"You've done well," Aamon said with a benevolent smile on his face. "To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect you to finish that quest. In fact, I was hoping that you'd be stuck there for eternity."
William nodded his head in agreement. He had been through many difficulties, of them were easy, but the 51st Floor was truly one of the hardest battles he had faced in his life.
"I would like to thank you for sending me to the Tower of Babylon, Your Excellency," William replied. "Because of you, I was able to marry a beautiful wife, as well as remember a lot of things."
Aamon rested the side of his face over his closed fist and eyed William with great interest. Although he was annoyed with William, that didn't mean that he wasn't able to appreciate the achievement that he had made.
What Aamon didn't know was that although William had gained a lot of things by clearing the 51st Floor of the Tower, the red-headed teenager had also lost many important things to him.
"Now, it's time for you to do your second quest," Aamon stated. "You have an upcoming battle with your childhood Fiance, right?"
The corner of William's lips twitched because he could feel the sarcasm that was oozing out of Aamon's voice. However, he decided that he should just play along for the time being and humor the God in front of him.
That way, Aamon might make his quest a little bit easier.
"Yes, Your Excellency," William replied. "I will be fighting with her in less than two months' time."
Aamon nodded his head. "Since that is the case, your next quest will be defeating her in your match. However, there is a condition."
The Grand Marquis of Hell raised a finger as he regarded William cooly. He understood that Rebecca didn't stand a chance at winning against William in her current state, so he decided to make things a little bit more interesting.
William placed his hands behind his back as he waited for Aamon to mention his condition.
"You are not allowed to jump to the Saint Rank when fighting against her," Aamon said with a smile. "The moment your strength exceeds that threshold, your quest will immediately fail. That means that I will not lift the curses on Est, Ian, and Isaac."
William frowned. He originally wanted to finish the battle right away, but with this restriction, he would not be able to activate his Trump Cards.
The Half-Elf wasn't worried about fighting against Rebecca, even without using Heroic Avatar and his Einherjar Job Class. However, he was worried that the Misty Sect would pull a trick on him during the battle, which would make things extremely difficult for him to win.
If he were able to use his trump cards, William was confident that he would be able to face whatever they threw at him. Now that he had this restriction, he needed to make plans in order to guarantee his victory.
This was an important battle for him.
He couldn't afford to lose.
"I understand, Your Excellency," William replied. "It will be as you say."
"Good. Now, run along now. There are still a few weeks to go before your fated battle. Be sure to do your best to win."
"I will do my best."
——
Aamon watched as William disappeared from the Temple. The Half-Elf had used Soleil to instantly teleport to the Silverwind Academy after his meeting with the Patron God of the Kraetor Empire.
The Marquise of Hell lingered for a bit longer before he disappeared from the Temple. A few minutes later, he reappeared in Astrid's castle and found his twin drinking tea in the garden.
"I was a bit surprised, Brother," Astrid said as she placed her cup on the table. "I thought you were going to make things very hard for him, but you surprisingly held back on his next mission. Tell me, what made you change your mind?"
Aamon took the seat opposite his sister and casually picked up the teacup that was meant for him to drink. After taking a few sips of Astrid's special tea, he placed it back on the table before answering his twin.
"I didn't make things hard for him, this much is true," Aamon nodded. "This time, I made it fair. Lily came to visit me earlier, and threatened to whack me with a candy cane if I made the next test extremely difficult."
Lilith was Aamon's friend so he didn't want to burn bridges with her. Also, William had just come back from a difficult quest, so he decided to appease the Loli Goddess before ramping up the difficulty of the next quest.
Astrid frowned but she didn't say anything else. The fact that William had managed to clear the 51st Floor also made her raise her impression of the boy. In her mind, she reluctantly admitted that William had what it took to become her disciple's lover.
The two Gods drank their teas in silence. A minute later, both of them looked at the place where the Cycle of Reincarnation was located.
Both Gods frowned because they had heard it clearly.
The shattering of a world, and the destruction of one of the red portals that hung in the sky of the Cycle of Reincarnation.
"That's the Ninth one this Year," Aamon said as he placed his teacup back on the table. "Do those guys never take a vacation?"
Astrid sighed and continued to drink her tea.
"This is the cycle of Death and Rebirth," Astrid said softly. "Even Gods are not exempt from this rule."
Aamon reluctantly nodded his head. This was indeed a part of the cycle. But for some reason, he felt that there was more to this than met the eye.
The Gods of Destruction had been becoming very active as of late. Although they had faced staunch opposition in every world that they visited, they were still able to perform their duties without fail.
In this regard, Aamon only had admiration for them. But, deep inside, he also feared them.
He glanced at his sister, who was drinking her tea in a calm manner. If not for the fact that she was his twin, he wouldn't be able to notice the subtle changes in her mannerism and expression.
Aamon was about to say something, but held back at the last second. He knew that it was futile, so he decided to just keep his feelings to himself.
After finishing his drink, he bid his sister goodbye and returned to his palace in Hell, leaving Astrid alone in her thoughts.
"You can't fight the inevitable," Astrid said softly as she poured herself more tea, "but, the final struggle is still worth watching.. It is at the moment of death when life shines its brightest."
