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Seeing an opportunity Issei pushed his body as far as he could, praying that he could use this chance to finally overtake the huntress. In his focused and exhausted state Issei didn't notice his body starting to move in sync with Atalanta's, the two appearing to be running in perfect synchronization as the sun began setting behind them.
He had to run! He had to win!
Damn her! Damn that huntress! He had to win! Not just for him, but for his dad! What would happen if he lost his son too?
He had to run-
She had to run! She had to win!
Damn them! Damn those cheats! She had to win! She would not break her vows to her Goddess, she wouldn't let that bastard of a father take away the last piece of her identity she had left.
The lone huntress sprinted at unimaginable speeds as she tried to close the distance between her and the cheater, only to watch in dismay as he crossed the finish line. The huntress just slowed to a stop as a feeling of deep despair welled up inside her, she had betrayed her Goddess, the one who saved her life!
Tears blurred her vision as she looked down to her hand and saw the core of the Golden Apple still clutched tightly in her fist. The once indomitable huntress fell to the ground as her legs turned to jelly, there was silence as a loud piercing wail of defeat and despair echoed across the grounds before trailing off into soft sobs.
As her cries crept their way through the nearby woods, numerous animals in the forest grew silent as the listened before they too joined in the huntress' lamenting. Signaling that the legend of the indomitable Chaste Huntress Atalanta had well and truly met its end.
"What the? Ouch!" cried Issei as his body finally gave in and he collapsed.
"Thou lost again boy, thou will have to do better…this is thou's final chance," informed the huntress as she approached him.
"Just shut up! If you hate me so much then why are we even talking! Why are you even bothering to help me!" snarled Issei as a combination of fear, desperation, exhaustion and anger finally took their toll on his psyche.
Atalanta just stared at him before she sighed, "because of this…"
"…we all have choices Mittelt, whether we know it or not and I've just made mine. I'm giving you a second chance, don't waste it."
Issei's eyes widened as he saw himself standing in front of Mittelt before the image began dissolving into nothing.
"Lancer wanted her dead, even I was enraged at her trickery. I nearly killed a child, something a hero should never do. Yet thou held us back, not only did thou spare the child but thou set her down a better path," informed the huntress as she turned away from the image and back to Issei.
"And so thou gained my curiosity, as well as my respect. However, if this is what thou calls their best then perhaps I was mistaken," muttered the Atalanta before she began walking away.
"I will give thee some time alone, it's good to have some time alone to make peace with thyself before death," she advised, leaving the teen alone with his thoughts.
What was he going to do? There was no way he could beat her! He needed a miracle! The teen growled in frustration before he felt something poking into his back and turned to see a Golden Apple laying on the ground next to him.
"That wasn't there before, was it?" pondered the teen with a frown as he picked up the apple.
"Oi boy art thou ready yet?" called Atalanta from the nearby starting line.
"Yeah give me a second," shouted Issei as he hid the apple behind his back and made his way to the starting point.
For the final time the two of them got into their staring positions and Issei felt the weight of the apple now hidden under his shirt. 'I hope this works,' sighed the teen as he clutched his last lifeline close to his chest.
As usual, Issei quickly found himself overtaken by the huntress and sighed as he removed the apple from beneath his shirt and prepared to throw the distraction. However, as he drew his arm back to throw it, he heard the huntress' wails of despair and soft sobs echo throughout his mind and the teen hesitated. Did he really want to use it? Would he really be satisfied with that outcome? No, he had to use it, or he'd be killed! He didn't have a choice! Issei glanced at the Golden Apple in his hand as he ran, his mind still trying to come to a decision before he suddenly remembered the race and tried to find Atalanta.
"Damn it!" cried Issei as he lowered his arm with the apple still clenched in his fist and collapsed to the ground, watching as Atalanta crossed the finish line and turn to face him before walking over to the teen.
"Congratulations boy, you passed," announced Atalanta as she helped the shocked teen back to his feet.
"But…I didn't win," he replied, drawing a small smirk from the huntress.
"Thou were never meant to boy…rather if I had been beaten then thou would have failed the most important test," answered Atalanta as she grabbed the Golden Apple that was hidden behind his back in the teen's clutched hand.
"Did thou really think that this accused apple appearing was pure chance?" she asked, before throwing it away.
"Any person who could still resort to such trickery after thou had experienced my memories has no right to use the power of the Chaste Huntress," explained Atalanta.
"And what about killing me?" frowned Issei.
"Merely the motivation required to push thou to thy limits, I doubt Caster or Lancer would have given me a quick death if I had killed thee," mused the huntress.
"Was it really necessary to go so far?" asked the teen as she placed him gently on the ground nearby a tree.
The huntress nodded, "people always reveal their true nature when exposed to hardships like this, thou art no exception."
A small smile grew on Atalanta's face as she stared at him, "still I must admit that thou art a good person…perhaps Caster and Lancer weren't naive fools after all."
"Umm…thanks?" replied Issei hesitantly before resting his tired body against the tree.
The huntress was silent for a couple of minutes before she sighed, "I'm sorry about thou's mother…for a child to lose their parent like that at a young age is tragic."
"What? But how do you…" stammered Issei in shock while Atalanta had a smug smirk appear on her face.
"Thou didn't think thy'd be the only one seeing memories during this, did thee? When souls are being bound it isn't a one way process, each influences the other. Even Include states are no exception to this," informed the Chaste Huntress.
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🚨 Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus adult-themed pictures & scenes you won't find anywhere else(adult only 😉)
Don't fall behind—others are already ahead! 👀
👉 Patreon.com/c/FanfictionTakashi
( please search this link on Google Chrome)