HEX: Aspect Of The Void

"Rio. Please do not be upset, but we need to hurry!" Virgo stated, rising from her seated position.

I grinned internally, showing a surprised look in response to her words.

"What are you talking about?" 

She gulped, wondering how she would pass across the information she had to me.

"Well, the thing is... Aries sent me a message not long ago, about how he found two people tracing him. He mentioned how he was going to teach them a lesson."

She paused for a moment to judge my expression. I gave a blank look, causing her to continue speaking.

"I realize now that they would most likely be your party members. If we do not hurry, then-" Her pace increased, and from her tone, I could sense impatience.

Apparently, she was worried that Aries' actions would cause me to act unfavorably toward them, especially concerning her proposed alliance.

Her panic amuses me.

"Kekekeke" I let out a snicker, slowly transforming into a chuckle underneath my breath.

"Hahahahahahaha" 

Laughing in amusement, I gave a very cheery expression as a few drops of tears pooped from my eyes.

Virgo stared at me strangely. She certainly wasn't expecting this reaction from me. While she was worried about my perception of her, as well as her partner, she still had to make sure we were on the same page.

"R-Rio... what are you doing? Your friends are being apprehended by Aries. He is not nearly as moderate as I am. If we don't get there quickly to stop him, then... who knows what he would do to-"

"Haa, Virgo. There's no need to worry about those two. They'll be fine. If anything, the one we should be more concerned about... is your partner." I smiled, giving her a calm, reassuring look.

"W-what are you talking abou-?!" Virgo mumbled, appearing perplexed by what I said.

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Suddenly, a thought flashed in her head. After witnessing my immense power which exceeded anything the Apostacy had to offer, perhaps my teammates might have been similar.

Looking at things from that perspective, she had to admit that the possibility of me being right was high. If that was the case, then...

Her panic hasn't reduced, it has only been diverted from those two to Aries.

"Rio, shall we continue this discussion later? Let's stop the fight, for now!" Virgo said, tightening her fist.

 She didn't want to imagine it, but after everything she had seen, Virgo was now aware of how narrow her mind was.

It's possible for a 'mere' human to defeat a chosen one of the gods.

After all, I was living proof... or am I?

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

"Y-you bastards..." Aries coughed, spitting out blood from his mouth as he throbbed in pain.

His deep glare was directed toward one individual in particular.

'Damnit! I really thought they were nothing. But... what is the meaning of this? Just one of them put me in this state... impossible!' Aries groaned as he watched the ominous entity approach him.

"That look in your eyes... I don't like it" His opponent's voice reverberated in his ears, causing Aries' body to shudder.

The air seemed to be filled with a chilly aura, and the shadows all around the silhouette made the Constellation somewhat regret his arrogance.

'Damn... I can't even contact Virgo. There's some sort of interference. Is the other one causing it?' He thought, glancing behind the ominous silhouette to see its partner smiling at his disgraceful state.

'That little-' He gritted his teeth in rage.

"It seems you still have quite the energy left, for you to still display this level of defiance..."

The voice brought Aries back to his bleak reality, causing him to shudder even further.

It was disgraceful, but Aries had to don one of his many identities to escape the danger he was currently facing.

'I have to negotiate!'

"T-this is enough, don't you think? Let's just end things here. Trust me, you don't want to go any further than thi-" His voice quivered, feigning a smile as he spoke.

Before he could complete his words, a dark hand sped across the distance between him and his foe, grabbing Aries on the face.

"Ummphh" He tried speaking, but the hand tightened on his face, crushing it the more he struggled.

"... I said... I don't like that look in your eyes!" The silhouette muttered, walking closer to Aries, whose eyes bulged on fright.

'N-no... s-stay away! Stay back!' His thoughts screamed.

However, the object of fright did not stop. As the dark hand pressed more on Aries' face, the figure appeared to be smiling while placing both its hand in its pockets casually.

"Now, to finish things... are you ready, 'Enemy' of the Boss...?!"

"Ummmphhhhh!!!" Aries struggled to speak, to no avail.

The shadowy hands pressed more on his face, causing blood to spill out of his tearing facial skin.

There was no way he could protest or stop what was to come. This was truly the end.

'To think... I would be killed by, not two, but one of them. I didn't... think I was this weak...' His thought trailed as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

Aries heard a familiar voice calling out to him in the background. The presence he felt was similar, but due to the state he was in, he couldn't quite pick it up well.

'Who... who's there? P-please... s-save me...' 

Finally, everything went dark.

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

[The Forgotten Town, Eastern Empire]

"Ah, I see..." I mumbled, formulating a plan based on the memories I obtained from the dead girl.

Xiang was her name, no?

As I did this, Lust enjoyed herself as she absorbed all the terrified townsfolk. Screams filled the air as she sucked them all within herself. They couldn't run or hide. Only despair awaited them as their bodies merged with Lust in seconds.

'How cruel can she be?' I thought to myself, grinning a little.

Not only did she undo her hold on them, but Lust also allowed them to try escaping from her. It proved to be the most entertaining when her victims had a small glimmer of hope before she crushed it entirely.

So, as they ran, she hunted and absorbed them all.

Of course, they weren't dead. But storing them within herself, Lust could bring them out at any time to entertain her. There was also the possibility of her creating a fun game withIn herself and making everyone she trapped in her internal world play whatever the twisted thing was.

I ignored Lust's childish activities and allowed my cute creation to indulge in her hunt while reasoning the next step.

Thanks to the information I received from Xiang, I had a fair understanding of the basic history and concept of the Eastern Kingdom.

It had a central territory and several bordering towns and settlements. 

The central territory was where the wealth was concentrated, a place nearly as large as the Western Kingdom itself. 

The dream of most individuals in the settlements would be to live in the prosperous bulk of land. Even Xiang had that dream when she was younger when she heard stories from her parents.

'Interesting...' I grinned.

It seems no matter the place, a major element present in every human civilization is politics and a hierarchy. 

While the basis for determining this defers for each kingdom, it is still a universal feature. For the Western Kingdom, they led an aristocratic society.

Nobles and Royals had the highest placement. Merchants were also respected, but the lower class didn't have it any better. I knew the social injustice wasn't too evident for me, since I only ever stayed at the luxurious areas during my stay in Artia, and even Lamar.

However, looking into the memories of people have me a good perspective.

For the Eastern Empire, what mattered most was the function and merit a person had. If one was talented, they would naturally rise to prominence. Conquering Dungeons, slaying monsters, performing a great feat, discovering a new mineral, the list was endless. 

All a person needed to do to gain prominence was to achieve greatness. In such a society, it was survival of the fittest. Even the emperor's throne was not exempted. 

Out of four great families fabled to be of the original settlers in the land, a contest was held to determine who the next ruler would be.

The rich history of these people, and their very simplistic, yet intricate identity made me consider the next step I was initially going to take.

"Why don't I do it like 'this' instead... Yes. It'll be more interesting this way..." I grinned.

By the time I made up my mind, Lust was already done with her chore. The entire village was deserted, and none were left. Even the men who had been kept hidden in their breeding ground were all taken by Lust. All in a matter of seconds.

"Master, it seems you've made up your mind..." Wrath said, looking at my excited expression.

"Oh? Is it that obvious?" 

He nodded, smiling in affirmation. 

Everyone was in a good mood, grinning and smiling... all except one.

'Lumia, eh? I wonder what's up with her....'