'I messed up.

I messed up.

I messed up.'

The strange being ran away from the Northern Forest. Though his plan was to kill the Fourth Progenitor using the Silver Spears.

It didn't go as planned.

........

"Oh, Silver Spears for me? How cute." Alice spoke while picking up the spears from the ground.

"If I was a normal vampire, they would've worked but you underestimate me as a Progenitor." Alice chuckled and just then, Rei, who was standing beside her looked at Arshawain.

"You aren't the consciousness that the body was born with." Rei's scarlet eyes glowed.

At that point, the Strange being knew better than to run away.

........

"Where do you think you are running to?" Rei, who was chasing him like an adult chasing a child, smiled before using the Sword of Faith to cut him.

The Sword of Faith is a fabled weapon of the past. A Mythical Sword wielded by Rei Magna and the weapon he used to slay Six Demon Lords.

The sword doesn't cut physically, instead it attacks the essence of a person, harming the existence of the being.

This property made it suitable to fight against puppeteers like the one controlling Arshawain.

The strange being inside Arshawain screamed as it was cut by the sword. The pain was unimaginable and for someone like him, who wasn't used to pain, the pain was similar to being boiled in Oil without any pain tolerance.

"Now then, you better tell me how you got the Scarlet Eyes." Rei spoke as the smile on his face vanished and a look of rage took over.

'Fuck.. Fuck.. Why is the Hero of Scarlet Eyes here? Isn't he supposed to be in Western Ruins? And why is he even with the Fourth Progenitor?' The strange being inside Arshawain thought to itself while screaming as it was cut again and again.

"STOP! STOP! I'LL SPEAK. PLEASE! NO MORE CUTS!" The strange being shouted as the relentless assault from Rei finally stopped.

"Also tell us how you obtained that body. Your smell is very similar to grand-disciple." Alice spoke while preparing a teleportation spell to the Void Village 'Ark' since that's the most prominent smell on the body, besides Olecumbra's.

"This person willingly gave me his body.. I swear!" The strange being shouted, before it began begging. "Please, just let me leave then you can send this person wherever you want. I swear, I won't touch anyone ever again."

"Lord Rei, please extract the strange soul from this person's body. I'll send him back to my grand-disciple, as a present." Alice spoke as the teleportation spell was finally completed.

"As you wish, Lady Alice." Rei spoke as he thrust the blade into the heart of the body.

In a moment, the scarlet eyes of the body disappeared and the man, Arshawain fell unconscious.

"Satisfactory result. We will interrogate the strange soul." Alice spoke coldly as the body of Arshawain was teleported to Void Village 'Ark'.

........

Medical Room, Void Village 'Ark', Southern area of the Empire

The Corps of Seven were still dealing with the consequences of the fight. Everyone, except Omega, suffered from injuries ranging from concussions to broken fingers, toes and ribs.

But Omega, who was the least hurt physically, was hurt the most mentally. The shock of her long lost husband, appearing in front of her, being controlled like a puppet was eating away at her mind.

And those scarlet eyes staring at the Seven of them, making them powerless was enough to send chills down their spines.

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Then suddenly, a flash of light, followed a blood red Circle with intricate patterns, in the middle of the room they all were in. Then the light vanished, leaving behind a body.

At just a glance, they knew it was the body of Arshawain but everyone was afraid to go near him, except Omega. She ran up to him without a second thought as she knew what that intricate design meant.

"Arsh.. ARSH! Are you alright?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to wake him up.

But seeing that he wasn't waking up, she checked his vitals. Thankfully, he was stable.

Her eyes filled up with tears as she hugged him tightly.

"He is not the one from before." Beta spoke, seeing that the man's eyes were not the same as before.

"I'll call the doctor." Gamma quickly walked out of the room to look for a doctor.

Meanwhile, Omega held Arshawain tightly in her arms, not wanting to let go of him.

.......

"Please.. stop.. I give up.." The strange being, who identified himself as 'Hoo' was placed in a flesh doll, made by Alice.

"No." Alice and Rei spoke at the same time, both of them having a wonderful time torturing Hoo while keeping a Sadistic smile on their faces.

Hoo was a demonic puppeteer, who came into this world when someone who addressed himself as the 'Mechanical God' called him in this world.

As per the description that Hoo gave them, Techonia was currently under the influence of the 'Mechanical God' and no one was allowed to enter or exit the city.

During the torture, Hoo gave out various details including the person who acted as the 'Mechanical God' and who he kidnapped while Hoo was following him.

The description of the 'Mechanical God' matched 10th and one of the persons kidnapped by 10th matched the description of 7th. Both of whom cannot be contacted.

"Please... please.." Hoo begged for death but as the questions from Alice stopped, Rei began asking his own questions.

"How did you get the scarlet eyes? How are you related to the Elder God of Faith?" Rei asked Hoo, who at this point was so mentally exhausted and broken that he didn't have the capacity to lie.

The Flesh doll that he was forced to reside in was made out of special Blood Magic that Alice has. The pain sensitivity of the body is amplified many times so much that a normal paper cut hurts as much as falling three stairs on a bed of knives.

"I.. The Mechanical God gave them to me. He said that these will help me in my missions. He assigned me to kill Fourth Progenitor and Rei Magna. He gave me the location of both of you and the weapons to kill.." Hoo spoke, as the flesh doll trembled, hoping that another slash from Rei doesn't come.

"Then where is the weapon that is supposed to kill me?" Rei asked, pointing the tip of his blade at the Soul Center of the Flesh doll.

"Please! Please no more pain.. Please.. I'm speaking. I'm SPEAKING!" Hoo shouted in fear as he felt the blade pointed at him. If Rei were to stab him there, then he would most certainly die a painful death.

Though to others, death from 'Sword of Faith' feels like second. To the victim, it feels like a thousand years of slow, painful death. They can beg for a faster death all they want but their final moment will stretch to Eternity.

"The Scarlet eyes.. The Mechanical God said that if that doesn't kill you then the next act will." Hoo said, begging for a fast death as the pain is no longer something he can bear.

"Do you think we should kill him now, Lady Alice?" Rei asked Alice, now that they had gotten every information they could from him.

"As you wish, Lord Rei." Alice said calmly with a nod, glancing at the flesh doll that contained the soul of Hoo.

Then in one smooth cut, Rei severed the connection of the soul to the body, killing Hoo.

"So, he said something about that, didn't he?" Alice said calmly, walking to the balcony of her house as the flesh doll and any remains of blood and flesh disappeared from her room like the torture never took place.

Her eyes fixated upon the general direction of Melobranch, though it wasn't obvious at first. There were signs of Rudandon and Noganonozue, The Outer Entity of Regression.

"We should prepare just in case. A regressor emerging would mean a lot of trouble." Rei suggested as he sheathed his blade.

"There is no need for it, Lord Rei. My Disciple is there.." Alice said as she waved her hand, dismissing any need of preparation from their side.

"You trust your disciple that much?" Rei asked.

"With my life, that little guy is special. He is a swordsman too. You can test him out once he comes for a visit.. He will come." Alice said with absolute certainty in her voice.

"Then what should we prepare for?" Rei asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Alice said, as a teasing smile formed on her lips.

"If we get to live the same day again, then a date. We'll live the same day differently over and over and over again. What do you say, Lord Rei?" Alice said with a twinkling mischief in her eyes, captivating Rei with the playfulness.

"Ahem! If that's what Lady Alice wishes, then I have no reason to deny it." Rei spoke after clearing his throat, his heart beating at the sight of Alice being mischievous.

"So what kind of preparation do you have in mind, Lady Alice?" Rei asked as he finally calmed down and gained back his composure.

"I had a picnic date in mind." Alice said calmly, while sending a pigeon message to the group she sent to collect information about the sudden reappearance of 10th and disappearance of 7th.

"Uhmm.. Do you want me to cook, Lady Alice? I am not caught up on modern day cuisine." Rei said with a resigned laugh, after all he was trapped in a ruin for 2000+ years.

"Oh, Lord Rei, You don't need to worry about food as an option. I can cook very well." Alice said with a sly smile as she walked away from the balcony and the flick of her finger, an apron appeared on her body.

Rei's eyes widened at the sight of the apron appearing out of thin air, and Alice correcting the apron made his heart skip a beat.

"Uhmm, do you mind if I oversee the cooking?" Rei asked, trying his best to control the flustered look on his face.

"I don't mind, Lord Rei. You can help me out as well. I don't mind teaching you, at all." Alice whispered teasingly before she walked out of the room, making Rei follow.