Iusus' Pov:
"Daddy, what are you making?"
"Hehe, I'm making some cookies kiddo. For the birthday party we're going to."
My eyes glowed up in excitement. Today was the day for Pulchra's birthday party, and her parents are stinking rich, so they were always a blast. And now my dad was cooking?! This was a perfect chance for me to get in the kitchen and help cook which mom never let me do.
"Can I help?"
"Sure thing, just make sure you don't eat any of the batter. We need to keep some extra for your mom and brother."
"Mhm."
"Alright then, could you go grab me a measuring cup?"
"Sure."
I ran over to the drawer within the kitchen that held the cooking appliances and bent down to pick up the measuring cup. I brought myself back up and turned to the stairs only to see my brother coming down the stairs. My brother was very cool. He was a Stone Class Cultivator, and he got 4th in the Stone Class Competition of the entire sect. Today he was going to apply to be the assistant of Medisma Nima, a Grand Elder of the sect. So he was really excited for today.
As he went down stairs he sniffed in the air a couple of times before concluding, "You guys are making cookies? Better save some for me for celebration once I get that apprenticeship!"
My dad turned around and replied sarcastically to my brother, "Oh yeah? Why don't you become my apprentice instead, lick my boot and such? It would probably be better than what that crazy old hag asks you to do."
"Yeah, yeah. I already know that it is similar to being a butler sometimes, but there are some serious privileges unlocked with it. Who knows, I might even be able to get to Coal Class with this."
My dad turned back around and continued to measure out the butter, "Alright then, make sure you bring your A-game. It won't be easy."
My brother brought his fist to the air in a thumbs up and said, "You've got it!-"
BOOM!!!
Suddenly dust and rubble were sprawled all over the place, making it difficult to see anything. I looked around myself in panic and to my left, I saw a horrible sight. The horribly deformed body of what was once my brother layed beside me. I stared in horror as I took in his mutilated corpse. What used to be his head was replaced with a bloody minefield, the mines being the blotches of some gross pieces of human meat. His neck was barely there, almost being cut all the way through. And his chest down... wasn't there. All that was there were some dangling pieces of guts from his upper body.
ROAR!!!
I turned my dismayed face to meet the source of this powerful roar, and well, I found the lower half of my brother. Hanging out of the giant lion's mouth were the legs of my now-deceased brother. It used its open mouth to chew down on him and blood splattered everywhere, covering my vision. Once I opened my eyes, I was somewhere completely different.
I was watching from below the stage with my mother holding my hand tightly as a couple of sect Elders loudly announced to the crowd of people, "For the crimes of using techniques and methods that are outlawed for use in the world of righteousness, you, Braccus Dulcedo, have been condemned a fallen of the righteous path, a demonic cultivator, a devil!! And you will be executed as such!"
My dad was put onto his knees forcefully and he looked at me and my mom, fondly. Just before I was able to say anything to him though, two wooden spikes were sent through his head at opposite ends. Tears balled up in my eyes as I watched him mouth out two words before he was dead for good.
"I'm sorry"
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Gasp!
I rose out of my bed and cold sweat formed on my back and tears fell from my eyes. I looked around for a moment, and after remembering that I was sleeping inside the girls' dorm room, I fell back into my bed.
I took a long, deep, rueful sigh and placed my hand on my forehead with my other on my stomach.
"That's the past... For now, I need only to sleep."
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I stalked him from the trees as I silently moved from branch to branch, waiting for the right opportunity. Normally I wouldn't attack my target outside of the school, but today was special. For the entire day, Spiravit had never let down his guard, not even once! Even Quis let his guard down every now and then, but not once have I had the opportunity to attack Spiravit. So I thought that maybe if followed him outside of the boundaries I showed myself to have, then he would finally lower his guard, but this was just getting ridiculous now. How can he keep his focus up all day and not tire out?
I was having difficulty just following him while keeping my movements silent and my Genesis Essence dormant, yet he was able to keep up with no sweat. Both he and Quis, the geniuses of this school year, no, the geniuses of the century as some of the guards have said it. It really did piss me off when I thought about it. How come the two people who were predicted to become extremely powerful people in the future are both such douchebags? Why can't someone kind and virtuous ever gain a position of power, like Pulchra or Capcis? Well, I guess those two aren't the best examples. One was six-feet under and the other was so distant, it felt like she was dead as well.
I always sigh when I think back to Pulchra. Even though she made some stupid decisions, like falling in love with Quis, she was still the only one willing to be my friend after my dad was exposed as a devil. She held a tight place in my heart, but she was ripped out in only one night, it was kind of funny how fast things can change. But this has happened to me before, so I already know what has to happen. You just have to move on and move to better things. Nothing in life is guaranteed except for change, so you must always be prepared for it. Although it did make me angry that Quis ended up living instead of dying along with Pulchra. It's not like I hated his guts before Pulchra died, but after she did, I felt incredible hate directed toward him. I was angry at how fast he moved on, as though Pulchra never meant a thing to him. But... he's gone now too, so I will move on all the same. Now I focus my attention on improving my skills by using douchebag number two as a whetstone...!
I just noticed he wasn't moving anymore, and he was in deep thought. The tension that was following him all day was gone now and he was open to any kind of attack. I had to take this opportunity while it lasted. I used the branch under me as a platform and propelled myself off of it at Spiravit. He didn't even seem to notice, and instead stood put with his mind lost in the clouds. Soon enough, I was on top of him. I raised my fist and brought it down to his face. This one is for how you would always degrade Pulchra with your lustful eyes!
But wait. Just as I was bringing my first down to his face, I noticed a problem. He wasn't frowning at his demise, he wasn't grinding his teeth in anger, nor was he shocked beyond belief. He only slightly smirked. I couldn't back out now and committed to my punch despite the bad feeling his smirk gave me.
And just as I thought, when I was about to hit his nose I felt my shoulder being pulled back, stopping my arm from moving any further.
"I'll be honest Spiravit, I thought you were lying to me, but it looks like you were actually telling the truth. Sorry for doubting you."
Spiravit gave a humble smile not belonging to his face and said ingloriously, "Naw you're fine. I know I don't have the most credible reputation, so it makes sense for you not the believe me."
I turned around to take a look at who was talking to Spiravit and was stunned as I realized who it was. It was the champion of the annual, "Daisy Drinking" competition! Beulus Frigtus! I swallowed the spit building up in my throat as I gathered the courage to speak, "What does the legendary Drink Defender want from me?"
I could see a flash of anger and shame go through Beulus' eyes as he answered, "Well to put it simply Iusus, this is an intervention. And also, please don't call me that. You don't know how much I regret that night."
An intervention? From what? I turned back to look at Spiravit and he was flashing a smug grin at me. With just that smile, I could tell. That bastard, he set me up!!!
I suddenly felt myself being lifted by the back of my shirt. I tried struggling free was punches and kicks, but it was futile, Beulus' grip was unbeatable, "Alright, we're going to the bar for a little chat. See you some other time Spiravit."
I wasn't able to put in my complaints as Beulus burst into a sprint far faster than I was used to. It made sense though, he was Stone Class so his Genesis Liquid was much richer and his body amplification was also far superior to mine. It wasn't long until the bar was in view.
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Beulus opened the doors, causing the ding of a bell to vibrate through the mostly empty bar, the only people there being a bartender and a waiter. The two of them looked at Beulus confused that someone would enter the bar at such an early time, but once they saw his face, that mystery immediately dissolved. He had quite the reputation, but more importantly, shouldn't be questioning why he's holding onto the back of a woman? His reputation as a kind man must have been as high as his reputation as a drunk.
He carried me over to a table in the corner of the bar, placed me into a seat, signaled the workers to bring two beers over, and then looked me in the eyes before saying, "So, what was that all about?"
"All of what?"
His eyes narrowed, "You know what I mean, don't act ignorant."
I sighed, "I mean, there is no big secret behind it. I took an opportunity to attack the prey I had been hunting and it turned out I entered a trap. That's all."
He flattened his hand against his forehead for a moment before turning that same hand into a questioning palm and asked me, "Ok then, let me ask more bluntly. Why did you attack Spiravit? And I won't accept something like, "Because I felt like it", or, "Because I needed to", or anything along those lines as an answer."
Tch, I guess I actually need to think this time. I don't know why, but I've always despised thinking hard over something. I'd rather just do it without thinking and deal with consequences later. But now I have to think, no, worse than that, I have to question my own actions. How appoling.
Alright, well, I haven't done this since I had that fight with Hasrem, so I'll have to walk myself through it. So, Iusus, why is it that you even decided to do this in the first place? Alright, well, I suppose I have to go back to when it first started, back to the second day of school after Pulchra died. At first, I attacked Quis because I was angry. He moved on way too quickly, and he also beat me up the day before, not to mention he somehow convinced Capcis he wasn't the dick that he was. He was annoying, cocky, and manipulative, so I wanted to beat him up. I landed a punch, but then he beat the snot out of me. So I decided that I wanted to return that beating back to him.
From then on it almost became a game between the two of us. I would find an opportunity sometime during the school hours, attack him, fail, and then get beaten up. But with every attempt, I always got slightly better. It eventually became something that I looked forward to, something that motivated me to keep moving forward... so I guess once he went missing... I no longer had anything to look forward to. I didn't have Pulchra to try and catch up to, I didn't have Capcis to mess with, and I didn't have Quis to battle. I thought that trying to switch targets might get that sense of competitive spirit back into me, but it didn't work. I only ended up getting tricked by that bastard and sat down to get lectured at. That never happened with Quis, not once.
I suddenly gagged as a revolting thought flashed by in my mind. But once the thought popped up, it didn't go back down. I could only watch in antipathy as I began to reason out within my mind how logical this disgusting idea was. And, unfortunately for my stomach, it seemed to make sense.
I took a sip of the beer I found in my hands to try and wash out the gross taste in my mouth, yet it only ended up sticking itself to the tip of my tongue. I tried my hardest to pry it off of my tongue, but instead of swallowing it down with the wave of beer like I wished, it ended up escaping, in the form of words, "I guess... It's probably because I miss Quis."
As I realized these words escaped my mouth, I suddenly had a panic attack. Did I really just say such a cringy line? Oh, Wood Sovereign, I ask for a second chance. Please let me go back 10 seconds into the past to stop myself from saying that. But as hard as I prayed, nothing came. Maybe next time I'll pray to Hermes, who knows, something might actually happen then!
Beulus nodded his head up and down as if understanding something. Oh please, please! I pray to... to... ah! I don't even know at this point. Just please make it so what I said doesn't make me seem like some dumb love-sick girl, because I can promise, that without a doubt, it has absolutely nothing to do with fond feelings toward Quis whatsoever. If I had the option, I would rip apart his body, use his bones as decoration, his flesh as leather, and his guts as a 5-course meal. It just so happens I have an ounce of self-restraint and haven't done that yet.
With my prayers given, Beulus opened his mouth which to me flipping the table or not, and said fondly, "I think I get it now. You know Iusus, I think you and I have a similar opinion of Quis."
"You want to cut his limbs off, blow a hole into his stomach, wrap his intestines around the stern of a boat, and let him drift through the Island Region?"
He stopped in the middle of his sip of beer and slowly brought his glass to meet the table, "You know what, let's not jump to conclusions. How about you start by telling me how you feel about Quis?"