Chapter 1

“You fool, how dare you stand in the way of my dream.” His voice bellowed.

“I will destroy the groundwork of Central City, and from the ashes a new, better, stronger, freer society will emerge. But I won't stop there, I will rebirth this entire twisted world! I will restore its beauty and cast out the ugly stain that is our wretched society!” he proclaimed, spreading his arms to the sky.

The bright sun pierced through the clouds and shone directly on him. His arms spread, voicing his will to the heavens, in this light, he looked truly benevolent.

“That's an interesting choice of last words, but you do you I guess.” I remarked with a shrug of my shoulders.

This was standard villain stuff, some weird ass motivation to do bad things. They could believe they are doing it for the good of everyone, but bad things are still bad.

He twitched, clearly not enjoying the lack of seriousness I had.

“Make all the snide remarks you want; we are the side of justice! Of freedom-” He began yet another rant.

“Nah, it's actually more like anarchy,” I interrupted him.

“I’ve been listening to your speech for a few minutes now, and you clearly have no idea what you are doing. Even if you beat me, and succeed in “freeing” the city, it'll all come crashing down. Anarchy creates a power vacuum, when there is no one in charge, people will fight for that position, ever take an economics class?”

His eyebrow twitched, the previous air of superiority and benevolence that surrounded him was long gone by this point.

“Or would it be a political class?” I mumbled to myself, pondering these great mysteries.

“Enough! This debate cannot be solved with words, that's been clear from the start. Rather, like a true revolution, it must be solved with blood.” He spoke.

And just like clockwork, it happens. You point out the holes in their stupid ideals, and the facade immediately dissipates. He went from “I will be the God of the new world!” right to “All those who oppose me shall die!” and instead of two seasons, it only took him two minutes.

He gripped his blade and shifted his stance, getting ready to strike at a moment's notice. He was large in stature, and his sword reflected that. His blade was a long two-handed sword. He clearly enjoyed the increased range it brought him over his opponent. But, from the way he held it, it seemed he could wield it with one hand, like most large statured villains with a big sword.

He leaned forward in his stance with his left foot back, one hand on his sheathe and the other on the handle. He was going to pull the sword and strike in one motion, that was the obvious move.

I assumed my stance, left foot and hand forward, with my right hand on the handle of the sword on my back. Using this stance, I could react according to whatever move he made. I was unsure as to what my opponent's abilities were, but I was confident in my own. I wielded a shorter one-handed sword, I liked the speed and maneuverability it brought to the battle. The blade itself was black, with an electric blue handle and guard.

We both maintained our distance, waiting for the slightest opening in our opponent, but neither of us gave way. Even an outsider would be able to tell that we were both masters of the craft. Or they would assume we were some role-players in the park. Either or.

The breeze blew the cherry blossoms past us and to the stream directly to our right as it trickled by, the melting of the fresh snow added to its volume. The sun peeked through the clouds, shining unto us, the warmth was welcomed during this cold, snowy day. We maintained eye contact, neither of us wavering or backing down.

“This scene is straight out of a movie!”

“You're wide open!”

He ripped his sword from the sheathe, believing me to be distracted. His large sword swung directly at my neck. If his attack connected, my head and body would no longer be connected.

I pulled my blade; a single moment's hesitation would have been too late. When my blade connected with his, the sheer difference in strength was immediately made obvious as I struggled to stop his advancing sword.

“I guess it is good for you to enjoy the setting, as it is the location of your final battle!” He yelled.

He grasped the sword with both hands, and put all his weight behind his strike. He appeared to be a power type. In a contest of strength, I couldn't win. I had always been more of the speedy, agile type, but that wouldn’t really help me in this situation. I would have to use his strength to my advantage.

I kicked my own feet out from under me, and quickly turned my sword to hit his upward. As I dropped to the ground, his swing went right above my head. A roll created distance, and a push off with my hands brought me back to my feet. It seems that while I can’t match his strength, he’s no match for my speed.

“I mean look at this, the cherry blossoms, the snow, the stream. This is straight out of a samurai movie! Your blood is even turning the snow red!” I said with a smirk.

“Hmm...It appears when you rolled away you cut my leg.... Well played.” He said while looking at the wound.

It appears that way, because that's what I did.

I had aimed to cut his Achilles tendon, rendering him immobile, but either I missed, or he managed to avoid it. I couldn't take this fight lightly. I had to make my move.

I lunged at him with an overhead strike, he moved his sword to block. Just as I planned. I spun in the air as I flipped the sword around in my hand, aiming to stab right through his head.

Just as my blow was looking like it'd connect, he moved his sheath to block it. He had to grab the sheathe from his left side, leaving only one hand holding onto his large sword.

I kicked off of him, catching him by surprise and knocking him back.

This was my chance. The second my feet touched the ground I shot right back at him, flipping my sword back to a normal grip, primed to pierce right through him. But once again, he managed to block my flurry of attacks.

Strength vs. speed, neither of us had an advantage over the other, we were perfectly matched. If things continued this way, it would be a stalemate.

“It's clear I've been underestimating you.” I remarked.

“As I, you.” He replied.

No more holding back, A battle at this level has stagnated, normal combat would get us nowhere. I’d have to advance to the next level, a level of strength and power far outside the reach of most people.

I held my sword out in front of me, put my off hand on the backside of the blade, and activated my ability. “Banished Blades Version One!” I yelled.

In an instant, I vanished.

“W-What?” He exclaimed in surprise.

My sudden moves caught him off guard, this was my chance. I lunged at him from behind, attempting to cut him in half with one swift swing of my sword.

But, at the last second, he jumped to the side. It was nothing more than a fighter's instinct, a feeling that I would come from behind, but it was enough to dodge my attack. For the most part....

“What the hell...?” He asked while gripping the wound in his side.

The hit was not lethal, but it would slow him down considerably. And that was all I needed.

“Once my ability is activated, electricity flows throughout both my body and my sword. The electricity made through my ability moves through my nerves twice as fast as normal. Giving me faster speed, reaction time, and doubling my striking power. When I cut my opponent, the electricity that flows through my sword flows into them, almost like a taser.” I explained my ability in detail.

“The heat from the swords burns the wound shut, effectively cauterizing it. It’s an unfortunate downside that it stops the bleeding.... But it sure causes a lot of pain. That is my ability, that is Banished Blades Version One!” I boasted about my skills, sure of impending victory.

“Again!?” He yelled as I vanished once more.

Blood spurted out of a shallow cut that suddenly appeared on his leg, which was Immediately charred shut. Again and again, more of these cuts kept appearing all over his body. His sword was always slightly too late to completely block the attack, but fast enough to prevent anything serious.

“Dammit!!” he yelled as he sliced at the electric trail that remained after I cut him once more.

“What now!?” He yelled as the sound of an explosion burst through the air behind him.

Rock fragments pelted his back. The hairs on the back of his body stood on end. Not from fear, but from static.

He turned to find the source of the commotion, only to find the point of my sword inches from his face.

I had used a boulder as a launchpad, and shattered it in the process. The speed and power behind my sword this time would be enough to completely destroy his sword when he moves to block, he’d have to put all his power into his sword just to keep it from shattering like glass.

He moved to block my blade before it was too late. He swung his sword in an upward strike to try and cancel out my momentum with his own. The force of my blow sent us sliding back across the landscape and pushed my opponent down to his knees, our swords still connected.

He was using both hands and all his strength to hold back my strike. The crackle of electricity and panting of breath sounded through the air as the struggle continued.

“Now it starts for real.” I spoke.

The struggle of our blades had yet to be broken, and yet he saw the telltale glint of metal swing down from overhead once more.

“What? Another sword?” He gasped out as I pulled my second blade from seemingly thin air.

His reaction was too late. I slashed down with the sword in my left hand cutting deep into the right side of his face, and right through his eye. He kicked me off right before my sword got too deep, preventing a fatal wound.

But he was unable to avoid permeant damage. His eye is gone. Even with the work of the best healers, there is no way that eye is ever getting used again.

“I mean the ability is called Banished Blades. Blades, plural. As in ‘more than one blade.' You should have seen that coming......Well, I guess you can’t now” I pointed to his bleeding eye socket.

I held the absolute advantage now, this battle was coming to a close, and I was the victor as usual. Another day, another victory over some wannabe antagonist.

Red tears of blood dripped into the snow staining it. The tide of battle had turned. He was having a hard enough time keeping up with both eyes, and now he has a massive, easily exploitable blind spot.

“So much for your vision of the future.” I snickered with a smug look on my face.

“You’ve got skills, I took you too lightly, and now I paid the price.” He said with a sigh while he got back to his feet.

“This will serve as a reminder to not take my opponents so lightly.” He remarked with a somber, reflective look as he put his hand over the wound.

“Why are you talking like a Shonen protagonist who's about to get some ass-pull power up? And what's with that sinister look in your eyes? Er- sorry, I mean eye?” I questioned him.

“Why are you talking like someone who's already won?” Was his reply.

He closed his remaining eye and exhaled as the ground around him began to shake and break. A glow seemed to emit from his body while his stance emanated power.

“Come!” He shouted.

So, I did.

I launched at him and began striking with a flurry of slices and stabs from both swords, before backing off and striking again from different angles and with different intervals of speed. Slowly, it went from connecting multiple shallow strikes, to connecting the equivalent of paper cuts, to only getting stray hits, to nothing.

“He’s adapting to my speed!” I exclaimed frustratingly.

He held the same stance and had yet to open his one good eye. How was he able to know where I was coming from?

“Dammit!” This frustration was becoming too much for me. This was supposed to be over with fast!

“Banished Blades Version Two!” I exclaimed as I launched towards him from the side of his bad eye.

This was the only opening I could get. Launching at my top speed from this angle, and going for a clean decapitation with both swords. He had yet to see any of the other versions of my ability. If I used Version Two, I could catch him off guard and end this battle.

I launched towards him at full speed. If he could react to this, I would need to rethink my strategy. But I did not.

Within a second of launching my attack, both my swords had connected and sliced clean through his neck. The battle was over.

“Yeah baby! Finally, a clean cut!” I exclaimed in victory.

But as I continued to fly through the air, I flew right into his outstretched blade.

“W-What?” I coughed as the blood rose up in my lungs. The pain of being impaled hit me like a tank. It was pain like I’d never felt before. I’d made a mistake, I’d rushed things, and this sword through my chest was the result.

“You’ve lost.” He said while holding his sword up to the sky, with my body still on it, hanging limp like a rag doll.

“You were a worthy opponent......I learned and grew over the course of this battle. The only reason you lost and I was able to prevail was because I held on to my convictions and will. Your convictions, your will, they were just too weak, you lost sight of victory and made a rushed, desperate move.” He began his victory speech which was supposed to turn this from two dudes trying to kill each other into some philosophical debate.

He held me up, looking me in the eyes while uttering these nonsensical words, so naturally, I coughed blood in his face.

“You little-” He snapped as he swung his sword, launching me across the field and into a nearby tree.

Judging from the circumstances, this would be the part where my hidden, unknown demon powers activate. Allowing me to overpower him. But, once the dust from the battle dissipates, as I gaze at his mangled corpse amidst the destroyed landscape, I begin to question; Was it worth it to save those people if it cost me my own humanity? I’d ponder what it meant to be truly human.

After the battle I’d train to learn to control my new found abilities, and it’ll become a really interesting character arc of me coming to grips with it. I'll probably lose control a few times, but in the end, I’ll master it. That seems about right for this next story arc! Now they just need to awaken.

“Lee!” I heard a shout from a distance.

It was my brother, Diran, he’d finally caught up to me and was now sprinting onto the scene.

I had seemingly misjudged this situation, this wasn’t the ‘demon power activation’, this was the ‘my bonds let me break past my limits and awaken a new power’ scenario. He’s probably going to give the motivational speech that I need to break past them, and achieve victory. Though I will have to suffer through a long, boring, drawn out, never ending, speech. But if it means victory, I guess it's an even trade.

“I’ll kill you!!!.... No one…. No one.... Does that to my brother…...You won’t get away with this!!!” He shouted with a pure rage I’d never seen him display before.

......No friendship speech? He’s going to fight that dude himself?

“It's alright,” I said. “Now I know his ability! He makes decoys, and can set up a field from which he can read his opponents moves! That’ll be easy enough to deal with! It’s basically just substitution jutsu! ” I shouted to him.

But my words fell on deaf ears.

“You bastard!!!” Diran shouted.

This is supposed to be the part where he gives me a very important speech to urge me not to give up and have faith in myself. It’s supposed to address all the themes of this arc and set the trajectory of my character. So, if it's not that, then what is it?

“I’m fine, we can take him together!” I shouted as I got to my feet...and immediately fell down.

“You’ll pay for this, screw your convictions, screw your ideal, no goal is worth obtaining at the cost of others!!!” He shouted at the villain.

Oh no, maybe this was the ‘side character attacks the villain and loses their life, which pushes the protagonist over the edge and lets them awaken their demon powers’ scenario. If I’m going to obtain some unknown demonic strength, I don’t want my brother's death to be the trigger!

Before I could get up to prevent this, I looked down and saw something a bit more pressing.

“Ahhhh, my leg!” I said with panic.

My leg looked like a flamingo’s, as it was facing the completely wrong direction. The bone was undoubtedly shattered. There’s no way I'll be able to use it. What am I supposed to do now?

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, my goal is worth everything!” The villain shouted to him.

With my leg like this, there was nothing I could do. No way I could prevent that scenario from coming to pass.

“This is the worst! First, I actually lost! Second, my leg is broken! Third, I’m bleeding everywhere, I might even bleed out considering I got Sephiroth’d!” I shouted, severely panicking now.

“I will defeat you! I won't let you harm others! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH” Diran shouted, the ground now shaking from his increasing power.

“This is why we need a healer on our team!” I screamed as I tried, and failed, to get back on my feet.

“Enough, I will not let you get in the way of my goal!

RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH” The villain shouted as he began powering up as well.

“That’s not even the worst part!” I almost began to cry.

“Worst of all, my brother is stepping in to save me and is probably going to get his ass kicked! He might even die!” My mind was beginning to get very foggy from blood loss.

This was a worst-case scenario. There’s nothing I can do; I’m forced to sit here and watch. Even if Diran does somehow win, I’ll probably have bled out.

But he did not get his ass kicked.

He did not end up just like me.

In fact, he did the ass kicking. My brother who has always been on the same level as me, if not slightly weaker. My brother who I have trained with for as far back as either of us could remember. My brother, completely, and utterly, decimated the opponent that I could not.

Absolutely annihilated him, with little effort. The gap in their strength was enough that he was able to show him mercy. It was almost as if I was merely holding him off until my brother arrived.

Oh no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.

This can’t be. Am I... a side character?

Thank you so much for reading Chapter 1. Please let me know what you think of it! Chapters will be posted weekly, and I should have a little afterword at the bottom each time. If you're already hooked and can't wait to read the rest, the full story is already released on Amazon! So just look up "It Sucks Being a Side Character" and you'll have a physical copy in no time.

Though, I doubt this one chapter is enough to get you to spend your money, so don't worry, chapter 2 is posted next week, and chapter 3 the week after that. The whole book will be posted on here for free.

Again, thank you so much for reading, let me know what you think! I hope to see you again next week!