- You Get What You Deserve

Multiple religions exist in the world of Valeingash just like they did on Earth.

However, because magic was fairly common in this world, it was easier to gather believers by using faith to explain its existence. Just as kingdoms waged war against each other for land, churches waged war against each other to spread their faith to the people and prove that their religion is superior and deemed more worthy to exist.

After centuries of war, the most prevalent religion in Valeingash has been the Church of Selephesia having churches built in countless kingdoms.

Selephesia was a prophet who made herself known to the people centuries ago, professing the belief of the Godking, Reigos, who ruled over the 5 Major Planes of Existence, with each of the planes handled by a god.

The Plane of Mortals, Valeingash, is ruled by the god of life, Khala.

The Plane of Celestials, Angelei, is ruled by the god of order, Etreil.

The Plane of Infernals, Sinistral, is ruled by the god of chaos, Crigel.

The Plane of Ancients, Aeonis, is ruled by the god of eternity, Onus.

The Plane of Spirits, Solus, is ruled by the god of death, Freigh.

While it would seem like these gods have coexisted and claimed these planes together since the beginning, that was not the case.

Millennia ago, multiple planes were at war with each other over resources, land, and power.

It was common for more established planes to invade and conquer weaker ones, either subjugating them, plundering their resources, or destroying the plane entirely, wiping all life within it.

The more resources brought into their plane, the stronger it becomes, providing its inhabitants with power, more galaxies and planets to inhabit and develop, richer harvest, abundant mana, and life force, as well as a better chance to defend against invaders from another plane.

It came to the point where major wars escalated between very strong planes.

It was then that an individual by the name of Reigos, who was born from a dead plane, grew in strength, surpassing most plane rulers. Choosing not to use his power to conquer the planes, he offered a solution to end the wars, instead.

Challenging each Ruler to a duel and defeating them one by one, many planes began to listen to his words.

5 of the strongest rulers sided with him together with dozens of other plane rulers.

However, some disagreed with him and wanted war.

For centuries, the war continued between Reigos' side and those warmonger planes.

Because those warmonger planes were disconnected from each other and mostly did not seek to cooperate with another plane, they were wiped out one after the other, strengthening the planes under Reigos.

After the war was over, Reigos arranged the 5 major planes of existence and divided them amongst the 5 strongest plane rulers. The lesser planes then began to migrate between the 5 major planes according to their preferences, pooling their resources and abandoning those lesser planes.

For centuries, most of these abandoned planes have become sources of summoning spells or contract rituals. Some have even become owned by individuals who have access to dimensional spells.

The 5 strongest plane rulers became the gods, while the other plane rulers either became lesser gods under them or stayed as leaders of their respective races.

To avoid abuse of power, numerous rules were set up to disable the gods and lesser gods from directly affecting the events on the planes. Their main duty was to protect them and preserve balance.

... Or so it is written.

Today, such balance was once again being challenged in the world of Valeingash.

...

The Kingdom of Grimley, Church of Selephesia, Hall of Accounts...

A woman wearing holy robes of a unique design that was unable to hide her exquisite features was half-kneeling in front of a statue of the god of death, Freigh.

"Understood, my lord! The transgressor shall be punished!" Her voice was graceful but held confidence to fulfill her duty.

She rose and turned to leave, revealing her beautiful face, deep dark eyes, and black wavy hair.

...

Aberrant Fields, Southwestern Fortress Ruins, Blood Pool Chamber...

As the final thug dropped to the floor, lifeless... Soulless, the black flames spewing out from all over Zex's body dissipated. The loud beating of his heart also stopped as his eyes returned to normal.

'What was that?' Zex, still wearing a calm expression, was curious about the explosive power he demonstrated. It was never shown in his system that he had a skill resembling such. All he knew was that using it made him feel good as if he had just released a lot of pent-up emotions.

Shaking his head and setting aside these thoughts, he approached Dhana and took her down from the crucifix.

Zex's face turned ugly as he saw her condition.

Burnt face, tongue cut off, bruised body, signs of whipping, missing fingers, drugged and abused.

He felt his heart being crushed after seeing the conditions of all three of them.

Zex healed her as much as he could before he sent her to where Troy and Shea were.

Then he opened another portal to return to where Edge was fighting.

...

A few minutes earlier...

Barazi was shocked after seeing Edge's form and sensing the demonic energy emanating from him.

However, when the transformation completed, Barazi smiled as he noticed that the demonic energy Edge possessed was far less than his own.

"Disappointing. That is all you can mu---" Barazi was about to continue mocking his opponent when deep claw marks appeared on his neck, spewing out blood before Edge appeared behind him already prepared to deal another blow.

Not allowing himself to be caught off-guard once again, Barazi quickly turned around and grabbed Edge's arm before throwing him away.

The wound on Barazi's neck rapidly healed as he smiled. "You think I spent all those years sleeping? While you were being held captive, that fucking demon used me as a power source for his army!"

Edge stood up from the rubble as he saw Barazi's form turning erratic. His face was no longer that of a human but an abomination as his size grew larger.

"Those years of suffering made me wish you killed me back then!" Barazi charged full speed at Edge. Swiping at him with his bladed claws.

Edge was dodging blow after blow while delivering a counterattack from time to time. What Barazi said confirmed his thoughts from before. What he and Arissef killed wasn't Barazi, but a fake.

Arissef also told him before that demons cannot usually control death energy and he doubted that the demon Barazi released was any different.

Barazi being alive right in front of him, shouting his woes, answered the questions in their minds during the war.

He was being used by the demon as a conduit to use death energy.

The only remaining questions were how did he survive the war and how did he escape? While he didn't need to hear the answers and would rather end the battle quickly, he could not find an opening or a way to defeat him for good.

Edge was starting to get used to his new form as he employed his combat techniques and the [Death Aura] in his attacks.

He manifested all types of weapons and forced Barazi back time and time again.

Slowly but surely, he was beginning to see the path to victory.

Unfortunately, might and speed are not always what decides the victor.

Barazi jumped back into a corner of the room.

"You know? Your daughter tasted good. She felt just like Amber, only tighter and younger. HAHAHAHAHA" Barazi's laughter echoed in the large room. "The best part is her moans and her screams!"

Rage was welling up in Edge's heart but he held on and focused on attacking.

Seeing that his words did not affect Edge, Barazi picked up a section of the floor and threw it at Edge.

"When I looked at her face, she reminded me of her whore of a mother!" Barazi continued to mock Edge as he blocked his attacks.

"So I burnt her face." Barazi smiled menacingly.

At these words, Edge snapped entirely and charged at Barazi, seeking to tear him apart with all his strength. "YOU BASTARD!!! DIE!!!"

With his speed, Barazi could not keep up. However, anger can cloud one's judgment and make his actions reckless.

In one such reckless move, Barazi was able to grasp Edge's leg and raise him.

"You are as clumsy as you are worthless!" Barazi continued to speak as Edge kept swiping at Barazi's arms to make him let go. "Despite the torture that I went through all those years, there were some perks to it."

Suddenly, Edge felt his power being drained from him, making his arms too heavy to even fight against gravity.

"Like for example, manipulating demonic and death energy." Barazi's grotesque face smiled as he brought the weakened Edge, who was upside down, closer to his face.

As Edge's strength left him, his form reverted to normal, and could no longer swing his arms. All that remained was his consciousness as Barazi dropped him violently to the floor.

In truth, Barazi was not able to defeat Edge if he only kept calm and wore him down. His body was already unstable and he could not replenish his demonic energy after being abandoned by his master.

However, more than a fighter, Barazi was very good at mind games. Messing someone's mental state was a cakewalk for him.

"Initially, I thought none of you would survive when I leaked the information of Castle Nalva. In the off-chance that you guys DID defeat my master, I wouldn't need to worry about the soul contract anymore." After absorbing Edge's energy, Barazi's form became more refined and looked similar to when Zex used the [True Name Liberation] for the first time.

Struggling to even stand up, Edge was already thinking that he did not deserve to breathe after being unable to protect both his wife and daughter. 'Worthless.' He thought of himself not even worthy to shed tears.

"Alas! I will have to find a way when I reach Eishel. Don't worry. Drago will join you soon!" Barazi said as he was about to swipe his large claw downward at Edge.

Edge closed his eyes as he awaited his death.

However, after a second, it never came.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Zex block Barazi's gigantic claw with his bare hand.

"Ho---how is this possible?" Barazi was so shocked that he leaped back, reevaluating the man he thought to be in a weakened state.

"You were careless, I believe?" Zex asked Edge who was still lying on the floor without turning his head.

Edge could not utter a word out of shame.

Zex shook his head in disappointment. "Dhana is safe and so are her bodyguards."

At these words, Edge's tears finally fell as he said with all his might: "Thank you."

"Rest for a bit. You will meet her again soon." Zex said as he drew Avegar from his spatial storage.

"SPATIAL MAGIC!?!? IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Barazi's understanding of the world was being shattered. He knew Drago couldn't cast a single spell, much less complex spatial magic.

"Trash like you deserve to rot in hell!" Zex infused black flames into Avegar as he grasped its hilt with both hands and charged at Barazi.

Refusing to back down, Barazi charged to meet Zex with his claws.

However, Zex weaved in, slicing off Barazi's right arm, then moved in to slice his other arm, spinning once to gather enough momentum to finally pierce through Barazi's heart.

"Damn... You..." Barazi coughed up blood as black flames intensely lit up his body, burning his organs, his flesh, and finally his heart.

Unfortunately, Zex couldn't do what he did earlier to the thugs and burn the bastard's soul.

A shame.