Chapter 4

Yuji POV

Looking at the list of the available upgrades I noticed several different options

Spear Blade of the fate weaver=150 000 Divine energy

Blade of the ruined king= 30 000 Divine Energy

Glaive of the forsaken Hero= 25 000 Divine energy

Holy sword of Orcus= 500 Divine energy

+200 stats to all stats (except luck)= 2000 Divine energy

Physical enhancement= Level 1 Power up 200Divine energy

Current divine energy: 230

Wow, the price of every item here is ridiculously high, even the sword I used to have is surprisingly here, the holy sword of Orcus and it is considered the cheapest weapon in the armory.

The only thing I can purchase is the option of physical enhancement, I don’t know what it does but I better get it fast. The next wave is about to spawn and I don’t think I can manage it without an upgrade.

Afterall, the first five waves were easy, but the five after that were quite hard to defeat especially without weapons, though the only way to get one is by gaining more currency, I don’t think going straight for one of the weapons while fighting bare handed is a wise decision.

I fear that if I get swarmed I will be unable to do anything then.

The wolf like creatures that started to spawn after the rats are much more aggressive and way faster.

I barely was able to defeat them, thanks to my constitution and basic strength, it was easy to snap their necks, but they won’t let you get close until you give flesh, thankfully the pain was not too great but was quick and it healed fast.

The last wave was the hardest, being compromised of five wolves, I actually was going to get killed at a moment, but was lucky enough that the wolves were somehow distracted.

I am probably being looked after, but whatever it is that is doing so, will probably not be helping much, or at least I should not count on them. I need to keep the fact that I might die at any given moment real so that I keep on staying alert. I have no guarantee that the demigod did not lie, I might truly die in here and never wake up.

Sighing after a moment thought and looking at the last remaining wolf, which I broke all of its paws so that the next wave will not start.

It was hissing at me, with clear signs of hostility, but I didn’t give it any mind. I need to get stronger to get back at that bastard. He took away my future, he tore me from my fate and was the reason I am going to suffer here. The dead should stay dead, and he defied that law and came back like a fucking nightmare to haunt me. But I will be sure to exterminate that bastard, with whatever it takes.

Choosing the enhancement bonus, I felt my muscles bulge, and my strength increase, I couldn’t see my status screen but I was able to feel it.

My body was brimming with power.

Looking at the screen again that showed right after my choice was done I saw something different

Physical enhancement= Level 2 Power up 400 Divine energy

Current energy 30.

It seems that it is doubled.

I think that every level will grant me more strength, so I should probably keep this choice, though stat advancement is great and all, it is really not that beneficial, 200 in all stats is a balanced choice, but the third option of physical enhancement is probably dumping most of those stats in strength and agility, increasing the prows of the body over the overall strength.

I should probably keep using this option as long as I can or as long as it is available, choosing a sword might be a good idea, but as long as I don’t need one right now, I might as well keep on choosing this option.

Snapping the remaining wolf’s head another round started. With it, creatures that looked like wild Tigers began to spawn, gray in color and red eyed beasts two of them started circling me.

Back to the fray again.

Gilgamesh POV.

Good, he seems to have understood that the best choice is to go for brute strength, thankfully this will make it easier for him to be tainted by it, I won’t need to do anything afterward, power is tempting, and the more he has the easier my task will be.

Now to my main task.

The light of the world turned off as I appeared in the lower realm of man. right within the temple of one of great power.

It was a great hall with pillars made of golden stones, a ceiling that surpassed the fifty meters and filled with all kind of inscriptions, four great giants were standing at the ready each in a corner of the room. His Jhins, great creatures of elements and power that only serve him and him alone.

Solomon

Level???

Demigod.

Ruler of Jhin.

“Filthy puppet of the gods, what have you come here for?” said the shrouded king as he spoke to me.

The man was sitting, behind a thin cover that showed nothing of his appearance but the rage I was feeling from behind that curtain was proving to me that the one I spoke to was the real thing.

“I come on behalf of the divine to ask a favor of you”

“Be gone from here or I shall have you destroyed right now, I have not the will or patience to listen to any word you say”

As he said the words the blue Jhins that looked like statues at first moved forward, they had no legs but had smoke coming out from their lower body, their muscles bulged in strength and their blue skin was shining from power.

One had the head of a dog, one the head of an eagle, another had the head of a bald human with ears that reached his chest, and the last one was a female Jhin that had no clothing on her but some piercings on her breasts that barely covered anything. A divine beauty on her face, but a look of disgust towards me made me feel unwelcomed…

Fighting these four is a task that I will not be willing to take, and adding Solomon to the mix is nothing short of a suicide.

“I come offering the soul of Jasmin back to you”

“You dare mention her name in my presence filthy scum!” roared the king that the temple shook from terror.

If stone could speak, it would be screaming from fear.

“This is not a lie great king, the lords decided to hand you what is yours in exchange of one last task”

“Never will I ever believe such words! They gave their word that time, I sealed millions of souls for them, did my job and killed many for the return of my beloved, and they betrayed me! they took her away anyway, they threw her within hell for her soul to suffer and wither, what guarantees that you will truly give me what is mine? I couldn't get her back without the final seal that is within the upper realm, my love is cursed for eternity, she did nothing to deserve such fate, and you dare come ask me to fulfill another of your misguided lies while you know how wrong you did me last time?”

He is right… he lived free and unbound until the gods decided that he is to be used against the demons, and the only way to force a free man is to control what he loves… though he reluctantly agreed to the Divine’s orders… they still didn’t show mercy and left her within hell just so that they could use this one’s power further…

“I will personally be the one to set her free this time. Anwen, the god of the underworld as you know has the ability to let her free, once that is done, I can bind her back to her body and give her to you, and immortal being unbound by time and age… this I vow” I said as I crossed my heart with a magic oath

You swore an oath to King Solomon,

Your life is bound to this oath if he accepts.

“You know that if your vow fails that you will die?” said the king in a tone that portrayed calmness

He knows the weight of such oaths, once taken the very existence of one is reliant on them. Betraying the oath is a fate worst than death.

“I do, now I ask you for a favor,”

“What is it that you require, what is it that is worth putting the life of a demigod at risk for?”

“A seal”

“Of what sort? You can make strong and impenetrable seals all by yourself”

“I need a seal to lock one of great power in another dimension, without the ability for him to escape, not now or ever.”

“A seal to lock a divine? Do you intend to betray the lords of the upper realms? Though I welcome it is hard to do.”

“No, not a divine, but something if not locked, will probably cause more harm than the divine had ever done”

“The Herald…” said the king

“You know?” I spoke

“Yes, I always did, the Herald is born, the cursed one was the only entity to leave hell on its own, I created the seal of hell and I know who gets in and out… it shall be done then, but beware, the water shall occur, no matter what you do, you are only postponing it.”

“Fate is not written in stone old man, and you know it. I will have that thing locked up far and away that nothing can ever reach or free him.”

“The seal you ask me to make is not something simple, however, still, it needs the target to be unaware of its existence, it needs the target to not know that they are being entrapped, can you manage to restrain him long enough until the lock is done?”

“No, my very existence will cause the Herald to be wary and will mostly make him aware of a trap. But I have the best tool to make him distracted. It is being readied as we speak”

“One last condition I will have to add.”

“What is it?” I spoke hoping that it is nothing of great requirement

“That no matter the result of this attempt, my beloved needs to be freed. If he is trapped or not if you fail or succeed, I shall get what I am due to, do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Very well then, Javra, Hidi, Hores, Anubis, make the Seal of Closure”

He spoke addressing the Jhins, to which they complied bowing their heads and disappearing from the room.

“It shall be ready in an hour, the complexity of this seal is not so grand, but its activation will take time. Don’t mess up the chance, I will not make another one for you.”

“Very well,” I said hoping that everything goes as planned.

Daiki POV

“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” said Haruna

“I have no idea,” I said as I was trying to figure things out, I never expected us to return like this, god damn it I always thought that something was wrong, like if this is too easy…

“What do you mean you don’t know,” said the same girl as her voice pitch increased, she was panicking”

“HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!” I roared at her which made her silent

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND THIS? YOU WANTED TO COME BACK AND I MOVED STONE AND EARTH FOR YOU! What else do you want from me? do I look like an all knowing person? I am just like you a barely fucking normal and sane person!”

“Stop it Daiki,” said Haru

“Shouting will get us nowhere… we need to think for a way out of this mess…”

Haruna then began to cry and the other girls tried to console her.

Good god, I feel like the villain here… sigh

I need to find a way out of here. There is no way out of this, no portals, no magic residues.

“Status screen!”

Nothing…

“Girls, can you use your magic?” I asked

They tried, with the exception of Haruna that was still weeping

“No, nothing, I can’t feel the link to mana. It's like we are separated.”

“No, the very fact that we are moving souls means that magic is still existent in this world, probably the insufficiency of mana is holding us from using any magic…”

Looking at the unphased people that walked by us I noticed that we are invisible to them. The absence of other souls means that the fact that we are the only ones here is special, no other dead person roamed the place.

“Hang on, I think there is a way out of this place,” I said

“Really?” replied everyone, with hopes reignited within their eyes.

“Yes, I still remember my quest, the search for the seals of Soloman, there is a seal under our school, probably in the lower parts of it, it has the ability to send us back to that other world.”

“How would you know it?”

“Time told me”

“Time?”

“Long story,” I said “Let's go, we are just wasting precious minutes”

I said as I walked forward, fully ignoring a car that just passed through me without dealing damage or even damaging me

“Well, at least this will make us able to walk through walls,” I said as I walked forward.

The lot followed me as we moved forward.

This school looks like the day we left, even after a year nothing changed or happened.

What a strange feeling I have seen this again.

I wonder how my father is doing, and I guess everyone here is thinking about that too.

Moving forward through the school yard I saw some familiar faces.

They moved on with their lives like nothing happened, probably a year is enough to forget about us, about the fifty students that disappeared without warning… or probably the intervention of the divine made our very existence deleted from their consciousness.

45 minutes remain until your souls are fully destroyed

This notification is not helping at all…

Once past the yard and into the hallways of the school I felt tempted to visit our old classroom

So I did and once inside

“What the fuck is going on?” I said as I saw something that shouldn’t be possible.

The guys looked intrigued by my words and followed in.

The first to speak was Haru

“This must be a joke…”

“This can’t be,” said Haruka

The rest remained mouth agape looking at the scene in front of us…

We were looking at our selves… technically this was our room, with every single guy that was there that day… most of them were inside the room… it was exactly like that day, like the day we all left…

Did we go back in time?