Author's notes: In order make this chapter more bearable and not destroy your brain, I have decided to yet again split this part. Turns out this part may be longer than the final battle. I know it's taking so long but please bear with me. The 10th chapter will finally finish of this part and then we can move forward toward the end (Hey, at least this means I might have 14 chapters to this fic. Hey, that's just as much as Disgaea!) So be prepared to lose your mind in this one.

Oh, and Bella you were right. 'Setsunai' does match Setsuna perfectly, which you'll see in this chapter (Setsunai means pain, tired, and a bunch of other hurtful things). I'm considering on writing a fic on the 'Great Betrayal', my own made up war between the angels and demons years before even Krichevskoy and Lamington. If you'd like to see a fic like this (Setsuna, Kuroyami, and Chiriko will be in it) please tell me and I'll consider doing it in the future. For now, let us focus on Aku no Tsubasa, for the end may be coming fairly soon. Oh, and sorry, I made a typo in the last chapter. It's 'Chiriko, Celestial Angel', not Chiroko.

It is time to see what Setsuna can really do, and maybe learn a little more about him. Ready, let's go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Disgaea, as you might expect. I do, however, own Setsuna, Chiriko, Kuroyami, and Yuki.


Episode 9
: Legends of the Past (Messiah of Light and Darkness part 2)

Setsuna sat on the ground and looked into the sky. While this place was the more calmer than the rest of Eternal Apocalypse, it still gave off a grim feeling. The sky was covered in nothing but black. It was a very dreadful place to be in, and probably the worst place for anyone to battle, but this place was the obvious choice for those who want to prove their worth. With his battle against Laharl coming up, Setsuna took the time to reflect on his past. As the memories flooded him, one of the two voices echoed in his mind.

"It's been awhile since I've been here."

Yeah. This place may have always been murky, but the Great Betrayal caused this place to become so unstable.

"You had to bring that up ever again. To think that I could lose…"

Heh…you should be focusing on your battle. Remember, you go next.

"Do you really think that kid can hold him off?"

Of course. After all he was able to stand up to you.

"…"

Somewhere else in Eternal Apocalypse, Laharl and the others raced to the other side of this dreadful stage. Setsuna's charms have caused Flonne to vanish, and if Laharl wanted to get her back, he was going to have to fight Setsuna with everything he got. Despite the coming of danger, Etna, Aramis, Gordon, Jennifer, Kurtis, and Thursday have continued to follow him. While Laharl was against this, he needed all the help he could get.

As they headed towards the location of the battle, Etna noticed something written on Laharl's hand. "Hey Prince, what's that on your hand?"

Laharl sighed, a little disappointed that Etna was back to calling him 'Prince', unlike before when she was calling him 'Laharl-sama'. He decided to explain the meaning of it. "I don't know. It's some kind of weird thing Flonne wrote before we left."

"Flonne-chan, wrote it?"

"Yeah. It was supposed to be some kind of good luck charm or something." As they headed for the other side, Laharl began to remember what happened that morning with Flonne.

Flashback

"Laharl-san, can you come here please?" Flonne asked the Overlord. It was the morning of the battle, and everyone was preparing themselves for the worst. Despite this, Flonne was as energetic as ever.

Laharl, on the other hand, was lethargic as her sighed, and walked towards her with a bit of annoyance. "Yeah, what is it, Love Freak?"

"Hold out your hand."

"Why?"

"Please!"

"Oh fine." Laharl did what he was told and held out his hand. Suddenly, Flonne snatched his hand and took out a marker. She began to write something on his hand. When she was done, a weird symbol was on his hand. The symbol looked like a combination of a star and a cross (Star-crossed, get it? Okay, I'll stop…). "What the hell is this supposed to be?"

"It's a Celestia good luck charm." Flonne explained to him. Since she was a former Celestian, she remembers many of the Celestian myths. "They say that when you're in trouble, you write the symbol of an angel pertaining to whatever you are going through."

"So who is this supposed to be? Is this supposed to be the Seraph's symbol?"

"No, actually this is the symbol of the Celestial Angel, Chiriko." Flonne explained to him. "You have said that during the 'Great Betrayal', the demonic traitor Kuroyami tried to destroy both Celestia and the Netherworld, right? A myth in Celestia explains that Kuroyami was defeated by the angel Chiroko, and disappeared along with him. Because he charged into battle when he was very young, they said that spirits have been watching over him and protecting him. The symbol is rumored to have the same effect. It's like you're being watch by him."

"Now that sounds very disturbing…being watched every second by some dead hero…"

"Laharl-san!"

"But I'll keep it. Thanks Flonne."

"Tee hee. You're welcome, Laharl-san."

End of Flashback

"I just hope this myth is true…" Said a very unsure Laharl.

"Yeah, I don't need to end up losing because of Flonne-chan's idea." Etna said, remembering a similar event. "Remember when we lost to the 'Alternate Overlord'?"

"Don't remind me…" As Laharl kept running, he noticed that everywhere he went looked the same. It was miles and miles of similar looking rocky land without any end. It made Laharl wonder whether or not there was another side to Eternal Apocalypse. Knowing that Setsuna had probably the worst sense of direction, Laharl didn't know whether or not Setsuna was even there. After taking the time to stop, he caught his breath. Then, in a burst of fury "WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING! DID THAT STUPID PRIEST GET LOST AGAIN!"

Seeing that Laharl was about to get into another one of his temper tantrums, Kurtis turned to Thursday and asked, "Hey, are we going the right way or anything?"

"Blip beep, let me scan for life forms." Thursday put on his scanners and took the time to scan the area for where Setsuna may be. After much calculation, Thursday came up with one conclusion. "Thursday has detected one life form. He is around the immediate vicinity." Everyone was now on their guard. Unless it was another person, which isn't likely because Setsuna and the rest are the only beings here, the person here had to be Setsuna. Thursday made another attempt to scan the person, and came up with another conclusion. "Blip beep. It is not Setsuna. The person has similar energy patterns, but it is not him."

"That can't be!" Gordon exclaimed. "Besides us, he's the only one here! Are you sure your scanner is working properly?"

Jennifer shook her head in disagreement. "No, I checked him this morning. He's just fine."

Laharl tried looking around, but there was no one there. Everywhere he looked, there were just rocks. "But there's nothing here." Suddenly, a shot rang out. Everyone was able to dodge it, allowing the shot to collide with the ground.

The person the shot originated from began to chuckle. "Teehee. You must be Laharl-kun. You're much different than I expected."

Laharl felt the presence of the shooter from another rock. He turned to rock and yelled out, "Who's there?"

"Hey, that's not very nice of you to yell out 'Who's there' in a person's house!"

"THIS ISN'T EVEN YOUR HOUSE AND YOU JUST COPIED THAT LINE FROM SOMEONE ELSE!"

"It's not? Whoops, silly me! Okay, then I have no choice but to reveal myself." The shooter jumped up from hiding spot and landed on rock. It turned out to be a very young boy. He looked even younger than Laharl and Aramis. He had sky blue hair and a white windbreaker, along with a pair of baggy shorts. In his hand was a silver gun. He bowed to Laharl and introduced himself. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Chiriko, a former angel from Celestia!"

"Chiriko? Like in the legend?"

"Oh I'm a legend? I didn't even know! I didn't think helping the angels defeat Kuro-kun would make me a legend."

"So you are the Celestial Angel!" Laharl couldn't believe it. The very person that Flonne believed in was not only a little kid, but was also working for Setsuna. This situation was getting stranger by the minute.

Chiriko jumped from his rock and landed a few feet from the group. He, being a childish hyper kid, was jumping for joy, even if this was going to be a big battle. "Sorry, but I'm not going to let you fight Setsuna-san! If you want to battle him, you'll have to get past me!"

Back on the other side of Eternal Apocalypse, Setsuna was holding a couple of tiles. He placed one with the tiles beside him and placed another in a spot where a couple of other tiles were scattered. As he kept examining each tile, the other voice started to talk again.

"Are you sure sending the ol' Chiriko-chan was a good idea?"

Well, I wouldn't send you first. Chiriko-chan is better as their first challenger. It's not like he's weak either. That gun of his is very special and can really hamper Laharl-kun's chances of getting further. It's not like he's trying to defeat him anyway.

"Still, I heard this Laharl was strong enough to beat the Seraph of this time. If I remember correctly, Lamington is a bit stronger than him. Don't you think Chiriko-chan could lose?"

Are you worried about him?

"Worried! Of course not!"

Good, cuz you should've been worried about our game. Ron.

"DAMN YOU! IF I HAD MY BODY, I WOULD'VE KICKED YOUR ASS IN MAHJONG BY NOW!"

Sure…whatever you say… Yes, they were playing Mahjong. What a great way to pass the time…

Back to where Chiriko and Laharl were…

"So you'd better be prepared!" Warned Chiriko. "You may end up losing to me if you're not, so come at me however you like!" However, the stares that Laharl and the others were giving didn't make them look like they were scared at all. The arrogant boasts of Chiriko couldn't match his small stature, not to mention childish looks. His small stature made him look like a mouse compared to the others, even Laharl, Aramis, and Kurtis. Looking like a kid did not help his case either.

Laharl burst into laughter at the thought of fighting the tyke. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! So this is Setsuna's idea of a speed bump? He must be really pitiful to send a kid on us!"

"Eh? But you're a kid too."

Laharl's laughter ceased, and soon turned into anger once again. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY!"

"You know he's right, Prince." Etna told him. "You're pretty short, plus you're only 1315 years old."

"You're only 100 years older than I am, Etna! I am much older than that toddler, both age wise and maturity!"

"Aw…but you're cute as a child, Laharl-chan." Jennifer moaned.

"AND STOP CALLING ME LAHARL-CHAN!" Even in this serious battle, there was room for humor, and Laharl was taking the brunt of it.

Chiriko giggled as he raised his gun. "Well, I can't argue that I'm kid. After all, I'm only 1123, but don't let my age fool you. If you feel that I can't defeat you then that's your opinion. That means I should make the first blow!" Chiriko pointed his gun at the team and shot pulled the trigger. As the energy was about project itself, Chiriko right hand started to glow. Soon, the large projectile shot towards Laharl and the others at an incredibly fast rate. Despite this, Laharl and the rest were able to dodge it, but the attack wasn't over yet. Chiriko raised his gun. His right hand was still glowing. "Chibi Buster Mallet!" Suddenly, the shot jetted upwards into the sky and turned into a gigantic hammer. The hammer tried to squash everyone, but they luckily dodged it in time. Still, the hammer made contact with the ground, causing a small earthquake that hit everyone, not to mention the debris from the attack flew at them. When the dust cleared, there was a large crater than ran really deep. Everyone was amazed that Chiriko could do such a thing. "I didn't think I'd miss that time."

Laharl, dusting off the debris, couldn't believe that a child could do something like that. "What are you? How the hell did you do that?"

"Oh that. That's nothing for my Chi Gun." Chiriko said.

"Chi Gun?"

"Yes. This is no ordinary gun as you can see. It has a special property that allows me to do different things." Chiriko pointed his gun at Laharl, and pulled the trigger with his hand glowing once again. "Chi Blade Arrow!" Laharl and others tried to dodge the next blast, but as the shot came out, the tip of the shot was widened, making it look like a boomerang. Laharl and the others couldn't dodge this one at all, allowing the shot to make contact with all of them. Everyone was still able to get up after that attack, but still, it seems that Chiriko was someone to look out for.

"Damn it, he changed the power of his gun again!" Laharl groaned. "How's he doing that with just a gun?"

"It's because it is a Chi gun." Gordon said.

"Oh thank you for stating the obvious!"

"No, you don't understand." Gordon told him. "While you demons and angels may call it something else, to humans, chi, or sometimes ki, is the power that flows through our bodies. Some humans are unable to unlock it, but those who do get amazing powers. It's basically the energy that we can use in our attacks."

"I get it now." Etna noted. "That gun of his doesn't shoot out it's own power. All this power is coming from him, and since it's his own power, he is able to manipulate it."

"Well, yeah, I believe that's how he's able to create all those objects out of his shots." Gordon said.

"Wow, for once, you're actually being smart…"

"Can it, Overlord!"

"You guys are as smart as Setsuna-san says." Chiriko cheerfully said. "As you have said, the energy coming out of the gun isn't its power, but my power. By sending my energy into the gun, I can shoot it out at a faster rate than sending them on my own. And then when I shoot out my energy, I'm able to manipulate it at any time." Chiriko pointed his gun at them again.

"Oh no, he's gonna use another attack!"

"Damn, what should we do?"

"Here I come! Chi Gatling Buster!" Just as Chiriko pulled the trigger, Chiroko began to spin out of control from the group and shot his energy away from them. Because he was caught off guard, he was unable to think and unable to control his energy like before.

Seeing this as his chance, Laharl charged at Chiriko with his flaming fist attack. "Blazing Knuckles!" The attack was able to connect and Chiriko was sent flying. The kid angel fell to the ground with a loud thud. Laharl was glad that he was able to finally get an attack in, but it made him wonder why Chiriko would suddenly spin and lose control.

That's when Gordon walked up to Laharl with his smoking gun in his hand. "Haven't you ever watched any westerns? The winner is always the guy with the quicker draw."

"I get it now. So your shot hit his gun, which made him spin around."

"Yup." Gordon replied. "It's easier for a kid that small to stagger or be blown into the air. The impact my gun made on his was powerful enough to at least stun him for a few seconds."

"Heh…you're actually being useful for once."

"Hey, is that what you say to someone who just helped you win?"

"Gawd…Gordon's so embarrassing…" Kurtis muttered.

"Setsuna-san was right." Everyone turned back to where Chiriko has fallen. He was back again, keeping a firm a grip on his gun. Even then, he was still smiling like any happy child. "You guys are strong. I guess I shouldn't have underestimated any of you. Looks like I'll have to change my weapon then." Suddenly, the grip of the gun and the trigger fell off, leaving only the barrel. Chiriko clutched the barrel and began to wave it in the air. "Chi Gun Desperation: Chi Whip!" Suddenly, a long beam of energy appeared behind the group. They dodged out of its way, but the whip turned on the nearest target and swatted it across the field.

"BEEEEEEEEEP! Thursday has sustained damage! Must go into recovery mode! Cannot continue battle!"

Jennifer ran over to Thursday and checked on all his mechanisms to see if there's anything that needed repair. She groaned when she found a couple of cracks. "It's good thing I designed your armor to be strong to withstand incredibly forces, otherwise you would've been shattered. This may take some time, but I'll try and repair you."

"Don't worry, I made sure my Chi Whip didn't break your robot." Chiriko told Jennifer.

"I'm guessing that your Chi Whip is simply concentrating your energy into the form of a whip." Laharl said.

"Wow. You caught on so fast." Chiriko applauded Laharl. "Yes, just like my Chi Gun, my Chi Whip is simply a concentration of my energy into the form of a whip. However, because it is a whip, I have more control over both its path and it's form, unlike the shots from the gun. And so I can do something like this!" Chiriko pushed the hilt/barrel of his Chi Whip into the ground, and began to send his energy into it once again. "Chi Whip Dashing Stalagmite!" Suddenly, spikes of energy began to rise from the ground. They were coming up all over the place, making it hard for everyone to dodge. Eventually, the place was covered with vicious blue spikes, separating everyone from each other.

"Damn, where is everyone?" Kurtis grunted as he tried to get past the field of spikes. "Where am I going?" Suddenly, a large blue hand shot up from the ground and grabbed Kurtis.

From the sidelines, Chiriko began to cheer now that he had fished out the green prinny. "Yay! I got the green prinny! Well, it's not nice of me steal Laharl-kun's vassals so may be I should return him." Chiriko ordered the energy hand to make its palm face Laharl and the other, while still holding onto Kurtis.

Etna, seeing Kurtis in the air, realized what Chiriko was doing and became alert. "Oh no! He's going to throw Kurtis at us!"

"Damn it, he's gonna use Kurtis' Prinny ability!" Laharl grunted.

Not knowing what the abilities of Prinnies are, Gordon asked them, "What are you talking about? He's just going to throw Kurtis back to us!'

"You idiot!" Etna chided him. "Kurtis is now a Prinny!"

"So?"

"And Prinnies explode when thrown!"

"What?" Being a human, Gordon had no idea that Prinnies had such abilities, so it was a bit of a shocker to him. "Then what happens to Kurtis!" The three demons remained silent, but the grim faces answered Gordon's fear. "There's no time to waste! We must prevent him from exploding!"

"Easier said than done, Slayer." Laharl exclaimed. "If there's any hard impact, even if he's caught, Kurtis will explode. If we want to save them, we need to catch him with something that won't make such a big impact! Etna, any suggestions? You're the Prinny expert!"

Etna shook her head. "Sorry Prince, but the only thing I can think of is catching Kurtis with something soft, and it all depends on how hard he throws it."

"Give Kurtis back to us, you dirty angel!" Gordon shouted at the angelic child.

Chiriko pouted. "You didn't need to add 'the dirty angel' if you wanted him back. Here ya go!" With a snap of his fingers, the energy tossed Kurtis towards the group incredibly hard.

This was bad and Etna knew it. "It's too fast! Now he'll explode if he touches almost anything!"

Kurtis, seeing him moving closer and closer to the group, shouted, "Get out of the way! I'm going to explode if I hit any of you!" It was no use. None of them knew a way to save Kurtis or themselves. Even if they were to dodge, Kurtis would be injured in the process. There was no way they wanted that to happen.

"Wait. There is a way." Aramis rushed out of the group. Etna tried calling him back, but he wouldn't obey. He ran towards Kurtis until he was in the perfect position. That's when Aramis pulled out a whip and grabbed Kurtis just in time. "As long as I don't crack it too hard, the whip won't cause that much of an impact, allowing me to simple drop him on the ground." Everyone was relieved. At least Kurtis wasn't going to explode. But then…

"Aramis, look out!" However, Etna's warning came too late. By the time Aramis turned around, the energy hand had balled up into a fist and propelled him into the air. Once in the air, the fist smashed him into the ground. "Aramis!" Etna ran to Aramis' lifeless body to check on him. Luckily, he was still alive, but knocked out. Kurtis, from the shock of everything, was also out cold. Etna clutched her spear and glared back at Chiriko.

Chiriko bowed his head and apologized. "I know I hurt your friend, but it's still my duty to make sure you don't pass. I tried my best not to injure him severely so don't worry. But now, it's down to you three. I'm sorry, but please forgive me for this next one!" Chiriko raised the whip's hilt and began to twirl it above his head. Suddenly, the energy started to increase at an incredible rate. Finally, when his energy has gathered, he sent out the energy in vicious flurry. "Chi Whip Fury Attack: Sonic Cyclone Whip Smasher!" Laharl, Etna, and Gordon had no place to move, for the attack was everywhere. No matter where they moved, there would always be the energy whip slicing through the air. There were times where Laharl and Etna were able to dodge, but a few of the slashes were able to leave a few scratches on the two, not to mention tatter Laharl's cape and slice off one of Etna's ribbons. There was no escape from this attack. Their only chance was to cancel Chiriko out of it, but getting in close was suicide, and if they were to charge up for an energy attack, Chiriko could easily swat them with his whip. However, one person remained perfectly calm in midst of all this chaos. "Hm? Why is the funny hair man standing still?" Like Chiriko noted, Gordon, despite the storm the whip created, was standing perfectly still with his arms crossed. Chiriko had completely missed him, as he had been trying to hit Laharl and Etna. Chiriko shrugged it off and set his sights on Gordon. "Oh well, I guess I can pick off this one. Sorry but this is bai bai funny hair man!"

"Gordon, you idiot! Move!" Etna called out to him. However, Gordon didn't even budge a bit.

"Is this your idea of being a hero, because you're just gonna die in the end!" Laharl scolded him. Despite everything that was coming at him, Gordon remained perfectly still. Finally, one of Chiriko's energy whips started coming for Gordon. It seemed like he was going to be the next to be put out of commission. Then, in a move that surprised everyone…

"Just because it is made of energy, that doesn't mean that it doesn't have the properties of a normal whip!" …Gordon caught this whip in his bare hands, surprising everyone around him. As he continued to keep his grip on it, the other slashes of the whip began to disappear.

Chiriko was stunned. He couldn't believe that his whip would actually be caught, especially after that attack. "But that's impossible! It's an energy whip, so it should be harder to hold! It should be hurting you!"

"It does hurt holding this!" Gordon told him. "But even then, it is still a whip, and if I have the willpower, I can do this! After all, justice can shield me from any opposition, allowing me to crush this evil!"

"I still haven't lost yet! I can still slip the whip out of your hands!"

"I won't allow you to do that!" In that moment, Gordon yanked his side of the energy whip. The force of Gordon's pull forced Chiriko over to him, forcing him to let go of the hilt of the whip. Chiriko was now flying towards Gordon at an uncontrollable rate, making him vulnerable to any of Gordon's attacks. When Chiriko was in optimal range, "Because you are lighter, you can't stay on the ground as long. In this game of tug of war, I win! Gordon Uppercut!" Gordon let out an uppercut version of his powerful Gordon Punch and sent Chiriko high into the air. He turned towards Laharl. "Here's our chance! We can defeat him now if we use a team attack!"

"Heh…you actually pulled that one off. Now you really have earned the name of 'Slayer of the Netherworld! Let's finish him off!" Laharl jumped into the air. Gordon did the same. As they reached Chiriko, both Laharl and Gordon grabbed hold of him. At the peak of their height, they let gravity do the rest of the work, and performed their team attack. "Overlord-Slayer Drive: Gravitation Impact!" Their decent towards the ground was fast. Falling from the height they were at, their velocity kept increasing more rapidly as they reached the ground. In their finally minutes in the air, Gordon tossed Laharl and Chiriko towards the ground, and punched Chiriko with another powerful Gordon Punch, causing the velocity of their decent to increased. When Laharl finally reach the ground, he pinned Chiriko onto the rock hard soil, and, after charging the flames in his hands, forced a flaming pillar out of the ground. In the crater, created by Laharl and Gordon's team attack, Chiriko's lifeless body lay at the bottom. After an attack like that, there was no way he would be getting up.

Laharl took some time to catch his breath. When he finally achieved normal breathing, he looked over at Gordon, who gave him a thumbs up. Laharl groaned, but nevertheless thanked him for his help. "Heh…I have to admit, you were useful in this battle."

Gordon nodded. "When a friend of ours is in danger, we have to be serious. We cannot simply fool around here."

"You're right. We'd better get going."

However, Etna stopped them for a few minutes. "Wait a minute. What about Aramis, Jennifer, Kurtis, and Thursday? We can't just them here."

"It's alright." Jennifer reassured her. "We need some time to rest. You three go on ahead. I'll watch over Aramis-chan and Kurtis while repairing Thursday."

"But—"

"Don't worry, Aramis-chan will be fine, Etna-chan." Jennifer once again reassured her. "Now go. You all have to save Flonne-chan."

Etna nodded and turned back towards Laharl and Gordon. She decided to remove one of her ribbons, the one that was destroyed by Chiriko. The hair that was contained by the ribbon was now flowing freely while the other was still tied. Etna clutched her spear, determined to see this through to the end. "Let's go!"

"Yeah. We're going to save Flonne no matter what." And so, Laharl, Etna, and Gordon once again headed for Setsuna. Even if they have lost five party members, the three won't stop until they make sure they retrieve Flonne. However, there was one thing they didn't notice: Chiriko's lifeless body was no longer in the crater…

Back at Setsuna's area, Setsuna was examining his three charms again. The blue glow of the lapis lazuli side of the arrowhead had returned.

'Mou…those guys are so mean…I didn't think they would hit me so hard…'

"Did you really think they would go easy on you, Chiriko-chan?"

Well they passed the first hurdle. Laharl-kun's power is really turning into something.

"Well now it's time for the next hurdle, am I right?"

You've wanted to go out for a while now…

"Of course! I don't wanna stay in here!"

Very well, then I guess it is time to bring you back. Just don't cause so much chaos…

"Are you saying that I can't control myself! Is this a face that can't be trusted!"

YES!

"Grrrrrr…just make it quick, alright! I don't wanna stay here all day."

Hold on. Give me time to perform the pact! Setsuna once again twirled his priest staff, gathering his powers for his next pact. This time, the charms that were glowing were the obsidian side of his arrowhead and a weird X on his holy cross charm that looked like a scar, as well as his Gemini symbol. Setsuna chanted again. "I command thee to break the seal on the shadows and bring back the evil scourged from the universe. Let his blood shatter through the seal and allow his shadows to obey my command! Awaken from your sleep, traitor! COME FORTH DEMONIC HITOKIRI, KUROYAMI!"

Somewhere in the Eternal Apocalypse…

"I feel it!" Etna gasped. Laharl and Gordon felt it too. "A huge surge of energy…just now…that must've been..."

"Hold on!" Gordon said. "Remember the last time that happened. This could be another one of Setsuna's flunkies."

"But if it is another one of Setsuna's warriors, then Setsuna should be up ahead." Laharl concluded. Etna and Gordon agreed. Since Eternal Apocalypse was a humongous place, their only option was to follow a trail of energy, and hope that it belonged to Setsuna. Just as they were about to start moving again…

"So you are the one's who defeated Chiriko-chan? Heh…I hope you live up to the rumors…"

"Who's there!" Laharl shouted at the unknown shadow.

Their next opponent chuckled. "Hmhmhm…now now, don't be so hasty. Why not wait until I…" Suddenly, a chill went down Laharl, Etna, and Gordon's back. From hearing the next line… "…get down and introduce myself?" …they could tell that he was now right behind them. The three jumped back, stunned that their opponent had gotten behind them so fast. Their next opponent appeared to be as old as Setsuna. He had fiery red hair and a red scarf that covered his face. His attire consisted of black tank top and cargo pants. In his hand was a vicious katana. "Before you die, it is best that you learn my name. I'm sure you've heard of me before. I am Kuroyami, the one who brought ruin to Celestia and the Netherworld and will soon be the one that will take your lives!" Laharl and Etna were shocked. They couldn't believe it with their own eyes. The demon before them was none other than the great traitor himself. "What's with the look? I'm just another killer demon! I'm sure a lot of those are still in the Netherworld."

"But how did you return! And why are you siding with your enemy, Chiriko! And why are you two pairing up with Setsuna!"

"Heh…there's no need to worry about that once you're dead! Now get ready to face the power of a real demon!" Kuroyami sheathed his sword and began his charge at Laharl, Etna, and Gordon. If they thought Chiriko was hard, they hadn't seen anything yet.

Back on the other side of Eternal Apocalypse, Setsuna had a couple of red picks in his hands. In front of him was weird board with a couple of holes on it. As he placed down a couple of the picks, Chiriko's voice rang through his mind again.

'I know I couldn't do it, but I'm sure Kuro-kun can beat them! He's incredibly strong!'

You're really supportive of Kuroyami-san.

'Of course! He moves so fast that you can never see him. The way he creeps up from behind them makes it looks like he traveled through their own shadows! It's no wonder they call him the great 'Shadow Hitokiri'!'

Heh…even if he is a demon, you still love being his friend.

'Mmm-hmmm. Oh BF23 DF32! Looks like I activated the homing missiles. You lose, Setsuna-kun!'

Looks like you sunk my last battleship. You never lose in any game. Then again that was a cheat code you got from that story (Referring to one of my older fics. That's right everyone. They were playing Battleship.

'Teehee. By the way Setsuna-kun, I was wondering if I could see…?'

Yeah, you really wanted to see her. I need to talk to her anyway, so you can play with her for a bit.

'YAY!'

Back to where the fight was taking place, Kuroyami has had the upper hand from the beginning and wasn't about to let it go. He moved at an unimaginable speed. He was too fast to be caught by even the eye. Each time Laharl, Etna, or Gordon attacked, he used his speed to get behind them, and counter their attacks. What made his assault even worse was that Kuroyami hasn't used any special attack. Everything was just a counter and simple sword swipes. No fancy combo or magic or anything. "This is all you've got! I haven't even used any special technique and you're still falling before me! If you keep this up then the next time you'll be meeting will be as my Prinny slave! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Damn it, this guy just moves too fast!" No matter what Laharl did, Kuroyami would easily counter it thanks to his impressive speed. It looked like there was no way around him. "How can we get him!"

"Wait! I might have an idea!" Gordon charged at Kuroyami with all his might.

Kuroyami simply scoffed at his attacker. "Heh…you really think that kind of assault will work on me!" Kuroyami charged at Gordon as well with his sword out. As expected, Kuroyami was the faster one, and was already within range to attack him. "Maybe I'll start with you before taking down the Overlord!"

"Well you can't do that…" Just before the sword could hit. "…without your sword!" Gordon caught with his bare hands. This was move was something that Kuroyami didn't expect. "Well what do you think? Can you really kill us off unarmed?"

Kuroyami simply snickered. Soon it became a chuckle and then into evil burst of laughter. "Hehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What so funny!"

"Disarm me? I must applaud you for your effort, but…" In a flash, Kuroyami's sword disappeared from Gordon's hand. Even worse, Kuroyami was behind him again. "…can you disarm someone that's too fast for you?" In that very second, Kuroyami punished Gordon's futile effort by using a powerful slash on his back. Blood gushed out of the wound as Gordon fell to the ground. "Heh…first one down in less than three minutes. Now you're next!"

Laharl gritted his teeth, glaring at Kuroyami. He clutched his sword and tried to charge at him, but Etna stopped him. "If we try to charge at him, we'll just end up like Gordon. Gordon is fine; just let him rest there. We need to focus on Kuroyami if we want to get Flonne-chan back. I'll try and distract him. Prince, go in when he lets his guard down." Laharl agreed to go along with the plan. If Kuroyami drops his guard while fighting Etna, Laharl may get a hit.

Before Etna headed for Kuroyami, Laharl stopped her to say one thing. "Etna…be careful."

Etna winked at Laharl. "Don't worry about me, Prince. Worry about Flonne-chan." Etna then turned her attention to Kuroyami. From her position, Etna began to charge her energy into her hands. In her hands gathered the pink energy, which was in the shape of a heart. When the energy had reached it's limit, Etna launched her vicious, yet not so vicious-looking, attack. "Sexy Beam!" Etna's attack launched several pink beams at Kuroyami.

As the beams neared Kuroyami, he became arrogant once again. "Ha! You really think this will get me!" Kuroyami dodged the attack once again, and was behind Etna. This all occurred in a second. Etna couldn't believe that he could dodge that one so fast. "The problem with you guys is that you keep wasting your energy on attacks that could possibly miss! With the speed I have, I can use my specials when I'm ready. In fact, I'll show you one of them right now! Prepare to die! Serpent Nightsever!" In a short amount of time, Kuroyami had performed several vicious slashes on Etna before sending her flying with the last one. The speed at which Kuroyami was moving was too fast, even for Laharl to catch him. Within seconds, Etna was on the ground, with pieces of her clothes tattered in the attack, including her second ribbon. Kuroyami then turned his attention to the young Overlord himself. "The other pieces have fallen. Now it's time to go for checkmate. This is the end for you Overlord!" Kuroyami charged at Laharl at high speed, as predicted. Laharl, however, was not even moving. He remained still from where he was standing. Kuroyami scoffed this attempt. If he plans on countering, he has no chance! All I have to do is get him with my Serpent Nightsever and it'll be over with, just like with his vassals! Kuroyami has achieved the optimal position, and Laharl was still not moving. Kuroyami saw this as the perfect chance to truly finish him. "You're finished, Overlord! Now die!" Kuroyami raised his sword and…got swatted halfway across the field? Kuroyami couldn't believe it. Laharl was able to actually counter his attack.

Laharl turned towards Kuroyami with demonic glare in his eyes. Laharl wasn't going to lose this battle. "Are you going to keep scurrying like a fly till I swat you or are you gonna actually fight?"

Kuroyami, despite the damage received from the last attack, easily got up from the ground. His body was boiling with excitement. "Heh…you're one of the few people who got a hit on me. Congratulations…but now that means I'm gonna a lot more serious this time around." Kuroyami pointed his sword at Laharl and started to charge his energy right into the sword. The sword was now glowing an evil red. Kuroyami raised his sword sliced at the air. "Sonic Serpent Wave!" Kuroyami's swipe had caused a demonic serpent to shoot out of the sword and towards Laharl.

Just as the serpent was about to hit, Laharl jumped into the air. Kuroyami caught a glimpse of Laharl in mid air. Kuroyami practically expected this and jumped up to catch up to him. However, what he didn't expect was that large meteors were raining down on the field, and that Laharl was riding the largest one. The fiery boulders were raining down really fast, and because Kuroyami was in the air, there was no way he would be able to dodge it. "Meteor Impact!" The first to hit was Laharl's enormous meteor followed by every other flaming rock that crashed down with him. The impact caused major damage to Kuroyami, who was now on the ground, clutching his chest. Laharl glared at Kuroyami and began to chuckle evilly. "Now what was that you said about wasting your energy on attacks that couldn't hit?"

"Heh…to think you had such a powerful attack…well then I'll just have to be serious…" Kuroyami's right arm began to glow with malicious energy. The power it gave off made Laharl's rabbit ear hair stand on it ends. Kuroyami's desperate attack was about to appear. "I must say Overlord, you truly are powerful…but I'm not allowing you to go any further. My final attack cannot be stopped. So prepare yourself for the worst. Return from the shadows and engulf my opponent in true terror! Bring back the horror you have caused in the past! Come forth nine serpents of destruction! Warugi no Hebi!" Suddenly, everything around Laharl had turned black. All he could see were glowing eyes. What the hell is all this? Then in that very moment, everything became pitch black. Nothing could be seen. Nothing could be heard. Almost everything had been blinded by this dark attack. When the darkness cleared, Kuroyami was standing upright with a surge of dark power surrounding his arms. Laharl, on the other hand, was already on the ground, suffering from the damage caused by Kuroyami's attack. Kuroyami began to laugh. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! How does feel to die at the hands of nine demon serpents!" Despite the major damage caused to him, Laharl was able to get up. "Stubborn fool. Do you really think you can defeat me? Even if you do, at this rate you won't stand a chance against Setsuna."

"I don't care what you say…" Laharl got up and glared at Kuroyami, with determination in his eyes. The red irises in his eyes were now burning like fire. "I won't lose to you or Setsuna…I will get her back!"

"You don't know when to give up, do you? I might as well finish you off. At least I'll be able to put you out of your misery." Kuroyami began to charge the dark energy again. He was about to perform his Warugi no Hebi attack again. Laharl was too far to knock him out of it, so he tried to stand his ground and hope to counter the attack again. Kuroyami simply scoffed at him. "It's useless. You can hardly stand as you are now. You're using all your strength just to stand." Laharl gritted his teeth, knowing that he was right. There was no way Laharl would be able stand against the next one. Kuroyami's arm was covered in the dark energy once again. He was ready to finish this. "Drown in the shadows of my serpents! Die!" Suddenly, Kuroyami felt something heavy on him, which prevented him from using his Warugi no Hebi attack. That's when he realized that Laharl wasn't the only still up on the field. Damn…so he wasn't dead…

"With justice by my side? I don't think so!" Gordon had a firm hold on Kuroyami, preventing from doing anything for that time. It turns out he wasn't out after all. "Now that I have you, you cannot perform your ultimate attack!"

"You're starting to get on my nerves, you worthless pest! Be gone!" Kuroyami grabbed Gordon and slammed right onto the ground. Gordon winced in pain as Kuroyami hovered his sword over him. "This time you'll die for real!" Suddenly, a large explosion erupted where Kuroyami was standing. The explosion tossed him into the air. Now that he was flailing in the sky, he was susceptible to any attack.

Laharl began to grin, knowing that there was only one person who could set off an explosion like that. "I knew that demon Hitokiri couldn't keep a fool like you down for long."

Soon, a figure stepped out of the clearing smoke, with a grin on her face. "What did you expect? I'm not gonna let myself get killed here! Not when we still have Flonne-chan to save!" It was Etna. Despite the damage that she received, she was willing to continue the fight. The second ribbon had ripped off, allowing her hair to fully flow wildly in the air. Etna looked up into the sky where Kuroyami was still flailing. There was only one way to finish this. "Time to finish this with a team attack! Ready Prince?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Now that Kuroyami was open to attack, Laharl and Etna quickly moved in to finish him. "Overlord-Vassal Drive: Overlord's Overkill!" When they both reached Kuroyami, the two of them took out their weapons and began slashing him in an immense fury that wouldn't stop. The faster their attacks, the more energy was charged into it, and the more damage Kuroyami received. At the end of their attacks, they both stabbed Kuroyami with their weapons, and jumped away to summon their powers. In that moment, meteors started to fall from the sky and made their decent towards Kuroyami. The fully wounded Hitokiri felt the impact of the meteors hit him over and over again. It truly was Overkill. In the end, Kuroyami suffered the same fate Chiroko did. His lifeless body was now lying at the bottom of the crater.

At this point, Laharl and Etna took this time to catch their breath. Gordon, too, got up and caught his breath. After braving two incredibly strong opponents, they had to face the mastermind himself. This wasn't going to be an easy battle. However, Etna and Gordon gave Laharl a nod. Despite the injuries they had all received, none of them were willing to give up. Now was not the time for them to stop.

"Prince." Etna began, in a serious tone. "We're not letting you fight him on your own. Even if it's a duel, as one being entrusted by your father, I cannot allow you to die."

"Yes." Gordon said in a dignified voice. "If I let you die, then I will have failed my title as the Slayer of the Netherworld."

"I know how determined you guys are" Laharl began. "But I'm sure Setsuna will, at some point, separate you from me. If that happens, worry about yourself. I'll take over from there. Understand?" The other two nodded. Flonne was already gone. Jennifer, Thursday, Aramis, and Kurtis were left behind. His vassals had been confined to the Castle. There was no way he could afford to lose his head vassal nor his Slayer of the Netherworld. With that in mind, they all headed for Setsuna. However, by the time they left, just as Chiriko had done before him, Kuroyami had disappeared from the depths of the crater.

A few minutes later, Laharl, Etna, and Gordon had reached the other side of the Eternal Apocalypse. It was then that they realized why Setsuna had chosen this place. Of all the places in the Eternal Apocalypse, this one was the least unstable. Huge mountains surrounded the area, but the ground was flat. Without the distractions of the other areas in Eternal Apocalypse, this was the perfect battlefield. Truly a test of one's might. Just like Setsuna had promised, he was right in the middle of the battlefield, sitting down as he looked down on a piece of paper. His mind was attracted to it, making Laharl think that he might be pulling off some powerful talisman.

Laharl rushed towards Setsuna and started to shake him. "Alright, we're here. Let's get this over with."

Setsuna shook his head. "I'm sorry. Let me finish this."

Laharl started to become a little impatient, not to mention annoyed that he wasn't keeping his promise. "I thought you said no talismans!"

"I did. Just…hmmm…" Setsuna was hard at work looking at the piece of paper. He had been toiling with this for hours and there was no way he would give up on it. Finally, he turned to Laharl with a serious look on his eyes. "May I ask you something?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"You'd better not be trying anything funny." Etna warned the priest. "Cuz I WILL kill you if you pull anything."

Setsuna pulled the paper up to Laharl's face, which consisted of several white and black boxes. "I'm looking for a seven letter word that starts with a 'D' and is a slang term for the word 'idiot'. Do you know what that is?"

The three fell right on their faces. After everything they went through, Setsuna had the nerve to ask them for help with his crossword puzzle. Laharl, already at the limit of patience, shouted at the dense priest. "YOU DUMBASS! WE GO THROUGH ALL THIS CRAP JUST TO GET HERE AND YOU'RE ASKING ME TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR PUZZLE!"

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Setsuna finally got it. He took out his pencil and wrote the word 'dumbass' where he needed it. Seeing that his crossword puzzle had been finished, he began to cheer like a small child. "ALL RIGHT! I DID IT! I FINISHED IT!" He turned to Laharl and extended his hand in gratitude. "Thank you, Laharl-kun. You really helped me out with this puzzle."

Laharl took Setsuna's hand and shook it. "Aw…it was noth—HEY!" Laharl snatched back his hand, once again realizing that he was shaking hands with his enemy. "We've been through so much crap and yet you're sitting here, humming as you complete your dumb crossword puzzle!"

"Well sorry, but you guys took so long to get here!"

"THAT WAS YOUR FAULT! YOU SENT YOUR FLUNKIES!" Laharl, Etna, and Gordon yelled at Setsuna altogether. If it weren't for Chiriko and Kuroyami, they would've gotten there faster.

"Those two aren't my flunkies." Setsuna said as he finally got up with his staff in his hands. This time, it seemed like he was ready for battle. "Those two were simply sent to test your power. I needed to make sure that you had improved before fighting me again. It looks like you have. Now step away from your vassals and fight me, Overlord!"

However, Etna and Gordon were reluctant to part with Laharl. There was no way they would let him follow the same twist of fate Flonne did. "Prince isn't the only one here trying to get Flonne-chan back. We all want her to return with the Prince alive. I don't care what you say, I'm not backing down!"

"And neither am I!" Gordon exclaimed with a glint in his eyes. "I shall not stand idly as the Overlord risks his life for this! With justice guiding me, I shall aid him in battle!"

Setsuna chuckled to himself, seeing the burning determination in all three. "I see. You all really care for each other. However, a duel is a duel. The Overlord must fight on his own. If you cannot separate yourself from him, then I'll have to rely on these two to make sure you don't interfere." Suddenly, blasts of blue and black exploded around the group. After the smoke cleared, two objects came at Etna and Gordon. The one coming for Etna was a blade. The one heading towards Gordon looked like a yo-yo. The two had to separate Laharl just to dodge the attack, leaving him face to face with Setsuna. Two silhouettes were covered in smoke, but the voices were all too familiar to Laharl, Etna, and Gordon.

"Heh…did you really think we would go down so easily?"

"That's right! We're back!" Emerging from the smoke was what Etna and Gordon had feared. It was Chiriko and Kuroyami. Both were fully healed and ready to battle again. "Sorry guys, but Setsuna-san would like to face Laharl-kun on his own!"

Laharl glared at Setsuna, now seeing the full picture. It was now obvious to why these two legends would work together with Setsuna, and why they could easily return to full health. "Setsuna, you appear to be 1700, but that doesn't seem to be your real age does it?"

Etna, puzzled with what Laharl was saying, asked him, "Prince, what are you talking about?"

"Well, Flonne said Setsuna was a cross breed, so he could be much older than he looks." Laharl noted from Flonne's last conclusion. Laharl had hit something big and Setsuna knew it. "When I first saw him, I thought he was only 1700 years old, however, Chiroko and Kuroyami follow him around. In addition, they came back at full health so fast. The only for them to do that is for them to be sealed into something that could allow them to heal, but the only way Setsuna cannot seal someone as strong as Kuroyami or Chiroko unless he seals only their spirits."

Etna gasped. Laharl was right. Setsuna cannot seal someone too strong. There was only one explanation for all this. "So then that means…"

"That's right. Kuroyami and Chiroko souls were sealed into one of his charms, and can summon them at will." Laharl's conclusion was right on the dot. Setsuna can temporarily summon Kuroyami and Chiroko back to life thanks to his charms. That led to one more conclusion. "If that's true, then Setsuna, you're not exactly 1700 years old. In order for you to seal Kuroyami and Chiroko, they had to be alive. The last day of the 'Great Betrayal', the day Kuroyami disappeared from the universe…was 3500 years ago!" Thunder crackled through at the sound of Laharl's final conclusion. Etna and Gordon were shocked to hear such a thing. Setsuna did not have the look of a 3500 year old, and to be able to have Kuroyami and Chiroko as allies. It was all too hard for everyone to stomach.

Setsuna chuckled after hearing Laharl's words. It seems that Laharl was right after all. "You are all very perceptive, but I guess Flonne-chan did give you that clue. Yes, I am a cross breed, but I wasn't always a cross breed." Setsuna pulled out his three charms to show everyone. It was time for him tell Laharl his story. "The 'Great Betrayal' was probably the darkest time for all worlds. The sight blood was too common in those days. My wish is to never see anything like this again. I needed to end that war and fast, so I learned many different spells, curses, and seals. What allows me to live so long is the curse that needed the sacrifice of light and darkness. That's when Chiriko and Kuroyami came in. As you know, Kuroyami, at one point, broke into Celestia. Chiriko attempted to protect Celestia from being invaded, but he was overpowered, so I joined and helped him defeat Kuroyami. That's when I performed the pact to give me near immortality, however accepting the curse meant throwing away my humanity. In turn, I became cross breed of human, angel, and demon. Furthermore, I felt guilty for using them in my plan, so I sealed them into these charms before they died. There is only one way this curse can be broken, and that is either if I am killed…or if I complete my mission."

"And what mission is that?" asked the curious Laharl. Everyone needed to know why Setsuna would go through all this. What was his true purpose?

Setsuna, however, refused to answer. "Laharl-kun, at this point you should be worried about someone else." Laharl didn't want to admit it, but Setsuna was right. The top priority now was to defeat Setsuna and retrieve Flonne. "If you want Flonne-chan back, you'll have to defeat me…alone. That is why I re-summoned Kuroyami and Chiriko. I need to see your own strength, not the strength of your teammates. I hope you understand."

Laharl nodded. "I do. I have been planning to fight you on my own since I got your letter. However, I want to make one thing clear: I'm not gonna lose! I will continue to fight until I get Flonne back! Besides, my vassals are strong on their own, they'll do fine without me!"

"Hmmm. That's a bold statement." Setsuna said. "Well then I hope you put all your attention on our battle. Oh and don't worry, Chiriko and Kuroyami promised me not to kill your vassals."

"However I'd like to still fight even if Etna decides not to help him. After all…" Kuroyami glanced at Etna with a devious grin on his face as he pointed his demonic katana at her. "I feel like taking on this girl again."

Etna acted arrogant and sly as she put her hands on her hips. She waved her father's spear at her opponent. "Geez…if you wanted to go out with me, choose a better pick up line!"

Chiriko turned to Gordon with a yo-yo in hand. "Oh well. Then it's you and me funny hair man. This time I have some new Chi tricks so you'd better be ready."

Gordon pounded his fist into his other hand, readying himself for battle. "Well then, may justice lead me to defeat you once again!"

The battlefield was now quiet. Etna, Gordon, Kuroyami, and Chiriko all moved away from Laharl and Setsuna. With the attacks that they may be throwing out, they don't want to be in the way. Both teams glared at each other. Their fierce energy was about to be let out in this final battle. It was time to see what Setsuna was really made of. It was time for Laharl to show Setsuna the strength he had acquired despite the injuries he received from the previous fights. It was time to decide the fate of a certain Fallen Angel. Soon lightning flashed, and the opposing teams collided with powerful strikes. Thus started the final battle between the Overlord and the Dark Messiah.


Next Episode

Etna: Now that Gordon and I have been separated from the Prince, we must all fight on our own.

Gordon: My justice will bring us through this battle! I assure you, we won't lose!

Etna: All of us must use all our might to defeat the legends of Great Betrayal: Setsuna, Kuroyami, and Chiriko.

Setsuna: We too shall focus all our power on you three. We won't let you win so easily.

Kuroyami: That's right! You're not gonna escape this one unscathed!

Chiriko: We're gonna win!

Etna: However, these three may still have a few more tricks up their sleeves. Can the three of us defeat them and get Flonne-chan back?

Laharl: Of course! We are gonna take them down and get Flonne back, no matter how hard we have to hit them!

Etna: Next time on Disgaea: Aku no Tsubasa: True Power Awakened (Messiah of Light and Darkness part 3) We are going to fight with everything we've got! Come and hit us with your hardest attacks you three legends cuz we're not giving up!

Laharl: …why the hell are we so serious all of a sudden…?

Gordon: …yeah this seriousness almost made me pee my pants…

Flonne: Wow, so we have a serious preview this time?

Laharl: That's right, Fl—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, LOVE FREAK?


Just because the preview is serious doesn't mean it's gonna be the end. I still got more to go, so be prepared for the next chapter. Yeah, I decided to give Gordon a big part this time, and in the next chapter. While I don't like him too much, he IS very useful with his Gordon Blitz in the game, not to mention adds a little more humor, though Flonne, Etna, and Laharl already covered that. You'll notice that I have used Japanese for Kuroyami's final attack. If it was translated incorrectly please tell me. The translation is supposed to be 'Serpent's Malice'. There will be other Japanese attacks in the next chapter too so help me out. Btw, if you were all wondering where these characters came from, they're basically my own avatars (Burnfist/Shirai, Darkfist/Yami, and Shockfist/Chibi) fitted into the story. As for where the whole Great Betrayal thing came from…let's just say I'm a big RK fan, alright?

Anyway, next chapter will finally end this entire saga with one incredible battle. Will Laharl defeat Setsuna, and what about the Etna and Gordon against Kuroyami and Chiriko? And what is Setsuna's TRUE purpose? Find out next time!