alwaysunqualified

  Chapter 32 - Side Trailbze (1)/ Prologue: Setting the board.

  I let my Repel propel me across the ground, my eyes fixed on the two idiots engaged in a distant skirmish within the forest. They were battling a colossal, eight-armed humanoid monster, its height rivaling that of the trees.

  Our leader, who was quick to scold but always the first to charge into battle, struck the back of the monster's knee, making it buckle. This gave the second musclehead the chance to sling herself up using her cape, wrapping it around the creature's arm to position herself directly in front of its head, from where she fired a massive ser straight through it.

  My attention was abruptly diverted by a monster that had wandered into my Repel zone. Using the Repel force, I flipped over the creature attempting to bite me, brushing what I presumed to be its head with my finger as I channeled a concentrated burst of fire into it.

  When my feet hit the ground, it exploded, and I felt two more trying to emerge from underground. Before they could even break through the surface, I bsted fire from my feet, reducing them and the surrounding ground to ash as I continued on my route to the outskirts of the ruined city.

  Gncing back, I saw the two fools now combating a headless, eight-armed monster. ‘This would all be over if they just let me bst it. Instead, I'm stuck on cleanup duty with the others,’ I mented to myself.

  “Co..g,” the distorted warning signaled, snapping me into focus. I ignited my fmes, propelling myself upward as I repelled my staff from my back, setting it spinning before me. Quickly, I retrieved a mana potion and a pill from my pouch, consuming both in one fluid motion.

  As I soared higher, I used Repel to stabilize myself midair, extending my hand to spin my staff further. The fme catalyst at its center intensified the bze, funneling my fmes into a concentrated vortex.

  The moment I sensed the peak of its power, I unleashed a dragon's breath of fire upon the emerging monster, incinerating it on the spot.

  The ease with which I dispatched a monster as formidable as the one my teammates were still battling drew a ugh from me. My staff continued to circle around me, emitting fmes that vanquished all the annoying small fries while I tapped into my true strength.

  "Don't you know I am the star of te—" My boast was cut short as a ser was repelled off of me. Annoyed, I gnced over to see the two still engaged with a now ten-armed, two-headed beast. 'There's no way her always cutting me off mid-sentence is accidental,' I thought bitterly.

  Sensing a shift in the atmosphere, I realized their fight was drawing to a close. Our leader smmed her foot into the monster's chest, positioning it perfectly for the kill. A pnt surged from the ground, enveloping the beast completely.

  “Cl..ea..r,” a lifeless voice intoned in my ear. With the all-clear, I let my staff snap back onto my back and allowed my body to drop to the untouched part of the ground. I nded at the very edge of the ruins, where even my full-power fmes had left no mark, the craftsmanship even here was that exquisite.

  Even our leader, as crazy as she was, wouldn't venture beyond the outskirts. Our mission was merely to scout and report back to the queen on the current state of the ruins.

  Standing ready yet rexed, I waited as the rest of the team quickly regrouped around me. "Hey, you shot a l—"

  "Not now," our meathead of a leader interrupted, her tone sharp. "We're right outside a ruin; this is neither the time nor the pce for this."

  “Says the one who—” I began, my annoyance palpable, but stopped mid-sentence as all of us sensed it simultaneously and looked up just in time to see the sky shatter.

  "A Breaking here? Now?" our leader muttered in confusion. As I let my staff spin back into pce, I reached for another potion, but my attention was caught by something in the void—a pair of glowing purple eyes that seemed to draw me in.

  A hollow screech pierced through my Repel, and I felt something invade my mind. I tried to Repel it, but felt my mana being drained before I could muster a strong enough defense. Darkness enveloped everything except for those ominous eyes, which I couldn't look away from.

  I struggled, but my movements felt stifled, devoured by the void. Dark tentacles emerged from behind the eyes, reaching for me. I tried to scream, but even my voice was swallowed before it could escape.

  Just as the tentacles were about to seize me, everything shattered like gss, and I found myself back at the entrance to the ruins. Colpsing, I gasped for air and fought to steady my trembling body.

  “Finally decided to show yo'self, did ya, ya little newborn bitch?” a strange voice I didn't recognize taunted. I struggled to lift my head, noting that my companions were faring no better than I was, when I spotted a woman casually strolling out from the ruins.

  She had brownish-red hair and dark brown eyes, with freckles sprinkled across her nose. Her attire was vish enough to make a noble blush: sturdy boots with blue pants neatly tucked into them, and a red and bck checkered shirt adorned with small, buttoned pockets. Over it all, she wore a white coat, brimming with what appeared to be potions.

  A thin piece of wood dangled from her lips, which she chewed on nonchantly, while in her hand she casually twirled a potion simir to those in her coat.

  As my other senses began to return, I was struck by the revetion that she was only tier 2. It led me to the conclusion that she must be a noble, though I didn't recognize her colors from any known cities or territories.

  Another scream shattered the air, jolting my thoughts, but the mysterious girl responded calmly. “Yeah, yeah, hush yer bitchy yappin. I'm just here 'cause some dumb shit can't handle his own damn problems.”

  Just then, she swiftly dodged to the side as a tentacle shed out from the void, striking where she had just been and shattering the potion she was toying with. The tentacles burst into fmes, and a screech pierced the air as the liquid from the broken potion made contact.

  “Don't you even try'n give me that horse shit, it was yo damn dumb ass who done busted it. Now, I ain't got all day and me daddy didn't raise no bitch, so you go on ahead and hustle up and throw yo' ugly ass monster at me.” she challenged boldly, as the sky fractured further and void monsters began to spill out, disintegrating the moment they touched the open air.

  “I reckon I weren't clear enuff, I din't want them li'l bitches, I said tha ugly assed one.” she called out, her voice cutting through another screech. I struggled to comprehend the chaos unfolding before me, unable to catch even a glimpse of the person orchestrating this defiance.

  “Well now, that's 'cuz I'm tha one doin' it. An' I aint no fucking noble.” she decred, taking out another potion and beginning to spin it like before. “A'ight now, hurry tha fuck up. I don't got all day.”

  Her speech was so peculiar that it was tough to follow, especially with words like "fuck" or "bitch", words that I have never heard before. Their inclusion sounded odd, especially when interwoven among her other words, which themselves were peculiar due to her inconsistent speech pattern.

  A new crack, wide enough to split the sky, appeared, and she smiled. A sense of doom washed over me as a monster as rge as the city itself tried to break through. I was certain we would all be doomed if it succeeded.

  “Took yo holrin' ass long enough,” she muttered, tossing another potion lightly into the crack, stopping the void creature from emerging further. Just like that, the most terrifying monster I had ever seen was driven away.

  “Maybe learn to control yo fuckin' pet better next time,” she remarked dismissively, shifting her gaze from the sky to me. As her eyes met mine, the brown transformed into a radiant golden glow. Looking into them, I felt as though she could see into the very depths of my spark, compelling me to reveal my true self.

  She tossed a small object at me, which I caught instinctively. “First thing ya do, you go tell that bipor bitch of a queen, that if she tries to force mah hand again, I'm comin' in there and pullin' her bitch ass off that there throne and give her a good ol' fashioned spankin' that'll make my daddy proud.”

  “Second, you go and tell that limp dick little sisterfucker, that if he puts that dick anywhere near me, I will go ahead and rip it plum' off and shove it right down his throat.” she continued, speaking as if I knew exactly who she was referring to.

  “I'll be damned, that motherfucker just can’t quit doin' dumbass shit, so I'ma hafta tell him myself, I ain't turnin' into his Goddamn babysitter!” she added, her annoyance palpable.

  Suddenly, she raised her middle finger to the sky. “I an't yo fuckin' entertainment. Go watch somebody else.”

  Even after she left, all I could think about was how utterly bizarre she was.

  “Well, she certainly is colorful, but she really needs to tone down the cursing. This is supposed to be a family-friendly story,” I remarked, watching the unfolding drama.

  “Cease your doublespeak or depart,” the Goddess of Truth commanded in her stern voice.

  “Oh, come on, Truth-chan, everyone enjoys a incest joke,” I countered, though it was clear she was unyielding. “Fine, fine, I get it, but life is just so much more entertaining when you can joke.”

  “Jokes are merely another form of deception, and the world would be better off without them. Do not try to bring her taint into my domain,” she retorted, her presence imposing a weight upon me.

  “Really, I don't see how you can dislike her. She’s so motherly; you two really should bury the hatchet,” I suggested, trying to smooth things over in my typical role as peacemaker.

  "Firstly, you're nothing more than a maniputive, power-hungry parasite who uses love to control others for your own pleasure. You cim to cherish connections, yet you only exploit them. Your so-called king is a fool, blinded by his own lies, making even the lowliest creatures of his realm seem regal by comparison. Secondly, I'll consider reconciling when you do the same with the Goddess of Isotion," she retorted, escating the conversation unnecessarily by invoking her cursed existence.

  "Never happening, that entity is pure evil. I don't understand why it's so difficult for the other Goddesses to see that our world would be better off without her," I responded, truly baffled.

  "The only one among us who is truly evil is the Goddess of Lies and Deceit. Your hate is mispced, and you have succumbed to her falsehoods. I will liberate you all from your delusions in due time," she countered, disparaging the motherly Goddess.

  Realizing we were at an impasse and, being the generous Goddess I am, I decided to move the conversation forward. "Anyway, thanks for your help. Can you believe that my Liev hasn't even been born yet, and she's already trying to meddle with his future lovers?"

  "Cease your misleading, even for those from another world who are mindless drones, devoid of intelligence and deserving only of our scorn. Stumbling through life, a mere shadow of what a functional being should be, constantly battling their own ineptitude—a battle they consistently lose. Yet, they still deserve the unvarnished truth. Do not attempt to twist it," Truth-chan scolded me.

  "You're too harsh, Truth-chan; some of them are really sensitive. Don't worry, James, you'll get your life together. No, not you—the other James. You are, um…" Feeling the pressure from Truth-chan possibly about to expel me, I quickly changed the subject.

  "Anyway, I wanted to point out that all Goddesses view the world like a chessboard, and we can calcute every possible move, always keeping each other in check. Is that better?" I asked, my tone resembling that of a child who feels unjustly chastised.

  "Finish the rest," she said, giving me no leeway.

  "Fine. We each have one move we think will turn the tide and potentially flip the board. After all, we can easily survey our infinite world and calcute everything that will ever happen and has already happened, but we'll never truly understand each other," I conceded, feeling the sting of not being able to set up a big reveal for ter.

  "Why can't you let me py around like my other mom does? Why do you have to be so strict?" I compined, feeling aggrieved.

  "Because you..." she began, then spent the rest of our time together criticizing me.

  It's certainly an experience to be degraded so thoroughly; you can really feel the love.