So the world is gonna die of Corona, that's fun. The quarantine actually forced my ass back to my home abroad, so I guess that there's always a silver lining. Anyway, back to it! (I do not own anything except my OCs)
Second Song
Chapter 14
Resolve and freedom
Terra
I hummed to myself as I idly went about doing my fingertip push-ups, still making sure to breathe properly as I passed the one-hundred mark. 'I might've broke my fingers even if I landed the Crucify on Brando. I haven't fought like that in a pretty long time, but another chance like that might end a bit badly if I'm not ready.' This team, people who were willing to look past my faults and respect me for the work I put in? I refused to lose that. 'Eh, I sound like I'm suddenly becoming edgy,' I thought with a small grin.
"That's pretty good form you've got," Riot said as he walked over to me, and I turned my grin over to him. The gym wasn't full of people today (hell, we were practically the only ones here), but it just gave me more room to look at him. Black shorts and a red sleeveless hoodie that showed off his perfectly ripped arms and calves. A bit of sweat matted his red-tinted hair to his forehead, but otherwise he didn't look tired at all. 'Shows how much he's worked if he's sweating though,' I thought, my eyes narrowing as I looked at his arms again. 'Huh. He looks a bit… bigger? It isn't by much, but if you look closely enough…' Considering that he stood at a solid 5'10, a good three inches taller than me, his body better revealed if he put on more mass. His statement finally clicked in my mind, and I kicked myself for my ignorance. "Ah, yeah. I kinda need good form if I don't want to break my fingers."
"Good point," He chuckled wryly, opting to sit down by me. Not that I minded at all. "Oh, by the way," I started, "Did you get a bit bigger? You aren't bulky, you just look more… toned?"
"Yup. I actually gained five pounds since I started adding weights to my training, I'm now at 157 lbs. Thought it would be pretty beneficial to put on a bit more mass while keeping my speed."
"Good plan," I agreed, rolling over onto my back and relaxing my arms behind my head. "Speaking of which, how's your weapon coming along?" I couldn't help but grin as his eyes lit up with excitement. "I'm basically done, thanks to the help Wolfram's been giving me. Taking out and using it is… a bit difficult, but I'll get the hang of it soon."
"That's pretty good," I nodded, "Does have a name?"
"Yeah… but that's a secret," He replied sheepishly.
"Hoh? The shy-guy can keep secrets!" I teased, grinning wider as I poked his cheek. He blushed like a schoolboy, and I couldn't help but tease him more. I rolled over to outright bump into him, still facing the ceiling and clearly able to see his red face. Going further, I stretched my body out and arched my body up, letting my t-shirt ride up to show off my frankly amazingly toned abs. Watching his eyes flick to them and back in front while his face turned into a full-blown tomato was delightful. "Oh God, please shut up," He groaned under his breath as he hid his face in his hands.
"Oh, is she saying something?" I asked, chuckling at the idea of what it might be.
"Nope. She said nothing."
"Really now? Cuz' it doesn't look like she said nothing," I poked his cheek again, this time with my tail. He curled up even further with a childish whine and I outright laughed. 'Cute,' I thought with a smile. He sighed and realized how futile it was to hide from me and uncovered his glowing face. We sat in comfortable silence for a while, my head pretty much using his (again, ripped) thigh as a pillow. Mortified as he looked, he didn't object. It was cute seeing him struggle not to smile. After a few minutes though, he spoke up. His voice though surprised me: timid, curious, conflicted. "Hey, Terra…"
"What's up?"
"…When you said you'd kill my d… God, still can't get over that, kill Ozpin… did you mean it?"
"Well, duh you big dummy," I chuckled, looking up at his surprised face with a smirk. "I might not succeed, but if you asked me to do it, alone or with your help, I'd do it." He was quiet for a moment, and I gave him time to think.
"I mean… look, it's not that I'm grateful that you'd go so far but… are you really okay with… killing someone?"
"Why not?" I chuckled, "It's not like I'd go out of my way to kill someone innocent. Ozpin hurt you, physically and emotionally, and tried to murder you. Something similar happened to me, so why not retaliate with full force?" I sighed a bit, Asuka's words coming to mind. "Look, I know the thought is… morbid. Not something that anyone would normally consider correct. But look at our world today: strength is what matters now, and the strength to kill reigns above all else." I looked up at him, his face not horrified, but deep in thought. "You know I'm right, because you've felt what it's like to be pushed to that point. You've felt that burning hate, that surge of murderous intent when that limit snaps."
"…You aren't incorrect," He said after a bit. He looked right at me, and the look in his eyes shocked me: raw determination shined, and its spectrum was a beautiful silver. "But you're wrong. It takes power to be able to kill someone, but that isn't strength. Even if it is, it isn't the kind of strength that I'm looking for. Self-control… no, self-mastery… that is real strength." I was speechless for a moment. Was I mad? Absolutely not. Hell, I was impressed, pleased even. Here he was, the normally shy and soft-spoken boy showing his near-blinding resolve. Still though, it stood against what I knew, my own views and my own experiences. Resolve? Determination? None of that mattered in the face of overwhelming strength and skill. I took my head off his lap and twisted to sit in front of him, grinning as I held a land out. "You wanna bet on that?"
"Eh?"
"Put your money where your mouth is. Prove it in the ring tomorrow and maybe then I'll try it your way." He hesitated for a moment before a confident smile appeared on his face. He took my hand and shook it firmly. "Deal." What shocked me was the sensation of his hands. All his knuckles were calloused, little cuts and old flesh-wounds healed over into noticeable scars. The palm of his hand was also rough in the same way a sword-user's was. But despite all of that, I was shocked by how soft, how gentle his grip was. So firm, yet gentle. Strange. "Um…" He said after a moment, probably from how prolonged my hold was on his hand. I grinned again, softly as I suddenly leaned closer to him, his cheeks going pink again. "You're hand… it's coarse, rough, and shows how strong you are. Stronger than me, definitely. But if your grip is too caring, then you'll never beat me as you are now." In a spur-of-the-moment decision, I quickly darted in and kissed him on the cheek; I swore that steam shot out of his ears. "It's definitely part of your charm though. I like it." I promptly stood up and walked off to the girl's locker room, looking over my shoulder with a smirk and seeing the poor guy frozen in place, his entire body red and his jaw hanging open.
"See ya later Riot." When I entered the changing room, I stopped for a moment and covered my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter. 'God he's so adorable! I just hope that I'm giving him clear enough signals.' I calmed down and my laugher died out, my mind drifting to the storm that was going to erupt tomorrow. 'I wonder… how am I going to beat him tomorrow? It wouldn't be fair to him if I met his challenge and didn't go all out right from the start. This is going to get very interesting.'
Evening…
Again I hummed to myself, skipping lightly through the halls on my way to my dorm. When I got there, I noticed the door was open and I heard voices. Supressing my aura, I snuck closer and took a peek. Riot and Asuka were in the middle of the room, both of them not noticing me. "Are you crazy Riot!? You already got your ass handed to you by Ozpin last week, we don't know if there's still any damage remaining! Sit your ass out of this and I'll beat some sense into Terra."
"If you do, you'll only prove her point!" He shouted back. "And don't give me that bullshit about damage. I get that she's your friend, and I get that you see there's an issue… but going about it by just trying to overpower her won't help. It won't get the message across, and you know that. Remember when you… fought Wolfram?" He tried to be careful about phrasing the topic, but she flinched, her eyes cast down in shame. "I-I'm sorry," He said quickly before she held a hand up, sighing.
"Nah… you're right." She collapsed onto the bed, her hands ruffling her hair as her lilac and blue eyes flashed a fiery orange with her frustration. "Damnit! It feels so weird to back down from a fight!" She looked back at Riot (who was sitting on the floor) grudgingly. "You're probably best for the job too. My speed can't counter her absolute control over the area she's fighting in. Not to mention her fighting-style… even as strong as you are, can you beat her?"
"I don't know," He answered honestly, surprising me. "I could just try to call on my dark aura and pump it up as high as I can go, but again, proving her point, and I don't think that it would work on her. Regardless, I'm going to meet her head on with every bit of skill that I've built up, and if I need to… I'll bring my sword out of I have to." She sat up, her eyes wide.
"You've finished it?"
"Yeah. I can't call on it now, but when the time comes… I think I can finally unsheathe her, if only for a moment."
"I hope you realize that a simple weapon isn't going to help you beat her, much less one that you can only use for a single instant." Smoke pooled in Riot's lap, the shape of a black cat with red eyes forming. "At the risk of sounding like a villain again, it would be best if you called upon my power."
"No. Thanks for the support in this Salem, but I won't use raw power to beat her. I refuse to insult her like that." The Salem-cat snorted, and I swore that there was a little grin on her face. "Goodness, I swear you young people are terrible with dealing with romantic feelings." I had to supress a laugh as I saw Riot blush again, hiding his face in his hands.
"Riot, you… like her?" Asuka said after a moment, a cheeky grin on her face.
"N-nope." He turned redder.
"Oh my god, you've got it bad for her!" Asuka cackled, Salem humming in smug satisfaction. "Is that why you wanna fight her? Show how much you looove her~?" Riot collapsed onto the floor in a mortified heap, Salem reforming on top of him and sitting down on his side. "Seriously though, I'm not judging you," She chuckled. "What about her caught your eye, hmm?"
"Being able to talk about your emotions will allow you to better understand them," Salem agreed, though I was still a bit confused how a feline face could look so cheeky. He slowly sat up, giving Salem time to hop back into his lap. "She's… I mean…" He stuttered for a moment, sighing shakily. "She's so confident. Everything she does is just… smooth. She's cool as all hell in the middle of a fight, win or lose. I've never seen her lose her focus at all, even if she pretends to be lazy… no, that's not quite right. She's lazy because she can afford to be. She knows that when she goes all out, she can succeed. I wish I was like that."
The honesty in his voice combined with the words made me blush, and I couldn't wipe the giddy smile off my face. "P-plus, she's… she's goddamn gorgeous." I smiled wider, my face tingling. "I mean… God!" He sighed, laying flat out on the floor. "Everything about her is just amazing! That pitch-black hair, her eyes like a clear day, that smile… God, her smile is just… uuugh!" He groaned, covering his red face again.
"Oh damn, you've got it bad-bad!" Asuka chuckled, a mischievous look in her eye. "Say… what's her best part?"
"…what do you mean?" He asked slowly.
"Ass or chest dude?"
"ASUKA!" He shrieked, mortified to near death. Though, it did make me curious. I leaned a bit closer, eager to hear his answer. "Ooh my, an interesting choice," Salem chuckled.
"Wh- oooh, she can read your mind and stuff!" Asuka realized, her grin widening. "Spill the beans Salem!"
"Not my place to say~" The witch-cat teased, "Though it isn't as lewd as you believe it to be." Riot sighed shakily again, taking his hands off of his pure red face. "I-I think that… h-her…" He stuttered, lowering his voice but unable to hide what he said thanks to my hearing. "… her abs and curves are perfect. D-don't even get me started on her legs and how perfectly they fit her a… a-a..." He clammed up as Asuka burst into laughter, though I couldn't help but grin wider. 'That's why he reacted the way he did. Good to know.' I decided that now was the time to walk in, though I took a couple of steps back before I announced my presence with louder footsteps. "Hey guys," I called out as I walked in, "Who left the door open?"
Asuka visibly paled and I snickered. "Don't get complacent now. Hey Riot," I called over with a wave and a smile. He lit up like a Christmas tree, obviously happy as she shyly waved back. "Hey Salem. Since when could you do… that?"
"I'm an amorphous mass dear, it's not hard to change my shape at will. Plus, if someone were to walk in and see my true form, it wouldn't exactly be a good look now would it?"
"Fair enough," I agreed, promptly walking over to our cupboard and taking my shirt off, leaving me in my shorts and sports-bra. I heard the faint *pop* of Riot's mouth falling open while I rummaged around for a shirt. It didn't take long to find one, but I hid my grin and pretended to search for a bit longer, picking it out and turning to face Riot while I slipped it on. When I was done, he quickly averted his eyes, his face red. Again. 'Poor dude's gonna pop a blood-vessel,' I laughed to myself.
"S-so, Terra…" Asuka started, caught off guard by my actions, "You're gonna fight Riot tomorrow huh?"
"Yes, I am. I mean no disrespect, but I intend to win," I answered honestly. Surprising me, Asuka sighed a bit before she grinned. "I wanted to have a showdown with you… but I'll leave this to my brother-from-another. Don't hold back." I laughed outright at that: even if I had already heard it, it was still fun to see her confidence shine through. "I have no intention of holding back. Riot himself should know that as well."
"Yeah, I know," He said sincerely.
"Hey now," A voice called from the bathroom. Wolfram walked out in nothing but a towel around his waist, easily showing his lithe and toned figure. "I don't want either of you to go and kill each other or do anything too stupid tomorrow."
"Screw off, you ain't one to talk!" Asuka barked, her own face going horribly red as she averted her eyes. "Put some damn clothes on too!"
"That's what I was going to do Asuka," He sighed, "I just didn't get clothes out of my cupboard." Even half-naked, he was the pinnacle of poise and grace while Asuka was reduced to a quiet mess. Hell, even Riot couldn't ignore it, looking at her with a raised brow. She buried her face in her pillow, whining slightly while Riot and I laughed. It was a good moment of peace while it lasted. Even as I got into my bed and tried to get to sleep, my muscles and nerves felt… warm. Primed. The idea of flighting him, proving myself and my ideals right against someone so strong was bliss. Yet, the idea of him holding his power back, his proclamation to fight me with skill lingered in my mind. I stayed awake for a while, pondering how he could possibly match me. On paper, it seemed impossible to beat me without his raw power: my area control combined with my strength was enough. But the conviction, the resolve of him to do so… I looked over to his sleeping form, my mouth quirking into a little grin.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow, Riot."
The following day…
"And that's the match! Good fight you two!" Professor Yang called out, both of them sighing in exhaustion as they left the arena. My adrenalin started to pump, and I knew what was coming next. Riot and I glanced at each other, nodding slightly as she called out for the next two people to step up. We both made our way down to the arena, murmurs and whispers of excitement filling the air. Professor Yang visibly looked worried as well, though she hid it with a stern glare. "Hey now, you two aren't here to try and kill each other, right?"
"No ma'am, just here for a good fight," I answered honestly, "Riot has done nothing to upset me and vice-versa."
"Yeah," He agreed, "Besides, this'll be a good match-up to test my skills after last week." He rolled his shoulders and took off his hoodie, leaving him in a t-shirt with his usual light armour. "…Alright. Anything I see that concerns me, I'll stop the match. Clear?"
"Understood," He replied.
"Gotcha," I said, taking my naginata out a stabbing it into the ground. "I hope you know that I'm going serious from the start Riot." He actually grinned a bit, bouncing on his feet to loosen up. "Good," He called back, "I'll show you my resolve." White aura burst from his body, a faint wind kicking up as his face turned serious. I grinned, firing up my own aura to empower my body. "I'll show you my power," I replied, crouching slightly.
"BEGIN!"
Que music: Fate/EXTRA, Last Encore OST: Scattering Petals Curtain
The world blurred as we shot forward and I let aura flow into my arm. This fight would be decided not in attrition, but with single, telling strikes. "Lacerate." There was a sharp *BANG*, and I raised a brow as I saw Riot stopping my attack with his own elbow-strike. Quick, compact, and perfectly stopping my attack. However, "Too light!" I teased, twisting and shooting my knee straight up. A quick sidestep made me miss, his sharp cross grazing my cheek. A backflip backwards gave me a good deal of space, though he crouched down slightly. I blinked and he had already covered the distance, a straight line of burning rubber behind him as he appeared in front of me with his left hand cocked back low. "Dragon Smash!"
"Weeping Willow." I ducked under his angled uppercut-hook hybrid, twisting again and throwing out a hook-kick around his outstretched arm. The momentum was enough to slightly unbalance him with all his own force redirected, though not enough to make him fall. 'Fine by me.' I hopped up and hooked both of my legs around his neck, wrapping my arms around his wrist and twisting sharply. My goal was a dislocation, but instead of trying to smash me into the ground, he just blasted raw aura from his arm like a bomb, forcing me to let go and touch down back at the centre of the arena. 'Hmm…' Again we clashed, a compact right-hook blasting into my guard and rattling me right down to the bone. His left leg went straight up, poised to chop down like an axe with his heel. I moved in quickly, lashing out with my fingers pressed tightly together. "Crucify."
"Reverse, Mountain-Rending!" Again he surprised me. He didn't try to barrel head on, he kept his foot up and launched off of his grounded foot, slashing through the air and almost clipping my chin had I not side-stepped away in time. I stayed close to him, my smaller body giving me a better level of manoeuvrability on the inside. Swaying away from another hook and ducking under a jab, I got in as close as I could. "Earth Crouching Dragon." My fist crashed right into his hasty guard, spitting it wide open and sending him stumbling back slightly. I dashed in again, staying low as he took the bait, his foot cutting at a low angle. I grinned and leapt straight over his head with ease, tensing my toes and shooting my foot out. "Air Lance." Once more, another shock.
"Weeping Dragon." His hand smoothly touched my foot while another grabbed my leg, completely redirecting the flow of my attack and sending me hurtling for the floor. I tucked my body at the last second, rolling across the floor and springing to my feet. He didn't follow me. "Cheeky prick!" I laughed, genuinely impressed. "You copied my redirection-technique!" He groaned and stood up straight, stretching out his back. "Yeah… don't plan on doing that again. I didn't think you needed to be so flexible and quick on your feet for it."
"Well, my attack angle was weird, so I can understand," I agreed. "…Though, you aren't going all out with that skill of yours."
"Hey, neither are you," He shot back with a smile, "Besides, we've both just warmed up. Let's get thinks started for real this time. Resolve versus Power from here on out." I smirked and rolled my shoulders. "Fair enough…" I crouched down low, letting the smile drop off my face as Eternal Youth's smog began to roil off of me and quickly cover the arena. "I'm gonna fly now. Think you can keep up?" Raw aura exploded from his body in that moment, his eyes closed as he breathed out gently. Slowly, they opened up, and I had to hold back a gasp as pure excitement shot through my spine. His eyes were shining. "I won't just keep up," He said evenly, shifting into his stance. He wasn't using full power, but… something seemed sharper about him. "I'll surpass you and your ideals."
Que music: Fate/EXTRA, Last Encore OST: Barricade
I decided that it would be best to attack first, the plan being locking him down with Eternal Youth and aiming for his heart. The moment I thought that, he was right up in my face. My body reacted on its own, slipping by his right cross. My foot lashed out at his thigh, my toes stiffened to punch a hole right through his aura and damage muscle, but he was already moving backwards, just enough so make my heel brush past his thigh. I let my momentum carry me into a follow-up hook-kick, my heel again cutting through air as he ducked under it perfectly. Again, I was forced to simply react as his front leg shot straight out like a bullet, clipping my ribs with enough force to make me stumble. Even through that, I would never fall. Eternal Youth's mist kept me upright, and I called upon it to help me in redirecting his attacks, if only barely at times. 'It's not that he's firing away at full power either,' I realized as I deflected another hook, my arms stinging sharply. 'His attacks are sharp, compact, and accurate. He really intends to beat me with skill alone, and if I were weaker, he very well could!'
I spiralled aura through my arm, keeping it as compact and as tight as possible. He was already swinging a left hook, and I grit my teeth in preparation to take it. This technique I had been working on for a while had a way to go before it was perfect, but it was something I needed right now. "Blood-curdle!" There was a *BANG* and my vision went white for a moment, my body bouncing off the floor as my jaw rung. I knew that a good chunk of my aura was just ripped from me, but it worked. I felt the roots of my aura planted in his body and just as he was about to rush at me again, I raised my hand at him and squeezed. Riot stopped in place, his eyes wide and his body straining as blood began to drip from his nose. "S-so that's…!" He choked out, his teeth stained red. The sight of him hurt like that was disheartening, but I pressed on.
"Yup. You gave me the idea that I can basically control and move anything light enough with my aura. So I wondered, what would happen if I planted my semblance in someone? Your muscles, bones, even large veins and arteries aren't something I can move yet. But your tiny capillaries, your blood, even your nerves to an extent… I can manipulate." I twisted my semblance slightly in his throat and upper lungs, his eyes going bloodshot as he fell to a knee. He tried to close the distance again but I quickly lagged the nerve-response in his legs, forcing him to hold himself up with his hands on the floor. "All that strength and resolve… it doesn't amount to anything in the face of power."
"Okay you two, that's enough-!" Professor Yang started before a sudden wave of anger exploded from Riot. "Don't you dare call it off!" He roared, my control wavering for a moment before he looked back to me silently. That determined spark was still visibly shining in his eyes though. I sighed. "I'm sorry, but this is how far it will take you. I'm going to end this now." I grabbed him by the hair and slashed my elbow across his jaw. His aura flashed in an attempt to protect him, but I grabbed his head with both hands and smashed my knee into his face. Blood flew from his mouth as he rolled backwards. He tried to get up, but a quick yank at his nerves sent him spazzing out before a roundhouse kick to his neck slammed his head into the stone floor. Out of the mist surrounding him, hundreds of fists seemed to blur into action, blasting into him with punch after punch. He tried to dodge and block, but with the lack of any rhythm to the strikes in combination with the havoc I wrought in his body, he had no chance. Even with reserves of aura as big as his, it was steadily draining. Eighty percent, to sixty five, to forty in two whole minutes of an unending beating. Despite it all, something felt off.
He didn't curl up in a ball, he didn't concede, he continued to put his feet under him and fight back, his bloodshot eyes still sharp and focused as he flowed his aura around his body to mitigate the impact. "Riot, please forfeit," I said, getting a bit worried now. "You can't win unless you use your raw power, and by doing so you'll prove me right. I don't want to keep messing with your organs and blood-pressure." He grit his teeth and tried to dash straight at me, only to be stopped by a kick straight to the face. I decided that this was far enough, rushing in low. "Earth Crouching Dragon." He wasn't able to block it, my fist crashing right into his solar-plexus and sending him flying backwards with more than enough force to send him out of the ring. "I refuse!" He roared, forcing his body to twist and kicking off the air hard, purposely smashing himself back into the very edge of the ring. "Riot, please. This has gone far enough!" This was getting unsettling now. Blood dripped steadily from his nose and mouth, bruises starting to form on the visible patches of his skin due to his ruptured capillaries… yet he stood. He smiled. "I'll… prove you wrong." He raised a hand, aura rising from his fingertips. "I promised… I'd show you my resolve." His aura was barely at twenty-percent, his something about it seemed so much more potent than before, my tail wrapped around my waist shaking slightly. "I'm ending this, now."
Que music: Fate/EXTRA, Last Encore OST: No Second Strike
As I rushed towards him, I felt that potent feeling spike, like there were thousands of needles just brushing my skin. Time seemed to slow down as I watched the aura from his palm bleed into a vibrant red. His eyes closed and his fingers curled around the air like he was holding something… like he was holding a hilt. My body screamed at me just as I was about to reach him and I obeyed, diving backwards as something big ripped through the air. Even if I had dodged, the following *BOOM* blew me back even further, a shockwave sending me tumbling away. I rolled to my feet, eyes wide as I tried to feel out his power. Nothing. Hell, his power was dropping away, and he was too damaged to pull off any big attack like that. The floor in about five feet in front of him was turned to rubble, the worst of it being a straight line of stone having been pulverised to dust. "Damn, took too long posing," He laughed, coughing mix of blood and spit onto the floor. "I think… I can hold it for a few seconds longer though… let's do it!" He closed his eyes again, sweat dripping down his forehead as he concentrated hard. I could only stand and watch in awe as he reached for his chest with the same grabbing motion of handling a blade-hilt.
"A heart bound in chains." The now-red aura formed a literal hilt that he gripped into tightly, before he began to pull. Pain scraped up my spine, almost forcing me to cry out. "A soul trapped by tyranny. Yet, regardless of prison, uncaring of fate's cruelty… I deny these bonds of pain!" He tore it out of his chest, the pain vanishing as I collapsed to a knee, covered in sweat. A mass of smog surrounded it, the effect of my semblance having been literally ripped away from his body, his wounds healing and his eyes shining. He grunted, slashing through the fog and holding it high. Five feet in length was the blade, a perfect six inches across, the grip a foot and a half. The colour, from it's tip right to the end of the grip a vibrant rose-red. The hilt flared and layered itself, looking almost exactly like a rose. His eyes met mine, and at that moment I had begun to understand.
"Hear my cry and grant me freedom: EXODUS ROSE!"
To be continued...
To abridge this, Exodus refers to the Biblical tale of the oppressed people fleeing from Egypt, and though trapped against the Red Sea, the water itself was split to grant them freedom. This was more or less the basis for designing Riot's weapon, combined with the heroic picture of Ruby Rose along with a dash of flamboyance from Fate/Extra's Saber aka Nero Claudius herself. For those of you who don't get what I just said, I don't blame you nor did I stutter when I called an Emperor of Rome a her. Hope you enjoyed the chapter despite the delay, (which was my laziness, not the virus) and see you next time!
