(“What an impatient man. If you had acted like an ally for more than a minute I don't think it would have taken long to get a suitable opportunity to deliver a death blow. Sigh, it seems I'm going to be reduced to one experiment left in the world.”)

----------------------------------------

Tibaut moved his hand into Daniel’s face but he was too slow. The priest had stopped him and was now aiming for his neck.

(“DIE, you miserable whelp. Blame whatever master put you up to this in hell!”)

The blade was just inches from Tibaut’s chin.

Poom

"What was that sound?" Was what everyone other than the priest was thinking.

The moment it hit, he knew what it was. But how did it happen? When he fell to the floor the others were in his range and he wasted no time stopping them. Was it the pink-haired woman? Were they tricking him? No, he couldn't feel the touch of anyone behind.

It was the woman whose spine he severed. It looked as though she didn't need the hammer to do that strange attack.

Damn her! Damn her and her stupid magic. But maybe he could still salvag-

His face slammed directly into Tibaut’s open palm. He felt the heat building in his mouth.

He tried to back his face away but the small ball created was more than enough to rattle his brain and destroy all the teeth in his mouth. It burned the inside of it as well, and even singed the passage that led to his nose, making every subsequent breath an endurance of pain.

He held onto his throat by instinct and coughed for air. If it wasn't for the powder, that would have likely killed him. But was it worth it in the end?

By the time he fell to his knees, he was still unconscious. A few seconds passed before regaining consciousness and he began clutching his throat.

He felt a hand on his neck and within the next moments, a smouldering crater was formed in his neck.

It exposed his oesophagus to the outside and even surpassed the nose and mouth as an intake of air.

Tibaut reached his finger into it, astounded he was still alive after and hooked his fingers into it. The priest no longer had the wherewithal to fight back and was struggling to even form thoughts.

He pulled upwards on his exposed oesophagus and the sound of muscle fibres being ripped rang through the air before-

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

(“It's a travesty you managed to survive that idiotic mistake.”) The voice bitterly commented.

After hearing this, Tibaut was briefly confused until he let go of Daniel and the man fell to the floor without so much as a twitch.

The moment Tibaut delivered the fireball to his neck, he was paralysed from the neck down. The pulling on his opened throat was nothing more than a victory lap.

He fell to the floor and caught his breath.

(“If we have to deal with the man in black now, we're screwed.”)

He continued to catch his breath before standing back up. The pale women behind him breathed a sigh of relief. They gave Daniel the benefit of the doubt, but make no mistake, the instant his blade deeply sliced Tibaut, they would have interfered.

----------------------------------------

Golden clouds surrounded her all around. A blue sky went as far as she could tell. It seemed like all the clouds were on the floor in this strange world.

She looked down and noticed that she was sitting down on an intricately carved, wooden chair.

Before was a table with a teapot and several teacup sets.

A pale hand poured some tea into the cup in front of her.

“Ah, how nice of you to visit.” The voice stated before walking closer to her and nuzzling her face against Elizabeth's cheek.

She took some time to comprehend where she was. After looking at the lady nuzzling her, tears started to form in her eyes.

She seemed choked up trying to answer.

“Please…” She softly stated. She held up to the woman's dress like a child being told off. She brought her face into the pale and beautiful woman's body.

“How long has passed?” She asked. She had been blankly staring into the sky for some time now.

“Ah, out there. Hmm, about ten minutes.” The woman standing next to her hugged her head and ran a hand through her hair.

Elizabeth clenched her dress tighter. The woman could tell Elizabeth was bawling. She could feel the moisture form on her dress.

“I'm sorry everyone.” She started, trying to hold back her tears. “I'm sorry Goddess.” She simply stated. She continued crying into her torso for several minutes while Gabriel nodded. She held a smile on her face and continued to rub her head as Elizabeth cried into her.

(“Ah, what's this bliss I'm feeling?”) The Goddess thought to herself. (“The usually cold Elizabeth is crying into my bosom. Is she seeking comfort in me, even though I might be disappointed in her? Ah, how nice, is this what motherhood is like?”)

“Cheer up my child,” Gabriel stated.

Elizabeth looked up to her with snot formed on her face. “But… but… I didn't listen to you and now… they're all dead. Tina, Ezekiel, Lily, Furor, Ruby they're all gone!” She said as she tried to keep her voice down.

“Don't you care that you died?” She asked.

“No… the fact I couldn't save them makes this somewhat easier to accept.” She said as she wiped her tears away. “Thank you for the power you've bestowed upon, Lady Gabriel but, it seems…” She sighed and looked directly into her face. “It seems this power is something I'm not wort-”

“You're alive.”

Elizabeth blankly stared at her for a moment. “I'm sorry Lady Gabriel?”

“You're alive. In fact, I think someone's drawing on your face.”