I realized that I had acquired several high-level magic abilities. My magic capacity had increased drastically and seemed limitless. Nerville hugged me and bit my neck affectionately. "Hey Dora, is it okay if I borrow him for a bit?"
"Uh, actually, I don't want to," Theodora pouted. "But if my deity wants it, I guess it's okay. Just bring him back to me later."
"I will," Nerville smiled. He guided me to follow him, taking me to lie on a hill near the village. We flew there together.
"Wow, I can fly!" I exclaimed, feeling my body lighten.
"Everyone can here," Nerville replied.
The villagers below bowed as Nerville flew over them. We landed perfectly on the hilltop. Nerville showed me the beautiful view of Faore Island from up there.
"Thomas? Wake up! We're your friends!" said a familiar male voice.
Thomas? Who is that? I am Argiel. I opened my eyes and saw a horrifying scene. Sirens were fighting the soldiers.
"Argiel! Watch out!" Dora rushed in and kicked the man who had tried to wake me.
"Sister Dora? Where am I? Weren't we just in the village?" I asked Dora as I tried to stand up. My body felt exhausted. I grabbed my magic staff and stood behind Theodora. "Where is Nerville?"
"Thomas! I'm Atmaja! Kuti and Romanova are looking for you!" shouted the man in armor holding a spear.
"Who is Thomas? I'm Argiel!" I replied.
"Darling!" shouted a woman with shoulder-length black hair, wielding a bow. "You! What have you done to him!"
"Ku...ti?" Wait, whose name is that? My head started hurting again.
"You're Argiel," Sister Dora tried to kiss me, but I pushed her away. Inside me, there were two voices: one saying I was Thomas, and the other saying I was Argiel.
The man in armor charged through the sirens surrounding us and swung his spear to injure Sister Dora. Dora managed to block it and carried me away.
"Come on, Argiel," Dora said. She jumped from one rooftop to another.
"There he is, my stolen envoy," a thunderous voice echoed from a black eye in the sky. "Nerville, don't be a coward. Come out and face me. Join me to defeat the old god."
A scythe appeared and slashed Dora's head off. However, Dora's decapitated body melted. Unfortunately, we were flying, and I fell hard to the ground. The sirens swarmed me and tried to take me away.
But thousands of arrows rained down from the sky, killing them all. A woman approached and hugged me. "Thomas!"
"Kuti, give him to me for a moment. I'll cleanse him of that mad deity's influence."
"Oh, how cruel of you to call me that, Maria, when I'm your sister." Nerville appeared and attacked Kuti with magic. "Hey, you! He's mine. His name is Argiel, not Thomas anymore."
The girl named Kuti dragged me into a villager's house. "Thomas! You are Thomas! Argiel is just a creation of Deity 111!"
"Get away from me!" I slapped her and tried to stand. My whole body ached. "Sister Dora?"
The roof was pierced, and Theodora came in, fighting with Kuti. "Don't take my lover! Step aside and let us go home!"
"No!" Kuti replied.
They exchanged blows and fought with their daggers. Dora swung her dagger at Kuti's right shoulder, but Kuti dodged and kicked Dora's stomach, then tripped her and tried to stab her.
But a vine emerged and blocked her. Haziel appeared and threw Kuti back. "Argiel, you're seriously injured. Let's go home."
"Drink this," Haziel approached me and handed me a bottle with strange liquid. "This will heal your wounds. When you wake up, you'll be home again."
Kuti threw her dagger, shattering the glass bottle. A magic circle appeared on the floor. Haziel picked me up and jumped out through the broken roof.
A magic light hit Haziel's leg. Dora caught me again, "Oops. Almost got us. Haziel, your clone has been killed."
"You are Thomas. Not Argiel, wake up."
Whose voice was that? I looked at Dora's lips; she wasn't speaking at all. "Put me down, sister. I can walk on my own."
"Walking won't help. My magic capacity has reached its limit. We need to retreat and watch Nerville clash with 999," Dora replied.
An arrow shot through, hitting Dora's head. Dora's body turned into slime, encasing me in a bubble. I landed safely on the ground. Kuti ran towards me and picked me up.
"I got him! What should I do?" Kuti asked.
"Stay still for a moment, Kuti. I'm coming to you," replied 999.
A hooded figure appeared before me. He wielded a massive scythe and aimed it at me. An excruciating pain hit me. It felt like my body was being split in two.
"What's your name?" 999 asked.
"I-I'm Thomas," I replied. "Where am I? Why is my body in such bad shape?"
"Finally. Kuti, hold on tight. I will take you and help me win the battle against 111." 999 grabbed my shoulder and Kuti's shoulder.
A nine-headed dragon appeared in the Faore sky alongside a giant winged mermaid. We both were transported to the top of 999's eyeball. A hole opened, and we were sucked into it.
We watched a fierce battle unfold. The nine-headed dragon tried to coil around us, but each time it approached, all its heads were severed and grew back endlessly.
"You cannot defeat me, Nerville. Because the life you created, I will take and consume it," said 999. "I don't even need to fully transform. You're already halfway defeated."
"What's your plan, waging war on the gods? Do you want to disrupt the balance of the old world?" Nerville asked.
"I'm keeping it a secret. I need to kill and consume all the gods here to reach my next goal," 999 replied. "Can you just shut up and let me kill you?"
"Impossible, X created us to control the old world together. Do you want to meet X again?" Nerville asked. "Why do you want to meet our father?"