"I really don't think I deserve that much insult. I didn't even do anything yet."
Mark blinked in surprise as he found himself in that empty blue space once more. He looked around and saw that they were standing over City C in the same spot that Mark was in before. Sozin was floating in the air in front of Mark with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed.
Mark didn't know if Sozin would answer if he called him calmly, so he knew he had to resort to more extreme measures to get through to him.
"Sozin… thanks for answering."
Mark was happy that he was able to get through to Sozin so quickly. Sozin told Mark that he could call on him anytime, but Mark didn't think that Sozin would answer this quickly. Mark noticed that Sozin still had that playful smile on his face and wondered what sort of nonsense was going through the god of games's mind this time.
"You really have no faith in me, Mark. I was just happy about how far you've come. I only gave you back your power earlier today and look how much you've grown! At this rate, you should be strong enough to handle an Eldritch monster before long."
Mark shook his head as he remembered that Sozin could read his mind. He would never be able to get used to that fact. But if Sozin could read his mind, that means Sozin already knew exactly what Mark was here for.
Sozin hummed as he floated around Mark calmly.
"The system is pissed at you, Mark. I can't believe you told it to go fuck itself! Hahaha~! I wish it had a face so I could see its expression when you said that!"
"I… probably shouldn't have said that. But the mission it gave me was so stupid! How can I kill Arit!?"
[The system expressly stated that the user is to kill QUEEN. Arit is no longer separable from the anima QUEEN and she will experience no pain at her death.]
"I saw her! I know she recognized me! Why don't you understand that!?"
"Alright, alright, let's all calm down~! Mark, you should listen to your system. It's there to help you become the best version of yourself that you can be, and if you start going against it at every turn, then you are going to have problems down the line. If the system says that you should kill Arit, then maybe you should do it."
"I. Will. Not."
Sozin raised a brow as he gazed into Mark's eye and could see that there was an insane amount of fire in there! Mark was not going to kill Arit even if all the gods in heaven told him to do it! Sozin is a god and he has lived for millions of years without the need for a partner. He didn't understand human emotions and what could possibly make a human this dedicated to another one.
Killing one human for the sake of greater power is something that Sozin saw no problem in, and Sozin knew that Mark would not have a problem either if it was any other human. But for some reason, he just couldn't kill Arit. So this is that strange emotion that humans refer to as love.
Sozin didn't understand it one bit but he could respect the resolve that came with it.
"Fine then, my champion. You have entrusted me with your life and future, so it is only right that I give you a small bit of advice whenever I can. I still believe you should kill that girl. Women are nothing but trouble, even the female gods are annoying. But if you simply do not wish to kill her, then try to bring her back.
There are things even I cannot change about the system, but that does not mean you cannot manipulate the outcome of the mission.
"If you manage to bring Arit back without killing her, then the system will be forced to acknowledge her existence and it will recalibrate your mission. You said you saw her recognize you, right? Well, things should be much easier for you then. Just grab her by her heart and pull her out~"
Sozin slowly started to disappear as he said this and Mark hurried to ask what the hell Sozin meant by grabbing her by her heart! What does that mean?
"You're asking the wrong god, Mark Vanitas. I have never loved before and I never will! Find an answer for yourself!"
Gasp!
Slash!
Mark came back to reality in the middle of the fight and saw the QUEEN's claws right in front of his face as she tried to slash his neck! Mark immediately jumped back to avoid the claws and he crouched down to keep his eyes on her. The mission from the system was still there, but Mark ignored it and focused on the QUEEN.
What the hell does Sozin mean by grab her by the heart?
Mark wondered about this as he avoided another slash! Mark could feel his body slowing down and he quickly took all of his stat points and threw them into his Agility and Durability.
[Does the user wish to add points to the selected stats? Yes/No]
Mark selected yes and he immediately felt the increase in his ability to move around as his agility increased.
[User has added +100 stat points to Agility]
[User has added +100 stat points to Durability]
Agility: 750 [+75] [+75]
Durability: 610 [+61]
Mark flipped over a boulder and landed on the other side to avoid the QUEEN before he performed an acrobatic move that sent him from one end of the room to another in a somersault!
"Arit! Arit, I know you're in there! You can hear me, can't you!"
A flash of recognition passed across the QUEEN's eyes as Mark said this, but it disappeared just as quickly as it came and she screeched in annoyance as she shot off after Mark again!
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Mark dodged under two slashes, but his back hit a wall and he was not able to dodge the third slash, instead, he just brought up his arm and allowed it to strike against his forearm and tear off some of his skin!
Squelch!
Thankfully, Mark's durability was high and he had the Raiju Thunder God constitution that protected him from serious injury. But a look of shock passed through the QUEEN's face when she saw the injury she caused and Mark grit his teeth in anger and used the opportunity to kick the QUEEN back!
Bam!
The QUEEN slammed into the wall on the other side of the room and she held her head in pain as she began to mumble something.
"Is this how it's going to be, Arit!? This is how you leave me! Are you just going to die and allow some yandere with a fucking blood fetish to take over your body!? Really!?"
"SHUT UP!!!"
The QUEEN yelled in anger as she shot towards Mark again and Mark quickly began to dodge around her attacks!
"Don't you remember, Arit? You told me you wanted to be a doctor! You said you wanted to help people like your parents! People who are ignored by the strong! Isn't that what you told me!? Is this how you're going to fucking help people!?
You're not going to help anyone like this, you fucking idiot! She's going to use your body to kill anyone she wants!"
Another look flashed across the QUEEN's face as Mark said all this, but her attacks never stopped coming. Instead, they increased in intensity! Her claws were flashing in the moonlight as she tried her hardest to completely shred Mark to pieces! There was only one thought passing through her mind as she tried her hardest to end Mark!
KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!