My Fate System

"Fear is not logical," Nikolai said as his brows twitched. "I can tell that you are the same as Master Edward: a monster in human skin."

Nikolai knew that she wouldn't be offended over this but pleased. This psychopath in front of him did not take pride in her feigned humanity but considered herself a higher existence.

"I can see why Edward likes you so much, bragging about you nonstop," Lilith smiled. "You have a better head than most of my followers. How about you..."

"Miss Aya, there you are!" a nobleman exclaimed, wearing a white suit with a pink collar. "I have some important alchemy business to discuss with you. Let us discuss matters over a glass of wine, shall we?"

Nikolai welcomed his intrusion, but Lilith radiated faint killing intent. However, she couldn't decline his offer because it was not a part of Miss Aya's persona.

As he watched her departure from the balcony, Nikolai was reminded of how much she cared about her personas. To a degree, he thought she might have schizophrenia because sometimes she lost sense of her true identity.

However, when the Elven Princess appears, one of the candidates to ascend Celestia, all personas become a shadow. Hence, it was safe to say that the Elven Princess had infiltrated earth for that sole reason.

As Nikolai formulated his escape plan from the ball, his phone rang. It was someone he had met this very same day, the archeologist Taly.

[I will still hold my end of the deal, so please come to my aid as soon as you can. I feel that someone is watching me. It must be those disgusting fairies.]

Her message was rather monotonous, but Nikolai appreciated how concise it was. Furthermore, she included her location. This was also a chance to learn how to sneak into Celestia since the tablet had that secret.

"Those fairies..." Nikolai stared at the screen as he pondered. Their Queen must be planning to sneak into Celestia just like him, and it explains how she managed to become a demigod in his past life.

Nikolai wasn't going to be that powerful even if he succeeded, but it would accelerate the process of obtaining powers he could fight with: necromancy.

His gaze turned toward the ball to see it in full swing, and he was sure that Lilith would seek him again to make him a follower of hers. However, Nikolai had no plans on staying to reject that offer.

The shadow beneath him began to wave, and the darkness welcomed Nikolai as he entered his stealth. Then, as he was sure no one could see him anymore, Nikolai jumped over the railing and landed on the grass before leaving the mansion unseen.

***

"Hah," she could feel droplets of sweat roll down her face, a testimony of how drained her body was. The fairies in front of her were giggling as they clawed at her barrier. "You are so persistent."

"Die! Die! Die!"

"Witch! Witch! Witch!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

They chanted, all ten of them. It was not just one or two fairies anymore, but ten of them. They could effortlessly kill a B-ranker with their shields and claws. Taly was far from contending against this man, and all she could hope for was that the devil would arrive.

Her palm, which held the defensive enchanted item, was bruised because of the relentless attacks on the barrier. Taly could tell that it wouldn't be long before she was ripped to shreds by their claws.

"Please," she muttered. "I don't care what you are," the fairies giggled manically. "Just save me!" her shout was accompanied by screams of pain from the fairies as their necks snapped under the fangs of a dark monster.

"Who? Who? Who?"

"The Queen will be furious!"

"The Queen will kill you! AAA!"

Their shouts rang in the alley one after the other as Taly stared with a daze. Streaks of darkness slashed space apart as they dismembered the fairies to pieces. Then, a black lotus exploded between them, destroying their barriers and making them weak snacks for the dark beings.

'This is not a difference in power,' Taly realized with certainty this time. 'This is a predator having its meal, nothing more.'

As the fairies fell to the ground, the dark being stopped moving. The darkness receded to a pair of weapons as dark as night, which Taly thought to be limbs. Then, a man in a suit appeared out of the darkness, wearing a black mask and headband.

"You have a habit of being saved, archeologist," the dark being said, his voice hollow and hoarse. "Although I welcome these meals, I fear they are no longer that tasty."

"I... apologize," Taly said as her legs gave in and she fell. Her body was riddled with wounds. "They came after me the moment I woke up. It seems they realized that I have an ally now."

"I am not your ally," the dark being walked toward her, his body covered with darkness again. "I am using you to learn the tablet's secret. If you were lying to me about sneaking into Celestia, your fate would be the same as these," as it said so, the dark being picked up a fairy.

Taly watched with horror as the monster unhinged its jaws and revealed its long fang. The fang bit into the neck of the fairy and tore a chunk apart, allowing an ethereal material to slip into his mouth.

"I will devour you too, with no afterlife to visit."

"I did not lie," Taly gathered her courage because she knew that with this being, she had a chance to survive. "I will give you the tablet once I uncover the truth of its inscription."

"You can give the tablet to the queen, and she will spare your life."

"I may have considered this before she tried to kill me a dozen times. Furthermore, the queen will not let me live as long as I know the secret that the tablet has."

"And what makes you think that I am different?"

"You saved me when you had no reason to do so," Taly stood up and took out a potion to drink. "As long as my experiences go, you have a better character than most humans."

"That is insulting," the being growled, almost furious. However, it did not attack her and simply watched her heal her wounds. "I need you to translate the tablet in less than two days."

"I can't do that while running for my life," she said, and the being seemed reasonable enough to agree. "If you protect me for two days, then I can somehow manage."

"I don't have that much free time," the being shook his head. "Give me the tablet, and I will find a way on my own."

"I refuse," Taly backed away as she held the defensive item tightly. "I want to know how to sneak into Celestia too."

"Your ambitions are laughable. The gods you were sacrificed for are not beings that you can hurt. Give me the tablet and forget that this happened. Otherwise, you will die."

"I will have my revenge," she gritted her teeth as she unsheathed her dagger. "I don't care if you can kill me. This is my only chance to find those bastards, and I am not going to give it away even if I die!" she hoarsely said.

The dark being was silent, and he looked nothing but a young man disguising himself for a moment. Taly felt that she might have a chance to escape, but she was wrong. The darkness covered the young man and drew a grinning face as words left its mouth.

"Then die," it said before disappearing into the darkness. Taly began rapidly breathing as she realized that the fairies were an easier target and that she might have dug her own grave.

Her mana left her body to activate the item, and a barrier appeared around her body. However, before she could react, the blade broke through her barrier and slashed toward her neck.

"Dammit," light exploded from her blade as she parried the incoming attack while rolling on the ground. Then, as she tried to activate the defensive barrier again, she realized it was not working and threw it away.

"Give me the tablet, and I will spare your life," the dark being said from the darkness, but Taly did not listen and chose to run away. Her feet carried her toward the end of the alley, but it was too dark to see anything.

As her heart tried to keep her running, Taly found herself in the infinite darkness. Finally, she decided it was better to have her back to the wall since she could not see the monster.

As she turned and pushed her back to the wall, Taly brandished her dagger frantically in front of her. However, nothing came out of the darkness, and she struck none.

Then, a blade appeared out of thin air and pierced her chest, destroying her heart. Taly looked at the blade as blood spilled from her mouth.. Then, the young man appeared in front of her again, this time looking like a true devil.