Divinity

--- [Shin’s perspective]

How do I get past her eyes?

How…?

How?

How?!

Maybe I should…

No…

Let’s calm down.

She doesn’t seem to mind giving away information since she’s so confident she’ll win.

I’ll take advantage of that and pry out some more.

“So essentially, it’s impossible to catch you off guard then.” – Shin

“That’s right.” – Zoe

“No matter where I attack from, you’ll see it coming. On top of that, your perception of time is much quicker than mine, meaning you’ll have no issue figuring out the best way to defend either.” – Shin

“Yup!” – Zoe

“I guess this is what you might refer to as a perfect defense… I have some experience with it, but that doesn’t make it any less troublesome.” – Shin

“Indeed… Well, let’s not waste any more time. You seem quite adamant about not surrendering even though it’s in your best interest. I can respect that, but ultimately, it’s just going to end in a world of pain for you.” – Zoe

“Right… Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you’re wrong. You shouldn’t have opened your mouth; you might have won if hadn’t…” – Shin

“What do you mean?” – Zoe

“While you were blabbering on, leaking all kinds of sensitive information, I was doing everything in my power to find a way to defeat you. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m quite smart you see. You let me stall for too long, and now I know your weakness.” – Shin

She looks slightly worried, but at the same time, I don’t think she quite believes me.

“I don’t have a weakne-” – Zoe

I interrupt her just as she’s about to finish her sentence…

“You do.” – Shin

“…” – Zoe

“There’s no point in pretending otherwise. I know your weakness just as well as you do. Your eyes… They aren’t as all-powerful as you make them out to be.” – Shin

“…” – Zoe

I think…

I think she fell for it!

I’m bluffing, of course I am!

I have no clue what her weakness is, or if she even has one…

It was a gamble for sure, but it looks like it might have paid off.

If only she was a little weaker, I might have been able to brute force my way past her ability, but unfortunately, she isn’t…

The way I am now, there’s no way I beat her in a regular fight.

The only course of action is mind games.

If she really does have a weakness, I can take advantage of that, even without knowing what it is.

She just needs to think I know.

She’ll overcompensate for her weakness, leading to sluggish movements that are easy to take advantage of.

Even if it’s just for a moment…

Just a single misstep…

That’s all it takes.

If I get a good hit in on her with my fire sword, it’ll be as good as over.

“How… How did you figure it out?” – Zoe

I let a chuckle escape, as I put on a smug smile…

“Like I said. I’m clever.” – Shin

The absolute confidence she once exuded is nowhere to be seen.

I’ve successfully done everything I can to prepare for our final confrontation.

Now I just need to nail the landing…!

“Being clever won’t be enough… It doesn’t matter if you know my weakness or not. You still won’t get past my eyes!” – Zoe

“Are you sure about that?” – Shin

As soon as I finish speaking, I throw both of my ice swords at her.

Yet another time, I rush towards her.

On my way there, I create another set of swords, then throw them just as quickly.

I do it again…

And again…

And again!

A bombardment of projectiles that could freeze her with just a touch rocket towards her.

She dodges some and deflects others, but not a single one of them lands an effective hit on her.

Just as she’s within range, I use what’s left of my stamina to create the most powerful fire sword I can.

I’ll try not to kill her, but I can’t afford to hold back!

If I do, I don’t stand a chance.

With all my might, I cleave it through the air…

A combination of shock from seeing a flaming sword appear out of nowhere, and expecting me to exploit her weakness instead of attacking her normally, leads to her being slow to react.

She tries jumping away, but I simply follow after her; she might see the world in slow motion, but that doesn’t make her body any faster!

With only one option left, she tries to block the attack with her arm, but the sword simply passes right through, scorching it from the inside.

There’s no way for her to get away now!

She knows that as well as I do, but suddenly her pupils dilate so much her irises are no longer visible.

Her eyes frantically shuffles around in their sockets, looking for any kind of possible way out, but there simply isn’t any.

Those menacing eyes completely halts, and locks in on one thing, and one thing only.

Me.

Like she’s staring into my soul, she concentrates as deeply as she possibly can.

With no hesitation, and no care for her own safety, she uses the only healthy arm she has left to counter-attack with every ounce of power she’s got.

Before her fist can connect, my sword passes right through her chest, yet…

She doesn’t stop!

She grits her teeth, and follows through with her attack.

Oh shi-

…

…

…

“Shin! Shin! Are you okay?! Shin!” – Alex

“Ughh… My head…” – Shin

Who’s that guy with the green light…?

Wait…!

I shoot right up, and frantically look around.

“Where am I?!” – Shin

“You’re right here, in the arena.” – Alex

Oh…

Right…

I was participating in the D-rank exam…

“She got you good kid, it’s not a surprise you’re a little confused after waking up from that… You should be fine though; I’ve made sure of that myself.” – Healer

It’s all coming back to me now…

Right at the end of our fight, we both hit each other.

My sword burned its way straight through her chest, while she slugged me in the jaw with all her might.

I must have instantly passed out, but…

“What about Zoe? Is she okay?” – Shin

“She’s fine. Just like I did with you, my colleague started healing her as soon as the winner was declared.” – Healer

“I see…” – Shin

“Well then kid, you should be as good as new now. You fought valiantly, but it wasn’t enough.” – Healer

“Does that mean…” – Shin

He gets up and starts walking off, leaving me with a final message…

“Better luck next year.” – Healer

…

“I lost…” – Shin

“I… I’m sorry…” – Alex

All that for nothing…

Months of the most intense training I’ve ever endured, only to fail in the final round…

“Hey, don’t feel so down… There’s no shame in losing to a D-ranker!” – Lett

“…” – Shin

I know she’s trying to make me feel better, but it’s not exactly helping.

I look over at the opponent I just lost to…

Even though she got immediately healed, there is still a large scar across her chest.

I know wounds caused by SDM are significantly harder to fully heal than regular BDM enhanced attacks, but it’s still weird to think about.

Those healers are how strong?

C-rank maybe?

Yet they still can’t fully heal a wound caused by a mere E-ranker like me…

“Lett is right, there’s no shame in losing to a D-ranker. You got damn close to beating her too!” – Illian

“Yeah…” – Shin

Illian…

He has a secret, something he can’t let Alex find out about…

Now that my match is over, should I ask him about it?