"A [Gate] scrubber has been activated!" I warn the girls.

"What? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Alissa exclaims.

"Land the dinghy and I'll try to locate the source," I say.

"The Hollys didn't catch anything?" Ciel asks.

"No…"

A chill pa.s.ses through our spines. If the heretics can cast four [Meteor]s in a few seconds, what's to say that they can't craft such a powerful scrubber?

We stop the dinghy and get ready for battle while I concentrate and try to find the source of the scrubber.

My heart sinks as the feeling happens again, overlaying with the original, then again and again. I count eight scrubbers in total. With a little more concentration, I find the sources to be coming from the eight cardinal directions. We are surrounded and the sources are converging on us.

"Get in! Roxanne, fly up! Directly up!" I order.

We quickly break through the canopies of the ginormous trees and the sun a.s.saults us. Almost literally as we feel "pain" from the rays of light touching our skin.

"What's going on?" Ciel questions worriedly and casts [Heal] on us. Nothing happens and the sunlight slowly increases its "intensity."

I start to grow increasingly afraid as the sources of the scrubbers lift from the ground and follow us.

"Dammit! They are coming up!"

At the same time, I see through the Hollys small groups of dots raise above the canopies. Ten people in each group for a total of eighty.

A Kite Dragon above notices us and dives down, ready to strike. Ciel, Alissa, and Aoi strike at it and lightly wound it, allowing us time to fly past it as it recovers from the strike.

"They are gaining on us! Faster!" I order and we hold ourselves on the dinghy as it reaches dangerous speeds. Even though it's reinforced now and won't break apart easily, it doesn't mean that we are exactly "safe" inside it.

A Cloud Snake dives out of a cloud towards us and I start charging a [Lightning Bolt]. This monster is a snake actually made from cloudy matter. It likes to hide in clouds and strikes with blinding speed towards its prey, which would be us.

I release the spell and it immediately stops. Its snake-shape is lost as it gets stunned and becomes an innocent small cloud in the middle of the blue sky.

We start seeing dots above us that grow in size. Those are wild Sky Lands. Too far from the territory of the chimeras, so they are likely crawling with flying monsters.

A Dragolite appears and the Kite Dragon switches targets. It stops chasing us to go after easier prey.

The eighty dots chasing us increase in size and even Alissa can now see them. Then I see something that makes my blood turn cold as it stuns me.

The girls notice my fear seeping through the [Bind] and Alissa searches the dots, too, only to become stunned like me.

It's not hard to find them as their glow is eye-catching. Two men, each wearing a complete set of armor that covers all visible openings. A scary mask of a stoic man covers their faces. Their golden armor is set with enchanted gems of all colors, and it glows so brightly white that it hurts to even look at them when they get closer. A sun is engraved in the chest of the armor and its rays radiate out from it to cover every surface. A heavy golden cape with a blood-red lining flows from their shoulders as it flutters in the wind.

The Hands of the Emperor. One is coming from the east and the other from the west.

"WHAT?!" Ciel exclaims and goes silent, too shocked to speak further.

"They don't want us to escape…" Alissa mutters and grits her teeth.

Lina and Hana glare at the Hands as they finally notice the glow coming from them.

"Can I eat them?" Aoi asks, innocently.

I look at Gify and for the first time, I see genuine fear in her beady little eyes.

"Can you escape them?" I ask her.

"Gih."

That means "no."

I start to hyperventilate as my mind races with reasons for the Hands to so aggressively come after us, but nothing comes to mind. Not even in Ciel's wildest dreams would Katasko have the power to command the Hands to act, no, this situation is beyond what any of us ever thought could happen.

I check my "Status", but my "Piety" is still unchanged, and Alissa and I still have our blessings from the G.o.ds.

The glow of the Hands start to hurt us, too, and we grow increasingly distressed as panic appears in our hearts.

Roxanne's driving becomes erratic, so Ciel takes over as she's too stunned to properly panic.

More monsters appear, but this time they run away instead of attacking, fearful of the Hands.

The Sky Lands above us continue to grow. Like in the Roulette of the Morning Dew dungeon, they are chunks of land that had glowing crystals jutting from below it. These valuable crystals are what allows them to float in the air.

Since we are too far from the capital, the wind here is so constant that these lands slowly drift around the entire Gillios continent, giving them the name of Drifting Lands.

The Hands are still gaining on us, so I decide to land in the closest of these Drifting Lands. Better face this than get caught in the middle of the open sky.

The surface of the chosen Drifting Land is covered in large white oaks, all bent in the same direction against the wind, forming a small dome protecting the trees from being blown away.

Their huge and deep roots are overgrown and stick out of the sides of the Sky Land in an effort to gain a better foothold against the ever-present strong wind.

We fly above the Land and find a clearing in the center, where a piece of the green crystal that glows harmonically protrudes out of the ground.

Getting weak in the leg as the "pain" from the sun increases, we suddenly feel like kneeling when the lights from the Hands start affecting us, too.

When we finally see the eighty men chasing us, my heart tightens and I hold my breath as the overwhelming presence of the Hands increases tenfold.

Eight semi-transparent white bubbles hold thirty mages, thirty armored footmen, eighteen archers, and the two Hands equally spread among the bubbles, which land on the ground and dissipate, then the men and women from all types of races surround us. They look stern, but not hostile. They hold defensive postures, but do not point their weapons towards us.

The two Hands walk a few steps forward and my legs tremble. Roxanne falls on her knees, heaving for breath, while the rest manages to hold on just barely.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ciel asks between gritted teeth, barely holding her glaive in her hands.

The Hand on the left says with a feminine voice, "You are Helios, a fellows.h.i.+p composed by Wolf Ryder, Roxanne Succubus, Ciel, the Blood Slaves Alissa and Hana, and the slave Lina. You possess a pet named Aoi and a nature spirit possessed Gify."

Her voice is calm, collected, and perfectly crystalline. She merely states facts and yet we feel guilt attack us with every word she says. Behind her mask, I can see two familiar dark eyes stare at me without a hint of emotion, only cold determination, bordering on obsession.

Oh no… the vision…

I look to the right and see unremarkable brown eyes stare at us.

Oh no…

"Brown eyes… the vision…" I mutter with a lot of effort and the girls notice it too.

The brown-eyed Hand on the right says with a masculine voice, "We are only giving you this small courtesy because your fellows.h.i.+p has done nothing wrong for the Empire and even gained two blessings from the G.o.ds." His voice has a hint of kindness to it, but then it disappears and every word pounds at my heart like a stake, "Your existence and your Gifts were deemed too dangerous for the stability of the Stagnation Factor to our realm. You've all been sentenced to death. Resign to your Fate and you'll all be rewarded with a long stay in Paradise."

Tears escape my eyes and freely run along my cheeks.

"WHAT?!" Ciel questions with a cracking voice. "ARE YOU THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE [METEOR]?"

"Yes," answers the female Hand without a hint of emotion in her voice.

The male Hand elaborates further, but his voice contains no more emotion than the other Hand, "Unfortunately, we didn't know you had [Gate] and such a large field of view with your summons, so we miscalculated and killed many innocents as collateral damage. This time, though, you've isolated yourself, and for that, we thank you. But don't make a mistake, the number of innocents that are killed is of no concern to us. You're that dangerous."

No, no, no, no, no, no…

A crystalline gla.s.s wall suddenly materializes in front of them and surrounds us. The amount of mana that suddenly escapes the wall makes me stagger and reminds me that they have enough mages to cast four [Meteor]s in less than a minute.

In desperation, I cast [Earth Wall] and make a dome to protect us.

The Hands' voices magically penetrate the wall and enter our hearts. "Submit," they say in unison with [G.o.dly Language]. Ciel, Alissa, Lina, Aoi, and Gify all fall to the ground.

"Resist!" I immediately shout back and overpower their Language.

"Interesting. We didn't know you could do that," the female Hand says.

"Truly a dangerous Gift," the male Hand says.

"YOU'RE NOT THE REAL HANDS OF THE EMPEROR! HE WOULD NEVER ALLOW YOU TO KILL SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE!" Ciel bellows. Her eyes are wild and desperate. She claws at her head as her heart is broken apart.

The female Hand calmly responds, "The Sin of Reckless Murder does not apply when there's a reasonable justification for the number of deaths. As we've said before, your fellows.h.i.+p is that dangerous to the entire realm."

"HERETICS! WOLF, OPEN UP!" Ciel orders while shrieking.

No, no, no, no, no, no…

"We have to fight our way out!" Alissa yells and shakes my shoulder.

The mages outside chant quickly, then slam their staves on the ground and my wall fades into dust that quickly disappears into nothing.

Ciel grabs her glaive and charges the crystalline wall.

"WOLF, RUN!" Lina yells as she follows Ciel.

The mages around us start chanting again and I recognize that they are casting [Meteor].

"NO!" I yell, but I don't have [Bind] acting on them, so I can only watch as another huge burst of mana leaves the Hands' bodies.

"[Warp s.p.a.ce]," the Hands cast in unison.

Two vertical lines appear along Ciel's and Lina's bodies. The lines blur my vision for a moment, then they disappear.

The two girls stop screaming and fall on the ground. Their bodies split in two vertically from the head to their crotch, spilling their insides and coating the bright green gra.s.s red with their blood.

"NOO-" My grieving shriek is suddenly interrupted as through the Shads' vision, I notice invisible people sneaking behind us.

The a.s.sa.s.sins yell in horror as the Shads attack their heads and force them into a nightmare.

I'LL MURDER YOU, I'LL MURDER YOU ALL, I'LL MURDER EVERYTHING.

I draw my sword and chop, decapitating the a.s.sa.s.sin behind me, then I immediately feel another huge burst of mana. This time, the source of the spell is inside me.

I try to interrupt it, but the spell is so strong that it feels like I just slammed my head against a brick wall. As a last resort, I use [Redirect Mana] on it as I see Alissa, Hana, Roxanne, Aoi, and Gify all split into two by [Warp s.p.a.ce].

"GRAAAAAH!" The flesh monstrosity screams in pain as a mantis-like being on top of it tortures it with sickening glee.

The monstrosity retains some shape of what could once be considered two people. Their limbs are all broken and twisted in different angles; their flesh is covered in bruises and cuts; and parts of the skin have been ripped off, exposing the muscles beneath. Their mangled intestines hang from a large wound caused by the skin and muscle being ripped from what would be their bellies. Two heads with b.l.o.o.d.y messes for eyes hang with their toothless mouths open as the smell of rot and death escape from their breaths.

The mantis being had enough of braking and cutting, so now it slowly pulls apart the limbs, savoring every sound of flesh being torn apart and the moans of pain that come from it.

A serrated p.e.n.i.s protrudes out of what would be its crotch and enters the hole where the monstrosity's innards hang through. The jagged edges on the p.e.n.i.s rip and tear more flesh, causing the monstrosity to bleed even more and paint the living carpet below it with bright red blood.

The living beings fused to the floor moan in pain and ask for death so that their eternal torture can finally end. Their bodies have been stretched into a carpet of living flesh, covering all the gra.s.s around the clearing with their sickening mess of flesh and feces.

The mantis steps on an exposed lung, squas.h.i.+ng it and making the moaning being slowly suffocate. The being is elated, thinking that it will finally die, but all the happiness is then replaced by even more suffering as its lung is then restored to its former integrity, allowing it to breathe, and suffer, again.

"KRIIIIIIIIII!" The mantis being lets out a shrill cry as it o.r.g.a.s.ms and fills the flesh monstrosity with s.e.m.e.n.

The mantis' many serrated limbs grab the now limbless monstrosity and crush it slowly. Squeezing the life out of it and the last of the s.a.d.i.s.tic pleasure it can have from torturing the monstrosity.

Like a fleshy balloon, the monstrosity suddenly collapses to the extreme pressure exerted by the mantis and explodes, sending flesh, bone, and blood everywhere.

Now without a toy to play or purpose to live, the mantis keels over and collapses on the puddle of blood and gore it created, crus.h.i.+ng more of the living carpet below it.

The mantis coughs blood and pus as it's also rotting and dying. Its current shape is not what it should be, it's something "wrong," but now it's too warped by anger and grief to even remember what it once was.

Life slowly escapes its body as tears flow out of its many eyes.

"Kri…" It lets out a faint cry and takes its last breath.

I feel like I woke up in the middle of car trip. My body is in movement, but I'm just stirring awake, feeling sore all over.

I try to open my eyes but nothing happens, which makes me feel a bit of panic.

Then I see "it." I see a "light." I see the "end."

I don't want this to end.

I turn away from the light, feeling disgusted by it and stare at the abyss, then the abyss stares back.

"Yes, it's not over yet," a soft female voice calms my mind, but I notice that it's preparing me for the worst that's still yet to come.

Suddenly, information invades my mind, giving me forbidden knowledge that fills me with hope.

I immediately use this knowledge to see beyond. I see further than the "abyss" and the "light." I see the infinite potential at the edge of my grasp.

I see immortality.

I open a hole in this reality and escape it, greedily searching for the source of this potential.

In this new place of non-existence, I see many other things that I don't understand. Some of these things cause so much terror in me that I immediately forget that they exist. My existence itself would end if I ever tried to comprehend what I saw.

After an eternity moving through this place, a sense of familiarity washes over me as I start to comprehend what I'm seeing.

I see a string that has been abruptly cut and it bleeds anger and grief. This string calls for me and I answer. I reconnect the string and suddenly gain physical vision again.

I see a stretch of land suspended in a sea of blue background and white clouds. A brown mound of earth and rock with many green crystals glowing harmonically below it. Trees all bent against the wind to create a protective dome so that the air flow bends and goes around instead of trying to uproot them. A horrifying circle of living flesh, tainted by blood and gore. Seven gla.s.s coffins with the bodies of…

"RAAAAAAAAAAGH!" I scream, yet no sound is made.

My existence becomes composed entirely of anger as the sight of the coffins breaks down my mind.

I take hold of the Drifting Land and try to tear apart everything in there, except for the coffins.

The entire Land trembles and the earth cracks, but immediately the anger fades and a primal hunger takes hold over me.

I look at the horrifying living carpet not with disgust, but with hunger. I open my mouth and swallow it whole.

The dead bits of meat and the warped mantis-like creature give me little power, but the living carpet is much more "tastier." The tortured beings let out moans of pleasure as they feel Death finally coming towards them, but then their souls let out shrieks of horror as I suck them in, too.

There will be no Paradise for you.

I chuckle with glee as the delicious souls flood me with energy and power.

The anger flares, but a small nudge of the knowledge I received directs the anger to something else.

Instead of trying to rip things apart from this form, I'll be more effective if I exist over there to influence the world, so I start to make a body for myself.

I'm a tall man with pure-white skin, steel muscles, blocky and mean face, long golden hair and beard, and a huge horse c.o.c.k.

My bones are the first to appear on top of the living carpet, then my flesh covers it, then my organs grow, then my blood starts to circulate, then I regain my sight.

I open my eyes and breathe in the acetone smell of undead corruption deeply mixed with the smell of blood, rot, and feces.

My hunger continues and I turn the living carpet into dust. I don't stop there and absorb the gra.s.s, then the trees and the plants. I turn the lush green Drifting Land barren. I stop at the crystals so that I don't fall out of the sky. I'm not ready for this, yet.

After feeding, I feel more powerful than I ever imagined I could be, but yet I still hunger for more.

I hunger for everything.

I laugh out loud and revel in the shrieks of horror that I caused from the souls of the tortured.

But this pleasure lasts only for a while as the hunger grows again until I can't ignore it any longer.

I look around me and when I see the gla.s.s coffins, everything breaks apart and I collapse to the ground.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" I scream in anger again and the Drifting Land trembles with my power. The crystals crack and the Land starts to sway precariously.

With endless tears rolling along my cheeks, I crawl my way towards the coffins.

I stop in front of Alissa's. Her naked perfect body is blemished by a white scar that runs along her head down to her crotch. The mark of what killed her.

The other girls are all the same. All dead, all split by [Warp s.p.a.ce].

Their bodies look just like they were alive, but their chests don't move as they stopped breathing and I don't even feel their "strings" anymore from the [Bind].

Blinding anguish takes hold over me as I realize that I won't ever hear their beautiful voices again, I won't ever see them move their perfect bodies again, I won't ever touch their delicate warm skin again, I won't ever make wild love to them again…

I feel like screaming, but I hold back my anger this time, lest I break their perfect coffins and disturb their rest.

I have nothing left.

But I have debts to repay.

So I'll kill everyone. I'll consume everything.

And I'll start with the Emperor.

I open my "Status" again and notice that almost everything is gone. Only "Messages" and "Items" are left, and I have one unread message.

From: G.o.ddess of Knowledge.

I'm your last friend left. Let us change this realm, together.

I feel a deep familiarity while I read the name of the sender. A soft and tender touch. A woman's kiss.

The sun suddenly feels painful again and I hear my skin sizzle and bubble. With just a thought, I make the burning stop and heal myself, but then it starts to consume my "power."

I look around and see other Drifting Lands slowly pa.s.sing by me.

I store the coffins in my "Items," then by using my power, I pull the lands together, creating a landma.s.s wider than a castle.

Through a hole in the ground, I manage to look down and notice a golden branch-like castle protruding from the canopies of the High Forest. Around it, I see many white houses partially covered by smaller canopies. Goloria.

The Emperor wanted to end me, but unfortunately for him, higher beings want me to continue alive.

As I said we once would, Wolf Ryder died with Alissa. From today on, I'm The Devourer and I'll consume everything in my path.

Avgi wronged me, so I'll "wrong" everything under the touch of the G.o.d of the Sun.

Death to the G.o.ds.

I push the islands towards me and consume the crystals keeping them afloat. Then they all start to fall together like a huge meteor. Our aim: Goloria.

The nightmare ends and I wake up in the dinghy feeling sick. Alissa's hand lands on my head and her fingers glide through my hair.

"Bad dream?" She asks.

"A horrible one," I answer, then I lay my head against her shoulder and close my eyes again.

Soon, the dreamworld takes me again. At least this time I'm rewarded with a nice stroll with my women through a beautiful field of flowers.

Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Oracle Maximillian Hübner.

Prince PreownedFIN.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Hope.

Lord Samuel Lim.

Lord Bill.

Lord Novgarod.

Lord DJ.

Lord Cidant.

Lord Ashadun.

Lord Michale Erwin.

Lord Joxsan Herrera.

Lord Enrique Peña Gomez.

Lord Vampmire.

Lord Braidborn.

Lord Bakerdea.

Lord Kalsted.

Lord Yeeteris Dedmeem.

n.o.ble Salty Panda.

n.o.bleman La.s.siter.

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