280: The Savior’s Duty
This again? Beatrice breathed heavily, holding back from slapping some sense into the ninja. As much as Beatrice might have felt responsible for leading Olivia off her holier-than-thou path—Oh for fuck’s sake!
“You’re going to blame me for finally helping you live a little?” Beatrice asked.
“I’m not here to have fun!”
“Right,” Beatrice lowered her voice and walked closer to Olivia so that the entire arena couldn’t hear their conversation. “You’re here to test how powerful you are and if you end up dying ‘oh well I hate myself anyway’! All the more reason to be grateful to me for having something to remember before your death.”
“So sure that I would die, are you?”
“If we end up facing each other? How do you expect us both to come out alive in that situation?”
“I’d have to kill you—”
“As if!”
“Could you be any more condescending?”
You, little ungrateful… Beatrice kept silent and instead, using all her will to keep it together. This was a wish-fulfillment world created for me! Not you! Not that you could possibly know that… Does that mean that your whole existence was created by an annoyed goddess to be a ‘sister saving quest’ for me? How many other such quests I unwittingly missed? Will miss? Or are there simply countless fantasy worlds like this and you’re just lucky to be ‘blessed’ by a perv like me? Fuck! If we end up facing each other… I’m not about to die for your sake!
“Did you forget how that fight in the Shadow Woods went?” Beatrice tried to remind of the clear gap in power that was should have been apparent even then, before another massive series of level-ups.
“You’re not the only one improving every day!”
“I highly doubt we’re at the same pace,” Beatrice leaned to Olivia’s ear to make sure no one else heard, and whispered, “I’m ‘the Savior’, remember? ‘Foretold by The Scrolls’ and all that!”
“Well then… ‘Savior’!” Olivia said with the word ‘Savior’ with a particular ridiculing accentuation, even as she was at the point of tears. “Save! If you can… Or get the fuck out of my way!”
“What did you expect from me, exactly!? That would just snap my fingers and in a blink of an eye an entire all-powerful, multi-layered shadowy organization? An organization with no apparent head to cut off? The same organization that seems to have a near-limitless supply of soldiers (including teleporting ones!), royalty, officials… Most of the population! The same organization that took over an entire city and—apparently—the king himself!?”
“No! The organization… The city… The king himself, they can all go fuck themselves! Like they do right now. I just want to rescue a single hostage!”
“And what about everyone else? Now, who’s being selfish?”
“…”
“It may look like this is just a desperate city with desperate people… There’s clear will behind all of this. The sex guild, the alcohol, the drugs, the games…”
“I can’t let Emily end up like everyone else!” Olivia sobbed. “I can’t allow myself to become like everyone else! It’s amazing! Just letting go and fucking each other senseless… Fucking incredible! … But I was supposed to be stronger than that!”
“Olivia,” Beatrice placed her hands on the ninja’s shoulders and looked into Olivia’s eye that was not obstructed by her bleached bangs. “I’m a succubus! A literal lust demon, brought here to save this world by using the very same powers that seem to have brought forth its downfall. I’ve had lots of sex since I’ve got here. I’ve spread lots of pleasure. And I will continue to do that. I might be selfish and impulsive, yes! But I also grow stronger with each passing hour! I told you that I’ll save your sister! And that’s exactly what I will do! So, pull yourself together and stop these freak-outs!”
Olivia sniffled and breathed heavily.
“You’re going to be alright?” Beatrice asked.
“Y-yeah! Yeah! I’m fine! I know what I’m doing!”
“Then don’t get yourself killed!” Beatrice tried to get through to Olivia. “I’m not about to go through some ‘it was her last wish to see you free!’ cliché! You have to be there for that moment!”
“O-of course!” Olivia wiped away her tears.
“… Has there ever even been an instance where more than one person survived this farce?”
“… Once or twice.”
Beatrice breathed deeply again, and said, “Then let’s improve that statistic!”
The crowds got increasingly noisy. Beatrice looked up to the podium, where just two figures stood: the black-mask announcer and her white-mask companion. The two looked at each other, talking or just staring—Beatrice couldn’t tell. But after a few more seconds, the announcer waved her hand and turned to the railing and the crowds.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen!” a loud, high-pitched female voice returned to the mines, echoing through them. “It is time for the second round!”
Beatrice stood next to Olivia, feeling an increasing pressure to perform and do more than should have even been required of her.
I’ll just have to figure out how to get you out of this alive! Beatrice thought when she glanced at the ninja next to her. Even if it was just to prove that she could, Beatrice was determined to get Olivia out of here alive and save her damn sister. Out of spite, if it came to that!