"I have a few more questions." I said to Armando then turned to my human form. Immediately after doing so, I could feel a slight pressure on my body. 'This planet's gravity is insane.' I thought to myself. I never felt it before in my reaper form, but I could feel it now since I'm more vulnerable in my human form.
"Anything my king," Armando replied. "Tell me, are there other reapers in the universe other than the two of us?" I asked him. "Yes, my king, there are thousands of reapers all around the universe, but I only know the locations of two others." He said to me. "Where?" I asked.
"In the Alpha and Beta Regions, one planet is ruled by the powerful Terrifaísteio and the other by Neró respectively." Armando answered with a look of deep respect when mentioning Terrifaísteio. "How powerful is this Terri-fo-kio-?" I asked him unable to pronounce such a god forsaken name.
"Powerful my king; very powerful. Even with our combined strengths, we cannot hope to defeat her. There are only a few reapers in existence that are her match: The legendary Reaper of Darkness and Thanatos for instance. Thanatos is the reaper that rules above all other reapers." He said to me knowing my intentions.
'Reapers that even Armando fears!' I thought to myself. "What makes this Terrisfdor- so powerful?" I asked Armando calmly. "Terrifaísteio rules over a planet with over 80 billion inhabitants, with so many souls at her disposal, she has grown very powerful over the past 3,000 years." He said to me.
"Point towards Neró's planet, and tell me how far it is from here. Be as specific as you can." I said to Armando.
He then turned to point at a certain direction and said, "He resides in the Beta region, a little over 100,000 light years to the east from here. He's fairly weak compared to others."
"Azrael go, but do not engage." I said out loud.
"Yes master." He said bowing towards me then flew off faster than the human eye could see.
"What of a planet holding 8 billion inhabitants, how would a reaper from such a planet compare?" I asked Armando after watching Azrael take off.
"That reaper would merely be an insect, one that can be crashed effortlessly and isn't even worth a mention." He expressed his thoughts to me.
"Is that so?" I asked out loud then spread my senses to scan for all life on Asími.
'There are over 20 billion people on this planet.' I thought to myself.
'Armando ruled this planet with an iron fist, striking anyone that defied him. This planet worked different from Earth. The inhabitants here are aware there is a reaper and no one is protected by Theós…but perhaps the biggest difference was that instead of receiving power from the remaining lifespans of living beings, he received power from their complete lifespan. Meaning if someone was to live till 100 years of age, Armando's strength increased from the 100-year lifespan.' I thought as I listened to conversations all around the planet.
"Well, it so happens that I come from a planet with nearly 8 billion inhabitants." I sayid to Armando with a smile. He then immediately kneeled to the ground and said whilst shaking, "My king, I meant no offense. If you wish to kill me, my life is yours to take."
'He's just as weird as Azrael, asking for death is a little extreme. At least his loyalty cannot be questioned.' I thought to myself. "Don't be so dramatic. You have over 20 billion Asímians on this planet, yet I was capable of beating you. Population is not a deciding factor." I said to him.
"I don't understand, my king, it should not have been possible for you to have acquired the strength to beat me, in 3,000 years." He cautiously said to me. "What happened 3,000 years ago?" I asked him trying to quench my curiosity.
"This was when we were all created and had planets assigned to us by Thanatos." He said to me.
'So that's why we could hold our own in a fight with Armando. Unlike Cain, all the other reapers were created only 3,000 years ago, whilst Cain, on the other hand, had been around for much longer than that…but something doesn't add up.' I thought to myself still in deep thought.
"Who is Thanatos?" I asked Armando. "Thanatos is the reaper that oversees all the other reapers. He is the one that assigned planets to us reapers and is powerful enough to keep all the reapers in line, even the reaper of legend. Rumor has it he has existed far beyond 3000 years, dating back all the way to the beginning. He is also known as the Angel of Death, but no one is quite sure whether he is an angel or a reaper." He said in one breath.
"What of the reaper of legend, how powerful is he?" I asked a follow up question.
"He is more of a mystery than even Thanatos himself. All I know is that his strength is second only to Thanatos himself and even Thanatos addresses him with respect. Only he knows the location of the legendary reaper as far as I know." He answered.
"You have once mentioned that going into another reaper's territory is taboo, how do you know all this if you have never left your planet?" I asked him. "From Kitsune, she was my helper. Only the helpers can go back and forth to report to Thanatos." He replied.
"Where is your helper now?" I asked him.
He then took a long pause and stared at me nervously before saying, "Last I spoke with her, I had sent her to report to Thanatos regarding your arrival on Asími." He said to me.
"Call her!" I commanded.
"Kitsune…" he called out, but nothing happened. "What's wrong?" I asked him. "I do not know my king, Kitsune had always appeared before me when I called." He said to me. 'Just like the tailed Lilith! Could this helper be-,' I began to think before having my thoughts cut short by Armando.
"Perhaps she isn't responding because you possess my soul now?" Armando spoke up.
"Kitsune…" I called out then almost immediately, a purple fox with a 6-foot furry tail, similar to that of the tailed Lilith's, came out of a storm cloud and appeared in front of me.
The fox didn't look like the average fox as it had purple lightning sparking off the hair of its body and was as big as a full-grown man. It was 6 feet in length and 4 feet in height. The fox then made eye contact with me then looked at Armando who was still kneeling before me.
She then quickly wrapped her furry, purple tail around Armando's waist then disappeared in a streak of purple lightning. It all happened so fast, it didn't even take five seconds for both of them to disappear from view.
'Wow, that fox is fast!' I thought to myself as I looked into the distance in admiration. Traces of purple lightning could still be seen in the direction they went. "Kitsune." I called out again, then, the purple fox appeared before me once again.
She immediately started looking left and right in a panic. "How did I-?" The purple fox began to say in a feminine, but domineering voice before being cut off. "I called you here. Long story short, I defeated Armando and I now have full control over him and you apparently." I said to her.
"Impossible, the bond between a reaper and helper is one engraved between souls. You have no power over me. How could Armando fall to the likes of you? Thanatos will hear about-!" She shouted in a tantrum unable to accept the situation before being cut off again. "Shut up." I said to her feeling annoyed by her constant blabbering.
She then immediately kept quiet as if by instinct. "Anyone ever told you, you talk too much?" I said to her then revealed a bright orb surrounded with purple lightning at the palm of my left hand. It was Armando's soul.
"How do you have that?" She asked me with a look of shock. "Armando gave it to me himself." I said to her as the orb began to disappear. She then looked at Armando with a face full of pity. "No..." she cried out. "You're just a slave now?" She said to him as a tear ran down her face.
"The choice to serve my king was my own old friend. This is not enslavement, but an opportunity to serve one greater than myself." Armando said to her. "Give him back his soul!" She shouted at me with tears in her eyes.
"I think you've failed to read the situation you're in right now." I said to her then released my death aura which kept an immense pressure on her. "Your old master has fallen and he now serves me, you will be wise to do the same." I said to her sternly.
Kitsune was a helper, similiar to the tailed Lilith. Except, she could travel back and forth to Thanatos as a messenger. This was dangerous for me as I was not ready to face someone as powerful Thanatos. If he were to find out about the recent events, it would only bring trouble beyond my control.
I then released the pressure then said to her, "Submit!"