A Sinner’s Chance

It didn't take much longer for the Hero to make his entrance which caused an uproar in the crowds as cheers, clapping and other forms of support were showered upon him simply for existing. It wasn't like I didn't have fans, rather I had plenty they were just overshadowed by the overwhelming support of Hiroshi.

I didn't know if he was just confident in his abilities, or if he didn't know better but the equipment he picked out looked more ceremonial than actually being useful in combat. It was engraved with a fancy golden filigree over white plate, along with a matching cape. It made for an impressive figure that looked like a righteous paladin, but I couldn't understand why he would forgo a helmet as well. I did so because I didn't really have to worry about a wound unless it could kill me in a single hit, and while puncturing my head might cause me a bit of difficulty, unless you left something lodged in there it would heal and be just fine in a matter of moments.

The two of us looked at each other a moment as we acknowledged the fight that was about to happen before backing away as the timer began to count down, causing the crowds to quiet down in anticipation. Just as we had each gone about halfway from the center to the wall the bell rang indicating the fight had started rung, causing the both of us to push off the ground in a mad dash towards each other. Hiroshi had the same idea as me as he yelled "Holy Slash" while swinging his sword in my direction causing a blade of pure energy to fling itself from the arc and course towards me.

I responded by conjuring purple black flame with my left hand in a snakelike thread that bound the white energy and began to absorb it, making it a trivial amount by the time it reached me. In addition, I summoned the dark purple lightning in my right hand, before shooting it towards him. It streaked through the air before being deflected by the shield he was holding in his other hand.

By this point we were about to come into each other's reach and both of us slashed with our blades. Mine was slightly slower as I had to unsheathe it from my back, but there was no issue even as his blade dug into my left arm that I'd used to block his strike as I swung my large heavy blade which rammed into the Hero's shield causing it to dent as the Hero was suddenly tossed away by the force behind my strike.

The Hero rolled upon the sand before slamming into the wall causing a cloud of dust to be kicked up after him. I took a moment to appreciate the new strength I could output as I watched the deep gouge in my forearm close itself in a burst of flame. Another new thing I noticed was that my blood no longer oxidized red, but rather a nearly black purple, and it was much thicker, though that might just be the carapaced areas.

Before the dust cloud settled another beam of energy shot out from it which I easily sidestepped as the Hero burst out of it and shot towards me full of vigor. So far the Hero had been lackluster so I sheathed my blade and prepared to fight with my claws instead. I spread my feet slightly as I got into my fighting stance even while avoiding or consuming the 'Holy Slashes' that he kept firing at me. I released a deep breath just as I was put into his reach, his sword arcing towards me once again.

Rather than just blocking it, I grasped the blade and stopped it dead in its tracks as I proceeded to rip it from the Hero's hand. He cursed as the blade was thrown to the wall behind me, far out of his reach. However, still convinced of his superiority he summoned a blade of golden light in his hand which slammed into my side. I could feel the radiant energy pour into my body while I held back a moan by biting my lips, as the pleasure coursed its way through my body.

I didn't let the energy rampage as it pleased and flushed Yin lighting through the wound causing it to devour the holy power and rapidly speed up the healing process. There were still a few techniques that I wanted to test so I grabbed the Hero by his neck and tossed him towards the sword I'd disarmed from him just a moment ago.

What he didn't know or expect was that I had placed a thread on it and just as he was about to land the sword shifted and flew towards his exposed face, only to be deflected as he reacted with the shield. Despite his otherwise lackluster performance in my eyes, his defense was practically airtight, and he would probably have been a difficult enemy had he bothered to properly train, or didn't let his arrogance cloud his judgement.

I didn't want to cause a huge upset as I had before so I dialed back my power and prolonged the fight against the Hero, making sure to make each blow an exchange of wounds or otherwise cause us to be viewed as equals in power. The fight continued for a while before I 'took' the upper hand as the Hero was becoming fatigued, something I wasn't known to experience in fights, I was best at battles of attrition after all.

My final blow was a technique I'd been wanting to try and use for a while, one where I would pierce the skin of an enemy and send miniscule threads throughout their body allowing me to essentially turn them into an unwilling puppet as long as they were close enough. The scariest part was that it didn't seem to cause pain and if I used the right thread I could leave it in the body to be controlled at a later date.

I held the weakened Hero by his throat as he was unable to resist me now, and quietly whispered so that only the two of us would hear. "Who told you?"

I could see the arrogance still glinting in his eyes, as he opened his mouth. "I surrender." My grip was suddenly empty as the Hero left the Dreamscape. I didn't know if he was avoiding the topic, as he had never planned to pay since he assumed he would win, or if he wanted to talk about it somewhere else.

Regardless of his reason, I grew extremely frustrated as I also exited the Dreamscape leaving the crowd in a complete shock. I'd anticipated that the Hero would be too proud to admit his loss should he suffer one so I had made sure to leave a connecting thread to him. Without care for the other students I exited the private room and began to chase down the Hero.

He hadn't gone far, though he was in an out of the way location that I would have probably missed had I not been actively led here. A small grove in the orchard in the south east corner of the campus, an infrequently visited location.

I found the Hero dressed in even more audacious armor than he'd been in previously, but I could feel the intense magical energy it contained. I could only guess that it was the Divine Artifact he wasn't allowed to use in the Dreamscape. It seemed he expected my arrival as he smiled at me as I made my way into the small clearing.

"I knew you'd find me. Only someone both as excellent and powerful as me truly deserves my attention." He paused a moment as he put on a helmet that matched the armor. "It's a shame you didn't let me win in the Dreamscape and just obediently become my first wife. You're the only one who could possibly hold such a position. Not only are you perfect physically, but you even share memories of Earth, how could you deny our compatibility?"

I felt both revolted and confused at his strange obsession with me. We'd barely interacted, and yet somehow the fact that I had memories of the same planet as he did made me an option for his wife. Then again, he'd never seemed to think that this world was more than just a game, and I would agree that if this was a game, I'd probably be a romanceable companion. This was however reality, where nothing would ever really go the way you wanted without putting in a great amount of effort.

"You're delusional." I said shaking my head. "You lost to me, so tell me what I want to know."

I could practically see the annoyance well up in his barely visible eyes. "You only won by a fluke, I'd never lose if the bastard of a headmaster would let me use my actual equipment."

I almost couldn't believe the disrespect and arrogance the Hero displayed. I laughed mockingly just to further annoy him. "You know I was going easy on you and matching your pace right? I don't think your Divine Artifacts will make much of a difference, since there is no way you could possibly use them properly."

He simply scoffed but I could hear the rage building in him. "Why don't you test that out?"

I could clearly tell that he was trying to goad me into a fight, but in order not to make a disaster I knew he would have to attack me first, after all, if he died because I was fighting with my all in self-defense, I wouldn't get in any legal trouble, though the church was sure to throw a fit.

I shook my head. "Sorry, I don't enjoy picking on the weak, if you could just tell me what I want to know I'll even give you the first rank back, its not like I really care about the superficial view of others like-" I was suddenly cut off as I sidestepped a blade of energy that was several magnitudes more powerful than the one's I'd faced in the Dreamscape. I grinned maliciously as I utilized my Deception Skill for the first time in quite a while.

"Ah, you brute, how could you attack me like that? Did you invite me out here to kill me, just because I barely managed to beat you in the Dreamscape?" I was gifted with the power of Vibro Magic and Artifice so obviously one of the first items I'd ever created was a sound recording device. You never knew when having proof of a conversation would be able to sway others to your side.

Seeing my purposely fake expression only caused the so-called Hero to become more annoyed. "Don't worry, after I beat you here my friends at the church will help convince you that I'm the one you love." His voice and gaze had become cold as he seemed to steel his resolve to do something to me after he knocked me unconscious.

I couldn't have asked for a better response as I laid on my distress extra thick, making all sorts of statements and 'trying' to reason with him, begging him to stop, that I didn't want to have to fight against a fellow student and so on. Once I felt that I'd properly recorded a convincing enough conversation with Hiroshi I muttered a final line, my voice conflicted and heavy with sorrow. "I don't want to hurt you, but you leave me no choice, I'll risk my life to stop you."