The world around them seemed to freeze for a moment, the air thick with tension as Hel's eyes widened in shock. In this state she was invulnerable, a goddess who wielded the power to kill anything with a single touch. That’s how it was supposed to be, that’s how it’s always been! And yet here she was, bleeding and quite vulnerable on the ground.

"You... you cut off my hand!" she gasped, her voice a mixture of disbelief and rage. The shock of the injury was almost as overwhelming as the pain itself, and she struggled to process the reality of her situation.

“Hey. Hurry up and save him.” Said Victor, still sprawled on top of a nearby rock.

“Huh? You must be blind with all that hair covering your face. I DID save him. Just look at her. I bet this is the first time she’s experienced this. Lol.”

The taunt stung more than the wound. Hel's fury boiled over, and she glared at him, her remaining hand clenching into a fist. " Anything that touches me should automatically die! No abilities shouldn’t be able to touch me while I’m in this state! So how… How the hell did you hurt me-!"

"I don’t give a damn about your power, you loser." he interrupted. “You think killing my slashes is enough for them to die out? Yeah right. Fat chance in hell! …Or I guess fat chance in ‘Hel’. Lol."

With the flames of her anger stroked to their maximum, Hel, without a moment's hesitation, charged at him. But as she did, the air around him suddenly felt dense, as if she’d finally stepped foot into her hunter’s range. "I wouldn't be so reckless if I were you. You might lose an arm."

“!”

In an instant, her remaining arm was cleanly severed. She clutched her shoulder in agony as she collapsed to the ground, the overwhelming pain causing her hair to revert to its original white.

Kagutsuchi stood frozen, a mix of shock and dread coursing through him as he felt the intense, fiery gaze of the Mantis piercing into his very essence. His instincts blared a singular, urgent message that vibrated in his mind:

“I’m next.”

In a frantic bid for survival, he summoned his powers to conjure another gate, declaring, “FROM WITHIN, A WALL MADE OF ALIZER, A SUBSTANCE THAT CANNOT BE DAMAGED!! EMPOWER: INAUGURATE!!”

The air shimmered as the wall of Alizer materialized, a radiant barrier that glowed with an otherworldly light, promising protection against the impending doom. But the moment felt heavy, laden with the weight of inevitability.

“Constellation Art: Blade of Mantis!”

The words sliced through the tension like a knife, and the air crackled with an electric charge as his right hand -more of a blade than a hand really- began to glow. It was a shimmering, ethereal weapon, a fusion of elegance and lethality, glinting ominously in the bright light.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Kagutsuchi braced himself, heart pounding, as the blade sliced through the atmosphere with a speed that defied comprehension.

But instead of meeting resistance, it effortlessly fazed through the formidable wall Kagutsuchi had erected, cleaving his body in two. The pain was instantaneous, a searing shock that coursed through him, but it was the confusion that struck deeper. “How… is he doing that?” he muttered as he collapsed to the ground.

The bizarre hybrid of human and insect let out a strange giggle, a sound that echoed with a chilling delight, taunting:

“What a couple of losers. I bet you thought that barrier was gonna save you too. Lol!”

(I have to hurry and return to the underworld. I’ll be able to heal there. But Hel. If I leave her, he’ll finish her off. If I could just figure out how this guy’s power works, I could create something that could bypass it.)

“I can’t believe you two are Royal Decks…”

That taunt didn’t come from the Mantis or Flea or whatever he wants to call himself. It came from Victor, still slouched on a rock as she held onto a thin red string.

“Since you amateurs are clearly having so much trouble, I’ll give you a hint… His blade doesn’t really exist until it’s made contact with whatever it is he’s aiming for. So, your barriers won’t do you any good.”

“Gah-! Wha-What the hell are you doing!!”

“Oh relax. They clearly needed it.”

“Needed it my ass!! What kind of hint was that?! You practically told them exactly how it works! That isn’t how hints work, you loser!”

“Who the hell are you calling a loser? Don’t think I won’t come down there and kick your ass, Mantis?!”

“From within, a large dome of pure Hashwalk, a substance that reflect the nonexistent.”

“!”

Suddenly, the Mantis found himself confronted by the vast exterior of a dome, large enough to encompass both Kagutsuchi and Hel. He attempted to slash through it with his power, but his attack merely ricocheted off. "Great. Y’know, I hate fighting these types. It’s like they have an endless bag of loser tricks."

“LOL. He got you good.”

“DON’T STEAL MY LINGO!! AND THIS IS YOUR FAULT, DAMMIT!! …What is he even doing in there anyway.”

“When an Angel suffers fatal damage they can return to a blob-like state and absorb the starlites in the atmosphere to regain their form. Well, I guess they could also possess a human or an object and take in their starlites. Kinda like that useless lug over there on the ground.”

{She’s referring to Gilgamesh}

“…I assume the second option is not in their cards. So, are they blobs right now?”

“Nah, I doubt it. The physical realm isn’t as rich in starlites as heaven used to be, so the process would take way longer. Kagutsuchi’s most likely creating a portal to the underworld. They should be able to heal up there.”

“He’s running away?”

“Pretty much.”

"Shouldn't we, I don’t know, stop him?"

"Good thought, but I can’t fight while holding this." She said, lifting the red string. "Besides, the dome is about to break anyway."

“Huh?”

*Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the world. The tremors were so intense that Kagutsuchi’s barrier shattered into countless fragments, along with the gate he had summoned to transport himself and Hel to the underworld.

“What the hell was that?” Mantis asked, perplexed by the sudden shockwave.

“It’s God. He’s returned. And it seems he’s quite angry.”

*BOOM!

A second explosion, even more powerful than the first. Oddly, everyone below looked up at the sky, as if anticipating something grand. And then…

*BOOM!!