I woke up with a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. It feels like something’s going to happen either today or tomorrow, and that it’ll get messy.

Damn psionic powers. Sure, they can be useful. Extremely useful, in fact. That doesn’t stop it from annoying me sometimes with its normally vague insinuations and hints of future tragedy. Oh well. I’ll just have to be more careful than I normally am. I think I’ll stay in my Awakened form indefinitely for the moment—While shielding that fact with my illusions. That’ll also allow me to hide any hints of my aura.

Aura’s are funny things, you know? Normally, they can be used to gauge an opponent’s strength and power, though they can also mean other, more arcane things. They come in all sorts of varieties, and include things like killing intent, mana leakage, pressure of any type, emotions, etcetera, etcetera. Also, most illusions are included as a type of aura, albeit one that involves being able to reproduce objects, people, actions, and scenes. Illusionists are able to use their “aura” to trick others, got it?

Of course, I’m the main character, so my abilities work a little differently. I do use a bit of that aura illusionism, as well as a sprig of mental manipulation. I find it best to not rely overly much on one or the other, since there are ways to counter them when alone. Together though, they make a illusionary cocktail that intoxicates all that are trapped. It also helps that my mental abilities have such an influence on the strength, number, and range of my illusions.

But that’s enough about me, fascinating though I am.

Unfortunately, today is a school day. Thankfully, the weekend's coming soon. I just have to power through today, and then tomorrow, after which the weekend calls.

Oh, and I managed to fix the washer yesterday. The removal of a shiny and expensive looking shoe did the trick. Don’t ask me how or why Joel did it. I have no clue either, and I’m the genius here. I couldn’t do anything about the dent on top of the washer though, which some might say has a striking resemblance to the shape and size of my fist. Nope, I don’t know how that happened either~

Anyway, I woke Joel up in a way that would be called violent by some, but that I consider to be justice for some of the stupid things he’s done. Like making half his grade fall in love with him within the first fours days of his school life. Namely, the female half of the population. Sigh~I’ll never understand girls. Well, most other girls. Or boys, for that matter. Damn it, I just don’t understand people. They’re a weird bunch, right? So many illogical decisions and ideas, and so much violence. I find that good-old-fashioned blackmail serves better than a punch to the face in most cases.

Unless I’m mad. Then all bets are off.

Once Joel was awake and ready, we went to school together. Nothing of particular note happened, other than Joel catching a molester on the train. Honestly, does he radiate hero-ness or something? Things like this happen with depressing regularity around him, I’m starting to find.

We separated a bit before the school grounds, since I really don’t want the hassle that comes with people finding out that Joel and I come to school together. Plus, we can afford to, since I can pretty much keep an eye on his as long as he’s still in school grounds. I knew all those cameras on the school grounds would come in handy sometime. No, I didn't put them there. The school did, to "keep us safe"

I decided to go straight to the classroom, since I have little else to do in the scant amount of time left before school truly begins. It seems that I’m the last one to arrive, since everyone else is already seated.

Somehow, there also seems to be a cold atmosphere in the room. Is that…aura? I take a look around, trying to locate the source of the ice-cold feeling, and find Ussen’s eyes on mine. He stares almost blankly at me for a few second, then looks away.

What the hell was that about?

I was unable to ask Ussen about it, since the bell rang right afterwards and class started.

Like every other class I’ve ever had, it was boring. More specifically, it was boring history things about the shattering of Earths moon, the devastation that followed, and what had caused it in the first place. It was basic stuff about the first Awakened humans—pedantic things that I had learned before turning four.

The bell rang again after a torturous two hours, and I immediately tried to find Ussen in order to talk. That dark aura makes me nervous. I swear, if his father overstepped, his little “organization” will have some nasty things happen to it.

Unfortunately, Ussen was gone. He wasn’t in the room.

I checked the school cameras with my phone, and was relieved to see that Joel was flirting with four or five different girls….Wait. Like hell I am! I’m giving that boy a good talking to when we get home.

Now then, the question is, where did Ussen go?

None of the facial recognition software is finding him. Dammit, he’s probably using his wrath abilities, in which case I have only one way to find him—to diffuse my own mana into the surrounding area and flush him out. But that’s extremely conspicuous, and would reveal my true strength. There are too many downsides with that method.

Besides, everyone else is coming over to me now, and a few of them look like they have something to say.

“Revy, you won’t believe what happened in Ashenload last night!” Exclaimed Godard, looking very excited.

“What happened?” I ask, faking curiosity.

“It was incredible! The civil war ended in a massive battle between the sides, and the Olympian army won!”

I tilted my head.

“Why excited? Our side Rogue.”

“No, no, no—I mean, I know, but the top contributors among the players in the Olympian army became gods! The game’s letting them reside in Mount Olympus, and gave them godly powers! We figure,” he said, looking around at the rest of the group, “that this quest will happen again—be periodical like all the other God Quests. That means that if our army wins next time, we could become gods!”

I looked at Godard, confused.

“Don’t want to, though?”

He looked flabbergasted.

“You don’t want to become a god, Revy?”

“Is only a game. Useless.”

Godard and the others looked flabbergasted. Honestly, I don’t blame them in the slightest. Game or not, very few people would refuse that sort of experience—Especially if they’ve played said game for an extended period of time. Also, I don’t think I’ll have the time to play with them next time the God Quests come back around, what with everything that’s been going on lately. And my premonitions. And whatever the hell Ussen’s up to.

Who knows what’ll be going on in that time?

Godard shook his head.

“But, it’s a chance to be a god in the game, Revy. There’s no telling what the limits and abilities are.”

I shrugged.

Besides, I don’t think those players will be gods for long. That’s a bit too much power to place in the hands of a player, you know?

Godard left the conversation at that, and we turned to a different topic. Since the mid-year break of the school year was approaching, exam season was just around the corner. For some reason, all my friends are clambering for study help from me. I turned them all down of course. How am I supposed to help them study, when I have my own problems? There’s also the whole speaking thing too, which makes their desires even more unlikely.

I’ve also began sending in applications for colleges.

What? Is that a weird thing to do or something? Sure, I may be…unusual, but I still want to get the educational degrees required to pursue a line of work. The only problem is that I still don’t quite know what I want to do. Bah, I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.

Ussen was back in the classroom before the bell rang again. It was odd, since I couldn’t tell that he had returned at first. Joel also looks okay, based on the camera footage, so whatever’s going on doesn’t involve the Al’Verath family. At least, I hope it doesn’t, for Ussen’s sake. Additionally, he didn’t even look at anyone after suddenly reappearing. He just looked down at his hands.

And so, class started again. Excluding all the boring stuff, the school day ended soon after.

I walked back home with Joel after meeting up with him an appropriate distance from the school. I may also be using some illusory goodness to make it seem as if I went home on a completely different route from Joel. A bit overkill maybe, but one can never be too careful when there exists a rabid hoard of high-school girls ready to tear interlopers limb from limb.

Nothing of note happened on the way home, so I assume whatever bad feeling I have is still in the future. Unless we’ll be attacked while eating dinner or something. But then again, I have illusory wards set up which should handle anyone wanting to come after us with malicious intent. I’m fairly certain that my house will be safe from anyone under the 12th divide. Well, there’s also the fact that I’m living there, so I don’t really see any situation where the attackers would come off better.

Thankfully, nothing had happened by the time I turned in for the night. Dammit, I hate waiting for something to happen.

The next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat. Fuck, that was one hell of a nightmare. I saw myself standing at the top of a bloody mountain with my sword, the ground around me burning and frozen in patches. If the feelings and warnings are getting this bad, then something’s happening today for certain.

I take a shower somewhat shakily, and get dressed for the day. Just to be safe, I slip some reactive armor under my uniform and load up on knives. I also reach into the closet and grab one more thing.

After that, I wake up Joel without any problems for once. I suspiciously eye him as he eats breakfast cheerfully. He pauses between bites, looking up at me and smiling.

“What is it Revy? Something on my face?”

“Why so cheerful?” I ask, and immediately regret my question.

“Well, if you have to know, I met the most beautiful girl yesterday! She says that she’s…” I tune out his voice after that. I really shouldn’t have asked.

Unfortunately, he continued gushing about this beauty he met at the school for the entire walk to the school, almost completely oblivious to his surroundings. I had to pull him off to the side a few times, to keep him from walking into a pole or various different doors. Be thankful Joel. I saved your face from all sorts of injuries. Though, on second thought, maybe I should have let him hurt himself? Could that have shut him up? I learned more about his ideal woman than I ever wanted to know. Small is good too, you know.

During class, there was a school wide announcement. Apparently one of the students, a rather bratty noble guy, had gone missing the day before. There was also information about the school festival that’ll happen in a few weeks right after exams end, and talk of the winter dance.

Of course, I didn’t care about any of that news at the time. I had bigger things to worry about at the moment and was anticipating an attack at any time.

And then, my mind was simply considering different possibilities for the rest of the day, cycling thorough various scenarios and situations that might come up. I’m fairly certain that I can handle whatever’s thrown my way, but then I have to consider Joel’s safety as well. Sure, he’s extraordinarily strong considering his age, but nothing special compared to experienced hunters and mercs. So, I have to come up with ways of keeping us both safe. Illusion powers do make that task quite a bit easier, but there’s always the risk of something going wrong.

Thinking about all this stuff made the day go faster, and school was over before I knew it. I think my friends could tell that something was off about me, and they had even tried to ask me about it. I replied with vague and muddled affirmations, which probably only made them more worried. I can’t let them get involved in this. None of them are strong enough to do anything about the proceedings.

I got quite annoyed after school though. Joel hadn’t shown up for the ride back home, and I began to feel a little worried. Knowing him though, he’s likely doing something stupid. So, I checked the cameras. He was nowhere to be found. By this point, I was panicking internally and now searching the citywide camera network via remote access to my computer towers back home. Nothing. No sign of the idiot.

It was at this moment that I got an incoming text to my phone, from a specific number. It read “Behind the gym building. —ST1”

I smiled bitterly, glad that someone had been watching while I hadn’t, and also glad for some back-up, weak though they were.

I ran to the gym, and skidded around to the back. Immediately, I saw the tell-tail shimmer in the air of an invisibility ward cast by a mage. I ignored the odd feeling that shimmied down my skin as I crossed the ward’s boundary. I was immediately stunned by what I saw.

That idiot! I walk over to Joel, interrupting the make-out session he’s having with some tall red-headed girl. Ah, wait. Are those wings, and horns on her? Fuck, she’s some sort of demon. And…Dammit. Joel’s eyes are completely glazed over, and he’s moving stiffly, almost robotically. I’d wager that she’s a succubus then. My premonition was about this? Hardly any danger at all.

Right as I walked through the invisibility ward, the girl looked up at me, surprised.

“You…How did you get here?”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“I walked?”

The girl started muttering to herself.

“Walked? Shouldn’t be possible, misdirection ward would have….complications….I do? —Yes, understand. Mission comes first, I know. —Will do.”

Is she communicating with someone? Yeah, she is. There’s a headset in her ear, and she’s probably taking orders from the other end. Oddly enough, she then removes the head/ear set, and threw it on the ground.

“Sorry about this.” She said. “It’s nothing personal, really, but my group has a few policies. You’ll not be able to leave this place alive, I’m afraid. Though, I’m not against having some…fun before you die.”

Ewww, no. I think I’ll pass on her weird sexual stuff. Especially since that look in her eyes tells me that she’ll be the only one having…fun.

I shook my head.

“Need brother. Have to leave.” I said.

The girl squealed happily.

“Such a cute voice! And with that face, and body! So delectable, I just have to eat you up~” She said, hunger in her eyes.

Okay, while I’m a bit confused on just how the fuck she had done that whole tilde thing, this girl's also seriously getting on my nerves. I decide to just walk right past her, and reach out for Joel’s arm. He was just standing there, under the girl’s thrall.

“Don’t ignore me!” hissed Red from behind me. Since calling her “the girl” is getting a bit old, I decide to henceforth address her as Red internally.

“I thought you wanted to have some fun with me first~” Said Red, doing that weird tilde thing again while her voice turned as smooth as honey. I could feel mana pervaded the air around her and I, attempting to subjugate me to her desires.

I slowly walked away from Joel, facing Red again. A nasty looking grin split her face as her glamor magic entered my system.

“Come here.” She ordered me. I walked closer, and her grin grew wider.

“Oh boy, this will be great. Such a cute little kid too~” Said Red, taking a knife out from….Alright, where the fuck did that knife come from? Her cleavage? Actually, I wouldn’t doubt it. She has quite enough to hide a knife in.

She swung the knife at my clothes, expertly aiming so that it only barely draws blood from my skin. Red cackled manically, overjoyed at the prospect of having a new toy.

It was at this moment that an oversized and sheathed katana crashed into her side, flinging her into the wall of the gym where she passed out immediately.

The illusion of myself that had lost its shirt faded immediately, while my real self became visible, katana still extended. I relaxed, and placed the katana on my shoulder. I kept it visible for the moment as I walked to the fallen Red. I think I broke a few of her ribs with the impact, and her entire left side’s probably gonna be bruised in a few days. I decide to play around with her mind a little and try to get a bit of information from her.

Eventually, she wakes up, and tries to rise. She can’t though, due to the ropes securing her. Instead, she flops over on her side and screams a little as her ribs hit the ground.

“Fucking cunt, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill your family! I’ll flay you alive, feed you your own waste, then kill you!”

I slap Red in the face, hard. She shut up immediately.

“What group are you from?” I ask in a dead serious voice, radiating my displeasure. Red had already set up various different wards to shield her own misdoings, so nobody should be able to find out about this little bit of power I’m releasing.

Red sneered at me.

“I’m from the Angelic Beauties bitch! You better let me go before the rest of them come for you!”

I sighed, and pulled out my phone. Looking this group up yielded some interesting results. They’ve become slightly infamous in nearby star systems for their brutal way of handling business, and their…loose morals. It’s not an all woman group either. A little under half are men, which is just bizarre. Calling themselves the Angelic Beauties…I guess there are people like that after all.

“You hear me?! Let me go, and you just might live!” Continued Red.

I sigh again, pondering my choices. Should I kill her, or let her live? It’d be one less annoyance were she to die, but I really don’t like blood on my hands. No matter how black it is. Also, there’s the rest of her group to consider. Part of their reputation is that they’ve never failed a mission before, and I’m sure that killing Red will have them after me. But then again, they’ll be after Joel and I regardless. And I really don’t like this girl.

So, I decide to kill her.

Shaking my head a little, I unsheathe my katana, baring its pearly white blade.

“Last words?” I ask.

Red’s eyes widen.

“No! If you kill me, my group won’t stop until you’re dead! Just let me live, and you’ll have everything you want!” She yelled, injecting mana into her voice and intentions to try and push me under her thrall. It worked just as well as the first time. In other words, I’m completely unaffected.

I raise the katana up high, preparing to cut Red down.

And then I was tackled from the side.

Joel, that idiot, ran into me before I could swing. I got back up, not hurt at all, to see him standing in front of the girl, arms spread wide as if her were shielding her from me.

“Revy, no! Killing is not the answer here!” he yelled.

I stared at him in disbelief. His eyes are clear, and he’s out from under her thrall. Surely then, he realizes what she’s here for and what sort of person she is. Why is he protecting her?

“People can change—she just needs someone to give her a chance at a different sort of life, one not filled with cruelty and despotism!” He continued. Is he serious?

That wasn't the end of his reasoning, either.

Dammit. One massive argument later, I decide to just have him experience his mistake firsthand. I release the girl.

It was kinda funny though. To her, it looked like I untied her, and threw the rope away. In reality, the rope was an illusion the whole time. I had simply convinced her body that it couldn’t move, and it obeyed easily. It looks like she’s used to the feeling of being tied up or something, otherwise it would have taken more effort to place that particular illusion.

She got up, and limped behind Joel, as if that was a safe spot. I watched her the whole time, wary of a sneak attack on Joel. Or, well, that’s what I wanted her to see from my expression. I don’t actually have to worry about that. Displacement illusions are a wonderful thing—I’ve got them both thinking that they’re right next to each other, when Joel is really a full ten meters away. She couldn’t do anything to him if she tried.

I had her walk with us back home, entertaining Joel’s thoughts of “rehabilitating” her. I of course noticed the discreet hand signals she did while we were walking, likely informing her team to hold off for now. She was probably thinking that she’s got this in the bag, and that I’ll eventually trust her to the point where she can strike and kill without any problems.

Great, now I have two idiots on my hands, and another mercenary team to fight silently. Just lovely. Absolutely fan-fucking-tasic.