When Amy served the gods in Xenia, she saw how each deity commanded their mortal followers and the worship they demanded. Among the faithful, a select few were bestowed distinctive commendation and even received a part of divinity as rewards for their devotion. Iblis was a rare example of having full divinity stored to her as Thanatos' especial favourite.

Amy had met Iblis several times before. Back then, Iblis was a temple maiden for whom Thanatos crafted many singular weapons of fearsome power for her. She was firm and pragmatic, but protective of the faithful.

Now her eyes were white and her skin an unhealthy blue colour. She raised her hand in a simple, unhurried gesture but a large suit of armour that Sieghart thought a part of the upholstery crackled to life, descending and shielding its mistress away from the Chasers.

It was a monstrous thing, this conscious armour that Iblis summoned. The husk was lined with spikes and horns, adorned with golden frames and black pearls. Wicked claws glistened a toxic purple shade. Two sapphires glittered at the waist. What was most horrifying was that it seemed to be attached to the girl's back.

"Oh, come on!" Sieghart growled in frustration. "I hate killing hot girls!"

"Sir Sieghart, don't kill her if you can!" Amy yelled as the armour-summon-whatever swiped for her, only getting a few pink hairs. "She is Thanatos' beloved!"

"We should try to lift her from his control—ugh!" Jin barely swerved himself to avoid a deep slash. "She is not the enemy!"

"What happens if we kill her?" Rin asked, readying her fan.

"It won't be the best idea." Jin answered. "But she's not a fighter. If we first take down the summon, it'll be easier."

Rin wasn't sure. Something about this maiden made Rin feel very sorry for her. The acolyte was unfortunate, yes, but this person being controlled was more than an acolyte. It was evident she was some sort of leader among the others, and Rin had an instinctive feeling to save this person, if she could.

"Lady Iblis, please stop!" Amy cried. "It is I, the oracle of the gods!"

"…"

Rin frowned. What gesture was she making, exactly? Iblis only used one hand to command the summon, it seemed, and boy, Rin never thought a suit of armour could present such difficulty. Every time one of them tried to approach Iblis, the armour's claws immediately cradled her in an invincible shield. The arms rotated like unhinged windmills in rapid slashes and it could teleport?!

Free us. Free us…

Asin, still reeling from the sting of his defeat, didn't care. Rin's words were nice—better than anything the idiot Amy could've said—but it was far from full balm on his festering memories. His body still ached from where Jin hit him, but that was nothing compared to his tattered pride.

Maneuvering through the jabs of the ridiculous hunk of metal, he managed to score a hit on Iblis' shoulder, causing her to stagger back.

"This room smells like ass!"

"Damn it!" Jin wiped a trickle of sweat off his forehead. It was clear that the armour-summon took no damage, only Iblis. But if she was under control, there was some sort of object that was maintaining her corruption.

At the same time he was pondering this, Rin looked up to see the curious sparkle of certain jewels: the armour's pair of blue crystals, giving an extremely faint glimmer that almost seemed like a trick of light.

She saw the faceless eyes, and swore she saw something in them responding to her, as if Iblis was confirming her supposition. It was a weak, grasping hope, but with her body tired and her mind chained by desperation, she would grasp at every straw handed to her.

The seal limits your power and ours. Free us so we finish what you cannot…

"Goddess girl, move!"

A blinding slash; she was toppled aside. She was just about to mouth off to Asin, but the smashed pottery that lay where she stood dispersed that thought.

"Why are you so slow?" Asin quipped.

"Shut up!" Rin snapped back.

"So slow." Asin scoffed. "Get up; I'm not going to save you every time."

Rin rolled her eyes in response as she darted forward. She hurled a glyph towards the armour's embedded jewel. That the glyph was almost pitch-black wouldn't bother her until later.

But the glyph didn't faze the beast. Rin watched, dumbfounded, as the armour absorbed the enchanted symbol as if it were fuel.

Horror dawned on her as she felt the schadenfreude stirring within her. This…this was the horde's tricks!

"Flash of Light!" She cried, the expected beams of purifying life issuing forth. But even the light that was supposed to be holy were defiled with streaks of the horde's madness. The last time this had happened, she was filled with vengeance and rage. What filled her now was fear and panic.

She called for her winds; they came without fail, heeding her pleas. The winds would always be with her. She used them to knock aside the armour's arm, hitting the gem on its waist with her fan.

But the armour simply stilled as a bright light began to form into a blinding laser.

Rin screamed as she scrambled out of the way. The laser whistled inches from her face. Her mind was a chaotic jumble of memories and terror. It took a second for her to recognize who was beside her.

"Stay back, you're just asking for trouble."

He said that, but he didn't look to be doing well, either. Regardless of his many reasons, he wasn't at his best. No one realized that the laser would divide into four paths until it happened.

"She's controlling the armour. Let's just kill her and be done with it—well, fuck."

Two hierophants charged towards them, hurling fistfuls of green fire.

"Sir Sieghart, you're on fire!"

He looked at his shirt burning to a crisp with a 'huh, would you look at that' expression with a shrug.

Rin ignored the chaos surrounding the increasingly cluttered chambers. It was easy to ignore it for her, because her mind was a madhouse of screams only she could hear:

Free us!

The blue gems on the armour-creature were somehow tied to Iblis, but where? Iblis' attire was elaborate, embroidered with small jewels and designs, but nothing indicated anything other than aesthetic.

Narrowly avoiding another line of lasers, Rin darted past a Hierophant and waved her fan in a slashing motion, causing a wave of wind before Iblis.

"Rin, behind you!"

"?!"

The armour teleported right behind her, unleashing a torrent or rapid swipes; belatedly, Rin summoned another gust of wind to slip away—but this time, she wasn't fast enough. Pain stung her back, making her clothes sticky.

But she saw it. She saw the wind that made Iblis buckle, the wind that raised her long hair and veil.

You face death…let us fight for you. FREE US!

"Amy!" Rin frantically yelped.

"Right!" Rin struggled to keep herself steady as she heard Amy's familiar chant, a lyrical hymn for healing. She felt her back shudder as the torn flesh mended.

"Be careful, Rin! Lady Iblis is being controlled. We must set her free!"

Yes, as if Rin didn't already know that! Stifling her impatience, she replied, "On her forehead is a blue jewel, the same colour as the armour thing."

"How do you know?" Amy tossed a look at Iblis, whose forehead was once more covered by her long bangs.

"The winds." Rin replied. "We have to get close to it."

Amy nodded; it was worth a shot. "Don't let Lady Iblis know we caught on!"

Both girls jumped opposite directions to avoid another beam.

Despite Rin's stilted combat and the distress evident on her face, she was still adequate. It was impressive, especially since the dissonance of voices egging her to break the seal, encouraging her to give in to the vengeance she sought, remained relentless in her mental confinements.

FREE US!

"Eye of the Storm!"

There is power around you, within you, before you—all ripe for your vengeance to be fulfilled! Why do you continue to resist for a dead goddess! RELEASE US!

Shut up!

Thin streams of blood trickled down her arms and legs, mixed with sweat and tears. At this rate, she didn't know if she wanted to kill Iblis or split her skull open. What made her worth saving over the smaller groups of the faithful?

Iblis remained vertical, thought the scraps of damage everyone managed to chip in through her minions was telling. Every bruise and cut that appeared on her stilted the armour-demon and the hierophants in the same place, effectively making them fighting voodoo dolls.

But it was clear that several of the Chasers were becoming steadily compromised. Jin, seeing this, felt his spirit burn as he drew forth more power to protect his friends.

"Jin!" Amy broke into a hoarse whisper; there was no way she could approach Iblis close enough or direct a precise attack that would still preserve her life. "Her forehead! Aim for her forehead, that's where she's being controlled!"

With a nod, he darted past knocking aside the armour's talons, flame sent by the Hierophants, and inadvertently, Asin before he aimed a tightly controlled blow at Iblis' temple, socking her forehead and the rest of her face with it.

Rin winced as she heard a crack and wondered if the sound was from the gem or bone.

"Did it work?" Rin shouted.

Apparently it didn't; Iblis now lay sprawled on the ground; as if sensing this, the armour doubled down on its attacks, sending barrages of spikes and claws and roaring fury.

"Screw it, just kill her!"

"No, she's already down!"

RELEASE US!

Rin clutched her head with one hand. What horrified her most was not the horde's trickery, but that a small part of her was tempted, a very small part, to simply give in. But how much of that impure thought was influenced by the horde, and how much was herself, wanting to abandon everything she had been taught?

Was it just her?

She whimpered as she felt herself launched sideways, colliding with a hard wall. It'd be so much easier to just die and not have these questions hound her further.

Release me.

Asin felt a wry sort of rage as he saw Jin aim his punch at the temple girl. Leave it to golden, precious Jin to end the fight with a single strike. He was barely surprised when things became worse.

What did surprise him was when the goddess girl's body jerked itself upright. She moved as if each limb was trying to move on its own. Fan on the floor, she staggered forwards and swung an arm like an extremely drunk man trying to hail a carriage with a sprained wrist.

That was just what surprised him. What left him speechless was a single spear, pitch-black in colour and no magic he ever expected from her, blast forth from the gesture and impale the armour-creature to the ground.

He looked at Rin. Her eyes weren't blank, which would've indicated possession. But her expression was twisted in cruel displeasure. When she looked at him, it was without recognition. She flexed her hand, the motion alone cracking her finger joints.

He told himself that it wasn't fear he felt before Rin then collapsed once more.

"That was…something." Jin remarked after the last of the Hierophants lay limp on the floor. "Could she always do that?"

"Keep an eye on both of them. Last thing we need is both of them going berserk." Sieghart ordered.

Rin was the first to stir, staring at Jin's defensive stance with confusion. "What's going on?"

"You tell us." Amy answered. "How did you do that?" She pointed at the armour—or what was left of it. The spear, being made of magic, had already dissipated, but the armour was no more than a plain hunk of metal.

"I did…? Yes, I guess I did." Rin swallowed hard. How could she explain this? "It just happened."

Right. Because that sounded believable.

"You said you had the powers of a goddess." Amy frowned. "That didn't feel like divine power."

"She's not a Xenian god." Rin attempted to explain. "She is from another land. Her powers are different. Even your Lady Gaia said so."

"She did, but your usual powers were never like that." Amy pressed. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Amy, go easy." Jin lowered his guard, seeing that Rin posed no threat. "Whatever the reason, it helped."

Amy pinched her lips. "It did. But something's off."

"I'll explain later." Rin hoped she'd never have to keep the promise she just rashly made. "It's…complicated."

"She's awake." Asin interjected.

Jin resumed a defensive stance, hand on his Vajras. Rin readied her fan. Amy approached Iblis.

"Well what do you know, hot temple girl's awake!" Sieghart's voice boomed.

Iblis glared at him, her eyes now a deep blue. As her consciousness returned, her skin turned into a healthier colour. She sat up, cradling her head in her hands.

"Please keep quiet, Highlander…" Iblis beseeched. "Ow…my head…"

"Lady Iblis, are you all right?" Amy knelt before her. "Please, we need to know what happened."

"He…" Iblis stared down, where the blue gem that once adorned her forehead was now scattered about in broken lumps. Her hands curled into fists. "He did this to me…! He promised to listen to me, yet he did this!"

Asin shrugged. "Why'd you even trust him then?"

"He compelled us. By nature, he is ambitious and charismatic, but we thought him infallible. He was so gentle and kind to me, I never thought that I would also be bastardized like this…!"

Asin found it silly that she trusted him at all, and that he thought lesser of her clearly showed in the contempt in his eyes.

Rin, seeing this, gently shoved him aside; no point in kicking her when she was already down. "Miss, don't blame yourself. You must've been under his spell for a while."

"Lord Thanatos…" Iblis' hands trembled. "I tried to stop him. I thought he'd listen to me, if nobody else."

"That worked out well." Asin muttered, earning several glares.

But Iblis didn't glare. She touched her forehead, now bare, before dusting off her clothes as she rose. "I must evacuate any remaining survivors of the faithful. I imagine that now you are here, this place will soon crumble."

"But Lady Iblis, will you be safe?"

She took a deep breath. "I shall be fine. I am a temple maiden and the guide of the faithful. I have magic enough of my own to do what must be done. It is your safety which causes concern. Do you have the deity orbs? Please, let me see."

It was a bit surprising to see go from dejected and depressed to suddenly rousing herself into action. To Rin, it was impressive. Iblis was a practical goddess.

With a very suspicious expression, Sieghart let her see before closing the bag shut.

Iblis almost smiled. "I have no desire to steal them, Highlander. But the time to use them draws near, and even you cannot use all of them yourself."

"Yes, quit hoarding them, old man." Asin chided.

To Amy, "Oracle, have the orbs chosen their beholders?"

"Not all of them, my lady." Amy replied. "We only know their powers, but not who unlocks which."

Iblis nodded. "Then take yours."

"You're gonna choose them for us, lady?" Sieghart remarked. "The gods get off on being vague."

"…were all Highlanders so…brazen?" Iblis furrowed her eyebrows.

"Ha-ha! Nope, just me."

"I see. I hope then, at least, those you slaughtered within this fortress were granted merciful deaths. Possessed or no, they worshipped their lord and god…as did I." Her face fell on the last word.

"We did our best, lady." Jin promised.

Iblis had a dark look. "I truly hope so, warrior. The gods withhold information so mortals can forge their paths unaided, but desperate times call for desperate measures…"

She held two fingers to her lips, mumbling some sort of incantation under her breath. The orbs glowed and rattled before breaking out of Sieghart's oversized sack.

"God's Delegate, your orb is first. Finish the cycle of destruction that my lord has caused."

Amy received the Orb of Cycles with reverence. "Thank you, Lady Iblis."

"Protector of Gods, your righteousness entitles you to deliver judgement. Protect our pantheon as you always have." Iblis sighed as the orb nestled into Jin's palm as it glowed a soft blue. "Ah, the Kanavan child…"

"Oh, is it my turn now?" Asin deadpanned. "Hurrah. I am so excited."

"You are entrusted the Orb of Destruction." Iblis answered with a face equally expressionless. "You shall know how to properly use its great power when you face my lord and overcome your ghosts."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Asin kept his face smooth.

"Overcoming is your choice, warrior. Destruction cannot be a start if nothing is created to match. You shall destroy what you deem pervasive. Now…"

Rin knew it. Every Xenian deity they have encountered so far saw her with a slightly different eye. Her very roots were laced with divinity—and the curse that came with it.

"Your nobility is appreciated, lady of the east. It should seem obvious which orb you must keep."

As if it were sentient, the orb came to her, shimmering brighter than before. The screams in her mind stilled, leaving a silence she was grateful, however short it would last. Forgetting that others were present, she couldn't help but blurt, "You know."

Iblis smiled a very sad, very small smile behind her veil. "It was from a time that precedes us. But yes, I know."

"Then…then you must know how." Rin hoped, almost cried again. "Not even Lady Gaia knows. Please, please help me. The—they won't stop." Iblis must know! She was the maiden to Thanatos, who was causing this turmoil!

Just like the others, she shook her head. Just like the others, she didn't know. "God-child, I would tell you in a heartbeat if I knew. But I do not. It is not an answer I withhold, but an answer within you, far beyond my reach."

Rin believed her. Her shoulders slumped.

"All I may say is the time draws near, and you are a worthy reincarnation of her to come this far. I hope your faith is rewarded when you make your choice. You have my sympathy...and my respect."

"…thank you."

"Aʟʟ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɴ! Tʜᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇs ғɪʀᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ?" Sieghart scooped the burning orb in one hand, casually tossing it up in the air. "This one's supposed to kill me, so thanks for that."

Amy rolled her eyes and Rin exhaled a quiet breath of hilarity. Sieghart had gone through worse. Rin was glad, because now Amy was glaring at him instead of staring at her, wondering that Iblis meant when she spoke to Rin.

"My lord awaits you in his throne room." Iblis gestured to a doorway that was originally covered by tapestries, which were now scraps of thread scattered around the trashed chambers. Even the door was a heap of rubble somewhere. "None are allowed there except by his or my express approval, so you will reach him unbothered. Walk the corridor, and he shall be beyond the end."

"Are you sure you'll be all right, Lady Iblis?"

"I am a temple maiden. I am safe here, for the time being. I will save those who can be saved. If…If I may, I have a single request. It is brazen of me to ask, but…"

"You need to only name it," Amy assured.

"Lord Thanatos must be stopped, without question. But when you defeat him, if by some chance he asks to be transformed back into his former self, please don't destroy him…"

"Yeah, I don't think we can promise that." Asin's look bordered on incredulity.

"It is not a promise, but a request." Iblis made to leave where the Chase once entered. "He must be stopped, but I am convinced that he drew influence from another source. If there is anything that can be redeemed within him, please, have mercy. He was a dutiful, strong god before this chaos, and…if there is hope. Only if there is hope."


AF: It's hard to give all five characters the attention they deserve. But when the story focuses on Asin and Rin, the others have to be on the back-burner; otherwise the story would be a lot more drawn out and boring to shift the limelight constantly. Still, I'll try to respond to your thoughts.

Personally, I don't like Sieghart. He's always been a mash up of caricatures but my take on his personality makes it easy to make him some sense of comedic relief.

Amy is preachy, yes, but keep in mind she's like that for a very good reason: she's the oracle, it's been her job to show off the glory of her gods. She's seen the best of the rewards of her faith, unlike the others. It makes her somewhat shallow and narrow-minded in terms of those the gods overlook, but I like to think it makes her real. Know what I mean?

Jin's just good. No words there, he's the gods' chosen, after all. I'll keep my author's notes at the end from now on, thank for calling me out on that.

NY: Having an epic battle between Jin and Asin-right in the middle of a fortress of a mad god that wants to kill all of them-essentially wasting their strength on each other than the true enemy-makes a good story, but not a sensible one. Both Jin and Asin, however diverged in path, mourn a difficult loss that neither of them truly got over. I wanted to illustrate that conflict without letting them forget that Thanatos still wants to kill them. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Asin and Rin...yeah, that's a bit of a doozy. It's hard to build a straightforward romance considering the grim setting they're in. I was trying to build a mutual rapport of doubt and loss between them from the first chapter. Grief also tends to escalate things and put affection lower on the priority list; my apologies if it seemed rushed. I tried to make Rin an exception to Asin's snarky assholery while making Asin a pitiable puzzle to Rin. A fight where lives are on the line isn't the best grounds to make love bloom naturally. But I'm still trying!

Sieghart is a lazy ass, but apparently he has good reason to hate Thanatos and we know Sieghart can fight very well if he has good reason to.

Thank you for continuing to review this, man! I appreciate it and I'm very happy at least you are still keeping tabs. Hopefully this one is a bit more to your preference.

By the way, and of you guys have discord? We can chat there too :D