Author's note: Surprise update! Wishing everyone a happy Friday, and also, giving myself a pat for getting my writing mood back ^_^!

Gotta love epic openings theme songs for shows (and anime)

Anyway, long chapter, 3k words. Enjoy!

PS. The pictures of Isleif and Veau have been updated in my ko-fi account. Check it out through the link on my profile ❤!

Xue glared at the red-haired man, Isleif, the first soul fragment that declared he wanted to be the main host instead. 

Though, Xue wasn’t surprised. 

Along the way, he was expecting to meet a soul fragment like that, where it was ambitious and wicked. However, Xue couldn’t understand how Isleif could absorb the other soul fragments, just like him. 

Xue glanced at Mir, who ducked his head down, unable to look Xue in the eyes. 

“You were planning to stab me in the back again either way, Mir.” 

 Mir shot his head up. “I wasn’t--”

“You taught him how to absorb the fragments, just like me,” Xue smirked bitterly. “You even said I left with you no choice but to initiate your other plan, since I wouldn’t go back with you to the heavenly realm.” 

“You got the first part wrong.” Isleif smirked at Xue, glancing at the red orb in his hands. “It wasn’t this Mir guy here that taught me how to absorb the fragments, it was another man, and he definitely wasn’t human.” 

“Do you even want to tell me what he looks like?” 

“No.” Isleif smirked even wider, shaking his head. “Why should I?”

“I didn’t expect you to tell me anyway--

The three men suddenly stiffened, turning their heads to the left. At the corner of the living room, a black portal appeared and a certain blue-haired man entered the room via the portal.

However, compared to the relaxed and lazy atmosphere that always surrounded him, he now had an overbearing aura around him. 

His eyes were back to his true demonic form, completely black with red irises, his narrowed eyes held a hint of cautiousness in them. 

“You are…!” Mir gasped out, his wings sprouting out immediately as he readied the sword in his hand.

Xue glanced between Veau and Isleif, forming a hypothesis in his mind. 

Veau widened his eyes slightly upon seeing the three people in the room, his overbearing aura dissipating a little.

“I sensed the presence of a powerful angel,” Veau raised his eyebrows. “Turns out it was just you, General Mir.” 

“...to be able to sense it, you weren’t too far away.” Xue commented. “So you were probably the one that taught him, Veau.” 

Veau glanced at Xue, before his gaze shifted to Isleif and his lazy smile was back on his face, his eyes going back to normal. 

“Who the hell is this guy?” Isleif nudged Mir. 

Xue glanced at Isleif.

Is he pretending not to know Veau? Even though Veau was probably the one who taught him how to absorb the souls? 

Xue narrowed his eyes. 

“Another soul fragment?” Veau asked, still smiling lazily. “Though this one seems...a little different.” 

“You know why, you made him different.” Xue snapped.

“I did?” Veau pointed to himself. “I am afraid you got it wrong, Xue, whatever speculation you have between the two of us.” 

"You expect me to believe you?"

"Not really."

Mir prepared to charge at Veau, and Isleif held him back. 

“Hey now, inside your plans, there were no other people we needed to fight except the host of my soul,” Isleif raised his eyebrows, gesturing at Veau. “If you plan on fighting him, I’ll go ahead with the plan myself.” 

“Oh, little Mir, you plan to fight me yourself?” Veau taunted. “You think you stand a chance? You aren’t Xue, and neither are you K’xug, even back when Xue was in a weakened state, you weren’t even close to touching his level.”

“Shut up." Xue barked at Veau. “Stop talking about the past, like you weren’t involved in it.” 

Mir hesitated, keeping his wings as he clicked his tongue. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against Veau. 

If the Supreme God himself couldn’t win over the Demon Lord in his weakened state, I definitely stand no chance. 

Mir looked back at Xue. “Supreme God--” 

Xue closed his eyes in frustration, the hatred he had for that title was overwhelming. That tiny dislike for the title grew day by day, until the fateful day where everyone turned his backs on him, because of the same title he held.

That was when he abhorred this title.

This title, that was forced upon him ever since he was a mere two years old angel, even though he had never wanted such a grandiose title.  

“--we will wait for you, with Hana Katae in our hands.” 

Xue burst his eyes open, spinning around to see Mir and Isleif transforming into a white mist and drifting away swiftly. 

They are going to use Hana as a bait, just like Veau once did. 

Cecil, I have no doubt she is with Hana. 

Xue knew they were both in danger and he rushed to the doors. If he was back in his prime, he would be able to utilise the fast travelling skill as well, and he would be there even faster than the other two. 

Alas, Xue only had less than a tenth of his power, and his angelic powers were completely gone. He knew it would only be possible to gain them back after he finally absorbed back all the fifty pieces of his soul fragments scattered throughout the world. 

...but it was impossible to gain them back now.

He could only run, like a mortal. 

“It seems like I came here at a good time, to watch a good show.” Veau said nonchalantly, appearing beside Xue who was running down the hallway. 

“You are the cause of all this!” Xue snarled.

“I know.” Veau shrugged.

Xue picked up his pace, his destination were the bedrooms of the two ladies, it was the place he knew they would probably be at. 

***

Cecil and Hana walked beside their parents, heading to the living room that Xue was waiting for them. Unbeknownst to them, Xue had dashed off in the opposite direction they were coming from, to find them. 

The families continued chatting, until Cecil caught something from the corner of her eyes and she halted. Her movements also caused everyone else to stop with her, and Cecil looked on ahead, seeing a white mist drifting in front of them. 

Suddenly, their path was intercepted by two strangers.

The cheerful atmosphere around the two families went quiet, and Cecil furrowed her eyebrows when she assessed the appearance of the two figures. 

The hallway was brightly lit and within seconds, Cecil recognised them as her eyes widened. 

He is Isleif…! 

The final soul fragment that Xue was supposed to meet in this continent, but he appeared right after Sid was absorbed?! 

The timeline of the novel is changing too quickly! 

Cecil knew Isleif, and she also knew he was an evil soul fragment of Xue, ambitious and greedy, that was what the majority of his personality was made up of. In addition to that, this evil soul fragment was one of the reasons why Cecil was training so hard for. 

…she wanted to help Xue in the fight against him. 

Isleif was one of the special soul fragments that could absorb the other soul fragments, just like how Xue could. Nevertheless, it was never explained in the novel how he could do that, it was simply stated by the author since he rebelled against the main host of his soul, he could gain the same orb that Xue used to absorb the souls.

Moreover, he killed the soul fragments before absorbing their souls, to ensure they wouldn't stir up his mind, unlike Xue.

If Cecil were to be honest, Isleif was the heartless part of Xue, like all the other evil soul fragments.

...but Isleif wasn’t supposed to appear for a month or two from now! 

Cecil took a cautious step back, keeping her eyes trained on the two men. She was planning to train herself like crazy, before meeting these two so she would be able to hold them back for Xue. 

Unfortunately, in her current state, she could only hold them back a little. 

“Xue? Since when did you dye your hair red, and you changed the colour of your eyes?” 

Isleif only smirked, taking a step forward when Mir held him back. 

Mir mumbled something to Isleif, shaking his head and Isleif rolled his eyes, withdrawing. 

“Mother, that isn’t Xue.” Cecil said, shaking her head.

“Auntie, that man really isn’t Xue.” Hana added on, tilting her head curiously as she observed the two men. 

“Who are you?” Hana asked, blinking innocently as she pointed to Mir. “I know one of you, but the other one...the pretty man...we don’t know you!” 

Cecil moved her eyes towards Mir, growing more troubled. 

That is another troublesome man to encounter.

The general of the army in the heavens, one of the key players that played a huge role in betraying Xue. 

However, Cecil couldn’t understand why they were both appearing together, side by side. She knew either of these men would end up fighting Xue, and they weren’t certainly weak for the current state of Xue. 

She also knew they were only both here for one thing; to take Hana Katae away from Xue, for their own selfish motives. 

“Hana, stand back,” Cecil whispered lowly, stepping forward to shield Hana. “Have you learnt how to control the second form of your water element?” 

“I-I haven’t started learning it properly yet.” Hana grinned sheepishly, blinking rapidly. 

“I expected that, since you were too passionate about learning about cooking.” Cecil smiled helplessly. 

“Mhmm!” Hana nodded happily.

“I don’t know who you two gentlemen are, but I do believe you are trespassing my mansion.” Cecil’s father spoke up, standing beside his daughter. 

“Father, they are...dangerous people.” 

“I can tell.” 

“Anyone? Guards! Surround the intruders!” Cecil’s mother hollered, immediately gathering the attention of the nearby servants and guards.

Isleif glanced at Mir, narrowing his eyes at him as his mouth moved. Mir hesitated, before sighing and nodding.

Isleif looked back at the two families, a dangerous glint in his scarlet red eyes. 

“Hana, get behind us!” 

Hana looked at her parents, smiling. “It’s okay! I know how to fight now, I can protect myself and the two of you!” 

Her parents were speechless, glancing at one another. 

“If you leave Hana behind with us, we promise to let the rest of you go unharmed! Including your damn servants and guards!” Isleif raised his voice. 

Those words alarmed Hana, and she rushed forward, her eyes wide in horror. “No, don’t hurt any of them! I’ll go, I’ll go with--” 

“Hana!” Cecil pushed Hana back, shaking her head. “No matter what, don’t go with them! If you go with them, things will become worse!” 

“Bu-but--” 

“We just need to hold on until Xue arrives!” Cecil shook her head. “You can’t go with them, don’t go with them without a fight.” 

“But everyone else would get injured--” 

“Hana, it’s fine,” Cecil’s mother turned to Hana. “This is our mansion, and we will never let our guests be kidnapped or taken away from us without a fight.” 

The guards surrounded Mir and Isleif hurriedly, brandishing their weapons at the two men.

“Seems like you aren’t planning to let her leave,” Isleif shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

Cecil unsheathed her daggers, stepping forward and she transformed them into vines. Hana only hurried to the window in the hallway beside her, her eyes lighting up when she spotted the fountain in the gardens, seeing the abundance of water. 

Isleif started wearing a pair of metal knuckles on his hand, and Mir wielded his sword, a reluctant look on his face. 

***

Xue skidded to a stop, he could finally sense the presence of Isleif. The fast travelling skill proved too quick for his current state to sense. 

Also, Xue had no energy to care about the annoying blue-haired man who was still following him.

Kai: “The opposite direction!” 

Zasiok: “Damnit, how unlucky.” 

Alric: “Ar-are they in danger? Are they really in danger? Are they really really--” 

Leonaut: “Shut up! You panicking won’t help with the situation--and stop snoring, you damn pig!”

Sid continued snoring, not waking up despite Leonaut kicking him.

Xue didn’t want to bother to argue with the fragments, his mind only concerned for the two ladies. He knew in their current state, the two of them stood no chance against Mir and Isleif combined.

In fact, it was even worse since Isleif had absorbed six soul fragments, meaning he was stronger compared to the average soul fragment. 

Xue wore a rare panicked look on his face.

"If it's that bad, you should run even faster."

Xue disregarded Veau, dashing off in the opposite direction.

***

The fight had already begun. 

Cecil wasn’t sure who started the fight, but soon enough, she found herself clashing weapons with Isleif. 

The guards were already taken out swiftly, most of them lying on the ground unconscious or groaning. They were clearly in no position to fight any longer. 

The window in the hallway had been broken by Hana who brought the water in from the fountain to fight. 

Hana was standing on her own against Mir, and Mir was clearly holding himself back. He wanted to steal Hana away according to the plan, but he did not want to harm her in any manner. 

Hence, he was only left to defend himself from Hana’s attacks, which were rather weak. 

“Si--since when you could...fight?” Mir questioned, dodging out of the way to prevent getting hit by Hana’s scarf. “Supreme Goddess?” 

“Ever since I joined the academy!” Hana pouted in confusion. “And why are you calling me Supreme Goddess? What is that?” 

“So it’s really true…” Mir sighed, sounding distressed. “You really lost your memories, and your powers have been completely sealed away. Everything has gone to ruin.” 

Hana stopped her attacks, putting some distance between her and Mir, tilting her head as she was puzzled.

“Are you really a bad guy? It’s like you do not want to hurt me, when I have been fighting you the entire time!” 

“A bad guy…” Mir trailed off, smiling sadly to himself. “Most probably.” 

He had an attractive appearance, and that smile only made him seem like a lonely beauty destined to live alone in this cruel world. 

“And what memories are you talking about? And what powers?” Hana pouted.

“Oi! Why are you just standing there chatting? Catch her already! You are a goddamn powerful angel, aren’t you?” Isleif hissed, eyeing Hana greedily. “If you aren’t catching her, I’ll do it myself.” 

“Over my dead body.”

Cecil stopped Isleif using her daggers, panting heavily. 

Hana gasped, stumbling back in alarm and Mir seemed conflicted, his gaze switching back and forth between Hana and Isleif. 

“You are already at your limit, and I’ve played with you long enough,” Isleif smirked at Cecil. “It’s not my style to kill beautiful women, but I’ll do it if I have to.” 

“How many fragments have you absorbed?” Cecil asked softly, only for Isleif and for her to hear. “And why are you cooperating with Mir?”

Isleif raised his eyebrows. 

“I don’t remember seeing a woman like you anywhere near Xue, back when he was still the Supreme God,” Isleif scoffed mockingly at Cecil’s futile attempt to hold him back, hitting away her dagger easily. “Who exactly are you?” 

“Tell me, how many fragments have you absorbed?” 

“Including myself, there are six of us.” 

Cecil sighed in relief in her mind, though the timeline had changed, the character hadn't. She was afraid that he would have absorbed more soul fragments compared to Xue. 

It was still at six.

“Now that I answered your question, you answer mine.” Isleif leaned in closer, stomping on her dagger to prevent her from getting it. “Who are you, woman?” 

Cecil wanted to retrieve her dagger, until she realised Isleif’s actions and she stood up, face to face with him as she narrowed her eyes. 

Upon seeing her up close, especially with her pellucid onyx eyes, Isleif was mesmerised.

She wasn’t the most captivating beauty he had laid his eyes on, but yet, he didn’t want to look away.

“Cecil Lan,” she stated her name, huffing. “Not that you care to remember my name.” 

Cecil realised how distracted he seemed, and she was pleased. 

She could buy more time.

“You...have really beautiful eyes.” 

Cecil was taken aback by his compliment and his soft tone, her eyes widening. 

It was unlike the Isleif she read about in the novel.

She quickly withdrew, putting some distance between them. She didn’t want to form any connection with another soul fragment, not even the slightest bit.

“No, not again,” Cecil shook her head, a strange look on her face. “Not you as well.” 

Isleif blinked in shock, before smirking to himself. 

“Hey, angel, you wanted me to help you take Hana away, and in return you would help me absorb Xue, right?” 

“...yes.” 

“I will take her along as well.” Isleif smirked wider, a wicked glint in his eyes as he gazed at Cecil. 

Cecil inhaled sharply. “Yo-you--” 

“You are definitely coming along with me, Cecil Lan.” 

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

Why do the people I treasure always end up getting harmed?

Who do the people I treasure always end up leaving me?

Supreme God...Supreme God...Supreme God.

This damn title, and this fate to become the ruler of the heavens just thrown onto me.

This same damn title ended up causing me so much misery.

I never wanted any of this.

I only want to live...happily.

I want to be happy.

But because of this title, it's impossible.

After fully recovering my soul, after getting my revenge by killing Veau...I'll destroy this disgusting world.

From the heavenly realm, to the demon realm, to the mortal realm.

...but the mortal realm, that was where you were from.

And you, you don't disgust me in any manner.

You are the only one.

Only you, Cecil Lan.

Only you.

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

This woman is interesting.

Too interesting.

And somehow, deep within me, I know she belongs to me.

Only to me.

Why?

I need...I need to know more.

I want to know more about her.

I want to know more about Cecil Lan.

《 stop 》