Raien loomed over my hanging self, her emerald eyes burning like torches, her big chest rising and falling every ragged breath out of her agape mouth—all this while viscous blue blood was slathered on the half of her face, dripping down her flat chin.

As expected of a Goddess, her hands and face were already good as new, not a sign of the earlier mutilation.

Which means I'm fucked.

Nariod stood far behind Raien, watching us from the background with his eyes shut and a palm on his forehead.

“You were so rough.” Raien zipped her widened mouth to a suggestive smile with considerable labor.

“As the actress said to the bishop.” I bluffed a smile; the innuendo was hard to miss.

“Hmm? Actress?” She tilted her head.

“Nevermind, then.”

With the spear on my right hand I performed a horizontal swing. Yes, while still hanging upside-down. I aimed for her ankle, but she had seen through my intentions a millisecond earlier than my action and leapt backward a few strides to avoid getting sliced.

Just what I wanted, distance.

I thrust my spear up to cut the pesky gnarled root coiling around my ankle. Just as planned, the sharp crystalline spearhead passed through and bisected the otherwise sturdy wooden root, but since I was a noob at being precise, I did more than just cutting the root.

I fucking impaled my own foot. Right in the middle where the muscles were. I shrieked in reflex, even though it didn't hurt one bit, and closed itself before blood could even drip. The cut living root limped and pulled away, while my vision shook as my head banged against the floor with a hard thud and a rustle, followed by my body.

I sprang up from my awkward posture like I was never that scrawny plant of a nineteen-year-old. Just when did I learn that? I guess it doesn't matter.

“What are you doing, Raien?” Said Nariod. “The plan is to capture them both.”

Capture them both? Wow, evil plan alert.

“The plan was for me to take Alrion for myself, Nariod.” Raien sighed and eyed Nariod. “Just get the lesser God and let us two be.” She shooed him with flimsy hands.

“Since when did you have the right to order me around?” His nose flared up.

“You know well it isn't an order.

It's a suggestion.” Raien stood firm and intercepted Nariod's glare with her own. “So you will do it, unless of course you want to stay as the second in Nariad's heart for all eternity.”

Nariod scrunched up his face and gritted his teeth. He took a sharp glance at me, then back at Raien whose lips were arched to a sly smile.

“... I'll fulfill the end of the bargain and leave you two be.” Nariod—like a sore loser, turned his back and took a step forward, but turned around within a second to give the last parthian shot at Raien. “Just make sure he isn't going to be a bother again.”

Raien nodded in lack of interest and saw his back off as he dashed away.

As I watched the exchange of the two seasoned liars end, determination swept over me. It fueled my adrenaline, and tightened my grip on the spear's chiseled pole.

I knew where he was going, and I wasn't about to let him go to where Laianne and Asterielle were. My feet kicked the ground and launched me forward with the wind.

Pulse throbbing, sweat running, I came after Nariod's distant broad back. A stride, two strides, three, but before I could close the distance, Raien rushed—her lightweight green raiment flowing with the wind—to block my path, a smile on her face and a green winged staff made from interweaved vines on her hands. I skidded to a sudden brake to avoid crashing with the green Goddess.

“You're not going anywhere, Alrion.” Her left eye flickered to a subtle wink. She swung the verdant staff, causing a torrential gust of wind accompanied with green leaves to assault me. I dove down the dirt and rolled to the left like a ball.

I don't have time for this woman. I set my sight on Raien and vaulted forth with a low posture like a feline. I got under her bosom and brandished the black crystalline spear in an arc, aiming for her abdomen.

She blocked with her winged staff, negating the slash with a blunt feedback as the cutting edge of the spearhead clashed with the pole made of twisted vines. It should've been cut due to its rather flimsy material but no, its durability was well on par with the spear of pure Aster. Much to my detriment.

“Get out of my way, Goddess.”

I pushed harder to try and overwhelm her with brute force, but her staff wouldn't budge a millimeter.

“No.” She redirected the immense force to the side with a refined twist of her wrist. Because I leaned too hard forward I almost lost my balance and fall face first on the mud, but thankfully Gods have faster reflexes.

We both pulled back a step away from each other, creating a five-meter distance between us.

“I can't.” Raien's emerald eyes sharpened and bore holes through my sockets, as if telling me that nothing will change her mind.

“And why is that? Hatred for me?”

Come to think of it, Laianne did say Raien hates me, along with Nariod and some more Gods. Regardless of their reasons I will still kill them, though I can't help but wonder, just what the hell did I do to them? Then again, it doesn't matter. They tried to kill me, they tried to kill Laianne, and they killed...

Who was she? Whatever.

“Believe it or not, Alrion,” She raised her staff overhead. “I'm doing this to spare you from annihilation.”

“What?”

Spare me from annihilation? But why would she do that, and how is blocking my way helping me? I'm kind of confused right now.

“Yes...” Raien nodded. “The council's first decision was to kill you, make you totally inexistent, after taking your power. But I told them that they didn't have to kill you, as long as you behave and let them capture the lesser God you created.”

“Lesser God... I'm assuming that's Asterielle?” I asked.

“That is so.” She nodded.

But she said she's me... Or rather the Aster inside me. Then that makes this all the more worse. My Aster is what's keeping Asteria intact, so even if something bad happens to me, as long as my Aster is still good, Asteria wouldn't disappear. But what happens when I'm still alive but lost my power? I'm as good as useless. Asteria will crumble once they capture Asterielle—my power. Everyone will die, everything here will die. Laianne will.

A switch inside me has been flipped.

I could hear and feel the marching of my heart, and the Aster flowing through my veins and passing through my pulse. I can't let things go that way.

“Hey Raien.” I called to the Goddess clad in green.

“... What is it?”

Perhaps caught off-guard by my sudden casual tone, she lowered the staff and lent her ears.

“Do me a favor and get out of my way.” I said with a cold tone, all while sculpting a pistol from an Aster shard on my left hand. “As in right now.” I leveled my aim on her head.

“You don't understand what you're doing.” She stood defiant and matched my gun with her eyes. “I'm giving you a chance to live, because our children would not want to see you extinct. If you go there now, Nariod will kill you.”

“Not if I kill him first.” I nestled my index lightly against the trigger's curve.

“Then the whole council will do whatever they can to keep you in control, even if it means wiping the Aster element completely out of the entire universe.” She said.

“Do I look like I care? Either way, Asteria will fall, and those who matter to me will die.”

Whether I heed this woman's word or not, in the end this world is still a goner. I let them capture Asterielle, Asteria will crumble. I act and prevent Nariod, this ‘council’ whatnot will come and kill me for real, Asteria will still be destroyed. Both of those are completely identical, only that with the former, I'll live, and with the latter, I will die along with every Asterian.

Not much difference if you ask me, I've experienced death once with Anrietta. It hurt as hell, but it's probably not as bad as living through loss and guilt.

Either I find a solution or die trying.

“No, Alrion.” She shook her head.

“If you would just listen to me, Asteria wouldn't—”

A beam of light crashed down the clear space between us and silenced Raien mid-sentence.

Intense, gushing, the beam of gold and white light singed the dirt in its point of impact.

After a long second, the light burned out and dispersed—leaving a cindered circle on the ground, and a woman with silver hair and steel plates standing on it.

Nariad. From neck to toe she was covered with overlapping plates of radiant steel. On her right hand dressed with iron glove was a sword. A two-handed heavy broadsword with cross arm-guards. The hilt was made of tanned leather, while the guard was made from ornate gold. The blade, I couldn't see what comprised the blade, since it was bathed with blinding yellow light. Just glancing at it hurts my eyes.

I won't be surprised if that sword happened to be Excalibur, but then that would mean she's Saber, not sure how I feel about that.

“Nariad...” Raien's brows conjoined. Her whole face turned red within a second, followed by cramped lips, wrinkled forehead, and eyes glimmering with fiery contempt. With a brisk swing, she directed the green-gemmed tip of the staff at the armored Goddess.

Without as much as a single word, Nariad kicked the ground and propelled her tall frame towards Raien with her radiant broadsword fanned at the side.

The diamond-shaped emerald nestled on the tip of Raien's staff glowed intense white; a beam of green and white erupted from it, and headed to intercept the incoming Light Goddess.

Nariad responded to the attack with a brake. She planted her feet firmly on the ground, and swung the light broadsword against the incoming verdant beam that threatened to swallow her whole.

The torrent of green energy got bisected into two halves, and ended up passing by Nariad's flank before disappearing into a scatter of white particles.

Nariad brushed aside her silky silver hair and took a battle-ready stance with the clank of her heavy armor. She craned her neck and peered at me over her shoulder.

“Go, Alrion.” She said, her bright amber eyes steeled in conviction.

I honestly forgot Nariad even existed... But now that she's here, that means I'm free to go. I'm free to save them.

“Thank you, Nariad.”

She replied with a faint smile that made her cheekbones stand out and glow. Beautiful.

“Whatever you do, do the right thing.” She gave a sharp nod; the warm smile disappeared, drowned in a sea of seriousness.

“I will.”

I pumped heat down my legs and bolted forth, passing by the two Goddess. Raien rushed in an attempt to chase my back, but she had been blocked by Nariad, and the two ended up in a weapon locking contest—staff against a sword.

As I plunged further away into the woods, the figures of the battle maidens slowly disappeared amidst the sea of trees.

---

Raien

“You just made things worse by coming here.” I glared at Nariad as I lead her force to the right with my staff. “I'm trying to spare his life, and you, you just worked to get him killed.”

“What you were doing was the opposite, Raien.” She didn't fall into the trap like Alrion and stayed upright. She jumped back to keep a distance and continued with her preaching.

“You don't understand Alrion.” She matched me with her aurum glare.

“Neither do you. What do you understand about him?

You're his consort, and you're a Goddess, yet he valued a mortal more, to the point that he was willing to defy even Chaos just to give her death closure. That says something, Nariad. You're not doing your duty as his spouse, you were never enough for him, therefore you'll never understand him.”

“And what do you know about Alrion, Raien?” She sneered, unfaltering. “What right do you have to patronize me, when you don't even know what he wants? You think he would still want to live in a universe controlled by Nariod? Because that's what about to happen. You were not just saving Alrion, you were helping Nariod succeed Chaos.”

The more I listened to her condescending tone, the more my heart burned with the desire to just kill her. She has always been like this—perfect, loved by all, Nariod loved her, Alrion chose her, while me, despite being better than her, was casted aside. Just what did Alrion see in her? And it seems like she's too blind to see that she's the cause of all this.

That's right...

“You're saying that, but you're the reason all of this is happening.” I aimed my staff at her.

“... What did you say?”

“You don't even know, why Nariod is doing all this.”

“I know how he thinks, he wants to become all-powerful. He's Nariod, my twin, I should know.”

“Naive.”