TUSMON VS. THE BEACON

“The first Fiend on the docket isn’t technically a part of the Central Peace, though they share an office space and provide funding. It makes you wonder if his wish has been bought and paid for too. Head of the Fiend Crime Division and general pain in all of our butts, The Irritating Investigator, Detective Tusmon! He asked that I not use his first name.”

“And the next Fiend swears she doesn’t have a name, even though one of the Fiends For Hire can easily look it up. But we’ll respect her choices since she does great work for communities around the world. She’s an exceptional monster hunter, and an even bigger bath lover. Holier-than-thou, The Benedictive Beacon! Neither have requested obstacles, so let’s get right to the match!”

《Phon: Hi there, Phon here. I wasn’t supposed to commentate on this, but I hijacked the booth and locked the door. I just want to illuminate some truth about our old friend Tusmon. Mainly his Curse. It’s not flashy at all like many others, The Beacon especially, so if I don’t explain it, odds are that it would never get figured out.》

《Phon: Specifically, with one eye, he can use his Curse called Judge Eye to easily investigate everything around them. When he looks at an individual, he’ll immediately know their name, address, any aliases, their criminal score, background, any standout identifying marks, and whatever else could be useful for criminal investigation. I just want him to know he’s not special in that regard, because I can do most of that too.》

《Phon: However, it’s not just used on people, but also his surroundings and any evidence he may find. He can easily find fingerprints, hair, and any other sort of DNA left at a crime scene and immediately know the source. If there’s a footprint in front of him, the trail will highlight for him to follow even if it’s faint. Basically any visual component that would be helpful to solve a crime, he can see it.》

《Phon: One more bit is that it’s also alleged that he can read a criminal’s thoughts and motives if he stares at them long enough. But it could also just be his Curse pointing at any ticks and nervous habits coupled with his normal intuition. And then there’s the matter of his other eye, but I doubt he’ll use it during this tournament. If he does, we’ll all point and make fun of him for resorting to such cheap tricks.》

《Phon: Alright, that’s all. I don’t really care which one of them wins. They’re both a pain in their own special ways.》

“Interesting, I think you’re the only Fiend here who doesn’t have any sort of Criminal Score,” Tusmon had already begun his investigation of the suspect. “Even Myself, Chiulu, and all the CP Fiends even have been slapped with very minor offenses. It’s hard to go through life as a Fiend without them, especially since we don’t know our own strength sometimes. So almost all of us have destruction of property charges, yet you remain pure.”

“It would appear that the person you killed to become a Fiend was a known criminal who had a DoA warrant, so it was counted as a bounty. Looking at your rap sheet before then, you had a bit of a wild streak, but you brought your score back to zero through community service; something almost no one ever does, especially with a score that high. It’s admirable, and you’ve kept a spotless record ever since.”

“And I’ve heard tales of your exploits. You do genuine good in your pilgrimages. From my perspective, you’re what every Fiend should aspire to be. I have no qualms with you, or have any incentive to try and arrest you just for being a Fiend. So of course they’d put me up against you, likely to stunt my ambition. What’s someone who lives such a selfless life doing in this tournament of greed?”

“Even I have a wish,” The Beacon confirmed. “When I am victorious, I will ask for my sins to be forgiven, so that I may take my proper place by their side.”

“Ah, so you’re a zealot then,” Tusmon swung back his trench coat and put his hand on his pistol. “You’re more dangerous than I expected, but that makes this easier for me.” The detective whipped out the gun and fired a full clip without pause directly into The Beacon’s body.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

But she didn’t so much as flinch, taking the shots without even a hint of pain. Even though they weren’t fully kinetic, they’d still hurt like a mawhger, like getting hit by a high-powered paintball. Her vestments were now tinged slightly yellow from the paralysis rounds and they’d start to eat through the garments very soon. But each of those spots glowed brightly, and the impure stains on her clothes vanished early.

“Well isn’t that annoying,” Tusmon groaned as he reloaded his gun. “It seems my next best course of action will be to disrobe you since your entire body is covered. That’s very unbecoming of me, especially in such a public setting, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve performed a strip search.”

“And they call me the blasphemous one…” The Beacon was clearly vexed. “To think you’d even consider disrobing an acolyte and tarnish their religious commitment. That is very cruel, detective, especially when you yourself are covered in transgressions. Let me confess something to you.”

“Many think my power can only cleanse impurities, and that is true. But it is also the result of years of training to only touch the stains. My gift from Cosmos is not just to heal the world’s filth, but to eradicate the blight by any means necessary. You’ll find that my purification is much more explosive than you’ve first witnessed.”

“Since you spoke of disrobing me, let me return the favor and ease you out of those burdens you carry. For example, there is a bit of dried blood on your boots.” The Beacon held out her star ornament of Cosmos and began channeling her power.

Tusmon’s boots exploded beneath his feet, erupting at the soles. He was sent jumping backwards, stepping on his heels to avoid the new pain from his ruptured skin, tracking blood beneath him.

“And look what you’ve done now,” the woman chastised him further. “You’ve stained this holy monument that they’ve built.” Every drop of blood on the floor that the man left behind exploded with light, making him dance back further, leaving behind even more blood which subsequently detonated. From all that back-pacing, Tusmon eventually tripped, slipping on his own bloody feet, and fell backwards.

But The Beacon’s attacks suddenly stopped. “Lucky for you, there’s a caveat with blood. While it still flows, it’s considered life, and is only considered an impurity when it comes to rest and stains. But if you let it dry on your skin or clothing, then I can purify it once more. You better act quickly before my judgment calls on you again.”

“Unfortunately for you, though, that was not the only impurity. Your duster has been doing its job. The rest of your clothes may be clean and spotless, but that jacket is dirty on the bottom.”

Tusmon desperately tried to rip off his trench coat in time but didn’t quite make it. Just as he went to throw it away, the bottom lining exploded, catching his thigh. More blood spurted, more future ammunition for The Beacon to exploit, so he really did have to act quickly.

The man struggled back up to his feet, pushing through the pain. But he made sure to keep inching his feet around so that the wounds wouldn’t be able to close. Every instinct told him to put pressure on his thigh as well, to stop the bleeding, but instead he drove a finger into it and aggravated the wound.

“Very clever, detective. With wits like those, you could become one of Cosmos’ chosen,” The Beacon evangelized. “Currently, there is nothing more on you that I can purify, for this moment. But let’s look inward. The path to salvation doesn’t come from worldly possessions, but from the soul. If you want to be cleansed, that’s the biggest hurdle.”

“Fortunately for you, my blessing can also help you along that path, purify the sins from your soul. And you, detective, are holding onto a lot of sins!” The Beacons ornament glowed once more and Tusmon’s entire body wretched in pain, as if he was exploding from the inside out.

The man grabbed at himself, clutching wherever the pain was the strongest, but it kept moving and pulsating. Eventually, he gave up on finding any sort of semblance of relief and glared at the source of the problem. Without thinking, Tusmon bolted forward, a mad dash at The Beacon.

It seemed to surprise the woman too much that she was frozen in fear, unable to move. As a Fiend, she was someone who relied solely on her powers and had virtually no strength of her own. There was nothing she could do to save herself from the brutish tackle. Tusmon fell on top of her, pushing them both down, but then he heaved himself back up, dragging her along with him.

The man lugged her over to the edge as she desperately tried to cleanse her own clothing from his leaking blood, her priorities completely in the wrong place. Only once she was flung out of the arena was she finally able to get clean again.

“Detective Tusmon wins!”

~Unfulfilled Wish~

The Beacon: To repent for my sins and ask for forgiveness.