Aria watched as Joseph swung at her, aiming for her neck. She was barely able to react, partially because he moved with such incredible speed that it was already hard to dodge, but also because she was so taken by surprise at what just happened. It was only thanks to her [Death Defiance] Skill did her body move on instinct, leaning out of the way just in time to avoid the strike.

  She stumbled back for a moment, still staring at the [Hunter] in shock. But before she could even regain her bearings, she heard a set of footfalls rapidly approaching her from behind. Spinning around, she barely ducked in time to avoid a fist coming from a sprinting Jolynne, letting the [Innkeeper] crash into the [Hunter] instead.

  Once again, she reacted instinctively. But this time around, it wasn’t because of a Skill. She had been prepared for the attack and dodged it, even without needing to think about it. The old couple came next. They flanked the Lady of Light as she raised her head as she glanced between them.

  They didn’t charge her way, but they took a slower approach. Instead, they threw a flurry of kicks and punches, leaping in and out of range, trying to keep a good distance away from Aria.

  She stumbled around their attacks, avoiding their strikes as she tried to heal herself. But as her healing magic coursed through the wound she sustained on her back, she felt something fighting back against her healing.

  This is… a curse? Aria realized as she felt the wound reopening every time it began to close up.

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked past the old couple and stared straight at Joseph. Jolynne was proffering the [Hunter] a hand, helping him to his feet. He still held onto the black blade that had drawn her blood as he nodded back at the [Innkeeper].

  This wasn’t making any sense to Aria. Why was he doing this? Did he really think that this fake Jolynne was actually his wife? But if that was the case, how was he able to use such a powerful artifact with ease? Unless—

  The Lady of Light’s eyes flickered as the realization settled in, and she felt like an absolute fool in that moment.

  “Ah, I see now,” the Lady of Light whispered as both Jolynne and Joseph turned to face her as well, ready to strike. “This was all an elaborate trap to catch me off-guard. Every single one of you is a puppet. None of you are real people.”

  The old couple paused, feigning hurt.

  “Did you hear that, Ian?” the old woman said.

  And the old man nodded. “I did, Susan. She said we’re not real!”

  “Some [Hero] you are,” Jolynne said as she strode forward.

  “I knew we should never have trusted her to save us.” Joseph growled, raising his sword at the Lady of Light. “And now, we’re all dead because of you.”

  Aria just took on a wide stance, ignoring both their words and the stinging pain that was clinging onto her back. Their conversation sounded so real— like they truly had once been the people residing in Dalry. And perhaps they were, before they were turned into these life-like puppets.

  But she had already let them trick her once before. She wasn’t going to let them trick her again. So she was not going to hesitate anymore. She was going to believe that Jolynne, Joseph, and the old couple were never real.

  That they were all homunculi created to mimic real human conversations to sow uncertainty and doubt in Aria’s mind.

  So she just resolved herself as she took in a deep breath and held out her sword with one hand. They look like people, but they are just monsters.

  And they moved. Jolynne leapt forward first, flying into the air and crashing down with an axe kick. But all Aria did was take a single step back, evading the attack.

  The sheer force of the kick caused a shockwave to ripple across the ground and knocked over the nearby trees. The earth exploded, sending giant chunks of debris and rubble into the sky. All the while, Aria just stood steadfast as the old couple sprinted past the [Innkeeper].

  They laughed as they flanked the Lady of Light, reaching her an instant later. The old man went for a punch for the head, while the old lady moved with a sweeping kick to the legs.

  And Aria just leapt over the kick as she sliced up, decapitating the old man before his punch could land.

  “Ian!” the old lady exclaimed in horror, seeing his head go flying into the air.

  But before the head even landed on the ground, Aria descended upon the old lady, impaling her through the chest.

  “That’s two down,” Aria whispered as she drew back, watching the old lady slump over to the ground.

  Her eyes darted up to Jolynne who was still yanking her leg out of the ground. But then Joseph shot past her, thrusting out with his black blade. Aria parried the strike as he glared at her.

  “You monster! You killed them— how could you do such a thing?” he screamed as he unleashed an onslaught of strikes at her.

  But she easily blocked the attacks, before she grabbed the [Hunter] and tripped him, causing him to fall to the ground. And just as she raised her head once again, Jolynne appeared, swinging down with a heavy fist.

  “I’ve got you now—” the [Innkeeper] started.

  And Aria caught the punch with one hand as the ground beneath her feet cracked from the impact of the strike.

  “What…?” Jolynne blinked.

  Aria didn’t respond. She just swung up with her sword, slashing the other woman across the chest.

  “Jolynne!” Joseph screamed as he watched his so-called wife drop to the ground, pouring with blood. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done to my wife!”

  The [Hunter] raised his sword as a dark aura began to wisp off it, before spreading across his body. Aria furrowed her brows as he screamed like he was in immense pain, until his entire figure was covered in the darkness. Then he suddenly went silent.

  He raised his head as he held up the black sword— its form now larger than before, coated by the dark aura. Slowly, he turned to face the Lady of Light as he took a single step.

  “Die—” he started, before he exploded forward, propelled by the darkness coating him. He swung out as he screamed, slicing for Aria’s neck. “[Wrath Unbound: Severance Of Vengeance]!”

  It was a Power Skill. And by the sounds of it, a very powerful one at that. Whether Joseph was capable of it on his own, or it was bestowed upon him by the Artifact of Death… it didn’t matter. Because Aria responded with one of her own.

  “[Holy Slash].”

  She dashed forward and swung out with her own glowing blade, clashing with Joseph for a moment. The two of them landed across from each other, their positions now swapped, and their weapons both raised behind their backs.

  And then Aria slowly sheathed her blade as the aura of darkness covering Joseph dissipated. His black sword shattered into thousands of pieces, and blood sputtered out of his neck. He collapsed to the ground as well, dead in an instant.

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  Walking past him, Aria eyed the shattered black blade lying on the ground. She was supposed to take all Artifacts of Death back with her to the Church of Life. Unfortunately, she had been left with no choice but to destroy it.

  At the very least, now that it was broken, the curse that was preventing her from healing was gone. And now, the wound on her back began to close as she healed herself.

  “Now then, what should I do?” Aria wondered aloud as she raised her head, looking towards the direction of Dalry in the distance.

  It was abundantly clear at this point that all of the true residents of the village were already long-dead. However, it was not because of an Avatar of Death… although there had been one of them present here too. Instead, it was because of something else. Or rather, someone else.

  Aria could report this back to the Church of Life right now. She had a few Instant Message Scrolls with her at all times. In fact, her fingers were twitching to summon them out of her Dimensional Storage Unit. But she stopped herself. Because she knew her messages would be relayed directly to Archbishop Walden. And she wasn’t sure whether she could trust him.

  Especially if this entire incident was as she suspected and was orchestrated by Hyperius. While Aria didn’t know who he was, Walden did. Yet, for whatever reason, the archbishop kept it all a secret. Knowing this, the Lady of Light hesitated, unsure of what to do.

  But before she could make a decision, she heard a weak groan.

  Looking up, Aria watched as Jolynne picked herself up from the ground and stumbled into the entrance of the cavern. The [Innkeeper] was bleeding, walking with a limp. But she was still alive.

  Sighing, Aria drew her blade and followed after the bleeding figure into the cave.

  “You can’t escape,” the Lady of Light said matter-of-factly. “So please just tell me who created you, and I will bring him to justice for making you do this.”

  “I-I…” Jolynne wheezed, practically falling over with each step. “I can’t do that.”

  As she spoke, she made her way further into the dark cavern. Aria just trailed after her as shadows began to creep all around her, becoming impossibly dark despite the exit just being a few dozen feet away.

  “Why not? Aria asked, eyeing the shadows warily.

  “B-because if I do, he’ll kill me,” Jolynne said as she shook her head. “Please, I don’t want to die.”

  For a moment, Aria felt a pang of guilt for what she had done— perhaps these people might have been puppets. But they weren’t monsters. They must have been forced into doing this. They must not have had any other choice.

  Still, she shook her head, trying to dismiss those thoughts for now, instead focusing on what was important at the moment.

  “This man you’re talking about— who is he?” Aria asked.

  But Jolynne slowed to a halt, before hugging herself. “I-I can’t answer that question.”

  “If you help me, I’ll try to find a way to save you,” Aria said as she proffered a hand. “But please, you have to help me first. Can’t you at least tell me this man’s name? Does he go by Hyperius?”

  Jolynne didn’t respond. Instead, she continued to rock back and forth where she stood, tightly clutching herself as she whispered madly.

  “I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die…”

  “I can’t help you if you don’t help me,” Aria said as she drew closer to the [Innkeeper]. “I need to know who created you— I need to know what they want.”

  However, Jolynne was no longer responding to the Lady of Light. She just repeated herself again and again.

  “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to—”

  And Aria grabbed the other woman by the shoulder, cutting her off. “Please, answer me.”

  Jolynne glanced back at the Lady of Light with a terrified expression. She wobbled where she stood for a moment, her eyes beginning to well up. But then the look on her face suddenly changed as she smiled.

  “Just kidding. I don’t care if I die.”

  “What…?” Aria blinked.

  And a black blade impaled Jolynne through the chest. Aria immediately leapt back as she drew her longsword, preparing for any attack.

  But the weapon just continued to heft the [Innkeeper] into the air as she broke out into a maddened laugh.

  “HahahaHahAHahAhAHaHAHahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

  “What is going on?” Aria tensed as she watched Jolynne cough out a mouthful of blood.

  The [Innkeeper] could no longer laugh, but she was still smiling wildly. “I can’t believe… you fell for it… again…”

  And with that, the black blade swung to the side, tossing her body to the ground. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she lay there unmoving. This time, Jolynne was very much dead.

  But Aria paid no attention to that. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the black blade that was protruding from the darkness. It was not a blade that belonged to a sword. It was long and curved, looking like that of a scythe.

  However, what it was attached to was not a stick. Rather, it was the shoulder of a person. Or to be more precise, it was the shoulder of what looked like a person. But it was not a person. Even if its shape vaguely resembled one.

  No— its skin was gray, almost like it was made from shadows. Its arms were like the blades of scythes, and the eyes on its face were purple slits. It had no mouth, no hair, no nose. But the feature of the figure that stood out the most was the pair of black wings that poked out of its back.

  It was an…

  [Avatar Of Death - Diamond]

  “But how?” Aria whispered as she took a step back, staring at the blackened creature in shock. “I’ve never seen an Avatar of Death this powerful before…”

  The strongest she had seen thus far was an Emerald Rank Avatar of Death. Very few individuals in the world ever even reached that level of power— and even fewer go beyond that to become Diamond Ranks.

  Aria hadn’t thought that a Diamond Rank Avatar of Death was possible. But here it was, standing before her. She readied herself for a fight. She raised her longsword, preparing for an attack at any moment.

  But then another figure stepped out of the darkness. It was a second Avatar of Death. It had no wings, and its body was more misshapen, with arms like sickles instead. Aria tensed for a moment, but she calmed herself, seeing its figure which indicated that it was an inferior Rank.

  I can handle the second one with ease since it’s only Sapphire… Aria thought.

  And right at that moment, a third Avatar of Death appeared, making the Lady of Light blinked. She backed away as she stared at the three figures.

  “Wait, how many of you are… there?” Aria asked as she raised a hand, casting a light spell.

  That was when she saw them—

  [Avatar Of Death - Emerald]

  [Avatar Of Death - Sapphire]

  [Avatar Of Death - Ruby]

  [Avatar Of Death - Sapphire]

  [Avatar Of Death - Platinum]

  [Avatar Of Death - Platinum]

  [Avatar Of Death - Sapphire]

  [Avatar Of Death - Ruby]

  [Avatar Of Death - Platinum]

  [Avatar Of Death - Platinum]

  …

  Aria slowly lowered her longsword as she swept her gaze around the room. Surrounding her from all sides were dozens of Avatars of Death— more than she had ever seen before. They crawled along the ceilings, and they clung onto the walls. They all eyed her. But none of them moved. They stood still, staring at her like spiders did when you entered a dark basement late at night.

  “Just what is this place?” Aria looked around in horror, taking in the room.

  Even though she was using a light spell to illuminate her surroundings, there was a visible darkness that wafted throughout the room, coming from a strange black pool that was lying at the back of the cavern.

  There were a few black puddles interspersed across the ground. There were even a few wet black marks staining the walls as well. However, these didn’t emanate the smoke of darkness that filled the air. It was only the large pool that seemed to give off this strange aura.

  Aria backed away as the dozens of Avatars of Deaths in the room just stared at her. But before she could reach the exit, a voice resounded from behind her.

  “This place is what’s called a Birthpool of Death.”

  The Lady of Light spun around to see a stranger blocking the exit of the cavern. It was an elderly man with pale purple skin. He had a hunch, leaning on his right shoulder, and he used a wooden walking stick to help him walk.

  [??? - ???]

  Was he an Avatar of Death? No— somehow, even though her [Appraisal] told her nothing, she knew he was something else.

  He had red hair that fell from his back like a lion’s mane, and he looked at her with eyes that were like the stars in the night sky. Smiling, he came to a halt just a dozen or so feet away from her.

  “This is where Avatars of Death are created. Or should I say— this is where they are born.”

  As he spoke, an Avatar of Death emerged from the Birthpool of Death. It was shaped like an ant, barely even resembling a humanoid shape. It crawled out of the pool, splashing the black liquid all over the ground as it screeched.

  “You…” Aria glanced at this, before looking at the stranger with wide eyes. “You’re Hyperius, aren’t you?”

  He just chuckled in response. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of me. It seems that that walking mummy has finally gone senile and let it slip, huh? Or perhaps you’re less of a naive fool than I thought.”

  Shaking his head, the elderly man just spread his arms wide.

  “Indeed, some may know me as Hyperius. But to you, I am the Master of Fate.”