Chapter 92 Nether Realm (3)

Freya's ears pricked up a little, seemingly confused with what she just heard.

"...Book..." "...We want to read..."

"...Book..." "...Yes, that specific one..."

The headless body holding the head with blonde hair and crimson eyes in her left hand spoke only the word 'Book', while the head with platinum hair and purple eyes hanging in her right hand made Freya understand that the condition for Freya to receive help was to give the headless woman a 'Book'.

Freya also noticed that it was a specific one and not just any random book she could pick up or buy on Earth.

Freya composed herself before asking politely, still feeling a little anxious, but it was somehow manageable this time compared to earlier.

"W-what kind of 'Book' do you want?"

Freya needed an answer not only because she needed to know it, but rather to check if it was possible for her to get her hands on the 'Book' that the headless woman was requesting.

At this moment, the two heads looked at each other for a moment before they told Freya the name of a certain 'Book', as well as how and when to get it.

Freya couldn't believe her ears with a peculiar condition, especially when or how to get the requested certain 'Book'.

Freya glanced at the bodies of Russell, Amelie, and Amery who seemed to experience a good sleep as their snoring could be heard which made Freya chuckle a little before she heard again the headless woman floating atop the spire of her small castle.

"...Payment..." "...Yes, it's an advance..."

"...Waiting..." "...We will be..."

"...Item..." "...Take this with you..."

The single eye on the back of each hand of the headless woman whose color corresponds to the pair of eyes of the head that's being held on each side glowed, then a small item appeared between the two hands, floating in the middle of them.

Then the single 'crimson' eye on the back of the left hand and the single 'purple' eye on the back of the right hand who intermittently blinked before seemed to blink in harmony at this moment.

[Activating Skill: ???]

Soon, as if a wind swept through the place where they were standing or lying on the ground, dust scattered and seemed to consume Freya, Russell, and the duo's bodies.

[You have been affected by the Nether Dust.]

[Your smell will be favorable towards some Nether Creatures.]

Freya looked over the spire before she asked in a totally curious tone.

"Uhmm... Can't I just become a 'Dead' to become favorable towards others here?"

The right head with platinum hair and purple eyes chucked at Freya's question before the left head with blonde hair and crimson eyes spoke a single word.

"...Feared..." "...You will be instead..."

Freya didn't ask any further because of her profession, an Alive Death Executioner which already repels some Nether Creatures, but what if she transforms and becomes an Undead with the use of one of the effects of the 'Necklace with a Living Eye.'

Freya shivers with the thought because in movies she watched before when they were kids, Undead was made up of bones.

'Do I become like that, too?

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'Why'd I get such a responsibility?'

Freya said inwardly, feeling a little apprehensive.

"...Instructions..." "...Take note of our..."

Freya's thought snapped out, sending her senses to reality as she listened attentively to the instructions given to her.

...

After an unknown period of time, Freya's company woke up in a seemingly long dream, scratching the back of their heads, and scanning their surroundings which didn't change.

"You're awake, Oppa."

Freya — who was sitting on a rock, not far away from the small castle of the floating headless woman with two heads on both hands, cross-legged — spoke, feeling relieved.

'We just went into a dangerous situation...'

Freya thought as she recalled the conversation she had with the owner of the small castle after she was given instructions on what familiar to acquire and how to acquire it.

The headless woman said that Russell, Amelie, and Amery might only wake up after a few months if not for the effects of the 'Necklace with a Living Eye' which negated the power of Nether Creatures. It even took some time for Russell and the duo to wake up.

It's an unintentional attack on the soul that caused Russell and the duo to fall asleep.

Freya became increasingly curious about the identity of the owner of the small castle, but she didn't dare to use Death's Eye to peek at the headless woman's name or status because she felt that it might be personal and rude, especially after the help she received.

She was also told that they were lucky that the one they approached was something like a humanoid creature because there were fierce ones called Nether Abominations whose images would make someone who's not related to Death in any way feel heavily repulsed.

To approach a Nether Abomination, depending on what type of specific Nether Creature, Freya needed certain conditions just like the Nether Dust buff she and the company received that would last for some time.

Freya also asked the headless woman the thing she was supposed to ask her older brother after he woke up.

She learned that it's not only the Ruler of Death who has the capacity to make contracts with numerous people at the same time, and the contract with 'Him' gave the contractee a different privilege... It's to grant the contractee 'freedom', the opposite of being a shackled dog of other Constellations.

The Ruler of Death respects the 'freedom' of any being as 'He' regard 'life' as something precious and must be lived in a way that one would want. It's the very reason why there were Death Executioners who abused the power given to them by the Ruler of Death, but the headless woman laughed at that statement as she told Freya that the moment those traitors of Death died... She wouldn't want to imagine what would happen to their souls.

Other Constellations could make a contract with as many as they wanted as long as they could withstand the backlash if their contractees died. It made Freya guess the true power of the Ruler of Death which made contracts with many races, producing many Death Executioners.

The headless woman also said that it's not the same with every Constellation, there's no commonality with conditions on how the contracts were made. Every Constellation has its own purpose whether it would give them freedom or be shackled by the contract was up to what kind of Constellation a being made a contract with.

The headless woman also added, and told her what kind of Nether Creatures were 'living' in the Nether Realm... At least some of them.

They were the Nether Abominations, Nether Sinners, Nether Fallen, Nether Torturers, Nether Workers, Nether Strays, and Nether Slaves.

Nether Abominations are born straight out of the Ruler of Death's excessed aura that circles around the entirety of this realm.

Nether Sinners were the kind of Nether Creatures that depicts the sins that any being in the Great Universe could commit such as the known Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth.

Nether Fallen were the Nether Creatures that were thrown out of Heaven's Sanctuary because they sinned against the Heavenly Beings at some point in time.

Nether Torturers were the Nether Creatures that endlessly tortures souls that fully succumbed to contamination of Evil Spirits from the Spirit Realm because of their own very desire.

Nether Workers were the Nether Creatures that generally works in any other region of the Nether Realm. They served the Ruler of Death by managing the regions and assigning the transfer of souls, depending on what punishment the souls deserved and how long before being put to eternal rest.

Nether Strays... The Nether Creatures that wander the Nether Realm aimlessly.

And lastly... the Nether Slaves which Freya needed to be her familiar to leave this place.

'Sigh...',

Freya heaved a sigh of relief as she recalled everything that happened.

Her older brother, Amelie, and Amery stood up, stretching their bodies before one of them asked what happened.

Russell knew what happened because he knew the nature of power in the Nether Realm, but the identity of the headless woman wasn't his unpublished novel. But he recalled that humanoid creatures in the Nether Realm weren't malicious unless one offended them first or if they weren't related to Death in any way. It's also because of his suggestion that they chose to inquire about the headless woman instead of any other Nether Creatures.

"Uhmm... you fell asleep, I don't know how much time had passed since technology here doesn't work."

Freya said casually, prompting Amelie to check her smartwatch which isn't turning on.

"Well, it would be weird if it works here.

She chuckled, seemingly amused if such human technology worked in this place.

"Alright, what's next?"

After Amelie asked, Freya recounted everything to them even the additional information that the headless woman told her except for one thing...

The condition she was given in exchange for help.

...

Looking at the back of the four humans while floating atop the spire of her castle, the head with blonde hair and crimson eyes spoke... but at this moment, it was fluent.

"Let's see what will happen later on."

The head with platinum hair and purple eyes spoke, not looking at the blonde head beside her.

"I'm amused that the new Death Executioner hasn't realized yet that she conversed with us using the language of the Dead.

" Well, maybe it sounded different in her ears."

"Anyway, Violet... that's the Blood Monarch's daughter with her and the Monarch of Spade's new disciple!"

The head with blonde hair with crimson eyes said gladly, finding the encounter quite interesting.

"Stop fangirling, Red! You childish head!"

The head with platinum hair and purple eyes spoke the name of the blonde hair with crimson eyes. But Red didn't listen to Violet as she continued to speak, her crimson eyes seemed to shine.

"And the man with them... It's the Goddess of Night's-!"

Red's words were stopped by the notification from the System.

[The Ruler of Death asks the two of you to go back to the Library of the Dead immediately.]

"What timing! Let's go! And Don't you dare speak such things openly.

"You know what's happening in the Great Universe, right now!"

Violet said with an angry tone as the both of them read the System message.

"Sorry, sorry..."

Violet said apologetically before they went inside the small castle where one of the entrances to access the Library of the Dead was located.

...

Freya with the company arrived at another part of the Region of Oblivion after walking for a few minutes, covering an unknown amount of distance.

The headless woman suggested that it's better to make a Nether Slave a familiar, but it's not bad to choose Nether Strays, too.

After some time, they saw city-like infrastructures, but there were no humans in their sight.

The Nether Creatures gave way to them but only showed little to no aggression towards Russell, Amelie, and Amery which died down a second or two upon realizing that they were with Freya which they instantly recognized for some reason as one of the Death Executioners.

"It's like really a city..."

Freya said in awe while looking around the place they arrived at.

There were towering structures that were not ruined like outside the city-like structure where they met the headless woman.

[Your Star Quest Party has arrived at the Region of Oblivion, City of 'Forgetfulness'.]

The notification entered their ears as they read the System message.

Tap-! Tap-! Tap-!

Then, they heard a continuous tap on the ground, prompting them to look at where it came from.

They saw a horse but its feature was that it has no eyes, no, rather it has two eyes, each eye on the side of its body, and it was burning with purple flames.

"What a creepy but beautiful creature."

Amelie said in amazement.

The horse has a carriage on its back, then a Nether Creature from the top of the horse looked at them before it approached them then bowed its head to Freya before saying:

"Welcome to the City of Forgetfulness young Death Executioner."