Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.

Important Note: I will not repeat the Deaths of characters on each Solo, Duo or Trio Ending because it will just consume the plotline and it would be a useless repeat. Just so you all know.

And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!

Unknown Location

"Time to teach myself a lesson"

"..."

A sharp glare of the First Apex drilled holes into the Void Demon Crossed Thanatos, who only responded with silence.

The Witches of Sin were individuals that didn't know Fear in its fundamental form. They didn't know it in its most complicated and abstract form, and that was because once a Witch Factor holder fully understands their Authority, they can induce an aura of Fear and Despair on their adversaries, as well as manipulate the Miasma to their liking in order to influence Mabeasts and animals alike.

However, right now, the aura emitting from Shadow Terios was nothing like any of the Witches, including Satella, had ever felt. For the first time ever, they felt that emotion.

Fear.

[Guilty Gear XX OST - Millia vs ZATO Theme Song - Still In The Dark]

The two were silent for a few seconds, before suddenly...

BOOM!

"?!"

Rem and the Witches of Sin, including Satella, had to shield themselves from the shockwave emitting from the clash between Shadow and Crossed Thanatos. The point of impact releasing a blast of invisible energy that shook the Castle of Dreams to its foundations, ripping through the very concepts of space and time, as well as the laws of nature in this dream world.

Both combatants pushed each other away, before Shadow opened two Space Store portals to his side, before wiping out two black handguns that held golden writings on them, and both read 'Modify The World'.

Shadow pointed the two guns at Crossed Thanatos, who tightly gripped on its large cross, preparing to unleash its attack.

"Oho...So those are the weapons called 'Guns'. Most interesting" Echidna said, with Rem sweatdropping as she could swear that she saw the Witch of Greed was drooling.

Everyone then saw as the hole in the cross of Crossed Thanatos started to glow, before it fired a barrage of fireballs, icicles, lightning bolts and wind blades. A relentless barrage that threatened to consume everyone present in front of it if not defended against.

However...

"Armas"

"?!"

Muttering this word, Shadow's guns then suddenly got surrounded by what looked like cyber glitches, before morphing into two large black gatling guns, causing the ladies that were watching to have their mouths placed into an 'O' shape from the awe of seeing a shape-shifting weapon in front of them.

Holding the handles of the gatling guns in a reverse grip, Shadow clicked with his thumbs on the buttons located in the pummels of the handles, and the moment he did so, a flurry of bullets transcending the concept of speed shot from the several muzzles located in each gatling gun, intercepting each and every single elemental attack that Crossed Thanatos launched. The bullets nullified the magic formula behind the attack, cutting off the mana from them and cancelling out each attack that each bullet came in contact with.

Crossed Thanatos, noticing that its barrage was counterattacked, charged Seither into its cross, before firing a cross-shaped energy projectile from said weapon. Shadow wasn't fazed, however.

In fact, it made the scowl on his face grow even further.

"Aegis"

"?!"

Suddenly, one of the guns morphed into a cross between a mini-Uzi and a handgun, with its barrel resembling a half cylinder. Shadow pulled the trigger once, firing a single bullet. The bullet then suddenly started to glow as it travelled a few meters away from Shadow, before it expanded into tens of transparent red circular barriers that were layered in front of him. The cross-shaped energy projectile that Crossed Thanatos fired collided with the shields, and were instantly blocked and nullified, disappearing as if it wasn't even there.

If that ticked off the Void Demon, then it was indeed showing in its silent mannerisms, as it slammed the tip of its cross onto the ground, causing pillars of rock to erupt from the ground and travel at a fast pace towards Shadow, who deactivated the barriers in front of him and jumped out of the way to the air. The rupturing continued and made its way towards the Witches, who all scattered except for Typhon, who was a little too late, yelping as rising rocks hit her in her small stomach, sending her flying to the air. Rem, seeing this, jumped upwards and grabbed the little Witch of Pride in her arms, before landing on the ground a few meters away from the carnage.

Crossed Thanatos saw that Shadow was still in midair and proceeded to fly towards him. Shadow then aimed one of his guns at the Void Demon and muttered.

"Vspyshka"

"?!"

The gun immediately took the command, transforming into a mini, one-handed black shotgun with two barrels, and right upon pulling the trigger, a blinding flash of white light. Everyone recoiled from the sudden flash of light, even Crossed Thanatos, who had no concept of senses, recoiled from it. And in the midst of its recoil, Crossed Thanatos failed to block the barrage of Chaos Spears that descended onto him like a rain of javelins of pure yellow light. This caused the Void Demon to fly back just as the flash of light faded, with its body being riddled with multiple spears of light, but it wasn't apparent whether or not it was suffering due to it possessing no face to read its emotions.

But Shadow knew that it was suffering, as the power of Chaos, just like the power of Life, opposed the powers of both Order and Death and vice versa. And that wasn't only in a respective manner, but also in a mutual manner as well, meaning that whether it was Chaos or Life Energy, as long as the opponent either held Order or Death Energy or both together, the effects will be the same, and the same could be said on the opposite side.

The difference is the potential and power of the holder of the energies, nothing more nothing less.

"Chaos Regalia. A technique that I created out of boredom. Not much, but effective. Don't you think? Oh, wait. You can't respond" Shadow said, before he saw Crossed Thanatos' cross grow in size until it became the size of a building. The Void Demon then raised his enlarged weapon up above its head, before proceeding to swing it downwards.

"Ashvin"

"?!"

Shadow's guns then shrunk slightly in its size, with its barrel resembling a cylindrical arc. He then fired a bullet from one of his guns at the ground before firing another bullet from his other gun to the sky at the same exact time, causing a black portal to appear on the ground underneath him, with another portal appearing above him in the sky a few dozens of meters from the ground. Shadow then dove inside the black portal on the ground, instantly appearing from the portal in the sky. However, as soon as he exited from the other portal, he gasped in shock upon seeing the direction of the cross' swing.

"Shit!" He cursed upon seeing that Crossed Thanatos' cross was going to land on both Rem and Typhon. It then slammed into the ground where they stood.

"REM!" Shadow shouted in a mixture of anger and worry.

"You don't need to...Huu...Worry yourself, Shadow Terios...Haa...You woman is safe...Huu..." Upon landing on the ground, Shadow turned around to see Sekhmet, standing on her two feet for the first time ever since Shadow met her, with Rem and Typhon, completely unharmed, floating beside the Witch of Sloth. Shadow immediately concluded that Sekhmet must have used her Authority of Sloth to save both Rem and Typhon at the nick of time.

"Focus on the fight, dummy!" Minerva shouted at the Apex, which caused him to focus on Crossed Thanatos, whose cross reverted back to its original size. Shadow then saw as the Void Demon was preparing to shoot another cross-shaped energy projectile on him, prompting Shadow to point one of his guns at it.

"Koufios"

"?!"

Just then, the gun once again shifted in its glitch-like manner. Its barrel becoming cylindrical in shape, with another smaller cylinder protruding from the end of the barrel, acting as the muzzle of the gun. Shadow pulled the trigger without hesitation, firing a bullet at Crossed Thanatos, who didn't bother to dodge as the bullet passed through him.

Rem was worried now. Her small encounter with the Void Demon back in the outside world made her know that no physical or magical attacks are effective against that thing, so no matter what, Rem was sure that nothing would affect it.

However, much to Rem's, and Echidna's surprise, The glowing on Crossed Thanatos' cross faded rapidly, before it was no more within a second, and in the next second, the Void Demon slowly started to descend from its levitating position, barely floating a few inches above the ground.

"Oh! I see it now!" Echidna exclaimed in awe, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

"See...What?" Rem asked, a part of her was completely disgusted by the fact that she was talking to this Witch that tried to ruin her Shadow-kun's Life.

"That gun just now...Fired an object that held a sedative in it. Everything it touches, or even phases through, is completely brought to a near-Death state. Magical, physical, spiritual or even conceptual, it doesn't matter how much abstract the target is. This gun will just weaken them to the point where they are barely alive. Most fascinating indeed, Shadow Terios" Echidna said, drooling like a dog in a hot summer day with stars in her eyes, which caused Rem to use every ounce of her willpower to prevent herself from hurling on the spot.

She didn't know whether souls could throw up or not, and she sure as hell didn't want to know about it.

"Now...I see that you can't move. How about we finish this?" Shadow asked, seeing the shaking form of Crossed Thanatos. Even if the Void Demon didn't have its face shown to the world, Shadow already knew that it was suffering. Not to mention that it was a part of him, so Shadow wanted to finish this as fast as possible.

"Syoja"

"?!"

The two guns in Shadow's hands then turned into a pair of black revolvers, and both were aimed at Crossed Thanatos. Not wasting another second, Shadow pulled the triggers of both guns, unleashing a relentless barrage of bullets, and to everyone's surprise excluding Shadow, the bullets did indeed connect with Crossed Thanatos' body, piercing through its body as if it had flesh, but blood didn't come out.

"Oh! I see now!" Echidna exclaimed once again in awe, her eyes still sparkling in excitement.

"What now...?" Rem muttered the question, feeling annoyed by the Witch of Greed's persistent explanations of every single move that Shadow executes.

"It seems that Shadow Terios' previous attack was not only a sedative, but it also falsified the conceptual existence of that Demon, completely deleting the psychology of its existence on a conceptual, physical and conceptual level, even if it transcended all laws of nature and causality" Echidna answered, to which it caused Rem and the other Witches, except for Typhon and Sekhmet, to have comical black 'X's replacing the irises in their eyes.

"It means...Huu...That this thing...Haa...Can be now harmed...Haa..." Sekhmet simplified Echidna's explanation for everyone, with Typhon just tilting her head cutely to the side, confused from what she had just heard.

Suddenly, everyone, except for Shadow, witnessed in shock and surprise as black worm-like creatures started ripped away at Crossed Thanatos, eating and skewering its form from the inside out, which caused the Void Demon to stagger and recoil from the sudden invasion.

However, even with its Seither-constructed body being eaten alive, Crossed Thanatos didn't seem to give up.

Using whatever that was left from its strength, the Void Demon flew at blinding speeds towards Shadow, who just stood in silence, not moving an inch.

"Don't worry, Adow! I'll save you!"

"?!"

Shadow blinked upon hearing Typhon's cute voice, before seeing her descend from above him and onto Crossed Thanatos, her hands touching the Void Demon, before his form suddenly started cracking like the remnants of a broken vase.

Sensing the dangerous situation, Crossed Thanatos swung Typhon away, causing the little Witch to be flung away, only to get caught by one of Sekhmet's invisible appendages, saving her from flying away.

It then resumed its beeline towards Shadow, but he was interrupted by Minerva, who appeared in a burst of speed in front of the Void Demon. She reared her fist back, aiming to punch at Crossed Thanatos. However, what the Void Demon didn't take into account was that Minerva punching the ground in front of it, causing a massive crater, followed by a massive screen of dust to form, with the shockwave literally causing the Void Demon to stab its cross on the ground to prevent itself from being sent flying away.

This proved to be a huge opening.

"Geisel"

"?!"

A large black tank barrel that was five times the length of Shadow's arm poked from the dust screen, pointing at the face of Crossed Thanatos, and before the Void Demon could react, a massive explosion was fired from the barrel, blasting into Crossed Thanatos' face, engulfing him completely.

However, the Void Demon was pretty much alive, but nearly have of its body was now completely obliterated. But even then, it was still completely opened, giving Shadow the opportunity to withdraw his guns and dash towards it, catching what remained of its head, digging his digits inside of it.

And it all ended with two words.

"Chaos Blast!"

"?!"

A fiery red aura of Chaos Energy swirled around Shadow the instant he said those words, and in the next instant, the Chaos Energy swirled around Crossed Thanatos, causing the Void Demon to twitch uncontrollably and thrash around as the energy tormented him. Its suffering lasted for a second, as in the third instant, it completely blew up in a myriad of crimson Seither, scattering across the dream world, before it flew towards the direction of Shadow, who reached out for it, causing the Seither to get absorbed within his body.

Right afterwards, Shadow clenched his fist, opting a calm look on his face.

"Welcome back...My 'Death' part" He muttered.

[Music Ends]

Everyone looked stunned at Shadow's victory, not even uttering a word, but Typhon was hoping happily like the child she is. A few seconds of silence echoed, before everyone flinched as Shadow turned around, with his eyes widened in absolute fury. Tracing the path of his eyes had led everyone to realize how the Ultimate Life Form was glaring at.

Satella.

Shadow's eyes have seen all the Witches of Sin. The Witches that once thrust the world into chaos, now in this livewire situation, powers liable to reshape the world itself were assembled together here.

The Witch of Pride, looking to cast judgement on the one who had made someone like him angry.

The Witch of Wrath, clenching her fists, looking for her close friend's feelings to bear fruit.

The Witch of Sloth, paying heed to everyone's movements, languidly prepared to instantly attack if anything should happen.

The Witch of Lust, preserving her uninvolved demeanor, ready to protect only herself should matters escalate into a split-second situation.

The Witch of Gluttony, already unconcerned about any changes in the situation, puzzling over whose fingers would be best to munch.

The Witch of Greed, although displeased with the presence of one witch, her eyes sparkle with curiosity for whatever could possibly happen next.

And not the Witch of Envy, but Satella...

"...Why?" He muttered, with everyone present now knowing that he was directing this question to Satella.

"...What?" Satella muttered back, causing Shadow to grit his teeth, and in less than an instant, everyone gasped as they saw that Shadow appeared right in front of Satella, glaring dangerously at her. He moved so fast that none of them saw him moving.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS?!" Shadow finally snapped and shouted, causing Satella to flinch, but he didn't stop here.

"YOU BROUGHT SUBARU AND NATSUMI TO THIS HELL! YOU PLAGUED SUBARU WITH THIS ACCURSED AUTHORITY THAT MADE HIM SUFFER! AND NOW HE'S PROBABLY SUFFERING RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE SPEAKING! NOT TO MENTION THEIR PARENTS! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DESPAIR AND SADNESS THEY ARE IN?! DO YOU REALIZE HOW ARE THEY SUFFERING BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SEE THEIR FLESH AND BLOOD?! ALL OF THAT! ALL OF THAT SUFFERING AND YET YOU...! YOU...!"

Shadow's words got stuck in his mouth.

His anger was raised to its maximum, a massive flurry of emotions swirling around him. All of his Parallel World Selves were roaring in absolute Wrath that it would have the Witch of Wrath herself Jealous.

"...I...Love him..." Satella muttered her answer, causing Shadow to grit his teeth, glaring at the Witch of Envy with pure fury.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?! ALL OF YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS! THIS PLACE IS FILLED WITH INCOMPREHENSIBLE PEOPLE! YOU'RE LITERALLY FORCING OTHERS ON THE CRAP THAT YOU DID! YOU FORCED SUBARU AND NATSUMI TO ALL OF THIS SHIT! IF YOU DIDN'T BRING THEM TO THIS WORLD, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SUFFERED ALL OF THAT TIME! I'M SICK OF ALL OF THAT! I DON'T WANT ANY HELP FROM ANY OF YOU! I'LL FIND A WAY THROUGH ALL OF THIS!" Shadow roared out at all of the Witches, with Rem watching in silence with a heartbroken expression on her face. The fury of her loved one apparent to her.

"And then what? Both you and Subaru Natsuki think just the same, so then what? You both go on and on all alone? Resetting and dying respectively and making everyone cry? What about that Oni over there? She risked herself and her entire Life just so she could see you. Are you going to let her sacrifice go in vain, going on through the entire road all alone, only to make someone like her cry in the end while saying to yourself that it's a sacrifice that had to be made? Wow, that's great" Minerva said, clapping her hands in a sarcastic manner while glaring at Shadow, who just glared back in silence for moments, before opening his mouth to speak.

"What the hell does that have to do with you? The likes of me and Subaru are the ones in pain, in agony. We're the ones that are suffering. I don't give a shit about what you're thinking" He said.

"Saying you're ready for hurt and pain and anguish sure lets you be at ease. No matter what the people watching you spitting blood with your flesh shredded and bones broken think, you can always use the excuse that you're the one suffering most" Minerva replied back, and a vein popped out on Shadow's forehead.

However, she wasn't finished.

"If you bear the most obvious, showy and visible wounds, you can end everything without those wounded by the aftermath of your behavior being able to say anything. After all, you're the one suffering most. You're the one hurting most. You're the one in the most pain...That the others around you would shut up their sniveling's just natural" She said.

"You! You're saying that I'm drunk on overblown tragedies so that I can shut everyone else up, huh!? That this stalemate I'm in is just part of the act!?" Shadow yelled, but his yelling this time was much calmer, having noticed that Rem was flinching with every time he yelled, and that tears were starting to build in the corners of her eyes.

"No, that's not where I'm going. But the logic of 'I just need to be hurt more than anyone else' is a coward's logic. I know Echidna is a sociopath and Satella seems to have a twisted sense of humor, but...Your way of doing things right now...Is viler than any Witch here" Minerva said.

"...!" Shadow's gasp got stuck into his throat, unable to respond from the shock, causing Minerva to continue speaking.

"Above all else, with my lifestyle of beating everything wounded into health, you and Subaru's lifestyle is an arch-nemesis. And it's really ungrateful towards her" Minerva finished, pointing at Satella.

"Vile...? Ungrateful...? The fuck is that? Say sickening or anything, I've gotten to be choosing the methods I am because why? I've gotten to be thinking in this so-dubbed twisted mentality because why? My and Subaru's methods and mindset, when you consider what I and him have this is just the innate consequence, that's what it goddamn is" Shadow muttered, but he was anything but calm. If anything, he was even angrier, evident by him jabbing a finger at Satella.

"You! You're the one who did this! I'm not talking about myself, but about Subaru and Natsumi! Why did you give Subaru this ability?! Why did you pull Natsumi with Subaru to this world?! I could have done all of that without them being here! They're just children! They don't deserve to be in this goddamn war!" Shadow half-yelled at Satella, who was still silent as he threw all of his accusations at her, but then, he huffed out, trying to calm himself down.

"There's exactly one thing I am thankful to you for. Huge appreciation for letting Subaru have this accursed power to reset the timeline. That's all I'm thanking you for. I wouldn't have been able to protect even a single important thing without it. And from now on I'm going to be depending on it too, per Subaru's permission of course. And so, for this one single thing alone you are getting my thanks" Shadow said.

He was already prepared for the continuous trial and error. The option to flee from this fate was long ago abolished. It has been ever since he took her hand and proposed to run, to be rejected. There is no option to flee. He can only keep fighting. That is what he pledged. That was what she expected of him. Believed in him. That Shadow would keep fighting, without running. Shadow is a man who always gets back up. And if he was not, he could not continue being Rem's Hero.

"Don't..." Satella's whisper perked Shadow's attention.

"Please don't cry. Please don't get hurt. Please don't suffer. Please don't look sad" Satella suddenly said, which really confused and angered Shadow.

"You...What are...?" He tried to get the question out of his mouth, but he couldn't form it for some reason.

Call it mental tiredness, call it being fed up with all of this stupidity, Shadow honestly didn't know. The maelstrom of emotion is much too big, and he has not a clue what to say. His intense feelings block his throat as he flaps his mouth open and closed, looking at Satella in shock.

"Love..." She muttered.

"So...That's how you twist his feelings. In the end, you want Subaru to love you. That's all that matters to you" Shadow said, his voice holding a mixture of anger and disappointment.

However, what Satella said next made him even more furious.

"Love yourselves...More" She whispered.

...

...

...

It took Shadow quite a bit a time for the meaning of those words to sink into his brain. What dominates Shadow's non-existent heart the instant the meaning does permeate is a formless, shake provoking wave of emotion.

"What the fuck...Are you trying to say...?" Him whispering those words were followed by a massive roar.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE SUBARU LAST SECOND RETREAT! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO FORCED HIM AND HIS SISTER TO THIS HELLHOLE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO THEIR PARENTS?! THEY'RE WORRIED SICK ABOUT THEM, AND LITERALLY IN DESPAIR!" He yelled, with Rem closing her eyes tightly, desperately trying, but failing to prevent the tears from falling from her eyes.

Her heart broke as she saw her beloved worried about his own friends.

"I love him...I love whoever who is his friend...So...Love yourselves more..." Satella muttered.

"If both of us became powerless, then what would be our worth?!" Shadow yelled.

"Don't be sad..." Satella muttered.

"If everyone is safe, then no one else will have to suffer but me!" Shadow yelled.

"Don't cry..." Satella muttered.

"WHO WOULD GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE TEARS OF A DEFECT CREATION LIKE ME?!"

"I DO!"

"?!"

The new voice, who was silent up until now, yelled at Shadow, taking the attention of everyone.

Rem jumped forward, closing the distance between her and Shadow, throwing herself onto him and embracing his back in a tight hug, coiling both arms around his torso, tears already flowing down her eyes.

"Please...Stop...You're not useless...It just hurts...Don't do this to yourself...You're not a defect...You're not a thing...You're a person with emotions...With feelings...You have to live as one...Stop treating yourself...As some kind of a weapon..." Rem muttered between her sobs, not caring that the other Witches were looking at them.

"See? You're talking about not letting any harm fall onto anyone here...But you already made one of your dearest cry" Minerva noted out, before blinking upon seeing Shadow's wide eyes spilling tears from them.

"They're gone...Sonic...Knuckles...Tails...Cream...Cheese...Vanilla...Amy...Rouge...Omega...Espio...Charmy...Vector...Mighty...Everyone I know dear is gone...If only I was stronger...If only I was there...None of that would have happened...Just like back then with Maria...I couldn't save her..."

Shadow's sorrowful mutterings came to an end as the tears increased in his eyes, with Rem hugging him from the back tightly.

"I just...I JUST DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE ELSE!"

With those words, the dam was completely opened.

Grabbing his head, Shadow shrieks in rejection of every audible sound. Before he knows it, he's on his knees to the ground. Forgetting even to distance himself from Satella as he raises his head to the sky wailing like a little child, Shadow yells his sorrows to the illusionary Heavens as he denies her sweet whisperings.

Poison. She was poison. Everything of Satella's existence was a will-melting poison for Shadow.

"What a child...Huu...Crying, bawling, throwing a tantrum, taking everything upon himself... it's exactly like what...Haa...A lonely child would do..." Sekhmet said, appraising Shadow's current state in a sympathetic and pitying voice.

The silent Witches make no action to refute Sekhmet's mutters. The Witch of Sloth had made an incredibly apt judgement.

For Shadow's visage presently was that of a small, weak, pitiable child.

"Adow...Are you crying...?"

"?!"

Rem suddenly heard the childish voice of Typhon, promoting her to open her eyes and look in front of her, only to see said Witch of Pride stepping forward and hugging Shadow's head, with said person not doing anything to push her away.

"Look at how much someone made you cry. You poor thing" Typhon muttered, before making Rem flinch upon seeing the little girl's face shift into a murderous glare, glowering around her at the other Witches, who flinched at her gaze. Even Sekhmet's face twitched slightly at Typhon's murderous aura.

"So, who made you cry? Tella? Daphne? Or was it you, Sekhmet? I don't think Nerva was picking on Adow...Dona, did you do something bad to Adow again? Are you the baddie?" Typhon asked, her dark look with wide eyes completely contradicted her image as a child, and truly personified her image as a Witch.

"W-Why did you exclude me?! I can hurt him too!" Minerva yelled, mustering whatever courage inside of her to refute Typhon's statement.

"It's pretty hard to imagine that someone who pales just by envisioning it could commit an act of violence. Then again, even if you can hurt someone, I doubt that you can even scratch someone like Shadow Terios" Echidna said, before turning to Sekhmet.

"I'm thinking I'd like to ask her foster parent about that one in rigorous detail but, your thoughts?" Echidna asked her fellow Witch, who proceeded to exhaustedly place a hand on her forehead.

"It's to do with your daily behavior...Huu..." Sekhmet sighed her reply tiredly.

"How...How can you not understand...?" Satella asked, her voice laced with sobs.

"That of everything you wish to protect, you both should be included...?" She finished her question.

But at that moment, Shadow's head was filled with something else.

"You could always try to smile more, Shads!"

The sound of his idiotic, goofy, adventurous blue rival.

"Don't try to push yourself too hard. You're our friend too, after all, Shadow"

The sound of that two-tailed fox kid with a massive brain and intelligence.

"You can be quite gloomy, but you can pass as a precious comrade"

The sound of the knuckleheaded red echidna who despite his rough attitude, still had a heart of gold inside of him.

"I know that people fight over the most trivial things. Some people may be selfish, like the professor said, but they're basically good. If they try their best and never give up on their wishes, they always have a reason to be happy. That's why you should help them out. Saving them is a good thing!"

The sound of this bubbly, pink hedgehog who was sticking to that blue hedgehog like glue.

"Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you. Know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that"

The sound of the strong-minded, jewel-loving bat that promised to be by his side even if the whole world chose to be his enemy.

"To be a true leader...A true friend...That is what you are to us, Shadow"

The sound of the robot that understand Human emotions even better than Humans and considered him a friend.

"You're so kind, Mister Shadow"

The sound of the small rabbit that saw him as a valuable person.

"When I grow up, I wanna be cool and a badass like you, Mister Shadow!"

The sound of the happy-go-lucky bee that viewed him as an idol.

"Don't take it up on yourself. Ya ain't a weapon of destruction. Ya have feelings of your own. Stick to them"

The sound of the crocodile that was surprisingly mature in opposing to his love for money.

"Don't be fooled by the words of others. You have a beautiful heart that you have to embrace"

The sound of that purple ninja chameleon that was amazingly wise and fit to be a leader.

"Shadow..."

And finally...The voice of the girl that shaped his entire Life, and gave him a purpose.

"I beg of you, please do it for me... For a better future! For all the people who live on that planet... give them a chance to be happy... Let them live for their dreams. Shadow, I know you can do it. That's the reason why you were brought into this world"

His eyes widened, his mind finally comprehending the words left to him after all of these millennia.

He was probably crying.

If the people Shadow thought dearly of knew of his Death, would they grieve for him? Those irreplaceable people he saw that left him behind after their Death, were they lamenting Shadow's suffering, and grieving for him in the afterlife? Those who Shadow had lost as he mourned his insufficient strength, forcing him to reset the timeline in the past year for tens of thousands of times before his encounter with Subaru in search of the optimum, failing at the final step, where they were worried about him?

There were people who he thought of as precious in the Past. There were people who he believed he must protect in the Present. There were people who he implored he must save from the dead-end of Fate in the Future.

Did he possess enough worth that those precious people would be worried about him, would love him?

It was him, but he was enough for his precious ones to think him someone precious. So was his conceit, but was it okay?

It was him, but he was needed enough for those he wished to protect to wish to protect him. So was his inadvertent belief, but was it okay?

It was him, but he had enough worth for there to be people who would cry at his suffering, that he could reach out to for rescue. So was his inadvertent wish, but would he be pardoned it?

"..."

...Was it okay for him to think it?

I don't want to die.

I don't want to give up, thinking this method is the only one.

I don't want to disappear as I be the cornerstone for protecting the future of those precious to me.

In the future where they're protected, there alongside those precious to me, I want to be too.

He could think like this, but was it okay?

Did he have these qualifications?

If he did, then...

"I...Want to live..."

"?!"

Everyone present heard the whisper of Shadow, which in turn caused Rem to smile with her eyes still filled with tears.

He raised his head up, staring at the blue, illusionary sky with narrowed, nearly lifeless eyes.

"Does my Life...Have any value...? Aside from being forced to make the world a better place for Mortals...? Do I deserve to be happy just like them...?" He muttered his question.

"Of course, Shadow-kun..." Shadow then turned his head behind him to see Rem standing up and smiling at him.

"Rem..." He muttered out her name.

"Every single being...Has a reason in Life that they have to fulfill. But also, we were all created to be free. We were never born as slaves. We just have to see your role to the end...And live Life to the fullest...As free existences" Rem said, causing Shadow's eyes to widen slightly at her words.

"You already saw it in the Second Trial. You saw how the people that you cherished back in your previous world and here were together. All because you wished to see them together. Strictly speaking, that shows how much of a kind person you are, despite being so edgy and rough on the edges" Minerva said.

"I forgive you..."

"?!"

Looking behind Minerva, Shadow saw as Satella was crying behind her veil of darkness, smiling gently at him, leaving her tears unwiped.

"You saved my beloved...You saw him as a true friend...So I permit you to be saved...To be happy...To love yourself even more...To find happiness in this world...To be saved by those who care about you and you care about them..." Satella said, causing Shadow to feel the urge to cry once again, but he kept it in him for now.

"It surprises me that your attitude is getting an opinion in this conflict, Daphne" Echidna said to the Witch of Gluttony, who was pinning the thrashing Typhon beneath the claws extending from the Centipede Coffin.

"I'm definitely the best counter to Ty-Ty there..." Daphne moaned her response casually. It was then when she saw Sekhmet floating above the ground using her invisible hands to stand up, or rather levitate in the air.

"I don't see why you would want to get involved...Huu...I don't see why you're so devoted to that man...Haa..." Sekhmet sighed out her words to Daphne, who just licked her lips with a smile on her face.

"It's because Shadown and Subarun killed the White Whale and Great Rabbit, and he claims that they'll kill the Black Serpent next. Then, so I was thinking, I want him to at least make it to challenging them" Daphne said.

"An interesting stance. If he ever feels the urge, he can indeed achieve that. You should be aware of that, too...Do you mean you want the Black Serpent to be destroyed?" Echidna asked Daphne, who licked her lips once again.

"Whatever? The moment it split, away from me, its hunger stopped having anything to do with mine. It can be destroyed, and it won't really bother me, but...Maybe I am a little interested in how the Black Serpent, my indomitable preservation against starvation, will end" Daphne said, causing Echidna to nod, before turning to Carmilla.

"What about you, Carmilla? Do you have a reason like Daphne? You saved him from exploding in anger on all of us using Faceless Bride. Your call would have held every significance for him. And you would have understood that. And so I ask. You didn't think fondly of him. Why did you help him?" Echidna asked the timid Carmilla.

"There...W-Was no reason...But...L-Love is so...Important? I-It's bad t-to ignore that...Mm, you mustn't do that. He might...Be thinking he d-doesn't want to...See it, but there is...Love there...And when something's there...I won't let it...Be denied. A-and also, t-to me...Null reciprocity is a hell no" Carmilla placed out her reasoning in a stuttering fit, but her will was as tough as iron. This caused Echidna to smile wryly, before turning to Shadow, who was being suported by Rem to stand up.

"Everyone and everybody have their various platforms, from which they attempted to aid Shadow Terios. It's rather interesting, don't you agree?" She asked of him, but she didn't get a 'Yes' or a 'No' for her question.

Quite the opposite to all of that, actually.

"Seriously...Just what are you all? Curiosity. Sympathy. Pity. Duty. Disgust. Expectation...Basically none of your reasons for supporting me make any real sense. I get what the title of 'Witch' means here" He said, and Rem had to nod at Shadow's accurate choice of words. Witches were truly bizarre.

"If you're back to speaking insults, then have you perhaps regained your spirit?" Echidna asked.

"I...Don't know...What I have to do is supposed to have been decided. Those things I have to do haven't changed at all. That's definite. Definite. I'd decided that this was the only method for doing it. That's what I chose...What I had resolved to choose. But even despite that, here the Trial broke me...I saw it all with my eyes...But, learning your true motives after having once thought you someone whose help I could accept, and then right afterwards having Satella appear...My head is frazzled. All of you, stop going off just doing all these things. What I ought to do is something I am saddled with. Is what it's meant to be, but..."

He sighed, nearly in defeat from all of these overwhelming situations.

"...Now I don't know what to do anymore" He finished.

"I will present you this question once again, Shadow Terios" Echidna said, causing Shadow to look at her as she extended her hand to him, causing Rem to flinch, fearing the worst.

"Having no clue what to do any more, would you let me guide your hand? My promise is that, without fail, I will bring you to the future" Echidna offered once again, and Rem's body stiffened as she looked back and forth between Shadow and Echidna, where both stared in silence at each other.

A few moments later, Shadow sighed, before speaking out.

"I...Already know. Even if Rem didn't show up, I wouldn't have agreed to making a contract with you. Because...You're not the real Echidna, right?" Shadow asked, causing everyone to blink in surprise as they all looked at 'Echidna', who didn't respond.

"My Rune Stone Skill is a special one. It allows me to copy the powers and abilities of the dead upon knowing their name and facial features. Even if they have similar names, I can simply distinguish who I want to copy their abilities by remembering their faces or personalities, and to be honest...I copied all of the abilities of all the Witches here...Except for yours. Do you know what that means?" Shadow asked, causing everyone but 'Echidna' to gasp in shock.

"It means that you're not the real Echidna. And if anything springs to mind...You're nothing but the remnants of the Witch Factor of Greed given a persona suited for the very sin of Greed itself, completed by the personality of the Greed that manifested in the real Echidna four hundred years ago. It won't be farfetched to distinguish both of you from each other. Not to mention..."

He looked straight into her eyes.

"I was always a man of my own word. I did everything on my own, and I won't risk having someone collaborate with me, and therefore...I can't take your hand because its price would be my own dignity and existence as a person. I finally found my worth and value...Because there are people who truly need me by their side, and I need them as well" Shadow finished, looking at Rem, who smiled while wiping her tears and sniffing, glad that her Hero was now smiling at her and finally standing on his two feet.

"...However, there lies a path of thorns, Shadow Terios. While it is the truth that rationalizing yourself as a tool to cut open the way, proceeding along the route while scouring yourself down is a rugged path, it unmistakably remains as the shortest road for reaching the future. The only thing you need to offer is your heart. To deny this, and intend to keep your own heart as well as the future of those precious to you, is an act of extraordinary difficulty, and above all..."

Cutting off there, Echidna takes a breath. And, with the most resplendent smile she has ever shown rising on her face, she finishes.

"...Greed"

Affirming his desires, the Witch of Greed accepts Shadow's decision with her expression pleased. This pseudo-Witch, having had her proposal denied but still smiling happily, is indeed beyond Shadow's understanding.

But...

"That you saved me countless times alone is truth...Even if it was entirely all you think of me like some lab rat or whatever, that is truth" Shadow said.

"That foolish, pitiful Garfiel, is scared of the outside world. What he saw in the First Trial has always been binding him. If you're to break through this situation by yourself, I'd say you'd need to undo that curse" Echidna said.

"..." Shadow remained silent.

"The other Witches have been very friendly with you, and if I then present you nothing, what an outrage it'll be. Having you think 'THE WITCHES WERE ALL FUNDAMENTALLY GREAT GUYS, EXPECT THAT ECHIDNA' is truly nothing I want. I may be me, but I am still a girl, and that I'm fond of you is truth" Echidna said, tapping Shadow's chest lightly, with Rem glaring comically at the pseudo-Witch, with Shadow placing his arm in front of her to steady her from ripping that bitch to shreds.

"...You guys are all a bunch beyond anything I can understand. I know for a fact, considering the fact that I have been with a bunch that are also beyond understanding. I suppose that's why I took quite a liking to you girls. Nevertheless, thanks for letting me express myself. Thanks for letting me lift off that weight off my shoulders. With your little help, I now can face the world as the person that I am...Shadow Terios, the Ultimate Life Form" Shadow said, sincerely thanking the Witches, who all smiled at him, with Typhon's lips quivering and her eyes spilling tears in a comical manner, before she ran like the child she is and jumped into Shadow's chest, hugging him tightly.

"Adow! I don't want you to leave! Please don't leave me!" She cried into his chest, causing Shadow to huff with a small smile, patting Typhon's head gently, before suddenly whispering something into her ear. Whatever he whispered seemed to have a magnificent effect on Typhon, before she hoped off Shadow's chest, smiling sweetly as she stood by his side.

Shadow then turned to the side, spotting Satella standing silently, to which he scratches the back of his head.

"I...Have no idea what you are. I don't understand why you're telling me you that you love Subaru, or what you're...Or what you mean when you say that he saved you...But that the Last Second Retreat you've given him has saved him is fact. That I've fully relied on it as well, and doing so managed to get here is also truth..."I won't make any simple rationalizations of it, and I won't selfishly use Subaru to my own agenda unless I take his consent of it as he is my precious friend...But, that you who gave him that power, personally made me feel I don't want to die and wanting to live. That is an unmistakable fact, and therefore..."

As Satella kept being silent, Shadow smiled gently at her.

""Like you said, I'll try loving myself more. Try treating myself dearly, and Ill make sure to give Subaru that message as well. I have no idea what'll happen once I'm doing that but, that's okay" He finished.

"Will you two...Be alright...?" Satella asked.

"Yeah...Compared to seeing Eldritch Horrors throughout my entire Life, this is nothing. Believe me" Shadow answered, to which Satella took his hand.

Instantly, the noise of the world breaking comes to Subaru's eardrums. The sky's blue and meadow's green fade in color, signaling Natsuki Subaru's release from the Castle of Dreams.

"You don't have to struggle alone. Please, with those who think you dear alongside...With the people who don't desire your Death, the people who desire not to let you die, fight alongside" She muttered out, and as the world was fading away, leaving him and Satella within the white void that was also soon to vanish, Shadow blinked as he saw the veil of darkness shrouding Satella's face fading away, revealing her features, which rather surprised him.

Beautiful, silver hair, amethyst eyes, fair white skin, stained with tears falling down her cheeks.

She was the spitting image of a mature version of Emilia.

"And one day...No matter what...You and my beloved must return...To kill me..."

As she said those words, she started to fade, but Shadow's resolution opposed her words.

"We will definitely...!"

He yelled his last words, not caring whether or not they fell on deaf ears.

"...Save you no matter what!"

And as he faded, everything around the world remained white and still for a second, and in the next second, a snap of a finger was heard, and instantly, the Castle of Dreams with its scenery manifested once again.

"I'd say that was a ride? Shame he didn't take my offer" Echidna said with a smile.

"You're one to talk. He even knew that you were only remnants of a Witch Factor, not the real Echidna" Minerva said.

"Echidna-chan...Y-You're a real pain...Y-You kn-know that...? Trampling on h-his feelings like t-that. E-E-Even if he was a little r-r-rude..." Carmilla noted.

"No matter how rude he was...Huu...He was still a powerful individual...Haa...All he needed was a little push...Huu...To the right path...Haa..." Sekhmet said.

"Now that the next Divine Dragon has proved his undying friendship with not only the Sage Candidate, but also the Sword Saint, what will be the Fate of the world...Mmm~. Daphne is really hungry..." Daphne said while drooling and licking her lips vigorously.

However, a few seconds of silence made the five Witches realize something, to which it made them ask themselves the very one question.

"Where is Typhon?"

The Sanctuary. Nighttime

The sky was dark gray, and it was snowing.

The dark gray clouds released lightning and thunder.

The cold, merciless wind sliced through the thin air with no hesitation or resistance.

The residents of Irlam Village inside the Sanctuary crammed themselves inside the shelters. Parents, who were completely afraid of the idea of Death, tried to swallow their Fear to calm down their children.

Right outside the barrier, an army of blue, one-meter-tall hedgehogs with blood tears was waiting, numbering in the hundred thousands, awaiting the command of their leader: A white-haired boy that had a blood-curing grin, floating above all of them as they all awaited his signal, where he had his special minions, Execun, Exebark and Exebi by his side.

On the other side opposing the army of hedgehogs was another army of short girls with white robes, blue eyes, long pink hair and pointy ears, their eyes holding a lifeless expression, as if they were dolls.

And standing in the frontline was Ram, Garfiel and Lucas, with the army of the Ryuzu copies silently awaiting their commands.

Subaru EXE raised his arm above his head and Ram did the same, breathing in a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

Inside one of the shelters, Otto was closing his eyes shut while seated on the ground, focusing to use his Divine Protection to communicate with the animals surrounding the Sanctuary, with Petra, as pale and as lifeless as ever, silently supporting his body with Yang mana to soothe the pain resulting from prolonged usage of his Divine Protection.

In the road leading to the farthest end of the Sanctuary, Frederica and Heinkel were running as fast as their legs could handle, trying to reach the Master Emerald before any of Subaru EXE minions could reach it.

With the respective waves of their arms, the armies collided with each other.

The Ryuzu copies clashing with the blue hedgehogs, kicking and punching them. Some even self-destructed and took some of them away. The blue hedgehogs mercilessly tore through some of the copies with their clawed hands, but every time they did so, the shredded copy would explode taking a few of the hedgehogs down with it.

Subaru EXE then took the chance of the confusion, before firing a green energy ball from his palms at Ram, Garfiel and Lucas, sending the three flying away and scattering to different part of the Sanctuary.

With Ram

Standing up, Ram dusted off her clothes. She wasn't injured at all. Only a little dusty as the blast of energy didn't do any damage to her.

Her Communication Mirror Metia then beeped, causing her to take it out from her skirt pocket and open it, seeing Otto's face.

"Ram-san? Are you there? What happened?" Otto asked in worry.

"We got separated. I don't know where everyone else is" Ram answered calmly.

"We have a problem! The special minions of that monster controlling Natsuki-san are approaching the Sanctuary and making their way to the main Lagmite supporting the Lagmites that activates the defensive barrier keeping away the army of blue hedgehogs outside! Ram-san, you must head to the center of the Sanctuary and protect the main Lagmite!" Otto exclaimed.

"Got it" Ram replied.

"Be careful, Ram-san" Otto told her, before cutting off the communication. Ram then withdrew her Communication Mirror Metia and dashed towards the center of the Sanctuary.

It took her only a few minutes to reach her destination, and she spotted Execun soaring through the air, aiming for the huge light blue Lagmite that was embedded inside the bark of a huge tree in the center of the Sanctuary.

"El Fura!" Wasting no time, Ram didn't even take out her wand and thrusted her hand arm forward, releasing a myriad of wind blades at the horrid creature, who was forced to fly backwards to dodge the barrage of blades aimed at it. It, however, couldn't react even further as Ram released even more wind blades, hitting Execun head on and sending it flying away.

Exebark roared out as it burst through the trees, lunging at Ram from behind and opening its blood-filled jaws at Ram, intending on chomping her head off, only for Ram to react faster and spin on her heel, before planting her heel into its face, causing the monster to stagger back from the recoil of the hit. Ram took this chance with no hesitation and equipped her Recoil Rods, spinning the plasma tonfas in both hands, before thrusting both of them forward, hitting the face of Exebark head on, before sending it flying back into the depths of the forest from where the monster came roaring at Ram, causing a huge crashing sound to echo throughout the forest.

Suddenly, Ram heard a high-pitched scream, resembling that of a child. She turned left and right but saw nothing. She managed to locate the direction of the sound, and this caused her to look down, only to see Exebi, a short, chibi-version of the blue hedgehog minions that Subaru EXE was using in the mini war against the Sanctuary, and that thing was charging at Ram while releasing a high-pitched war cry.

Ram's eyes twitched uncontrollably, and a vein popped on her forehead. She was quite sure that their enemy was mocking them, and she wasn't taking it very well, especially considering the fact that she was a person full of Pride.

"I don't have time for this" She muttered before shifting her Recoil Rods to the Triple Rod, and then she stabbed down at Exebi, causing the chibi hedgehog to burst into a violent, tiny puddle of blood, not even giving it a chance to cry in pain.

Dismissing her weapon, Ram then took out her Communication Mirror Metia and opened it.

"Is someone out there?" She called out, only to see the face of Garfiel showing in the screen of the Metia.

"Ma amazin' self hears ya, Ram. Where in da blazes are ya?" Garfiel asked.

"I'm in the center of the Sanctuary beside the mother Lagmite that controls the other Lagmites supporting the defensive barrier around the Sanctuary. Where are you, Garf? Is someone with you?" Ram asked back.

"Ma amazin' self is in th'left side of th'Sanctuary an' can't see anyone...Wait. There's somethin' in th'sky" Garfiel noted, causing Ram to blink before looking up. She then took a glimpse of Subaru EXE lifting his arm up and opening his outstretched palm, before it glowed crimson red, and it started to grow rapidly in size, illuminating the gray sky above them.

"What the...? What happened, Garf?" Ram asked, as Garfiel also looked at the sky in shock.

"Seems like this freak is makin' some giant fireball or somethin'" Garfiel said while glaring at the abomination floating above them.

"He's going to fire it on us, is he? But it doesn't look real. That must be an illusion" Ram noted.

"What's ur point?" Garfiel asked.

"The main crystal that generates the Ryuzu copies. It can dispel the illusion of this fireball before he projects it onto reality. I need you to go there and channel some of your mana into it to activate its illusion dispelling properties, Garf" Ram answered.

"Okay. Ma amazin' self is on his way" Garfiel said, before closing his Communication Mirror Metia, and proceeded to head towards his destination.

With Frederica and Heinkel

"Heinkel-sama. We are getting closer to the Master Emerald"

"Let's get this over with. I need to check on my wife"

Frederica and Heinkel made their way towards the Master Emerald, where they were only a few minutes away from reaching said artifact of power.

Just then, however, a bright light suddenly blinded both of them for an instant, and out of nowhere. When the light faded, Heinkel looked around, only to find that Frederica was nowhere to be found.

"Frederica?! Where are you, Frederica?!" Heinkel called out, but there was no response. He then turned around upon seeing Exebi entering into the scene, which made him draw his sword.

"What the...? Damnit. It must be a trap. I should keep my distance" Heinkel said through his gritted teeth. His face then paled upon seeing the small form of Exebi becoming large and staring at him with a grin that flashed its sharp teeth.

"Like I said..." He muttered, before taking off to distance himself from the monster.

With Frederica

Frederica blinked her eyes, adjusting them to her surroundings, only to see that Heinkel was nowhere to be found.

"Heinkel-sama? Are you there?" Frederica asked, but got no response, only silence through the myriad of trees she was surrounded with.

"I guess I have to find the Master Emerald without him..." Frederica muttered, and was about to walk away, when suddenly, the hair on her entire body stood on its end. Goosebumps ran over all of her body upon seeing the existence in front of her.

"W-What...? Y-You...?" She muttered at the Guiltylowe leering at her with bloodlust.

"You're not real...You're not real!" She exclaimed before breaking into a mad dash away from the Guiltylowe, who proceeded to give chase behind her.

With Otto and Petra

"Otto, do you copy?"

"Yes. Is everything alright? You protected the Mother Lagmite, didn't you?"

"..."

Otto responded to Ram's call on his Communication Mirror Metia, sighing in relief that she was still alive, with Petra simply staring at Otto with lifeless eyes.

"Yes, but there seems to be a problem with the barrier. I can sense foreign life forms entering the Sanctuary. It has to be Exeller's special minions" Ram responded.

"Is there anything we can do on our end to help?" Otto asked.

"Yes. Actually, there's another Mother Lagmite close to your position in the Sanctuary. We have to risk it because none of us will be able to reach it in time. I'm sure that Garf has already activated the crystal housing Ryuzu in it, so the majority of the illusions will not get projected to reality, so there will be no obstacles in front of you. At least, that's what I believe" Ram said.

"What do you mean by not being able to reach it in time?" Otto asked, clearly confused.

"He had started his attack. A huge fireball. It seems that the illusion was so strong that not even the Ryuzu crystal's mana outburst was able to nullify it. We have like three or four minutes before he releases it on us" Ram answered.

"Understood. I'm on my way" Otto said in a firm tone, before cutting off the communication with Ram. He then was about to exit the cottage they were in, but Petra stopped him.

"Otto-sama, I'll go with you" She said, her face completely pale and emotionless.

"No, Petra-chan. It's safe here. I don't want you to get hurt" Otto said.

"But..." She muttered, but Otto stopped her.

"I have to go now, Petra-chan. Just be careful and don't worry about me" Otto said before departing out from the cottage, leaving Petra alone.

"But I don't want you to die..." She muttered, her concerns being left unheard.

A few minutes later

The fireball that Subaru EXE charged was now complete, and he proceeded to fire it down. However, he clicked his tongue upon seeing that a massive barrier had appeared all of a sudden around the Sanctuary. The moment the fireball made contact with it, it completely disappeared.

Sighing in frustration, Subaru EXE flew away in the distance.

A few minutes later

"Good job, Otto. You made it despite being useless in your everyday Life"

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult"

"Way t'go, Merchant Boy! Ya stole th'show!"

"Can somebody please...*Huff*...Bring me a glass of water...?*Huff*"

Ram, Otto, Garfiel and Heinkel gathered in the middle of the Sanctuary upon managing to protect it from its seemingly inevitable doom.

"I'm so glad that you guys are okay, but wasn't Heinkel-sama supposed to be with Frederica-san?" Otto asked, slightly worried about his girl.

"We got separated. That monster that we fought at Shamrock Valley chased me, but I managed to escape" Heinkel said, wiping off a bit of sweat from his forehead.

"Where's Petra?" Garfiel asked out of the blue.

"I left her in Ryuzu Shima-san's cottage. She's safe in there" Otto answered.

"Not for long. But we'll be safe if we get to the Master Emerald before Exeller obtains it to himself" Ram noted.

With Frederica

"It's not real...It's not supposed to be real..."

Muttering like a broken doll while being seated on the grass, all that Frederica could see was black and red dancing in front of her wide eyes. She gripped her hair and her body shook uncontrollably, seeing the silhouette of the Guiltylowe that traumatized her ever since childhood.

She then saw the shadow of a figure walking towards her, and it stopped right in front of her. The shadow was obviously black, but its eyes and teeth had the same red silhouette as that of that accursed Guiltylowe.

"No no no...Please leave me be..." Frederica muttered while looking at the shadow in front of her. She then saw as the shadow placed its hand gently on her shoulder, but she didn't shake it off out of Fear.

"W-What do you want...? D-D-Don't touch me..." She muttered, her voice barely heard, but the shadow was still having its hand on her shoulder.

"You're not alone here...You can't blame yourself for anything that happened to either you or your mother...You didn't do anything wrong..." The shadow whispered those words gently to Frederica, causing her to blink upon recognizing the voice of the shadow in front of her.

"P-Petra...?" She called out the name.

And upon doing so, the world had its normal colors returned, and the shadow faded away to reveal that it was indeed Petra, who was looking at Frederica with her lifeless eyes, albeit said eyes held worry and concern towards the scared Frederica.

"Are you okay, Frederica-neesama?" Petra asked.

"Y-Yeah...But...I didn't tell you about my mother. How did you...?" Frederica asked, but the words got stuck into her throat out of the heart-wrenching experience she had a few minutes ago.

"I wasn't talking about your mother. I was just telling you to return to your senses..." Petra muttered, and before Frederica could say anything to her.

"KYAAA!"

"PETRA!"

"?!"

The figure of the Guiltylowe rushed past Frederica, colliding with Petra and sending her flying away into the depths of the forest, before standing on the ground, leering at Frederica, who stood up with her hair shadowing her eyes.

"You...After Clind-niisama saved me from you back in the Kremaldy Forest, you were the reason that I had nightmares..." She then raised her head, showing off a fearless glare of fury directed towards the deformed Guiltylowe.

"When I look at or hear of Mabeasts, I always think of you, But now...Now it's time to face my own Demons..." She muttered, before the Guiltylowe sneered at her and proceeded to fly away, causing Frederica to dash towards him.

[Sonic exe: Whisper of Souls OST - VS Metal Sonic]

Frederica dashed with all of her might towards the retreating Guiltylowe, who upon seeing her coming closer to him, he vanished from her sights in an instant. Frederica's sense alerted her, causing her to jump up, avoiding the Guiltylowe clamping its jaws closed from behind, which was about to snap Frederica's head off her shoulders. Her senses alerted her once again, causing her to spin in the air and kick away the Guiltylowe that instantly teleported to her in midair. Her senses alerted her for the third time, making her use her Rune Stone Skill to open a portal to escape from the Guiltylowe appearing behind her in midair to cut her in half with its claw.

Frederica saw this as an opportunity, and fired off a Fura at the flying Guiltylowe, hitting it straight on, causing it to recoil slightly, before it took off to the sky. Frederica landed on the ground and kept on running, where she had to dodge the Guiltylowe making a kamikaze dive downwards, with the impact causing a massive crater to be blasted into the ground, followed by a massive shockwave that sent Frederica flying forward and off her feet. Fortunately, she managed to regain her footing, landing like a professional acrobat on the ground before resuming on running, with the Guiltylowe dashing towards her from behind. Frederica sensed the Mabeast rushing at her from behind, and she bid her time, waiting for the right moment, and she as the Mabeast was about to tackle her, Frederica jumped forward, placed a hand on the ground, and delivered a backflip high jump kick to the Guiltylowe behind her, planting her heel into its chin and sending it toppling away.

Frederica flipped in the air and landed gracefully on her feet, awaiting the Guiltylowe's next attack. Said Mabeast recovered quickly, before its mouth started glowing with red energy, before it fired balls of crimson energy at Frederica, who proceeded to dodge them, ducking under one of them that hit a tree behind her, vaporizing it in an instant. She then dodged one of them to her side, which barely missed her right kidney, but burnt a piece of her maid outfit. She then jumped forward, evading another energy ball that made its contact with the ground where she was previously standing, vaporizing said spot in the process. Frederica then swung her claw in the air, releasing an El Fura at the Mabeast, who dodged it by floating backwards, but was vulnerable to Frederica's End of Days being created behind him as a black portal appeared behind the Guiltylowe, and out of it came Frederica, who delivered a solid punch to the face of the Guiltylowe, sending it flying away, toppling once again away from Frederica.

The Guiltylowe regained its footing, glaring angrily at Frederica, before it howled out. Frederica then noticed that the sky above her glowed light purple, to which it made her look above her head, and it caused her to gasp upon seeing countless light purple energy balls floating above her head a few tens of meters away. And in the next second, energy beams burst out from each energy ball, raining down at Frederica like a huge wave of a massive drizzle. She spent every single effort of hers to dodge the energy beams, barely hanging in there after each blast proved to be deadly enough to annihilate trees and dirt around her, nearly turning the battlefield into a barren wasteland.

An hour later of dodging, the beams of Death stopped, but Frederica was fresh out of breath and mana, panting heavily as she was still standing on her feet through sheer willpower. The Guiltylowe saw this, and opened its mouth, before a light purple glow appeared inside of its mouth. Frederica gasped at this, and also realized that this was his finishing blow to her. So if she used it wisely to her advantage, then it will guarantee her the win.

Awaiting the moment of the fire, it didn't take Frederica long to witness the Guiltylowe firing off its light purple energy beam from its mouth. The energy beam flew at Frederica at unimaginable speeds, but Frederica was ready, as just right after the Guiltylowe fired the beam at her, Frederica invoked her Rune Stone Skill, extending her opened palm in front of the beam, before a black wormhole appeared in front of her. The energy beam passed through the wormhole, protecting Frederica from the blast.

Suddenly, another black wormhole appeared right underneath the feet of the Guiltylowe, where its color gradually, but rapidly, changed from black to light purple, and by the time the Guiltylowe understood what was going to happen, it was too late.

"Right back at you!" Frederica exclaimed, before the wormhole released the energy blast from underneath the Guiltylowe's feet, engulfing the Mabeast in its own attack, causing it to howl in pain.

One minute later, the blast faded, revealing the incapacitated Guiltylowe, who was unable to move at all after being hit by the blast, to which it gave Frederica the chance to give the finishing blow. She morphed her hand to large paws with claws and charged towards the Guiltylowe. She crossed her arms in front of her, and upon reaching the Mabeast, she gave out a roar of her own and swung her arms in an 'X' form, passing through the Guiltylowe. For a few seconds, nothing happened, with both combatants standing still. Shortly after, however, the Guiltylowe swayed slightly, before falling to its left side, completely immobile.

It was the sign that indicated that Frederica had won against her Fears.

[Music Ends]

After the Guiltylowe fell, Frederica turned around to look at its corpse, only for her to see that the dead Guiltylowe was glitching in its appearance, before it was revealed to be actually an illusion, and that it was nothing but a dead Wolgram. This caused Frederica to sigh and let out a breath she didn't know that she was holding, placing her hands on her knees while standing.

"Phew...To think that it was a dead Mabeast all along, and it wasn't even a Guiltylowe to begin with...Guess that I was scared over nothing" She said, before seeing Petra sprinting towards her.

"Petra, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Frederica asked the little girl in concern, who shook her head at her.

"It's okay. I just got a few scratches, but...Umm...Frederica-neesama, what happened back then?" Petra asked, and Frederica realized that Petra was asking about that time when she found her sitting on the ground while muttering to herself out of Fear from her past.

"Oh. I just imagined someone talking to me about my past, but it's fine. I'm okay now" Frederica answered.

"Are you sure you're alright now?" Petra asked, her emotionless face never leaving her. Though Frederica could feel the concern behind her words.

And this made her so happy that she smiled at her.

"Yeah. I think...Well, I just don't know...I feel like I just healed myself. Like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders" Frederica said, and Petra could feel the sincerity in her words. Frederica did indeed move on from her past.

It won't be until later on...When Frederica would know the consequences of those words on Petra's own heart.

Frederica then blinked upon seeing Ram, Otto, Garfiel and Heinkel running into their direction.

"Oh...Are you guys okay?" She asked.

"We're fine, but we don't have much time left" Ram answered.

"Petra-chan, what are you doing here?" Otto asked with his hands on his hips.

"Otto-sama, she saved me. Besides, I don't think Grandmother Ryuzu's cottage is a safe place" Frederica said, coming to the defense of Petra.

"If that thing that was following me isn't dead, then it most likely destroyed all the surveillance cottages" Heinkel said.

"...Or 's still chasin' us" Garfiel noted through his gritted teeth.

"Wait! Where's Lucas?!" Petra exclaimed, her lifeless mask cracking in an instant upon mentioning Lucas.

"I'm sorry, Petra. We got separated when we were in the front lines, and I think...He didn't make it" Ram said opting a sad expression while looking at Petra.

"I...See..." Petra muttered, her lifeless expression returning to her face.

"We're wasting too much time. We must end this once and for all. Let's go" Ram said, trying to quickly change the subject.

And with that, the six survivors dashed towards the direction of the Master Emerald, towards the final battle.

A few minutes later. The borders of the Sanctuary

"Ram, are you sure we're going the right way? The world suddenly got too dark"

"Yes, I'm sure. We need to get to the Master Emerald at the end of the barrier. It's not that far"

Ram answered to Frederica's concerns as it suddenly got darker to the point that it was too hard for them to see ahead, but Ram and Garfiel were able to guide everyone by sensing the Master Emerald's energy ahead of them.

"At least we're not chased by someun' and tis good this freak is weak" Garfiel noted.

"That freak is weakened while we're not!"

"?!"

Everyone went on alert upon hearing the familiar dreadful voice, and right afterwards, three familiar figures appeared. A blue balloon-shaped ghost, a blue Wolgram-like beast, and a large blue monstrosity having its upper body down to the torso resembling an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog, and the lower half was a mess of slithering pink tentacles.

"I...I know those two!" Petra exclaimed while looking at both Execun and Exebark.

"I think we all met some of them once..." Heinkel said, having a great sense of Deja Vu in the middle of their current crisis.

"Don't falter, everyone. They're just the clones of Exeller, and clones tend to be weaker than the original" Ram said.

"I am Execun, and these two are Exebark and Exebi. And we're not just common clones. We're made as representatives of the personality traits of our master. I'm his cunning, Exebark is his blind bloodlust, and Exebi is his hypocritical mercy" Execun explained with a blood-filled grin.

"Maybe that's why it's so big..." Otto said in a sarcastic tone while eyeing Exebi.

"And we will show you how we are different from the clones that you have met on your way" Execun said before a bright white light engulfed the three clones in an instant. In the next instant, the light faded, revealing the new entity. It resembled Exebi, only its mouth had yellow sharp teeth, its arms became taller and acquired three blue sharp nails as fangs on each hand, its eyes became golden yellow irises with pale red sclera, the tentacle portion of its lower body is completely gone and its entire body was completely black.

The figure floated from the ground, grinning manically at the six survivors.

"Do you really think you can beat us? Together we will win and-Ah!"

Ram was about to finish her phrase when suddenly, everyone's eyes, sans Petra, became golden yellow and then they all floated in the air, leaving Petra the only one who had her feet on the ground and wasn't suspended up.

"I heard this talk about 'teamwork' once and I already hate it" Ultimate Execun said with a bored tone.

"W-What have you done to them?!" Petra asked in Fear.

"I awakened their inner demons. You're still a child, but you still have at least one inner demon" Ultimate Execun answered while grinning at Petra. It then invoked his power once again, trying to awaken Petra's inner demon, but it seems that he was unable to, considering how pure the little girl was a short while ago.

"Hmm...I thought it will be much easier. I think I know what's the problem. Say, you want to fight me?" Ultimate Execun asked Petra, whose eyes widened in Fear, and her body was literally shaking.

"I w-w-will save my friends!" She exclaimed, but her claim was completely unable to intimidate the abomination in front of him, judging by the fact that it scoffed at her stuttering.

"Did you manage to save your parents?" Ultimate Execun asked.

"M-My p-parents...?" Petra stuttered in shock and disbelief.

"I loved tearing all of your father's limbs off. I loved raping your mother right in front of his eyes while he was unable to do anything. I loved how your parents pleaded with me to spare you, their daughter, only to see their faces of Despair upon realizing that I was lying. I loved how I tore both of them apart after I was done them, then possessing your mother's body. Both of them resisted in vain, only to suffer. Don't worry. Cleaning all the blood was the hardest part" Ultimate Execun said, with its grin widening mischievously at Petra's body shaking even more and her eyes widening in pure Despair and Grief.

Its grin widened even more when it managed to get hold of Petra, causing her eyes to glow golden yellow, having captured her to awaken her inner demon.

"Yes! Yes! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ultimate Execun cackled like a maniac after finally securing its victory.

Or at least, that's what it thought.

Petra's Mind

"It's your fault!"

"It's your fault!"

"It's your fault!"

"Stop...Please...Stop..."

Petra closed her eyes tightly, gripping her head inside the black canvas of her mindscape, begging for her guilt to end, praying that the voices that blamed her will stop yelling that it was her fault, wishing to die right here and now so as to be free from all of this suffering.

Just then, two figures entered the mindscape, causing Petra to blink and for her eyes to widen.

"M-Mom? D-Dad? You two are alive?" Petra asked in shock, having seen her parents smiling at her.

"We're sorry, sweetie. We're just a part of your subconsciousness" Petra's mother said with a sad smile towards her daughter.

"Then...Why are you doing here?" Petra asked them, hugging her legs tightly to curl into a ball and hide her face from the world.

She hated this world and she wanted to die.

"Our Deaths weren't your fault, Petra. Don't blame yourself about them" Petra's father said with a smile to his daughter.

"But...But it is my fault. They killed you because they wanted to get to me" Petra said, and she was so mentally exhausted to the point that she couldn't even cry, let alone shed a tear.

"And you will let them do that?" Petra's father asked.

"H-Huh?" Petra asked, raising her head to look at the illusion of her parents.

"You friends are out there, wanting your help" Petra's mother said.

"My...Friends...?" Petra asked.

"Your big sis figure Frederica defeated her Fears, and that means you can too" Petra's father said.

"You can do this, Petra" Petra's mother said, before Petra saw them vanish from in front of her.

Suddenly, Petra rose to her feet, and backed up with the words of encouragement from her own subconsciousness, she held a look of fearlessness, of determination, of power. The power to cut through Fate was right in the hands of a little girl.

And she will use it to see her future to the end.

She blinked her eyes once, and in the next instant, the golden yellow glowing in her eyes vanished, with the blackness of her mindscape being replaced by the shocked expression of Ultimate Execun.

"What the...?! Impossible! How did you...?!" Ultimate Execun was shocked beyond explanation at what it just witnessed.

"Everyone...Everyone has been protecting me all my Life...But now, it's time for me to protect them" Petra firmly said, glaring at Execun fearlessly.

"Such a nice speech, but scum like you shall not be allowed to live" Ultimate Execun said, sweating slightly at Petra's aura. It was as if she became a completely new person.

"I hate fighting! I hate seeing my friends getting hurt and falling into Fear! AND I HATE YOU! ESPECIALLY HOW MEAN AND VULGAR YOU ARE!" The yell that Petra released caused Ultimate Execun to slightly recoil backwards.

"I'm not scared of you anymore! And I will stop you myself!" Petra finished her sentence, not faltering for a single second.

"Heh...THEN CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, KID!" Ultimate Execun exclaimed, before flying away, with Petra following suite through the streets of the Sanctuary.

The fight is on.

[Sonic exe: Whisper of Souls OST - VS Ultimate Execun]

Petra ran as fast as her legs could take her, chasing after the floating U Execun. The monster saw this and retaliated by swinging its claws at Petra, detaching both its arms and making them fire at her, which caused Petra to jump to evade the first arm, and followed by her kicking against the second arm to prevent it from damaging her, where she used the momentum of her foot against the arm to push herself away in the air, flipping acrobatically away from the threat. In midair, however, Petra took the chance of her opponent's opened guard and pointed her finger towards it.

"Jiwald!" She called out, releasing a beam of light from her finger, hitting U Execun's torso.

"GAH! You little shit!" U Execun cursed Petra, before multiple humanoid, purple entities came out of the ground in the tens. They all grinned evilly at Petra before charging towards her, cackling like mad.

Petra landed on the ground, before resuming her sprint, directly towards the army of purple humanoid figures. She proceeded to use her limited combat knowledge that she took from Frederica to oppose the army in front of her. She punched one of them, before kicking another below the belt. A figure swung its clawed hand horizontally at her, only for her to duck under the swing, causing the figure to hit one of its partners, cleaving them in half. Taking the chance of the creature's confusion, Petra delivered an uppercut to the creature that wanted to take her head off with its claw, sending it flying upwards and away from her. She then spun on her heel, delivering a roundhouse kick to the face of another figure that was about to stab her with its needle-shaped arm in the back, causing it to spin violently in the air, colliding with another one that had its hands shaped in the form of circular saws. The two collided together, causing them to get caught in their weapons and a grotesque display of gore and blood played in front of Petra, to which she paid no attention as she resumed her assault by delivering a backflip somersault kick to another figure behind her, causing its head to be separated from its torso and to be sent rocketing up to the Heavens. Petra didn't stop there and pointed her finger at the shocked U Execun.

"Jiwald!" She exclaimed, releasing another light beam from her finger, hitting Execun straight in its right eye, causing it to roar in pain and recoil as the light beam forcibly closed its eye shut.

Staggering to keep its balance, U Execun glared angrily at Petra. It then opened its mouth, shooting out a human-sized purple fleshy hand, where Petra had no time to react as the hand grabbed her and in an instant, a golden yellow light flickered in Petra's eyes. The purple hand vanished, only to make Petra witness a sight that shocked her.

Right in front of her were her other five fellow survivors, only their bodies were completely covered in gray, as if someone painted them like that, with the places where their eyes and mouths are glowing golden yellow and fixated on a wicked grin shape.

Petra saw as Heinkel took out his sword and swung it, releasing a shockwave that headed towards her, to which Petra proceeded to jump upwards, only to meet Frederica and Garfiel in midair, with their fists ready to pummel her to the ground. Petra gritted her teeth and invoked her magic.

"El Jiwald!" She exclaimed, before swinging her arms horizontally in front of her in a claw-like motion, releasing ten arcs of light upwards that aimed at both Frederica and Garfiel. The latter managed to block the attack by crossing his arms, but the former wasn't lucky as she was caught in it, slashing her several times, causing her form to vanish like dust after releasing a roar of pain similar to that of U Execun, which didn't go unnoticed by Petra as she landed on the ground.

"This thing said something about awakening the inner demon. Could it be that they are connected to it and any damage that is inflicted on them is directed towards it?" Petra thought.

She didn't have time to ponder on that thought as she avoided Ram using her Triple Rod to stab her, only for Petra to spin to her side like a ballerina, barely avoiding a hole in her small torso. She then saw as Ram swiftly switched from the Triple Rod to the Recoil Rod, before thrusting both forward, with Petra having no time to dodge as the attack was so close and fast on her, which caused her to immediately place her arms in front of her protectively, which caused her to be sent flying back and for the sleeves of her maid outfit to be torn to shreds as she was blasted like leaves towards Otto, who threw several fire stones at the ground, causing lava to erupt from the ground upon having the stones making impact with the floor. The lava rose up and was on its way to engulf Petra. On the other side, she saw Garfiel slamming his foot into the ground, causing sharp spikes of Earth to burst from the ground, racing at incalculable speeds towards the airborne Petra, effectively cornering her in the midde, with Otto on her right and Garfiel on her left. This made Petra grit her teeth, and proceeded to use her Rune Stone Skill, imagining an inanimate object that would protect her from the rising lava and the Earth spikes.

And in an instant, countless purple glass-like fragments appeared out of thin air around Petra, morphing instantly into a cocoon of steel around her. The shield proved to solve its purpose, as it immediately blocked both attacks, not having any single scratch on it. Right afterwards, the steel cocoon crumbled into countless glass-like fragments, releasing Petra from it, before she spun in the air and positioned herself upside down, and crossed her arms in front of her chest, such that her left arm was aiming at Otto, who was on her right, and her right arm was aiming at Garfiel, who was on her left.

"El Huma!" She called out, invoking her Water Magic and releasing two pillars of ice from both of her palms, one from each palm towards their respective targets. The ice pillars were so fast that neither Otto, nor Garfiel had time to dodge as the ice pillar aiming at Otto pierced through his chest, while the ice pillar aiming at Garfiel stabbed through his skull. A few moments later, the ice pillars faded to diamond dust, and right afterwards, Otto and Garfiel faded to dust themselves, signaling their defeat.

However, that didn't mean that Petra was finished, as she was still in midair and yet to land on the ground, where she saw the Shield Boomerang of Ram spinning like a large shuriken towards her, whistling through the air and cutting through the fabric of space to reach her, to which Petra spun and kicked it away, but that left her open to Heinkel, who jumped towards her and delivered a roundhouse kick to her torso, knocking the air from her lungs, before sending her pummeling downwards with so much power that the impact broke the sound barrier, where the result was a huge crater in the concrete ground.

Petra came out of the crater, coughing as she tried to breath while being surrounded by dust. Her instincts screamed at her, to which she ducked underneath a swing of Heinkel's sword. Heinkel was about to swing at Petra once again, only for said little girl to kick him in his left shin, causing him to stagger, she then stepped on his right foot, causing a roar of pain that resembled that of U Execun yet again to ring in Petra's ears. Petra then followed by a kick between Heinkel's legs, causing a gasp of pain to be released and find its path to Petra's ear once again, before Heinkel fell to his knees, gripping the spot that Petra kicked.

"You fucking brat...That hurt like hell..." U Execun gasped its curses at Petra, who didn't stop her assault there. She followed by a barrage of swift and powerful punches to Heinkel's face and torso, pummeling the man repeatedly and showing no mercy, as well as hear gasps of pain from U Execun as the damage and pain Petra gave to the inner demons of her friends was redirected to that abomination.

Petra went on for a few minutes as the dust screen slowly settled around her. She was about to swing her fist again at Heinkel's face, only to gasp as her instincts warned her of an attack from behind, causing her to stop her assault and duck down, saving herself from a punch delivered by Ram, which found its place in Heinkel's face instead of Petra, causing said man to burst into dust and disappear. Petra took the chance of distraction and invoked her Water Magic one more time.

"El Huma!" She roared out, releasing an ice pillar from her palm that stabbed right through Ram's stomach, causing her to twitch for a few seconds, before bursting into a mess of dust, indicating that she was instantly defeated.

Instantly afterwards, a golden yellow flicker of light appeared in Petra's eyes, disappearing in the same instant that it appeared in, and revealing U Execun, whose smirk was already vanished from its face, grunting in pain as it glared at Petra. It then gritted its teeth, before throwing its head backwards and its arms to the sides, roaring to the Heavens in absolute fury.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" It yelled before preparing to send its arms at Petra, only for Petra to be faster than him and slam her opened palm into the ground, invoking Water Magic once again.

"Ul Huma!" She exclaimed, causing two pillars of ice to erupt from the ground, with each pillar stabbing into each one of its arms, effectively hoisting it upwards and away from it, leaving U Execun as nothing but a floating head and torso.

"GRRRRR! YOU LITTLE SHIT!" U Execun yelled in fury at Petra, before opening its mouth, causing golden yellow energy to form inside of it. Petra, realizing that he will fire an energy beam, invoked her Yang Magic.

"Jiwald!" She called out, firing a beam of yellow light from her finger at U Execun, hitting its other eye and forcing it be closed shut, and not only that, but the attack also made U Execun stagger back, and caused it to fire its energy beam right above Petra's head, missing its mark completely.

"HOW?! HOW MUCH MANA DO YOU HAVE?! YOU DIDN'T HAVE THAT MUCH WHEN WE FIRST MET!" U Execun yelled out in shock and fury while thrasting back and forth. In response, Petra slammed her hand into the ground once again, invoking her Water Magic.

"Ul Huma!" She called out, causing a third ice pillar to erupt from the ground, and stab right through U Execun's mouth, piercing through the back of its head and pinning it in the air.

"How many times the timeline got repeated? I'm sure you already know, but Deja Vu even made us more powerful than before. So powerful that even someone like me can defeat you, which is what I will do right now" Petra said, before invoking her Yang Magic one last time, causing an orb of light to charge in her opened palm. She then pointed her extended hand and opened palm at the incapacitated U Execun, before placing her free hand on her arm, and then she called out the name of the spell.

"Al Jiwald!"

Roaring out, Petra fired a powerful beam of light from her palm, which in turn engulfed U Execun, whose screams were muffled by the intensity of the beam of light, before it was slowly erased. Its arms vaporized, its torso obliterated and its head disintegrated, the beam of light traveled to the Heavens, piercing a huge hole in the clouds and the atmospheric layer, even going upwards to the point that it blew up a nearby star, erasing it completely as if it never existed.

Soon, the beam of light faded, and Petra's palm started glowing. Her magic deactivated, she saw the results of her battle.

She won.

[Music Ends]

It took Petra a few seconds of silence to realize what had just happened, and this made her stare in her hands in disbelief.

"I did it..." She muttered, before falling down to her knees.

"I really did it...I saved my friends..." She muttered once again, before blinking at what she just said.

"My friends? Wait...Where are my friends...?" She asked herself, before standing up from the ground. Suddenly, she gasped upon seeing something black slithering on the ground.

"What? I thought that thing was dead already. I better get away from it" She said, before breaking into a run towards the Tomb of the Sanctuary, the nearest place to her that might be some form of a shelter, only to gasp upon having something trip her over. Fortunately, she managed to balance herself gracefully and land on her feet, but right upon planting her feet on the ground, several black tentacles pinned her to the ground, before Petra saw a smaller and more humanoid form of U Execun floating towards her. His eyes glowed back and forth, indicating that he was about to self-destruct.

"If I'm gonna die, I'll take you down with me. A shame that I couldn't have a taste of your little cunt..." It said, causing Petra to grit her teeth while struggling with the tentacles binding her to the ground.

"No! Let me go!" She yelled, but in vain as the glowing of U Execun's body intensified.

Suddenly, a figure flew past U Execun and grabbed Petra, flying at neck-breaking speeds towards the entrance of the Tomb of the Sanctuary, effectively reaching it in no time. And upon doing so, the figure dropped Petra inside, before casting Earth Magic to create a sheet of reinforced glass in between them and Petra, effectively entrapping her inside the Tomb.

Petra shook her head due to the sudden impact and opened her eyes slowly and looked in front of her, only to gasp upon seeing her savior.

"Lucas! You...What are you doing?!" Petra called out to the boy, shocked at his state, where she saw his entire body being engulfed by dark gray pulsating veins to the point that no one would recognize that thing as Lucas anymore, where Petra knew it was Lucas due to the scarf dangling from his neck.

"Hey, Petra...I hope...I didn't hurt you..." Lucas said, trying his best to smile through the unbearable pain to ease Petra's worries.

"I'm sorry for disappearing...This curse is...Too strong...And I can no longer fight it...So..." He trailed off in his speech, knowing that Petra had just got the point of his words. He then saw as Petra collapsed and fell on her tiny butt, leaning her back on the reinforced glass sheet.

"I see..." She muttered, to which Lucas sat opposite to her, leaning his back on the glass sheet as well.

"You're not going to stop me?" He asked her.

"Otto-sama told me about the several resets of this timeline and that he remembered them, and so do I...And in some of them, you tried to attack me and my friends. You tried to kill us..." She muttered her answer, sad of what will happen a few moments later. She just hoped that she can talk to her friend longer before saying goodbye to him.

"Petra...You've done nothing bad to me. That's why I'm still in control...And that's amusing. This curse had pretty much made my mind more mature and made me stronger despite the pain it gave to me, and I can discern how people treat me...But now...Even if we assumed that I survived...I don't think that I can be accepted as a human being anymore..." Lucas said to Petra, causing her to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"Even...Even if the whole world sees you as a monster...You're still my friend, Lucas, and a really valuable one as well" Petra said, choking on her sobs, her heart aching as she saw Lucas' gentle smile forming on his face, with a thin stream of tears falling down his face.

"That's nice to hear" He said as he got up to his feet. The golden yellow glowing intensifying even more. Petra then stood up, her face already releasing tears as well.

Lucas placed his hand on the glass sheet, where Petra placed her hand on her own end of the glass sheet on the spot where Lucas placed his own hand on his own end, with the only thing separating them was this glass sheet.

"Thank you for being with me all this time Petra...And know that...No matter what..."

He didn't finish his words as a blast of blinding golden yellow light erupted, engulfing the scenery in front of Petra and forcing her to close her eyes. The blast of light stayed for a few seconds, before it subsided, causing Petra to open her eyes, but Lucas was already gone, and the glass sheet crumbled to dust now that its maker was gone for good, with all that was left of Lucas was his red scarf, remaining intact and with no damage at all, despite its wearer being completely erased from existence.

Petra walked forward and took the scarf from the ground, hugging it to her heart.

"No matter what...We'll always be friends..."

She finished the words that were left unfinished by her friend that sacrificed himself for her sake. She will always remember him forever and ever, even if the whole world chose to forget about him.

He will remain in her heart...Forever.

"Goodbye...Lucas..." She muttered out, closing her eyes in a moment of mourning, before wiping away her tears. Just then, her other friends came into her view, unconscious, but unharmed, having appeared out of thin air after U Execun was defeated, with the first one to wake up being Frederica.

"Petra? What happened? Are you okay? Where's that creature?" Frederica asked, before she was surprised when Petra threw herself at her in a hug, which in turn made Frederica pat her head to soothe her.

They then broke the hug, and Petra had a small smile on her face as she hugged her arm shyly.

"I defeated that thing. You'll probably say it's impossible, right?" Petra answered, then asked.

"No, Petra...I'd say that I'm extremely proud of you! You saved our lives!" Frederica exclaimed with a smile.

Both girls then noticed the others waking up and standing up.

"Ooh...Ma amazin' self thought twas justa dream fr a while..." Garfiel said.

"If it's true, Garf, then does that mean that everyone is alright?" Ram asked.

"If not counting that something was digging in my head, then yeah...Im totally fine. Just glad that Louanna wasn't with us like those previous loops" Heinkel grumbled while rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, now that everything is set and no obstacles are in front of us, all that is left is to obtain the Master Emerald" Ram said.

"Don't woooooory about that~"

"?!"

The familiar voice of Roswaal echoed in their ears, causing everyone to look ahead of them, only to see Roswaal, already dressed up in his signature attire, smiling at them with the Master Emerald floating behind him.

"I've alreeeeeaaaaddy retrieeeeeeeved it for my compaaaaaaaanion~" Roswaal said, a twinkle vibrating in his eyes, where everyone looked at a figure that was floating above Roswaal, and they were all shocked to see that it was Subaru EXE.

"What?! Th'heck ya doin', Clown?! Giving the Master Emerald to that freak?!" Garfiel yelled his question at Roswaal, whose smile widened to the point that the corners of his lips reached the loops of his ears.

"You guys still don't get it, huh? Roswaal was my benefactor all this time. Even before the time where I decided to chase you all to the ends of this country" Subaru EXE said.

"WHAT?!" Heinkel roared out in anger.

"YA BASTARD!" Garfiel yelled as well at Roswaal.

"You see, Subaru-kun had this magniiiiiiificent ability to reeeeeeewind time. He is a vaaaaaaaaluable asset to me, but then I reaaaaaaalized that it will be futile with someone as his brain arouuuuuuuund. So having Exeller-kun heeeeeeeeere possess Subaru-kun booooody to make my wish come trueeeeeeeee was the best optimal solution for meeeeeeee~" Roswaal explained, causing the six survivors to glare at him in pure anger, where none were able to say anything until Garfiel called out.

"We have t'stop them!" He yelled.

"No! We can't! He already have the Master Emerald, and we're already out of mana...We can't do anything..." Ram muttered, having surrendered to the fact that they were all doomed, and all of their hard work was for nothing.

"W-Why are you doing this?! Why did you cooperate with that evil thing?!" Petra called out, desperate to do anything, to say anything to make Roswaal switch sides and to stop Exeller from obtaining his true form.

"Why? You don't get it, Petra-chan? Oya Oya~" Roswaal said.

"H-Huh?" Petra blinked at Roswaal's casual attitude when they were in a crisis that would engulf the whole universe, on a scale of danger equivalent to that of the Witch of Envy, but far more sinister and merciless.

"It's all about her...My mentor, the Witch of Greed, Echidna" Roswaal muttered, before taking out a black book from his cape, causing everyone, but Ram to gasp in shock.

"T-That's...A Gospel?!" Heinkel exclaimed in shock and disbelief upon recognizing the item Roswaal was holding in his hand.

"This Gospel...Is the one my mentor, Echidna, created. She's long dead now, and I originally intended to make a plan by using Subaru-kun's ability to rewind time to see it to the end, as well as using Rem and Ram here in my agenda. You see, The Oni clan had a special ability called Synthesia, an ability that allows them to share their emotions and powers with each other, as long as they have an unbreakable bond. Naturally, I followed the guidance of my master and left the Witch Cult to kill the entire Oni clan except for Rem and Ram here. Then, I waited for the right moment, and it truly came to me. Ram's horn was broken, and in order to ensure that she was under my grasp, I threatened her with her sister, and when the time comes, I shall use all those resources, force Subaru-kun to reset the timeline no matter how many times it takes to reach Volcanica, then use Ram and make her use Synthesia with Rem to share her horn with her to kill Volcanica, acquire its blood, and revive my master Echidna" Roswaal said, leaving everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief. Only Ram stared at Roswaal with veins rapidly popping on her forehead.

"Or at least, that was the initial plan. When Shadow-kun came into the picture, I knew that he would be a thorn to my side. That's when I met Exeller-kun and he gave me the deal of my Life. I would get rid of Shadow-kun, he gets his powers back and I would have my master revived. Simple, isn't it?" Roswaal said with an amused smile that made everyone sick to the bone.

"And you just believed him?! Just like that?! He chased us to the ends of the world and forced us to experience Hell for sixteen times! We barely came out of there and you just don't want the cycle to end?! Don't you care about anyone here?!" Otto yelled, having already reached his end in the anger.

"Oh, Otto-kun...I'd do anything...I'd go to extreme lengths...In order to reach my goal...Even if it meant going in a road where sacrifices are required. That's the kind of man I am. A man that will sacrifice all to save one...I wanted Subaru-kun to be just like me, but...That's a shame..." Roswaal muttered his answer to Otto, sighing after finishing his speech, leaving a shell-shocked Otto. It was then when everyone witnessed Emilia coming out of the tomb, opting a shocked expression, which indicated that she heard everything Roswaal said.

"Roswaal...What is Subaru...Doing up there...? And why is there blood coming out of his eyes...?" Emilia asked, completely horrified from the glare that 'Subaru' was giving to everyone. At times like these, she wished Puck was by her side and didn't break their contract.

Suddenly, Subaru EXE roared to the Heavens, with the influx of power coming from the Master Emerald surrounding him like a shield of golden lightning as he stood on the huge emerald. In the next instant, everyone covered their eyes as a powerful pillar of golden yellow light pierced through the Heavens, shaking All Creation and all of its hierarchies and concepts to the very bones. The Abyss, a dimension where all concepts are transcended and all archetypes are meaningless, and the realms of Order and Chaos, realms that view The Abyss as nothing more than fiction, all of them were cracking and collapsing uncontrollably in an extremely rapid pace, with nothing to hold them and nothing to save them.

In the far reaches of All Creation, certain beings of Dark Matter were watching in absolute glee and anticipation, awaiting the verdict of this show, viewing it as a blockbuster movie, entertaining enough for them to watch.

The bright light faded, and the tremors ceased, saving the three realms from above for now.

Subaru's body fell face first on the now snow-riddled ground, courtesy of Roswaal invoking a spell that made it snow around the Sanctuary.

"Honestly, you guys. Do you knooooooow how much effort it took me to stop Shaaaaaaaadow-kun? How much effort it took meeeeeee to bring out that Ritual Kniiiiiiife? How much effort it took meeeeeee to use the Immortal King Sacrement to revive that Witch Cuuuuuuultist to perform the riiiiiitual to summon that god of Deeeeeeeeeeeath?!" Roswaal asked, where his question remained unanswered, as the Master Emerald suddenly fell behind him on the ground, and from above ascended a small figure: A brownish-orange anthropomorphic hedgehog, grinning at the six survivors with a bloodlusted grin on his face.

"Ah...Such an amazing sensation...I'm finally back...FREE AT LAST! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Exeller roared out in maniacal laughter, shaking the Earth to its very foundations, and everyone was knocked off their feet except for Roswaal, who just remained with a smile on his face, standing tall as Exeller floated towards the fallen survivors.

"Ah...I just remembered something" He said as he reached the six survivors.

"Back in one of the loops, I found something very interesting about Shadow. He is planning to wage a war. Not against the Highests, or the Seither Demons, or the Angels, or the Void Demons, or the EXEs...He plans to destroy the very Four Primal Forces of All Creation alongside the EXEs. Such a thing is insane, and what's even insane is that he wants to use mere mortals as the soldiers that will lead All Creation to this oh-so called peace...HA! What a joke! That's nothing but an idiot's thinking! Don't you think?!" Exeller exclaimed while staring at everyone with a crazy grin on his face, and they were all horrified to even say a thing. They were all under the mercy of this creature, who didn't even know the concept of mercy.

However...

"YOU'RE WRONG!"

"?!"

The shout of Ram resonated in the ears of Exeller, causing him to look at her as she stood up and glared at him, not flinching from the aura that made her feel extremely hot as if she was on the surface of the sun, despite it snowing right now.

"You're wrong! Shads is not someone like that! Shads is something way greater than that! You know nothing about him! He's someone who always sets expectations for himself that he wants to meet AND surpass! At least unlike you, he cares for the Lives of the innocent, unlike you, who threw all Life away and steal it for the sake of sating your bloodlust! Don't you dare say that Shads is stupid! You're not even worth a toenail of him!" Ram yelled in defense of Shadow, having already seen this lunatic on live.

This however made Exeller...Cackle like a maniac.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH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Finishing his laughter, he punched Ram to the ground.

"Ram-san!/Ram!/Ram-neesama!" Everyone, including Emilia, but excluding Roswaal, called out for Ram, who already fell on the snow, before Exeller picked her up from the ground by the throat, with a nasty bruise finding itself on her left cheek, and blood came out of her mouth.

However, despite all of that, she still had the power to flash a weak smile at the abomination in front of her.

"Do...Your worst..." She muttered.

"HA! Big talk coming from a weakling! You talk brave, but I know you're scared as Hell, and with that being said..."

He stopped in his speech, before taking out his free arm, encasing it in a blade of blood, before aiming it at Ram, specifically where her heart was.

"...I wonder what expression Shadow will make when he finds YOU DEAD!"

As he finished all of that, everyone, except for the Clown cooperating on this all of this mayhem, yelled Ram's name, but they were all unable to move out of pure Fear and due to the fact that all of them were exhausted on both a physical and mental level.

Exeller positioned his blood blade, and was about to stab Ram in the heart when suddenly...

BOOM!

"?!"

A thunderous boom echoed throughout the Sanctuary, alerting everyone, even Exeller and Roswaal, to it, only to see the spot behind them bursting into light, a light that seemingly came from the Heavens to face them.

Having felt the familiar signature, Exeller gasped and dropped Ram from the ground.

"What?! It can't be! How is HE awake?!" He yelled in shock, and even Roswaal was unable to answer that question.

"Halt! Enough of that atrocious act, in fact! Stay where you are to face retribution, I suppose!"

A small, blonde Loli girl came out of the burst of white light first, pointing her small finger at Exeller and Roswaal.

"You imbeciles will pay for what you did to Master! Yup~!"

A brown-haired girl with a long hair braided in a style similar to that of a scorpion's tail and stinger came next, glaring at the pair of collaborators.

"The two sinners that made Adow sad and...Oh! It's the girl that resembles Tella!"

A green-haired little girl glared at both Exeller and Roswaal, coming out of the bright light pillar, before her glare faded and was replaced by a smile that suits her age more than the glare that she had moments ago, and that was upon seeing Emilia, who resembled a certain Envious Witch.

"It seems everyone is here...Oh Clown-niisama...You're gonna have your butt crushed reeeeeeeeeeeeeal good~. Teehee~"

A girl with long braided purple hair and eyes came out from the light next, smiling innocently, not caring that her words were completely unsuitable for her age.

"Roswaal...I can no longer forgive what you are doing now...Your delusions ends here...Time for you to pay for everything...Including all the pain and suffering you gave to Nee-sama and my friends..."

A blue-haired maid that resembled Ram but had blue hair and eyes instead of Ram's pink ones, as well as her cleavage being bigger than that of Ram's, exited the bright light pillar afterwards, holding a large blue hammer while glaring at both Exeller and Roswaal as well.

The light then faded, revealing the figure that truly sent the ghosts of horror and Despair into the hearts of the two bastards that ruined the Lives of innocent people just for their own Greed. The person that will put an end to all of this Madness, all of this suffering, all of this Grief, all of this Despair, all of this Death.

"...I'll just ask this once...Who dares to enter the mayhem...?"

The Ultimate Life Form has awoken...And with him awakened the flames of retaliation.

And Done!

Goodness! That took a toll out of me! I'm glad that this chapter is over! Now I can enter into the final battle! Wish me luck!

Now, onto the comments.

As always, huge thanks to my pal Reaper 10398 for supporting me with his wonderful ideas and comments.

For the first comment: I loved that quote. I'm actually thinking of adding MX to this story in a later arc.

For the second comment: Have no fear, I shall make sure you see a battle that you will send shivers down your spine for this Arc's finale. As for Arc 4, expect something cool to happen. Heck, even the epilogue of the 3rd Arc will be quite shocking, actually. As for the EX Side Story, I was thinking of switching between writing a chapter in each story, for this story and for the EX Side Story, but let me know what you think about that decision. And also, you're welcome, and I hope that I can live up to your expectations in the near future as well. And I also hope from the bottom of my heart that others would comment as well just like you on this story. I'm putting everything into it, you know.

And that's all! As always, I hope from the bottom of my heart that more reviews rain down on me, and if you have any ideas or questions, please leave it in the reviews. Your support is what makes me move forward with this story.

Next Chapter: Final Battle Part 1: Shadow vs Exeller

Until Next Time And Next Chapter!

Jude Warble, Out.