A few days later.
"Kirin, what made you fall for Shin? There's no way it's love at first sight, right? I mean, that's just fantasy." Kaide asked.
Kirin sighed. "Being with men my entire life… I've grown to read them. And no, I'm not 'woke.' Listen."
"Before all of this—before the world turned into this—I was living with a very, very wealthy family. I met many men at a very young age."
"They acted so… prestige, y'know? But I could see it in them. The ego. The pride. That they didn't want to get bruised."
"When I met Shin? I saw nothing but a normal guy. Well, besides the fact that he kills brutally. I do as well, you know? I even tried to tease him, almost tried to seduce him, just to see what he was really like."
"He never showed a single flustered face or anything." Kirin chuckled. "His eyes were just filled with murderous intent, but also… intent to protect. I don't know how to explain it."
Kaide nodded. "I understand. The first time I met Shin, he ripped a guy's throat out with his bare hands. That guy was trying to rape me."
"Heck, he even killed the people that murdered your friends! Maybe you two really are meant for each other!" Kaide smirked.
"Anyway, what do you think is the most just thing Shin has ever done?" Kaide asked.
Kirin crossed her arms, thinking. "He told me his story one time."
"About how he massacred rapists. Yeah, with an 's.'"
---
One year ago.
A hundred rapists—Shin kidnapped them all and put them into one big room.
"You're probably wondering why you're here?"
"Well, you all raped women. You broke their minds, leaving them thinking of nothing but your petty cocks."
"Most were married. Some belonged to someone. Others were just virgins."
"You all broke them. Raped them into submission. Corrupted them."
Shin dragged an old man forward.
"This bastard blackmailed a married woman, made her sign a contract in exchange for her husband's better life while she served him."
"Isn't that right, Mr. Connor?"
Connor yelled in anger. "Who the fuck are you?! Do you know who I am?! That bitch is a whore! Besides, her husband was never able to satisfy her!"
Shin shook his head. "No, Mr. Connor. The truth is, you raped her. You blackmailed her. You broke her with your cock, forced her into submission. Now she can't live without you."
The other men stood up, circling Shin.
"You kidnapped us but didn't tie us up? You're pretty stupid. There are too many of us against you," one of them said.
Shin ignored him, continuing to interrogate Connor.
"She was a woman of loyalty. Her husband is an honorable man, working hard to give her a good life. And you ruined it with your pettiness and horniness."
Shin grabbed Connor's face, lifting him with one hand.
One of the rapists bashed Shin's head with a metal pipe lying on the ground.
"Corny-ass interrogator," he laughed.
The others laughed too. One fat guy stood up and said, "I honestly don't care what happens to women. As long as I'm satisfied, I can just toss them."
But Shin remained unmoved. He turned to the black man. "All of you are a waste of resources."
The man stepped back. "H-How? You should be dead! That was solid steel!"
Connor started screaming. "IT HURTS!"
Shin squeezed the old man's head tighter.
"Tell me—what happened to the woman?"
"She's—?! She's in my house! Let me go, you bastard! I already told you what you need—"
Shin crushed his head. His eyeballs scattered, mixing with brains and shattered skull.
Everyone gasped. Some puked. Some were horrified. "What in Jesus' name…" one of them muttered.
"Oh, no. You don't get to say his name." Shin dropped the bloody remains from his hand.
"I'm going to keep going down the line." He turned to the man who had hit him with the pipe.
"You. You raped someone's girlfriend and broke her mind. Sent tapes to her boyfriend's house. What kind of sick bastard are you?"
Blood dripped into the man's mouth as Shin lifted him.
"God, I'm sorry! I was just… my primal urge to breed, it was too strong!" the man cried.
"Where is she?" Shin began breaking his fingers.
The man screamed in pain before gasping for air. "If I tell you, you're just going to kill me like you did that old bastard!"
He laughed. "She'll die anyway. I kept her locked up, only feeding her enough to keep using her!"
"…You really aren't going to tell me, huh?" Shin slowly lifted him higher.
"Then, I'll find her myself." Suddenly, the man was engulfed in purple flames. Shin was reading his soul.
The burning flesh stung the air.
The man screamed as his skin and flesh peeled away—until he finally stopped moving.
"Hmm. Found her."
Then, the rest of the men jumped Shin. Some had abilities through ascendance.
They beat him, blood splattering across the walls.
Hours later—
Shin left the place covered in guts and blood.
He cleaned himself before acting.
He broke into one of the houses where a woman was held.
"Who… who are you?! Are you going to use me too?! Where's my master?!" she said. She looked pathetic, broken, corrupted.
But Shin held her forehead. Suddenly, fire engulfed her. It was warm. Soothing. Clean.
With just a touch, the corruption in her mind burned away as her rapist had.
She began crying loudly, puking, disgusted at herself.
"God… I deserve to die. My… husband…"
"I cheated on my beloved. I am disgusting. That bastard recorded everything and sent it to my husband. God, fuck, FUCK!" she cried.
Shin gently embraced her. "Shhh… let's go to your man."
He carried her.
After a few hours, they arrived at her home.
Her husband opened the door, shocked. His wife, crying—not the woman in the video. His real wife.
He embraced her. Shin explained everything.
"Your wife was corrupted. The guy is dead. I killed him myself," Shin said.
"Be at peace."
Shin worked tirelessly, bringing every woman back to their partners and families.
Explaining everything, trying to help them mend. Some refused, too hurt. Some rejected their wives.
But only a small number. Most understood. They loved their partners too much. Hearing the truth hurt—but it also relieved them.
For those who were rejected—
"Any families?" Shin asked.
They shook their heads.
"Come with me."
They went to the settlement, became new women, found new partners there. And they swore to God they would never repeat the same mistakes.
---
Present day.
"That's what Shin told me," Kirin said.
Kaide listened silently, then spoke.
"I'm still not used to his brutality… the way he kills still gives me shivers."
Kirin looked down. "I've talked to the women he saved. They all say the same thing."
"Shin is a dove under a devil's skin."
---
Somewhere across the world, in Japan.
Klosp gasped. "Is it true?! That heaven above exists—and religion is real?"
Shin nodded.
"I am an angel, Klosp." Aeloria said.
"Not everyone knows about it. Only the faithful deserve the truth. Your mother, Klosp…"
"What about her?" Klosp asked.
"Don't worry. She's at peace. Heaven embraced her." Aeloria said softly.
Klosp turned to Shin. "What about my friend? Is he also an angel like you?"
"I've never seen a human do what he did that night," Klosp admitted. "Everything was on fire, and the monsters around him didn't dare touch him."
"Monsters, ghosts, creatures—they're known to hurt humans… Is Shin really human?" Klosp asked.
Aeloria smiled and tapped Shin's shoulder. "This guy here is human. Just… a unique one."
Shin began writing. They surprised me. They said I am very special. He handed the note to Klosp.
Being stuck between life and death was a pain in the ass.
Shin still didn't have a mouth, a face, a real human system. He didn't feel hunger. He didn't feel tiredness or exhaustion. But he could feel pain.
He had figured that out last night, when he was pulled into the box of emotions. Every part of his body felt like it was being crushed.
"You said I don't feel tiredness, right? Then why do I feel this urge to sleep? And why am I pissed that I can't?" Shin wrote, handing the note to Aeloria.
She scoffed. "That's called a primal human instinct. Ever wondered why people are moody when they can't sleep? Humans—and even animals—have that feature."
Shin shrugged.
"So if heaven exists, and hell, and angels and demons… where is the All-Father? God?" Klosp asked.
Aeloria told him only what he needed to know—but not everything.
A little later, Shin wrote another note and passed it to her. "You didn't tell him what's happening in heaven, did you? About the civil war breaking out there."
"No. We shouldn't," Aeloria replied. "People like Klosp deserve peace. People like us do the hard work."
"We shouldn't drag them into it. Let them stay safe, in the place where Vermis and the others are."
"Let them be… the kids and Klosp. They've already suffered too much."
But Klosp stepped in.
"I'm not stopping." His towering voice echoed. "People are people. Just because we're safe doesn't mean I should stop doing what I can for others."
Aeloria sighed. "Klosp… the kids see you as a father figure. If you come with us, you'll only increase the chance of dying. Shin here is already dead, as you know."
"He's living between life and death."
Shin nodded at her words.
"I'm not a fool," Klosp said firmly. "I may just look like a hulking human to you, but I'm far from a fool."
Shin pulled out his pen and paper. "Klosp, my guy, the kids need a father figure. I know you're strong—you made me weaker when you punched me that night." He handed the note.
Then another. "You're not weak. But you're still far from dying. Keep it that way."
"…I see." Klosp paused, his expression softening.
---
Back to the women.
"Kirin? I'm very curious—do you have any talents? I mean, surely you do, but I wanna know," Kaide asked.
Kirin chuckled. "I am an artist. Before all of this, when I was still young, I dreamed of becoming one. Pencil, canvas, brush... anything, I could do it.
But when the world went to shit and basically everyone started dying... and then my friends too... I stopped painting."
"I just started painting again in the settlement. Art is like an addiction to me now.
If I don't get to paint or draw at least one thing in a day, I start to get really uncomfortable." She chuckled awkwardly and scratched her head.
"How about you, Kaide?" Kirin asked.
Kaide thought for a moment and then looked at the grassy field. "Golf... When I got captured to be a slave, I thought my life was over—that I'd be killed, or worse, raped. But thanks to Shin, me and my brothers are free."
Kirin lit up. "Oh yeah, you do have siblings. Are they settling fine in the place yet?"
Kaide nodded. "They wanna learn powers as well... I told them they're too young."
She laughed. "Oh, I get it. You want them to study? To be helpful people in the settlement, huh?"
"...Of course, why wouldn't I? It's not like they'll go out like Shin and Sen. And besides... that place is basically a safe haven with all of Vermis' spells constantly running through it."
Kirin nodded in agreement. "So... why do you wanna learn ascendance? Like I do?"
"I don't know... I guess I wanna learn to protect myself?" Kaide said.
"I remember that day when Shin and Sen found out about that dad abusing his son in the settlement. Remember that?" Kaide asked.
"Yeah. To be honest? I enjoyed what happened to him." Kirin chuckled.
---
A few days ago.
"Hey, the family you saved a few weeks ago. How are they doing, Sen?" Shin asked while eating his apple.
"I think they settled in pretty well. Why'd you ask?" Sen raised his foot onto the table.
"Hmm... I'm gonna go check on them." Shin stood up and finished his food.
Shin walked through the hallway. Many people greeted him with respect and happiness.
"Morning, Mr. Azalea," one of the residents said.
Shin nodded in acknowledgment.
Then Kirin jumped out of nowhere. "Hey there, scary-looking guy!"
Shin caught her in the air. "Goddamnit... stop doing that!"
Then he gently placed her down.
"Sorry, just wanted to surprise you." She pulled out a painting of her, Shin, and Sen.
"Here!" She handed it to him with a smile.
He chuckled. "I didn't know someone here was such a talented artist." He took the piece of artwork.
"So, who do you want to keep this? Me or Sen?" Shin asked, only to get punched lightly on the shoulder.
"You, silly."
Shin laughed. "What, you want a fucking head pat or something?"
While they were talking, a bruised-up kid walked past them.
Shin locked eyes with the kid as he passed.
"Did that kid get into an accident?" Kirin asked curiously.
"...Suspicion. That kid might have been getting abused," Shin muttered.
She gasped. "...Let's kill the person responsible for this."
Shin raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I was about to... but now that you're saying it, it makes me double-think my plan."
"What?! Why?!"
"Are you seriously gonna argue?" Shin looked at her with a straight face.
Then he sighed and gently patted her back. "I'm not saying you have to pretend it's nothing... or that you're weak for suggesting it. Thing is, I know we both have blood on our hands—not just demons but humans too.
When I'm reading a soul, I can tell if someone has killed something or someone. But I can also feel if it was deserved or not. All your kills were deserved, but you're in a better place now. You can just leave the past behind—focus on the present and the future.
I don't know if I'm making sense, to be honest..."
Then Shin was suddenly hugged by Kirin. "Aww... I didn't know you were capable of saying things like that."
Shin froze but eventually hugged her back, though awkwardly. "Thanks...? I guess."
After a while of awkwardness, Shin cut off the kid from a corner.
Shin was alone.
"Hey, kid."
"Uhh... Mr. Azalea? What can I do for you?"
Shin kneeled in front of him, inspecting the bruises on his face.
"I... uh... Dad was... hurting me a lot."
"I think I am the problem... right?"
"Dad also hurts Mom. Yelling at her, calling her a disappointment... and me, useless."
Then his father called out to him. "June, come here!" with a smile on his face.
June looked at Shin with fear before going.
The father and son returned to their place in the settlement...
Shin punched the wall, cracking it hard. "I'm a fool for not looking out for my people... Now a kid has his childhood ruined... I will kill him... Kill him like a dog."
His fingers dug through the concrete wall in rage.
He crushed the wall.
The entire place shook for a few seconds, like a short earthquake.
Shin walked. His steps were heavy, loud, quick.
Then he bumped into Odessa.
"Oww... Sorry, I was in a hurry because of the earthquake... sorry." She stood up and ran off in the other direction, a book titled Romance in her hand.
After a few hours, Shin calmed down. He knocked on their door.
A woman opened it. "Oh... Mr. Azalea... What's the reason you've paid us a visit?" She covered her cheek.
"May I come in?" Shin asked softly.
A yell rang through the house. "You're a worthless kid!" followed by a loud slap.
"Please... it's really not the time," the mother pleaded.
But Shin walked past her.
She grabbed his arm. "Please! It's not—he's just not in the mood... Don't do anything to my husband."
"Hon? Who's there?" came another voice, followed by another loud slap.
"Mr. Azalea..." she whispered.
The slapping stopped. A man came out of a room with a smug grin.
"Our local savior here, huh?" he walked toward Shin. "What are you doing here, Mr. Hero?"
From the doorway, the kid had a bruise on his face and tears in his eyes.
"Come with me and we will decide your punishment. Abusing your family is not tolerated in this place," Shin said.
"And if I don't?" the smug father replied.
...Shin sighed. "I will force you to come."
"Your angel friend isn't here to save you," the father sneered.
"What the fuck? Don't you know anything?" Shin raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't he know what my brother can do?" he asked the wife.
"What I can—"
Shin got punched in the face.
"Do—" Shin finished, a fist pressed against his face.
He didn't budge a single muscle.
"So you intended to hurt me?" Shin looked down at him.
After a few moments, a loud crash rang through the place, getting everyone's attention — including Sen, Kirin, Kaide, and Odessa.
Eventually everyone — and I mean everyone — actually showed up.
People watched Shin beat the living hell out of the father. He showed no mercy, only anger and unstable disgust in his eyes toward the abuser.
"Your son and your wife are afraid of you, and yet they still love you," Shin said.
He dragged the father's face across the concrete floor.
Covered in his purple flame... the man wouldn't die, but he would feel everything.
A way for Shin to punish people who needed a lesson — not death.
"Look at them," Shin said, grabbing his hair and forcing him to look at his son and wife.
Then he picked him up and slammed him down a stair; the curve hit his back and head painfully.
The man cried in pain.
Shin picked him up with one hand around his neck. "I can just snap your neck here and end your abusive behavior."
"I don't care if my people fear me... They already do. You're new here but that doesn't mean you get special treatment and can fuck your family because you're safe..." the father rasped as Shin bashed his head into the floor.
"In this place lacking monsters... demons, spirits, cannibals, psychopaths..." Shin said. "You have me."
He let him go.
The man gasped for air, fear written all over his face as he looked into Shin.
But people, on the other hand, clapped.
Especially Sen, Kirin, Kaide, and Odessa.
"What...?" Shin asked, confused.
His eyes filled with a strange kind of happiness. Perhaps relief.
Sen came over and hung an arm around Shin. "You thought people would fear you, huh?"
"Well, unfortunately no — it's the opposite. They love you as a protector. We love you as family," Sen said casually.
Then he dragged the father away. "Ma'am, may I take him for his crime of abusing and lock him up for a few months?"
"Unfortunately we don't execute for minor crimes here. Only rapists, murderers, pedos. Your husband is abusive but can be changed with proper guidance," Sen said.
The kid asked softly, "Will it be possible for Dad to not hurt me anymore?"
Sen kneeled in front of him. "No. If he does, I'll pull him back for more lessons. I promise."
"Right?" he looked at the father, who was still in tears, feeling all that pain even though his body showed no bruises.
The man could only nod. Sen dragged him away.
The mother was relieved that her husband couldn't hurt her and her son for now — but she was also afraid he might take revenge someday.
Shin approached her. "We will isolate him with his thoughts and a few conversations a day. Make him rethink his entire life and why he married you and made this family. You and your son are precious to him, I think... so we will make him realize how dependent you both are on his mental state."
"I never give empty promises." Shin then slowly made everyone go back about their day.
He slammed his head into the concrete wall hard. "Why can't people just do the fucking nice thing..."
Kirin walked up and patted his back. "Some people are just ignorant."
Shin looked at her big eyes. "Kirin... sometimes I look at people and compare them to myself. I see no difference — it's just people being people..."
"I don't know why they think I'm some kind of hero... They should see me as a monster, or something."
She smiled and looked at him. "Everyone here, Shin — everyone here thinks you're the opposite of what a monster should be."
"I saw it when you avenged my friends from their killers," Kirin continued. "Without asking, you did something important for a woman you'd never even known. You did that for me... and I see you as someone who'd cross a line to protect, to save, and to help."
---
A few hours later, in the present.
Shin stood on top of a building, looking down at ghosts circling a particular area.
He handed Aeloria a note. "That place is the key to my revival."
"Uh, you forgot to add the question mark... but yeah." she replied.
"Oh, and by the way, I forced Klosp to stay behind," Shin wrote.
"Because he's human. Not just that — he has the kids who think of him as their father figure. We cannot, in any way, put him in danger even if he's capable of killing demons." Aeloria said. "It's our duty to not let anyone die."
"Well… we couldn't prevent the apocalypse. Heaven went chaotic back then too," Aeloria said.
"Let's get this finished. I want to sleep," he added, then dropped down from the building, landing on the ground with a tremor that shook the place.
He walked to the entrance.
Suddenly a pale white man with a broken neck appeared in front of him.
"What are you doing here, Liv—hmm..." the man hummed in curiosity. "I feel no life nor death upon you..."
Aeloria landed next to Shin. "We're here for a particular key."
He twisted his broken neck. "Ahh... I'm afraid it won't be given unless I get something back."
"Perhaps... a wish?"
"I am a reaper. I don't grant requests unless necessary."
"Oh no — this request is necessary. You see, a person claiming to be an angel wrecks havoc upon the souls I'm soothing before I send them to the afterlife."
Aeloria frowned. "Tell me about it, Reaper."
"She was able to summon an entity invisible to both naked and divine eyes..." the reaper said.
Aeloria crossed her arms. "Hmm... what did she look like? And don't give me some kind of riddle!"
"A woman in an off-putting, revealing, tight suit," the reaper said.
Shin flicked a finger and handed a note "I fought her and I lost."
After a few minutes of negotiation and a lot of Shin's writing,
"So do we have a deal? Angel and human? Kill her and what you seek will be given," the reaper proposed.
"I am a reaper. I don't like things interfering with how I reap and guide souls," the reaper growled. "That bitch took a soul with her... calling it 'allowance.' I want her dead. Bring me that soul and the key to being fully revived will be yours."
Shin sighed.
"Look... Mr. Reaper, my friend here is exhausted. He physically cannot sleep no matter what," Aeloria pleaded. "Can we have the key first? Make him human again, let him rest, get him to full potential?"
The reaper growled... then threw them the key. "Get back my souls so I can guide them to the afterlife. Kill her or not — I want the soul back."
"Don't FUCK this up!" the reaper pointed at them.
He turned and began guiding the remaining souls.
A few hours later. "Are you all ready?"
Klosp finished packing the childrens stuff.
"We are ready. Are you sure this place has no demons?"
"I think the only 'demon' considered there is this guy Shin, so technically no harm whatsoever." Aeloria gestures her hand while talking.
---
Meanwhile, Sen, Dullahan, and Fin are in their own world.
When.
Dullahan tapped into all the reapers hive mind.
"So, that's what you look like..."
"What are you smirking about?" Sen asked.
"I found your brother and let's just say he's on another country."
"Japan."
Sen raised his eyebrow. "Do they have the stuff?"
Fin woke up from the noisiness a little annoyed. "What are you two... Doing?"
"Yes they have a key. But you're wondering aren't you?"
"Why can't we just revive Shin like we revived those demons?"
Sen nodded.
"Well, you see. When Shin died with your heaven's sword exploding, his body is burned to crisp but not ashes."
Sen crossed his arms. "And?"
"Well, you see... Shin's soul was very very badly damage that doing fully reviving him into a human again without the key would break his spirit. Literally he will just cease to exist."
"So we need the key to just pick lock this crystal." Dullahan pointed to the key hole.
"To redo the mechanism and unlock it's full potential!"
Fin scratches his dead. "You're telling me even magical stuff have mechanical stuff? Rather than pure magic?"
Dullahan rolled his eyes, we can see it in his decapitated head so don't fuck this up readers...
"Magic and science exist. You can't just magic your way through everything. You think God created like by just mixing stuff without knowledge?"
"Hmm... To be honest? I just assumed that's what God did."
"Anyway, Where's Sen?" Fin asked.
"Huh, what?"
They both looked and see Sen packing already. "If Shin already had the key then let's go and met him. God I missed that bastard."
"Oh, and no one will mention about Azareth."
"For all Shin knows is that h ripped her guts open and killed her."
"Azareth... Even if she changed somehow... She still killed a lot of our men back in the war."
"Hearing us try to console Shin... We would make him go beyond his typical anger."
Sen finished packing. "We maybe is even in a fight but Shin knew more hand to hand that I do. If he go berserk, I will try to stop him..."
"As of right now I'm also mad that Azareth didn't died. But for you, Fin I will try."
Dullahan interrupted them.
"You both aren't clear are you?
"You brothers have a saying, 'we don't forgive even if they had redemption because it doesn't fix what they did.' correct?"
Fin sighed. "Shin killed an rapist even though he changed. He killed him Infront of his girlfriend."
"The rapist did a lot of woman... And that's something Shin just couldn't forgive even though the person already changed." Fin said.
"And the fact that Azareth killed over a hundred of men with families, would make Shin deeply angered at how Azareth is alive and 'changed'... Probably more in the fact that I kissed Azareth."
"When I found her in that town, I tried to kill her as you already know but the people shielded her... There must have something there because people aren't just gonna forgive demons."
Dullahan tapped his shoulder. "Maybe Azareth was one of those demons. Although rare but it's not impossible."
Sen and Fin looked at each other. "Could she be? We haven't noticed the sign back in the war cause we often tried to kill her not inspect her."
"Oh, fuck I completely forgot. After we're done here we found out a totally totalitarian regimes that force it's people into an ideology. We should totally go into war with them." Sen shook Fin's shoulder.
"We revive Shin, fix the issue with Azareth, then go to another war."
"And maybe rest for a few weeks and kept going into our daily lives."
Fin crossed his arms. "Aren't it weird that we don't have any PTSD?"
"To be honest? All I feel is anger towards monsters after the war. Sometimes it even goes to me being racist against non-humans."
Sen then cut the air and opened a portal back to the place where it happened.
Back to the town where Shin died.
"Knowing Shin, he will come to where this all started."
They crossed the portal surrounded by warm light flames. Acrossed the portal familiar faces greeted them.
"Sen, Fin... What happened?" Father Albert said with a relief expression.
"We have the Crystal. We will wait here for Shin because I don't think he's finished on what he is doing yet..."
"Oh and don't freak out, this is Dullahan."
He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you gentlemen."
"Dullahan? As in the reaper Dullahan?" father Albert shook hands with him.
"The headless horseman, yes." Dullahan pointed out.
Kirin gently pet his horse. "Hate to be that person but... What will happen to Shin now? Is he just gonna stay dead for a while?"
But Sen interrupted. "No, turns out Shin is walking on this earth alive and somehow now? I don't know."
"So he's alive?"
"Technically Yeah? But at the same time he isn't human anymore."
---
somewhere in Japan.
"Let's go back to a town I know. I'm sure Sen will be there."
Shin wrote in a note.
To be continued.