A/N: This is settled between chapter 258 and chapter 261. I don't even know what is this. I really liked that battle and I had this scene stuck in my mind, so this happened
Also, I have to thank Trig, who was king enough to beta-read this!
Enjoy!

Beauty amidst chaos

He didn't expect the chaos. Of course, he had fought before, so many times that he wasn't even sure he remembered all of them, and sometimes it had been hard and dangerous. But it had never been like that, not even while he was in Gloxinia's body, fighting a war old and long forgotten.

The world around King was a blurred mass of bodies and smoke, flashes of red and silver emerging from the chaos, the screams and the roars echoing in the air around him, deafening him and making him feel confined and with no way out. He hadn't been able to stop a moment, constantly flying over the battlefield, destroying all the Demons he could – maybe just a brief second to nod to his friends and allies when he saw them, and then all over again.

He inhaled sharply – the smell of dust and blood was strong and nauseating, but he was almost used to it by now – and tried to catch his breath before destroying two Albions with his Chastiefol; they fell like broken puppets, their bodies disintegrating and leaving only an amorphous mass on the ground. He was so grateful that he had his wings, because without them, without this strong, inebriating power, he wouldn't have been able to keep fighting for so long and surely he wouldn't have saved so many lives.

As always, as soon as he got rid of those enemies as well, King turned around, checking for her; he spotted her in a moment, her body moving fluently and gracefully even in that carnage, her hair like a chestnut flash fluttering in the air, following the movements of her head. She was dancing, of course, her power growing constantly after each step she took; a moment later, her feet were firmly on the ground, and she was quickly moving Gideon in her hands to hit a Grey Demon that had had the nerve to approach her – how foolish, King thought with an half smile. The beast was dead in a matter of seconds.

King couldn't help but stop for a moment, floating in the air, completely mesmerized by her. She had been his only fixed point in this massacre from the moment the fight started, never too far from him – none of them wanted to lose sight of the other, too scared of the thought that it would have been enough a moment of distraction to lose the other forever.

They had talked about this, in those too short hours before the battle; they had spent that time curled on their bed, in their room at the Boar Hat – technically the Captain told him that it was his bedroom in the New Boar Hat, but Diane started sleeping with him from the moment they returned to Liones. King's lips curved into a little smile when he thought about those moments spent holding her closely, the feeling of their skins touching almost too intense to focus on anything else and her smell around him; he could almost feel the softness of her hair around his fingers and her gentle hand on his back, even in that moment, when that room seemed so far from him – it didn't matter that the tavern was there too, in the rear.

A hiss near to his ear – and a fragment of rock swooshing past him – made him realize that it wasn't the perfect moment to get lost in his memories. He turned around to face another enemy, this time a Red Demon covered by blood and debris; the beast lips parted, forming a disgusting grin as it moved its clawed hand towards him. King made a sound of disgust; once, he would have been worried about confronting one of this beings alone, but not anymore; a wave of his hand was enough, and a moment later the Demon was falling, its head smashed by Guardian and the enormous corpse hitting the ground with a rumble.

King heaved a sigh and lowered his hand, then looked around, scanning the battlefield in search of other Demons. The enemies' number reduced by the time the battled had started, but that didn't mean they could relax. The Demons kept coming, emerging from the wasteland behind them like ants from an anthill, tireless and unstoppable unless they were killed. It was like they didn't know fear or pain, only bloodlust, and death.

Since no new enemy was approaching him, King's eyes returned to Diane; she was still dancing and the ground was dancing with her. She was alone, as before, none of their allies in sight – King spotted the Boar Hat a few yards behind him only a few minutes ago, and he knew that the Archangels were doing their work somewhere in the vanguard – but Diane didn't need help. Rock pillars raised from the ground, destroying a bunch of Grey Demons who were about to surround her and coming back in the bowels of the earth where they belonged. Diane didn't even flinch, but turned around, ready to face a pair of Copper Demons.

For a second, King just looked at her in awe; even then, covered in ground and Demon blood, her pigtails almost undone, she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He knew very well that she would easily have defeated those other enemies too, but he couldn't stop himself from raising his arm as he started flying towards her; a few, rapid movements of his hand were enough to tear apart the two Demon. Diane blinked, but she was already smiling when she turned to look at him, her body visibly relaxing as she lowered her Gideon.

"Harlequin!" Her voice was joyful when she spoke, but King didn't miss a hint of relief and that trace, barely recognizable, of tiredness. She lifted her hand, her palm upwards, and he rapidly reached it and placed his own hand on her fingertip, gently brushing her skin.

"Diane," he smiled back at her, "is everything alright?" He couldn't help but look carefully at her, hoping not to be too obvious. She seemed fine, but they were fighting for so long by now. His own arms were starting to aching, and even though his magic was still strong he was starting to worry that the Commandments – well, the few that were left – would have shown up when they will all be too exhausted to fight them.

Diane glanced around before answering, then looked at him again, her violet eyes full of affection. He felt a blush creeping up his cheeks at that; Diane looking at him like this, her fingers now pushing against his own, her beautiful smile even in the middle of a battle shining only for him – it was still new and astonishing. He didn't think he would have ever got used to it.

"I'm fine," she murmured, "but they keep coming and if Escanor and Merlin will need our help …" She paused, biting her lips.

Of course, she was worried about them. To tell the truth, he was worried as well; there were so many things that could have gone wrong, first of all, the others' mission in Camelot – and there was the fact that Ban hadn't come back from Purgatory. Not yet, he forced himself to add. There was no way that idiot had died. For their sake and the Captain's – and Elaine's.

However, Diane didn't need to hear that now, so he tried to make an encouraging smile, holding her finger a bit tighter in an effort to make her feel that he was there for her like he would have always been.

"It will be fine," he said, "Merlin is strong and Escanor – well, it's almost midday; and they have the Archangel with them. They are going to make it."

He knew that Diane wasn't convinced – after all, they had discussed the plan with all the others, back on Liones, and they all knew that there were too many things that could have gone wrong – but she still managed to take a deep breath and smile at him, looking a bit more relaxed. "You are right. If there is someone who can deal with those Demons, it's them." She nodded, then her gaze was again on him, her expression softened. "Thank you, Harlequin."

He flushed slightly again, he couldn't help, but he kept his eyes on hers and grinned; he was starting to feel a bit better as well – Diane always had that effect on him.

Before one of them could add something else, a series of cries made them both jump and turn towards the battlefield. His eyes widened and he felt a bit of shame when he realized that they had probably stopped fighting for too long – they were in the middle of a battle, for the Goddesses! He should have known better.

When he glanced at Diane he saw the same realization in her eyes, a soft blush that didn't have anything to do with the fight coloring her cheeks.

King squeezed her finger one last time before letting it go and hovering in the air a few inches higher, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, hum, I suppose we should come back to the battle."

"We really should. But – ah! Harlequin!"

The alert in her voice made him turn around, his eyes widening when he saw the large arm of the Albion coming for him. He snapped his fingers – he should have been able to protect himself with Chastiefol, he had to – but it wasn't necessary. A crack in the ground opened right under the Albion, making it stumble, one of its long legs sinking into the darkness until it fell on the ground. The earth opened for its long body, receiving it into its grasp before crushing it. The sight of its limbs writhing from the ground made King start, and he immediately raised his hand. His spear lifted in the air and the second later it was buried in the Albion chest, destroying its core.

King sighed, then looked at Diane, who was kneeling on the ground now, her hand on it. She lifted her head and flashed a grin at him, raising on her feet. "Don't get distracted! I want you to be unscathed at the end of this war."

King ran his hand through his hair, the corners of his mouth lifting in an embarrassed and apologetic smile. "Ah – I'm sorry. Thank you, Diane. It won't happen again. I promise. "

"It better not, or you'll have to deal with me," she snorted, but her smile softened.

King smirked at her. "Should this be a threat? It doesn't sound like one."

This time she chuckled and shook her head, a slight flush on her cheeks. "Shut up! We have an army of Demons to fight!"

She was right, he was getting distracted again. He nodded, his expression getting serious, and he turned to face the battlefield. He was relieved to see that apparently, nothing bad had happened while he wasn't looking, on the contrary, the Demons' number seemed to have reduced.

He glanced one more time at Diane, who was studying the surrounding; when their eyes met, King made a last smile, before commanding his Chastiefol to assume its second form.

"We will meet later," he said, his voice filled with a conviction that he hadn't known he owned until that moment. And yet, he was sure about that, now; there was no way they would have died in this battle. They would have made it.

Diane smiled back, her eyes sparkling with something that looked like amusement, before holding Gideon with both her hands and shifting her focus on a bunch of Demons not too far away from them.

"Of course, we will."