Ally

" Be ... your ally? " Martin asks him as the Ruler of the Acid Mountains offers his alliance which Martin then thinks as he thinks that an alliance is a good idea while Veliona inside him shouts him in anger as she tells him that to stop what he's gonna do right now.

" No ... no there will be no alliance with this bonehead you hear me ...!!!! " Veliona shouts as she tells him every time that she needs no alliance with the other Deviant while Martin on the other hand decided to accept Lich's offer as they all were transported into his castle while riding his worm as he shows him his castle filled with bones and Undead monsters as he views them as his subject.

As they enter his castle, they were greeted with food and customaries while Martin then softly rejects that offer as he wants Lich to tell him what is the purpose and condition of his alliance.

" Great King of the Mountains, Lich ... may I ask you once more what is the reason behind your alliance? " Martin asks Lich in a very mannered language which makes Lich himself feel comfortable as he tells him that since Veliona is a water-based magic Deviant, he needs both Martin and Veliona's help to defeat a rivaling Deviant in the [Draining Dessert].

" My friend ... " Lich says to Martin.

" Do you know why that the Deviants becomes rare and rarer in this age even inside Tartarus? " Lich asks Martin as Martin replies with a why as he wonders what happened.

Story short, Martin in these times is still wondering why there are many Demonic monsters but no Deviants among them as if the Deviants number is getting fewer since he can only find and fought one or two Deviants in each place in the region he goes.

"( Yes, you're right ... even in the [Torment Forest], the Deviants I've met beside Oberon and Titania are very few ... )" he says in his mind.

"( Why is that ... I wonder? )" Martin asks himself while asking Veliona for confirmation but she replied that, she doesn't know anything either since she was trapped in her domain for so long.

As Martin thinks, Lich then explains to him in order to accelerate the discussion as he tells him that one of the Deviants has grown too strong inside the Tartarus as he tells Martin that the Deviant that he talked about decided to eat the other Deviants in order for him to maintain his existence.

As Martin hears that, he felt very disgusted as he hears that cannibalism-like story as he then asks Lich if this Deviant had a name which Lich replies by calling the said powerful Deviant's name.

" Sphinxer ..., that is his name .. " Lich tells them which makes Veliona inside Martin gasped as she never thought will hear that name again.

" Sphinxer ....!!!!???? " she says as she then takeovers Martin's body as she replies to Lich's explanation by asking where is he right now.

" Where is he !!!??? " Veliona asks Lich as she tells him that Sphinxer is not a pure Deviant but a half-breed of the Divine.

" What did you say? he's half Diviner? " Lich asks Veliona as he asks how did Veliona know such a fact.

" Of course I know him ... " Veliona says.

" I know him very well ... as an ally ... " she says as she tells them everything about Sphinxer as she flashbacks into the past.

( Back in the age of the Second Holy War.)

" It seems I've defeated another weakling huh ... " Veliona says she defeated a lion Deviant with wings as the lion Deviant then attacks her with his tail as he comes to her in anger.

" I will kill you !!!!! " he says as he then hits Veliona with his claws which makes her angry at that moment as she uses her blood magic to attack the Deviant which wounds him since Veliona's [Blood Arrows] pierce through the Deviant's sand-like body as it wipes his sand-like body, making it unable to take form again as it hurts him.

" Stop ... stop ... I beg you, by my name Sphinxer STOP !!!!!!!!!!!!!! " he tells Veliona as he asks her to stop as he begs Veliona to let him become her servant or some sort as he fears that Veliona may shoot another Blood Arrows at him.

As Veliona spares him, she then took Sphinxer as her mount as both of them wander through the Abyss (The Deviant Realm) in order to rule the other as it were their nature.

Deviant after Deviant, these two Deviants fought everything that comes in their path as in that day, they were both were trapped in midst of the Second Holy War as suddenly a flaming Diviner comes to them as he then attacks Veliona with his blade while calling out for Sphinxer.

" So you're here ... son ...? " the Diviner calls Sphinxer as he reveals to him that he is his father and offers him to be on his side as he points his blade to Veliona.

" See son? ... would you like to follow your father rather than be a slave to this Deviant? " the flaming Diviner says as Sphinxer then looks at Veliona as he then smiles as he then accepts the Diviner's offer as the Diviner ordered his men to capture Veliona as she will be put in the special realm for the remaining Diviners.

" Are you really saying the truth father ..? " Sphinxer asks the Diviner as the Diviner brings both Veliona and Sphinxer into a Sub-Realm as he introduces to him the Sub-Realm of Tartarus, the realm where the Diviner will banish the Deviant in this eternal prison realm.

As it happens, the Diviner then tells Sphinxer that he will be the one to oversee this place and Sphinxer will be made as to the true predator of this place as the Diviner tells him that Sphinxer can eat every Deviant that ar banished here as he then orders his men to throw Veliona inside the Sub-Realm as she was magically put into a region which is the [Torment Forest] the place which she was imprisoned back then.

" Sphinxer ....!!!!! " Veliona calls his name as she bears so much hatred for him.

( Back to the present.)

" So that's why huh ...? " Lich asks Veliona after she explains the story using Martin's body to Lich as she tells her the real purpose of Tartarus.

" So just as I said Lich, ... "

" This realm is not just to be a cage or a prison for the Deviants .. "

" But this place is actually meant to be my 'ally's feeding ground ... " Veliona tells him.