the hated child

chapter sixty-seven

"Shed... Just fight the voices, don't let them get into your mind. If you do, there's no going back..."

"W-what?" Suddenly, Shed dropped to the floor, his head snapped back up.

"I fear it's too late now..."

"W..hat? What do you mean, too late??"

"It's just... ugh... Good luck Shed, I told you to give back my powers."

"AHHG!! IT HURTS... PLEASE MISTAKE! TAKE THEM BACK, I'M SORRY!!" Shed cried.

Mistake shook her head. "You should've said sorry before you started all of this, now you have to deal with your own actions."

"YOU HAVE TO SAVE ME..."

Mistake's eyes softened as she watched Shed writhe in pain. "There may be one thing..." she said, trailing off.

"WHAT? WHAT IS IT? I'LL DO ANYTHING," Shed begged.

"Begging already? Weren't you bragging about power just a second ago?"

Shed paused, thinking about what to say next. Suddenly, Mistake kicked him in the stomach.

"Time is ticking... You better hurry up and make a decision. Are you really willing to do anything for me?"

"Y-YES, I WILL! I'LL DO ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING I CAN IN ORDER TO PLEASE YOU. AS LONG AS YOU SAVE MY LIFE!!"

"Alrighty!" Mistake snapped her fingers and Shed let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait... How'd you stop the voices and pain so quickly? WERE YOU THE ONE WHO INFLICTED IT ONTO ME?? WAS THIS ALL A TRICK, A RUSE TO GET ME TO MAKE A DUMB DEAL WITH YOU??"

"Uh... yeah." Mistake shrugged. "You think I'm just gonna lose half of my powers to some dumb 'alpha male' guy? No. It's all a trick just to fuck with your brain. I needed to see if you were trustworthy; that's it."

"B-but... I used YOUR magical artifact! It was working, I was transforming! I'm literally your clone but with a different face and hair length right now."

"Yyyeah, it's MY magical artifact. It only works for me. And I told it to do some simple Disguise Self for whoever picked it up next. Easy stuff."

"And all of this effort was just about trust? Why did you need to learn about trust?? Were you scared that your citizens would want to protest against your dictatorship?"

Mistake thought about her answer for a second, then nodded briefly. "I suppose? It was more like, I need to find out who ruined my reputation, but that was most likely a subconscious thought process as well."

"And do you know who started the rumour? You've caused so much innocent blood to fall for this question, do you even know the answer yet?"

"I... Sorry, I was just so caught up with Ebony. I was blinded by revenge and anger! I couldn't think properly..."

"And you're supposed to rule the kingdom? You're just a privileged little brat who feeds off of her family like a parasite."

Mistake's gaze froze, becoming ice cold. Her glares pierced straight through Shed, literally and metaphorically.

"Heh... Stop staring at me like that. You want to fight me or something?" Shed said smugly.

Mistake scoffed. "You think you're strong enough for a fight?"

"Yes."

"I literally just informed you that you don't have possession over my powers, it's merely a disguise spell. Is your thinking organ functioning properly?"

"You're the one at 15HP, and I'M the one at 34HP. I clearly have an advantage in this battle. If I'm lucky, you'll be gone in just 1 hit!"

"So will you!" Mistake replied. "I have much more powerful spells..."

"But you're WEAKENED... Low health won't let you function properly, it'll stop you from going all out."

"And how do you know that?"

"I've experienced it before... NOW YOU WILL! RAHHH!!!"

Shed popped his pimples and splattered oil all over the room.

"EWWWW!" Mistake screeched while oil landed all over her eyes. "Oh dearie me, oh goodness gracious, I'm beginning to develop the same mannerisms as Ronald..."

"I hypothesize that it's a sign of becoming less powerful! Get ready for all my attacks..."

Mistake stomped her foot. "No," she BOOMED. "My turn!" She inhaled and exhaled slowly, her hands beginning to glow with magical energy.

My aura... It's dimmer than before... Mistake bared her teeth and grunted.

Shed tapped his finger on his chinny chin chin. "How peculiar..."

"Um... why's my magic dimmer?" Mistake asked, worriedly looking at her hands. Her eyes glowed turquoise, but it wasn't powerful enough.

"AHA! FINALLY... YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE WEAKER! How does it feel~"

"I... S-stop it! Bring me back, GIVE IT BACK."

"Didn't you just say I didn't take your powers? Just admit it, you're WEAK now!"

"I... I..."

"HA! The princess of the kingdom all weak? What a joke... Just give it up, save yourself from all that humiliation!"

Mistake blinked, and the glow faded from her eyes. She dropped to the ground in despair, watching the glow fade from her hands as well. Tears started forming in her eyes.

"The tall, mighty, and UNTOUCHABLE future ruler of the Gacha kingdom is now DETHRONED! And by who? The amazing SHED EEEEEEEEEERAN!!!"

"No... please no..."

"It's alright Mistake, maybe I'll take you in as a servant or consort! You should feel grateful that I'm showing you mercy instead of just killing you..."

Mistake shuffled over, still on her knees, in front of Shed.

Shed wiped off Mistake's tears and licked them off his thumb. "Don't cry Mistake, I'm your saviour... A god if you will. If you support me, you never have to worry about anything!"

"Shed... I love you!"