Hey guys,

Wow, it's crazy how much writing I have managed to finish recently, isn't it? I mean, three full chapters in four days is something I don't think I have ever done before. It usually takes so much longer, but honestly that is probably because everything that I have written lately was already planned out in my head and only needed to be finally written down. Out of all three semi-boss battles in this arc, this fight and its result was the most planned out and it's actually really nice to finally be able to bring this to my readers.

And if I haven't said it before, you guys really are great readers. It just makes me happy that I have so many people willing to read what is basically my attempt to make a better Gash Bell story. Because let's be honest, although the original is nice, some things, like the first major villain Zofis, were major disappointments. But hopefully, this will remain a good story that people enjoy.

So without further ado, the next chapter.

xKiha

It was about twenty minutes after Setsuna finished his story when the sophomore was calm enough for the others to begin to focus on their surroundings. Kenja was able to stand up, his shirt damp with the tears of Setsuna but thanks to the look in his eyes, it was obvious that he hadn't minded. In fact, he had a rather dim but thrilled blush on his cheeks and from the look of it, Setsuna was blushing as well.

"So, what exactly is this place?" Kesai asked as he looked around the room, ears flat.

"I am not sure." Icarus replied, gazing around the room as they noticed a large door at the end of the room. It was gigantic and heavy, made completely of iron. "But there is only one way to get out of here and it must be through that door."

Kenja frowned, studying the door with an eyebrow raised. "And how do you suggest we get through there?"

Yukio Kincad removed his spellbook from his bag, narrowing his eyebrows. "We shouldn't be questioning the possibility of something in this castle until we know it isn't possible. After all, logic has yet to play an important role in anything we have done so far." Kenja unable to argue with this as he nodded slowly, the two teenagers following behind the ninth grade teacher as he headed to the iron door.

Kesai drew in a breath, hands shaking nervously. "Guys?"

"Yes? What is it?" Kenja not needing to look at his partner to know that something was clearly wrong with him.

"It's faint…but I can smell a demon on the other side of the door."

Icarus turned to look at the nervous Kesai, nodding. "Well, that isn't too surprising, is it?"

"N-No, you don't get it."

By now everybody was looking to the kitsune who seemed to be growing more nervous as the seconds rolled by. "This demon…he's got a scent like nothing I've ever encountered before."

"And what does that mean?" Setsuna asked, a slight twang of nervousness in his own voice.

"He's not normal…there is something seriously wrong with this demon." Kesai whispered. "I can practically taste the insanity oozing off of him. He just seems to be more insane than he is a demon…almost like he's been completely destroyed by Xenolith."

"Who's to say he isn't?" Icarus getting closer to the iron door. "It's possible that he is nothing but a killing machine." The angel trying to hide any ounce of fear he felt as he got closer to the door, looking it over to try and figure out how it opened.

Nobody liked the sound of that, but they all reached the iron door anyhow. If this was the only way to get through and meet back up with the others, then it was more than obvious that they needed to go through it and face whatever was on the other side if only because they had other team members to check on and help out when things got worse and when Puppet Master himself finally decided to show his face to everybody.

And as they got close to the door, the spellbooks of Kincad and Kenja began to emit a powerful light, the iron door shaking in response and beginning to lift as the lights from the books began to get stronger.

"Well, that's an interesting way of getting things to work." Icarus muttered. "That way only demons with bookreaders can pass through."

Kenja had noticed this as well, swallowing nervously. "But, shouldn't that be worrying? Because if that is the case, whatever demon is in there would not be able to get out on its own."

"See, so something is wrong." Kesai whispered as the door lifted itself just high enough for the five to get in, ears pricked high and alert with eyes darting around. "Why would Xenolith make it so hard to get in and out if he didn't have a reason? There is something very wrong with this demon, I know it!"

"And even if there is, we can't run from it." Icarus said, but seemed to be slightly pale in the face. He looked to Yukio, the teacher seeming to be on the same page as the angel as he clutched his spellbook. Neither of his students needed to know about the prediction Icarus once had for this castle, but for the first time this really began to weigh on the teacher's mind.

"No," The holy demon's eyes lowered. "I'm not worried about us not being in the condition to fight, something is warning me that those two are going to be our only hopes in the end."

"So, are you worried about…?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that I won't be walking out of that castle."

Yukio sighed as he glanced to his partner who faked a smile as if to ask his bookreader to be strong in this moment of doubt. Yukio drawing in a deep breath as he looked down at their spellbook once more. "I won't be letting you throw in the towel, just so you are aware."

Icarus smiled gently. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Yukio."

.

.

.

Unlike previous rooms, this one was completely lit and straight forward, the iron door suddenly slamming shut from behind the five after they entered. Something really was trying to keep whatever was in this room inside the room, a powerful roar cutting through the air as the group turned their attention to the center of the room.

A giant creature was in the center, his arms and legs seeming to be chained to the walls with thick and huge iron chains. The creature gigantic, at least five stories tall with glowing red eyes that glowered down at these unfamiliars. He had matted brown fur all over his body with what seemed to be a pair of bloodied and destroyed horns on the top of his head. His mouth was foaming, sharp and bloody teeth bared at them with blood stained black claws on each of his bloody appendages that were held back by chains. The creature attempting to get close enough to kill them but being unable to thanks to the chains.

"T-That creature…" Kesai cried in horror. "He's not even a demon anymore!" Studying their foe in pure terror, unable to find a sign of humanity in the thing.

Icarus drew in a shaky breath of his own. "He truly isn't." Watching the creature's struggle to get closer to them with insane grunts and howls. "Is this the extent of Xenolith's powers? Is this what he is really capable of doing when he is given the chance?"

Yukio Kincad held his book tightly. "It seems so…" Seeing the horrified looks on the faces of his students as he clasped his book tightly in his palms. "But, we best focus on how to put the poor thing out of his misery."

"You really think it's that simple~?"

The five males jerked at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice, turning to see what appeared to be a woman in her early thirties leave a chair she was sitting in and get closer to the group. She didn't seem to be even a bit bloody, holding a brown spellbook in her own palms. "Akuma here isn't much of a talker, but it'd be best if you didn't underestimate my friend."

"Your friend?" Kesai asked, tightening his hand into a fist. "Lady, if he was your friend, he wouldn't look like that!"

The woman giggled. "Look like what? Like the true monster he always wished to be? Lord Xenolith simply granted our wish of true power and now, he is truly living the life he has always wanted."

Kenja shook his head in shock, unable to believe this was really happening right before them as he held out his own spellbook. Could somebody really be okay with this? Could a partner really let something like this happen to somebody they should have been protecting with all of their might? He shook his head. "Nobody would want to be that…"

"He wanted to be strong and now he is." The woman snickered, removing what seemed to be a small remote control from her back pocket. "But if you don't believe me, I'll show you."

She pushed the button, the shackles on Akuma's arms and legs suddenly releasing the beast, hitting the ground and beginning to be pulled back into the wall. The beast roaring as he began to realize that he had been freed as he ran in the direction of the five members of the alliance trapped in this room.

"Nisemono!"

Kesai was a bit shocked by the calling of this spell, releasing the distraction fire fox from his palm and watching it begin to rush at Akuma.

The beast was of course distracted, rushing to destroy the fox with bloody eyes full of destructive power, Kesai panting in nervousness as Kenja clenched his book tight in his hands. "This isn't going to be easy at all. That spell won't work in our favor for much longer."

Kincad nodded. "But as long as we play our cards right, we should be fine." Icarus glancing to Akuma for a moment and swallowing his nervousness. "Of course we should be."

Setsuna clenched his hand into a fist, hating the idea of being completely useless with a shiver running down his spine. "But if this demon is really as corrupted as we think he is, will he be able to process things like pain? Or will he just be nothing but a fighting machine?"

This was a good question, nobody really knowing just how this beast would respond to being attacked as Kenja's hands shook with rage. He just couldn't understand how something like this could happen or how it could be something a partner could be proud of because it brought strength. "It doesn't matter, we just need to put that poor creature out of his misery. It's unfair to let it suffer like it is…"

"Kenja." Yukio placing his hand on his student's shaking shoulder. "You shouldn't get emotionally invested, it'll drag you down in battle."

"It's wrong, Mr. Kincad!" The teen said with obvious upset. "How could you trade in somebody like that for strength? Strength isn't something that should be focused on and idealized like that!"

"Hey, it's okay." Kesai said gently as he looked up at his bookreader. "You know you're stronger than them." Yukio and Setsuna somewhat confused by this for a moment as they glanced to Kenja who seemed to be clearly upset by this entire concept. But why would he be upset about somebody changing their partner because of a lack of strength?

Oh.

Setsuna sighed gently. "Nobody would trade you in, Kenja. You know that. You're strong. Do you know any other people who can leave the hospital and handle something like this without a single thought?"

"Not many people in your position would have the strength to fight demons when they struggled with their own health." Yukio said gently as Kesai smiled softly to his bookreader. "Come on, we'll show them what strength really is."

Kenja Sedai nodded nervously; hoping that he really could prove what real strength was as they turned to focus on Akuma and his bookreader along with Icarus and Yukio Kincad. They didn't know what to expect, but now it was time to fight.

"Sonikkushokku!" The bookreader called out, causing the Nisemono decoy to be shattered by a sudden barrage of stones from the castle floor. Akuma roaring with what Kesai figured was annoyance before turning to look back at the two demons that had become his enemies and their bookreaders.

Bloodshot red eyes focused on them, seeming to stare into the souls of the two demons while Icarus clenched his own small hands into fists. "Yukio, a spell please."

"Of course." The thirty nine year old man opening his golden book. "Enjeru!"

A powerful beam of holy light suddenly appeared, Icarus holding out his hand as the light took the form of a holy staff covered in ancient ruins and symbols. A sly smirk spreading across his face as he twirled the staff around, a ray of holy energy shooting from the staff and right into the arm of their enemy who seemed to roar in return but only out of anger, not seeming to be in any form of pain. No, it didn't seem to phase him in any way physically.

"Yukio…" Icarus said, a little less confidant in himself when seeing the beast had no reaction to the pain he was clearly trying to deal.

"Calm yourself, don't let this bother you." Yukio said, Kesai now more nervous at the sight of the usually confidant and positive Icarus actually seeming a bit panicked by the failure of one of his spells. "Just because he doesn't exhibit pain doesn't mean his body didn't take any damage."

"But if that's how this fight is going to go, couldn't it take forever for us to break him?" Kesai asked, a bit panicky himself.

"It could take a considerable amount of time." Yukio nodded. "In fact, our friend might not reach physical exhaustion at all. We might not know we've made even an impact on him until Akuma is no longer able to move his body."

"Is there a possibility of us…of us killing him?" Kenja whispered.

"I hope not." Yukio Kincad said nervously, knowing he couldn't lie to their faces. "But I can't be certain."

"Sonikkushokku!" The female voice rushing through the ears of the holy and fire duos, stones from the floor once again rising as they were sent at the five members of the alliance.

"Euingusu!"

Yukio called this spell out before rushing in a direction away from the stones, which made this spell being a shield very unlikely, Kesai bolting away from the stones as Kenja grabbed Setsuna's wrist and pulled him away from the spell. Icarus didn't seem to move, landing on his feet as his angel wings suddenly changed into what seemed to be a thick and powerful metal. He furled the metal wings over his body as a small shield for only himself, the stones colliding with the child's wings but only bouncing off and not leaving even a scratch.

"That's actually kind of cool." Kesai panted. "Wish I could do something like that."

"Any sort of defensive spell would be nice, wouldn't it?" Kenja asked as he eyed Akuma. "Because right now, I am doubting our usefulness when most of our spells are tricks. This…creature…doesn't have enough control of his mind to allow himself to be tricked and fighting hand to hand with him isn't an option you can take."

"Don't be such a worry wart." Kesai muttered. "We still have an attack."

"Yes, but only one." Kenja muttered.

"We have Naegi." Kesai retaliated. "That spell takes energy from the enemy and gives it to us."

"And that spell takes up a lot of energy, it's a last resort at the moment." Kenja said as he focused himself back on Akuma. Yukio and Icarus were already getting ready to attack once more, the thirty nine year old teacher nodding to the angel he knew as his destined partner as both faced the brainwashed demon.

"Jajjimento!"

Icarus had focus tightened in his eyes, trying to keep himself composed as a holy beam suddenly appeared from the child's hands and shooting above Akuma's head. Kesai gasping. "Did he just miss!?"

"I don't think so." Kenja shaking his head with a slight frown. "There must be some form of trick we are not seeing."

And then the room was consumed by a powerful bright light, Kesai yelping in shock as he covered his forest green eyes in pain. Kenja trying to block out the light for a moment before forcing his azure eyes open again, seeing a small hole had opened in the ceiling and a beam of holy energy was being sent down and onto the brainwashed Akuma.

The beast should have been crying out in pain, this attack should have left it feeling physically drained and unable to function.

But Akuma was perfectly okay.

The hole in the ceiling closed, Icarus breathing a bit more heavily as Yukio Kincad looked on in horror. The female bookreader of Akuma continuing to snicker with pure joy. "This is the perfect partner. A fighting machine who can never grow tired or under preform! He knows how to kill and that is all he needs to know! He won't stop or give in because he doesn't know what that is!" She burst into laughter, Akuma roaring once more. "You might as well give in, because unlike my partner, your demons can only do so much before they become useless."

"Hi-Ken!"

Kesai released a yell of fury as he ran at the female bookreader, flames welling up in his palms as he sent the blast of fire in her direction. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT USELESSNESS!" He screamed, ears lowered with hate, eyes seeming to carry a wish to take out his woman when he had the chance.

"Āsupawā!" Akuma's bookreader suddenly called out, Kesai gasping as the open palm of the giant Akuma faced him, a barrage of stones suddenly being sent right at the child, destroying his flames and shooting right into his body.

"Kesai!" Kenja shrieked as the now bloody body of the kitsune struck the grey stone floor, rushing to his partner's aid.

"As I said, useless." The female bookreader repeated, narrowing her eyebrows as she watched the freaking out Kenja Sedai rushing to his partner's side.

"You are alright." The fire bookreader said, scooping up his partner from the rubble and cradling him. "Kesai, speak to me, everything is alright."

The bloodied face of Kesai suddenly had opened eyes, the kitsune shaking his head for a moment with a muddle of emotions being expressed through a slight whimper. "Kenja, let me go. I've got to keep fighting."

The sickly blond wanted to refuse this, he really did, but he then looked to Icarus and Kincad, knowing he couldn't leave those two to handle this on their own as he nodded. "Alright, we'll keep going." Wiping a bit of Kesai's blood off of his cheek with his shirt sleeve.

"Kenja."

The student blinked as he helped his partner get back to his feet, seeing Yukio standing before Akuma with what Kenja could only describe as the most serious look he had ever seen on the face of his teacher before. And speaking that he was more than halfway done with his freshman year, this was pretty surprising to him. "Mr. Kincad?"

"I'm afraid I am going to ask something hard of you right now." The teacher said gently, causing Kenja to fill with even more worry than before.

"Yes sir? What is it?"

Icarus glanced to the fire duo with a grave look on his face, shaking his head with a gentle sigh as Yukio swallowed away what he could only call his initial instinct. He and Icarus had always agreed that putting Yukio's student's safety in front of their own was a practical thing that they both needed to be prepared for. Icarus knew that and even he was now constantly putting the books and lives of the teenager's demons before his own, the holy duo looking to each other once more with unspoken feelings of understanding.

"Kenja, I am going to need to ask you, or rather tell you and Kesai to try and remain as uninvolved in this fight as possible. I don't want you two casting another spell if that is going to be the result, which means I might just need you to leave all of the fighting up to us."