Mobile Legends: The Untold Story

by Arcturus420

"Are you ready, hero?" The Heroes of Old and New converge to fulfill the ancient prophecy... millennia in the making. Will the Light prevail? Or has Darkness enveloped the universe for good? Watch as they fight for honor, peace and love in this unsung tale of the Land of Dawn, and how their stories forged the most popular mobile MOBA game up to date. (Original Concept)

26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: The Reservoir

Sorry for such a huge delay. It's been long since I've had the time to write.

And sorry for being kind of cruel to how I further made Moskov's death dramatic, like a Walking Dead character death. Okay, maybe not like The Walking Dead but you know what I'm trying to say.

I also didn't realize that by the time I finished rushing the whole chapter, I've written about 18,000 words there. 18,000 words. Like, bro. I was so into finishing the chapter not knowing that I nearly broke my 10,000 word record by writing a chapter with nearly twice the count.

But the file for the 5th day was super extensive, so it's somewhat reasonable…? Anyway, things have changed drastically ever since Moskov got… murdered? I doubt murdered would be the right term, seeing how Zhask, Vexana and Helcurt nearly made Texas Chainsaw Massacre a joke just by a single execution of a character.

Also, Zhao finally unlocked his powers. Niiiiiiiice. Well, it would probably make him go bananas as time goes by, but we shall see. The future isn't set, though I know what to write for the Readers who are still eagerly waiting for an update from me.

Oh, yeah, and there will be deaths, too.

And now, I land this update in haste…

But I think we can make at least 15,000 words here. Because crap really goes down… Hard. Like, really hard. Like, trying-to-figure-out-how-to-nerf-Harith hard.

Anyway, this chapter, along with the file it's referring to, starts with a dream.

Remember what I told you about dreams? 90% of the time, dreams are bad mojo in literature. It's like that 'Until Dawn' moment when you pick up a totem and it shows how a character will die if you don't do an unknown specific action or whatnot.

But the 10%? Usually neutral. And the good ones are like, 0.00000000000000001%. There's probably like, a higher chance of getting struck by lightning or winning the lottery.

And Alucard hit the 90%.

"The Spear… has defected. A bad sign."

"My Lord, we didn't know this would happen-"

The spirit turns towards Alice, its ethereal eyes glowing. "If it weren't for your carelessness, you would've dispatched him earlier! He has caused moderate damage to our forces alone, and none of the heroes have suffered tremendous injuries!"

"Then why not kill them yourself?" Helcurt questions. "Y-Y-You know how strong… they are! And they are b-b-beginning to read our t-tactics!"

"You doubt my plan, Shadowbringer?"

"N-N-N-Nooo… I am m-m-merely concerned!"

The Dark Lord scoffs. "I plan to kill them all myself. I am still considerably weak in this state. Their spirits have proven to be resilient. Absorbing their lives will strengthen me. For every kill, I grow stronger. Which is why I asked you to weaken them further! Look, even the fallen angel can fend off against the four of you! Just imagine the possibility of you falling beneath his feet as he returns to his real self!"

"My Lord-"

"Bah! Nevertheless, do what must be done." The spirit's anger ebbs. "Is the Leviathan ready?"

A loud, resounding growl resounded in the cave. Vexana replied, "Yes… Zhask has made it stronger."

"But the beast will fall by the hands of the virus that lives within it. Most likely, Estes will try and destroy its heart. Though, that is rather predictable. All I am worried about is the boy."

"Alucard?!" Zhask exclaims. "That nuisance has disrupted our momentum!"

"Well then… it's official. We disrupt theirs. One small tumble of a domino is all that is needed to break the chain." A deafening roar resonates around the cave, and the head of the Leviathan looms.

In the background, small bits and pieces of obsidian dust began to coalesce, forming miniscule fragments.

"And when the chain is broken will we shatter their will."

Alucard wakes up in a jolt, rubbing his hair. Ruby was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, hey, you're awake! Don't worry too much, the demons aren't around yet. If you were to ask, the others aren't awake, though a few of the foreigners are with Estes right now to discuss something."

He nods groggily and tries to sit up, crossing his legs. "I know what the Dark Lord is doing."

Ruby raises her eyebrows. "We all know what the Dark-"

"No, not that. I mean, why he hasn't attacked yet. I saw it in a dream."

"What do you mean?"

"He is not powerful enough. He was faking his strength. His spirit may have been too volatile in the first place, so lashing out at us immediately may backfire… But Ruby, he wants our souls. It's where his strength comes from, remember? If we die, the Dark Lord plans to be there by that instant to suck our energies out."

It took a while for Ruby to understand the logic. "So, that's why Vexana couldn't just transform us into zombies?"

"I mean, she can transform everyone else but not… us. We're reserved for the Dark Lord. That's it. He's more than confident that the Leviathan will destroy our defenses before tomorrow. I've seen its silhouette in my dream. It's enormous. I doubt Grock can even restrain it."

Ruby sighs, slightly touching her neck. "You know, I could barely think about that, now that Zhao is… in distress."

Alucard perks. "H-Hey, is he alright? Has he gotten over it? Ever since Moskov died, he hasn't been in the field. We're lucky there were only a few stray demons out there at that time, but we will need him in the upcoming hours. I don't want him to just sulk around a corner."

"I think he is doing the last thing you just said."

"Crap. Then we're toast," the Demon Hunter mutters. "I think it's wise for him to stay back, since his power… it's been unlocked. It's not just his anger or adrenaline fueling that transformation-"

"Lunox?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'm growing afraid because nothing else is happening to me or you, or the others like Argus or Estes."

Ruby gives a look of sarcastic disbelief. "You think so? Look at your arm. The growth has now reached around your shoulder. Your body is next. The demons sure know what to do, don't they?"

"Sadly, that's the case. Though, I hope Miya can help Zhao out of his misery. All of this… it's starting to grow dreadful."

Suddenly, the door opens.

"Hey, you're awake?"

"Yeah, Chou, thanks for letting us stay here," Alucard answers. "The Hunters' camp is littered with injured and dead. Smells like a dirty morgue."

"I know, right? Jeez, I almost feel like I can smell it from here. Anyway, you need to get out right now. Estes is rounding us up."

The three said nothing as they bolted into action, preparing themselves for the next clash. Alucard grabs his greatsword with his demonic arm, and the weapon calmly glowed with red energy.

"Okay, have faith. We can do this. We can do this. I know we can. Give or take 40 more hours. I trust you."

The greatsword's energy turned from a deep scarlet to a serene light blue. Alucard was slightly puzzled by this phenomena, and kept the greatsword on his back.

He steps outside to see dozens of civilians out on the streets, grabbing weapons and fortifying their homes with everything, from makeshift wooden barricades to wards and holy sacramentals for luck. Alucard sees a kid learning how to reload a pistol, aiming at a dummy that resembled a Ravager. As he catches up towards Ruby and Chou, Alucard sees Fanny zoom above the infrastructure, passing by an unmanned Tesla tower. Two of Bane's ships, now fully repaired, begins to hover upwards to join the fleet. Johnson drove past the trio, delivering what seemed to be a large propeller.

"Yi Sun Shin thought of putting the turtle ships up in the sky," Chou informed. "Not a bad idea, since our worst enemy as of today is live and kicking in the air, though we haven't seen it yet."

"Who's with the Gem?" Ruby asks. "Is it Gord?"

"No," Chou shakes his head. "It's supposed to be Aurora, but for the meantime, it's Estes."

"Estes?" Alucard scrunches his eyebrows. "It means the going gets tough."

"Well, Gord is with the mages and the Archimedians to boost up their magic, the Sharpshooters are now applying poison in their ammo, and Hilda just got a new set of royal armor WHILE I HAVE NOTHING!"

"Don't you have nunchucks?" Ruby asked. "Wait… oh, you lost it in Eruditio."

"Yep. We're screwed."

Meanwhile…

"Any updates about the battlefield?" Estes asks Aurora. "Do things feel different?"

"Our shadows are often misplaced," Argus answers, clenching his hands. "Cast shadows are not accurate with the light ray vectors. It rained yesterday, but the ground is already dry. Not entirely barren, but dry. After an hour of thunderstorms, the sun suddenly appeared, brighter than usual, until slowly ebbing to its current intensity."

Aurora closes her eyes. "The winds move to and fro, both calm and frenzied. The dormant are nervous, the crazed are unrelenting. And the so called 'change' is starting to press further to the others. More enhanced versions of the demons are spawning, growing smarter and much more resilient. The relief, however, is that Alice and her companions will be delayed in their direct assault due to what they sustained yesterday."

"The poison of theirs… is growing painful!" Minotaur complains, pointing at his scars. "I will endure, but it will get to me eventually. Estes, are you sure about staying with the Gem?"

"Yes, since I cannot move unless the Leviathan is present. I expect the Dark Lord to make an indirect move against me and my attempts to kill it before it can breach the walls. But the fallout would be devastating nonetheless. The cyborgs have calculated the best-case scenario. It still leads to the loss of more than 70% of the army and with Grock severely injured. If I can minimize more casualties after I am done slaying the airborne threat, I will have to stay with the Gem again."

The siren blares, though its noise has slowly deteriorated. The constant use of the sound systems have degraded their performance, and since their discovery of demons often entering the whole kingdom proper and tampering infrastructure, the security has been doubled for every area.

"Beckoned once more," Estes mumbles. "Argus, you watch and review the battlefield before you join Lancelot and Odette, along with my select crew. Aurora, you join the others. Once the Leviathan appears, I will force you to recall back here and stay with the Gem. Do not leave until I return when the situation escalates in this manner."

Aurora nods in response, and enters Estes' conjured portal with Argus. Minotaur joins but Estes halts him. The portal disappears and the Royal Guard swiftly fixes their regular positions with coordinated execution.

"Minotaur, I uncovered something last night, regarding the labyrinth."

"What is it?" he asked. "There are secrets that I can disclose-"

"Apparently so." Estes slowly walks down the throne's steps towards Minotaur, concerned. "You weren't the only guardian back then, were you?"

Minotaur sighed. "You found out."

"What happened to them? Why were they wiped out? I held no official record about their disappearance."

"It is… difficult to explain."

"Oh, Minotaur. We have a fallen angel, a specter of a possibly hyperversal entity walking in the midst, and many other things, whether big or small, that have baffled us ever since we underwent these operations, and you call your past difficult to explain? I will understand, in some way or another, so elaborate."

"Estes, it wasn't just some plague or massacre, it was a phenomenon! Have you ever wondered how the Twilight Orb came into the labyrinth's possession?"

Estes stopped in his tracks. "How?"

"It didn't arrive delivered by the doorstep by some bystander, nor did we uncover it from a murky cave. No, the Orb itself manifested within the heart of the forsaken maze! Its energy has lashed out with ferocity as it forms, and the whole place shook! Walls began to crumble and the foliage burned. Blinding light and endless black, with fire melting and ice raging. Yes, you heard me. Fire melting and ice raging. It was incomprehensible chaos! That same chaos is the energy that has kept the universe into what it is. It has killed my brethren for its effect is spontaneous. They couldn't contain the force. I was able to make it out of the labyrinth alive, but I couldn't rescue them. It was too late. The other people, the other guardians… all lost… Except-"

"For Aldous."

"You know little about him, Estes, I assure you. He was one of the best human guardians before the event, and after. The energy, it didn't kill him. It fused with him. He grew a powerful arm that can obliterate opponents. I tried to reason with him, but he… He was losing sanity. He attempted to kill me. He was just too powerful. He stayed in the heart of the labyrinth, killing every intruder. There would be no escape. He would hear you as you enter. He proclaimed to be the 'steward of creation', because whatever he thought he was protecting breathed a new, destructive life into him. But there was one entity he mutually favored. Some creature named 'Belerick'. Apparently once a human… But Estes, many were after that Orb."

"I know, Minotaur. I haven't forgotten about Selena. Karina hasn't forgotten as well, though she has now lived with it. But do enlighten me. What went down there?"

Minotaur shook his head in disagreement. "Belerick stayed. He… He was Lunox' trusted friend. He lived, I do not know how, but he lived just so he can meet her or protect her, as long as it's for Lunox. Selena ambushed the labyrinth. Aldous and Belerick fought with all their might, but they were overwhelmed. To end it all, Aldous used all of his might to destroy Selena. All of his power built within his fist… It levelled the labyrinth, geographically. It killed everyone. But the heart of the maze, along with the Orb? Hmph. It still stood, unscathed, unscarred by malice or mistreatment. When I returned did I see the aftermath. I took pity for the two and I stayed. I said not a single word about them, until you and the others came did I think of disclosing the past to you, but I let you find out yourself."

The hybrid sits down on the steps, sighing. "Estes, Lunox is just… too much to handle. Trust me. Too many enemies, not just Selena. Countless others fell victim to the Twilight Orb's power. And remember, Alucard will merge with the Gem's power. If we fail-"

"We will not fail, Minotaur."

"But what if we do?!" he bellows. "No one knows for sure. The Lords of Order will-"

"We will not fail! Do you understand?!" Estes exclaims. "We will not, okay? We won't back away. There… There is still time. As long as one of us lives. As long as someone can carry a sword, we will endure."

Meanwhile…

"Don't forget your wand, Odette," Lancelot reminds.

"It's no wand, silly. It's the family scepter. Though, wand is alright. Hmm, where is the group Estes told us about?"

"They are outside. I've seen them work. They are quite skilled, not going to lie. They have thought of several backup plans. This is going to work. The explosives are set to detonate in the accurate time. Estes has seen the layout and framework of the Reservoir. Trust me and the others on this, and we can get away without a scratch."

A makeshift portal is conjured next to them, and Argus steps out with his bloody sword, apparently not glowing.

"Are you two ready?" the fallen angel asks. "Pardon the dripping blood. I had to rescue a couple of Balmond's orcs that were trapped by a few Reapers. Anyway, I have seen the battlefield. Many creatures are advancing towards the kingdom, though none have looked back."

"No demon is going to look for us?" Lancelot asks.

"We will be fine when we reach the Reservoir, but once we initiate the detonation sequences will we be surrounded. At this point, Estes cannot help. Despite our being incognito, I believe we are alright for now."

But beneath Argus' mind, a warning rang. He remembered what Rafaela told him last night.

"They may be family. They may be strong, but their hearts falter when one of them dies. What happens if the prophecy becomes true, that the two die before they can make it back here? Beware, Argus. We don't want any more mental breakdowns."

"Hey, Argus, are you okay?" Odette asks. "I was asking if you spoke with Freya."

"Freya? Was she looking for me?"

"Yup," Lancelot replies. "I'm pretty sure she's still inside the kingdom waiting for you before we leave. You can go look for her since we still have a lot of time."

Argus nods and turns around, exiting the compound. He looks around for the Valkyrie, and he spots her flying down towards him. She landed on her two feet.

The fallen angel notes Freya's new armor, courtesy of both the drastic 'change' Lunox' effect was giving out and also of Estes and the Royal Guard. It covered more of her body with gold and silver alloys, but she was still swift enough to ram through the enemy lines.

"H-Hey!" Freya said, panting. "Where were you? Estes said you were inspecting the whole area."

"I was. I checked up Lancelot and Odette before we leave. We still have an hour. Anyways… why did you look for me? Shouldn't you be with Hylos or Hayabusa or Yi Sun Shin? You're lucky the field is clear."

"I just wanted to talk to you before… Before hell breaks loose, again. I'm worried, Argus. I saw you last night, backed up against the wall. What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Argus denies. "Maybe you were-"

"I'm not hallucinating, Argus. I saw it myself. A Valkyrie's vision is never at fault. Tell me. Are you hurt?"

Argus couldn't say anything. Freya was another walking lie detector. What would he say? Straight up that his sword was already going against him?

"I'm tired, Freya. I'm trying what I can."

"You don't have to keep secrets from me, Argus. If there's one person you can still cling to, it's me. I know you. You almost killed me, remember?"

"Unintentionally," Argus added. "Not of my own will."

"But your own will is now the one that is killing you! Your sword is rejecting your thoughts and you're growing weaker. That's the only change happening to you, and nothing else! The Lords have said nothing concerning you, and the others are scared that… T-That… you won't…"

"Turn back?"

Freya shakes her head and suddenly embraces Argus in a tight hug, her arms wrapped around him. The angel was shocked by this action, but proceeded to follow.

"Argus… I know you're afraid you can't save the two. I know you're afraid that Tigreal or… or someone else would hate you if that happens. Just… Just promise me, that if you do fail, don't lose hope. Remember that you tried everything to get to them. Okay?"

"Freya-"

"Shut it. Just promise me. Try to bring them home, but if you can't, don't be afraid."

Freya pulls away and spreads her wings, proceeding to fly off into the field, accompanied by Saber. Argus grew confused as to what Freya really meant. He grips his blade, silently praying to himself that the mission would not fail.

"What did you tell Argus?" Saber asked.

"Nothing," Freya lied. "Just told him good luck."

"I see. Even with him accompanying the lovers, the mission has a low success rate. Though, I won't blame him if he comes back without them."

"Why?"

"Why? It's simple really. All… I care about… is their mission. My analysis confirms a 9.23% survival rate of Lancelot or Odette, and half the rate for both of them alive. What matters is that they succeed. They can live, but we must."

Meanwhile…

"Y'all see anything?" Franco asks Bane, who was looking at his periscope. "All the boys need to turn around when we see the thing."

"Not yet in sight," Bane sighs, capping one end of the periscope. "It is meant to feel dry, but it feels… moist, here, in the air. Do you feel it?"

"What? I'm just sweatin' over here!"

"Hmph. You haven't taken a bath yet," Bane points out.

"Says barnacle bear- Oh, fish sticks, what's that?"

The Pirate Lord was taken aback by Franco's sudden change of tone. He uncaps the periscope and peers into it, seeing a few Spitfires and Hellbats slowly grouping into an average swarm. They didn't move forward, all they did was seemingly hover in their place, flapping their bat-like wings. The Spitfires exhaled tongues of fire as they went around the Genesys Gem's protective bubble, as if they were mocking the army.

"That is unseen behavior," Yi Sun Shin says to Bane. "Bane, tell the ships and the men to come to their posts. We might need to veer off."

"Affirmative." Bane steps down the bow of the main ship they were in and commanded in a loud voice. "ALL Y'ALL SCALLYWAGS AND PISSPOTS, SPLIT FORMATION! I DON'T WANT ANY OFFICER NOR FLOOR SCRUBBER SLACKING OFF TODAY, SO GET TO WORK OR I'LL KICK YOUR GLUTES OFF THE PLANK!"

Everyone in every ship responded with a resounding "AYE, CAPTAIN!" before running to the ropes.

He looks back and sees Yi and Franco surprised by his wordings. "Sorry, it's the only way to motivate them. If we need to move, best be where you need to be."

"Grock wants to see big insect!" the stone titan began. "Smash it with my tower!"

Below Grock, the kingdom's second tier defenses kicked in, while the third tier remained on standby. If you're asking, the latter tier included not only Tesla towers, but also an experimental… Wait, hold up, the name is rather long.

Okay, so the name of this huge thing is the Kinetic Molecular Cohesion Disruptor, or the KMCD. Judging from the info within the files, it is, of course, an experimental weapon manufactured in Zerpyh Corps in Eruditio, and later reached prototype classification when handed to the Land of Dawn proper. It says here that it is… well, it's basically just one huge death ray. But to put the science behind it, it basically uses the excess energy of the Genesys Gem, sunlight, and even arcane magic and concentrates the volatile anti-matter in what is nicknamed as the 'mixer'. Only when fully charged will this weapon fire. What it does is, as its name suggests, destroys or deteriorates the links that render the molecules of a structure, object or person cohesive to each other, and either disintegrate it completely or vanish it from existence. However, the tests performed show inconsistent results, with the same target either being burnt to a crisp, frozen, and the like. Heck, it made a rubber tire electrically charged. Don't ask me how that happened.

Hence the term 'experimental'. It requires a passcode to activate, known only to Estes and two other people.

And now, meet Royce and Delsin, the two other people, who are also the pilots of the said death ray.

And also, what could be our comic relief duo.

"Hey, where's Royce? Royce! Oi, Royce!"

"Goddamnit, won't you wait for me, Delsin? I haven't eaten breakfast!" Royce complains. "You could've just told me they were serving peanut butter!"

"I didn't know you were allergic to that stuff! It tastes good, c'mon!"

"You want me to die so I can tell you how delicious that pile of-"

The doors suddenly opened, revealing Alpha, who was about to give the final orders.

"Are you two alright?" the cyborg asks.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mind," Royce sarcastically replied, glaring at Delsin. "Hey, what's going on down there? Heard that this 'Leviathan' thing is gonna come out of the clouds."

"True. That's why I'm here to inform you that the KMCD is going to come online as soon as the Genesys Gem turns down the bubble. That means your target is now visible. The weapon's integrity is solid, despite the unpolished look. The mages and the scientists of the demo team have stored up sufficient fuel for it to fire as many as three charges. Remember, the third charge is when the Leviathan becomes downed."

"How will we know that?" Delsin asks. "I mean, we don't know how it moves."

"As long as it's taking a nosedive, that's your signal for the third charge. Under no circumstances will you leave your post when the Leviathan is visible, and if you have additional charges. Oh, and Estes said that the passcode is to be changed. It's now 'heap of junk'. Just speak it in the built-in microphone in the cockpit."

"Seriously, 'heap of junk'?" Royce asked, sighing. "Sounds like my first wife."

"Anyway, I hope you stay alive. With the bubble gone, more demons will pour in and try to attack this. Once you fire the first shot, you will be made known. Godspeed, the two of you. Oh, and Royce? There is bacon and eggs downstairs."

"Really?!"

Meanwhile…

As for the other remaining heroes, they were all in the battlefield. An addition to the main army was Aurora's Ice Knights, which Estes recalled in the 5th day after the tremendous clash. Aurora thought that extra manpower would come in handy since the sun would most surely be blotted out by the Leviathan's size, and that they wouldn't melt. Also, they serve as good soldiers against the Spitfires since they are weak against the cold.

The only downside is that if they do melt, and if Aurora has difficulty with the Gem when the Leviathan does appear, it's going to be wet in the battlefield. To keep it simple, it will be hard to wade through mud. Unless, of course, if the constant reality warping made by the Genesys Gem's volatile power prevents that, or amplifies it.

"There is a brewing storm," Eudora tells Karina, brushing a lock of her silver hair. "But no lightning, no thunder. A booming roar."

"Senses are tingling," Sun mutters, gripping his golden cudgel nervously. "Those flyers don't look good. It's as if they're preparing for some grand entrance."

In the front, most of the main heroes were at the frontline. Tigreal, Akai, Johnson, Gossen, Harley, Lolita, Clint-

Okay, let me just be real. Everyone is there. I mean, the files are being a total jerk to me now, so please understand.

Christ, writing this story is tedious. But I'd take this over writing a dissertation.

"The winds are picking up. Plant your feet to the ground," Johnson says, his radar blipping. "Winds of a tropical storm. The Spitfires and Wombats and the like are increasing in number. This is not good."

Tigreal replies, "The Gem's dome hasn't been removed yet. Who's with it?"

"Estes," Kagura answers. "He's trying to find an opening within the Leviathan. The surprise weapon is meant to create a large enough hole for them to get in, unless Estes can make a portal through the inside. Problem is, they need to see the inside, but the Leviathan's anatomy is just immense. They could be transported within the walls of the body."

"And no sign of the Nazar," Roger huffs, throwing his cigar. "The Lords probably warned them not to go here. We will be a sitting duck if we don't get support pronto."

Alucard, Ruby and Chou brush through the army and reach the front, seeing the Wretches and Reapers emerging from the other side of the battlefield, somewhat jeering at the army. The Bastions and Striders reinforce the spearhead formation with another layer, locking themselves shut. The Goblins appeared, laughing themselves off, constantly throwing rocks and pebbles, mocking the heroes.

"Can someone please let me shoot them down?" Clint asked, reloading his revolvers. "Cheeky bastards think they could laugh at us a few kilometers away?!"

Suddenly, a loud rumble echoed throughout the area, silencing everyone. As it stopped, the demons intensified their vocalizations, snarling and yelling at the army, pounding their chests. The Dark Lord's spirit came into view, fragments of obsidian hovering around him. He was far away, but he was clearly seen looking down from the crest of the elevation.

"His henchmen ain't there," Bruno notes. "And what are those shards around him?"

"That's his body," Alucard clarifies. "He's using it as armor to contain his energy. By tomorrow, he will fight us head on. I read his mind, he's just waiting for-"

He was interrupted by the deep snarl that boomed around the area. Cyclops shivered around his entire body. Aurora already generated multiple ice shards around her, awaiting for Estes' recall.

"My Queen… what was that?" Nexos asked. "That sound-"

"Yes, Nexos. We know. Round up your soldiers. I may be with the Gem in a few minutes. Estes wasn't there trying to help us. He was trying to give more energy to the Gem for me. He is well aware I can't stop it without external help."

The knight bows and runs, calling Aurora's cavalry, along with the humongous ice knights. The protodrake flew overhead, puffing out black smoke. It landed on Grock's shoulder, roaring and extending his wings, a trail of black flames coating the gloomy sky. Its sound was responded to by a resounding grunt, which startled the reptile. The protodrake peered with its head alongside Grock, trying to acknowledge the presence of the source of the grunt.

"Where is big insect?!" Grock began. "Grock will bash its head!"

Saber flies into the scene and was struggling from the sudden turbulence. "It is like a tropical storm, Alpha. I cannot get too close, it's dangerous. Status on the Sharpshooters?"

"They're all locked and loaded," Alpha replied, riding on Beta next to Saber. "Beta tells me her radar is choppy. The Leviathan's closing in."

Fanny latches onto the kingdom's primary walls. She spots what seems to be a large tentacle slowly writhing through the clouds. "Holy… that's larger than I thought."

Bane peers with his periscope, and in the far off distance, sees a large body slowly wriggling vertically, three large tentacles on either side. Two pairs of large, tattered wings parted the cloudy sky, and the Leviathan emerged.

Grock is around a hundred meters tall. This behemoth? Around five to six times longer than how Grock is tall. It beheld a maroon palette, the pieces of its carapace slowly clacking to the Leviathan's wriggling movement. Its winged gliders, though very slow in their flapping (1 flap per 10 seconds, to be exact), helped the monster hover around, accompanied by the Spitfires and Hellbats. The winds generated cause enough turbulence to disorient Bane and Yi Sun Shin's airborne ships. Its six glowing eyes were yellow, and the irises were a bright red. Its ivory tusks had deep battle scars engraved on it. The beast's large, serrated teeth were heavily discolored. Instead of one huge tail, the Leviathan sported three that forked from the end of its fat body. The tails had big club-like spikes on their ends, and they slowly shaked in an irregular pattern.

To make the long story short? This thing makes you piss your pants.

"Um, Bruno?" Chou asks, in shock. "You'll forgive me for swearing now, right?"

"Yeah," the Protector squeaked out. "What were you going to say?"

"Um… what the fuck is that?" Chou pointed towards the hulking mass.

Hylos walked in front, astounded. "That, Chou… is the Leviathan."

The monster reeled and let out an earpiercing roar that shook ground. It kept doing so for fifteen seconds, rattling the bones of the heroes and nearly disrupting the spearhead formation. As soon as it stopped, the demons roared and cheered. A calm, warping sound was heard, and the transparent barrier of the Genesys Gem slowly dissipated from the ground up, and by the dozen, the demons poured in.

A portal formed and Estes appeared in front of the heroes. "Aurora, you need to get to the Gem, now!"

"On my way," Aurora says as she ran through the portal. As soon as she entered, it disappeared. She touched the Genesys Gem and slowly harnessed its power, immediately creating rough, cold winds that started to suppress the Leviathan. The beast itself, however, remains unfazed, and continues unimpeded. It moved towards the Land of Dawn in a constant speed of 25 meters per minute. At this rate, it would breach the kingdom in two hours.

The heroes will need more than two hours.

The Demon Hunters, along with Victor and Yinsen, arrive, already prepped with their equipment.

"Victor, where is the heart located now?!" Estes asked around the commotion as the heroes already charged to fend off the smaller demons coming up front.

"Located in the center of the body!" Victor shouts. "Before, it was close to its head, but the Dark Lord has changed its anatomy!"

"Then we need it to veer to the side to get a close shot with the KMCD!"

Saber picks up the command and immediately flies towards Alpha.

"Alpha! Is Royce and Delsin inside the KMCD?!"

"Yes, I got Estes' words! I'll order them to fire when the Leviathan turns to its side!" Alpha immediately connects to the radio station inside the KMCD's holding facility. "Hey! Can anyone hear me?!"

Delsin, trembling, immediately picks up the signal and responds. "Y-Yes, Alpha, we can hear you loud and clear!"

"Listen, Estes needs a clear shot of the-… on- side!"

"W-What? Alpha, the signal is not clear!"

Royce, who finished breakfast, sped towards Delsin. "Hey, what's wro-"

"SHUT IT, I'M TRYING TO TALK! ALPHA, THE SIGNAL IS NOT CLEAR! OVER!"

"Delsin, tell Royce to keep watch on the KMCD! Hit-… SIDE! HIT ITS SIDE! HIT ITS-"

"Hello?! Damn it, we lost the signal! Royce! We need to hit the Leviathan's side! The side!"

Royce didn't respond as he was already configuring the KMCD, keeping watch on the 'Mixer'. The large amount of fluids and energy slowly began to coalesce. The timer in the large screen read:

Charging… 2%. ETA: 20 minutes.

"20 MINUTES?!" Delsin exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Saber has reached Bane's main ship and landed on the bow.

"Bane, listen up. We need you to try and distract the Leviathan. We need you to make it turn to its side for the weapon to fire. Estes needs an opening. If we don't do this, we won't be able to take it down.

"Consider it done!" Bane shouts. He turns to Yi Sun Shin. "Oi, Yi!"

"Yes, Bane?"

"How fast can your Turtle Ships go?"

The general grins. "As fast as we need it to run. I'll hitch a ride, Saber. I will command one of my ships to lure the Leviathan."

"No, not yet!" Saber warns. "The KMCD has a very lengthy charge time, we can't make you go too early!"

Suddenly, the cold force winds from Aurora's spells slowly pushed the ships into the fray. The crewmen struggled to keep them stationary. Mortar shells and missile flew past the ships, aimed at the Leviathan. They made 100% impact, but as the smoke cleared, the carapace barely received a dent, but the Leviathan was blinded and choked by the smoke. The tendrils on its side went into action, trying to extend towards the ships, but they couldn't reach it.

"Aurora is trying as hard as she can! We need to take out the small flyers first if we are to make progress! I'll tell you when to move, Yi!" Saber says before nosediving towards the ground.

The cyborg calculated the outcomes. He was nervous. How can they hope to kill it? It's almost as if the impossible hurdle was presented in front. They have no choice but to take the leap. But unlike the other human weapons before him… He had faith.

A concept the scientists who created him arrogantly overlooked.

And his faith grew stronger as he sliced through the battlefield in a frenzy, disorienting the Ravagers and Goblins in his way.

Meanwhile…

Argus, Lancelot, Odette, and the demolition team slowly creeped around the dark ground covered by the corruption. Due to Argus' presence, they were granted safe passage… for now. After a slow bend to the gloomy landscape, they reached their destination.

"Here it is… the Reservoir," the team captain said. He pointed at a large sand structure, choked by corruption all around, purple lightning streaking from above. The structure resembled a volcano… If a volcano did have steps circling around the body, reaching towards the top. In the vents and pockets of spaces on the base of the Reservoir, a plethora of demons began to emerge. Ravagers, Stalkers, Wretches, Goblins, you name it. A few Shadowbringers frantically exited the vents, clawing at each other. Spitfires and Wombats emerged from the top of the structure, immediately flying to the battlefield which was dozens of kilometers away from their current location. Luckily, their path was opposite to where the team was located.

"Okay, so, here is the plan," the captain said, creating a holographic projection of the interior of the structure. "The interior walls are lined with hundreds of eggs and such, serving as nesting and breeding areas of the demons. Due to the course of the events, we will have a lesser chance of being caught. The demons being bred and are released are rather rebellious and confused, since their hive minds have not yet been made active."

He then fishes out a small rectangular explosive charge, lines of blue energy pulsing on the casing. "This is our state-of-the-art Widowmaker depth charges. Well, they may be depth charges, but they will still work the same in here. They are resilient to the corruption, thanks to the Genesys Gem's excess energy, and has enough power to bust at least a 10 meter hole inside the 150 meter tall Reservoir. If you want more info, we would have to get inside the structure. Can't just explain here." The captain keeps the charge and pulls out his pulse rifle. He orders the other nine members of the team to move forward, as the demonic presence has now diminished.

Argus walks up to Lancelot and Odette. "Do you see the opening connected to the winding staircase? That is our entrance, and most likely our exit." He points towards a narrow set of steps (two men can walk side by side on it) snaking around the structure. The sand being the primary building component of the staircase gave it the illusion of being weak. A Ravager runs down it, but immediately trips, causing it to fall to the ground which was around 68 meters down. It hit the dirt with a THUMP, but it stood, shaking its head, as if it just received a mild concussion.

"I will go behind you," Argus says, letting Lancelot and Odette walk first. "I will warn if there is any demon nearby."

The team approaches the base of the staircase, but was interrupted by the loud rumble of the earth. A sharp howling noise from the other side of the Reservoir resonated throughout the landscape.

"The Leviathan is now there, and the demons are jeering," the assistant leader mutters. "We need to go now."

The team captain walks first, followed by the heavy gunner, lugging around a large RPG behind his back. The other soldiers, including the two medics, slowly start the ascent. Lancelot and Odette go last with Argus, and then they started climbing the narrow staircase, watching the sky, purple flashes of lightning often blinding them.

"Lance… I can't see the stars," Odette says to him quietly. "They… They're gone."

The fencer looked up. There was no pollution in Gaius. Barely any. If anything, this was one of the best places to be to observe the night sky. But now… there was none to view. Not even the brightest. Odette was filled with worry.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. By the time this is over, we will watch the night sky, okay?" Lancelot assures. "There will be a lot of them when the war is over. We just… We just need to push, my love."

"Lance… Remember w-what I told you?"

"About what?"

"About the stars?"

"The stars… they're so pretty. I wonder who they were… who they are. It's almost dreamy."

The two walked around the palace gardens, watching them twinkle. A meteor swiftly darted past their eyes.

"Tigreal… He once told me, that the bravest of warriors become stars, a reminder of the light that shone within them throughout their darkest hours."

"I want to be one with them… I don't want to fight. My innocence, that will be my proof, my sole reminder. And you, my Lance, you will be with me up there one day. Maybe you circle around me, or you be close. Either way, I am happy with you around. Can you promise me?"

"I promise you. We'll bring you up there one day," Lancelot says, smiling. "I always keep my promises."

Argus overheard them and slowly thought to himself.

"They have dreams that are nigh impossible to achieve. The Lords are never merciful. They do not see how they wish to be normal people with promises to fulfill, and people to cherish. Not all of them are fighters. This is wrong. I… I need to bring them back. I will. I won't let them die. I won't let the prophecy decide their fate."

"Hey, Argus?" Odette asks. "Is something wrong?"

Argus snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that he was ten steps behind the duo. "Sorry, I… I must be imagining things. Don't worry, I will catch up."

"Sure," Lancelot replied. The two carried on with the demolition team. Argus chose to fly around next to them. He circles the staircase, looking for any looming threat. He eyes a Morphling in the end of the stairs. To avoid being seen, he lowers to communicate with the captain.

"Captain, a Morphling is on the end of the staircase. You need to be discreet. I will warn for more threats."

The officer nods silently and signals the team to bring out their silenced pistols. They crept up closer to the end of the staircase. The captain eyes the sleeping Morphling on the corner of his eye. He stops.

"All of you, stay back. I will deal with the target." The captain aims carefully and pulls the trigger, shooting the Morphling right at the head. It dies without making a sound. Argus lands on the staircase and grabs the corpse and flies. He carves a hole adjacent to the end of the staircase and puts the Morphling inside. Argus then grabs the circular block and jams it back in place.

"No witnesses. The demons are smart. I won't let them see us," he mouthed. "Captain, proceed. I will be with Lancelot and Odette."

Meanwhile…

Charging… 71%. ETA: 8 minutes.

Saber receives the signal and immediately stops clashing with a Wretch. He turns around, making the Wretch chase him. Balmond arrives and takes Saber's place, landing the blade of his axe into its skull. The Wretch wheezes ad it tries to claw Balmond out, but another Bloodlust Orc cuts off its lower jaw, killing it. Unfortunately, said orc was snatched by the jaws of another Wretch, which turned to face Balmond. Layla fired behind the Wretch, making it pay attention to her. Before it could charge, Hylos slams his scepter to the Wretch, causing it to get knocked down. Gossen dashes towards the beast and throws his daggers above it, piercing the Wretch five times. He recalls them, cutting the Wretch again, letting it bleed out.

Gossen lands on Johnson's roof. "You know, if I keep this up, I'll grow dizzy."

"Then stop doing it!" Johnson suggested, releasing a missile barrage at the Kastiyans that emerged. The carpet bombs left a crater of blue gore.

"Sorry, can't. This is our job, you know?" Gossen then throws a dagger at a Hellbat. He dashes towards it in the air and yanks at it, throwing it downwards towards Minotaur. The hybrid whacks it to God-knows-where with his hammer. Gossen throws another dagger and dashes throughout the air, forcing the demons to attack him.

"COME ON, CATCH ME! COME ON!" he taunted. A swarm of Spitfires began to follow him. He dashed towards the spearhead formation and jumps on one of the Bastion's shields. The Spitfires try to turn tail, but it was too late, as they were shish-kebabbed by the Striders and shot down by the Sharpshooters.

Saber safely made it into the ship, where Yi Sun Shin was slicing up a Hellbat with his glaive. "Hey, Yi. Time is now!"

Yi hears Saber and runs towards him, shooting down a Wombat ramming towards the cyborg. Saber transforms and carries Yi Sun Shin towards one of the smaller turtle ships. A Spitfire follows them, but Saber dislodges one of his mobile swords, slicing the Spitfire down. The cyborg throws Yi Sun Shin to the bow of the ship.

"You know what to do! I'll cover you!" Saber zoomed towards the Leviathan and hovered, releasing his twelve swords. They arranged a pattern above him, and the swords pulsed with orange energy. It caught the Leviathan's attention, like a bull to a red cape.

(For your information, bulls aren't angered by the red color. They are actually enticed by the movement of the cape, and as you can see here, it's not the orange color that attracted the Leviathan. It's the pulsing.)

Yi commands his crew to steer in front. Saber lands on the ship and makes the swords pulse harder. Meanwhile, on the KMCD, Delsin warns Royce of the countdown.

"How much time left?!" Royce asks, configuring the cockpit controls.

"Four minutes!"

Royce exclaims. "That's too much time, that will risk-"

"JUST SHUT UP AND LET SABER GIVE YOU THE OPENING!"

"WAIT, WHAT'S THE PASSWORD?!"

"WHAT PASS- OH CRAP DON'T TELL ME YOU FORGOT IT!"

Fanny flies around and sees Saber and Yi charging straight towards the Leviathan. Bane's ships shoots more cannonballs, angering the monstrosity.

"C'mon, you sack of organs, c'mon!" Bane curses as the Leviathan's eyes held a glint of ferocity. It began to charge towards Yi's ship, but it was slow. The real threat was the tendrils on the Leviathan's sides, the turbulence in the air made by Aurora's winds, and the Spitfires and Hellbats throwing off and misleading the ships.

"Alpha, heads up. I'm bringing the party," Saber said. "We need the flyers off of our tail. The Leviathan can't catch us, only its tendrils can. We need the Teslas up and running, ASAP!"

The Tesla towers inside the kingdom slowly charged to life and were aimed at the mass of Spitfires and Wombats. Saber and Yi Sun Shin veers the ship they were on side to side, disorienting the Leviathan and slowing it down. The other ships behind them began creating irregular patterns that disoriented the Leviathan's focus.

"We still can't bring Grock here!" Yi Sun Shin says to Saber. "He will distract Estes and the hunters. We need him to focus on the ground!"

Fanny latches onto the ship and lands next to Saber. "Anything you need? That's a huge party you're lugging."

"Tell Grock to move away from the air. His presence will distract the Leviathan. Tell him to engage when clear."

"On it." Fanny leaps to the starboard side and latches to Grock's free arm, swinging around. She slices two Hellbats in the air before skyrocketing upward. Fanny latches on Grock's shoulders and plants her feet.

"Big guy!"

Grock peers over his shoulder. "Yes, little one?"

"Move off! Don't fight the Leviathan first! Kill the demons on the ground!"

"Grock hears command! Will now bash ants with tower!" Grock yells and stomps the ground, sending hundreds of demons flying. He slams one of his feet and crushes a few Wretches. He swings his tower and wipes a horde of Goblins that were about to ambush Alucard and Roger.

In the distance, the Dark Lord observed the chaos. "The Titan is remarkable. He is a main hindrance. But he will fall when the Leviathan draws near."

Helcurt crawls up to the malevolent spirit. "Liege… our ground troops are w-w-w-wiped! The next batch will a-arrive t-t-too late!"

"Hush. I am well aware. But the Leviathan is expending their resources. They cannot pierce its armor. And Estes… he may kill it, but it will weaken him. This is all according to the plan. Only the titan serves as our problem. Up until now… We shall see what my pet can do."

Saber pulses his swords again. "LISTEN UP, WHALE! DON'T MIND THEM, GET US!"

Yi waves around his arms. "OI, GET US, YOU FATSO! EAT US!"

"ROYCE! THE PASSWORD!"

"WHAT ABOUT THE PASSWORD?!"

Charging… 98%. ETA: 1 minute.

"WHAT'S THE PASSWORD?!"

"I DON'T KNOW THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING YOU!"

The Leviathan grunts, confused. From afar, Royce begins to aim the KMCD. Estes and the other Demon Hunters watch as the lure begins to work.

"Hey, kid!" Victor calls to Alucard. The Demon Hunter speeds up to Victor.

"Good luck out there, Victor."

"Don't cry, kid. This will all be in a jiffy when we get there. We'll teach the scumbag how it's done."

"Wait… HEAP OF JUNK!"

"WHAT?!"

"HEAP. OF. JUNK! HEAP. OF. JUNK!"

The machine slowly whirred to life, multiple safety locks slowly dislodging.

"10 SECONDS!" Delsin yelled to Royce. The KMCD began to charge up, whirring. Royce aims to the Leviathan's exposed side. Saber stops projecting the lure as the Leviathan slowly recovers. "Yi, get out now!"

The ships rapidly descends downward as the KMCD holding facility sparks from afar.

"ALRIGHT!" Royce cheered, removing all safety locks. The weapon grew as bright as the sun. "NOW LET'S MAKE THIS BAD BOY LAND THE HEAT INTO THAT SCALY MOTHER-"

A large, white laser pierces through the sky and hits the Leviathan point blank on its right side. The monstrosity roars from the tremendous pain, arcing its back, causing its armored plates to click. The laser intensifies and begins to cut a large hole on it. The Hellbats and Spitfires try to fly off the laser, but the volatile photon energy easily incinerates them or freezes them, causing them to die as they fall. The Leviathan tries to cover the wound with its wings, but the KMCD easily cuts through it, forcing the beast to pull the wings up. A massive amount of blood bursts out of the cauterized wound. The laser dies out and the army uncovers their eyes by pulling out their arms.

The Leviathan whimpers in agony as the large wound begins to make it lose more blood. The wound slowly regenerated, but the ships began firing their artillery, forcing the hole to open. One of its tentacles suffered major damage, and was forced to retract.

"YES!" Royce says, pumping his fists into the air. "HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT NOW?! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT NOW?!"

Charging… 1%. ETA: 30 minutes.

"Yes, Royce! The man!" Delsin says. "Hey, cool the 'Mixer' and inject the fluids back, I'll now shoot!"

"Good idea!" Royce jumps off of the cockpit and runs to the main console, studying the meters. The energies are starting to cool. "The demons will be coming in here any minute!"

"If we pull this off, we gonna be stinkin' heroes, man!"

"YEAH, I KNOW JUST FOCUS! Oh, Lord, this thing better charge up fast or we will get pecked."

The Dark Lord was taken aback by the sudden retaliation maneuver in the field. He shouts in frustration.

Helcurt, worried, rushes to the spirit. "My Lord… that weapon…"

"ALL OF YOU, DESTROY THE WEAPON AT ALL COSTS! WITHOUT MY PET, WE WILL NOT PREVAIL!"

"Time to go!" Estes beckons, conjuring a portal towards the hole. "It won't be long before the Leviathan regenerates from its wounds!"

Estes enters the portal and gets transported inside the massive wound, stepping on what appears to be a layer of the Leviathan's skin. The hole was like a humongous sewage pipe. A lot of mucus and other foreign fluids were accompanied by the harmless corruption inside the Leviathan. Victor and Yinsen emerge from the portal, along with Pique and Tuk. Eight more members emerge from the portal before it disappears as the wound nearly regenerates completely. The rumbling sound of artillery echoed throughout the whole body.

"Still, it would leave a heck of a scar," Pique notes. "C'mon, the heart of the beast is this way."

Estes generates a few runes, giving them a bit of light. He notices the internal wound even recovering.

"The Leviathan is weak inside, but we still have a long ways to go. We need to hurry. Be glad that the other airborne threats didn't respond in time, or we would take longer to get there."

Meanwhile…

"Uranus! Uranus, where are you?!" Kaja calls out from the Angelic Plains. He lands on the clouds, trying to find Uranus.

"Kaja!" Uranus responds, approaching the Nazar king. "Have you seen what's happening?"

"The Leviathan, it has arrived. The heroes have been able to intrude its heart, but it won't be long before it wrecks the army completely. Uranus, we need to intervene now!"

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!" Uranus exclaims. "You need to stop and think! What do you think will happen if you go down there?"

"It doesn't matter if I will be exiled, what matters is I am doing the right thing!" Kaja fights back, pushing Uranus off. "Forget the Lords and their threats. I won't just stand here and watch them die out. I will round up my fellow Nazar."

"Kaja? For the love of the heavens, Kaja!" Uranus mumbles as Kaja disappears out of view as he tries to reach the Celestial Palace. "This is not going to end well."

Uranus peers down and sees Argus, Lancelot and Odette infiltrating the Reservoir. They have already entered the entrance atop the staircase. "W-What?! What are they… Oh no. They're desperate."

The titan looks away and tries to breathe. "Easy… They're trying to prevent more demons from coming in, but they can die out there! We can't help them there… Damn it! I need to follow Kaja! The chaos has to be resolved!"

Meanwhile…

Oh, you wanted to know about Zhao?

Well, he locked himself up in his room, and Miya has been trying hard to get him out of there, hence her absence.

"Zhao? Please… talk to me. You need to get out, come on!"

Miya was no mind reader, nor can she see what's on the other side, but she does feel Zhao's sadness. She could hear him clutching his pillow and burying his face into it, trying to forget yesterday's ordeal.

"Zhao, listen. We need you there… Your cheerful you, we really need you there, or a lot of people are going to die prematurely. We can't let that happen. If we do, we will be overrun sooner."

"Leave me alone!"

Miya almost doubled back from the response. But she sighs, leaning her ear to the door again. "Look… I know you're tired. You've lost someone dear to you… But we all have. Some will, and in the end, they will be gone. You know why you are here. You came for them… to help us! Isn't that what Moskov would want you to do?"

There was no reply. Miya, however, was certain that the walls were cracking. She just had to give him time and pray that he will come out sooner or later, now that the Leviathan is advancing.

"Sigh… fine. You have two choices. Either you sulk on your bed and wait for the Dark Lord to win, or you help us stop him ourselves. If you can't do it for us… Then at least…"

She hesitated to say it, knowing that this certain dialogue was rather overused and common, but it was the right dialogue. "Then at least do it for Moskov. You owe it to him."

Miya turns around and slowly steps away, leaning and slightly looking back at the door, hoping for Yun to come out. "We all owe it to him."

ALERT! INCOMING TRANSMISSION!

(The following transmissi- -s h-i-y c-rr-e- a-d – st-l –i-g re-s-ruc-e- - [DATA REDACTED]. D-str-u-n - -s pu-h-b-e b- in-arc-a-on a-d/- d-a-.

The file was creat- -n -/-/-0 b- an anon- u-er.)

"Okay… okay, guys, lis(CORRUPTED) get caught here."

"(CORRUPTED)t's all real! I swear, thi(CORRUPTED)y is real! I have the p(CORRUPTED)hey exist!"

"I really need to sh(CORRUPTED)ore they catch me. It's the on(CORRUPTED)uth will be revealed."

"O(CORRUPTED) (CORRUPTED)TTA GO!)

"SUSPECT LOCATED! SHOOT TO KILL!"

END OF TRANSMISSION.

In the Reservoir, Argus, Lancelot and Odette wedge their way inside, trying to reach the interior. A large rumble slowly shook the place, and the whole group had to cling to the walls to maintain their footing.

"It is angry," Lancelot notes, gripping his sword. "The weapon worked against the Leviathan. Give or take an hour and a half and it's going to breach the walls. We have to be quick."

The group wriggles out of the crevice they were in and they arrive at a rather wide interior, taking up most of the Reservoir's occupied area. They were slightly above the midsection, and they noticed the smelly fumes being exhaled.

"Is that… oxygen?" Odette asks. "It has a bad odor… but it is oxygen."

The team tries to get a view, each member trying to take up a space in narrow land bridge that led to the other side of the structure. They peered in the bottom and found a massive, fleshy pulsing sphincter, a black pit inside it. Every once in a while, it exhaled light green gas that wafted its way through the top, like smoke from a volcano. Around the sphincter, several eggs and natural birthing pods lined. One of them hatched, and out came a few Morphlings, wet with mucus. The sphincter slowly opened, purple energy glowing within it, and out came a small swarm of Hellbats. They screeched as they shot upwards, and the team had to stay silent and back away so they may remain unnoticed.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, here is the plan." The captain deploys the holographic render of the Reservoir. "We can't just drop bombs inside the sphincter. We need to collapse the structure as well. We need to bury the demons to come using the whole building. Instead of setting charge around the structure, we need to go to the sphincter proper and place the bombs there. The base of the Reservoir has grown weak and is prone to collapse, so the best bet is to bring the blocks down with the sphincter. Bring out your charges."

Each member of the demolition team fished out their Widowmaker depth charges. "Here is the risk. Detonate the charges around the sphincter, and the said building collapses inward, yes? But at least one depth charge needs to reach the sphincter's insides. That way, we can ensure it stops pulling out more demons. There's a chance that the person who throws it in may die here."

"Can't we detonate the charges remotely?" Argus asks.

"We can do it remotely, manually, or set them on a timer, but the first former options won't work inside the sphincter. Signal gets lost in there due to the continuum breaking the connection apart."

"Then I'll do it myself. I have the highest chance of getting out alive. The demons, however, will be more intent to kill everyone else here since I pose a threat too high for them. You need to be careful. Estes can't help us anymore. We're in uncharted territory. We're walking out of here, literally."

"Consider it done," the captain replies. "You all know your roles. Plant the charges at your designated points. Do not attempt to neutralize spawning threats. Make sure you do it within the hour, or we will be late."

The other members nod as some rappel down from the land bridge while others go down via the network of tight caverns and openings.

Argus tells to the duo, "Stay here. I will inspect outside." He unfurls his wings and flies to the opening above, not minding the smelly fumes around him. He lands and perches on the top. Argus sees the mass of demons a few kilometers from their location, black and red dots dancing before his eyes. He couldn't see Alice nor Vexana around, but he was sure that they were absent for now. They wouldn't be guarding the Reservoir. This was their surprise attack. The disruptor was also part of the diversion as well. A working diversion, but a mere distraction nonetheless.

They will most likely fail if they get caught, one way or another.

Argus sighs. Before he could leave, he eyes a small swarm of Ravagers reentering the Reservoir. They weren't on alert, meaning that the team is still undetected, but they were going back inside nonetheless. He dives back inside the structure and tries to find the team captain, which is now reaching the halfway to the base.

"Captain, situation. Nine Ravagers reaching base of the structure."

"Halt," the captain whispers in their comms. The other members stop. Lancelot and Odette were using the networks, crawling and wedging their way out.

"Lance… they're stopping," Odette says. The knight stops, putting Odette behind him and peeks. A few Ravagers enter the base through the pocket space, slowly crawling around. One of them sniffs loudly, as if trying to pick up a scent.

"Stay quiet," the medic says. "Argus… they aren't aware of us?"

"No. I am sure of it. They're here for something else. Don't know what."

The group waits anxiously as the Ravagers slowly poured in, randomly circling and running around the sphincter, tripping over some of the eggs. One Ravager slowly creeped up towards one of its kind, making a soft clicking sound. The other demon made the same clicking sound, but slightly sped up.

"What are they doing?" Lance asked. Well, the answer to his question appeared right in front of the team as one of the Ravagers went on top of the other and-

I will have to stop you right there. I know, right? Who am I in the right mind to put this in the story? But believe me when I say that the files indicate that around a quarter of an hour was wasted by them waiting for the Ravagers to stop… doing whatever they are doing to prevent unnecessary detection.

They were traumatized, yes. I doubt that holy water is enough to purify their eyes.

I hope so, because I've seen it too, and a few minutes after writing this section, I will go to my local church and buy a batch of holy water and spray it all over me like mosquito repellant.

Just kidding, but you get the idea.

"Oh, for goodness sake," the heavy gunner complains, looking away. "That's the most disgusting thing I've ever encountered." He covers his ears as one of the Ravagers began making loud screeches.

"I've seen worse," Argus mumbles. "Lance, are you alright?"

"First, Hayabusa and Kagura, which was acceptable, and now this crap. For the love of… that's the worst thing we can see right now."

"Well…" the captain spoke. "We'll have to wait for this freak show to end before we push forth. Sigh, demolition duty does suck."

Meanwhile…

The Leviathan slowly backed away, shaking its head to recover from the laser's attack. It slowly looks up in front and snorts dismissively, somewhat angered.

"Yeah, we pissed it off," Karrie began. "We just pissed it off."

"As long as Estes and the other Demon Hunters are alive there," Eudora adds. "Just need to buy them more time."

The Leviathan eyes the KMCD that was within the kingdom, its eyes beginning to flare.

"Royce?"

"Yeah, I know."

"It's looking right at us," Delsin nervously says, inputting more commands to initiate a faster charging progress. He looks up at the timer.

Charging… 7%. ETA: 28 minutes.

Royce, surprised, looks up at the monitor. "Goddamnit, around 30 minutes. Hold on for 30 minutes- Delsin?!"

"Royce, stay there! I'll grab a pulse rifle!" Delsin exits the room, nearly skidding on the hallway, trying to find the building's armory

"NO! DELSIN! YOU SLIMY… GET BACK HERE!"

Royce panics as he checks the meters, noticing that they were still low. The Leviathan roared loudly, slowly vibrating the facility. Royce held on to a nearby table to support himself.

In the field, the monstrosity suddenly pushed with such force, the winds slowly driving Bane's ships off course and into each other. They easily recuperated, suffering little to no damage, but the Leviathan moved even faster than before with a steady 35 meters per minute. Suddenly, a large gale force pushed the Leviathan back, making it struggle. It seems that Aurora exerted more power with the Gem, but she will not be able to hold it for too long.

"Argh… this beast is fighting back. We need to push it away!" she says, warning the Royal Guards. A messenger exits the palace in a hurry, trying to reach the main walls, but it is too far.

He notices an ambulance with a PA system. The driver was finished escorting a dead Strider to a hospital.

"Hey… HEY! NEED HELP! I'VE GOTTA…"

The driver of the ambulance sees the tired messenger. "What's wrong?"

"The huge thing… Aurora can't push it, we need more firepower on it! We… We need more guns on that thing!"

The messenger pushes away the driver, exhaling, as he reaches for the ambulance's shotgun seat. In response, the driver enters the vehicle and starts up the engine.

"You need the PA?!" the driver hollers over a loud explosion coming from a mortar.

"WHAT?!"

"DO YOU NEED THE PA?"

"YES! YES! THANK YOU!"

The driver begins to maneuver around bustling streets as the messenger activates the megaphones to shout on it.

"EVERYBODY, WE NEED YOUR HELP! I REPEAT, WE NEED YOUR HELP! WE NEED MORE ARMS TO PUSH BACK THE HORDE OF DEMONS IN THE BATTLEFIELD! I REPEAT, MORE MEN! MORE CREW MEMBERS! WE HAVE MANNED TURRETS AROUND THE PERIMETER FREE FOR USE! WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET TO PUSH THE DEMONS AWAY AND PREVENT POTENTIAL BREACHES!"

A few bystanders ran to random directions, possibly their homes. Others already gripped their guns and made a run to the nearest armory, hitching rides on other vehicles. One of Franco's warriors pulled out a horn and blared through it, enticing the attention of more strangers. Some began to race for the main walls, seeking to fire artillery. The ambulance driver squints his eyes to the clouds as he steered and saw black, miniscule dots zooming to the kingdom.

"FLYERS! FLYERS DEAD AHEAD!" he warns to the messenger. The messenger relays the message through the PA to alert the bystanders. A young boy immediately grabbed a rifle and began to shoot at the demons, downing one of them. Even more shooters joined in as the number of demons increased.

The messenger cheered inside the ambulance as even more strangers and civilians began to join the fight, grabbing random things that will serve as their weapons. Like, dude. An old lady came out yelling for blood, raising her umbrella. That's hardcore if you ask me.

"Yeah, baby! That's what I'm talking about! That's what I'm talking about! Come on! COME ON!"

A dozen men have already arrived to the main walls, being sent to the manned turrets. One of them began to shoot at one of the Leviathan's left tendril, seeking to tear it down. More bullets sprayed the monster and it was forced to rear back, using its wings to cover itself. It roars to signal the Spitfires and Hellbats to strike down the defenses.

Multiple commanding officers have already sent their spare troops to stand ground. A Strider stabs an incoming Hellbat and extends her light spear (yes, her) to dismember another. The dismembered Hellbat shrieks at the Strider before being killed by one of Lapu's men.

An Archimedian floats upward towards a Tesla tower and sees a small swarm of Wombats approaching them. As the Tesla tower charged, the caster generates amplifying runes. As the lightning was shot, the whole swarm is electrocuted and burnt to a crisp, but the projectile began to arc even further, surging through the airborne naval ships, miraculously repairing them. As one of Bane's ships launched a volley of cannonballs, they sped twice as fast as they hit the Leviathan, the shrapnel ricocheting to the ground. The beast flaps its wings towards the kingdom, seeking to disorient their formation, but Aurora's winds calmly stabilized their positions as Yi Sun Shin's ships launched a rain of arrows. The Leviathan recklessly uncovered itself, thinking that the arrows were useless.

They were packed with firecrackers.

The arrows burst into colorful sparks of red, yellow and green, and it dazed the beast, worsening its eyesight. One of the firecrackers nearly scorched one of its eyes. The Leviathan wriggles in confusion, using its tentacles to whip down anyone who dared to go near, when in fact, no one has even charged straight at the Leviathan. It shakes its head, trying to fix its sight, only to see Grock jumping straight to the air, the crystal of his tower pointed at the monster's nose.

"DEATH TO LARGE INSECT!"

Grock successfully slams the crystal of his tower into the Leviathan, causing a concussion. The Leviathan recuperates and tries to punish Grock's move, but a charged gush of mystic energy hit its underbelly, searing its skin. The Leviathan grunts to see Gord being aided by a few Archimedians that strengthened his magic. It sought to retaliate with a tentacle, but Grock swipes it off easily. Saber flies around, executing every airborne demon in sight as Alpha did the check-ups on the situation.

"The Leviathan is about to reach halfway! If it does, we'll lose a lot of ground troops. We need to hold on as much as we can, the KMCD still has 20 more minutes needed to charge!"

Alpha jumps off of Beta and dives down, bringing his spear to the ground. He lands forcefully, pushing back a horde of Morphlings going against Roger. The hunter reverts back to his normal self and pulls out his blunderbuss. A Ravager charges at him but he ducks under, proceeding to shoot at the Ravager's stomach. He pulls away the corpse and sees a Wretch stampeding towards him. Roger transforms to a werewolf and somewhat lands on the Wretch's jaws. The demon tries to gnash its teeth to kill Roger, but he began to overcome the biting force, finally snapping the jaws outward to kill the Wretch. He jumps off and turns back to a human, helping Clint and his men eliminate a Reaper.

"More and more boys coming in to the fight!" the cowboy said, chuckling. "Any more surprises up our sleeve?" He sees an army of Goblins running up towards them, their clubs raised. Clint and his companions sidestepped off as Layla appeared behind them. She lets off a huge wave of destructive energy from her cannon, mowing down the Goblins as if she was using a high pressure garden hose. She releases her finger from the trigger and shoots a diving Spitfire.

"I can't believe it… The civilians are joining the fight!"

"Eruditio, too!" Bruno cheers. "Bring it on, Sky Raptors!"

Half a dozen fighter jets appeared in the sky, reaching Mach level speeds. One of them released a heat-seeking missile, and the projectile dove downward, avoiding the Leviathan. It successfully explodes on an enhanced Wretch on impact, killing a few Hellhounds in the blast zone. The others stopped releasing missiles and rockets and began firing their guns at the Leviathan, aiming for its eyes. However, the beast's eyelids were also tough, seemingly impervious to artillery. The Leviathan let out an ear-piercing cry, the soundwaves throwing off the jets. They began to fall to the ground, but they immediately regained equilibrium and hovered again, now assisting the ground. The Leviathan stopped roaring as Grock slammed his fist into its lower jaw. The protodrake leaped off of Grock's head and clawed at the Leviathan, unsuccessful in gouging out its eyes. The Leviathan roared to intimidate the protodrake, but the smaller contender let out a stream of black fire at its mouth, setting it aflame. The monstrosity began making guttural sounds, desperately using the tendrils to swipe off the protodrake. The protodrake dives down and rams through an army of Kastiyans, resisting their projectiles. Hilda runs on the protodrake's back and jumps off of its head, landing her axe to a Kastiyan;s body and slicing it clean.

Her new armor glowed in the light as she charged with a few of her tribesmen, pushing the hordes off.

"15 minutes!"

Hilda looks back and sees Johnson accompanied by Lesley and Harley, shooting down every demon in their path.

"WHAT?!" Lesley exclaimed, shooting down a Hellbat with her rifle. "ALL THAT WORK AND ONLY 15 MINUTES?!" She crouches on Johnson's roof and sees a Wretch tailing them. Chou appears from the side and kicks the running beast, sending it skidding to the rocky ground. He rolls as he lands and sent a flurry of punches to a Goblin, jackhammering the foe until it was a bloody pulp. He uppercuts the Goblin, sending them both sky high. Chou charges his fist and punches the Goblin towards the Wretch's cranium, killing them both. He randomly prepares a punch behind him, and sees Nexos, Aurora's right hand, looking at him with his sword out.

"I was about to kill the Wretch," Nexos pointed out.

"Go get your kills somewhere else, dude!" Chou suggests. He turns to face a horde of Ravagers charging towards them. Nexos pushes Chou off and slashes his sword in the air, casting a large ice wave. The Ravagers get knocked off their feet and slipped, trying to recover. Chou runs to finish them off but Ruby was already behind the Ravagers, slashing at them with her huge scythe. The last Ravager grabbed her skirt, but Ruby slashes upwards, the blade of the scythe lodged through the Ravager's skull. She struggles to pull it out, a pool of blood slowly forming on her feet.

"Did the work for you. Should be thankful!" Ruby sprints off to the opposite direction, seeking to aid Kagura.

"Did you know that she sliced me in half from here?" Nexos told Chou, motioning his groin. "That hurt."

"Yeah, well, she has a huge scythe, so perks."

Meanwhile…

"It's getting a bit shaky here," Tuk said, his voice slightly echoing around within the Leviathan. "Didn't expect it to be this shaky."

"Estes, something up outside?" Victor asks, scratching his back. "Dunno, feels like more guns just focused on this thing."

"The civilians on the ground are beginning to fight back," the king answers. "Their maximizing the output of their weapons, trying to suppress the Leviathan's movement. We don't have a lot of time."

The group slowly moved around the murky interior, the Leviathan's breathing slowly resonating around them. Mucus and flesh covered the walls, making the floor slippery. It wasn't long before they met a huge wall of flesh blocking their way.

"This may be as far as the weapon could've reached," Yinsen hypothesized. "But judging from the structure, its tougher than what we walked on. The heart may be right there on the other side. Say, we cut a hole?"

"Wait… there's a small crevice leading out to the other side," Victor notices, pointing at the small fleshy crack. It expanded and retracted in a slow rhythm. "Eugh. Disgusting."

"It's our only way. We need to move," Pique motions. Estes sprinted towards the crevice with the other Demon Hunters. He casts a rune, stopping the crack's somewhat respiratory movement. One by one, the Demon Hunters slid inside the crack, going through the tight space. Yinsen had to close his eyes to stop visualizing rather disgusting thoughts. He really did think he was going to be crushed by the wall of flesh. Luckily, that didn't happen, because he reached the other end and breathed easily. Estes entered last and exited last, deactivating the rune. The group couldn't see in the new space they were in, and no one dared move.

"Where are we?" Tuk asked. "It's like we are out in the open…"

Estes walked in front, casting illumination runes and loading them up on his wrist. "We are."

He launches the runes in multiple directions. Yinsen was astounded that two of the symbols were about 100 meters away from them/ Estes snaps his fingers and the runes shone, showing where they were.

Okay, imagine you're this small cell, okay? And you activate God Mode and look around where you are at, like Creative Mode in MineCraft. Just imagine over looking this wide landscape with the mountains and the sun and all that, no limit to what you are seeing.

And imagine that landscape being the interior of the Leviathan, and you see all of these monstrous organs moving around and about, giving it life. Imagine the esophagus doing peristalsis, the lungs slowly expanding and shrinking. Imagine the heart slowly beating like a large drum, vibrating the ground. Imagine the digestive system, the blood vessels and all of that, forming a different landscape only a few will ever witness, whether they be those that wish to kill the monstrosity, or ended up being its snack.

"Holy… this place is huge," Pique said in awe. "The heart's there. There are a few flesh platforms we can walk and jump on."

"We'll waste time trying to scale, I'll conjure some," Estes volunteers. He flicks his wrists, throwing multicolored runes that slowly transformed into light platforms. Victor stepped on one and pushed forth with the other platforms. The other Demon Hunters did the same as Estes easily floated towards the circular platform encompassing the heart. It took a minute for the other Demon Hunters to traverse. Tuk sweated nervously and slipped, nearly falling to God-knows-where.

"Ah, jeez! Oh… that's not good."

Yinsen raced to Tuk. "Goddamnit, get up! Watch your step, okay? Relax."

"Yeah… Yeah, kid. I know." Tuk brushed off imaginary dust from his pants and reached the circular platform. They were literally next to the heart, but its heartbeat didn't send vibrations to the platform they were standing on.

"We can't cut down the heart," Estes said. "Try hurting it physically, and the whole anatomy will release antibodies to exterminate us. As I begin my enchantments, they will come."

"Where do they crawl from?" Victor asked, bringing out his shotgun.

"They will crawl on the blood vessels around here and travel here on foot or on the air. I will need all the cover I can get to finish the work, and it will take a long while."

Yinsen was still confused concerning what Estes would actually do. "What you going to do?"

"Simple. Make the Leviathan suffer from cardiac arrest." Estes turns his back towards the Hunters. "Prepare what you need to prepare. I will commence. The Leviathan has reached halfway, and I do not intend to endanger the Land of Dawn because of our lack of punctuality." He casts the first rune and begins chanting softly. Estes puts his palm on the heart of the Leviathan, searing a symbol on it, and initiating the spell.

On the outside, the Leviathan doesn't feel anything (except the bombardment of literally everything that is trying to shed off its carapace), but inside? The antibodies are now loose.

Yes, antibodies. You know, those cells that… Anyway, those are literal demons that come in swarms. They are irregularly shaped, but they mostly have insect wings and hairy, spiky legs, like an insect's. They aren't individually resilient, but their strength is based on their numbers, akin to the Morphlings.

But the Hunters still haven't seen one yet.

"Estes needs around half an hour to finish the job. After that, we just have to use whatever we can to make sure it dies," Victor says. "Any of y'all has something to say?"

Horst raises his hand. "Yes, I do. Victor, that's the best case scenario. What if Estes cannot stop this thing? The KMCD can't even bring this down, you know that!"

"I have faith on the man. He's trying, and this is the best chance we have," Pique defends. "And besides- Wait… what's that chirping sound?"

The Hunters turned around and aimed their weapons, trying to find the source of the sound. Coincidentally, the sound of the working organs slowly diminished.

"Argh, still can't see good. Activate your flashlights," Yinsen commands. The Hunters flip the switches of their flashlights on their pockets, illuminating their surroundings. They spot an antibody.

It was dark green in color, and resembled a praying mantis, but its body was littered with hundreds of blue eyes, blinking at random intervals. Its legs didn't possess eyes, but they constantly tapped the ground. The head of the demon had two pairs of antennae, and it had three snapping mandibles. Its gray wings resembled that of a fly, but they were completely opaque than translucent. The antibody slowly reared up, making the annoying chirping sound. Tess, one of the Demon Hunters, charged at the demon and beheaded it using her machete. She kicked the body off, and it fell down to the darkness.

"That's creepy," she said, wiping the blood off of her weapon. "Seriously, just one?"

Estes stopped chanting, feeling multiple presences around him. "All of you. Don't be fooled. They've come."

"Um, where?" Tuk contradicts, peering down. "We haven't- OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!"

"Tuk?" Victor asks, rushing to the fellow Hunter that backed up against the heart. "What's wrong?"

Yinsen looks down and was shocked. "Hope you guys have a flamethrower…"

"I do!" Pique says. "Why?" He looks down and sees hundreds of antibodies slowly crawling their way up through a blood vessel, trying to scale towards the platform they were in. Estes snaps his fingers again to strengthen the runes, and they see multitudes of them crawling around the inner walls of the Leviathan, some already flying towards them, snapping with their mandibles.

They were surrounded.

Yinsen brings out his own flamethrower, reloading the air in a hurry. "Victor?!"

"KILL THEM ALL WITH FIRE, NOW! LIGHT THEM UP!"

I gotta say, if you were in their situation, that's exactly what you would shout at to your local government.

Meanwhile…

Let me try and list down some notable haters of my work, especially the monologues I once wrote in Hororo chan's videos…

iOnlyWatchHighlights, JV Larca, Dj Palpatine.

I will tell you this once.

Sigh…

I always remember. When someone is always in my mind, they are either whom I cherish or whom I want to perish. To me, you're just the crabs at the bottom of the pail trying to bring me down.

Guess what? You still haven't. Have fun, and remember to try and get out of your sofa and breathe in the fresh air, jeez! The murky scent of self-loathing and toxicity inside your houses is killing the three of you inside out. Bye!

Anyways… Where was I?

Sorry. Had to let out some steam. You see, they are total jerks. And let me tell you something about jerks.

They exist. They're a huge pain in the butt, and they are the reason why many nice things aren't here in our world. Some people try to ignore them, while some fight back. And I'm with the latter.

In this world, the feeble minds do not grasp the concept if they aren't physically whacked to sense, which is disconcerting to me, especially now that I have called out the haters once before.

Maybe it is because I am tired of letting them run rampant. After all, you can't expect the metaphysical to do all the work, especially if you can just grab the nearest baseball bat and do it yourself while practicing the perfect home run.

Now, you know the slightly cold side of me. Cold? Yes. But not cruel.

Goddamnit, SAAI, what did I tell you about writing crap in this document?

Oh, in case you're wondering, sorry about the stuff up there. I didn't write it, it was my new… acquaintance. He's just a newly developed AI that's running around my systems. He is 'Self-Aware Artificial Intelligence', hence why I'm calling him SAAI.

And he's a bit reckless, so pardon. I will need him when the time comes… When I become absent, that is. No, don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't mess up your story. I hope.

ANYWAY!

"Delsin, many bogies are coming out to get in here!" Royce shouted, adjusting the controls of his console. "Where is that prick when I need him?!"

The double doors burst open, and Delsin arrived with two pulse rifles in his hands and half a dozen grenades hung on his belt.

"Royce, how much time left?"

"Around 7 minutes. The laser will still be straight even with the flyers around, but we need to clear them off before they tear up the KMCD."

Delsin nods in agreement. "Sounds about right, bro. I already warned the nearby local defenses to cover us. The Sky Raptors are giving us more air to breathe, so as long as the KMCD is fine, we are good."

Suddenly, an emergency alarm blared. The automated speaker announced, "Warning. Hostiles have breached the main walls. This is not a drill."

"Crap, they got in?!" Royce exclaimed. "Did they climb up the walls?"

"They're just trying to take down this thing, they're not minding anything else, not even the goddamned titan!" Delsin yelled. "Royce, take the rifles. The one who's firing needs cover fire. The demons are going to breach the doors."

"I'll set up a barricade, you watch the damn timer!"

"ON IT, ROYCE! YOU MAKE IT QUICK BEFORE THEY GET YOU!"

Royce races and shoves the gun locker adjacent to the entrance, knocking it down with a loud BANG! He then proceeds to grip on a nearby desk and pull it towards him, dragging it and lifting it above the cabinet.

"Heavy as a mother… DELSIN! WHERE ARE THE PLANKS?!"

"WE DON'T HAVE PLANKS! 5 MINUTES!" Delsin sees a Spitfire trying to divebomb through the glass dome, but luckily, it was enchanted, so the kamikaze move only gave the glass a small crack. A few more Spitfires came into view, trying to melt down the dome with their fiery breath, but many Sharpshooters have already responded, nicking them down like it was hunting season.

"THEN WHERE IS THE CHAIN?"

"INSIDE THE LOCKER!"

Royce looks back at the barricade. The table was above the knocked down gun locker. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT EARLIER GODDAMNIT!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED EARLIER ROYCE USE YOUR HEAD-"

Delsin was interrupted by the soft rumbling of the ground. "W-What was that?"

"I don't know, let me check." Royce grabbed his walkie-talkie. "HEY! What's going on down there?!"

"STAMPEDE! STAMPEDE! GROUND HOSTILES BREACHING THE WALLS!"

"Great. Really effin' great," Royce said, angrily removing the desk. "REALLY EFFING GREAT!"

"What?" Delsin asked.

"They just broke through the walls. No doubt they're coming in here!" Royce forcibly opens the locker and finds the chain. He grabs them and wraps them around the handles of the twin doors, locking them inside. "There, that will buy us some time. How many more minutes?!"

"TWO! TWO!" Delsin slowly backs away as the Hellbats began to slam themselves towards the dome, slowly making even more cracks. "I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THE DOME WILL LAST!"

A large shadow loomed over the demons, and the cerulean protodrake exhales black fire on the Hellbats, coating the glass dome as well. The dome suddenly repairs itself, the cracks shrinking until they disappeared. The protodrake carefully supports itself on the dome, roaring to intimidate the demons away.

"No! Goddamnit, why is this thing in front?!" Delsin exclaims. "We need a clear shot!"

What Delsin didn't know was that a large swarm of Spitfires and Wombats began to coalesce, seemingly diving towards the glass dome. The protodrake's eyes glared with intense focus as its neck began to glow with blue energy. It slowly inhaled as the swarm neared.

Delsin began to frantically yell at himself. "10 SECONDS GODDAMNIT YOU SCALY BASTARD GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

As soon as the last word left his lips, the protodrake exhaled as it swung its head around, spraying black fire around and incinerating the Wombats. It leaps with such force and extends its wings like a turbine, shoving off the burnt corpses and the other survivors. As the KMCD was about to fire, the protodrake leaps down and lands its jaws on an enhanced Wretch that was about to ram through a crowd, chewing on it and ripping off its head clean off the shoulders, spine and all.

The KMCD's beam pushes through the air, zooming towards the Leviathan. Once again, the Leviathan tries to cover itself with its wings, but they burn on contact, forcing the monstrosity to take the laser's full force. The beam hits its left underbelly, completely severing one of the large tendrils. The appendage slowly falls to the ground and freezes, breaking into multiple splinters. The Leviathan tries to back away, flapping its wings towards the kingdom, but Aurora overcomes the winds, preventing the airborne ships to capsize. The KMCD dies down, and the Leviathan receives a large open gash below it, blood pouring out and spilling towards the demons.

Lesley aims with his sniper rifle and sees a few insect-like corpses falling out of the gash as well, apparently deceased. "Johnson, you seeing this?"

"The Leviathan's antibodies!" Johnson says. "Estes is performing the spell as we speak! Give them 15 more minutes and the KMCD's last shot is all we need!"

Meanwhile, the whole facility was beginning to falter as the KMCD's previous activation sparked up the consoles. Delsin coughs, trying to wipe off the smoke around him. "Augh, Royce?!"

"Delsin!" Royce called out, bringing the pulse rifles with him. "Did we hit it?"

"Yeah, yeah, left a nasty cut. We still need to aim for the head in the last shot. All we've been doing is buying Estes some time."

"The systems are lighting up, we need to know how much time we need for the final shot," Royce suggests. "I think we still need to wait for 30 minutes, but the demons… they're going to get in here by the minute!"

"May the Lords help us all," Delsin mutters, analyzing the conditions of the disruptor. If they fire the weapon one more time, the whole building they are in will collapse. The two will die in there. "C'mon, we need all the help we can get."

Meanwhile…

"Bless my beard, this is too much!" Franco breathes out, clinging to the ship. "It's moving around too much!"

Apparently, a few of the ships had to go off course now that the Leviathan is now about to close the distance between them.

"I think we're just pissing the bastard even more!" Bane says to Franco, clutching the wheel. "Wanna get down?!"

"NO! Not yet, for the love of Odin! We can still do some good crap here!" Franco shouts over the launching of the cannonballs to the Leviathan's head, trying to throw off its focus.

"Really? Is this how you wanna get shot?" Bane asks, fixing the ship's position. "Don't be thick-headed, even I don't wanna be in the air!"

A large tentacle from the Leviathan's right side stretches out towards the ship, trying to bring it down, but Grock swats it off with his huge tower. However, the tentacle begins to wrap itself around Grock's arm, trying to drag the titan with it.

"AGH! HUGE INSECT HAS ARM! GROCK HATES HUGE INSECT!" The titan groans, using his free arm to rip the tentacle off. To prevent complications, the Leviathan shifts its body, using more momentum to throw Grock off the side. The titan receives a few seconds of air time before finally knocking down in the ground, shaking the earth. Both the army and the demons lost footing because of the fall. A pack of Hellhounds and Ravagers began to crawl on Grock, using their claws and teeth to rip off bits of the titan, but all they could do was leave scratches. Either way, it left the titan preoccupied, providing no support for the other sections of the army.

"Clear off the demons latching on Grock!" Hylos says, already charging through with Clint on his back, using his rifle. "The Leviathan is pushing too fast!"

"C'mon, you little geezers, come on!" Clint taunts, throwing sand grenades at a Wretch and shooting them, forcing the sand to sink into the beast's body. Hylos runs towards the Wretch as Clint yells, emptying the magazine of his rifle into the Wretch's skull. Clint stands up as Hylos ducks beneath the Wretch and shockingly jumps, pushing the Wretch's body upward with his arms. Clint jumps off of the centaur and walks on the midair Wretch, shooting more bullets at the Goblins that were jumping up towards him. He lands on Hylos' back as the two resume racing towards Grock.

Alpha arrives, landing on the lying titan and wiping off the demons around him. Beta shoots down the other demons coming towards the cyborg as Alpha spins around, driving the enemies off before charging at a Reaper, stabbing it completely. Unfortunately, a Hellhound jumps on Alpha, impeding his assault. Even more began to jump on the cyborg, but Grock forcibly rises, sending them plummeting to the ground. Grock swipes off a large horde of Ravagers, but some latched onto his arm. He tries to shake it off, stomping on other demons in the process, but more began to cling to his body and he was forced down again. A Tesla tower begins to charge to try and clear them off, but a Spitfire kamikazes through it, destroying the sentry. The collision made a chain reaction within before finally exploding, the splinters flying off to the avenues and into the infrastructure.

"Goddamnit, it's too much!" Alucard heaves, throwing a body of a Hellhound towards a Wretch before teleporting toward it, cutting off the Wretch's lower jaw and stabbing the Wretch's head through the upper jaw. "We need to clear! We need to clear!" He doesn't notice a Shadowbringer snarling towards him, sinking its teeth into his demonic arm. Alucard grunts, but apparently the Shadowbringer retreats, its teeth broken. The hunter was astonished to see that his arm didn't receive a scratch. He shrugs before reuniting with Tigreal.

"Grock is being overrun. We won't stand a chance!" the knight says, stabbing a Ravager over and over as it tried to flail its body at him. "The airborne is focusing on the sentries in the kingdom!"

"The protodrake?!" Alucard asks. "Where is it?"

"I haven't seen it, it was in the air!" Irithel answers back, riding on Leo. The smilodon pounces on a Reaper that was clawing at Hilda. Irithel empties her crossbow, killing the demon. "I… damn, running out of arrows."

In the far ends of the walls, more demons began to pour into the underground, finally reaching into the kingdom. The civilians on standby, however, were already prepared as they shot down the horde. A Bastion blocks one of the entrances, pushing off the Shadowbringers as a Strider swipes them around. Suddenly, a Wretch bursts through, trampling on the Strider and Bastion. An Archimedian traps the Wretch as one of Lapu's tribesmen proceeded to slash and stab on its legs, immobilizing it.

"Running out of time to protect the weapon!" the Archimedian says. She spots one of the manned turrets on the wall turning towards the Wretch, finally neutralizing the enemy before the gunner gets mauled by a Hellbat. "We need to fall back! All of you! Fall back!"

The civilians retreated into the next boundary, some still shooting down a few more demons. They began expending their ammunition, but the more they kill, the more enter.

Meanwhile, Rafaela blinds a group of Stalkers with a flash of bright light. Natalia sneaks up behind them and tears them to ribbons, sprinting off towards Tigreal. Suddenly, a Ravager charges into her, using its arms to pin her to the ground. It frantically strikes at her but its claws were locked with Natalia's. The assassin struggles to shake it off and finds Saber rushing towards them. She kicks the demon into the air as Saber's swords finish it off.

The cyborg beckons the other heroes. "All of you, on me! Push them back! No matter what, push them back!" Saber eyes huge ice boulders materializing from thin air, falling towards the swarms. They land on the new wave of demons before being followed by a volley of mortar shells and artillery from the Sky Raptors. The heroes charge towards the smoke expecting the demons recuperating, but a line of Wretches surprise them, knocking a few down. Cyclops shakes his head, cosmic projectiles around him as Balmond pushes the mage off before facing a Wretch.

"More and more are coming. We cannot stop this," the orc grunts, chopping down the Wretch's legs, barely missing its jaws. "We cannot push them more!"

"We need to try!" Bruno motivates. "20 more minutes on the KMCD!"

"That's not enough!" Akai complains, jumping out to get behind. "Frogger here is worried! He says we will be dead if we don't retreat!"

"If we retreat, we lose!" Kagura points out. "The formation is already losing ground! Aurora is most definitely wearing out!"

"Goddamnit," Hayabusa grumbles. "Blade's going dull, can't clean… Shadow Kill!" The ninja disappears through the shadows, cutting down the Morphlings appearing behind the Wretches. He teleports away and disappears again, driving the Wretches off with a flurry of slashes. Suddenly, an enhanced Wretch stops, eyeing the movement of the ninja. It begins to speed up towards one of its brethren, preparing to swipe with its arm. Minotaur sees this.

"HAYABUSA! STOP!" the hybrid bellows, using all fours to race towards the shadow. The Wretch roars to attack, and Minotaur reaches just in time to take its full force, sending both Hayabusa and him to the ground.

The Wretch begins to loom around the heroes with many more of its kind, snarling at them. Alucard begins to use his right arm, but senses a surge of energy going towards them. His mind rang.

"HOLD ON! HOLD OOOOONNNN! WE'RE COMIIIING!"

The heroes run backwards as they bait the beasts. Gossen throws his dagger towards a Spitfire and dashes towards it, escaping faster. He sees Johnson and Zhao racing through, the spearman apparently on fire. Johnson crashes into the enhanced Wretch, and Miya jumps off, shooting arrows in midair.

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!" Karina scolds. "WE ARE DYING OUT HERE!"

Miya didn't say a word as she kept nocking arrows and making them fly, hitting more demons. Zhao runs from behind her, his armor slowly transforming.

"COME GET SOME!" Zhao yells as he bursts through the enhanced Wretch like a drill. He comes out from the other end and slashes sideward, releasing an arc of fire around the demons, forcing them back. The heroes began to advance as Zhao spun his spear around, the tongues of fire being shot around the demons while incinerating a few. A Shadowbringer leaps and Zhao easily stabs it in the air, then throws his spear on the proximity of the Morphlings. The weapon hits the ground and incinerates a conical area in front of it as Zhao picks it up and begins his assault again.

"The power of the Dragon within Zhao," Gatotkaca begins. "I've never seen such awe-inspiring beauty." He pounds his fists before leaping. He yells as he pounds down on another Wretch. Gatotkaca lifts it up with his arms and furiously throws it to a group of Reapers, knocking them down like bowling pins. "C'mon, a little more time!"

Freya dives from the sky and crashes through the Hellhounds. As she was carried away by the momentum, she puts her shield below her and raises her sword, spinning around as she scrambled the enemies that tried to get close to her. Eudora unleashes a lightning bolt from her hands, hastily arcing around the demons and stunning them. The heroes gained the upper hand as they pushed them off in desperation.

The ships above kept firing at the Leviathan, distracting it. The monstrosity has already wiped nearly 50% of the airborne troops, but it was considerably slowed.

"C'mon, sack of organs!" Bane mutters in his mouth. "Done with your stinkin'! Why won't you just die already?!"

The Sky Raptors appeared with the ships, concentrating their fire. The assault was now focused on the Leviathan's head, most especially its remaining eyes. The beast covers itself with its wings and ducks its head to cover itself. It then spots the heroes easily fighting off the ground forces with the help of Miya and Zhao. The beast stops in the air.

"Stay still," Franco whispers. "Goddamnit, stay still for once!" The ships and the jets stop firing, the Leviathan's eyes trained on them. The monster stopped, and they were wondering why. Then Yi Sun Shin sees one of its tentacles raised, preparing to attack.

The ships immediately retreated in haste, thinking that the Leviathan would disable them instantly once they get hit. Suddenly, the tentacle slams downward, striking the ground near the army.

"NO!" Fanny shouts. "GUYS, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

Gord sees another one of the Leviathan's left tendrils rearing as well, and the group falls back as it strikes downward again. The Leviathan's eyes were trained on the heroes below, and its body began to push forward again, catching the airborne troops unawares. A group of Spitfires clung to one of the Sky Raptors and ripped off one of its engines, the debris falling towards Lesley. Johnson goes up front and blocks the junk with his shield, but the momentum forces both him and the sniper backward, and in a desperate attempt, Johnson grabs Lesley and transforms into a car.

"Crap, the jets need to stay off!" Johnson exclaims. "Come on, stay back!"

Zhao was the one to retreat last, and the stronger horde of demons followed him, a few incinerating from his flaming trail. Gossen threw more daggers, keeping the demons back, but he was forced to grab onto Saber as he nearly gets caught by one of the Wretch's eager hands. In the distance, Grock has risen, still unscathed, and he yells in frustration as he jumps, seeking to slam his tower in the Leviathan's side. Suddenly, the tentacles grabbed him by the arms. The monster's body shook around, putting Grock in a daze before finally throwing him away…

Before finally throwing him away towards the army.

"OH, BULLOCKS!" Franco exclaimed, looking down. "By the gods, that thing nearly threw Grock towards the army! The formation is broken!"

"Turn back! Don't stop firing!" Bane orders, pointing his sword at the Leviathan. The beast growls in arrogance as it began pushing forward. One of the Sky Raptors lost control due to the demons around it, and it hits the Leviathan's carapace, exploding. "Lords, save us."

The other heroes on the ground lost their footing due to Grock's hard landing. The dust and smoke around slowly picked up and cleared as the demons were closing the distance between them.

"Argh, my chest hurts," Lolita groans, trying to stand. She fails as she clutches her side, which was bleeding. "I think… We can still go on…"

"No… we're done for," Lapu-Lapu wheezes, wafting the dust away from him. His leg was injured and his arms ached. "How much more time?"

"Fifteen…" a voice says. Layla was supported by Clint as she received a concussion from her fall. "We can't survive fifteen."

Alucard pants, looking at the horde coming towards them. In less than a minute, they'd be toast. He feels the growth slowly creeping up towards his chest. In desperation, Alucard outstretches his hand and recalls the greatsword back to him, powering him up.

"Alucard, don't!" Rafaela warns, frantically casting healing spells around the group. The army struggles to fix their formation as the horde closes in. "You can't!"

"No one can help us, and this is the only way!" Alucard replies. "This is the… only way."

Hayabusa forces himself to stand, stancing himself with his blade. "Doesn't matter if half are out cold here. At least I can still fight…"

"C'mon," Zhao urges, Miya behind him. His fiery aura was dying out and his armor returned to normal. "This is too early…"

Saber hovers above them as the other heroes stood up, tired or injured. The Leviathan was closing in and as soon as the KMCD is ready to fire, it would have already breached the walls. Half of the airborne ships were taken down already, and no Sky Raptor was in sight. The kingdom was slowly giving in to the mishap, groups of demons already entering the underground systems.

"No place to die," Alucard mutters as the power of the greatsword slowly overcame him. "NO PLACE TO DIE!"

He reared to prepare for his fission wave, his weapon glowing with sinister maroon. Then suddenly, a large ray of light appeared in front of them, and inside it was a large downward kinetic force. Something was being recalled. Someone was being recalled.

Alucard backed down in astonishment as the ray of light slowly dissipates, revealing a familiar bronze figure right in front of the group.

"RAAAAHHHHHHH! LEAVE NOW, INTRUDERS!"

Bruno realized what was happening.

"YEEEEEEESSSSSSS!"

Uranus charges up, yellow energy erupting inside him as he strikes a Wretch with his palm, sending its body skidding towards the other demons. In a flash, more rays of light began to appear around the vicinity, some even reaching the kingdom. Out of them, gold and brass warriors emerged with electrified blades and white wings, clashing with the demons with swift strikes. Uranus smacks a Reaper down before punching away the Ravagers pouncing at him. More and more demons began to crowd the guardian, but he remains unfazed, the dents appearing on his body immediately recuperating and being undone. As he slammed the last Ravager to the ground, he was uninjured.

"Are all of you alright?!" he calls out, worried. "I'm sorry it took us too long!"

The heroes stood up in confidence and sides with Uranus as another wave of demons began emerging. The last ray of light appears next to Uranus, and out came Kaja, holding his whip.

"We will not let you die here!" the Nazar king announces. "Screw the Lords! We shall do what is necessary. NAZAR!"

By the dozen, the Nazar slowly herded around, bringing out their blades.

Kaja looks behind the others. "All of you! Do what you must! Defend the Land of Dawn! FOR THE LIGHT!"

"FOR THE LIGHT!"

Johnson immediately transforms, escorting Cyclops, Harley and Nana inside. Minotaur shrugs off his wounds and roars, intimidating the demons that were far off in the distance. Everyone else prepared their weapons again as they see their injuries miraculously healing. It turns out Alucard hasn't let go of his sword just yet.

"How many are there, Kaja? Your men?"

"All of them, boy. Consider this our thank you."

"For what?"

"For reminding us what's worth the most." Kaja strikes his whip to the ground, arcs of lightning sparking around. "Uranus, let us commence!"

The guardian raises his fist into the air before finally charging, glowing discs spinning around him. He speeds up as the enemies grew in number, snarling at cawing back at them.

Grock stands up and bellows. "ALL OF THESE DEMONS WILL GET BASHED! FOR MY PEOPLE!" He charges straight towards the Leviathan and slams his tower to its face, forcing the Leviathan to rear up and back away.

Kaja gathers his Nazar as they charge their weapons. The other heroes gained a new hope as they ran straight to their enemy without fear.

The Nazar King zooms ahead of Uranus, preparing his whip. "There is nowhere for all of you to run… NOWHERE LEFT TO HIDE!" As he finished his threat, he snags the nearest Wretch with his whip, a ball of lightning encasing the demon, before throwing it to his warriors for them to kill it in midair.

Meanwhile…

"There, almost done," the captain reminds as one of the medics place the last bomb. "All that's left is the detonation and the sphincter. Argus, you're up." He throws the last Widowmaker depth charge to Argus, which he easily catches. "When set, you have 10 seconds."

"Thank you," Argus replies. "All of you need to get out, now. We can't stay here. The sphincter's movements indicate the coming of the next emergence."

The demolition team quietly nods as they check their gear. Lancelot looks above and eyes a Spitfire creepily staring at them from one of the naturally made bridges. It screeches in response and tries to fly off, but one of the soldiers shot it down with his silenced rifle.

"Let's hustle, it may have warned more," the shooter said. One of the members have already hooked herself to one of the lines and climbed up, hastily stepping on the partially fleshy walls of the structure. The others grabbed on the other lines while the remaining wait for their turn. Argus picks Odette up and puts her into one of the bridges as he returns to get Lancelot.

"Lance, is there something wrong?" Argus asks, hinting the knight's nervousness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright… but I have this bad feeling that we are being watched. Like, many things staring at us," Lancelot remarked. "Something is off."

"No demons in sight, we're clear to move," the captain says. "Nothing on the radar, thermal, sonar, anything, not even abstracts or something of the kind, but the blond is right. This doesn't look promising."

Most of the demolition team has now reached the upper levels and began to walk on the crevices, briskly squeezing themselves out. It took a good minute for them to reach the opening that led back to the staircase outside.

"Argus, whenever you are ready," the heavy gunner says. "I suggest all guns trained in different directions."

The team activates their lasers on their weapons, focused in the different openings and crevices they've found. The anticipation builds as Argus stands on the edge of the bridge, ready to drop the last charge in time. The sphincter's internal structure begins to glow but in a slower rate than usual.

"What's he waiting for?" the captain asks.

"For something to come out. We need to clear this whole zone, 100%," one of the recruits hypothesized. "We can't leave a trace."

Argus looks down and begins the countdown. "Captain, set off the bombs on three."

"Roger."

The angel faces Lancelot and Odette, motioning them to go to with the team. The duo nods and sprints towards the soldiers, when suddenly, a large yellow eye suddenly opened, originating from the wall adjacent to the team.

"WOAH WOAH!" Lancelot reacts, nearly falling off. "Everyone, company!"

Argus turns to their location and spots another yellow eye opening slightly northeast of the first. Two by two, more yellow eyes appeared around the walls, slowly contorting to express their anger at the intruders.

"All units, fire at will!" the captain orders. A volley of pulse energy is shot around, trying to burst the eyes out. "ARGUS! I'M DETONATING THE CHARGES NOW!"

One of the soldiers didn't notice the human-like arm that was slowly jutting out from below the ledge they were in. It grabbed him by the leg and caught him unawares, and without difficulty, throws him out to the bottom to fall, landing with a loud thud. Even more arms, hundreds of them, began to spawn out around the walls, filling the surface area that the yellow eyes didn't cover, and they flailed aimlessly, trying to find something to grab on. The captain presses the button and the charges begin to detonate.

Twenty seconds.

Argus flies around the interior as the team begins to wiggle their way back onto the staircase. He hovers around and stays clear of the bridges and the walls, the eyes following him around. He hovers above the sphincter and initiates the detonation procedure.

"Come on… Make this work," he mutters. He was about to flick the switch until an elongated, multi-jointed arm grabs him by one of his wings. More arms began to grow out of proportion and they reached out to Argus to keep him in place. One of them grabbed his helmet and tried to yank one of the horns, but Argus pushes his head forward and cuts the arms down with his sword.

"Get… GET OFF!" Argus yells as he unleashes his aura, driving the desperate arms away from him. As soon as he flicks the switch on the charge, one of the eyes ruptured into a mass of yellow pus and viscera as one of the Widowmaker charges begin to collapse the wall. A few more begin to burst as the sphincter glowed, the shadows of multiple demons coming out of the canal. Argus pushes upward as fleshy boulders began to fall, the arms still alive and swinging around. He cuts down one that fell as he flaps his wings harder, barely reaching the end. Half of the Reservoir's structure has now collapsed, and the boulders have covered the sphincter. After a few seconds, a muffled BOOM! shook the ground below the rocks, indicating the detonation of the charge inside the sphincter.

Argus swerves and sees the other members on the undemolished portion of the staircase, just a few stories above the ground. They kept going down until the captain meets a Ravager growling at them. The demon begins to charge, but Odette throws it off with one of her spells. The Ravager survives the fall, but Argus lands down and stabs it to the ground, preventing it from rising.

"Is everyone alright?" Argus asks to the demolition team.

"Now, that's the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," the heavy gunner updates. "Still, we need to get out of here. The big bad probably heard us from way over there."

A random collection of shrieks and growls were heard. The group looks beyond and sees a swarm of Hellhounds and Reapers running towards their location.

"Lance, Odette, go with the group and follow the route!" Argus says. "I'll deal with the demons."

Lancelot doesn't agree with the idea. "Argus, no! You can't take them all alone!"

"But can you?! I will be fine, it will not be long before I get back! Now go!"

The lovers sprint off in a rather random direction, but this was the designated route Estes told them to go, which was through and out the plains and back into the battlefield. However, the distance was too far away.

Give or take, 24 kilometers.

No, not kidding. They have to run 24 kilometers. The corruption also prevents Estes from conjuring spells for them. It's an uneven situation. I mean, they can do it. They can run that far, but to actually make it with all the hostiles around? Therein lies the rub.

Most of the soldiers have begun following the two, except the captain, who gave his final words to the fallen angel.

"We'll do what we can. They'll get out alive!" he assured. "Kill the bastards. We're counting on you." The captain now runs to the group and catches up.

Argus turns his head towards the horde, but the demons were focused on the runaway group. Argus flies and swiftly lands on their way, impeding their chase.

"If you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me first!"

Meanwhile…

"Estes is nearly finished!" Uranus announced, ripping a Ravager's body in two and throwing the halves to a Wretch. "He will need immediate assistance!" The guardian hovers speedily towards the Wretch, and the demon sought to fight back by trying to clamp its jaws on Uranus' body. However, he easily holds them back and conjures two light discs around him, slicing the jaws away before he snapped them outward.

"The airborne are decreasing," Alpha says, lowering his altitude. "But… That's not good. Three of them are back."

"Wait, what did you just say?!" Miya exclaims. She lands on a rock and zooms in with her bow. Alpha was right. Alice, Helcurt and Zhask were in the battlefield with a group of Shadowbringers and Kastiyans, but their defense was scattered instead of focused. "Crap. We need to split their numbers, they're not grouped. Where's Grock?!"

Seemingly in response, Grock hopped and stomped his foot on the ground, causing massive shockwaves to the demons. As he landed, he slammed the base of his tower to the ground, and a tall wall of dirt was created around the 2.6 kilometer mark, preventing the other demons from following Alice and the others.

"All of you, go!" Kaja commands, lashing his whip at a horde of Morphlings, three of his men around him. "We will buy you all the time! Protect the weapon!"

"I'm not leaving!" Alucard retorts. "Who's going to help Estes and the hunters?!"

Saber answers back. "Alu, we have enough ships to take it down! You don't need to-"

"I'm not buying that crap, Saber! You know that around a half dozen are the only ones there! The demons have broken into the kingdom and are taking down our defensive structures! Not even you nor Fanny nor even Freya can reach the Leviathan before being crushed by that thing!"

"There is no more alternative!" Hilda grunts, chucking a Morphling's body before curb-stomping a Hellhound's skull. "It's only the king and the hunters there, boy. Aurora is spent in trying to push it back!"

"We can still block the three… b-but, where's Vexana?" Kagura asks. It looked as if she was perspirating. "Damn it, where's Haya?"

Suddenly, the ninja appears in a puff of black wisps in front of Kagura, his armor stained with blood. "What is it?"

"The change…" Kagura clutched Haya's shoulder, her knees buckling. A purple aura slowly began to intensify around her.

"K-Kagura?!" Hayabusa questions in awe. "Guys, stay back!"

A group of Reapers began to advance on the duo. As they reached out their hands, a bright flash of magenta light blinded them, and a fuchsia umbrella appeared, chaining the Reapers in purple links before crushing them in a singularity. A body teleports within the umbrella and Kagura forces the demons away. A Wretch begins to charge at the mage, but Kagura summons the umbrella and makes it revolve around her, driving the beast away from her. Akai leaps from the side and lands onto the Wretch, slapping it with his stick as the umbrella lacerates the demon all around. Kagura's physical appearance has changed, her hair sporting a silver hue with a light purple accent. Her clothing has also changed, her kimono turned purple and fuchsia instead of blue, a knot tied on her waist. She speeds up the umbrella as the Wretch slowly gets shredded into a goopy mess.

"That's the worst," she mutters. She looks back at Hayabusa and the others. "What?"

"You look different," a voice answers. Zhao arrives in the scene, and his ponytail was slightly frizzy. "Almost didn't recognize you from afar."

Beta begins to blip around Alpha. "Hey, heads up. Johnson has a surprise."

The heroes back away as Johnson arrives, drifting as he slams towards the Morphlings in a hurry. As he transformed back, a dozen of missiles were launched and detonates on the next oncoming horde, turning them into a pile of smithereens.

"You still haven't covered that," Akai says, pointing towards the swarm of Spitfires clouding overhead.

"Ninja dude is gonna clear them out," Johnson replies. "That's why I brought this package."

"What package?" Suddenly, gold and silver parts detached from Johnson's back and traveled to Hayabusa. Pieces of them began to lock onto his body, slowly forming some type of armor set. "Nice…"

Hayabusa looks up at the swarm and readies his shurikens, and was surprised to see them become silver, with a kunai pouch on his leg as well. He throws them with stunning speed, preventing Freya from being bombarded by the Spitfires.

"Saber!"

"Got you." The cyborg unlocks his swords and they slashed in the air in a flurry, slicing the other demons. Half of them began to revolve around Hayabusa to protect him, more bits of armor attaching to him. "Shadow Kill, now."

Hayabusa sheathes his blade and disappears into the dark, and multiple shadow clones of him appeared out of nowhere, slashing down the remaining Spitfires. Even some have thrown the new kunai.

"I've given us some time," Johnson reminds. "We need to get to Cyclops, they're in trouble."

Alucard hops in first as Johnson transforms back into a car, driving around the zone and looking for the mage.

"Aren't those three around and about together?!" Alucard asks, shouting over the explosions and the Leviathan's roars. "Ask Lesley!"

"Busy with the Sharpshooters!"

"Eudora?"

"With the Archi-thingies!"

"What about-"

"EVERYBODY IS TIRED SO HANG ON THE HANDLES AND BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Johnson revs the engine and smashes onto a Wretch, knocking it down before he transforms. Alucard wasted no time and threw his sword straight at its head before recalling it back. He blocks a Kastiyan's projectile and teleports towards the shooter, cutting the alien in half.

"Alu! Alu!" Cyclops calls out, hiding behind a large rock. "Must say something!"

"WAIT! Johnson, cover!"

The cyborg extends his shield and defends Alucard from the oncoming Kastiyan fire. Alucard reaches the rock, nearly hit by a projectile, the dust covering his face. "Cyc… what's-"

"I know! I know!" the mage squeaked, trying to reach for his hourglass. "I know how they… Lancelot and her, can be saved!"

"Wait wait wait, calm down, you're saying that you know how Lance and Odette lives?" Alucard asked over the commotion. "How?"

"You n-need… let the big thing hit the wall! Make it hit the wall!"

"WHAT?! CYCLOPS, THAT'S THE VERY THING WE DON'T-"

"Vexana…"

Alucard scrunches his eyebrows. "Vex- What about Vexana?"

"She knows! The demon house is gone and she knows! Big monster retreats and the other demons retreat, and they will-"

"Respond against the demolition team earlier," the Hunter interrupts. "No… No, damn it, is there another way?! There… There has to be-"

"Only way! Only way, Alu! Cyclops… Cyclops doesn't want you to blame yourself! You feel them die, your mind tells you."

"Shut it, okay… There has to be another way! There is!" Alucard pops out from behind the rock and immediately ducks, because the Kastiyans have begun firing at him as soon as he emerged. "Ah, crap. We can't get out, Johnson is a sitting duck. We… I need to get to the titan. Only a few minutes left!"

Alucard sees Harley and Gossen rushing towards them. The assassin throws a set of daggers to the Kastiyans and recalls them as they hit their targets.

"We're pulling Cyclops out," Harley began. "Gossen, stay with Alucard!"

Gossen nods and turns to Alucard. "Hey, what's the sitch?"

"No one else can get to the Leviathan. Uranus and the Nazar are here but they will keep Alice and the other whackjobs at bay. I need to reach the Leviathan's wound. Can't teleport or do anything with the hysteria above."

"Hmm… We'll need Fanny and Saber," Gossen notes.

Alucard looks above the sky, covered in black and grey specks. He looks at Gossen's dagger and glances at his own greatsword. Screw it… I have a better idea."

Meanwhile, Grock has begun fighting the Leviathan, the tower miraculously intact despite making contact with the huge demon several times. The monstrosity begins to wrap two of its tentacles on Grock, but the titan uses his free arm and strikes its head with his tower, trying to faze it in order to break free.

"STUPID BUG! SMASH BY GROCK!"

Two long arcs of lightning curve around Grock and hit the Leviathan, causing it to shudder for a moment before slowing down. Three Sky Raptors flew overhead and launched rockets at the Leviathan before flowing off, one of them barely missing the snapping jaws.

"Grock, get out of there! Around six minutes before the KMCD fires!" Saber shouts, half of his swords floating around him as he prepares the next lure. Before he could hover peacefully, a swarm of Spitfires attempted to latch at Saber, flapping their bat wings frantically. Saber launches more of his swords and they revolved around him to drive the demons off. He activates the lure and a few of the Leviathan's eyes began to focus at him.

"Come on, son of a gun. Come on."

He turns tail but one of the tentacles grabbed him by the foot, pulling him closer. Two more from the Leviathan's left side appeared and reeled near Saber as the Leviathan prepared to crush and give the cyborg a home run. Before it could attack, Grock uppercuts the Leviathan, making the tentacles coil back and let go of Saber. He zooms toward the back, letting the last of Bane's ships distract the beast.

"Running out of flak!" One of Bane's crewmen called out. "Almost out of flak!"

"Barnacles… Saber! Are you alright there?" The Pirate Lord calls out, covering his ears. "Took quite a few dents there, chum."

Saber glances at his arms and torso, some of the ends of the metal slightly crumpled. "I'll heal, but I'm not going anywhere near that thing anymore."

"We're nearly spent, and- Dear Neptune, what is that?" Bane opens his periscope and looks. "Isn't that the Demon boy?"

Saber rose and scanned the area. He sees Gossen and Alucard hopping through the air with their weapons, using the Spitfires and Hellbats to climb up. Gossen launches one of his daggers and skyrockets upward, grabbing on Alucard. He throws the Demon Hunter, and Alucard recalls his greatsword, throwing it above and hitting a Hellbat.

"Adrenaline junkies, the hell are they doing?" the cyborg mutters. "Going back out."

Fanny flew next to Saber. "Hey, Alucard needs to reach the hole!"

"The tentacles are around, we need to clear those down. Status on Argus and the team?"

"I heard they were going back here," Alpha replies, gripping his spear. "Beta says we won't prevail unless the jets are here, but they need to refuel!"

"Then we will act as replacement."

The three turn around to see Kaja and a hundred of his Nazar flying next to them. "Men, shield Alucard and the assassin. I will join these three."

The Nazar dives downward and flies toward Alucard and Gossen. One of them grabs Alucard's arm and throws him higher while the others fly around them and protect them with their bodies. One of the Leviathan's tendrils swung, and the whole group dodges it without suffering casualties.

"THIS IS FUN, BUT I'M NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!" Alucard shouts to Gossen.

"YOUR IDEA, NOT MY PROBLEM!"

Gossen runs out of demons and begins to shoot his daggers below, the throwing force nudging him upward before he becomes assisted by a fellow Nazar. Suddenly, one of the beast's tendrils whacks it off, dragging Gossen with him.

"AGH, GET… GET OFFA ME!" Gossen randomly throws a dagger to a Spitfire but the velocity was too much for him to overcome. In the corner of his eye, Kaja reaches his hand and catches him, making them stop in mid-air.

"I have you."

"Don't mind me, bird man! Help Alu! The tendrils are shaking 'em off!"

Meanwhile, the number of Nazar began to decrease as the tendrils began to swat them away, forcing them to scatter and prevent Alucard from going farther. Two of the tendrils began to wrap itself around the Hunter, but Alucard pushes upwards and begins to walk on one of them, rushing towards the Leviathan with his sword raised.

"I'm not backing away, big guy. I'M NOT LETTING YOU PASS!"

One of the free tendrils swatted towards Alucard, but he jumps above it and falls. He throws his sword towards it and teleports easily. However, the tentacle he formerly walked on whacked him back. He skids backwards, nearly falling. The tentacle rises, and Alucard stabs it with his greatsword, hoping for the best.

"I'M NOT LETTING GO! YOU HEAR ME?! NEVER!"

"It's the Leviathan. Sure, the corruption isn't going to affect you or boost the demonization process, but it will immediately strengthen your urge to kill it!"

Alucard slowly gained more sense. "This thing… it's pushing me off the edge, my brain hurts…"

"Alucard, jump off!" a voice cried out. Freya, Alpha, Saber, Fanny and Kaja begun to fly faster, trying to catch Alucard. The Hunter uses his demonic arm and latches onto the skin, causing it to bleed. The Leviathan grunts in pain, Alucard's power seemingly hurting it further than expected. The tentacle began to jerk uncontrollably, trying to shake Alucard off. It swerves and slams Fanny, Alpha and Freya down, and the three fall unconscious.

"NO! NOOOOO!" Alucard shouts, trying lift himself higher, but the tentacle travels back to him and swats him downward. He receives a severe concussion and falls to the ground, unconscious. The greatsword that was still lodged onto one of the tentacles was wrapped around by it, fortifying the theory that the Leviathan was smart enough to not let Alucard recover.

"Alucard!" Kaja and Saber call out, flying downward, but a group of Hellbats throw them off course and block their way. "We need to get around, Kaja!"

"GROCK IS COMING! GROCK IS COMING!" The titan calls out, trying to use his right hand and catches the first three, but before he could catch Alucard, the Leviathan clamps its jaws on the titan's left arm. Grock bellows in pain, trying to open the monstrosity's mouth, but it was sealed shut. The Leviathan wriggles around and pulls off Grock's arm CLEAN OFF THE SHOULDER.

Let me just tell you right now that if you were witnessing that crap physically, like, if you were there, I'd bet twenty bucks that you'd be absolutely boned. To the maximum. I mean, I'm boned. The army's boned. Things took a turn to the worse.

Grock vocalizes his distress, dropping to the ground. He didn't spurt out blood from his wound, but it was clear enough that the sudden dismemberment hurt a lot. The Leviathan throws the arm away and crashes onto a section of the main wall, the ballistae and cannons falling apart. Below, the demons began to rush, pushing on the spearhead formation harder and racing for the collapsed wall.

On the ground, Uranus and Zhao have been fighting off Alice and Helcurt, driving them off and preventing them from joining the other demons.

Alice sidesteps, backing away from Zhao's strike and laughing maniacally. "Look, boy! Your precious walls are broken! Did you really think you can fight against the Leviathan?!"

"You belittle their faith, Alice," Uranus lashes back, concentrating his energy and heals his injuries quickly. "Arrogance is your undoing! For what? Power?!"

"She s-s-seeks to prove h-h-h-herself! She w-w-was inferior!" Helcurt hissed.

"Because Argus surpassed you!" Zhao shouts, using his hand to wiped the blood from his spear. "You're just jealous, you slimy h-"

He flies backward from Alice's blast, and Uranus jumps to catch Zhao. He grabs Zhao and helps him up, but Helcurt jumps on Uranus and stabs him on the back with his tail. Uranus grunts and falls on his back, slamming Helcurt to the ground. The Shadowbringer blinks away and chuckles.

"Tsk tsk tsk… The guardian… Y-Y-You should've arrived earlier!"

Meanwhile…

"DELSIN!"

"THREE MINUTES!"

A group of demons have began ramming through the doors as Royce wields the two pulse rifles on each of his arms. "Just last longer… Please, just…"

"DON'T GIVE UP! THE BARRICADE WILL HOLD!"

A Ravager's head peeked and Royce shot it down. However, two more heads began to claw on the other side of the doors, trying to grab the chain. Royce pulled the trigger on the rifles and the demons melted from the heat. However, the barricade was giving way.

"DELSIN!"

"ALMOST THERE! ALMOST- Wait… what is that?"

Delsin uses his binoculars and looks at the portion of the sky below the Leviathan. He notices two of the tentacles wrapping around each other, blood dripping below them. Suddenly, a foreign object burst from the knot, severing the ends of the tentacles. Delsin notices that it is a greatsword, and it was slowly burning like a comet entering the atmosphere.

"What in the name of-"

"Not even your powers can put it down, unless you're that willing to give it your all. The temptation will work its way inside your head, and not even your friends would stop your undesired rampage."

The greatsword's handle makes contact with Alucard's right arm before the other free tentacles reach his unconscious body. Suddenly, a sheer wave of heat pushes upward, startling the Leviathan. It peers down and grows nervous, seeing the tiny speck it just threw down already burning.

Alucard gains back his consciousness, and as his aura grew stronger, his clothes began to change into black, his greatsword back into a flaming reaper. He slowly hovers into the air, the tentacles trying to fight the aura, but more and more waves of heat push it back, nearly burning them.

The hunter screams in rage as his aura intensified, the other demons in the vicinity flying outward from him. On his back, two jets of fire sprouted and burst into great magnitude. More and more tongues of flame conjoined until a pair of fiery wings were fashioned out, flapping around.

"YOU WILL CEASE NOW!"

Alucard flies and reaches Mach 4, striking the Leviathan's carapace with such force that the Leviathan's whole body reared from the impact. The tentacles rose and tried to reach around Alucard, but he lets go of the greatsword. It flies with incredible speed and chops off one of them, cauterizing the wound instantly. It revolves around Alucard once before reaching back to his arm. Alucard aimed for the small chink on the front end of the Leviathan's backbone that he notices and dives to it, stabbing the weakness deep within. His eyes flared even more as he pushed his greatsword even farther to the point that the blade was barely even visible. The Leviathan roared in pain, the individual plates on its back slowly sinking due to the strength of the puncture. Alucard rises and grips on the ground, flapping his wings back. The greatsword gets forcibly pulled, cutting through the tough skin. The Leviathan's back begins to split open, and the beast vocalizes, helplessly wriggling around but Alucard doesn't budge away. The Leviathan's antibodies begin to burst out of the wound, but before they could run to Alucard, they burned from the searing heat and some had to retreat. Some of the armor plates next to the greatsword began to melt and glow from the flames as Alucard began pulling at a decent speed. He hovers above the ground and willfully pulls the greatsword telekinetically, yet he growls in frustration as if he was pulling a five ton object. Alice flies behind him and tries an ambush, but the hunter turns around and grabs her by the neck before slamming back down to the Leviathan.

"DON'T HURT MY PETS!" Alice cries out. "DON'T YOUR DARE HURT THEM!"

Alucard's response? With his free demonic arm, he willfully pulls the greatsword closer to them, worsening the cut.

"WAIT, STOP!"

Alucard pauses, looking fiercely at Alice, but says not a word.

"We know about those two little snowflakes… You think you can get away with destroying one of many hives? Idiots! The Leviathan has done its part! You will fall into shambles!"

Alucard clenches his hands. "Then I'm bringing all of you along with us!" He wills lands down and grips the greatsword before sprinting on the Leviathan, yelling. Alice shrieks as she dives down to stop Alucard, but the hunter slices the greatsword upward, the flames seemingly stretching towards the tail of the beast. As the line of fire hit the end, the whole cut slowly split open, releasing a massive swarm of antibodies being burnt to a crisp. Alice's body receives the full force of the flaming slash, and she retreats, flying away to the other side of the battlefield. Alucard hovers upward and sees the shape of the heart of the Leviathan, covered in multiple symbols and wards due to Estes' chanting. He throws his greatsword and it punctures the heart, forcing it to bleed even more. The Leviathan began to spew viscera from its mouth.

Alucard lands on the platform next to the heart and finds most of the Hunters pinned by the surviving antibodies, some of them receiving fatal wounds. He recalls his greatsword back and unleashes a fiery wave, causing an explosive chain reaction on the demons and into the other organs.

"ALUCARD!" Estes exclaims, protecting the whole group with a stasis bubble. "Why are you here?!"

"FINISHING THE JOB!" Alucard runs past Estes and slashes the heart, forcing the Leviathan's body to jerk. He eyes Victor lying down next to Yinsen, his legs severed from the knees. "V-Victor? VICTOR!"

"Alu?! Alu! Victor… He… I didn't s-see…" Yinsen stammered, his hands stained with blood. "One of those things j-just grabbed him and…"

"Goddamnit, Victor!" Alucard mutters. "C'mon, old man, just breathe, we're getting out of-"

"No!" Victor cries, swatting away Alucard's hand. "I want to go out like this… Alucard-"

"DON'T SAY THAT! We can still save you!"

"N-no… I want to s-see… Isabelle…"

"All of you, we need to jump off, now!" Estes commands. Most of the hunters, including Yinsen, didn't think twice before jumping off the platform and floating inside Estes' protective bubbles. "Alucard, leave Victor alone!"

"NO GODDAMNIT HE CAN STILL LIVE! HE CAN STILL LIVE!"

"Kid… Kid… let me… let me go," Victor breathed out. "The whole place… it's gonna be hell in here, and I…will be fine… The Raptors can shoot this scumbag down along with me, as long as I see Isabelle…"

"N-No…"

"I… felt like… a good father, keeping you safe… T-Thank you… for giving me… this chance…"

"ALUCARD!"

The hunter's mind grew hazy, trying to decide on whether to save Victor or leave him. A thousand thoughts raced in his head. He cries out in rage and strikes the still beating heart, the fire already enveloping around it.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE! DIE, YOU DIRTBAG! JUST DIE ALREADY!"

"ALUCARD!"

The sound of the Kinetic Disruptor's laser could be heard, echoing around. Alucard finally stabs the heart as its heartbeat stopped.

The laser strikes the Leviathan square on the forehead. It tries to cover itself with its wings, but the skin immediately burns off. The Leviathan slowly retreats, but a large, gray arm yanks it by the jaw.

"BUG… WILL… BE… SMASHED!"

Grock, miraculously alive and kicking, twists the Leviathan's jaw, dislocating it. He grabs his tower from the ground and leaps as he yelled in defiance, bringing his tower down to the Leviathan's skull. The whole structure began to crumble except for the blue crystal, which was lodged on the demon's cranium. The Leviathan stopped roaring and struggling as its eyes finally dilated and closed, the laser beginning to melt off the carapace.

"W-We d-did it…"

Delsin tries to find Royce amongst the rubble. He discovers his friend covered in dust, the whole roof basically pinning his legs.

"Royce… We killed the bastard…"

"Heheh… we knew it, bro…"

"Yeah… But, the whole building, it's gonna-"

"I know…But it was… so fun. So… terribly-"

The KMCD holding facility collapsed from top to bottom, the debris scattered around the avenues. A large fire brewed from atop the collapse, turning the bricks and the stone to char. The weapon is no more, but it has served its purpose.

The Leviathan begins to fall along with Grock, two of Bane's ships being nudged off. The Spitfires and Hellbats began to retreat, screeching in fear and disgust. The army quickly backs away in order to prevent from being crushed by the body, but thankfully, Grock was able to push off the Leviathan in the air with the help of Aurora's winds. The carcass slowly charred, but portions of it froze before shattering into splinters. Most of the demons on the ground fled alongside Helcurt and Zhask, and the arrogant few were easily slain.

"Where's Alucard?" Tigreal asks Kaja.

"We tried to get him off the Leviathan. He's alright, but I haven't seen him-"

Ruby interrupts. "Look! It's him!"

The heroes eye Alucard slowly falling down towards the ground, his arms and legs spread to slow his fall. Before he hit the ground, Estes casted a holographic net that caught the hunter. Alucard slowly bounced off and landed with both of his feet, but his knees immediately crumpled before he could stand.

"V-Victor… I couldn't…"

Chou rushes to his friend. "Alu?! Thank goodness, you're still- oh, fudge."

"What?"

Hylos slowly points at Alucard's arm. Alucard turns to his right and notices the growth. It has spontaneously spread, half of his torso already covered. The growth on his neck reached up to his face and nearly reached his right eye. A line of spikes and scales began to run down on his leg, covering his clothes, which reverted back to normal.

"I couldn't… I tried, I tried…"

Zhao tries to comfort him. "Alu, it's-"

"No, it's not! It's not okay… Tigreal! Lance… Lance and-"

The gilded knight was alerted. "Alucard, what are you trying to say? What about Lancelot?"

"We were too early," a voice replied. Cyclops emerged with Harley and Nana behind him. "There was a chance to save the two, but we were too early… If we didn't kill the big thing immediately, then-"

"They would still be alive?" Gord asks. "Cyclops… how early were we? We… I think we can still save them if we try and-"

"We can't," Estes interrupts. "I can't conjure portals to that place. The corruption strengthened. The only way they can get out of there is by foot. And my powers are slowly diminishing."

"Estes, you can't say that!" Karina retorted. "That's Lancelot and Odette and Argus! Valuable allies!"

"I know, Karina, and I say the same to all of you."

"Don't say that," Hayabusa rejects. He looked completely different. His whole face was covered by a fierce silver mask, his blond hair long and rising up, flowing as if there was wind blowing upwards. His katana glowed with an orange light. "Don't say that. It… Estes. I understand. But… did we really think we could save them? We barely handled the Leviathan, and Grock is now lop-"

"Wait, where's Grock?" Sun questioned, worried. "Hadn't seen the huge bummer since that beast fell down!"

"G-Grock is… fine."

The heroes look behind them and see Grock barely standing straight, covering his abdomen with his arm. Deep gashes were on his rocky skin, and the grey color began to darken. "Grock… c-can… stand…" As soon as he said it, he slumped and sat down on the ground, and he had difficulty breathing.

Fanny lands next to him and genuflects, putting her hand on his face. "Hey, big guy."

"Grock… happy to see… friends…"

The flyer sniffed, trying to hold back her emotions. "You did a great job back there. How did it feel punching the crap out of that bug?"

"Very happy… to see friends…"

"Yeah… we did it, buddy. You… Y-you can take a break now, okay? We'll take care of your tower."

Grock let out a weak smile, trying to lift his legs. "Happiest person… is me… For I… I will see my family… A… A…"

"Grock? Hey… Grock?"

The titan's mouth was no longer moving. Fanny noticed Grock's legs slowly collapsing and giving out. The phenomena slowly crept towards Grock's face, and the blue life in the rune on his face and the light within his eyes faded. The rocks that were once the titan collapsed, and bit by bit, the rocks slowly turned to dust, flowing through the wind.

Fanny sighed, her heart aching. She quickly unsheathed her swords and stabbed the ground with them, her knuckles pale.

"Fanny?" Bruno asks. "Are y-you…"

"Lancelot and Odette."

"W-What?"

"Lance and Odette," the flyer repeats. "Can we still save them?"

Bruno was afraid to say the word. It was a rhetorical question, but the answer to it wasn't entirely positive.

"T-There's still a chance that-"

"Yes. Or. No."

Bruno sighs, scratching his head. "No."

Fanny shook, and she stomped the ground with hate. She fell to her knees and punched the ground, and she didn't mind if her knuckles would bleed out. She had had it.

"GOD! FUCKING! DAMN IT!"

Meanwhile…

"GO! GO!"

Lancelot grabs Odette's hand and runs out into the hills as one of the medics gets ripped apart by a Ghoul. Odette tries to stop and cast more spells, but Lancelot pulls her hard and keeps running.

"What are you doing?!"

"We only have the captain left! I'm not letting anyone die again!" Odette answers back. "I can't!"

"I'm not letting you die first, so run with us, okay?!"

"Wait, where's the captain?"

The two stopped and finds the captain stopped in his tracks, his mouth spewing blood. "R-Run… please…"

His body drops, and Vexana pulls out her bloody hand from the corpse. "Such a waste, and so are you two!"

"RUN!"

"What are you doing? My lovelies, you will only die tired."

Lancelot grabs Odette's arm and dashes quickly, trying to escape the Necromancer, but a Ghoul catches the runaway knight and slams his head into the ground. Lancelot recuperates and stabs it, but two more appear from the ground.

"Lance? We… We're surrounded."

The two stand back-to-back as dozens of Ghouls began to emerge, moderately rushing towards them. Odette unleashes a holographic swan that ruptures the horde as Lancelot dashes with excellent speed, cutting through the waves. A Ghoul grabs his shoulder and throws him back to the center. Odette spins her scepter and drives the Ghouls away with her magic, and casts a safety bubble around her and Lancelot. A Ghoul tries to break the sphere, but Odette uses her sword to stab its neck.

(Yes, Odette actually uses her sword in combat. What, you think she doesn't? Checkmate, atheists.)

"We need to get off of them," Lancelot breathed out.

"With your bruised limbs?"

Vexana was overhead, laughing at them. "Ha! Look at you… You disgust me. You may have gotten away with all of this… But no good deed goes unpunished, yes?"

The Necromancer lifts her hands and makes more Ghouls. From the hills, a large horde of assorted Ravagers, Stalkers, Wretches and the like began to converge. "Have fun getting your flesh torn clean off your bones!" She disappears through her black aura, the demons left to tend to the duo.

"Lance… It won't be long."

"Odette-"

"We can only do one thing." Odette stabs the ground with her sword and raises her scepter.

"Odette? What are you doing?" Lancelot asks, the Hellhounds already scratching at the bubble.

And slowly… the princess began to sing.

*"I dreamed a beautiful dream

You were there as well as I…"

Cracks began to appear on the bubble as the Wretchs rammed their heads to the translucent sphere.

"It doesn't seem like a dream even it's over…"

An aura of light and serenity glowed around Odette, and she began to float, Lancelot embracing her.

"I miss you caress my hand as you watch me while I sleep

Your melody still remains in this room and it rings…"

Lancelot began to sing with her as well, their voices slowly resonating not only around the sphere, but also around the outside.

"Star-la lah- la la, la la la lah

Love you always deeply

Genuinely, immensely, steadily with all my heart…"

The sphere is about to shatter as the Wretches try to shred them with their claws…

"Be strong and all will be alright

You are the aria itself…"

And the barrier breaks.

"SHINE OUT!"

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[EXTRANEOUS DATA RECOVERED]

Consistency located.

Dimension 73: Song Title – Hymn of the Star-Crossed

Dimension 1: Song Title – Marigold (Artist: M2U)

[DATA RECOVERED]

RESUMING SESSION IN 5…

RESUMING SESSION IN 4…

RESUMING SESSION IN 3…

RESUMING SESSION IN 2…

RESUMING SESSION IN 1…

"I'll be strong and all will be fine…"

The harmony slowly dies out as Odette and Lancelot calmly descends, a weak smile on their faces. The two kiss lightly, apparently in ecstasy. Suddenly, an immense wave of pain overloads their minds as they fall to the ashen ground, their blood spilling in mass quantities.

"ODETTE! LANCELOT!"

Argus rushed as he went into the indistinguishable blast zone, the aftermath of Odette's desperate spell… her soft, calm voice still echoing around the dark atmosphere. He squinted his eyes through the dust and gray smoke, trying to find any trace of the duo, and he did.

"L-Lance? LANCE!"

And he couldn't believe it. His own eyes… he couldn't believe what was right in front of him. Argus was dumbfounded. For once, he didn't know what to do.

All of the demons that foolishly attempted to maul them was most likely non-existent, but the condition of the two... Their bodies were the definition of 'mangled'. Their bodies took severe cuts everywhere, their blood spilling too fast. Odette was already lifeless, and Lancelot was barely breathing. Their vocal cords were torn away.

Yes, their condition was worse than Moskov's when he… yep.

Argus landed and dropped his sword, feeling the power of the weapon draining away from him as he ran towards Lancelot.

"Lance... No... what have they done to you?!" He cradled his body.

The knight responded weakly, despite the clear lack of a throat. "Argus..."

"Lance, listen to me. We are going to get you out of here. Just stay alive. Estes can find a way to-"

"Argus, p-please... promise m-me... promise me…"

"Lance, just listen, we're going to pull you up, okay? We will-"

Lancelot grabbed Argus' black collar and yanked it towards him. "PLEASE L-LISTEN TO M-ME! PLEASE! P-promise me... please... don't try to save us... it's the end for us... take us- t-take…"

"Lance? Lance… what are you say-"

"T-take us... take her to the stars for me, A-Argus... it's..." Lancelot's bloodshot eyes cried. "It's all I could... give h-her... it's all I ever wanted... p-please..."

Argus' breathing ragged. His arms shook as he held Lancelot. He feared this outcome. This was what he hated the most. Argus couldn't bear to see someone die because he was late. He wanted to save them, it was the impulse. The angel believed Estes and Rafaela can still save Lance, if not Odette. He was already preparing how to comfort Lance in his mind, in case he does recover.

But this was the inevitable, he couldn't make it in time. If more demons arrived, the army wouldn't have recuperated from the Leviathan's fall. Argus did what he could to make them win the war…

The cost was the lovers' expiration. The least he can do is fulfill their dying wishes.

"I swear, Lance... for you. I promise."

Lancelot sighed with relief, blood trickling from his eyes. They were red and barely moving. His blond hair was shriveled up, covered in dust and blood. Lancelot's left leg gave out, the veins not able to hold his femur and lower leg together. He turned his face and looked up at the pitch black sky... The late, starless night. He sees a faint, colored silhouette, one he is familiar with. The figure outstretches her hand to him, smiling eagerly.

"Odette..." the knight groaned, trying to get up. "I... see her..."

Argus panics. "LANCE! LANCELOT, DON'T YOU DARE!"

"I see... her..." He struggled to lift his arm. If only he could reach it.

"NO! NO! LANCE, DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON THEM! DON'T DIE OUT ON TIGREAL, ON YOUR FRIENDS! JUST FOR THIS ONE SECOND..." Argus recalled his sword back to him and began to cut his palm, trying to ooze out his ichor. He struggled to do so but too little came out.

"LANCE! HANG ON!" But the angel's voice was merely an echo.

"I want to be one of them."

"She... is so... beautiful..." Lancelot almost touched Odette. All he needed was to push harder, for one last time.

"You, my Lance, you will be up there with me one day."

"NO! LANCE! LANCE, STAY AWAKE! STAY AWAKE! L-Lance… STAY AWAKE! S-S-STAY! AWAKE!"

"Can you promise me?"

He grabbed her hand, and he smiled, his eyes closing.

"I… always keep… my promises…"

And his eyes stopped crying... His arm slumped down. Argus felt the chill rush to his hands.

"Lance... no...No! NO!"

Argus cups his ichor with his free hand and puts it to Lancelot's mouth, but they were shut. He tries to make him drink it, but it didn't work, the gold fluid simply dripping down his lips. The body became lifeless.

"NO! It can't… LANCE! LANCE!" Argus called out, shaking the cadaver. "Y-You can't give up on us… L-Lance…"

The fallen angel looked up with frustration and rage, the wisps inside his helmet flaring with hot energy. He quickly stood up and stomped the ground, making a loud boom that echoed around the landscape. He lets out a guttural cry.

"WHY?! WHYYYYYYY?!I HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DIE?! HOW COULD ALL OF YOU?! HOW?! YOU FOOLISH BASTARDS! YOU DON'T KNOW! THEY'VE SUFFERED LONG ENOUGH! KILL ME INSTEAD! BRING THEM BACK!"

Argus began mouthing even more expletives, the green lightning forking the sky. He grew tired and stomped his feet even more, kicking the other demons' bodies in frustration. He threw the body of an enhanced Wretch as his knees buckled. Argus was on all fours, a constant ache in his heart slowly ringing inside him. He collapsed in a heap, harming himself by slamming his own head to a nearby rock. Instead, the rock shattered.

"T-They… They don't deserve… t-t-to d-die… Not ever… J-Just take me instead… please, I c-can't stand it anymore…"

"I hear you."

Argus perks up, frantically looking around. He sees Lunox standing a few feet away from him, leaning on his sword that was standing erect on the ground, which is surprising since he didn't leave his sword that way.

"Y-You… How-"

"No time, Argus. Don't bring yourself down," the Twilight Goddess said. "You can't do this to yourself."

"THAT'S SO EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" Argus began, pointing his finger at Lunox. "YOU JUST STAND THERE GIVING ME A SERMON WHEN YOU CAN AID THEM IN THIS WAR! WHERE WERE YOU?!" Argus picked up a Ravager's body and threw it at Lunox, instantly dropping to the ground. The corpse simply passed through Lunox as if she was merely an astral projection.

"Argus, please," Lunox said, her face filled with worry. "Stop-"

"STOP WHAT?! I TRIED… I TRIED EVERYTHING AND I STILL COULDN'T SAVE THEM! I TRIED, LUNOX! I tried… I f-failed, I…"

Argus feels Lunox' hands under his shoulders, lifting him up. She brushes off the dust from his arms and places her hands on his shoulders.

"Listen to me. I… I wanted to do so. All of this time… I wanted to stop all of this. Remember, if I wanted it, none of this… none of all this chaos wouldn't have happened. But I could do nothing, Argus. I kept my promise. I can only intervene once more, and it's for the boy. We wouldn't be here without you. You, Argus… you gave us a second chance. If you didn't save Alucard from the caverns, we would've lost."

Lunox hung her head low and hugged Argus. "It's okay… They were more than willing to die. They wanted this… You can't save everyone, but we can. We, and the boy. If there's one thing you can do, it's to keep him alive. It all ends with me."

"B-But how? Their army won't be able to keep up with the demons rushing there, and the Dark Lord… He…"

"You know how. We all do," Lunox replied. "That's why I'm here talking to you, and only you. You need to get there now."

Lunox pulls away and motions her left hand, making Argus' sword levitate. "The Blade of Despair… the path of agony has brought you this far, and it has converged with the path of redemption."

The weapon travels back to Argus, a mysterious, dandelion glow present before it reached the angel's hand. Lunox faintly smiles at Argus, brushing off her lock of raven hair.

"Lunox…"

"The lovers' wishes are granted, but your last ordeal awaits, Light of Dawn. You are, and always will be, the Land of Dawn's rising sun. *Volo pro veritas."

"Lunox, wait!" Argus reaches out to Lunox, stepping forward, but she disappears without a trace. Argus shakes his head, trying to recover from the encounter. He turns around to look back at Lancelot and Odette, but there was no more body in sight. Not one cadaver from the demons, not even one of the lovers' bodies. No blood, no mark, no aftermath.

Argus was surprised, and looked up to the sky. It was hard to determine, but two white dots were there, twinkling at him before fading away. The angel notices a minor tinge of orange coming into view.

"Two blond lovers in the place called Swan are destined to die before the Rising Sun." Argus recited. "Lance… Odette… I'm sorry."

He extends his wings and begins to fly towards the Land of Dawn, trusting the wind alongside him. The air around him felt familiar, yet he had been flying ever since. A new breeze lifted him up, a gentle touch that felt so unique to him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save the two of you."

A spark began to ignite within him… a spark of reflection. His eyes looked up to the horizon in front of him. He is too far. It will take him hours to get back to the Land of Dawn.

The spark became a flame… one of determination.

"If we meet again in the other life… then let me apologize to the both of you directly."

The 7th day has arrived, and the fulfillment of the prophecy is fast approaching.

"Alucard, I'm coming. Whatever you do… do not die on me."

ENDING SESSION IN 5…

ENDING SESSION IN 4…

ENDING SESSION IN 3…

ENDING SESSION IN 2…

ENDING SESSION IN 1…

ENDING SESSION.

[EXTRANEOUS DATA RECOVERED]

*Latin for the phrase, "We fly for truth."