'Ugh.....'
Huberos awoke with the soft feeling of a mattress below him.
As he opened his eyes, the dim lighting of a closed off room entered them.
'Where.... am I?'
Reaching around to gather his bearings, Huberos felt an immense pain all over his body.
Everything ached.
He was no longer bleeding, however it hurt to even try to sit up.
"Ah..... you're finally awake. You took quite the beating. I can only perform light healing, so I couldn't fix up all your wounds. 'Specially the ones in your mind. This was the best I could do."
Huberos opened his eyes to see a nurse who was sitting at her desk, fiddling with some test tubes. In the small room there was only enough room for a single bed, which he lay in.
"Healing magic is extremely rare among demons you know. I'm sure you already know this, but it isn't easy to find a healer who can even treat light wounds. After all, healing is magic of the light, so it goes against our very nature. It took me years to learn even what I know. Therefore you should be real thankful to me, because you looked like you were about to die out there."
Trying to sit up, Huberos felt a sharp pain in his side as he stopped, laying back down immediately.
"Don't move like that. You'll just end up hurting yourself more."
Huberos was struck once more with harsh words as the nurse laid into him.
"Are you..... going to laugh at me too?"
At this, the nurse looked over to Huberos with a bored expression.
"I'm not gonna laugh. After all, you're my patient. Though I will say it's quite the pain that you've created so much work for me."
Biting his lips with spite, Huberos turned onto his side, facing away from the woman.
"I... lost."
"Yes, you lost. Big time."
"I thought I would win. I thought I could show everyone..... that my fangs and horns didn't matter."
"Ah, I couldn't care about your personal problems. I'm just here to heal you. If you want someone to console in then find someone else. Though that might be pretty hard after all you did. You offended the top students, challenged them to a duel, and lost in every way possible. It'll be no surprise that everyone will view you as nothing more than a sore loser for the rest of your life."
'I know that already.....'
Furrowing his brow with a pained expression, Huberos dug his claws into the sheets.
'I..... was arrogant.'
The memories of his own beating flooded once more into his mind.
He now remembered what had happened after The fight with Opus had finished.
----
"I never once stated that our duel would be canceled if you lost to Opus."
"W-wha...."
Blubbering like a baby, Huberos looked up to Cespor, pleading with his eyes.
"You agreed to fight me, and perhaps you interpreted on your own that our duel would take place under the assumption that you defeated Opus. However, I never specified such a thing. You agreed to our duel- and you agreed to the three minute condition. Therefore..... stand. Even if you cannot stand, the fight will begin."
The navy blue demon threw a wooden sword to the side of Huberos, pointing his own towards the beaten demon.
"As soon as the referee says start I will not be holding back. I do not care if you are weakened. Some might question my honor if they see me attacking a weakened opponent, however you agreed to this- therefore there will be no smirch on my own honor, for the rules of a contract are absolute in the world of business. If you were to back out here, on the other hand...."
With a light smirk, Cespor looked down on Huberos.
"Well, I will not allow you to leave this place until I have drilled your punishment into you myself. Certainly, Opus took out his anger on you, however your statements offended not just Opus. They were an offense to this entire society. Therefore..... I would say that six minutes of fighting in a duel- be it one sided or not- is a light sentence, no?"
Huberos tried to move.
He reached his hand over towards the wooden sword which had been thrown in front of him, gripping it by the handle.
However, as soon as he gripped it he realized.
He no longer had the strength to hold a sword.
Even picking it up would be an immense task- one which was undoable in this state.
"Are both contestants ready?"
The referee looked to Cespor, who nodded with a smile.
Looking to Huberos, the ref watched as Huberos desperately nodded his head 'no'.
He wasn't ready.
"Too bad! This was a duel which you agreed upon! Start!!!!"
And so began another three minutes of complete beatdown.
Huberos was kicked, slashed, and tossed around the arena.
Cespor did not hold back in the least, his own pride on the line.
"I look forward to your grand apology, Huberos. Ah..... I just realized."
As a rolling Huberos came to a stop in a spur of sand, Cespor placed a foot on his head.
"Your name.... sounds just like hubris."
With another kick that sent Huberos flying, Cespor chuckled to himself.
"A fitting title for an arrogant peasant who thought he could face those above him with nothing more than his own will."
----
Somewhere in the middle of the fight before the three minutes had ended, Huberos had fallen unconscious.
'Pfft! He couldn't even last six minutes in an arena with them!'
'Even if he was losing so badly, to think he couldn't even remain awake to finish things off....'
'Looks like we won't be seeing his apology today.'
The crowd left the arena that day satisfied at seeing Huberos be thoroughly put in his place, yet also displeased due to the fact that he would not be able to apologize before all.
And so, the body of Huberos was brought to the school nurse office, where he was treated.
To say that healing magic was rare among demons would be an understatement.
Even the slightest amount of healing magic was an extreme rarity among demons.
The reason for this?
It was partially due to the fact that the light magic of healing went against the nature of demons, however there was a more fundamental reason for this.
The regenerative abilities of demons were very high.
With great regenerative capabilities, regeneration overrode healing within the demonic realm.
There was no need for healers, therefore those who trained in the field of healing were few.
Even the Regalis Academy- the top academy within the city of demons- only had a single nurse who could only use low power healing. The rest of her duties relied on normal medical practice.
"Even so, I've never seen a demon who lacks natural regeneration as much as you do. Normally when someone gets hurt they heal it right away, but your wounds just aren't healing at all."
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These words of the nurse poked even more holes in the shattered heart of Huberos.
He was distraught.
Over and over he had been shown his own inadequacy.
He was inferior.
He had placed last on the exam.
Through his own arrogance, he deceived himself into thinking that some foul play had happened.
Yet after being thoroughly beaten by Opus, and then by Cespor, Huberos no longer had any such thoughts.
Athletically he was terribly weak.
His regeneration was far inferior to that of the other demons.
In every way possible, he could not match up to anyone around him.
He was inferior to all of them.
They mocked him and laughed at him because he was pathetically struggling to deny his own inferiority, only further proving it.
"I'm..... pathetic, aren't I!?"
Grabbing his face as he grit his teeth, Huberos shouted out in anguish.
There was no response.
The nurse beside him merely ignored him, continuing to fiddle with her own experiments.
Huberos was left in that spot for the entire night, unable to make it back to his home due to the severity of his injuries.
The following morning he was able to walk on crutches, bandaged from head to toe as he made his way to class in shame.
He could feel the mocking glares around him.
For those who held high levels of regeneration, to remain injured after an entire night of rest was unthinkable- no matter how grave the injury.
It was as Huberos walked through the halls on these crutches, stumbling forth, that Opus and Cespor appeared before him.
As usual their women clung to their sides, and a group of followers surrounded them.
"I see that you're finally up, Huberos. What is with all the bandages? Surely you don't mean to tell me that you lack even the capability to regenerate?"
Huberos merely bit his tongue, stopping himself from saying anything rude.
He was dirt.
He was garbage.
He was the scum which they had made him out to be.
"Huberos, I'd hate to be the one to force a cripple to bow down, but you made a deal with us, did you not?", Cespor stated. "I don't care if you're on crutches. That is completely your own fault. Now follow through with your end of the deal."
Biting his lip, Huberos slowly lowered himself, placing himself on the ground as he placed the crutches down.
Lowering his head, he bowed before the two.
"I... apologize."
"Hm? I couldn't hear that. Please speak up, Huberos."
"I apologize."
With a firm apology, Huberos deeply apologized from his lowered position.
"You apologize for what?", Opus pressed. "Speak up for everyone to hear. Come on now."
"I apologize for ever being born!!!"
As Huberos said this his ears were once more filled with mocking laughter.
"He finally said it!"
"Opus, you did it!"
"You finally put this cocky peasant in his place!!"
Surrounded by enemies, Huberos was humiliated before all.
"Very well. I accept your apology."
And with that, the group walked off.
Huberos was left alone on the ground, barely able to lift himself up.
Grabbing hold of his crutches, he grit his teeth so hard that they cracked.
'Why... is everyone better than me?'
'Why is everyone above me?'
'Why.... am I so inferior?'
----
The following day a picture appeared in the school newspaper of a peasant who dueled the top students after insulting them, only to be thoroughly defeated and forced to bow down in apology for his rude statements.
Not only the students who attended, but everyone in the school now knew of Huberos arrogance, and the result of it.
On seeing this headline posted on the bulletin, veins burst on the bandaged forehead of Huberos.
His brows furrowed with irritation and he clenched his teeth with anger.
He gripped his fist so hard that his claws pierced his skin, and blood dripped from his hands.
All the while, everyone around him stared at him like he was a pitiful being.
'They're all giving me that look.....'
'The look like they're better than me.....'
'They believe.... that they are above me....'
[Do you wish to humble them?]
'Of course I do!!!'
[Then come.]
As Huberos was going to class that day, a voice spoke into his head.
He did not question the voice, for he was so filled with humiliation, rage, and irritation that such a voice was the least of his worries.
In his mind he was given a location, and he stepped forth, making his way through the crowd of students.
"Out of my way."
"Hey!"
"Have you still not learned your place!?"
"After all that? Apologize to him!"
Huberos looked back at the boy he had pushed with the glare of death, causing all those around him to shrivel back in fear.
Walking off, he exited the school grounds and began to make his way down the street beyond the line of mansions.
He came to the end of the line where one final mansion was located.
This mansion was made from wood and was run down beyond repair. It looked more like a haunted house than a mansion, and one in which nobody would ever enter on their own.
However Huberos quickly opened the gate, heading through the overgrown lawn and entering the run down home.
He headed to the top floor, and on that second floor he entered a bedroom where he saw it.
A deep purple gem, taller than Huberos was, floating in the air as it rotated about an axis.
It glowed with power, and Huberos approached the gem with a look of disgust.
"Are you going to mock me as well?"
[Do you wish to humble those around you?]
"Yes. I do."
[Then do so. I have chosen you..... as the Host of Pride.]
It was then that Huberos felt a surge of power flow within him.
His horns grew long and his fangs longer.
His fangs grew so long that they poked out from his mouth, protruding into his lips and causing blood to drip from the pierce marks.
"Wha....."
[I have granted you..... the power to humble and the power to exalt. However, you must use the statements of others against them.]
"Use the statements of others against them?"
[When one makes a statement, there is an ego behind it. If one claims to be intelligent, there are two meanings behind the statement. How intelligent they claim to be..... and how intelligent they are inside their mind.]
Huberos listened with confusion, allowing the crystal to continue speaking.
[Your ability to humble will take the ego of a person, invert it, and make it a reality. If someone therefore claims that they are smarter than you.... and inside their mind they are 2 million times smarter than you.... then by humbling them, they will become 2 million times dumber than you. This is amplified based on the difference between their ego and reality.]
As he listened to this explanation, Huberos grinned.
"So essentially.... if someone believes themselves to be better than they are.... then I can use that against them?"
Blood dripped down his lips as his elongated fangs pierced them, and he began to laugh to himself, having taken up a new demeanor.
"Heh heh.... excellent."
[The exalt skill which you have been granted is the exact opposite. If someone thinks nothing of themselves, then you may take their statements and invert them.... all according to their own ego.]
"Excellent..... excellent..... excellent."
Feeling that his own wounds had regenerated, Huberos threw off his bandages and cast, stepping forward with elegance.
"It would seem that I have been favored. Perhaps..... I am not so inferior after all."
----
Walking into his class late, Huberos opened the door to see that the teacher had already started the lecture.
"Huberos, you're la-"
The teacher was about to scold him when her eyes went wide.
"What..... what exactly happened to you, Huberos?"
The attention of the class soon turned to the male who walked in with pride emanating from his very being.
His horns were now long and twisted. His fangs so long and sharp that he was currently using a handkerchief to wipe the blood as it dripped from his mouth.
"Forgive me, teacher. Something urgent came up which I had to take care of. Please don't mind me. Continue with the lecture. If you wish me to perform any make up work, I will gladly do so."
Sitting down with elegance, Huberos smiled lightly as he ignored the dropped jaws of the two on his sides.
"It isn't very nice to stare. After all, the teacher is trying to give a lecture, no? Why don't we all focus on her for now?"
Even as Huberos said this the glares of the entire class could not be removed from him.
He was a completely different person.
"What.... happened to you?"
"Why.... how..... your wounds are healed.... and your horns..... your fangs...."
The two spouted out words of confusion, unable to perceive what had happened.
"Ah, this? I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. After all, isn't it common for a demon to have regenerative abilities? Hm? Ah, it seems these fangs are growing as well.... I might need to begin filing them?"
Standing up with indignance, Opus burst out in complaint.
"Huberos!! Don't tell me you took some sort of drug to make your fangs and horns grow!!"
Huberos sharply glanced over to the boy as if he were looking at garbage.
"I wouldn't result to something so vulgar. Opus..... you should know better than anyone here, no?"
Filled with confusion, Opus was made indignant at this statement.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Huberos. Are you trying to imply that I am a user of some sort of-"
"Your grandfather..... was the Host of Pride, right?"
At this statement the eyes of not only Opus, but every single person in the class went wide.
'He couldn't mean....'
'Him?'
'Is he.... serious?'
'He.... must be bluffing.'
"Now then.... I think that is enough talk. Forgive me, teacher. I didn't mean to take up so much of your class time. Please continue. After all, we are here to learn, no? How to become proper lords and ladies. I'm counting on you."
----
Huberos found himself walking through the halls during the scheduled lunch time, continuously wiping away the blood from his chin.
"These things truly are irritating, aren't they? I somewhat miss not having them."
It was then that he ran into the two.
There were no lackeys- just Opus, Cespor, and their respective women.
"Huberos..... I don't know what underhanded trick you used, but you won't fool me. There is no way you've become the Host of Pride. Someone like you..... is unworthy of the title."
Opus spoke with clear indignance, offended at the very notion that Huberos could take on such a role.
"Is that so? Do you even understand what it takes to become a Host of Sin? Because after becoming one.... I do.", Huberos responded.
"Hey. Don't speak to Opus like you know everything.", the woman clinging to him stated.
"Ah, but I do know everything. Everything has become so clear.... so let me explain it to you. Your grandfather was a Host of Pride, but perhaps he never told you.... based on your expression, I will assume that is the case."
With a prideful smirk, Huberos held out his hands as if he was taking the entire world into them.
"In order to become a Host of Sin..... you must first be driven to the depths of despair, and engulfed completely in a desire for sin. Should I thank you then? After all..... you two were the very ones who drove me to the point where I became the Host of Pride."
"Don't get so cocky. Do you really think you can fool us?"
The woman clinging to Cespor responded to Huberos with a snappy attitude, however Huberos closed his eyes at this.
"You two women.... do not belong in this conversation. I have an idea. Let me ask you a question. I suppose this can be considered my first test."
Thinning his eyes with a grin, all four people before Huberos stared at him with irritation.
"Who do you think is the better man? Myself, or your respective boyfriends?"
"Of course, Opus!"
"Of course, Cespor!"
The two simultaneously shouted out their answers.
"I see... excellent. You two are very loyal, are you not? To your respective men."
"Of course we are!!!"
[Humble]
"Then, why don't you prove your loyalty. Come here."
The two women then loosened their grip on their men, both walking over to Huberos.
"Now then....."
Taking one hand of each of the women, Huberos grinned as he looked at Opus, who was watching with confusion.
And then, he kissed the white demon.
Opus dropped his jaw in fury, shouting out.
"What do you think you're doing to my-"
And then, Huberos leaned in and kissed the black demon, causing Cespor to also become indignant.
"Why you piece of scum... how dare you do that to them!!"
"Ladies. Would you like to serve by my side as my slaves for the rest of your lives?"
"Would.... you allow us to do that?", the white one asked.
"I will do so, Lord Huberos.", the black one replied immediately.
The jaws of the two demons before Huberos dropped, and they were left unable to say anything.
Huberos merely grinned, placing one hand on each of the women's heads.
"Of course I will allow you. From this moment on, you two are mine. And mine alone."
----