Crash―!

Smallsnake wasn't sure what had happened. Just moments prior, he was under Jezebeth's grasp, and seconds later, he found himself in a large forest.

Blinking his eyes a couple of times, his mind regained some clarity, and he looked around him.

"Where is this?"

Looking at the unfamiliar environment, Smallsnake wasn't sure exactly where he was. The only thing he knew was that he wasn't anywhere near where Ren and Jezebeth were.

'Did he purposely send me here?'

He could still remember his last moments. It happened in an instant, but he understood that the one responsible for all of this was Ren.

…The other Ren.

Where exactly was the Ren he knew?

"Ugh."

With a sigh, he reached into his dimensional space and pulled out a white mask. It had been a while since he had worn it, but he knew that it was necessary if he wanted to blend in with the demons.

As he stared at the mask, he couldn't help but think about the past two years that he had spent with Jezebeth.

It had been a challenging experience, but it had also taught him a lot. Despite the fear and hatred that he had initially felt towards Jezebeth, he had come to understand him better and even found him tolerable.

While he looked terrifying on the outside, he wasn't as scary as Smallsnake originally thought him to be.

He was just… committed.

In his eyes, he only had one goal, and he was the type of person to do anything to achieve that goal, even using underhanded methods.

He seemed rather desperate, and that was when Smallsnake understood he wasn't too different from Ren.

"Haaa… Still, it's been a while since I felt like this…"

Bending down and resting both of his arms on his knees, Smallsnake caught his breath.

After two agonizing years, he was finally free. He felt a mixture of different emotions, and they all came so suddenly that he found himself unable to process them all.

He had a place to return, and that had been his goal since the very beginning.

From the very beginning, his actions had one goal. To get back home. Even if it resulted in him helping out the demons in the process.

At the same time that he helped them, he was also helping himself. Honing his skills and getting a better understanding of how the demons operated.

He made a name for himself, and the mask in his hand represented his status. His achievements.

His capabilities.

It represented who he was now, and it was something he held very dearly.

Slowly, Smallsnake placed the mask over his face, and he took a calm breath. Looking around the forest, he calmly stood up and, without further ado, headed toward the right side.

He could feel a few presences coming from there.

*

'…The problem is that none of us are strong enough to even come close to the Pillar Master. I don't even know if Ren is strong enough… maybe he is, but I'm not sure.'

'So long as the Pillar Master is alive, we are stuck here, and we can only hope for a miracle to happen.'

It was a set of familiar voices. Moving around the forest, Smallsnake's feet came to a sudden halt when he heard a set of familiar words.

He… He wasn't sure if it was them, but at the moment, he felt his breath stop.

Ba...Thump! Ba...Thump!

His heart quivered at the possibility.

Rustle―! Rustle―!

Coming out of the forest, his gaze was immediately drawn toward a group of three, and his entire body stiffened.

He recognized them immediately.

They looked exactly as they had since he had last seen them. No, upon closer look, he realized they looked more mature than he had last seen them.

The sight of them left him rather empty.

Two years… suddenly felt a lot longer than he thought.

'It… It really is them.'

A wave of memories flooded his mind at that very moment, and his body trembled. He had longed for this very moment for a very long time.

He…

He had dreamed many times and replayed this moment in his mind just as many times.

There were many things that he wanted to say at this very moment, but as he stared at them, he found himself unable to utter a single one of the things he wanted to say to them.

He was just stuck there… unable to utter a single thing, and soon, his eyes met with the rest.

Contrary to his expectations, he was met with Angelica's hostile gaze as her icy words echoed through the air.

"Strategist."

***

Angelica stepped in front of Hein and Ava, her eyes warily staring at the man in front of them.

Even though the two of them seemed to be confused as to who the person in front of them was, Angelica knew him all too well and how frightening he was.

Standing in front of him, he seemed completely harmless… He reminded her of a certain someone, and the idea made her hate him even more.

'Don't let his looks fool you, Angelica!'

She had to remind herself several times that he was someone else. Someone far more dangerous and cruel.

Her sharp gaze surveyed the surroundings, looking for any demons.

Every time she had the opportunity to see him, he was always accompanied by multiple guards. The majority of them were powerful, and she feared that such guards were currently roaming around them.

Although she was strong, she wasn't arrogant to the point where she believed herself to be the strongest.

She was still far from reaching the top.

'It looks like everything is clear.'

Calming herself down, Angelica's body relaxed, and so did her expression. After a thorough check, she was under the impression that he was alone.

'There's no need to engage in a fight with him yet. I'll see how this plays out.'

Though she didn't think for one second she could fool him, she did think she could buy herself some time to think of a more plausible excuse.

"What brings you here, ad―"

But just as she had opened her mouth, her entire body stiffened, as did Hein's and Ava's. Mouths agape, they stared at the strategist, who slowly removed his mask to reveal a face the three of them were all too familiar with.

With a soft smile on his face, he opened his mouth and greeted.

"…It's been a while, guys."

The voice…. They were all too familiar with it.

How could they forget it when they had been nagged by that very same voice a thousand times over in the past?

'Clean up after yourself!'

'Don't throw your clothes on the ground after exercising!'

'Who do you think I am, your babysitter?'

A flood of bottled up emotions almost burst forth out of Ava and Hein, but they were held back by Angelica, who pushed them back.

"Don't be fooled!"

She shouted, her gaze looking extremely fierce.

"Remember where you are! This is a trap! Don't get fooled by him!"

Angelica refused to acknowledge it, despite the fact that he resembled him visually, sounded like him, and everything pointed to the fact that it was him.

'It's not him!'

A certain something boiled inside of her at the moment as she glared at him.

"I've long heard of your tactics. You may be able to fool them, but you can't fool me. You're not him!"

She shouted through her gnashed teeth, and a terrifying presence burst out of her body, enveloping Smallsnake's body and sending him crashing against one of the nearby trees.

Crash―!

The tree shattered apart, and Smallsnake's body staggered against the ground before crashing against a large tree in the distance. Angelica's attack was so fast and abrupt that he didn't even have time to react.

Not that he would've been able to react in the first place.

"Angelica!"

"Angelica, wait!"

Her actions startled Ava and Hein, who tried to hold her back at that very moment.

"Let go."

She coldly uttered, her gaze extremely frosty. Avan and Hein were taken aback by Angelica's sudden shift in demeanor as they unconsciously let go of her.

In the many years that they had known her, this was the first time that they had seen such spine chilling coldness from her.

Her voice turned softer after she realized the tone she was speaking in.

"Like I said, don't be fooled by what you're seeing. You're dealing with someone extremely dangerous. Don't let your guard down. He's most likely trying to lower our guards with his tricks… he's a very dangerous person."

She knew better than anyone just how crafty this so called 'strategist' was.

She had only seen him a few times, but she had heard stories about him, so she knew it was impossible for him to be Smallsnake.

He was cruel and merciless. Killing thousands and sacrificing others for his plans.

The Smallsnake in her memories was no such person.

"Ugh."

A soft groan echoed from the distance, and Angelica's cold gaze fell on the strategist, who let out a pained groan.

Weakly moving his body, he sat up straight and leaned against one of the trees. A bitter expression appeared on his face.

He muttered in a pained voice.

"Y,you really didn't hold back…"

"Shut up."

Angelica appeared right before him and grabbed his throat.

"Akh."

The strategist let out another groan, but his eyes never wavered. Looking down at Angelica, who was fiercely glaring at him, he continued to smile.

"W,what's up with… you and R…Ren always telling me to s,hut up?"

Upon hearing his words, Angelica's expression changed, and she loosened her grip.

"A,re you finally getting it?"

Smallsnake questioned after successfully inhaling some air.

"Ah…"

He gasped for air.

"It's me."

"No… no…"

Angelica shook her head, refusing to believe him. Biting her lips, she looked back at him and studied his face. He looked exactly how she remembered him… perhaps his hair was a little longer, but it was him… but how? How was this possible?

She refused to believe this.

"Prove it… Prove to me that you're him."

"Prove?"

"Yes," Angelica softly nodded, "What's your name?"

Smallsnake blinked his eyes a couple of times, and his gaze turned soft.

"Brian," he quietly muttered, "my name is Brian."

Drip!

"Angelica?!"

It was subtle, but as soon as he uttered his name aloud, a wave of emotions swept over the stone cold demoness and a warm tear rolled down her cheek.

For the first time in a very long time.

Angelica let her emotions get the best of her.