Chapter 27: Veronica’s Despair
The next day, inside of Tyrion's classroom, Veronica and Jiren were sat next to one another in silence. In front of them was a cauldron with boiling green liquid inside it. As she cut up a stalk of pure white Nerrion, a gloomy look could be found on her face. The origin of her current sadness was the person she wanted to see the most, Kaido.
When she first arrived in class, she was actually looking forward to the day for once. Before, she dreaded interacting with others due to the bullying she received all her life. In fact, it almost seemed to increase in recent times. Like hearing more people talk behind her back with nasty expressions and finding disgusting gunk in her cafeteria food. It made her feel... low. Depressed and alone. Worthless.
However, none of this mattered because Kaido had brought light to the end of her tunnel and showed her joy for the first time in years. Unfortunately, he wasn't here today for unknown reasons. But Veronica wasn't unreasonable and understood why he was absent. Such a perfect and flawless person like him must be busy with other, more important issues. There was one thing that confused her though…
"So, do you know how long he's been dabbling in Alchemy?" Jiren coldly uttered as he vigorously stirred the contents of the cauldron.
For some reason, ever since the two had met, this silver haired genius bugged her about Kaido. He had done so yesterday and wasn't letting up today as well. As for his questions, Veronica had no clue on how to answer them as she knows very little about Kaido. So instead, she took every opportunity to praise him. However, Jiren's interest in her- in Kaido reinforced her theory of the silver haired Alchemist being gay.
'I'd usually ship two handsome guys like them, but Kaido's…' She stared at him dangerously for a split second before looking away. She shook her head depressingly, her movements slowing as her eyes lost their light.
'He wouldn't like me. A useless piece of trash is not fit for perfection such as him. Pathetic to even get your hopes up. Can't you hear what they say? When they think you're out of earshot? How... trash you are?'
"I don't know…" Jiren glanced at the depressed girl with a raised eyebrow. He couldn't fathom why her mood suddenly dropped massively. But he couldn't be bothered to care and simply hummed lightly.
As for his interest in Kaido, he saw him as a worthy rival. That only increased when he researched about him, the so-called Greatest Talent. That Zendrix character which had risen up in recent times would be a nice snack, but he was clearly inferior to Kaido. Even with his talent suddenly jumping, it still took him several days to catch up to Kaido in terms of Rank. Thus, it was clear his talent was lower and undeserving of his full attention.
Suddenly, he noticed the concoction was ready and poured the contents inside the awaiting bottle. Putting a cap on it, he brought it to Tyrion with a down in the dumps Veronica trailing behind him.
"84% purity! Splendid work as usual Jiren. You shouldn't be too far from an Apprentice Alchemist at this rate. One of the quickest in history even!" Despite the teacher's praise, a frown was on his face. He muttered under his breath, which Veronica just so happened to hear.
"He would have done better. It seems I am still lacking." Out of nowhere, he turned around to concoct another potion. Veronica stared at his back with her own thoughts in her mind.
'Definitely gay. He believes his crush would be disappointed when hearing of the results and will strive to do better to please him. I… I can beat him!' Filled with confidence, she went to her own table to work on her own.
As for Tyrion, he was a little stunned at the sudden turn of events. He whispered lowly to himself, confusion in his voice.
"Did these two have a falling out? What just happened?"
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Veronica walked down the hallway, biting her lip like a maniac. She held her books close to her chest as if she wanted to strangle them. Despite trying her absolute hardest, she had lost in the game of love. Jiren had pulled out a 88% purity with his next potion while she only got an 81%. She was so focused on that she didn't even realize she did the second best in class.
To her however, it was no better than trash. Countless demeaning thoughts towards her own self ran through her mind as she tore her lip apart, blood running down her chin. Yet she didn't even register the pain, only worrying about what Kaido would think of her. Would he hate her? Think she's worthless trash? Toss her aside because of her uselessness?
"No, he wouldn't do that. He is a kind and perfect person. Not one to do such disgusting actions…" She muttered to herself quietly, attracting a few eyes from others. They didn't hear her but still noticed her abnormality and took a wide birth around the crazy lady.
While thinking about this and what the rest of her day should be, she turned the same corner she always did. The reason she did so was obvious because of her nature. Less people took this hallway, sometimes even making it barren with only one or two around. Today, it seemed she was a little lucky as there was no one here.
Thinking nothing of this strange occurrence, she absent-mindedly walked forwards with her head down. Suddenly, her legs were tripped out from underneath her, sending her tumbling to the ground. She fell harshly, screaming in pain as her belongings were thrown everywhere. Confusion rocked her mind as she looked around.
"Aw, look at her. Trying to figure out what happened, like a stupid bitch." There it was. That insufferable familiar voice which had been haunting her dreams as of late.
Turning her head, she saw the arrogant smirk of Hilda and an older male student behind her who had a vicious expression. On his body was a white uniform, signifying his status as a 4th Star.
"Wh-What do you want?" Hilda's face turned venomous at Veronica's question, growling like a beast. She roughly grabbed her hair and lifted her up, causing the poor girl to groan in.
"Talking back to me? Do you really think you're some kind of untouchable hot shot because you seduced Kaido with your slutty body? Hehe, you do realize he doesn't care about you right?" Ignoring the pain, Veronica stared at Hilda's teasing eyes with shock. She couldn't help but believe in her words as it made the most sense.
He didn't actually care for her and only saved her because he was a kind person. It was the same situation with being her partner during Alchemy. An act of pity was all it was. Tears started appearing in her eyes as she her thoughts turned more and more depressing. Why would he ever care about something like her?
"Stupid commoner whore." Hilda spit in her face and shoved her away with a disgusted look. But then her expression turned dark as she grinned cruelly, motioning towards the older student behind her.
"You see him? One of my good friends that has been having a tough time recently. His girlfriend broke up with him, grades are slipping, and his father has lowered his allowance! Tsk tsk, how tragic! Don't you agree?" Veronica felt an ominous feeling creep inside her heart as she watched the two of them eye her. Like a snake about to pounce on their prey.
"So why don't you be a good little slut, spread your legs, and let him relieve himself. Not your first time I'm sure." Her eyes widened, fear and terror climbing her spine as she tried to get up. But a swift kick in the chest from Hilda sent her back down.
As this happened, one of the stone statues next to them had their eyes light up for a brief instant. However, it soon died down after a few moments.
"Trying to leave? How dare you! It's your great honor to serve a nobleman like him!" The older student licked his lips as his lecherous eyes wandered over Veronica's form.
"She's not bad. About as good as the whores in a brothel I'd say."
"I know right? Only thing she's good for really. Oh, by the way slut. The one who'll be fucking you is named Patrick. You can thank your twenty ancestors for having such luck in bedding a noble."
The cruel treatment she had received, the harsh words they uttered, and the realization she would lose her virginity to rape made Veronica unable to hold it in. She began sobbing to herself, tears running down her face.
"Ugh, now she's crying? Such a weakling." Hilda shivered in disgust, as if she stepped in dog shit. Patrick on the other hand bit his lips, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
"Oh no, I like it this way. I hope she has some fight in her to make it interesting."
"Whatever floats your boat weirdo. Anyway, let's grab her and move to a more secret place. Doing it in the middle of the hallway is a little…" She trailed off as she approached Veronica, a hand reaching out towards her.
Just as the poor crying girl was about to try and at least fight back, a voice full of rage echoed through the hallway.
"Stop it right there!" Out of nowhere, Veronica looked up and was shocked to see Kaido appear in front of her as if he teleported. He roughly shoved Hilda away with one hand, causing her to fall to the ground.
Yet she cared little for that, besides some strange joy in her heart at Hilda's pain, and only focused on him. Again he had saved her, without hesitation and when she was at the lowest point. But was it just another case of him intervening because he was a good person?
'Right, he was only passing by. He doesn't care about the worthless me…' She lowered her head, tears falling once more as a light disappeared from her eyes. Suddenly, she saw an armored and evil looking gauntlet in her vision and looked up surprised.
"Are you okay Veronica? Don't worry, I'm here to help." At first she was stunned, but then she was unable to contain herself and grabbed his hand. When he pulled her up, she threw herself into his embrace and cried into his chest.
"I-I-Th-They-" She couldn't get a word out, still traumatized from the events which had both occurred and almost ruined her forever. She felt his armored hand go through her hair with gentleness, his actions and voice calming her down.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm here now, and won't let anything happen to you." Kaido held her in his embrace with one arm while his other was aimed at the shocked duo.
"K-Kaido?! Wait a second, we can talk about this! Are you seriously defending a commoner whore?!"
But he was completely ignored as Kaido focused on Hilda. His eyes were empty as he smiled indisceribly, no real emotion on his face. For some reason, Hilda felt a chill go down her spine when seeing him like that.
"Did you think I was bluffing?" From his armored palm, a wave of powerful flames shot out like a tsunami of fire. Patrick was shocked and grabbed Hilda by the shoulder.
"Get behind me!" Bringing up both of his palms, he hurriedly conjured a shield wall made of pure Light. When the wave of fire made contact with the wall, Patrick's eyes nearly popped out their skull at the strength.
His feet slid across the floor for several meters as he grit his teeth, putting his all into defending the attack with a loud roar. Only when he did that, did the two finally stop and hit a deadlock. Suddenly, a crack appeared in the shield, stunning Patrick as he felt the heat start to burn his palms.
'What the fuck is this strength?! I'm suppose to be a genius too you know?! And I thought this was apart of the plan?! Why does it seem like he's actually trying to kill us?!'
But he couldn't think such thoughts, only focusing on defending against the attack. At this rate, it would break through the shield and burn him and his companion alive. As for Hilda, even she was beginning to think like this in the heat of the moment, sweat going down her brow. She too could feel the level of power in the flames and knew Patrick wouldn't be able to hold for long.
'This… wasn't what he said.'
Veronica watched on with awe as Kaido effortlessly held a 4th Star student back on his own. Looking up at his handsome and 'shining' face, the light in her eye returned. However, it seemed to be a shade… darker, than before. With a lovely smile, she placed her head on his chest and listened to his calm heart beat. The smell of his body made her feel a sense of security and warmth. But it also made dirty thoughts start to build up in her mind, a blush appearing on her face.
Meanwhile, Kaido looked down and smiled knowingly before turning his attention back to the duo. His eyes glanced at the Stone Knight Guardians, usually just called Golems, who were starting to wake up and decided it was time. Around his body, a dozen melon sized Icicle Drills appeared out of thin air and spun wildly. With a thought, he sent them along the stream of fire.
Patrick noticed this and widened his eyes. There was no way he could defend against them. Even one or two would be difficult to handle, let alone a dozen of them. Besides, he was currently putting his all into blocking the stream of fire. Just as he thought he was about to die, a stone hand moved in front of him and cut off the stream of fire. Letting out a breath, he dispelled his almost broken Light Wall and tried to calm his shaking hands. As for the Icicle Drills, they had slammed against the hand and shattered on impact.
"Detected students fighting with malicious intent. Alerting nearby Teachers…" The stone knight Golem's eyes flashed for a few seconds.
Meanwhile, two other Golems in the hallway woke up and moved in the middle of the four of them. Their greatswords were in their hands and they seemed ready for combat. Kaido had already cut off the stream of fire when it had been blocked, no surprise in his face as he comforted Veronica by rubbing her back slowly.
"No Teachers nearby. Students are advised to stop fighting." The Golems locked eyes with them all, frightening all but one who bowed slightly.
"It will not happen again." Satisfied with Kaido's answer, the Golems went back to their position. Yet they did not go back to sleep and watched them just in case. Not only that, but every Golem in the hallway was the same.
"Come on let's go." Patrick grabbed Hilda's hand and brought them away. While they left, Veronica glared at both of their backs with an extremely dangerous light in her eyes. Noticing this, Kaido grinned for a split second before it was replaced with a gentle smile.
"Are you okay?" His voice was low and broke her out of her deranged thoughts. Suddenly realizing how close they were, with his arm around her waist and her chest against his, made her face turn bright red.
"I-I-Fine. Th-Thanks to y-you…" Her voice was practically nonexistent as she dared not to move. Then, she heard Kaido sigh in relief.
"Thank the Gods, I had been worried after seeing your state. Oh, look at this. Dirt on your uniform from when that bitch shoved you." As he patted off her clothes, she looked at him surprised. She didn't expect such vulgar language. Noticing this, Kaido chuckled.
"What can is say? She really brings out the worst in me." Veronica giggled, feeling her high strung nerves start to calm down.
"W-Why were you here though?" She asked the burning question on her mind. Suddenly, she saw his face turn a little… loving?
"For you. I wasn't able to make it to Alchemy and… I wanted to see you." Her heart skipped a few beats as steam exited her head. Unconsciously, her arms tightened around Kaido's back as her eyes widened comically.
"M-Me?! Here for me?!" Her tone of voice peaked, unable to believe the words he said. All this time, she had been thinking he didn't actually care for her. Clearly, she had been an idiot.
"Yes. I wanted to get to know you better." He stroked her hair, watching as she purred like a cat before continuing.
"But I couldn't find you and went looking. Then, I saw this despicable scene." He shook his head, anger appearing on his face.
"Disgusting! I'll make sure those two are punished for this." His words had a sharp edge to them, a hidden meaning to them as he glanced at her.
As for Veronica, she was filled with an immense amount of joy, far more than when he attacked Hilda and Patrick. Numerous thoughts ran wild inside her mind as she came to a ridiculous conclusion.
'Does he… like me?! No! Don't get ahead of yourself dummy!' She stared at his face, her own becoming more and more red with every passing second as she began thinking perverted thoughts.
"Hey Veronica?" His words snapped her out of her daze.
"Y-Yes?" When she saw him smile almost teasingly, a bad feeling started to brew in her mind.
"Could you ease up on hugging me?" She was momentarily surprised and realized she was hugging him so hard it was like she wanted to meld with him. This caused her to feel an extreme amount of shame and embarrassment as she backed up away from him.
"I-I-I-Sorry!" She didn't know what to do and simply ran away as fast as possible, leaving a chuckling Kaido all to himself.
When she was gone though, the smile on his face turned dark as he began picking up her things off the ground with the power of Wind.
"I could get her right now and easily spread her legs, but I should wait. Her love for me is obvious, however it's not at the level I want. An obsessive and dangerous love, then I can fully corrupt her. She'll become fully devoted to me, able to do all sorts of... nefarious deeds." Kaido laughed to himself and disappeared from his spot when he had gathered everything.
As for the Golems who had witnessed everything, they were certainly more than a little confused. However, they simply went back to sleep when the students had left.
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"Phew, you didn't care to inform me about that part of the plan?" Patrick wiped the sweat from his brow when remembering the level of strength Kaido had. If that Stone Knight Guardian didn't block the attack…
"Does it matter? It all worked out in the end. Everything went according to plan flawlessly did it not?" Hilda crossed her arms, burying the turbulent feelings in her heart.
As for Patrick, a chill went down his spine. Now that he really thought about it, didn't everything happen exactly as Kaido said it would besides him attacking them so hard? From every action, emotion, to even the words Veronica would say? It was certainly a little scary how he predicted everything.
"Well, anyway, this makes us even now. But, thanks again Hilda." He suddenly hugged her tightly, stunning her for a moment. She hesitantly returned it, unaccustomed to such closeness with another man besides Kaido.
"If not for you, me and my boyfriend never would have gotten together!" He kissed her on the cheek and left happily, eager to return to his lover's side. Hilda watched him go with a strange face.
A few months ago, she had met Patrick at a birthday party for a noblewoman. They had gotten to talking for a little bit, the alcohol influencing their minds and actions. Because of the devil's drink, they had let each other in on their deepest secrets. For her, it was her marriage to a fat sadistic slob. For him, it was his newfound sexuality. Unfortunately, his family was very anti-gay and his father would have skinned him alive if he found out.
So, she had carelessly promised to help him out with his love life on a drunken whim. Because she couldn't go back on her word, she tried her hardest to find another nobleman who happened to be gay. Thankfully, it had worked out well and she introduced the two of them. Turned out, they were like soul mates who finally found each other. Ever since then, Patrick had owed her a favor which she cashed in today. Though, something she couldn't understand, was how Kaido found out about their deal.
"But what was that smile on his face?" She didn't want to admit how much it scared her. Those empty eyes and emotionless face. As if he were looking at an insect he was about to crush under his foot. For a second, she had the thought that maybe, she got into bed with the wrong man.
"Well, the sex is good at least. And hearing what 'father' said to me after losing my virginity? Hahaha!"
She laughed heartily when remembering her 'father' calling her the morning after the two of them had sex. Pure rage was in his voice as he let loose a few... key words. Calling her a slut and whore for spreading her legs for some random boy. He said she ruined everything, that the fat sadist wouldn't want a used woman like her. It made her feel ecstatic to know she caused him such pain.