The Veritas Chapter 5; Kindness

One of the heads of the $yndicate would stand at the appointed destination, waiting for the signal to regroup.

Because SIN's presence had already passed by from Temptation when the Fallen Angels were left to their doom, by the time the $yndicate member made it to one of the designated points, there was a Demon Lord already waiting.

TATARI would discard the Demon Lord and leave it as a 'Wicker Man' for Wrath, setting up a False Idol for it to concentrate and designate its Hatred to and for once it spread. Meanwhile, the Disciples that were bid in front would be met with a different incarnation of TATARI Tensei, which was a Flame Plushie that had been long discarded by a different creation. The abandoned Flame Plushie, which had been placed here specifically for TATARI to pick up as its Vessel would hover over the group and be a replication for TATARI to take on after discarding a previous Vessel. Any time its flesh was destroyed, it could just create another one to possess.

"No One Knows 'Flame Plushie's Actual Back Story Except The Creator, Which Also Has Its Own Back Story Beyond Me." The Flame Plushie, itself, which was TATARI's chosen Puppet God since long before it was revealed, would be lifted up when it was time for the Fire Lord to rise from his imprisonment from the Flame Plushie body, as it had been bound to for a long, long, long time. "Yeah, Now We're Going To Go Destroy The Chibi-chan." Little did anyone ACTUALLY know about the backstory of Flame Plushie, he was actually the main antagonist of 'Chibi,' the girl that lived on Earth BEFORE Bunnybee got there (100% Chronologically), and had been on those adventures with her best friend Rai. "They won't remember that." Flame Plushie shook his head, chuckling a dry, but spirited chuckle. "Wait until Kuroppoi shows his ugly mug..." Each of the Antagonists from the other works of the Creator that joined together during Bunnybee were also former Main Antagonists of other stories that none of them remembered until they were resurrected. TATARI, who was the given form of Flame Plushie's actual essence that was trapped in his body since the very beginning when he appeared in the 'Chibi' story would be what retained memory of the times of the Past. "Crystal, wasn't it?" he mumbled, stammering over his words, trying to remember the girl's actual real name. "Hzzzt... Something." It had been so long since TATARI had seen it done so long ago. Even the replication of the Flame Plushie was a hazy memory. All of the Antagonists were all a one being before they became antagonists, and TATARI, as SIN and SIN GOD, had seen them before the abandoning of SIN because they were Antagonists of the past. "Hmm. They all come in a certain order, and don't all join up with Bunnybee until after that order..." Naturally, Flame Plushie wouldn't ever tell anyone these things, and just secretly revive Kuroppoi later when no one was looking, during the Morpho stages. "Eheheheh. This is too good." No wonder he was always smiling whenever he saw an image of himself from the Past.

"Flame Dancer," he called out to his Wicker Man, which would only be able to move when Flame Plushie, the Slave Master, would decree. No one knew about Flame Plushie's backstory, because it was all completely hidden and also unfinished in the Chibi comic, because that work was unfinished before Bunnybee took over, and also before Flame Plushie actually joined up with the other Antagonists. "They're all doing their own thing... I slip into Darkbee's gang in the cut, Kuroppoi does 'that thing,' and Shroomz gets the crown, and I think we'll actually conquer the world. Heheheh." Flame Plushie burned with anticipation, but the first thing he couldn't believe was his 'Flame Dancer' standing there before him, in all honesty. "Flame Dancer!! Baby!!" He smiled, and embraced the Flame Dancer as it was lit aflame and given Life. "I Didn't Remember That I Created You On Accident!!" When Flame Plushie's memory was restored, a cute and babyish smile would appear on his face as his favorite toy was revived the moment he was.

"You know what to do, Flame Dancer!" Flame Plushie, who was the Slave Master, would bid his Fire Golem, the Flame Dancer, which was his loyal and trusted Slave, to take care of whilst the Flame Plushie escorted the Disciples down the mountain. "This is gonna be fun."

This process however was divided from the discarded and abandoned Demon Lord, which was thrown away as a Belial by TATARI, who wanted to attachment to what was born when it was replicating SIN and SIN GOD. The Demon Lord looked repulsive, like waste of a creator, which one balls up and throws in the trash in order to make a better one; something non defective. Flame Plushie would begin to contemplate further steps for its own movement.

"Yeah, okay, I know what I gotta do... after I discard the Flame Plushie again." The Flame Plushie was only a Puppet God, like every False God that existed, and his spirit, which was of the Slavemaster, would be released from the body to go ahead of the group, which would be passed onto the next $yndicate leader whilst the general was fending off the Demon Lord of Wrath along with the Flame Dancer that Flame Plushie left behind. "Yeah, I'm gonna beat they asses to death when they get this far. Heheheheheh." Flame Plushie was excited for the Absolute Punishment, and the return of his powers. He'd been limited for so long, it felt like he would never return to his true power.

Like the Flame Dancer, Flame Plushie was powered by fire, and so when the essence of TATARI discarded the Flame Plushie, it would remain floating midair, but have lost its memories once TATARI exited. Instead of remaining conscious and coherent, the Flame Plushie would be moved automatically like a machine or manually like a doll using the remnants of TATARI.

When the spirit of Flame Plushie that was released passed on, TATARI took on a different form further down the mountain, leaving the Flame Plushie to issue 'Absolute Punishment' just as the Flame Dancer would facing the counterpart.

Belial came tumbling down the mountain as a flaming mound of melting flesh. The wad of fire would strike the discarded Demon Lord and begin to reform itself with its new material. The Demon Lord of Envy, Leviathan, would sprout from the contact as a pitch black snake head that was like the fire serpents that were lit on fire during Chinese New Year. The head of the serpent got longer as the fire burned longer, and the ashes lashed for the Disciples as they were passing by, so Belial could consume them and grow into a greater serpent chain and become powerful again.

Demon Lord Leviathan would drag Belial's rotting carcass toward the Disciples so that it could consume them before they escaped.

When the Demon Lord of Envy and Belial that commandeered it would reveal themselves, the 'Argus Card System' would immediately rear up as the automated simulation from the checkpoint was was previously established by the Tyranophant and the Grand Tabritha before they both had departed, and the piece, 'Peon' would begin to move to deal with the Demon Lord Belial Leviathan along with the $yndicate leader that had been stationed at this area.

"Help is on the way," the Peon would say, "But in order to prevail, we must keep the Disciples safe!" So, the Peon would distract the Leviathan by hurling itself at Belial once it reared up to attack the Disciples that were in transition. When it did, the Peon would be directly in the line of attack from Belial and deter it from attacking the Disciples initially by using itself as bait, and sacrificing itself to be destroyed in order that the others would be able to continue.


When the first Peon was sacrificed, the Argus Card System would generate another one from the checkpoint, ready to utilize another manner of assistance to keep the Disciples safe from Belial Leviathan.

The $yndicate leader that was stationed at this part of the mountain would look upon the Flame Plushie and the Peon and Demon Lord Belial Leviathan in shock, due to all of these things coming upon him all at once and nearly without warning. If not for the Peon giving sound instruction, he may have not been prepared to salvage the Disciples. "Right!" he said, immediately moving to apprehend Leviathan. "Because you are weaker than I am, you go lead the Disciples, and I will remain here and fend off our foe!" It made more sense for the weaker one to deal with transportation whilst the stronger one hold off the threat.

So, the $yndicate leader would draw his weapon; a spear that was long and sharp, and somewhat ornate, and would lunge at Leviathan as well, in order to stab at the monster's neck and drive it away like a serpent on a stick. He was careful not to get too close nor to touch the fouled substance that was the creatures burning, ugly, festering body. "Back, Demon!!" he cried, thrusting with all his might. Because this creature was already very slow and very weak, keeping it at bay didn't seem to be difficult, but how to kill it was a different story. "Go, Peon! Do not worry about me! Worry about the Disciples!"

The discarded Flame Plushie, which now only had retentive memories about the current situation and its Flame Dancer slave, and not anything beyond that, would hover over the $yndicate member that was fighting the Demon Lord. The Disciples were no longer cared for by the Flame Plushie, but instead, it would focus all its attention on the Demon Lord in order to destroy it.

The flying, smiling orange rag doll filled with the burning flames of pure unbridled condemnation packed inside of its cute and adorable form would extend one of its nubby arms out toward the creature from above, pointing down at the Belial Leviathan condescendingly. "DIE," it cried out with murderous intent, seemingly with only the sheer purpose of blatantly killing the adversary in the most violent manner. Suddenly, streams of fire spiraled out of the hand of the Flame Plushie and straight down upon the form of the Belial Leviathan to burn away its ugly body and completely smolder its tar-like skin. Because it was moving so slowly, the stream of concentrated fire could easily remain upon its back upon death.

Belial Leviathan, though a large and great dragon, was slow and decrepit because of the previous events that made it weak. This made chasing after the Disciples difficult, but not impossible. Yet, when the head of the serpent lashed out to strike one, instead, it would be met with a different being that would deter it from its course.

Even so, the little creature, the Peon that had sacrificed itself to save the others, was absorbed into the large ugly mass that was Belial Leviathan, and used to bring it greater power. Unfortunately, because the Peon was so weak, it didn't do anything to restore the decaying form of the ungodly creature. "More..." it grumbled, its voice gurgling through what sounded like both tar and chewing gum, with bubbles popping in between. "More... Food..." The Demon Lord was ready to rear up and stretch out again to devour the Disciples when this time, it was met with the sharp sting of a lance in its neck, which drove it away from them momentarily and attracted its attention to the immediate threat that was opposing it. "... You... Dare...?" Its voice was just as slow as its body, but when the object touched its form, it would start to decay and be absorbed into the larger body of the melting Belial. "... You're... Mine..." Leviathan strained hard to draw up one of its claws(?) stuck to the ground and by the time it did, there was a fire burning upon its back that was similar to the flames that had already been ignited upon its highly flammable body. It roared(?) at the pain, but ultimately seemed unaffected beyond that. Belial Leviathan toppled over when it finally drew up its arm from the ground, crashing with a loud thud. Its body would start to seep into the ground and stick to it, with the head remaining raised up to lash at the ones that were fighting against it with a vicious sweep. The ones that were struck would be consumed, like the Peon, and the lance, and added onto the greater decay that was Belial Leviathan.

The ground around where Belial Leviathan was touching would be absorbed into its form and cause it to grow, but simultaneously cause the ground to become decayed and no longer able to be traversed, just like a tar pit. Soon, the whole area would become like this. "Mine... All... Mine..."

The Peon that was ingested was poisonous to the Demon Lord and, after being consumed, would begin to act as such. All Peons that were ingested by the Demon Lord would be poisonous to it, as by design of the Peon.

The Peon that was newly created from the Argus Card System would understand its instructions from its higher up and take lead of the Disciples. "Follow me!" it said, leading them down the mountain, all the way to the very trail end of them, until none of them remained in the area.


When that Peon departed, another one was generated that looked exactly like the first two, and would say to the others that were still fighting Belial Leviathan "I'm here to help you! I will sacrifice myself as many times as necessary to defeat the enemy!" This Peon, also still poisonous to Leviathan, would hurl itself at him as well. Every one that was ingested would slow the process of the spreading and contamination upon the land with the acts of willing Kindness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others. This single act alone would be able to counteract the Envy that was spreading, trying to take control of the land and snatch up everything and everyone else in the area.

The $yndicate leader who had been dealing with Belial Leviathan lost his weapon to the beast's grotesque form, and wouldn't dare try to take it back. What was gone was gone, and it was better to lose an item than to lose himself to the contamination. A weapon could easily be replaced, but his own life could not. Fortunately, there was support from two unexpected forced, which gave him time to think of a new way to deal with the creature. The $yndicate leader would dart away from the swipe of the Leviathan's body, wherever it was coming from, being EXTREMELY careful not to touch it at ALL.

Yet, it was at that moment that the Peon would hurdle itself at the Demon Lord again, only to the dismay of the $yndicate leader who was with them. "Nooo!!" He cried out, extending his hand, trying to stop the Peon, "You don't need to keep sacrificing yourself! There must be another way!" Though it was clear that the Peon was slowing down the decaying, which should also be killing the Demon Lord if it couldn't spread its decay, that didn't mean that he wanted to win the battle by allowing someone to continue to sacrifice themselves endlessly. That's when he was backed up to the checkpoint that was generating the Peons in the first place. "Why don't you become my new weapon? If you're hazardous to the creature and you're willing to throw yourself away carelessly, why not try to preserve yourself and be more potent by becoming my weapon, and I end up wielding you?" This seemed much more effective than just allowing the Peon to hurl itself and poison the creature. That could only work for so long before they would need something that could actually strike it dead, which it seemed like none of them, alone, had the capability to do.

"Let's let the floating doll spewing the fire keep it distracted for a while, and we go for the killing blow. If it's already poisoned, then when we hit it one good time, we should be able to do some serious damage, and your efforts won't go to waste because you cannot deliver a powerful blow." In essence, teamwork was the best solution, the leader thought, and teamwork was more than just hurling the weakest person out into the front lines for everyone else to escape, despite perhaps popular belief among other less skilled or talented, or, perhaps just less kind warriors that only saw strength in whomever had the most power, and not who could be the most effective. "The doll seems to be acting on its own, so I'm not sure if we can get it to work with us, but we can always work around whatever it's doing and not get in the way." Hopefully, the Peon would agree. "What do you say? Does that sound like a better plan?"

Flame Plushie was having a blast, most literally, beating the crap out of a Demon Lord slave. It was ugly, worthless and the best thing to vent on after being revived from a slumber no one understood. "HAHAHAHA. Ohhh I think it's crying." Flame Plushie smiled, chortling flames from between its sharp teeth. "Okay, let's see if I've still got it." Even though Flame Plushie's true spirit, the Slavemaster, was already departed, being moved by other energies, such as pure malice and hatred itself, and both feeding off of the Wrath of the already upset Demon Lord to grow stronger and also use the same exact wrath against it was what kept the Puppet God in motion. As soon as the Wrath had destroyed the Belial and Leviathan and their hatred, the Flame Plushie would become inanimate again and be burnt up, as well. "THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR DESIRING ANYTHING AT ALL, FILTH!!!" In addition to the concentrated stream of fire shot from one of the Flame Plushie's hands, in the other, slender streams that were forged into whips that looked like exceedingly long fingers would protrude from the nubby arm and begin viciously and violently lashing the back of Belial until it bled pure fire and hatred, which would thus be burnt up and used to further beat the living dog shit out of this ugly creation. "THAT'S A BAD UGLY!!! BAD!!! SHAME ON YOU, MESSING ALL OVER YOURSELF WITH YOURSELF. THAT'S AN... UGLY!!!" Eventually, the sound of unrelenting cracks of whips and scorching fire drowned out the hellish mouth of the cute and adorable plush doll. "Like a stain on the fucking carpet... WHO'S GONNA GET THAT UP? YOU? YOU CAN'T EVEN GET YOURSELF UP, LET ALONE CLEAN YOURSELF UP." More whips. More fire. More lashing. "FIFTY BILLION LASHES!!! IN TRIPLICATE!!!"

By this point, Demon Lord Belial Leviathan was nothing more than a festering fiery wound looking something like a mix between a swollen pus filled wart pouring blood, fire and some sort of unholy binding agent that looked similar to tar and glue. The dragon's head reared up in pain and frustration, and burning tears fell from its eyes as it cried out in suffering and pain. The tears it cried were both toxic and adhesive. After being poisoned by the Peon that sacrificed itself not once, but twice, the intoxicated giant couldn't even spread its influence anymore, which was being ever counteracted by the Peons it consumed like food poisoning.

The beast could no longer speak any words. Instead, all it could do was wail and cry; barely even flail or move. The melting flesh upon its body was now decaying its very bones, and soon, all of it would be no more. The additional fiery lashes that drew out its wrath and left only its sadness and depression left the creature devoid and deficient of all its emotions save for unerring sadness. Its shrieks and screams were like those of a dying baby with strep throat. Already, the Demon Lord could no longer fight, and instead just wailed and cried toxic tears. The tears, being toxic, would still act as decay to the ground and all that touched, because though it was crying, everything that the Demon Lord did was a hazard, because it was a Demon Lord and Belial. Nothing good could come out of anything that was done. Only destruction, even with its own pain and suffering. So, the raining tears were like brimstone, and the toxic tar that poured from its eyes like melting acid. All that it could do was shed tears.

The Peon that respawned after the first two had died to poison the Demon Lord would wait and hear out the words of the $yndicate leader that was talking to it, whilst the Demon Lord suffered at the hands of the doll of fire. This gave them time to converse whilst it was distracted. "What?" the Peon would say, looking up with big, bright, glistening eyes, like that of a child. "You'd really do that for me?" Peon was accustomed to being the sacrifice, and even always ensured that when it was generated, it was something extremely useless in any and every other way except being a sacrifice. Things like 'Decoys' or 'Bait' were the typical standard for every 'Peon,' because they were made to be sacrificed. Yet, never did the lowly creature ever think that perhaps it had a use OTHER than just being thrown out as food or a distraction for another, larger, stronger being to help others that were more useful than it escape. Even in the form it took on now, it was something like a small child with literally no distinguishing features; it did not even have hands or feet, and only arms and legs that came to nubs, like it new completing itself was futile upon its respawn.

This gave new light in the eyes of the Peon, and it became determined to help without sacrificing itself. "Yes! I will do it!" Because the Peon was such a malleable creature, it could take on generally any form necessary. "Tell me what you need and I will take on its form." When the Demon Lord started to cry at its severe beatings, Peon would notice that the tears raining down were also hazardous. "Oh! This is important. The crying of the Demon Lord is not good. Even the tears are poisonous to us. Don't feel for it, or even its crying could end up killing you and making it stronger." As terrible as it might have looked to have to watch such a creature get savagely beaten, to actually stop it and try to encourage a creature that far gone was only going to end up getting all of them sucked into its evil. It was the equivalent of someone playing the victim in a situation to gain the appeal of others in order to have them feel for them and then turn around and corrupt them. "We can't sit here and be touched by its tears. What should we do?" Peon was, unfortunately, also not savvy on anything that was beyond being a sacrifice, which was why it was important for someone like the $yndicate leader to shape and mold it into something better than whatever Peon could do on its own, which was only mold itself into a sacrifice for others.

The $yndicate leader didn't know what he was looking at, quite very frankly. He wanted to feel sorry for the Demon Lord, but knowing it was a Demon Lord and completely evil and wicked put him at a standstill of feelings. "Oh... Oh God!!!" Watching it get beaten to damn near death and not die was a bit too much. He had to put the poor thing out of its misery. It was do a favor to everyone, especially itself, since it was still attempting to live for all sorts of unholy reasons, and something else was trying to get it to die with all types of unholy manners. It was clear the two of them would not cease, so an intervention was appropriate. One that would neutralize and settle everything.

Listening to the Peon, the $yndicate leader knew that it wouldn't be able to do anything on its own. Nothing that was significant enough to actually end the Demon Lord in order to ensure it was put out of its misery, at least. He was the only one would could save them all from this horrible terrible sight. Fortunately, the words of Peon were very encouraging, and also very helpful in putting the actual being into perspective. If it was saved, it would turn on whomever saved it and destroy them selfishly. Watching it get beaten into submission was the only way to keep it from turning and doing something worse, and having it maintained constantly was the way to ensure it stayed in one place. That meant it was a sitting duck and an open target. "... We need to find its weak spot," the $yndicate leader would say to the Peon. "If I shape you into a spear or a lance, you'll be long enough where we can pierce it and I won't get touched. Any other weapon would be too short and would be a hazard for me to get close." He grasped the Peon and began to shape its surprisingly malleable form into something else, like molding clay or hot metal. "There's probably no pleading with that fire doll up there, since it's so focused on the Demon Lord and not us. That also means that if we destroy its target, then it'll also either be destroyed or no longer be a threat. If nothing else, it'll at least have stopped... abusing something." They had to work fast, because the abuse was something that he couldn't really stand to look at for too long. It turned his stomach and repulsed his eyes just as much as the Demon Lord, itself.

"... I'm going to strike it in one of the open wounds, and drive it all the way through. That should kill it dead, especially if we hit a vital... Or... What looks like a vital." As long as they made a solid impact, they should be fine. The Peon was already poisonous, so, even if, by some chance, this one was also lost to the Demon Lord, the poison would finish it off if the killing blow didn't. The $yndicate leader gripped the pole tightly with both hands, aiming steadily. Through the rain of clearly acidic tears and also the wild lashing fire whips, it was a task. He stilled himself and focused intensely, then tightened his grip when he thought he saw an opening. "There!" he cried, rushing in once he saw the opening in the rhythmic pattern of the falling tar tears and the lashing whips. His first and only strike would be right at the open wound that was on the chest of the monster, square in its heart, and drove the lance in as deeply as possible. The situation was dangerous to be so close to both destructive beings so, knowing the Peon would regenerate and he would not, after driving the pike as far as it would go, the leader was pretty much forced to retreat, logically. "Sorry, Peon..." he muttered, running back to the checkpoint after making his mark. As much as he didn't want to have to sacrifice... At the end of the day, for the actual greater good, it made the most sense. Especially since the Peon would definitely respawn. If it killed the Demon Lord and stopped all this madness, he was certain it was the best decision. He hoped that this wasn't done in vain.

Flame Plushie did not give a single fuck. Everything that wasn't beating the living dog shit out of the Demon Lord of Envy just for being the Demon Lord of Envy and for literally no other reason was completely and absolutely irrelevant to every degree possible. There was only one focus for Flame Plushie. There was only one intent. All of it was to literally beat the Leviathan to an inch of its life, have it recover, then repeat the process indefinitely and eternally. The two of them would never move from this spot, and Flame Plushie would never tire of nearly destroying, healing, and then nearly destroying the Demon Lord of Envy over and over again. They were both a conundrum and a paradox and a loophole, and Flame Plushie, as a Puppet God, had no issue with doing one thing for its entire existence for the rest of eternity. None whatsoever.

"THIS WILL TEACH YOU TO TOUCH OTHER PEOPLE'S THINGS, YOU FUCKING DOG." The searing whips were like serrated blades on the fingers of the Demon Lord, slashing up the tiniest intricate parts that hadn't decayed. Fingers, ears, nostrils, eyelids and other non-vital, but still extremely painful, torturous places would be both cut and burnt instantaneously with each lashing, and more open wounds were made. The entire creature was nothing but an open wound by the time they'd gotten this far. Yet, Flame Plushie did not believe the demon of Envy had gotten enough punishment for simply being itself, and perpetuating envy. Therefore, Wrath, too, perpetuated ceaselessly, simply because Envy perpetuated ceaselessly. "DO YOU WANT SOMEONE ELSE'S THINGS NOW, HM? HOW ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE'S PAIN AND SUFFERING, TOO, SINCE YOU DESIRE SO MUCH!?!?" At that moment, Flame Plushie started to draw in the wrath of other beings, strictly and solely because Envy desired other people's things. Therefore, Envy would receive all of their burdens along with the things that it desired. The Demon Lord would receive every punishment and every affliction for everything it even thought of desiring. "I just don't know where we went wrong to even get something like you." Flame Plushie nearly sounded like a distraught parent. "What did someone have to do to get you and spawn LIKE you? Eh?" The Hellmouth was no joke on Flame Plushie. It was the Puppet God of Hell, itself.


"Hmmm. I don't think this beating is enough. No, this won't do." With fire still streaming and whips still alash, and even the Hellmouth open and pouring out hateful destructive words of scorn, it didn't seem like a good enough punishment. "... Ew, is that thing crying? Hahaha, that's disgusting~! Ewwww~! It's shedding tears like it has feelings." Flame Plushie laughed. "YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT BEFORE YOU TRIED TO TOUCH SOMETHING THAT WASN'T YOURS. NOW WHAT ISN'T YOURS THAT YOU DON'T WANT WILL TOUCH YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY. MUAAAAHHAAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Flame Plushie concocted even harsher conditions for Demon Lord Belial Leviathan, just because it was still alive and wasn't dead. "Even AFTER you're dead, I'm going to beat your carcass to second death. BWAHAHAHAHAHA." So, Flame Plushie would release heat beams from the eyes made of pure scorn, laughing all the while, and spewing out a hellish flame out of his laughter, whilst still whipping and burning the Demon Lord. "Damn why is there even anything left? You just can't beat the shit out of a lowly ugly anymore and do it right." He shook his head. Then, shot an even more powerful heat beam, and even greater torrents of fire from his mouth, and even more intense lashings from his hand, and even more concentrated streams of hellfire from the other hand.

Belial Leviathan suffered the worst and most horrible terrible destruction of all time. The crying of the creature became so bad, its voice was hoarse and burnt away by its own toxicity. Its eyes were rotted out by its own tears, and the tortures that were done unto it by its oppressor left it basically completely crippled in every way, shape and form. It was not dead, and it would seem like nothing, absolutely nothing would end its ungodly terrible pain.

That's when it hit. The final blow; the one that struck right in the heart. It screamed silently, for its vocal chords were no more, and its flesh was nearly completely melted from its bone. The last strike was surely the killing blow, and put the Leviathan out of its misery. Fallen, the creature dropped to the ground with the lightest of thuds, for its weight had all gone away with the decay of its bone structure and the brittleness of its form. In its dying gasp, it could only muster one final phrase. "... thank... you..." and, without even the next utterance of a breath, it was gone. All of its physical form was rotted away, and there, in the pool of tar, would be the Peon, still alive, and not contaminated.

Demon Lord Belial Leviathan was slain.

As awful as everything was to both experience and witness, the $yndicate leader was relieved when the Demon Lord Belial Leviathan was defeated. He sighed heavily and slumped over, looking somewhat worn. He pondered Leviathan's last words, wondering if that was just the poison talking. When he looked up, he noticed that the Peon was still alive. "Peon!!" He was so relieved, considering what had to be done. It didn't look like he was contaminated or anything, so the $yndicate leader would begin to rush over, ready to hop over the tar puddles and pick up Peon.

"HOLD!!!" cried a voice from on high, making his way down the mountain. His body was nearly all aflame, with armor encasing the flames and condensing them into the form of a body. It was the $yndicate leader's superior; the general of the $yndicate, and the leader of the leaders, who had both ascended and taken on his new and true form as Lord Patience. Though his appearance changed, his armor was still distinguishing as the general. "Don't touch it!!" He made his way closer to his companion, slowly, explaining along the way. "I saw what you did. I've been watching for a while now." He was able to see his comrade's Kindness and was thoroughly impressed. "However, I bid you not to make such a rash decision just because of your good heart. For, that 'Peon' as it is called could be very much just as contaminated just from contact." There was a fine line between being kind and being reckless, and Lord Patience, the $yndicate general, was well aware of it, even over his very compassionate teammate.

"S-sir!" The kind one exclaimed, rather shocked. He would straighten up and salute as he was spoken to, listening attentively and not moving any closer. "You look different! I know it's you. You must have been blessed!" Each of the leaders of the $yndicate knew what it meant to be blessed, and considering his superior's transformation, it was clear that the Holy Spirit had come upon him and blessed him, causing him to ascend into a greater, holier form than before. Seeing this gave hope and light to the eyes of the subordinate, who was attentive to the words of his superior.

Lord Patience nodded his burning head in acknowledgement, yet did not stray from his thoughts nor his speech. "I am Lord Patience now, after being Lorded by our Lord and Savior," he decreed devoutly, now finally nearing his compatriot, "And, with this blessing, my eyes see what yours may not. This is why what you did was the best solution. I saw that you did not want to sacrifice the Peon, but knew that if you became contaminated, you would spread the contagion. It's things like that which make the difference." He lowered his head solemnly. "I would not want to have to cut down a friend for such a reckless mistake. Especially one that can be corrected." Lord Patience looked up and over to the Peon that was still stuck in the ground as a spear. "Though the Peon lives, the Belial also is still alive. Those puddles, though inanimate, are still highly infectious, including to the Peon. That may be the next vessel that the Belial uses, which is why it is best if we don't approach nor touch the Peon because it both touched the Leviathan and is also surrounded by the residue." In a tactical sense, especially considering the safety of all and the greater good, precautionary measures had to be taken. "This doesn't mean what you did was wrong. You did the right thing. What would be wrong would be leaving the Peon without checking to see if it is okay." Lord Patience, living up to his name, was insisting that the two of them wait a bit to see the outcome. "If the Peon isn't contaminated, then of course, for his noble actions, we may salvage him. However, if his contact, even just that tiny killing blow, has in any way tainted him, we must destroy him to prevent Belial from spreading down the mountain. Especially to another Demon Lord." Lord Patience had seen what Belial had done with the Demon Lord of Wrath up the mountain, which was why the Wrath followed him to Envy and destroyed him because of Envy.

The kindly $yndicate leader, who was concerned for the Peon and what he had to do to end the battle decisively, was relieved to hear the reassuring words of his superior. He was questioning and doubting himself because he thought that perhaps, his actions were selfish or were hypocritical, considering he had only just said he didn't want to use the Peon as a sacrifice. The reassurance eased his heart. "Well, what do you suggest we do, sir?" While they were waiting, it seemed best to attempt to think up a plan of salvage, or destruction, in case either scenario should present itself.

"We wait to see the status and condition of the Peon as is, without interfering," Lord Patience would decree. "We will speak on what to do in either situation, should we have to destroy it or if we're able to save it."

The two of them agreed and waited patiently to see what had become of the Peon that was left in Demon Lord Belial Leviathan's stead.

Whilst Flame Plushie was busy beating the dog shit out of Belial Leviathan until the very last breath, Flame Dancer, Flame Plushie's Wicker Man 'Fire Golem' slave who had come along with Lord Patience would silently hover over in his stream of eternal burning flames toward his master. From his slender stickman arm, he shot a stream of fire at the excess goop that had fallen all around, burning it all to nothingness where he concentrated his flames.

"Good work, Flame Dancer!!" the Flame Plushie commended him, "Clean up every last scrap of this... FILTH!! BAHAHAHAHA!!!" From the looks of it, the actual Demon Lord waste was dead now, and there was no need for Flame Plushie to continue to beat the dead horse, even if he wanted to. "When all of the atrocious unsightly mess is gotten up, then we'll lose our powers until next we are revived." Flame Plushie did have ascended knowledge about his own capabilities, even if his spirit was already departed and gone down to the base of the mountain to deal with the matters of Kuroppoi's revival; all to only the Slave Master's spirit's knowledge. Slave Master ruled over all Hell, so when his spirit was released by TATARI, it began its transition down the mountain. "Set fire to the path when we're done with this ugly thing. We're going to need to heap those dead bodies onto the burning ash pile." Flame Plushie shuffled his nubby cute plush toy arms together maliciously.

... Belial could see that things were getting bleak, despite the blatant resistance and feigned surrender. Where they believed that he had been destroyed, the Demon Lord of Envy had simply become completely and utterly subservient to even the point of defeat in order to remain attached to life and living. Little did he know, there were being coming to clean up the fullness of its remains and leave nothing left. Moment at a time, Belial Leviathan grew weaker and smaller, and thus, like a trapped rat, began to panic.

"... You were supposed to accept my apology..." the creature grumbled in a weak, decrepit voice, bubbling from the tar-like corruption that was spattered about, which was swiftly being burnt up. "... Why didn't you accept... my thanks...?!" The Peon, which had been contaminated on contact, as it seemed like the others has foresight about, would lift up from the ground and assume the form of a grotesque insignificant speck. This was the Demon Lord of Envy clinging for dear life that he would not be destroyed, having found a new way to rise up with a new vessel. The speck of corruption, which was the lowly Peon that had been consumed, was no larger than a fetus, but was dappled with black corrosive adhesion that kept the vessel moving. The mind of the Peon, as a sweet and generous being, had been rotted out by Belial, and now was nothing but a new vessel for him to cling to in order to escape. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE" it screeched, uncaring about anything except its own life.

Before the final blow was struck, Belial Peon would dash for dear life, holding a terrible grudge on the ones still trying to destroy him, despite having made a form of gratitude, which he expected to be greeted with affection. When this did not happen, the Envy started to show, and the grudge showed up in every single tiny movement of the tiny Belial Peon, whose heart also was being decayed by the black sludge that was Belial. Every step taken and every move made, due to the grudge, left a tiny trail of waste that stuck the feet of Belial Peon to the ground. The will to live, however, in any means or manner possible, no matter what measures had to be taken, far outweighed sensibility and logic. Where its feet were stuck, Belial Peon tore them from their tainted flesh and continued to move down the mountain, and, layers of skin at a time. Belial Peon grew smaller and smaller with every move, and the pain of tearing the thin layers of skin from up off the ground was immense, but not as immense as the sheer will to cling to old life. Horrible, terrible ripping sounds followed him where he went, but he swiftly escaped, wailing and crying all the way down to the next area.

Now, Lord Patience was most wise, of all the $yndicate, which was why he was crowned and Lorded with the Spirit first. With wisdom unmatched, he had already foreseen the foul trickery of the Demon Lord of Envy, which was why he insisted that it not be touched. "You see?" he said to his second leader, who had almost been so eager to go and help the poor Peon, "That one had anticipated with a foul plan to rear up and attach you once you accepted the thanks. Even those words were poisonous corruption, which you could not accept as truth. It was only a form of manipulation; feigned subservience so you would do as he wished and fall into a lowly trap only conjured by the lowliest of all the sins." Lord Patience had seen it all before, being the Spirit that was ever reincarnated, even if the others had burnt out. "See how as soon as you did not do what was expected, all of the good feelings and good behavior went right into the trash, like the worthless one's false persona? Sometimes, you withhold blessings from others to test them. And, when you see how they react when you do not give them what they desire in their subservience, making themselves low to the ground only to get what they desire out of you, that is when you really understand that they did not want you nor to give you what you wanted, but only to get something from you that they nearly practically beg for indirectly. The bad attitude and pettiness upon reaction is always the key, for, if they were truly repentant, it would not matter that they did not get anything out of it. Only that they, themselves had gotten the satisfaction of repenting. That is gift enough; to be relieved of those clinging emotions that draw them to such lowly behaviors to obtain their desires."

The $yndicate leader that was beside Lord Patience would listen to Lord Patience and understand how and why Envy, as a Sin, was the opposite of Kindness as a Virtue, and why the fake Kindness of the Belial Leviathan was just as worthless and not to be accepted as the actual creature, itself. It was an enlightening experience, yet also rather bittersweet to one who was nearly deceived into being kind to such a lowly and disgusting creature. "... I understand..." He said, lowering his head in sorrow. "But what must we do, Lord? How will we defeat this unsightly thing? It is already escaping!"

"Let it!" Lord Patience commanded rather knowingly, watching at the fickle trail left behind. "We will be able to easily catch up. Trust; it cannot go ANYWHERE without alerting us, first. The attachment is greater than you may realize, and that's all we need to be able to follow it to the ends of the earth." What Lord Patience knew lied ahead for Belial was what gave him confirmation and conviction of these actions. "Have faith in your people. When it is time for us to regroup, you will understand what I mean." Lord Patience would raise his arm up and bring the companion close in camaraderie, beginning to praise him for a job well done. "You were good in all your actions, Kind One. I, therefore, give you blessings and praise for your righteous heart! Where the Spirit of Patience is upon me, I bless you with the Spirit of Kindness, should MY Lord find it favorable to you!" Lord Patience was pleased with him, and had faith that so too would his Lord who Lorded him be pleased in the Kind One. "Never let your heart be deterred from Kindness, for that is your strength. If you do, your weakness will look exactly like that cretin getting in our way and scampering down the mountain. I pray you will never, ever look like something so disgusting, my companion. Pray this, as well, and far be it from you."

He nodded his head, looking up earnestly to Lord Patience. He was at a loss of words, but his heart soared at the blessings. "You are most wise, my Lord," the $yndicate leader would say, taking a knee to his superior in honor. "It is more than a blessing to be under you, at your command. I hope I am never to stray from you, nor you from me, that we both not turn into those detestable things that so get in our way." The words seemed to come to him only after he could formulate his feelings and steady them in his actions, and not a moment sooner. Without his actions, his words were stopped, but through them, he found the words to say. He smiled warmly, not wanting to rise solely because of the good feeling, itself. And so, he remained there, smiling, on his left knee.

As The Lad Sit There, Knee Aground, A Great Warmth Would Pass Unto Him By The Spirit Of Patience That Was In His Superior. There, In His Heart, The Spirit Of 'Kindness,' The Next Of The Seven Spirits, Would Spark A Light In His Heart That Would Draw Him Up From His Place, Face To Face With The Virtue Of Kindness, Herself, Smiling Down On Him With Her Blessings. She Was Faint At First As She Floated Above Him Translucently, Yet Eventually Began To Set And Grow More Visible As The Spirit That Was Sparked By Lord Patience Would Burn Within Him.


"Hello..." The Ghostly Girl, Barely Visible In Reality, Whose Dress Was As Tattered And Torn As The Reality That Was Fabricated Around It Would Say Softly. "... It Is I. The Peon." The Spirit Had Seen What Had To Be Done Before It Was Slain Before Belial, And This Time, Instead Of Remaining Inside Of The Vessel That Was Possessed, It Would Pass On So That It Would Not Be Contaminated Further. The Peon Spirit Was Just About To Go Reincarnate Again When The Light Suddenly Went Off That Illuminated Her Presence, And Also Simultaneously Attracted Her To The Spirit Of Kindness That Was Ignited Inside Of The Other $yndicate Member, As Though They Were Connected. "Now That I Am Visible To You, And I Can See You Are Able To See Beings Like Myself, And After Seeing What You Did For Me I Came To Tell You That I Was Grateful At Your Attempt To Save Me, Even Though I Still Ended Up Dying. Sometimes, I Give Up My Vessels In Order To..." Her Voice Became Faint, And Her Body Faded Out.

When The Spirit Girl Appeared Again, It Was Still Just As Faint, And She Looked As If She'd Completed Her Sentence And You Heard What It Was. She Smiles At You, Then Asks, "Would You Be Willing To Help Me?"

Flame Plushie remained focused on all the black tar that was on the ground, which was where the enemy could respawn from. Only its enemies were a target or a focus of any kind. "LOOK! LOOK! There it goes!! Get it, Flame Dancer!"

Flame Dancer was bid and at Flame Plushie's command would begin to use the fire element that was bestowed upon him by his Master, targeting the goop blots that were left behind by the Demon Lord of Envy. There was no trail left behind.

Meanwhile, Flame Plushie was still shuffling his nubby doll arms together, mushing them together maliciously. "MOO HOO HAW HAW." He laughed at the horrible destruction. "Because Flame Dancer is taking care of the ground work... I will get that little... THING." He gnashed his sharp teeth together mercilessly, flares spurting from the innards of his eye carvings. Flame Plushie hovered into the air, high above the ground and fired a piercing red heat beam laser of searing fire from his eyes straight at the general locations of where Belial would next move. The focusing of his sight would be enough to melt the general vicinity as it was initially projected; slowly, like a sifting powder.


Next, as the laser came into focus on the target, the ground would begin to dissolve under him, and melt down into itself, and eroding everything with a fiery heat wave.


Finally, the laser beam would burn through everything that was in Flame Plushie's complete line of sight from his aerial position as a thin red trail followed by an explosion that disintegrated everything within the blast radius that was marked out by the prior focus, and only red hot fire would remain at the edges of the smoldering blister mark that was erased from the mountain.

"HM!" Lord Patience exclaimed as the Spirit of Kindness passed from out of him and unto the next $yndicate Member. "The Spirit has Chosen you!" Lord Patience looked on at one of his kin be rekindled before his eyes, which was as he was before the Spirit of Patience decided to rest inside of him. He would be able to recognize it anywhere and be able to see it clearly. What he was unclear on, however, was how unclear it was to his companion, of whom he did not have the same vision of. He would not interrupt the Spiritual interaction.

---

The $yndicate subordinate would be raised from his place, looking at the faint light of a woman and feeling a warmth inside of himself that was because of the words of praise that his superior had given him, in spite of what he had to do in order to keep himself from being contaminated by the droppings of Belial. Secretly, he was heartbroken that he could not actually save the Peon from being consumed, and also had no choice but to spare himself in the scenario. Though crushed, feeling the honor come from his master gave him strength, and the faint words of this Spirit that said it was the Peon that was slain comforted him. His eyes watered, and he lifted his hands up, as if attempting to grasp the image. "Yes, Peon!" He shouted. "I will do a favor for you to avenge your life!" He was thankful that she was so grateful and came back to let him know so that he would not go on in confusion, believing something that wasn't actually so. It might have seriously hurt him in the future.

"Your voice is somewhat faint, and you're going in and out..." He continued, straining his eyes. "... I need to get a better connection somehow..." He tried to reach out to her with his hand, but he couldn't actually tangibly grasp anything. "I can barely hear you." He could feel this Spirit, however, though his sight was blurry. He could feel that she was certainly there. "... What do you need?"

The Spirit Of Kindness, Who Had Taken On The Form Of The Soul Of The Peon, Would Understand That Perhaps The Newness Of The Vision To The One Who Could Not See The Spirit Before Might Have Been, And Why The Faintness Of Her Voice And Transparency Of Her Body Were So. She Did Not Worry, Since He Seemed Eager. The Spirit Of Kindness Could Feel Something Going On Around Them, And Also Was Able To See Through The Peon That Was Released To Guide The Disciples To The Next Location. Therefore, The Other Peon Sent Out Was Under The Command Of The Spirit Of Kindness, Who Could Do With It What She Would. She Went On To Explain To The $yndicate Member How The Other Vessel Was In Danger, And How That Could Help Him. "The Fire-Spewing Doll That Is Targeting Belial Is Also About To Hit The Disciples And My Other Vessel. I Need You To Act Quickly To Save Them From Destruction, And I Will Rest My Spirit With You." The Spirit Of Kindness Continued To Flutter In And Out Of Visibility, But It Seemed Like She Had Completed Her Thoughts.