The Final Showdown

Zero inspected his scythe. It didn't look much different, but somehow it felt like it was trying to talk to him.

"If you get the urge to do something unreasonable don't do it. A weapons ego can develop in a... strange direction. Especially a weapon like this scythe." Joanna warned Zero.

She knew this scythe had an evil attribute, and its development would likely also be in the evil direction. This weapon fits its master perfectly.

Zero nodded and asked what to do next since he still didn't know how to seal Coal.

"We will both go down there. You can't leave me behind since that scythe is currently my power source, I will disappear if you go too far away." Joanna urged him that being close is very important. She knew he would likely ignore this if she didn't urge it multiple times.

"Once we find your dog, you have to buy me at least a minute. I will be able to seal it in this time." This was everything Zero had to do, hold Coal for a minute, and they would win. Zero didn't trust Joanna wouldn't leave him down there imprisoned too. He had to take some precautions but there really wasn't much he could do.

Joanna knew he didn't trust her, but that was irrelevant right now. She wouldn't play with unreasonable chances. Sealing the dog is the priority, and Zero would be left without a weapon. She believed Zero wouldn't be too much of a threat without it.

"But now here is the catch... you have to do it bare-handed. I need the weapon to be in my hands to perform the seal." Joanna said with a guilty look. Even she wasn't insane enough to think this was an easy job. All Zero would be able to do is dodge.

"... Fine." Zero said calmly. He decided that if he decided to trust the goddess with this, he would entrust his life to her. Not because he wanted to but because the only other option was even more insane.

Joanna nodded, she was grateful he didn't throw a tantrum over this, Joanna looked Zero in the eyes one more time as if seeking confirmation of his readiness.

And then she dispersed the cloud of light and both of them fell into the depths of hell.

[Time Remaining: 0]

[Mission - FAIL]

To their relief, there were no monsters down here, only Coal was standing there. Zero suddenly remembered the god ant, seems like it killed all the monsters in the vicinity.

Joanna started chanting the spell immediately. She had to be quick and not lose any time she could get. Zero lunged at Coal, Coal looked severely wounded, but that was not the case. He had merely lost 10% of his health, while Zero was already at 40%.

He planned to run toward Coal but suddenly Joanna urged him once again to not leave her side, she would disappear if the scythe flung out of her hands. Now that it was an ego weapon it could easily distinguish its master, and would always try to gravitate back to him.

Zeros plan had failed before it even began. Coal roared, since the mission failed, he now wasn't Zeros pet anymore. Nothing was holding him back anymore.

Coal jumped at Zero, but he barely dodged the strike. He had to be very mindful of his surroundings right now. Not only can't he leave the goddess too far behind, but he also can't let Coal target her.

He had to constantly pull agro with restricted movement. What a shitty fight to be in. Joanna said she only needed a minute, but each second felt like a whole lifetime for Zero. His life was in constant danger, and his survival instincts were alarming him to run away as soon as possible.

He got lightly scraped and lost 10% of his health just like that. And that was with his ring of protection. He was bleeding and his health was ticking away at an alarming rate.

28%

26%

23%

20%

14%

10%

5%

...

He was breathing heavily. He couldn't jump around as energetically as before. He felt like even a light breath from Coal could kill him easily.

"GET BACK!" Joanna suddenly shouted, she took longer than a minute to finish the spell. She didn't think the scythe would resist her to this extent, but in the end, she managed to finish the spell.

A black sphere emerged from the scythe, she threw it in Coal's direction, and it stuck a perfect landing. The blade of the scythe crumbled. This sphere was the same as the invisible world border, but due to the scythes properties it wasn't invisible, it was black.

She grabbed Zero and flew back up to the hole they fell from. She barely managed to get them both out of there before they got sealed too. A smile crept up on her face. They did it! 

She glanced at Zero and noticed that he was in critical condition. Poor guy, he had fought a battle way out of his league and somehow survived. 

You could think this is the perfect time to betray him and let him die, after all, she has some grudges with him... but that's not gonna happen.

Through Love and Hate.

She tried her best to carry him back up to the 1st checkpoint, but it was too far away. This would take too long, Zero would die ten times over by that point. What could she do to save him?

The reality was that there was nothing she could do in that state. She used up most of her energy for the seal, and the scythe hadn't been assimilated that well for her to channel her energy through it yet. 

Zeros fate was sealed.

Zero was half-conscious. He knew he was gonna die, he was surprised the goddess didn't betray him. But it was all pointless.

He was feeling a faint connection with his scythe. He gave the scythe a mission. To ensure Coal's death at some time in the future.

And then he felt life leaving his body.

3%

2%

1%

0%

[The host has died.]