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Chapter 791: Stranded In A Strange World

"Will, do you think that life is unfair?" a beautiful lady with black hair asked as she caressed the side of William's face.

"Yes," William replied as he looked at the lady's light-brown eyes with love. "Still, I am thankful that life allowed me to hold you in my arms like this. Are we really boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"You don't want to be?"

"I want to be!"

The black-haired beauty smiled as she closed her eyes and raised her chin.

William looked at the love of his life, and lowered his head to kiss her soft lips, which made his heart shudder.

Since it was his first time kissing someone, William merely pressed his lips over hers for a few seconds before pulling back.

"They said that the first kiss would taste like honey," the black-haired beauty said as she opened her eyes. "They were lying."

William blinked as he looked at the lady in front of her. He was so nervous that he had forgotten what his first kiss tasted like. The only thing he remembered was how soft her lips were.

"What did it taste like then?" William asked in curiosity. He was dying to know the answer to his question as he stared at her face lovingly.

"It tastes like happiness," the young lady answered as he wrapped her arms around William's neck. "Can you make me happier than I am now?"

"Gladly." William kissed her forehead as he cupped her face.

"I love you, Belle."

"I love you too, Will."

Once again their lips met, and this time, William also tasted the happiness of kissing his beloved under the receding rays of the sunset.

—–

"Will!"

"Will! Wake up!"

"Open your eyes!"

"Will!"

William's eyes abruptly opened, and the first thing he saw was Lilith's worried face that was looking down at him.

The Half-Elf winced in pain as he held his head with his right hand. However, it was not only his head that was aching, he also felt a slight ache in his heart, as a hazy feeling escaped his senses.

William was very familiar with this feeling. It was the same sensation that he felt when parts of his past life vanished from his memories.

The Half-Elf sighed because he once again felt this discomforting sense of nothingness. It was as if there was a gaping hole inside his heart, making him have trouble breathing.

"Are you alright?" Lilith asked as she looked at William's pale face.

William nodded. "I'm fine. I just need a bit of time to recover."

The Half-Elf then looked at their surroundings in confusion. They seemed to be in a ruined city. But, what baffled him were the various tall structures in the distance that reminded William of skyscrapers from Earth.

"Where are we?" William asked.

Lilith shook her head. "I don't know. The last thing I remembered was falling on the river with you. When I woke up, we were already here."

The Amazon Princess shuddered when she remembered the scene of her falling towards the river.

She also remembered a pair of strong hands grabbing her body. After that, she found herself in William's embrace.

The moment they fell on the water, the two of them were enveloped in some kind of bubble, as they descended into the river's depths.

That was the last memory that Lilith remembered before waking up in this strange world that she was seeing for the first time.

William and Lilith were currently at a river bank, and right across them was a city in ruins.

The Half-Elf tried to stand up, but he couldn't put enough strength on his legs to support his body. Feeling helpless, William decided to use his Wind Magic to allow him to hover above the ground for the time being.

However, nothing happened.

William frowned as he once again activated his powers, but no response came from his body.

'Optimus, what's happening?' William asked.

No reply came which made the frown on William's face deepen. The Half-Elf then closed his eyes to look at his status page, but the only thing that greeted him was darkness.

The next thing he did was to access his Sea of Consciousness, but it also didn't bear any fruit.

William then raised his hand to open a portal to the Thousand Beast Domain, but just like his earlier attempts, that too yielded no result.

Lilith noticed what Wiliam was doing, so she immediately tried to use her power to summon crystals.

This time, it was Lilith's turn to frown as she tried to use her ability over and over again.

She then tried to open the storage rings, and storage bags in her possession but it was to no avail.

Finally, Lilith used her last resort and activated her Divinity. This time, she received a response but it was very faint. The only thing that she was able to do was vaguely detect treasures in their surroundings.

Aside from that, no other abilities seemed to work.

"We can't use our powers?" William muttered. It was not a question, but more of a realization of their current circumstance.

Lilith bit her lip because she, too, realized that her own Divinity was suppressed by the world they were in.

Before the two could get a better grip of their situation, they heard shouting in the distance.

William and Lilith exchanged glances and the Amazon Princess hurriedly supported William's body, to help him walk.

As they struggled to make their way to the place where the shouts were getting stronger, they saw several people fighting against decaying bodies that greatly resemble zombies.

Curses and shouts permeated the surroundings as the people tried to hack the zombies with their bladed weapons. The two sides fought, but a glance was enough to tell them that the people were inexperienced in close combat.

They merely hacked like crazy lunatics who didn't want to become zombie food.

"Noooo! Ahhhh!" A man screamed as two zombies lunged on him and began biting into his flesh.

The other people screamed in fright as they were slowly being overwhelmed by the zombies that had locked all of them in an encirclement.

"Go and help them," William pleaded. "Leave me here for the time being. I can defend myself. In order to kill the zombies, you need to sever their heads from their bodies.

"Also, don't get too close to those who were bitten by the zombies. There's a chance that they might have been infected by the zombie virus and will soon turn into zombies as well."

"Okay," Lilith replied. Although she didn't understand what a Zombie Virus was, she still decided to listen to William's advice.

After letting the Half-Elf lean on a wall, Lilith took out the two short swords on her waist and ran to help the people who were screaming in fear.

With practiced movements, zombie heads started to roll on the ground as the Amazon Princess unleashed her deadly martial arts.

In this strange world where she couldn't use her powers, Lilith knew that only William, her strong body, and her martial prowess, were the only things she could depend on.

Five minutes later, the survivors looked at the young lady in disbelief and admiration.. Standing over a pile of corpses, with two short swords in her hands, she looked like a Goddess of War that had descended on the land to save them from the horrors that plagued their everyday lives.

Chapter 792: Welcome To Glory Shelter

Lilith stared at the man that had been bitten by the zombie earlier. William had told her not to get too close to the person because he might have been infected by the Zombie Virus.

The man's comrades stood at a distance while they looked at him with sadness, because they understood that his fate was already sealed.

"K-Kill me," the man pleaded. He knew that in less than an hour, he would turn into a zombie as well. "Just make it quick. I don't want to suffer much."

Lilith nodded. She moved behind the man and prepared to stab his heart with one quick thrust.

"Wait!"

The Amazon's short sword stopped only an inch away from the man's back. She then looked in William's direction and saw the Half-Elf walking towards her, using a steel bar as support.

"Let me try something first," William said as he struggled to walk towards the man. He still felt weak, and his legs weren't strong enough to support his body.

Lilith didn't move to support William because she was paying close attention to the man's current condition. If the man turned into a zombie, she would immediately sever his head and end his misery.

"Give me your hand," William stated as he reached out towards the man. "I will end your suffering."

The man looked at William's outstretched hand before shifting his attention to the red-headed teenager's face. After a brief internal struggle, the man reached out to hold William's hand.

"I might turn into a zombie any moment now," the man said. "Whatever you plan to do, make it quick."

The blood vessels of the man started to bulge in his skin. Clearly, the Zombie Virus had started to invade his body, and it wouldn't be long before his sanity disappeared completely.

"Understood," William replied. "I pray that you live a more peaceful life in your next reincarnation."

White flames surged from William's hand and passed through the man's body. Soon, the man was engulfed with white flames, but the latter didn't feel any pain. Instead, he found relief. It was as if all his worries had turned to ashes.

"Thank you," the man said as tears streamed down the side of his face," the man said. "Michelle… I will see you… soon."

The man's companions teared up when they saw his body turn into particles of light. It was also at that moment when a white orb of light appeared amidst the particles and slowly traveled towards the sky.

William watched this scene with a relieved expression because he knew that the man had now started his new journey towards the cycle of reincarnation.

The Flames of Purification came from the tears of a Goddess that fell during the Era of the Gods.

When William was thinking on how to save the man from afar, a small flame blazed at the tip of his finger. With this realization, the Half-Elf felt that he could safely send the man's soul to the afterlife, painlessly.

"Thank you for giving him relief," a lady who seemed to be in her early thirties said as she approached William. She then shifted her attention to Lilith and bowed her head. "Also, thank you for saving our lives. If you didn't help us, we might have all turned into zombies as well."

William looked at the fallen zombies around them. He then tried an experiment and flicked a small white fireball at one of them.

The moment the small fireball hit the zombie, white flames covered its entirety and turned it into particles of light.

Suddenly, a white orb of light flew towards William and circled around him.

"Thank you."

A soft, yet relief-filled voice reached everyone's ears. They then watched the white orb of light fly towards the sky.

"Good job," Lilith said with a smile as she approached William.

However, her smile immediately disappeared when she saw the Half-Elf spat out a mouthful of blood. Lilith hurriedly went to support William to prevent him from collapsing.

"Are you alright?" Lilith asked in a worried tone.

"Yes," William replied as he wiped away the traces of blood at the corner of his lips. "I'm fine. This is just the side effect of using the Flames of Purification."

The Half-Elf sighed in his heart as he glanced around at the bodies of the zombies around him. When he was able to purify one of the zombies, he thought that he could send them all to the afterlife.

However, he didn't expect that using the Flames of Purification would take a great toll on his body.

Back in Hestia, he could easily purify millions of undead without breaking a sweat. However, in this world, the power he could bring out was limited. This was why he decided to set aside his plan on purifying the bodies of the other zombies.

'Instead of mana, the flames require a bit of my life force to activate,' William thought as he pondered the side-effects of using the Flames of Purification. 'Unless it is absolutely necessary, I can't use this ability recklessly.'

"My name is Cathy. For now, we should return to the shelter." the lady who had approached William said with a worried expression. "The sun will set in a few hours, and if we're not careful, we might meet Higher-Undead on our return trip. They are much stronger than the zombies that you have fought. It will be best to avoid them as much as possible."

William and Lilith exchanged glances before shifting their attention back to Cathy.

"Okay. We will come with you," Lilith said. "Is your shelter far from here?"

"A bit," Cathy replied apologetically. "However, we have a truck parked ten minutes away from here. With that, we can reach the shelter in half an hour."

Lilith frowned. "Truck?"

"You can think of it as a horseless carriage," William commented before shifting his gaze to the boxes of canned goods that had fallen on the street. "Are you perhaps scavenging for supplies?"

Cathy nodded her head. "Yes. Our food reserves are getting low. This is why we are forced to travel far from the shelter in order to look for something to eat."

William had read many post-apocalypse novels and understood how hard it was to gather resources in a world where danger lurked around every corner.

A single glance was enough to tell him that among the ten people who were scavenging for food, only three were somewhat capable of fighting against the zombies.

The rest were just normal people, and clearly no match for the monsters that they had just faced.

"I will thank you in advance for your hospitality," William said with a smile. "I hope that we don't trouble you too much."

"Nonsense, you saved our lives. It will be our honor to welcome both of you into our humble shelter."

"That's right. The two of you are our saviors. Don't be shy. Come with us."

The other members of the group voiced their agreement, so William and Lilith joined them on their return trip back to their shelter.

After half an hour of maneuvering in deserted streets, they arrived at what seemed to be a stadium.

Cathy smiled as she opened the doors for William and Lilith to enter.

"Welcome to Glory Shelter," Cathy said. "Although we don't have much, it is more comfortable resting here, than sleeping on the streets."

Just as Cathy was about to say more, a series of running footsteps echoed on the hallway of the stadium. Since the entire stadium was silent, these sets of footsteps easily reached their ears unhindered.

William's eyes, who were accustomed to dark places, saw her first.

A teenage lady with long red hair, similar to a flame, ran in their direction.

When he was only a few meters away from Cathy's group, the lady stopped running and walked briskly towards them.

Cathy was surprised because she didn't expect their leader to personally come to welcome them on their return trip.

Her amber eyes locked on William and Lilith with restrained happiness, and the corner of her lips rose up into a charming smile.

"Welcome to Glory Shelter," the red-haired young lady greeted. "My name is Raizel. I'd like to personally invite our honored guests to stay in my residence to rest."

William and Lilith eyed at the teenage lady in front of them with a serious expression. For some reason, they felt quite attracted to her. It was as if Raizel was someone very important to them.

Raizel didn't shy away from their gazes. In fact, she even puffed up her chest and placed both of her hands on her waist.. After that she gave her two guests a wide grin, which unexpectedly made William's and Lilith's hearts… skip a beat.

Chapter 793: Lilith's Confusion

William laid down on the couch sideways, as he eyed the young lady who was humming a tune while preparing coffee in her makeshift kitchen.

Raizel was wearing sports wear that showed her amazing figure. Sensing that William was looking at her, she turned her head and gave William a wink, which made the Half-Elf feel awkward.

In the end, William decided to close his eyes to rest. When he and Lilith fell into the River of Samsara, he immediately switched his Job Class to Einherjar and prayed that his skill "One Who Breaks The Rules" would activate.

Fortunately, it did.

William and Lilith didn't enter the cycle of life and rebirth, but they had appeared in a post-apocalyptic world that was in ruins.

The Half-Elf had lost a very important memory to him in exchange for their safety. However, after shielding Lilith from the purplish waters, it also drained William's strength.

He also used the Flames of Purification which further weakened his already weaker body. The only way for William to regain his strength was to take a rest, and that was what he decided to do.

Lilith, who was sitting on a chair, glanced at William before shifting her attention back to the teenage lady who was carrying a tray in her hands.

She placed the tray on the small table, and personally handed a cup to Lilith.

After doing that, she approached Willam's couch and sat on the carpet. She then started to poke William's cheeks, nose, chin, and lips with her delicate finger.

William had already fallen into a deep sleep, so he wasn't bothered by the young lady who was poking his face to satisfy her curiosity.

Lilith sipped her coffee and watched this scene unfold. Half a minute later, she lowered the coffee cup on the table after she realized something important.

'Why am I not stopping her from taking advantage of Will's condition?' Lilith was inwardly shocked about this development.

She was very sure that if other women were to poke William's face in such a manner, she would probably break their finger without batting an eye.

However, not only did she not stop Raizel from poking William to oblivion, she also thought that this was a very "normal" occurrence.

'Did she use charm on me?' Lilith thought, but she immediately rejected this idea. She was the embodiment of Greed and the power of the Seven Deadly Sins didn't work on her.

Even Princess Sidonie, and Morgana, at their full power wouldn't be able to charm him even if they worked together.

Lilith took a deep breath to calm herself down before calling out to the red-haired young lady, who had sneakily kissed William's cheeks.

"Raizel, it is inappropriate for a teenage lady like you to kiss a sleeping man." Lilith scolded. "Let him rest. He is very tired."

Raizel turned around and crawled towards Lilith with a smile. She then placed her hands on the armchair and pulled herself up.

Before Lilith could even react to the girl's action, the young lady had already planted a kiss on her cheeks, which caught her by surprise.

"I feel so happy," Raizel said as she rested her head on Lilith's lap. "This is a very lonely place. Although I read the diary, I still can't believe that everything that was written there is true."

The young lady sighed as she hugged Lilith's legs like a pillow. Soon, her soft sleeper breaths reached Lilith's ears which made the latter's body stiffen.

She looked at the girl sleeping on her lap, before shifting her gaze at the sleeping Half-Elf on the couch. For some reason, she had the sudden urge to throw something at William in order to wake him up.

She wanted the Half-Elf to help her deal with the young lady who was treating her as a hug pillow.

In the end, she resolved herself to push Raizel away. However, the moment her hand touched the young lady's head, Lilith felt that she couldn't bear to push her away.

A few seconds later, Lilith let out a long depressing sigh. She then started to gently brush the young lady's hair with her hand, which made the latter's expression soften as she slept.

'Just what is going on?' Lilith thought helplessly as she continued to brush Raizel's smooth hair. 'I guess I'll ask for an explanation after she wakes up."

A few minutes later, Lilith leaned on her chair and closed her eyes to rest. Although her exhaustion wasn't as severe as William's the battle against the Black-Striped Terror Rats had taken a toll on her body as well.

Soon, the sound of three people sleeping spread across the room. Among them, the young lady with long red hair, snored without a care in the world.

——

Port City of Alabaster…

White Fang scratched his head as he looked at the little fairy-like creature in front of him.

Chloee sat on top of the table and happily ate several pancakes without pause.

The little fairy had arrived carrying the crest of Hestia Academy, demanding their cooperation. Because of this, they had decided to treat her as a VIP Guest and seriously help her with her mission.

However, they didn't expect that the first order she would give them was to give her pancakes to eat.

Even Haleth, who was the calmest of them all, found this entire situation headache inducing. Chloee just focused on eating and would only talk to them when the pancakes on her plate were almost gone.

From the short pauses between eating, White Fang and Haleth managed to understand her reason for visiting their port city.

'Why is everyone looking for Sir William?' Haleth bit her lip in frustration. It was not long ago when one of the agents of Hestia Academy also asked them for information about the Half-Elf.

Since William didn't tell them where he was going, they decided not to pry into his personal matters. This had made the agents from Hestia Academy very upset, because they had failed to complete the mission that was given to them.

White Fang and Haleth thought that no more inquiries would arrive, but Chloee's arrival had made them realize the seriousness of the situation.

After prying a bit of information from the little fairy, they found out that there was a possibility that William had entered the Forbidden Ground.

This information made Haleth very anxious because several strong warriors and adventurers had failed to return after venturing into the Seventh Sanctum.

They knew that these treasure-seeking individuals used the City of Alabaster as a place to restock before challenging the Forbidden Ground in the hopes that they would strike it big when they returned.

Unfortunately, none of them had been seen since then and knowing that her idol might have ventured to that place, made Haleth curse William and his ancestors up to the fifth generation.

"Okay, I'm full," Chloee patted her belly and burped out loud. "You guys are good. Those pancakes were delicious."

White Fang and Haleth could only smile stiffly at their little guest.. They just hoped that while she was here, the little fairy would not turn the Port City of Alabaster upside down in search of the Half-Elf who had disappeared without a trace.

Chapter 794: Swiper's Ambition [Part 1]

"No one knows what this place is really called, but due to the countless number of undeads that roam the land, the locals decided to just call this place 'The Deadlands'".

Raizel explained as she eyed her two guests with a smile.

They had just finished eating dinner, and were lazing around inside her room, so she decided to answer William's and Lilith's questions.

"The Deadlands? Well, I guess it's a good name to call this place," William said as he leaned on the couch. "Do you have any idea how big this place is?"

Raizel shook her head. "When I first arrived here, I thought of exploring the surroundings, but the number of undead around the outskirts of the city is staggering. I didn't want to take any chances, so I decided to look for a safe place to stay as I conducted my investigation.

"The previous owner of the Glory Shelter was a good person, and she allowed me to stay here. Unfortunately, during one of our scavenging operations, the 'Haunting' commenced and we found ourselves, surrounded on all sides by Death Knights and other Higher-Undead."

A sad expression appeared on Raizel's face as she told William and Lilith how the previous Guardian of the Glory Shelter sacrificed her life in order to buy time and allow them to break through the encirclement.

"That was three months ago." Raizel lowered her head. "The number of people in the Glory Shelter has also decreased since then. Right now, there are only thirty-eight survivors in this shelter. Forty, if I add the two of you."

Lilith, who had maintained her silence while listening to Raizel's explanation, crossed her arms over her chest.

"Does this Haunting happen on a regular basis?" Lilith inquired.

Raizel nodded. "It happens every three to five days. Usually, we only scavenge for food a day after the Haunting ends. Fortunately, the two of you arrived today. If you had appeared in this world yesterday, you might have found yourselves trapped amidst a vast army of Undead."

William frowned. He and Lilith weren't able to use their powers, so fighting against an army of Undead is akin to suicide. Even though he could use the Flames of Purification, he could only use it sparingly because it took a toll on his body, everytime he used it.

"Are there any other shelters aside from the Glory Shelter?" William asked.

"Of course," Raizel replied in a heartbeat. "Although I don't know about other places, this city has at least twenty shelters. Aside from humans, there are other races that appear here from time to time like Orcs, Demons, Devils, Elves, Beastkins, Dwarves, Gnomes, etc. Our shelter mostly has Humans, but the others have mixed races in them."

"Are these shelters all in good terms with each other?" Lilith inquired. If so many ethnicities were gathered in one place, there were bound to be disputes. She was very curious if, aside from the Undead, they also had to be wary of the people that were also doing their best to survive within this land ruled by the Undead."

Raizel sighed. She was about to answer the question when a ringing sound rang out inside the building.

"Speaking of the Devil," Raizel muttered in annoyance. She then grabbed the sword that was hanging on the wall before glancing back at the two clueless people inside her room. "Please, come with me. I might need your help in dealing with these bastards who don't know how to coexist in peace."

William and Lilith glanced at each other before following Raizel who had already started running down the hallway.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the stadium where a dozen Demons were gathered.

"What do you want this time, Swiper?" Raizel asked as she glared at the two-meter tall boarkin that reminded William of Zhu. "Do you really think that we are people that you can bully?"

The Boarkin laughed out loud as he eyed the beautiful young lady in front of him. "Raizel, my boys told me that your people managed to salvage plenty of resources earlier. Don't worry, we didn't come here to trouble you. We just came to ask you to share some of those provisions with us."

Raizel sneered at Boarkin whose face was as thick as an electric pole. "Share our provisions? Do you really think I am a gullible child? Why don't you just say that you intend to steal the provisions we worked hard to acquire?"

Swiper shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Steal? Don't slander me, my dear. I don't have a habit of bullying the weak. Tell you what, why don't you and your people join our Demonic Shelter?

"I will guarantee your safety and the safety of those under you. All you need to do is help us gather provisions from time to time. What do you say? It's a win-win proposal, right?"

Raizel gritted her teeth and unsheathed the sword that she had brought with her.

"Since you want provisions so much, how about I use your body to cook a barbecue for your people?" Raizel took a fighting stance and glared hatefully at the Demons in front of her.

Swiper chuckled as he eyed the young beauty whose eyes had locked onto his body.

"Do you really want to go down this route?" Swiper raised his hand and the Demons took out their weapons. "I admit that you are a strong fighter, but you're only one person."

The Boarkin eyed the people behind Raizel who unconsciously took a step back from the Demon's intimidation.

While some of the members of the Glory Shelter could deal with normal zombies, they couldn't possibly fight off Demons who are well versed in combat.

Raizel frowned because she knew that none of the people behind her were the Demons' match.

"Raizel, I admire your strength," Swiper commented. "Become my subordinate and I promise that your people will no longer have anything to fear in the Deadlands. This is your last chance. You're a smart person, so make the right decision!"

Raizel gritted her teeth as she firmly held the weapon in her hand. She now understood that Swiper's true reason for coming to their shelter was to Annex them and bring them under his wing.

Sharing the supplies was just an excuse to force them to submit to his will. While she was pondering on what to do next, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

Turning her head to the side, she saw William looking at the Demons with a calm expression on his face.

"I'll handle this," William said as he took a step forward. In his hands was a long steel pipe that he had picked up from the ground.

The Half-Elf walked towards the Demons while resting the steel pipe on his shoulders. He was like a hoodlum that was about to ask people for protection money.

"Your name is Swiper, right?" William asked.

"And you are?" Swiper frowned as he looked at the handsome Half-Elf. This was the first time he was seeing William, so he didn't know if he was a capable fighter or not.

Only Raizel held a significant threat against him because he had crossed swords with her a month ago and experienced her fighting prowess first hand.

Because of this, he desired to make her his subordinate so that their Demonic Shelter could have the power to annex the other shelters in order to become the sole ruler of the survivors in the Deadlands.

"Me?" William smiled as he stopped a meter away from the Boarkin who made a gesture to his subordinates to surround the Half-Elf. "I am… Your Daddy!"

Without another word, William swung the steel pipe on his shoulder, hitting the side of Swiper's right face, sending him tumbling to the side.

This scene made the Demons, and the Humans, who were paying close attention to William's and Swiper's chat, look at the Half-Elf with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

All of them only had one thought in their minds and that was…

'This guy is dead!'

Swiper hastily stood up from the ground and touched his right cheek. He didn't expect that William would have the guts to take the initiative to attack him. Because of this, he felt that he had been shamed in front of his subordinates and it made his eyes become bloodshot.

"What are you waiting for?!" Swiper roared. "Kill him!"

Chapter 795: Swiper's Ambition [Part 2]

Swiper's roar broke the Demons out of their daze and they immediately closed the distance to attack William.

The red-headed teenager only smirked at their advance and held the make-shift weapon in his hand firmly.

Since he was surrounded, William decided to deal with the nearest enemy and break the Demon's momentum.

William thrust his steel pipe backwards to hit the Demon who tried to stab him from behind. This sent the demon tumbling backwards as the pipe hit his chest perfectly. If not for the piece of armor he was wearing, he might have already been seriously injured by William's backhanded attack.

After knocking back his attacker from behind, William lowered his body and spun around, using the steel pipe to hit the legs of the Demons that had ventured within his strike range.

A burly demon roared as he used his hands to grab the steel pipe in a firm grip.

"I got his weapon!" the burly demon shouted. "Kill him!"

Six demons hurriedly closed the distance and engaged William in close combat. The Half-Elf smirked as he let go of the steel pipe, and started to punch, kick, and elbow the Demons that thought they could easily kill him without his weapon.

Even though William couldn't use his powers, that didn't mean that his body had weakened significantly when they appeared inside the Deadlands.

Although he couldn't see his stats, he could tell that his strength was still the same. As someone who had been taught hand to hand combat by Dwayne, the Half-Elf was just as deadly as he was in close quarters even if he didn't have a weapon in hand.

One of the Demons that had suffered from William's punches took out a throwing knife and threw it while the Half-Elf wasn't looking.

However, before the knife could even approach the Half-Elf it was knocked aside by Raizel. She then stomped on the ground and disappeared from where she stood.

A few seconds later, she reappeared in front of the Demon and slashed her blade with fury.

The demon's head rolled off from its body and fell on the ground with a thud. Blood sprayed like a fountain from its severed neck before falling to the ground, twitching.

Swiper, seeing that his men were at a great disadvantage roared in anger and joined the fray.

Raizel braced herself to engage the leader of the Demonic Shelter, but before she could do that, a blur appeared in front of her and clashed with the Demon who wielded a sword that was almost as long as his body.

Lilith unleashed a barrage of attacks, forcing the Demon to step into a defensive stance. After receiving the Amazon's deadly attacks, Swiper realized that the lady with long, light-brown hair was not only skilled, but was also slightly stronger than him.

Raizel, who was the strongest fighter in the Glory Shelter, was at par with his fighting ability. This was why he wanted her to become his subordinate. He believed that if he attacked the people of the shelter, Raizel would have no choice but to submit to his rule in order to save her people.

This was the plan he had in mind, and he was sure that he could pull it off.

However, after the appearance of the red-headed teenager, as well as the lady that was currently fighting against him, he knew that his plan was doomed to fail.

After briefly scanning his surroundings, the Demonic Boar disengaged himself with Lilith. He then took several steps back in order to gain distance from the strong warrior that made him feel that his life was in danger.

"Retreat!" Swiper ordered. He didn't care whether his men heard his orders or not. He simply ran away and jumped into his truck. A moment later, the truck came to life and left the premises, leaving behind his subordinates that had been struggling to their feet.

Seeing that his opponents had lost the will to fight, William stopped his attacks and allowed them to run away.

At first, he planned to kill all of them, but Raizel held onto his arm and shook her head firmly. Although he was reluctant to leave the source of trouble alone, he decided to give her face and stopped his attacks on the fleeing Demons.

Among the dozens of demons that Swiper had brought with him, one had died under Raizel's blade.

William glanced at the dead body, just in time to see it turn into particles of light. He also saw a small orb of light, that he believed to be the Demon's soul. The orb of light slowly turned dark as it flew towards a black tower in the distance.

As someone who had experience in purifying souls, William knew that the soul had been corrupted by an unholy energy.

"Although his body had disappeared, his soul will now be trapped in that tower until a new undead vessel is born," Raizel said with a depressed sigh. "Aside from turning into zombies, there are other ways that the Undead Legion replenishes their ranks here in the Deadlands.

"This is why there was an unwritten rule that the survivors shouldn't fight against each other. Of course, this rule doesn't apply to those who are ambitious. Even in this God-Forsaken world, they still think of ruling above others. They're all a bunch of bastards."

William looked in the direction where Swiper's Group had run away. He still didn't understand much about this world, so he decided to do some investigation first.

"Is there any way to leave this place?" William asked as he shifted his attention to the black tower in the distance.

"There is," Raizel answered. "However… we need to wait for an opportunity to arrive."

William frowned as he shifted his attention towards Raizel. "Wait for an opportunity?"

Raizel nodded. "According to the Diary I read, the way to leave this place will open once the moon turns red. At that moment, the Undead Legion would raze this city to the ground and kill all the remaining survivors. That is when the exit to this world will appear."

"I don't know if I should be glad, or be worried about this revelation," Lilith commented as she walked towards Raizel. "Where is this Diary that you speak of, and how do you know that the information written there is correct?"

Raizel suddenly revealed an awkward expression on her face. She seemed to be fighting an internal struggle inside her heart, but in the end, she decided to answer Lilith's question to the best of her ability.

"I can't show you where the diary is because I don't have it with me," Raizel replied. "However, I can guarantee that the information I shared with you is true. The person who wrote it is someone I trust with my life. Please, believe me."

Raizel's amber-colored-eyes stared at Lilith unblinking. The Amazon Princess held the young lady's gaze and realized that there was no falsehood in the depths of her eyes.

"Fine. I will believe you, for now." Lilith relented. "But, did that Diary tell you when this Red Moon will appear? I don't want to stay in this place for years. There are people waiting for me back home. The same can be said for him."

Lilith used her chin to point in William's direction.

The Half-Elf could only smile bitterly because he shared Lilith's opinion. He, too, didn't plan to stay in this world for a long time. William still had many things to do, and his wives would surely be worried if he disappeared for years.

"You don't have to worry about this," Raizel said with a smile. "The time in this world is different from the outside world. Although I don't know the exact conversion, I'm guessing a year here will not be longer than a month in our own worlds and timelines."

"Worlds and timelines?" William tilted his head to the side. Suddenly a realization dawned on him and his eyes widened in shock.

Raizel smirked because she could tell what William was thinking. However, she didn't say anything and simply waited for the Half-Elf to ask the question that had come to his mind.

"You mean, you, and the other races here, didn't come from Hestia?" William asked. "Also, are they from different timelines as well? Do you mean, some of them came from the past, and the future?"

"Yes." Raizel nodded her head. "Cathy came from a world named Mourncat, and Swiper came from a world called Nethervine. As for the different timelines… there were cases when two people that came from the same world lived in different time periods."

The young lady with long red hair, and amber eyes grinned at William. "Who knows? Maybe you will meet some of them sometime in the future."

Raizel didn't say anything else aside from that and ordered her people to return inside the stadium.. Now that Swiper and his gang had suffered defeat by their hands, they would not be making trouble with the Glory Shelter anytime soon.

Chapter 796: The Haunting [Part 1]

Four days passed after William and Lilith arrived in the Deadlands…

"The Haunting has begun," Raizel said with a serious expression as she looked at the black tower in the distance.

Red mist started to extend from the tower, and it slowly made its way to the city.

William felt a familiar sensation spread across his left hand, as it reacted to the power of the Undead that the tower was radiating.

A few moments later, William heard a distinct ringing sound that came from the tower. The sound was similar to the peeling of a bell, and it made the hair on WIlliam's neck stand on end.

"Do either of you hear that ringing sound?" William asked the two girls by his side.

The three of them were on the roof of the stadium to observe the Haunting from their vantage point.

"Ringing sound?" Lilith frowned. "What ringing sound?"

"I don't hear anything unusual," Raizel answered. "Will, do you hear something ringing?"

After spending a few days together, the three of them had become close to each other and comfortably called each other's names without any problem.

William nodded. "Yes. It is coming from that tow–"

Suddenly, William's eyes glowed and turned golden. He then held his shoulders with his hands as his body shuddered uncontrollably. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he held back the blood thirst that he had been keeping at bay for the past few days.

Ever since he had entered the Seventh Sanctum, he hadn't been able to drink any blood from Charmaine and the other Elves. This was a problem that had been plaguing him ever since he had entered the Deadlands, and he was using his willpower to keep it at bay.

However, the ringing sound of the Black Tower seemed to have bypassed the emotional barrier that he had set in place and broke it to pieces.

William took ragged breaths as his fangs slowly extended.

"Don't come near me," William said hoarsely as he used all of his willpower to resist the urge to pin down one of the girls beside him and drink their blood. "Go back inside. Hurry!"

"What is happening to you?" Lilith asked worriedly. She was about to touch William's shoulder, but Raizel caught her hand and prevented her from touching the Half-Elf.

"Let's go," Raizel said as she glanced at William with a complicated expression. "We will only make things worse if we stay here. Let's go hide in the basement with the others."

The young lady didn't wait for Lilith to say anything and forcefully drag her away, leaving William behind.

The Half-Elf kneeled on the roof of the stadium as the nails on his left hand turned black.

'This is bad,' William thought as nerves started to bulge in his left hand. He had never allowed his bloodthirst to get out of control because he had a steady supply of blood to drink from.

Now that his connection with the Thousand Beast Domain was cut off, he had no means of quenching his blood thirst, aside from drinking from the people in the shelter.

This was something William didn't want to do, so he had tried to hold himself back for as long as he could. He just didn't expect that the Haunting would cause his Vampiric Powers to rise to the surface.

Due to William's heightened senses, he was able to see countless eerie-looking, glowing, orbs of various colors coming out from the base of the tower.

Minutes passed and this procession of glowing lights entered the city.

William took in a deep breath when he realized that those glowing lights were actually the eyes of the undead legion that Raizel had spoken of.

"This is indeed troublesome," William muttered.

He was not a stranger to the Undead, so he was able to get a rough estimate on how powerful this Unholy Army was.

Deathknights, Wraiths, Zombies, Zombie Lords, Skeleton Soldiers, Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Archers, and Dullahan littered William's vision.

What made him feel cold were the four Bone Dragons that flew above the Black Tower. Although he had a feeling that these dragons wouldn't be joining the Undead Army, he still felt threatened because a single one of those dragons could obliterate the stadium with a single Dragon Breath.

The Unholy Army then dispersed in the city. Among these undead, a group that William estimated to number over a thousand headed towards the Glory Shelter.

William knew that even if the Bone Dragons didn't help, this small army was enough to massacre everyone inside the Stadium.

The Half-Elf didn't know how the people in the various shelters were able to survive the Haunting on a regular basis.

In William's opinion, this was simply overkill. Even if Raizel was as strong as Lilith, she wouldn't be able to handle this many undead, especially since they weren't able to use their powers.

While the Half-Elf was busy holding back his blood thirst, and observing the Undead Army, a set of footsteps reached his ears.

"You're probably wondering why we were able to survive this long everytime the Haunting commences, right?"

The familiar voice reached William's ears, and it almost broke his concentration in suppressing his vampiring urges.

"Don't worry, they will not be able to enter the Stadium," Raizel said as she glanced at William, who was kneeling beside her. "I will not let them enter this shelter."

Raizel took a step forward and a golden lasso appeared in her hand.

"Their numbers have exceeded my expectations, but it is still within the acceptable range," Raizel said. "But, I will not be able to beat them alone. I'll need your help, Will."

The golden rope in her hands wrapped itself around William's body and held him in place. She then knelt in front of the Half-Elf and held the back of his head.

"This is my first time," Raizel said. Her voice carried a trace of anxiousness and excitement at the same time. "I still need to fight later, so, please, don't take too much of my blood, okay?"

"You…" William wasn't able to continue his words because Raizel pulled him close and rested his head on her shoulder.

"It's fine," Raizel whispered in William's ear. Her voice carried a temptation that was too hard to resist. "We need to survive and escape the Deadlands together. That is the only way for the three of us to be reunited in the future."

William didn't have time to digest Raizel's words because the latter had already pulled his head closer to her neck, forcing his lips to press against the throbbing blood vessels in her neck.

The ringing of the bell that had rang ceaselessly atop the Black Tower took the opportunity of William's short lapse in judgment to break past his defenses.

With a sigh of acceptance, William opened his lips and sank his fangs into the offering that had voluntarily presented herself to him.

Raizel's rich and powerful blood tasted so sweet that William found it hard to control himself. When the first drop of blood landed on his tongue, the Half-Elf regained a bit of his senses.

Because of this, he didn't drink too deeply, and only took in a mouthful of blood, before licking the wounds on the young lady's neck, healing it completely.

"Thank you," William said as he gained a firm hold on his bloodthirst.

Although he wasn't able to drink his fill, it was more than enough to control his body.

Raizel, on the other hand, sighed as she basked in the afterglow of the unbelievable pleasure of having her blood drank from her neck.

"Are you sure you had enough?" Raizel asked. Her face was flushed, and it seemed that the euphoria she felt still lingered within her mind.

"Yes," William replied. "Um. Can you remove this binding? The Undead are almost here. We need to deal with them now."

Raizel stared at the golden rope that bound William's body in a daze. It took a moment for her to remember where they were and the current predicament that they were facing.

In order to hide her embarrassment, she hastily removed the binding on William's body and looked at the Undead Army to hide the blush on her face.

"Now that you've drunk my blood, do you feel anything different?" Raizel asked.

William nodded. He didn't know the reason why, but he felt very powerful right now. Perhaps it was due to the combined effects of the Black Tower and Raizel's blood. But, right now, William felt that even if a few thousand more Undead were added to the Unholy Army in front of him, he would still come out victorious.

"Let's go," Raizel said as she jumped off the roof of the stadium. She then waved her hand and the golden lasso descended upon the undead that were now only a few meters away from the entrance of the stadium.

"Bind the world in your embrace and hold it in place," Raizel shouted. "Hold the Firmament, Gleipnir!"

Chapter 797: The Haunting [Part 2]

The golden rope extended and descended upon the undead army like a raging storm. The undead who were unlucky to cross its path were instantly torn to pieces.

William jumped down from the roof of the stadium and smashed down on a Dullahan that was about to charge in Raizel's direction. Right now, he felt very powerful.

Usually when he drank the blood of others, his strength would get a significant boost that would last for a few hours.

However, because of the effect of the Black Tower, and red mist that seemed to heighten the powers of the undead, William's strength had increased drastically.

Even though he couldn't see his status page right now, he had a feeling that his Prestige Class, Vampiric Necromancer, had been forcefully equipped, giving him the strength of a Vampiric Prince.

The Dullahan weren't even able to form any kind of resistance as William smashed it to the ground, obliterating it completely.

The Deathknight that was close to the Dullahan brandished its sword at William, but the latter caught it with his left hand.

"Mind if I borrow your sword?" William asked with a devilish smile.

Without waiting for the Deathknight's answer, the Half-Elf pulled the undead close to him and used his fist to break its hands, freeing the sword in its grip.

With a weapon in hand, William twisted his body to the side and swung the sword heavily.

The Deathknight's head flew in the air as William severed it from its body.

As someone who had dealings with the undead, he knew that Higher-Undead were capable of reattaching their bodies together even if they were cut down. Because of this, William didn't give the Deathknight any opportunity, and stomped on its head, shattering it to pieces.

'Two down.' William smirked as he scanned the Undead Army, looking for the strong undeads that lead the army.

He gave Raizel a side-long glance before running towards his new target. The beautiful warrior was busy fighting against the normal zombies and skeleton soldiers.

It was quite obvious that Raizel had no trouble dealing with the small fries, so William left her with peace of mind. He just focused on the leaders of the Undead Army, and ground them to dust under his feet.

Lilith, who became worried about William's and Raizel's continued absence, appeared on the roof of the stadium. She thought that Raizel would bring William back with her to hide in the make-shift basement that they use as a bunker whenever the Haunting commenced.

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the golden lasso in Raizel's hand.

"Gleipnir?!" Lilith gasped in shock at the weapon that was considered as the national treasure of the Amazon Empire. 'Impossible! How come she has it?!'

The Amazon Princess was quite familiar with Gleipnir's abilities because only the members of the Royal Family could wield it.

Empress Andraste had allowed her to use this weapon on several occasions when she was dealing with dangerous missions for the sake of their empire.

'There's no doubt about it, that's Gleipnir.' Lilith's expression became serious as she watched the red-haired lady use the Mythical Artifact as if it was part of her body. 'Just who is she?!'

As she continued to watch Raizel's battle, Lilith could tell that the young lady had mastered how to wield its powers. In fact, the way she used Gleipnir far surpassed Lilith's understanding of the weapon.

In the end, the Amazon Princess decided to just observe for the time being, and ask questions after the battle ended.

Lilith then shifted her attention to William who was performing a one-sided massacre in the distance. Anything that came within his range would immediately be destroyed by punches and kicks that held the force of a wrecking ball.

After an hour, all the undead, and their reinforcements had been dealt with. Every undead that William and Raizel killed had turned into black orbs of light that flew towards the Black Tower.

The weapons that were scattered on the ground had also turned into particles of black light, with the exception of the sword that William had snatched earlier.

The blade glowed with an eerie green light that made William look like a Death Knight without a helmet.

When the battle ended, William and Raizel made their way to the roof of the Stadium. There they saw Lilith with her arms crossed over her chest.

Before William and Lilith could even say anything, Raizel hugged Lilith and gave her a kiss on her right cheek.

"Lilith, I have a favor to ask," Raizel said with a serious expression. "Will's condition is still unstable. He needs to drink blood. Can you give him some of yours?"

"Drink blood?" Lilith blinked in confusion. "Why does he need to drink blood?"

"Um? He didn't tell you about his condition?" Raizel frowned as she shifted her attention to the Half-Elf who was looking at the Black Tower in the distance.

Feeling Raizel's gaze, William turned around and gazed at the two ladies with a complicated look on his face.

To be honest, he was still shocked by the fact that Raizel knew that he was suffering from blood thirst. He didn't remember saying anything to the young lady about his condition, and yet, she had volunteered to let him drink her blood, in order to help her fight against the undead.

"How did you know?" William asked. Although he didn't elaborate, he knew that Raizel understood what he was trying to ask her.

"I have a relative that is also part vampire," Raizel answered without batting an eye. "It was easy for me to diagnose your symptoms."

William was still half in doubt of Raizel's answer, but for the time being he decided to accept it. He then shifted his gaze to Lilith who was looking at the two of them, weirdly.

"She's right," William said with a sigh. "I have refrained from drinking blood during our journey and ended up pushing myself to the limit. That Black Tower has the power to influence the Undead Powers inside my body, which in turn forced my blood thirst to come to the surface.

"If I don't deal with this issue, I might go out of control and start randomly attacking people. Although it is a bit embarrassing to say this to you, Lilith, can I have some of your blood?"

Lilith stared at William before shifting her attention to Raizel.

"I will give him some of my blood on one condition," Lilith said as she eyed the girl who had a knowing smile on her face. "You will answer my questions honestly. You're not allowed to lie, understood?"

Raizel crossed her arms over her chest as she gazed at the Black Tower in the distance. The Haunting usually lasts for three hours each time, and there was no certainty that no more undead would come their way.

Although she wasn't worried about their numbers, she was very concerned about the quality of the undead that might march towards the Glory Shelter.

Right now, only she, William, and Lilith had the power to fight. She needed to make sure that all three of them would be ready for whatever was thrown their way.

"Understood. However, I also have a condition," Raizel said without looking at Lilith. "You can only ask me two questions. I will not answer more than that."

"That's fine."

"Good. Let Will drink some blood first. The Haunting isn't over yet. Those flying wraiths may pose trouble if they were to head in our direction."

William and Lilith stared at the thousands of white wraiths that flew around the outer perimeter of the tower, alongside the Bone Dragons.. They knew that those wraiths were bad news, so Lilith didn't argue and nodded her head in agreement.

Chapter 798: Only To The People I Love

"What should I do?" Lilith asked. Although she had heard stories of Vampires, this was the first time that she had encountered one.

"Just stand there," William said as he stood in front of the Amazon Princess. "I will handle the rest. It might hurt at first, but the pain will only last for a short while."

Raizel looked at the two with an eager smile on her lips. For some reason, she was quite interested to see Lilith's reaction after William drank her blood for the first time. After experiencing it once, she knew that the Amazon would definitely lose her composure once the waves of pleasure assaulted her senses.

"Um, is it okay to hold you?" William asked. "I'm afraid you might not be able to support your body later."

"Okay," Lilith replied. She had also noticed Raizel's curious stare aimed in her direction, and for some reason, she could feel a sense of anticipation in the young lady's gaze, which she could not understand.

William moved Lilith's long, light-brown hair to the side as he stared at the nape of her neck. A few seconds later, he lowered his head and sank his fangs into her flesh, drawing blood.

Lilith's body shuddered when she felt the stinging pain. However, just like William said earlier, the pain disappeared like a fleeting dream and what followed next made her head swoon.

A soft moan escaped Lilith's lips as William held her body tight. She could feel that she was losing her strength, but she didn't mind it one bit. In fact, the pleasure that she was experiencing made her want to stay in that moment forever.

Unfortunately, William had set his own limitations when drinking the blood of others. He would not drink more than a mouthful, and stop after he reached his quota.

What others didn't know was that, it was not only those whom he drank blood from that felt the incredible sense of Euphoria. The Half-Elf also felt something similar when he drank people's blood.

However, he had long gotten used to controlling his urges. At the beginning, William had been addicted to these blood sucking urges. But, thanks to Charmaine, and the other Elves that were serving him, he had long known how to show restraint.

He was no longer addicted to drinking blood, but would still allow himself to get lost in those euphoric feelings once in a while.

'They have similar tastes,' William thought as he kissed the wounds on Lilith's neck, healing them completely. Since he had drank Raizel's blood not long ago, the taste of her blood still lingered in William's memory.

Savoring the same taste in Lilith's blood made him realize that the young lady with long-red hair, and amber eyes, may share some connection with the Amazon Princess, whose lean and strong body was being supported by his arms.

Raizel then moved close to Lilith and whispered in her ears.

"Does it feel good?" Raizel asked.

"Yes," Lilith replied subconsciously.

"As long as we are here in the Deadlands, Will would need to drink blood on a regular basis. There will be plenty of opportunities to bask in the pleasurable feeling that you felt earlier."

"…"

Raizel's words were like the temptation of a devil. Lilith was still basking in the afterglow of having her blood taken from her, and her thoughts were still muddled.

Even so, she gave a slight nod to Raizel's suggestion, which made the latter kiss her cheek and hug her in a tight embrace.

"I noticed that you like kissing people," Lilith said softly.

"Not all people," Raizel replied before giving William a quick kiss on the cheek. "I only kiss the people that I love."

William felt awkward after getting kissed, and hearing the two girls talking about him, while he was still holding Lilith in his arms.

Seeing his discomfort, Raizel giggled and spread her arms to hug them both. She had never felt so happy since she had been trapped inside the Deadlands for more than two months.

Having William and Lilith with her made her worries, and fears, seem like the distant and non-existent stars in the sky of this god-forsaken-land.

"You're clingy, too," Lilith complained after Raizel hugged her and William together.

Raizel smiled sweetly, "Only to the people I love."

—–

Three hours later, the red mist receded, and the undead marched back towards the Black Tower. In their wake, several flames could be seen blazing in the distance, and Raizel looked at them with a grim expression on her face.

After staying inside the Deadlands for two months, she had gained a general understanding of the locations of the different strongholds that served as the shelters of the people who suddenly found themselves in this strange world.

"I think three of the twenty shelters have fallen to the undead army," Raizel said softly. "The number of undead this time around was greater than usual. They also have more Higher-Undead in their ranks. Although all shelters have strong fighters in them, I'm afraid that they weren't able to block the Undead's advance."

As Raizel gazed at William and Lilith, who were standing on the roof beside her, she felt blessed because the timing of their appearance in the Deadlands was impeccable.

If it was only her defending the Glory Shelter, she believed that she wouldn't be able to hold the Undead Army all by herself, which would have lead to the deaths of her comrades, who were powerless to resist such a mighty army.

"Let's go back and rest," William proposed. "It has been a long night, and we still need to look for resources when morning comes."

Lilith nodded her head in agreement as she glanced at Raizel.

"I'll ask you my questions tomorrow," Lilith said. "Remember to answer me honestly."

"I know," Raizel replied as she held Lilith's hand. "Let's go take a bath together. I feel sweaty right now."

The young beauty then glanced in William's direction and gave him a wink.

"Feel free to join us, okay?" Raizel teased.

William rolled his eyes at the young lady who had easily wormed her way in their hearts. The Half-Elf decided to rest in a different room tonight.

He had some things to think about, and among them was Raizel's identity. Although he had a guess about her identity, he didn't know if he should confirm it with her or not.

A part of him was scared to know the answer, and the other half was not ready to embrace it. Since that is the case, he would keep his suspicion to himself, and let nature take its course.

However, if given the opportunity, he would like to have a nice, long talk, with the beautiful red-haired-girl who liked to kiss his and Lilith's cheeks, and hug them without permission.

Chapter 799: A Beautiful And Loveable Cupid

"Girl, watch what you are touching," Lilith pried away the naugty hands that were fondling her chest. "You told me that you're going to wash my back, but your hands are wandering to different places."

"I just slipped," Raizel replied with a giggle. She then hummed and scrubbed Lilith's back properly.

Lilith shook her head helplessly because the young lady was just too unreasonable. However, even though Raizel was being unreasonable, she was surprised that she couldn't find it in her heart to be truly angry at the girl, whose eye color resembled her own.

"Okay, all done," Raizel said as she turned on the shower. The water fell on their bodies like rain, washing away the sweat, and grime that they had accumulated during the day.

A few minutes passed in silence before Lilith turned the water off. She then turned around to look at the beautiful young lady in front of her, who was admiring her body from behind.

"Why do you have Gleipnir?" Lilith asked. "Did you steal it from the Amazon Empire?"

Raizel smiled, "Aren't we going to discuss this tomorrow?"

"I changed my mind."

"I see."

Raizel turned around and picked up the two bath towels and gave one to Lilith.

"Let's dry ourselves first," Raizel proposed. "I will answer your questions back in my room."

Lilith nodded her head in understanding and started to wipe her body dry.

Raizel had prepared a set of sportswear for Lilith to use, while the latter's clothes were left to dry. She had already volunteered to wash it earlier, and Lilith wasn't able to stop her. In the end, the Amazon relented and allowed her to do as she wished.

A few minutes later, two beautiful ladies walked in the hallway of the stadium wearing fit sportswear that highlighted the curves on their bodies. No sane man would be able to resist their charms, but these two ladies were no ordinary women.

Anyone stupid enough to take advantage of them would find themselves having their arms and legs broken. The worst case scenario was that the men would be missing a limb, or two, after the two girls were done with them.

When they entered Raizel's room, they immediately noticed that William wasn't around. Lilith felt that this was a good thing because she didn't want the Half-Elf to hear the discussion between Raizel and her.

She wanted to get into the bottom of things, and she had already braced herself for the answers that the red-haired beauty was about to tell her.

"Sit," Raizel said as she sat on the couch. She then patted the side next to hers and looked at Lilith expectantly.

The Amazon sighed and sat next to her, as per her wish.

This time, Raizel didn't attempt to hug or hold her. She just leaned her head on Lilith's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"You asked earlier why I have Gleipnir, and the answer is really simple…," Raizel answered with her eyes closed. "It was passed on to me by my mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yes. My mother."

Lilith took a deep breath as she spoke out her mind. "Gleipnir is the treasure of the Amazon Empire. Naturally, only the members of the Royal Family can use it. Are you a member of the Royal Family?"

"Is this your second question?" Raizel asked back, still with her eyes closed.

"No, this is just a continuation of the first question," Lilith argued. Although she knew that the girl had already answered her question, she only had two chances to ask her. With that said, she tried to force the issue that Gleipnir belonged to the Amazon Empire, and as the Amazon Princess, she had the right to know the answer.

Raizel giggled, and just listened to Lilith's "excuse", so that she would answer a question for free.

"Alright, I'll make this exception once," Raizel relented. "I am indeed a member of the Royal Family."

"Who is your mother?"

"Is that your second question?"

"Yes," Lilith stated. "Tell me the truth."

Raizel didn't answer right away. Minutes passed by in silence, but Lilith didn't mind. Since she had made the girl promise to answer her honestly, she would give her the time to answer her question.

"My mother is… a very… greedy person," Raizel said with a smile. "Surprisingly, my father is also a very greedy person. You could even say that they are a match made in heaven. One holds material treasures, the other holds priceless ones. Treasures that all the money in the world couldn't buy.

"When the two of them met, they started off on the wrong foot. My mother was at fault back then because she stole something she shouldn't have. Fortunately, Papa was a benevolent person, and forgave her easily."

Lilith didn't say anything and simply listened to Raizel's story. She found her words very soothing, and the Amazon Princess liked hearing her voice.

"Then one day, the two of them went on an adventure," Raizel continued her tale. "Along the way, they encountered a dangerous situation, and both of them barely managed to escape with their lives.

Perhaps it was fate, but the two of them met a very beautiful cupid, who helped them get closer to each other. Papa wasn't a dense person, so he understood that Mama had her sights on him. However, the problem was that Mama was too afraid to take the initiative during this time period."

"Mama thought that she needed time to get on Papa's good side, so she decided to just go with the flow. I think this is Mama's shortcoming. As an Amazon, we should always take the initiative when it comes to looking for our life partners. Being passive isn't our style."

Raizel's voice took on a pouty tone, which made Lilith subconsciously pinch her cheek.

"What happened next?" Lilith asked. Clearly, she wanted to know more about Raizel's Papa and Mama.

"Due to Mama's inaction, and Papa dealing with his own circumstances at that time, their distance remained," Raizel explained. "Fortunately, a beautiful, and loveable cupid had seen the problem, so she decided to take matters into her own hands."

"And what did that cupid do?"

"She gave Mama some advice."

"And that advice was?" Lilith asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Raizel opened her eyes and smirked.

"I already answered your two questions, so I'm not telling," Raizel giggled as she ran away.

Lilith smirked as she ran after the girl.

Soon, the sound of two girls giggling echoed on the walls of Raizel's room, not knowing that a certain Half-Elf could hear the two of them from the room next to theirs, where he had chosen to rest for the night.

Chapter 800: Nice Tush

When William opened his eyes, it was still dark outside.

It had been a few hours since the Haunting, and he had only slept lightly through the night. This was to ensure that if they were to get attacked again, he would be able to respond accordingly.

Fortunately, after the undead had returned to the Black Tower, no further attacks happened.

The Half-Elf took a deep breath as he stood up from his make-shift bed.

After doing some simple stretches, William left the room to get some fresh air outside.

Just as he was passing by Raizel's room, the Half-Elf remembered the words that the young lady had spoken yesterday. Although he didn't mean to eavesdrop, what was done was done, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

William paused as he used his heightened hearing abilities to check if the two girls were awake. Unfortunately, the only thing he heard was the peaceful breaths of two people who were in a deep sleep.

'I'll come back to talk to Raizel later,' William thought as he continued to walk in the hallway.

—–

Inside Raizel's room…

The beautiful young lady hugged Lilith's arm as she slept without a care in the world.

This side of her was something that no ordinary people could see. As someone that was born into the Amazon Royal Family, there were many responsibilities that she carried on her shoulders. The outside world would only see her as a confident and domineering warrior princess who didn't shy away from any kind of challenge.

This was what led her to explore one of the Forbidden Grounds of their Domain, and ended up in the Deadlands after falling on the River of Samsara. If not for her quickwits to using Gleipnir to wrap her body up like a mummy before falling to the river, she might have already undergone a series of lifetimes, as per the Laws of Samsara.

Actually, falling in the river wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Those who did fall in the river, and managed to survive their thirteen lifetimes would receive enlightenment, and break through the restraints of mortality, which would turn them into Demigods.

Unfortunately, not many were able to accomplish such a feat. Most of them remained trapped within the river, carried by the currents until their souls became pure, and ready to once again enter the Cycle of Reincarnation.

The same could be said for the other people who had ended up in the Deadlands. One way or another, they had accidentally crossed to a place between the boundaries of life and death. Due to their strong will to live, and rejection to cross over to the next life, they ended up in the Deadlands.

A place where neither the living or the dead could find peace.

When Lilith opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a lump of long-red hair. What followed next was the sound of Raizel's steady breaths, which allowed Lilith to remember the things that they had discussed.

A few hours ago, Lilith asked Raizel who her mother was, but the young lady didn't give her a name.

Instead, Raizel talked about her Mama, her Papa, and the rest of her family. She told Lilith how she grew up being showered with love and care by her parents, and siblings. According to Raizel, she had many brothers and sisters.

The reason for this was due to her father having many wives. The young lady said that each of her father's wives treated all of the children in their family like their own kids.

When Lilith asked Raizel if her Papa's wives were also Amazons, the latter shook her head. The young lady insisted that the only Amazons in their family were her, her little sister, and their mother.

Lilith then asked Raizel specific questions like what did his Papa's wives look like.

To this question, the young lady only gave Lilith a mysterious smile and refused to comment further.

The two of them talked about many things, until they fell asleep together.

The Amazon Princess gazed at the young lady beside her with a complicated expression on her face.

Raizel's long red hair, that reminded her of William, covered the side of her beautiful face. Lilith lightly brushed it off, and tucked it behind the girl's ear, so she could get a better look at her.

The young lady's eyes were closed right now, but she had stared at those beautiful amber eyes, that were the same color as her own, last night.

Although Lilith wasn't a hundred percent sure of her hunch, she didn't reject the idea either. As she gently caressed the side of Raizel's face, a big part of her heart wished that it were true.

'Is this Fate playing with me?' Lilith thought as she stared at the young lady with a tender gaze.

She didn't have the answer to this question. However, right now, her heart felt warm and ready to accept this possibility.

A minute later, Raizel's eyelids fluttered.

Lilith watched as the young lady opened her eyes and gazed at her sleepily. This lasted for a few seconds before Raizel burrowed her head into the Amazon Princess' chest.

Clearly, Raizel still wanted to sleep, and Lilith felt helpless about it.

'You're such a big girl, and yet you still act like a baby,' Lilith mused as she wrapped her arms around the young lady and hugged her. 'I guess I can let you sleep for fifteen more minutes.'

Lilith also closed her eyes as she listened to Raizel's breathing.

Unknowingly, she also fell asleep and would wake up with Raizel an hour later.

—-

"They're still asleep?" William scratched his head. He was having an internal struggle whether to eat breakfast without them, or wait for the two girls to wake up.

After a few minutes, he decided to go to the shower room to take a bath. He hadn't taken a bath yesterday due to the circumstances they had to deal with.

As the water fell on his head like rain, he closed his eyes and tried to sense anything from inside his body and sea of consciousness.

William spent a few minutes trying to activate all his abilities, but only the Flame of Purification appeared in his vision.

'I guess the Flames of Purification and my Prestige Class, Vampiric Necromancer, are the only things I can use in this place,' William mused.

Just as he was about to turn off the water, the door of the shower room opened and two beautiful ladies appeared in his vision.

The three people stared at each other for half a minute. Suddenly, Lilith lowered her head and stared at Little Will, who had sensed that enemies had appeared to fight him.

"Nice tush," Lilith said before covering her lips and giggled.

Raizel, on the other hand, covered her eyes with her hand. However, the small gaps in between her fingers, and the giggle that escaped her lips made William turn around and reach for his bath towel in haste.

He had been too occupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the arrival of the two girls.

"You don't have to go, you know?" Lilith asked as she moved towards William. "Why don't I help you scrub your back?"

William backed away, and wrapped the bath towel on his waist. He then hurriedly left the shower room without turning back or saying a word.

To be honest, he didn't mind being seen by Lilith, but since Raizel was also with her, he decided to make a strategic retreat.

Although he still hadn't confirmed his suspicions, he wouldn't allow the red-haired beauty to see him in his birthday suit.