His eyes opened to the ceiling in a room he wished would disappear. It was both a haven and his prison. A place that meant he was out of danger for a while but also meant that danger would soon be approaching. Shaky hands touched his throat to make sure the incision he left a few moments ago was gone. He was slowly beginning to understand what he had to do.

"That woman, Hybris, is beyond beating. There's only one thing left for me to do..."

Quietly he walked down the steps without even looking at the people playing cards. His dead eyes looked forward towards the door and nothing else.

"Hey, where are you going, Pardner?"

Jessy's smile shined bright, but Ryuji refused to look, opting instead to stare at his feet.

"I'm going out. Tell Rhea that I'll be back later tonight."

The flat tone and hurriedness put the others on edge, but even still, Jessy just nodded.

"Okay. Have fun!"

With a wave from the three best friends he ever had, Ryuji walked out the door, hoping to never return to that room. Without looking back, he began his trek through the city. He kept his head empty of thoughts. He knew that the second he reflected on what he was doing, the guilt would overrun him. The result was weird stares from everyone he passed on the street. His appearance was much like a zombie. Stale eyes that only peered forward with no regard to his surroundings or even to the things in front of him. It was as if he was looking at something astronomically far away. Before he knew it, he had stumbled into the city entrance. Thanks to the wastelands north of the city, the entrance also doubled as the main exit.

The archway in front of him was just as staggering the second time as the first. He took one step forward then hesitated. Rhea's speech echoed in his head. His fingers clenched.

He took another step forward. He couldn't help but picture his friends playing cards.

He took another step. He reminisced about the other night and the fun they had together.

He took another. Their grim bodies wouldn't leave his brain. The way they stared. The way they smelled. The way they looked.

He was frozen in place. His feet wouldn't take that next step.

He wanted out, but he also wanted his friends to be safe. Rhea wouldn't leave, but the others probably would.

'If things could just go back to how they used to be...'

Ryuji's whole life had been serving others to get by. To this end, he sacrificed his pride. He sacrificed his relationships, and he sacrificed his freedom. With his new life, he thought things might be different. But quickly found out that just because you're someplace new doesn't make you a new person.

'This place kills them... it's not my fault...'

Subconsciously he knew why all those people who chose to be around him died. He knew from the bottom of his heart that they died because he put himself first. Even Elizabeth was just a result of his selfishness. Could he do it again? Could he leave those who were precious to him in the depths of hell all to save himself?

'I have to change... I can't go back... I can't!'

His mind went back to the last person he failed to save. To her final words. To his labor and to the one-sided promise he made. Feeling around in his bag, he found the dagger that had been gifted to him more than a year ago. A sad smile came over him as he took out the toy dagger.

"I promised to be a better person, but I was only putting on an act, huh? I see. I really am just some human garbage. But only this human garbage can save them! I'll go back, and we'll try something new! We'll figure something out. Even Hybris has to have a weakness, right? Every authority does, and hers is no exception if I can just find that then.........."

In the middle of his self rant, Ryuji turned to see a peculiar sight. He was all alone. He had been ever since he made it to the entrance. A cold chill ran up his spine. It was nearing evening, but the gate should constantly be experiencing heavy traffic.

A rat ran by, knocking a can around, causing Ryuji to jump and grab his hilt. The sound of condescending laughter and his heavy breathing were the only things to hear near the gate. Sitting on one of the benches in the waiting area was a blonde woman that he already knew.

"Why are you here, Hybris!?"

"You know my name? Curious. And here I was, thinking we would never see each other. As for what I'm doing here. I'm here to make sure you don't leave."

In response to his inquisition, Hybris lazily answered while keeping her smug smirk. The book in her hand had been flipped open, and Ryuji could see blood like letters. She closed it before getting up from her seat and appearing in front of him.

"Are you going to kill me?"

The shaky voice didn't match the determined look on his face as he desperately clung to his blade.

"No. I can't. Or rather, if I did, I wouldn't get what I want. In fact, if you wanted to leave, you could walk out o that gate. I wouldn't stop you."

Ryuji stepped back from the imposing figure. Just being next to her felt more dangerous than being next to a natural disaster. Her imposing pressure was likely the reason that nobody would dare go near the gate.

"What's the catch then?"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Ryuji had no intention of leaving anymore. At least temporarily, he had patched his heart and strengthened his resolve. Still, if he could find out what the sins were plotting, then he could find a way to stop it all, especially if it revolved around him.

"I can't stop you, but if you do leave, then that gives me free rein to kill everyone here with zero consequence. I assume you know what I'm capable of, given your squeamish demeanor. You know that what I say is no idle threat." The putrid smile only served to make his stomach uneasy. "Either way, I get what I want."

"Why are you sins so interested in me? Why are so many of you here!? What the hell is so great about me, huh!?"

He belted out his frustrations. If she really wasn't going to kill him, then he would lose nothing from screaming his head off at her. He could only gain a little peace of mind knowing he somehow inconvenienced her by being annoying.

"So, you even know about the others here. How interesting. It's very interesting considering how even they don't know the others are here."

"What?"

Her ugly gleam only got bigger when he stood there dumbfounded.

"I'm the only one that knows the others are here."

"What does that mean then!?"

He wished that he could somehow beat the grin off her face, but reality isn't as kind as daydreams.

"It means that only I have a plan, but the others are here by some twist of fate. I would imagine Zelus made his way here to vent some frustrations upon innocent people. Wrath is here on a romantic outing or some such occasion. Someone probably told Lust that this was a city of love, so she hoofed it over. As for Sloth, she was probably just dumped here by some men after they had their fun with her."

His anger was immeasurable. "You're telling me that this whole fiasco is because of my bad luck and nothing else!? That is horseshit!"

Pride stepped back as the child in front of her shouted about the unfairness in the world. "Now, now, no need to fuss so much. There's nothing you can do about it, so you might as well mosey back to your little friends. I'm sure you can have fun in that little bar until Envy's rage gets the better of him."

He squinted and looked at her with uncertain eyes. "Bar?"

Now it was her turn to be confused. "You can't trick me. A large mana presence is coming from a bar unless... they have nothing to do with you?"

Ryuji started doing something he genuinely thought he might never do again. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you for the tip!" Waiting for nothing, he turned and started sprinting towards the only bar in the city he knew.

"Hey!"

Hybris called out to him, but he didn't stop. He knew that if she really wanted to, she could have ended him easily. Seeing that she hadn't, he felt right in his assumption that she wouldn't do anything rash. He rushed through the streets and over bridges. His face never turned to make sure he wasn't being followed. He was fairly sure that even if she was chasing him, that there was next to nothing he could do to stop her. After what felt like ages, he rounded a corner and saw the very same bar he had visited the other day.

'I hope this presence isn't who I think it is, or I'm fucked. If there's a god looking over me, they won't let it happen!'

After some serious persuading of the bouncer, Ryuji headed inside.

"Oh, hi! How are nyu doing, meowster?"

The one person he didn't want to meet again spoke from behind him. She was still wearing the caterer uniform with her pink hair up in a bun.

"Oh, Jesus, what do you want?"

"Well, you're the one who walked in here. I was just going to get you a seat."

Ryuji was visibly cringing at the catgirl accent he had come to quickly hate. With a mischievous smile, Nyanjo continued to speak like someone from a roleplaying site.

"Nevermind that. Is there someone super strong here? I kind of need their help."

"Strong? There's Commander Rory." The light of hope shined in his eyes as Nyanjo answered his prayers. Nyanjo, on the other hand, looked quite skeptical. "That is if you can wake him from his stupor."

"Wait, what?" Ryuji's heart dropped as he followed the finger Nyanjo pointed with to a middle-aged man, passed out beer in hand. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, some people came earlier, and the moment they left, he downed about eight of those, and he's been like that ever since. Best of luck to you getting him to get up."

"Is it impossible?"

The idol seemed to be enjoying his hardships, which in turn, only made him dislike her even more. After taking in his sorrow for a few seconds, she sighed and answered.

"If it wasn't, then we would have kicked him out by now. The man literally won't wake up to anything. It amazes me how he can be called a hero when he's like that."

With nothing left for him to do, Ryuji marched over to the passed out drunk. His determination slowly began to fade as he tried every way he could think of to wake the man. Screaming, shaking, water, ice, even slapping. The only other thing he could think of was stabbing, but he rather that he didn't become a criminal and, more importantly, get on his bad side.

"Hey, meowster! There's someone here who wants to see you."

Nyanjo interrupted his attempt number thirty to wake Rory up. A terrible feeling in his gut welled up. He could think of zero people who would want to meet him. Walking through the entrance and into the waiting area was a man with red hair and white clothes.

"Wrath?"

"You know him? I'll send him over right away~."

Ryuji lunged out and grabbed her wrist. Instinctively her free hand rose to his throat.

"Don't do that. He's here to kill me."

Her eyes squinted before pulling her hand away. "That's your problem, not mine." Her cheery tone dissipated, and her dead eyes stared him down. "I've had enough of death. I don't need you to bring more to my doorstep."

Before she could fully walk away, that air shimmered. Waves of energy split tables and knocked customers into the walls. The very foundation of the building seemed to shake. In the waiting area, Wrath pulled his fist back to make another impact. Without stopping to think, Ryuji grabbed Nyanjo and rushed through the back into an alley. Another shockwave knocked them on their asses as they exited the door.

"You're both quite afraid. I'd say that's the normal reaction to have. I sympathize with you, but a coworker of mine has pleaded to me to end your lives. As any person would do, I shall carry out her wish."

A wave of fear so thick that he felt as though he might drown in it washed over him. 'What is wrong with me? I can't be that scared of this guy! I wasn't even this scared of Pride!' Ryuji walked back, putting himself between the approaching Wrath and the girl behind him. His sword shook as he drew it. A tip-tap sound echoed through the alley as his knees jittered.

"What do you want!?" Nyanjo yelled at the menacing figure before them. Her voice shook, and the cold sweat poured off of her.

"My mission is to kill the one named Ryuji. I assume you are he?"

"N-Nope, not me!" They were like night and day, wrath with infinite calmness and Ryuji, who quivered like a flag in the wind. "W-What's your authority do!? Is it the reason why I'm about to piss myself? You know a normal person would answer a question when they have nothing to lose!"

Wrath stopped in his tracks and acted like a robot that had experienced a computation error. "Is that right?" He stared into their souls, causing Ryuji to back up even more. "My authority amplifies emotions and senses of those around me. I can also read these to predict movements. At this moment, I know that you're thinking about lashing out, and the girl behind you is thinking about-"

A hand burst through Ryuji's gut. White edged his sight while sounds dissipated. He didn't even notice the moment his head touched the ground. His brain could hardly make sense of what had just happened, but a single sound pierced through his ears and reverberated in his head. It was the voice of the woman who murdered him.

"He was only after you! I had to do it! I had to! You made me! I didn't want to but-"

Tears fell next to his head, but he could not see them, nor could he hear them. A man walked forward to make sure that the deed was done. The girl who had ended his life ran away as fast as she could, tears streaming down her eyes. A foot slammed through his head, and he was welcomed to the void once more.