Unknown

"Kekeke." Gilles fought the monster effortlessly, as if it posed no challenge to him. Although the monster was much larger than Gilles, it struggled to fight back against him.

Monstrous beings, including colossal ones, did exist, but humans were never meant to match their immense power.

'Just what the hell is going on? And where exactly am I?'

Ars' eyes widened in fright as he see Gilles break the monster's finger.

"GUAARGH!" The monster screamed in agony while Gilles continued to laugh hysterically. As the monster went crazy and continued throwing random haymakers, Gilles maneuvered his way towards the monster's head while exclaiming, "Dance, fiend!" taunting him before ripping his throat off.

The defeated monster's lifeless body collapsed to the ground, leaving Ars in disbelief.

Gilles' face once again painted emptiness as he slowly approached Ars, offering out his hand. Confused but relieved, Ars took his offer.

As soon as he stood up, Ars felt his wounds vanish and his body lighten. Looking up at Gilles' face, Ars noticed a change in his demeanor. "Who are you, really?" he asked.

With a faint chuckle, Gilles repeated Ars' question "Who am I?", pausing for a moment before continuing. He seemed to be uncertain of whether or not he should share his true identity, as it might be difficult for Ars to comprehend. Gilles' hesitation was apparent as he said, "Well, I doubt you would even believe what I'll say but..."

Gilles began to explain. He spoke of demonic spirits, death archons, and false gods, and which seemed to be the world that he belonged to. And the fact of demons taking form of humans to conceal their true identity, same to Gilles and the monster he took down earlier.

"Demonic spirits? Archons or false Gods? I don't understand," Ars exclaimed in confusion, his mind struggling to comprehend the significance of those words.

Gilles, noticing Ars' confusion, asked why he was here in the first place.

Ars wasn't really sure as to why he was here as well, but knowing that he seems to trusts him, Ars told Gilles the things he remembered before collapsing to the ground and waking up in this hell hole.

As he spoke, Gilles listened attentively.

Once he had finished, Gilles nodded and remarked, "Hmm, I see. It might've been his doing again."

"...Who?"

"No one special."

Gilles then apologizes for trying to kill him earlier, he expressed his sincere apology by revealing him about his true nature.

"A demonkin?"

Gilles nodded and said, "Yes," as he moved his bangs to the side, revealing his left red eye with a slitted pupil which resembles that of a demon's.

Gilles was a demonkin, a half-demon and human who struggles to control his demonic impulses, hence his often weird behaviour.

However, Gilles didn't let Ars' confusion deter him from continuing to explain his situation. As he spoke, Ars slowly began to grasp the truth of Gilles' words and the motivation behind his actions. Despite the shock of learning about Gilles' true identity, Ars found himself gaining a deeper understanding of his struggles and began to feel a sense of empathy towards him.

Gilles was once a devout human who had faithfully worshipped a false god that few believed in. Many people considered him delirious. But after years and years of worshipping this false God, he was blessed with a strength incomparable to a human's.

His family's painful death was a tragic event that drove him to become a follower of a false God. He felt responsible for not being able to protect them, and this shame etched on his heart. He was unable to protect his loved ones because of his physical weakness, as he had a thin body, his figure almost like a skeleton's.

Gilles was then bestowed with a blessing from the false God he worshipped, and as a result, he became a demonkin—a hybrid of human and demon. Despite his thin and frail human body remained, he gained a great strength.

Later he found out that the false God he served was known as Zabaoth, one of the world archons.

Curious about the nature of these beings, Ars asked Gilles, "If false gods like Zabaoth and demons exist, then how come no one knows about them?"

Gilles took a time to think before he replied, "As I have said before, demons can take form of humans to conceal their identity, same as angels. And such Gods like whom I worship are ubiquitous beings."

"Angels, huh... And what's that?" Ars asked, eager to know.

Gilles snickered before explaining.

The World Archons are pre-eminent false Gods that oversee the world. Their dominance was eons ago and they were forgotten as time passed, only to be remembered as a legend. They are spiritual entities that do not simply exist in the physical world or Euretsia where mortal humans dwell. They are everywhere, but their presence aren't felt.

They are also not known to communicate directly with lesser beings such as humans, but if they were to do so, it would likely be through intermediaries or revelations, such as visions, dreams or using a random person to convey their message.

In contrast to the World Archons, the Death Archons are known to have a more direct presence in the physical world.

The Death Archons, also known as Fallen Angels, serve under the World Archons and are primarily responsible for causing physical destruction in Euretsia. They carry out their duties under the command of specific World Archons.

The World Archons are divided into three categories based on their beliefs.

The neutral false God, Zabaoth, the benevolent false God, Sophia.

And if there's a benevolent false God, then there's also a malevolent false God.

Jaldabaoth.

While Death Archons are not able to physically kill humans as they are spiritual beings, they often resort to other methods such as manipulating negative emotions, creating illusions, and instilling false beliefs in humans. These actions can lead humans astray from their morals and ultimately lead to their own destruction.

"Death archons can also posses a mortal body in order to carry out their duties or for other reasons," Gilles continued.

And then the Cosmic Archons. They are neutral spiritual entities who, like the World and Death Archons, do not also exist in the physical world. Cosmic Archons are only believed to control the balance of the physical world and have a role in providing blessings and punishments to humans who deserves so.

Lastly, the Physical Archons, also known as the Archons, are considered the archons of the physical world and are believed to have the least amount of power compared to the other archons. They are spiritual enteties who can take on animal form, but not that of a human.

There are two physical Archons that exist in the world: Sol, the God of the Sun, and Luna, the Goddess of the Moon.

As Gilles explained everything, it did seem very complex for a 14 year old human like Ars. Everything was too sudden to take in mind, but as he listened attentively, as it slowly dawned upon him.

"I know I shouldn't be telling a human this knowledge that I have, but I felt something different from you which I only realized earlier."

"What do you mean?" Ars asked.

"I mean, you're not an ordinary kid," Gilles replied. "There's something unique about you."

"I don't u-"

The stone ceiling and floor suddenly started to rumble as dust fell. Ars and Gilles tried struggling to maintain their footing as the floor shook and trembled beneath them.

Immediately, Gilles went through the wall that was created by the man earlier. He inspected the surroundings before he went inside. He looked back at Ars without saying anything, as if he was telling him to follow quietly.

As they entered through the wall, they found themselves in a vast chamber made of greenish quartz with a polished floor. The chamber was adorned with numerous large green squared pillars that rose up towards the ceiling. The torches on to each pillar illuminated the room and cast flickering shadows all around.

They continued to walk deeper and the room seemed to stretch on endlessly until they finally reached the other end. Gilles then used his strength to easily blast through the wall as if it was nothing.

"Wait... If you could do that, then why didn't you just destroy the metal bar when I was in a cell?" Ars asked.

Gilles looked at him with a chuckle as he responded, "I guess my inner demon didn't feel like killing you."

Ars looked unamused and thought to himself, 'What...'

As they emerged on the other side of the wall, they found themselves faced with an abyss. The only way up seemed to be a spiraling staircase that was connected to the walls. Even though the stairs looked unsafe, they had no other option.

Gilles jumped down onto the stone stairs without any hesitation and landed flawlessly on both feet. He then raised his arms, gesturing for Ars to follow.

Ars was hesitant, but eventually mustered up the courage to jump down.

However, instead of getting caught by Gilles, a loud thud echoed as he hit the ground.

Gilles had tricked him.

"Oh, my. It seems that I positioned myself wrong," said Gilles with a chuckle.

Ars glared at Gilles who was smiling, 'You did it intentionally, you thin fart!'

Ars slowly got up, his leg didn't feel hurt. He thought that it was weird as he tested it out and his body felt completely normal.

"What are you doing? Let's go," Gilles urged him to keep going, and they started walking upwards the spiraling staircase. They were inside a dim tower, with no lights to guide them, but they could see well enough to avoid tripping.

Looking down, all Ars could see was the darkness of the abyss below. Ars couldn't help but shiver at the thought of falling down there.

As they continued to climb, time seemed to drag on. Despite not feeling physically exhausted, Ars was overwhelmed by boredom, and the endless spiral staircase seemed to stretch on forever.

"Hey, Gilles, uh... So why the long dress?" Ars asked in an attempt to break the monotony.

"Ugh. Of all things you could ask me, that's what's been on your mind?" Gilles replied with a hint of annoyance.

"Jeez, I was just curious," said Ars defensively.

As they continued walking, they eventually reached the top of the tower.

Creak!

The sight of the sky's pinkish-red hue, mountains peaks that reaches beyond the black clouds, and monsters with wings that extended two times their size that flew in the air greeted them.

Ars was too shocked to even speak. He looked at Gilles with a dreadful expression, expecting an answer.

Gilles responded, "Remember when you asked where you are? You're in hell right now."

"What?..." Ars walked to the edge of the tower and saw a sea of corpses bathing in pool of blood as he looked down. The cries was heard and he felt like their eyes directed to him.

Gilles pointed to a pale black river at a distant and spoke, "That's Acheron, also known as the River of Woe. It's the boundary between the living and the underworld, where souls cross with the help of Kharon, the ferryman, to reach the Netherworld."

"I don't understand..."

"You're dead," Gilles continued, "But your soul hasn't fully passed on. It's just in this form."

Gilles knelt down to pick up a glittering diamond shard. He showed it to Ars to which stunned him to see a reflection of himself.

Although his body resembled that of a human, it was dark and empty. He tried touching his face but a force is preventing him to.

"You're still here because you have a reason," Gilles explained.

"A reason? What reason?!" Ars asked in a trembling voice.

"This is the world I live in," Gilles replied with a mournful smile.

"This is hell. Namely Tartarus."