Lord Shadow

The sky is full of colors. There is golden and green, red and black. The wind is harsh and the waves is turbulent and wild. The world is experiencing tremor every second and one could feel the pressure of Earth pressing down slowly toward the ground

Destruction seems to loom ahead. There is a woman in Antarctica looking at the distance. This woman is wearing a tight leather outfit that fits her and her body emanated sharp aura that repel the forces that forces her to bow down.

But this did not mean that she could get up. Her eyes are as sharp as a sword and her will is strong. But her body could not resist the pressure

Sometimes having only Willpower but no strength is not good. Death Monarch powers come from his strength and his Willpower complemented that.

This woman wants to get up. She tired and her entire body is trembling. 

This woman long hair parted to the side, revealing her beautiful face. The more determined she is the more beautiful she looks.

But the moment she got up she would be forced to come back down as another wave of energy sweeps through her

The pressure that is coming on wave after wave from the Heavens is forcing her to kneel. This woman is none other than the Divine Archer Sofia.

The situation between her and Katarina is like heaven apart. 

After all, Azief had taught Katarina the perfection path after she loses most of her cultivation during the event of the Mountain of Everlasting Love

Those who tread the path of Perfection could not be measured by normal common sense. 

How could Sofia who is only in Disk Formation could bear the pressure of two combatants who outstripped her in every way possible in terms of strength?

Even Raymond is struggling to endure it

She tried to get up and try to bring out her bow on her back. She wanted to aim her arrow toward that area in the distance.

But even that is something her body is unable to do right now. All around her are the people of the World Government including Raymond.

Even Raymond is pressured by that force. It is not shocking. After all, he is injured and he is not in the Divine Comprehension realm

Raymond saw what Sofia is trying to do and he simply said.

‘Don’t force it’ Sofia frowned a bit before deciding to heed Raymond advice.

She sat down and tried to channel the pressure from the Heavens to disperse around her but the dispersal is slow. 

She needs to maintain the powerful energy around her body to channel that pressure away.

It created some kind of protective layer around his body

She gritted her teeth as her entire body is trembling because of that pressure. Raymond could understand her feelings. 

This is the feeling if powerlessness.

He smirked helplessly.

When he thought about it, he is also helpless right now. It had been a long time since he felt such feelings. He did not think he would feel it again after such a long time.

Since the Fall, he had changed to become one of the most famous person in the world and occupied the number two seat as open of the strongest people on Earth.

But these past few years……he had lost his motivation to move forward. Now, not only Jean had overtaken him, even Hikigaya had overtaken him.

Now, he could not even be qualified to fight in this battle and was relegated to a simple observer

He chuckles, feeling pity for himself.

‘This is not good for me’ he thought to himself. He looks around him and there is many of the captains and commander that is loyal to him all trying to endure the pressure with their body and their energy. 

Those who are in Disk Formation had their Disk cracked. Those who are in Seed Formation suffers for their Seed contracting.

Each one of them is full of injuries. Most of them was sustained during the battle between the forces of the World Government and the demon soldiers.

And his mind also remembers of all those soldiers that died in that war.

If he had been a little bits stronger…if he had been a little bit more resolute… 

All of this “if” possibilities enter his mind and he felt regret and dissatisfaction. He ignored the feeling for a second and look at Sofia.

Sofia…she is still the same. 

Beautiful, he thought to himself. And there is a bit of smile on his face. Sofia could not be compared in beauty with Katarina. 

Most people would agree that the Ice Queen looks and the aura around her make her the most beautiful woman in the world

But, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. 

To him, Sofia had always been beautiful. Even more so than the Ice Queen. Sofia beauty blooms even more after the Fall. The stronger Sofia become, the more beautiful she is.

She has flawless skin, a good proportion and all of the imperfection had been shaved off as she become stronger.

Her hair is like silk and her face has that charm he just did not know how to explain. But, what attract him to her is her eyes.

To him, her eyes is very beautiful. And he likes her smile.

He likes her when he saw her smile. He remembers the day when they were adventuring together, resting on the edge of the Grand Canyon while sipping a few bottle of beer.

Though, she wanted to drink some coffee. 

Raymond was quite perplexed by her quirk. Drinking beer would not get her drunk. But she insisted on coffee

Maybe that quirk what makes him pay more attention to her. And by paying attention to her, he slowly develops a crush on her.

Raymond did not understand at that time. It wasn’t until he once read the report by the intelligence agency that Azief likes coffee that he understood why

But what got him, is always her eyes. There is just a certain brightness in it, a hope for life that he just could not ignore.

Love is probably that simple. 

At least it was for him. He did not know her. He did not know her life. Did not know her past. But he saw her eyes and he falls in love. 

And he still is.

He knows that she is with Azief now. And he knows how protective Azief is. It is not like he want to steal her away from Azief.

That is not what he wanted to do. But he could not just shut off his feeling just because he wants to.

And honestly? He didn’t want to shut down this feeling. He likes it. He likes loving her.

In the past, before Azief and Sofia were official, he had confessed to her. She did not accept. And they remain friends.

But she knew that Raymond still love her even though he always denied it with a joke or changing the topic when she breached on that matter. 

And she is still friend with him. 

Because Raymond had always respected her opinions. It would be easier to just break off relation with Raymond if he is some kind of a jerk. And Sofia knows a lot of jerk in her life.

But Raymond was not. 

Raymond is one of the pure ones in the world. A man of his power and influence in the world, if its anybody else, they would force the object of their desire to be with him.

But Raymond? The honorable one? 

How could he do such thing?

He could do a lot of things in this world. But forcing people to love him? That is not something he would do.

Raymond and Sofia did not spend years knowing each other. But their friendship is sturdy. Did Raymond hope that their friendship could become something more?

He did. 

He would be lying if he said he did not think of it. But he knows Sofia feelings. And he never confesses his feeling to her anymore. Because he knows how that would make her feel.

Some people could not be friend with the people they love. And Raymond in the past also thought he is like that.

But then he knew that it would be harder for him to not be in Sofia life than he is inside it.

It is ironic that you would only understand certain things only after you experienced it. He sighed looking at her, worried about Azief.

Raymond is a shy person. At least he used to be. Most of his friends and most of his bully had died in the Fall.

There are not many people that knows his past. 

Like Death Monarch, Raymond is also put on a pedestal. 

People elevated him to a righteous hero, a person with a valiant heart, shining his light of hope to the people of the world.

He is the face of the World Government, the number two in the world.

He is more approachable than the dark God sitting on the throne of Pandemonium. He is affable, he smiles and he could take a joke.

Contrast that with the always expressionless face of Death Monarch and the fear people had when meeting eyes with him, one could understand why many consider Raymond as the antithesis of Death Monarch

Death Monarch did not intentionally try to make people afraid of him. It just comes with the title of being the strongest. 

And Azief did not care much about how the world views him. He might care in the beginning but as he grows stronger, there is more things he does not care in the world.

And actually the world benefited from him, not giving too much care. A god that does nothing, is better than a god who do everything.

People do not understand that in the past. 

But when beings like Death Monarch appears, with each of his move could determine the fate of the world, many pray he would not move at all.

The world shakes and the Heavens rendered when these Gods makes their moves.

Let the world of mortals regulate the world of mortals and let the Gods fights among themselves.

Because when these Gods cast their gaze upon the world of mortals, then the mortals are fucked.

Raymond look at Sofia but Sofia look at the distance, with worry lines etched on her expression. He sighed. 

He felt a little jealous of Azief. But he cares more about Sofia happiness. Probably, that is why he understood why Azief sent her here

In the middle of nowhere, far away from the impact of the battle.

He then said to Sofia who is still trying to do something.

‘he would want you to be safe. That is why he sent you away’ Sofia heard what Raymond said, but she did not say anything

Raymond only bitterly smiles.

She then nodded. 

‘I understood’ she said. But Raymond shakes his head and said under his breath, in a whisper

‘You don’t’

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