"Noro, you need to get allies," Sergeant Taka said.

  "What? I can't!" I told Sergeant Taka. "How am I supposed to be an anime superhero if I am fighting with a group of friends? Besides, Fist of the North Star has taught me that any friends I get will all eventually die on me, and I will have to turn my sadness into power. I can’t have allies—I don’t want to lose them," I said, doing my sad, mopey act.

  "SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" Sergeant Taka screamed at me. "You will work with a group when I say so!"

  Vile of Power: Chapter 2 - Allies

  "Look, Noro," Sergeant Taka said to me, "You have a hero complex. We all know you do. Way before this whole situation with the war with some other world came in, before you were given your powers, you would brag all day when you saved a potential life. You like helping people, but it gets to your head. You read too much manga and watch too much anime, and that makes you like this. But enough is enough—stop with the stupid bullshit and actually, for once, work with someone other than yourself," Taka told me.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Ouch, okay, so maybe I am a bit of a Goku or Kenshiro wannabe. Maybe I would love to be a Super Saiyan, a Hokage, or hell, the successor of an assassin’s art and someone who uses it to help people. But come on, I swear to you, dear reader, I do not watch too much anime. What the hell do you mean I do? Shut up. Anyway, I eventually caved in and decided I would agree to Taka’s assessment that I need a partner. Apparently, it was the Goddess of Peace’s idea, as she said that we all need to go into groups to get used to our abilities. But, oh well."

  A few moments later, Elina entered the room. She had just gotten in and revealed Noro’s training partners in preparation for the war: they were Emily and Zeon, and they were to go on a training mission the next day. They headed to the training grounds, where Elina revealed that the area was once used as a temporary home for Pandora, as she had been briefly imprisoned there. However, one day, Pandora broke free of the chains and went berserk. The powers of the flame sword and her rage fueled her, and the rage consumed her—rage at the Goddess Council and herself for being weak. In her blind fury, she killed a number of people, which led to her being placed into the vile.

  Noro’s heart skipped a beat, and suddenly, Pandora took control.

  “You’re wrong,” she said.

  “Excuse me, Noro? What did you say?” Elina asked, thinking Noro was still in control.

  “You’re wrong!” Pandora screamed. “I was framed! Wraaahhhhhh!” Pandora let out a loud battle cry.

  To be continued…