Weak

A lonely, small figure was sitting outside on a small bench, his feet just barely not reaching the ground. The handsome yet a bit childish face was facing the sky, letting gravity keep a steady grip on his long, black hair. Rain was gently falling, making a soft bubbling sound. The academy grounds were empty, a rare occurrence as they were almost always bustling with students.

Letting my eyes wander the clouds above, I sank down into my thoughts.

'I'm such an idiot, aren't I?'

Meeting Sarah had not gone the way I wanted it to, no, far from it. In the end, all the answers I gave her were childish and immature. I had intentionally kept myself from explaining myself, making my answers sound harsh and crude, probably just confirming her lingering suspicions.

'I even said I would kill James if the opportunity arose at our duel...'

What I had said wasn't a lie, it was true that I was going to fight with the intention to kill, just like always. It was my way of fighting, the way I had been taught by Mr. Borr all this time. In battle, it was my nature, my goal, and my role. I wasn't a protector, a supporter, a warrior of honor, hell I couldn't even be called an assassin. I was just a killer.

However, I didn't have any expectations or aspirations to kill him. The biggest reason being; I still needed him to save the world. If James suddenly died there wasn't anyone who would save the world. Of course, outside of a battle, I also felt that I didn't want to kill him because his sins weren't grave enough to be deserving of death.

To some extent, I was wondering if I was truly going insane. It was as if my brain had created several different personalities and mindsets, but instead of these taking turns, showing up depending on the time and place, they had all started to meld together, creating a complete clusterfuck of a person.

I was the Miren who didn't want to kill, but wouldn't blink an eye anymore if I had to do so. I was also the Miren who had wanted to reconcile with Sarah, but as soon as I saw her face, I didn't even want to talk with her for a second longer than needed.

'Maybe I'm already broken?'

Staring at my tiny hands, I clenched them tightly. 'It doesn't matter if I'm broken or not. If this is who I am, then this is who I am, then so be it. I'll just have to do what I can with the cards I have been dealt.'

Just as I was concluding my thoughts, I got a text from Lindsey, *Where are you? Weren't you going to come over to watch a movie?*

'That's right... I still have people who accept me, even if I am damaged.'

Soaked from the rain, I quickly replied that I would be there in a minute after changing my clothes. Going back to the Aquarius, I quickly entered the hall where my apartment was but just before I got there a felt a hand on my shoulder, turning me around forcefully, before finally pushing me into the wall, *Bam!*." Agh!", my voice escaped me at the sudden impact.

"What the fuck did you do to Sarah?!"

It was Arthur, wearing an expression I had never seen before. His gentle and calm demeanor was gone and replaced with anger, pure unfiltered rage. The man before me wasn't a human anymore, he was something else. An animal, a predator, a lion. His head was no longer adorned with blonde hair, now it was more akin to a mane.

He changed his grip from my shoulder to taking a hold of my shirt with both hands and lifting me up into the air, pushing me against the wall, "I said, what the fuck did you do to Sarah?!" His hands pushed into my chest so much that it was hard to breathe but my mouth still opened.

"Ha...ha....haha HAHAHA!"

"STOP LAUGHING!"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at this incredible situation. A situation that could only be said to happen in movies, books, or, in this case, games. He had lifted me high enough for me to look down at him, and that I did. I was completely looking down on the crazed youth who had gone out to act as a bringer of justice.

There was no sense of crisis for me, and although my mind wanted to infuse me with killing intent, I could just ignore it. Knowing that he wouldn't stop until he got a response, I slowly opened my mouth.

"So, this is how you choose to act in the end?"

James didn't expect my question at all, clear by the way his eyes wavered for a moment, but he held fast, "What are you talking about, Miren! You were the one to do something to Sarah!"

My lips curled as I asked the boy, "Did you even talk with her about what happened?"

His eyes opened wide, once again clearly showing his inner thoughts. 'This fucking idiot...' He didn't even know what had happened, probably just seeing Sarah crying and assumed that I had done something horrible, as to which he had stormed away to look for me. Just what one could expect from the man who had selfishly decided he needed to act as a protector for everyone.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I continued to berate the child, "I'm guessing that's a no. So that means that you just have some made-up story in your head that you are basing your actions on? Is that worthy behavior coming from someone of the prestigious Luminary family?"

"Don't talk about my family like that...", his eyes squinting as he squeezed the words out, and his grip getting even stronger. 'Dangerous...' I was playing with fire here, and I knew it. In this situation, there wasn't much for me to do if he truly snapped. My life was currently in his hands, literally, after all. In spite of this, I didn't want to stop. If he acted like a child, he should be fine with getting treated like one.

"Do you want to know what I did to Sarah? Fine, I'll tell you." James's eyes got some of their clarity back, ready to listen to what I had to say. "We talked. She asked me questions and I answered them, that's all. Happy?"

He slammed me into the wall once more, *BAM!*, but this time I stayed silent as he roared, "BULLSHIT!". Looking at the youth, I finally felt that he was truly pitiful. If I was broken, maybe he was too? However, I didn't say anything about it. Instead, I went on the offensive again,

"Do you honestly think Sarah needs you to be her white knight in shining armor? Isn't she also a student of Kirkegaard, an elite of society meant to protect the ordinary citizen from evil?"

Every single word I spouted appeared to have a large impact on the young James. His eyes looked weaker and weaker the more I spoke, almost as if I was slowly draining the resolution he had with every word. Thus, I decided to put the nail in the coffin.

"Do you know what I think, James? I think Sarah is a lot stronger than you. At least she had the courage to talk to me as a sign of respecting our past friendship. But you, though?" My smirk deepened, showing just how much I pitied him.

"You are weak..."

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

He threw me right into the opposite wall, making blood fly from my mouth as my back came in contact with the hard marble. As I sank down to the floor I felt the taste of iron, my mouth filling with even more blood.

Forcing myself to sit up, leaning against the wall, I couldn't help but think, 'Ah, maybe I went too far?' I had already figured out that he had some kind of complex regarding power, but I couldn't stop myself from pushing that sweet, little button.

James was now towering over me, his fists clenched at his sides. His blue eyes now appeared to be red. Although he should have looked imposing and scary, my grin remained ingrained on my face. It had felt so good to finally tell him what I thought about him, although it was unfortunate that he might actually kill me.

Just as I was thinking that this might truly be the end for me, two voices could be heard almost at the same time. "James!", "Miren!". Lindsey and Sarah had both arrived at the different ends of the hall, now running toward us with pale faces.