6 Chapter 6

After their exercise was done the students left the training room and went to change and clean up. Katerine, Stella and their teams stayed behind so they can have their usual duels with Claudia as the referee.

Dante is walking down a hallway and looking around. He stops two girls that were walking past him.

[Hey!]

The girls get startled by his unfriendly expression.

[Where can i take a bath in this place?]

[Uhm, the bath is down this hallway and to the right.] Replied one of the girls with a trembling voice.

[Let me guess, all of the baths here are for girls.]

[Yeah, i guess.]

Dante stars walking in the direction the girls gave him.

As he walks away they sigh in relief.

When Dante finds the bath he knocks on the door. He stands next to the door and opens it slightly. The girls inside can only see his hand holding the door open.

[I want to take a bath. I will give you fifteen minutes to finish up. When i come back am getting in even if some of you are still inside.]

Dante closes the door and leaves.

The girls finish up quickly and go to change into their clothes. Right after the girls leave the changing room Claudia and the two teams walk in, get undressed and go take a bath.

Few minutes later Dante walks in and starts changing and puts on a towel. He opens the door and goes in. The girls freak out and start screaming. He looks at them with a cold gaze.

[I told you not to be here when i return.]

The girls grab their towels to cover up and run out. Only Claudia is still sitting in the water.

Dante sits down and starts washing himself.

[Why are you still here?]

[I am not done with my bath.]

After he got himself clean hes gets in the water and sits opposite her. They both look at each other.

Dante has no muscles, he is skin and bones. His scar runs down his torso and ends on his thigh.

Claudia sits there relaxing in the water. Her breasts are on full display. They are huge, like two melons floating in the water.

Neither of them shows any emotion.

[I didn't assume it's that big.]

[Just wait till it gets hard.] He smirks.

[You know what i mean. Did you mean what you said in the class room?]

[Yes.]

[How is that even possible?]

[I've had it ever since i can remember.]

[Any guesses on how you got it or if it's connected to your gift.]

[Guessing is a waste of time.]

Dante breaks eye contact to look down at her naked body.

[So then mis...?]

[Call me Claudia.]

[... Are you waiting for me to start to kiss your ass?]

[Hm, what makes you think that?] She smirks.

[You sitting there naked trying to seem like you don't care.]

[Am just enjoying a bath. You just happen to be here.]

[And me staring at your tits doesn't bother you?]

[You've been staring since we met.]

[True, but now i've seen you naked.]

[Am sure you had an idea in your mind of how i would look naked before you walked in here.]

[But now i fantasize doing all sorts of things to you.] he looks at her with a perverted smile.

[And that's all you can do. I can't spot anyone from staring or fantasizing but i deside if something more happens. So you can look if you want, but you can't touch.] She looks down at him with a condescending look.

[True, but just by being here people will judge you and spread rumors.]

[Well it appears we have one thing in common, not giving a fuck about other's opinions.]

[So then, since you don't care about your reputation lets have some fun and enjoy ourselves.]

He leans his head in with a huge grin on his face.

[Sorry to disappoint you but am not interested in meaningless sex.]

Dante tilts his head back and exhales.

[That sucks. But at least this bath is nice and i never thought my first one would be with a busty girl. Even if nothing happens.]

[You've never taken a bath before?]

[Oh no. I've taken tons of baths back in the orphanage. My butler used to bring my hot tea and cookies afterwards.]

[Fer enough. Speaking of your orphanage, i remembered seeing it in last weeks newsletter so i went back and read it. Apparently it was decimated to the ground along with everyone still inside.]

[That was me. I destroyed it . i killed them.] He said with a monotone voice.

Claudia was speechless. a murderer was in front of her. He was calm and quiet far from a madman that relishes in the pain of others. There was clearly far more to the story . Dante obviously wasn't hiding it so she decided to break the uncomfortable silence and learn the truth.

{What happened? Why did you killed them?]

[My gift awakened and i killed them.]

[So it was an accident?]

[No. I chose to kill them.]

[Why? What did they do to you?]

Dante sighs.

[Since i was little i was always week and sickly. They had no use for me since most of the time i could barely get up. So everyone stepped on me, beat me up, took my food and take out their frustrations on me. There wasn't a single kindhearted person there. I had no one, only books to keep me distracted from the pain. That's all i had. Pain. So that day when few of them were stomping my on the ground, my gift appeared. Energy was leaking out of my and i just let it all out, all the hate and pain. Next thing i know am standing in a pile of ash.]

[So you killed them out of revenge?]

[I guess.]

[How can you live with yourself after you did that.]

[I had time to think about it while i was locked up. What i did, what they did, who was right, what was right, and i realized, we are all selfish. What we think is good or bad come down to what is good for us. No one wants to die so murder is wrong. There is nothing that we think is good that doesn't benefit us. That's where all morals come from. Everyone has their own morals but whats "right" is decided by the ones that have power. Them beating me up was right because they were the strongest there and they thought it was the right thing. If a soldier walked in the room whatever he thinks is right becomes the right thing. What ever the strongest man thinks is right becomes the right thing. So there is no actual right or wrong. And since i am now the strongest i don't bother with that, i just do whatever i want to.]

[And you don't feel bad at all?]

[Huh. why would i? They didn't feel bad for me.]

[Did you enjoy it?]

[No']

[Still they were people! Their lives mattered!]

[Hahaha! What gave you that idea? Look around you! Every woman that is strong enough is thrown into the army. The ones that are weak get married off and put to breading more soldiers. The stronger man die in the front lines while the other break their backs in the fields. People are live stock, easily replaceable if they die or stop serving a purpose. You've seen the battlefield, a man gets killed another one is thrown in his place and on and on it goes.]

[What a bleak view of the world.]

[That's the reality. I just don't look away from it.]

[Then why are you here?]

[The deal i made. I fight in the war and in return i get a mansion, servants and i get money every month.]

[But since you don't care about people why not just let the demons destroy the kingdom and everyone that let you suffer?]

[If Flirros falls the other kingdoms don't stand a chance and i don't feel like living in the wild. I very much enjoy the comforts of civilization. So i need other people to do their jobs so i can enjoy myself.]

[Tell me who gave you that deal?]

[The prince. The king pardoned my crimes.]

[So i was right. And its worse that i thought. They are desperate which means we are in big trouble.]

[Have you heard anything about the war getting worse?]

[No. They must be keeping it a secret.]

[You are strange you know that. You're sharp and calm yet you dress like a whore and take stupid risks by being here with me naked and asking about my past. What if i tried to rape you or kill you to keep you quiet?]

[Well if you tried to hurt me i can shield myself long enough to get away, also i could tell by your actions that you wouldn't try anything if i don't provoke you.]

[You really think you can get away from me if i don't want you to?]

[I assume that if you come after me that there's nothing i can do but then it doesn't matter if i stayed or left.]

[And the questions?]

I was testing the water. If you responded badly to the first question i would've backed off.]

[Well then, since you are so good at reading people why don't i try to read why you dress like that.]

[Oh! Go ahead.]

[Well you don't flaunt your body so its not cause you want to make the other girls jealous. You haven't made a move on me so its not cause you're using your body to manipulate men. Also the other girls avoid you even though you don't act like a cunt. So my guess is its because you don't care about others or their opinions, you dress like that just to spite them.]

[True, but not at first. The first time i wore a revealing dress it was because it was cute and i finally said "Fuck what you all think!" and in time i started to wear clothes not because i really liked them but because others wouldn't want me to, so i did it just to fuck with them and i liked watching them get angry, and now most on my clothes are like that.]

[So you don't care about people but you still say i shouldn't have killed them?]

[Just because i don't let peoples opinions rules my life doesn't mean their lives don't matter. I wouldn't let someone die just because they think i'm a slut.]

[Well i have no intention of killing people but i also won't save them either.]

[Didn't you try to kill Katerine?]

[I did, but she planed to kill me first and then pissed me off. She forfeited her life when she tried to kill a defenseless man.]

[Are you saying it wasn't because she is a noble?]

[This place is full of nobles. I have no desire to kill any of them.]

[So you don't resent the nobles that never had any hardship?]

[I used to but not anymore.]

[What changed your mind?]

[I realized it was going to kill me.]

[What do you mean?]

[Hate is like a fire. Bright, hot, powerful but it burns and consumes you. I hated everyone. I hated everyone that didn't have to suffer like i did. While i was laying on the ground too weak to get up, coughing up blood in a pool of my tears i was burning with hatred for those noble kids that have everything. I wished to make them suffer. In my mind they were all greedy, ungrateful, rude, entitled shits that didn't appreciate what they had, and i hated them for it. Every night when i went to sleep that's all i could think about. It was consuming my thoughts. It started to hurt. It hurt so much it was like i couldn't breathe. I told myself "stop". I took a deep breath and asked myself why do i hate them so much. I had to admit it. I didn't hate them because they have good things, i hated them because I don't. I wouldn't hate them if i had the same things they had so it was clear they did nothing wrong. Accepting that hurt, its not easy to face that part of yourself. But I did and i could breathe again.]

[Its hard facing the thing you're running from. But didn't you say you hated the people you killed? And now you say you let go of your hate.]

[I stopped hating people that didn't do anything to me. The people i killed were walking all over me. In fact hating them is what kept me going. I didn't give up on my life because i didn't want to prove them right.]

[What did you do after?]

[Well i realized that I hated them because they had power while I was powerless. So instead of wanting to destroy them i admitted i want to be like them. That's when i started reading. I read about all kinds of great men and what made them great. History or fiction all of them did something admirable. Since i was too weak to become great then, i was learning what it meant to be a great man.]

[And how did you get from wanting to be a great man to killing orphans? Great men stop people from doing that.]

[Wrong. Great men do what they think is right regardless of what others think. They chose their own path in life. They didn't look to others to tell them what's right or what to do. They decided that for themselves. They followed their own path and people praised them.]

[So your idea of a great man is someone that isn't influenced by others in his pursuit of his goals?]

[Hm, nicely put.]

[And here i thought that it meant being a good person and doing good deeds.]

[There are no good people, only selfish people.]

[You can't be serious! are you really trying to say that not a single person has ever done something nice for someone else?]

[Oh no, people help each other all the time, but they do it because they're selfish.]

[That makes no sense.]

[Sure it does. I help you and i expect you do the same for me. And if you don't i stop helping you. Its a business deal. There is a reason taking advantage of someones kindness exists. If you helped because its the right thing to do then why do you get upset if he doesn't pay back your kindness?]

[You're wrong. There and people that help others and don't expect anything in return. Even i helped someone out without expecting anything in return, and i would do it again if i had the chance.]

[Oh? And why did you do that?]

[Because helping others makes your heart feel full. Its a wonderful feeling, but i guess you've never experienced it. And that's why you think no one helps out of the kindness of their heart.]

[Haha, you just proved my point. You did it because it made you feel good. You still got something out of it. You still expected something in return so you are being selfish.

[So what would it take for one to be truly good and kind?]

[Hm lets see. I guess it would have to be someone that isn't affected by what humans do, it would require effort on his part and he doesn't feel anything when he does it or feels pain.]

[Someone like that doesn't exist.]

[Just like i said.]

[However you are also wrong. you are still not a great man.]

[According to you.]

[No according to you standards. You said great man follow their own path, but you don't have one. You are lost. The reason you are hare is because you had nothing to do. You have no goals so they gave you one and you agreed.]

[Sadly that's true. As much as i hate to admit it, there's nothing I care about. The closest thing i have to a goal right now is wanting to eat delicious food and fuck beautiful women.]

[Uhh, i can't believe the first real conversation i had since i got here is with you.]

[Disappointed?]

[Not at all.]

[How is that possible? Don't you have any friends?]

[Am afraid am in the same boat as you when it comes to friendship]

[I doubt that. You chose not to make friends. I didn't have that luxury.]

[Bullshit! If you tried you could've made some friends.]

[Haha its cute that you think that. But the reality was it was smart to stay away from me. I would've been a burden. If anyone was my friend then they would have take care of me, but i couldn't do anything for them. Back there you made friends with people so could have each others back, and i was useless, i couldn't have anyone's back.]

[That's horrible. Am sorry you went through that alone. But things are different now. You can make friends now.]

[That's true, but i don't think i can be friends with someone i don't respect, and am surrounded with a bunch of snobby bitches. They are so annoying.]

[They are not all like that. You can find a few that are descent.]

[Then why haven't you found them already?]

[Because i don't bother.]

[Maybe if you did you wouldn't be here talking with a murderer.]

[You say that, but i think you were a good person, that was broken. Its a shame. If only we met back then. Maybe we could have become friends and be there for each other.]

[Back then i would have befriended anyone that wanted to. So if you offered your friendship i would've gladly accepted. And if you stuck by me, after i got the gift i would have given you the world. I would fight with everything i got to stop the demons and keep you safe. But none of that happened and so here we are. Why didn't you have friends anyway?]

[It doesn't matter.]

[You're no fun! You pry into my past but you won't return the favor.]

[Its hard for most people to open up. You're like a poorly written book. you dump your whole backstory in the beginning.]

[Well the reason characters open up to others slowly is because they earn their trust bit by bit. When someone earns their trust they open up and become vulnerable. I told you everything even though i don't trust you because you can't use it to manipulate me. I accept myself and my past. I opened up because my past has no power over me. You don't want to talk about things because you are running away from it. And as long as you refuse to face it, it will have power over you.]

[You've given me something to think about. Hmm, i think you are right about me being selfish. I'm sad about what happened to you and those orphans, but what really hurts is knowing we could have been good friends if we met five years ago. Guess even i only think about myself.]

[Don't feel bad. It only means you're human.]

[Well am done with my bath.]

Claudia stands up and gets out of the water. She grabs a towel and wraps it around her.

[Tell me, and be honest. If we did meet five years ago and became close friends would you have fucked me then?]

[Perhaps.]

Claudia turns around and starts walking towards the door.

[Now that's a shame!]

With her back turned to him she smiles.

[Good night.]