"W-wait! I hear something!"

Aneirin quickly dragged Zodiak behind a thick bush and looked at the origin of the noise. Zodiak grumbled but remained hidden, also shifting his attention to a silhouette climbing the hill. To their surprise, it was the man who summoned them here, Claud Venice. He looked haggard with a pale face and a messy long hair.

He walked to the top of the hill, looked at the sky for a while before he started digging a hole which seemed to be a tomb. It did take his weak physique to finish the hole in which he threw a few sunflowers before filling it up again.

Claud then took out a bottle of alcohol and chugged it down before writing on a small piece of paper. The two silently watched him as he got drunk and quietly wept, uncaring about anything around him.

The next day, at dawn, the scientist took out a dagger and actually took his own life. Zodiak was about to step up and stop him only for Aneirin to forcefully hold him while indicating for him to remain silent.

The troubadour pointed at a certain direction, in which there appeared two shadows which became clearer the closer they got to the hill. They descended from the sky and landed right next to the dying Claud.

One was a young boy and the other was a thin old man with a wrinkled face and bony fingers.

"To properly become death, you should reap that which should not have existed."

The elder talked to the confused boy, explaining to him the process. Zodiak and Aneirin listened but it didn't seem like the newcomers sensed their presence.

"That's Death! That old man!"

Aneirin whispered to Zodiak before focusing back on what's happening near the almost-dead Claud. The old man, also known as Death, took out a long black scythe and was about to swing it at Claud, who finally passed away only for a lightning-fast figure to shatter the space and dive at the elderly.

Like a meteor, the assailant struck Death and flung him a couple of meters away. Though he was attacked, the old man didn't seem to mind as he slowly got up and faced the attacker.

"You cannot kill Death. Stop it."

There was a youngster facing him, a young man who wore a jet black armor and wielded a thick two-handed sword that had the same color as his inky black hair. Leiu seemed to be enraged as he leapt at Death, his sword, Anduril, penetrating the latter's chest and coming from his back. He bashed the old man's body on the ground continuously while releasing countless black needles which hit the old man, causing his body to become riddled with holes, no longer resembling a human.

Even in such state, Death didn't seem to be fazed as he calmly spoke:

"I told you to stop it, bo-"

Before he could finish, Leiu released a loud shout and poured all of his power in his long sword which emitted a primordial darkness that enveloped the two of them. Seconds after that, you could hear the panicked cries of the old man, death.

"Are you trying to break the balance? Fo-"

Yet again, he was interrupted as the sky above the hill split in two and an illusory black dragon descended, heading straight at Death, which materialized a distance away from the darkness surrounding Leiu.

Sadly, Death wasn't able to resist the dragon and was engulfed whole, however, before he perished, he threw his Scythe at the young boy accompanying him. As if he understood what his teacher wanted him to do, the boy swung down the scythe at the dead Claud, causing its tip to hit his chest and extracting a shiny blob of golden light.

"Fuck! What's happening?"

Everything seemed to happen too fast for the dumbstruck Aneirin. As for Zodiak, he was equally surprised when he caught sight of the Nameless Knight. His eyes were glued onto that armored young man who seemingly took care of death so effortlessly. That domineering power and the dangerous weapon he's wielding were what will end Zodiak's life and he was well aware of it.

Although Claud told him when and how he'll die, Zodiak still didn't dare to show himself and confront the Nameless Knight because, for the first time in his life, he felt fear. If he were to show himself right now, he'll definitely be killed, at least that's what he was currently thinking.

Leiu didn't seem to mind the boy's actions and only focused on the old man, who no longer was able to recover.

"What are you?!"-Death

The knight didn't reply, he held the old man by his head and dragged him next to the tree then, viciously and continuously bashed his head into the tree trunk. It was a gory and brutal sight which only stopped when the head disappeared and there was only a mass of brain matter and blood in its place. In fact, Leiu was only satisfied after pulverizing the head then using his sword to cut the body into countless, minuscule pieces.

When he was done, he flew into the sky and vanished. As for the young boy who accompanied death, he fled the moment he reaped Claud's soul, afraid that Leiu will attack him.

********

"Where am I? Who are you?"

Angelica looked around but saw nothing but an endless white space. She remained cautious and walked for a while before she met a familiar person. It was none other than Arthur. Of course, it was absurd for Arthur to be actually here which is why she thought of this man as an illusion to trick her.

She knew this must be one of the vivid dreams she's having as remembers still being in that world dominated by the shadow beasts. She still hasn't arrived at the last temple and currently, she must be asleep.

"Angel… it's very good to see you again."

The man spoke with a gentle tone, his lips arching upwards and his expression affectionate.

"For now, I will not introduce myself but I believe you'll know my name soon enough."

He waved his hand, materializing a table and two chairs then nonchalantly sat on one of them, his eyes never leaving the confused Angelica.

"Where are we?"

"We're inside something called the ARK: Artificial Reincarnating Kapsul. It's a device I built to meet you again."

Hearing this, Angelica frowned and said: "Meet me again? I don't know you."

"Oh but you do, and very much, at that. Anyways, I only exist in the ARK and cannot appear in reality and my primary goal for creating this is to warn Arthur, your sister's husband."

"Warn? Warn him of what? And how can I trust you?"

Claud shrugged his shoulders and explained: "Unlike him, your body cannot handle the ARK properly, it needs time to stabilize which is why I can't stay here for long. You have to hurry and tell Arthur that he's looking at the wrong enemy, tell him not to hesitate!"

Angelica, still not convinced, snorted and retorted: "And why don't you tell him this yourself?"

"I could not for it was not time yet. Only with his full memories will he understand the meaning of my words."

After saying that, Claud vanished, leaving a skeptical Angelica alone inside the ARK.