UPDATE:

- Chapter re-edited and mistakes were corrected.

- Rewrote a few parts

- No more double spaces

Hello guys , I had an extremely long day ...

Driving over five hundred kilometres straight is annoying as hell ...

Well , now I’m home and outside is raining ...

So .... ... ... ... Enjoy !

Purgatory arc: Soul Tears

It’s been three days now since our meeting with Valdar, and the four of us are now heading north . Why north ? The reason is very straightforward and logical : because not south !

In reality , for the next seven months, we are stuck in the Purgatory Realm with nothing critical to do . Away from those three Sovereigns and that guy called Balcifer , there aren’t many in here that are a threat to us .

In this conditions , I decided to start travelling around a little . With this decision , a slight problem emerged : we are broke . Although I have quite a lot of gold coins , here they are completely useless . I thought that Gargran would be quite rich considering that he is still an Executioner , but he has no money as he had no need for them in the past .

The currency in Purgatory is quite peculiar and interesting. Furthermore , this currency is the reason why Executioners act as overseers and nothing more than that . Soul Tears !

Each soul that gets in the Purgatory has , at the beginning exactly one hundred Soul Tears . The only way to take those out of a soul is by torturing it.

Burning sins through pain generate Soul Tears . Usually , the first thirty Tears are easy to collect and can be obtained in less than one hundred years . After that , things gets more and more complicated, and usually, the last thirty tears are almost impossible to achieve .

Because of this system , when a new soul comes to Purgatory , he is hunted down , tortured until it produces a certain amount of Tears varying from fifty to seventy , which usually takes between five hundred and three thousand years , being then released as it is not profitable anymore .

To be honest , I really don’t understand what Balcifer had in mind when he created those rules . At least from my point of view , this system is a way too brutal . I would understand if everyone that got into Purgatory had enormous sins on their souls that need to be burnt , but there are even innocents here . The day when I’ll meet Balcifer is the day when he will need new teeth !

So ... How the hell are we supposed to get our hands on some of those Soul Tears ? I mean , we could hunt and torture some souls, but I am not exactly on terms with that method so that is out of the question .

Mea suggested to rob someone, but that idea was immediately rejected by Gargran . It looks like robbing is almost impossible as the belongings of everyone in Purgatory are marked by a Soul Seal and they can’t be touched by no one else . The rules in this Realm gets weirder and weirder ...

Still ... I have an idea that might actually work . No , it will definitely work , it just needs some preparations beforehand .

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[Author’s note : POV change]

“Tie him down and go after the woman !” [Male voice #1]

“Yes, Boss Ryan !” [Male voice #2]

“ Move faster you vermin ! Bring the woman here ! Gag her and tie her hands and legs !” [Ryan]

“She has quite a punch ... And we can’t calm her down Boss” [Male voice #3]

“Stop wasting time and cut her tendons you imbecile . ” [Ryan]

“Ohh . That is brilliant Boss . Why didn’t I think about it before ?” [Male voice #3]

Haha ... Those useless idiots . They are over twenty, and it takes them half a day to catch two demi-humans ... Why the hell do I have to work with this kind of trash ?

Still , it is quite a good catch. We just got two more milk cows . With this, we managed to find twenty-one this year . With a bit of work , in less than a thousand years they should guarantee us at least one thousand Soul Tears . One Tear per year and the facility can milk two hundred souls at all times . With this batch , we need only one more to fill it up . After that, we can relax and see our pockets bulging by day !

It took me almost sixty thousand years , but , finally , I can start my way to the top .

“You two , bring the ship over here . You , bring the booze , we need to celebrate this big catch !” [Ryan]

“Huaaaa ” [Many male voices]

‘Swish ’

Before realising what is happening , a heavy pressure assaults the back of my head, and I fall down .

...................

...................

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Darkness ... There is not even a single ray of light around me . W-What the hell just happened ? Where am I ?

When I get my hands on the bastard that did this to me , I will rip him to pieces a million times over !

I try to move , but it seems to be impossible . Although I can’t see anything , there is no doubt that I am tied to a chair gagged and blindfolded . Furthermore, I hear around me breathing noises . Quite a lot actually . My men look to be in the same situation .

The one that did this made a huge mistake . I don’t know what his objective might be , but robbing us is impossible by Celestial Balcifer – sama’s decree and everyone here has already been milked dry .

For example, I have only twenty-one tears left . It would take someone at least five thousand years to get more than a tear from my soul . The worst case scenario is that the one doing this is just a sick bastard that tied us here and left us for good . That would be incredibly annoying !

‘ Tap tap tap.'

The sound of someone walking can be heard . Finally, I will see this bastard face . Even if it takes me a million years , I swear I will make you pay for this humiliation !

‘Swish ’

A gale brushes by my face and the blindfold drops down .

‘Wha ... What the hell is this ?!?’ [Ryan]

I can’t stop myself of uttering those words in my mind . I just have no words . This scene is just to ... Strange !

Now that the blindfold is no more , I can see that there are much more people here than I thought. Some of them I know as they are in the same business as me ... Still , there must be a few tens of thousands or even over one hundred thousand . And every and single one of them has a blank look on their faces .

There is no anger in the air like you would expect ... This is because what we can see from our sits is way too peculiar to allow our anger to surface .

In front of us, there is a big stage made out of wood , with dazzling lights and small flames floating everywhere . In the back, a big black cover with a sailing ship drawn on it can be seen . Furthermore there , in the middle of the scene , is a man holding a small black device like thing . It looks like he is the one that brought everyone here ... His right hand is around the waist of a beautiful woman with golden eyes . On his left side, there is a big macho guy with red skin and a petite girl with twin tails ... What the hell is going on ???

Still , leaving aside my surprise , I don’t recognise any of them ...

“Welcome everyone and thank you for accepting my invitation to participate in my small experiment !” [Man on stage]

Small experiment ? Invitation ?!? This guy is making fun out of us . I will tear him apart ! I won’t have any rest until I don't see him screaming from the depths of his lungs while his flesh and skin are devoured and healed in the same time !

“First, let me introduce myself ! My name is Andel and , although I am sure that you haven’t heard of me before, I can guarantee you that after this experiment is going to be over , my name will always be in your hearts ! Te he he !” [Andel]

Fuuuu ... This guy is definitely messing with us . Just you wait until I escape from this freaking chair, and I will show you the true depths of despair !

“Now , let’s bring in the guest of honour !” [Andel]

Immediately after those words were set loose , that motherfucker called Andel reaches his hand forward and closes his eyes . A mighty wind appears out of nowhere, and the smell of blood fills the atmosphere . On the sky , black clouds generate a tempest that covers the horizon . Crimson lightings start dancing everywhere .

Who the hell is this guy ? A Sovereign ??? If he is not a Sovereign in disguise , it would be impossible for this kind of power to be exposed in front of us . But what could an almighty Sovereign that stands above everyone and everything in the Purgatory Realm want from some lowly beings like us ?

“Come forth sword of chaos that cleaves the blood sea – EXODUS !” [Andel]

A brilliant crimson light covers everything . It is blinding .

Before I manage to open my eyes , a terrifying aura filled with madness and killing intent permeates every corner of my body . Slowly , with great effort , I managed to suppress my fear just enough to open my eyes .On the stage , a Crimson Sword with blood and flames circling around it appeared out of nowhere .

The sword is about one hundred twenty centimetres long with strange markings and symbols decorating its blade . In the middle of it , a pulsating light coming from a blood crystal can be seen . If I didn’t know any better , I might even believe that it is alive .

“WHY . HAVE . YOU . SUMMONED . ME . HERE . ANDEL. YOU . BASTARD ?” [Crimson Sword]

A deafening voice filled the whole world . Although it seems like the voice came from the sky itself , I don’t know how , but there is no doubt in my heard that it actually was the voice of the sword itself .

‘Grin’

Andel shows us a smile that sends shivers down my spine ...I can’t even imagine what someone like him wants from me ...

A conscious weapon with a terrifying amount of power and an unknown person called Andel that seems to be its owner ...

‘What the hell have I been involved into ?!?’ [Ryan]