Chapter 45: Spaceship Lazeria

"Meena, I guess this is where we say goodbye…" Clair told Meena, as the group approached the entrance of Whipple Village. "Thank you for all your help… but things will become even more dangerous from now on. I think it'll be the best for you to stay in this Village…"

"What? N…nooo!" Meena cried, as she objected. "Miss Clair… I don't really understand everything, but I know your journey isn't over yet… and that you still have to rescue Fayt and rest of your friends… so I want to help you all until the end! So can I come with you? Please? Please?"

"Sorry Meena, but this is really serious. Where we're going is no place for kids." Maria explained. "And you shouldn't leave your brother and rest of the villagers behind, either. Clair's right… it would really be the best for you to stay at your village."

"But…but…" Meena mumbled, her eyes getting teary.

"Are you sure she can't come?" Raditz asked. "She's already saved our lives not once, but twice! Her healing powers surpass those of either Clair, Reen, or you, Miss Maria… as long as we protect her, I think she can be of some big help!"

"Well, Raditz does make a good point…" Lancar agreed. "Just because she's a kid, it doesn't necessarily mean that she'll be in everybody's way. I mean, Roger and Peppita both traveled with you guys 2 years ago right? From what Cliff told me, they really helped you guys out a lot!"

"Hey! Don't call me a kid, I was the MAN back then, and I'm the MAN now, too!" Roger objected, very annoyed by the fact that he was called a kid. "Anyways, for the most part, I agree! We shouldn't ignore her powers and potential just because she's a kid!"

"Miss Maria…" Peppita said, as she turned to Maria. "I remember you were against me coming along with you guys two years ago too, right? Because I was a kid…Well, I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but I'd like to think that I was of some help back then! I can understand why Meena wants to come along with us…"

"Well… I guess you're right Peppita…" Maria admitted, after a moment of thought. "I was wrong back then. Both you and Roger ended up being an invaluable part of our group two years ago. And I suppose Meena does have greater healing powers than all of us… so I guess we can let her come along. But only on two conditions…"

"Really?" Meena asked excitedly, happy that she might be able to come along after all. "What are they?"

"Well, first, we need to have everybody's approval…" Maria told her, turning to everybody else in the group. "So will it be okay if Meena comes along, everyone?"

"I think it'll be fine!" Farleen said.

"Yeah, I'm with Farleen!" Reen agreed. "After all the times she saved us, I think we owe it to her!"

"This is not of my concern." Jeiuce muttered. "Do whatever you mortals want."

"Well, I guess if you all put it that way, it's fine with me too." Clair said, turning to Albel. "Albel, what do you think?"

"As long as she doesn't get in our way, she could be useful to us." Albel said, not particularly interested. "Let her come along if she wants to that badly."

"Yay! Thank you so much, everyone!" Meena thanked everybody, happy that everybody accepted her. "So what's the second thing, Miss Maria?"

"I want you to get the permission from your brother." Maria said adamantly. "And this time, you should go along with what he decides. You already worried him enough by running away from home against his wishes. You should go apologize, and then ask for his permission to come along with us."

"Um… okay, I understand!" Meena said, as she turned to her house. "I'll go ask him right now!"

"We'll wait for you at the Inn." Maria told her, as the group entered the town. "Make sure you explain everything to him thoroughly, alright?"

"Okay!" Meena agreed, as she ran towards her house. "I'll be right back!"

"I'll just stay out here by the entrance." Jeiuce told everyone, as he refrained from entering the town. "Needless to say, I don't need to be seen by mortals in this village. It'll just cause unnecessary chaos."

"Alright, we'll be back out to get you in about 3 hours then." Maria told him, as the rest of the group headed towards the Inn. "Let's go rest up for now, everyone."


"Niklas! Niklas!" Meena yelled as she barged into her house. "I'm home!"

"MEENA!" Niklas yelled in relief as he ran over to hug her. "Meena, where in the world were you? I was so worried… you're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"Heehee, I'm fine, Niklas, it's okay, you don't need to worry." Meena replied happily, glad to see that his brother was alright after the earthquake as well. "I'll tell you everything that happened… then I want to ask you something…"

"Tell me everything? And you want to ask me something?" Niklas asked, confused. "What do you mean?"


Three hours later, everybody stood at the front of the Inn, waiting for Meena to come to with an answer. Meena hurried towards them from a distance, with Niklas following slowly behind her.

"Sorry to make you all wait!" Meena apologized, sounding excited and out of breath. "Niklas said I could go!"

"Really?" Clair asked, a little surprised. "Niklas, is that true?"

"Yes. First of all, I want to thank you for saving our village and freeing us from the Demon threats, as well as Norton." Niklas thanked them humbly. "I've heard from Meena about how she was able to help you in a crucial time of need. If what she said was indeed true, then I would like to give her the permission to accompany you in your quest."

"It's true that she saved us…" Clair confirmed. "But are you sure that it's okay with you?"

"I believe we must do what we can in times of crisis like this. I initially objected her request because I thought she was going to be a nuisance for you all. But if she can indeed aid everybody in saving the world, then I've no objections." Niklas explained. "Also, I do not understand everything exactly, but apparently there is much bigger world out there besides ours. I would like Meena to go out there and see the outside world, or "universe" as you call it. However, I beg of you… please take good care of Meena…"

"I guarantee it. We'll bring her back home safely!" Raditz assured him. "We'll all protect her, don't worry about it!"

"Oh, I have faith in all of you, without a doubt." Niklas said. "I wish everybody the best of luck in this journey."

"Thanks Niklas… I promise I'll come back home safe and sound!" Meena said, giving Niklas a hug. "And I'll tell you lots and lots of stories, okay?"

"Yes. I look forward to it, little sister." Niklas said, returning the hug. "Make sure to stay out of trouble and… be careful."

Suddenly, Lancar heard series of beeps coming from his communicator. Lancar reached back to it immediately to respond.

"Yes. Lancar speaking." Lancar said. "So are you guys here now?"

"Yeah, we're here! We've just arrived at the orbit of Vanguard III. We're ready to beam you up at any time!" Marietta said. "We're standing by for your orders!"

"Man, you're making me feel like I'm your Captain or something, cut it out, hahah." Lancar laughed. "Anyways, get ready to beam up 11 people via transport in about 3 minutes."

"11? Wow, that sure is a big group… that's more people than we expected…" Marietta said. "But understood!"

"Alright everyone, it's time to go." Maria said, turning to Niklas. "Meena, let's go. Niklas, thank you for everything."

"Farewell, everyone." Niklas said, waving the party good bye as they exited the town. "Take care, Meena!"

As the party walked into the Pesotto forest, they were met by Jeiuce, who had been hiding out behind the trees the whole time.

"I see that your ship has arrived." Jeiuce said. "Let me make something clear… I'm not responsible for any chaos I might cause by boarding your ship. If they attack me, I will not hesitate to kill them."

"Don't worry, I'll explain it to everybody onboard." Lancar assured him, as he turned to his communicator. "Alright Marietta. We're all ready. Beam us up!"

Roger! Initiating transport sequence! Marietta announced, as everybody disappeared in a brilliant blue-white flash, transporting instantly to Spaceship Lazeria.


The group appeared one by one in the transporter room in Lazeria, and then stepped out of the room to be greeted by many familiar faces from two years ago. Lieber was the first to run in, looking at no one else but Maria.

"Capt… I mean, MARIA! It's so good to see you again!" Lieber yelled, overcome with joy. "And I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Good to see you too, Lieber!" Maria said, with a smile."It's been a long time. Are Steeg and Marietta at the bridge?"

"Yes, you can all meet up with them shortly." Lieber replied, sort of shrugging that question off. "But how are you, Maria? Are you hurt anywhere? Are you tired? Hungry? If there's anything you need, please say so and I'll be glad to help!"

"Cough Ah, geez… Lieber, I'm here too, you know… all safe and everything. Thank you for ignoring the rest of us." Lancar sneered. "Not that I'm surprised or anything, haha."

"Um, so this is the coward you were talking about at Otanim, Lancar?" Roger asked, little annoyed. "Man, what a wuss. He's more persistent than what you said, though."

"Don't worry. When it comes down to it, he'll choke." Lancar claimed confidently. "He always does."

"How pathetic…" Albel muttered, shaking his head.

"Eh? Oh yeah, there's others…" Lieber said, just coming into his attention that there were other people there. "Welcome to the Spaceship Lazeria, everyone!"

"Heehee… I'm impressed, Miss Maria!" Reen said, looking amused. "You sure have him on a short leash… what's your secret?"

"Huh?" Maria asked, naïve as she always was about the whole issue. "What do you mean?"

"Oh boy, I knew this was gonna happen…" Steeg muttered as him and Marietta walked towards the party to greet them. "Sorry guys. This Lieber here just rushed ahead of all of us as soon as he heard about you-know-who coming."

"Some people just never change, do they?" Marietta said, first looking jealous and then opening up with a smile to greet everyone. "Anyways… Maria, Lancar… and others… it's really nice to see you all again!"

"Marietta! Steeg!" Maria called out as she went to embrace her old 'family' members. "I'm so glad to see you all once again. I missed you all so much."

"Likewise. Y'all haven't changed one bit!" Lancar said. "It feels like old times!"

"So where is… AHHHHHHHHHH!" Marietta suddenly screamed as she spotted Jeiuce in the backgroud, devoid of any emotion. "A DEMON!"

"SHIT, HOW DID IT SNEAK ON BOARD LIKE THAT?" Steeg yelled, reaching back for his Phase gun to attack Jeiuce. "Everybody, TAKE COVER!"

"Maria! Stand behind me!" Lieber yelled, as he rushed over to protect Maria. "I'll protect you with my life!"

"I knew it…" Jeiuce muttered, his head sinking with an 'I told you so' look on his face.

"Wait! Don't fire! Steeg! Marietta! Lieber! Stop it!" Maria yelled. "He's with us! Just calm down!"

"What?" Steeg asked, confused but still pointing the gun towards Jeiuce. "What are you talking about, Maria?"

"She's right… put your guns down." Lancar said, as the three slowly backed off. "Yeah, he's a demon, but he's going to help us. I know it's hard to believe, but let's just go to the conference room first. I'll explain everything there."

"Ooookay then…" Steeg mumbled, as he slowly put his gun away. "Let's go then. The room's just up ahead."


"So that's what happened…" Steeg said, as Lancar explained the story about how Maria and Jeiuce joined the party. "If that's the case, sorry about all the commotion back there. Jeuice, was it?"

"It was expected." Jeiuce said. "But by no mean think that this is a peace treaty or anything of that sort. As soon as I overthrow those tyrants, we'll be enemies once again. You mortals and us Demons will never be able to co-exist."

"Um. Gotcha. Just don't destroy anything or freak out any of the crewmembers, k?" Steeg asked, turning back to Maria. "So, what should we do now, Cap… I mean Maria?"

"Well… we know for sure we have to go to Elicoor…" Maria said, looking a bit uncomfortable. "But Steeg, please don't speak that way anymore. Quark disbanded two years ago and I'm no longer the captain."

"Yeah. I guess it's just a habit… but you always did have great leadership skills, Maria." Steeg said. "And that's why we unanimously agreed for you to be our captain back then, remember?"

"That's right. Even Cliff agreed to it!" Marietta agreed, as her face suddenly turned worried. "By the way, where is Cliff? I expected him to be with you guys…"

"…" Everybody fell silent, as the mood suddenly got gloomy. Maria tried to speak, but she was hesitant to break the tragic news to them.

"W…what's with those faces…" Marietta asked, her face suddenly turning pale. "W…was he captured too? Or…"

"Alright, I've already done it once, so I guess I'll do it again…" Lancar spoke in a low voice as he stepped up to break the news to the crew. "Okay… here it goes..."

As Lancar explained the story, Steeg and Lieber both froze speechlessly, shocked at the news of Cliff's death. Marietta buried her face in her hands, crying out softly in grief.

"I… I can't believe it…" Steeg said. "Cliff's… really gone?"

"Cliff…" Lieber muttered as he got up then punched the wall hard in anger. "Those bastards! I'll never forgive them for this!"

"I think it would be the best not to tell Mirage about this…" Steeg said in a low voice. "At least not yet… you know she's going to take this harder than any of us."

"I'll tell her myself after all this is over…" Maria said, wiping away tears from her eyes. "I know this news really hurts, but let's try to focus on our mission for now. Cliff wouldn't want us to be sulking like this. I know it."

"Yeah… Maria's right… let's just do what we can at the moment." Lancar said. "So Steeg, how's the situation in other planets right now?"

"Well, I heard that the number of the demons in each planets have reduced significantly... so I guess that's good news." Steeg explained. "I'm not exactly sure on why, though. It's strange because they were winning most of the battles up until now… why would they suddenly retreat for no reason at all?"

"It's just as Jeiuce said." Clair explained. "I'm sure they are relocating their forces to our planet for their final mission. We need to get there before they can get their hands on the Sacred Orb. How much longer will it be until we arrive?"

"We should be there in about 2 hours." Lieber answered. "We also did a quick check on Elicoor II before we picked you guys up… fortunately there doesn't seem to be any more monster activities than before."

"Reorganizing should take some time." Jeiuce commented. "Saphiro is probably recalling majority of the forces from all the planets in your universe. Still, it's probably the best to get there as soon as possible."

"...I have a question for you, Demon." Albel butted in out of nowhere, to ask Jeiuce about something. "Did Saphiro know of the existence of Sacred Orb before all of this?"

"I wouldn't know anything about that, but it's possible." Jeiuce said. "He's always been in search of greater power, though I cannot confirm anything."

"But he appeared over 10 years ago, killed my father, and burned my arm off!" Albel yelled angrily. "And that scum was looking for that same damn orb back then!"

"Is that so…" Jeiuce said, looking surprised. "Interesting. He was able to enter your dimension even back then? From what I know, the gate to your world had been sealed only until recently. There must have been some demonic presence at the time."

"Demonic presence?" Clair asked. "What do you mean?"

"The mortals on your planet had sealed the gate to the Daemonium many years ago, which meant that we were unable to freely appear in your world any longer." Jeiuce explained. "Usually, we demons can only appear in places containing evil spirits, or other types of demonic presence."

"The Shrine of Kaddan is a holy place…" Clair said. "That explains why he couldn't get to the Sacred Orb directly."

"Demonic presence? What is all this nonsense?" Albel questioned Jeiuce angrily, confused about the situation. "So if this gate our your world was sealed, how is it broken now?"

"The same entity that was able to grant Saphiro and Romero the 'gift of god' also broke the seal to your dimension." Jeiuce said. "This allowed any demons to access your world freely, and hence, the mass invasion was possible once again."

"Well it makes sense, I guess." Raditz commented. "I mean, they were only able to invade Roak 700 years ago because we had opened the gate to the Daemoneum ourselves… There hasn't been any Demon Wars since that time. Until now that is."

"Either way, it's clear that they're looking for the Sacred Orb." Clair said. "We need to inform her majesty of the current situation as soon as possible…"

"…" Albel stayed silent for a while, and then lifted his head to make a request to Steeg "As soon as we arrive back at our planet, I want you to send me down to Airyglyph first."

"Airyglyph? What for?" Maria asked. "We should be going to Aquios first. Protecting the Sacred Orb is our main mission."

"It won't be for long. I just want to ask the King and that old man Woltar couple of questions, that's all." Albel explained. "Besides, I have been missing from that planet for quite some time now. I should probably at least let them know that I'm still alive."

"Fair enough. We'll wait for you, then." Maria said. "We'll begin our main mission as soon as you return from Airyglyph."

"I would also like to report back to her majesty first, if I may." Clair requested. "I should inform her of the upcoming invasion as soon as possible, so that my country can make the necessary preparations in regards to defense."

"Good idea. In that case, I'll come with you as well." Maria offered. "I can help you explain everything to her majesty in detail. Besides, you're going to need a contact to come back to the Diplo again, anyway."

"And I can be Albel's contact, if he doesn't mind me coming along." Lancar volunteered, as he turned to Albel. "Is that okay with you?"

"I don't have much of a choice, even if I didn't want you to come…" Albel muttered. "I would eventually have to come back to this ship, so I'm going to need a contact. It might as well be you, I suppose."

"Uh… thanks… I guess." Lancar said, scratching his head.

"Alright then, it's settled. As soon as we arrive back at Elicoor II, Clair and I will go report to Aquios, and Albel and Lancar will go report to Airyglyph." Maria explained. "Everybody else can wait here until we return. We'll plan our next move at that time."

"We still have couple hours to go before we arrive at our destination." Marietta said. "So you should all take this time to rest up… I'll make an announcement over the speakers when we arrive."


Chapter 46: Chaos in Space

Albel was sitting down on a chair in the guestroom of the Spaceship Lazeria, in deep thought while waiting for the arrival of the ship to Elicoor II. Many things were going through his mind, and the moment he heard that the group would have to go back to his own planet, he knew what he wanted to do first. In truth, he didn't really care for reporting back to his kingdom about the current situation or anything like that; before anything else, he wanted to know the truth about himself.

'Who the hell am I, really? Am I really even from that planet? Who were those people in the picture?' Albel kept asking himself, as the questions repeatedly popped into his head, not going away. In truth, Albel had always felt that he was not who he really was. He had always hid it and never mentioned it, but there was always something that he didn't like about himself. There was always something that made him feel different from everyone else, and had always felt that there was something that was always missing for him. His trip to the Daemoneum and meeting with Simone only strengthened those beliefs, and now he was more confused than ever…

Right at that moment, the door slid open as Clair entered the room.

"Albel, is it alright if I come in?" Clair asked. "I'd like to chat for a bit, if that's alright with you…"

"…Do as you like." Albel muttered, still immersed in his own thoughts.

"You know, it hasn't been that long since we've left our own planet…" Clair said. "But it certainly seems like it has been forever. I wonder if everything is okay back in Aquaria and Airyglyph… I can't believe I have to report that there will be another big war in our Planet. It's only been two years."

"The King and the Old man are no fools, and our military is still top class." Albel replied. "And you Aquarians are no slouch, either… they'll at least be able to hold out long enough for us to infiltrate the Daemoneum and kill those scums."

"I'd like to believe that too. I have confidence in both of our forces…" Clair agreed. "But from the way you look, that doesn't seem to be your main concern at the moment. What's wrong?"

"…It's nothing." Albel claimed, still looking spaced out in thought.

"You have another reason for wanting to go to Airyglyph, don't you?" Clair asked. "It's not at all like you to be too concerned about it. Well, I know you are deep inside, but you wouldn't usually request something like that yourself."

"Hah, now I see I'm becoming predictable… how pathetic…" Albel muttered. "I need to go speak to that old man Woltar. There are some questions I would like to ask him."

"You're going to ask him about your past, right?" Clair asked. "Ever since we left Roak, you've been uptight like this. Are you wondering if you might not be from our planet after all?"

"N…nonsense!" Albel retorted. "I just want to ask him about my father! He's the one that knew him the best. He might know something about why those demons wanted to get their hands on the Sacred Orb back then."

"There's also that I suppose. But you're also curious about your own past, right?" Clair questioned him again. "Maybe the answer lies during that time in the past you couldn't remember, when you were really young."

"Don't get me wrong; I don't care about some silly childhood memories. The answer might lie there, but it doesn't mean that I care about it myself." Albel claimed adamantly.

"Haha… it's pretty obvious when you're not telling the truth, too." Clair teased, laughing a little. "Of course you care. It's in our nature to be curious about the mysteries of our past. Frankly, it wouldn't be human to not care about it… especially when it's about your own past."

"Bah…" Albel blurted, annoyed and little embarrassed that Clair read right through him. "Think whatever you want…"

Suddenly, the voice of Marietta was heard over the announcement speakers in the room, interrupting their conversation. "Albel, Clair, we've just arrived at the orbit of Elicoor II. Please meet up with Lancar and Maria at the transportation room." Marietta told them over the speakers. "They'll be waiting for you at the front of the door."

"Albel…" Clair said, while getting up to leave. "No matter what you find out about yourself… no matter who you actually are, you're still the same Albel to all of us. It won't change a thing. Just remember that."

"…" Albel just stood there, not knowing what to say. It was an obvious and a clichéd statement, but still, it gave him a sense of comfort. He wanted to show his appreciation, but of course, he wasn't good at such things. Even saying a simple thank you was usually hard enough for him. As he hesitated, Clair turned around to say one more thing before leaving.

"Oh… before I forget…" Clair spoke softly as she took Palmira's wishing charm out of her pocket. "I never got a chance to thank you for your present…"

"Huh? Ah…" Albel mumbled, as he just simply looked away. "That thing…"

"It's probably coincidence, but Palmira flowers just happens to be my favourite... I love it." Clair thanked him, bowing to him. "I truly appreciate it, Albel. Thank you very much."

"It… it was just a simple gratitude for healing me at that dungeon. Supposedly you woman like those sort of things." Albel said, a little embarrassed. "So I just got it off some worm off the street. Don't think too much of it…"

"Haha… I see…" Clair laughed it off, knowing perfectly well that Palmira's wishing charm was too rare to get from some 'worm' off the street. "Even so, I still appreciate it. Anyways, we should probably get going now..."

"Right…let's get going." Albel said, following behind her as they left the room. Albel was flustered, as he could clearly tell from Clair's face that she knew that he was making up the story about how he got the charm. Was he just becoming that predictable to her? Or was it just simply a case of her knowing him too well? Either way, he was annoyed, but felt a new sense of personal bond to her… something he hasn't felt since his father had passed away.


After a few minutes, both Albel and Clair arrived at the transporter room, with Maria and Lancar already there waiting for them.

"So are you two all ready to go?" Maria asked.

"Yes. We're both ready, Maria." Clair replied.

"Alright. We might not have much time, so lets try to come back as soon as possible." Maria said. "Albel, Lancar, please explain everything to his majesty in detail and request for his cooperation in protecting the Sacred Orb. I'm counting on you guys."

"You got it." Lancar said. "Alright, let's move!"

Maria and Clair stepped into the transporter first, disappearing in a flash of blue-white light to transport to Aquios. Albel and Lancar then stepped into the transporter a moment later, transporting to Airyglyph.


Meanwhile, Raditz, Reen, Peppita, Meena, Farleen and Roger were all relaxing at the lounge of the ship, taking a breather and enjoying the scenery.

"Wow… everybody, look! There are so many stars out there!" Meena yelled excitedly as she looked out the window, staring at countless number of stars in space. "It's so pretty! It's like night, everywhere!"

"Haha… that's right… Meena's never been out in space before." Raditz said while looking at Reen, with a little chuckle. "This must be pretty exciting for her."

"Space?" Meena asked. "What's that?"

"Well, it's a place which holds many different stars!" Reen explained. "You want to know something cool, Meena? It's hard to explain, but you know all those stars you see at night, right? They're home to many different worlds and people!"

"WOW! Really?" Meena asked curiously. "But then how come they're all so bright? Why do you only see them at night? Can you tell me? Pleeeease?"

"Haha… it'll be pretty hard to explain it to someone as young as you…" Raditz said, scratching his head. "But I can try…"

"You know, now that I think about it, I've been here before, but I still don't get this whole space business either!" Roger said. "Can you explain it to me too sometime?"

"Um, I didn't really get a chance to appreciate this 'space' thing the first time either…" Farleen said. "But now that I think about it, this is all so cool! I've only heard things from Lady Nel… she told me that it's the prettiest thing you'd ever see! I'm so glad I'm getting a chance to see it, too!"

"Then let's bring back Miss Nel here after it's all over!" Peppita said. "So she can enjoy the stars again!"

"Yeah… I really hope she's okay…" Farleen said, turning grim. "I'm just relaxing here, looking at the pretty stars and getting all excited and everything… but we don't even know about how she is doing right now. Fayt too… I feel so guilty now, not being able to do anything so far."

"Don't say that, Farleen!" Reen objected. "You're not being fair to yourself! We tried our best… it wasn't our fault that we couldn't hurt those demons back then… and now that Miss Maria is with us, we'll defeat them for good and rescue your friends soon enough!"

"Exactly. And besides, we couldn't have gotten this far without you, Farleen!" Raditz said. "So don't be so hard on yourself."

"Yeah! Don't worry, I'm sure she's A-OK!" Roger assured her. "Miss Maria was caught and she was able to escape, remember? Miss Nel is really strong, so maybe she escaped already, too! Same with Fayt!"

"Thanks guys…" Farleen said. "I hope we'll get to rescue them soon."

"Don't worry, we'll beat those demons this time around." Raditz said, with a determined look on his face. "I'll make sure of it."

"Wow, you sure look confident!" Roger said, impressed with Raditz's determination.

"Yeah, I feel more motivated now than ever before." Raditz explained. "You know, until now, I was just a spoiled rich kid that ran away from all the responsibilities and problems. I was never really motivated to do anything with my life, until now. This is my chance to follow in my ancestor's footsteps… to save not just my own planet, but also the entire universe! I'm going to protect everything I care about… the people I care about the most… my parents, my friends… and Reen… I'm going to protect them even if it means putting my own life on the line."

"Wow, you say really cool things sometimes, Raditz. I agree with you 100! " Roger said, turning to Peppita to say something to her, with his head slightly down. "Uh…I'll protect Peppita with my life, too!"

"Aww, that was so sweet. Reen, did you hear that?" Peppita asked Reen, touched by Raditz's determination to protect her. "Raditz said he'll protect you with his life!"

'…She just completely ignored what I just said, right?…' Roger asked himself, his head hanging with a sweatdrop. 'Aww man…'

"Uh… did I just say Reen specifically?" Raditz scratched his head, embarrassed. "Heheh… but yeah… I really mean it. Reen… I'll protect… you."

"Huh? Sorry… were you guys saying something?" Reen asked while turning around, having completely missed everything Raditz had just said. "I was just explaining to Meena and Farleen about all the space stuff…"

"Heh…" Raditz muttered with a sweatdrop, having been ignored by her yet again. "N…never mind."

At that moment, the Spaceship was suddenly rocked hard by a large impact, causing a violent tremor around the ship that knocked everybody down off their feet.

"WHOA!" Raditz yelled, shocked by the sudden impact. "What the hell was that?"

Just as he said that, another impact hit the ship, causing a tremor around the ship again.

"AHHH!" Reen yelled in fear. "What's happening?"

"We're… we're being attacked!" Marietta announced over the speakers in panic. "Everybody, please take cover…AHHH!" She yelled as another impact shook the ship violently.

"We're being attacked?" Raditz asked. "Damn, is it those demons again?"

"Let's get to the bridge!" Peppita said. "I want to know what's going on!"

"Yeah, let's go!" Reen said, as everybody followed her to the bridge.


When the group arrived at the bridge, they witnessed all of the crewmembers punching in commands to the computer in panic, with the red emergency lights flashing all over the room.

"S…shit… Marietta, who's attacking us?" Steeg asked, shocked by the unexpected attack. "That came out of nowhere!"

"It's… it's an Expelian fleet!" Marietta said. "There's 7 of them in total… and they have us surrounded! They're armed with top of the line creation cannons… and they're attacking us with full force! Our shield's already down to 70 percent!"

"An Expelian fleet?" Steeg asked, dumbfounded. "Why would they be attacking us?"

"The Demon forces have taken over those ships." Jeiuce told him rather calmly. "I can definitely feel their presence. They're probably guarding the planet against all outside interference."

"Shit!" Raditz cursed. "It's them again?"

"W…what?" Steeg asked, turning back to Marietta to give a command. "Marietta, reroute all the power in the ship to our shields, and enable the escape pods! We're gonna have to bail… we don't stand a chance in a 7-on-1!

"N…negative! That would be suicide!" Marietta yelled. "They have us surrounded, so there is no chance for any of the escape pods to get away safely!"

"Damn, Saphiro beat us to it." Jeiuce cursed, with a disgusted look on his face. "So what's going to happen now, mortals? Are you just going to all sit here and await your deaths?"

"We're surrounded! Attacking would be useless! There's nothing we can do right now but to absorb the impact with our shields…" Steeg said in frustration. "Marietta, did you reroute all the power? How long can we hold out for?"

"I transferred all the available power to our shields, but it's already down to 47 percent!" Marietta announced, as another blast rocked the ship. "We can only hold out for approximately 5 minutes, at best!"

"Shoot, contact the Federation headquarters ASAP through the communicator!" Steeg ordered. "Send a SOS signal… ask for any help that might be available in the area… that's our only hope!"

"R…roger!" Marietta complied. "Contacting Federation Headquarters…"

"Damn…" Raditz muttered. "This can't be it! We can't die here after coming this far…"


Chapter 47: The Invasion

Albel and Lancar appeared just outside the gates of Airyglyph, only to witness a frightening scene; there were bodies of about a dozen Black Brigade soldiers scattered around the snowy field, some of which were horribly disfigured. The blood of the soldiers had seeped through the snow on the ground, dying it crimson red.

"W…what the hell!" Albel yelled, shocked at the sights of many of his soldiers dead on the ground. "Don't tell me that those scums have already began their invasion?"

"Damn… well, that's what it seems like…" Lancar said, looking down at the footprints on the snowy ground. "These footprints are definitely those of demons."

"Bah, those scums!" Albel yelled in disgust, rushing over to one of the soldiers. "Hey you, wake up! Answer me!"

"C…captain…" The soldier muttered with his last breath. "It was…the…demons… and a man with blue…hair…"

Before Albel could ask him any further questions, the soldier's head weakly tilted over sideways, dead.

"Blue hair? Who are you talking about? HEY!" Albel yelled at now-lifeless soldier in frustration. "Shit…"

"It's no use. They're all dead." Lancar said, after he examined around to all the soldiers fallen on the ground. "Let's just head out into the city."

"Hurry up." Albel said, having already rushed towards the city ahead of him. "Damn, how could our army be beaten so easily?"


As Albel and Lancar ran past the bridge leading to the city entrance, they came across many more lifeless bodies of Black Brigade soldiers. When they arrived at the city, a truly horrific scene greeted them. Countless bodies of civilians and soldiers alike were scattered around the streets in pools of blood, as well as many Air Dragons and Lums. Most of the houses and buildings were destroyed, with fire and smoke emerging from the rooftops. It was like an aftermath of a huge battle; actually, it was more like an aftermath of a small-scale genocide.

"Damn… this is horrible…" Lancar cursed in disgust. "They've totally destroyed this city… it seems like the battle was pretty one-sided too… I can't even find single body of a demon here!"

"Those bastards… those scums… THEY WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Albel yelled in anger, slashing his katana against a wall. "… We're going to the castle. There still might be some people alive."

"Yeah, let's go to the castle." Lancar agreed, turning towards the castle gates. "I'm sure at least few of the soldiers survived… I hope so, anyway."

They entered the castle, to witness more or less the same scene from before. There were many dead bodies of soldiers scattered around, as well as maids and other servants. Albel rushed up the stairs towards the Throne room, seeing Woltar humped over against the Throne, breathing heavily.

"Woltar!" Albel yelled. "You're still alive!"

"A…Albel?" Woltar struggled to respond back, clutching the large wound on his chest. "So… you've finally come…"

"What the hell happened here?" Albel asked, helping him up and sitting him on the throne. "Who did this? And where is the King?"

"It…it was those demons from before… they have begun a large-scale invasion… I'm sorry to say, boy… even though we were prepared, they were too tough… for this old man to handle… I failed in protecting the city and our people…" Woltar slowly explained, gasping for breath. "His majesty… is not here… he was already at Aquios by the time they invaded… for an important meeting with the Queen of Aquaria."

"He's at Aquios?" Albel asked. "So what the hell did those demons want from us?"

"The…the blue-haired boy… their captain… he wanted the Sacred Orb…" Woltar explained. "I told him… that it wasn't here… and I refused to tell him where it really was, of course… our soldiers tried to fight him, and I did as well… but his powers… were not of this world. He defeated everybody without much effort… alone…"

"Sacred Orb?" Albel yelled. "Damn, I knew it!"

"Who the hell is this blue-haired boy?" Lancar cursed. "The soldier back there at the entrance mentioned him too!"

"His fighting style… was similar to you and your father's, boy…" Woltar told Albel. "But do fear him… his power and skill easily surpasses those of yours or your comrades. It was beyond anything we could imagine…"

"What?" Albel asked, shocked by what Woltar had just said. "He had the similar fighting style? Damn… could it be… someone else from that planet called Roak, then?"

"I…I ordered all of the remaining soldiers in the three brigades to head over to Aquios, to protect his majesty… and the Sacred Orb, at all costs." Woltar explained, as Lancar tried his best to treat his large wound. "You and your comrades… should head over to the Urssa Cave Temple… asealed temple hidden within the deep regions of the Urssa Lava Caves… That's where the Demons were reported to be originating from..."

"Urssa Cave Temple…" Albel said. "Fine. I'll go there, and crush every last one of those scums. I'll make sure they pay for everything that they've done to this city."

"You're Airyglyph's last hope, boy…" Woltar said. "Defeat them… before they destroy the entire world…"

"Alright. But before I go, I have couple more questions I need to ask you…" Albel asked. "What was the whole deal with my father and that demon 10 years ago? And where am I really from? And my father?"

"Hooo… I'm surprised you're asking me… those questions, boy." Woltar said. "I was wondering… if you were ever going to…"

"So you do know, don't you?" Albel asked. "Then tell me everything I need to know about my past."

"I still don't know the truth… about that event from 10 years ago… Glou had never said anything about demons before that time, but it certainly seemed that… he knew about them from sometime before." Woltar explained. "Glou… that man… he just appeared in Airyglyph over 20 years ago, literally out of nowhere… all he had with him was a sword in one hand and you, boy… in the other…"

"20 years ago… when I was 6 years old?" Albel asked, realizing that was the furthest time back he could remember in his head. "Where did he come from?"

"He… Glou… just appeared at the armory tournament held here in the castle… and impressed the King greatly by with his great skills… he won the tournament with such ease that he was immediately offered to become the new Captain of the Dragon Brigade…" Woltar told him. "But he would never tell anybody about where he had come from… not even to me."

"Damn, so even you don't know of his origins…" Albel muttered. "Or mine, for that matter."

"You were… certainly one aggressive little boy…" Woltar told him, his breathing getting heavier. "You never got along with anyone, and you were always disobeying orders. All you would do was just walk around and pick fights with other kids… you were a big headache for all of us, but at the same time, you also possessed the great power and skill that your father had… Your father always trained you hard, every day, so that you would one day follow in his footsteps…"

"…" Albel just listened, remembering how much of a troublemaker he was back then. Even he wasn't sure of why he was acting so aggressively at that time. It had just come naturally to him.

"And he was the one… that originally planned the large-scale invasion of Aquaria that took place two years ago…" Woltar said. "When he first became the captain of the Dragon Brigade, he was relentless about invading Aquaria right from the start… he was very passionate about it... But as the years went by, he scrapped the plan… for some unknown reason. Vox merely resumed that plan… after your father perished…"

"What? Are you serious?" Albel asked, surprised. He didn't know that his father was the one that originally planned the invasion of Aquaria. 'Why did he do that?' Albel wondered. 'Could it be because… he wanted the Sacred Orb?'

"…That's about all I know…" Woltar mumbled, as his voice started becoming weaker. "Now, go boy… you must go defeat the demons… there's not… much time… Aquios… might not hold up… for much longer…"

"He's right…" Lancar said. "Let's head back up to Lazeria then meet up with everyone else… and we'll let the medical crew take care of our old man here."

"No… I don't… have much time left. Forget about… this pathetic old little man… and go…" Woltar said, his voice now very faint. "I have failed… in protecting our country… and this is my just punishment… I have also lived… much too long… regardless…"

"Bah! Stop that, old man!" Albel yelled. "Don't ever say such stupid things!"

"…I believe in you, boy… Albel…" Woltar said with last ounce of strength. "Make Glou proud…. We'll both be watching over you…"

With those words, Woltar simply rested his head back onto the chair, and closed his eyes.

"Shut up! Don't say hopeless crap like that! Hey!" Albel yelled, shaking Woltar with his hands. "SAY SOMETHING!"

There was no more response from Woltar. He was already dead.

"GWAAAAAAA!" Albel yelled in anger, pounding the ground with his fist. Even though Albel never really liked Woltar, he always respected him, and thought of him somewhat as an adoptive father. His loss filled him with much anger and sorrow.

"Albel… I'm sorry…" Lancar said, in a low voice. "He was like a second father to you, right…?"

"… Hah, don't speak such nonsense. This old man was saying stupid things, even in the end… fool…" Albel muttered, his hands trembling. "Enough of this crap. I can't take this bullshit anymore... After we get back to the ship, I'm going to go kill every last one of those scums with my own hand. So hurry up and take me back to the ship."

"Okay, hold on. I'll contact Marietta right now so she can beam us up soon." Lancar said, reaching back for his communicator and putting it towards his mouth to speak into it. "Marietta, we're done. Bring us back up as soon as possible."

"C…Cannot comply!" Marietta replied in panic. "We're currently being attacked by a group of demon battleships! They have us surrounded! We have our hands full just defending against their attacks… AHHH!"

"WHAT? They took over more spaceships? Marietta, you alright?" Lancar asked in great concern. "What are you guys planning to do?"

"We just requested help to the Federation Headquarters…" Marietta reported. "Don't worry; we'll get out of this somehow… sorry, but there is no way we can transport anyone right now…"

"Damn… no, Marietta, don't worry about us! Just focus on getting out of there anyway you can, alright?" Lancar yelled. "Over and out!"

"What the hell is going on?" Albel asked. "They've taken over more ships, and now they're attacking ours again?"

"Yeah… damn…" Lancar said. "This is all too much… Wait a minute… Clair and Maria both went to Aquios… isn't that where the demon army is heading to next?"

"SHIT!" Albel yelled, concerned about Clair in particular. "They're probably already ran into some those demon scums… let's move out to Aquios at once!"

"But isn't that city on the other end of the continent?" Lancar asked. "How the hell are we going to get there in time now? DAMN! By the time we get there, it might already be too late!"

"Just shut up and follow me, fool." Albel yelled, running down the stairways to the first floor of the castle. "There is another way."

"What? How?" Lancar asked, as he followed Albel down the stairway.


"Marietta, any report from the Headquarters?" Steeg asked, as the 7 surrounding battleships continuously bombarded the Lazeria out in the orbit of Elicoor II. "And how much time do we have left?"

"We're still on standby…. the shield's down to 29 percent power!" Marietta announced in panic. "We have to do something before they bring down our shields completely!"

"Shit, where the hell are those Federation people?" Steeg cursed. "We're like a rat in a cage here… there's nothing we can do!"

"Are…are we going to all die?" Meena asked, totally frightened. "Are those ships going to kill us?"

"Don't say that Meena, there's still hope!" Peppita told her. "We'll get out of this!"

"Wait… we just got a response from the headquarters!" Marietta told everybody. "The nearest Federation ship that can help us out… is 1,700,000 kilometers away… it'll take 14 minutes for them to get here… that's way too long! We only got few more minutes before our shields go down completely!"

"No…it can't be…" Reen mumbled, as she fell to her knees. "They were our last hope…"

"Damn! This is all bullshit!" Steeg cursed, hanging his head in despair. "You mean we're gonna have to hope for a miracle, like that time with Maria and the invisible?"

"So are you telling me this is where I die after I decide to join you mortals? Before actually even fighting them?" Jeiuce asked, completely disgusted. "This is indeed truly pathetic..."

"Shield's down to 19 percent… WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" Marietta yelled hysterically. "Or we're all going to die!"

"Damn, is this really it…" Steeg muttered in despair. "Are we really done for, this time?"


Chapter 48: Tragedy in Aquios

As soon as Clair and Maria transported to outside of Aquios, they were met with the familiar scene that Albel and Lancar saw back in Airyglyph. There were many dead bodies of soldiers scattered around the gate and the bridge, and fire and smoke could be seen emerging from deep within the city itself.

"W…what's happening!" Clair asked, her voice trembling. "They…they've already invaded? It can't be…"

"T…this is bad news…" Maria said, stunned by the horrific scene. "How could this happen? There weren't any new reports of demons showing up on this planet back at the ship…"

Clair looked ahead past the end of the bridge, into the town. She saw a person with short orange hair fighting alone against 6 or 7 other demons.

"Someone's still fighting in there!" Clair brought it to Maria's attention. "We should go help right away!"

"Yes, let's go quickly!" Maria agreed, as both of them ran up the Moonlit bridge as fast as they could. "Maybe we're not too late yet."

"That person… could it be…" Clair asked herself, thinking that the person with short orange hair fighting seemed really familiar to her. "…Tynave?"


Back in the city, Tynave was surrounded by a group of 6 or 7 demons, trying to distract the demons from progressing further into the castle. She went into her battle stance, to get ready for the upcoming battle.

"Heh… foolish mortal. We have you surrounded." One demon sneered. "You stand no chance against us. And yet you still want to fight?"

"It's my duty to defend this country, and I won't let a single one of you disgusting demons get past me!" Tynave yelled. "I'll fight to death if it comes down to it! In the name of Apris, I vow to punish you all for your crimes!"

"Hooh… how courageous. Very well, then. We shall end your life right now, as you wish." The demon said, suddenly rushing towards Tynave for an attack. "DIE!"

"SPIRIT ATTACK!" Tynave yelled, as she shot out a round Qigong wave out of her palm towards the rushing demon. The blast hit the demon squarely on the chest, knocking it back in pain.

"H…how dare you!" Another demon yelled, as he ran behind her to hit her with his claw swipe. "TAKE THIS!"

Suddenly, Tynave disappeared in a blur, as the demon's claw swipe only swung at thin air. Tynave then suddenly reappeared above the demon, diving in feet first while yelling "PILLORY!" Her drop kick hit the demon on the back of the head, knocking him down to the ground unconscious.

"S…she's stronger than we thought!" Another demon yelled. "Show her no mercy!"

Tynave parried off the demon attacks as best as she could, but eventually, the sheer number of the demons overwhelmed her. One demon hit her with his claw swipe from behind, knocking Tynave down to the ground in pain. As Tynave struggled to get up, another demon unleashed his firebolt attack, which exploded against her upon impact and knocked her back to a wall. Tynave's body ricocheted off the wall with a sickening thud, and then hit the ground in a heap of smoke.

"I...won't…give up…" Tynave mumbled in pain, as she struggled to get up and failed. "I can't…let you… pass…"

"Not bad… you managed to take out a few of my comrades. I'm impressed." One demon said, charging his hand in massive energy to deal the final blow. "For that, I'll make your death as quick and painless as possible."

"N…no…" Tynave moaned, as she helplessly lied down on the ground, unable to move. "I can't…"

Just before the demon unleashed his attack, Maria yelled "SCATTER BEAM!" as her plasma blast split into 5 to hit all the demons simultaneously and knock them back. Before the demons could regroup, Clair rushed towards the demons to quickly slash through all of them with her twin daggers. Devastated by Clair's lightning-quick attack, the demons all fell to the ground lifelessly.

"Tynave!" Clair yelled, as she rushed over to Tynave to attend to her. "Can you hear me?"

"L…Lady Clair… you've… finally… come…" Tynave said faintly, losing consciousness. "I'm so glad… to see you… safe…"

"HEALING!" Clair yelled, as her healing spell healed Tynave's wounds, allowing her to get back up. "Do you feel better?"

"L…Lady Clair… thank you…" Tynave thanked her, with a bow. "Miss Maria, it's nice to see you again…"

"We'll save all the talk for later." Maria said. "Tynave, can you explain what's going on? When did the demons invade the city?"

"They're…they're trying to infiltrate the Shrine of Kaddan!" Tynave replied, as another urgent issue came into her mind. "That reminds me… we must first hurry to the castle! Sir Adray could be in danger!"

"F…father?" Clair asked, becoming increasingly worried. "He's…he's here, too?"

"He went to fend off rest of the demons that was trying to enter the royal castle!" Tynave yelled, as she ran towards the castle. "We have to go help him, quick!"

"Let's go!" Clair agreed, as her and Maria both quickly followed Tynave to the castle gates. "Father…please be okay…"


Meanwhile, in space, Marietta tried the best as she could to sustain the defense shields of the Lazeria as long as possible. However, the enemy ships kept firing their creation cannons from all directions, deteriorating the shield's power and threatening to blow them away for good at any moment.

"The…the shield's down to 5 percent power!" Marietta yelled. "We won't be able to withstand their next attack!"

"It can't be!" Steeg yelled in despair "SHIT!"

One of the enemy ships started charging their creation cannons once more, to blow away Lazeria for good with their next blast. "This… is… it…" Raditz started trembling, helplessly watching their cannon charging up with high amount of energy. "This is the end… DAMN…"

Right before the enemy ship could fire, a green beam of energy came out of nowhere to hit them from behind, exploding upon impact and blowing their ship into pieces.

"W…what?" Steed asked, dumbfounded. "What just happened? Who did that?"

Suddenly, a group of 10-15 oval-shaped spaceships appeared from behind the enemy ships, firing relentlessly and destroying them with powerful green beam-like energy blasts.

"T… this is our chance!" Steeg yelled. "Marietta! Get us out of this pinch!"

"Roger!" Marietta complied, as she quickly maneuvered the Lazeria away from the surrounding enemy ships through the opening created by the mysterious group of spaceships.

"We're safe for now!" Marietta said. "Wait a minute… we got an incoming transmission! It's from those weird looking spaceships that saved us!"

"On Speakers!" Steeg ordered. "This is Captain of the Federation Spaceship Lazeria speaking. Thank you for saving us. Whom might we be speaking to?"

"We are a fleet from the Kingdom of Greeton; we come from the planet that you are currently orbiting. We have come to assist you in your battle against the demons." The Captain of the Greeton fleet told him over the speakers. "We welcome you to our planet, Klausians. You have our full cooperation, and we ask of yours, as well. We must work together to defeat the demons."

"Greeton? I've never heard of you guys before, but we really owe you one!" Steeg said. "Yes! You can count on our full cooperation as well. Let's defeat these demon ships together!"

"W…wait a minute!" Raditz asked, baffled. "This is supposed to be an underdeveloped planet! How in the world could they have a fleet of spaceships?"

"Heh, I knew those guys would come back to help us!" Roger said. "Don't underestimate them! Their technology is as sophisticated as you guys!"

"Well, I'm surprised too, but I'm certainly not complaining!" Steeg said, turning to Marietta. "Alright… Marietta, let's help them destroy those ships! Charge up our Creation and Positron cannons, and fire at will when ready!"

"Roger!" Marietta replied, as Lazeria and the Greeton spaceships both fired away at the Demon ships, destroying them one by one.


Back at Aquios, Clair, Maria, and Tynave arrived at the gates of the castle, only to see Adray limped back against the wall, seriously injured. A familiar figure was standing over him; he had a pale face, and a black cape, almost identical to how Romero looked.

"Heh, so this is the best you got?" The Archdemon sneered at fallen Adray. "If you're the strongest they have to offer, then other mortals on this planet must be pathetically weak. I'm disappointed."

"…I'm done for. I've lost." Adray muttered, barely moving. "It's finally the time to meet my end…now, finish me off, demon..."

"At least you're honourable in defeat. Very well, I shall do as you wish." Archdemon said, getting ready to deal the fatal blow.

"NO!" Clair yelled, as she dived in front of Adray to slash at the Archdemon, making him jump back. "STAY AWAY FROM MY FATHER!"

"Heh, so you're his daughter?" Archdemon sneered. "Would you like to die with him as well?"

"Clair… why are you… here?" Adray asked. "Just run… this demon… is too strong…"

"You look like the one we defeated back at Vanguard…" Maria commented. "Leave Adray alone. Your fight will be with us."

"W…what did you say?" Archdemon asked. "You mean… YOU'RE the ones… who defeated Romero? My brother? Impossible!"

"And you're next! We shall punish you for all your crimes! We can't forgive you for this!" Clair yelled emotionally, as she went into her battle stance. "In the name of Apris, I shall slay you!"

"Heh… is that so. Looks like this has become even more fun." Archdemon said, as the demon sword Levantine appeared in his hand. "I didn't know I was going to get the opportunity to avenge my brother's death... this is perfect. Be prepared, mortals! I shall make your deaths a long, miserable one!"

"HI-YA!" Clair yelled, as she dashed towards the Archdemon, slashing at him rapidly with her twin daggers. Archdemon simply parried of all the attacks with his Levantine sword, then slashed back at her in one giant swing, knocking her back and down on the ground.

"WHIRLWIND KICK!" Tynave yelled as she made a quick turning foot sweep at the Archdemon followed by a spinning back kick. Archdemon dodged the attacks easily, then blew her away with an energy blast from his palm.

"AIMING DEVICE!" Maria yelled, as she crouched down to shoot a quick, powerful plasma beam towards the Archdemon with deadly accuracy, towards his midsection. However, the Archdemon simply deflected the attack away with his sword, then knocked Maria down to the ground with a dark wave emitting from the slash with his Levantine.

"He's… just as tough as his brother…" Maria commented, getting back up to her feet. "Everyone, be careful..."

"EEYAA!" Tynave yelled while running up and delivering a series of swift punches and kicks towards the Archdemon. The demon evaded all the attacks, then suddenly appeared right beside Tynave to deliver a deadly slash with his sword. However, the sword blow simply went right through an illusive image that Tynave had created. Tynave reappeared from above the Archdemon, diving in feet first to deliver her Pillory attack. However, the Archdemon also countered that move with his Flashing Sword maneuver; disappearing and then reappearing behind Tynave for a quick flaming slash with his sword. "AHH!" Tynave screamed in pain as the burning sword slash cut right through the flesh on her back, spraying blood and knocking her down on the ground.

"TYNAVE!" Clair yelled in horror as she ran over to her to help.

"CRESCENT LOCUS!" Maria yelled as she knocked the Archdemon away temporarily with the energy wave generated from her kick.

"Heh heh. Don't mind me. Heal her if you like." Archdemon laughed cockily as he got up from being hit with Maria's attack with ease. "I'm not through playing with you mortals, just yet."

"HEALING!" Clair casted her healing spell once more to heal Tynave's slash wound on her back. "Tynave, you must be careful! Don't attack him aggressively like that!"

"I'm… I'm sorry, Lady Clair. I understand" Tynave apologized, going into her battle stance again. "I'll take uttermost caution from now on…"

"Heh. Alright. It's time for you all to burn in hell!" Archdemon yelled as he raised his Levantine sword high up in the air, in front of him. He then slammed the sword down on the ground, creating a raging fiery inferno around him to knock all three girls back down in a heap of smoke.

"Ah…ahhh… He's… too… strong for three of us…" Maria struggled in pain as she and others all suffered burn wounds from Archdemon's devastating attack. However, they all slowly got back up to their feet, not ready to give up just yet.

"You mortals are much stronger than the others… It's certainly taking a lot of effort on my part." The Archdemon said. "As a matter of fact, you are all starting to annoy me. So there won't be anymore playing around. Now, I'm going to kill you, one by one."

Archdemon then suddenly teleported to front of Clair, as the ground around him erupted in flames. "I'll start with you!" He yelled as he swung back his Levantine, preparing to slash upwards with his Crimson sword attack.

"NO!" Clair screamed as she could only desperately cover herself with her arms in defense. She closed her eyes in fear, expecting a fiery impact and for her death to soon follow. 'Albel…'

Right before the Archdemon could deliver the Crimson sword attack at Clair, a fiery breath from an Air Dragon blasted him away just in time, saving Clair from the pinch. As Clair slowly opened her eyes again, she saw Albel and Lancar riding the Air Dragon, getting ready to jump down to battle.

"Clair!" Albel yelled. "Are you hurt?"

"A…Albel!" Clair replied. "I'm… I'm okay! T… thank you for saving me!"

"I…is that Albel?" Tynave asked, dumbfounded. "He…saved Lady Clair?"

"You've… come just in time…" Maria said, as she struggled forward to fight once again. "This one is really strong… we're going to need help…"

"Arrrg…" Archdemon groaned as he slowly got up from being hit with the fire breath from Albel's Air Dragon, covered in smoke. "More mortals?"

"Alright! Take this!" Lancar yelled as he jumped off the Air Dragon to dive feet first towards the Archdemon, his body covered in a powerful aura. "AERIAL ASSULT!" As the impact from the Aerial Assult attack sent the Archdemon flying back once again, Albel also jumped off the Air Dragon, slashing his katana with great force to create an aerial version of his Air Slash. The Air Slash knocked the Archdemon down hard on the ground, creating a small crater around the area he fell on. The Archdemon laid there motionlessly, knocked out from the powerful impact.

"That should take care of him!" Lancar said. "We hit him really hard there!"

"This scum looks like that last one we defeated." Albel commented. "I'll finish that maggot off for good… if he's still breathing, that is…"

At that moment, the Archdemon suddenly leaped out from the crater, driving his sword down to the ground while yelling "SWORD… OF DARKNESS!" A huge demon made of blood came out of the ground, doing several energy slashes with its sword. The energy wave from its sword blasted everybody back, knocking them back down in pain.

"HAH! You think you mortals could beat me that easily?" Archdemon yelled. "FOOLS! For embarrassing me like that, I shall kill you! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"

"Ugh… Everybody… I have an idea…" Maria said, slowly getting up to fight once again. "Get ready to hit him with all you got."

Suddenly, Maria turned towards the Archdemon, waving him towards her. "Hey you, if you think you're so great, bring it!" Maria taunted. "A great Demonic specimen like you can't even kill a lowly mortal being such as myself? Especially a frail little girl such as I? How disappointing… Now that I think about it that way, you're pretty pathetic!"

"W…WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Archdemon yelled in rage, as he dashed towards Maria with his Levantine swung back. "SHUT UP AND DIE!"

Right before the Archdemon could hit Maria with his sword in front of her, she pointed her Phase gun down towards the ground, shooting a magnetic burst of energy while yelling "MAGNETIC FIELD!" The magnetic field generated by Maria's gun pulled the Archdemon down to the ground, holding him in place.

"I... I can't move?" Archdemon yelled, paralyzed helplessly in front of Maria. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"This is our chance! TAKE THIS!" Lancar yelled, as he dashed towards him. "FIST OF FURY!" Lancar delivered a flurry of powerful punches to his midsection, hammering away as if he was a punching bag.

"SHOOTING STARS!" Tynave yelled as she ran in behind the locked-down Archdemon to deliver a flurry of dozen powerful punches herself, right onto his back. Devastated by the two punch attacks, the Archdemon staggered around in one spot, dazed.

"NOW, DIE! FELL MY PAIN!" Albel yelled, as he generated an energy field around him and drove his Claw hand right through Archdemon's midsection, yelling "VAMPIRIC FLESH!"

"G…GWAAA…" Archdemon growled in pain as his energy and life force slowly drained right out from his body. "TO…LOSE…TO…MORTALS…"

"MIRROR SLICE!" Clair dashed in to deliver the finishing blow, slicing and dicing him with smooth series of rapid and powerful slashes across his body. The Archdemon staggered then dropped to the ground lifelessly, killed once and for all.

"We got the bastard." Albel said, spitting on his dead body. "Rot in hell, maggot."

After the end of the battle, Clair quickly rushed over to Adray's side without a moment's hesitation. "F…father! Are you okay?" Clair asked in panic. "P…please answer me!"

"C… Clair… I… saw… the fight…" Adray faintly said, clutching the big wound on his chest. "I'm proud of you… you've… you've really grown… strong…"

"HEALING!" Clair casted her healing spell, in an attempt to heal Adray's wound. However, her spell was too weak to cover his large wound.

"It's… it's too weak!" Maria said in concern. "And my healing powers aren't much better either… Adray, please hang in there… we'll take you back to the spaceship and have Meena treat you!"

"Damn, they're still fighting!" Lancar cursed in frustration, after speaking with Marietta over the communicator. "They got out of their pinch for now, but they still can't teleport us in with all that fighting in space!"

"It's… no… use…" Adray muttered, his voice becoming more faint by the moment. "He's infected me… with a disease… as well… it's… too late…"

"The demon virus?" Albel asked, pounding the ground with his fist in rage. "Damn! That son of a bitch!"

"F…father! No! Don't ever say that! HEALING! RESTORATION! ANTIDOTE!" Clair yelled as she frantically used various healing spells over and over in desperation. "I'm not going to give up!"

"No… Clair… stop… you're… wasting your time…" Adray pleaded, his breathing getting heavier. "Just… get to… Kaddan… as soon as you can… Before it's too late… That's where her majesty, and the King Airyglyph… retreated… You… must go protect them…"

"F…father…" Clair dropped to the ground, drained out from casting her healing spells repeatedly, tears now welling up in her eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Don't…say… that… I'm the one… who should be sorry…" Adray said faintly, as his voice got even weaker. "For being… a bad father… being an embarrassment to you… all these years…"

"No!" Clair yelled back in sorrow, with her tears now freely flowing down her cheek. "You're wrong! I was always proud of you! And I always loved you! Please… father… Don't leave me!"

"…" Albel couldn't say anything, though he wanted to. But one thing was for sure; seeing Clair in sorrow also hurt him greatly as well.

"I'm… sorry… I couldn't live long enough… to see you get married… to see your kids…" Adray said, his eyes now slowly closing. "Clair… just remember… I'm proud of you… and I love you…"

Adray's head tilted sideways, as his eyes completely closed.

"NOOO!" Clair cried, grasping the dead body of her father as she buried her face in his arms in grief. "FATHER…"

"Adray…" Maria trailed off, as her voice choked and tears started trickling down her cheeks.

"Sir Adray… no…" Tynave muttered, as she dropped to her knees in despair.

"They…they won't get away with this…" Lancar said in rage, as grasped his hands tightly into a fist. "I swear to god… I'll make them pay… they've gone too far!"

Albel just stood there quietly, not being able to take his eyes off the sight of Clair crying in sorrow. Right there, for the first time in his life, he felt really sad for another person; there was a weird, sharp pain in his heart.

I'm going to end this. I'll make sure of it. Albel thought to himself, getting a whole new sense of determination. I'm not going to stop until I do.

I'm going to protect this world.