My internet is kinda bad right now so, sorry for the more-than-late update.

On other news, here we have an action-packed chapter and something I'm sure most of you have been waiting: a Desian Grand Cardinal fight!


Chapter 43

Researching Hell

Emil could only wonder how big the Submarine Ranch actually was for him to take at least three different elevators and walk good distances just to reach the local where Rodyle said they were going to do a "little testing". All the while, nobody thought on blindfolding him or anything.

They must be pretty confident I won't be able to escape. And considering I am inside a giant submarine that belief would be plausible. Emil thought.

"Can't wait to see their faces when we actually do escape," Ratatosk snickered.

Yes, but we should wait until the others free themselves.

"Shouldn't we save them? What makes you think they can actually get out of that situation?"

I believe in them.

Emil could feel Ratatosk roll his eyes in what he probably considered a really corny and cliche line, but didn't mentally communicate with Emil any further than that.

They finally arrived at a large room with several control consoles strewed around, a large cylinder-like table and another table with tubes, beakers and many other scientific tools and apparatus. There was a staircase leading to an upper platform that had a large window covering the entire wall and from which Emil could see another room. All in all, the room looked like a mix between a control room and a small laboratory.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Rodyle said with his smug tone evident in his voice.

"What are you going to do to me?" Emil asked, his tone assuming a serious connotation. He really hoped Rodyle wasn't planning to dissect or torture him, because then he would have to act immediately.

"Oh, don't worry. I only need your help in a little test."

Emil raised his eyebrows at that, but the Desians shoved him through a door below the platform in the room. He was ushered through a hatch to the chamber he saw on the other side of the window.

The place had metal walls, ceiling and floor and was at least the size of the rooms with the Centurion altars, specifically Solum and Lumen. The only distinguishing features were the hatch that closed behind Emil, the window that covered most of the wall behind him and two openings with bars on them on the opposite wall to the window.

Emil turned and saw Rodyle looking at him from the window. The scientist smiled and pressed something under his cloak again. The blonde's collar suddenly opened and fell to the ground.

"What do you want, Rodyle?" Emil asked.

"You'll help me test my latest creations and for that I need your full powers," Rodyle said, his voice sounding through a radio system. "Oh and before you have any bright ideas, this glass is thick enough to withstand any high-level spell in existence and possess a barrier that I installed myself."

"Any existing spell, you say?" Ratatosk chuckled. "I'm not your guinea pig!" Emil said.

Rodyle didn't reply to that. Instead he simply pressed something inside his cloak once more. The bars behind Emil rose with a rumble as he turned. When they opened completely, several silver and black forms shot out of the entrances, circling around Emil in the air.

What are they?! Emil thought as he looked around, worried as he saw the numbers quickly increasing. He lost count after thirty.

The demons looked like overgrown crows, but their beaks were serrated, making it looked like they had fangs. The creatures were mostly silver, their wings shinning and looking like they were made out of metal knives, indicating getting close to those feathers would not be a good idea. The creatures had red, shinning eyes and emitted sounds that seemed a mix between a "caw" and a roar.

Then, some of the crow-like demons flew at Emil, who drew his sword and tried to bat it away, but the aerial demon rammed into him with such strength he almost lost grip on his sword. He also noticed his weapon getting nicks and some cracks when he tried to hit two crows attacking him in quick succession.

Their bodies don't look like metal. They are made of metal! Emil thought as he enveloped his sword with his spiritual energy, a multi-colored hue appearing around the blade.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Rodyle said as he paced around on the other side of the glass, merely observing Emil's struggle to repel the bird demons. "Tell me; what happens when you breed Garlenos by feeding them pieces of Dullahan satured with chaos energy?"

"This madman actually fed Black Talons with pieces of my servants?!" Ratatosk said in outrage. However, he had to recognize the brilliance in it.

Black Talons were demonic crows very famous on old stories that mothers told their children, so they would behave. These demons ate anything as long as it either had flesh in it or chaos energy. They initially aren't that strong, being regarded as some of weaker races in the beast species.

That is, if they weren't allowed to eat enough.

The more a Garlenos ate, the more their bodies became resistant to harm. Some could grow to the size of houses and others could even gain properties of what they ate, as Rodyle just demonstrated.

"It is actually quite the painstaking process," the Hell's Researcher said as he paced around the platform, checking some consoles on the data feed he was getting. "But, as you can see, the results more than make up for the cost. As soon as I prove their effectiveness, I will present Lord Nebilim my Bladed Wings and expose Kvar as the farce he is. Quite clever don't you think?" Rodyle then cackled in that disturbing laugh of his.

Emil jumped, dodged and attacked, but the demons were quite fast and though. He hated to admit it, but Rodyle had done a good work breeding these crows. If he ever unleashed it upon the Renegades or the Vanguard, massacres would issue.

"Not if I have something to say about it…" Emil muttered as he stood still, eying the Grand Cardinal...

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta and the others were shoved in one of the cells of a pillar-shaped structure inside the Submarine Ranch. With them were several other humans, all dressed in rags and sporting the poisonous collars.

The atmosphere was exactly what they would expect from a Desian prison: gloomy, depressing and with a sense of hopelessness lingering in the air. The prisoners didn't even seem to notice new people were added to their cell.

Zelos looked around and walked to the bars, talking to the guard:

"Excuse me, I was under the impression we were kinda special to your boss. Don't we get some kind of VIP treatment?"

"Oh, you want VIP treatment? How about I break your legs to begin with?" the guard said with a sneer.

"You know, just because of that I'm not leaving you a tip. Honestly, one would think you Desians don't know how to treat honor guests."

"What the hell are you talking about, inferior being?" the guard asked in a confused tone, seeing that Zelos wasn't intimidated by his threat and simply spoke like he was staying in a hotel in Altamira instead of a prison cell.

The others just observed as Zelos pissed the guard off. They wondered what he was trying to do, until the Desian cursed him and left, mumbling something about having a headache from discussing with "stupid humans". The ex-Representative looked around and turned to the group.

"Alright, coast clear. Man, that was easier than I thought."

"For one moment there, I thought you actually wanted him to hit you," one of the Renegades said.

"Wait, you did that just so the guard wouldn't keep his tabs on us?" Marta asked, surprised.

"Of course. If we're going to plan our escape, we can't do that with somebody that could get our beautiful selves poisoned watching our backs," Zelos said.

The group exchanged glances. Zelos saw they were surprised that he had come up with that plan and sighed. The red head then turned to his ghost sister, who had floated near him the entire time. She seemed very afraid ever since they entered the ranch, mumbling something about this being an "evil place". Zelos couldn't think of a more spot-on analysis than that.

"Seles, can you pass through the bars?"

"I can big brother," the girl said.

"Ok then, this is important: I need you to keep watch and make sure no other guards come here. If we are to get out of this alive, we can't have them finding out what we will do."

Seles' face assumed a serious and determined expression as she nodded. She also seemed a bit anxious. Zelos could tell his baby sister wanted to prove she could help him. As the soul floated and passed the bars, Zelos turned to see Presea and Colette was near the extremity of the cell, calling for Botta:

"Mister Botta, are you there?" Colette asked.

"I am, Lady Colette. Luckily, they only injured my pride," the scar-faced Renegade said from the other cell, chuckling at his own joke.

Colette sighed in relief and turned to the group. Raine was looking at Marta's collar, being careful not to touch it. She then straightened herself and put one hand under her chin in her typical thinking pose. Marta started to get nervous, but before she could ask something, Raine turned to Regal and asked his opinion.

"I'm not sure. Electronics were never my forte," the blue haired President said. "But from what we witnessed in the docks, I wouldn't be willing to test the speed which these collar reacts to outside stimuli."

"I thought so…" Raine sighed.

"Excuse me," Marta said, attracting the group's attention. "But when are we going to escape?! Emil could be in danger right now!"

"I would be more worried with that Rodyle creep," Glacius said as the Centurions materialized. That made some of the prisoners jump up in alarm, finally noticing how highly unusual their new cellmates were. "Our Lord can take care of himself."

"I would agree with our graceful Glacius here," Solumn said in his flattering tone, although Glacius seemed to completely ignore it. "From what I could surmise from that man, he wouldn't sacrifice such an 'interesting specimen' so soon. He's like a child with a new toy."

Raine, Regal and Zelos nodded in agreement. The silver haired Professor then reached for something inside her pants, making most of the group raise their eyebrows and Zelos smile a bit as he realized where her hand was.

"Professor Sage?" Presea asked, seeming mostly unaffected while Colette and Marta blushed a deep crimson and turned around, yelling the woman's name. The reincarnated Shadow didn't remember yet what a sense of modesty was and didn't seem that worried in remembering.

"Here!" Raine said, taking out a small vial in her hand and showing it to the group. It contained a green liquid that resembled poison.

"Did you really hide it where I think you hid it?" Aqua asked.

"I had to keep it somewhere nobody would think searching in the case we found ourselves in a situation like this."

"Really? But isn't it hard to walk around with it in your…" Zelos started...

"Big brother, a guard is coming!" only to be interrupted by Seles.

Faster than anyone could see, Raine slip the vial back on its hiding spot as a guard came and checked on the cell. He stood there staring at them.

"Hum… what are you all up and about?" he asked, finding strange that most of the previously apathetic prisoners now seemed quite alert. The group stayed quiet. If they spoke the wrong thing, it could be disastrous.

Seles seemed to panic as she saw how grave the situation was and, in desperation, exclaimed to the guard:

"Leave them alone!"

"You know what? I don't care," the guard then turned.

The timing was too convenient to be just a coincidence. Seles noticed that and an idea formed in her mind. She approached the guard and spoke close to his ear:

"Um… mister guard… how about you… just leave? It must be pretty boring to have to watch over big brother and the others."

The guard yawned right after Seles finished speaking, surprising the young spirit as he simply left his post, not even seeming to care. The ones that could see her were surprised. Zelos soon recovered and praised the young girl's spirit:

"Way to go, Seles! That's my little sister."

The red headed girl was positively brimming with pride at being complimented by her big brother and floated back to him, hugging and thanking him. Zelos could actually feel warm coming from the spirit of his deceased sister.

"Interesting…" Raine mumbled aloud.

"What is?" Presea asked, looking at Raine.

"What Seles just did is classified as an 'skill' of spirits known as 'Suggestion'. But I didn't think it would work on a Desian."

"What is this Suggestion?" Marta asked.

"Basically speaking, it allows a spirit to plant a small suggestion right into the minds of people. However, you can resist it and choose not to do what they tell you, hence the name. When you know what is actually happening, you can even rebuff it completely. For a Desian, who was previously a half-elf and sensitive to spiritual phenomena, to let himself be convinced like that means they lost much of their spiritual resistance."

"So, you mean I could convince them to do anything I want?" Seles asked, as she floated near the group.

"I wouldn't risk it. Maybe it is because of the demon species whose blood that Desian received, or because of the assimilation process. There could be a number of reasons as why this happened."

"Maybe we should simply consider ourselves lucky that it worked," Tenebrae commented, to which the group nodded.

Seeing that discussing that further would lead them nowhere, Raine reached inside her pants for the vial again, making Colette and Marta blush beet red and Zelos grin once more. The brunette protested once more:

"Can you stop doing that? There are other people watching, you know?" she said, pointing to the prisoners, who seemed to try and do their best to blend in with the scenario.

"And how exactly do you suggest I get this antidote vial?" the silver haired woman asked, even as Marta could only pout.

"Antidote?" Aqua asked.

"When we were in the Renegade Base, I asked Martel for one. Although there are several demons races, their poison is mostly the same, I theorize it's due to the process of materialization in our…"

"Excuse me, but can you just explain what you will do and we can proceed to plan our escape?" Tenebrae spoke up. "While our Lord is capable of taking care of himself, we can't guarantee what will happen if we take too long."

Raine sighed and decided to just cut to the chase:

"Does anybody here know where the armory is?" Raine asked.

"I do," one of the prisoners said. "They once had me go over there to polish their weapons. I still remember the path."

"I see," Botta said from his cell. "You will simulate a prison break to take control of the Ranch."

"That would be our only option," Regal spoke. "Considering we're underwater, there is no means for us to escape other than take control of the vessel."

"But won't that be dangerous for them. I mean, how many of these people are actually warriors?" Zelos asked, meaning the prisoners.

At that one of the men stepped up and spoke to Zelos in a rugged and harsh voice:

"No, but many of us are sailors, sonny. We might not have all your military trainin' an' stuff, but give us a sword and we'll cut these fuckers head off."

"Mister Botta, what do you think?" Colette asked.

There was silence from the other cell, as the Renegade Leader seemed to think. The scarred half-elf then spoke:

"It's not like we have much of a choice. Besides, because they are not soldiers the Desians won't expect them to achieve much of anything. And that is where we might have an advantage against them."

"Then it's decided," Raine said, opening the vial and drinking the antidote. She wiped her mouth and guarded the vial in one of her pockets. "Now, our best bet would be to go to the control room. Anybody knows where it is?" she regarded the prisoners.

"No. Anybody that went there never returned. We heard that Rodyle uses them in his experiments and feed them to his monsters when he's done," one elderly man said.

"Well, that's encouraging…" Zelos commented.

"Oh, please," Glacius spoke. "It's simple. Simply go up to the highest room in the highest level."

Everybody looked at her when she said that. The lupine Centurion spoke in such a sure tone that some of them wondered how she could know that. Tenebrae voiced that doubt and Glacius looked at him, her tone one of "it's so ridiculously obvious":

"Ever heard of 'pattern', Tenebrae?"

"Touché," The Centurion of darkness agreed.

The group tilted their heads in confusion, but decided to dismiss that. Raine then asked Presea to break her collar. The pink haired woodcutter looked at it in uncertainty, knowing Raine would be injected with poison. The half-elven teacher then tranquilized her:

"Don't worry. This particular antidote is made so I will not die from poisoning. I might feel some little side effects, but nothing far too grave."

Seeing Raine was sure of herself, Presea sighed and nodded, grabbing the collar. Before she broke it apart, she could hear a "beep" followed by Raine wincing and grunting. When the collar was broke in half, the silver haired woman brought her hand to her neck.

"Are you alright Raine?" Marta asked, worried.

"I'm… fine. Can't say having poison injected right into your blood is a pleasant experience," she seemed a little out of breath and the group could even see some sweat through her silver bangs. Noticing their eyes, Raine gave a tranquilizing smile. "I'm fine… just a little… dizzy and light-headed. Give me some time."

Seeing she at least wasn't foaming and convulsing on them like the other prisoners injected with the venom, the other captives started to get hopeful glints in their eyes. Maybe, with these people, they would have a chance of escaping this infernal place.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Can't we just kill them already?! Ratatosk mentally asked for what seemed like the hundredth time as he grabbed the tail of a Bladed Wing and threw it into another two. The sharp feathers proved to be quite efficient in piercing the creatures' own armors and resulted in them going to the floor, their bodies full of slices.

"Not yet!" Emil said as he took control and jumped over one Bladed Wing that tried to hammer into him while swinging his sword and bisecting another one that came right after.

They had been fighting the never-ending onslaught of demonic birds for quite sometime and were starting to get tired. Even now that more of their power was unlocked, they still weren't near the level they once were on the War for the Young Aselia.

Probably never will be as long as the world is in this state. Emil thought as he avoided metal feathers thrown by one of the mutated Black Talons.

Meanwhile, Rodyle was grinning as he read all of the data collected on Ratatosk's performance. His aura was unlike anything he had ever seen and those elemental Artes had such a unique power signature to them.

"Yes, that's right! Keep giving me your secrets. I want to see more of this splendid power!" the mad scientist hollered as he laughed like a madman enjoying the sight of his experiment.

Emil and Ratatosk changed again and this time grabbed the tails of two Bladed Wings that decided to attack them at the same time smashing them against each other as the birds "caw"ed in pain and shards of metal flew with the force of their collision.

What the hell are we waiting for, anyway?! Ratatosk berated his other half. He never dealt well with fatigue.

"A signal." Emil simply answered.

What signal?

As if right on cue, an alarm sounded inside of Rodyle's room, who forgot to deactivate the microphone as he looked around in confusion.

"What the hell is happening?" the scientist asked.

"This one?" Emil replied. Ratatosk could hear the mental smile on the soft blonde's voice.

"Smartass…" the Summon Spirit muttered.

He then stopped and concentrated on gathering his power around his body, which glowed with a multicolored hue. Rodyle, who had been in the process to communicate with the lower levels, looked up at hearing another alarm sound, this one indicating a sudden, magical activity inside of the Test Chamber, making the monitor that showed the readings flash red.

The Hell's Researcher ignored the previous alarm in favor of this one to look at the readings of Ratatosk… and widen his eyes.

"What the hell?! His aura's power level more than doubled just now?!" he looked into the chamber and saw his "pets" going for the crimson-eyed entity again, but he just stood his ground, not moving, except for opening his crimson eyes and proclaiming:

"Aether's Pulse!" suddenly the hue around his body released three strong pulses in sequence with enough force to knock all of the Bladed Wings into the walls and force the shields on the window that separated the chamber from Rodyle's control room to activate. The effect of the pulses had been so strong that part of the bodies of the Bladed Wings was smashed, effectively crippling all of them.

Emil than took his alter-ego's place and looked at Rodyle, who backed away one step instinctively, until he realized what he was doing.

"Wait, why am I worried? This inferior being can't possibly reach me here, no matter how powerful he is," the Grand Cardinal whispered to himself, smirking with confidence.

However, his smirk would soon turn into an expression of horror as Emil assumed a pose that came just as natural to him as it did to his other half. The multicolored aura around his body started to transfer to his sword as it seemed to ignite in multicolored flames. As more power was gathered, the air inside of the chamber seemed to converge in a wind around the Lord of Monster's blade and Rodyle's alarms went off again.

The blue haired Desian looked at the monitor again and his eyes widened as he gasped.

"Th-Th-THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" the readings on his equipment were absurdly high. There was no way any being could be that powerful.

Emil's sword was now enveloped in a thick, multicolored aura and the blonde could hear it cracking. He would only have one shot at this.

"Ain… Soph… AÜR!" he swung the sword as hard as he could. Rodyle's vision became covered by a multicolored storm of power that impacted with the glass, pushing all the protections he installed beyond its limits.

Then the glass shattered in thousands of fragments as a giant explosion threw the Desian Grand Cardinal across his room and into one of the control panels. As he looked up he saw Emil walking up on the upper platform, his broken sword pointing to him as the blonde said:

"Write this down on your research notes!"

"Seriously? That was the best you could come up with?" Ratatosk said, Emil could feel a mental sweatdrop falling off his head.

Hey, give me a break. It's hard to come up with one-liners. Emil protested, although his cheeks became a little pink.

"For crying out loud…"

Rodyle slowly stood up, looking at Emi with a wary look… until his smug smile returned as he pressed a button on the console.

Two hatches opened on the sides of the platform Emil was standing on, revealing two large, metal spikes with rings around their points. Before the blonde could do anything, electricity shot out of the devices and electrocuted him. Emil screamed, feeling like his whole body was burning up as he felt his forces leaving him.

Rodyle dusted his cloak and walked up to the Summon Spirit who went on his knees and hands, his smug and superior tone back:

"I never thought I would actually need to use it, but it seems you far surpass my expectations, Ratatosk. These are devices that propagate energy from a demonic jewel. What makes this lightning different from the one in our world is that it has the particular property of immobilizing any being by using a discharge that reverses the power of their aura, leading to an effect know as 'soul burn'."

Emil couldn't speak amongst the white-hot pain, gritting his teeth together so strongly he thought they would crack. Ratatosk took control, but couldn't speak too, the pain too great for him to articulate anything. Emil took control again, but the situation remained the same as they suddenly started emerging back and forth too fast for anyone to pick on. That lightning was harming both personalities.

"Normally, I would simply shrug your attempts at escaping as another pathetic attempt of you inferior beings on being rebellious. However, the fact is, you are quite dangerous. So, unfortunately…" Rodyle then stopped near the Lord of Monsters, just far enough so the lightning wouldn't spread to him. A sword materialized out of the ground, hilt-first as Rodyle took it. "I'll have to dispose of you. But don't worry; I'll make sure to use your brethren.

"After all, science can't be stopped by such little… setbacks. Huahahahahahahaha!"

Rodyle then raised his blade, ready to decapitate Emil, only for it to be cut off the next second by a wind spinner. The pain came one second later.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Rodyle yelled, grabbing his bleeding stump as two more wind spinners impacted with the spikes, piercing them and stopping the electric flow, making both apparatus explode.

Before Rodyle could even register what was happening, he was hit in the face by a double kick in high speed from Marta strong enough to be sent flying in the opposite direction, making he smash through one of the several control panels.

Marta landed gracefully next to Emil as she shot a fierce glare on the Desian scientist.

"Nobody hurts my Emil like that!" she proclaimed.

Emil would have blushed at the possessive tone of the brunette were he not feeling so exhausted after having most of his power burned up.

Raine, Regal and Zelos soon arrived. The silver haired woman entered in Spirit form and casted a Rejuvenate spell on Emil that gave him back part of his strength and healed his wounds. The blonde managed to get up and thanked his friends.

"It was nothing. Now stay back," Raine said, noticing the young man's lack of weapon. Emil nodded and did so without protest.

Rodyle slowly got up, his face scrunched up in pain at losing his right hand, until he saw the Summon Spirits reunited there and it morphed into anger.

"How the hell are you all here?! Where are the guards?!" Rodyle roared.

"Probably occupied with the rest of your 'test subjects'," Zelos said with a grin. "I must say, for a bunch of 'inferior beings' they fight pretty bravely."

Rodyle gritted his teeth in rage. He didn't care much for his test subjects, but more for the fact the group in front of him just made he lose his hand. The Desian Grand Cardinal never felt this angry even when Kvar had made a fool out of him.

"You… you… IMBECILES!"

"It's over Rodyle," Raine said. "So why don't you simply give up? You can't win against all of us."

As if to drive her point further, Regal and Zelos entered in Spirit form. Rodyle, didn't seem to listen to her as he berated:

"You think you can actually win against me?! I am a Grand Cardinal! I'll show you my POWER!"

Rodyle's body then started to glow an unhealthy brown color, his entire body being hidden by it as his silhouette seemed to grow and widen, his arms growing in length and his torso expanding. In a flash of poison green that made the group close their eyes briefly, Rodyle had transformed in what could only be described as a grotesque demon.

It had green, phosphorescent skin, no lips, two rows of yellow teeth and a patch of thin skin on the sides that made it look like it was permanently grinning. Orange, pupil less eyes, a bald head with no chin, clawed hands and a teal armor covering its torso and groin, with gauntlets of the same color. Attached to its left arm was a large blade the same length as the half-demon's arm. Its right hand was a stump that ended in a flat mass of retracted skin in the center, making it look twice the size of Rodyle's hand.

The group was more surprised at the thing's appearance than at the weapons it might be concealing in its body. Zelos was the one to voice their thoughts:

"And here I was, thinking you probably had a bad life with an appearance like yours, but damn! Did you ever looked for the word 'grotesque' in the dictionary?! Because I'm pretty sure your photo must be there."

"Keep laughing and making small talk, inferior beings," Rodyle's twisted voice came from the creature, which didn't move its teeth to speak. "Because these are your last moments on this world!"

Rodyle raised and brought his arm blade down, the group jumping to the sides as the blade impacted heavily with the floor, causing a minor tremor. Marta launched her wind disks on the Desian Cardinal, but they all seemed to bounce harmlessly on Rodyle's body.

Raine charged a water spell to attack the transformed Cardinal, but he noticed it and casted one of his own:

"Gravity Well!" Rodyle didn't even need time to charge, trapping the silver haired woman in a dome of distorted gravity, which pressed against her body, making she feel like a giant beast was stomping on her repeatedly.

Zelos shot ice on Rodyle, but again the attacks bounced off his body as he turned and swung the long blade at Zelos, who had to duck and then jump aside as Rodyle brought it down once more.

"Give up, inferior beings! Ground Dasher!" a fissure opened beneath Zelos' feet, but he was already in the air by the time the rocks were launched in the air.

Rodyle pointed his stumped arm at Zelos and suddenly the point of weapon came out from the flat flesh on the end of his severed limb, releasing an energy shot at the ex-Representative, who was caught off guard and was shot down from the air.

"Roulette Dance!" Marta used the time Rodyle was distracted with Zelos to approach him and slash at the half-demon with her wind spinners spinning at high velocity, resulting in several slices each time she swung them up, down, diagonally and finishing by thrusting them at Rodyle's belly and spreading her arms out.

Unfortunately, the attack didn't do much damage and left Marta open for Rodyle to hit her with his stump arm with enough force to throw her up, followed by a blade slice that brought her down, making her body impact with the floor, the attached weapon pressing on her like a hammer.

Rodyle was about to bring it down again, but a high kick to the face made him stagger back. Regal followed the attack with a series of palm thrusts, punches and kicks, each one electrified. However, the Desian's elemental affinity blocked the stunning effects of the Thunder's Apprentice's attacks, allowing him to grab Regal's leg when he tried to apply another roundhouse quick and hurl the martial artist over head, only for Regal to land on his feet… before being blasted away by another shot from Rodyle's hidden gun.

Zelos dashed in, slashing at the transformed half-demons' side, creating an ice formations that limited his movement. The Knight of Frigid Glory then jumped, turning and hurling his sword at the Desian's back.

"Frigid Pierce!" the sword formed a spiked iceberg upon contact with Rodyle, but was unable to pierce through his armor.

The Hell's Researcher was hit by a Spread spell from Raine, which didn't raise him from the ground, but gave Zelos the chance to manipulate the ice on Rodyle and freeze the entire geyser. However, the Desian Grand Cardinal easily broke it and turned to the red head, whipping his stumped arm as a tentacle came from the end of the stump. Zelos was grabbed by it as Marta used a Slicing Typhoon, which again was blocked by Rodyle's armor, even though it left several scratches on it this time.

The Desian researcher turned and hurled Zelos at Marta, making the two tumble to the ground. The Knight of Frigid Glory got up first as he looked at himself, part of his clothes covered by some kind of slime the tentacle had produced when it hold him.

"Ok, seriously, this is beyond disgusting! Why the hell does this guy had to have a frigging', slimy tentacle?!" the ex-Representative practically screamed, his tone one of pure disgust.

"Eww! I thought this guy was a slimy jerk, but I didn't think it was literal," Marta said, also in an utterly disgusted fashion.

"Interesting…" Rodyle's wrapped voice said. "Normally, my acid gel would have burned your skin off by now. Seems your defenses are higher than expected. I will make sure to dissect and study your remains thoroughly."

"We need to break his defense somehow," Raine called. "Zelos immobilize him again."

"Uh-huh. No way I'm getting close to this tentacled freak again!"

"Forget about that and just do it!" Raine berated at the reincarnated Celsius.

Zelos sighed and summoned another sword, the sole of his shoes turned into ice again which he used to practically slide to the Cardinal. Rodyle tried to cut Zelos' head off, but the Knight of Frigid Glory skillfully avoided the blade, ducking and quickly "skating" out of the way while attacking and leaving trails of ice formation on Rodyle's body again.

Before Zelos could attack again, the Cardinal showed he wouldn't fall to the same trick twice as his breastplate opened, showing some of kind of glowing core inside, which quickly gathered energy and released it right as Zelos was in front of the Desian:

"Insane Force!" an explosion of light and energy was released, sending the swordsman flying back, breaking all of the ice on Rodyle' body at the same time.

Marta took the chance and used a Cyclone spell, but again the winds only scratched at the half-demon armor. Raine charged and unleashed a Brilliant Shackles spell, but Rodyle pressed a button on his collar and suddenly the spell disappeared, only to reappear right on Marta, attacking her instead.

"Give it up already! All your attacks are useless against my demon form. I altered and fit it myself. Anything that you throw at me, I can counter. Your efforts are futile in the face of my inventions!" the Desian Grand Cardinal bragged.

His only answer was a Sacred Drops spell exploding around him, which soaked the half-demon and left him open to one of Regal's Arte's:

"Heaven's Wrath!" Regal charged at Rodyle after punching the ground and lightning bolts falling on the Desian's head, now stunning him, as the Thunder's Apprentice quickly reached him and punched the monstrosity in the belly, followed by a spinning, high kick and a palm thrust that pushed him back as he was again struck by lightning.

"You pest!" Rodyle brought his stump up and revealed his weapon, shooting at Regal, only for the President to stay calm as he saw the blast coming.

Regal grabbed the energy shot with his hand as if he were grabbing a ball thrown at him. He then threw the blast above Rodyle and shot a lightning charge on it.

"Punishing Rain!" the blast exploded in several electrical spheres, which rained on Rodyle and seemed to adhere to his body, shocking the Hell's Researcher repeatedly. The energy cursed on his body and concentrated on his weapon and the buttons around his collar, making the circuit shortcut and explode.

"My… my weapon! My Reversor!" Rodyle said as he looked at another one of his masterpieces being destroyed right before his eyes, he didn't even seem bothered by one of them exploding on his neck, although that could be because his skin was resistant enough to withstand even that. "YOU WRETCHED FOOLS! I'LL FLAY YOU ALL ALIVE, DISMEMBER YOU AND FEAST YOUR ENTRAILS TO MY EXPERIMENTS!"

As if to make his point, the group felt a great rush of demonic power on Rodyle's body. The compartment on the breastplate opened once more, the core shinning brightly, but this time it seemed to suck even the air around as it gathered more energy. The transformed Desian then raised his stumped arm and pointed it upwards, shooting a jet of some slimy liquid right over the party's head.

"Obliterate Solution!" Rodyle then shot all of the stored energy on the liquid, which seemed to absorb it and change, becoming less smile-like and dense. A peculiar smell also raised from it and Raine immediately identified it.

"Protective Tears!" she immediately casted, a light rain quickly falling over the group, the droplets adhering to their clothes and skins just as the strange liquid Rodyle shot also rained on the party.

They all screamed in agony as they felt like they were being burned alive. Even the platform under them dissolved and corroded till they all fell one level, the ground around them forming holes were the demonic acid touched. Their defenses quickly overcome, the reincarnated Summon Spirits reverted back to their human forms while the acid was still taking effect.

Though the pain on being burned by the solution was great, they wouldn't pass out from it. The acid left the party with second degree burns and part of their clothes seemed to dissolve and burn, however it was thanks to Raine quickly casting an ailment-protection spell that they still lived. Without that, their defenses would have been overcome quicker and there would be nothing left of them, except for bloody puddles and melted body remains.

"Hmmm... so you all survived," Rodyle said from what was left of the upper platform, his twisted voice sounding more pleased now that he made them taste enough pain for their vision to become a searing white. "Seems your defenses are bigger than I calculated. No matter. Another dose and you're finished," the Hell's Researcher gathered energy again, his breastplate opening for him to execute his Mystic Arte once more.

"NOOOO!" Emil/Ratatosk yelled as they jumped on the platform and quickly charged at Rodyle, knowing if he used that Mystic Arte again his friends would be dead. He brought his arm back without even thinking while gathering all of his spiritual energy on it.

Rodyle turned his head momentarily to him just in time to see a blue and blonde blur impact on his chest. The spiritually charged punch carried enough power to actually shatter the gem on Rodyle's chest.

"NO! My energy regulator!" the energy gathered then went haywire and suddenly the wind reversed, as sparks came out from Rodyle's chest, his energy being drained. "DAMN YOU!" he swung his blade at Emil/Ratatosk, who were too distracted by what they had done to dodge in time.

Marta's pain slowly subsided as Raine's still acting spell purged what was left of the acid over her body. As her pain eased, she looked up... right in time to see Emil being thrown backwards as Rodyle's great, arm blade sliced his torso. Her mind went blank at the sight of so much blood flying out of her beloved's body.

Rodyle pressed another button on his armor's compartment and the chest plate closed, the energy being contained and his powers stabilized. He turned to Emil's still body, ready to jump and skewer him alive, however, he was stopped by Marta suddenly teleporting and appearing in front of him, tears in her eyes and face a mask of anger. However, what made him stuck on his place enough for Marta to thrust her hands on him was the way her aura was pulsating with accumulated power.

"Destructive Light Winds!" all of that power was released on the form of chi energy and wind blades coming out of her hands, forming a giant sphere around Rodyle, slashing and burning his own aura. His defenses finally gave away and his armor started to get scratched and blood drawn from his skin. The sphere then compressed, the pressure in the air almost suffocating to the Desian Cardinal, until it exploded, making he fall back.

While all of that was happening, Regal got up. Although still in pain, his trained body allowed him to recover faster. The blue haired President then felt a huge release of power, the tell tale sign of somebody using a Mystic Arte, followed by the sound of a body falling on the floor and Marta jumping from the platform and running to Emil's prone and bloodied form.

In that few seconds, Regal could already make a guess as to what happened and turned to the nearest console. He quickly limped there and used his left arm, the one with less burns, and punched through the controls. Energy started to flow from the equipment to him as he felt his Spirit Form being restored. It was a good thing that demonic acid only burned their defenses. If it affected their aura and powers, it would take a lot more time and power for him to charge back up.

Rodyle slowly got up and saw the girl that dared attack him tending to Ratatosk. He jumped from the platform, landing on the lower level and walking towards her as she healed him, idly noting that the blonde Summon Spirit hadn't been bisected by his attack.

Must have used that aura of his as a shield. the Hell's Researcher analyzed. No matter. I'll...

"Stop right there, monster!" Regal's voice attracted the Desian's attention. Rodyle then looked to the Thunder's Apprentice spirit form in time to feel his power gathering.

"What?! How can you have restored that form so quickly?!"

Regal didn't answer, only focusing on his breath and in calming his mind, just like he had been taught by his martial arts instructor long ago. He then opened his eyes and stomped his foot on the ground. An electrical current quickly ran through the metal floor and gathered under Rodyle's feet. Several lighting fell down on the Desian. Then the Thunder's Apprentice was upon the Hell's Researcher in the blink of an eye, rearing his arm back, his metal bracelets seeming to hum as electricity covered his fist.

All of that happened in the span of three seconds.

When Regal punched the Desian scientist, the strength of the punch sent an impact wave through the air. Rodyle could swear he heard his belly armor cracking while he bent, all air leaving his demonic lungs. However, contrary to all expectations, he wasn't sent flying backwards like a rocket. Actually he felt like his feet had been bolted to the floor.

Regal had just magnetically stuck the Hell's Researcher's feet to the ground, turning him into a living punching bag.

Another high-powered punch with the strength of a Krisher's tsunami attack hit Rodyle in the face, causing another impact wave to propagate in the air. Then came a kick to his right leg, making it buckle and the armored boot crack. Then came a fist to the gut, a kick to the left shin, two punches and several kicks to the stomach. All of the blows completely destroyed the Desian's armor and cracked a few of his bones.

Then came a hook to the face and the magnetic clap to the floor was released. Rodyle was sent flying in the air as Regal positioned himself, opening his hands and gathering even more electricity than before on them, together with some of his chi energy. He spread his arms out as he breathed, eyes closed, until he opened them again and glared at Rodyle:

"Final Energy Surge!" Regal then gathered his hands, palms pointed to Rodyle, letting loose a huge column of energy that completely engulfed the Desian. A giant explosion that practically covered the ceiling of the control room followed.

Regal went on his knees again, his Spirit Form fading away as he put his hands on the ground. Raine and Zelos got up in time to see the Thunder's Apprentice deliver the final blow to the Desian scientist. For once, Zelos was too awed to speak anything as he could only approach his friend.

They heard a heavy "thump" and the sound of electric equipment being smashed. Looking ahead, they saw Rodyle's transformed body laying on one of his many control consoles.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding! What do you need to do for this guy to die already?!" Zelos finally spoke.

They gasped when Rodyle raised a hand, almost jumping back. However, when they saw he slowly crawling from his place, bleeding from several cuts, part of his green skin charred and his arm blade broken, they realized the Desian was on his last legs.

"I... I... I won't..." Rodyle said in that twisted, demonic voice as he crawled out of the console, leaving a bloodied trail. "I won't... be beaten... ! ... I'm... a superior... beeeing..."

From her place, Marta healed Emil enough to help him pass an arm around her shoulders and look at the beaten and defeated form of Rodyle. She wanted to get there and spit on his face. She never thought she would find somebody she hated more than Alice, but Rodyle showed he was a good contender to the position.

Raine was the one that walked and stood in Rodyle's path as he tried to reach ahead of him with his hand. He noticed the silver haired woman and looked at her with those orange, unblinking eyes. Before the Desian Grand Cardinal could say anything, Raine already spoke:

"Tell me, why is it that you became a Desian?"

That raised the party's curiosity, making them look at the Professor. If Rodyle had eyebrows, in that moment, he would have arched one at the question. Even so, he simply looked at Raine and sneered in contempt:

"For the sake of developing science, what else?"

"Is that your reason?" Marta asked.

"Oh, I'm sure your Professor here understands. Isn't it right, Raine Sage?" Raine just glared at the Desian as he spoke her name. "Oh, I know about you. I read Lord Nebilim's profile on you. Former student of Lord-General Neran Illirium, a child."

Raine narrowed her eyes and glared at the transformed half-demon, who only went on with his verbal jab:

"You talk like you understand something about the real nature of science and knowledge when you're nothing more than an immature girl. Science evolves past your silly concepts of morality. It must reach territories that it never reached before or else it becomes stale, useless and limited."

"So that justifies you joining up with demons?"

"My inventions, my knowledge must live on! If it means joining with Niflheim, so be it! Just because you don't like the demons that doesn't mean they don't have knowledge that will be useful in future researches. You must use everything at your disposal if science is to reach its full potential. It is power, legacy! It is..." what else Rodyle was going to classify science as they would never know, for in that moment, Raine interrupted him.

"Recun Liand!*" liquid, green-poison lances rose from the ground, impaling Rodyle's, chest, legs, stretched arm and throat. The Desian could only gurgle in pain, no longer able to speak. "People like you, who think of themselves as some short of enlightened being whose discoveries should be made known just so you can bask in glory... you can't be called a scholar, much less a researcher. People like you makes me sick," Raine's tone was judgmental, carrying finality with it.

Rodyle could only release a bloodied gurgle as he felt his insides staring to melt. Those liquid lances were made of the same acid he had thrown at them. But how could Raine have successfully copied it in such little time when he himself had taken months to develop that Mystic Arte?

No... she can't... can't be better than me! that was Rodyle's final thought as the ground bellow him started to bubble and a geyser of green-poison water rose, engulfing his entire body. If he could, he would have roared in agonizing pain as his flesh melted.

When the geyser finally lowered all that was left of Rodyle was a puddle of bubbling, green matter...


Entry n. 3698:

As I've theorized, the demonic blood may limit some of the natural abilities of Aselians. However, additional research has proven that there are ways of solving this problem. As of now, I've successfully synthesized a Mystic Arte using a combination of bioengineering on my own demonic form and the usage of previously document power regulators.

While these means may decrease the power for which Mystic Artes are known, their tactical usefulness remains.

*See entries 3654 and 3677 for more information...

Entry n. 3867:

The results on the tests of those with high assimilation rates are a success. Unlike previous subjects, their powers went beyond the standards set for half-elves. They can easily rival demons of Great to General rank.

Unfortunately, these same results aren't reproducible on the vast majority of the other Desians. Lord Nebilim pointed out that maybe it is because such subjects are special souls. This requires further study.

A new test subject arrived and, according to preliminary tests, his blood and soul are quite unique even amongst special souls, or so the demons say.

I can't wait to see what kind of result the injection ritual will lead to...

- From Rodyle "Hell's Researcher" archieves -

Hey! Thought you would never see these entries again? Well think again!

Anyway, before you all point it out, let me clear it up to you: as you might have noticed, Desian Grand Cardinals are in a league similar to demon generals like Merahwdir, so they can take one or two Mystic Artes to their face and survive it. Also, Rodyle's armor helped him here, so...

*Recun Liand - Cruel Lancer