Izo is unable to hide her dark smile at seeing Mary being carried away. It wasn’t that she truly wished Mary Sue harm, but those two guys were clearly full-blown sociopaths. It had been so easy to figure out their hidden dark desires with her skill, Aura-Eater. It wasn’t as if Mary was going to die, probably not in retrospect. Besides, that’s what you get for leading a bunch of guys around by the nose. One of them always gets you in the end.

Izo glances down at her military jacket that is mostly dry and puts it back on. A piercing gaze causes Izo’s hackles to rise. Izo glances around to meet the gaze of a premature silver-haired, middle-aged man with his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. There are dark circles under his grayish eyes and he has sunken cheekbones from his thin weight. His long beige coat is loose on his thin frame as a warm, red scarf is neatly tied around his neck despite the warm weather. The man leans against his cane, before turning around and limping away.

Izo is about to turn away when she feels a strange pulse in her hand as if gesturing her to follow. Unease Izo heads towards the doorway as the eerie feeling increases. Izo halts in the doorway and searches for the forty-year-old man with spectacles, but only spots the middle-aged man’s figure darting around the corner. Izo cautiously jogs after the figure to turn around the corner and find the hallway completely empty.

The soft echo of a door closing further down the hallway can be heard. Izo’s hand instinctively twitches and tries to summon the World Tree Scythe to her side. Izo forces her hand to relax as she stretches her senses to the limit, but is unable to sense anything. Which was odd in retrospect, because Izo hadn’t been able to senses anything from that older man. With trepidation, Izo walks down the hallway until she reaches the only door in the middle of the hallway. With great care, she reaches for the doorknob and pulls the door open.

The middle-aged man is waiting calmly inside leaning against his cane for aid. “Why hello, Miss Reed it is a pleasure to meet you. Please allow me to clearly state the reason for my presence here today. I am here to discuss a very profitable proposal with you,” The man calmly said with a warm smile on his face.

Every fiber of Izo screams to run as Izo realizes exactly what the familiar feeling she had been feeling was, it was fear. It was the same dangerous feeling felt emitted from the demon king that shook her to her very bones. Izo cautiously remains in the doorway and carefully replies, “Thank you for your gracious visit, but what exactly is that you are proposing?”

“First, please allow me to introduce myself, I am known as Teir and I am a humble servant of Loki,” Teir calmly replied and paused to gauge her reaction. Izo maintains her usual poker face and does not react. Failing to gain a notable reaction, Teir continues, “My master had heard of an ancient chaos god of old that has recently been reborn. But even as a newborn god, the chaos had already chosen an envoy. Naturally, I was sent here to meet and greet said chosen envoy that had merited such a wonderful turn of events.”

Izo hides her frown and takes a step forward, but pauses to close the door firmly behind her. With her back against the door, Izo asks, “How do you know I am a new envoy?”

“How wonderful, it would appear I was the first to properly greet you. Regarding your question simply glance down at your hand,” Teir exclaimed.

Izo glances down at her leather gloved hand and is surprised to see a tiny glowing pink jelly shaped mark that is somehow shining through her leather glove. Izo subtly glances at Teir’s hand to find a faint black-blue glowing mark of a snake eating its own tail. “I assume only envoys can see the envoy mark, am I correct?” Izo drily remarked.

“That is indeed correct. Now, that I have answered your question, I am here with a proposal from my master for the chosen envoy of the old one. My master wishes for the new envoy to join our faction, the Chaos Faction,” Teir matter-of-factly stated.

Izo narrows her eyes in understanding and flatly replies, “Not with so little information, no. First, answer my questions.”

“Very well, go ahead and ask.”

“How many factions are there? And if so, what are they?”

“There are only two factions in existence, Chaos, and Harmony. Chaos is all that is disorder and Harmony is all that is order. The two factions are not limited to simple categories such as black or white or even that of good and evil. A fair example is a mortal organization known as the Nazi’s. Adolf Hitler was a chosen envoy of the order of Harmony, who wished to create supreme order in the world. And naturally, the faction of Chaos interred and destroyed the envoy of Harmony.”

Izo almost chokes at the revealed information and uneasily says, “And what if I choose to join neither sides?”

“That is not possible, everyone always chooses a side,” Teir matter-of-factly stated.

Izo is silent for a minute before giving tactfully answering, “I must first consult with my god to be certain of which side he wishes to take. I apologize for my indecisiveness, but for now, I am unable to accept thy generous offer.”

“I see, what bad luck,” Teir regretfully murmured, before snapping his fingers. Izo instinctively mutters something under her breath as a sharp blade pierces through Izo’s chest. Izo chokes on a mouthful of blood and falls to the floor in a pool of blood as her body ceases to breathe and grows still.

A young man with tawny hair and dark eyes sighs as he removes his black spear from the corpse. “That’s why I hate newbies, they never listen for their own good,” Teir sadly muttered out loud. “But did you have to be so heartless, Strife?” Teir pointedly added.

The young man with the black spear shrugs innocently in reply. “Now, now, Teir, this is for the best. Many of the old gods have begun to reawaken and be reborn. It won’t be long before the lines of the factions are redrawn once more,” Strife cheerfully replied.

Teir eyes the envoy of Ares who innocently twirls his black spear in his hand. Teir frowns and says, “Are you certain she is dead?”

“Yes, the corpse has no pulse nor is it breathing, so she’s definitely dead. But if you’re worried,” Strife paused and stabs the corpse once more through the chest. “There satisfied?” Strife innocently asked.

Teir snorts and says, “Let’s go.” The two men disappear in a cloud of darkness leaving only a single corpse in the room that won’t be discovered until tomorrow. They had done their job and it was time to go home.