Unmei Force: Vengeance

by Xovercreator

The Unmei Force find themselves within the world of Berserk, a world where darkness prevails and the darkest natures of humanity are left unhidden and unbounded. And yet within the endless darkness and suffering that plagues the lands, lies the final key, to the answers of their own quest. But they must be aware: Not every world is unaware of outsiders like them...

15. Chapter 14

Unmei Force: Vengeance

Chapter 14: The Fall of Bloody Scripture Mozgus

---

Near the Tower of Conviction...

Guts and his group gathered nearby, as Richard was with them, having dressed himself back into his Dark Inquisitor attire.

"Right... So we're ready to go now." Richard told everyone, looking at the tower. "It's not going to be an easy task to get to Mozgus. But if we can do it... We're saving ourselves a lot of trouble."

"So, what's the plan?" Gus asked Richard.

"I'll take the direct route. You guys find another way in, while I tear through the front door of the forces." Richard responded back, before he then swiped some blood off his back, where the Brand was. "And do be careful, the Brands are reacting up. Demons are present in the tower, so don't let your guard down for a single moment."

"Leave it up to him to be the one doing the carnage..." Guts scoffed. "Fine, but you better not get yourself killed."

"Please, I'm far more skilled and stronger than the likes of what the tower could throw at me." Richard smirked back. "Now, move on, we're going to take down an inquisitor."

Gus nodded, as he led Guts and the others through the stony path on their side, where they could possibly find a back-door to the tower itself. Richard continued on forward, before he was right before the large gates of the tower, as he raised his head.

"Open these doors immediately! By the order of the Iscariot Order, I, Dark Inquisitor Richter, has inquiries for your inquisitor Mozgus!" Richard bellowed with authority. "If you interfere with the course of my duty, you will all be branded as heretics for obstruction of duty, and will be summarily slain by my own judgement!"

The gates slowly opened, before Richard came face to face with a large group of disciples, who had their weapons raised at Richard, as he looked fairly unamused at the reception.

"...What is the meaning of this treachery? Had I not stated my intentions clearly?" Richard coldly stated. "You have seen the fate of those who have opposed my will. If you do not wish to join the fate of those impure filth... I suggest you disperse immediately. I have no time to deal with mere trivialities like this."

"Seize him! It is under Inquisitor Mozgus's orders! He must be captured and taken to be tortured!" One of the leading disciples cried. "If we can take down this false inquisitor, then we will be able to earn God's favour by refining his order of inquisitors?"

"...So it is treason then." Richard responded back softly, before he then drew his machetes. "Very well then, so be it. If you wish to follow that traitor to the holy faith, then you shall share the same verdict. Scream for God to show you mercy, for I...? I shall have NONE."

Richard then charged forth, rushing towards the disciples, as he started his slaughter of them.

Meanwhile, Guts and the rest of the group managed to reach the back-door of the tower, although the great wooden gates were sealed shut from the other side.

"Tch... It's blocked." Guts cursed.

"Leave it to me! I'll get it open from the inside!" Isidro stated, as he hopped onto a ledge, before slowly making his way over the castle gates.

"..Looks like we'll have to wait for a moment." Link stated, before he then noticed the accursed spirits gathering around them. "No... we have to hold out for the time being."

"Those... Those things...!" Casca exclaimed, as she paled slightly. "I met them several times while I ventured through the land. It was by miracle that I was able to fend them off myself, although my blade could not dispel them... Have they come to chase me once again...!?"

"They'll chase us until we're devoured by them." Guts explained, before he pulled out his blade. "Good thing that I'm strong enough to take care of them myself if needed. And the others can fight the same."

"Don't be afraid, Casca. Even these demons can be hurt and bleed the same as the humans." Judeau assured Casca, before pulling out his sword. "We're going to make it through this together."

"Guts... Judeau..." Casca muttered, before she then drew the blade that Richard gave her. "No, it's time for me to stop hiding behind the both of you, and everyone. I am Casca, second-in-command of the former Band of the Hawk! I refuse to let myself waste away into someone useless! I will fight as well, so that you won't have to protect me once more!"

Casca then attacked the spirits in front of her, displaying her swordsmanship, that hasn't deteriorated much, due to the fact that she trained herself in her spare time back in Godo's mountain, cutting down spirit after spirit with finesse. Judeau was impressed by Casca's skill, as he could swear that he could have seen Casca in the time she was a Hawk officer.

"Oi, Judeau! Quit daydreaming and fight as well!" Guts shouted, smacking Judeau on the back of the head firmly, to snap him out of his thoughts.

Judeau quickly returned back to reality, as he immediately helped the others out, by throwing a spread of enchanted knives that struck the heads of the spirits, eradicating them in one shot, helping Casca out, who felt grateful for the assistance.

After a few moments of fighting off the tide of accursed spirits, the wooden gates swung open, with Isidro behind them.

"Come on, get inside!" Isidro shouted to the others.

The rest of the group followed his instructions, as they rushed inside, while Guts and Meiling quickly slammed the gates shut, while Gunter slid the wooden slab to keep the gates shut.

"Right, so if I was a inquisitor... I would be lying around in the church." Isidro theorised.

"A fair deduction. But where is the church?" Corrin agreed.

"If I were to guess with all this obnoxious energy floating around here..." Reimu stated, before pointing up. "It's high up in the tower, it seems."

They then heard the distant cries of the church disciples, coupled with the roars of Richard, as they had a good idea what was happening on his side of things.

"Seems like he's still going strong." Judeau remarked. "Jeez... He's even more of a monster than Guts was."

They then heard the sound of people approaching, as the group quickly hid themselves behind the walls, as Guts peeked over the edge, to see who it was. When he did, he saw that one of the doors in the corridors creaked open, as a series of people consisting of Holy Iron Chain Knights and church disciples rushed out, as they were led by Farnese, Serpico and Azan.

"What in the world is happening!?" One of the spooked disciples stated. "Suddenly, the torture room was filled with those... those things...!"

"Vice-Commander." Serpico stated. "We need to find a place away from these monstrosities. They don't seem like that they will stop at all."

Guts kept an eye on Farnese, who was looking around nervously, as he stuck to the shadows, approaching Farnese.

"Anyway, to higher ground! I will explain afterwards!" Serpico stated, just as Guts grabbed Farnese out of the crowd. After a while, Serpico looked back, as he found out that Farnese was gone.

Guts held Farnese tightly by the mouth, as the blonde leader of the knights struggled against her grip, as he slowly retreated back to where the rest of the group were, before he then slammed her against a stone statue roughly. Farnese recovered quickly, as she caught sight of everyone here.

"Y-You... And all of you others...!? Why are you here!?" Farnese demanded.

"...We have matters to settle with Inquisitor Mozgus." Gus told her firmly. "Where is he?"

"I will never tell you heretics anything! I'll scream-" Farnese threatened, before he then pulled out his dagger, as he shoved the tip into Farnese's open mouth, pressing against the top of her mouth.

"Try that, and I'll cut your head open." Guts snarled back. "Answer, now-"

Guts suddenly heard the sound of an arrow being nocked, as he turned around, and came into the sight of Virion pointing his bow at him, with arrow drawn back, and a serious expression.

"Put that dagger down, Guts." Virion told Guts forcefully. "There is no need to threaten her like that."

"...Well, you got a better idea, archer boy?" Guts growled back.

"Maybe not, but threatening a lady like that is unfitting for even you." Virion answered back. "We can persuade her to tell us. Just put the dagger down."

Guts remained silent for a moment, before he withdrew the dagger. "If she causes problems, it's on your head."Guts darkly responded back.

"Let me talk with her." Corrin stated, before she then approached Farnese. "You don't understand. From what we have heard, Inquisitor Mozgus has caused a lot of strife on this land. He had killed countless innocent people, and misused his power to raise the position of the noble at the expense of the common-folk. We promise that we will try to speak with him first, so that we can reach an understanding."

"...Don't worry about Guts. We'll stop him if he tries to cut your inquisitor down." Reimu added.

"...The inquisitor done nothing wrong. He may have tortured many people to death, but they are all heretics... They don't have the right to be treated fairly, for they committed grave sins against God." Farnese replied back hesitantly. "Even so, he is more faithful to God than any of us."

"Psh... Like I'll believe that bull-shit." Reimu scoffed. "Look, if he's so devout to this god, then are you even aware of what God you're even serving then? Do you even know if God cares for anyone on this wretched land? If he's so benevolent, why do demons exist? Why do people die through war and slaughter? If this is really what God is capable of, then we're literally doing God's job for Him. In fact, even if he was just powerless, and needed the power of his prophets and church to do it, then we're far better candidates than this Mozgus. We've been purging demons left and right, and we've saved more people than your so-called crusaders could do."

Farnese was left silent, as she didn't know how to respond back, as she felt like a child being scolded by a harsh parent by Reimu's biting words, as she couldn't find it in her to argue back, as if she knew that Reimu was right, deep inside her own heart. After a moment of silence, she then relented with the answer.

"...He's heading to the chapel. I do not know what he might do there, but I know for sure where the chapel is." Farnese confessed.

"...Is there any other way to reach the chapel without being spotted by your men?" Gus asked. "We do wish to fight as little as we can, because some of us will most definitely kill those who we fight against."

"...Fine. Follow me." Farnese stated. "But I want your words that you will not harm me, because you require me to take you to the right path."

"Fine then, but you betray us, and I'll slice your throat open." Velouria threatened back, raising her sharp claws. "And I ain't kidding, nothing is going to save you if you tick me off."

The group made their way up, as Farnese led them, pondering to herself what she should do after she has kept her end of the bargain.

She knew that the Black Swordsman and his companions were too many in number, and too strong to resist against, and she knew that if she tried to mislead them, that silver-haired girl with the red robe would make true to her promise. However, then she thought about something.

'Where is the Twin-Bladed Reaper?' She thought to herself.

---

Back on Richard's side...

Richard was ascending the tower floor by floor, as he cut through the disciples and knights that got in his way. However, after he managed to make partway up the tower, he felt the Brand on his back act up, indicating that there were demons nearby. He then watched as the next batch of disciples that were trying to attack him, be ambushed by a bunch of blood-coloured and viscous slime-like creatures, as they crashed through the wall with brute force, before jumping onto the disciples, as they swallowed them up through their membranes, before the devoured disciples were melted away into nothing but bones. He then saw the blood slimes turn their attention to him.

"Slimes, huh..." Richard remarked to himself. "Well then, looks like I'm going to have to switch up tactics then."

He then coated both of his hands with frosty ice magic, before he fired bolt after bolt of ice magic into the swarm of slimes, as the frost froze them solid, unable to revert back into their liquid forms in time. With a punch and kick, Richard shattered the frozen slimes, as they did not reform at all.

"Not much of a challenge, aren't they..." Richard stated, before he heard another wall come down behind him, as another batch of blood slimes rushed towards him. "But they are fairly numerous, because of the countless deaths that have resulted in these cursed grounds... Looks like I'm going to be busy for a while."

---

Back with Guts and Gus...

The rest of the group ascended the stairs, as they spiralled around, while Reimu and Elma were using their magic to repel the swarm of blood slimes that were chasing after them.

"Just our luck... We've got the demons on us already." Reimu cursed, as she threw a few ofuda into the darkness below, as it lit up with blue light, followed by the guttural moans of the slimes.

"Those things... They shouldn't exist... They shouldn't exist..." Farnese frantically muttered like a mantra, as her expression was in utter fear.

"Oi, you said you're taking us to the chapel, so get us there!" Guts shouted back.

They then rushed through the nearest door they could find, as they slammed it shut behind them, while Farnese took a moment to calm herself.

"The chapel... is just up those stairs..." Farnese huffed, as she shakily pointed at the staircase in front of them.

"...Thank you." Corrin thanked Farnese.

The group then made their way up, before the staircase in front of them was blocked by a large gathering of blood slimes, oozing out the door ahead of them. They then heard the sound of the door behind them being broken down, as another group of blood slimes rushed in behind them.

"We're surrounded...!" Antonio exclaimed.

"Everyone circle up!" Link ordered, as the group circled around the less combat-capable members of their group. "We have to fight our way through!"

"God... God... God..." The slimes gurgled out words for the first time before the ears of the group, as Farnese was shocked by these words.

"Damn you... Goddd... Damn youuu..." Another group of slimes slurred.

As the group readied for battle, Gus began to sense magical fire coming their way, as well as see the front group of blood slimes begin to boil up from some sort of heat.

"EVERYONE DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Gus warned everyone, as the blood slimes in front exploded apart in blood, with a large beam of fire heading towards the group.

Judeau tackled Casca down, as the brown-haired swordswoman was shocked, while the others fell flat on their stomachs, as the fire beam singed over their heads, and hit the slime group behind them, taking them out.

"What the hell was that...?" Velouria remarked, as she slowly got up.

"Casca... Are you alright?' Judeau asked.

"I'm fine... Judeau... Thank yo-" Casca was about to say, before out of the smoke of the evaporating slimes, a large clawed hook wrapped around Casca's neck, and clamped tight around it. "Ack...!?"

Before Judeau or Casca could react, the latter was being dragged through the smoke, as it dissipated, to show Casca struggling in the grip of the grappling claw that seized her throat, held by one of Mozgus's disciples, as all of them were present, right behind Mozgus, whose mouth was leaking flames, and the front of his hat was burning as well.

"I have... witnessed a miracle!" Mozgus declared with a fanatical tone. "Ooh, this is what the Lord intends! To use this power to guide the people!"

Casca continued to struggle, before the grip in the grappling hook grew stronger, cutting off her oxygen supply, as she fainted quickly, falling limp on the ground, as Mozgus picked her up in his arms.

"Casca!" Guts exclaimed, as everyone drew their weapons.

"So you are the infamous Black Swordsman." Mozgus stated, laying his eyes upon Guts, rather than the others. "And it seems that your accomplices have all been gathered. The witch that I hold in my arms is the ringleader of the evil spreading through Albion. I must show God's victory to the masses by burning her at the stake. It is my divine mission!"

"Shut the fuck up. You're just using that as an excuse to push your shitty religion further." Reimu cursed Mozgus, as she pointed her gohei right at the fanatic inquisitor. "One way or another, you're going to be dead when all of this comes to an end. We're not about to lay down and let you walk over us, with your holier-than-thou attitude."

"What? Do you intend to hinder my holy task?" Mozgus remarked, before the disciple wielding the grappling hook slowly stepped up, as his body had bulged considerably. "My disciples do not have hearts tolerant of the lord's enemies?"

Elma was hesitant, as she was scared by the insane look in Mozgus's eyes, even more so, when those very eyes laid upon her. Mozgus became silent for a moment, before the veins in his face bulged with rage.

"A demon... A demon like you dares to set foot in the sacred ground of God!?" Mozgus snarled, before he then prepared a burst of flame from his mouth. "If the Lord shall not purge you, then I shall with the holy flames imbued in me!"

Elma flinched, as she was prepared to cast a defensive spell in self-defence, before Richard then appeared from above the group, as he threw a large slab of stone that went towards Mozgus mid-attack. The giant disciple wielding the breaking wheel rushed to defend his master, using the metal tool to smash the stone to pieces. However, it did meet the intention of disrupting Mozgus's attack, as he let the flames die down in his mouth.

"Who... Who dares!?" Mozgus remarked, before Richard stepped forward, with machetes out. "...You...!"

"Inquisitor Mozgus." Richard stated with a emotionless tone and expression, as he crossed his machetes over each other. "By the command and judgement of the Iscariot Order, and the testimonies and evidence provided by the commonfolk, I pass summary judgement upon you without further delay. For the sin of committing a great heresy against the Lord by defying his commandant without penitence... You are to be executed where you stand. Resist, and you will face the divine wrath of God that we of the Iscariot Order represent."

"You dare claim to be the instrument of God's wrath!?" Mozgus retorted back with a furious expression. "Utter heresy from a unclean pretender like you! In the name of the Lord, I shall purge you where you stand for your insolence!"

"God has long forsaken a demented traitor like you." Richard spat back. "You can believe as much as you want about your position as your Lord, but you have long turned your back on Him, and have sowed discord in His religion. Even with all of His forgiveness, he believes you beyond any redemption, for you slay the faithful and torture the meek and innocent. You are the antithesis of the religion you claim to represent, so he has sent us to do what he cannot, because God's hands will remain clean of your sins. Only we, who are his dark arbiters, will carry this forbidden duty for him, for we are the thunderers that rain judgement on the fake prophets."

Mozgus's disciples did not seem to enjoy Richard's defiant words, as they hissed and scowled at Richard, before Richard then charged right at the grappling-hook disciple with fast speed, as the disciple was forced to prepare a defence, twirling his grappling hook around, before swinging it forward to block Richard's attack, as the black-haired inquisitor quickly restarted his attack.

"How cowardly. You will not face me yourself, Mozgus." Richard scorned Mozgus, as he attacked the disciple. "You would shrink behind your own disciples, who have been allured by your own 'kindness' and 'equality'. If you will not fight, then they shall meet the same fate as you. If you submit to your fate, then your disciples will be able to live to see the true way of God himself. They are NOT worthy of you, they are only worthy for those who are of the true faith!"

Guts then rushed into the fray, as Richard had one of the disciples occupied in their fight, aiming to take Mozgus's head directly.

"Make sure they don't get away." Guts shouted. "I don't know what they have done to them, but if they suddenly turned into some sort of super-human, they'll use any means to get out of this place."

"How do you know...?" Virion asked, before Guts placed two fingers on his Brand, before flicking away the blood on it, indicating that it was bleeding heavily at the moment. "Ah... I see."

"Split off, we'll cut them off at certain points!" Gus ordered, as the group rushed down the tower, as they spread out amongst the tower floors, as the flight-capable members of the group quickly headed outside, before slowly ascending to block off an aerial escape.

Guts then rushed at Mozgus, before he then swung his blade in a horizontal sweep, although it missed, as the disciples and Mozgus suddenly flew up a bit, surprising Guts, who looked up. At the same time, Richard swung his blade down onto the disciple he was facing, as he flew up to avoid Richard's strike.

Richard and Guts both saw that the disciples and Mozgus were now bearing white angelic wings, which flapped strongly in the air.

"In the name of God's righteousness! We shall smite you both down!" Mozgus declared. "You fools, who rebel against God! You shall pay for this sin with your blood!"

Richard growled back, while Guts did the same. The grappling-hook disciple rushed at Richard, before throwing his grappling hook down. However, Richard dodged the hook, before he then grabbed the chain with one hand, and bringing the disciple down with a strong tug, staggering the wielder closer, before he then used his other machete to slash down onto the arm holding the hook, before he then punched the disciple right in the face hard enough to send him staggering back with his amputated limb.

Guts suddenly felt the wind change around him, as he felt as if something was behind him, as it was the imp-like disciple wielding the twin pliers, as Guts quickly back-handed to knock the disciple off him, only for the disciple to nimbly move to another side. Guts quickly did a side-kick, only for his attack to meet nothing at all."

'When did he get so close!?' Guts thought, before he then saw the pliers over his head, as they reached for his eyes.

Guts quickly raised his head, as he bit down on one of the pliers hard, surprising the over-head disciple, before Guts head-butted him hard enough to knock him off, and preparing a slice with his blade. His weapon swished through the air, as the dazed disciple recovered quickly enough to avoid having his head cut off, although it did nick against his black hood.

The giant disciple wielding the breaking wheel, rushed towards Guts, who knew that he couldn't avoid the attack, as he tried to knock it aside, although the attack only smacked against the wheel, before the disciple beaned him with it, sending the black swordsman flying. Still possessing momentum, he charged at Richard.

Instead of dodging, he quickly spread his legs out in a bracing posture, before he then used both of his arms to block the wheel that was incoming, as he was knocked flying, but not before throwing a strike at the head of the giant, which was a mere glancing blow. Both Richard and Guts were knocked onto the nearby wall, as they quickly recovered, standing back up, before facing the trio of attacking disciples, which came out of the rising dust cloud caused by the fighting.

With their hoods cut off, the disciples' true faces were revealed. The giant's face was innocent and cherub-like with short blonde hair, while the grappling hook disciple's head had a large bulge on the top of his head, with feathers sprouting from his head, as he was clenching his severed arm in his jaw, while the imp-like disciple had a shrivelled up face with a stunted nose.

Guts didn't react to the true faces of the disciples, although Richard was a different case, as his expression turned much more furious, and the grip on his machetes grew tighter. Farnese, who was stunned the entire time, as her mind shut down temporarily when she saw the fight proceed, as she saw Richard and Guts fight against 'angels' as if they were almost fair fights for the both of them.

'How... How are they able to fight like this...!?' Farnese thought. 'Not even the Lord's angels can be able to defeat them with ease...!?'

"This... This is one hyper-level fight..." Isidro remarked, as he was hiding behind the rubble of a nearby pillar.

"You... YOU...!" Richard breathed, before he raised his eyes to Mozgus. "You damned swindler... You would... take advantage of the disabled and the misshapen for your corrupted deeds...!? You would take their misery and shape it as vessels of your will...!? Unforgivable... You would commit this, right before the eyes of God..."

He then began to chuckle malevolently, before he then laughed out in utter insanity. "Oh, I should congratulate you, Mozgus...!" Richard stated with a twisted smile on his face, before it turned into a expression of burning rage. "Of all the ones that I have faced, you have managed to actually make me feel twisted rage for you! I see that a merciful death would be too kind of an end for a demented and god-spiting man like you...! I assure you... You will die PAINFULLY in agony for this!"

Mozgus didn't respond back, as he regarded Richard with a empty look in his eyes. The disciples then rushed towards Richard and Guts, as the two of them readied themselves to fight again. The giant disciple immediately rushed towards the group, with his breaking wheel in front.

However, Guts was ready to strike properly, as he dug his blade through the metal wheel, burying his blade into the shoulder of the giant, who winced in pain, as tears leaked from his eyes, and he halted. However, at the same time, the imp-like disciple rained a flurry of blows right onto Guts, who managed to barely raise his blade in time to block the blows.

At that moment, the grappling-hook disciple threw his weapon forward, aiming to clamp his blade onto Richard's weapon. However, in doing so, he did not prepare himself for a sneak attack from behind by Richard, who jumped up, and cut the wings on his back clean off, causing his weapon to stop mid-flight, and clatter uselessly on the ground. The black-haired inquisitor then went up to the disciple, before picking him by the bulge on the head, and throwing him at the wall next to Mozgus, causing the wall to crack, as the disciple bounced off it.

With Guts, the giant disciple charged him once again, pushing Guts back again, as he was shoved down onto his feet, as he quickly went into a roll forward, as he cut through the leg of the giant disciple severing it, and throwing one of his daggers right at the imp disciple, as it lodged right into the left eye of the flying diminutive man, causing him to fly backwards shrieking in agony.

'Why... Why is the Black Swordsman here, and not also the Twin-Bladed Reaper?' Farnese thought, as he watched the three disciples be pushed by Richard and Guts. 'He seems to be the kind to never abandon his friend, and why... Why does this inquisitor seem so... familiar... Could it be...!?'

Mozgus was become more and more infuriated by all of this, as he was prepared to fire another blast of fire from his mouth. However, he then noticed Richard rushing towards him, slamming his machetes into the ground with such force, that when he drew them up, it caused a rain of stone bricks to fly towards Mozgus and the remaining disciples near him. The pair of identically-shaped twins quickly moved in defence of their inquisitor, while the crow-headed disciple flew up to avoid the attack. However, Richard didn't stop charging, as he leapt right into the air, with both of his machetes raised for the kill.

"DIE!" Richard screamed, as he brought his machetes down at Mozgus's head.

However, the crow-headed disciple was able to predict the attack in time, as he quickly jabbed his man-catcher forward, as the metal loop managed to catch the blades mid-attack, catching them between the spikes, as Richard was knocked back with a swing of the long apparatus.

"Master, it seems that the situation here has become dire." The crow-headed disciple told his master. "Please leave this to me and the others. You must somehow accomplish your own holy task, Father Mozgus!"

Mozgus's expression quickly calmed down, as he then bowed his head. "It would seem that... I lost my composure a bit." He stated.

"I have left the twins as your bodyguards, master." The crow-headed disciple added, as he saw Richard readying himself to charge forward.

"THEN LET US GO!" Mozgus declared boldly, before he and the twins spread their wings.

"Don't you DARE run! You will not leave this place alive!" Richard roared, charging at Mozgus again.

However, in doing so, the crow disciple attacked him mid-charge, by flapping his wings strongly, and throwing out a hail of sharp feathers that cut through the fabric of Richard's robes, as he raised an arm to shield his face. The disciple then rose into the air, before swooping down towards him, hoping to grab him with his feet, which have been morphed into sharp talons by whatever transformation he received. Richard dodged to the side, avoiding the talons, before swiping up to drive off the flying disciple.

In doing so, however, he left his arm exposed to the bulge-headed disciple, who threw his grappling hook towards Richard, as it clamped onto Richard's left forearm, causing him to be unable to move, as he tried to resist the tugs from the disciple, in a attempt to keep himself balanced, while blocking the attacks on the crow-headed disciple.

Guts had better luck, as he managed to strike and kill the imp-sized disciple by throwing his hand-sized explosives when the disciple tried to charge him, as the explosives tore through his face, and left him open to be struck down by a thrust through the explosion itself, killing him with bloody steel. Guts immediately turned to face his other opponent, the giant disciple, as he dodged to the side, to avoid a charge from the rushing giant.

Richard felt the prongs of the hook dig tighter into his arm, drawing some blood, as he gritted his teeth in pain, while letting the adrenaline rush through him. He quickly twisted around, and grabbed the grappling hook's chain again, this time using much more stronger force, sending the disciple flying towards him, who did not expect this motion from Richard. With a machete impaled through the heart, Richard took out another disciple of Mozgus, leaving him and Guts in a one-on-one battle.

Mozgus was preparing to take flight, seeing that his disciples would not last much longer against the brutal duo. However, he did not notice Isidro, who rushed behind him with his blade out.

"No, you don't!" Isidro cried out, before he then brought his blade down on Mozgus's head. "Isidro Strike!"

However, despite his blade cutting through the hat, it did not manage to dig into the head of Mozgus, who were too absorbed in his inner thoughts to even notice the strike. Isidro was stunned that his blow was completely repelled by the bare skin of his enemy, before Mozgus and the twins took flight, as Isidro clung onto Mozgus's head.

"Time out! TIME OUT!" Isidro screamed with fear, as he clung tightly onto Mozgus's head.

Reimu, Corrin, Gus, Link watched as Mozgus leave, as they noticed Isidro hanging on for his life.

"We have to save them both...!" Gus exclaimed.

"Not while that monkey Isidro is hanging off him. We can't risk letting him drop, because that'll leave our backs open to get blasted by fire." Reimu argued. "The only choice we have here is to tail them.."

"I'll head back down to the ground to take care of the others." Corrin stated, as she descended to join the group on the ground, while the other three fliers followed after Mozgus and the twins.

Guts was finishing up with the giant disciple, as Guts was able to use the speed and size of the disciple against him, as he loaded a cannon shot that blasted through the sides of the giant disciple, causing him to collapse dead immediately. As for Richard, he was standing off against the crow-headed disciple, whose head was bowed in prayer.

"Dear Lord, I thank thee... that in the last moments of our lives burdened by grotesque form and harsh destiny, thou saw fit to prepare for us a miracle such as this." He muttered under his own breath, as Richard was intently listening, as he raised his guard, as if he was expecting a formidable attack to follow after the speech.

The crow-headed disciple then rushed towards Richard, firing off a flurry of feathers, with his man-catcher pointed towards his neck. Richard ran towards the disciple, catching the feathers with his arms, before he then slid under, as the two combatants sailed past each other, although Richard severed the wings off the disciple with a rising slash, right through the stumps, as the crow-headed disciple fell to the ground, spinning across it, dropping his man-catcher along the way.

Richard then walked towards the disciple, whose glasses visors was broken, revealing the eyes under them, as he clasped his hands in deep prayer.

"And more than anything... for the miracle that we chanced to meet Father Mozgus." He concluded his long prayer, before he raised his eyes to Richard, who was about to raise his blades, as he closed his eyes to await his fate.

However, what happened was not the sound of flesh being sliced apart, along with the sweet embrace of death, but instead, a long silence. When the disciple opened his eyes, Richard lowered his blades, staring at the disciple.

"...Why...?" The disciple asked. "Why do you hesitate to strike me down?"

"...Because like I have stated. I have no ill will towards you." Richard calmly stated. "In fact, all I can feel for you is pity for how you were forced to believe by a man like Mozgus. Had it been for better... You would have never have to die here. You would have been treated far better, and you would have never have to commit those sinful deeds."

"...I do not sympathise with what I have done." The disciple responded back. "But I did it, because it was the only way that we could prove loyalty to our Lord."

"...Our Lord never desired this. He never wished for purification, but forgiveness." Richard responded back with a shake of his head. "That is why I hesitate, because I see that you did regret what you have done. And I will tell you this... In that, we are kindred. I cannot hope to understand what it is like to be someone born in suffering, and left with no-one to turn to, until the Lord came. But I too am not of a life of peace. To be a dark inquisitor... One must shed their entire life for the duty, family, friends, material desires... They all are offered as sacrifice to be the blade of God, who is too kind to purge the traitors."

The disciple was silent, as Richard continued.

"I only wished that Mozgus would have been more, so that he would have reached your expectations. But he has turned against our Lord... So much that he is sentenced to die by our hands." Richard stated. "But I will indeed respect your faith and courage to the Lord, however misplaced. I will not curse you, so long as you do not curse me as well. Even if you were in the wrong... You will be forgiven by God for your mistakes, as you known no better. Before I kill you, so that you will be free of the chains that bind you to your heretical inquisitor...? What is your name?"

"..I have no name, not even after Mozgus has received and cared for me." The disciple answered back with serene acceptance.

"A shame. Then I shall dub you Ishmael, he who listened to the Lord, in your last moments. You have shown that you are faithful to the Lord till the end, so I will make sure that your misdeeds will be wiped from the annals, and you will be marked as a true faithful follower of Him." Richard responded back, before he raised his blades. "Farewell, Ishmael. May you find peace in the afterlife."

He then beheaded the crow-headed disciple with a single cross-strike, as the head rolled along, with the crow-mask still on it. Farnese watched with utter shock, as he watched Richard and Guts meet up.

"So you're the Black Swordsman..." Richard remarked. "It seems that we have matching objectives for the time being. Let us join forces then, and purge this corrupted priest from the face of the earth."

Guts nodded back gently with a quiet 'Hn.', before the tower began to rumble, shocking the three of them.

---

Outside the Tower of Conviction...

Gus and the rest of the group, the ones that remained on the ground, were gathered around the tower, as they were being held up by the Holy Iron Chain Knights, who recognise them from back when they were in the cult hideout.

"This is not the time for this...!" Corrin pleaded back, although his own blade was raised. "We are not here to fight. We are merely here to ensure our friend's safety!"

"We cannot let you leave." Azan responded back. "As accomplices to the Black Swordsman and the Twin-Bladed Reaper, you are all under suspicion. We must seize you, before the events become more dire."

"You damn blockhead!" Antonio shouted. "We're not even doing anything! Yes, we went into the damn tower, and then we went out! We didn't so much touch your damn sacred idols and religious relics! So we can't possibly have any involvement in whatever is going on in the tower right now!"

Azan was silent, before the ground quaked under everyone, as they turned their attention to the tower, that was the source of the tremors.

"That kind of tremor..." Gunter remarked with a worried expression. "Something is tearing the structure up from below, and from the inside as well...!"

Suddenly the various arches situated at the base of the tower were smashed out, as large versions of the demonic blood slimes appeared, this time looking far more hellish with amalgamations of faces, noses, eyes, and deformed mouths.

"What... What is this...!?" Azan exclaimed, raising his long-mace for battle. "Ooh..."

The Holy Iron Chain Knights panicked, seeing the monsters before them as something real, and the slimes were also muttering their vengeful curses to everyone present, as more and more slimes burst out of the base of the tower, taking out more of the tower's base.

"Uh, I might not be some architect, but I'm pretty damn sure that's not good for the tower!" Antonio frightfully stated. "I suggest we move from that tower, the farther the better, with a lot of its base getting torn out. It's going to topple like a falling tree hacked by a lumberjack!"

"But what about-" Corrin asked.

"Do not worry about Guts and Richard." Meiling assured the others. "Richard will ensure that Guts will not be harmed, even while he is under-cover. But we need to be safe, if we're going to help him out when he's in actual danger."

The group then retreated back, as the tower began to crack and slowly topple over.

---

Inside the Tower of Conviction...

"Steady your feet!" Richard barked out. "This tower is being assaulted by the demons!"

Farnese didn't manage to keep her balance, as she toppled back down the set of stairs, as Richard and Guts watched her, and tried to reach for her, although their attempts missed completely. As Farnese sped down the stairs, she was heading out towards one of the destroyed windows, to a fall that would most certainly kill her at this height, especially with the falling rubble outside the tower.

However, she was caught by Serpico, who clung firmly to the side of the tower, as he slowly pulled her back up. The two of them silently gazed at each other, before they retreated down the stairs down towards the ground. At the same time, the ground crumbled below Richard's and Guts's feet, as they fell down a few floors.

After a few moments, the two of them landed hard on the stony pile below them, as Richard bounced off slightly, rolling across the ground, while Guts sank into it. They both slowly got up, shaking the dizziness and pain caused by the fall, off, as they brushed themselves off.

"What kind of sorcery could possibly hope to do such a grand scale of damage to this reinforced tower...?" Richard muttered to himself.

"Damn it... What the hell... is..." Guts responded back, before he looked around a bit, as his eyes set upon something horrifying, and Richard saw it soon after as well.

They saw that below them, there was a series of fires spreading through the area in front of them, with most of them aligned to form the symbol of the Brand, shocking Guts. He then looked behind him, as he saw that the structure has been miraculously crumbled to a shape that resembled a large hand raising to the heavens, much like the same hand that Griffith made his sacrifice to turn into Femto on, as memories of the Eclipse surged through him.

"CASCA!" Guts screamed, as he quickly turned around, raising his blade, as he rushed down a path leading down the ruined tower.

Richard silently followed after, as they soon encountered blood slimes, with much larger variations of them, obstructing the path ahead.

"MOVE!" Guts roared, as he obliterated the creatures with his blade.

Richard also did the same, as his machetes damaged the slimes, thanks to the holy enchantments engraved on the blades, as the two of them slowly carved their path down.

---

At the outer walls of Albion...

Both the Holy See forces, and the ground team were moving out of the tower, as the Holy Iron Chain Knights were already on the move, working to support each other.

"Everyone get as far from the tower as you can!" Azan commanded. "Those with free hands, help the wounded!"

Suddenly, they heard a large stampede of footsteps head towards them, as it was the fleeing refugees, who came from the burning refugee camps, as they screamed out pleas for salvation and mercy, while they were chased by various possessed individuals, who tore the refugees into pieces and devoured them raw.

"This... This is...!" Elma exclaimed in pure horror, seeing the terror up close, as Virion held her close.

"How terrible... It seems that the chaos have spread further and further..." Virion muttered.

To make matters worse, the demon slimes were chasing after them from behind, wedging them in a pincer attack between the possessed refugees and the blood slimes. Corrin and the others drew their blade, and so did Azan and the more braver of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, prepared to fight a difficult battle against two fronts.

However, suddenly, both of the enemy fronts were bathed in flames, as they were burnt away quickly without much difficulty. The source of those flames was Mozgus, who was still carrying Casca, and with Isidro in tow, as well as the twins following behind him.

"V-Vice Commander, look...!" One of the knights exclaimed with surprise, pointing at the winged trio.

"God Breath!" Mozgus declared, letting out another stream of fire to destroy the remnants of the blood slimes and possessed refugees.

"That's... Mozgus...!?" Azan yelled with surprise.

"Angels...!?" Another knight joined in. "They're angels!?"

Mozgus then flicked his eyes up where Isidro is, before he then snatched him by the collar of his tunic, before then throwing him towards the top of the walls.

"Lambs of God! There is nothing to fear!" Mozgus declared. "Whatever supernatural acts those of heresy may commit... If your faith be without one blot, god shall surely smite the power of evil and show us a miracle! See this form of mine! This is the manifestation of God's power! Wings with which to sweep away wickedness!"

The refugees were astonished by Mozgus's display of faith, as most of them bowed down one by one, letting out cries of 'Blessed angel!...', 'Father Mozgus...!' and 'Guardian angel!'.

"We shall now burn this witch, the ringleader of the heresy running amok in this holy place, at this stake!" Mozgus roared, raising the fainted Casca. "We shall put an end to these abominable monstrosities!"

Soon, more monsters arrived to attack the refugees and knights, although they were held back by Mozgus and the twins, the latter of which used their long saw-blades to behead the possessed refugees. At the same time, the refugees were quickly preparing a large pillar as the stake to burn Casca on, while Corrin and the group watched on in horror.

"We have to-" Corrin shouted, before she was silenced by Meiling placing a hand over her mouth.

"Not if we want to be found out immediately." Meiling answered back, before pointing to the Holy Iron Chain Knights, who were occupied with the demons. "If we draw the ire of Mozgus onto us, we will likely cause more causalities onto the other refugees. Although Richard won't care about this, it would be best for you and Elma's sake, that we lay down low for the time being."

"But...!" Corrin replied back with a muffled voice.

"Do not worry. I'm sure that the other group will engage Mozgus in time. We just need to hope." Meiling responded back.

Much to the group's hope, Reimu managed to arrive in the scene in time, as she prepare another spell-card.

"Declare Spell Card! Spirit Sign: 'Fantasy Seal'!" Reimu declared, as a ethereal red magic circle appeared around her, as she fired off her barrage of multi-coloured orbs, as they honed on towards Mozgus, as they blasted him out of the sky, and loosening his grip on Casca involuntarily. Casca fell towards the ground, as the refugees were prepared to catch her, in order to drag her to the stake.

However, Gus then shot across the air, slightly above the crowd, as she managed to swipe Casca from her fall, as he held her tightly in a bridal-carry. Casca slowly woke up, as she blinked her eyes a few times.

"Mnh..." Casca muttered, as she slowly realised what was happening, turning to Gus. "Gus...? What is happening-"

"We managed to save you." Gus responded back. "I'll get you to safety."

"THOU SHALT NOOOTTT-" Mozgus bellowed with fury, before Reimu zoomed through the air, raising her gohei, before doing a high-speed smash with her gohei, right in the centre of the insane inquisitor's face, as it managed to cause him to fly towards the outer wall, spinning backwards uncontrollably for a moment.

The twins were about to prepare an attack of their own, but Link pulled out his bow, before he then sniped down one of the twins with an arrow to the the opportunity at present, Virion nocked his own arrow, managing to make a long-shot connect, piercing the head of the other twin, taking out what remained of Mozgus's disciple.

Mozgus slowly recovered, as he dabbed his hand on his face, finding it bloody, as his livid eyes locked onto Reimu, while the refugees were looking at the flying trio.

"What are they...? How are they flying without wings, like Father Mozgus...!?" One of the refugees remarked.

"They have to be the ones leading the demons! Father Mozgus is in danger!" Another one remarked.

"YOOOOUUUU! I WILL SMITE YOU WITH THE FULL FURY OF GOD!" Mozgus screamed with fanatic hatred to Reimu, who didn't care at all.

"Bring it, flat-face." Reimu taunted, as she prepared her gohei and talismans for battle.

Suddenly, from above, Richard leapt down from the top of the ruined tower. "MOZGGUUUUUSSSSS!" He screamed with fury, with both of his machetes raised, all the way down.

Mozgus could hear the cry, although he wasn't able to discern where the cry was coming from, as Richard struck down behind him, as he stabbed both of his weapons right into the back of Mozgus, and into the stump of the wings themselves, as they came apart with sprays of blood, as the both of them fell towards the ground.

"What...!?" A refugee exclaimed. "Father Mozgus...!"

"Some black thing... It came from above!" Another refugee cried, pointing at the falling figures.

They soon impacted on the ground, as they saw the large dust cloud that was created from the impact, before it then spread apart to show Mozgus laying back-first on the broken wall, with a unresponsive and fainted expression, and Richard on him, with foot on chest, and furious expression on his face.

Guts then jumped down, as he skidded along the stone wall of the tower, sliding down the slope, before he reached the outer walls.

"Father Mozgus! Father Mozgus was...!" One of the refugees cried in horror.

"The Angel... The Angel was struck down by..." Another refugee shouted, before he then saw Richard, as he recognised him. "Wait... No, it's... It's...!"

"It's the Dark Inquisitor!" Yet another refugee answered. "But why...! Why would he strike down Father Mozgus like that...!?"

Guts then looked at Richard, as he kept his distance, and Richard pulled out his blades, and placed them over Mozgus's neck.

"Inquisitor Mozgus... Look before the blind sheep that you have misled with your honeyed words and guilty intentions." Richard coldly declared with a snarl. "You may have escaped karmic punishment several times with your ill-gained faith, but this time, there will be no God, or any of your delirious schemes to save you. For the death of thousands of innocents, the twisting of faith of many more tens of thousands to a false image of the Lord, and for personally turning you back against the Lord by defying his sacred Commandments, I sentence you to be publicly executed, so that they will know the demonic blood that flows in your veins, as the betrayer to the Lord!"

Richard then swung his blades down, as he moved to slice Mozgus's head off. However, Mozgus's head suddenly jerked up, as he let out a nonsensical cry. The black-haired inquisitor was stunned by the sudden revival of the deluded priest, before he then noticed a large fist heading towards him, as it smacked him squarely in the chest with such force, that he felt his own rib-cage rattle and strain under the pressure of the attack, before he was sent flying back.

Guts heard the commotion, as he watched Richard get knocked back, while Mozgus rose to his feet, as he was much larger, his body completely changed. His entire body was covered with large round scales, and his eyes were completely red. His wings have been morphed into larger ones, that acted like extra limbs, with fingers on them, as one of them was responsible for the sucker-punch that Richard received earlier.

"Fool who manipulate the Lord... Swift is Heaven's Vengeance!" Mozgus roared, his voice much deeper than before from his transformation. "In the name of Heaven, I shall deliver punishment upon thee!"

Richard slowly rose up to his feet, as he coughed a little, fortunately with no blood leaking out, although his chest still hurt.

"...It does not matter what form you will take. I will strike you down, the monster who spouts only lies about the Lord!" Richard shouted back. "At last you show your true form! Truly, a demon like you worshipping our Lord!? NEVER!"

"No matter how much of that wicked power you call upon, it is useless!" Mozgus mocked back. "You will not surpass me with the power entrusted from me by God!"

Richard silently prepared himself, before Mozgus spoke again.

"The fact that you are alive in this place... must mean that my four disciples have been called to heaven." Mozgus remarked, before tears of blood dripped down his eyes. "I shall tear you to pieces... as tribute to their memory!"

"Tribute for them...?" Richard remarked, before his expression tightened up into one of demonic fury. "How dare you, HOW DARE YOU! Those disciples of yours deserved a better life to be your mere pawns! They have died in their duty, and yet you speak of avenging them as if you care for them!? You dare mock their kind souls... You dare mock their devotion for what they believed is right... You act like a shepherd for the blind sheep that is the followers of God, but you are anything but! You are a wolf bearing the clothes of a shepherd, devouring the sheep to spite humanity! You who wore the skin of a human, as a monster, have NO RIGHT CALLING UPON THE NAME OF HEAVEN!"

Farnese and Serpico were right behind Gus, Guts, Isidro and Casca, as they saw Richard and Mozgus, causing Farnese to freeze where she was.

'What... What is this...? This is... This is Father Mozgus...!?' Farnese thought. 'And right against him is the Dark Inquisitor that the refugees and knights are speaking about... What have happened?'

They then clashed with each other, as Guts was about to rush in. However, Richard turned to Guts, blocking one of Mozgus's strike with his machetes.

"NO! This betrayer will only be slain by my hands and my hands alone! It is the only way that God will be satisfied when he finally falls!" Richard cried out.

"God Breath!" Mozgus cried, as he fired a stream of fire from his mouth, hoping to roast Richard alive. However, he dodged to the side, as a part of his robes caught on fire. Richard quickly extinguished it with a few quick pats, before he then dodged a charge from the monstrous inquisitor.

Richard carved at Mozgus, dodging his blows, although his machetes weren't powerful enough to cut through the scales, only at most denting through them, and his attacks were too wide to take advantage of the space between the scales to attack his exposed flesh.

"It is useless to strike at me! As long as I have the Lord's divine protection, you will not harm my body!" Mozgus exclaimed, before every part of his wings, including the large feathers curled up, forming a large row of smaller fists. "Come hither, great strength! Come hither, super power! God Thousand-Fist Cannon!"

His wings then opened their barrage on Richard, as they assaulted him from all angles. Even with his reflexes, Richard couldn't block every punch, as most of them went through, battering him all over, and dazing him greatly. He then crumpled down, as Mozgus then prepared his God Breath.

"Take this! God Breath!" Mozgus screamed, as he breathed fire onto Richard, as it engulfed him all over.

Guts was shocked that Richard was hit directly by the stream of fire, as was the rest of his group, as his cries of agony could be heard, before he then rolled out of the side, looking a lot worse for wear, as he was struggling to get up. Mozgus then turned to him, as he slowly approached Richard.

"Do you mean that you care not that tens of thousands of believers shall lose their lives in exchange for one evil witch?" Mozgus declared. "Is that what you intend, false inquisitor?"

"You are mistaken..." Richard growled back, as he used his own blades to push himself up. "I will save as many lives as I can, not from her, because she is not the witch, but from you...! You who would throw their lives into the inferno for your false invocations to the Lord! I will not die... I will not back down... I am the second of the Iscariot Order... I will not be overthrown by a mere false priest who taken in demon-hood to continue his string of lies among the faithful...!"

"You foolish reprobate!" Mozgus roared back with fury. "Prayer is faith in and of itself! Prayer and devotion of all to God! That is the essence of faith! Arrogant man who dare claim to be faithful to the Lord! REPENT! Repent in your last living moments!"

"Repent...? Repent for what...? Repent for opposing a truth-less demon like yourself? Repent for carrying out God's will? Repent for saving the lives of countless faithful people, and countless more innocents...?" Richard responded back, spitting the words out. "If that is what God wishes for me to repent for, then your God is nothing but a tool for the demons to twist and manipulate their followers into sin and vices! You who would commit the sin of pride and wrath, you are the one who shall be repenting! I WILL MAKE IT SO!"

"Do you not fear god!?" Mozgus shouted, as he smashed Richard again and again, although Richard kept on his feet, despite the pain. "You mean to oppose my holy duties to the bitter end!?"

"That's right. I don't fear God, for he is by my side, and within the heart of those who have followed his divine will, and shown a pure heart..." Richard responded back weakly. "Even me, who is assigned to purge the demon, the heretic, and the traitor... I have kept my heart to God and God alone, but I do not rely merely on God, for He has made me to serve Man as well. And so, I will do Man a service, by ridding them of the great disease that is you, Inquisitor Mozgus!"

Farnese was astonished by the defiance exhibited by Richard, as well as the faith that emanated from his every word, as she found her belief in Mozgus wavering greatly, seeing that Richard was outright standing by God's word, with his statements.

"DAMN YOUUUUUU!" Mozgus roared, before he then cocked back his actual right arm, as if he was about to deal the finishing blow onto Richard, before then throwing a massive punch that sent Richard flying to the back of the wall, as he finally coughed up some blood, while sliding down. Mozgus then charged up a God Breath, although he held it in, charging it up. After holding it long enough, he then unleashed it, into a massive torrent of fire that engulfed the entire front of the wall.

"RICHARD!" Guts shouted with a horrified expression.

"No!" Gus exclaimed, as Casca was shocked too, as she turned away, as if trying to avoid looking at the terrible scene.

Mozgus kept on unleashing his breath of fire, before he then stopped, when he felt that he was sure that Richard was burnt to ashes. As the flames slowly died out, the only thing he could see on the singed wall was a large purple-black egg-like shell. Mozgus was a little suspicious, although he felt nothing moving or breathing from it, as he was sure that it was merely what remained of the reprobate that challenged him.

Farnese was stunned as well, as she heard Guts's outcry, as she was shocked by the fact that the 'Dark Inquisitor' and Richard were one and the same.

'Then that means... What he had told me before... Was it all the truth...?' Farnese thought. 'Oh Lord, to think that he would be a inquisitor of his own right... When I struck him... He was showing me great mercy... He never rebuked me for my words, and treated me gently. And I... I...! I vented my own unfaithful rage towards him... What have I done...!?'

"Behold! This is divine punishment!" Mozgus declared. "You have seen first-hand the power that I wield! Now, I shall wrest back the witch that has been stolen!"

The refugees were in shock, as they didn't know how to react, as there was a long period of awkward silence. Soon, one of the refugees spoke first.

"F-Father Mozgus! Behind you!" He shouted, pointing behind Mozgus.

"What...?" Mozgus remarked, before he then turned around.

BGM Change: Bleach: Fade to Black - B13a (Intense Symphonic Metal Cover by FalKKonE)

He then saw that the shell was in fact flattened feathered, they slowly folded themselves out, before the wings slowly dispersed apart to reveal Richard, whose wounds have mostly disappeared, and he was in a entirely different attire. No longer was he in his dark inquisitor robes, but instead a long dark purple angelic robe with golden runes inscribed on the edges of the lapels of the cloth.

"Arrogant wretch." Richard mocked with a much stronger tone. "It would take far more than that to be rid of me. But I will give you respect where it is due. Out of all the targets I have slain... You are the second to force me to invoke my incarnate form."

'He's... He's another angel...' Farnese thought with awe. 'No wonder... No wonder his faith to God is so great... He is one of his men from the heavens... Then that would mean... Father Mozgus... No... He's the one who turned against God...!?'

"How...!? How have you managed to survive my holy God Breath...!?" Mozgus remarked back.

"Because your unholy flames no longer strike at me." Richard responded back, spreading his arms out. "Invoking the power of an high-ranked angel, I have inherited their physique and divine might. You may have had me cornered before, but now that I understand that it would take a angel to slay a great demon like yourself, you won't have the same luxury from here on."

Mozgus growled, before Richard walked forward.

"You say this is divine punishment? This measly attempt to imitate such power?" Richard continued, before he snarled. "NO. There is no living being that is not an angel high above the echelon of elites, that could possibly be able to create such power for retribution. You know nothing of the term, nor the power it wields. But worry not, I will be willing to impart you with that knowledge... through direct application. Because as you can see..."

He then summoned twin blades, that were wreathed in bright orange flames. "...I am the incarnate of no simple and unnamed angel... No, the angel I incarnate is one of the great seven who serve under God directly... The Angel of Judgement and Punishment, Phanuel." Richard responded back.

"It does not matter whose power you invoke! It will be all powerless before-" Mozgus roared back, before Richard rushed forward, and sliced at Mozgus's chest, as the flaming blade easily pierced through the scales of Mozgus's chest, drawing blood. "What...!?"

"As a mortal, my blades are merely enchanted to slay demons, not strike through armor." Richard remarked, twirling his blade around. "But against the sacred blades I wield...? Not even the true protection of God will defend you completely against my strikes, much less a heretical imitation of His power. Your time is imminent, Mozgus. I will give you a choice, accept your fate and save what little redemption that He sees in you, or you can choose to defy and certainly rot in the Void for all of eternity, with all the innocent souls you have dragged there before."

"Never! I will never fall to a false angel!" Mozgus roared, before he then prepared another attack. "God Thousand-Fist Cannon!"

Richard was prepared for the attack, as he raised his blades, as he swung them around, creating a large amount of sukimas, as blades jutted out of them, blocking each and every one of the attacks within the barrage. Mozgus saw his strongest attack do nothing to Richard as he was now, causing him to fumble and flinch.

"Then I have no more words for you, Mozgus the traitor." Richard coldly responded back. "And I have no intentions to toy with you, like you have done with me. DIE."

He then struck Mozgus with a cross-slash, pushing him closer to the edge of the wall, before Richard summoned two large holy blades, that pierced through Mozgus's feet, pinning him. Richard then charged his flaming blades up, before he then carved Mozgus over and over, breaking through his scaled armor, before the front of his chest was revealed. Richard then placed both of his blades together, as they merged into a large broad-sword, which he thrust through Mozgus's heart, causing him to cry out in agony.

"Ohh... Lord God... I... come now... into your... presence..." Mozgus wheezed, before his wings and arms then moved to trap Richard with him, as he charged himself for one more God Breath. "But at least... I bring my enemy with me. With the last of my life's flame... shall evil be consumed!"

"You would dare spite me, by trying to take me to hell with me!?" Richard roared back, before he then tightened his grip around his blades. "So be it, let the light of punishment and purification rend your flesh apart and drop your damned soul to the deepest depths of hell where you belong, soulless monster! LUX JUDICII!"

With that incantation, a large beam of holy golden light rained down from above, as it covered Mozgus entirely, as he didn't get the chance to even scream, before the light vaporised his entire body, with the severed wings and arms still holding Richard's body and blade respectively, their stumps smoking, before they fell down.

Richard then slowly separated his blades, and then sheathed them behind his back. "And now... my duty is complete." He silently stated to himself.

BGM Change: (None)

The refugees looked at how Richard eradicated Mozgus so quickly, as they could swear that they saw glowing white feathers rain from the sky. The group on the walls watched as Richard's words trailed off, and behind them, Serpico and Farnese were utterly shocked.

"Well now, looks like this Dark Inquisitor bumped off our own." Serpico stated. "And in a manner befitting of an angel. Now I see why he's a inquisitor, and the reason why he should be respected."

'Like that... Just like that... He annihilated Mozgus under a holy beam from the heavens... If this does not prove that the thundering angel before me is genuine... Then I have truly become unfaithful...' Farnese thought to herself.

"Mother... the white angel died." A boy told his mother, who was stunned.

"What... If that was an angel of judgement... Then Father Mozgus... who we followed... was..." The woman spoke.

Suddenly, a large wave of demon slimes rushed out of the tower heading towards the refugees. The refugees, realizing that they were now in danger, immediately panicked.

"Mozgus is dead, right? We can start fighting them off now?" Corrin asked, as she pulled out Yato.

"Indeed." Meiling nodded.

The group immediately engaged in combat with the slimes, hoping to delay them. Richard saw that the refugees were panicking, as he realized that this was the right moment to speak for himself as the new angel.

"Hear me, faithful ones!" Richard cried out for all to hear. "You are not abandoned yet. I still remain here!"

The refugees stopped panicking, as they looked towards Richard with fearful and pleading eyes. Richard then cleared his throat.

"First of all, for those who have had to witness all of this, even as a high-ranked angel... I must ask for the forgiveness of all of you." Richard told them. "It it my fault that I have not been here to prevent this, so you had to rely on whatever faith that you could find. I blame you not for trusting the betrayer. Because now, you can return back to the path that our Lord has truly set for us, through me."

Richard then raised a finger. "However, I cannot tell if you all are truly faithful yet. If you are truly faithful to the Lord, then you will know what to speak. All I need is to hear those words from those who show true faith to the Lord, and you will be protected. My power far surpasses that of these foul demons, but I can only protect so much, so you must make your choice to who you will follow. If you will not follow the Lord, then as long as you do not spite him, you are absolved of any sin of doing so."

The refugees then chattered amongst each other, as they discussed about what to do. However, in the middle of all the talk, a refugee called a phrase out.

"I... I shall serve the Lord with dedication and truth!" The refugee repeated what Richard instructed them back at the refugee camp.

And like a domino effect, more and more people repeated the same phrase, as they bowed down before Richard, all while repeating the phrase like a prayer. Richard smiled a little, trying not to let the pride of being praised as a divine being get to his head too much.

"...I see. So you all wish to continue the path of faith for our Lord." Richard stated, before he then raised his blade. "Then clench onto your hearts, as I shall rain judgement on evil, and protect the innocent!"

Richard then created a massive shower of light orbs, as they pelted and tore apart the demon forces, until there was no more left. Not only that, a barrier of light surrounded the refugees, protecting them from most forms of harm they could receive out in the open.

"Thank you, merciful angel...!" One of the refugees cried in joy and relief.

"Thank you, merciful angel...!" Another one cried, before more thanked Richard.

Guts watched as Richard showed-off to please the masses, as he shook his head. "Good grief, he really knows how to act..." He mutters to himself.

The rest of the group made their way up, as they meet with Guts, as Gus laid Casca down on her feet, as she looked around.

"Is it... over?" She muttered.

"I don't think so... The skeletal knight... He hinted that there is more to come." Gus responded back.

Suddenly, as if on cue with Gus's suspicions, a swarm of blood slimes rushed up the tower, slowly covering the ruined tower, as the group were shocked by the sudden appearance of such a large group of monsters, as some of them surrounded the group.

"Damnit... We can't just wait around here... If we stay here, we're going to get swarmed...!" Guts exclaimed.

"Wait... fire..." Gus muttered, before he then recalled how the flames drove the demons away. "I got it! I have a way to help us!"

He then immediately created a large ring of fire, that surrounded the group, as the demonic slimes recoiled away from it, as if it was the bane of their existence. The group were astonished to see that the fire was doing wonders for them, as they slowly advanced along the path.

Gus looked at Richard, who was aware of the slimes reaching behind him, as he eradicated them with his flaming blades, as they were no match for him at all. He noticed that Richard was prepared to stay until the dawn arrived, before he then guided the group across the outer walls, down to the ground. Behind them, Farnese quickly grabbed a few sturdy sticks upon the walls, as she dabbed them onto the dying sparks emitted from the ring of flames, creating torches to shield themselves from the creatures as well.

Suddenly, Guts and Casca froze, as they clutched their brands, as Guts growled while Casca screamed in agony.

"It hurts...! It hurts...!" Casca screamed, as she clutched her bleeding brand, which stained her clothing. "This agonising pain... Where is it coming from...? Someone stop it... please...!"

"Casca...! Hold on, it'll pass! You just need to endure it!" Link assured the troubled female officer.

The group watched, as the tower itself began to move, as the colossal hand reached for something above it, a large light in the sky, slowly clenching its fingers over it. The light slowly disappeared, before the hand opened again after a while. And suddenly, the faces of the slimes all let out a spray of blood, as the tower began to finally topple, its organic supports having passed on into nothingness.

At the same time, Guts could feel a familiar presence through his Brand, as it caused him to feel a surge of rage build up inside of him, as he shouted a single name.

"GRIFFITH!" He howled out with his entire voice.

Soon the dawn arrived, as the tower finished crumbling apart, as there was a bright light shining in the horizon.

Below them, were the refugees, who sworn their faith to Richard, as the barrier protected them from the falling rubble, ensuring that what remained of the survivors left unscathed. They looked up to Richard, who silently stood there looking down at them.

"...The time has passed. Dawn has broken, and the demons have retreated to the darkness whence they came from." Richard remarked, before he knelt down, clutching both of his blades together. "And so... My duty here ends. I bid you all farewell. May your future be bright and hopeful, for God watches over you, and he will not ignore your pleas, for we, the angels, will be there to answer in His behalf."

The refugees then broke into a collective cry of relief, thanking the benevolent angel before them, before they saw a large beam of light appear around Richard, as it engulfed him for a moment, before it slowly faded away to reveal that he was gone. The refugees, realising that they have no place here, immediately walked away from the tower ruins, deciding that they should move on with their lives.

Richard soon appeared around the ground group, who were surprised by his sudden appearance, as he was back in his usual appearance. He also noticed that the Holy Iron Chain Knights were gone, as he assumed that they might have went to escort and care for the refugees under Azan's orders.

"Hey. How did you think I did there?" Richard asked the group.

"Frightfully well, if I say so myself." Judeau admitted. "Just look at what you did, you thwarted that guy from burning Casca, and turned those refugees to your side, by saving them like an proper angel."

"I guess that this is all over then." Corrin remarked, as she was relieved. "We managed to save so many lives here, thanks to you, Richard."

"Don't be... All I wanted is to make the refugees see the truth about their God. They don't deserve some fucked-up and mentally-insane inquisitor like Mozgus feeding them lies about the religion itself." Richard responded back.

They then noticed the other group come down, as Guts was holding firmly onto Casca, who was leaning against him, while Gus dispelled the fire ring, which has served its purpose already.

"Damn... So I guess that the plan was a great success then..." Isidro remarked. "I guess that you really got a head between your shoulders."

"Thanks for the compliment." Richard answered back with a accepting tone.

Farnese then approached Richard, as she was shuddering, and Richard turned to her with a stoic expression.

"...Richard..." Farnese remarked.

"Yes? I suppose that you're not planning on trying to seize me again, considering that you're surrounded by my friends, and you only have Serpico beside you to protect you if things go wrong." Richard asked back. "If you want to talk, then I have no reason to harm or worry you."

"No... I see that there is no point in seizing you anymore." Farnese responded back. "I think that the time I have spent here, watching the events here unfold, have opened my eyes greatly to the truth about our faith to God. It seems that not even the faithful are exempt from corruption, as the teachings and commandants that were supposed to be untainted were being altered unaware, by those with sinister intentions. Through all I have seen, this is proven... I now understand that I have turned against God myself, watching the dark inquisitor in action."

"That so...?" Richard responded back, raising an eye-brow. "That's quite a quick change of heart, from last time, when you were cursing my name and begging for your partner to slay me, to actually letting me go, without anything more."

"I will need some time to clarify my purpose. After all, you told me that my true purpose is still yet to be found." Farnese answered back. "You have my word that the Holy Iron Chain Knights will trouble you no further. I plan to resign as commander."

"If you're leaving, Lady Farnese, then I will join you. I have sworn to be by your side at all times." Serpico casually added.

"Very well, Guts... Richard... If we ever meet again, I'm sure that it will be at far better terms, this time, not behind blades." Farnese answered back.

Suddenly, the group heard the sound of weapons whistling through the air towards them, as the group quickly reacted, as the front members, Guts, Link, Richard, Gus quickly cut down or deflected long javelin-like weapons that were thrown at the group. Through the early morning fog, many Kushan assassins emerged, ready to fight.

"K-Kushan...!?" Isidro exclaimed, as he drew his blade. "They're really Kushan...!"

"Tch... We got another fight in our hands." Judeau stated.

"Everyone form up, we need to drive them off!" Casca ordered everyone.

The Kushan assassins then rushed the group, only to meet severe resistance, as the group fought back strongly, looking like that they haven't lost much strength from fighting the demons before. The group covered every single angle, as they thwarted all attempts for ambushes on them, as Elma was within the group's formation, chanting blessing and enchantments quickly, to support her fellow group in battle. Isidro, with these enchantments, sped through the Kushan, weaving through them and taking their legs out without them noticing, allowing the group to have the opening to finish them with a single blow.

As the fighting continued, Azan joined the fray, having ditched his helmet elsewhere for a bandana, as he slammed away a Kushan man with his weapon.

"Lady Farnese...! Are you unharmed!?" Azan exclaimed.

"...I'm... I'm fine." Farnese responded back with hesitation in her voice.

Azan then looked around, as he saw the group in battle, as his eyes then laid upon Guts, who was fighting ferociously against the Kushan. He then sighed at the scene.

"It seems that the situation before us is dire indeed. We don't have any time to discuss about these happenings right now." Azan remarked, before he fractured the skull of an approaching Kushan man with a heavy swing from his long mace. "Come! You face Vice-Commander Azan of the Holy Iron Chain Knights in battle!"

The fighting continued for a bit longer, before both parties halted, when they felt a strong tremor rumble through the area. Zodd then burst out the tower ruins, in his beastly form, and missing his left horn that was severed at the stump, as the Kushan looked towards him.

"What the...!? More of last night!?" Azan exclaimed in shock.

"It's him again...! It's Zodd!" Gus shouted. "Nosferatu Zodd!"

"Aaah..." Casca whimpered, as she recalled her last encounter with him in the past.

Zodd trod through the assassins, as he smashed a portion of the wall open, passing through it, as both groups were still stunned at his sudden appearance.

"Now's not the time to dawdle! Quick, while the enemy is distracted and unable to resume their assault on us! We must escape their encirclement!" Virion advised everyone.

The group quickly did so, finding them outside the walls. Guts looked up, and saw the skeletal knight perched above them, as he rose a bony finger to point at the light in the horizon. Guts turned to where the light was, and was shocked by what he saw.

Within the light, there was a large flock of white birds that flew out in different directions, and when they left, they saw Griffith back in his human form, stark-naked and no longer alike to that of Femto, the Hawk of Darkness. Everyone was shocked, as they didn't move at all.

"Griffith...?" Guts muttered.

Zodd then moved over to Griffith, before he then knelt down on both knees, and lowered his head, letting out a submissive growl. Griffith placed his gentle and light hand in between Zodd's eyes.

"What... What the hell is this!?" Reimu demanded.

"This is... the second rebirth of Griffith. From Femto to Griffith, to be more precise. Hopefully, this Griffith must have regained most of what he had lost, i.e his humanity." Richard responded back calmly.

Guts was about to rush towards Griffith with murder in his eyes, before he then heard the words of his fellow comrades, that stopped him.

"Griffith... It can't be... You're really back... How could this..." Casca muttered, as she was trembling with emotion.

"Griffith... Is that... Is that really you... But how...?" Judeau added, as he was just as stunned.

The Kushan, as soon as they snapped out of their daze, instead redirected their target to Griffith, who earned the irritation of Zodd, who stood up and slaughtered them by the dozen.

As the commotion went on, Azan noticed a small path leading down the trail, as he grabbed Farnese by the arm forcefully

"We must make haste! We must get as far from this place as we can, Lady Farnese!" Azan shouted to her.

Farnese took a last glance at Richard, Guts and the rest of the group, as they were still fixated on Griffith, before she then went down the path with Serpico and Azan by her side.

"Right then, I think that our purpose here is done. We should immediately get out of here, before things get real bad here." Richard remarked.

"What!? But he's...! HE'S...!" Guts exclaimed.

"I know what you are thinking right now, Guts. But this is not the time to be enacting revenge yet, especially when Zodd is protecting him right now." Richard answered back, before he then turned to the rest of the group. "Any of you have objections about this either?"

No-one responded back, as Richard snapped his fingers, as a sukima appeared.

"Alright, then we leave quickly. Before the Kushan decide that we should be taken out for measure as well." Richard told the others.

The group filed through the portal, leaving the ruins in Albion, before Zodd left with Griffith on his back, leaving the Kushan alone of the former holy ground.