"Think fast!", Lass dashed forwards.

"Holy shit...this kid's actually good.", Magi panted as she barely evaded the hit.

"Hah.", Lass scoffed. "You are exactly the reason why people are hurting here, aren't you? Over the past few days in the city, I've seen more bodies than in my life and more blood than it takes to paint a goddamn house. And don't you dare bullshit me and pin this on Risa? Had it not been for the sorry ass of the likes of you, nothing would've happened in the first place!"

"Are you sure about that? I will be...", Magi took her fighting stance. "If this is what it takes to test you out, so be it. Though I gotta say, I really thought you had more brains than muscles kid."

"Come again?"

"Was to be expected to be honest.", Magi let out a sigh, "Whatever. Here's the deal. You hear what I have to say and-"

"And I get to kick your ass to next week. I don't care how 'strong and invincible' you may bring yourself to be. I'll still take you down.", Lass said as he pointed his sword at Magi.

"Well shit, I thought giving you a cookie would suffice. I didn't know kids these days are into this. And here I thought you weren't much into killing people. Oh well..."

"I ain't a kid and I surely am not killing people. Doubt you count as one."

"Hey, watch it! I'm not that pretty when you piss me off. And yeah, 'not a kid', my ass. Just shut the hell up and listen to what I have to say already."

Lass sighed. "For the love of fine. God, just...make it fast.", he lowered his weapon.

"I don't know what you heard, but it's not all so cookie-cutter. Sentinels like me were run by your 'gods' up until a certain point. Right now, we are not under that control. We were forced to do several bad things, I guess your little friend back there told you that much, but not anymore. We are independent now. At least I have been for a really long time. We are no longer just mindless drones that spy around for those 'gods' you call."

"Exactly why the hell you think I'd believe you?", Lass replied.

"I have witnessed several disgraceful and horrible acts over time. The war atrocities and horrible curses on others were just too much for what you could say was my 'warrior's pride'. And that's why I completely detached myself from the Sentinel's duties while I still could, and hid from Makaro and Kikaro until you came along. Hate to break into you this way, but honestly, if you manage to live long enough, you might just save all our asses. A lot to take in, but trust me, there's one person in every story that has that little bit of something special, that's you, and this story will follow you. Like it or not."

"How can that be true? No...you're trying to delay the inevitable. Besides all you Sentinels are the same, throughout the books you're always bloodthirsty trouble looking creatures.", he said, all while holding Magi at sword-point.

"And exactly how do you know that we're all the same if you've only just met me? Or are you throwing out baseless accusations and making them sound like you've experienced them before? Books and people can say a million and one things about how big of a piece of shit you are, that'll detract future attention. But since I have yours now, why not simply experience me for yourself?"

"I...", he couldn't help but stutter.

"Shit, that might've been too far. Here goes a desperate save.", she thought, "Ok, that kinda smack talks against Sentinels but I won't dwell on it much. So you're welcome on that part. And yes, while the books describe us like that, they also described 'Ikarisa' as the goddess who's in front of everyone to protect them all the time. And we both know that the goddess has been hiding for a long time now don't we? How long has it been since she showed back up, a week or two? Showed up as, actively using her powers. As far as the whole 'Sentinels are the same' thing goes, it's really not the case. The only thing we have in common is probably the ability to control monsters, rather than the things that bring destruction everywhere, as far as other abilities and personalities go, we're anything but the same.", she changed the subject quickly, back to explaining.

"So you were really behind the attacks that took place in the arena?"

"Yes and no."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just give me a definitive answer. Yes, or no?"

"I was not behind the first attack I'll tell ya that for a fact. I told you, we can control monsters, and Enmities, and send them to attack anything and anyone, but how they do it is a whole other story. In short, these monsters were way too organized and well-prepared for such an attack. Strange, that's for sure. Probably a new type of monster. I did order some medium size attacks on you specifically because I wanted to see what I was dealing with. But...shit, that was not what I expected, nor what I wanted in the first place."

"So you're the reason they both died?!", he screamed as he slammed his sword next to her, emitting red energy in the process.

"Dammit...quite strong.", she got pushed back and calmed down, "No, not really. I wasn't behind that weird stone thing he had on his armour's waist. Nor was I behind Kalimo's transformation. Kalimo will be fine, he apparently turned back to normal after he was taken down, but...the other guy, not so much. I can tell you this. The stone emitted the same energy and aura as you do in your batshit crazy mode. Or rather, your typical power signature. Take that for what you will. If you want my advice, I'd be careful from now on."

"You, a traitor, dare to address us in such a disgraceful way? Hmph. Brutes like her deserve a killing fit for pigs. Swift and filthy, to match the ways of their species and move on to the next.", the voice inside Lass's head said.

"You can't be serious...", Lass replied to Magi.

"And to further clarify, as far as the giant dragon attack goes I had told Kalimo to challenge you and you alone again. That's all. Our eyes met in the middle of the attack anyway. I suppose you did see how surprised I was, like you, didn't you? Besides, no one died cause of it, did they? Thanks to you that is. I only did the first part because I needed some way to test you before I had to one versus one you here!"

"Enough talking. Draw your steel or drop it and make my job easier."

"My what an eager little brat. Sure I'll draw my 'steel'. But before we start, just so that I'm sure I didn't miss a thing, your name is Lass Reiden, right?"

"Yes, it is. Now, are we done?"

"Big words from the guy that fights not knowing how to fight. By the way, does that name have to do anything with the coward of a legendary warrior Gladeon Reiden? The guy who backed off the field and lived as a smith, making guns and melee weapons infused with Obsulyte?", Magi scoffed.

"My father wasn't a coward. He left the field to protect me! It's thanks to him that I grew up like this. If it wasn't for me he could've been here today too..."

"No way...he's...dead?", she said in surprise.

"He died by a random monster attack near my-", Lass stopped his own words.

An awkward silence filled the arena at the moment of realization. Lass had for once realized that his father could rest at ease. For he could now avenge his death.

"This imbecile is the one to blame?", the voice inside his head echoed.

"It was you wasn't it...you were the reason behind that monster attack."

"Like hell, I wasn't! How old are you even 18-22? 10 years ago I wasn't even in Reingard, I was wandering and finding more opponents!"

"Hah. How meek. Let me at it.", the voice inside his head eagerly said.

"Shut it, you bastard. This one's mine.", Lass replied to the voice, "If it wasn't you then I'm sure it was a Sentinel. You'll pay for that. I'll show you...the side I've been hiding away.", he said as he snapped the amulet off his neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!", the voice yelled.

"You can't be serious.", Magi paused completely as she knew what was about to happen, "You old crazy bastard. You really did it, didn't you? Man, I should've never taken a bet I knew I'd lose. Let's see what you've taught the kid," she whispered.

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

"I'll slaughter you.", Lass said with no remorse or feeling on his face.

"Finally got some confidence for your fighting skills?"

"Hmph.", Lass didn't say a word, as he made a clean cut on her arm.

" God...ah!", she yelped, "Alrighty, fine. Since you're so eager to draw it, let's do this."

And so it began. Magi was fast and agile which was surprising, due to the heavy armour she was wearing. Nonetheless, Lass never stopped swinging his sword at her, both while attacking at unnatural speeds and constantly emitting lighting off his entire body. This time, he knew his other side. He had felt it taking over once, but that one time was enough for him to know. That was not 'his' work. A part true. A part of him he never desired. A part he couldn't take away when he had to live hating himself for it. A part he never wished to show...anyone.

"Jeez kid, swinging like that won't get you anywhere. Listen why don't you take a step back and try to find an opening? Lift your butt a bit upwards your stance is a bit off! Right foot first, since you're swinging with your left arm! God, come on! You've got more to give!", she kept saying as she easily evaded.

"Shut up, you bitch.", Lass punched her in the face.

"Gah! Why you cheap ass motherf-", the punch forced her back as she started to bleed from her nose, before her words were cut by Lass's actions.

Lass threw his blade straight at her without giving her a moment to catch her breath but she blocked it sending the sword flying upwards. He had succeeded in his plan since she also got off her stance. He then approached her fast punching her in the stomach, making her stutter, and grabbed back his blade slashing her brutally throughout her body. Breaking some of her armour he found an opening to kick her away with a force that shattered the ground around them.

"Your life ends here.", he approached her menacingly.

"Not bad...not bad at all. But still kinda weak. Mind if I demonstrate a better, more proper way to do this?", she said through her panting.

With that, she approached Lass insanely fast. Before she could land a hit, Ikarisa jumped in front creating a barrier and protecting Lass while hurting herself from the force of the slash.

"Lass watch out! Kyaah!", she got smacked down by Magi's sword.

"Risa?! Are you ok?!", he kneeled before her, "Please talk to me!"

"Relax, you overprotective kid. She's fine. Probably fainted due to shock, she's not that fragile of a pretty rose. Also, how the hell did she get in here? I'm sure I blocked every entrance with guards."

Magi's radio rang, letting go of Lass from her sight as she turned around to pick it up.

"M-Ma'am we had a break-in! We caught a Wolven girl of some sort that seemed to be escorted by another-", the guard's words were overshadowed by Anya using extremely offensive language I will not be showing to protect your eyes. "Gah! She's biting my arm! Get her off me! Get her off me! Oh god!", the call ended abruptly.

"Welp...shit. I guess I know why now.", Magi facepalmed. "Why did I ever decide to get this job? Live rightfully he said. Make a living he said. God bless..."

Lass was then done covering up Ikarisa with what little he could and then looked straight at Magi.

"Here's your opening. Devour her!", the voice inside Lass said.

"Die!", 'Lass' screamed.

"Oh no, not this guy. Oh shit, here we go again."

"I'll end your pitiful existence!", 'Lass' said as he unleashed a cross slash full force.

Lass, this time using all his strength, let forth a giant slash full of immeasurable power, destroying Magi's armour, claymore, and over half of the arena in a flash.

"Die! Just die!"

"Wait...no way. Him?!", she recovered, "Hah! No thanks.", Magi grunted and gashed blood, "I'm gonna have to pass on death, just for today.", she said as she dashed towards 'Lass'.

She grasped her hand tightly as if she was squeezing the life out of everything in her sight. Lass was dazed by whatever she did but from what he saw she absorbed the thing she pulled out of him...and she was looking fine despite all the blows I had on her.

"Shouldn't have let that guard of yours down. These powers come in pretty handy at times! You'll be dazed for the next 3 seconds or so then you'll be fine, so don't worry. Had to calm you down one way or another.”

"He's...gone?", he whispered as he snapped out of it, "How is it that you...where did your blade go?"

"About my blade, it wasn't even mine. That lance I got before selling to the black marker helped me make that. Housing in general requires more than what normal people can afford, so off with that it was. That being said, I wish I just went for either a fully automatic or a semi-automatic at that point, just to keep you at a safe distance. You actually had me scared for a moment there! Though I don't think if my powers and skill didn't take you down, a stream of lead bullets would do anything...so we're done here I believe.”

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about? We're not even close to done. Come on!", he provoked her as he took his battle stance.

"No, not really. I mean, if I didn't use my sweet ass Sentinel abilities, considering the fact that you were about to cut my head off...you won. So there you have it. Pop some confetti and jump for joy. And yes, the prices I promised are still a thing, so don't worry about that either. Expect it delivered to your room with the invitation by tomorrow morning. And just shut the hell up about the goddess, because for one, the hit wasn't meant to kill, so she's fine, and for two, for crying out loud, she's classified as a 'god'. Do you think that is to be taken lightly? She heals people, herself included. Now that I've calmed your ass down, I've got a club to catch. I'll be abusing my power as Paladin to clear a table and drink with Anya if she joins me. Want in, by chance? A-Ah, wait, you can drink, can you? I don't want to get a kid like you drunk, at least not in public."

"Most anticlimactic evil being in existence.", Lass let out a sigh.

"Hey, I was just being friendly. Live a little!", she smacked Lass on the neck.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

"It was to get your stupid ass to snap out of it. As I said, we're done, for now. More on that tomorrow. Now take yourself and Risa out of here and get some rest. I'll deal with Anya's situation too since she's probably on a leash by now. You did well kiddo! Proud of ya!", she laughed.

"Wait, what happened to Anya?", he ignored Magi's praise.

"She went full wolf on them, probably bit someone's hand off so...yeah. I'll go grab her and have a drink if there are no further legal issues. Arena costs are covered as collateral damage and my men were prepared for such an event, given the fact that either you were gonna destroy the arena with your powers or I would using my powers. So cheer up, you're trouble-free for now."

"Hmph. I'll have my eye on you."

Magi got annoyed, "Yea-yea whatever, get a good view of my glorious butt while you're using that eye of yours, see if I care. Tomorrow at 8 AM at the training grounds, by the way. Don't forget it or I'll have to drag you there. Running late seems to be your thing anyway. How much fun do you guys even have every night to run that late all the time?

"None. It's just...I can finally sleep in peace, that's it. And I'm enjoying the most of it."

Magi empathized with him, "Yeah...I bet. Anyway, get her outta here and rest up. I'll probably have a lot to say with Anya as well, so there's that. Better see you tomorrow, kid."

With that, Lass lifted Ikarisa and the two began their way back to their room. He treated her wound with what little he could before her powers started to take over. When she woke up Lass explained to her what happened and what the case with all the Sentinels was. Oddly enough, she didn't seem too surprised by it. She lay comfily on the bed, a warm cup of coffee next to her as she looked at Lass, standing behind her and checking if there were any more wounds for him to attend to.

"I see...I never knew that the world could shift like this."

"You said something about a curse you spread around or something? Maybe that's it."

"Not that much of a curse as it is natural energy overflow. It's the way I made the world be, to balance out everything in-between. Though, I guess it spiralled out way more than I could actually control it."

"Also, can you tell me how the hell you got in the arena and Anya didn't?", Lass reminded himself.

"Oh, yes. She wanted to enter from the vents, but I was a bit too short to jump up and do it, so she gave me a lift there and before she could get up too they grabbed her. They send some guards after me, but they weren't exactly too knowledgeable about the vent system, and they couldn't get in, so I found you and Magi thanks to hearing the clash of your swords. Is Anya alright by the way?"

"Uh...define 'alright'.", Lass scratched his head.

"Is she hurt?!", she got worried.

"Depends on how much she downs for one night. But don't you ever try to do something so dangerous again?”

"But Lass...haven't I done even more dangerous stuff by now? I get that the fairy tale I followed had me misinformed, but that still doesn't shake off the fact that there is something wrong. My memories are hazy, but...I can't bring myself down because of it. The more I remain here, the stronger I'll get, before reaching my peak again."

"So you're telling me that we're not all that different? Because...if you can die in one shot or one precise slash, what makes so...godly?"

"Hey, I never went around handing fliers with my face and a title on it.", Ikarisa chuckled.

"I guess so...man, it's weird. One moment I want to erase her existence, the other...well, whatever the hell happened after. It didn't even look like she was trying to fight me. More like...testing me?"

"What? That's actually weird. I mean, you are indeed strong but...testing?"

"I don't know, honestly. But something about her face is eerily familiar. I swear, I've definitely seen her before. Ah, never mind. I'm not going to bother you with that now. Healed or not, you need some rest. I'll take the couch for tonight, and give you all the space you need. I don't want to accidentally hurt you by landing on a hurt spot while sleeping."

And with that Lass fell back into his dreams. The next morning, he woke up and found what he was expecting. Both the money and the invitation as promised. A small sense of relief could be felt by him, as he now knew that there was to be a little bit of trust built between him and Magi. A part of a deal that was completed as promised. He began reading the invitation resting on the package.

"Congratulations on winning the KoK tournament! You and a friend of your choice may now participate in the ultra-luxurious gathering, that will take place in the royal Reingard Palace and receive the million Merit price from king Thaddeus himself!", the invitation wrote.

"Huh, more than promised? Not bad, Sentinel.", Dante gazed at the amount of money before him, "This will be way more than enough to go by. Better go bank it while I can today."

Fiddling around with the invitation, it wasn't long before he realized that another message was written for him to find in the back.

"Yo kid, don't forget to meet me at the training grounds tomorrow, and don't you dare address me as Magi while at it. Stick with Heista, for obvious reasons that even you can understand. However, much like how Ikarisa's name is starting to get out there by the media, that too will disappear very soon, given how things will probably go. And as for the money, ask Anya about it, she'll help you out because of course, we can't physically hand out such amounts."

"Wait, Anya had a hand in this?", he said to himself, "Doesn't matter how much cash she wants to hand out, she's always our mutt.", he seemed to smirk, "Alright, now for the training grounds...at least we're getting somewhere."

With that, Lass calmly prepared his gear and ate quickly. Who would've thought that he'd be getting taught about fighting by the one that he was trying to destroy? Truly this story was getting weirder by the minute. He made sure to check on Ikarisa, who looked completely recovered, before heading out again, to face the day.