[Nihil's Dimension]
It was a world filled with a scarlet light coming from the scarlet moon hanging high in the sky. As always, there was not the slightest trace of life in this world except for the few people who inhabited it. In the center of this dimension, a scarlet translucent cocoon could be seen floating quietly. In it, it was possible to see the silhouette of a naked figure with angel wings and a missing arm.
"How is she?"
A tall woman with a rather strong-looking body and two horns on her head walked boldly up to the cocoon. Zwei, once known as Ibuki-Doji, was observing the situation of her leader with a small laughter in her mouth.
"To think that even you would be done like this. I might have missed a truly good fight."
"If you went, we would have lost another member, so I guess it's good."
Zwei's smile stopped spreading, and she turned in the direction of the other person in the surrounding area. It was a young man with black hair and a rather handsome face, wearing what looked to be a black trench coat, a top hat, and a crystal monocle over his right eye. This was definitely a rather outlandish attire in this place, but Zwei was already used to it.
"Eins..."
He was the second in command of this group. A man that was rather elusive and generally did not show himself if it was not necessary. As crazy as she was, Zwei had, of course, asked him for a fight once, in order to discover just how powerful he was. The result had been rather disastrous.
"What are you doing here? You usually only appear when you want to give instructions."
Eins adjusted his monocle slightly, and a clock reflected in the glass flashed slightly before he sighed.
"Neun is dead. Same for Acht."
"Oh..."
Zwei answered with a short surprise, but beyond that, she was not particularly moved.
"So let's see. We lost the undead, the lion, the dwarf, the wolf, and the Vampire."
She whistled playfully, "Five out of Eleven members are either dead or imprisoned. I must say, this is pretty funny."
"You do not seem shocked."
"Shocked? Why should I be? I already made it clear that I did not believe in all the crap Nihil was spouting. I simply joined because it seemed fun and I could fight strong people. Though now, it seems like the fun is about to end."
"Oh, you are pretty wrong about this."
Eins smiled quietly before shaking his head and approaching the cocoon housing the sleeping form of Nihil. He had tried to heal her, but it had been impossible. The only way to do so was to expel the foreign power that was gnawing at her body.
"Haha. I never thought I would see that power again. This makes things tricky."
He touched the cocoon, an expression of nostalgia appearing on his face before he shook his head.
"We already have the Divine weapons of the Humans, Dwarves, angels, and Chimera."
"So what? I doubt we can get all of them, and even if we do free Ymir once we gather, it isn't like victory will be assured."
Eins stayed silent for a while before walking away.
"I made the others start to move. To gather the ones we are lacking. You can do as you like, but simply remember this... The fun you are seeking has not even started. Soon, we will open the gate to a new era."
He moved his cloak and immediately vanished from the premises.
"Why do those bastards always have to talk with a half-riddle?"
Zwei scratched her head, deep in thought. She was already at the peak of what was possible as a King and only needed a push to go through the limit.
'There is a war happening soon, right?'
The last time she had the best fun was during the war between Lustburg and Gluttony foss. It seemed like Lustburg was about to help her once again fight the boredom.
[Wratharis, Imperial Capital]
While Zwei was thinking about what to do, back in Wratharis, two people were having very varied reactions after they felt a certain energy.
"This is impossible!"
Standing up, with his eyes seemingly glaring lightning, Lupus roared as fury nearly overwhelmed him. It had been only for an instant. But he had felt it. It was as clear as if someone had placed a searing hot blade on his skin.
"Why!!?"
He screamed his rage at the sky, his temper and aura causing the very weather to change as black clouds gathered and thunder grounded. But no matter how much he screamed, nothing changed, and he received no answer.
Meanwhile, on the side of the temple, Kiku's eyes widened for an instant before a chuckle escaped her. Soon, she found herself rolling on the ground and laughing out loud like a complete madman, to the complete bewilderment of Shuten-Doji. She was about to ask what was happening when she felt the reverberation of Lupus's power and rage.
"What in the name of the goddess is happening?"
The fact that Kuki's full laugh coincided with Lupus's rage made her think of something, but she dared not have much hope for this. It couldn't be so easy, after all, right?
The answer by Kuki made Shuten smile brightly as she realized that, yes, it could be that easy.
"A new Blessed under Ira was chosen."
This was perhaps the best news she had heard in a very long time.
"Do we know who it is?"
"No. But... It is pretty easy to guess who."
She looked in the direction of Lustburg, remembering the small move she had made back then to assure the survival of the princess. Who would have thought that this small act of kindness would be repaid in such an unexpected way? Fate was truly wonderful sometimes.
(AN: I just wanted to say thanks for the recent gifts and Castle. SHK release rate has been pretty low lately, so I understand that many readers left. As such, once again thanks for all the support..)
