Sitting inside the remains of his office, Duke Abernath was in silence as the world around him crumbled. The overcast sky and fog provided the perfect backdrop for his moping. The man who had once boasted in parties to grand that the Dukedom would reach new heights with him in power was now dying if not already dead. The office he sat in was no longer the resplendent marble-white office space he had loved so much, it was now a charred and blown apart portion of the Malgrave Stronghold, chunks of the walls and floors gone, bookshelves were face down on the ground and books and files were scattered about the place, the marble white color replaced with the scorched blackness of whatever weapon the enemy ships used to fire at this place from a comfortable distance while the stronghold's giant crossbow launchers couldn't even fire back. 

He sat next to his overturned desk, in his chair, which somehow managed to survive being turned into a burning pile of cedarwood. There was no more fire in his eyes or his belly; all that was left was the feeling of dread, anger, betrayal, and so much more that had been hammered home by the rapid events of these past few days. A sigh escaped his lips, his shoulders slumped, and for the first time in a long time, he felt utterly lost. He still hadn't heard back from any runners about his beloved daughter's progress and that in itself told him everything he needed at this point, she was either captured or the more likely scenario, she was killed in combat, died fighting, just like she said she would. 

"By the Goddess...what have we done to deserve this?" He muttered to himself, looking at a depiction of Histy on the wall that was left untouched by the ravages of war. 

The painting depicted Histy, the Goddess of Light and all of creation descending from the heavens above with her angels to her back and into a field surrounded by her creations, her fiery golden hair flowing freely behind her while her expression was that of pure joy as she extended her hands down to nothing but humans before her. Abernath's gaze went dark as the more he looked at it, the more he felt that they had been forgone by their creator, a scowl forming as he stood from his chair and stood before it. 

"You...you did this to us! You have forsaken your creations! You dismissed our prayers! You left us to die!" He screamed as he grabbed the painting and then threw it out of the remains of his office, sending it tumbling down the rubble and into the sea, unable to see some of the paint fade away as it revealed that several humans painted in were actually beastkin. 

The moment he saw the painting disappear into the sea, he let out an exasperated sigh as he looked at the remains of his office, brushing back some of the strands atop his balding hair back into place. As he was about to leave his office, his gaze was caught by the sight of a half-opened box sitting on the floor. The slightly ajar jewelry box with markings from the Hinterlands Confederation was sitting underneath some rubble of a bookshelf and as he made his way to it, he felt something calling him. 

"What the?" He muttered as he picked up the box, dusting off its cover and then finally opening it, seeing a velvet cushion and resting atop it, a medium-sized black crystal that was giving off a faint aura like smoke to a fire and there were accompanying voices seemingly emanating from the crystal, asking him to use it and unleash its power, but the language was something he was not familiar with and so thought it was just incoherent babbling. 

"I never understood what the fuck you were..." He added as he picked up the crystal and threw the box aside, inspecting the thing and wondering what it was as his <Appraisal> skill could tell him nothing about it 

"Hmmm....maybe it is a poisonous crystal? I have never seen anything like it" The Duke stated to himself as he began thinking of ways to utilize this unknown object before his eyes 

After a few more moments and trying his best to understand the object, he decided that he was just going to swallow it, if anything, it should be able to kill him as the improper use of magic monster crystals could lead to death via explosion and in Abernath's eyes, he was ready to throw in the towel, there was nothing left to live for, no one left to rule and no country left to preserve...if he was going to die, then it was on his own terms, not the enemy's. 

"Well...here goes nothing" He mused with a half-hearted smirk as he closed his eyes and chucked it down his throat 

{!} 

Abernath fell to his knees as he began coughing and wheezing, the crystal lodging itself in his throat much to his dismay, he tried clawing away at his throat, trying to push the object back out but to no avail as the more he squirmed the tighter it got and the more entrenched it became. His face turned gray as he was losing his ability to breathe. Collapsing onto his body, Abernath let out what could only be described as a low squirming plea as he died, his breathing stopped and his eyes closed for a final time, sending him into a dark void and the eternal hell that awaited him. 

But once Abernath was truly dead, his body began pulsating with life. Grey veins began forming on his arms and legs, underneath the resplendent clothes he wore. His ugly and wrinkly face also began showing more of these blackened veins, which led to the black magic crystal in his neck, which began to give off a low humming noise that filled his empty and ruined office. 

{!} 

Suddenly, his eyes went wide, but instead of his blue eyes, there was nothing but a black void that remained, his blackened lips turning into a wicked smile as he got back up. The magical energy emanating off of him was not the same as the Duke Abernath who just died, no, it was something far worse, something from a realm that was slowly leaking into this one and if left unchecked, threatened to flood the continent with its kind. 

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

As the Imperial Army, led by the dual monarchs, approached the smoldering ruins of Aresburg, the fog had lifted, and it was now afternoon. Many civilians inside the city were manning the ramparts of the still-standing walls across the city, though the desperate and hopeless manned several large gaps across the city's length. The Imperial Army and the dual monarchs stopped far outside the range of their large crossbow launchers still mounted atop the walls. The army patiently awaited the order to storm the place and finish the job, but the dual monarchs were busy thinking about what they were going to do first for those civilians now taking up arms to defend their homeland. 

"Should we just storm it now? There are no soldiers left, just militiamen, scared women, and even children" Ophelia asked as she looked at the fortifications 

"Ophie!" Amelia shouted as she looked at her beloved 

"I jest, I jest. I know the plan. Those who wish to actually reform we will let them live and even join us, those who wish to stick to their ideals, however...will die screaming" The raven-haired empress said with a dramatic flare that made Amelia raise an eyebrow 

"Did you have to be that dramatic?" 

"You loved it" 

"True...I did" 

"Right. Let's go and ask them, Erhet, Belle, standby while we go and try to reason with them to lower their arms" 

The commander of the Black Guard and the Marshal looked like they were going to say something against that decision but they quickly remembered the plan that they had in order to save the Imperial Army from massacring civilians, something that they wanted to do ever since the conflict with the Hinterlands Confederation left a sour taste in their mouths, they were not going to be like them, no chance in hell. 

The dual monarchs got halfway across no man's land before several arrows landed at their feet, embedding themselves into the snowy ground. Neither of them phased but rather expecting such a thing, they lifted their heads from the arrows sticking out of the dirt before them and to the several archers atop the ruined walls. One of the older militiamen moved closer to the dual monarchs, his spear aimed at them and at the ready. 

"Stop right there! One more step and the next batch of arrows will perforate you!" He shouted as he narrowed his eyes 

"Oh? Let's see about that" Ophelia said as she took one step forward and the archers atop the wall fired again, but their arrows bounced off her armor much to their horror, even the one aimed at her face disintegrated before even making contact

This display frightened the defenders as they were not expecting this one woman to be so audacious and actually tempt fate, and even survive the arrows fired at her. Many of them were waiting for her to retaliate, to do something, but she simply looked very, very, disappointed. 

"We did not come here to slaughter you all. Let me make that clear" Ophelia began as she used her magic to project her voice across the entire area, looking back at Amelia and gesturing for her to join her 

"We have come to offer you all a choice. We are the Empresses of the Halkare Empire. Empress Ophelia Erstad and I Empress Amelia Erstad" Amelia said as she walked up to where her wife was standing 

"What kind of choice!?" A frightened voice rang out from the ramparts 

"A simple one. We wish to try to limit as much bloodshed today as possible in order to finally see our goal of finishing our march to unite the continent. Now that you are all that is left in our way, we ask that you all surrender yourselves and be willing citizens for our empire. An empire blessed by the Goddess Histy and the Demon God Harcun" The blonde empress added 

{!} 

At the mention of the Goddess Histy blessing their nation, a wave of murmurs echoed across the defenders, many of them surprised, others angry at this heresy while others were quiet with confusion. 

"Liar! We are followers of the Goddess to the letter! The Goddess would never bless an abomination of a nation like yours" A militiaman wielding a light crossbow yelled as he fired at Amelia, the blonde empress caught the bolt and crushed it in her hands 

Amelia's crimson eyes turned to the militiaman who fired at her and she looked rather unphased but internally annoyed, she glanced at Ophelia who knew exactly what she was thinking, and nodded, the two of them would need to show that they were speaking the truth of this would be an annoying back and forth. 

"You call us liars? Then look upon the true forms bestowed upon us by the Gods themselves" 

{!} 

The dual monarchs took a deep breath before they opened their eyes, a massive shockwave suddenly appeared and hit everyone in the vicinity, throwing up snow and forcing some Imperial soldiers to fall down and even more militiamen and defenders to be thrown off their feet. All eyes turned to the originating point and everyone was speechless as the skies opened up and a pillar of sunlight was shining directly on the two of them. 

Floating off the ground, in their true forms was Amelia and Ophelia. Amelia's jet-black plate armor turned into a purely white with golden accents and highlights, matching her pristine and spotless fair skin, she had four pristine angel wings sprouting from her back, her crimson eyes were glowing with beauty, and floating above her head was a grand halo that was pulsating with a heavenly glow whenever people looked at her. Next to the angel was Ophelia who had pale skin now that had purple and black veins visible along her neck and was still clad in her jet-black plate armor but the purple accents of her armor were more pronounced and instead of four pristine angel wings, she had four jet-black and feathery devil wings, and atop her head was a black halo that had several spikes and gave off a low purple and black glow. The two of them were looking down at the desperate defenders before them, seeing many of them drop their weapons as they looked at them, many out of fear for daring to attack two creations of the Gods, others out of the need to preserve their own lives. 

"Now do you think we are still lying?" Amelia asked, her voice booming across the area

The soldiers of the Imperial Army unconsciously bent their knees and bowed their heads to their monarchs in their true form while Erhet and Belle who stood at the head of the army did the same, the sight of this shocked the defenders to their core, as to them, the army that had looked so imposing as it marched towards them was now bowing to the two figures sent by the Gods themselves. 

"Forgive us then...for we did not know" The elderly militiaman stated as he threw down his spear and bowed his head 

"You say that yet, you persecuted the other creations of Histy without remorse" Ophelia's voice stated, hers more deep and menacing than her beloved's her gaze shifting to the militiaman who dared to shoot his crossbow at Amelia 

"I...I..didn't know" The young man said before tossing his crossbow aside 

"I am not in the mood to hear your excuses, so I will just do this" Amelia said as she raised her hands 

{!} 

She snapped them, and at that moment, another wave of air struck the desperate civilians. Many of them stumbled and were left dumbfounded and speechless, as there were those with halos above their heads and those who had none. Many of them tried to grab the halo above their heads but saw their hands go through it without resistance, leaving them stunned. 

"To those wondering what had just happened, I revealed those who Histy believes can be redeemed. Those of you with the golden halo above your head step forward" The angel empress ordered as she pointed at a young child who was looking up at her 

The people with golden halos above their heads moved forward and after a few minutes, they were all gathered close to the floating Empresses, none of them daring to step into the same pillar of light that was bathing the two floating figures. Those who were without the halos tried to move forward but soon found themselves stopped by a barrier that was just beyond the ruins of the walls that used to shield Aresburg, their expressions of horror and their screams and pleas would have been filling the air were it not for a massive soundproof dome surrounding the city in secret, provided by Ophelia of course.

"What would you ask of us?" One of the women asked as she was shaking, her eyes nearly watering as she was surrounded by her kids and cradling another child in her arms 

"Renounce your faith in the Dukedom. Renounce the evil ways you have been indoctrinated. Swear to be better and strive to become someone worthy of being chosen by the Gods for a second chance" Amelia said with her soft voice that bellowed across the area 

The people before her bowed their heads and prayed and prayed to Histy, unloading the fear in their hearts and minds as they poured out everything they had in order for salvation. Those behind the barrier could only speculate what was happening as the people they knew who were given the chance to be redeemed fell to their knees and prayed. Many of those who were left behind lost everything then and there, their hearts and souls sinking as they were told that the Goddess above they prayed to and worshipped did not deem them worth a second chance. 

The moment the people with the halos stopped praying, they felt their bodies go heavy as they lost consciousness. The moment their bodies hit the ground, the memories they had of their lives here in the Dukedom were wiped in an instant, the halos above their head disappearing and turning into golden dust that fluttered and disappeared into the cold winter air. 

Ophelia said nothing as she used a single and gentle swipe of her hand to teleport these redeemed people back to the territory of House Fluchet as per the plan. Once that was all settled with, she then lifted both the soundproof barrier and the protective barrier that trapped the rest behind the ruined walls of Aresburg. The cold air whipped and cried around the area and for those who were now looking up at the two divine-like beings, they knew it was the end for them, for the dukedom, for everything that had come before. 

"To those of you who have not been deemed worthy, I can only pray that in your next life you become a better person" The demon-looking Empress said as she raised her right arm and pointed her right hand at them, her index finger sticking out and glowing with a captivating purple light 

{!}

And then, as quick as it was blinding, thousands of arcane energy beams launched from her fingertip and struck the people who were left, their forms turning into ash and blown away with the winter wind, it was painless at least, if anyone was going to have blood on her hands to ensure others didn't live with any sort of guilt, it was going to be Ophelia. 

"Now, that is the last of them" Amelia said as she and her beloved returned to the ground, their true forms phasing away as they returned to normal 

"Yeah...except....I am now sensing something coming out of the massive fortress in the distance, it is faint though....the energy also feels familiar" Ophelia said as she looked at her beloved 

"Hmm? What do you mean-" 

{!} 

Suddenly, the flash of a massive explosion was seen and a shockwave rocked the earth, the soldier of the Imperial Army awaiting their orders flinched and took steps back as they were hit by the shockwave, even Belle and Erhet were pushed back by the sheer force of the blast. The dual monarchs on the other hand were fine but when Amelia saw debris coming straight for them, she used her elemental magic to form <Ice Spears> that shot up and turned the debris into chunks of snow that landed around them and did no harm. 

"Oh...I can see what you mean now" The blonde empress remarked with an unsurprised expression on her face as she and her beloved were looking at the same thing 

Floating high above the burning remains of the Malgrave Stronghold was a single figure that was overweight and seemingly deformed. A thick black aura swirled around the figure as if trying to keep its massive, bloated body aloft. The keen vision of the dual monarchs showed them that this figure had pale skin with black veins exposed on its neck, its ugly and horrific face was half phased with a crimson mask, the top part being the mask and the bottom part exposing its pitch-black teeth and black ooze trickling out of its open mouth. Most of all, their <Appraisal> magic showed them that this was no ordinary foe. It was something new entirely. 

Name: Ta'rs

Power Class: A-Class (Nether Imp) 

A/N: ALMOST DONE WITH THE 2ND VOLUME WOOO!