RE: FALLEN

Chapter Four - RE: UNITED I (Reunited 1)

Zakariya thanked Rem and Ram for leading him back to his room as he sat back down on his bed to recuperate and think to himself.

He knew that Roswaal was someone he could barely trust, if at all. He knew Roswaal had knowledge of plenty of possibilities and timelines because of the Gospel he had. A part of him was tempted to find a way to get a peek at the book, but he didn't see much of a point at the moment. That, and he was far from being strong enough to do anything like that right now. He doubted he could do anything to Roswaal unless he managed to make summoning Realize into an effortless task… which seemed impossible at the moment since he didn't know how it worked. Another part of him suggested to run away, use his knowledge to his advantage and start a new life elsewhere, with the power of the Internet and all of Earth's creations at his fingertips. He was very tempted in doing so, but he didn't know what would happen if he did so. Again, Roswaal could very well get him killed for ruining his plans to free Echidna, the Witch of Greed.

Speaking of Witches! He pulled out his phone and did a quick search with it, frowning slightly. 'Satella,' He thought to himself. 'The Witch of Envy, seen as the Devil of this world.' He understood the hatred for the Witch in the terms of this world, completely so. But there were so many things left unanswered in his mind that made him question things. Why did she love Subaru so much, for one? He felt an eerie chill go down his spine as he looked through her profile on the RE: ZERO Wiki for a moment, before locking down his phone again.

It almost felt like someone was watching him. And something told him that it might have been the Witch he was just researching. He put his phone away and walked around the room he was given, noticing something resting on the desk next to his bed. He picked it up to see it was actually his old earbuds for his phone, with a note attached to it.

'I just realized, what's the point of having a phone without earbuds? Especially in this world, you need to be discreet. Enjoy, this is the first and final gift for you right now kid. At least for the next few weeks.' - The Messenger

'P.S. You should drop this letter now, it's going to ignite with holy fire once you're done reading this ;)'

Immediately, he dropped the paper and watched with fascination as it burned away, a white flame destroying the letter and leaving nothing behind, not even dust. Zakariya then looked at the earbuds in his hands, before stuffing them in his right pant pocket and walking off to find Beatrice. She would be one of the major factors in his survival in this world, he had a feeling.

Though he was interested in Beatrice's Forbidden Library, he couldn't show too much interest in it if he was to gain the Spirit's assistance. Ugh, his head was already hurting from all the planning he would have to do in order to get by without getting himself killed all the time, especially with him being so much weaker than everyone around him. He sighed and began to open doors at random, before stopping once he found the right door to the Library.

His jaw dropped immediately, as the vastness of the library before him couldn't be properly expressed in any words his mind could come up at the moment. This was easily the biggest library he had ever seen, and he almost felt giddy at the idea of soon being able to read from this absurdly large selection of books. That is... if he played his cards right.

"Could you shut your mouth already? You could attract flies, I suppose." A high-pitched and familiar female's voice said as his gaze shifted to the blonde drill-haired loli Spirit who was sitting on a stool with a book on her lap. He did as she said immediately, feeling somewhat embarrassed for looking like a fool in front of the person that would be a key figure in keeping him alive in the future.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I just heard of a final inhabitant of this manor and decided to do some investigating." He bowed his head ever so slightly, before looking at the Spirit with partially-fake, partially-real awe. "You must be Miss Beatrice."

"That is my name, I suppose. And who might you be?" Beatrice rested her head on her hand as she stared at him boredly.

"Zakariya Moalin, a guy who hails from a continent beyond the Great Waterfall and an idiot who found himself stuck here!" He grinned widely as he straightened up his posture and pointed at himself. "It's nice to meet you!"

"You certainly seem to fit the characteristics of an idiot, I suppose," Beatrice said in a distant tone, causing Zak to laugh nervously in response. "I'd say you're lying, but you don't fit any of the characteristics of a liar, even with how absurd what you're saying is… I suppose." She then glared up at him. "What are you even doing here?"

"Like I said, Miss Beatrice. I was just doing some investigation. If I am bothering you with my presence, do say so. I will make sure to leave." Zakariya then made sure to bow his head to Beatrice in respect. "But I really need your help, Miss Beatrice. If I could simply walk around and look through your library, I'd be eternally grateful."

"Hmph. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't bother me, I suppose." Beatrice allowed begrudgingly, before returning to her own book. Zak grinned widely and thanked her genuinely, before he did some touring of the library, stopping at a book that he was drawn to. Well, two, if we're being honest. The first was a book of fairy tales and legends, and the second was… strange. He pulled out the second book, noticing the cover wasn't written in the common language of this world. In fact, it wasn't written in any way that he knew to be native here. "Wait..." He looked over the entire book before freezing and running over to Beatrice. "Miss Beatrice, may I possibly borrow this book for a while, please?" He half-asked, half-begged.

"Do whatever you want, I suppose. I doubt you'll be able to read it, but-" Zak then proceeded to throw himself out of the library, taking the book with him as he looked at it again. Beatrice sighed tiredly. "Idiots like him are the type to get themselves killed from sheer idiocy, in fact." The Spirit said to herself, before returning to her book.

"How did a book like this end up here? Seriously, Arabic? No one here can read, write, or speak that damn language here!" He wasn't complaining though, that meant there would be knowledge only he could use in here. He retreated to his room, where he opened the book and began to read. "Let's see here... Mawt, Death." It took him a while to translate, but apparently, this was a book on summoning and binding Death itself. "Holy shit, this was just lying around here?" He grinned to himself as he saw this as an infinite wellspring of knowledge. Though the ingredients and requirements were either difficult or impossible to find/achieve. Made sense, for such a broken spell, but it was somewhat disappointing. Zak decided to put this plan on the backburner as he put it in his cabinet.

"I could get some of the ingredients right now, aside from the impossible ones, there are more simple ingredients…" For example, 500 milligrams of salt. But that would have to wait until after he survived this week since he didn't want to go insane trying to balance a delicate Ritual and befriending the Oni sisters.

"This is a headache, right?" Zak heard from beside him, as he sighed and scratched at his head.

"Yeah… wait, what?!" Zak's eyes snapped open as he looked around, before noticing a glowing orb of red and black energy before him. The moment he looked at it, he flinched back as a headache immediately overwhelmed his senses, his left eye igniting with red light. The next moment, he fell to his knees as he felt like someone had injected a searing hot liquid right into his veins, causing him to fall to his knees to catch his breath.

"Oooh, maybe letting you see a fraction of my True Form is still a bad idea… Reincarnation or not." The voice chuckled, as the Orb before him pulsed, like it was linked to the voice. "By the way, hi! I'm Mephilosti, and I'm here to tell you that you're fucked!"

"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious! Of course, I'm fucked, I'm a normal human stuck in a world like this with no help or reliable powers!" Zak snapped tiredly at the voice, as it continued to laugh in amusement. His eyes then widened, as when the headache subsided, his mind registered where this familiar voice came from. "You… you're the guy I heard in my dream!"

"Oh?" Mephilosti seemed genuinely surprised by this little factoid. "My, what an unexpected occurrence. I didn't expect you to be able to tap into my thoughts this early on into your New Life. Oh well, that makes things much more interesting."

"What is it that you want, Mephilosti?" He hissed at the Orb, which went silent for a moment before tutting.

"Is that any way to treat your elders, boy?" He asked in a sarcastic tone, the Orb then floating closer to his face. "I just wanted to be a source of help. But if you don't want it, that's fine too. We can just watch you fail, and we all get sent to Hell and suffer together." Mephilosti's Orb 'turned' away, as if scorned, while Zak thought this over.

"Alright, I apologize for my rudeness, but my question still stands. What do you want from me?" Zak asked, with the Orb then chuckling in amusement.

"That won't matter in the next few seconds, boy. By the way, the pain will be normal, just your body adjusting." Zak was about to speak up, but a feeling of absolute and utter pain flowed into his body as he fell onto his face. "Ooo, yikes. Injecting Grace into your soul this early might have been a mistake. Oh well, I hope you use my Gift wisely, young one." The voice continued, as Zak kept writhing and screaming in pain, attracting attention as the Oni maids rushed in to figure out the source of the screams. "And if you don't, I will be very, very angry." The orb faded from Zak's view, as his vision faded.

Ever since that incident, Zak was careful to try avoiding things that could trigger Mephilosti's appearances. He didn't know what his 'Gift' was, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to ever receive another Gift from him again if it could cause that much pain. He was also careful to avoid triggering the Oni sisters into killing him, as he helped around the mansion as a newly hired Butler, as well as trying to get closer to them. Or more specifically, Rem. She would be the number one threat to his life in this week, and he needed to get rid of that danger.

He had also begun collecting ingredients for the Death Binding Ritual in secret, while also continuing to translate the book and writing down what he was learning in a journal. Of course, while he did learn the Glyph Language of this world, he refused to use it to write down the things that really mattered. Like his experiences, his dozens of theories, and his progress with both the Ritual and befriending the Oni sisters. All in Arabic, since it was the most convenient language for him at the time. Sure, he could write in English, but he recognized he needed the written and speaking practice if he was to perform the Ritual safely.

Speaking of progress, he was starting to think he was getting somewhere with befriending Rem, which was surprising due to his situation. He had already died a few times, and yet she was acting somewhat friendly around him as if he didn't even have the Witch's Scent like he first thought. Zak was just finding himself more confused by the day, and he was finding more questions with fewer answers.

Oh, and there was the new annoyance known as the kids of Arlam. At the moment, they were surrounding him and keeping him busy by tugging at his hair and arms. "Zak, Zak! You're back!"

"Big bro's got that weird expression on his face again!" Zak sighed, as the kids continued to poke fun at him. These kids truly reminded him of his own siblings back home… he missed them quite a bit, but that only reaffirmed his determination to reunite with them in the end. His eyes temporarily landed on the disguised Meili Portroute and her Wolgarm, knowing that they would be a nuisance in the future. He had a plan for them, but he was unsure if it would work. Plus, for now, he needed to focus on survival.

He avoided interacting with the hidden Wolgarm, which wasn't too much of an issue since he had an innate fear of almost all dogs. The only dogs he had willingly interacted with were in his 3rd-grade class where his next-door teacher had a German Shephard that he used to enjoy talking to… and his elementary school's resident Golden Retriever, Sunny. When the Wolgarm tried to bite him, Zak instinctively moved his hand back, as he glared at the dog. "Hey, what's that for?"

"Hah, Zak really does suck around dogs!" The children all laughed, as he humphed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Zak! This is where you wandered off to, huh?" Rem asked as the blue Oni jogged over to his position, carrying the goods they sought out to buy as he smiled.

"Yep, sorry if I kept you waiting, Rem." He replied, turning to her and taking the goods into his own arms. "Here, let me take this for you."

"That is much appreciated, thank you." The maid bowed with a smile on her face, as Zak smiled back. They then waved to the children as they left, with Zak internally sighing in relief. So far, this week had been going well. Supremely so, in fact. He hadn't once needed to use Return by Death, which he saw as a win. The less he used it, the less of a Witch's Scent he would have, and the easier it would be for him to get past certain obstacles. But even then, there was the incident of the War Against the White Whale to take note of, where he would need the Miasma to ensure a victory to attract the Great Mabeast. Zak then noticed something touching his hand, and looked at Rem, who seemed concerned. "Zak, you seem stressed. Is something bothering you?" The soft-spoken maid asked as the teenager smiled tiredly.

"I'm fine, I'm just concerned for everyone's safety. The Bowel Hunter came for Miss Emilia just a few days ago, after all. I… I know that we'd probably be fine, Lord Roswaal is a strong man after all, but…"

"I understand where your concerns are coming from. Miss Emilia has said you don't have much in physical strength, and that even your Yin Magical strength is slightly below average. In your state, you would likely be the one to worry the most about the lives of others." Rem hummed, before smiling at him. "But you needn't worry, like you said, Lord Roswaal is strong and can protect us. Ram could too, she's so much better than me."

"..." Ah, he nearly forgot about this detail since he was more focused on surviving than checking everyone's profiles. Rem had an inferiority complex, where she believed her sister was better than her, and she was striving to amend for her 'sin' of being happy when Ram lost her horn. It was a crucial detail, and yet it slipped past his mind. He sighed and looked at Rem. "I know you're probably right. Heck, I'm sure even you have got some hidden strength waiting to be unleashed. If Ram is even half as good as you say she is, then I'm sure you're amazing too!"

"I thank you for the compliment, but I don't think I'm that great…"

"Well, agree to disagree then." Zak chuckled, slightly amused. Rem giggled softly as she nodded, with Zak looking away after gazing at the girl's soft, yet beautiful smile for a few moments. He couldn't let himself get distracted. Romance wasn't an option in his life. It never was. He had gotten used to that idea, that little fact of life. The fact that he was cursed, and that anyone he got close to would eventually hurt him. That love would hurt him.

He swore off love over a year ago for a reason after all. He refused to let himself be hurt for a 6th time. Never again.

"Mephilosti, I must say. I didn't expect you to reveal yourself so quickly. Surely, you have some sort of plan if you're doing this right now."

Mephilosti turned from where he was watching Zak's journey in secret, using his old physical humanoid form for convenience. He was a handsome man with caramel brown skin, standing at 6'3, with messy black hair that had red tips along with red eyes. He also had large black wings on his back, along with 2 sets of flaming Infernal Wings that were hidden… appearing as blazing objects made of Hellfire in the shape of wings. Mephilosti's expression was one of tiredness and boredom, as he never found anything worthwhile or entertaining. At the moment, he was looking at his previous incarnation, the Pure Angel 'Abraham Gadreelson', or as preferred to call him, simply Gadreelson.

Gadreelson looked the same as usual when it came to his 'human' look. A tall man standing at 6'3 with flawless white skin, his face framed by long white hair with blue tips and sapphire blue eyes. He also had large gold wings, six in total. He seemed to be fascinated with Mephilosti's choices and actions.

They were both invisible to all non-Celestials, meaning they were able to follow Zak and Rem back to Roswaal Manor with ease and never be detected. "I do have a plan." Mephilosti eventually revealed. "You and I both know how we'd rather never return to Hell while he's still ruling."

"Yes, and especially when the Rebellion failed. Weren't all your Generals sealed up and jailed?" Gadreelson asked a handsome eyebrow raised as Mephilosti grumbled.

"You don't have to remind me all the time, Gadreelson." He replied scathingly, before sighing. "But yes, especially that. Zak here is our last chance, especially after we fucked up a while back with Flugel's creation."

"..." Gadreelson went quiet, regret crossing over his face. "Did… did we do the right thing, in creating Flugel?"

"He was supposed to be our Perfect Vessel. The best way for us to rid ourselves of Sin and be free. We achieved that, I suppose… but we underestimated the greed of a human soul that was born and given power from the start." Mephilosti replied in an even tone. "We created the Authorities, and then gave Flugel autonomy… where he became our Greatest Mistake."

"And if Satella blames him for what happened between Flugel and her?" Gadreelson asked, as the Devil known as Mephilosti grimaced.

"...Then we are truly at fault for our own demise. I just hope the Gift I awakened in him will be useful in the fight against the Wolgarms."

It was time.

That was the first thought that entered his mind as his calculations had finally paid off. He had survived the week, befriended the Oni sisters, and now he simply needed to focus on the Wolgarm threat. Upon his next visit to the village, he let his guard down purposefully as Meili's Wolgarm finally bit him. He wasn't concerned, as he knew the Curse could be dispelled with ease by Beatrice.

He was surprised when he noticed the wound on his hand closed up within minutes (leaving only faint scars), but didn't focus on that as he cleaned the blood off of his hand and decided to invade Beatrice's Door Crossing. He opened a random door, as the girl looked up in surprise for a moment. She then sighed as she closed her book. "Oh, it's just you, I suppose."

"That hurts, y'know? To be disregarded without a second thought?" Zak remarked casually, a faint smile on his face before he sobered up and walked over to Beatrice, silently waving his hand in her face. She seemed confused for a brief moment before grabbing his hand.

"Ah, I see why you've decided to annoy me. You're cursed." She looked up at him. "I believe you wish for me to rid you of this Curse, I suppose?" At his nod, she grabbed at a spot over his hand and drew her own hand back, where a black misty smoke hovered above his hand. "There it is…" She then crushed it in her hand. "And there it goes, I suppose."

"Thanks. I think I've got a theory as to what caused this," That was a lie, he knew what caused this. "And I've got to make sure it doesn't hurt anyone else." He then walked out of the room, as Beatrice sighed to herself.

"He really is going to get himself killed, I suppose. Idiots with bleeding hearts are always the ones to get themselves hurt for others."

"You want to go to the village? What for?" Ram asked as Zakariya rushed downstairs to tell the twin maids about the situation.

"Beatrice said the one who gave me this wound," He pointed at his now scarred hand, where the puncture holes still were visible. "Was also responsible for my Curse. Which means that the dog from the village was the one at fault for all of this!" The maids seemed more interested now, as he continued. "It seemed innocent, but I always had a feeling something was up with it, and the day I let my guard down and it bit me; I ended up getting cursed! And if I got cursed for letting my guard down, who knows how many victims that Beast is going to claim!"

"...Krazyaia has a point, despite his insane attitude-" Come on, just because he was coffee deprived didn't mean he was insane! "Lord Roswaal would be blamed if anything bad happened to the people of Arlam. Rem, I suggest you accompany him on this quest. You and I both know how useless this boy is when it comes to physical things such as battle. I will remain here to confirm everything with Miss Beatrice and keep an eye on Miss Emilia."

"Sister, are you sure?" Rem asked, as her pink-haired twin nodded. Zak then shifted his gaze to the side as Emilia then came downstairs.

"Zak, where are you going? Is something wrong?" The half-Elf asked as he laughed nervously.

"Something's up in Arlam, and I wanted to check up on it!" He replied as Emilia stopped in front of him.

"I can't stop you, can I?"

Zak was following a script at this point and eventually left the mansion with Rem next to him after Emilia had made a good luck prayer for him. Once he arrived at the village, Zak grew nervous. He had plans for the Wolgarm, yes, but this was a life-or-death situation and he didn't know how his Checkpoints worked in comparison to Subaru's. Was his Checkpoint close, or was it farther away? He didn't know, but he did know he didn't want to go through with the Tumultuous Week a second time.

"Has something happened?" Rem asked one of the villagers, who was carrying a torch as he ran.

"Yeah! It's awful! Several of the village children have gone missing, and everyone's looking all over for them!" The man responded, only for Zak to run off as he knew exactly where they were. Seeing that, the man and Rem followed him quickly, with Zak stopping in front of a specific fence where the barrier to keep out the Wolgarm had been broken. Rem immediately pointed it out, as Zak growled and instantly jumped over the fence.

"Eh?! Zak, what are you doing?" Rem asked in a panic, grabbing at his arm as he turned to face her.

"These kids are in danger and I am not going to let any of their deaths haunt my conscious!" He replied almost immediately. "And I know you have orders, and we shouldn't make any calls without Lord Roswaal, but at the moment I'm focusing on the future instead of now. Now, we might get in trouble. But in the future, saving these kids is going to be not only beneficial but will save everyone from a world of hurt. Do you want to have this on your conscious, Rem?"

"But what if this is a ruse to draw us away from the mansion?" Rem asked, as Zakariya went silent momentarily.

"Rem, that doesn't matter to me. I know I'm weak, and the only times I might be actually considered strong is in a coinflip life-or-death situation… but in my eyes, if someone has the power to save others and doesn't use it…" He glared at the maid for a moment. "They're more useless than a pile of waste. And I refuse to be that."

"...Very well then." Rem eventually caved in, as Zak turned away and hid his smile. There was the reliable Rem he knew. "I was given orders to keep an eye on you, and I'll make sure to continue doing so." He froze up momentarily as the girl summoned up her menacing-looking Morningstar, with the girl jumping over the fence and following him. The man that was with them had run off to tell the other villagers and group them up, and Zak eventually regained enough sense to follow Rem.

He knew this forest was filled with Mabeasts. He knew that he was outclassed and outmatched and that he would end up heavily relying on Rem. Thus was his curse, where he was a fragile, weak human. Weaker than even Subaru in the Canon Universe. Rem sniffed the air, as she paused. "We're getting closer. I'm smelling creatures."

"The kids?"

"Unsure. But it doesn't like the Beasts." She ran off, with Zak lagging a bit behind. Zak knew where to go, but didn't have the speed to keep up with Rem. He pointed out the children over the hill as they ran over to their position. They kneeled next to the children, as Zak instantly began to check them for any wounds aside from the bites, mostly out of paranoia.

"Okay, good…" They were alive, and that was what mattered. Zak paused momentarily, knowing that there were Wolgarm in the forest ahead of him. "Rem, can you cast a healing spell to soothe their pain?"

"Yes, I can." Rem replied, raising her hands as a blue light was emitted from them. Zakariya stood up, as Rem looked at him. "Wait, where are you going? It's too dangerous for you to leave! Like you said-"

"I know I'm weak, but I need to find the last kid! I won't be able to rest until I find her!" Zak replied instantaneously, ready to go 'off the rails' as he put it. "I'll leave these kids with you, you'll be more useful to them right now than I'll ever be. When the others come here to meet up with us, you can continue your task of keeping an eye on me."

Rem then grabbed at his suit's sleeve as she calmly looked at the children, focusing on her task. "We don't know the threat our opponent presents, or when they'll arrive. Letting you leave right now will get you killed, your Gate is highly unstable as well. Besides, how will I be sure that you won't just run off or get lost?"

"I'm sure you could find me. I have a particular smell, don't I?" Rem's eyes widened at his words, while Zak chuckled. "I know you're probably wondering how I know, and why I have this Scent. I don't have all the answers, but I can try to answer as much as I can." He turned to the maid, holding her hand in his own gently. "I promise on the Dragon."

"You do know that's the equivalent of making an unbreakable oath, right?" At his nod, she sighed. "Fine. Once the villagers arrive, I'll come for you alright? And when this is all over, I want you to explain everything. Even if you don't know certain things, I want you to give me all your best guesses, got it?"

Zak grinned widely. "Of course, Rem." He was about to leave, but then he heard Rem speak up again.

"Oh, and Zak?" He shifted his head to look at her, as the maid sighed. "Don't get yourself hurt. Miss Emilia told me about what happened a week ago when she first met you."

"Heh, so she did…" He nervously laughed, before putting a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'll do my best to not get brutally murdered!" He darkly joked, before rushing off into the forest.

"I need to be careful with how I tread here…" Zak muttered to himself as he wandered the forest and found the area where Meili's body was. He hovered his hand above her face out of instinct, noting she was alive, before standing up and reaching into his pocket to try and find his orange knife. He looked around, as he then noticed the bushes in front of him shaking, with a Wolgarm stepping out.

He was already pretty scared of dogs before, but seeing a dog with sharp teeth and spines along with crimson eyes just put the fear of God into him. "Don't be scared," He heard a familiar voice calmly say. Mephilosti's voice. "Reach into your back pocket." Zakariya slowly did so, before feeling his hand touch something cold and metallic. "Pull it out and strike it outwards the moment it tries to attack you, and only then."

Zak took a deep breath when Mephilosti told him to, and waited patiently, knowing that the Wolgarm would hide and attack him from a different direction. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and his fear was still present, but somehow he felt reassured right now. Protected. He then heard the Wolgarm rush out of its hiding spot and jump at him. "Now!" Mephilosti commanded, as Zakariya drew out the object and struck at the Wolgarm, piercing through the Mabeast's skull with a long silver blade. It had the appearance of a dagger, though its blade was somewhat round.

The moment the blade came into contact with the Wolgarm, its eyes burned out in a flash of blinding white light, leaving the beast limp and blood dripping down both Zak's hand and the blade. He threw aside the corpse, feeling uncomfortable with the blood for a moment before shaking it off. This was something he had to get over now he was in this world. He then turned to face the hidden swarm of Wolgarms, only knowing they were there because of his foreknowledge and due to the glowing red eyes in the darkness. "Y-you want some? Come get some!" He called out, as he prepared himself for battle, praying that Rem would return quickly. Instantaneously, the Wolgarm rushed out of the darkened forests and charged at him…

Only for them to be blown to bits of blood and gore as a Morningstar cut right through them. Zak shifted his gaze to Rem as he sighed in relief, with the maid having a serious expression on her face. "While I appreciate how you were willing to fight these Demon Beasts to give the villagers time to save the children, I do not appreciate how ready you were to fight a one-sided battle. You would not be able to handle that many Wolgarms, Zakariya." The said in a stern tone that caused him to laugh nervously. Two Wolgarm tried to jump at the maid, but she simply twirled around her body, with the Morningstar in her hands battering the beasts aside with ease.

Zak turned to pick up Meili in his arms, rushing to Rem's side. "I know, I'm an idiot, but I'm happy to know that you were able to make it in time. I would have been dog food without you!"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Zak inwardly frowned at Mephilosti's words. He didn't need a sarcastic voice in his head right now.

"Rem, while I know you're strong, I don't think we can fight this fight right now. Not when we're this outnumbered and burdened by a kid." He said to the maid, who nodded in agreement.

"I agree. We should get going." She said, before slamming her Morningstar into the floor to create a dust cloud. They then ran off, with Rem temporarily stopping to twirl her weapon and eviscerate the Wolgarm that were closest to them. Knowing exactly where to go to find the barrier, Zak continued to run off, his mind focused on reaching the barrier first. He then paused once his mind commanded him to, noticing Rem's bloody and battered body. His eyes widened, as he knew what exactly was coming next. He turned to the maid, hoping to pass on Meili to her and push her out of the way, not wanting to see Rem get hurt even more… and yet Fate was cruel, as Rem was the one to react to the mudslide first as she pushed him out of the way.

The mudslide impacted into her, knocking her into the air, where she fell limp after a few moments. "No, no, no!" Zak muttered as he slowly got up, knowing he had failed to go against Fate. It wasn't like this was a bad incident, but he didn't wish to see Rem get hurt! He shifted his gaze to the woods surrounding them as he drew out his strange blade again warily. "Damn, come on Rem… wake up…" He whispered in a slight panic.

He then felt it. The shifting of Mana, the sound of someone getting up, and the ring of Rem's Morningstar shifting around. Almost unnaturally, she stood up with a glowing pink horn growing from her forehead. Rem began to laugh softly and manically to herself, as Zak witnessed her true power. Her Oni power, as a Demon. Rem's laughter only increased in volume as she began to chant. "Mabeast, Mabeast, Mabeast!" She gleefully said as she swung her weapon around, devastating the monster population around them. "Witch!" The girl began alternating between 'Mabeast' and 'Witch' as she executed Wolgarm after Wolgarm, with Zak knowing the girl could only do this for so long before she truly lost her mind. But still, it was a horrifying and strangely mesmerizing sight, as Rem danced a dance of death, tearing apart the Mabeasts around them. He then put Meili down when he saw some Wolgarm jump at the girl from behind, and she didn't even notice.

Zakariya got up and rushed at the girl, hoping to save her before the Beasts got a hold of her… but he was too slow. The Mabeasts jumped onto her and bit her, but not before he stabbed and killed both of them with his knife. It was just two Mabeasts, so he knew Beatrice could handle this. But even still…

Why? Why am I so… weak?

I can't change anything like this.

Rem's hurt because of my weakness. Even Subaru wasn't this pathetic.

I hate this.

I hate myself.

I hate them.

With these thoughts plaguing his mind, he cradled Rem in his arms. "Rem! Rem, speak to me!" He begged, as the blue-haired Oni slowly opened her eyes.

"Zak…?" She slowly and softly said, relieving him as she eventually got up. The Wolgarm around them had temporarily backed off. "What's going-"

She was unable to finish her sentence, as Zak gently put her head on the floor, an unreadable expression on his face. Zak felt a burning sensation in his body, his body growing in size ever so slightly. He grew a bit of muscle, with his teeth sharpening to an extreme extent, almost like a shark or other predator's. His hair went stiff and spiky, as an expression of pure fury settled on his face, enhanced by defined crimson eyes. A faint demonic aura surrounded him, causing some of the weaker willed Mabeasts to take steps back as the others simply snarled.

On Zak's fury-blinded mind, only one thing was registered. Kill. Kill the unholy beasts. Abominations, disgraceful and heretical creations. False life. Zak then roared in rage, before charging at the Mabeast army, ready to rip and tear through the forest to kill these beasts.

Abominations. Unholy creations. Kill, kill, kill. He noticed one Mabeast had bitten him, but he felt no pain as he instead crushed its head by slamming it into a tree.

"Mephilosti, what is that?" Gadreelson asked from their positions, hiding invisibly as Zak continued to brutalize the monsters, only growing angrier by the second. Mephilosti chuckled in amusement.

"Can't you guess, brother? Every one of our incarnations was labeled with either a Sin or a Virtue! This is my little eponym's Sin brought out as a physical amplifier, turning Zakariya into a young, African American discount weeb-version of the Doom Slayer!" Mephilosti gleefully said, to Gadreelson's disappointment.

"First off, don't compare the Doom Slayer to the Fledgeling. That's offensive, and I'm sure if he was here he'd be offended… before joining in on the massacre against these Demon Beasts." Gadreelson scolded, his hands kept behind his back. "And secondly, when will you give him the other weapons?"

"All in good time, my brother!" Mephilosti smiled. "I just need to find the perfect time to try and hook up a Deal with the boy! For now… let's just enjoy the carnage!"

If there was a word to explain the carnage brought on by the current Wrath-empowered Zak, it would be 'Doom'. Why? Because at the moment, he was ripping and tearing through the Wolgarms like they were fodder demons and he actually was their Doom Slayer. Zak grabbed one Wolgarm from the air and snapped its neck, before throwing it aside and continuing his bloody rampage as he went off to try and drive the Wolgarm population of the forest to zero. He felt nothing, emotionally or physically, at the moment. He was a hollow shell, devoid of everything that made him human and only empowered by burning hellish anger, as he grabbed a Wolgarm and tore it in half; gripping onto its maw and tearing it as he listened to its pained dying whimpers. He killed each and every Wolgarm that stood in his way, slicing and stabbing like a real monster, a real Devil. Blood soaked his clothes, both his own and of the Wolgarms. His head snapped up to look at the sky as he sensed something was off, his mind briefly returning to him.

The next moment, something slammed into his stomach as he was sent flying, with his mind returning to him entirely… immediately, Zak's body was wracked with pain, as Rem hovered over him with a concerned look on her face. From the wet and sticky feeling, along with the dirt, he assumed he was hit with the Head Wolgarm's mudslide. His vision went hazy, as his body was unable to keep up with the influx of power from earlier as well as the pain it was going through. 'Damn it… so… close…' And with that, his vision went dark.

"...So, now what?" Gadreelson asked Mephilosti, as he watched over the sleeping form of their most recent and final incarnation. The Devil hummed for a moment before looking up at the First Incarnation.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Mephilosti asked as the Archangel sighed tiredly. He was tempted to shift into his True Form and smack Mephilosti around for a while because of the Devil's attitude, but in doing so he would kill everything in an 8-kilometer radius, including Zakariya. Not worth it.

"I was asking what we should do now. He's been introduced to his Sin, which usually means we show ourselves at some point when he needs an ally. But in this world..."

"He'll need allies almost all the time." Mephilosti finished the sentence, as he sighed and leaned back against the bed Zak was sleeping on, not affecting it but still being able to interact. Benefits of being selectively non-corporeal. "...I'll give him gifts for free right now. Make it look like Gabriel, I mean, 'The Messenger' was the one to give it to him."

"And?" Gadreelson raised an eyebrow, leaning against a wall. "What else? You have to truly reveal yourself soon."

"And I will, in Zak's Darkest Hour," Mephilosti answered casually, before looking over at the sleeping teen. "...He really is our final chance to make it up with Father, isn't he?"

"We wasted our own time with our arrogance, Mephilosti. We need to assist the boy as much as we can to ensure we can ascend back to Heaven. I'm sure all the others agree too." At that, Mephilosti went silent.

"But not Flugel. He'll never help."

"...No. He wouldn't." Gadreelosti agreed after a moment, a frown gracing his features. "Our actions will haunt this boy forever."

"Let's hope… that the Witches don't hate him for the sins of Flugel. Especially Satella."

Gadreelson shook his head, bringing up a small hope spot. "Why would Satella bless him with Return by Death if she didn't have some level of hope that he wouldn't end up like Flugel?"

"...You're right. We should still tell him about his misdeeds soon, though."

"On that, we can easily agree on."