Chapter 32:Tranquil Fury MAX - Chris decimates Belial!
A minute of calming down later
"I've met few allies since the End Day - mostly beasts, and, well...the others. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were angels. Doesn't matter - neither cares much for our kind. But you...you're...different somehow. And the two of you, followers of Death, it's good to see humans who really care." the Hunter replied.
"You would think less of me had I come at any other time." Death replied calmly.
"Besides...we ain't humans..." Chris frowned.
"You don't look like undeads, and you still have blood and injuries, though of lesser amount and are regenerating. So..." the Hunter scratched his head, puzzled.
"You would think less of us if you're a heartless murderer." Chris shook her head, Alito joined along.
"Executioners in your world, I see...Doesn't matter. Thanks, though, for your help." the Hunter bowed slightly.
"How can it be that humans still live?" Death wondered.
"I would hardly call this living." the Hunter replied. "Yeah, my body works just fine. But everything I lived for is gone."
"So you're just like Alito and I, huh?" Chris sighed.
"Pardon?" the Hunter wondered.
"Nothing." Chris's eyes glowed yet again.
"Still...You should be dead." Death replied.
"I stay low. There are ways of avoiding the demons...they're not all-powerful, as they would have us believe." the Hunter grunted.
"You said 'us' - there are others?" Death wondered.
"Not sure. But I work alone. Some things never change, I guess, even after the Apocalypse..." the Hunter shrugged.
"What became of those humans?" Death wondered.
"I don't know. I can only hope that...their end was quick." the hunter sighed.
"That is most likely. Speaking about humans...I respect your need for secrecy, but I must know. How did you survive?" Death replied.
"I...I was a boy scout." the Hunter stuttered.
"A what?" Death wondered in amusement.
"Never mind..." the Hunter shook his head.
"Let's just say a group of boys learning how to survive in nature. You know tips to camp, tips to treat injuries out in the forest, and whatnot. It's like Brownies, except that group is for girls." Chris replied.
"Yeah...that." the Hunter scratched his head.
"I see." Death mused.
"The demon lord caught up with me a while back. We...made a deal." the Hunter replied. "I sold my soul."
Chris's eyes widened, but managed to keep her calm shortly after by taking a deep, calm breath.
"I see...and what else did you give up?" Chris wondered.
"He forced me to tell him the hiding place of the other survivors." the Hunter shook his head.
Chris clenched her right fists, walked up to the Hunter, and lifted the Hunter up by his neck. The Hunter struggled with both hands to let go.
"You...told him the place of the other survivors?" Chris's eyes glowed more intensely; the arcane tattoos glowed through her armors as she tightened her grip.
"I have...no other choice..."
"You have a bloody choice! Are you going to dishonor your kind, by ruining their very chances of survival, and possibly ruining a chance of a family reunion? HUH?! YOU TELL ME!" Chris bellowed as she threw the Hunter towards the other side of the road.
The Hunter picked himself up, coughing, and seeing Chris wielding her Lifebane and approaching the Hunter. The Icy Maiden's aura froze the Hunter's legs as her tranquil fury burst the windows of shops and buildings around her.
"You dishonorable son of a bitch...You will die!" Chris was just about to impale the Hunter when Alito's conscience rang inside her mind.
"Please, my Lady! He had no other choice unlike other genuinely heartless beings! What will happen if our parents are still alive, and they faced the same too? Our mindset will still be the same, right? Besides he too know it's his fault, just like how we know it's our fault our parents died! Please..."
Chris stopped on her track; her arms trembled slightly as she looked down as the hilt of Lifebane shone green.
The Icy Maiden stood down, the aura became calmer, and the cold rush of air became a breeze as Lifebane powered down.
"Alito is right...I would have done the same if my parents are still alive. What a difference in my thought processes after the Fuschias's death...Fuck...Guess I am being too caught up about him..." Chris shook her head.
"You still killed innocents though...and that's wrong!" Chris frowned.
"I know it's wrong! Do you think I have a choice though? If any, it's Belial!" the Hunter frowned.
"The Demon Lord, huh? Heh...well, let's kill 'em little prick." Death frowned.
"Kill Belial? You're out of your mind! Those things that attacked us earlier - they were nothing! Belial is a Demon Lord!" Chris gripped the Hunter once again by the collar. The Icy Maiden's eyes glowed calmly, yet with a surge of tranquil fury - a fury that surprised even Death.
"I have met and slain many tyrannical overlords during the two years before coming here...be it emperors, kings, queens, people who have strong dark magic, or even demons...you name it, you got it. That is how Alito and I honed our Project Programmes. Don't. Underestimate. Us." Chris frowned.
"I too, have slain many lords in our time." Death boasted.
"Whatever you say." the Hunter shrugged.
"There is no such thing as 'Whatever you say'...We WILL kill that Belial...Where is he?" Chris shot out.
The Hunter could see the resolve in Chris's eyes; she was not lying...
The Hunter managed to give them Belial's last known place, which was coincidentally at the old abandoned tunnel near the second Noss.
The Hunter stayed behind to prevent himself from detection by Belial. Chris, Alito and Death continued to lay waste to the Swarm by using their Salvation cannons.
"You are really ticked off, huh?" Death wondered.
Chris, who calmed down considerably, sighed.
"Then again...If the Fuschias were still alive, and I met the same threatening situation where someone blackmailed me...I would have done the same. After all, I love my parents and closed ones." Chris took a deep breath before continuing.
Flashback - Three Days before the Fuschia's demise
Mr and Mrs Fuschia's bed
Chris's mother and father, who were infected with the bacterium, sat on their bed. The two lovers heard a soft knock on the door.
"Mom, Dad?" Chris called out.
"Come in, my sweet..." Mrs Fuschia simpered weakly, coughing.
Chris, who was only six, opened the doors with her small, white hands as she carried with a jug of ice water.
"Mom...Dad...Please tell me you're going to be alright..." Chris hoped.
"Come, sweetie. Let's not talk about despondent things for now. Mommy knows that you're really filial taking care of us." Mrs Fuschia simpered.
"How about we watch a movie as a family? It's been some time since we have watched a movie as just a family of three." Mr Fuschia chuckled weakly.
"Sure! I love movies! What about Noires? I love Noires!" Chris hopped up and down.
Mr and Mrs Fuschia chuckled.
About an hour into the movie, Chris and her parents saw a scene in which the protagonist was blackmailed into giving out the locations of the survivors just to have his family saved.
"Chris, my sweet...Can I ask you a question?" Chris's mother asked.
"Sure mommy." Chris nodded.
"What if...that scene you have seen just now...happens to you?" Chris's mother whispered.
"Me? I don't want to lose anyone of you!" Chris, immune to the e-coli bacterium, shot out as she embraced her mom.
"Why?" Mr Fuschia asked.
"Because I love you! I don't want to lose anyone of you! Never ever!" Chris shot out, her tears brimming on her eyes.
"Silly girl...You will have to realize that you should not dishonor your kind, Chris...The innocents too, have families, right?" Chris's mother simpered.
"But I don't wanna lose you! I rather have you all, than have the rest of the world! Please mom, please don't tell me the abductions gonna happen to you...please..." Chris clenched her mother and father's hands tightly and looked at them with concerned eyes.
"One day, Chris...You will understand that the victims of blackmail and the people who were rat upon...have families to take care off. There will be other ways to get around them...trust me." Chris's mother simpered.
Flashback end
"So your thoughts on letting your family survive in the event of a blackmail...is the same as the Hunter's." Death replied.
"Yeah...My opinions about blackmails, however, changed after the Fuschia's death. I felt it would be a dishonor; going against the Fuschia's and my wish to prevent history from happening again."
Flashback - Ten Days after receiving the Project Programmes
1st July 2000
Chris was writing a stack of reports about the unveiling of the upcoming Audi Le Mans Quattro at the Frankfurt Motorshow and the Akihabara Motorshow Festival in 7th July. Alito was standing beside the Icy Maiden, as usual, with the executive matters at hand.
One of the workers at the Audi HQ, Henry March, knocked on the door softly.
"Come in..." the Icy Maiden exhaled.
The tall middle-aged man with black and white hair and middle-sized ears and black eyes opened the door gently. He was wearing a white workers' overall with an Audi logo.
Chris could see that Henry, one of Chris's senior workers in the Audi HQ, was getting nervous thanks to the Project Tundra's Emotional and Social Analyser implanted upon her cranium as part of Project Tundra.
Chris's augmented eyes calculated Henry's blush response, pupil dilation, increased heat rate, facial expression, and body language to gauge Henry's current condition level.
"Sit down; I won't bite." Chris calmly spoke.
Henry sat down as he simpered. Chris could see, however, that Henry's smile was forced.
"What would you want to see me for?" Chris wondered, giving a puzzled expression and wanting to 'play' along.
"Uh...yeah! There's someone by the name of Radley, he's...one of my friends living close to my home. I just wonder if you could come to his house later this evening. He has something to discuss about the upcoming Audi RS4 by August." Henry scratched his hair.
"Oh? He knows about the RS4? Do you mean he came to know it from you? That's great! But that's a bit surprising though..." Chris simpered.
"Huh?" Radley wondered.
"The Audi RS4 did not have a confirmed release for production. We are only ready to reveal it during the Frankfurt and Akihabara Automotive Festival. By then, only the executive board management Mr Wolfgang, Alito, and I know about the release dates. Why is it that you knew about the release month?" Chris simpered.
"Uh...I...a coincidence...yeah! Some leaked news came out this couple of weeks, isn't it?" Henry wondered.
"Mr Henry...we had made sure that there will be no, and I mean no leakage involved. I had people monitoring the situation 24/7, me included, with up-to-date tracker tech. You can't fool me, unless those 'leaks' are from rendering and speculations. Besides, you thought the release month is on August, right?" Chris simpered.
"Eh?" Henry wondered.
"Mr Henry...own up. There's something going on in you that makes you want to cook up a lie, right? The unveiling of the RS4 isn't in August. Something tells me that the Radley person is up to no good. Besides, your status and body conditions told me that you are going through a difficult time." Chris looked in concern.
"I..." Henry stammered.
"Mr Henry...You are one of senior workers in Audi, and I have paid you well to sustain your family for years to come. I appreciate your work and your punctuality but lately...you have been late several times. What is it, Henry? I can help." Chris sighed.
Henry knew that Chris still cared for her workers despite having 'The Icy Maiden' persona.
Chris spotted Henry's eyes darting back up and down and twitched his eyebrows. It did not take an idiot to know what Henry was signalling - there was an assassin.
Chris sighed. "I have already got it covered."
The Icy Maiden clicked her fingers as an air filter spit out a frozen hunter on the ground.
"My security systems can detect assassins the moment hacking or intrusion happened. It's also resistance to electrical overload. The moment the systems detected the intruder, they will be frozen on the spot." Chris continued.
"Now can you tell us, why is that Radley guy doing an epic fail?" Chris asked.
Henry shook his head as his eyes teared up, despite trying his best in calming down.
"You know the hidden heartless murderer Radley Base?" Henry asked.
"F.B.I's Most Wanted Death lists number eight?" Chris frowned.
"He kidnapped my parents, and tells me that if I did not kidnap several innocent people for him to kill and to get enough money for his escape..." Henry shook his head.
"Why? You know those people are innocent people!" Chris shot out.
"You know how much of I treasure my family, Miss Fuschia! I certainly can't...can't see my family of five go!" Henry teared up once more.
Flashback end
"Back then, that's when reality suddenly hit me about what my mother had said ten years ago. I don't want any innocent families to die under the hands of a heartless asshole again; I can help those victims. There were other ways we can approach the blackmail, by killing those murderers off." Chris frowned.
"How did you manage to kill the murderer-cum-kidnapper?" Death wondered.
"Advanced triangulation. Tracing the caller ID's and the relay signals, or to put it simply...tracing one's energy signature." Alito replied.
"It's surprising, isn't it? That one incident changed your perspective on life. I love the Fuschias, but it is only after they died...did I realized how much I really loved them - a fuck ton a lot. That is more than enough to decide in preventing history, to know that there are multiple ways around a problem." Chris sighed and smiled sadly.
Death mused about it for a moment, than nodded.
"What if I say...I will give you a chance to solo Belial?" Death asked.
Chris could feel a rush of calm and determination to prevent history rushing towards her body again. "It will be my fucking pleasure, but. Belial of this world is hard, right?"
"Heh! Not at all! A person of your level can defeat him. He's a glutton, but a glutton for punishment!" Death snickered.
"Really?" Chris wondered.
"When the Charred Councils commanded me to keep Belial in check over several occasions, I always ended up winning, handily." Death boasted.
Death gathered Chris and Alito around and whispered Belial's attack.
"I will leave the both of you to decide on the tactics, provided I finish off the second Noss later." Death chuckled.
"Anything just to lay that fucker to rest!" Chris and Alito nodded.
Inside the Old Abandoned Tunnel
Several red stone shaped like devil-like horns surrounded the Abandoned Tunnel. Smokes of red rose from the ruins and destroyed cars, ruined electric boxes, and electrical lines.
In an elevated, rocky ground laid an extremely fat demon with big upside-down wings and wore a red, devilish eye amulet. His body was pale and flabby like a fat slob of slime, with scars across his back and chest.
He had four horns and a knight helmet with two vampire incisors and sharp teethes. His wore pauldrons shaped like horned demons with incentives on his wrists. He wore a golden skull belt and plates around his waist. Purple clothes covered his waist down.
The demon was ravaging through the fleshes of a corpse, his teethes tore its sinews apart.
Death shook his head and snickered, "Belial. The legions of Hell must be in such a sorry state, to make you a Lord."
Belial turned around and shot back. "Curb your tongue, Horseman, or I will tear it out! Why have you trespass my domain along with two other followers? Are they humans as well?"
"It seems some humans have survived the Apocalypse - despite the best efforts of your kind. Besides, those two allies of mine claimed themselves to be not Humans. Make of that what you will." Death frowned.
Belial laughed. "You speak of the Hunter?"
"Hmph. He claimed that he sold you his soul." Death replied.
Belial grunted. "His soul's damnation was merely a threat to keep him in check. After all, how much harm can one human truly cause?"
Chris and Alito stepped out, clenching their fists.
"Oh, Belial...You have no idea what one human can cause...because you are a demon. We were once humans before and even if we never know the meaning of humanity before forsaking it through...unforeseen circumstances, we at least know how each human can make an impact...on us." Alito spoke in a slow, but calm manner.
"You two are nothing but pathetic flies to be squashed on!" Belial cackled.
"For a person whose name literally translates to...'worthless', I doubt it." Chris smirked.
"Lilith and Samael may coddle you, Horseman, but I have no more patience for your prattle, or your followers' ramblings!" Belial frowned.
"Did you deceive the Hunter, or did he deceive you?" Death chuckled.
"What?" Belial replied.
"You're obviously scared of the Hunter. Why else would you want to keep him in check then? Don't tell me any sort of bullshit like 'Oh, I want to keep him in check so I know where other humans are.' and blah blah blah...Even a Demon Lord as weak as you will have enough power to just rummage through the city and find people to eat! You're afraid that the Hunter has taken out your demons as of late, and decide to scare him with that cheap tactics of yours...pathetic." Chris snarled.
Belial roared as he covered himself in a dark aura and flew over towards Chris and Alito. He landed with a big, black shockwave, one that the trio easily dodged.
"Nephilim, you and your followers will die here!" Belial roared as he materialised a large, trident with three red crystals embedded upon its fork.
Death laughed and shook his head. "We both knew that isn't true...besides, I don't have time for the likes of you; you're far too weak. Chris and Alito will finish you off, because they have a score to settle with you."
"You have hurt the lives of innocent beings, blackmail the Hunter into giving up innocents' locations...Oh, I will enjoying ripping you to shreds!" Chris's eyes glowed as a rush of cold air burst through.
The Pale Horseman stood aside.
"If you so please..." Death nodded.
Alito transformed into Lifebane as Chris quickly scanned through Belial.
WARNING, WARNING, BOSS FIGHT INTIATED: BELIAL
Morphology: Belial
Type: Demon Lord
Armor: Heavy
Weapon: Belial's Trident
Element: Darkness
Description: A Demon Lord with an unimpressive reputation. Despite being the weakest of all Demon Lord, he is capable of manipulating darkness with his trident to attack with reasonable range. His attacks include erupting Tridents around Belial, shooting a powerful, but linear, projectile attack, a wide energy slash which has a arc about 20 CM long.
"You will die, you weakling!" Belial roared.
Chris's mind went back to the very day where her mother told her about having another way around if blackmail happened...
"One day, Chris...You will understand that the victims of blackmail and the people who were rat upon...have families to take care off. There will be other ways to get around them...trust me."
The Crowfather's explanation of solace rang through Chris's ears during the night before departing for Lostlight.
"When in solace; when knowing what he or she must do for a period of time, their body will reach a state of calm, a state of tranquil fury. Their potentials unleashed. That is your power, Chris. Use these to decimate your opponents."
"I want to save the innocents."
"I want to prevent history from repeating itself."
"I will find a way, and that's by killing you..."
Chris's eyes and the arcane tattoos created upon her body as a side effect of Project Tundra's creation, glowed blue intensely. Her blue hair grew darker as it danced along with the chilly wind.
A huge burst of cold air condensed the vapour in the air to white, condensed droplets and smokes. Snow and ice fragments coated upon the red, devilish crystals, and the smoke that filled the tunnel's ceiling condensed to nothingness.
"Just. You. Try..." Chris held Lifebane and instantly made a teleport towards the fat Demon Lord.
Lifebane's blade body glowed intensely with arcane runes as the Icy Maiden plunged it deep into Belial's flesh, and slashed the Demon Lord's body whole way through like silky paper.
Belial roared in pain and disbelief. He plunged his Trident into the ground, expecting to rid Chris and Lifebane.
However, Chris's Project Tundra quickly predicted the surge of darkness rising out from the ground and managed to dodge the Trident's projectiles erupting from the ground. The corrosive aura around the trident projectiles, however, managed to scorch through Chris's skin.
Corrosive damage detected - Chemical resistance filter activated within Lungs and Skin to reduce further damage.
Not that it would matter Chris anyway. Her tranquil fury surpassed all she could think of.
Belial charged up and released a big and powerful Trident projectile but Chris managed to dodge past the linear attack easily.
Chris instantly sprinted towards the lumbering Demon Lord and taking advantage of his delay between attacks thanks to his size, delivered flurries of slashes across his body.
Each blow and slashes from Chris's Lifebane sliced through Belial's flesh, freezing and shredding through each sinew, flesh and bones thanks to the wind and ice element.
Belial planted his Trident on the ground once more for a Trident Erupt attack. The Trident successfully shredded through the Icy Maiden's skin.
Chris's skin resistance managed to cut the corrosive effect, allowing the Icy Maiden to stand her ground and continually slashed Belial's body for extended periods without flinching. The extended periods, however, meant the corrosiveness lingered on her skin, offsetting the augmentation's usefulness.
Then again, Chris had fought many Lords, as Death did, over the two years. Besides, no amount of pain could exceed the pain brought by the Fuschia's demise.
Enraged at his injuries and Chris's refusal to fall, Belial roared and surrounded himself in a black, corrosive aura.
Belial is now entering temporary invincibility - hit on the eye necklace to break his invincibility.
Chris detected the eye and quickly plunged Lifebane on the eye, resisting the scorching aura burning through Chris's bones and vessels; her systems tried their very best to reduce the amount of internal damage caused by Belial's aura.
Chris's eyes glowed intensely along with her body's arcane tattoos once more, dragging the hilt of the merged Lifebane down Belial's eye necklace and leaving a wide gash. The Icy Maiden managed several back flips to evade the attack and get more distance between the Demon Lord and her.
The corrosive aura faded as Belial unleashed eight small Trident projectiles around him and commanded them to rain upon the icy Maiden.
Chris quickly scanned through the distance between each trident and deflected them with absolute ease.
"Impossible! How can you even resist my corrosive aura brought about by my Trident?!" Belial frowned.
Chris spoke nothing and sprinted towards the Demon Lord, leaving nothing to chance as the former impaled the latter through his flabby stomach and delivered a gashing uppercut. The arcane ice magic super cooled Belial's blood vessels, causing their cells to die.
Death stood from afar, his eyes widening at how Chris's tranquil fury is effectively taking Belial's onslaught of attacks well.
"To think her determination of preventing history exceeded all means...She might not claim to be human...but then again, she just needs time. God knows what she will be if she found out the meaning of humanity..."
Belial slammed his Trident in a fit of rage, summoning branching cracks of darkness and unleashing a powerful upper shockwave.
Chris quickly kicks Belial from his flabby chest, jumped to a height higher than the shockwave itself, and dodged it completely as she land down, surprising the Demon Lord.
Chris appeared behind Belial, stabbed him through his back with her merged Lifebane and threw him across with the wall with both icicle-enhanced hands, slingshot style.
Chris summoned an ice clone and unleashed Tundra Formulae: Sawing Blitz and Electron Blitz. Their calm and collected choreographed moves allowed the Lifebane to slice through Belial's flesh at tremendous speed, creating an electron shell formation that blocked whatever Belial can shoot at them.
Chris and Ice Clone delivered a powerful uppercut on Belial, moved behind the Demon Lord, and kicked the fat demon's arse.
A huge concentration of ice built up upon Chris and the Ice Clone's leg tips and let loose a powerful blast of ice, sending Belial crashing over the other side of the wall.
Chris teleported towards the fat Demon Lord, grabbed him by his wings, and threw him towards the Ice Clone. The Ice Clone unleashed several slashes within seconds and quickly unleashed a blitz kick upon Belial's eye necklace.
Chris jumped up towards the Demon Lord, used her icicle-enhanced fists to bash Belial's head in the ground time after time again, lifted the Demon Lord's body and threw him towards a group of red crystals.
The Demon Lord Belial's eyes fixed upon the Icy Maiden with disbelief.
"This is impossible...How is that your calmness can cloud my chaos?" Belial angrily threw several big Trident Projectiles.
Chris either deflected the projectiles, or braved through the corrosive attacks like a tank without speaking a word. Her processing unit rapidly calculate the amount of arcane energy needed for her next move.
Realizing that Chris would not speak, Belial flew into a rage and unleashed a large corrosive sphere around his body once more. In a desperation attack, he had his eye necklace rapidly moving around the sphere while shooting Trident-like projectiles.
The Project Tundra managed to anticipate the eye necklace's location - in Belial's middle chest - despite massive wounds inflicted upon her bodies. Chris, plunged Lifebane into Belial's eye necklace, gouged it out, and crushed it with her right hand.
As a last-ditch effort, Belial lunges in forth with his Trident, but Chris evaded it, grabbed the Trident by its hilt, unleashed an icicle blast to knock Belial off, and stabbed his heart with the Trident.
"Y...You...You can defeat me? A Demon...Lord?" Belial choked.
"I don't care if you are an emperor, king, a demon, a self-proclaimed god, or the Devil...Once you kill innocent people through any means, even blackmailing people..." Chris brought her right hand back. "You die..."
Chris's right hand impaled Belial's short, yet stubby neck and tore out the Demon Lord's spine with a violent tug. Belial's screams echoed the old abandoned tunnel, scaring no one.
Chris and Alito's arcane tattoos cooled down as their aura slowly dissipated into the thin air. The two maidens fell on one of their knees and struggled to get back up despite the corrosive damage done on their muscles and skin. Chris placed her right hand over her left as she contacted the Project Tundra's core.
"Damage Assessment..." Chris called.
"Damage Calculation at 60% - Recovery period using advanced cardio tech is in four hours."
"That's a well worth price to pay..." Chris frowned. "Now that fucker won't mess up anyone's life, nor tricked anyone into blackmail..."
Death clapped his hands as he approached the two women.
"I am certainly impressed. No, I really am. That Belial...he underestimated you." Death grunted.
"No. He overestimated a human's impact. He will never know how one person can affect another being's life, let alone thirty of them." Chris huffed and winced slightly.
"Are you okay? You seemed like you need a bit of rest." Death asked in concern.
"Then again, for someone who is the Ender of all Life...?" Chris chuckled sarcastically.
"Did your memory bank become corrupted with the corrosion damage? I did say that I have come to respect your abilities, did I?" Death crossed his arms and looked in amusement.
Chris gave a short chuckle and simpered. "Thanks, Pale Rider. We owe you one."
"Well, Belial is not in my league anyway, so he's not worth my time and place. Since you want to kill those heartless murderers though...I feel I should respect your wish. Nothing doing." Death shrugged.
"Though I must say, I'm quite surprised you're able to handle Belial with such tranquility despite Belial's corrosion aura of darkness." Death continued.
"It's just that...when I'm in a state of mind to get things right, my mind just becomes a lot clearer...and my processes either resist damage a lot more...and I can think faster." Chris replied, wondering.
"I see...your actions say it all." Death nodded.
"Is that what the 'Solace' that the Crowfather had told Chris about earlier?" Death wondered.
"You're getting there, Chris and Alito." Death nodded.
"What?" Chris wondered.
"Your love for the Fuschias that shaped up your resolve today...You have my respect all the more." the Pale Rider nodded as three placed their hands together.
"To be able to earn the oldest ancient being in all of Creation...is an honor we will take it by both hands." Chris simpered, with Alito nodding along.
"Trust me, only a few came to deserve my respect over a span of eons. You're privileged enough." Death chuckled.