The veil of flames that covered Encender's vision slowly tore apart with a cracking sound, revealing the sight of her brother looking at her with a hand stuck in his left chest.
He wore a gentle smile unlike before, which showed how happy he was at that moment. Parallel streams of blood trickled from both ends of his curled-up lips.
His golden eyes closed as he slowly drifted to the next life, but he managed to muster the will to mouth something to his favorite sister.
"As you can see, I broke my promise once again... I won't be able to watch you claim the Ultimate Throne. I want you to know that this is the start of your life... each step you take from now on means a lot, but I will always love you no matter which path you choose. Whether you become a goddess or a Devilette."
Plop...
Russ removed his hand from Max's chest, causing him to fall to the ground, and looked at the girl covered in tears with an indifferent expression.
In his mind, he was smiling—not because he enjoyed watching the girl suffer, but because in his blind vision, he could see Encender's soul.
Black spots appeared, but the purity she had kept her soul as white as a sheet of paper. It was a one-in-a-million thing, and Russ knew that Max had died for a good reason.
That being said, it didn't mean Encender wasn't furious with Russ. The man in the black uniform had killed her favorite brother. She would be a monster if she didn't do anything to avenge her brother.
Pulling out her sword, she charged at the Deputy General of the ground forces, but she didn't possess what every killer always has.
Killing Intent...
She might have thought of killing the blind man, but her eyes were as pure as they could be.
Even if she had killing intent, Encender wasn't strong enough to even slightly challenge Russ at that time, even now.
If Russ were here at the moment, he would have smiled.
Encender's teammate lay dead on the floor with a half-cut head. The top part of Meron's head had wide-open eyes that seemed to carry a lot of wishes and regret. Her remaining body had a mouth wide open, yearning for a first kiss and longing to say so much.
Encender's barrage of tears, which seemed to have no end, came to a sudden stop. She knew this wasn't the time to be sobbing. She would die if she let her guard down; worse still, all the members of her team might die.
Reality is cruel. Always brace yourself when it slaps you in the face.
Picking up her twin katanas, she glanced in the direction where Raiden stood, his face stunned as he seemed unable to comprehend how she could go through such a tragic moment so quickly.
Well, that didn't stun him more than seeing Rajah come back to life in front of his eyes. Now he understood the source of Meron's immortality, but he couldn't comprehend why she temporarily borrowed that ability.
Nevertheless, all that didn't matter. Rajah wasn't strong enough to scare him even a bit, and now he would just focus on the youngest Tohil; she wasn't at a level capable of damaging him yet.
Raiden's palm crackled with yellow lightning, and he shot a fast crescent blade at the golden-eyed girl. Encender's instincts screamed, and she knew her swing speed would be a second slower, so she ducked her body down.
Whoosh–!
The crescent lightning blade passed an inch away from the back of Encender's head, cutting some of her locks in the process. She didn't have time to stand up, as she felt other lightning blades rushing at her.
Boom–! Boom–! Boom–!
The attacks crashed to the ground as Encender saw no choice but to roll on the ground to evade.
The assault continued for a few good minutes until Rajah decided to take the hit for her. He was chopped into three equal pieces.
Using Rajah as a shield, Encender kicked the middle part of his body, which had no limbs, to distract the Warden. Raiden threw another lightning blade at Rajah's limbless body.
The fallen prince was torn apart again, but Encender sidestepped and immediately swung her sword in Raiden's direction.
Whoosh–!
She was two to three feet away from him, but the force of her attack was enough to split Raiden's neck, sending his head flying into the sky like a basketball.
"What the hell is this?!" The Warden exclaimed in shock, unable to believe his current situation.
...
"There is a celestial realm inhabited by angels who gather in harmonious song. This is a space devoid of individuals who have committed acts of homicide."
Looking at the synopsis of one of the books on the shelves on the stairway to the third floor, I couldn't help but feel amused by the book, 'One Two One Two.'
The cover was a shining light green color, and it felt soft, as if made from rubber. On the front was an ocean with a light-skinned man who appeared to be half black and half white; his dreadlocks covered part of his bare body. His eyes were closed, with the words, "I love you for a reason" coming out from him.
"I never took you for a romance book lover."
I swayed my head to the side to meet Layla's silver eyes staring at me with an unfazed expression. Her body shivered lightly as she gazed at my face, which showed no emotion.
I raised my hand, and her eyes closed in fright. In the end, all I could do was tap her shoulder, releasing a small chuckle from my mouth.
"If you are worried about Encender and the others, you can go check on them. I will clear a path on the upper floors."
Layla nodded, and without wasting a second, she started going down the stairs. I turned around and faced the brightly lit floor above.
"Be prepared to see Meron no longer in the realm of the living."
Layla stopped for a second to absorb my words, but she shrugged them off, taking my words for sarcasm, before continuing on her way.
Layla muttered, "Tsk, racist."
I smiled and looked ahead. "I dearly hope you're not going to be next."