    "Why are youte?"


    And then I had a ten-minute debate with the teacher about how I got lost in the snowy fields yesterday and why I didn''t have a Holo. Did this teacher really have time to debate this instead?


    But in the end, he did let me in and I took my seat.


    I looked back, but Marg wasn''t here.


    ''Tell me, I didn''t overdo it, did I?''


    I didn''t know why, but suddenly I felt a lot more self-conscious than I should have been.


    ''Calm down¡­ calm down¡­ Deep breaths¡­'' She could have just gotten out for thedies'' room anyway.


    I was definitely, not calm.


    sses eventually ended, but Marg never showed up.

 Chapter 97 - Responsibility

    I kind of wanted to run to Marg''s dorm and ask her upfront if she didn''te because I might have been a bit too muchst night. But I couldn''t bring myself to. After all, it was embarrassing and I kind of couldn''t get the thoughts of her moans and cries out of my head. Like seriously, why hadn''t I paid enough attention at the time?


    Well, it wasn''t like we wouldn''t be meeting again today, anyway. She had matches, and so did I. ''But man, how the hell am I supposed to take responsibility? She did say I won''t have to, but-''


    But I wasn''t convinced. The reason I always wanted to avoid girls was because I was afraid of taking responsibility. But now that I''d already made this mistake, there was no going back and I had to make everything alright, whether I liked it or not. I had to take responsibility. I couldn''t ruin a girl''s life and just say it was for fun or whatever.


    Maybe I was over exaggerating this, but this was what I was taught, and I intended to follow my family''s teachings on this case. Mom did always say, ''if you ever make a mistake, apologize and take responsibility.'' I was also very much aware that she didn''t mean this.


    As usual, life was full of sighs.


    I reached the dorm, without even noticing.


    Knock!


    Lately, no matter how I thought about it, Merin wasn''t-


    "Oh, wee."


    My train of thoughts was abruptly stopped as Merin opened the door without a fuss while buttoning up his shirt: I guess he was in there. I did not like that grin on his face though.


    Once I entered the room, I understood why. It was awfully dark in here and the curtains were closed.


    Apparently, Merin had an adventure of his own.


    "Now if you two will excuse me." Natasha left. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what they were doing.


    I sighed. "No wonder it smells in here."


    "Hey! What is that supposed to mean." Merin was a bit offended.


    "Exactly, what I meant." I lounge opened the windows and let fresh air in.I had a grin of my own. "Guess what happenedst night."


    "You gotid, didn''t you." Merin gave me a smug grin.


    My poker face shattered in an instant. "When I said guess, I didn''t mean, get it right on the first try." Like seriously, was this guy a prophet or something?


    He burst outughing. "Oh and thanks for returning this in one piece." Merin picked up his jacket. "I was afraid you were going to destroy my favorite jacket." He examined the jacket, searching for signs of destruction.


    ''And you still gave me that one?''


    I guess I really owed him big time.


    "I''d wash that if I were you."


    "Ah!" He abruptly dropped the jacket on the bed and gave me a meek smile. He couldn''t formte a response.


    "Anyway, I kind of used your crystal and it got drained. But I''m alive because of that. Thanks."


    "No prob. Did you get what were you searching for?"


    I grimaced subconsciously. "Well, kind of." I brought out the fragments. It was funny how they were still here after all this. When I got snuggled between Marg''s thigs, I thought I''d dropped them in theke. But somehow, by some miracle, I still had the stuff.


    But just the thought of that sensation, made my insides go funny. All of a sudden, I felt hotter.


    "WOW!" Merin came close to me and picked one of the crystals. "These are rare, very rare."


    Thank goodness, he was a great distraction.


    "What do you mean?" I barely had pieces of the actual core, and not to mention these were just tiny pieces.


    "Green to blue aremon, yellow to orange are kind of rare, pink to purple are a lot rare."


    "Some part of that doesn''t make sense, but sure," I mumbled. "But that''s only a fragment. I couldn''t get the actual core."


    "I don''t know what you''ll do with them but I think these are basically good enough for anything you n. I mean you can sell each one for roughly a gold if you''re lucky."


    Was this guy serious? A gold for a piece?


    ''A gold?'' I grinned, there it was, my responsibility-money. But it wasn''t enough in the long run. I needed more. ''Maybe I should consider hunting Mutors in my spare time, in the meantime?'' If the money was good then my chocte pool wasn''t too far away either.


    "Well, that''s good and all but I need the core to refine this saber and make it stronger so it won''t crack under pressure." Meaning, at the end of the day, I still didn''tplete the task I was set out to do. So, what was the point in all this?


    "You can always sell one of these and buy a yellow core, I guess. But for what? For the tournament?"


    "Yeah?"


    "Oh yeah." Merin chuckled, looking away. "You kind of missed everything yesterday, didn''t you?" His voice wasn''t giving me confidence.


    "Why, are you avoiding eye contact? What happened?" I kind of wanted to know, but I also kind of didn''t want to know.


    "Well, ah¡­ you''re actually a lot far behind. So unless you score exactly three on all your remaining three matches, you''re out." He carefullyid out the facts. But the moment I understood them, things got a lot tougher.


    "Oh shit." I sat on the bed.


    "Now, now, don''t be down." Merin sat down next to me. "That''s taking into ount that all your opponents will also score threes which doesn''t seem that likely. So you can probably be fine with just 8 or even 7. But that''s still assuming you have to win all three with at least one matchting you 3."


    If that was his idea of cheering me up, it sure wasn''t working.


    "Suppose, I can''t actually risk not using my saber now." Meaning, there wasn''t any way I could get this saber over to that old man and do something about this.


    I sighed.


    "So, who''s the lucky girl?" Merin really had a way of changing the subject.


    But I couldn''t gloom forever. I smiled. "You know her pretty well." And boy, did I feel good about this. I still had no idea why.


    Merin grinned but gradually his grin started to waver and at point, it was reced with dread and twitches. "Please tell me it isn''t Marg."


    "Damn." I chuckled. "What is with you and your guesses today!" If he imed to be a mind reader at this point, I''d have believed him.


    Merin grabbed my shoulder and red. "Please tell me, it isn''t Margeretta Rodwich."


    I didn''t know what his deal was but one thing was for certain, this guy was serious.


    So I had to be too. "Yes."


    He let go of me and went over to his side. "Damn." He sat down on the bed with a thud. "You do realize she''s engaged to Vana Battlesuin, right?"


    "Wait, what? How was I supposed to know that? And how do you know that!" More importantly, she never told me anything!


    And a Battlesuin?


    A sigh escaped my lips without a doubt.


    "Are you stupid? Shouldn''t you at least look into people before being in bed with them? Besides, she''s nobility and almost all nobles get engaged early on. Or did you need a Holo to tell you that?" Merin was being awfully condescending if nothing else. But he was right. He sighed. "Yesterday Vana Battlesuin hade to the dorm to inquire about your decision of whether you wanted to join the tea party or not. Of course, it was unofficial and he just wanted to have a chat with you. I didn''t know what to do but eventually brought him back to the room and we met Marg here."


    I held my head. "Well, this just got weird."


    "Weird? Weird? Oh, man. And I thought you were smart. But I guess in the heat of the moment everybody loses it." He lied down on the bed, feet still hanging down. "I''d advise you to stay away from that girl. Pretend it never happened. I''m sure she''ll do the same. Did you talk to her today?"


    Pretend it never happened? Could I really do that? Could I?


    No, I couldn''t. Last night was amazing and I wanted more. Maybe I was going crazy overtaking responsivity because I wanted to have another taste at it. I could almost snort at my own selfishness. ''So, in the end, it was all for me?'' I had no answer, really.


    "She never showed up. And I already decided to take respon-"


    "Don''t be stupid. If you do something rash, both the Rodwichs and the Battelsuins will be your enemies. And it seems she realizes it too. That''s why she didn''te to sses. Your family is already in a tough position, I don''t think it would be wise to invite unnecessary trouble. "


    I took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I''ve to have another good talk with mom then and apologize."


    He sighed. "I guess you already made that decision." Merin snorted. "Well, that suits you. I''ll support you as both your senior and your friend no matter what path you choose."


    "Thanks. You really should wash that first though."


    "What are- Whoah!" He was right under his jacket. He jumped back up.


    I chuckled. "Well, it was over our heads, so I don''t think it''s dirty or anything. But¡­Thanks, man."


    "You''re wee."


    There was silence between us but we knew, we had each other''s backs.


    Well, kind of.


    But one thing was for certain. I was going to take responsibility and I wasn''t going to let anyone get in my way, not even the Battlesuins. Besides, we were already going to war anyway.

 Chapter 98 - Reaffirming My Resolve

    I was restless. I couldn''t study, I couldn''t rest and I couldn''t even wait.


    Something was wrong with me.


    Even lying on the bed, wasn''t calming my heart.


    Beep!


    It was almost four. I still had an hour before the matches would start. I checked my phone and all three of my matches were with unknown people. And thest one was with a transfer student. I didn''t know him, and he never talked to me, in fact, he never even approached me.


    But frankly, it didn''t matter that much. I was more focused on Marg. ''What am I doing? Should I really start another feud?'' I didn''t have an answer, so I just rolled around on the bed, aimlessly.


    With a sigh, I sat up. I didn''t know Marg. I only thought of her as a friend till now. But I wanted to know more: I wanted more. Maybe all these feelings were fundamentally wed and maybe they were nothing more than just superficial. But honestly, I wanted them to be genuine. I wanted them to not be wed.


    And that''s why I wanted to take responsibility. I was selfish, but I wanted everything.


    I stood up and grabbed my saber.


    "I''lleter to watch." All this time Merin was quiet but now, finally, he spoke up.


    But I was d.


    "Kay." I went for the door and didn''t look back.


    I was leaving a bit early, but it sure didn''t stop me.


    ***


    As usual, it was sunny and there were all sorts of students out here today. Though technically it had only been three days, half of the matches would have been over by today. But strangely, it was probably just me who had all eight matches scheduled in just three days. The rest of the students still had matches left.


    It didn''t take a lot of guesses on my part to know that someone pulled at least some kind of strings. But who? And why?


    As I kept on walking I noticed amotion on the field. ''But the matches aren''t due for another hour.'' I went closer to take a look.


    "You can''t! Your leg hasn''t even healed yet."


    "Yes, but I-"


    I heard two loud voices within the crowd. And as I knew one of them, as usual, I had a bad feeling.


    I kind of wanted to run away, but considering what I''d done to her, I had to see this through.


    So with a sigh, I just tapped the shoulder of one of the guys who was in front of me. He saw my face and moved to the side without a word. The guy in front of him turned to look at what was going on behind him and he did the same. Eventually, this became a chain reaction and I now had a path in front of me. I guess my viinous name came in handy after all.


    I went through the crowd and at the end of the human tunnel, a girl and a guy were in a heated word fight. There was a lot of yelling.


    I got the impression that I was the root cause, so naturally, I just kept quiet. But it didn''t take them a minute longer to notice my presence and re.


    I sighed, took a deep breath, and looked at the girl in the wheelchair. "Hey, Selene. I''m sorry. I should have gone to you first thing and apologize, but¡­ things happened and I''m sorry." I tried to be as sincere as I could.


    The man didn''t say a word. Rather he addressed the crowd behind us. "You lot, get outta here!"


    "Aww, man!"


    "Just when it was getting good."


    Apparently, everyone in the crowd were having fun on their own. I really despised these kinds of people but there wasn''t anything I could do about that.


    "It''s okay. I just broke a femur." Selene didn''t look me in the eye. I couldn''t tell if she was mad or sad. Perhaps both?


    I knelt on one leg and looked her in the eye. "I''m sorry. My cousin kind of dropped me in midair and I didn''t know what I was even doing. I won''t say I''ll make up for this because I can''t. But if you want anything done, I''ll do that for you." I gulped. "You can even punish me if you want. But I''d appreciate it if you do that after let''s say, this tournament."


    The man by us sighed. "You should have done this that night, moron." With another sigh, he just walked on. I actually kind of recognized him. He was one of the guys who''d mocked me that day at the gym before my fight with ze. I guess he was a third-year senior.


    But he was right.


    Selene sighed. "You''re actually kind of cute in that outfit, you know which one I mean."


    ''Oh shit.'' I knew where this was going and I did not like it, no sir!


    Selene grinned knowingly. "You wanted to go out with me, right? Alright, I''ll go out with you, but you''ll have to wear that dress. I sure hope you haven''t thrown it away, because in that case, I''ll make you wear my clothes." Her smug look didn''t waver.


    "Why the hell do you still remember that!" And more importantly why the hell did she want to punish me like this? I was fine with a few broken bones, but seriously, just in embarrassment? I really hated this life. "Besides, that dress was of dressing warmly, not for this kind of humid-"


    Selene made some iprehensible cute sounds I could only make out as giggles and stared at me. "Let''s just say the way you proposed that day, was hrious and very unforgettable. And I don''t care if you were to drown in your own sweat. All in all that would be cuter. But rest assured, we''ll be going to somece cold." This girl had a very warped sense of cuteness.


    ''You don''t have to remind me!'' I was kind of nervous and awkward that day. And not to mention that was the first day. And it wasn''t even a proposal. I''d just messed up, nothing more and nothing less. "Fine, you''ve got yourself a deal." I really hated this, but I couldn''t do anything about it. SO, I just epted.


    She smiled. And though her smile was like an angel, she looked more like the devil. "It''s settled then. You better go out with me first thing next month at the end of this tournament."


    But I was d she was willing to forgive me. After all, she probably broke her legs because of me.


    "So, what happened? Why were you two having an argument? You weren''t trying to climb anything even with your legs like that, were you?" Because if she were, that was in suicide.


    "What do you mean?" She stood up. "And no, that guy just wanted me resting for the rest of the week."


    I was dumbfounded for a second. "What?"


    "Oh, these bandages? Just minor injuries I got from volleyballst night. The Femur I broke got pretty much healed."


    "Volleyball is yed by hands!" I grinded my teeth.


    She showed me her tongue and winked. She giggled and sat down again. "Well, though things happened because of you that night. I actually wasn''t that injured as there was a girl on the field who could use shadows. She kind of saved me: I still fractured a femur though. But since the deal''s still struck, you better keep your word."


    "You do realize Ie from a family of viins, right?"


    "You do realize you just gave me your word, right?" She fired back like she was almost singing.


    "Fine." I hissed and walked away.


    First, she giggled then she burst outughing. Seriously, what was wrong with her?


    And more importantly, how gullible was I? Yes!


    ***


    With a thud, I sat on the bench. I still had about half an hour before the actual match, so all was cool. It was a bit hot today, and I was sweating.


    "Where''s a palm tree, when you need one." I sighed. Lately, I wasn''t reuniting with the palm all the time.


    Actually, now that I thought about it, was I missing those damn trees?


    Hell no. I shook my head to get the thought out.


    "Oh, look who we have here?" And I heard just the voice I didn''t want to.


    And following that, I got sandwiched. To my left, sat a guy with bags between his eyes and who was constantly yawning, and to my right, sat a girl who was busy chomping on her double-decker sandwich. Did she eat anything else at all?


    And did these two not get the concept of personal space? Definitely not.


    Apparently, I was sandwiched between Ariel and Dan.


    "I heard you were falling behind." Dan just looked ahead with sleepy eyes and yawned again. All his yawns were making me want to yawn too. "You okay?"


    "I wasn''t here yesterday. I think I''ll make up for it today."


    "Oh? Really?" Ariel took a big bite and half of her words came out weird. "But I must say, you have plenty ofpetition this year."


    "Yeah." I hated to admit it, but Ariel was right. This year there were a lot of strong guys participating. "But I''ve already made up my mind to win. I won''t let anyone or anything stand in my way." And more importantly, I first needed money to even think about taking responsibility of another human being.


    Ariel burst outughing. "Listen to this guy, Dan." She proceeded to p me on the back. This girl was kind of frail, I didn''t even feel it. "Dan?"


    We both looked to our left, nonplussed.


    The dude was asleep.


    Ariel sighed. "Well, I suppose I did keep him upst night."


    "What?"


    "Ooops." Ariel giggled and finished her sandwich. She cleared her throat. "You didn''t hear anything." She winked and woke Dan.


    ''Why the hell did you two even bother showing up?''


    "Don''t get carried away." Dan was being dragged like a wheel and yet, he was giving me advice.


    I didn''t feel like responding, not one bit. But I guess they were just here to cheer me and motivate me. I didn''t feel either though.


    But as I turned my attention away from them, something else caught my eyes: Marg. She''d arrived for her first match.

 Chapter 99 - How Conceited Was I?

    I took deep breaths.


    Marg was just in front of me, looking at the small space for her fight, waiting for her opponent. She was this close and yet, I couldn''t even go on and say hi. Something was wrong with me: my chest felt tight. Why was I suddenly being a wuss?


    There were five minutes before the match, I couldn''t dwindle. ''It''s now or never, get it together!'' With a bit of a pep talk, I shoved past the small crowd and went closer to Marg.


    She noticed me sooner than I thought.


    "Hey."


    "Hi, did you need something?" Marg was indifferent. There was no smile, no emotion. She just spoke like the first time I met her.


    "I mean-"


    "Shouldn''t you be somewhere else? Or are you giving up before trying?"


    I went closer to her and spoke softly enough that people couldn''t hear me. "I want to take responsibility for this."


    "Why would you be conceited enough to think that just because we spent one night together, I''d be yours: that, I''d belong to you?" There was no emotion behind her words. She was just stating a fact.


    I didn''t know why but that hit a lot harder than I thought. But deep down I knew she was right. I was basically justying my whims on her, without even thinking of her own wishes. She was right, I was being awfully conceited.


    "No, it''s not because of that, I mean-" My chest got a lot tighter. All morning I thought of nothing but taking responsibility but in the end, I never really tried to understand what Marg wanted.


    "Sorry, but I have no need for your pity. We don''t love each other, and we don''t know each other. What happened in the past, should stay buried. Besides," Her voice was barely audible. "I''ve already decided what to do." I could feel bloodlusting from her. "Go," She ordered.


    It was almost as though the ground was shaking. But I was standstill. What was this?


    Why?


    I didn''t know.


    Someone pulled on my arm and got me out of the crowd.


    "What''s wrong with you? What happened?" Apparently, it was Merin.


    I chuckled. "Well, I got rejected." If I felt like I could take on the world this morning, then now I felt like crawling into a hole and staying there.


    Merin chuckled. "Be sure to etch this to your soul. Never underestimate a woman. The moment you think they''re powerless and need your protection, that''s the moment you lose. Women aren''t as weak as you''d think. " I didn''t know why but these words hit home hard. "Anyway, where are you fighting?"


    "I don''t know. Probably in some corner, since my powers are too dangerous." My chest tightened and my vision became a bit narrow. I didn''t know why but all the soundsing from all around, the people, the fights, everything felt pointless.


    "Let''s see." Merin stopped.I didn''t look around. I just looked towards my feet while Merin did all the carrying. "Yeah, that ce looks abandoned and there are three people there."


    ***


    "What''s wrong with him?" Judging by the voice, it was Mike.


    "He just got dumped."


    "Can''t even keep a secret." I sighed and finally picked myself up. I''d done enough grieving. But I couldn''t grieve forever.


    I did a bit of stretching.


    "Well, if you got that upset just from being dumped, were you really ready for a serious rtionship?" My opponent was a girl and her words weren''t reallyforting.


    "But if he wasn''t upset, would it really have been better?" Merin spoke out loud. "After all, when you break up, that''s just sad."


    It was sad, but it wasn''t like we were together in the first ce. So what was Merin even getting at? I didn''t have the energy to have a debate over this anymore.


    The girl clicked her tongue and readied her saber. "All men are wusses: if she meant that much, then he should have just went for her."


    Just moments ago I got rejected, and for thest five minutes I built up a lot of negative feelings. And this girl just had the galls to say stuff to my face.


    So without a doubt, I readied my scythe and weirdly enough, the energy was violently surging through the sma. I guess my emotions had a lot to y on this.


    "Mike?"


    "Yeah?" He looked at me with a bit of shock. I guess he didn''t think I''d ask anything of him.


    "I don''t think I''ll be able to hold back. So you might want to protect her and everyone else." I had to give a fair warning, after all, I wasn''t stupid enough to identally kill anyone.


    And with my mental state, using radiation was definitely a no-no. But there were always chances, something could have gone wrong.


    Mike''s sigh was rather audible. "Fine." He had someone with him, the guy who could make barriers. Well, technically I could too, at this point.


    A threeyer barrier appeared before our heads.


    "Go!"


    "How courteous. But aren''t you underestimating me too much?" The girl hissed.


    "I''m sorry to say, but I might be overestimating you."The girlunched herself forward while enshrouding herself with wind des but before she could evene a meter close to me, she was stopped midair. "See, told you, I was overestimating you." I lifted the scythe up and shoved her straight for the barrier. She was unhurt but she was nowpletely stuck. The wind des vanished.


    The reason?


    I''d created a barrier in front of her. Now that I thought about it, this was probably the most useful ability I could ever have hoped for.


    And this was also my first time using it here, meaning no one really knew about it.


    "What the hell?" The girl looked at me with terror and despair. "You could do that with radiation!?" sweats covered her whole face as she looked at me with utter fear.


    I guess she didn''t see my invisible barriers. Honestly, I didn''t either. I just knew they were there because I could use alpha particles.

 Chapter 100 - How Conceited Was I? Part 2

    But just because the girl got the wrong idea, didn''t mean I had to correct her. "Do you give up or should I chop off some of your fingers?"


    "I-I- Give up!" So much for her pride.


    All the barriers disappeared and the girl fell on her feet.


    "Three points. Well done." Mike pped. Merin also pped.


    "Yes, well done. If you''re that powerful, I''d have a hard time believing you''d just give up on your girl." Was this girl trying to cheer me up or piss me off? I couldn''t pick.


    At this point, I had a hard time believing too. But if Marg didn''t want me, then there was nothing I could have done.


    This felt awfully artificial so I just sighed and went to the side, and sat on a bench.


    ***


    My next battle would take ce exactly ten minutester. So I had some free time to think. But think what? Just when I got the thoughts of Marg away from my mind¡­ everything just came flooding back.


    With a sigh, I looked up. There were clouds up there but all of them were white ones and it probably wouldn''t rain in the next few weeks.


    ''Well, she did say I wouldn''t have to take responsibility at the time.'' I guess she meant it. Or perhaps she never liked me, and though I was feeling awfully full of myself, did I love her? What was love anyway? The feeling of lust, trust, sacrifice or was there more? I didn''t know.


    How could I? I''d never been in love before.


    But I did feel my chest beat faster for her, and hurt a little when the thought of her being with someone else crossed my mind.


    With another sigh, I stood up and went closer to Mike and Merin. I understood why Mike was here, but Merin too? Though he''d said he would see my matches today, I didn''t think he''d be here all the time.


    "Got nothing better to do?"


    "Pretty much. Kind of got bored sitting back in my room. Can''t get the idea of, you know what, out of my head." He gave me a smug grin.


    I really wanted to punch those somewhat white teeth of his.


    Again, life was really, full of sighs. "So, where''s my opponent?"


    "She''s runningte, I guess." Mike crossed his hands and looked around.


    As I looked around too, I saw a girl running towards us.


    "Sorry, I''mte." A girl huffed and puffed, hands on her knees. She was a bit on the chubbier side. "Hi, Diana, your biggest fan." She still hadn''t caught her breath but she sure was excited to meet me.


    And then I kind of remembered, I actually had a fan club before people knew I was a viin, which I wasn''t. But I didn''t expect to still have fans.


    "Yeah, nice to meet you." I shook her hands, reluctantly. Awfully sweaty.


    "I just heard you were declined. I''m free!" She squirmed some more, without letting go of my hand. Though she was being polite, I didn''t find that appealing, one bit. "I''m totally free. You can do anything you want with me!" And then she went crazy.


    I didn''t know why, but that sounded awfully wrong. I gave a nce at Merin and he was having the time of his life.


    I really, really wanted to kill the guy now.


    But really, how the hell did word travel so fast?


    "Anyway, we''re fighting, right? Let''s start."


    "Oh, don''t worry about it. I''ll just give you all my points. All you have to do, is just give me a kiss."


    "I''ll pass, get ready." I switched on my saber.


    "Ah, rejected." She wasn''t sad one bit and squirmed some more. What was she, a masochist?


    I didn''t know, I didn''t care. "Let''s just get this over with." My scythe yet again became a bit too erratic. I was definitely not in a good mood.


    "Go!"


    Before the girl could even do anything I justunched myself forward, instantly, putting my scythe over her head, while setting up a barrier just so, I didn''t identally decapitate her.


    If my scythe''s abilities weren''t known then nothing stopped me from fully using them without warning.


    I didn''t know if she really was this slow or if she was throwing the match, but either way, I was fine with getting the points.


    She gave up but her smile didn''t falter. "So, when are we going out?"


    "Never, I already got a date."


    And I never thought I''d use Selene as an excuse.


    "Really?" The girl grinded her teeth and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. "Who''s the lucky girl?"


    "That''s none of your concern."


    "Why not me! Because I''m fat!?" And she was going crazier. She was one of those types who disliked their own bodies.


    I was already pretty irritated, so her words weren''t really helping to keep my mood in check. "Yeah, I don''t give a crap whether you''re fat or just bones. If I like someone, that''ll be all. I wouldn''t give two hoots about their appearance. " That wasn''tpletely true, but I never really paid too much attention to appearances anyway. And I couldn''t get the idea of Marg out of my head either. So I became more and more irritated by the second.


    "You really are a charmer," Mike whispered and I just ignored him.


    "Why do I have three fights today?" And I also had three yesterday too. Someone was definitely behind all this.


    "Dunno, no one told me." Mike shrugged his shoulders while Merin justughed at the whole thing.


    "Useless."


    The guy justughed it off.


    "Excellently done. Marvelous." The voice came from behind me and there he was, the fifth and only transfer student, I never talked to.


    I guess I didn''t have to wait for thest fight after all.


    "Thank you, can we start now?"


    "Should you really not rest? I have time, so I wouldn''t mind waiting a bit." His ent was a bit weird, probably from South East Asia.


    My veins throbbed. Was this guy taking pity on me, seriously?

 Chapter 101 - How Conceited Was I? Part 3

    "Look pal, I''m already quite pissed right now. It would do well for you to not make this worse."


    He chuckled a bit and took his stance once inside the barrier.


    Meanwhile, the chubby girl took her leave.


    "Good luck." Merin giggled towards the transfer student. I didn''t fault him, with the mood I was in, my enemies really did need all the luck they could get.


    The transfer student meanwhile, held his saber in one hand and had it in a weird stance like he was holding a stick or something. I didn''t know why but this kind of ticked me off some more.


    "Go!"


    I readied my scythe and jumped at the guy. But this guy didn''t have any opening and he immediately saw through my barriers. I guess he was studying my moves before the match. Not a bad idea I suppose.


    But more importantly, he could see the invisible barriers?


    I tried slicing him but he blocked my scythe and fired back his own flurry of attacks. I guess he wasn''t all talk. "Can we take this a bit more seriously, please?" He giggled.


    But in a moment of hispse, I kind of scraped his shoulder, and just when I was about to retract, he grinned and ducked. He followed up by wing me with his hands. Of course, I blocked it with my barrier but it did make me take steps back.


    He could make his fingers into ws? Seemed pretty useful for closebat if nothing else. And he wasn''t afraid to take damage just so he could damage me either.


    This guy wasn''t weak and I had to take this seriously. But what surprised me more was that he could move without a problem even with that wound. And more importantly, the wound disappeared just a secondter. ''A vamp-no, he healed it with his powers.''


    "Alright, I''ll take you seriously." I turned the scythe into a two-handed sword. It was heavy but I was still kind of pissed.


    "It would be my honor."The guy pointed his sword at me, held it like a rapier, and just charged. He tried piercing my defenses with quick thrusts. He was fast.


    But I wasn''t slow either: I dodged his strikes and swung hard, cutting through his thin sword, barely stopping before his neck. It didn''t stop there though. He was going to do the same thing he did before: he was about to use his injury to his advantage and attack me. But this time, the moment he squatted, he was stuck.


    "If you studied my moves before the fight, then you should have known I''d study yours while we fought, right? Anyway, do you give up, or should we see if your head heals once I take it off from your shoulders?" I gave him a solid re. I was definitely in the mood to cut things up, there was no doubt about it.


    He smiled. "I''d like to keep my head, so I give up."


    "Three points." Mike dered the end of our match and I released the guy.


    "Really not bad. I can see why they want you."


    "Who?"


    He just smiled and left. I actually forgot his name too.


    This just kept on getting more and more irritating by the second.


    I scored three on all of the matches today. "I guess that should me a spot in the actual qualifications, right?"


    "What do you mean?" Mike tilted his head.


    "I mean, wasn''t I trailing behind the others and needed full points so I wouldn''t get disqualified before the qualifications?"


    "Who told you that? Even if you lost all the matches today you still would have gotten in anyway. I mean they would have taken you in just because you had skills and not to mention your family name."


    Giggling sounds wereing from our left. And it didn''t take a genius to learn that it was Merin. And not to mention the guy was literally running away.


    I wanted to chase the guy and give him a beating, but at the end of the day, he was going toe back to the dorm anyway. Andtely, he''d gotten too close to Natasha. I grinned evilly. ''Let''s see what happens when you can''t get your Excalibur to rise for a whole day.''


    ***


    I made my way to where Marg had her matches. No one was here and obviously, Marg wasn''t either.


    I was disappointed but this wasn''t surprising.


    Lately, I started carrying my phone because with loads of things going on, and I couldn''t really not afford to use this.


    I dialed a very familiar number.


    It rung.


    "Helio?"


    "Mom. I-" I took a good look around me, though it was barely evening, there wasn''t anybody around me: there wasn''t anybody here. "I slept with someone." I really wanted to keep this private, but I needed advice, and I didn''t know anyone better. So I went straight to the point.


    "I see. So, what are you going to do now?"


    Strangely mom was calm. Was she expecting this or something?


    "She''s already engaged and I don''t know if I love her or not. She doesn''t want me to take responsibility and-"


    "And? Do you want to take responsibility? Are you doing this out of pity? Or out of lust?"


    I guess the engagement part didn''t bother her as much as I thought.


    "I don''t know. It''s just that¡­ when I picture her with someone else, my chest tightens, and when she said she didn''t belong to me just because we slept together, I felt broken. I''ve never felt this way before. I don''t know what love is, and I don''t know if this is just lust or not, but honestly, I don''t want anyone else to take her."


    Mom sighed. "Well, as your mother and a woman myself, I''d advise you to not force her. If she made her decision, all you can do is wait. If you force her then it''ll be a one-sided rtionship and neither of you will be happy. But there could be reasons why she''d shut you out too. It could very well be that she likes you, otherwise, why would she sleep with you? I hardly see the reason."


    "So you just want me to wait?" The words dide out of my mouth but there weren''t any feelings behind them. I couldn''t wait.


    "Not exactly. Who is she engaged to? What are her circumstances?"


    "She''s actually engaged to a Battlesuin." I spoke carefully. I knew this was going on a bad route.


    Mom sighed again. "We''re talking about Marg, aren''t we?"


    I got busted. I guess she knew.


    "Yes?"


    "If I was being honest, I think she probably has feelings for you. The way she looked at you whenever we were all in the same room, was definitely not the look she''d give her friends. But I''m not sure about the depth of those feelings. You''ll have to do something about that, find out whether she actually likes you or not. If she does, then we''ll crush them."


    "Well, we''re going to war with them anyway." I chuckled.


    "Exactly!" Even from over here, I could tell mom was excited. "But seriously, I thought you were ate bloomer."


    "Let''s not get here."


    We bothughed a little and talked some more.


    But in the end, I did get some insight. And I was actually pretty surprised that mom didn''t actually get mad. But I got the impression, she''d clobber me the next time we''d meet.


    ***


    Marg just had one match today.


    She wanted to focus on that. Though everything was already decided she had onest wish, a desire. She wanted to win. And she wanted to prove her sister wrong.


    And this was thest thing she was free to do. After that, she was going to something, something she could never take back. She was going to kill everyone involved. And she knew her chances of survival were nonexistent.


    She''d made the decision long ago. And yet, why was she hesitating now? Why was she having second thoughts? Why did her heartache?


    ''Wasn''t it just a mistake? Then why?''


    She never nned to sleep with Helio, that was a mistake on her part, and yet, why was she feeling like this now? ''What do I want?'' She rolled around on her bed. She didn''t know what to do, she didn''t know what to feel.


    "Marg, you should take a shower. We''re done."


    Marg had three roommates, and all three of them were lovers: they always showered together. Of course, they invited Marg too at times, but sadly for them, Marg was straight.


    With a sigh, she picked herself up and went to the bathroom. She undressed and turned on the shower.


    As water dripped on her like rain, she looked at the wall, emotionless. ''No, I can''t hesitate now.''


    If she hesitated now, all her suffering would be meaningless. She had to see this through, and she had everyst intention to.

 Chapter 102 - Complications Just Walked Their Way In

    On my way to the dorm, I got a mail. And I dreaded over the sender. It was the club leader.


    ''Let''s head to the district clubhouse tomorrow. I trust you already got your core, so let''s head out!


    Ps. Please, pretty please, make sure your cousin drops by too¡­.''


    No wonder all my matches were over in three days. Just how much was this guy infatuated with my cousin? The question did remain though, why?


    I sighed. I already knew my way, so I didn''t need his help. But how did he know I had cores? I turned my head furiously in search of eyes but saw nothing. Where was he watching me from? Seriously, did I finally get a stalker?


    But it didn''t matter that much anyway.


    I continued.


    ***


    Merin wasn''t in here, so I had more free time to think.


    ''I wish I could fly.'' I sighed. Gramps could fly and technically I could too. But no matter how I tried, I never could. If I could just fly now, then I could have just flown straight to that building and I wouldn''t have had to wait in the elevator or even the damn stairs, my worst enemy.


    But now that, one seal was undone, could that have changed?


    I tried.


    Nothing happened. Well, it wasn''t like I''d just mysteriously float on air without doing anything anyway.


    ''Maybe I''ve to just try to catch myself while falling?''


    I tried rolling off from the bed, I did fly for a second before crashing into the floor. I guess that wasn''t flying, rather falling.


    It didn''t hurt that much, but this sure wasn''t a pleasant feeling, at least my nose leaked a drop or two.


    ''What am I doing?''


    I didn''t know. Everything just felt stupid and awkward. It was almost as though the world ceased to have any meaning? This happened just because I got rejected once in my life?


    How frail was I?


    Something or rather someone tapped on the window. "Do you take pride in rolling on the floor?" Her words were as sharp as ever.


    "Rose? What are you doing here?" And not to mention she was just flying nonchntly by the window.


    "Technically, I''m not allowed in at this hour, and even I can''t break the rules. Anyway, open the window, we need to talk." Her words were a bit muffled because of the window.


    I couldn''t catch a break, could I?


    I got up, wiped the droplet of blood off my nose, and opened the window. "Well, what?"


    "I just got a report saying Vana Battlesuin hade to this academy to meet you. What is your rtionship? I don''t trust they''d act this friendly, after what happened."


    "First of all, we never met. And we aren''t friendly either." Moreover, if I met the guy, I''d probably have fried him without a doubt. No fianc¨¦, no problem.


    "Hmmm¡­ that makes sense. The information dide from Danial." She sighed. "But I just got another report saying he came today again. Anyway, rest assured, nothing will happen to you as long as you''re within the school boundary."


    Was she, seriously, worried about me?


    Well, this was new.


    All this time I thought she was just some cynical girl waiting for a chance I''d screw up and she''d punish me. But I guess, I was wrong. Probably.


    "Thank you for your concern. But I know how to handle this." It was just a bluff. I didn''t know anything. More like, I''d stopped thinking.


    "Well, if you say so. Oh and-" She debated something. "Raea didn''t make a move on you, did she?"


    "Who?"


    She breathed a sigh of relief. "Be careful around girls. Some have a lot more ulterior motives than you might think."


    She left. She did realize she was also a girl, right? And who was this Raea person? "Who-"


    Knock!


    ''Looks like he''s back.'' I kind of wanted to roll around the floor some more. But oh well.


    I opened the door, and Merin was back. But he brought someone back with him.


    "Vana Battlesuin." He gave me a courtly bow. "I take it you''re Helio?"


    "Yes, Helio Romswell Jintel."


    ''You got to be kidding me.''


    Why was destiny being so nice to me? Something was wrong, I could smell it!


    Oh wait, that was just Merin''s fart.


    ***


    Merin acted as an intermediary as I and the Russian sat in opposite beds, ring at each other. The Russian had a smile though.


    I didn''t know what this guy was doing here but one thing was for certain, I couldn''t make a move on this guy here. At least not within the dorm.


    "Now that the introductions are over, let''s talk business." He had a smiling face. His hair was green and something about that nose irritated more than necessary. But more importantly, was this guy a girl or something? Why''d he have a ponytail?


    "Yes, let''s start." I was skeptical but it didn''t hurt to hear him out first.


    "First, here''s a letter. It''s from Hyora Battlesuin, our leader."


    "Another one, huh?" At this point, this just felt redundant, if nothing else. I handed the letter over to Merin. "What else?"


    "We''re putting the war on hold for the tea party." That should have been obvious by the first letter, or was this guy purposefully banging his own drums? "However if you should not attend, we''ll take that as a deration of war and use all our power and connections to destroy you."


    I sighed. Was this guy really sane? And it was the Battlesuins who dered war on us in the first ce. "Look pal-" I was about to end his Excalibur''s whole career and he had the gulls to say stuff about destroying me.


    "And we have Albert, the sword king, on our side too."


    That caught my attention. "I see." No wonder he told me I was free to kill him the next time. ''What are you doing, you moron.'' I clicked my tongue. "Alright, I''ll attend your stupid party."


    The mention of that name kind of screwed my shot at making this guy impotent. I knew that man wasn''t ying hostage, but I couldn''t do anything stupid now. ''Looks like your Excalibur would live to see another day.'' I still wanted to fry him though. ''Would it really be bad if I eradicated him from existence?'' I jerked my head away from all the thoughts. My head was strangely filled with murderous thoughts for some reason. Even I was surprised.


    The guy smiled again. "Good decision." He stood up. "That''s all for the business I came here but-" He stopped and red straight at me. "Stay away from my fianc¨¦e, please. That girl belongs to me and me alone." He shed a smile and left.


    I smiled, a vein throbbed on my forehead. "Let''s see how long thatsts."


    Merin let out a breath. "You''re not going to destroy their family, right?" He definitely wanted me to do that, judging from his excitement.


    "Depends¡­" My smile didn''t falter.


    ***


    We,ter on, checked the letter and it was basically the same thing just rephrased a bit. But this time the letter did mention my father. Frankly, I didn''t give a damn about the guy.


    But this did make me get unnecessary ideas. ''Is he really a hostage?''


    I didn''t know why but I felt awfully stupid for even considering that.


    ***


    The next day, I finished sses and since I didn''t have anything better to do, I decided to give a visit to the district clubhouse.


    My current saber was good enough but I wanted it to be radiation-proof, after all, I had tendencies to lose control.


    I knew people who could fly, I knew people who could teleport, but I didn''t have any means to ask any of them.


    So I could only rely on my own self. And though I could have always borrowed Merin''s jacket again, I didn''t want to. He''d already done enough for me. So I just put on three shirts and headed out.


    Needless to say, I was sweating more than necessary. Well, it was better than going around hugging bugs.


    People were giving me stares, I guess I looked a bit fatter than usual.


    I had plenty of time today. So I didn''t need to worry about certain things. I still didn''t want to walk through all of this though. Wasn''t there at least a bike?


    With just a sigh, I kept on marching and eventually reached the snowy ins. It was cold, but nothing unbearable. After spending a night out here, my resistance to cold got a lot better.


    I could probably run around nake- okay, maybe not that.


    It did remind me ofst night though. It really was a blessed night.


    I cleared the thoughts out of my mind and just treated carefully. It was almost afternoon and the whole ce was clean and there wasn''t even a speck of hail or even fog. Everything just looked blindingly white and bright. d I brought my sunsses.


    ***


    By the time I reached the end of the snowy ins, I''d exhausted quite a bit of my powers. I needed a recharge, I needed food.


    ''When will be able to drink chocte milk?'' I wanted to cry, really.


    There was someone in the distance, just standing there looking all pretty. At first, I just ignored him, but as I got closer and closer, my face started twitching.


    It just had to be him.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "You''d already left, so I had to hurry and I came through the jungle. So in the end, I got early, and waited for you." The guy smiled hard but I didn''t want to be near him. And I could read ''ulterior motives,'' all over his face.


    "Fine, just don''t do anything stupid."


    The club leader gave me a solid grin. "I''d never."


    I highly doubted that.

 Chapter 103 - The New Sword: Just Fly Already, Damn It!

    Though it pained me to go with this guy, I had to. I had no choice. More like he didn''t give me a choice. Just how much of a stalker was he?


    Should I have just fried his Excalibur and called it a day? Seemed like a rather nice option at this point.


    ''Is it me, or am I getting more and more violent thoughts?''


    "So, when is he going to show up?" The guy squirmed.


    I didn''t have any interest in all that. "Probably never." But I was definitely getting more and more violent thoughts, at least towards this guy.


    He frowned and we just moved on.


    But now that I was inside the city, I got a bad case of nostalgia. ''What if-''What if she was still here, waiting for me?


    Though I really liked my long-lost crush, I might have gotten on her bad side with that stupidment. So, I kind of didn''t want to meet her anymore.


    With a gulp, I proceeded with caution. But I remembered something else too. "Hey, would my core work I mean-"


    "Don''t worry. It should work. Though fragments, your core is pretty rare and should work wonders."


    "Tell me, how''d you know I got fragments?"


    "Umm¡­ Yeah." He walked faster. And went inside the tall building at the center just as quickly.


    With a sigh, I followed him.


    ***


    All the elevators were working. But I couldn''t let my guard down.


    Who knew what could have happened.


    "Let''s take that one. It''s always the less crowded." He pointed at the slowest one. The same one I''d been in thest time. I had a lot of memories, and I didn''t want to relieve any of them.


    I had a bad feeling about this. "Let''s not push our luck."


    "Nah, it''ll be fine."


    He walked on anyway. With a sigh, I followed. He knew this ce better than me, so I didn''t bother asking too much.


    I definitely didn''t want to though.


    "So, 99th floor, right?" I was about to press on the 99th.


    "No, let''s give mom a visit first."


    "Pass." I pressed 99 anyway.


    I did not want to meet that tentacledy of all things.


    He frowned but didn''t make a scene. What was he, a girl?


    Only two people got in by the fiftieth floor and it took only ten minutes. So far, it wasn''t so bad.


    And then floor 69 happened.


    With a loud noise, one of the strings snapped and the wholepartment shook like crazy. It was unstable if nothing else.


    We were stuck exactly halfway between floor 69 and 70. I kind of wanted to punch someone right now.


    I pressed the emergency button but nothing happened. And judging from the swaying, we didn''t have much time.


    "He he." Johnathan ruffled his hair and let out nervous chuckles. Yup, I definitely wanted to punch him.


    The two people in here were an old couple and they had basically no expression. I guess they didn''t care if they were dying or not. Or maybe they''d just epted their fate?


    I sighed and pulled out my saber. But the moment they saw my ck scythe, both of them hugged each other and let out shrieks. They were praying and saying stuff like they were exorcising demons or something.


    ''Well, what do you know, old people are afraid of the reaper too.''


    I didn''t know why but I kind of smiled like a maniac.


    I controlled it with a ''clear of the throat'' and sliced the door open. If anyone said anything, I''d just give them a scare too. I looked up and we were basically hanging by a thread. "I hate to break it to you, but we''d have to jump if we want to live. This''ll break down any moment."


    The club leader grabbed the old couple and came to the door. "We''ll go first."


    I wanted to jump first, but I didn''t argue. "Go on." I could always jump right after them anyway.


    The 69th floor was just a meter away and it only had a ss door, meaning if one had enough force, they could just break their way through, albeit only after suffering through adequate injuries.


    The old couple was freaking out but Johnathan jumped anyway. And the moment he jumped, the string got snapped.


    ''Oh shit.''


    Should have seen thising, I suppose.


    Oh shit, indeed.


    With a sound that could shred eardrums, the lift started falling: metallic ngs reverberated in the air and it was nauseating. I started floating.


    We were high, very high. If I fell from this ce, even I wasn''t going toe out unscathed even with the barriers. I still formed a round one over myself. I had to create four separate barriers to do this since I couldn''t make a spherical one yet. But what about the impact? What if the barriers crack or worse, what if they act as walls and I get smashed?


    No matter what I thought about this, I was going to break some bones, there was no doubt about it.


    "Flying!" I released my breath. I didn''t even realize that I was holding my breath till now. "Whoo!" This was a great time to learn flying, and not die.


    But I was definitely just distracting myself from the reality anyway.


    Because no matter how I looked at it, justing out of this while breaking a few bones seemed like the best-case scenario.


    I didn''t know how I could fly, or more importantly, what flying even was, but sure enough, I didn''t want to break my body.


    I was inside the barrier, so nothing stopped me from firing off radiation. I got a bit slower and my barrier touched the top wall of the elevator: meaning it was working, kind of. I sliced the elevator through. It seemed my saber could go through the barrier without any fusses. Well, that was handy if nothing else.


    My fall slowed down. But I was still falling to my death. So the fundamental problem of my impending doom remained.


    Deep breaths weren''t helping and I felt more and more breathless by the second.


    "Calm down!" Screaming wasn''t helping either.


    Firing off more radiation was only getting diminishing returns. I had to do something else. But what?


    ''How about decreasing your density, increasing the density of your surrounding air and using heat radiation as thrust?''


    The calm thoughts surfaced on my mind. "I can do that!? Since when?"


    There was no answer.


    But there was no time either. The bottom floor and the elevator just crashed, giving me roughly five seconds.


    Alright! I knew what to do, just not how to do it.


    I tried what my thoughts told me: more like I just forced my body toe up with something, and sure enough, it didn''t work. I did slow down considerably, but not enough to escape certain bone breakage.


    So as ast resort, I shoved my scythe in a nearby wall, cut through two floors, and didn''t fall to my death. I really didn''t want to do this, as this without a doubt, damaged the building, putting everyone at risk. I''d learned my lesson thest time I tried: I still did this anyway. But oh well, my life was definitely more important to me.


    "WHOOH!" I was hanging with one hand while just twenty meters below, there was fire and all sorts of debris. ''Why didn''t these morons dmissioned this thing already?''


    I really wanted to have a good talk with the manager of this ce.


    ***


    Help dide a few minutester. They all apologized to me and even thanked me for saving the couple. I had no idea what they were talking about though. When the hell did I save anyone other than me?


    I didn''t know, I didn''t care. So instead, I just pretended to be innocent here and cover up the fact that I might or might not have damaged a whole wall while trying not to fall to my death.


    It was their fault this happened in the first ce, so I didn''t have any reason to even attempt to apologize. Nope, I was not the one at fault.


    Definitely not.


    And I was turning into more and more of a viin.


    With a sigh, I just went over to the other elevator. "When will my climbing days be over?"


    But before actually going in, I recalled what I thought before. ''Where those the thoughts of the shadow?''


    Now that I thought about this, the shadow was helping me more than necessary. Maybe me getting hurt would have been bad for him too, as we were in the same body, after all?


    But I did try it out. ''How do you decrease your own density?'' I tried to make myself lighter. I didn''t know how but I just focused.


    I felt heavier instead. My body felt a bit stronger but that was all. I guess this was what I always did before a fight, albeit subconsciously. ''What about the opposite.'' I was rather intuitive. But learning things were easy because of that. More like I never paid attention to the small details and guessed my way anyway. And because of that, I often made hundreds of mistakes.


    But when I tried the opposite I felt weak and I also had trouble standing up. But I did feel a lot lighter. I covered myself in a barrier and released a bit of infrared radiation. I felt lift, but it wasn''t enough to sustain flight.


    The guy did mention I''ve to increase the density of my surroundings too. Then how about- within the barrier, I turned the whole ce into a mini nuclear nt. It was awfully dangerous, but I was too absorbed at this point: the barriers kind of spoiled me. But again, I didn''t know how to do things, and the air just ended up burning up. I almost burned my lungs in the process. Gosh, I was stupid.


    ''I guess, I''ll just stop for the time being.''


    So as a good little boy, which I definitely wasn''t, I just took the elevator and hoped for the best. ''Please just work for once.''


    Cause I really didn''t want to climb more stairs.

 Chapter 104 - The New Sword: For Real This Time

    As usual, nothing happened for the first fifty or so floors. People dide and went out but for the most part, it was a fast journey. And I really hoped the rest of the journey would have been like this too.


    I didn''t know what Johnathan was doing, or where he even was but I kind of didn''t want to see him again.


    Unfortunately, my luck was terrible.


    On floor 66, a girl entered the elevator. She had bunny ears and a not-so-t chest like when we were young. Apparently, she was the person I didn''t want meet.


    I gritted my teeth and hoped for the best. I was confident she wouldn''t use her powers here, but I couldn''t be too sure.


    She noticed me almost immediately but didn''t create a scene and just spoke to the man by the buttons: floor 100.


    I let out a breath and just waited. ''This might not be so bad.''


    And then floor 69 happened, again.


    But instead of the strings snapping, this time just two people entered the elevator. This was worse than the strings snapping.


    "Ah, you look just as marvelous as ever. I''ve run out of your samples. Would you be kind enough to pour some more in me? I''d really love more of your D-N-A!" And the woman''s tone was being awfully misleading as ever.


    I got a lot of stares from around me and a re from the bunny girl. I guess they all just assumed I was the bad guy.


    "Hopefully, you''ll settle for being burnt likest time? Or should I scorch you this time, instead? Because, trust me, I''m definitely in the mood to burn down octopuses!"


    "I''m a squid sweetheart." She winked and just went to the other corner, near the bunny girl. Johnathan gave me a wave and I just ignored him.


    This whole damn elevator''s atmosphere got a whole lotta awkward, way too fast. But I just ignored all the stares. At the end of the day, I probably wouldn''t see them again in my life anyway.


    As we climbed up higher and higher, more and more people got off. But the three people were always here. I really hoped they''d just leave me alone but I guess they weren''t going to get out before me.


    By the nieth floor, the elevator was almost empty. It was now only Johnathan, his mother, and my crush.


    "Why''d youe back?" The bunny girl in the corner was cool and collected. Her eyes were closed and she was ready toe at me any time.


    Or was it just my imagination?


    "I have business with the smith." But I tried to be honest.


    "I see." She didn''t even look at me.


    "I''m awfully sorry aboutst time. I didn''t mean to-"


    "It''s fine. I might have overreacted a little too. You were in Canada too? At Saint Gregory''s?" She finally gave me a nce.


    "Yeah, I transferred to the UK a while ago, though."


    And the conversation died. Just breathing this air was awkward enough.


    Meanwhile, the other woman was grinning way too much. I had a bad feeling about this.


    But eventually, floor 99 came and my stop came along with it.


    I hurriedly got out and ran to the smith''s room. The two mother and son followed me out while the bunny girl left for the upper floor.


    But now that I thought about it, this whole ce was like a maze, and I was way more confused this time around. It took me two whole minutes to find my way.


    But as I entered the room, the heat reminded me of that volcano: HOT.


    ***


    ng!


    ng!


    ng!


    Ever since I entered the room there was nothing but the heat from the furnace and the metallic ngs of a hammer falling down.


    It''d already been over half an hour now. And yet there was no sign of stopping.


    I was dripping sweats all over. Back at the volcano, I had Merin''s stone to keep me cold, but now I didn''t have anything. And this ce was just as bad as the volcano. "Tell me, is this normal? I mean, he''s totally ignoring us." I went closer to Johnathan.


    This room was too hot for his mother, so she went out. Johnathan however was ravaging through the old man''s sandwiches. And the guy wasn''t even sweating all that much. What the hell was wrong with him?


    But this ce really was hot. Maybe refining that sword took way too high temps?


    "Yeah, totally. I heard he''s been at it for three days now. He hasn''t eaten, hasn''t showered or even used the bathroom."


    ''How the hell does that work?''


    And more importantly, how was he still kicking after doing all that in this hellish temperature?


    I sighed. In this world of monsters, I guess it shouldn''t have been that surprising.


    "Suppose I''ll head outside for a bit. What''s on the top floor?" Staying here any longer would have cooked me alive anyway.


    "Oh yeah, the boss is there. Want to meet her? She''s really nice."


    "Yeah, I''ll pass." I just wanted fresh air, not some hotshot boss.


    "She''s also a bunny girl and looks wondrous if you know what I mean." Johnathan gave me a smug grin.


    "Now look here-" Just because my former crush was a bunny girl didn''t mean I had a fascination for bunny girls, okay! Okay, maybe that was a lie. I did have a fascination, there was no doubt about it. But I wasn''t shameless enough to fall for this guy''s tricks either.


    "Oh and-" Johnathan came close. "If you act polite enough, she can even give you coupons for the supermart. You can basically buy anything within the city."


    My eyes lit up for a second. "Umm¡­ I mean, I don''t see a problem why we couldn''t meet her." There really wasn''t any problem anymore, no sir!


    I needed to buy some juice either way.


    Johnathan made a smug face again. "Let''s go then."


    I made a smug face too. "That''s right. Let''s go."


    "Don''t bete. She''ll be done soon."


    I guess the old man was listening to us this whole time.


    We left without a word.


    ***


    The lift was on the 43rd floor and it was still going down.


    Meaning, stairs it was.


    Well, at least it was just a single floor this time. It still took a lot of effort from me though. This one floor was at least three floors higher than this one. And yet it was still titled the hundredth? Then what about the space between? When I asked Johnathan, he just chuckled.


    ''Can I punch you now?''


    But this floor was different. First, the walls were all made of ss. I could see the fresh sky and the buildings outside. The only walls that weren''t made from ss were the room we were about to go in and the floor. But everything else, even the ceiling was ss.


    And this floor felt a bit bigger than the others too. This really was the top floor.


    I was a bit nervous but very excited.


    We knocked on the door but there was no answer.


    "Maybe she''s out?" Johnathan wondered aloud.


    "No-" I heard a faint murmuring out from the other side.


    It was the sound of a girl and it sounded like a cry. I sniffed the air and I could smell faint traces of ammonia.


    We knocked again but there were no responses. But as time moved forward, we heard more and more cries.


    If I didn''t know better, bad things were happening on the other side. This faint ammonia smell was the proof of that.


    "Tell me, the boss doesn''t have any funny fetishes, does she?"


    "Not that I know off."


    "Alright, I''m breaking down this door." I''d heard and sniffed enough.


    "How? This is reinforced titanium man- even you-"


    Johnathan''s voice trailed off as he saw me touch the door. The door slowly crumbled down from the spot I touched, eventually making a small hole. I slid my hand inside and opened it. I still didn''t have enough power to turn the door to dust, but I had enough for me to open it.


    "That''s soo damn coool!"


    And I so damn didn''t care.


    The moment I went in, I saw horror. There were two bunny girls inside. One was my crush- her clothes were ripped off in ces, and the other was presumably the boss, and she was doing the ripping.


    Without a word, I turned on my saber. I''d seen enough to conclude this was an abuse of the finest caliber.


    And not to mention the girl on the floor was also on the verge of tears.


    "Th-this isn''t what it looks like!" The bossdy raised her hands in an effort to stop us: Make us understand.


    Sorry, but I didn''t need your understanding.


    With my scythe, I went straight for her and stood between them.


    "Wait!" But the girl on the floor stopped me before I could do anything. "Sh-she''s my mother. This is just a misunderstanding." It sure didn''t look like one. She still had a faint patch below her waist anyway.


    There was too much ammonia in the air.


    My bad feeling kind of made my whole face twitch. My nose twitched for all sorts of different reasons.


    ''What kind mother rips off the clothes of their daughters?''

 Chapter 105 - The New Sword: For Real, Real This Time: You Believe Me, Right!? RIGHT!??

    Oh wait, I had one of those types back at home too. I''d seen when mom got angry with Elsa for not taking her showers. Though mom never tried anything to this extent. Definitely not outside.


    "Alright, I''m listening." I put down the scythe.


    The bossdy took her seat on the chair behind the table. The ss wall behind her was kind of blinding but it didn''t bother me as much. She and the girl on the floor- who just got up- were very simr in looks.


    If the girl hadn''t said this woman was her mother, then I certainly wouldn''t have believed it, as this bossdy looked not a day over twenty-five. I certainly didn''t like her though.


    "Alright, wee to the clubhouse. I''m Zinia Barcov, the boss of this branch." And this woman was totally ignoring the fact that we''d literally caught her ripping clothes and making her daughter wet herself. "MY daughter kind of got out of the line and I had to punish her a little." She tried chuckling but it sure wasn''t working. But I got the impression she was trying to make. Apparently, this was a family matter and I wasn''t wee.


    I guess I could understand where she wasing from but it still kind of rubbed me off.


    "Well, it''s your family business and I won''t interfere. But even my mother never ripped off the clothes of her daughter you know. And I assure you, my mother is at least a hundred times stronger than the two of youbined and my sister is kind of like the devil incarnate." In the heat of the moment I might have given up solid family info, I shouldn''t have. And what the hell was I spouting?


    The bossdy giggled. "Sounds like a handful. Anyway, forgive me you had to see that. I trust you''re here for your sword?"


    I guess she already knew where I wasing from. And she was also trying to change the subject pretty swiftly.


    "That''s right. And speaking of the sword, it should be done. Sorry about the door."


    The free stuff didn''t matter anymore. I''d done these guys wrong, by barging in here. Granted this was abuse, but it was a family matter and I had no right to interfere. After all, I didn''t know them.


    So I hurried out.


    "It was good to see you again." The bossdy formed a grin. But I could tell there was more to that. I guess she already knew me. But strangely I didn''t remember her.


    I came outside anyway.


    "That was something." Johnathan grinned. I''d actually forgotten he was even in there.


    ***


    With an aching heart, I climbed down the stairs and headed for the volcan- I mean, the smithy.


    As we entered the room, the first thing I noticed was there were no more metallic ngs and for once the room wasn''t a burning inferno.


    "She''s done." The sword was in the corner while the old man was sitting next to a table fan of some sorts: he also had a fan in his hand. He actually didn''t have his pants on and not a shirt either. He was rxing way too much. "She''s a bit hot but should be fine."


    I didn''t care though. The sword mattered more to me. I picked up the sword and was surprised.


    "It feels a lot sharper!" It was also a lot shinier: and definitely hot to the touch. But the sword was already pretty sharp and it got even sharper? The weight was virtually the same and so was the size, but the sword itself was definitely a lot sharper.


    This guy was good! Amazing even.


    "Ain''t she a beaut!" The manughed hard. "Try channeling through your radiation. Don''t radiate it out, just keep it within."


    No matter how I thought about it, not radiating out my powers was roughly impossible. Even at idle I released at least something. Meaning the people around me definitely had at least some sort of risk. But since it was negligible, I never really cared. But when I focused my energy on something, the stuff about keeping things all inside while not letting anything slip was definitely hard if not impossible.


    So instead of taking the risk, I took out my scythe with my left hand while my sword was on my right. I first formed a barrier. The old man was surprised for a second but he grinned anyway. I then channeled my radiation through the de.


    First I tried to use minimal quantity. It didn''t leak. I gradually increased the amount. Nothing leaked.


    I didn''t hold anything back and just used gamma.


    Surprisingly the de didn''t leak anything and just absorbed the radiation like crazy. It had a faint greenish glow. And I could tell this thing was literally a cancer hazard.


    "You can try igniting it." And the geezer was putting ideas in my head.


    "But I can''t use fire."


    "But you can use sma." The man grinned harder. "What did you study in school?"


    I chuckled. He was right. ''Maybe I should just loan a memory instiller.''


    I couldn''t be dumb forever.


    Instead of wasting too much of my time, I poured way too much radiation and at the same time bombarded the damn thing until it created sma. Anything over fifty percent Sylvanide was supposed to be super resistant to sma and this thing was made off of 95% of the stuff. So I didn''t hold anything back, not a thing.


    I could feel the walls of the barrier tremble, in fact, the whole building shook a little. But I didn''t stop, as the geezer didn''t stop smiling.


    At first the sword glowed in vibrant green, until it slowly changed colors to yellow, then blue until it finally glowed in white with a tint of blue. It was so hot, that my skin started to burn and peel off. Controlling this was impossible.


    I had to quickly turn the damn thing off.


    "That was close."


    I released the barrier and the whole room exploded with steam. I guess I was in a pressure cooker of some sort. I breathed hard.


    "Ho HO!" The man burst outughing again.


    "Bravo!" Johnathan pped his hands.


    My hands were literally burned but it sure didn''t stop me from grinning too. "This thing is damn hot." And I meant every single word of that.


    "I know." The man burst outughing again. He sure wasughing a lot today. "Be sure to not use theter forms and just stick with yellow at most."


    The colors were representative of the quality of the sma. In sabers, it didn''t mean much as that sma was heavily regted and not that hot. But the sma that came out of me was the real deal. So the blue and white stuff was literally hotter than the stuff on the sun.


    I was amazed that I didn''t actually get roasted when I used this: my hands sure did though.


    "Oh my!" And the women made an entrance. She looked pale when she saw my wounds. "We have to get that treated quick!" She was obsessed if nothing else.


    ***


    While my hands were being dressed, something crossed my mind.


    "So you had my DNA right?"


    "Yes." The woman was a lot calmer now.


    And since she wasn''t making too many fusses, I tried to push my luck a little. "Do I have any viruses in me?"


    "Not that I''m aware of, did have you have any in the past?"


    "I think I might have had, ''that'' virus." I didn''t trust this woman but I didn''t have a choice on the matter. I needed to find out more about this virus.


    "My data showed no signs, but to do a greater search I''d need more material. How about you give me some samples?"


    "What sort of samples. Would hair be fine?" I was losing way more hairtely. I wouldn''t have been surprised if I was going bald.


    She giggled but then made a smug face. "Sem-"


    "Pass." I stood up and went to the other side. The dressing was mostly done anyway.


    "OHe on! I wasn''t finished yet." She whined for a whole minute. "Fine, but be sure to give me at least ten strands of hair."


    I ran a hand through my scalp and tried putting a bit of pressure. Needless to say, five hair just came out on their own. "Here." I did it twice more and got a grand total of twelve strands.


    "You should get that treated unless you fancy going bald." Even this woman of all people was disgusted.


    I sighed and just stared at the other two. They had awkward looks, especially the old man, as he was going bald himself.


    My hands were in a lot of pain. As the adrenaline rush finally left my system, I felt more than enough pain. ''How the hell am I supposed to fight now?''


    I still had four days to go, so I didn''t really worry that much. I had all sorts of other worries too.


    But I still had another reason toe here. "So, I got some core fragments."


    "Show me."


    "Can you help me out?" I gave a nce to Johnathan.


    But before Johnathan could even attempt toe near me, his mother slid her tentacles down my pocket. She touched way more things than necessary and brought out the cores with a smug grin.


    I waited till she gave the cores to the old man and then bombarded her with infrared radiation.


    "AH!" But instead of shivering in pain, this woman started to moan as her tentacles were being cooked.


    I guess I was dealing with a masochist.


    I gave the guy in front of me a dull look but he just shrugged. "Yeah, I kind of made an error of judgment in my younger days." He sighed and took the scythe from my waist. He looked miserable for a second butughed it off anyway.

 Chapter 106 - Everything Was Set Up From The Start

    He touched something on the handle of the hilt and it opened up. There was a tiny piece of blue core inside. And it was definitely tinier than my shards.


    "Isn''t that a bit too small? And it was just a blue one?" Honestly, I was disappointed a little if nothing else.


    "Hah! You think I''d give you an expensive core for free? And trust me, I''ll wring every penny out of you. Your old man made me work harder than necessary but never paid me. But you, you will pay me!"


    Unfortunately, that was my gramps not father. "Fine, you can have a shard, now shut up." So much for the club covering the expenses.


    I didn''t mind though. I was a miser, but I still had to acknowledge his skills. This guy was the right deal.


    He clicked his tongue but grinned. "Wise choice. You''ve got brains like your father, brawns like your grandfather, not a badbination."


    His attitude sure wasn''t making me feel good though. "So, how long will this take?"


    "Why would it take long?" He just slid a piece of the shard in there and the socket readjusted itself. "That''s it. The next time you find something good, just chuck in here. The process is automatic and the system will adjust automatically." He proceeded to throw the scythe at me, knowing I wouldn''t be able to catch it.


    I still caught it, but my hands sure were dying.


    I tried to put it back on the waist.


    "You''re not going to turn it on?"


    I really wanted to leave now. "Sure." It hurt more than enough, just to lift it, but there wasn''t any choice I guess. I tried and instead of a scythe this thing literally formed a trident. "Oh, man! Why can''t I get a sword?" But when I said that, this thing hissed and turned into a literal broadsword, at least two times wider than the previous one. "Oops!" I almost cut the man in half, if he hadn''t jumped to his left at thest time.


    "Watch it, moron!" He was shook if nothing else. "Thought I was going to die!"


    I chuckled. "Anyway, you get one piece. One went into the scythe, I''ll take the other. So put it in my pocket."


    He clicked his tongue again. "If it was someone else, I''d have charged all three shards just for the refinement. But for you kid, I''ll just keep it at two." His grin wasn''t convincing anyone.


    "Just give me the freaking shard. You can keep the blue one."


    "The blue one was mine, to begin with!"


    "I don''t care. I''m broke and need the money. Be grateful that I''m even willing to give you one piece!"


    He sighed and looked at me with dull eyes. "I should have known. You''re his spitting image. Maybe a bit less ugly." He proceeded to literally spit on the floor.


    I didn''t know what this guy was bbering about but as long as I could get my shard back, I didn''t care.


    He did give it back though. Butst like the saber, he threw the shard too. I guess I might have stepped on too many of his nerves. He didn''t even turn towards me anymore.


    "Let''s go!" I slipped the shard back in. Just moving my hands was a pain.


    Johnathan was busy eating. "Mmh, sure." He was done fairly quick.


    The woman however was breathing heavily and sweating. "Oh, such wondrous hair." She red at my hair with drools. She sniffed the hair between her fingers and looked more than just exhrated.


    I regretted my life decisions all over again.


    But as me and Johnathan were about to go out, I turned to the old man. "Thanks. I really mean that." He really did help me out big time after all.


    He looked back at me and smiled. "Anytime kid. Just next time, bring some nice presents or something."


    I grinned. "You''ve got yourself a deal."


    ***


    "For a second I thought you''d have attacked the boss. But I mustmend you for your patience."


    "You''re saying that now?" I snorted. "It''s not about patience. I''m just avoiding trouble. I''ve got a lot on my te right now."


    Johnathan hadn''t said anything till now. But now, he was acting all chummy again.


    He chuckled. "Fair enough."


    The two of us went for the lift but again, it was going down. Just how many people used this damn thing?


    I sighed. "Got anything other than stairs that can go faster than this?"


    "I mean, we could always jump."


    "I''ll pass. I don''t want to break my bones." Come to think of it, I might not have broken my bones this time around. I sure didn''t want to take the risk though.


    But flying around did sound rather awesome.


    "You said she was your crush, right?"


    I gave the guy a nce. "What''s up with you?" We were still waiting for the elevator toe back up. "You''ve been acting rather funny."


    "I want you to save her."


    "Save her? From what, her mother?"


    Johnathan closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes."


    "It''s a family thing man. I don''t think I should get in their way just because I knew her from grade school. Besides, I don''t think she and I arepatible." And more importantly, I had a girl in mind already.


    "That''s not what I meant." Johnathan let out a long sigh. "She''s trapped here and they, her mother is using her. The girl''s justice is solid but that''s why her mother does that to her at times and she can''t even protest. Her mother makes her use her powers for things you can''t even imagine. You saw what happened right?"


    ''Yeah, trust me, I don''t wanna imagine in the first ce.''


    When we''d gone in, I saw the girl on the floor, she was scared and she leaked from various ces. I guess I could understand the point Johnathan was trying to make. But even so, I didn''t want more trouble. "You do under-"


    "I do. I understand. But if this keeps up, she''ll break. You liked her once, you can like her again. Your family can back you up. A few days ago, she almost tried to kill herself. She was my childhood friend, I don''t want to see her die." For the first time ever, Johnathan had conviction in his eyes. And he was utterly serious.


    But somehow I got the feeling, he had more feelings than just being friends. There were ulterior motives to this.


    And that girlmitting suicide? Didn''t seem likely.


    "Well, I''ll think about it." It was just my way of humbly backing out. I had better things to worry about now, anyway.


    He didn''t say anything and just grinned.


    It took the elevator another good twenty minutes before it finally came up, and as we got in, it went to the hundredth floor for some reason.


    I kind of got the impression this wouldn''t have ended the way I wanted.


    We reached the hundredth floor, three people got in. I kind of knew all three. One bunny, and the old couple.


    I was right.


    Johnathan grinned and I could see it all over his face. Every single thing was staged.


    ***


    With all the people in, the elevator slowly went down.


    "I must thank you, young man. If it weren''t for your deduction, we''d have been-" The geezer held my hands, they were both in tears. My hands were in a lot of pain. I really, really had to try my best not to turn the couple into dust. "We''re very happy with you. This is our granddaughter. We''d be very happy if you two could get married."


    And they were a lot less sensible than I thought too. Did people really get wise as they aged?


    After seeing this couple, probably not.


    Yeah, I kind of saw thising from a long way. The moment Johnathan started giggling, everything was already clear. "So everything was set up? The elevator and all that too?"


    The couple was in dire shock and they had their jaws hanging.


    ''Don''t act like that morons. What did you think I was dumb or something?''


    Judging by their shocks, they probably thought I''d go crazy over their granddaughter and forget about everything. Unfortunately, I wasn''t that type.


    Johnathan just giggled. "The elevator wasn''t actually supposed to fall though. But these two, kind of got so scared of you that they pushed a bit too hard on me and as a result, things happened."


    No wonder they were so calm back then but acted like wusses when they saw me with my scythe. And now I could understand why I wasn''t faulted one bit when I walked out of the debris. "So, the wetting was also a y?"


    The bunny girl in question looked away. "Ye-yes, definitely."


    Yeah, I definitely wasn''t buying any of this.


    "Please." The old guy grabbed onto my shoulder. "Please, take her away. If she stays here-"


    "I already have ns with another girl. I don''t think-"


    "Take her as your mistress." The granny ced a hand on my shoulder too." A young man like you must have insatiable desires."


    Yeah, I didn''t want to hear that from a granny who already had one foot in the grave.


    "Anyway," I turned to the bunny girl. "What about you? What do you want?"


    "I''m fine with being your mistress."


    Just three days ago this girl tried to kill me and now she wanted to be my mistress? Life was weird if nothing else.


    Johnathan smiled but something was wrong with that.


    "What about this guy. Do you like him?" I pointed at Johnathan. I was just making a gamble, but I had a feeling there was more to these two.


    "Huh?"


    "Wha?"


    The two looked at me with more than just surprises. Judging by the reactions? There was no doubt about it.


    I grinned. "Then there''s no need for me. Just get out of here together. I''ll give you my protection." Basically, I was just dumping all the responsibility on Johnathan.


    "No- that''s" The girl stuttered. She was unsure.


    "You really mean it!" Well, Johnathan was game. All this time he acted pretty well. But even he couldn''t resist the temptation.


    I gave a nce behind me and the old couple didn''t really care all that much. They just wanted their grandkid away from here.


    "Yeah. So what do you say?"


    The bunny girl nodded a bit shyly while Johnathan just shook his head vigorously. Both were in.


    ''Perfect!" I grinned.


    And so, I escaped from an almost binding prison. Only momentster to realize, I''d made one hell of a mistake.


    "Oh shit." As the elevator door opened, so did my mouth, gaping wide.

 Chapter 107 - I Brought This On Myself

    "Mr. Helio Romswell Jintel, if you''d taken her, I wouldn''t have acted, but you had the galls to offer your protection to those two." There was a lot of finger-pointing.


    Apparently, the bunny''s mother, bunny senior was just outside the elevator on the ground floor. I guess she had a faster way down and a way to eavesdrop on our conversation too. Should have been obvious I guess.


    ''Well, should have seen thising.''


    But I sure hadn''t.


    I sighed. "Look, I''ve had a long day, I wanna go home and lie down. Do you mind moving?" I mean, it couldn''t hurt to ask nicely.


    She had some of her goons with her. They were guards rather than goons though.


    "You may leave but she cannot!" Again, she was pointing way too much.


    It was surprising at first, a bit troublesome in the middle, and now just in irritating.


    "So you''re saying I''ll have to break her out of here? Well, since this is just a single ind I don''t see why you''re so upset with your daughter leaving and seeing more of the ind."


    "You know nothing! They''ve brainwashed you! Those two are in love and they set all of this up!"


    The moment she said that all four of them behind me had nervous looks with sweat.


    "Yeah, I already figured that much out, even I''m not that dumb." After all, Johnathan knew I didn''t want to get involved in that girl, and yet he kept on insisting. He knew I''d eventually give up on her, and he''d take that ce. He was aiming far into the future, but at the end of the day, he wasn''t as smart as he thought he was.


    Now even Johnathan was shocked. Unfortunately for him, I''d already caught on to his act a while ago. I just pretended to go along.


    "Then why!" The bossdy was just as confused as the people behind me.


    This whole thing drew in quite the crowd too. I guess there were these kinds of people no matter where you go.


    "It''s because your daughter wants this. And as a responsible mother, you should let her experiment. If shees back crying to you, you win and if she''s happy, both of you win."


    It was pure sphemying out from my mouth though since my mother wouldn''t let me do half of the things I wanted to.


    "That''s not for you to say! Get them!"


    The guards wereing for us.


    "I really wanted to go home though." I tried grabbing my sword. Oh boy, my fingers hurt. ''You''re up buddy.''


    But before I could even touch the sword, my saber started to vibrate. ''What the hell!'' It was as if it had a mind of its own.


    I pulled out the saber and it formed a natural trident. ''But why three prongs?''


    "Stop daydreaming!" One of the guards shouted and attacked me. Obviously, I dodged.


    If the guy really wanted to attack me, he should have just kept his mouth shut.


    The three prongs turned to one and became a seamless spear. "Okay, that''s more like it." I grabbed the spear tight and disarmed the guards with ease, trapping them in barriers. Now I could form stronger and more barriers. ''This damn thing really is amazing!''


    And the saber was responding to my wishes like crazy.


    "What is this?" The guards couldn''t believe reality, and honestly, I couldn''t either.


    The saber vibrated in response. ''What the hell!'' There was nothing more. I was awfully confused for a second but I was snapped back to reality as the boss bunny finally shot a stream of ck lightning my way. I guess electricity ran in the family.


    But now that I could form multiple barriers with ease, I didn''t really worry about these things all that much. With the lightning blocked, I proceeded to speed up and hold my spear at her neck: my hands felt a bit numb though. Having a spear was great: I could maintain distance, stay safe and attack with uracy. But what was that vibration?


    I wanted to head back and have a talk with the old man about this, but I didn''t have that kind of luxury anymore.


    I didn''t remember ever using one and yet, it felt like I''d been using spears forever. I felt the same way with the scythe. It was almost as if I was always wielding a sword rather than anything else. But I didn''t have time to dwindle on such things


    "I''d give up now if I were you. Besides, if you feel lonely just visit her every once in a while." Even I was confused as to what I was doing. Did Johnathan and the bunny really love each other? Were they really capable of living together?


    I did have tons of questions but I decided to put them on hold for the time being. After all, those two had already decided this a while ago. I understood it just from their gazes.


    The boss bunny clicked her tongue and didn''t say a word.


    "I''ll take your silence as a yes." I looked back. "Let''s go."


    The three of us started leaving. The old couple waved us bye while the bossdy just stood there, not a word.


    Some from the crowd pped while some cursed. The reception was totally mixed and I had no idea what to feel about this.


    "Sure, you don''t want to say goodbye?" I gave a nce at the girl.


    "It''s fine."


    "And you sure your parents won''t skewer you?"


    "We''ll cross the bridge when we get there." Johnathan let out a nervous chuckle. There was sweat all over his face.


    I might have created way more hassle than I could have ever imagined.


    "Anyway, we''re going through the snowy ins. Let''s go." Now that I thought about it, I was still wearing three shirts. ''No wonder it felt like hell.''


    "Wha? But it''s cold there." The bunny girl grabbed her sleeves, rather her arms. Now that I looked carefully, she was actually sleeveless.


    "Well, too bad. Have your boyfriend give you a hug while you two cuddle your way through or something."


    Both of them became a bit bashful.


    ''That was sarcasm, you morons!''


    I sighed. I really brought this on myself.


    ***


    It took exactly half an hour to reach the academy. Once there, the two loVeineirds left on their own. They did thank me explicitly though.


    But honestly, I might have created more trouble for me in the long run.


    Sigh!


    It was already evening and I''d forgotten to buy juice. So a trip to the mart was a must. But with these hands, carrying was anything but pleasant.


    Time moved on and before I knew it, I was back at the dorm and on thefortable bed, which wasn''t asfortable as I remembered it to be. Actually, it might have even been rather ufortable.


    Merin wasn''t in here, and I was tired.


    So I locked the door and fell asleep.


    ***


    A string of faintugher.


    Some hisses here and there.


    The sound, strangely familiar, and also strangely feminine¡­.


    My eyes were sealed tight and I couldn''t open them.


    So sleepy.


    ***


    "DUDE! Open the damn door already. It''s been ten minutes! How long does it take for you to finish up?"


    I groaned and grabbed my head. Someone was yelling something and knocking on the door.


    It was probably Merin and the door was still locked.


    My body felt a bit weird but eventually, I picked myself up. I fumbled towards the door and opened it.


    It was Merin."DUDE! What were-" He stopped. "Were you sleeping?"


    "Yeah? What else did you think I was doing?" Talking was such a chore.


    "Well, you were dumped and all, so I thought¡­" He tried to chuckle. "Anyway, what happened to your hands?"


    "First of all, I wasn''t dumped. We never went out to being with. And second, don''t change the subject!" I shouldn''t have yelled. My throbbing headache became more of a pain.


    I groaned and just lied down on my bed again.


    "Seriously, you okay?"


    "I''m okay." Probably.


    "Well, if you say so." Merin was in a good mood.


    "Something good happen?"


    "Yeah, I went on a date!" His voice took a high note and if my ears did me justice I''d say that sounded awfully like a shrieking straight out of a goat''s throat. Unfortunately, he wasn''t a goat.


    "Good for you." I rolled on the bed. "What time is it?"


    "Nine thirty. You ate?"


    "No, haven''t yet."


    "Well, you should. Judging by those bandages I''d say stuff happened?"


    "Yeah, kind of got burned by sma."


    Merin snorted. "This is what you get for not using gloves."


    "Actually, I was using gloves but the gloves kind of got burned first and by the time I stopped the reaction, my skin got burned too." I didn''t feel like talking but my mouth moved wlessly.


    "Really? Were you using some cheap ones?"


    "Kind of, yeah."


    Merin sighed. "Don''t cheap out on such things. Anyway, did you sell your core yet?"


    "OH yeah, I forgot I wanted to sell one piece." And I had to repay Merin back too.


    Life really was a drag. My head hurt and I was broke too.


    "Well, lucky you, I found a buyer and he told me, he''d pay five gold." Merin pumped his chest high and sat tight on his bed.


    "Five? Seriously? But you said-"


    "Well, let''s just say, I might have exaggerated the rarity a little." Merin winked.


    "Don''t me me, if he thinks you lied andes after you."


    He shed me a thumbs up. "When that happens, I''ll just say you set me up."


    I really wanted to punch this guy now. Shame, I didn''t have enough strength.


    But I guess he really was doing this for me. "So, who''s the buyer?"


    "Some freshman. Cloud Angel something."


    "Clyde Angelmen?"


    "Yeah, yeah, that one!"


    ''<em>Him again?''</em>


    This just got a lot moreplicated than scamming some amateur. "You do realize that guy scored higher than me during the test on day one, right?"


    "Wait, what?" Merin looked dumbfounded.


    I grinned. "Well, we''re kind of friends. So I think he''ll believe me more than you." I grinned harder and stood up.


    "You can''t be serious." He didn''t believe it. He thought I was just joking.


    Unfortunately, I was serious. I didn''t like the idea of being friends with that guy though.


    I didn''t feel like eating anything so brought out some orange juice and drank a ss. "I''d start praying now if I were you."


    But if it were me, I''d probably pray for the other guy who''d attack me.


    Wait, why?


    I was still getting those weird thoughts again. And what was that hissing sound?


    My head still throbbed, so I couldn''t really think straight.

 Chapter 108 - Who Said, Greed Was A Bad Thing?

    After school, Merin and I went behind the gym. Everything was fine until it wasn''t.


    Merin started sweating a lot, as a guy in a tight ck leather jacket approached us.


    I guess reality finally hit him.


    There was no one else in sight. This whole ce felt dested.


    Honestly, this almost felt like we were dealing drugs or something.


    "Helio?" As usual, the guy looked nonchnt. He did look good in that leather jacket though.


    "Hey." I wasn''t enthused even a little. I just wanted to get this over with.


    He grinned. "Well, I guess the product''s original then. For a moment I thought this might have been a scam." He had way too much confidence.


    I almost felt bad for the guy: almost.


    "Anyway, here''s the shard." I threw it at him.


    "Shard?" He caught it.


    I gave a side nce at Merin and he was shaking now. ''Did you seriously tell him, I''d give him a core?''


    I guess it wasn''t just a bit of exaggeration.


    "I don''t know what kind of deal you two had but-" But I didn''t feel like scamming anyone, so I just wanted toe out clean.


    "Yeah, I know, this is worth a lot more." Clyde eyeballed the shard like crazy. He swung it around, almost made the damn thing touch his eyes. He was going crazy. "I''ll give you fifty, gold, is that okay?"


    What was this guy saying? I again, turned my head to my left and Merin was now shivering like crazy.


    "Si-Sixty five!" And Angelmen was actually raising the price too.


    "You''re not messing with us, right?" I knew we were wrong to try to trick him but how could he y around like this?


    But I guess we deserved this.


    "You''re right, you''re right! I''ll give you one hundred gold, but that''s all I have. Please-" He grabbed my hands. Again, it stung. "Please?" unfortunately, puppy dog eyes didn''t work with that face.


    "Fine." If this guy wanted to be scammed that badly, then what stopped me?


    "Yahoooooo!"


    The moment I said okay, Clyde jumped around in excitement like he''d won the lottery.


    Shouldn''t I have been the one to jump like that, after all, I was the one who was getting the money? 100 gold was like two whole months of mom''s sry, meaning, I was rich!


    I kind of wanted to jump around too, but I had to y this cool.


    Merin shook so much that he finally his legs gave up and he sat down on the ground. I guess everything went over his head.


    "So, why are you buying this?"


    "I''ve been searching for this for over ten years. Thank you so much!" The guy wasn''t answering me one bit.


    I took the shard off his hands. "WHY?"


    "Me-medicine." He looked away a bit shyly. "You know my condition. This is the core of that two-headed snake right? It has regenerative powers. Though a shard, it''ll still do miracles!" He squirmed around. "For others, it might be a rare core, but for me, this is the rarest thing on the."


    Again the guy squirmed like crazy. What was he, a maiden in love? I sighed. This just got a lot moreplicated.


    Meaning I could have wrung out everything from him. But I wasn''t that inhumane and I was kind of content. "Okay." I gave him the shard. "You can pay me in installments." I tried sounding nice, but in truth, I was just doing it for my sake. I didn''t want tond on too much money and get corrupted and stuff.


    And I knew for a fact that getting too much money on my hands was a bad idea.


    "Brother! I knew you''d understand." He again grabbed my hands. "Finally!" He stretched his hands towards the heavens. "I can stand up!"


    My hands again hurt, but not as much as I thought it would.


    "Uh-huh."


    But the sheer edginess this guy was giving out, was rubbing off of me. But I guess he had his reasons.


    He proceeded to give me ten gold. "I''ll pay you over the course of next two years." He grinned.


    "Fine by me." Basically, I was fine with just five gold today, but since this guy was so eager, I didn''t really say anything. And he didn''t seem like the type to break his word. After all, he seemed to be too proud for that.


    "If you''ll excuse me!" He left while jumping around.


    I looked at Merin and he was ready to wet himself.


    "Well that was something." I had money and now things felt a bit brighter too.


    "Uh-huh."


    My bandages wereing a bit undone. "Guess I''ll have to redo these." I helped Merin get up. "I''ll head over to the nurse''s office. You wannae along? We could always go to the caf¨¦ and celebrate with some food." This deal wouldn''t have been possible without Merin, so I had to show my gratitude.


    "Yeah, I don''t think my heart can take anymore. I''ll just head over to Nat''s and rest a bit."


    He wasn''t fooling me with rest. There were all sorts of things written on that face of his. Hard to imagine just moments ago he was quivering like a kid. I guess he could change pretty fast.


    But I didn''t want to overstep my bounds. "Suit yourself. I''ll pay you backter." I still owed him a silver but I kind of didn''t have change on me at the moment.


    "Yeah, fine by me."


    ***


    The nurse''s office was close to the gym, so it didn''t take long.


    "Anyone in here?"


    The nurse was out and I didn''t see any students in here either. Come to think of it, I was probably the only one who came to the nurse''s office on a regr basis or at least more than any other student.


    ''Guess I''ll have to do this on my own.''


    I sighed. If it was one hand, I could have easily done this, but both of my hands were kind of out ofmission.


    ''I guess, there''s no choice.''


    I grabbed some gauze and some disinfectant. The bandages were already loose, so I didn''t have to do much to open thempletely.


    But when I did, I was in for a major shock.


    "WOW!"


    My wounds were in the process of healing already.


    I still had scars and some even got a bit inmed, but that was just skin deep. In reality, I was healing more than the things were doing damage to me. Yesterday, I had burnt blood vessels everywhere and Johnathan''s mom had explicitly told me toe to the nurse''s office first thing, but I kind of forgot: more like I subconsciously avoided this ce. So I thought I was in for a lot of trouble, but I guess that was uncalled for.


    ''But when did I get enhanced healing?'' Even gramps only had good healing, but not enough to have his hands mostly healed from something severe in just a day or two. Or maybe he had that kind of power but I just wasn''t aware of it?


    At this point, I didn''t really know and it didn''t surprise me as much either.


    And just when I was about to rub the disinfectant on my hand-


    "Oh my god!" A wild nurse appeared. "We gotta get you a shot right now!"


    It almost felt like my heart would stop.


    "I''m pretty sure, these will heal, so don''t wanna."


    "I don''t care if you wanna or not. You''re gonna! You''ve got sepsis!" The nurse was standing by the door and judging by the things, she wasn''t letting me go.


    Sweat started to pour. I wanted to run away. Right now! "Ca-can''t we, just stick to oral meds? And-and how could you be so sure of it? Look at me, it''s just some inmmation." I chuckled but it sure wasn''t working.


    "You''re not afraid of a syringe, are you?"


    "O-of course not. Why would I be?" I was definitely not afraid, okay?


    How could I, a Romswell, be afraid of needles? That was absurd!


    "Oh, I see." The nurse grinned. "Don''t worry, it won''t hurt one bit."


    "That''s what they always say."


    Her grin intensified, my breathing skyrocketed.


    She grabbed my shoulder with that grin and dragged me to a corner. I was powerless in front of this tyrant.


    She rubbed something against my arm and I closed my eyes.


    "OWW!" I really wanted to run away right now!


    "Don''t be such a baby, I haven''t even touched you with the needle yet."


    "Wait, wha-" I opened my eyes and looked at her.


    She proceeded to impale me.


    Oweeee! Oh, it actually didn''t hurt as much.


    "All done." The nurse smiled and moved away.


    "That''s it?" I stared at the nurse with severe confusion. ''Why the hell do I feel so disappointed?'' All my life I thought getting a shot was so painful that you''d want to rip your arms off, at least that''s what cousin John had told me. But now, now I was just disappointed.

 Chapter 109 - Who Said Greed Was A Bad Thing (part Two)

    "What more did you expect? We''re not living in the stone age you know." The nurse packed up everything and bandaged my hands. I guess I shouldn''t have trusted John''s words in the first ce. "How did you get such wounds and why didn''t youe here in the first ce?"


    But now the nurse caught me just where I didn''t want to be caught. This was bad. Very bad.


    "Well, I kind of forgot." But in the end, I just had toe out clean.


    "You forgot for a week and a half?" She raised a brow, and her voice rose up too.


    "I got these yesterday."


    "What! When did you get fast healing? These wounds are at least a week old!"


    "Trust me, it hasn''t been twenty-four hours yet. And if they were a week old, you''d have seen themst time, remember?" I tried to be reasonable. But judging by that look, she wasn''t taking me seriously. "Last time I didn''t have these, did I?"


    She wasn''t believing me one bit though. "Could be atent potential I suppose?" And she was wondering aloud too. Well, at least she was considering that I was speaking the truth.


    "Say, how''d you know I have sepsis? And not to mention wasn''t sepsis extinct or something?" All my life I hadn''t heard of a case of sepsis. I did read about it in the history books. But I never saw people actually getting infected around me.


    She looked at me with disbelief and sighed. "Why do you think I have this job while I can''t use anything more than just elementary healing? "We exchanged awkward looks. "Anyway, I''m an expert when ites to detection, that''s why there aren''t many instruments here." She was awfully proud of the fact if nothing else. "And no disease ever goes extinct. We have antibiotics but the bacteria are evolving too. And the more antibiotics we use to cure us and kill the bacteria, the stronger the surviving ones get. So it''s just a matter of time before the bacteria strikes back. And there are plenty of cases worldwide. It''s nothing major these days so people don''t make a fuss. "


    "Uh-huh." I''d lived a rtively disease-free life, so I didn''t want to hear that. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, guess I''ll leave now." My pockets were full and so were my dreams. Now all I had to do, was run wild, at least for today.


    "Oh and-" She stopped me by cing a hand on my shoulder. "I''d advise you to not forget the next time. Your wounds suggest you got potential for rapid healing, but it''s not regeneration. So don''t you dare-"


    "I won''t, I won''t, promise!" I smiled.


    "Good." she sent me off with a smile. "Because if you forget, your mom would love to hear about all these." For a moment I''d actually forgotten she was friends with mom.


    There was nothing pretty about her. If I didn''t know better she became more and more like mom ever since the two became friends.


    I sighed a little but life wasn''t so bad. My hands didn''t hurt as much and I had loads of cash to burn.


    So, with a smile, I headed to the convenience store first.


    ***


    An expensive chocte.


    Another expensive chocte.


    Wow! More expensive chocte.


    But there was one problem. I couldn''t eat chocte.


    "Then what''s the point in having so much money!?"


    I looked around in horror. There were a lot of things here. But no matter where I looked and no matter what I thought, my mind always ended up near the chocte. There was no escaping this.


    ''Maybe she''ll have mercy if I pretend to be sad?'' But then again, I was already sad, so it was more of an exaggeration, rather than just pretending.


    I sniffed, prepped myself for a long conversation, and gave mom a call. The least I could do was beg her to let me eat dark chocte.


    "Hey, mom?"


    "What?" For some reason, she was awfully in a bad mood.


    "Something happend?" I didn''t want to ask but I had no choice.


    "I just got a call saying you got both of your hands burned and sepsis. I was just about to call you. Care to exin?" Mom wasn''t speaking sweetly, like when she was mad. Rather she was speaking harshly, oh, she was extra mad.


    ''That woman!'' The damn nurse still sold me out. "Well, I told you about the refine, remember? So, I tried to use my powers on the refined sword and well, I created blue and white sma."


    "Blue and white? Really?"


    "Yeah, and they were a lot hotter than I thought. I ended up burning my hands." I tried to chuckle but instead, sweat started to our and drench my sleeves.


    There weren''t many customers around me, so talking in the store didn''t seem like that much of a bad idea. But I still got asional stares from the guy at the counter.


    "Oh really?" Mom still wasn''t in a good mood. "Well, I did see dad using sma before. But I never thought you could go higher than blue. White sma was way out of his league." She sighed. "Well, we both know you are special."


    "Does that mean-" My mood brightened up a little.


    "Okay, so next, why didn''t you go straight to the nurse? And what''s this unnatural healing I''ve been hearing about?"


    ''That damn woman!'' She had to snitch everything!?


    "I don''t know¡­ I kind of forgot and-" I really didn''t have any excuses.


    She sighed again. I could feel it over the phone, she was mad and she was mad big time. "First Elsa has to do that and now you too? Argh! Why can''t you two just behave!"


    "She did what?" I felt like my existence was shrinking by the minute.


    "She drowned seven boys and eleven girls today. All are in the hospital. I think they''ll live but we might need to change homes again."


    "Why would she do that?" I kind of knew that there must have been at least some reason. But still getting people in the hospital like that wasn''t something she should have done.


    "Why are you pretending like you don''t know? The boys were after her, the girls were after you." She sighed again. But this time, out of frustration. Was it me, or was mom sighing more than me? WTH! "I was under the impression, you called me to discuss something?"


    After all this time, I kind of forgot about choctes altogether.


    "You see, I kind of killed a rare Mutor and got three of its core shards. I used one for the saber, one for the payment and one, I sold. I got 10 gold now." I kept everything brief and paved my way to thend of choctes. Now all I needed was the permission to enter.


    "Wait, ten gold for a shard? What color and what type?"


    ''Wait, you know about colors and all that!?'' Was I the only one who didn''t know!?


    "It was pink, I think-"


    "Pink? That''s it? And you still got ten gold? Well, that was a steal."


    I got the impression, I shouldn''t tell mom that I actually sold it for one hundred gold.


    "Yeah. Well, it did supposedly had regenerative powers-"


    "Wait-wait- regeneration? What did you fight and how good was it?" Now, mom was interested.


    "It was a two-headed snake and had the body like a dinosaur. Oh yeah, it regrew its head every time I cut one off."


    "Just regrew or did it double?"


    "Double. Why?"


    "You idiot! That shard was super rare. Anything with that level of regeneration is always rare and not to mention you had a dragon type."


    "What''s a dragon type?"


    "Let''s just say they are rarer than anything else. Anyway, can''t you just revoke the deal?"


    "It''s already struck, so I can''t change it. But would you mind telling me more about these things? All this time, I didn''t even know these things had stuff like this inside."


    Mom groaned. "Enough! I''ll give you a detailed lectureter. Why did you call?"


    "Oh yeah. I want to try some almond milk and chocte."


    She sighed. "You''re still not over that? Fine, just go buy a pill and drink whatever. But only once in a week, got it?"


    "Wait, a pill? That''s it! I thought this stuff was incurable!?"


    "Why would it be incurable? Besides, you just have a mild case."


    The ground beneath my feet shook again. ''What the hell? Then why did I go through all that much suffering!''


    "You''re serious?" I still couldn''t believe half of this.


    "I didn''t know you were this much of an idiot." Mom really was sighing too much today. I guess she had a rough day too. "Since you have enough money now, go buy a Holo, a memory instiller and some good quality gloves. Don''t cheap out on them. I''ve to go."


    "Bye, mom." I cut the call but I was devastated.


    For two minutes that is.


    Afterward, ''well, I can still have as much I like today, right?''

 Chapter 110 - (He) Who Said Greed Was A Bad Thing Must Have Been A Genius

    I bought chocte. I bought milk and I bought bread. I bought a pill too. Strangely the convenience store had everything I could ever imagine!


    Okay, maybe not everything.


    Just thinking these things got me drooling. But I had to control myself.


    When I finally went to the counter, the guy at the counter gave me a rather ominous look. We never really talked. And I didn''t want to either.


    He finished charging me silently and it came out at forty silvers, not even half a gold.


    ''Well, that was cheap.'' I thought I''d be spending half of my money today, but I didn''t even get the chance to spend even five percent.


    I didn''t care though. As long as I had good food, everything was cool.


    With a delighted mood, I headed for the dorm.


    The world looked a lot colorful today. And my mouth kept on drooling despite my best efforts.


    It wasn''t the evening yet. I still had plenty of time before dinner, but it sure didn''t stop me. I was going to stuff myself either way.


    To the onlookers, I might have looked like a moron, but in my heart I knew, I''d just won big time. The prize? Chocte, of course!


    I had three bags with me. One had different kinds of bread, one had plenty of milk and chocte milk. And thest one had, chocte, espresso powder, coco powder, and a Nute. I was going to go crazy today.


    I never liked coffee but it always made chocte taste richer for me, so I wasn''t holding back anything today.


    But I guess, swimming in chocte could wait until I got a bit richer.


    I didn''t spend anything on electronics yet. I had plenty of time, so I didn''t really want to worry about all that any time soon. Besides, I had these choctes on my mind instead.


    ***


    I reached the dorm in due time and Merin was sleeping peacefully on the bed. He kept the door unlocked so I didn''t bother to wake him up.


    ''What if a thief got in here?''


    I guess it would have been Merin''s fault then.


    I took the pill and waited.


    But time didn''t move.


    ''Why the hell is time being so damn slow? Did someone stop time!?''


    One second, two seconds, one hundred seconds¡­..one thousand seconds¡­


    I looked at my phone but it''s only been five minutes. ''Damn it!''


    Did the whole world slow down or something?


    How was I supposed to wait for half an hour like this!


    I tapped my feet on the floor, patience wasn''t my middle name and after the abstinence, I''d shown, I didn''t feel like waiting even a second let alone twenty-four more minutes!


    I wanted to dive in right now.


    "What happened to you?" Merin woke up.


    "I can finally eat dairy!"


    He looked at me like I went crazy or something but I guess he wasn''t wrong. I might have gone a bit crazy at this point.


    "How long do you have to wait?" Judging by hisposure he already knew I''d taken the pill. Meaning, he knew all along.


    But I wasn''t mad. I didn''t care about the past. I just wanted to eat some chocte!


    "Ten more minutes."


    "Really?"


    "Fifteen."


    He raised a brow.


    "Okay, okay, it''s twenty more minutes."


    "Next, you''re going to say twenty-five." Merin chuckled.


    Well, he wasn''t wrong, I still had twenty-three minutes remaining. "Time is moving awfully slowly."


    "No, it''s just that you''re too excited. Calm down a little and it''ll move normally." Merin yawned. "I''ll go get fresh."


    Merin went out but my heart wasn''t calming down.


    "Wait, dark chocte doesn''t have milk!" I had no idea why I didn''t think of it before.


    With shaking hands, I picked up some expensive luxury chocte. I started to unwrap it. This whole thing felt more exhrating than anything else.


    Finally! After one whole week, I could taste chocte again.


    I could almost cry. In fact, I might have been leaking regardless.


    "You''re such a drama queen." Merin entered.


    And now time moved fast!?


    I guess I took too long to undress my lovely chocte.


    I didn''t care. I was tasting chocte after so long! It tasted bitter and made me want to throw it back up because of the aftertaste, but it sure didn''t stop me from gobbling it down. "This is heaven."


    And I savored every moment.


    "Then why are you making that face, like you''re about to puke? Tell me, do you actually like eating dark chocte?" Merin took his seat.


    I actually didn''t. It was too bitter for me. And yet- "I think I might be sick."


    "Stop eating it already. Just wait for the meds to kick in and then have all your damn chocte milk and get over it. It''s not like it''s all the food this world has to offer."


    I wanted to say Merin was wrong, but the puking feeling in my gut wasn''t letting me. Eating four dark chocte bars at once probably wasn''t a good idea.


    I stopped eating and lied down.


    Merin poured some broculi juice. "Drink this, might be good." His smug smile was definitely annoying.


    "We still had those? And I''d literally throw up if I drank that."


    Merin chuckled. "Worth a shot." He drank the stuff while pouring me orange juice instead.


    This time I didn''tin and just chugged it down.


    I felt a bit better. "I guess I should rest."


    Citrus always did make me feel better whenever I felt like throwing up.


    I closed my eyes and rested.


    Beep*


    Beep!


    But when I opened my eyes again, it was already morning and my rm clock was going wild. "Oh, man." As usual, I woke up with a headache.


    I''d cked outst night and didn''t remember anything.


    ''You got to be kidding me.''


    How the hell had I slept through over ten hours and without even noticing?


    I forgot about the most important thing! I forgot to eat the chocte milk and bread!


    Well, at least Merin had the decency to throw everything in the mini-fridge. It didn''t have any space left though.


    On a second look, I might have bought too much. ''Can I finish all of this in a week?'' More importantly, most of the stuff would go bad or at least taste terrible by the end of this week anyway.


    But I couldn''t eat it now either. So instead, I just grabbed a ss of water and headed out. "Let''s finish my exercise first I guess." I also took my wallet.


    ''Maybe I should use all this and throw a party?''


    Since I''d already spent a lot on these, it was always an option.


    "I can''t eat no more-" And as usual Merin was having his sweet dreams.


    Did the guy really talk in his sleep or was this just an act? Honestly, I wanted to know, but I didn''t have the time.


    But no matter how I thought about it, I shouldn''t have bought so much stuff.


    ''Mom was right.'' So with another sigh, I headed out for morning practices. ''I''m an idiot.''

 Chapter 111 - Why Does, This Thing Smell Like Rotten Feet?

    Palm trees were everywhere but I didn''t crash into them. I was using alpha particles because I didn''t want a bruise on my face. Judging from the pain on my hands, they''d at least take another day to properly heal.


    ''But seriously, I have better healing now? Just what else was sealed?'' I actually wanted to know. But I guess, poking too much into this could have had negative effects too.


    I didn''t like these trees but they were a good exercise in the morning.


    ''Wasn''t there an electronic shop in the south?''


    It was a ten-minute jog and I needed new gloves.


    I kept my jogging up and eventually reached an electronics store near the south corner of the academy. If I ran to the city, I could have found better things, but I didn''t have that much luxury.


    It wasn''t like I was just beingzy, okay?


    But if everything in here was subpar, then I''d have no choice but to head over there anyway. Meaning, life was a drag.


    ''I wish I could just fly.''


    With a sigh, I entered the store. The owner was still cleaning up the dust from the shelves. But the moment he saw me, he ran back behind the counter.


    "Wee." He greeted me with a smile.


    And judging by the disy, everything in here, really was subpar.


    "Do you have good quality sma gloves and perhaps a memory instiller?"


    I kind of always wanted a memory instiller. But never really got around to it. Mom had enough sry but we were too much into debts because of our asional distruct- ahem, mistakes.


    So, I never had enough money to buy anything that I fancied, till now that is.


    I wanted to buy a Holo too, but this ce only had the old models. If I was going to spend money on something, I was going to spend on something good.


    "Of course, check this out!" The man behind the counter was kind of big and middle-aged. The big part wasn''t anything other than his belly, by the way. And from the looks, he hadn''t shaved in a few months.


    He gave me a pair of gloves.


    "These are too weak. They''ll get burned instantly." The ones I had before were a bit more basic than these though.


    The guy gave me a weird look and ravaged through his stuff. "How about this?"


    I checked the quality and it was good enough for yellow sma. But everything else would have scorched me.


    "Don''t you have anything better?"


    His attitude took a U-turn. "What are you, some spoiled rich kid? This is a great glove and it can protect you even if you touched sma directly. Why would you want something more expensive?"


    I gave him a dull look. "I didn''t say expensive. I said something BETTER!" I showed him my hands. "This happened despite me wearing these." Of course, I lied, I was using cheap gloves at the time.


    I hated lying but this time I made an exception. After all, I knew this glove wouldn''t have been worth it, and I needed something better. And this guy wasn''t going to budge otherwise.


    He sighed. "Rough user huh? Sorry, yesterday some rich kid annoyed me too much." He went in the back and came back a minuteter. "Try these." I guess I couldn''t me him either.


    The gloves looked awfully janky and even had a bit of a smell: used stuff. But as I took a closer look, the smell really hit me. "Oh my god!" It smelled terrible. I kind of had a bit of cold today, my nose was blocked. And thank the heavens for it, otherwise, I might have died from this. This stuff smelled worse than my foot when I had Athlete''s foot! But just from the texture of the glove, I knew- "Not bad. These things evene with a small barrier." I wanted to get away from it though.


    ''I might be able to use blue with these.''


    But it was too precious to pass away too.


    This was one of the toughest decisions of my life.


    "Not bad too kid. Didn''t know you could tell. These were worn but Alfred, the previous sword king. He kind of sold them to me before leaving though. Oh, and a memory instiller right. I''ll give you a good one."


    I didn''t know why but whoever the name of the sword king came up, there were two names, one Albert, and the other, Alfred. Albert was my father, but who was this Alfred? "Tell me? Were there two sword kings?"


    And I didn''t believe this guy one bit. After all, shopkeepers would basically say anything to sell their products.


    Anything that could instill memories in me was fine though. I didn''t want to debate on things I didn''t know about.


    The guy smiled when he heard my question. "That''s four gold and thirty silvers. Would that be all?"


    I guess he wasn''t answering me.


    "Keep it to three gold and ten silvers. And as you can tell, I''m not some rich kid. And things thing smells. "


    "Kid, I''m already giving you a discount because you are my first customer of the day."


    And the guy just gave me a major clue. A clue I could not avoid. A clue that made me smile involuntarily. He wanted to sell this stuff to me, no matter what.


    We went back and forth a couple of times and in the end, settled for three and a half gold. Not a bad deal.


    In the end, we both sealed the deal with a smile and a shake.


    "Oh, and btw, I think one of them was my old man." Even I was confused, which one was which. All I knew was that my old man was called Burt, and so I assumed it was Albert, but honestly, I didn''t know.


    The man chuckled. "See yater, kid."


    With that done, I started jogging again. This time with two bags hanging down both of my arms. ''What did the owner of these gloves even do with it?'' I didn''t know and I didn''t want to know. I was definitely going to bleach the hell out of the gloves first though before anything else.


    I guess that went without saying.

 Chapter 112 - Rite Of Passage

    "Well, I kept my promise." A man chuckled and stared at the picture on the counter.


    Strangely two pictures of simr-looking guys were ced on the counter, but both were facing the man behind the counter: they were Holo pictures, almost lifelike. There were old electronics around and at first nce anyone could have mistaken this ce as something of the bygone era. But it wasn''t.


    There wasn''t anyone else in the store and it was quite early in the morning too.


    "But just between you and me," The man went closer to one of the pictures. "I recognized him the first time I saw him. The brat has your eyes." The man chuckled again. "Maybe I''ll invite him for dinner sometime." He bemused himself. He had a nagging habit of talking to himself. But there was no denying it, he was very happy to see that ''brat''. "Nah!" He startedughing again.


    The door''s bell rung.


    He had customers.


    "Wee!"


    ***


    It was burning hot, and the air itself was fuming: sulfur was everywhere.


    There was boilingva covering the rocky ground and a massive mountain range surrounding the whole ce like a stadium.


    And within thatva ran a flying lizard. It had the body of a t-rex and the head of a snake, a python to be more exact. A dragon type!


    "Hey! Who said, you could run from me!" And behind the dragon was a man who casually walked on theva, barefoot, shirtless. He wiped the sweat off his chin. "Boy, Annie wasn''t kidding when she said this ce was a bit hot." His hair was golden and his smile was confident, his goatee wasn''t.


    He jumped ahead and grabbed the lizard''s tail. The lizard screamed in agony and quickly switched to attack mode instead of letting its tail go. It knew it couldn''t outmaneuver the man.


    Beep!


    The man got a message on his Holo. "Hel-loo?" His tone was almostical.


    The lizard immediately took action and bit the man solidly on his shoulder. But the man didn''t even flinch.


    "Oh hey, finally reached you." The voice on the other side was nonchnt and the transmission wasn''t that good either. But it wasn''t iprehensible.


    "Anything happen? It''s rare for you to call me Annie."


    Even the lizard was confused. The man didn''t even move a muscle even after receiving the deadly venom from the snake.


    "That''s because you''re always out of range." The voice was a bit offended. "We''re going to war with the Battlesuins."


    "Really? So I''d assume our brat finally picked a fight with them? I tell ya, next time I meet him, I''ll pound some sense into him. But I guess I should clean up his mess." The man sighed and punched a hole in the snake''s head. Some drops of blood streamed down his shirtless body but it was of no consequence. He proceeded to snatch the crystal from the lizard''s chest. A crimson core, one of the rarest.


    "No, it wasn''t John."


    "Wait? It wasn''t? Then who? Matthew? Jacob?"


    "You won''t believe it. It was Helio."


    "What!?" The man''s voice echoed throughout the ce. Heughed loudly. "Well," He controlled hisughter. "I guess they should be wiped out good this time: they were flying too close to the sun. You want me to assist?"


    "Actually," the voice on the other side became a bit serious. "I just got intel that Helio wishes to pick a fight with both the Battlesuins and the Rodwichs."


    The manughed some more. "Lemme guess, for a girl?"


    "Wow, you should be a prophet." There was no enthusiasm in the voice of the women. "Anyway, what''s your stance?"


    "I say let him handle it. He has the power and if he doesn''t want our help, then there''s no need for us to get involved. Besides," The man''sughter stopped. "If he''s really the grandson of dad, if he''s really worth dad giving his life for him, I''d like to see what he''s capable of." Veins bulged on top of the man''s head. "I''d like to see his worth. Think of this as a rite of passage."


    "How mature." She sighed. "It''s true they haven''t asked our help. But I''d assume-"


    The man sighed too. "Fine, I''ll handle the Rodwichs." He yawned. "The Holo''s melting. I''ll call ya backter."


    "No, you won''t."


    The man kept onughing and the signal started to get corrupted. "Bye honey. I''ll bring a present next time."


    "S-stop calling me that. It feels weird¡­. Bye. Get home soon." Thest part of her sentence was mumbles to the man, awfully cute.


    The man''sughter echoed again. He looked fiercely towards the sky. "Well I guess, those swine have outlived their purpose anyway." His grin turned way too evil, way too fast.


    ***


    It was almost eight. A girl was waiting by a bench for a boy to pass by. She''d seen him only a couple of times but she had an ambition.


    It wasn''t pure.


    ''There he is.'' Her grin turned vulgar. She was one of the top three prefects of the academy and she''d earned a nickname as the sadistic mistress. She even had a fan club who''d have done anything for her, even lick her feet or smell her socks.


    The girl hatched a brilliant (self-proimed) n.


    "Look out!" She ran for the boy and made an effort to trip. In her fantasies, the boy would grab her, fall for her charms. Major sess. And instant too.


    She was dubbed as the prettiest girl in the whole academyst year and her secret weapon allowed her to entice men like light attracted flies. Her beauty and powers were perfect for seduction.


    But the boy, he just dodged the girl. And she fell on the ground with a thud.


    The boy kept on jogging.


    ''Wah-?''


    The girl was bbergasted for a second. ''He ignored me?''


    "Hey, you!" She red and stood up but the boy was already gone.


    Again, she was confused. "My charm didn''t work?"


    Her confusion turned to anger and anger turned to hate. "I''ll ruin your whole life!"


    But little did she know, this was perhaps her life''s biggest mistake.

 Chapter 113 - Is It Wrong To Want To Make A Girl Impotent?

    I didn''t know why but a weird girl kind of tried to crash into me just minutes ago. I was still using alpha particles to avoid all the palm around me, so I kind of knew she wasing straight for me.


    I didn''t know why and I didn''t care either. But strangely for a second, I felt enticed. Obviously, I broke free immediately, dodged her, and kept on jogging. I guess my mental seals finally came in handy for something.


    But for that second, I was willing to even bow down at her feet. That was one ferocious power she had. And I was d I got out of there before she could have pulled anything and before I had to do things to her, in self-defense.


    I guess it was more like she got lucky rather than me. After all, my subconscious self-defense mechanisms were quite scary.


    I shook my head a little and kept on jogging.


    ***


    I took a pill, got in the shower, washed the gloves extra hard, and finally, finally, after everything, had my chocte milk.


    It was surreal, unreal even. The taste? Divine.


    Merin''s cheeks twitched. "I think you might want to see this."


    He was awfully quiet ever since I got back.


    "What?"


    I chewed on the soft, delicate bread: I drank the milk. This was bliss.


    But the moment I saw the article, I kind of had to swallow everything. "Hey, that girl tried to crash into me!"


    It was the same girl from just moments ago.


    ''Helio R. Jintel assaulted me.'' That was the title of the post the girl just made on the academy blog. Oh and boy did she have followers!


    Merin sighed. "Well, bad luck for you, she''s considered to be one of the most beautiful girls on campus and if she says you tried to assault her, you can bet your ass, people would just assume you did. After all, youe from a viinous family."


    "We may be viins, but we''re not criminals."


    Merin looked at me with pitying eyes. "Both are the same though. But still, she doesn''t have any proof and I don''t think the academy would take action against you for baseless usations. You might get more scornful eyes here and there though."


    "Well, I''m used to it. But why would she do this? ording to this article, she''s one of the prefects, right? Then why?"


    "She''s a prefect but, she got there with connections. There are three head prefects in this academy and only one of them has got in with merit alone." Merin lied down on the bed. "The other two had other means. This girl- Raea in particr has a bad rep in the academy too. She has a fan club of boys always ready to lick her feet. I think you won''t get much trouble from normal students, but those fans might try to harm you. As for why? I''m not sure. As much as she''s a terrible human being, this is probably the first time she''s resorted to something like this."


    I actually didn''t feel all that much of anything. I''d been framed before, and it wasn''t anything new. But I didn''t have ns to take this silently: actually I didn''t have any ns for that matter.


    "I don''t really care." I continued drinking my chocte milk. Now that I had this, nothing else mattered. "No one can sneak up on me and if anyone gets close, I''ll just burn off some of their private cells, they''ll be too frightened to even imagine me. And I think I''ll talk to this girl in person, that''ll be the fastest way to end this."


    "I''m not even going to ask what kind of cells you''re talking about." Merin grimaced. "But be careful."


    I grinned. "So anyway, I think I might have bought too much, what do you say, we eat together and if things are left over, we throw a small party?"


    "If you''re okay with it, cool"


    We both grinned and after getting ready, I headed for the ss.


    ***


    I was so infatuated with the chocte that I forgot to use the memory instiller. But at least I had the gloves. I still couldn''t wear them though, as my wounds weren''tpletely healed.


    Merin was right, I did get scornful eyes, but that was basically it.


    Well, it was nothing new. But even I felt a bit weird knowing some unknown girl just framed me for no reason at all.


    "I will kill you!" A guy shouted and came for me with a sword from behind. It wasn''t a saber, rather a in ol''sword.


    I actually noticed him a while ago and wanted to see what he was doing, but I guess no one taught him that shouting before trying to kill someone wasn''t a great idea.


    "Sorry pal, but I don''t wanna be killed."


    I dodged.


    "What!" He missed and stumbled. He reorganized himself and took a stance: well, that was fast. "You shall pay for what you have done to her."


    I yawned subconsciously. This was so cringed that I wished he''d rethink what he was saying before actually saying it. "Well, I guess I can''t me you, morons." I raised my hands. ''Can''t go back on my word, now can I?''


    The guy had a hand on his crotch and he fell on his knees: the sword fell on the ground with a ng. "Wh-what did you do?" He looked at me in horror.


    It was just a few thousand cells, so he''d be fine, probably.


    We''d drawn a moderate crowd and now they all looked at me with fear, even the girls.


    Maybe, this wasn''t too bad. Now everyone would leave me alone.


    But I was wrong.


    I had to repeat this seven times until I finally reached the ssroom.


    I was in a pretty good mood this morning. I had money, I had chocte milk and I had bread. Life was amazing. And then this girl from nowhere had to drop and make everything a nuisance.


    I still had twenty minutes before ss would start. So I headed straight for the teacher''s lounge. What''s the best way to get locations without a Holo?


    Grab a teacher.


    ***


    "Oh? ss would start in fifteen minutes. Be patient, I''ll be there soon." Miss Maire was having her coffee and looking over some documents.


    "I actually had a request. Where''s the ce prefects stay, or in better terms which ss?" I had a nagging feeling that article was probably circted all over the academy by now.


    Meaning, she knew exactly who I wanted to meet.


    She gave me a smirk. "You want to assault her again?"


    "I did not assault her." Extra emphasis on the ''did not'' part.


    She giggled. "I''m just kidding. You don''t seem like the ''almost assaulted type.'' You seem more like the ''actual assault-type.''"


    That didn''t make sense though.


    "Yeah, I don''t have any reasons or desire, or even the slightest interest in assaulting bitches like that. Anyway, can you give me directions?"


    She almost spilled over the coffee with her silent giggles. "She should be in ss now. I think she was a third-year? Head over¡­" She gave me the directions for a ss. "But ss starts in ten minutes you know."


    "Don''t worry, I won''t be toote." Even talking was hard now.


    I felt weird. My impulses were on fire.


    I almost¡­. Wanted to destroy her?


    NO! These thoughts weren''t my own¡­. Calm down.


    ''We''ll just make her impotent.'' Yeah¡­ wait, we?


    I shook my head and calmed myself. Something was definitely weird.


    ''Is the shadow taking over?''


    "You okay?" Miss Maire finished her coffee.


    "Yeah, I''m fine." And I started walking.


    It was only for a moment and the feeling was gone. I was sane again.


    But what if it happened again and what if¡­ things really did go south?


    I straightened my back. ''But first, I''ve to deal with this.''

 Chapter 114 - I May Be A Villain, But I’m No Criminal

    Most of the students were already in their respective sses.


    Few that werete, were now running fast to ''not bete''.


    Me?


    I was taking aid-back stroll.


    But in reality, I was fuming way more than I could have imagined. I thought no one would be stupid enough to actually buy into this BS and even if they were, they wouldn''t be stupid enough to attack me, but honestly, I was more disappointed than mad. Were human beings really this shallow and stupid?


    So with a sigh, I followed directions. And with four minutes to spare, I entered the nearly full room of the third years.


    I''d heard third years mostly stayed out of the academy and went to various ces across the globe. Clearly, my information had holes in it. Or maybe the standards had gone a bit down.


    Seeing so many third years made me feel a bit nervous. I wasn''t scared, rather, what if, no one believed me? It wasn''t like, I could just whoop everyone''s butt and make them believe. I had to take this seriously, and smartly at the same time.


    With a deep breath, I controlled everything and just walked straight in. All eyes were on me.


    "Can I help you?" Rose was the first one toe towards me.


    I guess she was a third-year too. I never really asked around about her anyway.


    There were many faces in here and I hardly knew any of them. I did know a few though, the two grinning guys in the back and a girl- Selene.


    There were whispers floating around but so far no one actually made an effort to say anything. The girl I came here for, however, didn''t even look at me.


    "Can you call over- what was her name again?" I''d gotten all heated up, but I kind of forgot her name already.


    "Raea?"


    "Yeah, her."


    Rose gave me an awkward stare. "Well, I did warn you but you acting rashly here would be disadvantageous for you. And as ss would soon begin, trust me, you''d onlyplicate things."


    I came at this academy nearly two weeks ago and within that time had countless meetings with this girl. I knew she wasn''t messing with me.


    ''Disadvantageous for me, huh?''


    "But if I let this go now-" Then all of this would just repeat for the rest of the day too.


    "Hmmm¡­" She thought for a second. "How about, a duel?"


    "A duel?"


    "Yes, duels are here for a reason. Whenever disputes break out since the teachers never intervene, it''s best to let the students beat each other up: of course, it has to be regted. That''s why we have duels. And that is also why we don''t let students start unauthorized fights."


    I didn''t know why but hearing that from her made me feel awfully weird.


    But now that I thought about it, this wasn''t bad. And me just going up to that Raea girl and making her impotent or perhaps potentially crippling her would have surely made me a criminal, thest thing I wanted to be.


    "Hmm¡­ that''s not a bad proposal. But- what will be the stakes?" After all, I didn''t think that girl would just ept my proposal. I need a very good reason for her to fight me.


    Rose turned around. "Raea, stand up!"


    Promptly a girl stood up. I knew her. She was ring at me. "Why should I? I left the club ages ago. And besides, I have nothing to gain from this duel." She was listening to us rather carefully, I guess.


    She irked me, she really, really pissed me off. But now that I thought about it, I had to offer some good rewards to her, enough to entice her, and I had just the thing. "Well, let''s just say, you don''t have to be in a club to duel." I smiled. "Tell you what, you may bring all your followers to battle. Even hired ones are fine. The limit is one hundred of course, since anymore and the gym would be too crowded. Or we could fight in the field and in that case, I''ll let you raise the limit to one thousand. Oh and your prize? You get to live of course." My grin intensified.


    "Are you implying, you''ll kill me if I declined?" She turned a bit pale.


    The whispers turned to silent panic. I guess my threats had weight in this academy, even to the third years.


    But then again it was just a threat. I didn''t have any intention to get expelled anyway.


    I acted ignorant. "I don''t know. Did I say that?"


    Sheposed herself. "A thousand men, huh?" She was sweating but her smile didn''t waver. "If you lose, you''ll be my ve. And if I lose, I''ll be yours."


    I guess that was her intention from the start.


    "Sorry, but I don''t want bitches like you." I taunted a bit. "Anyway, if you lose, I''ll just make your life a living hell, don''t worry about it. I''ll also have to make you confess that you framed me, but I guess I''ll think about them after beating the living crap out of you. " I winked and turned around.


    Why she framed me didn''t really matter as much as that ''she framed me''.


    There was a guy by the door. Even with my heightened senses and alpha particles, I hadn''t sensed him till now. ''Guess I shouldn''t count on this, too much.''


    "Yo-You-" The girl was, however, stuttering when she finally processed my words.


    "I understand you''re done?" But this man by the door was really different. His voice was deep and he was serious. He had a pretty built body too.


    "Yes, I am." I looked back. "I''ll give you a day to prepare. We''ll hold our duel tomorrow afternoon." I turned forward again and walked. "Thanks, Rose."


    "No problem."


    A set of whispers floated around but I just ignored them.


    But when I went past the man- "Not bad kid, for a second there, I thought I''d have to stop you." Meaning, he was here from a while ago.


    This guy wasn''t kidding. I didn''t know how he could be so confident, but I chose to ignore him. And just walked.


    "Okay, take your seats, let''s begin."


    The third year''s ss started and that reminded me¡­. ''Oh I should run too.''


    ***


    I was exactly eleven minuteste. And Miss Maire made me stand for ten minutes by the door for it. She did let me in though afterward and I didn''t really miss much during my absence.


    The first ss ended.


    "So¡­" The voice came from behind me. I knew it rather well. "You became a fiend yourself?"


    Her voice was quite nonchnt, I guess she wasn''t hung up about things like I was.


    "Unfortunately, I''m not that type. If I want someone, I''d ask them directly. Like I asked you."


    No responses came. So reluctantly I had to turn around. Ourst encounter kind of left a rather bad scar on my heart.


    But what I was met with was¡­ a smile. A sincere relieved smile. For a second I got mesmerized again. But in the very next second, I controlled myself.


    Marg didn''t say anything, so I didn''t say anything either.


    ''One step at a time.'' I was yet to find out her feelings for me¡­ but I still had hope and I wasn''t going to let anything get in the way, not the Battlesuins, not the Rodwichs.


    But maybe this all being framed thing wasn''t so bad. After all, I got to see Marg smile and that kind of made me think she might have had feelings for me. Or it could have been that I was just being stupid and my mind was ying tricks on me.


    At the heat of the moment I kind of went out of my way and asked that girl to bring a thousand men, but now that I thought about it, wasn''t it a lot of people?


    But this was the perfect opportunity to teach the people that framing me was a bad idea.


    And this was also a good opportunity to show off to Marg. She probably won''te to the duel though.

 Chapter 115 - Thinking Stuff Is Such A Drag

    sses ended and I was free from all the drama. Marg never talked to me and I got the impression she was under pressure too.


    Sigh¡­


    I was by the terrace of the second floor.


    But I did have some plusses though. One being, I could afford to live with her, as in, I now had enough money to live for half a year with modesty, as long as we were willing to put up with some sacrifices. And it wasn''t like my mother would have just abandoned me if I got married or anything, right?


    Right?


    And I could have always just gone out and got more cores anyway.


    But then there was the actual problem of getting her to confess. I couldn''t act without her consent. After all, now that I thought about it, mom was right, it would have just be one-sided that way. So instead, my main priority was to make her confess, and if she confessed, I could use that as an excuse to crush the Battlesuins and free her. And if her family protested, I could do the same there too.


    I was getting too many bad thoughts.


    ''So the second seal has loosened?'' It was the only logical exnation. Or maybe the shadow was adapting and influencing me from within.


    My powers weren''t really suited for all that much. But it was definitely good for one thing, that being¡­ destruction.


    But if I kept on getting thoughts like this, could I have really controlled myself? And it wasn''t like I could just run to the person who put the seals on me and ask her to reseal things¡­.


    ''But what do I do about their leader''s power?'' I''d heard plenty about the leader of the Battlesuins and how she was almighty and all that, but honestly, her spatial powers were definitely dangerous. If she could seal my powers once, she could do it again.


    "You really have a knack for trouble, don''t you?" Selene walked my way.


    I guess just staring out towards the fields wasn''t that much of a good idea. Anybody could tell that I was troubled.


    "I wonder." I really did wonder. "Trouble always seems to find me. It''s almost as though someone purposefully makes me go through all this."


    "I think we call that someone a God." She giggled. "Well, don''t forget our date." She winked and walked away.


    I actually had forgotten it. All this stress wasn''t good for my heart.


    But a God, huh?


    Unfortunately, I didn''t have time to believe in invisible beings who were too busy to answer my prayers.


    As usual, with a sigh, I walked for the dorms.


    ***


    The door opened. "Well done." Merin was proud. "You''ve finally grown up!"


    I guess the news of the duel spread rather fast too. No wonder no one bothered to attack me till now. I guess I owed one to Rose for giving me this brilliant idea of how to legally whoop someone.


    "Yeah, says the guy, who can''t even wear pants."


    He chuckled loudly and just went to his bed, and lied down.


    I entered the room and locked it.


    I had no idea why this guy was just wearing a boxer and was shirtless. Did he have screws loose?


    And even now, he wasn''t showing any signs of dressing up. He just lied on his bed, reading something on his Holo, like this was no big deal.


    "You''re not an exhibitionist, are you?"


    He startedughing again, went on for a minute, and then finallyposed himself. "Yeah, kind of."


    "Huh? You hit your head or something?"


    "Why? Seeing me almost naked turns you on or something? Sorry man, but I''m straight." He made a smug face.


    Was that supposed to be funny?


    Because it sure wasn''t.


    "It''s almost been two weeks and now you''re telling me you''re an exhibitionist!"


    "I was trying to figure out whether I could trust you or not."


    "Think I''ll change rooms." I turned to leave. I was pissed before but now I was furious.


    He chuckled hard again. "I''m just kidding. Calm down."


    Oh, I was very calm, there was no need to worry about my calmness. "You know." I smiled. "I kind of made seven guys almost semi sterile today. You want to be the eighth?"


    His face went very pale very fast.


    "Yeah, I think I''ll pass." He hurriedly put on his pants and shirt. "But really, you n on fighting a thousand guys at once?"


    "I''ll just knock out a few, the rest will just run away." I finally took my seat.


    "I''m not so sure about that-"


    "Oh, they will." I pointed at Merin''s pants.


    He held a hand covering his crotch. Sweat dripped. "I see."


    Indeed, ''we all shall see.''


    But why was this guy going pale? It wasn''t like I killed any of his cells.


    I guess he understood without having any of his cells die.


    My evilughter echoed throughout the whole room as Merin awkwardly buttoned his shirt.


    ***


    Mom said I was only allowed to eat and drink stuff one day every week, that day being today. Yesterday didn''t count, okay!?


    But we had too much. And even I couldn''t eat this much. Neither could Merin.


    A party wasn''t a bad idea. It''s just that, who could I have possibly invited to my party and just offer milk, bread, Nute and chocte?


    Well, I did have orange juice and Merin had loads of broli and celery lying around.


    But more importantly, "Do I even have friends?"


    "Wait, you''re asking me? How would I know?" Merin did have a point, how would he know? And no, I wasn''t asking him.


    Johnathan helped me a lot but I didn''t want to meet him again. Angelmen was cool too, but too weird for me. Which only left¡­ Robert and maybe Mike?


    "I should really get a holo." And I even had the money too.


    "Well, you could just head over to the city and buy one."


    "Too lengthy journey. Takes forever and my only route is the snowy ins." I didn''t even want to think about the other route.


    "Well, you can head there the day after tomorrow."


    "Oh yeah, our second holiday." But could I really afford to not head home this week? After all, I knew two people who''d definitely throw tantrums if I didn''t show my face.


    With a sigh, I opened my phone and gave Johnathan a call. The guy was a natural stalker so he''d bound to have everyone''s number.


    "The numbers for Robert and Mike, right? Yeah of course I have them. I''ll mail them to you. Oh and I''ll send you Angelmen''s too since you two are friends. And I''ll definitely give him the invite too." I didn''t actually have to say a word and the guy was going crazy. "Don''t forget to ask your cousin!"


    "Hey, I never-" The call ended. I gave Merin a look. "Feel free to invite someone."


    I could sense when people were attacking or trying to sneak up on me, but I couldn''t use this to actively search for people. But really, how the hell was that guy keeping track of our conversation. And more importantly, I never said those names aloud!


    "I''ll invite Monty then."


    "You two close?" I actually hadn''t seen Monty in about a week.


    "Not really."


    And the conversation died. Well, but at least I was going to have my very own party tonight.


    I still had no idea what a party even was though.

 Chapter 116 - This Is, A, Party?

    For the first time in my life, I was unsure of what I was doing. Was this going to work?


    What was even a party, anyway?


    I walked around the room, unable to calm down. I had no answers.


    Merin sighed. "You really are hopeless. It''ll just be a get-together of sorts. We''ll drink some milk, listen to some music, chit-chat, and be done with it. That''s all, so calm down."


    "Easy for you to say!"


    I''d never partied before. Of course, I''d been to celebrations but all of those wererge scale and had loads of different food and stuff, but what did I have?


    I didn''t even have the usual things parties had, like balloons and stuff.


    Needless to say, I was freaking out.


    "Keep it up and you''ll end up with high BP for the rest of your life." Merin mumbled. "And you''ll drag me down with you."


    ''I heard that you know!''


    With a sigh, I sat down on the bed and tried to calm down. But it sure wasn''t working.


    The party was going to start around seven and we still had half an hour.


    I''d already called Mike and Robert. Robert said he''lle but Mike declined.


    "Hey, I can just run to the mart and get some party spray and balloons, right?"


    "Unfortunately, you''re not a two-year-old. Now shut up and stay put!" Merin started typing something on his Holo.


    That kind of shut me up.


    ***


    "Hey, so this is your room?"


    Angelmen was the first to arrive. As usual, ck leather jacket. He was in a good mood. He still hadn''t entered though.


    "Yup, and I take it, everything worked out?"


    He was about ten minutes early.


    "Oh yeah." He averted eye contact and chuckled.


    It didn''t work out.


    "I''ll go pick up the pizza." Merin went out.


    ''You ordered pizza?''


    Wait, since when did this ce even have pizza?


    I was so focused on chocte milk that I''d forgotten about pizza all this time!


    I almost felt stupid, okay, maybe I was stupid.


    I gave Clyde a dull look. "What happened? Did it work or not?" I had to distract my mind somehow, right?


    "Well, it worked." Again, he averted eye contact and chuckled. "But-"


    But why was this guy looking like that?


    "But what?"


    "But now I can''t actually make it rise up anymore." He stared at the floor almost in tears. "Well, at least I''m not eternally impotent anymore." He sniffed. "The medicine is strong, so hopefully it''ll get better with time."


    One problem gone, but another just took its ce without a doubt.


    "There, there." I gave him a pat. "I have chocte milk, let''s go drink together."


    He sniffed again and finally came inside.


    I really did feel bad for him this time.


    ***


    Merin came back about five minutester and he brought Monty and Johnathan with him.


    "Hey, thanks for having me here, I thought you were holding a grudge against me or something." Monty was being frank. But if anything, wasn''t it supposed to be him who should have held a grudge? After all, I broke his saber.


    "Yeah, no problem." But it sure didn''t stop me from pretending to be kind which I was not.


    Johnathan had a grin. "I wanted to invite her over too, but girls aren''t allowed at this time, so just I came alone." Did he forget this was my party, not his?


    "I take it, you two are doing good?" I actually hadn''t heard from him after what happened yesterday.


    "Oh yeah, totally."


    "And you still haven''t told your parents?"


    His grin left for the NetherRealm and he started chugging down broli juice like crazy.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle.


    But ourst guest was yet to arrive.


    We still started eating though.


    The bread and milk were great. And the pizza wasn''t half bad either. Merin did have good taste.


    Clyde was hogging all the dark chocte while Monty was chugging down the pasteurized milk. Meanwhile, Johnathan was eating raw Nute.


    I guess I wasn''t the only one with weird tastes. But even so, all of this kind of felt good.


    And not to mention we talked. We talked about the academy, we talked about who was stronger among the world leaders, and we talked about pretty girls: I avoided Marg''s topic altogether. And we even talked about who''d win in a fight. Needless to say, I won with the most votes. Even Clyde voted me for some reason.


    "But seriously, this guy has some weird luck with girls. Like I think he has more girlfriends than actual friends." Merin was whispering some rather hazardous things to my so-called friends.


    Johnathan and Monty were giggling amongst themselves but the same couldn''t be said about Clyde. His face was a bit darker than usual and he now had a re. He walked close to me, stood just in front of me.


    His face came very close to mine. "I don''t believe this. Tell me, they''re lying!"


    "Of course they are. I don''t have one girlfriend let alone-"


    "Oh, I''m sorry." Clyde was backing down. The guy actually believed me rather easily.


    "Well, it''s true he doesn''t have a girlfriend but that doesn''t mean the girls he''s friends with don''t y with him either." And Merin was opening his big mouth again.


    "You know- I''ll definitely make you-" I was kind of pissed now. Would it really have been that bad if I made punched him now?


    Clyde stood in the way. "Does that mean you gotid?"


    I couldn''t look at those sincere eyes of his. Poor guy couldn''t even raise it, and here I was, already a one-timer. But then again, I''d only done it once anyway.


    Clyde shook me back and forth. "I''m so d for you." He didn''t look d, not one bit.


    And within that back and forth, I kind of fell on the bed by mistake. Clyde fell on top of me.


    The door mmed open. It wasn''t locked.


    "Sorry, I''mte. I was out buying cake-" Robert''s voice stopped abruptly.


    All eyes were on him, but his eyes were on me. Sweats formed on his face.


    I could hear Merin try to hide his chuckles, but I heard them. And I wasn''t going to let him off the hook this time.


    "This isn''t what it looks like, okay?" My voice was quiet and I was speaking very calmly.


    "Ah-huh." He slowly ced the cake inside, shut the door, and from what I could assume, ran.


    "Oh no, you don''t!" I shoved Clyde off of me and ran after him.


    If I let him go now, my whole life would have been ruined!


    Was I being too dramatic!?


    Yes!


    ***


    I did eventually catch up to Robert and dragged him back to my room.


    The onlookers had some looks but I didn''t care.


    Now Robert had this awkward look on his face as he chewed on the pizza slice we saved for him.


    Monty and Merin were giggling from the sides. Johnathan was too busy with the Nute while Clyde was busy pouting.


    This just got a lot more awkward than I thought it would.


    "It was just a misunderstanding, okay? I''m straight and Clyde is too. Right?" I gave Clyde a look.


    "That goes without a saying."He sighed in pain. "If I were to swing the other way, I''d have to be the bottom. But I want to be the top. So I chose to be straight. " He sighed again.


    Meaning, all he wanted was to do it. He didn''t care with whom.


    I didn''t know why but that kind of made me shiver for a second.


    ''This guy is bad news.'' Men weren''t safe from him either. "T-the cake will go cold."


    But it was already cold, to begin with though.


    Clyde burst intoughter. "I''m just kidding though."


    Yeah, I had my doubts.


    "Anyway," I stood up. "Let''s just enjoy ourselves and forget about the worries for today." I held a bottle of chocte milk towards everyone. Everyone grabbed a bottle too.


    It sufficed to say, me buying too much groceries might not have been a bad thing after all.


    Though I had countless chances to have a drink, I never drank anything with alcohol. At certain times, I almost wanted to, but someone always stopped me. I guess it must have been fate. But I did know what people did before they drink.


    So, with a smile, we bumped our bottles with one another, kind of like making cheers.


    It didn''t make much of a sound since the bottles were just stic. But it didn''t stop us fromughing though.


    Weughed, we talked and weughed some more.


    Merin brought out his guitar and started ying. His skills were decent, but his singing was terrible. It was good for augh though.


    The cake was actually pretty good. And turns out, Robert got qualified for the qualifications today. It was weird how we were fighting just to prove that we had enough to actually participate in the qualifications in the first ce.


    But eventually, it was nine-thirty and the party ended.


    Time must have moved fast because I still wasn''t satisfied and it felt like it hadn''t even been an hour.


    But I still had to say goodbye though.


    "It was good." Robert went out first.


    "I had fun. I''ll invite you if I throw something too." Monty went out too.


    "Though it vexes me that you gotid, as your friend I shall pray for your continuous wellbeing and potency. Till next time." And Clyde was being weird as usual. I was d though.


    "Later-" Johnathan tried to get out but I grabbed his shoulder.


    "How did you know?"


    "Know what?" He was pale.


    "My thoughts." I red. The guy was a natural stalker but that wasn''t all. Did he possess some weird power to read thoughts too?


    "I-I don''t know what you''re talking about." He chuckled, broke free, and ran hard. I wasn''t holding him with that much force.


    With a sigh I closed the door.


    "That actually wasn''t bad." Merin smiled. "We should do this sometimes."


    "Yeah." It kind of got a bit awkward at times but I had fun. "Oh and that reminds me, you sold me out back then."


    Droplets of sweat appeared on his face. He looked away. "Of course not. I was just livening up the party!" He chuckled.


    "Uh-huh." I smiled and popped my knuckles.


    My evilughter echoed throughout the room as Merin''s face went paler and paler.


    ***


    "Mydy, we have already secured three hundred men. But that was all we could manage." A boy bowed on the floor.


    A girl was seated on the edge of her bed, legs crossed. She was wearing long socks and beneath her feet was a man, breathing like a dog, tongue out in the open.


    "That so? Don''t worry. Father said he''ll send five hundred men and we can just take a hundred and fifty from the students. As for thest fifty, I''ll hire professional killers." The girl smiled sweetly as she toyed with the man''s face with her feet. "I''ll definitely make him my ve."


    The man''s face only had bliss written all over. He lived to be her feet''s ything.


    "Alright." The boy stood up with a smile.


    The girl stood up too, her feet still on the man. The man wasrge so it wasn''t a big deal. "Are you going to take part?"


    "But of course." The boy looked back with a smile. "Someone has to crush him."


    "And you''re sure you can do that?"


    The boy simply grinned madly as a response.

 Chapter 117 - The Duel Of

    It was a good sunny day. The breeze was minimal and there was silence.


    At least that was what I wanted to say, but apparently, it wasn''t. There was nothing good about this day. I couldn''t even see the sun, let alone sunlight. I got that we were in the middle of the sea, but did we really need a frigging typhoon?


    Sigh.


    At least this academy had enough tech to make a small dome in the field to ensure that we weren''t getting drenched instead of fighting. The rain was minimal right now though.


    But then there was the sound problem. Why? Cause there were at least a couple of thousand people cramped in this small field. And even if they were all whispered, that was one hell amount of sound. Oh but, they weren''t whispering, there was much more.


    It was almost as though I''d walked into an expo of some sort.


    Well, it wasn''t a small field but when a thousand or two people stood together like this, it felt cramped if nothing else.


    "Nervous?" The voice came from behind me. I looked back. It was my opponent. "I can make half of them stay back if you want." She was taunting me, but I wasn''t an idiot, probably.


    There was enough space between me, her, and the rest of the crowd. But not enough for the crowd to not hear her or me, for that matter.


    I guess she thought I was intimidated by the sheer numbers. Unfortunately, she didn''t know that I was pretty much built just to fight masses like this.


    "Actually, I was just pitying you guys. You should have gotten more people." I was just rubbing it in.


    She balled her fists but smiled. "We''ll see how long that attitudests."


    "Right back at ya."


    When I say, this was a big field, it was a big field. At least half a kilometer in radius. But when a thousand attackers and the crowd from the academy itself were here, it didn''t look that big.


    The disciplinarymittee members were here and now they made the field bigger with spatial powers. The crowd did have the decency to give us enough space to fight though at this point.


    But that begged the question. If the crowd was here, then who was going to protect them? ''Well, that''s not good.''


    Chuckles came from Raea''s direction. But it wasn''t the girl who wasughing. Rather a boy, probably a third year. "I''ve been analyzing your fights and I''m damn sure you won''t use your powers when there are people here. Meaning, we''ve already won."


    I guess that was one way to think about it.


    "Are you stupid?" I chuckled and put on my gloves. "Why would you assume that? And even without my powers, I could beat the crap out of all of you." My hands were pretty much healed. The gloves still had a bit of smell though. ''I think I should bleach this some more.''


    "Without your powers, you''re just a decent fighter. But we have hundreds of good fighters and even masters among us. You can''t win. So stop bluffing!" Well, at least he was sure of himself.


    Which only made me feel smugger.


    "Thanks for the recap, and good for you I suppose." I switched on my saber. My sword would have been overkill for these morons. And I certainly didn''t want to kill anyone and end up expulsed. "Let''s just hope you morons don''t drop dead."


    A spear formed and the tip was made of ck swirling sma. The body of the spear formed of the same material the hilt was made from. I kind of didn''t pay attention thest time but, this was one beautiful spear.


    "Yo-you can''t win with just that." For someone who was so sure just moments ago, he sure started stuttering.


    "Oh don''t worry." ''Make a scythe.'' The saber turned into a scythe. As I thought, this saber responded to mymands. I couldn''t go back to the district club anytime soon but since this worked, I didn''t have anything toin about. After all, the old man really did say, this would change into more types once it got a new core. And it did change, so all was good.


    Was I a little spooked by how it could respond to my thoughts and asionally hissed?


    Yes!


    The scythe, however, was a bit different. Before, it was a streamlined scythe with curves here and there. But this time, it was a lot curvier, a bit darker, and had swirling sma: Did I forget to mention it had a jagged edge near the top?


    The boy''s teeth shook as he took steps back. He mixed in with the crowd behind him. Before I knew it, he was gone.


    No one from the prefects was here yet, so I couldn''t start. But judging from the reactions of the people that were in front, I didn''t need to do any more than spook them a little.


    "I''d assume both sides are ready?" Rose was up in the sky.I guess she was already here, I just didn''t notice her. She was flying over the barrier, meaning she was kind of wet. And since it was raining up there, I couldn''t use alpha particles to sense anything either. "There''s a small barrier set to protect the spectators but it isn''t strong enough to withstand high dosage of radiation or strong attacks. Thus, I must caution all of you to not use any serious attacks on the barrier. No killing would be allowed and no fatal injuries either. That includes cancer." I guess she was being fair here: fair to my enemies that is. "You may use whatever weapon you desire as long as you don''t intend to kill and it''s not illegal. Your opponent either has to be knocked out or give up, for you to win. Good luck and ''GO!''"


    I thought she was going toy out some more rules but I guess this was it.


    And with that, countless people started yelling and running towards me: they were afraid but still charged. I didn''t do anything and just stood there. As they entered my ten-meter radius, everyone, just mmed into an invisible wall. People got on top of people, some got crushed: It was a mess.


    "Hey, get off me!"


    "Stop pushing!"


    "You bastards, those were my balls!"


    Confusion turned to chaos and chaos bred violence. The men were powerful alright, but there were weaklings mixed in. And I even could sense murderous intent: hired killers. So rubbing them off of each other, got more results than I thought.


    Eventually, they started fighting amongst themselves. People dropped like flies.


    Things were going good, but they were too slow. Enough so, I yawned.


    So, I disabled the barrier and fired an arrow in the distance: this bow was even bigger thanst time, not to mention heavier, and even looked cool. I made sure to not target anyone. The size of the explosion was at least ten times bigger and no less than fifty people went flying. ''It wasn''t that strong before.''


    I guess that should have been obvious.


    I was worried that I didn''t identally kill anyone. I looked haphazardly at Rose and she just stood there watching the whole thing. I guess no one died¡­ yet.


    ''I should hold back a bit more.''


    But I did catch everyone''s attention.


    "Hey-hey, no one told me he could do that."


    "Monster!"


    "Stay away!"


    Now the attackers were panicking for very different reasons. And weren''t theying after me?


    "You should really research your opponents first you know. I know my main weapon is radiation, but that''s not everything." I tried to act a bit generous but I had a sinister n.


    With that said, I pointed my finger towards the belly of a middle-aged hired killer and fired. I could tell from his suit and re that he was here to kill me or wound me seriously.


    No one knew what I was doing, except- "Oh no." The man fell on the ground, not believing what just happened. "I''d heard about your mysterious powers that you can take away a person''s masculinity, but-" he sniffed. "I never thought it was true." He started crying. "And I''m not even married yet!"


    Well, that was a rather dramatic way to express himself when all I did was kill a few thousand of his cells. He wasn''t even impotent yet¡­ probably.


    I took a step forward and everyone took a step back. I took another step forward and everyone took another step back. Just the reaction I wanted.


    ''Perfect.''


    With a wide grin, I pointed my hand towards the masses. "Anyone willing to give up? I''ll give you a special prize of not killing your little buddies."


    "I give up."


    "I''m outta here."


    With tears, the men gave up.


    Which left the girls, who were also quite frightened. I actually didn''t know why girls were here. Boys, I could understand but girls?"You know-"


    But before I could say anything, they also gave up. I''d say nearly seven hundred people were already out.


    "Well, my job got a bit easier I guess?" I sighed and sharpened my senses. Just because this was going good didn''t mean I could take it easy and just walk around.


    Because up next, I had professional killers to deal with.


    They weren''t much of a big deal though. And most just either gave up or rolled around on the field.

 Chapter 118 - The Duel Of Pineapples?

    "What is going on here?" Raea red at the battlefield. She had hired assassins, men from her father, and even her most trustworthy followers were on this field. But one by one all were giving up.


    And not to mention, most of the assassins were now on the floor, unconscious or just rolling around sniffing.


    "This was a mistake." She whispered to herself. But it was toote. "Nadar, where are you!?" She looked haphazardly around her for the boy, but he wasn''t here either.


    The very same boy who gave her courage, was not by her side anymore.


    In a matter of a minute, she was alone. She never needed hard work for anything. She was beautiful from the day she was born, inherited bountiful riches and she also had a power that could steal the hearts of men. She could even sway girls to do her bidding. And because of that, she thought she owned the world.


    Whenever she went out, everyone just looked at her, and they all did exactly as she wanted. Of course, she knew there were exceptions but, but even the exceptions were affected.


    But then, why was this happening? Why was some random first-year student ruining her life like this? Why was everything failing?


    "Don''t just stand there, get him," She cried out the orders. There were only three of her fighters left.


    ***


    All three of them ran for the boy, but two fell before even reaching the boy. The third one however was a bit different. He had little hair and his head was shaped like a pineapple.


    He had countless near experiences with death but this was probably the worst one yet.


    "Pineapple crash!" He even had names for his attacks. "Taste my fists! Tis'' the battle of Pineapples!"


    "Sorry, I can''t eat pineapples, they always cut my mouth." But the boy just knocked the man out with one punch. "I still have nightmares about them."


    "Pin-e-appllle!" The man fell but he clung to the ground. "They taste good you know. AH-" He fainted.


    "I know. Mom always forces me to eat them¡­" The boy reminisced something and shook for a second.


    ***


    As thest one of her followers gave up, Raea saw a boying towards her, a boy furiously ring at her and grinning at the same time. In his hand was a scythe and it looked like he was death himself, marching towards her.


    "Beautiful." But the girl''s legs shook and she finally realized- she didn''t have any hope left.


    Cheers came from the sidelines. Prayers came for her too. But it was toote.


    But she had one final trump card remaining. But was it really going to work? ''Surely he can''t resist my charm twice?'' Needless to say, she couldn''t ept reality.


    The crowd was far enough to not see anything. So she took a gamble.


    The boy was now only ten meters away.


    It was now or never.


    "I-I''ll be your ve. Let''s end this." She started to undress herself, and show off a bit of skin. She didn''t have any intention of bing naked and all of this was a ploy. After all, her greatest strength was her body. And she wasn''t going to give up everything she worked (not) so hard for.


    The boy- Helio froze for a second.


    ''It''s working.'' Raea grinned and removed her shirt. Her bra was still on. She didn''t need to remove it. Just seeing her feet was enough to fully charm men and here she was showing most of her cleavage to Helio, of course, it had to work.


    Or so she thought.


    "You know-" But as the boy started walking forward and speaking, Raea''s whole body started shaking anew. It didn''t work. "Didn''t I say I didn''t want bitches like you?"


    "S-stay back!" She didn''t have a weapon. She was so convinced of her victory that she didn''t even carry a saber. She waved her arm around in order to protect herself.


    It wasical if nothing else.


    Helio sighed and picked up a saber from a guy on the ground. He casually threw it at the girl. "Alright, fight me." He had no intention to make this slow. He was going to make this girl pay for what she''d done.


    And Raea knew it. She could see it in the boy''s eyes. ''Damn!'' She bit her lips and started acting faint.


    "Sorry, but I''m not that dumb." Helio dashed forward and sliced the girl.


    The girl''s instinct saved her as she jumped back. It was close and the boy was serious. She couldn''t pretend now. "I give-"


    "Too slow!" The boy swung his scythe furiously! He was very intent on harming this girl, there was no doubt about it.


    Raea tried to deflect and block but nothing worked and the saber broke down.


    "I give up!" Finally, she screamed, taking a solid slice on her left arm. Tears streamed down as she fell on her bottom.


    It was a medium cut, enough to bleed but not enough to warrant emergency action.


    Raea grabbed her arm tight to stop the bleeding.


    "Well, that was anticlimactic." Helio sighed and looked up at the sky.


    The earlier ck sky was a bit less ck. It was still drizzling a little but it wasn''t anything serious anymore.


    Rose came down.


    "You know, you should get changed or you''ll catch a cold." Helio tried to act nice. He had to show at least some gratitude.


    "Thank you for your concern." But Rose wasn''t thinking about something so trivial. "Well done. Now for your prize, I''d assume you don''t want her as your ve and just wanted her to confess, right?" She tried to recall something. "OH, and you said you''d make her life a living hell."


    Helio sighed again. "Don''t know about the living hell part but I do want her to confess." He red at the girl. "Alright, now fess up."


    Rose held her Holo in front of the girl''s face. The Holo streamed her face on the academy web page. They were live.


    All of this was too fast for her. "I-I-" Raea bit her lips again. This was the worst day of her life. "I framed him." But she couldn''t run right now. If she did, she knew she was going to die. This boy wasn''t going to let her go.


    "Why?" Helio was curious if nothing else. It didn''t matter all that much anymore. But it didn''t stop his curiosity from running wild. Just what merit did this girl have from framing him?


    "Because I fell in love with you when I first saw you," Raea spoke innocently. Of course, there was deceit mixed into it, but there was perhaps some degree of truth in it too.


    "Eww!" Helio could almost puke at the sentiment. "Sorry, but I only date humans. Look over there, by that tree, there''s a nonchnt girl trying to hide, I only date that type."


    As Helio spoke a girl in the distance was trying to hide. Perhaps for a moment, she forgot that she could teleport and hide a lot better.


    "Wha?" Now even Raea was confused. ''So that''s why my charm didn''t work? Because you were already in love?''


    "Anyway," Helio came close to the girl''s face and smiled: he was in a good mood. "Don''t ever get near me." He pped her hard, got up. "Thanks again, Rose." He started walking. "I''m done. Be sure to broadcast this thoroughly. ''I''ll take any usations against me, personally.''"


    "You could have been a bit more delicate you know, she''s a girl after all."


    "I don''t discriminate." Helio waved and left the field without looking back. He''d redeemed himself.


    Rose chuckled. "Different from what you thought, isn''t he?"


    Raea however, just stared towards the distance wide eyes opened eyes, leaking a bit, and an utterly confused stare. ''What just happened?'' She didn''t even feel the pain of the wound on her left arm anymore.


    ***


    But Helio really was in a good mood.


    ''Marg came to see me.'' He almost started squirming as he walked down the road.


    But he controlled himself. He couldn''t just run to Marg now and be with her. He had to take this slow and he had to take this steady.


    "Excellent work on the field." Someone walked towards Helio.


    The man had a suit on and looked like a noble of some sort.


    "You are?" Helio''s senses tingled. He became too aware.


    "Just a passing poet." He chuckled. "But please-" As the man crossed Helio- "Don''t let it get to your head," He whispered. "Sess can often lead to arrogance"


    Helio turned around. The man was gone. ''Teleportation?'' His eyes opened wide.


    But a grin surfaced too. There were only seven people alive who had teleportation and five of them were killers. Meaning, there was little chance this man was a good guy. ''So someone''s finally here to kill me?''


    But Helio didn''t sense any killing intent. ''So, why was he here?''

 Chapter 119 - Does News Really Have To Be This Fast?

    With everything done I returned to the dorm and rested. Though it wasn''t much of a fight, it was definitely draining.


    On my way, I''d met someone dangerous but since the man didn''t have any killing intent, I couldn''t do anything about it. If he really was set to kill me, he could have done it right here, when I was tired from fighting. Well, at least he would have tried, right?


    But he didn''t.


    ''So he wasn''t there to kill me?''


    I sighed. Rolling around the bed made me feel like melting to I didn''t want to worry too much about things.


    Oh, this wasfortable.


    "Your reputation seems to be rising up rather fast. Though Raea''s reputation is also growing. People are saying she was just a maiden in love." Merin was on his bed, leg''s crossed, a pillow behind his head. "Some are even rooting for you two."


    Merin was definitely enjoying this whole thing.


    "Don''t make me puke. I hate those types of people." Just thinking about it made me feel vexed. "Anyway, can you bring something up?"


    "What, the qualifications schedule?"


    "Oh yeah, it was going to be released today too." I''d actually forgotten. "Ah, not that, I need that too but, bring up people who can teleport first." My memory was acting funny. In fact, my mind was ying tricks on me from yesterday. I didn''t have another ''we'' moment though.


    I wanted to visit the nurse, but I got the impression she''d just tell mom. ''Who else can I talk to about this?


    Merin frowned. "Fine." He brought it up.


    Thirty or so faces came up. I guess I should have specified about the living ones. I knew three of the many faces. And the one I was searching for- Lt. Demeres.


    "So, that guy was in the military?"


    Meaning, apparently he was the good guy.


    I wasn''t sure about that though.


    "Know him? Why do you look disappointed?" Merin scowled. "Anyway, here-"


    Next came, the qualifications table. Apparently, I had three fights and two of them were back to back. The third one was on the second day. I was basically going to be done by Tuesday.


    "Do I have to win all three?"


    "If you win all three, you won''t have to fight in the quarter-finals and you''ll be ced directly in the semi. If you win two, you''ll be in quarter. If you win one, you''ll have to fight the one who''ll lose in the first quarter. And if you lose three- you know."


    "Sounds like a pain." And awfullyplicated too.


    Merin snickered. "Then just win all three and live a hassle-free life."


    ''Easy for you to say.'' I blew air towards my hair. I needed a haircut. "My opponents?"


    "Your first battle is with- how the hell do you pronounce this!"


    "Leilis."


    Well, this just gotplicated.


    "And your second one is¡­ Robert?" This just got even moreplicated. But thest one was the most troublesome. Apparently, it was Angelmen. "I don''t know. Though you seem stronger to me, I think it''ll be close for the third one."


    Well, at least it wasn''t Marg.


    "Yeah, that guy is a monster on very different levels. He can even smell semen from almost a hundred meters away. Like seriously!" And I saw him do that firsthand.


    "Seriously! That''s so weird, and cool!"


    "Nah, that''s just weird and disgusting."


    But Merin was right, this guy was kind of overpowered and I had to find a way to win.


    "Well, the tournament is mostly about sword skills, so I don''t think his powers will be that much of a problem." Merin wasn''t taking this seriously.


    Honestly, now that I had enough money for chocte, I couldn''t take this seriously either.


    "You mean, there will be points given there too?"


    "Oh? So you''ve heard. Every match from now on will have professional judges. Even if you lose, but win the hearts of the judges, you''ll win. So when I said you''ll need to win all three to go to the semi, I meant you''ll need the most points."


    Merin spoke like he''d assumed I''d already known, which I hadn''t.


    "That''s actually stupid." And I was from a viinous family. Meaning, winning the hearts of the judges wasn''t going to be easy.


    "I know." Merin startedughing. "But it is, what it is. By the end of this week, you''ll be off to the nationals in Berlin."


    ''Why, Germany though?''


    I had issued with Germany. Thest time I was there, I kind of identally blew up a PowerStation. It was an ident, okay?


    And why was this guy just assuming I''d win?


    I sighed and rolled around some more. Ah! This bed wasfortable.


    My phone rang.


    It was mom.


    All thefort disappeared as my heart rate rose up.


    "The fight already got public!?" Sweat poured. I didn''t want to answer the phone, but there was no choice. "Helloo?" I spoke very carefully.


    I kind of didn''t think about the consequences. But mom was sane, right? She''d understand.


    Right?


    "Oh hey!" It was Elsa. Oh, thank the heavens!


    "What''s up?" Relief ran across my body as the tension left.


    "That was so cool. ''I don''t discriminate!''" Elsa raised her voice a little and tried to imitate me. It was over. My life was over. "I never thought you felt that way. Oh, and Mom told me to tell you that you shoulde home right now unless you want her to go there. Bye"


    "B-bye."


    Yup, my life was over.


    I turned like a badly oiled machine. "You don''t happen to know anyone who can use long-distance flight in a matter of seconds right?"


    Merin looked at me awkwardly for a second. "I can ask someone to throw you to the maind and you can take a flight from there?"


    "I think I''ll take a flight from here instead." I did not want to break my bones, no sir!


    "Did you forget they closed the port because of the typhoon?"


    "Oh don''t worry. When they realize how passionate I am, they''ll open it right back up."


    Because if they didn''t, a monster was going to show up here.


    "Uh-huh." Merin wasn''t convinced.


    Honestly, I wasn''t either.

 Chapter 120 - The First Step!

    It was drizzling and the wind was strong. I''d formed a barrier over my head so there wasn''t any worries for the rain. But it felt a bit weird to run around with a scythe at seven.


    All those who saw me shrieked a little, boys and girls alike. ''Maybe I should have just used the trident?'' I willed for it, but nothing happened.


    This thing literally had a mind of its own. And it wanted me to look like a knockoff grim reaper.


    So in the end, I kept on marching through the academy with a scythe, like a maniac.


    There were a lot of students out despite the typhoon though. Sharing umbres and taking up this opportunity for getting close. I saw duos, loads of duos.


    It kind of irritated me but it wasn''t anything I couldn''t handle.


    But then I saw Johnathan and the bunny girl walking down the road, holding hands. They had one umbre and they were awfully close together.


    I wasn''t jealous. I just wanted to make them a bit impotent. I definitely wasn''t jealous.


    Grinding my teeth a little I kept on walking.


    The port was rather close to the academy, about ten minutes if I ran, which I definitely did and almost fell to my doom about half a dozen times.


    But once I reached there, I was just disappointed.


    It wasn''t that, the port was closed. Rather, there was no port. All the choppers were gone. There was nothing left here apart from an old guy, sipping coffee and ording to him, the choppers wouldn''t be back before tomorrow.


    Sigh. ''Then what was the point of meing here?''


    There was nothing for me to do here. ''Guess I''ll just have to apologize to mom.''


    Mom was sensible, kind of. She''d understand.


    I most certainly hoped so.


    ***


    The way back was worse. There were even more couples out now.


    ''They''re just potato bags, don''t worry about them.'' In the end, consoling myself was the best I could do.


    I got back to the dorm and entered my room. It was unlocked.


    Merin was sweating and someone was on my bed, sipping tea.


    "SO what do I owe the pleasure to ''a passing poet'' was it?" I tried to keep my cool, but it was kind of hard to do so.


    The man smiled and sniffed the aroma of the tea. "Beautiful is it now? The dew of life, tea of sublimity-"


    Merin looked at me like a guy who was about to be ughtered.


    "That doesn''t rhyme you know." So I had to end this quickly.


    The guy gave me a re. "Just because it doesn''t rhyme doesn''t mean it''s not great!" Wow, didn''t think he''d start yelling.


    "Alright, alright." This was my second time meeting an obsessed author. "Why are you here?"


    "Oh, forgiveth I, for I had forgotten my due duty." The way he spoke was just like he was reading a poem out loud. Unfortunately, I didn''t like it.He brought out a letter from his breast pocket and ced it on the table, finished the tea in one go, and got up. "I must thank the heavens and the earth, and you, young man, for the tea was lovely." He was staring at Merin with eyes of acknowledgment.


    Meanwhile, all of this just rubbed me off in a not-so-good way. "What''s this all about?"


    "Unfortunately, I wasn''t told." He made a stern salute and vanished.


    I locked the door and went for the letter. "Well, would you look at that, he can speak normally!"


    "It was him!" Merin finally spoke. "The dude you talked about."


    I was actually surprised he remembered.


    "Let''s not get too excited."


    I read the letter out loud.


    "Dear Helio Romswell Jintel,


    Pleasure to meet you. I hope you''re doing well. I''ve included a rmendation letter for you to join the British army. You''re an exceptional talent, don''t waste your life on the sidelines. Come, serve the country and live gloriously!


    I hope to receive a positive and wise reply from you.


    Sincerely,


    Major General Brine."


    This letter rubbed me wrong in more than one way. First of all, there was no meeting, second, I didn''t have enough time to care about the country. I had my own shit to deal with. Andst, why the hell would I want to join the army for no reason at all? And why did they bother to send letters when they could have just contacted me directly through my phone? Granted I didn''t have the best Holo but my phone was good enough.


    I took a look at the rmendation letter and threw it to Merin. "Use it if you want to."


    "You''re not going to give them a reply?" Merin was still shaken but he tried to calm down.


    "I kind of don''t care." I had enough run-ins with the army to know, they were a bunch of powerless good for nothings. "They probably just want to use me."


    I gave mom a call. It rung.


    "You''re not going to say, a typhoon was enough for you to stop you froming, right?" And that was the first thing she had to say.


    There was no doubt about it, she was my mom alright.


    "You know-"


    "Ask Marg."


    "Mom, you know-"


    "I know. Go ask her." She cut the phone.


    Well, this just gotplicated. Nay, this got more twisted than my jumbled-up headphone wires. I didn''t use headphones anymore though.


    "What?" Merin looked at me with confusion.


    I didn''t answer him and just gave Marg a call. She was definitely not going to pick up. I knew it already.


    "Helio?"


    But she sure did.


    It almost surprised me. I thought she wouldn''t bother with me andpletely ignore my calls but I guess I was wrong.


    I gulped. "Can you- take me home?" But I had to take this chance. ''If I can get her there, we can talk.'' This had to work.


    There was silence on the other end for a minute. "It''ll be a one-way ride."


    "Alright." Step one sess!


    ''YES!''

 Chapter 121 - Things Never Go As Planned

    I met up with Marg outside the dorm. She arrived on time, exactly at 8. As usual, she was in her usual clothes and she was fairly normal. This was nothing like thest time she took me back. It was almost as though, she wasn''t even trying anymore.


    ''Calm down.'' I was a bit nervous but I didn''t have time to dwindle. "Hey."


    "Hey." Her words were calm and I couldn''t tell if there was any emotion to that face of hers.


    I really wanted to know though.


    I didn''t want to sigh but the sighs just kept on piling up. "Let''s go."


    I stood right next to her and in a matter of seconds, we were on our way for the door of my home. Of course, I kept my eyes open and took a good look at the ninth dimension. Just likest time, the ce was filled with those eyeless floating thingies and they were searching for light.


    It was a poor sight.


    "I will take my leave now." Marg turned around and was about to leave.


    My door weed me with its usual door-ey-ness.


    "Mom wanted to have a chat with you. There''s still time. Why don''t you have something to eat and then leave?" I tried to be friendly. Of course, I was lying through my teeth. I wasn''t used to lying, so this might havee off a bit weird.


    She red back. "No." She was gone.


    Well, there went that.


    I kind of wanted to tear my hair off right about now. They were kind of falling on their own though.


    I rang the bell, gave a knock, and waited for about a minute. My heart was on fire. I only realized it after Marg left: I was excited. Definitely not in a good way.


    The door opened. I thought it''d be Elsa but it was mom and her condescending re. She was just about my height and yet, her res were awfully condescending and felt like they wereing from way up. Or, was it that I was shrinking?


    "Well, I don''t see her."


    "I told her you wanted to talk but she still left." I didn''t have any excuse.


    She sighed. "Show a little spine. You''re not going to get her like this. Do you have any idea how much your father begged me before I settled down with him?"


    "I actually don''t. You never talk about that." I came inside and mom locked the door.


    She didn''t say a word. I guess that sudden outburst was unintentional.


    "So? I take it, you have ns for tomorrow?" I said.


    "First of all, congrattions on causing more trouble again." I was trying to steer her away from that but she still went for it straight away, and with a smile too. "We''re going shopping tomorrow. You''ll be paying for yourself but it would have still been unfair if we left you out."


    ''Wait, I have to pay for myself?''


    "It''s still unfair though," I mumbled.


    Shopping with mom and Elsa was hell and I didn''t want to live through it ever again.


    "Hmmm?" She red again. "Did you say something?"


    I straightened my back. "Nothing."


    "Good, now go take a shower. You smell worse than your father used to."


    Was it me or was she using the term ''father'' a lot more than necessary? I guess it had something to do with that recent visit or was there something more, something I wasn''t aware of?


    But I had to oblige. "Fine."


    But seriously, I smelled?


    Subconsciously, I took a sniff of my underarms.


    ''Think, I''ll shower ten times a day from now on.''


    I didn''t smell. I reeked.


    ***


    Dinner was actually pretty good. Most were my favorites with Elsa''s favorites mixed in. I guess mom kind of went all out. I didn''t see any of her favorites though.


    She still had a smile the whole time.


    I felt d and yet a bit sad at the same time. If all she cared about was our happiness, then what about her happiness?


    I guess I couldn''t understand that. ''I''ll never have kids.'' I had no intentions of going through what mom was going through, no sir.


    I was almost finished. "I think Marg might have feelings for me. But as you said, I don''t know how deep that is." I was feeling kind of gloomy so I started the conversation.


    Both of them stopped eating for a second and stared at me. Especially Elsa, she was even frowning a bit, and her stare was more like a re.


    "So, what do you n to do with that information?"


    "I''ll confront her head-on. I''ll confront her where she won''t be able to escape." I''d actually been thinking about this for a while now. I didn''t know if this was going to work or not, but I couldn''t stop thinking about it. And I knew, I at least had a shot.


    "That being?" Mom resumed eating.


    "The finals."


    "So, not only are you assuming you''d win, you''re also assuming she''d win too? Isn''t that being awfully na?ve of you?"


    "No, that''s just being awfully optimistic. There''s a difference. And trust me, I''m only making one assumption. I will reach the finals and that''s a fact, not an assumption."


    Mom giggled and almost spilled her drink. "You were always confident but this is probably a step above overconfidence."


    "Oh and, I think something is going on with my seal. Yesterday, I had a ''we'' moment." And I had a bad feeling about all this.


    "WE?" Elsa was a bit confused. She''d stopped eating a long while ago. In fact, she didn''t eat much today. I guess she wasn''t feeling hungry?


    "It could be that your personalities are merging? Any changes in your mindset?" But mom understood regardless.


    "I''m getting more violent thoughts. Yesterday and today I made hundreds of people almost impotent, nearly killed some, and yet, I feel nothing." It wasn''t that I felt nothing. No, it was more like everything felt natural. It was as though, I enjoyed harming others.


    I didn''t like this.

 Chapter 122 - Things Never Go As Planned (part Two)

    Mom looked at me with calctive eyes. "Perhaps you''d want to redo the seal?" She was looking at me carefully, observing me.


    So, I gave her a straight answer. "You and I both know I''m not going to do that, at least not from that vixen."


    This time she really didugh loudly. "Never thought I''d hear you say that. But since you''re being such a good boy, I''ll give you a small bit of advice. Don''t underestimate that bitch. I did and she took him from me. If she tries toy a finger on you, destroy them, I won''t hold it against you: I had my reasons not to pick a fight, but as you are, you can and you can win."


    ''And I never thought I''d hear you say that either.''


    This was the first time ever mom gave me permission to destroy something. And she was serious too. For a second I was too surprised to even say a word. I took a nce at my right and Elsa was just as surprised.


    But this only meant, I had mom''s blessing.


    So, me going over to the Battlesuins and thrashing everything was still an option.


    And wait, mom didn''t even say a word about the ''making impotent'' part. I had a feeling she didn''t really care if I turned into a viin and was just putting up a front. Of course, I didn''t have the guts to ask that directly.


    Well, I was done eating anyways. "Oh, and I n to marry Marg so we might have to fight the Rodwichs." I stood up. I dropped the bomb on her. Marriage was a rather big thing and I kind of wanted to think more about it before telling it to these guys. But they deserved to know more about my intentions, so I held nothing back. "Of course, only if Marg wants to." I winked.


    "I know." Mom was done eating and was having her tea. I had no idea where she was fitting all this stuff. But seriously, she knew? "And don''t worry about them, they won''t be a problem." And she was being nonchnt about this too.


    ''At least say something!'' Boy, oh, boy was I disappointed.


    And mom had already taken care of the Rodwich problem? Well, that was news to me. But seriously?


    Sigh!


    "Alright." I was feeling a bit tired and my bed was calling me from upstairs. So instead of thinking too much- "Night." A good night''s sleep was something that I was looking forward to for a while.


    My lovely,fy bed. ''Here Ie bed, just you wait for me.''


    ***


    Elsa''s fork danced with the food but the food refused to get into her mouth. In fact, she couldn''t bring herself to eat or drink anything. ''He''s going to get married?''


    She looked at her mother who was still having tea. "Mom, I can''t-" She couldn''t stand this anymore. Her heart couldn''t take this anymore. She''d hid her feelings long enough.


    "No." Her mother didn''t even look at her. Her mother already knew, she knew Elsa''s feelings.


    "But- I''m not even-"


    "No means no. He has eyes for someone else. Besides, he only sees you as a sister, nothing more, nothing less. There''s no point in having feelings. We''re family and we love each other as family. If you went out of your way, our bond might fracture and he might end up hating you, do you want that? "


    Elsa looked at the table, at her unfinished food. "No." Her voice was small and her eyes shimmered. "I''ll be in my room." She got up and left. But the tears didn''t stop.


    ***


    Helio''s mother sighed a great deal. ''Why the hell did I ever get married.''


    She supported her head against her arm.


    She reminisced about the past. She met Helio''s father rather early in life. Back then he was just another arrogant nobody and yet¡­ She fell. Of course, she never admitted it, not until Helio''s father proposed first. She watched as the arrogant boy gradually turned into a man. But even as a grown-up, he made all sorts of silly attempts to impress her.


    He even stormed the Romswell mansion for her, only to be beaten to a pulp but Helio''s grandfather.


    Her memories really were fun. Those were good times. Even her married life was fun. Of course, there was trouble and even disasters. Her firstborn dying right after being born was one such cmity. But she was happy: her second son wasn''t healthy either but at least he was alive. Those were the happiest days of her life. She''d have done anything to get them back.


    And yet¡­


    And yet¡­ everything shattered and now all she had were worries and just the distant memories. ''But I still have my kids and I don''t want to lose them.'' That''s why she was going to protect this bond no matter what. No matter the cost.


    ***


    Marg returned to her room. Her roommates were in the bathroom, having some fun. She could hear the fun and it was getting annoying.


    Noise-canceling headphones were a thing, so she used those.


    Her appearance was calm but her heart was not.


    ''Why was he so flustered?''


    Marg was already convinced of what she needed to do. And getting weak now, only meant she didn''t have enough resolve.


    And yet, it was her heart that was racing. ''Maybe I shouldn''t have said no like that. What if he thinks I was treating him like a nuisance?'' But she already knew, she really was treating Helio like he was a nuisance. She was avoiding him and she was making sure her interactions with the boy were minimal.


    And yet, she couldn''t stop herself from asking whether Helio actually forced himself on Raea. But when she found joy in knowing he didn''t, she was shocked herself. ''Do I¡­ love him?''


    What was love anyway?


    If she chose her family''s decision she was going to get her revenge. But if she chose Helio, not only would Helio be in serious trouble but also her mother was going to suffer too. After all, her mother was nothing more than just a servant.


    Indecisions were eating her alive.


    Lying in bed, hands over her eyes, she had only one thought. ''Would it really have been better if I wasn''t born?''

 Chapter 123 - When The Day Of Is More Troublesome Than

    Yawn.


    It was a good sleep and I had good dreams. I kind of had a patch on my trousers but who cared. A good dream was a good dream.


    Knock*


    "We''re ready-" Mom walked in, saw the patch instantly. What was she, a hawk? "Do take a shower first." She left while suppressing her giggles.


    My face twitched.


    Embarrassment was in the air.


    ***


    It was around eleven and most of the stores were jam-packed. I guess this was natural since today was a holiday after all.


    The roads however wasn''t that crowded and since we were walking, we didn''t really care.


    "This weather doesn''t seem that great though. Maybe we should have brought an umbre?" Mom was talking to herself.


    "No need. I can make barriers if I need to."


    Both of them looked at me with curiosity. And that curiosity turned to excitement just secondster. "Since when!?" And they even spoke in unison!


    I guess I never told them about the powers of my scythe. I guess it wasn''t a scythe anymore though, as I could shape it to whatever I wanted. Actually, I didn''t check the saber all that much. I didn''t have time and my hands were kind of burned. It only got healed yesterday, and yesterday was definitely busy for me.


    "I''d rather not get into all that but my saber can do that."


    Mom looked at me with a bit of frown. "Dad''s dream was to have barriers as a superpower. Who''d have thought-?"


    She stopped and turned around, I turned my head sideways. Elsa was gone.


    I kind of let my guard down as mom was here but I guess that was just stupidity.


    It took me roughly three seconds to realize that Elsa was being kidnapped by a middle-aged man who was carrying her like a princess to a nearby truck.


    "Why isn''t she drowning them?" Actually, she wasn''t even fighting back.


    Mom sighed. "Go, save her, I guess."


    Well, she sure was calm about this.


    I turned on the saber and ran fast.


    "Oi- stay back!" Hardcore British ent. There were three of them.


    One driving, one carrying Elsa and one pointing a gun at me.


    I didn''t know if they knew who we were or not, but poor guys.


    It took me three seconds to catch up and two seconds to beat them up. These morons didn''t have anything other than in guns. They did fire at me but unfortunately for them, I had a barrier.


    With all three men down, Elsa got up and smiled. "Thanks."


    My cheeks twitched. "We could have avoided this-"


    "Let''s go." She skipped towards mom.


    What was wrong with this girl?


    We didn''t have time to wait for the police to show up so I moved on.


    It was early morning and already life was full of sighs.


    Mom didn''t say a word about this and just moved as well.


    "So, where are we going first?"


    "To get you a Holo."


    I guess she knew I was skipping all these things. So I didn''t argue and just followed her.


    Eventually, we reached a store, I picked something and waited an hour to buy it. Why the wait? Bargaining of course. The price of the Holo was ten gold. But after an hour of unnecessary debate, it was reduced to four gold. I wish I had that superpower, I certainly didn''t want to waste all this much time though.


    But yeah, now after a whole hour of mindless grinding of words, I now had a Holo. Of course, I had to pay. I didn''t have any idea how this thing worked though.


    I still had about a gold and a half left. Meaning, I had enough for chocte milk and bread.


    Next, we went to a clothes store and I got some clothes. Of course, I had to stand by and watch mom bargain for half an hour and then that was it. I was done. It was fairly easy till now.


    And I still had one gold left too.


    But now came the most grueling part. The actual shopping part of the shopping. Mom and Elsa both were going to buy clothes and some other necessities.


    We were going to be out here forever. And I was going to be dragged into stores I didn''t want anything to do with. There was no choice.


    I had to shove embarrassment out of my system for today. Otherwise, I''d have ended up dead from the sheer amount of shame my eyes were umting.


    Well, it did end roughly four hourster just before the afternoon. I was spent and my mind was filled with frills. At least it was over.


    Finally. I sipped on the KitKat shake and looked at the sky. ''Finally.''


    "Oh yeah, I wanna buy some shoes," And then Elsa had to open her big mouth.


    I could almost sniff, and I really wanted to cry right now. This was supposed to be my holiday and yet, here I was, carrying bags and going around forever in this endless shopping spree.


    It did feel nice to see both mom and Elsa smile like this though. It was rare.


    But seriously, someone end my suffering already!


    ***


    With the break over, we walked to a shoe store.


    It started raining.


    ''What is wrong with this weather?'' I turned my saber on. And then, realized there were two more people inside.


    And I knew both of them, I even fought them. They were the ones who offered me 10k gold for being employed with them. Obviously, I''d declined.


    "Can I help you?" It started raining rather haphazardly so I couldn''t kick them out without getting drenched myself.


    People ran around us desperately trying to get some shelter. Well, that was UK weather for ya.


    "Pardon me, but I seem to have forgotten to bring the umbre." The girl spoke but the guy didn''t. Both were in their suits.


    But now that I watched carefully, the guy was actually looking behind me, towards mom.


    "You know these two?" Mom asked.


    "Remember that job offer?"


    "Oh yeah." I could tell, mom was a bit irritated.


    But this guy, this guy just took small steps and right before mom''s feet bowed- or so I thought at first. He was on one leg like he was proposing or something. "Wo-would you go out with me?"


    ''Heh? Huh?''

 Chapter 124 - And So, The Second Obnoxious Holiday Finally Comes To An End

    Was this guy out of his little mind? Did he have a death wish?


    "Excuse me?" Mom was confused for a second.


    I was surprised she didn''t punch him right away. Mom was being awfully patient this time around. Meaning, something very bad was about to happen if nothing was stopped.


    "Hey you-"


    But the guy ignored my entire existence. "I have been mesmerized by your beauty. I don''t care if you''re married. I don''t care if you have kids. All I want is a date with you, oh my lovely goddess. Nay, your beauty surpasses that of a goddess!" Was this guy seriously like this before?


    Becausest time he sure made a different impression on me. And not to mention now he sounded like a cheap poet. He was actually a bit better than that self-proimed poet-Dem whatever guy though.


    Elsa looked at him with a dull stare but mom, mom was blushing. She blushed with a hand on her face and smiled. "No." She proceeded to kick the man''s junk and flung him straight to the barrier''s end.


    Poor guy. And I''d tried to warn him too.


    Well, after seeing this same thing y out for almost two decades now, I wasn''t too surprised. I just didn''t think she''d blush like that. I guess she was in a good mood.


    "Sir, sir! Are you alright!" the girl shook the fallen man.


    After a kick like that? Was he okay?


    Definitely not.


    "I''m fine. Such beauty." The guy spoke with serious pain.


    Yup, he was an idiot. And he probably got brain damage from this too.


    Mom was certainly beautiful but really, the guy still thought she was beautiful even after being kicked there, like that? What was wrong with him?


    "Let''s go." Mom walked.


    I walked too. Meaning the guy was going to be dragged by the barrier if he didn''t move. It was still raining hard so I didn''t want to kick him out.


    He did get up fast, but the way bent his spine, I really did feel bad for the poor guy. "Can either of you use ice? I need some?"


    My pity for him only intensified.


    We stopped by a mall and kicked- ahem, escorted the guy out. He was very intent on getting mom''s number but in the end, settled for having mine instead. Obviously, I didn''t mind. He was a cash cow, and I had devilish ideas.


    I tried fiddling with the Holo and it was fairly intuitive. So no worries there: I gave him my new number. ''I''ll memorize youter.''


    I still didn''t know half of the functions of this thing though.


    With all that behind us, buying new shoes took another hour and a half and by the evening we were done.


    All that was left was a dinner out and that was it. I actually thought my cheapskate mother would want to skip this but she still insisted and we didn''t have the guts to say no. Andpared to the clothes and all this a dinner wasn''t that expensive anyway.


    But I got the impression mom was spending at least half of her monthly sry for today. ''I guess I should try to win a bit harder.'' If I could earn enough money, I could aid mom and if that was enough to make her life a bit easier then I was going to try extra hard for it.


    ***


    The food was good but I preferred my chocte milk and bread over all this. Both Elsa and I ate rather greedily though. Mom ate more than usual too. Of course, the bill was rather long because of that.


    For the first in my life, I paid for food while my mother was present, and now I was broke again.


    Sigh.


    We were back at home by nine.


    It wasn''t the best of the days but it wasn''t the worst either. Actually, it might not have been that bad.


    "I have two fights tomorrow so I''ll turn in early." And I had something special saved up that needed my immediate attention too.


    "Goodnight."


    "Can Ie?" Elsa asked.


    "Well, I did promise you," I said reluctantly.


    "YAY!" She grabbed my arm. "So you''ve finally fallen for my charms. Will you get married to me?"


    "Huh?" I gave mom a nce and she just sighed. I gave Elsa a rather painful pinch on her cheeks. She was immediately reduced to tears. "I know you love me and all, but don''t joke around like that. And as I promised you cane watch the fights but that''s it. And don''t create any trouble, okay?"


    "Okay." Elsa didn''t look at me and sobbed.


    Honestly, what a handful. "Goodnight guys."


    But I didn''t dislike this. She was my little selfish sister after all.


    So, with everything behind me, I ran up and locked the doors. But there was a smirk on my face. I''d actually brought something. 100ml of chocte milk. It was just enough to satisfy my taste buds a bit and it was also not enough to make me sick.


    Perfect.


    With a devilish smirk, I savored the true nectar of the heavens.


    And then I realized. ''Didn''t I have a shake just this afternoon?'' And it was extrarge too.


    Meaning, tomorrow was going to be very eventful indeed.


    ''Shit.''


    Oh, well, it''s not like this stopped before anyway. I slept.


    ***


    Sleep was good but since I had to wake up at six, not as much as yesterday. And I had to spend extra time in the bathroom because of my 100ml adventurest night.


    I did some exercise, took a shower, ate some food, and got ready to head out for the station. I had to take a flight today or I''d surely bete.


    I couldn''t call Marg now. I was going to confront her head-on.


    "Take care." Mom had work, so she didn''t see me off. Her work started around ten, so I guess she had preparation to do before setting off. And Elsa was still sleeping so she had responsibilities to feed her too.


    "I will. Will youe today?"


    "I don''t think I''ll make it: I''ve skipped enough this month. They might pay me 10 gold less because of that. I wille by if you make it to the finals though."


    I smirked. "Then you better get that paid leave ready." And with that said I ran for the station.

 Chapter 125 - Falling? Falling!

    Flights were always terrible. But in my case, it was more like a disaster.


    I had to focus way too much, so I didn''t be a flight risk and then there was the fact that this flight was only going to take me to the edge of France. From then on, I''d have to either swim or take a boat. I preferred thetter but that would have taken some time too.


    If only I could fly like my grandfather.


    Sigh.


    And why wasn''t this ne taking off though?


    I''d been sitting tight for over half an hour now and it was supposed to take off nearly seven minutes ago. So what happened?


    If we waited any longer I''d bete whether I liked it or not.


    "Excuse me?" I called one of the attendants.


    She just ignored me.


    There were other passengers calling the attendants too, but no one was paying attention to anyone.


    Something wasn''t right.


    And just when I was about to stand up- the ne moved.


    Well, I guess they were being like this since they knew we were about to take off anyway. But didn''t the captain usually used to say a few words before the flight?


    And most of the attendants were sweating a bit too.


    Well I guess,ining wasn''t going to help anyway. SO, without making a fuss, I put on someplimentary headphones and looked out the window. Taking off, the sky, all this stuff always kind of bored me. I wanted to fly, but on my own powers not by some flying potential death tube.


    Sigh.


    We were pretty high up in the air and it was going to take about half an hour from here. We were going much faster than the speed of sound, but I kind of wanted this thing to go faster. Because even if I ended up catching a fast boat from the port, it''d be close. I had ten minutes extra with everything calcted. And since this thing started seven minuteste, I only had three minutes to actually get a ship once wended.


    Life was a drag.


    Yawn. I kind of wanted to sleep some more though.


    "This is your captain speaking. There has been a slight change of course and we''re heading to Siberia."


    That was it and it caught my attention over the headphones. Everyone looked around thinking this to be a joke.


    "What the hell?" I was kind of confused too. Since when did airlines be this childish?


    Was someone running an borate prank? Why?


    About seven guys dressed in ck walked inside thepartment with sabers and phasers in hand. They all had facemasks- with holes for their mouths- on and a grin too.


    Well, I guess this wasn''t a prank.


    "We''re taking over and you are our hostages. If everyone behaves nicely and we get our money, all will be cool." One of the guys said, probably the leader.


    Meaning if they didn''t get their money, all wouldn''t be cool.


    "But young man-" An old man stood up. He was frail and kind of right next to the thug.


    "You perhaps don''t understand geezer." The guy pulled out his phaser and pointed it straight at the man''s head.


    The passengers understood the situation, so they didn''t make a scene. ''Spineless wusses.''


    The thug pulled the trigger and a ball of hot sma almost vaporized the man- or so it looked like. But nothing happened.


    "Excuse me?" I raised my hand and stood up. "I''m getting kind ofte for my ss, so can you guys drop me off-ind to the north? I''ll turn a blind eye to this, in that case." Of course, I didn''t have any reason or intention to keep my word.


    "Zip it kid!" the man had a vexed look. I guess the sudden dispersion of his shot kind of irked him.


    Another man pointed a gun at me and signed me to sit down. "We have an energy diffuser with us, so don''t think about using any powers."


    "Moron!" The leader guy clicked his tongue. "How''d he know about the diffuser? He''s a civilian!"


    And these morons were quarreling amongst themselves already.


    I''d heard about energy diffusers before but they were only used by the military, so how did these sorry excuses for thugs, get their hands on one? And not to mention they just assumed I didn''t know. Wait, where did I actually learn this from?


    I couldn''t remember.


    "Well, kinda sorry about what''s going to happen next." With a smirk, I made my saber into a small knife andunched myself forward. I''d kept it on just to make a barrier before, without shaping anything in particr.


    The ce was small so fighting wasn''t the best idea. And since this ne was still in flight, I had to do this quickly and I had to do this carefully.


    "You moron!" He fired at me.


    I blocked the shot. Wasn''t he the idiot to fire in apartment like this?


    "Right back at ya." I turned the knife instantly to a spear and disarmed them, cutting off their fingers in the process. I couldn''t be fast and urate at the same time and I didn''t want to either. These guys were literally trying to kill me after all.


    All six of them rolled on the floor after two or three punches and kicks. Weaklings.


    I wondered what was wrong with the thugs of this country.


    I was kind of disappointed.


    ps came from behind me. It was the crowd. This time they were sitting peacefully, just watching the show. Did they want popcorn or something?


    I didn''t know why but all of these things made my mood a lot worse than it should have.


    "Thank you, young man." The geezer looked awfully d. Well, guess I''d at least done one good thing.


    I didn''t respond to the crowd, gave the geezer a nod, and just made through the whole ne. There were fourteen thugs in total and I''d punched the lights out of twelve. The other two were in the cockpit.


    No door was enough to stop me.


    Once at the cockpit, I punched the remaining two thugs and ended this charade. "Can you fly over this ind? And you guys have parachutes, right?" I didn''t know how much we deviated from the path or how far we were, I kind of just wanted to get to the ind as fast as possible.


    There were two pilots driving. The two thugs on the floor were still rolling around in pain.


    "That''s against the protocol, so I''m afraid-" the assistant attempted.


    "Who, are you, young man?" The captain didn''t look at me but spoke casually.


    "Helio R. Jintel."


    "Th-the cursed mask?" The assistant jumped, hearing my name.


    I sighed. I even purposefully didn''t pronounce my family name too.


    "W-we can take you there!"


    That was fast.


    "Thanks." I didn''t care. If this was going to get me at school quickly, it was cool.


    I returned back to my seat and only momentster, I was surrounded by attendants.


    "Sir, here!"


    Apparently, I was now their sir, and they even tried to hand feed me food: I''d declined for obvious reasons. They were treating me like royalty.


    Oh well, this might not have been that bad.


    Forty minutes flew by in a sh and we were about ten thousand meters above the ind.


    "You sure you''ll be okay!?" The attendant screamed loud as the hatch opened near the back of the ne. There was a bunch of cargo here but there wasn''t anybody else besides the two of us.


    "Confident!" I gave her a thumbs up and jumped.


    She made a cone with her hands. "Good luck!" Her voice kind of reached me a bitte as the ne kept on moving.


    I had a backpack and it had a parachute.


    I fell fast but everything was normal. I''d done this before once, but I couldn''t remember when. Probably during my nk period. ''Had gramps seriously thrown me from a ne or something?'' I couldn''t deny the possibility.


    I spun around a little and looked at the clouds. This was kind of fun. I could see how this became a sport.


    I even tried some handsome poses. It was a shame there weren''t any mirrors here.


    Wait, the Holo!


    I took a selfie and with everything done, nearly halfway through, I pulled the string and a parachute came out.


    Everything was okay and I was confident of mynding skills¡­. Until I wasn''t.


    The parachute kind of detached itself from the back and the bag detached itself from me. Did I strap things wrong? Did I do something wrong? Was my fate just full of falling?


    I didn''t know.


    But one thing I did know, the parachute had failed and I was falling down at rapid speeds to the ground.


    Confidence? There was none.


    "AHHHHHHH!!!!" My screams filled the heavens as the ground came closer and closer.


    I''d probably break more than just bones. ''Holy FUc*ing bloody hell!''

 Chapter 126 - Wait, What About The Fight?

    "AHHH!" My voice gradually got lower and lower.


    This was a long fall and there was no doubt in my mind that I was about to be ttened. But wasn''t the ground taking a bit too long toe up? Wait, it was the other way around.


    And then I realized.


    ''What the hell?'' I wasn''t actually falling with the same speed I was, even just a few seconds go.


    I was three hundred-ish meters high, so I tried ejecting a bit of infrared and that was enough to give me a push.


    "I''m flying?"


    It was more like floating though. And I was still going down, regardless. Just with less speed this time around.


    I was falling to my death nearly a minute ago and even now I was gradually falling, but I was definitely excited.


    The ground was near and I was still excited. "Just a little more!" I tried to fly to the best of my abilities. I decreased my density, increased the density around, and even used infrared as propulsion. It was almost working too¡­ until it wasn''t, and I fell straight to the ground.


    "AW." And I''d probably broke a rib too: Inded on the field, so it wasn''t as bad asnding on concrete: at least I didn''tnd on people."ARGH!" But I did arrive twenty minutes early for ss, so that was something.


    It still hurt like hell and I couldn''t breathe, let alone scream.I couldn''t even move.


    "Are you okay" Promptly I got surrounded by students and was carried to the nurse''s office? Strangely, the students were treating me a lot better, especially the boys.


    "Thank you for not choosing her!"


    "Always had a crush on her, if you''d chose her I''d have cried."


    "But you chose to be manly and we respect you!"


    And so on.


    No wonder these morons were acting so nicely.


    It felt stupid and cringe at the same time. It didn''t feel that bad but the same couldn''t be said about the pain.


    They dropped me off at the nurse''s office and left for their respective sses.


    Once there, I saw the nurse use her Holo to call. I was lying on the bed and could hardly breathe.


    Talking was a chore too. "If you call her, trust me, I''ll give you so many kinds of cancer, you''ll regret knowing some of them can''t be cured." I had to take multiple breaths through my mouth while I talked.


    Suffice to say, I was out of breath already.


    "Everything can be cured." She came close, stared directly into my eyes: I could feel her breath. "And I wasn''t calling your mother, but now, I just might."


    My forehead twitched. I''d dug my own grave. "She''s at work and she missed a lot of work this week. Can you please not do that?" I pleaded. "Sorry? Pretty please?" I pleaded some more.


    Some hypocrite, I was.


    She sighed. "You''re weird but as her friend, I''ll try not to disturb her work." The nurse put a hand on my chest: I wanted to scream but I knew screaming would have only increased the pain. "Two broken bones and you almost stabbed your lungs with a rib too. Lucky."


    "How''s that lucky?" I managed.


    "Because if you had fallen just two degrees angled towards the right, you''d be dying right about now."


    Oh! That shut me up quite nicely.


    The nurse made me take off my clothes and rubbed some kind of gel on the bruise on my chest. Boy did it hurt!


    She also checked the rest of my body and confirmed that I only had three fractures on my leg and left hand. Strangely I didn''t feel them as much as I did with the chest.


    I wanted to cry. "Are you done yet?" I really wanted to cry.


    "Be sure to rest for the week. With the gel, it should heal in two days but jumping around or swinging anything might make them crack again."


    "Huh? But I have matches today!" I shouldn''t have talked in a loud voice, because now my chest hurt even more.


    But I couldn''t afford to not fight.


    "Then, forfeit! What''s more important, your life or some kid''s tournament? Your life is more important. Or do you want me to call your mother?" This woman was really not holding anything back.


    "Sorry, but even if mom herself came here, I still wouldn''t have listened. I have my reasons for doing this, if you can fix me, then please do so, but I have to do this no matter what."


    After all, I had to fight Marg in this tournament to confront her. Meaning, I had to win these matches no matter what.


    She stared at me, rather rudely. She went towards the freezer and brought out a frozen vial. She also had a syringe on hand. ''Oh shit.''


    "It was you, who asked for this, by the way." She grinned.


    I tried to get up but the chest pain was still crippling me. "Can we not do that?" I knew it didn''t hurt as much as I thought, but I still didn''t want to experience that that thing again. "But will it make this heal faster?"


    She walked casually and sat down. "You wanted to fight, so I''m just making sure you won''t end up dead. And no." She proceeded to impale my arm.Last time it was barely like a fire ant''s pinch. This time? This time it hurt extra. And she purposefully made it hurt too. "Make sure to remember this pain the next time you have the brilliant idea of jumping from the top of the academy."


    "What?" I was almost reduced to tears. And what did she mean this won''t make me heal faster? Then what was the point of this? "I didn''t jump from there. I jumped from a pl-" I was almost about to spill the beans too. But my head was going funny. It spun. But if it hadn''t, I might have spilled a lot more beans than necessary.


    "Looks like its working. Sleep well now. And don''t worry, I''ll be sure to give your mom the memo. Jumping off a ne, huh? Hmmm¡­"


    Her voice disappeared as everything just stopped working and the world became too quiet.


    ***


    A white room.


    No sound.


    A grinning shadow in the corner sitting on a stool.


    It didn''t take a genius to know where I was.


    But my head did ache and I felt seriously groggy. The first time I didn''t feel anything, I didn''t feel anything the second time either. But ever since the seal had broken, my headache just got worse and worse when I was in this ce.


    "Why am I here?" I grabbed my head and tried to focus.


    "I gave you clues, I even helped you fly, and yet, what a failure." The shadow chuckled. "I can do a hundred times better than that."


    Was this thing mocking me?


    "Yes, I am mocking you."


    And it could also read my thoughts. Yay. "So, what do you want?"


    It looked at me a bit confused and chuckled again. "Even after knowing the reality, you still wish to y dumb? You still wish to not grant me my freedom?"


    I sighed. "You know, you''re freedom is great and all, but, what about mine? I''ve lived all my life in this body, you can''t just tell me to hand it over to you and stay here." Because that was just ridiculous.


    "THEN what about ME! I''ve been stuck here ever since I was born! I want FREEDOM!" This guy could scream loud, really loud.


    I guess he didn''t know, no man was free. Everyone is bound to something.


    "I know, I know you want to get out. But you have to ept that I''m the one in control and I''d like to stay in control. If you guys are me, then be happy, after all, if you''re me, than doesn''t that mean you''re also in charge?" I was kind of confused to what I just said.


    "Hypocrisy at its finest. Your words don''t mean anything. We may be of the same origin, but we''re not the same." He red."One day, I will have my freedom. You can''t stop me."


    "Uh-huh? How do I get out again? I don''t want to stay here."


    "Then get out? You can go live in that darkness if you want." With that said the shadow actually kicked me out of that room and then the small apartment-like ce, and into the darkness.


    I was flying out but- "AHH!" halfway through I stopped screaming. I had enough screams for one day.


    I fell roughly a hundred meters away from the nearest door.


    At first, I thought this ce was purely just darkness but it wasn''t. It was gray.


    I looked back and the white room was actually in the middle of the gray zone.


    A groan. Behind me.


    It was the liquid darkness thing and it had seen me. But there was nowhere to run.


    It came for me. It came for in with zing speeds.


    I tried to run, but the darkness beneath my feet was like water, slowing me down.

 Chapter 127 - How Do You Kill Yourself?

    Running wasn''t working, and the darkness was just a meters away.


    "Hey, can''t you help me?" I red back towards the white ce.


    The shadow only had a grin and nothing else. It didn''t even say a freaking word.


    ''Damn!'' I was about to be caught.


    I tried to use my powers, but nothing. I guess my powers weren''t going to work here, obviously.


    It caught me and came in front of me.


    It was right in front of me: I couldn''t look away. It was dark like it was sucking in all the light. And yet, I could see a face, I could see tears. ''What the hell?''


    It was the same height as me and just centimeters away from my face, it stopped. It stared deep into my eyes, touched my cheeks as tears streamed down both its face and mine. As the two of us connected just one memory shed in front of my eyes. The memory of my grandfather, the time when he stopped me: the time when he sacrificed himself. The liquid darkness'' sadness poured into me. "Kill me¡­" The darkness''s voice was slow and faint. What? "Before I kill-"


    My head hurt: it hurt badly. It was no longer an ache, rather it was like someone was shoving a knife down my brain.


    "ARHGHJ!" I woke up screaming.


    My back was straight, my chest didn''t hurt, and nor did anything else in my body. I still did a double-check and everything was mostly healed. But everything just felt heavy.


    ''The nurse''s office?''


    ''What was that?'' My breathing was erratic and even now a stream of tears was flowing down my cheeks. It was involuntary and I couldn''t stop it.


    ''I can''t let any of them out.'' I stared at my hand. The darkness indicated a future, a future where it could have potentially harmed my loved ones. I didn''t want that. ''But how do you kill yourself?''


    Was it even possible to kill that? But- if the sealed kin part of me really was bad, why would it feel pain, why would it feel sadness over the death of my family? Why would it choose my family over its destruction?


    I really wanted to know.


    But more importantly, I was still in the nurse''s office? The curtains around the bed were kind of closed but just as I turned my head to my left, I noticed something: rather, someone. I really didn''t want to though.


    "What are you doing here?"


    She sniffed and was already in tears. "What were you thinking?" Elsa wrapped her arms around me. I was still shirtless, so I didn''t want her touching me. Though I couldn''t stop her at this point. "Does it hurt too much, is that why you''re crying?"


    I wiped my tears immediately. "Just had a bad dream. Don''t worry about it. I''d assume, mom, is here too?" I kind of didn''t her to though.


    She was definitely going to go nuts if she knew I''d jumped from a ne.


    Elsa smirked. "No. She wanted to, but since I''m all you need-" Her head was promptly banged by a piece of rolled paper. "Aww-" She sniffed some more.


    I looked up and found the only woman in the world I didn''t want to see. Mom.


    "Jumping of a ne, you never cease to amaze me and you even saved the passengers and then hijacked the ne yourself?" She showed me an article and apparently it was about me. Busted. She was smiling but the veins on her forehead were throbbing. This was bad. "And what do I hear that you still want to fight?"


    "W-what day is it?" I tried changing the subject. But this also reminded me that I had two fights on Monday and one on Tuesday.


    "Tuesday." Elsa sulked.


    "Hey- I actually had a-"


    Mom pulled Elsa away from me like she was pulling a cat away from the curtains and peered deep into my eyes. "You still want to fight?" Her words were slow and very urate. Her re was also rather condescending.


    I took a deep breath. "I have to- no- I want to."


    "You don''t have to fight to speak to her. You can always just ask her directly. Whether she''d answer or not is totally up to her, but, there are other options too." Mom straightened up and gave me a solid response. "But in the end, what you''re doing, is just hoping everything will work out. You''re not even trying."


    I knew she was right, and yet¡­.


    "Besides, it''s already eleven now." Elsa yawned.


    "The matches start around 4, so-"


    "11 pm."


    "Oh-" My whole world kind of crumbling down. I sighed.


    Mom sighed too. "The boy you were supposed to fight today, took the day off, meaning the fight was postponed and you can fight this match tomorrow."


    "Huh?"


    Mom turned around. "We''re leaving."


    I guess she wasn''t opposed to this.


    But- I wasn''t even trying? Even though I wanted to do all this, mom thought I wasn''t even trying?


    Sigh. I didn''t know what to think anymore.


    Elsa frowned but got up and left with mom, but just before leaving, she sent a flying kiss towards me. But before she could finish, mom grabbed her head and pulled her out.


    That must have hurt.


    Lately, she got a lot daring than usual.


    I sighed some more and just lied down again, a hand on my forehead.


    The ceiling was kind of weird and had stripes.


    ''What do I do now?''


    I didn''t know, I really wanted to though, but I didn''t want to fall asleep either.


    ''Should I confront her directly?'' But what if she ran away? I wasn''t just nervous, I was afraid. Mom was right, I really was just hoping for the best.


    ''Then perhaps¡­''


    But eventually, my eyes shut tight and I met gramps in my dreams. Those early days of my life were good times.


    ***


    "You sure, you didn''t want to talk to him?" Helio''s mother spoke in a soft voice just outside the nurse''s office.


    "It''s fine." A girl stood next to them.


    Helio''s mother sighed. "You''re young and I know what you think you''re doing, is probably the best choice- at least that''s what you''re thinking. But let me give you just one piece of advice, perhaps seeing things from a different perspective and thinking ''was that really the best option- or do I have a better one?'' might be a good idea. After all, everyone has a lot more options than they might have assumed at first. " Helio''s mother smiled.


    The girl didn''t say anything and all three of them vanished. A secondter, only the girl came back. ''I know that!'' She wanted to scream, but she couldn''t. She knew it but- it was toote.


    And yet, she felt bad not meeting the injured boy inside.


    ***


    Even without the rm, I woke up early. I kind of hated my system for being this used to all this but there was nothing I could do about it now.


    My shirt was hanging along with the curtains.


    I buttoned myself, rechecked my whole body, and did a bit of stretching. So far, so good. But I got the impression I wouldn''t be able to do anything more than just walk around for now.


    "You sure, you want to go out?" The nurse was already in her seat.


    I actually didn''t think she''d be here this early.


    "Positive." I gave her a smile and went out.


    "Good luck. I''d appreciate it if you didn''te back every week."


    I didn''t have any ill feelings towards her. I knew she did what she did for my own good, but I kind of wished she didn''t take a drastic measure like this. And did she really have to be this blunt?


    Sigh.


    Why was my life so full of sighs?


    It took a bit of time but I reached the dorm eventually. My body didn''t hurt but I had to walk slowly.


    ''So Angelmen postponed because of me?'' I guess I really had to thank the guy next time. But could I really beat him while in this pitiful state, when I could barely walk around without feeling like bones would break down?


    I didn''t know, but I was definitely willing to find out.


    Knock!


    I knocked but the door just opened on its own. It wasn''t locked. I went in. everything was normal. Merin just wasn''t here. ''Why would he go out without locking the door?''


    I guess he might have been in the bathroom or something.


    It was eight right now, and Merin always woke up around this time, so I guess it was definitely feasible.


    With another sigh, I opened the mini-fridge grabbed a bit of food, and heated it with infrared. ''What am I- a microwave?'' I wasn''t using microwaves though.


    The fried chicken was soggy and greasy, but at least it was warm. I finished eating and engulfed everything in orange juice. It was no chocte milk, but it got the job done.


    Knock!


    "Is Merin here?" The door was opened, so Natasha came in.


    "I just got back from the nurse''s office half an hour ago. Haven''t seen him."


    "He won''t return my calls and I haven''t seen him since yesterday." Natasha''s forehead creased a little.


    "You two had a fight?"


    "No, he suddenly stopped talking. Do you think he''s sick of me?"


    "If you ask me, I think he''s obsessed with you. He''s probably avoiding you to make you cling to him more? That guy is pretty shrewd you know."


    Natasha giggled. "I hope you''re right. Do tell him to stop ying and give me a call once he gets back."


    "I will and good luck."


    With Natasha gone, I took a good look at Merin''s bed. His Holo was here. Merin never took his Holo off, not when he was in the shower, not when he went to bed, and definitely not when he went to the bathroom.


    ''And the door was open too. So-''


    So, something must have happened. I was already kind of in a weird mood today. I didn''t want to think too much about this.


    And I knew someone who knew a lot more than I could have. So I took a gamble.


    I gave a call to Johnathan.


    "WOW! You got a HOLO!" He was acting surprised, seeing my face. I was actually surprised too, seeing, this thing still worked. "And you''re already out of-"


    "I know, you already knew. Anyway, do you know where Merin is?" I cut straight to the chase.


    The guy made a smug face. "Information costs you know."


    "How much?" I really didn''t want to pay this moron anything but this left me no choice.


    "For you, everything is fine as long as you bring your cou-"


    The bunny girl was with him, in the same bed. She butted it and smiled. "Hi, don''t worry. I''d already heard him talking about your friend before. He should be in the gym. Good luck."


    The call ended. I guess they were in the middle of something.


    I wasn''t jealous¡­ I definitely wasn''t jealous. NOT AT ALL!


    "Thanks," I mumbled, though the call was already finished.


    Sigh. ''Why couldn''t I have something like that?'' And that''s when it dawned. ''I''ll ask her directly.'' I''d done enough ying around. If was going to turn me down again, then so be it!

 Chapter 128 - Are You Kidding Me?

    I was basically done and for once, I didn''t actually have to carry a backpack like I used to, thanks to this HOLO. I felt like a king, walking down the road.


    I had a smirk on my face, and my sword and saber hanging down my waist. Life was amazing.


    But there was just one problem. I couldn''t walk even at half of my speed.


    Well, who cared! I could still walk and I didn''t have to carry extra stuff, so all was cool.


    I reached the gym in roughly ten minutes. Normally this would have been a three or at best four-minute walk. I guess I could sacrifice at least this much. It was my bright idea to jump off the ne in the first ce, after all.


    Maybe beingte wouldn''t have been such a bad idea after all.


    The doors were closed and strangely it felt like something bad happened inside. And since there wasn''t anyone near this ce either, things didn''t really seem all that great. There was a chance someone had grudges against Merin and did something horrible to him. I wasn''t actually that shaken though. After all, I''d seen these kinds of things happen all around me and perhaps a bit more than desired. And unless it involved my family, it never bothered me. But if someone did hurt my friend, obviously, I wasn''t going to let him go off the hook with just a few limbs.


    I opened the door and went inside. It was a bit dark in here but I could see. There was someone standing in the center of the gym. It looked like he was bound by ropes and barely hanging by it. ''This doesn''t look good.'' My breathing increased and so did my heart rate. I had a sinking feeling that that might have been Merin.


    I released alpha particles and tried to create sma: since it was so dark in here, and I didn''t know where the light switches even were, this was the best I could do. But just as I was about to, I noticed something. And afterward, I just proceeded to walk normally, without actually trying anything or creating sma for that matter. ''Alright, I''ll y along.''


    When I reached the center stage, I saw Merin, covered in blood. "He-lio?"


    "Yeah, it''s me, what''s up?"


    I tried undoing his ropes. Whoever did this, probably didn''t have much time on hand, cause the knots were so terrible, I had to burn them off with my saber.


    "They- they took all your chocte milk. And-" He sniffed. "When I tried to stop them, they did this."


    "Uh-huh." I undid everything and he fell on top of me.I didn''t catch him and dodged.


    "AWW!" He screamed and promptly got up. "What was that for!?" And a secondter he cleared his throat. "Anyway, aren''t you mad?"


    "I''m totally mad, trust me."


    This guy was good.


    "IN that case, look!" He pointed at the ceiling.


    "What am I supposed to look for again?" Because there was nothing up there, and it was awfully dark in here.


    He whistled and lights were turned on with some sound. And since they were big and I was looking straight, I kind of got blinded for a second.


    ''Aww.''


    It took me a second to recover and when I did- "SURPRISE!"


    There were at least ten people in here.


    "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"


    Next, they started to sing. I kind of wanted tough at their faces but oh well.


    Merin''s blood was mostly just colors, at least he wasn''t wearing ketchup.


    It was an interesting act though. And I would have fallen for it, if only I hadn''t finished all the chocte milk and reced the bottles with orange juice secretly.


    I stillughed a little though. I was happy.


    Merin looked proud as he brought the cake.


    There were quite a few known faces here. Eve, Ariel, Robert, Angelmen, Dick- I wondered why, Natasha, Johnathan, and the bunny girl- I guess they finished on time, my mother and Elsa. And then there was the headmaster and his wife. Why were those two here again?


    This was great, but something wasn''t. I looked at mom and she just looked away.


    Apparently, my birthday was next week''s Wednesday, not this one. I didn''t have the guts to say it to them though. Not after the effort, all these guys put into all this.


    So, I just yed along.


    ''Well, let''s just enjoy this a little I guess.''


    It wasn''t a big cake and there were no presents. There weren''t even balloons. I didn''t necessarily care. To me, the sentiment mattered more than actual presents or parties. Though I wouldn''t have minded receiving some chocte.


    Okay, I definitely wanted chocte!


    I cut the cake and let mom take the first bite. "You do realize-" I whispered.


    "Your friend kind of overheard me and well- yeah." Mom looked towards Eve


    And Eve puffed up her chest and bathed in high self-esteem.


    Oh god. Just who was she trying to impress?


    Next, I took a bite and just when I was to take another one, Elsa snatched the half-eaten cake from my hand and gobbled it up.


    I wanted to smack her but oh well.


    And strangely people just seemed tough it off for some reason.


    Was this normal and I was the weird one? Since when!?


    I cleared my throat and cut the cake into smaller pieces. It was a small cake, so I had to. "Please, help yourselves." The cake was actually pretty good though and it was a chocte cake with chocte shavings.


    "Would you mind, feeding me too?" Eve came close and winked. I actually hadn''t seen her in a while.


    "Yes, I would mind, so here, take it."


    I held a piece held it her way. I had no intention of feeding her, but I couldn''t just not acknowledge the fact that she made all this possible. But now, that didn''t mean I was going to feed her.


    "Of course," she dived in and bit the cake right off my hand and gobbled it too.


    Gosh, this girl was dexterous. And not to mention fast. She licked her lips and grinned.


    I freaked out and took a step back. But two hands were ced on my shoulder.


    Apparently, it was the headmaster.


    "Why are you here again?" I looked back.


    I got the feeling he wasn''t here to offer me birthday wishes. And how''d he know?


    "Official business." I doubted that.


    "What is official about this again?"


    "Eating cake is always official." He looked dead ahead at the cake and nothing else. And yes, he was serious.


    I sighed and looked at the woman next to him, she also sighed. I guess this guy really was serious.


    "Well, help yourself."


    The headmaster''s face lit up and he moved towards the cake. "Thanks for keeping quiet-" He whispered and moved on.


    I guess that was his official business.


    I actually didn''t have any reason or desire to make the knowledge about the Nelbound public. After all, even I wasn''t sure what to make of it, yet. That reminded me, grandma was supposed to be a kin, right?


    Hmmm¡­. I gave mom a stare and she stared back, curiously. Where the hell was this going anyway?


    Everyone else was also taking one piece of the cake.


    "Nowes the drinks!"Merin was excited.


    This didn''t feel like a party, it felt more like a gathering for people to let pass the time.


    I wasn''t that excited but when I saw the drinks, I was definitely excited. After all, the drinks were all chocte milk!


    And in my case, it was almond milk, sadly.


    Well, at least it had chocte.


    No one really said all that much. They had the cake, wished me congrattions and that was basically it.


    They were talking a lot amongst themselves though.


    I went closer to Merin. "Whose idea was this again?"


    "All Eve''s. I was just yed the co-host."


    Yeah, I didn''t doubt him. And though it wasn''t my birthday, I was still kind of d. But why would Eve do this? What was she after?


    "And why is Dick and the two over there here?" The two being the headmaster and his wife.


    "Oh, when they saw us this morning, they just tagged along."


    "What are you two whispering about,e over here!" Angelmen called us over and we all took a photo. I was probably the only one who was faking a smile, but my feelings were genuine. Kind of.


    ***


    This was kind of awkward and kind of fun at the same time.


    I wanted to know why Eve did this, but of course, I couldn''t just ask her directly now, but I kind of wanted to. I did trust her more than I used to. But it almost felt like she was plotting something.


    Andtely, Eve was being way too mysterious and Marg said something about Eve going through something she did. I didn''t know why, but I had a hunch something big was about to go down.


    Frankly, I wanted no part of it. But for now, I tried to forget all that and just enjoyed the party.


    In the end, we just drank the chocte and ate the cake. Life was a bliss, for twenty minutes.

 Chapter 129 - And So, My Conquest For A Chocolate Pool Ahem, For A Brighter Future Finally Begins

    The party was kind of over and all the guys left except mom, Elsa, Merin, and Eve. I never got to talk to Robert and Angelmen had barely said a word. The two teachers left with a smile and they didn''t really say much, neither did Dick. Why were those three even here?


    Johnathan however, whispered something rather ominous before leaving. "Happy, ''early'' birthday." Just how much did this guy know?


    All I was left was one small piece of cake. And it wasn''t even for me, it was for Merin, who didn''t actually have the cake yet.


    I kind of wanted to have this and I even had a cake knife on my hands. Sigh, unfortunately, I had to control my urges a little.


    I most certainly didn''t want to. Mom and Elsa were on one corner just grinning at me. They could have easily stopped this, but they didn''t. I didn''t actually me them though, cause though short, this was kind of fun.


    Instead of worrying too much, I went towards Eve, on the other side.


    "So, why did you do all this? I mean- I don''t even know you-"


    "Oh don''t worry, I kind of overheard your mom the other day and just wanted to do something as your friend. Was this not up to your standards?"


    Did this girl have any idea how to throw a party? I didn''t know. But standards? I didn''t have any. And she considered me, her friend?


    Well, that was news to me.


    "Oh don''t worry about that. This was fine." And I was very d too.


    Her face lit up a little. "I''m d."


    But why?


    "When''s your birthday?" I couldn''t ask her directly why she did this, since she already avoided that topic, so I switched to something else.


    "Oh-" She blushed. And now she was going to start ying stupid, perfect. "Next month" On second thought, maybe she was too easy? "As for the date, not telling." She winked. I guess not.


    I knew there was at least some reason for her doing all this, but I yed it cool. "Thanks."


    "You''re wee." She smiled. "I have sses so-" She left.


    Everything went down kind of fast. And even if she was going to ask something of me, it probably wasn''t going to happen anytime soon- at least it didn''t seem like it. It could have been that she''d really done this out of the good of her heart, but honestly, I couldn''t and didn''t want to believe that.


    Merin took the cake and stood next to me, eating it little by little.


    "Any idea?" I watched as Eve''s silhouette disappeared.


    "Nope. I was only told yesterday, so kind of had to rush."


    Sigh. Maybe she''d done this because I was unconscious and all that and just wanted to cheer me up? I didn''t know. But I wanted to sigh some more.


    Meanwhile, mom and Elsa both were smiling and giving me funny looks. "You''re not nning on marrying more than one girl, are you?" Elsa was the first to speak but mom shared her sentiment and looked at me, smiling. That was one scary smile. "Because if so-" Both of their voices kind of meshed together and scared the shit out of me. I had a feeling they were on different pages and yet they were in sync.


    "I don''t have any such ns at the moment. And I have sses." I handed the cake knife to Merin and started running.


    Meanwhile, Merin just chuckled and ate his cake. Lucky dude.


    ***


    sses went smoothly. Marg wasn''t here today either. Lately, she missed a lot of sses.


    I actually had nned on talking to her straight away, after all, I had enough. I was going to confront her head-on.


    But I guess that had to wait.


    Around 2.30, the sses ended. This was early, and I guess they were just giving us a bit of time for the tournament. But I didn''t think the academy would do this. I really didn''t.


    After all, weren''t tournaments just supplementary?


    But oh well, all the better for me. I wanted to get up and leave, but my face was imnted on the table. My body did not want to move. I guess wanting to fight in this body wasn''t a good idea.


    "So I''d assume you''re good now?" Robert said.


    I guess he came to check on me. He never said a word during the party but I guess he was kind of worried too.


    "Yeah, totally." I wasn''t. If I were to even try to run in this condition, I was going to tire out myself immediately. I definitely wasn''t good.


    He smiled. "Alright, good luck!"


    And he left. I didn''t actually get the guy. I wanted to get to know him better, but he kind of kept me at a distance. I guess my family name had a y in all this. But, I wanted to be better friends.


    I got up. I had to leave too. I wanted to at least have something for lunch and maybe rest a little, before the big fight.


    Hopefully, it''ll be enough.


    ***


    The fight was going to be held in the gym, rather than the fields and today this ce was erged. There were a lot of people in here, just like that day when I had my duel. Kind of nostalgic but definitely not the nostalgia I wanted.


    But more importantly, in the corner of the whole ce, there were three judges and all three had a holo screen on top of their heads. And one of the judges was a bunny girl, bunny girl senior. The mother of the bunny girl, aka, boss bunny.


    ''Oh shit.'' She was definitely ring at me. This was not going to be easy.


    In the middle of all this, two guys waited for me. One of them was Angelmen and the other, Dick.


    "Hey, thanks for postponing." I gave Clyde a hi.


    "No prob."


    "Gentlemen, I will be your referee for today. I expect a good fair fight." Dick began. His voice was amplified. "Since one of you was out, I''ll exin the rules. Only swords are allowed, even if you have a saber core. You may not use any other type of weapon. Using your power on your opponent or any underhanded tactics is forbidden. You''re free to use projectiles and your sword abilities if you possess them. But the use of essories will not be tolerated."


    Fair points and most of them were just against me, but I had questions. "Will there be a barrier in ce? Oh, and will traditional swords be allowed?"


    I pulled out my sword and held it solidly.


    "Yes there will be a barrier and as for-" Dick looked back towards the judges and they gave us a nod. "Granted. "


    Then I had no reason to use the saber I guess. I put on the stinky gloves. No matter how much I bleached them, the smell never left. Oh well.


    I always felt morefortable with my- rather gramp''s sword anyway. Well, I guess now it was mine but in my heart, it''ll forever be gramp''s sword and his memento.


    "Are you sure?" Clyde turned on his saber and looked at me, dead serious. "Don''t me me if that sword breaks." His saber glowed in a crimson hue.


    "Right back at you." I released some radiation on my weapon and made the sword into a red sma saber. I didn''t have any reason to go higher than this with my current stamina.


    A barrier raised over my head but I didn''t look. I''d learned from my mistakes. All my focus was on Clyde.


    "GO!"


    With the signal, Clyde charged straight towards me. but I didn''t move. I had limited stamina and I wasn''t going to waste them with rushed attacks.


    Thud!


    He mmed into a barrier and stumbled two steps back. Why? Because though I was holding my sword with one hand, I was devilishly holding my saber behind me.


    "OUHH" The poor guy grabbed his nose and red at me. "Cheap shot."


    "Hey, that''s my power."


    If I knew correctly Clyde had special sensing capabilities, meaning he just wasn''t looking. So, probably wasn''t going to work twice.


    So, with no more hiding, I took my saber in one hand and the sword in the other.


    Clyde looked a bit pissed as he grabbed his saber with both of his hands. The purple aura swirled on his sword and soon, the lights went out.


    ''Shit.'' Even the light of my saber wasn''t working.


    But that didn''t mean I waspletely powerless.


    A swing from the left. Deflected.


    From the right, evaded.


    From up: blocked.


    "Boo!"


    "Hey, I can''t see."


    "Bring the lights back!"


    Well, the crowd was kind of going crazy.


    Clyde kicked his tongue and undid the stuff he did. "Well, it''s not like that was going to work on you anyway." He sighed and this time, came straight for me again.


    I didn''t know if I could take him head-on in my current battered state, but I wasn''t going to stop either.

 Chapter 130 - No, I Can’t Stop Now!

    ng!


    His swordy was clunky but his blows were heavy.


    Argh.


    With every block, my body was creaking and I was being pushed back. This wasn''t looking good.


    The crowd cheered and for the first time, I felt like I was going to lose.


    "It shames me that I cannot hold back while you''re in this state, but such is life." Clyde held his saber over his head. "This is the end."


    I didn''t need his pity. I took a deep breath and waited.


    The blow came and connected solidly. I blocked and tried my best to push through but I was stuck. "No, this isn''t!" I managed and kicked his legs.


    He didn''t fall down but took steps back, with one leg. He grinned. "Now, that''s more like it."


    I took deep breaths and sheathed my saber. If I couldn''t use the barrier then it was better to just stick with the sword. Strangely, Clyde didn''t attack me during the sheathing process. I guess he wasn''t that cowardly or maybe his leg wasn''t that sturdy?


    The sword burned brighter and the sma turned yellow, as I grabbed it with of my hands and fed more radiation. I was leaking liters of sweat but I couldn''t lose focus now.


    Clyde charged and this time, in between blocks and deflects I was attacking him. If I stayed on the defensive forever, I couldn''t win and that was crystal clear.


    I could basically predict all his attacks, so dodging, blocking, and deflecting weren''t an issue. But the thing was, this guy was fast!


    <em>Left swing!</em>


    <em>Right swing!</em>


    <em>Upward sh!</em>


    This guy really was fast.


    But that was his downfall: he was fast but too linear. I led him in, and when he made an effort to pierce me, I slid to his side and kicked his guts. "You''re way too focused on the sword. Are you sure you''ve used it before?"


    He threw up a bit of blood and tried to cut me, I dodged and took a step back. I actually hadn''t expected him to be this weak physically though. The guy had awesome powers but I guess his construction wasn''t as solid as I thought.


    Meaning, I had a shot.


    But that was all, after all, I was basically at my limit. Even standing was kind of making me feel faint. Why did I ever bother doing this?


    Was a pool of chocte really that necessary?


    ''There''s no useining now.'' I started this and I had to finish this. I couldn''t stop now.


    "Don''t get too <strong>cocky</strong> now." He breathed heavy and an arc of electricity oozed out of him, while beams of concentrated light came at me likesers. I couldn''t dodge them, not with this speed. "I was saving it but, I can''t hold anything back against you."


    The electricity kind of paralyzed my feet and thesers burned my skin: neither was powerful enough to damage me extensively. Besides, my healing capabilities were much better.


    He was aiming for my arms and legs. Clever guy. If he could incapacitate me, easy win. But he didn''t know one thing: even with being stationary, I wasn''t powerless. "I think you''re forgetting about this." I threw a ball of hot sma at him and immediately turned on my saber.


    He dodged to his side: the paralysis stopped.


    Totally expected. But I was still feeling faint. I had to end this quickly. I had to end this now!


    I rushed for him, for the first time, and he tried to dodge the attack. And he did too. He followed it up by swinging his saber for my head. Too bad. I locked it with my saber and used my sword to attack again. He again dodged and jumped to his left: was left all he saw?


    Bingo.


    "I''d dodge this if I were you unless you want to make your condition permanent." I grinned and sent a bit of hot condensed air towards him. It had mild yellow color and it was basically just warm visible air. But that didn''t mean the guy knew what it was, right?


    "Shit!" he saw iting but it was impossible to do anything midair- and so, he used the best of his power to change directions midair and he seeded too: this guy just made the impossible, possible. But there was something else there: a barrier. He tried to attack the invisible barrier but promptly crashed into it, fell on the ground, and bleed through his nose. Only this time did I finally notice, this guy had a big nose.


    But I didn''t stop and dumped a barrier over his head, trapping him beneath.


    "Well, give up I guess?" I held my sword and saber near his neck as he held his nose in his hand, bleeding a little.


    Both of my sword and saber went through the barrier. Could this thing let things pass if I willed it to? I''d never tried it like this, but I guess, it was worth a shot.


    Talk about being convenient, though.


    "I''m-I''m not f-feeling It." he looked at me, barely containing his tears. And he was referring to his crotch, not nose.


    Did he forget he already had a condition?


    Sigh.


    "Don''t worry, I held back. You''re good." Not to mention I didn''t use radiation on him in the first ce.


    "Really!?" He dropped his saber. "I give up!" I dropped the barrier, hearing that. Well, that was easy. But Clyde didn''t stop, he got up and held my hand. "Brother!" He was d. I could see it in his eyes.


    I''d never seen someone be so d while losing.


    ''What have I done?'' I really felt bad for using this tactic and actually winning like this.


    Damn.


    But everything was fair in love and war, so, oh well.


    But wait, wasn''t the match supposed to be vetted by the judges first?


    Dick pped. "That was a spectacr match!" The crowd erupted in joy. "As for the points!" Dick was speaking a bit too much like an announcer of sorts. Some sort of hobby I guess.


    "7& 7"


    "7& 9"


    "7& 5" Thest one was the boss bunny. It didn''t take a genius to know who she graded less.


    It didn''t matter who got what points. "Wait, doesn''t that make this a tie?" I was already feeling too faint, I did not want to have another go at this.


    "Those are actually pretty good numbers. With just one win, you passed nine contestants out of twenty-four. Meaning, you''re at the bottom of the qualifying ones." Dick winked.


    The guy didn''t even answer me.


    "Helio R. Jintel wins!" And then he proceeded to dere my victory.


    Apparently, if the points were tied, the one who actually won the battle would have won.


    Technically, even without winning one could have easily won the game if they could just impress the judges. It was stupid.


    Who the hell came up with this system? Seriously!


    I sighed and turned my attention to somewhere else. "Tell me, what''s his rank."


    Angelmen had an enlightened look from the moment he knew he wasn''t screwed, or rather his junk wasn''t. To a point where he didn''t even care about anything other than just to stare at the ceiling and smile.


    So I didn''t bother to ask him, rather, I asked Dick.


    "He was first but with this, now he''s second."


    "Who''s first now?"


    "Margeretta Rodwich."


    "Really?"


    I guess this was worth it. Wait didn''t that mean, I''d basically have to fight everyone and even Clyde again if I wanted to fight Marg?


    Argh¡­.


    I didn''t even want to think about fighting anymore. My body ached and my head felt light: dizzy.


    But it was possible I''d be able to fight Marg, before actually reaching the finals.


    Meaning, I didn''t have to confront her. Why was I feeling d about this all of a sudden?


    So with a grin, I turned around and took a step. "I''ll go back-"


    But the ground whispered to me ''Oh helio-e lie down with me.'' It even sang to me!


    I wasn''t able to finish.


    And so, everything went ck and I went to thend of dreams with the lovely not-soft-at-all ground.


    ***


    When I woke up, I was totally refreshed and back at the nurse''s office.


    Judging by the color of the light, evening.


    ''When the hell would I not end up here!''


    I sat down, and everything was fine. My body moved fine and things didn''t look that bad. So I climbed down, checked if the nurse was here or not. She wasn''t. Perfect!


    Run away!


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    And then I got caught before I could even take a single step.


    "Umm¡­ To my room?"


    "We need-" She paused. "To talk."


    "Later maybe." I proceeded to take another step, but the nurse grabbed my shoulder and pulled be back, locking the door in the process. Her grin was tarrying.


    ''Someone save me!''


    But s! It was already toote.

 Chapter 131 - Get Outta Here!

    I sat on a chair, looking miserably at the woman in front of me. The woman was wearing a nurse''s uniform and polishing her nails.


    It was almost as if there were no other sound in this room apart from that.


    She''s the one who locked me in here with her, and now she wasn''t even paying attention to me.


    What did I ever do to deserve this?


    "Can I go now?"


    "No, you cannot."


    She didn''t let me get out of here and she didn''t talk to me about why she kept me in here either. What was she, a tyrant?


    She kept on polishing and each stroke felt like it''d take an eternity but it didn''t.


    Time moved slowly, and I could almost count the seconds. Why was all this taking so damn long? And was polishing nails always this much of a chore and took this much time?


    Seriously!?


    I just wanted all this to be over with.


    After half an hour of that, she was finally done and she looked at me. "Patience is a very special gift. Clearly, youck it and that''s why you better learn to master it."


    ''Oh, trust me, I''m very patient.'' Otherwise, I''d have busted my way out of here long ago.


    "Can you please get to the point, so I can go? I''ve to have dinner or this weak feeling won''t go away."


    I was kind of feeling hungry. And though I was feeling a lot better than before, I still felt a little faint.


    She sighed. "What part of ''be patient'' didn''t you get? Anyway, this wasn''t why I told you to stay. Lately, I''ve noticed some weird waves in your brain. Are you alright?"


    Now, she was concerned about me? That was her job I guess. But wouldn''t it have been better if she offered me dinner instead? Because that would have been a lot better for my health, no doubt!


    "One of the seals is open and I think another one might open up soon."


    "Why do you think that?"


    "Just a feeling." A very bad feeling.


    I kind of wanted to talk with someone about this. Ever since I woke up, I''d felt more than enough. I didn''t know what was happening but I could at least make a guess.


    "Who did the seals? Can it be redone?"


    "I think it can but I don''t want anything to do with who did it in the first ce. I have my reasons."


    "Alright, I won''t press on that but- does your mother know?"


    "She knows that one seal is open and she shares the same opinion as me."


    She crossed her legs. "I see. I do know someone who could perform extraordinary seals but he is currently in Belgium." She thought for a second. "If you were to reach the finals, you''d get a free ticket to the internationals. How about I arrange a meeting between the two of you somewhere in Germany?"


    I didn''t know if this was a good idea or not but a meeting couldn''t have hurt. After actually meeting the liquid darkness, I didn''t, I really didn''t want it to get out. And I got the feeling it didn''t want to get out either. It even went as far as to tell me to kill it. "We can trust this guy, right?"


    "He was my senior and though he can be a bit extreme at times-" She seemed to recall something rather horrible and grimace a little. "I think he can be trusted- probably."


    She didn''t sound convincing though.


    I sighed. "Fine. Please do so. Can I go now?"


    "Not only are you impatient, you''re also rude! Have you no courtesy!"


    "I have plenty but I''d rather not waste them on you-" I really wanted to say that, but I couldn''t. I knew I''d get a lot of bacsh from it. So instead- "Thank you very much." I grinned.


    "Why do I feel like I''m being mocked?" She gave me a bit of a dull look. "You may leave but- don''t even think of doing anything taxing for the next two days. And be sure to have plenty of meat on your diet. You''ve been consuming too much sugar and not enough meat. So-" She red. "Be sure to add red lean meat to your diet from today onwards."


    Weren''t people supposed to not eat meat a lot? And this woman was telling me to eat it more? I guess I was a bit different than typical people anyway.


    There were no fights for me in the first two days, as I''d be fighting the ones who''ll lose the next few fights. But this also meant I''d be having a rather busy time near the end of this week.


    This still worked out for me though. Since I''d have plenty of rest now. And hopefully, get well soon.


    "Alright, I''ll try." I grinned and stood next to the door. It was still locked. "Do you mind opening this?"


    "Try to try a little harder please." She opened the door and I came out.


    Once out, I got stares.


    A lot of stares: from the boys.


    And a lot of giggles too: from the girls.


    It was a bit past evening and till now, this door was locked, I could really imagine what sort of rumors I''d be getting.


    I sighed.


    I sighed again.


    Quota was full.


    Damn it!


    I wanted to sigh some more.


    ***


    On my way back to the dorm, I received a lot of apuse and praise. This was new.


    Really new.


    Who''d have thought knocking down Clyde could make me this famous. But I didn''t really care all that much about attention: I hated it after all.


    I also got weird stares from some boys. Some even went as far as to call me a womanizer.


    Well, that was also new.


    I kind of wanted to sigh, but oh well. I settled for scaring them with a bit of warning instead. "Mess with me and I''ll make you impotent." Seemed to work pretty nicely.


    Nothing else happened- at least nothing noteworthy and I reached my room in short order. All this felt a bit monotonous.


    When was my life going to get better? When was I going to get my things and have my dreamse true?


    I really wanted to know.


    "Knock!"


    The door opened three secondster. Was this guy standing next to the door and waiting for me or something? "What took you so long!" He hissed.


    Merin was sweating hard.


    Something was up and I didn''t want anything to do with it. "I''lle backter then." I tried running away, right away.


    But Merin grabbed my shoulder and pulled me in. there was no helping it I guess. I was too weak to actually run away at this point.


    ***


    Inside, there was only one girl: I already forgot her name.


    "What the hell is she doing here?" I looked at Merin.


    "Why the hell you asking me? How''d I know?" The guy fired back.


    If he didn''t know, then how the hell was this girl here?


    "Then who would know!"


    He apparently didn''t have an answer.


    The girl tilted the hem of her skirt and bowed. "Wee back." She was wearing a rather normal dress: white shirt, brown skirt. Till now, I only saw her in daring and kind of expensive dresses but not today.


    "Why are you here?"


    "I''m your loyal servant, of course, I''d be by your side." She smiled.


    Loyal servant my ass. She framed me and even used me. Then tried to cripple me with a thousand soldiers, granted it was my idea, but still!


    "Do you mind leaving?"


    "I could stay outside your door if you''d prefer." She was serious, this girl was serious for some reason.


    "Call the dorm manager?" if she wasn''t going to leave of her own ord, then there was only one thing to be done.


    "Apparently, the manager already gave her permission." Merin lied down on his bed. "And now it''s your problem." And with that the guy totally ignored me.


    "Heh, huh! Wha!?"


    What the hell!


    The manager hadn''t given me permission to bring my very own sister to my room after dark and she gave this girl permission?


    What the hell indeed.


    "She can''t do that!" I red at the girl. "What did you do?"


    "I just told her the truth." She smiled and was even more confident. "I love you and want you. This was the truth and when I told her this, she gave me her blessing." This girl had no shame. "I''ve made a mistake and I''ll do anything to amend it. Even if you told me to kill myself, I will- no won''t kill myself. If I killed myself, how will I give myself to you?" She grabbed her cheeks and blushed.


    Granted, she was good-looking and probably one of the best-looking girls in the whole academy but I hated this kind of people: I hated her.


    I was already feeling a bit faint but now I just felt my veins throb.


    And what the hell was wrong with the dorm manager? I really wanted to file aint right now.


    "Get out!"


    She was shocked for a second but then smiled. "As you wish." She went out of the door. But when I was about to close it, I saw that she was just standing right next to it.


    "You''re not going to leave?"


    "I won''t" She smiled.


    I didn''t need to hear anything else. "It gets really cold in the hallway at night you know." I just locked the doors.


    "You sure about that?" Merin looked back over his Holo.


    "Pretty much." I was really hungry and I needed food first before I could worry about all this.


    But I certainly didn''t want to worry about that girl. Seriously!

 Chapter 132 - Resolve

    I woke up at midnight by the almighty grace of Merin''s snores. My eyes kind of stayed closed but I couldn''t sleep and I couldn''t open them either.


    It took me a good long minute before I could finally get up. I hated this.


    I yawned and moved my body a little. I didn''t feel like going back to sleep right away.


    The window was closed and the curtains were closed too: there were distant shouts. I looked out and there were a bunch of prefects patrolling the whole area.


    It was a tough job, I guess. It had nothing to do with me though. I drank half a ss of water and went back to bed.


    Hopefully, I wouldn''t have to head to the bathroomter on.


    My eyes blitzed open.


    ''What if-''


    That girl, wasn''t that dumb right? Yeah, she was bad and I hated her, but I knew she was pretty smart. Enough smart that she could easily pull this act off.


    I still opened the door and carefully slid out my head to take a look. Since when did I be such a worrywart?


    She wasn''t here.


    I breathed in relief. Well, this was good. Otherwise, I''d have felt terrible knowing some weirdo was sleeping just outside my door.


    I was about to close the door, when- "Mmmh."


    The sound came from the left. Regretfully, I took a look, and there she was, head buried between her legs, sleeping peacefully. All this time, I was just looking on the wrong side.


    She wasn''t shivering or anything but she really was hugging he legs a bit too tight.


    I sighed and went back in.


    ''It''s not my problem.''


    And yet, I couldn''t just get in bed either. My life was full of sighs even in the middle of the night?


    Just thinking about this made me want to sigh some more.


    Racking my head over what I''d do only made me feel even more stupid. ''Do I do this or not!?''


    In the end, I pulled out a nket and outside the door, and almost threw it at the sleeping girl but then stopped. Even, I wasn''t that evil. Instead, with another sigh, I ced the nket on one side of her shoulder and locked the doors. I didn''t cover her fully. The rest was totally up to her and her subconscious.


    During the day, the temperature hovered in the mid-twenties but, at night this ce''s temperature was in single digits, so I couldn''t just leave someone out like that. I''d lose sleep worrying about it. And I didn''t want to lose my precious sleep.


    So with that done, I went straight to bed and stopped thinking about things. Merin''s snore had stopped and as I took a look I was met with a smug grin.


    Damn moron was awake and he even saw all this fiasco.


    "Cold out there, ain''t it?"


    I pretended to ignore him and rolled to the other side of the bed: it was definitely hard. I could hear a small giggle but I proceeded to ignore everything and just focus on sleeping. It sure wasn''t working.


    Fell asleep roughly half an hourter.


    ***


    I yawned, woke up, got down, and headed out. The girl wasn''t here anymore, the sheet was here though. It was folded nicely and it was even properly washed. The fresh smell of detergent kind of rubbed against my nose. Well, someone took things a bit too seriously. But hopefully, she finally understood that I wasn''t going to be lenient and let her in.


    My dder was a bit too full. Enough so, that even walking around was tough. Maybe keeping it inside, and not getting up when I first felt like going, was a bad idea.


    With another yawn, I carefully walked inside the bathroom, finished my business, got fresh and went out for a walk. It felt so much better, but my lower stomach did feel a bit sore.


    I couldn''t do exercise, so instead of jogging, I opted for walking.


    Since I was walking, avoiding palm trees was a lot easier. This almost felt like a daily urrence at this point, almost like an obligatory mini-game. If I won, I wouldn''t be hurt and if I lost, I''d get a nosebleed. A rather weird reward system.


    I didn''t feel faint but I did feel weak. ''When the hell is this feeling going to go away?'' Was I always this weak?


    I had no idea. But I sure felt that way.


    "I''m telling you it''s not my fault!" there were loud yellsing from my right. I recognized the voice, so I didn''t even turn around.


    "Then who''s fault do you think it is?" Another voice came, a bit sleepy but definitely loud.


    Again, I recognized the voice, almost immediately, so I didn''t turn around and started walking faster.


    No way, was I going to get dragged into that.


    "Oh, Helio!"


    Apparently, I wasn''t fast enough.


    Sigh.


    ***


    "So that''s how it is," Johnathan spoke carefully.


    We were in front of a small house. It was abandoned to my knowledge, but I guess I was wrong.


    Long story short, the bunny girl and Johnathan were in the middle of a squabble. I knew there were always fights in rtionships but wasn''t this a little too soon?


    It probably hadn''t even been a week yet.


    And their reason for the squabble?


    "I''m telling, you, it wasn''t my fault." The girl insisted, her voice lowered a lot. At least she wasn''t attracting a crowd.


    On second thought, I looked back and yup, there already was a crowd of five.


    "Then who do you think is responsible?" Johnathan hissed, voice also a lot lowered.


    This was getting redundant. These two weren''t telling me what happened and they weren''t letting me go either. I felt like a third wheel, scratch that, I was the third wheel.


    "So, what happened?" I smiled and I also looked back. "We''re not putting up a show here, would you mind moving along?"


    "Aww, man."


    "Just when it was getting good."


    They frowned a bit but the crowd cleared. I almost had the urge to smack them but oh well.


    Meanwhile, the two in front of me blushed and started to avoid eye contact.


    "I have a very busy schedule consisting of walking around. Do you mind, letting me go?" Because I sure didn''t have patience for this.


    Maybe the nurse was right, I reallycked patience.


    "You see-" Johnathan came close. "Every morning there''s arge stain on the bed. And it''s on her side too. We''re pretty active and all, but I keep telling her-"


    It went a bit too descriptive from then on.


    I wanted to bleach my ears and crawl into a hole. I only got to do it once, and basically, that was it. But these guys were already doing it every day and not to mention they were even trying various things. Just the descriptions alone were enough to make me feel like a sore loser.


    The bunny girl blushed came close and started to whisper. "I''m on pills so we don''t necessarily use protection and he has a lot and he also does it at least three times. It''s impossible to not make a stain."


    Tmi!


    What the hell was I supposed to do with this information? And were these morons deliberately trying to make me depressed? Cause it was sure working.


    Johnathan sighed. "I guess maybe we should just learn to clean up our mess."


    The girl smiled. "Yeah."


    Okay, now they were just rubbing it in.


    "I smiled. You both know that I can make you both impotent, right?" I smiled harder. "Next time, don''t drag me into these things. And who cares about a little stain, just wash the frigging thing! And use a damn towel or use the shower or something" with that said, I turned and walked away. I was definitely not in the best of moods.


    I wasn''t sad, I wasn''t depressed, I was furious: I was alone.


    I could almost sniff at that.


    On second thought, maybe not. There was a weird smell in the air.


    I looked back and I could swear I saw Johnathan smile. Maybe, I should have really made him impotent.


    ***


    I kept on walking and was almost done too. On my way back, I saw Eve. I didn''t want to talk to her, as things still felt awkward, so I kept on walking. But she wasn''t alone. There was a middle-aged man near her and something about that man was weird. It was almost as though he was- sinister in some way: I was probably just overthinking it. Eve''s head was down and it was like she was being scolded or something.


    Well, that was new. I never saw her act like that.


    ''Her rtive?''


    Obviously, I didn''t want to be involved. But they were right next to the road. So if I kept walking I was going to run into them.


    I could have taken the field but sometimes the palm springs up quite fast in the field and with my weak state, I didn''t want to go through that. So instead, I just kept on walking.


    If I kept my profile low and just walked on, it wouldn''t have been a problem right?


    Wrong.


    "You''re Helio, correct?" The guy literally saw meing from a hundred meters away and he had a rather loud voice.


    I didn''t answer and just kept on walking, until I reached them.

 Chapter 133 - Temptation Will Always Be There

    "Yes, and you are?"


    There actually wasn''t a crowd here. This was rare.


    "Count Melhiem Rodwich, Evengeline and Margeretta''s father." He made a courtly bow. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He proceeded to spread his hands towards me.


    I felt weird around this guy. Something about him bothered me but I couldn''t tell.


    ''A count?'' I already knew that Eve and Marg were nobles but I didn''t know their father''s rank was this high. "I see. Helio ROMSWELL Jintel, a pleasure." I spread my hands, extra emphasis on my family name. I had to make sure he knew me, otherwise,ter on, things might have gotten a bit more troublesome if he decided toe at me. Because I certainly had ns.


    But mom did tell me that I didn''t need to worry about the Rodwichs. Well, I did take that with a grain of sugar and lo- ahem! Salt.


    Bad memories.


    The man smirked and gave my hands a shake.


    Judging by the look on Eve''s face, things weren''t going ording to her n. But this was a family matter, so I didn''t want to get involved.


    "Now if you''ll excuse me, I have to get back." I didn''t want to get into their debate and this wasn''t the perfect time to talk about Marg and me either, after all, I still didn''t know Marg''s true feelings.


    I did feel indebted to Eve, but I considered her my friend. And as a responsible friend, I didn''t want toplicate things between her and her father. So shutting my mouth and moving on, was the best thing I could do- at least that''s what I told myself.


    It was probably just an excuse though.


    "Tell me," The count began. "Are you interested in marrying into my family?"


    Holy, mother of god, this guy was blunt!


    Even I was a bit staggered, meanwhile, Eve''s face was still down. Something was up and it didn''t look good for me. The Battlesuin family was pretty influential and almost as famous as the Romswells. Meaning this guy wasn''t just going to hand Marg over to me, right? So, what was he plotting? "Depends." On a lot of things.


    But he if was, it either meant, he had something major to gain from the Romswells, or maybe he was trying to pit my family against the Battlesuins. Either way, it didn''t look like a good deal.


    But that didn''t mean, I''d stopped listening either. In order to make an informed decision, I had to at least hear him out.


    I was definitely willing to fight the Battlesuins though.


    He smirked. "My daughter Evengeline Rodwhich is up for marriage. I assure you-"


    "Yeah, sorry, but she''s my friend." I knew something was up. I knew this was too good to be true. I sighed inwards. Why did I ever think Marg''s name would up here? "Anyway, if I''m interested in someone, I''ll take her even if I''ve to fight the world. So, don''t worry about it." I grinned and started walking. "Good day."


    "What if I told you, you can have both?"


    I stopped. "Excuse me?" I nced back.


    "I''ll give you both if you were to join hands with my family and let''s say, be my son? Of course, marrying my daughters and bing my son inw, would also mean, you''ll inherit my wealth and-" This guy really didn''t hold anything back.


    So, I met him with the bluntness of my own. "Yeah, I''ll pass. And I''m not interested in just any woman." I took a deep breath. "No offense Eve, but I see you as a friend," I spoke directly to her but she didn''t even nce at me. Something really wasn''t right here. I switched my gaze to the man, walked, and didn''t look back. "And I certainly don''t have any intention of bing your son."


    I couldn''t get my priorities mixed up. I wanted to marry Marg because I had feelings for her, not because of lust. I still didn''t know if my feelings were love, or even genuine or not. But didn''t care either. I just wanted it.


    Maybe I was obsessed but so be it.


    But I didn''t have feelings for Eve. I liked her and all, but she was just my friend and a senior I could count on- probably. But she wasn''t someone I wanted to live the rest of my life with. I wanted it to be Marg. It had to be Marg.


    Was this love, or just obsession? I didn''t know.


    Maybe bing this guy''s son would erase all my money concerns, but that also meant I''d virtually be a ve, something which I had no desire to. Besides, I was going to live with Marg in my own way, not in some orchestrated reality.


    And nothing was going to stand in my way: if Marg shut me down, I''d just try harder. ''I won''t force her, and I''ll be patient, but I won''t give up.''


    I was obsessed and I didn''t care. But deep down I knew, I was just being indecisive and running away from reality.


    ***


    "Well that was interesting-" Melheim grinned as he watched the boy''s silhouette disappear. And gave her daughter a look. "Looks like your mission is over. Feel free to do whatever. Who''d have thought the failure would be more productive. Oops-" He chuckled. "I shouldn''t call my own daughter a failure." He chuckled harder and started walking.


    He didn''t even give his daughter a second look. She was now worthless to him.


    ''Maybe this might just work out.'' He kept onughing hysterically as he walked out of the field. Some students thought he was probably a mad guy, he noticed but he didn''t care.


    Things weren''t going ording to n and there were certain factors he hadn''t considered. But even he knew, this wasn''t a bad oue. After all, he stood to lose virtually nothing but, either way, there was plenty to gain.


    ***


    Eve gritted her teeth and bit her lips. She didn''t let a single drop leak. Sparks flew around her but she controlled everything. She already knew she didn''t have a future with Helio. After all, Helio had feelings for her sister and she could see that from a mile away. She could see the color of one''s emotion and after seeing both theirs'', there was no doubt in her mind.


    And she personally didn''t like Helio either- up until now.


    It was just a mission for her when it first started. But now- now it was something else: something different. She didn''t know what but it hurt and her chest felt tighter whenever she imagined that she didn''t have a future with him and there wasn''t much she could do.


    She couldn''t steal him away from her sister and she even thought of killing her at times. But what if he ends up hating her instead? That was the only thought that prevented her for taking any drastic steps. So, she just kept her distance and tried to erase those feelings¡­ but the effects were the opposite. Her feelings only grew stronger.


    Her head was down, but her emotions flew high. She never gave up anything in her life, and she wasn''t going to give up this time either.


    And the fire in her eyes was the proof of that. She wasn''t going to lose and she wasn''t going to be a failure.


    She was blessed in both looks and abilities and because of that she was treated rather well in her family, but there were rules, there were orders, there were sacrifices. She''d have enough.


    Though the sisters took different paths and might have ended up in different destinations, both of them now had one unified goal.


    ''I''ll end him and make my own destiny."


    ***


    Marg only had two matches this week. The first one being with whoever made it to the semifinal and the second, the finals- assuming she''d win the first semifinal. Both were near the end of this week.


    She was still asleep and perhaps this was the only time she was without worries and all the depression of life. The only time she could rest.


    "AH!"


    But even this moment of peace didn''tst as she woke up hearing moans.


    Sometimes she felt so vexed, that she almost felt like leaving the dorm room for good, but in the end, there was always the question ''then where will I go?''


    She had enough allowance and she could afford a house, but then what?


    The three girls on the bed beside hers were annoying and very vexing, but at least she didn''t feel lonely. She already knew she was, and yet, she wanted this false sense of ''to belong''.


    She knew it was nothing more than hypocrisy on her part, and yet she didn''t care.


    She just wanted a bit of peace of mind: peace she didn''t have. She wanted a ce she could belong.


    "Oh, did we wake you up?" Through the hushed moans, one of the girls spoke up.


    "Sorry about that. We''ll finish quickly," Another one spoke.


    "Take your time." Marg picked herself up and went to get fresh.


    Needless to say, she didn''te out of the bathroom for the next hour.


    ''Will I ever have a ce to belong?'' She didn''t know. If her ns seeded, she''d have to be on constant run and perhaps even die.


    And yet, now she couldn''t stop the flow of things. Now that everything was so close, she started doubting herself: she started doubting her ns. She wanted someone to save her, and yet she didn''t want anyone to get involved with her, especially not that boy with cat ears. After all, this was her battle.


    She really was selfish: and perhaps, a bit na?ve. But she wanted to belong, she wanted things that were genuine, and she wanted to be needed. She really was selfish- and she knew it.

 Chapter 134 - Why Won’t This Girl Leave Me Alone?

    It was a tempting offer but I only had my eyes on one girl.


    And I already knew for a fact that girls were a handful and I only needed one: having more would only increase my stress levels anyway.


    But I kind of felt a bit weird now that I couldn''t actually exercise. And not to mention I''d have to eat meat, of all things. I preferred milk as my protein source, but oh well.


    ''Should I head to the cafeteria?'' It was tempting but I hadn''t brought my wallet.


    Typical.


    By the time I reached the dorm, a lot of people were already up. There went my chance to actually take a proper shower.


    After using deodorant as an alternative, I finally learned that it actually didn''t work, and sometimes I smelled even worse.


    Even if meant beingte, I had to take a shower.


    Sigh!


    Knock!


    The door was open. There was a spicy-meaty smell in the air, someone was having a fancy breakfast.


    Obviously, it was Merin. When the hell did he get it?


    "What''cha eating?"


    He had a bowl with broth and noodles, looked a bit fancy, but in the end, it was just noodles.


    "Hmm?" He kept on chugging down the noodles. "Rame-"


    "Wha?"


    "Ramen." He pronounced it well after finishing his bite. He had a spoon and a fork.


    "Ra- Men? Isn''t it just instant noodles?"


    It didn''t smell like that but it sure looked like it. And why was it in a bowl? He could have just eaten it in a cup, without making more dishes.


    But then again, he''d be washing the stuff, so oh well.


    "How rude! Of course not! Here, you have a bowl too!"


    Now that I looked carefully, there was an extra bowl on the table. And there even was a bit of soy sauce on a smaller bowl. He even got a fork and a spoon ready.


    Well, at least he was thoughtful.


    "Who made this stuff?" I tried one noodle with a bit of the broth. I almost burned my taste buds. "This is too spicy!" And not to mention salty.


    Merin sighed. "What are you, some vige nephew? That''s how it''s supposed to taste like. And people add even more spices. That''s literally the vani version."


    "Seriously?" I had loads of doubts on my mind but I tried to not think too hard.


    I took another sip and carefully evaluated my tastes. It wasn''t bad, and I certainly needed some getting used to it. I took some more and eventually it felt good enough and I could have it without any problems. There were meat slices, so my worries for meat ended with this.


    There were a bunch of other things here too, but I didn''t know anything about those.


    It wasn''t bad, but I didn''t think I''d be paying extra to have this over cup noodles. Why? Simple, I didn''t like noodles.


    This wasn''t bad though.


    But who had time to make something this fancy, anyway? "How much did this cost? And who thought to make something like this?" I wondered aloud. It tasted good and had protein and starch and other stuff in it: someone had toe up with this thing, right?


    "Dunno who invented it but Raea made it for you and me: so it cost nothing. It''s a popr dish in eastern Asia."


    I stopped eating. "And now you''re telling me that?"


    "Otherwise, you wouldn''t be eating it, right?" He made a smug grin. "You see, she bribed me with this bowl, so I''d keep my mouth shut until you finished. But since I''m your friend and all, I decided to tell you early." I could literally see his teeth.


    I wanted to stop eating and put the bowl down. And I did too. "I think that''s enough for breakfast." I felt a bit bad to stop eating though.


    "She worked really hard you know. It''s not often you see someone actually cook these in these parts instead of just putting some water and making instant Ramen, calling it a day. But yeah, totally up to you, what you''d do. I''ll eat mine." And he kept eating.


    I sighed and picked up the bowl again. Not because I wanted to respect the one who made this, no, but because it actually tasted good and deserved to be consumed.


    Was I being a hypocrite? Yes.


    I kept on sipping and near the end tried the soy sauce. The stuff was even saltier and yet, I felt like having more. Were my senses going dull or something?


    After finishing it, I didn''t feel that good though. I might or might not have over-ate a little.


    So, I lied down and stayed silent. ''Why is she doing all this?'' I didn''t understand that girl. She framed me, dered her love for me, tried to be my ve and now she was making me food. What the hell did she want?


    Merin did not stay quiet though. "So, what do you n on doing?" He was done eating too and he looked more than fit.


    He wasn''t fit though.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, Raea. I don''t have that much experience with girls, so I don''t know if she''s faking this or maybe she really is in love with you. But either way, you''ll have to make a choice, right?"


    "And that choice is already made. I don''t want anything to do with her." I was pretty clear about it from the start.


    So, what was this guy trying to get at?


    "Then be vocal about it. Last night you only encouraged her. She probably now thinks if she keeps all this up, she''ll be able to win you over. If you want her to stop for good, you''ll have to make her understand it. Not hope that she''ll understand it herself."


    I knew that! But it felt vexing to hear that from his mouth.


    He was right though, maybe I was just running away from all the decisions.


    "I will talk to herter."


    "What if her feelings are real?"


    "Doesn''t matter. I only have eyes for one girl."


    "And if that doesn''t work out?"


    "I don''t know, okay!" I stood up and red at Merin. "I don''t know!"


    I had an hour before ss but I headed out.


    I heard a snicker. "Sometimes it''s better to not know. But so far all you''ve been doing is running around, pretending. You talk about being this, taking that, having patience, and all that, but in the end, you''re just like any of us: you don''t know shit."


    "Well, thanks for the analysis."


    I went out.


    People stayed out of my way.


    It felt like I could explode any second now. Just what was this? Why did it have to be like this?


    Why did it always have toe to this?


    I knew I was running away. I knew I didn''t have enough courage to face Marg and for that I tried to make use of this tournament. I knew that already.


    I couldn''t stay in bedst night knowing someone would freeze either: and because of that Raea probably misunderstood. I knew all that, I knew I was being indecisive.


    I knew if Marg rejected me, I''d be out of options.


    But then what? What did knowing get me! Nothing! It only raised my anxiety.


    Just giving me an analysis of reality wasn''t going to make anything better. I needed answers and I didn''t have any.


    ''Damn it!'' I stomped the ground and the pavement broke down. "Damn." I just stood there, shaking with anger. People just kept walking.


    I didn''t know what to do. I didn''t know what was best.


    I really didn''t know anything- just like Merin said.

 Chapter 135 - Why Won’t This Girl Leave Me Alone? (Part Two): Wait, I Won?

    Before I entered the school building a girl stood in front of my way.


    She didn''t have a smile, she didn''t have a re either. She was just waiting for me. "Can we talk?"


    There weren''t many students around, so I didn''t see why not. Besides, I already wanted to too. "Yeah."


    She took a deep breath. "I understand you don''t like me. But- I love you." Those words meant nothing to me. And I got the feeling she knew that. "And- if you think I''m a nuisance then do you think I should disappear from your life? I''m not asking much, just let me at least be your ve."


    Just hearing her made me sigh. She was trying to win me over, while also giving me options to make her not see me, while also making me feel bad about the whole thing. Clever girl.


    But if I faltered now, there was going to be no backing down. "Look, I do believe people deserve second chances. But what you did-"


    "I even bought you an offering." She pulled out a chocte bar from her purse.


    Damn! Who the hell told her about my weakness? I cleared my throat. "As I said, everyone deserves a second chance. And though, I don''t want to see your face, I''ll at least forgive you." For the choco- ahem! Because I was that nice.


    Her face lit up a little. "I know asking to be friends a lot, but would you-"


    "No."


    She frowned a little. "I have another bar. Would you at least let me be your ve?"


    "No." I wasn''t some guy who''d just ept bribes, okay?


    She frowned a bit more. "Please?" Now she started begging and we started gathering attention. "I''ll even give you a pool of chocte of that what it takes!"


    ''Wait what?''


    A pool of chocte?


    Suddenly my life shed before my eyes.


    A pool of chocte!


    More and more people started to gather near me and seeing me staggered Raea grinned and tried to open her mouth again.


    I quickly grabbed my head and gave it a shake. "Umm¡­ I-a¡­. Stay twenty feet away from me at all times, please. And never mention the word chocte around me ever again."


    And I walked as fast as I could. Any more time spent here, and I might have ended up giving her more privileges rather than actually forbidding anything. I wanted a pool but, I couldn''t get it like this. I didn''t know to.


    Merin was right, I really was just running away.


    Sigh.


    Well, at least now I had two bars of chocte, two bars I couldn''t eat till next Sunday.


    But oh well.


    ***


    I was the second one to enter ss.


    There was already someone in there.


    Someone I knew rather well. And someone I didn''t want to see.


    Marg was here and now she was looking at me.


    I wanted to run away, my feet were even shaking a little. ''Have courage. Deep breaths.'' I took deep breaths and tried to calm down. The chocte bars in my pocket gave me courage! "There isn''t anyone here, so let''s have a talk. I won''t take too much of your time."


    My voice shook a little and I was nervous, but I still tried my best.


    The room was too quiet. The air conditioner was rattling a little and I sweated.


    ''Shit, I forgot to take a shower.''


    "Sure." She stood up and stood right in front of me. "What?"


    I actually didn''t think she''d take me seriously. I even thought she''d run away.


    Why didn''t she run away!


    Now I couldn''t run away either. I took more deep breaths and thought about Merin. Why? Cause he pissed me off and thinking about his words made me want to prove him wrong. "I love you and want to be with you. What do you say!" I spoke so fast, it was probably hard for her to even hear them let alone understand.


    Was being too possessive? Was I being too obsessed? I sure hope, she didn''t feel that way.


    She just stood there, quiet. There was no answer from her.


    The silence was too loud.


    I took another deep breath and calmed myself. I actually felt a bit faint now. "I''m not trying to make you mine like some sort of item, I genuinely want to be with you. I don''t know if it''s love, I don''t know if it''s genuine, but I want to be with you as a human being, as someone you can count on. I just-"


    "Would it-" She averted her gaze. For the first time, she looked sad. "Would it be alright, if I gave you my answer at ater date?" Towards thest bit, her eyes met mine. She wasn''t running away.


    I didn''t know why but a wave of victory coursed through my veins. I already prepared for her to shut me down, so just the fact that she was willing to consider, was, well, definitely a win for me.


    I smiled. "Of course." I could almost jump around and I would have done just that if more students didn''t suddenly start pouring in. And she hadn''t whispered something.


    That something being, "You should take a shower."


    I actually wanted to cry after hearing that: like seriously.


    Did I really smell that bad!?


    We both took our seats. There was no more talk between us and eventually, the ssroom got full, but honestly, for the first time ever in my life, I felt like I''d achieved something.


    Okay, maybe not the first time, but yeah.


    I was definitely going to take a shower next though.


    ***


    sses ended, and since I didn''t have anything to do, I went back to the dorm, took a lengthy shower, got changed, and went out again, sightseeing around the campus.


    And then I realized, ''didn''t I get a memory instiller?'' How in the world had I forgotten that?


    I had no clue.


    I went back to the dorm, and now I had to climb this massive stair again.


    Would it really hurt god that much just to let me fly?


    Was God even there?


    Sigh.


    I certainly didn''t want to experiment and break my bones again, so I just climbed the stairs.


    Merin was out on a date, so I had the room all to myself for the next five or six hours. I locked the door, opened the instructions, and read through everything.


    Took me an hour to figure out how things worked and then, bam!


    I was logged in just like that.


    My body was on the bed, but my mind was in a virtual reality: basically, I looked the same here too, except maybe an inch taller.


    It was like arge room with ck borders and the floor was like ss: it reminded me of my mind and that dark ce, but it wasn''t the same.


    I had arge 100 or so inch disy in front of me with various options.


    I could choose what to imprint on my brain and even buy knowledge: I could have even yed games on this, apparently.


    School-level knowledge was free in the academy, so I didn''t need to worry about that. The college-level stuff was very expensive though.


    A lot of people nevere to schools because they could easily download knowledge like this. But those people don''t realize, knowledge without any application, was pointless.


    So anyway, without any dilly dally, I searched for the stuff I needed, aka, the sciences, some history, Mutor biology, and started the process. It was a harmless process but would take at least three hours toplete.


    But it was harmless for the body. For the mind?


    AREGHGHRHHRHGFHF!


    Yeah, not so much.

 Chapter 136 - Hey, Don’t Leave Me Hanging!

    I felt like throwing up.


    I shoved the instiller gently on the floor. It was too pricy for me to throw it and break it. I really wanted to though.


    There were loud knocks on the door but I could barely move.


    I felt more than just sick. I knew it was going to be a grueling process but seriously? Seven friggin hours!? That was more than just double. And the intensity just kept on increasing without stopping.


    If these loud knocks hadn''t forced me out, I might or might not have been dead and that wasn''t an understatement.


    When it started it hurt but it wasn''t unbearable but as time moved on, it got more and more painful, and there were no kill switches. I had to live through the whole thing. Like seriously.


    Knock!


    Knock!


    Knock!


    It was hell. Nay! It was worse than hell.


    Knock! "You in there? Still alive? Should I break in or get help?"


    Apparently, a moron was at the door. It took me another minute but I finally could stand up. I got up and reached the door, swaying here and there, almost falling to my doom on more than one asion. "Still kicking." It took a lot just to unlock the door.


    "Well, it doesn''t look like that: you look like a zombie. Anyway, what happened? Did you take drugs or something?" Merin came in. And he was as sarcastic as ever.


    "Unfortunately, I''m not that dumb and drugs probably won''t work on me."


    He looked at me like he didn''t believe me. "So, what happened? When I first came in and the door was locked, I went out again since you didn''t open for five mins, and bought dinner but you still weren''t opening even after I came back. I''ve been out there banging the door for ten minutes now. I was just about to head over the manager when you finally opened."


    "Would have been nice if you just went to the manager the first time." I stopped my mouth as I was about to make a literal mess.


    The world spun and my insides wanted toe out and explore the world.


    Merin sighed and picked me up. "Let''s head over there."


    He led me to the bathroom and I did my business. And boy was there business.


    It almost felt like everything wasing out: the guts, the bones, the organs, everything. I wondered why they didn''t.


    Breathing was hard and I kind of wanted to die.


    "I thought you were supposed toy low for a few days, what the hell did you do? Drink beer or something?"


    My ears were kind of funny and my vision felt like I had magnifying sses or something. I couldn''t focus one bit.


    "Never drunk. Blueh!" This wasn''t easy.


    And what the hell was Merin still doing here!


    ***


    I lied down on the bed, life was a drag and for the first time, I wanted to die. This whole thing was too much of a drag. Yeah, I was probably just being dramatic but I wanted someone to end my suffering already.


    "You still haven''t told me, what happened?" Merin changed his clothes in the corner and lied down on his bed.


    "I used the memory instiller and it probably malfunctioned." The keyword being probably.


    I felt better than before, but definitely not enough to not lie down like this.


    He gave me a bit of a re. "These things have sevenyers of firewalls to protect you from that." He picked up the instiller and looked over things and then again red at me. "Are you a moron? You literally tried to take in two years'' worth of knowledge in three hours?" He sighed: he sighed again. "This stuff at least takes a month with repeated process not, three hours. You''re lucky it onlysted seven hours in your case. Though I''m not sure about what you''ll remember from this." He got all that information just by looking at it? I guess he was tech-savvy if nothing else.


    Remember? Study?


    Yeah, I didn''t care. I was never going to put that thing over my head, ever again.


    I did remember a lot of things though: those being pain and more pain. "I''ll try to sleep." I put a sleeping mask on.


    "You know, I''ve heard of people trying to do this, but I never heard anyone came out unscathed like this." I didn''t know if that was him just pitying or genuinely feeling d I survived.


    "Are you kidding me? I can barely breathe."


    "Well, the people who tried something like this before, either died or came out leaking blood from all their holes."


    "Don''t say scary stuff like it''s nothing." I groaned.


    Merin chuckled. "You sure you don''t want to eat anything?"


    "And die? No thanks." I''d already had enough puking for one day.


    Heughed some more and didn''t say anything else.


    I didn''t either. I just focused on sleeping.


    My head hurt way too much to think about anything anyway.


    ***


    I had no idea how or when I''d fallen asleep but I woke up around 2. It was still dark and rather quiet. I actually felt a lot better, but also hungry.


    Hunger probably was the only reason why I woke up now anyway.


    ''So this is why the manual said to only instill one subject at a time.'' The manual also might or might not have warned me that instilling excessive knowledge could have been harmful.


    Probably a bitte to think about all that.


    I sighed and went to the mini-fridge: in the end, it was all my fault.


    There wasn''t much in the fridge. I didn''t want to drink water or juice cause I certainly didn''t want to get up again but there wasn''t any choice.


    "There are some biscuits in the container." Merin turned over and I saw his back.


    I had no idea what ticked the guy. But yeah, I was kind of d he was my roommate. I was never going to tell him that though.


    Apparently, he had chocte digestive biscuits, not my favorite but oh well. They were good enough.


    I ate some biscuits, I drank a bit of juice.


    Off to bed.


    Didn''t know if he was still awake or not but- "Thanks-" I whispered.


    ***


    Huff*


    Puff*


    Someone was climbing a building.


    It was a tall building, with at least a hundred floors.


    She was roughly in the middle and there were at least fifty more floors to climb. Above, was the night sky, and below was the concrete floor just waiting to wee her and embrace her with passion: her death.


    Her body sweated and beads of sweat fell from her seamless body. She was in a tight climbing suit. She didn''t have any other gear and climbing this ss building was difficult if nothing else. But it wasn''t impossible, at least not for her: even if it was, she was going to ovee it.


    It waste night- about to be dawn soon, and she saw few stars above her head: the deadline was near. Her hands were fatigued and so was her body. But she couldn''t stop now. She was on a mission and she had toplete it, even if her life was on the line.


    The mission mattered more than her life.


    But then- her Holo glowed. ''Message?'' She checked the contents and grinned. ''Well, if that''s how you want to y-'' She grinned some more and jumped off.


    "WhOO!"


    Secondster, the whole building exploded.


    ***


    Andrew Simonughed hard at the news.


    "Now the brat''s done it."


    "Yes, it would seem that way," One of his men said from the side.


    The size difference between the two was immense. While the man was perhaps six feet, Simons was at least seven and a half and he was also rather well built.


    The ce was dark, probably underground and there were at least a hundred people in here wearing cloaks of some kind.


    "But that''s what I''d expect of Julio''s son."


    "His grandson, bro," the man said.


    Obviously, Simon was the boss, but he insisted that his men call him ''bro''. Apparently, it gave him satisfaction for some reason.


    "Wait, wha?" Simon scratched his head. "He wasn''t his son?"


    "Did you forget what Roger told you already?" The man sighed. "Sometimes I really wonder how you''re still considered one of the tops of this world."


    Andrew Simon burst outughing again. "Oh yeah, that prettydy was the ugly bastard''s daughter. Yeah, I remember." Heughed even louder and the whole ce shook. "Maybe I''ll give em another visit."


    "I really wish you don''t. We''re kind of behind schedule because of you, you know." The man sighed.


    But Simon just chuckled. "Well, it''ll be fun to watch em'' beat each other out. I''ll be betting on the brat btw."


    The man sighed again. He started to question his life choices all over again. "And you''re already assuming they''ll start fighting right then and there?"


    Andrew Simon''s grin widened.


    ***


    Rose had her hands full again. Three very important guests were about to arrive on the ind and even stay for two whole days. It was a crisis.


    And because of that even at two-thirty, she had no sleep.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t have taken this position.''


    During these three weeks, the rings beneath her eyes grew wider and wider. She was virtually at her limit.


    ''But seriously? What is happening to this ce?''


    There were three rather important guestsing in on a specific day. One of them was a Battlesuin, one, a Rodwich, and thest, a Romswell. It wouldn''t have been a problem if they were just members of those families. But the real problem was all three were heads of their respective families, or at least branch heads: she didn''t yet know for sure.


    ''This isn''t going to end well.''


    But she did know one thing, the moment all three of those people woulde together, hell would break loose.


    Rose''s sighs and restlessness were keeping her awake even at this hour and no matter how she thought about this, this was probably leading to a disaster and just the thought of it was frightening enough to rob her of her sleep.


    She could almost cry. But she didn''t. ''Maybe I''ll quit?''


    But her justice wasn''t that shallow. She sighed again. ''Maybe not.'' She was too bound to her ideals.


    She got up and headed for the bathroom. A walk was bound to distract her, right?

 Chapter 137 - The Day Before Imminent Cat

    My day started at eight. I might have overslept a little bit since I wasn''t allowed to go on my usual exercise routine, it didn''t matter.


    For the first time I stood in line for a shower, I had the time. More like I had no other choice, but oh well.


    It took only one hour, lucky me. I didn''t feel lucky though.


    I had breakfast in the cafeteria and reached my ss with five minutes to spare.


    As usual, Marg wasn''t in here. This kind of became the new norm nowadays.


    I took my seat and Miss Maire arrived soon afterward.


    "Well, take your seats. Today, we''ll learn about what we know about Sylvanide, its chemical properties and such." She looked around the ss. "Now, who can tell me what it is?"


    My hand rose before anyone else''s.


    "Go ahead."


    ''What the hell?'' I never studied that stuff, how the hell was I supposed to know?


    And not to mention what the hell was wrong with my subconscious? Why was it raising my hands randomly?


    I took a deep breath and emptied my mind. "Sylvanide first came to this through the meteor impact but weter discovered it around the sr system and beyond. It''s mostly pure Xercium, but sometimes found mixed with iron, nickel, and titanium."


    It was probably just gibberish. I didn''t know if anyone got that or not, or if it was even right. Well, I certainly didn''t get what I said.


    And why the hell was everyone paying so much attention to me. I already felt like I was taking a shower, I was that wet.


    I was also preparing myself for the iingughs and belittlement.


    "Bravo. Three credits for you. You''re finally taking this seriously." Miss Maire smiled. "Take your seat."


    ''Wait, what?''


    ''What the hell did I just say? What the hell did she just say!'' More importantly, how''d I know?


    I thought the whole instilling thing was a failure. But I remembered?


    What the hell?


    What the hell indeed.


    I took more deep breaths.


    "Well, looks like you really are taking this more seriously than I thought." A whisper came from behind me.


    I took a nce and Marg was there. ''When the hell did you get here?''


    Okay, maybe suffering that hell for seven hours wasn''t a bad thing after all. At least I had a shot at impressing Marg.


    I didn''t know how much I could recall, but I didn''t want to push it either.


    So, I yed it safe and answered every single one of Miss Maire''s next questions throughout the ss. Honestly, I didn''t know what was wrong with me anymore.


    Which part of this wasying low, my brain? Huh?


    It sure didn''t answer me.


    I got more res than ever as she praised me more and at the same time belittled everyone else.


    Why was this happening to me?


    I never wanted this kind of attention!


    I even got seven more credits!


    Sigh.


    sses ended around 3. And yes, every single ss went like this. In just one day, I was the favorite of all the teachers. I even got close to ten credits in all the subjects.


    At this point, I already crossed the four stages of grief and was currently hovering near stage five. epting all this was the only way forward.


    But asionally, I remembered Marg''s words and felt great about myself.


    ***


    I took another shower at the dorm. I wasn''t taking any more chances, no sir.


    It was past lunchtime but I''d still bought some fried chicken and came back to the dorm. Was I just ruining my health?


    Did you even have to ask?


    All this walking around was probably burning more calories though.


    Right?


    "By the way, you checked the match order yet?"


    As I entered my room, someone rained his wisdom upon me, while also keeping his eyes peeled on his Holo.


    "No, not really." I didn''t have the time to see how many matches I had in the first ce, let alone the order of things.


    I dropped the small stic bag full of chicken on the table and lied down solidly. Even now, my fatigue level was still high. When the hell was I going to be fully cured?


    I did feel a lot better than before though. I roughly had a bit more than half of my stamina. Meaning, I needed at least two or three more days of proper rest to fully restore my health.


    "Well, you might wanna, because you''re not gonna like it."


    "Why are you talking like that?"


    Whenever Merin''s speech became weird, it was always trouble, trouble for me that is.


    I bought out the schedule on my Holo and boy was Merin right: I did not like this.


    "I have seven matches tomorrow? Seriously?" And not to mention there were only ten minutes intervals between the fights.


    Well, there went my chance to rest and recover.


    "You''re fighting the seventh assuming you win all six before it. And there''s also a rumor going around that they might make it a battle royal to make up for the extra time. Just a rumor though."


    If there was a rumor then there was a chance, because anything could have happened in this damn ce.


    With a sigh, I sat tight and bit into the chicken breast. It was soggy. I heated it up a little but still soggy. "Life''s a drag."


    Sigh.


    "If you sigh too much-"


    "I know. Been hearing that for thest two decades."


    Merin started to chuckle haphazardly. The guy had way too much free time for all this.


    I still ate the chicken though and drank some water. Sadly, no chocte milk.


    ***


    I headed out in the evening for a walk. I couldn''t exercise but I could at least walk around. It was better than sitting ducks like Merin. Lately, the guy was picking up more and more weight. But then again it was his problem and no matter how I saw it, I couldn''t just butt in.


    "Hey, did you hear that-"


    "Yeah, let''s go!"


    Students around me were running and no one was exining anything to me.


    It was almost nighttime and the whole ce was lit up- the usual way.


    For the first time, I was a spectator today, so figured. Why not?


    Why shouldn''t I, be one with the crowd?


    I kind of wanted to chuckle at the irony and I did too.


    I walked casually and followed the running students. Things were too boring for me anyway.


    As I walked towards the source, I saw more and more students doing the same. I guess something rather serious, or perhaps interesting was happening. Probably a fight. Definitely a fight.


    It had nothing to do with me, so nothing stopped me from at least seeing who was fighting. After all, no matter how much I preached I didn''t want trouble, in the end, if one of my friends were in trouble, I always acted on impulse anyway.


    When I finally reached the source, there was a huge crowd. I was toozy to shove past them all. So I did what any intellectual would do at a time like this.


    Start asking.


    "Hey, what''s happening here?"


    "A Romswell and a Battlesuin are-" The guy took a look at my face and kind of ran away screaming.


    Was I that scary?


    I sighed. I didn''t care about Battlesuins, but a Romswell? ''She isn''t here, again, is she?''


    Elsa wasn''t that dumb, but she already did something rather stupid before, so I couldn''t take my chances.


    "Coming through!"


    It took a minute but I got through the crowd and reached the front. People kind of gave me space the moment they saw my face.


    I was utterly disappointed.


    "Prepare to meet your demise Vixen!" The guy said. I knew him pretty well. His nails were like des and so was the rest of his body. Every single part of his body could cut things. And that wasn''t the worst part about that power of his. His real power was his strength.


    How''d I know?


    I''d experienced it, firsthand.


    "In your dreams, goat!" The womanughed. I actually didn''t know her. She did look awfully familiar though. And she was basically just blitzing around, from space to space. At first nce, it looked like teleportation, but it probably wasn''t.


    "Hi. Can you two stop?"


    "Hey who the hell do you-" The guy was about tosh out on me but stopped when he saw my face. "Oh, it''s Helio." He came close to me and ruffled my hair. "Long time no see." His goatee was annoying as ever and I hated his prickly voice.


    "Get your hands off me! And what are you doing here! And why are you fighting!" I took a good look. The guy actually looked a bit thinner than before. And more importantly- "Hey, you''re actually wearing shirts for a change."


    He startedughing. "Came here to see my nephew fight, what''s wrong with that?" Heughed harder. "What you wanted to see my lovely body! I''ll be happy to-"


    Apparently, Uncle ke was here, thest person I wanted to meet.


    "I''ll pass." The mere thought was enough to give me shivers. "We both know, you aren''t here for that," I mumbled at looked at the girl who he was fighting with.


    She came towards me and in a sh second, closed in on the gap. Her eyes were literally centimeters away from mine. Red velvet eyes. I knew them. I saw them before. There was no doubt about it, this girl was from that time when I first woke up in that white room. She was the one who sealed my powers, Hyora Battlesuin. "We meet atst. You''ve grown since I''vest met you." Before she could touch my face, uncle, literally, almost cut her in half with his fingers. He missed as she warped back.


    I took a deep breath. "I don''t know why you two are here or are fighting but try not to create problems for the academy."


    "Hey, don''t say that," Uncle spoke like he was talking to a baby. I really hated that about him. "Anyway, I''ll be staying with the principal. Cya tomorrow." Heughed some more and started to walk out. But before all that. "Be wary of that vixen," He whispered.


    Yeah, he didn''t have to tell me twice.


    And he''d leave just like that? He didn''t even bother to tell me what he was doing here.


    The vixen in question smiled gracefully. In a sense, she really looked very familiar: she actually looked a lot like Rin. Her mother maybe?


    It was almost as though I''d known her for a long time. I didn''t care though. The mere fact that mom suffered because of her, was enough to make me want to destroy her this instant. But I had to persevere.


    I didn''t want to make a scene here, right now, while I was still weak and not while there were people still here.


    She didn''t say a word and started to walk in the opposite direction to uncle.


    ''Well, this won''t end well.''

 Chapter 138 - Why Are Girls Popping Out Of Nowhere?

    The crowd dispersed rather quickly, but I stood in the middle of all this, looking stupid.


    I was kind of alone.


    A lot was at stake here. I didn''t know what uncle was actually here for, but I could take a guess.


    I didn''t know my actions would have caused something like this. I never even considered all this. Maybe I really was too na?ve.


    I wanted Marg and that was true. But, fighting the Battlesuins was supposed to be my fight: I chose this. But I forgot that this thing involved my whole family too.


    I knew all this and even talked with mom but I never considered it''de to this. I never thought about it like this. My family wouldn''t abandon me that was true. But they wouldn''t help me excessively either, at least not unless I asked for their help explicitly. And I didn''t want to do that, as it would create more and more problems down the line. Not to mention I had an ego to maintain.


    Sigh.


    In the end, I really didn''t know what to do. If I asked my family''s help they''d get too involved and things would get way too chaotic. If I didn''t, they''d still get involved and things probably wouldn''t be coordinated and it''ll still be chaos.


    ''What if I just went over to their mansion and destroyed all that?'' It was definitely feasible. I''d have to fly to Russia for that but it was definitely doable. And that way, my family would be out of this.


    Maybe I was just being a bit too cocky about this. And I wasn''t even in my full strength yet either. Just what was I thinking?


    ''Can I actually- do that alone?''


    "What''s with the long face?"


    The voice came from my right. I guess I might have been looking a bit too sad. "Nothing." I turned around. "What are you doing here?"


    It was Selene. "Just having ate-night walk."


    "It''s not thatte though."


    She chuckled. "Yeah. Well, you have plenty of matches tomorrow."


    That was one way to change the subject, I guess.


    "Yeah." I chuckled. "Wait, you were keeping tabs?"


    "Of course! Did you forget we have a date afterward?" She grinned.


    Unfortunately, I couldn''t forget even if I wanted to. After all, she kept reminding me every time we met. So it was kind of impossible to forget at this point. "Don''t worry, I keep my promises. How''re you feeling now?"


    She had broken bones like me and unlike me, she probably didn''t have fast healing capabilities. Not that this made that much of a difference though.


    "Pretty good actually. I''m mostly healed and I think I can start climbing from next Monday!"


    I actually didn''t know what to say anymore. Was climbing really that fun? "Say, why do you like to climb so much?"


    The crowd was basically gone and it was just the two of us. "I don''t know." She started walking.


    I also started walking. "You don''t know?"


    "Well, it''splicated."


    "And I have time."


    It was more like I was bored. I didn''t have anything to study and I couldn''t do exercise. I could have used this time to focus on my saber, but I kind of didn''t want to exert myself.


    So yeah, way too much time.


    She giggled. "My mother was a professional climber. She died while climbing a mountain."


    Okay, maybe I shouldn''t have asked.


    And now I felt bad.


    Too bad.


    "Sorry, to hear-"


    "Don''t be. I''m d she died while doing something she loved." Selene looked up in the sky. There weren''t any stars. It was probably going to rainter on. "I''m d, she got to do what she wanted." It was almost as though there was a tint of sadness in her voice while also relief. She promptly smiled and pped me on the back. "What about you? Why are you suddenly interested in fighting? I thought you hated lightsabers."


    "Well, it''splicated." I chuckled.


    "And we have time." She gave me a smug grin.


    And now I was caught in my own trap. I giggled in the irony. "I want to take responsibility and-" I stopped and smiled. "NO, I just want to impress someone and steal her away from destiny."


    Selene started giggling while covering her mouth. Since it wasn''t working, she proceeded to chuckle loudly. "Really? It''s called destiny for a reason you know."


    "Uh-huh and I''ll change it!" I was definitely going to.


    It didn''t matter if this concerned my family. I could have just apologized to themter on. And since uncle was here, I could just give him the heads up and all would be fine.


    There were no more doubts. I took this stance, and I was going to see it through. It didn''t matter if I was capable or not, I was definitely going to see this through.


    I was probably going to regret this, but at this point, I didn''t care.


    She chuckled even louder, definitely not controble. "Yeah, I believe ya." She controlled herself afterughing for a whole minute. She actuallyughed so hard, tears came out. "Well, good luck. I''ve to head out."


    "Yeah, you too."


    I had no idea where we were even going.


    Selene smiled and started jogging.


    Well, that was anti-climatic. I could almostugh, but I just settled for a grin.


    She didn''t try to solve any of my problems and nor did shefort me, and yet, I felt a lot better talking with her.


    And more importantly, now I had my answer.


    So with a sigh of relief, I turned around and headed for the convenience store. I had to buy food and other stuff.


    ***


    I had to buy a lot of things. I didn''t have much money but my list was long. Talk about a headache.


    I still searched for stuff anyway.


    And even found stuff.


    But some were over budget and now I wanted to jump off a cliff to a ss of water.


    ''I can''t even afford juice?'' Well, it was my bright idea to get paid in installments. Argh!


    "What?"


    There was a voice from my right.


    Why the hell was this happening to me tonight?


    I had a bad feeling about this pattern.


    "Yes?" I turned around like a clock hand.


    "No, you were just agonizing over something like this and-" Apparently it was the girl with wings- Rose.


    She actually looked pretty nice. She was wearing a white sweater and ck jeans.


    "Oh, ah-" How the hell was I supposed to make up excuses that I didn''t actually have money?


    I tried to formte something but-


    "I can lend you some-" Rose''s words came out of nowhere.


    "You can read minds?" that was the only logical exnation.


    "Just overly loud thoughts."


    Holy, mother of-


    I cleared my throat inside my head. I had no idea how that worked. "I-I see." It was too much to take it. So all those curses I had for her¡­ oh my god¡­ holy¡­ oh my good- god!


    "Calm down? I''m not one to hold grudges. Besides, everybody at least has some opinion about me they can''t say out loud. At least you''re honest." She chuckled. "As I said, I can buy you that."


    "I''ll feel too bad-" seriously, how could I just borrow money from someone who I belittled in my mind for who knows how many times.


    "It''s okay. You''re my junior after all." She smiled.


    She still picked up the bottle from my hand and we both went to the counter.


    In the end, she bought me that and I felt indebted to her, forever. "I think I can pay you back next week." I was definitely going to pay her first thing.


    This kind of happened instantaneously and I couldn''t stop it.


    "Oh don''t worry about it. You can pay me back by making sure your uncle doesn''t screw up too. I have my hands full with the rest."


    Well, I guess she had her job to consider too: no wonder she was being nice. It still worked out fine for me. "I will and I''ll pay you back next week."


    I couldn''t make a single promise about my uncle. He just wasn''t someone I could bet on. He was the leader of a terrorist group and I for sure knew, he was definitely going to cause at least some trouble.


    Rose smiled and waved. I waved back.


    And now I had juice. I felt a bit bad though. I never liked the feeling of being indebted.


    ***


    So, now that I had everything, I headed for the dorm. All these bags were a bit hard to carry. I might or might not have bought too much stuff.


    Well, they were necessary though.


    "Looks heavy."


    The voice came from my right.


    ''Oh my god.'' I probably called god''s name today more than I ever called his name in my lifetime.


    But more importantly, why were girls popping out of nowhere?


    "No, I kind of bought too much stuff." I tried to chuckle but it wasn''t working. "They''re not that heavy."


    Who was the girl in front of me?


    Why Eve of course.


    It wasn''t awkward.


    The conversation just this morning wasn''t anything to be ashamed of and it certainly wasn''t awkward. The fact that I rejected her in front of her father, wasn''t awkward at all!


    Eve was smiling. "Well, I can carry some for you."


    "No, it''s okay."


    Yeah, it definitely wasn''t awkward. I repeat, not awkward at all


    I so wanted to run away right now, though.


    ''Someone save me!''


    But unfortunately, I didn''t know that someone.


    Eve giggled seeing my helplessness. "You don''t have to feel anything about this. My father was just trying his usual recruit scams. I don''t hold anything against you. And hopefully, we can continue to be friends." She smiled.


    Well, at least she was being frank. I still knew she was trying her best, but- I was d she was willing to let bygones be bygones.


    "Of course!"


    She smiled, waved, and left.


    I also smiled and walked fast, before I got approached by another girl.

 Chapter 139 - Shit Indeed

    Yawn!


    With a massive yawn, I woke up at seven.


    I felt refreshed and my body was in top condition, well, kind off. Definitely better than yesterday though.


    Without further ado, I got fresh, even took a shower after spending roughly half an hour standing in line, and then had my breakfast. As I was eating, Merin woke up. Now that I didn''t have any exercises to do, time actually moved rather slowly. But I guess this was normal.


    "Morning." He rubbed his eyes. I guess he was upte at night. Normally he''d get up at least twenty minutes earlier. Buttely, he was gettingzier andzier.


    "Good morning."


    "Well, you''re in a good mood." He yawned.


    "Well, kind of. If I can win all the matches today, then wouldn''t that make my fight with Marg a reality? And tell you what, if Marg loses, I might have to fight her today!"


    I grinned. I was definitely excited.


    Merin looked at me with dull eyes. "Marg already won and her fight was yesterday. Meaning you''d have to win every match today and then and only then will you get to fight Marg tomorrow."


    I guess I kind of forgot that Marg had her match yesterday. Well, so much for my assumptions. How the hell did I forget something so simple anyway?


    I tried to chuckle but this was kind of dumb. "Anyway, I''ll try my best not to lose. But, if I do, I''ll still ask Marg anyway. I asked her and she wanted time, maybe something will work out. I''m really hoping for a positive answer though."


    I''d had too much tension. I didn''t want any more of it.


    "You''re being too optimistic again."


    "Yeah. My motto was less expectations, less disappointment, but just this once I can''t help it. I really can''t."


    I really tried to limit my expectations, but I couldn''t help but hope, I wanted to dream. I already dreamed of a future with Marg. And after carefully thinking, I concluded these feelings as necessity. I still didn''t know if they were love or what love even was. But I guess this probably was something close to love if not love itself.


    Merin grinned with a snort. "You''re just being a hypocrite." He chuckled. "But I guess we''re all hypocrites in one way or another. So, yeah. Go for it. And if you fail, you know I''ve got your back: just don''te crying too soon. And I have a motto in life too. Always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Works like a charm." He winked.


    I almostughed. "Fair enough. Thanks, man." That actually wasn''t a bad motto. I still didn''t want to even think about the worst though. I just wanted Marg and there weren''t any other options in between.


    He grinned and then yawned. "Think, I''ll skip sses." He proceeded to wrap the nket around him.


    I guess there went that. "Hey, you haven''t gone to ss this week at all."


    And he often skipped sses too. He came back early and sometimes didn''t even leave this room for hours and hours. I knew he was a shut-in and all, but this was too much.


    "Too boring. I learn more here anyway." And not to mention he always had an excuse ready.


    I guess he was who he was and I didn''t really have much of a say in this. "I''ll give you a piece of advice too. If you lie too much in bed, you can be impotent." That sure didn''t stop me though. I had a very evil n.


    "Huh?" He looked at me a bit dumbfounded. And a secondter got me: I guess my grin kind of scared him. "Oh." And with that said, he got up and went out to get fresh rather fast.


    Yup, worked like a charm.


    "That''s more like it."


    With a grin, I finished my meal, prepared all my stuff, and finally got ready to head out myself.


    It was a bit early though.


    The matches were going to start from 3, so I had only half an hour of rest time after sses. It didn''t matter that much to me though. I had this and I wasn''t going to let anything get in my way.


    I had of worrying way too much.


    I knew I was being too cocky, but at this point, there was no going back. There just wasn''t. I couldn''t back down now even if I wanted to. And I sure didn''t want to. I started this, and I was going to finish it.


    ***


    As usual, the sses went smoothly. And just like yesterday, I could basically answer all the questions. Even for memory instilled knowledge, my brain worked a lot better than I could have ever have hoped for. Normally if anyone used the memory instilling process they''d have the knowledge but it wasn''t an instantaneous recall and they''d have to at least read over the original material once, or it wouldn''t stick. In my case, it wasn''t like that and I didn''t have to do anything. I could just recall everything with a snap.


    I didn''t know how long it''llst but I kind of hoped it''d stay at least till my exams.


    But that''s where theplicationse up. My memory actually got a bit worse. And as the day went by I learned it the hard way. I could remember the books like they were my home address but new information was hard to remember.


    And even harder to recall. I was forgetting things like crazy. I guess this was a side effect of the whole thing.


    "That wraps up today''s ss. Don''t forget that we have a monthly evaluation test next week," Miss Maire said, looking satisfied.


    Wait, the month was already ending?


    Wait, wait, we had a monthly test? Since when? I looked around and frankly, I was the only one who was panicking. Everyone was too calm, as though this wasmon knowledge.


    Argh. I guess now I had to go check what was up with my memory. If I kept forgetting about important things like this, there wasn''t any point in having memories in the first ce.


    But I guess that could wait. In just half an hour, I had to start fighting. Both my sword and saber were with me and I had my gloves too. My chest beat fast and I was excited.


    ''I definitely need to go to the nurse though.'' Obviously, I didn''t want to.


    ***


    I reached the gym around 2.55. Everyone was already present and I guess I was probably thest to arrive. Maybe eating that big burger was a bad idea.


    Blurp.


    Yeah.


    Ahem! I went toward the center.


    There was a massive crowd here, even bigger than the one when Clyde and I fought. Well, technically I''d be fighting him again today, so I guess I had to be super careful. Clyde probably wasn''t going fall for the same trick twice. And there were a bunch of other strong fighters I had to worry about too.


    This really was going to be tricky.


    It wasn''t as lively or chaotic here as I thought it to be though. And so far I didn''t see any teachers around. I guess they were in some corner or something. I didn''t have time to search for them.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, our esteemed guest has finally arrived and now we''ll have our battle royal!" a familiar voice dered: probably Dickville.


    The crowd erupted with cheers. Esteemed guest?


    ''Wait, battle royal?'' I sighed. And when I reached the center stage, I saw the other fighters and Dick. "Hey, howe this''ll be a battle royal?" And more importantly, why wasn''t I told?


    "Well," Dick smiled. "The headmaster kind of changed the rules at thest second. And you might know, he does have that right." Dick smiled a bit more. "Sadly." He cursed under his breath.


    Yeah, I could see that happening. "So, why wasn''t I told? Judging by the appearances of these gentlemen, I can assume they were told just fine?"


    If I knew, I''d have at least tried to be early. Okay, probably not. But still!


    "Another one of the headmaster''s whims." Dick smiled and I could see some of his veins throb. I guess he didn''t like this either. Well, there was nothing we could do about this now anyway. Dick cleared his throat and raised his voice. "We''ll be starting shortly but I''ll have to exin the rules to our dear participants. Please wait a little longer patiently."


    I guess they really were all waiting for me. I didn''t care though. "Just get this over with."


    Dick almost chuckled and I could hear faint chucklesing from the participants too: namely, Clyde.


    The crowd however weren''t satisfied and some were even booing. I kind of wanted to shut them up, but I didn''t say anything. Too much of a hassle.


    "SO, thest one to stay standing wins. You can either knock your opponents out or off of their feet. Either way, touching the ground with anything other than your feet, will result in elimination. You can use your powers freely, but hurting them through your powers won''t be tolerated. Using of beams and all that will be prohibited, even radiation. Only sword skills will be allowed: but if you prefer street fighting punching, kicking and all that shenanigans would be allowed."


    I sighed. These rules were made especially for me it would have seemed. It wasn''t totally bad though, considering my fighting style involved a lot of kicking. I never got to kick people though since they almost always had some sort of annoying ability that didn''t let me get too close.


    But oh well.


    I looked around and after a minute, found the headmaster sitting in the far south corner grinning rather haphazardly. There were four people with him. I knew all four. One, uncle, two, that bitch, three Eve''s father, andst but not least, the man who nearly whoop- ahem, beat me back in the gym. The criminal who knew my grandfather. What the hell was he doing here? I actually wanted to ask but Dick already told us to get ready. All four of them were sitting pretty without making amotion though, so I couldn''t just run there and start one either.


    I sighed, took a deep breath, and looked ahead. Well, I could get my answer one way or another anyway. And since there were other big names here, I didn''t have time to worry about a criminal. The headmaster could handle that.


    My true focus was on the seven who were ring at me. "The one who will knock Helio off will win! GO!" At the veryst second, Dick said something rather terrible.


    ''SHIT!''


    Shit indeed.

 Chapter 140 - On To The

    Why the hell did this have to happen? I should have known. Damn geezer.


    But I wasn''t going to let them get me either. So what if I wasn''t allowed to use my powers? I didn''t spend all those years in the mountain doing nothing!


    I couldn''t harm these guys but that didn''t stop me from using Alpha and Beta particles to locate them. I even used x-rays so I didn''t run the risk of running into invisible guys.


    But usual, using all of those things was a chore.


    "Ha! Ha! Huh!" A girl came swinging first: she was swinging her sword like mad. Followed by her, a boy came swinging too.


    I guess peoplecked patience. But all my passive powers really came in handy now, as I could basically tell when someone was attacking and where they were attacking from.


    I didn''t know either of these two. But at least they wereing one at a time. I guess chivalry wasn''t dead. Obviously, it was easy to dodge, so I just dodged.


    And then came the rest. Three came at me at once. One from the left, one from the right and one from behind.


    They were all over the ce. So much for teamwork and chivalry.


    I should have known I guess. I snorted at myself. But oh well.


    I unsheathed my sword and turned on my saber. So far, I had no reason to. These five weren''t necessarily good enough to worry me. The main worries were the three who hadn''t yet moved: Robert, Clyde and Leilis.


    And I was hoping they wouldn''t move either.


    "Technically, I can''t hurt you but, I can inflict serious mental pain and I''d rather not do that. So anyone would like to back out?"


    Obviously, I was referencing my power to make people''s crotch not so viable and I was pretty sure everyone here got the picture.


    The three didn''t even flinch though. I guess my bluff wasn''t good enough anymore. Well, technically it was a harm, so it was against the rules anyway.


    "HJIUH!" The first girl who attacked me came at me again. This was kind of getting ridiculous.


    I thought this''d be a battle royal not some brawl fest where everyone''s target was me.


    I dodged her swing and promptly kicked her, shoving our straight at Dick. It wasn''t my intention to kick that hard or in that direction.


    "Go a lil easy, will ya" Dick caught her, barely.


    Well, that''s one down.


    "Sorry, my bad." I kind of forgot my own strength for a minute. I guess I was so ustomed to having less strength due to my injuries that I forgot how strong I actually was. But I never thought I''d recover this much within a single day though.


    Anyway, with a smirk, I ran for the other four and quickly, weeded them all out. A kick, a punch, a hit with the back of my de, andstly, a solid head-butt. All five of these morons were weak. And they fell rather easily too. One of them even willingly fell: the Asian transfer student one. He had good healing capabilities, so I wondered why he was backing up so soon. I didn''t have time or desire to care though.


    How the hell did they end up in the qualifiers, was so beyond me.


    Wait, or was I just too strong?


    I actually didn''t know. Oh well. I didn''t care either. These guys weren''t worth losing my cool over anyway.


    But the other three still hadn''t moved. Just what the hell were they doing?


    "You could have just used them as decoys you know." I chuckled. I was definitely d they hadn''t though.


    If they''d attacked me while I was attacking the others they could have at least had some advantages. And they could have even caught me unguarded and used it to cripple me. I knew Leilis could have done that, but she didn''t. Well, that would have been that case if I didn''t have the particles, but technically they didn''t know about that.


    So yeah, this seemed rather suspicious.


    "Still not ready?" Clyde smirked and came forward.


    Ready? What was he talking about?


    "Almost." Robert grinned.


    "Alright then." Leilis cracked her knuckles. And readied her saber.


    Well, I guess these guys were cooking something. Shouldn''t have been a surprise and it wasn''t.


    Didn''t matter to me though.


    I already had a goal and now I had enough strength. If I lost here, then there wasn''t any point in trying to beat the Battlesuins.


    If I didn''t have enough confidence or power to even fight these guys, was there really any way I could have hoped to beat all the Battlesuins? I didn''t think so, and because of that, I had to do this.


    Clyde came first and swung hard. His swordy was impressive, but just likest time, a bit too linear. Easy to dodge and definitely a chore to counter because of that speed. But not hard. And then came Leilis who was too busy to try to cripple me with her shadows. I didn''t even let the shadows reach me though. I was always on the move.


    I had to do something fast or if they kept on teaming up against me, this could have very well have backfired. But then I found the weak link.


    Robert wasn''t moving: I already had my first target. I quickly dashed for him and just when I was about to hit him, he smiled and I froze.


    "What the hell?" I was frozen solid. This was different from paralysis and it felt like my body had stopped listening to me rather than being unable to draw out strength.


    "You didn''t think I was just sitting ducks were you?" He grinned and punched me in the stomach.


    It hurt, it really hurt. I almost stumbled and fell, but I didn''t.


    My grin didn''t vanish. "Uh-huh. I didn''t." I punched him just as hard if not harder. He fell on the floor struggling. "But if you want to stop me for good, I''d suggest using something a bit moreplicated and not getting distracted at thest second." Well, I guess having multiple personalities for once was a good thing. At least mind control didn''t work on me like typical people. At least that''s what I assumed. But I had to hand it to him, he''d sessfully stopped me for a good seven seconds. And he could have maintained it for another second if he hadn''t let his guard down at the veryst second.


    Roars erupted around me. I guess the crowd liked that: for a second there I actually forgot a crowd was even here to begin with. There was actually a big screen over our heads showing everything.


    "Gotcha!" Leilis chuckled victoriously. Her shadows were touching me.


    Meanwhile, Angelmen was dashing my way hard.


    This didn''t look that good.


    My legs were stuck, my hands were free.


    Was I worried? Nope. Now that I had my powers intact, I had nothing to worry about. If my injuries were still here I wouldn''t have stood a chance, but with my recovery, my stamina came back.


    So with a grin, I blocked Angelmen''s saber with mine and broke free from Leilis''s binding. "Too bad!" I gave Angelmen a good kick and went straight for Leilis. She was fast, but I was faster.


    Her shadows came for my neck, but I just dodged.


    "How?" She red at me with disbelief.


    "Trade secret." With my smile intact, I kicked her hard. This was a battle and I didn''t hold back. I had no reason to. I was fighting to win and I needed all my strength.


    So using gramp''s forbidden knowledge on how to deal with vamps wasn''t cheating either, okay?


    With Leilis knocked off that left only Angelmen and me. He was bleeding a little from his face but he still had his smile. "I guess you were holding back a lot that day." He wiped the blood off.


    Well, I was injured and all. "I could say the same about you." because no matter how I looked at it, Clyde felt a lot stronger than just two days ago.


    I should have just went after him before Leilis I guess.


    This powers handicap was a big handicap for me, but in the end, it turned out to be more of an advantage. I never knew things could go like this.


    Well, you learn something new, every day!


    "HUH!" Angelmen again came swinging hard. But I just blocked his every swing. He was actually screaming at times while swinging. Was that really a thing to boost confidence or strength?


    I kind of wanted to try it too. So-"HUH!" yeah, it didn''t work and I just felt stupid.


    Clyde''s swings or screams didn''t stop though.


    Didn''t he realize already? His swordy wasn''t working on me. And that should have been obvious. But I guess that wasn''t in his case.


    He didn''t use any of his saber''s powers though. I actually didn''t know what he even had.


    He did have a lot more speed than me and he had the benefit of using energy to his advantage. Meaning every attack I blocked made my hands go a bit numb and not to mention he could literally predict every single one of my moves. Maybe that was his sword''s powers? Yeah, probably not.


    He didn''t try to use light though. I guess he didn''t want another booing from the crowd.


    "So, you lost to Marg?" I grinned as I blocked his saber with both my sword and saber.


    "Yeah, she kind of stopped everything. So yeah, if you wanna win, you might want to think about what could go wrong if you were really stuck." He pushed hard and boy did this guy have strength. But not that much. At first, I thought he was strong but then I was promptly disappointed with his strength.


    I was hoping for more strength from him, but as I feltst time, he didn''t have that much of a strong physique though he looked cool and strong and all. Or maybe it was because he couldn''t use his powers.


    But he was forgetting one important thing. I still had my legs.


    I kicked him, I kicked him hard. But the kick never connected. "It won''t work twice." He jumped back.

 Chapter 141 - Stop It, Just Stop It!

    I jumped forward. "Yeah, seems that way." I chuckled. ''Longsword.'' My saber became longer and more streamlined. I sheathed my sword and held the saber with both hands. "Well, let''s see if you can keep up." It was just more or less a bluff though.


    Why the hell was I talking so much?


    I actually didn''t know. I didn''t know why but this fight was strangely enjoyable like it was some sort of game. Was I so sure of victory that I already assumed I''d win either way?


    I didn''t know that either.


    But I did know one thing, fighting felt a bit too natural. And I had the thought to destroy and stuff. It was easy to suppress though, at least now. I guess the shadow was rearing its head again. I really wanted to bury it deep inside my brain at times so it''d nevere back up again, but oh well.


    "We''ll see about that." Well, Clyde sure was talking way too much too.


    He intensified his speed some more with electricity and came at me with solid speed. I could trace him but blocking everything was impossible. Even with the particles and the dodges, I was still getting scratches here and there.


    So much for him keeping up with me. Now I couldn''t keep up with him. I guess the bluff backfired.


    I did have a trick up my sleeve, but using it here wasn''t going to me anything and I had to wait for the right time.


    "What''s wrong?" Clyde taunted and kept on inflicting small wounds on me.


    I guess he was finally going all out. He wanted to win that badly, huh?


    Or maybe he just hated losing.


    "Nothing." I kept on dodging but sure enough, this was getting kind of out of hand. And I was losing more and more stamina by the second. Not to mention the wounds just kept on umting.


    Wasn''t this a vition of the rules though? I guess not, since no one said anything.


    But I needed Clyde to be more confident. After all, the more confident he''d be, the more arrogance he''d show.


    And he didn''t disappoint. He came straight for my neck this time!


    He was intent on finishing this and so was I.


    ''Turn into a scimitar.'' The moment he came near me, I switched to a scimitar and used its round edge to cut Clyde. He tried to deflect it while trying to cut me too: obviously, I used a barrier: why wouldn''t I? I still got a cut on my left arm but Clyde''s one was definitely deeper, and it was rather close to his neck.


    Hended on his feet just behind me and fumbled. And that''s when my secret move came into y. ''Barrier-''


    My grin intensified beyond reason. This was the perfect opportunity!


    Clyde fell on the ground on one knee. He wasn''t hurt that bad and he was about to get up immediately. But it was all over.


    "Match set! Helio wins!" Dick dered and the crowd cheered.


    Well, this really was something and it would have been rather close if it weren''t for that stupid rule of nothing other than feet touching the ground. The moment Clyde had fumbled, I kind of erected arge barrier behind the poor guy and shoved him straight at the ground. It probably wasn''t the best way to end this fight but it sure didn''t stop me.


    I sighed in relief. Secret move was a grand sess!


    Clyde wasn''t satisfied though. "Hey, we can''t stop now! We haven''t settled anything! And- and that wasn''t fair!"


    Sorry, but my fight was already over and I''d won. I didn''t have any reason to fight.


    I took a nce at the headmaster''s seat and they were all getting up. My eyes met with the all of theirs even that Rock whatever guy. Everyone had a smirk, even uncle.


    I guess they weren''t going to create any problems today. It was actually strange how all those big names didn''t actually cause a stir today. Were they waiting for something?


    ''Tomorrow''s finals?''


    "Well congrats!" Dick pped his hands and so did the crowd. Next he proceeded to announce the details of tomorrow''s match.


    Apparently, it''d start at 10 rather than 3. I guess I didn''t have school tomorrow then. I was actually both d and a bit nervous. This was new. I was excited to have won but the fact that I had to directly fight with Marg and get my answer was nerve-wracking. But I wasn''t going to back down. I already wanted to confront her and nothing was going to change that.


    I did feel cold feet though. ''Get it together, you can''t back out now.''


    The crowd kept on cheering and eventually they started to walk out. Angelmen wasn''t happy though. And I guess I wouldn''t have been either if I were to be in this kind of situation, and in his shoes. But a rule was a rule and there wasn''t anything he could do about it. It was never a contest of pure strength anyway.


    In the end, he didn''t create amotion. The ones who lost all offered me their bittersweet praises. I guess some of them even hated me. Totally understandable.


    Robert however offered his sincere praise and left: not a shred of animosity. He was probably an expert at hiding his feelings. Angelmen didn''t evene near me.


    And then there was Leilis. "Oh, my love, I never doubted you for a second." She almost jumped at me but I dodged. She fell t on the floor. "ying hard to get?" She winked.


    "Sorry, but I''m not into all that."


    And why the hell was she trying to get near me? I thought I told her to stay away.


    She did smell good though. When''d she had the time to actually apply perfume?


    Why''d I notice?


    It was chocte vor.


    "Hey! You said you wanted me to change and I changed. You better take responsibility!" Well, she sure didn''t want to stay away, that was clear.


    What the hell was she even saying? Were all her screws loose?


    Yes!


    I got weird looks from all the participants around me. "Calm down. She''s just messing around."


    I sure hope she was. Otherwise, this could get ugly fast.


    "Oh, just messing around? So, our night together was also just messing around with you?" She sulked and I could see where this was going. I really could. "Back then you even said-" This woman wasn''t as dumb as I thought. She used all her cards at exactly the right time.


    If I did anything to her now, it''d only backfire.


    There were footstepsing towards us from behind and I really, really could see where this was going. ''Shit.''


    I dared to turn.


    Trouble spotted!


    Initiate running procedures!


    Failure!


    Grabbed by a wild gori!


    "Oh, you''re not going anywhere, we want an exnation." Selene smiled.


    "She''s talking about how she almost assaulted me." I tried to be honest.


    I could see Leilis blushing a little. What the hell was wrong with her?


    There was a loud chuckle. "I''d expect no less from my nephew!"


    "She was the one doing the assaulting, not me!" I broke free from Selene''s grip and made myself clear.


    No one was believing me though. Everyone just assumed it the vice versa.


    "I-I don''t have any problems with you ass-assaulting me," Raea said, shyly.


    What the hell was happening and why the hell was it happening?


    And why would I want to ass-assault anyone? Was that a new fetish I wasn''t aware of or something? What did it even mean?


    I really, really wanted to know more.


    "Would you guys mind stopping this? Stop it, just stop it!"


    There were faint giggles among all these people. This was totally intentional, wasn''t it?


    But that wasn''t all. There were more people here. Eve, Rose, that pesky Battlesuin girl, Merin, Johnathan, the bunny girl. And that would have been fine. But there was a major problem. After all, Marg was among them in the back.


    I swallowed and walked towards her, ignoring the rest. I didn''t care what the rest of the world thought of me, but her opinion of me mattered most right now. "I can promise you-"


    "You don''t have to. I know you have no reason to lie to me: and I know you won''t do anything that low. But I have my own questions and I don''t need answers now. Think about them." She closed her eyes and opened them a secondter. "Why me? Because I''m convenient?" I was about to answer but she just raised her hand and kept on going. "You can basically choose any other girl, so why me?" She again paused. "You know you''ll have to contend with those fiends and my family too if you were to choose me. So, why me?" Her voice stuttered. For the first time ever, her voice stuttered. "As I said, I don''t want an answer from you now." She sighed. "Lastly, will you really be content with me and not leave for another, discard me when the times over?" She turned around and disappeared.


    Those were very good questions and I had just one answer for all of them. But I guess that one answer wasn''t good enough and she wanted more. So, I smiled. If she wanted more, I was going to give her just that.


    I turned around and the crowd was gone but my core audience was still here. "Listen up folks, I''m not the type to assault anyone. If I want to do something, I''ll ask for permission first. And trust me, I will only do stuff to the person I love, nothing more and nothing less. That''s all you need to know about me. So stop getting the wrong idea!" I had enough of this misunderstanding.


    Selene was the first to crack up. "Sorry, but we already know that. We were just messing around, at least I was."


    Followed by her a lot of others startedughing. Some of the people here weren''t totally convinced though. Just how low did they think of me?


    Leilis still kept onughing though. I was definitely going to stay away from her.


    But eventually, everyone congratted me and basically, this was over for today.


    I really hoped that was the case but unfortunately-

 Chapter 142 - The Price Of Freedom

    "I was hoping things would go bad and you''d get beat up by those girls but sadly that didn''t happen." Merin sighed. I''d wished he''d keep all his hopes and dreams to himself. "Well, good for you I guess?"


    "Moron." My voice was roughly a whisper, but I said it loud enough for him to hear.


    He only chuckled though.


    We were still in the gym. Apparently, my uncle was still here standing in the middle of this ce looking all serious and stuff. I couldn''t just leave him like his. And I also had a bad feeling about this whole thing.


    The gym kind of shrunk down though. Meaning, whoever made this cerge had left.


    "Anyway, I''m guessing you had something important to discuss?" I asked my uncle. So far he didn''t say anything.


    He waited for thest of the audience to leave. Only the three of us were now here.


    Seeing that Merin wasn''t leaving, he finally started. "Yes, I take it was that girl who teleported?" His voice was awfully calm, I guess this was the calm before the storm.


    "Oh, so you already knew?" I didn''t know how much he knew, but I tried testing the waters first.


    My uncle was very carefree. And he didn''t really care about love and all that. He did have a family and a loving wife, but he never stayed home for long. Most of his days were spent in the wilderness hunting Mutors and often times creating mayhem for the world. SO, I didn''t think all of this interested him.


    I was wrong I guess.


    He was also a part-time terrorist and the leader of the most notorious terrorist group in the world: Alzana. Did I forget to mention he was also the head of the current Romswell family?


    Uncle ripped his shirt off and threw it on the ground. "What do you like about her and what are you willing to get her?" And whenever he was serious, there was no shirt in the world that could stay on his chest.


    I took a deep breath and met his seriousness with my own. "I love her and I''m not a hypocrite to say I love everything about her, cause there are a lot of things that bother me. But I''m willing to just roll with them and keep on loving her. And I''m willing to fight the whole Battlesuin family and even the Rodwichs for her."


    Somewhere along the line, I''d started using the word ''love.'' I wasn''t sure if it was love or not but frankly I didn''t care anymore.


    "Weak," Uncle spoke and turned his hands to des.


    Well, this was about to get ugly. "Merin, you might want to get away from here." This was about to get very ugly.


    "Uh-huh," And he ran.


    Uncle roared and tried to chop off my hands with his arm des. I blocked both with my sword and saber, but he was heavy.


    My saber nor sword was good enough to even scratch him.


    And he was fast. And he didn''t give me a warning either. Was this guy seriously, trying to kill me?


    "Why? Do you want her!"


    "Because I love her!" it was taking my all just to keep his des away.


    This guy was strong. If I didn''t switch to blue sma, I was going to get something chopped off.


    "That''s weak! You don''t have what it takes!" He kept on pushing hard. This guy was definitely on another level


    I groaned and freed myself, taking three steps back.


    Just blocking two of his attacks nearly drained all my stamina, even fighting for half an hour wasn''t nearly enough to get me this fatigued.


    And this guy wasn''t just messing around.


    "I know that! but I won''t hand her over." I breathed hard.


    "You said you''ll fight the Battlesuins, but what will you do if they try to kill you, what will you do if they try to kill your mother, your sister or that girl you''re chasing?" Uncle walked casually.


    "I-" he charged and hit me hard. I blocked his hands but it wasn''t good enough. It wasn''t just the des, he had much, much more strength than me. And he was also punching with his hands, meaning this was bad.


    I already had wounds from the fight with Clyde and now I was getting new ones. This wasn''t good at all.


    "I, what! You''re going to stutter there too! I-I love her- so let her go!" Thest bit he spoke in a high pitched voice, mocking me. "That won''t do shit with that family of fiends!" he kicked me hard.


    I nearly flew into the wall. If I hadn''t used the barrier, I would have been shredded from that kick.


    I couldn''t use my powers against him because he was resistant to radiation and I couldn''t take damage from him either. This was quite the predicament. "If ites to that, I''ll have to kill them."


    He stopped in his tracks. "And then? Run around for the rest of your life? Will your family appreciate that? Do you know what it means to run from everything you love?"


    I didn''t know why but his words hit hard. I never considered any of these things. What if I kill? Would I really be able to run and stay on the run?


    "I-"


    "As I said, don''t stutter!" He kicked me again. But I didn''t fly this time. My feet were perfectly nted on the ground. I blocked his attack and used my barrier while giving him a kick too.


    His body was mostly just des, so I couldn''t just haphazardly punch or kick him: I had to use barriers for that. Of course, he didn''t fly away either and held his hand near my neck. I held my saber at his. "I don''t care if I have to kill them. Of course, I''ve thought about this. I''ve agonized about this. I''ve hated them and I still hate them! Mom suffered because of them and I lost a father. But- but I won''t let them take anything else from me. Being on the run? I won''t run away! If theye at me, if anyonees at me, I''ll give ''em hell." And it wasn''t like I hadn''t killed before. I already knew what sort of agony that was. Albeit, at the time I didn''t even know what killing was. "I don''t want to be a criminal and I don''t want to kill, but if I have to, I won''t run: I will."


    To me, it was just a bad dream. If mom was right, I killed millions. I''ve had nightmares all my life and I didn''t even know why. So, if push came to shove, adding some new nightmares wasn''t going to make a difference.


    Uncle removed his hand, and I removed my saber. He didn''t say anything and kept on walking, stopped by the door. "You know, I''ll take care of the Rodwichs, but that bitch''s family is quite strong. So if you aren''t prepared to kill em'' you won''t make it out alive." There was a long pause. "Don''t die kid."


    He left.


    What the hell was he even trying to aplish with this?


    I didn''t know. But it did feel nice to have someone who had my back.


    "You okay?" Merin whispered from across the ce poking his head out a little. I guess he hadn''t run away.


    It was hard to hear him but yeah. "Not so much."


    I started passing out. Apparently, I was leaking blood from all over my body. Damn, you uncle!


    I fell t on the floor.


    ***


    "So, what do you think mydy?"


    Vana Battlesuin vowed before a woman.


    The woman in question didn''t even give him a nce and admired the flowers on the table. "If I were to say, at present that family is rather weak. Their glory days are long gone and they''re nothing more than an empty husk. The youngsters do seem to have plenty of potential though."


    They were in arge room. There was no one else present. There was no noise, or sound for that matter.


    "So, you''re saying they won''t attack us because of that?"


    "Hmm¡­ it''s hard to say. After all, it''s not that the family itself might attack us, it''s more like it''ll just be one kid: so, it''s very unpredictable."


    Vana smiled. "Then I''d assume I should continue as nned?"


    "No. Though he''ll be alone, we can''t underestimate him. After all, you know whose blood flows in his veins. And more importantly, I think there''s a very good chance we can win him over."


    Vana was awfully skeptical about the winning over part. How could a Battlesuin win over a Romswell? The very idea was absurd.


    They were enemies and Vana hated the Romswells extensively. So the very idea was vulgar.


    "But mydy, what if-" Vana''s lips pursed. He sweated. He couldn''t move.


    "Yes?" Finally, the woman met his gaze.


    "Nothing, mydy."


    The woman had a nonchnt graceful smile. "Good. Now go and fetch that. This war is as good as over." And her smile only widened. "We''ll just have to make an offer he can''t refuse."


    Perhaps to the world that was one beautiful smile, but to Vana Battlesuin, it was scarier than hell.

 Chapter 143 - The Price Of Freedom Part Two

    "I''ll take over the world even if I have to sacrifice everything! I''ll take over it no matter what, even if I have to kill every single living thing just to get here."


    Excrucio Romswell Brian was the head of the current Romswell family. Though a lot of elders wanted the position, he never gave it to them: he took it from them by force. In his own words, ''if ya can''t beat me, I ain''t handing this over.'' He didn''t inherit it from his father, no, he took it.


    Back when his father was still alive, he had this grand dream of starting a new revolution and conquer the world. Why? No one knew. Perhaps for a girl, perhaps just for the fun of it, or perhaps there was a deeper reason no one understood. But there was no denying the fact, he was definitely serious about this.


    His father didn''t think it was stupid, but he wasn''t willing to let Excrucio do whatever he pleased either.


    The Romswell family had a tradition. If the kid was old enough, he could challenge his parents into a duel and have his way. The tradition wasn''t used that often, before this fateful day.


    The two duked it out. It was vastly one-sided. Small droplets of rain fell from the dark clouds above. The sun wasn''t visible anymore.


    And as Excrucioid on the front yard, totally shirtless, covered in blood and snot, he said those words. "I''ll take over the world if even I have to sacrifice everything! I''ll take over it no matter what, even if I have to kill every single living thing just to get here." He didn''t look at his father. "I have to." He reached for the sky.


    His father hadughed harder than ever that day. And he''d also felt the greatest pain too. "Sorry son, but you''re too weak to kill me." It rained that day and perhaps that rain was a way to cover the tears of both of them.


    That was a long time ago.


    And as Excrucio remembered it all, taking a smoke on top of the Demigrace Academy''s head building, he felt just how stupid all that sounded.


    ''You were right dad. I still can''t kill you.'' After all, his father was already dead.


    He hadn''t given up on his dream of conquering the world, but he did realize just how vast the world was and what sort of monsters inhibited it.


    Just the thought alone wasn''t enough and he''d learned it the hard way, through countless sacrifices, through countless battles. He needed a lot more than just ambition.


    But that''s why he was d. ''At least he has more conviction and a more achievable dream than me.'' the conviction he just witnessed this afternoon was something that resonated with him.


    At the time when he said he was willing to kill everyone just to achieve his dream, he''d realized, he wasn''t. But that kid, that kid was and that''s why he couldn''t just abandon that kid. If the kid wasn''t strong enough, he''d just lend him a hand. After all, that was what family was for, right?


    ***


    Even if he wanted Excrucio couldn''t kill his family, he just wasn''t made that way. And killing other people like it was nothing? He couldn''t do that either.


    Just after running away from home after that fight, he''d joined a terrorist group: it was more like a group of small-time thugs.


    But it was then when he realized, killing, wasn''t as easy as he thought. It wasn''t just the matter of snuffing someone''s light, no: there was more. There was much more.


    When he actually intended on killing people, he thought about their families, he thought about their lives. What if the guy had dreams and goals? All those things hampered his ability to kill and eventually, he became so fed up with life that he left civilization, he left the group and started living in the wild.


    He came back to his family once in a while but he never stayed for long. His dream remained a dream, no more, an ambition. After all, the longer one held on to something, the heavier it got.


    Life passed fast and he even met a girl he wanted to live the rest of his life with.


    And so did his little sister. But his sister pulled ahead and also had kids. He didn''t want to be outdone so he had kids too.


    Time again moved on and for the first time, he felt a bit happy and his dream of conquering the world remained a dream. He didn''t have to run away and when he apologized to his father, his father weed him back with open arms. It really was the happiest day of his life.


    Years flew by.


    But when his father passed away he was devastated. The same person died from a mere child? The same person he couldn''t even scratch?


    He was so intent on killing that child that he came back straight to the Romswell mansion and took the title of the head by force. There wasn''t anyone capable of stopping him in the family, or more like there wasn''t anyone willing to try.


    He wanted to order the execution of the child and he was going to be the executioner too. And for that reason only he chose the title. But something changed when he learned of the bigger truth.


    Something changed in him too, after reading thest letter his father had left him.


    Now, after all those years, he could only chuckle at his fate and just how stupid he was.


    The cigar was fully burned. ''Guess I should be getting back.''


    He wasn''t alone, but he didn''t have anyone either.


    His dream was just a dream and everything was just a time pass for him. And that''s why he wanted to make sure, another dream didn''t get prematurely snuffed out.


    ***


    My head hurt.


    This whole thing became more and more recurring these days.


    I woke and saw loads of white light. ''I''m back again?''


    I groaned and sat down.


    The sudden burst of light passed and I realized this ce wasn''t that clean. Meaning, this wasn''t my mind, this was the nurse''s office. ''Guess not.''


    I kind of really didn''t want to be here.


    I didn''t see anyone around and after checking the Holo I could conclude there was a good reason for that. The reason being, it was past twelve. Then why the hell were the lights still on?


    Argh¡­


    There went my chance to eat a hearty dinner and recover my stamina.


    I took a good look at my body and well, I was disappointed. I had loads of bandages and I also couldn''t move. Everything stung. ''How the hell am I supposed to fight tomorrow then?''


    Damn you, uncle!


    Yeah, damn him for sure! Why the hell did he have to do this to me?


    Arghh¡­.


    Sigh.


    Just sighing wasn''t good enough anymore.


    With a bit of grumble, I lied down. But couldn''t sleep.


    Too hungry.


    There wasn''t any food on the table.


    Sigh.


    Did something curse me or something?


    I tried to sleep again.


    Nothing.


    Sigh.


    I just kept my eyes closed and lied like that.


    Crickets were roaring in the background. I kind of wanted to nuke them, but oh well.


    "Yes, his condition seems to be inadequate for tomorrow''s battle." I heard faint wordsing from the other side of the door.


    I still kept my eyes closed and a momentter I heard the door open.


    "WE can''t have that." It was the headmaster. "Please get him upto shape. If we cancel tomorrow''s fight, the bacsh would be tremendous."


    "I''ll try." It was a male voice and I''d heard it before.


    I tried opening a tiny of my eye and all eyes were literally on me. I guess they knew I was pretending.


    There were three of them. The nurse, the headmaster, and a transfer student.


    "What are you people doing?"


    "Trying to heal you." The nurse said, looking disapprovingly.


    "Can I get some food too?"


    She sighed. That was probably a yes, I sure hope so.


    "Alright, do your thing boy. If it doesn''t work, I''ll throw you out." Well, the headmaster sure was in a mood.


    "Yeah, no pressure." The guy chuckled. He was the Asian transfer student. I forgot his name but we fought both today- now yesterday- and during the matchesst week.


    He came close to me, ced a hand on my chest, and both he and I glowed.


    My wounds felt light and the pain eased up.


    He kept it up and a minuteter, I could move my body a lot better. Of course, I still had the deeper wounds but it was suffice to say, I was a lot better now.


    The guy moved his hand away from my chest and now that I took a good look at his face, he was malnourished. Even just a moment ago he wasn''t.


    "You okay?"


    "Just a side effect, don''t worry about it. I''ll be fine by tomorrow."


    I guess he tried hard to heal me. "Thanks."


    "No pro-" The guy tried to smile but the headmaster grabbed him and carried him back on his back like a potato bag.


    Poor guy.


    "He''s all yours," the geezer said.


    The nurse grinned.


    ''Oh shit.''

 Chapter 144 - How?

    Though at first, I thought I was screwed, the nurse didn''t actually do anything and just gave me a te of sd and a ss of broli juice. My favorite.


    And it was delicious too¡­


    .


    ¡­


    ¡­..


    No, it wasn''t!


    Why would it ever be?


    I so, so wanted to groan.


    Wasn''t she the one who told me to eat meat? So why was she giving me veg? I still ate and drank everything though. Too hungry.


    "Your mother is going toe tomorrow." The nurse was checking her things. So, the lights were on because she hadn''t left?


    I guess I kind of made her life a lot harder than it should have been.


    "You haven''t told her right?" I trod very carefully.


    "No, I haven''t but I do intend to."


    I controlled my raging heart and my breathing: it wasn''t over just yet. "I''d appreciate it if you told her tomorrow when shees here. I don''t want her to worry too much."


    If it was inevitable for mom to learn, then it was better for her to not know in the middle of the night and stay awake for the rest.


    "How thoughtful of you. In that case, would you mind not getting into trouble in the first ce?"


    "Trust me that was the n. But it almost feels like someone invisible thing is pulling some strings and making me get into trouble. Does God hate me? Is there even a God in the first ce?"


    The nurse sighed. "Let''s not worry about beings who may or may not exist. Anyway, you should be healed properly or at least enough by tomorrow, so rest well."


    At least enough huh? The nurse sure didn''t seem confident.


    "I see." It almost felt like I was forgetting something¡­ forgetting, oh! "I think I might have something wrong with me?"


    The words came out a bit too t. I guess I didn''t actually believe something was wrong with me. But I knew there was. How? Because I couldn''t remember what was wrong with me to begin with.


    "That being?" The nurse was actually about to leave but she quickly came back and grabbed my face, tilting both sides to get a better look.


    "I''m forgetting things rather fast. I can''t even remember what was wrong with me." It was very hard to speak while she held my face like that.


    But I guess it was kind of obvious what was wrong with me considering I couldn''t remember.


    "Hmmm¡­." She continued to observe me. "Could be a side effect of using a memory instiller for too long. How long do you usually use it?"


    "I only used it once for seven hours and for four subjects I think? I still remember everything about the subjects."


    She gave me a bit of a disgusted re. "Are you serious? Didn''t you read the warnings that you shouldn''t use it for more than two hours and just one subject a week?" She sighed. "I''m amazed you didn''t go into aa."


    I was both amazed and d I didn''t end up in aa too.


    "I can''t remember." I might or might not have read it.


    I shrank more and more. Yeah, this probably was my fault.


    "I think my lunch with your mom would be amazing tomorrow." She gave me a satisfied smile and moved towards the door, turning of the lights.


    I almost wanted to cry right now but yeah¡­ "Is there any cure?"


    "Just rest for the rest of the month. It''ll get better as long as you don''t use the instiller for the next few months. Yeah, probably."


    ''Then what the hell am I going to do with it?''


    And why the hell was she of all people not sure?


    I sighed and just lied down, a hand on my forehead. Something just had to go wrong no matter what.


    "I''ll keep the doors locked ande back tomorrow morning. Don''t bother going outside." The nurse was actually in the process of locking.


    "Why are you locking, something happened?"


    "I heard there''s some unusual activity in campus: seeing flying lights, people disappearing. Though it''s probably just some freshman pulling some stunts. But you can never be too careful."


    That certainly didn''t sound like some freshman pulling pranks, nope.


    With that said, she went ahead and locked the door from the outside.


    Oh well. Now that my belly was a bit full, I could at least rx.


    ''Why I''m doing this huh?'' I actually wanted to think about my answers to Marg''s questions, but- it didn''t take long for me to fall asleep.


    ***


    The curtains fluttered and lights came in.


    It was morning. Nine to be exact. Lately, I''d been oversleeping a lot more than necessary.


    And yes, I waste.


    "Morning." The nurse was already in her seat. "You''re free to go. So head back, get fresh, eat something and be at the gym by ten." She actually didn''t give me a nce. Her focus was on her Holo.


    "Shouldn''t you have woken me up? What if I gette?"


    "Then you lose." Yeah, no shit.


    Her words were notforting.


    My head throbbed a little and my body was still sore in some ces. So much for being fully cured. I was healed enough to walk around, but it wasn''t enough for me to not feel the pain.


    "Thanks for everything." But yeah, I couldn''t be an ungrateful brat forever.


    I was about to head out when the nurse grabbed my arm. "I shouldn''t do this but-" She continued to jab me. It stung like hell. "Should be enough to relieve your pain for twenty-four hours. Though after that, you''ll probably feel like staying in bed for the next forty."


    That did not sound good, but I did feel a little better. This stuff worked fast. But I still wished she''d at least given me a warning first.


    And boy DID IT STING!


    I grumbled a little but- "Thanks,"- left.


    "You''re wee." I could hear her cheerful voice but didn''t look back.


    The painkiller was good but my body felt a bit too numb. I guess everything had a side effect.


    ***


    I reached the dorm and strangely the washrooms were free. So taking a shower didn''t take that long. I made extra sure, it didn''t take long.


    Merin wasn''t here. He was probably at the gym, securing front-row seats. At times, I really didn''t understand the guy one bit.


    Sigh.


    I ate a minimal breakfast. Nothing fancy. I didn''t feel like eating at all for some reason. Nervousness?


    I didn''t know.


    But one thing I did know, I had to do this no matter what.


    ***


    Everything was done so I headed for the gym. I still had ten minutes but I''d barely make it even if I hurried now.


    ''Well, it''s not like I''m ever early these days.''


    I still ran, more like jogged. I was asleep for quite a while so I needed some warming up anyway.


    And my body was kind of numb from whatever the heck the nurse had given me. So I needed all the warming up I could get.


    I reached the gym at 9.57 with three minutes to spare.


    As I walked down the stairs, I felt it. This ce was at least twice as big as yesterday and there were all sorts of people here today, even reporters. Yeah, I had a bad feeling about this. Nay, a very bad feeling.


    The headmaster''s seat was in the far south and as usual, there were four seats by his. Two on his left, two on his right.


    I took a deep breath and kept on walking to the stage.


    When I was just about to enter I heard a voice from my left. It was Elsa''s.


    And if she was here- I took a look- yup mom was here too and she was sitting right next to Merin and the nurse.


    Was I screwed?


    Her re seemed to indicate- YES!


    ''Shit.''


    I took another deep breath, kept on walking.


    At the center, there was Rose and Marg. Strange, I didn''t see Dick around.


    I didn''t care though.


    "I''m certain I don''t have to exin any rules to you?" We both nodded. "Alright then, those five gentlemen would be today''s judges and we will begin shortly start after erecting a barrier." Rose''s voice was loud and rather pleasant to hear. I guess she practiced for this.


    But those five? My uncle was among those five and so was a criminal! Then again, uncle was a viin too.


    Wait, weren''t all those people technically bad guys? I didn''t know about the headmaster but that Rodwich guy seemed like a pretty bad guy to me.


    Well,ining now wasn''t going to get me anywhere. So, I just rolled with it.


    "I thought you wouldn''t show up," Marg said.


    It was already two minutes past ten.


    The barrier kept on forming, almostplete: it wasn''t invisible.


    I took my saber in one hand and the sword in the other. "Well, I owe you some answers and so do you. So, couldn''t afford to not show up."


    "Feel free to use your powers. There''s no time limit, you either pass out or give up. GO!"


    "I see." A faint smile crept up Marg''s lips as she disappeared and punched me solidly in my stomach, appearing just before my eyes.


    ''How?'' I was already using both alpha and beta particles. And it wasn''t like I''d let down my guard either.


    So the question did remain, how?


    And more importantly, why didn''t she just use this chance to hold the saber at my neck instead?

 Chapter 145 - The Battle Of Heart And Conviction

    The punch wasn''t that powerful and it didn''t hurt as much. But I guess that was just a warning. I calmed my breathing and confirmed all the particles I was releasing. I also started using X-rays. Maybe it was a bit harmful for Marg to be this close, but I didn''t have a choice.


    I was actually using a lot more powers than necessary. Seeing those bones of her was kind of a turn-off: she was rather healthy though. Oh well.


    I had both my saber and sword ready. Marg was just two meters away. ''Should I rush her?'' She could just teleport and that was a big problem. As ast resort, she could also teleport people without touching them, meaning she had plenty of cards. Besides, I still didn''t know the full depth of her powers.


    "Your answers?" But instead of doing anything, Marg started talking.


    I actually didn''t have time to think about them. Actually, through all this stuff I might have even forgotten some of the questions.


    "You want them right now?"


    ''Pretty please don''t.''


    "Wasn''t this the reason you wanted to fight me?"


    ''How the hell did you know that?''


    I cleared my throat and went for the best possible cheat answer. "I love you."


    "I see." She closed her eyes, opened them, and red. "I believe you but- I don''t love you. So sorry, I couldn''t reciprocate your feelings." Yeah, she didn''t look sorry one bit.


    I sighed and gripped my sword tight. "It''s okay, no sorry necessary. I''ll wait." I''d already made that decision anyway.


    It''s not like I was dependent on sex or any of that. I wasn''t some monster craving girls either. I just wanted Marg to be by my side. It was strange, what started as just a wish to take responsibility gradually changed to many different things. The more I thought about it, the more things changed. Perhaps I was being crazy, perhaps I was just being a bit stupid but, I didn''t really mind waiting.


    "You don''t understand-" She disappeared and reappeared just behind me. "You won''t ever see me again," She whispered.


    I swung back but she was gone.


    What the hell was happening? My particles weren''t picking up anything and even with X-ray vision, I wasn''t seeing anything. It wasn''t like she was vanishing or turning invisible. And even if she teleported, I could just trace where she''d be the moment she reappeared.


    But it wasn''t working. I couldn''t trace her at all. Was it possible this wasn''t teleportation?


    Then what?


    "Why won''t I see you again? I don''t know if you know this or not, but I''ll fight that whole family of monsters for you." I looked around. "Even your family-"


    "That''s a very bold im." A swing came from my right. My body reacted on its own and I barely dodged the swing. "Can you back that up?"


    Marg''s voice was cold, awfully cold.


    "We''ll have to see." I grinned and swung too.


    Aplete miss. She was gone again.


    This just wasn''t good. Not only could I not trace her, I couldn''t attack her either.


    I was a sitting duck for her to strike, and she didn''t disappoint.


    Argh!


    I had to jump forward to escape but, it still connected. She''d sliced me from behind: the pain was real. She wasn''t ying around, no.


    I didn''t know why but my body was very reactive today. The painkiller was working pretty well but even with the numbing agent, the pain was real. But my senses were faster than usual, though it should have been duller.


    Something just wasn''t right.


    I didn''t have time to worry about it though.


    The wound wasn''t that deep and though I was bleeding I didn''t need immediate attention.


    "I could have just ended this the moment this fight started. But- if I don''t make my point to you, you won''t understand."


    "What point?" I surveyed my surroundings. She wasn''t here.


    Just what the hell was she doing? Howe nothing was working? But whatever this was, this definitely wasn''t teleportation.


    Was there something else that could make my senses fail? Some sort of barrier of her own? No, that would have been ridiculous. But not imusible, no.


    Could she erase her presence to such an extent that I wouldn''t have been able to trace her? It was definitely usible but not very practical since I had my particles.


    Wait, she could actually go to another dimension. But still, the moment she''d reappear, I''d know.


    I was out of ideas.


    "That you''re not good enough." The voice again came from my behind.


    I turned with zing speeds- but- it was toote.


    She wasn''t there, but I could feel it in my bones where she was.


    It was just toote.


    Arghh! Blood leaked.


    Another sh¡­. This was bad, I was losing blood fast¡­ this was really bad. And the wound was pretty deep, enough to almost scratch my spine. I might have escaped by a hairsbreadth.


    There probably was a freaking cross mark on my back right about now. It hurt so bad!


    And not to mention my vision got seriously blurry. I was about to faint.


    I guess all these wounds and the fatigue really did a number on me.


    "Why are you still smiling?"


    "I don''t know. This feels so surreal." It really was. I never expected Marg of all people to push me this far. I never thought she''d talk trash like this either. But what she said weren''tplete lies. I knew I wasn''t good enough.


    That was why I wanted to be.


    I stumbled and almost fell on my knees. But I didn''t. I used the sword as footing.


    ''This is what happens when you rely on emotions rather than intelligence.''


    The shadow was going through his monologues again. He just had to choose this time.


    ''And you even got rejected. Not once, but thrice. What a pity you are.''


    And he was being awfully talking too.


    His words stung, they really did.


    But they also made me remember certain things. I took a deep breath and stood straight. "You are strong Marg. You really are. And I really don''t know anything about you or your powers: but that''s why I want to know more. I don''t know if I can win against the Battlesuins either. I really don''t. But the fact that I love you won''t change. And I won''t hand you over to some scum from that family. NO!" I took a deeper breath and stood tall.


    My body burned a little. I looked back and the wounds weren''t leaking. My left hand was burning a bit too much. And upon closer look, the sma from my saber was actually being absorbed.


    ''Hisss¡­. Barrriers¡­.''


    I''d actually forgotten that this damn thing was kind of sentient. And the hisses? I didn''t know, but it didn''t matter.


    A barrier covered my body, without even me doing anything. Yeah, after this I''d have to seriously take a good look at my saber.


    I quickly put my sword back and just held the saber with two hands. The wounds in my back were burning but they were healing at the same time. And the barrier was basically covering my whole body in a thinyer. It wasn''t strong like the barriers I could form to block and stuff but it was strong enough to give me just one chance. "My love for you won''t change. I won''t just discard you or run to get milk. Though personally I really like chocte milk and you should know that."


    ''Wait, what the hell did I just say?''


    Marg looked at me with a bit of discontent, one hand covering her chest. "But as I said," Marg Teleported again, "You''re not strong enough for that." She swung her sword from the front, out of nowhere: straight from my blind spot. I didn''t block or dodge. Her sword did connect to my chest, but there was no cut, at least not deep enough to worry me.


    The reason being? The barrier was invisible.


    But before Marg could react, I punched her face with all my strength. I didn''t have time to hit anywhere else. Sorry mom but I couldn''t keep my promise.


    Marg flew over and hit the barrier. I again forgot thattely, my strength was uncapped. Yeah, my bad.


    I might or might not have ruined that pretty face. But after being cut nearly three times, I really wasn''t in the best of moods to hold back just because I loved her and she was a girl.


    Then again, she''d recover anyway: probably.


    Marg groaned, threw some blood, and got up on shaky legs.


    "Still think I''m not strong enough?" I grinned.


    "Cheap shot." She spat more blood. Her voice shook a little too.


    Yeah, I might or might not have overdone it a lil. Then again, she was literally trying to kill me, or probably incapacitate me. So yeah, now we were even, kind of.


    "Hey, anything''s fair in love and war. Haven''t you heard?"


    I still didn''t know what Marg was even doing, but one thing was for certain, with this, I at least had a shot.

 Chapter 146 - The Battle Of Heart And Conviction Part Two

    "Heh, for a second there I thought he lost." A man chuckled.


    "That''s not something an uncle should say!" Another man chuckled.


    Both were viins. And their seat was right next to each other.


    "How''s it going to geezer haven''t seen you around in a while. Oh yeah, heard you were going by Rock these days?"


    "And all this time you were just ignoring me." The man mumbled. "And spare me that crap. It''s Devrock! There''s a difference." The man sighed. "Oh yeah, heard you took over after Julio. And what''s this crap about a group named Albana?"


    The man made an annoying face. "That was a long time ago. Where were you, under some Rock? And it''s Alzana!"


    Devrock grinded his teeth a little, cracked his neck but just smiled. "You wanna go?"


    "I was just about to-" The man smiled.


    Both were up from their seats and their grins were pretty iconic.


    "Gentlemen, would you mind quieting down? It''s finally getting to the good part." The only girl in the group spoke in an elegant tone. Her graceful smile was bewildering.


    "Shut up vixen!" Both of them spoke at the same time and stared at each other, and a secondter broke into severeughter.


    Strangely they were in sync when it came to hating a certain someone.


    "Now, now, let''s not forget our arrangement-" The headmaster finally spoke. "Unless you want to be kicked off this ind that is." He grinned.


    Both of the menughed hard but took their seats anyway.


    "Say, Excrucio," Devrock started. "You sure you wanna let the kid do that."


    The man- Excrucio started. "I''m not his dad. As a responsible uncle, I''ll let him do whatever he pleases. Personally, I really like it when the kid gets a little beaten up. Actually, I like it when everyone gets a little roughed up these days." Heughed. "Oh, look he''s getting beat up again." Heughed some more.


    Devrockughed hard. "Where''s the responsibility in that?"


    Excrucio didn''t pay much attention to Devrock anymore. His eyes were locked onto the seat to his right, behind the headmaster. Apparently, the only girl in the group- Hyora was staring at him. "What? You want to die?"


    The phrase ''you want to die'' was kind of an insult to Hyora, after all, she was immortal.


    Her smile didn''t falter. "How about we strike a deal?"


    "Since when did tigers made deals with foxes?"


    Hyora had fox ears, so thepliment kind of stung. Her smile still stayed though, albeit a bit forced. "But it would be in your best interest. After all, with this, everyone would win."


    "Well, why don''t you humor us?" There was one man among the five who hadn''t yet spoken so far. He was a noble and didn''t want to be part of vulgar words. But- finally, he chose to be a part of this anyway. "Then again, I never thought my daughter would be so capable. I might have underestimated her."


    Excrucio snorted and just red, ignoring the man altogether. .


    While Devrock and Roger just chuckled.


    "We''ve found it. Thest chunk of Zurkomim." The girl grinned. For the first time, her elegant smile was reced by something vulgar.


    "Xurko wha-?" Devrock got tongue-tied.


    The rest of the three pairs of eyes, however, were wide open in shock.


    "And you''re saying this to me because?" Excrucio grinned. Things just got a bit more exciting.


    A Zurkomim ore was bad news and even Excrucio knew that.


    "I''ll let you have a piece of it."


    "What?" Now everyone was confused.


    Zurkomim was basically the only effective way of restraining powers and yet, she was going to halfheartedly hand it over to her enemy?


    There had to be more and Excrucio wasn''t dumb enough not to know that.


    "I just have one condition." Hyora''s smile again turned vulgar.


    ***


    I was still kind of wounded and though my healing was a lot better, if I got attacked again, I was in some hot trouble. The same went for Marg. If she came after me halfheartedly, she wasn''t going to get out unscathed either.


    One part of me wanted her to attack so I could counter, the other part wanted her to not attack so I didn''t get hurt


    It was almost like I was waiting for her toe at me while also wishing she wouldn''t. The feeling was weird. And I was just being a hypocrite.


    She did attack me though. And fairly quickly too. But instead of teleporting, she just swung her sword. Left swing, right swing, uppercut! She was good but- with just one swing I knocked her saber off. Needless to say, she immediately teleported and picked up her saber.


    She again came at me. Most of her attacks were kind of linear but her powers were kind of overpowered and she could easily attack me from my blind spots. Though my barrier was good at preventing any more wounds, at least kind of.


    Her sword skills were good, there was no doubt about it, but strangely it was a bit too ceremonial. It almost felt like she''d learn the skills in some kind of ss but never got to use them. Maybe that was the case, maybe it wasn''t. I didn''t know, and I didn''t care.


    There was only one thing I cared about.


    I was going to win.


    So, without thinking too much, I run for her, she didn''t leave and met me with full force. The two sabers connected and I didn''t realize but- apparently, she stole my sheathed sword. She was about to attack me from my blind spot again. I had to hand it to her, even if her style was linear she really knew how to damage me.


    In a split second, I was pierced straight through my right lungs with my own frigging sword: the barrier didn''t even put up a fight. I guess she made sure not to strike my heart.


    I threw blood and stumbled. So much for winning. Marg didn''t let me fall to the ground grabbed me. Both our sabers fell on the floor but my sword was still sticking out of my chest.


    "I love you too," Marg whispered. "But- when you wake up next time, I will be gone. I love you and that''s why I don''t want you to get involved. If I were to hurt you, if you were to get hurt for my sake, I won''t be able to forgive myself. Besides, even if you were to free me, my mother still remains captive." Her eyes sparkled but she didn''t cry. "And I really can''t forgive myself after this but- take care of yourself."


    ''That''s all I need to know.'' I smiled. Marg was close and I was going to make sure she stayed close.


    I knew she had feelings for me and I had feelings for her. But since she wasn''t being clear about it, I couldn''t do anything, but it all changed now, right this moment.


    "Sounds good to me. But- it''s upto me what I choose. I won''t give you up, not because I''m selfish, no, but because I''m crazy about you. And I''m serious." I grabbed her tight. "And I don''t think I''ll lose consciousness anytime soon." I winked and went straight for her lips.


    She didn''t see thising one bit.


    At first, she protested but a secondter, she gave up, grabbed my upper torso, and her eyes leaked.


    It felt weird to kiss her like this and there were now blood marks on her lips. Then again she still had that bruise from the first punch.


    "Hey, someone stop that!" There was a moron yelling somewhere in the stadium. I knew mom was right next to her, so I just ignore it.


    Her voice definitely wasn''t calm though.


    "Don''t me me for what happens next." Marg''s eyes leaked but her voice was strangely calm.


    "Yeah, I won''t. Oh, and I win by the way," I winked.


    "Fine." She half giggled half stumbled. "I give up." She raised one of her hands.


    A sigh came from my left and therge barrier was gone. "Helio Romswell Jintel wins¡­" Rose said in a loud voice. "Somehow," She mumbled. Well, she sure was disappointed.


    "Hey, I heard that-" I threw up some more blood.


    Yeah, not my best day.


    The reception was kind of mixed. Some were cheering way too hard, wishing and stuff. While others were booing and ring at me like I''d murdered their pets in cold blood or something.


    Humans were weird.


    "SO," Marg grabbed my hand.


    "So?"


    "What will you do now?"


    "I''ll talk to your father about your motherter and¡­. Pass out now I guess?" I had a friggin sword sticking out of my chest, what else could I do?


    And yes, I did pass out a secondter.


    But just knowing that I''d won in life was enough to make me feel good about even passing out.


    Okay, maybe it would have been a bit better if I wasn''t dying from the pain. And maybe it would have been even better if I didn''t have a sword sticking out but I did feel a lot better. I had new responsibilities but- I wanted them and I was going to live life without regrets.

 Chapter 147 - The Announcement! A Declaration Of War

    My eyes fluttered. My vision blurred, ckened, and cleared all at the same time. I was hanging a little.


    Or was someone carrying me?


    My head spun and my whole body felt light. It didn''t hurt though, at least nothing unbearable.


    There were muffled sounds but I didn''t pay attention. Took a minute and when I finally opened my eyes, I saw lights, cheering crowds, and a group of people in front of me, pping. But how was I still standing?


    A strong smell of disinfectant was in the air. Wait, was iting from me?


    I looked to my right. Nothing. I looked to my left and there she was. Marg.


    "Hey," She said.


    "Hi." I tried to smile but couldn''t feel my lips.


    I didn''t have a gaping hole on my chest, rather just some bandages. Well, someone worked fast. It stung like hell though, despite my system still having the painkiller. At first, the pain wasn''t that prominent but as I woke up more and more, oh yeah, it hurt. But I had to bear it.


    Yeah, this probably wasn''t going to be my best day.


    "Can you stand?"


    "I don''t think so." Even if I could, why would I want to when she was literally doing all the carrying?


    Marg was hurt too but definitely not as bad as me.


    "Well, I''d like to congratte you for winning and wish for you good health but-" The headmaster let off a nervous chuckle. The people around me stopped pping.


    Yeah, I sensed trouble.


    There was that Rock guy, the Battlsuin girl, and the Rodwich guy with him. Just maybe three meters away from me?


    Mom, uncle, and Elsa were here too. But they were behind me.


    Actually, some other people like Merin, Rose and Eve were here too on stage.


    The crowd was still here and I got the feeling this wasn''t going to end well. Then again I''d already chosen what I''d do regardless so it didn''t matter.


    "Yeah, don''t worry. I''ve been through worse." My lips weren''t moving like I intended them to but it sure didn''t stop me from talking.


    He chuckled. "That''s the spirit. You''re qualified for the internationals now. Though even if you decline now, we''ll still pay you the promised amount."


    ''Wait, what promised amount?'' Weren''t we supposed to get cash rewards only if we made it to the internationals?


    And then the realization dawned upon me. I was already on the internationals the moment I''d won. Since this academy wasn''t affiliated with any particr country, the moment I''d won, meant I could go to the internationals!


    Nice!


    I tried my best to grin. "No, I''d fight. I''d need some extra cash for a honeymoon anyway." Oh yeah, the possibilities!


    Ouch! The pinch came from my left.


    Yeah, probably wasn''t the best time to say that.


    I cleared my throat. "Do I have to give a speech or something?"


    "Just waving is fine. I''ll do all the talking."


    That was fine and all but I had an announcement. "Well after finishing do let me talk. I have an announcement for the world."


    It was more like a deration of war, but oh well.


    The guy grimaced. "You''re really going to go through this huh?"


    So, he knew? I guess I shouldn''t have underestimated him.


    "Sorry, it''s in my blood. I can''t stop and I won''t." I didn''t know if that was a blood thing or just me, but I had no ns to stopping now.


    He gave me a knowing grin and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen I hope that was enough enjoyment for you. It was definitely for me. And though some of you may say this was a bitcklusterpared to yesterday, I dare you say that out loud." The geezer was grinning pretty hard. Needless to say, the crowd was as quiet as a baby, giggling here and there. No one had anything to say, apparently. Next, he looked at me. " Helio Romswell Jintel, you''ll represent our Demigrace academy in the internationals. There will be talents of all kinds there, are you good enough?" He was still speaking through his Holo so the whole world was hearing him.


    What sort of question was that? Shouldn''t this guy have at least tried a little more to be formal?


    I sighed. "Don''t worry, I''ll beat ''em all." If he wasn''t trying, I had no reason to either.


    I received a lot of chuckles and giggles from around me and from the crowd too. But it was true. I''d pulled my punches against Marg, but I wasn''t going to do that for anyone else. I wasn''t stupid enough to think I''d win without any effort, but I was definitely not going to give up without a fight.


    The headmaster grinned. "Now that''s more like it," He mumbled and returned his gaze to the crowd. "That concludes finals of Demigrace academy tournament. But please be seated for a moment longer as the winner has an announcement to make."


    My holo shed a grin signal, everything was ready. I had a feeling the headmaster had already nned all this. Just how shrewd was this guy?


    "You sure?" Marg whispered.


    I grinned, I was damn sure. With the reporters present here, this news would probably travel the world. I felt a bit nervous but I didn''t really care. "Hello everyone. Cursed Mask Romswell here." I really didn''t want to use this name. But the world apparently knew me by this name.


    And if I''d just used Helio first thing, they''d have assumed I was the son of Julio, so yeah, no thanks.


    "Cursed mask?" Marg mumbled but I just ignored her.


    Mom and Elsa were kind of in the middle of a frown and just in embarrassment.


    I was embarrassed too, okay! So don''t give me that look.


    Anyway. "I''m the grandson of Julio, and my name is also Helio. Well, I won and I n to win in the future too. So please do support me." I was basically just mimicking what little I saw on the Holo TV when I was a kid. Was it working? No clue. But I did have a reason. I didn''t want anything to do with my father, so no point in mentioning his name. "I know a guy named¡­ va.. ba¡­ ka? What was his name again?" Halfway through, I actually forgot. Damn my memory.


    "Vana Battlesuin," Marg whispered.


    "A guy named Vana Battlesuin is among you." I was d Marg was right next to me. She was smiling a bit too much though. It almost freaked me out for a second. The same nonchnt girl smiling this much? Wow." Sorry pal but I''m taking her for myself." I grabbed Marg tight and she grabbed me tighter. I also kept a good eye on the crowd and sure enough, a man stood up, looking a bit too serious and definitely not happy. "If you want her,e and fight me. Oh and don''t worry, I have a score to settle with your shitty, pathetic excuse for a family." Meanwhile, I switched my re on the Battlesuin girl who was smiling nonchntly. I didn''t really care about Vana whatever. "I didn''t kill that scumbag ze but if mom wasn''t there I would have and I don''t regret it." I unsheathed my saber with my free hand and pointed it at the Battlesuin girl. "Therefore, if you try to take her from me, hurt me, hurt my family, try anything funny, you''re dead." My voice went awfully cold, even I hadn''t expected it to. "Cause, I can kill you right here, right now, and that''s a fact. I''ll destroy your whole damn family."


    I was definitely bluffing though. As beaten up as I was, I was pretty sure I''d be screwed if things went a bit sour. Not to mention I couldn''t even stand on my own.


    But with mom and uncle here, yeah, I didn''t really care. I was the most powerful guy right now with them covering my back.


    "Try not to piss them off too much," Marg whispered, concern in her voice.


    Toote now.


    There were loads and loads of giggles around me.


    The crowd was kind of in the middle of shock. Especially that Vana guy. He had his jaw hanging.


    Had I said something that bad?


    Was my family proud though? I looked back and uncle was definitely proud. Mom was kind of proud? Elsa wasn''t though. She was a bit pale.


    Oh,e on! Have some faith.


    The Battlesuin girl still smiled. "Pleasee to the tea party on thest day of this month after the tournament. We''ll be waiting patiently along with your father." Her voice was too calm. Was something wrong with her?


    "Yeah, I don''t give me a crap about that piece of work. Though I will attend and trust me, you brought your own downfall the moment you decided to do all this."


    "Does five PM work for you?"


    Seriously, what was wrong with her? Here I was dissing her whole family and she was just pretending like nothing was wrong with the world.


    Now, I was confused.


    "He''ll be there." Mom answered on my behalf and stood right next to me, cing a hand on my shoulder.


    The Battlesuin girl nodded and turned around. "Oh Marg dear, we leave now."


    "Didn''t you hear? She''s noting with you." And I wasn''t letting go of her either.


    Marg took a minute but- "As he said, I''m not going."


    Nice!


    The Battlesuin girl next gave the count a look. "Well, I suppose the deal''s off then?"


    "Yes, it would seem that way." The count however just smiled and looked at me.


    Seriously, what the hell was wrong with these people?


    The Battlesuin girl sighed. "Such a shame." Her signature smile was back and she elegantly walked out of the whole ce. The Vana guy followed her like a dog.


    Well, there went that. I felt like a massive weight just got lifted though.

 Chapter 148 - Bring It On!

    "ARGhh!" A massive p fell on my back and along with it came the pain. "What the hell do you think you''re doing!?"


    Uncleughed hard. "Now you gone and done it, kid!" He wasughing a bit too much. "I''m damn proud!" Heughed haphazardly. "Oh, and we need to talkter. I''ll be with the geezer."


    I''d really wish aunt Annie would show up and drag his ass back home already, seriously!


    "Fine." Damn that hurt.


    Marg finally let go of me and stood next to me. I felt a bit weird to be on my feet and everything felt a bit wobbly but I was okay.


    Uncleughed some more and started leaving. Marg''s father and that Rock guy were also leaving. And that''s when I saw something I shouldn''t have.


    ''Well, that won''t end well.''


    The crowd so far were enjoying the show. I got the impression they enjoyed this little squabble more than the actual fight. Because they sure were grinning rather hard, especially those reporters. Yeah, I was definitely not getting out of this without more headaches. I could almost imagine the headlines!


    Sigh.


    Well, I''d already decided this long ago anyway.


    But something bad was about to happen and I could tell without even sighing. I still sighed though.


    "Well, your sister''s about to do something stupid," I mumbled.


    "What do you mean?" Marg looked at me and then around her. Finally resting her eyes on the girl obstructing the headmaster''s group''s path. "That''s not going to end well. She''s not a match for him."


    Yeah, I thought as much.


    "Think we should step in?"


    "No." Marg''s voice was typical, cold even.


    Well, it was their family business and I had no reason to stick my nose into it. Besides, I was pretty much out ofmission.


    ***


    "What do you want? I thought I told you to stand down?" Melheim spoke clearly, ring.


    People were about to leave but they stopped just to see themotion. So far, this day was rather eventful.


    Eve held her sword firm, fire oozed out of her. It covered her de, but that wasn''t all. Her whole body burned and so did the space around her. She was damn serious. "I''m leaving the family. I want nothing to do with you!" Her clothes werepletely fine though.


    She pointed her sword at her father. And a secondter, charged. She jumped in the air and descended with spiraling motion, with all the force she was capable of.


    The people around the count gave him enough space.


    Melheim- he just blocked it- with his palm. The surroundings became a bit chilly and the intense fire of the sword started to freeze.


    "He''s freezing the fire?" Helio whispered from the sides.


    "That''s why I said they''re not a good match," Marg whispered back.


    But eve wasn''t done.


    With one hand she held her sword, with the other she focused her powers and called forth the biggest ball of fire over their heads and consequently made it fall. She was resistant to fire, so it didn''t bother her as much. And yet her body still took damage, meaning this heat wasn''t just intense, it was extreme.


    The audience felt the extreme heat and the ones closest to the duo moved back. The headmaster, Devrock, and Excrucio didn''t move though. They just watched the whole thing with grins.


    Meanwhile, Helio and Marg watched in anticipation. Especially Marg, she was conflicted for some reason. She was treated horribly in her early life and yet- and yet, she couldn''t forsake the girl in front of her. She couldn''t help her either.


    ''No. This has nothing to do with me, anymore.'' She took a deep breath and made her decision.


    "And why would you do that?" Melheim spoke nonchntly. His body color was different. No, he was frozen and his color was blue. His eyes were a shade of red and his ears were long like an elf''s, mist just oozing out of every part.


    The sword and his palm rattled but there was no progress.


    Eve gritted her teeth. "So, I can make my own destiny." Eve pushed harder but it was not working and no matter how she tried, no matter how much she burned her own self, nothing happened to her father.


    "Such foolishness." The count sighed in disappointment. "I guess, you were the true failure."


    Eve''s eyes raged and yet they shimmered even within the extreme heat. But before any drop could leak they evaporated. "I''m not a failure!" She screamed her heart out but there was no one to hear her mourn.


    No one gave a damn. And she knew that.


    But that didn''t stop her and she unleashed her full power: she went beyond, everything burned. Some of the audience had to run for their lives who were too close.


    And then finally- a patch of burned skin on Melheim''s cheek! And a scratch on his palm!


    "Unfortunately-" Melheim closed his palm, snapped the sword in two. It happened in an instant: Eve was shocked. Even Helio was shocked. It was supposed to be one of the strongest swords on campus and yet- "You''re too weak." He held Eve by her throat, lifted her up, and mmed her on the ground.


    Eve groaned and threw up blood.


    Slowly but surely everything froze; the floor, even the humidity in the air. The ce almost felt like a freezer. Eve''s fire was hot, but it wasn''t good enough. What felt like the Sahara desert just moments ago now felt like Antarctica.


    He raised her by her throat, over his head, and he was about to m his daughter again. He also had the genius idea of crushing her legs, to ensure she never stood against him again.


    "Can''t we just leave it there?" The voice came from Melheim''s right, where Helio was. "Oh and I''d like to meet my future mother-inw and maybe even invite her over."


    Though Helio didn''t want to intervene, seeing Marg grimace kind of made him go into action. After all, though Marg herself didn''t want to intervene, and though she didn''t want anything to do with her family, she still cared about them subconsciously. It really was an irony of fate.


    And since Helio decided to act anyway, he went ahead and made extra demands too. Perhaps he was the most selfish one in here after all.


    Melheim grinned, took something out of his pocket and threw it at Helio. "Consider it a wedding gift."


    Maybe things didn''t go ording to n, but in the end, everything worked out in Melheim''s favor. And yet, he didn''t feel all that happy.


    His grin stopped. He looked a bit more pissed than usual and just walked out, not even ncing at the girl on the floor once. "YOU''RE disowned."


    ***


    "Well, that was something." Though I didn''t want to interfere I kind of went out of my way.


    Maybe it was because I wanted to make Marg feel better. Maybe it was because I wanted to help Eve as her friend or maybe it was just because I felt like this was better. Personally, I didn''t know.


    The thing in my hand looked like a key of some sort. ''Why the hell would he give me a key?''


    Marg grabbed my hand tight and didn''t take a step forward, rather she wanted to get out of here that was clear.


    Well, I wanted to pass out again but I had to hold out for another minute.


    "You okay?" I raised my voice a little. Even talking was painful. Of course my target was Eve.


    "Fine." Eve stood up. She did not look fine, no.


    I sighed and leaned my head against Marg''s shoulders. "I might faint again." Fainting on her shoulder might not have been that much of a bad idea.


    The crowd finally started dispersing. For a second there I thought they''d stay here forever.


    "Thanks," Marg whispered.


    "Unfortunately." Mom grabbed my shoulder. "We need to talk. So, don''t faint." What kind of request was that!


    And wait, why the hell wasn''t I fainting!?


    I felt faint but nothing was happening. I was totally conscious and I even felt like my faint feeling was going away. Instead, fear was taking over.


    "T-talk about what?"


    Any time now!


    Elsa sniffed. "You cheater."


    Me, cheater, wha?


    I didn''t know why but things weren''t making sense,


    But more importantly, why the hell wasn''t I fainting?


    Because this was a really convenient time for me faint and get out of all this trouble.


    "You jumped off a ne. Got injured while fighting. And even dueled with your uncle." The moment she said that uncle was already running. He was close to the door but now he just ran away. Mom sighed. "So, yeah, we''re definitely going to talk." She grinned and looked at Marg and me.


    Oh boy. It wasn''t just going to be that no, we were going to talk about the future and stuff.


    Well, I was pretty much ready, kind of.


    ''Bring it on!''


    I really wished she didn''t though.

 Chapter 149 - Truth: The Foundation

    The same room, the same bed, the same people.


    We were already done being treated just moments ago.


    Why did we have to be here, what was even the meaning of life? Suffering?


    Apparently, while lying down on the bed in the nurse''s office, I was having an existential crisis.


    The reason?


    "SO, you''re saying you won''t get married now and would like to experiment first?" Mom asked the girl on the bed right next to mine.


    She didn''t even bat an eye at me, her own son!


    Yeah, definitely an existential crisis. My disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.


    But then again my days were already ruined and these stinging wounds were the proof of that. I was wounded from both sides so I couldn''t even lie down properly. Life was hell. And then there was the fact that once this painkiller runs out, I''d be sorer than a stiff monkey!


    There were five of us in here: Mom, Elsa, Marg, and the nurse in her seat. Marg had two or three Band-Aids while I was covered in bandages from head to toe. Though I did have pants, I didn''t have a shirt on.


    Not that it mattered...


    Marg stayed quiet for


    a minute. "If we get married now, and Helio falls in love with another girl but is limited to me and suffers because of that, then what?"


    The question was basically aimed at me. Hadn''t I made myself clear that I didn''t have any intention to fall in love with other people? Then again, she was right, we couldn''t ignore that possibility.


    After all, I was a guy, and I knew for a fact guys couldn''t be trusted when it came to matters of the heart. I really wanted to believe in myself though.


    "I really like that idea!" Elsa was kind of excited.


    Damn you brat!


    Mom sighed. "She''s right you know. And though both your father and grandfather were pretty devoted-" Mom came close. "You know what happened to your father. And don''t get me started on your grandfather," She whispered.


    My own mother didn''t trust me.


    But yeah, she was right. My grandfather was loyal but, he also had flings. My father¡­ well, that was self-exnatory.


    "So you''re suggesting, we just stay friends?" My chest felt so tight, I felt like fainting.


    Then what the hell was the point of all that?


    "No, I''m suggesting became lovers and start living together. See what it''s like to live with someone else, see how infuriating it is, and see what sort of rage you can conjure up that has nowhere to go." Mom was smiling but yeah, she was definitely saying rather scary stuff while reminiscing about the past.


    Marg giggled. "I''ve lived with my half-siblings so I think I can live with anyone at this point: at least I can manage those rages. What about you?"


    Hey, living with half-siblings had nothing to do with this. Besides, her half-siblings weren''t necessarily going to keep her up like me. And not to mention I got the feeling she already knew. And yet, just look at the smirking face.


    Mom giggled herself. "Well, if pushes to shove, you can just marry more girl''s right? That would be legal and would also mean you won''t be able to cheat on other girls. Problem solved?"


    What the hell did this woman just suggest?


    And how was that problem solved? It only increased the problems!


    "Yeah, that''s a very good idea!" Again Elsa was just jumping around.


    What the hell was wrong with her? Even just an hour ago she was frowning and almost crying and now she was more excited than that day we went on a pic.


    Something was definitely up. My sister couldn''t possibly be this excited about me getting married: she had to be an imposter!


    Mom too! She too had to be an imposter!


    "I don''t think-" I started but was promptly interrupted.


    Marg chuckled. "I''ll take on anypetition, bring it on!"


    ''So says the girl who rejected me three times already.''


    Wait, all three were imposters?


    Was I an imposter too?


    What the hell!


    But no matter how I looked Marg''sugh did not look good to me: there was almost like¡­ madness in thatugh. Where did that nonchnt girl go? Who was this?


    Strangely, I started sweating. ''I didn''t walk into another world, right?''


    "Hey, that''s not fair, let''s get along?" Something was seriously wrong with Elsa.


    "As long as you remain his lovable little sister, we''ll get along just fine." Marg smiled, she smiled way too hard.


    Wait, what the hell did that mean?


    And why the hell was Elsa going pale all of a sudden?


    And what''s with those faces?


    Something was wrong here.


    Mom sighed. "Well, rest up, we''re leaving." Mom grabbed Elsa and dragged her out. "We''ll talkter."


    Elsa struggled but against our lord mother, she was powerless. ''Rest in peace sista-''


    Marg looked at me, smiled.


    I didn''t know why but even lying down, my back straightened a little.


    Was it possible that I was bringing a mom 2.0 in my life?


    ''Oh shit.''


    Toote now. I''d chose this, so there was no point regretting any of this anyway.


    I just had to smile and ept it.


    ***


    Sometimes passed but there wasn''t really that much talk between the two of us. I for once didn''t know what to say.


    The disinfectant smell was kind of rubbing me the wrong way. Marg wasn''t hurt that badly, meaning she was free to go, but she chose to stay.


    It was already noon but here we were, still nothing to talk about.


    What was I supposed to say? How was I even supposed to start the conversation in the first ce?


    I started sweating. This was very nerve-wracking. The difficult part was behind us so why the hell was this making me nervous?


    My heart beat fast and my breathing became erratic. This was not good.


    "You know." But apparently, Marg was the one who started. I stopped freaking out and just listened. "I have a confession to make." I just looked at her. But she didn''t look at me. Her gaze was on the ceiling. "That night, I might not have had feelings for you."


    Well, that was something¡­ and I wished she didn''t tell me that. But I guess it was better we didn''t build a rtionship based on lies. "If I''m being honest, it was the same for me. Though, I did like you from a long while back."


    She smiled but still didn''t look at me.. "At the time I thought it''d be best to give my first to you, someone who didn''t treat me like a tool."

 Chapter 150 - Truth: The Foundation Part Two

    I could see the nurse get up and leave from my peripheral vision. Great job, Miss Nurse! I wished I''d at least memorized her name already.


    Marg''s smile warped to a smile of regret. "I thought maybe, I could use your name, your family, and perhaps even secure my future with you. That''s why- that''s why I didn''t let you use any protection." She chuckled. "Selfish, I know."


    I stayed quiet. But then the thought came to me. "Hey, you''re not pregnant right?"


    Because that would have been very bad.


    She looked at me, blinked twice, and gave me a smirk. "You''re swimmers weren''t that strong."


    I didn''t know why but I felt like jumping off a cliff into a ss of water and end my life. "P-please continue."


    Yeah, I was kind of d, but I also kind of died.


    She resumed her gaze on the ceiling, pretending this never happened. "But- Iter learned that¡­ perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps I was wrong about my own feelings. Perhaps-" She looked at me, dead serious. "I did love you. I did have feelings for you. And it was from the very first day when you saved from Eve''s sword." Her smile was genuine, not a shred of lies. "That''s why I didn''t want to get you involved and that''s why I lied to you. Can you forgive me for everything?"


    I actually didn''t think there were this many things going on in her mind. In my mind all I had were I wanted her and wanted to take responsibility and as I kept on whining about it, I got rejected. Only then did I realize I might have had feelings for her, and yet even then I wasn''t sure. Heck, even now I wasn''t that sure. But even if I didn''t love her, even if I didn''t have feelings for her, I wanted to protect that smile.


    If this wasn''t love, I didn''t know what was.


    If I was a total hypocrite then so be it! "Of course. All was forgiven the moment you chose Lord Helio- the god of the sun!" I struck a pose while still lying on my left side. It was hard as hell but oh well.


    Marg giggled, chuckled, and finally burst outughing. "It''s Helios, idiot." She couldn''t contain herughter. It was the first time I saw herugh like that.


    And yet, I wanted her tough like that for all her life. I liked her like this way more than that cold attitude she''d shown all this time.


    Making a joke with my own name and my grandfather''s name was worth it. Sorry, gramps and thanks as well.


    Marg cleared her throat, controlled herughter. "I don''t have much money but I can work and maybe- maybe we can live on our own in the city behind the academy." Marg''s tone went to the bashful zone. "I''m okay with not going to this academy anymore."


    "NO that won''t do. We''ll bothplete our studies. At least till high school level. I''m not sure about College as I have no ns for it. But- if you want it, I''d even do that for you-" I paused. "Wait, we''re going to move in together and live alone?"


    Mom talked about it too but I thought she was joking. But now that I thought about it, how else would we live together and have our romantic nights- ahem!


    Just thinking about all the things we could do¡­ made me smirk a lot more than I thought.


    Marg sighed and then giggled. "At least try not to sound like a total-" She lied t on her back. "Let''s move in together."


    "Roger that."


    And so, a decision of a lifetime was made.


    And I wholeheartedly wished I didn''t regret thister.


    ***


    Today was mom''s day off, so she hung around.


    She made sure I ate a healthy lunch. She even fed me. kinda felt awkward seeing Marg and the nurse giggling in the background but I didn''t care. If mom was feeding, I was willing to eat anything, as long as it had nothing to do with yams, celery, and broli.


    Around 3, uncle came to visit, just when mom left.


    Was he waiting for this chance or something?


    Marg pretended to be asleep and I knew for a fact she wasn''t.


    "How''s my nephew doing?"


    "After literally cutting me and making me suffer endlessly, you say that?" With a sigh, I sat down. All this lying on my sides was starting to hurt too. As if just the pain from the cuts weren''t enough!


    Heughed loud. Did God forget to give him a mute switch or something? "I had something to discuss."


    "Let me guess, they tried to bribe you?"


    I actually got an anonymous tip about that. My tip also said that I should be more careful.


    I kind of wanted to know how he knew all that, but considering he could read minds and all, it wasn''t that surprising.


    Oops, it wasn''t all that anonymous now, was it?


    Heughed some more, god this guy was annoying! "Yeah, but- this actually might not be that bad of an offer."


    I kind of wanted to puke. Didn''t expect my uncle of all people to say that. "Are you okay?"


    He looked serious, I was d he didn''t rip off that shirt of his. "She offered me a piece of Zurkomim."


    "Zurko- wha?"


    "Funny, he also had that same reaction." He giggled to himself, remembering something. This really wasn''t helping. "It''s something used in restricting powers of Kin, if they ever pop up. It can also heavily restrict our powers."


    "And they''re giving it to you, because?"


    "To make sure you go to the party and not break anything there. They won''t try to take Marg and they won''t harm you either. They just want to have tea with you."


    "And I''m supposed to believe that?"


    He looked at my eyes, dead serious for a minute. What the hell was he staring at me for? Just when I was about to say something- he burst outughing and the whole building shook. Seriously, someone stop him already! "Hell no! Why would you even think of believing them?"


    Wasn''t this guy saying this was a good offer just a minute ago?

 Chapter 151 - Who Comes Up With These Titles?

    I sighed. "Well, technically I''m not Kin, so I don''t see a problem here."


    "About that-" Uncle grimaced. "Remember mom always used to wear long pajamas even during the day?"


    Yeah, I saw where this was going.


    Unfortunately, I didn''t remember. "Uh-huh." I still nodded anyway. My earlier memories of my grandmother were kind of weird- like she knocking the lights out of her children and her husband, sometimes even me- but I subconsciously thought they were dreams: moreover, I hoped they were dreams too. And in the recent memories, I didn''t remember grandmother wearing pajamas of all things.


    Uncle sighed. "You can stop pretending to be asleep now. This is important, so you should listen too."


    Marg turned this way, frowning a little.


    ''Cute.''


    "She, isn''t half- right?" I spoke the words very carefully. Lately, with all the trouble I''d actually forgotten about my little trip to the bottom of this ind.


    Uncle looked awkwardly at me for a moment. "Yeah, ''was'' would be a good word though."


    "She''s not anymore?" Meanwhile, Marg just looked at us with confused looks. I looked ahead and boy was the nurse ring. "Maybe we shouldn''t talk about this now."


    "It''s fine. You two can keep a secret right?" Uncle first red at the nurse and then at Marg.


    Needless to say, both nodded very vigorously.


    "Don''t me me if she beats you to a pulp," I mumbled. Obviously, I was talking about my grandmother. She was actually in some sense, scarier than mom. After gramp''s death, she became rather distant though, I finally understood why.


    Uncle cleared his throat. "Simply put, you inherited some Kin genes. And because of that, you might be susceptible to that ore. It''s very precious, and there isn''t much left on the earth. The Battlesuins are iming this is thest piece but I doubt it."


    Well, now he said it.


    The nurse wasn''t that shocked, she did look at me a bit funny though, almost as though all the missing pieces suddenly fell in the slot.


    Marg, however, was a bit spooked. Would knowing this change her view of me? Would she think of me as a monster?


    She already knew about the seals and my personalities but-


    I felt frightened, what if she left me because of this? What if-


    But Marg- she just smiled as she looked at me. She didn''t say a word but just smiled. It was veryforting, to say the least.


    I let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I don''t see a reason to trust them and as you said, I only inherited some genes, so technically it won''t be that effective." Besides, I had an amazing saber. Then again, I had to actually look into what made this saber tick.


    It could have been a new technology the geezer had invented, or it could have been that dragon core.


    And I couldn''t just ignore the effects of that ore either. I had to make sure it didn''t work on me, somehow. And ording to uncle, even if one wasn''t Kin, they''d still have a hard time if they came under the ore''s effects.


    "Good enough for me. Burn the whole ce down and bring back all their goods." Uncle winked. "Should be easy for you two. Oh and do it from afar, like dropping a nuclear bomb. That''d save you from all the pesky problems."


    Spoken like a true terrorist and a superviin.


    "Wait, you want us to steal from them?"


    "Technically, you''re just taking spoils of war, so it ain''t stealing." He again winked and started leaving. "And as I said, that stone''s precious so." He grinned very evilly. "Conquering the world won''t be a dream anymore. Just imagine what we could do with something like that."


    "War? And wouldn''t holding the stone be just as bad as someone using it on you?" I kind of gave them an ultimatum but never really thought about calling this a war. It was just a squabble between two families anyway. Two very powerful families to be exact.


    I guess calling it war wasn''t that much of a stretch.


    And that''s when Merin came screaming.


    Oh boy, this was going to be bad.


    Uncle grinned, kind of looked awkward, and didn''t pay Merin any attention. I could bet he hadn''t thought about how to actually use the stone, or ore, or whatever.


    Merin, however, just ran to me and looked like something was after his life. "Y-ya-you haven''t seen yar- Holo right?" I didn''t know why but he was speaking a very weird dialect I''d never heard off. Was this guy okay?


    Probably not.


    "Calm down. What happened?"


    I was already seated so I didn''t have to prepare myself or anything. Marg also sat down, and just looked at the nearly breathless guy.


    Meanwhile, Mom and Elsa also came back. Hadn''t they left just half an hour ago? Why the hell were theying back again?


    Merin breathed hard, sweated hard as well. This guy was going crazy. "You''re everywhere."


    I was everywhere?


    That didn''t make me feel that good about myself though, cause I hated to break it to him but I was sitting pretty on a freaking bed inside the nurse''s office.


    Definitely not making copies of myself and spreading them across the globe.


    "DO you mind telling me more?"


    "You''re all over the inte!"


    Okay, that was better.


    "What he means to say is, there are thousands of articles about you," mom said.


    "And that''s a bad thing because?"


    Because thest time I remember, I basically just dered war on the Battlesuins. At least uncle called it a war.


    So technically, this was inevitable. And shouldn''t have been that surprising.


    "There''s actually more to it than just bad news." Mom smiled but her veins bulged a little. That was not a good sign.


    My holo was still kind of functional so I turned it on. But the mere sight of the poor thing even struggling to register my gesture weighed heavily on my conscience.


    The first article? "Superviin Julio''s son dered war on the world!"


    Wait, what? My eyes were failing me?


    Was I going blind? I knew I was potentially going bald, but blind too?


    I kept on reading. And apparently, the author made it clear that I was dering war on the whole world if they decided to hurt my family. Plus the guy also quoted me that I''d beat everyone at the neers'' international tournament.


    He made me look very viinous if nothing else.


    Well, this just gotplicated. And then there were other articles.


    "The Cursed Mask Romswell was Julio''s son all along? The mystery boy''s identity finally revealed!"


    Giggles came from Marg''s direction.


    Hadn''t I made myself clear that I was his grandson! Why the hell did I go through the trouble of putting up with that name then?


    The sheer embarrassment!


    "Battlesuins in trouble, Helio on the double."


    The giggles intensified.


    What the hell did that even mean?


    I didn''t know why but these titles were getting awfully embarrassing to read. And I was even giggling a little from the freaking titles out of sheer embarrassment.


    Yeah, I wanted to kill someone now. It didn''t matter if I had the resolve to or not, but I just wanted to.


    Not to mention it''d be even more embarrassing if I somehow got my ass handed to me after all this.


    "Can''t we just blow up thepanies that produce these types of atrocities?" I smiled and looked at mom.


    "Stop talking like Daddy or I''ll beat the hell out of you." She smiled back.


    Denied!


    I sighed. "Just because our powers are simr doesn''t mean I''m his son," I mumbled and sighed. Not that it bothered me that much, but if I was deemed gramp''s son, what would that make mom?


    Mom sighed too. "Well, the world doesn''t know your father''s name and they don''t know much about our family either: more like they don''t know me. Unlike all the other viins of this world, our family doesn''t bang our own drums. Don''t let it bother you."


    If that was okay with her, then I guess it was fine.


    Wait, our family doesn''t bang their own drums?


    World''s baddest viin?


    World''s most wanted criminal?


    The leader of the most notorious terrorist group?


    Yeah, I had my doubts.


    "By the way mom, if I''m part K-" I stopped. "You know what I mean. Then howe you are and Elsa''s not?"


    Apparently, mom did have some genes, namely, her knee caps weren''t human. How did I know that?


    Yeah, I''d rather not imagine that.


    As for Elsa, she was fairly normal. I was kind of normal too. I guess it could have been a suppressed gene?


    Actually, now that I think about it, aren''t all humans kind of like Kin? After all, we all had some animal features.


    And then I realized, I only met an actual Kin only once in my entire life. So, I didn''t really have any idea what to even think about all these.


    Mom gave me a dull look. "That moron told you huh?" She sighed and a murderous aura oozed out of her. "Didn''t you study that there are certain types of genes that only activate in some children rather than all?" Mom smiled hard. "What have you been studying in school?"


    Her anger had nowhere to go, meaning, I was ded.


    "Actually-" The nurse started. Oh boy, I was about to be Fuc*ed. There was no doubt about it. "Lately-"


    ''Someone, anyone- save me.'' I started to freak out a little. ''Oh, lord chocte- if thou art there, I beg of thee!''


    "Oh, there you are." A woman''s voice, rather mature. I knew it very well. "Been looking for you. Have you seen Excrucio?"


    ''HUH! Miracle!'' Chocte God was real!


    "Oh, miss Annie." God, was I d to see her!


    "Helio." She nodded and looked at Mom.


    Her expression wasn''t that different from Marg''s. But unlike Marg, she was always like that. She only wore ck one-piece dresses and a blue hat, always. It didn''t matter if it was summer, it didn''t matter if it was winter. She never changed. Actually, her appearance hadn''t changed in thest five years either.


    It made me wonder a lot about things.


    She was also on the constant hunt for her husband, as Uncle always had a tendency to run away to the secluded ces of this.


    Actually, all women of the Romswell household were kind of weird. Even people that married into the family were rather domineering. I sure hoped my wife wasn''t going to be like that.


    "He ran away that way, you might catch him if you ran fast enough."


    The woman- my aunt, nodded and just ran. She didn''t even thank us, not that it mattered.


    ''My Miracle? Chocte god, you liar.''


    I sniffed. I really wanted to cry right now.


    "He overused a memory instiller and ruined his brain. It might take him a while to recover, so please take good care of him." The nurse smiled like she did me a great favor.


    Mom also smiled, no veins popping up, nothing, "Oh, I''ll take extra good care of him." She literally sang those words and cracked her knuckles.


    Oh yeah, I definitely believed her.


    Elsa grimaced, Marg giggled and my life ended.


    ''Farewell, world.''


    But just at that moment when I thought mom was about to clobber me- mom grabbed me, hugged me tight, and kissed me on my forehead. "Thank you."


    Wait, did I die and made my way into heaven already?


    ''Huh?''


    Mom didn''t say anything else and just left. Elsa was confused more than me and also left.


    "What the hell just happened?"


    Seriously!

 Chapter 152 - Kids? What Are Those? No One Needs ’em

    Some people came to visit meter on.


    Merin, Natasha, Clyde, Robert, Mike, Rose, Leilis, Ariel, that Asian transfer student whose name I already forgot, the headmaster, andst but not least Johnathan.


    They all wished me good health and Ariel even gave me a peach: it was pretty good.


    But Johnathan had a very insightful thing to say which made me wonder about various things. ''Why do you think you''re the only one here when countless others also get injured often?''


    It was getting close to the evening and yet, the thoughts didn''t actually leave my brain.


    I actually wondered why this ce only had four beds and how it was always empty. And strangely, I was the only one who got treated here.


    Most of my time in this academy was spent here, in the nurse''s office, and yet, I hardly saw anyone here besides me.


    Turns out, the nurse did have healing powers but unfortunately, she didn''t feel the need to use it on me since it takes at least ten times more of her stamina to heal me. I didn''t buy it. It seemed like she had something against me rather than the issue being stamina.


    She''d healed Marg rather well and apparently, it was her who''d healed me enough back then when I''d fainted and almost got a seizure herself for just barely making me a bit better. That''s why she didn''t try using her healing powers on me after that very first incident on the first day.


    I still didn''t buy it though.


    That was also why all the injured kids always get healed right away and I was the only one who always stuck around.


    ''So that''s why that transfer student looked so malnourished when he healed me?''


    Just the thoughts were enough to make me sigh. What the hell was wrong with my body to have such effects on people trying to heal me?


    "By the way?" Marg started.


    We were kind of alone. Just the three of us. The third being the nurse who was currently busy finishing up her work since it was gettingte.


    Mom and Elsa went back home just half an hour ago. Marg was kind of okay now, so she took them back.


    Actually, Marg''s face healed pretty much too. Though she did have a bit of a purple bruise which ording to the nurse, would leave a small pea-sized bruise.


    I guess that punch was a lot stronger than I thought.


    "Yeah?"


    "Do you want kids?"


    What sort of question was that? And why was she asking me that now? Besides, there was only one answer. "Nope, not really. I''d rather not have a piece of work like myself."


    Marg giggled silently but the sudden outbursts weren''t so quiet. "But aren''t children supposed to be an external disy of affection?"


    "Not in my universe," I mumbled. Babies were devils. I myself was one and my little sister was the living proof.


    The nurse was still here and judging from that smirk she could hear us just fine. "It''d be best if you didn''t have children before twenty. Trust me, you''ll thank meter." Her grin turned a bit more sublime and she stood up. "It''s only evening but-" She started packing. "I think I''ve worked hard enough." She dropped something on the floor. "OOPS, oh well." With another smirk, she slowly started to close the door. "I will be locking the door tonight too, so do be careful now." And she left.


    That was fast.


    It was actually just past evening and the nurse did leave some food on the table before leaving.


    The thing she left on the floor? Protection.


    The tension in the air rose up exponentially. Did I just get a green signal?


    Too bad I couldn''t move though.


    Sigh.


    Well, technically I could move, but it was too painful on my part. I guess I could forget about the pain while I was lying on my side but- yeah, probably not the best idea.


    So with another sigh and just waited patiently and looked at the ceiling. "I''ve seen mom struggle with me and Elsa. If something happens to me- not that I''m hoping it does, it''ll be like hell for you with a kid. And just between the two of us, I kind of hate kids. Not because they bother me or anything but I was a very, very naughty kid. Sometimes I''d purposefully knock on my parent''s door even at the early age of three. I''m too embarrassed to even think about it, but-" I paused, took a deep breath. "Just imagine how embarrassing it must have been for my parents." Back when they were still together.


    Marg chuckled. "Sounds like fun times. I''ve never lived with my parents. My father was our owner and my mother was the housemaid. I was very conscious even at the age of four and from then on I lived with my siblings far away from mother. "


    I guess it was insensitive of me. I should have considered her position: her feelings as well.


    "I see." I smiled. "Well, don''t worry but- I''ll be here. I''ll always be there for you." I was making very bold ims and I knew it probably wasn''t possible to fulfill them. But heck, I didn''t care, I was too drunk anyway. "Oh, and when should we go and pick up your mother? Come to think of it, where will she live?"


    I guess she could live with mom? They were technically friends. After all, if she stayed with us, it''d be very hard to-


    "I actually talked to her, and she says she''ll stay behind." Marg didn''t look at me. She didn''t smile or show any attention in particr. "She will remain a maid."


    "You''re serious?"


    "Yes. But for the first time, there was joy in her voice. She''s happy for me. And I have the feeling she won''t be harmed." She looked at me, smiled faintly. "Because of you. Thank you."


    "You''re wee."


    And yet something didn''t feel right about that smile. Was she trying too hard?


    She was. After all, we didn''t know if her mother really won''t be harmed or not.


    "Now." She sat down. Her face was mostly healed and she didn''t have many injuries, meaning she was free to leave. "Shall we have dinner?"


    I didn''t see why not. She''d probably leave after this, so I had to make sure we took some extra long time to finish.


    I sat down with a groan. These wounds hurt a lot more than necessary. I had a feeling if I didn''t get the shot this morning, I might or might not have been dead right now.


    We had two bowls of food- more like soup- and when I shoved my hand forward, I got nothing.


    The reason being?


    Marg had both bowls on her hand and a smile. She lifted up the food with a spoon, mostly just veg soup and held it at my mouth. "Eat up."


    I hated veg, but no matter how I looked, this was more than just tempting.


    I didn''t know why but my face felt rather hot. When mom fed me this afternoon I felt a bit embarrassed but that was all but now- now I felt more than just bashful. And boy was this atmosphere hot!


    Marg was wearing a shirt and when she bent over like that to feed me, I could see a lot more than just those luxury-


    Hot indeed.


    I took a bite.


    Was it me, or did even veg taste great?


    Ah, this was heavenly.


    "It''s not fair you know-" Marg''s voice was more than sultry. "Does it hurt to move your hand? I was hoping you''d feed me too." I had no idea how the hell she could say that with a straight face, but I was d she did.


    Sultry was in the air!


    I picked up a spoon and held it near her lips. And yes, it did hurt, my hand also shivered a little. It was more from nervousness than actual pain though.


    She ate it, her lips sank in the spoon, and she licked her lips.


    Well, the pain was worth it.


    I didn''t have to feed her after that. We ate our portion ourselves. I would have liked if she fed me, though I guess we had plenty of time for that after this.


    Regretfully, the rest of the dinner wasn''t that hot.


    And after eating Marg bade me bye.


    Though I was disappointed, I had to see her off with a smile.


    Sigh.


    ''I guess I shouldn''t be too needy.''


    I really wanted to though.


    ***


    It wasn''t eight yet, but I felt sleepy. And since I was alone, I just tried to sleep.


    And then I felt the need, the need for peed!


    And I almost leaked a few drops too. Almost that is. Almost, okay?


    As if the pain wasn''t enough, now I had to run to the bathroom. For once, I was really d this room had one attached.


    If it didn''t, I''d have had to run across the hall.


    Oh wait, the door was locked.


    Yeah.


    It was heaven when I finally started, but near the end, I felt like my whole lower body was going sore and it kind of felt weird too. Probably not the best feeling. I shouldn''t have held it in this long.


    Once finished, I came back and dived into the bed, only to realize a secondter, that I was pretty much screwed on both sides of my chest. I shouldn''t have done that.


    Sigh.


    I again lied on my side and closed my eyes.


    ''Why the hell didn''t I turn off the light?''


    Oh well.


    I kept my eyes closed and it took a lot more than just persistence to fall asleep through all this pain.


    I did fell asleep somewhere after eleven though.


    ***


    Rustling!


    Hmm?


    I felt groggy as my eyes opened a little. There was darkness and I couldn''t see.


    ''Wasn''t the lights on?''


    My groggy mind immediately woke up. There probably was an intruder here. And just when I was about to get up, someone climbed up my bed and hugged me from the front.


    "Sleeping with lights on is bad you know." Her voice was quiet. She only had underwear on and an almost see-through nightgown and needless to say, it was Marg: I wish there were at least just a little bit more light. "Sorry," She whispered. "Must hurt a lot. I''m really sorry." Her voice was shaky and her eyes shimmered. But she didn''t cry.


    "Well, I punched you, so we''re even." I tried to smile but even the hug was literally draining all my stamina.


    I actually didn''t hold anything against her. She did what she needed to and so did I. Everything was behind us and I wanted to have a new beginning.


    She noticed and tried to move, but I grabbed her and hugged her instead. "Don''t go."


    We probably weren''t going to do it, but- I wanted her to stay by my side at least.


    Yeah, I was selfish.

 Chapter 153 - And So I Have A Dragon Lo Wait, What?

    I was just holding her and yet- my breath was burning. My whole body was burning.


    Did I forget to mention we were sweating?


    And yet, Marg smelled wonderful. I guess she took a shower beforeing back. Boy was I d for that.


    Meanwhile, I stank. I really wanted a shower right now. Too bad I couldn''t get my wounds wet though.


    And the pain was constantly reminding me that I should just keep my stuff inside my pants too.


    "It''s gettingte, I should let you rest," Marg said, looking away.


    "Yeah." I wanted her to stay, but- maybe it was for the best.


    She was a person, not some tool I could manipte. I let her go.


    If we were going to make this work, we had to respect each other that was the baseline. Honesty was the pir and loyalty were the bricks. Almost like a house. And no, there was no need for kids in that house.


    Marg didn''t get up. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her chest pressed against mine, barely. "Since we can''t do much- just a good-" she kissed me- and boy did tongues roll. Her taste was inside me, and mine was inside hers, it went on, and on. For a moment it felt like things will go on forever, but stopped just a minuteter. Her breath fell on my face, her warmth! Needless to say, little Helio Romswell Jintel just made a stern salute. "-Night''s kiss."


    And with that whisper, Marg disappeared.


    Now, what the hell was I supposed to do?


    I couldn''t calm down, and I couldn''t do anything about it either.


    Sigh.


    ''So you came here just to tease me.''


    So, with sniffs, I just lied there, and closed my eyes, trying my best not to think about what just happened.


    Except, it was the only thing on my mind.


    Yeah, I couldn''t sleep.


    ***


    ''Hiss¡­.''


    ''Hisss I-''


    ''I can''t take it anymore!''


    ***


    I snapped awake: I was having a weird dream. I didn''t move my body but just stared at the ceiling. ''Morning already?''


    I could hear birds chirp.


    The nurse did mention I''d feel very sore after twenty-four hours, I guess this was that.


    Wait, ceiling?


    Why was I facing up? Wasn''t I facing my left when I slept?


    I didn''t feel sleepy, I didn''t feel any pain and I didn''t feel groggy either.


    I tried to sit down, but- couldn''t move.


    It wasn''t like any of my wounds, hurt, in fact, it felt like my wounds didn''t even exist anymore. And my body felt a little, heavy?


    So, why couldn''t I move?


    All this time, I was still staring at the ceiling, but now- now that I looked at my body- the word bbergasted wasn''t enough to describe the situation. And nor did it do justice.


    For a minute, I just stayed like that, puzzled, almost like I''d turned to stone. My lips didn''t move and nor did anything else.


    But after that minute, my panic mode kicked in. ''What if she sees me like this?''


    I had to move and I had to move now.


    "Hey you, let go!" With all my worries at the back of my mind, I started my best to struggle.


    "MMHM?"


    I was gripped tighter.


    Apparently, I was being squeezed alive by a girl- probably fifteen, looked a little shorter than Marg, maybe a shade darker, also thinner. She had horns and an armored tail: brown long hair. Her ears were pointy and she still wasn''t letting me go.


    "Hey, let go already!"


    But more importantly- she was totally naked. Nothing, not even underwear.


    It was fairly cool even just moments ago, but now I was sweating buckets. My body smelled terrible. I needed a shower and I needed to get away from here- from her, right now!


    Before Marg could-


    ''Oh- fuc*''


    A small spoon dropped on the floor.


    The sound of the spoon hurt. It just hurt.


    "As you can see, this was not done by my choice. Let''s stay calm and analyze first." It took a lot more than just courage to say those words peacefully and calmly. "The door was closed and there''s not many people who can teleport, so- let''s stay calm."


    There was nothing peaceful about it though.


    Marg didn''t move a muscle. She just stood there with the food, staring at me and the girl.


    No matter how she looked at this, in her eyes this was probably cheating. She carefully put down the bowl she was carrying on the table and her stare turned into a re. "Last night mother told me, you couldn''t be trusted since the blood of your predecessors is in you. I dismissed her thoughts without a second of doubt." Her re intensified. Wait, she was calling Mom, mother? Wow. "Do exin, and I''m not in the best mood, so I''d suggest you hurry up."


    Even I didn''t know what was going on, so how the hell was I going to exin?


    "Hmmm¡­ YAWN." The girl let go of me, stretched her arms with a yawn, and smiled. "Morning, master." She was still on top of me.


    Those were definitely bigger than Marg''s.


    "M-master?" Both Marg and I yelled out the word, but strangely the word didn''t have a meaning for us.


    "I''m your loyal servant, Enira. After being dominated by you thoroughly that night, I''ve decided to serve you for all eternity." She bowed and gave a smirk to Marg. "After being defiled by you, I have nowhere else to go."


    My jaw hung a little. "Servant? Dominated? Night? Defiled? Are you crazy? Who are you?"


    "You don''t remember me?" She sniffed, her eyes sparkled.


    Marg remained expressionless. This wasn''t good. This wasn''t good at all.


    "Le-let''s calm down, an-and start-start from the beginning." Suffice to say, it was me was doing the ''freaking out.''


    "Yes, let''s hear it." Marg''s voice was cold.


    "That night you cut off my heads and put a hole in my chest, remember? Then you sucked my life out through that hole." The information was fine and all, but the way she described it and squeezed her legs, yeah, definitely not user-friendly.


    Wait, heads? A hole¡­.


    "You''re that snake?" It was more like a five-headed dragon than a snake though.


    The girl''s face lit up. "Bingo. And my name''s Enira!" And she struck a pose. "A middle-ss dragon of fire." She winked. And she herself thought she was a dragon.


    "That exins it." Marg came towards us. "Get off of him," Shemanded.


    "Unfortunately, he''s mine and I''m not handing him over." The girl wrapped her arms around me and moved merrily.


    "That''s my line!" Marg screamed and brought out a literal sword, and sliced.


    ''Where the hell did you get my sword?''


    The girl- Enira blocked it with her hand: scales manifested, a small barrier too, and smiled. "If my master wasn''t into you, I''d have already killed you. And what are you, an idiot? What if that hurt him too?" Enira yawned. "Now, how about we strike a deal?" Her grin turned evil.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "We share him, fifty-fifty."


    "Denied. He''s all mine."


    "Don''t be so selfish. Then how about we dueled and-"


    "Enough!" I had enough. "You- get off me!" She got off and got on her knees on the floor. "Stop doing that. I''d already killed you, so what are you doing here and I never agreed to be your master."


    "But you did. The moment you used my core, you forged a pact with me. It took some time to gather all the strength from my other fragments, but now I''m fairly powerful enough to summon forth one-tenth of my power." She grinned. "And don''t worry, I don''t hold any grudges against you. In a matter of a month, I''ll have enough strength to summon forth all my powers from the fragments."


    Yeah, I didn''t buy it.


    "So, basically, you can turn into a snake again?"


    "Let''s kill her, we can''t risk anything." Marg sure was intent on killing her.


    "Since you don''t like that form, I won''t." Enira pouted. "Besides, I live inside your saber, so-" She wiggled her toes. "I''d rather look like the best version of your dreams."


    Huh? Since when did naked dragon girls be the thing of my dreams? Honestly, even I was confused. ''What the hell are you doing in there, shadow?''


    I didn''t know why but this whole situation got a lot moreplicated than a girl just grabbing me naked.


    And yes, she was still not wearing any clothes.


    "First of all, let''s go get some clothes before anyone elsees along." Marg had a very sinister smile.


    Yeah, this probably wasn''t going to end well. Well, at least she forgot about me for a while.


    "No." The girl was by the bed, and she grabbed my neck, guided my head into her chest, and sobbed. "I won''t leave him."


    "You will. Troubling him, won''t do." Marg''s voice was icy cold, and I had a feeling she was about to kill someone. And I was d it wasn''t me. She grabbed the girl''s arm and smiled. "I made the soup, I''ll be backter."


    Yeah, I was definitely d I wasn''t her target.


    Both were gone in an instant.


    She wasn''t going to dump her off in some secluded part of the world right?


    Right?


    Sigh.

 Chapter 154 - When In Doubt Ahahahahaha

    Well, whatever, I picked up the bowl and tried the soup. It had meat in it and no broli, yam or celery. It tasted wonderful.


    "Master!"


    And the naked girl came crying over and grabbed me from my right: she was dripping from head to toe. "She dropped me in the middle of the ocean." She sniffed.


    ''You don''t say.''


    It was hard to conjure up a surprised face when I knew this was going to happen either, way. I didn''t feel anything, in particr, seeing that dripping body either. Though my little buddy begged to differ.


    I tried to chuckle and drank more and more of the soup. "Wait, you can teleport?" Still smiling.


    The fact that she showed up out of nowhere wasn''t that surprising either. I had a girlfriend who could do that- so yeah, definitely not something I was surprised about anymore.


    "No." Her voice was small. "But my love always brings me to you, no matter how far away." Again, she squeezed her legs and moved her body in weird ways. "It only works one way though."


    I guess she could teleport near the saber no matter how far she went.


    "So- the other day-" And Marg came in, saw the naked girl- Enira, and stopped. She sighed. She didn''t have a single bit of remorse as a murderer. "I guess unless I destroy that core-" Yeah, no remorse at all. And she already had other ideas.


    Enira grabbed onto me tighter and her eyes sparkled. She was getting my bandages wet.


    Sigh.


    Yeah, I wanted to get out of all this.


    I took out my saber and put it to my right. "You can take her back and give her some clothes, but please don''t kill her. I still have to use this saber and we can discuss this after I''m out of the nurse''s office? Okay, with you?"


    Marg looked at me, a bit disappointed. "Fine."


    Just how badly did she want to kill this girl?


    Enira smiled and moved closer to Marg. And just how optimistic and shameless was this girl?


    "Nice soup by the way." Yeah, it was heavenly- definitely better than that atrocity mom hand feeds me every time I get sick- the world-ending broli soup full of celery and yams.


    "d you liked it."


    We both smiled, the new girl frowned and now they were gone.


    Finally, a bit of peace.


    I continued eating, finished and a momentter realized- ''Wait, I can move my body just fine!''


    I almost felt stupid for not realizing that soon.


    I checked my body and everything was gone! The wounds that is.


    Every single one of them.


    I was in peak health.


    I tried removing the bandages and sure enough, I didn''t even have a scar.


    ''How the hell is this possible?''


    But more importantly, Marg had a scar, meaning, she was going to be very jealous that I didn''t have anything.


    What the hell was I even thinking?


    Sigh.


    I kept on undoing all the bandages and after a while, I was shirtless and my pant had holes in it. At least I was wearing underwear. ''Better buy new ones I guess.''


    I had some muscles and my four-pack had finally evolved to six. ''Dashing, if I do say so myself.'' I nodded, totally satisfied.


    "Wow." Someone rolled their tongues a bit too much. I turned back and the nurse had entered, silently. "Not bad."


    Yeah, I didn''t need thatpliment from a middle-ageddy. She was good-looking for her age though.


    "Do you have a shirt?" I asked. I couldn''t just run around like this anyway.


    "Oh, you want me to take off my clothes?"


    How the hell did she get me wrong?


    "No." I tried to smile. "Do you have a spare shirt?" I tried to smile harder.


    The nurse first giggled and then chuckled. "Of course not. Why would my clothes fit you or are you into dressing up as girls?" Did she hit her head or something? And what was with that smirk? "You''re also fully healed?" She could tell that from a few meters away too? Her smirk intensified. "Come here, let me run some tests."


    The way she said it, very misleading.


    "Yeah, I think I''ll go now."


    With that, I ran.


    For the first time in my life, I understood why my fellow students were so frigging jealous of me being in the nurse''s office all the time while they couldn''t.


    ***


    I was pleasantly surprised with my speed. I was a lot faster than before. My body moved fast and my wounds didn''t hurt, oh wait, didn''t have wounds in the first ce.


    It put a smile on my face as I jogged my way to the dorm.


    And then I realized, it was eight.


    Meaning, there were studentsing out in flocks.


    And I was shirtless.


    There were holes in my pants.


    ''At least I have underwear, right?''


    Right?


    But it was strangely windy down there, as though- I did not dare to conjure up the thought.


    Sweat formed.


    But I still looked and a secondter remembered,st night I might or might not have had leaked some drops and had to change.


    As sweat poured and girls from around and stared, I ran. I ran hard, I ran, I ran for freedom and I ran for a better future. Yeah, I ran faster than ever.


    "Outta the way!" I was probably faster than a bullet train.


    Probably not.


    But I was definitely fast.


    I passed by the girls'' dorm and saw loads of smirk. I really wished I didn''t have to take this path, but there was no choice: if not this, then I had to take the longer path which would have taken at least ten minutes.


    This was the only way forward.


    And then a minuteter, I finally reached the boys'' dorm and after climbing to the third floor with all my strength, I wanted to die of fatigue.


    I panted rather loudly and found myself crawling on the floor drowning in my own sweat. I guess running half a kilometer at that speed and then climbing stairs was a bad idea.


    A very bad idea at that. Even fully healed, my stamina didn''tst.


    I got stares but it didn''t matter. I was already inside the dorm anyway. I took a breather for three minutes and then got up, and moved on the fourth floor- knocking on my door.


    The door opened a minuteter.


    Merin popped his head out and gave me a smirk. "I know you want to unt your toned body but seriously?"


    "Unfortunately I don''t have fetishes like you. Oh wait, you can''t unt even if you want to."


    And then he started spending all his days in his room, it wasn''t going to be long before none of his clothes fit him anymore.


    "Yeah, very funny."


    He let me in.


    I sat on my bed and finally, got some peace, still sweating.


    "You sure you don''t want to change first?"


    "I''ll shower first." I needed one badly.


    "Good idea, you stink." So said the guy, who stank even more than me.


    "Thanks for reminding me." I sighed.


    ***


    By nine-thirty I was pretty much dressed. That cold shower with loads of soap and shampoo was worth it.


    Today was thest day of school for this week. I''d finally get a holiday tomorrow. I had this brilliant idea of asking Marg on a date: we''d spend the whole afternoon together- hang out, have dinner and then- ahhhh¡­ yeah, wless. Our first actual night together. Just thinking about the things we''d do¡­ I couldn''t stop my face from being a bit distorted with emotions.


    Seeing me grin, Merin also grinned. Just how the hell did the guy understand?


    And just when I was about to open my mouth- my Holo rang.


    A message.


    My poor almost cracked holo: I had to get this repaired I guess. It was a miracle it was still functioning.


    "We had a date today. Be by the gates by 4. Don''t bete." My eyes twitched as I read through the message.


    It was Selene. And wait, wasn''t it supposed to be next month at the end of the tourname-


    Oh.


    There was also a second message. "Don''t forget the coat, and if you do, you''ll wear mine."


    "Ah ha haha hahahah!" I startedughing, rather loudly.


    That freaking coat again! The moment I thought about it, I remembered the line ''made by girls for girls.''


    And I only had bad memories of that coat.


    "There''s a rumor about you having a massive junk and six-packs floating around campus, and it''s trending too." Merin was reading an article in his holo. "Though these are just rumors made up by your fangirls so, the guys might hate you from now on even more."


    "AHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"


    "Did you break or something?" Merin asked, a bit concerned. He was definitely enjoying this.


    I just kept onughing, I had no idea.

 Chapter 155 - Devotion

    I reached the ssroom five minuteste.


    If Merin hadn''t pped me back to reality, I might not havee in the first ce.


    My cheeks hated me for not defending but- oh well.


    "I''d assumed you wouldn''t even show up considering how injured you were. But I''m d you have the integrity to learn." Miss Maire weed me with open arms. And what was up with that frigging smile?


    Apparently, after that whole memory fiasco, she treated me rather nicely since I could basically answer everything.


    Come to think of it, even my memory might have gotten better. Just what the hell happened to me? How the hell did I be basically new, overnight?


    Was my body really that desperate to have sex with Marg or something? I''d like to think no- but- yeah, after what happenedst night, it probably was: and I didn''t fault it, not one bit.


    I went in and was about to take my seat but- someone was already sitting there. And it actually became a two-seat bench rather than a single chair.


    The girl smiled and patted the empty seat, prompting me to seat down. I''d have loved to, if it was Marg but Marg was behind the seat, ring very intensely.


    "Since you now have a familiar, I took the liberty to ensure proper seating for you," Miss Maire proudly presented herself.


    ''Yeah, don''t take that liberty!''


    I guess she really liked me, but I wished she didn''t like me this much. And wasn''t this preferential treatment?


    I was getting a lot of stares. Some whispers floated around and I ignored them.


    "It''s true she lives in my saber but- just because of that she''s my familiar? Weren''t familiars supposed to like pets and small and stuff?" More like most of the familiars were nothing more than just things like cats, rats, dogs, and birds. They weren''t that useful, so people didn''t bother with familiars.


    The only exception I ever saw was that flying elephant thingy that crazy woman had flown inside the academy with. Actually, was that guy really doing okay?


    I had my doubts. But I didn''t have time to worry about him. This was definitely more serious.


    "Yes, that makes her your summons: after all, she''s a dragon born: I''d never met one myself. Please take a seat, we''re a little behind today."


    I was very conflicted but I took my seat, next to Enira. The moment I did, she came close and almost rubbed her body against mine. She was wearing Marg''s clothes, it wasn''t a good fit and her chest was kind of sticking out.


    Was she waiting to beplimented on her clothes? Was she trying to turn me on? Or was she just trying to win some brownie points?


    I didn''t know.


    But this was not good for my sanity.


    Snap!


    The noise came from behind and I knew it was Marg without even looking.


    Half of a pencil rolled on the floor.


    But the girl didn''t stop. Next, her hand was on myp and before I knew it, she was caressing myp making that very not-work-friendly smile.


    I vigorously looked around and most of the eyes were on the board- some were on me.


    A very not so friendly aura leaked from behind me and the bottom half of the pencil snapped and flew into the ceiling, bounced, and fell somewhere in the far corner.


    All this time, I didn''t think Marg was that strong. But considering she could move and swing my sword without flinching was proof enough that she had loads of strength. Breaking a nec- pencil was easy I guess.


    So I had to tread carefully. "Since we''re in ss, stay a little away from me," I whispered to the girl who was busy rubbing herself against my arm andp.


    "Fine," Enira grumbled but didn''t create a scene.


    Marg''s killing aura also calmed down, but the sheer amount of her patience wasmendable.


    That went a lot smoother than I could have ever imagined.


    But anyway, now that I could focus better I definitely used all the focus on the teacher and her che- ahem, the ss.


    I basically knew everything Miss Maire talked about, so it was pointless to focus anyway.


    My memory was a lot better but the knowledge I''d umted was still here. I thought once I got better I''d forget them, but I guess I didn''t have to worry about that.


    A lot of students were taking notes on their Holo, so I tried doing that- I just pretended though. Instead of taking notes, I searched up the tables of the tournament, who I was fighting, and when that was.


    My Holo was barely holding up. ''Just a little longer sweetheart- I''ll take you to the shop and use the warranty on you.''


    Forty-seven countries were taking part. And with me involved that was forty-eight participants. There would be two teams: A & B. I was in A. The twenty-four participants would battle it out and in the end, only three would remain, and those three would battle against the opposing team. I guess it was a team battle, the only thing I was bad at... the prize money was good though at 100 gold coins each for the winners.


    And just when I was about to tap on the match schedules- my Holo died.


    Sigh. I kind of wanted to bang my head on the table.


    The moment I sighed, Enira grabbed my arm and hugged it, grinning.


    I was waiting for another snapping sound, but instead, Marg stood up from her seat, signaled me to move to my left- I did- and sat down on the little space left over. This was a two-person bench, so yeah, it was cramped and all three of us were very close: a lot of things were touching a lot of other things. "I didn''t kill her because you said so, so you better make a proper decision after this." Marg sulked a little but her voice was quiet.


    Obviously, Miss Maire and the rest of the ss still saw this though.


    Miss Maire frowned a little but didn''t say anything- I guess we were dealing with personality number one: the good one. And I was d for that. Who knew what would have happened if the second one decided to show up.


    I gulped, "I will."


    I didn''t know why but the ss didn''t matter anymore.


    ''Wait, how am I going to tell Marg that Selene-''


    Oh boy.


    The sensation was pretty amazing though- the tension, however, was definitely not good for my health. ''I won''t live a long life, will I?''

 Chapter 156 - Devotion Part Two

    The whole thing went on till lunch break. I was sandwiched between two girls and both were trying their best to distract me.


    Needless to say, there were loads of rubbing and loads of soft things pushing against my arms.


    I already knew everything the teachers had to say, so a little distraction was fine: it was shameful of me but I might or might have enjoyed this feeling and jealous Marg was kind of cute- deadly- but cute.


    The teachers had nothing to say either. The students, however, were more than just jealous. None had the guts to say or try anything though.


    But just as lunch break came- the tension rose exponentially high.


    "So," Marg began. "What''s your answer?"


    I guess she didn''t beat around the bush. I really thought she''d go crazy or maybe even dump me. But I guess I was just underestimating her love and even disrespecting her. She trusted me and loved me and I had to ept that sincerely and respond.


    But I didn''t actually have an answer. So, instead, I turned to my left. "Why are you doing this? And please be straight with me."


    Enira closed her eyes, gathered her thoughts, smiled. "I have been with you since you killed me and from then on, my life is dependent on yours. If you die, I''ll die too. So It''s only natural I serve you and always be nice to you, protect you, and make love to you and-"


    She went on. The res around me also went on, especially the oneing from my right.


    I needed to act, I needed to act quickly.


    I sighed. "Well, you don''t have to. Can''t you just stay in the saber, like usual?"


    She''d been in the saber for all this time, so she could still do that and that''d basically save us all the trouble.


    The girl instantly looked sad. "You''d lock me up too?" It wasn''t just sadness, no. there was even pain in those luscious deep brown eyes.


    I had a splitting headache after hearing the word ''locked''.


    "No-" My mouth moved automatically. For a moment it was almost as though I was seeing everything through third person rather than my own eyes.


    For just that one second, it wasn''t my body anymore.


    And a secondter- I got the control back.


    This was bad- the shadow was growing stronger by the day. And it hated the word ''locked''.


    ''So, it can take over now?'' I guess going to Germany and meeting that weird guy who could make spatial barriers was really the only way. The nurse''s remarks about the guy weren''t really that great though, so I wasn''t too sure.


    The headache was gone but the girl- Enira with watery guys grabbed my arm. "Thank you. You have no idea, how painful it was to be locked up in that form for thousands of years." For a second she was genuinely happy.


    But I wasn''t. "Thousands of years?" I raised a brow.


    She was faking it, obviously. After all, Mutors only appeared like hundred years ago after the meteor impact. So, it was more than just impossible to exist for thousands of years.


    She smiled awkwardly and looked away, trying to whistle, except, she couldn''t whistle.


    I didn''t know why but it looked awfully cute. And now I had the brilliant idea of what I''d make Marg do when we were alone next time.


    But. "What do you want? As in what do you want of me?" Maybe I came a bit too frank but I needed an answer."


    "Be my lover," Her voice was quiet but then she looked up to me sincerely answered. "I want to be your lover."


    "Sorry but I already have one and I don''t want more." I had no intention of dealing with more, no thanks.


    "But my love won''t change." Again her voice was quiet. She was looking down, pained. For a girl who I just met this morning, she sure seemed confident in loving me.


    I didn''t reciprocate her feelings but I understood them. After all, I knew the pain of being rejected. "But I''ll allow you to stay by me for the time being." I needed the saber for the tournament and for the raid- I mean the tea party. So yeah, I needed her to stick around for now.


    She did smile, but definitely not the most convincing smile.


    Sigh. The sigh came from my right. Yeah, I screwed up. "So you''re not sending her back?" Marg''s voice was level, but she was mad.


    Now I turned to Marg. "Can I just say-" I''d definitely screwed up.


    She held her fingers to my lips. "I trust you. And I assure you, I''ll kill anyone that gets in our way." She smiled with kindness. "So, there''s nothing for you to worry about as long as nothing happens."


    ''That, is something, I should be worried about!'' But yeah, she was definitely still intent on killing the girl.


    I gulped. But hey, as long as her anger didn''tnd on me, I was fine with this.


    Probably.


    ***


    And so, after a grueling debate between the two girls, a deal was struck.


    Enira would only be able to stay in the same house with us, but not in the same room with me and Marg. And for the time being, she''d be within the saber at night- no matter what. Marg was very insistent on that no matter what part.


    Marg also made it clear we''d move in first thing next month. I guess I now had another reason to wrap up everything this month. But this also meant even after all this, Enira was still going to be with us.


    The res around me? They were no more. Why?


    The ones ring so far were either looking into the horizon questioning their lives, or silently shedding tears: some even turned to stones. Rather emotional but probably they were just overreacting.


    Probably.


    I was really surprised at just how reasonable Marg was and how much she trusted me. Then again, I got the feeling even if I cheated, she''d kill the girl I cheated her with rather than harm me. I had no such intention though.


    I was totally content as I was.


    Marg was all I needed.


    "By the way-" The lunch break was almost about to end. "I kind of promised to take Selene on a date."


    Marg''s mood took a U-turn and she gave me a dull re: ever since the topic of us moving together came up, she was really in a good mood but now- I kind of feared my life. ''I shouldn''t have said that.''


    "A date you say? Even though we haven''t gone ourselves?" Her voice was cold and very condescending. She came close and her face came even closer.


    "Yeah, I kind of broke her leg, and sorry."


    She sighed. "Fine. Just don''t get seduced. Or I''ll kill her." Yes, she was serious.


    Was it me, or was Marg the one being possessive.


    ''At least she''s reasonable'' I wasn''t so sure anymore though.


    I nodded vigorously but Marg didn''t move her head- rather- she grabbed mine and kissed me.


    I might add, it was a very passionate kiss and I almost had a hood down there. Thank the heavens for underwear. "I might visit tonight- if-" She whispered and winked. She didn''t tell me anything else. I guess the rest was self-exnatory.


    All the boys around me turned to stone and lunch break ended.


    I was in a pretty good mood though. I''d just been promised candy- so yeah, definitely I wasn''t going to act out of order and be a good boy and wait.


    My smirk still leaked though.

 Chapter 157 - Sometimes The Answer Is Obvious And Yet

    Evengeline Rodwich was the fourth official daughter of Count Melheim. Though the other official daughters were supposedly her sisters- she never felt attached to them, apart from one: Kyrstal Rodwich. Besides, the eldest two were already wed off by the time she turned five.


    Krystal was Eve''s older sister and loved her dearly, she was the only one who spent enough time with Eve. Eve also loved her but not to that extent- at least she hadn''t realized, until that incident.


    Seven years ago, a room had caught fire in the Rodwich house- the room belonged to Krystal and at the time of the fire- she was in there.


    This was impossible on various terms. First, Krystal had special powers and that powers were enough for her to stop the fire, meaning someone probably prenned this whole thing.


    Eve''s mother med Marg and seeing so, Eve also med her. After all, who else would have the efficiency to light up a single room in this house and only kill one person? And not to mention discretely.


    Eve actually had reasons to me Marg. One of the reasons was that Krystal always treated Marg harshly. She sometimes even hit Marg. But that wasn''t all. Just the day before the incident, Krystal had kicked Marg so bad- Marg actually had a fever that day. Meaning, it wasn''t possible for Marg to do this in the first ce.


    And Eve herself knew it was unfair to assume that Marg was the one responsible- and yet, she had to me it on someone and that someone just conveniently ended up being Marg. What started with just usations, gradually turned to anger and anger turned to hate. And after a certain point Eve couldn''t differentiate between her fabricated feelings and actual hate. In fact, she went so deep, most of her feelings were just fake.


    She almost burned Marg and her mother on three asions- but due to certain reasons, she couldn''t.


    But now- after seven years ofplicated feelings- she was d she didn''t. Though she wasn''t too sure about that either.


    Her sister Krystal loved her and she loved her too. But only after her death did she realize those feelings. With Krystal gone, there was no one left to sing her lubies: no one fed her, no one dressed her up- no one cared, not Melhiem, not her own mother.


    Though she was the daughter of a count, she didn''t have personal maids. Her powers were subparpared to some of her siblings and her mother was the measly daughter of a knight. The other official siblings had much better standing within the house of Rodwich.


    At the end of the day, she wasn''t treated that differently from her not-so-official half-siblings. Of course, she didn''t have to work and no one demanded that she do so either, like the maids. She wasn''t chosen as a tool either. Red hair was seen as a symbol of the devil in that region, meaning people purposefully avoided her, but since her father had a reputation, no one dared to say anything, at least not in front of them.


    There were hundreds of days when Eve had to cry herself to sleep.


    She would have been fine if things stayed as they were: After all, almost everything was beyond her powers.


    But now- after seven years, her fabricated feelings, her heart, felt different.


    She was fine with Marg being happy- after all, though she had hate- she knew her feelings were fake. Maybe she couldn''t differentiate her feelings, but she knew none of her feelings were original- hers- anymore. Was she real? She didn''t know.


    Instead of making her newly enrolled sister''s life hell, she decided to stand in her way as a stepping stone. It''d be good entertainment for her anyway.


    But that''s when something happened.


    She met a boy, a boy she thought she could manipte and maybe have a bit of fun. Her life was really dull- no goals. Maybe this boy would entertain her a little?


    It started with teasing and pranks but eventually led her to believe she finally found a friend. Perhaps her lonely days were over. People treated her with care and respect in the academy but everything was fake to her- after all- she was fake. But maybe-


    That''s where she was mistaken, again. She was called back home, after nearly two years.


    After seventeen years of basically nothing, her father demanded something of her- he demanded that she seduce a certain boy and use him. Bring him into the family. The boy would be the key to their family''s dominance.


    She liked the boy, but using her body as a means for that- she was never going to do that. Even if it meant, her death. That was her resolve and she was even willing to kill the boy, the root cause itself: her friend.


    She also understood another truth. It wasn''t that her sister had died, no, shemitted suicide just to not give in to her father''s wish. After all how else would a girl with the power of water, die from a measly fire?


    All this time Eve knew that, but she purposefully avoided the whole thing, but now, now her memories just wouldn''t shut up. But to eve, that was weak. ''If I die- I''ll die trying.''


    And yet, she was sad, her eyes leaked, her body burned. The pent-up emotions finally leaked. She wanted to run away, she wanted to kill everything- though neither was possible, and she knew that.


    She went back to the academy. Some days passed.


    But then- then she saw her sister with the boy and she understood, even if she tried, there was no point. Again, she was toote to learn about things that mattered. She waste in the game of life.


    She only understood that she loved her sister after her absence. In the same way, she understood that this boy- the same boy she was willing to kill, wasn''t someone she could kill or even think of killing. Whenever she did, her chest felt weird and tightened.


    It was probably jealously. After all, she didn''t even know the boy, so love was ridiculous, right?


    Those were her thoughts and she herself knew it was pointless to think about all that.


    Most of Eve''s feelings were false and fabricated. So in order to confirm her feelings- her real feelings- she tried various things.


    She tried to get away from the boy, she tried to get close to the boy, and she tried to make the boy sad, and then happy and ultimately monitor and record her feelings and her thoughts every day. She was very thorough.


    When she got close to the boy, her heart would race, when she got far from the boy, her heart would feel weird and she''d feel sad. When the boy was happy, the boyughed, she found herself smiling- and no it wasn''t fake. But when the boy was sad, it was almost as though her heart was being crushed every second.


    After a week of trial and error, she''dpiled her written thoughts.


    That''s when she realized, it wasn''t jealousy. ''I love him.''


    For the first time ever, her feelings were real. They weren''t fabricated- these were her feelings! And she could confirm, she really did love him.


    But what would knowing, get her?


    She was toote and the boy''s- Helio''s heart belonged to someone else: her sister Marg.


    Marg was more beautiful than her- at least she believed that- after all, all her life she''d heard bad things about her fiery red hair and how her appearance was not appealing at all.


    She wasn''t in the same ss as her sister, and she didn''t have amazing powers like her either.


    There was no way she couldpete.


    So, slowly, she distanced herself from them. Maybe she couldn''t be happy, but she a least wanted the boy to be.


    But then one day, her father showed up in the academy.


    As fate had it, even Helio showed up. They talked.


    Helio saw Eve as a friend. It hurt Eve to such an extent that she froze. She already knew that- she already prepared herself, and yet- she couldn''t bear the pain.


    And on that day, she was yet again abandoned.


    Her mind was made up.


    But nothing went ording to n, it never did.


    Some days passed and with loads of courage, she challenged her father. She was probably going to die and she knew her dreams would nevere true either, but- she didn''t want to give up. Perhaps even these feelings were false, but- she wanted them to be real.


    It was a grueling fight and somehow she survived. She herself couldn''t believe that. But now she''d not just lost her home, she also lost her pride and the boy she loved.


    The thoughts did run wild in her mind. ''If I can''t have him I won''t let her-''


    But then she realized what would that make of the boy? What would he feel?


    The idea of the boy suffering didn''t sit well with her. It was fine that she was suffering but- if the boy also suffered- it''d be unbearable. And there wouldn''t be any point to that.


    So- she made up her mind. And she finally understood- maybe her sister''s choice wasn''t weakness after all. Maybe her sister felt the same on that day, she felt today?


    ''But I''m not giving up.''


    She''d lost everything, so it was time for a new beginning.


    ***


    Selene was going on a date today.


    This was herst year in this academy and so far, life wasn''t so bad.


    She had two lives; one, the academy life where she was free to do everything, and two- her nightlife- the life she despised, and yet, there was no denying that she enjoyed that life.


    She knew she stood no chance but- she didn''t care. She always believed in living in the moment. The future? The past? Those didn''t matter. The present was enough.


    Maybe Helio won''t belong to her, maybe he won''t look at her the same way he''d look at that girl, but she wanted to make it clear to Helio, she was also a woman and she wasn''t giving up just because a t teleporting girl showed up.


    She put on her lipstick, secured her purse, and wore a nice dress, a bit daring on the back.


    She had no fashion sense and never did make up-but that still wasn''t enough to stop her today. Her mind was made up and she had a smile.


    She was about to do stuff and she was going to go all out, it didn''t matter if she got rejected either. ''You''ll be mine tonight.. Even if it''s only just for the night.''

 Chapter 158 - Did I Forget To Mention I Had A Bad Feeling?

    Everything went smoothly, except it didn''t.


    My head was kind of in the clouds. Maybe that kiss was way more powerful than I thought.


    And for some reason time moved rather fast and before I knew it, school was over and I was free. But I wanted the whole day to be over with. ''But where will we find a private ce?''


    Needless to say, there was only one thing on my mind.


    Students were getting up and leaving. No one red and they just ignored me with heavy hearts. I guess I crushed a lot of their dreams.


    The two girls next to me didn''t move to get up though. Especially the one on my left- Enira.


    "So, when are you going on the date?" Marg asked, still a bit disappointed. She was packing up her things.


    "Around four I think."


    My Holo was kind of dead, so I had no way to double-check the message anyway.


    The girl on my left was rather quiet and she hadn''t said anything in a while. But now- finally she looked at me. "I''lle with you!" And she was very determined.


    I was also very determined. "No, thank you," I replied in her tone.


    I had no reason to bring a third wheel.


    "I promise to be good and stay inside the saber always!" Both of her hands were formed into a fist and she was trying to be cute.


    Unfortunately, I wasn''t buying it.


    "Take her," Marg said. "It''d be a drag if you got attacked while you were on a date and suffered because you didn''t take your saber with you."


    I actually didn''t think Marg would be the one saying this. Wait, or was it that there was more to this. Just what kind of attack was she talking about?


    Yeah, I had a bad feeling.


    Enira gleamed and winked. Marg winked back.


    Yup, a bad feeling, and I could definitely see where this was going.


    Sigh.


    But anyway, it was decided I''d be taking my saber with me. Carrying around a sword was frowned upon but somehow people didn''t care about sabers. Apparently, people were morons.


    And I was one of them.


    ***


    I got back to the dorm and went inside my room. Obviously, Enira followed me like a toddler.


    "So this is the girl? Hmm." Merin came over to my side and checked the girl out. A bit too close.


    "Feel free to slug him if he looks at you funny." I started to change.


    Merin clicked his tongue. "Unfortunately, I have my hands full with just one, I don''t need half a dozen like a certain someone."


    "I''ll have you know, I only have eyes for Marg." And half a dozen? Yeah, no thanks.


    "And I''ll have you know, people have eyes too." Merin mocked me and went over to his side.


    "You''re saying people love me and stuff?"


    Merin sighed. "What are you, a thickheaded protagonist? You''re even more thickheaded than your version in the ''Helio and the palm adventures!''"


    For a moment I''d actually forgotten that I had my own frigging novel with the palm tree. And for the record, I wanted to keep forgetting about that.


    Lately, I actually didn''t get reunited with the palm as much though. Which was definitely a good thing.


    I sighed again. "I''m aware people might have feelings for me. But I''d like to stay loyal."


    Besides, Marg would turn rather violent anyway.


    "You know. Being loyal and having multiple lovers have nothing to do with each other. You can have ten lovers and still be loyal to all of them if they and you are okay with it. As long as you all respect each other, it''s fine."


    Polygamy wasn''t rare, so I guess he did have a point.


    I kind of grimaced at the thought though. "Pretty sure no girl would be okay with that and do you think I''d be okay with seeing Marg with someone else even if she stays loyal to me?" Because I wouldn''t.


    Merin snorted. "I''m sure the girls who have eyes for you, only have eyes for you though."


    This guy was constantly contradicting himself and he was giving me a lecture. Talk about hypocrisy.


    "I understand your view-" Enira began. "But your friend is correct. If someone truly wishes to be with you, you should allow them." She grinned. "Love is universal and if there''s respect it''s fine."


    And now she was speaking for herself.


    I didn''t know why but my life was full of selfish people- and I was probably at the top of the chain.


    "I''ll go take a shower."


    Lately, I even took three showers on hot days like this. Besides, if I was going to go on a date, the least I could do was smell the part. "Maybe I should wear something nice too."


    And then the thought of that sweater came to my mind.


    ''Shit.''


    ***


    Everything was done and I was by the gates around 3.55. A littlete but definitely on time.


    The purpose of this date was just to hang out with Selene and that was basically it. This was just a way to make up for that incident anyway.


    Selene was already there- wearing a jet ck long sleeveless dress. Rather fancy, and she looked amazing.


    I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and went closer to her.


    "You look amazing. Where are we going?" I spoke carefully so I didn''t stutter.


    "Not too bad yourself but why aren''t you wearing that sweater?" Why was she so frigging infatuated with the sweater?


    I did carry the sweater in a bag with me just in case but I certainly didn''t want to wear it.


    "Can I not wear it? I''m ufortable."


    Selene frowned a little. I guess she wasn''t that bad. But then she opened her mouth. "Nope. You''ll either have to wear that or my dress. That was the deal." She grinned and winked.


    Wait, she wasn''t actually carrying anything other than a purse, meaning if I said- "If I say no, you''ll-"


    Selene gave me a devilish grin and didn''t say a word.


    Yup.


    I cleared my throat, calmed my breathing, and smiled. "I''ll wear it once it gets dark. Or maybe cold? You said we were going somewhere cold right?"


    I tried to change the subject.


    "Okay. With me." She moved her hand towards me.


    I took a second to process everything but then grabbed her hand firmly and looked at her smiling face. "Let''s go then."


    Her smile widened a little.


    Selene started pulling and she ran- I also had to run.


    How the hell was she managing this speed with those clothes?


    I didn''t know and I didn''t want to know.


    But maybe this wasn''t so bad.


    ***


    After five minutes of running, we just walked. ording to Selene, there was a nice caf¨¦ just a few minutes from here.


    "Are those piercings?" Selene touched my ears.


    "Not really." Marg had gifted me a single earring and since I didn''t have a piercing I just used them as it was.


    It was a weird oval-shaped earring though.


    "Aren''t they hurting?" Selene grimaced slightly.


    "Yeah, they are." I chuckled and now that she mentioned it, it hurt extra bad.


    She giggled. "I can give you an actual piercing if you want."


    "Yeah, I think I''ll pass. Too scary. Besides, I''ll only wear this for today anyway." For some reason, Marg insisted I did.


    "Wuss." Selene giggled haphazardly and we''d arrived.


    I ignored the insult and looked ahead at therge two-storied building and the couples going in.


    "I had no idea there was a ce like this here."


    We were exactly at the border of the snowy ins and the forest. This ce was a bit cold but not cold like the snowy ins. And it didn''t have bugs either. Perfect!


    "This is a nice caf¨¦ and they even have a ce to stay the night. And now you''ll have to wear that-" She grinned.


    I was getting very mixed signals here. Weren''t dates supposed to be stuff people did to pass the time and get to know each other better?


    Or had my life been a lie?


    I sighed and put on the sweater after all this time. I kind of wanted to kill myself but oh well.


    "Are you sure-"


    "Put your hand over my shoulder." Selene didn''t wait for my confirmation and guided my hand over her shoulder. "This is the etiquette here."


    Yeah, I doubted that.


    I again learned just how exposed that back was.


    I could literally feel her bones, though she wasn''t skinny. She was a bit on the muscr side though. Well, who cared, this was just for a day anyway.


    I gulped, grabbed her shoulder, and made up my mind. "Let''s go."


    I got a lot of funny looks from the couples around us. This damn sweater!


    But after grinding my teeth for a minute- I calm down and made up my mind anyway.


    I''ll grab a drink, chat for a while, and then that''ll be the end. After all, Marg would be waiting- ahem.


    If only things went like that.


    Sigh.

 Chapter 159 - Perhaps I Really Am A Thickheaded Protagonist?

    Yeah, I was na?ve.


    Way too naive.


    The caf¨¦?


    It was more than just a caf¨¦.


    The waitresses were wearing costumes and the people inside were nothing but couples. And that would have been fine but instead of being a typical caf¨¦, this ce had secluded rooms for privacy.


    And apparently, one could, in theory, borrow the costumes from the caf¨¦/ hotel and do stuff.


    I had an extra bad feeling about that.


    "Are you sure, we should be going in there?"


    Because no matter how I saw this, this looked more like a frigging hotel- where you do stuff- than anything else: definitely not a caf¨¦.


    All this time, I was the one who was holding her shoulder but now, now she just grabbed my arm- a lot of stuff touched a lot of other stuff- and we walked.


    She did not answer me, no.


    She''d already booked a room so we went up to the second floor. The secluded rooms I guess. ''Should I really be going here?''


    I could hear various types of muffled sounds in the hallway. People were chatting and having fun. Obviously, it wasn''t possible to make out anything but one thing I could make out; moans. Yes, there were plenty. People were having very good times and this ce wasn''t quite soundproof. Or was it just that I had a good hearing?


    I again had a very bad feeling about all this. I knew Selene was just teasing me but did she really have to go this far?


    We were just here for a chat, so why was she taking it this far?


    Oh boy, not good for my heart.


    With loads of deep breaths, we went into our room: Selene locked the door and went ahead while I still stood by the door. Arge fan was blowing and this room was a bit isted, so the outside sound wasn''t as prominent. I still heard asional loud moans, the extra loud ones. The people who were in the room right next to ours were having the time of their life.


    "So-" Selene looked at me and smiled. "What should we do now?"


    She sat down at the table. The bed was behind us. There was an open bath right in the corner and a toilet in the back. This was a spacious room.


    Needless to say, the people who thought about making these stuff thought very hard.


    "Dri-drink coffee I guess?" I tried to chuckle but nothing came out.


    And for a moment I''d already forgotten I didn''t drink coffee.


    Selene giggled to herself. "You don''t have to be so nervous. Come take a seat, I already ordered, so things should be here any-"


    Before she could finish there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and a boy-roughly fourteen- was here. "Please keep these in the corner once you''re done eating and intact if possible." The boy handed me a tray. "And we don''t promote toys but- there are some below the bed. There''s also protection there. And please be mindful of the sound, unlike them." The guy mumbled and stared to his left.


    Two people were getting out of their rooms and they were done already? And what do you know, it was Johnathan. Yeah, I quickly turned my head before the guy could look this way.


    And the boy also left.


    Toys?


    THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DATE!


    "Don''t just stand here." Selene giggled again, took the tray from me, ced it on the table, came back- locked the door- and pulled me down to sit. "I ordered some hot chocte for you and this is some good quality bread. Feel free." She had a smug grin. This girl knew how to bribe.


    There were also a cup of water? No, that was wine. There were also some chips.


    I tried to calm down. ''She''s just teasing you, calm down.'' I took more deep breaths and took a sip.


    Ahh¡­ rxation.


    This was good, the chocte and milk both were good. I tried the bread and it was good too. Sahhh¡­.


    I started making weird noises for some reason. This was good quality chocte and it had just won me over.


    Selene giggled at first and then chuckled. "People can easily deceive you, you know. You should be a bit more careful." She drank hers and a bit of red tint appeared on her cheeks.


    I didn''t have a response. She was kind of right. When it came to chocte, my guard always got down on its own.


    "Anyway, again, I''m sorry about hurting you and I hope this makes up for it." The main reason for all this was simply because I allegedly hurt her. Thoughter I found out, it wasn''t me.


    But a promise was a promise.


    "It kind of does, but you''ll have to do something else too." She finished her drink rather quickly. She didn''t get drunk from a single ss of wine, right?


    "And that is?"


    "You''ll have to spend the night with me."


    I almost threw up the milk in my mouth but I didn''t. It was too precious to waste.


    "What do you mean? That''s nothing to joke about. Cheating isn''t good you know."


    It was fine if she was going to joke about all these and it was fine she brought me here to tease me too. But- I didn''t like where this was going and I didn''t want anything to do with cheating.


    Knock! Knock!


    Selene got up and opened the door, received a package, and then locked it. "This isn''t cheating." I recognized the package. Oh no.


    Her dress was quite open, and with just one pull of a string, it immediately fell down.


    Holy ck lingerie.


    "What are you doing?" I was more bbergasted than anything else.


    All this time, I thought she was joking but now I knew she wasn''t. Merin''s words kind of shed in my mind.


    Maybe I really was a thickheaded protagonist like he imed. And was it me or were those thick?

 Chapter 160 - Wha Did You Just Say?

    "Nothing much." Selene''s dress fell on the floor, and so did her bra. The one at the bottom stayed on though.


    Her tail swung around and her seamless body kind of made my wood grow: those were veryrge and probably only second to Leilis''s. But I controlled my emotions. My heart raced but I had to stay calm. I couldn''t do this, no.


    Breast size wasn''t everything: I wholeheartedly consoled myself that way.


    I got up and I was about to leave too.


    She sighed and ripped open the package. It was a ck bunny girl suit with distinct holes in certain spots... Why the hell did such a thing even exist? For guys like me?


    I didn''t know why but I felt like my childhood dreams were being crushed one by one by reality.


    ''It just had to have holes.'' I really wanted to cry but I couldn''t look away. Damn you, dirty subconscious!


    "I love you Helio, and I want you. I won''t beat around the bush and tell you to take responsibility or be loyal. Just be with me for this one night that is all I ask."


    That sounded really nice, but I had a code. "I''m sorry. I cannot betray Marg."


    She looked down at the floor. "Is that so?" Her tone was soft and she was sad.


    Selene was someone I wanted to respect, not someone like this.


    "Please understand."


    I had a feeling she would. After all-


    "Screw that!" Her tone changed and she red. "I don''t care. Who cares about loyalty? The past is history and we don''t know whether we''ll live till tomorrow or not. So why shouldn''t we make most of the present." She took steps forward.


    I took steps back.


    I already knew she had more strength than me, so I couldn''t just make rash decisions.


    "Let''s calm down." I raised my hands a little and tried to calm her down but she wasn''t listening.


    My feet touched the side of the bed. There wasn''t any ce left to backtrack.


    "I am calm. I spend a lot of time wondering about you and I would like you to treat me with respect. I''m a woman, not a tool you can discard after turning on." Did that make sense? Cause it sure didn''t to me. "Look even your body agrees!"


    "NO- it doesn''t-" My wood was raised but now it wasn''t. And to confirm I bent my head but a secondter I realized, it was a trap.


    In that one second, the girl got close and hugged me, and we both fell on the bed. She didn''t try to suffocate me or even cripple me. "As I said, I love you and I don''t really need your loyalty." She was on top of me and rested her head on my chest. "I''m fine if you don''t choose me. But that''s why I want to be with you, at least once." Her voice was back to normal but something about that felt odd. "After all-"


    "If you love me than at least respect my-"


    "But that''s too selfish!" She was still on top of me, but both her hands were acting as pirs as her head floated over mine. Her voice shook and her eyes shimmered. "That''s just selfish."


    "I''m a very selfish person but- I''m d you love me. And I''m sorry I can''t reciprocate your feelings."


    The fact that I was loved, really was a blessed feeling. But it also kind of vexed me that I could never return those feelings.


    "At least- give me a kiss." She didn''t wait for my confirmation and shoved her tongue down my throat anyway. Even this girl''s tongue was stronger than mine.


    Her eyes leaked and she squeezed the hell out of my body. But- this was the end.


    She let me go. "I actually didn''t n on giving up but- as you said, I''ll respect your wishes." She got down from the bed and went to the corner.


    I took deep breaths and sat down. This was a nice bed. Perfect for- what the hell was I even thinking!


    She again got out of the costume and picked up her underwear.


    I didn''t know why but- yeah, she looked really good. Too bad, I couldn''t go back on my word.


    I shook my head. It wasn''t good, I was getting very bad thoughts and I had no use of them.


    ''Deep breaths!''


    "I n on leaving the academy," Selene said- as she put on her bra. Her eyes still shimmered.


    "Really? Well, you''re a third year. I''m surprised you''re still here." Third years were basically supposed to roam around the world after all. Though I guess that was the case in the past, not in the present.


    She smiled a little and tried on her dress. "Would you tie this?"


    I guess she wasn''t going to answer that.


    "Sure." I stood up, went behind her, and tied the knot. "Are you leaving because of me?"


    Her back was quite smooth and her bones were visible. She''d lost weight?


    ''Why didn''t I notice before?''


    "I don''t know. I love you and seeing you with someone else, breaks my heart. But if you were to at least have me by your side, maybe just maybe the happiness would have overpowered the pain-" Towards the end, her feelings finally came up and she shed tears, grabbing my chest. "I love you. Please- please let me stay by you."


    Even if she said that- I couldn''t.


    "I''m sorry. My heart already belongs to someone else and-"


    "I''m fine with that. You don''t have to love me, as long as you know I love you and-"


    "You speak the same words as that snake." A familiar voice suddenly turned up out of nowhere. Yeah, I had a bad feeling.


    "Who you calling a snake! I''m a dragon!" Another voice manifested in the room as my saber shook a little.


    And now, my very bad feeling finally came true and I died.


    At least, I wished I did.


    I turned around, like a badly oiled machine. "M-Marg- hi."


    "Hello Helio." She smiled. "If she wants you that badly, I say let her."


    Did my hearing fail or something? Because I was hearing weird shit again.


    "You''re not mad?"


    "Oh don''t worry. Even if she spends hundreds of hours trying to seduce you, you''re mine and that won''t change. Will it?" She teleported to me and held a finger on my chin. "I don''t care even if you took in every girl that loves you, even, as long as your mine- I''m fine with it." But her tone sure didn''t sound fine. "But the moment you feel something for them and your loyalty wavers-" Her head turned a little and she smiled. "I''ll just kill them."


    ''Wha- did you just say.''''


    Them? Not me?


    I heard, right, right?


    I shook my head a little and digested all the words very carefully, and in the end, sighed with relief.


    ''Well, that works for me.''


    But that''s when I realized. I really was dealing with mom2.0, wasn''t I? The upgraded version.. After all, even mom wasn''t this evil.

 Chapter 161 - I CAN’T WAIT FOR TO Oh…

    Enira sighed. "But wouldn''t that make him sad? And if he ever does fall in love with someone else, what would you do then? Just strangling the one he''s in love with, will only make him sadder. Don''t you know?" I had a feeling Enira was talking for herself. It was almost like she was securing her future or something.


    Marg apparently wasn''t affected. "I don''t trust men but I do trust Helio." That really felt great to hear. "But I''m aware anything can happen if love is involved, so I''ll be patient and lenient, as long as he remains loyal to me." Her smile was radiant.


    That actually felt good to hear despite what she implied. I was in a good mood again.


    "Well, that works for me," Selene said, quietly.


    I really felt sorry for doing this to her. "You know you don''t have to-"


    "No, this really does work out for me." Selene''s sad face disappeared and a smirk surfaced. "SO basically, we could do anything as long as he stillmits to you right?" She wrapped her hands around my neck from behind. Needless to say, a lot of stuff touched my back. "We''re even free to do that, right?"


    ''Please tell me, you''re not going to tell me, what you''re going to tell me.''


    Marg sighed. "Well, if it''s for his sake I won''t stop him, but I won''t tolerate betrayal." Why the hell was she backing off now!


    Huh?


    I was being ignored just like that?


    And they were basically having this great conversation about who I''d sleep with but didn''t feel the necessity to include me?


    And where''d those thoughts about killing people go? Seriously!


    What the hell was going on?


    ''Calm down, you need to calm down.'' Yeah, there was no way I could calm down now. And not to mention Selene''s stuff was still touching me.


    ''Soft-'' I wiggled my brain a little to calm down, and no, it wasn''t working.


    "How about we divide him up? You have three days a week and the two of us will have two days each?" Enira proposed. "We''ll change rooms thrice a week then. Meaning, we at least need three separate rooms."


    "Hey, I''m not chocte bread that you can just divide!" Then again, I wouldn''t hand over my bread to anyone in the first ce, unless it was absolutely necessary.


    All three eyes descended upon me. ''Now you want my input?''


    Every single one of them had a smile and whether I liked it or not, they were going to extract an answer from me. Marg''s smile was the deadliest one.


    So, I took a deep breath. "First of all, we haven''t even seen any houses yet. Second, I haven''t said yes to any of what you guys talked about. And more importantly, third, I don''t intend to sleep with anyone other than Marg."


    I was very intent on keeping my word, and even though my mind kind of sent weird thoughts at me, I was ready to tackle them.


    And houses weren''t cheap.


    Marg puffed her almost non-existent chest with pride. "I''ve won." She was darn cute.


    "We''ll see about that," Enira mumbled.


    Meanwhile, Selene smiled. "Under the same roof huh?" She looked at the ceiling and had a daydream of her own. Her warm breaths fell on my neck, yeah, she was excited.


    Did these people even hear me?


    Yes, but actually, no!


    "Well, the house should be taken care of." Marg grabbed my arm and freed me from the clutches of Selene. "You already paid for the night, right?"


    "Yes. Why?" Selene asked.


    Marg grinned. "Don''t worry, we''ll be making good use of this ce tonight." I had a feeling she was just messing with these two. "And we''re leaving." Marg red at Selene. "Let''s discuss this at ater time."


    ''There will be more discussions?'' Didn''t I already make it clear that I only wanted to sleep with Marg?


    I so, so wanted to sigh.


    Selene nodded and waved at me, albeit both reactions were a bit forced. "You sure you''re not gettingte?"


    "Late-"


    "Wait for-" Before Enira could say anything we warped.


    ***


    "This ce is still that dark, huh?"


    It was more like purple than dark: the ninth dimension.


    "If I-" Marg paused. "If I ever end up stranded here, will youe find me?"


    She didn''t look at me. But I did. "Of course!"


    I had no freaking idea what this ce even was, but at this point, I was willing to travel to the end of time, for her.


    Light illuminated my vision and we''d arrived at the academy fields.


    "Now-" Marg looked natural. "Why did you fawn over her when she was wearing that costume?" Her expression was gone and she became a bit too normal.


    Just how the hell did she know?


    "How did you know I was going to that ce?" I spoke very carefully.


    Marg looked away. "The earring. Let''s both get a piercing." I kind of suspected. And after checking her ears, I could confirm she didn''t have piercings either: I guess we both could suffer together. "You like bunny girls?" And she changed the subject rather fast.


    "I cannot deny my affection for the bunnies." I had to look away too.


    There wasn''t anyone near us. But even so, this was he embarrassing.


    Marg cleared her throat. "Anyway, what do you say, we head out tomorrow and check our new house out?"


    "You said there won''t be a problem but-"


    "Remember that key father gave you?"


    "Yeah?"


    This wasn''t going where I think it was going, right?


    "That was the key of a house on the ind, and I already checked out the rent and all that." She had a faint smile but it was evident, she was trying too hard.


    And yes, it really was what I was thinking.


    "But wouldn''t-"


    "He already paid the first year''s rent. We can choose a different house if you don''t like it."


    A whole rent-free year, huh? Sounded too good to be true, but maybe this wasn''t really that bad.


    "Well, I''m fine if you are." Though I''d do a very thorough search once I got the house- after all, it''d be very awkward if there happened to be surveince stuff there.


    I didn''t think Marg''s father would be that low, but I sure wasn''t taking the chance either.


    "The time?"


    "How about ten?" Marg was kind of in a good mood for some reason. I guess she was excited to see the new house with me.


    "Okay." Tomorrow was a holiday anyway.


    Marg smiled, came close, and kissed me on the cheek. "I''lle visitter."


    "But Merin-"


    And she was gone. Wait, she did say stuff about using that room Selene had booked, so maybe- my face kind felt like melting with emotions.


    I was a little disappointed that I didn''t get the kiss on the lips but this was also kind of cute.


    "Finally she''s gone." A sigh came from behind me.


    And now I had another problem.


    "Just get in the saber."


    Because I didn''t want to walk around with a girl like her. People were getting a lot of wrong ideas about me. And for some reason whenever this girl and I were alone, she''d grabbed my arm and walk like my little sister. Even my sister wasn''t this clingy.


    "Denied!" And no, she wasn''t listening to me.


    "Wasn''t I supposed to be your master?"


    "Only when people are around. Whenever the two of us are alone-" She tiptoed and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I''m-"


    I sighed, got out of her grip, and walked.


    Let''s go.


    She pouted a bit too loudly but, oh well.


    It was almost evening and by the look of things, a lot of students were getting off the ind. Tomorrow was a holiday and I was really surprised mom didn''t call me over. Oh, wait, my Holo was dead.


    Maybe not having a Holo wasn''t so bad.


    The ones that were still here were going on about the usual way.


    I didn''t see the group of six who were always pretending to nes today though. I didn''t m into the palm either. ''Something happened to Ariel?''


    It didn''t have anything to do with me, so I just kept on walking and reached the dorm in due time.


    A lot of people stared at me funny when they saw the happy girl right next to me. Even the manager looked like she had something to say, but she didn''t.


    After all, this girl was my familiar and there were no rules forbidding her entry even after six.


    I didn''t know why but I kind of liked that look on the manager''s face. She gave me so much trouble but now- I kind of wanted tough at her face, but I contained myself. I was a good guy after all. I still snickered though.


    ***


    Once up, Merin gave me hell.


    "Do you have any idea what you did?"


    "NO?"


    He locked the door and stood right in front of me like he was the boss of me or something. "Well, sit down."


    I took a seat. "What''s with the attitude, dude?" He was acting like my mom for some reason.


    The guy sighed. "Look." He shed his Holo at me.


    My eyes kind of wanted to pop out.


    "This is bad, right?"


    "You think?" He smiled.


    It wasn''t bad, it was very bad.


    There were three things written on the Holo, one, my name, two, someone else''s name, and three, a missing sign right next to my name. And it was the official screen of the neers'' international tournament''s scoreboard.


    Apparently, I had a match at six-thirty and it was already six forty-two.

 Chapter 162 - Stay Calm Stay Cal

    "Why didn''t you tell me?" I grabbed Merin''s shirt and wiggled him back and forth.


    "You have a Holo, how am I supposed to know you don''t know!" He also wiggled me back and forth.


    We both went back and forth while the girl next to me just rolled her eyes. "Ah, men."


    What the hell did this snake-dragon girl know about men?


    I so, so wanted to sigh right now. Oh, wait, toote.


    Wait, if I had a match today, how the hell was I supposed to go if I still had my wounds?


    Did everyone just assume I''d miss today''s match because of my severe wounds?


    Oh. But I was pretty much healed this morning and Germany wasn''t that far. I mean it was only eight hours away.


    "You thought Marg would teleport me so didn''t tell me anything?" I just tried to be clear with him. Besides, I needed some answers.


    I ying darts in the dark was all I could muster.


    He nodded vigorously. I guess everyone just assumed that. Wait, then howe Marg didn''t say anything?


    And then there was the thing about the club not even contacting me. I didn''t know why but it felt like these guys didn''t want me to fight today''s match.


    But if they didn''t want me, then I had all the more reason to. I didn''t know why but if people told me to not do something, I wanted to do it more.


    ''Can Marg even teleport that far?''


    Only one way to find out.


    I used Merin''s Holo and gave Marg a call and told her toe over.


    She took exactly three seconds beforeing right before me, a toast in her mouth. Super cute, but I was super freaking out.


    That was fast and the call was still going for crying out loud.


    "Can you teleport to Germany, here?" I brought up a map on Merin''s Holo.


    Marg continued chomping and spoke in very cute ways. "I need to see the actual ce before I can teleport." Well, shit. "Pictures will do too." She swallowed and all my worries kind of dampened a little.


    I wanted to hug her so damn much right now.


    I sighed hard and searched for pics quickly. We were running out of time.


    Oh, wait.


    ***


    After seeing the images, Marg grabbed my hand, and immediately, we started teleporting.


    Everyone else was left behind.


    She actually didn''t take the toast with her, which was kind of a bummer as she looked way too cute with that in her mouth. But now that I looked at her, Marg looked a bit pale.


    Before I could think or say anything, we had arrived.


    Light!


    These people really went overboard with the lights.


    There was a distinct silence from the crowd. I guess they had too much of waiting.


    I did hear loads of murmurs as my eyes adjusted to the light.


    The murmurs turned to very audible whispers. The general conscience- teleportation was a marvel.


    I for a moment forgot Marg''s talent was really rare.


    "I didn''t think you''d show up." A rather pesky voice came from my right. Why pesky?


    He was jeering at me.


    My vision was almost restored. I took a nce at my surrounding before looking at the man to my right.


    This was a big stadium, at least three times bigger than the erged gym we usedst time. There were loads of crowd and the scoreboard already dered my opponent as the winner. I guess I was toote. But something felt off about the scoreboard and it almost felt like everything was prenned or something.


    It was pointless I guess.


    And the man? Well, he wasn''t a man. Rather he was just some dude in full te shining golden armor. Maybe a bit taller than me? I didn''t see his face because of that thick helmet though.


    Marg grabbed my sleeve and pulled gently.


    "Something wrong?"


    She was awfully pale.


    "I think I have a mild headache. Can you sit me down over there?"


    "Sure." I lifted her up and carried her like the princess she was. She was a bit surprised at first but in the end, she just smiled, blushing slightly. "Do you want anything to drink?"


    "Isn''t the tournament more important?"


    The whispers were getting way too audible now.


    "Nope, you are." Then again, I already kind of lost.


    I sat Marg down on a bench outside the court and located the guys holding drinks in the corner.


    With a grin, I dashed for them and quickly made a round trip with a bottle of juice. No one dared to stop me or even say a word.


    Everyone just watched in silence.


    They were probably confused as to what sort of reactions they wanted to make.


    With all that done, I just walked. The air was fresh and didn''t have any smell.


    Oh well, I went for the center of the stage again and met the guy in armor with a full re.


    "Sorry to keep you waiting but I had business to take care of. And since they already dered you winner, congrats."


    Obviously, I was kind of pissed but there was no choice. It was my fault for not checking properly.


    "Well, if you beg me, we can just fight and see if you really are the wuss who won by kissing a whore on the battlefield."


    "Oooh." The crowd here wasn''t really helping.


    Both of our voices were being amplified.


    I turned my head to the right and there was a girl who had glowing blue eyes. I guess this was her doing.


    "You say, interesting things." I smiled. I was still searching for a judge or maybe an official announcer of sorts. "So you''re not afraid that you''re going to lose some limbs here that you want me to beg you?" I only realized after saying that, it didn''t make sense.


    I was close to exploding but found my own patience to be surprising. This was rare, and this was bad. The more patient I got, the more harm I did to my opponents, which was why I got impatient whenever I wanted to mow down my enemy- for their sakes. But both my body and subconscious wanted to be patient for once.


    The guy chuckled. "Your powers are worthless against me and you will be the one who''ll lose limbs."


    And with his thoughts, the crowd cheered. I hear weird shouts.


    ''Mow him down!''


    ''Use the mowner!''


    ''Divine judgment!''


    I actually knew some German but, seriously, these people were screaming stuff like that?


    There was a loud rumble and a guy fell from the roof to the ground. The roof was just a roof, so was he hanging there like a spider or something. "Ladies and gentlemen, pardon myteness. One of our guests had some bowel troubles so she went missing and because of that we won''t be holding Helio Romswell Jintel ountable for beingte." I guess this guy in red, was the announcer. He smiled very devilishly and pointed at the top of the west region. "Therefore we would have a guest judge."


    He first spoke in German followed by English.


    The win by default sign vanished on the scoreboard though it was 7.11 right now. Almost forty minuteste.


    "Booo!" The crowd booed.


    I did not get this crowd, no.


    I saw the three judges and though I didn''t know any of them, I did know the one missing. Why? Because her chair had a name tag, that being Alexandra. Apparently, she was the mother of my childhood friend whom I hadn''t talked to in seven years and had no intention of talking to either. I kind of did something rather horrible to that kid, so I didn''t want to meet him.


    But I was d.


    Now, my smile warped and I felt like my veins throbbed.


    It would have been bad if I couldn''t fight here, after all, fighting the participants outside the matches, would mean disqualification. And I was fine with being disqualified, but since it didn''t happen, I was d.


    "How far am I allowed to go?" My stare was on the shining guy in armor but my focus was on the announcer.


    I really hoped he got my drift.


    "We will have a barrier for your special match, so feel free to use all your powers. As long as you don''t kill him, it''s okay." Oh, and he sure did.


    "Works, for me."


    And with that, a barrier formed and a timer started on the scoreboard.


    3¡­2¡­1.


    I stayed calm. I was very mad, but I stayed calm.


    I was going to beat the living crap out of this guy, but I was going to savor everyst bit of it. Every part of my being was in agreement.


    So I started off with alpha and beta.


    Both bounced off him and the guy didn''t move. Next gamma, also didn''t prate that armor. It was golden in color but I guess there was more to it. And I couldn''t use too much Gamma in a ce like this either.


    Oh but I sure wanted to, and I had a feeling the moment I lost my patience, a lot of shit was about to happen.

 Chapter 163 - Stay Calm Stay Cal (Part Two)

    He had a nice lightsaber but so did I. I hadn''t brought my sword but it didn''t matter.


    ''Greatsword.''


    Even without the snake girl, the sword transformed. It was possible she''d already made it into the saber or maybe this thing worked independently, but frankly, I didn''t care.


    I held therge saber with two hands and charged.


    I swung hard and the guy blocked. He still didn''t move.


    "Too weak." He grinned. "Is this the power of the guy who hides behind women?"


    The armor seemed a bit too powerful, but I mmed my feet on it. And yeah, regret.


    It hurt.


    Ouch!


    I guess he didn''t make it here for nothing.


    So, I took a breath. "Cool, I guess." I formed a barrier behind him, and another one in front of him, and then mmed my feet at the barrier. "That, strong enough for you?" It still hurt but worth it.


    "Ridiculous!" He spat a drop of blood from his helmet and broke through the barrier. "You don''t have enough strength to even move me, let alone win. This just proves you won by cheating. And that whore-"


    Well, this was going nowhere. And this guy for some godly reason knew how to make me shiver with rage.


    So, I took a step back, turned the great sword into a small saber, and made a sma ball. A bit too powerful. I had a feeling this guy could withstand it. And if he couldn''t. Oops.


    "I can take it! SUPREME DEFENCE!" The guy took a stance like a sumo wrestler, one hand in front of his body.


    Did people really give names to their attacks and say it out loud too? Why?


    Oh well, I threw the sma ball- the size of a pomelo- and ran for him.


    The ball mmed into him, created smoke and the guy fumbled a bit but he was fine, but that''s where I came in. I kicked him exactly at the same ce the ball had crashed into. And I was always focusing on that one spot.


    A dent and a small crack.


    I needed more power.


    But seeing, nothing happening to the guy, the crowd just cheered harder.


    "Divine justice!" He swung his saber with two hands like an axe. I barely dodged to my left.


    But after literally spending half a minute fighting this dude, I came to the conclusion. He was SLOW!


    "This is bing a drag."


    So, without a doubt, I just stood in front of him.


    "So, you give up?" The guy was very happy as he raised his saber over his head once more to attack me. And he did attack me, but I dodged to my right.


    This was guy was slow. And didn''t he realize, I wasn''t? Or was his brain slow too?


    "Unfortunately, after what you said, I''m having a very hard time controlling my energy so I don''t identally kill you." I touched his armor. "I do want to kill you but, I don''t want to be disqualified for the likes of you."


    It would have been too merciful to just kill him without doing anything else. Then again, I didn''t have any intention of killing this worthless thing and being disqualified for no reason at all. It just wasn''t worth it.


    "What are you-"


    It started melting. The ce I touched his armor, started melting.


    He immediately backtracked.


    "Oh? I thought you weren''t going to move." My grin resurfaced.


    "Th-that power!" He hissed through his armor. "You do have power, yes and I apologize for saying you used underhanded techniques. But a man who uses confessions and such to win, aren''t true warriors! A true warrior never holds back!"


    I sighed. "IS that SO?" I grinned very evilly and dashed again. The guy swung his saber but I just dodged. And grabbed his head. "Now what was it that you said about me kissing a-"


    He swung his saber at me and I grabbed it with my glove. He didn''t have enough strength to swing it hard enough and I had good gloves. My saber fell on the floor but I held his very firmly.


    "Impossible. How can you have such strength?"


    "Don''t worry, it''s fairly possible. It''s true I won a little underhandedly. But I assure you, if I wanted- I could have killed you before the fight even started." I increased the strength of my grip, and slowly but surely, dug into his skull. "And why wouldn''t I hold back if my enemy is my love?" I held him up by his head: he wiggled around, screamed, and even mmed his fist and legs on my body. Unfortunately, I didn''t move an inch.


    It hurt, it really did, but my grin didn''t leave for a single second.


    He was at least three inches taller than me, but I really liked lifting him up like this. He was heavy and I was getting tired but- yeah, I was in the mood.


    Before long, the guy stopped struggling too much.


    The crowd wasn''t cheering anymore for some reason.


    But my hand just kept on going deeper. "Divine justice, was it?" I snickered.


    "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" the guy screamed like crazy before eventually stopping: the scream was kind of in the middle of a scream and augh though.


    I dropped his body and took off his helmet. Since the helmet was bent in a very not so friendly way, it was kind of hard to get it out. And the guy suffered because of that.


    He''d only passed out. Covered in his own sweat, blood, and snot, he was definitely ugly.


    "Are there any healers here?"


    Two guys immediately ran inside the court.


    "Heli-" The announcer was about to dere my victory.


    But I had other ns. "Wait." My voice was very strong. "Heal him enough to wake him up."


    Both of the healers shook a little but did as they were told.


    The announcer just smiled and stood there.


    The armored guy woke up and I lifted him up just likest time, this time, not gripping as much. I didn''t want him to pass out immediately.


    "Be sure to amplify my voice so everyone can hear." I grinned, looked to my right and the girl just nodded, albeit very scared. And now my voice was amplified. "I believe you said something about me kissing a whore, correct?"


    A lot of blood wasing out of the guy''s head and different holes. He didn''t have the energy to nod.


    The crowd was gasping and some were even fainting. Well, that was dramatic.


    I smiled some more. "I implore and invite all of you to try and insult my family. Please do so, so, I can crush you like this. Whether it be this country or the whole world, I''ll crush you all. So feel free to insult my family." I smiled a bit more. "And I love Marg, and I also assure you, she''s the best woman in my life, only second to Mom of course!"


    I mmed the guy on the floor and kicked the same spot I had attackedst time. The armor kind of broke down and several of the guy''s ribs cracked. Not a pleasant sound. "So, of course, I''ll hold back!"


    The guy passed out again, I sure hope he didn''t die on me. Because I still held back a lot- lot.


    But I was satisfied.


    The panicked healers were rushing to heal him, while I just turned around.


    I went towards Marg and she had this look somewhere between relief and fear.


    "You''re really scary when you''re mad," She said.


    "Only when it involves you guys."


    The announcer announced my victory but the crowd didn''t cheer that much. I guess they were too afraid.


    Two minutester I found out that, this armored guy was actually Germany''s representative and supposedly he was a preacher of justice and the way of the warrior. So when he saw my fight with Marg he just assumed that me not fighting Marg with all my powers, holding back, and using the kiss to call it off, was, well, underhanded and not very warrior-esque.


    That''s why he had such a haughty attitude and that was also why the crowd didn''t like me anymore: they probably even hated me. Strike that, they definitely hated me.


    No wonder the people from the academy didn''t want me to fight this guy: it kind of made sense. Didn''t matter to me though. I was already from a viinous family and I knew how to deal with hate and all that.


    And if one thing I couldn''t let slide, it was people insulting my family


    ***


    From the moment the guy had lost the crowd started getting out of the stadium. Well, I guess that was totally natural.


    The judges had given me a total of 24 points. All three of them gave me eight. I had no idea why. If it were me, I''d have given myself a bit fat zero, not because I went overboard but because I could have done better. And it was very hard to keep my killing intent in check. It was almost as though I was the shadow at the same time.


    Was it possible? I didn''t know but-


    It was toote to think about all that now anyway.. After all, what''s done is done.

 Chapter 164 - A Bath, You Say!

    No one actually said anything to me. They announced my victory and the match was over for the time being.


    "I went a bit too far, huh?" I said, staring at the empty seats and the ring people. Even just five minutes ago this ce was filled with people but now it was almost empty. The few that were here were ring a bit too much.


    Marg grabbed my hand and stood by me. "But that''s why I love you." She reached for my check with a bit of a tip-toeing action and kissed me. "Thanks for standing up for me."


    It was worth it.


    But then she had to open her mouth again. "And how long are you nning to actually wearing that?" She carefully pointed with a smirk.


    ''That?''


    I looked at my body and well, froze.


    Was a ss of water nearby? Because I wanted to dive into one and die.


    "Do I have any more matches today or maybe tomorrow?" I felt kind of bashful, so I looked away. It wasn''t just being bashful though, I literally wanted to die right now out of the sheer embarrassment. How the hell did I not notice that I was still wearing that thing?


    I was literally sweating too! And still didn''t notice!


    Were the spectators making fun of me for this sweater when this started? What about the reporters?


    Oh no.


    Seeing my reaction, Marg giggled rather intensely: she controlled herself though. "No, the next match would start the day after tomorrow. You have two matches that day and the finals day after." I had a feeling she was enjoying this a lot more than necessary.


    And she already assumed I''d be going to the finals. My future wife had too much faith in me. But I really wished she''d at least tell me that I was wearing this sweater though!


    "You didn''t know about today''s match?"


    I was just trying to have a conversation. It felt awkward to stop talking. Actually, things just felt a bit awkward. I didn''t want Marg to see my bad sides, even if I was fighting for her, I just wanted her to see my cool sides! Oh wait, I didn''t have cool sides.


    Argh, my head was going funny with thoughts again.


    Marg giggled at my reactions and stopped a secondter. "I did. But- but I thought it was better for you to note today. After all, now everyone would hate you and-" She paused, squeezed my hand a bit tighter. "I don''t want you to be hated."


    She didn''t want me to be hated but didn''t mind herself being called a whore? I didn''t know why, but she looked so huggable and I hugged her anyway. Who cared about what people thought? "Thanks but be a little mad too when people call you stuff." Because I was super mad. I smiled. "Let''s go back." It was already past eight. "If you feel bad then we can just rent-"


    And she started to teleport before even letting me finish, still in my arms, blushing slightly. ''But that''s why I love you-'' I could almost hear her say.


    Marg again looked pale as the space warped.


    Maybe long-distance travel was taxing on her? ''Maybe I shouldn''t ask so much of her.''


    After all, everyone had their limits.


    Roughly half a minute passed.


    We''d arrived, at the hotel room.


    My face lit up a little. Now we were talking! Marg did a lot for me today so I was going to have loads of fun with her-


    But- "Uhg-" Marg almost threw up. She did control herself and we both went to the bathroom. More like, I carried her into the bathroom and turned on the lights.


    "I-m''kay." And she proceeded to throw up.


    She was not okay!


    She didn''t have much in her stomach. So, the process was rather hard on her.


    I quickly grabbed a ss of water-


    After five minutes, she became a bit better but- her face was still rather pale.


    "Teleporting far is bad for you?"


    She nodded.


    A bolt of electricity went through me, or at least it felt like that.


    "But you still did it because I wanted to?"


    She didn''t nod and she didn''t even look at me.


    I sighed and didn''t say anything.


    She was pushing herself for my sake: she also bore the insults for my sake without a single word of rebellion either. I had to treat her better, I just had to. There was no reason for her to suffer because of me. I wanted to make her happy, not for her to sacrifice her happiness for my sake: I already had enough of that with mom sacrificing everything. I wanted us both to be happy. I wanted all of us to be happy.


    Maybe, I really was the most selfish guy in the world. But I wasn''t going to stop being selfish.


    ***


    Roughly half an hourter, we came out and now Marg was a lot better. Herposure was a lot better too.


    She washed her face rather well and aftering out she ordered a nightgown over the built-in phone and went to the corner to take a shower. She wanted to teleport back to her room to get some clothes but I forbade her.


    All this time I didn''t realize that the lights were actually turned off: or rather the main ones were. Only the bathroom lights were on.


    I did turn everything on and well- I saw Marg''s body on the open-air bathtub.


    Damn you foams! I was just a second toote. I still saw loads of curves though.


    Those luscious curves, and that sublime-


    The moment she saw my gaze- my very not so pure gaze- she grinned and invited me like a cat swiping its paws. Her curves jumped up a notch when she did and the bubbles invited me too. The scent in the air was very, very alluring and sultry. So, was that expression.


    I could never say no to that, no. and neither did Helio junior. Both of us made a stern salute and I took a step forward. I threw the sweater on the bed too.


    ''You''re all mine.''


    Knock! Knock!


    I really felt like breaking my teeth the way I grinded.. But oh well.

 Chapter 165 - A Bath, You Say! (Part Two)

    I carefully opened the door, at least enough to see who was on the other side, but not enough for the guy to see what was going on inside.


    "You again." The boy gave me a stare. "How many girls are you bringing in here?" He didn''t say them but it felt like he was implying that. It really did. Of course, he didn''t see Marg, meaning he probably wasn''t thinking that.


    Myplexes were surfacing for some reason.


    I was actually a bit flustered at the boy''s gaze.


    I tried to chuckle but it wasn''t working. "Are the dressesplimentary?"


    "The cosys are free for renting but you ordered a typical nightgown so it''ll be 2 silver.."


    ''But that''s robbery.'' I didn''t say it out loud though. We didn''t have time to worry about all that.


    Marg''s clothes needed washing and she couldn''t teleport- or rather I forbade her to. If this got worse, I wouldn''t have been able to forgive myself.


    So paying a whole silver extra wasn''t rubbing me the wrong way. At least I thought it wouldn''t, but then I realized I was three copper short so- "Can we keep it to one silver and 90 copper?"


    "No." This brat knew that I was desperate.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll pay," Marg said, raising her voice a little.


    The boy handed me the package. "If you need dinner please use the inte and-" He gave me a rude stare. "Depending on girls is okay and all but you''re making them pay for everything while also two-timing?"


    He didn''t wait for my reply and left.


    I really, really wanted to punch that guy but he was kind of right.


    Selene had paid for this room and this time Marg would be paying for her nightgown. Granted, I didn''t ask for either, but maybe he was right. But no, I wasn''t two-timing!


    Maybe I should have thought more about actually earning money. After all, I''d be moving in with Marg and I needed a stable ie.


    "Just lock the door, ande here already!" Marg pouted and gave me a stare.


    But then I realized, I was already in the middle of something. ''Cute.''


    I cleared my throat, the worries of money had to stay out of this for now. I locked the door, got rid of my clothes and even my underwear, and dived into the bathtub.


    There was no need for underwear, after all, Marg wasn''t wearing any either.


    It was a bit long and big but- onlyfortable for one person, not two. It wasn''t cramped but our bodies were touching. Wait, was this intentional?


    Everything about this room felt like it was intentional. The toilet was separate but the bath was open air. And the bed was quite close too. Intentional at its finest.


    Instead of being on the opposite side, Marg came to this side and sat on my thigs. Helio junior was sticking out like a lightning rod, just rubbing against her bottom.


    Just a little more traction and a lot of stuff might have gotten out. And all this bubbly water wasn''t helping.


    My breath was going out of control and so was my heart.


    And this is when I realized, there was a bit of a mole-shaped blue fur on Marg''s back near the tail bone. ''She probably shaves it off.'' So, this was her animal feature? I hadn''t seen it thest time.


    I touched it and she jumped slightly.


    She twisted her body and held my chin. "Are you disgusted with me because-?"


    I kissed her before she could finish. "I''m proud of you because you did all that for me. But don''t do that again. It hurts when you''re hurting." Felt a bit cringe to say, but I was in the moment. "And I could never be disgusted with you." Probably not true, but I was willing to put up with it no matter what. Besides, the fur was kind of cute.


    I kissed her again and she kissed me back.


    I touched her chest and gently squeezed and she grabbed my lightning rod. I guess it was tit for tat.


    With our mouths still connected and lips fighting, both our hands raced on. Everything was slippery.


    Her other hand was free and she was exploring by back when- Ouch!


    I didn''t realize that I actually had three distinct spots on my chest and back which hurt. I guess staying still and taking all the hits of that guy wasn''t a great idea: I guess that sweater dide in handy a bit though, regrettably. Marg gently touched the spots and looked a little sad.


    "Don''t worry, they''ll heal by tomorrow." They weren''t anything serious anyway.


    Besides, I had the healing of my saber. And speaking of it, I hadn''t seen that girl anywhere and I didn''t want to either.


    The only girl I wanted to see was Marg and she was right in front of me, in my arms. So I just kissed her and squeezed her just a bit tighter.


    Of course, she didn''t hold back either. And I got the feeling that she was relieved to hear that from my mouth.


    Because things just increased in intensity.


    Marg moaned between kisses- ever so softly- and my rod was going into overdrive mode.


    The soft feeling, the lusciousness of her lips, the sound of water! And then there was the alluring scent of her body. I literally had this urge to start licking her, but I controlled myself and just kept on with the kissing.


    Our breaths were hot and this bath felt awfully steamy. Even I leaked a moan or two.


    The smell of sweat mixed in with the foam and the scents and well, created something euphoric, for a minute that is. For that one moment, it felt like nothing in the world mattered. For that one moment, I could only feel her and she could feel me.


    We were one. Not physically though.


    Before I knew it, stuff happened. And now Marg''s hands were a bit sticky. And Helio junior was spent. And I''d never thought I''d be moaning in this life either.


    I was out of breath. Marg was fine though and her smile was awfully charming.


    She drained the water and I finally saw her body. Up until now I could feel her but now- now I saw everything: Everything.


    She wasn''t that curvy but the curves were all here in the right ces too: the breasts were ample enough. She was beautiful.


    "You''re already done?" She whispered, smirking devilishly.


    And I hadn''t even touched her there, let alone entered her for crying out loud: I wanted to though. ''Damn you my premature-!'' I might or might not have been a bit too excited.


    Of course, with just five minutes, I could get ready for round two!


    She giggled again and turned on the water. "Let''s finish the shower first."


    ''Wait, we''re not going to finish it in the shower?''


    I didn''t know why but I got a bit disappointed.


    The disappointment diminished a bit as she washed my body and I washed hers but- it was still here. I made an extra effort to wash every part of her body though, every!

 Chapter 166 - There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

    Bodies were washed, the shower was over.


    I was roaring with vigor again and my body could almost explode with the emotions. I really hope it didn''t, at least not this time. After all, I needed a lot more endurance this time around.


    Marg went to the corner, wrapped her dripping body with a towel, and grinned the entire time.


    Water dripped, some drops slowly trailed down from various parts of her body. .


    I also wrapped my body with a towel but little Helio was poking out like crazy. He needed attention.


    It was very hard to dry myself while also staring at my future wife.


    I didn''t know why- okay, maybe I did know why- but she really was alluring. And that sultry look was driving me crazy.


    Just the thought of seeing this every day- calm. I was not calm.


    She wrapped a towel over her hair. There wasn''t any hair blower here, but she did put on her underwear and the nightgown in quick session.


    It was awfully sexy when she put on her underwear but- when she put on her nightgown, yeah not so much.


    For a second I was disappointed but then wisdom dawned upon me. Wait, what if the clothes were here, so I could remove them?


    And my smirk made a triumphant return. I could see where this was going eyes closed, but I didn''t close my eyes though, not even for a second.


    Marg was basically done dressing up, so nothing stopped me from putting on my shirt and underwear. Screw you pants. And screw you too buttons.


    Marg sat on the bed. There was a special soft sheet on top of the bed, probably kept there to prevent stains on the actual cover. Marg''s body was still a bit wet in ces, so- yeah, I didn''t waste time and just kissed her, grabbing her tight.


    She kissed me back, and also hugged me.


    Her scent mixed in with the shampoo; intoxicating. I could hold back no more!


    But- but something felt off. It was almost as though, there was less emotion this time. Maybe because I already did it once?


    Heh, who cared? I loved her and that''s all it mattered.


    I slowly massaged Marg''s chest over her gown. It was a bit wet feeling and yet, firm and soft at the same time. The feeling was indescribable.


    I loved it.


    This French kiss was never-ending and no matter how many minutes passed, I didn''t feel like stopping. Marg''s eyes were closed but her lips and tongue were moving just fine. Her hands were gripping my back tightly.


    I slowly opened her buttons and just the moment I touched her bra, she stopped and just hung in my arms.


    "Stop teasing already." I chuckled softly.


    But Marg didn''t open her eyes. And her warm body was slowly cooling down.


    "Marg?"


    No response.


    "Hey, that''s not-"


    I stopped, checked her pulse, her breathing. She''d passed out. "Marg!"


    ''What the hell!''


    I was pretty turned on and excited but- now, now I was just freaking out.


    ''Wha-what should I do?''


    I had this distinct memory of someone opening a tap over my head once to cool me down when I''d passed out. But- Marg was already cold. And she was getting cooler.


    She wasn''t overheating. Something was really wrong here.


    I took a deep breath but I couldn''t calm my nerves, not one bit.


    ''I have to get help.''


    I didn''t know what to do, but that didn''t mean no one else did. I probably would have looked like a clown but I didn''t give two fucks. Marg''s life mattered more!


    I was about to run to the door when- Marg grabbed my hand.


    I turned around. She was awake, smiling faintly. "Sorry, got a little lightheaded."


    I hugged her, a bit teary-eyed. "You scared me." It almost felt like I was being stabbed when I knew she wasn''t waking up. Maybe I was being dramatic but- it was like my heart had skipped several beats.


    I didn''t know. I really didn''t know. But- maybe- I wasn''t prepared for death. I wanted to kill my enemies for the sake of my family, but- was I really prepared?


    I wasn''t.


    What did it even mean to die? What did it mean to kill?


    Just imagining Marg not opening her eyes almost made my nerves go out the drain. I really wasn''t prepared at all.


    And I was giving threats to the world?


    Huh!


    "I''m okay now." She gently patted my head.


    I gentlyid her on the bed and lied right next to her, hugging her the entire time. I didn''t have any words. But my heart did calm down as I felt her heartbeat.


    Her forehead touched my chest. "Maybe I shouldn''t teleport to faraway ces." She giggled.


    She was trying to lighten up the mood but- but I felt terrible. After all, she did this, though she knew. She did this, for me.


    "Marg I-"


    She held a finger on her lips. "I love you and though it feels weird to say this, but you really are my everything now. You freed me from that hell, you make me happy- fill me up with warm fuzzy feelings, and I want to make you happy, the happiest! It''s a bit embarrassing but- I love you."


    I held her a bit tighter. "You are my everything too." I kissed her forehead. "And I love you."


    "Only second to your mom of course. And it hurts so, mind easing up a little," She managed with a smile.


    "Oh, sorry." I chuckled and eased up.


    Only second to mom huh? I guess she was paying close attention when I said mom was the most important person in my life and she was second? Oh well, I loved both of them. Though the form of love was different.


    She giggled but came closer, and kissed me on the cheek.


    Both our eyes were locked on. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and mine over her back.


    "Let''s move in together."


    "Yeah." After all, that was the n.


    There were some more kissing and touching, but regrettably, nothing more happened.


    ***


    I woke up with a headache.


    This wasn''t my day. Even in the morning, my little buddy was up and ready to roll. It really, really wanted attention.


    It was early morning and Marg was still asleep.


    Wait, this wasn''t my day, but it could be! Things could just very well happen!


    Her hair was everywhere and the towel holding her hair was lying on the floor. She looked like an Angel. A very messy angel.


    She looked totally normal though: I guess she was fine now. She was right next to me, but still facing my way. I touched her cheek and then went closer for a morning kiss. Before I could kiss her, she stopped me with her palm. It was kind of, me smooching her hand.


    Still worth it. And I took my sweet time smooching too.


    She opened her eyes, smiled, and kissed me instead. Just a smooch though.


    And with that, she got out of bed and went to the bathroom.


    So much for a little bit of morning fun. It was still early so I was hoping for stuff.


    But I guess it had to wait.


    After all, if everything worked out, we''d be living in the same house from next month and- my face twisted a little as my inner desires leaked. "Everyday."


    "Except those five days." Marg poked out her head, winked, and then went back in. ''Cute.''


    Bummer. But I was definitely going to respect her wishes. Actually, was it even possible to have sex during those five days? I didn''t know and I had no reason to research either. If Marg said no, it meant no.


    But still, almost every day. Again, my face leaked all my emotions.


    My lightning rod was kind of pointing towards the heavens but oh well. It''ll get all the attention it deserved soon enough. ''Just wait some more my son!''


    ***


    Both of us got fresh and dressed.


    I was disappointed that I didn''t get to shower with her again, but we still smelled the same. After all, we were using the same stuffst night.


    I did get to grope her while she was brushing though.


    She wasn''t happy, no.


    Marg would drop me right in front of my room and head back into hers that was the n.


    She was still wearing her nightgown. Were her other clothes really dirty though? I had this weird desire to sniff them. Unfortunately, she caught me and made me promise that I wouldn''t touch her lingerie without permission.


    Meaning, I still had hope, as long as I got permission.


    I didn''t want her to teleport again but she said it was okay, as long as she didn''t teleport any more than 1500 kilometers of distance in a span of six hours.


    Apparently, thest time she did this, she had it worse: that was two years ago. Meaning, even taking me back home made her feel bad, albeit not to such an extent. But just knowing she went through pain for my sake- made me want to cherish her more.


    ***


    We went down first and paid the hotel. Last night we didn''t have dinner so I was kind of hungry and I for sure knew Marg was also hungry but she never said a word.


    I wanted to have breakfast here, but she said no.


    We got out of the hotel and there wasn''t anybody around. I for a moment forgot this ce was secluded.


    Of course, both of us had bags holding clothes and stuff. We were holding hands and before long I was in front of my door and Marg was gone.


    I cleared my thoughts and knocked on the door.


    And a minuteter, it opened.


    But there were three people already inside.


    ''Well, this can''t be good.'' And so began, my lovely, shitty, and a bit spicy holiday.

 Chapter 167 - A Holiday To Remember

    There were three people inside this room. At least three outsiders.


    After opening the door, Merin just went over to his bed and lied down, reading stuff on his Holo. The guy didn''t have a single worry in the world.


    Meanwhile, the other three?


    One, the headmaster; two, Johnathan; and three, Eve.


    The other two, I can understand but the first? Did he have too much free time or something?


    I had a distinct feeling that something was up but I stayed calm: then again I was already calm thanks to that snuggle time with Marg.


    I really had to try hard to keep all my emotions inside.


    Aftering inside, I locked the room.. I had a feeling whatever he was about to say, was going to be confidential. And not something I wanted to know.


    "Good morning sir." I went over him and stood right in front of him, staring. My tone was formal, but- I had a feeling I came up a bit disrespectful.


    "Ah, good morning." He started with an awkwardugh. "Nice weather isn''t it?" He chuckled.


    Just what the hell happened to make this guy talk like this?


    And speaking of weather, the outside was rtively dark. I guess clouds? I sure hope it didn''t rain.


    "Can we cut to the chase? I have a date at ten."


    And it was already close to nine. And I had no intention of keeping Marg waiting. Though I had a feeling she''d still arrive way before me.


    I thought Eve would at least show some sadness. After all, just the other day all that happened to her. So I thought she''d be having a hard time and sulking alone in her room or something. But instead, she was smiling like usual. That usual, upto no good smile.


    Meanwhile, the headmaster smiled awkwardly while Johnathan just grimaced.


    Just what the hell happened?


    "You might have done something bad." The geezer chuckled again. It was starting to get on my nerves and he was understanding that too just fine. "We actually arranged for that match for your own good. And since you were a little injured we figured it would have been best to not tell you- but your recovery was quite intriguing. It would have been better if you didn''t show up."


    "My good?"


    "Yeah, if you lost, you wouldn''t have to fight Triton." Johnathan began. "He can control water and his saber can absorb all kinds of-"


    "Radiation." Well, this just gotplicated.


    "No, energy actually. And since radiation is also energy mostly, you get the picture." The headmaster filled me in.


    Okay, this just got moreplicated.


    I sighed. "Isn''t that a bit too overpowered a skill for a saber?"


    If that was someone''s ability like that Rock guy, I could understand. But a typical saber having that much power? That was just unfair!


    "He has a special dragon core." The headmaster managed. "Actually, I''ve heard that you, yourself have a dragon core, if I''m not mistaken."


    "That I do." I hadn''t seen her in a day though.


    And since she wasn''t in this room meant, she was either soaring the world or just sleeping inside my saber. Probably thetter. I didn''t know if she was fly or not though.


    The geezer grinned. "Did you know that sometimes certain cores can absorb other cores of the same type?" He had a very devilish grin.


    "You''re suggesting?" I sure hope he wasn''t suggesting, what I think he was suggesting.


    He gave me a knowing grin and stood up. He came close. "Prepare all you can before that time. After all, we both know it won''t be easy for you to go against them," he whispered. He went over to the door, unlocked it. "Good day."


    And he walked out.


    I had a very vague notion that he was talking about my uing war thing. And he was right, I didn''t have time to waste. I had to prepare to the best of my abilities.


    And here I had my hands full with dates, the tournament, and life in general. I really needed a break. Sigh.


    I still wanted to go on that date though.


    "Thanks for the other day." Eve stood up, handed me a piece of half-eaten chocte, and left. Was that the only reason she was here?


    Honestly, I didn''t get girls. She did smell good though. A rather flowery smell mixed with chocte. Oh wait, that was because I was holding the bar close to my mouth.


    Though it was half-eaten, I had no reason to say no, no sir! And it wasn''t like she bit right into it or something. It was just broken in half.


    And today was my free day after all! The only day I was free to eat all the chocte of the world! Muahahah!


    Meanwhile, Johnathan didn''t move. He sniffed a little. "So, you have a date?"


    "Why the hell are you sulking? Something happened?"


    "She left me." His voice was soft. He was still on the bed, head down.


    "Wha?" I was confused. "She left me?" I just repeated his question, trying to make sense of it.


    He looked upto me, tears streaming down.


    "She said, I was being too rough!"


    Oh wait, they were actually. I still remember those not-so-pleasant sounds I heard down the hallway and even inside the room. At the time it didn''t sound that painful though. Actually, it might have been the opposite.


    Come to think of it,st night and this morning the hotel was rather quiet. Meaning, these two really were going pretty rough.


    But just for that? Wasn''t that something they could have just worked out among themselves?


    "That''s all? I mean if you were being rough, you can just treat her better, I mean you are in love, right?"


    Wasn''t treating the person you loved with care, the natural way? Or was I just not aware of how others might differ from that?


    Even if you didn''t like something, there was always room forpromise. After all, that''s how both could achieve happiness. Otherwise wouldn''t it just be one sided?


    "Actually, she also said, I was getting attracted to other girls and-" His voice got too soft and I didn''t hear the rest.


    I had a bad feeling about this.


    "And? Are you getting attracted to other girls?"


    I mean, as long as he remained faithful I didn''t see that as a problem. But to a girl, it might have been one.


    "Well-" He gave me a nervous chuckle.


    "You''re not double-timing, are you?" I asked, very carefully.


    Merin closed his Holo and was now enjoying this. While this guy just looked the other way and frowned a little. Was he trying to act cute? Because it sure wasn''t working.


    I held his cor, lifted him up a little, and smiled. "So, are you cheating?" I was just lifting him with one of my arms. I held the chocte with the other after all.


    Was it that this guy was too light or I''d gotten stronger? Actually, I couldn''t tell.


    "Kind of but it''s not what you think. You see, the girl said she loved and me-"


    Yeah, I didn''t need to hear more.


    And this was in the morning too.


    That bunny girl literally left her whole family for this guy. She left everything behind.


    And I was the one responsible.


    So, with a sigh, I stared at the guy. "I see." I let go of his cor, made a fist, smiled harder and punched him on the nose. "Now, get out of my room."


    "Archghk!"


    He stumbled and hit his back against the wall. Blood sttered. I probably broke both the wall and his nose. I was holding back a lot, but I guess this guy was just weak. I wanted to kick him too, but I had a feeling he''d pass out and bleed on my floor.


    "And I just cleaned that too." Merin chuckled as heined.


    It took the guy a good minute to get up and while covering his nose he went to the door. There were still drops of blood everywhere.


    He didn''t say a word. He still bled on my floor though.


    "What a disaster." I closed the door and jumped on the bed, the chocte still in my hand.


    "You better clean that before you leave." Merin snickered.


    Sigh.


    Would that girl really be okay? Though I didn''t have feelings for her anymore, I had to agree, this was my fault. If it weren''t for me, she''d have never got out of there and this would have never happened. I never thought Johnathan would be like this.


    I guess you learn a new thing every day.


    But her mother was abusive and- sigh.


    "SO, you have a date?" Merin smirked knowingly. He was trying to change the whole subject I guess.


    "Uh-huh." It sure was working.


    It was time to move on. After all, I had a date today! If things really went sour for them this early then it probably would have gone sour anyway. They had to work this out themselves, and if they couldn''t, then there weren''t any ways they could live with each other. Of course, I could try to mediate but I didn''t want to cause more problems. And even if they got together and this just repeated then what?


    I had a date and my mind was in other ces. So, I didn''t want to think about all thisplicated stuff, at least not now.


    After all, if I got lucky, I could get really lucky today.


    So, with a solid evil grin, I went to the mini-fridge, while chomping on the chocte and brought out my breakfast.


    The chocte was really delicious. I guess Eve deserved my thanks too!

 Chapter 168 - A Holiday To Remember (Part Two)

    I actually didn''t want to take a shower as I was covered in the same scent as Marg. After all, we''d used the same shampoo and soap. And not to mention-


    But then I remembered, I had a problem of smelling bad. A very bad problem.


    So, a shower it was. I didn''t want to though. Wait, I could just shower with her- oh¡­ I had a very evil grin. I wanted to move in as fast as possible.


    Cuddle!


    Anyway, I showered. I did clean the floor beforehand though. .


    But I was in for a lot of trouble afterward, the trouble being, what would I wear?


    I was wearing my best set of clothes yesterday. But they were covered up by the sweater so maybe I could wear them today too?


    I didn''t want to though.


    Marg was special to me and I wanted this, our first date, to be a bit special.


    Argh.


    "Just take one of mine and move on with it. You''re making me jealous!"


    I actually didn''t expect to hear that. And what was he, a mind reader or something? Actually, I still didn''t know his powers. Did he even have powers?


    And I was making this guy jealous?


    Seriously?


    I cleared my throat. "Something happened between the two of you?"


    He sighed. "She went home for the holiday. Her mom''s a little ill, nothing serious." He looked rather sad. "And I even bought ticke-" And then he looked at me. "You two fancy aquariums?"


    No, not really. "Well, I hope she gets better. You can just take her next time, I guess?"


    "They''ll expire today." He got up, dug into this wardrobe, and threw a shirt at me, followed by two coins. "They''ll expire today, so feel free to use them."


    Two golden coins with fish engraved on them and the date of today.


    For once, I felt bad for this guy. "Thanks, I''ll make great use of them, and if you need any-"


    "Dude!" He looked at me, rather serious. "My rtionship worked because of you. So, you don''t have to thank me. Just think of this as my thanks. And you don''t have to owe me anything. I''m d you''re going to have fun. So, have fun." He tried to chuckle but- it was evident he really wanted to go. "And yeah, she promised me we''d spend the next week together so don''t worry."


    And the shirt he just gave me was one of his favorites.


    This guy was annoying, always annoying and yet, when it really mattered he was here for me. So, I just smiled. "Thanks."


    "You''re wee."


    And with that, I got ready and headed out for my first date with Marg.


    I was definitely excited!


    ***


    I was rocking a gorgeous shirt (Merin''s) and my best set of pants (Second best). I had quality perfume on- perfumes were dirt cheap so spending money on them wasn''t that bad of a deal.


    I had a smile and I had a date waiting for me at the front gate.


    But there was just one tiny problem.


    Sigh.


    It was raining.


    Seriously! It just had to rain today!


    Like seriously!


    Argh! I could almost tear my hair out! Oh wait, I was already going bald and I didn''t want to hasten the process.


    Come to think of it, gramps was also bald during thest of his days, wasn''t he? ''Why do I get a bad feeling about all this?'' It was probably just me.


    Oh well. I didn''t bring my umbre so instead, I turned on my saber and used its barrier as one.


    I hadn''t seen Enira in a while. And I didn''t want to either. After all, I was going on a date and I didn''t need distractions.


    Though I said it was raining, it was more like just drizzling. The environment wasfortable and it wasn''t that dark. So, maybe this wasn''t so bad? After all, I could just make the barrier a bit bigger and the two of us could walk freely. Though this was still a bit inconvenient.


    There were plenty of people out here with umbres. Mostly couples.


    Some of them even nced my way. To them, I looked like a lone dude walking in the rain.


    But unfortunately, I wasn''t alone and I wasn''t just walking in the rain either. I had an invisible barrier and someone waiting, after all!


    So, with pride and a smile, I just kept on walking. This degree of rain wasn''t enough to ruin my day!


    And just nine minutester, I found Marg by the front gates, dressed up like a beauty, holding an umbre.


    She was wearing a short light dress, a skirt that covered most of her thighs and long stockings. She had a saber hanging from her leather belt, and boy did she look cute.


    I actually didn''t know why she called me out here, rather than just showing up at the dorm. She could have easily teleported to the house with me.


    But since I already knew theplications, I didn''t bother asking. After all, I didn''t want to inconvenience her or hurt her for that matter, just for the sake of my convenience.


    "Hey," I said.


    "Hey." Her voice was on the softer side.


    I got the feeling she wasn''t quite satisfied with something.


    Wait, she was waiting for me, all this time, and with an umbre too in the middle of the rain. She could have easily taken shelter or just used her powers.


    It was 9.54 actually and she probably wasn''t upset because of me beingte- because I wasn''tte. Then- the umbre?


    Oh.


    I dismissed the barrier and quickly went inside Marg''s umbre. For a second she was confused and flustered at the same time but she immediatelyposed herself.


    Her lips curled up a little: a smile? She was upset no more.


    I took the umbre from her hand and we both started walking.


    "So, where are we going and-" I actually didn''t know where the house was located, and wait, I did have tickets. More like coins. "I have coins to the aquarium, would-"


    "I''d love to." She was delighted but her tone was normal. Marg was different when we were alone but in public, she always maintained a calm andposed personality.


    I would have loved it if she were to be a bit more open though. Well, what she''d do was totally up to her, so I wasn''t going to fault that.


    And I was d only I got to see her that side when the two of us were alone.


    But anyway, we kept on walking.


    The roads outside the academy were kind of muddy and I for once regretted not wearing my long boots.


    Though at this point, no matter what I wore, things would have pretty much gotten muddy regardless.


    So, I shriveled up my pants a bit and made sure I didn''t get them dirty.


    Meanwhile, Marg walked rather carefully and whenever a puddle of sorts appeared, she teleported us ahead.


    Justst night she almost gave me a heart attack and now she was literally abusing her powers. If she was good then why didn''t she just take us straight to wherever the house was?


    At one point she even wanted me to carry her like yesterday. And for two minutes I did.


    Honestly, I did not get women.


    Oh well, this wasn''t so bad. And since I loved her smell, I didn''t mind holding her so close. She was also grabbing me tightly.


    I mean, she was having so much fun, just walking around with me, how I could even bring myself to ask her to teleport there straight?


    But good times neverst and just ten minutester, we arrived at the edge of the forest. The bug-infested forest was just in front of us. My dread.


    "Let''s just take the snowy ins?"


    "But it''s raining. So, it''ll be very cold there."


    It wouldn''t just be cold, it''d be freezing and even I knew that. But I hated the bugs more than the cold.


    "I don''t really like bugs all that much, Marg."


    She smiled, albeit faintly. "Okay." And she grabbed my arm, her chest touched me and though this wasn''t anything new, I still felt my breathing increase a little.


    But I controlled myself. Still loved the feeling though.


    Anyway, we just teleported to the other side of the forest. Marg didn''t need to touch me directly to teleport but she always grabbed me for some reason. I had no reason toin though.


    And since Marg didn''t teleport straight to the house, I had a feeling she was just enjoying walking around a lot more than I initially thought.


    The forest was now behind us and in front of us was the vige zone and fields.


    I''d already been to these ces on more than one asion and seeing these fields covered with wheat did evoke nostalgia in me. There was a time in my life when I had a friend: he was powerless.


    He used to live in the countryside and every two months I used to go visit him. But after a certain incident, we stopped seeing each other. He probably still hated me. And though I knew it wasn''t my fault, I still felt guilty. Which was why I never went back or even checked whether the guy was even alive anymore or not.


    I really wished he lived though.


    "Youing?" Marg asked, raising her voice a little.


    She''d already made it halfway across the field.


    "Yeah!"


    So, I jogged a little and went with her.


    All in all, this walk wasn''t so bad.

 Chapter 169 - A Holiday To Remember (Part Three)

    We were actually going to stay in the middle zone of the ind. Not in the super city zone or the vige zone.


    I didn''t have any problems, but on rare asions, if Marg ever got a bit sick and couldn''t teleport, were we going to cross this whole mess of a forest to head to the academy?


    ''I should just practice flying.'' If only I had time.


    Memories of jumping from the ne came flying back. ''Is flying really that great?''


    It was but my traumas were saying loads of different things.


    We first made our way to thendlord''s office and he was a round guy, with small eyes, and arge belly.


    He was rather happy to see us and sang a lot of my praise. At one point, I almost felt ufortable.. After all, he wasn''t just praising me, no, it was almost as though he was worshipping me.


    He did work rather fast and took us to the apartment though. Actually, it was a literal house with three floors and the whole house was ours. It looked kind of like the one mom and Elsa stay in but just bigger, sturdier, and definitely newer. ''How many kidneys do men have again?''


    "Now this here''s the house! We''ve washed it 27 times. We''ve also given youplimentary furniture. There''s food in the kitchen. And you can even move in from today if you want! Actually, please move in, we''ll even be your neighbors!" Well, this guy sure was excited.


    ''27 times!? Was there a massacre in there or something?''


    "But don''t you live three blocks away?" Marg asked.


    "Three blocks is nothing, my dear." The man chuckled.


    Why did I get the feeling there was a double meaning to what this guy just said?


    "We''ll move in when we''re ready so don''t worry about it." I gave him a nonthreatening re. But to him, it was probably horrifying.


    He probably thought of me as some world-ss viin or something. So he was trying to butter me up for his own good. But I didn''t want that. I just wanted to be normal. At this point, it wasn''t possible though.


    "Shouldn''t you show us in?"


    "Ri-right." d to know the guy had a decent brain. "Let''s head inside!"


    We got into the building. It was three-storied and the bottom floors had three rooms. The master bedroom was on the third floor which literally took the space of all three rooms. It was big, like really big. The bed was also big!


    "Howe there''s so much furniture and even appliances?"


    "We provided the barebones while lord Melheim bought the rest. We assure you, everything is off top quality!"


    I wasn''t worried about quality, no. I was definitely worried about my empty pocket though.


    There was one kitchen and it was pretty big too: definitely not as big as the master bedroom though. It was on the second floor.


    While there were three bathrooms, one on each floor, they did have a spring of sorts in the basement fit for at least half a dozen people: why that I didn''t understand. It was also volcanic so I guess that had to be expensive.


    And every room had an attached toilet. The bathrooms of each floor were big and the bathtubs were wide enough to hold two people.


    In total there were six bedrooms. The two on the second floor were for guests while the rest of the three were just there for kids and all that. Thest one? The master bedroom! That was ours!


    I had a feeling someone nned and wasted a lot of time on this. Just the sheer size was enough to make my head spin. Let alone the thought of the rent.


    "Anyway, here''s the key! And if you don''t like it, we''ve got more ces!" He smiled nervously. "Now, I''ll just leave you two alone." He tried to make a devilish smirk, but his sweats weren''t helping. "Feel free to move in at your pace."


    The guy gave me the key. Actually, this was the same key the count had given me too. I guess now I had two keys. One for Marg and one for me. Not that she needed any.


    I cleared my throat and tried to maintain myposure. "Ho-how much was the rent again?"


    I was totally normal, like totally. Absolutely normal I say!


    "Just twenty gold a month sir! Though, you won''t have to pay anything for theing year."


    He grinned and left.


    I was speechless.


    Twenty gold!


    It wasn''t murderously expensive, but- still, that was a lot of money.


    In contrast, our rent was 3 gold a month. And that too was on the expensive side.


    I was literally freaking out, but Marg held my hand in hers and smiled. "Don''t worry, we''re in this together."


    But 20 gold was a lot, and I repeat, a lot of money! I could buy a literal pool full of chocte! And I wanted that pool too!


    She was right though, it was too soon to be worrying about money. But- if we really were going to move in together, even without the worries of rent, we had to consider food, clothing, education, and even medical expenses-if there was any need.


    ''I''ve to get a job.''


    Marg squeezed my hand harder, pouting slightly. "To-ge-ther."


    I chuckled. "Fine." She was totally right after all!


    ''Cute.''


    ***


    With thendlord gone, we locked the front door and I did a bit of reconnaissance. I went from this room to that room, to the basement, to the garage, to the attic, everywhere!


    Needless to say, I didn''t find anything.


    Currently, we were in the kitchen.


    "What are you searching for?"


    Marg was always behind me and she was rather curious.


    It was too embarrassing so I made up an excuse. "Roches. I hate those things you see."


    I could never say that I didn''t trust her father and just was checking if he was a total pervert or not. I couldn''t.


    Thank goodness, he wasn''t one.


    "I thought there weren''t any on this ind?"


    First time I was hearing that. After all, even just a day ago, I literally evaporated three behind our mini-fridge.


    Anyway, I cleared my throat. "Well, with all that over, where do you wanna go next?" We could go to a restaurant or even head to the aquarium!


    Or maybe even the spring beneath. A twisted smile crept up my lips.


    She looked at me, a bit flushed. "The bedroom?"


    My heart skipped three beats. Even better!


    He he he¡­ now we were talking.


    I was about to say something when- yeah, my saber started to vibrate.


    Sigh.


    I knew it.


    I took it out of my belt and turned it on but it just kept on fluctuating. The lights just flickered. This thing wasn''t usable anymore. "Enira, ya there!"


    There was no response.


    "Something wrong with it?" Marg came close.


    "I actually needed to get it checked. But- after that indecent-"


    "What incident?" She gave me a stare.


    With another sigh I told her stuff and what happened this morning too.


    She thought for a moment, a hand on her chin. "Let''s go."


    "Go where?"


    "To fix what you started." She winked. "And after that, I guess to the aquarium?" She came close. "And if I''m feeling good we might even make our way to the spring," She whispered, softly.


    But I wanted to head to the bedroom. I sniffed but held her hand anyway. At least I could enjoy my bath with her. I pretended to be sad on the outside, but on the inside¡­. Muahahahah.


    And so, a momentter we arrived at the massive building in the center of the city zone.


    ***


    Obviously, the guards stopped us.


    "Your business?"


    "We''re here to see-" What was that dude''s name again?


    Yeah, I forgot.


    "Let them pass." A guard yelled from inside as the ss door opened. He came out. "The top floor."


    He kind of seemed familiar.


    Oh yeah,st time, I might or might not have beaten him a bit.


    The two guards moved away and we started going inside. "Thanks, man."


    The guy didn''t say anything and since he was wearing sunsses, I couldn''t tell if he was ring or staring. But the moment I was about to pass him by- he whispered something. Something that literally sent a shiver down my spine.


    Before I could respond or even ponder, Marg pulled me ahead. She was taking charge.


    Anyway, as usual, the inside was busy and I hated stares.


    "Which floor?"


    "99th. I thought you couldn''t teleport to ces you''ve never seen before."


    "As long as they are within a 12-kilometer radius, it''s fine." She grabbed my hand and well, we were now on the 99th floor.


    I guess that did make sense. But, the thing that guy just said was weighing on my mind.


    "The boss bunny is on the upper floor while the guy who made my saber is in this one btw."


    "Boss bunny?" Marg sighed. "Let''s fix this first then we''ll deal with the girl."


    "How exactly?"


    She didn''t say a word and just walked ahead. "This room, right?"


    "Careful its-" ''Hot.''


    Yeah, she wasn''t in the best of moods.


    After hearing what the guard said, I wasn''t either.

 Chapter 170 - A Holiday To Remember (Part Four)

    "Tch! Get outta here!"


    The moment we went in, the old man was already intent on kicking us out.


    He wasn''t working and he wasn''t in the best of moods either. He was just sitting on a stool in front of arge table, drinking beer. It wasn''t illegal to drink during work hours, but I never thought I''d see him do that. I kind of took him to be the workaholic type, not the alcoholic one.


    Yeah, this was my fault.


    "I''m sorry about what happened with your kid. I thought you guys knew. But- I''m terribly sorry and it''s my fault." I tried to be honest and sincere. But at the same time, I wasn''t making sense and I knew that..


    All this time, he didn''t actually look at me, but now he did. "That kid''s like his mother, switching all the time. Ya should have known." He looked down again. "I know it wasn''t your fault," He mumbled. "But ya should have known." He drank the whole can and crushed it. "They just weren''t made to be loyal."


    Yup, he was in a bad mood.


    He was right, I should have researched about him before making a decision. But- "They said they were in love and-" And though they used me, at the end of the day, it was my decision. My fault. After all, I knew how hard it was to love someone and be denied.


    "We were in love too." He gave me a rude stare. "But now look at us. Kid, love neversts. Once you fall in love it''s the best feeling but when one of you gets selfish and the rtionship gets destroyed, that''s when hell begins and then you find a new one, and then the cycle just repeats." He snorted. "You''ll understand soon enough." He gave a stare at the girl next to me and chuckled at his own fate.


    I didn''t know if he was right or wrong but I didn''t have time to worry about that. And-


    "I won''t say you''re right, and I won''t say you''re wrong either. After all, it''s different for everyone. But- I believe my love isn''t that flimsy," Marg said, a hand on her chest.


    Well said.


    The man snorted. "Such pretty words. In two years, ten years, thirty years, let''s hear you say it again."


    ''Well, that''s assuming you''ll live thirty more years.''


    This dude already had white hair all over his face. He was at least in thete fifties. I had a hard time believing he''d live for thirty more years, at least with his level of stress.


    "Yes, we indeed shall see." Marg grinned victoriously. She clearly stated that even if I cheated, she would only kill the girls, but not me. Which meant, she wasn''t going to let go of me, no sir!


    And now she was being formal? Was it me or did these two bonded over something like this?


    Sigh. But I was d to know my future wife only had eyes for me and me alone.


    The old man also smiled faintly. "Anyway, why are you here? Just givin'' me a faulty core and making two lives miserable wasn''t enough?" He now stared at me rather intently.


    "First of all, I gave you a good core. Second, only one life''s miserable as your son already found a new lover and third, you gave me a faulty saber!"


    "What was that!"


    He stood up. His face was red and he was shaking. This dude was already drunk, huh?


    "Look!" I turned on the saber and it still flickered.


    "Give me!"


    He walked fast my way and snatched the thing from my hand. "The hell is this?" He scratched his chin. If this guy didn''t know, who the hell would have?


    He took out the core and not only was the core bigger but it was also flickering too. Wait, since when did this thing even glowed?


    "Is that supposed to be glowing?" Marg said.


    The guy scratched his head andid everything on the table. He went back to the corner and brought out a small box. Inside the box, was the third fragment, and it was both small and paler in color.


    It was almost as though the guy sobered up just seeing the saber.


    The moment he brought the fragment near the core, the smaller one got sucked into the glowing one and the intensity of the flickering slowed. But it didn''t stop.


    I had a feeling this meant bad.


    "You said there were three fragments, right?" The guy asked.


    "Uh-huh. The rest were destroyed."


    "You better get the third one, son, or maybe something of equal or greater strength. Until this thing gathers everything, it won''t be good."


    Well, that was impossible. The other one was with Clyde and ording to him he already made medicine out of it.


    Actually, I had a thought once that the geezer and Clyde might have ended up with a dragon-snake girl for themselves too.


    I guess that was a no.


    "Though, since it''s absorbing the shards remotely, this should be ready for use in a month even if you don''t do anything." The guy sure took his time giggling.


    Remotely? So, all the evaporated shards too? Wait, wait, did he just say- a month?


    Sweat formed and suddenly my body got a bit hot. This ce wasn''t hot since the furnace wasn''t going, but now, now it really was hot!


    The realization hit hard.


    "A M-MONTH! I have a match tomorrow and then there''s the thing with the Battlesuins!"


    Wait, didn''t the headmaster say something about my opponent having a dragon core? ''Do I really have to resort to that?''


    Or I could have gone to Antarctica, I guess. But seriously, a month?


    "Not my problem." The guy grinned. "And now you owe me five gold." His grin grew wider. "Pay up." His attitude took a sharp u-turn.


    Fuck.


    I cleared my throat. "Well, let''s wait till the tournament ends maybe after-"


    If I actually won the whole thing won''t I just get 100 gold? It wasn''t enough.


    "Screw you kid. Your old man used to say the same stuff but he never paid me."


    "He was my grandfather you moron," I cursed under my breath.


    "I heard that moron." He mumbled and sighed. "So, how''re you taking responsibility? As you said, my brat''s gotta new lover. But what about the girl?" He threw my saber at me.


    I actually didn''t know. What could I do at this point? "I-"


    Marg sighed. "We''re going to the top floor now. Would you like toe join us?"


    "Fine." The guy did grumble but he wanted toe too.


    ***


    I didn''t know why but walking up these stairs felt nerve-wracking. ording to the guy in sses, the girl up there wasn''t in the best of shapes.


    Knock! Knock!


    "Who is it?"


    A voice came through the inte of the door.


    I pressed a button. "HELIO Romswell Jintel"


    "You?" The voice paused. "Enter."


    The guy below already told me something. It kind of shook me. The grandparents who made that escape possible that day, both passed away. They had some incurable disease and they wanted to see their grandkid happy before they died but unfortunately, maybe it would have been better if I just didn''t happen to do what I did. After all, their grandkid was anything but happy now. And when the grandparents learned it, they passed away from the shock. Seemed a bit farfetched to me and I had this suspicion that someone killed them.


    Of course, I didn''t have any proof.


    But that wasn''t all that guy told me.


    Once the door opened, my nose was clogged with two kinds of smell.


    One, the smell of rotten sweat, and two, the smell of ammonia.


    The boss bunny was seated on her chair while her daughter was hanging from the ceiling with a rope tied to her hands, chest, and waist. She was still conscious, barely.


    She wasn''t beaten but by the looks, but she wasn''t fed either.


    Though she had underwear, they were soiled. And there was a round cork of sorts in her mouth. She didn''t have anything else on.


    Just what sort of torture was this? Was this boss woman, a hardcore sadist or something? And wasn''t she bothered by the smell?


    The old man grimaced while Marg covered her mouth: both were fighting their urge to throw up. Meanwhile, I just tried my best to control my rage.


    ''Remember this was your fault.'' And yeah, the shadow really had the worst timings when it came to his words of wisdom.


    I was pissed was an understatement. And that remark just made me even more pissed.


    "Are you really her mother? What sort of mother does this to their kids?" I asked, clearly ring.


    "Even my stepmothers weren''t this horrible," Marg mumbled, a bit pale.


    "Wait, they didn''t do anything like this to you, right?" I turned to her, everything else was a second priority.


    She didn''t answer me. Yeah, I needed a talk with her stepmoms.


    Anyway, I red at the boss bunny. "Well, say something."


    She was awfully quiet for some reason, carefully calcting us.


    She sighed. "I have apany to run. And I can''t afford screw-ups like this. She was supposed to be married to the son of a certain business tycoon. It would have benefitted all of us. And then, you showed up." She red, her tone changed a bit. "Do you have any idea how much damage you''ve caused? And now with mom and dad gone, I have to deal with this thing."


    Her daughter was a thing to her? I really wanted to throw up at her face but I still had to control my rage.

 Chapter 171 - Why Did Things Have To Be So Complicated?

    "But that doesn''t give you the right to treat your daughter like a tool." I guess this was just being hypocritical of me. I knew this woman didn''t think of her daughter as nothing more than a tool and yet, I couldn''t ept reality.


    Marg was behind me, grabbing my shirt slightly. I guess this scenario was a bit nostalgic to her.


    "A tool?" She chuckled loudly. "Well, you''re right. But now that she''s ruined, I can''t even marry her off to a bald bastard."


    ''Hey, just because a person''s bald doesn''t mean they''re bad.'' I didn''t know why but that kind of stung.


    I sighed.. My saber was kind of in the middle of something, so I couldn''t just whip up a sword. "Marg, can I have your saber?"


    "Sure."


    I was d she brought hers with her even on her date. I''d bought mine too but that was just out of habit.


    I turned on the saber and it glowed in purple. This was good but it reminded me of a lot of bad times: being cut thrice bad times. Anyway, I went to the bunny girl, sliced open the ropes, and almost freed her up.


    "Can you stand?"


    She nodded. I unclogged her mouth and cut all the ropes. She did stand, for two seconds and was about to fall face first. I again grabbed her, carried her to the old man, and let him take care of her for the time being.


    The boss bunny didn''t do anything in particr meanwhile.


    Though this girl was free to talk, she didn''t. Instead, just her eyes streamed. And now, I had a bit of a stain on my shirt. Oh boy, Merin would really throw a fit once I got back.


    Sigh.


    "I know this is a family thing for you guys and I''m an outsider, but- are you crazy, do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Because what sort of monster would treat their kids like this? My family had nothing but viins and even they weren''t half as evil to their enemies as this woman was to her own daughter.


    Oh actually, Branny had a bad habit of torturing strong-willed girls in his free time and adding them to his harem.


    Never mind.


    But was this whole family just full of manipting assholes?


    The woman just red. "I run apany. I can''t afford to be soft. And what are you? Her father? Her master? Her lover? You''re nobody to her. And can you really afford to cross paths with the international light saber federation!?"


    I sighed again. "Look woman, my uncle owns one-tenth of the world. My cousin destroys three or four cities on a monthly basis. I have other cousins who literally run countries through the shadows and I''m going to start a war with the Battlesuins by the end of this month. You seriously think your measlypany would be a threat to me or my family?"


    She grimaced but her re was still here. "Then what? What will I do with her? She has no value and you expect me to just smile and keep feeding her forever!?"


    "Can you clean?" Marg asked the girl, totally ignoring all this. I was d she wasn''t feeling too bad.


    The girl was silent for a moment and then she nodded.


    Marg pulled my sleeve. "I know it''s asking too much, but let''s have her in our house for now, and if she turns out like her mother, we''ll kick her out on the streets," Marg whispered and she also made sure no one but me heard her. "They manipted you and I can''t forgive them. Let''s just have her in our house for now."


    Was it me or was she mad at both of them? I had a feeling she definitely wasn''t doing this from the goodness of her heart.


    I nodded.


    And now Marg came forward and stood in front of me. "We''ll hire her as a maid. She''ll stay with us."


    The woman grinded her teeth. "I''d rather kill her. She''d already caused enough problems."


    "Well good for you." I grinned and made a bit of sma on my hand. I threw it straight at the woman, obviously, I made sure it didn''t hit her, but she at least felt the heat. "I can just kill you all and then all the problem would be solved right?"


    Half of her face got immediately burned. Just a mild burn and she was going to recover eventually, it still should have been painful though. But this was just a warning shot.


    This building was the tallest, so the explosion outside didn''t cause anyone any trouble. I couldn''t say the same about the falling ss shards though.


    Oops.


    She still stayed quiet and was about to make a phone call. A bit of electricity streamed out of her but she remained calm.


    "Look, you don''t want her and you don''t her to burden you. Good for you. But I''m moving to a new house, so we''ll need a maid. Consider herself to be dead to you. Actually, we''ll make the papers legal. She''s no longer your daughter." I grinned. "Or would you like me to destroy this ce- You''re whole damnpany?" I red very intently and then smiled "Either works for me."


    I didn''t know why buttely my bluffing skills had improved.


    The woman thought for a second, and then put the phone down. "Fine."


    Was it me, or was this a bit easier than I thought? It wasn''t like this was the oue this woman desired, right?


    Right?


    Well, that was that. ''Wait, doesn''t that mean, I''ll have to worry about earning more now?''


    More drag.


    Marg had a smile though and so did the geezer. The girl, however, just cried.


    Without wasting time, we just strolled out. I did catch the boss bunny grinning slightly though.


    I had a bad feeling about that. Just how messed up was this family?


    But anyway, if Marg''s words were right, it meant she wouldn''t hesitate to discard our new maid if she ever proved to be a hindrance. And she explicitly took her in just to take revenge on her for manipting me. I didn''t like the idea, but I didn''t have anything better to do.


    We were a viinous family, so I guess she was just following in my family''s footsteps. I really wished she didn''t though.

 Chapter 172 - Why Did Things Have To Be So Complicated? Part Two

    Once outside, the door closed, and well, I kind of hung my arms.


    Where the hell was I supposed to get the money? Run to Antarctica and hunt for strong Mutors? I guess that was an option and the other one was to win the tournament.


    Antarctica was full of volcanoes and Mutors, but that ce was also crawling with all kinds of problems.


    Sigh.


    "Nice going kid!" The geezer said. "Though, I''m not sure if this was the best option. Ya kinda got yed."


    ''It''s more like Marg yed them though.''


    I''d already anticipated that they''d try to manipte me and though I intended to solve this, I never intended to take in the girl.. And I wouldn''t have either, after all, I didn''t want to disturb our private time. But since it was Marg the one who said so, I didn''t refuse.


    "What, you wanted her to stay there?"


    He chuckled. "Nah, I guess this should be fine. If ya never had bothered, she''d have been married off to a wealthy family and lived a decent life. But now she''d live as a servant. Well, I guess if she likes the work, she can live happily there too."


    "By the way old man? I forgot to say but my saber kind of grew a girl and she looked like a cross between the monster I fought and a young girl." I had no idea how I forgot that important piece of information. "Now she''s probably inside the saber though."


    He grinned. "Looks like you''ve got yourself a nice harem young man. Be sure to enjoy it to the fullest till itsts." He gave me a very smug grin. The guy was missing some teeth, so it was more terrifying than anything else.


    "Yeah, yeah, answer the question geezer."


    Obviously, Marg didn''t like that sentiment and she was kind of fuming. I tried to calm her down by massaging her shoulder but she sure was tensed. She was about to murder people if I happened to let go.


    Heughed really loud. "Dunno. Heard something like that happened in the past too but the cases were so few, no one cared."


    I didn''t know if should groan or sigh. Argh! Sigh! So, I did both.


    The girl still didn''t say anything.


    "Are you really okay with being a maid?" I asked.


    I was still wondering about all this. Maybe Marg just said all that just to get her out of there?


    Yeah, probably not.


    The girl looked at me, eyes wavering. "Yes, that would be fine. Thank you."


    That just felt hollow.


    Marg had a rather evil smile. Of course, she didn''t let a bit of emotion leak. But after spending so much time with her, I could tell, she had a bad idea. I also had a feeling she would have just abandoned her if the bunny girl didn''t want to be our maid.


    ''And I am the viin?''


    The old man slowly let the girl get on her feet. She still stumbled but now she had to be on her feet. After all, she was finally independent- kind of.


    "Later old man."


    "Take care boy."


    I now stared at Marg and she was wearing a typical nonchnt look. "Let''s go." She held my hands but didn''t touch the girl. But the three of us teleported to our new house- the bathroom of the first floor. "Please use this, there''s a towel here. And I''ll go get some of my clothes."


    Marg disappeared, leaving the two of us alone.


    ***


    The bunny girl was both taller and skinnier than Marg, she was also a bit bigger there, not that it mattered. I doubted Marg''s clothes would fit her, but I didn''t have time to worry about all that.


    I just tried to get the stain off my shirt. It sure wasn''t working. ''Merin would kill me!''


    "Alright, feel free to use this ce as you''d like. I''ll be outside." I kind of gave up on the washing phase. The stain didn''t have any smell after giving it a rinse and I couldn''t take off this shirt now. It was just a small- a pea-sized stain anyway and not to mention I just rinsed it thoroughly, so everything was fine.


    It was not fine! And had a yellow stain on a red velvet shirt!


    I so, so wanted to punch this girl. Like Merin trusted me with his favorite shirt you know!


    "Thank you, really." Again, it just felt hollow.


    "Don''t worry. It was me who got you into that. Though, you two kind of forced me, I could have said no." Now that I think about it, I just should have said no.


    Well, that''s a lesson learned.


    "That''s not true. It was our fault. It was my fault." She looked down at the floor. "I chose the wrong man. And no matter how much I beg, I can never make up for it."


    "Say, do you love him? And-"


    And if she still did, this would get a lot moreplicated.


    "I loved him and I still do but, I can never trust him again. I won''t make the same mistake again. I will stay away from him." She stared with conviction.


    Better than nothing I guess. If she still loved him and just wanted to be with him, I had a feeling we''d be kicking her out.


    But the fact that she still did love him, kind of bothered me though. Her love wasn''t fake, so howe Johnathan cheated on her?


    The geezer did say, the guy was like his mother. And that woman even tried to seduce me, so yeah, I could understand. I didn''t want to though.


    "Anyway, you stink, so please clean yourself. And try to hold yourself back a little. This makes the second time, I''ve seen you wet yourself you know." And I had a very sensitive nose too.


    Her gaze was still on the floor and she kind of flushed red with embarrassment. She was on the verge of tears.


    Actually now she was crying.


    I took a step back and Marg was behind me: my back touched her face. "Way to go." Her tone was t.


    "I''ll be outside."


    I ran out.

 Chapter 173 - The First Date

    I was on the sofa, trying my best to be distracted by the Holo TV.


    Marg and the girl were taking their sweet time inside. Just what were they talking about?


    asionally, I heard a word or two but not enough to understand anything. They were probably talking to each other about something.


    I was a bit curious but- yeah, I didn''t want to be killed so I stayed here.


    I sighed and just looked at the TV. It''d been a while since Ist watched one of these. And this one was big, like 100 inches big.


    ''Is this really free?''


    I had a feeling one day thendlord would show up and demand an extra charge for giving us all this.. And wait, how was the Holo TV even a furniture? It wasn''t just the TV, there were a lot of other appliances too.


    Wait, the guy did say stuff about the count chipping in on the appliances.


    I guess my future father-inw''s wedding gift didn''t just end with the rent.


    Well, the guy did me no wrong, so I didn''t have a reason to hold any grudges. I did hate him though, for putting Marg through all the trouble, but for the time being, I tried to control all my feelings. "Maybe I''ll thank him the next time I meet him after punching him once or twice for making Marg''s life miserable."


    "Reports of strange sightings have recently been reported."


    Wait, what? Reports were reported? Was the news girl smoking something illegal again?


    Lately, journalists were bing more and more drug addicts. And with the invention of more and more stimting drugs, things weren''t looking that great for the news industry. Of course, this made the newspaper industry thrive.


    I had a theory thatrgepanies were actually giving drugs to the employees of otherpanies and making them their customers. In the end, money mattered more.


    This girl did seem normal but her eyes were a bit red and she was shaking abnormally. I guess she wasn''t normal.


    It did catch my attention though. Apparently, people were seeing stuff in the sky at night and some were even being kidnapped. It wasn''t anything new though. This was fairly normal.


    People disappeared all the time and there were all sorts of people with powers, so this really wasn''t anything weird. The weird part though was this news girl. She looked slightly pale, had bags under her slightly red eyes and she looked like- she just got back from a smoking session. She was pretty well endowed though.


    Oh well.


    I changed the channel.


    ***


    About half an hourter Marg and the girl came out.


    The bunny girl was in a maid suit- a very tight one. And her chest was literally beingpressed. I had a feeling she was wearing Marg''s underwear too.


    I had a thing for both bunnies and maids, but seeing this girl didn''t even stir a tiny bit of my inner desires.


    Wait, this tightness- was it possible that- Marg was going to wear this- I gulped. My breathing increased a little just thinking that Marg was going to do cosy for me. I never told her that I liked maids though. She probably saw that magazine under my cover.


    Busted.


    But she never told me anything, so I guess I didn''t have anything to worry about it either.


    It still didn''t exin why she gave those to the maid though. We could have just bought some clothes for her, or even give her typical clothes.


    Wait, could it be that Marg had a bunny girl costume too? Now my breathing increased extra hard. AH, Marg in a costume¡­.


    Marg cleared her throat. "Let''s stop fawning over the maid." Her tone was t. She misunderstood me. "Anyway, this was my clothes from our house, so don''t misunderstand. This was made for my eighteenth birthday by mother, so it''s a bit bigger than my actual size. She''d probably rip all my other clothes. We should go shopping, I think." Marg wasn''t actually sure herself.


    But this wasn''t a cosy? Bummer.


    Then again, Marg really was a real maid!


    Well, I could always request things from the almighty goddess Margeretta!


    "It is okay." The bunny girl chirped in. "I''mfortable with this. Though the brassier might be a bit too tight." She also squeezed her legs for some reason, slightly embarrassed.


    "Deal with it." Marg''s tone was even tter. She was definitely offended.


    The girl just looked at the floor, even more embarrassed.


    Now, I cleared my throat. "Let''s go then I guess. We still have plenty-"


    "Yes." Marg turned to the girl and the two of us exined stuff.


    For the time being, the girl would use one of the guest rooms of the second floor while we would spend our time in the master bedroom. Actually, the original n was to move in next month. But now that we didn''t have anything move, in the first ce. All we had to do was move in and cancel the dorms next month. Besides, now we had to deal with this girl.


    I thought I had to buy a lot of things, but I never thought it was going to be this easy.


    The maid though was going to be an issue.


    She''d be a stay-in maid, so her sry was determined to be 30 silvers. Generally, maids had a sry of 70 to 130 silvers so this was on the lower side. I guess it was fine though.


    "I would be fine even if you don''t pay me," she said.


    Marg rolled her eyes and made sure that the girl understood, we were paying her for her services. We weren''t going to use her and then discard her. I highly doubted that though.


    When we asked the girl if she had any rtives she could stay with, she said no. and she actually didn''t mind being a maid, apparently. Besides, I had a feeling Marg had a n for her. But for the time being, she was ying nice.


    My future wife was probably going to carry our family legacy whether I liked it or not.


    Anyway, Marg gave her the new key while I just kept one. I''d be sure to ask thendlord for a few more.


    So, without a doubt, we headed out.


    ***


    "I guess we''ll have to buy some groceries too. Can you cook?"


    Marg was in front of me. "I was a maid remember?" She looked back, smiling slightly.


    ''NO?''


    I tried to control my fantasies. "Would you then cook for me- in- in a nake-" The possibilities were limitless.


    "NO." t rejection.


    She didn''t even let me finish. Well, worth a shot.


    There weren''t many people out and the few that were out weren''t anywhere near our vicinity.


    It took some walking around but it was nice. I was holding her hand and she was holding mine. The two of us strolled down the city roads like a couple. Wait, we were a couple!


    Just the thought alone was enough to make me hot. Was it me or was I too hornytely?


    It was hard to maintain my cool.


    So the aquarium it was!


    But boy, this weather was hot!

 Chapter 174 - The First Date (Part Two)

    We reached the aquarium about five minutester. It was noon and kind of hot. So, we bought some ice cream and strolled down therges tanks and massive ss walls.


    I had to say, this ce was rather blue.


    Though the atmosphere was cool andfortable, there weren''t that many people here.


    Something was up. There weren''t many people out there either. Was there some sort of festival somewhere that I didn''t know about or something?


    It didn''t hurt to get a bit cozy though. I wrapped my hand over Marg''s shoulder and she happily walked with me. Albeit blushing slightly. .


    "Let''s have lunch after this, I guess?"


    "Yeah, we should buy some groceries first. I''ll cook." She was definitely excited.


    I nned to take her to a restaurant with my leftover money for this month, but this was even better. I never had her cooking, so yeah I was definitely excited.


    ''I guess we should just buy some clothes then?''


    "Why did you ask to take that girl in?"


    "She tricked you, didn''t she?"


    "They did yes, but it was me who said yes. And I said I''d take responsibility." At the time I might have just said it because I was mad. But I couldn''t take back what I said.


    "But still, I hate her for it." Her voice was tter than ever. "However, I''ll continue to monitor her and if she repents we''ll let her stay. Don''t get too close to her though, or I''ll kill her." She grinned happily. "But if she''s pretending." She continued grinning.


    Yup, duly noted!


    I just looked around to distract my mind.


    There were all kinds of fish. Even sharks!


    There weren''t any whales though. I guess that was asking too much.


    "This is beautiful." Marg squeezed my hand tighter.


    My inner desires were literally running wild! Who knew just holding hands could be so hot?


    "What is that?" Marg pointed at the distantrge tank. It was one of the biggest tanks of this ce.


    I knew loads of kinds of fish, but there was something inside the tank that looked a bit weird. It was something in between a crocodile and a lizard. I didn''t know why but it looked like a certain half Mutor I knew.


    "I''ve never seen something like that too?" I couldn''t be sure. Cause I might have. This guy did look a bit skinnier though.


    My ice was already finished, Marg was still eating and there was a bit of cream on her face.


    Needless to say, I went closer to her face and took it straight from the left corner of her lips. Her warm luscious lips.


    "Wha- wha-"


    Her being flustered was too damn cute and precious at the same time.


    I licked my lips. ''Delicious!''


    So, with a victorious grin, I marched forward!


    ***


    A massive blue tank was in front of us and within was a crocolizard thing. The namete of the tank identified it as a rare Mutor and my bad feeling just intensified.


    The thing in question was lying low on the sand, staring at the ceiling lights.


    "Hey, buddy," I whispered vigorously. I also kept an eye out for the staff. But since it was midday, people were just taking it slow.


    The croc at first looked around and then his eyes met mine and opened wide.


    "Helio!" He spoke gurgling a bit and loads of bubbles were getting out. "How you''re so young Comrad?"


    Young? So, he wasn''t the guy? "You''re not Zig?"


    "Zig? My bro? No, no, I''m Sig! It''s only been forty years. It''s rude to forget you know." And as I talked with him, I understood more and more. I guess it was in my blood to understand them.


    And the more I talked, the better I got.


    Uh-huh. I just stared nkly.


    For some reason, this guy had this half-assed Italian ent.


    Marg pulled on my sleeve. "What are you doing?" needless to say, she was a bit pale. Did she think I was going crazy or something?


    She was also done eating her ice cream. Unfortunately, there wasn''t any more cream on her face though.


    "I can talk to them," I whispered.


    She nodded but didn''t look very convinced. She did know I was part Mutor though.


    "You''re not cheating, are you? Marianne would be very mad I tell you."


    Yeah, I didn''t need to be told by an old croc that I was cheating on grandma.


    I sighed. "I''m Helio, the Helio you know was my grandfather. And well, I know your brother, Zig."


    He looked at me, a bit perplexed. "Yes, you do seem to be a bit better-looking than that guy. Actually, humans might even consider you to be handsome!"


    That was what he was surprised about!?


    "Zip it croc." It really rubbed me the wrong way.


    Heughed with an awkward tone and the water around him became a bit fuzzy.


    "Hey, not talking to the fish!" One of the staff came my way.


    I was in the middle of something and this guy just had to butt in.


    Once he got near me though, "Lord Helio!" he shrieked, got on his knees, and started to worship me.


    Marg and I know stared at this whole thing with ssy eyes. "Your reputation proceeds you," Marg said, her tone a bit too t.


    Uh-huh.


    I cleared my throat. "It''s okay my friend. Please get up." I helped him get up. "Good job!" I gave him a thumbs up and he looked more than just delighted. "Now, what is this guy doing here and who even put him here?"


    I was terrible at this.


    "The headmaster of Demigrace provided him to us, my lord."


    Seriously, just what did people think of me?


    But the headmaster, huh?


    "I guess you''re here on your own will then?" I turned to the croc dude.


    He nodded. "Yeah, I like azy life."


    More and more staff were being drawn here and they all were rather frightened. To them I probably seemed like a monster, to be able to talk to Mutors. I didn''t care though.


    "We should get out of here," Marg whispered.


    "Yeah." I gave a buy sign to Sig and addressed the staff. "Good day everyone."


    And a secondter we teleported out of the whole establishment.


    I sighed.


    "Well, you sure don''t know how to handle people." Marg giggled.


    "Yeah." And I had no idea I had a cult of my worshippers.


    "What was that about? You can talk to Mutors?"


    "Not all of them but-" I stopped. I''d actually made a promise. "I can''t tell you now but, I''ll tell you eventually."


    She smiled, grabbed my arm. "Okay."


    We moved forward.


    I felt blessed to have her.


    ***


    Anyway, we bought some stuff. Stuff I thought I''d never buy. Potatoes, spices, raw onions! Beef, chicken, even celeries! Marg did rify that the celery and the carrots were for the maid, rather than us.


    She had no idea how much that relieved me.


    Of course, I''d done grocery shopping before, but I never had this much fun! Haggling,ughing, debating on which was superior beef ormb. Yeah, way too much fun.


    Next, we went into a clothing shop and bought some cheap clothes. We didn''t buy any for the girl, apparently, Marg was still pissed about the sizes. ording to her, she had to work and earn the money and then buy stuff on her own.


    Yeah, she was definitely mad.


    Though cheap, these were my first gifts for Marg and I had a feeling she''d be happy to wear whatever I give her. I did felt a bit bad, but I knew she''d understand. After all, I didn''t have much money.


    We did not cheap out on underwear though! Those were very important, yes sir!


    "I could have paid for my stuff you know." Marg frowned a little.


    And I knew that. After all, she was the daughter of a count and nobles tended to have loads and loads of cash around. But now she was mine and I wanted to at least buy her underwear.


    Oh well. ''Cute!''


    Even her pouts were cute as hell though.


    All in all, the first date was a grand sess.

 Chapter 175 - So Soft

    With all that over, we teleported to the front gate and entered. Marg didn''t teleport straight inside. Actually, she never did. I guess she was just being considerate.


    But this was our house and there was no need to be considerate- at least I felt that way.


    We went in, and the first thing I noticed was that there was some sort of fragrance in the air.


    Someone was cooking.


    ''Wait, the guy did say there was food in the fridge.'' I was so excited to shop with Marg that I forgot about this part. This whole house was literally stacked with stuff. .


    We climbed the stairs and for some reason Marg''s expression was nk. She was not in a great mood, no.


    Once up, the fragrance got a lot stronger and I saw the bunny girl in an apron. I guess she found that with the kitchen wear. Of course, it was Marg''s size. Meaning, my future father inw, thought of things very deeply. ''Maybe I should really thank the guy. I guess I''ll only punch him twice.'' Yup, my mind was made up.


    "What are you doing?" Marg walked closer, while I just stayed in the sidelines. This was about to get ugly.


    "There were ingredients in the fridge and most of them would have expired by this week, so I wanted to cook something for us. Please leave all the chores to me." I doubted that things would expire this early. Or was thendlord expecting us? I guess Marg might have just given him an early call.


    So, this girl wanted to make herself useful? The smell was nice, so I guess the food could have tasted good too. Then again, I wanted to eat Marg''s cooking.


    And Marg wasn''t happy either.


    "Well, finish up, and let''s have lunch." But strangely she was calm: she was mad but she was calm. I guess she didn''t want to go back on her word.


    Yeah, having pride was dreadful.


    The most destructive thing in the world?


    Pride.


    ***


    The cooking was done and the living room was on the first floor. This room was a bit cramped. Of course, it was bigger than mom''s ce but still, a bit smallpared to the kitchen or the master bedroom.


    I didn''t have anyints though. It wasn''t like I was going to have a party with forty or more in here anyway.


    I didn''t even have that many friends, to begin with. And my family members were kind of secretive, so they probably would have never shown up even if they were invited for my marriage or something.


    Speaking of marriage- "Say Marg-"


    "Yes?" Marg took a bite, her tone was t.


    Her mood was not good.


    The reason?


    The food was actually good.


    Of course, it was just the two of us dining but the bunny girl was just about a meter away from us. Looking at us eagerly.


    This was a small table but it could have fitted her too, but she was our maid, not a family member.


    There was actually another table in here, at least three times bigger than this, but there was no need for us to use that one.


    I wanted to eat Marg''s cooking but was done was already done, so there went that.


    "I wanted to talk about our-" I stopped. This probably wasn''t a good time. So I changed the subject midway. "Since we''ll be living here, shouldn''t we let our parents know about it? Can I borrow your Holo?"


    Next time I went back home, I''d be sure to im the warranty for my Holo!


    After tasting the sweet fruits of heaven, I couldn''t go back!


    Okay, that was an exaggeration.


    "I''ll drop you to your home and then go to mine. I think I''ll need to talk with mother personally."


    "Are you sure, isn''t your home a bit-"


    "It''s okay. Still within limit." She smiled faintly.


    Which was good and all but I had something else on my mind.


    ''Should I tell her? Should I really? This is just our first date, maybe we should take more time¡­'' My head was going a bit funny.


    With a sigh Marg finished her meal. "I know you''re impatient but can you please try to conceal yourself a bit more?" Marg looked at me empathically. Could it have been that she already sensed my hesitation!? "Of course, you''ll have to finish up and rest well, before we can bath together." She grinned.


    Even better! Okay maybe not, but I could wait.


    So, without worrying too much, I ate moderately and with Marg, went upstairs.


    The bunny girl would eat and clean up the ceter.


    Of course, we wouldn''t be doing much upstairs, after all, I was too determined to do stuff in the spring anyway.


    ''The spring water, could be cleaned, right?''


    I most certainly hope so.


    ***


    "This ce really is big huh?" Marg looked around in amazement.


    "Yeah." Seeing her happy made me smile a bit.


    This was a big room: it was bigger than mine and Elsa''s roombined and those weren''t small either. There were two windows on two sides and both had nice views. There weren''t many houses nearby but there was a pond though.


    The room had arge bed, two dressing tables, and a closet. Nothing else.


    "The bed is big too. A bit too big actually. Was this nned for more than just a couple?"


    Now that she said it out loud, I did notice that the bed was exceptionallyrge. It could fit at least five or maybe even six people in total. I guess me in the middle and two on each side?


    ''The hell you thinking brain!''


    I shook my head vigorously! Marg was enough, I didn''t need to waste my brain cells on other women.


    Marg stood in front of me and looked up at me. "Do you want to do it with more girls?" It wasn''t just a question.


    Had I given that impression?


    Yeah, I was horny, but really? No, she was the only one I wanted. "I only have eyes for you and I''ll be frank I''m a guy and at times I might feel things for others. But in the end, I''ll alwayse back to you and my heart will belong to you."


    She wrapped her hands around my back.


    Her heart was beating rapidly and the scent made my heart rate climb too.


    Just what did this girl use? How could she smell so amazing when I clearly reeked of sweat?


    Actually, were my genes that bad?


    Neither mom nor Elsa ever smelled bad. Wait, mom did mention my old man smelling bad. I''ll be sure to give him a punch for giving me this shitty gene.


    Meanwhile, Marg literally took a deep breath rubbing her face against my chest.


    "I smell bad, don''t I?" My face was heating up with embarrassment.


    I might have blurted it out, but I didn''t want to hear it from her mouth.


    "Yeah, but I love your smell." She hugged me tighter.


    Though it pained me to hear that I smelled, I was d she still liked me. Okay, old man, I won''t punch you.


    I also hugged her.


    If only life could go on like this.


    But then I remembered all the shitty things that still needed to be fixed.


    "I''ll take a flight tonight for Germany. Would youe along?" I couldn''t just ask Marg to teleport with me again. After all, I didn''t want her to go through that.


    I needed to fix my Holo first though. I had to contact the nurse and then ask her about the guy who could potentially create spatial barriers, so I could make my seals good again. I had a feeling the second seal was close to being broken too. After all,tely, the shadow was making more and more rounds.


    "No, I want to spend the night with mom. But if you say-"


    "It''s fine."


    It wasn''t like she was my ve. She had free will and stuff she wanted to do. I wasn''t going to chain her down, ever.


    Her smile was bright and vibrant. She only showed this smile to me: and I was damn happy and proud for it. Oh, I so, so wanted to grab her and throw her on the bed and squeeze the hell out of her, but I contained myself.


    For now, just sniffing her hair would suffice. ''Oh, she smells so nice.''


    She was so soft. She didn''t have much fat on her body, but still, she was so, so soft.


    ''So soft.''


    "How long do you n on groping my butt though?" She whispered with a giggle.


    Wait, what?


    Since when?


    I tried squeezing my hands and sure enough, they were touching soft plump stuff. She was kind of t above, but down there, she was not.


    Apparently, my hands had a mind of their own.


    Of course, I stopped and Marg chuckled. It was very hard to stop though.


    We proceeded to sit down on the bed and she showed me the full scope of the whole tournament.

 Chapter 176 - I’m Not A Savage Monkey, Right? Right?

    My next opponent was a guy named Triton. He apparently could control water. The guy''s control seemed weaker than Elsa''s and after dealing with Elsa for all my life, this power didn''t seem all that strong to me.


    The problem though was the energy absorption thing. Though his limits weren''t that well documented. ''Seems like Clyde''s worst enemy, doesn''t he?''


    On second thought, probably not.


    Clyde could not only absorb the energy of his environment but he could also control the energy and even convert it: his speed was kind of over the charts too. He wasn''t good at swordy though, at least not enough to pose a threat to me. But that was with my overpowered saber and years of training in the mountains. And if I didn''t have my saber, I knew things would have been bad with him. Moreover, Clyde didn''t rely much on his saber in the first ce.


    All of that was in the past though.


    So this Triton guy didn''t seem like much of a threat to me. Of course, that didn''t mean I could just let my guard down either.


    "Think I''ll break this guy''s saber and take the core." I didn''t know why but I spoke like I''d already won or something.


    And I really sounded like a viin right now.


    "Well, you are from a viinous family and a noble too. Won''t you need a new saber?" Marg giggled.


    I chuckled nervously. Sweat formed.


    "You want mine?" She grinned. "Sure."


    I didn''t know if my sword would fly there and I couldn''t just run to the lightsaber club either, at least not after the whole Johnathan incident. So, having Marg''s saber was the best option. And just how the hell did she know?


    I was really d she understood me though.


    Wait, did she say, noble? "Me, a noble?"


    "Well, I''m the daughter of a count, so-" She blushed and rested her head on my shoulder.


    Currently, we were on therge bed. Just sitting though.


    "Wh-when do you think we should get married?" This really was on my mind for a while now.


    She looked at me a bit teary-eyed. "I-"


    "You okay?"


    Why the hell was she sad all of a sudden?


    "No, it''s just." She wiped her tears. "I''m so happy." She hugged my arm from the side. Lately, we were doing loads of hugging.


    Of course, I hugged her back. How could I pass away such a golden opportunity to squ- ahem!


    "I mean, if you''re okay, we could-"


    "I-" She paused. "I want us to take enough time and then decide. There are a lot of girls waiting for you. Sometimes I feel- I am inadequate. Am I really good enough? Can I really make you happier than-"


    I had no idea she felt that way.


    I kissed her and didn''t let her finish. "As I said, I only love you. And even if every woman on the fell in love with me, I still won''t stop loving you and I still won''t have eyes for others. You''re my everything. You don''t have to be perfect. You''re fine as you are."


    It was really embarrassing to say something like that but- I really wanted her to understand that.


    Up close, again, I could confirm, she really did smell nice.


    She chuckled and put a hand on my pants. "Well, you''re feelings are kind of honest too."


    I hadn''t noticed that little Helio junior was up and saluting. I guess he agreed. "Well, I''m an honest man." I tried my best grin.


    "I guess-" She blushed slightly. "We can head to the spring now."


    Did I jump out of excitement!?


    Did you even have to ask?


    Heehaw!


    ***


    Water dripped.


    This was an artificial spring. About three meters in radius, enough tofortably fit about half a dozen people.


    The floor was made of marble and the water wasing from the head of a lion. Obviously, made from stone.


    The whole ce was lit by glowing stones on the sides. Actually, judging by how this ce was, it was probably worth more or less close to fifty gold a month- but I guess I got a steal for the money I was paying- which I wasn''t paying.


    The water was warm and definitely nice. But, my mind was definitely elsewhere.


    In front of me, was Marg, just on the opposite side of the spring. She had a smile, and boy was she drawing me in.


    The water had a way to be drained so, life was amazing!


    Most of her body was underwater and her head and shoulders were poking at me. It was almost as though her body was glowing.


    And today there were no bubbles so- yeah, I could basically see everything. EVERYTHING!


    I gulped and steadily swam her way. The closer I got, the sweeter she smelled. Yup, I loved her scent, there was no doubt about it.


    The water wasn''t that deep, maybe upto my chest? The bottom was made of stone and it wasn''t slimy or anything.


    This water actually came from a volcano and though I was concerned about this and that- it was rtively safe.


    But nothing else mattered at the moment- after all-


    Neither of us was wearing anything. I actually would have loved to undress her, undressing was almost just as fun as the real thing after all. But I guess there was always next time.


    The whole spring was protected by rectangr ss on all sides, so even if anyone wanted to peep, they couldn''t. Then again, there weren''t any people here who could benefit from peeping anyway.


    I finally reached Marg. Her aroma was exhrating.


    "We''ve to hurry," She whispered. "We don''t want you to catch a cold before the big fight, right?" She spread her legs slightly with a smile. Her expression, sultry as ever.


    "Right!" Was I excited?


    HEEHAW!


    My inner cowboy was about to make his appearance.


    I touched her- "Ah." She squirmed a bit. I guess she was a bit too sensitive today. Gently, squeezing, I licked her nape. Her hand already made its way down. I yed with one of her nipples while licking the other. "AH." She really was sensitive.


    The water was kind of salty in a way. We were in the middle of the ocean so that made sense. Better make sure I didn''t drink any water.


    So, I lifted Marg up a little and continued licking. I couldn''t stop for some reason,. It was almost as though my primal instincts had taken over.


    I thought maybe I''d get used to this, and eventually, the feeling would dampen a little, but honestly, nothing like that happened. If anything, I felt more attracted to her and more excited!


    It was almost as though we were burning up. The warm water only made things more exciting.


    Her legs kind of wrapped around mine and that expression made me want to go crazy. I still maintained my sanity though.


    I sucked her hard: just licking wasn''t enough. She moaned. But a secondter, returned the favor but stroking me quicker. I really hoped I didn''t end up doing some premature stuff this time.


    While I sucked her, my hand made its way down and after rubbing my finger on her for a minute, I slid it in. It went in.


    Marg grabbed my neck and moaned. I guess she''d given up on little Helio. But a secondter, she freed my head from her chest and came closer to me. "Enough teasing." She proceeded to kiss me. Marg ripped open a packet: I actually hadn''t noticed that it was right on the stone behind her. "The packet says it is waterproof, but shall we find out?" From within came a bit of stretchy stic. She was out of breath, so yeah, I had a feeling she wanted me in, right now!


    "Of course." I grinned.


    She gently put it on my rod and I rubbed little Helio against her. Since my finger was inside her all this time, I was utterly certain that she was turned on if nothing else.


    Her heart was going crazy and so was mine: actually judging by how fast her chest was beating, she was probably more turned on than me. I looked her in the eye and so did she. "Well, I''m going in."


    She nodded and grabbed my back. "Bring it on." The way she said though, was he cute. She was totally out of breath, but it sure didn''t stop her from acting tough.


    But unfortunately, I wasn''t a savage monkey, I entered rather slowly and slowly built my pace.


    For once, I felt like maybe watching those stuff wasn''t an absolute waste of my youth. After all, I knew exactly what to avoid.


    Marg was tight and as she grabbed me tighter and as I thrust faster, she let out moans. "AHH!" The intensity increased with every thrust.


    They were mixed and somewhere from pain to pleasure. Her chest pressed against mine as she faced me, and with every thrust, she went a bit up and down. The feeling was divine.


    Her legs wrapped around my legs tighter and she grabbed on to me even tighter. She moved her body with my rhythm too.


    She wasn''t heavy and since we were in the water, things were going too smoothly.


    She breathed hard and so did I. in between her moans I also let out a moan or two.


    I actually grabbed her butt cheeks too. I wanted to try a p or two but didn''t know if Marg was okay or not, so didn''t bother. I did squeeze them though.


    Ah.


    She gently grabbed my face, kissed me. "You don''t have to hold back," She whispered.


    Wait, she was okay with me being rough?


    I didn''t know why but that literally turned a switch inside me and I might or might not have pumped a lot harder.


    Moans were in the air.


    ***


    I breathed in relief, as Marg leaned against my arm.


    "We should really get moving," I said. Because we sure took our time here.


    How long were we in here? 45 minutes?


    The spring was self-draining so, it''d take about half an hour more for the water to be fully cleaned.


    "Just a minute longer. You were something tonight." She giggled. "Always, wanted to say that." She giggled some more.


    It was in the middle of the day though, but oh well.


    "Do you think I should be gent-" I mean, I might or might not have acted like a savage monkey from halfway.


    She frowned. "I''m fine with as you are, actually maybe you can be a bit rougher. The way you did in thest part. How could you just take it slow after turning me-" After she said it though, she blushed slightly and looked to the other side.


    I chuckled and kissed her. ''I guess I should have paid more attention."


    We both got up and out of the spring.


    Our towels were sitting pretty on the basket.


    "Hmm? Maybe we should try some other positions?" Marg wondered.


    "Yeah." But what sort of positions?


    Just wondering about different types made my rod grow slightly. Actually, we could have even bought cosys. Just the thoughts¡­ he he he.


    Little helio wasn''t going to be usable anytime soon though. It was pretty much spent.


    Marg giggled, came close, ced a finger on my chest, and grinned. "WE''ll figure something out."


    I nodded very vigorously and so did my rod.

 Chapter 177 - Finally, The House Is All Mine, Mine I Say!

    After drying ourselves we got up and came to the first floor''s living. Both of us were covered in towels but this was our house and the only person in the house was a maid. So, it didn''t stop us from marching up.


    Well, we both had bath robes, so it was fine.


    Our maid was in the middle of dining. She was stuffing her face with carrot curry. I had a feeling she made it after we went to the bath and only for herself. Though technically, I didn''t like carrots that much, so I didn''t have any problems with it.


    She did look rather funny with that face she was making while eating though. Almost like a certain carrot-loving character.


    The maid swallowed.. "Wow, you look a lot prettier." Of course, she was talking to Marg.


    She wasn''t that flustered about us being in towel coats. I guess she took it for granted.


    Marg smiled. She didn''t say a word of thanks though."Well, we''ll leave about half an hourter. Be sure to clean up everything and you can use things from the fridge. Don''t bother going down to the basement or the master bedroom."


    "Right!"


    Marg also proceeded to instruct her on other things. This girl seemed adjusted to housework. She probably did all these works before.


    Marg held my hand. "Let''s go." She now took me upstairs. She did not teleport, no.


    Hand in hand walking up the stairs!


    Was there going to be more!?


    ***


    Apparently, she just wanted to talk about the future.


    Yeah, more future stuff.


    I did get to see her putting on the new underwear and clothes though. She slowly, slowly put everything on. She was totally teasing. Very sexy: of course the new stuff was dry washed first.


    Thoughst time we talked about taking time before getting married and all, Marg was actually in a good mood and it was her who brought the topic up again.


    So, I gave it a final push.


    "So, when do you reckon we should get married?"


    We already talked about it and her reason for making taking time, was that I could have changed my mind in the future. But unfortunately, my resolve wasn''t that shallow.


    Marg smiled. "I''m fine as long as I''m with you but- will you promise me that I''ll be the only official wife and the rest will just be mistresses?" It was almost like a plead. Marg never looked at me like that.


    Concubines, huh?


    "Well, I don''t intent to marry other people in the first ce but sure."


    She hugged me tight and smiled.


    Apparently, she was a bit too satisfied with that answer.


    I guess she spent a lot more time thinking about this thing than me. And here I was overthinking without even considering what kind of stuff she went through.


    "Let''s get married after graduating high school." I did not expect her to say that though.


    I was already living with her, so I didn''t have anyints. And if she ended up getting pregnant before graduation by some miracle, I''d be sure to marry her then and there! "Okay."


    We did some pillow talk for fifteen more minutes and then she decided to say bye to the maid and the two of us traveled to my home.The front door.


    "You want to say hi?"


    She smiled nervously. "I''ll just upset your sister, so maybe next time."


    It was a bit early to be called afternoon.


    "Okay, see youter."


    And she was gone. No, goodbye kiss.


    I sighed and pressed the doorbell.


    A minuteter, it opened.


    ***


    Mom opened the door but she didn''t say a word and just left.


    I came in and locked the door. I was in my new clothes. Since we almost always bought cheap clothes, these didn''t turn out that bad. I was used to wearing stuff like this. I did feel a bit bad about making Marg wear them. Though she seemed happy enough, so I didn''t worry too much about it.


    Apparently, mom and Elsa were in the middle of some sort of discussion in the living room.


    ''I didn''te at a wrong time, right?''


    "No matter, how many times you beg, the answer is no." Mom wasn''t going back down from this, whatever she was talking about. Her voice was loud and clear. I could hear it even from outside.


    I was just by the living door watching the whole thing y out. I still didn''t know what was even going on, but it sure didn''t stop me from enjoying stuff from the sidelines.


    As long as it didn''t have anything to do with me, I was cool.


    "But-" Elsa''s eyes shimmered and the water around her condensed. "I love him."


    Yeah, this was bad. And wait, did she just mention a lover?


    Oh?


    Suddenly my lips curled up, a smug grin formed and made my grand entrance.


    "Love? You? Who''s the pipsqueak?"


    First, I''d get to know the boy she''s in love with, then crush him, and vo- problem solved! If I ruined the guy''s face, Elsa won''t be interested in him and then mom won''t have a problem.


    Problem solved indeed.


    Elsa wiped her tears and red at me. "Where''s Marg?"


    Eh? She was more into Marg than her own brother. "She went home."


    Elsa sniffed but didn''t re anymore.


    Mom sighed.


    Was I beingpletely ignored?


    People?


    Neither said a word and the mention of a lover kind of vanished.


    ***


    Apparently, these guys didn''t need me here so I turned around and was about to head up to my room when I was grabbed. Rather solidly at that too.


    "Where do you think you''re going, mister?" Mom smiled very sweetly.


    "Up, up, and away?" I also smiled, albeit sweating hard.


    Her smile didn''t waver even for a millisecond. "Well, do sit down before up, up, and away." She used the same tone as me.


    Yeah, I had a feeling if I made a wrong turn, I''d really be going up.


    I really wanted to run away right about now. Maybe I should have nevere here. ''This was a bad idea.''


    "Now, why did I saw you wearing a girl''s sweater that day? Was it Marg''s? I don''t think it was that cold though?" Mom wondered. "And you even went that far and almost killed that guy in the match. Couldn''t you have just solved it by breaking his legs and stuff?"


    Mom was still smiling but she was barraging me with loads and loads of questions.


    Weren''t we supposed to talking about Elsa''s crush? Why were we talking about that wretched sweater and a guy I''d already forgotten?


    But I did have a curveball of my own. Deep breath! "So, Marg and I are moving in from today." It was a one-breath sentence. There was no pause, no stutter.


    Both mom and Elsa were paying too much attention to me. Mom was grinning because she was about to beat the shit out of me while Elsa was grinning because she just got out of what she was in.


    But, but, as I said the stuff about moving in, both of them stared at me, clearly stunned. Elsa in particr looked like she was turned to stone.


    I cleared my throat. "And it turns out, there''s a dragon living in my saber so she''ll live with us and Marg also hired a maid. You know she''s the daughter of a count, so yeah."


    Both of them still looked at me, not a word. Mom was kind of sweating. I guess this was too much to take in.


    Andstly, "And a girl kind of proposed to me and Marg took her on. So I might have mistresses. The rest for the first year was paid by Marg''s father and the house is pretty big." ''Please don''t ask me about that.''


    I didn''t n to say all this at least not now, but these two had me cornered and I had to get out of this somehow. I was not afraid to use all my cards and give them a super surprise, no sir!


    "So, does that mean you''re willing to ept more mistresses and wives!?" Elsa grabbed my hand and looked dead serious.


    I guess I looked like a weirdo to her? In our family, people generally had only one life partner and I was going to have multiple- though only on paper. I might have seriously looked like some disgusting creature to her.


    ''I can''t me her I guess.''


    But- but she deserved to know: she was my little sister after all. "Maybe one or two mistresses at best but Marg will be the only official wife. I don''t n on marrying anyone else."


    Actually, was having concubines the same as marriage or maybe the ceremony was different? I actually didn''t know.


    It was almost as though Elsa was a bit sad to hear that. I guess she hated me for being this creepy but I had my own circumstances. A secondter she didn''t look all that sad though.


    I sighed and looked up at mom and now she was ring at me. Did I do something wrong?


    Operation win them over by great shock was a great failure.


    Sigh. I guess I''ll be beaten up now.


    I resigned to my fate and waited for a punch. A punch that never came.


    Mom also sighed, a hand on her head. "Go get fresh. We were nning on going out shopping today, do you want toe along?"


    Wait, I was being offered an option? After nearly seventeen years of misery, I was finally given an option!


    The answer was no, obviously!


    ''Oh wait, the Holo?''


    "I''m kind of tired of walking around. I do have a Holo to repair. Would you mind taking it with you and im the warranty? And I think I''ll take a flight to Germany tonight." Marg literally just teleported me here, so yeah, I wasn''t that tired. I still didn''t want to go with these two though.


    Mom sighed again. "No wonder we couldn''t get through to you. Fine. Book the flight with the Holo upstairs."


    "Kay!"


    With a radiant smile, I gave her the Holo and went to the washroom.


    Finally, after so long I''d have the house all to myself.


    Muahahhah.

 Chapter 178 - What Is Sport To The Cat Is Death To The Rat

    Marg was happy today.


    Perhaps exhrated even. She got to spend time with her beloved and also confirmed his feelings.


    She was afraid before.


    She knew Helio for a rather short time and this whole thing happened so fast, she couldn''t even cope with it. Did love really work this fast? Would it reallyst?


    At one point she thought, Helio was probably after her powers and maybe just her body. Maybe he''d just toss her away once everything settled down. But her misconceptions melted away with Helio''s constant proposals and as she spent more time with him. At least to the point where she thought this wasn''t some fairytale and perhaps their love really was mutual.


    She knew she loved him but was it enough? Was their love really enough? What if someone prettieres along and what if that girl loves Helio much more than she ever could?.


    That''s why she was holding back, that''s why she didn''t want to rush this marriage. That''s why- she- couldn''t bring herself to say to Helio- that perhaps she''d like to get married, grow old with him and even have his kids- as long as he was okay with it. She thought a lot about the subject, she also fantasized a lot too. But that''s why she was scared.


    After all, the future was uncertain.


    She still acted normal and enjoyed Helio''spany. She loved and she wanted to make the boy feel loved. ''Am I being too possessive?'' The thought did cross her mind and that''s why she was willing to give Selene a chance. It wasn''t about seeing whether Selene loved him or not, but it was more about seeing whether she could still love him, and what Helio would choose.


    She was selfish, she really was, but she loved him. And that''s why she was willing topromise.


    When the weird bearded guy this morning talked about how love was never longsting she took a leap of faith and dered her love, but even she wasn''t sure.


    But she knew one thing, her feelings weren''t lies. They were genuine and she really wanted to be with Helio. And after spending the noon and the passionate spring bath with him, she knew Helio felt the same.


    Helio wasn''t going to abandon her like a tool and he wasn''t going to treat other women the same way as her either. She didn''t let it out but she was happy- perhaps the happiest she''d ever been.


    So with a smile, she stood in front of the door to her mother''s quarters. She was about to talk to her mother and she was going to live with Helio from tomorrow.


    ''Everyday huh?'' She giggled softly to her. It was rare for her to show so much emotion.


    Helio didn''t want kids yet, so they''d have to stick with protection: it didn''t matter though as long as she got to be with him. Just the thought alone was enough to arouse her. She really wanted to give her all to him and be with him. And she wanted all to herself.


    She was selfish but- she loved him.


    Before she could knock though, a sharp pain ran through the back of her head. Her chest feltpressed.


    Her vision blurred slightly and before she could cover her nose, some drops of blood leaked on the floor. ''Wha-?''


    A secondter, she herself dropped on the floor.


    The sound was minimal but the door opened inwards just a momentter. A middle-aged woman looked around but there was nothing. She was about to close the door but somehow her vision went down and her eyes opened wide.


    "Marg?" The middle-aged woman said, slouching down. "MARG!?"


    ***


    The whole house was mine, totally mine!


    I was alone but at the same time, I felt amazing.


    Usually, whenever mom went shopping, she''d always take Elsa and me with her.


    During her workdays, she''d arrive home at 7, but even during those days, I wasn''t alone in the house. After all, I had a nagging sister. And till now, I was never given an option when it came to shopping. So, technically I was never alone in the house.


    I ran from here to there. This was my empire! At least for the next forty-five minutes!


    But it felt a bit surreal to think my clingy sister had finally grown up. ''I guess I''ll burn only half of the lucky guy''s face.''


    My sister was young and na?ve, I didn''t want her to rush things.


    Before I knew it, I came back to my room and jumped on my nostalgic soft bed which wasn''t as soft as I remembered. I guess I already got bored of my own empire!


    But seriously, as I stared at the ceiling of my room, I felt like my face leaking all my emotions: very not so pure emotions. I''d be living with Marg every day from now on. Living alone would probably be a lot moreplicated than just living in the dorms and we''d probably end up fighting too. But- but I wanted to experience all the bitterness so we could enjoy our lives and all the happiness. After all, no one can enjoy the light without the darkness.


    ''I''m gonna make her happy.''


    I rolled around in bed, out of sheer embarrassment, but-''I forgot to book the tickets.''


    I sighed and went to the Holo.


    We only had one in the house and it was enough to automate most of the stuff.


    But the moment I entered the website-


    Everything was already booked. "Oh boy."


    I sighed.


    Everything was booked, EVERYTHING.


    I did have people who could fly me there but- this wasn''t going to be great. And I couldn''t ask Marg either. I didn''t want her to go through all that trouble for my sake.


    With some more sighs, I called my cousin.


    I really didn''t want to, but even if I took the fastest train, I''d only be arriving at the borders in the morning. Rushing to the stadium and fighting in that state wasn''t going to work.


    "U-U-Aunty-" It was John, my cousin.


    The guy was freaking out, thinking mom called him. I didn''t know why but the guy feared mom way more than me.


    "It''s me."


    He sighed rather audibly. "Ah, thank the demons." He was weird. "So, ya need anything?"


    Shouldn''t he had at least asked about how I was and something?


    Sigh. "I need a ride to Germany." Since he was being blunt, I was being blunt too.


    "From your home?"


    "Yeah."


    He startedughing loudly. "Just fly there, I''m telling ya, it''s easy. Just jump high and-" And he still had the misconception that I could fly like gramps.


    "Shut up and get over here. Weren''t you the guy who was fawning over how you were proud of me or something?" I was not afraid to use that card, no.


    Me and the guy weren''t on the greatest of terms but I knew he''d help me. We were family after all.


    "Th-that has nothing to do with meing to your house." He was way too flustered.


    But I knew just the way I could have my way. "Mom isn''t here you know."


    "Really? I''ll be right over!" He cut the phone.


    A devilish smirk crept up on my face.


    It''d take him at least an hour to get here and within that time mom would probably be back.


    Muahah ahahahah!


    ***


    A ss broke.


    A maid was just being clumsy.


    She looked around and no one was around.


    There was a blizzard going on outside.


    But inside the kitchen, everything was normal. The temperature was warm andfortable but the maid couldn''t rest.


    Was this a sign of some sort? The girl touched the broken shard but her finger got cut. "Ouch."


    "Is something wrong, Zinny?"


    A man came inside the kitchen, rather young and well dressed.


    "No-nothing young master. I might have been a bit clumsy, that''s all." She chuckled, hiding her cut finger behind her. Her golden locks were long and they were aiding in the cover of her hand.


    "Let me see that."


    The young man came close to the maid. He''d already guessed what was going on.


    They had roughly ten years of an age difference. The maid was 27 while the boy, just a month over 17. His looks were simr to his mother''s. White hair, red eyes, and skin like the snow.


    Though the maid and the boy had differences in social standing, and perhaps age, they both had one thing inmon.


    Since the maid was ordered, she couldn''t deny it. She showed the boy her finger and the boy took out the small ss shard from the cut. He also licked the blood.


    The girl squirmed a bit but didn''t move around.


    "Must hurt?" The boy let go of the finger and it healed.


    "No- it''s okay. Look it''s all healed." The maid chuckled.


    "That''s good to hear. There''s a storming this way, I want you to head to your parents'' house and stay there for the week." The boy was serious, he looked too dashing when he was that serious.


    "What about you, young master?" The maid looked up, concerned. She was good-looking, and a hard worker, but there was another reason the two were talking.


    She was present when the boy was born and from that day on, she took care of the boy. The boy was attached to her- but perhaps he felt more.


    The boy came close and held the maid''s chin. He was taller than the maid. "I have to stay by mother."


    "Lady Hyora," The maid looked down. She was a bit pained by the response. "But-"


    "After this-" The boy began, paused and thought for a second. "I''ll talk with mother."


    The maid smiled faintly. "Please don''t. They''ll never-"


    And the maid saw the boy as her own child. She was incapable of having her own, that''s why this boy was very special to her. That''s why she couldn''t stop loving the boy. But that wasn''t all.


    The Battlesuins were a famous family and within that family, the head family only bred with other pure breeds. There was no ce for half breeds let alone a maid.


    "I know but-" The boy smiled too. "It doesn''t matter what she thinks." After all, he also loved the maid.


    They both loved each other, but their love wasn''t the same. One love was that of mother and her son, while the other- desire and devotion.

 Chapter 179 - This Is Not COOL, It’s COLD!

    John had arrived and knocked on the door.


    He had a bundle of red lilies in his hand and his usual cape and a pair of pants. He didn''t have anything else on. "Elsa''s also in here right?" For some reason, he actually gelled his hair. Well, that was new.


    I actually forgot that he had a crush on Elsa. I guess this is why he was so afraid of mom.


    I didn''t care though. I weed him in. there was a very good reason for it.


    "Yeah, she''s in the living, eating pudding.. Would you like to join her?" Elsa wasn''t the only one eating pudding though.


    Mom and Elsa shared a lot of their tastes. And their love for pudding was one of them. Actually, I couldn''t deny my affection for the pudding too.


    With a big grin, John entered the house and went for the living. I locked the door with a grin of my own.


    HaHAHAHA. Muahaha hahaa!


    And a momentter, he was running my way. But with a solid grin, I grabbed him and dragged his wailing body back towards the living.


    "You traitor-" He managed through his tears and snorts.


    "Dude, calm down, it''s just my mom."


    It wasn''t like she was going to roast him or something, right?


    Right?


    "Do you have any idea how frightening she is? She once beat grandfather in two seconds! And father in just one!" He went pale just from reminiscing the stuff. I guess he had bad memories.


    The guy was about three years older than me, so I guess he knew a bit more about mom than me.


    I just rolled my eyes. "I live with her."


    He looked at me with ssy eyes. "Oh yeah, I forgot you''re a monster too."


    I sighed. "SO says, the self-proimed most evil viin of the world." I sighed again and just dragged him back to the living.


    Once inside, he started acting all nice and calm. He was still shaking but he was acting way too calm.


    He greeted mom like she was some sort of goddess. Mom obviously acted normal, like an aunt should.


    Just how afraid was this guy, seriously?


    I took my seat and so did John.


    "There weren''t any open seats so I asked John." I actually hadn''t told mom. It wasn''t that I forgot whilst drooling for the pudding okay!


    "You couldn''t have asked Marg?"


    "She''s with her mother. I didn''t want to disturb her."


    I really wanted her toe along though. The two of us, spending the night in a hotel- ah, yeah, probably a bad idea considering her health. And I''d already made up my mind that I wouldn''t force anything on her.


    "Oh?" Mom looked a bit surprised. "Looks like sometimes you can be thoughtful too."


    She smiled a bit and asked some questions to John. It was just typical greetings and all but John was sweating like he was giving a life or death interview or something. Nodding here, shivering there.


    Ah, pudding- one second I put it in my mouth, and the next second, it was all gone. Ah- pudding!


    Mom was done eating and so were we. I wish she''d bought more.


    "Well, I''m d you''re taking him. Be sure to make sure he doesn''t get to pull anything. He''s going to be a married man soon." Obviously, mom was talking to John.


    "Married?" John looked at me, a bit confused. "Didn''t you say you''d rather stay a virgin forever than get married? ''Women are just distractions!'' weren''t you the one who said that?"


    My face heated up a little. "Don''t remind me of that dark era!"


    He chuckled. And so did the rest of the two.


    He seemed a bit less tense than before. Every once in a while he was also stealing nces at Elsa. If he wasn''t my cousin, I''d have punched him. Actually, if only I didn''t need him to travel tonight, I''d have surely punched him regardless. But for the time being, I just persevered.


    ***


    I gathered up everything. Took my sword, the busted saber, Marg''s saber, and went to the door.


    I was basically ready to head out.


    Mom passed me the Holo. "They said, you voided the warranty but after I had a nice chat with them, they gave you a new one." Mom was smiling but honestly- she was terrifying. "Be sure to- not void it- the next time."


    I nodded vigorously and put on the Holo. "By the way mom, you said there was a core in the house. Was it a dragon core?" In that case, I wouldn''t have had to steal someone else''s.


    And since it was gramps'', I didn''t have to worry too much about it.


    "You''re thinking of mixing it into your saber?"


    "You know about that process?"


    I guess this made things quicker. Just because something was new to me didn''t mean it was new to mom.


    "That core belonged to a friend of your grandfather. I-" She paused. "I don''t think any typical dragon would be able to absorb that core, let alone fragments of a core."


    Well, currently the fragments were kind of busy.


    "Alright." I smiled. "One day, when my saber really bes strong and all, I''ll use that core." I had no idea why but I kind of felt excited to use something gramps left behind. But maybe I was forgetting one thing. And that one thing came back to my head just a momentter. The core used to be from a friend of my grandfather. Meaning, it could have very well have been a real friend of his who died. "Sorry, mom. I was being insensitive."


    She giggled. "It''s okay. Both of them are dead anyway. I think they''d have been happy if they saw you be happy, like me." Mom came close and gave me a hug. "Don''t forget to visit every once in a while. We''ll always be here for you. And take good care of her. Do-don''t leave her alone with a kid like your father." Her eyes were a bit watery.


    My eyes became a bit watery. I sniffed and wiped my eyes. "Well we aren''t getting married before graduation so don''t worry. And it doesn''t matter how far I am, or who I''m married to, I''ll always be your son." And my mind was already made up. "I really love her mom. I''ll never leave her." And no, I didn''t want kids.


    Mom hugged me tighter, giggled, and then let go of me.


    Behind her was Elsa who was pouting but she came close. "Can Ie visit?" she could act cute when she wanted to. And the obvious answer was ''no''-


    I didn''t want my sister to sneak around and peep: I knew she would. But- "Sure, only once a month though and you''d have to bring mom if you want toe." Because unless mom was around, she''d just wreak havoc and try to act cute whenever someone would want to discipline her.


    "Let''s go!" John was already out and he was puffing up his chest like he meant business.


    At least uncle had the decency to wear shirts but his son didn''t even have that. Oh well. Since I''d be sitting on his back, I''d be pretty much sitting on the cape, rather than anything else, so it was cool.


    At least I was consoling myself with that.


    I tried to leave but Elsa grabbed me from behind and hugged me. This kind of reminded me of the first day of school. "Promise me, you''d forever love me!"


    What the hell did that suppose to mean? I chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Well, you''re my sister, I can''t stop loving you even if I want to." After all, we were family.


    She pouted but- anyway, I left and got on John''s back. I waved and both mom and Elsa waved back.


    Why the hell were they acting like I''d never being back?


    ''Wait, isn''t my birthday the day after tomorrow?''


    Oh boy.


    ***


    John slowly lifted up and a secondter, sped up like crazy.


    "WHOOO!"


    We broke through the sound barrier in a matter of seconds.


    I really would have loved my barrier right about now but this much of air pressure and air force wasn''t enough to knock me out. Though I wished I didn''t get hit by birds. That''d be very unfortunate.


    "I know a faster way. How long can you hold your breath?"


    We were traveling faster than the speed of sound and the lights below were nothing but contrails. I could hear his loud voice clearly though.


    We were at least two or three kilometers up but it probably wasn''t enough for long-distance travel.


    " ''bout three minutes?" I could probably hold my breath for longer if I needed to but I didn''t want to push myself that far.


    "COOL!" He lifted up, and even more up until we were on the very verge of space. This was not COOL, this was COLD! I could literally see stars and even some low orbiting satellites!


    And then, he dived in solidly!


    The atmosphere was warm and then burning.


    "ARGHHH!" My body was literally on fire!


    By the time I caught my breath, I was almost burned. The fire was no more: it was literally absorbed by my sword without even doing anything. Good thing my healing system still worked despite the saber out ofmission.


    Meaning, bringing this faulty saber was a good call after all. And bringing my sword was another good thing. But wait, I never asked Marg about how her saber worked or what kind of power she had. At the time of our fight, she kind of got behind me without me noticing, maybe that was the power of this saber?


    ''Guess I''ll give her a call once at the hotel.''


    "We should be arriving in two minutes," John said.


    Wait, already?


    With that said, he started descending, not in a pleasant way. His descent was faster than the time I fell from that ne.


    "AHAHHAH!"


    We were literally falling to our death and this guy had the galls tough at a time like this!?


    What the hell was he made off anyway?


    Wended exactly a minute and fifty-three secondster. Crashnded that is.

 Chapter 180 - What Is This Uneasiness In My Heart?

    "AWWWW!" My head throbbed but since I was on top of John, I didn''t suffer too much. And the few scratches got healed anyway.


    It was literally midnight here.


    Lights were everywhere and my vision was kind of funny but I got off of John and stumbled a bit before I could standstill.


    I almost felt drunk- wait, I never drank before. I did want to, but I kind of didn''t want to end up not being able to make necessary decisions.


    We''dnded right in front of the hotel the participants were supposed to stay in: I guess this guy knew where he going. Maybe he wasn''t as stupid as I thought.


    I didn''t know if the hotel had a room for me or not but even if they didn''t, I could have just slept on the roof, so it was fine. .


    John groaned and got up, cracking his neck. "I''m done right?" We''d fallen right next to a road and though the road was unharmed, the same couldn''t be said about the pavement and therge hole and cracks on the ground.


    There were some people and guards who were here but they were afraid to get near us. Some were even shaking. Actually, everyone was shaking, even me.


    I guess falling like that wasn''t that good for my body.


    John however was totally fine. Just what the hell was wrong with this guy''s body? He didn''t even have a scratch!


    "Yup." I dusted off my clothes. ''I need to buy clothes again?''


    But for this month, I neither had any allowance nor did I have the leftover money from Clyde.


    Maybe heading to Antarctica, really was the better choice.


    "Kay, say hi to the bride. One of these days I''ll drop by and have a chat." He sneezed. "And say sorry to aunty. Don''t wanna hang around. Mom had kind of grounded me but I escaped. You get the picture."


    "No problem and thanks." I shed a thumbs up and he did the same before flying away. I mean, I only needed him to get me here. I didn''t need more.


    Moreover, his mother was kind of scary in her own right. So, I didn''t want to incur her wrath by keeping him here. Actually, now that I thought about it, John had skipped his grounded status and still came, meaning shit would surely go down.


    I half sighed, half dreaded.


    I turned to the hotel. "Now, how the hell am I going to speak German?" I only knew a few words, not even remotely enough to hold a conversation.


    This was supposed to be an international hotel though, so there were probably one or two English-speaking staff there anyway.


    The real problem was the hate though. I was pretty sure everyone in this country hated me.


    Well, who cared?


    I marched in like a viin.


    ***


    This was a big hotel. Probably about fifty floors, pretty wide, and there were lights everywhere. Though midnight the city wasn''t asleep yet- at least the shivering morons around me were proof of that.


    After what they witnessedst time, this was probably normal though, so I didn''t pay much attention to them and just entered the hotel. No one had the guts to stop my march.


    The counter was just around the corner, so I didn''t have to walk far.


    The guards were literally running from my sight rather than trying to get my ID and stuff.


    They were exaggerating this so much that is was starting to rub me the wrong way.


    "Can anyone speak English here?"


    "Yes sir that would be me. How can I help you today?"


    There were four women at the counter, all beautiful. The one that just spoke was on the far left corner and she talked with a smile. It was her job to smile I guess.


    "I''m Helio Romswell Jintel, there should be a room booked for me. And if there isn''t-" I would have been fine with sleeping on the roof.


    Upon hearing my name, she started sweating and hurriedly typing. She was typing so fast that the keyboard was creaking. Her sweats poured and soon her makeup was kind of became odd. Even her teeth started to tter. "Fo-forgive me my lord, but all the deluxe rooms are already booked."


    She was literally on the verge of tears. And she looked at me like she was about to die or something.


    Every single staff who were near started to react just like her, very afraid and very apologetic.


    I wasn''t looking for a deluxe room. Just an ordinary one would have been fine and if there wasn''t one that was fine too. I was fine with sleeping on the roof. It wasn''t that cold anyway. And it wasn''t the rainy season either.


    "Look-"


    "Th-the manager should be on his way! We''ll make sure a deluxe room opens up in ten minutes!"


    Well, this was going somewhere else. The staff who were near were trying their best to apologize and stuff.


    I sighed. "Let''s all calm down." But these people were anything but calm.


    "AHAHAHAH!" A familiar but dreadfulugh came from behind me. It was a woman- at least I knew it to be a woman''sugh. To me, it sounded more like the oink of a pig though. "Looks like you haven''t changed much, mah boy."


    Half of the woman''s chest was exposed. That was some daring dress. One of her thigs was also exposed and on top of that, she was drunk and holding arge wine bottle.


    She stumbled toward me. This probably wasn''t going to end well.


    "Miss Alexandra." I turned around. I didn''t re but my stare wasn''t that pure either.


    I hated this woman.


    "Ah, such prative gaze." She held her chin and moaned.


    Blood orange hair, white skin, tall, and definitely well endowed, she was a European beauty: mid-forties. And I hated her with every fiber of my being. If the ceiling broke down and she got crushed, I guess I would have felt a lot better.


    I turned around, stared at the girl behind the counter. "DO you have any rooms free? And no, I''m not looking for deluxe rooms. Any room would be fine." My tone was a bit forced. My mood kind of took a downhill.


    She took a second to process everything. "There are some business ssrooms avable! I-I''ll show you a room right away sir!"


    "You don''t have to. As long as it''s a business ssroom and properly cleaned, I''m fine. Just give me a key."


    I kind of had it with strangers for today.


    "Ri-Right!"


    It took a lot of willpower to ignore Alexandra.


    If it wasn''t for that promise, I''d have already punched the lights out of her and broken all her bones! After what she made me do, maybe keeping this promise wasn''t such a good idea.


    But- I didn''t want to turn into a monster.

 Chapter 181 - What Is This Uneasiness In My Heart (Part Two)

    I was given a key and I went for the lift. The woman followed me.


    "What do you want?"


    My patience had a limit. I was trying my best to not think about attacking the woman but the more I thought about not hitting her, the more I wanted to hit her.


    "Nothing much." She pressed on the 45th floor. Mine was on the 47th.


    "Is she here?"


    I didn''t look at the woman, I despised her and her existence. But her daughter- I did something wrong to her, and for that, I wanted to apologize. At the time I might have run away from her, but- I really wanted to apologize and move on..


    There wasn''t anyone else in the lift. The two people that were here, all had run away the moment they saw me.


    This lift went up rather fast.


    The woman snorted. "No, but- she congratted you on your sess. And you''re engagement with that girl." Technically, Marg and I were engaged, at least ording to the tradition of my family, but in reality, we weren''t. "Oh, I''ll be stopping here."


    The door opened and she swayed her way out. But just outside, she looked back. She didn''t say a word but just smiled.


    I hated that face and that smile- that disgusting smile. But I controlled my emotions.


    The door closed.


    "SHIT!"


    I wanted to punch the door- but if had, it would have broken down. So, I refrained from that.


    For now, I just calmed down.


    Just a few secondster my stop came up and I got out.


    This lift was rather fast.


    There wasn''t anyone out in the hallway. My room was just around the corner, so I didn''t have to walk too much.


    The key went in, the doorknob turned the right way and now I was in.


    I turned on the lights, threw my stuff on the sofa, and just sat down on the bed.


    Sigh. ''Why now? Why after all this time?''


    It didn''t matter though. If I ever got to meet her, I''d just apologize and get out of her way. What I did was wrong, but it wasn''t unforgivable. And even if she didn''t forgive me, I wasn''t going to hold it against her. And I certainly wasn''t going to take responsibility for what I did either. I was just a kid back then and it was over six years ago.


    Speaking of responsibility- I almost forgot about mine. Since I already made it, I should have called Marg. Mom knew I''d be here safely, so I didn''t need to call her: I sent a mail home instead. Actually, that was just an excuse. I just wanted to talk with Marg.


    I called her through the Holo. It ran but even after a minute no, one picked up. Maybe she was out or in the bathroom or something?


    So, I went to the bathroom myself and got fresh.


    A momentter I got back to the bed, in a towel. This room wasn''t that big, it wasn''t small either. There wasn''t much in here. A fridge, a table, and a Holo TV. The telephone was old.


    I again called Marg- this time, roughly half a minuteter, she picked up.


    But the screen read clearly, ''audio-only.''


    She couldn''t have been in the bath, right?


    I was fully prepared to hear sounds of water drops but I controlled my raging thoughts.


    "He-lio?" She sounded sleepy. It wasn''t thatte where she was, so- howe?


    "Something wrong? Your voice-"


    "I feel a bit lightheaded: kind of tired. Nothing serious."


    "Oh. Ah- I arrived here. It''s kind of midnight and I got myself a room."


    "Really?" Her voice brightened up a little. "I''m d. Good luck, I think I''ll sleep a little. I''ll watch your match tomorrow." Her voice was too sleepy. Maybe she was tired.


    "It''ll be more like early morning for you tomorrow but yeah, for now, good night."


    "Night."


    The call ended but strangely my heart wasn''t calming down.


    ''Wait, didn''t I just forget to ask about the saber?''


    Argh-sigh!


    I couldn''t tell what was wrong. Marg sounded fine, maybe a bit sleepy but that was all. Then why was I feeling this uneasy?


    "Am I nervous?"


    I chuckled. It was possible I guess. After all, I''d be fighting an opponent who could make my power useless and I didn''t even have my overpowered saber to rely on.


    But anyway, I lied down on the bed, turned off the lights, and tried to sleep.


    I had a match tomorrow and I couldn''t afford to skip sleep.


    My heart was still beating a bit faster than normal but as I focused on calming down, it got slower gradually. I had all sorts of worries and all sorts of thoughts, but for today, I didn''t need them.


    I was tired, so before long I fell asleep.


    ***


    White.


    ''I''m back?''


    But instead of that room, all I saw was arge withering tree and water: the tree was almost out of leaves. The water was beneath my feet but I wasn''t being sucked in. Tt was crystal clear and there was no reflection of me.


    I could neither move forward nor backward.


    I couldn''t turn my head either. All I could do was look at the tree and the four beneath it.


    The shadow was there, the ck thingy was there and there were two other people there too, but they weren''t looking this way. And a momentter they faded and only the shadow and the ck thingy were there- looking at me.


    "What is this?" I screamed but the words never came out.


    The shadow grinned, showing its white teeth.


    I tried to raise my hand and take a step but-


    ***


    I woke up.


    The temp was 25C but the sheet and my shirt were drenched and I was sitting up, reaching out in front of me like a moron.


    I was out of breath but as I woke up, things began to cool down.


    It was 9.05 and I had two missed calls on my Holo. One was from mom, and the other was from Marg.


    I wasn''t in the shape to call back, so I just went to the bathroom and took a cold shower.


    I came back, got some stuff from the fridge- since I wasn''t paying I didn''t care about it- and ate the stuff.


    I first called mom and she was just checking on me.


    Next, I called Marg, and this time I got to talk to her face to face. She was in her bed, looking all pretty. I had to say, she looked way more tempting than ever! Her pajama wasn''t buttoned properly and that hat- ah, I so, so wanted to be there with her. ''Cute!''


    ording to her, her saber could vibrate the air surrounding it, creating arger range. Wait, but howe she never used it against me? Or was it that I never realized? I actually, didn''t know.


    I did try to practice a swing or two with her saber and the range was a meter. ''So, she was holding back too?'' Because no matter how I thought about it, one meter was a lot of range.


    This kind of made me happy though.


    Anyway, by 9.45 I was done and I headed out.


    The stadium was right next to the hotel- two blocks- so I reached court with five minutes to spare.


    ''How the hell can people be so early though?''


    That really was the question, wasn''t it?

 Chapter 182 - I Was Calm. Perhaps Too Calm

    There were murmurs and whispers and even cheers, at least before I entered. Now that I did, everyone just got quiet.


    I actually came from the front. The stadium was already full and they weren''t letting anyone in. When the guards saw me though, they didn''t even stay ten meters within my sight. Honestly, this felt like an exaggerated response.


    But since it made my life easier, I didn''tin.


    All the judges were in ce and the announcer was in the court. I didn''t see my opponent though. Maybe he was runningte.


    There were three judges but the one in the left corner caught my eyes.. It was more like she was waving and stuff. Alexandra.


    Just seeing that face made me want to puke and grind my teeth. Anyway, I just looked forward and got inside the court.


    "Is he runningte?"


    The announcer was the same guy and a girl was in the opposite corner, just outside the court. The same amplifier.


    "Yes, it would seem that way."


    I sighed and just stood still staring at the lights and the crowd.


    Five minutes passed and then ten. Life was so boring that I started to yawn. I wanted to sit down and have my morning tea.


    And the crowd was too quiet. ''Did he get afraid or something?''


    Did my opponents feel like this when they had to wait for me? I guess I had to make a bit more of an attempt to not be sote.


    Mom had work today, so she probably woke up early. I sure hope she was making food rather than just staring at the Holo TV, cause so far nothing was happening.


    "Ten¡­ nine-" The announcer started to count down for some reason.


    I looked up at the Holo monitor and apparently, if a guy waste by twelve minutes without any explicit reason, he''d be disqualified. If he did have an explicit reason though, he''d only lose the match.


    Meaning, if that day, I hadn''t shown up, wouldn''t I have been disqualified in the first ce? I didn''t know why but the headmaster''s n seemed like it had arge hole in it.


    And no one told me that my opponent was going to be a Nigerian prince of all things!


    "MUAHAHAHH!" It almost felt like my own innerughs. But unfortunately, I wasn''t stupid enough tough like that in public and theugh wasing from the north gate, not from my throat. And so was mist.


    And from within that mist, a guy walked this way. Long curly ck hair, about my height, and a bit more muscr. His grin was anything but friendly.


    His skin was tanned and he had tattoos everywhere: his ck leather jacket didn''t have arms. I wouldn''t lie, he looked like a bad boy. Probably an emo version of Clyde. Then again, Clyde was not only taller but also more handsome.


    But more importantly, he didn''t look anything like the princes I imagined!


    "Is that supposed to be a bear or a panda?" Honestly, I couldn''t tell.


    There were two big tattoos on his arms and both were kind of weird.


    "What do yo mean, both are li-ons, obvisly." The guy had good hearing too. I guess those round bear ears were for show.


    ''Did I hear wrong?''


    Both me and the announcer were kind of speechless for a second. How in the world was that a lion?


    The announcer grinned and looked up. "Ladies and gentlemen¡­" He was talking about the usual stuff. "And we''ll begin shortly."


    "By the way, is this thing allowed?" I showed him my sword.


    "I''ll be taking care of that for you."


    I guess that was a no.


    I did hand it over though. But made sure to make it clear that this sword was special to me.


    I unsheathed Marg''s saber and turned it on.


    "Oh, you not use the ck one?" The guy also turned on his. His one was bright yellow, or was it golden?


    Wait, was it me or was his English a bit funny? At first, I thought it was me but as he kept on talking, it got weirder and weirder. But he was from a different country, of course, his English would be different from mine. I couldn''t be too picky about this.


    I didn''t respond. Another countdown started above and when it reached zero, I charged forward.


    If this guy could use water and absorb all my attacks, then it meant I had to end this quickly. If this became a drawn-out battle I''d be at a disadvantage.


    I did reach him but he didn''t even move.


    I sliced and he didn''t block either. Did he think my saber won''t reach?


    But my saber did. ''Gotcha?''


    He moved back almost like flowing water. I guess he wasn''t just standing there like a fool. Impressive dodge.


    "Oh, yo faster than I thought. Are yo sure you won''t use yor powers on me?"


    "I haven''t determined whether you''re strong enough for that yet." I was already using my powers from the start. Both Alpha and Beta, just not Gamma.


    Not every one of my powers was energy-based though. I also had my disintegration.


    With a snort, he lifted his hand up, formed a pistol, and- "Bang!" He said it out loud. He was just maybe five meters away from me.


    This secondhand embarrassment was just as bad as his aim. A bullet of water flew right past my left ear, and a bit of blood fell on the floor.


    One thing was for certain. This guy''s bullet''s speed exceeded my reaction speed.


    I could sense the bulleting but- I couldn''t dodge.


    And my saber just had to die before this. If I had my barriers, this level of projectiles wouldn''t even be an issue.


    Argh.


    Anyway, I focused and used Marg''s saber''s specialty. The long-distance cut. But whenever I got in his one-meter radius, he always backtracked. So far, this was going nowhere.


    This guy wasn''t absurdly strong but he wasn''t weak either. And he asionally shot his water pistol. Though embarrassing, he kept on saying ''Bang'' every time. And yet, somehow I still couldn''t keep up with the bullets.


    I took a deep breath. ''Calm down. Analyze, and fight.'' If I lost my cool, I''d lose.


    The guy wasn''t trying to be nice either. He was literally aiming for my vitals and if his aim wasn''t so shitty he''d have won already.


    I didn''t have much stake in this fight. If I won, I''d get some prizes, if I lost, I''d still get some prizes. So, there was no point for me to lose my temper from overthinking.


    And maybe that''s why I wasn''t taking this seriously?


    Wait, I wasn''t taking this fight seriously?


    I didn''t know why but my head suddenly got clouded with thoughts. Since when did I get so cocky?


    "I actually expected more from you. You''ve gotten weaker than thest time I saw you fight. Oh, I don''t see the cutie with you. Did you already ditch her or something?" The guy grinned. Probably just a ploy to rouse me up.


    And his speech immediately got a lot better. It was almost as though he was a different person.


    I guess he wasn''t satisfied with things as they were. And so far he was just ying.


    "Unfortunately I''m not that type. She''s my future wife and I''m not giving her up, ever." I grinned too and focused. This wasn''t the time to be worrying about stuff.


    So far I''d been too stupid but now, it was time for me to get serious.


    "Oh, how noble." The guy smiled, eyes closed. But a secondter- thousands of small bullets formed in the air. "It''s a shame she''ll never get to be pleasured again." And with a grin, he fired them all. "My apologies to the misses." He bowed slightly.


    I could tell the trajectory without even looking. They were headed straight for me, for my legs that is. And the two hanging stuff in between my legs. ''Oh shit.''

 Chapter 183 - I Was Calm. Perhaps Too Calm (Part Two)

    I did my best to use the saber to defend myself, but there were just too many bullets. And they were too fast


    Some of the bullets fell on my hands and some fell on my legs. The others? Yeah.


    The saber fell from my hands on the floor while I got on my knees.


    My jewels were almost crushed: my abdomen felt like it''d fall off. My vision was getting blurry. But my rage was kind of boiling. The pain was kind of over the roof too. In a scale of one to ten-


    As a certain alien once said, ''it''s over nine thousand!''


    "MUAHAHAHAH! How does it feel! Now you''ve lost your precious manhood! Ahahh haahas!"


    His English really did improve as his personality shifted.


    "Sorry, but I''ve got good healing, they''ll heal in no time." I most certainly hope so. "But are you sure, you''d be fine?" Because I just fired a very lethal dose of gamma at him.


    He snorted and just absorbed it: his golden saber shined even more yellow. I tried sending some more but he absorbed it all. There was no apparent limit to that saber''s ability.


    I hated to admit it but they were right. This probably wasn''t the best opponent for me to fight.


    My legs shook a little but I started to stand up.


    He was almost too close to me. "Too bad." But instead of forming a bullet- he formed a ball of water, all around my face that is. My whole head was submerged in water. "I really expected more from you." His voice went cold with disappointment.


    I was already out of my breath and now this?


    I underestimated this guy. Just because Elsa never tried to drown me didn''t mean this guy won''t either. I really underestimated this guy. But he underestimated me too.


    I grabbed Marg''s saber and gave him a slice. He dodged, but now he had an open wound on his chest. "Now that''s more like it!" He almost looked like an animal the way he looked at me. He formed more bullets.


    He red at me like a mad dog and shot at my hand. The saber again fell on the floor, a bit far away.


    He kept on shooting.


    I really was almost out of my breath. I was also out of options. Wait, options-


    ''I still have another-''


    I grabbed my other saber but it was just flickering. It wasn''t going to work.


    I let out all the carbon dioxide and was currently in the middle of drowning.


    "COME OUT, I ORDER YOU! ENIRA!" It took a lot of willpower to shout and I was more or less in the process of passing out.


    In a split second, the saber turned on, a vibrant ck color swirled and it looked more like a scythe and a saber. And in front of the saber was a girl. She smiled. "You''re a ve worker, you know that?" She made a ball of fire and threw it at the guy behind her- the water on my face still didn''t die out.


    She clicked her tongue and was about to try something else but- the guy was quicker. He shot her legs and as Enira''s legs gave in, the guy got behind her and shoved his saber straight through her chest.


    Enira stared at me before falling on the floor.


    "How cheeky for just a summon. YOU SINGED MY HAIR!"


    I didn''t know why but- I wasn''t affected by the suffocation anymore and the water around my head just boiled as all the veins in my body started to pop up.


    Pass out? What was that?


    "Oh, really, you care about your hair?" I stood up and the water just boiled and made steam.


    ***


    The man in front of me gasped. He sweated and jumped back. "How can you still move?"


    "That''s none of your business!" I red.


    Strangely, I was calm. Perhaps too calm.


    I stared at my own hands. The color of my skin was darker and my veins were bulging, I was seething with rage, and yet I was calm.


    Enira was on the ground, not moving and her blood wasing my way. But- I was calm.


    My saber flickered and died out.


    But- but I was still calm.


    I breathed. Water went down me but- it wasn''t a problem.


    For I was calm.


    "S-stay back!" The guy formed bullets and fired my way.


    I took another breath and walked. The water around my neck was all but steam.


    My whole body was letting out steam. I was burning up but- I didn''t feel any heat.


    The guy fired bullets and almost all of them fell on various parts of my body but I didn''t take a step back. And the bullets themselves evaporated.


    I kept on walking forward.


    He gritted his teeth and dashed for me for a frontal attack. He swung his saber on full throttle but- I dodged.


    It wasn''t that he was slow. I was just faster.


    I was calm.


    "Sorry but I''m not holding back." I punched him, holding him down in ce with my other hand.


    I was calm, very calm. But my power wasn''t dampened even slightly. It was multiplied significantly.


    He threw up blood as he slouched down, but I wasn''t done.


    I grabbed his saber- snapped the handle in two- and smacked his head with the handle.


    His hair was pretty long so I lifted him up with his hair. He had a strong scalp.


    "ARGHH" He punched and kicked me but it didn''t do anything to me. "You monster."


    He screamed, wailed but there was no response from the crowd or the people around me.


    With his saber broken, it didn''t stop me from using radiation. I slowly let gamma loose. I didn''t want to kill him, no. I was going to torture him for a while longer before that.


    His hair slowly started to fall out. And he wouldn''t ever be able to lift his junk ever again. "Now, how does it feel?" I asked, still very calm. "Your hair was precious to you, right?"


    He looked at me with wide eyes in shock. But a secondter the light in his eyes came back.


    He made a face like that of a mad dog and surrounded both our bodies in water. But I didn''t let him go and just gripped his hair tighter. But since his hair was falling out, he was almost free.


    But I wasn''t done. Even covered in water, I formed a mini sun. I wasn''t going to hold back. If he ended up dead, then so be it.


    ARHRHRHRH! I screamed loudly and formed the mini sun in an instant: the water boiled vigorously and the temperature rose high. The size of a football, my current limit!


    The water around me vanished as the guy passed out before I could fire it.


    But, I didn''t stop and stood right in front of him. "She wasn''t just ''a summon''." I was about to m the sun down when-


    "You''ll take out the whole stadium with that you know." The voice came from behind me. A very familiar voice.


    "Enira, you!"


    She was just standing there, a hole in her chest.


    "Did you forget my healing powers? And that I reside in the saber and this is just a projection, not my actual self?" Her hole regenerated and there was clear skin there.


    Holy mother of god!

 Chapter 184 - Was I Always This Stupid?

    My eye twitched. Was this girl serious?


    Was she really serious?


    My oh, so pent-up feelings kind of broke through the dam.


    "You freaking piece of-!!" I threw the sun straight at her. I knew she''d probably be unscathed.


    But- a secondter realized, I made the thing a bit too big and ''wouldn''t it really take out everything here?''


    SHIT!


    Shit indeed.


    Enira sighed and caught the sun in ayer of barriers.


    It exploded and most of the barriers broke but she just kept on forming new ones until the explosion finally died down but- but the energy was trapped.. Raw heat and light.


    My skin was back to normal and though I felt fatigued, I didn''t pass out.


    She stared at me with a frown. "You''re evil." She came toward me with the trapped energy in her hand. Her barriers had gotten stronger and she actually looked a bit taller than before.


    I snorted and looked away. But I was really d. Both because she was okay and because I didn''t identally blow up this whole ce. There was a barrier over our heads but it wasn''t strong enough to withstand everything and that was clear.


    "We-we can conclude the fight now, right?" The announcer asked me, a bit hesitant.


    I guess I kind of scared him. Actually, I scared myself with what I had just done.


    ''I have to take this seriously.'' I couldn''t just randomly throw these things. What the hell was wrong with me!


    With a sigh, I picked up the broken handle of the golden saber and threw it to Enira. "Sure."


    Enira grabbed the saber, took out its core, and started to absorb it. The core was purple in color just like her core, probably a bit bigger too. Then again her core was nothing but shards. So, this one was either a shard or just a bit small.


    Since no one stopped us or even said anything, I guess this was fine.


    The announcer announced my victory while the judges gave me points: 8, 8, 9. Just what the hell did one have to do to get 10 on all fronts?


    ''Maybe not trying to blow up everything?''


    Yeah, the shadow wasn''t helping. Bute to think of it, it lent me its powers without even- wait, I used the powers subconsciously. I let out a breath. Andtely, the shadow was talking way too frequently and sometimes our consciousness was merging.


    I guess I really was close to breaking the second seal too. Though each seal, sealed something different unless all three were broken none of the three things would be free. This was a veryplicated barrier and that''s why not everyone could do it and that''s why they had to get help from that vixen.


    Just winning was enough to get a seat in the top but- getting the most points was the sure-fire way of winning the first prize. This was how they''d determine the winner and the second ce and the third.


    Obviously, I wanted to be first and take home 100 gold.


    "So, what was that about? Howe you never came out?"


    I picked up both my and Marg''s sabers and went toward Enira. She was about a meter away from me.


    She sighed. "Absorbing all my destroyed cores seemed to take longer than I anticipated."


    "And you came out now because-"


    "Because you called my name." She smiled.


    I kind of wanted to remind her that I''d called her name before too but she never showed up.


    Sigh. "Well, what now? Can you absorb that?"


    "Let''s see."


    The crowd was beginning to thin. There was no boo, no cheers today. Nothing. People just came here, saw the fight, and left. They were very frightened though. I had a feeling no one would show up in my next match.


    The Nigerian prince was being taken back in a stretcher by men in suits. I kind of went a bit too far with his treatment. Though the pain in my lower abdomen reminded me, perhaps all was just!


    Meanwhile, Enira was busy absorbing the whole core on the spot. She actually glowed in purple as she absorbed the whole thing. For some reason, she looked kind of cute.


    No! I shook my head. I only had eyes for Marg, no one else. No one else I say!


    "Though what you did was not wrong, I''d advise you to not lose your temper every time someone gets on your nerves. If your summon didn''t have such intricate barriers, who knows how many you would have killed?" A rather old man came down to the court from the judge''s seat. He chuckled. "Though I would have stopped you before that happened." He sure seemed confident in his skills.


    I stared at him through my peripherals. He was in a ck and white suit and he was clearly over seventy.


    "I''ll keep that in mind."


    And he was right. I had to keep my rage in check. And it was in check too. During my fight I was strangely calm but once I saw Enira my feelings just broke the barrier of my heart and surfaced.


    I made an error. A very costly error.


    He snorted. "Very well." He turned around.


    "Have we met before?"


    He turned slightly, looked at me, smiled, and left.


    Well, that was weird. But I felt like I''d seen him somewhere before.


    Probably just my imagination.


    "Done!" Enira licked her lips and looked at me passionately. I felt like pping her but I controlled myself.


    As she absorbed the whole core, her hands began to scale up and her tail got reinforced. She actually grew a foot taller and was now almost three inches taller than me. And she was also bustier. What the hell!


    She looked way too cute to be true: and mature too. Wait, she looked too simr to that one model I always fawned over in that one magazine in my treasury!


    She also had two round horns on her head.


    "Well, let''s see," She opened the barrier and absorbed the raw energy in an instant. "Ah, warm white fluffy energy of my master." She again licked her lips and was done, squirming slightly. "Is filling me up!"


    Her clothes had stretched and her chest was literally sticking out. She could make clothes out of nowhere, so why she was doing this was beyond me.


    There wasn''t anyone in the audience seats but there were still some staff here and there. We were giving them quite the show.


    She came close to me and wrapped her arms over my neck. Her chest pressed against mine and threatened to reach my face: they were definitely a lotrger than, almost asrge as Leilis''s. "I would love to revive your fallen angels." Her hand floated over my crotch.


    Which in turn reminded me that I had an aching pain down there.


    "Do you want me to punch a hole in you?" I smiled.


    And yes, I would have really appreciated it if she could revive my fallen soldiers.


    "I would appreciate it if you would plug my holes but-" She blushed. "I wouldn''t mind if you made some new ones too." She fingered her mouth and tried to look cute.


    My teeth shook as I punched her hard. Yeah, I wasn''t in the mood.


    "OUWWU!" She grabbed her stomach and rolled on the floor.


    I clicked my tongue and turned on the saber.


    The sma was even darker and the swirling motion was faster.


    This really was stronger.


    "We have another fight today, so let''s get moving." I kind of got a bit pissed.


    But since this thing worked and I now had new strength I didn''t mind this too much. I did need to rest though. After all, my whole body hurt, and I really, really needed to check whether little Helio was still alive or not.


    "Moving? That witch isn''t here?" She was done writhing.


    "Who you callin witch, you dragon-snake dimwit!" I red at her. "Now get your ass moving! We''re leaving!"


    I turned around and as I started to walk, I really felt the pain.


    "Right!"


    She seemed happy enough.


    Could it have been that she was a masochist?


    Yeah, probably.


    But more importantly, damn this hurt!


    ***


    We got back to the hotel and confirmed my stay. They actually requested me to move into a deluxe room. They had one open apparently.


    Before I could decline Enira epted on my behalf.


    ''I''m going to strangle you once we go up!''


    On second thought, maybe not. She was going to enjoy it anyway. Might as well never give her the chance.


    I handed over the old key and took the new one. They''d deliver all my things to the new room in a short manner.


    We made our way for the elevator.


    "Can''t you just get into the saber?"


    "Since she isn''t here, I have no reason to." She grinned.


    "Aren''t you embarrassed?"


    She was still in her awfully tight clothes.


    "Nope."


    I sighed.


    We got in.

 Chapter 185 - Life Always Throws A Curveball Whether You Like It Or Not

    We were the only ones in the lift.


    This time, we''d be on floor 45. ''The same floor, huh?''


    I really didn''t want to see that woman again though. Though I had a feeling she''d be waiting for me inside, just to get on my nerves. The woman was terrible.


    "So, now you can absorb all forms of energy? And are you the same one or did your conscience get corrupted or something?"


    After all, if she was merging with the new core, it was possible she wasn''t the same.


    I wasn''t worried though. I was just trying to distract my mind.


    Enira giggled.. "Worrying for me?" She chuckled, came closer. "Don''t worry, I''m ''much'' stronger than most of the dragons. You see, at the time you killed me, I was severely weakened. And with this core, I''m even stronger. Even if you got me a ck core, I''d be okay!" She pumped her chest and rubbed herself against my arm. And since they were sorge, they almost bounced.


    I almost lost my sanity for a second.


    ''She''s not wearing any, is she?''


    She was severely weakened and still nearly killed me?


    Wow.


    And also, wow indeed.


    "So, what are your current abilities?" I made her unhand me and stood in the corner.


    "Hmm?" The lift stopped. "Super healing, remote healing, barriers, warping, and absorption, I guess? Until I absorb the rest of my core I won''t be able to use offensive abilities and you''d only see a half-assed fire like that."


    "Warping?" All her abilities were kind of overpowered but warping?


    The door opened.


    We both got out.


    "Yes, though it''s only partial warp- for now. I can only teleport to you, from anywhere in the world." She looked at me passionately. "Because our love is in-fi-nite!"


    "You want me to punch you again?" Because I really wanted to.


    "With pleasure!" She closed her eyes and positioned herself.


    Okay, not anymore.


    I sighed and just walked.


    "Hey, no fair! Punch me!"


    Did this moron really realize what she was saying in front of so many people?


    I really didn''t want to deal with this thing but I had no choice. "No thanks."


    My room was across the hall.


    But just as we were about to pass to the other side, I saw two people I didn''t want to.


    Sigh, it just had to be them. I kind of saw thising but really hoped it didn''te to this.


    There were several people here but among them, only two caught my eyes. One was Alexandra and the other, her daughter, Alexia.


    ***


    Alexandra grinned and went inside their room: I actually didn''t expect that. But Alexia stayed behind.


    Her head was low and- and I regretteding so fast to the hotel. Maybe I should have spent some time outside.


    "Something wrong?" Enira asked.


    "Nothing." I took a deep breath. Didn''t I always want to apologize and move on?


    So why was I being afraid now?


    I walked towards her. She didn''t lift her head.


    Her hair was a bit redder than her mother''s- enough to be called a redhead. Back then she was quite cute, but now I couldn''t really tell. I did faintly see some ck spots below her eyes though.


    "Hey."


    "Hello Helio." Her voice was slow and tiny. She clearly wasn''t happy to see me.


    "Look about that- I''m sorry."


    She became quiet for a second. Then she looked up- Her eyes were amber in color and they were shimmering. She wasn''t crying but her eyes- they really were shimmering. "You really think just a sorry is enough?" She didn''t shout, she didn''t whisper but her voice reached me. "He''ll never be able to walk again!"


    Instinctively I took a step back but Enira was behind me and she put her hands on my shoulder. She was ring at the girl but didn''t do anything. But just because Enira was here, I felt a bit better.


    I took another deep breath. "I know it''s not enough. But it''s been six and a half years. The past is in the past. No matter how sorry we are no matter what we do, we can''t change it. But- but I''m trying to move forward. And I''m not seeking your forgiveness either. It doesn''t matter if you forgive me or not, but- I have a new life and I''m going to live that life to the fullest." I stared at her. She couldn''t believe my words. "But if you could bring yourself to forgive me, that''ll make both our lives easier. Of course, that''s your wish. That''s all I wish to say, good day. Say hi to him for me. I''ve said it before, I''ll say it again. The whole thing happened because of your mother." I didn''t want to say thest part but it kind of slipped from my mouth.


    I turned around and moved forward. Our room was just at the end of the corner.


    There were people around us but they- they just ignored us.


    "HELIO!" The girl screamed. I looked back. "I haven''t forgiven you and-" She red. "And you will pay for what you did! I- I will make your wives and all your family pay just like you did to him! Even now you me mother while you-"


    I grinned and put up an evil face. "Bring it on." It was just a farce but- "This time I''ll make sure he never opens his eyes ever again."


    The girl shrieked and fell on her knees. She was always weak, and though she talked about making my life hard and all- in reality- she couldn''t do anything.


    I almost pitied her. This oh, so ignorant girl who knew nothing.


    "Let''s get inside."


    I entered the key and we entered.


    ***


    "What was that about?"


    Enira sat down on the bed. All her clothes vanished and she waspletely naked. Not even underwear.


    "None of your concern."


    This was a big room, and very luxurious just as the name suggested. It also had sister rooms: almost felt like an apartment.


    I took off my shirt and went into the shower. I didn''t even give Enira a second nce.


    I turned on the shower and just let the water fall on me. Sigh.


    Keeping up all these farces was starting to get on my nerves.


    Roughly six years ago, I had a certain incident in school that involved my little sister and some kids.


    Elsa got bullied. I lost my temper, nearly killed everyone around me and almost everyone ended up being crippled. At the time I was friends with Alexia.


    Her younger brother used to be in Elsa''s ss. It was kind of a weird coincidence but the four of us often spent time together.


    Her mother used to treat me rather well, but Iter learned that she was trying to get me close to her daughter so she could exploit the two of us and use my name.


    By some freak miracle, she got her two kids to make me promise to them that I wouldn''t hurt their family- that I wouldn''t hurt their mother: at the time I naively made promises. Of course, we still stayed friends, all four of us.


    But that wasn''t all. Alexandra had nned a lot and she had the nerves to make her son try to kiss Elsa in front of everyone. She was probably going to make her son take responsibility after that- at least, that was my best guess.


    Obviously, her son didn''t know anything and was too young but- I was also young.


    While he was trying to kiss her, Elsa protested and one of the kid''s friends got wet from Elsa''s self-defense, and then everyone around her started to bully her. Alexia''s brother included. They all made fun of her.


    One kid even had the gulls to try to cut her for fun. A streak of red ran through her cheeks. A very thin cut.


    And I just coincidentally had to be walking by. Someone just minutes ago had suggested that I walk by these corridors to the library.


    In an instant, my blood boiled.


    I''d knocked out all the bullies but Alexia''s brother- Brendon, him, I kept awake. I wasn''t going to hit him, cause I knew he wasn''t bad. But then- when I learned the truth and Elsa held my hand crying, something within me cracked.


    It was almost as though my whole body burned.


    I started by breaking all of Brendon''s fingers and then his ankle and other bones: even his spine. By the time I was done, he''d gone into aa and there was no chance of him waking up in the course of five or six years. Even if he did, he wasn''t going to be leaving a wheelchair: ever. At least not with modern medicine.


    Alexia med me, while I med her brother.


    At the time I didn''t know that it was their mother who was the sole reason behind that whole thing. Perhaps she thought I''d respond differently or perhaps there was some other motive to the stunt she''d pulled but- I didn''t know anything about it.


    But that promise I''d made- I wanted to keep it. Not because of keeping a promise, no, but because I punished the kid unfairly. It wasn''t because mom pped me and made me promise to not hurt anyone like that ever again, okay?


    Okay!?


    We immediately moved to Ennd just the next day.

 Chapter 186 - Wavering Feelings

    I came out of the shower, totally refreshed.


    My clothes were kind of ruined, so I just had to wear a bathrobe. ''Guess I''ll order some clothes.''


    I was about to use the inte when- I noticed that a certain well-endowed dragon girl was actually sitting in bed, wearing a pajama of sort and grinning rather intently at me.


    That was a very daring and tight dress. And she still didn''t have a shred of underwear.


    How could I tell? Ahem!


    Her hands and legs were covered in scales but they looked more or less like fancy stockings.


    Tempting but-"Would you mind stopping? I don''t have any intention of cheating on Marg." It took a lot of patience for me to say that- yes..


    Vey tempting, very tempting indeed.


    She giggled. "Then let''s get married. Then it won''t be cheating, would it?" She winked.


    I sighed. "Look, you''re a summon. Can you really sustain yourself without this saber? And you want me to marry my saber?"


    She tried her best to keep herughs inside. "Well-" She teleported straight to me and wrapped her arms over my neck. The robe was still wet. "Let''s just say, I don''t care as long as I get to be with you."


    I didn''t bat her off immediately. "Why? I killed you and-" I actually wanted to know. It didn''t make sense to me why she was acting like this.


    She smiled. "You''ll understand soon enough. It''s too soon for you to know. And knowing will change the future." For one second she was actually serious. It got ruined by her grin though.


    "You know the future?"


    She chuckled. "No, silly, I know the past. But-" She took the initiative and kissed me.


    Of course, I didn''t kiss back and just shoved her off. "Next time you try that, I''ll never call you again." I still needed the saber so I couldn''t just toss her out. But maybe I needed some ''Marg time''. Otherwise, my hand or something other might slip.


    Her grin didn''t disappear. Of course, she didn''t say anything.


    With another sigh, I sat down on the bed, and only then did I realize, I had roughly 50 missed calls from mom and about the same from Marg.


    ''Oh boy.''


    While I was dreading over whom to call first, Marg called again.


    "Are you okay!" I guess she was more worried about me than anything else.


    "I''m fine." I tried to smile. My junk sure wasn''t though. They were in the midst of healing but I had a feeling they probably won''t be usable in a matter of a few weeks.


    Marg sighed in relief. She was sweating and her pajama was kind of drenched. If I was there, it wouldn''t have mattered if my junk was dead or not, I would have fondled her regardless.


    No, Enira''s earlier attempts had literally clouded my thoughts. All I could think about was that. ''This isn''t good.''


    I cleared my throat and my thoughts. "I''m fine." I most certainly wasn''t.


    "I''m so d." Marg smiled, wiping the sweat off her face. She looked too damn cute, sweating or not!


    ''I just wanna-'' My mind was going off-track again.


    Something soft pressed against my back. "Don''t worry, I''m taking good care of him." Enira was behind me and her stuff were too soft. And since she didn''t have her underwear- I felt everything over the thin tight pajamas.


    I was already in the process of being aroused, I didn''t need more arousals!


    Little Helio didn''t bother rising up though.


    Marg looked through the Holo with a condescending re. "I''d advise not touching him, unless you want to die."


    d she still didn''t think about hurting me. But how long will thatst? What if I perhaps made a mistake? Would she really be alright? She might have said that she''d kill the girl but- I had a feeling I wouldn''t get unscathed either.


    Wait, wait, why was I thinking about making mistakes! ''Calm down! Calm down!''


    Enira just smiled. "But can''t you see he needs my help to revive these?" She hovered her hand over my crotch. "Until he sleeps with me I won''t help him regrow them and well, good luck trying to get him on without me."


    Evil, she was evil!


    But she was also right. Even after all this arousal, little Helio waspletely limp. Were all three dead or something? All I felt was pain, so I couldn''t tell.


    Marg grinded her teeth but calmed down. "You have another matchter this evening, right? I''ll get mother ande to see you." She was still referring to mom as her mother. I guess she really wanted to get married soon but couldn''t say it. Didn''t matter to me, I was going to marry her, even if I had to revive her from the dead.


    "But your condi-"


    "I haven''t teleportedst night, and I''ll head to your home and rest for the whole day, so it''ll be fine!" Well, she seemed determined enough. But I had a feeling she wouldn''t be resting for even a minute there.


    "Okay."


    The call ended.


    Wait, but my crotch was still healing. Of course, I didn''t get an erection but it was still healing, right?


    RIGHT!?


    "You lied, didn''t you?" I tried to sound bold but failed miserably.


    Enira hugged me tightly. She was kind of warm and good smelling and my drive was kind of making me want to touch her. ''NO, you can''t!''


    But my loyalty was keeping me at bay.


    "I did revive your manhood but- I won''t revive your two fallen angels unless you spend the night with me."


    This was kind of a predicament, wasn''t it?


    I sighed. "I guess I''ll have to live with that."


    Besides, it wasn''t like I was totally crushed or anything. Thest time I checked, they were still alive and kicking. It''d take some time for them to heal and be usable but-


    "If you think you''ll heal, you''re wrong. I only made the outside appearance look good. The rest is kind of dead you know." She grimaced. "If you had another hole and perhaps a set of ovaries, you''d officially be a girl." She giggled softly.


    She really was evil. EVIL SHE WAS!


    Sigh.


    Mom called. I guess she was worried about me too.


    "You damn moron! What is wrong with you!"


    Okay, maybe I expected too much.


    "How could you let yourself be trapped like that?" Elsa was right next to mom. "Are you stupid!"


    "I kind of didn''t take it too seriously you know." I didn''t want to lie to these two. "I underestimated him and his ability."


    Mom sighed. "Well, at least you ruined his future. Now he has no hope of ascending to the throne. Reminds, is your future okay? I will see grandchildren right?"


    I only gave her a dull stare and didn''t say anything. Even if all three were alive, I still wouldn''t bother making children. They were devils and they didn''t need to exist.


    Oh yeah, I made the guypletely infertile. I also ruined his precious hair and he''d probably have a cancer or three the next time he wakes up. The cancers were treatable but that level of infertility probably wasn''t.


    He was a prince and his life was kind of over.


    The guy kind of did the same to me, so I didn''t feel bad for him.


    "Are you-" Elsa attempted, a bit red. "Still a man?"


    My face turned to stone. What the hell was my little sister saying? Mom was one thing, but her too?


    Seeing my face she stumbled a little. "I''ll still love you even if you aren''t." Was this her way offorting me? If so, I didn''t need such sentiment.


    I pride kind ofmitted suicide.


    I sniffed, I so, so wanted to dive into a ss of water and drown along with my pride.


    "Don''t worry." Enira was right next to me, and this time she hugged me from the sides. "I can revive them as long as he spends the night with me. Otherwise, the healing process won''t work."


    Lies! Those wereplete lies! She had remote healing for crying out loud!


    "Looks like that''s the dragon you talked about." Mom looked a bit ufortable at the thought.


    While Elsa just red.


    "Mom, Marg should be arriving soon and she said she''d bring you two here. Do you have work tomorrow?" I tried my best to deter the conversation.


    ''Take a hint, please.''


    She chuckled. "I do actually. I won''t be able to skip. Skipped too many days this month." d she could take a hint. "Will you be going, Elsa?" Apparently, she turned to her daughter, who was still ring.


    ''Please say no.''


    "But of course."


    Shit.


    ***


    My clothes had arrived along with a new pair of underwear.


    They''d also brought me lunch. I actually hadn''t ordered any, more like I forgot. And since there was stuff in the fridge, I didn''t pay much attention either.


    Fried rice and shrimp: not a badbination. The food was good, so noints there. I guess having a deluxe room had its perks.


    I did wear the new clothes first though.


    "You don''t need food?"


    There was plenty- enough for two.


    "I''d be happy if you fed me though."


    "I''ll pass."


    There was a table here but I ate on the bed, I felt mostfortable like this. Maybe dorm life had grown on me.


    Come to think of it, I never got to say much to Merin. ''Guess I''ll give him a callter.''


    "I''ll even make one of yours brand new if you feed me," She whispered.


    She was actually sitting in front of me, still in tight pajamas. There were mini cute dragons embroidered. It really was kind of cute.


    "Make it both and we have a deal!" It really was a good deal.


    She pouted slightly. "Then you''ll have to give me a kiss too." She looked at me, totally serious. "And no, you can''t back down."


    I felt like I was betraying Marg but- for the sake of those times with Marg- for the sake of Helio Junior, I had to. I had no choice!


    Yeah, I had no choice!


    I had no choice, okay!?


    "Fine." With a pout, I gave the affirmative. Enira meanwhile gave me a rather devilish grin.

 Chapter 187 - Rebirth! Helio Junior Rises Again, Reaching For The Heavens!

    Enira grinned and sat right next to me, rubbing her shoulder against mine.


    I sighed and took a bit of fried rice in my spoon and held it by her mouth.


    I''d only done this once, and that was to Marg and no one else, ever! Of course, I wanted to do it again but we were too busy with daily life.


    I still remember the taste of that- ah¡­. I really wanted to have some food with Marg. I guess my dreams would be fulfilled tonight. Ahhh¡­.


    "AHEM!" Enira cleared her throat.


    "Well, open your mouth." I grinded my teeth..


    But she just grinned not parting her mouth slightly.


    What the hell did she want?


    Wait, what did mom use to do when I was little?


    I almost felt embarrassed just trying to remember that.


    "Say, ah?" It was even more embarrassing to actually say it out loud than I thought. I felt like my face heating up for something.


    In an instant, she opened up her mouth rather fast.


    With a sigh I fed her.


    She took it in her mouth and gave the spoon a good licking before giving it back. "Ah, indirect kissing-" I could almost see her breath. Yes, her breath was that warm.


    ''I''m discarding this spoon once I''m done with you.''


    I only fed her two spoonfuls and by the third,


    "Ahem!"


    A familiar deadly voice came from behind me.


    Oh yeah, I just died.


    "Oh my-" I forgot that I was actually wearing that special earring.


    Like a robot, I slightly turned my head. Enira kind of aggressively took the spoon in her mouth and chomped merrily.


    "Having fun?" Marg smiled.


    Elsa red.


    Oh yeah, too much fun.


    ***


    Even after exining everything to the two, they kind of didn''t believe me.


    Elsa wasn''t even looking at me.


    Enira did heal one of my precious jewels though. The other one, I didn''t have the guts to exin to Marg. And I wasn''t going to either.


    But more importantly, I held Marg''s hand and stared at her eyes. "Are you okay? You said you''d rest first but-" But she came right away. I was really worried about her.


    It was more of a plea to make her forget what just happened seconds ago.


    She came close to my ears. "You''re room and smell was kind of too stimting for me- so-" She paused and giggled. Ah, ASMR!


    Just hearing her voice was stimting for me, let alone her scent. But with bothbinations! The possibilities were infinite!


    Ahem! Elsa just kept on ring apparently. I couldn''t get too carried away in front of my little sister I suppose.


    This was a luxury room and there were two more rooms attached to this one. So there was plenty of room. Honestly, this felt more like an apartment than an actual room. There was even kitchen space for crying out loud!


    "By the way-" I turned to Elsa. "What happened to your exams?"


    If I remembered correctly she had her midterms to worry about. And since she wasn''t looking at me, I didn''t have a better thing to start the conversation.


    Her attitude changed in an instant and she started to smile. She gave me a victory sign, legs slightly spread, one hand on her hip- "All over!"


    "Uh-huh."


    So I guess she was having her vacation.


    Sigh. "Alright, you two rest up. Should I order food?"


    "We''ve eaten. You''re supposed to fight in the evening, right? Then how about we head out and see the rest of the city?" Marg proposed pressing a finger on my chest. I could sense the double meaning behind those words. Was she inviting me on a date?


    I was d she was willing to forgive what just happened seconds ago.


    "Doesn''t sound like a bad idea but first-" I grabbed her and slowly carried her over to the bed.


    "But Elsa-" But my little sister was here, I knew she was going to say that.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t my intention. "For now, you''ll rest for the next two hours. Then we can head out."


    But that still left Elsa. "What about you, what will you do?"


    Enira was just sitting in a corner, watching everything with a smile.


    "I''lle with you, obviously."


    Was she really incapable of getting a clue?


    I sighed and turned to Enira and she just smiled. Which meant I''d have to deal with her too.


    Sigh.


    "Well, you two can have the other rooms, this is mine- I mean ours." I grabbed one of Marg''s hands and she gently squeezed back, half sitting- half lying, on the bed. I kind of really wanted to do stuff to her, but this wasn''t the time or ce.


    Elsa grumbled slightly but was about to leave.


    Enira meanwhile came to me, stood in front of me, and again wrapped her arms over my neck as she bent down: I saw and felt a lot more than just her chest: she had to be at least a DD, right? Or could it be- F! At this point, I wasn''t even surprised anymore. "A deal''s a deal. And please don''t pretend to be a robot this time and use your tongue." With that said, she shoved her tongue inside my mouth.


    Two surprised squeaks came from two different directions. They didn''t act though.


    There was minimum movement from my tongue but- a deal was a deal.


    I kissed her and in front of my future wife and sister. I felt a bit ashamed and guilty but both of them would understand if I exined properly. Which I already had. Not the kissing part though.


    At least I believed that. If they didn''t- Let''s not imagine that.


    Enira moved her lips from mine and looked at me expectantly. "Maybe, I should, have asked, for more, than just a kiss." Her breathing was erratic and there was a single thread of silver slowly dripping down her lips. And what was with those pauses!


    I shoved her away. "As you said, a deal''s a deal. Now, heal me."


    She rolled on the floor, got up, and giggled. "Of course."


    And then I felt it.


    The rejuvenation: my whole body healed, all the pain was gone! And more importantly-I already got an erection: my pants rose up a little. I was about to jump in joy when I saw that Elsa was still standing by the door looking at me like I was an insect.


    "I-I can exin?"


    She left. SLAM!


    Enira chuckled but also left. I guess she wasn''t returning to the saber anytime soon.


    I locked the door.


    "I can exin?" I turned to Marg with almost teary eyes.


    Marg sighed and spread her arms while sitting on the bed. "You don''t have to. I trust you."


    I almost felt like punching myself. The hell was I thinking? ''Marg really is the only one for me. I shouldn''t let my mind waver.''


    I went closer to her and she hugged me and the two of usy down next to each other, kissing.


    We probably wouldn''t go far, but- at least kissing and feeling her up wasn''t a problem.


    But things were getting too heated up and I couldn''t stop. She was too damn soft!


    She did stop me a minuteter though. "Let''s save it for tonight?" Though she said that, she herself seemed to be wondering about something.


    "Okay."


    Sigh.


    Hugging her kind of made me feel blessed though.


    Did I forget to mention she smelled good? Cause she did!


    ***


    Around four we set out for sightseeing.


    We were tourists and I was a guy with three beautiful girls walking with me.


    Needless to say, it attracted a lot of eyes.


    Marg was wearing a nice blue and ck one-piece dress. Elsa was in her typical blue jeans and purple t-shirt. A bit mature looking for once: she usually didn''t wear these types of things though. Enira however just wore some weird fantasy clothes, showing `too much skin: the cloth looked rather expensive and it even had golden embroidery. Howe half of her back was exposed while she had bangles on her arm for crying out loud though?


    No one was stupid enough toe near us though. My face probably was famous. I did get jealous res though.


    Enira always walked in front of me- showing me that back of hers: I saw a lot of things I shouldn''t have. Marg was to my right, holding my hand. Elsa was to my left, maintaining a bit of distance. Sigh, I failed as an older brother.


    I alwaysined about how my little sister was so clingy and all but now that I made her hate me and she didn''t act all clingy, why the hell was I disappointed? Sigh.


    But honestly, even I felt embarrassed walking like this. But seeing Marg''s smile, kind of melted everything away. All the worries and dissatisfaction just ran away the moment I saw that smile of hers.


    ''Cute.''


    We didn''t do much though.


    My match would start at 6 and there wasn''t much to see in this city. Mostly because we didn''t know where to look in the first ce.


    Plus I didn''t understand almost anything. I could order food and stuff but that was the level of my expertise, anything more than that was impossible.


    So we just sat in an outdoor caf¨¦ and ordered some coffee. Of course, I only had my afternoon tea. The rest had expresso for some reason.


    The city was actually pretty bustling, not that different from my hometown. Though perhaps people did have slightly different clothes. Though I didn''t understand thenguage, I still found myself at awe at just how much I enjoyed sightseeing and going to new ces. This was another reason why I wanted to be an explorer. Because then I''d be free to roam around the world and have fun along the way.


    That reminded me.


    I gave a call to the nurse. "HI."


    I got stares from mypanions but so far no res.


    "Hello if it isn''t my favorite patient. Life''s boring without youing in all the time you know." Her tone was way too sultry.


    Okay, now I was getting res.


    "Please don''tplicate things. Anyway, you said something about your acquaintanceing to Germany?"


    My seals were acting up and it was time I did something about them.


    "Oh, the thing is-" Sheughed nervously. "The guy kind of broke his neck in a mountain climbing expedition and kind of went to aa. He might not wake for a month or two."


    I sighed. "And you don''t know anyone else?"


    "Unfortunately, no."


    Well, that sucked.


    "Thanks for trying though. And have a great day." I was definitely trying to act nice. Though she couldn''t be of help, I was d she at least tried.


    "I will and you too. Please break some legs ande back broken."


    The call ended and I kept on drinking.


    The hell?


    None of the three actually said anything.


    I was d for that.


    ''Let''s just pretend it never happened.''


    "We should head back I guess." I was basically done anyway.


    It was close to five-thirty.


    "Once we pay the bill I''ll teleport us."


    "Let''s save it as ast resort. Besides, it''s not like the stadium is far anyway."


    Marg frowned for a second but smiled regardless and epted.


    Brought a smile to my face too.

 Chapter 188 - A Passionate Battle

    We marched for the stadium and reached roughly three minuteste.


    Still within the twelve minutes time limit so no harm done.


    I did get stares from the judges though.


    I guess I might have messed up one too many times.


    ''I should really take this seriously.'' But I wasn''t. A part of me wanted to ept Marg''s offer. But another part of me reminded me that her powers had their own drawbacks and I didn''t want her to suffer because of me.


    I was probably being overprotective..


    But for now, my only concern had to be therge man in front of me. He was wearing a bathing suit with an American g drawn onto it. The bottom part was a speedo while he had a top part that went upto his neck that had a bit of open space on his chest- weird.


    He was big, like at least three times wider than me: Three or four inch taller than me too.


    I was so concerned about the first fight that I forgot to look this guy up. And I was taking this seriously?


    I really wanted tough at myself but- I still had a smile. Marg and Elsa were here and I couldn''t look like a fool in front of them after all.


    ''Guess I''ll go all out for once-'' within reasonable margins of course.


    "Alright!" I turned on the saber- Enira didn''te out but- I didn''t need her.


    After all, this was my fight. And if I couldn''t even win this, there was no point in challenging the Battlesuins. I had loads of handicaps in thest fight but this time, I was in full strength.


    After that fiasco just this morning my fighting spirit had only grown. I felt like a hypocrite while thinking about all that though.


    The countdown began.


    ***


    "Begin!"


    With the signal, I created a barrier over my body. It was a thin barrier and all I had to do was will it.


    I guess Enira was somehow linked to my thoughts. The very thought made me feel a bit self-conscious thinking she actually knew that I had a thing for thoserge- ahem! But yeah, it made me ufortable.


    I was using a moderate amount of radiation. My sword was with Elsa while Marg''s saber was with her. Both of them were staying just outside the stadium and looking eagerly.


    But I just had to focus on this guy. ''Why isn''t he moving?''


    Therge man, in particr, grinned and turned on his saber. Funny he didn''t even try to charge. I guess with his size it would have been a bit tougher than it seemed.


    His saber turned on- and it looked like a shark. It literally looked like a shark: a blue tiger shark. ''How the hell can sma do that?''


    I really wanted to know but now wasn''t the time.


    Heughed out loud. His facial hair and chest hair kind of swayed in the air: very distracting. I didn''t know why but this whole thing kind of made me ufortable.


    But he still wasn''t attacking me. Was he waiting for me?


    The crowd was actually cheering slightly. And there were more people this time around. I guess they weren''t as afraid as I thought.


    ''Something seems to be off?'' The whole ce almost felt muffled to me. My vision had a slight pink tint. There was also this slightly sweet aroma in the air.


    I cleared my thoughts and my throat. I dashed for him and straight for his head. ''Thinking won''t get me anywhere, fight!''


    I swung hard but the guy just blocked my first attack. His shark saber wasn''t just for show. The shark grewrger and almost bit me. I backtracked and made a bit of distance.


    ''That thing would be troublesome.''


    He didn''t move an inch. More like I didn''t have enough strength.


    I grinned. "Sorry but I''m kind of in a hurry." With that said, I released a decent amount of gamma. It was only a matter of time.


    He still wasn''t fighting back. And his grin didn''t disappear despite his face going pale. Now that I looked carefully, he was actually wearing a wig. He was bald. ''That''s my future?'' I grimaced inside with just the thought.


    I took a step back, it was about time.


    "BLuehj!" the guy threw up and his back was exposed.


    In one swift motion, I dashed and was about to slice his back and then make him surrender but- he deflected my attack and got up. I had a take another step back.


    He stood right back up. There was blood and barf on his mouth, but his grin still was here: he wiped them off. "Thank you for the warm-up. d to you know aren''t going easy."


    "Huh?" He literally sounded like a frigging hard-boiled dude. Just what the hell was wrong with that voice?


    Something was off, something really was off. And I felt strangely ufortable like something was ying with my mind or something.


    And the pink tint just got a bit more saturated. Did something happen to my eyes or something?


    "Now, I''ll make you feel good too." He winked with a handsome smile.


    ''What the fu-?'' And more importantly, why the hell did my heart race faster?


    In a split second, he was already in front of me. He was fast. With aplexion like his, I couldn''t believe he could move so fast.


    I got flustered.


    With a smirk, he brought his shark down and I tried to dodge instead of blocking it.


    He was fast and strong, so blocking might have backfired. But the shark still traced me and I had to take more and more steps back.


    But it wasn''t enough.


    "Barrier!"


    A barrier did form but he literally threw me two meters in the air despite the barrier. The barrier crashed against my arm. The impact almost broke my left arm.


    I fell on the floor, rolled, and picked myself up: my nose was bleeding. ''Blood?''


    My breath was too erratic. This wasn''t just typical excitement. Something really was going on.


    I took a deep breath and focused. I immediately started to produce a ball of sma. Even the sma looked pink. And my saber kind of had a pink glow around it too. ''What is going on?''


    The guy was fast but I could predict his movements thanks to the particles. But he was a bit too fast for me to react on time: and that''s why he caught me off-guard. And my stamina wasn''t infinite.


    The guy on the other hand hadn''t even started to sweat. But he didn''t have much time left.


    I was done and threw the sma ball before anything else: a very pink sma ball. The guy grinned, showing his teeth, and took the full brunt with his arms. Some scales formed over his skin.

 Chapter 189 - A Passionate Battle (Part Two)

    His arms were burned, the scales charred and detached. His innards were kind of screwed thanks to my gamma rays but- how? How could he still stand and smile?


    ''Seven more minutes, huh?''


    "Done? Now, how about you ept some of my love?" He said, passionately.


    Huh, wha?


    "Are you okay, dude? Did I hurt your head too badly?" Did I perhaps screw his brains too?


    I still couldn''t calm down. Something was wrong with my body. It was almost as though I was burning up. ''


    He grinned. "TO be worried about me." He bathed in self-satisfaction. .


    Why was I seeing roses around me and pink?


    What the hell!?


    Just the pink tint wasn''t enough!?


    The scent in the air just got a lot stronger and I almost felt like losing myself.


    ''Calm down Helio junior, calm down!''


    It wasn''t working though.


    "Helio! You got this!" Marg screamed from the sides. "I believe IN YOU!"


    The roses kind of disappeared and it almost felt like my mind eased up, snapping back to reality. It was almost like a fog cleared.


    The guy clicked his tongue. "Tch, women." His loving re came to me next. "Big fan. Would you ept my love?"


    I was really, really confused.


    But- since Marg just screamed my name, I felt power overflowing.


    So, with a smile- I dashed for the guy. "Sorry, don''t want to." My uracy was a lot better. Something must have really been wrong with me till now.


    He also grinned and for some reason the whole floor kind of got sticky. The guy in an instant grewrger and turned into a snake.


    So, this was his ability. He still had his arms almost like amia of sorts. His body was hidden in purple scales and he just grinned at me, sticking his tongue out just like a snake. "I can''t pleasure you like her, but I promise to be more loving than anyone else in the world!"


    I finally understood some stuff. So, I took a deep breath. "Sorry man. Not into men. And I already decided to spend my future with her."


    The guy red at me. "Such a shame." He coiled himself. He didn''t have a head like a cobra, rather a python.


    ''Make a bigger stronger de.''


    My saber grew bigger and turned into a broadsword. Perfect!


    And so, with my saber, I charged.


    The guy also swung his blue shark!


    We exchanged blows but he had an extra hand and a tail. Dodging was hard and I was taking cuts and bruises here and there. If I didn''t have a barrier over my body, I''d have lost at least something along the way.


    Sure didn''t stop me though.


    "Need a hand?" I heard Enira''s voice but she wasn''t here.


    "No thanks."


    After all, even now I was constantly releasing radiation. It wasn''t enough to break through therge barrier over our heads but it was definitely enough to slowly kill therge man in front of me.


    He had four minutes left.


    He was already at the end of his rope. He did look rather strong at first, and he was strong too but I wasn''t going to hold back. This probably would have shortened his life by a significant amount but he''d probably be okay. Yeah, probably.


    But a battle was a battle, and I couldn''t be soft forever.


    "He ha hah." The guyughed, spitting blood. "You are the first who''ve made me this hot. You''re the only one who can turn me on." He was supporting himself with his saber. He was going to fall almost any second now.


    Creepy.


    I just wanted this to be over with but this guy still wasn''t standing down. It''d already been over twelve minutes. If I couldn''t take him down within three more minutes and stop producing gamma. He''d die from poisoning and there wasn''t a way to save him past that.


    I smiled. "I respect you but you''ll have to respect my wishes too. It''s your life, as you''re free to choose what path you''ll go, so am I." These weren''t my words though. When I was a kid, I had an idol. She was an explorer and before leaving on her mission, she said those words to me.


    At the time her words meant the world to me.


    To think I''d be parroting her words after all these years.


    He grinned. "I hear ya."


    I grinned too. "Roger." So, with my saber over my head, I lodged forward and swung hard! Both our sabers shed- sparks flew, roses danced in the air, flesh burned, and after a grueling minute- it was decided.


    He dropped his weapon on the ground. He fell on his knees. "I lose!" He smiled. "And of course, I respect you. Number one fan remember?"


    Huh?


    Why?


    What the hell!


    The very next second he threw up some more blood, and I stopped my radiation.


    If I hadn''t stopped my radiation now, he''d have died.


    The guy would spend the next month recovering in a hospital but- seriously that was weird.


    But I did have respect for people. After all, it was their life and they were free to choose whatever they liked. I just didn''t expect my opponent from another country to act like that to me.


    I won and with 8, 9, 9 points.


    This was myst battle and I''d be moving on to the finals. Apparently, there were going to be two more fights and that was the usual schedule, which was why the headmaster wanted me to skip the first fight. But this year they had changed the rules a little and without informing the participating schools too. Meaning, if I had skipped the first fight, things would have gone pretty badly for me whether I liked it or not.


    But anyway, with all three matches done I was pretty much above everyone else in points- or so I''d thought.


    Now that I saw my points on therge Holo though, I also saw the other people who would fight in the ring with me tomorrow.


    The opponent team was already decided.


    While my team only had one member and the guy had one point more than me. ''So much for being first.''


    Sigh.


    Meanwhile, the third guy would fight next.


    No wonder the people weren''t getting off their seats.


    Both Elsa and Marg were standing outside the court and I went for them.


    I gave Marg a hug and sniffed her wondrous scent to my heart''s content.


    The weirdness faded away. I really needed some extra special ''Marg time''ter on.


    She patted my back and with a smile, we started walking for the back row seats.


    Elsa pouted slightly because I didn''t talk to her but she didn''t make a scene.


    "That was something. I didn''t think you''d scream my name like that." It did make me really happy though.


    "I heard a rumor that man could charm men in a second. So-" Marg looked away, slightly embarrassed.


    I chuckled. "Have a little faith in me please." I touched her hair and gave her a hug, moving back a secondter.


    She blushed a bit more.


    But honestly, just the thought that if she hadn''t screamed and I got charmed, scared me.

 Chapter 190 - Tit For Tat

    Marg, Elsa, and I spent the rest of the evening in the back seats.


    The next fight would start in a matter of minutes and whoever wins would be my teammate in the finals tomorrow. If the winner got 26 points, he''d be a point behind me. And to be first he''d have to get exactly 29 points.


    With two minutes left, the announcer came on stage and cast some sort of magic. I say magic because the whole ce sparkled and a secondter the whole court became brand new.


    "That''s some really interesting power he has there."


    "I know right." A young boy looked back from just the seat in front of me. He had a smile: probably thirteen? I actually didn''t know how to respond. "Oh look, the yers are here!" Well, he certainly was excited..


    I was forgetting that no matter what this was a sport, a very brutal sport, but a sport regardless.


    Sigh.


    Marg squeezed my hand slightly. "Are you hurt?" She looked very worried.


    I hadn''t noticed but my clothes had cuts here and there.


    Actually, I wasn''t hurt much, but I did sustain some damage. My body didn''t ache or hurt even a little though: and the cuts were already sealed up. Just how overpowered was Enira''s healing?


    But more importantly, I''d just learned that even if I took things seriously, there were always going to be people capable of taking me on.


    ''I have to get stronger.'' There were roughly four days remaining till my tea party with the Battlesuins. I still didn''t know what I''d actually do but before anything else, I had to get stronger or at leaste up with an actual strategy. I couldn''t just run up to them and hope everything will be alright.


    Even I wasn''t that stupid.


    I couldn''te up with a decent n though. I could just blow up the whole ce but wouldn''t that just destroy a lot more than just that ce? And was mindlessly killing really what I wanted?


    I smiled. "Not really. I''m fine."


    Marg smiled back.


    "Your love is rubbing me the wrong way. Can''t you keep your passions in the bedroom or something?" Elsa sulked slightly. She was probably pissed off for some reason.


    "Sure, sure, whatever." I wasn''t going to stop, nope. I wrapped my hand over Marg''s shoulder and just watched the court.


    But anyway, the match would begin in under ten seconds.


    There were two guys on the court. One had ck hair: he was literally sticking his tongue out and wore a robe with skulls and bone drawings: probably Asian. The other guy was pretty tall, slender, and cool-looking. The guy didn''t even look slightly intimidated. Plus he had white silky hair- my dream. I always wanted that kind of hair.


    "Wow, he''s so handsome!" For once Elsa looked really marveled.


    I smiled and stood up. "Aight, Imma go kill him now!"


    "Shut up and sit down! You''re more handsome so sit down!" Elsa dragged me down.


    I got some scared looks from around me but oh well.


    "Well, if you say so." I tried to act cool, but I had to admit, it felt amazing to hear that I''m handsome from my own sister.


    I cleared my throat- the battle had already started.


    The emo guy was attacking the cool guy and the cool guy was just deflecting everything.


    The guy covered in skulls and bones was kind of struggling though. He was attacking nonstop, air des were forming and hitting the cool guy but nothing. He even threw arge ball of fire at the cool guy just like Eve had done with her father and just like the count, this guy just brushed the fire away.


    "The silver-haired guy might win," Marg predicted.


    I kind of felt vexed at the guy''s handsomeness. "Well, looks aren''t everything. He might end up lo-"


    Before I could finish my sentence, the cool guy sliced the emo guy in two: a horizontal sh. Two parts fell on the floor, motionless. He literally killed him before my eyes.


    My throat dried up a little. "He killed him? Wouldn''t he be disqualified?" I never saw someone kill another person in that kind of cold blood before.


    I''d seen my cousins kill but they were always enjoying the killing process. I even saw uncle kill in cold blood but never like this. It was almost as though the guy didn''t possess any emotion as he killed the man.


    I never did understand that. In a sense that silver-haired guy was like me- neither of us probably enjoyed killing. But in another sense, he wasn''t. Something about him was pretty unsettling.


    At that moment, in the midst of thousands of audience, the guy looked at me. Somehow our eyes met in a sea of strangers.


    A secondter he averted his eyes and left the court.


    "What was the point in all this?"


    "Look!" Elsa pointed.


    The guy I thought to be dead was actually alive and there wasn''t any blood.


    "He''s alive?"


    Marg scrolled through her Holo. "He seems to have the ability to sever living beings: the man has to be stitched up otherwise, he''d die in a few days. His saber is called ''the severer.'' He can''t cut anything that''s not organic though: at least not like that."


    "OH?"


    That really was an interesting ability.


    The announcer announced his win and all the matches for the day ended. Apparently, the guy got 27 points tying with the second ce: me.


    Of course, I didn''t really care much about it.


    I yawned. "Let''s get back I guess."


    The two stood up. "Right."


    Enira didn''te out of my saber, so things weren''t asplicated.


    ***


    We made it back to my room. This time I didn''t end up meeting Alexia or her mother.


    I ordered some food and around eight we started dinner.


    Enira didn''te out of the saber, so it was just us three.


    "So, after tomorrow''s match, you''d head to the Battlesuin mansion and kill them all?" Elsa chewed on her food and talked at the same time. Sometimes I wondered what was wrong with her and her manners.


    And was that really something we should have been talking about while eating on the same bed?


    I actually kind of wanted to eat at the table but Elsa didn''t want to leave thefort of the bed.


    I sighed. "Dunno. Mindlessly killing won''t make me much different from uncle. And I don''t think I can negotiate with them either. Moreover, dad is supposed to be there."


    "Right!" Elsa looked at me expectantly. Just what the hell did she want?


    "I also realize my powers without actually using radiation isn''t enough to make much of a threat. I can either kill them all or negotiate. And if I just happened to kill them all with radiation, then what? The environment would change and I might even take out a portion of the whole country. So for the time being I''m considering negotiations but-" I gave her a serious re. "To put it bluntly, I want to kill that woman and anyone else who caused all this. I''ve seen mom cry three times in my life and all three were because of that man and that woman."


    Negotiation was a blood-free route that I didn''t want to take. I still remember the times mom cried, how she pretended to be happy, how she pretended to be strong. I knew all that.


    And that''s why that woman had to die. And if my father was protecting her, then he''d have to follow suit. I''d already given it enough thought and I didn''t want to change my mind.


    Elsa just stared at me for a second and then proceeded to chomp without actually saying anything.


    Marg was right next to me and she just hugged my right arm and rested her head on my shoulder. "I''ll respect whatever decision you make. I''ve already decided to marry you: to spend my life with you."


    I just got some renewed confidence.


    "IN that case-" Enira came out, looking proud. "How about we-"


    She did have one special condition though.


    ***


    Dinner was over and it was barely ten, even after discussing and talking and all that time just wasn''t moving.


    But neither Elsa, nor Enira was even thinking of getting out of our hair.


    So- "YAWN! Think I''ll sleep now."


    I got two nk stares from the two and both stood up.


    Elsa, without a word, just moved out of the room. Looks like she could take a hint, after all!


    Enira however, came close to me. "You can just call me anytime you want. Let''s say you got some excess energy- I wouldn''t mind. And who knows, sometimes she might not be enough-" She smooched on the forehead and disappeared.


    I just stared nkly. ''Yeah, no thanks.''


    Marg went to the door and locked it.


    She came to me next. She was in her pajamas and instead of lying next to me, she got on top of me.


    "We''ll have to be quiet tonight," She whispered.


    Oh! Her breath was warm! Her scent- divine.


    My pants were also warm and something just got warmer.


    Marg giggled, got down from me, and justy next to me. "It''s a shame you''ll have to abstain for three more days."


    Wait- what?


    ''Huh?''


    Her eyes locked onto mine and she kissed me- her hand made it inside my pants. "We can''t do it during these days, remember?" She giggled and caught my hotness with a gentle yet firm grip. "I actually didn''t realize since I was in a hurry but it''s one of those days." Her hand moved up and down.


    Oh, so it was her periods.


    Sigh.


    We still kissed though and she just kept on stroking me and in the end, made a mess. "Ah!" I let out a moan before even realizing it as we kissed and I fondled her.


    I guess I needed to give this a wash now.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll go and wash it."


    She slid my pants down, stole my underwear, and ran to the bathroom. I for once didn''t spill it anywhere other than just the underwear- so everything was clean!


    It was not.


    ''Cold!'' I quickly put the pants back on but, ''The hell am I supposed to do with this dripping mess?''


    Yeah, cleaning up afterward was a pain. Fortunately, we had tissues.


    Roughly ten minutester she came back and hugged me as she slept.


    Well, I wasn''t that dissatisfied. Though we couldn''t do it, it didn''t mean I was sad or anything- or the end of the world for that matter. The fact that she still made me feel good despite she couldn''t- made me respect her some more. So, with a goodnight kiss, the two of us slept in each other''s arms.


    Somewhere along the way, I might have made her into my body pillow and hugged her a bit too tight. She neverined in the slightest though. In fact, she was getting way toofortable with me too, making me a pillow of her own.


    Tit for that I suppose.

 Chapter 191 - Okay So, I’m Not Late?

    My sleep broke as the girl beside me woke up and freed herself from my clutches. Her pajamas were barely hanging on. I guess I might have hugged herst night, a bit more passionately than I thought.


    I could see her cute lingerie poking through: I couldn''t keep my eyes open though even with all the excitement down there. I kind of wanted to give her a hug but she got down before I could even attempt to wake up properly.


    Marg noticed my stare came close and gave me a smooch on the forehead. "I''ll order some ingredients. You can sleep for an hour longer. I''ll make something good." With a smile, she left.


    I tried to sleep but got so excited that I didn''t even feel sleepy anymore.


    So, with a yawn, I headed to the bathroom and a secondter realized, that Marg was already in here and yeah, she was doing her business.


    Why didn''t she lock the door? Yeah, that wasn''t the important part.


    She kind of looked at me with an expression somewhere in the middle of a frown, re, and embarrassment.


    I wanted to say that she looked cute, but no- she looked scary.


    So, I slowly-slowly backtracked and sat on the bed.


    My heart was kind of pounding and yes- I was awake now.


    Little Helio was already saying hello. Good to know it was in good spirits.


    I just stared at the ceiling. ''We''re really together, huh?'' It was a littlete to realize but- I wasn''t alone anymore. And I couldn''t just act however I pleased either.


    I had to think about Marg too. And I had to bear her responsibility along with mine.


    It almost felt surreal. ''Forever, always?'' Really surreal.


    What did it mean to be living together? What did it mean to be always together?


    Right now, I felt attracted to her, right now I wanted to be with her but- what if that changed? Would I always be the same?


    Sigh. Thinking only made my head hurt. But I did have one conclusion drawn from the start. It didn''t matter if I loved her or not, I was going to be with her and I was going to live with her, even if it killed me. If I didn''t have that much resolve, thinking this''llst was pointless.


    "Done." Marg came out, grumbling slightly.


    "Sorry about that might have still been a bit sleepy."


    She didn''t say anything and just went to the kitchen space to confirm the stuff- or something along the lines. She was using the inte too.


    Anyway, I headed to the bathroom and got fresh.


    Once I got out, I saw a girl at the door handing over stuff to Marg: probably one of the staff. I guess those were the stuff she ordered.


    For the next half an hour, I justy on the bed and browsed through my Holo. It was eight and I didn''t have anything better to do. I checked on the academy''s website and nothing significant happened. The word of my victory and advancement to the finals kind of made waves though. I checked my opponents and honestly, they didn''t look that powerful. I guess I pulled all the short straws when I fought with my opponents.


    Sigh. Oh yeah, I remembered something.


    I gave Merin a call. It was about time he woke up anyway.


    "Yo, what''s up?" For a guy who sounded so sleepy, he sure was enthusiastic.


    I could tell he was talking to me, with his eyes closed. The call was an audio one so I didn''t have any way to confirm stuff.


    "Nothing much. I actually wanted to have an important talk with you. Though I don''t think now''s the best time."


    He yawned. "You''re moving out, huh?"


    I guess he wasn''t thickheaded as I took him to be. I chuckled. "Yeah."


    "Well, I figured you''d be going out anyway. Visit once in a while, kay?" He yawned louder.


    "Stop talking like my mom dude." I chuckled.


    He chuckled on the other side too.


    "Well, take care and good luck on the finals. I''ll be watching."


    "You too. Take care."


    The call ended and I was kind of in a good mood.


    Wait didn''t that mean, the guy would skip sses again?


    Sigh.


    A scent drifted in the air as a sizzling sound of something being fried allured my eardrums. Probably onions. But there was more.


    I tiptoed towards the kitchen.


    I knew Marg didn''t like surprised hugs from the back or asional surprise butt squeezes but- yeah, I wasn''t going to stop.


    She was busy cooking. I couldn''t mess with her but, I really wanted to.


    Marg had actually changed into a different set of clothes: casual wear.


    With a grin, I slowly, slowly went toward her.


    "Sigh* can you be any more obvious?" She turned her head, giving me a cold re.


    I guess she was still pissed.


    I still went closer to her though. "Sorry about his morning."


    "It''s not like I''m mad." She frowned slightly.


    ''Cute!''


    I knew she didn''t like being hugged when she was working but- I still hugged her- very gently. "I love you-" I gave her a smooch on the cheek and walked back.


    "That''s unfair." I heard her mumble but pretended to hear nothing, came back, and justy down on the bed.


    ***


    Sometimeter Elsa woke up, got fresh, and by nine everything was done and we ate at the table.


    My spoon was shaking as I even thought of making the food go in my mouth. ''Marg''s cooking!'' I gulped.


    Omelet and bacon. Mom used to cook this stuff four days a week. I knew the taste pretty well and yet- and yet I gulped: my hands shook.


    Marg sighed. "Just put it in already!" She grumbled.


    I kind of felt a bit embarrassed. I remembered her saying that once before. And at the time- yeah. Very hot and sweaty times.


    A secondter Marg also blushed as she looked away.


    "Would you two clowns move on and just have breakfast like normal people?" Elsa however just stared at us with ssy eyes.


    With a gulp of courage, I put the food in my mouth. It was delicious- but perhaps not to the extent I was dreaming about. But it was delicious regardless and I ate maybe a bit more than usual.


    The food was kind of simr to mom''s cooking: strike that, it was mom''s recipe through and through. So at one point I just ate like normal. I liked mom''s cooking after all.


    "Mother had taught me how to cook that." Marg filled me in with a smile.


    Yeah, I figured.


    I smiled. "It was delicious." Sure didn''t stop me fromplimenting her though. I still remember the days I used to tter mom for some pennies so I could just drink all the chocte I want!


    Those really were the days.


    Marg smiled back.


    Elsa let out an exasperated sigh. "Shouldn''t you prepare for your match?"


    Oh yeah, this was the finals. I couldn''t bete.


    I was almost done eating, so I just finished up and changed my shirt. My pant had only one hole around the ankles and just this morning I changed into my newly washed underwear, so all was cool.


    By the time I was done changing, both Elsa and Marg were also done and waiting for me at the door. ''The hell?'' Since when were girls this fast in dressing up?


    Did I wander into another world or something?


    I didn''t know and I didn''t get it either.


    Before I could get out of the room though, Marg grabbed my arms and the three of us ended up just outside the court in the stadium.


    We still had twenty minutes or so, so why the hell did she bother teleporting?


    Well, I wasn''t going toin since we were already here.


    ***


    The stadium was a bit bigger today and there were maybe three times more spectators of what there were yesterday. There were loads and loads of whispers and this whole ce smelled of sweat. It was kind of hot today.


    I hated crowds and that''s why this happened, didn''t it? Why did chocte god hate me this much?


    Speaking of choctes, I didn''t get to have much this holiday!


    Sigh.


    "Well, if it isn''t a miracle? For once you aren''tte!" I didn''t realize, but apparently, the geezer was here. He had Johnathan with him too who didn''t bother looking at me.


    Yeah, I didn''t care about him either.


    I didn''t bother talking to the headmaster and he didn''te my way. He probably had better things to worry about.


    I saw some other people like him around too. Probably the headmasters of the respective schools?


    It was possible.


    There were three guys already on the court. Two of our opponents while just one from my team. And this guy was the cool guy one. I hated him.


    "Well, I''ll head over there."


    Before I could leave though- Marg grabbed my hand and came close. "You can do it." She smiled faintly and kissed me. "And, I love you too." I kissed her back. She smelled so good.


    And with that, I waved at the two and headed for the cool guy.. ''I so, want to punch that face.''

 Chapter 192 - Just How Many Girls Did He Sleep With?

    I stood next to the cool guy while our opponent team was on the other side.


    I actually checked the rules of this fight this morning and apparently, even if all my teammates were defeated and I was thest one standing, we''d still win as a team. Of course, whoever fell first would get one point, the next- two points, and thest one standing 3. And if all three were left standing as they won, only the points from the qualifying matches would be taken into ount to dere the actual winner.


    And if there were ties, they''d make us fight again on the spot.


    The whole thing sounded like a major drag, honestly.


    ''Should I just st them all away with radiation and win by force or something?'' That looked like a very tempting option at this point.


    "I would appreciate if you didn''t taint me with your powers." The voice came from my left. The cool guy had spoken.


    "Then I''d suggest you dropping out now, or keeping your mouth shut." I didn''t give him a second nce.


    I actually never checked the names of my opponent or their origins. Frankly, I didn''t care. Maybe I should have though.


    "I see." He turned on his saber. A blue slender stream: A rapier.


    I turned on mine. An invisible barrier formed over my body. ording to Marg, this guy could severe organic stuff, meaning he couldn''t cut through a barrier like he could cut through flesh.


    Both of us stared at each other. The tension was high and I had a feeling this guy would attack first, so I held back waiting. After all, if he did attack me, he''d get disqualified and vo, I''d have one less thing to worry about.


    Besides, I kind of wanted to punch that face. The perfect excuse!


    So with a grin, "Oh? Pretty boy got afraid?" I taunted.


    He looked at me with indifferent eyes and was about to swing his saber at me.


    "Can''t we stop fooling around gentlemen?" A kid came in between us. It was almost instantaneous! Warp? No, he was fast.


    "Aren''t you from yesterday-?" If I recalled correctly the kid was seated in the seat in front of us when we watched the match yesterday.


    "Oh, you remembered?" He smiled.


    The cool guy just sheathed his saber and moved to the far left.


    "Please don''t mind him. He seems to harbor ill feelings towards you for stealing someone-" The boy paused as he saw the cool guy ring at him.


    "What- who with the- what now?"


    The kid giggled. "I look forward to our match." And he left for the other side.


    Wait, he was a participant? He looked no older than thirteen and even that was a stretch.


    "Pardon myte appearance." A deep voice came from behind: A well-built guy in a blue suit and red tie. He stood next to me. "Got caught in traffic." He looked very serious as he stared ahead.


    That excuse was dead for over twenty years now though.


    Ahem! The announcer stood just outside the ring and with his loud voice started off with introductions.


    "Over to the right, we have the number one rookie viin of the world- from the world-ss viinous family of destruction, HELIO ROMSWELL JINTEL!" He literally took more time to pronounce my name than his entire sentence. This wasn''t a wrestling match introduction, okay! And rookie viin? The hell was that!? And why the hell was the crowd cheering all of a sudden? Actually, I kind of saw some of my cousins in the crowd, and people around them were giving them loads of space. So the morons cheering were their underlings? No wonder there were too many people here today. Sigh. "TO his right, the man that can do it all, ARAN XELLE!" This time he took a lot less time though and the crowd didn''t cheer as much either. "And on the left, wielder of the severer, a noble from the house of Rodwich, lord DARIUS DRAKE RODWICH!"


    Rodwich? Him?


    I looked up on the Holo screen and yeah, he was a Rodwich.


    Oh, that''s why?


    Maybe he had a connection with Marg? Then again Marg was the daughter of a maid, so I couldn''t be so sure. It could have very well have been Eve.


    I wanted to punch him because Elsa liked him, so I didn''t find it surprising he''d hate me for dating his sister- or friend-zoning the other one. I almost understood him!


    Still didn''t mean I didn''t want to punch that face though.


    "And on our right-!"


    Yeah, I didn''t pay much attention anymore. My attention was over at Marg who was smiling sweetly at me.


    She didn''t even give a nce to her brother or whatever. Even I didn''t care. Marg mattered more anyway. Elsa on the other hand was kind of staring with a half re, half-smile.


    I did catch the announcer saying stuff about the kid though. Apparently, he was a prodigy who finished all of middle school in less than a year. If everything went okay, he''d finish high school this year and move on to college the next. And he was also a Rodwich! He wasn''t representing Bahrain though.


    Wait, just how many girls did that guy sleep with? He had rtionships with his maids, and his wives and even people in foreign countries? Wow. Marg''s father was the ideal person from whom I had to learn what to avoid.


    Was I envious? No.


    I definitely wasn''t, okay?


    Like totally. Nope, not even a little!


    "We would start shortly!" By shortly, there was only one minute left.


    Apart from the cash prizes, there were also unique prizes but those were linked to the judges. What kind of prizes? We didn''t yet know.


    "Gentlemen!" There were five judges today and each possessed one unique prize which they''d give to whoever pleased them: I''d probably get none. Among the five, one man stood up. He was the same one who''d warned me just the other day. "We-We-we are gath-ered here to-today-" He kept on stuttering the whole way.


    He was trying to give us some words of encouragement but ended up just wasting time and all the enthusiasm. At one point, I thought he''d start crying.


    But he finished five minutester- somehow.


    And the countdown finally began. The crowd roared.


    ''Should Ie out?'' I heard Enira''s voice in my head.


    "Not yet." She was my trump card. I didn''t yet know what my opponents were capable of. I did know their abilities but that didn''t mean I knew everything about them. So holding back a card or two, was the best approach.


    They formed a barrier over our heads but the judges strictly warned me to not damage my allies. Drag.


    I was also getting res here and there from the headmasters around me. Oh well. I didn''t care anyway.


    "3¡­2¡­1¡­ BEGIN!"


    With a grin, I let out the particles and stood in the middle ring at the three on the other side.

 Chapter 193 - Finally, I’m Free! Or Not-

    I was being ignored.


    My opponents came in three sizes. The kid wasn''t doing much as he stood still on the other side.


    To his left was a man of steel- literally. His whole body was metal, rather well built and his saber shined in crimson. He took on the guy in the suit- to my right.


    And to the boy''s right was a guy covered in blue fire- his saber burned a pale white and he took on the cool guy to my left.


    Me? Totally ignored.


    Sigh.


    "Looks like they''ve already chosen their opponents, should we begin too?"


    The kid already showed his speed, so I kept a very keen eye around. And with my particles constantly running around- I didn''t see any way he could sneak up on me.


    "I''m not that stupid." With that said, he disappeared and went for the guy in the suit.


    Oh, so they were teaming up.


    Wait, this was a team battle, to begin with but no one just cared.


    "Suit yourself I guess," I mumbled. "Hey man, need a hand?"


    "Though I appreciate-" The guy in suit punched the man of steel till he passed out and grabbed the kid before he could sneak up on him. Well, that wasn''t something I expected.


    Technically, this man had one point over me, meaning I shouldn''t have underestimated him.


    "This is why I hate geezers like you." The kid grinned very disgustingly and just pinched therge guy. "Nightie-night."


    The guy in the suit immediately passed out, oh wait, he was sleeping. And he had a¡­ snot bubble?


    ''The hell?''


    This wasn''t a cartoon!?


    Sigh.


    Next, the kid grinned again and headed for the cool guy.


    Obviously, I intercepted. Our sabers connected and the kid backed off.


    "I don''t need your help-" or so the cool guy said.


    "Who said, I was helping you." I brushed off the pipsqueak again. I was kind of pissed off myself.


    The cool guy in particr was having a hard time. Yeah, his ice and saber were overpowered but against blue me that melted his ice and covered the whole body of his opponent, he wasn''t doing that great.


    He couldn''t cut through the fire or get close to the guy either.


    Meanwhile- "Step aside, I''ll deal with youter." The kid grinned. "This is a family issue."


    "Look, I''m not your dad who''ll listen to every little one of your squeaks. And who cares about your family?" I was only interested in Marg anyway.


    He red so hard that for a second I felt like his eyes would pop.


    For someone how was being stupid selfish on a battlefield, he sure seemed dignified to be mad.


    "YOU damn old fart!"


    Well, technically, I was only four years or so older than him so whatever. My birthday was near though- like really near.


    And was it me or did this kid not know how to actually curse?


    The kid bounced in midair and he really was fast- even faster than Clyde. It was too hard to keep track.


    So instead- I closed my eyes and focused on my surroundings.


    ''There-'' I merely flicked my feet: it connected with a thud. But the kid just rolled hard and threw up a bit of blood before getting up again.


    He was fast, yes. But he was too weak.


    He again red at me very solidly but he smiled. "All over for you. Nightie night." His words almost felt distorted.


    I felt lightheaded and I was about to fall to the ground but I didn''t- instead, I just slept.


    ***


    Helio''s head hung in midair and his body stayed still.


    The boy who was so confident of his victory was just left standing waiting for someone to give him a flick and let him endorse in slumber.


    He was too arrogant.


    "In the end, you were nothing but talk! So why did she-" Drake- the silver-haired boy grimaced but he had something to prove and he wasn''t going to back down just because he had to fight two opponents now. Besides, he had to teach the pipsqueak a lesson.


    "AHAHHHHH!" A small boyughed disgustingly. He almost looked evil, but slightly immature. He walked up to Helio and was about to punch him. "Where did that haughty attitude go now?" Heughed some more with a taunt.


    But.


    But!!!


    Helio''s hands moved and grabbed the kid''s throat- slowly lifting him up. It happened so suddenly that the kid didn''t see iting and he hadn''t expected it either. "I must thank you brat-" His voice was tainted with anger and his face colored ck. All his veins were popping up and it was almost like he was burning up: but he was grinning. "Finally! Finally!" Heughed so hard that the whole court shook and the temperature of the air rose: but perhaps that was because the fight on the other side was also intense. Helio mmed the kid on the court and a crater resulted. Blood sshed and cracks formed.


    The kid instantly passed out, barely clinging to life.


    Helio gripped his fingers checked his body, looked around, and smiled. "I''m free. Finally!"


    Some of the crowd cheered while some grimaced. There were so many people here to witness his glory and his resurrection.


    "You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a lot."


    But his celebration didn''tst long as a dragon born stood in front of him. She had a smile and a gentle look.


    "Perfect timing, let''s finish this and destroy those vermin!" Heughed out- almost like a certain someone he respected. "Then we go on a vacation with mother!" Heughed some more.


    "Oh yeah, this one had Motherplex, huh?" The girl- Enira sighed. "It''s still too soon for you toe out. I''m afraid but-" Enira touched Helio''s forehead- the sound of a drop of water falling resulted- and yet again Helio Romswell Jintel hung his head in midair in the arms of his summoned creature.


    "You look too cute when you''re like that." Enira kissed the boy and was about to kiss him some more but-


    "Well, thanks for thepliment." Helio stood up with a smile and dodged the kiss. "Ah, shouldn''t have moved so fast." He groaned.


    Enira giggled. "Still feel like going on a vacation with just your mom?"


    "Wh?" Helio was confused for a second but as he watched the silver-haired boy getting pushed back, he stopped worrying and looked ahead, gripping his saber tight.


    After all, the silver-haired boy- Drake was about to lose.


    Though he had to admit going on a vacation with his mother, sister and Marg did sound tempting.. He didn''t want to go to the family mansion though.

 Chapter 194 - Oh Shit, My Feet!

    My head throbbed. It was hard to stand. But- I stood regardless. I wasn''t sure what just happened but I had a feeling I''d gone to sleep and Enira just woke me up.


    But I was still in the middle of something.


    The kid was actually in a crater. ''What happened here?'' There were some people trying their best to get the kid out of there. And how did he get beaten up that badly? He was still conscious and the moment he saw my gaze, she turned even paler and passed out.


    There was something going on, on the other side of the court too.


    That being, the cool guy was losing. Frankly, I didn''t care if he lost or anything but I just wanted this to be over with. My body was swaying a bit too much anyway.


    I made a sma ball and threw it at the guy covered in blue fire.


    He stopped it, but just barely. Though he was covered by fire- he seemed to have taken some damage from the sma and he wasn''t healing either. I guess just the hot fire was his power?


    But what about his sword? Howe he was making this guy so miserable while having virtually nothing that good? It could have been possible that he had something hidden.


    Suddenly, he threw arge fireball at me.


    Enira came in front of me and absorbed it. "Looks like you still haven''t woken up properly. Do I need to kiss you again? I wouldn''t mind being the prince, by the way, my sleeping beauty." She winked.


    Yeah, no thanks. I wasn''t into those kinds of bits.


    And wasn''t it the maiden kissing the frog or- yeah, my head kind of stopped functioning.


    I took a deep breath and moved forward.


    The cool guy gave me a look and just stood aside. He actually stood next to me.


    I really thought he''d try to argue or something but he just kept quiet.


    "What seems to be the problem? Why are you having issues with guys of that caliber?"


    The cool guy snorted. "Did your eyes rot or something? Can''t you feel that presence? No matter how many times you attack him, those mes protect him and that makes him invincible. Didn''t you understand anything after throwing your concentrated fire?" He red ahead. "Besides, that saber can cut through sma like mine can cut through organic matter."


    Well, if that was true, then he would have cut through my sma ball.


    I half sighed, half stared. "First of all, that was sma and second, he did take damage. So, clearly, you have to use actual stuff." After all the sma in our sabers and actual real sma were different. I gave Enira a stare. "Would you mind protecting him? Oh yeah, we were going to give it a practice run before anything else, right?"


    Though I kind of wanted to try this in a more controlled situation.


    "Wait, what are you doing?" The cool guy said, but we ignored him.


    "Fair enough." Enira touched the cool guy''s back. "But don''t me me if he ends up dead."


    I sighed. "Well, anything for science."


    She giggled. "Go get him, you mad scientist."


    "The hell!?" Though the cool guyined he actually wasn''t protesting or anything of that sort.


    Was something wrong with him? Even just moments ago he was mocking me and wanted to pick fights with me but now, he didn''t actually try to do anything.


    Wait, could it be, that he was afraid of me? He wasn''t even making eye contact with me anymore.


    I almost snorted but dashed for the guy in fire. I didn''t have time to be worrying about some cool guy.


    As I got near him, I felt his heat but I had a barrier over my head. i swung my saber and the cool guy was right, this guy could cut through sma. My saber regenerated pretty easily though, so it wasn''t a problem.


    I was close and there was a barrier around us, but I deployed another one and to do that, I needed to get this close to him.


    "Why are you locking yourself up when you know I can do this?" He started to burn pretty hot and the air kind of got smoky and there was monoxide everywhere. Definitely not great for living breathing people.


    "Because I can do this." I grinned and released gamma.


    He shouldn''t have seen iting- and he didn''t.


    His fire kind of started to wiggle around as he swayed and a secondter threw up. He backtracked slowly. I moved forward slowly.


    The barrier disappeared and finally, I could breathe. The smell was kind of terrible though. I almost felt bad for doing this to him.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t shorten their lives like this?'' Yeah, I guess I could have taken it a bit easier.


    "BUewyh!" The cool guy also threw up.


    Well, that was a failure I guess.


    "Don''t worry, nothing passed. He just couldn''t take the visual representation." Enira looked at me with an awkward stare. "YOU can release a bit more and it''ll still be okay." With that said the cool guy just bailed out of the fight and went out.


    Well, I guess he was done anyway. So much for the cool guy.


    Didn''t matter to me, cause we already won as our opponent was on the floor and we-


    Oh?


    Oh!?


    Oh shit.


    My feet.


    My feet!


    Apparently, my feet were touching the edge of the court before I even realized.


    Sweat poured as my legs shook a little.


    "Oh boy." I chuckled, very nervously.


    This only meant one thing¡­ we were screwed.


    The announcer signaled that I was out.


    Wait didn''t this mean?


    I looked around and the whole stadium was quiet and everyone was just staring at me.


    There were cameras pointed at me too. ''Ahhhhh!''


    "YAWN!" a snort bubble burst and the guy in the suit woke up.


    I felt like a massive stone from my chest was just lifted.


    "Team Helio wins!"


    A round of apuse followed by roars.


    And since when did this team get named, team HELIO!?


    It didn''t matter though. I almost wanted to hug the guy for waking up. I shot the idea down almost the very second it surfaced though.


    Anyway, I kind of wanted to go home now.


    Sigh.


    With some sways here and there I walked toward Marg and when I reached her, just hugged her and tried to pass out.


    I didn''t though.


    Argh.


    ***


    As the announcer announced our stuff and the judges gave long speeches on why who deserved what prizes, I sat right next to Marg and Elsa. Enira went back into the saber.


    My head rested on Marg''s shoulder as I squeezed her hands for power!


    The pipsqueak was right next to Marg, covered in bandages. I actually couldn''t remember what happened to him? Whenever our eyes met he kind of grabbed Marg''s arm tight and hid behind her.


    Technically he was Marg''s rtive and since Marg wasn''tining I didn''t bother asking stuff.


    Oh well.


    The court became the stage for the prize-giving ceremony and all the speeches. Half of the audience had left and I didn''t see my cousins anymore.


    Which was grand news.


    "Doesn''t look like you''ll be getting anything other than money. Though you were here for the money, to begin with so, congrattions," Elsa said. She wasn''t sad or happy. Pretty neutral for a change. "I wanted to meet some of them but they all left." She sighed. "I guess they only like you."


    Elsa did have a pretty good reputation in our family- though that was only a front. In reality, she was a bit too selfish and spoiled. Whenever she was out she acted a bit more mature though. Especially this time around she acted a lot more mature than I gave her credit for.


    I had to admit, my sister was growing up faster than I couldprehend.


    And though she was sad not to be able to meet our cousins, I was d. The reason? Almost all of those morons had a crush on her. That was another reason why no one actually visited us. Sometimes mom smiled sweetly at them, sometimes I cracked some of their bones. Ah, those were good times.


    Elsa didn''t know any of that though.


    ***


    One by one all four judges finished and presented their unique gifts to the participants. The cool guy got one while the guy in suits got two. The guy who was covered in fire got one too. The prizes ranged from rare metals like Sylvanide to exquisite tickets to paradise inds.


    Honestly, those didn''t really matter all that much to me.


    Nope, not even a little bit.


    A whole week with Marg on an ind- just the two of us- ah, yeah, definitely didn''t bother me a little.


    "Andstly, Helio Romswell Jintele forth!" Thest judge, the stuttering geezer called me.


    I guess I was going to get something.


    It felt surreal, unreal even.


    As I was stumbling my eyes met with the headmaster- he smiled and pointed me to move forward.


    Right!


    I made sure not to stumble and carefully walked up to the stage.


    This was really nerve-wracking.


    He handed me a red box, almost wrapped like a present or something. "This originally belonged to your grandfather. Never thought the day woulde when I''d return it to you." We both were holding on to it as the press clicked photos.


    Gramps''? I guess this guy knew him.


    It felt kind of nice to have something like that. "Thank you. You knew him?"


    "We were rivals.." The guy showed me his teeth and as one of the winners, I stood next to the other two.

 Chapter 195 - And It Felt Amazing

    We were about to receive the cash rewards. I could feel my face leak some of the happiness. I was definitely happy!


    "Thanks for that." The cool guy said. "Though I still don''t approve of your methods."


    We three were standing together waiting for our turns.


    "You don''t have to. By the way, what are you to Marg?"


    This guy was talking to me a lot more respectfully and he was a bit scared too. His speech was still high and mighty though. I guess pride was really something.


    "Marg? Marg who?"


    Sigh. Should have seen thising I suppose.


    "Eve? Evenlegeline? Ever heard of her?" If it wasn''t Marg then it had to be Eve.


    The guy looked at me, a bit perplexed, and a secondter started daydreaming and making an expression that could only be described as a maiden in love. He wasn''t a maiden though. "OF course I know her! She''s a divine being. My sister and oh so beautiful. She isn''t just divine, no, she''s a goddess!"


    Weren''t divine beings goddesses to begin with?


    Uh-huh. I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, good for you. We''re just friends so don''t worry about anything."


    Eve a goddess? Yeah, I couldn''t picture that.


    He gave me a re. "Because of you, she lost everything. I hope you''re taking responsibility for it." For just that one second he was serious. Of course, I didn''t believe it. Eve had her free will and she was doing what she believed: she''d only approached me because she was forced to by her father. Now she was free. I had nothing to do with her decisions. All I was, was a catalyst, nothing more and nothing less. A secondter the guy''s re turned to his daydream. "But you don''t have to, no, please don''t. For now that I have won, I shall take responsibility for her and-" He hugged himself and squirmed. Was he cursing me? Asking me to take responsibility or was he requesting that I don''t?


    What the hell was wrong with this moron?


    Sigh. I guess his rtionship with his sister wasplicated.


    Anyway, they started to hand overrge cheques and boy was there loads and loads of shutters and lights.


    Probably half of the world was seeing this. Maybe mom was seeing this through her work Holo while making her clients wait. I could almost picture her saying ''just sit down, I''ll get to you shortly.'' Almost made me chuckle.


    Now that I think about it, there were a lot of people who were in the audience, all eyes were on the three of us. Everything felt so slow, so bright.


    This feeling was warm and for once, I felt like I could achieve things if I just set my mind to it. The road wasn''t easy, but- I''d won. And it felt amazing.


    I got second prize of 80 gold. While the guy in the suit got 100 as he was first. The cool guy- whatever the hell his name was- got 70 gold, being third. Our opponents all got 50 gold each for being finalists.


    This money was good. I''d be able to live with Marg in luxury for six months- assuming I didn''t overspend on anything. I wanted to take her to a private tour somewhere romantic and¡­ ''I really should just learn to fly.''


    That way, I''d save on buying expensive tickets and the like.


    Actually, I needed a bank ount to withdraw money from this. I guess I''d be meeting mom pretty soon. Maybe I could even buy her a present or two. Maybe I could buy some chocte while I was at it too? Needless to say, the money was kind of making me feel a lot of things.


    "Therefore, Helio, please stay away from her and let me be there. You''ve already chosen your partner, so don''t ruin her life." This guy could actually be humble when he wanted to huh? "Otherwise I won''t have a chance." He squirmed again.


    Okay, maybe not.


    Whenever he thought of his sister it was almost like he was going through euphoria or something.


    I almost felt disgusted and impressed at the same time.


    But the ceremony was over and everyone was finally leaving. The stuttering old man never really said anything after that.


    Therge guy in the suit nodded to me before going out. I nodded back, but I had no idea what that was about.


    My opponents gave me handshakes and I didn''t sense any ill intent from them. The kid was really scared though.


    Anyway. "Don''t worry. She''s just a friend to me." With that said, I headed for Marg and Elsa.


    Both were smiling and grinning.


    Before I could say a word to them though, Enira leaped out of the saber and stood in front of me, stealing my lips in a sh.


    "Can we move on? What is up with you and kisses today?"


    Enira giggled. "Can I have that?" She pointed at the gift like thing.


    Marg and Elsa were walking this way and neither were in a good mood.


    "I actually haven''t opened it and don''t even know what it is. Moreover, it was supposedly gramps'' so no." What if there was his memento in here or something?


    Enira giggled silently. "I mean, there''s a core in there and you''re telling me you can''t feel it?"


    "Unfortunately, I don''t possess that kind of great skill of telling where is what." If I could, that''d be amazing though.


    "Oh? I suppose I should have taught you the trick. Anyway, open it." She was being awfully pushy for some reason.


    "Here?" I was already in the middle of opening it anyway.


    The stadium was emptying a lot faster than I''d thought it would.


    The box opened and there was a piece of crystal inside. It was dark blue in color, almost ck. The size was just a tad smaller than one of the individual pieces of Enira''s core. When I touched it, I almost felt a slight pain shot through my fingers. It faded the very next second.


    I took up the core in my hand. "This actually looks pretty cool. We can make a ne out of it." And hang it around Marg''s neck. It was the perfect shape, so yeah, I could fantasize.


    "Yeah, and kill her with its poison. As if her illness wasn''t enough," Enira mumbled. "Didn''t you feel the poison leaping into you? Maybe healing you right away wasn''t a good idea." She pouted.


    "Wait, what illness?"


    Marg came forward and stood next to me. "I- how about we have a talkter? I actually wanted to talk to you about something. It wasn''t anything major so I didn''t feel like you had to know. But, we should talkter."


    Wasn''t? So, it was now? I didn''t know why but that made my heart race slightly. Was she ill? Was it serious? Was she dying? I didn''t know why but the thoughts kept on piling up and piling up.


    What would I do without her?


    What would my life be without her?


    "Calm down." Marg squeezed my hand and reached upto my lips, kissing me in the process. "I''m not handing you over to anyone." She spoke in a very naughty tone and almost made me hot.


    Her lips, her tongue, her everything. She was willing to give me everything, I had to trust her.


    Kissing her kind of almost made something start in me.


    I was kind of out of breath and though I thought kissing her would calm me down, it had the opposite effect. I was anything but calm.


    For the time being, however, I tried to act calm. I definitely wasn''t calm though.


    "Anyway," Enira took the little piece off my hand. "It''s a rare dragon core- something I''ve been looking for a while now. A bit more powerful than me, so yeah, try to stop me if anything happens." She winked and swallowed the whole thing. The next second she fell on the ground, twitching slightly.


    Sigh. "Seriously, what''s wrong with this moron today?"


    The stadium was almost but empty. The judges and the staff were gone too.


    The cool guy was actually standing by the door just looking at us.


    I checked my saber and it was flickering.


    So, I took my sword from Elsa, unsheathed it, and got ready. "You two, can you give me some space. Hopefully, it won''t turn out bad." I had no idea what happened during an absorption phase but- I sure didn''t want to take chances.


    Both moved behind me. The kid was also here.


    Enira stood up, but her movements were rather artificial. Her eyes were ckish blue and she was leaking something simr to miasma. Miasma was something that came out of Kin- almost like smoke, meaning, this might have gone a bit bad.


    ''Oh boy.''


    She didn''t turn into a Kin right? But weren''t Kin humans before they turned to Kin? Though I suppose the other way around could have been possible too, after all, Nelbound was the living proof I''d witnessed with my own two eyes.

 Chapter 196 - SON, You Say!

    "Are you okay?" I spoke, rather carefully. My guard was up and I poured some radiation into my sword: it glowed yellow. If anything were to happen, I was ready for it.


    I really hoped, nothing happened though.


    Enira''s body was immobile for a second but then with a twitch, she became attentive. She still wasn''t facing me but I could tell that she was definitely paying attention to me.


    She turned her head toward me so fast, for a second I thought her neck would snap, but it didn''t. She looked at me, perplexed, her eyes became teary. Obviously, my guard was up but I didn''t sense any malice from her. She slowly walked my way, the next second- touched my cheek- her movements were almost instantaneous. She''d caught me by surprise- so fast.


    "Helio," She spoke softly.


    Her voice was different from Enira''s and even her looks were slightly altered. She actually looked like someone from a photo- but I couldn''t remember where I''d seen her or when. I vaguely remember seeing a girl with blue eyes and blue hair in some photo album but honestly, I couldn''t remember. Enra''s hair wasn''t blue parse, but she had a blue hue covering her whole body.


    "Are you okay?"


    Clearly, she wasn''t, but I kind of didn''t know what to do.


    She proceeded to kiss me, very deeply that is. But- a secondter- she hugged me and looked at me with a bit of pain. "You are not him." She almost leaked a drop of tear. "Has he- is he still alive?"


    "He''s dead."


    I didn''t know why but- it was almost as though I understood this girl. I understood what she was talking about and we were on the same wavelength.


    It was weird. I didn''t know her, and yet, I felt like I knew her. I didn''t know what she was talking about and yet I knew it. It almost felt like we were connected somehow.


    It was really weird.


    And the fact that instead of my father, I thought of my grandfather was even weirder.


    Then again, this girl did say Helio out loud, and not Burt.


    ''So she was one of gramps'' acquaintances?''


    "I see." She closed her eyes, smiled sweetly and the miasma started to evaporate. Two streams did stream through her cheeks though. It was almost like she was moving on. Beforepletely vanishing she looked at me one final time. "Of course, you''re not him. He wasn''t as handsome." She giggled. She again kissed me, this time on my forehead. "Live long, my son." Her smile was bright- too bright and it almost made me want to tear up for some reason.


    Son? Excuse me!?


    And Enira again started falling. My trance immediately got broken and I moved my hand forward, grabbing Enira in the process.


    So, even dead people thought of me as my grandfather''s son?


    Sigh.


    Or I guess it was like those times when old people called everyone around them ''son'' and stuff?


    Looks like I needed to have a talk with mom anyway. The fact that I actually felt a bit sad at that kind of made me wonder various things though. But for the time being, I had to focus on something else.


    Enira was more of a concern though. Even in my arms, she didn''t move. "Hey, you okay? Still with us?" I shook her slightly.


    "Mmmhhh." She looked just like before- not a trace of the miasma. Her eyes fluttered open: she wrapped her hand around my neck. "You have to bed me right now, or I''ll turn evil. Hurry," She said in a seductive but urgent tone. She also tried to kiss me.


    I stared nkly and just dropped her on the floor. "Uh-huh. I totally believe you."


    "HEY!"


    "Let''s go pick our things up and book a ne." I looked back and just walked.


    I was trying to distract my mind from what just happened.


    "I can just-" I kissed Marg before she could finish.


    "I know."


    She blushed slightly and didn''t say anything else.


    I was being overprotective but it was what it was.


    For some reason, the brat followed us. Enira kind of got mad and went back into the saber.


    This whole thing concluded a lot quicker than I thought. But it did leave a lot of questions in my mind. It also evoked some feelings that I didn''t know I even possessed.


    ***


    The kid actually followed us to our room.


    "What do you want kid?"


    He looked a little nervous as he looked at me. And then he bowed fiercely. "Forgive me, I didn''t know you were dating sis. I''m so sorry I called you an old fart." His head was still low and his bow was sincere.


    Apparently, he was also the son of a mistress. Since he was a prodigy, he''d inherited the Rodwich name, but he always had a close rtionship with Marg.


    All in all, it just rubbed me the wrong way.


    I gave Marg a nce and she kind of looked awkward.


    I actually wanted to talk to her about her illness but I stayed patient. This probably wasn''t the best time to be having that conversation.


    "We got that part, I still can''t remember how you got hurt that badly but- why are you here?"


    "Yeah, I kind of got cocky and underestimated you." He chuckled. "I know I''m asking too much but can I stay with you for a day or two? Father called me back home and-" He looked dreadful. "I might get grounded if I went now."


    "You''ll get even more grounded if you don''t go now though," Marg mumbled.


    He looked at me with teary eyes. Obviously, there was just one answer. "No," I said, smiling faintly. I didn''t need a kid of all things spying on us when we got busy.


    The kid flinched but stayed quiet.


    Marg and Elsa actually hadn''t said anything so far, at least about the kid.


    So, I gave Marg another nce. "Well?"


    "I mean-" For once she seemed slightly ufortable. "He''s not a bad kid. Having him over for a day-" Her voice got a little low. "I''ll be fine with whatever you decide."


    I guess she couldn''t decide. I really wished she''d be a bit more selfish or at least direct. Ordinarily, she''d be at least direct, but I guess things gotplicated when family was involved.


    Sigh.


    "Fine brat, you''ll with us for two days. Then you''re out." I weighed the good and the bad. Having this kid over would likely make Marg happy and that meant, I''d also be happy. And if the kid disturbed us, I could always just erase him, right?


    He gave me a big wide grin. "It''s Dan!"


    I flicked his forehead. "I don''t care."


    Anyway, as Marg and Elsa started to gather their things: I started to see if tickets were avable or not.


    Both used the other two rooms, so I was alone with the kid.

 Chapter 197 - I Should Have Just Conquered The World Like Uncle Always Wanted!

    No one actually asked me anything about the whole Enira-miasma core thingy. I was d for that. After all, I had to have this talk with mom first and foremost before anything else. I had a feeling the girl had taken me as gramps'' son or something. Wait, didn''t that mean, he really did have a second fling?


    But if the woman was gramps'' fling and- argh, I couldn''t wrap my head around it.


    It''d be a drag if there weren''t any tickets though.


    And what do you know, there weren''t. Apparently, some morons took over everything! EVERYTHING!


    Ring!


    And someone just pressed the bell on the door. I didn''t know why but my veins popped up slightly and I wanted to punch anything and everything that was near. But I did keep calm: somehow.


    Yeah, I was definitely calm.


    I just wanted to punch someone, but totally calm!


    The kid was free so he opened it.


    The headmaster came in, clearing his throat.


    "Oh? Quite the room you''ve got."


    "I know right." I tried to act proud and all but- yeah, I wasn''t cut out for boasting and stuff. Plus I really wasn''t in the best of moods.


    The headmasterughed hard while the guy behind him- Johnathan- just remained quiet. Johnathan actually didn''t enter and just stayed behind the door. Frankly, I didn''t care.


    "Anyway, we''ve got a jet with us, would you three like toe with us?" The headmaster said.


    A jet? It almost sounded fishy but- if he did, that''d be nice.


    We''d save a buck. But more importantly, Marg wouldn''t have to teleport that far. She''d probably be fine if she only did it once, but I didn''t want her to strain her body. Besides, I had a nagging suspicion that her illness and powers might have been rted. I really hope that wasn''t the case though.


    "Four." I pointed at the kid.


    The headmaster gave the kid a nce, checked him out, smiled faintly. "Shouldn''t be a problem, we could just throw him in with the luggage."


    He took all this time just to say that?


    "HEY!" the kid rebuked.


    "Yeah, fair enough." I didn''t see a problem in that.


    "NOT you too bro!"


    This kid was loud.


    "Yeah, I don''t recall being your brother."


    "But you''ll marry sis right? Then you''re my brother!" He pouted but puffed up his chest.


    I hated kids. My hate for them just got renewed.


    But he wasn''t exactly wrong either. I was definitely going to marry Marg, bing his bro though, I wasn''t too sure about that.


    "What''s with the ruckus?" Marg came this way, a suitcase in her hand. She was actually dressed the same as yesterday when she first came here. "Oh? Sir."


    She''d brought the same suitcase when she came with Elsa. I still didn''t know what was even in there though. Probably clothes and stuff.


    The headmaster nodded and left. Johnathan meanwhile, never actually said anything. Why was he even here?


    "They got a jet, so I was thinking of using that." It was more like there weren''t any tickets avable though.


    Apparently, some terrorists had overtaken all the major airports and there were no seats avable. Even the nes weren''t avable.


    It didn''t take a genius to figure out who they were.


    Sigh.


    Marg didn''tin or want an exnation either.


    Actually, the terrorists might have epted us if we went but- I had a feeling there''d be a lot of turmoil. So maybe this wasn''t so bad.


    "I''m ready." Elsa came out, looking pretty. "What did I miss?"


    "Nothing much." I kind of just wanted to go home and cuddle Marg. "You need to get anything brat?"


    So far the kid was kind of quiet. He was rather loud when he wanted to though.


    "It''s Dan you know." He whined but- "I didn''t bring anything."


    "Alright, let''s check-out and go."


    ***


    When we tried to check out, a little bit of hassle took ce.


    Apparently, we had to pay for the stuff we ordered and all that. The rooms were free courtesy of the hotel though. And actually, the deluxe rooms weren''t free even for the participants or the judges.


    Meaning¡­ yeah.


    I had fresh money in my pocket so I could have just paid. Oh wait, I had to first get a bank ount.


    "Please bill everything to headmaster Rogers." Marg smiled sweetly, taking charge of the whole matter.


    The girl behind reception smiled just as sweetly, albeit sweating slightly. "Right, mydy." They probably weren''t going to ept this if anyone else had said something like this.


    Well, Marg was the daughter of a count, so I guess her being revered as ''mydy'', wasn''t that surprising. I felt a bit high and mighty hearing that though.


    As the four of us walked out, Marg grabbed my arm and walked by my side, giggling softly. My heart beated slightly faster as certain soft spots touched my arm.


    "You people are getting more and more evil by the second," Elsa mumbled.


    I didn''t actually have aeback. I wasn''t going to say anything either. Besides, I was currently too busy enjoying life.


    ***


    Anyway, the jet was supposed to be near the road.


    Once we got out though, I saw the jet.


    "My eyes aren''t failing me right?" Elsa said, blinking a few times.


    "I don''t think so, no," Marg said, rubbing her eyes twice.


    It wasn''t a jet, it was a freaking chariot. A chariot for nobles of old. This wasn''t the middle ages, people!


    And the engine?


    I finally knew where our missing ne pretenders went.


    There was a crowd seeing the whole thing.


    "You can teleport four people at the same time, right?" Elsa asked, voice a bit too t.


    "Upto three, including myself. Any more and we might end up stranded in the ninth dimension. Though the risk is only 10% greater."


    "I have no idea what that means but I''ll be willing to take the risk." Elsa chuckled and promptly grabbed my cor. "Can''t we take a proper ride home? nes, boats, trains, anything!?"


    "You want to meet our terrorist friends, then sure?" I actually preferred my cousins for once. "Actually, maybe that''s not a bad idea. And yeah, we can always just take boats." Why the hell hadn''t I thought of that before?


    "Ha ha ha! Nonsense. This is the most proper ride you''ll have!" The headmaster picked the two of us up and carried us to the chariotughing like a madman.


    There were loads and loads of giggles, chuckles, and cheers from the crowd. Well, they sure were enjoying this.


    I had a hard time making sure of what just happened so I couldn''te up with a proper response.


    Before I knew it, we were already in the air, Elsa and Marg were sitting next to me, while the headmaster, Johnathan, and Dan were on the other side. Dan was literally being squeezed alive.


    This chariot was made for four people, not more not less.


    So, Marg and Elsa were a lot closer than I''d have preferred. Marg was one thing but Elsa was my sister!


    I so wanted to scream and get out of this but- aftering this far, this high, I didn''t have a choice.


    I just had to fake it till I made it.


    Maybe I should have followed in uncle''s footsteps and conquered the world or something, at least that way, I wouldn''t have had to go through all this embarrassing stuff.


    Sigh.

 Chapter 198 - I Didn’t Have Any Ulterior Motives, Okay!

    This was ufortable.


    Perhaps that was just an understatement.


    This was more than just ufortable.


    "By the way, she called you son, didn''t she? It''s almost mom''s lunchtime, why don''t you have a talk?" Elsa said.


    I gave her a cold re. "Are you stupid? These discussions should be had in person." I grinded my teeth.


    Besides, there were three outsiders here.


    She gave me a nk stare. I guess she was just trying to alleviate the situation but- yeah, probably not the best approach.


    Elsa pouted as she stared out of the window. She was pretty much going to bounce back the moment we got home. Her mood swings were always fast.


    I still didn''t want to take her there without mom though.


    We were actually flying quite fast. Not as fast as John, but definitely fast.


    Our ne pretenders were always in sync. And since we were inside thispartment, I didn''t feel too ashamed.


    I did feel stupid though.


    Sigh.


    "I''ll teleport us to our home when we get close to the academy. It shouldn''t be that hard." Marg grabbed my hand and smiled.


    Well, I couldn''t say no to that. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and I could feel my worries getting slightly lighter. It was more like her warmth was melting everything away.


    After the incident that day, I actually studied first aid thoroughly. I never wanted to feel like I could lose someone just because I was inexperienced or something. I even found a course online about how I could use radiation to heal. Though I needed money for it and I had to use the memory instiller again.


    I didn''t have the money before and now that I had Enira''s healing, I could use the instiller. Maybe I could even cheat my way ahead- though that probably was a bad idea. I didn''t want to identally screw up my memory again.


    Enira''s powers really were amazing though and she was gaining more abilities.


    Come to think of it, what new powers did Enira get?


    Hmm¡­ she was awfully quiet. I guess when I dropped her, she got a bit mad. I could just summon her, but with the little space we had, it probably wasn''t the best idea.


    I sighed again and just stared at my feet.


    This really wasn''t going anywhere. And there weren''t that many interesting things on the Holo either. Just how the hell did Merin spend all his time in the room looking at his Holo?


    "You know-" But then, Johnathan took up some courage and- "I heard she''s with you now. Is she- well?"


    It took me a second to process what he actually meant.


    "That''s no longer your concern," Marg answered on my behalf. Her voice was cold and she was staring at him with a bit of rage. Though she looked fairly normal, I could tell she was mad. "It would be wise to just mind your own business."


    "Right. Thank you for taking her in." He bowed his head a little and stopped talking.


    Marg looked like she had something more to say, but she didn''t.


    I didn''t say anything either. I didn''t actually know what to say.


    And more importantly, the hell just happened?


    ***


    It took exactly an hour and a half before we arrived near the ind. We were still pretty high and the ind was a few kilometers away.


    ''Ah, finally!'' I wanted to jump in joy, but I controlled myself. Thest hour and a half were utterly boring and dull. If it weren''t for thefort of Marg''s hand, I''d have probably fallen asleep.


    Actually, it might not have been bad falling asleep on Marg''s shoulder.


    Tch! A missed opportunity. ''Maybe we should do a train journey or something?''


    "Alright-" Marg grabbed my arm. "The three of us are leaving. Our house is located in the suburbs. You should find the house easily if you just ask about Helio. Oh and don''t forget the suitcase." Marg winked at the brat.


    "Right!" The kid sure was pumped.


    He didn''t evenin! If only my little sister was that obedient.


    Elsa had actually fallen asleep and she was resting her head against the wall. She just woke up and looked around in confusion.


    "Alright then headmaster," I said, staring at the old man. "Thanks for the ride." I kind of didn''t want to be here anymore though.


    He already heard our ns long ago but didn''t say anything.


    The guy just chuckled and said nothing. Typical.


    And in an instant, the world turned ck- or rather purple and we started to travel.


    Marg was grabbing me, and though Elsa was traveling just fine, she kind of grabbed my sleeve and was hanging on to me. I could hear her yawn but just focused on looking ahead.


    A light appeared before our eyes and well, now we were falling.


    "HEY, HEY! Wha!"


    "WHOOOAH!" Elsa sure seemed to have fun. She was definitely awake now. "WOOHOOO!"


    We were about three kilometers up, falling solidly. ''Oh boy.'' This did not look good. ''OH BOY!''


    In an instant, my heart started racing. My palms got sweaty and I knew, this was going to be a disaster.


    "Sorry, kind of forgot about the altitude!" Marg giggled but then grabbed me again.


    And-


    Everything froze. The wind that was pressing against my eardrums also froze.


    Even Elsa froze. Only Marg and I were not frozen, and we weren''t falling anymore either.


    Instead, Marg tried something and shed in a purple light.


    A secondter, we were back on the ground immediately and Elsa was still falling but, only from half a meter high. Well, she sure was frozen.


    I could move, so I grabbed her and fixed her posture and stance.


    "This is?" It was pretty amazing if nothing else.


    ''So, that day, she was doing this?''


    "Let''s talkter. This is pretty hard."


    The world resumed ticking.


    And Marg fell on her knees, sweating slightly. She was panting heavily.


    "Ummm¡­" I was about to say a lot of stuff.


    "Yes, I can stop time, so stop looking at me like that. And no, I''m okay. But a bit breathless because I couldn''t adjust from that altitude to this in an instant like you."


    Now that she mentioned it, I didn''t actually feel a thing.


    "WHHAOHHhhh?? Huh?" Elsa was a bit confused as instead of falling, she justnded safely. "Oh, man." The hell did this kid want? She was sweating slightly but that was all. "Oh, you okay?"


    And now she noticed Marg?


    "Fine." Marg stood up, still sweating. "Well, this is our home, let''s go in?"


    We were right in front of our house.


    "RIGHT!" Now Elsa was definitely excited.


    Anyway, we went in.


    ***


    "Wee back, the bath is ready and so is lunch, would you like to indulge in worldly pleasures first or some other pleasure?" The maid, bowed, tilting the hem of her dress.


    I honestly didn''t understand what she actually meant. Like what the hell?


    A secondter the bunny girl kind of giggled and "Pardon me. I shouldn''t have watched something." She cleared her throat. "Pleasee in master and ¨C" She gave Elsa a nce. "Masters." She was still wearing the same maid outfit, though her chest didn''t seem as tight as before. I guess she was finally wearing her own underwear, rather than Marg''s.


    I berated myself for noticing it.


    I sighed. This was getting slightly tedious.


    Anyway, I grabbed Marg''s hand and- "To the spring now."


    I didn''t want no for an answer.


    We had a very important discussion and I needed a lot of privacy.


    Plus she could rx in the spring too.


    "I''m kind of sweaty too," Elsa said, obviously grinning devilishly.


    I had a feeling she knew a lot more than I thought.


    "Use the master bathroom. It''s that way." My sister had a habit of sometimes pranking me in the bathroom, so- "Be sure to make sure, she doesn''t intrude." I gave a stare at the bunny maid and she nodded.


    Next, I picked Marg up like a princess, and well, to the spring!


    I was not going to have no, for an answer, no sir!


    ***


    Marg wasn''t actuallyining, just blushing. Whenever I picked her up, she always just cradled her hands around my neck, glued her ears to my chest, and kind of blushed. She neverined. And I had a feeling, even if I wanted something absurd from her in bed, she''d agree without a fuss. In a way that was cute, but in another way, that just made me realize, her love might just have been more than mine.


    She looked too darn cute, angelic even: I so wanted to shove my face in her chest and stuff. Lately, her hair was getting longer and I didn''t know why but, she really did look cuter.


    She was actually pretty light, so I didn''t have any problem carrying her either.


    "If you really can''t stop yourself, we can-" Marg started. She was suggesting a lot of things.


    "Well, I was just going to have a talk." I didn''t have any other ulterior motives, okay?


    Besides, I already knew how painful those days could be, at least vaguely. After all, I spent thest 17, or rather almost 18 years with two girls. And though one of them startedining only recently, I saw more or less how the other oneined and how she acted whenever she thought I wasn''t looking.


    And thest thing I wanted to do was inflict needless pain on my future wife just for the sake of pleasure.


    We got down to the basement, I undressed Marg myself, and she undressed me.


    It didn''t take time for things to get hot.

 Chapter 199 - And Just Like That, The Roof Above My Head-

    For some reason, Marg actually smelled nice even if she was sweating and stuff. Me on the other hand, yeah, I could pretty much throw up at my own scent. Just how the hell did she manage to stay put in my arms all this time?


    Anyway, we held hands and moved forward. The feeling of her soft hand- ''This is really happening. I really do live with her.'' Sometimes I really felt like this might just have been a dream.


    I squeezed Marg''s hand and hugged her- sniffed her hair and held her in my arms. No, this wasn''t a dream.


    And I was really, really happy about that.


    "I get that you can''t stand anymore, but-" Apparently, Marg misunderstood.


    "Let''s go in." I let go of her.


    We got into the warm spring water- together.


    Marg went to the other side and faced me. She let out a bit of a moan as she soaked in water- or was it just her rxing? I didn''t know.


    Water was flowing. The sound was strangely calming.


    We were both bare-skinned, so yeah.


    Marg''s body was sure turning me on though: taunting me, enticing me, calling me forth! ''Calm down, me, calm down!''


    It was definitely not easy to calm down.


    Anyway, to the main topic. "So, you wanted something to say?"


    "OH?" Marg smiled. "You wanted something to hear?"


    It was almost as if we both forgot how to speak for that one instance. For me, I was too excited. For Marg? She was probably just teasing me.


    I sighed. "Just tell me, please. You''re just making me anxious."


    All this suspense wasn''t good for my heart. And not to mention Helio junior was already saluting pretty vigorously.


    She took a deep breath. "So, remember that thing I talked about being lost in the ninth dimension?"


    "Uh-huh." Actually, that day was kind of traumatic for me, so might have forgotten half of its contents.


    I did recall that thing about her being lost in another dimension or something, albeit vaguely. I still nodded my head anyway.


    "Well," Marg kind of looked away. "It''s just- I think I''m losing my vision, albeit slightly. And well, I think there''s something wrong with me, but- I can''t quite pin it down yet." She wasn''t looking at me.


    Guilty.


    "And you didn''t tell me this before, because?" I wasn''t mad at her, no.


    I was just furious.


    I was less worried about her and more worried about what I''d do without her. So, in the end, I was just selfish. But I didn''t care. I loved her and I wasn''t going to let anything take her away from me, not even death. She was mine and mine alone!


    Marg sighed, stared straight into my eyes. "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to keep that from you but- I never thought it''d be a problem. Buttely- my body seems to be acting a bit weird. I was having second doubts about getting checked. I was afraid- what if-" She paused. "I''m- I''m really happy with you. I don''t want this to end, ever. That''s why I''m afraid."


    I sighed and went over to her side. This spring wasn''t really that deep and it wasn''t slippery.


    My knees were kind of touching the base of her thigs and maybe a bit more. We were pretty close. She was warm and her body was soft. "Trust me, I''ll revive you from the dead if I have to."


    Very corny, but I really, really didn''t want anything to happen to her. I loved her.


    "Not really sure if that''s even possible." Marg giggled and brought her face forward.


    "Well, I guess I''ll have to achieve the impossible, but for now, you''ll at least see a doctor."


    She wrapped her hands over my neck and her lips were maybe a centimeter away from mine. "Okay." She did take the initiative but stopped at the veryst second.


    I guess I had to do the rest.


    Her breath, her warm breath fell on my face. Ah, I could just eat her up!


    We couldn''t do it, but at least we could have some fun so-


    "Hey, I heard you were down-" An entric voice came from behind me. "I brought the suit-ca-"


    My eyes twitched as I slowly turned my head around. "Oh, you know, you''re dead, right?"


    It was Marg''s little brother. "Ah-ah, my bad. I thought only she was here, so, t-take your time." He flinched and slowly, slowly backed off. A secondter, he ran for his life.


    Before I could move forward though, Marg grabbed my head and pressed my face on her chest: so soft. Incidentally one of her pearls just went inside my mouth. It was totally a coincidence, okay!? There wasn''t any nectar avable though.


    Okay, maybe I could forgive him just this once. I was definitely going to give him a thorough lecture though.


    But, for the time being, I just sucked, squeezed her and-


    "Ah!" Marg moaned and her hand went down there: my little buddy was now in her hands, literally. Her grin only made me hotter.


    The rest was history.


    We still didn''t do it though.


    ***


    After the shower, we went to the living room.


    Elsa was already on the sofa, lying down, eating almonds. She was only wearing a towel: she didn''t even dry herself! This was why I wanted mom to be here!


    If she were here, this girl would have never had the guts to pull something like this.


    Sigh.


    The bunny girl was busy vacuuming the floor, she was actually pretty much done with this floor and was in the process of moving up.


    And the brat sat in a corner, shivering slightly. The moment our eyes connected, he looked down shivering a bit more.


    I sighed. "I won''t kill you but-e upstairster, we need to talk." My re was very real.


    He nodded very vigorously. He didn''t have the guts to even be on the sofa for some reason. He was a bit relieved though and rested a bit morefortably on his chair.


    I sat down on the sofa next to Elsa. It was a big sofa, so Elsa''s feet didn''t quite reach me. And moreover, this was the norm whenever mom wasn''t around anyway.


    Anyway, I dialed a call.


    A call I was dreading over so far. But I had to talk to her. Besides, I had to do something about Elsa too.


    It almost immediately got picked up.


    "Mom, hi."


    A secondter I realized that all my enthusiasm might have been a bit too soon.


    "¡­"


    I was hoping this would be an audio-only call but unfortunately, mom was ring at me while two gentlemen just behind her were shivering in their chairs.


    This was bad.


    Elsa got up and kind of sat right next to me, one hand on myp. I could see and feel a lot of stuff, but as a responsible older brother, I pretended like nothing was wrong at all. "Someone imed this guy to be her son, do you know anything?"


    Elsa pulled a fast one on me. Before I couldin about her, she already set the groundwork for my demise. She also gave me a devilish smirk, looking back slightly.


    Mom''s veins kind of throbbed as she smiled. The people behind her were shivering even more. They were probably her bosses.


    "Oh? So, I wonder who I was carrying in my womb for ten whole months¡­ He even overstayed!" Mom kind of broke something on her desk, wait she was actually standing: was that even her desk? She was currently fuming- I could literally make out the veins on her forehead. "Who was that? WHO!? I''ll kill her!"


    "C-calm down. She''s already dead so-" I tried my best, but I rarely dealt with mom being this angry.


    Something was wrong. Mom usually didn''t talk about killing.


    "Oh?" Mom''s face brightened slightly. "Good job. You''ve avenged your mother." Why the hell was this woman so entric today? And she still looked like a serial killer!


    Something had to be wrong.


    "But didn''t you say, killing is wrong?" Elsa said.


    And why the hell was this moron justplicating things more and more? It was like she was pouring petrol into a volcano or something.


    Mom''s eyes kind of became dull but bloodthirsty. "Youngdy, why are you dressed like that?" She actually wasn''t smiling anymore.


    This was bad. This was very bad.


    "I-I''ll go get dressed." Elsa left immediately. Well, she sure looked more than just frightened.


    I wanted tough at her, but given the situation, I didn''t have the guts.


    Mom''s attention fell on me next. "Well, congrattions. You almost killed the guy but at least you were able to stop." Wait, what? I almost killed who? I only used some radiation and he would have been fine, right? "Anyway, I actually wanted to have a chat with you." She spoke level-headed, but I could tell, she was agitated.


    "You seem pretty busy, so-" So I just wanted to end this.


    What the hell was I thinking, calling her?


    Mom sighed. "About that. Can Ie over and stay at your ce for a week or two? I need a change of pace." She spoke frankly, way too frankly.


    I had to do a reality check before understanding what just came out of my mother''s mouth.


    "Umm¡­ excuse me? What about your work?"


    Mom smiled and then let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "I just got fired."


    What?


    Fired?


    Her?

 Chapter 200 - And Just Like That, The Roof Above My Head- Crumbled (Part Two)

    But-! Mom was a hard worker. She often overworked. It was true that she took days off every now and then but she worked twice as hard as anyone else. She worked more for less time: she did get bonuses for doing more work but she really worked hard. And yet, she was fired?


    "¡­" I had a lot of questions. I really did.


    And yet, I couldn''t really ask anything. I couldn''t voice my questions.


    My throat clogged up. My breathing became a bit unstable. I strangely started to sweat.


    It was almost as though the floor was shaking. The roof above my head had crumbled and, now what?


    If mom lost her job then what about us?


    What about her?


    "¡­" Mom was also quiet.


    And now that I looked carefully, she wasn''t exactly in her room. Her expression was kind of crestfallen and infuriated at the same time.


    So this was her boss''s room and she just got fired. And then I called?


    ''She''s going through more than me-'' I knew that. I knew she was having a much harder time than me. But- but I didn''t know what to do.


    What could I have said?


    "Okay." I wanted to ask a lot of things but I guess they all could wait. "Elsa''s already here, so pack some things ande. Should I take Marg and pick you up?" In that case, we''d have to spend some time in our home before Marg could teleport back safely.


    I tried putting up a smile but I couldn''t form one.


    Mom smiled faintly. "It''s okay, I''ll take a ne."


    The call ended.


    With arge exaggerated sigh, I justy down on the sofa.


    It was kind of damp. My arm covered my eyes. ''Now what?''


    I guess if mom wasing here then she could take care of Elsa, so that was one less worry.


    ''If she''s fired then, I''m the only one who can contribute to the family?'' I guess that was obvious at this point.


    I was thinking about saving some money for future use. I had a lot of money right now, perhaps they weren''t that much whenpared to the thingsing- but they were at least good enough for us to live right now.


    My head kind of got heavy. It didn''t ache but- I couldn''t really feel rxed either. The stress just kept piling up.


    ''She''ll probably just jump right back up-''And yet, my heart didn''t stop being anxious. I had faith in mom and her skills. But- I couldn''t stop my heart.


    All my fatigue was washed away in the spring, but- they kind of came back and this time they were multiplied by a few times.


    ''What am I going to do?''


    The Battlesuin thing was just around the corner and now this?


    I had to worry about Marg''s illness too.


    And then there was the problem of- Sigh.


    Footsteps came down. The bunny girl was somewhere else and Elsa was probably on the second floor still dressing up. Elsa always took a hell amount of time dressing up. It probably was the miracle a time when she didn''t take long.


    But then that left the question, who? Marg?


    Marg came and sat next to my head: I guess that was a yes. "Oh? You''re not satisfied? Here I thought you were plenty satisfied." She giggled and patted herp. "How about you rest a little and then start sighing?"


    I almost chuckled. She didn''t know what I was going through and yet, she could sense that I was stressed.


    I couldn''t say no to that. I raised up a little and now her thigs were under my head: they were soft. "I think I need to find a job. Mom lost hers."


    For a second Marg stayed quiet. Then she smiled. "I have some savings. How about-"


    I stopped her lips with my finger. "That''s your future. You should never stake your future for me. After all, there''s no saying when I''ll-" Life and death were just two sides of the same coin. "Di-"


    This time Marg stopped mine and just smiled. We had our fingers stopping each other''s lips and I couldn''t help but smile slightly. Though my heart was kind of aching.


    Without much of anything else, I got up and hugged her. "Thanks. I won''t turn down your offer but- I''ll also try to earn at least something. We''ll figure this out together." My voice was slow and quiet.


    "You won''t drop out, right?" Marg was really concerned. She did smile though. I guess she liked being relied on, at least by me.


    "Of course not. And I won''t let you either."


    "Then it''s fine." She hugged me tight too. "I''m d. We''re finally doing something together other than just making out-" Her voice was really small as she giggled.


    I did not know why but my face felt oddly hot.


    We basically used the same stuff to clean ourselves so our smell was kind of simr. And yet, she definitely smelled better than me. Maybe it was just my imagination but, I didn''t care and I loved her and her smell. I touched her chest and kissed her.


    ''Thanks.''


    "AHEM!" I''m still here you know. I actually forgot that there was a brat in the corner. WAIT, he was here all this time!? I also forgot for a second that this wasn''t our bedroom. OOPS. "Anyway, if you''re looking for quick ways to make cash, why not hunt Mutors in Antarctica? You''ve got barriers and you can survive those treacherous radioactivends too."


    I wanted to give the brat a p but he had a point. "It''s true I can survive there, but that ce is home to one of the strongest Mutors of this world. You really think I can just walk there, kill one and bring back a core in one piece?"


    Then again, uncle had experience going there about a dozen times. I guess I could ask his help for once.


    Sigh.


    "Oh? You want free money? Then how about I lend you some money for letting me stay here? I may not look like it but I own a lot ofnd and money." The kid sure talked high and mighty.


    "Yeah, I think I''ll pass."


    With a sigh, I checked the distance to Antarctica. Apparently, it was somewhere around 15000km away.


    ''looong.''


    I sighed again. Marg could basically cover 1500km in six hours without much an issue.


    The reason I was even considering teleportation was that Antarctica was actually sealed off to the general public.


    Technically, I was a viin so it didn''t matter.


    "You know, ignoring me isn''t something you should do," Marg whispered in my ears, gave my neck a bit of lick, and just moved across the room, sitting on the other sofa. "And shouldn''t you focus on one thing at a time?"


    One thing at a time huh?


    My heart kind of raced with that lick though. And was it me or was it hot in here?


    "Besides, you could always just go find ores in meteorite sites. After all, you''re resistant to radiation and that should be-" The kid tried to say something, but that kind of jumpstarted my memory.


    ''Wait, didn''t Uncle say something about the Battlesuins having a rare stone?''


    If it was rare, then it had to be expensive, right?


    So, if I could just beat them and ¨C


    Ehehehe¡ªaha HAHAHHHHH!


    "Did something happen to him?" The kid mumbled.


    Elsa came down. "No, that''s just how he acts whenever he gets some crazy evil idea."


    "Is everything alright?" The bunny maid came running.


    ''Is myugh really that bad?''


    I cleared my throat. "Alright Enira it''s ShowTime for you,e out. We''ll discuss the rest of the n." Iughed haughtily but stopped. "Umm... Enira? Come out?" I poked my saber but nothing happened.


    "Hmph!" A bit of sound came out of my saber. It was still turning on and I could use it but- Enira wasn''ting out.


    I guess I had to do something. If she didn''te out, I''d have a hard time. "Sorry aboutst time. Pleasee out?"


    "You''ll have to kiss me and this time of your own ord." The voice dide out of the saber but she didn''t. "I won''t ept any half-assed treatment."


    I gave Marg a nervous stare. She was ring but clicked her tongue. "Fine. I''ll allow it." She was grinding her teeth and I had a feeling this won''t go that nice. She definitely looked like a serial killer.


    "Alright-"


    Before I could finish, Enira came out and dragged my head in her chest. She was not wearing anything. "Well, then that saves time."


    Is it me or are they even bigger now?

 Chapter 201 - My Conscience Could Be Trusted, But My Body Can’t?

    This was bad.


    This was really bad.


    Yes, soft things were being pressed against my head. But I was also receiving real murderous res from Marg. Elsa was also ring.


    And why the hell was they so big? And soft, no less!


    I took a deep breath and somehow freed myself from Enira.


    It took some real courage, I say!


    "Well, a deal''s a deal. Afterward, we''ll discuss our ns and we''ll go fight them two days from now. How does that sound?"


    I was definitely not flustered, okay?


    I was definitely not trying to change the subject either.


    "Didn''t you just say, we''ll discuss it afterward?" Enira was actually almost the same height as me. Her eyes were literally on mine and she was wearing quite the expression.


    She traced a finger down my lips and grinned. Her long hair actually got a tint of blue now around the edges.


    She was pretty much naked, so it was suffice to say, my heart was kind of running fast: she did have tiny scales around the private parts as covers though unlikest time. It was also thanks to Marg''s murderous re too. My heart was definitely going to fail if this kept up.


    "Well?" Enira wrapped her hands around my neck, loosely and waited for me.


    She really was soft and warm. And my heart was kind of going out of its way to pound faster.


    Sigh. "I only love Marg. It won''t change." With that said, I dragged her close and kissed her.


    My tongue entered her mouth- fought with her tongue. It was getting hot. It was getting even hotter. She was literally pressing her fingernails in my back. It hurt and that''s why, I forced my tongue even deeper. Her body was even softer than Marg''s but I obviously liked Marg more.


    She was so close that I could feel her scent wash all over me.


    Her taste was different from Marg''s. I didn''t hate it but I liked Marg''s taste a lot more.


    Why the hell was I evenparing these two? What the hell came over me?


    Enira was out of breath and she slowly slouched down. But, I only went in stronger.


    Something was wrong with my body. It was almost like I caught some sort of fire or something.


    I couldn''t stop.


    "WHOAH!" She breathed hard as she fell on the floor and just lied on her back. "I''m overflowing. Why don''t we take this upstairs?" She winked, panting heavily.


    Yeah, I didn''t really want to look down. As I took a step back in disbelief, I almost fell on the sofa.


    I sat on the sofa and just grimaced. One kiss here and there was one thing, but what if I started falling in love with her? I really loved Marg and I wasn''t going to back out from this, but, what if my heart changed?


    What if it craved more? And I actually did. My rising star was the proof of that. I was really d I was wearing a nice pair of underwear though.


    Just seconds ago, I enjoyed this kiss: I did. I felt the saber in my pants pressing up and some part of me wanted more. Even if my conscience could be trusted, my body couldn''t. ''Can I really stay faithful?''


    "Get up, you pervert." Marg came over and kicked Enira. Obviously, Enira let herself get hit and didn''t fight back. If she did, I''d have kicked her myself.


    Clothes kind of came out of nowhere and Enira got dressed here, very seductively that is. Who knew putting on clothes could be like this? And there were two kids here for crying out loud.


    But just as I got the thought, I got filled with guilt.


    Sigh. ''I guess the answer''s no.''


    The guilt only increased. Elsa was a kid but she was a girl. But what about the brat? Wasn''t he even younger and- Wait, why the hell was the brat grinning like that?


    ''You can''t be serious?''


    Elsa Meanwhile just looked at me like I was some sort of insect. I guess I couldn''t fault her for that.


    Marg held my hand and stared at me, sitting in front of me, her head barely reaching my chin.


    I didn''t think she''d being over here. I thought she''d be mad and-


    She kissed me, reaching up.


    She didn''t hold anything back and just shoved me on the sofa, got on top of me, and kissed me.


    She kissed me over and over again. Our tongues met over and over again. Her taste was in my mouth and I couldn''t get enough: yeah, this was different and I wanted more. My holy sword was pretty much ready to roll but- we were still here and everyone was here too.


    My frigging sister was here and- I''d kind of forgotten about it altogether.


    Finally, after three or so minutes, Marg moved her tongue and smiled slightly. "Didn''t I say, you''re allowed to take in mistresses? As long as you''re happy and they love you, I''ll also be happy, so there''s nothing for you to be guilty about." Yeah, so said the girl who was literally looking like a serial killer just moments ago.


    ''You knew?''


    But- but! This made me realize one important thing. Marg loved me more than I loved her.


    She really did.


    I could never picture her with someone else.


    I didn''t have that much capacity. And yet, she was allowing me to be with someone other than her. I hugged Marg. "Let''s get married. I don''t care about the graduation and stuff. Let''s just get married and go crazy. You''ll be the only wife and I''ll love you more than anyone else. Even if I fall in love with someone else, I''ll love you the most." My words sounded cheap. But I knew there was always the possibility of me falling in love with someone else.


    Heck, I might have already had weird feelings.


    And that''s why I didn''t want to risk anything. I''d get married to Marg first and spend most of my time with her.


    Humans were simple creatures. As long as they spent enough time with someone or even something, even if that was inanimate you''d develop a bit of connection with it. My connection with Marg was strong but the same theory was true for everyone else. The more time I spent with Enira, the more I''d feel different things.


    Marg giggled. "Alright, but I won''t hear anyintster. I won''tin about our marriage, so you better not either. Not even once in your life. Alright?" She looked at me with more than just expedient eyes. "And I''ll be the only wife, okay?"


    And what sort of question was that? Fighting was normal. Even mom and I fought for crying out loud.


    I was almost always the loser though.


    "Of course!" But there was only one answer.


    Elsa let out an exasperated sigh. "Can we move on? Why do you people always waste time on such mundane things? Marg will be the wife and the rest will be mistresses, right? So, what''s soplicated about that?" She sighed again. She was acting way too mature for once. Was she really my sister or did some alien kidnap the real one and this one was a fake one? "And keep these things to the bedroom please." She was actually blushing slightly.


    Yeah, this was a blunder. A major blunder that I didn''t want to do again.


    I also sighed and sat down properly. "Sorry about all that, I really do apologize." I apologized to all three of the spectators; my sister, the brat, and the bunny maid. "Let''s move on to the main business. I''ll fight the Battlesuin in three days. Though I say, fight, we''re going to negotiate."


    "Fight and negotiate?" Our bunny maid didn''t get anything.


    Of course, she wouldn''t. After all, she wasn''t present when we had our discussion.


    We actually talked plenty about the future yesterday. Though at the time, all we did was argue.


    "Yes, I''ll fight Hyora, end her life, and then negotiate how we''ll let the Battlesuins live. I''ll make them our family''s ves and take all their treasure."


    Marg and Enira smiled while the rest kind of grimaced.


    Elsa was also wearing a troubled look. "You do realize, Hyora Battlesuin is said to be immortal, right? And making all them ves?" she sighed. "How the hell is that even considered negotiations?" She mumbled. "I''ve said this before and I''ll say it again. You should try to avoid getting blood on your hands as much as possible."


    I sighed. Of course, I knew that and of course, I knew killing people like it was nothing, wasn''t possible for me. But I did have hatred for Hyora and that''s why I couldn''t back out from this. Besides, I''d already decided it and it was toote to back out now. "Yes, but that''s where Eniraes in." I gestured her to speak.


    "Right! You guys know that I can make barriers, right? But that''s not all. I can also teleport, albeit only one way for the time being. But I can teleport, or rather warp to anyce as long as Helio is present. I can also warp inside his mind and that''s how I know exactly what he''s feeling." She looked awfully proud of the fact. "Though reading thoughts are a bit harder and I often make errors." She squirmed, squeezing her legs tight.


    I really wanted to punch her lights out but I had to keep calm. "Basically, she can make seals as long as I''m the one receiving them. This means the shadow won''t being out unless I and Enira agreed on it or maybe- I got pushed a bit too far. However with her current strength that won''t be possible for the long term.. She needs more cores and- yeah, that''s a hassle."

 Chapter 202 - The Plan

    "True but with my current powers I can only act after the other personalities make their appearance: So that means, I''ll have to stick even closer to you." Enira was busy rubbing her body against mine. I gave her a nice punch on her head, between the horns: hard! "Ahem! Precisely, so we won''t need Hyora to be alive for sealing purposes." She sniffed, let out a tear but kept a straight face.


    Just what the hell was wrong with the dragon-snake thingy?


    "You realize, we''re talking about how to kill her right? We aren''t talking about why we''re killing her, but how!" Elsa grumbled.


    "Right, right." Enira snickered. "We''ll trap her in a barrier, and kill her by burning her whole body to cinders. We won''t leave a single cell. Should be enough to kill even a primal vampire."


    "And if she descended from the original vampire and a primordial one then? First of all, why are we assuming she''s a vampire in the first ce? She moves in the sun and she can warp and do other things. She can even cut things without touching and is more dangerous than uncle!"


    Well someone sure did their homework.


    "Actually, mom confirmed that Hyora is a primordial or at least a primal vampire. She once knocked the head off that monster but Hyora grew it back, you were still a toddler then. SO we know that she''s a vampire and because of that, we can kill her with very hot sma by disintegrating all the cells of her body."


    Then again even gramps'' sacred knowledge didn''t tell me how I could deal with a primordial if that failed.


    Gramps dealt with three primordials in his life. He killed two but the third one was something out of this world. He even prophesied that this third vampire could have been really from another world. Since he couldn''t kill it, he made some sort of deal with it and both stayed out of each other''s way.


    "If that fails?" And Elsa just had to ask that. She did grimace though.


    "I can just shower her with all sorts of radiation?" I sure was out of ideas. There was a high chance the vampire gramps couldn''t kill, was Hyora. And mom couldn''t kill her either. Also, Uncle had reportedly tried to kill her several times but failed.


    So, killing something they couldn''t, was a very tall order and kind of like a fantasy.


    "What if she can absorb it all and what about the rest of the people around you? Besides, did you forget she could do spatial warp? She can literally make your barriers obsolete." I didn''t know why but Elsa was being way too realistic and I was being way too stupid.


    My little sister might have actually surpassed me in intelligence for once!


    But she was right. This was a far greater threat than what I made it out to be.


    "Not, quite." Enira gleamed. "She might look strong but alone she''s not much of a threat. The only real problem would be her family."


    "And how the hell do you know that?"


    "I''ve been alive for quite some time you know." She almost frowned.


    Yeah, I didn''t think so. If Hyora Battlesuin wasn''t that strong, she wouldn''t have been the head of the family for all this time: and she wouldn''t have survived Uncle and mom either. She had to be strong. And there was something that we were perhaps even overlooking.


    ''Maybe first hearing them out before starting a fight would be smarter.''


    "Yeah," Enira replied, a bit self-satisfied.


    "Stop reading my thoughts, you moron!"


    She just giggled.


    "We can banish her to the ninth dimension. I can teleport her and then dump her there. Time moves differently in the ninth dimension, so it''ll be like an eternal prison," Marg said. She was awfully quiet till now.


    And her tone was rather calm too. It was almost as though she''d already thought of all this before.


    I actually hadn''t thought of that though. "And what about the exits?"


    "There are but remember those ck things? They won''t let you. Besides, there aren''t many who can travel through that dimension."


    Remember them? It was more like they haunted me in my dreams. Those ck thingies often tormented in my dreams from even before I met Marg at least once a week. The things in my dreams and the ck things weren''t totally the same though.


    Actually, it probably started a long while ago. I just never made a scene about it. But, the things from my nightmares did resemble those ck things in the ninth dimension.


    I couldn''t confidently say they were the same thing though but I definitely remembered those things.


    "So, if we can''t kill her, we''ll banish her and then demand them to submit themselves to us?" Elsa sighed. "I don''t like this n."


    Me neither.


    "Well, I''ll be the one to carry it out, so you don''t have to." If something went wrong, I''d be taking responsibility. Elsa didn''t have anything to worry about.


    This is exactly why I wanted to do this alone. If something went wrong, I''d take the me. After all, I got us in this mess. I was pretty much dragged into this, but- I wanted to make those monsters pay for what they did.


    "Pretty sure mom would disagree. Plus she looked kind of mad." Elsa looked around. "Though I doubt these two will let you fight alone."


    I''d be bringing Enira. Marg however, I wasn''t too sure about. Yeah, we could go ande back from the Battlesuin mansion by teleporting, and having her as a backup if everything failed, was going to be nice. Besides, our n actually included the ''banish by teleporting part'', and without Marg that wouldn''t go as nned. But-


    I didn''t want to think about it.


    So, I focused on something else. "Well, about that-" I paused. "Mom is actuallying here. She might arrive tomorrow." Or even today, if we were lucky, or unlucky for that matter.


    "Oh shit." Elsa grimaced hard.


    ***


    I had problems but I had a solution.


    But my heart wasn''t calming down.


    It was close to the afternoon but we didn''t have lunch yet. I had no idea if the bunny maid had even made lunch. She was kind of conflicted about the whole thing and never said anything.


    I was currently lying on Marg''sp in our bedroom. She was patting my head and calming me down.


    I was pretty calm but- I did have worries.


    ''Bringing Marg would be a rather terrible idea.''


    Even if she could banish Hyora in the ninth dimension, what if something happened to Marg?


    "Would you allow me to be a bit selfish?"


    "Hmm?" Marg stroked my hair.


    "I want you to stay here with my family."


    She stopped. "NO, I dragged you into this. I can''t back out now. And if you don''t take me, I''ll walk out of this house and nevere back." Marg''s tone was awfully stern and she was serious. "Besides, I''m your backup n, remember?" She smiled.


    I both sighed and groaned. There went that.


    "I don''t want you to get hurt."


    "I know." She smiled. "I don''t want you to get hurt either." She giggled and then looked distantly at the ceiling. "We should go down and eat lunch. She''s probably done."


    Well, I guess the maid actually was making us lunch then.


    With a sigh, I turned my head upside down and my face was now totally connected to Marg''s thigs: her skirt was in the way though. Yeah, but this felt amazing: so warm, so soft. "Just a minute more."


    Oh yeah, I loved this scent.


    Deep breaths, deep breaths!


    A giggle came from above as Marg slouched down, hugged me, kissed my neck, and stood up regardless. "They''re waiting for us, you know."


    I almost fell on the floor but controlled myself. "Alright."


    Maybe, life wasn''t as bad as I made it out to be: at least not for my nose.

 Chapter 203 - A Party You Say?

    The two of us went down. And as Marg said, lunch was already done and everyone was already at the table.


    So they were waiting for me?


    "Well, you''re the head of this household. So this was only natural," Marg whispered.


    I had no idea what to say to that though. And how the hell could she read my thoughts? Were my emotions really that transparent?


    ''But won''t mom be the head once she gets here?''


    I guess for the time being I really was the head though.


    "Sorry to keep you guys waiting." With that said, I took my seat and Marg took hers, right next to me.


    There were eight chairs and four of them were upied. The bunny girl did not sit with us. She was our maid after all.


    Marg sat next to me, while the brat next to her. Elsa sat on the opposite side.


    "We have green bean soup, beef stew, and rice for lunch. There''s also bacon and eggs as a side dish and cream puffs for dessert," the bunny maid said.


    I didn''t know if this menu was good or bad.


    ''Well, mom will be here tomorrow anyway, I guess.'' So, I''ll be back to an actual, proper diet.


    We started eating.


    It was good, not as good as mom''s cooking but pretty good.


    "So you''ll take money from the Battlesuins but do you have a backup n?" Elsa said, stuffing her face with cream puffs.


    She did not care about lunch, no.


    ''Just hurry up and get here mom.'' I kind of grimaced but- "I think I''ll hunt Mutors. I won''t need a degree to be a hunter. Of course, I''ll only do that part-time. And there''s plenty of Mutors on this ind. I could always just strike a deal with the headmaster." It was better than nothing. "So, assuming everything doesn''t go ording to n with the Battlesuins, I''ll at least have a n."


    But if things do go south, what would I do then? Honestly, I didn''t want to think about it, but I had to think about the worst-case too.


    "Fair enough I suppose." How the hell was she talking with her mouth full like that?


    And why the hell did she have to be so cute? I almost had this urge to pet he-


    Ahem! "And hey, leave some for us!" I had to distract my mind somehow, okay?


    The moment I said that Elsa grabbed the bowl of puffs and tried to protect it with her life.


    The bunny maid took all the creams puffs away from Elsa and ced it all right next to my te a secondter though.


    Elsa stared at me with teary eyes but then finally started eating her food.


    Well, this was new. Normally she''d start rebelling.


    Suddenly I felt empowered for some reason. Everybody''s fates were now in my hands. MUahahahah! ''Better not misuse power.''


    I was really tempted to though.


    ***


    With our extrate lunch over, I had basically nothing to do.


    I could have just head over to the academy and gotten my things but that felt like a drag.


    So, lying on the sofa and watching Marg do chores seemed like a good way to pass the time.


    Then there was the thing about missing sses. Then again, I was exempt from attending sses for these three days anyway. Besides, I had enough knowledge about the subjects.


    I could pass the exams as I was, right?


    Right?


    ''I guess I could always just get the instiller and buy-'' Oh yeah, I kind of already forgot that my money wasn''t something that I could use frugally anymore.


    Sigh. I still wanted to buy the course on how to use radiation for healing though.


    My Holo vibrated.


    "Merin? What''s up?" I immediately picked up.


    "Well, congrats. They''re throwing a party today. Where you at?"


    "Home?"


    "You mean, your new ce? You didn''t even invite, dude!"


    He didn''t sound that upset. If anything he was chuckling.


    "Oh yeah, I was nning to throw a small party next month." I most certainly wasn''t. "I have to do something about the Battlesuins and you know." It felt awkward to be talking about these things in the living room when my future wife was sitting right next to me, with her head resting on my shoulder. Yes, when I picked up the Holo, she came back and sat next to me, and proceeded tond her head on my shoulder!


    d this was an audio call!


    "Sounds like a handful. Anyway, the party should be around eight at the lightsaber club and even I was invited for some reason. You''lle, right?"


    "Hey, no one invited me." I was offended no less.


    I was the one who won and I wasn''t invited!


    "Who cares! You''re the winner. I''m pretty sure they''d tell you at thest moment to surprise you or something: everyone knows, you can get there ASAP with your wife- oh yeah, still a girlfriend... Anyway, be there."


    Did he really have to rub it in?


    Then again, I guess I kind of dered a bunch of times to the world that I was going to take Marg as my wife and- this wasn''t that surprising.


    "I''ll try." It wasn''t like I had anything better to do anyway.


    Then again, I didn''t really feel like going either.


    "I heard there''d be chocte syrup avable with cakes today." Merin finallyid the honeyed words.


    "Okay, count me in!" It wasn''t like I loved that stuff and was willing to go all the way to the academy for it or anything, okay?


    He chuckled loudly and cut the call.


    "Rude!" I chuckled too.


    "What?" Marg asked.


    "There''s a party tonight at the club."


    "You''ll go?"


    "Yeah, would you like toe along?"


    "I''d love to." She didn''t really show that many emotions though.


    "Can Ie?" Elsa popped out of somewhere. Where the hell was she hiding all this time? Behind the sofa?


    "I don''t think so. Can you even behave yourself?"


    "HMPH!" She puffed up her chest. "Who do you think I am!?"


    "My overly pampered little sister?" With maybe an ounce of cuteness and a sprinkle of adorableness?


    Even if she didn''t create a mess at the party, I had a feeling a lot of boys would flock around her and I did not want that, no sir!


    "Overl- What do you mean overly pampered! I''ve lived a very modest life, I''ll have you know!" She was offended and the way she puffed up her cheeks almost made me want to pet her.


    ''The hell is wrong with me today?''


    I could bet all my unwanted attention that she had no idea what modest even meant.


    But seriously something was wrong with me. My sister was beautiful and I knew that from the very moment I firstid my eyes on her as a baby. And I did pet her when we were kids but- after a certain age, I stopped touching her needlessly. I mean, she was my sister, and I wanted to maintain a healthy sibling rtionship.


    So, I shunned my urges to pet her deep inside. But- why? Why were they surfacing again?


    And why the hell was she staring at me with those puppy dog eyes?


    Arghhh¡­SSIGH!


    I sighed. "Fine." Keeping her unsupervised would have just caused me more trouble in the long run anyway.


    There was still about two and a half-hour before the so-called party and so far I didn''t actually receive any mention about it.


    Even the academy website had nothing about it. Oddly suspicious.


    Oh well. The Chocte syrup had me sold anyway.


    "By the way-" Marg held my cor and smiled. "What''s this party next month, I just learned about?" She made a very cute face, but there was nothing cute about it, no sir.


    I gulped!


    ''Oh boy.''


    ***


    Around six forty-five, Marg, Elsa, and I got ready to leave. I had a very hot debate with Marg earlier that it wasn''t that I kept the party from her, rather I never actually intended to throw one in the first ce. She did believe me but- yeah, the debate was hot and ended with us kissing and- well, yeah.


    The bunny maid had adjusted pretty well in the course of just a day or two. So, I didn''t have to worry about things here. Then again once momes, I wouldn''t have to worry about anything in particr. Though- ''Wait, won''t I be constantly hearing herins about me and what I should do and not?'' Just thinking about it made me want to sigh.


    I guess I just had to get my things from the dorm too.


    Marg insisted on teleporting as it would be a lot less hassle for us.


    I still needed to consult with mom before actually heading out to the doctors but- yeah, for the time being, I didn''t think teleporting this little distance would cause any severe problems. At least I hope it wouldn''t.


    So, I just epted her offer.

 Chapter 204 - A Party You Say? (Part Two)

    Marg and Elsa both were wearing nice dresses. I was just wearing my typical clothes: a chocte shirt and a pair of ck pants. I had a pair of sunsses on, for once.


    Marg in particr though was wearing something really nice like a noble or something. It was a blue one-piece dress and though at times I felt like I was looking at an angel. I tried to keep myposure but I often found my hand near her hair and ears.


    Oh wait, she ''was'' a noble: I kept forgetting that for some reason.


    Compared to her, Elsa''s red dress looked kind of dull. She did look good but I guess it was high time, she needed a proper party dress. Then again, she was a growing girl and we were currently going broke.


    And I wanted to sigh already.


    "Alright, behave yourself." Marg looked at her brother.


    I actually didn''t get time to lecture the kid: oftentimes I forgot about his existence altogether. Maybe instead of procrastinating, I should have just done that. Though I had a feeling this kid was a lot smarter than I assumed. So he probably knew what I didn''t like. And so far he was acting pretty good.


    "I will. Take care." He was awfully humble too.


    If only a certain blonde bunny girl was like that. Sigh.


    Marg smiled and held my hand. And with that that three of us teleported and arrived in front of the clubhouse- maybe about fifteen meters away.


    ***


    The building was lit up and the windows let out warm orange light. Nothing was out of the ordinary though. And there wasn''t anyone outside either. There was no noise or the sound of music.


    I did hear insects buzz. This ce was a bit secluded from the rest of the academy, so it was only natural there''d be grass and insects. It only made me feel faint as I kind of squeezed Marg''s hand tight. Yeah, I definitely didn''t want to deal with those critters.


    ''Is there really a party here?''


    As long as I got the chocte though, I kind of didn''t care. I did care about getting out of this insect-filled min- I mean grass field, so I walked fast.


    "You and your fear or bugs," Elsa mumbled with a sigh. I proceeded to ignore that.


    Incidentally, tomorrow was going to be very special too. I''d have all the chocte- okay, maybe I was getting ahead of myself.


    I walked so fast, that before I knew it, I was right in front of the door.


    I was almost out of breath but controlled myself.


    "Let''s go in?" Marg asked, squeezing my hands gently.


    She actually didn''tin. Elsa however was staring at me with dull eyes.


    "Yeah."


    I knocked on the door and it opened.


    I went in and well-


    "CONGRATULATIONS!" Stuff popped all around us. Yup, this definitely was a party.


    Looks like Merin was right. And he was in the crowd too.


    There were roughly forty or so students here and maybe three or four teachers. The whole ce was decorated nicely- nothing extravagant.


    The headmaster was in the back drinking red wine while ogling as younger girls. Just howid back was this guy? His wife wasn''t here so he was kind of going overboard.


    "For a second there I thought you wouldn''t being and started to panic you know." Merin chuckled and came forward.


    Apparently, this was a member''s only party with some special guests here and there. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that the special guests had some kind of connection to me.


    "Then maybe next time, try to give me a bit more of a better invitation." I could already picture Merin taking charge of this whole party and making this a surprise.


    The guy was an introvert, there was no doubt about it. But he knew how to party and how to organize a good one. Maybe he wasn''t the best, but he sure knew his stuff.


    So, instead ofining, I smiled and- "Thanks." Comining now wasn''t going to get me anywhere anyway.


    ***


    There was music, there was booze and above all, there was chocte syrup and cakes.


    There was also broli juice, which I stayed far away from.


    I didn''t touch the cake as tomorrow I''d get to eat plenty: booze was forbidden. Instead, I grabbed a ss and poured a whole ss of syrup. I didn''t even bat an eye at the bread, biscuits, and other stuff.


    Everything else was irrelevant!


    "Won''t you get sick?" Elsa whispered.


    She almost startled me. But Iposed myself. "No, not really."


    Yeah, definitely.


    Anyway, I took a sip. ''Good stuff.''


    It tasted a bit burnt though.


    Oh well.


    Though this was my party- or rather a party in my honor, no one actually talked with me.


    The senior members were saying a praise or two from time to time, but the rest of the club treated me as usual. Okay, maybe a bit more distant than usual.


    Didn''t really bother me though.


    There were some of my friends around too. But they were too busy getting drunk.


    Some of the other members were often trying to get near Elsa but- since I was right there, ring back, no one came near her. Okay, wait, was this the reason no one came near me? Hmmm?


    Eve and Artemis- or rather Amie, in particr, were dancing, hand in hand. Yeah, those two were really drunk. The music was kind of pop-jazz mix, so the dance was kind of weird too. They''d attracted a crowd though.


    Apparently, the booze- fruit juice had 3% alcohol. So, how much did they drink again?


    Kind of reminded me of that first party. These two had a fight back then. Obviously, Eve won without even batting an eysh but yeah- memories. That was also the day when I met ze and kind of lost my temper.


    And my troublemaker sister was right next to me this time.


    "What, something on my face?" Elsa said, blushing slightly.


    I flicked her forehead. "No, just your face." Why did this moron always bring trouble for me?


    She frowned the very next second.


    ***


    Marg was to my right, while Elsa to my left.


    Both were going through the sweets. I didn''t like sweets in general. Chocte was a different story though.


    So, with another sip of the syrup, I red at all the wannabees who trieding this way. No, one would be able to hit on my little sister while I was here. MUAHAHAH-!


    "Helio?" Looks like Clyde was here too. "I was just about to leave but d to see you here."


    He came and gave me a handshake.


    "Hey, how''s it going? We just got here."


    "Goo-" Clyde''s eye took a very abrupt turn to my left. "WOW." He spoke the word very slowly and as though he was thunderstruck, he slowly moved forward, got on his knees, and spread his arms in the air. "Mine own mistress, might thee enlighten this ign''rant sir with thy nameth and blesseth me?"


    Come again?


    Elsa looked just as confused as me. She handled the situation pretty maturely though. "I''m Elsa Romswell. A pleasure to meet you."


    Yeah, she had no idea what this moron just said. And honestly, I didn''t either. Did he even speak the same English?


    I read some Shakespearean novels but even I was confused here and there.


    "Romswell?" Clyde gave me a look and stood up. "Oh, you two must be brother and sister?" He turned his gaze back upon my sister- wait, why the hell was I mimicking him now!? "Prithee, sayeth thou art!!" He almost begged.


    What else would we be? And why the hell was he speaking Shakespearean halfway?


    "Yes, we are, actually," Elsa answered, looking ufortable.


    "Oh, thanketh the heavens and the seven flotes." He looked very relieved for some reason. He next turned to me and looked very serious as he came very close to me. "Helio, no, brother! I think I might have fallen for your sister." A hushed whisper!


    The music stopped and there were a lot of onlookers looking this way.


    Huh?


    "But Clyde, your condition¡­" My mouth was moving on its own as I thought about what I''d do next.


    My hands were itching and my cheeks were twitching.


    "Oh, you see." Clyde smiled like a newlywed bride and came closer. "I can actually get it on now and with two more weeks of treatment I''ll be fully cured," He whispered.


    A smile crept up on my face, as I unsheathed my saber. "Alright, I''ll end your suffering right now!" I was definitely not going crazy.


    Before I could even attempt to move my saber though- three girls grabbed onto me and pulled me along.


    Marg grabbed my right arm, Elsa grabbed my left while Enira grabbed my chest from behind.


    "Where the hell did youe from?"


    Enira did not say a word. She was wearing a purple party dress.


    "Sorry, Clyde- was it?" Elsa spoke a bit loud. "He has a si, so yeah, don''t let it bother you. Let''s chatter."


    "No, I do not!" I definitely didn''t! "And no chatting!"


    Yeah, no one was listening to me. And why the hell were the people around us nodding like this was obvious!?


    "Aye, of course, mine own wild floweth''r! Ah, I wilt thanketh the goddess of loveth f''r this wond''rful meeting!" And with that Clyde walked out of the building. "''Till we meet again!"


    "Seriously, what the hell is wrong with that dude? Was he always like that?"


    I was still being dragged around by the girls by the way. And the onlookers went about their way and the music resumed. People pretended like nothing ever happened.


    "No,tely he started that routine. This was the first time he proposed like that though." Robert showed up from nowhere and started to exin. "But I didn''t know you had a sisterplex of all things." He chuckled.


    "Which part of ''I don''t'', don''t you get?" I sighed. "And let go of me. I''ve to drink chocte!"


    "You''ve already drunk enough," Enira whispered.


    "You know what tomorrow is, right?" Elsa smirked.


    "They''re right you know," Marg giggled.


    "Unfortunately I can''t forget it even if I wanted to."


    They did let me go though.


    Next time I saw Clyde- if he still acted like this- I''d be sure to renew his condition.

 Chapter 205 - A Party You Say? (Part Three)

    The party was so far, kind of quiet and lifeless. People were chatting here and there. There was music, food, even dancers and teachers but- the mood wasn''t really that much like that of a party.


    The headmaster''s drunken ogling was still something though. The guy was shadow ogling at the girls. I honestly wanted his wife to juste and drag his ass out of here since we couldn''t kick him out.And the teachers weren''t doing anything either. They were just getting wasted.


    This academy was really, really weird.


    "Something doesn''t feel right¡­"


    It was definitely a party but felt weird. Merin wasn''t here anymore: if he were here, things probably would have been a bit livelier. Apparently, he had a date but decided to dy it just for me. I really needed to thank the guyter big time.


    "Yeah, apparently the club leader locked himself in a room and isn''ting out."


    "Probably gettingid or something?" I snorted.


    Robert gave me a dull stare. "Now? Even he wouldn''t be that dumb. The members feel rather discouraged that their leader isn''t here. After all, that guy would graduate this year, and most of the members like him: almost half of the club is based solely on the third years. So, without him, things are a bit gloomy." Robert looked at me with careful eyes. "Did something happen between the two of you?"


    As I thought, this guy was smart. And he was right on the money I guess.


    Johnathan and I did have a bit of something going on between us. I kind of hated his guts and he probably had the same kind of emotion toward me.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll beat him out. Lead the way," Marg said, as she grabbed onto me. "That moron has caused us enough trouble. We should really teach him a lesson. I''ve had enough!" She whispered very vigorously. Yeah, I had a bad feeling about that.


    "This way then-" Robert smiled faintly and walked ahead like it was totally the most obvious thing to do.


    I was kind of conflicted as to what I was supposed to do but for the time being, I just followed Robert: I basically had nothing better to do anyway. Elsa and Enira also followed us.


    A few minutester, we found ourselves in a secluded corner on the second floor.


    No one was around and the door was locked firmly. I didn''t hear anything apart from the music downstairs.


    I touched the handle. "It''s pretty sturdy." The door was wooden but it was very high-quality stuff.


    I tried knocking but there were no answers.


    "You think the others didn''t knock?" Robert said.


    ''And no one broke in?'' People really respected that idiot for some reason.


    "Should I corrode it and break-in?" Enira suggested. She was currently hanging from my neck. And whenever I tried to hit her, she disappeared and reappeared a momentter. Even if a hitnded, she didn''t even flinch an inch.


    It was getting awfully annoying but I couldn''t do anything about it. Apparently, this dragon-snake thingy was a part-time masochist.


    "I''ll just turn it to dust." With that, the door handle was gone and I went in. A secondter I came back out and stared at the ceiling. "Ah, the weather''s nice, today, ain''t it?"


    Horror, utter horror, I witnessed!


    In Clyde''s words, I wast v''ry shooketh.


    "Something happenerd?" Elsa came in front of me, put a hand on my forehead, and took a temperature reading? "Wow, you''re burning up." She seemed very concerned.


    Enira giggled. "Let''s wait a minute till they finish."


    "They?" Robert stopped. "Oh? Oh!" he cleared his throat. "It would seem I was wrong." He chuckled to himself. "No wonder¡­" He mumbled.


    Marg was awfully quiet. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that she was kind of angry.


    I was also angry but I was even more conflicted. After all, inside there were two people but-


    The door opened and a guy came out. He was properly dressed and with his head down, he left the hallway without a word. He was a third-year student- the very same guy who came to the duel and we had an argument way back then.


    I''d actually met him twice before but-


    Now came Johnathan.


    Yes, apparently, this guy wasn''t straight.


    "SO, you''re new girlfriend-" I managed.


    Probably was just a cover.


    "Yes. As you can see, I tried my best but I didn''t feel any attraction to her. So, I came up with that lie and asked Amie to help. She did and well- yeah. I''m really sorry about all the trouble I caused you. I thought she''d be okay if she went back home but I was wrong. And that''s why I told you, otherwise I wouldn''t have."


    My hands were shaking. I wanted to punch him- I wanted to punch him bad.


    "So, basically you told me that day just to-"


    Just how maniptive was this guy?


    "No, I thought you''d free her and hand her over to her grandparents. But sadly her grandparents died. I never predicted that you''d take her in and for that, I''m eternally grateful." He bowed his head. "I really tried you know- I really did." He almost wept as he looked at me. "But I can''t change who I am. I can''t love her- I can''t get it on with her." He broke down in tears.


    Actually,e to think of it, wasn''t this guy really, really into John?


    Oh?


    OH!


    "Calm down?"


    I actually didn''t know what to say. I wanted to punch him but-


    The guy smelled like they just did stuff together so, yeah, I maintained my distance and so did the people around me.


    Elsa in particr was taking shelter behind me. Or was it that I''de in front of her?


    Marg cleared her throat. "Well, go take a shower and show your face at the party in ten minutes. Or, we''ll make sure you won''t be able to perform even going homo." Her voice was awfully cold.


    She did seem to pity the guy though. Well, that was new.


    If I was feeling the urge to punch this guy, she probably felt the same, and yet, she concealed her rage a bit better than me.


    "Yeah, I heard he can make people useless." He chuckled, tears still evident.


    Of course, I didn''t really pity him. I respected these people. But this guy was different. I couldn''t trust this guy. This guy had so many freakingyers that I often found myself conflicted as to what I should have believed.


    And yet, I didn''t really want to hit him. I couldn''t bring down myself to his level.


    "I''ll be out in a few mins."


    With that, he just locked the door.


    I sighed. "Let''s go back. What other people do with their lives is of no concern to us. We''ve already decided what we''d do with the bunny, anyway."


    But if he was gay, why the hell did he even bother to bring that girl out of her ce?


    Wait¡­ Elsa!


    "Ummm¡­" As we walked back to the first floor, I came near Elsa. "Forget what you saw here. One day, when you''re old enough, I''ll exin everything."


    At this point though, was there even a point in trying to keep things from her? She was pretty old and though I thought my sister was gullible and dumb, she probably wasn''t. I was probably the one being dumb.


    Besides, in thest few weeks, she probably learned a whole lot about stuff while I wasn''t around.


    She gave me a rather dull stare, sighed once but then finally- "Alright."


    It was almost felt like I was defeated for some reason.


    I sighed and just walked. I really felt like a hypocrite. Wait- SIGH!


    "You''re already over your sigh quota, you know¡­" Elsa mumbled.


    "Sigh quota?" Marg smiled. "Would you mind telling me more?" She got near Elsa.


    This already convoluted thing just got more convoluted. ''Now I won''t even be able to sigh in peace?''


    I wanted to sigh some more but I just walked.


    ''Life is weird..'' It really was.

 Chapter 206 - A Party You Say? (Part Four)

    About ten minutester, Johnathan came out and joined the party.


    He looked fairly normal, cheerful even. He apologized to everyone saying, he had a stomach ache but was now fine.


    The general mood got a lot better and the party moved along just fine. NO one questioned him about anything.


    I didn''t really feel that great though. And I didn''t get people.


    Besides, I was getting some res as I had three beautiful girls by my side at all times. People were still too afraid toe near me though.


    I wanted to drink some more chocte but that was a no-go.


    Sigh.


    ''Tomorrow, I have school, right?''


    "Didn''t I say, you are over your sigh quota?" Elsa frowned.


    I kind of wanted to sigh again just to make her mad but since mom would be here tomorrow, I proceeded not to. I didn''t want to fan the fumes, no sir!


    Now that the mood had improved, this seemed a lot like a real party. Some of my friends were here: mostly people I''ve talked to twice or maybe on more than three asions but that was all. The troublemakers weren''t there though: they being, Selene, Leilis, and Raea. Lately, I didn''t see the three anywhere, and I was d for that.


    Eve was often winking in my direction though. I had a bad feeling about that. She was really drunk.


    She never made a move on me though, as Marg was almost always right next to me ring back. Eve was wobbling around, so she couldn''te here even if she wanted to, and I had a feeling he did. I sure wasn''t going there.


    Sure didn''t stop her from sending a flying kiss or two towards me though.


    Oh boy.


    ***


    The party went on and by ten almost everyone left.


    Before that though, the headmaster and the teachers actually had congratted me formerly and even shook my hands. And the headmaster promised to pay me fifty gold for making it to the finals and winning the second position. Though he did make me promise that I''d have to take part in other tournaments from now on too, whether I won or not.


    I didn''t see why not. I needed money anyway.


    The funniest part of the party was something else though. Roughly ten minutes before the party ended, at exactly 9.45, the headmaster''s wife had made her entrance. She talked to me sweetly, congratted me, and held the headmaster''s ear. After a nice chat- which probably wasn''t nice for the headmaster- she dragged the man, pulling solidly on his ears. The headmaster was powerless, almost as though he was paralyzed.


    Yeah, very painful. He didn''t scream in pain- he did grimace though.


    I was really d, Marg wasn''t like that. Not that I had any ns on doing what the headmaster did, but- yeah, I was really d and also relieved.


    ***


    Since I wasn''t living in the dorms, I didn''t have any reason to follow its rules. I was still going to go home soon though.


    The reason I stayed, however, was important.


    "Johnathan, got a minute?"


    There were three other people here besides us and Johnathan, and the clock was pretty much bang on ten.


    The three being; Amie, Eve, and Mike. Mike only showed up like five minutes ago: he was currently going through the leftovers with Enira. The other two were too drunk and sleeping in a corner, making each other their body pillows: they were holding each other, squeezing this and that in their sleep, rubbing against each other and being sweaty. It was a very tempting sight, but as I had a ring future wife right next to me, I had to control my gazes.


    It was definitely tempting though.


    "Yes, what is it?" Johnathan prepared himself, almost as though he was expecting me to hit him or something.


    "Why did you bring her out of that house? I believe you already knew about your condition?" This thing was really bothering me.


    "It''s not a condition!" He almost snapped but controlled himself a secondter. "Sorry, it''s just, it''s a lifestyle and I can''t change it. I learned it the hard way." He sighed. "She was suffering there, and I did have feelings for her. I thought I could make it work. But never once did I get excited by her. I really should have known. If I could just go back in time, I want to punch myself in the face." He let out a dejected chuckle.


    "I could do that for you now, if you want?" Actually, I really wanted to punch him now.


    He let out another defeated chuckle and came near me- "I had to legit watch porn in the bathroom before even going near her and well, it was really tough," He whispered, vigorously. "She''s great looking but unless I can look at dicks, I can''t get it on."


    Uh-huh. I was straight, so I couldn''t really rte.


    I kind of didn''t care what he did in the past and how he did it. But there was one thing that I really wanted to know. "Why didn''t you tell her?" I was this close to punching him.


    Like, this- a centimeter away.


    "It''s better this way." He smiled. "Besides, the gamble worked out, right?"


    And I proceeded to punch him- on the nose: I really didn''t feel like holding anything back, so it must have hurt. He groaned and rolled on the floor for eight long seconds and crashed into the wooden wall. It was a miracle he didn''t break the whole wall- there were cracks though.


    He continued groaning for about three minutes before eventually getting up a secondter. He bled pretty wildly. The guy was tough though.


    "No, it''s not okay. You better tell her or I will. You made all this weird situation and you''ll fix it! I''m not asking you to even attempt to take responsibility. I''m just asking you to be honest with her! Understood!" I kind of wanted to punch him again.


    He''d probably die though.


    "I-"


    "We should be going. It''s gettingte," Elsa said holding my left hand.


    "Well?" But I wasn''t backing out. Maybe I wasn''t going to hit him again but I wanted an answer.


    Johnathan took a deep breath. "Give me some time to prepare please." He held his nose and spoke kind of awkwardly.


    He looked a bit too miserable.


    "Sure. Take your time. Just be honest with her. She at least deserves that much."


    I turned around and stood near Marg. Marg hadn''t said anything and I guess she was just respecting my decisions. I kind of lost my temper for a second back there but she didn''t say a word.


    The sheer amount of the stuff she was okay with was kind of amazing.


    Elsa was just behind me. Enira was nowhere to be found: after literally gobbling down all the leftover food, she disappeared from existence.


    Before getting used of stealing all the food, I wanted to get out of here, ASAP. "Bye, everyone." There weren''t that many people here though.


    Amie and Eve were fast asleep. Mike did wave at me though. He was a disciplinary member and a prefect and yet, he didn''t really even say a word when I punched Johnathan. ''I won''t have to deal with this tomorrow, will I?'' I''d just worry about it then.


    Marg held my hand- gently squeezed it and everything went purple.


    A secondter we were right in front of our main door again.


    "Honestly, why do you want to hit people so badly?" Elsa mumbled.


    I wanted to exin things to her, but for certain reasons, I proceeded not to.


    ***


    I pressed the bell and it opened exactly a minuteter.


    But instead of the bunny maid, someone else opened the door.


    "Mom." The words escaped my lips subconsciously.


    She smiled as she stood aside from the door.


    But as she was about to head back, I ran upto her and hugged her. I had so many frigging emotions coursing through my veins that it was impossible to describe.


    She was going through so much, and yet, she was smiling like that. I couldn''t really say anything. I couldn''t let go either.


    She patted my head, ruffled my hair, and hugged me back. "Come on in. did you have dinner?"


    "Just some chocte syrup."


    She sighed but giggled at the same time.


    Elsa was kind of confused about this thing, but she seemed more scared than anything else.


    We all went in.


    "Go get fresh," Mom said.

 Chapter 207 - Mother And Son

    We all sat down at therge dining table.


    "This is a nice house." Mom started eating.


    Apparently, this time mom cooked the food, meaning she came here at least two hours or maybe even earlier. So, all this time, she was alone in this house, just cooking for us¡­


    Well, at least the food was good.


    "Thanks. It was Marg''s father''s gift though."


    "Yeah, I heard."


    Just what the hell was I supposed to be saying? I didn''t know.


    Could I haveforted her?


    I didn''t know.


    Mom was acting way too normal, and yet¡­


    "Your maid isn''t half bad either. I assume her being a bunny girl had a role in you choosing her?" She grinned. Mom and Elsa both had bunny ears and mom knew I had a thing for bunnies. She really did.


    She also knew I didn''t really feel anything of that sort towards the two of them- cause well- they were my family.


    I grimaced. "I wouldn''t deny that." I couldn''t, even if I wanted to. She was my mother and she could probably tell through all my lies.


    Marg cleared her throat. "Appointing her as a maid was my decision mother."


    Wow, someone was bold today.


    Mom giggled and almost spilled her food. "If you say so."


    That was so like her. She was stern and beautiful but at times, she was also childish.


    But today, she was faking it.


    Elsa meanwhile, was a bit too quiet. Oh wait, she was just scared.


    Marg''s little brother was quietly eating and he had amazing table manners. Why couldn''t I have little brothers or sisters like that?


    Sigh.


    "I had some things to discuss with you," I began.


    "We''ll have to finish dinner first then."


    She really was putting up a front.


    Her fake smile was only making me feel worse.


    But I didn''tin and just ate. Mom''s cooking really was the best. I guess this just made Marg''s second for me.


    ***


    "I''m going to kill Hyora and make the Battlesuins our ves. If I can''t kill her, we''ll banish her to the ninth dimension."


    We were currently in the living, watching something on the Holo TV. No one was actually looking at the Holo TV though.


    Mom was listening carefully as I told her my ns. She''d fought that woman before, so she probably had a suggestion or two.


    In the end, she sighed. "First listen to what they say. Your father''s there. And though he''s a good for nothing, I can assure you, he has his reasons." She looked a bit down. "Reasons I don''t understand," She mumbled. She took a deep breath. "Though I want you to burn that witch to a crisp, hear them out first and try to avoid shing as best as you can: though I imagine you''ll still fight her regardless." She giggled but then looked serious for a second. "There was a reason why we separated from the main family. We made an oath to never tell you so I won''t. But you should know, the Battlesuins- those monsters- can''t be enved, at least not by you. You''ll know why, very soon." She sighed. "Besides, that witch can''t be killed."


    "What do you mean, mom- I-" I didn''t understand.


    "Now." She smiled and stretched her arms upwards: it was almost like she was yawning, but she wasn''t. "About that ''someone iming him to be their son and you lounging around in your towel thing''." She was smiling and yeah, she just remembered stuff. "Well?" Her gaze was totally darting between me and Elsa- but kind of focusing on Elsa.


    Elsa just hid behind me, shivering slightly. "Do something!" She whispered vigorously.


    Do what exactly? She was the one who caused half of this.


    But as her elder brother, I tried to at least try. "So, I won the tournament and received 80 gold. Here''s the cheque." I handed over my cheque. It stung a little to hand over money. Maybe, I really was a miser? But handing this over was just a ceremony. I''d probably be the one using most of that money anyway. "And I also won a small box. Iter found out that it was a core and apparently belonged to gramps. One of the judges had given it to me."


    "Your grandfather?" Mom supported her chin with her arms. "We also have a core in our house, but-" She wondered. "It''s possible to be the same¡­"


    That''s right, we had a core in our home. If it really was what I think it was, then-


    "Well, we''ll have to see it first. Anyway, this is Enira." But for the time being, I focused on the problem at hand.


    Enira came out of the saber and stood next to me with a smile. She bowed before mom though, albeit slightly.


    I continued. "She absorbed the core and for a brief second the core had overtaken her body and manifested. This new person had blue hair and looked a lot like a picture I once saw- I can''t remember where. I felt like I knew her and as she came near me, she mistook me for gramps. She kiss-" I stopped. "Anyway, she realized I wasn''t gramps and started to fade. But before leaving she said, ''live long my son.'' She really looked at me like a son: she looked exactly like you for a second."


    Mom was listening very carefully and nodding along the way. But as I finished she just tilted her head and looked dull. "Wait, that''s it?"


    Huh?


    What else did she want! Did she really have to be that disappointed?


    Well, she was my mother¡­ "Do we have any blue-haired rtives?" Because I sure couldn''t remember anyone that fit the bill.


    Marg did have blue their though.


    Mom sighed. "It was probably my mother''s," She resigned. "I mean she had blue hair, looked pretty, and died way before you were born. You probably saw her photo in my room back home."


    "Um¡­ Excuse me? Grandma is still alive!" Elsained before me.


    Yeah, I had a bad feeling about this.


    And mom was being frank, like way too frank.


    "You see." Mom smiled awkwardly. "I''m actually the daughter of his second wife. But dad was in love with this wife first and¡­ it''splicated. "


    Oh.


    Oh!!!


    It did kind of make sense though. No wonder we only visited our family mansion twice a year. And wait, gramps had two wives?


    But grandma did always treat mom a lot better than uncle. And we if he gramps had two wives, shouldn''t there have been more kids? ''He could have hated kids like me I guess.''


    My and grandma''s rtionship was kind of awkward though, as I was the one responsible for gramp''s death. "So, basically both of my grandparents are dead and grandma took me to be literally her son? But if she was dead then-" Then did she have a son too?


    "She died giving birth to me, so she probably didn''t know." Mom was speaking way too frankly: something was wrong with this picture, and it was scaring me. "I heard she passed away from an incurable disease and I inherited that gically but I was just a carrier. Elsa is also a carrier. She sighed and that''s why your brother had died- and." She smiled, her eyes shimmered slightly for a second. "And I''m d you didn''t."


    "Aren''t you sad? I mean- she was your mother." She did seem sad but that was because she was thinking about her dead kid which she rarely did.


    "I am, don''t get me wrong but- she may have been my birth giver but she wasn''t my mom." She smiled faintly. "And you already have a grandma so, don''t bother with the dead." Her smile didn''t seem forced. She was serious. I already felt bad for my dead grandmother, but mom was right, the dead was dead. "Besides, though she isn''t my real mother, she took great care of me and she really loves me. She''s the only mom for me. She loves you two, though it might be a bit awkward."


    Yeah.


    And since her mother had a core- I could assume she might have been a half-Mutor or half- kin. So, this was why I had these Kin genes?


    I guess that kind of made sense¡­ somehow. Maybe?


    I sighed. "Fair enough. For a second I considered that you-"


    I paused. Apparently, if I said another word, I''d have been executed.


    "Wise choice," mom smiled. "Now, Elsa? About your towel." Oh, wow, she actually hadn''t forgotten.


    I felt like a stone being lifted from my chest: a gun being moved away from my head. Though I felt bad about my little sister, for my sake she had to deal with this conversation now.


    ''You''re on your own now, kid.''

 Chapter 208 - Mother And Son (Part Two)

    "I won''t do it again! I won''t do it again!" Elsa almost looked like a certain rock guitarist banging her head in the air. She was way too apologetic. If only she was that nice and obedient near me.


    When mom was near she acted dumb and obedient but whenever mom wasn''t around she acted way too mature. Honestly, I didn''t get women.


    My sister however was simple. Though she looked apologetic, I knew for a fact she wasn''t. She was just pretending and she knew exactly how to stir the motherly love of mom. She was an expert.


    Mom fixed her hair. "I''ve already told Helio but, I''ve quit today and I''ll be staying here for a few days. So, be sure to behave."


    Wait that was news to me. I thought she was fired.


    As I looked at mom, she just winked.


    Yeah, this woman was evil. She gave me so much anxiety but she was being so nice to her daughter.


    Strike that, all women of the Romswell household were evil!


    But either way, the fact was true. She lost her job. And we were going to have to deal with her debts and our survival.


    And that meant, I''d have to work hard, and often times I might be too tired to even do stuff with Marg from now on. And for thest two days, I didn''t get to have much fun at all.


    ''The future isn''t looking too bright, Helio Junior.''


    Apparently, the little guy was going through his daily cycle of death and rebirth. This was beyond my control. And Marg asionally falling asleep and leaning on my shoulder wasn''t helping the cause!


    "But mom-" Elsa tried but didn''t finish. She was more scared than sad. I couldn''t tell if that was an act.


    I guess mom being here made her a prisoner of sorts. Mom was always rather strict with Elsa for some reason.


    Maybe that''s why Elsa always clung to me for attention? Sometimes I felt like it was the other way around though.


    Honestly, I didn''t know.


    "Well, they weren''t going to give me a small vacation. It''s my son''s birthday, so, how could-" Mom paused, snorted- "OOppss!"


    So much for a surprise. Then again, I already knew tomorrow was my birthday so it wasn''t much of a surprise anyway.


    "Don''t worry. ording to our home time, it''s already my birthday."


    Currently, it was eleven-thirty here though.


    Mom giggled. "Better make some chocte cake then." Mom looked at the bunny maid. "You have chocte in the fridge right?"


    ''Ah, chocte-'' I could already taste it!


    "I do, Madam!" The maid, in particr, was a lot cheerful than I thought. "I''ve been safeguarding them with my life!"


    ''Hey, I never heard that!''


    Marg made a cute sound and woke up.


    "Very well then. I''ll make the cake tomorrow." Mom was also excited.


    "Wait, I thought you were going to make it now!" Okay, now I was disappointed.


    Mom''s cakes were the best. She only made it twice a year but- still, it was the best cake.


    She usually made chocte cakes for me and blueberry ones for Elsa. Obviously, the chocte ones were the best, but the blueberry ones weren''t half bad either.


    So, yeah, I was disappointed beyondpare.


    "You''ve already had enough for today."


    I should have never told her I drank syrup. That was a fatal error on my part!


    I guess I should have just eaten the cake back then, it wouldn''t have been anything near her level though.


    "Anyway, it''s getting prettyte, so I guess we should turn in." It wasn''t like I wanted this night to be over, right now or anything, okay?


    Mom snickered, stopped a secondter, and, "Would you two mind if you slept with me tonight?" Apparently, she was talking to me and Elsa.


    I sure didn''t mind: it felt pretty awkward though. Marg probably wasn''t going to say anything either. Elsa though, she looked a bit out of it. I guess mom losing her job was a great shock to her. Or was that she was just afraid of mom being there all the time?


    Elsa was on her vacation and mom would almost always be at home- unless she was searching for a new job- so yeah, I could imagine her being afraid.


    "Sure." But there was only one answer.


    "Alright," Elsa managed. She was listening, I guess.


    "I''ll clean everything up then," The maid said.


    The brat was kind of sleeping on the sofa on the other side. I kind of forgot that he was even here.


    "I''ll help." Marg smiled and came near me. "Goodnight." She whispered before leaving with the maid.


    I was expecting a goodnight kiss but mom was here.


    Oh well.


    But where would we be staying? We couldn''t stay in the master bedroom, cause well, that was our bedroom.


    I guess the guest rooms or the rooms on the first floor were free.


    So- "There are loads of rooms. We can stay in any of the rooms on the first floor."


    Almost all the rooms had enough furniture to spend the night. It was frightening how much Marg''s father had spent on this house. ''I should really thank the guy.'' He probably had his reasons for doing all this for me and Marg but- the fact that he did was still something that made me feel better about it. I was still going to punch him once though.


    Mom didn''tin and neither did Elsa.


    The three of us went toward a room. Apparently, we ended up in Elsa''s room.


    ***


    The room was decently sized, maybe a bit bigger than my old room. Definitely nowhere near the master bedroom though.


    The bed was pretty big too- queen-sized.


    Mom was in the middle while I was on her right and Elsa was on the left.


    Even in bed, she held both our hands.


    This was kind of awkward- and yet- I couldn''t really deny her. ''Was this really a good idea?''


    "I''m sorry you two. I tried but-"


    "It''s okay mom." I knew she tried her best. I knew it for a long time and as her eldest son, I wasn''t going to let her feel bad about it. "It''s really okay." She grabbed my hand a bit tighter and didn''t say a word.


    Elsa didn''t say a word either.


    Our father left us a long time ago- and because of that mom tried hard- she tried her best to raise us- I could never thank her enough for it and that''s why I wanted her to be proud of me. I wanted her to be proud of herself.


    Mom''s eyes leaked a drop or two but- I pretended to not notice.


    I just leaned my head against her shoulder, like I''ve done all my life, and tried to sleep.


    It''s been a long while since I slept like this, a really long time. Mom became a lot stricter with sleeping on the same bed past twelve for some reason. She was still clingy though, she''d often slip into my room past midnight whenever I had a cold or any illness of that sort. And those were the nights, I had my best sleep. She often ended up getting sick herself, and yet, she never really stopped.


    She was myfort, she was my mother.


    This time was no exception.. I slept really, really well in her arms.

 Chapter 209 - I’ve Grown Up- Kind Off

    Yawn!


    I woke up and found a blonde bunny girl making a pillow of me, typical.


    It was roughly seven and mom wasn''t here. She was probably making breakfast.


    With another yawn, I tried to get out of Elsa''s clutches. She wasn''t letting go, so I had to tap her nose a few times.


    Pranking her when she was this defenseless was always fun in a way.


    She sneezed and grabbed on to me even tighter.


    Well, n A just backfired.


    "Let go of me, or I''ll literally throw you off the bed," I whispered in her ears. She actually had better hearing than me somehow.


    "Mhmmh?" She opened her eyes, looked kind of confused, let go of me, and turned around, sound asleep a secondter.


    ''Works like a charm¡­'' I''d learned a lot of things over the years, and this was probably one of the best working tricks.


    I''d lost countless tricks along the way, but- this, this one just didn''t die out just yet.


    Anyway, I stretched and got out of bed.


    As I thought, mom was in the kitchen: the bunny maid was with her. I kind of went to the third floor to take a look but once I was there, I was shocked. Marg wasn''t sleeping alone. The brat was sleeping next to her: it was a big bed and they were quite far away.


    I wasn''t jealous, I just wanted to punch the kid.


    Not jealous at all though.


    ***


    I''d been skipping my morning exercises for a while now.


    So, I couldn''t take that risk today.


    The roads were kind of empty. People were merely getting out of their beds. This region was colder than the dorms. The snowy ins were rather close, maybe that''s why?


    Sure didn''t stop me from running around and sweating though. No matter how cold the region was, I kind of never felt cold- one of the reasons for that was my ability to scale my temperature up and down at will.


    People were graduallying out and doing their running too. Mostly just middle-aged guys and all that. I guess they were the parents of the kids in the academy but since it was more convenient to stay in the dorms, their kids just stayed there.


    Or it could have been that the kids just wanted to escape the clutches of their parents. I guess any excuses would do in that case. The parents sure didn''t seem to realize that though.


    I ran for about a mile and came back, did some pushups, pullups, and even some sit-ups. Rather productive!


    There was a gym nearby, I didn''t have a membership though, so couldn''t just head over there. Then again, these three exercises kept me fit for all this time, doing more wasn''t going to do that much good for me anyway.


    It wasn''t like I was building my body or something.


    ***


    I reached back home around eight-fifteen and took a cold shower. It was really cold but if I went and taken a warm one, I''d have fallen asleep without a doubt.


    It was so cold, that I shivered vigorously and that was enough to keep me awake- very awake.


    Elsa and Marg were already up.


    The food was also done, so we all got to the dining table by eight forty. Ten minuteste ording to mom''s routine. Then again, she was free for a change, so I guess being ten minuteste, wasn''t going to make much of a difference.


    Everyone took their seats and as usual, the maid just stood by.


    Unfortunately, no cake yet!


    ''But since, we''ll teleport-''


    "Mom, we do know any good doctors?"


    I actually caught mom''s full attention. Her eyes lit up for a second. "What seems to be the problem?" She was focusing on getting some food on her te- pretending to be ignorant, but I could tell, she was really, really focusing on me.


    I actually didn''t know that I had an older brother who died right after being born, even just a month ago. From childhood whenever I got infected by something, mom kind of went mad. She wasn''t nearly as concerned with Elsa though: If Elsa was ill, mom would make rational decisions and treat her really, really well. Elsa rarely got ill and when she did, mom treated her with utmost care. But in my case, she just went mad. Even now, if I got a cold, she''d freak out. And now I knew why: she was just afraid that something would happen to me like her firstborn.


    So I had to walk this path very carefully.


    ''Naturally, act natural.''


    "Well, Marg is feeling a bit weak and well-"


    Mom actually looked even more serious. "Really?" A smile surfaced on her face. Her face rxed slightly though. "Okay, you head over to the academy. I''ll take care of it."


    "Huh? I mean we''ll be going togeth-"


    "Did you not hear me?" She smiled.


    "Yeah, I heard you clear, mom."


    Apparently, I didn''t have a say in this.


    But I could trust her and that''s why I didn''t really feel that bad about this. I gave Marg a nce and she basically didn''t have any emotions. She was fine with this.


    She was always like this when there were more people. I really wish, she''d at least rx a little when we were at home though.


    Oh well.


    And yet- she did smile faintly. ''Cute!''


    ***


    Since I''d be going to the academy alone and through the snowy fields, I ate fast, got ready fast too, and by nine was practically done.


    "Think I''ll be back by three- might bete if there are practical sses. I might bring back some of my things." I had a lot and carrying everything around wasn''t something I wanted to do.


    The inside of the house was warm, the outside was moderately cold. I was standing in front of the door, but for some reason, I didn''t want to leave.


    ''Why''s there wind outside?''


    "Alright. Take care out there." Marg stood in front of me to see me off. "And happy birthday¡­" She whispered.


    Elsa kind of red but didn''t say a word. What was wrong with her? Lately, she kept on ring a lot more than usual. Where did my clingy little sister go?


    I guess she was growing up faster than I could tell.


    The kid- Marg''s brother was just standing by the bunny maid. He woke upte so he didn''t have breakfast with us. I guess even he wasn''t perfect.


    Mom however watched everything from a bit far away with a smile. I had a feeling she was thinking something in the lines of ''my son has finally grown up'' or something like that.


    I almost felt proud. "See yater, everyone."


    Then again I was eighteen today, so I did grow up!


    Kind off.


    And with that, I walked out of the house.. I''d have to first head to the dorm and get some of the stuff necessary for ss.

 Chapter 210 - The World Beyond

    The snowy field was extra snowy today.


    "By the way. I have some friends on the ind. Wanna go and absorb them before the big fight?"


    Now that no one was around, Enira popped out of the saber and walked by my side. I wished, she''d just stay in the saber.


    And why the hell was she wearing the school uniform when even I wasn''t?


    She even looked good in it!


    "Absorbing your friends? Is that what you did for a living?" There was a bit of wind, so I had a yell slightly while covering my eyes with my arm.


    She giggled but then broke into severeughter. "Well." She wiped a tear. "Though I say friends, nowadays they''re just a corrupted bunch rotting beneath the earth. We''d be just doing a favor to them. They''re pretty strong though."


    I sighed. "How''s that even considered a favor?" Though it was cold and snowy, I could see pretty much everything. Actually, the brightness was too high. "By the way, what did you get from my grandmother?"


    The wind kind of cleared and a rather whitendscape awaited for us to travel.


    Enira grabbed my arm and pressed her soft chest against me. "Something very useful," She said, seductively.


    Her uniform was tight and she was warm.


    I brushed her off and walked faster. "Good for you." I did not need another distraction, no sir!


    If she wasn''t talking, I didn''t have any reasons to pester her either. I had my own stuff to worry about.


    It wasn''t like I was flustered, okay?


    Though, going around hunting strong Mutors might not have been that bad. I could break the cores in half, feed one half to Enira and sell the rest, assuming they were dragon cores.


    Instant, profit!


    With my face lit up a little I headed straight for the academy and reached the gates just ten minutester.


    My bright face kind of crumbled though, seeing the state of affairs of this ce.


    "Is it me or does she look a bit too much like-" I managed.


    "Uh-huh."


    ***


    Marg didn''t have to go to school today. Why? Because her mother-inw said so.


    She didn''t have chores either. The maid and her mother-inw had taken care of everything.


    After Helio was gone, Helio''s mother had asked a series of questions to Marg and her little brother.


    After hearing the kid''s responses, Helio''s mother even apologized to the kid: after what she saw Helio do to the poor kid, it was only natural for her. It shocked Marg quite a bit but what shocked her more was the word ''congrats.'' Marg didn''t quite understand the meaning behind the word. Why that word and why now?


    Marg and her mother-inw were currently in her bedroom. This was a private talk, so this ce seemed to be the best.


    "Well, I can picture what''s wrong with you but let''s go visit the doctors like he wanted. He said something about you two getting married after graduation but are you okay with that?" Helio''s mother was being a bit careful about the subject- after all, it was rather sensitive.


    "Yes I am but- Helio said he''d like to get married to me before that." Marg looked a bit flushed. Marriage was a dream, actually, this whole thing felt like a dream. Was she even awake?


    And if this really was a dream, she didn''t want it to end. She wanted it go on and on. And that''s why she was afraid. What if she was seriously ill and-


    She didn''t want to think about it.


    "Hmmm¡­ that would be for the best, yes." Helio''s mother looked around. "But still, isn''t this room a bit too big?" She chuckled.


    "Yes." Marg also smiled.


    She wasn''t thatfortable around other people. She got used to Helio''s presence. But even around Helio, if there were other people around, she felt awkward. Though whenever she had to deal with rivals, she tried her best to ovee her uneasiness. After all, Helio mattered more.


    And that''s why she was actively trying to change herself, she was trying to be a bit more expressive and a bit more open. Not just to Helio but to his family as well.


    She was still ways off though.


    Helio''s mother giggled. "There''s no need to be so stiff. You''re now my daughter, remember?" She hugged Marg. "So, there''s no need to be afraid. Helio has a lot of ws and he might even bring back other girls home. He''s pretty much like his grandfather and as you might already know, my father was- well, quite the character." She giggled. "But- but would you continue to support him throughout your life and be there for him in spite of his ws?"


    Marg only had one answer. It was just one answer all along. "I will." Marg also hugged her.


    Strangely this person- this person in front of Marg, felt warm andfortable almost like she was hugging Helio himself, but perhaps just a bit more soft and perhaps warm like her own mother. She giggled at the thought but Marg did feel morefortable.


    "Alright, then-" Helio''s mother let Marg go and moved towards the door. "We''ll leave at eleven. Get ready."


    "Right!"


    ***


    Just three days ago- something terrible had happened in a distant corner of the universe.


    The prosperous inhabitants of Neil were losing.


    Their sophisticated technology and superpowers weren''t enough to deal with the threat- the threat of a bio-warfare.


    Even just a decade ago the war was in their favor. But the attackers were not only experts at bio-warfare but also smart, and they''d developed the perfect weapon tobat the inhabitants of Neil. A stone that could make their superpowers useless.


    And since the inhabitants of Neil heavily relied on their powers, it was a one-way ughter.


    But the stone couldn''t be reproduced. The attackers were given the stone as a gift and with the stone, the attackers were winning. They were almost victorious.


    But the power of the stone was almost but spent. And there was only one known ce where they could get more of that stone- a ce in a faraway gxy. A ce where they''d already failed their first attempt at invasion.


    A blue orbiting a young yellow star. Earth.


    Neil was losing and soon they''d be ves. They were quite aware that someone from earth had betrayed them and yet- and yet with thest of their resources, Neil decided to send a messenger to earth- in the hopes of establishing an alliance. After all, the fate of the whole earth and the people of both worlds- depended on this mission.


    "I will bring back help!" The maiden screamed towards her dying parents as the ceiling broke down and the interdimentinal elevator activated.

 Chapter 211 - Congratulations

    A girl headed for the sses. She had a n today and she didn''t want anything to stand in her way.


    She''d waited for long enough.


    She became a loyal ve on her own ord- for love. She wasn''t going to back down no matter what!


    She was not in the same ss and she wasn''t even in the same year as him and yet- she wasn''t going to give up.


    She was still ways off from the school building and she had half an hour.


    And yet- howe there was such a crowd at the front gate?


    She had time and she had a good intuition. And that intuition told her one thing ''where there''s trouble, there''s always Helio.''


    So, she just went towards the crowd like it was the most obvious thing to do.


    "Something wrong there?" She asked a guy who wasing this way.


    "Yeah, some girl iming to havee from another world, dressed up all funny. She can''t even talk ourngua-" The guy stopped: a macho guy with arge scar on his face. "AH!" He almost fell on his legs. "Lady Raea! I didn''t realize it was you, my humble apologies!" Apparently, he was a dedicated member of the Raea fan club.


    Raea wasn''t surprised, she was a bit offended though. Granted she wasn''t wearing any makeup and she was in casual clothes, but still!


    But she let it go. "It''s okay." She smiled. After all, appearances really were a thing she needed to maintain. "Would you help me go through this crowd?" She pleaded.


    And she knew exactly what strings to pull in a man''s heart.


    "OF COURSE mydy!"


    ''Perfect.'' A devilish smile crept up on her face, but no one saw it. To the rest of the world, her smile was angelic.


    "OUT of the WAY! LADY RAEA COMING THROUGH!"


    With the boy charging ahead, Raea followed right behind him, smiling sweetly.


    Some boys got annoyed but- when they saw her with their eyes, everyone''s heart almost melted. Most of the kids here were first years and Raea was a third year, so they weren''t aware of her yet- but everyone had to admit- she really was the most beautiful girl they''d seen on campus. Even the hearts of girls fluttered when they were near her.


    This was Raea''s strength and she loved seeing those infatuated looks. She loved being the center of attention.


    But her heart belonged to someone else.


    And that someone else was just on the other side. Just seeing the boy there, made her heartbeat twice as fast.


    ''Helio.'' Her smile grew a bit wider and she was about to call him when-


    "You- with me." He said.


    And that''s when Raea realized, there was actually a girl next to Helio- she had scales and horns. And Helio was talking to another girl- who had funny clothes and horns and even a lizard tail. In a sense the girl next to Helio and the other weird girl both kind of looked the same: just different sizes.


    The weird girl took a second but then- just nodded and the three left the site. Things happened fast and Helio didn''t even notice her.


    Raea just watched the whole thing with ssy eyes. Her dull stare gradually got reced with fury and frustration. ''Damn it! I have to deal with more now! Just two melons and a t weren''t enough!?''


    She banged her foot on the floor and tried to calm down. She breathed hard but- ''NO matter, as long as I can make space in his heart, it''d be alright.'' She again smiled and started following the trio while maintaining her distance.


    She was a loyal ve- a ve for love.


    ***


    Marg shivered- albeit slightly.


    "Are you scared?" Helio''s mother ced a hand on top of Marg''s.


    They were seated right next to each other in chairs.


    A table was in front of them blocking half or their view and behind the table was a woman who was looking at the reports. Her white coat didn''t move and her attention was totally on the report.


    The white interior of the room only made Marg''s heart beat faster. ''What if-''went through her mind over and over again.


    Just moments ago Marg had gone through certain tests, tests she didn''t know even existed. She was both ashamed and scared at the same time. For the first time, she was d Helio hadn''te.


    "No, it''s fine." Marg''s breathing was kind of erratic. She was trying her best to remain calm but-what if her condition was serious? What if-


    "You said, you are currently experiencing your period, correct?" The doctor behind the table asked.


    The room was silent and the three were the only ones present.


    It was very, very notfortable for Marg.


    "Yes."


    "Any pain, any cramps?" She asked, still looking at the reports.


    "Not much."


    "Blood?"


    "There wasn''t much. I did expect more and thought¡­ Maybe this isn''t my period. I mean it should have happened but-" Marg just wasn''t sure anymore. She did bleed but the amount was minuscule and there wasn''t any pain this time around- she felt a bit sore and often had weird cravings though.


    Perhaps her condition was serious?


    The doctor sighed. "I''m surprised you didn''t realize this sooner. And you even threw up a few days ago but you never bothered to do a check. You fainted twice and thought you were just weak?"


    Marg grimaced as she looked at the floor. This was bad and she knew it. ''Helio.''


    Maybe she should have just told Helio that something was wrong with her when it first happened. Maybe¡­


    "Well," The doctor paused, smiled, and- "Congrattions." She spoke slowly and carefully.


    Marg, bbergasted, looked up, she shook. Her jaw shook too. "But the test came out negative- and-"


    Her brain wasn''t working. Her chest burned and her blood almost boiled. And yet some part of her- some part of her was screaming with excitement. Congrattions? The word really was beautiful- at least to her.


    "It doesn''t work that fast sweetheart." The doctor chuckled. "When you tried it was still too early for your hormones to flow properly in your blood."


    "So, there''s nothing wrong with me?"


    "Well, kids are kind of a nuisance, and giving birth to them is going to be the greatest pain of your life, if you think of it that way. And you''re too young, so it''ll be quite the trouble."


    "I''ve had two, I can confirm." Helio''s mother giggled. "But they''re worth it- well, kind off." She hugged Marg. "Congrattions sweetie."


    Marg cried and smiled at the same time.


    She knew Helio didn''t want to kids and yet- she was way too happy. After all, not only would she be able to stay by him, she''d have something precious- Helio''s child. Their child.


    "However, there is something that should be aware of," the doctor began.. "Something serious."

 Chapter 212 - The Visitor From Another World

    In front of the gate was a crowd and in front of the crowd, was a girl.


    She had light green hair, emerald eyes, something like crimson leather armor, and a ponytail. What was weird though, was her horns and tail and her uncanny resemnce to Enira.


    "You have a sister or something?"


    "I don''t know. I was pretty crazy back in the day, maybe I had a few kids or something?"


    I had no idea how old this dragon-snake thingy was and I had no intention of knowing. But seriously, she had kids and didn''t even know about it?


    Wow.


    Just, wow.


    "Anyway, should we leave her here or-"


    "Maybe, we could take her core? I mean, she seems so delicious-" Enira licked her lips and drooled. "Might prove to be difficult though."


    I gave her a p on the back of her head. "Yeah, no thanks. Let''s just ask her some stuff. It''s entirely possible she''s here on other business." I didn''t really want to get involved but the girl was literally the spitting image of Enira when she first came out of the saber that morning.


    And since Enira had three small cores and she already absorbed two, it was possible this one was just Enira herself. It was also possible that this girl was a product of Enira''s evaporated cores manifesting.


    There were loads of possibilities.


    "Hi there, got a minute?" I went through the gates and seeing me, the crowd parted.


    "Uhg-ghan tiath sk gfaht!" The girl red at me but when she saw Enira next to me, she looked a bit moreposed. "GHTHSAsd hant tiaght ao?"


    And I had no friggin idea whatnguage was that. The words were weird and her ent was making my ears hurt.


    She was rather quiet but the moment she saw me, it was almost like she exploded or something.


    "Do you speak dragon?" I looked to my left and Enira just giggled. "Just trante already!"


    "I hail from another world- that''s what she said. I discarded the first half by the way, she said some very unpleasant stuff."


    So that meant she wasn''t this moron''s sister, daughter or even she, herself?


    "Yeah, I didn''t need to know that." I sighed. Another world- huh? "Well, I guess she doesn''t seem to be rted to you then, so let''s go. I have about 25 mins before ss and I''d rather not bete."


    "Han ga chialoso!" The other girl however looked at us and pleaded for something. Her voice was simr to this moron too.


    I was seriously starting to doubt this.


    "I wouldn''t be too sure of that," Enira said. "Anyway, she asks our help to take her to the king of thisnd."


    "King? I guess she''s looking for the headmaster then?"


    He was technically in charge of this ce, so-


    "Maybe?" Enira threw her hands up in the air and giggled.


    Yeah, she wasn''t helping.


    The weird girl, however, still looked at us, pleading.


    "I don''t see any disciplinary guys out here." And most of the kids here were first years, and I didn''t know them.


    I was really feeling weird about this. But some part of me felt like this girl was rted to Enira and because of that, I couldn''t just leave either.


    ''I''ve be too soft.''


    "Haran sitha dhtat fikta irak skinc sdhk jknxc jg iwbnjnm mink aaknkn nnafhf."


    "Now what she say?"


    Enira looked a bit troubled. "Apparently, there would be an invasion and she needs to see the king of thisnd quickly."


    Now I really didn''t want to get involved in this.


    But I had my family on this ind and if somehow a terrorist invasion took ce and they get hurt or something- that''d really weigh on my conscience.


    With a sigh, I stared at the girl. She stared back. "You- with me."


    There was a lot of pointing and a lot of nodding.


    I had no idea if she understood me or not, but she started to follow me and Enira as we walked towards the main building.


    ***


    The girl quietly followed us. Sometimes she and Enira had a conversation or two.


    Enira did not tell me a single word though.


    It took us about ten minutes to reach the room of the headmaster and upon reaching him we wanted to say our farewells but he made me sit tight- his reasoning- he needed me here for trantion purposes.


    And for that, I wanted to leave Enira behind but she just insisted I stay here too. I really didn''t want to though. I had a feeling the headmaster was about to ask something very-very ¨C well, something of me. What that something was, I still didn''t know.


    The girl was speaking in some mysteriousnguage- and it really wasn''t from this world, as our Holo couldn''t really even recognize it. The Holo- though advance- could recognizenguages. It couldn''t do live trantion though.


    Enira tranted everything- it went both ways- so this was a very slow discussion.


    However, I didn''t know why but I could understand a word or two- and it was kind of getting better: her ent didn''t seem that weird either. ''Is something wrong with my brain?''


    "I hail from Bargett. A small nation in the world of Neil."


    "Neil? Are you sure, your world is named Neil?" The headmaster looked a bit surprised.


    "You know something? Because I''m totally out of the loop here."


    The headmaster looked at me. "Keep quiet about this but there are more worlds than this. And no more questions."


    Then why the hell did he even want me to stay here? I didn''tin though.


    "Yes, Neil. Our world is a very prosperousnd and because of that we attracted them and they n to-"


    "Invade this world." The headmaster sighed. "I see, so that''s why."


    I raised my hand like a kid. They didn''t want me to ask anything but I had to ask at least something.


    "GO ahead-" The headmaster held his head. He looked very depressed and stressed at the same time.


    "Exin this to me, please. What is Neil and what does she mean by invasion?"


    "So, a meteor struck us about a hundred years ago, you know that, correct? And because of that Mutors, Kin, and our powers were created, you were taught as much if I''m not wrong." I nodded and the headmaster continued. "That''s actually only partially true. You see, the meteor was a hoax. It didnd on Antarctica but it brought some DNA from another world. A world far away from our own gxy. And incidentally, a portal also opened in Antarctica- near the meteor crater and most of the Mutors came from that portal. And some inhabitants came from that ce too."


    I mean that much was obvious. A meteor fell on earth and it brought some viruses. But I didn''t know it came from another gxy: and Mutors weren''t from this world? We weren''t a space-faring civilization yet but we were on the verge of it. So hearing the word- outside of our gxy really felt weird. After all, wasn''t the gxy, really, really, really big?


    But this- the fact about Mutors being from another world was kind of groundbreaking.


    Seeing my silence the headmaster continued. "It was the first attempt of an invasion. But unfortunately for our invaders, humans evolved very rapidly and we stopped the invasion a long while before it even got to its third phase. Ny percent of the poption died and the rest were going to die soon too.. The world was almost destroyed."

 Chapter 213 - The Visitor From Another World (part Two)

    ''Wait, then howe everything is still here then?''


    "But how is it possible to hide something this big in a mere hundred years?" It didn''t make sense.


    There were 3.2 billion people on earth and that was a lot of people!


    "Well, about that." The headmaster chuckled. "It happened a few thousand years ago and someone changed the space-time and history itself. In the original timeline, the world was ruined and humanity was almost extinct. Only a handful of people survived- the strongest of the strongest- and came back to the past to stop the invasion from the first ce."


    Sounded veryplicated.


    "And you know that because?" Because he sure didn''t seem like a hundred years old man to me.


    He chuckled. "I''m one of them."


    He still didn''t look a hundred years old.


    "And the invaders were from Neil? But wait, something doesn''t make sense."


    "Of course it doesn''t. History itself was altered and so were the memories of the inhabitants of this world. The vine for the first virus outbreak was invented 79 years ago: but before that, two-third of the poption had already died. And we brought that vine- it took us three centuries of tireless research to invent it. We brought the 2nd one too. If we hadn''t, both viruses would have ravaged humanity for the next three centuries. And we stopped the Aliens that came through the portal and we also made sure that the natural evolution of the people hastened as much as it could." He paused. "And the invaders aren''t from Neil. It was Neil who helped us with the vine. It was a joint endeavor of the two worlds that made the survival of this one possible."


    "Wait, doesn''t that mean, you should be older than 79 at the very minimum? And-"


    And why the hell was I thinking about his age of all things?


    "Well, in your terms I''m 148 years old. But unfortunately, I took a pill in the future and that doubled my life expectancy. It''s pretty neat." He chuckled. "But that''s the problem. In the original timeline, Neil never got attacked but I guess I should have seen thising."


    "Bu- but I heard gramps went to this academy with you and-"


    He chuckled out loud. "Well, when we went here, we weren''t really teenagers you know: well, at least I wasn''t, Julio was a different story. Anyway, we''d just saved the world and since we couldn''t go back to the future anymore, we just decided to stay behind and have some fun you know- fool around a little."


    "Wait, we?" I thought he was just talking about himself.


    "Well, he''s dead anyway." He snorted. "Might as well." He was talking to himself. "There were six of us who came from the future."


    "And-"


    "Yes, it included your grandparents, myself, and a certain moron. And another girl but-" He grimaced. "Anyway, recently you met your grandmother too. I was really surprised back then, you know. She didn''t even notice me though, I guess I''ve aged."


    "So, both of them- came from the future? You''re not making sense and you''re justplicating this without answering me. And-"


    And my head was going funny. This was too much, there were just too many things going on here.


    "Yes, I know. And if it weren''t for your grandmother this whole thing wouldn''t have been possible. She could manipte time- she made us look younger too. I was really hoping one of you would be able to do the same, but you guys just got the genes of that ugly bastard instead." He chuckled loudly. "I know it doesn''t make sense and all of this is confusing but bear with me, it''s all true and it''s a real threat. We''ve stopped the viruses but the bigger threats would be here soon."


    He took a deep breath. "Now that that''s out of the way. What do you think? The world as we know it is about to end and Neil is just one of the problems. The third outbreak would be here soon and we didn''t have a cure for that even in the future. Though we defeated the aliens, we couldn''t win against the virus, we couldn''t create a vine. If we had, your grandmother wouldn''t have died."


    "SO that rare disease mom talked about-"


    "Was probably the third one." The headmaster sighed. "And here I was hoping, I wouldn''t have to go through this again. I should have never taken that damn pill." He chuckled loudly. He then sighed and reminisced. "But I guess I''ve had a good life."


    "And you''re telling me this because?" A shiver went down my spine as all the hair of my body rose up. "And don''t just set up your death gs!"


    Telling me this stuff only made me agitated and have a small existential crisis.


    He chuckled weirdly. "I made a promise to your grandfather that I wouldn''t involve his family if something like this were to happen but- I''m out of options. The current world isn''t ready for a massive invasion. We don''t have the ideal powers and we don''t have the military strength. If normal humans are insectspared to us, and Kin are monsters, then the kin are just insects to those aliens. Take a look at this girl. She''s far superior in strengthpared to the girl next to you though both of them are the same breed and they are losing! I couldn''t go toe to toe with one of them even when I was in my prime. Now imagine an army of theming through."


    I actually couldn''t tell. And imagine something like that? Yeah, I didn''t want to.


    "He''s right," Enira admitted. "But not by that much." She winked.


    "How long do we have? And if you can''t beat one of them, you think there''s a chance we can beat an army?"


    All of us looked at the girl and she said some weird words.


    "Exactly seven months."


    She also mentioned things like how those aliens from another world had abducted humans and perfected their virus even more.


    "I wouldn''t say we could win against an army of them but- they are actually a weird race. They often bend down to strong warriors, even if that warrior is from another world. So." He grinned. "So, imagine if someone just randomly beats their general or something-" His grin intensified.


    ''This guy is going to ask me to fight them alone, isn''t he?'' I so, so wanted to grimace. And it wasn''t like I was the strongest or something- this old geezer was still probably stronger than me.


    He was literally dubbed the world''s strongest!


    But the question remained. "Who are you and why are you on our side? And can we even trust you? If so, why?"


    The girl stood up and stood in front of me, eyes straight. "My world was destroyed. Our resources were taken and we were made into ves. I used all of our resources and came to this world." Her eyes were shimmering but she didn''t cry. "And you can trust me, as you are one of our people."


    She didn''t seem to be lying but I wasn''t the best judge of character.


    And me, one of her people?


    "We can believe her for the time being. Even if she''s wrong it''s not a matter of if, it''s a matter of when," The headmaster said. "Besides, your grandmother was from Neil as well, and we kind of went through this simr thing back then." He chuckled, remembering something. "I still remember your grandfather squirming at how beautiful the girl was."


    Yeah, too much information.


    My head started to hurt. Just one problem wasn''t enough and now I needed more?


    "I can really believe everything you just said?" I stared at the headmaster.


    "You can confirm everything with your grandmother. I mean, the one that''s still alive."

 Chapter 214 - I Didn’t Even Look Back: I Just Left

    I had a headache, a rather terrible one.


    And I had three girls following me.


    One was Enira, the other- the girl from another world. Apparently, her name was Aria.


    And the third? Raea. When I came out of the headmaster''s office, I found her just outside, staring at the fields. She was pretending like this was some sort of coincidence, but unfortunately, I was painfully aware, it wasn''t.


    I sighed and groaned. "Why are you guys following me again?"


    I''d just gone through a roller-coaster of emotions and I really wasn''t in the mood.


    "As a loyal ve, it is only natural." Raea ced a hand on her chest and stood tall. "That I''d be by my master''s side at all times!"


    Enira just giggled and stayed quiet while Aria cocked her head to the left, a bit confused. These two were one thing- but why the hell was this girl from another world following me instead of anyone else here? Seriously!


    This was too much.


    Too much, I say!


    I still needed some things from the dorm and uargh!


    "Stop acting like someone waiting for death." A woman mmed some papers over my head. It didn''t hurt. "Anyway, you''ve missed the first ss but be sure to not miss the rest. And here!"


    It was Miss Maire. She handed me some papers.


    "These are?"


    "Some practice problems and notes. You better show your face in the practical sses today too. Anyway, good luck." With that, she left.


    It was eleven fifteen so I waste for the second ss too.


    I couldn''t just run to the dorm now anyway. And the practical sses too?


    "Thank you." ''Can I just go die now?''


    ''Calm down, think things through.''


    I was desperately searching for a ss of water tomit suicide with.


    With a sigh and a deep breath, I walked straight ahead.


    I tried to narrow my priorities as I walked away.


    The world-ending stuff was urgent and all that but- I had a bigger problem at hand. And that problem was the Battlesuins. I had to deal with Marg''s illness and mom had just lost her job. I had way too much on my te, but for the time being, I had to narrow down things.


    Or I''d just crack.


    ''One step at a time, Helio, One step at a time.''


    So, I stood in front of the ssroom, took a deep breath, and ¨C "Sir, may Ie in!"


    Everyone stared at me, the teacher, the students, everyone.


    Though I had a feeling everyone was staring at the girls behind me rather than me.


    "Yes,e in. Take your seat." He was writing something on the board. This particr teacher always wrote on the board in spite of having a Holo projector.


    My slightlyrge seat proved to be useful for once.


    Enira sat to my right, Aira to my left, while Raea took Marg''s seat.


    "You, go back in the saber, already! And you, you''re not even supposed to be in this ss!" I whispered, very vigorously.


    Both ignored me. And Aria just looked confused. Apparently, she trusted me on the base that I was part her kin- whatever that meant.


    Sigh.


    Anyway, the ss went on.


    Some things were new. But they were easy enough for me to understand. ''


    I still tried my best to focus on what was in front of me.


    If I just kept on worrying about the future then what about the present?


    I wasn''t living in the future, rather I was living in the present and I had to earn my living. I couldn''t just forsake the present for the future. I couldn''t totally ignore it either.


    After all, I had a family and I had responsibilities.


    Besides, it was my birthday today!


    ***


    sses ended by two-thirty. But now I had practical sses just half an hourter.


    Sigh.


    I kind of wanted to bang my head on the table but settled for just resting my head on it instead.


    "You know." Raea was just behind me. "I heard you bought a house on the ind and even moved in with your family, and you have a maid?"


    "Where did you hear that?"


    Oh boy.


    She gleamed. "Would you permit me-" I had a very bad feeling about that- "To work as your loyal ve in your home?" She gently caressed my back.


    The ssroom was half. It wasn''t empty but it wasn''t full either.


    And yeah, I was getting a lot of attention.


    Raea was a third-year student and she was rather popr- probably the most beautiful in the academy. And that girl was literally asking to be my ve in the middle of the ss?


    "Didn''t I ask you to stay away- 40 meters or was it forty feet?" Even I forgot at this point. "Anyway, just stay away from me. I''m getting married to Marg and I-"


    In the heat of the moment, I might have just said something rather weird. I did want to get married to Marg and she wanted the same. But we hadn''t yet fully talked it over. At least not properly.


    And here I was dering stuff in the public.


    Oh boy- oh boy indeed.


    A boy in the back whistled- apparently it was Robert. Some pped, while others fawned. I also got res. ''What the hell?''


    I cleared my throat. "Let''s calm down. We''ll talk this over-" I was speaking quietly.


    Raea came over and- "If you make me your ve, I''ll let you have chocte every day, even if I have to sneak it in your food. Also- if you don''t- I''ll tell your mother how you sometimes eat chocte in secret even on weekdays," She whispered.


    "How do you know that?" I almost freaked out for a second.


    Even Merin didn''t know that!


    But chocte every day, that didn''t sound that bad. Actually, tempting even.


    "Break it off, you clowns. And don''t you have practical sses?" Enira stood between me and Raea. For once she was acting mature. "Besides, you can''t just cut in line!"


    Huh?


    Wha?


    "Oh, my apologies. I guess I should have kept you all in mind as well." She smiled. But there was nothing pretty about that smile. She literally looked like a demon.


    "Yes, and you''ll need Marg''s permission first. On that note, I''ve already got the green signal." Enira grinned, cing a hand on my shoulder and leaning against me.


    I looked at everyone with dull eyes and- just left.


    I didn''t even look back, I just left.


    "If you follow me, I''ll throw away this damn saber in the bottom of the ocean."


    Well, that stopped Enira from following me.. It also stopped the other two as well.

 Chapter 216 - The Not So Mysterious Volcanic Zone Is Missing Mutors Mysteriously

    Even after half an hour, we got nothing.


    Though this ce was called the volcanic region, there was nova. The volcano was actually flowing below this ce: instead ofva, magma I guess. So technically it was the almost burning rocky soil we had to worry about.


    There was nothing in sight- no life. I did see one or two small lizard Mutors but that was it. Somewhere in the distance, there were geysers of fire and a small amount ofva- we certainly didn''t want to go near that ce.


    But since nothing wasing up, walking around wasn''t a problem.


    We were literally walking over cooledva. So yeah, HOT!


    ''Let''s just hope this stuff doesn''t go cracky-'' Why the hell was I having such scary thoughts again?


    Anyway, we were basically done searching the whole ce.


    "Hey, you sure the map said this ce?" One of the two asked. He was rather skinny.


    "Yeah, I think so," Robert said.


    "We''ve been here for forty minutes, I''m boiling, man, let''s get out of here!"


    Yeah, I kind of wanted to get out of here too.


    "I know but if we leave now, we''ll fail the ss!" Robert said.


    I didn''t need to worry about the grades though. My job was to protect them and that was basically it.


    "Mutor- left!" The skinny guy screamed. He was our fast runner and apparently, he also had good eyesight.


    To our left was a giant lizard Mutor. It wasn''t that big though- maybe half the size of a typical gator. It had climbed up on a rock just to our left and was about to jump at us.


    Didn''t seem that strong- honestly.


    Robert focused by pping his hands together and closing his eyes.


    The lizard froze.


    The other guy in our team jumped in and used the air to slice the lizard- in mere seconds, we were victorious.


    This was just an ordinary garden variety Mutor, so this was natural.


    "Well, that easy." The skinny guy wiped the beads of sweat and grinned victoriously.


    "Too easy, I thought this''d be more of a challenge." The other guy also grinned.


    Why the hell were these morons, setting up gs?


    But just when I thought I was going to say ''let''s go back'' something had to show up. Well, actually it hadn''t shown up yet but I could tell something was just behind those rocks. That something being, something massive.


    "Congrattions people. You''ve found your challenge. Just pick this lizard up so we can get out of here."


    It was long and streamlined and it didn''t take a genius to figure out it was a snake. A crimson, burning snake with a big wide head- a cobra. The flowery pattern on its face wasn''t doing it justice.


    ''Do I really wanna do this?'' Cause if the teacher''s words were anything to go by, this thing was probably a bit too strong.


    "Did the heat get him?" One of the two said.


    "I can''t me him. I see a massive cobraing our way too." The other one sighed. "And the fangs are actually bigger than my arms¡­" He startedughing.


    "It''s real, you idiots!" Robert pped both of his teammates and prepared to fight.


    I on the other hand sat back and rxed. Not literally though, as the floor was literally made of burning solid ckva. It wasn''t hot enough to burn skin but it was definitely hot enough to singe stuff.


    "That''s real?" The skinny guy let down his bow and kind of just stared above him.


    ''Looks like someone gave up.''


    "Oh no." His partner tried to throw wind des but yeah, it didn''t even scratch the red burning cobra. The same des had sliced the lizard in almost two didn''t even scratch this thing.


    The cobra hissed and headed straight for the skinny guy. I could see two massive fangs and a rather scary tongue.


    I unsheathed my saber and waited.


    "Get out of here!" Robert screamed and sat down on his knees, focusing intently.


    The Cobra froze in midair.


    Robert''s pants kind of started to cken from the heat and he grimaced but he didn''t get up. "Helio, hurry!" His eyes were closed, and he was focusing a bit too hard.


    Well, he was trying his best and asking for my help. I guess I could help them out.


    "Well, if you say so." My original n wasn''t to help them out, but I guess I could pass this off as protecting them.


    I turned my saber into a bow and fired one shot.


    Enira wasn''t here, so I couldn''t use healing. I could still use Barriers as it was my saber''s original ability and I could make the saber into four forms.


    I did miss healing though.


    Anyway, the shot had connected but I only attracted the snake''s attention, as I scraped off one of its scales.


    Unlike Enira, this thing didn''t heal but its defense was a lot more than Enira''s.


    "So, you''re one of her friends, I''d assume?" I asked, hoping to reason with it.


    It roared, instead of hissing. Well, that was new.


    "What are you talking about? Kill it already!" Robert screamed.


    ''Easy for you to say!''


    "Take those two and get away. I''ve got this." I couldn''t protect them and try to fight a snake that big.


    The snake couldn''t move and for a second I thought this''d be easy- but as always, I was wrong. It opened its mouth and the air around its face started to get condensed and sucked in. this was bad- I had shbacks all over again about that time I fought Enira in the volcano.


    "It''s about to throw its breath!" I screamed.


    The snake threw its breath at us. Instead of fire, it was a literal purple cloud. POISON.


    It was worse than fire.


    "You! Grab the skinny guy and get near Robert! NOW!" I hurried and cast a barrier over our heads. THE skinny guy was grabbed by his friend and they barely managed to get into the barrier. "You, make sure the air isn''t poisoned. And you¡­ okay, you stay put!"


    The skinny guy stayed put and his friend listened to me and started to purify the air around us but it was hard and even I could tell.


    The frigging snake wasn''t done spewing its poison though.


    "Do you have a frigging tank in there or something?" I snorted and pulled on my bow, firing a shot a secondter.


    Every shot took about three seconds to fire, but I kept on firing one after the other.


    The shots were quite powerful but I was only damaging one or two scales. And even when Inded on already damaged scales, it wasn''t that effective. This thing was tough.


    And all of us were already coughing and the poison was getting us.


    "Enira, where the hell are you,e here already!"


    And no, she wasn''ting.


    I guess I kind of messed this up.


    "She''s noting, huh?" Robert grimaced.


    And here I thought I had this.


    "You three, stay here, I''ll keep the barrier up." I couldn''t just stay put inside the barrier and hope to win this. We were slowly dying. It was either do something now, or die a painful death.


    "What about you?" Robert said.


    Currently, Robert was keeping the thing pinned but the moment we''d start running, it''d be free and it''ll eat us alive- cause it was that fast. SO we had to do something.


    I smiled. "Well, I''m supposed to be your bodyguard, and eventually my summon would show and I''ll probably heal." I was being way too optimistic and even I knew that. "You guys though, need to cross the snowy fields." My grin intensified. "So leave the moment I attack it!"


    "You can''t be serious!" Robert wasn''t listening.


    "You my guy, can I leave it to you? Take em away!" I looked straight at the guy who could run fast.


    He just nodded, determination in his eyes. "It''s Jack, and I''ll try my best."


    "Good." I changed the saber to a broadsword and charged forward. "Enira this would be a good time to show up!"


    But she didn''t and the moment I stepped out of the barrier, the poison almost melted my skin. My lungs were probably having a harder time than my skin but- I didn''t stop and kept on running.


    "HELIO!" Robert screamed but Jack had just grabbed him and the other guy and they were in the middle of running away.


    "Take care." My attention was on the snake though. I charged ahead and swung my saber, it reached and I sliced off about three scales. But I couldn''t breathe anymore. My lungs were burning and I was out of options- or so it seemed but I wasn''t. "Enira, I''ll give you a kiss if you show up now!"


    Enira still didn''t show up.


    The snake did try to bite me though.


    Oh well.

 Chapter 217 - Eat Me- Oh Mysterious Snake!

    The snake was trying to eat me, literally.


    I swung left, I swung right. I dodged left, I dodged right. This wasn''t going anywhere and I was slowly dying.


    ''Let''s hurry this up.''


    Actually, at this point, being eaten didn''t sound that bad. At least this melting sensation and the pain would cease.


    ''Wait- I won''t be able to eat choctes!'' And I wouldn''t be marrying Marg in that case either.


    The snake raised its head up and made a dive for me.


    I focused on a bit of sma, I say a bit it was it a lot.


    A lot! And I wasn''t holding back either, I was literally dying- but I shot therge- watermelon-sized sma at the snake and even created threeyers of barriers around us to protect the ind and me.


    The umtion was fast and as I dodged the snake''s bite and tail- I mmed the sma straight for its head!


    There was a st, a veryrge st and I was going to have to tank it too.


    ''Enira if you don''t show up now, I''ll never call your name ever again.''


    I smiled and grabbed my saber tight, forming another barrier over my body: this was my limit. But I knew it wasn''t going to be enough. I''d be pretty roasted today.


    And I guess I shouldn''t have acted so rudely to her before.


    "You know, when ady enters the restroom, sometimes, sometimes, it''s very important!" A grumpy Enira manifested out of nowhere, hugged me, kissed me, and covered us in a thick barrier- at least thick enough that I couldn''t see anything outside the barrier. Or was it just the st? I couldn''t tell.


    I felt faint, but the longer I kissed her, or rather she kissed me, the more rejuvenated I felt. My wounds started to heal and the pain dissipated.


    Cracks formed on the barrier but it never broke.


    She moved her lips to take a breath. "You scared me you know."


    "Well, you scared me more. I was this close to dying just now." Actually I never even considered the possibility of me dying.


    What would have happened to me? What about my family?


    What about Marg?


    ''Why the hell was I being this stupid, this rash?"


    Seriously, what was wrong with me? Since when was I this careless?


    Enira sighed. "We''ll I hurried out and though I used a lot of tissue, let''s just say I''m kind of filthy right now."


    Did she really have to confess that?


    I kind of wanted to drop her but- I kissed her again. "Thank you, and I''ve delivered on my promise." I let go of her and she let go of me. Though some part of me wanted to kiss her and it wasn''t because of that promise. I guess this was being unfaithful to Marg- but my love for Marg had not diminished even slightly. "Alright, let''s take down that thing. You''re acquainted, right?"


    I didn''t care if they were.


    "Kind of, yeah. I met him about four hundred years ago in a cava-"


    "Yeah, I don''t want a history lesson. Just deal with it."


    She giggled. "Rude!" She dismissed the barrier in front and around this whole ce too. She''d actually erected quite a few barriers and most of them were still intact.


    As the smoke and debris cleared, I saw the barely alive snake. It was still clinging to life. Most of its body was burnt and it couldn''t really stand. Half of its face was missing.


    The entire ce around us was burning red hot. The ck surface surrounding us had turned tova. Everything was reduced tova. Apparently, my sma st was a bit too powerful.


    ''Why the hell had I made it that big anyway?''


    Hypothetically if Enira hadn''t shown up, not only would I have been roasted, this whole ce would have suffered the same thing too. My barriers probably would have mitigated the damage but it was still going to be pretty devastating.


    "It''s still alive?"


    "He, not it. And let''s go over there." Enira created barriers as our footing and we moved forward.


    I stopped right next to the snake and even now he was trying to get up and attack us but it was impossible.


    Seriously, just how tough was this guy?


    "Farewell my sworn friend, my brother, my ally- LEON." Enira sliced off his head with my sword. I had no idea when she took it from my belt. Actually I never even got to use ittely.


    The head fell and since the floor was literally made ofva, it caught fire.


    Now that I thought about it, the lizard they''d killed before had already burned and there was nothing left of it.


    "Hurry, the core!"


    "Right¡­" Though Eniraplied and covered the whole body in a barrier to protect it, she seemed a bit too sad.


    She recovered the head too. I was still kind of expecting it toe back to life, but it didn''t.


    "Sorry, I guess he meant a lot to you."


    She giggled. "Not anymore. That was a long time ago, I don''t like to mop about the past." She was faking it. For the first time ever, her time smile was fake.


    I knew her for a short amount and yet, I could tell that this was a sad event for her.


    "Do you want to bury the body? The practical ss demanded we hand it over and-" Wait, "Couldn''t hee back to life like you?"


    Enira stared at me with ratherplicated emotions for a second. "I had to pay a great deal for my immortality. He won''te back to life." She sighed. "Let''s first take the core. I''d like to at least keep that."


    "That goes without a saying. And if you want to keep it and not absorb it, I''ll allow that too."


    If she wanted to keep it as a memento, I was fine with that.


    She chuckled. "Unfortunately I need their strength and they''d be d if a friend used them rather than some weirdo."


    I got the feeling she was calling me a weirdo. I proceeded to ignore the remark.


    "They?"


    "Yes, they. It would seem my friend had actually eaten the rest of my other friends on this ind."


    The teacher had mentioned something simr too about how a snake was eating all the Mutors in the area.


    Well, that made things a lot lessplicated.


    "Anyway, let''s go."


    "Right, and you''ll have to get some clothes too."


    Half of my stuff was already burnt. My pants were still holding up nicely though. "Not enough time."


    "You''re not a nudist, are you?"


    "Nope, not at all."


    Not at all, at all.


    "Really?"


    "Uh-huh. Wh-why would you even think that?"


    Enira gave me a big wide grin. And just searched for the core, found it, and took it out. It was dark purple in color- cker than Enira''s and almost ten times bigger than all her fragmentsbined. "I''ll absorb itter. For now, let''s take this back, okay?"


    So, she wanted to absorb it after all.


    "Right!"


    I still had no idea how. We were literally surrounded by boilingva and this thing was big- like bigger than Enira''s hydra form.


    And that''s when Enira lifted the whole body up like it was nothing. She lifted us up with her barrier to around two hundred meters and created a slope, sliding us on another barrier on top of the barrier.


    Well, apparently now we could fly- slide to be more specific. The barriers were invisible to everyone but me, so yeah, it definitely seemed like I was flying.


    And the speed was nothing to sneeze at either.


    "ACCCHOOO!"


    I still sneezed though.

 Chapter 218 - Well, This Just Got Complicated

    We found the three guys running on the snowy fields. They were arguing over something: they were in bad shape considering most of their skin had turned purple thanks to the poison. But I was d they were at least safe.


    We were still going down at high speeds, but Enira was gradually slowing us down.


    "Can you cure their poisoning and wounds?"


    Enira could heal all my wounds and everything, but could she do it to others?


    Enira smiled. "But of course." She lifted her hand up in the air and made a small ball of light. It was weird and I felt like I''d seen something simr before.


    She sent that ball to the three and the light enveloped the whole group.


    When the light faded, they were mostly healed and we''d alreadye down from the slide.


    The guys still had some purple patches and their wounds had merely just closed. Apparently, Enira could heal them but- it wasn''t as effective. Then again, we were kissing so-


    The snake corpse was kind of floating and it was totally Enira''s job now.


    "You''re alive!'' Robert was excited. "I''m so d!" The guy was actually crying.


    The other two wereughing saying they expected as much of me and all that.


    I was d they had high hopes for me, but I literally almost died!


    "Anyway, let''s move it. It''s already afternoon, we might end up getting disqualified or something. And sorry about the lizard- it got destroyed."


    Robert chuckled, wiping his tears, "I''ll punch the teach, if he does that. And I Jack had secured the core, don''t worry about that." He shed me a blue core.


    Was I seriously the only one who didn''t actually know about the cores beforeing to this academy or something?


    I also kind of chuckled. "Please don''t do that."


    And they had the time to actually take the core with them? Wow.


    We allughed and just walked along. Enira kind of carried the body in her barrier, and with care too. Not only was she strong, but she was also gentle. It was weird, how sad she looked.


    Maybe I could do something to cheer her up or at least make her feel better. ''But is there anything I could do for her?'' She never really demanded much. Granted, oftentimes, she acted weird and clingy and all that, but she wasn''t that bad.


    "You can give me some love in bed if you''re out of options." Enira gave me a flying kiss while making a rather loud- exaggerated smooching sound.


    "IN your dreams you perverted dragon!" I was worried for nothing!


    She giggled. "Actually, youe to my dreams all the time. Oh, and you called me a dragon instead of a dragon-snake thingy! That''s kind of an improvement, I guess?" She burst outughing.


    I really wanted to punch her.


    ***


    We reachedst.


    It was four forty-eight and the time limit was an hour and a half meaning four-thirty. SO we werete.


    "My goodness! What happened to you guys!" Well, at least the teacher was concerned about us.


    We were all in tattered clothes and I in particr looked the worst. I was pretty much healthy though: no wounds at least.


    "Well, the Mutor proved to be fairly strong. I might have made the volcanic zone a bit worse and well, it''s filled with poisonous fog now too. We did manage to kill one lizard and that snake."


    The ce also had magmaing out and roaming around but that was another story.


    "Well, atst you guys are safe and I assume the corpse is intact?" Well, the teacher sure was impressed and he was also interested.


    "No, the lizard is destroyed. The snake though- you can see for yourself." As I was talking, Robert handed over the blue core to the teacher. "His head is severed as you can see. And yeah, since she killed him, she took ''that'' for herself."


    "Him?" The teacher gave me a bit of a funny look but then- "Wait, she can''t take it! That''s school property!"


    Okay, this could get tricky.


    Technically Enira was also the school property in that sense. I sure wasn''t going to hand her over though.


    "It is?" Enira said, bringing out the core. She was about to give it to the teacher too. I was confused. "Gotcha!" Enira winked and proceeded to down the whole thing.


    She also proceeded to make a spectacr disy of choking for three whole minutes and rolling around on the dirt- miserably- but eventually fully absorbed the core.


    I almost felt pity for the poor soul.


    She didn''t get taken over, but she did grow two small fangs on her mouth- not enough toe out when her mouth was closed but I could definitely see them when she was smiling like a fool- which she was doing now. And her horns kind of grew a bit longer and pointier too.


    And for some other reasons- she actually looked a bit cuter- or more mature to be honest.


    "Are you still there? Do I have to kill you or something?"


    It wasn''t like I wanted to punch her or anything, okay?


    "You''re wee to y me in bed if you''d like." She winked.


    "Yeah, I''ll pass."


    The teacher really was giving me the looks now. "That was against school rules!" He was almost in tears. Just how badly did he want the core? "And y her in bed? You can''t do that! You''re going to be a married man soon!"


    Apparently, he was a firm believer in monogamy.


    "I''ll talk it out with the headmaster, don''t worry about it. And the task was to bring out this Mutor, not its core: mine was to bring them all back in one piece. So, I''d expect you to deliver your promises." I smiled. "And didn''t you hear me? I said no to the perverted dragon."


    He grimaced slightly. "Fine."


    I actually expected some shouting.


    But getting nothing made me disappointed.


    And now that this was done, I had to head to the dorm too. And then back home.


    Sigh, life was a drag.


    ***


    I gave Merin an early message before actually going and he gave me a reply too.


    Apparently, he had someone over and he didn''t want me near that ce in three hours.


    Well, I owed him quite a lot, so yeah, I let him have his way.


    "Guess, I''ll just go home then?"


    And cross the snowy fields again? And it was going to get rather cold now too.


    Wait, wasn''t I still in tattered clothes?


    Sigh.


    "Do you have an extra shirt or pants? I mean you can just form them- right?"


    "Mine are just illusionary so, technically-" Enira came close. "I''m not wearing anything.


    Huh?


    She winked. "Why don''t you call that woman?"


    I was still kind of confused. I touched the base of her uniform and yeah, there was nothing there and my finger just went through and touched her skin. It was so real.


    ''You gotta be kidding me.'' I snatched my finger away in an instance.


    There weren''t many students around and the few that were were far away from us.


    "That woman?" I was still confused.


    "You know, that woman you so like."


    "And you''re not saying her name, because?"


    "Hmph!" She did not talk to me, no.


    I sighed. I gave a message to Marg, asking how stuff went on her end and I was on my way.


    We never actually talked much through messages. This rtionship was still pretty much in the early stages after all.


    Come to think of it, though we both loved each other, we actually didn''t know what we were even doing. Neither of us was experienced in this and here we were thinking of getting married.


    "Oh, and what happened to that girl from another world?"


    "Her name''s Aria." Enira rolled her eyes. "She''s with that ve of yours, they''ll head over to your ce tomorrow."


    "Wait- why are theying to my home!?"


    She stared at me- a bit too nkly and then suppressed a giggle.


    ''The hell?''


    "Alright, then let''s go." A wild Marg appeared.


    "HEY, I never asked you toe! I just-"


    "I know." She came near me, grabbed my arm, and made a devilish grin, showing off to Enira.


    "We had a very passionate kiss, I''ll have you know." Enira puffed up her chest and she almost snapped a button: almost: she wasn''t wearing anything though. "Besides, he kissed me on his own ord.


    "I''d love to hear more about that." Marg''s voice was steady-


    My heart sure wasn''t.


    "There''s an exnation for that." I grimaced subconsciously.


    "Well, he also kind of almost killed himself in the process of blowing up this ind, so we should talk about that too," Enira said. "And two girls wille to our ce tomorrow."


    Marg smiled. Her smile and Mom''s smile really seemed simr.


    "I can¡­ exin?" Honestly, even I wasn''t sure anymore.


    We teleported.

 Chapter 219 - The Party Of Villains!

    SURPRISE!


    Well, I kind of saw thising.


    This was literally a family thing. No one extra was here- just our family.


    But really- why the hell was ''she'' here!


    And not only was ''she'' here but there was also more! Uncle Excrucio, his wife, his kids my other cousins, other uncles, and even the elders.


    Our reception wasrge, and yet, these morons made it look like this ce was small or something.


    I didn''t see anyckeys though.


    Everything was decorated nicely- Romswell style. Skulls here, bones there. Yeah, very nice.


    Hell no! What the hell!


    "Marg we should run, we should run, right now," I whispered.


    She giggled and just stayed quiet.


    The hell?


    Oh, now I got it.


    She was in this too, of course, she was.


    "Awe!" Look how flustered he is. "Poor thing." Susan- one of my aunties, came near me, patted my head, and gently took me to the middle of the party, and handed me arge knife- it was more of a sword than a knife.


    And the cake? It was at least ten times bigger than what mom usually baked. I had a feeling mom wasn''t the only one who cooked this. And did we even have the oven to make something this big?


    Seriously, how many people were in on this?


    "Mom?" I didn''t see her and I was getting scared.


    Seriously, what the hell was my whole family doing here?


    "You know, you suck at acting, right?" Uncle Excrucioughed loudly. "Come on, boy, let''s end that charade and just get on with it."


    Well, now that I''d been called about it, I couldn''t just act like this either.


    Marg had actually teleported me straight to one of the bathrooms and before anything she made me take a shower: she''d teleported Enira elsewhere. And since I could sense people''s presence, yeah, I had a rough idea of what was going on. After showering and wearing nice new clothes, we both teleported outside the house and entered through the main door, pretending like nothing was wrong.


    My family was here and they''d put a lot of effort into this. So the least I could do was make a little effort on my part to at least seem surprised.


    I chuckled. "Well, if you say so." I cut the cake, like cutting a man in two- it was tradition.


    "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU¡­."


    "MOM?"


    "What? I''m right here you know?" She was actually just casually standing behind me.


    I chuckled a little and picked up the cake, held it near her face. "Well, you know the rules."


    She smiled, took a bite and next took the cake in her hand and fed me. This was the tradition of the Romswell family- I hated it at times, and at other times, I really loved it.


    "Elsa?"


    She was behind mom.


    "What?" She seemed slightly sulky.


    "Here, you go." I gave her a piece.


    But instead of taking it from my hand, she just ate it all. Typical.


    I heard a round of snickers but oh well. I fed Marg a piece and she did the same to me.


    I next cut into the cake and took arge portion for myself. "Well, feel free to start cutting in folks."


    I took a bite and- "HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELIO!" The usual stuff. I''dst had this kind of birthday, maybe about thirteen- fourteen years ago. We didn''t usually have this many people on my birthday. At best some uncles and cousins dropped by but- this many was really rare. "CONGRATS ON GETTING ENGAGED!" well, that was true too. ording to the Romswell tradition I was already engaged with Marg. "AND-" they paused. "CONGRATS ON BEING A FATHER!"


    Huh?


    Excuse me?


    I looked at Marg and she blushed.


    Momughed and so did the rest of the people.


    "To think that pipsqueak¡­" Uncle shed a tear.


    This was really happening.


    "Marg you-"


    She put a hand over her stomach. "Well, I was wrong and- we really are having a baby, Helio." She stood in front of me.


    Okay, my head started to spin and I felt like I couldn''t breathe anymore.


    Seriously?


    Should I have been happy or devastated?


    I couldn''t pick.


    My head had stopped working,


    Helio.EXE had stopped working!


    "Don''t look that shocked!" Uncle gave me a p on the back. "Didn''t I say, you suck at acting?" They all chuckled.


    But unfortunately, this really wasn''t an act.


    Marg''s smile kind of started to falter and I had a feeling she''d end up crying if I kept this up.


    So- I discarded all that baby-hating thoughts and for just this one moment- "Thank you, Marg." I gave her a hug. ''I hate kids but I''ll suck it up for you.''


    Marg smiled- shed a drop of tear and hugged me tighter. I also hugged her pretty tight.


    I still hated kids though.


    ***


    The party went smoothly and the cake was really good.


    The food was also good. And mom had made chocte milkshakes with grandma.


    Speaking of grandma, she hadn''t actually said a thing to me.


    I didn''t know what to say or how to even attempt to start a conversation with her.


    Our rtives were just chatting amongst themselves. Some were hanging around me- mostly my not-so-friendly cousins.


    "I tell ya, humans are evil. They deserve to be enved!"


    Yeah, like these morons weren''t humans themselves.


    "It''s really fun ruling over them, you know."


    "Nah, it''s more fun just destroying cities and seeing them cry their hearts out. Impregnating them is kind of fun too."


    "AHHHHAHAHAHAH!" Yeah, I felt like a sore thumb sticking out in this conversation between viins.


    "What about you Helio? How would you destroy the world?"


    Umm, what?


    "Steal all the women for myself?" I wasn''t being serious and I just said it with a straight face.


    I just wanted to get out of this conversation.


    ''Now be disgusted and leave alone please.''


    My three cousins stared at me with wide eyes. ''Yes, be disgusted.'' The n was almost a sess!


    And they broke intoughter. "Yeah, you''ve got the looks."


    "Well, you already have like five or six I heard?"


    "The world is really big you know? But yeah, if you steal all the women, there goes humanity!" He made a hrious face and startedughing.


    The rest followed suit.


    They kept onughing.


    So much for being disgusted.


    Sigh. This family was weird.


    I did see Enira and Elsa look at me with dull res. They both probably had good hearing so yeah, operation ''feel disgusted'' might have been a grand sess after all.


    "Oh Helio?" and that''s when mom called me.


    ''Oh, I love you so much!''


    I was really, really d!


    I almost danced the way to mom. And when I did reach her, my expression almost turned to stone.


    ''Oh.''


    Apparently, she was with grandma and I was going to join this conversation the two were having. Marg was just in the corner, waiting for me too.


    "We''ll take a sit," Grandma said. Her voice was slightly prickly. Her skin was wrinkly. She looked pretty good for her age- somewhere around eighty- but she was old, and that was clear.


    ''Shit.'' I had to talk to her about the world-ending stuff too.. Shit indeed.

 Chapter 220 - The Party’s Over

    This was awkward, was an understatement.


    Thest time I saw my grandmother was almost ten years ago, on a day, I could hardly remember what happened. I knew what transpired that day, but still, even now I couldn''t really remember much of anything. I could remember hearing some cries, I could hear people whispering things¡­ bad things¡­ but everything was still in a haze.


    And as I stared at the old woman- my grandmother in front of me, the haze only got thicker and my head started aching.


    And mom''s awkward smile wasn''t really helping.


    With a big gulp, I took my seat.


    Marg was already seated on the opposite side. This was a small table and mom sat to my right, while grandma to my left.


    "Hey, Heli-" Uncle was headed this way, when he suddenly sensed the atmosphere, smiled, and turned around.


    So much for being the world''s most powerful terrorist. What a wuss- or so I would have said, if I, myself wasn''t shaking.


    Almost all of our rtives gave us space and moved to the other end of the room. For once, I was d this room was really big.


    Mom cleared her throat. "Well, it''s been a while, why don''t we start with the greetings?"


    "Ri-right." I also tried to clear my throat, it felt like something was clogging it. "IT''s been a while, grandmother."


    What did I use to call her again? Grandmother? Grandma? Grand-something?


    I couldn''t remember-


    "Yes, it has." She was old, but- even for her age, she was rather healthy and her skin was still hanging tight. "You have grown." She didn''t smile, she didn''t frown.


    I felt slightly at ease, as I let out a small sigh in relief.


    I didn''t know why but she didn''t feel hostile. Maybe I was just overreacting and worrying too much. After all, she was my grandmother and though she despised me deep down, she probably wasn''t going to show it.


    The party meanwhile, was going pretty nicely.


    People were having fun, chatting around.


    I rarely saw so many of my family at once like this.


    Honestly, I was a bit d to see them.


    Just a bit though.


    Just a bit, okay?


    Wait! I was forgetting something! "This is Marg." I pointed at her. "She''s my fianc¨¦e right now, but I n to marry her as soon as possible."


    Technically, that wasn''t a lie, right?


    "Yes, she seems like a lovely youngdy. We''ve been talking for some time now."


    Marg just had a nk expression. Honestly, these two women were really simr. Both were looking nkly at me, as though they had no emotion. But I clearly knew, Marg was just ufortable and grandma just probably didn''t know how to deal with me.


    Mom and Marg were rather quiet though. Did they seriously expect me to be doing all the talking?


    Yesn''t!


    But I did have things to ask. "So, I met a girl today."


    And I caught the attention of both mom and Marg''s. Oh yeah, they were ring alright.


    Probably should have rified better. "I mean I met someone who wasn''t from this-"¡­ "World."


    Yeah, they weren''t having any of this.


    "Come closer," Grandma said.


    These guys weren''t letting me finish. But as none of them were actually saying anything about it, I decided to thoroughly exin it in a minute.


    I got up and went close to her.


    Before anything else, she gave me a sniff.


    I was way too flustered to move.


    ''What the hell?''


    I instinctively took a step back: my instincts were kind of sluggish though. I guess my body wasn''t expecting her of all people to sniff me.


    "It would seem, you''vee into contact with some rather questionable people." She grumbled.


    I had no idea what she was talking about but this whole sniffing thing was really freaking me out. I gave a nce at mom and she was also cringing hard.


    So yeah, this wasn''t typical.


    "I have some things I want to talk to you about." I tried my best to remain calm and keep a straight face.


    Sure wasn''t working though.


    "Yes, it would seem the time is right." She sighed. "Call the otherworlder here."


    Wait, what?


    What did she just say?


    Oh, wait, just a minute ago I mentioned something about meeting the girl from another world.


    ''Didn''t Raea say, she''d bring that girl here,ter?''


    "Mom, what are you saying?" Mom said.


    Both mom and Marg were still staring at me though.


    And that''s when I realized, both of them were actually still fixed on the ''me meeting a girl'' part, not the ''girl being from another world'' part.


    Perfect!


    "She''s on her way," Enira warped right behind me and wrapped her arms over my shoulder: soft thingsnded on my back. At this point, I kind of got used to them¡­ okay, probably not. "It''s been a while, Serena, you have aged." Enira''s voice was dripping with taunts.


    "It would seem you''ve snuck yourself into this family just like that snake." Grandma snorted. "I thought I smelled that before."


    Apparently, grandma and this half-dragon snake thingy knew each other.


    Sigh. Well, did not see that oneing. Grandma didn''t seem that concerned though and she didn''t seem hostile towards Enira. They just weren''t on good terms but they weren''t quite enemies either.


    I didn''t care though.


    So, Enira was really old and she wasn''t lying that time?


    Guess so.


    Enira giggled. "Unfortunately-" She rubbed her face against mine. "He brought me here."


    "Can we stop wasting time please?" It took a lot of strength to make her unhand me. I wanted to kick her, but there were far too many people here and I didn''t want to look bad in front of my family. "And no, I tried to get rid of you but you just stuck around and that was all. Moving on!" I was getting pissed at this whole thing and yeah, I just wanted this to get a move on.


    Enira just chuckled though. "Sure, sure."


    I stood up. I was attracting attention. "Look, there''s an invasioning and I know you know. So I want you to tell me what I can do to protect my family. Protect, you guys," I said, staring at grandma.


    I came out clean. I didn''t have the patience to go through the whole process of first warming up to her and then asking questions. I needed the answers right now.


    "Sit down!" She ordered. And yet, I found myself seated immediately, against my will. "The rest of you, the party''s over, go home!"


    Oh yeah, now we were rolling!


    "Aww, man! It''s only been like an hour and a half!" One of my cousinsined.


    An hour and a half was still a lot of time though. ''It''s really been that long?''


    "Oh? You want me to get up from here and-"


    "We''ll take her away!"


    Her parents however just dragged her out of here. The same went for the rest of my cousins, uncles, and even the elders. Apparently, everyone was afraid of grandma. How the hell was she not the head of the family?


    This party was pretty nice and things were going good too. It was a little sad to see it end outright like this.


    But I guess, what we were going to do was more important.


    Then again, the people leaving had smiles, as though they enjoyed this brief reunion. Well, I sure had.


    Everyone offered me some pleasantries before leaving and the same went for mom and Elsa: even Marg. Our guests thanked us and congratted me and Marg before leaving and it was really weird to hear the word ''thanks'' from some of them.


    But yeah, at the end of the day, I was really d everyone decided to show up and stick around.

 Chapter 221 - Cause That’s What Families Are For

    "Now, you said something about an invasion?"


    I took a deep breath. So far, this day just kept getting better and better.


    I was still d about the party though.


    "Yes, the aliens will strike in a matter of months. A messenger from Neil arrived at the academy today and I heard everything from the headmaster." There was no harm in telling the people here. I trusted every single one of them.


    "That idiot!" Grandma fumed.


    "I''m not following this." Mom raised her hand like a kid. I guess this ran in the family.


    I also saw Elsa staring at us from across the room, while sipping her juice. Strangely, uncle Excrucio and his wife hadn''t left. This was rare.


    But that was all of us. And this is why I had the guts to say everything.


    "Basically, you know your mom wasn''t from this world, right?" Grandma said, looking at mom.


    So, I guess this wasn''t that much of a secret, assuming she could say that in front of uncle and the rest of us.


    Come to think of it, Elsa didn''t know, right? I gave her a side nce and well, she just kept on sipping her juice, not a care in the world.


    Well, she didn''t care about where mom''s mom came from. Or the fact that she even had a mom other than Grandma. Seriously, why the hell wasn''t she surprised?


    "But you are my mom!" Mom fired back.


    ''Well, this is going to take a while.''


    Grandma rolled her eyes but her expression softened. "Anyway, your father was also not from this world. Originally he came from the future, with that wen- ahem! Your mother."


    I had a feeling this woman did not like mom''s real mom. Yeah, it didn''t take a genius to figure out why.


    Again, I took a look at Elsa and she still didn''t show any sign of surprise. ''Is it possible that moron already knew?''


    The only people who were surprised were Marg and mom.


    Judging from what the headmaster said and the evidence shown so far, gramps already knew mom''s real mom beforeing to this world- as she was the reason, they coulde to this world in the first ce. Andter, gramps met my grandmother, and then- things gotplicated and mom''s mom died.


    Yeah, even I was confusing myself with the who was what with the what.


    "Anyway, what is important, is that there was a reason why your father came back from the future and for that reason, your mother had to die." Grandma took a deep breath, turning to me. "You''re sure, the girl is from Neil? But isn''t it too soon?" She wondered aloud.


    ording to the timeline of gramps, Neil wasn''t attacked, or at least not in the next three centuries but as they came back in time and stopped the invasion from taking its root, things had changed.


    "Neil is already under attack," Enira said.


    Grandma looked a tad surprised for a brief second and thenposed herself. "In that case, this is very bad. We''re not ready."


    "I''m still not following anything. What are these aliens you speak of?" Mom again asked. She looked very stressed, to say the least.


    "Aliens, at least that''s what your father called them: He never really gave me a name. They are humanoid in form but their technology is far greater than ours. They too have powers like we do, but- the most troublesome thing about them is their ability to create bioweapons- or so your father had told me. The man was really tight-lipped, so he never really said much. And he wanted to forget the future and not have our family involved with the aliens." For a second, grandma almost smiled in nostalgia but a secondter it faded as her face clouded. "And he''s gone."


    I knew it was my fault but- "But we are still alive and we have to make sure that we keep living. We don''t have much time and-"


    Knock! Knock!


    Our long-awaited guests had arrived.


    And I was d we were interrupted now, cause I was about to say some rather stupid things.


    The bunny maid opened the door and two girls came inside- one was freezing- or rather just shivering while the other looked fine.


    "I d-didn''t know it was that cold!" Raea shivered way too much. "And what''s with the sudden call! I thought you were in trouble or something."


    Call?


    I looked at Enira and she just smiled.


    Yeah, I didn''t want to even start that conversation.


    We weed them in and Raea covered herself with a nket of sorts and went to the corner, sitting with Elsa.


    Meanwhile, I brought the girl from another world- what was her name again- in front of grandma. "Now-" I started. "WE have seven months. I have the tea party with the Battlesuins tomorrow and if everything works out, I''d like to get married to Marg next month." It was a mouthful to say, but I''d made up my mind.


    Marg covered her mouth and looked d. And here I thought she wasn''t going to show any emotions in front of other people. Then again, she did conceal her emotions pretty well a secondter.


    Grandma sniffed this girl too¡­ did she have a fetish or something? "Yes, she certainly is from Neil."


    "And you''re that confident because?" Elsa asked, across the room. "Do you really think you can take on them alone ande back unscathed?" I guess she was talking to me.


    "We''ll first hear them out and try to see where they areing from. We have ways to beat or rather trap Hyora but- yeah, I''m confident because, I want to believe this will go okay. After all, if it doesn''t, I wouldn''t being back, right?" I smiled. "And what kind of idiot makes a n where he doesn''te back safely?"


    I saw a lot of eyes rolling. Yeah, that joke didn''t fly.


    "Well, I''m free," Uncle said. He was just having some cupcakes but he finally headed our way.


    "I''m not working right now, so I guess I can take a whole day off." Mom smiled as she fixed her hair.


    Grandma looked at her kids and- "I guess I can tag along too. I''m too bored these days anyway." She cracked her knuckles. "Blowing up a city or two might ease the boredom."


    Huh?


    ''Well, they''re viins alright.''


    But wasn''t this supposed to be-?


    Mom put a hand on my shoulder. "You thought I''d send my one and only son to that ce and not make sure everything works out okay, did you?"


    So much for having faith in me.


    "Come on people! It''s not like I''m going to die or something!" Because I seriously didn''t want to. And besides, alone, I was fully capable of wiping out people, and Enirately, had gotten fairly strong. "And didn''t I want to do this alone?"


    "But sweetheart-" Grandma grabbed my hand. "You''re not alone."


    Well, that sure shut me up. And I did not expect that from her at least.


    And that was probably the nicest thing she said to me in like ten years.


    "I know, I know. But that''s why I''m doing this to prove-" To prove what exactly?


    Why did I want to do this alone again?


    Because I got selfish and chose Marg?


    Because I fell in love with her?


    Because I wanted to take responsibility for my actions?


    Because I wanted to pretend, I''d grown up and didn''t need anyone''s help?


    Really, why did I want to do this?


    "Look," Auntie came close. "I''m not good with words but, it''s our job as your elders to make sure your future''s bright. It''s fine if you think you can do this alone, actually, I think you can. But- as a family it''s our job to look after you, to look after each other. That''s what families are for."


    That was probably the longest sentence she ever said to me.


    "Your path is yours to choose," Uncle said. "But let us protect you. Think of it as a present to your unborn kid," he winked with a grin.


    Seriously, what was up with this day!


    So many firsts were happening!


    And I was kind of getting scared of all this.


    Finally, Marg came and stood in front of me. "We''re in this together. How could I just stay behind and ask you to do everything?" She proceeded to hug me. "I love you and as your wife, I''ll bear all your responsibilities alongside you."


    And she didn''t even say, FUTURE!


    Sigh.


    Looks like there was no way out of this one.


    Sigh, indeed.


    But, it wasn''t a lie to say, I was d.

 Chapter 222 - Sorry But, You’ll Need More Than Just Chocolate To Entice Me

    After that thorough discussion, we''d established quite a few things.


    One, I wouldn''t be doing this alone. Two, we wouldn''t meaninglessly start a fight and three, if everything worked out, life would be amazing.


    The thought of me being a father kind of ruined all that for me though. I knew nothing about parenting. Hell, I didn''t even have a father. So, I had no idea what they were supposed to be like and what they were even supposed to do.


    And more importantly, wouldn''t doing it with Marg be¡­well, not feasible anymore and she''d go through weird mood changes and not feel like it? Actually, I didn''t know much about pregnancy to even make a guess at that. ''Back to the memory instiller, I guess.''


    Come to think of it, I never brought my things back. ''Oh yeah, Merin was apparently, busy at the time.''


    Sigh.


    "What?" Elsa froze my cheeks with a cold ss of lemon juice aka, lemonade.


    Just because it wasn''t freezing inside, didn''t mean, she had to freeze my frigging face off!


    Obviously, I didn''t say that. I wanted to drink lemonade anyway. Elsa always made the best lemonade- even better than mom. After we were done discussing, Elsa made them in batches. And she''d given it to everyone here at the guestroom but me.


    And I was really waiting for my turn too. For a second there, I thought she was maybe even a little mad at me for something. But I guess everything was dumbfounded. After all, just as I took a small sip, bliss!


    Yeah, it was that good. The perfect blend of fragrance, sugar and sour. Just a single ss wasn''t enough. But- since she won''t be making more, I had to savor everyst bit of this.


    "Nothing, really. Just wondering things." A lot of things.


    Things that weren''t even making sense. I had way too many things to worry about.


    There were all of us here in the guestroom but they were mostly spaced far away. Grandma, mom, and uncle were questioning the girl from another world. Enira was doing all the tranting.


    I was in a corner in a chair, sitting alone though. Obviously, worrying way too much.


    "Well, don''t wonder too much or you''ll end upplicating things without meaning to." She was being a bit too mature for once. And She didn''t act that surprised as she heard the whole thing either.


    I mean, she wasn''t wrong. I did have the tendency toplicate things.


    But was she really alright? To me, she was just a kid. My little sister. And yet, she had to listen in on this whole world invasion thing and all that. ''Then again, we are superviins, so I guess she''s okay with all this?''


    "Did you know?"


    "Know about?"


    "About mom and gramps and all that."


    "No, not really. I''m just as surprised as you guys but what they were has nothing to do with us. They are our family and that''s it. We don''t need to question where they were from."


    ''Is this brat, seriously, my little sister?''


    Yeah, I had my doubts.


    "By the way," Raea came this way. "Nice house."


    And then I realized, there was actually an outsider here. How the hell did I forget about her?


    And now I had another thing to worry about.


    "Thanks, and though I hate to ask you to leave, it''s reallyte and-"


    "And you won''t ask a girl to wander in the blizzard at this hour, right?" She had a radiant smile.


    I was really conflicted, actually. I didn''t know if asking her to leave was the best call. I knew she was trouble, but she did help me with this, and she kind of just meddled all on her own. Also, now she knew our insider information. We couldn''t just let her leave without any precautions and we couldn''t just kick her out in the blizzard either.


    Really, a predicament. ''Wait, what the hell am I even thinking?''


    I guess spending the whole evening with my cousins, really did a number on me.


    Sigh.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t ask you to leave tonight and I trust, no word of any of this will ever get out?"


    I was studying her face as she stared at me with a bit of confusion and surprise.


    "But why would I leak my family''s secrets?"


    What the hell did she just say?


    "Huh?" Apparently, Elsa and I were in unison.


    And we''d just caught the eyes of mom, grandma, and uncle who were in a heated debate about who''s lemonade was better even just a minute ago.


    "What do you mean, your family?" Elsa asked, rather cautiously.


    "Well¡­" Raea fiddled with her toes. "Let''s just say, I''m interested in marrying him too." Did she really have to be that frank?


    "Didn''t you say you just wanted to be a ve or something?" And I just had to open my big mouth, because I was getting way more res than usual. "I''ll shut up now."


    Actually, maybe it was best to just run away from here.


    "What does he mean? And what do you mean?" Marg stood between me and Raea.


    Suddenly my lonely chair was surrounded by a lot of people.


    ''How the hell are you going to get out of this one Helio Romswell Jintel?''


    I had no idea.


    "Well, I''m in love with him. And though at first, I thought I''d be content with just being near him, just seeing him from twenty meters away¡­" She looked a tad sadder. "I''m not and I want him and I want him bad."


    Well, she was blunt.


    Wait, had I said something about her staying twenty meters away from me? And my hazy memory syndrome found a very convenient time to make its return.


    "Oh? Really?" Uncle joined in on the madness as he stood next to me. "You know when I was your age, girls also fawned over me. A bit more than you''d think." Heughed loudly.


    Yeah, I doubted that. Uncle was never adies'' man anyway. How he managed tond a beauty like auntie was really beyond me. But more importantly, I had a hard time believing auntie would even allow this guy to go near other girls. Actually, it was probably auntie, who bound him, not the other way around.


    Come to think of it, all girls of the Romswell family were weird. ''Actually, if both Gramps and Mom''s mom were not from this world, wouldn''t that not make me a Romswell?''


    Oh boy. I took a deep breath. ''No, I''m a Romswell.'' I couldn''t and didn''t want to even think about this thing. I was what I believed. Lineage had nothing to do with this. These guys were my family and I was theirs.


    "I recognize and respect your love for me. However, as I said before-" I was going to decline her. I couldn''t just take in every girl who had feelings for me. After all, I only had feelings for one. Okay, maybe two. But I didn''t want to cross that delicate line and screw my rtionship with Marg.


    Raea sighed. "I didn''t want to do this but- Remember our deal? I''ll double the amount. Everyday." She winked.


    ''Double chocte every day!?''


    I knew exactly what she meant. I could almost feel my mouth water. But I had to contain it. "Sorry but, you''ll need more than just chocte to entice me."

 Chapter 223 - I’m Not Into That, I Assure You!

    "Really? Then how about the two of us bathe in chocte? I can arrange that." Raea had a very devilish smirk.


    This girl knew exactly how to push my buttons. And she was not afraid to push them, no sir.


    "Say what!? You can!?" Okay, maybe, just maybe, I was a tiny bit interested.


    ''My lifelong dream!''


    "Snap out of it!" Elsa pinched my cheek. "Stop letting girls make a fool out of you like this. If every girl offered you some chocte and dered their love for you, you''d ept or something?"


    She had a point, but- but chocte baths were my lifelong dream.


    But-


    But Elsa was right and I had to control myself.


    "You''re actually a lot more patient and have more self-control than I assumed. I guess I didn''t fall for you for nothing. I''ll back off for now but- how about you let me stay here. I''ll do chores and even pay rent if you want. That way we''ll at least figure out if we''repatible or not."


    ''Hey don''t go assuming weird stuff about me.'' Cause patience was thest thing I had.


    Marg looked at me and so did the rest of them. Apparently, this was my decision.


    "I''m sorry but I cannot allow that." As much as I liked chocte, I liked Marg¡­ mor- okay, I liked them equally¡­ I liked Marg just a tiny bit more though. "I love Marg and I''d rather not jeopardize our rtionship over chocte." I slipped my arm over Marg''s shoulder and stood right next to her. This was one of the hardestparisons of my life.


    But yeah, I loved Marg and I was not afraid to say it.


    ''I love you too-'' Marg whispered very faintly.


    "I see." Raea smiled. "But I''m not backing out." With that said, she headed for the door, opened it, and closed it a secondter. She came back. "But I''ll stay the night here whether you like it or not. It''s freezing."


    I didn''t know why but that was oddly funny to me, as I found myself let out a chuckle without even meaning to. "Sure."


    Anyway, with that over, I had a bigger thing to worry about. That being? Mom and Elsa''s res. Grandma meanwhile just rolled her eyes. It was almost like she was expecting something like this.


    Uncle and Auntie were just minding their business in the corner. They''d probably stay the night.


    "This wasn''t my fault you know?" Actually, I wasn''t so sure.


    "Come here," Mom called me over to the corner.


    The two of us had a discussion.


    The title of the discussion? ''Are you into S&M or something?''


    Yeah, definitely not something a mother should ask her child. And no! I wasn''t into that! I despised that! I hated that! Okay, maybe not entirely, but still! Why the hell would she even think of that!


    "So, what was with the ve thing? First, you have a maid who''s a bunny and now a ve? And might I remind you, she''s probably the best-looking girl in this house right now. So, you''re giving me very mixed signals."


    I mean, she wasn''t wrong. Raea really was the best-looking girl in this house and I might or might not have said something about her being my ve or something so yeah¡­.


    I could see where she got that idea.


    "NO, she proposed to be my ve when I first rejected her. She challenged me to a duel and stuff. But then after losing it badly she tried to propose to me and from then on, she follows me around. And she''s really good at it too. I never knew she trailed me all this time." Come to think of it, just how private were my private times, and just how much did that girl know?


    Just the thought of someone constantly keeping an eye on you¡­ scary and creepy at the same time.


    "Okay, but how many girls do you n on marrying? Do you have a number?"


    Did she really need to ask that?


    "So far, three including Marg. One other girl had proposed and Marg acknowledged her and I think I might need to marry Enira." It was weird talking to mom about all this but we were really close. And since I never had a father, I almost always shared everything with her. And at times I hated myself for that. Maybe to escape being like this, I wanted to go to this academy and distance myself from my family so I could grow up a little. Sure didn''t help me though. "I think I''m developing feelings for her."


    And I only learned this recently. Actually, I wasn''t quite sure of that yet.


    Mom sighed. "Well, at least you''re willing to take responsibility. Some guys don''t even consider the feelings of the girls they sleep with, let alone girls they want to sleep with in the future. And though taking responsibility of every girl who likes you or you like is a really bad idea, as your mom, I''m d that you''re thinking this through. But, remember, don''t make rash decisions alone, after all, now you two, are a team. Discuss things with your wife too." And mom kind of came close. "And you should really think things through. Living with one girl is one thing, but when there''s more into the picture, things could get ugly as jealousy starts to develop."


    And with that, our discussion had ended.


    Well, that went better than I thought.


    But the stuff mom said, were kind of scary and she was right: jealousy was a real thing and a very real concern. I was already losing way too much hair from worrying and now she had to make my worries worse?


    Wait, did mom say wife?


    Perfect!


    ***


    Eventually, night came and Marg and I were back in our bedroom, hugging each other lightly.


    "Are you okay with me having this baby?"


    Marg was quiet all this time. She didn''t say much the whole evening and even after getting in bed, in my arms, she didn''t really say much.


    So, when she finally said something, it kind of made me think. ''She actually thought about this a lot more than I did, huh?''


    Of course, she did.


    "It''d be a lie to say I am. But- I''ll try my best to change and hopefully raise the baby with you. It''ll be hard and I''m not sure if I''ll be able to maintain-"


    Marg giggled, hugged me a bit tighter. "It''s okay. We''ll figure this out together." She caressed my face. "You''ll be a wonderful father."


    I wasn''t so sure about that.


    I honestly didn''t know what to say to that. So- I kissed her on the forehead and as the two of us made pillows out of each other, I slept rather well.


    As usual, she smelled wonderful.

 Chapter 224 - Always Have A Backup Plan

    I slept pretty well.


    For once Marg was still asleep.


    She looked way too cute in her sleep.


    I kind of wanted to poke her around and squeeze certain things, sniff certain parts and kiss her, and stuff. Lately, my fantasies were kind of getting overboard.


    But- I didn''t do any of that, just settled for a light kiss on the forehead, and slowly got out of bed without waking her.


    I tiptoed out of my room.


    Mom and the bunny were in the kitchen. I caught a glimpse of Auntie helping them. No one else was up yet.


    I went outside and though it wasn''t freezing, it was cold. 13 degrees was never fun.


    ***


    "Wow!"


    And we now had a garden in front of our house. Our whole yard was filled with trees, flowers, small animals like squirrels, and all kinds of stuff.


    And grandma was nting more and more trees. I actually didn''t know what kind of powers she had, after all, I never got to know her that well.


    Well, I certainly knew now.


    "Morning!"


    "Good morning Helio, how''re you feeling?"


    I thought grandma would just return the gesture and move on to what she was doing. But instead, she just got up, stopped and came my way with a nk face.


    "I''m fine. What about you? And I see you''ve decorated our yard."


    It actually looked pretty good too.


    "I''m fine too. I took the liberty of making your yard beautiful. However, if you should disagree with me, feel free to point out any ws-"


    "No, no, it''s fine. Feel free to decorate it however you please."


    One, I didn''t care. And two, I did not want to argue with this woman, no sir!


    Actually, now that I kept on talking to her, she was more or less just like mom: maybe just a bit more expressionless. She looked roughly forty-five, but she was much older than that. Mom herself was in herte thirties but if these two put on enough makeup they could have easily convinced anyone that they were sisters.


    Okay, maybe not but they''d be very close.


    Seriously, something was wrong with the women of this family or I was just going crazy.


    "I''ll go run for a bit."


    "Right. You should always exercise. I''ve been saying that to your uncle for ages but that moron never listens. He''d rather spend a day in a forest fighting monsters than exercise."


    I smiled awkwardly. How the hell was I supposed to respond to that. And why was she suddenly being so talkative? What happened to her?


    ''Is it possible that I was just assuming things without verifying?''


    Well, it certainly was possible. I had a knack forplicating things.


    Grandma went back to her work and I started my jog.


    ***


    It was pretty early and some middle-aged guys were starting to get out of their houses and jog too.


    I''d have to go the Battlesuin mansion today: the evening tea party. We were roughly an hour and forty minutes ahead of them. So, I guess if we took the ne around noon, we should have been fine.


    Marg couldn''t teleport more than two people at a time, so teleportation was out of the question.


    Running alone felt nice. There weren''t many running towards the edge of the city, so it was even nicer.


    Huff! Puff!


    I stopped for a second. I was almost at the end of the town. I''d run pretty far as I was too concerned with all this.


    I tried catching my breath as I stared at the blinding whitendscape of the snowy ins. There weren''t any houses nearby and the fields were empty.


    I had no ns to drag my family into this. And I wasn''t going to either but- but afterst night, I didn''t have a choice. After all, I couldn''t say no to them.


    I wanted to grow up and I wanted to be independent. But I couldn''t deny my love for my family and I couldn''t deny their love for me.


    ''So, let''s make sure I don''t regret this.''


    "Enira!"


    "Yes?"


    "Why do you show up behind me?"


    She had a knack for teleporting behind me and wrapping her arms around my neck. And whenever she did that, stuff got pressed.


    She was definitely doing that on purpose.


    "Oh, you want to take me from the front?" She giggled. And she actually did stand in front of me, arms wrapped around my neck.


    And this time stuff pressed against my chest.


    "And you want me to kick your butt?"


    "Sure, I''d love to!"


    Sigh. I just threw her off of me.


    "Anyway, let me hear your thoughts."


    "About what?"


    "Let''s just say I have a feeling you already know her. Since you know grandma and the eye contact you kept on making with the headmaster kind of made it clear that you also know Hyora too."


    It was just a guess on my part but this dragon-snake thingy was old and anything with enough time had a definite probability of happening.


    Eniraughed for a minute. "Well, you''re not too far off. However, I''m notfortable with saying anything about that. But you want to know about your chances, right?"


    "Well, I certainly can''t deny that."


    Enira stood to my left. "You''ve got a fair shot. And if your family tags along, you''re guaranteed to win, assuming nothing goes wrong."


    "But it''s stupid to assume that."


    "Correct." She stood shoulder to shoulder: actually, our shoulders were slightly touching. "Nothing ever goes ording to n. That''s why you should always have backup ns in case something goes wrong."


    I guess she spoke from experience.


    "I do have one and that''s-"


    "Making a deal with the shadow?"


    I chuckled. "I''ve been thinking. All of them are part of me, right?"


    "They are."


    "So, they should love my family as much as I do, right?"


    "I don''t know. Two siblings born in the same family, in different atmospheres, might have different perspectives and different ideals. Even if they were raised exactly the same, they''d still have different opinions."


    I let out a sigh. A rough cloud of mist evaporated in front of me. Boy was the cold catching up. "But- I think if something really goes wrong and I''m out of options, I could work something out with him. I could-" I took a deep breath. "You could make much stronger barriers than me. Would you protect them in case something happens?"


    Enira''s usual glee was gone and she looked at me, utterly serious. "But of course. But try to make sure, nothing goes wrong. They already know you possess seals and powers hidden in you, meaning they''ll have ways to counter that. And as your uncle said, they also have a stone that could potentially counter your very powers."


    "I want to say we''ll figure out something once we get there but, I''m kind of lost." I chuckled.


    "But that''s only natural." She grinned. "I could absorb most powers they have and I got some special ones from those fancy stones you kept on feeding me. So, you can expect big things from me." She puffed up her chest. And boy were they bouncy!


    I stretched and yawned. "Let''s go." And as I turned around. "Thanks¡­" I whispered.


    I ran without looking back.

 Chapter 225 - Arrival

    Breakfast was nice, our absurdlyrge table finally felt full. We all ate merrily. The food was good and it felt great.


    Raea had joined us for breakfast and she left after finishing. She was kind of sad to know that yesterday was my birthday and she wasn''t invited.


    Even I didn''t know I had a party- so- yeah. The cake was good though and I let her have a piece of the leftovers before she left. In the end, I understood, she wasn''t really sad and was just pretending so I''d treat her a bit nicer.


    ''I''m too damn na?ve.''


    After breakfast was over, we talked over our strategy. Apparently, mom and the rest won''t interfere with my fight, assuming a fight breaks out. They''d keep the rest of the Battlesuins in check and only aid me in case I''m in mortal danger- meaning all my initial nning was going to stay intact and with no change.


    I didn''t quite agree with all that, but I didn''t have reasons to disagree either.


    Elsa and the bunny would stay behind while the rest of us would board a private jet. I wanted Marg to stay behind but she didn''t want to and I couldn''t force her.


    Elsa however, wasn''t listening either. But with all of us against it, she couldn''t really argue back. In the end, she cried and went to her room.


    I felt bad but I didn''t want her to get hurt.


    "We''ll leave in half an hour, so go prepare your things," grandma said.


    "But won''t we be early?"


    She grinned. "Who do you think we are!?"


    yeah, I didn''t feel like answering and just went to my room instead.


    Suffice to say, I still had no idea what this family even was.


    Weren''t we supposed to be viins?


    Why did we need to be early?


    ***


    I didn''t need much stuff. I got my stinky gloves, my saber, Gramp''s sword, and a pair of sunsses. I also picked up a sweater. It was winter in Russia and I''d heard winters there were cold. Like really cold, so I didn''t want to take any chances.


    And no, it wasn''t ''that'' sweater.


    Anyway, I was done.


    And Marg was kind of done too. All she took was her own saber and that was it. Beforeing to this academy, I thought carrying a saber on your waist was stupid and people who were doing it were either mental or just had nothing better to do.


    Let''s just say, my brain worked in weird ways.


    I was happy though. I got to see Marg dress up in front of me, put on her underwear, her dress, her socks¡­ okay, this was getting a bit too far. Why the hell was I so hornytely anyway?


    Well, I certainly had things to look forward to when we''d get back¡­.


    ***


    There was an airport on this ind. It was a small one and I didn''t know about private jets being here. I did know about choppers and cruise ships though.


    It didn''t take us long to get there as Marg took us there in an instant. She had to teleport three separate times but I got the feeling she didn''t mind. She was a bit happier than usual- though to untrained eyes it was impossible to tell.


    I needed to give a report to the academy about me leaving but grandma said it was fine. If the headmaster said anything, she''d give him a p- at least that''s how she assured me. Yup, she was a Romswell alright.


    And as usual, shocker. A really big shocker when Iid my eyes upon our jet!


    The jet wasn''t a jet. And it certainly wasn''t private.


    "What the hell is wrong with you people!?"


    "What do you mean?" Uncle said. "The headmaster said they are the best in terms of speed and unity."


    And when the hell did he even have time to talk with the geezer?


    "That''s not what I meant!" I gasped in frustration and stared at the jet with teary eyes.


    I already knew the jet and the people piloting it.


    Apparently, our ne pretenders were pretending to be a jet again.


    "And you guys are okay?" I red back at mom and grandma.


    "Well, looking at young boys isn''t a bad sight," Grandma said.


    My eyes twitched.


    Auntie was expressionless. She almost looked like someone who''d given up.


    The same went for Marg.


    Meanwhile, mom kind of had a smile- a very not-so-friendly smile. She almost punched uncle on three separate asions but stopped at the veryst second.


    Yeah, they weren''t okay.


    I didn''t want to get aboard. I still had to though.


    "Can''t we just take a chopper?"


    "You don''t want to bete, right?" Grandma came close. "Romswells are neverte!" She hissed.


    Uh-huh. I wondered what she''d think about me beingte on almost every asion this year. And even if we''d taken a chopper we wouldn''t be thatte.


    But still- in the end, we got on the jet- or rather the same damnpartment asst time. It was a tad bigger this time around though. Uncle me and Marg shared one side while mom, auntie, and grandma shared the other.


    And technically, this was going to be a solid two-hour flight.


    Oh boy.


    Oh boy, indeed.


    ***


    "When we get there, you might get a bit surprised over one fact. I''m sorry and I still can''t tell you but- it wasn''t my intention to hide things from you." This morning, mom had said those words to me.


    I still didn''t understand what she was going on about but- at this point, I kind of stopped caring. She was probably referring to my father anyway. The guy probably had a family over the Battlesuins too and he maybe had a kid? I didn''t fault mom for keeping a secret, and I didn''t want to think about it.


    This journey however, was getting weirder and weirder.


    It was really awkward. But no one said anything. It''s already been like 25 minutes and still everyone was silent, like really silent!


    Time moved slowly but it still passed.


    Around the half-hour mark, the weather started to get chilly. The temperature was still above ten degrees but the humidity was really low. And as we passed the ocean and flew over drynds- both got lower and lower.


    With every passing minute, the temp and humidity went down by 1. One degree Celsius and one% humidity.


    I was d I brought my warm clothes.


    Uncle didn''t bring anything. Actually, he was just wearing one shirt and I had a feeling he''d take it off the moment he''d get a chance: good thing, grandma was here. The other four girls all had multipleyers and they were wearing fashionable clothes, even mom.


    Mom was actually dressed by grandma today. Otherwise, she''d have never agreed to wear something so full of frills. She didn''t like it and that was clear but- she did look good in that. I''d never say it out loud though- she''d kill me.


    It wasn''t that bad- at least for the next ten minutes¡­ but thest ten- it just got colder and colder and colder.


    It was heavily snowing outside. I could see some kids and even people looking up at the sky with amazement. ''Sorry folks. No round-bellied, bearded guy in red here with presents.''


    By the time wended, I was already freezing and that was inside thepartment with my body heat already going up about four degrees.


    "If you''re affected by mere cold like this, you won''t be able toy a scratch on them." Uncle snorted with a bit ofughter and got out. The guy only had one frigging shirt on and he was ready to tear it open. I could make out his nipples for crying out loud!


    We also got out.


    I wasn''t the only one. Marg and Auntie were also shivering along with me. Mom and Grandma weren''t though. They were perfectly fine. Just what kind of crazy genes did they have?


    We''dnded exactly half a kilometer away from the Battlesuin mansion and on a rocky mountaintop.


    "We''ll take it from here. You boys go rest in the city next to this one."


    With our trip done, uncle moved on to talking with the ne pretenders.


    I didn''t know any of their names.


    "Why, something wrong with this city, sir?" One of the ne pretenders asked.


    "NO, but there might not be a city here once we''re done with this ce so-" Uncle grinned.


    Almost all the ne pretenders straightened their backs and flew away with the carriage.


    Uncle justughed.. "Let''s go!" Well, he sure was happy.

 Chapter 226 - Arrival (part Two)

    "Wee Lord Helio andpany."


    A maid weed us in as therge steel doors opened.


    The girl called me with respect but she couldn''t give a single damn about my family? The literal heads of the Romswell family were here and they could handle us with that attitude?


    Talk about being rude!


    The guys with me didn''t care though: they wereing in with grins and pride. They probably expected stuff like this.


    We just entered. The boundary wasrge and so were the gates.


    Maids and butlers rushed to greet us. It was almost like they were expecting us to be early but definitely not this early.


    They were awfully respectful of us. The same couldn''t be said about the maid leading us around though.


    I had a feeling why. And this girl looked awfully familiar too.


    "This ce isn''t a mansion, that''s a damn castle!" I couldn''t help but say it.


    It was at least ten times bigger than our mansion- and we hadn''t even entered yet. The frigging yard was bigger than Demigrace academy!


    And the architecture was rather something too.


    I almost felt jealous for some reason.


    "Yes, it is our pride and joy." The maid said. Strangely, this maid didn''t seem like a maid. She had white hair and her attitude clearly suggested she was a Battlesuin: maybe Rin''s older sister or something? Why she was dressed as a maid was beyond me.


    "Let''s just hope it remains that way," I said in a sarcastic tone.


    The maid however didn''t say a word, smiled, and just led us inside.


    ''Here we go.'' I grinned as we marched in.


    Alone, this might have been daunting but I had my family with me and this almost felt like a pic of sorts.


    If anything went bad, we''d just have to erase it and it''ll all go good.


    Yup!


    ***


    The inside was just as marvelous as the outside. Large roof, chandeliers, marble floor, loads of painting on the walls- yeah, these folks were rich alright.


    Uncle''s eyes lit up as he stared around. I had a bad feeling about that.


    "Where would the tea party be held?" I asked.


    There were plenty of people here and most were just servants but the rest were the Battlesuins and they weren''t happy to see us.


    But their uneasiness and visible difort only made our grins wider.


    "In our garden. It''s just up ahead."


    Though she said just up ahead, we were climbing up the stairs and I had a feeling this thing ran for five or six stories. Were they literally trying to weaken me with stairs!?


    "I hate stairs¡­" I mumbled. Why couldn''t they have a damn elevator, for crying out loud!


    And why would they invest in spiral staircases of all things!?


    And mom heard that! She just rolled her eyes though.


    For once, I was d we weren''t alone, otherwise she''d have given me a mouthful.


    Anyway¡­ we kept on walking and by half an hour, reached the top floor where the garden was.


    Yeah, the whole floor- the size of a small stadium- was the garden.


    It took us half an hour as Uncle -almost on all the floors- demanded a tour but we had to force him toe with us. The guy was probably going to rob this ce, one way or the other.


    These guys weren''t just rich- they were filthy rich. So, I guess his thinking was only natural.


    "Please have a seat,dy Hyora will be with you shortly."


    ''This is seriously a garden?'' There was grass beneath our feet and small nts here and there. Flowers of all kinds and snow. The snow was vanishing after falling to the ground, but yeah, snow.


    Cold!


    We were basically the only ones here apart from the people who were still decorating the ce.


    It wasn''t even the afternoon yet and the party was supposedly going to be held in the evening- so I guess this was normal.


    But really, we were the first ones?


    Grandmaughed out loud. "Late as always!"


    "No, you''re just early." The voice came from behind us. A calm, soothing voice.


    Naturally, we turned around, and yeah, it was Hyora.


    A white dress, matching her snow-white hair and delicate red eyes. She was also wearing a transparent veil of sorts- almost like a bride.


    I hated it, but- yeah, she looked good. Really good.


    "Hyora."


    "Serena."


    Both women acknowledged each other but now there was a silence.


    I had a very bad feeling about this silence.


    It was almost as though¡­.


    Yeah.


    Things were about to get ugly and they weren''t going to even wait for the party to start.


    A deadly aura and a cold breeze went through the ce.


    No wonder they were so eager toe to this party and ''protect'' me. These morons were just itching to fight.


    Step* step*


    But as things were getting heated, footsteps came from below us. Someone was climbing the stairs.


    It was strange¡­ I''d heard those steps. I distinctly remember them with a specific event.


    And yet¡­


    "Oh, Helio. And-" a man had emerged from the stairs and now he was looking at mom. He looked d but- "It''s good to see you guys again." He also looked slightly pained- dark circles beneath his eyes and a paleplexion. "You look great today." And the guy had the nerves to say that too.


    Mom didn''t bother to reply or even acknowledge his presence.


    I didn''t care, so I didn''t bother with him either. He''d already made his choice.


    "Anyway, people." This was getting too boring for me. "What now? I don''t see any people around, so I guess we''re just going to sit around and wait or something?"


    It wasn''t because I was feeling cold or anything, okay?


    "Or, we could show you around?" Hyora warped to father''s side.


    "No, thanks."


    She smiled- a rather nonchnt smile, creepy even. "Now- though you were ''early'', I anticipated that and that''s why I also invited the rest, early." She smiled. "Let them in."


    And with that, people started pouring in. loads, and loads of people. The stairs behind us had opened up a portal of sorts, to a waiting room maybe.


    ''Then why the hell did you people make me climb these damned stairs!''


    There were plenty of seats in the garden- but only one table was in the middle. A table for twelve.


    Well, I certainly knew where we were sitting. The seats actually emerged after the people started entering. ''So, someone can userge-scale spatial powers?''


    But one thing was strange. From the group of people who just entered, four girls took the seats at the middle table. And I happen to know all four of them.


    ''Well, this sure won''t end well.''

 Chapter 227 - The Tea Party Where No One Drank Tea

    We walked to the center and took our seats.


    The guests took theirs and the four girls on our table all stared at me.


    There were actually a lot of guests here and from around the world too. ''And this is supposed to be a tea party?''


    A bad feeling?


    Nay, I had a terrible premonition. But I guess that was just expected.


    "What are you people doing here?"


    The three in front of me, though, caught most of my attention.


    "Well, I was invited here," Eve said, smiling slightly. She was in a red ball gown. Very daring in the chest department.


    "I heard you were here, so I couldn''t resist," Leilis licked her lips and grinned. She was in a rather weird dress, a lot of colors ranging from pink to sky blue. And it was almost like a rainbow was gradually falling down from her chest to the bottom of her dress.


    "Do you really need to ask?" Selene chuckled. She had this skin-tight ck dress- simr to something she wore in the past- just not as much daring.


    Andst but not least, "Remember that time Vana Battlesuin came to visit?" Merin spoke with a nervous smile. "Well, I also got invited and you know very well, we can''t ignore a Battlesuin''s invitation- or- or they''ll-"


    "Murder everyone in your family, I know." I sighed. "It''s good that you''re here but shouldn''t you have known better, Merin?"


    The guy knew I''d be here and there''d be trouble- so did he really need toe?


    And that rumor about Battlesuins murdering families was just a rumor anyway.


    Okay, maybe not.


    He just smiled awkwardly. I guess he couldn''t say anything about the Battlesuins while being surrounded by the bunch.


    He was wearing his best jacket today though, so I guess he didn''t expect to see a bloodbath.


    Actually, everyone was wearing fancy clothes and the girls at our table were kind of wearing light. I guess they weren''t as cold as me.


    But shouldn''t it have beenmon sense that a fight could break out today? So howe the people were so carefree? Something was amiss and it wasn''t me.


    "Your friends?" Mom whispered from the side.


    Mom was to my left, while uncle was to my right. And next to mom was grandma and next to her was auntie while Marg was near the end of the table.


    The other seats were empty and they were probably going to be filled by the Battlesuins.


    "I''ll introduce you guyster."


    I certainly didn''t feel like doing anything now.


    "Friends and family-" Hyora warped to the head of our table with father. "Wee!" she raised a ss- a ss of champagne. "Thank you foring. Today, we shall celebrate our reunion with Helio Romswell Jintel."


    "Reunion?" I leaned towards uncle. "Is she screwing with us?"


    Uncle just stayed quiet.


    "Or should I say-" Hyora smiled- the very same creepy nonchnt smile. "Helio Battlesuin Jintel."


    "Wait what?" I chuckled. "I knew one of us would pick a fight eventually, but I didn''t expect you of all people to pick it. And I thought you''d discuss the death of that- what was that guy called again? Anyway, this is so funny." I kept onughing and stood up, a hand on my saber.


    But no one elseughed. Even my family stayed quiet.


    "Come on guys, you''re not going to put up with this BS, right? Mom?"


    None of them looked at me. I looked back and Hyora and she was just smiling. Father was also just looking down.


    Oh.


    It took a second to click but-


    I could get a vague idea.


    All those things everyone said.


    It would be impossible for me to enve the Battlesuins- or so mom had told me. She said she promised father to not say something to me- and the name of my father wasn''t anywhere, ever.


    And the marriage was never credited by our families, that''s why we always stayed away from our families and that''s why we were always in debt.


    Pieces just kept on falling to ce.


    Minutes passed but the silence remained.


    Oh!


    "He was a Battlesuin," I spoke in disbelief and fell to my seat.


    "I''m sorry, you had to find out this way." Mom said. "But I''d done a blood oath before you were born- to not tell you. I''m sorry."


    "What about you, why didn''t you tell me?" I asked uncle.


    "You know your mom. She''d have pped me silly."


    I almost felt pained.


    They could have at least given me a head start. I felt so frigging betrayed.


    All this time I thought my father had left our family for this woman, for Hyora but- I guess there was more to that.


    However, "Though that''s shocking, we''re not here for that. You invited us for some other reason, I''d assume." I said, ring at Hyora. I needed something to distract myself.


    "We''ll get to thatter, first." She spoke softly but her voice reached everywhere. It was almost as though she had magic in her voice. "Let the party begin."


    She lifted her ss forward and took a drink.


    The rest followed suit- all apart from us.


    The silence was no more and the guests began to talk amongst themselves.


    Though this was called a tea party, I didn''t see anyone drinking tea. There was green tea on our table but yeah- no one was drinking any.


    There were all sorts of snacks but the mostmon things were wine and champagne and both were the fancy kind.


    I was very tempted to have a drink and forget about all this crap.


    "But, does it really matter?" Grandma drank a bit of wine. "Your parents loved you and as things changed, they moved apart. But that doesn''t change the fact that they loved you. And it also doesn''t matter what your family is. After all, you decide who your family is and what you''ll do with it. You decide, who you trust and who you''ll crush."


    "That sounds nice and idealistic, but you know that''s not what I want to hear right now."


    "Then what do you want to hear?" Mom''s voice shivered slightly- she was speaking very softly, enough so that only I could hear. "That I fell in love with the wrong man? That I ran away from my family, disobeyed everyone, and loved the wrong man? You want to hear that? You want to bear that shame?"


    She was pained but she didn''t cry. She was just stating facts.


    "I hate them, not gonna lie. But most of that hatees from the fact that father left because of them, not because our families are enemies. And therefore, even if I was a Battlesuin- even if I am one- it won''t change. And your love with the wrong man brought me to this world- so if you''re ashamed about that, then are you ashamed of me?"


    "No!" She almost looked frightened for a second.


    "Then I''m not ashamed of you: so, there''s no shame to bear in the first ce."


    With that said, I red back at Hyora. "Well go on. We don''t have all day. In fact, it''s still too damn cold."


    Frankly, though I was surprised, I didn''t give a damn about my lineage, it had just caught me off-guard.


    And I couldn''t forget the real reason we were here because of that.


    Hyora almost chuckled, but she didn''t.. "Very well."

 Chapter 228 - The Tea Party Where No One Drank Tea (part Two)

    The party was still going strong and the people around us were talking amongst themselves.


    That was totally normal.


    What wasn''t normal was that they were actually talking about me.


    And there were plenty of journalists here in the party. So yeah, this news would travel far and wide unless I ruined this wholendscape.


    I was actually considering that.


    ''Seriously, how is this a tea party?''


    And the silence from my family and friends weren''t really helping either. My family were one thing but the four on the opposite side weren''t quite saying anything, even Merin.


    "Now, we were to discuss the death of ze-" Hyora began. "It is rather unfortunate that he and his mother had to die."


    ''Wait, the way she phrased it¡­''


    The moment she said that a man- a man who almost looked like ze but just older and I guess he wasn''t quite exactly like ze- came towards us and stood just a meter away from our table.


    Hyora gave the man a cue and the man gently kneeled on the floor. "My apologies lord Helio. I apologize on my son''s behalf."


    ''Seriously, what the hell is going on here?''


    I got that I was a Battlesuin but this guy was supposedly a Battlesuin too and he was some sort of a family head too. At least that''s what Uncle whispered. But he still bowed and even called me lord?


    With that said, the man left.


    I was getting more and more confused by the minute.


    Hyora pped her hand and smiled. "That wraps up that- now we''ll move on to introductions. Helio- please meet your cousins." Hyora signaled to her right and two girls- one guy walked towards us. All had white hair and red eyes.


    I knew two of the girls. One was Rin and the other was the maid who led us here.


    "Hello, Helio." Rin said. Her smile was just as creepy as Hyora''s.


    ''So, they were mother and daughter?''


    "You can drop that now. Seeing you y your daughter disgusts me," Mom said.


    Both Hyora and Rinughed almost identically and Rin got absorbed my Hyora. "Old habits die hard, they say." Her smile got even creepier. "You, two introduce yourselves and have a seat."


    So, all that time, I was actually talking to and finding this old woman to be charming?


    I could almost gag at my own frigging tastes!


    "Mellvador Battlesuin, you may call me Mell." The guy took a seat- he seemed almost the same age as me.


    "Nellie Battlesuin." The girl tilted the hem of her skirt and gently sat down. She was still dressed as a maid.


    ''Aren''t you people cold?''


    I sure wasn''t going to ask that though.


    "Pretty sure you all know me but, Helio Romswell Jintel. Not sure how long we''ll know each other, but nice to meet you." I was in a very good mood, I assure you. ''It''s not like I want to immediately erase all you people and be done with it or anything, okay?''


    But so far, none of them tried to actually pick a fight with me. Here I was, acting all arrogant and stuff but they were being way too nice. It was almost felt like they were messing with me this way.


    "But wait, if she''s your daughter- and you''re their mother and I''m their cousin, doesn''t that make that guy your-"


    There was a lot of pointing and I was almost already confusing myself.


    "Yes, Burt''s my brother." Hyora smiled. "He''s rather young though. And he isn''t a pure blood. He''s adopted." And she sure was happy to provide me with information. "But I assure you, he''s my brother and holds the second most power in our household."


    ''NO wonder people kept calling lord and stuff.''


    I had no idea if that made sense or justplicated things further. This tea party just kept on providing me with more and more surprises. At this point, I wouldn''t have been surprised if they demanded that I was actually from another world or something- well,e to think of it, grandma and gramps weren''t actually from this world so- yeah, let''s not think about that.


    But- "Well, that''s great and all but let''s move on. It''s almost evening and I''m guessing this ce will just get colder. Also, you didn''t bring us here just to have this reunion I''d assume."


    ''Why do I feel like I''ve already asked that?''


    I got this d¨¦j¨¤ vu feeling.


    Hyora again, almost chuckled. "Now," She stood up. "I have a proposition. The world as we know it will end in seven months." She smiled and looked around. "And you''re already aware of that, aren''t you Helio?"


    I didn''t say a word. The crowd was awfully quiet too.


    "In seven months, we will be attacked by a fleet ten times stronger and fifteen times more massive than that of the whole earth''s."


    Murmurs flew around. People were not happy to hear that.


    Even in this cold, a lot of the guests started to sweat.


    It was funny how the people really believed Hyora without a doubt.


    "So, I''d like to propose the unification of the house of Romswell and the house of Battlesuin Via Helio: as he carries both of our blood." Hyora looked at me withpassion. As the light from the sky kept on dimming, her red eyes gradually got brighter. "A political marriage to be more specific."


    ''So that''s why¡­.''


    Uncle let out a snort but didn''t say a word. Meanwhile, my family members kind of smiled- they were definitely going to trash this ce, that was clear.


    Mom was the only one who looked slightly shocked. Maybe she didn''t know that father was adopted or something?


    "Question," I raised my hand.


    Yup, this definitely ran in the family.


    "Yes?"


    "This includes both of you." I pointed at her and father but stared at Father. "Why the fuck did you leave? Be precise and on point."


    He was shocked for a second but then tried to say something- but then stopped. He took a deep breath but then paused again. There was a lot of back and forth of gazes between him and mom.


    "Just make up your damn mind!"


    "I had to!" He didn''t look me in the eye. "I''d made a promise to Hyora when she took me in. I had nothing, I was in the streets, so I offered her my life in exchange for letting me in her family. She took me in, raised me, and then I betrayed her and ran away with your mom." He grunted and made a rather terrifying face- a face riddled with distraught and madness. "But then you were born with that curse! And-" And he broke down in tears. "So, I had to go back and beg her."


    I stayed quiet.


    Mom grabbed my hand. She didn''t say anything and she didn''t look at me, she just grabbed my hand.


    "I had to beg her to save you. You had the third virus; you were the only one in the world with that virus. And no one, not even your grandfather had the cure. You were going to die whether we liked it or not. But Hyora didn''t have a cure either but she could stop it from spreading. So in the end, with seventeen sacrifices, we split your psyche into three parts, isting the cursed-infected part of you so it never got out. But that too failed and all that happened: and your grandfather had to die. The price of a barrier that''s on you- the price of that seal was the death of one thousand children and a promise, and that''s why I had to pay her with my life, my soul. That''s why I left."


    "You knew?"


    "Of course, I didn''t." Mom squeezed my hand tighter. "But your life was more precious than those thousand children, I''m sorr." She stopped. She didn''t say anything for a second. "No, I''m d you survived. At the time I had no idea and I despised your father for leaving us, for shunning us without saying a word- but remember that night when he came back, he told me and..." Mom covered her face. She took a deep breath. "But even now, if he did the same for your life, I would dly ept that. I was wrong to hate him." Her voice was awfully soft. Mom rarely spoke light that.


    I let out a sigh. "I guess this day just keeps on getting better and better. So many surprises." I snorted. "Well, I''d expect no less from the viinous house of Romswell and Battlesuin."


    But to be honest, I was more or less just in disappointed, or was it that I wanted it to not be about me...


    ''To think it ran this deep.''

 Chapter 229 - The Tea Party Where No One Drank Tea (Part Three)

    I already knew certain things about my family but there were various other things that I didn''t know. And today all those things just became clearer.


    Sigh.


    Why did my existence have to be soplicated?


    "So, basically, if I wasn''t born, you guys wouldn''t have had to separate?" And a lot of people wouldn''t have had to die including gramps.


    Both mom and father looked at me with very surprised eyes. I guess they never expected a question like that.


    "No, Helio. You are our son, the proof of our love. You were never the cause of our separation. I''d have had to leave regardless: after all, my first contract with Hyora is still valid and I''d gone out of my way to make another one with her. I''d made a deal with Hyora despite your mother''s opposition. I had to save you and Hyora was the only one who could do aplex seal like that. But that came for a price and your mother didn''t want that. She wanted us to look for another way. But your grandmother-" He stopped and looked at mom. "Her mother had died the same way, for the same virus and there was no cure for that. Your older brother had died the same way¡­" He sighed. "Your mother went almost mad for a time. We tried to have another kid but that never really worked out either. We were losing your mother Helio."


    "But it did, Elsa''s-"


    Wait-


    It couldn''t be-


    "She is-"


    Father smiled. "She was the daughter of my twin brother, Alfred''s. Her parents had died the very same day she was born. It was a tragedy but that very same tragedy kept your mother sane, at the very least."


    I''d had heard both names somewhere. Albert and Alfred.


    I took a seat and kind of just stared at the sky. "What the actual fuck?"


    "I see her as my daughter and it''ll never change," Mom said. "And I believe you love her as your sister as well."


    "I do but-" I sighed. "Let''s talk about thister I guess." I sighed some more. I couldn''t really think straight, nor look at anyone. One too many surprises¡­What was next, the moon falling from the sky? "But did you really have to go with that? And what was your deal with Hyora anyway?"


    All this time Hyora was just smiling as nonchntly as ever and the people around us were staring- as usual.


    "He married her," Mom said. "That''s why I hated both of them. I actually didn''t know they''d done two seals on you: at the time I wasn''t really in the best shape, as you''d imagine." She let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "I thought after he went to her and did the seal, he left with her. I never knew he did all that due to the contract, I¡­" Mom became a bit too quiet.


    I guess I wasn''t the only one getting surprised today.


    I took a deep breath. For the meantime- I really, really needed something to distract me. "Alright, we''re done with that. You were saying something about our families uniting? You do understand what that means right?" I stared at Hyora.


    She''d been awfully quiet all this time.


    "But of course." Hyora was kind of looking at me in a very weird way.


    "And whom would I be marrying?"


    "Well, your father never really ended up marrying me-" Hyora pouted slightly. "Your grandfather didn''t either." She pretended to be sad.


    Grandma snorted while mom kind of looked funny. All this time she thought father had married Hyora- actually I thought the same- so I had the exact same look. And I had a bad feeling where this was going.


    "So-" Hyora smiled a bit too sweetly- creepy. "You''ll marry me." I couldn''t believe that woman could say that out with a straight face like that.


    I took a look around, and people were too quiet- not a word. Okay, so everyone was surprised, even most of the Battlesuins.


    WoW.


    ''Seriously?''


    I released a sigh. That sounded nice and maybe that would have been for the best.


    If, if, she wasn''t the sole reason why our family had to separate. Yeah, I wanted to me her- I really did. And she was also a thorn in my eyes. And more importantly, wasn''t she like really, really old? She had kids my age for crying out loud!


    "Well, I guess this is why you guys are here?"


    "Nope." Uncle finished a whole bottle. "I''m just here as backup. All the decisions are yours- at least for today." He winked.


    Yeah, that wasn''t helping.


    Mom and the rest were also quiet. Marg was as expressionless as usual.


    My friends had something ranging from amused to terrified looks. The terrified one being Merin.


    "Well, you cane out now." I turned on my saber.


    "About damn time, I was getting too bored." Enira came out with a small giggle.


    Our whole family stood up.


    "I guess it''s unavoidable now." Grandmaughed.


    "Like you were trying to avoid it." Uncle alsoughed haughtily cracking his knuckles.


    The Battlesuins also got up.


    "Like you are one to talk." Auntie rebuked him almost immediately.


    "I''ll, I''ll help out¡­" Merin mumbled in a very wimpy voice. Seriously, what the hell was that dude doing here?


    "We''ll help out as well," Eve said. The three girls, Eve, Leilis, and Selene all agreed on something.


    Finally, mom smiled. "I''m frustrated, I really am. I came to this ce eighteen times but not once saw him- I should have known." She fumed. "I''ll" She shivered with rage as she made a fist and a gust of wind flew by. "You''ll pay with your dear life- the life you so cling to without any regard for others."


    Hyora''s smile never really left. "I guess negotiations have failed. And it would seem you have brought a snake with you."


    As I thought, she and Enira were acquaintances. Because both were ring at each other rather affectionately.


    "Sorry to say but your tea party without tea kind of sucked. And I have fourteen years'' worth of payback for with you, with interest," I winked.


    These fourteen years, I had to see mom drink alone in the dining hall, staying upte, looking distantly at the door. These fourteen years, I had to listen to people talking about their dads like they were saints or something. These fourteen years, I had to fulfill the role of more than just an older brother, the firstborn¡­ I had to live without a father and though mom tried her best, it was impossible to fill his empty shoes¡­.


    Oh yeah, there was a lot of interest due.


    "But it''s a shame you underestimate me and my family." She gradually lifted herself up and it was almost like she was radiating energy- as her dark red eyes glowed ever so more.


    The evening was almost over and in darkness, she glowed and two translucent wings became visible on her back: almost like an angel.


    Technically, they were bat wings though.


    "And it''s a shame you''d think I''d go for secondhand goods like you."


    She chuckled very loudly and in a high-pitched voice. Well, that was new.


    "Funny, your grandfather said the same thing."


    "Really?"


    Seriously, just how old was this woman?

 Chapter 230 - And So It Begins

    There wasmotion. And there was plenty of it.


    People were running away, some were running towards us, while others were just running for their lives.


    The ones running our way were mostly on the Battlesuins'' side: no surprise there.


    There were just too many varieties though.


    "I urge you to think again Helio, violence is not always the key to everything. There are certain battles you can''t just win with violence," Hyora said, as she looked down on us.


    "I know. But there are certain battles where you must not lose, and violence is just a means for that."


    "Oh? So, you fight not to win, but to, not lose? How amusing."


    "Good for you." ''Enira, you might want to create a barrier covering our friends and family.''


    We were going to fight a veryplicated battle and I was going to use a lot of radiation, so it was best for my friends and family if they were already protected with barriers.


    "Already ahead of you." Enira winked.


    "Good to know."


    I focused on my hand and started to form arge ball of sma.


    If this became a battle of attrition I was going to lose. So, I was going to hit her with my best shot first thing, and hope for the best.


    "Going nuclear already?" Hyora still hovered above. She pulled out something from within her chest- within her bra. It was a piece of cloth covering something. A rock? Her smile widened.


    "Aww¡­" MY heard started to throb as she unwrapped the stone. I never really had migraine, so the pain was new.


    Oh yeah, that stone was trouble.


    But- "You know, you forgot one important thing."


    "That is?" Hyora cocked her head. If I didn''t know she was a literal grandma, I might have even found that cute.


    Screw you, my weird tastes.


    "I''m only part Kin and that part is kind of already sealed." My grin increased. "And wasn''t you the one who sealed him, so howe you didn''t ount for the possibility that this might not work?"


    I was more or less bluffing. It was certainly working but I had to put up a face.


    My powers had already more or less stopped working. The current disy on my hand was Enira''s handiwork but she didn''t have infinite power, so we had to hurry. And the small amount of powers I could use, weren''t really enough to keep this disy intact for long either.


    For a second, Hyora looked slightly agitated but then controlled herself anyway. She still kept the stone out- which basically weakened everyone here.


    Even the Battlesuins were weakened and that meant her powers were also weakened. But and there was a big but here. Hyora was a primordial vampire and so, even if all the powers ceased to exist, she''d still be flying around, drinking our blood and fighting strong anyway.


    For normal people that stone only made their powers go weak, but for me, it almost erased my powers. Technically, it should have done the same to Enira but it didn''t work on her. Maybe Mutors weren''t Kin?


    Seriously, I didn''t know anything about these things, did I?


    ''Why the hell didn''t I steal those damn books from the library, again?''


    And since I couldn''t use almost ny percent of my powers, the ball of light in my hand wasn''t quite holding its form either.


    "Even so," Hyora looked slightly relieved. "You won''t be able to use the best of your abilities. After fighting your grandfather to almost a standstill three times, did you seriously think I''d not think about ways to deal with you in case I had to go through the same thing?"


    "I can''t say I haven''t thought of it." I smiled and dismissed sma ball. ''Bow.''


    My saber turned into a bow and I instantly pulled the string.


    An arrow flew past- or rather straight through Hyora''s forehead and crashed into therge mountain way behind her, causing a small explosion.


    A rather small st.


    She looked a tad surprised as her flesh began to regenerate.


    "But my powers aren''t everything." I also unsheathed the sword of gramps and- "Let''s see just how strong you are."


    I looked a bit behind me and as promised my family was taking care of the Battlesuins and actually my friends- or rather those nuisances, were actually helping my family.


    Hyora was not doing much talking. Rather she was carefully observing me. I guess that was her advantage as someone who''d fought a lot of battles.


    I was about to ask Enira to take me up but-


    But!


    ng!


    Arge two-handed sword descended on me from the top. I blocked it with both of my swords.


    Apparently, father was my enemy.


    "True to your word, I see."


    Last time before leaving he said he''d be my enemy this time.


    "I''m sorry." Though sorry, he sure didn''t hold back.


    He just slightly flicked his sword and I was almost sent flying.


    Well, he was strong that was for sure. "Sword king, was it?"


    He nearly snorted. "Those days are in the past. I''m a nobody."


    "Well, pleasure to meet you Mr. Nobody." I took a stance.


    I was really confused as to what to think about him. I still hated him, that hate wouldn''t disappear overnight, but- I was willing to forget everything, I was willing to embrace him again¡­ he was my father. He did things for my sake, for the sake of our family, and to that, I only had respect. And I knew my hate wasn''t justified but¡­ I needed time.


    With that said, I charged with both my saber and sword. If he swung once, I swung twice. I wasn''t quite as strong as him but I wasn''t going to lose in technique. Gramps taught me much and I had no intention of losing, even if he was my father.


    But for someone using a two-handed sword, the guy sure was fast.


    Our sword shed several times, sparks flew everywhere, but not once did he actually try to hit me. He was definitely wasting my time though.


    Our technique was simr but his was more refined. I guess I never really practiced enough. And he was also strong¡­ even if I had my powers, winning against him would have been exhausting and that meant, my battle with Hyora would be already decided¡­.


    "As promised-" Uncle swept in between us and held father back. "I''ll deal with the small fry."


    Father snorted. "Small fry? Been a while since I''ve heard that Excrucio. Did you already forget how many times you lost?"


    "It''s been over fifteen years Burt. And I''ve won more than half the times, or did you forget how to count?"


    And they already forgot about me.


    Sigh.


    Anyway¡­


    "Let''s get up there, shall we?"


    Mom and the rest were handling everything down here anyway. I was d my family was here.


    Enira picked me up with her barrier and we got up exactly to the level of Hyora.


    Now we were looking eye to eye. "Sure, you don''t want to have a chat with him and spend some time before he disappears?"


    I snorted. "I''ll bring him back from hell if I have to. I''m not letting him leave this time.." And for that to happen, Hyora had to disappear.

 Chapter 231 - So I Took A Deep Breath

    With both of my sword and saber ready, I dashed forward.


    A swing, a dodge, and another swing.


    She was rather fast but she wasn''t warping around- at least not often. And one of her hands was upied with the stone. I guess that was more or less a double-edged sword.


    She mostly evaded me.


    But- even if Inded hits on her, she just recovered.


    She couldn''t really hit me either, thanks to my alpha and beta particles but maintaining this was tough. With my powers almost sealed, just using the particles was draining me hard.


    So technically, this was more or less a stalemate of sorts. A stalemate that I was gradually losing.


    "To think you''ve progressed this far. You really are a genius." And Hyora still found the time topliment me.


    She was nowhere near taking me seriously.


    "No, not really."


    I didn''t consider myself a genius. I knew I had powers to destroy maybe a country or two but there were plenty of people in the world who could do the same.


    "Be mine and I''ll let all the bygones be bygones and even let your family be together. You already are engaged, and I''ll let you keep them too." She eyed Marg and the rest of the girls down who were still fighting.


    Now, wasn''t that awfully generous of her?


    "Thanks, but no thanks. I''m not interested in you."


    Even with the minimum amount of radiation I could produce right now, I tried to embed it with my sword and saber and hit with it.


    But Hyora was a good dodger. Out of 10 swings, only one or maybe two at best scratched her.


    But with every hit I could tell, I was internally damaging her. However, her recovery was still far superior. Maybe if I had my full powers, I could damage her more than she could recover but for now-


    A ball of fire.


    Hyora dodged it.


    Enira''s surprise attacks weren''t doing much either.


    In fact, we weren''t enough of a threat for her to even try.


    ''Should I go all out and- no, she has plenty of trump cards¡­''


    "Tell me one thing." Hyora for the first time ever looked serious and stopped.


    "That is?"


    "Why do you have that snake with you, but you''d rather not be with me?"


    Why the hell was everyone calling her a snake when she was clearly a dragon-snake thingy!? I was offended!


    Enira wasn''t though.


    "I don''t know. Love works in mysterious ways, I guess?"


    "Love?" Enira pondered with a grin.


    "Ooops."


    I actually didn''t have any intention of saying that. My feelings might or might not have leaked.


    I looked down and Marg was ring. Why the hell was she paying attention to my battle instead of hers? ''This will not end well.''


    Anyway- "Can''t you do anything more than just fireballs and stuff?"


    Why was Enira doing this stuff half-heartedly even? Both she and Hyora weren''t taking this seriously. To them this almost seemed like a game, I guess?


    To me, it wasn''t.


    "I could do more but that''ll catch your family in it too, remember?"


    I guess just having barriers wasn''t good enough. I distinctly remembered the giant cobra I fought and how my barriers were insignificant to its poison cloud.


    "I see." There were no smiles from Hyora. I actually rarely saw her without a smile. "Then you too shall meet the same fate as him."


    Her voice almost felt different- and maybe had an echo to it.


    "As who?"


    Hyora didn''t say a word but a red aura leaked from her body. A distinct metallic scent was in the air- the smell of blood.


    I looked down and most of the normal people and some of the Battlesuins were now on the ground, leaking blood. Even moments ago, they weren''t leaking blood at the very least.


    And that leaked blood was flying up in droplets and Hyora was absorbing them.


    "That is both scary and disgusting at the same time."


    Enira sighed. "She was always like that. Treating her faithful followers as nothing but disposable tools. I don''t get why''s so fixated in you though. "She pointed her finger and like firing a bullet of sorts- fired a small purple needle at Hyora: a hit. But nothing happened apart from a purple bruise on her forehead.


    "Me neither. But-" I took a deep breath. "But she dropped the stone and that means-"


    "I''ll go and absorb it." Enira winked and left.


    ''Wha-?''


    Enira dashed downwards.


    Even though the stone was dropped, the situation didn''t change- but the moment Enira ate it, its effects disappeared.


    Which meant, though my powers were back, I had to frigging maintain this damn barrier now.


    Just perfect.


    But sighing wasn''t going to get me anywhere.


    So, I sheathed gramps'' sword and again focused on my hand making a muchrger- football-sized sma ball.


    My powers were back in full throttle and there wasn''t any point in holding anything back. I didn''t have much time anyway. The longer this dragged on, the worse my chances got.


    "Be sure to make a decent enough barrier," I yelled and threw the ball. A very bright, hot ball.


    Hyora was still gathering the blood. So, the ball hit her hard. She didn''t bother dodging.


    It took a second but the ball exploded and Enira wasn''t creating any barriers, so I had to do it myself. Even with the barrier, there was apressed boom.


    While creating the barrier, I looked down, and well, Enira was peacefully asleep. ''I''m gonna pound you senseless when we get home.'' That damn dragon-snake thingy screwed up and was in zzznd. But thanks to her, I could at least use my powers.


    The barrier shattered and a bit of wind rushed past me; a sizzling sound! But the st hadn''t quite the impact I was hoping for.


    Something was wrong.


    ''Well, this doesn''t look good.''


    A very neutral-looking Hyora dismissed the smoke with one hand. Her clothes were torn, and no, she wasn''t wearing anything underneath: so, I could see a lot of stuff. I guess she had a lot of stuff already nned on ahead.


    But anyway. She looked neutral- or rather on the madder side of neutral.


    So, I took a deep breath.

 Chapter 232 - Almost There-

    Now that the core was gone, I could use almost all of my powers. Meaning, I could coat my saber and sword with gamma and deal plenty of damage, predict her moves and even counter and potentially win. But I knew it wouldn''t be that easy.


    So instead of worrying about it, I took the initiative andunched my attack at Hyora.


    She dodged my swing from the left, but my right sword was still going straight but she blocked it with her fingernail.


    She''d stop talking and just focused on the battle. Her movements were rather abnormal and I couldn''t predict them. And she almost didn''t seem human anymore.


    Her fangs were sticking out and her eyes were even redder even this close to me, even with this much radiation, she lookedpletely unharmed. And boy did she reek of blood.


    Her body had changed color from snowy white to a darker shade of brown and her veins were bulging out. Her size had increased by almost two-fold.


    Yeah, she definitely didn''t look human anymore.


    Making barriers as footing and also fighting was definitely not the best idea.


    sh!


    But she dodged and shed me instead with her nails. And with Enira sleeping, my healing abilities were also limited.


    But I still tried to attack her, throw balls, switch weapons- nothing was working. She was fast, she was agile and more importantly, even if she took hits, she was recovering without a doubt.


    This was not working.


    "Need a hand, boy?" grandma screamed from down there, she was mostly done with her stuff.


    "NO thanks."


    Yeah, I was losing, but that didn''t mean I was done.


    I let out a breath and focused on another ball of sma.


    ***


    "You don''t learn," Hyora said in a cold voice and closed in- she''d warped.


    She didn''t catch me off-guard but she was too fast for me to respond in time.


    But my ball was almost ready.


    She shed me hard, created three distinct wounds on my chest- but I''d also mmed my ball on her chest.


    We both threw up blood. But she threw up much more than me.


    "What the?" Hyora couldn''t believe it. "I take that back." She warped three steps back.


    The sma ball hadn''t exploded, rather it''d made her insides implode. It was full of contained gamma radiation. And neutrons elerated to almost the speed of light packed quite a punch as they collided with the atoms of someone''s body.


    So yeah, that must have hurt.


    Hyora took in a breath, and just swung her arms from far. Gusts of wind flew me by. It took me a second to realize that she was actually attacking me from far away.


    She''d underestimated me, but I''d underestimated her even more.


    Nicks and cuts appeared all over my body. Her long-range attacks weren''t that effective, but it sure was numerous.


    And I didn''t have my healing. ''You better wake up you horny dragon!'' She sure wasn''t though.


    Hyora kept on warping and trying to w me with her nails. She was fast and my response time was getting slower and slower. I was losing and I was losing badly.


    I had to do something now and fast before the rest of my stamina also got drained. Besides, I was already running on fumes anyway.


    I willed my saber to turn into a long sword and sheathed Gramps''s sword again.


    I held my saber with two hands and focused on Hyora. The next time, she''d start attacking, I''d attack. But my timing had to be perfect, otherwise, it won''t work.


    She was too fast, so I had to predict at least halfway. I already understood her basic pattern, so the rest was up to luck.


    I wasining about the cold till now, but honestly, why couldn''t it be a little colder?


    I was sweating buckets for crying out loud!


    Hyora disappeared, I closed my eyes.


    ''From the left?''¡­''No... right?''¡­'' No¡­''


    Behind!


    I used the long sword and reached, and just as she manifested, I dug my saber through her chest: the saber went straight through, burning her flesh. She also swung her nails but- just a centimeter away from my neck; she threw up quite a bit of blood. She couldn''t reach me.


    Before she tried to throw those gusts, I already unsheathed gramps sword and swept her head clean off! A rather clean sound- a soothing sound even.


    Yes!


    It happened in an instant through sheer instinct, but I''d chopped her head off!


    Both her body and head fell on the floor and so did I: It was not a graceful fall. But I got up and inched closer to her head.


    ***


    Mom and rest also came by my side.


    Hyora wasn''t dead, no. She was just maybe a bit incapacitated and her wounds were still healing. Her body was trying to find her head and maybe she would get up within a minute. But her healing capabilities had actually slowed down significantly. The small purple wound on her decapacitated head was still there.


    "Good job: keep sting her and let''s see what happens!"


    Uncle sure was excited but he was still locked in with father. The rest of the people were done but those two were still going at it. Both were bleeding and barely standing on their feet but neither was backing out.


    But that was easier said than done. I''d been using my powers on full throttle for quite a while now. And I was kind of running dry. Like thatst gamma ball had taken out almost half of my reserves with one shot. It had also lowered the life expectancy of everyone here by a year or two but that was a different matter.


    Anyway, I still focused on my hands and made another sma ball- just a typical, baseball-sized one. I sted Hyora with it and covered her with a barrier so we weren''t getting any damage.


    So far, effective.. And now the rest of her clothes were also gone- oops.

 Chapter 233 - The Battlefield

    As things between Helio and Hyora heated up in the air, things were also getting pretty heated below.


    Excrucio was locked in a deadly battle with Albert. Both were going at it with every intention of harming- or rather, killing each other, to be more specific. Both had smiles and neither was backing down.


    "Ah, boys." Excrucio''s wife sighed as she put everyone around her to sleep.


    She, herself yawned as she put almost everyone to sleep: too boring. The few that were able to withstand her powers, were barely able to stand on their feet- and even though they were awake, they weren''t in the best of shape to fight; they''d probably fall asleep in a minute anyway. The ones that fell asleep were living through their worst nightmares and were struggling in their sleep- truly a terrifying sight.


    "I would advise you all to stand out of my way. I''m not in the best of moods right now." Helio''s mother cut through everyone around her without lifting up a finger.


    She wasn''t smiling and there was a very blurry aura around her- her rage was on its full throttle. She couldn''t really confront her husband and she couldn''t cut Hyora right now, meaning, her rage didn''t really have anywhere to go.


    There were so many things she wanted to ask him. There were so many things she wanted to apologize for and wanted him to apologize for too.


    But- but she had to contain all of that and stay calm: patient. But she couldn''t. it''d been fourteen years and she had enough of patience. All this time she suffered and now she hears that her husband was shouldering all that?


    ''That selfish bastard!'' She knew very well that her rage wasn''t justified but it sure didn''t stop her from fuming. She''d hit him and after knocking some sense into him, exin thoroughly that marriage was a mutual rtionship and from now on he wasn''t allowed to suffer alone.


    "AREGHH!" A young man went for her back. He couldn''t control his nerves, so he screamed.


    Helio''s mother didn''t look back but the young man''s arms had fallen off- he was still alive. He again screamed- this time out of pain and passed out just momentster; falling to the ground fast.


    The same happened to anyone who dared to get near her.


    "Didn''t I say, I''m not in the best of moods?"


    The few people that were even thinking of going after her, gulped and moved to an easier target.


    But any targets here easy?


    ***


    Marg could fight well when it was with maybe a handful of people, but when it came down torge numbers, it was her weakness.


    Her powers relied heavily on precision but torge numbers, precision went out the drain. So, it was very hard for her to maintain a cool head and fight, while also keeping an eye on Helio. Helio was here because of her- or so she believed till now. But now she knew things ran deep, much deeper.


    Her feelings were a little mixed on the subject. There were so many new things she knew about Helio today and she knew Helio had been very surprised. And she wanted to be with him and hold his hands, tell him it was okay. But she knew that wasn''t it¡­ she couldn''t and it wasn''t okay.


    So, she couldn''t really look away from him. She didn''t know how the fight up there was going or what Helio was saying to Hyora but- she just couldn''t look away.


    Which meant, her focus on the battlefield wasn''t quite what was necessary.


    "You''re mine!" A man screamed.


    He was about to m his fist on Marg''s face.


    Marg- a bit flustered, was about to teleport almost immediately but before that, someone else punched the man.


    "AWW!" And heined while blowing on his hand. "Punching hurts!"


    Marg giggled slightly. "Thanks, Merin."


    As for the man who was about to hit Marg, he rolled on the floor and Merin kicked him a few times before the guy passed out. Merin knew the guy- he was the same guy who''d invited him to this party- Vana Battlesuin.


    ''To think I''d repay him like his¡­'' But Merin didn''t really think much about this. He knew, he''d be killed unless Helio''s family won this, and in the name of friendship he was going to see this through.


    Merin pumped his chest with pride and smiled. "Leave it to me."


    Meanwhile, they were surrounded by a lot of people. They were viins from various parts of the world and the Battlesuins were mixed in.


    And almost all of them were aiming for Marg''s head.


    "On second thought-" Merin smiled nervously. He was sweating buckets. "I think we should run."


    "Don''t be so quick to run, you''ll make us look bad," A girl said, breaking the necks of half of the people with shadows. She was a redhead with a very well-endowed chest.


    "You don''t say!" Another girl created a whirlwind with just a kick on the ground and blew the rest of the people away: her luscious thigs were on full disy; her tail gently swayed with the air. "And I''d skipped my evening pole climbing practices for this too!"


    Both were Helio''s friends or perhaps a bit more (Self-proimed) and both were smiling.


    "Hmpf, once a weakling, always a weakling." Another redhead walked by.


    Marg and the girl had a lot of feelings involved but- "At least he''s not a weakling who couldn''t get what he wanted."


    The redhead- Eve grinned. "We''ll see how long thatsts."


    Eve had actually intended that for Marg, but Marg mistook it and thought Eve was talking about Merin. Eve didn''t bother correcting her.


    "Kids, kids, pay attention when you''re fighting." And then an olddy- Helio''s Grandmother swept through the rest of the people. She''d used all the nts and grass here in the garden and bound everyone.


    Some did escape but they were maintaining their distance. "M-monsters!"


    Helio''s grandmother grinned very victoriously at the sentiment.


    Just nine people were enough to subdue over a hundred of the world''s best viins and strongest fighters. And almost none of them were hurt apart from Excrucio and maybe Merin''s precious right pinky.


    So, they really were perhaps monsters.


    "Oh, looks like he''s done," Excrucio''s wife said.


    And promptly a head fell on the floor, followed by a body.


    Everyone looked up as a boy slowly got down and stood in front of them, facing the fallen corpse- or so it seemed at first nce.

 Chapter 234 - For The Sake Of Our Friends And Family-

    I sheathed both of my swords and sabers and kept on sting her nonstop. After a certain point, she looked charred. Still alive. I''d have died ten times over by now.


    Her clothes were gone and most of her skin was also gone. I could see muscles and bones here and there: blood everywhere. Still alive.


    But oh well. I was pretty much spent, so I went over to her and shoved my saber and sword in her stomach and chest. I had way too many emotions, way too much hatred for her.


    "This is the end for you." I raised both of my swords and I was about to chop her up in pieces.


    If that didn''t work, I''d keep on sting her till every atom of her being would cease to exist.


    But Hyora only snickered. "Oh, Burt dear. Would you minding here?"


    Hyora''s lips, face, eyes, nothing moved. But the sound manifested regardless.


    Father was still engaged with uncle but he made a run for Hyora. Obviously, mom and uncle both came in front of him but he disregarded everything and evaded them: he even took hits. He was definitely desperate toe here.


    Before long, he was right behind me, attacking me. I was spent but even now, I wasn''t defenseless.


    Before his sword reached me, his hands were stopped by vines. His legs were wrapped in vines and so was his torso. He was immobile. "Let the boy handle his own thing. He doesn''t need you to interfere." Grandmaughed.


    I was d my family hade with me. Otherwise, I didn''t know what I would have done if I''de alone.


    "Well, that went out the drain."


    "Kill me and your father would also perish," Hyora said, looking pathetic.


    Well, wasn''t that a bluff!


    "Really?" I snorted, my saber still dangling in my hand.


    Father was already tied. "I''ll die regardless. Kill her before she orders me to do something else."


    "What?" Wait, wait, he''d die?


    So, it wasn''t a bluff?


    "Hurry, before she-" Father stopped. There was horror in his eyes.


    I turned around and Hyora was already recovered, good to go. "Before I order you to kill them all?" She chuckled. "Before I turn into this?" Her creepy smile was back. "Pardon. It took me some time to warm up. It would seem I''d been neglecting my body for far too long."


    She looked slightly different. Her fangs wererger, her eyes had less glow but her- something about her, gave a very different vibe: a much more dangerous vibe. ''And just when I frigging used everything too.''


    And Hyora was back to her normal height and colors too. Her skin was snowy white again and her smile looked normal. It was almost as though she''d gone through a rebirth of sorts.


    And as any newborn- she was in her b-day suit. Rather t but yeah, those were nice proportions for someone of that age-


    Seriously, what the hell was wrong with my tastes!?


    ''It''d be a very good time for you to wake up Enira.''


    But she was out cold.


    And I didn''t have any strength left.


    I couldn''t just switch over to the shadow either, after all, if Enira was sleeping who''d stop me if something went wrong? I only understood what happened in the tournament when Merin sent me a clip from the tournament. That was why I was so confident that she''d stop me this time in case something went wrong.


    But the damn dragon- snake thingy was sleeping. She was probably immortal so I didn''t have to worry about her dying, at least.


    Hyora gradually took steps forward and I took steps backward. My legs were slightly shaking. I couldn''t tell if it was just my fatigue catching up or maybe¡­ fear?


    Anyway, I still had my skills and my swords. So, I couldn''t back down now. After all, I''de so far, I''d done so much. I couldn''t just back out now.


    So, I took deep breaths and psyched myself up. I ran for Hyora: she wasn''t moving at all.


    "ARHGHH!" I screamed with the best of my abilities and shed through her. My saber went straight through her shoulder and it fell off. But- but she just smiled and shed my arm off. "ARGHH!!!"


    She couldn''t have reached!


    It took a second for me to realize my missing limb and the pain¡­ and¡­.


    I screamed and quickly backed off. My hand¡­my hand¡­ it was gone.


    The pain! It was unbearable and I wanted to lie down on the ground and roll around. But- I couldn''t. I screamed again- it was like being cut in half-


    It was almost as though the world had slowed down, it kept on ringing and everything felt dark- I could almost faint¡­.


    ''DAMNIT!'' I could cry- no, I was already crying.


    "HELIO!" Mom and Marg screamed.


    "Stay back!"


    I breathed hard- I was losing my breath. It was hard to control my breathing and stop the bleeding. And on top of that, the woman already regrew her lost shoulder.


    I grunted and grit my teeth in pain.


    So far, this wasn''t looking good.


    This was my fight and that''s why even now my family members weren''t interfering. They were respecting my wishes despite eating up their emotions. I loved my family and I knew they''d get hurt if they came and fought alongside me.


    And I knew they wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice themselves either.


    So, for them, for myself, for everyone here, I had to pick myself up. ''Stand tall Helio Romswell Jintel. The fight''s just beginning!''


    Giving myself an internal speech wasn''t really helping though.


    I still had a good arm and Gramp''s sword. "Let''s just say, that hand was just slowing me down anyway." I chuckled but couldn''t breathe.


    Hyora''s grin widened but- I charged regardless. I didn''t have a Deathwish, but my wish to not let harme to my family was far greater than anything else. Marg was here and so was our unborn child. Mom, uncle, grandma, for all their sake, I had to charge.


    I had to fight to protect them, I had to fight to win and I had to fight to, not lose.


    I screamed again to bring out strength. I was so depleted that even screaming wasn''t helping.


    "And that''s what I fell in love about you." Hyora moved closer to me like she was dancing and just a touch away, she stopped: She passed her hand through my stomach, as I sliced vertically through her head. She was fast and her hand gently pierced through my body- making it outside from the back.


    My sword had gone straight through the middle of her head but she was unharmed.


    As for me.


    "COUgh*" I threw up some blood and was barely standing. My stomach was warm but it was gradually getting colder and colder. Like my life was draining with the blood. I was getting drenched by my own blood, never even imagined this day woulde¡­ the pain was unbearable but- I wanted to sleep now¡­ ''NO!''


    I couldn''t give up now!


    I could see mom screaming from the corner of my eye and uncle and grandma holding her back. Marg had fallen on the ground, too surprised.


    "IT''s a shame you''d go through the same route. Your family really is bizarre. Perhaps the next one would be different?" she looked at Marg and smiled. "OR perhaps it''d be better to end your line here for good?"


    My eyes opened slightly. "Everyone, run from here unless you want cancers."


    My mouth moved on its own and radiation leaked from me. I couldn''t- no, I didn''t control my radiation anymore. Even though I wasn''t touching my saber, a barrier still formed over our heads- Enira had woken up.


    I was depleted but that was just one of me.


    There was a ringing and stinging sensation and I knew I''d die if this kept up but-


    I couldn''t breathe and my heart was going to stop within minutes. Meaning, I had to do something about all this before that. I had to do something, right now.


    "I know I''ve been terrible to you without knowing. I know even after knowing, I did nothing. I know even though you''ve suffered there, I never let you out, I never bothered to listen but- please, for the sake Marg and our son, our mother, our family, our friends, lend me strength."


    I closed my eyes and focused. I knew he was here and I knew he was listening¡­


    "About damn time, I was waiting for you to make a deal like you wanted but to think you''re this much of a miser!" The shadow had taken over me but I was fully conscious- in the backseat. "But don''t worry. I''ll help you out, free of charge."


    I snorted. Nothing in this world was free of charge other than mother''s love.


    So, there was definitely a catch to this guy''s shit too. But- for the time, I believed him.


    And my consciousness slowly faded.

 Chapter 235 - This Is How You Do It!

    The shadow had been waiting for this very moment.


    He knew getting in control of the body was tough and though the first seal was broken, unless the other two were also broken, he couldn''t really take full control. And even if the other seals were broken, there was a chance the virus was too powerful and it''d kill the host body, meaning they''d all die. So, he couldn''t risk that.


    However, now that he was in full control and Helio was unconscious, this was the perfect opportunity to kill Hyora, make sure Helio trusted him, and strike precisely at a moment when he least expects it.


    So- he grinned- he grinned so much that his cheeks formed slight tears. Enira was already back up on her feet and she was healing him, so he didn''t have to worry about wounds at the very least.


    He was also in close range to Hyora so- So, he dropped the sword and grabbed Hyora almost like a lover grabbing his partner on a dancefloor.


    "Oh? You''re still not giving up?" Hyora smiled. Her luscious bare body was in his hands. She could easily kill him with just a touch, so she let him have his way for a moment.


    "I''m a sore loser, you see." Helio''s veins bulged and he let out steam as his body burned. He gently traced his fingers over Hyora''s face.


    "Having second thoughts? I could settle for you too. And maybe, I can make sure, you''re always in control¡­" Hyora whispered.


    But a secondter- her face turned to dust and she backtracked immediately.


    Helio''s hand was slowly growing back and his powers were returning rapidly. His grin was widening even more and he was getting impatient. "Sorry but, as he said, we''re not interested in whores like you." He let out a chuckle ominous enough that it''d put Excrucio''sugh to shame.


    Hyora clicked her tongue as her face regrew. "Such a shame." She raised her arms and started to focus. She was about to release a massive invisible de attack- the same attack that''d put nicks and cuts all over Helio''s body. But this one was different. Instead of just attacking Helio she was going to attack everyone here: and this was a far more powerful attack. No one was going to be safe from this- not even the Battlesuins.


    As long as she survived, she could just make another family.


    That''s how she''d been living till now. She even had to use her trump card ''rebirth'' special ability to survive. She couldn''t afford a miss here, or she''d be dead for good this time. Her regeneration was the best in the''s history but that too had its limits. And she couldn''t use her rebirth skill for a while- so, so despite her appearance, she was desperate.


    But Helio- he didn''t let her make much distance, he closed in on her in an instant and kissed her.


    It was still the shadow controlling Helio''s body and for a second even Hyora was surprised.


    Helio wasn''t just kissing her- he was sucking the life out of her and he was also fondling her- and making her body turn to dust. It was almost a contradiction of sorts.


    Hyora wasn''t clothed at all, so Helio could easily disintegrate her body. Hyora was both dying and getting what she wanted at the same time but- but she chose life over pleasure and kicked Helio back.


    During her prime Hyora Battlesuin was in love with Julio, Helio''s grandfather. They were friends even. Hyora was from the present while Julio was from the future but both were involved in saving the earth.


    Hyora had feelings for the man but it was almost impossible to confess, after all, she always treated him like a brat and their rtionship was that of a cat and a mouse. but at the end of the day, they were definitely friends.


    But Julio never saw their rtionship as anything more than just friends and though Hyora at the time was content with it, when Helio''s grandmother came into y, it was almost impossible to conceal her feelings.


    Hyora had lived a very long and boring life. She''d always been alone and she''d always seen her loved ones die. Love was but a fickle thing and it had no meaning to her until she met that man- Julio.


    She fell in love and she fell in love hard. She wanted him, she yearned for his nectar and she dreamed about him every night.


    She even proposed to him but Julio turned her down. Sadness turned to hate and eventually she was out for blood- she''d almost killed Helio''s grandmother and in turn enraged Julio and the whole thing about their family''s ''at each other''s throat'' history began.


    Lust was a powerful thing.


    Hyora breathed hard. Her body wasn''t regenerating like before- her limit was near. "You really y dirty."


    "Well, we''re viins." Incidentally, Helio had fallen right next to his grandfather''s sword. He picked it up and dashed.


    Hyora had her wings out and lifted herself up. "I think that''s enough for today." She was out of breath and she could barely maintain flight but she was definitely going to getaway.


    She knew she couldn''t win this anymore- so she had to at least survive. She could always get her revenge another day.


    "Do it now, woman!" Helio ordered, staring at Marg.


    Marg nodded and focused.


    Helio, next looked at Enira and she nodded.


    Enira lifted her hands up in the air and grabbed the air.


    Hyora froze mid-air. The small purple wound on her forehead grew significantly and almost immediately paralyzed her.


    "You damn snake!" She screamed.


    "Leon says hi." Enira gave a toothy grin. "And so do the rest of us you killed," She hissed.


    Hyora struggled but- "If you kill me, he dies!"


    Helio smiled. "Well, good thing I''m not deciding that then." He grinned. "My work here is done."


    And Helio fell on the floor- or he would have if his mother hadn''t caught him.

 Chapter 236 - When Life’s Unfair, Screw It!

    Once upon a time, a girl was rescued by the border patrol group.


    She was taken to a military base and there were other kids there with her.


    Everyone wore the same thing and ate the same food. ¨Cthey were from all over the country and had many differences. Differences in looks, color, culture, and even age. Most were from ten to sixteen but one thing wasmon among them: none of the children had any powers.


    Rumor had it, that the girl was rap*d and she killed all her rapists. The rumor was so prominent that even some kids heard it. The kids didn''t know what rap* or rapists meant though.


    Though most kids were almost her age, almost all of them never even got close to her.


    One girl did try to get close but the girl- Leilis just ignored her too along with the rest.


    The girl didn''t care. Survival mattered more to her. And here she could get food, and even exercise like she wanted to. Her goal?


    Get stronger and make sure something like that never happened again, to anyone, ever.


    She didn''t have anything other than herself. No family, no friends, no nothing. So she wanted to change this world- so this- her fate- never befell to anyone ever again. That was her goal.


    The guards and men in white coats were nice to the children and the children liked them too. Obviously, the girl didn''t. She maintained her distance and so did the few men that ever got close to her. Whenever they crossed a certain line the girl would fearlessly make them bleed. It didn''t matter if she used a pen, or maybe even a knife, no one could get close to her.


    And since this was a government-funded base, the military or the guys in white coats, never tried to actively hurt her- but that was just a mask.


    Eventually, another rumor about the girl circted. A rumor that perhaps the girl was a devil in the form of a human.


    ***


    Some months passed and things were rtively peaceful but- the girl noticed something amiss. Was it her, or were some of the other children disappearing?


    It started by one, then two, then ten. There were at least a few hundred children in this ce, so a few missing here and there, wasn''t that noticeable.


    But as another month passed and more than half vanished, rumors spread like wildfire.


    Two rumors, in particr, spread the most. One, the children were taken to a new home, where they met new parents. And the other- they were being transferred to another facility.


    The girl didn''t believe either one. She had a more prominent theory. Why were the children being treated so nicely? The kids had nothing. And the state wasn''t powerful enough to make sure every orphan ever got to live freely. And most of the children that vanished were girls. The boys in particr were treated harshly and they were often trained and sometimes left to be dead. So apparently they were training boys to be soldiers?


    Then what of the girls?


    The girl didn''t want to believe it but if her guess was right, things were about to get ugly. Or to be more precise, they already had.


    She was fifteen this year, she understood things all too well.


    So, one night, as she was in her room, she carefully ced a photo in front of the camera and slowly got out of the room. She''d been trying this and perfecting it over thest few months. She thought it was the picture that helped her get out of the room like this but- the people that were doing the monitoring just weren''t at their office around this time.


    After all, even the government couldn''t morally justify their acts of monitoring young girls past eight.


    There were patrols everywhere. This was a military base, so even at midnight, the security was high.


    But the girl already knew where the cameras were and how the guards moved.


    So she carefully, located two guys in white coats and followed them.


    One of themughed. "Today''s batch wasn''t fun either. They broke too easily."


    "Thest one was fun though." The other man chuckled.


    "That''s because you got to put it in. Mine''s too big you know." Bothughed.


    The girl vaguely understood what they meant. She grimaced with hate.


    She kept up the following but the men just went into their quarters.


    She waste.


    ''Damn!'' She cursed but went back into her room.


    The next day, the number of girls was even lower. Only the boys were here and maybe a dozen or so of girls.


    "Leilis. Would you like toe with us? Mr. Anderson says they''ll introduce us to a new family today. He said I can bring one of my friends but all of them-" Seine paused. "Would you like toe?"


    Seine was the only one Leilis had ever spoken to. Mostly to tell her to get away from her.


    The girl thought for a second. This would be a grand chance, but at the same time, it''d be too risky. But- She could use this chance. "Sorry, I still have some things to do. I''d love to visit your new home once in a while though." She put up a fake smile.


    "Okay¡­"


    Later that day, the girl got out of her quarters again and tried to sneak around. She did see Seine and two other girls go out with three guys in coats. The girl had a very bad feeling about this but- she followed them.


    She made sure, she wasn''t seen and roughly ten minutester, they arrived in a rather fancy-looking room. But to enter one needed a card. All six of them entered but only Leilis was out, she didn''t have a card.


    And it was already past eight, so technically it was past bedtime and if she wandered the halls, she''d arouse suspicion.


    But she couldn''t turn back now. Even if she did, she''d be caught and she knew that.


    So, she looked around, found a guy in a coat, and just ran to him and hugged him.


    "Huh-WOW! Isn''t it a bit toote for your bedtime miss? And wait, since when were you so clingy?" The guy was a bit drunk.


    "I got lonely." She tried to pretend and kept hugging the guy. Fortunately, today was a holiday and most of the soldiers were either getting drunk or sleeping.


    The guy chuckled and before he could say anything, the girl walked away.


    Some people did saw her, but before they coulde her way, she ran.


    This ce was full of naughty children so the guards didn''t bother going after her: They didn''t know.


    Making her way back to the door, she used the card she just stole and the door opened.


    She went in and saw hell.

 Chapter 237 - When Life’s Unfair, Screw It! (Part Two)

    !


    Three girls were attached to vertical beds. They were naked and some tubes were attached to the veins of their neck.


    "Well, if this fails we''ll only be left with the boys."


    One of the men chuckled. "Well, young boys can be delicate too."


    "I don''t have that kind of hobby."


    There were five men and all of them wereughing: one of them was a soldier and the rest were in white coats. Everything in here was foreign to the girl. She was hidden well, but her body was shivering.


    There were exactly three tubes attached to all three girls.


    "Commencing blood fusion."


    "Let''s just hope at least the subus genes make it. I''m dying for some quality treatment."


    "Well, this is as close as we can get, so."


    Three different colored liquids were going into all three girls: crimson, pink, and ck. Though the girls were passed out, their bodies were moving on their own, jerking. They were in pain, but no sound wasing from them.


    "Both the vampire and the subus genes are working but the mutor genes are just failing sir. They''ll die in three minutes. I guess we can''t make living humans mutors...yet."


    The man sighed. "Wake ''em up, I can''t hold on any longer. As long as the subus gene works, we''re good." The man unzipped his pants. There was a faint scent in the air. The scent wasing from the unconscious girls. They were human no more.


    The girl- Leilis knew where this was going but- was there any weapon here? She looked around and other than heavy equipment, nothing.


    But that''s when she traced the tubes back to the corner of the room.


    There were three different vials of concentrated liquid. She already knew that the ck one didn''t work. She didn''t know what the other two were but that didn''t stop her from breaking the ss and drinking both vials.


    She didn''t know why she did it and she couldn''t really understand herself, but her gut feeling led her to this. Something about that crimson blood drew her in- almost hypnotized her even.


    "Hey, you, what are you doing?"


    The girls were awake but they were like ss dolls. Their bodies had started to mutate and the guys were inside them.


    Leilis however, felt like her body was being torn alive.


    "ARhgh!" She threw up blood and copsed.


    The two free men came her way. "Isn''t this the one who made a hole in your hand?"


    "Yeah," The man kicked the fallen girl on the floor. He was the only one wearing a uniform, the only soldier in the room.


    But he couldn''t retract his foot. He tried to get his foot back. "Looks like it still has some energy left." The man chuckled and was about to kick her again but- he got his foot back, or at least his leg back. "Huh?"


    He was bleeding. He did have his leg but his foot just wasn''t attached anymore.


    He fell on the ground, unbelieving of what just happened, and a secondter, screamed.


    The girl on the floor slowly got up and grinned at the two. She had two different kinds of blood running through her. One blood was stronger than the other and that was the vampire blood: the other, subus. One bloodpelled her to enjoy thepany of men while the other made her actively seek blood and enjoy life.


    And with her own consciousness into the mix- she was no longer human. A new type of monster was born.


    She was Leilis no more. Her mind was gone. Her eyes were blood red and glowed.


    Her body slowly became bigger as she ate the man''s leg whole. "Thank you for your disgusting flesh." She said in a sultry tone. Her clothes got ripped as she grew and pheromones leaked in the air.


    The pheromones of a subus.


    Though leaking blood, the man lost his mind. "So, beautiful." Such was the power of a subus.


    But unfortunately, the girl in front of her wasn''t just a subus. She closed the gap between the man in a second and bit him, drank his blood, and made him her follower. But there was more to it.


    "Go and rap* those men for all eternity that is your one and only purpose," She whispered in the man''s ear.


    She also did the same to the other man who''d followed the fallen soldier.


    Meanwhile, the other three were still busy with the nearly dead bodies. Though almost dead, the three girls bore the subus genes and in turn, they captivated the three men, at least enough for them to not feel or hear anything during those three minutes: they were enjoying intense pleasure.


    But as the three girls finally died, the men snapped back to reality and realized there were two men behind him, pressing things against their behinds.


    "Hey, what are you- ARTGHHH!"


    "This is a problem," Leilis said, we''re a man short. She sighed and looked around and found a good solution. There was a steel mop on the floor. Her grin intensified as she picked it up and threw it at one of her vampire servants. "Please use that on the third."


    "ARGGHH!"


    Screams filled the whole room, fresh blood fell on the floor, and soon more and more soldiers and men in coats came flooding in.


    At first, the men were terrified of what was happening in here but they just assumed Leilis was the culprit.


    They even fired bullets, fired their powers, ice shards, fire, lightning, and even sma weapons, but nothing worked on the girl. She was no ordinary vampire. She''d drunk the blood of a primordial vampire, meaning, she was a direct descendant now, and though not as strong as the vampires of old, she was up there.


    So, with a grin, she sliced up all the mening for her. This was when she knew, she could control her shadow.


    ''Use-ful?''


    She made the men rap* each other, and while she enjoyed the view, she pleasured herself and enjoyed the blood: though her subus genes made her want to enjoy thepany of men, she despised them so much, that she felt disgusted to even consider being with them.


    But due to her subus genes, she made the men lick her feet while she pleasured her, herself.


    The two mixed-blood within her had changed herself forever and just in one night, she''dpletely taken over a whole military base.


    ''This is the best. All men should just be beneath my feet!'' It wouldn''t be forty more years, till that day woulde when she''d first regret this choice. Because on that day, she''d fall in love.. And for the first time, she''d want to be with a man.

 Chapter 238 - Thank You But We Need You To Die

    My head throbbed a great deal as I woke up. I was lying on the ground.


    Something soft was underneath my head.


    It took me a second but the feeling was so familiar, I instantly realized, I was under mom''sps.


    And the moment mom realized I was awake, she hugged me tight. Her heart was racing fast- really fast and she was warm. "I''m so sorry. I''ll never let something like that happen to you, even if you beg me to standby. What the hell was I thinking!?" She was also going crazy, I guess it was asking too much to make her stay back, back then.


    The feeling was so tender, I wanted to stay like this forever but- there was something veery important left that drew my attention.


    "Fill me in." I looked over at Enira.


    "We''re banishing her to the outer edge of the ninth dimension," Enira said as she walked over. "She''s trying her best." She looked over at Marg.


    Meanwhile, Marg was focusing way too much with her eyes closed and all.


    Hyora was up in the air, immobile. "Mark my words Helio, your whole line would be cursed. I''m immortal, and I won''t rest until I erase your line from existence."


    Whoa, talk about holding a grudge!


    "My line isn''t as fragile as you think." I grabbed mom''s hands. "We''re the Romswells. We''ll st through all your schemes." I just realized, I might or might not have said some rather embarrassing stuff but ¨C"Besides, even if my kids are weak, they''ll always have their family."


    Mom squeezed my hands. "Damn right, they will." Yeah, I had a bad feeling she''d be over-overprotective from now on.


    Oh boy.


    Hyora grunted and her fangs kind of stuck out. She breathed hard and gasped every two seconds. She was mad- no, she was shivering with madness. But she looked really weak. I had a feeling I could kill her now, but if we killed her wouldn''t father also die?


    Speaking of father- the guy was free and he was standing next to us. But Hyora actually hadn''t given him any order, even now. I didn''t know how it worked, was he her ve or something or was he following her orders with his free will intact?


    "You should kill her, right now." At thest moment, however, father said those words. "You should definitely kill her, for the sake of the future generation. Her powers wille in very handy if you can control her- but it''s impossible. So, it''s best she dies."


    What the hell was up with his logic? Was he high or something?


    "She says you''ll die and-"


    "She already took most of my life. I don''t have long- maybe a day or two at best. And there''s a high chance, she''s just bluffing. I''ve never heard of a power that could kill others upon one''s death- at least not from her."


    So, he was serious about the death thing.


    Mom squeezed my hands again but for a different reason. "Kill her. le-let''s kill her and end all this."


    "You sure about that?"


    "I''m sure."


    Her tears fell on my face. The fourth time I saw her cry-


    She was sure and she was ready.


    But- "Enira, you know a lot about all this. Do you think he can be saved?"


    "You''re asking me?" She looked a bit out of it. "I can dy his passing but-" I could tell, it was taking her all to keep Hyora bound up there. How was she doing it though? I didn''t see any barriers.


    Oh, wait, Hyora''s face was covered in a purple bruise- so that''s why-


    "Good enough. Let''s kill her then." I dragged my body up. My whole body was too painful, I was really, spent.


    But I had this onest thing to do.


    She sighed. "Let people finish, please? We have to first severe their connections, so he won''t die in case Hyora dies. And yes, she does have that power."


    "And how do we do that?"


    She grinned. "This is where yourte grandmother''s powerse into y."


    My left hand glowed in an azure glow and I could feel a different kind of power running through me- my link with Enira felt as strong as ever, maybe stronger.


    "And since you''re her heir, you can channel that power. The power to severe through space and time." Enira''s grin turned a bit creepy and she made Hyora slowlye down. "Finally, we can all have our revenge!"


    I had a feeling she also hated Hyora. I guess the feeling was mutual.


    Hyora still couldn''t move but her appearance was gradually getting madder and madder. "I''m immortal!" she screamed. "I''ll be back."


    "I believe you." I slowly ran- and slowly increased my speed, one step at a time. "For all the trouble you gave us, for all the pain you gave us, for all the suffering you caused us and for saving my life- thank you but we need you to die."


    She gently smiled. What the hell? It was a real smile- not the fake creepy one. A real smile. "I''ll be back." But her words were still creepy as hell.


    I reached her and well, chopped her head off. She couldn''t move, so it didn''t take much effort on my part.


    A bit anticlimactic but her head flew off and rolled on the ground, lifeless.


    Her torso spewed blood and also fell on the ground- not recovering.


    I bathed in her blood and my skin burned.


    Hyora Battlesuin was no more.


    I breathed a sigh in relief and well- time to pass out.


    ¡­


    But no, I didn''t and my body just kept on burning. "What the hell?"


    "And now you''ll probably turn into a vampire." Enira sighed.


    "What, rrealy!?" seriously!?


    She giggled hard. "Nah, I''m just messing with you."


    "You damn snake drag-" My voice stopped and I threw up.


    My body ached and my head hurt like hell.


    The pain was unbearable. "Arghh!" I grabbed my head and screamed.


    "The seal is being undone. I''ll try my best to stabilize it, so you just close your eyes and try to sleep." Enira grabbed me and spoke through some sort of a filter, cause I couldn''t hear her properly over the damn pain.


    I did close my eyes but- I couldn''t open them anymore.

 Chapter 239 - Wakey Wakey!

    I was too sleepy. I couldn''t open my eyes, but I couldn''t quite sleep either.


    Where was I? Why was everything so dark?


    Wha!


    My eyes were closed, and I was lying down but I could swear I''d heard something. I couldn''t see nor smell anything but I could hear. There was definitely something there¡­ in the dark¡­ in water?


    It was like a drop falling on water- the sound. No, it was more like someoneing down in the water: Moving towards me.


    Was I in water?


    No, I was on a bed, so, everything around me was surrounded by water?


    Now that I thought about it, there was a lot of sound like droplets of water falling on water.


    No- I could smell something¡­. Something¡­ metallic?


    It wasn''t water, no.


    Blood!


    ARH!


    I woke up, it was blinding at first butter- it was just the window. Wind was blowing and though I had a frigging nket over my body- it was too damn cold.


    "Oh, you''re awake." She closed her book with a snap and stood up from the stool.


    This was an empty room of sorts. A small room, one bed, and one window. No furniture, it did have a chandelier though.


    But the woman-


    "Where am I? In the Battlesuin mansion?"


    The woman- smiled. Her smile was simr to her mother''s just not that creepy. She was actually a bit taller and maybe a bit bigger than her mother. "Yes, we are still in the mansion. Fortunately, most of it survived. I''m d your premonition didn''te to fruition."


    Oh yeah, I did more or less taunt about this ce not making it at the time.


    "That''s great but- where''s my family?" I asked, rather cautiously. I didn''t have any weapons here and I had a feeling, things would go pretty bad rather soon.


    I couldn''t really move my body and I couldn''t feel anything either- it was almost as though I was paralyzed. This was really bad.


    Mom and the rest weren''t here and I had a feeling something had gone wrong when I passed out. After all, why would the daughter of Hyora be here watching over my sleeping self, while my family was nowhere to be found?


    "You worry too much." She said as he pointed towards the right.


    The right wall turned to ss and I could see through- but the persons on the other side couldn''t see us.


    There was everyone there- mom, uncle, grandma, Marg, Merin, Eve, Leilis, and even Selene.


    And- me?


    I was in a bed, just like this one, and passed out. Also, mom and Marg were sitting by the bed and they were very, very worried. Both had dark spots beneath their eyes and I could tell- they hadn''t slept a wink.


    Before I could say anything though- "We need to talk. Don''t worry, after we''re done talking, I''ll link the two chambers back and they won''t know a thing. Just moments ago, they got the memo that you''d soon wake up so they''re a little too eager."


    "Fine, but hurry it up."


    "What do you n to do with our family."


    "Frankly, I don''t have any interested in your fam-"


    "Our- Our family. Don''t forget, you are a Battlesuin as well." The girl said strictly. "Mother''s dead- you killed her. your father would die soon, whether you like it or not. And I don''t n on staying in this ce either- cause, I was never a fan of responsibilities. So, as a member of the head family, you are next in line to the throne."


    Well, she sure was full of it. And even if what she said was true, I didn''t want to believe father would just die. After all, it''d been a long time since our family was together and¡­


    I didn''t know what to think about, honestly.


    "Pretty sure you also had a brother, and I don''t want those responsibilities either. Also, aren''t you angry at me or something? Why are you talking like that?"


    She giggled. "Well, my little brother is kind of a handful and I''m sure he''ll just give up his title. Apparently, he''s in love. But- think about it. if you be our head, and-" She came close. "And you subdue us all, think of the things you could achieve. You could also be the head of the Romswell family and if the two should be one- let''s just say, we could very well save the world from the aliens." Her breath fell on my ear. "And- I hated mother, so I think I''m grateful to you."


    "As I said-" I was definitely not going to get more involved with this stuff than I had to.


    She moved away. "Think about it." She smiled- closing her eyes.


    Things went ck and by the time, I opened my eyes, mom and Marg were already staring at me very intently. And when I did wake up for good, both hugged me.


    This room was simr in size to the one before. One bed, one window, and one chandelier. But it had a lot of stools and people were sitting on them.


    I used the pillow behind me as support but I couldn''t really move much- and my whole body was stinging¡­ so no room for movement.


    Mom was really relieved and I could tell, everyone here felt the same way. I didn''t see the daughter of Hyora anywhere- what was her name again?


    I did want to make the Battlesuins my ves and all, but after killing Hyora- I kind of lost interest.


    Hyora wanted our families to unite and she knew a lot about the aliens and all that. I could have had a better shot at saving the with her and I knew that. But the cons were also great. I hated her and I was sure my family hated her much more than me- especially mom. But-


    I didn''t know if this was for the best or maybe not¡­ after all, all the things I knew about my family and the Battlesuins, and even father- weren''t quite urate. Speaking of the guy, he was sitting in a corner, looking awkwardly at us.


    I had a feeling he didn''t feel wee- well, he wasn''t. But- as mom and Marg kept on hugging me and swearing how they''d never let me go near anything dangerous again, I opened my arms and called him along with just gestures.


    Even from hugs, my body was in pain but, oh well.


    He looked very surprised for a second but came over anyway.


    Mom was kind of surprised when father hugged all four of us- but she didn''tin. Marg didn''t either.


    Father was actually crying- he did smile though.


    None of my family and friends said a word.


    Anyway- they were suffocating me so and well, after all this time, I finally realized, I was naked. Not even underwear. The nket was hiding my privates but- "Get off me, people, get off me!"


    I don''t know why, but they all burst outughing from that.


    Okay, maybe I did know why but it was too embarrassing!


    ***


    Mom filled me in on what happened afterward.


    I did make Marg hand me my underwear first though. There were a lot of giggles involved but I erased the memory from my brain, yes sir!


    After Hyora died- I kind of lost consciousness due to my seals being undone. Enira could weave through space-time now, so he redid a seal but it wasn''t powerful enough since it didn''t have any sacrifices. Mom did tell me, given the right sacrifices, Enira could do a powerful seal but I was against that idea. She was definitely considering it though. Actually, everyone here was considering that- even Merin.


    What the hell people, we were talking about sacrificing children for crying out loud!


    ''Oh wait, we''re viins.'' But still!


    A few minutes after that, Hyora''s bodypletely turned to dust and thest of her traces were gone- her blood was lost. It was said that if someone drank from the blood of a primordial vampire, they''d be their direct descendants and very strong- not as strong as the primordial ones but definitely strong. But no one was able to get the blood of Hyora- apart from me that is. Her blood had spewed all over me- but I never drank it so, I guess that was something.


    And I had no sign of turning into a vampire, so that was good. Though, I would have at least preferred a bit of healing- atst more than I had.


    Anyway, after that, Enira also disappeared and hadn''te out since. I didn''t see my saber anyway, and frankly, I didn''t want to ask now.


    The Battlesuins and viins from across the world surrendered and now, we owned this ce- but Burt- or rather Albert, my father was in charge of this ce and no revolt had broken out in the course of thest three days.


    Things were peaceful and everyone had already sworn their fealty to us.


    So long story short- I slept for three frigging days: and bare no less.


    I wasn''t surprised, no- not surprised at all. "Aha ha hah." Iughed without thinking about it.


    It only made mom hug me tighter and boy was she suffocating me. Lately, she was hugging me with even the smallest of excuses. I had a very bad feeling about that.


    ''Why do I get the feeling she''d be a bit too overprotective from now on?''


    But- oh well.

 Chapter 240 - And The Holy Sword Rises!

    Now that I was awake- the people that were in my room finally dispersed. Mom and Marg hadn''t slept much thesest three days. The rest of them seemed kind of restless too. I guess they really cared about me. To think even Merin had dark circles below his eyes.


    I never got to talk to them or the rest of my family though.


    I guess I could always just talk to themter. I definitely needed to thank everyone, that was for sure.


    Currently, only Marg was in the room.


    "Can I get the rest of my clothes too please?"


    Cause it was freezing and just having underwear below this thick nket wasn''t making me feel warm. Okay, it had more to do with embarrassment but still!


    Marg giggled. "So, you could run around the mansion?"


    She saw through! "No, so I could stop feeling embarrassed."


    It was true that my body was stinging but staying in bed all day long, doing nothing was kind of rubbing me the wrong way too. They could have at least given me my Holo!


    Actually, had the poor thing even survived?


    "So, you promise to not get out of bed?"


    "Why? I''m perfectly healthy and-"


    "Sure- sure- whatever." Marg wasn''t having any of that.


    I was definitely going to get out of here that was for sure.


    But maybe that way Marg would feel bad so I''d make sure to pick her up and run around the mansion like that or something.


    On second thought, maybe no, cause just when I tried to move my arm a little, it stung some more. Just staying still made me feel like nothing was wrong with me, but the moment I tried to actually move, I could feel hell, literally.


    This ce was really big and I kind of wanted to have a tour anyway. ''But the hell is this room so small?''


    Well, at least there was a frigging wall clock directly facing me from the front wall that I could stare at and remind myself how many seconds were passing. ''Are they mocking me?''


    "I don''t like the look on your face." She was currently preparing some sort of soup- my least favorite stuff.


    I wasn''t even going to get a porridge for crying out loud? I hated that too but at least that was better than the soups!


    Sigh. "Do I really have to eat that?"


    "Hmm¡­ how about-" Marg kissed me on the cheek and sat down on the bed right next to me. "If you eat this without anyins and rest well till the afternoon, I''ll walk around with you and show you around." A secondter she looked a bit disheartened. "Though I don''t know my way either-" She mumbled.


    In thest three days she never got enough time to even look around?


    I guess I couldn''t be selfish right now.


    I did eat the soup and it was okay but- I did not like it, no.


    Medicinal soups were always terrible even when mom cooked them so, yeah, not my favorite. Actually, this tasted awfully like mom''s cooking, so mom was probably the one who cooked this.


    I did eat without anyints though as Marg fed me. How could Iin about that?


    And after feeding me, she locked the door, climbed on the bed, and kissed me.


    I was really hoping she''d do some more stuff but after kissing me, she felt so sleepy that she made me a body pillow and slept herself on top of the nket.


    I couldn''t really move much, my body stung way too much when I tried to move, so instead of thinking too much, I removed some of her clothing, dragged her into the nket, made a pillow out of her, and tried to sleep.


    ***


    Around evening, I woke up. Marg was still asleep; she was even drooling slightly.


    I couldn''t pick whether to be marveled at the sight or disgusting that she was drooling on my arm, but oh well.


    My body did feel slightly better but it was still kind of out ofmission. No wonder these people kept on telling me to rest. About ten minutester, there was a knock on the door and Marg woke up.


    She yawned and wiped her mouth. Cute!


    She kept on rubbing her eyes and went to the door, opened it and Mom came in with another batch of soup.


    Perfect!


    ''Someone, save me already!''


    And worse, mom brought a nuisance with her.


    That being- Elsa.


    She looked very agitated and I had a feeling she''d start crying if I said something funny. "Hey, how''s it going?"


    She sniffed; she didn''t cry. "Good, you?"


    "Good enough."


    We talked as mom fed me. Basically, it tasted the same, meaning thest one was also made by mom.


    Sigh,ining wasn''t getting me anywhere and I had a feeling I wouldn''t be able to get out today or tonight. ''So, tomorrow''s my best bet.''


    Elsa kind of didn''t talk much, she was very worried, I guess. She did look awfully relieved though. Though mom and father talked about how she was my adopted sister and all, I didn''t really care. A sister was always a sister- she was my little sister.


    I was really shocked to realize that she wasn''t my actual sister though, cause she and mom were really simr and they even shared their ears for crying out loud!


    ''How the hell are we gonna tell her that though?'' Was it even a good idea to tell her?


    Yeah, I didn''t want to think about that.


    Afterward, mom and Elsa left and Marg would leave in a minute too- or so she said.


    "You''re really loved, aren''t you?" Marg said. She almost seemed a bit sad. I guess her family never treated her nicely.


    But- now she was my family and my family was hers.


    "Don''t worry, you''re part of this too and I love you."


    She almost blushed but controlled herself. "I love you too."


    This was a single room with a single bed, so Marg couldn''t stay here. She did want to take me to another room but apparently, there was some ''internal conflict''. What that conflict was, she didn''t tell me.


    Anyway, Marg left. I was alone.


    It was odd, how I kept on sleeping and sleeping but still slept anyway. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with my body?


    And they still didn''t give me my clothes.


    And there weren''t any washrooms attached to this ce where I could snatch bathrobes either.


    I didn''t feel the urge to go the bathroom, so it was fine, I guess for now.


    Anyway, with everything done, I turned in for the night around nine.


    And woke up promptly at 1 when a certain red-haired vampire came to visit.


    ***


    "You didn''te to attack me, right?"


    She sat on the bed, traced her fingers down my face. "I want to but- if It''s not both ways, it''s not fun."


    "Wha-"


    She didn''t let me finish and kissed me. She shoved her tongue inside me and kissed me gently- or it would have been gentle if she hadn''t switched gears and tried to grab my sensitive spots.


    She pressed, grabbed, squeezed me, and after teasing for a minute- let go. A string of silver drool manifested as she moved her mouth from mine.


    She moved away afterward and giggled. "Sorry, an old habit, don''t mind it. Anyway, I''lle to attack you when you get better, so night."


    She jumped out of the window.


    "Night?"


    What the hell was that about? And why the hell was she kissing me and more importantly why was the holy sword Excalibur reaching for the heavens!


    Seriously! ''This doesn''t count as cheating, right?''


    I was really close to losing my cool. ''I should spend more time with Marg.'' It was definitely a must!


    "I''m telling you, I can suck a lot better than you so leave this to me."


    "No, I''ll suck him dry!"


    Apparently, two idiots were shouting just outside my room. Their voices were muffled and they were whispering vigorously. But since it was night and thanks to my good hearing, I could hear them like shouts.


    "I''ll make him feel intense pleasure and-"


    "Are you kidding me? Do you even have that technique! Leave it to me, you amateur!"


    I couldn''t really tell who was who but-


    "Knock it off you two. And go to your room. Let the wounded sleep." A very sleepy, almost manly voice rung out. Almost.


    Who was that, Merin?


    Oh yeah, now I had a premonition on who these two were.


    "Shut it, wimp!".¡­"Ouch!"


    "Aw! Aww!"


    Both girls cried out and their voices kind of disappeared.


    There were no more sounds and no one really came into the room. It was almost as though they weren''t even there from the start.


    ''The hell was that about?''


    I breathed a sigh of relief and started sleeping again.

 Chapter 241 - The Nectar

    Why?


    WHY!?


    WHYYY!?


    ***


    I woke up. I was sweating- I couldn''t really remember what kind of dream I was having but it must have been a weird dream¡­


    For once there were no bird chirps. No nice sunlight.


    Instead, all we got was intense cold and a windy morning. It was almost like there was a frigging snowstorm outside. Good thing the window was locked at least.


    I was alone in the room and so far, no one actually bothered to show up. I couldn''t really tell if this was way too early in the morning, or way toote.


    Anyway, I got up and got outside of the nket. It was cold but since I had juste out of there, I didn''t yet feel the intense colding my way. I checked my body and everything was intact. I had some scars here and there but everything was good to go. Even my hand was as good as new. It did feel a little weird though.


    ''To think I''d actually lost this. Maybe, I wasn''t prepared after all.''


    Even now, I didn''t really feel all that different that I''d actually killed someone: things just felt surreal. At the time, I was too concerned about my family''s safety and now it all felt distant. Yeah, I''d killed someone, but if it happened again, I''d kill her again. I didn''t have any remorse. I didn''t feel bad either. It was almost as though something had changed within me- something died. Or was it because Hyora said she''d be back? I didn''t know.


    The fact that I didn''t feel like dying while standing was a miracle though.


    I couldn''t tell if this was thanks to Enira''s healing or maybe my untapped regeneration power. If I did have that sort of power, why couldn''t it manifest and get me out of this pain? Cause, even just standing around was painful: I could still stand though.


    Anyway, since I didn''t have any clothes lying around, I wrapped the warm nket all over myself and went for the door. Why? Too bored.


    It wasn''t locked, so I could easily get out of here. Once outside, I didn''t really find anything- as in the whole hallway was empty. ''I''m not dreaming, am I?''


    I didn''t know, honestly. Okay, maybe I did know cause it was definitely five degrees chillier outside.


    It was a bit dark and I could see the end of the hallway, so I walked towards that end. It took me about ten minutes to cross the distance worth two minutes. Walking in this body was definitely notfortable.


    Every step felt like torment. And this nket was kind of thick and heavy. It was soft, warm, andfortable but that didn''t mean, it was easy to carry around.


    But I still reached the end anyway. When I did reach the end, I saw a lot of stuff. Apparently, this was a separate building and the actual Battlesuin mansion was about a few hundred meters away. This was more or less a two-storied abandoned house of sorts. No wonder the room was so small and furniture less.


    There weren''t many out. I only saw some gardeners and butlers out. And the mansion still had lights here and there. ''Early in the morning, I guess?''


    But that brought out the question, if the Battlesuins had surrendered and all that, why was I here of all ces?


    "You know, you''re a bit too curious for your own good." The voice came from up. Apparently, it was Eve.


    She was on the roof and with a swing like a master acrobat, she swiftly descended. Man, talk about gymnastics. That was no easy curve! She literally swung her way past the railing.


    "Care to exin?" I could see my breath turning into mist- cold.


    It was almost as though she was waiting for that as she smiled pridefully. "It''s true your father is now in charge but the fact remains that you killed the head of the Battlesuins and you''re not even a pureblood, so some are there who could harm you." Wow, she actually, literally knew, what I was going to ask. This almost felt like a practiced speech though. "You''re currently in a separate space from them, courtesy of Nellie Battlesuin. Of course, I don''t trust her either, and hence I was watching over you." She winked. Yeah, definitely practiced, it did not sound like something she''d say.


    But what made her think I trusted her? And more importantly, why was she even here?


    "Thanks for helping out. I''ve been meaning to ask but, why are you still here?"


    "You''re wee." She smirked sweetly. "And thickheaded, are we? For your nectar of course!" She wore a sultry expression and pursed her lips.


    She was in light clothing and it was almost as though she was radiating heat from all over her body.


    "For my what? You''re not making any sense."


    "Really?" She seemed slightly troubled as she walked exactly in front of me. "I mean this." She hovered her hand over my nket-protected crotch: my downstairs warmed up for various reasons- her radiating heat was just one of them. "The juices from this ce are as sweet as nectar- assuming they''re yours." She winked.


    The hell did she just say?


    I wanted to take a step back but I couldn''t as there was a railing behind me and I would have literally fallen down. "Can you stop with the jokes, please? Why do you always need to tease me?"


    She giggled and stood next to me, looking out. I also turned around and looked the same way. It was snowing and it was snowing pretty hard. The wind was also rather strong.


    This girl- Eve had always teased me ever since the day I first came to the academy. Lately, she got a bit daring and even explicit no less. But somehow it felt like she wasn''t joking this time.


    "But I''m not kidding," Eve said. "I''m totally serious." She smiled gently as she looked at me. "I want your kids too."


    Wait, wait, what!?


    She was serious!


    Seeing my dumbfounded state, she opened her mouth again. "I love you and I don''t think this feeling is temporary. And thest thing I want is to lose to that kid sister."


    Okay, she was not making sense no. "You can''t just walk up to me and want my sperms. And losing to your kid sister? This ain''t apetition! That''s both weird and disgusting and rude and-"


    "Those are three things you know." She kissed me. Just a kiss on the lips. "And that was just an excuse- I really do love you- probably not as much as her but- my love won''t lose!"


    She did realize, she was contradicting herself, right?


    "Look, I already have my hands full with-" I couldn''t look at her with any more emotion than just perhaps a friend.


    Besides, she and Marg had history and they were sisters- though half. I couldn''t give in to temptation, bring her into the family, and screw my rtionship with Marg.


    My rtionship with Marg was my lifeline, I did not want to ever screw that one up.


    "Then it''s okay with you if I jump and die, right?" With that said, she got up on the railing.


    "Hey, what the hell-"


    "Goodbye," She whispered as her body slowly fell backwards.


    "Eve!" I got out of the nket and by instinct grabbed her hand.


    I breathed hard; it was almost as though my body was being torn. Talk about pain!


    But I wasn''t going to let go. I couldn''t just let someone kill themselves for me.


    "Hey, you finally called me by my name." She smiled sweetly. "See, you do care about me!" Eve giggled and I just realized, we were only on the second floor and she wouldn''t have been that hurt anyway. "So," She grinned. "Second wife?"


    And I let go. "Bye and no."


    She screamed slightly and dropped on the ground with a thud: I could hearughter. IT was really snowy, so everything was okay!


    Probably.


    ***


    Roughly half an hourter, Marg, Mom, and Selene came with morning food. Apparently, it was too early, rather than the vice versa.


    I was kind of pissed but was in my room anyway.


    "So, how long am I going to stay here?" My voice had a weird sulky tone to it.


    "You went out, didn''t you?" Mom said, a bit expressionless.


    "I might have."


    She stared at me with a bit of disapproval and shoved a spoon full of hot porridge in my mouth.


    It was good but I almost burned my mouth, tongue included.


    "Ouch, aw, ou!" I almost cried.


    Selene giggled from the sidelines. "Don''t worry. Things are more or less calm and we''ll get you out today."


    "What do you mean, get me out? What is going on here?"


    Selene chuckled nervously.


    Mom sighed. "In order to let you rest here, we made a deal with Nellie. Apparently, she wants to transfer to Demigrace and go exploring the world as a third year."


    "And you guys agreed to that?"


    I guess that much was self-exnatory.


    I sighed. "Well, if you''re okay with it."


    I was still a first-year, so it probably wasn''t my business anyway.


    Mom continued feeding me but boy did my mouth sting. And I couldn''t taste the food anymore.


    Sigh.. Not the greatest start to the day.

 Chapter 242 - Well, Someone Sure Is Horny Today

    After eating and drinking, something happened.


    It didn''t happen gradually no, it happened in an instant.


    My stomach rumbled. But no, it wasn''t that.


    But something much more frightening was about to happen.


    "I need to go," I said, calmly.


    All this time my system was sleeping.


    "GO where?" Mom was cleaning up.


    But now the sleeping beast had awoken and it wanted out.


    "I need to go, now!" I couldn''t even frigging move anymore.


    They understood almost immediately.


    "There''re no bathrooms in this building so unless it''s something you can keep in for the next five or so minutes, you''ll have to use the bottle." I couldn''t tell if mom was joking or serious.


    "Don''t worry I''ll carry you." Selene flexed one of her biceps, chuckled, and headed my way.


    "Don''t bother." Marg put a hand on my nket and we teleported to a bathroom.


    I was really, really d, she could teleport


    It was empty and I came here without the protection of the nket.


    "Why didn''t you get the nket too!?"


    This ce was cold and my voice kind of reverberated.


    Marg sighed. "Teleporting any inorganic matter other than clothes is a mess. Besides-" She came close. "I''d like to teleport you naked all the time," She whispered.


    Yeah, it was good that she had a fetish and all but I was about to leak- so-


    "Ah!" this felt amazing as my dder drained. Halfway through it kind of felt weird and even slightly painful though but oh well. I shouldn''t have held it in so long.


    But that was all. I didn''t feel the urge to do the other. ''I don''t have constipation, do I?''


    Technically, I hadn''t gone in over three days now, so yeah, it was definitely possible.


    "Is it me or you''ve shrunk?"


    ''Why the hell are you staring!?'' "Don''t worry this is normal. It''s too cold anyway." And my shivering just made a crippling return.


    ''Ah, you''ll be missed my dear nket!''


    "I sure hope so." She was disappointed.


    She didn''t have to be that honest!


    "And don''t touch it!" I was empty.


    "I''ll wash my hands, don''t worry about it."


    Yeah, but I still worried about it, so I used some tissues and tucked my stuff back in the underwear.


    Flush!


    Marg was disappointed, again. "We''ll see what you have to say for yourself tonight when you want to touch mine." She pouted slightly.


    Oh boy.


    And she was already assuming we''d be doing stuff tonight. Well, I guess she wasn''t wrong¡­


    But I was freezing.


    So, I locked on to a bathrobe and wore it. It was warmer- but the ce was colder. And didn''t this cee with a heater or something?


    "Let''s teleport back I guess?" Marg said, still pouting.


    Normally she''d be emotionless about all this, but since she was alone with me, I could see more of her- and I felt both privileged and a bit sad at that. I wish she could be her real self all the time- or maybe not. I kind of wanted to monopolize on this anyway.


    ''Cute!''


    "No, I wanna find some clothes first."


    Running around in a bathrobe was definitely better than running around wrapped in a nket. Neither were perfect solutions but one was marginally better than the other. And the bathrobes here were rather thick anyway.


    Marg didn''t quite approve of my decision but sighed and followed me anyway. She was weirdly understanding. Or maybe she was just too considerate?


    We got out of the bathroom.


    ***


    This ce was big- really big. I had no idea where we were but we were certainly in the mansion, that was for sure. The lights were warm and this ce was definitely warmer than the building I''d been staying at. Still close to freezing though.


    The hallway was filled with rooms here and there- but I had a feeling those weren''t upied. There were pictures on the walls but I kind of just ignored them.


    By the end of this hallway- I came upon two pictures. One was Hyora''s and she looked gorgeous. The other one was someone young- someone I''d seen before. but as I tried to remember, my head just throbbed and threw me in a loop. I was certainly not going to get that information.


    ***


    It took us another minute or two but we finally found a servant. He only spoke in fluid Russian.


    Marg sighed. "Just when we found someone."


    "Don''t worry, I speak Russian." Barely.


    I spoke fournguages other than English. Russian was just one of them. I hadn''t used them in years, so I probably forgot half of my vocabry though.


    "Really?" I couldn''t tell if Marg was enthused or just uninterested. She could be really hard to read at times when in public.


    Anyway- "Can you provide me with some clothes?" I spoke in Russian.


    He was old- maybe in the mid-seventies. He was rather wrinkled and he spoke slowly. "Sure." With that said, he started walking, we also walked alongside him.


    He was also shaking just like me. It was almost as though my already warm body heat wasn''t enough for this weather. And I''d made sure to make myself 5 degrees warmer too. Any more and I''d be sure to set up a stroke.


    Our steps reverberated in the empty halls.


    ***


    After about ten minutes, the guy opened a closet and brought out a broom. He started sweeping the floor.


    "Excuse me, the clothes?"


    HE looked at me, a bit confused for three seconds, and then his eyes lit up. "Who are you?"


    What the hell?


    What the hell indeed.


    I sighed. "Let''s find someone else I guess."


    "We could always juste backter," Marg said.


    "Nonsense! Explore we must!" Why was I copying that little gray thingy from starwa- ahem! "I could always wear the clothes of the butlers I guess." Because we were staring at them in the closet.


    ''Wait, maybe this guy led us here for this?''


    "Maybe you can wear them under the nket too, tonight," Marg whispered.


    Well, someone was horny today.


    "You''ll have to wear a maid''s outfit then," I whispered back.


    Yeah, someone was definitely horny.


    "Sigh* kids." The old janitor behind us sighed and grinned at the same time.


    I had no idea if the guy was actually forgetting stuff or just messing with us: he probably was. But anyway, I wore a butler''s uniform. A ck coat- white shirt and a blue bowtie. It looked more like a waiter''s uniform just fancier.


    Anyway, I also didn''t leave thefort of my bathrobe. Marg kind of didn''t like the idea but she didn''tin.


    I could finally breathe in relief. It was still cold but definitely bearable.


    ***


    "By the way."


    We kept on walking. I could barely see the sun in the distant sky. I didn''t feel hungry and my body was gradually bing more and more tolerant to the pain. I was healing.


    But at this point, walking was also bing a chore. ''Why is this ce so boring?''


    "Yeah?" Marg looked back.


    "Eve kind of proposed today." I didn''t want to say this but- I didn''t want to hide things from her. I had a feeling that''dplicate things more in the long run.


    "What did you say?"


    "No."


    She didn''t say anything. She didn''t look particrly sad or mad- but perhaps a little-


    "Why do I have to ept this? I''m next in line to be head, I can''t just let some new guye in and take over. If he was purebred, I''d understand but-but- he''s the same as me!" I heard a girl shout as we walked by.


    I had a bad feeling about that but I kept on walking. I really didn''t want to get involved with it, so my walking speed increased significantly.


    p!


    A rather dry, solid sound spread out.


    And a secondter the door opened. I really wanted to blitz past this ce but-


    A teary-eyed little girl came out of there- golden locks, loads of frills, and a rather scary face: slightly red on one side. "You there- get me a cup of tea."


    "Um-wha?"


    "Now!" She was crying- like really crying. She grabbed my hand and almost ran.


    Marg came behind me, unwillingly.


    A momentter we entered a room- apparently, it was the one next to this one. And the tea was already there- I just had to use the electric kettle and warm it. well, I didn''t need electricity and just used a bit of infrared, anyway.


    It probably wouldn''t taste that great though. Oh well.


    She took a sip of the tea and put the cup back on the table.


    This was a muchrger room than the one I was staying in- about four timesrge. There were bookshelves here and there- a rather cute bed with stuffed animals and a huge chandelier. The color of the room and the general aesthetic- pink.


    "I don''t like this tea, get me hot coco."

 Chapter 243 - Chocolate- Chocolate? Chocolate!

    The girl was done crying but she sure was still ordering me around. Little girls with golden hair always reminded me of Elsa. And I more or less liked to take care of that brat- though I hated to admit it. So, I naturally came along with this kid. But I sure hell wasn''t going to go around searching for chocte- chocte? Chocte!


    "And where might I find the chocte?"


    "What are you, new or something?" She sniffed. "In the closet."


    It was funny how she didn''t even bother toment on why the hell I was wearing a bathrobe. I guess she didn''t care. It was warm so I didn''t care either.


    Poor kid must have been hit pretty hard. Her left cheek had three distinct finger marks. Just what kind of monster hit a kid like that? Then again, the kid was kind of arguing about session and all that, I guess she was more mature than she looked.


    ''But wait, doesn''t that mean she actually hates me without knowing me?'' I let that thought not bother me at all. Chocte mattered more anyway.


    I opened the closet and well, there were chocte, coco powder, cream, powdered milk, and even espresso powder. In the corner, there were sugar and salt.


    I grinned, got a nice big cup, dropped some chocte, some coco powder, some milk powder, cream, some sugar, and the rest of the stuff appropriately, and turned on the heat- aka, microwave. I located some milk in the fridge and butter. I also used those- obviously to very nice proportions. With a little bit of salt and espresso powder, the coco let out a very rich aroma which exhrated me.


    This was a bit too thick so I thinned it out with some milk.


    I poured the hot stuff into three cups, added some marshmallows, and handed one to Marg and one to the kid.


    We all took a sip.


    Bliss!


    "This is amazing!" The kid sure was amazed. "But why are you drinking it?"


    "Because I made it. And she''s my future wife, so I let her experience the magic too."


    She was maybe ten? Eleven? My little sister was rather cute at that age and kind of an idiot, so I went out of my way to exin things to this kid in Elsa''s image.


    My sister nowadays was a pain though. Why couldn''t she be cute forever? Sigh.


    Wait¡­ I thought about it¡­ I thought about things¡­ I thought about how I acted around Elsa and how I acted around other people when Elsa was around¡­ I thought hard.


    And this is when I came to the realization¡­ ''Holy shit, I have a si!''


    I was very much silenced by my own premonition.


    The kid took another sip. "Servants aren''t allowed to drink but I''ll allow this just this one time since this is so good. You may now leave. Ande back in an hour!"


    "Sure- sure."


    I was definitely noting back no. I was kind of being treated like a butler, but it was my fault for wearing this and not saying anything in the first ce, so I didn''t care. Besides, I got to drink free chocte.


    "What was she saying?" Marg whispered.


    Oh yeah. She couldn''t understand Russian. "Nothing, really."


    Since I got my hot chocte first thing in the morning, I didn''t really care about anything else.


    Though I guess I had to treat Elsa a bit more carefully- at least not overly clingy from now on. Though I doubted, I was that clingy.


    Once we came out, again cold! I guess the rooms were warm but the halls weren''t moderated. But at least there was chocte!


    ***


    After about half an hour of mindless exploring, mom caught up and dragged me by the ear to a rather warm room.


    My ears stung; they really did.


    But she wasn''t done!


    I groaned as she let me go. "It hurts you know."


    We were still in the mansion: I had no idea where though.


    "And it should! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"


    "No?"


    She hissed and I took a step back by instinct.


    She sighed. "Your stuff''s in here. Go change and get your things. We''ll leave before the afternoon."


    "Wait, we''re leaving already?"


    I didn''t even get to explore! Not that there was much to explore but I never even got to steal- ahem, take their treasures and all that for financial purposes.


    "Stop acting like your uncle. And do you wanna be stuck in this freezing hell forever? Besides, you''ve got sses and we still have to earn our living."


    Huh? What?


    "Why can''t we use this money? I mean-" I mean, a very motivational factor of my fight was the money, so I could live easily with my family.


    "And let youze around? You''ll work and earn, mister!" Mom was serious. "Besides, I''ll have to find a job too¡­" She mumbled.


    "But I did work. How do you think we won?" My argument wasn''t very strong though.


    "Shut it! You''ll study and get a job! Didn''t you want to be an explorer or something!?"


    Oh yeah, that was a thing too. With all the recent developments, I most certainly had forgotten all about it though.


    Sigh. "Fine, but I''ll at least take their supply of choctes. They have amazing choctes here." Just thinking about ''em made my mouth water.


    "Oh? So, you''ve had chocte? And now that I look carefully, you''re wearing a butler''s uniform under that robe¡­hmmm¡­ care to exin?" Mom smiled, one of her veins bulging slightly. She must have lost a bit of weight.


    I gulped.


    Why the hell did I have to open my big mouth?


    ***


    We had lunch in the same room. Everyone joined us. Everyone except Eve, Leilis, and Selene. Since they''de here alone, they went back on their own too. I never got to properly thank them. Though two of them almost did attack me.


    This room didn''t have a dining table but grandma formed one anyway.


    We talked over lunch and for once, it was actually not that bad.


    Though-


    "Since you did most of the work, I''ll let you have half. We''ll split the rest." Uncle proudly dered as he grinned at me.


    Uh-huh.


    But I couldn''t say anything as mom grinned back just as nicely.


    "F-fine." Uncle stuttered slightly. "60 but that''s all you''ll get, you know."


    I got a feeling the guy didn''t understand what mom was implying but oh well. More money for me- or not, as I won''t get that money anyway.


    Moving on, another topic was that now what would happen to the Battlesuins.


    I had my saber and it worked wlessly but Enira wasn''ting out. I had a feeling she used too much powerst time. So, we had no idea how long father had.


    He was only supposed to have about a day or two. But it''s already been like four days, so Enira probably had done something. How effective that something was, I still didn''t know.


    "I think I''ll be able to live for about a month or two," Father admitted. Okay so, he knew, I guess. He sighed. "Would it be okay with you guys if I were to stay with you for thisst month?" He looked at mom and me. This was a bombshell of a question and he just had to casually drop it.


    And then mom looked at me and the rest of her family: no one said a word. This was apparently, a tough decision for her. "I''ll need to think about it."


    Though she wanted to think about it, judging by her tone of voice, there was only one answer. "It''s fine by me. But are you sure everything will be okay here?" I asked.


    It did bother me slightly. I knew he did a lot for me and I knew me harboring hate was illogical and unjust¡­ But hate never disappeared immediately- it was impossible. That''s why I made it sound like I didn''t care about him moving in with us- in reality though, I wanted to spend thest of his days together with mom- with us.


    Elsa was sitting next to me and eating slowly. She didn''t say a word so far. Normally she''d be really chatty- I guess this was kind of hard on her too. ''And then there''s that too.''


    "It should be fine for now. With Hyora gone, I''m technically the strongest in the family- though you are probably the strongest now, so they won''t try to do anything funny, at least not in the immediate future." Father chuckled.


    We didn''t talk past that. Uncle and auntie were quiet. Usual for auntie but unusual for uncle. As for Grandma, she was just eating lunch without a word. Marg, mom, and Elsa were also quiet- but this wasn''t the awkward kind of quiet. They actually had this- smile. It was really hard to tell, but I knew they were d.


    Or maybe I was just full of myself.


    All in all, this actually didn''t feel that bad. We''d aplished what we were here to do but- I did feel slightly empty.


    Maybe it was just me but- it was almost as though the seal Hyora had done to me had a lot of weight and now that it was gone, I felt light.. Too light.

 Chapter 244 - Ahead

    We didn''t actually get to meet many Battlesuins: I kind of didn''t want to, so this was for the best anyway.


    The branch family head hade to see us off. He was supposedly ze''s father so he probably had a grudge against me. He sure didn''t let any hate slip though. The guy was a pro.


    Nellie had alsoe to see us off and she was still in her maid outfit. A batch of maids and butlers were behind her, bowing.


    "Tell me, why do you dress like this again?"


    We were waiting for the ne pretenders, so we had about a few mins.


    "Just a hobby."


    Silence. It was so silent; I could literally hear the wind pass us by.


    Sigh.


    Anyway, the ne pretenders arrived and we got on. They were kind of confused as to why this ce was still intact though. Seriously had they expected we''d literally blow this whole ce up? Actually, I was tempted at one point. So-


    And so, the journey home began.


    I was really careful about iing attacks midair though. But nothing came.


    Oh well. I guess they weren''t as dumb as I assumed them to be.


    ***


    The return journey was supposed to be normal. But it wasn''t.


    The reason being?


    We had an extra with us. That extra being- Elsa.


    The spacing in thispartment was good for up to three people on either side. That meant, one seat each for mom, Marg, and me. But then where would Elsa sit?


    Actually, father wanted toe with us too- at least until he saw our ride. "I''ll just catch a flightter," he''d said before running away with a nervous chuckle.


    For the first few minutes, Elsa just stood in the middle of thepartment. Then she proposed to sit on myp. Normally I wouldn''t have opposed, since she was my kid sister- but I couldn''t just stay in the mindset of ''she''s just a kid'' forever. She''d turn fifteen in like a month for crying out loud! Besides, there were other grownups here too. She could have just asked uncle or grandma. She probably didn''t have enough courage to ask mom though. About five years ago she sat on mom''sp and a lot of stuff had happened.


    It was probably too traumatic for her.


    "Why don''t you just have a seat and let the new couple do that instead?" Grandma said.


    Marg stood up immediately. She was game.


    Her attitude was normal and she didn''t hesitate for a second to sit on myp. She gently pressed her bottom on myp and looked out the window like it was the most natural thing to do. Like what the hell!


    She was warm and she smelled good but seriously!


    Uncle and grandma were giggling from the sides while mom just rolled her eyes.


    Meanwhile, Elsa kind of sat down with a bit of grumpiness. Did she just want afier cushion or something?


    Anyway- the return journey just got a lot, lot warmer and more exciting. And for once I regretted bringing my family- cause this sure was embarrassing.


    ***


    We arrived just after the evening. I could still see some warm light near the edges of the western hemisphere.


    "Wee back." The bunny maid weed us in.


    Inside, Raea and the girl from another world were making it home.


    They were enjoying some freshly fried shrimps.


    I was too tired for all this stuff.


    Anyway- now that we were back home.


    "You guys aren''ting in?" I noticed uncle and the rest weren''ting inside.


    "I think I''ll go hunting. Too bored." Uncle chuckled.


    Auntie just smiled slightly- a rare sight. "It was fun."


    "Take care. And we''ll be here for the wedding: I''ll bring everyone." Grandma also smiled.


    We were definitely going to get married but we hadn''t actually decided on a date yet though.


    Wait, did she just say everyone? The house of Romswell was big- like really, really big. We were technically from the main family but there were countless branch families and yeah¡­ oh boy.


    "Come on mom. You know we can''t host everyone," Mom chuckled. "Though I would have preferred you stayed at least the night."


    Grandma chuckled and got on thepartment. "I''lle back eventually."


    I guess the ne pretenders had more work. I sure hope they were being paid enough. Uncle just got his hands on treasure so they''d probably be paid extra.


    "Oh, almost forgot." Uncle threw something at me: I caught it. "I found it. Don''t need it so you can have it." He got on thepartment with his wife and it took off.


    As thepartment became too little to see, I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything worked out and it was thanks to my family and friends¡­ I guess I wasn''t alone and I shouldn''t have tried to do everything on my own.


    I took a look at the stuff uncle threw- and apparently, it was a small crystal: a very ck crystal. The ckest I''d seen so far.


    "A rather powerful core," Mom said.


    "Well, it better be." I pulled out my saber and put the core on the handle.


    Nothing happened for a second.


    "You sure you don''t need a better seal?" Mom was kind of next to me: we were about to head inside. "I mean if your condition worsens and-"


    The core got absorbed and the saber flickered a few times. Nothing happened.


    "Let''s not worry about that. I don''t think this seal will break that soon anyway. And I''d rather not bear more deaths on me." Mom and I came inside and locked the door. "Besides,tely Enira''s gotten a whole lotta powerful and once she recovers, we''ll talk more about this." I was definitely not going to kill a dozen kids for my sake though.


    ***


    "So, what are you guys doing here?"


    In the living room Raea and the girl- I really needed to remember her name. What was it again? Arena? Arika? Oh yeah, Aria! Right! Yeah! Anyway, they were both eating fried shrimps and watching some drama on the Holo TV.


    Just where the hell did they even get the shrimps?


    ''Had we even bought fish?''


    "Making ourselves at home?" Raea said, tilting her head slightly.


    "I don''t remember giving you permission."


    She grinned. "But I''m in love and it won''t change. So, I''ll use every opportunity I get."


    Not that again.


    I sighed. "I''ll let you handle this." I gave Marg a pat. "From now on, if you see any homewreckers- kick ''em out or something," I said to the bunny girl.


    For some reason, both of their eyes lit up and they grinned.


    This was for the best. I loved Marg and I was content with her. I recently developed Feelings for Enira but that was it. I didn''t want to get more involved with these things.


    Anyway, with that done, I slowly headed downstairs. I needed a shower.


    As I headed down though- I heard slight screams.


    Rest in peace.

 Chapter 245 - Ahead (part Two)

    I got into the spring and waited.


    With my body washed and mostly done, I was still waiting.


    But no matter how much I waited, no one wasing down here.


    Sigh. And I thought Marg would show up sooner orter. I mean, I made myself extra clear that I was going to take a bath. And wasn''t she-sigh!


    I guess I was wrong.


    I got out, dried myself, and headed up. I was in such a hurry that I hadn''t even brought anything other than just my towels.


    I guess haste did make waste.


    Once I got to the first floor though- I saw Marg, the bunny maid, Aria and Raea just chatting around and giggling amongst themselves. ''What the hell?''


    I wanted to care and ask stuff but I was in a towel and I had to run up, so, up!


    On the second floor, I met mom. I''d made extra effort to tiptoe past her but still got caught.


    "What did I say about running around like that?" Mom had adle on her hand. A LADLE!


    "Forgot to bring my clothes." I smiled nervously.


    Mom rolled her eyes and went back to cooking.


    I guess she was in a good mood despite her appearance.


    ''Oh, thank the chocte god!''


    Next, I ran inside my room and locked the door.


    With a sigh of relief, I turned around and let out a small scream. "Ah!"


    Apparently, my kid sister was in here. "H-hi." I held my towel tight so it didn''t identally slip.


    "Hey." She was standing but seeing me, she sat down on the extrarge bed.


    "No idea why you''re here but can youe back maybe in about half an hour or something? I need to change." And showing my body to my little sister wasn''t part of the n.


    "So what? I''ve seen you naked." She snorted. "Besides, this is important."


    The nerve of her! And that was over three years ago!


    Sigh. My face still heated up though.


    "So, what''s up?" I wore a t-shirt and went to the side, where it was harder for Elsa to see me change. I had a ratherrge wardrobe, so I used its doors to cover myself while I got changed.


    "You found out, right?"


    "Found out what?"


    Elsa wasn''t being specific. I had a bad feeling about where this was going but I pretended to be ignorant. ''Is it possible-''


    "Umm¡­" She breathed a bit restlessly.


    I was done changing, so I went over to the bed and sat down.


    "Well?"


    Elsa fiddled with her fingers and didn''t look at me. Her vision was kind of down and she was oddly fidgety. "How much do you know about me?"


    Was it possible that she already knew? Cause no matter how I thought about it, that question was loaded.


    "Hmm?" I pretended to think. "That you''re my little sister and constantly crave attention and kind of a nuisance?" Almost like a devil.


    She puffed up her nose and cheeks. That wasn''t the answer she was looking for. "No." She looked straight at the door. "I mean about my pa-"


    ''She knows¡­''


    "Look!" I grabbed her head gently and made her look my way. Our eyes were locked on. "You''re my sister and I love you. My love for you won''t change. I don''t care about anything else. You''re my sister and you''ll forever be my sister."


    It was almost as though she was d to hear that and sad at the same time. She smiled. "Okay." But something about that felt a little forced.


    Elsa left.


    I lied down on the bed, stared at the ceiling. It was true I loved my sister. I kind of didn''t care if we weren''t blood-rted or not. We''d been together long enough and at this point, blood didn''t matter. She was my sister and that was it.


    ***


    Dinner was ready and Raea was still here. Aria I understood, but Raea too?


    "Well?" I stared at Marg for an exnation.


    Dinner consisted of mostly shrimps and other kinds of fish.


    "They''ll contribute by providing us with fresh fish and a steady rent," Marg said. "And-" She paused. She cleared her throat. "I lost a bet."


    Oh.


    I just stared at her nkly. For the first time, she looked away in embarrassment. I was d she was showing more emotion but seriously? Cause she lost a bet?


    "I won because mine are bigger!" Raea proudly puffed her chest: actually, she had the perfect size, not toorge, not too small. "It won''t be long before I win over your heart too." She winked.


    "Yeah, I have my doubts." I started eating.


    Not bad, but I never really liked seafood all that much.


    I did like shrimp though, so I didn''t botherining.


    Mom and Elsa were eating in silence. Lately, Elsa acted rather mature. Or was she just sad? I couldn''t tell. I''d been away from her for a while now and I guess that made things harder for me to understand.


    The kid sister I remembered was selfish and noisy and very cheerful. But this Elsa, she was different. I guess the recent shocks were just too great for her.


    And with me moving out, she was forced to grow up.


    "By the way mom, what about our house in London?" I''d been meaning to ask but the timing just wasn''t right.


    "Now that your father would be back, I guess we could afford to rent the ce and-"


    "Why don''t you just stay here?" I said. I looked over at Marg and she had nothing to say about it. So, I continued. "We don''t have much time with him, so I''d like to spend the rest of our time as a family. Besides, we have plenty of rooms."


    It was kind of sad to think about the fact that father was going to die no matter what, but oddly I was more grateful for the fact that we''d at least get to spend some time with him.


    And since the third floor was kind of soundproof, it probably didn''t matter even if all the rooms of this house were upied or something- not that was possible.


    Mom was really surprised but she smiled. "You sure?"


    Marg held my hand before I could say anything. She had a genuine smile. I was really d she was okay with this.


    I actually found her to be more understanding than even mom at times. I guess she was trying really hard.


    "I''m sure."


    Raea breathed audibly and grinned. "So, I get to meet my father-inw too?"


    I grabbed my head and sighed. ''Why did people have to fall for me? Seriously¡­''


    Meanwhile, Aria just ate without a word: she couldn''t understand us and our trantor was pretty much noting out of the saber.


    Ring!


    The doorbell ringed.


    ''At this hour?''


    The bunny maid went for the door.. We were definitely not expecting anyone today.

 Chapter 246 - Cosplay Is Fun- Until It’s Not!

    A man had arrived.


    He was supposed to be here tomorrow. So, we were really surprised.


    "Father," I spoke half-heartedly.


    Mom stood up. "Your sense of direction has improved it would seem."


    Apparently, the guy was kind of hopeless when it came to finding ces.


    He chuckled. "I kind of got lost about a dozen times. Hard to imagine I used to roam this ce all the time. Things have changed." He was covered in snow, meaning he''de through the snowynds and he was breathing rather hard too.


    He must have been really eager to get here.


    "Yeah, hard to imagine." Mom rolled her eyes. "Well, we''re almost done but, take a seat." And yet, she had a genuine smile. It''s been a long time since Ist saw her smile like this.


    The bunny maid brought another seat.


    Father took his seat. "Hello Helio, Elsa, Marg." He kind of paused. "And who might you two be?"


    "I''m Raea, your future daughter-inw. This is Aria- she''s from another world." Someone sure was enthusiastic.


    "Ignore them," Elsa said. "They''re just morons who don''t know when to give up."


    I did not expect that from her at least. Raea didn''t botherining and just smiled like an idiot.


    Meanwhile, the bunny maid brought some coffee for father.


    "Anyway, I''m done eating. Mom looks like she''s going to eat more, so why don''t you just catch up?"


    It''s not like I was running away cause it was getting awkward or anything, okay?


    I stood up and I saw the rest of them following suit.


    Everyone had the same idea, apparently.


    Only mom and father were there.


    ***


    Sigh!


    I rolled on the bed with a sigh of relief. Finally!


    It was hard to exin, but I felt oddly good. Fulfilled even. It was a weird feeling, maybe a false emotion. But I liked it.


    Marg changed into her undies and on top of that, she wore something. She also threw some clothes my way.


    "Huh?" The clothes were very familiar.


    I cleared my throat and took off my shirt.


    Tonight, was going to be very fun- very!


    It took us a second but- we were definitely clothed anew.


    Marg slowly walked my way with a smile.


    A rather ck and white dress with frills in certain ces. But the dress had a certain romance to it: a maid uniform.


    Mine? The butler''s.


    She reached the bed, got on, got on top of me, and with her hands acting as support, she slowly descended and kissed me.


    I held her cheeks and kissed her. Our tongues united, our tastes mixed and though slightly fishy- I loved her taste. ''Maybe fish for dinner wasn''t the best idea?''


    Marg moved her head, breathed hard. She was sweating. "This is fun but I think we shouldn''t wear these thick clothes with the heater on."


    Hers was thick, but mine was extra thick. I guess getting dressed just for the sake of getting undressed wasn''t the most efficient way to do things- but at least this was exciting.


    So yeah, I was kind of drenched.


    I dropped her on the bed and got on top of her. "Then shouldn''t we just get rid of them?" After all, wasn''t that half of the point?


    She cradled my neck. "But of course." Her tone was way too sultry for my sanity.


    I wanted to try ripping her clothes for once- but I didn''t. first of all, this was a one-of-a-kind uniform, and second! Though we''d won the fight, I still had to study and work to afford stuff. So, we couldn''t just rip clothes and buy new ones.


    Anyway, I gently unbuttoned her and slowly undressed her, while kissing.


    One down- anot- she grabbed my pant first and took it off way smoother. She didn''t bother with the shirt and just grabbed my stuff through the underwear: she didn''t bother going in.


    Well, I had to hurry then.


    I quickly took off all theyers apart from her bra, panties, andstly, a pair of stockings. I was d her feet didn''t smell.


    Holy ck lingerie!


    Anyway, by the time I was done, she''d already been stroking me. "Hurry, or-" she grinned.


    Or else!


    "Or what?" I also grinned and started sucking her nipple over her bra. She was teasing me way too much, so it was natural, I''d return the favor.


    "Ah!" She let out a small moan and shivered slightly. It took me a second to notice but she was pretty much erect in all three ces.


    I still didn''t take it off though. I licked and sucked on one and yed with the other.


    Though she moaned, she also stroked me faster and well, I kind of moaned along with her, just not with the same frequency.


    It didn''tst long though. Before long, we had a mess inside my underwear.


    "So slimy." Marg giggled. "Shall we keep going?" it was almost a plead but also a challenge. I knew she wasn''t going to be satisfied with this, so-


    "Give me a minute to get it back- meanwhile-" I finally took of her bra and took off my shirt alongside. I got down a little and licked her over her panties. I slid a finger inside and well- "You''re also slimy."


    We both chuckled and I kept going. I licked her clit, while fingering her with just one finger, while just stretching her panties. This was clearly just to tease her. Cause I used my other hand to merely tickle her waist.


    "Ah!" This moan was the strongest so far. Marg pouted. "Enough with that. Can you just start already? I''m bing more and more impatient!"


    Well, my little buddy was ready again- so- why not?


    Finally, I took off my underwear and I also took off her panties with just one hand- it took a lot of effort.


    She still had he socks on. I didn''t have a fetish but I kind of loved it.


    Our eyes were near and our breaths were falling on each other. "Alright then-"


    I pressed it against her wet entrance. I wasn''t small by any means and Marg was really tight- but- but she was so excited that my buddy threatened to go in without even any pressure. ''Seriously, I didn''t shrink, did I?''


    One way to find out!


    But!


    BUTT!

 Chapter 247 - Cosplay Is Fun- Until It’s Not! (Part Two)

    For the first time, we tried something different.


    Instead of just getting on top of Marg, I Made her face down and use her hands as support and lift her butt up- aka, we were going to go at it doggy style.


    "You sure?" Marg looked awfully cute. She wasn''t actually asking me anything, rather she just wanted me to put it in.


    "Uh-Huh." I traced a finger down her spine to her. She almost let out a shiver.


    But I wasn''t going to give it to her that easily. She teased me quite hard and she made me climax too. So,


    I just rubbed mine against hers and grabbed her butt: so soft. "Ah!" She moaned and looked at me with pleading eyes.


    I slightly bent down to her, and grabbed one of her breasts while squeezing one of her but cheek. I even toyed with her other hole- though I didn''t put anything in that either- cause frankly, I was kind of scared if she was against it. She did moan but she wasn''t pleased no.


    I was satisfied though. On to the main course then. But the moment I was about to put it in, Marg dropped on the bed turned around, and pouted.


    She was definitely angry. But- even pouting, she spread her arms towards me, as if weing me. "I got tired, so can we just do it?" She again, pleaded. "Please?"


    How the hell could I have said no to that?


    Missionary it was!


    In we go!


    "ARh!" Marg grabbed my back and almost scratched me. "Ah!"


    When it went in, Marg felt rather slimy and she gushed with life juice. She was really, really wet.


    "I''m increasing the pace."


    "Give it to me now!"


    Marg kissed me, she kissed me hard. We were going at it with the fastest speed till this day, really fast, really speedy. And yet, everything was normal, everything was perfect.


    She was getting wetter and wetter and easier to thrust. As we kept going, I went over to her ear and bit her- I kissed her so hard, squeezed her so hard-


    I could feel her pitch getting higher. Even higher than usual. She was running out of breath though I was the one who''s doing all the work. Her sweat spread an aroma in the air which was both intoxicating and delicious: it only made me want to go faster. Exhrating!


    I couldn''t stop being inside of her. I kissed her while she moaned even though our tongues were stuck together. It only made me hotter.


    She was moaning so loud at one point I was really doubting if the soundproofing of this ce even worked properly to not. At this point, it didn''t matter though.


    "Arghhh....!!" Marg came while squirting all of the juice she had in her. She was quivering in pleasure meanwhile I was still humping her. "ARg!" I might have been a bit rough but she sure wasn''tining- if anything, she looked to be in true bliss.


    I could feel it inside, I was about climax as well. My manhood became as hard as steel while marg kept her eyes locked on me. I just couldn''t control myself anymore. My hip was thrusting on its own. "Marg, I am about to...." I couldn''t finish. All the feelings that were inside me started to ooze out. Like I never came before.


    "Uugh!!" Marg and I moaned in unison. We were in perfect sync


    Though it was 10 seconds it felt much longer. I would have liked it longer but now all I could do wasy on top of her slimy body from which our love dripped.


    I too was in true bliss. We were both drenched and needed a shower badly.


    For the second time, we didn''t use protection and well, it felt amazing.


    It was actually kind of fun with the cosy but we ended up scrapping that anyway. We were who were, as long as we were together, we could basically try out everything and just have fun. One day I was definitely going to ask her to wear a bunny girl outfit- I didn''t have that courage yet though.


    I was still on top of Marg but I didn''t press my weight on her. We just kissed and listened to each other''s breaths: our scents mixed in the air and created a rather intoxicating scent. We''d have a hell of a time cleaning up all this mess we''d created but this was the proof.


    We were alive.


    ***


    It waste- maybe 1 in the morning. Neither of us was asleep.


    Marg was just casually stroking my hair. We were holding each other- or rather, I was holding her and she was doing all the caressing.


    She had hickeys here and there. I might have over kissed a little. I did have maybe one- or two hickeys but she had like five or six.


    "Sorry I didn''t talk to you before asking them to stay here."


    Our clothes were on the floor, and we had underwear on. She was really warm andfortable. And though I''d showered with pretty much the same stuff as her, she still smelled better than me. She smelled wonderful- or maybe it was just that I was full of-


    "It''s fine with me. They''re my family too you know." She smiled. "Besides, I lost a bet and ended up allowing those two to be here, so we''re even."


    "So, about the marriage. When do you think we should hold it?" We spent a lot of time thinking and talking about marriage. And we knew we wanted to get married but we never actually settled on anything specific.


    "The world as we know it might end soon- I don''t mean to be selfish but- would it be alright with you if we were to do it by the end of this month?"


    I grinned. "Well, I was thinking something like that too, then, how about near the end of this month? Thest day of thest week." That week was pretty much a holiday. And we had Halloween that week.


    Actually, we even had a school festivaling up soon and it was probably going to be held that week too. So far, that was going to be one really festive week. I was going to be free from school but it was definitely going to be exciting.


    And getting married was only going to increase the excitement!


    Marg kissed me on the forehead. "Thanks."


    I kissed her on the lips. "You''re wee." I kind of had the urge to go again, but it was reallyte- and I couldn''t just be too selfish.


    And so, with everything over, we could finally go to dreand.


    It was reallyforting to know that she was here with me though. Hugging her felt like I''d won. She was soft, she was loving and I loved her- she loved me.


    Honestly, I couldn''t ask for anything better.


    I hoped thissted forever.. I really did.

 Chapter 248 - S-soundproofing! Be-better Soundproofing!

    Yawn!


    woke upte.


    I had about 15 minutes to make it to ss. And no one even bothered to wake me up.


    I was about toin really hard but- it was a Sunday.


    Oh!?


    I might or might not have forgotten about that. Anyway, Marg wasn''t here and my clothes were on the corner of the bed, folded nicely.


    There were some stains on the bed. Last night was really something.


    I looked over at the door, and no one was in sight.


    So, I hurriedly got dressed, put on some pants, and by the time I started to button my shirt- someone came inside with a knock.


    "You didn''t stay up toote, did you?" Apparently, it was father, grinning.


    There were plenty of double meanings behind those words and I didn''t want to have that conversation but- "UH-huh."


    "It''s kind of a miracle your mother agreed to let you have more than one you know." And he just casually changed the subject. This guy was really good at this. "When she was going out with me, she clearly said, If I ever cheated, I''d be dead to her." He snorted and then chuckled aloud. "But, she was really loyal, even now. And though I was dead to her, I''d just been revived. Well, I have a feeling she loves you more than anything in this world- at least more than me." He turned around with another chuckle. "Thanks." He started walking. What the hell? "Oh, and by the way," He stopped just outside the door, turning his head this way slightly. "You do realize, your mom and Elsa have the best hearing in our house, right?"


    Seriously, what the hell?


    He grinned some more and left.


    I sighed, but it was going to be a lie, if I were to say ¨C I didn''t like how this turned out to be.


    After fourteen or so whole years, we''re finally a family again.


    ''Wait, wait, wait¡­ what did he say before leaving? Best hearing?''


    It took me a second. It really did. But- my face heated up- it really did. And boy oh boy, did I feel embarrassed.


    I let out a ratherrge internal scream and blitzed around the room. ''SHIT!''


    ***


    Breakfast was quiet- too quiet. No one said a thing.


    Raea often just tilted her head in confusion but just ate anyway.


    I was too afraid to even look at mom and Elsa. Or to be more precise, I was too afraid to have that conversation¡­.


    ''Why the hell did I ask them to stay here again?''


    Time moved on and though I couldn''t really eat much, breakfast was over.


    Afterward, I just headed back to my room. Marg followed me soon afterward.


    She took out the bedsheet and was about to leave.


    "Umm¡­ you know¡­ uh-" How the hell was I even supposed to start a conversation.


    Marg came over and kissed me on the forehead. "Don''t worry they won''t pry into our lives." She smiled and left.


    I was d but this was way too awkward!


    I already knew Elsa and mom had really good hearing and sometimes they hear stuff even I couldn''t. But this room was soundproof. Even if they had amazing ears, it was still impossible for them to hear- I''d already experimented about a dozen times then-


    Then I remembered. At night, even small sounds could be heard from afar. Andst night we were going quite rough- so-


    Oh.


    I almost felt embarrassed again.


    I grabbed my head and rolled on the bed.


    Seriously, what the hell! ''B-better soundproofing! Right, I''ll get better soundproofing!''


    In the end, I just sighed and gave a message to Merin about me going over there to pick up my stuff. I needed something to distract myself and I needed it bad.


    He gave me the okay message.


    I guess this was my cue.


    ***


    I reached the academy an hourter. Marg stayed behind and was helping at home. I had no idea why she didn''t feel that it was awkward.


    That woman really knew how to control or rather not show her emotions.


    I had to cross the snowy ins to get here. It was cold but after spending some time in Russia, this was nothing.


    And I had two followers- apparently, Raea and Aria had followed me. Aria stayed quiet and just wandered around while Raea often asked me questions. I didn''t want to humor them so I didn''t bother to even acknowledge their presence. I just ignored them.


    But shouldn''t Aria have been with the headmaster and told him stuff about the invasion and all that? Then again Enira was asleep and that headmaster wasn''t quite that noble of a man either¡­.


    The academy seemed kind of empty. Sundays were always like this. The few students who were passing by ran away in fear. It was more like they avoided eye contact and walked by very fast, looking pale. But to me, it just seemed like they were running away from me.


    This too was normal but usually, I only got res at best, not students running away just from the mere sight of me.


    I actually didn''t know how much the world knew about my exploits in Russia. I never bothered to watch the news and no one told me.


    And sadly, my Holo hadn''t made it. there wasn''t even a trace of it left, so we couldn''t im the warranty either. ''Gotta buy a new one I guess¡­''


    So, I finally had to acknowledge these guys.


    "So, what''s the state of affairs here?"


    Raea grinned; she was waiting for this. "Everyone knows you defeated Hyora Battlesuin and took over their family as the new head."


    "Wait but that''s not-"


    "True. I know but that''s the news that''s being spread. Newspanies these days are really going overboard." She shrugged with a snort.


    I sighed. "I think I''ll need to go visit one of these newspanies."


    She giggled but kept on following me.


    Meanwhile, Aria just looked around in amazement.


    ***


    Knock!


    Knock!


    The door opened a minuteter. "Yo." Merin grinned. "Popr as always."


    I snorted. "Uh-huh."


    I sure didn''t want to be though.


    "I sorted your stuff. All''s there."


    I went inside and found all my stuff on my bed, nicely packed.


    "Thanks, man."


    "No problem."


    "OH, and thanks for helping out and sticking around." I heard he''d saved Marg from an attacker.


    "No problem, dude. That''s what friends are for." He chuckled. I was really d to have a friend like him. "Besides, if you died, I''d have been pretty screwed myself," He mumbled.


    Yeah, I didn''t need to know that.


    Anyway, I took a seat, had a chat with Merin. Apparently, things were going good for him. His dates were going good and he was gettingid often- I kind of didn''t want to hear those though. But he sure loved Nat, that was for sure. And he was having a st without me.


    He was also going to get a new roommate this month, but since I still had my things here, he requested the dorm manager to hold it off for next week, and strangely the manager listened. I had a feeling it had more to do with him messing around with his girlfriend than actually asking for my sake though.


    Oh well.


    After our chat- I picked up my stuff and headed out.


    "Come back anytime. Room 402 will always be open to you." Merin grinned as he waved.


    Though that made me feel special and wee and warm, I kind of didn''t want to evere back. After all, I didn''t want to lose or even think about losing what I had with Marg. "Thanks, man." Sure didn''t mean I was going to be ungrateful though.


    "He seems nice," Raea said as we climbed down the stairs. "And you didn''t invite me." She sulked.


    "I didn''t invite him either and well, I wouldn''t have invited you even if I had a choice."


    She giggled while containing it. It was weirdly cute. "That doesn''t make sense."


    ***


    We had to buy some groceries so, we headed for the snowy ins again.


    "Why don''t we take the forest shortcut?" Raea said.


    We got out of the academy. There were some good stores here too, but these stores didn''t have everything I needed to buy.


    "We could but-" I was carrying a paper list since my poor Holo had passed away. "I don''t like bugs so I''d rather go through the snow. Besides, it''s not that cold today."


    "Oh?" It was almost as though it was a lightbulb moment for Raea. "Don''t worry, Aria can ward off bugs. That''s how we got to your house so fast thest time."


    "Really? Can you?" I asked Aria directly.


    Raea couldn''t understand her and I couldn''t either. But I could definitely understand a word or two- and I had a feeling if we talked for long enough, we''d be able to converse properly. It was almost as though thenguage was hardwired into my brain or something.


    And I knew Aria probably couldn''t understand me all that well either- but I guess I kind of screwed up with that question.


    I had no idea if Aria understood me or not but she just nodded. I hadn''t heard say a word for over a day now.


    Oh well.

 Chapter 249 - Into The Dreaded Forest!

    We''d arrived just outside the forest and as I remembered, it was full of bugs. Having thefort of my alpha particles and knowing there were way too many bugs here wasn''t afort.


    Crawlers¡­spiders¡­leeches¡­centipedes¡­.


    The sound¡­ the feeling¡­ the sweat¡­ Wasn''t the snowy ins a whole lotta better?


    "You can hold my hand if you''re too scared," Raea said, spreading her hand my way.


    She was wearing a sleeveless dress, so I could barely see her bra in that angle.


    I had a feeling that was intentional.


    "No thanks and I''m not scared." Barely.


    So- with Aria in the front, we all headed into the dreadful forest full of bugs.


    But I didn''t need to resort to my barriers.


    Raea was right, no bug wasing our way with Aria in front. Aria was a proper dragon type. She looked mostly like Enira when she''d firste out of the saber, just with maybe a bit sharper horns and a smaller tail. Aria''s tail was heavily armored while Enira''s was kind of in inparison. But that was basically it. Their facial resemnce was kind of uncanny though. Enira was alive for quite a while so it was really possible this girl was just her descendant or something.


    Anyway- at least I didn''t have to worry about bugs anymore. And I believed that too, until those critters started following us from behind.


    Sigh.


    But it could be avoided if I matched my pace with Aria and just stayed about a meter behind her.


    "By the way-" Raea started. "I heard you were quite somethingst night."


    I almost jumped. "Un- Whe-where did you hear that?"


    Her grin took a very dirty turn. "I''d rather not expose my sources but-" She came close. "I can take a pounding too you know." She whispered while blowing on my ears. "And I''ll be extra quiet."


    I gulped and just moved, walked faster. I couldn''t run away and I couldn''t confront her either. Why the hell did I have to take this path?


    ''NO more forests¡­ No more forests¡­ NO MORE FORESTS!''


    Raea giggled. "Still, you''re something. I''m tempting you this much and yet, you''re resisting. Sometimes it makes me think, maybe I''m not good enough." Oddly she started sulking.


    "No, it''s quite the opposite. I''m not good enough for you. I already have Marg and even if I took you in the family, I''ll never be able to satisfy all of you and keep you all happy."


    Raea was technically the most beautiful girl in our house. She was perfectly proportioned. It was almost as though the gods had created her in their image or something- cause sometimes she even looked divine.


    Raea looked at me with a bit of surprise. "Well, at least you''re honest but since we''re the only ones here, I''ll tell you a secret." And she even disregarded the dragon girl with us. "My love isn''t flimsy enough-" She spoke the individual words as she marched towards me with speed. "That I''d be unhappy with you. Who cares if you have more wives? I love you dude, and love is blind!" She stood in front of me, pointing her finger at my nose. She was serious. And then she pressed my nose. "All I have is looks. I can''t do anything else. I can''t cook, I can''t fight, I can''t even charm you. And that''s why I''m trying so hard!" Her eyes teared up. "And it''s still not working and you have the nerve to say you''re not good enough? Well, screw you!" She hugged me, reached up, and kissed me. "But I love you."


    There was a reason why I hadn''t moved or even said a word till now even though she was hugging me this intensely. Apparently, Aria had moved about four meters away from us.


    Which meant-


    Something had crawled inside my shirt. And a lot of other stuff wereing our way.


    And it took all my frigging nerve just to stay put and not scream. "Alright- then how about you prove it by ridding a bug that''s under my shirt?" It took a lot of concentration to not shiver and say those words cleanly.


    She looked at my face to see whether I was serious or not for a second and then slid her hand up my shirt like it was totally normal. She took out a centipede and just a secondter and threw it in the distance. "Good enough?" Oh, my chocte god, she was unnerved!


    And in that moment, my heart skipped a beat seeing her not even batting an eysh. Or was it that I was just too scared?


    Okay, so she was at least a lot more courageous than me. "I''ll give you an answerter."


    Because my head was ring and I couldn''t think. And my heart was racing. I knew I was afraid of bugs, but I didn''t know my fear ran this deep.


    ''I''m nevering back to forests ever again.''


    "AHEM!" all this time Aria was just standing there, staring at our drama. She couldn''t understand us- but that didn''t mean she couldn''t understand the situation.


    She was not happy, no.


    Anyway- we moved ahead.


    Raea didn''tin or say anything for the rest of the way.


    ***


    We went past our house and went to the central town. We had a lot of stuff to buy.


    And we bought them fairly easily too.


    It actually went too easily thanks to this list.


    And I was done for the day.


    "I need to buy some stuff- so if you''de along that''d be nice," Raea said, slightly nervous.


    "Sure." It wasn''t like I had anything better to do anyway.


    And we headed to a clothing store. But then shit happened. Or to be more precise, we went into a special clothing store- the underwear store and it was only for girls.


    I''d been to these stores before too- but even now, even after all this time, I felt embarrassed. I felt a weird shame when I looked at underwear on disy like I was never meant to even be near this kind of ce. Maybe I was just too sheltered.


    It actually wasn''t that bad though. Raea and Aria were doing their own shopping and they didn''t want any of my inputs. The staff here didn''t really say much to me either. Students often visited these stores with their boyfriends, so I guess this much was natural. Sure, didn''t mean I feltfortable though.


    So, all I had to do was stay put and let them finish shopping. Once we were done, we''d be going home. At this time, I didn''t see a point of me being here though.


    "So," Raea walked over to me, hands behind her back, cheeks slightly red. "Would you minding this way?" Well, she sure was being bashful about this.


    "Yeah, I''d mind." Because I had a very bad feeling where this was going.


    A staff member behind me cleared her throat. "Man up a little kid!" She whispered very vigorously.


    I wanted to shout- "Yeah, I don''t need you to tell me that!" but- yeah, I couldn''t escape this.


    I should have known it''d turn out like this and I should have declined beforeing here, but I didn''t and now there was no turning back.


    So, with a gulp of courage, I took a step forward.

 Chapter 250 - Sometimes I Dig My Own Grave

    I was outside the dressing room.


    "You know." Raea poked her head out- just the head. She signed with her head. "Come closer." I could see strings around her neck- yeah¡­.


    "Now what?"


    I thought she''d ask me to makements about which underwear I''d like and all that but she never really did that.


    In fact, she and Aria had already bought the stuff they''d need. Now she was just trying out new ones and mostly to ask for my tastes- I could at least predict that much.


    But I still went closer- it''s not like she was going to drag me in there or any-


    Oh!


    "ARH!"


    "SHHH!! SHSH!"


    Raea dragged me into the dressing room and covered my mouth with her hand.


    We were inside the dressing room.


    She was wearing new underwear- and well purple polka dots on pink!


    And stuff were very close.


    She smelled like new clothes and sweat, and well, my heart was racing for various reasons.


    "What are you doing?" I whispered, extra vigorously.


    "Can you hear that?" She also whispered.


    "Hear what?"


    I paid close attention.


    "AH!.. mgg! Ahh!"


    It was faint but- I could hear certain moans and gruntsing¡­ from the other side¡­.


    Oh¡­


    "They''re doing stuff," Raea said, her ears glued to the walls, a hand still clutching onto my shirt, so I wouldn''t run away.


    They were doing stuff alright! And they were being rather quiet too- cause these walls were thin, cardboard walls.


    "Uh-huh." I didn''t need to glue my ears there but, I could definitely tell people in the other room were having quite the fun.


    And they were even bold enough to take this kind of risk too.


    I guess the fear of getting caught only raised the stakes and made it more exciting. I could understand the concept but I couldn''t really understand why.


    Anyway, "I''ll get out now."


    "Wait." Raea pressed her chest against my back and hugged me from behind, not letting me go: soft! "I know you won''t look at me otherwise but- at least say how I look?"


    This was bing a pain.


    With the added moans and the sensation on my back, it was hard to maintain my cool.


    "I said I''d give you an answerter, so let me make this clear." I took a deep breath and turned around. "I love Marg. I might have feelings for Enira. And I promised to marry Selene but she''d be a mistress. That''s it. I don''t think I can have more wives. Think about it, I''m just one guy. What the hell would I even do with one wife and three mistresses?"


    "Have a threesome every day? Or maybe even a fivesome, sometimes?"


    A shiver went down my spine. Gosh, this girl had a dirty mind. But- "I won''t be able to satisfy you."


    In fact, just satisfying Margst night took a toll on me. I had to go in twice and I had a feeling she''d have liked it once more- meaning, yeah¡­. Technically I could go up to three times but that was my limit, and I''d feel the true epitome of post nut rity and I didn''t like that rity.


    And dividing my time to different girls on different days of the week didn''t really sound all that great to me either. I''d be sleeping with the girls all the time- all week, but what about them? They weren''t tools and they too had feelings, even if I ended up treating all of them equally (Which was totally not possible) it''d still not be fair. They deserved better.


    She hugged me from the front this time. "I know." Soft stuff pressed against me. "But- as I said, I''m conte- no, I can''t be content with that but- I''ll try my best and even if it bes apetition, I won''t quarrel with the others and I won''t fight by bing jealous: I''ll respect them and wait for my turn."


    Those were very bold ims. And wait, her turn? Did she think I could go infinitely or something? "And you think you can keep that attitude?"


    "I give you my word. And I''ll never lie to you." She looked up; conviction clear in her eyes. "If there''s love, all''s okay!"


    But I still didn''t understand what that frigging word entitled, even now. And what if that love ran out?


    I sighed. "I''ll talk with Marg, now let me go." For the time being though, I had to run away from this scene or something else would have risen up.


    "Ah!" And the people in the other room were kind of done too.


    Marg would probably stop talking to me for a day. I guess I ought to at least prepare myself for getting a p or two from her and mom and even Elsa at this point. I kind of just went out of my way toplicate things¡­.


    Then again, she was really understandi- who was I kidding. This was serious. This was our rtionship I was talking about.


    Sigh. There was a chance I could have really messed this up-so I had to act carefully.


    Oh and ¨C "And you look good in that." I hadn''t actually answered her question, so I dodged everything else and tried to get away from her by answering.


    Raea smiled slightly, let me go. I came outside and just stood waiting.


    Some minutester, the couple from the next room came out and walked away cradling each other. ''Why couldn''t I just stick with one girl?''


    I had no idea.


    Raea came out fully clothed, and we went to the counter. Aria was already there and she''d alreadypleted her shopping before we''d even gone to buy the new stuff. And there were noints from her.


    They paid for their own stuff- or to be more precise, Raea paid and we made our way for home.


    ''First, there was the thing with Enira and now Raea¡­'' Yeah, I had no idea where to even start the conversation with Marg.


    ***


    We went back home.


    It was kind of awkward between me and Raea but we pretended to not say anything regarding that.


    I handed over the groceries to the bunny maid, my stuff to Marg, and went to living. No one was here so I turned on the news.


    "And with the Battlesuins defeated, the Romswells are back on the top of the world. Though in the past they were just world viins, now they are the strongest family in the world and perhaps even a threat to world peace. What do you reckon, Mr. Japin?" The woman asked the man next to her. She was in rather daring clothes, dark circles beneath her eyes.


    Apparently, instead of the news, the TV had something of a show going on. The topic of discussion- Is the world in trouble?


    And they were casually dropping shit like world peace. As if the world was even remotely peaceful.


    I chuckled and snorted subconsciously just from that fake concern.


    "Now-" Japin began. He was a professor at Harvard and he also worked with the government in the Contrant virus case and the epic threat of the Mont c outbreak in the west. "They are viins, yes, but they too have ss. And if you see the previous results, it is quite clear that they don''t destroy countries on mere whims. And they have subjugated the Battlesuins but the Battlesuins are still here and Helio Romswell Jintel is said to be part Romswell, part Battlesuin- hence I think he can unite the two families. Only then will this be truly threatening."


    Yeah, one thing was for certain. This Japin guy was bought- bought by us that was. Only uncle would be idiotic enough to make people say stuff like that on the TV. It was entirely possible that the guy was responsible for all this crap about me being the head of the Battlesuin now too. I guess he just wanted to avoid all the responsibilities and use me as a cover.


    Sigh.

 Chapter 251 - Zombies Can Be Scary!

    Nothing good was happening, so I just turned off the Holo TV and lied down on the sofa.


    This was supposed to be a holiday and yet it didn''t really feel like anything. Just some days ago, I was dying, with way too many emotions but now, nothing.


    All I had now were worries.


    My vision was on the ceiling and I could hear footsteps.


    Just behind the sofa a girl stopped and bent forward so our eyes could meet. "How about we go see a movie?"


    She was wearing a white t-shirt and I could vaguely make out her chest and all its size and shape thanks to gravity.


    "Now?"


    "It starts at 3.30 so we have time."


    With that said Marg came to the opposite side and sat near my head. If I turned my head slightly, I could have dug my face in her thighs. Obviously, she stood up before I could do that. And I almost fell thanks to my forward motion.


    "Also-" She bent down and whispered. "We''ll have to get some better soundproofing gear, so it''s better if we left early." She winked.


    Uh-huh, I nodded vigorously.


    I actually hadn''t changed clothes, so technically I was good to go. I proceeded to smell myself and though I mildly smelled, it wasn''t anything significant. I didn''t need a shower- at least not yet.


    Marg ran up and came down just three minutester. She was pretty much dressed. That was fast!


    She never really teleported around, inside the house. I guess she was just being careful.


    Anyway, with that done, we were about to head out but mom kind of came to the door too. "Be sure to buy a new Holo and you don''t need me to remind you what you should buy first, right?"


    I had a distinct feeling about what she meant, so I nodded.


    She went back.


    That was awkward- but I was d it didn''t get too awkward.


    ***


    Marg never teleported.


    She knew exactly where the stores and theaters were but she still refused.


    The reason? She preferred to grab my hand and walk by my side.


    She seemed to oddly enjoy her walks with me.


    "Say¡­ how many mistresses would you permit?"


    Instead of going through therge roads, we were going through the barley fields. These ces were always mostly stranded.


    I was being oddly vague about my question and I knew it wasn''t the best time but- I had to ask. It was eating me alive.


    I had no frigging patience.


    "I don''t know¡­" She thought. "Maybe three-four at best?"


    I couldn''t believe she actually gave me a legit answer. Just some weeks ago, she was saying stuff about murdering and all that and now¡­.


    "And you''re okay with that?"


    "Well, I want to say I''d be happy if you''re happy, but- I''m not." She sighed, barely audible. "If possible, I''d like to have you all by myself. Sometimes I even considered I''d just murder anyone whoes for you but- you''re too charming so you''ll always attract attention." She chuckled¡­. She sighed. "But I love you and- I''ll respect your wishes, even if you were to take in more wives."


    Meaning, she was not okay with this, but she was still going to see this through just for my sake.


    We kept walking and I slightly squeezed her hand. "You''ll be the only wife. The rest will just be mistresses. And I love you too."


    I didn''t want to be insincere to her. I was going to marry Marg and I wanted it to be just her.


    I couldn''t be vague about this anymore. I had to give her a clear answer- and that answer was, I''d be marrying her and she''d be the official wife. I knew I was being selfish and I knew this wasn''t even remotely the best solution but I didn''t know anything better- I didn''t know.


    She giggled. "So, what''s with the sudden question? You decided to take in your sister too?"


    "No? hell no! She''s, my sister!"


    My heart almost stopped for a second there.


    She chuckled. "It was a joke, calm down." She also calmed down. "So, who? My sister?" She was being way too careful about that question.


    And why the hell was she even considering Elsa and Eve?


    I sighed."Raea."


    She sighed. "Well, she is beautiful," Marg admitted and walked, looking slightly towards the ground.


    "I don''t know if you know but-" I stood in front of her, she stopped. Our eyes were locked on. "Beauty isn''t everything. And besides, I prefer you over everyone else on this, anyway: you''re the most beautiful to me." I hugged her. There wasn''t anyone here, so big deal. And even if there were people here, I still wouldn''t have cared.


    "So, you''re saying you''d stop preferring me in others?" She didn''t hug me back, rather she just looked up at my eyes.


    "Umm-uhh.." What?


    Seeing my weird response, she burst outughing. "I know you love me; you don''t have to prove it. Though, I''d appreciate it, if you didn''t end up taking every girl who proposed to you."


    Yeah, about that- "So, wanna make a rule about that?"


    "What rule?"


    "I don''t know." I really didn''t know. "But something so I wouldn''t be taking in anymore. I''m kind of a pushover in these things. Sorry."


    "I''ll think of something then."


    "Alright."


    We kept on walking.


    Marg was probably sad.


    And though she felt sad, though she knew I would eventually sleep with someone else, she didn''t say anything. She just smiled and walked by my side.


    This was when I swore- even if everything changes, even if my love disappears, I''d never hurt her- I''d forever be there for her- till death.


    ***


    We first bought the soundproofing gear.


    Our excuse was that we were soundproofing our room since the neighbors were so noisy. We still got plenty of raised eyebrows and grins.


    Yeah, people pried in other people''s business way too much.


    But- we did manage to buy high-quality sound blockers and I really hope that was enough.


    Next, we bought some other stuff- those being, a good Holo and knowledge. Yes, one could buy knowledge and instill those in their brains with the instiller. But there was a catch. It was rather expensive and a lot of stuff wasn''t really made public. This was a good reason why people still went to school.


    The stuff I wanted to know, were mostly here though. Stuff about pregnancy, world history (I didn''t want to know more but still), andst but not least- radiation.


    These were digital stuff so, just carrying the Holo was good enough. I kind of didn''t have much allowance so I thought I wouldn''t be able to buy any of these, but apparently, Marg had brought money. And this money was her share of the raid on the Battlesuins which she got from mom. And mom gave her extra too since she wasn''t just one person anymore.


    And here I was, who got nothing. I merely just wanted to borrow the money though. But Marg insisted I wouldn''t have to give her back the money, and in the end, I couldn''t refuse.


    Anyway, with all the shopping over, we finally headed to the theater. And surprisingly a Zombie movie was on y, and it was supposed to be romantic?


    We might or might not have got the date wrong.


    "Should we go somewhere else?" I liked the undead in general. It was a weird fascination but I always liked ghosts. But I was always way too eager to meet them. And because of that I never actually saw any: ghosts were probably scared of me instead of the other way around.


    But I had to be considerate to Marg.


    "No, this is fine. You''re here after all."


    ***


    Two hours had passed.


    The movie was over and almost all the people had left.


    The theater was empty but we weren''t moving.


    There was a reason for that.


    Marg was clenching on to me tight and she was shivering. She was also breathing hard.


    Was she scared of ghosts? Even if she was, this reaction was really exaggerated.


    Then again, the movie was kind of scary. It was a zombie movie but before making new zombies, the existing zombies rap*d women and men alike and then ate some of their flesh, which in turn created more zombies and this kept on spreading until everyone in the world became zombies. And then the whole world broke into a massive o*gy.


    It wasn''t just scary, no; it was very disturbing: the blood and gore part made it worse. And it had disturbed Marg a bit too much.


    "It''s okay." I gently caressed her hair. "I''m here for you."


    It''s already been over 10 minutes and though I didn''t want to keep sitting on this louse-filled chair, I still didn''t rush her. "You won''t be a zombie?" The way she looked: awfully cute!


    Lice were scary too and some of my body was already itching- but Marg was more important. "Of course not!" I winked.


    I was definitely going toin about this though.


    It took her about five more minutes before she calmed down and as we came out of the theater, she looked normal, way too normal. She was back to her usual self.


    ***


    We kept on walking; my back itched.


    "You''re not going to say anything?" Marg asked, not looking at me.


    I didn''t look at her either and just looked forward. "No, not really. I''m afraid of bugs but you never judged that. So why should I? Besides-" I grabbed her hand. "Everyone''s scared of something. Some, of non-existent things; others, maybe the loss of family." And others, everything that crawled.


    Marg didn''t say anything but I could tell she was smiling.


    I wanted to have dinner out.


    Marg said no. The money was an issue but apparently to her, our home cooking was better. I didn''t disagree.


    She really loved ttering mom I guess.


    All in all, this wasn''t such a bad date.

 Chapter 252 - And Time Just Moves On

    Aftering back home, I installed the new stuff.


    I ran around the house and triple-checked the sound. It was good, really good.


    With a victorious grin, I went back our room and gave Marg a thumbs up.


    She also gave me a grin: a very knowing grin. Oh yeah, stuff would surely go down tonight.


    And when the night came, it was just as fun if not more wonderful. Yeah, it went down alright!


    I had confidence in this new soundproofing gear, hence I didn''t hold back.


    We teased each other, talked dirty, had fun, and eventually slept in each other''s arms.


    It was heaven, it really was.


    But I knew it wouldn''tst. Eventually, something bad will happen: it was part of life.


    And that''s why I was trying my best to enjoy this, and make sure- in the end, everything worked out, and maybe, we could have this forever¡­.


    ***


    Days passed by.


    The academy went full throttle. Thanks to the already instilled knowledge, I could keep up with virtually everything.


    People kind of avoided me more than usual. I didn''t really give a crap about that though.


    Marg and I were as close as ever. Leilis, Selene, and Raea often tried to seduce me and in front of other people too. Sometimes they''d try to feed me, other times, they''d drag my face into their chests and taunt Marg for herck thereof. It was kind of amazing that Marg never really exploded and dropped them into the middle of the ocean- at least I didn''t know of any such exploits.


    Things were kind of stable and everything moved on smoothly. At home and at the academy too.


    And for once, our nights were truly ours. I really hope so.


    Nothing much happened, and no one could hear us anymore. Muahahaha ah!


    But still, we acted on caution and had fun in our little world.


    ***


    Roughly halfway through the month- I''d run into Clyde just outside the gymnasium.


    I kind of wanted to pummel him but I held back to see where he wasing from. Thest time he tried to hit on Elsa and though I knew it''d have happened eventually, I might or might not have acted a bit too overprotective.


    So- I tried my best not to hit him¡­yet.


    But instead of saying anything he smiled and gave me a small pouch.


    "This is?"


    He chuckled nervously. "I kind of spent all my money and didn''t have enough to cover this month''s payment till now. Sorry ''bout that." He slightly bowed his head. "Really sorry for beingte." With that said, he ran away.


    He was fast.


    I opened the pouch and found 10 gold. ''Oh yeah, he did owe me money every month.''


    How the hell I''d forgotten about that, I had no idea.


    Well, I guess I''d at least be able to afford chocte this month. Mom and father were kind of taking care of the rent and all that with their newfound fortune- while I only got 2 gold per month allowance. It was enough to cover clothes and maybe snacks but I didn''t quite get why the hell they were being so stingy about this. But now I''d be a bit well off- also I did still have half of my tournament money so, technically I wasn''t that broke. The money was kind of in mom''s possession, so I couldn''t really use it frugally either though.


    Sigh.


    Anyway¡­ the rest of the day went wlessly.


    ***


    Enira never actually came out of the saber. So, I couldn''t use the instiller often.


    I did use it, but with moderation.


    As for our little dragon, I''d bought cheap cores and tried to feed it but it refused to absorb anything less than purple cores. Talk about being choosy!


    Even taking it to the geezer, didn''t really help. All he had to say was, "She''lle out once it''s time."


    Sigh.


    In the end, I just gave up on that and decided to wait patiently. She''de out eventually- or so I thought.


    I really hope she would cause at this point, I subconsciously started missing all those teases of her.


    To distract myself from all this dedicated myself to training in my free time.


    ***


    Near the end of the third week, it got slightly colder.


    Nothing to worry about but I had to wear a jacket to school. And mine looked terrible. I actually missed Merin''s nice jackets. I missed the guy and his witty remarks too but at this point, I missed his jackets more than him, honestly.


    Marg looked great in hers and she''d always teleport me to the entrance whenever I waste. Otherwise, we''d walk to the academy together- chatting.


    Most days Raea would join us and kind of ruin the fun but these days we just ignored her.


    At times, she and Marg did seem to chat on their own though. Oh well.


    On that note,st night Raea had sneaked into our room and got in bed with us. Our bed was reallyrge, so at first, I didn''t quite notice.


    Apparently, our private times weren''t truly private after all.


    "I''ve been found huh?" Raea had said, sweating.


    Marg sighed and turned off the nightlight. "I''ll permit you just this once, next time if we find you here, you can imagine, you''d spend the next of your days in the bottom of the ocean."


    Raea had gulped audibly.


    That night, I''d slept with Marg in my arms and me in Raea''s arms. Rather weird. No matter how many times I''d kicked her off the bed, she came back and just hugged me like I was her long-lost pillow or something.


    She''d disappeared just before the morning though. But I had a feeling, she''d do it again despite Marg''s warnings.


    ''You did this yourself, Helio¡­ You did this yourself.''


    And yes, we did find her the very next night too. Marg was this close to ending Raea''s life but- yeah¡­


    Sigh.


    ***


    Despite the seal being weak, I never really heard anything from the shadow and I didn''t have any weird dreams either- at least dreams that I could remember.


    I often found myself sweating in the middle of the night and waking up, staring at a concerned Marg. Sometimes Marg would even say stuff like, "Maybe we should go see the nurse if you''re that reluctant to do to a doctor."


    At one point, I had to give up.


    And so- after roughly a monthter, I finally found myself in the nurse''s office.


    I was just sitting on a chair while the nurse was just doing some of her routine stuff.


    This was nostalgic and this ce brought back memories. Half of those memories were in terrifying though


    "So, I heard you did good in that fight of yours."


    "Yeah, kind of."


    I didn''t know why but no matter when I came to this ce, I felt awkward. I didn''t quite understand why. Maybe because I didn''t like doctors? Maybe because the nurse was too beautiful or was it because of how she acted? I didn''t know.


    And the ambient sound and smell of this ce didn''t really quite help the matter either.


    "So, what brings you here today?" She was still cleaning up some supplies and hadn''t yet looked at me.


    It was hard to tell but it was almost like she was slightly angry. I was probably just imagining it.


    "Oh, I was hoping you''d do a check-up. I''m kind of waking up in the middle of the night sweating. Mostly my head. My hair is usually drenched."


    She sorted through everything and came here and took a seat in front of me. She''d bought a stethoscope. I had no idea why she needed one. "Sweating is mostly normal, as long as it urs maybe once or twice. How frequent is yours?"


    "About five-six times a week?"


    "So, basically every night?" She naturally held the disk on my chest and moved it around, while correcting her earpieces.


    She was awfully close to me and some of the buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned. I could vaguely see traces of her bra.


    She was voluptuous, to say the least.


    I gulped as she carefully listened to my racing heart. "That''s odd. You have a new seal on you."


    ''That''s odd to you!'' And the fact that my heart raced faster than a jet didn''t quite ur to her as strange.


    "Yeah, the old one broke."


    "Hmmm¡­" She put the stethoscope away and moved back a little. "Your old seal also suppressed your memories, so it''s possible some of your memories are returning in your dreams: but since they are still sealed, you can''t ess them yet. There''s physically nothing wrong with you, but- you should tighten that seal up as soon as you can. There''s a small chance but you could potentially die if it suddenly bes undone. On the other hand, this might not be that bad, assuming it slowly bes undone and you have time to adjust yourself. But then you''ll have to worry about your other two personalities and maybe the bacsh from that seal in the first ce."


    She said very scary stuff with a very straight face. I guess that was a medical worker for you.


    "I''ll talk with my mom about it."


    I kind of knew what mom would say- but- yeah, I had to at least let her know my decision.


    Anyway, with that done, I stood up. "Oh and-" But the nurse came close to me and just behind me slightly blew on my ears. "Next time, don''t wiggle at my chest like that. You ended up making my heart race too." ASMR!


    My face heated up. ''She knew!'' Of course, she knew! "Sorry." I chuckled nervously and hastily got out. I could have sworn I heard her giggle.


    Even outside, my heart raced and my face burned.


    I breathed hard. ''Calm down! Calm down!'' It was not working, no.


    ''She- she''s a teacher you know!''


    Uh-huh, I totally knew that.


    Well, my heart and Helio Junior didn''t quite agree with me though.

 Chapter 253 - Too Vanilla, You Say!

    I went back home and informed mom of the situation. I also told her I wouldn''t necessarily sacrifice kids for my sake.


    Besides, Enira was kind of still sleeping so even if we ended up securing sacrifices, there was no guarantee it would have worked anyway.


    Mom was not happy, no. She''d called about a dozen of her friends and even grandma and most of them agreed to her- ording to her. And I had a bad feeling about that¡­ ''They''re not going to go on a kidnapping spree, right?''


    I seriously doubted my family''s age-old im of ''we''re not evil'', all over again.


    But anyway, time moved on. And so far, nothing happened. Keyword, ''so far.''


    And thest week of the month came running- it had brought the school festivals with it.


    Our weeding day was also decided. 29th October, two days before Halloween. Marg was exhrated.


    Honestly, I was too.


    ***


    Each year Demigrace Academy held three distinct festivals.


    One, the admissions festival which onlysted for one evening on the day of admissions. We were passed that.


    Two, the Eternal Scare festival whichsted the whole week of Halloween: rather ominous naming. And three, the Royal hunt festival which took ce just a week after the finals in the holidays.


    Halloween was just around the corner and that meant Eternal Scare festival would start soon- and by soon, I mean tomorrow.


    "Well, I guess we have something to look forward to before our marriage." Marg was in her nightgown and she finished cleaning up.


    The mood was good.


    She turned off the lights. The lights were minimal and I could still see most of her outline and face. Maybe keeping the nightlight wasn''t such a bad idea but- oh well.


    Thesest few days we did it every day. My stamina was actually a lot more than I initially thought. If aroused enough, I could go up to four rounds now. Obviously, the post nut rity session kind of always made me want to dive into the abyss and nevere back but- I dealt with it. I rarely did it more than twice or thrice though¡­. By the time I even thought about doing it for the fourth time, Marg would be kind of tired and satisfied. She''d probably still do it regardless, just for my sake but at that point, I didn''t feel the necessity to go on. I mean this was our fun, and it was pointless if only one was having the ''fun''.


    All this fun wasn''t technically ruining my health though as I ate plenty and exercised a bit more than usual. I did feel rather sluggish these days though despite everything.


    ''Maybe I ought to take it a bit slower.''


    Health came first after all, probably.


    "Soon we''ll be married." Marg climbed up on the bed, lied next to me and kissed me.


    We kissed- we kissed with our tongues rolling, things being squeezed and-


    "Tha-that''s so shameful! Even though you know, I''m right here!" Raea had sneaked in even tonight and she was actually early.


    Thud!


    I kicked her off the bed and she fell on the floor.


    She almost cried and caressed her butt. Lately, she sneaked into our rooms despite the warnings and all that. We''d startedpletely ignoring her but even that wasn''t working. I guess we had to sooner orter just drop her in the ocean for an hour or something.


    "You were the one who sneaked in. Either get out or shut up." I kissed Marg and slowly started undressing her.


    "Shame- you two have no shame!"


    Yeah, I didn''t want to hear that from a trespasser who knew we''d be doing stuff but still came anyway.


    I didn''t pay any attention to Raea and just kissed Marg. She obviously kissed me back and we kept going.


    Before long, she was in her underwear and gently unbuttoning my shirt. Well, Marg didn''t care about Raea.


    I kept an eye on Raea with my peripheral vision and she was just covering her eyes with her hands but peeking from time to time, blushing here and there.


    It almost made me chuckle. ''This is not a fetish, right?'' I wasn''t so sure anymore.


    "Still- for a couple this close- you two sure are rather vani." And she was rather dirty.


    "What''s wrong with being vani?" Marg asked.


    Wait, she was aware, we were vani?


    "Nothing, but don''t you think it''d be more fun if you spiced things up a little?" Raea was desperately trying to not look flushed.


    My eyes had kind of adjusted to the lighting, so she couldn''t really hide it well.


    "Like what?"


    Raea''s face turned slightly red and she looked sideways. "Maybe a thr-threesome?" Her voice was way too quiet. "Or maybe a more daring position like sixty-ni-"


    ''The hell is this woman suggesting?''


    Marg looked up at me, slightly flushed herself. "Would it- really be exciting?"


    ''How the hell would I know!?''


    And why the hell was she asking me that!


    I hadn''t even slept with someone other than Marg, let alone a threesome! And sixty-


    The hell!


    I kind of wanted to run away now. Some part of me did want to find out more though.


    Raea started to climb up. "It would- it totally would."


    I smelled ulterior motives- oh wait, it was probably just her flowery cologne.


    "Can you please leave now?" I sincerely asked.


    "No?" Raea slid her hand down my pants. She was facing me; I was facing Marg and Marg was facing me. I was sandwiched between girls: This was awkward. "Bet I can lick you a lot more than she can."


    She didn''t really grab my sword but rather the two boulders next to it: it wasn''t much of a grab, rather a gentle tease. While Marg had my sword in hand.


    ''The hell did I get myself into?''


    Marg kissed me while Raea licked my neck and caressed my chest. Both were treating me way too nicely and this was new!


    My whole body started to tingle.


    This was exciting, yes, but it was also weird and I felt bad.


    So- "Enough!" I stood up. Little Helio was fully loaded and good to go- but there was no ce to go. "You- out!" I pointed at Raea and- "And you- don''t just listen to her like that. Everything has a natural pace!" I pointed at Marg.


    It wasn''t because I was too flustered and had no idea what to do, okay?


    They both listened to me like I was their teacher and they were my students.


    Sigh.


    "Now," I stopped.


    Raea actually didn''t leave and just pouted- moving aside. She almost went to the edge of the bed but still didn''t leave. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do with my wet burning crotch?"


    Why the hell was she getting excited over grabbing my balls and just licking me?


    "Mine kind of-" Marg admitted. "Is also wet."


    I gulped.


    "But." Raea sighed and got down from the bed. "I''ll respect your wishes." She sighed again as she moved to the door. "Lock this. Now, if you''ll excuse me- I''ll definitely not be in a bathroom for the next half an hour and picture your face in my mind while I stroke myself."


    "Yeah, too much information man!" I ran to the door and once she got out, locked it. But before locking it- "Sorry but I''m not ready yet."


    "It''s okay." She''d smiled. "But- d we''ll eventually do it. And I''m d it''d be you and her." It was a genuine smile.


    Anyway- back to Marg.


    We kissed and got dirty fast.


    Thrice! I climaxed three frigging times! Marg, twice. I beat her, that was for sure.


    But Raea was right- we really were awfully vani.


    But vani was fine.


    It was good enough for me.


    ***


    I woke up early, did some training and after breakfast- got dressed.


    I asked Marg to teleport me to the academy today. I had to be early- the reason being?


    There was going to be a rather eventful event. What that was?


    Chocte run!


    A run where one could eat all the chocte they wanted!


    Sigh. I wish it were like that. But there was a catch. Our hands would be tied and the choctes would be littered all across the track. And whoever came in thest ce would have to pay for half of the chocte used in the track, and almost everyone else would have to pay at least something too- everyone other than the three winners that was.


    ''IT''s fine as long as I get to eat a lot and rank first!''


    Using powers was forbidden, so guys who could run superfast were going to be banned, meaning I didn''t really have to worry much. And this was going to be a one-kilometer race, meaning my extra stamina woulde in handy.


    "Try not to be so transparent." Marg stood next to me and grabbed my hand.


    In a second, we were at the academy and in the field too.


    ''Chocte!''


    The track would be mostly half of the academy. And it was littered with floating choctes and- well, palm trees.


    This was probably Ariel''s handwork. Anyway- who cared as long as I got to have chocte.


    This race didn''t have any specific registration and all that. All we had to do was show up early and we were good to go: we did have to register in the morning though. But even now- there were about half a dozen people who came before me.


    ''Everyone loves chocte!''


    Mostly just round-bellied guys though. I saw maybe one or two fit students. Just one girl.


    "Well, good luck. I have some stuff to do at home. I''lle back before noon."


    And with that, Marg left.

 Chapter 254 - There Can Never Be Too Much Choco- Wait-

    I started stretching.


    The race would start in an hour.


    So, I had plenty of time.


    There weren''t that many people out in the field.


    And most of the festival stuff wasn''t even going to be set up before tomorrow.


    People were still in the midst of only attempting to set things up.


    I did see Rose in the distance though.


    And since I basically had nothing to do- I went towards her.


    "Hey, long time."


    Rose had other prefects with her and they were discussing stuff.


    When she noticed it was me, her smile kind of vanished and she was almost disappointed.


    "Long time, yeah."


    And it just got awkward.


    "Well, just wanted to say hi. Bye." So, I turned around and walked.


    If I was just troubling her and making her feel ufortable, then it was best I left.


    But she followed me. "So, you tamed the Battlesuins?"


    "Tame? No. it''s more like I dethroned their leader and now my father is the new leader."


    Oh, wait¡­ I guess she could say that.


    "So, it''s true you were a Battlesuin? And an heir of the main family no less. So howe you had that fight with ze? Wouldn''t he have been executed?" It was kind of weird seeing her without wings sticking out her back. I guess she grow them out whenever she needed and when she didn''t- yeah.


    Well, technically he was executed, and by Hyora too. But I was still framed. At this point, it didn''t matter though.


    "I''m kind of half and half. And my parents hid it. Don''t worry about it."


    At least I didn''t want to.


    "Uh-huh."


    I walked faster. And she still followed me.


    ''This was a bad idea!''


    "Did you want something?"


    I walked even faster.


    "NO just-" She also walked faster.


    I was breaking a sweat from this.


    Well, exercise was good for health.


    Probably.


    "Just?"


    "Thanks."


    "For?"


    I stopped.


    She also stopped. "I have work to do. So, I''ll get back now."


    ''What the hell?''


    She could follow me then thank me but couldn''t tell me what for?


    I kind of didn''t care though. It was getting way too awkward anyway.


    And I still had about 50 minutes to burn.


    ***


    I walked, I sat tight, I sometimes just stared up at the sky and saw people flying in the clouds.


    Sigh.


    But time didn''t move- it didn''t pass. I still had about twenty minutes.


    Even remembering and counting down about a hundred digits of pi wasn''t helping.


    Sigh.


    And where the hell was the people who were always after me and trying to seduce me and stuff?


    I needed them to tease me and help me pass the time, but no one was here.


    Sigh.


    And I''d fallen so low that at this point, I didn''t really care how. I just wanted to pass the time.


    Anyway¡­


    SIGH!


    ***


    Eventually, it was time and about two dozen participants took ce.


    The limit was 30 participants, meaning, even if I''de now, I wouldn''t have had a problem.


    ''Then why the hell did I even bother?''


    Why the hell indeed.


    I didn''t even have time toin though.


    "Set¡­ GO!"


    Bang!


    With that signal, I started running.


    Nothing mattered- only chocte was real!


    The track was simple. There were palm trees on both sides and the road didn''t have any trees. That was it!


    But- but there was chocte everywhere and no, they weren''t on the ground. The chocte was actually floating in the air. Our hands were tied, and it was forbidden to collect and take any chocte home. It was inly all you can eat- nothing more and nothing less. All I had to do was to note in thest- and it was fine.


    So- I started it off by eating the first chocte that came my way. It was decent. I just had to keep my mouth open and run with modest speed.


    White chocte, milk chocte, dark chocte, extra dark, and even candies: they had them all.


    Muahahhahahha!


    Currently, I was in three and there was chocte- way too much chocte around.


    I could eat all I want. No one was here to stop me. I could eat everything.


    Ah! Chocte!


    Muahahahhaha!


    Heaven!


    ''How I''ve dreamed of this day!''


    I''d seen this event highlighted in the admission circr three months ago.


    It might or might not have had a major influence on me choosing this academy. At the time my first and foremost concern was education so I could be an explorer. But I guess at this point, I just wanted to survive and make money for my family rather than go live my dream and all that.


    Then again, I still had time. So,


    Anyway- chocte!


    There were spectators cheering us on by the track sides.


    I ate- I ate till I felt like puking.


    But now I couldn''t really run anymore. And I was two-thirds of the way in.


    Even the round-bellied ones were running faster than me. Everyone was passing me by.


    At this point, I also had a ratherrge round belly, and breathing was hard.


    At this rate, my newfound 10 gold fortune would have been used up just for this.


    So- ''RUN!'' with a bit of inner scream I started to pick up speed.


    The spectators were cheering us on.


    As we were nearing the end, more and more spectators were showing up.


    With chocte littered on my mouth and face- I took deep breaths and ran hard. 150 meters to go and 13 people to catch up!


    No more chocte! I never thought the day woulde when chocte would literally fly for my mouth, but I''d purposefully avoid them¡­.


    The irony!


    I ran faster than ever- but it wasn''t even remotely close to my normal speed.


    This wasn''t working¡­ and I couldn''t even use my powers either.


    Eating way too much, was a bad idea.


    "Don''t give up!" I heard Elsa''s voice.


    She was there in the crowd. When the hell did she- no, it didn''t matter. She was here and that mattered.


    And no, giving up was never an option.


    "RUN!"


    One down.


    Two down.


    Five down!


    Run! Run! RUN!!!


    Eight down!


    Just a little bit more.


    Just a little.


    2 meters.


    No!


    Sixth!


    Cheers!


    I lied down on the ground and breathed rapidly.


    I never expected there to be a crowd like this. This was technically the first event of the festival and almost all the parts of the whole track were filled with spectators.


    "Damn it!" I sat down, punched the ground, and still breathed rapidly.


    My blood sugar levels were off the chart. I wouldn''t have been surprised if I ended up with diabetes or something. Then again, I never really had any problems with those kinds of things, so things should have been fine.


    Right?


    Right!?


    Elsa walked up to me. "Well, you did better than I expected.''


    "Really? Actually, what were you expecting?"


    "Last ce?" She also took a seat. We had grass beneath our bottoms.


    Did she really have to be honest about that? She almost hurt my feelings.


    Then again, if I hadn''t run like my life depended on it, at thest moment, I might or might not have actually ended upst or something along those lines.,


    "Won''t your dress get dirty?" So, as a responsible adult, I changed the subject like a pro.


    She was wearing a rather ck dress today- it did look good on her though.


    "Aren''t you afraid of bugs?"


    Sigh. And yeah, that did remind me, so I stood up vigorously and regretted a secondter, as my chest started to hurt a little.


    Yeah, I definitely shouldn''t have had so much frigging chocte. I sure didn''t regret it though.


    Elsa giggled but she also got up, giving a pat on her bottom, to get rid of the dust.


    ***


    There were no prizes for this event.


    The first three didn''t have to pay for anything.


    4th and 5th were going to cover 2% and 5% of the cost of the choctes respectively. 6th ce, my ce was 10%. 7-12 was 20% each andst ce- 25th was exactly 50%.


    Actually, adding them all up probablyted the organizers about 15X~20X more profit- but oh well.


    Now that I looked carefully, most of the winners had actually a muchrger build than me. I guess thinking they''d be slow just because they were a bit obese was wrong of me. ''Don''t judge a book by its cover I guess.'' I already knew that saying. Never knew, it''d literallye true like this, though.


    The chocte used wasn''t that expensive and they actually didn''t really care all that about the money- after all, in the end, the losers actually would get the leftover choctes. And most of the spectators would also at least get a piece of candy.


    Too bad winners!


    Muahahahah!


    ''Wait, they''re still keeping the money, right?''


    I got two bars of milk chocte for free- after paying fifty silvers.


    Muahahaha.


    I was definitely not sour about this, promise.

 Chapter 255 - This Is Not A Fetish, Right? RIGHT!?

    With the race done, I didn''t really have anything else to do.


    I didn''t have any sses till November 1st. And today was just the first day of the festival so things weren''t that amazing either.


    People were still busy setting up things in the first ce, anyway.


    "Let''s go back home, I guess?" I said. "Oh wait, what are you doing here?"


    We were walking around the field. I was mostly just jogging to burn off the extra sugar.


    I told mom that I had an event today, but I didn''t tell them what event. There was no way I could ever tell them that I was going to eat chocte non-stop and fill my whole stomach, now, could I?


    "I''m curious about academy."


    "Really?"


    "Uh-huh." She nodded. "I think I''ll go here."


    "Well, good for you."


    Wait, wait, she wanted toe to this academy?


    "I still have two more years of junior high, but I think I can get through to them easily enough. Is the entrance exam hard?" Elsa was walking down the road in a straight line, one step at a time, using her arms to bnce herself, like this was some sort of game.


    "The written exam is kind of tough but with your physical capabilities, I think you''ll do just fine." The written exam was nothing to sneeze at though: I had to study for three frigging months and still just barely made it. "But you''re sure you want to go here? I mean, this ce isn''t bad but there are far more prestigious and less viiny schools out there you know."


    For learning and having fun at the same time, this ce was probably the best though.


    Then again, this ce was also riddled with problems. The only solid reason I joined this academy was for trying to be free and the cho- never mind.


    Elsa giggled. "But still-"


    "I can''t have you badmouth our school like that Mr. Helio, even though you are one of our star pupils." Apparently, the headmaster''s wife was walking by and she heard me.


    The headmaster was behind her. I guess they were taking a walk together- rather rare.


    "This is a family matter, Mam. And I assure you, I''m aware of this academy and its merits. I''m just asking her as her elder brother."


    "But you do acknowledge that you were badmouthing us." She stood right in front of me.


    We were off the same height and she was kind of ring.


    "Well, you can say that. But if you think about the other way, perhaps I was just singing praises?"


    She grinned. "Were you?"


    Reality started warping and I could feel a lot of emotions. I could see things- bad things- nightmares. ''Illusions?''


    My vision kind of went ck and the world started to spin- but I stayed still.


    I''d seen her use her powers before. but I wasn''t afraid.


    I just red straight ahead. I''d done nothing wrong.


    And unfortunately, anything mind rted didn''t really work on me.


    The illusions disappeared. "It seems you were right." She spoke to the headmaster- her husband. "Hypnosis doesn''t work on him after all." She did smile though.


    The headmaster grinned victoriously. "Told you so." He almost sang.


    His wife rolled her eyes and started leaving. "Well, don''t ruin our reputation too much." She spoke to me. "Though at this point, I''m not sure, we even have any positive reputation anywhere in the world in the first ce," She mumbled and left.


    So basically, she wasn''t mad in the first ce.


    The headmaster came close. "Good job, I''ve finally won an argument after five whole years!" He whispered and winked. He was definitely exhrated.


    Five years! And that wasn''t even an argument!


    Probably.


    "Youing!" His wife shouted from afar.


    "I''min!" and the guy left.


    Well now we sure knew who was the boss of that rtionship.


    Frankly, I almost felt pity.


    Sigh.


    But anyway- "I''ll give you a tour, I guess." I kind of didn''t have a choice.


    Once Elsa made up her mind about something, it was hard to change her mind. It was easy to maybe trick her into something else, but in this case, I didn''t see any valid reason to. It was more like I was just tired and didn''t have the energy to make up excuses.


    And I had this awfully bad feeling that she''d ''tell'' on me otherwise, judging by that devilish smile.


    "Cool!" Elsa grinned and grabbed my hand.


    "What are you doing? You''re not a kid anymore, you know?"


    When we were little, she''d always grab my hand whenever we went out. It was a method to make sure we didn''t get lost. I was the one who first taught her that, but she always diligently remembered to grab my hand whenever we were going out together. When mom or our friends were near, she didn''t though, since there were little chances of getting lost.


    At this point, this was probably just a habit to her.


    "I know that already." She pouted slightly. "But- you said I''d always be your little sister remember?" She started mumbling. "And this is the privilege of little sisters."


    I had no idea where she was going with that but oh well. I just walked along anyway. She was my kid sister and listening to her was my job as the elder brother.


    I kind of wanted to deny her everything and make her pout and all though. She was awfully cute when she was mad.


    Maybe next time.


    ***


    I showed Elsa around.


    The gym was the closest, so we first went there.


    I thought the ce would be empty, but I was wrong.


    "Whoah, I didn''t know she yed volleyball."


    There was a game being yed in the gym: a game of volleyball.


    There were some fanboys in the back looking haughtily at the game. There were other spectators too.


    "I didn''t know- oh wait, she did mention that when we''d first met." I vaguely remembered about hearing that before.


    Apparently, Selene was down there ying.


    This was more of a practice match than anything else though.


    There were about a dozen or so people in court and they were all in gym clothes- all girls.


    Selene was sweating- jumping up: the jiggle physics was strong with this one.


    My eyes were kind of glued and when Selene actually noticed, she grinned and pped the ball hard. More jiggle!


    The match went on for about five more minutes.


    Truly a sight to behold!


    "Alright, that''s enough for the day."


    Someone who looked like the gym teacher- oh wait, she was the gym teacher, dered the end and everyone took a break. Even in this cool weather, they sure were sweating quite a lot.


    Their scent lingered in the air- and well- I needed to get out of here. ''Do I have a scent fetish or something?''


    It was almost as though I was rediscovering myself all over again. Frankly, I was kind of scared at just how weird my mind and preferences were.


    "Let''s go I guess?" I held Elsa''s hand firmly and was about to leave.


    But Selene jumped our way and well, she could jump quite high.


    "Hey, I don''t remember telling you I had a game today?" She had a towel with her. Her clothes were drenched and though they weren''t quite see-through, yeah, it didn''t really help my case. I could basically tell the entire outline of her whole body.


    Her arms and legs were on full disy and I kind of couldn''t look away- so I focused on her face- or rather her eyes. ''Don''t look, don''t look.''


    "Just showing her around."


    "Oh! Hi, Elsa." She smiled.


    Did these know each other?


    "Hey. Did you use something? Howe you''re not smelly even though you''re sweating so much?"


    I guess they probably did.


    Wait, what? My little sister sure didn''t know when to ask what. Or was it just I was not in the loop?


    ''Do girls really ask that to each other?''


    And she wasn''t smelly. I could definitely smell her scent though she was about a meter away. But, it only smelled like sweat and no extra rotting smell was bundled up, like in my case.


    "Oh? This? We use a special deodorant before the matches. If you want, I could lend you some." And Selene actually answered with a straight face!


    ''I don''t know anything about girls, do I?''


    "No, thanks. I don''t exercise much anyway," Elsa declined politely.


    So basically, they were just doing some small talk?


    Then was there even a point in me being here?


    Oh wait! Elsa knew I smelled.


    So- ''Did she ask on my behalf?''


    "Well, if you''re looking for a tour guide, I''m your girl. I gave a tour to your bro too." She winked, and flexed her bicep.


    Selene sure knew how to change the subject.


    "He''s giving me a tour too and-"


    Selene was actually pretty toned. But still some part of her, screamed feminine beauty- maybe I was just being stupid, but I found her oddly hot: and that outline, really drew me in. ''Don''t look, don''t look-!''


    But it was impossible not to.


    She grinned harder when she noticed me fidgeting. "Would you wait ten minutes? Oh and-" Selene came close to Elsa and- "shshahh¡­." She whispered something, something I couldn''t hear.


    "Alright. Ten minutes." Elsa grinned.


    ''What just happened?''


    Selene took off and we came out of the gym. Seriously, I might have had a thing for sweaty girls or something, cause I almost had an erection: then again, it reacted the most from seeing Selene, so it could have just been that. Good thing I had my trusty underwear to hide away all the embarrassment. I guess I was still a teenager at heart.


    ''Then did turning eighteen have any frigging benefit at all?''


    I wanted to say yes¡­ but no.

 Chapter 256 - Senior: Friend: Wife!

    Selene came out dressed. She''d probably taken a shower, but honestly, I couldn''t tell.


    Oh wait, I could, cause she didn''t smell like sweat anymore. Actually, I was d. Who knew what my subconscious would have done if she constantly smelled like that and I kept on sniffing the air?


    She was still wearing light clothing though.


    Oh well.


    Selene gave the same tour to Elsa as she''d given me, and offered her usualmentary.


    She started off by showing the cafeteria and then moved on to the nurse''s office, the auditorium and so on.


    She probably showed the first years around, often.


    Anyway, near the end, I thought that''d be it.


    But I was wrong.


    Just when I finally thought I''d have some time to spend in the library (Which I might or might not have forgotten even existed), Selene suggested some rather unusual ces for us to visit.


    "And now, I''ll show you guys some special ces. These are secret to most students and well," She grinned. "Don''t tell the teachers," She whispered.


    I had a bad feeling about that. But since Elsa seemed excited, I didn''t say anything.


    ***


    Selene first started off by showing us a special room in the far-left corner of the main building. It was empty- to hindsight. Only some abandoned lockers with nothing there.


    And the lockers were supposedly empty.


    But- Selene opened a locker and well- it was about ten times bigger than a locker. She did need a special code to unlock the locker first though.


    "And its semi sound proof. Look." She tapped on a locker three times.


    Nothing happened and this locker didn''t quite seem thatrge: just an ordinary locker. A small block did appear though, where she could potentially enter the code. Just like the ones before.


    But that was an open locker. Now she tapped on a closed one and well-


    We got one tap back from the other side. And this time, no block appeared.


    With that said, we all kind ofid our ears to an upied one: like it was the most natural thing to do. There were moans, very hushed but yeah.


    I quickly pulled Elsa out of there. I should have been iting.


    "Did you forget she was here?" I almost hissed.


    Before Selene could even attempt to whisper back-


    "I''m not a kid you know. I know at least how sex works."


    Huh?


    What?


    Excuse me?


    What?


    "Stop looking so dumb dude." Selene snorted. "Girls usually learn these things around the same time as you, so rx. She''s more mature than you think."


    Reality had crumbled.


    It really had.


    Elsa kind of grabbed my hand again. "YOU WERE too protective, so I never told you but, I do know the things¡­. so..." She blushed slightly. "You don''t have to hide things from me."


    I was speechless.


    It was like my whole world had crumbled.


    Elsa would turn 15 in roughly two months. I knew she''d have known at least something but still- it was a hard pill to swallow.


    Sigh.


    I should have just known. And yet, I felt stupid¡­ maybe I was stupid but still¡­ it was really hard for me to ept the fact that my little innocent kid sister, perhaps wasn''t as little as I thought her to be.


    Elsa kind of looked down and didn''t say a word.


    While Selene came my way and pulled me to the side. "Keep that up and you''ll end up ruining her childhood. Kids at that age are really, sensitive, you should know that. She just came out clean and now if you treat her differently, if you mock her for it, do you really think she''ll be okay with that? Do you think she''ll ever say anything to you again?" Selene whispered.


    I sighed again. She was kind of right. My sister would eventually grow up, I had to acknowledge that much¡­ Meaning, me reacting like this, was totally uncalled for.


    I calmed down, or at least pretended to. "What''s next?" And I tried distracting myself.


    "The bushes behind school."


    "Bushes?" Elsa asked.


    Just how the hell did people even think of doing stuff in the midst of bugs!?


    "Well, you should know, as long as we have spatial magic and maybe a bit help from Ariel, anything and everything is possible." Selene grinned and led the way.


    She actually moved on ahead enough to give us some space.


    And what the hell was spatial magic?


    "If you''re ufortable- I''ll never-" Elsa''s head was down.


    "Look- you''re still my kid sister and I don''t care if you grow up. I''ll just treat you the same. It''ll be awkward to talk to my sister about those things and I''ll probably never actually say anything unless you were looking for advice and all that, but- as your brother, I promise I won''t ostracize you: I''ll always hear you out."


    I had no idea what I was talking about. No one taught me anything. Mom kind of ignored me when I was a teenager. She took good care of me and taught me a lot of things but she didn''t know how a teenage boy''s body worked either. I mean she did try but- at one point she had to give up. With Elsa also growing up, the debts, and her job, she had too much on her te.


    So even I didn''t know much about teenage stuff. And at this point I couldn''t run to father and ask stuff. I didn''t have a Holo back then so using the inte wasn''t that great of an experience either.


    Besides, I couldn''t find any good info on things. Even if I found something credible there was always some guy iming the opposite. So, I really didn''t know how to respond to Elsa. So, all I could do was try not to be awkward- which I failed miserably at.


    But she just smiled, grabbed my hand tight and followed Selene alongside me.


    In the end, she honestly felt like the more mature one.


    ***


    We reached the second secret ce. It was outside the academy.


    There were bushes and a lot of them, spaced out in the whole grasnd. Most were about one meter in radius.


    But behind the bushes, there was a whole lotta nothing.


    This ce was really deserted, not a soul in sight. This was natural, considering we were actually outside the academy.


    "Now this one is tricky. You need two passwords and you will also need someone who''s already registered to the palmwork. Lucky for you, I''ve got all three." She put a hand on her chest and grinned.


    Uh-huh.


    "What the hell is a palmwork?" Why did every frigging thing in this school had to be associated with the palms!?


    "It''s kind of like the inte but only for this school. As long as you have an ID and a palm tree, you can basically ess it all across the world. Gossips, actual info, affairs, you name it!"


    "Why not just use the inte? Better yet, a social website."


    Selene gave me a rather weird look and then did some weird stuff to the small hidden palm tree in the middle of the bush. "Privacy my dear, privacy."


    The ground beneath our feet opened up and we fell.


    Before I could even attempt to scream, I was on solid ground. I didn''t quite fall, rather, justnded normally.


    A rather well-built ce: one bed, one table, one chair and a mini fridge.


    It was the size of my old dorm room.


    "The price of using a room like this is 2 silvers. Everything isplimentary."


    The bed was awfully cushiony and on top of the fridge there were condoms. Yeah, students were truly devoted to this act, that was for sure.


    Normally I''d have destroyed those things before Elsaid her eyes on them, but I didn''t- I tried my best not to get awkward around these things¡­ I just proceeded to pretend like everything was normal.


    Instead, I just focused on something else. "So, what''s this deal about spatial magic?"


    "Well- I''m not supposed to tell you but, there are apparently ruins beneath this ce and those ruins already have conditioned teleportation, or warp to be more specific. We just call it magic to avoid exining that."


    Not supposed to tell me? Then why the hell did she?


    What if word spread out? The world was desperately searching for a way to teleport since ages, if anyone ever heard of this!


    And wait, so we already had the technology all along? ''So, they''d even brought tech from the future?'' At least that was the only logical exnation I could think of.


    "And you''re telling us this because?" Elsa asked.


    "Cause I trust you two, just like the person who told me, trusted me. Though I guess, at this point, I''m kind of stretching the boundary of that trust." She chuckled.


    But I could tell, she really did trust me.


    I sighed and I was done with this ce. I didn''t want to get involved anyway. "I''m guessing that''s all? Can we go back now? I think I''ll have some lunch." I was getting kind of hungry.


    Oh wait, that was probably just phantom hunger as even now, my belly was pressing up. I was full- there was no doubt about it.


    "Well, we paid for this room, might as well eat the food." Selene opened the fridge and brought some frozensagna.


    "Excuse me, paid?"


    "Yeah, my ID was linked to the palm. So, when I entered, it chipped off two silvers from my ount. Don''t worry, as your senior and friend- also future wife," she winked. "My treat."


    Senior.


    Friend.


    Wife.


    I nervously stared at Elsa and well she was already seated. She had nothing to say about this, I guess.


    I let out a sigh of relief and- "Don''t forget Marg will be the only official wife." I also took a seat and took the Lasagna off of Selene''s hands.


    Microwave it was!


    "We''ll see about that." Selene grinned.


    Uh-huh.. I had a distinct feeling that she didn''t understand what I just said, not one bit.

 Chapter 257 - Weren’t We Getting Along Just Fine?

    There were two tes, two spoons, and two forks.


    I guess this ce was solely designed for couples.


    "Can I eat from your te?" Elsa said.


    I guess she was also hungry.


    "You can eat from mine too if you want." Selene winked.


    After she just offered, I couldn''t really say no.


    I didn''t necessarily hate sharing food but yeah, this situation didn''t really favor me. I had a bad feeling about all this- or perhaps I was just overthinking things.


    Elsa was in the middle while me and Selene were sandwiching her. this wasn''t that big of a bed, so we were rather close.


    And the food wasn''t that great either.


    Also, I couldn''t eat much thanks to my already full belly.


    We still ate though.


    Somehow.


    Elsa did most of the eating while I maybe ate a bite or two. I''d given her my fork while Selene had given her, her spoon.


    I made extra effort not to throw up.


    ***


    "Alright, there''s one more ce but I guess this is enough for today." Selene went to the corner. "And once you''re done, you can just press this button here, and-"


    And we were back on top. Just like that. Almost like teleportation, but not quite.


    This ce was kind of deserted, so no one could see us. And even if someone did, they''d just mind their business. That was the rule.


    A bit of wind passed by, cold.


    The room down there was quite warm andfortable but a sudden change like this, only made me want to shiver.


    "What if more than one used this room?"


    "There''s about a hundred rooms scattered around the ce and they''re well maintained. We just came out: This room won''t be avable till someone cleans it and refills the stuff we''ve used." Selene giggled. "But since we didn''t use much, they''d probably just reuse this room as it is but charge a bit less."


    Two silvers was very reasonable and I had a feeling a lot of students used these things. And frequently too.


    Then again, who was I to judge? It was their life anyway.


    "I guess, we''ll be heading home then."


    "Right! I have to get back to the dorms too." She was about to leave but- "Oh and I heard you had Raea over for a few days. What''s up with that?"


    I gulped. I tried my extra best to make sure the word didn''t spread, but it still spread.


    "Oh, he just let her stay there, for a bit of price." And Elsa spilled the beans. She also gave me a rather heinous grin.


    Did I do something to her? What could I have possibly done to evoke her rage!?


    And then about a thousand things came to mind. From not telling her things, to purposefully pranking her over and over again¡­ shit!


    Selene grinned. "Alright, see youter." With that said, she left.


    But I had a bad feeling about that. A real bad feeling.


    Shit indeed.


    ***


    We were finally about to head over to home when I remembered, Marg said she''d being at noon and it was noon. Maybe a bitte too.


    I gave her a message on my Holo but no response.


    I waited for like five minutes but nothing.


    "Maybe she''s in the bathroom?" Elsa said.


    "Maybe."


    I gave mom a message.


    And mom messaged back. "I thought she was with you?"


    I started sweating.


    I called Marg, over and over. But the call never went through.


    "She never went back home."


    I really started sweating.


    ''What do I do?''


    Search the whole ind, wait for her reply, see-


    Elsa shook me! "Calm down. Let''s first see if she responds. She could have just gone to her mother and doesn''t have reception." But even Elsa had a worried look. "Let''s go back home first, okay?"


    "Okay."


    I didn''t care if I had to walk through bugs, I didn''t care, I just wanted to go home fast.


    With that said, I picked up Elsa and with her on my back, started running. Elsa wasn''t that fast of a runner.


    I used every frigging bit of body strengthening I could muster and just ran- faster than ever- for real this time.


    It didn''t matter if my belly was full: it didn''t matter that I had way too much sugar flowing in my blood. It didn''t matter if bugs crawled all over me.


    I just wanted to go home.


    Elsa gripped me tight and didn''t say a thing.


    Run.


    Run!


    RUN!!!


    It took exactly seven minutes to reach home and, in that time, I felt like a maniac.


    "MOM!" I barged in through the front door.


    Seeing my restlessness Mom and father came to the front door.


    "It''s true she didn''te back?"


    "Yeah, but what did she say to you before dropping you off?" Father said.


    "She had some chores and she''d be back by noon."


    But it was already past noon and it was nearing the afternoon, but I''d heard nothing from her and she wasn''t picking up the phone either. More like the calls didn''t even get through.


    "I''ll talk with the headmaster- if she''s still on the ind we''ll know," father took his coat and headed for the door. "Don''t worry son, she probably has something to do somewhere."


    "Meanwhile, let''s call her mother and see if she went there." Mom held my hand and dragged me along.


    "What if-"


    "Stop thinking negative things, would you?" Elsa said. "You two love each other, right? So, trust her. She''s not going to just leave you all of a sudden."


    "You''re right."


    I was perhaps just overthinking. But I couldn''t stop my thoughts. I couldn''t stop the negative thoughts.


    Maybe I''d gotten a bit too attached.


    So, I went to the living and with the central Holo, gave Marg''s mom a call. We''d only talked briefly. I was supposed to visit her on the 27th of this month.


    Mom and she did talk quite often: they were friends. So, letting mom handle this was probably the better idea. Besides, with my restlessness, talking sane wasn''t going to be a thing for me.


    The call started- she picked up.


    Mom and Marg''s mother exchanged pleasantries and after a minute Marg''s mother be a bit suspicious. "Did something happen?"


    "You see-" Mom began. "This morning after dropping Helio at school, Marg didn''t return home. I''m guessing she didn''t go to your ce either."


    "No, she hasn''t. Did you two have a fight?" She stared at me.


    "No, nothing." I kind of felt a throbbing pain. I couldn''t quite put a lid on it.. "In fact, I thought we were getting along just fine."

 Chapter 258 - Just Where The Hell Is She?

    It could have been that I was just the one who thought we were getting along.


    That was definitely possible. Maybe I was just being brash about that. Marg had a hard time expressing her feelings. So, it was totally possible I just assumed things without even meaning to.


    I held my head in my hands. I didn''t know why but my feet slightly shook.


    "Then I don''t think you have to worry about her leaving you. My daughter isn''t like that, she won''t just leave you without a word." Marg''s mother looked at me with stern eyes. "So, I''d appreciate if you didn''t think of her love as something so flimsy."


    Meanwhile, father also called. "Well, she''s not on the ind."


    "Then where?"


    "About that." Mom took sighed slightly. "Last time we went to the doctors and we found out that she was pregnant, you know that much, right?"


    "Yeah and-?"


    Mom looked at Marg''s mother and they both nodded.


    "Did she ever mention that overusing her powers had a deadly side effect?"


    "She fainted once when we''d traveled to and back from Germany and she told me something about-" My memory jogged.


    I did think something was wrong with her and that''s why she and mom went to the doctors. But then they told me, it was only cause of the pregnancy and I believed it¡­.


    But!


    Marg''s words reyed in my mind. "I''ll eventually meet the same fate as them¡­."


    Maybe she hadn''t said the exact same words but I knew for a fact, she wasn''t lying at the time. ''How could I have forgotten?''


    I even promised her that I''de find her and- damn! How the hell had I forgotten all that?


    "SO, you''re saying it''s possible she''s not in this world?"


    "There''s no sure way of knowing that. We could ask Marcus to look her up, but that would take a while and-" Mom paused with a sigh.


    I kept thinking.


    Marg always found me, no matter how far away I was.


    She''d alwayse find me.


    How-why couldn''t I?


    Where was she?


    ''Wait, she used to find me no matter what-''


    I touched my ear.


    It was still here.


    The earring.


    Our earring.


    "We can use this!" I pulled it out, kind of hurt, but didn''t matter. "Marg''s probably wearing the other one."


    "I always did wonder why you were wearing that." Elsa sighed. "But for once, good job."


    Mom took the earring off of my hands. She gave a look at Marg''s mother. "We''ll let you know if we find anything. So, try to do some searching on your part too."


    "I''ll try." The call ended.


    Next- "Come back home, I''ll give my brother a call and ask his brats toe over." She spoke to father.


    Meanwhile, I sat down on the couch, looking at my Holo, desperately searching for a reply. ''What if she got stuck in the ninth dimension?''


    It was impossible for me to ess that ce. If Marg wasn''t in this world, then she had to be there. But if she was there then how the hell would we even attempt to go there?


    Wait, we still weren''t quite positive that she wasn''t on earth anymore.


    I could feel my whole body let out a shiver. This was not the best time to have eaten so much chocte. Let alone thatsagna.


    "Think I might be sick-"


    I ran to the bathroom.


    ***


    I came back from the washroom about an hourter. I couldn''t feel my stomach or my chest.


    I couldn''t tell if this was from throwing up half a dozen times or maybe just my heart aching.


    The world kind of spun around.


    ''Maybe I won''t use radiation so readily next time.''


    All this time I didn''t really know the pain of my enemies who threw up in front of me again and again due to me using too much radiation on them.


    With a groan, I set out for the living. Just standing was a pain, so walking was kind of making me want to not walk. the cold floor seemed rather weing and I kind of wanted to lie down.


    But I still walked.


    Two people were already there.


    "Well, that was fast," I said, barely being able to stand.


    I took a seat the very next moment. I really couldn''t stand anymore. What the hell was wrong with my body?


    "You sure have seen better days," John said.


    Next to John was my other cousin. Marcus. The guy had a ratherrge mouth- he was pretty much an expert at tech and how to find people so, I guess mom called both of them over.


    I just gave them a wave and they waved back.


    "So, what''s the progress?"


    "This ring is really amazing. The technology fascinates me!" Marcus said.


    First of all, that was an earring and it was probably readily avable too. Well, probably.


    Anyway, "The progress?"


    "So far, nothing. She''s probably not on this anymore. Though it''s hard to tell at this point. So far, all the major continents have shown no result. Which leaves out Antarctica."


    "What are the chances of this failing and what if she is at Antarctica?"


    I did have my doubts though. Even if Marg could teleport, going to Antarctica in a mere half a day, didn''t seem usible.


    "I''m about 95% certain she''s not on this anymore. And the other 5% is the Antarctica thing. Though I doubt, she''d be able to go there. Aunt told me she has a physical limit of 1500km, or something like that, meaning she shouldn''t have gotten out of this quadrant of the world in the first ce, given the time frame. Hence, I conclude, she''s not on this anymore."


    I couldn''t really argue with his logic. And I knew for a fact Marg could have easily gone to the Ninth dimension but something went wrong and-


    My head hurt. This was not the best time for this.


    "DO we know anyone who can teleport?"


    "No one I know of," Mom confessed.


    "I do know one but he''s dead," John said.


    Well, that was a bummer.


    "I know one but he''s in a top-secret facility in West Virginia and going there would basically be taking on the whole government. Also, he''s a war criminal," father said.


    I clicked my tongue. None of this was working. Why did all the teleporters always have to be evil and viins and- "Why couldn''t there be just some friendly teleport-"


    Wait- there was one.


    I knew one!


    Lt. Dem- something!


    "I''m gonna run to the dorms!" I stood up. I felt like fainting, but who cared. I grinned. "You guys keep on searching."


    "You can''t be serious! You can barely stand!" Elsa said.


    "I''ll take him." John wrapped his arm over my neck. "Don''t worry about it."


    Though I didn''t like this overly touchy-feely situation- "Thanks, man."


    He grinned and the two of us headed for the door.


    Mom and father didn''t say a thing and neither did Marcus. I could hear Elsa gasp but she didn''t try to stop us.


    But at thest moment- "You''re my son and I trust you but-" Father paused. "Be sure to not let go. Be sure to not give up. The moment you give up, it''s over. Don''t be like me¡­"


    "I won''t." I didn''t turn back.


    I just walked, using John as my support.


    Hard to imagine just throwing up half a dozen times could do this much damage.

 Chapter 259 - Connections

    I was on John''s back. We were flying towards the academy- or the dorms to be more specific.


    I''d sent a message to Merin before actually setting out. I hadn''t received a reply from him.


    Not a great sign.


    "I haven''t seen you this agitated since you got dumped by that imaginary savior of yours."


    I was not in the mood. But still- "I wasn''t dumped by her! And she wasn''t imaginary!" She wasn''t, okay!?


    John chuckled but he didn''t bother to form an argument.


    Anyway, in under five minutes we''d reached the dorm and John took me down. I was d he didn''t drop me like thest time.


    I actually felt a lot better than before. At least I could now stand on my own without wobbling.


    But my arch-nemesis waited in front of me, the stairs of doom.


    So, with a sigh, I started climbing. It took a lot, and I mean a lot of patience and perseverance.


    And after a long arduous climb, we reached the gates of mor- ahem, the dorm room.


    I gave a knock and after a brief moment, it opened slightly. "Can you give me a few minutes, kind of busy?"


    Well, he was busy alright.


    I kind of wanted to break the door, but- "I wouldn''t take my time if I were you."


    He gulped and went back in.


    John and I moved to the balcony and waited.


    It was kind of noisy right now since most of the students were now in the dorms.


    Thest time I''d forced Merin to open his doors- the first day at school. Brought back memories.


    That was also the day I''d first met Marg and I got dragged into- no, I purposefully let myself be dragged into her shit.


    But I didn''t regret it one bit.


    "I know you don''t want to hear this but, maybe calm down a little? I know you love her but nothing is permanent, you should be prepared." John tried to be sincere for once.


    Normally he never gave any good advice and just fooled around but today he sounded so serious.


    "Prepared for what?"


    "That she won''t return or worse-"


    I gave him a re- a rather murderous re: he stopped talking.


    I sighed. "I know that much. That''s why I''m trying my best, so that doesn''t happen. And if it does, I''ll deal with it then. But I don''t want to even consider the worst, at least not yet."


    We didn''t talk past that.


    Two minutester the door opened and a girl left: Natasha.


    I did think they''d finish quickly, but I didn''t think they''d finish this quickly.


    We went into the room.


    ***


    They were busy in here, alright. I even distinctly smelled something. Obviously, I ignored all that.


    It wasn''t my business. I did slightly bad about interrupting though.


    Oh well.


    "You have the worst timings." Merin sighed as he buttoned his shirt. He looked over his Holo and gave me a dull stare. "You couldn''t give a call?"


    I guess I should have.


    But there wasn''t time.


    "You remember I gave you that military invitation of mine? You still got the rmendation letter?" I distinctly remembered getting something like that some weeks ago.


    But I gave it to Merin and never actually bothered with such things.


    He made an awkward face, kind of scratched his head, and then- "Course I do." Burst outughing.


    I kind of wanted to punch him but- "I need it. would you mind bringing it out?"


    "Sure." It took him a moment to find it but he eventually got it. "What happened?"


    I took a look and yeah, it was rmended by some general named Brine and the teleporter was supposedly Lt. Demeris. "Marg''s probably lost in another dimension."


    Their contact info was printed behind the letter so I gave a call. A video call.


    It rang, someone picked up.


    I was prepared to talk to an assistant and all that, but maybe I didn''t need that much preparation, as the man himself picked up.


    "Major General Brine speaking."


    A rather burly and brusque man. He had way too many scars on this face and he looked a bit too tough. Not the type of man I was expecting.


    He was in an office of sorts and the wall behind him was purely ss, rather bright- blinding even.


    And he had a rather bored look.


    "Helio Romswell Jintel, pleasure," I spoke in a polite but firm tone. I was going to ask him a favor, so the least I could do was be sincere. I didn''t try to act arrogant though.


    His eyes opened up slightly and he tried to form a smile: it didn''t work. "Oh, young man. I thought you never got the letter."


    "I was kind of busy with the things I was doing. Sorry to cut to the chase but- I need a favor from you guys."


    I didn''t have time to butter him up first.


    "A favor you say? I''d assume you''d join the army first? Otherwise, a favor to a terrorist would, let''s say, not be feasible for the British army."


    "I''m aware. And though my family is full of terrorists, I''m not quite like that. Anyway, I''m not joining the army."


    "Hmm?" He thought for a second. "Then why would you ask a favor knowing we''d turn you down? Besides, what''s in it for us?"


    This guy was shrewd. He already anticipated that I''d offer him something.


    "I''d owe you a favor. I''m the both a Romswell and a Battlesuin. I could basically take over as the head of both families if I wished. Certainly, you wouldn''t want someone of my caliber to not owe you one? And certainly, you wouldn''t want to let a chance like this go, right?" I smiled: a very nice PR grin.


    The man on the other side also smiled and thenughed.


    If this didn''t work then I guess I had to threaten them. I didn''t have much of a choice and I didn''t have the time either. Even if it meant threatening the whole army-


    "Very well, what do you want?" But to my surprise, he was actually a lot more sensible.


    "I want to borrow your teleporter: Lt. Demeris, for the day."


    A bit of silence.


    ***


    Lt. Demeris made his way to the dorm room.


    ''That was fast.''


    My talk with the general was only like 5 minutes ago. The moment the guy heard I just wanted his teleporter he didn''t bother questioning me and just sent him over with just one catch- I''d return him in one piece.


    I guess they weren''t messing around.


    But I surely didn''t expect the general to be this lenient. It almost made me feel like there were a bunch of other ulterior motives here at y. But for the time being, I had to ignore all of them, I just didn''t have the time and I certainly didn''t want to think about them.


    But weren''t they trusting me a bit too much?


    "I have to warn you, my limit is virtually limited to 5000 km for the next twelve hours." He was slender, rather fit, and definitely a serious man. He did have a rather mischievous grin though.


    That nd gray coat didn''t do him justice...


    That range was a lot more than Marg''s. Then again, Marg could also stop time. So, her powers were rather unique.


    "That''s fine." I took a deep breath. "All I need you to do is help me find my girlfriend in the ninth dimension."


    "That ce?" His face slightly paled. "I''m not sure I''d be of much help. That ce is terrifying even to me. And one could easily lose track of time there, so I don''t know if I''ll be-"


    "It''s fine dude. All you have to do is get me there, I''ll take care of the rest."


    I had to find Marg and once I did, it shouldn''t have been that hard to get out.


    But Lt. Demeris begged to differ. "I''m aware that your girlfriend can also teleport but what if she can''t? What if she''s stuck there because of that? The ninth dimension is fundamentally different and it''s a scary ce. Even if you found her there, what if you can''t get out? And I couldn''t just find something there easily either. I only know shortcuts, not the actual routes."


    He was right. I wasn''t thinking this through but I couldn''t give up just because I didn''t know what to do.


    "Then- is there any way I could contact you?"


    "There are long-distancemunicators in the army but I don''t think anything will work in this case. After all, the ninth dimension is a different dimension. We can''t just send a signal from there and hope to get it over here in time."


    "Then how about you just drop me there, I use my ring to find Marg, and once I''ve found her, you''lle to the ninth dimension ande find me? The devices should work, assuming you and I are in the ninth dimension, right?"


    "It''s possible but we don''t know for sure." Lt. Demeris thought for a second. "But it should be possible¡­." He sure wasn''t convinced though.


    "The possibility is all I need. John, go get that locator and the earring from Marcus. And bring my saber too. Exin all this to mom and father while you''re at it."


    "On it!" That said, John jumped out of the window.


    I actually thought I''d have to exin things to him but I guess that was uncalled for. And he was being rather nice too¡­


    "You sure?" Merin said. "One wrong move and you''re done for."


    "I know. But I can''t stop now."


    Aftering this far, stopping wasn''t going to cut it.


    I was going to find Marg and I wasn''t going to stop till I did.

 Chapter 260 - To The Ninth Dimension

    John came back with the locator, the earring, and my saber.


    I already had my sword with me, and now I had my saber too.


    I looked over the locator and it was fairly simple: or at least that''s how Marcus set it up. Marg just had to be in my ten-thousand-kilometer radius and we were good to go. But I had a feeling this wasn''t going to be that easy. The ninth dimension was a different dimension, meaning it was probably pretty big like this one too. And was there any footing there? Was there oxygen there?


    The longest time I''d been in the ninth dimension was about a minute long and I was holding on to Marg at the time. I couldn''t quite remember much about the ce and then there was the thing about those shadowy monster things.


    But I''d already made up my mind. There was no going back now.


    "They told me to tell you to be careful," John said, obviously concerned.


    I actually hadn''t seen him this agitated before. And judging by his tone, it was sufficed to say, the progress on their end wasn''t great either.


    I smiled. "Well tell them to not worry." Anyway, I turned to the Lt. "Anything I should be aware of? Like any dangers, any pitfalls, and all that? And would I be able to breathe and all?"


    "Nothing that I know of. The time in the ninth dimension flows differently and thews are different: it''s almost like flying through space and you don''t need extra oxygen or food or anything: your body won''t change when you''re there. So, you won''t feel anything oh and you would need at least some thrust or you''d keep floating forever. Our powers allow us to float in that dimension and travel instantaneously but I can''t say the same about you." He exhaled. "And be careful about those flying ck things. I''d seen you use sma before so try to use that if theye after you. Under no circumstances are you to let your guard down."


    "Don''t worry, I won''t. Thest thing I need is overconfidence."


    I was very much aware of the risks but Marg mattered more.


    He grinned. "You''d have made a fine soldier." Yeah- I wasn''t so sure about that. He grabbed my shoulder. "I''ll take you as far as I can, after that it''s all you."


    "Can I tag along? I''ll be a great asset since we need to fly and all," John suggested. "Besides, we don''t know what sort of troubles are there, so having a bit of a backup would be great, don''t you think?"


    I considered it. but in the end, "No thanks. Since I won''t have to worry about my radiation harming people, I think I''ll be able to at least fly with my barriers."


    But there was a different reason, I didn''t want John with me. This was probably a suicide mission. We knew virtually nothing about this ninth dimension and we had no way of making sure our n would even work. And then the thing about the dimension itself. What if we all got trapped? I could take risks for my life, but I couldn''t do the same for John.


    He didn''t seem convinced. "Alright." But he didn''t say anything else.


    I gave Merin a nod and he nodded back.


    "Let''s go."


    "Once I drop you off, I''ll be on a 12-hour resting period. It might seem like 6 hours to you, or maybe even 24 hours. Leave these markers behind whenever you pass a minimum range of 5000 kilometers. And don''t count on the time dtion. Expect it to be shortened instead. Anyway, you ready?"


    "Ready!"


    I gave Merin and John a wave.


    We teleported.


    ***


    ck.


    Things were ck.


    My eyes took a moment to adjust and instead of ck, I saw a darker shade of indigo.


    No sounds, no smell, no feeling of cold or warmth. It was like my senses didn''t even exist. Very nerve-wracking but- it was mostly an eerie feeling than anything else. It almost made me want to do a reality check- but I knew for a fact this was real- after all, I''d been to this ce before.


    I turned on the locator but so far nothing.


    "So, she''s not in the range yet¡­"


    The locator still worked. Which was good but the fact that Marg wasn''t even remotely close was not good.


    This still gave me hope though.


    "I''ll try to take you as far as I can but- which way do you think we should go?"


    I thought for a second. We could have basically went to any direction¡­"Which way is our home?"


    "That way."


    "Then let''s move that way."


    "Alright."


    We kept going.


    Traveling with him was rather fast. We were basically speeding through at roughly 1% lightspeed.


    But so far, nothing.


    He stopped. "I''m at my limit. As exined, I''lle back in 12 hours but it might be 6 for you. These are the markers. Use them wisely."


    He gave me about a dozen small tablet-sized markers and dropped me where we were.


    I nodded and he disappeared.


    We''d basically traveled for like 10 seconds.


    With him gone, I just floated. This was basically zero gravity.


    It wasn''t hard to breathe or anything but just floating wasn''t that great.


    I formed a half barrier- it worked. I also tried to use alpha particles as thrust- it was working but things were slow. I switched to other radiation and after a bit of experimentation, I seeded in a decent amount of thrust. I''d say I was going about fifty times faster than sound. I also had a bit of eleration too. Though with my prediction 60 times was my limit.


    This world- this purple world was seemingly empty. I could see purple stars in faraway ces but they were rare and they were really far. There were some ck spots here and there. And I could see some ck thingsing my way. I was faster than them so they never got near me.


    Those things didn''t have eyes and they were like tattered ck robes but just with maybe a translucent ck decaying head attached. Rather scary but I had better things to do than run around being scared.


    I continued like this for about ten minutes longer. Still, nothing but I released a marker.


    This went on.


    Nothing.


    There was nothing. Nos, no stars, no nothing. Not even debris, and I couldn''t really see that far either as light was scarce.


    Strangely, I could breathe. Where the hell was the oxygening from?


    Wait, was I actually breathing?


    Now that I actually noticed, I wasn''t breathing. My body didn''t have any change and I wasn''t aging: basically, all my bodily functions had stopped. It was almost as though I didn''t exist at all, but I did. I didn''t understand any of this and I didn''t really have time to worry about it either.


    As for radiation, I was constantly being drained. And I wasn''t recovering anything.


    ''So, if I use up all my resources now, I''d be powerless even if I wait here for all eternity?''


    It was a good thing I had a small chunk of cobalt in my wallet. I found it some years ago but never bothered to use it.


    As I kept going, I saw debris here and there and something small in the distance.


    The small thing gradually got bigger and bigger. It was a. A broken- half destroyed, half intact.


    Meanwhile, my speed just kept on increasing. Right now, I was about fifty-five times faster than the speed of sound. But so far, no sign of Marg.


    ''Where are you?''


    My hands and feet were slightly going cold- I was scared of the unknown. I was scared that I''d never find her- she''d- sigh.


    I had to form barriers to avoid the debris. Some were barely the size of my fingers while others were the size of maybe the whole of Battlesuin mansion. I tried my best to avoid the ones I could, as for the ones I couldn''t, I had to use my sma balls and saber.


    Enira wasn''ting out as usual and I was losing more and more radiation by the minute.


    Sigh.


    I''d stopped thrusting, and I tried using it backwards to slow down.


    Some minutester I finally saw the. It wasn''t as big as a- maybe a moon?


    This ce had probably the most amount of those ck things. They were everywhere and I just blitzed past them.


    BLEEP!


    But then all of a sudden, the locator gave a bleep. A refreshing sound in this void.


    Finally!


    Marg!


    My face brightened and I could feel the warmth of my body return.


    All this time, I was so unsure, I was so hesitant, so scared but finally! I didn''t know if Marg was in this dimension till now and that was a real scary thought. But something even scarier lingered in my mind- what if I never find her?


    So when the bleep did appear- it was almost like my whole body burned with hope.


    I dropped my secondst marker and went straight for the bleep. It was somewhere on the moon-like thing.


    I''d slowed down to about 10 times the speed of sound.


    I got closer and I got a stronger bleep- it was close- maybe about a few thousand miles but I was damn close.

 Chapter 261 - Tress[Asser Indeed

    The ck things wereing for me but I just sted any that came near me. My radiation tank was still in the mid-eighties, so I had plenty of steam left.


    Though those things liked light- they weren''t a fan of heat- it would seem.


    Actually, even without any air, or anything, I could make sma out of nowhere. Something was seriously wrong with this world and it wasn''t me.


    I reached the outskirts of the moon and slowly got pulled in by gravity. This was small and it wasn''t rotating. But its gravity was strong (maybe not as strong as earth''s) and it pulled me fast.


    There wasn''t any atmosphere and I still wasn''t breathing. The feeling really was eerie.


    Anyway, the ground wasing up fast.


    And all this floating around, the use of radiation, and all that had given me something. A feeling: a bit of confidence.


    "FLY!" I pulled up, I tried my best, slowed down the fall, and even barely flew until I didn''t and crashed solidly on the pink soft ground.


    "Argh!" I picked myself up and with a wobbly head, barely stood tall.


    Okay, maybe that confidence was uncalled for.


    Surprisingly, I hadn''t broken any bones. I couldn''t feel my left arm though. Oh well.


    There were faint sounds here and there. Compared to the ever-so silent space I''d juste from this was like a godsend.


    But, was it me, or was the ground too soft?


    There were three pink rods sticking out- rather streamlined.


    ''Trees?''


    My feet were sinking slightly with the lightest of pressure. It wasn''t a liquid surface but more like- ''Skin?''


    Before I could even think too much, it started moving and I fell on my back. Obviously, I tried to get up right away, but the ground opened up and teeth, very sharp teeth at that, were visible. The rods started moving like tentacles and came at me at a rapid pace.


    "Oh boy."


    I jumped before the tentacle-like things grabbed me.


    The gravity was lower than earth''s and thanks to that I''d jumped pretty high. Wait, that wasn''t quite it. Because I was more or less 30 meters up in the air.


    I was still up in the air and I didn''t fall. ''I''m flying?''


    But more importantly, what the hell was that thing?


    I looked around and the rest of the moon was kind of crimson in color. But there were countless other pink spots. And they even had tree-shaped things. They probably weren''t trees though.


    The thing that tried to grab me, be normal and blended in just momentster.


    "Aliens."


    But that didn''t matter. What mattered was Marg and- and she was about two hundred kilometers away. At least ording to the locator.


    I breathed a sigh of relief and flew that way. There weren''t any stars around here, so it was like a moonless night (and starless too, cause the twelve I could see didn''t count). This''s surface glowed ever so slightly, so my vision wasn''t hampered. But- how could this ce let out light without any source like a star? Obviously, there wasn''t anyone here who I could ask.


    To my surprise, flying was rather easy and I wasn''t really leaking much radiation either. I couldn''t really understand how this was working but- as long as it worked, who cared?


    Well, I certainly did cause I had to maneuver myself. My speed was proportionate to the amount of radiation I was leaking. In this case, I was just converting infrared to raw energy. I had no idea how that worked but it worked!


    I kept my eye on the locator and what was in front.


    There were a bunch of those shadowy thingies flying around. I didn''t see many creatures down on the ground and the few that were visible weren''t quite what I was used to either. Some were shaped like rabbits with multiple red eyes. Some were like ostriches but with a shorter neck and six legs. Others were likerge elephants but without the trunk and tusks, instead, they had wings: wings, that didn''t give them flight.


    This ce was weird. And the flying shadowy ones kind of made me feel a bit bad for Marg. Marg was afraid of ghosts and these things were the very definition of ghosts. And this ce was basically like hell. No sound, no smell: my senses were sitting idle.


    ''Was she afraid of this ce and hence the ghosts?''


    Maybe- or maybe it was the opposite.


    But there was only one way to find out.


    It was to find Marg herself.


    And for that- I flew.


    ***


    This didn''t have much of an atmosphere and even now I didn''t have to breathe. My body didn''t really demand oxygen either. But I was already running with 60% juice remaining. Meaning, I didn''t really have much time left.


    ording to my reception-less Holo, it''d already been over 4 hours. It felt like an hour to me.


    But I guess that meant, time was running a lot faster. Meaning, Lt. Demeris woulde sooner rather thanter.


    ''Better find her fast.''


    I speed up and kept on searching.


    Bleep!


    I was getting close.


    But there was nothing on the ground.


    Closer!


    There!


    I was just over the dot on the locator but there was nothing on the ground.


    ''Underground?''


    What if something ate her and-


    I breathed hard, gritted my teeth, and descended.


    ''Wait, how the hell do I stop?''


    Crash!


    Mynding was anything but pretty. I probably shouldn''t have descended so fast. For a second there I''d actually forgotten this was my first time flying. And I basically knew nothing about flying or what was even happening.


    So, yeah¡­.


    Anyway, with a groan, I held my head in hand and tried to survey my surroundings.


    So far, nothing of note. The ground was hard and there weren''t any pink monsters around.


    I tried to punch the ground just to check it, but it was pretty sturdy. I didn''t put too much strength. After all, if it was a cave-in, Marg would be in trouble.


    So- I kept on looking around for an entrance.


    And I found something- a rock in the distance. And a distinct ck mark just beneath its base.


    ***


    "Isn''t this a bit too small?"


    Just below the rock, there was a hole. I could barely fit in. Though I kind of doubted I''d be able toe back up, I still went in anyway.


    I did ce myst marker here though. Hopefully the lieutenant would be able to find me.


    Anyway. "WOHHOOOOOO!"


    This was a slide: not a literal fall. The ground concaved down and it sure wanted me down, that was for sure: A very rough slide that tore through my skin like it was nothing. With Enira sleeping, my healing wasn''t the best. it was better than nothing but still, it wasn''t something I could count on. And therefore- OUCH!


    Just how deep did this thing go?


    I was sliding for over a minute now and it just kept going and going and- crash!


    m!


    I mmed into a wall. This frigging slide just had to suddenly level up!


    Sigh. Groan!


    So far- all I''d been doing today was crashing.


    All the pain sensors of my body were tingling: very painful. But I had to go on.


    Argh! I held my head and again looked around- darkness everywhere. I formed a small sma ball to illuminate my surroundings and well, there were caves and openings and all that everywhere¡­ I took the path that seemed to be facing the same way as Marg on the locator.


    A gamble.


    It took me a minute but I got adjusted to this tight ce and the lighting, fast.


    There wasn''t anything here- no life forms at least.


    I had cuts and bruises all over my body. I sure hoped the microorganisms of this ce weren''t going to destroy my body.


    ''Are these ruins?''


    The walls had writings, drawings, this and that. But I couldn''t quite make up anything.


    The writing was very foreign and the illustrations were mostly just scribbles and faded.


    I kept going and going. Halfway through, I''d run into a bit of rubble. When I say a bit- the whole path was pretty much blocked.


    A dead end.


    I could have tried to st through the rubble but then there was the possibility of a cave-in.


    Sigh.


    I turned back and kept walking. I logged this on my Holo, in the hopes of making a map.


    ***


    I was back where I started.


    ''SO just taking a path that seems most likely won''t work?''


    Didn''t matter. I might or might not have had much time left but that didn''t mean I was going to give up.


    The next one!


    Dead end!


    The next one!


    Also, dead one!


    Another one!


    Dead-


    Ano-


    Dead.


    Dead.


    Dead end!


    Pant!


    I wasn''t breathing but I still ended up being way too tired. And my body wasn''t recovering any stamina. The map on my Holo had basically nothing but dead ends and the paths weren''t even connected.


    ''This isn''t looking good.''


    There were about a dozen paths still remaining but I took another gamble and picked thest path.


    ***


    This path was slightly different.


    For starters, there were more scribbling on the walls and the walls seemed a tad sturdier.


    I didn''t know why but I had a feeling this one was going to lead me at least somewhere.


    A gut feeling. Or to be more precise, a feeling just to make myself believe that I wasn''t lost.


    It took ten minutes of walking but I finally came to open space.


    Marg was still about a kilometer away but at least this wasn''t a dead-end!


    ''But why do I feel like a boss monster is Waiting toe out?''


    I might or might not have yed way too many games in my youth.


    Though as stupid as that was, I still kept my guard up. There was no saying what could have happened in a ce like this.


    "Tress[asser," A very weird voice rang out. It was somewhere between a man''s and a woman''s. I couldn''t quite put a lid on the feeling. "What are you doing here, state your [urpose."


    Tress Asser? Asser!?


    My Urpose?


    What?


    I cleared my throat. "Show yourself."


    I actually got a bit flustered to hear actual words in a ce like this.. So, I might or might not havee out a little cringe.

 Chapter 262 - Why?

    I saw nothing.


    There wasn''t anyone here.


    The roof was dark, and I couldn''t make out much.


    There wasn''t any smell in the air and there was no sound.


    There were three paths leading out of this room. One path led me here, the two others were supposedly leading to other ces.


    "Who are you and what are you doing here?" I shouted out.


    Maybe I should have given my purpose first as it asked but I had a feeling this thing wasn''t friendly and the fact that it could speak mynguage only made me feel more suspicious.


    Why?


    What the hell was an asser!?


    "Such insolence!"


    But he or she didn''t evene out.


    The voice actually rang out and reverberated inside the whole room, so I couldn''t quite tell if it wasing from above me or from within one of the two paths.


    I was a little spooked at first but now I didn''t feel much. As long as this person didn''t attack me, I wasn''t going to try anything funny.


    "Look, I mean no trouble. I''m just here to find someone." I steadily released alpha particles to see if they were near or not but so far- nothing. The rules of this world were different so it was possible my particles weren''t going to cut it, or it was also possible that this person just wasn''t present in this room.


    "[rove it."


    "Rove?"


    "[Rove it! Rove that you''re telling the truth!]


    Oh, prove!


    "How?"


    I had a feeling he couldn''t pronounce the letter ''p''.


    "I don''t know!" It was almost like the person just had a mental fog or something.


    I didn''t know whether to be amazed or disappointed. In the end, I picked both.


    I headed for one of the paths.


    The voice didn''t say anything. So, instead, I switched my direction to the second path.


    "Sto[! Don''t take a ste[ further or I will kill the [erson you came here for."


    I stopped. That sounded like a bluff but I couldn''t really risk it. So instead, "I came looking for a guy who was trapped here for quite a while."


    I tried to bluff.


    "What- really? Go on?"


    ''Oh, you like that, don''t you?''


    "I''m his grandchild- you see." Obviously, I made all this up.


    It was odd but I could tell that the voice actually belonged to a man. Then again, that was just me assuming.


    And I was also assuming this guy was old. I really hope this worked.


    "And you have a way to get off this rock?" His voice was much calmer.


    I sucked at pretending but- for once, I felt like this was going good.


    "I do but you''ll have to show yourself first and help me find that man."


    A snort resounded and someone fell to the ground from the ceiling.


    "You don''t look like my blood but I guess beggars can''t be choosers." An old man fell from the ceiling. He was half of my size: beard just tall as him, totally gray.


    ''Did he just admit I''m his grandchild while also mocking me?''


    He didn''t look wrinkly but instead, he had this mischievous grin and a very bald head. He was human- at least going by the looks.


    And I''d struck gold! ''Bingo.'' Who''d have thunk my little skit would actually work.


    I was terrible at acting, so I had to try extra hard. "Yu-you''re my grandpa!?" I slowly went towards him for a hug. Acting way too surprised.


    The n was, I''d hug him, catch him off guard and then trap him in my barrier. Ultimately questioning him about this world and Marg.


    I kind of didn''t want to even go near him though- and there was a very good reason for that.


    "Hold it there, squirt." He shed his worn-out teeth and pointed a gun at me- an old gun. I''d only seen those ck things with triggers in museums. "I''m still a virgin, so that''s a load of cra[." He grinned. "You''re here for the girl, aincha?" Even up close his voice was really weird. And his ent was even weirder.


    I guess I was stupid to think my otherworldly skit was going to get us anything.


    But it did give me a very valuable reason to not feel embarrassed.


    I sighed and unsheathed my saber. "Look, you''re right. I''m here for the girl. And I''d appreciate if you''d lead me to her. And who knows, I might be kind enough to get you off this rock in that case."


    I did a careful reconnaissance but no one else was in the room. Now that the man was in front of me, my particles were picking him up. And more importantly, he smelled!


    I could almost throw up but I had to bear with it.


    "HA!" He snorted. "Like I''d fall for that. Do you have any idea what this ce is, boy? And you think a squirt like you could esca[e? This is the null, you moron. Everythinges in, nothing goes out." He stopped grinning. "But you don''t happen to be a teleporter, do you?"


    For someone who just mocked me nonstop, he sure was asking a lot: and he was also very intelligent. But I had to be careful about this.


    "No, but I can fly."


    He looked at me, a bit dazed, and then burst out snorting. "Uh-huh." He wiped a tear. "In that case, say goodbye to freedom forever, sonny. As for the missy, she''s inside." He turned around and kept walking towards one of the paths.


    This encounter was weird at its best.


    And did he just brush this whole thing off like it was nothing? Also, he was weirdly trusting of me, enough to, actually show me his back.


    That was very suspicious indeed.


    "She''s okay, right?"


    I walked right behind him but kept my guard up.


    This old man was both weird and I had a feeling he was dangerous. He knew a lot about this world and I could get information from him, but at the same time, I felt like I had to be wary of him.


    His clothes weren''t torn, but they weren''t in that great shape either. And he probably didn''t shower for years.


    "You''ll see."


    We walked for exactly nine minutes and after that, we ended up in a room. A rather tidy room, with virtually nothing but a bed, a stool, and a table: all three were carved from the rock. It didn''t even have a door. It was just a corner that was decorated like a room.


    There was no fridge, no appliances, and definitely nothing of note other than just one thing.


    And that one thing was Marg- sleeping soundly on the bed.


    My eyes lit up seeing her, my heart raced faster. I was about to go to her but-


    "You still haven''t told me who you are kid and what''s your rtionship with the girl." The man held his gun at my neck. I wasn''t worried about that as I had my barriers.


    But this guy sure was dangerous, that much was for sure.


    "She''s my girlfriend and we''re getting married in a week. Or at least we were supposed to."


    I examined his reaction carefully. If he turned out to be a foe, I had to dispose of him quickly. Now that I''d found Marg, I didn''t need him.


    He grinned and put it away. "Really?" He stopped grinning. "I guess I''m just unlucky." He sighed. "Wee to my humble abode. Make yourselves at home and then get out." It didn''t take him a moment to just cheer up.


    The guy was really random.


    "Marg- you okay?"


    I went over to her; she was as pale as paper.


    I shook her gently but it didn''t work.


    I shook her a bit vigorously- "MARG!" But no, that didn''t work either.


    "She''s frozen, kid. There''s nothing you can do about it." The guy sat down on the stone stool and held his chin as he stared at us.


    "What?" Marg wasn''t even remotely cold. Her body was warm and her heart was beating like she was asleep. "What the hell do you mean?"


    "She''s frozen by this world''s standards. In this world, you don''t need food or water to survive. But once you run out of energy- that happens and you fall asleep for forever. Kind of like dying."


    Dying?


    Dying!?


    "WHAT!"


    "Stop shouting. I''m hearing people speak after forty years, you shouting ain''t helping." He let out a pained groan as he picked his ear with his pinkie.


    ''Hey, you can pronounce P!''


    My heart sank and my body oddly went cold. "Isn''t there anything we can do about it?"


    I came here- I came here for her. I traveled with misery, heartache, and hope. I knew I''d find her, I believed in that.


    But now- now that I found her, why did I feel even worse?


    Why did I fear she won''t wake up?


    Damn!

 Chapter 263 - Just Kill em With Radiation!

    "Isn''t there anything, we can do at all?" I murmured.


    "Nothing I know off. Been stuck here for ages and she''s the first person I came across. Until you showed up."


    I looked at my Holo and it''s been almost eleven hours. Meaning, Lt. Demeris was probably going toe in a short amount of time.


    "Would getting out of this ce do?"


    If this condition was the result of hering into this dimension, then it was possible the reverse was also feasible.


    "You really think you can?"


    This ce wasn''t exactly covered, so I kept my eyes and senses on high alert but- ever since I came underground, I never saw any life forms in here.


    "I have someone who can and he''ll be here any moment." I didn''t see any reason to hide things anymore.


    We just didn''t have enough time.


    He smiled. "That''s what I thought too but- no one came for me." He sighed. "No one could. Even if someone doe, it won''t be that easy. The more nches are flying about, the harder is for teleporters toe here."


    "nches?"


    "Those ck things. Those are the souls of the dead. In this world- this destroyed world- the dead have no ce to go. Hench, they float around. And they''re constantly trying to get out of this world- and so teleporters are the prime target. You see where I''m going with this kid?" He looked over at Marg. "They drained every essence of her energy in the hope of regaining some energy of their own to be able to cross into our world. And some even seeded: the energy of the teleporters are different, see. We call the ones that escape, ghosts, I guess?"


    "How''d you end up here?"


    "A bit of betrayal." He showed his teeth.


    I had a feeling that ran a lot deeper than he made it out to be.


    "You''re from earth?"


    "Neil."


    "I see."


    The old man thought for a second and then smiled. "Then that means the world has proceeded to such a state that they already know about Neil?" He looked a bit relieved. "I guess then all that shit was worth it. How far are we into the future anyway?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Nevemind," He sighed. "Nothing kid. What do you say we go out and kill the boss of the souls and open a path for your teleporter friend?"


    "How do you kill something that''s already dead?"


    If the flying things were souls of the dead, then weren''t they already dead?


    He grinned, showing his teeth. "We''ll just have to find out, don''t we?"


    ***


    The guy knew a shortcut and we were back on top.


    ording to him, I''d actually gotten terribly lucky when I''d first fallen through the small hole. The hole actually led to a very scary maze that often changed its positions, andst time it took him six months to actuallye out of there. Sounded like a maze out of someone''s nightmare, but then again, this world was weird anyway.


    And most of the paths led to odd ces that weren''t blocked. Meaning, I''d gotten terribly lucky.


    As for the little open space where I met him, one path led to that space, one led to Marg and the other path led outside and it was that simple.


    Oh well.


    "Would Marg be safe there? How''d you even find her?"


    The man grinned. "Those things don''t go underground. I found her floating above this ce, attracted them, and with a bit of trial and error, saved her." He was awfully proud of it. Wait, wouldn''t that mean, he could potentially fly and also have some sort of-"If we can get rid of all the shadows, then we can make sure whoever ising for you would be able toe here safely. Those things really love light and lucky for you I can create light." He grinned. "All you''ll have to do is kill them."


    "How?"


    And even I could create light but I also created heat as a byproduct and those things didn''t really like heat, that was clear.


    "Dunno."


    We stared at each other for a second.


    "What?"


    "What?"


    Awkward silence.


    "Then what the hell did you bring me out here for!?"


    Damn geezer!


    He chuckled out loud. "You remind me of someone kid. Anyway, you didn''te all this way and with no harm, without anything special, did ya? And no, I won''t take ''I can fly'' as an answer."


    He had brains, at least. "I can create radiation."


    "Perfect!"


    "And?"


    "Just kill em with radiation!"


    "They''re already dead, you idiot!"


    Heughed again. But controlled himself as he stood still. "But this world is different. If you can use radiation, I''d assume you can make a sun too. Why don''t we make a decent-sized one and let those critters have at it? They''de like flies and die like flies." He burst outughing. "Or least stay busy till we make a run for."


    Why would he assume just cause I could use radiation, I could also make sma and in turn, a sun?


    I mean, I could, but how''d he know that?


    This geezer was mysterious and even now, I was wary of him. I didn''t trust him, but he did seem reasonable enough.


    But I did not like that n, no. "I don''t think I have enough juice to make it happen. And don''t we have any other n?"


    "We could just make a spaceship and get out of this ce but that won''t solve the problem as those things wille after teleporters even when they''re dry as your lover."


    "My lover ain''t dry and shut up!" Even I started talking like the geezer.


    Sigh.


    And he was just trolling. I could use my barriers as makeshift transporter, but with three people- it wouldn''t be fast enough to escape this while also escaping the ck thingies- or rather the nches.


    He grinned. "Your choice kid."


    "Fine." It wasn''t like I had any choice.


    It was either leave this geezer, take Marg and run or- do as he said.


    I didn''t like either n. Besides, I didn''t know if we could actually get out of this ce when those things just crawled everywhere.


    Coming here alone was one thing, but leaving- yeah, didn''t seem that nice.


    ''Why don''t we justbine both then?''


    That didn''t seem like a bad n. We''d attract those things, throw the sma ball in the distance and use that opportunity to run.


    Perfect!


    "Hot and cold? You sure are something kid."


    "Yeah, I don''t want to hear that from you, geezer." I controlled myself. "How big does it have to be?"


    My limit without harming others was a football-sized one. But so far there were only three of us on this rock. And I could have just fired it towards the sky and it''d keep going. So, in theory, I could make something bigger without anyplications: maybe the size of a truck? But there was a catch, my powers weren''t infinite.


    And then there was the thing about me sustaining burns from being too close to the sma and also there was the thing about actually controlling it.


    "Dunno, maybe half the size of this?"


    "That''s massive!" And by the time I''d even get near that level, I''d have died ten times over. And the chunk of cobalt in my wallet wasn''t going to remotely cover it.


    I brought out my wallet- or rather the air.


    I remembered.


    "Fuck, I didn''t bring my wallet."


    The old man chuckled so much that he fell on the floor, still chuckling. "We''re gonna stay stranded here and you''re worrying about money kid?" He was literally crying from the amount ofughter.


    "No, I had a cobalt stone in my wallet." I didn''t want to exin but I didn''t know what to do anymore. I felt so stupid. "I thought that''d at least aid in me regaining a bit of energy."


    ''Is it even possible to regain energy in this world?''


    "Anything radioactive, would do?"


    "Uh-huh." I mean, I could always just try and find out.


    He threw me a rock. Caught it.


    Pure uranium.


    "The hell were you carrying this for? You wanna die?"


    "Its radiation is zero as you can see. Eat it and tell me if that''s enough, ''cause I got more." He grinned.


    Wait, so that''s why there were no emissions in this world¡­ after all, there wasn''t much energy here in the first ce. I still didn''t understand it but I had a feeling this thing ran pretty deep.


    And wait, could a neutered chunk of uranium actually be enough to even supply me enough energy?


    Besides, even now I didn''t quite know much about me eating those stuff. Cause, frankly I never needed to. I only had leftovers memories about gramps eating stuff like that when he ran low.


    I had a bad feeling about that.


    But I put the rock in my mouth, started chewing.


    Terrible.


    Absolutely, terrible.

 Chapter 264 - Escape From The Ninth Dimension

    It was almost like I was eating dirt and, the spreading of sand, a terrible, terrible texture. The feeling of throwing up but not being able to- the need to- ueggh!


    And- yeah, I didn''t really want to remember those dark times¡­ of the past.


    The stone wasn''t actually leaking any form of radiation, so I thought it was drained or something.


    But I was wrong.


    It was only the outside that was inactive, the inneryers were totally rich in energy.


    As I ate the stone and desperately looked for water, which wasn''t here, something felt warm. My stomach started to rumble and heat up. Within a moment, I felt my stamina return and I was about to overflow.


    Never underestimate frigggin uranium!


    My mouth and teeth were in bad shape though: and my eyes might or might not have leaked. Mom was definitely going to p me the next time Iined of toothache.


    Oh well. Beggars couldn''t be choosers.


    I focused over our heads and used a barrier to protect the two of us just in case.


    A ball of sma formed. That was the easy part. In order to make it into a star- I had to constantly feed it energy and also constrict and pressurize it enough so it didn''t just copse under its own gravity. I had to also be fairly close to it because of that and that meant stuff was about to be burned.


    "Get me more!" I screamed.


    Though I was more than full, just creating a football-sized one had drained one-third of my stamina. And I needed a lot more to make this bigger.


    This world was really draining if nothing else.


    "On it, kid." He ran back inside the cave.


    Just keeping the sma ball stabilized wasn''t a problem and didn''t require much energy but- the light was attracting more and more nches. I had a feeling we didn''t have enough time.


    There wasn''t much light in this world- so just my sma was enough to brighten up this whole part of the, which in turn meant, almost all the nches were here and they had me surrounded. They were evening from space- maybe this wasn''t such a great idea.


    And they came in all sizes. The typical ones were a bit taller than humans but some were the size of my feet while others were maybe about five-six meters tall.


    Most were just random-looking, but there were some who looked fairly humanoid but still pretty tall, at least taller than humans.


    But then there was the massive one. It was maybe half the size of the whole Battlesuin mansion and I had a feeling it could see me, cause even though it didn''t have any eyes it was facing me. Instead of just going to the light like the rest, it stayed a fair distance and just stared.


    Very creepy.


    The heat was keeping them away, that was true but there was just way too many.


    And they''d almost covered the light from the sma ball and they were swirling like water.


    Now, that was a sight I never thought I''d see in my life.


    "Kid!" I heard a shout from behind me and the old man was himself surrounded but he threw a rock at me- a bit bigger than the one before.


    I caught it, ate it and continued supplying the sma ball with more and more energy.


    Terrible- absolutely, terrible!


    Eventually, the small ball turned as big as a truck but that was all I could muster up. Both from a stamina and a survivability perspective, this was my absolute limit.


    I used my barriers and powers as best as I could to manipte it and throw it past the atmosphere into space. But it wasn''t working and this thing was too big. The use of the barriers was helping but not as much as I wanted it to.


    "If I let go now, the thing will just fall on this. Go get Marg!"


    Most of the nches just went toward the truck-sized star on the edge of the sky and they stayed a fair distance to avoid the heat.


    ''Doesn''t look like they''re dying like you said, geezer!'' I gritted my teeth and just focused.


    Yeah, no matter how I looked at this, this was too much. And even with all the extra stones and energy, just keeping that thing from falling was now draining me much quicker than I thought.


    This was a bad idea: really.


    But I couldn''t lose focus, I still had a bit of stamina and my Holo signaled it was already twelve hours.


    He''d be here any second.


    Or at least I hoped he would.


    "What now, kid!?" The man was back and he had Marg.


    He sure was fast on his feet.


    But I wished he didn''t carry her like a potato sack. Sure didn''t have time to say it out loud though.


    "Either wait out here or try to leave this?"


    Neither seemed feasible. If I moved an inch from this spot, that''d be it for the. I had a feeling they couldn''t get off this without me.


    So, in the end, this was really a bad idea. We''d failed big time and it was my fault for not thinking this through.


    Why the hell did I trust this old geezer who I just met anyway?


    Sirgh!


    And the thing started falling.


    I''d just almost run out of stamina, perfect!


    Too perfect, too perfect indeed.


    My feet started to go cold and my vision blurred.


    "Ach!" I groaned but still tried my best. I had to hold my saber to make barriers and I had to focus hard to keep it floating- so far, neither were working. "Enira,e out already, I need your ass right now!"


    She didn''t respond.


    "There you are!" But someone else did. "Good job with the spectacle. I couldn''t have found you otherwise."


    He''d appeared out of nowhere.


    "LIEUTENANT!"


    "My limit is two, at most. I''ll take them with me, while you keep that thing floating. I''ll be right back for you." He didn''t even question me about the old man, there just wasn''t any time.


    "Nah, just take the missy. I''ll keep the kidpany." The old man handed Marg over to Lt. Demeris.


    Lt. Demeris looked slightly confused for a second but eventually nodded and disappeared.


    "You sure? I thought you were stuck here for over 4 decades."


    And the star was falling. I was just merely able to slow it down.


    Pant!


    Pant!


    He snorted. "I''ve got patience kid. Besides, it''d leave a bad taste in my mouth knowing you''d die or something."


    Why did I need a geezer half my size who had one foot in the grave, worrying about me?


    Oddly- that made me feel slightly warm. "Hey, don''t go around killing me that easily." I chuckled.


    Heughed and held his hands up.


    The star sped up and started falling rather fast.


    A small ball formed in the middle of the old man''s hands and soon afterward a beam fired: the beam was an inch thick and it pierced straight through my truck-sized sun in a nanosecond. Just like that. "Explosion!" He spoke the words like he was speaking French or something.


    The sun stopped- that was good- but- something not so good started to happen.


    The sun copsed and, in a sh second, shrunk so much that I thought we were going to die. And that too was a valid concern as it exploded the very next second.


    "The hell you doing, you damn geezer!"


    I only received a rather ominousughter in exchange.


    I formed arge barrier but- we were going to die.


    ''I''m gonna die.'' Bright- that was the only thought apart from death ran across my mind.


    Bright- bright- too bright¡­ no sound- just bright-


    mes wereing our way- a vigorous, hot mes: sma.


    But I smiled. I got to save Marg-


    Maybe this wasn''t a waste.


    I did want to spend more time with her though- with my family- with everyone. I wanted to mess around a little and yet¡­.


    Tears formed but they evaporated as my face started to burn.


    This was it.


    "Rather shy way of doing things-" The Lieutenant appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the two of us, and all three of us disappeared- or rather we teleported.


    I was saved.


    ***


    The moment before we''d teleported, everything was too bright, so once we did teleport, things weren''t so bright and I was almost blind for a second.


    I could have sworn I saw therge nche look straight at me though.


    I couldn''t see much but, I could see the geezer next to me though. Also, my face burned and ears stung¡­ argh!


    "The hell was that for, geezer, you almost killed us!" I held the guy by his cor and a secondter realized that was a mistake as his whole cor ripped and came off.


    A little more force and the rest of his clothes would have turned to dust too.


    The background noise and the horns, and the murmurs were like killing my ears. Why did people have to be so friggin loud?


    Heughed. "Been stuck with them for over four decades kid, tis- was my way of saying goodbye and freeing them." He grinned.


    My eyes were still adjusting but we were kind of in the open and there was sunlight.


    Too bad, I couldn''t make up much, as I had a big blinking purple haze over my vision.


    Seriously, just how bright was that explosion?


    But- I was d.. Perhaps a bit too d.

 Chapter 265 - No, No, Im Not Here To Conquer You, Promise

    As my vision cleared a bit more, I could see better.


    My half-baked smile kind of vanished.


    The background noise dulled slightly but the horns and all that were still a nuisance.


    "What¡­ the¡­ hell?"


    We weren''t just anywhere. We were in the middle of the bloody road and a four-way intersection no less.


    Every car had stopped, and people were staring, ring, yelling, this and that and that.


    The distinct smell of gasoline and maybe a bit of smoke irritated my nostrils.


    ''Why still use primitive stuff like these?''


    "What the hell indeed, kid, what the hell, indeed." The old manughed.


    Judging by the looks and the signs and all that- we were in the Southeast Asian region.


    I couldn''t quite tell which country though.


    "I''m pretty much exhausted, so it''d be hard for me to teleport. Let''s get off the road and search for a ce to stay in the meantime."


    Marg was in the Lieutenant''s arms. He was carrying her like a princess. Now that''s how people should carry girls!


    Not like a frigging potato sack!


    "Is she gonna be okay?" I asked, a bit concerned.


    "She seems to be sleeping. I''m not medical expert but I think she''ll be fine."


    I felt slightly at ease. I really hope she was just sleeping and there wasn''t any more to that.


    It was hard for me to stand but I could feel my body slowly readjusting and that was good. "Youing, geezer?"


    "Don''t know this world. So, guess I''ll tag along for a day." He grinned. "Besides, you owe me for those stones." His grin widened.


    "Well, we got you out of there so that''s that. We''re even. Though I wouldn''t mind treating you a drink or two at our ce once we get back or something."


    He snorted but didn''t seem to decline outright.


    Besides, I still didn''t know if he was a good guy or a bad guy.


    ***


    Anyway- we got off the road.


    The locals were yelling stuff.


    I had no idea what they were saying- to me, it only sounded like ''sung, ciing , fring , din tin and all that. I did get the general conscience though- basically, they wanted us to get off the ce. Very logical, I guess.


    And just as we got out of the road and reached the footpath- people in suits were headed this way. Looks like we were going to have to deal with the police of this ce.


    "This seems like Korea, not quite sure if it''s the south or the north. But let''s just say, they won''t be pleased to see us disturbing their city," Lieutenant said, looking straight ahead.


    "Don''t worry, right now you''re just the aplice of Helio Romswell Jintel." I grinned and pointed my finger forward. "Anyone who wants to die,e forth!" Obviously, I was bluffing.


    Still felt embarrassing though.


    "He-Helio?" The old man mumbled.


    "Oh yeah, didn''t exchange names, did we?"


    He gulped but then almost like giving up- "I suppose so."


    He didn''t say anything else.


    Anyway, the police were pointing their guns at us. They probably didn''t understand English.


    There were a lot of people around us; some were just walking by while others were staring at us like we were the circus or something.


    But just when I thought I needed a trantor- one of the police officers took a step forward. "Ro-Romswell? You from Romswell?" His English was kind of broken and he was sweating like crazy. But at least he understood me.


    Or more like I understood him.


    "Cursed Mask, sure you''ve heard of me." I almost bowed like a noble. Apparently, that was the tradition of our family before we went on a rampage.


    Obviously, this was the first time I tried it out. It felt embarrassing and I already wanted to get rid of this shitty memory.


    ''Do-don''t look at me like that¡­''


    Let''s just say, I just wanted to run.


    It took them a second but- eventually, they said some words among themselves, dropped their weapons on the ground, and dropped on the floor shaking like crazy.


    The few bystanders and other people around us did the same.


    Screams ran across the whole ce.


    "Are we really that famous?" I wondered.


    Even the cars stopped and people were really afraid of us- or me, to be more specific.


    "Infamous would be a better word but currently you are perhaps one of the most known Romswell across the world for getting rid of Hyora."


    "Wait, getting rid of Hyo-" The old man looked at me with a bit of awkwardness, then breathed out. "Might I ask your parent''s name kid?"


    "Norin Romswell Siane and Albert Battlesuin."


    This was probably the only time in my life I spoke mom''s full name. She kind of forbade me to call her by anything other than ''mom''.


    ''Forgive me, Mom, I won''t say it again, promise.''


    The old man still stared at me. "So- you are the grandson of the ugly bastard?"


    What the hell was with people and calling gramps an ugly bastard!


    Wait, what?


    "You know him?"


    Small world, I guess?


    "Can we please get out of here, first?" Lieutenant said. "And I''ve been meaning to ask but- what is thisnguage you''re speaking?"


    I kind of stopped- more like froze. Wait, I was speaking anothernguage?


    The geezer was from Neil, and I could speak thatnguage just slightly but I never really thought I was speaking anothernguage or something and- My eyes darted at the Lieutenant and the girl in his arms.


    But as I saw Marg and her sleeping face- I decided to put everything on hold. "You''re right. Let''s find a hotel and rest for the time being. We''ll figure out the rest once we''re there."


    "Right!"


    With that said, we started going forward.


    Two blocks, three blocks, and then five.


    No matter where we went, people just paled and moved aside. Some ran from us like wild animals. Others dropped on the floor and wetted themselves.


    No matter how I looked at this, this was an overexaggerated response. The people who were around us at the time were understandable but even people who were this far away?


    Even just moments ago, this wasn''t the case. ''Wait, what are these shadows?''


    There were moving shadows on the ground,rge shadows. I had a bad feeling.


    And- and I looked up and my soul kind of died when I saw things up in the sky. There were screens- very nice screens floating in the sky. All read- ''Cursed Mask Romswell hase to conquer South Korea.'' And it was written in variousnguages, one of them was English.


    "Wow." I couldn''t believe my own friggin eyes.


    The geezerughed hard. "Would ya look at that!?"


    "You can read that?"


    "''Course I can!" He grinned and pped his chest with pride.


    ''Then why the hell ain''t you speaking English, ya damn geezer!''


    Oops, almost spoke like the geezer.


    Anyway- hotel!


    Yup, I needed a hotel. For Marg, not for distracting my mind, okay!


    Definitely for Marg!


    ***


    We located an international hotel and went in.


    Everyone but the girl in the reception ran away.


    Normally when people realized I was a Romswell, I got mixed responses. There were always people who were afraid but, in most cases, people just avoided eye contact and tried to distance themselves from me. This time, this time it was really weird. I never thought people would react to me like this. Even Uncle never got this kind of reaction: and he was a world-renowned super viin for crying out loud!


    I almost felt bad for myself.


    But oh well.


    The girl behind the reception was no exception. She was also trying to run away but seeing we were approaching her- she had to stay put. Her sweats and makeup were all over the ce though.


    "We''d like to book a room," I spoke in English and I hoped she''d understand. This was an international hotel after all!


    "Le-let me ge-get the manager, Sir!" her ent was actually pretty good. It would have been better if she wasn''t shivering like we were in Russia with just underwear on though.


    She was using the inte.


    Anyway, I tried to fiddle with my Holo and with the Wi-Fi from the Hotel- I could finally ess the inte.


    As the stuff in the sky suggested- the world knew I was here.


    And they assumed that I was here to conquer Korea.


    Like why the hell would I even bother?


    What did Korea ever do to me?


    Anyway- the Manger ran this way, almost tripping three times.


    She said things in anothernguage- probably Korean.


    The receptionist tranted. "We have secured the best room of this hotel, Sir. The manager would lead you." This time she didn''t stutter as much.


    I guess she was d we were getting out of her hair.


    But I felt bad for the poor manager. The poordy couldn''t understand us and she''d just turned pale. But now she had to lead us to the hotel room.


    Also, secured? That meant, they probably just kicked someone from the room, right?


    Anyway-


    It was a quiet tour.


    Both the ce and the manager: quiet.


    Whenever one of us made even the slightest of sounds, she''d flinch. So, we''d refrained from talking.


    Once we reached one of the top floors, she gave me a key, said some things in Korean, bowed once, and left.


    I had no idea what that was about but oh well.

 Chapter 266 - ‘Tis But A Small World

    Sigh!


    Finally!


    This was more like an apartment than a hotel room. There were four rooms, three bathrooms, a dining and a master bedroom.


    ''Do kings live in ces like this, or what?''


    The rooms and all that wasn''t quite what mesmerized me though: it was how the room was decorated. The furniture was really expensive-looking; the paintings, the crystal chandelier, the gold embroidered carpet, and curtains.


    ''How the hell are we even going to afford the-'' My head hurt just by thinking about it.


    But wait, I was forgetting something.


    Marg was currently on the bed, sleeping.


    I sat near her. She was breathing- her body was warm; her heart was beating.


    "Marg."


    But she wasn''t quite waking up.


    The lieutenant and the old man were by the door.


    "Give her some time," The geezer said. "She''ll probably be fine after a goodnight''s rest."


    I still didn''t quite trust this geezer but for the time being, I decided to listen to him.


    I gave a message home that I was alright- though I figured they already knew that.


    Anyway, there was a reason why I didn''t call them right away. ''She''s not going to flip once she realizes, what''s happening here, right?'' Mom raised me with a condition. And that condition being I wouldn''t turn out like the rest of our family- a viin. So far, that wasn''t looking good.


    It wasn''t my fault that people were making shit up about me conquering stuff and all that, okay?


    "So, what''s your deal?" I turned to the old man.


    He grinned. "What?"


    "Don''t y dumb. How''d you end up there, what''s your rtionship with gramps and all that."


    The old man grinned. He didn''t quite say anything. This guy was rather annoying if nothing else.


    "And thatnguage?" Lieutenant said, crossing his arms.


    "He''s from Neil."


    "Neil?" The lieutenant asked.


    "It''s basically another world for all our intents and purposes."


    Wait, if the army didn''t yet know about Neil and all that- wouldn''t that mean, we weren''t even aware of the iing invasion, let alone- oh shit!


    "I see." Lieutenant Demeris held his chin. "And you think we can trust him?"


    He was right here, you know!


    But- "For the time being, I don''t see why not."


    I found the geezer still grinning. He could understand English, so he could understand this situation all too well.


    And even if he was evil and all- there was no way to figure that out right now.


    "Alright." Demeris proceeded to leave. "I''ll trust your words for now. I''ll have to report to the General, if you''ll excuse me. And I hope you exin this whole ''Neil'' thing to us."


    "Don''t worry, I will."


    With that said, he left.


    "Judging by those reactions, I''d say most people don''t know about Neil?" The geezer came close and just stood by the bed, not quite sitting down.


    "Pretty much. Now, my questions?"


    He sighed. "About seven or so decades ago I came to this world with some of my friends- orrades, I guess?"


    "Oh? You came from the future too?"


    If I recalled clearly, the headmaster did say he came with a certain moron, my grandparents, and another girl. And here I thought, he was joking about the moron part.


    I guess not.


    "So, you know about all that? Guess the ugly bastard talked a bit more than I assumed." He breathed a sigh in relief. "We stopped the invasion and the virus but my sister got infected with a deadly variant when your mother was in her womb: we didn''t yet have a cure for that variant. Norin was the name of my sister and your mother inherited it. ''Tis a small world, ain''t it kid?" He tried to chuckle but it never came out. "Though infected, Norin developed a rather particr antibody and that kept the infection at bay. We thought she''d beaten the virus. We thought we''d finally see some hope¡­ but¡­Before your mother was born, a ratherplicated illness had affected your grandmother- and the chances of survival for either were lower than 1%. Obviously, your grandfather in his infinite wisdom turned to that vixen and ended up screwing the whole thing to various degrees."


    Vixen? Why did I have this bad feeling and an understanding- yeah, I didn''t even need to know more. I could already see where this was going.


    ''Why the fuck don''t we ever learn?''


    Like seriously, we were always asking for her help though we knew she was trouble. So technically, weren''t we the ones who were stupid and just- sirgh!


    "Go on."


    "Things happened, your mother was born, my sister passed away, your grandfather went mad." He shook with a bit of rage: he had a smile, a very furious smile. The guy was short and kind of round, so when he shook, he shook good. "I held that vixen responsible and went to y her with one of my teleporter friends." He exhaled. Yeah, that was a bad idea. "Well, I lost and ended up in the null. My friend too died and well- that''s how I ended up stranded there."


    And he spoke that too casually. He evenughed at the end.


    "Why did everything have to be linked to Hyora of all people? You, my grandparents, my parents, and even me."


    "You? Oh, yeah, that thing about getting rid of her, did you kill her!"


    For once this guy was excited if nothing else.


    "Kind of."


    "YAHAHGAH!" I had no idea if he was just randomly screaming orughing in a weird way. Oh well. "Serves that bitch right!" He was more than just excited, that was for sure.


    But I didn''t quite feel the same way. Yeah, I hated Hyora but- wasn''t I alive thanks to her? The same went for mom. And it was us who went to her for help, not the other way around- so- maybe-


    Well, it was in the past anyway.


    "Alright, then I''d assume you''re my somewhat of a grandpa?" I still didn''t quite buy everything he said.


    But I guess taking him to grandmother would solve all the mysteries.


    ''If what he said is true then that''s an addition to our family?''


    "But if I didn''t know better, I''d have assumed you were that ugly bastard''s reincarnation or something kid. You look exactly-" he paused. "Nah, you''re definitely more handsome." He snorted. "Oops, better not go killing him like that." Heughed even louder. "So, how fares that madd?"


    "He''s dead."


    "Oh." He became slightly quiet.


    "Why''d you call him an ugly bastard?"


    He sat down next to me. "Well, he always had a bad reputation among us. He''d peek at girls whenever someone was changing or taking a bath. He''d ogle at girls'' breasts whenever he saw someone beautiful. He''d flirt even if he had your grandmothers around. Sometimes he even flipped skirts around." He chuckled. That was definitely different from the bits I remembered though. "Well, that did be a bit rare once he got married, but still." He chuckled as he reminisced the past. But then he became quiet. "How''d he go?"


    I smiled vaguely as I stared at the floor. "For my future."


    He didn''t say anything.


    We stayed quiet for a few minutes.


    I didn''t quite understand this man. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he was making shit up to let my guard down and do stuff. But do what? Did he have anything to gain from lying to me?


    I didn''t see any but I didn''t let my guard down either.


    "Alright." He stood up. "I''ll go rest a little. I know you two are getting married but don''t go around fondling her in her sleep kid." He left with a wink.


    "I won''t ya damn geezer!"


    Even I knew when to quit!


    Geez.


    Then again, I often did that whenever I woke up earlier than her, so- yeah¡­.


    ***


    Marg was asleep and she just stayed asleep. I lied next to her and just stayed like that. I couldn''t sleep, even though I was this exhausted, even though I had so many cuts here and there but- I couldn''t sleep.


    ''She''ll wake up right?''


    I suffered through and found her, but- now what?


    She looked so peaceful now that I looked at her face though. She was just sleeping, so beautiful.


    But something was weird.


    That something being, even though I sent a message home, they never bothered to give me a reply.


    ''Did something happen at home?''


    I gulped, took a minute, and then called home: the main Holo.


    No one picked up.


    That was odd.


    I called Elsa directly- she didn''t pick up.


    I also called Raea but she didn''t pick up either.


    This made me oddly suspicious. So, I called Father and then Mom.


    Neither picked up.


    I had a bad feeling where this was going.


    But our home was far- and I couldn''t just rush things.


    If I couldn''t get anyone to pick up the call inside the house then-, I gave a call to Merin and even he didn''t pick up.


    Was it possible that the whole academy was experiencing a coverage issue?


    Then wouldn''t the call never had gotten past in the first ce?


    Sigh, didn''t seem like something I could wrap my head around. I did worry but- this was my family I was talking about. Surely, they could have handled whatever came their way.


    And yet- I found myself sweating and I couldn''t really focus.


    Marg was like this and now-


    "Mmm."


    But that''s when-


    "Marg!"

 Chapter 267 - Sometimes Life Hits You Like A Truck

    She''d only opened her eyes but I hugged her, I hugged her tight.


    I was so worried- so, so, worried. But now- sigh. I could feel my heart speeding up, my blood rushing. Perhaps this was an exaggerated reaction, but I really loved her and that''s why I was so afraid. And that''s why I was so exhrated seeing her, opening her eyes.


    "What?" She stared, slightly confused. "What''s wrong?"


    "You don''t remember?"


    "Thest thing I remember¡­ oh yeah, how''d your run go?"


    So, she didn''t remember? And yet- she was actually worried about me instead.


    "Sixth."


    She smiled slightly. "We''ll get ''em next time." Her sleepy voice was weirdlyforting.


    "Right!" I hugged her tight, but I made sure it wasn''t suffocating. "But I''m really d you''re okay."


    I kind of had this irrational fear that she wouldn''t open her eyes, that I''d lose her.


    "What happened?"


    "You got trapped in the ninth dimension."


    "Really? And you went there to rescue me?" She stared at me, utterly dazed.


    I guess it didn''t quite make any sense to her.


    "Uh-huh."


    She hugged me too. She didn''t say anything but I could tell she was really, really happy.


    Knock!


    "Sorry to intrude on your little reunion but I have bad news." The Lieutenant entered the room with a knock.


    The old man also followed him in.


    Bad news?


    "That being?"


    "Apparently, there''s been a raid in your house." The lieutenant paused. "OR the whole ind to be more specific."


    "Wait, what?"


    "Yes, and there''s a signal-blocking field over the whole ind, so we can''t quite contact anyone there. We don''t know what''s going on there and we can''t get into the ind either, as there appears to be argescale barrier in ce."


    "Then I guess I better go there."


    But with a ne, it''d take me at least three hours.


    And the lieutenant probably couldn''t teleport. Marg was totally out of the equation.


    Wait- I was forgetting something.


    "I can fly!" That''s right, I could fly!


    Probably.


    The geezer grinned. "Well, lead the way kid."


    "Youing along?"


    "Why not?"


    Oh yeah, he did mention he could fly- or more like he suggested he could.


    "Since when?" Marg asked. "And who are these people?"


    "Sorry, don''t really have time to exin, but from now on, you''re forbidden to teleport unless it''s an absolute emergency." I stood up. "And rest well. He''s Lieutenant Demeris: You can trust him."


    Marg didn''t seem totally convinced but she didn''t quite create a scene either. "Alright."


    And so- "I''ll leave her in your capable hands." My stare kind of had a re mixed into it.


    We both nodded.


    "Alright geezer, follow me." I jumped out of the window.


    And a secondter realized- oh yeah, the earth had much stronger gravity than that in the ninth dimension.


    Shit- I pulled out my saber, made a barrier, and pumped mostly infrared.


    I didn''t even float, let alone fly. We were back to square one.


    "You mean follow you and crash?" The old man was right behind me, grinning like a fool.


    Sigh.


    The ground wasing up quickly. We were maybe about a hundred floors up but it was nothing since we were falling and all.


    I closed my eyes and focused. ''Remember the feeling¡­ that feeling¡­ remember- feel¡­'' Or we were going to break bones!


    The wind slowed and then it was gone.


    I opened my eyes- I was above the ground- just one meter. I was sweating- I was breathing hard- panting. But- I was flying.


    Alright!


    I tried moving up- sess.


    I tried speeding up- sess!


    "Are you sure, you can fly?" The geezer was behind me, still.


    I didn''t really say anything and just sped towards the academy. I''d downloaded the map of the whole route just before setting out on my Holo, so I knew exactly where I was going.


    I could fly- probably.


    ''I really hope I didn''t download the wrong map.''


    ***


    Flying on earth was tough.


    There was air resistance, bug resistance, and more importantly, birds!


    I used my barrier as a shield against all those but- still, it was annoying.


    But still- I could basically fly around 6X the speed of sound. Not quite perhaps as fast as John, but definitely fast enough.


    "That''s the best you can do?" And yet, it wasn''t enough to outpace this geezer, who was basically lying on his back like he was swimming or something. Apparently, this was a cake-walk to him.


    I couldn''t really hear him, but I could make out what he was saying... mostly.


    "Kind of. This is only my second time flying."


    "Heh!" He snorted. "I guess it''s fine. We''ll arrive a bitte and maybe that way the party would be over?"


    Was he consoling me or trying to make me worry?


    Sigh.


    I tried to go faster- my limits were already being stretched but I didn''t have a choice.


    I knew it was impossible for something to happen to my family but still- but still I couldn''t stop worrying. After all, there was always a chance something could go wrong.


    The feeling, really was weird.


    But- I went faster the more tried. It was almost as though I didn''t have any limits and everything was just arbitrarily set up by me. Honestly, I was more surprised about this than anything else.


    The more I tried the faster I went.


    "See, you can go faster." He chuckled.


    This geezer, for crying out loud!


    But he was definitely being helpful. I had to at least acknowledge that.


    ***


    We reached the academy in under half an hour.


    There was smoke everywhere, I could see a faint barrier-like thing, round thing all over the ind. I''d seen something simr before- way back then when Devrok had attacked the gym.


    ''Did hee back or something?''


    "Is this supposed to be a barrier?" The old man knocked on therge barrier-like thing. "Heh!" He snorted and punched a hole in the barrier the very next second. "Guess, not." He grinned.


    This dude, was something else, seriously.


    We both got in, but the barrier regenerated itself.


    Anyway, I went for my house- straight.


    I didn''t see any smoke, but I did see debris.


    As for my house- there was no house.


    "What the hell?"


    I dropped from the sky, to the ground, got up a secondter, and stared around.


    My house- our house- was gone.


    Obliterated.


    There were two girls on the floor, both bleeding. Elsa and the bunny girl. Raea was in the distance, also on the ground. To my right, father was lying next to mom''s feet, bleeding. Mom was also bleeding, but she was thest one standing.


    Some of them had broken bones but most of them were just unconscious.


    The foe- a ck thing that looked like a Mutor but wasn''t.


    "What''s going on here?" I asked, rather calmly.


    I couldn''t believe my voice wasn''t shaking. I couldn''t believe my blood wasn''t boiling.


    Now that I looked carefully, there were ck things everywhere. And there were two here, and mom kept both of them at bay- but she was losing.


    "Kins." Mom said, panting. "They''re everywhere."


    Bam! Aria flew through the air and crashed into a building behind me. Another ck one- Kin.


    "They did this?" I couldn''t think straight.


    I was very sane, and very calm but I couldn''t think straight.


    I really couldn''t.


    Something was wrong with me.


    My blood wasn''t boiling but my veins were popping up and I was steaming.


    Something was wrong with me.


    I couldn''t really hear anything. I couldn''t really feel anything.


    I didn''t even want anything other than just one thing.


    I walked.


    I walked normally.


    I had my saber in one hand.


    I had my sword on the other one.


    Perhaps, what happened here wasn''t my fault, and it certainly was something I didn''t know anything about. Perhaps it could have been avoided if I was here.


    But I wasn''t.


    It almost felt like this came out of nowhere- I never saw thising.


    I never even bothered to worry about Kins as they went extinct.


    I never cared about those, I only read about them.


    But now, now that my family was literally beneath my feet, now that they were bleeding, now that they were¡­ Yeah, I didn''t care about anything.


    All I wanted- was- to kill. I wanted to kill those damn things that did this.


    I wanted to destroy them!


    "UAARGHHH!" An inhuman roar. One of those ck things roared and headed straight for mom.


    "Move, mom." I picked up speed and started running.


    Mom moved aside on instinct and I moved past her.


    The ck thing wasing my way but- at thest possible second it oddly slowed down and I just shed and I shed it hard. I cleaved the damn thing in two- just one sh.


    I didn''t hesitate for a second, there was no need.


    ck blood dripped.


    Two more to go.

 Chapter 268 - Sometimes Life Hits You Like A Truck (Part Two)

    The second one didn''t quite attack me. I took a step forward and it took a step back.


    It also roared and the rubble from around us started forming around it, making a makeshift barrier.


    At a nce, it almost seemed like Mom''s power to control everything around her. But unlike mom, it probably couldn''t use that power to attack, not that it mattered now. And this thing''s control was fairly weak.


    I sped up significantly and just slightly behind the barrier, mmed a mini sma ball. Now that I used the sma ball often, I could form small ones in a mere instant.


    A st resulted and I was inside its makeshift barrier.


    The ck thing didn''t have anything on its body. Just a streamlined, ck body that absorbed all light around it. Kind of like a ck hole. The eyes were like holes inside holes and the mouth looked like their skin tore when it opened it.


    The poor thing couldn''t believe it that I was inside the barrier.


    "What, surprised?"


    It didn''t even have time to make a retaliation, as it stumbled.


    I kicked the damn thing hard and held it beneath my feet.


    All the rubble dropped.


    "UARGHGHGH!" It again screamed, struggled, scratched my foot.


    These things were mostly ck, almost like the shadow inside me. And these had rather sharp fingers and purple eyes. But- these were good for only one thing.


    Death.


    Thrust!


    I thrust Gramps''s sword straight through its skull.


    It screamed, it screamed way too loud.


    Blood sttered.


    No more movement.


    "I doubt with this kind of movement they gave you trouble?" I said, looking back.


    The sun was setting and it was about to get rather dark soon.


    "Actually, they were much faster before." Mom was checking everyone''s wounds. "They''re significantly slower now. And it wasn''t this one."


    I looked up, the geezer was still up in the air and he was doing something. ''So that was your doing, geezer.''


    Anyway, there was another one remaining.


    And that one wasn''t attacking but just looking at me, carefully. Aria had it cornered. But it sure didn''t look cornered.


    These things had intelligence.


    And at the veryst second, it tried to run.


    ''Too bad.''


    I formed a baseball-sized sma ball, threw it, and then run straight for the Kin.


    If the ball missed, I''d still reach it in time.


    But the ball didn''t miss and an explosion resulted.


    I blocked the mes with my hands. No time for barriers.


    And when the mes cleared, I caught up to the Kin, chopped its head off. It happened in an instant. The geezer above us probably had some sort of binding ability.


    With the three dead- my thoughts slightly calmed down.


    But- "What happened here?"


    Mom was still checking everyone''s wounds: she was almost done. "There was another one." Mom paused. "That one is headed over to the academy. It did all this," she said, reluctantly. "Everyone lost to that one."


    And I had a feeling mom didn''t want me to go over there but- "Is everyone okay?"


    "They are, apart from your father. He''s the most injured but he''ll live. I guess- he shouldn''t have exerted himself but- Elsa was in danger and-" And mom grit her teeth. "I''ve failed as a mother."


    "You haven''t mom. You were still standing even though you have nine broken bones, you haven''t." I breathed hard. "GEEZER, I leave the rest to you." There were more ck things around but- "Can you do this?"


    The moment I''de here, I checked everyone with my X-ray vision and I knew, most of them weren''t that heavily injured apart from father. Since mom was standing, I didn''t look at her with X-ray vision. But- but- I should have known. Mom was injured way beyond what she just made it out to be- and yet- she was standing for our sake.


    I should have known¡­


    I should have known she was my mother- and the woman who sacrificed everything her whole life for my sake.


    I just should have known!


    "Sure thing kid. Easy enough."


    ''Without making this barrier go, outside help won''te¡­'' I took aunching pose, flew up in the sky with zing speeds, and like a cannonball, flew straight for the academy field.


    And I dropped like a cannonball too, creating way too much of a mess.


    There were students on the ground, even teachers. People were running around with first aid kits. With so many injured, it wasn''t enough.


    It was almost like everyone was under some form of mass hypnotization.


    Bam!


    Boom!


    Thud!


    There were all sorts of shockwaves in the distance.


    I couldn''t see that well but- I ran for that.


    It took me a minute but I''d reached the field right in front of the headmaster''s office.


    The sun had set and the artificial lights were lighting things up unevenly.


    There were exactly eighteen ck Kins, and one purple one. And standing in front of all them was just one man- The headmaster.


    I''d say he was holding pretty well. He was bleeding too much though. However, he was only dealing with the ck ones while the purple one was just standing behind, looking pretty.


    ''So that one?''


    That one was the only different one and-


    Since they were nice enough to stay in a group and pretend to be a target- I formed arge baseball-sized sma ball and let them have it. I also erected a barrier in front of the headmaster to protect him from the st.


    Boom!


    There was arge boom and I almost took out half of the ce.


    Most of the ck ones were injured and they were about to drop with maybe one more attack like that. The purple one, however, wasn''t affected.


    "That purple one is mine," I said, as I walked past the headmaster.


    "You sure, those are themander types. They''re-"


    "Come back when you''re not bleeding."


    He almost chuckled.


    I breathed a deep breath. My body again started to steam and I just moved forward.


    It didn''t matter if the ck things wereing my way- those didn''t matter. I just cleaved whatever came my way in two. But without the geezer''s help, things were exponentially harder.. But these things were injured, so things bnced out.

 Chapter 269 - Sometimes Life Hits You Like A Truck (Part Three)

    sh!


    The purple one blocked my saber with its hand. The ones around us dropped like flies.


    This one was fully indigo in color and there was no distinct pattern to its body. It had a head, two hands, and two legs. There was no skin. No organs on disy: just pure streamlined body, like some kind of pervert.


    "You¡­ seem to be¡­ different from ¡­the rest." Its speech was kind of broken.


    My saber started to violently shake as the ck de spun. The purple Kin backstepped in an instant.


    Sparks flew.


    The saber wasn''t enough.


    I sheathed my saber. Instead, I just focused on the sword and made blue sma appear. White was out of the picture, and blue was my second strongest. And I needed all the piercing power I could get. Cause this purple thing was too hard.


    I was running out of breath- not energy. This was weird, both the feeling and the actuality.


    The area around the purple thing started to freeze. It could control ice or maybe the temperature.


    I didn''t quite understand why I could be so calm, even now. Why wasn''t I exploding in rage? All my family was injured and they were on the floor, yet- I didn''t fly in rage. Seriously, what was wrong with me?


    Perhaps my brain was keeping me sane, so I didn''t kill this bloody thing too quickly. Or perhaps, I just didn''t want to waste my energy on rage- after all, I wanted this thing dead- and I wanted it by my feet, now!


    "ARGH!" I screamed and swung my sword like never before. Every sh and swing had way too much force.


    Left swing, right swing, frontal sh!


    This thing blocked everything. It didn''t attack me, but it did take all my hits like I was nothing. But it was focusing too much on defense.


    The sudden drop in temperature was annoying but since it couldn''t do anything more than just freeze what was right next to him, it was easily avoidable in my case.


    And with the help of my alpha particles, the asional icicle snipes were easily dodge-able.


    "Tell-tell-me, Human, what is your purpose?" It backtracked significantly and formedrge, multiple icicles in the air. More and more formed.


    It threw- I blocked everything with my barrier.


    "Purpose?" I ran for it.


    I used this chance to get close enough and use my disintegration powers on it.


    I''d punched its shoulder.


    No result.


    It didn''t work. My knuckles did sting though.


    ''I can''t disintegrate?''


    "Why do you exist? For what purpose?" It again backtracked and held its shoulder with one arm. I guess that must have hurt.


    For what purpose?


    I chased after it, not giving it a moment to rest. "Now, that''s a question, isn''t it? Why don''t you ask God on your way to heaven? Oops, I mean HELL!" I channeled a good amount of radiation and for a second made the sma go white- which in turn helped me cleave one of the thing''s arms off.


    Alright! I did burn my hands though.


    "UARGHGHGH!" It screamed like the ck ones and just backtracked. I took the opportunity and kicked it in theher region- hard. It didn''t have organs down there but sure didn''t stop me. Another scream followed.


    Almost all the ck ones in the entire ce came and surrounded it. And all of them just got covered up a round dome of ice.


    The purple one had made some sort of small sphere and it kept on growing and growing. It was running away.


    "It''s opening an Interdimentinal Elevator," The headmaster yelled.


    I didn''t have the time or any way to close in the gap- so I again, made another sma ball, this time much bigger. It spun violently.


    There was one sure-fire way of making something more destructive- just make it spin!


    The ck things on the other hand were prepared toy down their lives.


    "Well, then die."


    I fired. And I fired aimed straight at the sphere.


    The ice dome shattered: Almost all the ck ones in the ball''s path got pulverized. But it gave the purple one enough time to cross through the sphere- but my ball too went through and it exploded.


    CRACK!


    Cracks started appearing in therge barrier above our heads.


    Arge very unsettling explosion resulted and the sphere closed before the fires could get through.


    Almost all the ck ones fell to the ground, immobile.


    I clicked my tongue and fell on the ground, panting. ''My powers weren''t enough?''


    I was drenched in sweat and though my veins were popping up like before, I was still letting out steam. It was getting rather chilly now that I could see the stars above.


    I couldn''t breathe, and I couldn''t move. I was already pretty much exhausted when I crossed into this world, and now might or might not have used up way too much energy here too.


    My leg hurt- my knuckles stung and my hands burned: pain.


    "You did well, kid." The headmaster sat down next to me. "I didn''t think they''d already have a portal working. I guess this means Neil haspletely fallen to their control." He was bleeding and a student was already treating his wounds.


    I looked around and almost all the ck ones just dropped on the floor, immobile. They weren''t quite dead, but they weren''t moving.


    "That purple thing was an alien? Wasn''t it supposed to take seven more months or something?"


    He half-smiled, but despaired. "Yeah. And you can bet your ass more wille. That was just a scouting party: they wanted to get rid of us who came from the future. I guess they aren''t quite messing around this time. The army will be here in a few months."


    "That damn thing was tough." And an army of them? Yeah, no thanks.


    It had literally blocked my saber like it was nothing and even with blue sma, I couldn''t quite cut through. I had to resort to the highest white grade and that too was barely enough. It did freaking burn my hands and now I wanted to scream.


    "Yeah, I could barely take one out with in my prime but, I guess I''m too old these days." He chuckled. "Still, I really didn''t think they''d be here this quickly. We better rethink everything."


    I exhaled. "Well, it''s more like think everything from scratch.. Since we never actually thought much in the first ce."

 Chapter 270 - The Aftermath

    "Ya done, kid?" The voice came from above. The geezer was up there and he was shootingsers from his fingers like crazy.


    Since it was night, the lightshow was quite something.


    The ck immobile ones around us were now dead.


    "That voice-" The headmaster paused. "Bronstel!"


    "Thought you''d kick the bucket already, Roger." Hended next to us. "Guess, shouldn''t have been that optimistic."


    The headmaster snorted with a taunt. "Heh, as if. And that''s my line. I thought you were gone for good. What a shame!"


    Both of them taunted and kept on talking.


    They weren''t hostile with each other though- probably.


    Sigh.


    I just looked up at the sky. "There are way too many injured here, what are we going to do about that?"


    Even now students were running around with medkits and treating each other.


    But it was already night and that meant- help would be awfully dyed.


    "Well, with the aliens gone and the barrier diffused, more and more help ising," The headmaster said. "Though I suppose since we''re a bit away from the maind, it''ll take a few hours."


    But we didn''t have a few hours. "What if-"


    The headmaster looked up with a sigh. "Most of the kids are underground through the palmwork. The ones you''re seeing above are the brave ones and mostly just second and third years Of course they''ll be casualties, but all we can now do is pray it won''t be too high." He sighed again.


    My body ached a bit too much for some reason. "I''ll go check on-" I couldn''t really get up though.


    Mom was heavily injured. And I had a feeling she was going to prioritize everyone else rather than herself- so I had to hurry.


    But my body didn''t move.


    "They''re fine, rx," The old man dismissed me. "They were injured but nothing was major enough to warrant too much concern. Besides, someone is already tending them."


    "But still-"


    The old man sat next to me, on the opposite side from the headmaster, dragged my head back on the grass. "Just stay down for now. Your muscles are too tense. There''s a chance you might end up tearing some tendons." He came close. "Besides, wouldn''t yar mom beg the docs to treat ya first instead if she saw you like this?" He whispered.


    He did have a point but still-


    "You can''t tear tendons that easily, moron," The headmaster yelled.


    "Want me to tear yours?"


    "Be my guest!"


    "Shut up, you two!" I yelled in frustration.


    Sirgh!


    ***


    I rested for exactly five minutes till I slightly calmed down.


    "That was amander, right? What about the rest?"


    "The rest were just soldiers. Or just mindless robots to be more specific. They were the inhabitants of other conquered worlds and now they are forced to obey their everymand and conquer mores." The headmaster paused. "Themanders and everyone above them are the actual aliens. Think about it, they''d conquered more than a dozen worlds, why do they still keep doing it? Why not just terraform nearbys and be done with it?"


    There was nothing to think about. The answer wasn''t that simple. If they just wanted morend for their species to thrive, then it was totally a better idea to just terraform others- unless there was something else we were missing. "Why?"


    "Soldiers¡­Yeah, and Kin are those soldiers. Once you get infected, you either die or be a Kin. But that way you gain plenty of strong superpowers. There are no in-between like you. You were the exception, others are not.


    "They conquer new worlds, enve the inhabitants, and then move on to the next one."


    Oh wow, so it was simple: way too simple.


    "But what for? What''s the purpose?"


    I saw a lot of students getting up, others helping each other. They were in some sort of trance, like they were hypnotized or something. With all the ck ones pretty much dead, the students were getting up on their feet and helping others who could not.


    "It''s fairly simple-" The old man spoke. "What could be more fun for an immortal species not bound by time to than just conquer other worlds and have fun doing it for millions of years? You start by conquering easys, stealing their soldiers, upgrading your own, and then move on to something a bit more challenging and then just keep going. The stronger the opponent, the more fun it is."


    "What!?"


    But that was insane!


    Conquering other worlds for fun?


    The headmaster chuckled. "Yeah, it was surprising for me too. But that''s the reality we''re in. Of course, there are more reasons like resources but still-"


    This wasn''t just surprising, no, this was stupidly stupid!


    "They''re immortals, sonny. They have such a high life expectancy that for our intents and purposes, they''re immortal. Almost all of them are in a simtion of sorts on their. They''re remotely controlling these soldiers through technology even we don''t understand. So fun like this, are just too fun to pass off." The geezer chuckled. "They''re basically done with reality."


    "Then how the hell are we going to beat them?"


    "Well, I did say in the past that they kneel down before the strong, remember?" The headmaster grinned. "So, turns out, they''d do the same if you beat them with those artificial soldiers too, or so our theory goes. And if somehow we can figure out a way to infiltrate their-"


    "You and your damn theory." I sighed. "So, if they''re in just some simtion, howe they can''t simte a reality for themselves and just stay on their?"


    "Beats me? This is more fun I guess? As for staying on their, they don''t. they''ve made a ster engine and they can move it around. That''s the actual structure. As for the bodies that came to attack us, those are separate from the main structure."


    "Can you exin it to me, so I can understand?"


    The headmaster kind of smiled in an awkward way. "Think of this, you go and put on your memory instiller. You''re inside the instiller and you can do everything there. You can go to different worlds of different games or just use the original function and instill memories. Now your body is back in your room. But your mind can wander."


    "We get that much, move on."


    "Now, the concept is kind of the same. The aliens as we call them, are just back on their megastructure and they are just virtual bodies now. The whole structure is their body. And the ones that came to attack us are their minds wandering. Now I know that doesn''t make sense but once you take into ount that most of these attackers are actual living things from others and are just forced to obey theirmands-"


    I sighed loudly. "Stop talking please."


    Because everything was going over my head.


    And weirdly, I had a terrible headache. I kept worrying about mom and the others. I couldn''t really focus on much else.


    The geezer chuckled. "Let the kid rest a lil, we can always just exin thingster."


    "That reminds me, what are you doing with him and where the hell did you evene from?" The headmaster asked.


    Our breaths were letting off steam. It was getting awfully chilly.


    "I found him in the ninth dimension." I tried to sit down.


    "Ninth?" The headmaster paused. "Oh, you mean the null! I see, I see, makes sense."


    Everything kind of slotted just like the geezer had said. And the fact that these two knew each other and weren''t trying to kill each other right now, was proof that the geezer was speaking the truth. As for epting him as a grandpa, I reserved judgment on that topic forter.


    For now, I got up. My hands were still burned but my healing was going to heal it in a day or two anyway. For now, something else mattered a lot more.


    "I''ll go check on them."


    Both of them grinned as if they knew I wouldn''t stay here.


    I picked up a medkit on my way.


    ***


    It took a huge chunk of my recovered stamina to get home. Yeah, I was dry alright.


    Once I got there, Elsa, Raea, Selene, and Aria were on their, feet looking around. They were mostly bandaged and all.


    Mom and the bunny girl were tending to father''s wounds who was currently sitting on a pillow of sorts.


    Mom herself was injured and she had nine broken bones in total. Seven of them were fractures while two were fully broken. And yet there wasn''t even remotely any fatigue on her face. She was powering through everything.


    She had three or four minor cuts here and there.


    "What are you doing here?"


    I stood next to Selene who was finishing up Elsa''s bandage.


    Last time I remembered, Selene wasn''t supposed to be here.


    "We''re short on the medical staff. The ind only has one hospital and it''s not enough, so anyone with even a bit of medical expertise is helping out. And you can guess why I volunteered."


    "Thanks." I gave her my kit and headed towards mom.


    I didn''t get a reply.


    Everyone was already patched up and once mom was done patching father up, I gently lifted her up headed straight for the only hospital on the ind.


    "Wha-"


    I didn''t even let her talk. I just flew.


    She''d done enough.


    It was time for her to get some rest.

 Chapter 271 - The Aftermath (Part Two)

    The hospital was crowded, really crowded.


    There were about a dozen or so nurses who could heal others but the number of injured were roughly close to four hundred or so.


    And they only had like three actual doctors. Definitely not enough.


    Medical supplies were low and most they could do was to apply first aid to anyone but the serious patients.


    I did manage to snatch a nurse and ask her politely to help mom though. it took a bit of threatening but that was a different matter. My threats were awfully polite.


    "We have to first do an Xray or at least get someone who can-"


    There were people everywhere; cries, yells, groans. This ce was packed and we didn''t even have space to let mom lie down a little. I had to snatch a chair from a nearby man who was kind enough to give it to me. Again, polite threats.


    "She has fractures here- here- here," I went on. When I instilled the book on how to use radiation for healing, I also knew most of the names of the bones and sometimes even other types of medical terms. "Her left Humerus and this rib are broken." But it wasn''t enough.


    When I pointed them out and barely touched her skin- mom kind of grit her teeth in pain, not quite even gasping. How the hell was this woman even remotely able to stay conscious let alone not scream?


    "Seven fractures and two broken?" The nurse was in deep thought. "There''s a very good chance of internal bleeding and-" She looked back. "MARTH, COME HERE FOR A SECOND!"


    One of the male nurses came this way. "What?"


    More and more people wereing here. Some heavily injured, others-


    "Check her and tell me exactly where I need patching."


    "Right!"


    The male nurse just hovered his hand over mom''s body and used a lot of medical terms while the other nurse just kept her hands floating in the air. A bit of white light covered mom. I knew that light, it was healing light.


    This whole thingsted for five minutes.


    Once done, the male nurse left.


    "Alright, that''s about all the first aid I can do now. The wounds are mostly stable. She should rest for now. Before more medical helpes, this is all we can do."


    "Thanks." I was relieved- really.


    There were about thirty beds here, so there wasn''t any way we could get one. And we didn''t have a home anymore where I could just-


    Mom grabbed my hand. "I''m fine. Let''s get back." I guess she wanted to be with everyone, rather than just sit here.


    I didn''t want to move her right now but- I picked her up again and gently flew. It would have been really sad if we just stayed there anyway.


    She was gritting a lot but she neverined of pain. Out of everyone, she was the most injured, and yet- She was the strongest.


    Just thinking about all this made me shake, but- I had to stay cool. For now, I had to stay cool.


    ***


    Doctors had arrived from various nearby countries and even some from the military.


    The minor injuries of most people were healed through healing arts. While the more not so minor ones were mostly treated through advanced medical means. As for the heavily injured people like mom and father, they were treated with abination of both.


    The total number of the injured came to a staggering 527. This included the students, the teachers, and the people on the ind. 18 people had died from this, and 6 of them were parents and other workers. 10 were students while the other two were teachers.


    I sighed and steam evaporated in front of me.


    ''We should have seen thising.''


    "Well, that''s all I have now. It could basically increase a bit more," Micheal said as he wrote down our information. "Anyway, it was good that you got in time. But I never would have thought someone would be dumb enough to attack this ce." With a small sigh, he left for the house in the distance. The prefects were keeping track of what happened where.


    ''Yeah, me neither.''


    Most didn''t know about the exact details of what happened here. The headmaster and the military were controlling and suppressing the information. Though I had a feeling, the news would eventually leak. Then what? Global chaos?


    Yeah, anything could happen at this stage.


    "You''ll catch a cold like that, why don''t youe inside?" Elsa stood next to me.


    We were facing the distant houses. Elsa''s wounds were minor, so she could walk around just fine.


    It was midnight but still pretty lit up. A lot of houses were destroyed and the whole ind was in a shock of shorts.


    By inside, she meant inside a tent. The academy had provided three tents for us.


    It was midnight but I didn''t really feel cold or sleepy.


    Mom and father were okay. The rest were okay too. After the doctors hade, I''d gone and politely brought one doctor here and had him treat them.


    Politeness.


    Yet- yet I felt restless.


    "I''m sorry." Just behind me, Aria bowed. "This happened because of me. They probably came for me and- I''m truly sorry!" She bowed fiercely.


    I hadn''t seen here. I wasn''t paying attention.


    "It probably wasn''t you," I said. "IF they were here for you, the purple one would have taken you back rather than go after the headmaster."


    "Wait, you can understand her?" Elsa mumbled.


    Oh yeah, I forgot about that stuff about how I could now understand and speak Neilean- if that was a thing.


    "But still-" Her eyes watered. "I''ve let both mine and your family down."


    I sighed. "Don''t worry about it." That was all I could say. I knew it wasn''t her fault- but I wanted to me someone. I wanted to me something.


    This was totally avoidable- the attacks perhaps not but the destruction was avoidable. If this girl coulde from a distant to our world- it was totally possible for those aliens toe through just like her.


    It was totally possible that if they came through, they''d cause mayhem like the headmaster had warned. And yet- and yet- we''d done nothing.


    I''d done nothing.


    I was too conceited. I thought nothing would happen to my family, I thought nothing bad could happen- I thought just because this ce was safe, nothing would happen.


    But something did happen, and it happened regardless.


    Grinding my teeth wasn''t getting me anywhere, but I couldn''t help but grimace and shake with rage.


    "Maybe we should talk after filling our stomachs a little." Raea was behind Aria. She had two minor injuries.


    She was kind of right though. Just worrying on an empty stomach wasn''t going to get us anywhere.


    But I didn''t want to move, I didn''t-


    "Let''s get in." Elsa dragged me forward.


    There were three tents. I was going to have to share one with Elsa. Mom and father were going to use one while Raea, Aria, and the bunny girl would share thest.


    Technically Raea still had her dorm room but she decided to stay here regardless.


    All three girls were looking at me with expedient eyes.


    "Fine."


    With a bit of a sigh, I followed everyone inside the middle tent- mom''s tent.


    ***


    The pot boiled.


    Everyone was huddled in by the fire.


    With the healing from the healers, we weren''t in a bad shape but we still needed rest. Especially mom and father.


    But they were acting strong, very strong. Especially mom. She was smiling and acting like nothing was wrong.


    "You know, times like this you should sing and forget about all the trouble," Raea said, raising her hand up a little. "It''ll help." She winked.


    Yeah, I doubted that.


    Aria looked slightly intrigued.


    "Can you understand English now or something?" I could understand her but I was supposedly speaking anothernguage- or so the people around me were saying.


    Aria nodded. She rarely talked. Even though she knew I''d be able to understand, she still didn''t talk much.


    "LALA LARH ALA RHGH!" But then she opened her mouth and-


    And!


    PAIN.


    We had to cover our damn ears.


    Tone-deaf?


    Tone-deaf, didn''t even remotely begin to describe that!


    Even screaming, and random screeching was better than that. Her voice was piercing through my ears- my soul. If this went on, we''d bleed to death.


    "Make her stop, someone- make her stop!" Elsa held her ears and started yelling.


    Meanwhile, I stared at Raea and she just looked sideways to avoid me.


    In the end, with a sigh, she held Aria''s mouth in one hand and stopped this atrocious singing.


    Sigh. We all breathed in relief.


    That singing didn''t help but at least we now had something to be grateful about.


    I just found new respect for singers.


    The food was done: porridge.

 Chapter 272 - Sometimes, A Hug Is All You Need.

    Mom poured the porridge into bowls.


    Most of our stuff were destroyed and were now in rubbles. Since it was night, we didn''t have anyone to clean the stuff and rebuild.


    I couldn''t wait to see thendlord''s face. He''d probably flip and demand money for this, though I doubt that''d happen.


    Then again, I guess we could always rebuild. I was just d everyone was okay.


    I felt terrible for the ones who died and their family though. But this was life, one day you were here, the next, you weren''t.


    It was really hard to ept that, even now¡­ but this was reality.


    I took a sip, I never really liked porridge but this wasn''t bad. I still didn''t like the food but seeing everyone smile and just eat, almost made me smile.


    The scent almost made me feel nostalgic. In the end, the days that went by were the best days, and the days yet toe were more and more...


    But I couldn''t forget about any of this- I couldn''t just forget what they went through. I couldn''t forget what everyone went through.


    We didn''t talk much but the atmosphere wasn''t that bad. Things moved slowly but steadily. I did tell them that I''d seeded in bringing Marg back and that was good.


    Marg actually wanted toe here but the hotel room was probably better, so I asked her to stay here. She needed all the rest she could get. I didn''t tell her the details of what happened here, but I had a feeling she knew. After all, even with the suppression from the army and the academy, the news still covered a lot on this.


    Though I guess I was just running away¡­.


    Apparently, Marcus and John were still looking for Marg even now, so I called them and told them I''d found her. They were happy that I''d found her but kind of upset that I hadn''t told them sooner: they''d actually thought they found her and were about to call me. So, we kind of had a bit of a troublesome conversation. Though after they found out what happened here- they kind of ended up apologizing instead.


    Awkward.


    And that reminded me- "Wait, what happened to that kid who was with us?"


    I actually hadn''t seen him in a while- or rather, I''d forgotten about him altogether.


    "Oh, he''d left a while ago. He didn''t tell you anything?" The bunny maid looked at me with confusion.


    Neither Marg nor that brat had said anything. So much for thanking me for letting him stay.


    "Oh, that kid did want to thank you before leaving but since you two were sleeping I decided to not wake you-" mom paused. "And I might have forgotten to tell you about it the next day since, well, we were going to raid the Battlesuins and all." She chuckled nervously.


    I also smiled.


    This was awkward.


    Anyway- dinner was almost over and it was time for bed.


    I never got to introduce mom to the geezer, but that could wait till the next morning.


    Right now, they both needed some good quality rest.


    Besides, I had no idea where the geezer was in the first ce.


    So, I stood up and I was going to leave. "Goodnight, everyone."


    The rest of them also got my cue and gradually proceeded to finish.


    "Helio-" Father paused. "Good job son." That was a long pause. Why the hell did have to pause for so damn long?


    "Thanks, father."


    "Umm¡­uh-" He seemed slightly nervous.


    "What?"


    "Would you mind calling me Daddy like Elsa?"


    Wait-


    What?


    I got a lot of nk stares from around me and I also gave father a nk stare.


    A long pause.


    this wasn''t just awkward, this was beyond awkward!


    ''Well, say something, Helio....something...'' Ahem! "Sure¡­ dad."


    I was fine with dad. Daddy? No, thanks.


    I left.


    ***


    It had been a long time since Ist slept with Elsa.


    Intentionally that was.


    Because she had a bad habit of always just crawling inside my nket like it was her god-given right or something.


    Tonight, it was no exception.


    "You do realize, we have two nkets, right?"


    And two beds for that matter.


    Our beds were basically just soft makeshift mattresses spread on the ground. At first, they were nice, now, not so much.


    "I''m aware."


    "Then why are you in mine, again?"


    "Too cold."


    She wasn''t hugging me or anything, she was just next to me, like really next to me. Our bodies were touching but that was basically it.


    Well, I guess we were siblings anyway. So, I didn''tin and just tried to sleep. She didn''t really bother me either.


    Besides, she was my sister. My little sister.


    It was really hard to fall asleep though.


    The bedding was hard and the cold was quite something. Thefort of solid walls was gone and we were out in the open¡­


    But the problem was the worries. One too many worries.


    ''How the hell am I going to exin all this to Marg?''


    ***


    The next morning, Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, John, and Marcus were by our tents.


    When I''d woken up, I heard some ruckus. As I gently opened the entrance to the tent, I found all of them arguing over something with mom and dad.


    Or rather grandma and mom arguing.


    "What''s going on?" I yawned and came out of the tent.


    "Can you believe your mother!" Grandma yelled. "She refuses to go destroy them!"


    Wait, what?


    "We can''t just go and destroy them? Did you forget the stories dad used to tell!?" Mom yelled back. "And do you even know just how strong just one of them are?"


    "I know that! But we can just go over there and blow up their and-" And she went on.


    If that wasing from Uncle Excruio, I''d have understood, I really would have. But Grandma?


    Grandma!? Seriously?


    Was this some sort of joke?


    And go blow up a? Was she seriously, serious?


    Judging by the intensity- ''Holy shit, she''s serious.''


    So that''s where uncle got his stuff from¡­.


    "Is she okay?" I said, very carefully.


    And this was first thing in the morning, too.


    "I too am, wondering that," Dad whispered.


    Mom and grandma were literally arguing while the rest of us were just on the sidelines, watching the whole thing.


    For once in my life, I actually felt like a spectator- one with the crowd.


    I received a message on my Holo. The Lieutenant and Marg were on their way. Before I could even attempt to reply back- they were already here.


    ''Perfect timing.'' I could almost facepalm myself.


    Shit.


    "Our house-" Marg paused. She couldn''t believe it.


    I couldn''t either, when I''d first seen the rubble.


    Marg and the Lieutenant had teleported just in front of where our front door used to be.


    "I thought the news was a little exaggerated." Lieutenant Demeris paused. "But now I think they must have simplified the situation a bit too much." It was hard to imagine he was out of the loop, so he was probably just faking it for Marg''s sake.


    Marg frantically looked over at us, all of us: as in making sure all of us were here. But when she looked at me, her gaze froze. "Why didn''t you tell me!?"


    Mom and grandma stopped.


    Silence.


    Well, someone say something!


    Oh wait, it had to be me.


    I took a deep breath. "I''m sorry." I went over to her. "You were weak and-" I stopped. "No, that''s not it. I just didn''t know how to tell you that and I didn''t want you to worry- I''m sorry."


    She was right in front of me. She''d teleported.


    Her eyes were shimmering and she looked at me as though she couldn''t believe me. "Am I not trustworthy enough-" Her voice was low.


    I grabbed her. I didn''t let go. "No, that''s not it! I''m sorry, it''s just- it was too much for me. I didn''t know how to tell you."


    Her gaze drifted. "But that''s just¡­" She didn''t finish.


    I grit my teeth, and stared straight at her eyes. I didn''t let her look away. "It won''t happen again!"


    I thought she''din- no, I thought she''d-


    And even if she did, it was justified. After all, this rtionship was a two-way thing. Not something, it wasn''t something I could just force on her, and she had to say yes, every time. That way, she wouldn''t be my partner, rather, my ve. And when the thought crossed my mind, I really felt terrible.


    But she didn''t. She just hugged me. "Dummy." She cried but silently. "I was so worried." And yet, I could feel her heart slightly calming down. Even just seconds ago, it was racing but now- she was relieved.


    ''I''m such a moron.''


    I didn''t lie and offer my constions and all that. There was no need for that. Instead, we just hugged.


    Sometimes, words weren''t necessary.


    Sometimes, a hug was all you need.

 Chapter 273 - Facepalm Sigh It Is!

    Marg had calmed down and it was time to assess our situation.


    Anyway, "You guys, can we argue after cleaning all this up?" I looked over at mom and grandma. "Got any bright ideas?"


    Our house was in rubbles. But we had to live somewhere. Mom had actually sold her old ce. We had three extra months of rent paid- so she''d sold those three months to the new buyers of that house after making a contract with thendlord. It was aplicated thing but- now we didn''t have a backup living ce.


    Also, all our old stuff were actually on their way.


    "I could just make you a new temporary house," Grandma mumbled. "It''ll be just woods though." She thought for a second. "Or you could juste live with us for a few days."


    It was better than nothing. Even if we used the Express Builders Association, a new good quality house would take at least a week.


    We had money, so we could just afford a house on maind.


    Grandma''s house was big, so that was good too.


    But- none of them really seemed desirable for me. I really liked my house- our house, and I didn''t want to part from it.


    The feeling was really weird.


    "We could live in the mansion for a few days if you-" Father paused as though he reconsidered. "Never mind."


    ''The wedding-'' I guess we didn''t have time to worry about that anymore.


    With the world ending and all-


    Wait, maybe that wasn''t quite it. Maybe a wedding was the thing we needed! The world was under the threat of aliens but- but that meant we probably wouldn''t get this chance again.


    "Ah!" A weird moan came from the distance. A rather round guy- bald. He was looking at our house and turned visibly pale.


    Apparently, thendlord was here.


    "Oh, my gawd."


    And so, facepalm sigh it was.


    ***


    Thendlord was quite furious but when he saw my full house, he ran for his life.


    His exact words were, ''Only half rent next month!''


    I guess he forgot for a second that the whole year''s rent was already covered by Melheim, Marg''s father.


    "We could but-" Mom paused and looked at me and Marg. "What about the wedding?"


    "I guess¡­" Marg became a bit too quiet. "We could hold it off for now." She was looking down, and I could say with certainty, she was upset about that. "There are more urgent matters-"


    "We''ll still have the wedding," I said. "And we''ll have it despite all this."


    Marg stared at me, a bit puzzled. "But-"


    "Look, there will always be threats to the world, heck we pose more threat than anything else. But- there will only be one wedding for you and me. And I want it to be grand, and I can''t really wait." I might or might not have dreamed about my wedding before.


    I even had where and how and all that nned out too. Though I had a feeling my choices were a little too poor.


    "I guess a beach would be a bit too farfetched." Oops, I unintentionally voiced by inner thoughts.


    "A beach?" Marcus smiled. "Oh, so you wanted to just enjoy the view and get married too? Rascal!" He chuckled.


    My dreams weren''t that lewd, okay!


    John also chuckled. His chuckles were much, much louder. "That''s Helio for ya!"


    I cleared my throat. "Let''s not get carried away here." That was my middle school dream. But yeah, a dream was a dream and I couldn''t be a middle schooler forever. Besides, I was in high school right now. "We could just settle for a small church, I guess." Anywhere was fine though, as long as we got to get married. "Or did you have any ns?" I asked.


    It wasn''t like I was changing the subject or anything, okay!


    "I actually do. There''s a small church just outside our domain where I met some orphans. I was thinking we could get married there. Though I-" After actually saying it, Marg was backtracking. I guess she thought we''d be not okay with her being a bit selfish.


    "Alright." But I was totally okay with it.


    I might or might not have been slightly disappointed that my middle school dream wouldn''te to fruition though.


    Marg smiled and came close. "I wouldn''t mind wearing a bikini under the dress that day," She whispered.


    Ahem! "Looking forward to it."


    A set of giggles ensued followed by a burst of chuckles.


    ***


    Roughly an hourter, a geezer had fallen from the sky.


    A round,rge bearded guy. He''d changed into something fashionable for once. Though I had a tough time calling shorts and a Hawaiian shirt fashionable inte autumn. It was definitely better than his decaying clothes though.


    "You were still alive?" Grandma slightly grimaced.


    Grandma had made us a makeshift small vi of sorts. It had wooden rooms and though the rooms were small, there was plenty of furniture.


    Currently we were in the central room: the living.


    The man snorted. "Yup, kicking as always." He shed his teeth. He was missing quite a few.


    We had some sort of wooden sitting- almost like a sofa but without the cushions.


    It all checked out. And if grandma knew him too, it just meant the guy was speaking the truth all along.


    "This man is?" Mom said.


    "Oh, he''s your uncle, I guess." I wasn''t too sure about that.


    Mom looked at grandma for an answer. Her expression was kind of funny- I made sure not tough.


    "I suppose you can say that. Though he isn''t much of an uncle material. And I''d be careful with him if I were you." Grandma was warning me, instead of anyone else.


    "Why?" I asked.


    "He''s not straight."


    I froze for a second. ''Oh so, that''s why he said he-''


    The old man just chuckled. "Hey, don''t go spilling beans. Besides, why on Neil would I even bother to put my hands on my own frigging nephew?"


    Grandma rolled her eyes and just sipped on the morning tea. "As long as you understand."


    I never once got that vibe from him though.


    Mom however was kind of confused and overjoyed at the same time.


    The only guy who looked out of ce was dad. He couldn''t choose between stuff.


    Anyway, I kind of wanted to be alone, so headed for an empty room. These guys needed their reunion time anyway.


    Marcus and John were roaming the ind while Uncle had left for hunting- or so he imed. As for Auntie- I wasn''t so sure.


    Aria had gone out with Raea and that left Elsa and Marg. Both were currently inside this one-storied maze, but I kind of didn''t know where. I wanted to be alone, I didn''t care.


    I just walked.


    This coffee tasted a bit too bitter. ''Maybe I should have gotten milk?''


    I kind of didn''t likectose-free milk though¡­


    Then again, I didn''t like coffee anyway.


    "So, you''re saying you love him more than me?"


    As I was passing through the corridor, I heard something. These were wooden walls, so I could hear pretty well. I just had to pay attention and get close to the wall.


    "But that''s only natural." A very confident answer.


    Judging by the voices, Marg and Elsa were inside.


    "But he''s your brother."


    "I''m sure you''re already aware but even if you aren''t- we''re not blood-rted."


    "I know but, he only sees you as his sister."


    The hell were they talking about?


    "I know that!" A long pause. "But I love him and I''ll- I, I want to have his kids."


    Holy-


    "Even if it means tearing your rtionship, even if it means tearing your family?"


    I gulped. ''Maybe it''s better I don''t listen to this.''


    I''d actually suspected this¡­ I knew Elsa loved me. But all this time, I merely shrugged them off as sisterly love.


    And yet-


    Sigh.


    ''Why the fuck did it have to be soplicated?''


    This wasn''t justplicated; this was beyond that. My little sister, wanting my kids?


    Was this some sort of joke?


    Were they rehearsing something for a y or something?


    It had to be that, right? RIGHT!?


    "I love my family." I was about to leave but- I listened on. "I love them all. But- I love Helio a lot more. He''d saved me, he''d cared for me. He was there for me, even when mom wasn''t: when dad wasn''t. He was always there, every night when I had nightmares, every time I got lost, every time I wanted to listen to a bedtime story, he was there for me. Always. I want to be there for him too. I want to show him, I love him too."


    No, this wasn''t something as simple as a rehearsal. ''They''re serious¡­''


    "But you can do that as a sister and-"


    And I kept walking.


    For now, I had to focus on something else.


    No, that wasn''t it. Maybe I was just running away.


    But- this was something Elsa had to sort out on her own. ''Until shees out on her own, let''s pretend this never happened.''


    Though I had a feeling no matter what, there was no way, I could have just passed this off as nothing. Besides, she was my sister.


    How the hell am I supposed to act around her now, knowing all this?


    Could I ever treat her the same?


    Sigh!

 Chapter 274 - Distractions And-

    I was in a room.


    It was in the furthest corner of the house.


    I didn''t know what to do. I didn''t know what to feel.


    On one side, I had to worry about the invasion, my wedding, and how to stop those bloody aliens. On the other, I had to worry about Elsa.


    All this time I thought of her, my little sister: Even when I found out about how she wasn''t. But still, she was my sister.


    And now I just randomly find out that she has feelings for me?


    How?


    Why?


    And this hard wooden bed was bad for my back.


    It hurt!


    Sirgh!


    I guess it was my fault for just lying on a bare bed with no cushioning at all.


    Elsa was my sister- I always treated her like that. We lost our father at a young age. I still got some fatherly love despite everything but she never got any. So- I sometimes spoiled her. But I never went any deeper than just being a brother. I treated her with kindness, sometimes I acted a bit too strict, sometimes I pranked her too much, but in the end, she was my sister.


    We were brothers and sisters.


    ''Then why did ite to this?''


    Where had I gone wrong?


    Beep!


    My Holo buzzed. My eyes darted around, unable to focus.


    It took a minute to register.


    It was the headmaster. He wanted to see me.


    Well, it was better than nothing.


    Might as well go see him, I guess. This was a good distraction.


    I picked myself up and headed for the exit. On my way, I saw Elsa and Marg talking just outside their room. I couldn''t make out what they were saying. Seeing me, both stopped talking and just stood there. I went past them, not quite looking at either of them.


    I kind of had enough of the worries. ''I''ll just deal with themter.'' Yeah, I was running away but I didn''t have any way to cope with all this.


    I didn''t want to think about these.


    Not yet.


    ***


    The academy was a mess.


    The city was full of debris but the academy was worse. It sufficed to say, this ce took the full brunt of the attack.


    There were broken buildings everywhere and still traces of blood left here and there.


    Of course, students and teachers alike were cleaning up and doing their best, yet, everything felt so mundane, so pointless.


    There were banners, stalls on the ground; crushed, destroyed. ''It was the festival week¡­''


    They worked so hard for this¡­


    I grit my teeth.


    ''Unforgivable.''


    It really was. Those things had hurt my family, ruined my school, and killed so many.


    They''d done all that and they were doing it for fun, to kill time. And most of them weren''t even them! They were just a mindless bunch being controlled by others!


    It was unforgivable.


    ***


    "You wanted to see me?"


    With a knock, I came inside the headmaster''s office.


    He was standing, facing the window, looking out. "Have a seat." We both sat down.


    The room was oddly empty.


    It was awkward.


    Though we were looking at each other, neither of us was talking.


    I didn''t know what to say. He probably didn''t either.


    What was there to talk about?


    The destruction had already happened and even if we tore our heads apart, it wasn''t going to get us anywhere.


    And I was kind of lost in thought. Even though I tried to distract myself from that, even though I tried to not think about it, I still did.


    "I was too conceited, I apologize." He sighed. "I guess I better apologize to the rest of the student body and everyone else too." He looked distantly at the window.


    And yet, the headmaster found a way to surprise me.


    Why the hell was he apologizing?


    "You?"


    "Yeah, this was my fault. When we came back from the future and changed the world, the aliens didn''t know about us. And, so we used the chance and made sure they thought of us as superior beings. In that way, they''d never attack. But I guess that was a stupid n as there were rats among men." He chuckled in frustration. "And for that, we had to pay."


    But that was a long time ago and it did work till now. There were certain things people could never change no matter what.


    "But that doesn''t exin-"


    "They were here for me. Back in the day, it was me who killed theirstmander. Well, barely. But still, they thought if they got rid of me, then they''d be able to win rather easily. I mean no one can beat old age¡­ And-" He paused, looked at me. "Now they have their eyes on you." Even if it was his fault, he was still beating himself over it a bit too much.


    Which meant- now they''de for me? "That''s why you tried to stop me?"


    There was much noise in the background. People were yelling in the distant fields and even from thefort of the third floor all the way up here, I could hear all that. The sound of hammers.


    I definitely couldn''t focus though.


    "To be honest, no, I didn''t try to stop you. I was losing badly and my school was being destroyed. If I wanted to stop you, I would have just done that. Honestly, I was d you showed up at the time." Heughed but his eyes weren''tughing. "Call me selfish-"


    "Don''t bother. I did what I wanted to. It was my choice, and I wouldn''t have stopped even if you tried to. And what happened, happened. Even if it was your fault, it doesn''t matter now. Anyway, back to business." I stared a bit too intently. "Exin to me what they are, where they areing from, and your ns on stopping them."


    I didn''t know much about the aliens. I knew they were doing this for fun, but that was it.


    "You don''t beat around the bush, do you?" He smiled. "I was born in the future. When I was born, we were already under attack. But it wasn''t like they were actually attacking us, rather they''d set the virus loose and most of us just died. The remaining ones started to be Kin."


    POOT!


    The headmaster cleared his throat. "By bing Kin you gain vast powers but- but the powers were uncontroble. So with the help of Neil, we made a vine. Though we call it a vine, it was basically a modified version of the same virus but just enough to let us have powers while also letting us keep our minds intact. The process had a lot of trial and error and took roughly four centuries¡­"


    Though he tried to y it off as nothing was a miss, it certainly wasn''t the case.


    For starters, it smelled in here.


    "That''s different from what I read." I still tried to pretend like nothing was wrong though.


    It was awkward for both of us.

 Chapter 275 - Distractions And- (part Two)

    The headmaster grinned. "I did tell you how we altered history, didn''t I? but that''s not all. We had powers, we had tech from Neil and even their support. And that''s when the Aliens arrived. It was their goal you see, they were aiming for this revolution, almost like some gods trying to create new life." Heughed loudly. "But instead of creators, they were destroyers¡­Hypocrites at their finest."


    Some loud noises came from behind the door. People were yelling. Awfully, distracting.


    "You don''t say."


    "The ck ones are the soldiers, they are controlled. The purple ones however are actually the aliens." But the headmaster still continued despite all that.


    "You''ve said that before."


    But that''s where I lost him.


    "You see, the aliens-"


    "Do they have a name?"


    "I think the people of Neil called them Gens, Gents or something? Can''t remember."


    "Forget I asked. Go on."


    "They are like gods. Some of them go on conquering worlds and have fun. Those are themanders. The purple one you saw was just a remotely controlled body. Now, the pilots of themanders, or rather those purple bodies, are back on their- just doing stuff but they are responsible for quite a lot of soldiers: I''ve never met one myself but I heard they were fancy-looking or something. The purple bodies are basically the bodies of the strongest being they fought in previous battles. Once a race reaches their desirable standard, they attack and have fun- or destroy the race to be more specific."


    Yeah, very specific.


    "Basically, it''s like ying an MMO in the virtual world but just with a lot more at stake."


    And our opponents were maxed out and stuff.


    He almost burst outughing. "Kind of."


    "So, what are we going to do about that?"


    "There''s a chance if we beat the nextmander, they''d stop. But that''s just a chance. And the next time they''d send an even stronger one. Once those Aliens set their eyes on something- they don''t just give up so easily. Beating them will only dy the eventual full-scale invasion which we don''t have any chance of winning."


    So, basically, the best we could do was to buy time?


    "And? You have some other ns, right? Like blowing up their or something?" It was definitely an option, right?


    He looked at me, a bit dazed, tried his level best to control the twitches on his face as he was about to burst outughing. He couldn''t. "HA HA HA AHAKA AH AHAH!" Halfway through hisugh took a very weird turn. He almost cried, actually he wept two drops. He cleared the drops. The snot still threatened toe out though. "Julio also said the same. But sadly-" He controlled himself. "The is moving at a constant speed of 40% the speed of light. And even if we could somehow calcte its trajectory, we don''t have the tech to open the Interdimentinal Elevator. And though Neil had that too, they were unable to link up with that as the aliens had taken the portal as a consideration. So that''s a no."


    I wish he''d just clean that snot too¡­


    "That''s good and all, but did you try beating one of themanders and using his portal?"


    The headmaster again paused like before. This time however he didn''t burst outughing. Instead, he looked slightly funny. "We actually haven''t done that."


    Huh?


    "Why not?"


    "Because we beat like only three and that was with the help of all of us and by that time the body of the thing was too dismantled and-"


    ''Didn''t you say you beat one on your own?''


    Highly doubtable.


    "In the end, you never considered that did you?"


    He almost looked like a cat caught while stealing fish. "I wasn''t the only one who came back from the future you know!"


    Excuses.


    But really, people shouldn''t have been that dumb, and they probably weren''t. "So, what now? If we let''s say hypothetically beat one and can hypothetically go to their world-"


    "You''ll need special DNA to make that work. One of ourrades had tried but died instantly. What we didn''t try was to manipte our DNA and make it work. So yeah, in the end, we didn''t consider that route enough to make it work."


    Oh, so they had tried.


    "I guess we are back to square one then." That being, we didn''t have any ns.


    "For now, for now, focus on what''s important to you, and if another portal should open it''ll probably be near you so you''ll have to deal with that then. Normally it takes about a week at the very least toe here from Neil through the Interdimentinal Elevator. And three for the aliens."


    But since Neil was conquered, we couldn''t take three weeks for granted.


    "You sure know a lot about them."


    "Once you learn to constantly run, predict their next moves just to survive, you learn a lot." He smiled. "Anyway, what about you, what''ll you do?"


    With a knock, the headmaster''s wife entered. She put some papers on the table, exchanged a few words, wiped the headmaster''s nose for him, and left.


    Well, that was something.


    "Have fun at the festival, get married, and have a bit more fun, what else?" I also smiled. "This could very well be myst festival; I''ll make it a longsting memory." If we didn''t have a n yet, then the best I could do was enjoy my time, right? Just worrying about ''what''ll happen, what''ll happen, what''ll happen'' wasn''t going to get me anywhere, anyway.


    I still worried though.


    For a second there he almost looked deep in thought. He smiled. "Yeah, you should do that. You only get to live once." I thought he''d burst outughing, or mock me, but he didn''t.


    I''d known him for a while now. I did respect the man.


    But for some reason, he never felt like the headmaster type. I mean, he never tried to be that teacher figure for me. If anything, he almost talked like we were equals or something, like we were friends.


    So, I couldn''t help but chuckle. "We''re nning on getting married a bit far. I''ll send you a card- probably."


    Probably, indeed.


    And with that our conversation ended.

 Chapter 276 - Interlude: The Imminent Demise

    The world was a cruel ce. The brighter you shine, the faster you burned.


    "Boring!" With a sigh, she tossed her link bracelet on the floor. A thin strap, beaming a constant beat.


    Her body swayed. She was in link for almost a decade now. Just a decade here and there was nothing to her.


    But after all that time, just walking around felt cumbersome.


    Her vision was slightly blurry and her senses felt weird. They were working properly but to her, it felt weird.


    "Why did I evene out?" Her voice was slightly broken.


    Around her was her room. It''s been the same for over a century. Wires here, screens there. There was no furniture, however, the room itself was a furniture of sorts made of nanobots: ck bots. Everything could change its shape to anything.


    Anything reasonable that was.


    It wasn''t a big room. Maybe two meters wide?


    Everyone got a room like this the moment they were born- seven million years ago.


    The girl- if she could be called a girl looked almost human. But she wasn''t.


    She had all the features of a human: arms, legs, eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth. Unlike humans, however, she had three hearts, four lungs, and two brains. And yet, she looked nothing more than just a slender girl with pink luscious hair.


    Her skin was translucent and if one paid close attention they could easily see all her veins and arteries through just her skin. But since her muscles weren''t that see-through, her internal organs weren''t on full disy. Besides, she was wearing Holo-clothes, so stop paying so much attention!


    She yawned, she sighed but, in the end, she just sat on the ground, searched for her link bracelet and put it on again. It was too taxing to walk around anyway.


    Maybe she''d postpone her once-a-century body checkup for another decade.


    She didn''t need to eat, she didn''t need to sleep, and she didn''t even need to go to thedy''s room.


    The moment she put it on, reality changed and everything in front of her disappeared into whiteness. Her difort was gone, like it never existed.


    She swayed her hands in the air and food appeared. A table full of gourmet food, red fermented beverages, rare fruits from across the gxy, and a chair for her to sit on. The chair was made from the bones of her strongest opponents- or at least it was modeled after those. The table, however, was made from a branch of fine Trenxia woods: thergest grove in the known universe.


    Naturally, these were digital food but- if she consumed them, she''d not only be able to enjoy their taste but her body would also gain the nutrients, as the nanobots on the ground would directly inject them into her bloodstream.


    All the necessary information was already in the directory- all she had to do was think- and it''ll be there. Even the smell, the feeling, the very definition of reality was recreated to perfection.


    And because of those nanobots, she didn''t need to no move even for centuries at a time.


    But even now, the girl was bored. The food was good but she was bored of it.


    In here, her body didn''t sway, and if she wanted, she could just make her body release more and more dopamine and serotonin-likepounds to artificially feel happy. But even that felt old and she was over it. Instead, she swung her hands and watched what was new. It had been a long while since she looked at the trends.


    A sort of short video yed in front of her. All her senses were linked to the individual inside the video. And it was almost like she was in it herself.


    "Commander Zelfique retreats. UM23-13 wins the second round as well?"


    She was in deep thought. Where did she hear the word? For thest century or so she''d been living through a serotonin-rich dream of how she conquered the backwater world of Vilex through swords and spears.


    ''UM23-13?''


    She searched the word in the directory and came upon pictures of earth and its inhabitants.


    ''Oh!''


    She remembered. She remembered it well. About eighty years ago one of her friends said things how about something amusing was happening in a faraway but she just avoided all that.


    After all, what the army and the government did was of no concern to her. Who cared?


    She sure didn''t.


    But defeated not once, but twice?


    Themanders were the pride of Xanard. If they were defeated then- then, things were going to get very interesting.


    The girl''s face twisted as she grinned. ''Then maybe-''


    The inhabitants of Xenard, the Xenes were a free race. Anyone could do anything; anyone could be anything. Of course, there were some limitations and if two wanted to be the same then the more intellectual one would win and there would be nothing more and nothing less.


    They were virtually immortal, so holding grudges wasn''t a thing.


    The post of amander, however, was open to all. People just didn''t find the idea of traveling quadrillions of lightyears, just to have a bit of fun conquering stuff they could just do in digital worlds, that fun anyway. Besides they needed certain criteria to fill first.


    ''But this might be worth it.''


    She''d been searching for that euphoria for a while now. No matter how many digital worlds she conquered, no matter how much dopamine-likepounds she ingested, it wasn''t enough. Long ago- she encountered a man and after a very short battle, she won. It was short- a mere ten-minute battle. Yet, just thinking about it made her hands shake, the feeling, the fear, the burning of her chest- it was euphoric!


    Ever since then- she sought for the same pleasure- but s, it was never the same.


    That''s why, as she watched the battle of UM23-13 with her own eyes, she felt it. The man- no, boy she just witnessed through the link- yeah, she saw potential.


    "End Link."


    The link ended and she found herself on the floor again.


    She groaned and pulled herself up. ''I hate this.''


    But she also made sure to breathe and pull herself together. The central was just ten seconds away. But she had to present herself properly for the job.


    And she knew just the way she''d do it. The n was grand and there was no chance for blunders.


    The snot on her face wasn''t part of the n though.

 Chapter 277 - The Quest For Distractions

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    I came out of the headmaster''s office and again found myself deep in thought.


    Not worrying?


    Yeah, no, I was still worrying regardless.


    I always worried. I worried for my future, I worried for our future and I worried for everything else. Sometimes I felt like a hypocrite which I probably was.


    Anyway- with all that done, I didn''t have anything else to do. I didn''t have anything else to use and distract my mind.


    Life really was weird.


    People were rebuilding, some were still wailing,ining and here I was just, staring out the damn terrace and feeling sorry for myself.


    "Why do we continue to exist?" And why the hell was I saying it aloud on the frigging terrace of the third floor?


    Did I really want sympathy that badly?


    Well too bad myself, because there was no one around.


    "Because that''s human nature?" And yet, I found someone flying her way in. "We exist because we are." And what the hell was that supposed to mean?


    "Hi."


    She came from above and settled down next to me. Her wings receded. She had pigeon-like wings: very white. I kind of liked them.


    "Hey."


    Now what?


    How the hell did conversations go again?


    What I was supposed to say?


    I almost felt like my middle school self again where I couldn''t talk to anyone and couldn''t make friends. There were various reasons for me to not make friends and people running away from me but still.


    "You saved everyone. Or so, I''ve heard." Rose said, standing next to me.


    I just got reminded of the awkward conversation we had yesterday.


    "I just happened to be there."


    "But it was nice you were. If you weren''t, things would have been really bad. Though I never thought they''d corner the headmaster like that." Was she watching us from a distance or something?


    Sadly, I never got to pummel that bastard good though. If I had another shot, I''d pulverize the hell out of it and then chop the damn thing into pieces and my rage still wouldn''t be stanched. On that note, I really wanted to meet the person behind them so I could squish their puny body and show them that peoples'' lives were not something they could just screw around with and call it fun.


    Though I guess that''s what terrorists do for a living, but I didn''t care.


    ''But how do I destroy all them?''


    Firstly, I needed more power. And there was a sure way of getting more power, or rather making sure I was at least at full throttle.


    "You have a rather scary face right now, you, okay?" Rose tried to make sense of all this.


    I took a deep breath. "I am." But I had things I wanted to do and things I wanted to make sure. "Think I''ll go home. See youter."


    "Okay."


    ''Gramps, had a ck core, right?''


    It was high time for Enira to wake up. After all, we''re going to destroy some people¡­.Muahahahha!


    ***


    I hurried back to our house.


    Or more like the vi, but who cared!


    I just needed stuff. Stuff to keep myself busy.


    The front door was open, so I ran in.


    Mom, dad, grandma, and the geezer were all in some sort of storytelling mode.


    "Mom, you had the ck core, right? You wanted to give it to me and-"


    And I didn''t want it as it was gramps'' memento. But now I did need it and I kind of didn''t want to go to Antarctica just for a stronger core or something.


    "Hmm? Oh, that? The stuff is still on its way, so it''ll take maybe tomorrow or the day after?" I forgot for a second that most of our old stuff were stilling.


    But I wanted it now.


    It had been a long while but Enira still hadn''te out.


    ording to Johnathan''s father, she was in some form of hibernation as she used too much energy. So, I figured giving her a good core would make the process faster.


    I''d tried giving her cores before but they weren''t that effective. I couldn''t get anything more than just yellow or reddish cores though. Purple ones and anything better than those was kind of, well, expensive.


    And as I went core shopping, I learned that color wasn''t everything. The age of the core and the type also mattered.


    But a ck core, a ck core was supposedly one of the strongest and that''s why- that''s why I wanted one. Now, I could have just sold it and became rich- but as mom didn''t do that because of its sentimental value, I didn''t want to either. Besides, using it for our survival was a better tribute to gramps anyway.


    The strongest Mutors were already kind of gone. That ck Cobra had actually consumed all the smaller Mutors too and now the ind had hardly any Mutors left, let alone strong ones. "Do you guys know where I could go and find strong Mutors?"


    I had everyone''s attention but the geezer spoke first. "What for?"


    "Need some cores."


    "Guess I could lend you a hand." He was about to get up.


    "No, it''s fine. You guys are hitting it off quite well anyway."


    They were talking about old times and I didn''t want to get in their way.


    "There''s apparently a sea monster sighted in the North Sea from here. Why don''t you go check that out?" Uncle walked in through the front door. "I heard it''s pretty big." He was kind of drenched.


    ''You didn''t go into the sea and came back because you couldn''t swim, did you?''


    I didn''t have the guts to ask. He was in a very foul mood.


    "What? But that''s too dangerous!" Mom stood up with vigor.


    "It''s fine, he''s not a kid." Uncle chuckled. His veins were throbbing though. The poor guy had probably forgotten that he couldn''t swim. But he still went to the ocean anyway, and ended up drowning or something.


    It still wasn''t enough to kill him, I guess.


    "Thanks for the info." I was about to head out.


    "Will you be okay?" Dad asked.


    Mom was also looking very agitated.


    "I''ll be fine. Besides, I can fly."


    I actually thought they''d ask me how I could fly or at least express some surprise when they first saw me. But with all the stuff going on they never bothered. It was almost like they were always expecting me to be able to fly or something.


    Sigh.


    Anyway- to the sea!


    I, actually, purposefully avoided Marg and Elsa who wereing this way. I left before they could even get a chance to call me.


    I didn''t want to talk to either of them¡­ yet.


    Hence my search for a distraction.

 Chapter 278 - The Quest For Distractions (Part Two)

    It was a clear windy day.


    Should have brought my jacket.


    Oh wait, I didn''t have a proper jacket.


    It was one of those rare days, I missed Merin''s wardrobe.


    But- it didn''t matter.


    ''He''s probably alright.'' His name wasn''t on the deceased list. Actually, I didn''t know anyone on that list apart from just the French teacher.


    Sigh.


    I just flew.


    There was a reason why I wanted Enira toe out.


    One, I needed her firepower. Two, her intelligence on things was mostly right. And three, I missed her.


    It was odd. I hated when she teased me and all that, but despite all that, I found myself missing her. I concluded this feeling to be love- but it could have been something else. Something that I didn''t understand.


    Anyway- I kept going north but, so far, nothing.


    The water was kind of dark blue, and I couldn''t see much. And nothing was out of ce.


    The scent of salt irritated my nostrils. I never liked the smell of the ocean.


    ''Why did I think this was a good idea again?''


    Actually, I hadn''t. I just wanted more and more things to distract myself.


    I was just running away in the end.


    Sigh.


    I dropped down and made a barrier over the water. I sat down. ''Should have at least brought a fishing rod.''


    The barrier swayed with the water. There wasn''t much tide. There was wind but- the water was rather calm. Hard to imagine this was a freaking ocean and not ake.


    The sky was really clear, not many clouds. The few that were here, were white and fluffy. The seagulls were flying around.


    But, but I felt mncholic. Almost like, ''What the hell am I doing?''


    I just stared at the water- my reflection.


    I hadn''t seen my face in a while. ''Are those, pores?''


    I actually grew hair on my face! That was new!


    They weren''t mature enough to be called facial hair though.


    Also, my hair was a mess.


    ***


    I kept on just sitting in the middle of the ocean, looking around for signs. But even after half an hour, nothing. The sun was warm and not burning.


    It was still pretty early- maybe nine-thirty.


    So, I stood up and made a small sma ball of sorts. I used the ball to pulverize a shark that wasing this way.


    It was just a tiger shark, nothing fancy. But now I had a bait.


    Hopefully the sea monster or whatever it was, fancied cooked shark.


    Sigh.


    But still nothing.


    Half an hour turned to a full hour, and then two.


    The sun kind of got hotter and now I was sweating buckets. There was water everywhere- but I couldn''t drink those.


    I was also rather hungry.


    I tried the roasted shark- it was terrible. And now I wanted to drink water even more.


    It was time to go home.


    Ssh!


    I was about to lift off when- the water kind of rushed up and sprayed everywhere like a fountain.


    It was hard to see because of the sun but a fish- no a girl- no, MERMAID had jumped up high.


    ''Wow!''


    It quickly again dropped on the water. I''d just witnessed something spectacr!


    I hurriedly looked down but sadly couldn''t see anything.


    Bits of air bubbles came up.


    And then came up a face.


    Mermaids!


    "Oh, Comrad!"


    Yes, but actually no.


    It was our old reptile friend.


    Sigh.


    What a disappointment.


    "Hey, long time no see. Didn''t think I''d see you out here."


    To my surprise, the second half which I thought to be that of a fish, was actually a snake. I guess I might or might not have assumed too much.


    "I was hunting. Sig and the others are hunting as we speak."


    Her name was probably Remia? I couldn''t quite remember. I guess I got too hungover when I saw her top portion, which actually did look fairly human.


    "Oh good. I heard there was a sea monster sighted here. So, I came to investigate." And kill it and take its core.


    Obviously, I couldn''t say that to her, after all, these people were also monsters, but they did have conscience.


    Though I still didn''t know if categorizing them as Mutors was even ethical at this point.


    "Oh!" She gradually got on top of the barrier. "This is nice." She looked over the barrier- a tad surprised. Her lower body was basically that of a snake''s. The top part was humanoid. And she was wearing just a swimsuit on top: I was definitely not staring at her chest. "There''s a massive sea serpent to the north of here. That way." She pointed. "Though I don''t think you can win against it in water."


    A sea serpent?


    Then I guess the core would be a dragon-type one? After all, both were lizards. ''Then I''m lucky?''


    Then again, dragon types were kind of, well, tough.


    "I can fly."


    She formed a half-smile. "I don''t think that''ll help. It''s really fast and rather tall, so it''ll be easy for it to get you."


    I couldn''t help but use the ''I can fly'' card. It was my new power and I wanted to flex a little.


    But- disappointment.


    "What is wrong Remi?" Another geyser erupted and sprayed water like a fountain. "Oh, Comrad!" A familiar deep voice.


    This time there was a full-blown lizard. There wasn''t even the slightest chance in hell I''d mistake him for a mermaid.


    He also crawled up the barrier. The whole thing swayed.


    It was hard to make it big enough to not be too close to each other.


    "He wants to fight the Lexan," Remia said.


    I guess they had a name for it.


    Wait, I actually remember hearing something about a sea monster near the ind that surfaced every decade or so, to eat the migrating fish.


    I couldn''t really remember where I heard that but it was supposedly a great threat to the local fish markets and they often tried to attack the monster but they never found sess and therge monster is still undefeated even after ny years.


    ''And here I thought that was just a folklore.''


    "Oh, Comrad, you want help!" This lizard- Sig, wanted to help out. He was a full lizard, almost like an alligator.


    I kind of owed him from before too. He''d saved my life when I was about to drown- or rather, I''d assumed as much. But I did like the guy. Which was why- "I think I''ll be fine." I didn''t want them dying on me.


    They could survive underwear, I could not.


    But that also meant they were at a far greater risk than me.


    "Oh." He was disappointed, heartbroken even.


    Well, that was exaggerated. "I''ll let you see my fight though. I''ll put on a shy disy." Besides,tely, I was really confident in my sma balls. "But you''ll have to stay a fair distance away unless you want to be roasted with radiation."


    "You''re serious about fighting it?" Remia said, a bit concerned.


    "Uh-Huh."


    If it got a bit too hairy, I could always just run away.


    For now though, I wanted some good old quality distraction.


    I tried lifting up. "That way, right?"


    I didn''t immediately undo the barrier.


    "Yes."


    "Kay, seeya around."

 Chapter 279 - The Quest For Distractions (Part Three)

    Now, with the barrier undone, I flew over to the direction Remia pointed.


    Though I knew where to go- I didn''t know how to find the monster.


    After roughly half a kilometer distance, I stopped and hovered about two meters above sea level.


    Alpha particles were kind of useless so I switched over to Beta. I couldn''t use Gamma to locate and since there was fish here, using Gamma was going to, well, sterilize everything and I certainly didn''t want that.


    I used the beta particles but with the limited range, I didn''t quite get much of a reaction.


    ''I guess I''m just not cut out for this.''


    And now the sun was scorching hot too.


    I wiped a bead of sweat. ''I guess I can just call it a day.''


    I was giving up a bit too easily.


    Well, the purpose of this journey was mostly to waste time and forget about reality for a while anyway. So, technically this wasn''t a failure.


    "AHAHAHHA!"


    And just when I thought I''d leave, a group of lizard men came swimming and with their songs too¡­.


    "I tried to stop them but they got too excited to see you in battle," Sig popped his head out.


    There were about a dozen or so lizard men.


    I''d forgotten for a second that I was kind of a God to them. ''Shit.''


    SPLASH!


    A massive mountain of water erupted and it literally rained.


    Waves upon waves came this way. Even though I was like two meters above the water, it still got my knees wet. ''Well, I did need a shower.''


    All the lizard men were now behind me, and in front was a snake.


    "You can''t be frigging serious." My eyes twitched as I looked ahead.


    There was a snake in front of me, us. It was roughly half a kilometer high. The width was maybe four meters? How''d I know?


    Cause the damn thing wasing to swallow me whole and even though it stretched close to half a kilometer just above the water, its tail was still below the damn sea.


    "RUN!" I yelled and soared through the sky. The damn thing wasing to eat me for some reason. It was following me like crazy.


    If the lizard men disturbed it, then why the hell was it targeting me?


    Seriously!


    Teeth came from behind me. It was fast alright!


    And it could swim above water!?


    I could almost feel my snot dripping. That thing was a hundred times bigger than Enira- no doubt about it.


    And it wanted to eat me. ''I''m so dead.''


    But- but my heart pumped and I got excited. "Alright!" I formed a sma ball and threw, evading a close shave.


    The scales were tough! Blue scales refracted light and almost made me go blind when I hit it. But the explosion merely scratched it.


    Shave!


    I almost got bitten!


    The sea was glistening and the wind was blocking my senses. And this damn thing was really fast.


    Even one of the fangs were like bigger than half of my body. And it had like thousands! All sticking out from its alreadyrge mouth.


    SCREECH!


    Instead of hissing and stuff, it screeched like a frigging rat on steroids. An almost half a kilometer long rat on steroids that was.


    But it didn''t have a head like a cobra. Rather it looked more like a water snake. A water snake with a friggin dolphin sized bulb on its head and the damn thing glowed too!


    ''Are you getting ideas or something from that?''


    And it wanted to eat me!


    Swoosh!


    Oh! Another close shave.


    I tried to use my saber and sh at it, but I only went in like an inch, the rest were too hard.


    This thing was oddly faster than me. No, that wasn''t quite it. I was actually not trying that hard.


    ''So, this is having fun?''


    My blood boiled, my heart raced, adrenaline pumped: I was excited.


    To me, the snake wasn''t even worth taking seriously. This was more of a hunting game than an actual fight.


    But no, this wasn''t fun for me.


    ''Then are we just not worth to be taken seriously by them?''


    It kind of made sense in an odd way. Maybe we were prey to the aliens just like this snake was to me. Maybe we did pose a threat to them but, at the end of the day, we were just a game.


    But I didn''t quite understand it.


    "Look out!" Sig screamed.


    And I realized, I was spacing out midair and a frigging snake wasing for me. No, it wasn''ting for me, it was already here. And the mouth was about to close.


    ''Shit¡­''


    But- I focused, made a barrier over my head, and before anything else, threw a massive sma ball straight for its internal organs.


    The snake''s mouth closed and the teeth were blocked by the barrier- just barely. There were threeyers of barriers protecting me from the fangs.


    But a massive explosion resulted and mes came rushing this way. I made more barriers but I had a feeling, it''d at least singe my hair.


    ''Why the fuck am I so stupid?''


    After all that training, after all that yelling, after all that everything, I let my guard down midair? The fuck was wrong with me!?


    BOOM!


    Another explosion followed and- no, not an explosion but the sound of a sh. A mighty sh!


    The fire got cut off midway as a massive axe sliced the snake''s head off. The head was now falling toward the sea, I was falling, just like the rest of its cut-off body was also falling.


    And the fire kind of still rushed this way.


    I got a grin from the guy who cut the snake- Sig. But he was about to be toast- so I formed a barrier.


    But I knew it wasn''t going to be enough.


    And yet, that expression¡­ he was trying to save my life¡­.


    Damn.

 Chapter 280 - Does Size Really Matter?

    I fell on water and saw the fiery hell I''d created. The fire was so hot, I could feel it even from underwater.


    I should have taken this a bit more seriously.


    I should have known there were people here who''d risk their lives for me.


    And yet- like the moron I was, I just let myself be eaten and thought I could get away with a st like that.


    Damn!


    The water was cold and it kind of wanted to drag me deep.


    It took a moment but Sig too fell in the water along with the snake''s body and his body was going down fast. I tried to swim, but I wasn''t fast enough.


    Instead, some lizard men went for him.


    Meanwhile, I went up and breathed. One of the lizard men helped me too.


    EXHALE!


    INHALE!


    I was so out of breath!


    The lizard men brought Sig out of the water. I''d formed another barrier as footing. I was holding on to the barrier like a raft while they got Sig on it and lied him there.


    They started doing CPR on him.


    I had no idea how much medical stuff they knew but they sure knew stuff.


    But Sig wasn''t waking up. And his body was letting off steam. IN fact, this whole area was full of steam. The snake''s fire had mostly died.


    I didn''t know this guy; I didn''t know him enough. He didn''t know me.


    And yet, he risked his life for me.


    I looked away.


    I couldn''t-


    ''I''m so fucking na?ve.''


    What if he died? What then?


    I grit my teeth and felt my soul being torn.


    Cough!


    Sig threw up water and woke up like a champ. He again shed a smile at me and passed out.


    ''Oh, you moron.'' But I couldn''t help but chuckle. I sighed in relief and got on top of the barrier with Remia''s help.


    I was really, really relieved.


    Blood was everywhere- the snake''s blood. A metallic scent lingered in the air along with the sea smell: the smell of burnt snake and its insides were also something. Even with the wind, it was hard to breathe.


    "I asked him to stay far because I thought he''d get hurt," I spoke out loud. "It''s my fault."


    "But-" Remia paused. "He did what he did with his free will. I hope you won''t disregard that."


    The lizard men here also shared the same thought, their gaze suggested as much.


    "I won''t." There was no way I could ever disregard that. "He''s okay, right?''


    "He''ll be fine."


    The lizard men kind of jumped back in the water and waited. Remia and I looked over at the snake.


    Most of its insides were burned. But the snake itself was pretty intact and so was its meat.


    "But now,es the tricky part. How''d we get the core of that thing?" Normally the core would be in the middle of a Mutor, but this thing was too long.


    It was actually floating quite well.


    ''I didn''t burn the core, too, did I?''


    "Would you give us the body? It''ll be a good source of food for Nelbound. We''ll try our best to carve the core out. And you can also take the head as proof that you killed it."


    "Sure, I don''t see why not? Is snake meat any good?"


    Besides, it was Sig who cut the snake in two anyway.


    And my only goal was to get the core, I couldn''t care less about the body. I couldn''t have just dumped it on the ocean and let it rot though. So, I guess this really was the best way.


    But still, this thing was big. Like more than half a kilometer big. Though it was dead, it still looked kind of majestic. The lightbulb on its head was still kind of scary though.


    "Too chewy for me. I don''t eat my kind."


    And for a second, I forgot that Remia was a snake and the rest of them were lizards.


    "Sorry-"


    "It''s okay." She cleared her throat. "You heard him, get that core!"


    ***


    About half an hourter Sig woke up.


    I thanked the guy extensively, we talked.


    He was really happy. And when he learned, I was going to give the snake''s body to them as food, he was even happier. They could apparently use the frozen side of the ind and store the food for long-term usage.


    Though I had a feeling they wouldn''t be able to finish this snake for maybe a decade or so.


    The thing was huge!


    ''Would it reallyst that long though?''


    I never really asked Sig''s reason on why he risked his life for me. I figured that''d be like mocking his resolve. So, I just thanked him properly and acknowledged him as a loyal friend.


    "Boss, we found something!" A lizard man popped up.


    Me, boss?


    "Good job." Remia jumped in.


    No, it was Remia. She was the boss.


    Oh well.


    I waited patiently as the lizards just cut the snake in various ces, gutted it, and carved out the meat. The meat actually wasn''t burned nor cooked. It was a bit smoky though.


    The ocean was red, like really red. ''We''re not destroying the biome here, right? Right?''


    ***


    More and more lizard men and other types of monsters were on their way. Even sharks and other predatory aquatic creatures were here and they were trying to get a piece of the monster.


    The lizard men were both getting their meat and, in the meantime, searching for the core.


    Though the snake was massive, the core was going to be small- or so they said. Though they did assure me, the core was going to be at least a purple one.


    Well, I sure hope so.


    "FOUND IT!" A lizard man popped up. Followed by about a dozen more and they all came my way.


    The guy who found it gave it me. He was overjoyed to be of service to me- or so his quivering suggested.


    Seriously, I didn''t like that. But- "Thank you." I couldn''t make light of their work.


    He almost jumped in joy.


    As for the core, it was literally a Ping-Pong ball sized. Very round. Very smooth.


    ''Why the hell did I have to go through so much trouble for this?''


    It was crimson in color. I didn''t know if this was better than purple cores or maybe worse. But the size was sure not fun.


    But I guess since this was a core from an old Mutor, it was fine?


    "You seem disappointed," Sig said.


    "Thought it''d be bigger."


    "Size doesn''t always matter Comrad."


    Yeah, that just felt like constion.


    Remia got on top of the barrier. "Lexan was weak and dying. If you came here twenty years earlier the core would have been at least twice as big."


    I wasn''t even born twenty years ago.


    "You guys knew it?"


    Remia looked slightly down. "Yes, he was one of our Comrads." Emphasis on the was. "He went mad some decades ago: and devolved into that monster."


    Wait, wouldn''t that mean they were going to eat theirrade? Or was it their way of respecting the dead?


    I kind of didn''t know. But I didn''t want to ask about that either- it was just too sad.


    "Too bad..." Anyway, with all that done. I guess it was time for me to head back. "You guys will be okay with carrying all this? I mean, it''s a lot, right?"


    "It''ll be fine." Remia smiled. "I''ve called for backup. But really, thank you for such generosity." She bowed her head.


    The rest of them also bowed.


    "It''s okay, guys, really. I don''t have any use for this. if you guys can benefit from it, I''m fine with giving it to you. Besides, without you guys I couldn''t have even found this, let alone beat it."


    They were d- they were overjoyed. Some were even crying.


    ''Give me a break.''


    I wanted to shrug, but I didn''t.


    I didn''t want to mock them.


    Instead, "I''ll go now." I was about to take off.


    "Um, Comrad, you won''t take the head?"


    "I don''t nee-"


    "Please, we insist! The fangs and the eyes would sell for quite the price. It''ll be a shame otherwise," Remia ensured me.


    How the hell did she know about the money? Actually, how much did these people know?


    It kind of didn''t matter at the moment though. "Alright." But these people were a lot more intelligent than I gave them credit for.


    With that said, I wrapped the ten-meter-long- four-meter wide- snakehead in a very big barrier and slowly propelled myself ahead. The snakehead was in the water but still just thrusting took a huge amount of strength. And making and maintaining a barrier this big was something else too. This was basically my limit.


    But as I learned before, as long as I tried, I could break through my limits¡­ and I hope that''d be the case this time too.


    With a bit of mental screaming, I kept on pushing.


    Onwards!


    The pace was slower than a snail''s though.


    At this rate, it''d at least take a few hours. And then there was the thing about actually crossing the frozennds and getting this somewhere.


    ''Where the hell am I even taking this?''


    Sirgh!


    Well, at least I got myself the core.. The size was a tad worrisome though.

 Chapter 281 - Push, Push, And Away!

    This was heavy.


    I couldn''t carry it. I couldn''t even push it.


    ''Why did I think this was a good idea?''


    Had I ever thought that it was? I couldn''t really remember.


    But- forget breaking limits, this was draining even strength beyond my limit. And I was going to break my back.


    Even on water, this thing weighed a frigging ton. Okay, maybe it wasn''t that heavy, but still!


    "I thought you were taking too long but-" the voice came from up.


    He was pretty high, so it was hard to hear.


    "Didn''t I say I didn''t want your help?"


    Apparently, the geezer hade. I distinctly remembered declining his help.


    Though, I guess I did feel a bit relieved now that he was here.


    "Aight, I''ll go back then."


    "Hey, hey! I need your help! Help me!"


    Yeah, I had pride. I had plenty of it.


    But there were times when that pride was useless.


    This was one of those times.


    He chuckled haughtily and came down. "So, we''re pushing?" The guy was maybe four feet tall? And though he was round, I didn''t get the feeling that he was strong, at least raw strength-wise.


    We were about ten, maybe fifteen kilometers away from the shore. I''d only covered like three in the past hour.


    "What, you think you can carry this?"


    He tried lifting. "Nah! Too heavy." He exhaled dropping the head. A bit of ripple went out. "Why don''t we chop it up and each take a piece?"


    "Well, it''s currently on my barrier. Do you have something like that?"


    The guy could fly and shootsers and stuff.


    But was he strong enough to carry this thing, even if it was half?


    Instead of answering, he tried giving the thing a push. "Or we could both push at the same time?"


    It was better than nothing.


    "No harm trying."


    We both started pushing.


    With both our strengthsbined, it was easier than before. The pace still was slow.


    But at least we were making progress. And it wasn''t as backbreaking asst time.


    "How the hell did ya kill this guy. It''s too damn heavy!"


    Though we were pushing, we were actually floating above the water and the massive snakehead was on the water, on top of my barrier. Unlike Enira, I couldn''t make it big or manipte it enough to actually make this journey easier.


    "It was about half a kilometer long too. Very scary stuff."


    Heughed. "Don''t overexaggerate that much. Last time I checked, this guy was maybe a forty-fifty meter?"


    "What, you knew him?"


    "Kind of. The poor fe hade from the portal that connected us and the aliens. He was one of the few that came from the other world and never went back. I wouldn''t call him a friend but, he did have a nice body when he was humanoid." The geezer grinned.


    Yeah, I didn''t need to know that.


    "Tell me, what do you think about the aliens? Having fun and all that. And these people that came through the portal you speak of, were they aliens too? I met some Mutor people below the ind too." He probably knew about all this.


    We had a long arduous swim in front of us, so there was plenty of time.


    "Not quite." He grunted. This was really heavy. "The few that came out of the portal weren''t fully kin yet: and they were from Neil- the old Neil of the future. We treated them and they turned out fine: this fellow degraded though. They were the originals. I heard you befriended one and well, the Mutor people you speak of are kind of a mystery to me too. In the future, they weren''t a thing for like two- three hundred years. But something must have happened when we crossed time."


    They came back from the future and that changed quite a few things in the present timeline. I didn''t understand time travel all that well, but I could tell, all of this stuff was prettyplicated if nothing else.


    Then again, if they could hasten the natural mutation of humans and end up creating an age of powers, then it was totally possible the Humanoid Mutors were just a byproduct of that¡­.


    "You do realize, you never answered my first question, right?"


    He chuckled loudly.


    I didn''t get why people had tough so much? To hide the pain? To hide the sorrow? Just for the sake ofughing?


    Or was there more?


    "Fun, huh? I wonder what''s fun¡­ What is fun to you?"


    Definitely not pushing this damn thing in the middle of the day on an empty stomach, that was for sure!


    But it did make me wonder. What really was fun for me? Fighting? No, that wasn''t it. Going out with friends? Yeah, that was fun too but- there were specific times in my life when I enjoyed myself the most. And those times were also with specific people. "Spending time with Marg and the others: my family. And maybe eating plenty of chocte?"


    He gave me a very knowing grin. "Maybe killing and conquerings are also that kind of fun to them? They are immortal so we can''t possibly understand their reasoning. At the end of the day, even after so long, we still don''t understand them."


    He wasn''t wrong. Understanding immortals wasn''t that simple.


    Wait, wasn''t Enira also immortal?


    But if this geezer were to be believed then she was from Neil.


    "So, was there any tech that could make people Immortal in Neil?"


    He thought for a second. "You could always just be a vampire. Though it wasn''t that popr of a choice as we had two suns."


    Just one was making me feel like my body was being boiled alive and two?


    Yeah, I didn''t want to go to that ce.


    Sigh¡­


    "What, something bothering you?"


    We still had a lot of suffering remaining.


    "The headmaster said something about I''ll be their new target as I beat one of theirmanders. Do you think I should stay away from everyone?" I''d been avoiding this thought for a while now.


    I didn''t want to think about it. What if I put everyone''s life in danger just by being near them?


    What if-?


    He didn''tugh, instead, he looked at me, utterly serious. "From a logical standpoint, I''d say you should stay away. But as you said, you find joy in spending time with your family. And I''d say the same is true for your family. So, it wouldn''t be wise to part from them on ount to protecting them. After all, who knows what could happen in your absence."


    I guess he was referring to yesterday. I wasn''t here and stuff happened.


    I actuallyter found out that mom and dad had the Aliens cornered. But then Elsa was about to be attacked from behind and Dad tried to protect her but got hit instead. Meanwhile, the other aliens took the chance and attacked mom. And so, our frontline crumbled, and then shit happened.


    If I hadn''t gotten in time, things would have been very, very bad.


    So, in a sense, this geezer was very right.


    Sigh.


    In the end, I didn''t quite have a way to say anything.


    I didn''t have an answer.


    ***


    We got to the shore.


    But now there was an even bigger problem.


    It took us a whole hour and a half just to bring it to the shore and that with this thing being underwater.


    I didn''t dare even think what''d happen if we were to try carrying it above ground.


    Meanwhile, the geezer was just floating on water, looking at the sky, panting. "Don''t you have some strong friend or something?"


    Super strength, huh?


    I didn''t actually.


    Oh wait, Enira could manipte the barriers a lot better than me and that was how we carried the cobrast time.


    "I actually got this core from him." I showed the geezer the core and was about to give it to my saber.


    The size was still bothering me though.


    "That''s a very special one. Haven''t seen a red and spherical core like that in a while."


    "But red cores aremonce." If I had like maybe five gold, which I did, I could buy about ten red cores of this size.


    "Not that red kid, look carefully, there are small ck dots mixed in: those dots are proof that this core would have turned ck in time. Though the snake would have died a long while before that. And you can''t find cores that round. Most are just crude crystals."


    He did have a point.


    I hadn''t seen round cores often. The few I had I couldn''t remember where. And even those weren''t this round.


    And wait, I looked carefully, and he was right, this did have small ck dots.


    "Well, let''s see if something happens."


    I held the core over my saber and as usual, the core got absorbed and the saber started to radiate.


    I really hope this worked.


    "Enira, you there?"


    The saber stopped glowing.


    But nothing happened.


    "Well, that was a waste of time," The geezer spoke.


    I really wished he''d shut up.


    Sigh.

 Chapter 282 - Wanna Bet?

    Chapter 282 ¨C Wanna Bet?


    I''d called John and he was just minutes away. Apparently, he was actually helping out with the rebuilding. Lately, he picked up a bit of a housebuilding hobby.


    A world-ss viin going around building houses? It was aughing matter, but I guess no one would be stupid enough to make fun of him: other than me that was.


    "HA HA AH AH ahah!" And I did too.


    But the guy didn''t get offended, or at least he didn''t show any rage. He just shrugged it off with a grin.


    I almost felt stupid: almost.


    "I just have to carry this back home?" John said, admiring the head.


    "Kind of? Though I don''t know what I''ll even do with this."


    Remia said this thing was going to fetch me money, but- I didn''t really know where I''d sell it in the first ce.


    Mom would probably have an idea though. So, there was that.


    John tried lifting, and lifted it about half a meter high too, but- after a minute he sat down and panted. "This is heavy."


    He needed a whole minute just to realize that?


    "Think we can lift it and take it back if I covered it in my barrier and all three of us carried it?"


    "It''ll be tough but I think we can manage." John sure was pumped.


    "Alright!"


    The geezer meanwhile kind of grimaced. "Must be nice to be young."


    Anyway, I made a tform with the barrier and all three of us lifted the barrier and we flew. John was doing most of the heavy-lifting.


    We barely flew like a meter above ground but even this kind of started hurting.


    We were going maybe a bit faster than walking.


    My body was aching and my arms were basically barely hanging in there.


    The blood and smelling from the snake weren''t helping.


    "Argh, how far is it?" The geezer gasped.


    "We barely moved a hundred meters!"


    "You''re not helping!"


    What was I supposed to say? A kilometer?


    Sigh.


    Anyway, we kept going.


    ***


    People were staring.


    We were going so slow that it wouldn''t have been odd if they formed a crowd and just walked along with us.


    But I guess no one had enough time.


    "let''s rest for a minute." With the said, the geezer dropped his side.


    And I almost broke my arm!


    I huffed and puffed and fell on my back.


    "This thing better be worth it, kid!" The geezer shouted out.


    "What is this for anyway?" John asked, sweating and breathing hard. "And just how big was this thing''s core?"


    "About a Ping-Pong ball sized? The snake itself was maybe half a kilo long."


    And what I was going to use this for? Well, I sure didn''t know.


    "Holy shi-" John abruptly stopped. "Wait, that small?"


    I guess he was both fascinated by the snake''s size and disappointed by its core. I was the same, I couldn''t me.


    "Uh-huh." Though if I were to believe the geezer, it was supposedly a good core.


    Oh well.


    The geezer got up. "How far are we again?"


    We were halfway there.


    "We''re almost there." But I defaulted to hiding the truth: it was different from lying, okay!


    He grinned. "Aight boys, we going all the way!" he grabbed the barrier and all three of us started running.


    As if it wasn''t tiresome enough!


    Anyway, progress!


    We just wanted to get this over with.


    Heehaw!


    I so wanted to enjoy some alone time in a hot spring or something.


    Sirgh.


    ***


    "What is this!" Elsa shrieked.


    We had arrived.


    All three of us were lying in the front yard, our faces facing the blue sky which wasn''t that blue.


    Breathing was hard and my legs wanted to jump off a cliff. They were too tired to move though.


    "You okay?" Marg came over.


    "I''m fine. We should worry about the geezer first." I was out of breath and talking was a chore.


    "At least call me grandpa kid!" He clicked his tongue. "I''m fine." He was also out of breath.


    Yeah, I kind of didn''t want to.


    Mom, grandma, dad and uncle also came out.


    They were all kind of surprised. Uncle however looked a bit out of it.


    "I kind of wanted to be the one you know," Uncle said. "Though I guess I can''t be mad at you as I was the one who told you to go." He sighed. "Where''s the rest?"


    What the hell was that supposed to mean? And since when did the guy worry about all that?


    "The core''s in the saber. As for the rest of the snake-" I paused. Hadn''t I made a promise to the headmaster that I wouldn''t around spoiling the secret of the Nelbound?


    I''d already spoken to this geezer, so I kind of broke my promise.


    But-but I didn''t want to break it again.


    ''Is there even a point at hiding at this stage though?''


    "You didn''t just dump the body in the water, did you?" Mom asked.


    "No, it''s actually in good hands. Though I guess the ocean''s kind of red from all the blood."


    Mom sighed. But didn''t say anything.


    "Anyway, go and get cleaned," Grandma said. "Marg dear, help him." She then proceeded to eyeball the geezer and John. "You two, to the baths, now."


    We were all kind of drenched from all the intense sweating and the snake''s blood, so it was natural.


    But wait, the baths?


    Wasn''t our house-


    "Holy fuck!" I quickly grabbed my mouth as I recalled, I wasn''t supposed to swear in front of my family.


    But yeah, there was a house in front of me.


    A massive house- about twice as big as thest one.


    And no, it wasn''t made of wood.


    "What the hell happened here?" I said, totally dumbstruck.


    The house was made with a mixture of concrete, wood, and even stone. It looked very durable if nothing else. Not to mention fancy.


    "I called some of my friends over and so did mom and dad," John said, still lying on the ground. "Best of the best."


    But even professionals couldn''t pull this off in a matter of a week and these guys-


    "You guys did this in less than three hours?"


    I was more worried about the durability of the house rather than anything else.


    And people were actually still painting the outside.


    "Well, I helped with the interior," Grandma confessed. "Though most of the heavy lifting was done by them. Anyway, inside, now." She red.


    I gulped and stood up. "Alright, and thanks, guys."


    Before I could leave though, mom came close and whispered- "And we need to talk about that swearing of yours." She was smiling.


    Shit.


    ***


    Apparently, our spring had survived. And they''d remodeled the actual spring and made it about twice as big.


    I kind of wanted to have a nice rxing bath with Marg but- instead, it was a sausage fest.


    Four guys in a bath like this! Who the hell came up with this joke?


    And one of the guys wasn''t even straight! Though I had a feeling he wouldn''t be doing anything since we were family and all.


    "When I was your age-" The geezer began and went on. The typical hardship stuff- or so thought. "I used to have a cult of guys following me around. Our world favored heterosexuality like yours but." He grinned. "Turns out, we crave homogeneity more than hetero." That grin was very, very threatening.


    Yeah, I didn''t need to know that. And what the hell was he getting at?


    Dad cleared his throat. "I''m done, so I''ll be out." The guy hadn''t actually said a word in the past ten minutes. He just soaked a little and now was getting out.


    He was a tad taller than me and his body was awfully like mine. I guess I got that from him.


    He had bruises everywhere. Even with the healing, I guess he still needed time to get better. On that note, most of my injuries were minor and my stamina was almost full again.


    We were all wearing towels, so we weren''t seeing stuff. But the geezer was still looking anyway. The guy didn''t have much shame, that was clear.


    Anyway, now there were three of us.


    "I think I''ll get up too," John said, getting up. "My body always shrivels up if I spent too much time in baths."


    He was the most ripped out of us. He wasn''t like the bodybuilding ripped type, but he was still pretty muscr. And he was actually taller than dad.


    As John walked out, the geezer checked him over with a grin.


    "Don''t even think about it."


    He chuckled hard. "Not really into muscles. Too hard."


    Yeah, I didn''t need to know that. More like, I didn''t want to know that.


    But, I dragged my body down a little and lied down against the wall. "Thanks."


    This was kind of nice. The water was lukewarm and it felt nice against my skin. Though the slightly sulfuric smell was starting to get on my nerves.


    ''Did they connect this with an actual volcano or something?''


    "For what?"


    "Everything. Couldn''t have done it without you."


    "Don''t mention it. be sure to give me one of that snake''s fangs and I''ll call it even."


    "That''s not what I meant. If it weren''t for you, I didn''t know what would have happened to Marg and who knows if I would have been able to break that barrier and get into the ind. I''m really indebted to you. So, thank you."


    He smiled. "Don''t worry kid. I couldn''t be there for you when you needed me the most. So, this was nothing. Besides, you got me out of there. d I could be of help." His usual mocking smile was nowhere to be found.


    This was genuine.


    But more importantly. "And stop staring at my junk. Or do you want me to make you sterile?"


    "Wait, you can do that?"


    I smiled: a very viinous smile. "Wanna bet?"


    He kind of grimaced.. "I''ll pass."

 Chapter 283 - I Just Ate My Cake And Enjoyed A Bit Of Peace- Peace I Knew Wouldn’t Last.

    Chapter 283 ¨C I Just Ate My Cake And Enjoyed A Bit Of Peace- Peace I Knew Wouldn¡¯t Last.


    Once I was done showering, a bit of sizzling sound and the smell of fried fat nourished and evoked my love of meat.


    I never really had any fascination for meat. Of course, I did like steak dinners but, I was more a fan of milk than meat. Milk with chocte to be more specific.


    I quickly put on some pants and started sniffing the air.


    The wonderful sound and smell drew me towards the kitchen: ah, what sweet aroma! I almost flew there like a certain fictional cat whose name rhymed with Bomb.


    Now, this was a new house but- even so, I couldn''t help but be guided to the second floor and-


    ''The hell?''


    The trance broke as I saw the Bunny girl slicing the meat with a machete and a smile. She had blood sttered on her hands.


    There was a massive chunk of meat by the counter. It was square in shape and the marbling was just amazing. The meat was mostly red in color but had streaks of fat going through it like crazy.


    But I knew where this meat came from, after all, just hours ago I saw simr stuff being cut right in front of me.


    "We''re eating that?"


    "Yes." The bunny maid said. "Since the meat is abundant, it should be good. Normally this meat is chewy but we''re using a lot of vinegar and the bones shouldn''t be a problem." She shed a smile, ensuring me that the food would be great.


    But that wasn''t the problem.


    The real problem was the thought- ''This guy was a person once.''


    And was it me or was the bunny girl looking a bit too much like a manic serial killer.


    I gulped and backtracked.


    ''Should I tell them?''


    Or should I just have run?


    "Um-" Before I could say a single word the geezer grabbed my cor, jumping up a little, and dragged me away. His towel threatened to be undone but still barely hung in there.


    Where the hell had hee from?


    Probably from the spring.


    "Kid, food is food. You hunted it and brought it back, now to respect it, we''ll eat it and use every part of it. that''s how we respect the dead."


    Incidentally, he referred to the snake as it rather than he. I guess he was right.


    I did kill it, so it was best I didn''t say anything and just used every part of the snake.


    Still felt weird.


    ***


    Though I didn''t want to eat, the food was actually good.


    Almost everything included meat in one way or the other. The fries, the curry, the steaks even the sd. Apparently, the meat was so pure that it could be eaten raw as long as it was thinly sliced.


    Now they did warn me that the pure part was only relevant to this snake and not others.


    The taste, however, was weirdly reminiscent of chicken. It wasn''t quite exactly like chicken but it was almost there just with maybe a hint of chewiness. It felt more like eating fish than actual meat though.


    Oh well.


    I didn''t hate it but I didn''t like it either. I guess snake meat wasn''t for me.


    Or was it that I just didn''t want to eat this because of-


    Yeah, I didn''t want to think about it.


    Anyway, somehow, I made it through lunch.


    But now came the tricky part.


    What now?


    I''d gone out of my way to distract myself but I still couldn''t stop worrying about it all.


    I was so deep in thought, that I walked around the whole house and found myself on the roof without even realizing it.


    Sigh.


    Just staring out, staring at the debris and destruction was depressing enough but now I had to worry about my little sister too?


    Actually, what if she just came out and said it?


    What if I had to confront her?


    What if-


    More and more possibilities dangled in my mind.


    I guess things could have been worse. ''For now, let''s focus on the aliens and the marriage.''


    But, maybe, just maybe-


    "Shouldn''t you rest?" Marg walked up the stairs and stood beside me.


    The wind was blowing.


    "Don''t feel like it."


    "Thanks for rescuing me."


    "We''re a team. Of course, I''d go after you. Wouldn''t you have done the same?"


    "Of course!" An instantaneous answer.


    Our eyes were locked on.


    The sun was still pretty intense. Standing out here probably wasn''t a great idea. But the wind did help.


    "Then you don''t need to thank me."


    She hugged me.


    Most of the time, I hug her, but it was one of those rare times when she initiated the hugging. "Who cares if I need to or not, I''m thanking you because I''m grateful. I don''t care about anything else."


    Her voice was soft and I had a feeling she''d cry. Normally she was emotionless, but when the two of us were alone she''d show much more emotion¡­ and sometimes, she''d act perhaps a bit too emotional.


    It was all for me, I was the one who was changing her. She was changing for me.


    But- I didn''t want her to cry. I didn''t want her to force herself either. After all, I fell in love with how she was.


    Maybepromises were necessary, after all,promise was just another consequence of love. But to me, she was fine the way she was.


    So, with one hand, I hugged her, with the other, I patted her head. "I didn''t mean it that away." I proceeded to hug her fully.


    We just hugged and stayed silent for a few minutes.


    Our future was just starting. We couldn''t afford to screw up at this point.


    "Also-" Marg looked up. "I think I''ll start drawing."


    I froze. "Drawing?"


    ***


    I sparred with John in the afternoon.


    He was good.


    Bam!


    Shockwaves spread across.


    Use of powers wasn''t allowed.


    So, it was just with fists.


    Even without his powers, his fists were heavy.


    Very heavy.


    Just a single punch was enough to break bones. But I was faster than him and I dodged most of them. I was getting nicks and cuts everywhere though.


    And my punches or kicks weren''t doing much damage. The guy was built like a tank. And he had martial arts training.


    "What''s wrong." A flying kick!


    I dodged. "Nothing." I also kicked him. I had just the basics which I learned from gramps, but it wasn''t enough.


    He took it head-on, not even flinching. "You don''t seem to be focused."


    "Too many worries." I dodged a jab to my left and headed in for a punch.


    He came out of nowhere and asked for a bit of sparring. I hadn''t done this in maybe two years?


    And even back then, I never really won without my powers. Out of our 201 spars, I only like 7.


    "Your concerns should be me!" He swiped at my legs and I crumbled to the ground in an instant.


    It happened in a split second but John got on top of me. "Or this would happen." He held his hand over my face.


    "And that makes John, the winner I guess?" Marcus dered his victory.


    John got off of me and started walking. "It''s good that you''re worrying but, try to keep yourself in the present. Who knows, if you''re always unfocused, something might snatch your present away, meaning you won''t have a future in the first ce."


    Marcus and John entered the house.


    ''I know that!''


    But he was right, I was worrying too much about the future and I was getting distracted way too easily.


    ***


    The house, the painting, the furniture, everything was good to go. Those people actually did a great job. And since we had an abundance of meat, we treated everyone. We even treated the neighbors.


    All in all, the afternoon was rather eventful. And yet, I still couldn''t quite keep my head straight. The worries were still worrisome.


    But we still had meat leftover. And we had plenty of it.


    Dinner also included mostly meat but this time there was a vast range of sds and desserts.


    Apparently, Grandma made cake and pudding. Cake I loved, pudding, not to so much.


    "We''re thinking of selling the fangs and the eyes should fetch quite the amount too," Dad said.


    "I''ll be buying half of those," Uncle said. "Be sure to give a discount."


    I gave him a rather dull stare but I didn''t say anything.


    We ate normally. I mostly at the cake. Wasn''t in the mood for meat.


    Strangely, dinner was kind of quiet. No one said anything.


    Everyone just ate.


    I guess no one really knew what to say in the first ce.


    I hadn''t seen grandma and mom argue all day. Maybe they were being a bit conservative and saving all that stuff for tomorrow. We''d have to eventually discuss what we''d do.


    Ring!


    Aria and Raea came in. I thought they wouldn''t actuallye today, but I guess I was wrong.


    They had snow on their coats. ''It''s snowing outside?''


    "It''s raining quite a lot outside. Very cold." Raea sat down on a seat by the firece and shivered. "Did-dn''t think the hou-se would be-done so soon though." Her words were stutters. She couldn''t talk easily.


    The bunny girl gave them both nkets and a ss of hot coffee.


    Raining?


    In October?


    Well, we were in the middle of the ocean, so I guess anything was possible.


    Raea''s clothes didn''t seem that wet. So, it was so cold that the rain froze?


    I had a bad experience with hales, so I didn''t really want to think about it.


    "Shouldn''t you get changed first?" I said, a bit concerned.


    I was done eating.


    "Guess I''ll do that." She still shivered and stood up, the coffee in hand. "Also, some guys in suits came and s-started taking over the academy."


    "Wait, what? What''s the headmaster doing?"


    "Nothing. He''s just letting them, or rather Madam Sylvia is running everything."


    I didn''t know why but I had a bad feeling about all that.


    For now, though, I just ate my cake and enjoyed a bit of peace- peace I knew wouldn''tst.

 Chapter 284 - The Guilt Was Just Irrelevant

    Chapter 284 ¨C The Guilt Was Just Irrelevant


    Though shocking, Marg had expected it.She could tell it the moment she''d first seen that gaze, the moment she saw¡­


    Elsa was Helio''s sister. And though they weren''t blood-rted, Helio really believed Elsa to be his sister. And Marg understood that well.


    That was why, things were shocking andplicated.


    "But you can do that as his sister and-" Marg paused. They were in a room of sorts. A small room with not much. She didn''t want to say it but- but she had to. "And what if he rejects you?"


    Elsa loved Helio. Not just sisterly love, no, rather it was the romantic kind.


    Elsa smiled. "Then I''ll just ept that. I mean, I can''t stay focused on him forever. I''ll have to move on eventually." She looked up, stared at the ceiling, and then smiled at Marg. "But I want to do that on my terms. If he rejects me then so be it. I''ll keep loving him, but I suppose it''ll be just as a sister then like you said."


    Even just months ago Elsa acted childishly so she could cling to her brother. But now she couldn''t do that anymore. Sooner orter, she had to face reality. But before that, she was going to give her best shot.


    Marg didn''t know what to do. Was there anything she could do in the first ce?


    ''But would your rtionship really stay the same?'' She didn''t dare say it.


    "I''m not asking your help," Elsa said. "I''m just asking you to stay out of the way till I acquire enough courage to say it. That''s all."


    Marg stayed quiet.


    But eventually, she spoke. She spoke about the possibilities if something went wrong.


    But both were aware that anything could have gone wrong as long as enough time was allotted.


    ''And what if he agrees.'' What if Helio just epts Elsa? What then?


    Would Marg and Helio''s rtionship be the same then?


    They still talked about it for quite a while.


    In the end, Elsa walked out.


    "Think I''ll just-" She paused and looked at the hallway.


    "What?" Marg also came out of the room and followed Elsa''s gaze.


    Helio was walking this way.


    "Heli-" Marg was about to call out but- she didn''t. Something was different.


    Helio didn''t even give a second nce at them.


    ''Did something happen to him?''


    She wasn''t quite sure but she couldn''t really bring the courage to go after him either.


    She felt this weird sense of guilt. Because of her, Helio had to go another dimension, risk his life, and then for that his family suffered.


    She was really guilty about that.


    ***


    This was a temporary vi.


    But everyone still had their private rooms. And that included Marg too.


    Inside the room, she sat on the wooden bed.


    There were just three things on her mind.


    One, what to do in the future; two, how she''d make up to Helio; and three, Elsa. She didn''t know the answer to any of them.


    Marg had one dream since childhood: kill her father and secure a future with her mother.


    But due to Helio''s intervention, that dream wasn''t necessary anymore. After all, her mother was safe and so was she. She didn''t have to get married into the Battlesuin family either- though Helio being a Battlesuin was kind of ironic in that regard.


    But now that, that was done, what now? She never thought past what she''d do in case she seeded. She''d taken it for granted that she''d die: So, she didn''t need dreams or goals. But now that she hadn''t, now that she wasn''t alone, now what?


    No matter how she thought about it, she couldn''t really think of anything. What could she do? Did she ever have any dreams for the future? Did she want to be something?


    She could teleport and that power in itself was very rare, probably the rarest. But just because she had a rare power didn''t mean she could get any job she wanted. Were there jobs that she even wanted?


    Thanks to her calcted saving schemes, she did have enough money tost three- or maybe four years if she were to be alone. But she wasn''t alone. She had Helio and a growing life in her belly.


    She couldn''t just think of a certain goal and be done with it anymore. She had to carefully consider everything so her future, no, their future was the best it could possibly be.


    She still had high school to finish but, did she want to go to college? Was there any point in going to college? After all, without a proper career in mind, going to college just felt like a waste of time to her.


    ''But if I have a kid now, would I ever be able to continue my studies or ever get a job?''


    She knew it was possible. She had prior experience in raising her little brothers and sisters. And since Helio''s family was here, she wouldn''t have that much of a trouble. But she knew, it wouldn''t be easy.


    ''Isn''t there something I could do without actually leaving the house?''


    With a bit of courage, she started a call.


    "How''re you today?"


    It was her mother.


    Her mother was really worried.


    When Helio had left, Marg had received a call from her mother and her mother exined everything to her. But due to circumstances, they never got to talk enough.


    "I''m fine. What about you?"


    "I''m great!" Her mother was really happy to hear from her daughter. Thesest three days, she barely slept and she almost developed a heart condition. Working as a maid was hard enough and with the added stress, things weren''t that great.


    So, when her daughter came out unharmed, she was beyond overjoyed.


    Marg tried to think of things. "What am I good at? Or to be more specific, what can I mize without leaving home?"


    "You''re good at doing chores inside the house, but I guess you''re not asking about that."


    Marg scratched her head. "Don''t I have any talent? Singing, dancing, and all that?" A secondter she realized, if she had any talent, wouldn''t she be the one who''d know first? And not her mother? She sighed. "Never mind. I''ll go."


    "A talent, huh? You never really were the athletic type. Your dancing was clunky and you''re tone-deaf, so I wouldn''t suggest either." Her mother thought quite hard. "How about some creative things? Have you ever tried writing a novel or maybe drawing something? You can also try acting- oh right, expressing yourself might be tough."


    "I''m not interested in writing novels. Drawing- or rather painting¡­" It brought back some memories.


    Before turning ten, she drew a lot of things with mud on the walls of their barn. They weren''t art pieces but she was proud of them.


    After getting caught andshed for it though, she erased even the memory of drawing. But now that her mother mentioned it, everything came back like it was yesterday.


    "Think I''ll give it a shot." And she wanted to experience that nostalgic feeling again.


    "I don''t mean to intrude too much, but what for, dear? Do you need money? I could always-" Her mother had saved up a fair sum.


    "I want to have a dream. A dream of achieving something. It doesn''t have to be big, but it just has to be there. And no, I want to try earning money myself. I''m cutting the call." Marg knew if this went on, her mother would send the money regardless.


    Her mother giggled. "That''s so like you. Take care."


    "You too."


    The call ended and Marg headed out. ''Like me, huh?'' She didn''t really know, what that meant.


    On her way, she ended up meeting Elsa and both were headed for the living.


    They heard the voices of Helio and the others.


    But by the time both of them reached the living though, Helio had already left.


    Sigh.


    ***


    Later, Helio hade back with a massive snakehead. Just the sheer size was enough to give Marg a scare. Just moments ago, she saw superfast housebuilding and now a massive snake!


    But she was more worried about Helio.


    And yet, she couldn''t really say much.


    Lunch was also rather quiet. The food was good, but strangely, she didn''t know how to approach him.


    After lunch, she saw Helio walking around absentmindedly and heading to the roof.


    She followed him and after a bit of self-lecturing, she acquired her courage to go to Helio and thank him.


    And yet, in the end, she realized, that thanks wasn''t actually necessary. Helio just loved her enough to go after her without caring about his own life. And she loved him. But she wanted to love him more.


    She wanted their future to be better.


    "I want to try drawing."


    "Drawing?"


    "Yeah. I haven''t drawn in years but-" She paused. "I think-"


    She had talent in drawing- at least ording to her. So, if she worked hard and stayed diligent, maybe she could get better and even end up earning some pocket change for her family. After all, she''d basically be sitting around the house for a few months. So, something was better than nothing.


    "Sure! I''ll root for you."


    Marg chuckled. "You didn''t even let me finish!"


    "I don''t need to. I mean, I''m fine with stuff that makes you happy." Helio came close to her and gave her a smooch. "Though I''d appreciate it if you didn''t take too long drawing and ended up shortening our ''us'' time."


    Marg giggled but didn''t quite say anything.


    They both chuckled.


    Maybe she was just overthinking things. After all, around Helio, she never had trouble expressing herself. And Helio was Helio. Even if he took in his sister, the fact that Helio loved Marg so much, was enough to convince her to not try to get in their way.


    At the end of the day, Helio was still hers.


    So, all that guilt, all that worry, were just irrelevant.

 Chapter 285 - Crippling Hesitance

    Chapter 285 ¨C Crippling Hesitance


    Rustle!


    Leaves?


    My body was cold.


    My feet were colder.


    My hands- they were so- tiny?


    Blood?


    Rain?


    Storm?


    Lightning?


    Why was it so dark?


    I didn''t know why but my body just kept on getting colder and colder and colder and colder and¡­.


    My ears were ringing¡­


    My body going numb¡­


    I was¡­ dying¡­.


    "It''s okay!" Someone shouted.


    Someone was here.


    With me.


    Holding my hand.


    Maybe a boy?


    Maybe a girl?


    I didn''t know.


    I couldn''t think.


    Almost as though¡­ I was falling asleep¡­I was dreaming.


    ARGH!


    I woke up.


    What the hell?


    ''The hell was that?''


    "You, okay?" Marg turned on the nightlight.


    The darkness cleared slightly and I could see around me. My head throbbed.


    Marg was holding my hand, looking at me.


    Meanwhile, I was sweating, I was sweating way too much.


    "A dream¡­ no, probably a memory." It hurt to talk.


    The nurse had mentioned something about how I might be getting memories back by dreaming.


    But that wasn''t just a memory. The feeling, the sensation, the cold, I could still feel it.


    I couldn''t forget it.


    ''What happened?''


    I was still breathing rapidly but, I did feel a lot calmer as I held Marg''s hand in mine. "Don''t worry, it''s nothing serious."


    She was really concerned but she didn''t say anything about it.


    Though I had a feeling she''ll let mom know in the morning which will make everything a bit tooplicated.


    For now, though, I had to get some sleep. Cause it was 2 AM in the morning.


    ***


    As expected, Marg told mom and though I properly exined that this was normal, she was hellbent on securing sacrifices.


    Auntie and my cousins had left before I woke up, but if they were here: or to be more exact if John was here, he''d have run and brought back kids without even letting these guys finish.


    So really, I was d John wasn''t here anymore.


    Though at this point, I didn''t know what to be d about.


    "Enira''s still in the saber you know."


    "The ck core would be here today, so everything would be fine. Besides, your uncle could just go and snatch a dozen or so strong cores. It''ll be fine."


    Uncle did not want to go, judging by that expression, but-


    "It won''t be fine. I''m not letting you people go kidnap and kill kids."


    I almost got disgusted res from my family. It was almost as though I was the one who wasn''t talking sane.


    Dad looked out of ce as usual, so I guess I wasn''t the only one.


    I took a deep breath. "I know you guys care about me more than just some random kids but, sorry, I''m not having any of that. Besides-" I stared at mom. "Didn''t you say you didn''t want me to grow up as a viin?"


    "But you''re not doing anything. We are-"


    Sigh.


    "Oh, forget it." That said, I walked straight out of the front door and well- got stopped.


    Apparently, I''d forgotten about something.


    "Lieutenant."


    Lieutenant Demeris was just outside the door. He was actually about to knock when I opened the door.


    I was still inside and him, outside.


    This wasn''t the best of time.


    "Helio." He nodded. "Ah, how I have missed this day, to reunite- ah, the travesty and the-" He went on.


    My memory was still hazy.


    What the hell was wrong with this dude?


    Did he hit his head on the way here, or was it that our little family squabble rendered him mad?


    The former seemed to be more likely.


    "Everything okay?" I whispered.


    "I''m supposed to be a passing poet remember?" He whispered back.


    Wait, really?


    I vaguely recalled something about that. Though he wasn''t even remotely poetic, if anything.


    And he didn''t quite try to sound poetic for thest two days either. So, what was up with this?


    "So, what do you want? I''m assuming, you''d want answers, or are you cutting to the chase and want my help with something?"


    Mom and the rest were still back there, looking this way.


    "Ah, such stern words!" He was desperately trying to act, but it was just getting on my nerves. "The general shall have a word."


    That said, he quickly turned on a Holo screen and held it in front, his back a bit too straight.


    "Morning, General."


    I actually didn''t know how greetings and all that worked in the army.


    I kind of didn''t care either.


    "Morning." He looked as macho as ever and his gaze seemed to signal that he meant business.


    "Sorry to cut to the chase but, I''m busy with things as they are. I''d appreciate if you didn''t give me any particrly time-consuming jobs right now." I wasn''t in the best of mood either. So, I didn''t feel like doing anything right now.


    But I did promise them I''d owe them. So, if they really wanted me to do something, I couldn''t really say no. after all, I wouldn''t have been able to save Marg otherwise.


    So, I did feel indebted to these guys, though I knew they were only helping me cause they wanted my helpter on.


    ''Oh yeah, I haven''t thanked this guy, have I?''


    "Actually, for the time being, I''m fine with just getting some information. You see, I''ve been getting reports of Aliens, invasions, and all that but, those are just reports. And all of that has you in the middle. Would you mind telling me more?"


    So, basically, he wanted to connect with me more? This guy was shrewder than I thought.


    "I would actually. Let''s just say, the amount I can tell you would depend on how much of a favor it is to you. For example, if I were to tell you everything, I wouldn''t be obligated to help you in the future. In other words, I won''t owe you anymore. But if you insist on keeping that owing part active and just want some info, I could-"


    "Tell me everything you know. This concerns the whole. we can''t afford-"


    Well, I did have him there, I suppose.

 Chapter 286 - Crippling Hesitance (Part Two)

    Chapter 286 ¨C Crippling Hesitance (Part Two)


    I grinned. "Alright, Aliens areing to invade us. And just one of them is strong enough to take down any nonmilitary personnel. Though I doubt anybody in the army would stand a chance against their infantry or rather the ck ones either. However, that''s just the soldiers. The real ones, the purple ones are very strong. You know how strong the headmaster is right? Well, imagine you''re fighting him on his prime."


    I actually nned on telling him most of the stuff. Earth wasn''t ready and that was clear. If the general people knew about this, things would just get ugly. But if the army knew everything and tried to suppress the information and also prepare, things would at least be not so ugly. And maybe we''d even have a shot.


    "I''d rather not imagine something like that. I once saw that monster fighting eight years ago, I still can''t forget the destruction he caused." He cleared his throat. "Go on."


    That monster?


    The headmaster might have been a yboy and strong too, but he never really seemed like the destructive type.


    Everyone had their perspectives, I guess.


    Oh well.


    "They can open gates to earth ande from that. I''d say in a week''s worth of time, anothermander and some soldiers woulde. Though you won''t have to worry about that."


    I wasn''t absolutely sure about that, but I had a feeling they''d be here sooner rather thanter. And they''d be here for me.


    "And why is that?"


    "I''ll deal with it." After all, they''de for me. "But the thing you''ll have to worry about is the invasion. Imagine what would happen if an army of theirmanders and those ck soldierse through? I don''t think we''d survive."


    I could take out one, maybe two, or even three if I was lucky. But what about an army?


    What then?


    "How big are we talking about?"


    "I''m not sure. But just three or four purple ones would bring our ruin."


    The general''s face visibly paled. The man had a very macho face and yet, he looked scared. "But what could be their objective?" He gritted his teeth.


    "¡­" I remained quiet. ''They were doing this for fun''- I could never say that.


    Actually, this almost feltical. Destroying worlds, killing people for fun?


    Wasn''t that the same thing we''d been doing for years?


    For generations?


    I guess it was irony.


    "And how do you n on stopping the oneing next?"


    "Simple." I made a fist. "I''ll obliterate it."


    I had a beef to settle with those things.


    "Though an army of them¡­ that doesn''t bode well for the world." He scratched his head. "But that''s all the info you got? Any ways we could prevent this anything-"


    "Right now, I don''t know. Until one of those thingses back and I extract some information, we can only y the waiting game."


    And hope the thing attacks me when I''m alone. Because I wanted to crush the damn thing.


    Just thinking about them made my blood boil. Just thinking about the stuff, they did- I grinded my teeth.


    A few momentster uncle came over and pped me on the back. "Rx."


    Sometimes I wondered if he actually knew that it hurt a lot!


    "Oh, so your family is there too." The general still had a deadpan face. Though his eyes were slightly afraid." He cleared his throat. "Alright, thank you for your time, and have a great day."


    Wow, did not expect that.


    "Thank you as well general."


    We both nodded and the call ended.


    "Alright, I shall take my leave as well, may thou fair well!" The lieutenant gave me a salute and almost sang his words.


    "You too, and thanks. Couldn''t have done it without you."


    He smiled and vanished. The guy really tried till the end.


    And now, I wanted to run away too, but Uncle was grabbing me quite firmly. "I blow up a town or two just because they get on my nerves and you can''t get over some kids'' lives, you''ll never even remember about? Where the hell did all that resolve of yours go?"


    "Sorry, not like you. I''d rather not kill. And that resolve was reserved for people like Hyora, not innocent kids."


    "Then let''s go get some criminal douchebags."


    "Can we drop this?"


    I thought killing just required some resolve. As long as I had something I wanted to protect, I could kill- that was my reasoning.


    But after actually killing a person, after actually killing Hyora, I didn''t want to do it again.


    And especially not children.


    It was odd.


    I did want to kill those aliens but that was because I knew they weren''t human.


    Maybe I was being hypocritic but- I didn''t want to kill people. I- I couldn''t bear that again.


    No, I didn''t want to bear that again. Maybe if pushes to shove, I''d do it, but still-


    Uncle sighed. "Well, I tried." He raised his hands and went back in, while mom and grandma came this way.


    "You aren''t leaving before breakfast. Sit down and we have to talk about the aliens and all that too." Now, mom grabbed me and dragged me inside.


    So far, great start to the day!


    ***


    "Now," Mom looked at all of us as we started breakfast.


    Surprisingly, everything was vegan. Not a trace of meat.


    "I''d like to continue from where we left off yesterday," Grandma cleared her throat. "How do we get there?" Of course, she was staring at me and Aria.


    "We don''t have any ways yet," I said. "Even if we could capture one of theirmanders and use his portal, it wouldn''t work without their DNA. At least that''s what the headmaster told me."


    Aria just kept quiet.


    And even if we could go to their world, then what?


    "Then we chop up some of them and use those chopped pieces as a coating and go through!" Uncle said,ughing slightly.


    "We''re not barbarians!" Mom sighed in disgust.


    We were still eating people!


    He did have a point though. After all, we needed their DNA, and wouldn''t just bathing in their blood be enough or something?


    I didn''t know. But it didn''t hurt to try.


    Oh wait, it did.


    Anyway. "But let''s say we get to their which is traveling at 40% the speed of light. Then what? I''m sure they''ve already thought of these kinds of scenarios. I''m sure they haveary protection and all that." Or at least that was my best guess. After all, this was a very advanced civilization we were talking about.


    "Hmm, but still-" Grandma paused. "We could nuke them from within but- that way we''d have to sacrifice whoever would do the nuking."


    Did this woman even understand what I was trying to say?


    Just how badly did she want to blow up a?


    I could see where uncle got his destructive urges from.


    Sigh.


    We kept on eating, without actually saying much.


    "They''ll target me next." Near the end, I brought out a bit of courage. "Since I defeated one of theirmanders, they''lle targeting me this time."


    Though mom and dad had troubled looks both uncle and Grandma were smiling a lot more than usual. Like mother like son, I guess.


    They were hoping to fight this thing, or rather crush it, there was no doubt about that.


    "Then we better prepare ourselves," Dad said.


    Everyone nodded along.


    They weren''t even remotely concerned about their chance of winning.


    "What if-" I didn''t look at them. "What if I fail and- what if they target you next? Should I- I-" I couldn''t bring myself to say it. I couldn''t say it.


    They didn''t either.


    No one said anything.


    I guess they were leaving the decision up to me.


    My family was very forceful when it came to family matters. They were way too protective.


    And yet, they were for once, actually giving me the right to choose.


    The rest of the meal went quietly.


    My voice was stuck. It didn''te out.


    I couldn''t say it.

 Chapter 287 - I’m Not Going To Run Away-

    Chapter 287 ¨C I¡¯m Not Going To Run Away-


    It was still morning and though the academy was still in the middle of rebuilding everything, some stalls had popped up here and there.


    I walked around.


    The stalls were mostly food stalls and one or two games stalls. Everyone seemed really busy. And oddly a lot of guys were helping out.


    I''d kind of left home after breakfast and no one had said anything.


    I didn''t want them to get hurt but I couldn''t really tell them to distance themselves from me either.


    After all, weren''t we family?


    "Keep that up and you''ll get wrinkles."


    "Huh?" I looked to my right and found a girl with too much skin on disy. "The hell you doing?"


    Eve was in some sort of cheerleading costume. It was red just like her hair. She was in a stall selling grilled meat. The meat looked awfully familiar.


    "Selling grilled meat?" she tilted her head and smiled. "Want some? It''s only 1 silver a piece."


    The stall was small and she didn''t have any stove. All she had was a grill. She was probably using her powers.


    Her outfit though- yeah, very hot. Her dark skirt was barely hiding her underwear and the top portion was very, very skin-tight, suggesting all those curves, and volumes and¡­.


    And she was also slightly sweaty.


    I didn''t know why but the sight was very alluring.


    "I''ll pass. My stomach is still upset from the amount I had yesterday." It was more like my soul was upset, but oh well.


    "Really?" She bent down and searched for something. I could see the outline- I could see the curves.


    Gulp!


    She got back up. "Then how about a cup of tea?" She had a container in hand and two stic cups.


    I was kind of just killing time so, "Alright."


    There were three stools in front of the stall. I sat down on one.


    "Business good?" I took a sip.


    The tea was decent.


    "Yeah, but since it''s early in the morning, its slow."


    "Where''d you get the meat from?"


    "A butcher at the port. Apparently, a cheap supply of high-serpent meat arrived at the port today."


    Yeah, I figured as much.


    Remia and the others must have sold the excess to the local markets.


    Though how they did that while maintaining secrecy was something that did make me curious.


    I was done talking, I didn''t have much to say.


    Customers dide but they were rare. And yeah, Eve was using her powers.


    The smell was actually pretty good. And the sauce looked delicious too.


    Too bad, I wasn''t hungry.


    I just kept on sipping and eventually, it ran out.


    "Alright, think I''ll get back to walking." I stood up.


    "Sure." She put those away. "IT''s a shame you couldn''t see how great this festival was. Last year, it was really something. I''d never seen something like that before. And I guess I won''t ever again¡­" She went a bit quiet.


    How much did the students at the academy know though?


    "Well, if everything works out, you might see it next year? You still have two years here."


    Assuming the world survived and all.


    "Yeah, fair enough."


    I started walking.


    I saw one or maybe two customers headed her way.


    She was working hard.


    And she didn''t quite hit on me either. I guess she was also under a lot of stress.


    She wasn''t a bad person, really. Sometimes, she just took things a bit too far.


    ''Though I guess I''ll have to confront her sooner orter, eventually.''


    ***


    I continued walking around, but so far nothing quite caught my eyes.


    Everyone was busy but they were in great spirits.


    The rebuilding would probablyst the rest of the week too but I saw stalls popping up here and there. By the end of the week, we''d still have somewhat of a festival, if nothing else.


    ''Two days to go, huh?''


    I had basically two days before my marriage. It actually didn''t feel real.


    Weren''t we supposed to n things and see the ce and book it if necessary and all that?


    When I''d asked mom about it, she said, "leave it all to me."


    So, I didn''t really need to think about it. But that didn''t mean, I didn''t worry.


    I worried way too much.


    And though I knew I worried too much, when I tried to stop that, I worried even more.


    So, thinking about depression was actually making me more depressed.


    ''No wonder my hair''s falling out.''


    It was a good thing I hadn''t cut my hair in a while.


    ***


    I was basically done touring the area.


    I didn''t really have anything else to do, so going back home seemed logical.


    I didn''t want to though.


    "Get your free hugs!"


    Free hugs?


    Whenever I heard the term free hugs, I imagined some sweaty dude in some sort of backstreet or carnival, lifting his arms and trying to make people''s day. Unfortunately, I wasn''t into that.


    This ''free hug'' though wasn''t shouted by some sweaty dude. Rather, it was a girl: a girl I knew. And oddly, she wasn''t sweaty.


    She was wearing a nice, revealing pink one-piece dress. She didn''t have a stall, but she did have a nice-looking chair and a stack of paper. Though she said ''free'' it wasn''t free. You''d need to do ten-minutebor and get a stamp from the various ces across the campus to get the ''free'' hug.


    "Did you fry your brains or something?" I said.


    In front of her was a line, but behind her, was nothing.


    "No, not really. Though, my body does feel hotter now that you''ve arrived. Would you like a free hug? I''d also throw in a free kiss and maybe a free ''right to squeeze'' in there too." She winked.


    Apparently, Leilis was giving away free hugs and she had a whole line of guys just waiting, patiently. I had never seen such a clean, clutter-free line of guys. Not to mention, I couldn''t see the end of it.


    "No, thanks."


    But I guess she was doing a great job.


    ''NO wonder the progress is so smooth.''


    After all, if everyone contributed, even if it was a tiny amount, things would be much faster. And Leilis had found the best way to achieve that.


    Just lure in some guys.


    Very effective when paired with that pink dress of hers.


    "Really?" She pouted.


    I could feel the res- I really could. These morons were literally ring and cursing me, I could feel it. Talk about jealousy.


    I sighed. "I won''t hug you but, good job." I started walking away.


    She almost chuckled but got back to work.


    ***


    Anyway, I headed back home.


    On my way, I saw Selene doing some rebuilding work.


    I wanted to drop by and thank her for the help during the incident but, she seemed too busy, so I proceeded not to.


    I still didn''t like bugs so I took the express route of the snowy ins.


    Very cold.


    ***


    "Wee back." The bunny maid weed me in.


    No one else was around. "Where''d everyone go?"


    "Lady Marg and your mother have gone to my Lady''s home to secure the ce of the wedding and to do the rest of the nning. Your grandmother had also apanied them. Your uncle, I''m not sure of."


    Lady Marg?


    Well, Marg was technically going to be my wife soon and this house was mine, so a maid would refer to her as ady- this was normal, right?


    I didn''t know why but that sounded really weird in my head.


    "So, basically we''re alone?"


    "No, Raea and Aria are on the second floor enjoying some cream puffs."


    "Are they chocte?" My mouth almost salivated.


    "White cream."


    Pass.


    I headed to the living.


    I had way too many worries, but as a responsible guy, I tried to drowse it all with a bit of mindless Holo TV. Screw my worries!


    ***


    "After his failure to cease control of South Korea, The Cursed Mask Romswell sessfully has defeated an Alien from another world, an Alien even Roger Vermillion could not beat. And-"


    I turned off the TV.


    Seriously, what the hell was wrong with the media?


    Just sighing wasn''t enough.


    I wanted to groan and roll on the floor.


    "Why the hell would I want to conquer a country, anyway?"


    Well, I sure didn''t have the answer, and the remote didn''t either.


    Operation ''screw my worries'' was a major failure! It ended up screwing me over instead.


    ***


    Sometimester mom and the others came back and assured me that everything was going ording to n.


    All I had to do was show up.


    ''Aren''t you guys taking the groom a bit too lightly?''


    Well, they sure didn''t think of that.


    I didn''tin, after all, they were probably doing this just to ease my worries.


    I still worried though.


    Of course, I worried!


    Sometimeter, we had lunch.


    Uncle and Elsa were missing.


    Dad and the geezer weren''t here either.


    "Did she go somewhere?" I said.


    I hadn''t actually talked to Elsa after hearing their conversation.


    I was purposefully avoiding her.


    But at the end of the day, she was my little sister. And it was my job to listen to her, and scold her if she was wrong. So, I made up my mind that I wasn''t going to ignore her anymore.


    I wasn''t going to just run away.


    After all, I had only one sister and I didn''t want to mess this up by ignoring her.


    I was going to hear her out.


    "That''s odd, she should have been back by now." Mom seemed slightly agitated. "I''ll give her a call."


    She tried calling but no answer.

 Chapter 288 - One After The Other

    Chapter 288 ¨C One After The Other


    "Where''d she go?" I asked.


    The smell of lunch was nice but, my mind was kind of overthinking a lot of things.


    "She went back to a reunion with her grade school friends. I was really shocked when she said she wanted to go."


    "Grade school?" I raised a brow.


    We had to change schools and even countries quite often since Elsa often ended up creating trouble.


    But grade school? Did she even have friends in grade school? "And wasn''t her grade school in-"


    "Canada, yes."


    So, she flew alone? That girl?


    Again?


    I sighed. Elsa was always like this entric kid, doing whatever she pleased. She didn''t have a passport or visa but when you''re from a famous family such as ours, those weren''t really all that necessary. She got scolded way too often for that too. Mom did spoil her, and I did too, but she was way too childish.


    Lately, she started acting mature and I was kind of grateful for that. But still, going alone? "And you let her?"


    "She has to grow up someday," Grandma chirped in.


    "Yes, but that day isn''t today."


    Elsa would turn fifteen soon, she wasn''t a kid. But she had a history with her grade school friends. Or to be more precise, I had history with them. And I had a feeling if anyone badmouthed me, things were going to get very ugly there.


    I was halfway through my lunch but, I started shoving everything down. "If we can''t reech her in thhe next foive minutes, I''m going out." I kept on stuffing myself.


    Mom didn''t say anything, the rest didn''t either.


    I almost choked, drank some water, and after a brief pause, stood up. I was done.


    "I''ll take you there." Marg also stood up.


    "It''ll be too dangerous for you. We can''t forget what happenedst time."


    I didn''t know what went wrong the first time around. Maybe she was already tired and didn''t have enough energy? Maybe it was just a bad coincidence?


    Or maybe something else.


    But I didn''t want her to do anything reckless again.


    "But-"


    "Besides, I can fly." I winked.


    And my flying speed was pretty spectacr too.


    I could go maybe twenty times the speed of sound if I pushed myself and maybe bit more if I really tried hard.


    So, it was going to be a 25-minute flight.


    Not really instantaneous, but definitely fast.


    "You won''t go around breaking people''s legs because they offended you or something, right?" Mom said.


    She was speaking about that time when, I identally broke some kids'' legs because they tried to trip Elsa, but that was a long time ago¡­


    I wouldn''t do that again¡­


    Probably.


    "I''ll try my best."


    She chuckled, giving up. "Don''t cause too much trouble now."


    "I won''t."


    At least I didn''t hope so.


    But it was odd.


    It was odd how none of them even remotely mentioned anything from this morning.


    In the end, they really were leaving it all up to me.


    ***


    I had my maps.


    My Holo was working nicely.


    But none of my calls were going through to Elsa.


    It wasn''t that her Holo wasn''t ringing, rather, she wasn''t picking up.


    Which meant one of two things. Either she was in some sort of predicament or she just didn''t want to talk to me. I didn''t like either.


    Anyway, I sped through the air.


    BOOM!


    Some sort of sonic boom resulted, every time I sped up.


    Enira didn''te out, but the barriers were much stronger. They could probably even take a full st of my sma ball- assuming the ball wasn''t thatrge.


    I guess going out of my way to hunt that serpent wasn''t a waste of time, after all.


    Beep! Beep!


    I received a message.


    ''Elsa''s been kidnapped.''


    I stopped midair.


    Another boom resounded.


    The water below was shimmering and weirdly I started sweating.


    The message was credible- very credible. After all, it was from mom.


    I immediately called her.


    "What do you mean, she''s been kidnapped?"


    "We received a call from the kidnappers right after you left."


    "And?"


    "¡­They want you to go there alone."


    "Go where, exactly?"


    "An ind. I''m sending you the details. But-"


    "But you don''t want me to go alone."


    "Yes, both your father and grandfather are on their way."


    I received the map. About seven minutes of journey from where I was. It was in the middle of the ocean. No civilization in its hundred-kilometer radius.


    ''But if they want me alone-'' Then it was possible they had some way to deal with me.


    ''But if they want me-'' And if they went as far as to take my sister hostage, there was a good chance, they were going to demand something severe.


    "Elsa''s okay? And did they want something?"


    "I didn''t hear her voice. They only wanted you to go alone¡­" Mom''s voice shook. "I wanted to go but-"


    "It''s okay, I''ll take care of this."


    Mom had her hands full. And since this was a special case, we had to be careful.


    Besides, the kidnappers wanted me alone, so there was always that.


    The call ended. No, I ended it.


    Though kidnapping was probably not the best thing that could have happened right now, I had a feeling this was something else.


    First of all, who''d be dumb enough to kidnap my sister?


    Second, even if they kidnapped her, and overpowered her, why would they go out of their way to reveal their location and just ask me to go alone and not ask for anything?


    Elsa wasn''t stupid. Yeah, she was childish, but she wasn''t stupid. But I had to take into ount sometimes, she still did stupid stuff, everyone did. After all, we''re all humans.


    ''Then what the hell do they want?''


    Racking my head over this wasn''t doing anything.


    So, I prepared myself, andunched.


    BOOM!


    ***


    The ind was really in the middle of nowhere.


    It was perhaps about the same size as the one the academy was on.


    But there was one fundamental difference. There was nothing on this ind, nothing other than just pure sand and one single grove of coconut.


    Flying over the ind, I couldn''t really see much. But one thing was for certain, there wasn''t a single human here and my alpha particles ryed as much. ''Then what?''


    I covered myself in a thin barrier, enough to not be obvious about it, and slowly descended near the grove.


    There wasn''t anyone here, in hindsight. But my guard was up, and I was very angry, very sane.


    I looked around. But nothing was here. Just like my particles suggested.


    And yet, something about this ce, the wind, the smell, something just felt ominous.


    "Bravo, I did not think you''d be here so early." Slow ps.


    The voice came from all around me. I couldn''t trace it.


    A woman''s voice. But something about that voice wasn''t quite human, almost artificial or maybe even bestial.


    "Where''s my sister?" I looked around but- saw nothing. My particles picked up nothing.


    "Right here."


    Elsa appeared just twenty meters away, tied to a chair, unconscious. A woman was next to her wearing a mask- or, half a mask. My particles suddenly picked both of them up but- but something was different about Elsa.


    I was both fuming and shaking but- "So, what do you want? Why did you kidnap her?"


    "That core." She pointed at my saber. "I want it."


    This woman- had blonde hair, a mask covering half of her face and she was taller than me. But the most troubling part was her bright red eyes and snow-white skin. The striking resemnce to a certain vampire kind of irked me.


    "Oh?" So, she wanted my saber? Or rather the core?


    I carried my saber to almost everywhere, meaning this woman probably had her eyes on me for quite a while.


    "And for that, you''d go out of your way to capture my sister and even reveal your location. You do know who I am and what my family is, right?"


    She smiled. half of her face was covered but her lips were pretty much on full disy: luscious red lips. "But of course. I''m totally aware. But as long as your sister is here, you can''t use your full powers and even if your family were here, the same would be true. Besides-"


    A streak of light went through her skull. It went right through. I couldn''t even register half of it- I couldn''t hear anything.


    But, I knew what that was.


    So, I covered Elsa in a barrier and ran straight for the two.


    The woman, however, hadn''t fallen. Her neck had moved back like she was watching the sky or something but it snapped back to ce as her wound healed. "Such impatience."


    In a split second and closed in and shed.


    SLASH!


    She backtracked, dodging.


    Elsa was still here.


    "About time you showed up Geezer."


    Mom said the guy''d be here but I didn''t think he''d be here this quick.


    "Stop calling me that, brat!"

 Chapter 289 - One After The Other (Part Two)

    Chapter 289 ¨C One After The Other (Part Two)


    The geezer was in the air.


    I figured he''d be here.


    The guy was really everywhere.


    "But are you sure-?" The woman smiled. "I might be your only hope of getting her out of there. After all, we three-"


    "You kidnap my sister; you try to take her away and now you want to bargain?" I fumed some more and covered Elsa and the geezer with high-quality barriers. "Trust me, I''m very angry right now."


    I formed arge sma ball. We were basically in the middle of nowhere.


    So.


    There was only one thing to do.


    She clicked her tongue and started to disappear.


    But before she could, I threw, and- EXPLOSION!


    Heat, sound, and shockwaves spread through everything. Cracks appeared but the barriers were still good to go.


    The grove of coconuts was no more, instead, there was a puddle of blood, one arm, and a not-so-small crater.


    The geezer dropped from the sky. I undid all the barriers and tried to wake Elsa.


    She was just unconscious.


    I didn''t know why but I had this weird feeling about Elsa. ''Maybe it''s just my imagination?''


    "Did we get her?" The geezer said.


    "Probably not." I still looked around.


    "Why not?"


    "She seemed like Hyora at first nce. The way she healed was too simr to that of a primordial vampire." But she wasn''t quite the same as Hyora, after all, Hyora was a bit smaller and definitely had better healing than this woman. Also, Hyora was both more beautiful and almost always had a smile. "And this woman could turn things invisible, or maybe move things to a different space?"


    Cause, my alpha and beta particles weren''t picking up anything.


    I still had a thin coating of barrier over my body and the other three had them too.


    Meaning, if this woman could perhaps travel to another dimension ande out to attack us, it was possible, to mitigate it.


    The blood and the severed limb suggested the woman was no more.


    But the possibility remained. What if she survived and- ''What if she''s just waiting to attack us?''


    An enemy I couldn''t detect, one of my worst fears.


    The smell of blood was still in the air and so was the soaring quietness.


    "Let''s get her back." The geezer said, undoing Elsa''s knots and picking her up.


    But just then- shit! "Drop it, geezer!"


    Before he could react, Elsa bit him: eyes trailing red. No, it wasn''t Elsa!


    I grit my teeth and grappled the thing''s skull, and started crushing it.


    ''It''s not Elsa!''


    Crack!


    "He-li-o" It spoke in its cracked voice.


    I knew it wasn''t my sister. I should have seen thising.


    And yet- and yet, though I knew she wasn''t my sister, I still didn''t want to hurt her.


    It was almost as though I couldn''t control my own body- I didn''t want to hurt her¡­.


    But I had to.


    Ssh!


    Blood spilled out. But as the girl fell on the floor, her shape changed to that of another girl. Her hair turned white.


    I felt a wave of emotion going through. I was really relieved. I knew this girl wasn''t Elsa, but, what if I was wrong? The very thought was cruel, which was why, I was d beyond reason when she didn''t turn out to be Elsa.


    The geezer held a hand on his neck and tried to stop the bleeding. When it had bitten him, the thing had nted its fangs deep, so pulling it out like that, was a bad idea.


    "Congrats geezer, you''re gonna live forever."


    "Shut up moron." His eyes flickered and his skin started bing white, and eventually burning.


    "Go hide in the shadows or something."


    But the problem was, there wasn''t much shade here. And I''d just destroyed the grove too.


    A bit ofughter ensued. The woman was still out there. "As I was saying, you didn''t think I''d be that much of an idiot, did you?"


    "As a matter of fact, I didn''t."


    I still couldn''t trace her.


    So, my second hypothesis seemed more likely.


    She was probably not in this dimension anymore.


    "Geezer, she''s still out there. You good?"


    I still had remnants of memories about vampires. Gramps had plenty of stuff to say about them.


    Just getting bit by a vampire wasn''t enough to turn into one: one had to somehow take in the blood of a vampire to be one. But a bite or even a scratch was enough to make almost anyone severely weak for a few days.


    Then again, if the vampire willed it could potentially leak blood from its fangs, so it could make other people lesser vampires and in turn, its follower. Since the geezer''s skin was slightly sizzling and all, we couldn''t ignore the possibility of him bing a vampire.


    Judging by that smile though, we probably didn''t have anything to worry about.


    "Don''t worry." He grinned, barely able to stay on his feet. "This is nothingpared to what I endured back then."


    ''Well, back then you weren''t a geezer.'' Of course, I didn''t say it.


    Another trickle ofughter.


    "Where is my sister?"


    "The core, first."


    "And what''re you nning on doing with it?"


    "Why should I tell you? Don''t you care what happens to your sister?"


    She did have a point.


    "I do and that''s why I can ensure you, I''d erase your very essence from this world if something happens to her."


    "Haha ha hahahah!"


    Theughter came from across the ce.


    I still couldn''t trace it.


    So far, nothing was happening.


    "Got any ideas?"


    "Nothing." The old man also looked around.


    My saber felt slightly warm.


    ''Wait.''


    I tried waving the saber around.


    ''Technically, this can cut through space and time, right?''


    Then again, at the time Enira was still kicking and she made sure that it worked.


    But still, even if this worked without her, I had to find this woman first.


    And- though I looked around, nothing changed.


    But I had a feeling where she''d attack.


    First rule of hunting- always target the weak.


    And-


    Roughly two secondster, my alpha particles picked up something.


    "Duck!" The geezer ducked and I sliced the air.


    My saber was already going full throttle. ''Work damn it!''


    The saber''s ck color was coated slightly with a tint of blue. And it vibrated like a chainsaw.


    The woman had manifested and she was about to disappear again when she learned of what I was going to do.


    But- but, it was toote: I cleaved her in two.


    Good thing the geezer was short.


    The sword had gone straight through her- despite the hidden parts not being in this world. Half of her fell near the geezer while the other half, beneath my feet.


    I put my feet on the top half and held her on the ground, my saber strictly ced at her neck. "Well? Where is she?"


    The saber still had the blue tint. I guess Enira was sharing those powers, despite being asleep.


    ''When the hell are you going toe out?''


    "This is also alive!" The geezer shouted as he held the other half in ce.


    The woman didn''t just go into another dimension. ''So, you can''t do that if you''re physically connected with something or-'' Or she chose not to, to throw me off.


    Or this saber just worked.


    "Kill me and you''ll never find her."


    "I believe you but," I slowly traced my saber through half her neck. "Are you sure?"


    "ARHHHHH!" She screamed, screeched, and her mouth formed way too many jagged teeth which she tried shoving down my feet. But I used my other feet to keep that jagged mess of a face in ce. She also tried scratching me with those nails of hers. Though painful, it didn''t quite do anything to me. In the end, she just stared at me, dumbfounded. "Why do you have her blood?" She almost spoke like a human for once.


    I had no idea whose blood she was talking about and I didn''t have any interest in that either. "Elsa, where is she?" I increased the pressure.


    The woman looked to her right, pointed and Elsa manifested again almost like the first time. "There."


    "Really?" I smiled, putting a bit more pressure. "And she''s not a fake one this time?"


    The woman grinned. "With that cursed majestic blood of yours, you can''t tell? Disappointed, I am."


    Actually, this time it did feel like Elsa, but I couldn''t be too sure.


    "What majestic blood? And who are you? Why''d you want Enira?"


    "Oh, you don''t know?" She grinned. "Maybe it was worthing to this realm." Her grin widened. "Choose hero, sister or-" With that said. Elsa started to sink in the sand.


    I clicked my tongue, crushed the woman''s chest, beheaded her. "Geezer!"


    I ran for Elsa.


    "Gotcha!"


    Elsa almost fully sunk in but at thest moment, I caught her hand. Still warm.


    She was already inside the sand, and so was half of my arm, but I had her. I had her.


    "ELSA!" I screamed, pulling her up.


    "Helio?" She opened her eyes looking confused.


    Yeah, it was her, it was my sister.

 Chapter 290 - One After The Other (Part Three)

    Chapter 290 ¨C One After The Other (Part Three)


    I pulled Elsa up, held her in my arms and turned around. "Everything good?" I shouted.


    "The thing still survived. Definitely a primordial." The geezer''s skin was still sizzling and letting off a bit of steam, but he seemed good enough.


    Every part of the woman was gone: Even her blood.


    "Think she''lle back?"


    There was always that chance. Though thest bit of what she said did bother me. Cursed majestic blood, was it?


    And she''d mentioned something about how the three of them were connected. Though I still didn''t understand who the other two were. One could have been Enira, and it was possible this woman was referencing Hyora too, though that was just a guess.


    "With the wounds you gave? I doubt it."


    I clicked my tongue but- at least this moron was alright.


    "You, okay?" I said, looking at Elsa, who was still just looking at me, confused.


    But she was getting awfullyfortable while hugging me. "I''m fine. Where am I?" She looked fine too. No external injuries, and unlike the geezer, she didn''t look pale either.


    "What''s thest thing you remember?"


    "I got off in Vancouver and a ssmate''s mother called me over. And-" She wiggled her eyes upwards, searching her memories. "Can''t remember."


    Oh well.


    "You can walk, right?"


    "Maybe?"


    "Good." With that said, I let her be on her own feet and headed over to the geezer''s side.


    I held his shoulder and gave him proper support. "Do you want me to carry you?"


    Because even with support he had a tough time walking. The guy was barely holding up.


    "I''m not that frail, kid." He tried to act tough. He was still uneasy on his feet though.


    "Great." I proceeded to lift him up on my shoulder. "Just sit there." He was still bleeding and though he wanted toin, he held his tongue.


    Instead, he just sighed and stayed.


    I walked over to Elsa''s and carried her like a princess and started lift off.


    I didn''t want to spend another moment here.


    Then again, I might or might not have destroyed half of the ind here, so-


    "Am I in trouble?" Elsa said, not quite looking me in the eye. She could act rather cute at times. But just acting cute wasn''t going to get her out of this.


    "I don''t know, but you''re definitely grounded that''s for sure."


    She didn''t say anything. More like she couldn''t. There was nothing to say..


    "Oh yeah, give mom a message, that you''re okay. My hands are full," I said.


    ''Wasn''t dad supposed toe too?''


    She nodded. I knew she didn''t want to call mom now, but a message should have been fine.


    Well, actually it wasn''t fine¡­ because we kept on getting more and more calls from both mom and dad.


    "We''ll be there shortly, everything''s fine," I said, cutting the call the very next second.


    I had to maintain a lot of focus on flying- and with two passengers too. Even now the geezer was sizzling. ''He wouldn''t turn into a vampire, right?''


    The geezer was sitting on my back while Elsa had her hands wrapped around my neck.


    It was hard.


    I kept moderate pace and used the barrier to protect us from bugs and birds.


    It took us nearly forty or so minutes to reach home. Definitely longer than I expected.


    And when we did reach home, mom stormed over and for a moment it almost seemed like she''d p Elsa but, instead, she hugged her, almost crying.


    Meanwhile, "This guy needs treatment, by the way." I said, holding the geezer a bit over the air.


    "Let go of me, you punk!" He had plenty of steam left in the tank now that we were in the shade.


    Grandma rolled her eyes. "This way."


    I still didn''t let the geezer go. Instead, I just carried him inside.


    Meanwhile, mom and Elsa were still hugging. Elsa was crying silently.


    "Thanks geezer," I whispered.


    He grinned. "And for thest time, stop calling me that, you moron!"


    "No can do." I chuckled.


    ***


    Apparently, dad was lost.


    The guy had gone out searching for Elsa the moment he heard.


    But he was lost.


    I''d heard stuff about how he had a terrible sense of direction, but really? He couldn''t even follow a guided Holo map?


    Anyway, he was definitely d that Elsa was fine. He was currently in Egypt, sipping date juice. It was kind of a miracle he still had reception.


    "So, that''s when these two gentlemen found me and brought me to their oasis."


    There was a pond and three date palms behind him and two camels. No humans. Just one horse Mutor- standing on his feet like Remia and the others. He was maybe twice the size of dad and that head was anything but not terrifying.


    "How the hell did you end up in the middle east when you were supposed to head to America?" We were in the living. Mom And Elsa were on the sofa while the geezer and grandma were on the other side.


    Our central Holo disyed dad''s face big enough for everyone in the room to see.


    He shut his lips tight and tried to look away.


    Mom sighed: she was fixing Elsa''s hair. "That''s typical for him. He waste for his wedding, the birth of his first son, and a lot more." Mom smiled, emphasizing on the ''lot more'' part.


    Dad chuckled, very nervously. "Sorry."


    Mom again, sighed. "Juste back home. Or do we have to pick you up?"


    "These two gentlemen have agreed to get me home."


    The mutor in question just smiled- though I wasn''t sure if that was just his face or a smile.


    From Egypt to here?


    But wait, two? "Two?"


    "OH yeah, him and him." He first pointed at the horseman.


    The second?


    There was sand everywhere and dad had to raise his voice more and more as more sand danced in the air.


    "A beetle?" I looked carefully at the horseman''s shoulder. There was maybe a fist sized beetle there. ''Oh my god!''


    IT had a face!


    A very creepy face! Like it was grinning mischievously or something.


    But still, a face!


    "Don''t worryd, we''ll take care of him!" The beetle assured me, pumping his chest.


    ''These guys aren''t even worried about people finding them or something?''


    But more importantly, IT HAD A FACE!


    "When I first found them, they acted like normal Mutors but when they learned I could talk to them, we hit it off and-" Father went on.


    Apparently, the two Mutor-people were fond of people and always wanted to interact, and travel across the globe. But since they were treated as Mutors, they almost never got the chance. So, when they did, they chose to take it.


    I didn''t know why but the three seemed veryid-back if nothing.


    I cleared my throat. "Funny you can understand them." Things were going over my head, so I just changed the subject.


    "Well, I learned from your grandfather. The guy was an expert." He grinned. "There''s a sandstorm headed this way. Later." For someone who was about to deal with a sandstorm, the guy was sure excited.


    Actually, all of them were excited.


    "Uh-huh. Well, good luck."


    The call ended.


    Was it me or were they a bit tooidback?


    "He was always like that." Mom spoke out loud. "Adventures were his lifeline. Sometimes I wondered if that moron and your uncle¡­" she sighed again.


    "What''s so great about learning more about those critters. Nothing but trouble. Mutors are Mutors¡­ now they talk, a dayter they''lle to bite you." The geezerined. "OUCH!"


    Grandma was doing some stitches on him.


    "They too are people, so shove it," I said. "Besides, who knows what''s-"


    "Wait, you mentioned about meeting them and-" The geezer paused. "It''s not like you can understand them or something- right?" He asked very carefully.


    Why?


    Was it really that surprising?


    "I may or may not?" Wait, wasn''t the headmaster also really surprised?


    Mom didn''t look that surprised, the rest though, they all looked at me as though I was an item on disy.


    "Well, that trait was unique to your grandmother." Grandma said. "She taught your grandfather who in turn taught your father and some others. But I guess you inherited it gically."


    I guess that was good?


    But I kind of didn''t want to talk about it, as sooner orter I''d end up bringing up the Nelbound. "Well, is he turning into a vampire?"


    The geezer''s skin had stopped sizzling but he was awfully pale.


    "I don''t think so. But he''ll have to rest for the next few days," Grandma said. "I guess he won''t make it to the wedding."


    "Screw you, I''m getting there, even if I have to crawl!" The geezer retorted. His treatment was done, so he was just lying on the couch.


    Honestly, he was more excited about my marriage, than me.


    Speaking of marriages, where the hell was Marg? I hadn''t seen her anywhere.


    "Is Marg out?"


    "She went to meet her mother. She''ll be back tomorrow," Mom said.


    "She didn''t teleport right?"


    "No, she took the ne."


    Well, that was good to hear.


    But we had one more problem.. That being- "Well?" I sat on the sofa directly facing mom and Elsa. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

 Chapter 291 - The Proposal

    Chapter 291 ¨C The Proposal


    Elsa fidgeted, not quite looking at me or mom.


    She understood the situation pretty well.


    In the end, she looked at me. "Sorry. I shouldn''t have gone alone."


    Wait, she didn''t get the situation, at all!


    I didn''t say anything but just stared.


    "Wh-what?" she stuttered, unable to hide her difort.


    "You think I''m angry because you went alone?"


    "Then-"


    "Don''t you think you should be the one to figure it out?"


    She didn''t say anything and just looked down.


    "Maybe-" Grandma tried but my re shut her up.


    "I shouldn''t have gone to the reunion on the first ce?"


    I sighed. "Look, we had history there. Or more like, I did things to them. You should have known they''d hold grudges against us. ''Get you there for a reunion, then sell you off to someone.'' Shouldn''t you have at least suspected as much?"


    "But if something went wrong, I thought you''d-" She mumbled.


    "I''d what? Speak up!"


    She didn''t look at me, just silently cried.


    No one really said anything.


    "You''re my little sister. You''re selfish and spoiled. Heck, I was one the one who spoiled you the most. But you have to understand our situation. Just days ago, this ce was attacked and they coulde back any day. You should have been more careful. I''m not angry with you cause you went alone, I''m angry cause you weren''t careful and let yourself get kidnapped."


    ''What the hell did I just say?''


    Was it really her fault?


    Could she have really prevented it?


    Besides, she went to the reunion probably because she was just lonely here¡­.


    But it was toote. I couldn''t take it back.


    "Helio-" Mom paused. "That''s enough."


    I took a breath and got up. "Next time, try to be careful." I walked out of the house.


    I was frustrated with myself. I wanted to punch my own face. ''What the hell is wrong with you?''


    Our front yard had new nts. Grandma had been growing them, I guess.


    ***


    The afternoon sun brought back memories.


    There was a time in my life when I used to go out ying with kids. Though I say kids, I only yed alone. There were kids around me, but I never really mixed with them.


    The only kid I ever yed with was Elsa.


    I was maybe 7-8 at the time. Elsa could barely walk. For a kid who was only three years younger than me, she had too much trouble walking. And she was rather chubby too.


    Often times she followed me out of the house to the fields. She''d trip maybe half a dozen times and cry and cause trouble everywhere she went.


    I''d tease her, make fun of her but I never abandoned her. I was always there when she fell down. We yed together, weughed together, and sometimes, we even cried together. Though she was the crybaby.


    Though in hindsight it looked like I was there for her and all, in reality, she was the one who was there for me. And she didn''t even realize that. If it weren''t for her, my childhood would have been nothing but gray. Everyone was afraid of me, but she was not.


    It was odd really.


    Perhaps that''s why my childhood was kind of nice, I could look back at the days and smile. ''Those really were good days.'' Maybe they weren''t the most fun, maybe those days weren''t the best, but those days really were, good.


    But that was why I couldn''t-


    I sighed. A heap of mist evaporated in front of me.


    It was going to be evening soon.


    Behind me were the fields, in front, the snowy ins.


    There wasn''t anyone here.


    Just me.


    Or it would have been, if the girl behind me- the shivering girl- wasn''t here.


    This was the closest ce I had to my childhood memories. Just in fields and nothing else.


    Only the friends and all that was missing.


    With another sigh, I turned around.


    "What are you doing here?"


    It wasn''t like I hadn''t noticed.


    It was just that, I didn''t want to talk to her.


    "We had to talk."


    Elsa was standing there, eyes puffed up, cheeks red. She must have cried for quite a while.


    I didn''t know what she wanted to talk about. Maybe she wanted to apologize, maybe she wanted to talk about her feelings or maybe there was something else.


    But- "Alright." I thought over things. "And sorry about that. I didn''t mean to say all that."


    Perhaps it was her fault, but I couldn''t fault her for it. It felt wrong to do so.


    "Then you''re not mad about the incident anymore?"


    "I wouldn''t say I''m not mad but, I won''t hold anything against you. What happened, happened." I took a deep breath. "You had something to say?"


    Her face slightly brightened up.


    I''d already made up my mind about listening to her.


    "I love you."


    And yet, when she said those three words, it hit me like a truck. I was prepared and yet, I was so unprepared.


    My breathing increased on its own. I wanted to say a lot of things. I wanted to face her, no, I wanted to¡­ but I couldn''t formte the words. I couldn''t make up my mind and I couldn''t really say anything. I was just thunderstruck.


    There was no thunder here, though.


    "I''ve always loved you." She continued. "But I never managed to say it. after all, I knew you loved me as your sister. And though I do love you as my brother, I want us to be more, more intimate."


    "But-" My head was down; I still couldn''t find the words.


    What was I supposed to say?


    "You don''t have to answer right now. I know you love Marg. And your wedding, it''s just¡­ But, I love you. Even if you turn me down, even if," Tears started streaming. "Even if, I have to watch you every day, with those girls, I''ll still love you. After all, you''re my big brother, you''re the person, I love."


    That was both weird and wholesome at the same time.


    Also, probably the nicest thing anyone had said to me today.


    I went closer. I stood right in front of her. I held my hand over her head- thinking whether it was appropriate to mess up that hair of hers. "You are my sister. I''m really thankful and d you feel that way about me." I gently ced my hand on her head. "But, I can never see you as anything more than just my sister. If I touch you, if I-" I paused. "I''m sorry, I won''t be able to forgive myself. I won''t ask you to stop loving me, I won''t ask you to change who you are. But, I-I, can never love you the way you love me, Elsa, for I love you as my sister and it won''t change."


    I had no idea how or why I could think of all those fancy ways of saying no but, as more and more tears streamed down her face, I did feel terrible.


    She was my sister.


    I loved her.


    But a no, was a no.


    She was my sister.


    "Is it because of what people would think of us?"


    "No, I couldn''t care less about society. I''m just, I just want to be your brother. I want to be there for you, see you grow up. But, I can''t be your lover. I''m sorry."


    I hugged her.


    She tried to resist but gave up and hugged me. Her hands gripped my back tightly as tears streamed down her face. Her forehead was directly pressing against my chest.


    We just stayed like that as the sun setted.


    The sight was mesmerizing and yet, I couldn''t really focus.


    Elsa was in my arms, warm. She was crying.


    But she didn''t make any sound.


    asional snorts and sniffs were the only things audible.


    I felt really bad, terrible even. But I''d already made my decision.


    It was time to move on.


    "Let''s go get some dinner," I said, trying to move away.


    "Just a minute longer." She didn''t let go.


    Reluctantly I just stood there.


    After some time, she let go and looked up. "I want to eat Tuna."


    "What?" I said, just staring at her.


    "Tuna. I want to eat some." She wiped her tears.


    "I guess I can go find some tomorr-"


    "I want to eat some¡­ now."


    I sighed. "Fine, I''ll see if there are some in the supermarket."


    Then again, it was nearly seven. If it was morning, I''d have understood, but evening?


    I didn''t think it was possible.


    The fish markets were also closed at this hour.


    And Tunas were kind of expensive.


    "Can''t I persuade you to have some serpent meat instead? You can even eat it raw," I said, walking towards the market.


    "Actually, I want to try tuna Sashimi so, I was nning on eating it raw. But it has to be tuna!"


    And she followed me.


    Her face was a mess but she finally did smile.


    ''What the hell is a Sa-shi-mi though?''

 Chapter 292 - Everything Has Consequences

    Chapter 292 ¨C Everything Has Consequences


    We couldn''t find tuna.


    So, we settled for salmon.


    Apparently, eating thinly sliced raw fish or raw meat was called Sashimi. Assuming you had some form of sauce to dip the stuff in, the stuff wasn''t that bad.


    I didn''t know such a thing was even a thing. I guess the world was a bigger ce than I thought.


    Anyway, we started dinner. And though Elsa pretended like nothing was wrong, I could tell for a fact, she was faking it.


    Of course, she was.


    She was in pain.


    Of course, she was.


    But I''d already made my decision and I had to stick to it.


    "Uncle isn''t here?"


    It was just us six and the bunny maid.


    "He went hunting. He''ll probably be at the wedding along with the rest of our family," Mom said.


    "Wasn''t the church supposed to be a small church of an orphanage? So, bringing our whole family-"


    Grandma grinned. "It''ll work out."


    Yeah, didn''t seem like it would.


    But oh well.


    "Might I propose something?" Raea said.


    "What?"


    "Never mind, we should talkter at night."


    Was I missing something?


    If she didn''t want to talk about it, why even bring it up?


    Judging by the looks Elsa was giving her, I had a feeling Raea had probably meant something, something I couldn''t understand but the rest of them could.


    Oh boy.


    Anyway, the fish was actually good. Who knew I liked raw salmon!


    ***


    I never really got to talk to Elsa.


    Or more like I didn''t know what to say. She never really said much either. She pretended like it never happened. And I guess that was the right thing to do.


    Sigh.


    ''But this room really isrge.''


    Our whole house was remade. It was still kept as a three-story building. But all the floors were expanded and the rooms were bothrger and they increased in numbers.


    We had exactly four bathrooms, eight bedrooms, four guestrooms, one massive living room/ballroom, one dining, one kitchen, andstly, one master bedroom on the third floor.


    And that master bedroom just happened to be bigger than even thest one.


    ''Did they n on throwing parties here or something?''


    Even the bed was twice asrge as thest one, and thest one was already bigger than a king-sized bed for crying out loud!


    What was I supposed to do on this bed, have a wrestling match?


    Knock!


    "Come in."


    Since Marg wasn''t home today, I didn''t bother locking the door.


    "So, we needed to talk." Raea walked in.


    She locked the door and came my way, standing just in front of the bed.


    "What?"


    "So, the wedding''s the day after tomorrow-" Her hands were fidgeting and she was nervous.


    "Just get to the point."


    She cleared her throat and sat down on the bed. "Why don''t you marry me and the others on the same alter?" She said, looking back.


    To think, she''d suggest something like that.


    Before I could say anything, she continued. "I know this is your and her special event, but, if something goes wrong, if-" She paused for a second. "I want to get married too."


    Frankly, that was too straight.


    I sighed. "Sorry, but only Marg and I are getting married. I can''t make a decision on this without Marg''s opinion and I don''t think she''d allow anyone else to get on that alter. Besides, I''d be marrying you sooner orter, so let''s move on from that. Though that''s assuming your feelings for me remain the same."


    I''d thought about this. I thought about this way too much. And in the end, I made the decision.


    I nned on Marrying Enira, Selene, and Raea.


    Her breathing was a bit deep. "Well, I figured you''d say that."


    She looked straight into my eyes.


    I was still lying on the bed.


    She was just there, a hand near my arm, her head just over mine. She''d leaned quite far.


    She pressed her lips against mine, her hands held my face in ce. She had this strawberry scented perfume that made my insides slightly hot.


    She gently traced her hands down.


    That''s when I stopped her.


    "Not, tonight."


    Marg was away. And if I did something like this now-


    "But she''s not here. This is the perfect night!" Her voice was low, but her breathing was definitely heavier.


    Yeah but, I didn''t really want to have this feeling of betrayal.


    Besides, just hours ago I''d turned down Elsa and-


    I knew I''d eventually marry Raea. I didn''t have feelings for her, that was true. But she had feelings for me. Andtely, through interaction, I had taken a certain liking to her. And I had a feeling that was just the beginning. But we weren''t on that level of liking to indulge in something like this.


    I tried to sit down but- "You''re such a buzzkill!" Raea shoved me down on the bed and forced her tongue in. Her hands headed straight into my pants. "But that''s what I love about you."


    She was totally on top of me. Staring. Her breath, warm.


    "Doing this won''t make me magically fall in love with you."


    She came closer. "Yeah but, it''ll certainly get us closer," her breath fell on my ears. Warm breath.


    Her strawberry perfume was alluring but- it had a certain charm to it.


    And since she was sitting directly on my abdomen, my little buddy was slowly pressing up against her bottom.


    I guess I could lie, but my body couldn''t. ''Since when I was so-?''


    It only made her grin. She unzipped my pants and gave me a stroke. "Shouldn''t you move your hands or something? I''m getting really lonely, you know." The way she said it though¡­.


    Ah, screw it!


    Screw it all!!!


    I had way too many things on my mind.


    But for the time being, I just wanted to forget it all and-


    I squeezed her without undressing and just kissed her.


    There was no going back

 Chapter 293 - Everything Has Consequences (Part Two)

    Chapter 293 ¨C Everything Has Consequences (Part Two)


    Kissing was a natural act for me. But when it actually came down to it, I might have sucked at it.


    Raea certainly didn''tin and just stroked me while I yed with her chest, our mouths totally connected.


    She slid her hands in my underwear, and I slid mine in her brassier.


    Hers were modest, bigger than Marg''s but actually the perfect size for my hands. I could grab them, like really grab them.


    Soft.


    She let out soft moans every now and then. She wasn''t as sensitive as I thought, but it didn''t stop.


    We kissed, we stroked and two minutester, my underwear was soiled.


    Pant!


    Our breaths were heavy. We were ready to roll.


    Raea undressed herself. I guess she got disappointed that I didn''t do that. We were both sweaty but she was sweatier. Her body was also slightly shaking.


    Nervous?


    Her?


    But wasn''t she the one who wanted to do this?


    "What''s wrong? You, okay?"


    "I''m fine. It just that-" She exhaled, looked straight into my eyes. "I''m not a virgin," She confessed. "I heard from your grandmother that your family values trust above anything else and-"


    And she probably thought virginity was a form of trust.


    "What happened before us, stays before us. I''m cool with your past, as long as you don''t cheat." I stared straight at her. "We cool?"


    What was I, some sort of a saint?


    What the hell was I even saying?


    She smiled, still shivering but- "We cool!"


    She leaned in for a kiss and our lips connected.


    We were both bare.


    Skin on skin action!


    The air was intoxicatingly heavy.


    And with everything out of the way, I touched her there. "Ah!" she chuckled. "You surprised me!" She stood up and though I was seated, she just held herher region right in front of my face. "This way will be better."


    "Umm?"


    "I did say you''re too vani, right? I''ll give you a lesson on how to please woman- or me to be more precise." She winked.


    "You mean, lick you?"


    "Hey, you do understand me!"


    "But-"


    But seriously, licking? That?


    "I''m very clean. Though I wouldn''t rmend swallowing anything," She whispered and winked. "Please?" She begged.


    Well, we were here.


    And I didn''t know why but I kind of wanted to try that too.


    So, here goes!


    Lick!


    Salty!


    That was the first thing my first tastebuds told me for the first two seconds.


    But then it faded away.


    I wasn''t deliberately sucking her. Just licking.


    The scent was weird at first, but then oddly became more and more intoxicating.


    I liked it. And judging by those moans so did she.


    She was tight, like really tight. It was hard to imagine she wasn''t a virgin. She didn''t quite have a hymen, but yeah, she was tight and my tongue wasn''t quite going in.


    But who cared!


    I started sucking!


    She was getting wetter and wetter though.


    "AH aha!" She held my head and put a bit of pressure as her legs quivered.


    Her moans got louder and then I remembered.


    "Oh shit, the soundproofing!"


    It all went out with the house thest time!


    I stopped and Raea gentlyy down, breathing hard. "Not bad for your first time." She continued breathing deeply and heavily. "But," She spread her legs. "Maybe we should finish up?"


    She wasn''t loud enough for the sound to get out of the room, but mom and Elsa had really good hearing.


    But wait, the walls here were rather thick and made of concrete and stones¡­


    "But they''ll hear-"


    "I''ll be quiet," She winked.


    Helio junior was very much alive, so I didn''t want to say no either.


    ''What the hell am I even doing?''


    But there was no way I could stop myself at this point.


    "Mmghah-" She''d kept her mouth shut with one hand, but as I entered her, she still let out moans.


    And she was still tight, like really tight.


    She didn''t seem to be in pain but I couldn''t go like this.


    So, I grabbed some lube and well, lubed!


    It went in easier.


    Oh well.


    More lube!


    Thrust here, pump there.


    Moans everywhere.


    Yeah, she was quiet, yeah, I was also quiet.


    But the fact that we were having sex, was probably not something we could hide in this house, at least not from mom and the others when they clearly had better hearing than any of us.


    Well, it was kind of toote anyway.


    Though the talk about vani sex was kind of weird in a way, we still ended up with pretty much the very definition of vani sex: missionary.


    "AH! Ah! Ah!" She was letting out moans with every stroke.


    She didn''t say a word, and her moans were very suppressed.


    This girl wasn''t kidding when she said she was going to be quiet.


    But I was nearing, and edging wasn''t going to be a thing.


    "I''m-"


    But before I could finish, she quivered, her legs shook and weirdly liquid came out of her and sprayed on my abdomen. "AHH!"


    I kept on thrusting.


    Again.


    Again


    And again.


    "Ah!"


    It all went in¡­


    We were using protection, so it was fine.


    I rested on top of her, panting. I didn''t press my weight on her body, I just barely touched her while my arms were holding me up like pirs. Our chest barely touching.


    "That.. was fun," she said, panting. "Really."


    "Uh-huh." I had to agree, it was.


    But some part of me kind of regretted this.


    Maybe because I felt like I was betraying Marg?


    Because just a few hours ago, I''d refused Elsa?


    There was a good chance she was still awake and she heard this¡­


    Sigh.


    ''Seriously, what the hell am I doing with my life?''


    "Something wrong?" She said, stroking my chin.


    "No, it''s just that," I lied right next to her, my arm resting over her chest. "Elsa proposed to me today."


    But I chose something else, to distract my mind.


    I didn''t want to think about betrayals and all that.


    Besides, Marg already knew about how Raea was making advancements and all that.


    She''d understand.


    Right?


    "What''d you say?"


    "No. She''s, my sister. I can''t look at her any other way."


    She pressed her chest against my arm, turning this way. "Then that''s fine. If you''ve made yourself clear enough to her, she''ll understand. And if your answer was clear enough, she''ll be able to move on. First rule of epting/declining a proposal, always give a clear answer." She smiled.


    Honestly, that made a feel a bit better.


    "Though I do feel bad about her," She continued. "But since she''s your sister, it can''t be helped."


    Yeah, blood ties and all that didn''t really matter to me. She was my sister and there was no way I could look at her and be like ''yeah, I wanna bang that chick'' I just wasn''t like that.


    We didn''t talk past that.


    I felt awfully sleepy.


    I could feel Raea''s hand going through my hair.


    It felt good.


    But it felt terrible at the same time.

 Chapter 294 - And I Was Just, Running Away

    Chapter 294 ¨C And I Was Just, Running Away


    Yawn.


    I slept well.


    I had all sorts of worries but still slept well.


    Too well, perhaps.


    I was still sleepy but I couldn''t really forget aboutst night. Reason being, Raea was still on my bed, holding my hand.


    And I wasn''t the least sleepy anymore. My eyes had sted open.


    Small beads of sweat forming.


    Reason being?


    Marg was just in front of the bed, standing and ring.


    ''Oh fuck-''


    "Can we please talk, before we-"


    Before we what?


    I didn''t know.


    The atmosphere was heavy.


    Sunlight wasing through the curtains and though the room was really lit. it was almost like everything had turned gray.


    "Sure, let''s talk." She spoke normally. "One night, Helio. I''ve been gone one night. And you already slept with another woman. Now, I did think this''d eventually happen but, but really, just a day before our marriage?" Her teeth rattled. Her hands formed fists, her breathing erratic. "Let''s talk." But her voice was level.


    But say what?


    What could I have possibly said at a time like this?


    I was under a sheet, but I was sure I didn''t have anything on.


    So, I couldn''t just run to her and-


    My head hurt.


    A splitting headache.


    Raea started waking up.


    This was just going to get moreplicated.


    ''Say something, something, anything!''


    But I couldn''t find the words.


    If I just said sorry, that wouldn''t have solved anything.


    I''d done this, I''d made this mess.


    "I was-" I started. "It''s my fault. I did this, I''m sorry. And I couldn''t help myself. I truly am sorry." There was no way out of this.


    I had to say the truth. It was true that Raea was the one who came here, but, I was the one who ended up giving in.


    I knew it''d just be a mess.


    I knew she''d hate me for this.


    But I still did it.


    Raea woke up: she must have been listening in. "I came here. He didn''t go to my room," she said. "So it-"


    "You stay out of this." Marg''s voice remained deadpan but her eyes leaked. Her expression- fierce. "Think, I''ll just stay with mom today too."


    And she disappeared. No, she''d teleported.


    I looked at my hand.


    ''The fuck have I done?''


    ***


    I got fresh and got down.


    Breakfast was already served and going cold.


    Meaning, I''d overslept.


    Marg wasn''t here and Elsa was already done with her food. When she saw me, she left without even giving me a second nce.


    Meanwhile, the rest of them treated me the very same, but perhaps with a hint of coldness. I knew my family all too well. So even a little deviation was something I could always pick up.


    They didn''t ask me about Marg. They didn''t ask me about what happenedst night.


    Yeah, they knew alright.


    Sigh.


    I ate.


    Though it was more like I just shoved a bit of food, drank some water, and called it a day.


    The wedding was tomorrow, but, the atmosphere of the house, sure didn''t seem like it.


    There was no joy, there was noughter. The air was stale and the world was gray.


    All this morning light wasn''t going any good.


    ''There''s going to be some fireworks tonight, wanna go see it together?'' I received a message from Eve.


    ''Fireworks?''


    Hmm¡­


    Wait, this could work.


    Marg was mad at me.


    And she had all the rights to. But I had to make up somehow. And I had to do it before the marriage.


    I had to do that now!


    I couldn''t just go to her ce and ask her directly, because there was always a chance she''d just teleport again.


    So instead, I gave her a message.


    ''I sure hope she didn''t block me.''


    It was a simple message.


    Basically, I wanted her to be at the roof of our academic building at seven.


    She''d probably just ignore me, but I kind of had hope.


    The environment at home was suffocating me, so I picked up my saber and just left.


    Outside though, I met grandma, tending the new garden.


    I didn''t want to talk, so I started walking.


    "The key to a sessful rtionship ismunication," she said, not quite looking my way. "Never forget that."


    She didn''t say anything else. And judging by that tone of hers, she didn''t expect a reply.


    Sigh.


    ***


    It was amazing how much progress these guys made in a matter of a day.


    Even yesterday, the whole academy was a mess. There were craters and debris everywhere. But today, everything looked so clean, so nice.


    I didn''t know what I was doing.


    Maybe I was just killing time, maybe I was just distracting myself.


    Maybe I was too busy feeling sorry for myself.


    But at the end of the day, I really didn''t know how to fix all this.


    With some sighs I moved on and looked around.


    I bought some chocte banana from a nearby stall and ate it.


    Lately I didn''t have enough chocte.


    But even having chocte wasn''t helping.


    Eventually, I finished touring the whole ce and it''d only been like forty minutes.


    ''How am I going to spend the rest of the day?''


    Sigh.


    Since I had nothing better to do, I figured visiting Merin for a change would be nice.


    So, I headed for the dorms.


    It''d been a long while.


    The area was pretty much the same. This area wasn''t affected by the fights, I guess. Though I did see some uprooted palms here and there.


    ''The palmwork huh?''


    I kind of wanted to have a discussion about that with Ariel.


    ***


    The stairs were as terrible as I remembered.


    It was a godsend that I didn''t need to go through this anymore.


    There were few students inside. Most were just down there having fun rebuilding and other stuff, I guess.


    Pant! Pant!


    Who knew, just climbing four stories would drain me this much. ''Did I lose stamina or something?''


    Panting, I reached for room 402 and was about to knock.


    I was so out of breath, I had to take a breather first.


    "Heh, your old roommate must have been quite the troublemaker, huh?"


    And then I overheard something.


    "Nah, he was a good dude."


    They were sorting things.


    "You say that but his rumors aren''t that great. I heard he has a harem of girls just fawning over him wherever he goes."


    A chuckle came out. "That''s cause he does. The guy doesn''t realize that though. Sometimes I feel bad about the girls."


    "Wait, seriously!?" Another chuckle.


    I couldn''t bring out the courage to knock.


    So, I retraced my steps back to the stairway and just descended, head down.


    The world again,


    Was gray.


    And I was just, running away.

 Chapter 295 - Face Your Problems

    Chapter 295 ¨C Face Your Problems


    The world was gray in a sense.


    There was muffledughter around me; people enjoying themselves.


    It was a festival.


    A festival.


    Laughter.


    Merry.


    And fun.


    Then why the hell did I feel this way?


    Why the hell did I feel like crying?


    Why the hell did I feel like killing myself?


    Marg hadn''t even seen the message, let alone send a reply.


    I smiled. I didn''t know why.


    I just walked, not looking ahead.


    My feet dragged.


    They didn''t want to walk.


    But they had to.


    I had to.


    I didn''t look ahead, just below.


    People moved aside.


    Whispers.


    I could hear faint whispers.


    People were probably talking behind my back. I couldn''t hear them: no, I didn''t hear them.


    Well, what was new, I guess?


    I still smiled.


    I didn''t know why.


    ***


    Before long, I was already at the edge of the academy, bout to head out.


    Go home?


    I didn''t know. Did I even have a home? If I went back, I''d have to face them¡­.


    Maybe I''d head to the forest and let insects run over me to torment myself.


    Seemed fitting enough.


    Maybe, just go on a hill and jump? It would suck if it wouldn''t kill me though. So maybe not.


    Sigh.


    "Hey!" Someone came running from behind. "HEY!! Been looking for ya!"


    Eve. Evengeline Rodwhich.


    "What do you want?"


    She panted, hand on her knees. "What''s with the mood?" She staggered a step back. "Something happened?"


    "No, not really. Nothing happened."


    "Uh-huh?" She caught her breath. "Anyway, I was thinking of lighting up some fireworks. You know, those big ones. Want to go see some this evening? And didn''t you see my mail?"


    "Maybe¡­" Marg still hadn''t sent a reply. If she had, my Holo would have buzzed. "Not."


    She looked awfully puzzled. "Seriously, did something happen to you?"


    I smiled. "No, nothing really."


    Her brows knitted together and she red. Sparks, no, ambers flew.


    Was she angry?


    Why?


    "You know, sometimes you just piss me off. If you''re that unhappy with life, just fucking face your problems already. I often see you wagging your tail around and just obeying people like dogs. Don''t you have a will of your own?" She clicked her tongue. "Geez, man up a little, man."


    What the hell?


    What the hell was this woman saying?


    Me wagging my tail?


    Like a dog?


    She was thest person I wanted to hear that from.


    "Did youe all this way, just to make fun of me?"


    "If I wanted to make fun of you, I''d have justughed at you when I saw you walking out. I wouldn''t havee running." She turned around and started walking. "I don''t'' know what happened. And frankly, I''m not interested cause it probably involves that brat. But, seriously, instead of being depressed just deal with it man. Everyone has to deal with their shit: everyone has to make decisions. Just deal with it." She left.


    Deal with it?


    How?


    How could I possibly deal with something like this?


    ''You can fly.''


    Even the shadow started making fun of me.


    A surge of anger.


    Damn!


    I stomped the ground.


    Exhale!


    And yet, I knew she was right. I did often run away from my problems. I could never make any decisions.


    ''Face my problems¡­''


    But, wait, I could fly.


    ''I could just go over-''


    I first dismissed the thought of going over to her.


    Reason being, I didn''t know if she was going to see me or not. But I guess, that was just an excuse.


    I was making excuses. I was running away. Or more like staying away.


    ''Not anymore.'' Eve was right, I had to face my problems.


    Frankly, it didn''t matter: it didn''t matter if Marg was going to run away. I was going to see her whether she liked it or not.


    ''If I have to beg-''


    Even if I had to beg, swear to never touch another woman, always, always be loyal to her, I was going to do that.


    I was going to swear my loyalty.


    I didn''t care.


    I knew other girls loved me.


    And I knew I was developing feelings for them.


    But Marg was special. And-


    I loved her.


    And I had to get rid of this guilt, this pain somehow.


    ***


    Flying never felt so taxing.


    My heart was pumping and my chest, burning.


    My feet were going cold while my palms were sweating.


    And my knees were shaking.


    Nervous.


    But, I still flew through the sky, through the clouds.


    To Marg!


    And yet with every passing second, I was having more and more second thoughts. What if-


    What if.


    What if she never-


    Sigh.


    I couldn''t think.


    ''Just fly!''


    So, I stopped my thoughts altogether.


    I''d deal with everything once I got there.


    For now.


    Just fly.


    ***


    Bahrain was a West Asian Ind nation.


    And Marg''s father owned one-fourth of the country.


    It wasn''t funny.


    And their mansion? I could see it even from a mile up.


    It wasn''t as big as the Battlesuin mansion but definitely damn close.


    But I was more worried about what to do about Marg.


    So, I descended.


    And once Inded, I saw kids ying around.


    Some servants going through the grapevines while others, doing other kinds of work.


    Apart from the mansion, everything looked like the countryside. It was odd howrge this whole field was: I couldn''t see an end. Not a single house in sight: there were barns here and there though.


    ''Then that church she talked about?''


    Anyway, I had to first find Marg.


    And so- "Excuse me!" I grabbed a kid. "Know where Marg, Margeretta is?"


    "Marg?" One of the kids said: her pronunciation was more like ''Mag''. "There." She pointed.


    She just pointed at the mansion.


    That''s it.


    Sigh.


    Oh well.


    I guess I should have started from there.


    So, I just took a deep breath and headed straight for the door.


    ''Just stay calm.'' As long as I got my point across, as long as I spoke honestly and faced this problem head-on, I was confident it''d work out.


    That didn''t mean, my heart didn''t quiver though.


    Knock! Knock!


    ''Get ready to be pped silly Helio¡­ get ready to be pped¡­''

 Chapter 296 - Face Your Problems (Part Two)

    Chapter 296 ¨C Face Your Problems (Part Two)


    I slowly entered the house. A maid weed me in.


    My throat was awfully dry while I was getting drenched by sweat.


    What the hell was wrong with my body?


    "I will inform the master at once." The maid was about to leave.


    But that didn''t matter.


    What mattered was that I was here for Marg.


    "Do you know where I might find Marg?"


    "I believe she is in her mother''s chambers by the west terrace. Would you like to go there, first?"


    This was count Melheim''s house. And I was trespassing. He''d be my father-inw soon and since he was the master of this house, I had to pay my respects to him first.


    I sure as hell wasn''t going to do that though.


    "Yeah."


    "Alright then, I will lead you." Her English was good but not quite perfect. The same went for her ent. But the fact that she was readily epting what I said was proof that she recognized me quite well. "She is probably taking a bath." The maid nodded to another maid nearby and then started walking. "This way."


    With this amount of sweat, I also needed a shower.


    But for the time being, I just needed to see Marg.


    ***


    We walked.


    And with every step, with every reverb, my heart tightened.


    I could hear my heart; I could feel my pulse.


    My breath, erratic.


    Nervous- the term didn''t do the feeling justice.


    I was beyond nervous.


    My chest felt odd and I wanted to crawl into a hole.


    But I had to go on.


    I just had to.


    ''I have to face this. I did this!''


    "We have arrived."


    We were at the end of the corridor leading to a terrace. There was just one door to the right.


    I gave it a knock.


    Nothing happened and no one responded.


    A slight tingle on my chest. Very unpleasant.


    I was about to knock again- when-


    "Yes?" The door swung open. "Oh, Helio! I thought you''d being tomorrow." It was Marg''s mother. She wasn''t dressed in a maid''s uniform but rather a long dress. She looked far too normal: nothing extravagant. And if her expression was anything to go by, she probably didn''t know about the little skit I pulled. Which was great.


    The maid bowed and left.


    I cleared my throat. "Well, I figured it was time we met face to face, you know." And yeah, I still couldn''t make shit up.


    I never really liked lying. And that was because I couldn''t lie. I had this bad habit of always ending up speaking the truth. And sometimes I tried to lie because of that, to gradually became able to get out of certain situations and not make them too awkward.


    But really, I couldn''t.


    "Well," She paused. "Come in."


    ***


    This was awkward.


    We were alone in the room.


    It wasn''t that big of a room: some furniture here, decorations there. But it did have an attached shower. And the water was running.


    "Have some tea, or would you prefer iced tea?" Marg''s mother looked over at me.


    I was drenched. I wasn''t wearing anything underneath this thin shirt, so my skin was pretty much visible.


    "Just tea is fine." I sat down on a wooden chair.


    The air-con was working pretty well though. The temperature wasfortable and I was feeling better: still sweating. And I had a feeling this wouldn''t stop till I talked face to face with Marg.


    Marg''s mother went over to the corner and boiled a kettle. She was actually simr to Marg- in terms of looks. But perhaps she was slightly taller, almost as tall as me. Her hair was longer than Marg and unlike Marg, she didn''t have blue hair; rather, brown.


    "Milk? Oh yeah, you had trouble digesting milk¡­"


    A scent was in the air. It only made me more nervous.


    "A little is fine."


    I just looked around.


    There was a painting in this room, some pictures here and there. A ss vase with artificial flowers and a broken clock. No Holo.


    This did not look like a room of modern standards.


    The tea was ready.


    ''That was fast.''


    I took a sip- it was good.


    "Though this is our first meeting, I''m not really sure what to say." I took sips. So, I ended up being a bit too honest.


    ''Good going, now she''ll take us for a weirdo.''


    Was it me or was the shadow talking a bit too muchtely?


    Oh yeah, the seal¡­.


    "Yes, I too find myself at a loss for words." She took a seat on a chair of her own and sat in front of me. "However, there are some things I''d like to make sure. Though at this point, I suppose they don''t matter."


    The water stopped.


    There were no other sounds.


    This ce was eerily quiet.


    "Some things?"


    "Yes." She cleared her throat. "Do you love Marg?"


    "Yes." There was no doubt in my mind. I didn''t care what love even was, but surely it wasn''t different from this. The feeling of belonging, the fear of losing her. The feeling of making her happy, being happy with her. This had to be love.


    "Do you love any other girls?" She spoke but trod carefully.


    "I can''t say I haven''t developed feelings for others." I didn''t want to lie, not here, not again. "But they haven''t gone to that stage yet. And if Marg says so, I''ll stay away from everyone. Marg matters more."


    She let out an exhale. "Well, you heard him, why don''t you hear him out?" She looked back.


    The bathroom door swung open and Marg came out. She was dressed; her hair, still wet.


    Marg didn''t say anything and just walked my way. Once she was here, she grabbed my arm and gave her mother a nce. "We''ll be back."


    And everything went purple.


    ***


    I couldn''t say anything.


    More like I couldn''t bring myself to.


    I hadn''t closed my eyes, so I could see the ck things around us.


    I could see them searching through the darkness.


    We''d teleported, or in the middle of teleportation.


    Marg didn''t quite look at me; her gaze was at the distance. But she did grab my hand tight.


    Her scent, that familiar scent drifted. It put me at ease but at the same time, made me even more nervous.


    The purple lining cleared, and was reced by severe light instead.


    It stung; the light was too intense.


    It was hard to keep my eyes open even when I was trying to shield my eyes with my hand.


    "I used to spend a lot of time here when I was young," Marg said, her voice normal. She let go and walked ahead.


    My eyes adjusted; the pain dissipated.


    We were in the middle of a field. Grass,rge soft grass that drowned my ankle like it was nothing.


    There was just one apple tree here and nothing else.


    We headed for the tree.

 Chapter 297 - Conviction

    Chapter 297 ¨C Conviction


    The apples here were rather on the pink side.


    And there were plenty, like a lot!


    "You can have one if you want. This tree was nted by my mother- or so she imed."


    "Don''t mind if I do." I jumped up high and plucked two apples.


    I gave one to Marg and took a bite of one myself.


    Sweet, crunchy, and tart. Perfect.


    Delicious.


    My heart was pounding. I was desperately trying to hide the fact that I couldn''t even breathe properly. So, eating an apple did distract me for a second.


    Something was different though. For one, Marg wasn''t running away.


    She was here. Right here.


    Just waiting for my response.


    And I had to do this.


    My breath shook, my chest shivered.


    This was it. I took another bite of out the apple and chewed.


    Finished chewing: "I love you." I looked straight into her eyes. "I''m gonna be honest. I did that on my own. And I''m reflecting. It hurts, it really does when I think you were hurt. I''m sorry. I won''t say I don''t have feelings for them, cause I don''t want to lie. But, but I do love you. And my love for you won''t end. I''ll limit my interactions with them and try to distance myself. I''ll only marry you and stay by you and-" I took another deep breath, got on my knees, and moved my apple forward. ''Where''s a ring when you need one?'' "Will you marry me?"


    We''d actually talked about rings before. But Marg said she didn''t need one. Besides, no one wore rings these days anyway.


    She didn''t say a word. She just stood there, looking at me. she didn''t show any emotions. She just stared straight ahead.


    Every second felt like an eternity.


    Every second hurt.


    What if she said no?


    What if she left me?


    What if she thought I was lying?


    But I wasn''t.


    I was prepared.


    And-


    "Of course!" She jumped in my arms, hugged me so tight it actually hurt. "You dummy." For a second her emotions ran wild.


    And now I realized she was also shaking.


    Her heart was racing faster than mine.


    She''d been through a lot too. Of course, she did.


    I gently grabbed her back with my palm.


    Neither of us said anything.


    I was d.


    Too d.


    I was so afraid. I thought she''d leave. I did want to believe she wouldn''t since we loved each other, but I couldn''t stop fearing the otherwise. I couldn''t stop fearing the unknown.


    "I know you love me. And I might have overreacted a little," she said, after a long pause.


    "No," I rubbed her back. "You didn''t. That was a totally normal response."


    If anything, that was a mild response. If I''d seen her with someone else, in bed, I''d have been more than just furious.


    And yet, I acted like a hypocrite, told her I loved her and ended up sleeping with another girl.


    So, yeah, her reaction was mild if nothing else.


    "Even so." She let go of me and just stared at my eyes. "I''m really selfish and that''s why I want our wedding to be just ours." She paused for a moment.


    "I did say, I''d limit the interactions and-"


    She put a finger on my lips. "I''d love to have you all for myself. But, I can''t deny their love for you and I know you have feelings for that snake already."


    Well, I certainly couldn''t hide that from her.


    But wasn''t she the one who wanted to chop their heads off or something?


    And yet, she was sacrificing her happiness- for mine or rather, she was thinking about the bigger picture.


    "Then you''re saying-"


    "You''re free to flirt and stuff but for our first month, don''t sleep with them. And for the first two months of our marriage, you''re not allowed to get married again." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Deal?"


    "Deal."


    I was totally prepared to forsake everything for Marg. And yet- and yet, she was more prepared than me.


    "Also, these apples are still unripe." Marg finally took my apple and gave it a bite. "They''re good though." The way she talked with a mouthful was far too cute. "But maybe a bit too sour."


    "Well, I liked them." I always had a soft spot for sour things anyway.


    I let Marg finish eating and when she did, I gently held her and our mouths connected.


    She smelled like apples.


    She also tasted like apples.


    ''Okay, apple thoughts, out!''


    I could feel her pulse. Her heart was racing and so was mine.


    I was getting hot again. And just when the sweat had dried too!


    Exhale!


    Marg broke into giggles and the kiss ended but we couldn''t look away from each other.


    "Since you''re here and all, you''d have to meet father," Marg said, after a while.


    We took a seat by the apple tree, looking at the distance.


    There was nothing here but just grass and some apple trees here and there.


    Some birds were flying in the sky and maybe one or two wild animals were around. But for the most part, this ce was quiet and tranquil.


    "Yeah, I guess I had to deal with him and thank him sooner orter."


    Marg giggled. "Let''s notplicate things too much, okay?"


    "I''ll try my best."


    We still had our wedding tomorrow. It was better to not antagonize the guy now.


    She giggled harder and rested her head on my shoulder. "I love you."


    "I love you too."


    The fragrance of the apples and the grass around us enveloped the whole area. I just hadn''t paid attention till now.


    And then I saw something just a meter away from me. A green caterpir.


    And then the thought dawned upon me.


    ''Holy shit, we''re in bug eutopia!''


    "Maybe we should go?" I said, trying my best to contain the chaos and not shiver like a moron.


    "Just a minute longer." Marg was smiling, looking at the distance.


    ''A minute, just a minute! Just a minute¡­''


    Yeah, it wasn''t working.


    But for both our sakes, I tried to focus only on Marg and calmed my heart.


    It wasn''t having much effect but I still tried my best.


    ''One Marg¡­ two Marg¡­''

 Chapter 298 - Was This Really Okay?

    Chapter 298 ¨C Was This Really Okay?


    We''d gone back and this time, Marg only teleported in front of the house, not inside.


    Things were slightly different.


    As in, children weren''t ying and no one was doing any work. Actually, no one was out.


    I had a bad feeling about all this.


    "Do I dare knock?" I said out loud to one in particr.


    Marg giggled but knocked anyway.


    The door opened and we went in.


    Colorful.


    That was the first thought that came into my mind.


    Things were colorful, too colorful.


    Decorations were everywhere. This house looked far too normal just an hour ago.


    Now, it was anything but normal.


    And there was a certain fragrant scent in the air.


    "They promised to decorate only after tomorrow. I guess shouldn''t have expected them to be keeping that promise." Marg was back to her usual self.


    ''Hey, I heard nothing about all this!''


    Actually, I heard nothing about the wedding at all. At this point, was this even my wedding?


    "What do we do now?" I whispered.


    Marg was actually going to stay behind. She wanted me to say hi to her father before leaving, as not doing so would be disrespectful and all. They were nobles, after all.


    Along with the decorations, the servants and the maids were also dressed pretty nicely.


    Everyone had a smile. A very convincing fake smile.


    They were just standing there, doing nothing.


    "We wait."


    And just as she said that steps came from above.


    This was the entrance, and in front of us was a stairway that led up to three floors. It wasn''t spiraled, rather it was going up in a zig-zag motion.


    And this ce was rather spacious too, almost like this was the ballroom or something. Or maybe it was?


    "Wee!" The voice came from up.


    Melheim wasing down.


    Once he got down, he came towards us with a smile. He had this very fancy looking red and ck suit.


    "Wee to my humble abode." He made a courtly bow.


    All the servants followed suit.


    The hell was I supposed to do now?


    Marg cleared her throat and bowed.


    I followed her lead.


    ''Why the hell are we all bowing?''


    Everyone returned to their original posture: at least, the bowing part was behind us.


    "This is anything but humble," I said. I wasn''t mocking him. I was genuinely impressed. "This ce is huge."


    Obviously, I was referring to the fields.


    "Surely you jest." He chuckled. "Compared to your estate, this is nothing." He smiled and looked at me. "A Romswell and a Battlesuin. I''d have never imagined." I did not like where this was going. "But I was under the impression you''d arrive tomorrow. And so, I''m sorry you had to witness such a shameful disy of decorations. I assure you, everything will be ready by tomorrow."


    When the hell did I have an estate?


    And wait, this was shameful?


    These people did all this in merely an hour.


    And yet, this ce had more decorations than Dan''s house when he got married: and the guy was mafia leader for crying out loud! His house was so lit, we could see it from a mile above!


    Anyway, "No, it''s fine." I had no idea what to say. Was it even right to say something? "And I was about to leave anyway." I turned to my left. "I''ll see you tomorrow," I said to Marg.


    He chuckled with ''ha ha ha''s'' and came for a handshake. "Take care of my daughter."


    ''Don''t hit him. Don''t hit him Helio.''


    Yeah, it was hard to control all the emotions. Just thinking what this guy made Marg go through¡­ He was a natural chameleon.


    But I also had to acknowledge Marg existed because of this guy and we were currently living free for him too. So, for the time being, I just grabbed his hand, gave it a shake. "I will."


    That said, I gave Marg a wink and started heading out.


    No one stopped me and I thought Marg wouldn''t say anything but then- "I''ll be waiting," she said.


    I turned around and found her smiling. I also smiled and quickly got out of the house and lifted off.


    Once in the air, I let out a sigh.


    ''That was close.''


    I almost punched the dude for no reason at all.


    Since when did I have such problems with controlling my rage?


    ***


    I got back home.


    And frankly, I was in a much better mood.


    Everyone still treated me a bit coldly.


    But yeah, I was definitely in a better mood.


    Lately, I often myself in the living room, mindlessly watching the Holo TV. I didn''t even pay attention to what I watched anymore. I just watched.


    It was weird.


    Footsteps came this way.


    I could tell by the scent, it was Raea, I didn''t even have to look.


    "I''m sorry." She sat down next to me. "I''d gone too far and now all that happened because of me and-"


    "Don''t bother. Marg already forgave me. Though what she''s going to do to you, I''m not sure. And well, we''re not going to talk for two whole months from now on unless it''s important." So, I stood up. "Okay?"


    The least I talked to others, the less the chance of me screwing up.


    "Okay?" She spoke slowly and tilted her head in confusion. "So that was okay and you are fine now?"


    "Maybe?"


    Honestly, stuff happened so fast I wasn''t even sure.


    I''d gone to Bahrain and came back too.


    Things happened too fast.


    Raea cleared her throat. "In that case, I guess I can hold back for two months." She winked and walked out.


    ''Wait what?''


    Could it have been that, things were actually prenned?


    ''Did she anticipate this?''


    Yeah, I should have known.


    That girl was too shrewd from the start.


    ''Calm down, Helio, calm down.'' Yeah, things did go terribly but, in the end, everything worked out.


    Marg forgave me. And nothing too terrible happened.


    My image was kind of tarnished though.


    ''But wait, don''t my family think I''m a scumbag now?''


    Well¡­.


    Shit.

 Chapter 299 - The Wedding (Part One)

    Chapter 299 ¨C The Wedding (Part One)


    The rest of the day went quietly.


    No one talked to me much.


    At dinner, though, I stood up before starting. "I''m sorry if I offended any of you. I lost control and did something terrible. I''d gone to Marg''s ce and apologized to her." What was I apologizing for? I didn''t know. What I''d done was wrong. And there wasn''t much I could do about it now. After all, it was already done.


    But to improve my already bottom-tier image, I had to at least try.


    Today we had grandma with us and that was about it. Mom and Elsa were eating. Raea and Aria weren''t here.


    The bunny maid was just in the corner.


    "Well, sit down," Mom said, not quite looking at me. "It was only a matter of time, I suppose." Her voice was quiet.


    We all started eating.


    Matter of time?


    What?


    "What she means is," Grandma paused. "We already suspected you were in love with other girls too."


    I knew they knew.


    Mom and Elsa had the best hearing in this house. And I had a feeling, the bunny girl had a simr hearing. Grandma meanwhile, was the oldest and she understood things a bit too much. They all knew.


    "That''s where you''re wrong." I didn''t look at them. "I wasn''t in love with Raea. And yet, I just did it for the pleasure of it. I was really distracted, I was really," Sigh. "That was just an excuse. I did it. And that''s it."


    Yeah, I had too much stuff on my mind. Yeah, I had way too much stress. But at the end of the day, everything was just an excuse. I had to face that.


    And I was reflecting on it. The guilt was eating me alive.


    But I wanted to move ahead.


    After all, what was done, was done.


    "But you n to wed them eventually, correct?" Grandma said. "Women aren''t tools Helio. There are all sorts of people in this world. Some sleep with hundreds of women, nevermit, and suffer an endless spiral. Others, stick to just one and sometimes end up unhappy for the rest of their lives. And there are those who swear to never look at another woman just to do it anyway. There are all sorts of people in this world. No one can guarantee you happiness. But only few are brave enough to just say, ''screw your system. I''d rather have my own way''. Of course, I''m not saying you marrying more girls would be a good thing. Your grandfather had two wives and a-"


    Mom cleared her throat. "Let''s just say, we''re not mad at you. As you eventually n on marrying them and taking responsibility. But don''t do anything to jeopardize your marriage. You''re young and you''re hormonal. But that''s why you should be patient: gaining experience from mistakes is good but learning from the mistakes of your predecessors is better. And try not to take in more, please. Things will get very ugly if they start being jealous of each other and you''ll have to live through hell for that."


    Well, they were right.


    But were we seriously having this conversation over dinner?


    ''You were the one who brought it up.''


    Seriously, was it me, or was the shadow just talking too much?


    ''Just your imagination.''


    What the hell!


    "Something wrong?" Mom said.


    "No, no, nothing."


    Mom was thest person I wanted to say, ''hey, my seal is weakening.''


    Elsa obviously didn''t talk to me.


    Mom and grandma though did talk to me a bit more though. We talked about the wedding and their ns and all that.


    Apparently, we were going to have breakfast at home and leave as early as ten, tomorrow.


    ***


    I went up, locked the doors, and rolled around on the bed.


    It was too exciting.


    ''I''m getting married tomorrow.''


    I buried my face in the pillow whenever the thought came to mind.


    Inhale!


    Exhale.


    Time moved slow.


    I didn''t feel sleepy.


    This awkward nervousness was something else.


    I couldn''t rest, I couldn''t stay quite sane either.


    It was hard to describe. The feeling.


    I kept my eyes closed. They were staying shut and I felt sleepy, yet, I couldn''t sleep.


    I''d drank a lot of water, so I had to go to the bathroom.


    ''IT''s been over two hours, go to sleep already!'' Lecturing myself wasn''t doing anything either.


    Apparently, stressing about not being able to sleep, makes you not being able to sleep.


    Sigh.


    So, instead, I started fantasizing about the marriage, the stuff we''d do after and¡­ yeah, now I was excited for a different reason.


    Sigh.


    ***


    I woke up excited.


    With a stain on my pants.


    Perhaps I was too excited.


    I took a shower, had breakfast, and put on a suit.


    Yawn. Still a little sleepy but the excitement was keeping me awake, no problem.


    I owned two suits. One- I''d never worn before, which I was going to wear today. A red suit with a blue bowtie. And the other, my funeral suit which I only wore at funerals. A ck suit with a red tie.


    The perfume was specially selected by mom and well, I didn''t like it.


    I was zing through everything and it was roughly 9. So, we had an extra hour.


    But I couldn''t calm down.


    I felt like this edgy kid who just had too much candy!


    I could run! And I should have run. At least that would have drained some energy.


    ''But that''d also make me sweat.''


    Thest thing I wanted was to smell at my own wedding.


    Sirgh!


    I walked circles in my own room.


    But time wasn''t moving.


    So, instead, I just thought about the wedding n.


    The wedding would be a small wedding at Marg''s ce. we''d get married at a church just at the border of Melheim''s domain and then have a small party at his ce. Afterward, we''de back home and throw arge party here, tomorrow. My friends and our rtives would be invited here, not there.


    I actually liked this. I didn''t want to spend much time in Melheim''s ce anyway.


    Knock! Knock!


    "The door''s open."


    Actually, it was wide open, but someone still knocked.


    "Mom''s calling you down," Elsa said from the outside.


    "I''ll be there." I started heading out. "You look good."


    She was wearing a pink glittery dress: her back partially open. White gloves and ck stockings.


    And was that a pearl ne? Where the hell did she get that?


    "Thanks, not too shabby yourself." Her voicecked enthusiasm. I was the culprit, I guess. She came over and fixed my tie. "At least learn to tie a tie."


    Well, I was only going to wear this once, so¡­.


    I took a deep breath. "Let''s find some good Tuna on our way back." I didn''t know what else to say.


    She half chuckled; half stared at the floor. "Sure." But she responded, looking straight into my eyes. She probably wasn''t okay with this.


    But I wasn''t going to change my mind. She was my sister and nothing was going to change that.


    Anyway, we headed down.


    Apparently, someone had arrived.. And that someone was dying.

 Chapter 300 - The Wedding (Part Two)

    Chapter 300 ¨C The Wedding (Part Two)


    The geezer was dying.


    Or rather, he was dying toe along.


    He was also dying, in every sense of the word.


    "He never improved?"


    I hadn''t seen the geezer yesterday, all day. I was so concerned about my shit, that I forgot to even check on him, though the guy ended up this way, frankly, because of me.


    "We hospitalized him," Grandma said. "The venom seems to be from a primal vampire at the very least. So, unless he just rests, he''ll end up dead. But he snuck out and when he finally made it here, copsed."


    The guy was on the couch, just grinning and sweating. He looked terrible. "I''m fine. Just carry me, and it''s all good."


    I went closer to him, sat down. "But you''ll have to get better first. Think about it, it''ll mean a lot to me if you were there, but- but if something happens to you, how will I forgive myself? I don''t know you geezer, and you don''t know me. We''ve barely known each other for half a week. But we''re rted by blood. I don''t know, really, about how much you care about me or how much I mean to you: It''s impossible to tell, really. After all, we''re all different and who knows what goes on people''s heads. But honestly, I''d have a really bad day if something happens to you. So can you please just stay in the hospital till you get better?"


    His grin disappeared. "Who the hell taught him that monologue?" He red at mom and grandma.


    Both of them were just grinning.


    No one said anything.


    "Besides, we''ll have a party here anyway. So, you better get better before that," I said.


    As for the monologue itself, I had no idea what came over me. I spoke without even thinking. And after saying it, felt embarrassed.


    He clicked his tongue. The guy had a very bad fever. "Fine." But he could be reasoned with.


    We called the hospital and the geezer was escorted out.


    He didn''t look good.


    I had this weird feeling. This weird feeling that maybe- maybe I should have allowed him toe along.


    What if-


    "Don''t worry. That guy doesn''t know when to quit," Grandma said. "He''ll be fine."


    "I sure hope so."


    "Well, we better get going," Mom said. She was done with everything. Her dress was simr to Elsa''s but just with purple color.


    The four of us; mom, Elsa, me, and grandma would go to the wedding.


    "How are we going to get there, again?"


    Last I checked, they didn''t really say much about ne tickets.


    "Private jet?" Grandma asked.


    Private jets?


    The very two words put my mind on an endless spiral of doom.


    "You can''t be serious-" my eyes twitched.


    I sighed, my palm on my face.


    I knew where this was going, and I did not like that.


    We still got out of the house; the bunny maid stayed behind.


    Once we got out, though-


    ''Oh wow, it is a jet!''


    A ck jet, with four engines.


    A fighter jet no less.


    ***


    NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW


    A thunderous roar of what seemed like two enormous sheets of paper being folded in two echoed far and wide, as we blitzed off into the horizon.


    Fast!


    This damn ne was fast!


    "YAHOOO!" and whenever it dived a little, Elsa iled her arms and started screaming.


    As if the bone-crushing gravity of this damn thing wasn''t enough!


    There were only three seats, so we were packed tight.


    I didn''t know who the hell was piloting this damn thing, but the guy was often chuckling and I could hear him!


    And when Elsa screamed in joy, the guy just spun the damn ne ever more.


    The hell!


    Why the hell did I think this was a good idea!


    Arghhh!


    ***


    Pant! Pant!


    Huff!


    Puff!


    I was fighting for my life.


    Sweat here.


    Groans there.


    Tears everywhere.


    It was a twenty-seven-minute flight.


    And I could count every frigging second.


    The sliding doors above us opened.


    And I jumped out, rolled on the grass.


    "Oh, sweet, sweet grass."


    My sweats were still there, this suit was already ruined, so who cared!


    It was a miracle, I didn''t puke.


    ''I''m never getting back on that thing again!''


    Even the ne pretenders were better than this thing. At least they had the decency to make the flight a bit nicer.


    "Ahem!" Someone cleared her throat behind me. "Let''s try to be a bit civil?" It was mom.


    Speaking of mom and the rest, they were fine. Elsa in particr was exhrated.


    ''The hell is wrong with this family?''


    Anyway, we''d arrived at therge fields of Melheim''s domain. I couldn''t see his house anywhere.


    But I could see a rather peculiar building in the distance.


    It looked like a haunted mansion; a tall, wooden, ck two-story building. It looked like anything but a church.


    Just the ominous color was rubbing me the wrong way.


    "We didn''te to the wrong ce?"


    Because there was no frigging way this pilot and this damn ne were going to get us to the right ce.


    Besides, there was no one outside of the haunted building thing. No decorations, no nothing.


    And the damn thing could break apart any moment- or so I got the feeling.


    "This is the ce." Mom led the pack.


    And to my horror, I found myself walking alongside them.


    The grass here wasrge- pretty much reaching up to my shin. They weren''t cared for much, I guess.


    There were two, maybe three lemon trees near the house. Those were rather old trees.


    The house meanwhile, was worn out and didn''t have much if any structural integrity.


    "It would hold, right?"


    If the damn thing decided to copse on us, that''d be a major shame. And I hadn''t even bought my saber either.


    So, barriers were out of the picture.


    "Oh, it''ll be fine." Grandma chuckled. "Probably."


    Yeah, that was thest thing I wanted to hear.


    Just outside the door, I paused. The footing creaked way too much.


    Weirdly I was breathless. Not from the almost dying experience of the jet, but instead, from the nervousness.


    ''I''m getting married!''


    IT was exciting but now, it was scary. Just momentster half of my freedom would cease to be. I''d be forever bound to her and I''d take care of her as she''d take care of me.


    ''I''m getting married¡­''


    I didn''t get to knock.


    Instead, the door opened- or rather fell inside.


    Marg''s mother dodged and with a smile, weed us in.


    Sufficed to say, the inside wasn''t better than the outside.


    ''Seriously, would this ce really hold?''


    Needless to say, my nervousness of marriage was reced by my undying wish to just get this over with and get out of this house.

 Chapter 301 - The Wedding (Part Three)

    Chapter 301 ¨C The Wedding (Part Three)


    Creak.


    The floor was barely holding. It was made of wood. But with every step, I could feel the wood slightly bending. Creaking.


    Even baby steps were making at least some sounds.


    And yet, children were running around like it was no big deal.


    There were some banners and some paper designs here and there. They were probably made by the kids as the designs were rather childish.


    This was a two-story building and the bottom floor had onerge room: this one. And some other smaller ones which I purposely avoided looking at.


    There were about nine adults here?


    Most of them were maids, while one of them was the minister. The other, some guy I didn''t know.


    Marg wasn''t here.


    The wood was ck in color. The stairs leading up had cobwebs and there was dust everywhere. This was an abandoned building, that was clear.


    "Why do I get the feeling this ce is haunted?" I whispered to my right, where mom was.


    "That''s because it is," She whispered back.


    I looked to my right and mom wasn''t here. She was way back.


    It was Marg''s mother. And she had this big smile.


    ''The hell?''


    Crack!


    Nervously I took a step forward and kind of broke through the floor. My feet went right through till my knee, smooth. I was d there weren''t any basements.


    It was hurting to pull it out, so I had to crush the floor a bit more.


    Great start!


    It was awkward, to say the least.


    ''How the hell are the kids not falling down?''


    Anyway, I stood in front of the altar and just stayed like that. I tried my best not to move and create another hole.


    I didn''t see any orphanage here, and this building didn''t look like a church either. If anything, this ce looked like an abandoned building which was partially used as a temporary church, or something along those lines.


    There weren''t any seats, so people probably used to pray on the floor, or something?


    This room in particr was probably the best-looking here. Because no matter where I looked past this ce, there were cobwebs everywhere.


    ''Why did she choose this ce of all ces?''


    Marg mentioned something about there being an orphanage. But so far, I saw nothing.


    Speaking of Marg, she was nowhere to be found. Her mother was still here though.


    Some kids were ying around and they were probably her half brothers and sisters. Some maids and servants were here.


    But not Marg.


    "Where-"


    Just when I was about to say something though, Marg entered along with a guy.


    The guy being, dad.


    Dad was escorting Marg through the front door, the very same door which just copsed moments ago.


    They carefully avoided the ce I''d cracked and walked this way.


    Marg was in a white- rather white- dress. It was a wedding dress- a dress I hadn''t seen before: the frills were everywhere. She had this rather transparent veil. I could see her smile. Normally she didn''t smile in front of other people, but- today was definitely an exception.


    She was gorgeous.


    Just as she reached the alter, dad stood aside, and Marg stood in front of me.


    Ahem. The minister cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today¡­" He went on.


    But my attention was on Marg. "I was doubting I got lost or something. Didn''t realize you meant this ce."


    And when did dad get here, anyway?


    "It wasn''t like this, you know. This ce was really bustling just some years ago. But¡­" She became quiet. "Are you mad that I chose this ce?"


    "I''m not really bothered. I was the one who said you could choose. Besides, this ce has memories for you."


    Her smile widened slightly as she just stood next to me.


    Rings were irrelevant.


    We were just waiting for the magic words.


    "And so, in light of God, in presence of the angels¡­. To sway darkness, to make light, to prove worth¡­" And yet, the guy just went on. At one point, he wasn''t even talking about marriage stuff. Granted I didn''t know much about these things, but even I could tell, he was winging half of this.


    I sighed and moved my head slightly towards him. "Just get to the end," I mumbled.


    Marriage was just a ceremony anyway. It was just an official way of dering that we loved each other, to the world.


    The minister again cleared his throat. "Do you Theodore ck take Margeretta Ivygood as yourwfully wedded wife?"


    "Wait, who?" I said. "And isn''t it Rodwich?"


    I was very much confused, to say the least. And didn''t Marg switch names to Rodwich?


    and who the hell was this ck guy!


    Almost everyone was quite confused just like me.


    Marg went closer to the minister and whispered something.


    He again cleared his throat. Did he have a sore throat or something? "Um¡­ sorry. Do you Helio Jintel take Margeretta Rodwich as your wife?" He was genuinely asking the question.


    I could hear a certain someone giggling in the background. I kind of wanted to yell at her, but- yeah¡­


    I had this undying urge to smack this guy first but- "I do."


    Everyone was oddly quiet. It was almost as though they were taking this more seriously than me and the minister.


    Everyone other than that brat of a sister who was still busy giggling.


    "Do you Mag¡­ take him as yourwfully wedded wif- Ahem, husband?"


    Seriously, I wanted to smack him. And wait, did this guy and Marg know each other or something?


    They probably did, I guess.


    I hadn''t paid attention before but the guy looked a little tipsy.


    "I do." But Marg just looked at me, and just stared. Her voice flowed smoothly. "I do." She repeated.


    "By the power vested in me by the almighty, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."


    Yeah, you didn''t need to tell me twice.


    I took a step, just standing an inch away. My hand secured her back, as my mouth went for her mouth.


    A light kiss, but a kiss regardless.


    ps, and cheers.


    And so,


    I got married.

 Chapter 302 - The Wedding (Part Four)

    Chapter 302 ¨C The Wedding (Part Four)


    Crack!


    The moment we were done kissing though, a toddler jumped up and promptly broke through the floor.


    He didn''t go through, his knees sure did.


    Everyone broke intoughter. Even his fellow kids.


    The kid sure didn''t find it funny though as he started crying, wailing and iling his hands back and forth. Apparently, he''d scrapped his knees.


    His mother rushed to him andforted the poor guy. It wasn''t that serious though.


    "I guess we should head back," Marg said.


    It''d copse any minute now- at least that''s the feeling I got.


    "Yeah." I had to agree.


    I didn''t want to spend another minute in this ce. And I had a feeling everyone else also felt the same way.


    We all carefully started going out.


    "What was this ce anyway?" I said.


    I made extra effort not to break the floor again.


    "A ce where we used to hang out." Marg paused. "It used to be a smalltime orphanage. The ce was abandoned after a certain incident eight years ago."


    Eight years ago? Was eight years really enough for a good building to be like this?


    There were about seven-eight rooms on the second floor- or so Marg''s mother told me. There used to be nine children here and three nuns.


    This minister used to visit every Sundays. The guy really was a drunk but he cared for the kids- or so Marg imed.


    Anyway, we finally got out of the house. ''Is this ce vibrating?'' I had a bad feeling about that.


    And moments after we got out, the poor house copsed. It wasn''t a gradual one. One second it was there- the next, just rubbles. It didn''t even make much sound.


    Now granted, I thought it''d copse eventually. But, really, just as we got out?


    It seemed too freaky to be a coincidence.


    "This ce really just feels haunted." I didn''t feel any presence of ghosts or whatever though. Then again, I never felt those stuff in my life, so yeah.


    "That''s because it is," Marg paused. "I can still feel their presence. They were probably here to say farewell¡­"


    Her voice had this ominous tone to it.


    Wait¡­. Goodbye? So, all the kids and the nuns were dead? It wasn''t that they relocated, but rather, they were dead?


    Was she trying to scare me or something?


    I honestly didn''t have the guts to ask about it. Seemed like a very delicate subject.


    "Yeah, let''s not sense the dead. And weren''t you supposed to be afraid of ghosts?"


    Marg didn''t say anything. Rather, she just stared at me. And after a moment, the two of us, or rather, all of us started walking south.


    I wasn''t getting my answer, that was for sure. Then again, I guess this ce held a lot of sentimental value for her, so she was probably trying her best not to jump around and be scared. She was strong when it came to handling stuff, that was for sure.


    The poor ne and its pilot just sat there, smoking. The guy smoked through his helmet, never taking it off.


    "We''ll walk all the way back?"


    "They should be here to pick up us."


    We still kept on walking though.


    The grass wasrge and I was kind of squeezing Marg''s hand a bit too tight.


    There was nothing in sight but grass, trees-


    ''One Marg¡­ two Marg¡­''


    -and bugs.


    ***


    About three thousand yearster, a group of servants came our way with cars and whatnot.


    The ground was pretty solid, so it wasn''t a big deal. Our dresses were half ruined, so that was something: Mud and dirt with webs as bonus.


    We all got on board and roughly ten minutester, we got to the mansion.


    It was different. Very different.


    Banners here, flowers there; decorations everywhere.


    The servants were well-dressed and there was plenty of tables in the garden.


    Food, drinks, music; this ce was packed.


    "How much time are we spending here, again?" I whispered.


    "Enough to satisfy the guests and then we can leave," Marg whispered back. "I''d say an hour is good enough."


    There were a lot of guests and they were just waiting for us. Once they saw us, they kind of flocked around me and Marg.


    Some were speaking English while others were speaking stuff I didn''t know how to evenprehend.


    Apparently they weren''t family but rather famous people from all over the world. No wonder Melheim was so happy and supportive of this wedding.


    Before long Marg''s father, Melheim showed up, took us on a stage of sorts, said some words and we cheered. "TO Mag and HELIO!"


    Apparently, they were serving champagne.


    I didn''t care what anyone said and took a sip!


    A frizzy delight! Such bubbles. Such fragrance.


    Such magnificence!


    ''Aint this just Mountain dew??''


    I gave Marg a questioning stare and she came closer. "So, we had a talk. Your mom, me and Elsa," She whispered. "We think it''s better if you never try drinking since you haven''t already." She grinned. "Besides, I won''t either."


    I wanted to say, but that''s for me to decide, but in the end, I gave up.


    I never actually drank- at least that was my official standing, which was utterly bullshit. After all, mom did have beer in the fridge and as a responsible teenager I had to take a sip to find out what it was. One sip- led to one can and then to about four more.


    Needless to say, I couldn''t talk for a good two days after burning my throat and screwing my insides.


    Frail didn''t even begin to describe my condition. Afterwards, I dedicated myself to chocte milk instead.


    At the time mom didn''t spend much time at home, so she didn''t immediately realize that some cans were missing: she wasn''t that much of a drinker either. When she did realize though, I just made up an excuse like how Uncle was here and stuff happened.


    No wonder the guy held grudges.


    At the end of the day, I might or might have been pretty evil back then. I kind of missed those days¡­.


    Anyway, I didn''t really mind not drinking. It was never my thing. I was more like the ''I''m depressed so I''m gonna be depressed'' type of guy than ''I''m depressed so I''ll drowse it with alcohol'' type.


    It was weird, really.


    People started Apuding and- "To Helio and Mag!"


    We drank.


    ''Was I saying her name wrong all this time or something?''


    Surely, she''d have corrected me, right?


    Right?

 Chapter 303 - The Wedding (Part Five); Life Was Good

    Chapter 303 ¨C The Wedding (Part Five); Life Was Good


    The partysted for a good two hours.


    We met people, we ate stuff, we even sang together- Marg and I. I was tone-deaf.


    So that was something.


    Then again, I was weirdly excited.


    I had no idea I could be such a clown.


    The music, the sweet smell¡­ it was nice.


    Most of our friends and family would arrive tomorrow at our home party, so this didn''t really feel like a party. It was a party regardless but I just didn''t get the feeling.


    Still, it was fun to see people actually caring about us- which was probably fake.


    Okay, it was definitely fake.


    But still, it was fun.


    Marg didn''t have any maternal rtives other than just one uncle who couldn''t make it here. he''d be at our partyter on- or so she said.


    "I think it''s time we head back," Marg said.


    Speaking of heading back, how were we going to get back?


    "We''ll take the jet." Mom came over.


    "I''lleter," Marg''s mother also came over. They were awfully close.


    "Yeah, you can take dad with you. I''ll carry Marg instead." I was not getting on that ne, no thank you.


    Just the two of us, flying through the sky.


    Dad grimaced as he stared at the ne- which magically appeared just before we got here. Okay, okay, it flew here.


    The pilot guy never took off his helmet, he ate while still keeping the damn thing on.


    "I have bad memories with crafts like that," Dad admitted.


    "Yeah, me too. But I''ve gotta escort Marg back, so Good luck." I gave him a thumbs up.


    He grimaced some more.


    "Don''t worry, it''s fun!" Elsa started pulling on his arms.


    His cheeks twitched as he tried to smile. And failed miserably.


    "Take care of her." Marg''s mother touched my cheeks and then Marg''s.


    "I will."


    Melheim didn''t bothering to us. He was too busy with the guests. This was a grand opportunity for him to advertise his rtionship with both the Romswells and the Battlesuins, so I guess that mattered more.


    Anyway, we were basically done, so mom and the others headed for the ne.


    And that''s when I realized, "Dad you have something on your sleeve."


    "OH yeah!" He said, looking back. "This is Janel! And He''s Monro!" He pointed towards the other side. There was a horse there. Or rather a guy with the head of a horse who was happily chomping on a pine tree.


    I was speechless for a second.


    How the hell did I miss that?


    I tried to sound normal. "So, they really did get you here."


    The horse guy grinned, showing his wless teeth. I couldn''t make out what the beetle guy was trying to do though.


    "We should just go." I whispered to Marg.


    "Yeah." She came close and grabbed my arm. "You want to teleport?"


    "Nope. I''m going to carry you into the sunset!"


    She giggled.


    "Yor Leawing?" A kid came our way, still munching on a nugget.


    "OH hey. Yeah."


    It was Marg''s half-brother- the one who was with us for a few days. Other kids were also headed this way, even the one who''d scraped his knees.


    Some servants surrounded us. They actually had a genuine smile for once.


    "I''ll visit you." He had his mouthful.


    "Don''t talk with your mouth full, kid. And yeah, sure." I grabbed Marg tight. Carried her like a princess. She wrapped her hands around my neck and I could almost feel her racing heart. "BYE, EVERYONE!"


    We caught people''s attention and they all just waved.


    ''Just wave and smile.'' Since I couldn''t wave- Marg was doing it for me.


    And fly!


    ***


    Marg was holding me tight. She had a smile and her heart was racing.


    Mine was kind of too. We just got married!


    It seemed so surreal. But it was real.


    In my arms was my GF no more. She was now my wife.


    She actually smelled really good.


    I couldn''t say the same for me though.


    The sun was kind of in the middle of the sky- rather than near the edges. So, it was impossible to fly through the setting sun. We could have always just flown somewhere where the sun was setting- but that was impossible.


    After all, I was flying way too slowly.


    Reason being- wind.


    How the hell did I forget that I didn''t bring my saber?


    "Maybe, we ''should'' teleport," I said, after a while. "Though, I''m still not sure if we should." After all, who knew when something could go wrong?


    "It''ll be fine," Marg said. "You''re with me¡­" She brought her lips closer to mine.


    "I''m with you¡­"


    We kissed.


    And so, everything went purple and we teleported.


    ***


    We''d reached home before mom and the rest arrived.


    The outside of the house was moderately decorated- nothing fancy.


    But more importantly, a lot of our rtives were here. Mostly the uncles and the cousins.


    I had no idea they wereing today.


    All this time, I''d taken for granted that they wereing tomorrow.


    "The party was tomorrow, right?" I whispered to my left.


    "Nope."


    Shit.


    Party crackers, balloons, and all sorts of stuff went popping as we entered.


    "CONGRATULATIONS!"


    ***


    Mom and dad arrived about ten minutester.


    Dad looked awfully pale and ready to throw up. It was a miracle he didn''t.


    Meanwhile, the rest of them were fine.


    Oddly the horsehead guy and the beetle were here too. And here I thought they weren''ting. I never saw the horsehead guy getting on the ne though. So-


    ''Was there even enough space in the ne?''


    Oh well.


    Anyway, another party went underway.


    And one by one, the number of people just kept on increasing.


    Friends, family, teachers, distant rtives, yeah, this was going to be a packed party. Even the pilot entered the house.


    But unlike thest time, I actually felt at home- well, this was my home.


    And this odd sense of calm enveloped me.


    Life was good.

 Chapter 304 - Clyde Angelmen: To Her

    Chapter 304 ¨C Clyde Angelmen: To Her


    Clyde Angelmen was in a good mood.


    He was going to meet her today.


    There was a long line in front of him and everyone was going into a mildly decorated house.


    Some had gifts, while others had merely shown up. People were excited and so was he.


    People were standing in line to get ounted for. Apparently, one of the hosts had the brilliant idea that he wanted the names of everyone who was attending.


    Clyde didn''t like the gift-giving culture but today, today he''d bought a gift. After all, he had to make a good impression. No, he had to make a perfect impression!


    After all, this was his future brother-inw''s house!


    So, with a smile, and a package wrapped in a colorful wrapping, he headed straight to the door. Who cared about a line?


    People were staring at him, and some were even about to yell at him but then they realized, this guy wasn''t someone they wanted to mess with.


    In the end though- "Cutting in line Angelmen? Didn''t your parents teach you, it''s rude?" The woman said. She was the only one who spoke up.


    She was the only one who could.


    "Well," Clyde shed a smile. "They were too busy with themselves. So, that''s a no."


    He didn''t quite bat an eye at the woman- or rather at Miss Maire and just headed straight for the door. He didn''t care about anyone standing in his way. Not today.


    Miss Maire snorted but didn''t create a scene. This was a happy asion, there was no need for extra drama.


    "Clyde. Clyde Angelmen." Clyde proudly presented himself to the man who was keeping the names.


    The man just wrote Clyde''s name, took his gift, and- "Go on in."


    Music! Soft melody. ''Piano?''


    He couldn''t see who was ying or where the sound wasing from. He didn''t quite care.


    A fragrant scent- almost like ripe peaches. He didn''t like it; he didn''t hate it either.


    The atmosphere though- was really calm. There were maybe a hundred or so people in here? And fifty more who were just outside were about toe in soon.


    But this ce didn''t look crowded at all.


    The decorations were beautiful and elegant, the colors were¡­well¡­colorful. There was plenty of food and drinks and everyone was just having a good time.


    He didn''t see the groom or the bride anywhere.


    But he wasn''t here for them.


    He was here for someone else.


    He was here for love.


    But even after searching for a good ten minutes, he couldn''t find any of them.


    He even asked around but he got mixed answers. Some said they''d gone upstairs while others imed they were maybe in the other corner of the room?


    They weren''t.


    In the end, Clyde just decided to wait. This was a party and sooner orter the hosts would show up, right?


    Right?


    ***


    It was a big party.


    The room wasn''t that big but the crowd was.


    If they hadn''t renovated this ce, maybe this crowd would have never fitted.


    But the bride and groom were nowhere to be seen.


    Almost none of the new guests had seen them and even the old ones couldn''t quite say where they were.


    But since there was plenty of food and drinks, no one reallyined.


    Sandwiches, mac and cheese, fried shrimp, beef burgers, pizza, jello, cakes- there was plenty of food. Drinks mostly included Champagne, wine, and fresh juice. But chocte milk was also an option.


    Sigh. "Where the hell are they?" Clyde was getting very impatient.


    So impatient, he started drinking.


    He had a soft spot for champagne.


    ''Isn''t this stuff a bit too expensive?''


    Granted it wasn''t the best but the taste was still expensive in Clyde''s book. This was a wedding and the drinks were going to be served to almost everyone. So, did they really have to bring out expensive stuff?


    Clyde didn''t get it.


    But he wasn''t here for drinking. He still ended up drinking three half-sses though.


    Most of the guests were here. The hosts weren''t.


    ''Guess, it''s time I went up!''


    So, he had to make sure something didn''t happen to them. It wasn''t like he just wanted an excuse, okay?


    But just when he was about to head up the stairs-


    People starteding down.


    And he knew exactly who they were.


    He''d been trying to use his powers to find them for a long while now, but since there were too many people here, it was hard, really hard. But now, now that he knew where to look, he knew¡­


    His lips curled up, forming a grin. ''Finally.''


    After a minute, two people came down from the stairs. One male, one female. The bride and the groom. Behind them were some other people but they stayed way back.


    "Everyone. Thank you foring. This has been a wonderful day for me and I believe I speak for her as well. A wonderful day for both of us." The groom- Helio held Marg''s hand and just looked forward, smiling. "Mom, dad, grandma, uncle, and my family and friends, thank you for everything. This wouldn''t have been possible without you guys. And-" He turned to his side, staring at Marg''s eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for marrying me. I love you."


    Love. The word was cringe to Clyde even just a month ago. Now- now it made sense.


    Now he could understand the meaning.


    The pain and the happiness.


    "I love you too." Marg parroted the words back and smiled.


    They hugged.


    The couple mesmerized Clyde for a second that he forgot his primary goal.


    "Now, again, thank you foring, and please enjoy yourselves." Helio raised a ss. Where he got that from, Clyde couldn''t tell.


    ''Was he carrying that all this time, or something?''


    Everyone raised their sses and-


    Cheers!


    ***


    With that bit over, Clyde snapped back to reality.


    The party was going in full throttle. The couple was just in the middle of the room where almost everyone went to congratte them.


    But Clyde had a different reason to stare at them.


    After all, he was here for her. The girl of his dreams.


    And she was just behind the new couple.


    But to get to her, he had to cross very dangerous waters.


    Namely, her brother.


    Clyde gulped and took deep breaths.


    He''d done nothing wrong¡­ yet.


    And love was free. Anyone could love, so he could too. Besides, the girl''s brother was in love too, so he''d understand, right?


    Right?


    So- he took one step, then another and before long found himself just in front of Helio.

 Chapter 305 - Until That Happened

    Chapter 305 ¨C Until That Happened


    "OH hey, long time," Helio grinned.


    But Clyde could tell, the guy was still holding a grudge.


    Did he do something wrong? Or was the guy still mad at him for beingte on the payment?


    Either way, Clyde had to y this cool. "Yeah, long time. Congrats."


    What else could he say?


    "Thanks!" Helio shook his hands and gave him a hug.


    Clyde was not expecting one, so yeah¡­ before it got any weirder, he racked his brain. He proceeded to congratte the bride and that was that.


    And then the couple moved on to other guests.


    ''Well, that was easier-¡­''


    Clyde exhaled sharply and carefully passed Helio- heading straight for the girl.


    Straight to Elsa.


    "HI!" his heart raced.


    "Hi," Elsa said, a faint smile. She was alone.


    Was she waiting for someone or was she just trying to be near the newlywed couple? Clyde couldn''t tell and frankly, he wasn''t interested.


    "We met at the party the other day, my wild flo-" Clyde abruptly stopped. ''How the hell did it go again?''


    And he''d already messed up the first half too.


    All the lines he''d ever conjured up became a jumbled mess in his head.


    Elsa held a hand over her mouth to suppress the giggles, but it was toote.


    And theugh only made Clyde more conscious. ''Shit, she thinks I''m a weirdo!''


    There were no words between the two.


    Awkward.


    Silence.


    And the fact that Clyde could hear all the whispers around them quite clearly, wasn''t helping.


    ''Say something Clyde¡­ something¡­ anything!''


    "You-you look beautiful."


    Elsa was in a rather shy dress. She wasn''t showing off too much skin, but she did look gorgeous- to Clyde. "Oh, thank you. You look good too."


    Clyde meanwhile was just rocking his usual ck pants and ck leather jacket. He wanted to change into an expensive suit, but he couldn''t wait.


    Now he was regretting that decision. He should have just gone for the suit. But when Elsa said he looked good- his chest automatically puffed up in pride.


    ''But now what?''


    He''d dated about seven girls thesest two weeks to gain experience. His condition was mostly cured but the fact remained that he''d never been with a girl. So, he didn''t know what to say to girls or how to act around them.


    He was just another horny virgin. But he wanted to change that. And for that, he started dating. It wasn''t that he dated them just for the sake of dating, rather, he dated them so he wouldn''t have to pull a nk during the real deal.


    Unfortunately, none of those dates helped.


    And this was the real deal.


    What was this feeling?


    Something he didn''t quite understand at first.


    Something that always made him lose his mind: Say something stupid. Something that always made his heart race fast.


    Breathing became erratic. Theughter and chats in the distance, became distant.


    Sweat poured.


    He couldn''t think anything, let alone say something.


    All that practice, gone to waste?


    "Clyde, was it?" Elsa took a drink in hand; juice.


    "Oh, yeah, yeah!"


    "Well, it was nice to meet you, Clyde. But I''ve got to go." Elsa took a sip of her juice and headed off to the other corner of the room where two girls were waving at her.


    ''Shit!''


    Clyde wanted to scream but he held it all in. At least he got to talk to her. he was almost at his limit, so this was a good point to stop.


    And at least it didn''t go too weird and be too awkward.


    Keyword, ''too''.


    ***


    Helio greeted and shook hands with the guests.


    When he''d firste back, he''d learned something. That something being, ''I have to give a frigging speech?'' He was going to write it down today, and give it tomorrow. But he was going to have to give it now?


    Like now, now!?


    Needless to say, he was agitated beyond reason.


    So, it took him a while longer than usual to focus and remember stuff. His wife, Marg helped.


    And together, after a while, they came down, addressed the crowd, and talked.


    Helio didn''t know what the hell he was saying but he let his mouth do the talking.


    He started off by thanking everyone. He was really grateful. He was slightly nervous but as he felt his wife''s warm hand, he realized- he wasn''t alone.


    At one point though, he figured perhaps it was best to thank Marg too. After all, she chose him.


    And he did too.


    Just some days ago, hugging, kissing in public in front of so many people would have been awkward to them- today though, it didn''t matter.


    They went down.


    Helio was worried someone would mention something about the speech, but no one did.


    Everyone just congratted them.


    They were happy for them.


    And his wife was by his side, always supporting him.


    He felt blessed. And he wanted to enjoy this time. This moment.


    So- he just talked nicely to everyone, no matter who they were. No matter what they did in the past. He just didn''t care today.


    All he wanted was to spread the joy.


    And then he met Clyde.


    .


    ..


    ¡­


    A bit of awkward silence but Clyde spoke normally. His speech was slightly unnatural and he tapped his feet way too often.


    ''Did this dude always look this nervous?'' Helio figured it was best to not think about all that and went for a handshake. In the end, though, he even up hugging him.


    Why?


    He didn''t know. Things felt even more awkward. But Clyde somehow changed the subject, thanked Marg, and that ended.


    With a little bit of sighing in relief, Helio faced the myriad of other guests.


    Today was special and he didn''t have time to worry about other things.


    "You''re doing great," Marg whispered to him at one point.


    "You too."


    The two proceeded to just greet and shake hands.


    They were a newlywed couple and they were happy. And the people here were here for them, to celebrate them; celebrate their union.


    It was a once-in-a-lifetime asion. It had to be special, it had to be memorable.


    And it was too.


    Until that happened.


    "You got to be kidding me." Helio held his head, sighed, and just stared ahead: deadpan.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t have been giving away champagne so freely," Marg wondered, her tone neutral.


    Actually, Helio didn''t even know they were giving champagne.. He didn''t care though, at least till now.

 Chapter 306 - Forgetting Something?

    Chapter 306 ¨C Forgetting Something?


    Today was my marriage.


    It was a special day. A very happy day at that too.


    I wanted everyone to be happy today, oddly.


    I had no idea that there''d be a party today. But I still wanted everyone to enjoy it. I didn''t want people getting drunk on the champagne and ending up quarreling.


    Sure, didn''t stop the people though.


    Sigh. "The hell do you think you''re doing?"


    Apparently, there were three drunks here.


    People were just leaving them be. And the drunks themselves weren''t doing much either- apart from just demanding more drinks.


    "Well¡­ I can exin?" The headmaster said. He was currently pulling on a tray. He probably wanted another drink.


    "You know¡­" Eve blushed, "You shouldn''t stare at a woman like that when you just got married¡­ are you looking for another one?" Her tone was sultry and slow.


    Drunk didn''t even begin to describe her condition.


    The third one- Merin just grinned. A very ''busted'' grin.


    "I get that we''re serving drinks." I red across the room. "But you guys couldn''t even make sure one guest got only one drink?" Of course, I was talking to mom and grandma who were pretending like they hadn''t seen this at all.


    I sighed again.


    Thest drunk one was trying to tiptoe out of here.


    I just grabbed his cor. "I was wondering where you were." The guy didn''t even bother toe and congratte me first.


    His girlfriend was just on the sidelines, giving him a very dull re. "He kept on saying one more drink and before we knew it, this happened," Nat said.


    Though reluctant, mom and grandma came this way.


    I rolled my eyes. "That''s how people get addicted." Anyway, "Would you mind tying these three up?" I asked grandma. She tied them up vines and we just left the three on a table. "Be nice and I''ll let you have another drink before leaving."


    "Really!" The headmaster looked at me, very expediently.


    ''Nope.''


    "By the way," Eve''s voice was awfully slow. She was falling asleep. "Congrats..on..th¡­" She fell asleep.


    The headmaster was in a daydream while Eve just slept.


    Who knew champagne was so effective? Or did someone put them under something?


    Meanwhile, Merin just looked at me, a bit guilty. "Might have gotten a little carried away."


    "You think?" Nat came over and took a seat just next to him.


    This was a six-seat table, so they were covered.


    There were few tables, and most people weren''t going to seat. The party was going to go on for maybe an hour more?


    The food and drinks stage was mostly over and since the school had a festival going on, we didn''t have to bother to entertain the guest with events of our own either. This was fine.


    "Congrattions though." For someone that drunk, he was awfully polite.


    I hadn''t actually seen the headmaster''s wife anywhere. Maybe she hadn''te to the wedding?


    I wished she had; at least the headmaster wouldn''t be going through all this shit then.


    ***


    I''d mostly met all the guests.


    Friends, family, everyone.


    Some of my friends had interesting things to say.


    Leilis wanted to get married next; she even tried to give a speech about why it was necessary. And during the bulk of her monologue, Selene almost tried to kiss me¡­.


    That was something.


    Robert even went as far as to wish me a hundred children. While Mike just wanted me happiness in bed.


    The hell was that about, I had no idea.


    The guests mostly concluded all these as jokes. They wereughing alright.


    Anyway, we were missing something.


    I couldn''t quite remember what.


    "Why do I feel like something''s missing?"


    Everyone was here.


    Everyone was having fun and so was I.


    Laughter.


    Lights.


    Decorations.


    Gossip.


    Friends.


    Family.


    Fun.


    Yet, I felt like something was missing. Like I was forgetting something.


    I kept my eyes open.


    I looked around the whole room.


    Elsa was talking with Leilis and Selene. All three wereughing.


    Mom and Grandma were with my Uncles and Aunties.


    Dad was in a corner, having a chat with someone- oh wait that was the horsehead guy.


    Mike and Robert were cheering up a depressed Clyde.


    The three drunkards were having a fun conversation themselves.


    But- but-


    "Something wrong?" Marg said, a hand on my back.


    "Not sure. I-"


    And then I remembered.


    Something happened this morning.


    I forgot about it.


    SHIT!


    "The geezer!"


    I ran blitzed toward grandma.


    Who looked my way and just stood there.


    "The geezer. What happened to him?"


    He really wanted to be here. he wanted to be at my wedding.


    She let out a bit of exhale. "I don''t think he''ll make it." She wasn''t messing around; she was serious.


    "Well, that''s a shame. He really wanted to see this wedding."


    And I wanted him to be here too.


    "Actually, Helio¡­" Grandma went slightly quieter. "He''s not going to make it." She repeated herself.


    What?


    "Wait, you mean¡­."


    She didn''t say anything.


    I didn''t either.


    There was nothing to say.


    It was almost as though the world just suddenly became quieter. Theughter, the fun, just felt distant. My chest ached and my body quivered.


    "We-we should go see him?"


    "He''s fine for now. They should be bringing him here, in about half an hour. He''ll stay here for maybe about ten minutes till the party ends? Then he''ll have to go get into the emergency room and if it doesn''t go well¡­"


    He was going to die.


    Damn!


    "It''s my fault," Elsa mumbled. She was right next to me.


    When did she get here?


    "No." I just stood there. "It''s mine¡­"


    After all, it was me who brought him to this world.


    And it was me who¡­ no, I couldn''t take it away from him. He risked his life and he did it to save Elsa''s. I couldn''t take it away from him.


    I felt a hand grab mine. It was Marg. She just stood there, not a word.


    I wanted to scream.


    I wanted to scream at fate.


    Why''d it had to be him? I finally had a grandpa after all this time¡­


    Damn!


    "Isn''t the venom curable? What if he bes a vampire and-"


    Grandma shook her head. "You''ll need the blood of a primordial or at the very least a primal vampire. Even then, the chances are low. Besides, we never thought the bite would be this devastating. I actually thought he''de around. But-"


    We just kept quiet.


    There was nothing to say.


    We couldn''t.


    I couldn''t.


    "Primal? You need a primal vampire''s blood?" Another voice came from behind me. "You can have mine, if you want." She was standing just right next to Elsa.


    Wait-


    I turned around. "You?"


    "Well, I am a vampire, if you recall¡­" She scratched her cheeks and smiled awkwardly.


    That''s right! Leilis was a vampire!


    And- wait- "Are you a primal vam-"


    "I''m positive!" She shed a grin.


    My chest felt warm.


    I was really, really d.


    Grandma said the chances were slim but- but we had some chance at the very least.

 Chapter 307 - Hope; The Best Day?

    Chapter 307 ¨C Hope; The Best Day?


    Sometimeter, the geezer came to the party. The guy hade in a wheelchair.


    "d you could make it," I said. Trying my best to form a smile.


    Most of the guests were leaving. They were wishing me luck and stuff as they left.


    The party was over.


    "Wouldn''t miss it for the world, kid." He looked normal, as in too normal. He even had a suit and a bowtie on him.


    There was a nurse behind him. She was doing all the pulling and the pushing.


    I didn''t know what to talk to him about. I did care about him. But we didn''t know each other enough.


    But I guess that was just an excuse.


    I just wanted to avoid him- to avoid the topic that he could very well- die.


    Death.


    It was an interesting subject. People take it for granted that their close friends and rtives are immortal while the rest of humanity are mortal.


    But when a close friend or a rtive finally passes away- that''s when they feel the reality. That''s when they understand- everyone can die. Your mother- your father, your lover, and you.


    And I wanted to avoid that. I knew that and yet didn''t want to know that.


    I just-


    "Why the long face kid? Shouldn''t you be happy and stuff? You just got married!"


    Some of my rtives and friends were still here. The bulk of them had left.


    "I am happy." I again tried to smile. But I couldn''t. "I really am. It''s just- I can''t exin."


    He snorted. "Kids." He spread his arms. "Come here."


    I went for a hug. He hugged me and then started whispering. "Can I get a male nurse?"


    Um- what?


    Was this guy really dying?


    Cause he sure didn''t look like it. The guy''s face was smugger than Merin''s.


    I wanted to cry andugh at the same time but chose thetter.


    He let go of me and looked at Marg. "Well, missy when the kid came for you in the null, he said he was going to marry you. I kind of thought he was just saying it for the sake of saying it. I actually didn''t think he''d marry you. I mean, aren''t you like too young for that stuff?" He chuckled a little. "But really, congrattions, and I hope you two can make this work." He was speaking to both of us now.


    Anyway, with most of the guests gone, I could talk a bit more freely.


    So- "How would you like to be a vampire?" I changed the subject.


    But after saying it- ''Good going moron.'' Yeah, both the shadow and I agreed that was a stupid thing to say. I could have phrased it better or at least started from elsewhere.


    He just looked at me, blinked twice. "What?"


    Yes, what indeed.


    "A vampire. You''ll be the servant of a primal one. So, I guess, that makes you a rather mid-ranked vamp."


    And I didn''t think Leilis would order him around or something.


    "Wait, wait, you''re not making sense. Me, a vamp? The hell would I want to be one of that vixen''s kin?"


    "You don''t want to be a vampire, because Hyora was a vampire?"


    Grandma came over. "That''s also the reason why he refused to take half of the procedures given to him that would have made things easier."


    I just gave the geezer a very disapproving look and he averted his eyes.


    "I hate her, okay?" And he started whining like a kid. "I hate her kind too. My sister and half of my died because of vampires and that vixen."


    Meanwhile, Leilis came out of the washroom with something like a bowl in her hand?


    ''When the hell did she go in there?'' I actually didn''t pay attention to my surroundings. I was just staring at the geezer all this time.


    The original n was for her to maybe cut a bit of her finger and give me a small vial of blood which we''d feed the geezer. And since vampires had great healing, she wouldn''t have been affected much.


    Leilis came over and gave me the bowl. "Fresh blood." She winked.


    Well, it was fresh alright. Crimson viscous stuff. And very fragrant too.


    ''But why this much?'' A vial? Yeah, no, this was more than two bags worth.


    The geezer was sweating. "Is that-"


    "Fresh blood." I parroted and went closer to him. "Fresh blood." I grinned.


    "No, no, no!" He started to il but grandma kind of just tied him down. "I will not drink that!"


    Our rtives- the few that were still here- just stayed by the sidelines.


    "I will kiss you, if you drink it."


    ''The hell did I just say?''


    "Tempting, but no!"


    Wait, that was tempting?


    Come to think of it, this guy wasn''t straight, right?


    And he wanted a male nurse. "Fine, you can have your male nurse."


    The nurse behind him gave me and the geezer a very rude re. I guess I had to apologize to herter.


    The geezer though¡­ "Again, tempting but-" Well, he was hesitant, that''s for sure.


    But he was also considering this.


    ''You seriously want more?''


    What else could I offer?


    In the end, "Screw it, just drink the damn thing."


    I forced his mouth open and made him drink it. He actually bit my finger. And spilled half of the blood. Weirdly when the blood made contact with the floor, it kind of evaporated. ''So, this bowl thingy was special?''


    But half did go in.


    He almost choked on it.


    "Quickly, wash it!" Grandma prompted.


    This guy wasn''t a vampire yet, but he was also not quite normal. And even a normal person''s bite was poisonous, let alone an ill guy like him.


    And he''d bitten my finger quite hard too. It probably wasn''t intentional; probably.


    Anyway, I washed my wound and wait- what wound?


    I didn''t even have the marks.


    ''So Enira''sing around?''


    This day really was amazing. I got married to the girl of my dreams, we found a way to maybe save the geezer''s life, and the snake-dragon thingy would finallye out of the saber!


    I went back and saw the geezer just ring at me.


    Well, I won''t be on his good nephew list, that''s for sure.


    He was also foaming slightly and making weird growls.


    "That''s normal, right?" I said.


    "Yup." Leilis assured me. "Totally."


    "How many vampires have you made again?"


    "About some ten thousand and stuff? Come to think of it, most of them were soldiers and gay. Or rather, I told them to-" She started giggling as she reminisced. "Don''t worry, I won''t make this guy-"


    "He''s already gay."


    "Oh!" She shut up.


    Meanwhile, the geezer''s face be slightly paler and his teeth came out. Two long canines.


    His belly shrunk slightly and he might have actually grown an inch in height.


    "You said the chances were slim of him-" I looked at grandma.


    "Because he wouldn''t have epted it. But now that you made him drink- it''s no surprise things will work out; he''ll be fine. Whether he''d still talk to you after this, is a different matter."


    I did not like the sound of that but if the guy was going to be alive, then I was cool with it.

 Chapter 308 - So Far- Again- Amazing Day!

    Chapter 308 ¨C So Far- Again- Amazing Day!


    Grandma untied the geezer who just stood up and stared at me.


    He was perfectly healthy again but just slightly paler. Eyes slightly redder.


    He didn''t say a word and just went for the door. He was going to leave just like that?


    No one said anything to him, I didn''t either. He probably needed some alone time.


    He''d gone out, but came back a secondter and went inside the house instead.


    "The first few days, sunlight feels like hell," Leilis exined.


    There wasn''t much sunlight out though. The sun would set soon.


    Meanwhile, the geezer was gone; lost inside the house. I had no idea where he went.


    And frankly, I wasn''t interested. I was just d he survived.


    "Thanks a ton. I really mean that."


    Leilis smiled. And blushed ever so slightly. "Then, marry me!"


    Wait, what?


    "Yeah, no."


    Selene let out an exasperated sigh. "To think you got the upper hand like this. But-" She smiled, came this way, and just held Leilis'' shoulder. "He actually promised me, so, you''ll have to still wait for your turn after me." And she was awfully confident too.


    Now, I wanted to sigh.


    ''When the hell did I make that promise again?''


    I just got married. The geezer just got saved. And the guests had just left.


    I wanted to go rest a little before dinner. Or maybe go out for a walk with Marg.


    But really?


    Now I had to deal with this?


    Well, it wasn''t that bad¡­


    One thing led to another and Leilis and Selene started fighting. Though I say fighting, they were just pulling on each other''s hairs and stuff- hurlingpliments- nothing too ugly.


    "You damn voluptuous redhaired beauty!"


    "You damn voluptuous gorgeous babe!"


    Wow- I did not think reverse cursing was a thing. But really, voluptuous?


    Well, they certainly weren''t wrong that was for sure.


    I had this weird urge to see how things would proceed, but Marg went there and just put a hand on both their shoulders. "Knock it off you two."


    "Right!" They said in unison.


    Why the hell were they listening to her?


    What the hell was going on here?


    And why the hell were they just stopping like that?


    Disappointed I was.


    Anyway- "Think I''ll go out for a walk. Mag, you want toe?" I tried pronouncing her name like her family did.


    "Sure. And you can keep calling me just as you always have; sounds more natural."


    Well, if she said so.


    And so, the two of us proudly headed off outside for ate afternoon walk and promptly came back.


    Why?


    I was still in my frigging suit. And she, in her wedding dress.


    We had to change.


    ***


    The two of us just walked through the endless rice fields. Rice and Barley. There was plenty.


    A sweet aroma.


    I was holding her hand. The muddy road was kind of narrow, so she was close.


    My heart was skipping beats and I was weirdly sweaty. ''Was holding hands always this-''


    Had I regressed back to being a grade-schooler? Why the hell was I getting excited and nervous over this! Actually, even during those days, I wasn''t this nervous around women.


    And she was awfully quiet. Or was it because I wasn''t talking?


    She actually looked and smelled great. How the hell did girls do that? Or more importantly, how the hell did she do that?


    She was only wearing a white one-piece dress.


    And yet, I felt nervous.


    The hell!


    "Do you want to sit down?" She said.


    We were at the end of the field, just near the edge of the frozennds. Gusts of cold wind kind of came this way and my sweat started evaporating.


    No one else was in sight.


    These fields were always empty.


    "Sure?"


    The sun was setting. We had roughly ten minutes.


    The two of us sat down on the grass. We''d pretty much be showering after this- or at least I was going to- so it was fine.


    Marg gently rested her head on my shoulder and the two of us stared at the setting sun- or rather she did. Cause, I was just staring at her.


    Birds were returning back home.


    After a moment though, she noticed. "What? Something in my hair?"


    "No-nope."


    She let out a giggle. "You''re awfully nervous for once."


    I guess she was paying more attention than I gave her credit for.


    "Well, when you consider that I''d be spending the rest of my life with a beauty like you, of course, anyone would be nervous."


    ''The hell did I just say?'' I almost cringed- almost.


    She just looked at me, smiled faintly. "But I didn''t just marry anyone. I married you. And you have no reason to be nervous." She proceeded to hug me. "Besides, you''re pretty handsome yourself."


    We were sitting; it was awkward.


    But- I hugged her too.


    Her warmth- her scent- reassuring.


    Though I didn''t consider myself to be ''pretty handsome'' I was really d she thought of me that way. Okay, maybe I did consider myself to be a bit handsome but still! I was d.


    "Also, though I kind of like your smell, you reek, so let''s go shower," Marg pulled away.


    ''Hey, you weren''t that blunt before!''


    Oh wait, she was.


    And wait- did she just say- "You''re going to join me?"


    A grin- no, a smug grin. "I did say I was going to wear a swimsuit, didn''t I?" She came close and gently lifted a bit of her dress.


    I could see it!


    I could see it! The blue- bikini!


    Needless to say, blood ran to various ces of my body.


    Excited.


    ***


    We came back home, headed off to the shower, or rather the spring in the basement.


    But unfortunately- it wasn''t empty.


    They''d renovated the ce.


    And now the spring was pretty big.


    And quite a number of our rtives were going to stay here.


    Sufficed to say, they were keeping the spring upied.


    Of course, we were wee to head in there with them- at least that''s what they implied.


    Yeah, no thanks.


    There were three bathrooms here. And those too were almost always upied.


    "I guess showering won''t be possible today," I said, taking a step on the staircase.


    Dinner was just around the corner.


    "I guess we can always just shower afterward." Marg was just behind me.


    Or- we could do it again- in the shower.


    I didn''t know why but I couldn''t hide my grin.


    So far- again- amazing day!


    Muahahahah!


    Oops, almost let out thatugh.

 Chapter 309 - Our Wedding Night

    Chapter 309 ¨C Our Wedding Night


    We started dinner.


    Good food and rather tasty. Loads of variety.


    But more importantly, there was chocte milk for dessert.


    I''d had like five sses already. I''d taken medicine but I had a feeling, things were going to be pretty uglyter on. ''But it''s worth it!'' For chocte, everything was worth it.


    And so, after dinner, I drank two whole sses of chocte milk.


    Fragrance!


    Ah, heaven.


    And just after this, another heaven waited for me.


    Mauhahahah!


    Ahem!


    I almost let that slip out.


    Anyway, with all that over, I bade everyone goodnight and headed up. My family had this mischievous grin on their faces. Yeah, this family was weird.


    Marg wasn''t done eating yet, so she''d join me sooner orter anyway.


    On my way, I saw Raea going down the stairway. She didn''t really say anything and just moved past me.


    Well, I was the one who said I wouldn''t talk to her for two months, right?


    So that wasn''t surprising.


    I moved up regardless and just outside my room, stopped abruptly.


    The geezer was there in the darkness. Fangs sticking out, eyes red.


    There wasn''t much little light here, so I couldn''t really see his face.


    "You''re not going to attack me or anything, right?" I said.


    There wasn''t anyone around here.


    Of course, they weren''t.


    "Unfortunately, I haven''t fallen that low yet."


    He was sane, at least.


    A bit of relief. "I was wondering why you didn''t show up for dinner."


    "Is there a point to eating those food anymore?" His voice was rather calm.


    "Well, Leilis is a vampire and she ate just fine. And I believe Hy-" I stopped. Mentioning Hyora''s name wasn''t going to have any good effects.


    The guy just grumbled or was it a growl?


    I couldn''t tell.


    "Weren''t you supposed to kiss me?"


    Wait, what?


    ''Why the hell do you remember that?''


    I just said that at that moment because I had nothing better to say.


    He walked closer, and I walked backward.


    About ten steps and a sweaty eternityter, my back hit the wall and the geezer was just in front of me. "Well?" He was in the light and I could see his face.


    The guy was serious all right.


    "Can''t we pretend I never said that?"


    "No." He tilted his cheek, while still keeping eye contact. "I''m waiting."


    ''You got us into this!''


    My eyes twitched and so did my cheeks.


    I doubled checked. There wasn''t anyone here.


    ''It''s just a one-time thing, okay!''


    So- I took a deep breath and smooched his cheeks.


    I tried my best not to let in any sensory information.


    He snorted, then chuckled, and then moved on to the stairs, heading down. "And I want my male nurse." He went down.


    My heart was still racing. From the sheer frigging embarrassment! I never even kissed my own damn father, let alone another man!


    I wanted to cry.


    ''The hell?''


    The hell indeed.


    ***


    Later on, Marg came in.


    We didn''t get it on right away.


    One, this room wasn''t soundproof. Two, the whole night was waiting for us. And three, we''d just eaten so it was going to be a bit ufortable now.


    Then again, I was still a bit mortified from the incident which just happened moments ago and was desperately trying to forget it.


    Anyway, with the night light on, we just kept on talking.


    We''d just gotten married today.


    This was a special day for me.


    And for her too. But I had a feeling it was more special for me and my luck was oddly good today.


    Though my stomach was rumbling a little. I was going to be sick soon, that was clear.


    For now though, Marg and I talked; about her childhood, about our hopes and dreams.


    Meanwhile, I caught a stray in the room- namely, one of my cousins. I kicked him out of the room; a solid kick on the butt, and pretended like nothing was wrong. ''How the hell did you even get in?'' And he was hiding under the bed too.


    I made extra sure with my particles but no one else was here.


    Marg wanted to be an artist from a young age. But due to her powers, she was more or less forced to study everything, to be a jack of all, and definitely keep her focus on academics more than anything. Not to mention she had the impending marriageing up which got ruined for me (Thankfully). So, now she wanted to try painting and she wanted to finish high school.


    If she could do good in drawing and end up improving to her standards, she''d just focus more on art and take art lessons from the web- or so she wanted. Which meant, she had no ns for college. Though when I asked what would she do if it didn''t work out- she kind of looked a bit sad. I guess I should have rooted for her, but we had to be realistic. It was her future.


    "Then I''ll just study one of the sciences like I was always told. Apparently, I''m good in all the sciences."


    She was lying right next to me.


    "Well, I''ll root for you no matter what you choose. But you should know, I want the best for you."


    She smiled, caressed my hair. "I know."


    I caressed hers.


    I talked about my dreams too. I wanted to be an explorer. Even now, that dream didn''t change.


    I couldn''t tell her about why I wanted to be one. I only had vague memories of the time I once met a girl in a forest. I couldn''t remember anything about the time but I remember my undying wish to meet her again and be an explorer like her.


    To be free.


    I could almost remember what she said back then. Almost- but I could never. I couldn''t remember her face, I couldn''t remember her voice, and I couldn''t remember anything about her.


    And yet- the sentiment was still here.


    "Sounds like first love." Marg sulked slightly.


    I couldn''t help but chuckle. "No, not really. Besides, I love you, and you''re the only one special in my life." Even if I got marriedter on, Marg would continue being the special one.


    She smiled. "I hope you achieve your dream."


    "Right back at you."


    She started caressing my chest- hinting.


    Well, it was kind of close to midnight.


    "Think they''re still awake?"


    "Who cares?" She got on top of me, eyes locked on. "The walls are thick and if someone can hear us, they''ll have just to plug their ears tonight!" She started undressing.


    Holy, blue bikini!


    Whoa! Whoah!!


    Her face came closer, mouths connected.


    Tongues rolled.


    Commence erection!


    Achieved!


    Things heated up fast.


    Moans here, juices there.


    Moving hips everywhere.


    ***


    "Shall we move into the shower?" Marg said, breathing erratic.


    I just grinned.


    Twice.


    I still had plenty of stamina left!


    Marg teleported us straight to the spring. I made extra sure and no one was in there.


    We proceeded to go in, lock the door, and, "You first?" I said.


    She went right in.


    I just watched her moving those modest bu-


    Ahem.


    The two of us got in the spring, after washing off the sweat with a bucket of water.


    Marg didn''t go to the opposite side, rather just sat on myp, and we kept on kissing, squeezing things here and there.


    I could feel her legs twitching ever so slightly.


    Was it me or was she a bit too into this today?


    Well, who cared, I was into her.


    I slid a finger in her, yed with her chest, and kept on tasting her.


    "Ah!"


    Her moans were a delight.


    We proceeded to have the best night of our lives.


    Our wedding night.

 Chapter 310 - Interlude: Particles Flew

    Chapter 310 ¨C Interlude: Particles Flew


    A waterdrop in the darkness.


    Her body shined with- no, her clothes illuminated the darkness around her. But there was nothing here. Nothing she could see. Almost like the darkness spread to infinity.


    Her feet touched the water below but she didn''t sink; they didn''t get wet either.


    Muffled.


    "Sarol Xeroha Xemu, I, Lord Hermanshieer Pirmus officially appoint you as the 4838y7483thmander of Xanard. May you prosper."


    The voice floated in the air.


    The girl couldn''t see anything. It was the same darkness to her just as before. ''Couldn''t these morons just have done this in a bit less cumbersome way?''


    She knew the answer, but she still didn''t like it.


    Last week, she decided to be amander, so she could go fight the UM-23-13, but, the procedures to be amander were much moreplicated than she''d assumed at first.


    She had to give a physical exam and a written one. But that wasn''t all. They had to insert a small chip in her brain directly to grant her ess to certain things she otherwise wouldn''t have had.


    And that wasn''t even the hard part.


    Now she had to go through this thing.


    A ceremony of sorts.


    And she wasn''t allowed to wear proper clothes. What was the point of a shy white cloth such as this?


    Did the higher-ups just want to see her outline that badly, or something?


    "Now go!" The voicemanded. "Bring glory to Xanard!"


    ''As though you own this damn¡­'' the girl smiled faintly. "As youmand your Holiness."


    The girl- Xeroha held back the urge tough at the cringe-worthy conversation.


    But she just turned around and started walking. She didn''t want to spend a second longer in this ce- the very same ce that deemed her family unfit to exist.


    The darkness gradually disappeared and momentster, she found herself out of the Central.


    A massive city- just below her feet.


    She was maybe a kilometer up, on a clear ss floor. Behind her was the central- a massive building with nine hundred and sixty-nine floors. Actually, she was still in its boundary.


    And in front of hery the ck city, tall buildings, neon lights, and eternal night; no stars in the sky.


    It''d been over a century since shest watched over the city like this; nothing changed. And her sentiment was the very same as thest time, ''This is pointless.''


    Xanard- a free world. And its inhabitants the Xenes were free. They valued freedom and yet- they were stuck here in their home, despite the itself dying.


    Xanard''s home star was in the process of dying but the Xenes refused to stop using the Ster engine, even now. They refused to spread into the universe and colonize others. Instead, they were more focused on ridding themselves of the boredom. They were more focused on virtual reality than anything else.


    After all, it was so easy to make virtual reality- a heaven. So why would they spend pointless time making other world''s hell, not so hellish? Besides they still had some million years left.


    Some did worry about their future but as immortal beings with no offspring and biological need to procreate, they weren''t that concerned about colonizing.


    The girl- Xeroha was no different. She too sought the pleasure and thrill of the battlefield. But unlike the rest of her kin, she was more worried about the UM-23-13 not being able to actually put up a fight than her and its inhabitants. in a virtual world she could just crank up the difficulty, out there though- she couldn''t.


    She couldn''t care less about the and all its problems.


    She just found the idea of going through all this crap just to get hooked to an advanced Link a bit absurd. But she had to agree, ''Finally-''


    Xeroha stretched. "Initiate warp." Particles flew around her; visible red particles. "To the-"


    Before she could finish, the particles spun violently, and she warped to her room.


    Once she got here- ''Shit.'' Her eyes twitched as she smiled. she forgot to specify the location before actually starting.


    A rookie mistake.


    ''Great start.''


    At least she could now change into something better.


    ***


    The Xenes were a superior racepared to most other races of the universe. And a warrior race no less. They always sought thrill, adventure, and challenge.


    They''d modified their bodies to the extreme and cured aging; death was irreverent.


    They were quite capable when it came tobat, but since their numbers were more or less stagnant, they proposed aw to prevent themanders from directly moving into the battlefield. Instead, themanders would link up with capable soldiers and fight.


    However, thew was revised and if amander truly wished to head to battle, nothing was there to stop her.


    Xeroha made her way into the link room on a specific floor of the central; it was simr to her room but maybe triple in size. There were exactly nine billion Xenes on Xandar. And yet, not even a single soul was in sight.


    There were supposedly fifteen hundred of them in a kilometer radius and yet- not even one was here.


    Which was a good thing as Xeroha didn''t really care much about the people.


    "Commence link."


    This was different from her usual links.


    For one, the link device was different. Much more powerful and definitely bulkier.


    Instead of putting it on, she had to put herself in it.


    The machine was simr to a sleeping pod of sorts. ''Almost like a grave¡­''


    Everything melded into whiteness and transparent screens appeared before her. A nostalgic feeling.


    One thousand soldiers and onemanding vassal. She could see them all. They were connected to her.


    That was all she''d been given. It wasn''t enough but- but she didn''t care.


    ''Time to put you to good use, Todd.''


    The purple soldier- her soldier, was named Todd. The very same one she''d killed all those years ago. The same one who gave her so much thrill, so much pleasure.


    An armored giant. Horns, three eyes, and a very deep helmet.


    Her consciousness melded into the purple soldier and she could feel everything it felt.


    Excitement! All three of her hearts pumped blood. It''d been a long while since shest felt this¡­ boiling excitement.


    ''Perfect!'' She grinned. "Next stop, UM-23-13. Begin warp."


    Particles flew.

 Chapter 311 - Boom!

    Chapter 311 ¨C Boom!


    Five times.


    And by the sixth, I was dry and kind of questioning the meaning of life.


    And just after that, instead of going to bed, I had to spend thirty minutes in the bathroom, dispensing all the chocte milk I''d ever consumed.


    ''Shit.''


    Shit indeed.


    Technically the wedding day was over after midnight, so I guess my luck had run out.


    "Ouch, ow, ow!" Oh, it hurt.


    It hurt bad.


    And it burned too.


    I could feel my intestines, and I could also not feel them at the same time¡­.


    Indescribable.


    ''I''m never drinking again¡­''


    Suffice to say, just questioning the meaning of life wasn''t enough. I had to question the meaning of the universe.


    ***


    Argh!


    Who knew waking up could be such a pain?


    My head hurt.


    My stomach hurt.


    And my crotch also hurt.


    I was basically bare, and so was Marg. She was under the nket but I could pretty much see everything.


    So warm-


    But-


    Ow!


    It hurt to even move my damn arm.


    Maybe I''d overdone it a littlest night.


    "Argh!" I held my head and sat down.


    It throbbed, my whole body.


    Marg moaned slightly in her sleep and opened her eyes. "Goo'' morn-"


    She was half asleep- way too cute.


    Unfortunately, my body was too much in pain.


    Maybe drinking that much chocte milk was a terrible idea.


    And doing it five times wasn''t a great idea either.


    Disaster.


    ''Am not that smart, am I?''


    ''You''re realizing that now?''


    Oddly the shadow was often answering me stuff.


    But sometimes I wish it didn''t.


    With some more groans, I got down and headed to the bathroom.


    Fortunately, it was six in the morning, so no one was up yet.


    I wasn''t going to get up either if it weren''t for the pain.


    I emptied my dder and my stomach; took a cold shower.


    That woke me up.


    Instead of doing anything else, I just went outside and walked.


    My body was in pain so I didn''t bother running.


    Just a walk was fine.


    My stomach rumbled.


    ***


    Gradually the pain receded and things looked good.


    Tomorrow was Halloween and thest day of the festival. ''I have to go back to school so soon?''


    I kind of wanted to just go to ces with my wife- aka, Marg.


    I guess honeymoon and stuff would have to wait.


    Anyway- breakfast!


    Yeah, I couldn''t eat.


    I could see a lot of grins from around me, but I proceeded to ignore them¡­


    ***


    I went to the academy and things were vastly different.


    The stalls were set up. Banners were everywhere and they even hadrge floating balloons.


    "Woah!"


    And the number of students had only increased. Some parents and journalists were also here.


    Now, this was more like a festival!


    I walked around. This ce was amazing.


    Almost every stall had customers.


    People were enjoying themselves. Eating, ying games, watching stuff: Having fun.


    And then there was Eve, who was just sitting on her stall, looking out, and sighing.


    She didn''t have any customers.


    "Business slow?" I approached her.


    There was a reason for that.


    She''d helped me decide: she''d helped me big time.


    "Yeah. More or less." She didn''t quite look at me.


    Eve had a hand supporting her cheek while she just stood there, leaning against the table in front.


    She still had frozen snake meat.


    And it was only morning. "You''ll get customers in the noon."


    Most of the people here probably had breakfast anyway.


    She looked at me, without turning her head. "Are you trying to cheer me up? Why?"


    I sighed and took a seat on the stool. "Well, I haven''t thanked you for the other day. Thanks."


    She just stared at me; a bit surprised. "No problem." I guess she wasn''t expecting that.


    I stood up and stretched. "I''ll take a walk. Haven''t seen the rest of the stuff."


    Eve remained quiet, so I just walked.


    There was another reason though- I had to find a bathroom, and I had to find it fast. Because something rumbled and stuff wanted to get out.


    But a momentter. "Hey!" She yelled. I looked back. "The fireworks. You, still free? Tonight, at six on the main building''s roof."


    I thought over it. "Marg will be there too. You okay with that?"


    These two were sisters.


    They weren''t on the best of terms.


    And I had no intention of being a bridge for them. However, I did want to see the fireworks and I wanted Marg to see them too. But since Eve was the one who brought it up, it was only fair I thanked her somehow.


    She exhaled, remained quiet for a few seconds. "Don''t bete." She proceeded to look busy in the stall.


    There weren''t any customers though, so that was just an act.


    Our conversation was over.


    Anyway. I continued my walk.


    And the search for a toilet began.


    ***


    Flush!


    That was something¡­ I was this close to shitting my pants¡­ literally.


    At least things were looking better than this morning¡­ the smell though¡­ not so much.


    My walk continued.


    I saw a lot of old faces. The transfer students, some ssmates, some seniors. They were either helping or just sightseeing.


    But seeing these things alone didn''t quite feel all that right. Lounging around a festival, all alone, wasn''t that fun anyway.


    Marg was busy with something so she told me toe on my own.


    And I didn''t really want to get involved with any other girls.


    I could have always just asked Elsa toe along but- but that had its share of problems too.


    ''Maybe I should just find some guy friends.''


    Where the hell were my friends anyway?


    ***


    Merin was unavable. Apparently, the guy was helping his sister out at the cafeteria.


    Mike was doing some disciplinary duty.


    I didn''t call Clyde cause that would have been weird.


    Which left-


    "Hey!" He wailed his arms from a distance.


    Well, this guy sure was happy to see me. I''d only sent him a text and here he was.


    We never talked much but we were oddly still friends. Good friends no less.


    "So, where do you want to go first?" Robert said, finally approaching me.


    "No idea. I don''t know anything about this fest."


    He chuckled a bit. "Then allow me."


    Robert was weirdly excited for once. Was he always this excited?


    Yeah, probably not.


    But it did feel a bit better that he was happy, at least.


    ***


    Robert showed me around.


    I didn''t tell him that I''d already seen everything there was to see and just wanted someone to hang out with.


    Some things were better left unsaid.


    It was still fun though. We''d gone to different stalls, even yed some games. Some stalls were doing ys, puppets shows and all that too.


    The skewered meat was pretty good too. I''d skipped breakfast, so I did like them¡­ I was definitely going to dieter on, but oh well.


    All in all, not bad. Time flew fast.


    Never thought hanging out with friends could have been this fun. Then again, I never had friends¡­ before.


    On our way to the other side, I saw Eve still struggling to find customers. She did have like two-three though. An improvement, that''s for sure.


    "I''ve gotta prepare some homework stuff. I''ll see you on Monday, then?" And Robert was already leaving.


    I kind of wanted him to stay here for another hour or so- but- I guess that was kind of weird on my end.


    ''What the hell is wrong with me?''


    Today was Wednesday. "Wait, we have homework?" And then my head started to spin, ever so slightly.


    He looked at me a bit funny for a second and then came upon a realization. "I wish you Goodluck."


    The guy didn''t proceed to tell exin anything and just left.


    I just stood there- seeing him vanishing in the distance.


    Like, what the hell?


    ''Homework¡­ vacation¡­oh¡­."


    Needless to say, I was more or less just standing there, like a moron. Which I might or might not have been.


    Boom!


    Something exploded just behind me.

 Chapter 312 - Prelude To The Catastrophe

    Chapter 312 ¨C Prelude To The Catastrophe


    The ground shook.


    And-


    Half of the stalls copsed.


    "What the hell!" I yelled.


    Dust, debris¡­ and ck?


    ''Soldiers?''


    The soldiers were back?


    My breathing increased. My heart raced.


    This was bad.


    Wasn''t it going to take them at least a few days more?


    But I didn''t have time to worry about that.


    They were here, and they were right there.


    Smoke- the smell of burning. If I didn''t act now, all this would just go to waste.


    They''d worked so hard to rebuild- so hard¡­.


    I had to make a decision and I had to make it now.


    ''Damn!'' I ran. I ran straight for them. "Anyone who doesn''t want to fight, just get the hell out of here!" I screamed and ran hard.


    My stomach also rumbled.


    Yeah, I shouldn''t have eaten that stick of meat.


    Why the hell didn''t I bring my sword?


    sh!


    I still had my saber which I used to slice through any soldier that came in front of me.


    They kept pouring out of the ground. More and more and more.


    And their skin was rather something too.


    Of course, my saber was much stronger now but- "Do you ever wannae out, you damn dragon-snake thingy?"


    Yeah, no response.


    Screams- chaos.


    People were running away; some were standing up and fighting.


    The ck ones were tough but they weren''t anything special.


    So far though, no sign of the purple soldiers.


    "Why is it always you?" The voice came from above. "And wait, they''re back!?"


    It was Rose, her voice was rather high pitched too. She probably thought I''d caused amotion and flew here.


    I couldn''t me her.


    I had a knack for making trouble.


    "Go warn the headmaster or something!" I said, kicking a ck soldier.


    She didn''t waste a moment and just left.


    Well, that saved time.


    "What do we do now!?" A student asked me.


    We were about twelve?


    While the ck soldiers numbered in maybe some few hundred and they had us surrounded.


    And thanks to the guys around me, I couldn''t really use my powers freely either.


    Not the best situation.


    "Half of my family is still on the ind. Just hold on for a moment and we''ll crush these things and send them packing!"


    I had no intentions of getting my family involved. I didn''t want them to get hurt.


    But I had to say something to these guys. I couldn''t have them breaking down on me now, could I?


    Weirdly the students were really relieved to hear that.


    Anyway- I continued pouncing on any and every ck soldier in my immediate vicinity.


    How many did I kill? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?


    Not enough.


    But so far, I didn''t see any purple soldiers and these ck ones weren''t really going out of their way to other areas either; they weren''t even attacking the students around me. It was almost as though¡­ they were¡­ ''Targeting me?''


    Damn it!


    It should have been obvious.


    The headmaster had warned me about this too.


    "Alright boys, sorry to say, but-" I grinned. "You''re just getting in my way, would you guys mind getting the hell out of here?"


    One of them literally burst outughing while some grimaced.


    I didn''t have time to exin shit to them.


    But I did encase them in a barrier- and started running towards the back end of the field where it was a bit more open.


    As expected, the soldiers followed me, without even looking at the guys in the barrier.


    They were targeting me, alright.


    With a bit of distance maintained, I undid the barrier, focused, and created a sma ball.


    Thud!


    A beam of light pierced a dozen or so soldiers and they fell on the ground. The geezer was up in the sky.


    ''Wasn''t sunlight supposed to be hell for you?''


    More help wasing.


    Anyway, I threw the sma ball and it exploded, taking out about fifty or so of the soldiers.


    Still- more wereing and they wereing fast. ''Are their numbers endless or-''


    Meanwhile, the headmaster came running, and so did quite a few members of my family. Grandma, Uncle, Mom and dad, and loads of cousins. They were working together to take down the soldiers.


    Marg wasn''t here though.


    ''This is easy¡­''


    ''Too easy.''


    The shadow agreed with my sentiment.


    It was too easy and I had a feeling, things were going to take a very bad turn.


    After all, evenst time, when I was so enraged, it took a lot more to deal with just three ck soldiers, and now they were falling like flies?


    My powers had improved ever so slightly but they definitely hadn''t improved to the level where even a punch would kill these soldiers.


    Not to mention the soldiers never used any sort of abilities¡­.


    Something just didn''t add up.


    A sound- almost like thunder!


    "It seems the rumors weren''t just rumors after all." Finally- a gate opened just before my eyes. Red particles flew everywhere. "For once those bastards weren''t exaggerating."


    And someone or rather something crossed it.


    ''The hell is that thing?''


    It was purple- three times bigger than Uncle and protected by armor? Who the hell wore armor?


    And it had horns and was that a sword behind its back?


    I stood my ground, pointed my saber at the purple soldier. "You know, I know you''re doing this for fun and all that. But honestly, I despise your kind."


    The huge purple thing blinked twice, head slightly tilting to its left. "Oh, you understood that?" He-no, she giggled. "Interesting." The body was that of a guy''s but the voice was feminine.


    She also took a battle stance, one left forward, one leg back, like she was swatting or something. And she just cracked her neck, pulling out therge sword. "Get up you maggots!" She yelled and almost all the fallen soldiers started getting up like zombies.


    Yeah, easy my ass.


    The soldier just swung her sword. It was a big sword, very jagged. One moment she was twenty meters far- another- she was right in front of me.


    Fast.


    The sword descended.


    I blocked it with my saber.


    Thud!


    A shockwave went through and my feet almost dug into the ground.


    I had both hands but I could feel my bones creaking. Barriers weren''t doing a thing.


    Such power!


    "Isn''t this fun?" And then- she grinned and kicked me.


    I flew back- uncle caught me.


    "Oh yeah, killing innocent people and ruining lives is so interesting and fun," I snorted.


    That hurt!


    I almost broke a bone.


    Uncle was just next to me, and I could literally hear him snort. He was desperately trying to hide it. well, it sure wasn''t working.


    I actually forgot for a moment that my family did all that for a living.

 Chapter 313 - Prelude To The Catastrophe (Part Two)

    Chapter 313 ¨C Prelude To The Catastrophe (Part Two)


    "And wait, what the hell are you talking about again?" Mom stood to my left.


    "Ah?"


    "You were speaking gibberish." Dad weirdly stood in front of me.


    "Why are you guys blocking me?"


    And the hell did they mean by gibberish? I was speaking just fine, thank you very much!


    "That thing doesn''t look beatable," Uncle mumbled.


    Huh?


    Wha?


    This guy?


    The world''s most terrifyingly terrifying terrorist saying he couldn''t beat something without even trying to fight it?


    Was that a joke?


    "That''s great and all but we don''t have a choice," I said.


    She was targeting me. So, it was more like I didn''t have a choice.


    "You just got married, kid. Would be a shame if you were to get injured or something," he said.


    And that''s why they were standing in front of me? And that''s why it was okay for them to get hurt instead?


    I didn''t want to disagree, so I jumped up, and then flew straight for the purple soldier- my saber turned into a scythe.


    I was d my family was here; I was d they were here for me.


    But-


    But!


    I didn''t want them to get hurt either.


    The soldier was really fast- and thest time she came for my head straight away.


    It was about time I returned the favor.


    ng!


    This time I went from the top and she blocked. And she blocked with just one hand too.


    She didn''t freaking flinch an inch.


    So much power.


    She just flicked me back like I was nothing. Inded near mom and the others.


    "Do you even listen!" Uncleined.


    "Uh-huh."


    Well, I certainly did hear them.


    Grandma chuckled. "This family has be so odd."


    ''Yeah, you''re thest person I want to hear that from¡­''


    Everyone kept their distance. No one blindly charged in.


    There weren''t any students or actually even teachers here. Just my family and the headmaster.


    And yet, I didn''t feel confident. Something about this whole thing just irked me.


    I had a bad feeling and it just wasn''t going away.


    "Well." The purple soldier cracked her knuckles, neck, and even waist and smiled. "I suppose you were just warming up. Shall we get serious?"


    And wasn''t she courteous?


    But I wasn''t pulling any punches.


    "You are kind of right," I said, not quite averting my eyes from the soldier. "She doesn''t look beatable."


    "Then-" Uncle started.


    "I''d appreciate if you could take care of the others." There were far too many ck soldiers here.


    He grinned. But he wasn''t convinced.


    "Actually-" The purple one pointed her sword at me. "All of you cane at me at once, if you''d prefer. I don''t mind. Look, I''ll even order them to stay put." And she proceeded to do just that.


    Every single one of the ck ones disappeared.


    Well, my family was going to intervene regardless of what I said to them. And we were always going to gang up on this soldier anyway.


    But I didn''t expect her to actually want that.


    ''So, she''s confident she can take us all?''


    Or maybe she was just in stupid.


    "Change of ns then-" Uncle cracked his knuckles.


    He dashed, I kind of followed him.


    ***


    Uncle and I charged ahead. Dad and the headmaster were just behind us, while the geezer was up in the sky.


    I never really worked with other people like this before- sure didn''t matter.


    I trusted them, and they, me.


    ''Greatsword.''


    My saber changed shapes and I dashed straight for the soldier.


    Oddly she hadn''t moved an inch.


    She just stood there- not even taking a defensive stance.


    "HAH!" I shed and backstepped immediately.


    The rest of us also attacked her- blood spilled everywhere.


    But she didn''t move.


    Rather she just stood there. And then-


    My chest felt warm. And- ''Blood?'' I crumbled to one knee.


    ''What the- hell?''


    Breathing increased. Pain.


    It gradually came- but increased exponentially.


    Stabbing pain. I clutched onto my chest and red.


    The same happened to Uncle and the rest. They were all bleeding from various ces.


    "The hell was that?" The headmaster hadn''t attacked and he was just fine.


    "I got a cut just where I cut that thing," Dad stood in front of me. "Think, it might have transferred our attacks back to us."


    The purple soldier grinned. "Impressive. Your species has decent intelligence it would seem. I suppose calling you UM-23-13 wouldn''t be that ttering now, would it?" All her wounds disappeared.


    "The hell is that?" I stood up; the cut wasn''t that deep but it was a cut regardless.


    I actually had a semi barrier protecting my body, if it weren''t for that I might have cut a bit too deep. And since I was cutting with my saber- the wound had already cauterized.


    She just grinned and taunted us with a finger. "Unholy monkies¡­"


    Wait¡­wait, what!?


    I get that we had the same ancestors as monkeys in the evolutionary tree, but unholy?


    Really?


    People around me were just ring seriously, so it sufficed to say, they couldn''t understand her.


    ''But what the hell is so unholy about us?''


    Anyway- "Let''s see how you like this." My body shook but I focused on a small sma ball.


    It was possible her powers only worked on close range? And even if she reflected back the ball- it was small enough to be blocked by my barrier.


    I shot!


    It flew straight and a hit.


    "ARGH!"


    I threw up blood and fell on the floor. ''The hell?''


    Now I had a small hole on my chest, barely missing the heart.


    The barrier did nothing! The damage was almost instantaneous.


    "Don''t attack mindlessly." The headmaster yelled. "Damn it!" He cursed, still holding his ground.


    But now the purple soldier walked our way, or rather my way.


    Vines popped up and grabbed onto her.


    "Grandma, you, okay?" I managed. A bit of my lungs might have gotpromised.


    I was getting healing from my saber but it just wasn''t enough.


    The pain only increased.


    "Fine. Looks like she can''t do anything if the vines are only blocking her, rather than attacking."


    But the soldier- she just smiled and turned, red?


    The vines caught fire and slowly melted.


    "Maybe, we should also consider, running," Dad said.


    I couldn''t agree more. "But it''s targeting me. So, it''ll be more urate to say, maybe you should consider running."


    "You know, we''re not letting you fight that thing alone!" Mom wasn''t having any of this. "If we''re going down, we''ll all go down."


    "You can''t just all risk your damn lives for just one guy!" Seriously! I was just one guy.


    They kind of looked at me funny. All of them.


    "Well," John sighed. "You always were the thickheaded one."


    "Yeah," Marcus agreed.


    They also got silent agreement from the rest of the people here.


    Um, excuse me, I was right here!


    "What''s our family motto?" John asked.


    "We''re seriously doing this, in front of that thing?" My eyes twitched. No, my whole-body kind of stung.


    I was definitely healing at an abnormal rate but the wounds were definitely still here.


    "I don''t mind as long as you can show me a good fight." The red soldier shrugged and changed back to purple.


    ''The hell is wrong with all of them?''


    "To cause destruction?"


    "No!" John made a dramatic face. "We stand together!"


    Yeah, I kind of didn''t believe in that. After all, mom me and Elsa were kind of always alone anyway.


    Yeah, our family was always there for us. Yeah, if I tried to, we could have just lived in the mansion with the others.


    But in the end, ''we stand together'' never really clicked with me.


    Sigh. But still- "Fine. Don''t me me if you wind up dead."


    He grinned. "If you''re prepared to take a life-" He looked ahead and made a fist. "You better be ready to hand over yours."


    But in the moment, I didn''t realize that- that we were perhaps making a very big mistake.


    After all, just momentster, everyone fell on the ground, throwing up.

 Chapter 314 - The Catastrophe

    Chapter 314 ¨C The Catastrophe


    It was mayhem.


    No one could stand up to the soldier.


    Excrucio was in a puddle of his own blood and next to him were his two son Marcus and John, both unconscious.


    Almost all the Romswells were on the ground.


    Some heavily injured- others, not among the living.


    "Arh!" Albert took a blow just in front of Helio, who was currently crawling. "Sorry, son¡­"


    Helio''s father fell on the ground, unable to stand up again.


    Meanwhile, Helio just stood there- looking at all this, dazed.


    "Run¡­" His mother said, taking the ce of his father. "RUN!"


    The bleeding headmaster tried to help her. "Get as far away from here as possible."


    But- they both were sted away by rays of light.


    "Take the kid and RUN!" The vampire from above tried to say- but before he could finish, he was also shot down by the rays. He crashed into the building in the distance.


    Helio couldn''t run.


    He didn''t have two legs to stand on, he was missing one.


    What happened?


    He asked himself.


    What happened here?


    He couldn''t believe himself.


    Just what the hell happened!?


    Even moments ago, just moments ago- they were fighting together. They were sure if they stood together, if they fought together, they''d have a fighting chance.


    And yet- out of nowhere this purple soldier changed to ashen color and started radiating heat and gamma rays.


    The concentration was far greater than even what Helio could produce.


    Almost everyone felt sick- yet they refused to run.


    Helio tried his best to shield them and he called for Enira a dozen times. He even tried to kick his family away to safety¡­ He tried.


    But in the end- almost everyone just fell to the ground, not being able to move.


    Actually, the moment they felt the concentration- they knew it was toote to run anyway.


    The soldier again changed colors and started attacking Helio. Helio too charged determined to kill this thing- and yet- every time he attacked the attacks were just being reflected. He couldn''t do anything to it but watch his family fall one by one¡­


    The soldier took his leg, but he couldn''t scream¡­ the scream just didn''te out- it got stuck in his throat just like the rest of his feelings.


    Though his parents couldn''t keep up, though the headmaster couldn''t stand up, though Excrucio and his mother didn''t have the resistance, they all tried to protect him. And they met the same fate¡­ and the rest of the Romswell were already heavily poisoned by the radiation.


    Just what the hell happened? Helio wondered again, unable to believe it.


    He could only smell the blood- the blood of his family.


    His eyes shimmered- his conscience crumbled.


    He wanted to crawl into a hole and just stay in there.


    Why did this happen?


    Why to him?


    Why now?


    He just got married.


    He was finally happy.


    His family was together.


    He could finally go to sleep in peace- after all these years.


    And yet- why now?


    Why?


    Tears streamed down his face, as he looked at the blood of his father- his mother and the rest.


    The soldier sighed. "What a disappointment. And here I thought, you were stronger. Such a shame, really." She raised her arms and changed color to yellow. In her hands, formed a ball of sma. White sma. "Perhaps they were exaggerating, after all."


    "You''re just going to let her win! You''re going to let her live! They wounded her! They wounded mother! They killed!" His mouth spoke but he could not hear his voice.


    Rage didn''t incite in him.


    Nothing happened.


    It was over.


    "Oh?" The soldier paused. The formation of sma stopped, but it didn''t disappear. "You''ve got more?"


    Growl.


    Helio growled and yet- his eyes didn''t move.


    "W-h-a-t-" He almost spoke one letter at a time. "Can I do?"


    What could he do?


    Nothing worked.


    He tried attacking, it didn''t work.


    He failed.


    He tried protecting, it didn''t work.


    He failed.


    He told them to run, it didn''t work.


    He failed.


    He was a failure.


    Everyone just fell because of him and there was nothing he could do about it.


    He didn''t even have the will to live anymore. Nor save anyone else for that matter.


    He knew for a fact, no one could be saved after this much radiation.


    It was all meaningless.


    "Then let me¡­" The shadow spoke. "The second seal is about to be undone. He is but upon us." The shadow''s voice was low. He wasn''t seething with rage, nor was he going crazy. He was awfully levelheaded. "So, let me."


    Helio remained quiet for a moment. "Take it¡­ take it¡­ take it all¡­" He broke down in tears, as he stared at his father''s cold body.


    Everything was gone anyway.


    He could feel it. He could feel most of his family were dead.


    His uncle- his grandma and even his father¡­.


    They were gone.


    And the rest would perish soon¡­.


    They lectured him so much about doing this for family- but what about their family?


    What about his family?


    ''Liars¡­''


    Helio closed his eyes; he never wanted to open them again.


    ***


    Helio stood up on one leg.


    A sort of steam starteding out of him. His veins bulged; his face remained expressionless.


    There were no grins on his face, just a re.


    "I''m already out; the seal''s broken. And father is dead," He spoke. "I suppose there''s no need for you to stay in there."


    A woman manifested beside him. A woman with blue hair, horns, an armored tail, and a glowing ck and white aura. Her expression- heartbroken.


    "I guess I should havee out when he first called. At least we could have prevented this¡­" She said, looking around.


    "Mother''s still alive. Go stabilize her and the rest," The shadow spoke.


    The woman nodded and ran back, while also creating a strong barrier, covering only the shadow and the soldier.


    The soldier meanwhile, just stared at everything, the sma ball still in her hand. "Oh? So, the thought about. You having multiple forms wasn''t an exaggeration?" She was delighted.


    She had to go through quite a lot thesest few days. So, the fact that all that trouble wasn''t a waste, was something that only gave her joy.


    To be honest, she was kind of disappointed. She thought after all this time, she''d have a good battle, but it wasn''t.


    She was expecting a lot more.


    "I don''t know who you are-" His voice remained stable. "But I will destroy you, your race, and your damn. I''ll erase everything." The top half of his face turned ck- eyes red.


    Still no skin ripping grin; just a re.

 Chapter 315 - The Catastrophe (Part Two)

    Chapter 315 ¨C The Catastrophe (Part Two)


    "Really?" The soldier readied her de. "I''d love to see you try." She dashed straight for him, throwing the sma.


    Helio- or rather, the shadow dodged.


    The sma missed and headed straight for Enira.


    And just like the soldier had let him sh her before, he let her slice at him. He didn''t flinch, instead, he grabbed her sword once it cleaved at his chest. It turned to dust.


    The soldier was surprised for an instant.


    And in that instant, he grabbed her arm and it fell off.


    Disintegration worked just fine. After all, it was one of the Shadow''s original abilities.


    The soldier jumped back, gasping for air by sheer reflex.


    Meanwhile- no apparent damage was on the shadow''s body. Rather he was already regrowing his lost limb and all his wounds were healing at an astronomical rate.


    Even if he received reflected damage- with this level of healing- there wasn''t any need for concern.


    He himself was a tad surprised at this. With Enira''s power alone this was impossible.


    Then- ''Hyora''s?''


    This healing ability was simr to Hyora''s but he never felt the thirst for blood and surely, he didn''t take in her blood, right?


    But this wasn''t the time to worry about that.


    Rather- he just took a stance. His ck saber spun violently like a chainsaw. "I ''will'' kill you."


    The purple soldier wiped her sweat with one arm. "Yes¡­ yes! This is what I''d been waiting for!" Sheughed like a maniac and made another sma ball, throwing it in an instant.


    A white sma ball.


    "Enira!" Hemanded.


    Walls of barriers formed and stopped the ball and before it could explode, Enira warped in front of him and consumed the whole thing with one chomp. "Most of them will live, apart from the dead¡­" She said, before warping back.


    "Alright." The shadow''s expression still didn''t change. He just red forward and with slow motion, gradually turning up the speed, ran ahead. "Protect everyone. If there are still people on the ind- form a barrier over them too."


    His range had increased exponentially. He knew there weren''t many left on the ind; most had already evacuated.


    "That woman¡­ a Xene¡­ no¡­ A Nelean¡­.?" The soldier turned to gold and started producing beams of prating light, firing it all straight at him. She also formed small sma balls, firing them like bullets; all the while producing gamma radiation.


    The shadow dodged some, blocked some while taking the rest as direct hits.


    With eighteen holes, a blown off arm, and half of his face hanging off his neck, bleeding, he stood in front of the soldier; expression still the very same. "This is what radiation is." He proceeded to release a heavy concentration of gamma, denser than he could ever muster, and immediately started pummeling the soldier.


    Wham!


    With every punch- shockwaves spread.


    He received reflected damage and the healing couldn''t keep up; he didn''t care.


    "Argh!" She groaned but the shadow did not stop.


    He followed his barrage of attacks by making a massive sma ball- bright yellow. It was almost as big as the one he produced in the null realm.


    "How are you still moving?" The soldier looked in amazement, she was way too excited. Her heart beat like that, that very day- that very day when she first fought Todd. "But won''t you die too, if you-"


    Or perhaps- it beat faster.


    She also punched the shadow- and though the shadow kept on losing body parts- he didn''t flinch.


    "None of your business-" He proceeded to m it on her head.


    Boom!


    Fires spread. The shadow was protected by a barrier but the fires were just too strong. He also took the reflected damage¡­


    He didn''t care-


    The earth broke and the ind started to crumble.


    Crack!


    A shockwave blitzed past the horizon followed by the cracks on the earth and dividing the ind into multiple parts. If it weren''t for the multyered barriers- this ind would have already sunk. The bodies and most of the academy were protected by multiple barriers.


    But almost everything had crumbled. There weren''t any buildings standing tall anymore.


    A massive crater that was probably bigger than the academy resulted and in the middle was the soldier, smoking ck.


    The soldier, however, wasn''t dead. She was incapacitated, her head hanging from her neck. Half of her body was too grotesque to describe; blood here, guts there; burns everywhere.


    The shadow meanwhile, just recovered and healed himself like it was no big deal; of course, half of his body was too damaged to heal immediately but he pretended they weren''t even a thing.


    He was floating where the ground used to be. He went down. Most of his clothes were gone: he walked slowly towards the barely breathing soldier.


    "I will be back!" She grinned. She had the best time in millennia, she was definitelying back. She couldn''t breathe, she couldn''t speak and yet- she was far too excited.


    Todd just wasn''t enough.


    Perhaps this time, she''d bring a stronger vessel?


    Or maybe-


    "I believe you." Even now, his voice was level. His eyes, however, were furious; red streaking through.


    A pale grin- formed on the soldier''s crumbling face. She didn''t have arms to fight back, but she opened her mouth tounch a final sma attack-


    The shadow reached the soldier, put his feet on her face and-


    STOMP!


    -mmed it in.


    The skull cracked- and got crushed; brains and blood spilled everywhere.


    Her shrieks shook the earth, her body wailed around- before going cold.


    The horns came off the head and squirted in the distance along with the blood.


    The soldier was no more.


    He reached down, to grab her head- so he could perhaps get the DNA necessary for him to cross the gates- after all, he was going to destroy them.


    But the body just disappeared into the earth at the veryst second.


    ck hands pulled her away as particles flew.


    Exhale.


    He didn''t rage around.


    He didn''t stomp the ground either.


    He slowly flew up, andnded near the pile of bodies.


    None of the unconscious were waking up. Some of them were probably never going to wake up.


    "How''s mother?" He said, body no longer steaming.


    His face wasn''t dark anymore either. He looked normal- far too normal.


    There was no one in sight; only destruction.


    "She''ll live."


    He didn''t go to his mother''s side. Rather, he sat down near his father''s corpse. He touched his cheek and slowly bowed. "I''m sorry father." A drop leaked from his eyes. He stared at the rest of the corpses. "I''m sorry guys."


    He proceeded to fall on the ground- unconscious.

 Chapter 316 - Broken

    Chapter 316 ¨C Broken


    Helio woke up.


    He looked around- an unknown roof; oddly familiar.


    There was someone by his bed- Marg.


    She was sleeping on a stool.


    Helio sat down.


    Some furniture was here- he recognized them¡­


    Enira immediately manifested. "So, which one are you?" She spoke softly.


    The door was locked, the curtains were drawn.


    Helio smiled. "I wonder." He looked normal- as in, too normal.


    Enira grimaced slightly. "He won''te out? Or-"


    "Let''s forget about the worthless." He gripped his hand. His wounds were fully healed. "Still, this body is amazing. Where did he acquire such healing capabilities?"


    He was wearing pants, just pants.


    "You showered in her blood if you recall. She was one of the first few- hench even that had its effects. Perhaps a bit of her blood slipped inside you through a cut and that blood chose you as an heir?"


    "I suppose."


    Marg started waking up. The moment she did, she hugged Helio. Her eyes immediately shimmered. "I''m so sorry. Mother and grandma made me swear not to go and-" She started crying.


    There were dark circles beneath her eyes and she was restless- perhaps-


    The shadow- no, he was the shadow no more. He was Helio- he touched her hair, gently patting. "It''s okay."


    "But they-"


    "I know." Helio remained expressionless. He just patted her head. "I''m d you''re okay."


    Marg looked up in surprise. "What are you saying? Aren''t you concerned-"


    "And why should I be concerned about the dead? Shouldn''t I be more concerned about the living? About you?"


    "Who are you?" She spoke in disbelief.


    "Well, I''m your husband."


    "No," She took a step back towards the door. "Your father, your uncle, your grandmother, they all died for you. And yet-"


    "Well, father was eventually going to die by the end of this month, and this dragon here was only slowing his death down. Meanwhile, the rest of them died on their own ord. We tried to warn them- they didn''t listen. So, we have to respect their wishes and their decisions. Mourning their death would only mean disrespect for the dead."


    Keyword- we.


    Marg breathed erratically, tears welling up even more. "You''re not Helio¡­" She got out of the room, terrified- almost like she''d seen a ghost.


    "You could have at least pretended," Enira murmured.


    But Helio just lied down again. "Unfortunately, we don''t have time to y pretend." He red at the roof. "Assuming they''re in your world, we have one week till she gets here. Assuming she''s in theirs, it''ll take three. WE can only assume she''ll be far stronger this time, and maybe she''ll be here tomorrow, who knows¡­. And though even if we destroy her, the army would be next. We have to find a way to cross the gate and destroy them from within. Otherwise-"


    "About that-" Enira paused. She was unsure if it was wise to tell him. But she took another deep breath. "We manufactured a special chip in the future just to make sure we didn''t identally teleport to the wrong ces. But that chip also acted as our beacon of identity. It''s possible they too-"


    "So. You''re saying, if we could get one of those-"


    "Yes."


    Helio finally grinned. "Alright, let''s go get stronger."


    He got down and searched for a shirt.


    "How?" Enira mumbled.


    The two got out of the room.


    ***


    Helio and the rest were in the Romswell mansion.


    People were wailing here and there. Some were just staring into the distance- not quite focusing on anything.


    Some nurses and doctors were walking by.


    "This way-" Enira led him around.


    Helio followed her, not quite asking anything.


    He had to first see his mother, tell her what he was about to do next, and then move on. There was a reason for that.


    As they moved about in the mansion, a lot of people looked at the two, some with heartbroken eyes, while others, a furious re. But no one said anything.


    Helio just ignored everything and arrived at a room in the corner- his mother''s old room.


    He remembered this ce- albeit vaguely.


    He knocked twice.


    Inside, he saw his mother waking just as he went in. "Mother, we have to talk."


    She groaned and tried to sit down. "Didn''t'' I tell you to call me mom?" She couldn''t, so she just stayed like that.


    She was alone.


    "You don''t have to push yourself." Helio took a sit by the bed. "I need you to take care of Marg."


    "Wh-what are you saying?" She looked at him with surprise. "Helio?"


    "I''ll go search for cores. She''ll be back and I need to kill her this time to get something from her. I''ll go to her world and destroy it. And there''s a chance I won''t being back." He spoke fluently and without pausing too much. "So- I need you to take care of her. I''m sure you have enough money. I''m sure, you can just-"


    "The hell is wrong you!" The scream came from behind him. His sister was here. "You run the first chance you get!?"


    Elsa and Marg came inside.


    Helio just ignored them and stared at his mother. "Mother, I''m not asking for your permission. I''m just letting you know before I go."


    His mother just stared at him. "So, the seals have broken." She smiled faintly. "And so has this family." She stared at the two neers, unable to maintain a straight face.


    Helio sighed and turned around. "We''re leaving."


    Enira followed him.


    Helio noticed a lot of people were poking through the door, and his Auntie was among them.


    He wanted to apologize on his other self''s behalf but his own morals came before that. So, he decided not to.


    Just before he could get out though- Elsa grabbed his hand. "Why are you leaving!? Why? Because they died for you? Because you couldn''t save them!? And that''s why you''re abandoning your mother? Your wife? Your sister? Don''t you know what it feels to live without a dad?" Tears streamed and she broke down on the floor, still clutching onto his hands. "Your family. They did this for you, you have to stand by them when they need you!"


    Helio didn''t bat an eye. "Perhaps I am running away. I know for a fact, that woman would return and when she does, you''ll all die." He spoke in a matter-of-fact manner. "He couldn''t save- no, we couldn''t save them. And frankly, I won''t be able to either if I stay here. Therefore, it''s best I leave now, destroy them instead. After all, my powers work best, when I''m alone." He looked back.


    And Elsa just let his hands go, almost shrinking in fear. She hadn''t felt that fear ever since that day when Helio broke someone''s legs for her. "You''re really not him."


    She saw those same eyes- those same furious eyes that day¡­


    Helio grinned. "I assure you, I''m me."


    He proceeded to leave, and without saying a word to Marg.


    "Helio¡­" His mother tried to lift her arm- toward him, eyes shimmering¡­


    But he didn''t look back.


    Marg grabbed him and hugged him from behind. "Don''t go¡­" She whispered.


    She knew it wasn''t him.


    She knew it.


    And yet- she couldn''t unlove him.


    Helio, exhaled, didn''t say anything, and just left.


    Enira followed him.

 Chapter 317 - New Standards: New Goals

    Chapter 317 ¨C New Standards: New Goals


    "So, where are we going?" Enira said.


    The two were walking through the edges of the Romswell domain; empty fields with some asional orange and lemon trees. Some workers were working in the distance.


    Helio remained quiet.


    The two hadn''t taken flight yet.


    Helio hadn''t been here in a long, long while and he got freedom after a long time¡­ he wanted to at least feel his feet on the grass, the sunlight- the blue sky. And let the wind press against his skin.


    Enira walked just beside Helio- her hands behind her back, clutched together. "Oh, and we''re not going to see the dead at least? I believe their graves are-"


    "You have grandmother''s core, correct? So, it''s possible for you to turn back time or perhaps-"


    "Actually-" She paused. "She couldn''t turn back time. Rather- she abandoned her world and came to this one, a parallel world. Of course, she did travel into the past, but changing something in this world didn''t really do anything in hers."


    "So even if we go kill them before they caused all this- my family in this world-" Helio looked up at the sky.


    The pale clouds.


    The stale wind.


    Grey.


    "Will still be dead, yes."


    Another exhale. "Then let''s destroy them in both of the worlds."


    A gust of wind blew past them; Enira had to clutch the bottom of her dress tight.


    "For someone who doesn''t want to mourn the dead, you sure are trying hard to make things right. Are you sure, you''re supposed to be evil?" Enira changed the subject.


    "Why would I be evil?" He started floating. He''d had enough.


    Enira also started floating. "I mean, I was always under the impression that you were evil and wanted to take over his body-" With the new cores over thest two weeks, her powers had vastly expanded.


    "We are one and the same and it is our body. Perhaps he doesn''t understand that the only reason we were separate in the past, we would have died otherwise. Now, however¡­ ourselves have started to merge; the seal is undone. Assuming he is willing to ept me- we can coexist."


    Enira grimaced slightly. "I guess I was under the wrong impression then¡­"


    The two gradually sped up and shockwaves spread across the sky.


    "I was desperate to get out¡­" He confessed. "So, I might havee across-" He paused and didn''t finish. "And I hope he never epts me. I want this freedom all to myself," he mumbled. Besides he had to deal with the third one too.


    He just sped up even more.


    ***


    It took them three hours.


    Three hours to reach earth''s southernmost continent- Antarctica.


    "You still haven''t answered me."


    The two went down.


    Cold.


    Blue.


    And beautiful.


    "She''ll be back eventually. And she''ll be a lot more powerful this time. We have to prepare for her." Helio walked on ahead.


    Sunlight peaked through. There wasn''t much wind, or a blizzard for that matter.


    And yet- the temperature was well below the freezing point of water.


    And neither had brought warm clothes.


    "Wait, then you''re here for the cores? You mean you''re going to-"


    Helio grinned. "You''re fairly smart, aren''t you? Sometimes that makes me wonder, just how damn much you know."


    Enira was from the future and she came back roughly eighty years ago. She knew a lot of things, but she never bothered to talk about them.


    "How much do you know¡­." She repeated the question.


    "Well¡­ now that my memories areing back. I keep remembering about a certain incident, in a certain forest, some years ago¡­ and I also happen to remember a voice¡­ perhaps-" Helio paused, giving Enira a stare and a grin.


    Enira was too busy wrapping her arms around herself.


    It wasn''t cold no, it was freezing. Actually, freezing didn''t do this ce justice. It was more than just freezing. "And you think it''s me?"


    Helio''s grin widened. "I don''t believe I''ve said that." He didn''t stop. This cold was nothing- it was nothingpared to his ambition.


    Enira grimaced slightly. "We''re here for the cores. So, let''s just go get them."


    Helio wanted to remember his past too. Or rather, he was just curious; nothing more, nothing less. After all, the past was in the past.


    So, in the end, he didn''t quite care all that much. He had many goals in life unlike his previous self, and spending all his precious mental resources worrying about the past wasn''t on his priority list.


    He didn''t dream to be an explorer. He wanted more freedom than that. He wanted to go see the world- but by his own rules, not rules forged by others. But before all that, he first wanted to go destroy those monsters.


    The monsters that killed his father, his uncle, his grandmother, his cousins¡­. The monsters that killed his family.


    He was going to destroy them and be free.


    ***


    sh!


    Helio had brought his grandfather''s sword and he was experimenting with just how hot he could make it.


    He didn''t bother bringing his gloves. They were only going to get in his way now.


    Screech!


    He first started off by fightingrge lizard-type mutors with just the yellow sma. Small red cores.


    Then he foughtrge snow bears with the blue type. The bears wererge and their ws were turning even the barriers to shreds¡ªsmall purple cores.


    The blue sma was hot and it was burning his fingers; definitely tolerable.


    And finally- now, he was fighting a dragon.


    A full-fledged glorified flying lizard; awfully azure in color and definitely furious.


    "Not really fun seeing your kind get killed¡­" Enira mumbled from the sidelines, blocking the dragon''s ice breath.


    Helio didn''t reply, instead, he turned up the heat and made his sword shined white- the hottest kind of sma he could produce.


    He could also produce a lot of radiation now and he could control it just fine- not letting it leak.


    The sma instantly started vaporizing his fingers but he didn''t stop. Rather, he jumped straight for the dragon and cleaved its neck in two.


    Fast.


    SHRIEK!!!


    The dragon''s blood spilled everywhere as it fell on the ground; just the head was bigger than a typical hovercraft.


    Though the sma was far too hot, it went so fast, the wound didn''t have time to cauterize.


    Helio carved a hole in the fallen dragon''s corpse and pulled out its purple core: a football size. He threw it to Enira. "Let''s move on to the next one."


    The sword turned to normal but his hands were burned to a crisp. Yet, he didn''t even flinch let alone write in pain.


    They gradually started healing.


    Enira started chomping on the core. "By the way, you sure you can live in this constant radioactive field? I mean you are fairly resistant but-"


    But the radiation level of this ce was far greater than any other ce on earth- and even most of space for that matter.


    The excess radiation helped him maintain his stamina but it was like a double-edged sword.


    "Yeah, constantly getting bombarded runs the risk of my body mutating. Run a fewyers of barriers just in case." Helio was pretty resistant, so it shouldn''t have been a thing. But he wasn''t going to take in any risk.


    Actually, she already had about three thin barriers on him already.


    And she made another three just in case.

 Chapter 318 - Ruined

    Chapter 318 ¨C Ruined


    She groaned as the link ended.


    Xeroha had always spent most of her time- if not all- in link.


    Even so- just a bit of this way too powerful link had made her body go sore.


    ''Oh yeah, the checkup was still due¡­'' The room was just as empty as before- devoid of people. Everyone had their own world to contend with.


    She just wanted to go back in link and go fight again but she knew for a fact, her body needed some care.


    Moreover, she didn''t have any other strong soldiers so she only had two options. One, request a powerful modified soldier from Central or two- head in battle on her own.


    With one hand on therge link generator, she tried to walk forward. "Arhh¡­" But her body swayed. "I guess using almost all my powers was a bad idea- bleuh!"


    And she almost threw up.


    It was a good thing there was nothing in her stomach.


    But her grin didn''t disappear.


    After all, she''d just found her new toy and there was no way she was going to back down now.


    Again- the bit of drool on her face was definitely not part of the n.


    ***


    It happened fast, perhaps too past.


    Helio''s mother witnessed a tragedy she wished never came to fruition, even in her darkest of nightmares.


    Her husband fell- her brother fell- her mother- they all fell.


    This was a mistake- and yet, she couldn''t just tell the others to get out of here either.


    After all- her son was here and he was about to be killed.


    In the end- she still screamed, "Everyone get out of here, I''ll take care of this¡­" Her son was about to die- she had to do something. And at the same time, she didn''t want others to die.


    But take care of this?


    How?


    And though everyone heard that- no one had the energy to do anything. After all, they were already on the ground- mostly unconscious.


    The radiation poisoning was too much.


    With a deep breath, she took the ce of her husband and stood in front of Helio- to protect him but- but with a shy burning light- she was sted away almost immediately.


    She couldn''t protect him¡­ she couldn''t protect anyone¡­ ''No¡­''


    As her consciousness gradually drifted, she saw Helio getting up, a ck aura of sort gradually covering him- and yet- she felt a stabbing pain- almost like she was never going to see her son again¡­ ''Helio-'' She tried to reach but passed out the very next second.


    The words never came out of her mouth.


    ***


    Demigrace Academy was destroyed and so was most of the ind.


    The casualties were high but more than two-thirds of the people had gotten off the ind safely.


    The headmaster was in a deepa and his whereabouts were unknown.


    It was a tragedy and no one really knew who to me or who to thank.


    The news of the Romswells losing almost all of their firepower spread rapidly. Some couldn''t believe it, others just dismissed it as a hoax.


    "The Romswells mostly dead? That''s absurd!" A certain news tycoon med a piece of paper on the table, burning it to a crisp. He puffed on hisrge cigar and grumbled.


    Clouds passed by.


    They were in the sky.


    "But sir, we''ve already confirmed the death of Excrucio and even-" there was another man here- his attendant.


    The two were high up in the sky- in the midst of clouds. The sunlight wasn''t hurting them and they weren''t falling down either.


    Rather the man had afy chair and a table to rest his hands on- or perhaps just burn down all the papers he had on it.


    The man sighed- taking arge puff. "Well, that''s not really new. He disappears all the time¡­" The man refused to believe that monster was dead. "I once saw him fight¡­." And he got goosebumps just remembering it. "He can''t be killed that easily¡­ something just-" He just couldn''t ept it.


    "The informants im this is the work of aliens and soon we''ll have to deal with an invasion."


    "We can''t press that!"


    "We can sir and it''ll be big news."


    "Big news my ass. The world will go crazy." The man just scratched his hair. "Wait- what happened to the rookie?"


    "You mean the cursed mask? He reportedly killed the alien and left for Antarctica, I believe."


    "Wha? Not mourn the dead or amass their army, but he, just left? Wasn''t he about to have a kid?"


    ***


    Marg and Elsa were getting off the ind when it happened.


    Some of Helio''s cousins and aunties were taking them off on a boat.


    Even from here, they could easily feel the shockwaves and the dread.


    Something terrible was happening on the other side of the ind.


    Marg wanted to go- and so did Elsa.


    But- they didn''t.


    Marg promised Helio''s mother that she wouldn''t go. But she chose not to because of the baby in her womb. If the baby wasn''t here, she could care less about a promise. After all- Helio mattered more than a promise- even if that promise had significant weight.


    Elsa also promised but she wasn''t going to keep it. She wanted to run there- right now!


    And it took her Auntie''s full paralyzing power to keep her on the boat. Even so- "Lemme go!" He iled around and the ocean gradually be more and more furious- rocking the boat.


    But her Auntie didn''t let go.


    ''Please be okay¡­'' Marg rarely prayed after that incident at the church. That incident that took her friends and-


    And yet, today she prayed. Today, she prayed with all her heart.


    Eventually, the ind was destroyed and the words of victory came. But the news of death came along with it.


    Helio was alive but- but at what cost?


    Marg''s eyes leaked, she could feel her heart tremble, and yet- deep down she was d. ''At least he''s okay¡­''


    Butter when Helio woke up and she could feel that he wasn''t there- she just couldn''t take it anymore.


    She''d lost everything. Her new family, and now her husband too?


    And that wasn''t just all. Helio was leaving and with that snake too.


    Was she really that untrustworthy for him to take along?


    Was she just a hindrance?


    Would her child grow up without a father?


    ''Helio¡­''

 Chapter 319 - Hunting

    Chapter 319 ¨C Hunting


    "How many does that make?" Helio finished off a massive white eagle.


    "Exactly nine hundred and sixty-seven."


    Their breaths created mist- it was awfully cold today.


    White everywhere. A blizzard was brewing.


    And the two were nearing their limits to what their body could manage without much food or sleep in this cold and radioactive climate.


    "Think you can take her with your current powers?" Helio tore open the Eagle''s chest and plucked the core like a fruit- a vibrant red one. He threw it at her.


    "If let''s say, she was on the same level, I''d be able to stall her for quite a while, though I take it she''ll probablye back stronger." Enira absorbed the core. A strand of her hair turned slightly red.


    "That goes without a saying." He started walking.


    It''d been four days since the two came to this ce.


    And though they didn''t have warm clothes at the start- Helio hunted wild bears and, in the end, they ended up wearing the skin of the bears. A little stinky but definitely effective.


    Besides Enira was a dragon and Helio could manipte his temperature quite well, so the cold wasn''t that much of a problem. At least at first, it wasn''t a problem, now though, they both understood- it wasn''t that easy.


    There was a reason no one lived on this continent.


    Now that there was a blizzard, most Mutors went into hiding and it was too cold to go on hunting.


    Visibility was also a problem.


    "Let''s go find a cave," he said.


    "Right!"


    Enira was a dragon- a dragon that could easily live in magma.


    She was happy to shower with fire- the cold though- she wasn''t a fan off.


    So, when the opportunity came to go rest in a cave- she couldn''t be more delighted.


    This ce already had way too much radiation emissions- at least enough to kill a normal person in less than ten minutes.


    So, it didn''t hurt Helio to just use his powers and locate things- without worrying about harming others. Besides, with so much excess radiation, he was almost always on full stamina.


    Actually, this was perhaps the most perfect ce for him to use his powers.


    The cold though- was the real issue.


    ***


    The two found a cave. It was home to a snow tiger- pure white and the size of a hippo.


    It did not escape Helio''s sword.


    "Why do I feel like you enjoy killing?" Enira said, slouching down against the cold blue floor.


    "What do you mean?" Helio took a seat beside her; their voice echoed. "It''s survival of fittest. For one to live, another has to die¡­" The cold solid ice only made their behinds go numb. "Maybe we should skin it and use that as a mat?" He wondered aloud.


    Enira sighed. "I take it back. I wasn''t wrong about you at all! You are evil!" She grumbled, took Helio''s saber, and went to skin the tiger on her own.


    Helio just sat there- expressionless. ''Yeah¡­ I''m always the evil one¡­'' And yet, his eyes were slightly nted, just staring.


    Enira skinned a portion of the tiger, and created a barrier over their heads.


    They couldn''t start a fire but Helio created a small sma ball which kept the barrier warm andfy.


    "This is too chewy-" Enira took a bite. "And too nd and stinky and-" She kept onining. The smell and taste of burned flesh without any condiments or even salt for that matter, was never fun.


    She''d given Helio the saber back- or more like Helio took it.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be a Mutor too? Why the hell are youining now? Or did youin for thest 80 or so years too?"


    "Hmph!" Enira didn''t bother exining. She at the rest of her portion.


    Helio meanwhile ate without anyints. He couldn''t care less about the food or the taste.


    He only liked his mother''s food anyway.


    And after eating and resting for an hour or so- "I suppose that''s enough rest. We should go find some more."


    "You''ve singlehandedly halved their entire poption. Do we really need to hunt more?"


    "My powers won''t just grow with a bit of fighting or eating cores like you, but you can in theory get too strong. Therefore, it''s best we try our best to make you invincible."


    "And if I end up bing your enemy?" She asked in a matter-of-fact manner.


    "I won''t say I trust you wholeheartedly but I do have enough faith in you to know you won''t. And if you do- I still have your original core right here." He put a hand on his saber, fingering it to get his point across.


    Enira smiled, got up, and headed for the exit. "At least you''re not na?ve like him but if your powers won''t improve, are you sure you can take her on this time, if she''s much stronger than you?"


    Helio also stood up and headed for the exit. "It''s possible my disintegration won''t work this time. And it''s also possible she might have something trickier than just reflecting the damage-" The blizzard had died down a bit but the cold was still- too cold. "The third seal is close to being undone. The only reason it hasn''t is because I''m keeping it that way. And I''d like to keep it that way." He walked and didn''t look back.


    Enira didn''t say anything, rather she just stared up ahead- quiet for a few minutes. "I hope everything works out, for both our sakes."


    "Me too," he mumbled.


    ***


    For the next few days, Helio and Enira continued hunting. They asionally rested in the cave.


    They''d killed over two-thirds of the strong Mutors in Antarctica and burned the corpses and the parts they didn''t need.


    If he''d sold the cores instead of letting Enira consume them- Helio would have be a trillionaire in no time. Actually, just selling the corpses would have granted him a seat in the billionaire league.


    After all, the Mutors in Antarctica were the strongest.


    But money mattered little now.


    After all the consumption, Enira''s physical appearance changed quite a lot.


    Her hair had turned slightly pinkish while it was red around the edges- white at the base. She''d grown a bit taller and now Helio only reached up to her chest. And speaking of chests, she''d ascended the H cup territory. And she often tried to drag Helio''s head in. She hadn''t yet given up, no.


    Unfortunately, Helio wasn''t interested.


    "I think this is my physical limit. If I take in any more cores, I''d run the risk of being corrupted and end up as a mindless monster," she said, walking behind Helio. "Or I might explode, who knows?" She chuckled.


    "I guess that won''t be nice, would it?" He said, stopping.


    It was midday and it was really bright; white.


    But still, cold.


    "Also-" She fidgeted slightly. "I''d like some clothes. It''s really hard moving in these¡­." Her underwear was perhaps a bit too tight.


    "Just get rid of them then. There''s no one here anyway."


    "Rude!" She gave him a disapproving re. "There are certain things you shouldn''t say to ady!"

 Chapter 320 - Unholy Reunion

    Chapter 320 ¨C Unholy Reunion


    "We''re already on our second week. There''s a high chance she''ll strike at any moment. We don''t have time to go ces, and risk things."


    ''Besides, you''re supposed to be a frigging dragon mutor!''


    And Enira knew that. But something did bother her. "What if they show up regardless and wreak havoc unable to find you?"


    She was just behind him, walking with hands behind her back. Though cold, this was still a cakewalk to her. After all, she was in peak form right now.


    "I doubt that. They''re probably tracking me. And they''d-"


    "What makes you so sure?"


    After all, the aliens had always prepared toe hunt them, so they could have easilye to earth and just gone around killing people.


    "Well, I''m sure for two reasons. One, that woman was kind of crazy, and two, she and the third share quite a lot of simrity- frighteningly so." He grinned. "Besides, for thest hour or so- there''s someone spying on us. They''ve hidden themselves quite well, so I can''t-"


    "Oh, so I''ve been discovered?" A melodious voice.


    Helio had heard it before.


    "Well, that was anticlimactic." He grinned. "I didn''t think you''d show yourself before me after what happened thest time."


    A woman had manifested out of seemingly nowhere. White clothes- blonde hair and red eyes. "I suppose you can say that."


    A vampire.


    And Helio knew her all too well.


    "I suppose you wanted to die too badly." He unsheathed his sword, taking a stance.


    "No, no!" the girl raised her hand, surrendering. "I just came to talk to her, nothing more." She was sweating in buckets.


    This cold weather wasn''t enough to calm herself.


    She was currently in her proper human form and her voice was also quite human.


    "That geezer almost died because of you. And you had the nerve to kidnap my sister, and now you im that-"


    "It''s okay-" Enira said. "Let me handle this."


    Helio wasn''t convinced and he wasn''t going to just watch this whole thing from the sidelines either. But for the time being, he pretended to go along.


    "Now-" Enira faced the vampire. "Exin yourself?"


    Half of the vampire''s face was covered in a mask. She slowly walked and stood just in front of Enira. And- "I missed you so much!" She grabbed Enira, hugging her like they were long-lost lovers. She even tried to kiss her but Enira just dodged.


    They were pretty much the same height and their proportions were simr.


    Helio meanwhile just stared.


    Enira cleared her throat and got out of the woman''s clutches. "Exin?" She was slightly flustered, a bit sweaty. But not hostile.


    ''Why do I get a bad feeling?''


    The woman fidgeted ever so slightly. "I''ve finally found you." She squirmed. "Those terrible years in the void were worth it!"


    Helio gently held his sword right at the girl''s neck and smiled. "Exin."


    "Ri-right." She took a breath. "I''m Breya, her elder sister." She proudly presented herself.


    "What?" Helio said.


    "What?" Enira said.


    "The hell are you surprised for?" Helio grabbed Enira''s furry coat.


    The vampire woman- Breya sniffed. "You''ve forgotten about me?"


    ''Was she always like this?'' Last time, this woman was so fierce and she tried to attack and all that, but now she was crying?


    Helio had better things to worry about. But all this was rubbing him the wrong way.


    He was dead set on killing this vampire but the situation was just bing crazier and crazier.


    "Actually, I kind of ran amok for some four decades after eating way too many cores, so-" Enira looked away slightly embarrassed. "But thanks to that, even after consuming twice as much as before, I''m still fine!"


    Helio exhaled. "Let me get this straight. You were her sister and that''s why you wanted her? Then why the hell did you kidnap my sister? And why the hell did you attack the geezer? You could have juste to me and-"


    The weather was gradually worsening again. The wind was picking up and things were starting to feel cold; too cold.


    "Well, I thought you were keeping her forcefully and sexually abusing her. I didn''t hear many great things about you." The woman didn''t look Helio in the eye, rather she just looked at the ground, a bit flustered, a bit scared. "And my apprentice was the one who attacked him¡­ and you guys killed her- you also attacked me and kind of struck a nerve¡­ but yeah¡­" She again started sweating. "But enough of that!" She changed the subject. "So, did you lose your memories?" She grabbed Enira''s shoulders and shook her, poking her cheeks. She proceeded to poke her chest. "And you''ve actually outgrown me, too." She wondered and then squirmed in joy.


    "Unfortunately, I still remember you¡­" Enira answered, dejected. She then stared back at Helio. "She''s basically like you but on steroids. Sis at its finest."


    "I do not have a sisplex!" Helio and Breya said in unison, staring at each other for a moment. "I do not!" And again, spoke in unison.


    And then both shut up for a good minute.


    Enira let out a giggle.


    "Anyway," Breya sniffed her sister in various ces; various ces. "You reek, we need a shower. Let''s go!" She grabbed her arm. "Ah, finally, a shower. After so long." She squirmed. It wasn''t that she hadn''t showered in a while, rather, it was just that she hadn''t showered in a while with her sister.


    "Unfortunately, we don''t have time for that," Helio said. "They''ll be here any moment and-"


    "Don''t be such a buzzkill." After saying it and looking at Helio''s eyes, Breya again stared at the ground, a bit scared. "Are you worried about the Xenesing back?" her voice was small.


    "Xenes?"


    "That''s what they call themselves." Ahem! "They''re actually nning a mass invasion and should be here in approximately two days."


    "And you know that because?" Helio raised a brow.


    The weather had worsened even more. And they knew they couldn''t stay out here for long.


    "Well," She fingered her cheek and smiled. "I might or might not have slept with a soldier to extract some information¡­"


    "Pretty sure, they''re using some sort of mechanism to remotely control the soldiers, so that''s a load of crap."


    "Fine¡­" She surrendered. "I''m a half Xene. We had the same mother." She removed a small bracelet and almost immediately her skin turned slightly translucent- her veins and arteries could be seen through the skin. "Though sometimes they doe out personally if that wasn''t obvious."


    She put it on again.


    Helio straightened his back, staring. "And?"


    "And through some careful seduction in the future, I managed to get this bracelet." She showed Helio a small bracelet of sorts. "They call this a link. You can ess a lot of their news from anywhere in the world. This runs through the principle of the void realm; it''ll probably work forever. Took me a while to learn thenguage and how to use it, but cool, ain''t it?" She puffed up her chest.


    ''Basically, teleporting the information¡­'' Helio paused. "How big would the army be?"


    "They don''t say. But I''m positive they''d be here the day after tomorrow. And there should be more than a fewmanders." But as she saw Helio''s grin- she realized, he was actually nning on fighting them¡­Breya didn''t let go of Enira. "I can just warp us out of here¡­." She whispered to her. "He''s crazy!" She whispered and made sure Helio couldn''t listen in.


    The windy terrain covered her words- or so she thought.


    But Helio heard that just fine- he acted ignorant though.


    Enira meanwhile just nodded a no. She had reasons of her own to not run away.


    "Then I suppose we have to prepare well before that." Helio mmed his hands together, utterly serious.


    Breya wasn''t really that convinced. Let her little sister fight an invasion? She''d seen what those things were like- she didn''t want to go through it again. And she certainly didn''t want her sister to go through it.


    After eighty or so years they were finally meeting. She was definitely going to protect her this time.


    "About that-" Enira said. "Can we please go get some clothes now?" She came close to Helio. "I really, really need new underwear and a shower," She whispered.


    But when Breya heard stuff about clothes and Underwear- her lips immediately curled up and formed a grin. ''A shower!''


    The invasion was two days away. This risk- this was worth it! ording to her of course.


    Helio was strong and knew he could take that soldier woman if she came again- assuming she didn''t improve too much. But if she came a lot stronger, then he''d have to use hisst resort, which he wanted to avoid at all costs.


    So empowering Enira was his best bet.


    And keeping Enira in a good mood was his best way to make sure, she''d fight for him to thest breath.


    In reality, Helio didn''t trust anyone- not even himself.


    He''d lived alone in that white room for over fourteen years. he didn''t have any reason to trust anyone. And he had no ns on trusting them either.


    Perhaps it was that reason that drove him to seal his metal link with Enira. Right now, he couldn''t hear her, and she couldn''t hear him.


    "Alright, but we''re not going anywhere near home," Helio took flight. Breya and Enira also started flying just behind him.


    Even now, he wasn''t sure why he was fighting. Perhaps to gain freedom? Perhaps for revenge or perhaps¡­.


    Shockwaves blitzed through the sky!

 Chapter 321 - Unholy Reunion (Part Two)

    Chapter 321 ¨C Unholy Reunion (Part Two)


    Helio and the rest arrived in a country of kangaroos, spiders, snakes, and above all, heat.


    "Great going," Enira smiled. "Of all the ces, you take us to a desert country for a shower. Great job." Though she was d that this ce was at least hot. She loved hot weather.


    Breya was sweating in buckets- barely maintaining flight. Actually, perhaps she was even burning a bit.


    The three were up in the air, staring down at a town. A town full of buildings, people, and a lot of poisonous things¡­


    And though this was technically world''s driest continent, this city was right next to a massiveke of sorts.


    Helio did sweat slightly, but that was because he was still wearing the fur coat. "Just because it''s a desert country, doesn''t mean it doesn''t have showering facilities."


    They went down.


    "This ce is actually pretty cool," Breya said. "I guess that world was also quite beautiful like this in the past too¡­" she wondered. She was still sweating like crazy and she didn''t want to be out here, that was for sure.


    The roads were nicely built, and so were the footpaths.


    People, trees, and hovercrafts.


    "So, you''re her sister from the future? I''ve been meaning to ask but, how did you cross worlds?" Helio was interested. After all, he had ns to go on destroying those things in the past too.


    The three walked along the road.


    They were getting a lot of stares from the passersby. A kid or two were often pointing at the three and giggling along. So were some students who were skipping schools too.


    Helio didn''t mind. Rather, this was kind of new.


    Breya grinned, puffing her chest up with pride; her pose was quite simr to Enira''s when she was proud. "I just borrowed some powers from mother." She stared at Helio. "Speaking of mother, why do you possess her blood? Why do you possess our cursed royal blood?"


    "Wha?" Helio was actually confused for good this time.


    ''Didn''t she mention that before too?''


    "Technically Neira is his grandmother. She married Julio, had his mother, and then her mother had him." Enira spoke in a matter-of-fact manner. "And as you remember, Neira was the most blessed among us three."


    The three stopped, abruptly.


    "Oh?" Breya came close to Helio, held his head in her hands, and examined him. "So, you''re technically my grandson?" She mumbled.


    "I''m not following this-" Helio Looked at Enira.


    She sighed. "I didn''t want to tell you this but- yeah, I''m the little sister of your grandmother, I mean the one who died; oh wait, both are dead¡­." She was very ufortable. "Your biological grandmother I mean. She was my sister. That''s why she could take over my body for a moment. She was the middle sister while that moron is the eldest."


    "So, let me get this straight-" Helio''s cheeks twitched. He was the shadow but some of Helio''s old habits were leaking through. "You''re both my grandmother in that sense?" And then the realization dawned on him. ''And I had ns to getid with her?'' EWWW!


    He could almost gag- the oh soposed Helio wasposed no more.


    And now he couldn''t kill the vampire anymore- no.


    "This is why I didn''t want to tell you." Enira hid her face behind her hands. "Shit." She spoke through her teeth.


    It took Helio a moment but- "Let''s go find a hotel and get changed."


    They pretended like it never happened, yet, all three were now kind of ufortable.


    On his way here, he''d killed a few Mutors, so he had some cores. Meaning, money wasn''t an issue.


    Besides, even if they were his grandmothers, at this moment, it didn''t matter. He was on a mission and that mattered more.


    He''d lost a lot of family along the way, so some addition did feel a bit nicer.


    "Small world we live in," Breya murmured, tilting her head towards the sky.


    "Yeah, no shit," Helio fired back.


    ''Small world my ass¡­ someone must have staged all this¡­.'' But who that someone was, he didn''t know.


    And frankly, he didn''t care.


    ***


    Helio dropped some cores at the reception and asked thedy for a room.


    At first, thedy was a little reluctant but when she saw past his terrible clothes, the oh so unholy fur coat, body odor, and awkward facial hair, she realized, this young man was none other than the cursed mask Romswell himself.


    Beads of sweat formed and soon she started to sway.


    She almost fainted but somehow maintained herposure.


    Her life depended on it.


    "We-we have a room ready f-for you sir. Would you like any-" Her ent was definitely Australian.


    "I''d like some clothes for me and her. I''m sure the cores should be enough payment, right?" he asked. He wasn''tmanding, and he wasn''t quite requesting either. He was just being frank, staring straight at her eyes.


    Breya didn''t need a change of clothes, so he only wanted clothes for him and Enira. And anything was fine as long as it fitted.


    "Of course, sir!"


    ***


    They were showed a room.


    Arge business ss suite with two bedrooms.


    Though Breya insisted on taking a shower with Enira, and Enira in turn insisted on taking a shower with Helio, Helio just went in first and showered on his own,ing back with a towel attached to his waist.


    He''d toned a bit more than usual. Maybe fighting in Antarctica for two whole weeks was quite the exercise.


    "Feel free to use it however you like-" he said, staring at the two sisters, promptly taking a seat on the sofa.


    He wasn''t going to wear those rags again- so he waited for his clothes to arrive.


    Breya didn''t mind. She was getting just the thing she wanted. A shower with her lovelylittle sister!


    Enira meanwhile, grumbled ever so slightly.


    But she didn''t allow Breya to enter the baths with her either.


    Clicking her tongue, Breya sat down on the same couch Helio was on. "You''re not holding any grudges?"


    "You''re asking that now?" Helio didn''t quite look at her, rather he was focusing on theplementary Holo. There were many rumors flying around, things were perhaps too chaotic, but so far, no invasion. "And you''re not taking her and running away?"


    "Well, all my life I had to deal with countless grudges, and from what I did to that rascal, I guess I did deserve another grudge." She sighed. "And you''re asking me that now?" She giggled. "But I suppose I did make it a bit obvious." She looked at him and smiled faintly. "Don''t worry, I won''t abandon my grandkid."


    Helio didn''t buy it. He also didn''t believe these two were his grandmothers. But he decided to y along anyway. After all, ignorance was a bliss and if this worked, it was definitely for the better. "Right¡­"


    "I kind of hated that rascal you know."


    "Why?"


    It didn''t take Helio long to understand who this woman was talking about. Though the conversation dide out of nowhere.


    "Yeah. About ny years ago, I kind of fell in love with a guy. We were hitting it off way too well. But then the guy met that old fool of yours and well, they hit it off more than us. And-" She sighed. "I wonder how he''s doing now¡­ my first love¡­"


    Helio remembered the geezer mentioning about a certain man who fought alongside him and ended up dead¡­ but he erased the thought from his memory. "Yeah, me too."


    ''Wait, wouldn''t that mean you tried to kill your brother?'' Or maybe half-brother? And then he realized just how convoluted this family was. ''The fuck is wrong with my family?''


    Meanwhile, their clothes arrived.


    Helio went into one of the rooms and started changing.


    Enira came out and grabbed a dress of her own. She didn''t require dresses; she could just form some of her own. But she wanted to get Helio out of that ce. After all, the boy was going crazy with the thoughts of revenge. He didn''t let it show but she could tell, he cared for his family- a lot more than he admitted.


    "Still doesn''t fit though¡­" She murmured.


    Breya giggled and went closer to her to give her a fondle; at least that''s how her fingers and gestures motioned. Of course, Enira just ran into a room and shut the door tight. But she knew it was futile¡­


    Breya never really ended up showering. If she couldn''t shower with Enira, then there was no point.


    It was already evening, so they ordered dinner sooner thanter.


    They had dinner without any words.


    Enira and Breya did eat with voracity though- good food after so long.


    Though Enira wanted to sleep with Helio in the same room, he didn''t entertain her request.


    But just before actually sleeping, Helio debated sending a mail home¡­. He''d found new family- and he was kind of worried about his family back home. Though he didn''t want to mourn the dead, though he didn''t want to interact with Marg and Elsa, he kind of couldn''t rest easy. ''So, even our feelings¡­'' He knew it was only a matter of time before their feelings and ideals became one¡­.


    He kept on thinking and looking through things¡­ tillte at night.


    In the end, he just slept- alone.

 Chapter 322 - Lament

    Chapter 322 ¨C Lament


    With all that over, they started getting ready the next morning.


    "We''re already leaving?" Enira said, yawning.


    The two sisters had just woken up and wereing out of their rooms.


    "We can''t risk bringing this ce down along with us," Helio said. "Oh and, since you''re one of them-" He looked at Breya who was also sleepy and in her pajamas. Where did she get some? No one knew. "Can we use your DNA and travel to their world?"


    "I''m only half and you need a special chip in order to travel there- so no. Besides, it takes at least two weeks even via the INterdimentinal Elevator. So, by the time we reach that ce, this world will already have been destroyed by themanders and their soldiers."


    Something about the way she talked sounded a bit forceful to Helio.


    ''Is she hiding something?'' He decided to not worry about it too much for now. Helio grinned. "Then we have to destroy them here first."


    "Btw are we really going to that wretched ce again? Can''t we go to a volcano or something?" Enira pleaded. "Besides, what if they decide to just pop up all over the world or something?"


    "They''re not really that interested in the weak, so they''ll surelye for you two first," Breya said. "Or, they could find the next strongest and go there, I guess? After all, there are a lot of strong people still in this world."


    "But if we go to that ce we won''t know if those guys attacked other ces-" Enira looked away.


    She did have a point but at this point, she was just making up whatever excuse she could think of to not go to Antarctica again.


    Though Helio himself wasn''t that concerned about hot or cold climates, even he wasn''t really keen on going back to that cold white hell. But he knew he had to.


    After all, that ce was the perfect ce to fight. There was excess radiation, virtually no people, and even if they destroyed the ce, no one could fault them way too much.


    "Can I propose something?" Breya raised her hand.


    ''Well, they''re sisters alright.'' Helio rolled his eyes. "Yes?"


    "Why not just teleport to wherever they pop up? If they are somewhere else, we could go there, and if they show up before you, we could then teleport to Antarctica and they should follow, right?"


    "Teleport across the globe? Are you stupid or something?"


    ''And wasn''t she a vampire? She even had teleportation powers apart from running into another dime- wait, teleportation worked just like that!''


    She was proud- that was for sure. "But of course." She winked.


    "I guess that saves us a lot of trouble." Helio exhaled. "Let''s check out and then stay around the edges of this continent until they show up."


    Neither protested.


    But before leaving they had the continental breakfast.


    And they shared the same sentiment- dinner was definitely better.


    ***


    Helio and the two sisters moved to the edge of the continent, near the ocean.


    There they were, looking out the horizon.


    Waves crashing. Pelicans flying.


    Rocks and Sand.


    Enira and her sister were busy ying in the water while Helio just looked at the distance.


    It was midday- and kind of hot.


    But he didn''t care. The bamboo umbre over his head was blocking half of the sunlight anyway.


    The bamboo mat though wasn''t doing a great job blocking the sand.


    All his life- all his conscious life, he wanted freedom. For that freedom he was willing to do anything- even imprison his other-selves.


    And now he had that freedom.


    But- at what cost?


    Was he epted?


    Was he loved?


    Was he truly free?


    ''Was there a point to all this at all?''


    Exhale.


    He looked inside his mind. ''You''re still not moving?''


    There he saw Helio in a fetal position in the darkest corner of his mind, alone, unable to see, feel anything. He''d locked himself up.


    Meanwhile, the endless darkness just flowed and so did the monster within¡­


    Exhale.


    He wanted freedom. He wanted to feel the world. And now he had it.


    ''So, why am Imenting?'' He stood up; sand fell. He red straight ahead. "I''ll just have to snatch that freedom!"


    "The hell are you spouting? Hit your head?" Enira said, warping to his right. "And we''re finally here on a proper beach, and you can''t even be bothered to stare at my bikini and stuff? At least try to act your age a little! And I put so much attention to designing this thing too!" She pouted.


    Enira in fact made her own bikini. A blue and purple pair, emphasizing herrge-


    Helio tilted his head. "Not interested." He proceeded to stare. "Besides, if what you people imed is true then you''re my immediate blood rtives, therefore we can''t get into a rtionship in the first ce."


    Enira sighed. "You''re such an idiot. If someone loves you, just love them back. Who cares if they''re rted to you or not. Besides, I''m single, your sister''s single and so are the rest of the girls! And they love you!"


    Helio just stared nkly. "I''d rather not." With that said, hey down on the sand, just staring at the blindingly bright sky. "We have approximately twelve hours, right?"


    "Two, actually." Breya warped right in front of Helio and sat down. She had a white bikini and though it wasn''t as shy as Enira''s- Helio''s eyes were still being dragged on.


    Enira sat on his left, pouting ever so slightly.


    ''They''re just your grandmothers¡­ stay sane¡­ stay sane, body!''


    Needless to say, though he had self-control, his body was reacting quite a lot.


    He closed his eyes. It was better to not get distracted by thoserge-rge- ''The hell are you thinking!''


    Yeah, closing his eyes wasn''t working either.


    The world was about to end and he was thinking about that?


    Coming to the beach was a very-very bad idea.


    At least he had Holo reception.


    It was the sameplimentary one he got from the hotel. He stol- ahem, borrowed it.


    So far, nothing happened to the world.


    "Are you sure though?" Breya began. "We can always just run to another world. With our blood, it''s easy to travel to other worlds."


    "I do eventually n on destroying them in the past. But- but I don''t want to forsake this world." Helio made a fist and just pointed it towards the sky.


    "And if you should fail?" Enira murmured.


    "I won''t."


    Helio knew it was a rhetorical question.


    But he didn''t care.


    He was going to destroy them.


    Failure just wasn''t an option.


    "Even if let''s say you seed on destroying them in this world- and you go to the past, destroy them again- nothing would change."


    "I know."


    "And you can''t be with your family there either- after all, there''d be two of you."


    Helio didn''t say anything.


    "Besides-" Enira began. "That''d be just running away and abandoning your wife and family here. And there are billions of worlds out there- you can''t possibly go around destroying them in every single one."


    And he understood that too.


    But-


    But he wanted to change the past.


    ''But that''s just hypocrisy.''


    His eyes were slightly heavy.


    He didn''t need as much sleep as before anymore. But even so, he''d been skipping sleep for quite a while.


    Evenst night, instead of sleeping he was stalking his family''s social media feed and the news.


    So now that he finally rxed a bit- he nodded off.


    He was in deep, deep sleep.


    But once he did- "If we want the best for him, it''s best we travel to another world," Breya said. "If we stay here, he''ll die and we''ll also die."


    Enira remained quiet for a moment. He stared at the flowing water. The tide. It was tranquil. "Perhaps. But he''ll never forgive us. And he won''t stay put in another world either."


    "So that''s a no."


    "You''re leaving?" Enira didn''t look at her sister.


    "I''d love to save my skin and run away but," She paused. "Can''t abandon you a third time, now, can I?"


    "Well, they say, third time''s a charm."


    Breya giggled and tried to suppress it. Didn''t work. "Still holding a grudge?"


    "Kind of?" Enira also giggled.


    The two sisters kept on talking and the sun just kept on moving.


    They hadn''t seen each other in a long-long time, yet it didn''t really feel that awkward. Apart from the fact that Breya asionally tried to grab Enira''s chest¡­.

 Chapter 323 - Lament (Part Two)

    Chapter 323 ¨C Lament (Part Two)


    Darkness.


    It was so dark.


    I couldn''t feel anything- no, I didn''t want to feel anything. Never again.


    They died.


    Because of me.


    Everyone.


    Everyone.


    Everyone.


    I couldn''t see anything- it was too dark.


    Even so- I could see the faces of the dead¡­ their grief¡­ their anguish¡­


    There was a white ce in the middle of this darkness- a ce I knew. I''d been there before.


    I''d been here before.


    I wanted to go there- I wanted to get away from this darkness.


    But my feet didn''t move. My body didn''t move.


    I just didn''t want to move.


    I wanted to be here.


    I wanted to stay here.


    I wanted to just fade.


    Perhaps I wanted¡­ death¡­


    ***


    Drip.


    Drip! Drip!


    Something wasing this way. Something big. Something dark.


    Something terrible.


    I''d seen it before.


    I''d feared it before.


    I''d avoided it before.


    But now, did it really matter?


    It stopped just in front of me. A husk of darkness. "Weak." It spoke.


    The voice- almost like mine.


    Perhaps it was me. A part of me.


    But now it didn''t matter.


    Now nothing mattered.


    Everything was over.


    Everything.


    In the end, I was just a coward.


    "WEAK!" It roared.


    I didn''t look up.


    I just stared at the darkness below.


    It grabbed me by the neck, gradually pulling me up.


    It stared at me, I, at it.


    "You are weak," said the flowing liquid darkness.


    "I- I am aware." I didn''t want to talk. I didn''t even want to feel.


    I just didn''t want to be.


    "You let them die."


    I wanted to grimace- I wanted to scream. I wanted to- but I didn''t. After all- it was meaningless now. "I did."


    "And yet, you''re sitting here, pretending. While he goes about cleaning your mess?"


    "Cleaning my mess" I wanted to snort. I really did. "He always wanted that body, did he not? He was always there- always trying his best to seize the moment. So now that I gave him my body, you think he''s just cleaning up my mess?" My voice remained feeble but levelheaded. I felt a bit warmer. Something was happening.


    "You were always the ignorant one." It paused. "We are one. Yet, you refused to acknowledge us. Even when we tried to coexist. You denied us." The darkness moved its head about. The motions were inorganic and definitely not human.


    "You killed grandfather!"


    "No, you killed him." The liquid darkness raised its massive arms.


    The white room in the middle flowed this way.


    And white streaks of screens- memories flooded.


    Memories of that day.


    That fateful day when it all went wrong.


    "What are you- talk-" My body again went cold. I was remembering.


    All those events.


    How it started.


    How it went wrong.


    And how- I almost killed his own grandfather.


    ''It was me?''


    "If it weren''t for Hyora he''d have died right then and there. If it weren''t for Hyora you too would have died. And if it weren''t for Hyora the world would have been destroyed. She was evil and your enemy but she never once tried to kill you. She only wanted to be loved¡­And you killed her-your benefactor due to family squabbles."


    "The hell are you saying?" I refused to believe it.


    These images- these memories had to be fake!


    How could I do all that on my own? Wasn''t the Kin side- this damn monster of darkness responsible?


    Then why was I normal in the memories? Why was I intentionally destroying- killing? Why?


    Why?


    ''And the hell are those patterns over my body?''


    It just stood there. "YOU!" The liquid darkness let me go and pointed at my head. "You were mutating. And that mutation was a very rare one. No one could have ever imagined something like that happening. And you were far, far too strong and that power was uncontroble¡­We, the shadow, and I were born shortly after Hyora divided your soul for the sole reason of controlling your power- for you. If it weren''t for her, the world and you would be dead. And though I''d been cursed and stuck here for the whole time because of her, I still bear respect for that woman. You didn''t hesitate to kill her in the pretense of what happened in the past, but when you let your family get killed, now you lose focus and be a nobody? Didn''t you im you didn''t live in the past?" he let out an exhaust. "I pity you; you damn hypocrite."


    The words felt like knives¡­


    My hands shook. I fell on my knees. "The hell are these memories¡­." Tears threatened to leak but I red forward. "Then why didn''t you tell me before? Why''d you asked me to kill you? Why didn''t you!"


    "The seals made it irrelevant. And though I can remain sane at this moment, once I''m free, I will not be able to maintain my conscience. I''d destroy everything. Hence it was better for me to be sealed. But the shadow is different. He''d requested a thousand times but you never listened. In the end, he chose to snatch your body from you. But when he realized, you were changing, you were bing a better man and perhaps you''d ept us- he decided to stop his ns and watch over you for the time being. And yet, you- you let everything go wrong. You-" The liquid darkness pressed on his chest. "Are weak. And now everyone will pay for your weakness." But- it pressed on my chest. "You are me. We are you. It''s time you stand up. It''s time you change¡­ it''s time for you to ept reality and move on. For your mother, your sister, your unborn child, your grandmothers, and the rest of your family and friends. You have to STAND UP!"


    And I knew that. I did stand up but all those fancy things were just words¡­ at the end of the day, I was just a hypocrite and I was just a coward. But I did want to save my family and-


    And wait- "Grandmothers? I have more?" Tears started to leak.


    Both of my grandmothers were dead.


    "Well-" the liquid darkness kind of looked away. "Enira might or might have been the sister of yourte grandmother and she has another sister. So¡­ yeah-" He was flustered.


    ''This damn thing''s is me, isn''t it?'' And it was just as awkward as me.


    Wait, did it- no, he just say Enira is my grandmother?


    "What in the actual fuck?" I started chuckling- the tears started streaming.

 Chapter 324 - The Final Battle

    Chapter 324 ¨C The Final Battle


    Rumble.


    Helio could hear things. It took him a second but he woke up and found two girls standing just in front of him.


    Argh¡­ his head was throbbing.


    And in Infront of them were thousands of ck soldiers and three purple ones. But there was another- a bit different warrior; white.


    "You didn''t bother waking me?" He said, a bit groggy. He stood up.


    "Well, they just got here," Enira said, not quite looking back.


    "We were just about to," Breya said, sweetly.


    "Yeah, we believe you." Helio took out his saber and his sword. And also checked the holo- so far, nothing. So, these people really were here and only here.


    The rest of the world was fine.


    But the real problem was the colorful soldiers.


    "Is it me or is that new?" Enira said, looking at the white soldier.


    "You weren''t there when they arrivedter on, but that''s a Xene. I did not think they''d let onee here¡­." Breya grimaced. "Change of ns. We must run. We can''t beat that thing."


    Helio just grinned. "Running was never an option. But we should teleport to Antarctica." He felt a bit weak- almost like something was tearing his brain- stabbing pain.


    However, he was definitely not going to run away.


    "About that¡­" Breya grimaced some more. "I forgot that they could set up set up barriers and- it''s not possible to use warp."


    And Helio remembered the first time there was a barrier over the ind too. The second time there weren''t any though.


    ''Shit.''


    "I guess we''ll just have to be a bit more mindful then. How far is the closest city again?"


    "Wait, we''re seriously not running away?" Breya shook.


    "Probably 300 kilometers?" Enira said.


    "As I said before-" Helio red at the soldiers. "That was never an option. And I guess, we could always just sacrifice a city or two."


    The soldiers though, never bothered toe attack them.


    Rather only one of them came forward.


    A white soldier- but unlike the rest- her armor was decorated, and she was thinpared to the rest of them. There were creases here and there- to emphasize certain volumes. The soldier was a girl and that was evident from those creases. And though her armor was white- there was silver and gold decoration all over. Her helmet was thick and covered most of her head- her face however was exposed. Very symmetrical; very beautiful.


    Her skin was slightly translucent and Helio could see small veins. "I''vee, as promised," she said.


    The voice was familiar- yet felt slightly younger. ''She''s the real one?''


    "So, it was, you." Helio didn''t rage around. He''d learn a lot in these past fourteen years of solitude. And though he knew rage was a good way to destroy things- he persevered.


    "Wait, you can understand them? Like what the hell? It took me over six years!" Breya ejacted!


    "Calm down. He''s weird," Enira said.


    ''Yeah, you''re thest person I want to hear that from.''


    "Now, shall we begin? I''ve gone through the trouble ofing here, so it''d be a shame to not know your name. I''m Xeroha by the way." The white soldier introduced herself.


    "How courteous." Helio didn''t lose eye contact. "Helio."


    He charged forward and with the two girls behind him.


    Xeroha didn''t have any weapons. And she didn''t bother making any either. She just stood there- smiling.


    The moment Helio sliced at her- she blocked his saber with just her bare hands, her protected bare hands. "I actually had to pull a lot of strings to be here. So, I''d love it you didn''t hold back."


    The twomanders went for the sisters while the rest of the soldiers just stayed put, circling the six as spectators. They were the crowd- the witness of this battle.


    "Trust me, I don''t n on holding anything back."


    Helio formed a sma ball behind him and mmed it at her.


    Steam.


    ''No reflected damage?''


    Helio backtracked.


    "You say that but you were far stronger back then." Xeroha walked through the steam. She formed a spear out of nowhere. A spear with a sharp tip and- "Are you just warming up?" Her armor changed to gold and she started to fire beams of light at Helio.


    Helio dodged them. He started steaming, a bit of his head started bing ck. ''Those are different?''


    The beams were hotter and he could feel it- a lot faster. They weren''t quite in the league of the speed Clyde could produce, but these things were fast.


    ''And she''s not serious¡­''


    "Change of ns." Helio dered. "Enira get ready."


    Enira was fighting amander while her sister was just running away from the other one. Both were conditionally immortal yet-


    Helio switched to his grandfather''s sword and immediately went to white- slicing straight at the girl.


    His hands were being charred.


    The girl didn''t block it, rather she dodged- ever so swiftly, and with a smile too.


    And in a second, she was just behind Helio- touching his cheeks. "Are you going to disappoint me again?" she whispered.


    sh!


    Helio gave his sword a horizontal swing, moving his body sideways but the girl had already jumped back, with a smile.


    This wasn''t the same brute force soldier he was fighting. And he had to acknowledge that.


    ***


    Boom! An explosion erupted just behind Helio.


    Smoke, sand, and debris were everywhere.


    "HAH!" Enira partially transformed and wed amander, promptly biting his head off.


    Themander slowly disappeared.


    And in a distant corner of the universe, a Xene mmed his feet on the link, regretting a secondter. "OW!" But that was a different story.


    "Sorry, I''mte." Enira jumped and arrived behind Helio. "Controlling all these powers is still a bit overwhelming."


    Twomanders were still left and they were hunting a vampire in the corner of the beach who was still busy running for her dear life- though technically she was immortal¡­


    "Your sister will be fine?" Helio''s gaze was on the girl on the opposite side who even now, wasn''t really serious. Beads of sweat fell from his forehead.


    This was not working.


    "She''ll be fine." Enira focused and produced a purple ball of energy. "I can''t say the same about us." She fired it.


    And Helio ran for Xeroha.


    The ball made contact and through the debris, Helio emerged, thrusting his sword straight at Xeroah''s chest. The sword went through.


    But Xeroha just smiled.


    Argh!


    Reflected damage.


    Helio threw up blood but remained standing- slightly faint.


    The healing was working but he''d punctured his only heart.


    Xeroha however, had three, so it was no big deal. She smiled, raising her fist.. "If that''s all you can manage, I''ll be fairly disappointed, you know."

 Chapter 325 - The Final Battle (Part Two)

    Chapter 325 ¨C The Final Battle (Part Two)


    Xeroha held Helio''s shoulder and punched him.


    Argh! He groaned but returned the favor.


    m!


    Wham!


    They kept on punching but it didn''t work. It didn''t work on Xeroha. Helio, on the other hand, was already battered.


    He was recovering but just not fast enough.


    Balls of purple energy were headed this way- but Xeroha just flicked them back.


    ''What happened to my healing?''


    He grabbed her shoulder and started disintegration.


    But- but it only disintegrated a bit of her armor. And even that part just repaired itself.


    ''Shit.''


    Xeroha smiled- kicking him back. She walked slowly towards him. Enira tried to w her, but Xeroha just flicked her towards the othermanders who were busy crushing Breya.


    "The punches that day kind of hurt you know." Xeroha stood just in front of Helio.


    Meanwhile, it took a lot of effort on Helio''s part to just stay still. Was something wrong with his body? Did something happen inside?


    And why was he getting random glimpses of memories?


    Did his damned other self seriously started to break the third seal?


    ''Damn it, why now?'' The timing couldn''t be worse.


    He not only felt weak, he was often getting lost in thought and losing focus.


    And in a battle where even a slightpse of focus meant defeat-


    This wasn''t good and he knew it.


    He tried to punch the girl- as his sword was still stuck to her chest.


    But the girl just grabbed his hand- smiled and mmed him on the ground. The sword fell just meters away. "Well, this is still kind of entertaining¡­ I guess? Maybe?" She hovered her feet just above his head. "As I mentioned. It kind of hurt. So just returning the favor. Nothing personal." She almost sang the words.


    "Well, it feels personal to me." Helio also smiled and tried to use his saber; it did not work- no.


    Xeroha made arge sma ball and held it over her head. She proceeded to drop it straight at Helio''s face- jumping back. She was definitely going to step on himter though.


    Helio closed his eyes- focusing. Hands facing up.


    He had a lot of barriers; he also tried his best to push on the ball but it was too big.


    And the barriers were breaking.


    Enira and Breya were upied so they couldn''t juste to his aid either.


    ''Well, this was a bad idea¡­''


    ''Switch!''


    ''Wait- what?''


    Darkness started spreading from below him.


    Nostalgic.


    ***


    And he could hear voices. "I''ll take the right."


    "You-" The shadow was surprised for a moment. "You''re okay now?"


    "Yeah¡­ liquid darkness says hi."


    "You and your shitty names." He chuckled.


    ''I''ll lose control if I get out, so I''m leaving things to you two¡­.'' The third voice resonated within him.


    Power surged within Helio and the weakness gradually faded. The shadow and he began to merge and the third seal just broke, all at once.


    Therge sma ball wasn''t forcing him down anymore. Rather, he was gradually standing up.


    And the darkness below him was slowly gobbling up the sma like a baby sucking his mother''s breasts¡­ gentle yet not so gentle at the same time.


    Helio cut through the sma with his saber- a small explosion resulted but it did nothing to him.


    He came out unscathed. His wounds healed. His healing was back in full form. And some part of his body was ck in color, like the ck soldiers. But there was a certain pattern on his body- almost like Xeroha''s armor; gold patterns, the same ones he saw when he was about to kill his grandfather.


    His darkness flowed out of his body like mes.


    "I knew you''de around!" Enira yelled from afar- while chewing on the othermander''s head while Breya was just sucking the other one''s blood from his neck- somehow.


    Some feelings evoked in Helio as he remembered that the sisters were in fact his grandmothers¡­


    He proceeded to ignore those feelings.


    "Anyway," he spoke. His voice and the shadow''s voice resonated. "Where were we?" He taunted Xeroha.


    And he also got slightly cockier.


    Xeroha dismissed her spear. Instead, she pulled out massive guns; two guns, almost like RPGunchers. Again, seemingly out of nowhere. And she also maderge sma balls. "Did you know we can survive in space? But- can you?" And she was happy to oblige to the taunt.


    The sma balls just kept on getting bigger and bigger.


    It was clear what she was trying to do.


    Helio also formed a sma ball- but instead of going big, he was going small. He was going pure white.


    And he fired it just before she could.


    The two sma balls shed, sending lighting and res everywhere- burning everything down.


    But Helio wasn''t done. "I''ll guide the darkness."


    "And I''ll take over saber and the rest-" The shadow said.


    They were in this together.


    ''I''ll just keep on watching¡­'' the third one sulked.


    They could not help but chuckle.


    If they failed here, the world was going to be destroyed and their friends and family along with it.


    That was the reason why he abandoned everything and came here. He didn''t want them to get hurt.


    And yet, if he failed now- then- was there a point?


    "ARHHH!" He just stood below therge sma ball and used barriers while trying to consume it with his darkness. But as Helio could only guide the darkness- it wasn''t too effective as, perhaps, directly controlling it.


    Xeroha tried to attack him but Enira and Breya were keeping her stalled. Neither party was doing any damage to the other. But it was getting on Xerohas''s nerves and so she just pulled out a broadsword.


    "This is not working¡­" Helio said.


    "Yeah, that''s not helping!"


    "Less talk, more work?" Enira yelled, partially transforming and trying to bite Xeroha.


    "Got any bright ideas, Liquid?" the shadow asked.


    ''You''re calling me that too?'' He almost sounded dejected. ''Release me for two seconds.''


    Helio and the shadow remained quiet for a bit¡­ but in the end, they mentally agreed.. "Alright."

 Chapter 326 - Acceptance

    Chapter 326 ¨C eptance


    And Helio''s eyes went crimson.


    The patterns on his body glowed ck and his body moved unoriginally. Almost like he wasn''t alive anymore.


    The darkness just oozed out of him like souls of the dead- hands- arms- faces¡­ perhaps they were the souls- perhaps they were just the manifestation of his greatest nightmares.


    And their cries spread far and wide; groans¡­ screams¡­ andment.


    He ignored everything and just pointed his hands up. The darkness spread up and sped towards the sky- covering everything, devouring everything- everything!


    No light passed through and it was almost like it was a moonless night. Lightning streaking through the sky.


    The darkness just finished everything; devouring everything up without a trace.


    And then everything disappeared the next second.


    The darkness was no more.


    He was back to normal.


    "OUT OF MY WAYY!" Xeroha cleaved through Enira and Breya- cutting them in half and took aim at Helio- firing at the very next second.


    A small missile.


    Boom!


    Helio''s shoulder flew off along with his left arm.


    ARGH! He groaned and before he could react- Xeroha came in front of him and fired another shot at his face.


    With half of his face blown off, he rolled on the ground and crashed into a nearby rock, breaking it to bits.


    Pain.


    Stabbing- breaking- tearing- all sorts of pain. Blood loss, the feeling of drowning in your own blood, the feeling of your body going cold- the feeling of your bone getting crushed- your integral organs ruined¡­


    Pain!


    He groaned some more and tried to defend himself but Xeroha just kept on punching him.


    Bam!


    m!


    But before she could hit him the fourth time, her feet got stuck in the darkness and Helio stood up. His wounds started healing.


    Wham! He kicked her stomach but she didn''t fly- after all, her feet were still attached to the ground.


    Front kick, left jab, right swing, uppercut!


    Shockwaves flew as each hitnded on the two of them.


    Both were breathless and the girl had a very swollen face.


    Unlike the armor she used, her body perhaps didn''t possess extraordinary healing capabilities. The little healing she had- just couldn''t keep up.


    At least not anymore.


    But Helio did possess more than just extraordinary healing. And he was recovering and regrowing- though the wounds stung a lot more than he wanted to admit.


    It brought a smile to Helio''s face- he was winning.


    He was going to get his revenge.


    He was about to avenge his family.


    He formed another sma ball- a bit bigger thanst time and this one too was white. He gave her a sweet, sweet smile, before- "Entertaining enough for you?"


    BOOM!


    He was too close to the explosion and though there were barriers everywhere, and even his darkness¡­ not even a shred of skin remained intact. Even half of his muscles were gone.


    Bones!


    He wanted to scream in pain but he didn''t have vocal cords. And since most of his neurons were dead- he didn''t really feel that much pain either.


    No eyes.


    And since he also outdid himself- his healing couldn''t really keep up.


    He was falling on his back.


    Enira caught him. "Trying to heal you and healing myself at the same time is kind of a chore," she said. She was floating but with only half of her body. The other half was back where her sister was.


    Breya shed a thumbs up and just stared at the sky. She was kind of busy questioning the meaning of life.


    Helio couldn''t talk nor see, but she could hear faintly.


    ''So, you''ve recovered,'' The shadow said.


    They were inside their mental ce.


    ''I¡­'' Helio paused. ''I''ve decided to change.''


    ''Really?'' The shadow smiled. ''How many times does this make again? You always decide to change and always just run away whenever something goes wrong. And you expect me to believe you?'' He spoke in a mocking tone.


    The liquid darkness was in the middle of the two, acting as a mediator. But so far, he didn''t say anything.


    ''I''m aware. But- but after remembering¡­ after thinking everything through, I''ve decided to ept you three. Perhaps this won''t make up for anything, heck, far from it, but, but I do mean, I want to ept you. I want us to be one and I want to- I want to see my family, I want to be there for Marg when she gives birth- I don''t want to abandon our kid- I want us to live¡­''


    ''Why?''


    ''Because you''re all me¡­" Helio took a deep breath. ''We''re in this together.''


    The shadow remained quiet but then he noticed the liquid darkness'' grin. ''What?''


    ''Why not give him a chance. Worth a shot. If it doesn''t work, you can just take over again.''


    The shadow sighed. ''Well, if this works, I won''t be me, and neither would you guys. We''ll be one. So, it''s pointless to try and hog all the glory.'' The shadow walked closer to Helio. ''You''ll have to promise me something though.''


    ''Yeah?''


    ''Never give up on your dreams and family. I want to travel all across the world and this guy wants to own a chocte shop. We can''t do both but- but we can definitely try.''


    Helio smiled and brought his fist forward. ''Well, he already told me that. We''d done a bit of talking¡­. But- yeah, we''ll definitely go around the world.''


    ''And because of your damn talking, I had to go through that painful beating¡­'' He finally sighed.


    The liquid darkness touched Helio''s fist with his. ''I believe you¡­'' He was smiling- the darkness cleared and he looked just like Helio- perhaps slightly kinder.


    He disappeared.


    Only the shadow remained. ''I''ll hold you to your word. And if you should diverge from the path- I''ll take over for good.'' He too fist bumped with him- grinning like always. But when the darkness cleared- Helio could only see his own reflection.


    The very same.


    The shadow disappeared.


    The mental ce started crumbling.


    Helio just smiled.


    He was whole again.

 Chapter 327 - No Pity, No Remorse

    Chapter 327 ¨C No Pity, No Remorse


    I opened my eyes.


    I was under Enira''sp.


    She was fully healed.


    The soldiers were still standing by.


    While the girl in white armor was pretty busted up, barely standing. But she was standing regardless. And she had more weapons- guns- now.


    "So, which one are you?" Enira asked.


    I smiled. "I''m me."


    And I was whole again.


    I could feel the shadow within me, and I could feel the liquid darkness within me as well. I could feel them and I could feel their wishes, their dreams, their ideals¡­ their sadness: We were one.


    And yet, I didn''t really feel that different.


    This felt nostalgic. It was almost as though we were meant to be together. ''Oh wait, we were one¡­''


    I guess we were more alike than I thought we were.


    And I was kind of stupid across the board.


    "What''s she waiting for?" I said.


    "I put her in a daze and she''s thinking there are about twelve of you trying to abuse her and stuff," Breya said. "Trust me, it''s taking everyst bit of my ability even though she''s that injured. I don''t think I can hold her for longer¡­"


    "And why abuse?" I stood up.


    "Well, my mental image of you is kind of¡­" She stopped, slightly embarrassed.


    I just ignored all that and picked up my sword from the ground.


    Anyway, I dashed for the girl. She broke from her trance and blocked my sword with herrge gun.


    I switched to white sma and the sword started cutting through her weapon, grazing her shoulder.


    She jumped back and fired all sorts of beams and balls; I charged forward dodging most but taking a few hits in the process.


    I didn''t give her a moment to breathe.


    Swing.


    Swing.


    sh!


    Thrust!


    She was breathless, but I was just getting started.


    "Protect yourselves." I yelled and started releasing a heavy dose of radiation. I guess I was about to make this whole ce unlivable for a few centuries.


    I hadn''t done this before as she was quite protected. But now even her armor was falling apart.


    A massive ball of energy came straight for my face, but I sliced it in two and it exploded- burning the crap out of my face to the bone.


    But the radiation didn''t stop.


    And I recovered.


    She was about to attack again but- threw up- just in water?


    I kicked her.


    The soldiers started moving and they were headed this way.


    I had a feeling the girl could just warp back to her ce.


    So- I just grabbed her. And- "Deal with them, I guess?" I yelled back.


    "Are you sure, you aren''t just the shadow?" Enira yelled, conjuring up herrge five-headed form. Actually- she had nine heads now. She proceeded to st everything with her multiple fire breath along with purple balls of energy? Her sister also took care of soldiers on the other side.


    ''Why the hell didn''t she transform earlier?''


    The girl- covered in snot and puke just grinned. "Well, I guess I lost."


    Even now, this was fun to her? "Seriously, the hell is wrong with you?" I cocked my head. "I''m going to destroy your world."


    I wanted to gaze at her reaction.


    I wanted her to despair.


    ''No pity¡­ no remorse¡­''


    And I was definitely surprised when she just grinned harder. "Really? I''m sure most''ll be d. Eternal life kind of gets boring after the first few million years you know." She chuckled. "And I''m all alone."


    I started crushing. "I believe you."


    But that didn''t give them the right to y God of destruction and ruin lives.


    Crack.


    She screamed.


    She grabbed my arms¡­ wailed, scratched, tried to kick me, punch me but in the end- CRACK. Tears streamed from her eyes.


    I guess at the end of the day, no matter what, everyone wanted to live.


    But-


    Ssh!


    I just killed her.


    Just like that.


    Meanwhile, Enira and the rest finished off the remaining soldiers.


    Without theirmanders- the soldiers were nothing but cannon fodder.


    "Dunno why but felt kind of anticlimactic." Enira dropped near me in her human form.


    "Why? You wanted me to be lying in a pool of my blood?" I said, falling t on the ground, staring at the sky.


    "Well, it''s not like you haven''t done that already." She chuckled


    I also kind of chuckled.


    But yeah, I didn''t expect things to end like this¡­


    ''Should I be d or relived?''


    "They''ll be on high alert. Even if we go now- they''ll just-" Breya came here.


    It was over.


    A bit too quickly.


    The clouds in the sky were going to cover this ce in a nuclear winter. And the earth was charred. This ce was a barren wastnd now¡­


    "Be expecting us?"


    "Yes."


    "Well, good for them. But, we''re definitely going there to destroy them."


    "I don''t think we need to," Breya said. "After all, now that you''ve actually killed one of them- they''ll just avoid this ce altogether. We can just live in peace-"


    I looked back. Not ring, not quite smiling. "WE''ll destroy them. You don''t have toe along." She flinched a step back.


    Enira sat down on the sand, just near my head- gently pulling my head on herp. "I know this is sudden but I want a reward. Kiss me!" She bent her head toward me.


    Her luscious lips came forth.


    Very tempting.


    "Once we destroy their world." I held her lips- she still kissed my fingers anyway.


    "Actually, if we wait that long, the kiss willpound with interest and you''ll have to have sex with me three times." She spoke despite my fingers still stuck to her face.


    Oddly cute.


    "Not really into incest. You''re my grandmother, so act like one." Kind of pained me to say that, actually.


    She looked at me with a very dejected re.


    "So, how are you going to get there?" Breya said, crossing her arms.


    I still had the girl''s- Xeroha''s head in my hands. Blood and stuff dripping. So far, she hadn''t disappeared.


    I looked at Enira who just shrugged.


    ''Now what?''


    I''d just assumed I could use this teleporter or whatever to go there, but this dead girl didn''t seem to have anything on her broken body.


    She looked like an ordinary girl, now that she was dead.


    I didn''t feel the least bit bad or sad or pity or anything for her.


    "Let''s see-" Enira slid her hand into the girl''s skull.


    Even I felt slightly weirded at the fact.


    Eww.


    "Got it!" She pulled out a small chip. A transparent chip, the size of a grain. "Now we just need an INterdimentinal Elevator."


    I remembered something. Something that these guys talked about in the past. I could ess all my memories. But I solely focused on recent things, so I didn''t get distracted right now.


    "You said something about being able to travel through the ninth dimension using your mother''s blood or something? I have that too, right?" I grinned, staring at Breya. "And you could teleport to various ces if I''m not wrong."


    Breya kind of grimaced. "Why did I ever tell you that?" She sighed. "In theory, we could just bypass the elevator entirely and get there too fast. Too fast for the world, but for us, it''ll take years."


    I smiled. "But they won''t be expecting us for that too fast moment, right?"


    Breya half-smiled- half grimaced. "Yeah?" She said, rather carefully. "Let me be clear. This is a big risk. If anything goes wrong, we''ll be stuck there for centuries. Our bodies won''t age much but our hair- nails and all stuff will go rapidly and it kind of gets hellish¡­ Say goodbye to personal hygiene¡­"


    "Then we know what we''re doing." But there was only one answer.


    "It''ll take years for us! Are you sure, you want to be away from your family till then? You can just ignore the Xenes. Besides, revenge won''t get you anything. Years! Years I say!" She definitely didn''t want to I guess.


    "It''s not just about revenge." I stood up and faced her. "Those monsters are going around doing this to every they think is worth messing up. Think of how many people suffered like us? Even your world is going through a crisis because of them. And so will million others."


    Then again, if their world wasn''t attacked, my grandparents would have nevere to this ce, and wouldn''t that have meant, I existed solely because of those guys?


    Yeah, I didn''t want to think about that.


    "So, you''re not changing your mind." Enira''s sister just stood in front of me, a hair''s breadth away.


    I didn''t say anything but just stared at her red eyes.


    "I guess that settles it," Enira said.


    Breya sighed, resigning. "Fine¡­"

 Chapter 328 - I Came Here To Do Something- And I Was Going To Do It.

    Chapter 328 ¨C I Came Here To Do Something- And I Was Going To Do It.


    The elders were bbergasted.


    It was a tragedy- no, a disaster.


    In thest three hundred and forty thousand years, they had never lost more than threemanders to the same. But now, not only did they lose sixmanders- they also lost one of their own. They lost a citizen.


    "And judging by hisst words, he''lle to destroy us."


    "If they warp here, it should take them two weeks at the least. We''ll be ready."


    There were about twelve elders yet, no one could see each other''s faces. Their bodies weren''t here.


    Just the conscience.


    This ce was dark and there was shiny blue water below them- dripping.


    "We can handle radiation with the barriers, but it''ll be tricky to deal with arge nuclear strike."


    "Yes, however- given the time frame we can definitely-"


    They all stopped.


    Beep!


    Beep!


    Beep!


    Something happened.


    A screen shed over everyone''s eyes.


    And in the screen, they saw three figures. They''d just appeared out of nowhere.


    One vampire.


    One massive nine headed dragon.


    And a man with an excessively long beard but with thin hair; some could even say he was slightly balding.


    But the elders weren''t quiet because they weren''t expecting the intruders no- rather, they were speechless as they saw just what was above the man''s head.


    "Raise the rm!"


    "The shields, bring up the shields!"


    While most of the elders were focused on being defensive and all that- two were just staring at the monitor.


    "Holy-''''


    "Fuck."


    Everything went white.


    Bright.


    KABOOOM!!!!!


    ***


    It took a long time.


    A really long time.


    But here I was, going through the empty purple world.


    The three of us were surrounded by a barrier Enira made.


    And since I possessed the blood of my grandmother''s mother, or whatever that whole thing was about, we could travel too fast in here.


    "Shouldn''t time actually move faster here?"


    Last time I was here, things were different.


    "Normally, yes. But with this-" She showed me a small container locket. And the locket had a bit of blood, bright red, flowy blood. "We can move without wasting any time. Technically you can only move in this world if you have this blood and the greater your blood count- the better you can manipte time in this world and the further you can travel."


    "Then howe it took you so long toe to earth?"


    "Well," She fingered her cheeks. "It took a while to convince mother. And then things happened in the other world¡­ Besides, just traveling in the same world and actually going to another¡­."


    She went quiet.


    ***


    We actually talked a lot.


    Me, Enira, her.


    We talked a lot.


    We talked about things that were.


    Things that should have been.


    And things that could never be.


    We talked about the past world- the future.


    We talked about how different things were in the future.


    How we persevered.


    How valiant Gramps and the others were.


    It was fun.


    But as time moved, as time moved further and further, everything became redundant.


    At one point, even the stories were being recycled.


    I did remember my past and all that happened. The time I spent with my family, the time with gramps¡­ I could remember them well. And even that forest¡­


    And yeah, perhaps that girl really was my first love¡­


    My body didn''t age- but weirdly my hair kept on growing.


    It''d been over a year now. And yet, the space just didn''t end.


    Nothing happened.


    The floating things never tried to attack us and things were just¡­. Stale.


    ''Will I ever see her again?''


    ''Will I ever see them again?''


    What was I even doing?


    What was the point of all this?


    We could have just stayed at home; we could have just lived peacefully with what we had.


    And in the midst of all that, doubt started forming.


    ''No, they took them from us¡­ they- they took everything¡­ we came here to avenge and we came here to make sure it never repeats!''


    My family broke- I broke it. And they were the sole reason.


    And for that, they were going to pay.


    ***


    Time moved on.


    And though time actually didn''t flow for the rest of the world- for me, it just kept on going and going.


    My body kind of didn''t change much; I grew more and more facial hair though. In contrast, the hair above my head kind of started falling.


    I was going bald.


    But the same couldn''t be said about down there¡­ yeah, I didn''t have to go pee or whatever but really, I was getting more than just a bush there- a jungle.


    Yeah, Breya was right, I did have to say goodbye to personal hygiene. And who knew just how much I smelled.


    And I kind of wanted to cry.


    But anyway- at least I didn''t feel hungry.


    I could always just have a chat with Enira or Breya¡­At this point though, talking didn''t really get us anywhere.


    Sigh.


    ***


    Two years- twenty-seven days and eighteen hours.


    Yes, I''d counted everything.


    And here we were.


    Just above the massive.


    It was kind of in high speed, so we were rather close to the, barely touching its outer barrier.


    We were still inside our barrier and this was kind of a special barrier, so the air wasn''t leaking.


    Even so- "We''ve got about twenty minutes, I''d say," Enira said. That said, she got out of the barrier and transformed partially just outside, wing the outside barrier of the and shredding it; There were about twelve more. "Not everyone is evil you know." She said, looking back. "Maybe we can do this peacefully?"


    I guess she was referring that I shouldn''t destroy this whole ce.


    I smiled. "Not everyone is good either. And peace was never an option."


    I raised both of my hands above my head.


    sma started to form.


    And I started to leak all sorts of radiation at full force. Enira and Breya were immortal plus they had barriers over their bodies.


    But yeah, the rest of the nt was definitely not okay. Their barriers could do little against radiation of this strength.


    There wasn''t much air here, so I was sucking the stuff from the''s atmosphere. I was also sucking the sma wastes from the edges of the covered-up sun.


    I almost broke nine of their barriers without even trying.


    Whether they''d die of radiation poisoning or suffocate to death first or perhaps burn to death was the question.


    "We''ll take care of any interferences," Breya smirked and just stood by.


    But there were no interferences.


    The few soldiers that came our way, were just sted away.


    This was the home of the So-called Xenes and though their world was advanced and beautiful and all that. It was just empty.


    The buildings, the streets, everything- just empty.


    And not a single one wasing to attack us.


    The sma ball- or rather the minisun was almost ready.


    And just before I could throw it, I saw people.


    They wereing out.


    Ordinary people, just staring up at the sky.


    Some were soldiers who wereing this way- others just staring at me- at their destroyer.


    They were probably praying theirst barrier would hold.


    But I had no pity.


    No regret.


    No remorse.


    I came here to do something- and I was going to do it.


    "You''d have to bear their hopes and dreams and despair on your shoulders¡­" Enira whispered.


    "Then so be it." I smiled. The soldiers were almost here- desperately trying to get to me to stop me. "Too bad." The sma ball first grew to a truck size- then it kept on growing¡­ to the size of perhaps a small pond. It kept on burning and growing. A perfectly yellow-rge ball of death- the minisun. "Aren''t we a bit too close though?" I proceeded to throw it anyway¡­


    The ball broke through the''s barrier- it broke through the''s nuclear defenses, enveloped all who wereing this way and all who were staring at the sky, and it gently crashed into its surface.


    KABOOOM!!!!

 Chapter 329 - The End

    Chapter 329 ¨C The End


    "You''re worrying about that NOW!" Enira screamed, turning back to her human form and raising her hand firm. "Sis, take him and leave. I''ll make sure everything is destroyed and warp back."


    The atmosphere was immediately gone and the was cracking up- monstrous- thunderous sounds¡­


    Debris everywhere.


    Breya grabbed on to me. "It''s best we leave for a moment." Her eyes were sparkling. She was about to cry.


    Enira meanwhile didn''t look back. "Next time, please don''t get lost in a forest like that, who knows, some evil snake dragon thingy might do some rather bad things to you." She stared back- eyes shimmering- but with a smile.


    ''You gotta be shitting me.'' I took a breath, formed a barrier over my body, broke free from Breya, and flew her away. "Yeah, I ain''t leaving you behind you goddamn snake dragon thingy!"


    I raised my hand and made a barrier just like her.


    We were protecting ourselves from the st and we were also going to make sure the world was destroyed properly.


    Breya also raised her hands but nothing happened.


    "Why''re you pointing?"


    "Well, it kind of feels awkward that you two are trying so hard, and I''m just sitting ducks." She chuckled.


    Yeah, not helping.


    Anyway, with a chuckle of my own, I formed more barriers.


    My limit came up, and I pushed through.


    Hundreds- no thousands of barriers formed and yet, the st was breaking through all of them like thin ss, and we were getting more and more pushed back.


    "This isn''t working. Should I try absorbing it?"


    "Go for it!" Breya said. "Actually, I could just make you a vampire and you''d get a temporary power boost; you''ll also be immortal! Though I guess the heat would kind of burn you."


    Was that a joke?


    Was she really cracking jokes at a time like this?


    I didn''t know what to say about that. Anyway, I proceeded to use darkness.


    I actually didn''t really know how this worked. But- but now that we were one. I could control it at will and I could do it far more efficiently. Also, my stamina was still half remaining, so I had plenty of steam left. "Here goes¡­"


    Darkness spread and it seeped through the barriers, heading straight for the st, enveloping it.


    For a moment the darkness was winning but then the st was again prating through.


    This was working but-


    But I had to pour more strength.


    I had to try harder.


    And I wasn''t just going to give up.


    No!


    ''For the shadow.''


    ''For the liquid darkness.''


    ''For me¡­ for my family¡­ for everyone.''


    I focused all my conscience.


    My family, my friends, countlesss, and billions of souls were going to be free¡­ maybe they''d never know about me¡­ maybe no one would. And frankly, most wouldn''t care about a guy who just wanted revenge.


    But-


    At the end of the day, I wasn''t some hero, and nor was I a viin.


    And I certainly wasn''t doing this for them or for fun.


    I was just a guy who was destroying a because they messed with my family.


    Simple.


    ''Copse!''


    I poured through all my powers, my stamina, everything.


    The darkness vigorously spread anew silently and consumed everything. I was running out of energy but who cared!


    In moments, the whole st had disappeared and only the darkness remained.


    It was over.


    I dismissed it. Unable to stay on my feet, I started falling. Breya grabbed me.


    Pant, pant.


    Yeah, breathing was a chore and we were running out of oxygen.


    The megastructure surrounding their star was still fine. The though- was in debris. The remaining pieces were red hot and so far, I didn''t see anything that resembled technology.


    "You did it¡­" She whispered.


    Meanwhile, Enira warped beside me. "You did it!" She repeated the same words as her sister but just with a bit more enthusiasm. "Those suckers were pretty much destroying my- our- so feels great!" And she was jumping in excitement no less.


    "So much for not everyone is evil." I chuckled. "But what about that?" I said pointing at the covered star. It was pretty big and pretty red- dying.


    She grinned. "We''ll destroy it too. With the Xenes finished, it''s time we erased their whole legacy, though I guess this isn''t mandatory." She had a very evil look on her face.


    I was kind of spent. "How? And this was it? They don''t have others?"


    "Well, they''re more of a secluded race, or rather they were." She winked. "And Did you forget I''m all-powerful now!" She puffed up her chest, got out of the barrier, and fully transformed. She made a massive ball of energy- almost the same size as the sma ball I''d made before- purple and made nine more?


    She proceeded to throw all of them.


    "If you could frigging do that, why the hell didn''t you do that before!?" I yelled. And promptly lost all my strength.


    I started fainting.


    Yelling wasn''t the best idea.


    But in that moment, I saw a purple explosion promptly followed by a red explosion. The star was exploding.


    Breya opened a portal and we disappeared just before the explosion could reach us.


    "I kind of went berserk in the past¡­ so transforming is a little traumatic." Before my eyes closed- Enira warped up to me and held me in her arms- smooching me on the forehead. "It''s a shame my sister happened to be your grandmother¡­" She whispered. "But a promise is a promise." She again smooched me but on both cheeks.


    "Does it matter?" I didn''t faint. I refused to. I grabbed her, I grabbed her tight, hugged her, dug my head in her chest. Before- "Lower your head."


    She was surprised but lowered her head.


    I grabbed it and kissed her. I kissed her, nonstop, ying with her tongue.


    Her scent- her taste-


    She was burning up- and great!


    Breathless she stared at me. "But we''re rted by blood and I thought you hated-" She stared at me.


    "Well, you''d be my lover first. I''ll just pretend I never heard that stuff about you being my grandma''s sister. Besides, I''d been in love with you for over fourteen years now, the hell would I forget that?"


    Breya meanwhile just red at us- but remained quiet.


    Enira giggled, hugged me tight. ''Soft!''


    "Your sister will use you of injustice." She giggled.


    "Well, I''m a hypocrite, so it''s fine." I winked.


    She chuckled out loud.


    "But really, you''ll have to exin things to her. And she won''t be happy. She''d been in love with you for a long time- probably all her life."


    I guess she was still referring to Elsa, not Marg.


    "Why are you so intent on me getting on with other girls? I''ve been meaning to ask that."


    "Well-" She fidgeted slightly. "So-" She took a deep breath. "I might or might not have had a thing for your grandfather. And he kind of rejected me."


    It was always gramps.


    Seriously- just how charismatic was that guy?


    And yet, somehow, I frigging felt proud for some reason.


    Was something wrong with me? "Still doesn''t exin why-"


    "Basically, I know the pain of being rejected and I kind of don''t want others to go through that pain. I''m perfectly happy to share you."


    That was both sweet and weird at the same time, so I didn''t say anything.


    ''But Elsa''s still my sister though.''


    And she probably hated me now.


    Actually, I had no idea how to face them again¡­ ''Oh fu¡­c¡­''


    Fangs came out on Breya''s face and she red more than intently. Still remaining quiet.


    Both of us justughed at her envious but frustrated re.


    And so- our return journey of two years twenty-seven days and eighteen hours began anew.


    Feelings-


    Amazing and fulfilled.


    And also, slightly terrified of the new journey.


    Sigh.

 Chapter 330 - Epilogue

    Chapter 330 ¨C Epilogue


    Marg was leaving.


    She''d packed her bags.


    She was going away- far away.


    She''d waited long enough.


    One day, one week, and then two.


    Now she was just leaving.


    Helio''s mother tried to stop her, even Elsa tried but- but she didn''t listen.


    Her mind was made up and she was going to leave.


    With everything packed, she walked out of the front door.


    Marg had a specific policy for her teleportation; she''d developed it after countless incidents¡­ incidents that were better left untold. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she never wanted to teleport inside the house, ever.


    But just as she came out of the door- she saw something in the front yard.


    She heard voices and then a gate of sort opened. She knew that gate well enough- after all, she''d been to the other side.


    But- as three people came out of the gate- she stood there a bit dazed.


    She knew one of them all too well. The man had changed- yet he was the same. She could tell at a single nce¡­ it was him.


    She dropped her suitcase and ran.


    She ran straight for the man in the middle.


    She reached up to him- he''d changed.


    He was different.


    But he was the same person- But.


    ***


    I''d been traveling for over two years now.


    My beard and nails just kept on growing. Trying to cut them with my sword was¡­ quite something.


    And in this world sleep wasn''t a thing and even trying to sleep was a bad idea. As if by some miracle I could fall asleep- I only saw nightmares about the ck things and unknown memories. Apparently- those were actual memories andment of the dead- at least ording to Breya.


    But yeah, after so damn long I''d finally be home.


    How would they react?


    Would they hate me?


    Would they just leave me? Shun me?


    After all, at the end of the day, no matter what, the dead wouldn''te alive, right?


    Right?


    "Hey, can you bring back the dead?" I said to no one in particr but did stare at the two sisters who were currently busy arguing about what was faster a bacterium or spirogyra.


    "If you want them to look mangled, have basically no motor functions or speech capability but still crawling regardless, then yeah. I wouldn''t rmend it though."


    Just imagining all that gave me depression. "Sorry I asked."


    Sigh.


    ***


    The gate started opening.


    Finally!


    Light!


    Air!


    And also, fatigue!


    But yeah, finally!


    And wait- the doors opening?


    Did someonee to wee me?


    Muahahah!


    I guess they missed me too.


    Just as I manifested, I saw a girl running towards me at full force.


    I half expected a loving embrace but-


    Oh shit-


    p!


    I got pped. And I got pped heard.


    Oww!


    O!!


    That hurt- or rather stung.


    Marg had a fierce look, eyes slightly wet. And was that a briefcase by the door?


    Yeah, it didn''t take a genius to figure out she was leaving.


    "I''m sorry- no, I''m really sorry," I said. "But I''m back now."


    She was going to p me again.


    But I caught her hand, held her in my arms, and gently lowered her, kissing her. "You wouldn''t turn into an abusive wife, would you?" I whispered.


    She red- and tried to kick me. But I didn''t let her, rather, I kissed her again.


    She wasn''t calming down- no. "It''s not good for the baby you know." Enira mumbled.


    "SHurrup!" Marg red and wailed.


    In the end, I took a deep breath, lifted her up, and carried her like a princess towards the front door. She still struggled but at this point, it was pointless. "I love you, so just stay put and let me love you!" With that said, I kissed her again, digging my tongue through her mouth.


    She didn''t protest anymore. Rather, she kissed me back, holding my face in her hand.


    "Your breath stinks¡­" She whispered softly, eyes kind of shimmering.


    Cute!


    "Haven''t brushed in over four years."


    She looked very disgusted that was for sure.


    And yet, she just settled down in my arms. "And you stink too." Sure didn''t stop her from hugging me though.


    "Yeah, I know."


    A lot of people were on the other side of the door.


    They were just staring out- I guess they were trying to stop Marg but it didn''t work.


    Mom and Elsa were just standing by the door, looking my way.


    How was I supposed to greet them- I had no idea.


    This was not awkward at all-


    I was basically like a caveman. Hair here- stink there. And they were just standing quite far away from me.


    Not awkward at all.


    Like totally not awk-


    I gently got Marg down. But before I could even attempt to say anything, mom came over and just stared, arms crossed. "Well, go shower first. We''ll have a long talk afterward." Her re was anything but friendly.


    Meanwhile- I saw Elsa also ring.


    ''Where the hell is my warm wee.''


    Granted, I wasn''t expecting them to cry and stuff and hug me and all that but really?


    Pure res?


    Dejected- I headed for the washroom.


    But yeah, this went much better than I thought. Probably not the smoothest of shit- but yeah.


    Anyway- I showered.


    And who knew you could go crazy with soap, shampoo, razors, and trimmers, and stuff?


    I might or might not have ruined stuff already¡­


    ***


    I exined everything to mom and rest.


    Technically she was the new head of the household along with Auntie. They were running the house in a joint manner.


    And though most weren''t really d to see me, they weren''t holding any grudges- at least that''s what they told me. And they were definitely joining in on the conversation in the living.


    We were currently in the living- me sitting on one sofa alone, while mom and Auntie were on the opposite. Everyone was here.


    But when I did say that I actually destroyed the alien''s whole, they kind of rejoiced and even started praising me.


    No one even bothered to question the morality behind it.


    Which I was d for.


    "Finally, our dead can rest in peace knowing they''ve been avenged!" One of the aunties roared.


    The rest shared her sentiment, that was for sure.


    Meanwhile, I just stared at them like a moron.


    But yeah, things went much smoother.


    Elsa and Marg didn''t quite say much to me. But at least they weren''t ring anymore.


    "Also- these two are actually grandmother''s sisters. So, they''re kind of-"


    "Wait, what?" Mom said, staring at the girls behind me, behind the sofa. "Your pet dragon and that vampire?" She cocked her head slightly.


    The front doors mmed open. "I heard he''s back!" Someone was walking this way, he was still ways off but we could hear him just fine.


    There was only one old man in the world whoughed haughtily like that.


    Apparently, the geezer had survived.


    I could feel a hissing sounding from behind me.


    The geezer heartily came into the living room. "Kid!" He was delighted to see me but then all the color from his face vanished. "Big sis?" He stared at Breya first¡­ then Enira too. "And is that you, Eni?"


    Enira waved while Breya smiled- fangs sticking out.


    Oh boy.


    "I''ll-" The geezer stuttered and "Be back. Gotta go buy some milk." He was calmly leaving. There was nothing calm about it though.


    "Take it outside guys," I said.


    "With pleasure." Breya grinned. "Finally!"


    "Kid!" The geezer whined, staring helplessly at me.


    Breya and he walked out of the house.


    ''This is what you get for not telling me before¡­'' The guy acted like he didn''t know this vampiredy at all. Talk about all the shit he made me go through because he didn''t like vampires.


    I was definitely not taking it out on him for making me kiss him, definitely not. Okay?


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