From the word “holy”, what does one usually think of?

Angels? Spirits? Bright, yellow lights? The sun? A church with hymns of organ music? 

The answer was surprisingly simple.

Being holy, simply meant being untouchable. An untouchable existence.

Kuuya trembled at the unnatural sight of white as it filled his retinas with blindness. Angela, a celestial being resembling the appearance of Greek mythologies. The inhuman-looking woman was beautiful beyond mortal comprehension, as seen by her pure white tunics, hair and eyes. Not a taint of color was on her self.

This was why Kuuya understood the abnormality before him even more.

This being was not of this world.

“What do you mean… by relinquishing… my rights?”

Kuuya squints his eyes, seemingly aware of her, no, “its” intentions.

The angel, Angela, gave another uncanny smile at that question, almost as if it could read his thoughts at that moment.

“Yes. I have relayed God’s intentions. And now you, a human, must obey without questions.”

No right to veto? Well of course.

『Status Check』has failed.

Angela could not be observed. But even without it, Kuuya could feel the power gap between them. She is what one would call, the scripted, unbeatable boss fight.

But it felt bitter to give up just like this.

“...What if I don’t want to?”

Angela did not respond to his question, and merely smiled. Her finger was pointed at the bloodied mess that was left of the officer before.

“I see.”

Kuuya grit his teeth suddenly, feeling the dark whispers in his head.

“...Yeah, I know.”

To relinquish power, or to fight an impossible opponent?

…Should he do it, at a great cost? How much did he value this power?

Kuuya contemplated for a moment.

It didn’t take long before he came to a decision. The boy frowns, and sighs. Seeing his arms eventually raised, Angela merely smiled.

“Smart choice.”

She floated towards the boy, the old phone Kuuya possessed slowly being pulled towards her.

“And now to remove the ability.”

A climber’s status window, which was reported to have never been allowed to be shared with another person, was directly bypassed by Angela. A bunch of holographic screens opened up as the phone was touched.

Her movement paused as she observed his Dungeon System, 

“Hang on… this is—”

“—Hel.”

Without warning, a bone-chilling sensation could be felt behind Angela’s back.

In a moment of astonishment, she hurriedly turned to confront that threatening presence.

A thick, cloud of miasma surrounded her.

“W-What is this?! Impossible—”

Strange whispers entered her mind, as her eyes dilated and her body shook.

“N-No… get out of my head…! Get out!!!”

Angela writhed and yelled loudly. The wings on her feathers began to decay into black. Her eyes slowly melted, and her skin turning ash white.

“Huu-mannn?! Wh-What have you… brought to this… wor…ld…!”

Kuuya remained silent, as the angel was slowly being eaten up by the miasma. Understandably so, as he had witnessed the first time that skill was used.

『Life Eater』

What Kuuya saw was a future where he was the one being consumed, had he made the wrong choice that fateful night. And thus his eyes remained glued to the grotesque scene, as black worms and centipedes crawled all over the angel, tainting it with a miasmic plague.

“...Th…e balance… w…orld… this… is… all wro…ng…”

Angela was no more.

“Well, that worked.”

Much more than he’d thought. But what comes after this is…

From Kuuya’s shadow, a creature pulled herself out slowly. The shadow rippled like murky, black mud, and soon the individual manifested completely.

Kuuya felt a hug from his back. A cold, lifeless sensation could be felt, almost as if he was being embraced by a corpse. Yet, those thoughts were only kept to himself.

The boy finally turned to look at her. The one who’d erased the angel from existence.

A white-haired girl, with horns atop her head. It was those blood-red eyes with that indifferent gaze that identified the girl as Hel. Yet different from how she looked before, Hel was now a height shorter. Her proportions had regressed to that of a middle-schooler.

“You’ve become smaller, Hel.”

“...Power. Used up. …World, strange.”

Kuuya silently observed the status window of Hel.

Summoned Spirit: Personified Death, Hel Nocturnus [Due to world incompatibility, the summoned spirit’s level of existence has been reduced to [Elder Lich]!] [Due to the use of『Life Eater』, a proportionate amount of level has been temporarily reduced!] LV 4900 (-991,000) | Spirit Rank: SS

 

Strength — 444	Class: Necromancer | Shaman
Dexterity — 444
Intelligence — 444
Luck — 0

Ever since Kuuya had ‘tamed’ Hel, a lingering attachment of one of his clones, the Player System had granted him access to the [Summons] Status.

Summons, in other words, he was a summoner who could control Hel as war potential, along with the Death Sprites that Hel could create and control.

A spirit rank of SS, it could be said that it was a status befitting of what “personified death” was supposed to be. Kuuya shivered at the thought of how this being had come to become contracted to Serval, but he wasn’t one to shy away from making full use of her.

To think Hel was this powerful, even with the system limitations.

“...Thank you, Hel.”

The girl who’d shrinked greatly from the whiplash of『Life Eater』, looked straight at the boy.

“…”

“…”

There, the conversation had died before it even begun.

Slithering around his body were two petite arms. Cold, as always. A light tremble coursed through Kuuya’s body as he waited for the still-faced girl to nestle herself comfortably on his chest.

“...Recover… difficult.”

“I see.”

Hel releases herself from the hug, and glances at her shortened limbs. She clenched and unclenched her palms, as if unfamiliar with the sensation of her new body.

“World, strange.” She repeats again, frowning.

Perhaps it’s a different world from where she was created, so it was more difficult to regain the energy that she had depleted?

Then, Hel stares straight into his eyes.

“That’s why… Equal, compensation.”

Kuuya froze.

Of course, it came down to that.

The two were no master and servant. They were tied in a contractual relationship, one where repayment would be done at the end of his life. 

But what else other than his life could he afford to give her?

“...Head…pat.”

???

“Headpat.”

“...You… want a headpat?”

Hel nodded, her appearance as a child surprisingly fitting her words right now.

Had her lowered status turned her mentality into that of a child too?

Kuuya counted his blessings where he could, as he smiled and stroked the girl’s ashen white hair. The girl’s expression remained indifferent for a while, all while staring strongly at Kuuya.

It was a little unsettling.

“...Okay. Is, enough.”

“You’ve had enough?”

Hel nodded again, and slowly submerged back into the boy’s shadow.

“Rest. Needed.”

Then, her descent suddenly stopped. Half-submerged, she stared at Kuuya with the same blank expression that she’s always had.

“Weak.”

“…”

She opened her mouth again, and this time, speaking in death’s tongue once more.

The girl finally points at his shadow. 

“Children.”

Seemingly understood what she wanted to say, Kuuya smiles.

“Got it, thank you Hel.”

“...” Hel had completely sunk into his shadow, but her voice echoed in his head.

“See you. Soon.”

Somehow, hearing that from Death is…

“...”

That’s right, isn’t it. No matter how human she looked, Hel Nocturnus was never going to be human.

He would be crazy to feel anything for a grim reaper.

“...Get a grip.”

Clapping the sides of his cheeks, Kuuya refocused himself.

The appearance of a high-authority being had appeared with the intent to cut him off. This gave him plenty of information.

One, he was already being noticed as an anomaly in this world. So much so that his abilities had to be removed.

And two, the existence of angels and a “God” were the ones who created and distributed the Tower System.

Finally, it was the possibility of defeating the angels. 

Of course, there was no telling when another angel would appear again, but『Life Eater』couldn’t be used in succession.

Kuuya needed to plan out what he needed to do quickly, while he still had his powers.

—The Tower System with his power『Cloning』Rank 1.

—The Player System with his status points and overworld skills.

At the peak of his strength, Kuuya is now at a crossroads. 

He was fighting against time. Who knew how many ability users had reawakened besides him? While he was still idling by, countless civilians were being ravaged by monsters.

The world is about to be plunged into madness again. Before that happens, a precedent must be set. He couldn’t stop human nature from recreating that dystopian past, but at the very least he would become that beacon of hope for his family and friends.

Staring into the distance, Kuuya glares strongly at the towering monument.

As if on cue, a pop-up screen appeared.

>Climber!

>Emergency Quest has started!

>Due to a long period of neglect, Tower of Stone is now experiencing an Outbreak!

>Condition: Eliminate all monsters during the Outbreak.

>Remaining monsters: 109/150

“First, we’ll clean up all of them.”

A large number of Death Sprites appeared, as they felt Kuuya’s intent. Shadowy humanoids made up of unsightly creatures. Children who multiplied in numbers as they fed on death.

“How fun.” “Time to kill.” “More friends!” “Let’s play, mister!”

They slowly merged together, forming a veil around him.

『Umbral Cloak』— An ability used almost intuitively as it slowly blended him into the surroundings. The darkening sky seemed to discolor even his presence into nothingness. 

The night signaled the start of a new age. 

The re-beginnings of dungeons, normal civilians, ability users and the castes formed from the divides.

And Kuuya was determined, this time, to be the link that ties everything together.