Ch 8: The True Hero

Selk's POV.

In my dorm room, I held the limp body of my apprentice, Allice. She had succumbed to the pressure of Vina's killing intent and fainted. Once I've checked that her life wasn't in any danger, I gently lay Allice down on my bed before addressing the people in front of my doorway.

Vina: "Sir Selk, who is that Brownie girl and how is she related to you? Please give me your answer."

Lira: "That's right. Lady Vina traveled all the way here to show her affections toward you, and then we fined you in the embrace of another girl? Explain yourself, Sir Selk."

Vina and Lira said to me, demanding an explanation regarding my relationship with Allice without even checking on her well being.

Sarah: "V-Vina, I told you that Selk is rooming with his apprentice, remember. That little girl is Allice, his apprentice."

Vina: "W-what? Y-you didn't say Sir Selk's apprentice was a girl."

Sara and Vina now arguing that Sarah didn't provide her detailed info of my relationship with Allice, with Vina's killing intent finally vanishing. But at this point, I couldn't care less who's fault it is in starting this misunderstanding. I would be the one to finish it. I released my own killing intent and directed it towards the people at my doorway.

Selk: "Give you my answer? Explain myself? You girls barge in to my room, and made my apprentice faint, yet you demand answers from me?"

I said with a deep tone of voice that I rarely ever use. The three girls outside my door had varying reactions to the killing intent I was emitting. Since my anger was primarily directed at Vina, she was frozen in place and sweating bullets while she had a pleading look on her face. Since she had a strong constitution, the aura of my intent had to be strong, otherwise Vina would just shrug it off.

The other two girls had a more severe reaction even though they were only exposed to the feedback. Lira fell on her butt, as a puddle of her own making formed on the floor where she sat. Sarah on the other hand vomited over the balcony from the dorm's hallway.

Once Vina was able to form words after fighting off her fear of my aura, she apologized for her actions and claimed that she didn't mean to cause Allice any harm. Once I've calmed down I invited the three girls in, and after they have cleaned themselves in my bathroom, I had them sat in a kneeling posture and told them they might be able to get up once Allice wakes.

Ten minutes pass and Allice finally woke up. As she rubbed her eyes, she saw Selk sitting in her bed and three girls on their knees in the middle the room with sorry looks on their faces.

Selk: "Thank the Gods you're finally awake, Allice. How are you feeling?"

I asked Allice, worried about any side effects Vina's killing intent might have on her.

Allice: "I-I'm fine. What exactly happened to me, Dr. Selk?"

Selk: "Sorry, Allice, but it looks like you were wrong when you said that Vina may have had a handle on her killing intent."

I answered Allice as I directed a cold gaze at Vina. While Allice was sleeping, I told Vina about what Allice and I were discussing, and how Alice thought that Vina probably has control of her emotions now. Vina had a pale face as I told her of the kind words Allice shared with me regarding Vina's feelings as well.

Vina: "I-I'm truly sorry miss Allice. I thought I did have a handle on my killing intent using this hate absorption bracelet I had an alchemist create for me. However one look at Sir Selk sharing an intimate moment with another girl and the one I was wearing earlier overflowed with negative aura and broke. I am ashamed of myself."

Vina said with her head down as she pointed at the bracelet she had on her right arm. Turns out the cracking sound I heard was from the first bracelet she was wearing earlier. The first one couldn't handle all the negative aura that Vina's killing intent had and burst. Good thing She had multiple made that she stored in her dimensional storage, hence the new one on her now. As Vina was expressing her shame over what she's done, Allice stood up from my bed and came over to Vina's side to hold her hand.

Allice: "It's alright, Ms. Vina. I know how much you care for Dr. Selk and seeing him with someone else after years of being away from his side must have been painful, right? That just means your love for Dr. Selk is real, right? Since that's the case, I forgive you. Let's be friends, okay."

Vina: "M-Miss Allice... I-I am not worthy of your kindness and compassion. WAHHHHH!"

Vina then cried as she hugged Allice, who consoled her even after what she has done to the young girl. Lira and Sarah were also moved to tears after seeing Allice's compassionate nature. Even I, who was still angry at the three girls because of what happened to Allice, couldn't help but smile.

Lira: "Such a benevolent apprentice you have, Sir Selk. I am truly moved by miss Allices kindness. With that said, may we come up from this prostrated position and sit on your couch?"

Selk: "No. Just because Allice forgave you doesn't mean I did. You guys haven't been punished enough, so you guys should stay there for at least another hour."

I said as I denied Lira's request of leaving the floor in favor of the more comfortable couch.

Allice: "Don't be so mean to them, Dr. Selk. They already apologized to me, and I'm sure miss Vina has learned her lesson. Please let them up."

Lira: "Oh, Miss Allice, you truly are a saint."

Lira said as she gave me a smirking glance, knowing that I couldn't deny Allice's wish. So, with a sigh, I told the girls to get up and sit on the couch. As my unexpected guests make themselves comfortable, I broach the subject of what they are all doing here.

Vina: "Good question, Sir Selk. I actually have two things I want to ask you. May I do so with your permission?"

Selk: "Go ahead, Vina. And please, stop with the formalities. We're all friends here... With the exception of Lira."

Lira gave me a cold and angry stare after my remark.

Vina: "Thank you. First, regarding your role in the Human VS Demon war, I would like to know... Were you the one that found the Demon's dimensional weapon?"

Vina asked a straight forward question directly at me, asking if I was the one that stopped the War by finding the demonic kingdoms secret weapon.

Selk: "What makes you thing that I'm the one to thank for ending that war? By all accounts, you're the one hailed as the one that did that after you used your Infinite Light Cannon to completely destroy the Demon kingdom's secret weapons factory, right?"

I retorted, pointing out that she was the one that reportedly destroyed the secret weapon.

Vina: "Avoiding a question with another question? Are you trying to avoid lying to me, Sir Selk? Fine, I'll tell you why I think you're the true hero of the war."

"In the days leading up to the end of the war, you requested to be transferred to the Seventh battalion that was going to defend the newly acquired demonic kingdom territory Wolfmaw fort, along with the Hero of Earth, Sir Ivan Gaya. However, after a monster attacked you and your escort, you were separated from them and didn't reunite with them until the next day, right?"

Selk: "I said in my report that on the day I was separated because I had to lure the monster away. I had to run all across the forest to shake it off my tracks."

I said, answering Vina's pointed question.

Vina: "Yes, your escorts did say you used yourself as bait to give them time to get away. However, the monster that you encountered that time was a Darkbellied Hell Viper, right?"

(Darkbellied Hell Viper is a giant serpentine creature that's four times the size of a Titano-boa of prehistory)

Selk: "Yes, it was. They are endemic to that region. I had to make a female pheromone gland to draw it to me since I recognized it was a male."

Vina: "Yes, I saw that on your report, and I confirmed it with your escorts as well. The issue that I have with this report is Darkbellied Hell Viper are endemic to the Eastern part of the Nameless forest. You were at the Western side of the Nameless Forest, and the Hell Vipers endemic there were the Redbellied ones. And since you used a pheromone gland of a Darkbellied Hell Viper, then the question is, how can a Darkbellied Hell Viper be in a place thousands of miles away from it's natural habitat?"

Damn. She got me. I actually knew that Darkbellied Hell Viper weren't endemic to that location, but I haven't had the time to touch any creatures endemic to that part of the forest yet. I was just focused on causing a panic with the Darkbellied Hell Viper's attack to sneak away from my escorts and confront the Demon King, who is actually in possession of the Dimension Hopping Weapon on my own.

To think that Vina would go over the minor details of an incident like that and conclude that I was the one that actually destroyed that weapon and talked the Demon King into a peace treaty. This reminds me of the first time we met in the realm of the God's all those years ago. Still, I can't give in to her questionings yet. Any glory that comes from winning the war will prevent me from achieving my personal dreams. I will be bound as humanity's champion and will be pushed in to a military position rather than becoming a doctor. I can't let that happen.

Selk: "Well, Vina, that's a fascinating story, but does that have anything to do with me being the one that won the war?"

Vina: "Again with dodging my questions with one of your own. Very well, I'll humor you a bit more. Normally a monster attack will leave traces of the monster being there, like a scale, or blood trails. No trace like that were found on the site of your attack, Selk. The only way that could happen is if the monster was created by flesh magic."

Crap! She's getting warmer. My powers can construct monsters sure, but they don't leave any trace because the flesh I make is made out of mana that also relies on the mana coming from the monster's soul stone. If any part of the monster I make, like scales, hair, or limbs gets detached from the main body, they will disintegrate and leave no trace. The only time that doesn't happen is when I restore the body parts of living creatures. Since the new limbs will fuse with real flesh and blood, the flesh created by mana will become a permanent body part. Normally, that is, but that's a story for another time.

Selk: "S-so, what exactly are you trying to say? That I made the Darkbellied Hell Viper that attacked us so I can miraculously find the Dimension Hopping Weapon and destroy it? Even if I did do that, how could I have reached the Demon Kings castle from where me and my escort was, Huh?"

Vina: "Who said anything about the weapon being in the Demon King's castle, Selk? I never said that. How did you know it was there?"

Oh Crap! No no no no no. I messed up. I can't believe she got me to say that out loud.

Vina: "So, here's my theory on how you destroyed the dimensional weapon. In your one year journey before joining the rest of us, you tracked down creatures that can help you in finding the weapon and win the war. Once you had all the creatures needed in your flesh magic data banks, or what ever magic system you have as a flesh mage, you joined us on the front lines because you needed to be in closer proximities to the location of the weapon to find it."

"It took you two years in the front line to find the weapon, and when the time was right, you used an ability from one of the creatures you've touched to teleport to where the weapon was. in this case, the Demon King's castle, as you've said. Once there, you managed to destroy the weapon which forced the demon king to acknowledge that the war is lost. Hence, he had no choice but to declare peace with the humans."

Vina smugly said while she looked at me as if she's a child that's expecting me to congratulate her in solving a difficult puzzle. I'm truly surprise though. She manage to get most of it right. However these are all just circumstantial and lacking in hard evidence.

Selk: " That's an amazing story, Vina. However, that's all it is at this point, a story. Do you have any proof to back these speculations up?"

I said confidently, denying Vina the truth that her gut feelings were mostly spot on.

Vina: "Well, that brings me to my next proof. I purchased a recording crystal from a demon around four months ago that has a few seconds of footage that shows you fighting the Demon King."

Selk: "IF YOU HAD THAT ALL THIS TIME, THEN LEAD WITH THAT!"

After Vina made me look like a fool in front everyone in the room, she activated the recorder crystal and projected a few seconds that shows me in combat with the demon king. My head hurts from the knowledge that I'm now at Vina's mercy.

Alice: "Wow, Dr. Selk. You told me you knew the heroes of legends, but you never mentioned you're actually one of them. So you're the seventh hero then?"

Allice said in an excited manner upon finding out that I was the one that stopped the war.

Selk: "W-why didn't you just say you have a video of me fighting the Demon King? You didn't have to make me jump through all those hoops when you've had this thing all along."

I told Vina as I questioned her motives of making me go through all of that denying.

Vina: "I'm still hurt from when you rejected me all those years ago. I just wanted to make you sweat a little to get even."

Vina said, A look of satisfaction shining in her eyes.

Sarah: "Unbelievable. So all this time you've been planning this solo attack on the demons for all those years? Why didn't my Goddess fill me in on this?"

Sarah question my motives and of why she wasn't informed of this plan by Goddess Aquadria.

Selk: "It's because this plan wouldn't have worked if anyone else knew it. There were probably spies within our ranks, and if just one got wind of it, we might lose the element of surprise."

I told Sarah. Ever since the day we were summoned to the realm of the Gods, I've had a feeling that the Gods never gave us the full story. So, when Me and lord Gore would have our Dream Trainings, I would ask him the names and location of certain monsters that have the ability I needed to enact my plan to stop this war.

Vina: "I still don't know how you got the information on how you found the dimensional weapon. Care to elaborate on how you did it."

Selk: "No. All I can say is I found a way to tract the energy signal of the weapon, but if I tell you how it's done, You or the kingdom might try to replicate it. If that happens, the power dynamics would shift too much on the human's side. The power I used was too great to be used again."

I explained to Vina as to why I can't share the method I used to tract the dimensional weapon.

Selk: "Now, Vina. Before you ask me anymore questions, I just want to know one thing. Now that you know the truth, what will you have me do to buy your silence?"

I asked Vina, worried of what her answer might be. I was not prepared for what she wanted in return.

Vina: "As you know, our birth days will be held five months from now. And since mine will actually be held in this school, I wanted to ask... Will you be my date to our eighteenth birth day?"