Shining in the center of the storm the demon empress rises to float in the air, wind whipping at its ruined robes as the walls just… fall away. The assembly hall's ceiling overhead is suddenly replaced by a sky of multicolored stars, flaring brilliantly as the moon silently watches from far closer than it probably should.

"This is my world, children. The seat of my power, where I train my subordinates and kin."

And then a grating, burning voice tears at our minds, accompanied by the strongest wave of killing intent I've ever felt. Several of my classmates clutch at their heads or fall to the ground altogether.

YOU HAVE NO HOPE OF DEFEATING ME, LET ALONE THE LEAST OF MY RETAINERS. IF YOU WERE TO ATTEMPT IT IN EARNEST…

YOU.

WILL.

DIE.

AND SO IS THE NEED FOR THEATRICS. DO NOT FORGET, OUR CONFLICTS ARE MERELY ENTERTAINMENT, A SHOW FOR THE GODS TO HELP THEM FORGET THE TEDIUM OF THEIR ETERNAL LIVES.

They… what? That… that can't be true. It's all just a game? Then why are we even here?

Nemesis casually waves one hand and thousands upon thousands of wraiths rip forth from her body, and even from the ground itself as if to prove a point. As she continues speaking, the throngs of spectral monsters begin to swirl around us as though forming a cage.

NOW, WE MOVE TO THE SECOND LESSON, AND IT IS RELATIVELY SIMPLE. BEFORE YOU ENGAGE A THREAT – WHETHER OR NOT THEATRICALLY – YOU MUST KNOW YOUR ENEMY. FOR EXAMPLE… I MYSELF HAVE BORNE MANY NAMES AND BEEN MANY PEOPLE.

With a flourish, the demon empress grips the hem of her ruined robe and throws it skyward as if to strip, instead revealing an indra woman in heavy work leathers, bearing the runed gloves and eyepiece of a skilled artificer… one I recognize immediately.

Nyx.

Nemesis is Nyx, and also my patron.

I shudder as the truth sets in, that my patron is the demon empress herself.

And then with a smug grin she motions to tear her clothes again, and her attire is again replaced, this time with a fancy if dated dark purple dress, adorned with flowers of white and a matching petticoat, as well as a parasol held delicately over her head to block the unseen sun. A swarm of maids that exude an aura of strength materializes around her and curtseys as if they weren't floating in the air themselves, as Nemesis' visage rapidly shifts to one with daggerlike teeth…

And scales like mine, although not a second later my horror intensifies. The demon empress' eyes lock on me again, and I find myself frozen like so many times before as I lift from the ground to float helplessly before her, stopping at most six feet in front of her.

AND NOW, YOUR THIRD AND FINAL LESSON – AT LEAST FOR TODAY. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT LESSON, BECAUSE IT WILL GREATLY BROADEN BOTH YOUR HORIZONS AND YOUR ODDS OF ATTRACTING A PATRON BY SHEER NUMBERS ALONE.

I shift to one side and find myself involuntarily in a kneeling position as though bowing before royalty. My weapons appear on my body, even though I'd left my shield in my room.

IT IS NOT ONLY THE GODS OF THE LIGHT PANTHEON – THE SO-CALLED PARAGONS OF GOOD – WHO MAY TAKE A HERO. ANY GOD MAY DO SO. EVEN AN EVIL GOD SUCH AS MYSELF! AND SO I DID. I PRESENT TO YOU RAVONA – OR RATHER, SIDRA AS SHE IS KNOWN TO YOU. HERO OF NEMESIS AND THE DOMAIN OF MALEVOLENCE. WORRY NOT, HOWEVER; YOUR CLASSMATE HERSELF IS NOT EVIL. THERE DOES EXIST, AFTER ALL, SUCH A THING AS AN ANTIHERO OR DARK KNIGHT, AND SHE IS UNDOUBTEDLY OF THE LATTER.

The terror of my waking dreams then takes a step forward and leans down toward me as though to whisper in my ear before speaking quietly enough in her normal voice that only I can hear…

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Sorry, kiddo. They were going to find out sooner or later anyway. Here, consider this an apology for doing it like this. Channel mana through it while envisioning where you want it to open and it'll happen on its own, understand? It's another little keepsake from when I was young – use it well, oh heir to my name and System Assistant. And before you ask… I went with malevolence because I thought it'd be fun to see you struggle with a few darker impulses but don't worry. You'll be fine. Sorry about not giving you a Class with it all either, you'll have to earn that one."

She reaches down without another word and subtly slips something in my shirt's breast pocket as I reel from her most recent revelations, but I don't have much time to think about it before I'm suddenly right back where I'd been among my peers, who stare at me with eyes wide in disbelief.

Which, in their defense… I would too.

In a flash, we're right back in the assembly hall, back in our seats as though nothing had happened. Even my weapons are gone again.

"I do suppose that's enough from me, at least for now," the demon empress says as she shifts back into her indra form, complete with tattered robe and deep hood. "Study hard and learn to put on a good show. We'll all be watching."

She nods toward Headmaster Owyn who simply nods back before she suddenly explodes into a wave of expanding ash that glitters in the light. The glaring red eyes in the center squint mirthfully as a horrible laugh permeates the room before another massive rent in the fabric of reality opens and draws it all in. As it snaps closed the headmaster returns to the center of the dais to address us again.

"Thus ends this lecture, as well as today's activities. There will be no further lessons until tomorrow – return to your dormitories and think on what you've learned. Do not forget the geas – you are the first class to have learned of this. Dismissed."

***

If Lyra had looked at me with horror before, it's been amplified a thousand-fold now. And I'd thought I'd finally been making progress with her!

I sigh in frustration from where I lay on the top bunk. The human originally hadn't cared which bunk she'd used, but now Lyra insists she doesn't want me looking up from her back when she's asleep.

…

I guess I… don't really know what to do for now.

Maybe I'll take a bath…

Yeah, I guess I'll do that.

After I grab my towel and head for the shared washroom at the end of the hall, I ruminate on the sigh of relief I could hear from my roommate through the door as I'd left.

Any shred of normalcy I'd been hoping for here is completely dashed… and all because of how screwed I am, completely and utterly screwed.

…

Should I…

Kill her? Hurt her until she-WHAT!?

I shake my head, trying to clear the… the whatever the hells that was from my head.

Worry simmers through my mind as I open the door, quickly stripping and dropping my clothes in an unattended locker and taking the key while doing my best to ignore the glances of horror from my classmates and the violent thoughts that invade my mind in response.

Without another thought or even a glance at the showers I silently drop into the hot water and close my eyes, letting out a breath. Focusing on the tension slowly leaking from my body immediately makes a difference, although I'm not remotely used to the water being hot… it's strange how much I've grown used to just soaking in that cold lake for hours on end from only a few months with my half-brethren at the forest colony.

There's no way they'd accept me there now, even if they'd been distantly hostile before.

…

Maybe Gattas and the others.

And mom's going to be horrified, probably.

Olive hops on my shoulder, which is awkward at first until she stretches out across both of them, her midsection laying across the back of my neck.

…

…

After what must have been three or four hours simply soaking and letting my mind wander it registers that I've been alone in here the entire time.

Huh. I guess I'll just get out.

My System Assistant doesn't complain at being moved, mostly because she doesn't. It almost makes me want to simply air dry so I don't have to move her, but considering the half dozen or so classmates hovering around the locker room… well. I can only imagine the rumors that'd spread about the 'hero of malevolence' being a nudist.

I chuckle to myself at the thought of how they'd react if they knew more about how forest elves treated that.

…

I wonder if I'm even still half forest elf.

Probably.

Being a gorgon almost feels more like something that was added on, like I'm gradually taking on some characteristics rather than becoming something else altogether.

I head back to my room to find the door locked, but thankfully after identifying myself through the door Lyra opens it for me.

Her false bravery isn't enough to cover the slight tremble I see in her legs like she wants to flee… but did I always notice things like that?

Well, whatever I guess. I could always just kill her later.

And I wince at the thought as soon as I realize I've had it. This is… not going to be easy.

I still haven't bothered to unpack my bag, having simply used it as a pillow my first night here, so I decide I may as well take the time to do so. Getting a storage device from the school still hasn't happened since it didn't seem like a high priority… and especially now, I doubt anyone is going to mess with my belongings. No, not now that it's out that I have a super scary patron.

Sighing, I unzip the top flap…

…To find some kind of small doll seemingly made from a leaf and string on top of my nightclothes and other meager belongings inside.

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