About fifteen hundred years ago, in an Unknown Medium World.
*PAH!!*
Atticus is thrown back dozens of meters after receiving a slap on the face from the Water G.o.ddess. Although he is a powerful Sky Realm warrior, she, who is on the peak of the Immortal Realm, can see his movements in slow motion.
General Cra.s.sus, who is in the sixth layer of the Immortal Realm, could not even see the movements of the Water G.o.ddess, making it clear that the difference between a G.o.d and an Angel is huge.
As soon as he sees his beloved disciple falling to the ground, General Cra.s.sus doesn't think twice before running towards the Water G.o.ddess, already attacking with his sword.
*Whoosh*
He moves incredibly fast, and Water G.o.ddess doesn't seem to notice his movements, so he strikes towards her with all his strength.
*BAM*
But General Cra.s.sus' sword is blocked by a translucent barrier of water. All strength of his attack is canceled out by that strange barrier.
"Insolence!!" Even angry, the beauty of the Water G.o.ddess is mesmerizing. But no one there dares to gaze at her body and end up having an awful end.
Before General Cra.s.sus can make any move, the Water G.o.ddess makes a grabbing motion with her hand, and a big hand of water appears around the angel's body, already grabbing him.
A white light appears around General Cra.s.sus' body when his protection treasure is activated, but even it, and his incredible armor, as well as anything else he tries, is ineffective against the power of that charming and frightening woman.
*Craaaack*
The sound of his armor being crushed by that hand of water echoes across the battlefield, making angels and demi-humans tremble with fear.
"Father!!!" While Helena runs towards Atticus, Maxim flies towards his father of that sinister woman.
"NO!!!" General Cra.s.sus yells at his son, making Maxim confused.
The Water G.o.ddess smiles at him as she continues slowly crus.h.i.+ng his body. "Oh, you look like a tough man... So why didn't you kill those animals as I ordered?!?!"
"It... was... not right!!" General Cra.s.sus finds it difficult to respond while his bones and organs are being destroyed.
Maxim feels his world ruining while he sees his father suffering. He tried to change the old man for so long and is only now realizing that he was right all that time about the G.o.ds.
"Don't hurt him!!" Maxim begs the Water G.o.ddess as he knows that trying to attack her will have no effect. "He didn't do anything wrong!!"
"Nothing wrong? Hahaha..." The Water G.o.ddess starts to laugh sarcastically. "Refuse to obey a direct command from a High G.o.ddess is an act of betrayal!"
"He just didn't want to kill these poor people!" Helena screams as she tries to stop the bleeding from Atticus's body. Then she points to many demi-humans trapped in cages. "These people are no threat to us!"
Water G.o.ddess shakes her head with an expression of disappointment. "Any race that does not submit to the G.o.ds must be destroyed!"
So she continues to crush General Cra.s.sus. Maxim can't continue seeing that brutal scene and runs towards them, already preparing an attack with all his power.
But like Atticus, his movements are very slow in the eyes of the Water G.o.ddess. Another hand of water appears and grabs Maxim's body beside his father.
She shakes her head. "Tsk, tsk... three rebel angels begging for punishment..."
Helena gets even more desperate as she sees the three most important people in her life suffering. She doesn't know what to do.
The Armies of Houses Cra.s.sus, Corvus, and Caudinus also do not know what to do. They don't want to see their Masters suffering like that, but they know that they will have the same end if they confront a G.o.d.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" Maxim screams as his bones are crushed by the Water G.o.ddess. His father would die in silence if it was only about his pain, but his heart is destroyed as he sees the suffering of his son, in addition to the bad situation of Atticus and Helena, who are also like children for him.
Atticus's situation is pretty bad, but Helena has to runs towards the Water G.o.ddess to try to prevent her from killing General Cra.s.sus and Maxim.
She kneels in front of the G.o.ddess while tears run down her beautiful face. "Please!! Have mercy! They are loyal servants who have been fighting for the glory of the G.o.ds for many years..."
The Water G.o.ddess looks at Helena with an expression of contempt. "Who do you think you are to tell me what a loyal servant is??!?!"
General Cra.s.sus and Maxim panic when they see that the G.o.ddess is mad at Helena. The situation looks pretty bad for them. The Water G.o.ddess is famous for being ruthless and severe.
"No..." General Cra.s.sus pleads as blood comes out of his mouth. "Don't do that... you don't want to kill the leaders of three great Houses... many angels could rebel..."
The Water G.o.ddess looks around and realizes that more than ten thousand angels are looking at her with frightened but also upset expressions. She is not stupid and knows that killing the leaders of three families, including the sole heir of the Cra.s.sus House, would be bad; after all, if the G.o.ds kill their servants, who will serve them?
"I can't allow that disrespect to go unpunished..." She thinks out loud.
"Then punish me... I was the only one to ignore your order..." General Cra.s.sus begs. He doesn't regret going against that stupid order, but he can't bear to see his loved ones suffering because of his actions.
The G.o.ddess shakes her head. "Killing you is like killing a dirty insect; it means nothing!"
General Cra.s.sus looks at his son, Atticus, and Helena with a loving expression before looking at the G.o.ddess again. "I'll do anything... just don't hurt them."
A cruel glow pa.s.ses through the Water G.o.ddess's eyes before she lets go of Maxim and his father. Then she smiles at him. "I always wanted to see an angel cutting their own wings..."
[WHAT THE h.e.l.l?!?!?!] All the angels there feel a cold run down their spines when they hear those words. They can't imagine how bad General Cra.s.sus is feeling right now.
"No... please..." Helena begs as she kneels in front of the Water G.o.ddess.
The G.o.ddess prepares to slap Helena in the face, but then General Cra.s.sus quickly picks up his sword and stands in front of her. "ALRIGHT!! I'll do it!"
"NO!!" Maxim screams as he tries to get up.
Just as the worst punishment for an angel is losing the wings, cutting off the own wings is insanity. Helena, Maxim, and Atticus would rather die than see General Cra.s.sus have to do that.
But everyone there also knows that they can't all get out alive after offending the cruel Water G.o.ddess. So, General Cra.s.sus looks into Helena's eyes. "Protect them... my daughter."
Helena feels her heart crack as she sees the kind look in the eyes of the man who became a father to her after she lost her family. Then she sees his blood splashes as he cuts both his wings.
"FATHER!!!" Maxim screams as he flies towards his father. But Helena knocks him on the ground before the Water G.o.ddess gets angrier. She hates what's going on, but she also understands General Cra.s.sus' sacrifice.
The scene of General Cra.s.sus kneeling beside his cut-off wings while his blood flows like a stream will never leave the minds of all those present.
As he feels life flowing out of his body along with his blood, he looks at the Water G.o.ddess. Blood also comes out of his eyes, but the worst pain is that in his heart.
Even at such a moment, he still begs for the lives of those he loves. "Please..."
*BAM*
The G.o.ddess creates a fist of water and smashes General Cra.s.sus' body into meat paste, leaving only his wings in whole pieces.
"Disgusting..." She comments as blood runs down her water barrier.
"NOOOOO!!!!!" Maxim feels more pain and anger than ever. He desperately tries to attack the G.o.ddess, but Helena uses all her strength to hold him.
The Water G.o.ddess shakes her head while taking out a colorful gem from her storage necklace. That is an instant teleport gem, and she smashes it, making her body start to turn into light as she flies skyward.
While the G.o.ddess's body disappears into the sky, Maxim also takes an instant teleport out from his storage ring. He can only think of revenge now.
"Wait!!" But Helena holds his arm and takes the gem out of his hand. "You can't do it!!! Your father sacrificed himself so that we could stay alive."
Maxim is unable to contain the pain in his heart, mainly because he regrets never being close to his father. "LET ME GO!! I have to avenge him!!"
Helena is also suffering a lot, but she knows that it would be very bad if Maxim also died, which would make General Cra.s.sus' sacrifice mean nothing.
However, she can now understand the desire for revenge that he is feeling. She also felt that way when she lost her family, and only thanks to Atticus did she realize that it would be suicide.
She wishes Atticus could help Maxim now, but he is pa.s.sed out or dead, so she has to convince him not to go after the Water G.o.ddess.
When words alone don't seem to work, Helena kisses Maxim's lips. He is shocked by that action, so she hugs him tightly and looks him in the eye with a pleading expression.
"I can't lose you too... I would die by sadness..." she says as she continues to kiss his lips. "And Atticus... he needs us now!"
"Atticus... BROTHER!!" Only then did Maxim remember that Atticus was badly hurt. So, he and Helena run towards their best friend.
Once there, they check Atticus's body and realize that it is bleeding a lot. Helena calls the healers from the armies of their Houses, but no one can dispel the brutal water energy of a G.o.d inside his body.
When it seems that there is no more hope, an angel approaches them, pulling an old female demi-human by chains.
"What does it mean?!?!" Maxim asks in a furious tone.
The angel quickly explains. "This old woman saw when Lord Corvus was attacked, and she says she can heal him."
"Why would you do that?" Helena asks the mysterious demi-human.
The old demi-human looks at Atticus's body with a sorry expression. "I heard that man say he wasn't going to kill us... and then this man got injured trying to protect him, and that's why I want to help him."
Maxim holds that woman's arm. "I promise that I will spare your people if you really heal him."
Helena pulls Maxim away from that woman and looks at her with an imploring expression. "Do your best, please!"
The old demi-human begins to check Atticus's body as she speaks. "He is dying because there is powerful energy destroying his body... I know a method to dissipate this energy, but..."
"It will drain a lot of his life essence..." She explains, making Helena and Maxim very sad.
"Do it," Helena speaks in a determined tone. Sky Realm people can live more than two thousand years, so even if Atticus loses part of life essence, he will still be able to live a long time.
Without wasting time, the old demi-human begins to make symbols on the ground around Atticus's body. Then a green light appears all over his body, and his face begins to age visibly.
Despite being almost over two hundred years old, he and Maxim seem to be twenty years old, while Helena looks even younger due to her body being tiny.
But after two hours, when the old demi-human finishes the healing process, Atticus appears to be over forty.
"Huh... what is..." Atticus opens his eyes and sees Helena and Maxim crying as they hug him.