We meet again.

With his speed, it takes a whole month just to go in the oasis. The good thing is the path has been already mapped out with the help of his owl spirit. The only problem is the one that ambush his Pumpkin.

He walks at the oasis, trying to examine if the water is drinkable. Looking at his own reflection, a black hair with blue eyes and a pale skin due to not going outdoors. But all of a sudden, he sensed that someone suddenly appears in his back.

*Breathe in* *Breathe out*

"We meet again, puny soul." A crisp voice enters his ears. He suddenly turn around and he saw a huge skeleton wearing a robe with a 5 feet long double edge sword in his right hand.

Without thinking he unleash his blood lust and use flicker so he can appear at his back.

"Flame o-arrggh!"

To his surprise, he's been kicked in his chest with blinding speed. Enough to prevent him from using his flames. With so much impact, he didn't stop when he hit the ground and eventually rolling until the force is no more.

Feeling dizzy about his new experience, he realized that he is fighting a scourge, since this monster can speak unlike the mabeast with only instincts. To think a single attack can by pass the defensive ability of Jadeskin.

Trying to get up slowly, his feet are shivering due to damage from his upper body. He's still glad that his spine is not broken, if it did, he might not survive this fight

The giant skeleton walks slowly and preparing to attack the dead soul without mercy.

"Wait! Can we talk first? Why are you doing this? Why did you kill my spirit owl?" He needs to buy some time while trying to regenerate his wounds.

"I didn't kill your spirit, the Rapunzel's thread has a curse surrounding it that if you tried to fly within that area, that force will kill you instantly." Even though he's not the one who killed the spirit owl, that doesn't mean that he's safe.

"What is your purpose here? You're not always staying here. So why are you here now?" he asked the skeleton hoping that he wants to continue the conversation.

"I'm not always here so I can fight some mabeast. They will be reborn anyway, so I have an unlimited toys to play with." The skeleton smirks weirdly at Jack. He doesn't know how a skeleton without a muscle in his face can smile. The skeleton continued.

"Even if I'm not here, I'm still the guardian of the Rapunzel's Thread." He shrugged and continued. "The moment your spirit go near at the Rapunzel's thread, I have to go here as soon as I can. Little did I know that I will meet you here, puny soul." He waves his sword vertically, trying to intimidate the puny soul.

'If I'm going to use brute force here, I might die in the process. He has great strength despite having no muscles and the biggest threat a skeleton can give to you is there infinite stamina.' Jack thought.

While he's thinking on how he can escape in this predicament, the giant skeleton suddenly appear in front of him, slashing diagonally.

Due to his hunter's instinct, instead of dodging sideways or backward, he approached and roll forward. Aiming at the body of the giant skeleton, he uses his scorchfire.

"ARRRGGHH!"

The skeleton felt the intense heat, but it still not enough to kill him. Due to the skeleton's immense stamina and strength, he suddenly knee kick forward, hitting Jack jaws.

The force makes his body floats in the air, leaving the ground. While he is in the air, the skeleton's left hand grabs his right foot and slams his at the ground.

The skeleton use his body like a nunchaku and smash the ground.

*groan*

Jack is barely breathing, only his will of fire and determination that keeps him from losing consciousness. He stares dagger from the skeleton who mocks him with pure joy.

"Hahaha puny soul. To think that you can survive that. I'm going to be busy playing with you and if I get bored, maybe I'll end you, puny soul." He smirks at Jack thinking on how he will torture him while keeping him alive. Its very rare for the skeleton to find some fine toy to played with.

"Ha... Haha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He spats blood while laughing, without a care from his well being.

'Did this thing broken now?' The skeleton try to observe the broken toy that he picked up.

Being a guardian in oasis is a boring job, unless some soul don't touch the Rapunzel's Thread, almost mabeast will stay away from it. If a soul tries to grab the golden rope, its essence will somehow tells all the existing mabeast that it needs to eradicate the insolent soul who grabs it, so no one will escape in Tartarus. Even though the mabeast are not sentient, they have enough instinct that the Rapunzel's Thread are dangerous.

The skeleton lifts the broken body of puny soul and maybe it will impale him using its black sword. He now ignores the crazy laughter of the puny soul and convince itself that he really is crazy.

"Hey skeleton, you think that you've won right?" He smirks at the skeleton with blood lust. The skeleton is slightly confused but he doesn't care about its blood lust because its somehow weak.

"Puny soul, what can you do now you're a broken toy?" It wants to tell him that no matter how much effort he use, it won't matter much.

"Business 101, if you can't defeat your business rivals, then absorb them." Using his every mana in his soul, he tries to capture the skeleton using the duat.

"You! Such insolence!" The skeleton's entire left hand are now suck by an invisible force and it didn't stop there. Of course, the skeleton won't let it happen, it tried to resist the suction power of invisible force.

"Flame on!" Now that the skeleton is standing still, its just become a target in his intense fire.

"Nooo!" To think that it suddenly become a reverse, the skeleton was screeching from the heat and now all of his body has been sucked by the invisible force.

The surrounding of the oasis become quiet like there is no battle that happen here.

*Breathe in* *Breathe out*

Lying down in the ground, he still can't move since he abuse himself by using duat and scorchfire simultaneously. Such hard earned fight and he didn't gain anything. Not even a single ability.

"I just... want to... sleep" Now that his strength is gone, he lost his consciousness and his entire vision has now gone black.

Entire darkness, Jack doesn't know if he is falling or floating in darkness. He just can't move his body. Even if his consciousness is barely awake, he thinks that maybe he really failed.

'First Cancer, and now this stupid skeleton.' He thinks with full of disappointment.

All he wants is to be reincarnated with his memories in tack. He knows that its not allowed, but still this is the one thing he can't back down. Even if the start of his life is bitter, he still looking forward everyday with the help of his mother and his good friends.

While contemplating, he suddenly saw himself talking to a woman with dressed by a simple tight clothes, equipped with a weapon of bow and arrows that slings at her back. Her appearance was very beautiful with an auburn hair and green eyes. Such pale skin and a glossy lips. Such a shame that the woman is a warrior, very different from her appearance. You can call this Gap-Moe.

He tried to understand what conversation they're having, but to his disappointment, he couldn't hear anything. But from his observation, he realized that the two are so close, he is doubting if the man beside her is really him.

Suddenly, the woman looks at him, the one who swims at nothingness. To his shock, the face was so beautiful his heart pumped hard and his face blushed from embarrassment.

"Don't give up, Jack Summers. Be determined!" Her powerful voice reverberates his entire being, making him wake up.

*groan*

He inspect his surrounding first, he's still in the corner of oasis and the Rapunzel's Thread are waiting to be grabbed.

"Who is that woman? Eh! How come I don't remember what she look like?" To his shock, he now forgot the woman's image. What he remember is the woman's words to him.

'Don't give up, Jack Summers. Be determined.'

He still a bit fuzzy, but his stamina are now returning thanks to his stolen abilities. If he doesn't have does kind of abilities, he will not succeed on capturing the Grim Reaper.

"Professor Musha, you can tell me how strong the Grim Reaper you know?" He wants to argue about his coach in magic but he let set aside. What's important right now is the Rapunzel's Thread didn't vanish.

"I want to break the rules and just fly using my scorchfire, but if I really die the moment I don't comply by the rules, it will defeat the purpose of my survival now. Let's play by the rules then." He said.

He grabs the Rapunzel's Thread, and a surge of invisible mana runs from the golden rope through out the vast wasteland. he realized what's happening now, the golden rope somehow sends an alarm to all of the mabeast that he is marked for execution.

He hurriedly climbs up with enough force so the mabeast can't catch up to him now.

After a week, he can now see a lot of mabeast that climbing in the rope. A giant gorilla to be exact. Without thinking twice, he burns the golden rope to make sure his pursuers can't climb now.

All kinds of mabeast that still climbing are now falling with great height, hoping that they'll die in the process.

Another week passed and he saw some of the mabeast that can fly are approaching to him with animosity.

"Bloody Hell! Just leave me alone already!" He yelled and complain about not giving up in there pursuit.

*Breathe in* *Breathe out*

Before he act, he waits for the right opportunity to strike back at his pursuers hoping that they will stop chasing after this.

*ROOAAR!*

All of the flying mabeast that surrounds the Rapunzel's Thread are now falling. He was now in a relief for catching a breath. Without wasting time, he hurriedly climb hoping that he can reach at the top so he can now explore the Helheim.

*sigh*

"If I really have some time, I'm going down right now" He suddenly realize something that he forgot.

"Bloody Hell! If I just touch the Rapunzel's Thread without climbing, it's possible for the mabeast to go in my place. Then I can just cripple them using my roar and toast all of them without mercy! Arrgghh! What have I done?" He said while wondering whether to laugh or cry.

*sigh*

"Come to think of it, some of the mabeast can resist my roar. Heck! Maybe some of the creatures can survive my scorchfire. Better be safe than sorry." He comforts himself by thinking of the bright side.

He just continue to climb silently to preserve his energy, a single slip and all his efforts will be gone. If his idiocy kicks in, maybe ending himself might be good.

With a span of a month, he finally reach the top and suddenly he is now in a grassy field. The only difference between Tartarus and Fields of Asphodel is the land, but the silence to the point that its creepy, did not change.

"Time to meet Queen Persephone." Now that he's here, he will meet Queen Persephone with full of hope.