"You see, Alexander Lane," Lilith said. "...I want you to kill me."

"...Huh?"

"I want you to kill me," she repeated.

And just like Lilith, Alexander repeated himself. "...Huh?"

This time, the Titan didn't respond. At the center of her cloak was a golden button. The same insignia of a rising sun was engraved into it. She gripped the button and removed it, throwing down her cloak at once.

Underneath her stark white uniform was simple human clothing. That was the strange part, after all.

Alexander had encountered a multitude of enemies and allies, all different beings from different realms. Strangely enough, the strangest and often most dangerous ones were humans. In fact, in the months prior the Virtues had made a bet as the species of the leader of the Golden Dawn. And yet, the human theory was disproved with their encounter against Arnhild Norr.

Still, Lilith didn't display any kind of killing intent at all. With Alexander's confusion, her lips spread apart with a slight smile. She extended her hand at him. "Give me your hand," she said.

Alexander paused. With hesitance, he swallowed his dry saliva and extended his hand at her.

The Titan gripped his wrist and placed his palm onto her breast.

Once again, Alexander clenched his jaw. 'This is probably a trap,' he told himself, his eyes still wide in confusion of the situation.

Still, as many times as he told himself that, he still couldn't sense any malicious intent from Lilith or from his surroundings.

"Do you feel that?" she asked him.

Confusion continued to rage in Alexander's mind. "...N-no," he muttered, actively avoiding eye contact.

"Exactly," Lilith agreed.

It was then that Alexander noticed. Lilith had no heartbeat. He furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes finally met hers.

She nodded. "No heartbeat," she told him. "No pulse. Nothing. The fact of the matter is... I'm not alive."

Alexander retracted his hand as soon as she let go of his wrist. "Wait, wait, wait," Alexander immediately said, already gripping his wrist in worry. "You're not alive?"

Lilith only smiled and shook her head. "I died some years back," she said staring at her hands. "That's why they gave the name 'Titan of Death'. Meanwhile, my sister... The one who did this to me, was branded 'The Titan of Life'."

Alexander clenched his jaw. Lilith chose her words carefully, it seemed. 'The one who did this to me,' she said, speaking as if her new life was a curse instead of a blessing. But that wasn't what he asked about.

"Wait, but your sister..." He paused. "If she brought you back to life, then why do you... y'know, want to die?"

She nodded in understanding. "You see... I am an anomaly."

Alexander swallowed his saliva. An anomaly. That wasn't exactly anything new in Alexander's world.

"The dead are supposed to stay dead," she continued. "My very existence is not something that should happen. My very existence is not something aligned with the order of the universe." Lilith placed her hand above her heart. "If I'm supposed to be alive... Then I wouldn't have to endure the world of pain that comes with this 'new life'."

"So..." Alexander finally said. "You want me to kill you."

She nodded. "That's correct."

How the hell do you respond to that?

And again, Lilith spoke, not wanting to stand around in silence. "You, Alexander Lane... can kill me. And I want it to be you, anyway. There are thousands of ways to die. I could touch the God Crystal and the magic holding my body together would disappear. I would die on contact. I could ask Arnold Norr to kill me, and he'd probably smile while doing it in an instant. But none of those would be... Well, none of those would feel as a proper death."

Alexander's jaw became clenched just as he heard those words. 'A proper death'. Just like Alexander. Lilith was always in the face of death. And through that, she searched for a death that would feel right. Just like Alexander.

Even so...

"Just... Just give me a minute to sort this out," Alexander stammered.

Lilith smiled and nodded as Alexander dropped himself onto the ground. He couldn't kill her. He wouldn't allow himself to. Would he?

And just as he was sitting and thinking to himself in silence, Lilith took in a light breath and stepped to the side. She looked up at the pale moon before it grew shrouded behind dull clouds. Even so, a thin smile grew onto her lips.

With another shallow inhale, she turned to Alexander and extended her hand at him once again. But this time, it was the palm of her hand. And this time, Alexander wasn't paying attention.

Magic energy accumulated onto her palm, glowing with dull grey light. Alexander turned and looked up at her. It was then that he saw the condensed magic energy.

"Oh, God."

Alexander jumped upright just as Lilith's energy exploded towards him. He ended up rolling on the ground as he barely managed to evade the eruption of energy.

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Coughs and spit burst from his mouth as dust and dirt flew into the air. Just like their previous encounter, a wall of dust stood between them.

'Why the hell did she attack?!' he asked himself.

If Lilith simply wanted him dead, she would've killed him during their conversation. No, forget that, she would've killed him while Alexander was puking onto the ground.

"Wait!" he shouted, his voice bursting past the cloud of dust. "Why are you attacking me?!"

She grit her teeth and charged at him once again. "Because... I know you won't kill me out of your own volition."

Lilith continued as she extended her palm at him. "The only way you'll kill me is out of necessity. So... I have to create the necessity."

Alexander took in a deep breath. Sweat was already dripping down the side of his face. 'Why are things always like this?' he asked himself.

"You have to fight, Alexander Lane," Lilith said, her voice echoing through the clearing of the forest. "It's you or me."

And again, in silence and darkness, Lilith attacked him.

Alexander dashed to the side, jumping and dropping at an instant's notice. All to survive.

Lilith was just like him. All of her attacks short-ranged attacks were physical and her long-ranged ones were pure magic energy.

She continued to attack the Demon-Born without regard.

Alexander didn't know if it was by accident on purpose but... Lilith's attacks were filled with openings. It would be easy to counter her attacks with his own but at the speed they were coming at him, Alexander wasn't able nor willing.

'At this point... She's not gonna leave me to escape. She... She's really here with the intention to die. If not... I'll be the one to die. The best-case scenario would be to knock her out. If I can do that... Everything'll be alright.'

But if Alexander were to win... He couldn't do it with the way he fights normally. With an opponent who can do the same as him, he would have to change himself.

Physical weapons, instead of bodily attacks. And actual spells instead of pure energy. He practically had only a single option in this case.

Alexander unhooked his sheathed sword from his belt. He raised it and unsheathed his silver blade. Alive or dead, Lilith's power emitted the same aura that Alexander had felt before.

The fear of death. But compared to Belphegor...

All it took was for Lilith to rub her hands together. And as she separated them, grey energy glowed between them. Amassing into an orb, she extended her energy-dense palm at Alexander.

His eyes widened. And the energy burst towards him. Even as he coated his blade with energy, the simple impact split the blade in two. Shards of steel danced in the wind as steaming air brushed past Alexander's face.

'She's far stronger!...'

Lilith sped towards him. She jumped off the ground and bounced behind Alexander, raising her clenched fist at him. Alexander rolled onto the ground just as Lilith's fist crashed into the ground.

Still on the ground, Alexander clenched his jaw and looked up. Lilith's fist was already inches away from his face.

'Goddammit.'

That single strike knocked Alexander across the rocky terrain until he hit a solid stone. It cracked on impact, shattering and leaving loose stones to fall atop Alexander.

"Don't tell me that killed him..." Lilith muttered.

But as soon as Alexander took in a deep breath, she let out a relieved sigh.

He groggily blinked his eyes open and looked up at Lilith. Even though she was injured, not a drop of blood was on her body. Her scrapes and cuts were pink and pale. Still, her face was shifted within gloom.

Lilith was in pain. And it wasn't because of Alexander. Each breath and each step she took must've been anguish for her. Her being alive right then and there... was no life at all. And so, in this strange situation, Alexander was her only hope. The possibility of this black-haired boy being able and willing to kill her... was her only hope.

It was then that Alexander realized that. Now, there wasn't much he could do, was there?

"Dammit," he mumbled to himself.

Alexander's back was pressed against the stone. Blood dripped from his forehead and over his left eye, leaving his left side's vision as a thick blanket of crimson. His breaths were once again labored and his fingers were trembling.

In short, he was in pain. 'What else is new?' he asked himself.

Alexander spat out a deep exhale as he pushed himself upward, still pressed against the rock. As he wobbled to regain his balance, he clenched his jaw.

And at that second, his own words rushed into his head.

"If I were to kill someone, I think the choice of 'killing' will come into my life. The value of life will become ambiguous to me. And honestly... That scares me."

A thin smile forced its way through his lips. He spoke aloud once again. "Dark magic..."

Those words had forced their way into his mind and out of his lips. He hadn't even thought of that so-called affinity of his throughout the entire day. The one he didn't understand and hadn't even seen before. And now...

'Right.'

He took in a sharp breath and spoke aloud, almost giving himself commands. "Bring it out. Don't worry about the exact form... And just focus on pushing the energy forth."

After all, a magician's growth never comes easy. Oftentimes, one cannot succeed without experiencing devastating pain. That's the truth Archibald understands. The truth he instilled into the Virtues and this mission.

And as for Alexander... The Demon-Born will know no shortage of pain.

With a firm base and solid determination, a magician can develop themself through any event.

And even through the dense scarlet sheet of blood that cascaded over Alexander's eye, he still stared at Lilith. He was still fixated on her.

"Freely..." he muttered.

'Fight freely!' he told himself. 'Become better! Surpass what you were before!'

A thin smile cracked through his lips. "This one..." he said out loud, his obsidian eyes meeting Lilith's. "This one's for you, Lilith!"

"Here we go!" he shouted, clapping his hands together and spitting blood as those words left his lips.

A stream of darkness poured from his very self, from their very surroundings. Shadows burst from the ground, from the trees behind them, and all that was above them.

Lilith clenched her jaw as her eyes widened. After all, she couldn't do much except stare at the torrential outpour of magic. Walls of darkness launched at her at blinding speeds.

She sucked in air through her teeth and winced, stepping and dashing back.

But none of that mattered. She only stepped back a few meters until the darkness tugged at her feet. Her movements became slowed, as if running through sludgy water. Darkness and energy wrapped itself around her feet and ankles, trapping her to the ground. And for a second... All she could see was the color black.

Lilith's lips slowly arched into a smile. "There it is."

That second was all it took.

Alexander crashed through the wall of shadows. And finally... there was light. Alexander's fist was already clenched and drawn back. It was wrapped and brimming with flowing energy, glowing with blue light amidst the darkness. His gaze was still bloodied, but his eyes were already fixed on Lilith.

That second was all it took.

He thrust out his hand, slamming his fist into her center with a burst of energy.

And that was it. His shut fist pierced her chest. Alexander's magic slowly began to die down. As soon as the dense magic energy and walls of darkness faded to nothingness... all that surrounded them was silence.

Blood dripped down from Alexander's still-closed fist just as Lilith remained standing. She was still smiling, even after the Demon-Born's attack had crushed her heart and broke through her torso.

Breaking the silence, Alexander finally spoke to her. "I'm sorry," he said.

Lilith's smile widened, to the point where she had to hold back her laughter. "Don't you dare apologize," she mumbled, blood gushing through her teeth and down the sides of her mouth. She let out a light chuckle. "In any case... Thank you."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Thank you," she spoke once again.

Alexander remained silent, as he drew back his arm. Lilith immediately collapsed, her body leaving a dull thud as she hit the ground. Alexander stared at his hand. It had been drenched in crimson. Gore and viscera. The foul stench of rotten fish and rusted iron already struck his face. The smell of blood.

He spat out a sigh. His fist was still steaming with the heat of the pure magic energy that enveloped it. And the blood that dripped off his hand was already beginning to dry.

"Damn, that hurt."