It was hell on earth. Demons roamed the earth as everyone fought for survival. Being the main culprit, Yuri’s disciples had long turned into demons. He just managed to disguised them skillfully. Not only that, but after devouring Celestial Kala and Celestial Jonah, he had turned their disciples into demons. Yuri came during the three-day window and planted them inside the forest, waiting for Celestial Fey and Celestial Ignis to bring their disciples in as nourishment. 

Even though Sen was handicapped with only one arm, she still stood tall and created barrier spells for her Moonlit Garden and for the Orc kingdom of Dune. While standing guard before the forest, because of its enchantment, she could not see into the forest, nor could whoever was inside see outside. Fighting the horde of demons on her own while battling Yuri, she also had to sustain her powers to keep the barriers from shattering. Before Sen sent Dee back to the Orc kingdom, she made him stop the Moonlit Manor to give Reina some protective charms for civilians in need. 

Sen came prepared, wearing her combat outfit underneath her silk and lustrous robes. Stripping off the robe, she fought fiercely. 

Sitting atop from his pedestal, Yuri applauded her. “Hahaha, wow! As I thought! You are not to be underestimated!”

That statement struck a chord within Sen as she severed the heads of all of the demons before her and bolted to where Yuri sat languidly. Her expression was dark and murderous. Sure, it was true that she did not hold much affection toward Hana, but the OG Sen did, and Hana was a good person.

Swinging her sword down, Yuri stopped her. “WHY?!” Sen gnashed her teeth, growling at him. “How could you?!”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Yuri smiled, further provoking her. “I am a god.”

Sen swung her leg and it struck Yuri, knocking him off his pedestal. "Being delusional much?" Sen sneered.

Yuri spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed. He then looked up to her with mad eyes, “You are going to be worth devouring! Just like Hana!”

And just like that, the fight between the two continued, shaking the earth. Because Yuri was not yet a god, Sen was able to hold her ground against him despite Yuri devouring the other celestials’ flesh to become stronger than before.

However as the days went on as the two battled it out, both Sen and Yuri’s energy were quickly draining. Both were covered in blood, panting heavily as the land before the Lusetry Forest had become a complete wasteland filled with corpses. Sen’s vision began blurring, but she still stood tall. 

The first to fall was Yuri. Seeing that her opponent had fallen, Sen let out a small breath of relief, however, before that could even happen, a shiver ran down her spine. Twisting around to look up in the sky, she pulled up a magic shield, taking the impact of the random attack.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk~. Even after I went out of my way to help you ascend, you were still defeated by a mere human~,” a seductively charming female voice sounded from within the dust clouds.

When the dust clouds settled, Sen saw the devilishly sexy woman. C-2 informed Sen who it was; it was the Demon Queen, Ilreth.

Sen narrowed her eyes as she stared at the woman who swayed her hips, making her way to the fallen Celestial.

“It was you who told him. That by devouring the other celestials and those with strong mana that he can ascend by force, right?” Sen questioned.

Ilreth smiled. “Such a smart woman.” A second later, Ilreth’s smile turned icy cold. “Who are you? How could a human like you be this strong that not even Yuri could defeat you with the powers he’s attained?”

Sen just smirked, “I see. So, you made him your puppet.”

A glint of light flashed through Ilreth’s eyes. Since Sen was not going to answer the question, Ilreth was not going to pursue either. “Yes and no.”

Sen made no comment.

“We go way back. I’ve known him even before he ascended to become a God and descended to become a Celestial. How should I say this?” Ilreth brought her fist to her chin as if she was thinking really hard of how to word her next words. “We had sex with each other here and there. But then he decided to stop seeing me one day. I was very lonely, so I decided to let him in on a little secret - how to ascend by force.”

“He slept with you even though you’re the Demon Queen?”

Ilreth puckered her lips sadly, “That hurts my feelings, y’know? Just because I’m a demon, it doesn’t mean I’m bad.”

Sen scoffed, “Sure,” Sen looked down to the collapsed Yuri on the ground. “Not bad at all. He only just devoured his fellow celestials and one of my people.”

Ilreth just shrugged her shoulders indifferently as she leaned down to pick Yuri up. She caressed the unconscious man’s face with her slender finger. “Hm~, I wonder how long you’ll last? Will you be able to survive until that forest reopens? I wonder.”

Sen narrowed her eyes. She knew what Ilreth meant. Sen straightened her back and held her sword proudly  in her left hand as she stood before the forest. “Want to find out?”

An intrigued glint flashed through Ilreth’s eyes as she smiled. With a motion of her hand, Ilreth summoned forth her demon generals.

“I do. I want to know just how strong you are, human.”

And just like that, Ilreth scooped Yuri up and left through a warp portal, leaving Sen to fight against her army of demons. Sen took a deep breath in and exhaled, her jeweled eyes twinkling brilliantly. Her fighting spirit had yet to fall.

***

Throughout the whole month, Sen fought courageously and drained most of her energy with little to no rest. She couldn't falter, if she did, her barriers and charms would cease to work. And if that happened, everyone else would be in danger. She couldn't let that happen! The only rest she ever got was when a new demon general came forth with their army to fight against her, which meant her resting intervals were only about 20-30 minutes long. She’d either rest, eat or drink whatever she could scavenge from that wasteland. Oftentimes, she’d go days with no water, food or rest. 

But now, the one month time limit has come to an end; the Lusetry Forest was going to reopen and whoever, or whatever, was waiting on the other side can finally leave. Sen had just barely finished defeating this wave’s demon general and his demon army when the forest barrier opened.

When the demon general finally fell, Sen collapsed onto her knees, chest palpitating as she tried catching her breath looking over to the forest entrance. Covered in blood from head to toe, was Yoru. He had emerged victorious; Sen had no doubt that he'd defeat Celestial Chayi and the demons inside the forest. 

Stumbling out, as soon as Yoru saw Sen, the light in his eyes gleamed joyously. But he was also in pain as he saw just how tattered and wounded she was. She was in no better shape than he was. She waited for him; she waited and fought for a whole month to see him make it out alive.

There were no words to describe how elated Yoru felt when he saw her there. It was the first day of the 9th month of the year, meaning in six days on the 7th day, the colosseum will finally open. The Valley of Mull Rise was a three-day trip from the Lusetry Forest, but for them, it just might take them all six days to reach the colosseum.

Because the Colosseum of Champions was placed and enchanted by Rhalios, there was a special magic spell that prohibited demons to enter. Sen dragged her exhausted body over to Yoru, who also fell down to his knees, swaying like he'd collapse at any moment. As soon as Sen reached him, Yoru pulled her into his arms without hesitation.

“You idiot! Why did you stay here? You could’ve died,” he said firmly but snuggled himself into the crook of her neck.

Sen also hugged him in return. “There was no way I was going to abandon you here all alone.”

Hearing those words, a fiery wave surged through Yoru’s body. He held tight onto her. 

“...What about my brother?” Yoru suddenly asked as he pulled away with one hand still around her waist.

Sen looked up to him and shook her head, “I couldn’t help him. The Demon Queen Ilreth has corrupted him.”

Yoru then looked down to her arm. She lost her arm protecting him. Yoru's expression became troubled with guilt. Sen just gave him a soft smile. "I'm alright."

Gathering all of her strength, she pushed herself up, pulling Yoru along as he too, struggled to stand.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way to the Valley of Mull Rise.”

***

Because both were drained of any magic energy, they had to journey on foot. Here and there on the road they’d encounter demons and have to fight with their lives on the line nonstop. They were given no rest, but they had each other; supporting one another when the other became sloppy with their movements.

After having told Yoru about Ilreth and her ties to Yuri, Yoru was at a loss for words. He never knew. Seeing that concerned expression written all over Yoru’s face, Sen comforted him as she held his hand, “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry. We’ll make it out of this together.”

Yoru looked over to Sen and smiled, tightening his grip on hers. 

Continuing their long journey to the colosseum, Yoru thought back to his experience when he was stuck in the forest for a month.

Celestial Chayi was gaining the upper hand in defeating Yoru, Fey and Ignis. 

It all made sense now, what Chayi said to him. They can either join Yuri or become food. Because he joined Yuri, Yuri blessed Chayi with a drop of his blood, empowering Chayi. 

“You’re mad! That’s going against the natural order!” Ignis shouted.

“He won’t become a God nor a demon!! He’ll become an abomination!” Fey remarked.

“But look,” Chayi raised his hand and used his magical force to crush Ignis to the ground. “I’m so much stronger than you three combined.”

He released the pressure off Ignis, who gasped for air.

“Come on. Don’t be like Kala and Jonah. They resisted and also rejected the idea. They got upset and fought Yuri, and look where that got them - dead.”

The three hurdled together, facing one foe.

“We were once Gods! Does it not anger you that even after hundreds of years none of us have even came close to ascending. We suffered the humiliation from our kin! They are doing nothing but watching us send our disciples to their deaths!” Chayi shouted out in frustration before catching his breath.

Taking a deep breath and calming himself down, he looked back to the three. “If we go by this method, we can rise up and become Gods of our own. We can overthrow the Heavenly palace. We will be the kings of Gods! We’ll build our new empire!” Chayi exclaimed passionately.

“But, there can only be one King. And since Yuri told you about this, it is he who will be king. Do you really think he’ll share that position with you?” Fey questioned.  

Chayi just glared at the two before switching his gaze over to Yoru.

“Oh, poor Yoru. Having gone through 6 tribulations but only passing two. Who knows how many more you’ll have to take in order to succeed and gain your God name and domain. Come,” Chayi extended his hand out. “This method is less painful. You won't have to hide under your brother's shadow any more.”

Chayi’s words were correct. Their current method of ascension was taking way too long; they were humiliated from the moment they were cast down from the heavens by Rhalios. If anything, they all wanted to return to the heavens. They wanted to return home, and Yoru no longer wanted to live under his brother's shadow. However…

There was only one thing on Yoru's mind… Sen. If it was not for his banishment, he wouldn’t have ever met her. While it was true that he wanted to return to the heavens, it wasn’t as much as wanting to return to Sen. He didn't care if he remained in Yuri's shadow. He just wanted to see her, even if it was for one last time.

“No,” Yoru answered resolutely. “I don’t care if it takes another hundred years, two hundred years, a thousand years. I will not go on the crooked path to cheat my way up. If Rhalios deems me unworthy of ascending, then so be it.”

Yoru’s violet colored hair flared again, regaining its vitality as lightning sparked crackled around him. “And right now, there is someone waiting for me. I have to return to her.”

Chayi rolled his eyes. These righteous celestials were not going to listen to him. So be it. Thus the battle between the four continued.

But it only went on until Chayi suddenly faltered, which proved to be fatal because his head was cleanly severed by Fey. Because Chayi drank blood from Yuri, their magic energy reservoir was connected. Thus, when Yuri collapsed, it also affected Chayi. 

But the fight was not over. The forest was still crawling with demons and all three of them were heavily wounded. As the end of the month limit approached, both Fey and Ignis passed away, after all, they were the seniors of Yoru, they could not let their junior suffer due to their incompetence, even if they weren’t close at all.

When the two passed on, they left Yoru to fend for himself. 

Yoru wanted the endless waves of demons to end. He wanted everything to end. He was so exhausted and was in so much pain that he wanted to die. He had already used up so much energy to fight against Chayi and was so close to not making it. If it wasn't for Chayi's incident, he probably would've died. And there was something about these demons that were different. They were much stronger than the ones he has fought before. 

He just wanted everything to end. But each time he thought of that, Sen’s face would appear, making him keep his hold onto the thread from where his life dangled from. 

No! I will return to see her! She will keep her promise!

So, when he had finally exterminated all of the demons inside the forest and the barrier had opened, when he saw her face, Yoru was quite certain he was going to break down, but he held back. He was just so relieved to finally have Sen back in his arms.