Weapons of Mass Destruction

When Vega finally appears beside me, she looks up while I look down at her. Lily stands nearby with her disciple at her side, seeming hesitant. She and the others watched my minion lose in the finals, so she probably thinks Vega will be upset. Perhaps they expect me to say something to the disappointed little half-demon to ease the sting of her defeat.

None of them knows her as well as I do.

My minion shows no hesitation and doesn't even try to mask her expressions, not in front of me. She smiles brightly and lifts her arms, waiting for me to lift her.

It almost feels nostalgic as I do so, and she snuggles to rest against my chest.

"I will get that fucker the next time!" she declares right away. As she shifts, her tiny horns poke the bottom of my chin. Vega has grown slightly taller, so it is more difficult to hold her in her favorite pose.

"Language, minion; people who can’t control their language or actions are no better than animals."

"But I'm a half-demon."

"No exc... huh... that's true," I pause for a moment and finally declare, "It still applies."

"Okay! Where did you read it, master?"

"No! I would never! It's just that Master clearly likes to curse a lot. Do you remember when you told me about that cowardly guy you fought? You cursed a lot then."

"Minion."

"Yes?" she asks innocently.

"Talk back to me when you’re stronger than me."

"I will, and then you’ll have to call me Master Vega!"

She closes her eyes and listens to my heartbeat, tapping my chest with her finger in sync with its rhythm. At some point, her eyes widen in surprise, and for a moment, I almost expect her to gasp in shock.

Vega closes her eyes again and starts tapping my chest with her finger. Then, she adds another finger, matching the rhythm of my second heart.

When she stops, she looks up and says, "I want a second one too!"

"Two hearts are for tournament winners only, minion."

"That's not fair. Master is an asshole, and I will beat the shit out of that guy next time."

"Yup, I'm an asshole. Also, language."

"I’ll totally beat that guy next time! And Master is still an asshole!"

"Yup, I'm an asshole. It's still early for you, but one day, who knows, maybe we'll get you a fancy second heart. For now, will you eat with me, minion?"

"Gladly!"

I turn to the others, who give me a variety of looks, "We will join you later."

I glance at some of their disciples who have also arrived, suspecting that Vega might have killed one or two during the event. I'm curious about them, but my ESM takes priority.

After that, I teleport both of us over to one of the nicer spots I’ve found while looking for spaces to train. Once there, I put my minion down and jump up. Without using kinetic energy, I climb a tree to grab a basket with all the things I’ve prepared, mostly food I bought from the other attendees.

I jump down from the tree and move to a spot where the grass is shorter and all around more pleasant to sit on. Reaching into the basket, I pull out a clean square cloth and lay it on the ground before I start arranging the food.

Vega, excited and silent, sits down and crosses her legs. She watches patiently as I unwrap a chocolate bar. I open a can of soda and pour it into a wooden cup, then take out some smoked meat prepared by an ex-pit-master from Normal difficulty. I would rather not know which animal he used from the tutorial. Finally, I add in some fresh pastries made by another attendee, served alongside a jam-like spread.

In keeping with our custom, my minion waits and sniffs curiously. She even twitches a few times as she hears the bubbles sizzle in the cup.

Only when it's done do I gesture for her to take the first bite.

She grabs the cup right away, and, being the asshole that I am, I let her have a true first experience.

She takes a big gulp, and of course, the bubbles nearly sizzle up her nose, making her eyes water and sending her into a coughing fit. Even while coughing, she keeps the soda from spilling and eyes the cup suspiciously. She sniffs the soda, then leans in and listens to the bubbles fizz. After that, she takes a cautious sip, letting it sit on her tongue before going in for another.

"More?" I ask.

"Yes, please!"

I pour more soda into the cup, and she sips it again before carefully placing it next to her and starting to devour the food in front of her. I watch her wordlessly the entire time, not touching the food at all. I simply pour myself a soda of my own and sip it slowly. Only twice do I stop her so she doesn't try to eat the wrappings as well.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

When all the food is gone, Vega takes the cloth, carefully removes the crumbs, and folds it before placing it back into the basket with the other things.

She then moves closer and shamelessly rests her head on my legs, her face turned up toward me. She wears a big grin, so I reach down, pinch her nose, and tap the pointy part of her horns with the tip of my finger.

"Pizza was better, master."

"Liar."

"I’m not lying! We made the pizza together, so obviously it would be much better!"

"Sure."

"Hehe, did you see me fight? I used everything I’ve learned from the stone you left me."

"I watched the entire time. You did very well. There were some small mistakes, but we can talk about them later."

"Next time, I will do better."

"I'm sure of that. Do you have anything interesting to tell me?"

"Yes! A lot! Some red haired woman with yellow eyes keeps bothering me. She keeps talking about an envious guy and calls herself the greediest person who ever lived."

"Oh, does she now? Did she hurt you or anything?"

"Not at all. She just appears out of nowhere every once in a while. At first, I thought she might try to steal my food, but she never touches it."

"Biscuit… uh, I mean Minion, most people aren't as normal as I am, so be careful around her and don't trust her too much."

"Is master being careful too?"

"... sometimes?"

"So I will also be careful sometimes!"

I poke her horns a few times and pinch her nose, cutting off her breath. She doesn't even try to push my hand away. Instead, she holds her breath and looks at me with a clear challenge in her eyes.

Such a cute little maniac.

Defeated, I let go of her nose so she can take a deep breath and start absentmindedly tapping her horns while checking the time and planning her new schedule.

Looking into the tall grass in front of me, I ask, "Do you not have a disciple of your own?"

My minion looks up at me, confused, but quickly catches on and looks in the same direction.

Tacita, still sitting there, moves the grass in front of her to reveal herself and shakes her head. Her expression is hard to read, so I can't even guess what the reason might be.

Vega, who seems to remember the incident from the first time she met Tacita, stands up, awakening her inner self as the most powerful shin kicker.

Tacita makes a swishing movement with her hand that turns it into a blur, and all the tall grass around her falls down, cleanly cut apart. Standing there without even raising her guard, she stares down my minion, who obviously chooses to accept the challenge.

A dagger made of mana forms in her hand, and with a burst of kinetic energy, she charges at Tacita, who playfully moves to the side and smacks the back of my minion's head as she passes by.

Unable to control these bursts or properly absorb her inertia, my minion takes a few steps to slow down and attacks again, this time running.

They clash time and again, much the same as they did back in the previous tournament. With each failure, Tacita taps on my minion's horns or gently kicks her in the shin as revenge for their first meeting. Sometimes she even kicks my minion's butt when she makes a big mistake.

She treats all of this like a playful bout, occasionally showing my minion how to hold a dagger properly and how to move while wielding two. When Vega attacks from a bad angle or positions herself poorly, she shakes her head.

As before, Tacita lacks patience. I'm sure she wouldn't make a great teacher, given that even she doesn't fully understand how she does some things. It's her instinct and talent that let her move the way she does and read the fight.

So, just as a year ago, Tacita gets bored after around thirty minutes. She gently kicks Vega's shin, ruffles her hair, and taps her horn one last time before disappearing.

My minion and I eventually find Victoria and her disciple in the 4th round's zone. As expected, they’ve set up in the training area, and the little guy is just sitting there and carefully listening to her teachings.

"It's him," Vega hisses in my arms.

"Seems like it. Minion, but like I said, this is my sister, and he's her disciple, so don't make me hand you over to Myrra for the rest of your time here. I already saw the way she was looking at you. It wouldn't end well for you."

"Can I kill him if he’s rude?"

"No killing."

"What if I just cripple him?"

"Minion."

"Punch him?"

"Only if he is rude, and minion don't try to be tricky with the definitions. I mean, rude from a normal point of view, which, for the record, is mine, not yours."

"I would never!"

"Sure, sure."

Noticing our approach, Victoria and her disciple stop and wait for us to arrive. Vega jumps down and walks by my side for the remaining distance.

It looks like the winner of the unofficial event is Victoria's disciple, a young demon with white hair and purple eyes, each featuring a white circle around the pupil.

Demons generally tend to be born with something that is later acknowledged as a trait when they join the system. It's often the heart, but as I’ve heard, some are born with special eyes, physiques, or similar attributes, usually something connected to primordial energies.

The young demon in front of me is a perfect example. He was born with eyes but, surprisingly, lacks a heart to generate one of the primordial energies. In a demon society, where hearts are highly valued, that alone would put him at a huge disadvantage.

It's amusing that I have a half-demon as my disciple while Victoria has a demon without a heart. From some point of view, it seems rather poetic and might actually say a lot about the two of us.

"Nathaniel, this is Velis. Velis, greet my brother. I want you to show him the same respect you show me."

"Yes, master," he nods toward her and then turns to me and bows quickly, "I greet my master's brother and his disciple. My name is Velis."

"Hello, my name is Nathaniel. This is Vega," I say as I tap her shoulder.

She flicks her eyes toward me, then back at them. "I'm Vega. A greeting for my master's sister, but not for this coward!"

And here we go.