“……..”
After using Nero’s sword attack to end the match, Miko walked back to where the coliseum once stood and looked down on Flow and Jun who were both heavily damaged and laying on the ground.
“I might have over did it.”
He said as he looked at the destruction he caused.
His last attack was more than enough to kill Flow three times over. The only reason he was alive was because Jun had shielded him in the nick of time without regard for his own safety.
Miko had to admit that he admired that display of parental love.
“But this is a problem.”
He said as he looked around.
“The host is out and audience is gone. Who will announce me as the winner now?"
“I’ll do it!”
Ishma suddenly jumped up and said.
“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing.”
Miko said with a shrug.
Ishma walked up to beside him and lifted his arm.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Your NEW champion! Gamiko Dragna the Third!”
She yelled excitedly.
“Yay! Go, Miko!”
Regis cheered.
“Thank you. Thank you. You’re all too kind.”
Miko said with an overdramatic bow and tone.
They all then looked at each other and started laughing.
They laughed while the academy was left in ruins.
They laughed while everyone else was groaning in pain.
They laughed like they had no care for the world.
“Hahaha….So what do we do now?”
Regis asked after laughing for a long time.
“You’ve won the tournament, so one of our goals should be over with.”
“You’re right. For now, let’s take Bloom and head back.”
“After that we’ll start slaughtering everyone?”
Ishma asked.
Miko nodded and rubbed her head affectionately.
“Yeah. We’ll soon get rid of this annoying city.”
“Alright! I hope this war will be far better than the last one.”
Ishma said excitedly.
“Yup.”
Miko smiled at her, and then-
He suddenly collapsed into her arms.
“....Well, I expected as much.”
Ishma wasn’t surprised and casually threw Miko over her shoulder.
“He used up all of his Qi, lost control of Deus Malum, and exhausted his magic all in one day. If he hadn’t collapse after all that I would consider him nothing but a monster.”
Said Regis.
She looked at Ishma and smile.
“It’s now been over six months since we’ve both met Miko. I’m glad that I became his partner because everyday is so exciting. What about you? Do enjoy being with us?”
Ishma didn’t answer immediately and looked at the boy who was helpless hung over her shoulder.
She couldn’t help but to feel grateful to have met him in this lifetime.
So she smiled and said-
“Yeah, I love it.”
“My. I didn’t expect you to be so honest. I thought you would try to act tough and be like ‘Well, it’s not that bad’. Or something like that.”
Regis giggled.
“I didn’t expect for you to confess your love for us. And so casually too.”
“Wha?!”
Ishma’s face immediately became flushed.
“W-Who ever said that I loved you guys! I just meant that creating mayhem was fun, that’s all!”
“Yes, yes. Anything, you say.”
Regis giggled while walking away.
“Hey, listen to me dammit!”
Ishma chased after her with Miko over her shoulder.
This was how the Ranking Tournament ended.
For the next week the news about Miko defeating both Jun and Flow Mizune with one attack had swept cross the city like wild fire.
That wasn't the only thing that had everyone talking.
Miko was also the one who brought down an apocalyptic scene to the city which caused millions to shiver in fear.
He also sentenced the infamous Sami to a fate worse than death before ordering the destruction of the 14th District.
All of these actions were like spitting in the face of the city’s authorities. Miko had clearly declared war on the entire city.
In the 14th District Luna Isabel sat around her desk with a gloomy expression on her face.
Near her was the still petrified Sami. She had ordered for someone to retrieve him before the finals of the tournament.
Of course that happened after Ishma destroyed her district.
“That brat! How dare he do this to me!”
She suddenly roared.
“Well, you brought it down on yourself.”
A hologram suddenly appeared in front of her.
“Gear, I’m not in a good mood.”
She said with a frown.
“Well, that’s to be expected after everything that happened.”
Gear said with a slight laugh.
“Speak! What is it you want?”
Luna got annoyed and shouted.
“Orders from the higher ups. An executive from MYTH’s main branch is coming here to oversee the project.”
“?!”
Luna was so shocked she stood up from her chair.
“Is that true?!”
Gear nodded.
“They will be here in a few months. We’re ordered to cease from making any big moves until then.”
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“Did you report this to Sebas and Jun?”
“Not yet. You’re the first one I’ve told this. You should be able to guess my reason for doing so.”
“You want the funds?”
Gear nodded.
“I need to start finishing up necessary preparations on my end, but I need all of the funds to do so.”
“Then I’ll transfer them right away. But in return I want you to create something that will crush everyone of that mocked us. Every single one of them.”
Luna’s voice was filled with hatred. She had enough of everyone that’s been taking her status as Pillar lightly.
The Syndicate, Exsul, Jin Makoto, every single one of them.
“….Of course. I don’t intend to die in this experiment after all. To survive I’ll do everything necessary.”
Gear paused for a while before continuing.
“I’ll be awaiting the funds from your end. See you in a few months.”
Luna nodded, and Gear’s hologram disappeared.
Left alone, Luna started smiling.
“Sacrificing over a million people to reach a new possibility huh? At least I’ll finally get rid of those Infecteds ....”
Her smile turned wicked.
“I’ll be sure to put an end to you too Miko .”
Let’s go back to a week ago, the same time that Bloom was fighting Sami.
On the Deus (God) Continent there was a country where the dead and the living could exist in harmony thanks to the special powers that govern it.
This country was known simply as the Undead Country.
Over 70% of the country’s population consisted of zombies, ghouls, walking skeletons, mummies, ghosts, and other Undead creatures.
Even so this country was by no means creepy.
The undead and the living were both treated equally and had equal positions in society.
They all worked, build families, and living normally.
Of course, they worked to build and protect the country together.
Over such a country, a rift in the sky suddenly appeared.
Shortly after Ajax appeared from it while breathing heavily.
“Leaving that place may be easier than forcibly entering but it’s still too tiring.
He complained.
“Hm? I feel a lot of Undead energy coming from this place.”
Ajax looked around and smiled.
“Looks like I’m in the right place.”
He suddenly descended and landed gently in the capital.
He flying didn’t draw any attention from the citizens. After all they had several Undead that were capable of flight.
Ajax walked while looking around.
“Nice. Although there’s a lot of strange things I don’t really get, visually this era isn’t that bad.”
He casually said.
“Okay, enough of the sight seeing.”
A dark crimson aura started to be released from his body.
“Lets get down to business!”
*Boom!*
A crimson pillar suddenly erupted in the middle of the capital, after which everything came to a stop as if time had halt.
After a few more seconds the pillar disappeared and everything carried on like nothing had happened.
From start until finish the citizen showed no reaction to Ajax’s display of power.
No, they were unable to perceive it because it was on scale that the normal person couldn’t process.
“Oh? Here they come.”
The moment Ajax said that, three persons flew over and landed in front of him.
Even though it was his first time seeing them, Ajax couldn’t help but to smile when he saw them.
“Who the hell are you to release such a power inside our country?!”
The first one to speak was the only woman of the group.
She had ghastly white hair, a beautiful face, and inhuman black cornea and red eyes.
This woman immediately drew his attention for multiple reasons.
He then looked at the man to the right.
He had a handsome face, fierce red eyes, and silver hair. Ajax immediately identified him as a half vampire.
Ajax then looked at the final person on the left.
His face was mostly wrapped with bandages but you could tell from the parts that were exposed that he was incredibly handsome. His jet black hair and eyes peeped out of the bandages.
Finally his attention returned back to the woman.
“Now then, what were your names again?”
He spoke with leisure which annoyed the three.
“Ah, I remember now.”
He clapped his hands and pointed at the silver haired man on the right.
“Underworld Prince, Spector.”
He pointed to the bandage face one on the left.
“Undead Prince, Corona.”
He then finally pointed at the woman.
“Tyrant, Undertaker. Real name Eline.”
He then started laughing.
“Two Proxies and a Tyrant huh? To think that I would meet the frauds I’ve been hearing so much about so quickly.”
“What did you say?!”
Spector roared.
“Stand down, Spector. He isn’t someone anyone of you can handle.”
Two dark light suddenly appeared in front of the trio.
“Only us gods can handle him.”
“Oh?”
Ajax’s eyes widen when he saw the two who appeared from this light.
“Hades and Anubis.”
One of the men was handsome but surrounded by a gloomy aura like he was a ghost. This aura matched well with his white hair. He was dressed in black and white robes.
He was the Greek god of the underworld, ruler of the dead, Hades.
The other man wore a jackal mask, and was dressed in black and gold pants of Egyptian style. He was shirtless and had his muscular tanned torso exposed.
This was the Egyptian god of mummification and protector of tombs, Anubis.
“Hades, do you know this arrogant bastard?”
Eline asked.
Hades nodded.
“Ajax, I thought that Lucifer put an end to you 10,000 years ago. Did you fake your death?”
Asked Anubis.
“Ha! It’s your fault that you’re stupid enough to think that my father had what it took to kill me.”
Ajax said in a mocking tone.
Corona wanted to say something but Anubis stopped him.
“So what business do you have to come here?”
Hades asked.
“Before that, I gotta say that you two sure are different than I remember.”
Ajax smiled.
“I can’t believe you’ve become so weak in a mere 10,000 years.”
“?!”
Hades and Anubis jumped back simultaneously but they were still unable to escape the two hands that grasped their necks.
“Anubis!”
“Hades!”
Spector and Corona shouted in alarm simultaneously.
They along with Eline were about to attack but Hades lifted his hand indicating that they shouldn’t.
All they could do was glare at Ajax.
“Hahaha! I can’t believe it! Not only has this era made the mortals so weak, but even gods are reduced to ants in front of me!”
Ajax laughed like he had just heard the funniest joke ever.
“Come on, Hades, Anubis. Why would you guys willfully become ants?”
“Don’t push your luck, Half and Half bastard. I’m still the god of the underworld.”
“Like I give a fuck what the hell you’re the god of. I’ve never cared and probably never will.”
He released the gods throats before saying-
“Relax. I’m not interested in your puny lives, especially with you in such a pathetic state.”
“Then why are you here?”
Anubis asked.
“I’m searching for an old friend.”
After saying that he looked at Eline.
“Old friend? Who?”
Hades asked after he noticed Ajax’s gaze on Eline.
“It’s someone the two of you are very familiar with.”
He smiled and then said-
“I’m looking the Hell Raiser.”
“?!”
Both Hades and Anubis were shocked before a look of hate appeared on their faces.
“Edwin Magnus!”
Hades immediately flew into a fit of rage after saying that name.
“That bastard isn’t here! He died a long time ago.”
“Just like how I died a long time ago?"
Ajax mocked Hades with a cocky smile.
“Um, Anubis. Who’s Edwin Magnus?”
Corona asked.
“Only the most despicable human to ever live.”
Anubis answered immediately.
“Hey! While I do agree with you, I can’t have you dissing my friend like that! Even though he’s a pile of shit!”
Everyone wanted to say “What you said was far worse”, but they held it in.
“Edwin Magnus was a human who was hailed as the forefather of necromancy among humans. But he only gained that title because he stole my Death Records!”
Hades shouted.
Death Records were books or scrolls that a death god used to record their understanding of death and souls. It was something like a journal that told all the mysteries of death.
“Not only Hades’, but he stole mine as well.”
Anubis added.
“Come on, Edwin stole every death gods’ Death Records. You can’t take the sole credit for his achievements.”
Ajax said with a teasing smile.
“Anyway, that bastard isn’t here and none of us know where he is.”
Said Hades.
“Oh, I beg to differ.”
Ajax approached Eline and looked her dead in the eyes with an intense stare.
“Little girl. Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can find my shit bag of a friend?”
He asked “gently”.
Eline stepped back which showed signs that she was intimidated by Ajax.
Seeing that, Spector came in front of her and shield her from Ajax.
“How would my wife know where this Edwin Magnus is?”
Ajax looked at him from head to toe and chuckled before answering.
“That’s because she’s Edwin’s descendent.”
“What?!”
Both Anubis and Hades exclaimed at the same time.
“What? Were you two all mighty gods unable to see through Edwin’s bloodline.”
Ajax said with a laugh.
“Mother, is that true?”
Corona asked.
“No, I’ve never heard of such a person before.”
Eline defended herself.
“Is that so?”
*Stab!*
Without any warning, Ajax suddenly used his hand to stab into Eline’s chest.
“You bastard!”
Both Spector and Corona charged at Ajax at the same time.
In face of this, Ajax simply whistled.
*Boom!*
Immediately after, both Corona and Spector, who were at the pinnacle of XXX Class, were forced to the ground and was unable to get up no matter how much they tried.
“Pipe down, before I get mad.”
Ajax spoke casually but his words held a lot of weight.
“Corona,Spector. Calm down. We've already told you that you aren’t in his league. A wave of his hand can destroy this country.”
“You’re exaggerating, Anubis.”
Said Ajax.
“I don’t need to wave my hand. Just breathing is enough to crush this puny country.”
“…….”
Hades and Anubis didn’t retort Ajax because they knew what he said was the truth.
“But, Eline!”
“The Undertaker is fine. He didn’t pierce her body. What he pierced was a hidden dimension stored inside her.”
Hades answered as he squinted his eyes. Even he didn’t know that something like that was inside Eline.
“Here it is.”
Ajax took out his hand from inside Eline and looked at what he was holding.
It was a jet black rib bone.
“You say that you’re not related to him, but you have his beloved toy inside you.”
“……”
Eline had no way to defend herself after Ajax took out Edwin’s artifact that had been passed down in her clan for ages.
“That’s Hell Raiser’s Bone. It’s one of Edwin Magnus favorite item. He always carried it around.”
Anubis said as he looked at Eline.
Hades also glared at her, which made Eline uncomfortable.
“Well, I’ve got what I wanted. So I’ll leave you all to deal with your familial problems by yourselves. Well, I might pay another visit in the future to chat with Edwin's descendent."
Saying so Ajax started to casually walk away while whistling.
“Wait, Ajax!”
“Are Augustus and all your other allies alive as well?!”
Hades asked.
However, Ajax didn’t pay him any attention and simply disappeared from sight.
Hades gritted his teeth when he left.
“This is bad, really bad. If those 6 are still alive while we’re all being restricted by the contract, it could lead to the extinction of us Higher Beings!”
Meanwhile, Ajax was playing around with the bone in his hand as if trying to figure out how it works.
“That bastard Edwin sure loves to make things difficult for me. First, he wasn’t at the designated location and now I have to figure how this thing works.”
When Ajax was traveling through the Void Realm, he paid a visit to a different place than where Rias was.
This was where Edwin Magnus was supposed to be hibernating, however when Ajax arrived there he only found an empty bone coffin.
Puzzled, Ajax looked around and noticed that there was something written on a nearby rock.
After closer examination Ajax noticed that it was a message.
It read the following:
“Got tired of sleeping, so I’m going for a walk. If I’m not back before the appointed time then that means that I found a really interesting place to pass the time. If that’s the case, visit my descendants I’ll left a clue with them.”
“That damn busy body.”
Ajax cursed.
“?!”
It was then he suddenly felt a familiar aura far away from where he was.
“Deus Malum?”
He recognized it as Augustus’ Deus Malum.
He was naturally tempted to take a look but didn’t after remembering what Rias said.
“For now let’s focus on finding that shitbag.”