Mia said, "Sir, now I'm curious."
Licht said, "Fine. Also, don't mention him near my mommy."
Mia said, "Understood. But what actually occurred?"
Licht said, "The thing is, I was too young to understand. I barely understand, but later my mom explained the situation. And don't worry, my mom is in the story."
Mia said, "Sorry, sir, what? How?"
Licht said, "Well, you know how my father is not a church person, right? I mean, he wakes up at 1 PM for God's sake, and he washes his face with wine. He is called the Satan of the North for God's sake. But this was before that. I think those days he was called like... what? Wait, let me see. Oh, oh, oh—it was the Flashing Demon. And don't ask why he got that name. But basically, it was a Sunday, and we were supposed to go all together as a family. But Dad apparently had to leave on a quick mission—just a mission to save, what, 3 villages and their crops from bandits. So he left at like 4 AM or something. I wasn't really paying attention. I was sleeping."
Mia said, "It appears, sir, certain characteristics run in the family."
Licht said, "Well, Dad said he will be there by like 10:30 or something, and he went."
Mia said, "Umm, sir, I doubt being absent would cause someone to be banned from church."
Licht said, "Ohhhhhh, he wasn't absent. About like, what, 10 AM or something, as the father was saying something—farmers, bandits, show mercy, God show mercy, etc., etc., etc., send us a savior—I don't really know what. But basically, quite literally, my dad fell from the sky. As the priest said, 'Oh God, sir asked for a savior'—falling dead people. And the first words my dad said after getting up were, 'Oh fuck.' And he literally broke a wall and flew out. And pretty sure he might have been drunk or something."
Mia said, "I'm sorry, sir. Your father used the F-word in church. Now I can understand why he might be banned."
Licht said, "Oh, the story isn't done yet. It gets worse. Then my mommy is embarrassed, alright, and we are listening. And listen—not even 5 minutes go by, and the priest was saying something something, 'Poor farmers trapped by bandits, God please show mercy.' And literally someone else is literally sent crashing into the ground, creating a small crater. The priest said, 'Oh God, Lord, please don't send saviors like this.' And my dad flew down. He was like, 'Finally got you, bastard!' As he took off his uniform and started punching the guy on the floor. And apparently that was the bandit leader. The priest came and said, 'Sir, sir—' As my dad looked at him and said, 'Who the hell are you?' As he stood up and looked at the guy, he said, 'What the hell are you doing?' My dad intimidated the poor guy so much he pissed and crapped himself at once. My dad literally said, 'Hey, dumbass, you smell that?' The priest said, 'Oh no, sir, oh no—' As he literally punched a hole in the wall and said, 'You think I'm lying?' The poor priest and my mother fainted. And then he literally started flirting with a nun nearby. And after like 5 minutes of that and him showing off his abs, he finally gained the decency to actually look around. And being drunk, he forgot the dead guy was on the floor because of him. As he literally said, 'Hey, what are you all doing here? Why the hell is there a body on the ground? Wait, is this some kind of Satan-worshipping sex cult?' As he looked at the nun, the nun was literally scared half to death and said, 'Yes, sir.' And Dad went, 'Huh? If I help you, can Satan kill my wife and help me get someone else? Also, do I need to take off my pants for this?' As he went back to punching the corpse. It's a good thing my mommy fainted before this, otherwise he wouldn't be alive right now. Half the people pissed their pants. Not to mention kids saw this. And we had to drag mommy to the hospital. And someone had to come and get Dad to calm down, which was probably Grandpa Domr. But the thing is, it got worse—a lot worse—before it got better."
Mia said, "Got worse, sir? How?"
Licht said, "The rest is what I heard, not seen. But basically, like 30 minutes of punching the meat—literally Aunt Lilith came, and it became a blind showing the way as they were torturing a corpse. And then Aunt Lilith had the bright idea: 'Let's offer more people to Satan.' And she literally said, and quote, 'Let's kill more people. Satan won't mind company. In fact, let's kill all of them. We can just say this bandit killed them.' Let's just say, forget God—they might as well have seen Satan. My dad killed someone by throwing them at a church, made a priest crap himself, and that's how my dad met my mom and got banned from church."
Mia said, "Wait, sir, I understand why he is banned, but where did your mother come from in the story?"
Licht said, "You really weren't paying attention, now were you?"
Mia said, "I was, sir. You just didn't clarify who was your mom in the story."
Licht said, "Oh that? Oh that? Oh that? The thing is, you know how my dad was on a little side quest flirting with a nun in the middle of this thing? Well, the nun was my dad's current wife."
Mia said, "I'm sorry, sir."
Licht said, "Yeah."
Mia said, "I need a drink. A drum of tequila, please."
Licht said, "Why? What happened?"
Mia said, "Sir, how is your father not—well—dead or the victim of a witch hunt?"
Licht said, "Oh that? The witch hunt? Yeah, my dad just beat them up. It was fun. Why do you think I like punching stuff?"
Mia said, "Sir, please kindly keep your father away from any church of pure human beings. He might cause a shortage of people in clothes. And where is your mommy? I need her help. I feel violated."
Licht said, "Why? What happened?"
Mia said, "Your story was plenty to damage my sanctity of mind."
Licht said, "Life is tragic."
Meanwhile, in the Abyssal Zone, as Liebe was training:
Gelda said, "Lord, is this necessary?"
Liebe said, "It is. Pride, come at me. Help me train. I need to be stronger. Stronger."
Gelda said, "Lord—"
Liebe said, "I need to be stronger for what happens next. I need to be far stronger."
After a few hours, he went to have a meeting with Lumos, Hedin, and Iris.
Iris said, "What is this, Liebe?"
Hedin said, "Why did you call us here?"
Lumos said, "Yeah, and why were you saying it's urgent? Is everything OK? Liebe, the final round is in just 22 days."
Liebe said, "From this point forward, we have never met or interacted."
Hedin said, "What is this? What are you saying? Liebe, what's wrong with you?"
Liebe said, "We are entering a war in mere days. A war where the outcome is unpredictable at best. Any ties to me shall only raise your troubles. It shall all be over very soon."
Lumos said, "Liebe, are you saying you don't want to be friends anymore?"
Liebe said, "You all shall be my friends forever. But not now. It's best if you aren't associated with me. But I promise soon, this nation shall be your oyster. The future I'm fighting for is in sight. But my goal is still far off. Now I want you all off my trajectory. It's for the best."
As they left, Isurugi said, "Sir, is this truly necessary? Those who reign are destined to be alone."
Liebe said, "For to be alone is to be free. And with my freedom, I will change this nation once and for all."
Isurugi said, "Sir, if all is expected, then—"
Liebe said, "No matter how many times I see it, it is unbearable. This nation will change, but our journey still has a long path to go." As he shall free this nation of the dark clouds.