[On your left side, you hold the power to redetermine that which has already been determined]
[On your right side, you hold the power to determine that which is undetermined]
[Live with determination. The choice is yours]
Claire felt power flowing through both sides of her like never before.
She could feel the tension between the two sides rejecting each other like magnets, and yet... they were both incredibly powerful.
"Finally... I am free of your filthy kindness....", her left side exclaimed with a wicked grin.'
"Eh!?! What's going on!?! Why am I two people!?!", her right side replied.
"I am you.... but I am your darker side....my name is Clarice... we have been separated due to the extreme polarity that plagues your mind.... you hold deep hatred towards those who are evil.... and that hatred has been manifested as your left side.... you also hold a deep compassion and love for others... a desire to save and help others... to forgive those who have harmed you, and lend a hand to them... and that has been manifested as your right side.... you are now truly black and white... there is no longer a grey area in your person... you are both good, and you are evil, as every person in existence is... but you are now pure good and pure evil."
"That... how could I have held so much hideous evil inside of me!?! I refuse to accept that explanation! I am not such a horrible person to have something so grotesque manifest in me!!!"
"The only grotesque one is you, you who believe you can do anything and save anyone without dirtying your hands.... heh heh... let's get back to watching the game... I was enjoying the slaughter thus far...."
Claire's left side had a sinister grin, while her right side was filled with shock and horror, and she was holding her right hand to her face in despair as she tried to comprehend what had happened, while her left hand took up the drink and took another sip of it calmly.
"Sit down and relax... enjoy the show..."
The left side of her forced the right side to sit down, and the demonic eyes bulged with interest as she continued watching the spectacle.
Her fangs on the left side had grown so long so that they were about 2 inches long, and her single horn spiraled out.
"AND WHAT IS THIS?!?!!?! DESPITE BEING THE FIRST ONE TO FINISH, CONTESTANT BROT HAS FALLEN ASLEEP RIGHT BEFORE THE EXIT!!!!"
'Heh heh... what an idiot... I didn't want to have to deal with that one anyways... though he might have made an interesting pawn... who knows? He still might prove useful later on.'
'How can you say such a thing...'
'If I say something, it is only something which your subconscious wanted to say but was suppressed before we split. It isn't I, you, who is evil... it is you, I. Blame yourself for everything I, you do and say. Heh heh...'
"And the first successful person to reach the end goal is Kota!!!! Will Ploritan be able to reach the end, or will our chief be decided here!?!"
'Ah... that Barracuda seems to be doing pretty well for himself... tch... I was kinda hoping he would die off so that we don't have to deal with another explanation...'
The right side of Claire bit her lip as her left side thought all these horrible things.
The worst part was that she could hear all the thoughts of her left side, as if she was the same person... no... she was the same person.
She understood now the depths of her own hatred towards others... her own desire to throw everyone down and destroy the world... she saw it and heard it clear as day.
'I... I... can't believe that I was such a horrible person all this time...'
'And I can't believe that I was such a naive fool.'
"And Ploritan has managed to hobble his way to the end!!!! With this, two former chiefs will take part in the final round, which will be held after another short intermission to bandage some wounds!"
----
Ploritan rode the elevator up to the surface and had a cast put on his broken ankle.
It wouldn't heal it, but it would be able to keep it in place for now.
Even so...
He found out now that he had indeed passed and made it through the round, however...
Kota was his final opponent, and he was essentially unharmed.
This was bad.
No matter what competition it was, Ploritan was certain to lose.
'Fuck... why did things end up this way...'
Ploritan held his forehead, stressed and concerned about the future of the village.
'We're doomed... there's no way I can win in this state... it's over...'
"AND NOW!!! For the final round!!!!!!"
Ploritan looked over to the announcer, who was excitedly shouting.
'Why are you so excited? This game won't even be interesting. The outcome has already been determined.'
Kota was standing on the opposing side, arms crossed with a sly grin on his face. He was enjoying the fact that Ploritan was suffering from injury.
"For this round, we will be doing an endurance competition!!! The goal is extremely simple. We have two sets of bars from which each contestant will hang from, and whoever is able to hang in the air the longest will win!!! Whoever drops first gives up!!!"
Wait a minute.
This competition...
While it was true that Ploritan only had one hand to hold on with, and while it was true that he was at his limits, Kota too had a disadvantage.
He was missing a lung... his primary source of activity on land.
Ploritan could win this if he could just manage to hold our long enough.
Ploritan regained his determination, and put on a fighting face.
'I might be able to win this... even with this broken ankle, I can do it...'
A set of pull up bars were reeled out, and the two contestants were directed to their respective set.
'I can do this!!! The village might be saved!!!'
He looked over to Kota, who was staring at him suspiciously and somewhat disappointingly.
Kota must have realized that Ploritan gained a chance in this event.
'Will the contestants please get ready to jump up and grab onto the bar on the count of three? Three! Two! One! Jump!'
Both contestants jumped up- Ploritan on one foot, and grabbed their bars so that they were hanging.
Kota was holding his breath, and his eyes were bulging.
He seemed to be struggling.
'Yes!!! Fall!!! Fall!!', Ploritan thought as he held onto the bar with a single arm.
Ploritan all of a sudden began to feel woozy.
'Hm!? What's this... I'm feeling... dizzy....'
Ploritan dropped from the bar only seconds after having grabbed it, and fell to the ground.
Ploritan couldn't open his eyes. They felt so heavy.
'What's going on... I can't... stay... awake... zzzzzzzzz"
Ploritan fell asleep, and the struggling Kota let go and took a deep breath on landing.
Kota smirked sinisterly.
'Looks like I really did have to rely on that backup plan.... it was a good thing I excised so much caution... how protagonist-like that this competition would be drawn to the last thread... but of course, the good guy wins in the end.'
----
Kota had ensured his victory against Ploritan before he even fought him in the tournament- because he was concerned.
Kota felt that he would be able to outthink any of the other contestants, however Ploritan was different. If he faced Ploritan in the final round, he would without a doubt have trouble due to his passion for the village and unyielding attitude.
So Kota used that against him.
That teenage goldfish who served the drink to Ploritan was actually serving him a slow acting sleeping drug- one which Kota had specially prepared beforehand in order to ensure that he would take it.
The kid was a fan of Kota's, and when he saw Kota in the streets said that he would do anything to help Kota regain his position as the chief.
"Anything?"
"Of course, Former Chief Kota! I believe that the village you made was filled with passion and justice! I want you to become the chief again, no matter what! Every time I hear you speak, my heart jumps out in longing for the day which you once more rule this village!"
Kota ensured that the drug would be slow acting so that the kid would be seemingly unharmed in the case that he took it, and so that Ploritan would take it without any suspicion. How the tables had turned. Of course, the drug was not anything harmful, but it would simply cause the person who took it to fall asleep after a time lag.
Ploritan had initially been suspicious, and rightfully so, of the drink he had been offered- only for Kota to be one step ahead of him.
"AND THAT'S IT!!!!! Our new chief is Kota, the former village chief before Ploritan!!!!! Everyone, give him a round of applause!!!!"
The crowd went wild and Kota smiled at them.
"Chief Kota, what is your first order as the new chief?!"
"Where is the surgeon? I want him to remove both of Ploritan's lungs and banish him to the underground cave where he will never step foot on land again."
----
Claire left the VIP room, a bad taste in her mouth.
She now had to figure out how to deal with this new leader.
'Tch... that former chief couldn't even hold up to his promise...'
'Please calm down. We should try to inform the new chief of the situation so that he can be ready for an attack from the Empire... I sure hope the antiheroes are doing what they can to stop the attack...'
'Why would you want that? I personally would like to see those soldiers and these fishmen slaughtering each other, only to overtake whoever is leftover.'
'Grr... why am I so evil? Why do I have such dark thoughts within me.... I don't care what you want. I'm going to save those people, whether you like it or not!'
'I'd like to see you try... but I will always be here within you....never forget the hatred you hold for that man, and why you hate him and his kind so much.... it is because they are scum. Scum who manipulate others like they are merely tools. Scum who don't deserve to live. Never forget that.'
Claire's dark side retracted, and her demonic wing became an angelic one. The halo on her head became whole, her horn and fangs disappeared, and her entire body aside from her left hand took an angelic form.
However, her hand remained that of a demon.
A single piece of her remained evil, reminding her always that she was corrupted. Tainted by darkness. She could overcome the darkness within her, but she could never get rid of it. It always threatened to take over her once again.
Claire exited the door to see the guard, who was completely shocked and surprised by her new appearance.
"Agh!! Y-your eminence?! Is this your true form!?!?"
"That... my true form... I don't even know myself...", Claire responded, staring at each of her hands.
'She is beautiful... just like an angel... however what is with that horrifying hand!? I don't even know what's going on anymore...'
Claire smiled in an angelic way at the guard.
'I need to have another conversation with the new leader as soon as possible. It is very important, so could I please speak with him immediately?'
"Ah! Right away. I will have to reintroduce you to the new village chief."
"Of course."
And so, Claire was lead away by the guard to the palace on top of the plateau.
----
Kota ordered the removal of the lungs of Ploritan, and sentenced him to the underwater pit between the cave system and the mainland.
With this, Ploritan would be trapped forever under the water in that small jail cell which he would never be able to escape due to losing his lungs, along with his ability to breathe in air, and Kota's desire for revenge would be satisfied. Ploritan would now understand even more than Kota how truly devastating it is for ones lungs to be removed.
The next thing to do was to take up his position as chief once more, and lead the village in the direction he wanted it to be molded.
What would he do?
His freedom was endless.
He could create anything he wanted now that he was the chief.
The surgeon rolled Ploritan off in a cart to perform the newly ordered surgery without question.
Kota raised up his hand in victory.
The crowd went wild at the strength of their new chief.
However, Kota was in actuality exhausted.
'I need to get some rest...'
Kota began to head back to the palace, keeping his arm held high showing the fishmen that HE was the victor, and their new ruler, and that he would back down at nothing.
He would face any challenge with tenacity.
He would overcome any enemy.
This was the message he wanted to send to the people around him.
He wanted them to trust him. To love him.
That made people so much more willing to do the impossible for him.
Kota felt his lung wince, and he wanted to grab it in pain, but he kept the pose without flinching.
He had to maintain this pose as an absolute victor.