Ignoring the continuing twirling of infernos and blizzards around him, Zero nonchalantly brought his hand to his mask and removed it. The moment it lodged off their face, the mask turned illusory before fading completely. Underneath their mask was their long platinum eyelashes and handsome face.
Their eyes continued to change color, forming a gradient more mesmerizing than the cosmos. It was a combination of feminine and masculine traits.
Zero glanced away from the ivory forest and at a few rapidly approaching figures. His lips curled up, forming a divine smile that would make anyone want to fall to their knees and pray.
Then he vanished.
Not even a second after his figure disappeared, a black glove with lines on the back that resembled a circuit board slammed down where Zero's head was.
The barrel of a revolver pushed against the air where Zero's chest had been and solidified nails covered in serene darkness pierced the air where their neck was. Not far from the three figures, another dozen appeared with a prepared attack against Zero. They couldn't help but sigh in relief when they realized the corrupt god was gone.
Suddenly some among them screamed in pain as others grit their teeth and endured it.
Cracks formed on the hand of the circuit-gloved man, he couldn't help but hold his pained hand by the wrist and hold it above his black hair tightly. The cracks spread along the glove underneath his clothes forming fractures in his skin.
Next to him, a woman with a crown of floating black spikes held her head with shaking eyes. Her mind was filled with madness and her black nails deteriorated before crumbling. Her skin cracked and blood seeped out staining her black and purple gothic dress.
The last of the three who had gotten the closest, the man holding the revolver's facial muscles began to contort. His left eye bulged and squirmed before exploding. Blood splattered everywhere seemingly coming alive taking the shape of tiny maggots.
The man in the adventurer clothes put his revolver in his holster, noticing the maggots with his remaining eye he coldly stepped on them crushing them. He tsked before turning around to make sure no one had gone mad.
The remaining group seemed to calm down noticing the adventurer. The ground was drenched in their blood as some had cut off their arm which had shown signs of corruption.
The arm squirmed and wriggled as it rapidly mutated seeming to gain a life of its own. Two sets of mouths with razor-sharp teeth formed on it along with three eyes.
Before anyone could react a shadow flashed by them and the girl in the gothic dress appeared beside it with a gleeful expression. She watched it with a creepy smile and saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth.
The arm that had seemed to come alive trembled and tried to run on the fingers it possessed. The woman picked it up and observed every aspect of it in delight.
By now her companions around her had retreated a few steps back and the man who the arm belonged to sat down crouched as he trembled in fear. Ignoring her the adventurer cursed before speaking.
"Sh*t! We were too late. If only we were faster!" This caused the others to shiver as they remembered what simply glancing at the god had done to all of them.
The adventurer still wants to fight "Him"!? They could only assume he had long gone insane fighting off the madness hidden within the world.
Not letting the adventurer continue his rant the black-haired man interjected. "What can we do? Everyone here traveled across the world the moment we detected the rift." He cleared his throat as he softly rubbed the cracks on his glove.
"We arrived within a minute and look what kind of disaster "He" caused." He spread his arms pointing to the unnatural weather phenomena around them. As he finished talking he still mumbled under his breath. "We were on high alert too because of the blue sun."
Despite the low volume, his words were heard by everyone as they unconsciously moved their gaze to the sun that was hiding behind the horizon. Did he disappear because the effect of the blue sun had expired?
The thought echoed in all of their minds. Distracted by the conversation they didn't notice the gothic lady dropping the mutated arm in a mouth that formed on her stomach. "Hmm~ Yummy!" She said satisfied as she squished her cheeks.
The circuit-gloved man watched her with an expression that said. You really ate that? in terror.
He massaged his face with his other hand trying to forget the scene. Noticing he was the only one who had paid attention to the gothic girl, Saint Serena Doosk he let out a tired sigh and clapped his hands together.
Everyone including Serena and the adventurer turned to look at Cain who smiled wryly in response.
"Since everyone is here anyway, Serena what do you suspect is the stance of the Black Lion and The Fox of Gold with the recent anomaly?" Finishing Cain straightened his two-piece suit and turned his gaze to look at Saint Serena, the Bloodied Vulture.
She tilted her head and brought her hand up to her chin taking a thinking pose. "Hmm I don't understand Little Lion enough, he's recently grown up a bunch. That fox though... I'd say he's happy because he has more things to play with now. I also suspect it'll bring a wave of change."
Serena shrugged her shoulders revealing she didn't care. Cain nodded solemnly sweeping his gaze to the adventurer. He noticed Cain's gaze and clicked his tongue. "I'm not obligated to reveal such things to the Echos Church or any other official organization. The only reason we're not fighting each other now is because of the temporary alliance against the blue sun."
He pressed his hand on his hunter hat and scoffed. "I would have killed you long ago otherwise."
The rest among them nodded slightly, agreeing with the adventurer. Cain looked at them with his gaze and rolled his eyes in an exasperated manner. He raised his cracked hand in tired surrender and turned away from the group.
He stopped for a moment beginning to channel a teal energy that resembled wind through the circuits of his glove. "Remember Alexander, the times are changing. We expected a divine to invade but no one expected "Him"." Recalling the masked god, the skin on Cain's face tore into a crevice.
Rapidly, he turned transparent as he covered the crack with his other hand. Alexander grimaced as he watched him leave. He spit on the ground and pushed down on his hat, covering the animosity in his eyes.
His saliva sizzled, leaving a slight hole in the ground behind him as he left. Serena smiled innocently and submerged herself into her shadow as if being swallowed, fading away. Soon, the other seven left one after the other until no one remained.
...
In the distant ivory forest. In the lake that was once filled with blood and in front of a sphere of mangled corpses. A figure suddenly appeared as if he had always been there, a faceless mask covering his curled-up lips.