Chapter 3- A Beast's Fate

To others who walked the adventurer's path, it was taboo to harbor such murderous thoughts toward a fellow Beastman.

The Beastmen fought for centuries to gain the status in society they currently possessed. Originally being seen as nothing but property by the humans, they spent over one thousand years in bondage to their human superiors. When the Holy War broke out just five hundred years in the past, they were led by the Goddess of the Three Moons, Lumine, as well as the Goddess of the Dead, Atlas, to victory, which successfully broke them free from the harsh grips.

With the help of Atlas, they established a nation in which everyone either human or non-human can live freely, chase whatever dreams they may have, and live your best life with whomever you wished. To some, it was paradise. To others, it was hell. The exact opposite of what was supposed to transpire.

Nations such as the Aznozian Empire, where he lived, cooperated and established friendly relations with the kingdom. This led to the once human-only area becoming neutral to both species. Of course, there were places such as the Arian Empire, ruled over by the Theocracy of Ananke, who opposed such a feat and immediately cut ties with Aznozian, even threatening war if they dared interfere with Arian. This was foreseen, however, and Aznozian was more than happy to forsake them.

In the present times, the Beastmen Empire was ruled over by a king and a princess, both of which viewed humans and beastmen as one in the same. In other words, they were the Goddess of the Dead's ideals.

Edith and his party were more than welcomed into the nation, since he was the princess's saviour. This time though, he was there as her killer.

It was a bustling city filled with passing carriages and a common place for adventurers to take their lodgings. Homes made out of fine wood, cobblestone and limestone lined up on either side. The flooring was made of yellow limestone with several citizens, most of them being of the beastman race, walked past them. They greeted him with the utmost respect, acknowledging him as an equal. Nuro and Edith were especially an odd sight. Two foxes traveling together outside of their home territory was something of a rarity. Naturally, they attracted the attention of passers-by.

He took a turn around a corner and went into an inn. The inside was all wooden with many tables and chairs, which were all filled with people. Going up to the receptionist's desk, he looked him straight in the eyes and said,

"Room for three?"

The receptionist, who was part dog, nodded respectfully,

"That'll be thirty copper."

"Fine." He paid up.

"Do you want a meal with that?"

"No. We won't be here long."

"Alright."

He was about to leave when he suddenly spoke out.

"Weren't you with those humans before? Lucy, Aster and Lloyd? What happened to them?"

"…" He figured he'd be asked questions like this eventually. It was an uncomfortable topic...

"We split up. That's all."

"Sounds serious. I'm sorry for asking."

"Don't worry about it…"

Edith only hoped he wouldn't bump into any of them in this nation...even if he did...he'd most likely just walk straight past them on the streets.

Heading to their room, Edith leaned on the door with Ashe by his side. Nuro laid on one of the three single beds lining the walls. She slumped down and rubbed her face into the pillows like it was her first time ever laying on one,

"Bwaaaaahhhhh! These beds are SO WARM! I haven't been to the Beastman Nation in sooo long!!!"

"You've been here before, Nuro?"

"Well only once with my parents a couple years back. Hey, come to think of it, where did you live before this, Edith? Like did you live here?"

'…' Edith lived in a village far, far north of where they were. A village inhabited by foxes only, where his little sister currently resided. Should he disclose this to her…?

"I lived in a village far to the north of here hidden in the mountains, away from society. Since you too, are a fox, I assume that this is where you lived as well?"

"Ohhh…" She eyed him, partly shocked, "...That's where I lived before I was kidnapped! Haaah! Looks like we were part of the same village then!"

"Hmph." He gave her a small grin, "Don't let it get to you, we're still not friends."

"That's fineeeeeeeee. So how long has it been since you've been home?"

"…"

'How long has it been…'

His final memories of home were from about ten years ago, when Elzia was taken from him by the Lord of Death. He couldn't remember the faces of his then parents...not even any of his neighbours or of the friends he made there…

"Ten years. Don't ask if I remember anything, because I don't."

"Bummer. For me its been three. I left the village so I could explore the world. Never thought I'd end up in bondage like that."

"Three, huh...How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen, Edith!" She sluggishly sat up and leaned against the wall while hugging a pillow to her chest, still cutely gazing at the boy against the wall.

"Hm…" He thought he might've known her from before...a fox named Nuro who lived in the same village as him...but everything came up blank. The only thing he knew about the village was the its location.

"...I don't think we knew each other…"

"No, we don't. But I did hear talk of a Marionette disciple living close by. So I guess that must've been you."

He didn't respond.

"You know, I always did want to meet you, Edith. It must've been fate that you rescued me then."

"Fate?"

"Yeah! Fate that we'd meet each other in the Aznozian Empire. And fate that we'd become traveling buddies! Hahaha, wait till I tell Mom and Dad about this when we go back!"

"Hrm…" 'Return, huh…' If he went back...he'd be faced with the terrible past that he'd left behind. A comatose little sister, his distraught parents, and friends whom he abandoned. Going back was the exact opposite of what he wished for. Although he knew he'd have to, even if it was for a short while. He had to bring Nuro home to her Mother and Father. Leaving her to do so all on her own would've just resulted in her being sold into slavery for a second time. And who knew if she'd even survive that time?

"...As a fox, I will not abandon you to return home on your own. However, as soon as we get there, we part ways."

"Boo...how boring! Don't you want to see your Mom and Dad again? It has been ten years."

"They're not my real parents. I think nothing of them."

"What do you mean?"

"My real parents…" He looked over to Ashe, who simply sent him a concerned look, "...They're not from here. This world, I mean."

"So you're a reincarnate?"

"Yeah...I guess you can put it like that."

"How do you have all your memories intact then? Reincarnates don't usually remember such things."

"The conditions of my reincarnation are different from those in this world. The reason why I was brought here in the first place was because the five Elder Gods deemed me fit to be their disciple. So they sent their servants to retrieve me...but instead...they took my only sister from me, destroyed my world, stripped me of everything I knew and loved, and finally, killed me, forcing me to begin anew here, where I'm actively being hunted down by the Death Faction...The sister I told you about...the one who is comatose in our village, cursed by Achlys...that's the one from my past life back on Earth."

"…"

Ashe lightly held onto his left hand, hoping to offer what little comfort she could to the boy.

"You didn't have to disclose this to her. Are you alright?" She asked in concern. He remained silent.

Nuro too, couldn't find another word to say. She was flabbergasted by the sudden confession Edith made.

It took her a minute or two to form words in her mouth,

"You should still visit them...you know...Even if you don't care about them...they still care about you. You can't just abandon everyone like that and think it's okay…even if you're not from this world..."

"The only thing I care about is bringing my sister back and killing the one who put her in that state. Tell that to me when I accomplish my goal, then I'll consider coming back."

She looked downcast as her glazed eyes peered down to the pillow at her chest,

"Well...as long as you come back, I guess…"

A tense silence befell the two foxes. Then Ashe reminded him of the purpose of his visit.

"Edith, I suggest we refrain from waiting much longer. We must kill the royalties as soon as possible."

"You're right." He said, "Nuro, wait here. I'll be back before you know it."

"Alright...stay safe Edith…"

***

The first thing he did after leaving the inn was channel his mana throughout his body while focusing on upgrading himself. Soon, his hair turned the colour of gold, his five fox tails glowed a brilliant blinding yellow, his eyes turned to the colour of the sun, his ears, his aura, and his body itself seemed like it was on fire. His aura's intensity grew ten fold, filled with anger, dejection and rage directed toward both the Beast King and all five of the Elder Gods. Ashe immediately reverted into the form of a sword and hovered into Edith's right hand.

His presence alone demanded respect and reverence. Everyone around fell to their knees and sang praises to him like he was some sort of God.

He scanned the area. A beastman who saw him bowed at his feet, desperately wishing for his life to be spared.

"Oh great fox, what has troubled you so?" They questioned.

"Your king has committed treason against the foxes of this world, spit in the face of Goddess Alastor and purposefully endangered the lives of the Elders' disciples. I have come to rain down justice upon him and his daughter."

"I-I see…" His face went pale after hearing those words, "...The king is in his palace. I-if you may, please, spare the lives of the innocent civilians of this kingdom, I beg of you."

"There is no need to punish you. I will do as you ask."

"Thank you, great fox." He remained bowed at Edith's feet, feeling as if he'd be in perilous danger if he even dared to lift his head. Edith turned away from such a fool and marched forward with his eyes glued onto the palace.

As ordered by the king, the kingdom's soldiers rushed to block his path, holding swords, spears, bows and arrows, as well as magic staffs against him. The fox stopped and nonchalantly stood his ground before them.

"STOP! You there, if you continue, you will make an enemy of the Beastman Nation, an enemy of the Goddess of the Dead and Three Moons, do you really want things to be this way?!"

"Hmph." Edith glared daggers their direction. And as soon as he did, all thirty-five of them seemed to fall to their knees all at once. They panicked, shouted and whimpered in fear of him.

He blatantly said to them, startling them all to their cores,

"Let them come. I have gathered more than enough strength to take on such puny deities. They will both fall before me, and I will sacrifice their souls for power just like I've done before. My name is Edith, and I am the one referred to as the Godslayer!" Then he held his sword high in the sky while the beastmen soldiers screeched in fear and brought it to the ground, which creating an instant elemental wave. It killed off more than half of them by chopping off their heads. Their bodies slumped to the ground like giant lumps of meat. Blood spewed out of their necks, blue-green veins dangled out of the wound as chunks of flesh fell to the floor. Their decapitated heads rolled to the feet of all the others, and some to where the murderer stood. The surviving soldiers' faces were ashen. In their minds, they were staring death straight in the face. None of them spoke a word more while the Godslayer just walked on by.

The men stationed at the palace doors willingly let him in, knowing that if they hadn't, they too, would be next.

He found the king and princess seated in the throne room. The king wore an expectant look on his face whereas the princess, who had long deep brown hair, blue eyes, white skin and a long formal white gown, seemed frantic. She had a feeling that Edith was there to kill them. So when she laid her eyes on him, the first thing she did was fall to her knees, yelling for her dear life,

"Please, Edith! I-I don't want to die! F-F-Father said that you were going to kill me a-and that you want to kill h-him as well b-but please, d-didn't you save me from being kidnapped by humans last year?! H-how could you suddenly wish for my death?!"

"…"

His gloomy eyes fell upon the beast king, whom he previously trusted. Now, that trust was broken. And all because he sold Edith out to the Death Faction.

"I won't even ask why you sold us out to Achlys. Just know that you messed with the wrong person. Both you and your daughter are now labeled as my sacrifices for power. And I will not be letting either of you live."

"No, I-I DON'T WANT TO DIE! EDITH! EEEDDDIIITTTHHH!" At that moment, the princess burst into tears. Her crumbled, twisted face filled with tears of desperation, betrayal and hurt. She trusted him with her life, even loved the boy because of his efforts to rescue her from the hands of the humans...only to be killed by him in the end, the very man who saved her. As for the king, he stood to his feet and stared the boy expectantly.

"Edith the Godslayer, I presume? Almost didn't recognise you in that Evolved form you've got there." He spoke, "But you won't be killing us today. Fellow 'S' rank adventurer, this palace will be your grave! MMMMRRRRAAAHHHH!"

"N-no! F-father!"

"So it was out of arrogance then, that you betrayed me?" Edith most easily caught hold of the king's fist. Another attack was sent toward him-but using his sword, he sliced his left arm clean off. It slumped to the ground like jelly and bled out, creating a pool of blood beneath them both. Following, the fox crushed his right fist, kicked the king in his stomach and slammed his body to the ground. He wasted no time to crush his head in with his foot directly in front of his daughter. The impact created a small hole in the marble floor beneath them all.

The princess screamed her lungs out and struggled to her feet. She managed to make it outside of the castle and just barely into the city streets, where she froze up as soon as she laid her eyes on the rows and rows of decapitated beastmen.

"N-no…"

The ghastly sight she beheld froze her up. Edith wasted no time to kick her to her knees and aim the blade directly at the back of her head. She couldn't bare to turn around.

"This is farewell, Princess of the Beastman Kingdom."

"...Why...why have you done this? Why have you committed such a traitorous act against our nation? I thought you were my ally...weren't you the one who took me out of my bondage last year? Why are you doing this to me now?"

"…"

Had Edith allowed his emotions to flow though, he would've put down his blade and spared her life. She turned her face and wore the most forlorn expression he'd ever seen a mortal possess. Her frantic face was stained with tears of betrayal and anguish. .She hoped he'd have it in his heart to spare her life, but he didn't.

He readied his blade and brought it down upon her head, slicing it clean in two. The two sides of the girl's head drooped in both directions, her brain matter rapidly broke apart and drained out, dying her clothing and skin red in both brains and red ooze. The boy then grabbed hold of the princess and mercilessly dragged her back to the castle. He went past the guards without even giving them time of day.

"Nnn…" He threw the princess's mutilated body beside her fathers without a thought of pity, "...I don't care if I rescued you or not. You idiotic princess...ha…" He emptily laughed. He felt nothing for his crimes. To him, this was just part of his daily chores.

Bereft of natural feelings, he stabbed the blade into the ground and dumped as much of his mana as possible into a blood red pentagram that formed beneath all three of them. The room shimmered deep red, the aura grew heavy enough to force any normal mortal to their knees. Edith chanted quietly under his breath a spell he learned from his time in the wild,

"Lord Amaterasu, Lord Alastor, Lord Magus, Lord Osiris, listen to my prayer. Accept my sacrifices, grant me a servant with power like never before. Be it beast, human, hybrid, angel, demon, devil, lend them to me. Make my power grow ten fold! So mote it be!"

Instantaneously, the room erupted in shadows. The previous blood red shine of the devilish symbol turned as black as coal. From the middle, the bodies disintegrated into dust, just like the holy books in Edith's past life said, 'from dust to dust, ashes to ashes.'

They were replaced by a singular girl. Her body was hidden by the shadows, then was revealed. She was about up to Edith's shoulders in height with straight lengthy smooth black hair with a small black rose at the side, along with little red roses braided into her hair around said flower. Her medium eyes were fiery red in colour and glimmered beautifully in the dark. Her gorgeous white skin was lighter than Ashe's. She had tiny lips and a minute nose. Her hands were that of a young child's, which told him she must've been around the age of fifteen in human years. She wore a long sleeved baggy white shirt underneath her dark black buttoned dress reaching up to the middle of her squishy thighs. Stockings covered her legs from her feet up to a bit past her knees. On her feet, she wore black low heels, shoes he'd only seen once in this world before.

She stayed silent as the light returned, but pentagram stayed. Something about the servant summoned to him reminded him of himself...was it the depressing aura this unknown girl gave off? That dark, sinister look in her red devil eyes? Two blue screens abruptly opened up in front of his face, which showed both his elevated stats, along with hers.

NAME: Libitina

AGE: 15

LEVEL: 82/100

RACE: Fallen Hero; Human

WEAPON: Cursed Sword Durandal

CLASS: Swordsman

AFFLICTION: Creation

ABILITIES: Dark 7, Void 3, Fire MAX, Ice Max, Water MAX, Wind MAX, Lightening

MAX, earth MAX, Necromancy 5, Sword Art 10, Telepathy, Advanced Teleportation,

Advanced Elemental Magic 8, Auto-Regain 3, Eye of Truth, High Jump 5, Intimidate 4

EXTRA SKILLS: Blessing of Creation

TITLES: Assassin, Avenger, Fallacious, Sufferer.

NAME: Edith

RACE: Evolved Fox; Kitsune

AGE: 16

LEVEL: 105/200

WEAPON: Sword Spirit Ashe

CLASS: Battle Mage

RANK: S-Rank

AFFLICTION: Marionette

ROLE: Mercenary

HEALTH: 256,780

MANA: 400,000

STRENGTH: 600,000

STAMINA: 350,000

ABILITIES: Dark MAX, Void MAX, Fire MAX, Ice MAX, water MAX, wind MAX, lightning MAX, earth MAX, Stealth MAX, Summoning MAX, Necromancy MAX, Sword King Mastery MAX, Telepathy, Resist All MAX, Teleportation MAX, Dimension Shift, Magic Mastery, Advanced Fire Technique, Advanced Ice Technique, Advanced Dark Technique, Advanced Void Technique, Advanced Ice technique, Advanced Ice technique, Advanced Water Technique, Advanced Wind Technique, Advanced Earth Technique, Advanced Summoning Technique, Advanced Lightning Technique, Advanced Healing Technique, Instant Regeneration, Instant Heal, Rapid Recovery MAX, Contract, Sword God Mastery, Evolution MAX, Danger Perception, Trap Sense, Eye of Truth, Identify Protection, Identify, Perfect Thought Protection, Physical Nullification, Mental Nullification, Cooking MAX, Dimensional Storage, Perfect Shield, Manipulation MAX, Mind Reading MAX, Hypnotism MAX, Hunting MAX, Speed MAX, High Jump MAX, FoxFire MAX , Flight, Intimidate MAX.

EXTRA SKILLS: Blessing of Creation God Amaterasu, Blessing of Marionette Goddess Alastor, Blessing of Sorcerer God Magus, Blessing of Afterlife God Osiris. Blessing of Fox Goddess Inari, Blessing of the Dryads.

TITLES: Godslayer, Dragonslayer, Friendkiller, Spirit Tamer, Summoner, Necromancer, Assassin, Hero of the Elders, Disciple of Alastor, Cheater of Death.

'Sufferer? Fallacious? First time I've seen those titles…' The first thing he thought after seeing her stats was about what she must've gone through. Seeing that dark look in her eyes, the ever so constant feeling of depression emitting from her aura. He closed their statuses and walked up to her.

"You're just like me, aren't you?" He said. For the first time in god-knows how long...he offered a genuine smile to somebody.

She lifted her head, surprised, with a nod,

"And you are...just like me…Master...Edith..."

"Save the formalities. Just call me Edith. What's your name?"

"Libitina…I died twelve years ago...betrayed by my faction members...I seek revenge for their misdeeds, and will achieve it regardless of the cost. No one, not even you can stop me. If you dare to stand in my way, even if you're my new master, I will cut you down to size!"

"Hahaha." He was satisfied, "It just so happens that revenge is also what I seek."

"I know that." Her high pitched, young feminine voice growled furiously in his direction, "You are everything the Elders speak about..."

"Nnn…" He figured as much.

"If...if you are going to be my new master, swear to me that I will be able to have my vengeance upon those filthy humans...upon Creation...swear this to me...otherwise...I will destroy myself right here and now! Swear it to me, Edith Myars!"

"Yes." He readily nodded to her, "As long as you aid me in achieving my vengeance against Lord Achlys, I will aid you in any way I can. I swear this to you, Libitina."

With a sense of apprehension, she balled her hands into fists so tightly that her nails dug into her skin. Trails of blood streaked down and dripped onto the ground. But then, her shoulders visibly calmed. She lowered her eyes to the ground. The girl was deep in thought. Her main concern was achieving her vengeance, and after what Edith said to her, she finally felt a sense of relief. She struggled to get a word out which didn't seem antagonizing,

"Nnrng...Then I accept. I am Fallen Hero Libitina, a former member of the Faction of Creation. I hereby accept you as my master." She strained, "What is your bidding, Master Edith?"

"Help me annihilate the Goddess of Death and bring chaos upon her followers, and I will aid you in destroying the Faction of Creation and killing as many humans as you see fit."

"I accept." She said. She glared daggers into his eyes with a pained, tear-jerking expression on her face, "However, do you truly wish to kill one of the five remaining Elder Gods?"

"I do. And I will do so no matter what it takes."

"So be it." She threw her arms to her sides and bowed deeply to the boy, "I will help you in any way I can."

"Thank you." He sheathed his sword shortly afterwards, "Let us go then."

Him and Libitina left the castle alone with the king and princess's bodies turned into ash. They stood in the beautifully made courtyard and both stared toward the windless sky. The clouds majestically hovered still in the atmosphere. The air reeked of blood.

He moved his gaze toward the decapitated soldiers of this nation and saw the surviving knights cleaning up his mess. They caught him staring and instantly broke out in shivers. Then he eyed the citizens. They all seemed horrified, but bend to their knees in reverence. One of them didn't though. A girl who looked to be around twelve years of age. She watched him closely with her beady brown eyes, unknowing of what to think. He recognized her as his old friend Lucy, from the party he abandoned in the ice cave just days prior.

She didn't move. All she did was sigh.

But before either of them could make a move, a blinding light, followed by an ear-splitting boom from up above shot down in the exact spot both him and Libitina stood. They jumped back and readied their weapons, Libitina's having a glistening neon-blue blade with a golden hilt. The area in which it struck remained undamaged, but the atmosphere around it would've forced any normal mortal being to swiftly fall to their knees. Purple lightening poured out from the entity present.

It was a woman with lengthy purple hair reaching all the way to her ankles in length and eerily pale skin. Her big glowing purple eyes stayed fixated on the invaders of the nation, though they didn't seem mad. In fact, they appeared to reflect a feeling of comfort and purity. She was tall, about Edith's height and wore black stockings reaching to the middle of her thighs. Covering her frame was a beautiful black dress with dark belts wrapping around her waist. She had a little blue bow tying a small portion of the hair at her the side of her head together.

The aura she emitted...felt ethereal, like that of a God. It would've automatically filled him with bliss and peacefulness if he wasn't ready so dull and dispassionate.

Edith acknowledged her as the Goddess of the Dead, Atlas, the one who helped put the Beastman Nation together in the first place-in other words, she was his enemy.

When the lightening faded, Edith promptly pushed Libitina behind him with the words, "Stay back and don't try to fight her. You will not survive."

"I know that…" Libitina scowled at the thought of being so powerless against a God-much unlike her master, whom was used to fighting such beings.

"So? Are you here to fight me, Atlas of the Dead?"

"Oh? That's not a friendly way to greet an old friend, Edith! Come on, it's been sixteen years! Aren't you happy to see me?" She confidently blurted out. Edith spat on the ground and continued his death stare.

"Not one bit." He audibly mouthed, "I'll have you know...I fucking hate every last one of you Gods and Goddesses and would much rather see all of you mashed into the ground. Surely you must know this already...so why would you ever think I'd be happy to see YOU?!" He sliced the air-shooting a flaming yellow beam directly toward her. She held out the palm of her right hand and created a purplish shield, which successfully dispatched the fire attack, but was shattered in the process. The entire surface of her right hand was covered in burns and scars.

"Wow, look at how strong you've gotten...You just might be stronger than I am by now…" Atlas eyed him sympathetically, "...Hahaha. I'm not here to fight you, if that's what you're wondering...because I know that if I did...I wouldn't be able to kill you. As embarrassing as it is to say...you're stronger than I am when you're in that evolved state." She pointed out his second form, the Evolved Fox form, which enabled him to so easily take down the Beast King and summon Libitina. He remained neutral, replying with,

"Then why are you here? I doubt it's just to admonish me."

"Nuh-uh." She shook her head, "I'm just here to warn you, Edith."

"Warn me?"

"Yes."

Atlas cleared her throat...followed by a grim look overtaking her usually bright face.

"Edith...I am terribly sorry for what Amaterasu, Alastor, Achlys, Magus and Osiris did to you. You used to be such a bright and cheerful boy...you and your sister. Looking at you now...I...I want you to stop this journey and end your suffering. Because the end result will only lead to more pain. No one can save your sister, not you, not me, not Alastor, not even Amaterasu. And killing Achlys won't solve anything either."

"Gnh...Shut up!"

"If you want, I'll take you into my abode in the Demonic Territory and you can live there. It's protected by a barrier so Achlys will never be able to find you. You can start over there in my kingdom and finally enjoy your life. Maybe settle down with your lover, get married, raise a family, or even attend school. You haven't gotten an education yet, have you?"

"Quiet! I'll never do that!"

"I want you to live happily, Edith. I can't stand seeing you suffer this greatly. The Elders may be fine with it all, but I'm not. So please, won't you consider putting an end to this pointless journeying? Nothing will come out of it in the end, and I'm sure you already know this as well."

"Lies…You're lying to me...aren't you? You're just telling this to be to throw me off course, you're just trying to protect that foul Goddess, aren't you?!"

"I'm not." Atlas shook her head while smiling sadly, "I'm not afflicted with any of the other Gods or Goddess. Not even the Elders have any jurisdiction over me or my actions. What I'm telling you is the basic truth, nothing more, nothing less."

"You're lying to me!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs. His voice thundered outward, causing some of the castle to shatter and fall apart. Bits and pieces of lime stone came crashing down from above, blocked only by Libitina's shield, which she simultaneously cast,

"So you're telling me that Elzia can't be saved?! That my sixteen years of suffering and agony was all for nothing?! That I've only been chasing a dream that'll never bear fruit?! How dare you lie to me like that! I know for a fact that something out there must hold the key to her awakening, and nothing will stop me from getting my hands on it. I'll even kill all you stupid fucking deities if I need to!"

"There you go again. Edith, open your eyes. You know that I'm the most trustworthy deity out there. When I say that your journey will only lead to a bitter disappointment, I mean it. Trust me, I've lived long enough to see countless people do the exact thing you're doing, only to fail at achieving their goal. I don't want the same thing to happen to you, so please, just give up. Start enjoying your life. As I said before, you can live in my kingdom if you wa-"

Just then, Edith once again cut through the air, shooting out an even bigger and more devastating wave of fire toward the unfortunate Goddess. She cast another purplish shield to guard herself, but it was swiftly breaking apart. When the wave dissipated, her shield broke apart, and Atlas collapsed to her knees with both her arms battered and bruised. Blood poured out of her nose and her lips were busted and bloodied. But she didn't want to throw in the towel. She was determined to save his soul even if it resulted in her death.

"One more word out of your fucking mouth...and I'll cut your head off, Lord Atlas." Edith mercilessly spoke out, "One...more...fucking...word…"

"Haah...haah…" She chuckled under her breath, "...You really know how to hurt someone, don't you, Edith? Urgh…" She struggled to her feet while desperately clinging to her arms, "I'm not..going to give up on you...Because I...I want you to stop...your suffering and enjoy your life instead of chasing after this pointless dream...so...please...won't you listen to me? Don't you trust me? The one who comforted you when you first arrived to the afterlife all those years ago…?"

"…"

He went back to the time after he was murdered by Lord Alastor's servant. Atlas really was the one who settled him down and reunited the two siblings together in the afterlife. Before, he revered her more than anything. But now…

"Things have changed, Atlas. I'm no longer the boy you once knew. I'm a cold-blooded killer, a murderer, a Godslayer. I've killed countless people for the sake of my goals, even those who were my friends, I've struck down. I will not stop until my sister, Elzia, has awakened from Achlys's curse."

"…" This saddened her. Tears formed in her eyes as she listened closely to his words, replying,

"Please...Just consider it...I don't want to see you like this anymore." Atlas's voice cracked, a tear slithered down her face and dripped onto the ground.

"No." He shook his head, "You're only wasting your efforts. Go try to convince somebody else to stop their journey, because I'm not resting until she has awakened."

"Edith…"

"And if you're in my way…" Edith once again raised his sword. This time, Atlas didn't even flinch, or prepare herself for another attack despite knowing that if he strikes next, she would not survive, "...I'll just have to kill you too."

"…"

They stood opposite each other, just staring. Her mind was racing with panic, dejection, and feelings of pity for the boy who threatened her life. But she wasn't afraid. Just disappointed and sympathetic.

"Fine." She finally spoke, "I see there's no swaying you. Fine then. Have it your way, Edith Myars." She stepped back then formed a black pentagram beneath her feet, "I'm not going to give up on you just yet. One day, I will break you out of this."

"…" He continued his threatening pose.

"Farewell for now, Fallen Hero."

"Don't call me that!"

Before he knew it, she was gone. The air stood completely still. His arms fell to his sides as he stared to the ground. Libitina sheathed her sword and came to Edith's side.

"She vanished." She uttered, "Was that really the Lord of the Dead, Edith?"

He didn't say a word in response.

Lucy, who watched it all, wanted to race up to him and cheer him up, but hesitated the moment she took a step forward.

"Edith...Ashe…" Her eyes were glazed with tears, "...Why…?"

'No matter what anyone says, no matter what I have to do...no matter how many lives I must take...I will bring you back...Elzia...I have to...we promised each other…'

Anger coursed through his veins like a raging river. He didn't know what he wanted to do. What Atlas told him...were all his efforts really in vain? Was there really no bringing his sister back from the curse set upon her? He refused to believe it, but the boy couldn't help but feel like there was some truth in this.

Ten years passed since he set out on his journey, and he still hadn't even found the slightest clue to lifting this curse. So did that mean...that what Atlas told him was true?

…

"No…" He whispered painfully to himself, "...Ashe, Libitina, we're going."

"O-oh, yes, Edith." Libitina answered. Ashe reverted back to her humanoid form and gave him a nod.

"Yes, Edith. I'll fetch Nuro from the inn."

"You do that…"

He knew nothing of what awaited him in the future, but his resolve stood firm. Regardless of what it took, he was determined to lift the curse.