Legend of the Immortal

I'm No Hero

Courtyard, training yard.

"Now...The agreement...Will you honour it?" Gracie whispered again, in a dangerously low tone to the mortified Emma.

Arceus had seen Gracie fight more than a few times and had seen Gracie severely injure several on many occasions, however, the absolute shock at Gracie's momentary bloodlust had been a blow to his mind.

"Cat got your tongue? Little miss princess, you were blabbing away five days ago without a care, what happened to you? Afraid I'll...Slice your tongue off?" Gracie said, in a voice that caused shivers down many people's  spines.

Gracie kicked Emma's already weak knees in, causing her to kneel.

Afraid of the violent temper Gracie displayed, she kneeled there without moving.

Rather, the intense bloodlust she felt had froze her in spot.

Gracie smiled innocently, circling Emma.

She giggled softly,"You know...The last time I killed someone was a few years ago...He tried to rob me...As for my title...Back then..." Gracie laughed lowly,"I was dubbed, Ice queen. Why? On my entrance to the school, a man looked at me funny. So, I smashed his junior into a meat paste...Let's say he wasn't a full man from then..."

Arceus had never seen this side of Gracie's before.

His mouth hung agape at Gracie's unusual behaviour.

Gracie continued to talk,"You know...This was all your fault...You caused this..."

"You would never be humiliated to this point had you showed a tad bit more respect no?"

Emma kept silent.

Gracie bent down to Emma's eye level and said,"Hey...I asked you a question. Why aren't you answering, your highness?"

Emma stumbled over her words,"Y-you can't k-kill me! I-I...The world's in a delicate state! If I die...You'll be recognised as an ally of the [Fallen Saint]!"

Gracie laughed, standing,"And what makes you think i'm on your side?"

Emma's heart had gone cold,"B-because...You're a human..."

The spectators which consisted mainly of soldiers had taken their weapons out.

Arceus broke out from his trance and thrusted his hand out,"Halt!"

Gracie put [Dancing Obsidian] back into her scabbard,"Little missy, you're more innocent than I thought. Have you even seen the darker parts of life in this world yet?" Gracie's face turned blank, devoid of emotion, as if reminiscing about something,"I've seen countless lives being taken right in front of me. Countless times, i've killed to survive."

Belle snorted,"I'm no hero, i'm merely a person who will do anything in order to meet her again. If it means i'd get to see her again by joining the [Fallen Saint], I would. Don't worry though, i'm not easily swayed. Money and power don't interest me in the slightest. I guess you could classify me as...A mercenary? Yes, that's it."

Emma's heart pounded hard, throbbing so loudly in her ears that she almost believed the others could hear it.

"B-but...You're a human...Why won't you..." Emma asked, filled to the brim with uncertainty as she looked up at the grinning face of Gracie's which keenly resembled a devil from the fairy tales which she had read as a child.

"Simple. There are a few people I care for. My parents, siblings and friends. Fifteen people in total. However, there are several I despise, so many in fact that fifteen seem minuscule in comparison. Several of these people have social standings higher than you'll ever hope to have. However, there's only one person which I love. Call it blind fanaticism... Obsession, whatever. I'm sure you can relate. I've had numerous clashes with several arrogant pricks from this supposedly 'united' race. Then again, i've had a few clashes with unpleasant demons and reanimated corpses and I don't enjoy their company either. So, why help either side? There's literally no reward for me in helping so, why should I?" Gracie answered, being as brutally honest as she could.

"If you don't help in the war...If the [Fallen Saint] wins and takes charge...We'll be prosecuted...turned to slaves for lowly demons...Forced into hard labour, never gaining back our freedom...Is freedom not worth fighting for?..." Emma shouted desperately.

Gracie laughed,"Hypocritical we humans are aren't we? We talk about not wanting to become slaves for demons yet, we enslave demons and half-breeds, people lower than us. Now, would you care to tell me why this...[Fallen Saint] would be able to rally such unanimous support from so many races? That's right, he promised that this war would end persecution of other races. So...is it not true to say, that we, humans...are the cause of this war?"

"But!-"

"But what? There is nothing more to be said about this matter. At the heart of it all, no matter how much you want to suppress the truth, you know, deep down in your hearts, that if we, humans, decided not to enslave other races to do our bidding as slaves, ripped of their rightful freedom which they lost due to war, this wouldn't have even escalated to the point of almost starting a war. In the end, we humans all have a...A darkness inside us. A monster, caged deep within our hearts. It is not a matter of whether we humans are monsters or not but a matter of to what degree we show of that monster to the rest."

"There is no right and wrong in war. Deaths happen, betrayals and backstabbers come often. Spies are amongst us. Tell me, if we lost the war theoretically,  would a rebellion not have occurred a few years, possibly centuries after the war? Can you tell me dead in the eye with a hundred percent certainty that we would not fight back if our kind was being suppressed by demons? Now this, is exactly what's going on here. The oppressed races are crying out in anger and pent-up frustrations over the actions of our ancestors. This isn't a war we're fighting, princess. It's a rebellion the human race is trying to cull." Gracie finished, leaving the training yard silence.

The words Gracie spoke with gusto and certainty left an underlying impact on the knights, Arceus and Emma.

Though some points were slight speculations, Gracie, had without a doubt, provided sufficient evidence to back up her claims.

Everything was logical.

It fit together like the pieces of a very delicate puzzle.

Emma's head lowered in utter defeat, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

This was the first time someone with a sharp tongue had talked back to her.

It was a different feeling after being spoiled for over twenty years.

Gracie smiled and bent down to whisper kn Emma's ear,"Glad to know you understand my point of view. Now as for the bet we made...Let's meet at the garden tonight. Hopefully, your 'Princess' pride' won't let me down."

Standing up, Gracie activated a speed boosting spell and disappeared in a flash, a gust of dust blowing in the air, dispersing the tense air.

Arceus clapped his hand,"Alright, chop chop. Nothing more to see here, back to training lads."

"Yes,  your highness."

Arceus sighed at Emma's disgraceful appearance and tossed her his overcoat which he wore, and sighed,"Go get some rest, you'll need some. You can keep the coat."

Though he didn't particularly like Emma, she was royalty and he had felt a little bad for her after the cruel beating down of her morale by Gracie.

Giving her one last sidelong glance, Arceus trudged off, back into the castle, leaving Emma on the ground, still kneeling.

After a while, Emma got back up, her face devoid of the usual arrogant light.

Instead, she was processing the things Gracie had said.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt Gracie was right.

Soon, her view on the entire war as a whole, had changed drastically.

She had experienced her first bitter defeat at the hands of Gracie Valencia.

This defeat, was not one she would forget.

A/N

HOOO!!!! SCHOOL IS OVER!!!!!!!!! FREEDOMMMMM!!!!! Expect more chapters in the coming days and as always, thanks for the overwhelming support from you guys and enjoy the book!

-Euphie