"No matter which way you look at it, you're a very suspicious person!!", one of the gerbils responded. "How can you expect to just speak with our leader like it's nothing!? She's a busy person!! Far to busy to speak with every last person she meets!!"

Claire was unsure what to do when faced with these comments.

'Of course they don't want you to just walk in and speak with their leader. You remember how complicated it was to speak with the leader of the lizardmen? Most of the time you can't just waltz in and demand an audience, you know. Unless you decide to-'

'I won't do what I did back at the fishmen village again!! I felt terrible after giving all those children those evil glares!! How can you even live with yourself!?'

'I am you, Claire. I can live with myself because you could live with yourself doing that before we were split. You're the one who can't live with me. Haha...'

'Ugh... why are you always like this!?!'

Claire let out a sigh as she finished her interaction with Clarice and turned her attention back to the gerbils in front of her.

"A-anyways... could you at least send a message to the person in charge? I won't cause any trouble. I am here to help! I want to stop all this conflict, and I have a way to do so if I can get the leaders of each faction to hear me out. So please, could you bring me to your leader?", Claire begged.

The gerbils looked confused and irritated, but one replied with a sigh.

"I will inform our boss of your intentions to meet with her, but if she refuses then there's nothing I can do."

Claire smiled angelically.

"Thank you so much!!!"

The men walked away, heading off towards a large factory in the distance, and Claire followed behind them in her carriage.

'Don't you think it's strange for an angel to be driving a carriage as demonic as this one? After all, it distorts the vision around it. They probably can barely even make you out.'

'Geh.... will you ever be quiet!!!'

'Haha, alright, Mrs. Hero. Go save the people from themselves or something. Isn't that what you're trying to do?'

'Yes! I am!'

Claire rode through the streets, following the men before she was told to wait outside the factory, where she waited in her carriage drivers seat.

'I wonder what type of person the leader of the gerbils will be? The leader of the rats was an old man who seemed kinda angry with everything, the way things were going. Though.... I suppose I can understand why....'

Claire looked around the city.

Even just riding through the streets, sometimes you could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance. The smog seemed to contaminate the air all over, making it difficult to breathe. Claire didn't even want to imagine what would happen when it rained.

'Geh.... would the acid rain dissolve your skin on contact?'

One of the men came out quickly.

"I spoke to our boss. She said to meet her at the junkyard behind the factory. She wishes to duel you."

"D-duel me!?!? Why!?!", Claire exclaimed.

"She claimed that if you cannot beat her in a duel, that you are not worth speaking with."

Claire seemed to remember something very similar a while back.

'Geh.... just like Arlo and the lizardmen....'

"Alright. I understand. Please take me to this junkyard."

----

Fina walked out of her office, the joints in her mechanical leg clinking.

As she made her way through the factory, countless men bowed before her.

"Boss."

"Boss."

"It's good to see you, boss."

"Has something come up, boss?"

"An unknown individual seeks an audience with myself. I have prioritized determination of whether or not this individual is worthy of my time."

Fina walked through the halls and down the stairs, outside to a scrapyard.

Pieces of metal, gears, components, pipe fittings, sheets, valves, and all sorts of mechanical scraps were piled up by the masses. The piles created what looked like a set of walls, and inside was an open area.

Fina crossed her arms and waited.

"I await the individual.", she noted.

Fina looked around while waiting.

She had but one goal right now- to make this city into a safe place, free of people like her father and the sponsors of the arena.

Crime was a rampid issue everywhere you went.

Even now, she was extremely worried about her sister who worked diligently day in and day out as a factory worker.

However, who was this strange individual, and what did they want?

Fina could not simply write them off and refuse to see them, but if they were not able to at least best her in a duel, then they likely were not a threat- nor were they worth cooperating with. It was for this reason that she decided to duel this outsider.

If she was bested by this individual, she would hear out this person. If not, she would instead question them herself.

'Standing idle is never the right answer.'

However, to Fina's surprise, a woman made her way around the corner alongside two of Fina's men- one who took the figure of an angel.

Her beautiful silver hair flowed in the wind. Her angelic wings seemed to flutter lightly with each step, and her beautiful smile would be mesmerizing for even the most obstinate men. Yet her beauty was not the strangest thing about her- it was the way she so confidently and casually walked in the midst of those who could have been her enemies.

Yet, even at seeing this angel, Fina was unfazed.

'What could this person's objective be?'

She thinned her eyes.

Even with angelic looks, a demon could be hiding behind that face.

She could not bring herself to trust anyone.

Her own father had sold her out.

The Sponsors who cheered her on and celebrated with her were only doing so because she won. If she lost, they would surely be laughing at her demise.

The only people in this world who were truly worth protecting were her sister and her people.

'The only one who can save you is yourself.'

Fina never once forgot these words.

Right now, as the head of the gerbil faction, she was doing exactly this.

She would save these people. She would save her sister.

And she would do it herself.

She would take on whatever enemies came in her path, including this 'angel' if she needed to.

The angel stepped up to her with a smile, and the men backed up, giving the two space.

"Hello! I am the Determined. I have come to bring peace to this city, and I would like your cooperation. To put it bluntly.... I want to save the people of this city by putting a stop to the fighting. Conflict won't solve problems. It only creates even more. But if we are able to talk things out, then I'm sure we can come to an agreement. We can bring peace to this city if we work together for it. What do you think? Ah, but you wanted to duel me before you answer, right? Kinda ironic that I'll be fighting you to prove that conflict isn't the right path... but oh well! If that's what you want, I'll give it to you."

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The angel's smile seemed to switch from a that of a loving young girl to that of a wicked demon, flashing before Fina for just an instant.

"But I just want to let you know, I don't think you'll be able to lay a hand on me."

----

A screw was undone in the mind of Fina when she heard the words of Claire.

"Save the people of this city?"

Her eyes twitched and a vein seemed to form across her face.

"Bring peace to this city?"

Her mouth pursed with irritation which Fina would never have been able to feel just a few months ago.

"Could it be.... do you think you're some sort of angel who has descended on this town, and you're here to act as a hero, preaching love, peace, and salvation for all?"

Fina stared Claire up and down as she spoke these harsh words.

Claire kept a straight face despite the clear opposition, and boldly spoke.

"I wouldn't go as far as calling myself a hero or an angel, but I am here to help people and do what I can for this city."

Fina's memories flashed through her head as Claire said this.

She remembered being inside that tank.

The hopeless face of the rat boy as he gasped for air.

The reluctant hand of Fina as she pressed that button after waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

She had waited till the very last moment, where she was about to drown before she had pressed that button.

Because she was waiting for a hero to show up.

She was waiting for someone to burst in like this woman, screaming and shouting.

'Stop this violence!'

'Free those children!'

But that never happened.

Fina extracted the blades from her gauntlet and prepared to fight.

"If you wanted to be a hero, then where were you 10 years ago?"

----

Claire's mind throbbed at hearing those words.

"10 years...."

"10 years...."

These words replayed a countless amount of times in Claire's head.

She felt the demonic aura within her hand crawling up her arm as she fretted over her state 10 years ago.

What did that even mean for Claire?

10 years ago.

When was 10 years ago?

Where was Claire 10 years ago?

Was she even born 10 years ago?

If her memories were nothing more than a sham, then she had been born onto earth 10 years ago.

If they were real, then she was killed 10 years ago.

The image replayed itself over.

And over.

And over.

The pain of being hit by that car.

The blood spurting and the feeling of her organs being crushed.

Claire- who had just now been preaching about helping and saving people, now was overcome with thoughts of hatred, anger, and resentment.

It was tormenting.

"What the hell do you know about where I was 10 years ago?"

Claire stepped forward and likewise, the gerbil woman in front of her readied herself for attack.

"If I could have been here helping you 10 years ago, then I would have. But I was too busy facing my own problems."

The gerbil woman ran at Claire with her blades drawn, making an attempt to stab at her with a wide swing.

"We all have our own problems, don't we? That's why the only person who can save you is yourself."

----

Fina lunged at the woman with skilled maneuver, slicing at her with her blades which shot out from her gauntlets.

But oddly enough, the angelic woman seemed to sidestep just in time, dodging out of the way within only a hair of the blade.

'Hm? That was strange. Something felt off. It was almost as if she knew exactly where I was going to aim for. One can train to read movements, but this seemed a bit different.... it was as if she had already seen the movement itself.'

Fina turned to lunge once more at Claire, however the strangest thing happened.

Claire stepped backwards BEFORE Fina lunged.

Fina had plenty of time to notice the movement and readjust her lunge, aiming for the location which Claire had stepped back to.

But she didn't.

Instead, Fina felt compelled to lunge at the location which Claire had been standing previously.

'Hm!? What just happened!? It was like my body moved on it's own!'

As Fina made this movement, Claire was running around behind her in a circular motion, and kept running.

But what Fina did next was something which defied all logic.

She turned in a random direction- one which Claire didn't even happen to be standing in- and began frantically swinging her blade one slice after another- as if she were fighting a ghost.

'W-what am I doing!?!? It's like my body is moving on it's own!!!!'

Fina could not explain the bizarre circumstances or reason behind her movements. Claire was simply standing behind her right now, and yet she was swinging her blade endlessly at the air- where Claire was not even located.

"I'm not in that direction.", Claire said.

'I- I know that!!! Why am I attacking this way!?! It's almost as if it's been predetermined!'

Fina could not understand what was going on. Fina then finally turned around and ran over to Claire, who was now holding out her left arm which was completely covered in a demonic black tarlike substance.

"I won't let you get away without even a wound!", Fina shouted as she brought her blades on Claire, to be blocked by that demonic arm.

The blade sunk into the black arm as if it were a viscous fluid, however as she did this the angel gave her a sinister look- one of complete confidence of victory.

The face of the woman was angelic, yet the expression was that of a bloodthirsty demon.

Fina had never in her life faced an opponent this strange. She had lost a few limbs in battle- this much was true, but that was in her early fights when she was up against opponents who were far stronger than she was.

This situation was one of complete unpredictability.

Fina pulled her blades out of the strange flowing arm, and once more braced herself, running at the angel in front of her.

She had no idea why things were working out the way they were. It was as if she had no control over her own body.

"And now you cannot hit me. Try."

The angel woman stood in place with her arms down in a defenseless stance.

Fina swung.

And she swung.

And she swung again.

But she did not hit.

It was as if there was some sort of magnetic field preventing the blades from hitting the woman in front of her. Every time they got close, they would slide away in a different direction.

"You won't be able to hit me with those blades anymore. You can use a different weapon, but those ones are no good."

"W-what are you talking about!?!? Enough of this!!!"

"Yes, I've had enough."

And with that, Claire carelessly approached Fina, who continued swinging her blades at this excessively short range, but for some reason no matter what could not connect them.

Claire lightly chopped the back of Fina's head, and the demonic tar which covered her left arm retracted, and her angelic smile returned.

"I think we can count this as my win, right? This was just a duel, so I don't have to kill you, right? Can you at least listen to my story now?"

Fina looked down in shock.

This was her first loss.

Ever.

"Understood. I will hear you out. However, can I ask one thing. I cannot comprehend anything that just happened during that battle. Could you explain to me what just went on?"

Claire flashed a beautiful smile at Fina, and folded her demonic and angelic hands together.

"Of course! I just figured it out too, you know! Man, this ability is confusing!!!"

----

At the beginning of the fight between Claire and Fina:

The gerbil woman in front of Claire launched at her, thrusting her weapon forward.

"Agh!!"

Claire screamed and instinctively brought her angelic arm up to block the thrust.

The dagger pierced right into the right hand of Claire, however as it touched her hand, something strange happened.

Her arm became all glitchy like it had before, and suddenly she heard the words of the gerbil woman repeated.

"We all have our own problems, don't we? That's why the only person who can save you is yourself."

The gerbil woman was now back in the previous spot, and stated this line again before rushing forward and thrusting at Claire in the same set of motions.

Similarly, Claire brought up her hand again to block.

And once more, as the dagger came into contact with Claire, her arm became filled with glitches and the position of the woman reset.

'Don't you realize what just happened, Claire?'

'I don't!! What's going on!?'

'The action of that woman just became determined. When someone or something touches you, the exact set of actions the entity took before doing so become set in place as fact, no matter how many times the situation is rerun. However, that is the only thing that gets set in place. Our ability is the power of Determinism, just as the Indeterminant has the power of Indeterminism.'

'Eh!? I don't understand!!'

'She's coming again. Try and dodge this time.'

"We all have our own problems, don't we? That's why the only person who can save you is yourself."

The woman rushed forward and lunged once more at Claire, and this time hit Claire right in the heart, as she was not paying attention due to the words of Clarice- more particularly the mention of the Indeterminant.

However, right as this weapon came into contact with her chest through her dress...

"We all have our own problems, don't we? That's why the only person who can save you is yourself."

'EHHHH!?!?! She's right back where she was again!!!'

'I just told you, didn't I!! Get the picture already!! Dodge!!'

Claire this time knew the exact trajectory of the dagger and swiftly stepped out of the way.

'Whew.... I.... I did it! I dodged the attack!'

'She's gonna attack again, idiot. Pay attention.'

'Ehhhh!?'

Claire turned to look at Fina, however before she could even turn to look the dagger was already in contact with her side.

The side of Claire which had come into contact with the dagger glitched out, and again the entities were reset.

However, it seemed that a checkpoint had been set.

Now, Fina was in the same position as when she had first lunged, and Claire had barely dodged to the side.

'She's gonna lunge at you. Jump back.'

'A-alright!!'

Claire jumped back but not in time as the dagger just barely grazed Claire's stomach, and the objects were reset.

But this time, Claire reacted immediately.

'I think.... I'm starting to understand.'

Claire jumped back before she could even think, and watched as Fina took a stab into the air.

'Her actions.... they're determined.... they really are set in place, and she can't change them at all, even if she wants to!'

Fina had clearly wanted to change the direction of her lunge before she even performed it, but was unable to for an unknown reason. This was because by hitting Claire, her actions became set in stone.

They became predetermined.

'Alright!! I can do this!! I can win this fight!!', Claire thought.

Claire ran around behind Fina and continued running until she was on her side, and then held out her arm to block the next blow. Fina dashed at Claire, slashing a number of times, but Claire jumped back a few times just barely avoiding the slashes before she ran out of steam and was hit in the arm by Fina.

As this happened, the position was reset to before when Claire had jumped back from the slash to the stomach, and Claire immediately ran around Fina again in a circle, but this time stopped behind her back instead of her side.

Fina turned to her side and began slashing at nothing, confused by her own actions while Claire stood out of harms way.

"I'm not in that direction.", Claire taunted.

Fina then turned to Claire after finishing her flurry which she had no way of stopping until it was completed, and shouted out to her.

"I won't let you get away without even a wound!"

Fina lunged at Claire and was met this time with Claire's left arm- her demonic arm.

The blades dug into the flowing flesh, and Claire smiled in victory.

[Set Condition- Can't touch this.]

Fina took her blades out of the arm of Claire and reared back, ready to attack.

"And now you cannot hit me. Try."

A relaxed Claire sat back as Fina uselessly tried to hit her with her blade, only for it to be driven away from her each time it came close.

Claire casually approached the woman, only for the flurry to increase- however they still did not hit.

Tapping the woman on the head, Claire smiled in victory.

"I think we can count this as my win, right? This was just a duel, so I don't have to kill you, right? Can you at least listen to my story now?"