The Twenty Virtues Book 1- The Twenty Generals

41-A Genius Show of Magic

"So? What will it be? Will you die or let your neurons bloom?" Narf asked. She knew Emily had no control over that. But maybe if she kept provoking and poking, it would force the girl to activate her powers.

Narf then picked up one of the confetti pieces falling and threw it at Emily. The child quickly jumped aside, and the confetti slammed into a building behind her, causing the structure to collapse.

"A confetti did that? How?"

"Very well, but can you survive this?" Another attack was launched, and the child once again jumped and dodged, but this time, another confetti came from the direction she ran, hitting her leg and making her fall to the ground.

"Argh..." She moaned in pain while trying to understand. Narf hadn't moved, so where did this attack come from? Was she controlling the confetti falling around her? How did it appear in front of her again?

"Who knows?" The general asked mockingly. "It's actually a very simple and obvious trick. It's a bit embarrassing that you haven't figured it out yet. But what can I say? You're dumb, ha, haha, hahahaha."

"I know that." The girl murmured. That wasn't news to her. The child didn't like to read or study like Lysa, and she knew how foolish she was; she had tried to be smart. But books tired her head, and she couldn't stay still. Others didn't want to teach her anything, and when they tried, they got annoyed because she didn't learn or because she got distracted. So they gave up trying. If others gave up, then it was obvious that it wasn't meant for Emily.

That was the conclusion the child came to. If others give up on me, it's because it's not worth trying.

"Exactly. At least you have a minimally decent mind." Narf had done it again. Read what was going on in the child's mind. Sorry, Emily, but there's no privacy with this girl around. There's nothing hidden in the shadows for her this time. "I strongly believe we should accept things as they are. If only you weren't aware of your stupidity, you could be happier. But now that you know, the best thing to do is accept that you're incompetent."

Narf threw another confetti, this time Emily couldn't dodge because of the pain in her leg. The attack pierced her abdomen, making the girl collapse to the ground.

"Girl, you don't stand a chance while you keep being yourself. Call your more competent version and then we can talk on equal terms, okay? If you don't do that..." Another confetti rested on her hands. "...there won't be any version to help anyone. What will you do, Emily? Die as a useless one or fight as a competent one? The only way to stay alive is to give up who you are, because your true self is the most useless of all. Emily, why don't you do a favor to all humanity? Turn into your other version and never come back. You're unnecessary. Refusing to see this just shows how ignorant you are. Accept the truth. Stop pretending you can do something in this situation that you can't."

Narf's words were deliberately cruel, meant to twist and break every little bit of confidence the child might have. If she wanted the other Emily to emerge, the original had to disappear.

And it worked.

The child cried, not in a wail, but in a silent cry of suffering. Her eyes then glowed blue, and the girl got up from the ground. Now she could calmly, as her brain reached a new level of understanding, the pain in her leg and abdomen turned into mere information, and the girl felt nothing.

"Here I am, Narf. You annoyed me, so I hope you don't regret it."

Without a face, it was hard to tell what the deceived one's expression was. But I'll tell you, it was incredulity. Narf's plan was to steal all the information this new version would have for herself, but who would have thought...