It had been a good while since Lost had last been to Marios' tower base, but now he was visiting again. This time though, Lost was going alone.

Lost thought he'd have to go through all the Cards again to meet Marios, but this time the elevator didn't stop. Marios had noticed Lost coming up and simply thought to save them both some trouble.

Eventually, Lost arrived at the top floor. Things looked mostly the same, except the angel girl model had seen a lot of progress since Lost's last visit.

"Yoo, Marios, I think I need to have a word with you."

"I've been expecting it."

Just a few days ago, Marios had attacked Yuuto and Ruki in Ginsei Academy. It was no secret that Lost and Yuuto were friends, so Marios had been anticipating this visit from Lost.

"You see, Marios, a little bird told me you not only tried, but actually succeeded in killing Yuuto. Now that I just can't fucking allow! I'm the one who'll kill Lovers!"

"Huh?"

Maybe it was just the room's lighting, but Marios could have sworn he saw Lost's face actually deform into someone else's, and then go back to normal a second after.

"Sorry, sometimes the voices in my head get a little too noisy, and it's hard to know what's my thoughts and what's theirs."

Marios didn't really understand Lost, so he simply thought it was some joke or manner of speech. He had no idea how literal Lost was being.

At that moment, Marios had made a mistaken assumption. He thought that, despite being friends, Lost for some reason wanted to kill Yuuto. In that case, would his beef with Marios be for stealing his prey?

"Anyway, maybe Marios doesn't know this yet, but I'm a good guy with a big heart. And besides, you seem like a useful guy to have around. So I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to make you into my slave."

"What?"

Marios was getting more confused with each word that left Lost's mouth. But they were interrupted before their talk could continue.

/

Going back in time until the day before, while Yuuto was off convincing Aspite to help him, Amon had arrived back from his trip to the Devil World.

"I'm home."

"Ooh, Amon. Welcome back. So, how was it?"

"Horrible."

Amon had gone to the Devil World to check a region that had recently suffered through a Divine Disaster, or simply a Disaster, as most people call them. Normally, that would be a job for the Devil King, in other words Barbatos, but this was one of the few jobs Amon was happy to take on.

But instead of lava, like what had happened in Ginsei Academy, that region got a different kind of Disaster. Suddenly, the air started turning purple, but it wasn't just some simple poison that killed whoever breathed it.

Whoever breathed that purple air had all their energy sucked out and basically became a mummy. But they didn't die. Rather, the purple air was keeping them alive despite it all. It was as if they were being used as living batteries.

Currently, Amon is the only Candidate that can use 100% of his Arcana's power. Even Fleminar and Marchosias, survivors of the previous Devil King War, had yet to take the final step, which was to hear their Arcana's voice. So Amon was the only person besides Barbatos who could confidently deal with Disasters.

It wasn't much trouble for Amon to deal with the purple air, but the victims were another matter. He tried all he could to save them, but there was nothing to be done. When Amon gave up, he figured he should at least end their suffering.

It all reminded Amon of his past a little too much. When he was a child, the place Amon lived also went through a Disaster, but this one was special even amongst all the other ones.

As if cut out from the earth, the entire region Amon and his family lived in simply disappeared. They had been taken somewhere else, and there they met this being that could only be described as holy.

But that thought soon went away as that same holy being started killing everyone. The only reason why Amon survived was because Barbatos arrived and fought the being. He didn't manage to win, but at least he got Amon out of there. Not long after, Barbatos would tell Amon the truth of what happened and adopt him.

For years, Amon had contented himself with simply helping Barbatos so he could focus on gathering power to fight that holy being. Their relationship was more of a master and servant than father and son. But then something unexpected happened, Amon was chosen as Fool's Candidate. Now Amon could take direct action and get revenge for himself and all other Disaster victims.

But now isn't the time to recount Amon's story. Amon finished reporting everything to Barbatos.

"I heard about a few things that happened here as well. I'm going to rest for the rest of the day, but I'll go back to work starting tomorrow. I think I'll start weeding out weaker Candidates."

"You sure about that? It's barely been a few months since the Devil King War started."

It's not as if Amon intended to go around fighting everyone, but he thought it was best to weed out the weak Candidates to focus investment on the stronger ones from the start. At the rate things were going, it would be impossible to defeat the being Barbatos had fought.

[You plan to become judge, jury and executioner?]

With that warning from his Arcana, Amon decided to leave the topic for now. He was hot headed and anxious, so maybe cooling off was better for now. Unlike Lovers Arcana, who really did care for Yuuto, Amon and Fool Arcana had a more business-like relationship.

Amon rested, and then woke up bright and early the next day. He wanted to catch up to everything that had happened while he was away as soon as possible. But there was one event that caught his attention and made him visit Mario's tower.

Amon found out that Marios had attacked Ruki and Yuuto. Both of them could become powerful allies if given the chance to grow, but Amon didn't especially care about Marios.

He figured this was a good excuse to vent out, he'd intimidate Marios a bit so he wouldn't try to attack Ruki or Yuuto again.

As luck would have it, Amon happened to arrive not long after Lost, so Marios hadn't yet returned his defense mechanisms to normal. Amon was able to go all the way up.

Once at the top, he heard Marios and someone else talking. Amon didn't care for who the other person was. It didn't matter if it was some Card or maybe even another Candidate, as of right now, few people in this world would be able to harm Amon.

"Sorry to interrupt."

/

Amon had arrived just as Lost and Marios were talking. They all took notice of the other people, and the air got thicker.

Marios had no idea how Amon got there, but whatever reason brought him here couldn't be good. His chances against Lost weren't the best, add a member of Triumph to the mix and Marios seemed as good as dead.

But, if this was to be the end, then Marios would make it a spectacle. He would fight his hardest and, once he was defeated, he'd taste the supreme joy of losing everything, even his life.

"Babel Tower!"

Marios smashed the models of Amon and Lost he had with him. He had already finished preparing models for all Candidates at this point. The 2 of them, as well as Marios and all his models were taken to the subspace where the battle would take place.

"Come on, Marios, don't make this harder on me."

"Shut up! I know you want to kill me, and surely the other guy's here for that as well. So this is my last stand! Either I defeat both of you and take everything, or I die and lose it all. Hehehehe, hahahaha!"

"… Are you wrong in the head or something?"

Both Amon and Lost didn't really get how this became a fight so suddenly, but neither of them would back down from it. They all believed they were the most powerful person in the room.

Marios activated his entire army and sent them against Lost and Amon. Knights, monsters and all kinds of stuff started attacking them.

Yet, neither were worried. Both knew how strong they were, so this was hardly a problem.

"Hmph, what a joke."

Amon only needed to use some body enhancement magic and he was able to tear through Marios' army as if they were made of wet paper. Amon was having such an easy time he figured he might as well also see how Lost was doing.

Lost also wasn't having any trouble, but Amon found something strange. He couldn't feel the least bit of magic from Lost. Despite not being strong by Amon's standards, all of Marios' models had the strength of a noble devil. Could they really be defeated with one's sheer power like that?

But Amon would get a taste of Lost's power for himself soon enough. As soon as he saw an opportunity, Lost attacked Amon, who defended himself with a Barricade. Though the magical barrier broke under Lost's strength, it did do its job.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"I mean, it's boring to fight these weaklings, right? Plus, this is a golden opportunity. If I eat you, it's going to be easy to achieve my dream."

Amon didn't know what Lost meant with eat, but he didn't care. If it was a fight he wanted, it would be a fight he got. Amon would show Lost just how powerful a member of Triumph was.

Amon casted a number of Fidezenons at Lost, but he nimbly evaded them all. Lost aimed a kick at Amon's face, and Amon tried to defend with his arms without giving it much thought, since he still couldn't feel magic from Lost.

[Doesn't seem like a good idea.]

And indeed, Fool's Arcana was right. If not for Amon's last second decision to focus his all into defending, his arms would have been broken at best, and torn right off at worst. That's just how much power Lost had.

But this didn't mean Amon was being pressured, it just meant he had to take things a little more seriously.

As a side note, lightning was raining down on Babel Tower, trying to kill both Amon and Lost. But that lighting meant basically nothing compared to the fighting going on.

So he used the fact that his and Lost's body were in contact to his advantage. Amon used Thundergia on Lost and took distance. A hit from that distance and with that much power would paralyze even noble devils.

"Oooh, this is the first time I have had an electric massage."

But apparently it wasn't enough for Lost. And Amon wasn't the type to fight for enjoyment, so he figured he should end this soon.

Amon flew up and cast a giant Destructshear on the floor. It blew up a second later, leaving only dust and remains of Marios' models.

And Lost… was nowhere to be seen. Was he dead? Could it really be that easy after he looked so powerful?

Before Amon could find the answer to those questions, he felt something hit the top of his head. Before he noticed, Amon had planted face first into the ground.

[Hmm, even I didn't notice that.]

Amon took a look at who had hit him, and he was surprised at first.

"An angel?!"

What's an angel doing here? Amon thought at first, but then he quickly noticed it couldn't be a real one.

She looked too much like a woman, that gave her away. She couldn't be a real angel, so the next possible answer was…

"Meet Angie, the angel warrior. She's my greatest creation, my trump card, and she'll defeat you, Fool."

"Hi hi, I'm Angie. Sorry about this, but my master wants me to fight you, so I have to do it. Please don't hold it against me."

This one's clearly a cut above the rest, Amon thought. She even speaks, while all the other models were completely silent. If Marios could somehow mass produce creations like this Angie girl, then maybe he'd be worth keeping around.

But Amon knew Marios' power, this girl was his trump card. She was most likely created with the help of all his Cards, based on the angels of legend. Rather than Marios, it might be more worthwhile to take Angie's model, as well as all other "parts" of her and see if Barbatos could bring her to life.

"Haiiya!"

Angie punched where Amon had just been, and she left a clear crack on the floor, something that had yet to happen, even with all the fighting and lightning.

Despite being incomplete, still being colorless and missing other details, Angie's power was the real deal. If she was this powerful in the hands of Marios and his Cards, then she could be a real asset with the right owners, Amon thought.

"Light beams, gooo!"

She could even manipulate light?! That settled it, Amon would be taking her. All he had to do was take out Tower's power from inside her, and then literally carry the model.

He dodged the light beam attacks and approached Angie. Just as he was about to touch her, something pushed her out of the way.

"Heeh, you're tough, aren't you?"

"Yup, Angie's real strong!"

It was Lost. But where had he been this whole time? Since Lost wasn't using magic, Amon hadn't even felt him approach.

Lost fought Angie with all he had, and honestly they seemed to be about even. That means Lost wasn't giving it his all against Amon. But that's strange, Death is a considerably strong Arcana, but not enough to make front to a Triumph Arcana like Fool. No matter the power difference between Lost and Amon without their Arcanas, that shouldn't be possible.

The fighting kept up. Lost seemed to be dealing with Angie pretty well, until Angie's arm pierced through Lost's chest. This was clearly a fatal wound. Lost would survive if Rinne was here, but on his own…

Yet, Lost didn't seem worried about that.

"Nice! I like it! Oi, Marios, if I kill her, you can bring her back, right?"

"Huh?"

Both Amon and Marios were at a loss. Was Lost actually… winning?

Suddenly, a gun formed in his hand. It was a small pistol, yet there was something dreadful about it. Amon, Marios and even Angie instinctively knew to fear it.

"Happy End."

Was all Lost said before shooting. Once the bullet hit Angie… it did nothing. The bullet wasn't strong enough to penetrate her skin… yet she fell over, clearly dead.

That was this time's Death's Characteristic Magic, Happy End. An instant kill attack that couldn't be defended no matter what.

Before either Marios or Amon could react, Lost appeared right in front of Marios' face.

"Now, time to make you my faithful slave, Marios."

If Yuuto were there, he would have been able to see a snake-like chain coming from Lost and closing up on Marios' neck. Once the chain's collar closed, it was over. Marios' loyalty to Lost was at its highest.

Lost then looked back at Amon. Should he continue fighting? If he managed to win, Lost's dream was as good as real. But Lost also knew that, just like himself, Amon hadn't yet shown his true power.

So Lost decided to leave it at that. He had formed Death's Group to deal with the Triumph anyway, so it didn't really matter if he let Amon go now.

"Marios, bring us back to the real world."

"Yes, master Lost."

Just as Lost ordered, Marios brought them all back to the real world. Amon may not have been able to see the chains, but he knew what had happened.

"Lost Joudougahama, who are you? You suddenly showed up as Death's Candidate, even though that should be Morus Golgotha's Arcana, and now you also use Ibiza Mitsuishi's Devil's power."

"Have you ever considered I'm just Morus under a fake name? And how can you say I used Devil's power and not just my natural charisma to win Marios over? I think I'm a pretty charismatic guy."

"I know what I'm accusing you of, which is exactly why I'm confused. The entire Golgotha family is dead. No one was able to find the culprit, much like what happened with the Koiwais and the Hoshigaokas. Could you…?"

"Seems like you have an interesting theory in your head. Maybe you ought to look into it, like right now. If you stay for too long, I might change my mind and make this a 2v1."

Amon decided to take his leave. There was little to be gained by staying, but a lot to be lost. It was best to cut the losses here.

But Amon did make a mental note. He needed to learn more about Lost and, depending on what he found, Lost would have to be eliminated.