Finally, I've been waiting to write this chapter. xD I think I'm more excited than you guys, lol. Also, I made a little sketch that I will color and shade soon. I'm sorry if they look terrible, and if Yun Zhao looks like a girl, I'm bad at drawing guys. D;
Hope you all enjoy this special little chapter!

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Chapter 30
Inside a massive castle residing deep within the shadows of the Abyss. Two figures glanced at each other's, both of their eyes revealing a hatred for one another. "Greetings, Freya. What kind, pure, and strong Goddess like you want from this wretched, horrible place?" Vexana grinned, walking close towards Freya without caution and hesitation. Three souls suddenly appeared to surround Vexana, making giggles and chuckles as they swirled around her. "Oh, you think I am not aware of your plans? Your plans harmed my dear friend!" Freya raised her voice, showing immense anger. "Calm down, I didn't mean to hurt Rafaela. But at least she got saved by a beast instead of...dying." Vexana let out a soft chuckle out of her lips. Freya growled softly, glancing at the devious queen. She couldn't read her mind, what she's thinking about. All that Freya knows is that Vexana has been recently stealing heroes, forcing them to become villains. "You're getting on my nerves, Vexana. If you ever touch my friend again, I swear to the other Gods and Goddesses that I will lead you to the deepest inferno of hell." Freya said grimly, holding her shield and sword tightly. "I can feel your wrath over taking the room's dark atmosphere. Don't worry, I won't hurt her again." Vexana smiled, her smile sickening Freya. "Dare not, and do not make her one of your allies." She said, her voice still grim. Freya couldn't feel any seriousness in Vexana's aura besides an aura of atrocious, which made Freya a bit puzzled. Before stepping a foot to this castle of darkness, she was sure Vexana would fear her, but here she is, not feeling or showing any signs of fear. "Do I need another one person like her? No. I already have one, and besides, Rafaela is weak." Vexana said in disgust, turning her own body around to face herself in the opposite direction. "Is that all you want to talk about? I'm guessing not. You want to know my plans, yes?" Vexana's smile turned into a smirk, grabbing one of the souls that were swirling around her. "Is it not obvious? I desire to know, but I doubt that you'll tell me. What kind of villain, or villainess tell their own plans?"
  "A stupid one, but I am not a stupid villainess. I'm wise, I keep things hidden, I trust people whom I know everything about. But you, dear Goddess of War, are not one of the people that I trust, and you will never have my trust." Vexana let out a chuckle, turning her head to glance at Freya coldly. "That is not a bad answer. I have few more question before I go. Why do you do these sinister things? The God of Light told me that you were once pure and kind to everybody. Why not change who you are and reset? Do you not want to go back being the Queen everyone admires?" Freya asked, her voice becoming quite soft. Vexana let out a sigh, crushing the soul that was in her hands. "The world wouldn't be a very interesting story. It's true that a story doesn't need an antagonist to make conflicts for the protagonist. But without an antagonist will be quite dull, don't you think? I find you quite fortunate to be one of the protagonists, but I think being a villain is much more fun." Vexana grabbed another soul that was swirling around her, crushing it like the other one that she grabbed from earlier. "Villains never wins, I know that you are aware of that, Vexana. If you continue your scheme, you'll lose." Freya said, her voice stern and harsh. Vexana surprisingly lets out a hysterical laugh that made Freya took a step back away. "How would you know? You can't, everything will be a surprise. A twist till the end, like a knot being unknotted until it straightens into a clear line, full of now opened secrets that one so desirable seeks." Vexana said, beginning to walk away from Freya. But Freya decided to not let her get away without eliminating her. Vexana has become too strong, Freya felt it after that last sentence. Vexana has something that the Goddess of War does not have, she has someone or a group of people that have eyes all around the realms, told her secrets from the unknown. Perhaps it is her new allies?

Underneath the castle that belongs to the Queen of Doom, lies a massive dungeon with multiple torture rooms, meant for large numbers of prisoners. Rafaela shivered in the cold of the cell that she is in, its dusty, dirty walls and floors felt like ice, the rusty bars that looked very old still hard to be broken apart or into pieces. "Do you perhaps have a plan to get us out of this harsh prison, kind man?" Rafaela asked the large beast beside her, looking at him with soft eyes. "I'm afraid not, please forgive me. These bars and walls have magic and physical resistance, it is impossible for us to get out of here unless someone opens the cell for us to escape." Minotaur, the large beast besides Rafaela answered, slightly hanging his head. "My beloved friend once told me not give up hope. Because giving up won't do anything, it'll make you stay where you are, while trying makes you learn. If you make a mistake, you have to try again, you have to understand your mistakes, to be able to correct them." Rafaela said, her voice warm and comforting. Minotaur looked at her, forming a smile on his face. "Thank you, but that doesn't quite help our situation right now," Minotaur said, grabbing one of the rusty bars that kept them locked inside. "This is my responsibility, it is my fault that we have been captured. If I wasn't so weak, I would have let us get caught. My thoughts were right before I entered this realm. I am not good enough nor strong enough to be here," Rafaela said, sighing in disappointment. "I even failed in my first mission." The angel said, her voice sounding more sorrowful as she spoke each word in her sentence. Minotaur placed a hand on one of Rafaela's shoulder. "Please, dear angel. You should not doubt yourself, you did your best." Minotaur said, trying to comfort her. Rafaela looked up to the kind beast, forming a beautiful smile on her face. "Thank you."

Nearby the cell that Rafaela and Minotaur are in, a young girl with a blue and purple kimono woke up. Kagura grabbed her umbrella before standing up to her feet. Where am I? She thought to herself, looking around the room that she is in, quickly realizing that she is inside an old cell. Kagura looked at the bars, trying to break it with her basic attack, but it didn't work. Luckily for Kagura, she thought of something clever. She closed her umbrella, pushing it through one of the bars's openings, then dropped it. In an instant, she teleported outside of the cell, sighing in relief. Kagura walked towards to a random direction, hoping that it would lead her to an exit or some sort. But instead, she stumbled across an angel and a beast. Rafaela's eyes widened, she felt hope inside of her. "Can you kindly get us out?" Rafaela pleaded desperately, leaning herself against the cold bars. "Of course! But I don't think my method will work for you two.." Kagura frowned slightly, then pulled something out of her pockets, a small hair clip. "I may not be the best at lock picking, but this shall do." Kagura grabbed the lock, doing the process of unlocking it using a hair clip. After a few trials and errors, it finally worked successfully. Kagura opened the gate and let the two escape the cell. "We thank you for your kindness, young woman," Rafaela smiled softly. "Now we must go before someone catches us." Rafaela began to flap her golden wings, a familiar aura striking her. Slowly, she realized whose aura belongs to it. Freya is nearby! Rafaela thought happily, a wide smile forming on her face. "Follow me everyone. My friend is nearby, we must join her!" Rafaela said, following Freya's aura. Kagura and Minotaur followed behind Rafaela, running as fast as they can to catch up with the flying angel's speed.

Meanwhile in a realm far away from the Abyss. A land full of dusts, dried grounds, withered trees, and dead bushes. A seemingly wide Wasteland can be seen and visited. Underneath the Wasteland, deep underground. The capital of this land is hidden away from the monsters above the surface, but the city's identity will soon be revealed to the monsters.

Layla quickly got her mouth covered by a cloth, her arms and legs tied up tightly by a brown rope. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm just trying to save you from those people." The fat man with the large, red beard said to Layla in hopes of trying to calm her down, but it failed. Layla continued to struggle, glancing at the Viking. "Quiet! I heard noises." A man suddenly spoke, their voice sounding irritated. "Maybe you're just hearing things." Another man said, a sigh could be heard from his direction. "We must find those two gunners, the girl with an out of place steampunk dress and a guy with a large rifle gun on his back with a pistol hanging on one of his belt's sides. " One of the men said, ending their small talk before leaving the area. Franco, the Viking sighed in relief, taking off Layla's ropes and the cloth that was covering her mouth. Layla quickly punched Franco's face, leaping away from him. Franco groaned in pain, glancing at the girl who just punched his face. "What did you do that for?"
"For waking me up in my sleep. It seems logical, and I like to introduce my strength to people who kidnap me!" Layla said, anger in her voice. Franco leg out a sigh, sitting down on the cold, cement floor. "I saved you from those people. I know you heard them talking about you and your friend. I'll forgive you for your punch hitting my face since I did scare you. But now, you must go to your friend, his name is Clint, right?" Franco grabbed his large hook that is beside him. "You're correct. How do you know his name? Are you a stalker?" Layla glanced at him, suspicion in her eyes. "No, I was informed by an assassin. He told me to save you two from being sucked into the darkness. I agreed since my enemy is in it. I won't let him get away for his evil doings." Franco answered, a hint of hatred in his voice, clenching his Hook's chains tightly, then pulled something out of his pockets with one of his hands, it was a map. He threw the map towards to Layla. "Now go, fellow gunner. Get away from this place with Clint as far as you two can. I have some duties to attend to but do not fear. I will be there when danger comes." Franco stood up to his feet, walking away until he vanished within the shadows of the city. Layla walked over to the map, picking it up. That creepy man even knows where Clint lives. She thought to herself. Layla folded the map until it became small enough to be placed inside her pocket, she then walked over to her gun to carry it, beginning to walk at the directions that the map showed her.

Layla finally arrived in front of Clint's house. Once Clint saw her, he immediately hugged her, making Layla drop her gun. "Sugar! You're all right!" He said in joy, smiling widely. Layla returned the smile, patting his back before gently pushing him away. "I got lost, sorry. I met someone unusual. He told me that we should get away from this place," Layla said, looking at Clint's house that is in front of her. "You shouldn't trust random people," Clint said, concern in his voice. Layla looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You instantly trusted me when we met." She said, making Clint's face a bit red from embarrassment. "W-Well you looked like a g-good person!" Clint stammered slightly. Layla let out a chuckle out of her lips, turning her gaze to look at Clint's house. "Lovely place. Did you get worried?" Layla formed a smirk on her face, crossing her arms. "What? Of course not! I knew you would be able to find your way since you're strong and smart," Clint denied, making an awkward laugh. "We should go inside, my mom is worried crazy about you. She said that she'll kill me for not being a good..boyfriend." Clint said, clenching his teeth at the last part, looking like he was about to cringe. "Boyfriend? We just met! You don't think I'm your girlfriend, do you?" Layla glanced at Clint coldly, her jolly act gone in an instant. Clint's eyes widened, a bit of red forming on his cheeks. "You? My girlfriend? Nah! You suck in both ways and sides!" Clint said disgust in his voice to hid his lie. Layla looked away from him, a grumpy expression on her face. "Thanks for those insults, it really cheered me up!" Layla said cheerfully, smiling brightly at Clint to replace her grumpy expression. Clint looked at her with a confused face. "It did?"
  "Obviously not, I was being sarcastic. Now, let's just go inside." Layla said, walking towards to the house's entrance, knocking the door before opening it. "Miss Wendy?" She called out softly. Clint's mother, Wendy came out of the kitchen, walking over to Layla to give her a hug. "Oh! You're safe and sound. Clint was screaming and panicking when he realized that you got lost." Wendy chuckled softly, looking at Clint's embarrassed face. "I guess I did scream a bit and panicked," Clint mumbled, turning his head to look away. "Anyways! Dinner is served, let's grab a seat and begin to eat!" Wendy said joyfully, running towards to the dining room, Clint and Layla following behind her. The three took their individual seats, their food nicely prepared in front of them. "Eat, dear children! Eat as much as you like." Wendy smiled, beginning to eat the meat on her plate, so did Clint and Layla. The food tasted delicious and tasty, that they quickly finished it. "That was a delicious meal mom! Was that pork?" Clint asked his mother, a smile on his face. Wendy stood out of her seat, returning the smile. "Why no, child. It is actually something special." Wendy grinned rather suspiciously.

Clint and Layla suddenly got apprehended by cloaked figures. Clint's eyes widened, looking at his mother's sick face. "Mom?! What is the meaning of this?" Clint shouted, his voice revealing anger as he struggled aggressively. Wendy's body suddenly transformed, to reveal that the Wendy that they just ate with is an imposter. They ate with a blood demon. "I'm sorry, boy. But your mother is..." The blood demon grinned, stopping their sentence to walk over to a large cabinet, opening it to reveal something terrifying, something that Clint will never forget. It was his mother's dead corpse, sliced into pieces as if she was chopped for dinner. "Dead, gone forever." The blood demon finished his sentence, laughing maniacally. Clint's eyes showed terror, traumatized at the scene of his mother's corpse, his jaw dropping, unable to speak. All of her mother's limbs are nailed on the closet's wall, all except for Wendy's torso. "Y-You cooked her..?" Clint managed to say, his voice broken. "I'm glad you noticed, boy. Did you enjoy her torso meat? From the looks of you and your friend's faces, you enjoyed it very much!" The blood demon smiled deviously. Clint ate a part of her mom, he didn't even realize, and now he regrets it, he regrets everything for being rude to his mother, to not being the best son for her, and now she is gone. He lost his last remaining family member.

Back to the castle of the Queen of Doom. Freya used her wings of faith to jump towards to Vexana, pulling her in middle of her attack. Before Freya could smack her down, she got pushed back by Moskov's sudden spear of death. "Back off," Moskov said, his voice sharp and cold. Freya glanced at him, holding her sword tightly. "Protecting your evil Queen. How sweet of you, young marksman." Freya said bitterly, using her wings of faith to jump towards Vexana again. But Vexana cleverly flickered away, using her charmed Specter to forcefully pull Freya towards her next spell, the nether snare. It instantly exploded once Freya stepped on it. The Goddess of War groaned in pain, getting pinned to the wall by Moskov's spear of death, then Moskov used his basic attacks to damage Freya's armored body. "Freya!" A sudden angelic voice called out. Rafaela quickly flew towards Freya, stunning Moskov by using her holy baptism. Healing Freya's wounds and health by using her holy healing spell. "Rafaela? Why are you here?!" Freya asked, shocked to see her friend inside the castle. "There's no time for an explanation during a fight. We will help you eliminate them." Rafaela said, glancing at Vexana and Moskov.

Once Kagura and Minotaur arrived. Kagura threw her umbrella towards Vexana. Teleporting besides her to quickly cast her Ying Yang Overturn to knock her back, then fled by using her rasho umbrella flee. Vexana groaned, glancing at Kagura then at her Umbrella. Vexana grinned, her eyes widened a bit. "Moskov! Bring me that umbrella!" Vexana ordered. Moskov obeyed her order, dashing towards Kagura, using his Abyss Walker to suddenly show up behind her. Then quickly using his spear of death to pin Kagura to the nearest wall, stunning her for the moment. Moskov took this opportunity to steal Kagura's umbrella, throwing it towards Vexana.

Vexana let out a laugh, holding the umbrella's handle tightly. "All this time you were hiding within this umbrella? How clever of you, the previous Queen of Doom. But now you won't be able to hide from me." Vexana grinned widely, dropping the umbrella and then made it levitate. A mix of blue and green colored soul came out of the umbrella, revealing an asleep previous Queen of Doom. Moskov's eyes widened, his jaw dropping a bit. Oh, how he missed his past, beloved Queen, Moskov was almost about to cry. This is an opportunity for Moskov, to instantly tore a hole in Vexana's plan, and so he decided to go for it. Moskov used his Abyss walker to appear beside Vexana, using his spear of death to knock her back. He grabbed the umbrella quickly, cracking its handle into halves. The previous Queen of Doom's soul soared and swirled around the room out of control, before suddenly going inside Freya's body, making the Goddess of War collapse on her back from the hard knock back.

Vexana screamed in horror, glancing at Moskov whom just betrayed her. "How dare you?!" She screamed at him. Moskov did not reply nor look at her, he simply walked away from the scene.

Rafaela kneeled down beside her friend's fallen body, she couldn't feel any sign of single life inside of Freya. She didn't see any breathing nor a movement. Tear drops began to form in her eyes. "Freya? Wake up please! Don't leave me now! I beg of you!" Rafaela cried out loudly, trying to heal her, but it didn't take any effect on her. But then hope is found, Freya began to breathe, her hands twitching. Rafaela gasped, quickly hugging Freya tightly. "You scared me half to death! I'm glad you're all right!" Rafaela said happily, no longer crying in sorrow, but instead in joy. Freya chuckled, returning the hug. "I will never leave you." She said, her voice warm and sweet. They both stood up to their feet, glancing at the defeated Queen of Doom. Vexana glanced back, seeing something different in Freya's eyes. "I will get back on my feet, learn from my failure, and show you true fear." Vexana clenched her hands into a fist. "The four Guardians cannot wait for your true powers to be revealed, they hope to see what you can do. Before they utterly destroy you." Freya said coldly, forming a smile on her face. Vexana let out a chuckle, standing up. The soul of the Goddess of War is now lost, what are you up to, the previous Queen of Doom?