While the world of Pangea had entered a state of calm, the forces in Solterra had started to stir.

A handsome young man with short black hair and golden eyes hummed a tune as he walked through a mountain pass.

His clothes were simple and typical for travelers, and anyone who saw him wouldn’t think he was from a rich family.

But even if a group of bandits dared to attack him, all of them would be subjugated by his overwhelming charisma.

Meaning, the moment he spoke to them, the bandits would be overwhelmed by his friendliness, making them lose the urge to rob him, or worse, kill him.

As this young man continued his journey without a care in the world, the sunny sky above his head was suddenly covered by dark clouds.

“Oh dear…” the young man muttered. “An annoying guy is coming.”

The dark clouds swirled, creating a tornado that descended upon the ground, just a few meters away from where the young man stood.

When the tornado dispersed, a man wearing a white hooded robe with a golden staff on hand smiled as his gaze landed on the young man, who now had a solemn look on his face.

“Do you know how long it took me to find you?” the man holding the golden staff asked before taking off the hood that covered his head.

His long silver hair flowed down behind his back, but no one would mistake him for a woman due to his sharp, masculinefeatures.

“What do you want?” the black-haired young man asked with a frown.

“I came here to tell you not to get in my way,” the silver-haired man replied. “Otherwise, we will become enemies.”

“Huh?” The black-haired young man tilted his head in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Pandora,” the silver-haired man answered. “I will take Pandora.”

“… Are you mad?”

“No. I am serious.”

The black-haired young man narrowed his eyes. “Let’s say you succeed, what do you plan to do?”

“What else?” the silver-haired man smirked. “Freedom. I am sick and tired of this world. It is time to take a journey to the stars.”

“It seems that you still haven’t given up, Zaphiel,” the black-haired young man said. “Do you really think you will succeed?”

“I won’t know until I try, won’t I?” Zaphiel smiled faintly. “Also, I am not the only one who wishes for a change. The others agree with me. How about you come and join me, Dantanian? Don’t you like going on adventures? You have already traveled this world thrice over. Are you not looking forward to seeing new scenery?”

Dantanian chuckled. “As much as I like the idea, I have no intention of sacrificing this world just to travel to another.”

“So, does that mean that you’re going to become my enemy?” Zaphiel narrowed his eyes.

“You already know I don’t like fighting or making enemies,” Dantanian stated. “If you want to take Pandora, feel free to do it. But I doubt that you will succeed. After all, the Eldest among us took it from the treasury of Heaven before it could be used to destroy this world.”

At the mention of their “Eldest,” Zaphiel’s eyes glowed faintly as if hearing a name he detested very much.

“The Eldest is a coward,” Zaphiel stated. “He had no backbone. While he is indeed the most powerful among us, he refuses to use that power for his own gains. If only I had that power, I would have already changed this world for the better.”

“Frankly, I’m glad the Eldest is the most powerful among us,” Dantanian sneered. “This world would have long been destroyed if you were the one holding that power. I don’t want to say this, but you’re too ambitious for your own good, Zaphiel.”

“And you have no ambition, Dantanian,” Zaphiel scoffed. “Frolicking with those Wanderers, fooling around with the Solterrans, and playing games with the Jinns—is this what a proud Fiend should be doing?”

“Oh my, the Celestial is trying to taunt me!” Dantanian laughed. “Sorry, buddy. You are a thousand years too early to get into my nerves. Come back again after a millennium has passed.”

“You will regret not taking my hand in the future, Dantanian,” Zaphiel said. “The time has changed, and I will lead that change.”

“You sound so confident.” Dantanian arched an eyebrow. “Have you managed to trick anyone to join your Crusade?”

“Rahab, Belial, and Pharzuph share my vision,” Zaphiel declared.

Upon hearing his words, the smile on Dantanian’s face disappeared. The names Zaphiel mentioned were all bad news.

However, it didn’t take long before he calmed down, remembering how strong their Eldest was. He then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Unless you gather all fourteen, you will not have a chance to get Pandora,” Dantanian said with confidence. “Laplace Demon and The One will not allow it.”

“So what if they don’t allow it?” Zaphiel asked in contempt. “They can’t do anything. Their hands are tied.”

Dantanian didn’t say anything right away. Instead, he gave the silver-haired man in front of him a long, hard look.

He knew that what Zaphiel said was correct.

Laplace Demon and The One couldn’t stop any of them because they had an agreement.

No one could violate it, which meant that even if Zaphiel were to raze Solterra to the ground, the God of Wanderers couldn’t personally intervene.

The most he could do was send Wanderers to fix the problem.

But a problem orchestrated by a Celestial was not something even tens of thousands of Wanderers joining the fray could solve.

What made matters worse was that Zaphiel now had comrades who would help him achieve his goal.

“Well, good luck to you,” Dantanian had no intention of muddying the waters. He just wanted to live a carefree life, not shackled by anything or anyone. “Now, can you move out of my way, so I can continue my journey?”

“Just remember, if you are to get in my way, I won’t show you any mercy.” Zaphiel snapped his fingers.

The silver-haired man’s body was enveloped by a black tornado that rose toward the dark sky above his head.

A minute later, the sky cleared up once more, making it seem that the earlier conversation didn’t even happen.

“Change of plans,” Dantanian muttered. “I need to visit Apollyon as soon as possible. If he joins Zaphiel, things are going to be very dangerous.”

The young man took a deep breath before taking a single step.

A moment later, he appeared three miles away from where he originally stood.

He continued to walk towards the East, where the Fallen Angel of Death resided.

He was moving so fast, and yet, he sensed something that made him raise his guard.

’I’m being followed,’ Dantanian thought.

He didn’t stop walking, but his right hand slipped casually into his coat pocket, fingers brushing against a silver coin etched with runes.

From the shadows of a cliffside, several figures detached themselves, wearing black cloaks.

“You walk awfully fast for someone with no destination, Your Excellency,” the leader of the black-cloaked individual said.

Although he called Dantanian Your Excellency, the voice had not a trace of respect or awe.

“I think I’m being underestimated here,” Dantanian replied. “Does Zaphiel hate any of you? Why did he send small fries to get in my way?”

“No,” the Leader replied. “On the contrary, Lord Zaphiel believed that we are more than enough to deal with the weakest among the Fiends. He even gave us weapons in order to deal with you.”

“I see.” Dantanian sighed. “And here I thought I could avoid trouble until I reached Apollyon.”

The Leader’s smile widened. “I’m sure that My Lord will reward us generously for dealing with someone who might stand in his way in the future. Not to mention, the honor and glory of killing a Fiend, no matter how weak, will definitely put my name in the history books!”

Dantanian eyed the leader of Zaphiel’s assassins coldly. “History books, huh? I didn’t know they wrote stories about fools.”

The Leader drew a curved black blade that hummed with an unnatural vibration.

Around him, the other cloaked figures unsheathed similar weapons, their edges flickering with violet light.

“Celestial-forged,” the Leader declared proudly. “Designed to cut down even your kind.”

Dantanian flicked the rune coin into the air. It spun once, catching a shaft of sunlight before vanishing between his fingers.

“Cute toys. But I think you misunderstand one thing…” Dantanian’s voice was filled with disdain. “While they still call me the weakest Fiend… a thousand years have already passed since I first gained that title.”

A thousand years was a long time for many things to change, and Dantanian was no longer the Fiend whom everyone thought was the weakest.

’But now is not the time to show my prowess,’ Dantanian thought. ’I need to hold back, so I don’t accidentally kill these fools and alert Zaphiel of my real strength.’

While deep in thought, the first two attackers lunged from his left, their movements blurring from some enhancement spell.

Before their blades reached him, the ground beneath them twisted, stone shifting like water. Their feet sank ankle-deep, locking them in place.

A heartbeat later, silver fire erupted at their heels, swallowing them whole.

The rest hesitated, but only for a moment.

Then four moved at once, one from each side, their strikes aimed for his neck, heart, spine, and legs.

Dantanian turned on his heel, stepping between them as if strolling through a market.

Blades passed harmlessly through afterimages of his body, each attacker realizing too late that the young man whom they had underestimated was now brimming with killing intent.

The sound of ringing metal echoed as their weapons cracked, not from any clash, but as if something inside them had simply ceased to exist.

The Leader stumbled back. “Impossible…!”

“I hate that word,” Dantanian replied as he walked towards him. “Mortals have already made it clear that they could make the impossible, possible. Since they can do that, how could a Fiend like me be less capable?”

The Leader gritted his teeth and raised his blade for a desperate strike.

But before it could fall, Dantanian caught it between two fingers, the metal hissing as frost raced down its length, shattering it into black shards.

“Tell Zaphiel…” Dantanian leaned in until their foreheads nearly touched. “If he wants me dead, he should stop sending pawns. I get bored too quickly.”

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the Leader flying backward, landing unconscious against the cliff wall.

Dantanian dusted off his hands, retrieving the rune coin from the air once more. “Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Apollyon.”

His gaze shifted eastward, but this time his smile was gone. “Let’s hope the Fallen Angel of Death hasn’t already made up his mind.”

With that, he vanished, the mountain pass returning to silence save for the groans of the cloaked survivors, who thought that they could bring down a Fiend when their strength was only that of an Archon.

——–

A/N: Today is my birthday, so I only wrote one Chapter to celebrate more. Regular Chapters will resume tomorrow. Enjoy your long Chapter.