Life Hunter

"Yes, I still have a telepathic connection with him. As long as he didn"t cut it, I can contact him" Lilis nodded and immediately tried to join him.

At the same time, Arima was going down in the red sea by propelling himself with pressurized water. When he received the signal, he widened his eyes in surprise "{Hey Lilis, it"s been a while}" He smiled and responded.

On the other side, Lilis wryly smiled as she had basically spent her time looking at Arima"s past during that period. She didn"t feel like it had been a while at all "{Yes. Sorry, but let"s get to the main point, are you in h.e.l.l right now?}"

"{I am. I suppose you are too since there is this war}" Arima casually answered and Lilis was speechless.

"Can you share me the connection?" Azes demanded and Lilis gave him the telepathic link "{h.e.l.lo again, Arimane}" He greeted Arima and the latter stopped moving underwater.

He frowned "{What"s wrong for you to talk to me?}" It was the first thing he said.

Azes was a bit surprised "{Why would something be wrong if I want to talk to you?}"

"{I don"t know. Your whole presence sounds like a problem}" Arima responded and Azes grunted.

"{Anyway, when you entered in h.e.l.l, did something happen to you?}" He finally asked and Arima was confused.

"{How do you know that?}" He asked back.

"{I see. So, you managed to resist it, huh? It"s something that has to do with your ident.i.ty. But for now, that"s not the most important thing we have on our hands. What are you going to do? I a.s.sume Kerberos is with you but it"s not enough to save you. Your strength is really limited compared to the people in h.e.l.l}" Azes said and Arima just snickered.

He nodded at his group and continued to advance in the middle of this red sea "{I"m currently diving to find Origin}" Arima answered simply.

Azes gaped and rubbed his eyes "{So not only you went to h.e.l.l, you even decided to go after its biggest mystery… Are trying to kill yourself?}"

Arima laughed lightly "{Not anymore. You shouldn"t mind about that, you better focus on what is coming soon. Apparently, your side will have to face Hades}"

Azes sighed and covered his eyes "{You"re right about that…unfortunately}"

"{What"s the problem?}" Arima thought that his reaction was odd.

"{Hades is my brother}" Azes responded and Arima didn"t know if he should laugh or pity him "{Don"t worry about that anyway. It"s most likely Poseidon who will fight him. Not me}" Azes added and changed the subject "{You still didn"t answer my question by the way. How are you going to fight the prisoners and the other Devils?}"

"{I have my own way. I plan to start the Life Judgement soon}" Arima answered and shocked Azes.

"{…You"ve learned way too much about the Judgment before starting it}" He ranted and shook his head "{Fine, I have one last warning for you}"

"{Which is?}"

"{I"m sure that Karaskan will act soon}" Azes said and Arima fell silent "{He has in his possession what we call the Pandora. A bit like your legends; once opened, it will release something in the entire world. The only way to open that box right now is you. And I"m sure he will try to kill you to open that box. So, you should be careful if you ever meet him}" Azes told and both of them stopped speaking.

Arima finally said something after a moment "{Old man, I don"t care what his goal is. If he"s coming for me, that"s good news. You can be sure that I will kill him with all of my might}" Arima answered under a false act of composure.

"{You should take care of your family problems. I will get Origin and help you just after. I will gladly fight Karaskan, but I need some Life Force for my plan to work. If you ever beat one of the prisoners of or one of the Devils; store his body for me. I will need them}" Arima requested and smirked "{It shouldn"t be that hard, right?}"

Azes mused and clicked his tongue "{No problem, I"ll do it}"

"{Thanks}" Arima was about to cut the link when he suddenly remembered something "{Oh yeah, old man. I didn"t forget, next time, I"ll punch you once. See you, Lilis}" He said and cut the telepathic link.

Azes was left there speechless "He seriously wants to punch me…I thought it was only a joke" He muttered and Lilis chuckled with a broad smile.

Azes glanced at her and scowled "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing" Lilis smirked "Do you know where Origin is?" She asked.

Azes raised his eyebrows even more and pointed at a certain direction "There, in the red sea. n.o.body knows where exactly"

"Thank you" Lilis shortly thanked him and was about to rush there immediately.

"Hey!" Azes called her before that. She stared at her for a moment "Zesta, do you like him?" He sternly asked.

Lilis"s eyes widened and she stopped moving. She looked at Azes in the eyes and suddenly smiled "Who knows" She cutely stuck her tongue out before flying away.

Azes rolled his eyes "Well, we have a charmer here" He uttered and looked around. His eyes fell on Zeus and Poseidon talking "…Why do I feel like something really bad is going to happen? At this rate, my plans are going to take an unexpected turn" He muttered.

**********************************************

Karaskan landed at the top of a tall mountain and looked below at the waves of prisoners. He scanned the scene and smirked. He transformed into a black mist and teleported away.

The black mist reappeared miles away inside a certain person"s shadow. His figure emerged from the shadow entirely and he put his hand on the shoulder of the man in front "So, you"re the one? Ojure Karez, right?" He said.

Karez trembled and dark energy gathered around him to push Karaskan back. That casual exchange could have destroyed a city in a mortal world.

Karez jumped away and looked at who just attacked him "Who are you?" He asked with his usual empty voice.

"My name is Karaskan. Never heard of me?" The Mad G.o.d answered and Karez wavered.

He, of course, knew about that name. Karaskan, the Mad G.o.d, both are popular names. It was impossible for him who is aiming at Heaven to not know about him "…I know you"

Karaskan smiled "It"s a matter of fact. Anyway, I"m hesitating right now" His expression changed, and his darkness magic started to kick in as it covered the rocky ground of h.e.l.l with a dark layer of mist "What should I do? I must say that what you did by beginning this war is really enjoyable for me"

"It"s also quite intriguing how you managed to control a part of h.e.l.l"s essence. If I"m not wrong, your actual strength is only at something like the first sky. But your control over h.e.l.l"s essence allows you to rise until the second divine, and maybe the third as long as you"re in h.e.l.l" Karaskan a.n.a.lyzed and Karez gritted his teeth.

"All of this is really interesting. You may be a good material for Pandora, but I don"t think you"re enough to open it. After all of this, there"s no reason for me to go after you" He paused "But your final goal, unfortunately, does not align with my plans. So, I suppose I"ll have to kill you" He declared and Karez immediately gathered his mana.

Karaskan laughed and darkness acc.u.mulated behind him to form a giant silhouette "Sorry, but you won"t be able to beat me with a borrowed power" He said and charged at Karez in his mist form while the dark giant kicked the ground.

Karez also became a sort of strange shadow as he clashed with Karaskan. He decided to counter the giant with the control he had over h.e.l.l. His powers came directly from h.e.l.l, but he didn"t have as many privileges as Chulainn for example. But the only thing he could do was also the thing Chulainn wasn"t capable of doing.

Crimson chains sprouted from the ground and bound the giant while the two ethereal forms fought at an unimaginable speed.

In fact, the form which both of them had at the moment is something only usable by people in the Heavenly Realm. It was called Full Phasing and its main characteristic was movement speed. For example, Arima uses "Wild Spark" usually. It"s a magic that partially transforms his body into electricity. It"s partially because he can"t transform his body completely.

That fact is different when you"re in the Heavenly Realm. If Arima reaches that level, he will be able to completely turn into a bolt of lightning, literally.

Karaskan and Karez fought against each other like that. They never stopped clashing in their fully phased forms and were continuously changing the landscape with each attack. If it wasn"t an Original Land, maybe half of a planet would already be gone.

The winning side in this clash was obviously Karaskan who would leave an injury on his opponent with each strike without even going all out.

Karez was being pushed more and more even if he used the chains of the inquisitorial to his advantage. At some point, Karaskan sneered and chanted a small incantation.

"[I"m the master of Darkness and Madness]" He waved his hand and black sphere that looked like it was made of metal locked Karez.

Karaskan clenched his fist and the sphere slowly started to become smaller while a howl of pain resonated from it. Inside the sphere, Karez was being a.s.saulted by endless waves of dark magic.

When Karaskan was about to end it, his eyes narrowed, and he bent his body as fast as he could. The shadow of a leg scratched his cheek and a shockwave was produced which created a big hole on a mountain behind.

Karaskan phased his body and left immediately as a punch almost hit him. He backed away by a few hundred meters and wiped the blood on his cheek. He looked up to see the man who just attacked him breaking the sphere with a single punch.

Karaskan smiled "Utain, The Destroyer. To what do I owe this?" He said.

The old beast-man, Utain, took out a cigar from his pockets and lit it up before smoking in front of Karaskan. He pointed with his thumb at Karez "I can"t let you kill him. You owe this to my honor. I can"t let you kill the man who just saved me"

Utain spoke with a composed voice and blew some smoke. He stared at Karaskan and probed with his eyes before opening his mouth "Do you want to continue?"

Karaskan snickered and raised his hands "Fine, you win. That kid"s goal is something that I don"t wish for but I"m sure he will be stopped by someone else. I"ll give you face. After Baphomet, you"re the last "monster" I want to fight, Destroyer" He declared and left just after.

Utain snorted and glanced Karez "Now tell me, what"s that goal he was talking about?" Karez coughed a mouthful of blood and looked back at him.

**********************************************

Back in the middle of the sea, Arima instructed everyone to stop "There"s something wrong" He muttered although he was underwater and looked around.

"I think I understand the first reason why people never come back from here" Arima uttered and Chulainn looked at him.

"What"s the reason?"

"Well, quite simple actually" Arima responded and waved his right hand to the left and then his left hand to the right. His group was perplexed at his actions.

Arima smiled "We"re in the middle of a very sophisticated array," He paused and did the same movements as before "…and I don"t know if I can break out" He added with a thoughtful expression.

"Sorry?" His companions exclaimed all at the same time.