"Become like the Calamities?!"
Fatima shouted after almost choking on her food.
"I knew you were going to say something stupid, but not that."
She wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Celso, don't tell me you haven't learn your lesson."
Martha looked at her son with query.
"Wait, you two. Let's hear him out."
Ruben spoke up.
"What do you mean by what you said, Celso?"
"Just as I said, I want to be completely free. Free to do what I want, go where I want, act anyway I want. I want freedom."
"And becoming like the Calamities will achieve that?"
Ruben probed while digesting his son's words. Celso nodded.
"I don't really get it."
Elisa twirled her champagne in her glass.
"As someone who has interacted with the Calamities, you should know how restricted they truly are. Yet, you want to be like them to be free?"
"I know they're not completely free. I learned that no one is truly free when my mother and sister's lives were threatened because of me. I cared for them, so they were my restrictions. I love them, so I was afraid to lose them."
He smirked.
"However, the Calamities don't have that problem. Their strength is on a different level. A level where they don't need to worry about losing anyone because there's nothing they can't do."
He clenched his fist and spoke with a savage light in his eyes.
"I want that strength."
Elisa and Rui frowned after seeing his expression. Even so, Celso continued.
"But like you said, the Calamities aren't completely free. They have things that chained them down. I'm certain of that after getting to know them better.... However, those chains come from within them. In other words, their inner struggles and insecurities are what hold them back. They're robbing themselves of their own freedom."
"....Then are you saying that won't happen with you?"
"No."
Celso answered Rui without hesitation.
"All of you know this..."
He pointed at himself.
"I'm kinda stupid."
"True, true."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"And because I'm not that smart, I don't do complicated stuff anymore."
He glanced at Belinha.
"Like acting as a leader. It's not for me."
He looked away back at Rui.
"However, I'm not good at following instructions. So, I must be what they call a wildcard."
He chuckled a bit before grinning.
"My point is, I'm always true to myself. A hidden self? I'm unapologetically me, always. Insecurities? I won't hide them and make them clear for all to see. Afraid I'll lose myself in my own ego? I wear my ego on my sleeve. Anyone who doesn't like it step to me."
"....So what you're saying is if you had their strength, there's nothing that would hold you back?"
"That's right."
Rui closed his eyes for a bit before reopening them with a deadly light.
"As I thought, you're a Villain at heart."
Celso's face was covered by a beastly grin.
"I won't deny that."
He leaned over the table.
"I suppose you won't deny you considering whether to kill me here or not, Blood Tyrant?"
"Yeah, I've held myself back from killing you three times in the last minute."
Celso nodded.
"Understandable. I would feel the same."
"Celso, shut up."
Ruben cut in before looking at Rui.
"You heard him say it earlier. He's a stupid kid."
"True, but stupid kids tend to cause the most trouble. As a Hero responsible for countless lives, it would be best if I eliminate a possible future threat."
"I agree."
Elisa spoke up.
"In our field, people like Impactor are the most dangerous."
She drank her champagne before showing a smile.
"I mean, just look at that grin."
Celso's face had nearly lost all trace of its humanity.
"Even facing two legendary Heroes, he only feels excitement. That kind of insanity resembles the Three Calamities."
A small flicker of flame appeared in front of her.
"It would be better to cleanse him now."
Ruben silently looked at his old friends and his son. Beside him, his wife and daughter were anxious, but he couldn't help notice that both of them were slowly reaching for the knives on the table. It was obvious they were ready to protect if necessary. The room was tense; so much so that one wrong move could lead to bloodshed, something Ruben must prevent. So he opened his mouth, but before he could speak, someone else did.
"Celso."
Belinha calmly called out to Celso before turning towards him.
"Behave."
One word, that was all she said before returning to eating her food. As for Celso—
"Understood."
He leaned back in his seat and relaxed his body before he started eating.
"Mhm! I missed this taste!"
He turned to his mother.
"Mae, can you give Belinha your recipe? There's this girl named Bojana who's great at cooking. I want to ask her to try making this for me."
"Ah...Ok, I will."
Martha answered with an awkward tone while Celso's face brightened up.
"Blood Tyrant, Flame Sorceress."
Belinha called out to her parents by their Hero Aliases, which drew their attention.
"Impactor might be a Villain at heart, but he will never turn into one. So don't worry."
"And why's that, Blood Phoenix?"
Belinha smiled at her father.
"Because he's having too much fun being a part of Kismet, and as the leader of Kismet, I promise you that he will live and die a Hero."
She slapped Celso's back.
"Isn't that right?"
"Yeah, I love hanging out with Kira and Mikel and I can't do that if I become a Villain."
Celso stopped eating.
"What if we all become Villains?"
"Won't happen."
"Alright."
He continued eating. Everyone looked at him before sighing.
"All this feels so stupid."
Fatima mumbled.
"I agree."
Elisa giggled a bit and let a servant refill her glass. Rui looked at Ruben and shook his head.
"Like father, like son."
"Those are fighting words."
Ruben snapped back. Everyone laughed as the tension completely faded and the dinner continued.
"Belinha, how are you able to control my brother like that?"
After the dinner, Fatima and Belinha were talking in Belinha's room.
"It wasn't easy."
Belinha sighed with a dead look in her eyes before mumbling—
"Patience and violence. A lot of patience and violence."
"S-Sounds tough."
Belinha just let out an exaggerated sigh while Fatima gave a strained smile.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Belinha looked at Fatima while sitting on her bed.
"Ah...."
Fatima showed hesitance towards Belinha's question. After a short while, she spoke up.
"Aren't you guys afraid of dying?"
"Every single day."
Belinha answered instantly.
"I mean, we're fighting the strongest beings in the world while being a newly formed team consisting mostly of Rookie Heroes. It's a miracle we haven't died yet."
"I see..."
Belinha observed Fatima's expression and her eyes widened.
"Ah, but don't worry. I doubt Celso will die. That guy is a freak of nature; he'll survive the world ending."
"...I guess you're right."
Fatima smiled.
"He's like a cockroach."
"Your words betray your warm smile."
Belinha laughed nervously. Fatima sat on a beanbag near the door.
"Say, Belinha, does it look like my brother and I are close?"
"Nope, not at all."
Fatima laughed.
"To be honest, I can't understand him. Never could. His actions and thoughts resemble those of a wild animal. So it's hard to relate to him..."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"However, I do love him. I can't understand him and he makes me mad all the time but I still love my idiot brother....I don't want him to die."
She clasped her hands together so tightly her body trembled.
"I can't bring myself to watch your battles against the Calamities because I don't want to watch him get hurt…I don't want to watch him draw his last breath."
Belinha remained silent.
"My mother is the same. She spends the entire time you're fighting, praying, asking a god she didn't use to acknowledge to protect her son. As for my father, he's tough. He watches every second without flinching, no matter how brutal it gets."
She paused for a bit and looked at the ground.
"I once asked him how he could sit and watch his son go through hell....I didn't want an answer; I was just angry and took it out on him."
She looked up at Belinha.
"Do you know what he said?"
Belinha shook her head and Fatima let out a dry chuckle.
"As the man responsible for his son diving into hell, it's my duty to see every second. To witness how he lived and died. It's my duty and punishment."
A silence covered the room, as Belinha could only imagine how Fatima felt hearing those words from her father. Even so, she had to speak.
"I don't think anyone is to be blamed for how Celso's life turned out but himself. He chose this path and walks it with glee every day. It was always going to turn out like this."
Fatima nodded.
"I agree. I understand it in my mind, but I can't help but feel like a burden....I'm sure no one feels like this more than my father."
(Celso, you're truly a Villain. The way you're hurting your family without a care is truly evil.)
Belinha sighed and got off her bed. She slowly approached Fatima
"Fatima, there's no need to worry."
She stopped in front of her.
"I, the World's Greatest Healer, promise my life that I won't let your brother die. I also promise that once we defeat the Calamities, I'll drag him back home and hand him over to you."
Belinha placed her hand over her heart.
"I swear on my heart that pumps my fiery blood through my veins."
Fatima looked at her for a while and smiled.
"Thank you, Belinha."
She stood up and placed her hand on Belinha's shoulders.
"Now I really want you as my sister. It's too bad my brother isn't nearly good enough for you."
Belinha laughed while Fatima smirked.
"Maybe I should take you for myself."
Belinha's laugh was cut short and she looked at Fatima with confusion.
"Come again?"