Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chapter 20: Damian

The ombré haired man glares at the pair, mainly into Yuuya's violet confused eyes. No one says a word at the staring contest. Yuuya gawks at the man thinking, "What the fuck!? What's this guy's problem?" Yuuya gently pushes Sam behind him, returning the man's glare with his own as he slowly stands up to his full height. The disguised beast-man moves away from the reception, the man watches his every step. Once Yuuya is a few feet from the man, he finally speaks, "What was that for?" Visible tick marks appear on the man's forehead, "That! Was for thinking you're so high and mighty!" The man walks up and grips harshly onto Yuuya's collar, "You think you're so great, beating the Guildmaster and getting your license. You're nothing more than just a weak E-rank adventurer! The lowest of the low." Yuuya says nothing, refusing to let his anger out in fear of getting more people involved. The man pushes him back while letting go of his collar to point to his own chest. "As C-rank adventurer, I have superiority over you! You should learn to respect those above you." Yuuya looks the man up and down, finding him unimpressive. "I was told to respect those who are older than me. You look like you're my age." Flames appear in the man's eyes as he shoves a finger into Yuuya's chest. "Just because we're the same age, doesn't mean we're equal! There are those who are strong and weak. The weak has no business getting in the way of those who are strong. I'm stronger than you!" Yuuya simply stares at the man with a bored expression, finding the conversation idiotic. "So by your logic, the Guildmaster is the strongest right?" The man nods as Yuuya continues, "And you're ranked C. That means the Guildmaster is stronger than you." The man narrows his eyes, not liking where this is going. "And I beat the Guildmaster. Which means I'm stronger than him, and he's stronger than you. In conclusion...I'm stronger than you." Yuuya leans back in time when the man swings his fist at him while nearby adventurers laugh at the pair. Sam watches the exchange nervously, Yuuya dodging every punch and kick the man throws at him. The man yells out in anger before chanting, "Here and now. I evoke the elemental force of fire, the flames of creativity and passion, dancing source of heat, light, and life. I call you forth to burn away all that impedes my highest vision and to enact change in the world. Fire, I call thee hence!" Flames surrounds the man, making Yuuya nervous as he sees several adventurers duck under tables, some chanting that forms barriers, even the receptionists duck under the counters. The man throws spears made of fire at Yuuya who ducks at each throw until he finally catches one, using his own fire magic. The man's eyes widen in surprise before anger replaces his shock and roars in rage, throwing more fire spears at the disguised beast-man. Yuuya continues to catch them and extinguishes each one before catching the next. The man pants heavily, deciding to pull out his sword, its blade black as night, and runs straight towards Yuuya. Yuuya panics at the sight, looking around frantically for anything to use to protect himself. "Shitshitshit! I don't have my sword out! I had to put it away before heading to the orphanage...Shit! If I pull it out now, everyone will see my special ability! Nooooo! I don't want to be prodded by the Magic Tower!" Just before the sword hits its target, a giant great sword blocks the man's attack.
The man quickly jumps back, surprised by his opponent's unexpected help. Yuuya looks up and sees Gunter holding his new great sword down, the floor splintered by his weapon's blade. "Now now. That's enough you two." Everyone in the hall slowly climb out of their hiding spots and puts down their barriers, relieved to see their boss. Sam, who had ducked under the counters with the receptionists, stands up slowly. Gunter has a warm smile as he looks behind him to check on Yuuya, his hands on his knees as he tries to calm his racing heart. "You alright son?" Yuuya nods, taking a couple of deep breaths. "Yeah...Thanks." Gunter nods and turns to look back at the fuming man, never letting go of his weapon. "Now Damian. We've talked about this. You can't keep starting fights in the main hall. That's why we have the training arena. If you keep using your magic and drawing your sword out here, I'm gonna demote you. You wouldn't want that now would you?" The man, Damian, huffs one last time as he puts his sword away, everyone sighs out in relief, knowing they were safe from the man's anger. "No sir." Gunter smiles slightly wider and nods. He puts his weapon on his back and turns to face Yuuya. "Sorry about that. Damian means well, honest." Yuuya leans over to the side, watching Damian walk away from the scene, yelling at nearby adventurers for staring. "Sure...I can believe that." Gunter laughs and pulls the man into a side hug. "Truly. He's a good kid. Comes from a noble family. His folks keeps giving him shit for being an adventurer instead of following his father's footsteps." Sam rushes over to the pair, pulling Yuuya closer to him as he checks for any injuries. "Are you okay Yuuya!? Oh Goddess that was crazy!" Yuuya nods, happy over his friend's worry. "I'm good, barely touched me. Wish I had my sword." Sam's eyes widen at the sudden realization, Yuuya had put it in the black space earlier. Gunter pats Yuuya's back and leads the pair to a counter with a menu next to the window. "How about some lunch boys. I heard you handled a few quests this morning, must be starving by now." Yuuya nods his head quickly, excited over the idea of finally getting food and forgetting about what just occurred a few minutes ago. Sam nods his head too, a bit more calmly than the disguised beast-man.
The men enjoy some food, piles of plates by Yuuya's side while Sam and Gunter chuckle at the man's hunger. "So uhh who was that guy? He seemed...quite peeved at us for some reason." Sam questions while Yuuya continues to munch on a piece of meat. Gunter sips his drink casually while answering, "Ahhh...That's Damian. He's a C-rank adventurer that joined us a little over a year ago. He's a good kid, means well. Comes from a long line of nobles that have protected the royal family. Damian didn't want that life though, said he wanted to be free and stronger." Gunter pours more water into the cups as he continues to explain, "He's pretty strong, got some powerful fire magic and knows how to handle a sword well. Didn't take him long to get promoted up to where he is now. Sadly, not a lot of people who adventure alone climb any higher than rank C." Yuuya puts down his fork and looks at Gunter, confusion crossing his features. "How come?" Gunter motions with his head to the bulletin board. "As you know, when you get promoted the difficulty in quests gets harder. Most of them require a party. Even the promotion protocols get more difficult. If people want to get to rank B or above they have to take a special test. Damian's been trying to get to rank B for at least four months now. So you can see why he's so agitated." Yuuya and Sam nod, understanding his frustrations well. It's Gunter's turn to ask questions, "So Yuuya, how'd you do that? Y'know with the whole fire spear catching deal. I mean I didn't hear you chant, even when we were sparring!" Gunter looks at Sam to point, "You too! I never heard either one of you chant." Sam looks at Yuuya, wondering how they should answer. Yuuya simply smiles and lifts his hand up. "Imagination." Just to prove his point, a mini tornado forms in the palm of his hand, surprising the older man. Nearby adventurers watch Yuuya, intrigued over his magic, including a certain golden eyed man. "You see, you don't need to chant. Just think how you want your magic to act. Do you want to use it to attack someone, protect a loved one, maybe perform a trick to throw people off. That's what you should be thinking when you use your magic." He tilts his hand to drop the little tornado on the table, letting it spin freely but never picking up any of the dishes. "Even when you chant, you're thinking on how you want your spell to act. It's not the chant that bends the magic, it's your mind and heart." Yuuya closes his fist to signal his tornado to cease from existence. Gunter hums in thought, finding the man's answer very reasonable, then looks at Sam. "And you?" Sam nods, "Yeah, Yuuya actually taught me. I couldn't even freeze my water magic until I met him." The adventurers talk amongst themselves, finding the idea absurd and yet simple. Damian stares from afar, having heard him and gained some thought over how Yuuya handled his magic during their fight.
Over the next few days, Damian follows the pair as they completed more quests and went shopping. Yuuya could sense Damian the whole time, his senses alerting him every time they stepped out of their room from the inn, forcing him to keep up his disguise even when they went out into the woods. After a full week of the stalking, Sam had had enough, the sight of Yuuya looking so drained each day angering the man. "Would you stop it already!?" Sam yells when they stepped back into the guild after hunting down fifteen goblins, all of which Yuuya fought against whilst in his human disguise. It wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been three ogres with the goblins. Yuuya had to handle the ogres thanks to their regeneration skills, which were far weaker than the hydra he had faced before but no less annoying, while Sam fought off the goblins. Damian barely bats an eye, looking bored at the fuming man. "Stop what? I have no interest or reason to be so near a couple of lowly E rank adventurers." Yuuya tries to pull Sam back, seeing fire in his eyes, "C'mon Sam, let's go eat. It's okay-" "It's not okay! This jerk has been following us nonstop for a whole week and frankly I find it super annoying!" Damian rises from his seat, his irritation growing the longer the conversation went. "Who are you calling a jerk!? I just happen to find the whole 'using your imagination to control your magic' complete bullshit!" The angered men push their foreheads together, not once backing down. "You're just jealous that we can use magic better than you!" "You wanna go!?" Both men growl, ready to start throwing fists before Yuuya pushes them away from each other. "Enough! Both of you!" Sam looks startled while Damian looks pissed. "Can't we get along? I mean what's so hard-" A sudden smell fills Yuuya's nostrils, halting his speech. The scent reminded Yuuya of warm cinnamon dipped in hot chocolate, not too spicy and not too sweet. It takes Yuuya a couple of seconds before he figures out that the source of the scent was coming off of Damian, who was waiting impatiently for the disguised beast-man to finish. Yuuya walks up to the man and grabs his hands, startling him, as an idea suddenly pops into his head, the scent inspiring him. "Wanna join our party?"
Silence. The entire guild says nothing, too stunned over what the man had just asked. Even Sam and the receptionists have wide open mouths, but not nearly as wide as the man in front of the disguised beast-man. "Wh-what!?" He tries to rips his hands away, Yuuya refusing to let go. "Join our party! With your expertise and our skills, we could be an unstoppable force! Plus! It takes a party to get to a B rank level. What do you think?" Damian gawks in shock, the pair not noticing everyone minus Sam ducking down, sensing doom coming their way. Damian finally snaps out of his daze and forcibly shakes Yuuya's hands off, "Fuck no! I don't want to be in a party with a couple of lowly E rank adventurers. How dumb do you think I am?" Yuuya smiles politely, "None whatsoever. And that's one reason I want you to join." Sam yanks Yuuya away from the furious man, giving him a moment as he tries to talk to his excited friend, "What are you doing? Are you insane!?" He turns around, seeing Damian pacing while cursing before looking back at Yuuya's smiling face. "Just trust me. I got a good feeling on him." Before Sam could pull him back, Yuuya rushes back to Damian. "So? What do you say?" Damian glares at him and sees his pendant, shining in the light occasionally. He looks to the side where Sam is, seeing him wearing a pendant as well. A thought crosses his mind, making him smirk. "Hmmm okay, but on one condition." The whole room gasp, not expecting the ill-tempered lone wolf to agree in joining a party. "I'll join if...you beat me in a duel." Hushed chatter spread across the whole guild as Yuuya thinks for a second. "What happens f I lose?" Damian smiles wickedly and points to his necklace, "Then I get to keep that." Yuuya's eyes widen and looks down at his necklace, the Enigmas Amulet. The only thing keeping everyone from learning his secret. Sam gasps and tries to pull his friend away. "Screw you! That's not happening." While Sam argues with Damian, Yuuya takes a minute to think, "My necklace? But...why?" As if hearing his question, Damian responds, "Admit it! Those are magical items that boost your magic power, giving off the impression to think rather than chant your magic spells. It's all just a cheap trick!" The pair's eyes widen, realization finally crossing their minds. "That's not what our necklaces do! Yeah they're magical items, but it's for protection. Mine heals me when I'm sick or having a migraine. Yuuya's protects him against dark magic. It doesn't boost our magic at all!" Sam explains, lying through his teeth about Yuuya's necklace. Damian scoffs at Sam's explanation, easily able to pick up on the lie. "That's bull crap. Just admit it, you're cheating!" Several adventurers talk slightly louder, starting to believe the ombré haired man. Sam looks around nervously, not wanting to explain the truth behind Yuuya's amulet while also not wanting to diminish their reputation. Yuuya finally speaks, "Okay." Sam and Damian look up in surprise, not expecting him to agree. "I'll fight you on one condition as well. I keep this on." Before Damian could argue, Yuuya continues while caressing his pendant as memories from Sam's village first finding out the truth fills his mind, "It's true that these are magical items, but this doesn't protect me against dark magic." Sam's face twists into fear, believing the man would tell the truth. "This necklace, actually protects me against evil. If I take this off, everyone will treat me differently. I'm...cursed. People would run away from me if I don't have this on. I...don't want people to be afraid of me." He looks up, surprising Damian when he sees the unshed tears and sorrowful eyes. "Please...At least let me keep it on. If you do win...I'll give it to you. Then...You'll see the truth." Damian eyes the depressed man, his heart hurting slightly at the sight of the usually chirpy man shedding a couple of tears while Sam tries to comfort him. Yuuya doesn't back down, trusting his instincts that they needed the ombré haired man in their party. Damian sighs and rubs his head before giving the saddened man his answer, "Fine." Yuuya gives him a small smile, glad to have convinced him. "Thank you." The smile making the hot-tempered man blush lightly and his heart beat a bit faster. "Let's go." Damian shrugs off the embarrassing feelings and leads the pair to the training arena.
The benches fill up once more with excited spectators. This time, Sam sits with the audience, Yuuya assuring him he would be fine, however, Sam can't help but worry, staring as Yuuya and Damian stand across from each other a few feet away with determined looks on their faces. Gunter stands between the two, his face serious as he raises his arms, "Adventurers! Today we have an exciting duel between a C-rank veteran: Damian!" The crowd cheers at his name, his face remaining stoic as he stares Yuuya down. Gunter continues, "And a brand new E-rank rookie: Yuuya!" The crowd cheers again, Sam joining in that makes Yuuya smile shyly hearing his voice encourage him. The Guildmaster lowers his arms to the pairs' level, "As a reminder this is just a duel, I will not have either one of you seriously hurt. Understand?" They nod as he continues to explain the rules, "To keep it safe, whoever pushes the other out of the arena wins. Also, if one of competitors manages to incapacitate the other by knocking them out or cornering them, they win. Is that understood?" They nod once more, allowing Gunter to continue his announcements. "Good! Just to let everyone know, if Yuuya wins Damian has to join his party, and if Damian wins Yuuya must surrender his magical item around his neck. Do you two agree to these terms?" "I do." They answer simultaneously. Gunter nods and concludes his speech, "I, Gunter Livingtinstone, Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild, witness this agreement." He raises one arm, looking between the two, "Ready?" The pair pull out their swords, taking up a defensive stance. "Set." Damian narrows his eyes as Yuuya takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. A few seconds go by, no one makes a sound, everyone holding their breath. Finally, Gunter swings his arm down while shouting, "Fight!" In a flash the pair strike their swords, their weapons creating sparks at the sheer force of strength. Damian growls while Yuuya holds his position. They swing their swords at each other a few times before Yuuya smacks his sword out of his hands. Damian pulls back, dodging as Yuuya swings, trying to corner the man. Damian moves to the side when Yuuya pushes his sword forward, impaling it into the boulder behind the veteran. Damian kicks the hilt of the sword, getting it out of Yuuya's grip. The pair try hand-to-hand combat, surprising the each other with their skills. As they fought, Damian begins to chant, "Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!" Several fireballs surround the man as they fly towards the disguised beast-man. Yuuya dodges and catches a few, throwing them back at Damien while he runs. The audience cheers as the fight continues, only three remain silent. Sam watches worriedly as Gunter studies the fight and Amanda observes, praying nothing bad occurs. As Damian prepares another fire attack, Yuuya grabs his hand trying to point it away from him. They grunt in effort as Damian tries to push him off, his fire magic activating and firing above them. The ceiling takes the damage, many pieces of wood falling down onto them and the audience. The crowd shriek in surprise, drawing Yuuya's attention. His distraction gives Damian the perfect chance to throw him off with a punch. Yuuya falls to the ground, but quickly gets back up, the fear of people getting hurt making him move. He turns away from Damian to use his wind magic to stop the debris from crashing down. Several people mutter in shock, seeing the floating wood above their heads. Gunter's eyes widen, amazed at Yuuya's power. The disguised beast-man looks around till he finds Sam, smiling seeing his friend safe and sound. Sam's face pales as he points behind him, "Yuuya look out!" Yuuya turns around and barely ducks in time from the incoming sword, his arm cut in the process. Yuuya struggles to dodge and hold his wind magic up at the same time. Cuts start to litter his body as the fight continues while Yuuya holds up the debris. Several people frown at his struggle, finding the fight to be unfair. "What the hell is wrong with that kid?" "Doesn't he see that Yuuya's protecting us?" "Someone oughta stop the fight, this isn't right." More people join in, yelling at Damian to knock it off and let Yuuya handle the debris. Damian has had enough after a couple of minutes of people shouting at him. "Will you all shut the fuck up!?" He throws a giant fireball at the crowd, making everyone scream at the incoming danger. Just before the fireball hits, it stops, almost like someone pressed on the pause button. This stumps everyone until a dark energy fills the air, freezing everyone including the Guildmaster and Damian. They all look at the source, Yuuya holding up both hands with a massive glare. His eyes glowing in rage, scaring the anger out of the once confident man. "Hey. I thought this was our fight. I thought you were fighting me. Why are you throwing fire at the other adventurers? They're not in this arena...I am." The giant fire ball rushes straight for the pair in the arena, mainly at Damian. "Oh shit!" He ducks in time, but still manages to be blown into some boulders, causing him to yell out in pain. When he looks back up, his face pales as he sees Yuuya holding one arm up, his wind magic still holding the debris. "You need to control that anger better." He holds his hand out towards Damian, "Or else someone could get really hurt." That's the last thing he says before he manipulates the wind to dump all the debris on Damian. He tried to run, but a huge plank lands right on top of him, forcing him to the ground. The man tries to crawl away, but stops immediately when a sword points right in his face. He gulps as he stares into the glowing pair of violets, Yuuya holds his sword right in front of his face. "I win."