"Ok... Let's just get this over with..."
Evlin was once again inside of the white void after falling unconscious in front of the gates of the kingdom. She no longer was in her fused body where she looked like a combination of herself and Sphinx. She was once again a human, although she now was back at being fourteen years old and was wearing her school uniform, the appearance she had right before she was transported to this world.
"Xadi!!?? Marcus?? Come on!! I know you two are in there!! Just come out already!!"
She stared at all directions but her eyes saw nothing but an endless white no matter where she looked.
"... Huh... Maybe I came too early...? Do I have to wait for them to fall asleep as well or something...?"
She was expecting someone to receive her, but to her surprise, she was simply alone this time.
"... Guys??? Is this part of your evil plan?? Trying to bore me to death?? Just give me your silly threats so I can go!!"
Evlin kept waiting and waiting. The last time she was here she was overcome with fear after being surrounded by all of her enemies. So much so that she was actually afraid of falling asleep again worried that she would have to go through that experience one more time.
"... Man I miss my cellphone during times like this..."
But after her conversation with Gustav, she was filled with courage again and was ready to return to show she would not lose to anyone.
"Now that I think about it, what is this place...?"
She was looking forward to facing her fears but was disappointed to find out all her enemies seemed to be absent.
"Is this some kind of realm where souls connect or something...? Why do I always return to being a kid when I'm in here...?"
"This place shows you the way how you see yourself..."
"Gaaahh!!"
Evlin almost had a heart attack when a voice came out of nowhere and started talking while she was focused on analyzing the area.
She turned her head around imagining she would find Xadi, Marcus, or even Mia. But the voice was from some lady she had never seen before.
"Hello, crossbow girl..."
"Huh... Hi...?"
The lady was a beautiful woman with an amazing white dress floating in the air. Evlin recognized those clothes, they were the same ones West was wearing.
"Nice to finally meet you properly..."
"... Huh... You are...?"
"My name can't be understood by your language... But it seems you have decided to address me as East."
"East...? The East?? The goddess that Daren and the rest hate so much?"
"Indeed..."
"The one who turned them into statues for two hundred years and enslaved Marceus and now is tricking Marcus?"
"If that's how you want to see me, then sure I guess..."
Evlin gazed upon the woman she spent so long hearing about after all these months. The cause of Daren and Marceus's pain, the one who made Marcus into a weapon that almost killed Evlin and her group, the whole reason she is invading the demon kingdom and the reason why Auren and Ria are now servants of the West. She was finally facing the woman of her final goal.
"Man... You're... Kinda boring..."
"... Excuse me...?"
"I mean... I heard so much about you... The big bad East, the source of all our pain and misery, the goddess who betrayed humans and used them as her plaything! I expected you to look like the ultimate mustache-twirling bad guy... Some kind of queen-looking warrior sitting on a throne with some kind of giant pet under your arm... But you're just some chick in a white dress..."
"..."
"You're kind of a letdown..."
"To be honest you were not as I expected either..."
"Me...?"
"The human from the same world as Marceus, the youngest expert magician, the mage that doesn't use a staff, the master or recreation, the leader of the band of metal thieves that managed to survive against Marcus... And yet, you look like you need someone to hold your hand while you cross the street..."
"Ugh... That's just when I'm in here... Outside I look way cooler..."
"Outside doesn't matter... This is how you see yourself... And you see yourself as a frail little girl..."
East began to float around Evlin as if she was analyzing what she was made of.
"Well... I guess we are both disappointed..."
"Not really... It's not like I expect much from humans anyway..."
"... Well, aren't you just lovely...? No wonder my friends hate you so much..."
The goddess rested her chin on her finger and pondered for a while.
"And you...?"
"... Me...? What about me...?"
"Do you hate me as well? You are on a quest to come and kill me right...?"
"I mean... If you just spoil the surprise like this it loses half of the fun right...?"
"... Do... You... Hate me...?"
"..."
Evlin thought back to her conversation with Gustav inside of the dark pit. About how easy people would just spit out the word "Die!" because they couldn't handle their own problems with more maturity and redirected it towards those who had nothing to do with them.
"Not really... This is the first time we ever really talked... I know you're bad but you never did anything to me directly... I mean... Marcus almost killed us because you did a garbage job raising him and I keep getting attacked by people with silver metal that you created..."
"..."
"And you did cause a lot of pain to my friends... But... I feel like hating you would be like hating Hitler... I know you are a terrible person, deserves to be punished and the world would be better off without you... But you never did anything to me directly..."
"... Is that so...?"
"Is that so."
"Then why are you helping these people kill me?"
"Huh... Because they are my friends...?"
"So if your friends just ask you to destroy the world, would you help them?"
"Eh...? Of course not? But I can't just ignore their request..."
For a moment Evlin imagined if Ria was in there she would have said something like "Of course she would! She would destroy the whole galaxy for her friends! Right Evlin?".
"Why?"
"??"
"I'm not harming anyone... I put your friends to sleep but they are awake now, I made Marceus work for me but he is already gone, I asked Marcus to continue his job but I'm not forcing him, he is doing it of his own free will."
"Huh..."
"You said you imagined me as some kind of bad guy but I don't have an evil plan or something like that... All I want is to destroy demons... Is that really so bad...?"
"..."
"Stop to think about it for just a second miss crossbow... What exactly are you going to gain by slaying me? Fulfill a little desire for revenge from your friends? Have you never heard the line 'Being happy is the best revenge'? Why not convince your little group to just leave me alone so we can all mind our own business?"
"What...? I can't just abandon my mission now... Not after all I've been through..."
"Even at the cost of your own safety...? How many times you almost lost your life because of this silly quest? You are about to enter a kingdom filled with demons! All so you can get to me?? Is the risk really worth it?? Is the safety of your friends really so insignificant?"
"Wh- Why are you telling this to me...?"
"Because you are the only one who doesn't hold a grudge against me... I never did anything to you, and you never did anything to me yet... Right now, we are just two strangers, not enemies."
"..."
"You are the only one with a mind not filled with a desire for revenge that can stop your group of doing something stupid."
"..."
"How about we make a deal?"
"... A deal...?"
"You tell your friends to just forget about me, and I will talk to Marcus and tell him to forget about you. What do you say?"
"...!!!!"
"Not only that, I'll even take you back to your old home!"
"What!!?? You can really do that??"
"Of course... I'm a goddess after all! I can fulfill any of your deepest desires!"
Evlin was starting to receive a feeling of doubt. She could simply end it all, right here and now. No more fights with terrifying demons, no more running away from Marcus, no more being unable to see her mother and sister. She could just go home back to her old world and leave this whole thing behind. And all she had to do was convince her friends to give up on their revenge as well.
Evlin was never really good at doing business, but was there even any reason not to accept this offer? She would lose the deal with West probably, but they only made that deal to stay safe from Marcus. Daren and the rest would probably be really upset, but aside from that, they could finally just start living their lives in peace, without worrying about having to lose their lives every day.
Why would she refuse such a perfect offer?
"I can finally go home?"
"Yes!"
"I can even bring Ashley with me?"
"If you want to, sure!"
"My friends won't have to fight anymore?"
"They will be safe and sound. I won't let any harm come to them."
"We don't even have to enter the demon kingdom??"
"Marcus will handle the kingdom. Just go live your life child!"
"And all I have to do is convince Daren and the rest of my friends to give up on their revenge?"
"Correct! Just give up and let me be!"
"... This... This sounds too good to be true..."
"It's not... All you have to do is give up!"
"..."
"Just give up child, and I'll handle everything else!"
"Why... Do you keep saying that...?"
"Say what child...?"
"Give up..."
"... I don't think I understand your question..."
"... The goddess of the West... She wouldn't give anything to us unless we accepted all of her conditions... We had to give up the freedom of two of our members and accept to work on her name... She gave us a lot but she asked quite a lot in return..."
"... Eh...?"
"But you...? You are just giving everything to me on a silver platter... What even is the downside for me here...? What am I losing exactly?"
"Why do you have to lose anything child? Why can't I just be a generous goddess who wishes to solve things peacefully?"
"... Because if you were..."
Evlin's body started to be surrounded by energy.
"There wouldn't be so much death and suffering caused by your hands in the first place..."
"...?"
"You didn't come here to make a deal... You came here to get me off your back..."
"..."
"You... You are afraid of me... Aren't you?"
"... ... ..."
"You just can't wait to put me on the first bus to another world so that you won't have to deal with me again... Can't you? You're trying to get rid of me!"
"You think a goddess would be afraid of a mere child?"
"Maybe you would... Since gods are forbidden from directly killing humans... And since this mere child got a very special birthday present from the west goddess..."
"..."
"Can you guess what that is?"
The energy that was surrounding Evlin finally disappeared. She extended her arm towards East and held her chin with her finger. She no longer looked like a fourteen-year-old wearing a school uniform. She was now looking at herself the way she was in this world, a grown woman warrior equipped with armor to fight against any opponent that would dare to come her way and ready to defend all of her friends.
"The secret to kill a divine diety!"
East was looking at Evlin with a cold expression.
"... That little shrimp... So she did tell you after all..."
"Indeed... And that terrifies you... Doesn't it? That a mere child is so close to putting you in your place?"
"You little pest... I gave you the offer of a lifetime!!"
"Man!! What an offer!! Let the other team win right when I'm two steps away from the finishing line! I really am a silly dumb human child!"
"You insolent..."
"Here is the thing, how about I make you a deal?"
"What??"
"Right after I finish my job here and finally get done with this stupid kingdom, I'll deal with Marcus and his little chess-club, and once I'm done with that, I'm coming for you next!"
"..."
"After I'm finished pummelling you into the ground, if you bend on all four and beg Daren, Lilith, Auren, Gustav, and Ria for forgiveness... If you scream your crying eyes out "Please forgive me!! I was a bad goddess!! Please don't let me die!!!", then maybe I'll consider letting you go..."
"What!!??"
"That is... Only if you agree to give up your spot as a goddess, turn yourself into a human and let West win the competition."
"You must be joking... I'm in the lead in the competition! I have the strongest sword on the planet on my side... Marcus would never lose to you... And I would definitely never lose to you..."
Evlin looked at her with a massive grin.
"Then you have nothing to worry about!"
"... Marcus is going to cut you into tiny pieces and feed them to the dogs..."
"Riiiight... Mommy's big boy... He sure looked intimidating while crying "Don't talk about daddy!!" over and over again..."
"Xadi has your gauntlet and silver metal. He will fry you with a lightning bolt!"
"Indeed... It worked so well last time!"
"The slayers will have silver metal created directly from Marcus himself, they will tear you apart!"
"You mean that pack of idiots who couldn't deal with two little girls? Yeah, I'll take my chances."
"You will not win this fight!"
Evlin approached the goddess and was one inch away from her face.
"Then why are you shaking so much?"
"!!!!"
East looked at her own body. It was faint but she was indeed shaking a little bit. She was shaking from the presence of a mere human.
Evlin noticed that East's body was starting to fade, which meant she was going to wake up any time now and leave the white void.
She gave one final glance towards East before leaving and parted with a few words.
"See... You... Soon!"