The whirlwind around her dissipates. A red mist of mana surrounds her before quickly dissipating. The aura feels both scorching hot and freezing cold at the same time. She surveys the now empty cavern with a satisfied nod before turning toward the entrance. She effortlessly clears the rubble from her path as she walks.
"Are you all right?" Sho asks.
Her tone has completely changed. The harshness is gone, replaced by a lighter, softer voice. It almost sounds too gentle for the woman who was fighting moments ago.
"Thank you," I say, almost crying.
"No worries, kid."
"It's a long story."
"All right. Then you'll have to explain it to me."
Sho begins walking toward the other members of G2.
"I prayed for an angel, and one appeared," I say aloud, almost lost in my thoughts.
I whisper to myself, "So this is the power of a Rank 3 player."
She must've heard me.
Sho suddenly stops.
I can almost hear her body tense up.
"Rank one," she boasts. "I am ranked number one."
I rush over to Eli to make sure she is okay. Her breathing is slowed, but she seems fine all things considered.
"I am so relieved," I say aloud as Sho watches. "Thank you."
"What am I supposed to do with you?" she turned. "Is that what you struggled with?"
"No, not everyone can be as strong as you," I laughed.
She gritted her teeth as she spoke.
"You stink."
"I mean, we just fought a massive spider queen, so..."
"No, I mean, you reek of weakness," she says, covering her nose dramatically.
"What?!"
"Did I not make myself clear enough?"
I didn't respond, just staring at her. Her grey hair and the piercing red eyes that seemed to look right through me, filled with resentment.
"You're ALL some of the most worthless people I've ever met, struggling with something as pathetic as the Spider Queen. You're nothing but useless husks, weaker than the spiders you fought.
People like you beg and beg for help, but never deserve it."
"People like you have been handed the lottery of mana cores," I continued.
"If our roles were reversed, it would be different. "
"If our roles were reversed, I wouldn't allow myself to be as weak as you are, taking advantage of G2."
"I saved you," she continued. ". The least you could do is bow before me in sincerity."
I gritted my teeth, my pride screaming in protest, but I obeyed, bowing before her. An evil smile crept across her face, her eyes glinting with satisfaction.
Still bowing, I clenched my fists and muttered under my breath, "Power doesn't make you worthy of respect."
"Was saving you not enough? Was that not enough? Was what I said not enough ?"
"The weak have no purpose. YOU have NO purpose! Your purpose is to beg the strong for help. To beg ME for help, preying on the slim chance of my salvation.
And honestly, you're just wasting space and resources."
"Spare me the trouble and kill yourself."
"You're insane," I yell, "a narcissist who ..."
"Is it narcissism if I'm just better than everyone else?"
I looked up, glaring at her. I didn't respond. Anger, no wrath filled my eyes. I was about to move.
With the Spider Queen defeated, the members of G2 slowly began to awaken from their poison-induced slumber. They watched as I bowed before her. Eli looked away.
"I know exactly what you're thinking," she says, placing her foot on my back.
"You think you stand a chance. That if all of you fought me together, you'd somehow scrape out a victory. Do you think this is some sappy underdog story? But the truth is simple:
If you couldn't even handle the spider, none of you would touch me."
"If you couldn't even handle the spider, NONE OF YOU WILL TOUCH ME!"
"That is exactly why you will fall," I say. "Eventually someone will beat you."
"Listen," Sho says, her tone icy. "They don't call me 'The Child of Whisira' for no reason."