Morrigan could barely even stand anymore. Her sword was the only thing keeping her up. She used what little magic she had left to light the way before her.

It's so dark… It's not natural. Even with my magic, it doesn't get any brighter… I can't see shit.

Sounds came from the darkness. Haunting sounds. Every now and then, Morrigan swore she could hear a little girl giggling.

What even is this place…? I've been trapped here for what, two days now? And yet I'm still no closer to getting out of here.

The succubus had already tried everything she could think of to escape. Not even teleportation worked. Some sort of seal had been cast over the area she was now trapped in.

And on top of that, I've never felt so weak… I can barely even pull off the most rudimentary spells. And it's been two days since I've had anything to eat, too…

High-pitched laughter echoed towards Morrigan. They came from all directions. In a panic, the succubus started swinging her sword around her, but the only opponent her metal met was thin air. This had already happened a few times now, and she was just about fed up with it.

"Where the hell are you, you little bitch!?" Morrigan shouted. "Come out here and face me. And stop laughing with the damn creepy laughter!"

The laughter only got louder. The blue-haired succubus wanted to do nothing more than find her family, fly home and have a few men, but that was just a dream now. Morrigan had no choice but to continue on through the darkness. Every step she took only brought her closer to her inevitable collapse. She felt so very tired.

Food… I need food…

Morrigan's sword scraped along the stone ground, screeching loudly.

Wait, what? A stone floor…? This wasn't here earlier…

Not just the floor, the rest of her environment had changed too. The walls and roof, much like the floor, were made of a dark stone brick, with a golden lining to give it that royal look. Morrigan recognised it instantly.

This is… the halls of the dungeons…? That means I'm underneath our castle… And it also means I'm close to the cells where we keep captured humans…

Perfect… Sorry everyone, but I can't help myself. There won't be any left for you…

Morrigan imagined the feast ahead of her. There could be up to a dozen men, if not more, trapped inside those cells. Each one was captured from battles on the frontline, which meant they were soldiers.

Strong and probably young… I need to get there quickly!

Morrigan began to fly down the hallways, giddy with excitement. She knew her way around the castle very well. Not once did it cross her mind to question the logic of how she got here. No, her mind was far too focused on the food that awaited her.

Left, right, left again. The cells weren't far. Laughter followed the succubus everywhere she went, but she had either managed to tune it out or she was too preoccupied to notice it. From the shadows, her kidnapper watched in delight.

There they are! Just beyond this door!

Morrigan smashed through the door, perhaps a bit too roughly.

Well, it can always be fixed later. Now then, onto the feast!

The succubus ran up to one of the cells. Her eyes had become used to the dark, so she had to shield them from the nearby torch. She picked it up and used it to shine a light on the dark cell. Empty.

Damn it. I'll just have to check the next one then.

The next one was empty too. And the next. And the next. Worse still, Morrigan couldn't smell any humans. No, she could only smell two beings. Herself and… someone else. Someone she had never met before.

Still, the succubus ignored it. She had known that someone was following her, but there was nothing she could do about it. If they had hostile intentions, they would've already killed her. She would deal with the unwelcome spectator later… but for now, she had to find a new source of food.

Every goddamn cell is empty! There has to be food somewhere around here!

Morrigan flew past the cells, bursting through the door and into the next room. No food. Another room, same story. No matter how many new rooms she went into, they were all empty. Eventually, her senses caught up to her.

Shit! All this flying is just draining me of what little energy I have left! I'm going to starve to death at this rate!

The succubus stopped flying. Again, she used her sword to keep her standing. Marching forward was all she could do. The laughter resurfaced, even louder than before. The environment around Morrigan began to change as well, slowly becoming darker and darker until she could see nothing but a void.

An illusion… that little girl was just playing tricks on me…

I'm such an idiot… If I keep making mistakes like that, I'll run out of energy and starve.

What am I even walking towards? My fate is already sealed, isn't it?

Maybe I'm already dead, and this is my punishment. To walk forever in this void with no food…

And with that goddamn laughter following me everywhere!? Fuck that! I need to get out of here, now!

But… how? I could try attacking that girl but that didn't go so well last time…

That's right… I was an idiot back then too. As soon as I woke up here, I used all my energy to try to find that girl and kill her, and I didn't even get close. I followed her laughter for hours…

Morrigan walked, no matter how gruelling it was. She would continue on—She had to. She would either find the food she needed, or she would die here. There was no middle ground.

What is that…?

Barely visible in the darkness a strand of red hair was floating atop the solid void. Morrigan knelt down to pick it up.

This looks like… Astaroth's… So she's here too.

That's good news. If I can find her, she might share some of her energy with me. She was probably smart enough to not waste it all like I did. Who knows, maybe Liltih and Minagi are with her as well! If we all share energy, especially with Mother's vast reserves of it, we should be able to survive for weeks, maybe even months!

Morrigan couldn't help but get excited again. Still, she knew she had to be careful and be sure to not waste any more energy. Even if it would take her hours to reach her sisters like this… It was better than collapsing from exhaustion.

Hmm? Is that… That scent… It's Astaroth! She's close!

Ah, damn it all, I need to catch up with her!

The succubus used her remaining energy to take flight once more. It was far less efficient than walking, but it let her catch up to Astaroth in meme moments instead of hours.

There she is! I can see her red hair!

Suddenly, Morrigan stopped. The laughter started again. She had found her sister… or at least, she found part of her.

Astaroth's body was in two pieces instead of one. She had been sliced through her middle. Morrigan collapsed onto the ground. Tears fell from her face.

"As… Astaroth! W-Who did this to you!? I'll kill them, I swear!"

"I did."

Morrigan jumped back from her sister's corpse. On the other side of the body a face emerged from the darkness. Then, the rest of her body revealed itself. It was a young girl, with half-blonde half-purple hair and similarly coloured eyes. She wore a white dress with a large, multi-coloured bow at the back of her head. Along with a monstrous tail, she had a dark wing and a holy one, similar to an angel's.

Her presence was truly terrifying. Morrigan recognised her voice. It was the same little girl who had been following her, only she wasn't so little after all. She had a wide, cruel smile.

"Y-You did this… You bitch! How could you!?"

"It was easy. To be honest, she was quite boring to watch. She thought about the situation logically and conserved her energy. She had barely any reaction to anything I showed her either… I had four of you anyway, and what's the point of owning a toy if they're no fun to play with? She didn't put up much of a fight. It took just one attack from me… I thought the monsters from your era would be stronger, but this is so disappointing…"

Morrigan didn't know what to say. She couldn't take her eyes off of her sister's corpse.

"Well, at least you and your sister are more fun… But to be honest, I've had much more fun toys in the past… You're both starting to bore me."

"My… sister… Lilith? She's alive?"

"She is, for now. She's been looking everywhere for you and your now-deceased sister. So has your mother."

Minagi… Lilith… They're both still alive.

"Anyway, unlike those two, you're nearly out of energy, aren't you?" The girl giggled. "Well, lucky for you, I've presented you with quite the meal!"

What does she…?

The realisation hit Morrigan all at once. Her meal was right in front of her…

"No, no, no! As if I would ever eat my own goddamn sister! You fucking monster!"

The girl smiled. "Hah, you're one to talk! You've done worse before, I'm sure. Don't you pride yourself on being the cruellest of your family?"

Morrigan had no words.

"Haah… You know, if you had half a brain you'd know that you should be trying to entertain me and not end up like your sister. Well, I've got other toys to play with. I'll just leave you here. Hehehe… Let's see how long you can hold out for… But be careful, wait too long and her corpse will start to rot! Better dig in now!"

The girl shrunk back into the dark. Morrigan's whole body had shut down. Her hands were trembling. Her stomach began to rumble. She found the strength to look back at her sister, this time focusing on her face. Her eyes were staring right back at her, full of fear. She did not have a nice death. Morrigan crawled over and shut Astaroth's eyes.

…I'm so sorry.

She had no choice. She had to eat. It was either that or death. Black Alice smiled as she watched the show.

Lucifina had never walked so much in her life. Thankfully, the floral-scented air and vibrant blue skies reinvigorated her, allowing her to push onwards. She was walking down one of the many human pathways which stretched all over the Sentora continent. It had been a few hours since she left the village.

Walking sucks…

The Daystar had never noticed just how beautiful nature could be. Butterflies and bees flew around her, landing on a patch of nearby flowers. They sucked out the nectar and flew off. Pollen fell off of them as they flew, landing on the soft grass below, and sometimes onto another flower. Lucifina knew that this was part of the plant's reproductive cycle, an essential part of nature.

Part of her felt entranced by the scene, while another couldn't care less. She chose to simply continue walking.

"It's cold…" Lucifina hugged herself in an effort to preserve heat. With a little bit of magic, her body temperature rose. Her villager garb wasn't great at keeping out the cold, but it was better than nothing.

The Daystar's senses alerted her to a nearby human. She was slowly walking towards her, down the same path as her, only walking the opposite way.

It didn't take long for them to meet. Lucifina only got a glimpse of the human. It was a girl, with dark hair and blue eyes, wrapped up in a few layers of clothes. She was unarmed and as weak as any other human. Lucifina knew she was no threat.

"Hello!" The human said. Lucifina had seen this before, somewhere. It was in her memories, though she couldn't recall the exact memory. She just knew. The human's called it being 'polite'.

"Hi." Lucifina stammered out. Her breath fogged up in the cold. The person walked on by. Day quickly turned to night as the angel made her way along the path. Over time, she noticed herself walking slower and slower. She was also clinging to her clothes, shivering all the while.

It's freezing! I better put more effort into my magic…

Something was odd. Even though Lucifina was just doing a rudimentary spell, it felt harder than usual. The task felt far more draining than it should've.

Have I really gotten so weak…? My power should be endless, and yet just doing an easy spell like this one is taking a lot of my energy…

Unless… Right, of course. I haven't been back to Heaven in a while now, a few days at least. My energy reserves are being spent. I still have plenty left but… It might be smarter to try and conserve as much as possible. I'm sure there's another way to gain energy, but I'll have to figure it all out later… Maybe Luka knows.

So then, I shouldn't do this spell anymore.

The Daystar stopped the spell, an action she instantly regretted. The cold pierced her instantly. Her single layer of clothing wasn't enough to protect her.

C-cold! No, I can't stop doing it!

She applied the spell once more. Still, it was only a temporary solution. She'd rather not waste a decent portion of her energy, but she didn't want to freeze to death either.

I must've spent a huge amount of energy when I fought Luka and the others… Damn it. I need to find another source of heat…

Lo and behold, far off in the distance, barely visible against the dark of night, smoke was rising.

Smoke… There must be a fire. Why didn't I think of that? I could just make a fire and rest for the night…

…I don't know how to make a fire though, not one that will last at least. I've never done it before… I guess I could just set a tree on fire and sleep near it.

No, I'd probably set the whole forest on fire. Hmm… I guess I could just go up to the source of the smoke… In all likelihood, it's from a human-made campfire… They might be willing to share its warmth.

And if not, I can always just take care of them and use it for myself.

No… I can't think like that anymore… The only species that deserve to die are monsters, not humans. Even if they don't follow the goddess, I still have to let them live. They can always be reeducated later anyway.

Lucifina walked towards the smoke. It wasn't far, but it did require her to go uphill a bit, a difficult task in such bitter cold. Right now, she wanted to do nothing more than return to full angel form and fly back to Heaven, to the warmth and safety of her home, but she knew she couldn't.

I made a promise a long time ago… I'd never go back to Ilias. Ever since that day, when she saved Black Alice… I'll never go back to her, or her realm. Even just being in my angelic form is already bad enough.

Scaling the small hill was made more difficult by the winds, but Lucifina pushed on regardless. Once she got past a dense patch of trees, she was met with a cosy-looking campfire, with a human sitting near it. It only took the Daystar a moment to recognise her.

She's the one who passed me earlier…

"Who's there?" The person asked, apparently already aware of Lucifina's presence. The angel walked out into the light.

"Oh, you again." The human let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were a monster there for a moment, or even worse, an angel."

She thinks an angel would be more dangerous than a monster? Disgraceful…

"Greetings…" Lucifina said. "I noticed the smoke from your campfire in the distance and well, I was wondering if you would let me take refuge here."

The girl smiled. "Of course, it won't cost me anything. Come, sit."

Lucifina did as instructed. She was sitting opposite to the girl, which gave her a much better look at her. She was a bit older than Lucifina thought, somewhere in her mid-thirties at least, though such a young age was nothing to the seraph.

"So, where are you heading off to?" The woman asked.

Lucifina didn't know. Somewhere far away. Away from her son, her mother, her sister. All of them. She just wanted to be alone.

"North… Further into Noah…" The Daystar said.

"Hmm… That far out? I wouldn't recommend it myself. It's pretty empty, 'cept for the abundance of monsters and animals, but there aren't too many of our kind. There are only a few villages and towns, and no major settlements. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's also supposedly a lot of fighting going on around there."

Lucifina didn't mind. The fewer people the better. And besides, she was among the strongest angels ever, no mere common monster could threaten her life, even without a weapon.

"Though, there aren't many places that are free from fighting either. Between the recent attacks on San Ilia, Gelon and Vrimor, the earthquakes that rocked the world and took down almost all of Safina, and the complete and utter destruction of Yamatai, I doubt that there is any place safe for us humans." The woman remarked. The news was nothing new. Lucifina had long known how dangerous the world was for humans, who had such weak and frail bodies.

"I sometimes wonder how your kind has managed to survive at all," Lucifina said.

"Don't you mean our?" The woman asked. "And yes, I suppose it is a mystery. I'd like to say it's thanks to our ingenuity and wit, but it's more likely that we were kept alive thanks to our many uses, to both sides of the war. Monsters want us for food and pleasure, and angels want us as worshippers and labourers. Still, even without relying on angels or monsters, there are pockets of our kind that have managed to cling on this far, at least."

The Daystar nodded. "I see. But even though you say that, here you are. Travelling around the Noah region without a care in the world."

"I see…" The Daystar said. "You say that this world is so dangerous for your—Our kind, yet here you are, travelling around the Noah region with ease."

The woman said nothing for a while. Lucifina wondered if she had said something inappropriate.

"I wouldn't call it easy… I've done some things I'm not proud of in order to survive. I used to live in Gelon, the city not far from here. It was a nice enough place before the king was murdered. Then it all came crashing down… I ran to San Ilia and pretended to be one of Ilias's followers. That was a while ago. Then, wouldn't you know it, a gang of succubi came with their ancestor and attacked us. I had to flee from there too. Now, here I am, heading to this new human outpost I've heard so much about."

Lucifina didn't know what to say. She had never run from anything before. But she was a seraph. Things were different for a mere human.

"That… must've been very hard." She said. The woman seemed tired of all the talk. She stood up and entered her self-made tent.

"Oh, right. I don't have a spare tent for you so… I guess I could help you make one if you want." She said. "I don't have enough space in here for both of us."

"That's fine," Lucifina said. "I don't feel like sleeping."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "If you insist…"

Lucifina watched as she closed the tent flaps. Her eyes returned to the fire. She shifted closer as the cold settled in. It would be a long night. In the morning, she planned to take off again and explore more of the world. Even though she had lived for millennia, there was still so much she had yet to see.

But, eventually, I know I'll have to go back to him. My son has lived without a mother for more than a decade now… I need to make up for all that lost time.

"You… will allow me to keep control over the Gold region?"

Ilias sighed. "...Yes. You may keep it."

"And what will I have to give in return?" Alipheese asked.

"Well, you'll have to allow both angels and humans to enter your territory and to protect them under law. Angels, Monsters and Humans shall have equal rights. If any of these rights are broken, it is up to you to administer the punishment." Luka explained.

Alipheese was shocked. Ilias and the boy were nowhere near as harsh as she expected. Instead, the deal was actually quite generous. She would keep control over the Hellgondo Continent and the Gold region of Sentora, along with all the nearby islands.

"In exchange, I will do the same for the monsters in my lands," Ilias said. "They may come and go as they please and… they will be under my protection…"

I can't believe I'm doing this but… I must. It's the right thing to do.

Alipheese nodded. "I assume you'll be taking control of the rest of the world, then."

"No," Luka said. "Angels may rule the south and Monsters the north, but humans need a land they can call their own as well. Humans will control both Safina and Noah, with the exception of the area around Yamatai."

"I see." Alipheese was surprised. She was sure Ilias would've taken more. "And who will lead these new nations?"

"Well… We haven't really figured that out yet, but we'll find someone fit for the task." Luka said.

The King of Sabasa would be fine with ruling Safina, I'm sure, even if he will probably spend most of his time rebuilding the area after Gnome's death… But who will rule the Noah region?

"Hmm. Very well," Alipheese said. "That all seems fine to me. Now then, onto the matter of my children…"

Ilias felt the tension in the room rise. Alipheese glared at her from across the table. Luka was sitting off to the side, right next to where Safina was on the world map that was spread out across the table. "Micaela killed my daughter, Hiruko. Lucifina slaughtered my other daughter, Kanade. And you, Hero Luka, are the one responsible for the death of Kanon."

Luka was not afraid to face facts. "I am. But you aren't the only one who lost people. Eden was drained to death by Minagi. Micaela was slain at Tamamo's hands, and I defeated both Lucifina and Ilias. I did not favour one side over the other. The only way to end this war was to weaken both of you, and there was only one way to do that."

Alipheese raised an eyebrow. "You defeated Ilias…? Then how is she your ally? Why did you not kill her?"

Ilias stepped in. "He is telling the truth. He did defeat me, twice now, actually. Once in our world, and once in this one."

"You mean…? You really aren't the Ilias I know?"

"No, she isn't. She's from my world… You do know about that stuff, right? That there are multiple worlds?"

Alipheese nodded. "Saja said something along those lines… So that's why you're so… different, Ilias. You aren't the same person… That makes far more sense."

The tension died down a little. Ilias was glad with how the negotiations were going so far, even if she had gotten less than what she wanted.

No… That's the old me talking. I'll still be ruling over Heaven, the Ilias Continent and Natalia. That's more than enough. More than I deserve.

"Saja, Alipheese the Second and Tamamo and any other prisoners of war we have in our custody will be freed as soon as you agree to the terms," Luka said. "Of course, that means any human or angel prisoners you have must also be released. Oh, and one more thing. There is a person called 'Black Alice' that we need to take care of. We'd like your help."

"Hmm… Black Alice… If you're asking for my help, she must be quite strong..." Alipheese said. "Give me a moment to think before I make my decision."

Luka nodded. The Goddess of Monsters pondered her situation.

Three—No, four of my daughters are either dead or missing now… But, I should be glad that I still have two of them. Ilias only has one left… We both lost two-thirds of our children… I suppose that is as close to fair as we could've gotten in this war. We'll both rule roughly the same amount of land if you don't count Heaven…

Overall, it is not a bad deal. And this… "new" Ilias is somebody I can tolerate. To end the greatest war this world, no, this universe has ever known, all I have to do is say yes…

Part of me is still saying I should push my luck… If I tried to, I'm sure I could claim the northern parts of the Noah region. We have a lot of monster villages up there… But no. Not today. I might be able to negotiate for it at another time.

Then… I'll agree. Even though this deal is more favourable to Ilias… It's better than losing everything.

"I… agree."

Luka sighed in relief. "Alright. We still have some more stuff to work out, but we'll do that later. For now, we should take a break."

Ilias agreed. She left the castle with the hero, stepping outside into the comfortably warm Hellgondo air. The atmosphere up there was far warmer than down south, which was a welcome change during winter.

"Ah, you're back. So, how did it go?" Tamamo asked. She was in her smaller form once more, just a little bit shorter than Luka. "I assume she agreed to the terms, right?"

"She did, to those presented to her thus far, at least," Ilias said. "I still think we gave her a bit too much but… Whatever, I suppose we'll see how it unfolds later."

Tamamo smiled at the news. "Great. And Ilias, just trust me for once, would you? I know Alipheese better than anyone. I think letting her administer this amount of land and keep this much power is the perfect compromise. It will also help with the image of how we present this peace deal to the monsters, humans and angels of the world. If Alipheese was left with barely anything, not only would she be angry, but so would all monsters. They'd see the peace deal as little more than Alipheese surrendering, rather than the mutual truce we're going to present it as."

Luka walked away from the pair as they discussed the future. He'd done enough of that for today, even though he would be forced to do some more later. For now, though, he'd rather talk to his friend.

"Rinoa," Luka called out, walking next to the girl. The Doppel smiled upon seeing him.

"Hey, Luka. How are you holding up?"

Luka hid the truth. "Fine." He muttered. "How about you? It must be tough, leading so many people like that."

Rinoa shrugged. "It's not easy, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Thankfully, our casualty rates weren't too high. I was able to defend a good amount of our people, and, believe it or not, the angels helped out as well. They used their magic to save the rest of them from the battle in the sky."

"Really? That's… a good sign." A tiny smile reached Luka's lips. "They might just be coming around after all."

"Yeah… maybe." Rinoa looked off into the distance. The sun was just about to set. It was barely visible behind the tall mountains which surrounded Hellgondo.

"Finally… The war is over." She sighed. "Aren't you relieved, Luka?"

The hero said nothing for a while. He was staring at Angel Halo intently.

"...It's not over yet. There's still one more thing we need to do."

Notes

One of my darkest chapters, but I hope those of you who have read this far will stick with me.