The heroes watches as the pope casted the Cathedral, trapping them inside the battleground.

Itsuki and Ren used their range skills at the pope, but their attacks were blocked by a barrier protecting the pope.

"Filo! Raphtalia! Marius!" Naofumi commanded his comrades.

Marius quickly climbed on top of Filo, and reached out his hand at Raphtalia to help her climbed. Both of them got on top of Filo and the filolial flew them towards the pope as they avoided the pope's fire attack.

With her lightning fast move, Filo shattered the pope's barrier with her talons, and the two warriors on her back jumped off her then landed in front of the pope.

Raphtalia charges first as she swung her sword from above. Her sword collided with the Legendary Weapon Replica as the pope blocked her attack. As he was pushed backwards, Marius lunged with his spear and it slashed the pope across the chest.

The pope swung his weapon and Marius blocked it with his shield. Marius positioned his spear behind his neck, then thrusted at the pope, piercing his right shoulders with the spearhead. Marius then swung his spear, only for the pope to swatted it away with his weapon, now a spear, before unleashing a powerful range mana attack at Marius.

Raphtalia quickly ran behind Marius as he shielded himself and the demi-human. The pope then lifted his weapon with his two hand then struck the ground and it releases a powerful shockwave that blew Marius and Raphtalia back to the lower ground.

As the two struggled to get up, the pope fired a blast of mana towards the two warriors, only for Hanzo to sliced the attack with his katana.

"Fools." the pope said calmly, then fired a barrage of darted mana attack towards the heroes.

Hanzo sliced the mana attack as quickly as he can, until one slipped through and hit his leg. Before the pope can finish him off, Marius blocked the mana attack while Raphtalia healed Hanzo's injuries with her healing spell.

Then, with the help from Motoyasu, Naofumi unleashed a fireball towards the pope. With the Legendary Weapon Replica, the pope dispelled the fireball in an instant.

"Curses are meaningless within this Cathedral. After all, this is hallowed ground, blessed by God." the pope then released a powerful gush of wind at Naofumi.

Filo quickly grabbed Naofumi away while leaving Motoyasu behind, before landing near the rest of Naofumi's party. The pope then turned his head, giving orders to whoever was behind the Cathedral wall. And more mana orb appeared, and the weapon the pope held absorbed all of it.

"He's building up mana." said Melty. "If the light reaches all the way up to the top..."

"... A huge attack will follow, right?" said Itsuki.

"Hey, can't your shield do something about it?" Motoyasu said to Naofumi. "I mean, your shield seems overpowered."

"True. You're underleveled compare to us, and yet you're keeping up with us. Isn't that because of your shield?"

"Got any special skills?" said Ren.

"As if there'd be-" before Naofumi could finish, the sudden surge struck him from within. He bended over in pain, his hands holding on to his head trying to keep it from getting out.

"It is that power, is it?" Marius asked.

"It's like... It's trying to crawl its way out."

"Perhaps it is time to use it. We have no other choice, especially against someone like him."

Naofumu lifted up his head, looking at the very top of the cathedral. "This will be quite the gamble, but it could work."

"Will you use that power again?" said Raphtalia.

Naofumi put his hand on Raphtalia's shoulders, "It went fine before, so I'm sure I can come back this time, too."

"Okay. I believe in you."

"I trust you and your shield, my friend." said Marius.

"Me too!" said Filo.

Naofumi then readied himself, and released the Rage Shield. He let out a raging shout as if took over his body and the similar marking appeared all over his body. Then, his body was set ablaze, and in its place a dark armor formed around his body. Naofumi eyes was bloodshot red, and fires still burning around his armor as he walked towards the pope.

"Hey, Naofumi!" said Ren.

"Please don't tell me you really became the Devil of The Shield!" said Motoyasu.

But it was not enough to stop the raging Shield Hero.

"Master Naofumi." Raphtalia exclaimed.

"He is losing it." Marius then ran and stood on Naofumi's track, plunging his spear on the ground. "Wake up, Naofumi! You lost control of yourself!"

"You..." Naofumi then charged at Marius with his flaming shield, and Marius quickly blocked it with his round shield. The attack shattered throught the magical barrier, making contact with the bronze shield.

"Do not fight with rage, Naofumi! Control yourself!"

"You've been a pain in my ass long enough!" Naofumi shoved Marius's shield aside then grabbed him by the neck.

"Naofumi... This is not... You..." Marius struggled to speak with Naofumi's hand squeezing his throat.

"You tried to betray me once! And then you tried to kill Raphtalia! The person I cared about!"

"That was... a longtime.. Ago..."

"And now you want to take Filo away from me!"

Marius eyes widen in shock.

"I know." Naofumi grip on Marius suddenly become stronger, and Marius tried to break free of his grip with all his strength but to no avail.

"Master! Don't kill him!" Filo grabbed Naofumi's arm that was strangling Marius, ignoring the curse flames around his body.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia ran and grabbed Naofumi's other arm that held his shield.

"Naofumi!" Melty too wrapped her arms around Naofumi's waist.

But Naofumi's hands were still on Marius's throat. The world around gim started to fade as he was deprived of air.

He entered his old home, looking everywhere for his family.

"Mother! Father!"

He searched every corner of the house, room to room for any signs of his siblings.

"Callidora! Sophokles!"

He had searched everywhere, but found no one. He stood there in the middle of the house, feeling all alone again.

"They are no longer here, remember?"

Marius turned to see a copy of himself, dressed in chiton. His hair was well kept and there were no scars on his body, as if the other him had never see battle.

"They are gone. And nothing we do can bring them back." the other Marius walked towards Marius and put his hands on his shoulders.

"But... They-"

"We must not dwell in the past, Marius. We need to move on. It is not your fault. You are not to blame for their deaths."

Marius turned away and looked at the small wooden sword laying on the floor. "I miss them... All of them..."

"So am I. But we must always remember them. Keep them in our memories as we created new ones in our new journey."

"Why are you still here, Alexios? I thought I have abandoned that name?"

"I am always here, Marius. I was never gone."

Marius looked at Alexios, tears forming on his eyes as he was fading away into dust.

"Be at peace,m." said Alexios as he watched Marius disappeared into dust.

He then turned around and looked at the three figures standing at the door, the light of the outside shining behind them. He gave a light smile as he walked towards the figure at the middle.

He reached out his hand and placed it on the shoulders of the taller figure, revealing it to be Naofumi with his Rage armor.

"I know I have cause you many troubles, my friend. I was arrogant. Reckless. My past ambitions blinded me. But I see it now, that you have gave me something I have lost many years ago..."

... A family."

Mariud fell to his knees, rubbing his neck where Naofumi had his grip earlier as he inhaled as much air as he can.

Naofumi gain control of himself. The rage that have consumed him no longer lingered, and the flames on his body have extinguished. He realized all three girls in his party have burnt marks much like the one Raphtalia sustained during his first tranformation. And behind them, Hanzo has his katana ready to strike Naofumi, but lowered his weapon after he had gain control.

"Thank goodness. You came back to us again." said Raphtalia.

"Master!" said Filo.

"Stop causing us so much trouble." said Melty.

"Have I knew you would strangle me, I would have not try to stop you." said Marius as he got up. "But thank the gods, you came back."

"I'm sorry! I hurt you all again!" said Naofumi.

"They weren't wrong.The path you chose and the road we travelled down were definitely the right ones" said Raphtalia.

"Raphtalia..."

"I'll eat up your negative feelings again and again!" said Filo.

"If you understand, hurry up and come up with a plan." said Melty. "We're in a middle of a battle."

"She's right. Our enemy still stands." said Marius.

"Got it." said Naofumi.

Marius walked towards where his spear was and took it off the ground. He looked up and saw the center of the Cathedral dome glew bright yellow. The light then bursted and dispersed into mana orbs, and it drew itself into the pope's weapon.

"It seems you were up to something, but everything is ready now." said the pope with his weapon raised, and then lowered his weapon and aimed at the group. "This is goodbye, Devil of The Shield!"

The pope fired a mana beam at them, and Naofumi blocked the beam with his shield while the rest braced themselves from the attack.

Suddenly, a spear flew towards the pope and it pierced throught the pope's right arm that held his weapon, and the spear disappeared and reappeared on Marius's hand.

"Looks like you can hit him from here." said Naofumi with his shield still up.

"I was aiming for the head." said Marius.

"Alrights. Let's go!"

And with that, all of them readied themselves for combat and some charged at the pope, while some stayed behind and engaged from a distance.

Filo uses her High Quick attack to distracted the pope from Hanzo's rush attack. The sudden strike of the katana took the pope by surprised, and he barely had enough time to raised his weapon fully to block the incoming attack as he stumbled backwards.

"The outsider. Your presence here alone is blasphemy itself!" the pope said, then a sword attack hit him from behind, followed by another.

The pope fell on his knees, with Ren and Raphtalia behind him. As the pope got up, he was hit by a shield bash from Marius. Marius then ran behind the pope, lifted him up with the shaft of his spear on the pope's neck and Marius pulled closer him against the bronze shield.

Then, Motoyasu threw his spear towards the pinned pope and the spear hit him on the chest, before Marius pushed him away.

"Everyone! Stay clear!" Naofumi said, while riding Filo and heading towards them.

"Fallback!" Marius commanded, and the rest quickly retreated to lower ground.

"May this sacred flames cleanse everything!" the pope pointed his weapon at the appraoching Shield Hero. "Phoenix blade!"

The pope unleashed a a firey phoenix at the Shield Hero. And as the two got closer to the pope, Naofumi uses his abilities and absorbed the phoenix in his shield. He then released a firey dragon and it attacked the pope, burning him alive.

But they watched as the pope emerged from the flames unscathed. Motoyasu used his Chaos Spear skills, only to be deflected back to him. Ren charged in and faced the pope with his sword but was blown away by a flash of light from the weapon.

"The sin of defying God demands more than cleansing." the pope said, and the weapon he held transformed in a golden bow. He pulled the arrow from the bow and fired at the cathedral dome.

The many mirrors forming the dome suddenly reflected the image of the pope weilding the bow, and all of the reflection fired its weapon, creating a rain of arrows.

The Spear Hero's party conjured a magical barrier, only for it to be shattered after multiple hits from the arrows. All while the rest depended on their defense skills.

The reflection stopped, and started laughing at the heroes, striking fear into their hearts. Hanzo quickly ran towards the terrified princess Melty, as the reflections continued its taunt.

Then, it started firing at the heroes again, this time with more arrows raining at them. Hanzo sliced the arrows before it could hit him and Melty with his katana.

"Hanzo!" Melty yelled, as a single arrow was coming towards the princess.

Hanzo turned around to cut the arrow, but one got from his back and he fell on all fours from his injuries, and his katana. Ignoring the pain, he quickly got up and cut the arrow in mid-air but another one hit him on his arm, another on his back, and another one hit leg yet he still stood.

Seeing no other choice, Hanzo wrapped him arms around the princess and prepared himself for his final act to protect her.

"Hanzo... Please don't..." said Melty.

"I'm sorry, princess. But this is my duty." Hanzo held on to Melty closer to him, and waited for more barrage of arrows coming towards him. "Sayonara."

Hanzo whispered his final word, but Marius blocked the arrows with his shield, and the glass barrier stopped the arrows from reaching them.

"Death will not take you today, orochi!" Marius dropped his shield infront of Hanzo. "Use it!"

As Hanzo put on the shield, Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo came for them to protect princess Melty together.

"Raphtalia! I need you to use your sorcery on me!" said Marius.

"Which one?" said Raphtalia.

"You will be annihilated, leaving not a speck of ash behind. There won't remain any proof that you ever existed." the pope pulled the bowstring and was about to release when suddenly, a spear pierced throught his chest from behind.

Behind the pope, Marius appeared from thin air with his spear throught the pope's chest.

"Even with all that power, it could not protect you." Marius pulled the spear, leaving a gaping hole on the pope. "Not from me!"

"And you think your peeble stick was enough?" the pope slowly turned around. His entire body glew as his wound healed instantly.

"Impossible!"

"The queen should have banished outsiders like you the moment you stepped in this world! No matter, I will do it myself!"

The pope transformed his weapon into a sword and swung at Marius. Marius dodge the attack and countered with a thrust from his spear and the pope swatted it away, then he blinded Marius with a bright flash. Marius started swinging his spear wildly as he looses his vision.

"You and the Devil of The Shield are no different. Bringing nothing but blashphemy into this world." the pope thrust his sword at Marius.

But Marius eyesight quickly recovered and he saw the incoming attack. Marius caught the blades with his vambrace and it nearly pierced throught the steel. He pushed the weapon away and delivered a powerful uppercut to the pope.

The pope stumbled backwards and fell on his back. Before Marius could finish the pope off he saw the ground beneath the pope suddenly froze, and icicle started to formed around the pope, trapping him in cold ice.

"It can't be!" the pope said, as the mirrors on the cathedral dome disappeared. "Her magic pierced the walls of the Cathedral?"

Marius looked at the lower ground and saw Naofumi with his shield ready, and covered with purple aura.

"Foolish sinner, I sentence you to cast your screams unto the heavens! Within the dragon's jaws born from my flesh, become an offering to the gods as you howl in pain! Blood Sacrifice!"

And a second after, blood bursted from Naofumi's armor. Everybody watched in horror as blood poured out of the Shield Hero's body.

"A fitting end for a devil. In the end, he was consumed by his own power." the pope said, and he struck the icicles around him with his weapon and it released him from his icey bonds. "Be thankful, filthy Devil, that God still sees fit to purify you."

Marius readied his spear and charged at the pope when suddenly, the ground the pope cracked, spraying blood through cracks. Then, a chained bear trap, black with crimson red, caught the pope in its massive maw. The pope used his weapon, in a form of a spear, to keep the iron jaws from closing as it carried him off the ground.

"Why? Why is this happening to me?! I am God's apostle! The Pope!"

The smaller maw where the pope stood on his feet opened up, causing him to fall. His weapon that had held the main maw open, broke from the sheer forced, and the pope fell in to the smaller maw, with many more closing inside. It crushed the pope and spreaded his blood all over battlefield, before pulling back into the newly formed pool of blood. And with the pope's death, the Cathderal enclosing them disperse into mana orbs and disappeared.

Marius walked to the pool of blood and saw the pope's shatterd glasses floating. "To Hades with you."

After the Cathedral have completely dispersed, he saw a crowd of the Church followers with their religious cloaks. Some were weaken after giving their mana to the now deceased pope, with most were laying on the ground motionless. And on the ruined border walls was the queen of Melromarc, on horseback, with his army of knights. Beside her were three warriors that Marius recognized.

There was the female Warden holding her longsword to her side, the Kensei shouldering his nodachi and the Raider weilding his mighty dane axe. All three of them had their eyes on Marius.

"Master Naofumi!"

Marius heard Raphtalia cries. He looked downed and saw Naofumi laying on his blood.

"No." Marius quickly slides down to the lower ground and ran towards the unconscious Shield Hero.

He knelt down with the rest, as they tried to call for the dying hero. Then, they heard footsteps coming towards them. They looked up and saw three warriors coming towards them. Their presence alone even make the other three heroes to back away.

"Blackstone." said the Warden.

Marius got up and face the three warriors. All three readied their weapons for a fight with the former warlord, when Marius plunged his spear to the ground. He took off his helmet and placed it at the end of the spear, revealing his true face of desperation.

"You wish to kill me for vengeance. You will have it. I will take whatever punishment you desire to avenge your fallen comrades that have died from my legions. But please." Marius dropped to his knees and bowed. "Save him first. I owed my life to the Shield Hero. Please. Don't let him die, I beg you!"

The three warriors were confused. They looked at each other wondering if this was the same person who led the remains of the Blackstone Legions after Apollyon's death and grew it into a massive force that had destroyed their homes.

"I won't let the Shield Hero die." said the queen as she appeared behind the warriors, and they all moved aside. "I'm terribly sorry I couldn't help in time, Shield Hero Naofumi Iwatani."

"You are..." Naofumi said, helding on to his life.

"I am the Queen of Melromarc, Mirelia Q, Melromarc."