Self defense

With a clean downward slash to the shoulder, Mei aimed to deal as much pain as possible to the impudent Vega. 

It caught her by surprise when, with a little stumble, he sidestepped the attack. To her, it was simply luck, but with each consecutive dodge, it became clear there was something up.

Though Vega didn't fully understand it, he could perceive every strike she would make before it happened. 

At first, he thought of himself as a genius, but reality struck hard when he tried to strike back. 

All it took was a wide swing for her to duck underneath and stab him in the stomach. 

If the weapon had been anything other than a dull wooden sword, it most likely would've pierced right through him. 

"What's your name?" She asked. 

Vega was unfortunately on his knees reeling in pain, a giant bruise had already appeared where he was stabbed. 

"I can't believe I actually had to be cautious with a bitch like you." 

She loomed over him, waiting for his response after the unprovoked attack. 

The 'Heavenly demon' as she called herself was much more skilled than he was. The vastness of their experience was more than apparent to him. 

But what she clearly lacked was stat points, although proficient when compared to raw physical might, he was ultimately superior. 

It was a stupid idea really. But he was banking on that exact fact to catch her off guard.

Holding nothing back, he grabbed her leg in just a hairs breath and launched her towards the dummies as if she weighed nothing more than a pillow. 

Getting up he felt his right arm pulse with pain, despite all the adrenaline coursing through his body. 

Looking at his arm, he saw a similar bruise start to form around his wrist. In the few moments he had grabbed and thrown her, she had managed to actually swing her sword in hopes of stopping him. 

Had her agility stat been just a little bit higher, she most likely would've stopped the attack. 

Vega walked to the middle of the dummy field, where she landed. Although conscious, it was clear multiple of her bones had been broken. 

"Just how high is your constitution stat, you cheater?" She groaned. 

"What would've happened if it wasn't? Would you have beaten me to death?" Vega hissed. 

The two stayed silent, only the sound of shallow breathing filled their ears. 

In a complete reversal to just a few moments ago, Vega now loomed over the wincing Mei. 

"What now, loser? You probably never took a life before, huh?" Mei mocked. 

"Like you have? All you did was kill some zeros and ones." Vega chuckled. 

"The only thing you'll ever be known for is playing a shitty ass game. You're a sad sack of shit. And that's all you'll ever be good for." Vega hissed. 

Mei paused for a moment, not because of Vega's shitty insults but rather from his eyes. The look he gave her sent shivers down her spine. 

Tired out of his mind, and adrenaline rushing through his body, his mind kept telling him to kill her. 

Arrogant, Irrational, and immensely skilled. If he let her go, she'd come back to take revenge. 

Once she raised her stats, she'd completely overpower him. It was the only option. It was the only one. 

[Congratulations, you've leveled up! You have 10 unallocated stat points!] 

[Your class item 'Memoir' has recorded this moment!] 

The sudden sound from the system caused him to wake up from his haze. He loosened his grip over her neck. 

He'd done it. He did something that no human should've ever done. 

He wanted to claim it was self-defense. And it was. She had attacked him first. 

But in those last moments when she desperately clawed at his arms, begging him to spare her. That wasn't self-defense. 

He murdered her. 

With that thought, he spilled out the entire contents of his stomach. 

***

Getting away with murder is a lot easier when you can just magically store away the body. 

Despite the commotion Vega had caused, no one came to check on what happened. It was a training area fighting was a common occurrence. 

As long as no one died, no one would bat an eye. Except this time, someone did die. 

But with no witnesses and nobody, how would anyone know? 

It was through those circumstances that Vega was able to walk out of the training hall without a single ounce of suspicion. 

***

[Forum post: Has anyone noticed that Heavenly_Demon just suddenly disappeared from the leaderboard?

G_paint: You think she actually died? 

Skib_di: Tbh I saw this coming. She was too arrogant for her own good. She probably offended someone she shouldn't have. 

Hearty9: 100% agree. ]

*** 

[Private group chat(9): 

Orion: Did Mei actually die?? 

LM: Looks like it, yeah. 

Orion: Fuck, we gotta be more careful. 

Aurelius: I warned her, and she didn't listen. Lie low and gather your strength. 

Orion: Cryptic as always, huh.

LM: Idk how you're not used to it by now. 

Orion: Is it wrong for a guy to assume he'd soften up a little after knowing us for so long. 

Berry_blast: He's just too much of a sigma guys. 

Orion: …

LM: …

Berry_blast: T_T] 

***

"Is it really alright that Mei died? I mean, besides you, she was probably our second-best fighter." Elena asked. 

"I warned her, and she didn't listen. I'm not her babysitter. Besides, we already have someone who's infinitely better than that loose cannon." Aurelius sighed. 

"That Vega guy who's on the leaderboard?" she asked. 

"No, he's a bit of a loose cannon himself. Better than Mei, but no, not him. She'll make a name for herself soon." Aurelius smiled.

"How long exactly?" She asked. 

"Give or take a week, but get ready. I just finished decoding the runes on this inheritance." He smirked. 

"Ready to take back your top spot, dear?" She teased. 

"More than ready." He kissed her on the cheek. 

"We need to gather enough strength before they find out about our existence. Let's hurry." Aurelius urged. 

"Don't worry, dear, we'll change fate. We'll make sure of it," she replied. 

With that, the two most knowledgeable about the apocalypse rushed towards their boon.