With a command to the artificial core, I up my speed and reflexes another notch and perform a flawless dodge from another of Big Tits's attacks. Before Big Tits can strike again, my foot lashes out and connects with her gut with thunderous force, sending her skidding backwards. A trickle of blood drips from Big Tits's mouth as she regains her footing by wedging her spirit sword into the ground, the blade serving as both a makeshift brake and crutch.

Big Tits flares her spirituality and the sword swung upwards vigorously, releasing another one of those shock waves. This time however, not only am I wise to Big Tits's move set, my reflexes by now exceed hers by a generous margin. With a graceful leap, I pirouette over the incoming blast and land a spinning elbow on Big Tits's face. Its not enough to down her, but she is going to be suffering from fat lip for quite a while thanks to that blow.

All things considered, fighting Big Tits isn't really as difficult as I had originally feared. She's strong and tough, but after the first couple of exchanges against her, I quickly realized that she lacks any means of exotic attack or other unusual abilities. Big Tits at her core, is a tank. An incredibly high leveled tank to be sure, but ultimately that was all she was. Her game plan revolved around dishing out raw physical damage and resisting counterattacks with her absurdly prodigious toughness. There were no tricks, no super secret hidden techniques that she would pull out of her ass to turn the tables on me. The only thing she has been doing is pumping more magic into her spirit sword and buffing herself physically.

That was not to say Big Tits is weak. Against almost any other opponent, Big Tits would be a truly fearsome opponent. Her strength and toughness meant that she could both dish it out and take it in return. Big Tits was the equivalent of an overpowered starter character some games supply the player with for the first few stages. No advanced skills, but ridiculously high stats that allowed such a character to crush enemies with brute force alone.

Come to think about it, isn't being the opening chapter crutch basically Big Tits's role in the greater scheme of things? Someone who is impressively strong, yet not powerful enough to steal the Hero's future thunder. Just as I am idly musing on the mysteries of the universe, Big Tits's sword comes close to clipping me as I perform a sloppy, distracted dodge. Damn, can't afford to get careless here. I swiftly retaliate with a quick jab which misses, but nevertheless forces Big Tits to retreat.

Big Tits's problem now is that she is playing a game that The Voice had effectively rigged. In terms of raw stats, mine can be raised to the power of infinity as long as I kept the stress building up under control. My body is impervious to physical damage. I can score critical hits with far more reliability than Big Tits as well. I am both the better tank and damage dealer. Its only a matter of time before I wear Big Tits down and finish this fight.

And Big Tits knows it. There is a look of worry and desperation emerging on her face. Sweat soaks her silly dirt stained uniform through and her hair flows down her shoulders in long tresses, the original neat bun undone when I grabbed her by the head for yet another throw. Big Tits had originally hoped that her stamina would allow her to outlast me, but I am never going to tire. In fact, I get faster and stronger the longer this fight drags on. Her strategy was doomed from the start.

"Transmigrator." The Voice cuts in, "Fate has created a divergence point in the middle of this scenario. Be cautious."

"What's this divergence point supposed to do?" I whisper urgently while wiping my face with the sleeve of the trench coat. Wouldn't want people seeing me talking to myself in the middle of a fight. The last thing I need is to be regarded as cray cray.

"Its odd." The Voice rumbles, clearly confused, "The divergence point has no relevance to this scenario itself. What it does is that once an unknown condition is met, the Hero will abandon his quest for the von Amsterg territory. Before you ask, your success or failure in this mission does not seem to be the trigger for the divergence point. Stay alert."

Shit. Its one of Fate's bogus choices dangled in front of the Hero. Except now Fate has gotten better at hiding the flags that need to be tripped. Needless to say, I am skirting very close to a bad end here. The real threat in front of me is not Big Tits. Its the metaphorical bomb Fate has buried under my feet. If the episode at the von Amsterg manor taught me anything, allowing matters to drift to their natural conclusion would inevitably trigger the divergence point.

So should I complete the mission, or flee right now? Which is the opposite of this scenario's natural conclusion? My mind races, trying to make sense of the puzzle before me as I duck under another of Big Tits's swings.

Then I remember that fleeing is simply unacceptable as long as The Voice and I are on the death route. We need the instability to wreck the dead end we are being forced towards. That means this mission has to be completed, no matter what. The Voice and myself simply cannot afford failure. I need to seek out the flag that Fate has hidden and break it. But where could it be? What could it be?

I knee Big Tits in the stomach and follow up with a hard chop which contains all my frustration, sending her flying backwards. In front of me is the death route. At my back is this trap Fate has laid for me. The candle of my life is literally being burned away at both ends. Don't blame me for getting all tense and uptight.

"When is Hernandez getting here?" I hiss quietly while Big Tits gets back to her feet.

The Voice rasps, "The Commander is leading a large ORPO force towards Phase One. His men have also managed to gather an enormous crowd of homeless to join in on the fun. Unfortunately, a nasty traffic accident has caused an intractable snarl on the roads, severely slowing down the Commander's progress. The Commander is moving as fast as he is able, but he will not reach Phase One anytime soon."

So that means that Hernandez reaching Phase One is my win condition. That has to be it if Fate is actively delaying his arrival. By the process of elimination, I can safely conclude that the flag I need to look out for is something that will happen before Hernandez gets here. As Big Tits charges impotently at me again, I knock her backwards with a backhand, sending blood flying into the air. With a bit of breathing room, I cast my eyes about, hoping to spot some kind of clue that will point me in the right direction.

The Hero is sandwiched between Delinquent and Matsui, cheering for Big Tits loudly. Delinquent looks thoroughly conflicted with what is going on while Matsui himself just keeps looking at me with that slightly disapproving expression of his. The other men gathered around the impromptu arena occasionally shout encouragement or jeers at both Big Tits and myself. The site itself has nothing unusual about it, just rubble and dust.

I dart forwards and land another series of blows into Big Tits's torso. Her spiritual nimbus begins to waver as she staggers backwards but nevertheless manages to retain its cohesion. She performs a weak slash at me which misses by a mile. Big Tits is tiring, she can't keep up with me for much longer. Its rather embarrassing frankly, that the Hero would have such a disappointing mentor. Shouldn't the Hero's mentor be some kind of powerful ancient master or something? Isn't that how things are supposed to work in these kinds of settings?

Hold up.

The Hero does have an ancient master, or the closest thing to someone like that. Chance. She's a direct descendant of a legendary master. She knows a unique one of a kind technique. She taught the Hero the fundamentals of his magic style. She even has 'Master' as one of her titles. By all reasoning, the Hero should be training under Chance, not Big Tits.

Then why isn't Chance the Hero's mentor now?

Because I wrecked Chance's shit back at the lab. That allowed Big Tits to step into the void and assume a role that was never meant to be hers. Then I survived the encounter with Gallant's sister, causing his old man to demand that the family go all out in bringing me back to Neo-Cardiff. Chance works for Gallant's family, so they would have ordered her to concentrate on preparing for the final battle against me, rather than fraternizing with the Hero. The pieces click into place and my mind's eye opens.

Big Tits is the Hero's mentor because of the instability that I caused. Nothing else. She is the only line of defense the Hero has against Chance's influence. She is what keeps an Incarnate at arm's length from the Hero. Despite all appearances to the contrary, Big Tits is my ally in The Voice's grand design.

The Voice was right about a borrowed knife being Fate's chosen tool in this scenario. But the borrowed knife is not the Hero as The Voice suspected. Its me. I'm being set up by Fate to remove The Voice's pieces from the board.

Killing Big Tits would enrage the Hero and with Chance egging him on, he would likely engage in a bloody vendetta against me. Badly injuring Big Tits would force her to bow out from the stage, allowing Chance to resign from Siobahn's employment and take the place of the Hero's mentor. Since the Hero has no real interest in his inheritance, it is likely that Chance in either scenario could talk him into throwing the contest out of some high minded ideal. Its the exact type of garbage someone as one dimensional as the Hero would eat up without a second thought.

Subverting expectations. Wasn't that what The Voice said was our main weapon? It looks like Fate has learnt the same lesson as well. I now know what the flag Fate planted actually is. I also know what will trigger it.

Now all I need to do is break it.