1855 hours, 25 June 0145...
All of us were watching in confusion as Vladimir's osprey slowly descending to the ground while they pointed the guns toward the crippled Forsaken Emperor, who was laying in between the trees' trunks after my fatal blow.
Their osprey's engine hums, spreading gusts of wind that wash over the surrounding area. In the midst of their presence, I asked them a question, tinged with frustration.
"Vanessa? Vladimir? And Commander Katoki?! What the hell are you doing in here?!"
Commander Katoki suddenly responded to our communication channels in a stern way.
"Like we said before, just let them take care of that demon instead to prevent all of you from dying like idiots!"
What he meant by "them" still baffled us. Who will deal with that damned demon this time? But suddenly, an unknown, stern voice called us from the blackened part of the forest and caught us by surprise.
"That demon is not what you usually face!"
There were native villager guardians, whom I'm familiar with, back in the Harimal Forest who suddenly revealed themselves from the blackened part of the forest. They were glinting against the crippled Forsaken Emperor and ready to plunge against that demon when it's about to engage all of us.
As the latter guardian villagers approached the Forsaken Emperor in their engaged stance with their spear, a familiar figure suddenly revealed himself after getting out of the blackened part of the forest.
And it was... Sergeant Adipati? Like, what the hell is he doing in here? How the hell did Minerva call him for help? Who summoned him? And what is his motive here?
My confusion was on an all-time high as I approached Sergeant Adipati with a confused query but in a slightly retorting tone.
"Sergeant Adipati?! What are you doing in here?!"
He then glanced at me and responded with a firm tone.
"Try to defeat that demon; it will be the final blow, as the more you confront them, the more they will confront you."
His answer still left me in a bewildered state. But Joshua then approached Sergeant Adipati, lending his right hand for a handshake.
"Sergeant Adipati Patimura? It's been a long time!"
"It's a pleasure to see you growing as a mature person. I've even remembered that you can't stop-"
"Shut it!"
It surprised me if some of Minerva's Authonoids were familiar with this person. Axel respectfully approached Sergeant Adipati and asked a question.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sergeant Adipati. Could you please provide more details about the Forsaken Emperor? It seems like you're the native in this place."
Sergeant Adipati nodded in understanding after his query, and then he answered as he gestured his hand.
"The Forsaken Emperor was once a philanthropist wealthy king who always gave away his wealth to his citizens, considering he'd rather utilize it for philanthropic purposes than opulence."
"Back before, he was King Vidharma, the archdemon who's guarding the first layer of hell, pride."
"Before plunged into hell, King Vidharma's old selves were arrogant and always showed off his might, even with bloodshed. But as God punished him into hell and King Sakorcha enslaved him to guard the pride's layer, he began to learn from his mistake and wanted to redeem himself when the time came."
"As God suddenly disappeared, both heaven and hell were in massive disarray due to King Sakorcha's uprising of hell to invade all realms. But one of the archdemons, Tsumaki, halted his invasion by rebelling against the tyrannical King Sakorcha, together with the rebelling hell's guardian and the falsely accused sinners."
"After the victory where they imprisoned King Sakorcha into the depths of hell, Vidharma took the chances by escaping from hell and transformed his form into a normal human being who wanted to seek solace further from the civilization."
"But as the great purge suddenly happened, led by the crusader troops to purge all heresy, he refused to fight back due to preventing any unwanted casualties and preferred a peaceful resolve. But that still won't stop the crusaders from slaughtering him and his civilization, where they imprisoned his soul in the prison of hyperdeath."
"The existence of souls with strong will, akin to the threat of both heaven and hell, imprisoned them in the prison of hyperdeath."
"Whilst the mutated Vidharma form you're facing is just the replicated puppet by the spirit of King Sakorcha. And although Sakorcha was imprisoned, his spirit had such a strong sheer will to haunt this mortal realm, which he likened to an anti-Christ."
All of us nodded in understanding at his long yet thorough explanation. But Axel then approached Adipati with his query.
"Are there any reasons why Vidharma suddenly got out of the prison of hyperdeath in that current state?"
Sergeant Adipati adjusted his eyeglasses as he elaborated again with his hand gestures.
Heaven's council typically guarded that prison with layers of divine barriers under the blessing of Heaven's council. But there was a rumor that after the war, heaven's council was in massive corruption, where the rulers were both Demons and Angels who had agreed to manipulate heaven and hell for their liking. This led to the weakening of the barrier."
He suddenly looked down after he sighed in frustration as he finished.
"Where the goods burn in hell, the evils prosper in heaven."
After all of us nodded, I then queried again with a peak of curiosity.
"Does that relate to Florent's doing?"
"Unfortunately, his puppeteering abilities weren't strong enough to puppeteer that supreme-type demon. The strength of the victim's will determines how difficult it is to manipulate them."
But as he's about to continue, the Forsaken Emperor suddenly grunted as it rose up from the ground, despite sustaining a massive wound from my fatal blow. And when all of us glanced over the rising Forsaken Emperor, the demon rotated its amputated body into my sight, giving me a death stare despite having neither a head nor eyes to see.
It shivered my timbers as I witnessed that the amputated demon specifically targeted me, as if I were something that the demon wanted to eradicate or that even heaven's council deemed my existence a threat to them.
During that, Sergeant Adipati suddenly patted my left shoulder and spoke in a casual way, despite the threat.
"Well… It seems like he's going after you and him."
Suddenly, the demon slipped from my view and sprang away from all of us, sending a massive shockwave that shook the surrounding area.
Witnessing the Forsaken Emperor finally getting away from us gave me massive relief, but a slight trepidation shook my belly, as if I were about to face that demon for the second time.
After that demon's getaway, Sergeant Adipati suddenly continued after patting my left shoulder.
"But giving that demon a fatal wound is enough to repel him back into the prison of hyperdeath, as he's currently showing leniency."
"But don't expect him to go easy on you when he wants a rematch sooner or later."
Although I nodded once to indicate my understanding, there was one question that lingered in my head, which prompted me to address it as I approached his back by patting his left shoulder.
"What do you mean by saying he's going after me and him?"
He then rotated his body to meet my gaze and pointed both of his fingers at me and the unconscious Scott as he elaborated.
"That'll be the fact that you didn't want to know."
He then approached the natives's guardian villagers and left me behind to clean up the mess after our fight against the surrounding demon. Surprised by his gesture towards the unconscious Scott, I doubted if both of us shared a threat that the corrupted Heaven's Council could perceive.
I wonder: What did we do wrong?
And what sins have we committed that they want us to rot in the prison of hyperdeath for our atonements?
My mind can't stop being schizophrenic about the will of a dying God. It seems as though God believed that creating humans was his initial and final error and even led to his downfall.
Still! I can't just sit back and ponder like a useless fool; I have to do something!
Having calmed down after the Forsaken Emperor's escape, I approached my friends who were caring for Scott, feeling remorse for my careless actions that had led them into this situation.
"Hey guys, I had to apologize for dragging you into this situation.
As Christine, Veronica, and the remaining of Authonoids' medics were still taking care of Scott's infection with a minor surgery, Christine suddenly glanced at my sight in a confused manner.
"What for?"
I then pointed at the dead Authonoid medic's corpse as I responded with trepidation.
"I mean… I know that I can't just sit back and watch one of you die like her. But at the same time, I know that you'll reprimand me when I stand up to protect all of you."
But it surprised me that all of them laughed, like it was not that big of a deal. Veronica abruptly revealed to me the box containing the deceased Authonoid's medic consciousness system, which was in pristine condition.
"No need to worry about that; she's fine."
All of us finally got a breather after the intense battle against that supreme-type demon and the surrounding stonehedglers when Vladimir, Vanessa, and Commander Katoki approached us with a proud smile on their faces. Vanessa darted into my field of vision and spoke in a tone that was both concerned and relieved.
"Tsuyuki! I'm just glad that you're alive and well."
She suddenly hugged my body tightly, as if she had never seen my face for centuries. After she got off my hug, Vladimir suddenly approached all of us and spoke in a firm tone but with a gentle smile.
"Although it might be the stupidest thing you've done, all of you survived and did well."
Veronica suddenly responded to Vladimir's words with a sardonic joke.
"Well, we're kind of growing accustomed to his foolishness before it infects us."
While everyone was laughing among themselves to escape the stressful moment, Commander Katoki suddenly approached me, patting my shoulders with a worried yet stern look.
"It was indeed a brave move for you. But if you wish to do that again, do it in the proper way and think about the surroundings first, ok?"
His reprimand was aging like milk the more I heard it. I sighed in frustration as I conceded.
"As you wish."
As we were carrying the unconscious Scott into Vladimir's Osprey with the stretcher and carefully entering the cargo, the native's guardian villagers suddenly called us as they waved their hands before our departure.
"Minerva's Authonoids! We owe you one for repelling them all!"
Commander Katoki suddenly got close to the cargo's door as he waved back at them.
"No need to worry about that! We're just doing our job in here!"
Sergeant Adipati suddenly approached the cargo's door as he notified all of us with a firm tone.
"Let us clean up the mess, and you guys get back to the HQ for a rest and take care of his wound, got it?"
"Got it, Sergeant!"
In a final gesture, we waved goodbye to each other as the Osprey's cargo door closed slowly and the engine roared to life, lifting us off the ground.
It was a massive relief that we'd broken through the maze of challenges, despite our hardships. Yet, looming ahead were unforeseen challenges that will blacken this world with their unlimited foulness, compelling me to take action.