Chương 108: Chapter 103-Chosen Professor

Penelope and I stand across from the Wrathborn and Professor Stargazer. She's in cahoots with the Wrathborn? No, from everything I know and from times we've talked… There's no way she would willingly work with him. She despises the forces of…

"Penelope, who burned down the Village of Secrets?" I ask as I keep my eyes on the healing Wrathborn.

"The forces of evil," she answers.

"More specific, Penelope," I say as I duck out of the way of a blood dagger.

"Enough stalling, Chosen One. Now that we've evened the score a bit, why don't we really get started?" the Wrathborn asks with a wrathful smile.

"A unit of Vashrins from the Blight. That's who burned down the Village of Secrets," Penelope answers as she grips her crackling greatsword. A large spike of metal suddenly appears next to me, threatening to drive itself into my head. With my Uneven Blade, I parry it just in time. Not good. That was Professor Stargazer's [Translocation]. I've seen her use it for mundane things, but I didn't realise you could use it to attack this way. Another metal spike appears, flying mere inches away from my skull.

Deflecting it, I pick up the other one and [Throw] it at the Wrathborn. Penelope rushes in at the same time, but in the blink of an eye, she somehow switches spots with the Wrathborn. Throwing up a shield, she barely stops the spike, but not the attack from the Wrathborn. His sword tears down her side, leaving a nasty gash. Rushing to help her, I watch as Professor Stargazer suddenly appears in front of me.

"A Vashrin can not be allowed to be The Chosen One," she repeats as she points her hand at me. Sensing danger, I dodge narrowly out of the way as a barrage of furniture buries that general direction. She's trying to kill me! Taking my sword, I swing towards her neck, but I stop right before I hit. Why isn't she defending herself? In that moment of hesitation, I'm sent flying by a desk that suddenly appeared.

"Get your head in the game, Charlatan! She's working for the enemy and is trying to kill us!" Penelope yells as she narrowly dodges the Wrathborn's attacks.

"Yes! Kill her, Chosen One. It won't be that hard, will it?" he says cockily as he catches one of Hopper's arrows. Kill her? My eyes dart to Professor Stargazers. I recognise those eyes. They're the eyes of a person riddled with doubt. A broken soul, just like me. Isn't that right, Professor Stargazer? A metal spike sinks into the wall next to me. Maybe it's just anger.

"Hold him off for a minute, Penelope. I have something to do," I say as I lock eyes with Professor Stargazer.

"Are you kidding me?!" she asks as she slams the Wrathborn into a nearby wall.

"Can't do it?"

"I didn't say that! Be quick! He's healing," she yells as she leaps towards the Wrathborn.

"A Vashrin can not be allowed to be The Chosen One," Professor Stargazer repeats.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time, but guess what? I don't care. What I care about is you," I say with a wink. Her anger flares as she sends spike after spike my way. Kicking up the desk, I slow the spikes enough for me to dodge them.

"That pisses you off?! Good, because I'm pissed too. What do you think you're doing? How could you work with the forces of evil? They took everything from you. Isn't that right, Professor?!" Dodging and weaving, I slowly get closer to her. The closer I get, the faster the attacks become until they become indiscernible from being instantaneous. The only reason I'm even alive right now is thanks to the sword lessons from Gerta and the fact that she's aiming almost exclusively for my head.

"Come on, Professor! Did you really let yourself fall prey to the words of a Demon? You let him sully your mind?! You let him use the memories of the Village of Secrets against you?!" I yell as a spike lodges itself deep into my shoulder.

"Silence! Do not dare speak the name of my village! You burned it to the ground! You slaughtered everyone! I will not allow your lies to trick me. I will kill you where you stand," she says as the spike disappears from my shoulder. Another spike lodges itself in my abdomen. She's getting faster, and she stopped aiming for my head. Progress, but my subpar sword skills aren't keeping up. Another spike pierces through my arm. Damn this hurts! Blood pours down the spikes as I keep pushing forward.

The least I can do is make sure she doesn't kill me outright.

"If you want to kill me so much, why did you warn me? Why did you try to get me to leave? Why did you stop that Proctor when he almost attacked me at the exams? Why did you stop aiming for the head? You could've overwhelmed me. Why, Professor, why?!" I ask as I take another step forward.

"Stop talking! You are trying to twist my mind. I want you dead! I need you-" If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Dead?! No, you don't. That's the Wrathborns' influence at work. Push through it! Fight it, Professor! You're not a tool or a killer. You're a teacher and a damn good one," I say as I get right up on her.

"Charlatan!" Penelope yells. A blade of demon blood rockets towards us. More specifically, through the Professor. That damned Wrathborn! Grabbing Professor Stargazer, I pulled her out of the way right as the blade nicks the edge of her neck and instead stabs straight through my chest. I think it missed my heart. How lucky.

"Professor Stargazer. For broken souls like us, we've realised how small we really are, and I think that's beautiful. If we're so small that the world doesn't care about us, doesn't that mean we're free to do whatever the fuck we want? No one is watching. Nobody cares. We're not bound by fate or prophecy. We can do anything," I say as I grab her face with my blood-covered hands.

"I… I…" Penelope crashes into the wall next to me with blood pouring out of her… everything. Hopper hops over to us with a worried look. The Wrathborn reattaches his severed arm with a wrathful smile.

"This is the end of the line for you, Chosen One. May you die in agony," the Wrathborn says as he summons a wall of blood blades. Paying no mind to the Wrathborn, I turn to the Professor.

"So, Professor. What do you want to do?" I ask with a devilish smile. The stars in the sky shine bright. Brighter than ever before. Here in the darkness, far from the Village, I can see clearer than ever before. It's beautiful. A whole sea of stars that stretches farther than the eye can see.

"Myria? What have I said about leaving the Village by yourself?" Scholar Frila says as she joins me in the trees.

"I left you a note," I say as I keep my eyes on the stars.

"So you did. Did you know that the Gods did not make the stars? According to them, they were already there. To think we get to see something as ancient as the stars every day. Isn't it wonderful, Myria?" she asks.

"Have you come to ask me the question?" I ask, ignoring her question. A silence hangs in the dark.

"Yes. I must ask you the question that all children of the Village of Secrets are asked when they come of age. Will you answer it?" she asks with a warm tone.

"I think I'm ready."

"Then let me ask you again, Myria Stargazer. What do you want to do?" Prying my eyes away from the stars, I turn to her with a big smile.

"I wish to be a teacher. Someone who will guide the next generation so they too can understand the beauty of the stars." The world suddenly twists and turns. The blades of blood disappear from view as the four of us are suddenly where the Wrathborn was. Turning around, I watch as the Wrathborn is attacked by his own blood blades. Professor Stargazer stumbles to her feet in front of us.

"Keep your filthy hands off my students!" With rage in his eyes, the Wrathborn turns to us, the wounds from his own attacks still bleeding.

"HOW!? How are you able to resist the rage?" Standing up, I place my hand on Professor Stargazer's shoulder. She managed to break free from the control, but based on how she's barely able to stand, that may not last long. We need to end this now before the Professor falls back under his control.

"Well, it would seem that your 'all mighty' and 'all powerful' rage is no match for us, but what would you expect from a pathetic Demon like yourself. Are you sure you're the Wrathborn?" I [Taunt] as I profusely bleed from everywhere. With a cackling laugh, the Wrathborn takes a box out of his pocket.

"You wish to see the true power of the Wrathborn. I'll show you! I'll show you all!" The group goes to attack, but I put my hand up to stop them.

"You're all talk, Wrathborn. There's nothing you could do to make me think of you as anything other than a pathetic, weak, and cowardly Demon," I [Taunt]. The Wrathborn drops the box as he rips out a familiar-looking necklace.

"My [Skill] uses my own blood as a form of attack, but it doesn't make me immune to the effects it produces, but with this. I can adapt to anything. Including the strongest of acids," he says as he downs a bottle of the strongest of acids. Taking a big gulp, the Wrathborn soon finds himself on his knees.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"What? The Environment Adapter should-""Let me stop you there. That's not the Environment Adapter," I say with a devilish smile. The Wrathborn looks down at the necklace and then back to me as bubbles of black blood foam out of his mouth.

"How?"

"Let's just say that Shady and I came to an agreement. Turns out you're as shitty a boss as you are a Wrathborn. Maybe you would've noticed if you weren't so angry. Ironic, isn't it? A Wrathborn dies because of his wrath," I [Taunt]. The Wrathborn crumples a piece of paper in his hands and disappears from view. Hopper rushes over.

"Did he get away?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry about him. He won't live to see the next hour," I say as the blood stops flowing from my wounds. Professor Stargazer pulls the barely conscious Penelope over to us.

"He should be too far from the symbol to activate it, but just in case I should-""RUN!" Blue yells in my mind. A terrible feeling erupts from behind me as I yell, "Penelope! Shields!" A pair of large purple eyes watches us from behind the ice wall. Within a split second, Penelope throws up a line of twenty shields that are instantly shattered by the erupting wall of ice. With the half-second bought by Penelope, Professor Stargazer grabs us.

In the next moment, we find ourselves right outside of Tyranus Ridge, but we're not safe from danger. The entirety of Tryanus Ridge explodes as the looming form of Tyranus, The Slumbering Disaster, appears in her full form. Purple with wings the size of the ridge, claws that could easily tear through stone, and a presence so thick that it could choke you. This is a Dragon. Its reptilian eyes look down at me and then at the horizon. With a flap of her wings, she flattens the trees around us while sending us flying.

As I fly through the Whisperwood Forest, I watch as Tyranus flies away from us, and one thought comes to mind. Isn't that towards the capital?