<Unknown plane>
"That idiot, I give her a system and an artifact that outclasses everything in that damn world, yet she still goes ahead and dies?! I explicitly put the warning there since she has no divine mana yet!" A red robed man with grey skin, long black hair and orange eyes watched as Freja deteriorated.
"Tsk, guess I'll snag her soul and make her one of my subjects." Annoyed at the battle's outcome, the man switched to his backup plan.
"I don't think so, old man Hades." Tearing a hole in space Akrone forced her way in. Her white hair with its purple highlights all glowed as she entered, landing on the clouds as if she was on solid ground.
The height difference was astronomical as Hades was the size of a multiple-story building while Akrone was the size of a regular person.
"What are you doing out of your cage?" Hades narrowed his eyes, knowing that his brother should have kept the vixen in front of him trapped.
"I got bored and heard you wanted to interfere with a reincarnate by taking her soul. Unfortunately, that's against the laws of the world." A smug grin was plastered on Akrone's face as she saw the hesitation on Hade's face.
"I don't care about some lousy rules, plus you yourself have been helping that little fox of yours. Why are you the exception to that rule." Turning it back on Akorne, Hades raised his best argument.
"Help? I'm merely just giving her my blessings just like you gods have with the system. Nothing wrong in helping my successor."
"What?! She is compatible with the core?!" Hades stood up in shock, his voice reverberating causing everything to shake.
"Ah, ah, ah, quiet now before the other gods hear you. She has already absorbed the core. All she needs to do is kill a being on the level of a demigod, and guess whose little experiment is about to become one."
"You wouldn't dare!" Hades clenched his fist, wanting to beat that scheming vixen to a pulp, but he knew it would be a losing fight.
"Oh yes, I am. That old bastard has let his plaything run amok for too long, so I'm going to create the very thing he has failed so many times to accomplish. So Hades dear, what is it going to be? Want to be on my side?
Or are you going to be like that brother of yours who is currently half-dead?" Akrone's purple eyes glowed as a faint image of a massive kitsune appeared behind her, threatening to pounce depending on his answer.
"You and your damn traps." Hades felt backed into a corner. If what Akrone said is really true, then siding with her is the correct decision.
"Hehe~, feel free to squirm a little more." Akrone kept staring him down, patiently awaiting a response.
I planned to weaken her so that once she was summoned, it would allow Shaman to kill her and unlock the divine powers of the core.
'Hmmm, if I do that, then HE might catch on to what's going on. This whole experiment has been quite a risk, which only makes it more ridiculous that no one has paid any attention to it.' There was still a looming threat over the entire project. If I act too boldly, then no doubt it will all come crumbling down to the ground.
***
<Klaus POV>
"Sir! Freja's life force has just been extinguished." I was in a dimly lit bedroom while a maid spoke to me from behind the door, giving me a report.
"Looks like she finally kicked the bucket. About time, I say." Freja was a loose cannon and I much preferred her gone.
'That means her artefact is free for the taking.' To complete the ritual, I needed to collect at least 6 of the Eden artefacts. I currently had three in my posession: control, light and darkness. As for the others, things were more complicated.
One was Freja's, but unless I killed her, there was no way to retrieve it. Elaina had the Eden of possession, but I failed miserably trying to steal it. As for the last one, it is somewhere in Elfhiem, but I wasn't too concerned. All I needed was to burn down their little forest, but that could wait for now.
There were others, but their location is unknown to me. They are most likely hidden in some dungeon, which is why I've got people investigating.
"Katarina, should I pay a visit to the ones that killed Freja." I rolled over in my bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for my beloved to respond.
'Not yet, my dear. If you use your mana now, it will fry your entire body.' The voice rang inside my head as beautiful as ever, but the message it delivered was less than ideal. Ever since I let Katarina take over my body and use her divine powers, it has left my body in shambles.
No healing magic was able to speed up the process, so until she said it was fully healed, I was unable to fight. Of course, I already knew I couldn't, as even attempting to flow mana through my body caused immense pain.
"Then when?" However, impatient as I am, I wanted to head out as soon as I can so I can finally grab that artefact and kill those nuisances that are becoming a problem.
'One more week. The last of your mana veins are still sealed and require a little more time to reopen.' Satisfied with her answer, I shut my eyes, treasuring the feeling of Katarina's touch on my face. It was a heavenly feeling which left me giddy for the moment her body was finally returned.
"Yes, then our plan can finally continue. I swear I will finally bring you back." I could already imagine it. The day that everything falls into place and I finally get what I wanted.
I would have defied God's will and gotten back what was taken away from me. Only then will I finally leave this damned world.