Ordinary Creatures Die When Their Heads Fly Off
"Huh?"
"Hey, you there—stop right where you are!"
The guards barked in sharp, cutting voices. I halted mid-stride and stood still.
"What is it?"
"That's what we should be asking you. Why is a living thing wandering around at this hour?"
"..."
Just as Kedalion had said, the security had clearly tightened. Mentioning the night quarters might have gotten me past them somehow, but...
"What are you doing? Are you deaf?"
"You'd better answer properly, or else we'll just—ghrk!!"
"!? Wh-what the—guhaaagh!!!"
Unfortunately for them, I had no intention of spinning some long, tedious story. In the end, every argument is settled the same way.
Then die.
I had held back plenty on the way here, but I would be leaving this place soon enough. A clean, simple cleanup, then move on.
"What the hell is that guy?"
"There's a suspicious—"
Crack!
"Guh... uh..."
A few more pests clung to me along the way, but I snapped their necks just as cleanly and "assassinated" them too. No witnesses means it's an assassination—nothing more to it.
After combining those "simple answers" with a string of quiet killings, I arrived at my destination.
Exactly as the scroll described: a conspicuous mansion standing on the bank of a river of black liquid—oil, by the look of it. There was no mistaking it; it was the only house for a long stretch, isolated even by the standards of the streets of the Abyss. I strode straight toward it, fully intending to finish the assassinations inside just as cleanly and then take the woman—Nux, or Furiosa, or whatever her name was—with me.
At the entrance, the silhouettes of the guards on watch came into view.
Only they were lying on the ground with their heads already separated from their necks.
Don't tell me...
An ominous thought flashed through my mind. I sprinted into the mansion.
Just as I had feared, the place was empty.
But then—
"...This."
The hollow, deserted interior made me realize something else entirely.
That something was...
"Nerites!!!!"
Nerites's body lay crumpled on the floor, his head severed. The scene had unfolded in an instant, so utterly horrific that the faces of everyone who saw it drained of color on the spot.
"H-how... how could this..."
"Ah... aah..."
Aphrodite turned deathly pale and began to tremble. Kedalion collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
And then there was the only one who still managed to cling to her reason.
Thetis alone drew a whip of water, her eyes blazing with fury and killing intent as she fixed them on the being who had suddenly appeared and wrought this slaughter.
A slender man in a black robe, a sword in one hand. Unsettling divine power radiated from him. Thetis held her barely contained rage in check just long enough to demand:
"Who... are you...?"
Hatred boiled in her voice. The black-robed man showed a flicker of surprise.
"My, my... you people are still alive?"
"What?"
"My apologies. I took you for already-dead shades and showed no mercy. I never imagined you were living beings from the surface. How regrettable that I ended such wretched lives here without meaning to."
"Y-you bastard..."
The man spoke with shameless calm even after blowing a person's head off. Thetis felt the last thread of her patience snap. She poured every ounce of her strength into the whip and lashed it at him.
A true strike, laden with the power of a sea goddess. This place was nowhere near the ocean—there was barely any water at all—so the force was inevitably halved. Yet the blow, thick with pure rage and murderous will, streaked toward the man like a flash of light.
Then—
Clang!
"!"
The whip rebounded as if it had struck an invisible wall, flying back with pathetic ease. For a moment, shock flooded Thetis's face at how lightly her attack had been stopped.
And then—
"To refuse the fate that has already arrived... truly foolish creatures."
A heavy voice accompanied the massive figure who stepped slowly forward from behind the sword-wielding man. In one hand he held an enormous scroll—the same one that had almost certainly blocked Thetis's strike a moment earlier. Unsettling divine power poured from his body.
At that moment—
"You... you're... Thanatos!"
"And Moros as well!"
"!"
The Cyclopes who had just rushed over cried out the names, their voices thick with dismay. Thetis knew those names well.
"Gods of death? Those two?"
Thanatos and Moros. Sons of Nyx who governed death. Thanatos ruled peaceful rest—euthanasia. Moros ruled the inescapable death of destiny—mortality itself.
To come face-to-face with beings who were death incarnate, in a situation she had never imagined, cold sweat automatically beaded on Thetis's brow.
"Oh? You know who we are?"
"Then this will be quick. Hand over the little Cyclops girl, as fate decrees. Do that, and we will touch no one else and leave quietly."
Moros delivered the threat—no, the warning—in a calm voice. Thetis had no idea why they were after Kedalion, but she began coldly calculating the situation.
These reapers possessed power that was clearly overwhelming at a glance. Their divine rank was on an entirely different level from a goddess who ruled only a small sea. The divine power she could feel right now already placed them a full step above her.
Worse, this was the bottom of the underworld—Tartarus, their domain. In the middle of the ocean she might have stood a chance, but here, with her power alone, she could never defeat them.
By any ordinary measure, the correct choice was to obey the warning. She knew full well how foolish it was to pick a fight with zero chance of victory.
Then—
"Shut your mouths, you mole-rats who crawl under the dirt! Who do you think you are, ordering us around?!"
"...What?"
"..."
Aphrodite's voice rang out, utterly unflinching. Even though she was the weakest among them, her words carried a sacred majesty in that moment—almost as if Thetis were looking at her own proud younger brother.
"...Heh."
A small smile touched Thetis's lips. She readjusted her grip on the whip and shouted:
"Whatever you say, this child is under our protection right now. Lay a hand on her and you'll taste something hot!"
"...Haha. This is truly absurd. Do you wish to follow the one who already died?"
"Unable even to gauge an opponent's strength... even if the two of you attacked one of us, only the fate of death awaits. How foolish..."
Then—
"Pahk!!!!"
A sharp jet of water suddenly erupted from the ground. Moros and Thanatos blocked it with ease—yet a flicker of surprise crossed their faces immediately after.
"Sorry, but... it's three against two..."
"Huh?"
Kedalion let out a dazed sound at the unexpected sight. Her eyes took in the figure standing there—the very man whose head had been rolling on the floor moments earlier.
"...A-are you... alive?"
"Uh... mmm... y-you okay?"
"Not even close. First time I've had my head cut off, and damn, it hurts worse than I expected."
In answer to Thetis's question, he rubbed the still-burning stump of his neck and complained. Ordinary creatures die when their heads fly off. That was an absolute truth for any normal living thing.
But he was no ordinary creature.
"You keep yapping about death this, death that..."
Shing!
"As if a god would die just because his head gets cut off!"
With those words, the immortal drew the sword at his hip. Nerites, god of the sea, leveled his killing intent at the enemies before him. Thetis looked at Kedalion, who was still staring in blank shock, and said:
"Don't just stand there—run. We'll hold them here."
"Y-yes? B-but..."
"We don't have the strength to protect you while we fight. We'll catch up soon—go!"
"Uuu..."
Even after Nerites added his voice, Kedalion hesitated, unable to decide. It was her father and uncles who finally led her away.
"Hurry, daughter."
"Sorry... if only we were a little better at fighting..."
"We'll leave it to you."
"The exit—that child will guide you. Escape however you can."
At Thetis's words, Kedalion and the Cyclopes bowed their heads and fled through the rear door. Once they had secured the "purpose" of their coming here, Thetis, Nerites, and Aphrodite turned to face the reapers and settled into battle stances.
Then—
"You lot... were gods?"
"No wonder a surface-dweller was still walking around unharmed..."
The gods of death showed mild surprise. Aphrodite answered in a voice still dripping with arrogance.
"You only notice after someone spells it out for you? Typical mole-rats—your eyes must be as useless as the rest of you."
"That bitch... she's been running her mouth since earlier..."
"Now that you know, kneel of your own accord. Beg for forgiveness even now, and I shall specially spare you the ugliest of fates."
Aphrodite pointed at the floor with one finger. The two reapers' faces twisted with deep displeasure.
"The ugliest of fates... you say?"
"You are the one who fails to understand that surrendering now is the path of accepting destiny. We move by the command of Lord Tartarus. No matter how you thrash about, you cannot defeat the Abyss."
"Is that so? How strange, then, that such grand personages would try to snatch away Lord Tartarus's precious toy behind his back."
"!"
"Khrm..."
At Aphrodite's words, both men's expressions hardened and their mouths snapped shut. Their reaction only deepened the suspicion that something was off.
Then—
"...It cannot be helped. We had hoped to settle this as quietly as possible."
"You hasten the worst of fates yourselves. Do not blame us."
With that, the two charged. Thetis moved to meet them at once.
"They're coming."
"Aphrodite—cover us!"
"Understood!"
At Thetis's order, Aphrodite loosed an arrow infused with her full divine power. It flew true, straight for Thanatos's brow.
But—
Ting!
"!"
Moros casually deflected the arrow, deploying a defense much like the one that had stopped Thetis's whip. Then they launched their assault.
"Kh!"
Nerites hastily blocked Thanatos's sword with his own. The blade, imbued with the divine power of his father Nereus, held firm against the reaper's weapon—but the problem was the skill of the one wielding it.
"Not bad. I had intended to take your head again with that single stroke."
"Come on... if you can, try it!"
"!"
Nerites forced the swords apart and swung hard. The tip of his blade grazed Thanatos's neck, leaving a thin line of blood.
"Sorry, but... I hate being in someone's debt!"
Even as he spoke, Nerites confirmed it once more in that brief exchange: this man was strong. Even without the earlier surprise attack, pure ability alone already put him far beyond Nerites.
Which meant—
Finish this as fast as possible... in one decisive blow!
He spotted a momentary opening and drove in to press the attack.
But—
Clang!
Even with every ounce of strength behind the strike, Thanatos shifted his sword in an instant and caught it effortlessly.
"You bas—guhaaagh!"
Thanatos's foot slammed into Nerites's gut. As he crumpled to the floor, the reaper's sword came down again.
Boom!
Nerites rolled desperately across the ground, barely avoiding the blow.
"Your will is not bad, but I recommend you give up around here."
"Sh—! Kh!"
Boom!!
Thanatos's next strike appeared before his eyes in a flash. Even knowing it was coming, Nerites could only just manage to block it, and he was driven back mercilessly. No longer able even to counterattack, he was reduced to pure defense and evasion. He was outmatched in raw power, and the technique that wielded that power was clearly superior as well.
Thetis's side fared no better.
"Damn it!"
She lashed her whip with all her speed and strength. Yet even as her assault crashed down like a wave, Moros used his scroll to defend with perfect, unhurried composure. Despite the barrage of attacks, he closed the distance step by step as if strolling across open ground—leisurely, yet inexorably.
Thetis was forced to retreat until her back met a wall.
"!"
"It ends here."
The moment he came within arm's reach—
"Haaaah!!"
"..."
Thetis kicked off the wall behind her, launched herself into the air, and drove a kick straight at Moros's face.
Pahk!
The strike flew true—yet—
"Ugh!"
"Foolish."
Moros caught her foot with one hand and stopped the attack cold. Then—
"Guh!"
Boom!!!
The scroll smashed into Thetis's chest. The heavy impact, like being struck by an iron pillar, drove her body into the wall.
"No matter how you struggle, you cannot stop the fate that approaches. Accept it now—you can never defeat us."
"D-damn... kh!"
Even through the searing pain, Thetis tried to rise. But with bones broken throughout her body from the earlier blow, she could barely keep herself upright. A god's flesh healed quickly, yet fighting in this state was impossible.
Moros slowly raised the scroll over the fallen Thetis.
Then—
Pahk!!!
"!"
"..."
An arrow from Aphrodite buried itself in Moros's wrist. Even with the shaft piercing clean through, he plucked it out as if it were nothing.
"...Nothing but fools, every one of you. Had you stayed quiet, you would have met a far gentler fate."
Irritation colored Moros's voice. Watching him, a deep smile curved Aphrodite's lips.
And then—
"We... won."