Chapter 66: Heroine Chapter: Competition is Fierce!
Chapter POV: Josephine Benelli
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The dark sky rumbled with thunder as flashes of lightning lit up the heavens. I felt cold and damp as the rain soaked my body.
I didn't feel the slightest agitation, even though there was a huge hole in my chest where my heart should be.
Maybe it had something to do with the man who held me so tenderly. His eyes full of sorrow as tears streamed down his face.
He kept crying as he embraced me. This man was my beloved. My only one, and yet fate demanded that I be slain by his hands.
I couldn't hear his words, but I knew of his kindness, and every time he looked at me, he repeated the same words. "Please forgive me, Vela." I wanted to smile, but instead I closed my eyes and breathed my last.
A loud and annoying noise suddenly broke me out of my trance. It was the alarm I had set for my short rest. I quickly turned it off and calmed my mind.
"That scene again. Who was that man and who is Vela?" I asked annoyed.
In a small garden on the outskirts of Siena, I swung my rapier and danced around a wooden target. My martial art focused more on speed and balance, so footwork dictated everything. Whenever I felt anxious, fencing was where I found peace.
Unfortunately, ever since I returned from Hellsgate, I kept dreaming of that one scene. I played the role of a dying woman and had to watch a man mourn my death. It made no sense, it had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't get it out of my mind.
Fencing required concentration and a serene state, fortunately the anxiety disappeared as I danced with my sword. I practiced for about an hour before resting. As I took a drink of water, a familiar face entered the garden.
"Jo, I told you to stop overworking yourself. You have been at it for over five hours now. Myron will be arriving soon. We will leave when he does, I cannot have you tired by then."
My dear sister, the one stalwart ally in my life, complained as she brought me a chicken liver crostini with salsa verde toscana for a sauce. As strict as she was, I knew how much Jasmine loved me. The food she brought was a gesture that reinforced that.
"Grazie Jas! But chicken liver again? Couldn't you have used anything else?" I asked as I started to eat.
"Stop being so picky with your food Jo. Wash up and get ready for the move. We need to be ready to depart... You seem out of focus, is something bothering you?"
There were no secrets between Jas and me. Throughout my childhood, I barely saw my parents. They would show up once in a while to ask about my progress in academics, martial arts, and etiquette.
During those dark days, the only people who made me feel loved were my sister Jasmine and my nanny Margaret.
Despite her stoic exterior, my sister was incredibly passionate and motherly to me. Even when I was barely noticed by anyone, she was the only one to notice when I got distraught.
Happy to have Jasmine by my side, I leaned against my sister and rested my head on her shoulder. The image of the crying man made my heart so miserable. The sadness in his voice felt like my heart was being torn apart. I had to tell someone.
"Jas, I keep seeing a vision, a dream, I am not sure what it is. In the dream I was a woman named Vela and my lover was crying as he apologized. I never saw anything else, but the emotion it contained made me feel so horrible."
I knew my sister would never judge me, but how did any of this make sense? Unaware of my inner turmoil, Jasmine brushed my hair and even wiped some of the sauce off my lips with a napkin.
"Did that man look like John?" she asked me.
Her words made me think of the face I kept seeing. He kind of looked like darling, but he didn't. He was wearing armor I had not seen before.
"He kind of did. Why do you ask?" I asked out of curiosity.
Jasmine sighed before answering, "Because I also saw something similar, I was an Egyptian archer while John fought by my side. Our enemies were undead monsters.
Huh? Jas started seeing dreams too? But why were they so different from mine?
"Then these visions have something to do with darling? Did you manage to learn something from yours? Is that why you started being so clingy to him? Come on, spit out the toad!" My voice was full of excitement.
I wanted to be with John as his wife, but I could not choose between Jasmine and him. If Jas wanted darling, I would let her be the main wife and I would be mistress.
After all, most reapers had concubines or mistresses for bearing Descendants.
"C-Clingy? I don't think I was clinging. Ehem. And that is another matter, I will tell you when the time comes."
Kyah! My sister was the cutest when she was embarrassed. Her stoic personality usually cracked when she was flustered.
The sight of her panicking to regain her composure was the best. Of course, she had no hair on her tongue, so she came across as rude a lot of the time.
"Oh? You even went beyond Bella and called him your husband. I don't think you could cling more even if you turned into a koala. Haha. Don't worry, sister, if it's for you, I'm fine with becoming his mistress," I declared resolutely.
Only a man like darling was worthy of my sister. From his unyielding spirit to his dominating personality. For us Formless, having someone like him was like a beacon in the darkness.
I tried to ignore it as I grew up, but I learned that my suffering was intentional. The horrible cruelty of my parents and the inhumane training were all part of creating stronger {Fates}.
It was something I could understand, but something I would never do to my own children. So when we were discovered to be Formless, our worlds shattered. Disowned and treated worse than garbage, my sister and I were abandoned. It was as if our suffering was worth nothing.
'Vaffanculo a tutti! Fuck you all!' I cursed inwardly in anger.
In the month we were allowed to prepare, Jas and I starved, stole, and were almost raped several times. And yet, despite our sacrifices, we nearly died in the first few hours of enlistment.
Had I never met John Smith, I would have just accepted my fate and died that night. But against all odds, he said something I will never forget as long as I live.
'You are free to come and go as you please. But if you stand with us, your enemies will be my enemies. Unlike others, I have nothing against the Formless. What I said was no joke. I will become the strongest Revenant. And I shall be the one who closes Hellsgate.
If you are scared, hide. But if you wish to end this nightmare, I welcome you.'
Immediately after he spoke, I felt a hundred butterflies in my stomach. For people who had nothing to believe in, such a promise was worth more than gold.
But even if I wanted to have him, I would gladly give him up for my sister, as she deserved all the happiness in the world.
'If you want to know, come with me. It is not a sin to be Formless. If this entire world believes that we have no right to exist, then all we have to do is climb to the summit and trample over it.
Even if the darling was as good as bread, it had to be backed up by action. {Rewind} was useful, but it was not enough to convince me. But I soon got my proof, watching John fight until he bled and almost died.
No matter how hard the fight, his smile never faded and his eyes never lost their fire.
"What the hell are you talking about, Jo? We are going to be his wives together! If he doesn't take you, I'll beat him until he does. He will take both of us or I will castrate him! You deserve as much love as I do. The three of us will live together forever, I will accept nothing less!" Jasmine declared fervently.
My sister's words woke me from my brief reverie. Hearing her conviction reminded me of her love for me.
Darling was lucky to have not one but two Italians ready to fulfill his every desire. I took my sister's hands in mine and embraced her. No more words were needed between us.
"Okay! Then we have to think about how to seduce darling! The competition is fierce! Bella and Liv are already in the lead!"
Just then Jas' phone rang and she answered it. I quietly listened to her side of the conversation as I finished my crostini.
"Hello? Myron...okay...we will be there. Okay, thank you. See you then. Jo, we are moving. Our fake identities have arrived."
I nodded my head and quickly took a bath while Jas packed our things. Myron was a human who used to work for us.
He was always friendly, so my sister and I asked him for a favor. Of course, we could only do this because we had money to pay for his services.
Jas and I quickly took our bicycles and rode to our destination. It was a gloomy restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We walked in and found an old man sitting in the corner with a long envelope on the table.
"Myron. Thank you for helping us. Give me your account and I will send the payment." At times like this, my sister naturally took the lead. My job was to bring down anyone who might wish us harm.
"Think nothing of it, Dame Denel. I was only trying to return the favor to your father," Myron replied.
Something was wrong...as I strained my ears with {Listen} I heard the rustling of heavy footsteps all around the building. This son of a bitch, he sold us out. I immediately grabbed Jas's right arm. It was our code that there was imminent danger.
Just then, several men burst into the restaurant from all four sides. All of them covered in a layer of soul. A few reapers hidden in the shadows also came at us with knives and claws. Using Jas as a fulcrum, I kicked them all out of the way as I moved in a circle.
"AFTER THEM! HIS MAJESTY DEMANDS IT!"
Jas frowned as he rebuked our supposed friend. "Does the honor of a knight mean so little to you, Myron?" Jas placed her hand on my waist as we shouted at the same time.
"{REWIND}!"x2