Not only did the whole of the Pure Society hear it… but the rest of the World heard it too. The cry of a Menace that wasn’t done with the World just yet.

However… fear and sorrow were not the only emotions that they felt in that moment. As the cry of the likes that they had never heard before resounded through the World; gasps of fear and faces of terror sprang up like fleas in response. It was like the whole World was about to face an apocalypse that they couldn’t defend against.

But not everyone reacted like that. No, there were a few beings who… strangely felt entranced. It was like something deep within them was being drawn towards the source of the cry. And the longer they heard it, the more their senses started to dull… Eventually allowing themselves to silently slip into illusions.

Their bodies fell slack and their eyes became vacant. However, each and everyone of these people had their eyes turn into hair-raising green colour that glowed like neon lights, radiating a dreadful aura that caused their nearby companions to jump in fright. Some even died then and there, unable to resist as their cautious companions took no chances and stole their lives.

But for the people who were still alive, various scenes played out within their minds fabricating all sorts of stories. Amongst them there were tales of vengeance, tales of triumph, and tales of conquest. They all varied and none of them were the same. However, the one recurring theme within these stories was that… the main characters were certainly not good people. No, instead, they were envious. Very, very envious.

One person (a Tiger Beast) dreamt of the mate of his senior brother that he had secretly been admiring in the real World. Only, in this dream he did not keep silent. Instead, he killed his brother and forcefully possessed the mate, not even questioning why he was able to succeed when both of those 2 people were much stronger than him. Things just happened to miraculously go his way.

Another person (a Sea Dweller) killed all the people he was envious of within his illusions and eventually became the first Sea Emperor.

Another person (a North Continent Human) actually killed Seraqiel, somehow took all of her powers, united the North Continent and then took Gabriel as her mate(husband).

Another one (a Devil), somehow killed Emperor Asura, unified the South Continent and then… jumped on all the dick she wanted. It seemed that as an ugly duckling (heavily scarred and mutilated), she had been unable to get some, so she was quite envious of those who could…

Some of these illusions were crazier or stranger than the other, but without fail, they all met the same ending. Success. The victims of the illusions would satisfy their envy, and then… And then a colossal Beast with wings spanned across the skies, would congratulate them. The Beast with emerald green eyes the size of mountains would communicate with them, telling them how good Envy was and all the powers that could be gained.

A strange symbol would then float out of the Beast's beak and sink into their foreheads, form a tattoo of the same pattern and grant them powers that made everything they gained look like trash. They would then open their similarly green eyes filled with reverence, and swear allegiance to the Beast.

The Beast would then say that if they satisfied their Envy in reality, everything would become reality. Which confused them at first, after all, whatever reality other than the one they were living in was there? But then they would… wake up.

And understand.

Some of them were… disappointed. After all, everything they had gained in the illusion had been wiped away. It was quite saddening. But there were some who had their eyes light up with fervour as grins twisted their faces. They were not dissatisfied because they were sure that they could get everything back plus extra. Even if their eyes were back to normal… they were no longer the same.

CISSSSH! BOOOOM! THOCK!

A few of them died just like that. It couldn’t be helped, their companions were already tense when seeing such terrifying eyes, so when those creepy grins pulled up they just decided to hell with it. Prevention is better than cure.

But as for the rest of the people who got out of the illusion…

PTUA!

They spat on the floor with anger! Kill Asura? Kill Seraqiel? Unify the Continent? BULLSHIT! What kind of strange dreams were they having? It was best to just continue living their humble lives as slaves and serfs and forget everything. Tch.

These were obviously the people who’s illusions were too extraordinary for them to be possible, causing those that woke up to think of the sky covering Beast with disdain… And unknowingly breaking the spell.

…

“-EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” as the Despicable Brother kept screaming and thrashing, fantastical changes took place all over his body with vicious efficiency.

The feathers upon his body were shredded, the skin upon his flesh stripped, the bones beneath his flesh shattered, and the flesh itself decomposing into a gooey goop... The Despicable Brother was absolutely wrecked.

And soon enough, he lacked the facilities to keep up his wretched screaming. Returning a semblance of peace to the World, and silence to the Underground cavern. However… he was not done. Not yet.

WHOOOOOSH!

The strange energy that had finally been entirely absorbed by the Despicable Brother, suddenly made itself visible again in the form of a green flame that released a soul-aching coldness instead of heat. The flame enveloped his body and started flaring fiercely as if it wanted to reduce what little was left to ashes.

But against all expectations, the body began to move again. Stretching and contracting, thickening and softening… changing form into something else. And the brighter the green flame burned, the quicker the change.

Eventually… The transformation was complete, and standing upon a pile of ashes was the new form of the Despicable Brother. Wholer and greater than ever before.

‘The Sin of Envy… how fitting.’