Hero: Part Four
“This is a photo I took in the bunker. The bandage on his face looks so cool—like a punished knight ready to fight to reclaim his honor, his birthright, and, most importantly, his beloved lady. Don’t you think?” The excitement of AAA-Class ‘Toxic Parasite’ Nellie O’Neil was palpable. It had been seven days since she had secretly taken that photo, and yet her awe hadn’t diminished in the slightest as she proudly showed it to her teammates. Unfortunately for her, it was obvious that none of them had ever shared her enthusiasm.
“Nellie, this is the thirty-seventh time you’ve shown us that photo,” whispered the woman seated to her left, lazily waving black nails over her milky-white hand—the harshest way she knew to express exhaustion. “I’m aware that self-torment is, indeed, the sweetest of pleasures, but you’re not me—you’re going to break. You shouldn’t immolate yourself on the altar of duty.” The woman was entirely clad in a majestic work of lace, as black as her obsidian lips—a clear sign of her Nixie origin. Yet, unlike most of her kin, a flame burned in her white irises over her black sclera—a will-o’-the-wisp one, faint but, nevertheless, a flame. Her name was A-Class ‘Nihilistic Blade’ Ură Umbratern.
“Connor and I are predestined for a happily-ever-after!” The Toxic Parasite bellowed, outraged by the suggestion of breaking the red string of fate waved by the ’Romantic Dreamer.’ “We are the modern Connor Rolandsson and Nellie Von Sternenstaub! Our fathers gave us those names because they knew—it’s Adam himself who wants us together!” She declared before twirling one of her many blonde curls. It hurt, but it also calmed her.
“Then, you should tell your valiant Knight those sincere words instead of hammering nails into the coffin of your love,” Ură dryly replied, even if she was amused by how cruelly her friend was torturing herself. “Go to the Class F classroom and declare your love. Or stay silent if the lounbess of your words can’t match the bravery of your actions.”
“I mustn’t!” Nellie rejected the idea at once. “In a courteous society, the role of a faithful lady is to inspire her Knight. If Connor stains himself with dishonor, it is my duty to ostracize him, denying him my affection until he overcomes his struggles.” She proudly punched her chest, dignity and pride radiating from every pore. “Everything I’ve done since the Class Assignment was for him! Right now, he’s training, striving to find a way to win my heart back—I know it!”
Not only were her ideas outdated, but so was everything else about her. The way she moved, the way she dressed—she was, unironically, wearing a corset—and, thankfully for her audience, the Collective Consciousness did not translate into Adamic the poetry-laden manner in which she spoke.
“Ahhhhh…can you shut up with your delusions?” Yelled the red-haired girl sitting in front of Nellie. “Connor is a Class F. So, he could train for a thousand years and he’d still be a Class F—you dumb woman.” A sight war erupted between the two teammates, while Ură could only watch, fully aware that nothing could have prevented the hostilities.
“Connor will find a way—FOR ME!” The ’Toxic Parasite’ screamed in such a high shrill that the red-haired girl had to cover her ears. “When we made our relationship official, he promised me he would ride his griffin straight into the sun if I were imprisoned there! I’m his princess, and he’s my Knight —FOREVER!” That last sentence landed worse than anything Nellie had said before, and the red-haired girl’s face twisted, hatred exuding from every pore.
“Listen carefully, you damsel in distress,” she spat. “What did your Prince Charming do when the Holy Trinity decapitated his shining future? He left you humiliated on that stage, crying like a little girl as he ran away like a coward.” Her freckles seemed to multiply as her pale skin surged red with rage. “From that moment on, he left you behind, never again trying to reach you. I saw him in the bunker, and how terrified he was just at the sight of you. Hence, if you’re right, Connor didn’t even have the balls to meet you in secret to explain himself and declare that he was still fighting—a coward yesterday, a coward today, a coward forever!” AAA-Class ‘Virgin Rose’ Ragaire Sinclair slammed her teammate’s desk, cracking the wood. Beneath her tight school uniform, her muscular body looked ready to break the chain of civilization like a dynamite explosion.
“How dare you, loveless creature! No wonder no one has ever loved you, or ever will, Ragaire.” Nellie snapped back, her already high-pitched tone sharpened into a drill. “In sickness and in health, in poverty or in wealth, till death do us part—that is the contract! If Connor lost all his riches, I would sell my own body to support him. If he became a vegetable, lying in a hospital bed unable to move or speak, I would end both our sufferings and follow him to Hell.” Her owl eyes burned in zeal. “And if he needed a thousand years to regain his honor, it wouldn’t matter. For someone I love, I would wait even a million years!”
“AHAHAHAHAHA!” Ragaire burst into hysterical laughter. As a Barbarian born in the Free Woodlands, she had never adapted to the social constructs imposed by the three Magical-Industrial Revolutions that had, in her people’s eyes, castrated the human spirit. Thus, she despised wasting time on romantic delusions, but this time—it was personal.
“No, you won’t.” She pulled a Mammoth-Ivory Double Axe—Giolladh—from her inventory. “The first two or three years will be easy, thanks to the feelings burning in your heart right now. But time erodes everything. Year after year of absence will bend your spirit until one day it cracks, and all that love is going to mutate into sheer hatred.” She smirked. “That’s your future, you delusional idiot. End it now, before you stain the last good memories you have of that coward.”
“Take that back. Now!” Nellie shot back, extending her long and razor-sharp nails.
“Or what?.” Ragaire swung Giolladh, the blade now dangerously close to Nellie’s neck.
“[Toxic.Scion].” After a series of violent convulsions, from Nellie’s wide-open mouth a gigantic centipede emerged forth from her throat, snapping its pincers around the axe’s blade, stopping it.
What did I do to deserve a team like this?
Ură thought, watching her teammates try to murder each other. Anyway, he couldn’t let the situation get worse and possibly getting more troubles. Thus, the Nixie lady decided to fight the battle on the frontlines.
“Sorry, Ragaire. Although I admire your cynical view of the world—which I would agree with in almost any other situation—this time I must stand with Nellie’s naïve idealism.” The ‘Nihilistic Blade’ calmly explained as she stopped both the insect and the blade by pinching the centipede’s mandibles and Giolladh’s edge with the thumb and index finger of both hands.
“You too, Ură, have you gone delusional as well?!” The ‘Virgin Rose’ wailed. “How can you trust a man you don’t even know so blindly?! They are all liars!”
“I don’t trust Connor because I believe in the childish concept of love, nor because I have faith in humanity,” Ură coolly replied. “I trust him because…” She coughed, hesitating for a short moment. “Because…I too…have someone waiting for me.”
Silence fell like a guillotine. Nellie’s centipede and Ragaire’s Giolladh both loosened as shock washed away all their feelings. Both girls could have believed almost anything, but not that the girl who spent her nights chanting under the moonlight about the pointlessness of existence could utter such words. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m a girl too.” She concluded by waving her silky and long hair.
“You have a fiancé too, Ură?!” Nellie burst out, overflowing with excitement. Ragaire merely shrugged, although one eye stealthily glanced at her. “Come on, tell us everything! Is he a prince? How did you fall in love?”
“Not exactly, it started as a political marriage meant to strengthen an alliance between our nations, and since my cousin Anicet has no sister, I was chosen as the sacrificial lamb.” Ură calmly explained. “I planned to end my life before saying yes at the altar, but then we met for the first time…let’s just say that from that moment on, I realized it wouldn’t be so terrible to have him as a cellmate in that social prison called marriage for my life sentence.”
“AHHHHHHHHH!” Nellie’s scream echoed across the classroom, drawing the attention and embarrassment of the surrounding Class A students. Nonetheless, the ’Toxic Parasite didn’t care, grabbing both of Ură’s hands and swinging them side to side like a circus. “Who is he?! Is he here at the Miraval Academy?!”
“No, he’s older than me, and that’s why I understand how you feel. To meet him again, I need to survive three or four more years in this hell.” Ură answered. “His name i—”
*BANG!*
The classroom door slammed violently against the wall, interrupting the ’Nihilisting Blade’ while heralding the arrival of a new player on the geopolitical chessboard, whose very first move would change the status quo forever.
“Good morning, Nellie. Your beauty never fails to amaze me, which is why I brought you this little gift, although these flowers could never compare to you.” SS-Class ‘Unforgivable Master’ Fachén O’Gahallghan made his entrance, placing a bouquet of roses on the desk of the ‘Toxic Parasite.’ However, the courtesy was repaid with a cold stare. “Is something wrong? You haven’t greeted me yet.” Fachén smiled as he extended his hand toward her face.
*Slap!*
“Don’t you ever dare touch me again,” Nellie snapped. “I don’t speak with the enemy. Leave now, you scum!” Her high-pitched voice only seemed to amuse him more. “Moreover, you’re a senior—it’s against the rules for you to be here in the first place.”
His smirk widened. “Oh really? And who’s going to throw me out?” Suddenly, the ‘Unforgivable Master’ grabbed her wrists.
“Let me go—now!” Nellie screamed, struggling as much as she could, but the [STR] of a third-year Class S was incomparable to hers. Panicking, she looked around for help, but no one moved—every student kept their eyes down, perfectly aware that a snap of Fachén’s fingers could ruin not only their lives, but their families’ as well.
Well, all except one.
“Hey you, leave her alone!” A lone Knight stepped forward, standing between her and the demon.
If I don’t save her now, how could I ever face Ælfgifu again?
“If you don’t fuck off in the next three seconds,” he shouted, “you’re going to face the fury of A-Class ‘Deontological Killer’ Sergei Vla—” Sergei succeeded freeing Nellie from his grip…only for Fachén to seize him by the face instead, burying him into the wall Sergei into the wall—the ‘Deontological Killer’ was now a fossil encased in concrete.
“Anyone else?” Fachén calmly challenged the Class A students, and, unsurprisingly, no one answered. “I assure you, my little owl, this is just a confidential conversation, and I’m not going to force you to do anything against your will…” He paused, trying with all his might to stop his lips from forming a delighted sneer. “…but you should know that things are changing in our northern homeland. Our Scion—being a Class F—has caused quite a bit of trouble to his father, and I fear the old order is finally crumbling.” He leaned closer. “Amid this coming chaos, I’m sure you’d like to be on the winning side, wouldn’t you?”
The ’Unforgivable Master’ was taller than Connor, his shoulder broader, and his muscles larger. Moreover, his cheekbones made Connor’s face seem almost gentle by comparison.
Why can’t I stop comparing them?
The intrusive thoughts had haunted Nellie for weeks. The image of a valiant knight had begun to rot since the Class Assignment, and Fachén’s recent actions had accelerated that decay beyond repair. “Connor is going to be the next High King.” Nevertheless, flame in her heart still burned, and she swore it would burn until her last breath.“So make sure you’re a loyal subject, or I’ll enjoy seeing your head on a pike over the Gates of Avalon.”
She tried to turn away, but this time, he grabbed her by the chin, her owl eyes and his hawk ones to meet. ”I do like troublesome women, but you’re underestimating your situation—I’m the only one who might be able to save your family.” His grip tightened. “Times are changing, the old ways are dying, but your once-wealthy Mormaer hasn’t adapted to the new millennium. Instead, your father has accumulated a great deal of debt—how do you think he plans to pay it?” Each word pressed harder than the last.
“C-Connor…” Nellie whispered. “Connor is going to save my family, and me.”
“And how exactly is he going to do that if Avalon is taken from him?” Fachén sarcastically asked, and she clenched her teeth.“You have two choices—either swear loyalty, like me, to whoever wins this power struggle, someone who will be neither my father nor yours, or help the Scion keep his throne and claim a stunning reward from him. What do you think?” Her expression completely shifted, and that man became her hope. “My family doesn’t have Highlander Knights like the others, but we do have vast foreign assets. With my money, Connor could win the civil war.”
“Then why not ask him? Why come here? What do you want from me?” Her tone was low, too low.
“I overheard your conversation. You said you’re doing everything for your valiant Knight. Am I wrong” She shook her head. “Good. So, what do I want?” He sneered. “What does a man ever want from a wom—”
*SLASH!*
Divine judgment fell from the heavens in the form of an axe, severing the sinner’s. “Enough,” a voice growled. “This is too much—even for me.” The ‘Virgin Rose’ stood before them, Giolladh pointed at his neck as blood dripped from its tip. “She told you to fuck off, and this is your last warning.”
“Phew! It seems our uncivilized cousins have some decent toys,” the Class S remarked as he flicked his little finger.
*Crash!*
In less time than it takes to blink, Giolladh shattered into hundreds of pieces from a single touch.
“Wha—” The Barbarian woman didn’t even have time to process what had happened when Fachén grabbed her head and smashed it into Nellie’s desk, snapping it clean in half. But, he didn’t stop until her entire head was embedded into the floor.
“So, Nellie, you have a choice, make me happy, and I’ll make you happy. Or, make me angry, and well…” He crushed his foot down on his victim, sinking her deeper into the concrete, rejoicing in the screams of the ’Virgin Rose.’ “I can assure you that in the entire Empire, there is no one who would ever fight you and your fam—”
*BANG!*
“What the hell is happening in my classroom?!” Head Department Gauston De Miraval shouted as he entered, astonishingly watching the devastated room and the condition of two of his students. Coincidentally, he was also the professor scheduled to teach Battlefield Logistics there that day.
“None of your business,” the Class S yelled without turning around. “If you value your life—leave, now!” Enraged, the ‘Eclectic Dirigist’ stepped forward and reached for the man’s shoulder, but, at that exact instant, the ’Unforgivable Master’ twisted and launched a punch straight toward his face. “…What?”
The blow was caught mid-air by Gus’s left hand. Fachén tried to yank it free, but no matter how much strength he used, the grip didn’t budge of a millimeter. “Good speed, mediocre technique, and terrible execution,” Gus flatly stated. “What a waste of talent. Ahhh…it seems that the Nixie King and the Starship Commando are right—there’s no future for our Unholy Rotten Confederation if this is how we have squandered our youth.” The professor concluded by seizing Fachén by the back of his shirt’s collar and throwing him into the corridor in a single move. “Now leave, before I expel you and send your ass to the 37th Fort.”
The professor is taller than him, his shoulders are broader than his, and his complete lack of grooming makes Fachén’s obsession with skincare look almost feminine.
Nellie beamed, her eyes shining with bliss as she admired her savior.
“Do you really think your surname will save you?” Fachén snarled from the hallway. “Have you even heard of what the O’Gahallghan family has done to those who crossed our path?” As Gus helped Ragaire back to her feet, Fachén waited for rage, fear, or anything. Instead, Dh. Miraval looked at him with an expression no one ever had before.
In what dumpster should I hide his body?
That was what Fachén’s instincts translated from Gus’s stare, one that treated murder and paperwork as equally boring tasks—that was enough to make him back off. “Tsk. Enjoy your little kingdom while it lasts. Soon, even this island will be put in its place like we have done with the rest of the Empire. Nellie, not even the Holy Trinity can change the destiny of a Class F, so don’t be foolish. Think about yourself, and think about your family—I’m the only one who can save them.” And with that, the ‘Unforgivable Master’ left, slamming the door behind him.
“Miss O’Neil, if anything like this happens again, do not hesitate to call me. In the name of the Miraval Family, I promise you—he will repent for his sins.”
“Thanks, Profess—AHAHAHA!” Nellie looked up at him and burst out laughing, the tension accumulated till now evaporating instantly. “What happened to your hair?!”
“Ahem…” Gus coughed. “Do you like it?” The entire class encircled their professor, staring in disbelief at his elegant new haircut, which somehow looked utterly wrong on him. “You see…
"I’m going to ask a girl out.”
