Beyond the Eternity

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of footsteps echoed through the dungeon as two dark figures approached while dragging a newly captured prisoner behind them.

The prisoner was a woman with platinum hair and delicate, yet beautiful features. However, her face was twisted in pain and exhaustion.

Click!

The hooded cultists unlocked one of the cells and carelessly tossed the woman inside, as if she were nothing more than a piece of trash.

It was obvious they harbored some resentment towards her. One of them shot a glare and clicked his tongue in disgust.

"This little b*tch. Is she some kind of monster?"

"I can't believe she took out fifty of us before we finally caught her."

"Right? Even the Executioner had to catch her himself."

"I still dont understand why the master stopped us from killing her. She's too dangerous to be kept alive. You know, we could have some fun with her. She's quite the looker."

"You fool, are you trying to anger the master? Do you want to face decapitation by the Executioner?"

"N-No, of course not."

"Good. Besides, she's perfect for the goddess. The purer the sacrifice, the more powerful the offering. And you know how much the goddess likes virgins."

"I guess, you're right. Heh! I can't wait for her execution. Surely, It would be spectacular."

The cultists' cruel laugher echoed through the dungeon as they left. Meanwhile, Angelica slowly began to regain consciousness, with her senses returning little by little.

(What? Where am I?)

She carried herself off the cold floor and rubbed her trembling temple.

Looking around, she noticed she was in some sort of dungeon. There were even people inside the dungeon.

(What am I doing in a place like this? Wait... Ack!)

Angelica clutched her head in pain, as if she had been struck at the back of her skull by a metal pole. At the same time, fragments of past events began flooding back into her mind.

After the announcement, she was transported to the main stage of the Fifth Fable, where she found herself trapped in a passageway lit up by burning torches on the walls. It was a place where she was hunted relentlessly by the mad ones. She managed to defeat most of them she encountered and hid from some.

Then after that, she remembered something heavy hitting the back of her head and passing out.

(Damnit!)

She clicked her tongue in irritation. The fact that she was caught so easily only made her more irritated. But It was not completely her fault.

No Skills, Stats or Divine Protections.

Those were enough to cause any player to despair.

In a world where such powers were commonplace, could the players survive in a story where those very powers were restricted?

Absolutely not.

Even if she used the self defence techniques she learnt some time ago and hid using the stealth zones, she would still be caught by the being known as the Executioner.

Escape was impossible. It seemed the people in the dungeon had already come to the same realization.

"We're going to die. We're going to die. We're going to die. We're going to die."

"Why did the Stories have to exist in the first place?"

"Damn it! I don't want to die. Not like this!"

The player who had become prisoners were mumbling curses. Some of them must have already lost their minds.

Being a prisoner was never a good experience, and anyone who had endured it would agree. But in this case, the captives were taken against their will to be sacrificed in some forsaken ritual they never chose to be part of.

"Tck!"

One of the captives gritted their teeth. It was so loud that everyone inside the dungeon heard it.

"This is all your fault!"

With a shout, a man driven by anger swung his clenched fist.

There was the sound of an impact and something collapsing on the ground.

Humans are inherently selfish creatures. When thrust into a life-or-death situation, that selfishness only magnifies. Fear strips away their reason and logic, leaving only raw instinct.

Even the most rational humans become completely irrational when confronted with the threat of death.

In such moments, the natural response is to shift blame, to pin their misfortunes on someone—anyone—else.

The result was violence. And it was easier when the other person was weaker.

Pow!

"Ack!"

"If you hadn't stumbled into my hiding spot, I never would have been caught. If only you never existed!"

Pow! Pow!

The man was ruthlessly beating a girl who appeared to be about 16, while he looked to be in his 30s with a noticeable big belly. The girl was beaten so severely that she curled up into a ball to shield herself from the man's relentless assault.

Despite the display of physical violence, nobody moved to stop him.

What he was doing was undoubtedly wrong. In a normal world, he would have been stopped and arrested for such an act of violence. However, that once-cherished world was gone, and now they were locked in a prison where they waited to be slaughtered like cattle.

Who would have the strength or spirit to stop that man?

Most of the people had already surrendered to despair upon facing a grim reality, which left them too afraid to intervene or defend the innocent child.

Of course, not everyone was like that.

"Hey, leave my sister alone, you son of a bitch!"

"Ack! What the hell?"

A teenage boy jumped on top the man and pulled him away from the girl by the hair. His fists pounded on the man's back, but the older, much larger and stronger player easily threw the boy away.

Thud!

The boy hit the ground hard and grasped for air. The man sneered, "You want to die too, you stupid brat? I'll kill you both!"

"No! Stop!"

"And you! Shut up!"

"Ack!"

The large man shifted his attention to the girl and stomped on her head. "You don't get to beg! You're the reason we're all here! If it wasn't for you, we'd have been safe!"

"I'm sorry."

[Many of the constellations observing the violence says that a certain player is utterly pathetic.]

[The constellation, Judge of War of Wisdom is disgusted by the man's actions.]

There was the sound of the constellation messages, but Angelica didn't hear them. She looked like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It was wrong. No matter how she looked at it, the man's actions were completely unreasonable and utterly vile. That girl was likely doing everything she could to survive, yet she was being punished for something entirely beyond her control. Every aspect of this twisted situation felt unjust. Why was the girl the only one being blamed? Did she truly deserve such punishment?

And what about the boy that tried protecting his sister, just to get overpowered?

Everyone else was just as responsible for their own lives, including that man, yet he shifted the blame onto someone weaker just to make himself feel better.

The thought that someone could sink so low made Angelica feel like the blood vessels inside her head were about to burst.

Unable to watch any further...

"You... what the hell are you doing?!"

Her body that had been aching all over in pain began to move before she even thought about moving. Her body, made of flesh and blood began heating up in response to the anger she was feeling. She clenched her fist so hard that she felt her fingers were going to break.

Perhaps her words was not heard or the man ignored her entirety, he continued to beat the girl.

Just he was about to swing his fist again, she stretched out and seized that hand at once.

"You bastard, I said stop!"

"Who the fuck are you?"
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"Is what I'm saying entering one ear and exiting the other?"

The man barked and tried to release his hand. But her grip tightened and the man's eyes widened as he felt a certain amount of force. It was strength more than someone her size should have.

Angelica's cold eyes met his.

"If you want to pick on someone, why not try me? Or are you the kind of coward that only feels brave when beating on children?"

"You..."

The man scowled and yanked harder, but Angelica didn't bulge. His frustration slowly turned into blind rage and he swung his other fist.

Angelica calmly ducked under the fist.

She wasn't fast. In fact, all her stats had been restricted just like the rest of the players. It was the same story for her skills and divine authorities.

If she was hit even once, It would be terrible. However, she could still use her head.

The large man was only using the strength of his body weight. As long as his attacks could be predicted, he wasn't that much of a threat.

"!!"

With sudden twist, she pulled his arm forward, causing him to lose his balance. In a blink of an eye, she had maneuvered him into a hold, with his arm awkwardly bent behind his back.

"Argh!"

The man tried to struggle, but Angelica applied more pressure.

"You think you're tough shit, huh? Picking on kids and blaming them from your misfortunes. If that is not the definition of pathetic, then I don't know what it means."

"Let me go, you fucking b*tch! I'll fucking kill you, just you watch."

"Really? You leave me with no choice then."

"What...?"

Before he could even respond, Angelica twisted his arm even further.

Crack!

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!"

Accompanying the loud crack, the man screamed as his shoulder was dislocated and fell to the floor. He clutched his injured arm and rolled around in pain.

Angelica glanced to the other players and her expression hardened considerably. For some reason, their stupid faces irritated her further.

"Listen up! I don't care if you want to wallow in despair, that's your choice. But If you touch children, I absolutely won't forgive you. Anyone else that tries anything funny like that fool will get beaten down by me. And feel free to come at me all at once; I can handle trash like you on my own. Is that clear?"

Silence fell over the dungeon.

The other prisoners who were too broken to act before, now stared wide-eyed at Angelica. The man on the ground continued to writhe in pain, but no one moved to help him. He was definitely not a good person, so nobody would have any sympathy for him, not after seeing the level of physical violence he had displayed.

The teenage boy who had been knocked down stood up and helped his sister from the ground. Both of them looked at Angelica with unreadable eyes.

At that moment, Angelica looked like a protagonist infront of those two.

[The constellations are pleased with this outcome.]

[The constellation, Judge of War and Wisdom is pleased with the justice.]

Angelica shifted her head and looked at the two with heart-warming smile. At the same time, she abruptly realised something and her eyes widened.

Green hair, amber eyes, and distinctive Western features.

As an unexplainable wave of familiarity struck Angelica, she recalled the identity of the teenagers infront of her.

(Those two...)

The brother and sister she had just saved from Injustice were the very same twins she met before entering the Fifth Fable.