"Grief is like walking on cracked glass that won't shatter… the desire to end it yet the glass won't shatter and snap you out of the hollow world you're trapped in, and once you begin to do what it is you think will free you from your pain, the glass shatters, yet no blood spills"-Asami
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Accompanied by the northern tribe's supreme war general Asami and the three other generals, Asami's black lotus division followed behind them as they ran across an infinitely expanded blue sparking path.
The space around them was back with shades of a dark blue hue.
"Miss sidra is our lieutenant now?"
The timid looking cadet officer of the black lotus division said in a hushed tone as she adjusted her glasses. The memory of their senior lieutenant miller who earlier had been brutally slaughtered by malum had still been fresh in her mind.
But what unsettled her even mor was we the lack of acknowledgment her general had given to the sudden death of her oldest companion.
Hinari had glanced over to the short black haired Sidra, whose eyes were casts off into the distance as she thought about her earlier conflict with her younger brother who had discreetly trailed behind them.
Hinari hesitantly gathered the courage to consult in her friend. "hey sidra…"
The purple eyed woman had turned to look her friend in the eyes, yet her face perfectly concealed the thoughts that had flooded her mind in that moment.
"I'm fine hinari… you don't have to worry about me"
Ever since she joined the black lotus special division, hinari had always been like a greyed out silhouette in the distance, which made her question her place in the special division.
'I know you're lying sidra'
Up ahead in the front of the group, the bald priest had averted his eyes from the path ahead of them to glance at Asami's special division.
As usual, it was impossible to tell what the priest was thinking. After a few more moments of stretched silence, the supreme general of the western tribe, Kojiro had spoken.
"Let's say we reach hell, then what?… where do we go from there?"
In a voice which sounded as if she needed to clear her throat, General Asami replied to the man.
"Surely you all haven't forgotten where I stand in all this… I agreed to assist you all in killing the seven, but once that's finished, I'm going to kill Malum's vessel"
The southern tribe's young general Kaida had scowled upon hearing her senior's words, though she remained silent.
The east's general Yaku on the other hand had spoken in her place.
"With all due respect, general asami. I don't think it's in our best interest to kill the boy…"
Asami had turned her head and shot a cold glare at the relaxed man, and scorned at him.
"What makes you think I'd listen to a dubious man such as yourself, general?"
Yaku couldn't help but chuckle at general asami's accurate view on him.
"Well I know better than to think I could change your mind… never mind, please do forget what I said"
General asami simply smacked her lips at the man and focused on the blue trail ahead of them. Though yaku's face dropped as he slowed his movements enough to run alongside Kaida who had been lagging behind everyone.
"Your movements are a bit sluggish… is it from you and general Asami's earlier fight?"
Kaida simply nodded. Her scarlet eyes didn't fail to notice the sudden change in the dubious general's expression.
"May I ask a question to you?"
"Shoot"
Kaida hesitated for a moment, and then continued.
"What you said earlier, about not killing Jason… what's your reason for not wanting to kill him?"
The dubious general Yaku had took a deep look into the young girl's eyes and responded.
"Same as you, more or less…"
Kaida squinted her eyes as she failed to grasp yaku's intentions. The further the two of them lagged behind the group, general Yaku began to speak clearer.
"Hey kid, be straight up with me… what do you remember about the world, two years ago?"
Kaida's eyes didn't hide her confusion at the sudden question, but in her mind she thought that there was no reason for the man to ask such a question without reason, so she answered.
"I remember before the world divided into the four tribes, in the city of sorcerers, Jason killed many women and children alike…
"?"
Right after she answered the question, her voice broke and she grimaced as she rubbed her temples.
"Masayoshi?… are you alright?"
"I… I don't know"
"Can you elaborate?"
Before she responded, Kaida felt a headache coming as she tried her best to recall the incident two years ago regarding Jason, which made him the number one enemy of the universe.
She groaned as she felt as though there was a thick grey fog which clouded her mind whenever she tried to remember…
W-what was she trying to remember?
"I can see that you're struggling to answer, so I'm just going to ask you one more question…"
Kaida's scarlet eyes met the deep almond eyes of the older general as he paused before asking her:
"What is your relationship with Jason?… what does he mean to you?"
Kaida was taken aback by the question, she fought off the urge to call the older man a creep for asking a young girl such as herself a question as that, but she complied.
"He's… my closest friend"
"And that's why you want to help him?"
Kaida glanced back at the man, but remained silent.
"Thank you for you're cooperation, Masayoshi"
At the head of the now walking group, the priest Benjiro had glanced back at the two but didn't question anything.
"Hey Mr. bald man?"
The black lotus division's secondary lieutenant raiser had called out to the priest.
Benjiro simply chuckled at the masked man's remark.
"Lieutenant?"
The masked man continued, "earlier you said something along the lines of, the effects of your daughter's technique which is allowing us to travel through the veins of the universes reaching the spirit universe…"
"I do remember saying something like that… did you have a question?"
"I do actually…"
The masked man felt a drop of sweat race down his face as he continued.
"Our goal using your daughter's technique is temporary traversal to the hell universe, so if the technique tether's her consciousness to the vein's holding the four universes in place… is it possible for a third-party entry?"
The priest's eyebrows dropped, along with his already grim voice.
"Yes… that is correct"
Immediately as he gave his response, a voice sounded in the black and sparking dark blue space around them, which resembled arai's voice.
"Father! I can feel it… she's in there!"
As soon as she called out, the space around them seemed to crack and distort. Everyone raised their guards, as the overwhelming flow of what seemed to be corrupted divine energy had flew like a bullet straight past them.
Some of the group were left dumbfounded yet relieved. The first one to break the sudden silence was the black lotus division's lieutenant Sidra.
"Who the hell was that?!"
After a few short seconds, everyone looked at Benjiro, expecting an answer which he didn't give.
"It's a… problem for the spirit king, and young Aria to deal with once this whole ordeal with the seven is finished"
Everyone silently sighed at the priests continued cryptic tone, but chose not to question further.
It was then that suddenly they saw the end of the spirit way, and what awaited them was a pure white blinding light which acted as the temporary gateway to Hell's universe.
"I want to be clear with everyone here… this is practically a suicide mission, I hope you all are aware of that much at least"
"Before we walk through this gateway, if anyone's doubting themselves, then now's the time to turn back"
General Asami's scorning gaze befell the timid Hinari who had a ball of sweat rolling down her face.
After gathering herself for a few moments, she stood firm and walked closer toward the gateway as her mind traveled back to a few hours ago, when the black lotus division's senior lieutenant miller was brutally murdered At the hands of Malum himself.
'Senior miller gave his life fighting for the sake of this world… so, as cadet officer of the black lotus division, I have no right to back out'
The shaken voice inside her head betrayed her words despite her determination. Her arms trembled as she stood at chest hight of the northern tribe's general Asami whose belittling gaze pierced right through the timid girl's eyes.
'I don't want to go… I don't want to die. I'm scared'
Suddenly, she felt a warm hand grasp her shoulder. She turned her head to see her friend Sidra who gave her a small smile that didn't meet her dark purple eyes.
"It's going to be okay Hinari… I won't let you die. I know you're scared, but I need you by my side"
"It's my job as lieutenant to ensure the survival of my squad… have faith in you're friend"
After she heard her friend's words, Hinari fixed her posture a little… and gave Sidra a nod.
And with that, they entered the gateway to hell, unknowing of the full malediction that would soon befall them.
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Continued in chapter 96: Those two girls
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