Life Hunter

Tormento walked out of the tower he was in and ended in a massive corridor made of crystal. The walls were quite opaque but the roof was transparent and allowed one to admire the scene behind. At first glance, it looked like a modern city built out of only materials such as marble, crystal, and glass. There were many blurry silhouettes flying around; they were body-less Phantasms.

The sky was pitch dark. It had no stars whatsoever. It was darkness itself. However, there was one source of light. But you couldn't call that a star, much less a sun. It was a giant red and white eye. The iris would move back and forth regularly as if it was monitoring everything.

Tormento started walking through the endless corridor and he quickly spotted someone leaning against the wall. It was a tall handsome man with black long hair. His eyes were sky blue and he sported a pair of black feathered wings on his back.

"Oh? Dolor?" Tormento uttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard the boorish geezers gave you an unreasonable task."

"Hm, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were eavesdropping the council room. But it's a crime worthy of execution so, I guess I'll believe that news travel fast."

Dolor cackled. "News travel very fast, indeed. Talking about crimes, what you did was borderline considered one, you know. Chronepsis' and Her Highness' bastard child was a secret for a reason. Your new order is a suicide mission. The council knows that. They're betting on the fact that you'll sacrifice yourself to kill the daughter."

Tormento's expression finally dropped. His eyes became serious and his smile disappeared. Instead, an aura of dread escaped his body. "As if I'll ever give them that satisfaction."

"So, what? You're gonna betray us? If you do that, the council is the last thing you'll have to worry about. His Majesty might send the Broken Depths' elites to get rid of you."

Tormento snorted and his grin returned. "No way~ I would never betray my own."

Dolor squinted and pushed himself away from the wall. He walked past Tormento and opened his mouth, "I'll let you on something. I have sources telling me that the Kind Demon is heading to Sunset Star with your target and the Slanderer. Do what you want with that information."

Tormento looked over his shoulder and Dolor had already vanished. He snickered and continued to walk down the empty hallway.

***

During her scouting, Ahura coincidentally met Malum and Shakti. And what had caused the three of them to gather was a very inconspicuous presence near Gilgamesh's castle. The latter had built it around the four Gear Gates Arima had conjured previously to enter the other Mother Realities.

The castle became known as the Crowned Gateway. People even compared it to a throne on which only the ruler of all Mother Realities could sit. A city had been built around it and countless people would go in and out regularly. The reason why nothing bad had ever happened before was not only because of the already established guardians; Evangeline and Gilgamesh, but also because of a certain beast Arima had sealed in its core.

Previously, Chulainn had talked about the ancient creature that supposedly lived within the Time Gardens of Heaven; the oldest monster ever recorded, the Realm Devourer.

When Arima destroyed the Original Lands, he extrapolated the bits of soul left in the Gardens and reconstructed the legendary monster and virtually resurrected it before binding its soul to the Crowned Gateway.

The beast was so powerful that it could literally erase out of existence anyone who misbehaved on its territory. But no one had ever seen it manifest.

Normally, none of Arima's allies would worry about this place for that very reason, but this time, there was an anomaly. Shakti and Ahura, both who were mana handling experts, had detected an unknown aura creeping in the castle.

"This is the work of at least a Reality Ranker," Shakti said as the three of them appeared in the massive main hall of the castle where the four Gear Gates had been attached to the floor with mechanical-looking locks. "We got lucky to be passing by relatively close. Otherwise, I doubt even someone like Jormungand could sense it."

Ahura's eyes squinted and her irises split in two. They glowed as she inspected the room. Her sight alternated between every Gate until it fell on a large spiky altar in the far back of the room. "We know you're there. Show yourself."

When her warning received no response, Malum decided to act preventively. He summoned a pair of black scythes and threw them at the altar. The two weapons pierced the floor and exploded near instantly.

A silhouette quickly escaped the blast and landed a safe distance away from the trio. "Oi, oi… aren't you worried about damaging this place?" A relaxed and almost smug voice resounded.

Malum sneered and shouldered another scythe. "This place isn't as simple as you think," he told the unidentified person how had appeared in front of them.

It was a young man wearing a sort of embroidered eastern robe. His eyes were closed in a crescent shape and his hair was shiny white and tied in a ponytail. When he heard Malum's words, he turned toward the place he was just a moment ago. He faintly opened one if his bright green eyes and saw how nothing had changed after the explosion. Even the places where the scythes had struck were repaired already.

"My… this is interesting."

"Sure is. You have the Devourer to thank for that," Malum uttered and as he said that, Gilgamesh and Evangeline appeared in the hall. They looked around but stayed silent to assess the situation.

"The Realm Devourer?" The intruder tilted his head. "Is it that this entire place is actually bound to the beast's soul?"

Malum shrugged and started spinning his scythe. "Now, why don't you tell us who you are and what you're doing here before I kill you? You might as well explain how that same Devourer didn't attack you already while you're at it."

"Well, you're quite needy, aren't you?" The man quipped. "But I guess it's basic courtesy to introduce myself," he said and bowed with a hand on his heart. "You can call me Enemistad. I'm a Phantasm affiliated with the Second Clan and one of the Ten Espectros. Enchanted to make your acquaintance, the Lich Eternal Dragon, Malum Reigen Nosferatu."

"I see I don't need to tell you who we are, huh?"

"Of course," Enemistad straightened himself with a neutral smile. "Isn't it basic strategy to study your enemy before the battle?"

"Smartass," Malum scoffed and threw his scythe. Enemistad sidestepped and dodged the weapon with a chuckle as it exploded behind him.

"Stop yakking, why are you here? I doubt the Broken Depths would be interested in the Gear Gates," Ahura put the discussion back on track and the Phantasm hummed nonchalantly.

"Well, you're not wrong to think that. I was sent here for a potential design. I'm very good at hiding myself, you see. But, unfortunately, this plan might be too hard to pull off."

"You're here for the Devourer, aren't you?" Shakti questioned and Enemistad snapped his fingers.

"Bingo! I'm here to try and find a way to unseal the Devourer and take his soul with me. His power might have been beneficial for us regarding the Synchronization. Because, take my word for it, the current method we have to cause the Synchronization is quite incommodious. Unfortunately, not only was I discovered, I have no way of unsealing the beast," the Phantasm sighed exaggeratedly.

"I see, so that's why you were near the altar," Ahura commented.

"Indeedy," Enemistad quipped before pulling out a talisman from his sleeve. "Now, I guess the only option left for me is to eliminate you and leave, what do you think?" He smirked and his eyes opened ever so slightly. "And I'll be sure to start with the lady over there," he said while pointing at Shakti. "It'll be a treat."

The moment he said, a suffocating killing intent drowned the Crowned Gateway. Gilgamesh and Evangeline almost choked because of the shock.

Malum's eyes were glowing crimson and his scythe's blade was fuming. "I'd like to see you try, twerp," he growled and a mischievous light flashed in Enemistad's pupils.

Ahura caught that and immediately got a bad feeling. "Malum! Retract your killing intent!" She warned but it was too late. Before they knew, a long gash had been opened across Malum's shoulder and a stream of blood spurted out.

The Lich Dragon's eyes widened as his blood splashed on his face. He briefly saw Enemistad's grin from the corner of his eyes before he disappeared. Just after, Malum barely got the time to notice the Phantasm's talisman that had been stuck to his clothes before it exploded.

***

Enemistad landed on a building of the city around the Crowned Gateway. He watched the smoke of the explosion escape the castle walls.

"That was a close call," he muttered with a smile. "I'm lucky that it was them. The Lich Dragon is probably the most quick-tempered among them."

"SO, YOU WERE LUCKY, HUH?" A voice, no, something closer to a noise resounded and Enemistad felt his entire body shiver and tense. He jumped away as fast as he could and landed on another structure. But as he thought he had gotten away in time, he noticed that his left arm had been cleanly torn away from his shoulder.

The Phantasm quickly scanned his injury and looked back at where he was. For the first time, his smile threatened to recede. There was a beast in front of him. It was a four-legged creature covered in a skin blacker than the night with dozens of strange spikes on its back. Overall, its frame looked like a horse's but it was way bigger and its mouth was disturbingly large. It had four lips and a number of teeth impossible to count with the naked eye. As for its eyes, it had none.

Enemistad was actually fearful. He was overwhelmed with such fear that he couldn't believe it was real. On top of that, his arm was refusing to regenerate. He, a Phantasm, an immortal being, was unable to regrow a mere limb.

"ARE YOU STILL LUCKY NOW, PUNY GHOST?" The monster spoke again.

"You… what are you?"

"I AM NOTHING BUT DESTRUCTION. I DO NOT CONCEIVE; I DO NOT SPARE; I DEVOUR."

Enemistad's smile twitched. "You're the Realm Devourer… I thought I had avoided you. Why are you coming for me only now?"

"YOU HAD THE NERVE TO INTRUDE MY GROUND TO STEAL MY ROOT AND CONTROL ME. THAT LOATHSOME ABILITY OF YOURS FORCED ME TO ATTUNE TO YOUR SOUL. NOW THAT I LOCKED YOU IN MY SIGHT, YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE."

Enemistad sweated. 'This thing knew I was on the planet. But because I could feed on the enmity he gave off, he actually decided to alter his own soul so that it wouldn't produce enmity at all. What a crazy bastard,' he thought and secretly pulled out two talismans from his remaining sleeve.

"DREAM ON." The Devourer opened his mouth and closed it with a loud sound. Enemistad's hand then completely disappeared along with his talismans.

The Phantasm's eyes widened. The beast opened its mouth again and he instantly flew off. He looked at his bleeding injuries and clicked his tongue. 'This body is wasted. I'll need to find a new one,' he thought. His instinct then suddenly kicked in and he tilted his body to the side. His right shoulder promptly disappeared as if it was never there and his arm fell.

'If I hadn't moved, my head would have been obliterated.' He gritted his teeth. 'Does his power only work in a straight line from his mouth? That would be the only reason why I'm still alive.'

Enemistad's eyes glowed and a glowing rune appeared behind him.

From the Devourer's perspective, the talisman had cut off his vision and he couldn't aim at his target anymore. He could try and eat the spell but the time it would take was too long. "COME BACK HERE, MONGREL!" He roared and stamped the building he was on to take off.

Enemistad heard the building collapse and he knew that the beast was probably chasing him. But his mind was occupied with running away. He had no other countermeasure. The time he would need to teleport away was too long considering how heavy the beast's aura was. He had to get as far away as possible. It was his only chance to live.

The Devourer was about to reach the rune and eat it in one bite now that he was close enough, but black chains abruptly emerged from the surface of the planet and coiled around his legs, neck, and the spikes on his back.

At the same time, a skulled eight-branch cross fell from the sky and struck him. The cross pierced his body and hauled him until the ground. "BLASPHEMED CROSS!" The beast yelled in anger. "HE WILL ESCAPE, ANGRA MAINYU! YOU BETTER NOT REGRET IT!"

The Devourer's body was then dragged underground by the chains along with the cross. Those words were also the last Enemistad had heard before he finally teleported away after the aura had vanished. And strangely, when everything was over, no one on the planet had even noticed what had transpired.

***

Malum snarled as the smoke dispersed. He had transformed into an ashen dragon. His second set of scales that constituted his transcendence had sheltered the four people around him from the explosion.

He huffed and the floating scales were reattached to his body like an armor. His red eyes stared in the distance before he heard a screaming voice that hardly could be described with any word. It had taken him a handful of minutes to recover from that talisman's blast.

"The Devourer has intervened but it seems like Enemistad still fled," Ahura commented. She had invoked her flying swords earlier by pure reflex but she had to admit that Malum had saved her. "Thank you for your help, but this is nonetheless your fault."

"Huh?" Malum growled and his nostrils flared with purple fire. The Lich Dragon looked at her with shining eyes. "Care to repeat that?"

"I'm saying that it's your fault he escaped," Ahura replied without fear and the two glared at each other.

Shakti sighed and conjured two magics that drenched both of her comrades in cold water. Malum froze and groaned before reverting to his human form while Ahura just turned her back toward him. Evangeline and Gilgamesh wryly smiled at the display.

"Ahura, what do you mean by that?" Shakti asked.

"That Phantasm most likely used Malum's killing intent to do what he did. He taunted him on purpose for that reason. 'Enemistad' means 'enmity'. I guess he's an Enmity Phantasm that feeds on the negative feelings people direct at him. At the same time, that's probably how he sneaked in here."

Gilgamesh frowned. "How so?"

"Well, for the Devourer, it's a given. That beast releases more enmity than anything else so Enemistad just probably concealed himself inside of it by feeding on it slightly and copying its signature. As for everyone else, it's simple as well. If no one knows him or knows he's nearby, they don't direct any feelings at him, much less negative ones. It's a reverse theory; he'll stay hidden as long as no one sends enmity at him."

"That's fucking bullshit," Malum uttered. "It would mean that if he doesn't receive enmity, it's near impossible to detect him. On the other hand, when someone does direct enmity at him, he becomes stronger."

"Well, it does sound unfair," Shakti remarked. "On top of that, I believe that the only reason we sensed his presence here was that he was forced to adapt to the Devourer's enmity."

"Hm," Evangeline mused. "I think I can design a defense for that. If negative emotions don't help us, I guess we just need to do the opposite. If I use my charm magic, I can work something out."

"Please do. You're a succubus, I'm sure you know better than us. We'll leave the Crowned Gateway to you. I will go in the Nebula Reality after this, what about you two?" Ahura asked Malum and Shakti.

"We might as well go in the Celestial Reality," Shakti said. "What do you think, Malum?"

"Why not. It's better than doing nothing. We'll wait until we regroup to tell Arima about what we learned from Enemistad," he replied and everyone went on their separate ways.

***

Meanwhile, Arima was flying through a sort of hyperspace tunnel with Layla, Moira, and Slanderer who they had caught up with. He heard the Devourer's shouts and groaned as he cleaned his ear.

"What's wrong?" Moira asked while looking at him.

"It's Horsey screaming in my ear. There was a Phantasm near the Crowned Gateway apparently. From what my Crosses picked up, Malum, Shakti, and Ahura were there. I'll ask them what happened in more detail later."

"Horsey…" Slandered muttered. "I can't believe you're treating the most ancient monster ever like that. Other than you, the Realm Devourer was the only being that ever forced me and Prayer to collaborate."

Arima snorted and looked in front of him. The tunnel was getting narrower. "We reached the exit."

After he said that, it only took them a few seconds to come out. The first thing they saw then was a massive orange feather. All around them, there were only clouds and the color of the sky; both below them and above them. Countless fiery feathers were floating around and it was impossible for them to look in any direction and not see at least one.

"Do all these feathers belong to Phoenixes?" Layla inquired.

"Yes, they live here so the traffic is huge and their feathers fall sometimes. The thing is that each of these is a treasure of the highest grade. They can never disappear or get far away from the place they were dropped. Some of these feathers are probably millions of years old with their original owners already dead," Arima explained.

"Wait, they live here? What is this place? There isn't even a planet," Moira uttered.

"Yes and no," Slandered raised his voice and waved his hand to move the feather that was blocking their vision since they had arrived. When it was gone, the group suddenly felt a wave of heat and both Layla and Moira exclaimed in shock.

"Isn't it ironic?" Arima chuckled. "This is a star that is shaped like a star."

***

At the same time, within a sealed chamber made of opaque crystal, a circular gate opened and dropped an arm-less figure. When the gate closed behind it, a door instantly opened on the wall of the chamber. A row of ghost-like beings entered the room wearing something similar to a knight armor. They all bowed simultaneously.

"Welcome back, Sir!"

Enemistad groaned as he stood up. He walked past them and went through the door. The soldiers followed him out silently and they ended up in a large garden area covered by a dome of stained glass. Enemistad started walking silently on the stone path of the garden as the giant eyeball in the sky illuminated his path.

The soldiers behind were awkwardly observing him act as though he hadn't lost both of his arms and a huge chunk of his shoulder. When one of the Phantasm soldiers was about to speak up, another voice resounded, "I see this mission did you wonders."

Enemistad opened one eye to look at the woman who had appeared in front of him. She had short black hair and oddly pink eyes. Her neck as well as her hands were wrapped in bandages and she wore a white coat that one would usually see on doctors.

"Wonders, huh? I guess you could say that," the Enmity Phantasm shrugged with the shoulder he had left and continued on his path. He also glanced behind him at the soldiers before giving an order, "You are dismissed. Pass this message to the council; mission impossible."

"Pardon?" The captain of the soldiers stiffened. "But, Sir… I don't think the council would be happy if I went to report in your stead."

"I don't care," Enemistad waved his hands dismissively. "Tell them I'm tired and I want to rest."

"U-understood!" The captain saluted and left with the rest of the soldiers.

"…why are you not regenerating your arms?" The woman asked with an emotionless tone once they were alone.

Enemistad looked at her blank expression and snorted. "I will never get used to you being concerned for others with that face-gah!" She had elbowed him. "Ow… shit, that hurts. Can't you be gentler to an injured man like me?"

"If you can still joke around like that, you're okay. Now, why don't you answer my question?"

"What can I say? They were eaten."

"Eaten?" The woman tilted her head.

"Yeah, eaten. By the Devourer," Enemistad replied and clicked his tongue. "I can't regenerate them simply because that thing ate the very concept of my arms."

"That's a dangerous ability. How did you escape?"

"I didn't," Enemistad uttered and her eyes widened a little. "The only reason I'm alive is the fact that a Demon Cross forced the beast to let me go. The Devourer probably isn't allowed to leave the vicinity of the planet."

"I see… you were lucky."

"You can say that. Say, I was planning to get a new body, but do you have a solution for me, Carne?"

She nodded and waved her hand. A pair of severed arms appeared in front of her. One of them also had a shoulder attached to it.

Enemistad raised an eyebrow. "Do you keep all sorts of limbs in your storage or what?" He uttered but didn't refuse as she used her magic to attach the arms to him. It only took a few seconds for it to be perfectly connected with his nerves. He stretched and flexed his new arms and hummed.

"They perfectly match this body. How did you find something so fitting?"

"They belong to the brother of the body you took over," Carne replied indifferently and Enemistad wryly laughed. "By the way, something happened while you were away."

"Hm? What?"

"Tormento made contact with the Kind Demon," she said and the Enmity Phantasm was clearly confused.

"Why did he do that?"

"He was discovered on the Neo-Heaven on his mission to assassinate the archangels. He also blatantly revealed the identity of the daughter."

"The daughter?" Enemistad blinked. "Wait, that daughter?"

"Obviously. Who else do you think I'm referring to when I say that?" Carne retorted with her monotonous voice and he grunted.

"Has he gone crazy?"

"That's not all of it," Carne added.

"…there's more?"

"He also undid the seal that Engaño had put over Chronepsis' grave."

"Okay, I have no words. What is he trying to do? Where is he right now?"

"That's what I wanted to tell you; he has been ordered to kill the daughter."

Enemistad stopped walking. "What?"

Carne also stopped and looked at him. "He's already out as we speak."

He sighed. "What is the third council thinking? Are they that stupid? Tormento is still one of the Espectros. And they're going to basically use him as a sacrificial pawn?"

"It can't be helped," Carne said. "The daughter's legacy might allow the Kind Demon to find this place. Don't you remember how the Original Lands were literally deleted by that man? He could do it to us too."

"No need to remind me. But those old men are still stupid. What they should do is discuss with His Majesty a way to seal our realm temporarily. If the Kind Demon fails to reach this place before the invitations are sent, it's our win. There's no need to risk an Espectro's life by sending him right in the maw of the fiercest tiger that ever existed. Plus, the target isn't just some random daughter, she's the damn wife of the God of Eternal Night."

"Mhm," Carne listened passively as she took a frosted popsicle from her pocket. She took a bite of it and Enemistad deadpanned.

"Well, this can only end in three ways. One; Tormento somehow succeeds, the Kind Demon goes berserk and the entire world is finished. This has an extremely low probability. Two; he just dies and the Broken Depths might or might not be finished anyway as long as we find a way to keep the Kind Demon away from here. As for three…"

Carne tilted her head. "What about three?"

Enemistad opened both of his eyes. "The third outcome depends on how willing the Kind Demon is to parley, I guess."