Chapter 42: 42. The Leper And the Duchess II

Zeff hadn't expected Demra to get so serious after such a small bit of mockery…

But, by the looks of her furrowed brow and her strange battle-ready stance, she was already beyond the point of no return.

Zeff couldn't help but be a little curious. 'Even a fruit fly from the Underworld could put you in the Intensive Care Unit!' Sylvan had once said. He couldn't help but wonder to himself, 'How strong are they, really?'

And though he wouldn't have admitted to it if asked, he wondered 'How strong am I in comparison?'

His adrenaline was already pumping and he could feel his senses sharpening as beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead and wind produced solely by Demra's aura buffeted him.

And all the while, unbeknownst to even Zeff, himself, the slightest of smiles was crossing his lips.

"Here I come, Corad!" screamed Demra.

*Schooo*

Suddenly red light began to gather just above Demra's right hand. It stretched and extended and stretched some more until it formed into a long 'pole' shape that came to nasty points on both ends.

It had an ominous glow to it that ran from tip to tip that reminded Zeff of the lightsabers from Star Wars.

'What is she gonna do with that thing…?' he thought. 'Throw it?'

"Hyah!" Demra roared as she threw her light-javelin with full force through the air towards Zeff at such incredible speed that Zeff barely had time to react.

*clop* Upon pure reflex he reached out and, with his bare hand, caught the javelin in the air, stopping it in its tracks. It was a strange sensation, like catching a tube full of bees. And stranger still, there was no feeling of nausea like what he had experienced from Fynn and Petticoat.

'Is that all?' He thought, looking up at— 'What…?' Demra was nowhere to be seen.

*BOOSH!* Suddenly something struck Zeff on the top of his head with such brutal force that his eyes rolled back into his head, causing him to fall to his knees. Before he even knew what was happening, he was grabbed by the back of his neck, lifted off of his feet and effortlessly thrown several meters backward into the wall with a loud *POHM*, nearly embedding himself in it.

He was dazed and confused, but he managed to compose himself rather quickly. 'Now, that hit different…' he thought, as his head throbbed.

"I'm surprised you're still conscious…" came Demra's voice suddenly.

Zeff looked this way and that, searching for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. And although the field was completely empty red light yet shined… but from above, causing him to look up.

Sure enough, floating a few meters up in the air and standing on her light-javelin with her arms crossed like some kind of beautiful hipster witch, was Demra.

'How did she…?'

Demra suddenly went into a backwards somersault, but as she entered the flip, she kicked her javelin at Zeff, sending it flying towards him just like before.

'I see.' Zeff thought to himself. 'Don't be distracted by the javelin this time…'

He went to swat the javelin aside and *bong* it rang out as his hand struck it down, sending pain shooting up his arm. "Argh!" he exclaimed. It was like he had just hit his hand with a hammer (and without the aid of armored hide). 'Was that thing so heavy before?'

The pain was great, but he still managed to keep his eyes trained on Demra who, by this point, hadn't even landed yet.

*Bow!* Something hit Zeff square on the right side of his tender face with enough force to send him sailing through the air, head over heels.

However, despite the pain, he cartwheeled, turning his body like a cat in midair, and landed on his feet.

A few meters away, where he had just been standing, was the red javelin, floating there as though it was part of the decoration or something.

*Swiiish* came a whistling sound from directly to Zeff's left.

He ducked instinctively as Demra's foot cut through the air above his head. Directly in front of him, the javelin suddenly accelerated forward, headed straight for his head and, thanks to him diving suddenly to the right, missing him by a hair's breath.

*clap!* sounded Demra's hand as she took hold of the javelin as it passed. She didn't stop it, but instead let it carry her away and up into the air as she hung from it. She then kicked her feet forward and, with the agility of a cat, flung herself up and onto the javelin so that she was surfing on it yet again.

'Awesome…' Zeff thought despite himself. He couldn't help but admire her skills. If her level of confidence and technique were any indication, she was a seasoned fighter with loads of experience.

"So—" Zeff began. "You can change that things weight, and control it from a distance…?"

Demra scoffed. "Why would I tell you what I'm capable of?"

Zeff couldn't argue with that. But there was something that was bothering him… Demra, now that she was using aura, was strong. Really strong. Zeff didn't really have a firm understanding of aura, so he didn't completely understand how she was suddenly so powerful, but he could see that she was nearly as dangerous as Petticoat had been. She should be able to knock him out at any moment and do so without breaking a sweat. But, despite that, she was toying with him still…

"Why are you wasting my time…?" Demra said suddenly, allowing herself to slowly float down towards the ground.

Zeff was caught off guard by her question. "Wha—"

"Don't play games with me." Demra barked, her eyebrows furrowed. "I have seen Cast-Aways fight on several occasions. And not one has the spacial awareness or fighting sense that you do… My first attack would have knocked even an overworlder out cold, but, not only did you eat that attack like it was nothing, you didn't panic or show any fear… You even saw me flying through the air just now, presumably your first time seeing such a thing, and you didn't even flinch. You're too comfortable in this situation. Especially for a Cast-Away."

Zeff didn't know whether to be flattered or wary. But it was clear, she *had* tried to knock him out… He was just stronger than she had anticipated.

"And I'm not the only one who's noticed." she added, pointing to her left.

Zeff raised an eyebrow critically, 'What is she talking about?' he thought. But then he noticed it. It was utterly silent. There was no sound and no cheering or hollering from the other students whatsoever.

Up in the observation deck, every person from young to old looked on in disbelief, as though they couldn't comprehend what they were seeing.

Geneo who was near the front of the pack was the most stunned of all, if his wide eyes and slack jaw were any indication.

Most disconcerting of all was Hreed and Rillian. Being nearly ten or so meters away just near the entrance to the training area, both of them had seemingly jumped down from the observation deck out of concern. However, now, they stood frozen in place, each wearing quite a different expression.

Hreed seemed only a bit on edge. He was sweating terribly and he took no efforts to hide his concern. At a more critical glance, however, Zeff could see a touch of incredulity and even anger.

Rillian, on the other hand was a dormant volcano incarnate. His face was expressionless, almost to the point of seeming nonchalant. But there was a hurricane of rage behind his eyes that sent a chill down Zeff's spine.

The both of them, now that Zeff had become aware of their presence, seemed to be waiting for an explanation.

Demra, however, was the first to speak. "Lord Hreed. Please forgive my lack of self control… I—"

"Zeff." Interrupted Lord Hreed, ignoring Demra completely. "H-how— how is this possible…? Fynn said…" He trailed off.

Just at the mention of Dr. Fynn, a dark shadow was cast across Rillian's face. There was no question anymore. He had messed up. 'Dodge a few punches, and go down' Rillian had said.

'But why…'

"Well, there's no point in hiding it anymore, Zeff-boy…" Came Sylvan's voice as he, too, jumped down from the observation deck. "We might as well tell the truth now that you went and got carried away…"

Zeff naturally had no idea what he was talking about. But he had known Sylvan long enough to know that this was played along. "Sorry Uncle." Zeff replied, making sure to hang his head in shame for effect.

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Both Hreed and Rillian turned to face Sylvan, suddenly confused but for obviously different reasons.

"Tell the truth about what?" asked Hreed.

"The truth is… we lied to Fynn about how strong we are and our capabilities…" Sylvan lied with a convincing sigh. Then he twisted his face in concern, as if revealing a dark secret. "We just wanted to come here and live a normal life."

It took Zeff a moment to catch on, but, all at once, he understood what Sylvan was on about and why Rillian had been so angry.

Hreed had commented that he was auditing Fynn earlier and thinking back to what Geneo had said about Fynn, it was obvious that Fynn's job as a C.A.R.A. liaison could be in jeopardy if he was deemed unreliable through this audit and that was something Rillian had to avoid… or something like that.

Rillian was the next to speak, a light of hope suddenly in his eyes. "Are you saying you purposely hid your skills and abilities from Dr. Fynn."

"Yes. We did." Sylvan confirmed.

"He had no idea, then?" Rillian asked, a slight smile of relief crossing his lips.

"None at all." Sylvan insisted.

Hreed seemed at first to be placated by that knowledge. But after a second, something seemed to occur to him and he asked, "But how can it be that he gave you a ranking of C class if you lied about your capabilities? Surely, he must have been confused. Mattea, Fynn's Aurator, likely alerted him that you don't have shards. So you hiding your gifts is believable… But I can't believe an Aurator as skilled as Matea didn't catch on sooner. Yet still classified you both as C class… No matter how I look at it—"

"Hreed." Rillian interrupted. "There's no way of knowing what was going through Fynn and Matea's minds without being there. Surely, they made the best decision they possible with what they were shone."

At that Hreed sighed. "Well, you're likely right, my old friend…" By the looks of him, he wasn't completely satisfied, but he had no reason to doubt Sylvan and Zeff at this point. Not after he had seen Zeff tank several blows from Demra like it was nothing.

"Lord Hreed." Rillian spoke up before Hreed could ask another question. "As Sylvan and Zeff have lied to Fynn, I believe it would be unfair to Fynn to continue this audit, don't you think? I move that we move his audit to the next returnee he sends our way."

"Good point, Rillian. It shall be done."

Rillian almost jumped for joy, but did a good job of composing himself.

"However…" Hreed continued. "This whole lying business doesn't sit well with me one bit! Not to mention that, according to both university policy and Obsidia's own Social Governance Manifesto, no student can be admitted into the university without an accurate class designation by the university admissions commitee or—"

"—by a qualified Aurator on behalf of the university. Yes, I know." Finished Rillian with a smile looking at Zeff.

Sylvan raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean, Rillian?"

"What it means, Sylvan, is that we must test your capabilities anew before you or Zeff steps foot into the university. And there's no better way to test you than with a 'friendly bout'."

"So…?" inquired Zeff.

"Nothing's changed." Spake Hreed. "You continue your fight with Mistress Demra."

*****

'Deja vu…' thought Zeff as he stood, yet again, in the middle of the training field.

In the observation deck there was utter quiet as everyone watched intently, unsure what was about to unfold and eager to see what Zeff was really capable of.

In front of him stood Demra. But this time her hands were not crossed smugly in front of her.

"I'm going to kill you now…" asserted Demra nonchalantly as she tied her hair back into a neat ponytail.

"Donuts and Dinosaurs!" Zeff exclaimed. "What the h*ll are you—"

"I am going to come at you with the intent to end your miserable leper life… If you want to live to see tomorrow, you had better get serious. I know you're stronger than what you've shown me until now…"

"I'm not. I'm *really* not!" Zeff blurted, desperately trying to discourage Demra from getting any more serious than she already had been. "I-I am just a naturally—"

"Save it." Demra interrupted. "Even though I was underestimating you, you were hiding your true abilities and you stood your ground against me. As a noble, you are a far beneath me as an earthworm is beneath the sky—"

Zeff began to object to the comparison, but he was stopped short as he heard Demra whisper, "—but as a warrior…"

Zeff was speechless as he imagined what she could be thinking.

Demra had inexplicably made a complete 180. He had thought she was nothing more than a snobby, horn-dog. But, on top of being extremely skilled, she seemed (at least in this moment) to be very sincere and eager to fight him for real. (Though she was still a snobby, horn-dog…)

"I'll make you a deal." Demra suddenly called, breaking into Zeff's thoughts. "If you can beat me, I will do for you anything that's within my power to do as a Noble under the house of Reimus."

Zeff was taken aback. "Anything?" he asked, scratching his chin with a devilish smile on his face. After a moment, he added, "Well, there *is* something I've always wanted. But you don't mean *anything*-anything, do you?"

"Y-yes… anything…" Demra confirmed with a stammer, a bead of cold sweat on her forehead.

"But the moment I ask for it you'll probably just make up some excuse about how you—"

At once aura began to seep from Demra's body, causing the air to buzz with energy. "Do not insult me , leper. A noble of the house of Reimus would never go back on their word. I would sooner die…"

"O-okay… Calm down wouldja… I believe you." stuttered Zeff nervously.

"Don't misunderstand. You could never beat me in one hundred years. So there's no chance you'll get anything from me..."

Just when Zeff was about to hit back with a clever retort, Hreed called out from the observation deck, "Okay! Zeff! Demra! Show us what you're both really capable of!"

Demra, lowering herself into fighting position and, at once summoning her light-javelin, said with a stern expression, "In any case, I'll let you have the first move this time."

Zeff chuckled. "That, Demra, is the second dumbest thing you've done all day…"

Demra raised an eyebrow. "And what would be the first…?"

"You and your horny little friend Sybia ought to know the answer to that one… 'Who's gonna believe a Leper over us?'… Or something like that, wasn't it?"

Zeff had never seen a person turn so red in his life. "W-wha—h-how did you—were you—?! It's not what you think, I swear!"

*Boop* Demra's phobia reading popped up over her head '(213/259)'.

'Well, imagine that…' Zeff thought smugly. He had mentioned Demra's horny little escapades on a whim, but who would have thought that someone as shameless as her would be thrown off guard to such a degree.

He wouldn't let this moment slip away.

*POOUM!* White mist exploded out of Zeff's body and across the training field, instantly enveloping Demra.

'Let's do this.' he thought with a smile.

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