"Glenn...Glenn...It's over, Glenn...Glenn!"

A voice suddenly woke Glenn up from his trance, and he looked around confusedly. He was standing on top of a bloody mess of an orc, his head caved in and his brain leaking out. The black sand under his feat was molten into opaque glass, probably thanks to some sort of fire spell.

"Glenn, can you hear me? Hey!" Milena shouted at him as she repeatedly tried to pull him back from the orc and failed. Glenn shook his confusion and let go of the orc, brushing his hair back with bloody hands.

"...Milena, you survived," He commented as he looked her up and down.

She looked down at herself and sighed weakly, "Stop looking at me, you pervert..."

Glenn scoffed and looked away. Milena was covered in blood from head to toe, her leather armor ripped here and there in all but a sexy fashion. Her raven black hair was more red than dark, and completely disheveled, and she had opened wounds on her face.

"Tsk, as if there was anything to look at..." He muttered, smiling slightly as he received her soft punch in the shoulder. He glanced at his surroundings, surrounded by smoldering corpses and pools of blood, undead, and orcs mixed in a nightmarish soup. Milena pulled him away from the orc he was beating up and led him out of the crater he was standing in as the sole survivor.

He probably was the one who made this crater, didn't he?

'Yeah, you did.' "Yes, it was you." Diamanes and Nelg confirmed for him, both with tired voices. Glenn rubbed his temples, feeling the exhaustion tugging at his mind. How long had it been since he had slept? He looked up and almost laughed as he found two white moons watching over him. Of course.

"Hey, come here for a second..." He said to Milena. The latter stopped and frowned as Glenn used C.P.R. to treat her wounds. The pain was still as horrible as before, but he couldn't feel it as much anymore. It was annoying, sure, but it was just pain. Not like he wasn't feeling that same thing almost all the time anyway.

"...Thanks," Milena muttered as she touched her closed wounds. They both walked on top of scorched, frozen, crushed, and sliced corpses, unbothered.

Well, no, they weren't unbothered by it.

But it wasn't as shocking now.

The human mind was great in that matter, it did adapt easily, after all.

"How many of those did I even kill...?" Glenn asked softly as he stepped on an orc's corpse to climb a dune. Milena followed him without replying, her hands shaking slightly.

"...I think we won this battle," She simply said. Glenn nodded silently. They both strolled through the bloody battlefield, finding nothing but corpses on their way. The banners, both Munirp's and Celestial Gods' were broken and burned, and none of them had survived the battle. Every bit and piece of the W.O.R.M. machine had been taken away during the fight, be it by their side or the other.

In all honestly, Glenn couldn't care less who got the parts of the W.O.R.M.

He just wanted to go back to check on Lina, take a bath, and sleep it all off. All in that exact order. Maybe replace the "sleeping" part with meditation; at least he wouldn't have nightmares about this day.

After using his suit's ability to make himself seen by the whole battlefield, Glenn unleashed war spells one after the other; hundreds fell to his Infernal Blackhole, and hundreds more died to his Nitrogen Lance. Cut & Pull had been great to slice through tougher enemies, while Carbon Blades had been excellent to pierce through magical defenses. Pebble had helped quite a bit against that one Grand Chevalier he had to face alone, who was a little weaker than Decimius. One Shooting Star had pierced a perfect hole in that Grand Chevalier's chest, getting rid of him easily. It wasn't the only one who fell to the Pebble, and it was certainly not the last.

The Saturn Rings had proven to be much more effective than he had hoped. At some point, the spell had managed to sling back attacks without stopping, consuming his Mana ceaselessly. Thankfully, Glenn could also depend on Nelg to fuel him with additional Mana from time to time.

'...I think after a few hours I just went auto-pilot on this fight...' Glenn realized silently as he looked down at his bloodied hands. His white, Lightweaver suit was now dark crimson, dripping with blood and ripped here and there. The ability to blind enemies and draw their attention had been quite useful, more useful than he would have thought initially.

"You gathered a lot of souls," Nelg remarked emotionlessly. The weapon was drained, and certainly needed some rest. Nelg wasn't the only one who could use a nap, though.

'Enough for a level up?' Glenn replied without much excitement.

"No."

'Too bad.'

They eventually found Veil, sitting on a pile of corpses while adjusting his bandages. There was some sort of ominous aura around him, but Glenn washed it off with a shrug. Milena paused for an instant with an unmistakable gulp, unable to look at the strange Cleaner.

"Oh," Veil exclaimed with a surprised tone, "Fixer Glenn and Milena! You're both alive! Impressive!"

Glenn wordlessly walked up to the man and stood in front of him for a long minute. They stared at each other silently, until Glenn headbutted him violently. Milena gasped, not out of shock but of relief. Veil stumbled back with a dry laugh as he rubbed his forehead.

"Aouch, I certainly deserved that. Sorry, but you'll understand we didn't have a choice—"

Glenn stopped him with a raised hand, "I know," He spoke dryly, "...Doesn't mean you're not a dick."

Veil rubbed his chin and shrugged, "So be it. Do you want me to bring you back to the Black Gate? We won, by the way. Not by much, but we won. And your friends already took the trip back."

Glenn nodded and reached out to grab Veil's hand when an uneasy feeling washed over him. He paused and turned back just in time to see an elongated creature shoot out of the black sand for Milena, its tongue piercing through the air and stabbing her in the back. Glenn dashed forward and punched the hell out of the creature while Veil cleaved down with his scythe, executing it.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Shit, what was that?" Glenn cursed as he looked at the body. It was covered in scale and its mouth ended up in some sort of small tube with a round hole for the tongue. It...reminded him of something, but he couldn't tell what—"

"An Ossiva," Veil commented as he cleaned his scythe on a piece of black satin, "They can pierce through skin and steel alike with their tongue to suck the bones out of their victims. We must be the only things alive in the vicinity for it to be interested in Milena."

Glenn frowned and kicked the monster away, "They don't care about the dead?"

Veil shook his head, "No, only about the living—" The Cleaner froze as he stared behind Glenn, where Milena was. Glenn felt his blood freeze in his veins as he turned around and watched helplessly as Milena collapsed in the black sand, her expression frozen in pain. His mouth opened widely as he reached for her, staring with wide eyes as the life flew out of her. She gasped, her back unable to support herself, as blood poured from her back and her spine disintegrating. Glenn felt like the world itself was falling along with Milena, dread surrounding him from all sides.

"Shit!" Glenn rushed to her side and hurriedly applied his C.P.R. magic, but a sudden wave of wind pressure flung him away. Veil shot to his feet, only to fall back on his knees, his scythe crushed beside him. Glenn forced himself up and watched as a robed man crouched next to Milena and gently took her in his arms.

"Hey, fucker!" He yelled as Nelg flashed into his right hand in his hand axe form. He prepared a Blackhole in his left hand at the same time and tried to cleave for that unknown robed man. The latter looked back at him and pointed a finger down. Glenn felt the world collapse as he fell to his knees, crushed under an unbearable weight. The man walked up to him, Milena in his arms.

"...You're her friend?" He asked with an emotionless voice. Glenn gritted his teeth and tried to push himself up, his hands sinking into the black sand helplessly. He was trying to fight back with his Mana, but it was like throwing a rock at a mountain.

Impossible.

Almost instinctively, Glenn activated Mana Sight and instantly understood.

In that robed man's chest were seven rusty rings that looked like gears, spinning slowly around an old, broken pocket watch.

"I'll take that as a yes. I'm glad." The man muttered with a hint of relief, before turning his back to Glenn. The latter felt blood flowing out of his nose and ears as he continued to push against the weight, roaring helplessly.

"...She won't survive without me," The man simply said as he glanced at the corpse of the Ossiva. A spark of fire came off his finger and engulfed the corpse in a blinding explosion, reducing the nearby area into a massive, bottomless crater. The man glanced at Veil, who was trembling on his knees, and shook his head.

"Good job for today. I expect I'll be seeing you in the Court, boy."

He turned to Glenn and paused for an instant.

"You..." He pondered on his words for a while, "...You wouldn't be from..." Milena coughed in his arms, drawing his attention away. Glenn clenched his fists so tightly his nails began to pierce into his palms, drawing blood out.

"...Hmf, never mind."

The figure jumped and disappeared in the air, leaving Glenn and Veil there, the two sole souls left on that bloody battlefield. Glenn gasped for air as he pushed himself up, only to punch the black sand helplessly.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" He cursed as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"FUCK!" His scream echoed into the desert, the wind his only reply. Veil slowly stood back up, shaken. He dusted his bandages off with trembling hands, before grabbing Glenn's shoulder.

"F—Fixer," He stammered with an unusual shock, "...That was Exan."

Glenn froze, his heart missing a beat.

Veil nodded slowly, "The Exan. The Omniscient. And a Seventh-Circle Magi, a Newborn Ruler."

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

Lina's POV

Lina opened her eyes slowly, her memories hazy and her body strangely foreign.

'...Where...Where am I?' She wondered as she rubbed her forehead, washing off the confusion. Was she still in the...the nightmare? She looked around through a thick veil of blurriness, squinting to try and see her surroundings. There was light, sunlight.

That was different.

The ground supporting her was soft, nothing like the cold, black sand or dark stone she slept on before going into the coffin...

"...The coffin!" Lina gasped as she suddenly sat up, her memories coming back slowly. She winced and stopped moving, enduring a searing headache.

'Oh, we appear to have been successfully saved,' A voice remarked in her head, driving a nail into her already suffering mind.

"S-Shut up, you don't exist..." Lina blurted out as she rubbed her eyes. The blurriness eventually disappeared, her eyes adapting to the sunlight she had missed so much. How long had she spent down in the darkness, scrounging for water and dried fruits? Her only source of light had been the red lines appearing randomly on the walls of her silent prison, and that strange red mass of flesh. She opened and closed her fist, her heart tightening when she saw how skinny she was.

"I lost too much weight..." She muttered as she finally glanced at her surroundings. She was in a luxurious room with a window overlooking a magnificent garden and a neighborhood of rich marble houses. Houses, which meant...other people. Other, living people, who existed beyond her imagination. Her heartbeat accelerated slightly, filled with renewed hope. How long had it been since she spoke to a real person, and not this...this imaginary nightmare of hers?

'May I suggest exploring our situation, milady?' The imaginary voice suggested politely. Lina grimaced and tapped the side of her head, refusing to acknowledge said voice. She ignored it and slowly came out of her bed, gazing down at the soft nightrobe covering her, as well as the bandages wrapped around her arms and hands. Someone took care of her at some point, it appeared. She even smelled...clean.

"My god..." Lina sighed as her feet touched the floor, anxious. She hesitated, before attempting a step forward while holding herself up against the bed. She stumbled for a few meters until the strength in her legs eventually came back. The floor was warm under her feet, having bathed in the sun for a long time. She smiled weakly and stopped, enjoying the sun's warm touch against her skin.

"...I would have never thought I'd miss the sun so much..." She whispered as she opened the window and drew a deep breath of fresh air.

'Milady, it might be preferable to at least secure the surrounding area. I was unable to watch over you while you were unconscious, so please, mind your safety,' The voice said worriedly, annoying her even further.

“...Can't you shut it at least for a while?” She hissed, her fingers tightening on the windowsill, “...I've spent countless days in the dark, walking endlessly without finding anything worth looking for. And when I did, I fell into a cursed stone coffin that froze me to death.” She shivered and added in a small voice: “...Well, almost to death...”

The door to her room suddenly cracked open and a head peeked in carefully. Lina froze and stood awkwardly, her heart racing madly. The girl who peeked in gasped when she saw that Lina was missing from her bed and barged in, stopping dead in her tracks when she found her standing next to the window.

"...Phew..." She sighed while wiping the sweat off her forehead, "You almost scared me to death!"

Lina's voice was stuck in her throat, her hands trembling slightly. Was this a real person, or another product of her imagination? Was she one more illusion destined to try and fail to soothe her loneliness? The girl ran up to Lina and dragged her back to the bed, holding her firmly. Lina flinched as she felt her warm yet callused hands, and let herself be led back to the bed.

"There, you need to rest more!" The girl exclaimed, before looking down at her clothes and gasping in shame. She was dressed in working clothes covered in soot, which probably explained the smell of oil coming off her. A respirator was hanging at her neck, under a golden crown of flowing hair.

"Who...Who are you...?" Lina asked softly, still uncertain.

The girl smiled and took a quick step back, "I'm Janica! Nice to meet you, uh...?"

"Lina," She hurriedly told her name as tears began to well up in her eyes. She wasn't hallucinating. This whole thing was real.

Janica missed her tears and smiled brightly, her hands on her waist, "Great, I'm super happy to know you, Lina! Hey..." She leaned in and looked to the side with a guilty look, "...Do you think you could ask your brother for more funding? We're close to a breakthrough for the other idiot's heart."

Lina blinked, confused, until she understood what surprised her so much.

Her brother?

Her brother was here?

"My...My brother?" She asked in disbelief, her eyes widening. Janica nodded frantically, "Yeah, Sir Glenn the Devil's Hand!"

Lina paused, and for the first time in a long, long time, she laughed.