"๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐." I heard Erebus' booming voice inside my head, unaware that he had just killed an entire universe without achieving his goal, which was to eliminate me. "Ugh... Did that guy seriously squash me? Thankfully, I didn't feel any pain, though." I said, imagining the pain I would have felt if I were capable of feeling it.
Then, I looked around and noticed that the place had changed drastically. It had transformed from a pure white area to a fully red one, with dark red flooring. "I suppose this is Purgatory, not Hell. I've never visited either of them, anyways. I wonder what Hell will look like..." I pondered, while holding my chin with my right hand.
Without wasting any time, I began to fly across Purgatory. However, I noticed something peculiar. "Is this the same speed I had when I tried to escape from Erebus? Even after leaving that universe, I should be much faster than this. Ugh! So if I die, I become weaker..." I said in frustration. As I continued flying, my body started to emit a reddish glow. "Huh? What's happeni-?" I tried to say something, but I was suddenly teleported to another place.
*Whoosh*
"Oomph!"
I heard an unfamiliar voice below me. As I looked down, I saw a woman whose face was facing mine. She had dark red hair, tan skin, and a small nose. Her expression seemed pained, probably because I was currently on top of her. "Hey, are you alright?" I attempted to ask, but her response was not what I expected. "Do I look fine to you?! Get off me, you pervert!" the girl angrily exclaimed.
Following her words, I promptly stood up and brushed off my shoulders from non-existent dust. The girl also got up and did the same. "Where am I, anyway? Is this Hell? I knew it! I really was going to Hell!" she vented her frustration.
'With that attitude, you might have done some bad things in your life, but fortunately this is not Hell.' I thought to myself about her. However, she actually began observing her surroundings more attentively, and realize something that I did not.
"W-where are my clothes?! H-hey you! Yeah, you with the brown hair! Where are my clothes?! Did you take them?! Give them back to me, or else!!!" she demanded while attempting to cover her body. Not that I had any interest in a creation's body. But then, I too realized that all my clothes were also gone. It was likely because they weren't part of my soul. However...
'Oh Lord... Why did I get separated from Inami?!' I exclaimed internally. Since I also realized that I'm in an unknown area, I decided to not deal with her anymore and start to proceed anywhere I can go to.
But before I could make any moves, something nearly landed on me. Although it posed no problem to me, as my reflexes were fast enough, I successfully sidestepped the falling objectโor rather, the falling person.
"Arrghhk!"
It seems that it was a man who had fallen. A pained grunt escaped the man. There was a big difference between him and the woman. The man had black hair, slightly pale skin, grey sclera, and bright red eyes. He also sported two small black horns emerging from his hair. Oh... He also have slightly pointy ears.
"I-Impossible... I, the Demon Lord Evark, got defeated by that mere human?!" The individual, who is revealed to be a Demon Lord, yelled in anger. "Where is this place... And where are my clothes? I need to go back to the Castle!"
Evark began scanning his surroundings, but after a few seconds, he noticed my presence. "You there!" he exclaimed. 'Some kind of Demon Lord you are... taking a few seconds to notice me, who is merely three meters away from you.' "Yo! How can I help?" I tried to say things with a friendlier tone than with the girl, but it only seemed to anger the Demon Lord more.
"You... how dare you mock me! You will regret ever thinking I am weak!" Evark bellowed, as if he had read my mind. After his threats, he launched an attack at me. I must admit, he was quite fast for a Demon Lord. Yet, I made no attempt to block or dodge his attacks. There was no need to. While I might not have been well-versed in all the rules, during my early existence, I had familiarized myself with various realms and their basic rules.
In Purgatory, there was a rule stating that creations were unable to kill one another. The only way for them to be erased was for the denizens of Purgatory to consume their souls. And since I was a Fallen God, making me a creation as well, I was bound by this rule. Therefore, when Evark attempted to strike me, an invisible barrier materialized, halting his assault.
"What?! You blocked me?! First that human hero, and now you?! Erggghh! JUST DIE!" Despite his attacks proving futile, Evark continued to punch the invisible barrier. Unbeknownst to him, more people began to be teleported to the location, observing us with curiosity and each other with embarrassment, as they too had been stripped of their clothes.
'These people... The more I observe them, the more I sense that they are equally or even more powerful than this Evark guy,' I contemplated in my mind. After a few moments, the number of individuals reached the thousands. Evark, who refused to give up, still brimmed with energy. "Arrgghh!!! Enough! I will kill you with my strongest attack!" Evark exclaimed, cupping his hands together as red energy enveloped his palms. "Take this! {Corrupted Bla-"
*Clap*
Suddenly, Evark's attack dissipated into thin air. "W-what... N-no... H-how did..." Evark stammered, bewildered. He had been so preoccupied with his failed attempt to attack me that he failed to notice someone who had neutralized his assault. The individual in question stood outside the place that confined us.
He bore a more reddish complexion if he was in the Demon race, featuring a third eye on his forehead and two large horns near his third eye. He also possessed a rather imposing appearance. I surveyed the area to comprehend our confinement and realized we were trapped within an arena. When I glanced back at the person who had nullified Evark's attack I just remembered who he is.
'Hang on... I recognize him... That's Hadon, the God of Judgment! So he truly is in charge of Purgatory,' I exclaimed silently, taken aback. Hadon, who perhaps deemed it the appropriate moment to reveal himself, raised his hands and clapped them loudly.
*CLAP*
Everyone heard it, including Evark who was still shocked. They look to Hadon's direction, and Hadon began to talk. "๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐. ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐! ๐๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐. ๐, ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐!" Hadon exclaimed with yet a booming voice, much like Erebus.
"Kukuku."
Suddenly, an evil laughter echoed through the area, capturing my attention. I scanned my surroundings to locate the source of the laugh, eventually focusing on a person who had a wide grin on his face. He bore a striking resemblance to Evark, with the abcense of his horns.
"It seems I have returned to this pathetic place even after having my soul disintegrated by that elf. You are a Greater Demon, right? I would like you to release me out of this pathetic arena at once. This places is too crowded. Not only that, I am stripped of my privacy.
If you dare to not follow my request, just so you know. I used to be an executive under the ruler of this realm until I was summoned. A mere Greater Demon like you, should be honored serving me. For your power can't even match to that of a hot-headed weakling like that thing." The demon declared, pointing his finger at Evark and start to emit his aura.
"K-krrrggghhh... How dare you! Do you want to fight?! I'll show you the mistake of underestimating me!" Evark exclaimed, preparing to unleash the same technique he had attempted on me. "{Corrupted Blaze}!" This time, Hadon did not interrupt Evark's assault on the demon, and the demon himself made no effort to dodge the attack, evidently confident in his own powers.
As the blaze engulfed the demon and those behind him, Evark began to taunt, "Hah! What are you going to say now?! You are the weakling here. Don't act tough!" He wore a grin on his face. However, his grin quickly transformed into a look of shock when he realized the demon and the others behind him actually emerged unscathed after enduring Evark's so-called strongest move.
"Kukuku. See? This is the difference between us. A weakling like you is unable to even touch me. I actually overestimated you. You're even weaker than I thought," the demon proudly remarked, unaware of the rules specific to this Purgatory. "Y-You!" Evark is starting to become more enraged.
Hadon, who had been silently observing the exchange, let out a sigh. "*๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ต* ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐บ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐ต," Hadon expressed, clearly bored with the interaction. The demon, or Amon, looked at Hadon with a satisfied smile. "Ahh, finally, you recognize who I am. Now would you kindly release me? Right now I really need to speak with that old geezer." Amon requested with a smile, while emitting his aura and killing intent, but it had no effect on Hadon.
"๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐น๐, ๐ต๐๐ต?"Hadon said irritably, and in an instant, he vanished from Amon's sight. "Hmm? Ack!" Amon, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, found his neck gripped tightly by Hadon's hand as the latter towered over him. "๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป'๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป. ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐น๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐น๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด?!" Hadon exclaim with his booming voice, clearly enraged.
"A-A-Arcck-Arrghhh!" Amon's calm face transformed into one of panic and fear. He could feel Hadon's grip on his neck tightening, causing his expression to resemble that of an impending explosion. Onlookers in the area displayed a variety of expressions. Some regarded Hadon with fear, others with respect, some with delight, and a few were even drooling over him.
As Hadon grew increasingly frustrated, he declared, "๐ฌ๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐๐..." With those words, he unleashed a torrent of black flames from the hand that gripped Amon's neck. "๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ."
As the fire engulfed Amon, he let out screams as his ethereal soul started to disintegrate. "A-AAAARRRGGHHH!!! NO!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!" he continued to scream in disbelief. The one he had underestimated the most turned out to be the very cause of his demise. Evark and the others watched in shock, their faces frozen in astonishment.
Amon's soul gradually became transparent, a sign that it was being banished into the abyss where destroyed souls are discarded like trash. Though, I must admit, Hadon's recklessness has reached new heights. He never submits to his anger. I know because I knew him well. Just because our encounters can be counted by hand, does not mean we didn't know each other well.
With Amon's soul completely vanquished, Hadon surveyed the surroundings and shouted, "๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐?!" There was no response to his question, including from me. Although I have no issue about defeating him in my time as a God, I am currently weaker than 0.01% of my God power ever since emerging from that universe as a Fallen God.
Since no one responded to his question, Hadon was no longer in his enraged state.
"๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ป, ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป!!!" Hadon exclaimed with a very loud booming voice, as if thunder resonated in his vocal cords. Surprisingly, I wasn't interrupted by his outburst. At that moment, I became aware of something even more disturbing than Hadon's actions. Erebus had committed a far worse act than him by exterminating innocents (About my cause) of an entire universe.
"๐ข๐ฌ!"
"Heh?" I turned towards the source of the louder voice, confused. It was Hadon, facing me directly. "
"๐ฆ๐ผ, ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐บ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐. ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ธ๐ถ๐ฑ. ๐ก๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐, ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐-๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐.
๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ป'๐ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น. ๐๐บ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. ๐๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐๐'๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ ๐๐๐๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ'๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป." Hadon said, actually tried to encouraged someone to complete his Trials.
I tried not to harbor negative thoughts about him. As he turned to leave, I made sure to speak from a voice deeper than my conscious mind. My subconsciousness. 'Damn. It seems like he, too, believes that my Shinida self is not truly me. I'm worried about what Alvis will think of my and Inami's actions...' my subconscious self mused.
'No time to worry about that now. I need to complete these Trials, maybe get reincarnated, and continue the search for Lord Genesis,' I resolved. And so, my first and last experience with the Trials of Purgatory began.
"..."
"He called me a kid... It makes me irritated now."