This is my third life and death battle since the three bandits and the Hobgoblin. I was a leaf flying in the wind during the battle at Shrub Hills, too weak to do anything, it was mostly by luck that I survived. The fight with JKL was just a kiddy fight and the long fish one didn't count.

Me and this Leon guy are both level 0, but he’s a few years older, which means he have more training and experience than me. Since his team leader acknowledged his strength, he shouldn't be weak, might be even stronger than me.

This is my test… this is the moment. The moment I prove to myself that the path I’ve chosen is not a mistake! To emerge victorious no matter if I was right or wrong!

He blinked.

During the split nanoseconds when his eyes were closed, Viers recalled all he’d done since the day he reincarnated. The long and dull hours he had spent training and honing his skills, the exhaustion that he felt during his exercise and sparing sessions. All were for the sake to defeat any enemy that might stand in his way.

And now, someone was standing before him, an enemy. Leon wanted to stop the Ghoul’s rampage and save the townspeople while Viers was preventing him to do so. It was clear which was on the side of good and which was on the side of evil.

Even so, I will defeat him! Not because I have the moral high ground, but because I’m stronger!

When he opened his eyes again, his eyes showed the fiery intensity that wasn’t there the second before.

“Arte — Water Slash!”

“Arte — Lightning Cutter!”

Lightning? Damn it! He's got elemental advantage!

They both used elementary Arte. Viers, using a sword clad in water dashed and made a downward slash, he intended to split Leon’s head like a watermelon. Leon answered by making a vertical slashing attack using his lighting-clad sword. The two swords made a cross, Viers got the upper hand because he used his body weight on that attack. Leon’s knee touched the ground to absorb the excess force.

Seeing his opponent didn’t have the ideal posture, Viers immediately followed with his next attack. His left knee went straight for Leon’s face. Leon moved his head to the side, Viers knee would’ve missed but he didn’t commit all of his momentum to the knee strike. Viers stopped half-way and turn the knee into a kick, it landed on Leon’s right cheek.

Leon’s head was knocked to the side, the attacker felt a satisfying impact from his leg. Viers landed the first blow but it came with a cost. Leon moved his sword when Viers hit him, Viers suffered a minor cut wound on his calf.

“Gahhagh,” Leon was hurting. Viers saw this and attacked again.

“Arte — Water Slash!” A rising attack from a low position this time.

“Arte — Lightning Move!”

What the!?

Leon speed multiplied, he dodged the incoming attack and gave a counter-attack in return, a stab. The sudden speed increase surprised him but didn’t catch him off guard. Viers already fermenting his defensive Arte for contingencies.

“Arte — Water Barrier!”

Viers’s body was enveloped by a thin membrane of water and Leon’s steel sword was unable to get through. If Viers was late by one second, his liver would’ve had a new hole.

Water Slash and Lightning Cutter were both instantaneous type Arte. The effect of the Arte would be over after one use. Of course, the skill of the user could twist this rule somewhat but not at this instance.

Confident that his defensive Arte would block his opponent's ordinary attack, the grabbing hand already moved when Leon was still in the middle of thrusting his arm. Viers used his left hand to grabbed Leon’s wrist then he turned his body backward and put Leon’s extended arm that still holding the sword on his shoulder.

“HUMPH!”

A shoulder throw! One of the things he learned from Teldo’s classes. Using all of his strength, he slammed his opponent to the stone ground like a sack of potato. Viers got scratched by his sword while doing the throw but it wasn’t fatal, he expected this but still went for the throw anyway. He knew it was a worthy trade.

“Oouuggh!”

The impact from a solid rock wasn’t a light one, Viers pressed on, hoping to widen his advantage but Leon wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Arte — Lightning Plasma!!”

Yellow-colored lighting sphere exploded to all directions, Viers who was very close to Leon’s body got hit by the brunt of it. His barrier was still active but a lot of damage got through none the less, half the reason was because of the elemental advantage, the other half was because Lightning Plasma was the stronger Arte.

“AAaaahh!”

Viers let out a pained voice and took a few steps back, his body was electrified and smell like ozone.

“Grgghh… it… just… tickles!” Viers’s voice was clearly in pain.

“You think I would believe that? Hahhh!” Leon charged like a savage lion.

“Arte — Rapid Water Steps! Water Slash!”

“Arte — Lightning Move! Lightning Cutter!”

Viers’s movement was similar to his element, it was fluid in both attack and defense. Viers always strike where the opponent’s guard was weak, exploiting any opening. On the other hand, Leon had fast and strong attacks but thin defense. This was the difference between their element affinities, every element had their own strong and weak points.

After some time, Leon felt as if he was being swallowed by a raging current. Viers had a very slight advantage during the course of the battle. Cuts and bruises were steadily increasing over time, Leon decided to unleash a big move.

“Arte — Lightning Plasma!!!”

“Guaaahh!”

A sphere of electrical current exploded with him at the center. He’d no time to deploy his defensive Arte so Viers took the full force of the attack this time. He was knocked down, under the robe, his skin was a bit charred. Exhausted, Leon fell down too, he was panting and sweating heavily. Both men were down and groaning in pain but made the effort to get back on their feet as soon as possible.

“You, gurgh… are strong, hugggh… no one on the same level can match me during sparring.” Leon said while hurting.

“Argh… that hurt… that plasma Arte pack a punch and got a wide range. Oww… You used a lot of Victa for those two, yes? It’s impossible for an Arte as strong as that to have little Victa cost.”

Viers was hurting too, he suspected his own damage was greater than Leon’s. His limbs also were paralyzed by the shock, the second Lightning Plasma inflicted paralyze on him.

I never got hit by lightning before, was his Arte stronger or weaker from a real lightning bolt? Damn it, it really hurts…

Viers already lift the ban of his healing factor before the start of the fight. He wasn’t naïve enough to think he could win this fight unscathed. In the past, he already lift the ban and conducted tests on his healing factor several times.

While his healing rate still didn’t improve since the first time he had it, he could accelerate the healing by using his Victa. It wasn’t at the level of a certain mutant with metal claws but it was still somewhat helpful during a fight.

He also learned to differentiate wounds he wanted to heal and prioritized on it rather than healing them all at a slower rate. This would be the first time he’s gotten himself de-buffed with paralyze, he hoped his healing factor would work wonders.

“Such a shame, you could’ve used your powers for good. Instead of using it to assist selfish people that put so little value to human life.” Leon spoke.

My healing factor is working, good… and since this nice guy hero wants to be chatty, why not entertain him. I could use the extra time to get healed up.

“…The world isn’t fair, you know. I’ll be honest with you, I joined the cult yesterday. Half forced and half willing, I joined because I want to improve my affinity. Because the higher the affinity, the stronger I become. In the past, I was weak. Years and years I’m oppressed by those stronger than me… No more. Sometimes, weak people got to do ugly things to survive.”

Viers said his story using the most regretful tone he could conjure. A few meters away, Leon was looking straight at his masked face.

“Arte — Accelerated Thoughts!”

A thin thread was formed between their foreheads, Viers could hear Leon’s voice inside his head and the world seemed to slow down significantly.

“I never know my father… my mother was a prostitute in the past. When she had me, she stopped. She used the savings she had to move to this town, to start a new life. She managed to find a job as a tailor, making and selling simple clothes. Since I was born, it was just the two of us. I helped her work whatever I could while taking free classes like reading and writing at the church.”

“For me, every day was tough and exhausting. For mother, even more so, she often worked long into the night. I caught her sleeping on top of the sewing table more often than I could count… Still, she always greeted me with a kind smile and cooked me breakfast every day, I felt disgusted by my powerlessness to help her every time she showed me that smile on her exhausted face. When I was seventeen, I found out that I got a tier 4 affinity for the lightning element. I thought to myself; I could finally become strong, I could get a lot of money, I could lessen her burden.”

“She told me her past a few days after that. With a teary face, she apologized to me. For when I was made fun by other kids because I didn’t have a father, for the hardships I suffered during my childhood, for could not raise me in a normal family… It didn’t matter, I replied. I love her, for me, she’s the best mom in the world.”

“But just as things started to look up, she died a few weeks later. Because of a Ghoul attack… that was a year ago.”

Viers felt his sadness from his voice. He chose to remain silent.

“We were weak… but we got stronger. I joined the church’s forces to prevent other people from suffering the same pain. For every people I saved, it was as if a bit of ‘good’ bloomed in this world. Seeing their honest smile filled with gratitude, felt so fulfilling. I will save lots and lots of people before I die. So when I see her again, my mother would be proud of her son that she raised.”

“...You don't have to live this way. I know the impulse of just using my power solely for my own benefit but… by helping others, you’re actually helping yourself. Trust me, I know.”

“Come with me to the Est Church, cut your ties with the cult. We can protect you and you can help us.”

The effect of Accelerated Thoughts was over and Viers perceived the passage of time at the normal rate again, only one minute had passed.

Viers was without words for a few seconds, he stood up and turned his head to the direction where the screams were coming from.

“...It was too late for me,” Viers spoke to Leon who was getting up on his feet. “For raising my affinity, five children were sacrificed for some kind of blood ritual yesterday… and tonight, I also indirectly caused the death of many people.”

Viers raised both of his hands as high as his chest. “My hands were already drenched in the blood of the innocents,” Viers said while looking at his hands. “I’m just a vile killer now.”

“Sacrifice? Blood ritual? I see… it won't be easy, but you can start making amends. By doing the right thing!” Leon held out his hand for him.

“...I can't betray them, I already signed a blood contract.” Viers said while looking at the hand of redemption.

“We can break it! Do you think you’re the first cultist we turned back to the light? Look inside your heart, you don't want to spend your life hurting and killing other people! It’s a dead-end! Come over to this side, the ‘right’ side, and we will help you.”

Silence lingered for a few seconds before Viers took off his mask and dropped it on the ground. He sheathed his sword then firmly grasped Leon’s hand.

“Do you really trust me that much? How? Why?” Viers asked.

“No one is born evil, sometimes we make mistakes, terrible mistakes. But they just need a little light to show the way back from the darkness… At least, that’s what a priest said to me in the past, heh.” Leon let out a smile.

“Heh, let's go then. People are getting hurt while we’re speaking. I cannot attack the Ghoul or the cultist but I can help to evacuate civilians to safety.” Said Viers while smiling a little himself.

“Right, by the way, what’s your-”

Viers who was still grabbing Leon’s hand, suddenly pulled the golden-haired young man towards himself.

“Hurggh!?”

Viers mercilessly stabbed his gut with a knife, he swiftly pulled it out and pushed Leon’s body away. Leon stumbled and fell on his back, he looked at Viers with disbelief while Viers was staring down on him.

“...Why?”

Viers gave a reply but not to answer his question.

“Sentiment.”

Unlike a certain trickster when he stabbed his brother, Viers didn't shed a tear.