Lie Ren was special. At the age of six, when he was but a little boy shopping happily with his papa and mama on a random street, they had the misfortune of being attacked by a vicious snatcher which resulted tragically in his parents' death. Blinded by anger the boy awoke to his Semblance, and as he swung two puny fists at a sneering thug's knees imagine his surprise when he suddenly found missing an entire leg. Fueled by the his howls of terror and pain even the onlookers had looked frightened enough to bludgeon the poor kid to death, until a passing Taiyang came to his side and promptly brought under control. That he had broken the thug's other leg because his pathetic screams annoyed him was… questionable, but it was an undeniable fact that the violet-eyed, kindly master had saved his life. Since then he had lived under his benefactor's roof to repay the favor, and to better control his Semblance and skills.

The young boy grew fast. He took to the Xiao Long style martial arts with surprising aptitude, and in just two years had already surpassed his Master's daughter, Yang Xiao Long in terms of pure skills. Outrageously competitive, this unfortunately became a hot friction point where the girl would butt heads with him at every chance she got even though all Lie Ren wanted was just some peace and quiet. The resultant brawls were never pretty, and after one incident after another eventually Master Yang separated the duo from each other completely, even during meals. Not that the ban was actually that effective since Yang was as cunning as a fox, but they did meet up a lot less frequently than before, and Lie Ren very much appreciated the extra hours of silence.

That would not last, however. Another year passed, and this time it was Mistress Lia who brought in a new child. The instant Lie Ren saw the new entree he felt his headache increasing tenfold than it was before. The newcomer was a loud, boorish, hyperactive embodiment and wore by far the silliest smile he had ever seen to date. Worse, when the girl caught him peeking out at her from behind a stone pillar, she had run up to him and practically screamed into his ears that he was now the first friend she had ever made. At the time, he did not yet understand the cruel meaning behind her words and was just trying his absolute best to escape her monstrously strong grasp. When he had begged from Master Yang and Lia to help, they only shook their heads, smiled enigmatically before walking away, leaving him to his misery. Later on, he would learn that they had brought the girl back for the exact purpose of making him – and Yang, and the new girl as well, although again he wouldn't know this until later on – a bit more 'sociable'. That got him sulking for days before Mistress Lia cooked up his favorite lotus soup and cooed him into acceptance with her silver tongue.

The girl's name was Nora Valkyrie, and despite every justified skepticism she would eventually become the most important partner and friend he ever had.

"Nngh… Ren?"

"Nora. How are you feeling?" Ren could not begin to describe the ridiculous amount of relief welling inside his heart, even as he kept his hand hovering just a few inches away from Nora's stomach to heal her with his Aura. Already the signs of fatigue were starting to creep up to his head. While the young man had unbelievable skill and control for his age, he was not blessed with a huge capacity of the soul, and the healing – simple as it was – was costing Lie Ren a great deal of strength.

Nora Valkyrie was not his best partner by coincidence or luck. Even at her groggy state she immediately noticed the sheen of sweat coating the young man's forehead and the slight unnoticeable shake of his glowing right hand. With a hidden sigh, she grabbed his wrist and pulled it away before giving him a silly smile, "Good morning, Ren. Or is it afternoon already?"

Ren began to speak, "Almost afternoon. Let me go so I can hea –"

"Caaaan't heaaaar yoooou!" Nora singsong as she plugged one side of her ears in a poor attempt to feign ignorance, "And I won't be able to hear you until you stop whatever you're trying to do right about now now now!"

Ren sighed and pulled away gently even as he bit a smile of his own, "Fine. So what happened here? Who did this to you?"

Almost immediately Nora's smile vanished, and in that instant Lie Ren understood with painful clarity that Master Taiyang was the one behind her injuries. He was the one who called them here, and when he had tended to Nora the young man recognized almost instantly the numerous cuts on her body to be caused by one of Master Taiyang's technique called the 'Dragon's Claws'. He had pretended not to be bothered by it, but Nora's expression had unsealed the lid as his pain and sadness poured out all at once. Just why is Master Taiyang doing this?

Nora's features softened just a little as she cupped her partner's cheeks with concern and comfort, but this was not the time to be dwelling in sentiments as she began retelling her story, "When I came here, I saw Master Taiyang opening that strange door at the back. He looked off somehow; talking to himself and pacing really fast for whatever reason. Then, the moment he noticed me he..." she sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "… asked me to kill him. He was very serious, Ren; I've never seen Master Taiyang look so serious before, so even though I didn't know the reason, I tried to... and I failed."

Ren took a few deep breaths to calm down his nerves. His mind was having great difficulty trying the process these shocking revelation of events, "That doesn't make sense. Why would he want that?"

"I don't know, Ren. Like I said, I don't think Master Taiyang was himself. Look," Nora raised both her arms to show the cuts that haven't healed yet, "He dragged out a fight. Master Taiyang never fights like this. The entire time, I kept getting the feeling that he was trying to hold back and give me a chance somehow. In the end, he gave up and knocked me out with a chop to the neck."

"Nora… are you suggesting that something had possessed Master Taiyang? Is that even possible?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the one with the brains!" Nora pouted a little before saying, "I don't know, really, but something is definitely wrong and we need to fix it fast. Where is Yang, by the way? I can't believe she would miss all the action!"

"Actually," Ren said hesitantly before nodding at the door, "She went in there alone about twenty minutes ago."

"She what?" Nora suddenly screeched into his right ear and causing the young man to fall on his sides, "I can't believe you, you oaf! And how could you let Yang go all by herself? This is Master Taiyang we're talking about!"

"Sorry. You know. You. Out cold," Ren surrendered himself to fate (Nora) and did not plug in his ears, knowing that she would just peel it apart and shriek into again with unassailable logic,

"I can't believe it! She's going to get all the glory and fame for defeating the strongest man in the world, and we are here just to be cannon fodder? Outrageous! I won't stand for this!"

… That was the point? Before he could provide a remark of his own Nora's face hovered into view as she continued to spray saliva all over the floor. That none of it actually hit his face could only be attributed to some warped, Nora-esque logic, but it was infinitely better than having a drenched face, "We have no time to waste, Ren! You must go down there right now and help Yang! I'm almost one hundred percent sure Master Taiyang is on the verge of victory by strangling her or punching her or molesting her – no wait he's her Da, hahaha oops – and we absolutely cannot allow her to go into hero mode and suddenly come back against all odds in Remnant to come back and beat him DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Ren tried, "But what about y –"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND, SIR?"

"… Yes, Ma'am," Ren surrendered with another sigh and stood up from the spot gingerly. Almost immediately he was assaulted by intense dizziness; a sign that he employed his Semblance way beyond his usual threshold. With a single breath, he focused on dispelling all unnecessary thoughts and honed his mind into a sharp, unblemished blade. Feeling his fatigue fading away almost immediately, the young Guardian stood up and was ready to go.

"I'll be going then," Ren strode towards the black-infused entrance without waiting for Nora's reply. That was the way she liked it, and she was loud enough to be heard from the other side of the city anyway.

"Good luck! Yell when you and Yang are almost dead! I'll be right there to save everyone like a true hero! But wait since I'm a girl shouldn't it be a heroine? But then again a heroine is always associated with useless damsels in distress or about to be paired with a heroic protagonist anyway so I suppose I should call myself a protagonist but that just sounds so lame so, whatever! Go Ren! Go and wait to be rescued by your hero! Ine!" Not one to let down expectations Nora yelled shamelessly from behind his back like thunder, and judging from the ominous whooshing sound she seemed to be swinging her hammer goodbye. So noisy, Ren thought to himself with a growing headache. For a second, the young man almost wished that she was still out cold.

But more than anything, Lie Ren had never been gladder to hear the incessant nonsense of his cheerful partner. Thank god she's okay. Smiling a secret smile that he would never allow Nora Valkyrie to see for the rest of time, the Huntsman rushed past the gaping steel doors and into the depths of darkness.

"… Well, there's that. Now the hero sleeps her beauty sleep. Now the hero recuperates and waits for the perfect time to show…"

Nora Valkyrie stood up and stretched herself like a cat. From another person's eyes the orange-haired woman looked relaxed enough to start rolling around the floor like a cat, but her eyes held a sharp glint that never wavered from the single exit of the gathering hall. Abruptly a white-eyed, blood drenched head peeked in from the doorway, and then another, and then all hell broke loose when an entire horde of crazed-looking people burst through the narrow entrance and charged towards her with a ghastly roar. She didn't know what happened to them. The horde was a mix of her own men, strangers, whatever. That Ren somehow missed these people's presence showed exactly how exhausted his mind was, and had he known about the huge blunder he probably would've run himself into a wall.

But to Nora Valkyrie, this was a stroke of pure good luck. An unknown fire had been burning within her heart ever since she got completely thrashed by a little girl last night, and today Master Taiyang who tried to give her openings she wasn't good enough to capitalize on. Since when was she this pathetic?

"But of course, a couple of minion waves to warm up is never wrong," the girl grinned viciously and raised her weapon. There was only one way to satiate her wounded pride and bloodlust. She could already taste the violence in her mouth. In a flash, she swung right into the face of a squealing butcher and popped the fatso's head open like fresh tomato. Unlike Yang or even Ren, she had absolutely no qualms killing people who were trying to kill her; innocent or guilty, young or elderly. They're all the same. They are all the enemy. Before the other crazed men could react she jumped right into the crowd and painted the world a vibrant color of flesh, bone and blood.

"Come at me! Come at me all at once!" the last daughter of the Viking tribe screamed in mad delight, "I'm just getting started!"

"Left ear."

Yang spun immediately around to block the incoming jab, but it went through her guard and struck hard enough to make the world spin. Her ears ringing and her balance completely thrown, the blonde made the snap decision to leap towards a random direction without looking and just barely avoided a crushing kick to the chest. If she took that without blocking it would've killed her instantly. But despite facing a very real, very desperate life and death situation, Yang just could not summon the resolve or strength to defeat the assailant.

Just how could she possibly kill her own father?

"You don't have time to think, Yang!" The ghastly fast Huntsman reappeared right in front of Yang to send another one of those sure-death kicks towards her head, and although its speed was slow enough that she just barely dodged it by a hair's breadth, the next thing she knew a hot pain exploded from her stomach and she was sailing a good ten feet in the air before crashing into a wall. The blonde crawled unsteadily to her feet, her body a wreck of injuries and pain. The situation was hopeless. Even if she was to go all out against her Da, there was no way she could win this battle.

Suddenly Taiyang was in front of her again, his eyes stern and his lips pursed into a furious frown, "Why are you hesitating, Yang Xiao Long!? I have already given you too many chances to kill me, and yet you would squander it and act as pathetic as you are! I do not have much time left, Yang; soon I won't be able to resist it at all!"

"I can't!" Yang hollered with tears pouring down her cheeks even as she sidestepped out of the way and countered with a lifeless punch of her own, "I can't possibly kill you!"

Taiyang Xiao Long, or rather the wicked Demon inside him showed no mercy at all as he caught her fist easily and crushed it beneath his grip. Yang screamed in terrible pain as she lashed out with an explosive shot to Taiyang's face, forcing him to leap backwards only to see him sneer with contempt, "If you don't kill me, you will never be able to destroy the cores, and for every minute you delay another life is taken because of the Demon's curse. Is that what you want? Is that what you wish to see?"

Yang remembered the explosions. She recalled the screams of the living, the cries of the tormented, and the tears of a child who was murdered simply due to the whims of a fucked up Demon. No more. She gathered her anger. She gathered her hatred. Yang zigzagged towards her father, not looking him in the eyes and instead focused entirely on his movements. As she dodged the first punch to the neck, parried away a straight kick and blocked yet another bone crunching chop with her steel gauntlet, Yang finally saw the opening her father left her and dove like lightning into his lap. This was it. No matter how invincible her Da was, a drill punch up the chin propelled by explosive red Dust and the full power of her Aura would blow his head clean off the torso. Her right fist might be broken, but she was ambidextrous. Her left could do it. Her left will do it. All that's left to do was to throw it; throw the killing blow and end this despair once and for all.

Everywhere she looked there were black scorched grass, upturned soil. So much blood. The slides were split, the seesaw was burning, and even their favorite swing was left a mangled pile of scrap.

And she… she wasn't there. Not anymore, not ever for the rest of infinity.

… But the despair wouldn't end. The dead wouldn't come back. Even if she could save many lives, she would always be tormented by that one, most precious life she gave up to make it possible. Yang could not accept that. She could never live with the consequences knowing that she had killed her Da.

She would rather die.

The single moment of hesitation was a fatal mistake. In an instant she found herself hovering two feet above the ground, unable to breathe, with a pair of powerful hands clenched around her throat and choking the life out of her. With her right hand broken she could only pull uselessly against the hold with her left, and with each second she grew weaker and weaker. So this is it, Yang's eyes blurred slowly into darkness, this is the end of the road for me. She used one last bit of strength to look at her father's face, and was shocked to see tears running freely down his cheeks.

"You would let me kill you, Yang? You would let me murder my own daughter?"

"– RrrrraaaaAAARRRGGHHHHHHH!"

A ring of golden fire exploded around her body, and with a hateful hiss the half-possessed Taiyang let go and tossed her towards the floor. The blonde slumped pathetically against the ground, coughing and breathing as heavily as an asthma patient, but she was alive. She was still in the game, and she was fucking pissed.

"I'm going to save you, Da." Yang rasped out in a thin voice filled with determination, "You hang in there while I find a way."

"You can't, Yang. If you were older and stronger then maybe, but –"

"Mother gave you her life!"

The old man froze. The whole platform shuddered as Yang cracked a thunderous fist against the floor, and as she looked up with crimson eyes she screamed, "Mother gave you her life so you can live! Are you going to squander her hope like this? Are you going to see her, telling her that she failed to free you from her curse? Never! You are not allowed to die, you hear me!? I won't die. I won't let you die either. I will finish what mother started and kill this Demon so hard it'll wish it never lived! So don't you dare give up before I do! Don't you dare give up!"

Taiyang turned silent. Abruptly his right eye shrunk back to normal again before he gave her a tight smile, and she understood immediately that her father was using every last bit of his energy to buy her time. It was all she needed to feel strength flow into her arms again. She will to do it. She will to find a way to slip pass her father and destroy the gems once and for all.

And yet the situation was not looking good. Already Taiyang was stuttering into a fighting pose, and Yang was forced to run away when the man charged towards her again throwing hit after hit like an unstoppable God of War. The Demon never allowed her to pull far away enough to harass from long range, and in her current condition the neverending attacks wore her down so much she barely had any strength to fight back. Is there anything I can exploit? Yang thought desperately, something that I can use? Maybe I can throw some statues at him –

Suddenly a barrage resounded throughout the cavern, and Taiyang reeled backwards to howl in pain and surprise. The green clad shadow revealed himself to be a stern-looking Ren as he kept the Master pinned down with automatic fire, giving Yang the opening to fire a barrage of her own before they joined together at the frontline. Words could not begin to describe her relief as she spoke between gunfire, "Thank god you're here. I thought I was going to die."

"I'm glad you're safe. What is wrong with the Master?" Ah, Ren. Will it kill you to show me a bit more concern? The situation wasn't exactly primes for jabs though, so she motioned towards the central statue and said only what needed to be done,

"Da is possessed by a Demon. We need to destroy the two cores up that statue to kill it."

Ren furrowed his eyebrows into a deep frown, "That's impossible. It's too far away."

Yang grinned easily and said, "With you here, it no longer is. I have a few ideas, but we need to disable Da first."

Ren nodded with a tight expression, "Got it. You make the opening, and I'll get the strike in even if it costs my life."

"Don't say that, Ren," The young man looked up in surprise to hear the sincerity in her voice, "No one will die today. We'll all get out this alive, I promise."

For a moment Ren looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed down the words and answered quietly, "Understood. We'll proceed with the plan once both our cartridges are blown."

"Yeah. Let's." Yang did pursue the issue. Maybe in the past she would have provoked the young man needlessly, but she had long since outgrown her childishness. Besides, they had a far important task to accomplish right now.

Failure was not an option.

The situation above ground was bad.

Fifteen minutes ago, the Xiao Long mansion's outer gates and walls were breached by numerous assailants with no hope of recovery. This was normally impossible: Not only do they possess the high ground, there were at least seventy men on duty with the walls manned and everyone on red alert. Every guard was armed to the teeth, and while they might not seem much with their flimsy jackets, black specs and unruly attitude befitting of thugs and criminals, the Xiao Long guards possessed enough discipline and skill to give even the Kingdom's Military a run for their money. Repelling a bunch of crazed invaders should never have been a problem.

However, they were bogged down by three problems that ultimately cost them their first and strongest line of defense. Number one, the invaders' athletic ability. For example, who in their right minds would expect a baby girl to leap out of her stroller, clear a three meter wall and with her tiny hands strangle a shell-shocked guard to death? It was like being in a B-rated horror movie, except that the zombies could perform quadruple flips in the air or cartwheel the hell out of concentrated gunfire. The men would've laughed themselves silly if they weren't too busy trying to keep their throats from being torn apart.

But considering that they sometimes had the 'honor' to be the Guardians', or even Master Taiyang's warm up fodder, it wasn't exactly hard to deal with these ridiculous acrobatics. The second problem they faced however, was traitors. More accurately speaking, they were referring to allies who had suddenly turned as rabid as the massing invaders and ambushed at least a couple of friendlies before they were finally dealt with. This posed a serious problem to security and was a huge blow to morale since the men were as close as brothers. To be betrayed and shot from the back by your most trusted friend or even family was a pain and terror no one was expecting to endure. With the trust built on years of companionship shredded to pieces for all but the toughest and strongest-willed of men, it didn't take long for some people to start losing their nerves and escape. A few people lost their will to fight completely and simply surrendered themselves to a gruesome death. There were even people who had watched too many zombie movies committing suicide after discovering that they've sustained flesh wounds from the invaders.

And even then the Xiao Long warriors would've been able to pull through, if it wasn't for the fact that the four strongest pillars of the clan; the Three Guardians and the Master themselves were completely missing from action. Obviously, those who were present at the front gate had the scare of their lives to see Yang Xiao Long entering in a tornado of wild, golden fire, and all of the captains of the squads were personally briefed by Ren to defend strategic points of the mansion.

But that was it. Not a single soul – perhaps the servants would know, but they were all sent to the shelters in haste when the terrorism began – had seen Master Taiyang or Nora Valkyrie; both whom were impossible to miss for obvious reasons. Despite the fighting growing more and more intense and allied forces dying everywhere, none of them ever showed up, not even on radio chatter. The guards were trained well enough that they would fight to their deaths. Many of them were strong enough at heart to withstand a betrayal of their own, knowing and accepting that current circumstances were bizarre to say the least.

But without their leaders, without the very pillars who symbolized the weight of the Xiao Long clan, even the toughest and most loyal of men were shaken to the core. Already the newer, more inexperienced recruits were spreading rumors that they've been abandoned for death, and while the core members knew with absolute certainty that the Guardians and Master would never do that, the only other reason they could think for their absence was even more terrifying – that all four of them were either tied up with something so difficult they could not contact anyone, or they're all dead. If even the Master, one of the strongest Huntsmen in the world could not handle this threat, then what could puny ants like them possibly do? That was the last straw, and whatever remaining morale they had before dissipated as quickly as the wind.

And so the Yang family defense line crumbled, and once the fall began it could not be stopped. In no time at all the guards were reduced to less than thirty men, and the once orderly defense line were reduced to small pockets of fighters isolated from each other with no hope of backup. Perhaps the only console they had left was that the radios were still working, but that soon would not matter if the terrible siege continued much longer. They would all die.

Lie Ren and Yang coordinated themselves so they would empty their clips at exactly the same time, reload, before splitting up left and right to charge towards Taiyang. None of them bothered to check whether the old man had fallen to their fiery barrage – he would not be the Master if he went down so easily.

As the mist of smoke and powder cleared, Taiyang appeared to be crossing his arms in a defensive posture, and although his clothes were burned and in shambles the man himself was perfectly unhurt. As he lowered his arms in abnormal stutter to his sides, Taiyang suddenly arced his neck backwards and let loose a most inhuman and guttural roar of triumph. As the Huntsman had predicted, the Demon's consciousness was seeping into his body at an unbelievable rate, and despite vigorous resistance it wouldn't be long before the takeover was finally complete.

Not under our watch! Fire rode her path as Yang Xiao Long zoomed in to swing a thunderous right right fist at her father's face, and as she predicted the incredibly obvious move prompted the Demon to raise an elbow in attempt to crush bone against soft flesh. Yang stopped her fist at the last possible second, firing a point blank round at the same time to catch the Demon off guard. The blonde wasted no seconds as it reeled backwards to pull the same trick multiple times more before it finally learned to parry her punches out of the way before they could reach any part of the torso. It was as they had anticipated: Bu Si Mianmight have control over her Da's superior body, but with Taiyang restricting its access to his memories Yang's current level of martial arts was more than enough to suppress the Demon for a short while. As Taiyang threw yet another opening to his daughter, Yang immediately caught on and seized him in a tight bear hug.

"Now!" Yang shouted.

Lie Ren appeared from the shadows, his visage a knot of intense concentration as he slipped in like a ghost from behind to slap a palm towards Taiyang. The Demon noticed the ambush far too late, and the second his palm made contact Taiyang's elbow exploded immediately into a bloody mess. Wasting not a moment Ren immediately repeated the move three times to his remaining three limbs, and finally, invincible as he was, Master Taiyang collapsed onto the ground like a broken doll.

This was Lie Ren's Semblance and ultimate technique – the Qi Strike – a powerful attack that would converge his energy into a single point that would penetrate any physical defense and implode the enemy from within. It could not be blocked unless the enemy employed an Aura defense equal or more powerful than the strike itself, but with Master Yang suppressing his own Aura level to a minimum Lie Ren' technique had cut through like hot knife against butter. The maneuver was obviously risky because he wasn't good enough yet to use it consecutively without spending significant time charging up his Aura, but that was where Yang's distraction came into play. For a first time combination attack against a super boss, Yang reckoned that they scored an A.

"Did we… do it?" Yang dropped down to her knees, breathing heavily as her vision became swarmed with tiny dots. Her role as the flashy bait was no easy part to play, and now that they were finally safe her right hand throbbed clearly as if there's a hammer pounding on it. She had purposely avoided using her left fist to avoid it facing a similar fate, but she seriously couldn't imagine how painful it'd be if she slipped up on any one of her feigned jabs.

"I… think so. Can the Master… talk?" Ren himself looked even worse off than Yang and panted like a patient at his deathbed. That the plan went smoothly was a blessing he didn't forget to thank the gods for, because after healing Nora and executing four Qi Strikes in a row, his Aura was literally seeing the pit.

"… I don't know, but let's just focus on destroying the cores now. He'll talk to us when he needs to," Yang said while looking at her fallen father with unrestrained sadness. Demon possessed or not, they had just completely destroyed his limbs – and by extension, his life as a Huntsman – just to make one hundred percent sure that even if the Demon took control it wouldn't be able to stop them. While he could be treated with Atlas technology and even be whole again by equipping robotic arms and legs, it just… wouldn't be the same. He'd never be the invincible man he was again.

It was with those troubling thoughts lingering around her mind before Yang finally turned around to look at Ren. Everything must wait; they have time to race against, "Okay, let's proceed with the next phase. The way I see it we can either make some platforms, or you boost me over. Take your pick."

Ren simply stared at her as if she's completely out of her mind, "Yang, I'm not Nora and I'm nearly dry."

Yang pouted a little and replied, "Well, start thinking then! We need to act fast. Did you bring some rope with you? Maybe I can find a rock somewhere to hook it on and –"

Thump.

They felt it. Jumped right back as if someone had dealt them a physical blow. I must be dreaming. No matter how powerful a Demon was, no matter how fully in control it was in the host body, it could not possibly control a person's spirit. It could not possible awaken Da's Semblance. Don't be a fool, Yang Xiao Long, the blonde laughed to herself nervously even as she backed away inch by inch alongside Ren, it's just your imagination. There's no way a Grimm could access a person's Aura; that's against the very law of the world –

In one night the entire city was wiped out of all its populace, and the souls of dead men that should've passed on to the world beyond was trapped and forced to exist in the newly created hell forever.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Yang felt like tearing out her own hair as another shock wave propagated through the entire cavern, this time absolutely unmistakable, "Out of all the Demons we can fight against we had to fight one that can manipulate a human's soul? Are you fucking kidding me!?"

"What do you m –"

Thump.

"I'll use everything I have to boost you over," Ren cut himself short before grabbing Yang by the shoulders, "This is the only way."

"No!" Yang gritted her teeth, "Didn't you say you're nearly dry? The Demon may be stupid, but you won't last five seconds if it unleashes everything Da has. I won't let you die."

"Then you had better come up with something better," Ren said mildly, even though the cold sweat on forehead indicated anything but that, "Because the two of us together can't last five seconds either."

The instant Ren finished talking, the supposedly immobilized Huntsman gave them the scare of their life and jumped back to his feet. With absolute incredulity the duo watched as Taiyang's torn limbs began knitting themselves as if time itself was rewinding, and even as Yang thought to do something about it black flames suddenly emerged from his body to wrap it within a tight, but most likely impentrable barrier. At this rate it won't even take two minutes before the Demon healed completely and set them right back to square one. Yang's mind whirled as she thought faster than she ever did in her whole life. Could they stop him? No. Could they try the same trick? No. Should she listen to Ren and get to the gems first? Ren will die. How much time could Ren buy then? Not enough. How much time could they both buy then? Ten seconds? Five? One?

Could they even survive?

As if to deny her the very last dredges of hope, Ren suddenly flew backwards from a stream of black red fire, the shock wave crashing him against the wall so violent and quick that the agile Huntsman never had a chance to dodge it. As Ren collapsed far away burned and unconscious, Yang could only watched with stiff fear as her father stuttered upright with every broken limb completely regenerated, and his now jet black eyes crying blood as he stared at her as if he could kill with sight alone. She did the only thing she could do. She held up both arms in front of her head in a final act of defiance. In response a gigantic pillar of dark red flames slammed into her guard like a speeding truck, and as Yang screamed as she summoned every bit of golden fire she had left in her body to repel the murderous onslaught. For a couple of seconds, it looked like she might actually be able to weather through the storm.

But then her energy ran out, and her final line of defense flickered and died. There was nothing Yang could do as the heat of death wrapped around the fighter and engulfed her completely.

She closed her eyes.

A twinge of worry suddenly blossomed inside Nora Valkyrie's heart. Instinctively she turned towards the secret doorway that seemed to breathe out a scentless stench of darkness, but her distraction caused a crazed stranger to rush from her blind side in an attempt to capitalize on the opening. With lightning speed she rolled beneath the assault before pounding the sick bastard into a splatter of meat before growling menacingly. Something wasn't right. Suddenly the game of bug squash wasn't fun anymore, and as time passed the feeling only got worse and worse. Ren. I need to find Ren now. Her decision made, the Viking girl turned to race towards the doorway, only to find it plugged by walls and walls of living meat preventing her entry. The anxiety inside her heart exceeded an unprecedented threshold, and suddenly she felt an explosive burst of livid rage she never felt before in her entire life.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She plowed right through the first three men who tried to crush her with their body, but three more quickly took his place and then some more. Soon, even with her monstrous strength she could not withstand against the sheer amount of weight that was pressing down against her. As she collapsed heavily onto one knee while feeling as sluggish as a sloth, Nora looked towards the endless darkness and screeched a terrible cry,

"Ren!"