When silence and darkness came to reign over the mountain of the beast, Kazuma could feel his focus clearing. The rage inside of him was cool and bright as the stars burning above them, blessing his dark and righteous intent. The night of the sacrifice seemed to be calling to him as he hovered over the estate.

A familiar sensation swamped him; the slow burn in his chest, too hot to breathe and nothing more than a meaningless sensation, the sizzle of his awareness brushing against another's. Ayano?

This was wrong. The fiery princess had no place in this darkness, where sacrifice meant honor and death was nothing more than glory to the murderer. Stretching his senses, he found another. The pure aura of Ren glowed like a white beacon to his shadows.

Wind like blades shot out, freeing his little brother as Kazuma watched, considering what this would mean to his plan.

"What's up?" He greeted when they both turned to regard him.

"How did you know where we were?" Ayano questioned, her eyes wide and surprised. Before he could answer, the little pixie bug buzzed by his ear, her high voice already rambling off an explanation until he grabbed her and silenced her ringing voice if only for a few minutes.

"Ok, what is up with the pixie?" Ayano immediately demanded. Her glare spoke volumes as if she was accusing him of siding with the little bug that had tormented her with pranks not so long ago.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." He hedged. "If I were you, I'd watch your back though." The caution came only after he sensed its movement. It had a strange aura, like that of a hollow life sustained by little in its current physical form. "That thing's not dead yet."

Coming to land beside the two Kannagis, Kazuma took a moment to take stock of the situation. The limbs he'd severed seemed to be reconnection, like molded mud made into a living statue. "What the hell is that thing?"

"He used to be human." Ren informed him.

"What happened?"

"He sacrificed his body to save the life of a family member."

"Yeah? That sounds about right." What worried him was how used to the idea he was becoming. It no longer made his stomach turn or his heart freeze. "It's all about sacrifice with them." The call for revenge upon them for the murders committed to their own family still appealed to him, but with these two there he couldn't act upon it, he knew. "It's sickening."

The rock beast before them bore little resemblance to the man he apparently had once been. This man once had so much love in his heart it had reduced him to this shell of a being. What other horrors would he endure in the name of his dedication? What sort of pathetic emotion was he confusing with love to think that dying for someone you loved was enough? Where was his passion to live for her, instead dedicating his life to her happiness. This shell was capable of causing only grief. It truly was sickening.

"Would you do it? Would you die if it meant protecting me?" Ren asked. It may have seemed a sudden question, too deep for the moment, but Kazuma understood.

"I've got an answer for you." Kazuma grinned. "First I'd save you, then I'd kill the bastard that put my little brother in harm's way. There's no reason everyone can't be happy right?" He'd thought to reassure him, show him that no way in hell would the Kannagis ever be so willing to sacrifice him in the way this family before them so readily gave up their own.

"I know what to do now." Ren surprised him by saying. "Just stay back you guys. I'm going to take care of this one by myself."

"Ren? Don't!" Ayano was shouting, her sword still at ready.

"What's up with him? Did something happen?" Kazuma stopped to ask. This child before him suddenly seemed older, wiser, and unfortunately a little disillusioned.

"You're a little too late for an explanation." Ayano retorted and he was hit with the guilt of his absence. If he had been there, could he have saved Ren from whatever hurt was so heavy upon his heart now?

"That wasn't a defensive move." Kazuma noted as he whipped the wind protectively around them. He'd doing something else."

"How did Ren do that? I hit him with Enraiha, and he didn't even budge."

"I guess Ren wasn't stupid enough to try and cut up a rock." Kazuma replied. "He used fire to purify his aura and return him to his original form. And he did it without sacrificing his life."

"How does Ren know how to do something that complicated?" Ayano asked, her look clearly daring him to have yet another answer to that.

"Yeah, good question. How did you do that?"

"I know who the true enemy is." Ren's gaze focused on the mountain and its façade of serenity. While horror seemed to strike the compassionate Ayano, Kazuma regarded it for a moment. Was it possible to stop the sacrifices in this family once and for all?

"I like the way you think, little brother."

"There's nothing impressive about it." Ayano lectured. "Stop encouraging him." Something cold touched upon his senses, allowing them to dodge just as a boulder smashed to the ground where they were just moments ago.

He recognized the dark figure floating in the sky as she was illuminated by Ayano's fire ball.

"He still lost despite the power I gave him." The woman as saying.

"I guess that means it wasn't his fault then." Kazuma practically growled. "I'm not surprised that you're behind this. Didn't expect to see you defying gravity though. That's an impressive feat for an earth magic user. But let me guess, you got your magic from the beast." He should have figured it out sooner when he first felt her aura. Now he could sense it, the demonic darkness soaking into her pores. The man laying unconscious before him had only wisps of it in his aura despite his transformation.

"Ren, you go ahead. We've got this under control." Sending him off on a gust of a wind, Kazuma watched him go for a moment, glad to get him out of the way for whatever attacks the woman in front of him had planned for them. Besides, this way Ren could see his girlfriend while Kazuma kicked some ass with his.

He sensed the moment his wind found its target, dropping Ren there. It had taken him somewhere unexpected though. Rather than some room in the mansion, it felt cold to him somehow. It had taken him somewhere that thrived off suppressed evil. Glancing toward Ayano with her blazing sword before her, he felt torn. Their enemy had yet to even land a hit, but it didn't feel as if this was truly all the fight she was capable of. It was like she was playing with them, delaying them. If all she was interested in was in taking up their time, then he needed to get Ren out of there before whatever she was waiting for happened, especially if it included the beast.

"I was doing fine on my own." Ren argued as soon as Kazuma appeared, a blush spreading across his pale cheeks.

"I know I saw you." Kazuma reassured him, glancing at his little girlfriend to find her watching Ren with something akin to adoration shining in her large eyes. "But we're running out of time here. You're still planning on taking out the beast, right?" He asked, winking conspiratorially at his brother.

"Right." Ren confirmed, his face taking on a determined look that Kazuma recognized whenever he looked in the mirror.