[ Though it's hardly an uncommon sentiment, his smile grows broader at the words, I hate losing. ]

Better to hate it than to love it, I suppose. If one enjoys defeat too much, it removes that drive to better oneself.

[ Some masochistic pleasure in it is fine, but nevertheless. Not that he would know anything about it, seeing as— ]

Oh, they certainly did. Unfortunately for them, their ambitions surpassed their talents by by far. [ His smile turns vicious on his lips. ] Even in my youth, my superiority in the art of single combat was uncontested. Even some of the Lord Commanders looked jealously upon my ascendant star. [ Okay, mostly Eidolon, but he's bragging here. ] I suppose they must have felt threatened by the attention I commanded.

[ Anyway, ten-thousand years later, Lucius absolutely does not count that time Loken punched him as a loss. They agreed to a duel of swords, not fisticuffs. ]

In any case, the Emperor's Children were a disciplined bunch at the time, and those within Squad Nasicae fell in line in deference to my skill. Not a single one of them could say a word against my ability to lead from the front.

[ A leadership philosophy highly valued within the III Legion, when it still valued rank and organization at all. ]