The Eleventh Predicament — Requiem for the Lioness, Part 2

Are we truly sinful?

Typically it'd mean we're wicked and immoral by some astute higher observers. Wicked, bad, criminal and guilty. I don't view myself as such nor anyone else. We're all simple creatures with different views and methods of acting. It's rather crude to brand someone wicked or criminal for being lustful or filled with wrath. We're all filled with emotions and tend to act on them at times.

Even emotions which would cause you end the life of another.

I'd bring my eyes to Mary who dawned upon me.

I stared at her coldly before I'd dash towards her after this brief moment of calm, she'd cause a plethora of beast arms and other demonic creatures to shoot forth from behind her. My guns did their best to nullify and shoot them out but simply continued to appear time and time again.

Gawain would've propelled himself towards me but staggered at the last moment before being shot in the back several times with my nullification shots. Mary caught on to this immediately and furthermore became enraged. A magic circle of epic proportion would've appeared from under us as a giant demonic beast came forth. It growled terribly causing the ground beneath us to shake, the air reverberated slightly.

One swing from Excalibur is all that it took to take down this beast. Mary looked in anguish as several rifles surrounded her. All of them would've began firing at her until only bits and chunks remained. I took in what was left of Mary and Gawain before proceeding to the castle where now only 8 Hansmen were left.

Once I made it inside the smell of blood and death immediately made it towards my nostrils, it was putrid and horrendous but it's only gonna get worse from here. Despite these factors I still couldn't help but to smile erratically. Grinning from ear to ear as I made my way down the passageway.

I saw more and more bodies on the ground from each side as I progressed and eventually could hear the battle going on but strangely enough things were reaching their climax as I saw Selene fighting what seemed to be one of the royal guards. Eventually he'd see me and called out with a look of distress on his face. Something which didn't seem likely nor did I ever expect to see it. I smiled a bit before grasping the wall and sending a current throughout it all but causing a multitude of canons and artillery to reform and cover the entirety of the room we were in. All of them aimed towards the two who were fighting at a violent speed but eventually it slowed down upon my arrival. They became aware that another person or thing factored into the equation known as their battles results.

"IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING, COME AND HELP ME DEFEAT HIM!"

I just stood there and looked at him with a wide smile across my face. I didn't wanna answer, I refused to answer in fact.

"…—"

"The actual hell.."

I took off Excaligun from my back and shot towards them using one of my nullifying shots all but causing Selene to lose his starlight subjectivity now making him more receptive to the attacks on top of having a hole in his arm. His main source of defense had been lost, not just defense but offense as well.

"WHAT THE HELL..! I OUTTA..—GAH.. you little shit, I'll kill you.. the things I'll do wh—"

No matter what he's trying to say it'd eventually get drowned out by the sound of pure gunfire and artillery firing towards him. Each shot differentiating from the last in either power, effectiveness or technique. Both of them would've been riddled with holes with blood spewing everywhere. With the little bit they was left of them I absorbed their skill and technique. I was so giddy I couldn't contain my joy. Eventually in the halls you'd hear nothing but my laughter. I felt so accomplished that I didn't even feel like proceeding further but I was curious as to what would happen to Uriel.

Did I make a mistake at any point throughout this night in killing them? No. Could things have gone a different route than the one it's already proceeded? Without a doubt. If anything, I could've killed them a lot quicker and proficiently if I had gone about it better. But as of right now, I wouldn't say my actions are even in the slightest bit sinful. I've done everything I could in response to the situation I was in. To that regard, the very nature of being sinful shouldn't really apply to what I do much less how I act. I'm simply being myself, I'm simply being human.

As I proceeded I eventually came to what appeared to be the royal dining room. It was trashed and completely in ruins. Uriel and The head inquisitor were head to head as far as ability goes. Even the guy Uriel brought from afar 'Koto' he was fighting along side with him, eventually it started to make sense as to what Koto could do. He was going from point A to B with no time delay, he was actively teleporting or at least moving at a speed which allowed him to achieve those feats.

A large light would fill the room as a joint attack between Koto and Uriel finished off the grand Inquisitor guy. I looked in awe as I saw the king huddled in a corner watching in horror in his eyes. The tub of lard clearly didn't like the outcome of the battle, he screamed and shouted before Uriel stood over him, desolate of any visible emotion as far as I could tell.

The king looked around to the entrance of the dining room and saw me. Eventually he connected some dots and realized who I was. Before he could properly call out to me Uriel had dawned over him.

"My king, I hereby relieve you of your duties to this kingdoms as I solemnly swear that I, Uriel Astaire your flesh and blood carry on and improve upon your legacy and better this kingdom. Not only that.. but I simply loathe your existence you filthy pig."

"DAMN YOU URIELL.. YOUR MOTHR WAS A BITCH WHORE, YOURE NOTHING WITHOUT ME! THIS KINGDOM WILL FALL WITH YOU. YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU OF ALL PEOPLE HAVE POWER? THAT YOU CAN PREFORM EVEN A SINGLE ACT IN YOUR LIFE THAT HAS ANY FORM OF MEANING OR SEMBLANCE? THINK AGAIN YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT WASTE OF SPERM! YOU CAME OUT OF ME! STOP YOUR INSOLENT ACTIONS RIGHT NOW UNGRATEFUL SHIT STA—.."

"Are you done squealing you troglodyte Neanderthaloid.. all I see right now is a pig begging for its life before getting butchered.."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR FATHER THIS WAY! I'LL HAVE YOU PUNISHED, LOCKED UP, YOU WONT SEE LIGHT FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS—.."

Before he could've finished Uriel drew his sword and beheaded the king.

I looked in awe with clear shock in my eyes, not really. I clapped at the performance which Uriel put on before us. The whole argument felt rather pointless given the king was blind and ignorant to how powerless he was.

"Splendid! Encore! My gracious leader you've performed well! It pains me to say we've lost most of our forces.. but with this victory their deaths aren't in vain."

Uriel looked at me slowly with little to no emotion in his face, he cared not for the news I had just brought him. Nor did he seem taken aback in the slightest with my arrival, almost as if he expected it.

"I see.. it's quite shocking to hear that but frankly knowing it was you who did it makes sense, however I almost expected you to kill them all but I guess you were just that craved huh..?"

I stepped back a bit. My awestruck expression filled with shock and joy at his "victory" had soon changed to a face of malice and contempt. Eventually I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. My disposition changed now that was completely aware.

"I'm almost surprised you figured it out, but then again not really."

"Well I didn't, you just told me."

"Oh, I call bullshit."

"You've got me but I'll say this—.. under no circumstances did you really make it past Mary."

"Huh? I dunno what you're talking about. I deconstructed her along with Gawain."

Before I could really be receptive to what was going on Koto and Uriel both came at me simultaneously, Koto had appeared before me and immediately drawn his sword to my neck but after figuring out how his ability generally operates I've come to the right approach that I've gotta counteract him the moment he appears which completely depends on if he's already got his attack ready by the time he attacks. Uriel I just needed to be weary of using any metaphysical based attacks reliant on their innate lack of form and thereof.

I'd draw Excaligun in retaliation where I'd use it to block them from making contact. I smiled a bit as it was genuinely exhilarating to fight Uriel in this fashion. I got into stance before dashing towards Uriel once again attempting to throw him off using the sheer force Excaligun has to offer since just sending shoots of pure energy would only fuel him in the end.

I sent commands to revert the gun to regular ammo made out of composite materials. Generally I'm not too sure if I can nullify his sacred arts ability with how it works on absorbing concepts and energy as a whole.

I sent a barrage of attacks towards them and at the end of each slash a shot fired causing a second attack to follow up. They were able to counter each slash but were caught off guard whenever a bullet came out towards them.

Koto would've proceeded to dash towards me at a great speed, I tried to anticipate his teleportation but it never occurred causing a lapse in judgement. Uriel only followed up with his own attack which I'd follow up by transmuting another rifle from the ground causing it to shoot him while he was trying to attack me from the air. He didn't flinch despite being shot which concerned me a bit so I forced Koto away from me spacing myself from Uriel and him.

Uriel casually got sent away and dusted himself off as if nothing happened despite the bullet wounds. I could only assume he had healed himself at that moment but I could still see blood dripping from his body.

The attacks they sent kept coming in variation but I eventually got to a point where I could predict them much more easily. I'd send them flying into the ceiling using the sheer force of Excalibur promptly right after I transmuted the surface of the ceiling to be filled with swords and spikes in order to impale their bodies. This was all by utilizing the force that came from me sending them flying.

Even when they noticed all that surrounded them would've been spikes all around them which grew rapidly and eventually perforated their entire body.

"Finally.. I actually..— now, it's all fucking done. Whew I actually didn't think I'd pull through that shit. Man."

I kinda just looked around and took a look at my hands, blood splatter was everywhere. I had several wounds all over my body but I knew at the very least it was over. Except that Zel was the last remaining foe for me to handle, there wasn't any chance of me really beating her and Luci was kind of a lost cause. I wanted to see him grow stronger so I could really just rub it in his face that I'm stronger.

"It's really entertaining that you believe all of this to have happened."

Uriel spoke to me.

My face filled with dread and anguish with just those words alone.

I looked around and saw nothing, their corpses were still in the same place as before so what was going on?

"You're not the special one here."

He continued to speak to me but I genuinely didn't know how or why? What the fuck was happening.

"In essence it's all just a what if? So to speak. Ideas existing in thought alone with no real concrete or physical existence."

An idea? Not given concrete existence? What was he going on about.

"I always found it strange why there was another person like myself in this world, but then I realized you're just a mistake, a blotch that's happened to appear. It all makes sense."

I wanted to yell out, to question and interrogate him but I couldn't? My body came to a halt. My thoughts were the only thing I could really interpret. Everything became hazy, nothing felt real, I couldn't tell anymore.

Several events went through my head, suggestions be that as it may. But even as those events went through my head I lived through them time and time again. Death, rejuvenation and rest. I went through these things casually. I suffered endlessly and it simply repeated itself. I saw people I never thought I'd see again.

Sequences continued over and over again passing over my conscious mind. Time passed through me as I experienced events time and time again.

"Don't you see all of this now? A simple idea, a construct from the mind given relative form and existence. Abstraction on levels you could never comprehend."

Who is he? Oh. Uriel is talking. I've gotten a bit lost.

"Let me end this promptly."

Uriel brought himself before me as a pile of corpses laid in my wake. I was still in a daze before my eyes widened and saw each and every face. Zel, Gawain, lucifero, everyone. All of the hansmen, the king. I was taken aback by the sight. But still slow to interpretation as to what was going on.

"You see, the moment you got to Mary I realized I had to just finish everything myself. Your sloppy methods weren't inherently good enough to really handle the rest of the Hansmen.."

"What..?"

"You're really different from the rest of us. You must be a late bloomer or just some mistake that got mixed in with us. Maybe I'm just not familiar with ones like you."

"You're.. being cryptic, I don't know what you're fucking talking about. Just spit it out already.."

"You're not aware what we're called huh? We're grace candidates. God given individuals chosen at birth with the intention to rise above everyone else. My grace allows inherent abstraction, I can inflict and alter abstract ideas and the like as I please. The events you just witnessed and gone through for the past 30 minutes, murdering Selene, Me, Mary, Gawain? They're just abstractions generated from your most subconscious desires when in reality I had started taking care of each of them one by one slowly but surely. Along with my grace, I was gifted the ability to use Magic and Chordatta but with your arrival I decided to cast the very idea of my gift away from everyone's minds to see just what you might be. The very reality we live in was cast away by me in a single instant and consequently replaced by another."

"So wait.. you died and came to this world too..? What about the whole thing where you killed your siblings..?"

"Died and came to this world?.. no what kind of nonsense is that. You really are a different breed. That day when I killed my siblings I simply awakened to my grace and realized my natural potential as someone truly better than everyone else. If you died and came here with the realization of your grace ability I can only assume you killed the person who previously held the grace."

"So wait they were..—"

"You know you're really something. I can't believe you're now a candidate for ascendance. Anyway, good luck in the next life Sumire. We've got no need for you anymore, more importantly I've got no need for you in this world of mine."

Uriel would've cast his hand about as the world I thought I was in once again abruptly changed.. all the Hansmen were still alive, except for the ones I killed? But I still saw Mary, Gawain and Selene. Overall it didn't make sense as to what was happening or why it happened. I treaded backwards as they all looked at me with disdain and disgust. My mental state was in shambles, I couldn't even reciprocate half the information flowing into my mind.

Eventually a tone of music came into my mind and I gradually found myself losing my sanity. It was one of the Hansmen abilities which completely disrupts your mental process with sound alone. I had to leave, I had to get out of there immediately.

As I bolted out of there poorly I saw all the Hansmen dashing towards me one by one, I couldn't outrun them for long. Nothing made sense anymore. I could hear a chant in the background but it wasn't clear whether a crowd of people or just my mind. It felt like both and neither at the same time.

I finally made it outside the castle before a spear came through from behind me. I looked to the side and saw Zel and several others. None of them held any remorse in their faces, I was terrified. I didn't want to die. I don't wanna die.

This can't be the end? There has to be more than just this?

I contemplated these thoughts for what seemed like ages as my body was slowly impaled left and right. I broke each of the spears off trudging slowly, blood pouring from my body. Everything was going cold.

If anything.. I'll go out on my own terms. Placing my hand on my temple I'd try to deconstruct my head. I closed my eyes and pictured everyone and everything that I had the chance to meet and realized it wasn't even that good. None of this was really that good now that I realize it.

Violins continued to play their ensemble, the chorus merely got louder as eventually a pop came about. The chorus got louder, violins played ever so much more gracefully. A requiem was going about.

Soon I came to, things truly faded away.

Everything was really just black again. I couldn't feel my body or anything. I really was just dead again. Maybe I'd finally be able to rest in some eternal hell or dream like reality as a reward to my suffering.

As if it'd be that easy. I gradually heard footsteps from afar, after around a day or two they finally got to me. Strangely enough it felt like a couple of seconds but I could clearly interpret it as 2 days. Strange how this works.

"Man, it really is a shame that you died like that. Well you had a good run Sumire. I'll tell you what! It'll get better! And now that you're pretty strong I'm sure you'll be able to climb the hierarchy of candidates in very very little time!"

"Tell me, what's the purpose of keeping me alive huh?.. why am I even still here, let me rest."

"Well.. since you're asking. I have BIG plans for you, for myself and for my entire pantheon. You're going to be the weapon of the gods. You can address me as the tutelary deity Hyperion. You'll be the sole weapon used to take over the grace battle in order to vanquish my competitors and their candidates."

"Explain further.. I need the full scope of everything before I go further. In hindsight I see that I've been given a really half assed explanation which was filled with holes."

"Ah, well I figured you'd figure me out sooner than later. Well, to put it in terms for you my candidate. every tutelary god is capable of selecting a candidate who at birth is given title or ideal which will define them. Hence their grace ability. You happen to have killed the grace candidate in your world before they could realize their latent talent hence you've been upped to his grace candidacy and now must carry on his responsibilities as the Divergent. Now, with the innate talent I see within you, you're going to be the weapon of the gods in my sect. You'll ascend and thus push yourself and my entire sect further to the top of the hierarchy of power within serenity. You'll become the link which binds all and nothing. But first, I dub you with the name Ariella, you'll move past your previous name as now you're going to be the lion which cast its reign over all it that it dares to call it's own."

I couldn't respond, I was a bit awestruck with what was proceeding. He began to speak again but almost slowed down.

"I cast upon you the name: Ariella. No longer will you bear the name Sumire, for it will pale in comparison to the power your new name has."

In that instant the pain I initially felt from when I first died, and even the pain from dying earlier accumulated and hit me. It was more than just a couple spikes of pain but a giant wave of anguish. I couldn't think clearly but every word he spoke came to me perfectly. I nodded slowly with nothing to mind except for the pain I was experiencing.

"Yes, I'm glad you've come to terms with the name. You'll be the Lion of God. And to clear things up for you, I'll send you to a world where you won't be forced in the same situation. A situation where you're ridiculed, humiliated and disrespected. Forced into a situation where you've got to oppose everything and everyone who comes to face you. In this next world Yuzuriana, you'll meet a man just like you who'll teach you everything you need to know as far as your grace. And once you complete a certain amount within your time in Yuzuriana I'll summon you again with further orders. And by the time I summon you, the amount of power you'll have access to will be immeasurable."

He opened my vision for me to see his being. It was bright, astounding and simply a sight to behold just as it was before. Perhaps I'm just delusional but simply being within his presence was like a warm embrace.

"Ariella, the Lion of Hyperion and The Divergent Grace. I commend you and have faith in your future accomplishments. You'll ascend farther than anyone else, your being is truly worthy of being the Linked Horizon."

The linked horizon?

Superb.

If my being is considered truly worthy by such a deity than how can one consider me sinful, or wicked. I'm clearly a destined existence if I'm told I've got this much potential. I'm not bound by concepts like sin or inherent behavior by any means. I'm.. the lion of god.

Or at least the greatest weapon known to them.