Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine-Chapter 70: End of First War: Part-4

The dark sky loomed over the entire Arsalan Province, shrouding the land in an ominous blanket as thunder cracked and echoed in all directions.

Sudden tornadoes danced violently around the Province.

Deep within the province, a dense forest trembled under the weight of the storm. The trees groaned as winds rushed through their branches. The air carried the scent of rain and wet earth, mingling with the cool, ghostly breeze that swept through.

Except for one place.

In the heart of the forest stood a strange, small door, upright with no visible support.

It wasn’t attached to any wall or frame... just standing there alone, defying logic.

Tiny golden particles shimmered before the door. They seemed to be counting... measuring something. The glow flickered more rapidly as the countdown reached its end.

<0.01>

<0.00>

Thud!

The door crumbled instantly, collapsing as if devoured from the inside out by thousands of ravenous termites.

In less than a second, it was gone—dissolved into dust.

The entire forest went silent. Even the thunder paused, as if the world itself was stunned.

Then, with a quiet hum, a bluish-black misty portal swirled open in the air, hovering just a few inches above the ground.

And then—

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Four bodies fell through the portal, landing in a rough pile.

Leo, Pride, Valra, and Ophis tumbled out and groaned, their limbs sprawled over one another. For a few seconds, none of them moved. Then, slowly, groaning, they sat up and immediately started yelling.

"I cannot believe you guys cheated!!"

Ophis shrieked as she glared daggers at Pride.

Pride scowled, brushing dust off her dress. "Cheated? Are you serious right now? If anything, you should be thanking me. I spared you back there!"

"Yes", Valra snapped, pointing a furious finger at Ophis, "You better keep that mouth shut before I shut it for you, you manipulative leech!"

"Don’t you dare call me a leech!"

Ophis growled back, her voice low and dangerous. She leaned closer, nose almost touching Valra’s. "You just got lucky. I was this close... I could have grabbed it if you two hadn’t interfered!"

She clenched her fists, trembling with frustration. She was furious.. so damn close to claiming the relic.

But... somewhere deep in her chest, she felt a strange relief.

No one had taken it.

Which meant... no winner.

Which meant she wouldn’t be dragged back home in shame and killed by her father... At least not yet.

Punishment? Maybe.

But death? Not today.

Valra let out a bitter breath and muttered, "Because of you, we lost the relic. We had it... we really had it in our hands, dammit."

Her brows suddenly furrowed. A thought struck her.

"Wait... who the hell attacked us at the end? That weapon—wasn’t that from Nergal?"

Pride’s expression stiffened as her mind raced back to the moment. Her eyes narrowed. "That weapon... It’s definitely him. But something was strange. We eliminated Kai. Without him, Nergal shouldn’t even exist in this space. Not without his Master."

Valra blinked. That was new information. "Wait—what? We eliminated Kai? Since when?!"

"Yeah," Ophis muttered, now also looking puzzled. "Come to think of it... Little boy killed that bastard. There’s no way Nergal could have survived. Something’s definitely off here."

’Wait... Leo killed him?’ Valra thought, a chill crawling down her spine.

She hadn’t noticed it before, but now...

Where the hell was Leo?

And then, a voice came from beneath them. Broken... Weak,

"C-Could you guys... maybe talk somewhere else?"

All three girls flinched and looked down in horror.

They were sitting on top of Leo—his face pressed to the ground, barely moving.

Panic flooded their faces as they scrambled off him.

"I-I’m so sorry, Master!"

Pride blurted, her face stiff with guilt. She stood up quickly, trying to smooth her clothes while avoiding his gaze.

"Ah! S-Sorry again, Leo!"

Valra added with a bright blush, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hmph," Ophis snorted. She casually shrugged and stood, bouncing once more on Leo’s back for good measure before hopping off.

"OI!!"

Leo barked, his voice strained and pained.

Ophis gave a small grin and finally stepped aside.

Leo groaned and turned over onto his back, wincing in discomfort as he stared at them. His expression was a mix of tiredness and disbelief.

"Seriously... why do you all keep falling on me every damn time?"

Pride raised her hand slowly. "To be fair... that was my first time."

"..."

Silence fell.

The other two turned toward each other, blinking.

"Wait... did you fall on him before?" Valra asked.

"Wait—you did too?" Ophis shot back.

Their faces flushed red as they processed what had just happened. Their lips twitched awkwardly.

Leo pushed himself up and stood, shaking his head with a tired sigh. His gaze drifted to the spot where the mysterious door once stood.

"Looks like... we failed."

"No kidding! And it’s all because of you three!" Ophis growled, pointing an accusing finger at the trio with fiery eyes. "You three ruined everything—I almost had it!"

The other three glanced at each other—and their lips twitched again.

Without a word—

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

They all gave her a sharp knock on the head, perfectly synchronised.

"OUCH!!" Ophis yelled, wincing as she clutched her head in pain. "That hurt, you bastards—!"

"W-What... are you still doing here?"

A strained, broken voice suddenly echoed.

All four of them flinched and spun toward the sound. From the shadows of the trees, a lone figure staggered into view—barely able to walk.

"E-Envy?" Valra’s voice trembled as her eyes widened in horror.

Envy’s body looked grotesque—his skin cracked and veined with pulsing black mist that slowly spread across him like a living infection. The mist hissed softly, crawling out from the ruptures in his flesh. His breathing was ragged, his posture unstable.

Valra instinctively stepped forward, her hand reaching out, but—

"D-Don’t!" Envy cried out, his voice strained and desperate. His eyes burned with wild panic, barely clinging to sanity.

Valra froze, startled.

Pride’s eyes locked onto the mist oozing from the fractures in Envy’s skin. Her face paled instantly, and her lips parted without a word. Her body shivered involuntarily.

She had seen this before... Her hand lifted on its own, trembling, unsure... reaching toward him.

But Envy stepped back, staggering. His head shook violently, as if trying to block something out.

"T-This is—" Pride started to say, but before she could finish, both she and Envy abruptly froze.

Their pupils shrank. A cold terror ran through them as they turned sharply, their bodies instantly shifting into a guarded stance.

Leo noticed it right away.

"What’s going on?" he asked, confused, but alert.

His gaze moved between them, especially Pride... whose hand was visibly shaking. He had never seen her like this. Ever.

"What happened to him?"

Leo asked again, stepping closer and looking Envy up and down. The cracks had worsened, now leaking not just mist, but a black, thick fluid—almost like tar. The substance hissed softly as it dripped onto the ground, smoking on contact.

"He’s... changing,"

Ophis said with a disturbed look on her face, "I’ve seen this before. My Champion... this started happening to him too."

"Your champion... went through this?" Valra said, shocked, her eyes darting around the forest to see what was happening.

And then—

THUNDER!

A blinding white light burst across the sky, illuminating everything for a brief second.

But what they saw in that second...

Leo’s, Ophis’s, and Valra’s eyes widened in pure dread.

The trees. The ground. The bushes. Every plant, rock, and even the sleeping animals... were drenched in a thick black liquid that shimmered with dark smoke. Tendrils of it writhed like shadowy serpents, slowly crawling, pulsing, slithering toward them.

Valra took a shaky step back, her entire body trembling.

"W-What the hell is this?!!" she screamed.

Ophis’s face turned pale, her lips parted, but no sound came out. Her breath hitched, then stopped. Her legs buckled beneath her, and without realising it, she grabbed Leo’s hand tightly, squeezing it like a lifeline.

Leo looked down at her, confused by her reaction. He still couldn’t fully see what they were seeing... but the fear on their faces told him enough.

Envy grunted, barely able to stand. Black veins pulsed along his neck and arms. His voice rasped weakly.

"You... you know what to do... right?"

He looked at Pride.

She hesitated for a second, then gritted her teeth and clutched her wooden sword tightly. Without wasting another second, she reached out and grabbed Leo and Valra’s hands—while Ophis was still holding onto Leo.

"We’re leaving. Now!" she shouted.

"Huh—?"

"Wait, what?!" Valra barely had time to react.

Before anyone could question her, Pride crouched low and then exploded off the ground with all her strength—dragging Leo, Valra, and Ophis into the air with her.

As they soared above the treetops, another thunderbolt lit the sky—and what they saw from above turned their body cold in horror.

The entire forest... was lost.

Everything—trees, soil, rivers, even the wind—was drowning in black mist and liquid. The forest below them pulsed like it was alive... breathing... corrupted?

"What the hell happened to this place?!" Leo shouted, his voice nearly lost in the wind.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Clang... clang...

Suddenly, a chain shot out from the darkness below and wrapped tightly around Pride’s ankle.

"What—?!"

With brutal force, she was yanked downward.

THUD!

She crashed to the ground, hard.

Leo, Ophis, and Valra lost their balance and tumbled down after her—landing right back near Envy.

Before they could recover, a deep, heavy voice echoed from the woods.

"The war has just begun..."

From the shadows of the trees... a figure stepped out.

Nergal.

But he was no longer the Nergal they knew.

His once golden armour and noble clothing had turned pitch black, now soaked in oily mist. His spiked mace was covered in a thick, black slime, dripping steadily to the ground, leaving scorch marks in the soil.

And his eyes... once radiant with gold, now glowed with an eerie, twisted dark blue. His expression was hollow, a wicked grin carved onto his face.

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