[150] Face Me, Coward!
Chapter 150: Face Me, Coward!
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I pondered if I should visit the Occult Research Club to ask about this, but in the end, I decided to go see for myself.
From the spiritual map that my Perception provided me with, the two I sensed were in the principal's office. I sensed Rias there too, so this wasn't an incident that she was unaware of.
I stood in front of the closed door of the principal's office, wondering if I should go in or not, and then turned around to leave for my class. I'll learn the details of this if it's important enough.
Ah, on that note, I sensed Quetzalcoatl in the principal's office too. That's the reason I didn't go in, I'm curious what she's been scheming now that she's returned from that trip of hers.
The Feather Dragon God left Japan right before Thor's attack. I don't suspect her of working with the Norse, but it surely was not a coincidence. Perhaps it was a trap by the Norse that she had to respond to in person. Thankfully, she was back now.
"Hey, Aqua." Shoko waved at me lightly when I entered the classroom and took my seat. She wore a thin smile with sadness etched at its corners. I didn't like that, was she taking pity on me?
"Hello," I ruffled her hair and put my bag down. We spent the next few minutes in an awkward silence, she had few words to tell me after last night's incident.
It appears that the singing affected her in more ways than one. It was understandable why. She must be curious about what secrets I've been hiding for my singing to come with such intense emotions.
The classes began soon after with Shizuka Sensei entering the room. She wasn't alone however, she had three others beside her.
One after one, Dragon God Quetzalcoatl, Valkyrie Rossweisse, and lastly, a girl w-
'Huh, Thor?' I blinked in surprise till my eyes registered the gender difference.
Behind the Valkyrie, who wore a suit and tie, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl wearing our school's uniform stood. She had a pair of thin braids hanging by the sides of her face, while and had a toned physique.
Anyone would be fooled just like me for the first second that this was Thor. But it was a girl, and she was a Demi-God, and that meant she was most possibly his daughter.
Whoa.
Did Odin hit his head?
Why the fuck is he sending me chicken to slay? Does he believe I'll let them be just because it's a girl? No, if anything, I'd use her for a whole day and then kill her.
I felt my jaws clench in rage. 'What do these stupid fucking Gods take me for?'
My killing intent almost clouded the room till my eyes met Quetzalcoatl. She crossed her arms and shook her head at me.
[Do not,] her voice boomed in my head. It was mental transmission. I'm surprised she could use such an ability.
[And why is that?] I asked back, watching her blink in surprise. Perhaps she hadn't expected me to be able to reply in the same manner she had contacted me.
She grinned softly, [The two of them have been banished from Asgard. I can confirm that. This Rossweisse came with a report to Aztecs, and it was a false one. Due to the possible danger such an incident could have caused if my Aztec Pantheon became angry, they banished Rossweisse for her failure. I can confirm this much since I'm related to it.]
She followed, her eyes slightly flicking to the side, [As for the girl, I can't guarantee it, but I hear she got extremely happy that Thor died. Yes, Thor is her father, that's obvious from her appearance, but her mom was a human woman whom Thor slept with once and abandoned. So she didn't like Thor. So when she heard that he died, she threw a feast and started challenging many of her fellow Valkyries to a sparring match after getting drunk. She ended up getting beaten and banished by Thor fanatics and Odin.]
So that's why they had seemingly healing bruises and bandaids around their bodies.
[Funny story, but why are they here? Just because they have been banished does not mean they have to come to my doorstep.] I looked at Quetzalcoatl, and this time she just shrugged.
[If my enemies hear me saying this then they'll die from blood pressure but, just sit this one out and watch the events unfold. It's good drama. I'm curious what they're up to, too. Maybe you?] She said, [I think that the girl might also be after Mjölnir. Even if she hated her father, she might want his weapon to be passed down to herself. You watch out. On that topic, congratulations on your victory. I'm proud of you.]
I wanted to tell her that it didn't matter if she was proud of me or not, but I decided to stay silent. I looked at the Valkyrie instead. Although Quetzalcoatl and I had a whole conversation in our heads, a mere few seconds passed in the real world. We could talk at an unbelievable speed in our heads, it turns out.
The Valkyrie openly avoided my eyes. In fact, she appeared uncomfortable with just being in the same space as me.
It made sense why though. I wiped the floor with Hel before her and killed a stronger Thor not long after. She's smart to be scared.
Unlike that girl beside her.
"This is Brigid Sdottir," Shizuka Sensei introduced the girl. So that's her name? "She's a transfer student joining this class starting today. "By now, the students wore mixed expressions.
Most had their eyes on Rossweisse due to her exotic yet feminine appearance. Even in this day and age, Japan's limited beauty standard lived up to its reputation. These kids didn't find the girl, Brigid, to be very attractive due to her muscles. She wasn't bulky muscular, just lean muscles, so at least a few kids of taste took a look at her.
The girl in question, however, had eyes only for me. She does not fear me. How foolish.
It's going to be a lot harder to not punch her face in if she's this insolent.
"Be sure to treat her with respect," our homeroom teacher said and moved on to Rossweisse. "This elegant lady here is not a student, however. She is Rossweisse, she is going to be your new civics teacher. Be sure to treat her with respect, I hear she is extremely strict. And yes, she and Brigid come from the same place, I'm letting you guys know before you bother them about it."
"Lastly," she pointed at Quetzalcoatl with a small smile, "You guys' favorite English Sensei is back. Don't make her time hard. Since the next class is English, you guys will enjoy it. I'll leave you to it." She looked at her fellow teacher. "Plumaconda Sensei, if you'll take over."
"My, of course~" Quetzalcoatl stepped to the podium and cleared her throat, while I stared at Rossweisse being escorted out by Shizuka Sensei.
"Starting with Brigid," the two women left, and Quetzalcoatl started to talk. She pointed at me, no, at the seat before me. "Since that seat is vacant, you should go sit there. Oh, how lucky that you're right behind Aqua-kun~" How did she manage to sound that cringe when saying 'kun'? "You guys look the same too, it's so cute. In that case, Aqua-kun, I'll leave her to you to take care of and show around."
I was curious to ask where the guy who used to sit in front of me was. I didn't talk to my classmates much, but I knew a bit about him. He's been a regular student all this time, why was his seat suddenly empty to take? Instead of wasting time thinking that, however, I just nodded, "Sure thing."
The girl, Brigid, walked over. Her large frame carried her through the classroom and I heard some twig-like guys gossiping in the background, commenting on why she was so big.
She stopped in front of me to stare down. Her large frame loomed over me, and she stared at me in silence for five seconds before smirking. She reached out a hand, "Aqua, right? I'll be in your care."
I stood up. Her frame seemed to shrink as my own body cast a shadow over her. I let out a gentle wave of my aura and noticed a flicker of emotion in her eyes that she quickly hid. I took her band.
"It'll be my pleasure," I said.
"A-ah, yes." she blinked realizing that she had just stuttered before quickly frowning and removing her hand. I wanted to squeeze her hand, but she might scream in fear. Who knows?
She took her seat and I did the same while ignoring Quetzalcoatl's smug stare.
Rossweisse and Brigid.
What do these two girls want?
* * *
[Third Person Point of View]
Brigid was a Valkyrie, a Demi-God. Her father was a God, a very strong one at that. So she knew this young human was strong since he defeated her father.
But how big was the gap, she had no idea.
She wasn't present to see the fight happen on the big screen in the Asgardian castle, so a part of her assumed the human must have used ticks against Thor to win. That didn't mean Aqua was weak, the trap user had to be strong himself if he wished for his traps to succeed against a High God like Thor, but that assumption had given her a false sense of understanding that he wasn't really that strong.
Seeing him in a classroom, with combed hair and glistening skin, and also wearing a stupid uniform, she received no impression of his strength either. Like, was he a girl or what?—she could smell his perfume from here.
Even standing over him, he felt so small, even if he adorned a little muscle on his body. He looked like someone who'd go down with one slam from her hammer.
….Until he stood up and loomed over her like a Tiger about to lunge at a deer.
Brigid hadn't failed to sense him releasing his aura to intimidate her. In response, one would usually release their own auras too, but in her case, she was too stupefied to do so.
An incredible weight was pressing down on her. Even now, she felt the same since he sat right behind her. Like a prey being watched by a predator from the back.
'What the fuck.' she grumbled in her head at this stupid situation.
Despite her muscles and height, her face let her pass as a high schooler. But she was not a 15-year-old little girl, her age counted in centuries. Did it make sense for her to feel pressured by a 15-year-old mortal and newly crowned Demigod?
Classes passed and he didn't try anything. That made her feel insulted. He didn't even try to talk to her. Wasn't he curious about who she was? Or did he think she was so weak that she wasn't worth his curiosity?
Minutes turned to hours and classes came to an end. The bell rang, indicating lunch break.
Finally, he did something to her. He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Brigid grew nervous but also excited. Was he finally going to confront her? A part of her felt anxious but the larger part wanted to clash with him and put him in his place. It asked for validation, for her to regain her dignity for feeling scared of a kid.
Instead of challenging her, however, he said something entirely different. "Sensei put your responsibility on me, so come I'll show you around and get you some lunch."
Brigid stood up, standing only two inches beneath him. Huh, why did she feel like he was looming over there last time? That's so odd, he didn't seem like much of a big deal right now. Was it all in her head?
"Hey, you," she harshly slapped his hand away from her eyes. Dozens of eyes in the classroom turned to them, while Aqua shot a silent look at his hand that's been slapped.
Behind Aqua, the strawberry-haired girl that Brigid didn't care to learn the name of, was glaring daggers at her. Brigid ignored her and looked at Aqua, "Don't touch me. If this was my place, I'd have broken your hand."
"Seems like a case of cultural difference," Aqua rubbed his hand and said.
"Aqua, I don't think lack of politeness is a cultural difference. How dare she slap your hand?!" The same girl shouted.
Brigid scoffed. "And why should I respect someone who's not stronger than me?"
"How do you know I'm not stronger than you?" Aqua looked at her calmly.
"Oh?" Brigid broke out laughing. "What can you do to prove so, other than pressing your willpower or whatever? Beat me in a fight. I see you have muscles, they can't just be for show, right?" She said, and of course, while she wanted to seek validation for herself, she wasn't dumb enough to discredit the fact that he did defeat her father. So she added a detail, "I heard you guys have fighting clubs here. Let's go there. Beat me in Judo, and I'll acknowledge you-"
"Shoko, let's go." Aqua walked out of the room. "If she doesn't want me to show her around the school, she can find someone else to. I can't be bothered."
The girl, Shoko, shot Brigid a long glare before quickly following Aqua.
"...."
Brigid blinked, stupefied with a frown. She growled at his back, "The warriors in Asgard aren't cowards who reject battles!" She shouted but he showed her a middle finger without turning to her and left.
She was sure it'd work. Nobody in Asgard rejected a proposed battle, so she thought he'd accept it. While he must have particular abilities that allowed him to take out Thor, she was confident in taking him out in a Judo match.
Divine powers didn't mean one was skilled in martial arts too; he might have cheat abilities due to his bloodline, being whosoever offspring he was, but her greater age surely gave her an advantage in skills and martial arts. So she wanted to humble him there.
But he… he walked out!
The classroom remained silent, staring at her before she stomped on the floor and rushed out behind him.
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Author Note: Since many of you didn't like the first Brigid picture, he's a better one. ( on this paragraph and chapter comments )
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