Klause

  On the sidelines, Klause regarded Master Camble and Ellulia bitterly.

  “In the end, I’m still weak compared to those two,” he sighed regretfully.

  “I find it best not to dwell,” said a voice behind him. Lobrin sat next to Klause with his arms crossed.

  “You’re right,” Klause lied with fake cheeriness, “We should be optimistic. When was the last time The God of Monks fought seriously?” With those words, the two momentarily focused on the proceedings in front of them.

  Ellulia glared at Master Camble with unyielding resolve.

  “This whole time, I was weak and vulnerable. What thwarted your attack?” asked Ellulia as she stood.

  Master Camble’s voice was snide as he said, “It opposes my principles to attack a downed enemy.”

  “Oh my! How noble,” Ellulia mocked.

  “Prepare yourself,” Master Camble grunted as he shifted his stance.

  A pitch black cloak of inky darkness that absorbed light grew over Ellulia’s original blue. She put out her arm and gripped air with a shadowed hand. Made of the same black as her cloak, a scythe grew in her hand. With her appearance change came an oppressive aura that bore down on the onlookers’ shoulders.

  Klause swallowed a mouth full of saliva and he whispered, “I feel as though my heart could stop at any moment.” Then, an absolute feeling of calm wrested control of his senses.  Everything was in its place; the only realistic perfection. Despair and serenity inundated his psyche, so plundering that he couldn’t even feel vertigo while switching between both extremes.

  “Their auras are ludicrous,” Klause spat between gasps. A hand gripped Klause’s forearm, making him look down to see Celeste had woken up. With a flash of blue in her eyes, a forcefield sprung to life and restored free will to their emotional cores.

  “Many thanks, Celeste,” Lobrin and Klause expressed their relief.

  “Are you well?” Klause followed up.

  “Mostly,” Celeste grunted as she sat up, “I’m in your debt for saving me.” Klause replied with the acceptable pleasantries.

  “So…” Lobrin started, “Why aren’t they fighting? They’re just glowering at each other.” Celeste snorted at Lobrin’s words, her conceit recovering with her health.

  “You’re a Demigod, you should feel their clashing laws, they’re trying to overpower each other instead of immediately brawling like common drunkards.”

  Klause furrowed his brows in consternation, “But how is that possible? Beelzbub is clearly not a demigod, how is she in tune with a law?”

  “I’ve no idea, what I do know is she is calling upon The Law of Sealing,” Celeste admitted while shaking her head, “And unfortunately, they seem evenly matched.” Klause and Lobrin turned their attention back to the life and death struggle in front of them. Being Demigods, they’re bound to a law and can feel the presence of other laws with clarity, and it was clear that Celeste was right. The trio had hope well up in their chests, if their laws are evenly matched, the victor will be decided by martial prowess. Then, Master Camble and Ellulia started walking toward each other. Klause shivered as he observed Ellulia’s movements. It was like space itself bowed down to her in fear, doing everything in its power to please her. She resembled a ruthless dictator walking through a crowd of their quivering subjects. Klause turned to Master Camble and felt the start of a migraine as he took in both extremes. Master Camble was the exact opposite, he truly belonged and meshed with his surroundings. Every movement slide across its chosen path in harmony. I’m nothing compared to those two… The alterity is comparable to the difference before the Abyss and the Silver City. Perhaps I’ve taken my position for granted, lived life peacefully for too long. Through my law, I can feel troubling times are coming. To protect what I hold dear, I must get stronger!

Ellulia

  Ellulia brandished her scythe with satisfaction; though daggers are certainly the next best thing, Ellulia always felt like her body was made to wield a scythe. 

  Despite her rejuvenation of body and mind, Ellulia was in dire straights. She knew her bloodline wouldn’t win her this fight. Master Camble’s prestige mixed with Ellulia’s obsessive nature and free time, she understood better than anyone how terrifying Master Camble was. To add insult to injury, her bloodline had to focus on battling the Equilibrium, resulting in her emotions being as annoying as ever, as well as giving her less control over her body. That isn’t to say she wasn’t naturally dexterous, rather she had literally perfect control when she utilized her bloodline. And she can’t afford to be much less than perfect if she wanted to survive this encounter. Ellulia put her doubts to the side and stretched her senses to their absolute limit. I made a solemn oath, and I intend to keep it!

  A strike of thunder resounded through the valley, marking the start of their fight. Ellulia and Master Camble started off walking slowly and gradually upped their paces until they transition into a sprint and collided. Ellulia shoved Master Camble, then jammed the but of her scythe toward Master Camble’s stomach. Master Camble easily pushed it to the side with the back of his left hand and punched out with his right. Ellulia spun clockwise and elbowed Master Camble in the face, causing Master Camble to jump away while holding his face. Ellulia pressed her advantage: she stepped on air as she ran and descended on Master Camble while spinning with her scythe. Master Camble flipped out of her reach, landing into a low crouch before launching forward and successfully connecting a punch to Ellulia’s side as she came out of her spin, flinging Ellulia to her right. Ellulia flipped in mid air and landed on her feet with a short slide. Master Camble let loose a high kick to Ellulia’s right. What! Ellulia’s eyes widened with shock as two after images separated from master Camble and kicked at two different trajectories on her left. Which one is the real attack? Ellulia flourished her scythe and slammed down Master Camble’s original attack. She gasped in pain as two power forces impacted her side. They were all real, how is that possible? Master Camble twisted and kicked Ellulia into the air. Then, he yanked her down and shoved his knee into her back. A sickening snap of bone cried in tandem with Ellulia’s wail of pain. Master Camble dove away just in time before Ellulia burst into flames.

  Ellulia sighed in relief as she confirmed her spine wasn’t broken, only slightly fractured. With no bright ideas of her own, Ellulia turned to the bright ball of ideas chained up in her spiritual body. Do you have any ideas as to how I might win? I am close to deciphering his fighting style, I need but three minutes more. Deciphering his fighting style? That sounds preposterous, are his movements so easy to read that a child could do it. Of course not, however I am more experienced than most dragons when it comes to battle. Put your faith in my capabilities. Trusting Beelzebub, an Abyssal Lord and the enemy of all things holy, was her only option. Ellulia straightened her spine and gripped her scythe expactantly.

  “Oh? You continue to fight despite your dire injury, you have my acclamation!” Master Camble earnestly encouraged. Ellulia felt conflicted: Master Camble was one of the only people she acknowledged as worthy of their position, a true gentleman. In fact, she exchanges interesting anecdotes with him during his sparse visits to the castle. All in all, she respected him, and that fact made her thoughts more foggy each passing second. Sometimes I hate emotions…

  Master Camble bore down on her with a new intensity. A rapid flurry of all manner of attacks was thrown at Ellulia. She struggled flaggingly to dodge and block all of his hits, and succeeded until Master Camble resorted to his attack from earlier. Two after images slid out of his figure and copied his attack with different targets. Ellulia was hard pressed to make a decision, she couldn’t block them all and dodging was out of the question. By the time a half second elapsed, Ellulia still couldn’t decide her course of action. Luckily, she was saved by Beelzebub’s cry. Take a step forward! Desperate and out of options, Ellulia complied with Beelzebub and stepped forward. A sharp gust of wind blast past her, fluttering her cloak and slapping her mask: Master Camble’s kicks completely overshot their desired target. Ellulia clamped down on her surprise and took advantage of being less than a meter from a defenseless Master Camble. The darkest black, her scythe, flashed past Master Camble’s vision, ravenously devouring any light in its path, as well as some of his stomach. Blood splured from a deep gash in Master Camble’s midsection, the majority of it splattering on Ellulia. A rush of pleasure took over Ellulia’s faltering mental state. Under her mask, a sickening grin spread across her face. She forgot how much she enjoyed hurting others. Suddenly, a hand jerked through the air and acrimoniously crushed her throat. An agonized scritch, that was supposed to be a gasp of surprise, was all that managed to escape from her throat as she was lifted into the air.

  Ellulia forced her eyelids wide and saw a ludicrous scene. Master Camble had a grievous laceration spilling blood, drenching his uncovered feet red. Despite his injury and the extreme force pumped into his arm, Master Camble’s face was placid.

  Master Camble nodded his head unflappably before congratulating Ellulia, “I condemn your chosen pass time of murder, however, I also pity you. If you had only chosen a different path... you could have done a lot of good,” sighed Master Camble in defeat. “Now, let us witness your face before you pass,” added Master Camble as he reached for Ellulia’s mask.

  “Master Camble!” shouted a voice that was familiar to both the choker and the chokee. Master Camble and Ellulia shifted their attention to who rudely interrupted their fight. Eliot emerged from a portal and fell to his knees with laboured breaths. Ellulia, who had gone silent from seeing Eliot, shuddered when a wash of cool mana seeped into her body. Unexpectedly, Master Camble’s Equilibrium dimmed and his face grew dark.

  “Why are you here, discipulus?” Master Camble asked with a frown.

  “Dragon!” Eliot managed between his gasps, “The Metropolis is under siege!”

  “A dragon? At this time?” Lobrin asked incredulously. Eliot regained a loose handle on his breathing and looked up.

  “Is that… Beelzebub?” he asked equally as incredulous as Lobrin.

  Master Camble turned back and grabbed the bottom of Ellulia mask and ripped it off.

  “I see…” Master Camble murmured with relief, “The rumors are baseless, Beelzebub is but a commoner.” Ellulia’s vision was outlined in red at this point, not giving her the spare attention to be surprised by the new developments. “May the gods have mercy on your soul,” prayed Master Camble. With a sickening crunch, he crushed Ellulia’s esophagus, making everything disappear.

Eliot

An hour earlier

  Eliot stretched his muscles in pure bliss. He finally convinced the monestary’s support to let him leave the infirmary. The support endlessly admonished Eliot about taking it easy, and Eliot planned on doing exactly that.

  “Ahhh, today is going to be amazing,” sighed Eliot as he portaled to ground elevation.

  Unfortunately, life had other ideas. The first thing Eliot saw when he stepped out of the rift was a giant flame raging in the trade district. Other than that, there was peace, everyone was going about their day with no worries, sending a few adulation filled gazes toward the flame every now and then. Eliot politely asked an elven man what was happening.

  “Don’t you know?” the elf began in a craze, “The Four Seraphim of our glorious Crucible Empire are hunting Beelzebub, and I chanced upon a wonderful experience! Beelzebub almost killed me, but I was saved by the Defender of Destruction!” Eliot’s heart dropped and his face went ashen.

  Eliot portaled to a roof a couple hundred meters from where the fight was taking place and cast Eye of the Watchers. A preternatural blue mana eye the size of a basketball drifted diagonally towards the altercation. Eliot’s eyes widened in wonder as he witnessed the seraphim exploding with all their power and producing a pillar like concentration of mana. He quickly snapped out of it as he noticed the small figure silently standing before these behemoths. Eliot felt some trepidation, but that was quickly forced out as resolved bubbled in his chest. A plan so insane that he could very well lose his life and cause the deaths of many others formed in his mind. The second Eliot thought of it, his mind was fixated and he failed to brainstorm any other ideas. If I’m going to undertake this plan… I’ll need to make some preparations.

  So, with no time to waste, Eliot got to preparing himself. Over the next thirty minutes, Eliot cast a large amount of spells. First, he cast the flying spell and crossed his legs because he wanted to imitate the iconic pose that many mages adapt. After that, he cast three barriers.

  Barriers are an entire division of spells. There are four categories or attributes that a barrier can have: they are called Spiritual, Martial, Arcane, and Unique Barriers. Each barrier blocks the attack of its name. Spiritual Barriers defend against attacks directed at the spiritual body, mana pool, or soul. Martial Barriers defend against all manner of physical attacks. Arcane Barriers defend against magical means. The three aforementioned categories can be further specialized for things like the element or specific type of attack. For example, a Blazing(fire) Arcane Barrier with a specific enforcement toward condensed abilities would be proficient in blocking spells like lightning bolt or frost ray, while also almost completely nullifying a spell like fire ball. The last category of barriers doesn’t follow the same rule set as the other three. Sometimes referred to as a Law Barrier, a Unique Barrier almost completely nullifies an attack utilizing a law, but is useless against anything else. For example, a Destruction Barrier would, depending on the level of understanding both parties have, nullify an attack utilizing the law of Destruction. A final rule that applies to all forms of barriers: they cannot be moved. The size of a barrier can shrink or expand with a thought and some expredeture of mana, however, it cannot change its starting position.

  Eliot cast a Rocky(Earth) Arcane, Martial, and Spiritual barrier. Next, Eliot created a remote controlled clone of himself, who he shared eyes with. To be able to control his clone, Eliot had to create a mana tether between them. This meant that the clone could only be a certain distance away from him, the mana cost increasing with the distance. With his preparations almost complete, he pulled out a mana crystal.

  A mana crystal is exactly what its name entails, a crystal that stores a large amount of mana. There are many restrictive qualities to mana crystals, though. A mana crystal doesn’t naturally pull in mana, it has to be filled manually, and because mana is completely personal the only person that can use the mana crystal is the one who filled it. On top of that, if two people try and store their mana in the same crystal, it results in a terrifying Arcane Explosion. The final, most restricting negatives: they are extremely expensive and one time use.

  Eliot pulled in mana from the mana crystal until it fell apart in his hand and disintegrated. Eliot produced his second and final mana crystal just in case he needed extra mana during the operation.

  Some time ago, Eliot was bored on a particular day. So, he decided to go find a dragon’s lair, with the help of Henry and Penelope, of course. After two weeks of searching, they found one. They didn’t dare step foot anywhere near it, but it was amazing to observe from afar. Penelope even named the dragon livinging there Terry.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Eliot opened a portal directly outside the dragon’s lair and had his clone walk in, the portal remaining open so as to not sever the mana tether.

  The dragon’s lair was just as he remembered, a gigantic cavern abundant with natural resources and it always remained dimly lit by some spell the dragon cast. Of course, in the middle of the cavern there was an enormous dragon laying on top of a mountain of treasure. The dragon was an Earth Drake, coruscating jade scales lined its body and black stone like wings folded harshly over most of its mass. Its tail, with small stone bumps lining the top, was curled in a circle by the dragon’s left side.

  “Greetings, oh most wonderous dragon!” Eliot bellowed, using a spell to amplify his voice. His words resonated and echoed throughout the cavern blaringly. Eliot’s real body grimaced in consternation, he was practically begging the dragon to dismember him. Despite its brusque jolt to consciousness, the dragon calmy opened its buzzing, primal yellow eyes. Eliot made his clone smirk concededly and gave his monologue.

  “I am feared throughout the lands as the infamous Death’s Son! I has’t cometh to steal thy hoard. None has’t been able to prevent mine dastardly deeds, thee shalt fare no better.” In the face of Eliot’s announcement, the dragon simply eyed his lazily before slowly raising its head. The dragon’s mouth opened as if it was sighing, but intelligible speech poured from its mouth.

  “Why do you speak so? The last I heard a human speak that way was… last century, at least,” the dragon asked unflappably.

  “I uh-” Eliot didn’t foresee the dragon reacting any way but indignant and didn't know how to respond. “I am here to steal your hoard… Surely you have some misgivings about that?” Eliot managed ungainly. The dragon snorted, a small bit of flame spewing from its nostrils.

  “You aren’t even a specialized mage, how could I possibly take you seriously?” the dragon explained nonchalantly. Eliot felt conflicted, if he knew the dragon would be this relaxed, he would have befriended it ages ago. Now, he had no choice but to infuriate it.

  “Hah! That only goes to show how senile you are. In this world, nothing is certain, a peasant could somehow kill a god if they were crafty enough,” Eliot harrumphed conceitedly.

  “Ah, I suppose that proves true. While I know you could never hurt me, my hoard is another matter. So, I apologize for this.” As soon as the dragon finished talking, a talon the size of a human ran Eliot’s clone through. Somehow, all of Eliot’s barriers instantly shattered and his main body reflected the injuries of his clone. Dragons really are amazing beings! Even though he was gravely injured, Eliot couldn’t help but admire the dragon’s strengths. He saw no possible way the dragon could hurt him, but it somehow did. Still, Eliot wasted no time casting the portal spell he had prepared.

  The dragon growled in surprise as he fell to the ground with a resounding thud, its hoard seemingly disappearing out of nowhere. Eliot canceled his clone and portal spell in a panic, barely catching the dragon’s screams of anger.

  “HOW DARE! HOW DARE A HUMAN, OF ALL THE RACES, STEAL MY TREASURED HOARD!” it roared utterly livid. ELiot collapsed from his position a few meters off the ground and groaned in pain. Blood gushed from the ruptured hole in his stomach, if nothing was done, he would die in a few seconds. Luckily, Eliot had good friends. He raised his left hand in front of him and pushed some mana into one of three rings on his hand. The rings were unordained plant stems woven together. The ring he activated quickly grew into a beautiful flower that showered him in sparkling grains of green mana when it bloomed. His injury started repairing itself at a rate visible to the eye, until he was left with a giant hole in his shirt and cloak.

  The rings were made with the group effort of Eliot, Henry, and Penelope. They decided to make them because of the topic in that day’s class: realistic battles. Their profesor analyzed every facet of a life and death struggle in class to prepare them for the future. In the last thirty minutes of class, their profesor stressed the importance of life saving measures. They were to always have at least one life saving card up their sleeve in case of a life threatening emergency. Of course, none of them had anything prepared, and Penelope expressed her desire to keep her friends alive, resulting in the three rings on Eliot’s fingers.

  They’re made from the stems of the Mana Flower and Sighing Grass. The plan was to make something that could store Penelope’s most potent healing spell. In the beginning, they had trouble making it work because of the unique properties of the Mana Flower. The Mana Flower is a heavily sought after plant that receives energy by absorbing mana instead of through photosynthesis, and. the Mana Flower can grow extremely quickly if a sufficient amount of mana is absorbed. In fact, the intentions and properties of the mana absorbed plays a part in what exactly it grows into; if a mage fed it mana with the intent of having the plant turn into a piece of furniture, it would grow into a piece of furniture. The only limitations on what it can turn into are things with sentience or magical abilities, otherwise, if enough mana is absorbed, it can turn into anything. The problem was, the Mana Flower always absorbed Penelope’s spell. Henry had a stroke of genius when he suggested they combine Sighing Grass with the Mana Flower. Sighing Grass has similar mana absorbing properties, however, it still grows through photosynthesis. Sighing Grass simply stores the absorbed mana, not drawn on by the plant unless it comes under strenuous circumstances. Furthermore, Sighing Grass infects that stored mana with restorative properties, which is why it is required in almost any rejuvenation potion. After some trial and error, they successfully made a ring that stored and boosted Penelope’s highest healing spell. In the end, they made enough for each of them to have three rings

  “Abyss, I was really fond of this cloak,” Eliot muttered regretfully as he examined his closed up wound in awe. He shook himself alert, there was no time for being distracted. He checked in on his mana eye and his eyes widened in horror. Master Camble and Beelzebub were fighting one on one in a random location, outside of the metropolis. Luckily, he knew where it was because he could feel the distance between him and his mana eye. After draining his second mana crystal to keep up with his mana cost, he began his preparations for the second phase of his crazy plan.

  Eliot prepared an illusion spell loaded with as much detail and mana as possible. While he prepared the spell, he was unbelievably tense. His nerves were pulled taunt and his skin glistened because of a cold sweat.

  “I… I’m not the type of person to do this kind of thing,” Eliot started out of nowhere. “I don’t really care about any gods or higher existences. Of course, I am forever indebted to my creator, and I scrutinize the laws in awe, but I’ve never thanked any god. Even so, if there’s some god out there listening to me that is benevolent enough… I could really use your help.” For the first time in his life, Eliot was backed into a corner. Someone he deeply cared for was in trouble and he felt practically helpless, he had no idea if he could pull this off.

  Eliot couldn’t help but laugh at himself, he had never been so pathetic as to pray for help before. Suddenly, a second wind made his heart thump with a new intensity, and his body screamed as if a bucket of ice water washed over him. Eliot sputtered in shock, a god actually helped him? He looked at the translucent runes of the illusory spell and he examined the peculiar mana with astonishment. The mana was a prominent black with a sense of profoundness to it. It was completely devoid of color, and yet it didn’t infringe on its surroundings, in fact, it lived harmoniously with them. Eliot clasped his hands together and looked up at the sky.

  “I think I’m starting to understand why Penelope has such respect for the gods. Thank you,” Eliot whispered gratefully.

  Originally, he was reduced to hoping his skills could fool several Demigods who were worlds stronger and more experienced than him, but something about the peculiar mana made him think he could pull it off. Now, he was back to being his usual self. Riding high on a constant wave of joy for everything. He smirked to himself as he cast his portal spell. After this, Beelzebub will have no choice but to fall for me.

  Eliot emerged on the other side and cast his illusion spell as fast as he was able. The whole ordeal took more of a toll on him than he envisaged, leaving him practically debilitated.

  “Master Camble!” Eliot shouted desperately. Everyone present turned to look at him, making it feel like an invisible pressure weighed down on his shoulders.

  “What are you doing here, discipulus?” Master Camble asked with a frown.

  “Dragon!” Eliot threw out the words he hoped would plunder their attention, “The Metropolis is under siege!”

  Eliot’s eyes shook as he fully took in what was happening. Master Camble had Ellulia by her neck, lifted off the ground.

  “Is that… Beelzebub?” Eliot asked in horror. In his mind,Ellulia and Master Camble were both goliaths that wielded absolute power. To see one of those two all powerful goliaths defeated, even if it was by the other unstoppable power, made him feel out of his league.

  Master Camble turned away and reached for Ellulia’s mask. Eliot watched with bated breath as Master Camble revealed the face of a commoner, not nobility. She had frizzy red hair and freckles, the farthest possible you could look from nobility. Eliot sighed with more force than the north winds, his knees practically giving out from under him. Then, his heart dropped and his face turned ashen when Master Camble suddenly crushed her throat.

  “What are you waiting for? Hurry and open a portal to the Metropolis,” Celeste demanded.

  “Right, just catching my breath,” Eliot responded nonchalantly before following her directions. The Demigods walked through one by one. The last one to enter, Master Camble stopped short and turned to face Eliot. His clothes were practically in tatters, held together with dirt and sweat. There was even a concerning rip stained with blood and spanning across his stomach, thankfully he didn’t have any wounds. What made Eliot the most confused was the relief in his eyes and Ellulia’s corpse. Master Camble usually hated killing anyone, he would be genuinely depressed for the next week if he was forced to take a life.

  “I’m happy to see you’ve mostly recovered, please take the body to the monastery after a short rest.” He rested a comforting palm on Eliot’s shoulder and walked through the collapsing portal. The weight behind that palm seemed to tell more than Eliot knew.

  Eliot surveyed the area, confirming that there was no one around before walking over to Ellulia’s body. He knelt down, turned her facing up, and checked for a heart beat. Of course, the powerful illusion was still in effect, and unfamiliar, lifeless eyes greeted him.

  Eliot fell backwards on his arms and prepared for the worst. A couple seconds laters, he furrowed his brow and looked around in confusion. Why… why am I normal? Ellulia is dead, that thought made him desperate enough to sick a dragon on the Metropolis, why did he feel nothing, now? Maybe I’m in shock? Eliot remembered reading a passage that said: people who haven’t experienced the death of someone close might not fully wrap their brain around the idea of death, and what it actually entails. Eliot forced himself to gaze upon the cold, unmoving body of Beelzebub. All the while, he whispered to himself, saying he would never be able to talk to her, or get to know her, or feel the warmth of her embrace. This still isn’t working… maybe if I physically feel that she’s dead, I’ll understand?

  Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat as Ellulia abruptly took in a deep breath of air. Eliot pushed himself back on his knees and felt her pulse, it was weak, but undoubtedly there. Without a second thought, Eliot used his second ring on her. Ellulia’s dilapidated figure was showered in green mana and brought back to good health. Her eyes fluttered open and she slowly came to, causing Eliot’s heart to drum frantically.

  “E… Eliot?” Ellulia muttered deliriously, “To think, I would be sent to the Silver City! After all the sins I have weighing on my soul.” Beelzebub raised her arms and forced Eliot down in a hug. Eliot's face flushed and his heart reached a crescendo as Ellulia held him against her.

  Eliot returned her embrace and whispered in her ear, “Actually, you’re not in the Silver City, you’re still alive in the mortal realm.” Eliot felt Beelzebub’s body tense, and she painfully shoved him off of her. By the time Eliot readjusted himself, Beelzebub was already ten meters away brandishing her daggers.

  “Where are the seraphim? Why are you here? What’s going on?” Ellulia asked rapid fire questions.

  Eliot assumed his most calming manner and attempted to placate her, “The seraphim are off slaying a dragon, I came here to save you, and you are completely safe.” Ellulia took a few moments to take everything in.

  “Why are they slaying a dragon?” She asked bewildered.

  “I might have provoked a dragon to attack the Metropolis,” Eliot admitted sheepishly.

  “What!? Are you mad? Why would you do such a thing?” Ellulia exclaimed in shock. Eliot felt slightly offended by her unappreciative reply.

  “Well, I did what I had to in order to save you,” Eliot huffed.

  “You did it to save me?” she squeaked. “But why? Did you, or did you not expose my identity?”

  “I most certainly did not,” he insisted. Of course, Eliot only knew she was a noble, he still had no name, but she didn’t need to know that. Ellulia had absolutely no idea what to make of things anymore.

  “Then… The Four Seraphim attacking me had nothing to do with you?”

  “No!” repeated Eliot. Beelzebub looked down for a few moments before looking up with tears in her eyes, her hands clenched into fists, and shaking uncontrollably. Eliot was taken aback, what did he do to make her cry?

  “Why… Why!” she yelled, hostility painting her words red.

  “W-why what?”

  “Why did you save me?” she asked in anguish. Eliot silently took in the sight for a few moments before sighing and slowly walking over to Beelzebub. Ellulia raised her daggers and grew tense, but didn’t run away. Eliot only stopped when they were less than arm's length from each other.

  Eliot smirked as he whispered, “How many times do I have to repeat myself? I only want to talk.”

  “Fuck off!” Ellulia shouted as she weakly shoved Eliot, “I’m a serial killer, you shouldn’t have any questions about me! You should fear me! You should shun me! You should look at me with disgust!” She was breathing hard now, tears streaking down her cheeks. Eliot stood like an unmovable object before Beelzebub’s weak push. Instead, he moved forward and grabbed her wrists. He positioned one knife next to his neck, and the other above his heart.

  “Then, kill me! If that’s the reason, you should have no qualms killing me now,” declared Eliot. Ellulia’s thoughts were a mess, if Eliot wasn’t holding her, she would be shaking too much to walk properly. She put some pressure on Eliot’s neck, hoping that he would be scared off by the trickle of blood rolling down his neck. Unfortunately Eliot stood his ground, not betraying any fear.

  Ultimately, Ellulia couldn’t take it any more and she screamed, “Who the abyss are you! Why are you so damn Different! Why can’t I figure you out? Why don’t you run? Why are you not afraid of death? Why… why do I feel…” Ellulia collapsed into Eliot’s arms and started bawling. Eliot held her close, his arms solid and supportive, helping keep her standing. Inwardly, he was thoroughly shocked due to her roller coaster of emotions, but of course, what did he expect? The mental state of a serial killer probably wasn’t the best. Regardless, he was attracted to her and that’s all that mattered to him. Eliot had never felt anything like the feeling she elicits within him, and as far as he knew this was a one time thing. If he didn’t take the opportunity, he would never have another chance. There was also the side of him that was intrigued by everything, he was more than a little excited to hear the viewpoint of a serial killer. Did she think what she was doing was wrong? Does she believe in some inane notion of setting her victims free? Currently, he had his money on the first option, but he would only get the real answer from Ellulia herself.

  Eliot waited a few minutes after she stopped crying before reminding them of the situation they were in. Hearing his voice, Ellulia came back to reality. She blushed as she briefly made eye contact and nervously stepped away. Eliot simply smiled caringly in response before briefing her on their next problem: The Four Seraphim were expecting a body.

  After a small bout of thinking, Ellulia proposed an idea, “Is it possible to create a physical clone with my commoner appearance?” Eliot stroked his chin as he mulled it over.

  “I can’t do it,” Eliot admitted while shaking his head, “At my level, I wouldn’t be able to make it life like, at most it would look like a doll. On top of that, I don’t have the amount of mana required for such a feat…” Eliot trailed off and his brows furrowed as he stared intensely at Ellulia’s face.

  “W-what is it?” Ellulia asked nervously. Eliot reached out with hand and pinched her nose, she bristled adorably in response.

  “Was your nose… always this big?” Eliot asked hesitantly.

  “My nose?” Ellulia squealed as she backed away. “I-I’ll have you know that my nose is the appropriate… size…?” Ellulia froze as she felt her nose in confusion, it was bigger than usual, you could even call it fat. “I thought illusions only tricked the eyes, why is my nose physically bigger?” Ellulia was horrified as she tried squeezing her nose down to its original size. Suddenly, Eliot’s face lit up.

  “Don’t worry, your nose isn’t actually bigger,” Eliot assured her, “It’s only the illusion. It reached the level that it tricks your sense of touch, not just the eyes. I may be able to pull off the clone, after all!” Hearing this, Ellulia heaved a sigh of relief, she would kill herself if Eliot thought her nose was fat. “All right, for the next part, I need you to stay still, can you do that?” Eliot asked with a tone that made it obvious he didn’t think she could.

  Ellulia mustered all of her confidence and said, “Of course!” Eliot nodded before stepping forward and gently took her head in between his hands. Then, he lowered his head until their foreheads were making contact.

  Eliot carefully probed her physical body with his man. After a few seconds, a smile that stretched from ear to ear sprouted on his face. The amazing mana that was bestowed upon him after praying was still there. Thinking of the next step, Eliot’s face contorted in concentration. At slower than a snail’s pace, he conscientiously extracted the mana. What he was doing was extremely dangerous. Because of the personal quality of mana, if his mana was to come in contact with Ellulia’s, it could cause her head to implode like a watermelon. Knowing this caused Eliot to break out in a cold sweat. At the same time, Eliot was blown away by this godly mana. The sheer denseness of it made it rival the mana Eliot had when fully rested, despite being lesser in quantity. Not only that, but it completely disregarded the ironclad rule of mana being personal, he could even store it in his mana pool, if he wanted.

  What felt like an eternity later, Eliot extracted the final bit of the mana. As he stepped away, both him and Ellulia exhaled in relief. Eliot lowered his head and sat down, granting his endeavor on hundred percent of his concentration. By the time he was done, Eliot had nearly one hundred lines of runes in front of him. They pulsed dazzlingly with their one of a kind color.

  Eliot smirked as he cast the spell and the runes whirled around Eliot like a tornado. Starting from the top, the runes rose and conformed in an upside down maelstrom. At the point the runes came together, Ellulia’s clone began forming, feature by feature. First, the general body shape, then the skin and clothing, finally the features. When it finished, Eliot carefully lowered it to the ground in front of him. It looked exactly like Ellulia when she was under the influence of the illusion.

  “All finished,” sighed Eliot as he admired his handy work. Out of nowhere, Ellulia abruptly hugged Eliot from behind, catching him completely off guard.

  “Thank you, Eliot. We will talk soon, I promise,” she whispered in his ear before quickly letting go. Eliot spun around in bewilderment, but she was already gone. Eliot smiled wearily while shaking his head. I’ve waited a long time now, what is a little longer?

  After organizing his thoughts, Eliot picked up the clone and walked through a portal.