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He must’ve looked like an unstoppable fiend as he endured Bianca’s endless light show and heavenly wrath. He was actually cutting it close toward the end until Para knocked Bianca out with healthy doses of face-to-ground medicine.

Unfortunately, the gods couldn’t help but chime in.

<You’ve acquired all the evil attention (7/7)!>

“Ah, no. Don’t you dare! Don’t you freaking dare!” Zarian growled.

The gods carried on anyway.

<Evil God Sinfeast approves first!>

<Evil God Goldhound approves second!>

<Evil God Killall approves!>

<Evil Goddess Shadowfell disapproves!>

<Evil God Hisscreep disapproves!>

<Evil God The Dragon slumbers …>

…

<Your evil alignment grows: +3!>

Zarian growled as he felt his evil alignment rise. He nearly lost control. He nearly raised his boot and crushed Bianca’s head. Para, thankfully, restrained him as Zarian fought for control against the brainwashing alignment.

The initial change was always the hardest. It seemed like having evil +3 or good +3 hit the limit where anyone could control themselves.

Now Zarian understood why Bianca was so eager to unleash her goodness. She really had it hard. Having +3 in good or evil while under Level 100 was a lot to endure. Any more would definitely lead to total brainwashing.

Zarian refused to lose to his evil alignment while it was only +3.

“I’m not evil. I’m evil aligned. Evil is a tool. I’m not evil. I’m not evil. You won’t control me. You won’t change me. I will use you. You are a tool.”

Zarian stumbled back as he wrestled more control away from the evil alignment. He stuffed it down further and further into the depths of his profile. After a few minutes, he found equilibrium, but he was far from pleased.

Yes, he was more intelligent. Absolutely cunning, even. Hell, he could connect the dots to a few mysteries that hadn’t seemed so obvious to him before compared to now. But the price was too high.

The gods meddled far too much.

“Well, I’ll dole out some thanks. Shadowfell, Hisscreep, The Dragon, I appreciate your disapproval or inattention,” Zarian said darkly. “Everyone else, you’ve goofed up.”

Sinfeast, Goldhound, Sickspread, and Killall were officially on Zarian’s godly naughty list. That included Purgehunt, Purehome, Lawkeep, Kingsblood, and Hopeland.

That was nine gods out of fourteen who were enemies for sure, with Sinfeast being at the top of the list. Evil God Sinfeast had the honor of Zarian as his number one hater, after all.

Zarian huffed angrily and shook his head. He looked around at the devastation made from the super fight of light versus dark, good versus evil. It felt both ironic and proper that the biggest fight to this point came from Bianca. He wasn’t mad at that.

He was mad at the gods.

He took some time to recover his mentality and emotions. He had so much Mysticism he recovered plenty of his aura quickly, too. His wizard hat helped with that.

With Bianca scooped up in his arms, he cast Void Step. He found Gilbert on the northern wall, Hannah and Naomi beside him.

“Keep her tranquilized. Heal all the damage, please,” Zarian said, setting Bianca down gently.

“Yeah, I got her.” Gilbert knelt down next to their Light Princess.

He applied his Tranquilizer Touch +1. Meanwhile, Bianca’s wounds faded away quickly. She would look like her usual pretty and glamorous self soon.

Gilbert also extended his Healing Force +1 to heal Zarian’s eyes faster. The recovery sensation was itchy until they returned to normal.

He didn’t open them right away because Zarian was getting better at feeling out his environment and ‘seeing’ with aura manipulation alone. That might grow into being a useful technique the more he worked on it.

“So it really happened,” Naomi said gruffly, arms folded across her chest. “I’m glad you didn’t hold back too much.”

“I couldn’t really,” Zarian said.

“How bad was it?” Hannah asked. “We were watching from the wall. We didn’t want to intervene, but we were all worried.”

“She’s stupidly powerful despite some key weaknesses she needs to tidy up.” Zarian sighed as Para peeled back the armor and returned them to their usual appearance.

After he gathered his thoughts, he went on to explain his claim: “She’s reaching a point where she can nearly be as destructive as me. But her defense is terrible outside of evasion and outmaneuvers. She should’ve formed panels and walls to box me out. Maintaining my Void Layer spell while using Dark Affinity and Straight Darkness as unique armor was the biggest aura drain ever, and if Bianca had been more patient, she could’ve had me in a bad spot.”

Hannah hummed. “You know, Zarian, we can’t always multitask like you. I think Bianca pushed herself to the absolute limit just to challenge you with her best style.”

“You were freaking blinded and that couldn’t stop you,” Gilbert said.

Zarian shrugged. “I have spectral spiders looking out from a distance. And I used my aura manipulation to feel things out and ‘see’ by touch.”

“This freaking guy.” Gilbert shook his head.

Hannah sighed before saying under her breath, “Truly a demigod.”

“I was nearly out of aura, honestly,” Zarian said, trying to downplay himself.

“I would’ve jumped in if things turned for the worst,” Naomi said, looking out into the distance where the battle had happened.

The kobolds were massacred in the wake of two titanic adventurers of light and dark, of good and evil. There were wildfires spreading across the fields because of Bianca’s powers and the rampage of the hell gator.

The amount of damage Zarian and Bianca put out was incredible when looking at it from a distance. However, Zarian didn’t let that distract him from what Naomi had said.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I would’ve found another way.”

“I have her tranquilized, but how brainwashed is she?” Gilbert asked, still knelt.

“Pretty brainwashed. I’m evil +3 now and … it nearly took me over.” Zarian grouched and shook his head.

He felt his evil alignment try to break free. He shoved it back down its pit and fought with it.

“Are you going to be okay?” Naomi asked, the others looking concerned.

“I’ll be okay in a sec.” Once he was in control again, he said, “She’s good +5.”

“What?!” Roland screamed.

He, Lora, and some other soldiers and acolytes were standing nearby while trying not to look like they were eavesdropping. Now that the cat was out of the bag, Roland stepped forward brazenly.

He looked at the Floridians like they were insane. “How are you all acting so calmly about this? Good +5 is unheard of! It’s preposterous, even! That has to be the highest in the Walled Continent! Perhaps across the entire world! She’s a true demigoddess! Is this normal in the World of Swamps and Princesses?”

The other soldiers and acolytes reacted nearly the same as they looked down at Bianca with something close to worship. Not all of them did that, however.

Some soldiers and acolytes looked at Zarian with a weird mixture of adoration and fear. It was as if he lived up to be an unstoppable dark god.

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Amabel was near. She watched Zarian like he couldn’t do anything wrong.

Zarian looked at his fellow Floridians. They all shrugged. Then Zarian turned to Roland and said, “We saw it coming.”

He hadn’t discussed it aloud very much with the others. But Naomi must’ve picked up on the possibility of Bianca getting pushed beyond good +3. Hannah was perceptive enough. And Gilbert wouldn’t remain clueless for long, not while next to Naomi and Hannah.

Everyone outside of Bianca would’ve realized something like this would happen eventually. But only Zarian was the most prepared for it.

“What do we do now?” Amabel asked.

Zarian flicked through some of his notifications. He nearly paused when he saw the Parasite Cloak had advanced to +2 along with some other stellar gains.

He moved on quickly, knowing he would come back to checking his earnings later. Or maybe not. At least for now, he focused on what the Mythical Regional Event had for them.

<You’ve survived the second day of the siege. Take the next four days to prepare for Part 2 of the Wolf Dragon Invasion.>

<Wolf Dragon Invasion Part 2 (Level 50): You’ve rocked the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds. Now they’re more hesitant to fight you at your fortress without overwhelming numbers on their side. It’s not yet time to spring an attack, but in the next four days, you can meet them at the main fortress of North Crown Peak.>

<This is still a group-based event. However, you need not lead everyone if they aren’t fully capable. Leave some at the fortress, then take a group of your choice to the main fortress and face the wolf dragons and wolf kobolds there.>

“Looks like we’re getting a few days off,” Zarian said. “I need some time to recover my aura. Let’s take a break. Then later, we’ll gather bodies and equipment from the battlefield and feed them to the dungeon.”

There were no further questions after that. The soldiers and acolytes were eager to have a break. Naomi didn’t have an issue with that command either, which was good, because he needed her for something dire.

“Gilbert, Hannah, stay with Bianca, please.” Zarian turned to his remaining skeletons. He frowned at the loss of Glowy and Hasty. “Guys, can you head out onto the battlefield and make sure no major kobolds are alive? Kill all the survivors if you can.”

The skeletons nodded along. They didn’t show any emotions upfront.

However, Zarian noticed how they moved with less perkiness and rattle when they went off to fulfill the order. Goblin skeleton Darko moved with even more sluggishness than the others.

It felt heartless, but he might have to reconsider bumping up the numbers of advanced skeletons he had at his disposal. He doubted he would do more war games like these often, but facing something like a siege was teaching him the necessity of having extra Self-Sufficient skeletons ready for deployment.

That depended on if he would get a chance to make improvements.

“Naomi, with me,” Zarian said.

She perked up and followed.

They took the stairs down and headed for one of the cleaned up homes that was the largest in the fort. It was probably the home of the village leader before the slaughter of the villagers. The place was barren after the soldiers and acolytes removed the debris, bodies, and blood.

Zarian stopped inside where the village leader had a large living room that worked as a reception area for guests. He breathed in and out deeply, wrangling down his evil alignment. He kept his eyes shut for a while until he felt more like himself.

Then he opened his eyes and looked at Naomi.

“What’s up?” Naomi shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“Can you pull the medallion out of your soul for me?” Zarian asked.

“Sure.”

A heavy gold medallion phased out of Naomi’s chest and laid over her leather armor. Intricate engravings swirled around its surface where seven different colored gems lay embedded around the edges.

He used his Identify trait.

<Divine Revival Charm (Divine): The wearer of this charm can revive from death once a week. Death magic is weakened significantly when used against the wearer, which scales with Wonder. Upon your will, this charm can bind itself to a soul temporarily while its power remains in effect.>

“I still like this charm on you, even though the optimal thing to do is to give it to someone with more Wonder,” Zarian said. “Thankfully, you have the Earth-Sky Meditation.”

Naomi’s Earth-Sky Meditation raised her Wonder and Mysticism stats. It was a great skill, since Naomi had the lowest Wonder and Mysticism among the Floridians.

Zarian found it brazen of her to rely on Willpower, Strength, and Agility, being his complete opposite. Granted, she was the only one who could pull off Aura Ignition, making her special in her own way.

She’s come a long way too, hasn’t she? Zarian thought.

“Yeah, my meditation skill is pretty nice,” Naomi said. “I don’t think I want to go off and test this medallion thing against death magic myself, though. I would rather be the one doling out death.”

“I get that.” Zarian looked up as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Naomi shifted her stance again and looked at him suspiciously. She waited for him to speak further.

“Did I explain why I got that charm?” he asked.

“It’s because you’re the Honored Outsider, right?”

Zarian pulled up the old notification. He read his first achievement aloud for Naomi.

<Honored Outsider (Divine): This divine achievement is rewarded for the sole Honored Outsider, you, for your great connections. Your origins are so worrisome you must have this boon: Divine Revival Charm. Please keep this on you. Please don’t lose it. Please don’t die an unworthy death. Please.>

Naomi blinked. “That’s a lot of pleases from the System.”

“Yeah, well, I think it’s time to cash in on my worrisome origins,” Zarian said. “Star System, I think you know what I want. I don’t enjoy operating under the current alignment games. I want a change. Make it so that me and Bianca can still work together without being brainwashed by our alignments.”

“Are you sure the Star System will respond?” Naomi asked.

“It has to,” Zarian said.

The Star System, however, didn’t respond.

Zarian frowned as he looked into the air. Then he asked, “Are you ignoring me because you don’t want to respond or because you don’t have an answer to changing the alignments?”

The Star System didn’t respond.

Zarian sighed. He rubbed his eyes. He glanced over at Naomi who was looking more and more worried.

Something clicked behind her eyes.

She had him figured out, and he knew she would.

“No,” Naomi said.

Zarian smiled a little. “I think it’s time to call in those connections.”

“The cost is too big.” Naomi stepped forward. “We can find another way. Maybe Bianca has to go solo for a while.” Naomi gulped. “Or maybe you need to leave us for a while. Then, after we hit Level 100, Bianca would get in control of herself.”

Zarian shook his head. “The gods are playing hard ball. More so now than for anyone in the Lesser Worlds, I bet. And it’s because of me. They won’t let things go normally for Bianca or me.”

Naomi looked down and balled her hands into shaky fists. She spoke through gritted teeth. “Leave us behind, Zarian.”

“No.”

“What you’re planning is so colossally stupid we might lose you forever. What makes you think your origins are enough to make a big sweeping change and … and … bring you back to us?” Naomi asked. “You’re proposing that solution, aren’t you? You’re going to off yourself!”

She clutched the medallion with one hand while breathing hard. Zarian had never seen Naomi panic like this.

He didn’t know why he wanted her here for this, either. It would’ve been easier if he were alone. But maybe he needed to see her reaction before making a decision that could change everything.

“It has to work,” Zarian said. “Either that or the Star System makes another change for me. It did it once. It can do it again.”

A blue alert appeared that both he and Naomi could see.

<What you are asking for cannot be done. The alignment subsystem is too integral to the Star System for change. It is the reason this system exists. Please consider other options.>

“See! The Star System can’t do what you want, Zarian!” Naomi shouted. “Please consider other options.” She bit the edge of her lip before saying, “Sometimes, we can’t always get what we want. That’s … just how things are.”

Zarian looked at her like she wasn’t Naomi Washington anymore. He couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. It disgusted him a little.

She must’ve picked up on that and backed away, more so out of shame. He hated to see that from her.

There was a long silence. So many things could be said, but they were left unsaid instead.

Zarian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. Then he let out a low chuckle that turned into a hearty laugh.

Naomi looked at him like the madman he was.

“Sorry, sorry, it just hit me that the martyr classes were actually fitting,” Zarian said. “I love my friends. Even when you’re not always the best of people, you’re the type I like to be around. I’m willing to sacrifice everything for those types of friends. I’m willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Bianca, Gilbert, Hannah, and you. So … I can’t accept the idea ‘that’s just how things are’ when I know deep down I have something that can make a change. I just … have to trigger it. Maybe my real parents will finally show up or something.”

Naomi looked at him hard and long. Then she said with a croak, “What if you’re wrong?”

“What if I’m right?” he asked with a grin.

“This isn’t the evil alignment talking?” Naomi asked. Then she shook her head. “No, the evil alignment wouldn’t do something like this. But Zarian … you’re more likely to be wrong.”

“I’m Zarian Darkrun, and I like my chances.” There was a hint of magic behind his name when he said it with more weight, intention, and meaning. It was enough for them both to feel it.

Naomi shivered. Goosebumps covered her exposed skin.

Ariana Darkrun appeared in the room’s corner behind Naomi. No dream this time. His ghostly little sister was here for a reason, as if what Zarian was about to do summoned her.

Ariana smiled silently. He kept her appearance in his peripherals, not drawing attention to her, while he focused on Naomi.

Naomi shook on the spot, ignorant of the ghost, before striding forward all the way. She grabbed him by the front of his leather armor and lifted him off his feet. She shook him a few times as she growled.

“I swear on all the gods, good, evil, I don’t give a damn, that if you screw this up, I will revive you and kick your ass!” Naomi threatened, with tears in her eyes. “Don’t you dare screw this up, okay? Whatever is on the other side, you get what you’re looking for and come back!”

“Aye, ma’am,” Zarian replied, reaching down to pat her on the head.

She let him go and stumbled back. She looked twitchy. Like she wanted to run in again and stop him.

Her eyes were watery and puffy. She was all rage now, barely held back by her will.

She looked beautiful that way, which was a messed up thought, but Zarian was in a messed up mood. It didn’t help that he had to hold back his evil alignment.

It was no surprise that evil was self-serving and didn’t like major sacrifices of self. He had to fight it the whole time, and he was too stubborn to let it win.

Zarian gave Naomi a two-finger salute. Then he pointed the same fingers against the side of his head.

A gold notification appeared in the open this time.

<There are items that can suppress the negative effects of alignments! There is no need to make such a hasty decision!>

Ignoring the Star System, Zarian spoke to his literally closest companion, his cloak. “Sorry, Para, for what’s going to come. I hope you don’t mind sticking all the way through with me.”

“I’m ready,” Para said. “We will help our friend … and eat the gods!”

“Atta girl. You’re really the greatest cloak anyone can have.”

Another notification appeared. This time, it was a red alert.

<You know not what you are doing or what you may unleash!>

“I alone am the Honored Outsider,” Zarian said. “I do what I want.”

Naomi watched, her tears streaming. Ariana grinned widely and revealed her hidden fangs. And Zarian pulled the trigger.