JUNE 18th, 2014.

The ground around us began to shake, cracking and turning the laminate floor into rubble as purple and black lightning began to rise out of each opening, surrounding Yggdrasil in a rounded cage made of it.
For the first time, he’d thrown away the look of superiority and exchanged it for one of worry. I couldn’t help myself, I couldn’t help but show a smug grin as I watched him lose his standing in front of me. Cyan-colored, humanoid spirits began to rise from beneath the ground, breaking out the larger gaps in the floor. They desperately grabbed onto Yggdrasil’s ankles and began to climb up his legs, trying to force him down into the depths of Hell.

Deformed spirits, or Sapra-class, infamously. Dead and enslaved spirits made from some of the most incorrigible, rotten souls alive. Anything they see, they wish to destroy, so they can selfishly cast others into the same fate that fell onto them. Deformed freaks who don’t have enough power to form a contract with a signer, but have far too much hatred or regret to pass on. They write in constant agony as their faces distort in anger and despair, yelling at whoever they see. Knowing that whoever it is can’t save them, so they should suffer just the same. Distorted voices of the damned fill the air as Yggdrasil stares down at them, confused for the first time.

Even if it ended up failing to kill him… that look in his eyes?

God, I loved seeing that.

Yggdrasil began to punch at them, trying to kick them off, but the sheer amount of them made them impossible to shake off. They started to bite into his fleshy armor, ripping it off as aqua-green liquid ran down their faces. Disgusting cannibals that knew nothing but hatred and violence. He continues to punch at them, ripping them off of his leg as more crawl from the depths and latch onto him.

“What the hell is this, Reaper…?!”

I swung my scythe just to show off, resting it at my side as I cocked my head. I felt like I had won.

“I’m not really the type to tell their enemy how they’re going to die. Figure it out for yourself.”

Yggdrasil glared at me, incredibly annoyed. With his entire lower body covered in spirits, I watched, satisfied, as they began to rip into his skin. He began to roar out in pain, and I felt chills down my spine as I listened to his inhuman voice yelling, but I knew that I had won.

There was nothing he could do at that point.

But something still felt wrong.

A doubt, screaming at me that I was far too confident in my own ability.

I take my scythe in both hands, swinging it as I begin to rush toward him to assist those tortured souls in killing him. Initially, he was too busy punching and tearing at them to care, but…

…As soon as my scythe swung down, he brought his forearm up to stop it.

Then, I figured it out. I knew what my mistake was.

He was lying the entire time.

Regaining that smug grin, his eyes glared at me from an angle, and I froze.

“Ah… did you enjoy that act? You truly thought you could best a god…”

Before I could say, or even think anything in response, he slammed his fist into my stomach and blood spat out of my mouth as I was hurled backward, my back slamming against yet another wall.

There’s… no way. Damnation should’ve…

I tilted my head upward and watched as Yggdrasil picked up a collection of the tortured spirits, taking them between his teeth as he bit their heads off.

I get it now.

He’s not a god, or even a spirit.

He’s a devil.

How do I beat something that shouldn't even exist…?

He continued to stomp on the souls until they were just splatters sinking into the recesses of the cracks… he gripped the black and purple lightning-shaped energy and tore through it with his claws as I couldn’t help but gaze in horror as he stepped through it, heading slowly toward me.

“Was that supposed to be your full potential? How… disappointing.”

I tried to move my damaged, beaten body as I leaned into my scythe… just a combat stance, anything. I barely managed it as I saw his glowing, horrifying eyes stare at me like I didn’t exist. I was so weak to him that he thought I wasn’t even there.

“I was going to let you off with a broken skull… to teach that brat a lesson. But you, and all your arrogance…”

He leaned downward, cocking his head toward me… opening his mouth to show just how horrifying he could look.

“...Have really pissed me off. I’ll be killing—”

He suddenly stumbled forward, holding his head and groaning.

“You…? How are you…? Ugh…”

His hands began to scratch and rip at his face, cutting into his eyes and removing his own teeth as he yelled in pain. He continued to rip and tear at himself until I could clearly see Seth’s face from behind his form, his single eye looking more scared than even I was as he yelled at me.

“RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! I CAN’T…!”

He dropped to his knees, continuing to rip against his with right right hand as he slammed against the floor with his left fist. I sat there, stunned. I could move, despite him asking me to.

“KAT, GO! LEAVE, NOW! HE’S…”

His body goes limp on his knees, staring at me with one eye closed as I watch the armor and eyes that had covered his human face heal themselves and open with a wave of newfound anger, his teeth rematerializing into a snarl as he stands up, staring at me.

“Interesting…” Yggdrasil began to say, now having full control over his body again. I wanted to apologize to Seth… I couldn’t move at all.

“...He may just… No, that doesn’t matter. You.”

He steps over to me, grabs my scythe, and throws it out of my hands. Probably because I used Damnation, my pneuma and overall energy levels were tanked. I could barely move any part of my body, as I tried to pull away from him. He grabbed me by the collar of my undershirt and sent a punch flying into my stomach.

Now that he was pissed, I could tell.

He’d been holding back the entire time.

I don’t know if I was supposed to appreciate it, but initially, he really didn’t plan to kill me.

As I was sent flying into the air, crashing against the ceiling, and watching as blood poured from my mouth and the rest of my body… feeling as if every bone was simultaneously broken at once and being unable to stop crying out in pain, I couldn’t think about that at all. I watched through bloodied and blurry eyes as copious amounts of crimson splattered against the floor below me. Shortly after, the rubble that held me against the ceiling began to fall as my body helplessly fell with it, slamming against the floor of the arena with a splat against my own blood.

Everything was definitely broken.

Maybe I deserve this… letting myself go and killing him so easily like that…

I justify it with, ‘It’s just my job’, but I know that’s bullshit.

Even if he said he’d do the same… isn’t it just out of necessity? If I had denied this… would I have been fired, killed instead…? All because of some worthless test, for some worthless, idiotic geezers who sit in their damned chairs and watch as the rest of us suffer?!

But then, I guess I’m just blaming other people.

That’s what I always do.

From the death of my parents, to everything I did to become a reaper…

…I just blamed other people.

But it was all my fault.

Is this… that enlightenment you feel before death, that everyone talks about?

That feeling of release… so you let everything go…?

I heard the steps of Yggdrasil approaching me, being unable to look in his direction. The sound itself was muddy as blood flooded my ears… distorted. I couldn’t tell how far away he was. My nerves were too damaged to feel the shakings of the ground accurately, either. Unlike all the people I’ve killed, I was now at the mercy of another.
Something even crueler than I was.

If I don’t die here, I…

…I’ll try and be a better person.

The sound of the footsteps stopped, and I could tell, even then, that he was standing before me. Looking down at me.

In pity?

Disgust, even?

I didn’t have any way of knowing. I just sat there, waiting for my death. Before long, I felt the wind rushing, pushing and pulling on my bloodied clothes.

Seth… I’m sorry. If you’re watching, just… don’t blame this on yourself.

Miyuki, I… couldn’t be the little sister you dote on and spoil. Please be better than I was.

Yasu… I’m sorry for always being so hard on you, even though I never understood the pain you experienced.

And Liam… thank you for saving the life of someone like me, and giving me another chance... even with all the horrible things I’ve done.

As the wind rushed, I heard a voice… barely legible due to my fading consciousness, but I heard it anyway.

“Goodbye, Reaper. Advent Hor—”

It cut off, abruptly, before I heard and felt something large fall onto the floor with a loud thud. My vision started to fade as I closed my eyes, but I felt someone pick me up… I even felt their worry through how they carried me.

“Mi…yuki…” I uttered, barely able to move my mouth.

Yasu found her in time… I was glad.

This nightmare was finally over.

I passed out, relieved of my worries.