Temperance was a tricky Arcana to use in the Devil King War. That's because its true purpose has nothing to do with battle, but the discussion of what Temperance, as well as all the other Arcanas, were created for is a topic best left for another time.

While it is tricky to use, mostly because of the invisible "scale" the Candidates are forced to try and balance, it's not impossible to use. So much so that there have been previous Devil Kings who have won with Temperance as their Arcana.

And the current situation just allowed Balance Mizusawa to make the best use of his Arcana as he possibly could.

As a reminder, Balance was on the rooftop, and he could see that Summers and Stella were fighting. He knew how to get to Summers to help her, but his path would take him through a battle between Lovers' Cards and Magician's Cards. And, to add to that, Ruki, Candidate of Judgement, just showed up in front of him.

Now, if you were to say that Balance's objective was to save his ally, Summers, and if you were to put all those things on a scale to weigh the odds against him, anyone would have to admit that Balance's chances are pretty low.

That's where Balancing, his Characteristic Magic, came in. In this case, to make this balanced, Balance merely needed more power. Enough to make it through all these opponents and save his ally.

"Come, Judgment! I'll defeat you to save my friend."

Well, the truth was that Balance actually wanted to show himself off to Lost, since he was just his faithful servant with Psyconnect around his neck. But saving Summers didn't go against this idea, so Balance figured that he could trick his Arcana.

"… Well, normally I wouldn't really care and I would just let you go on your way. But it looks like you're planning to harm my friends, so I can't just let you pass."

Ruki wasn't exactly raring to fight, but she could feel Balance's newly acquired power, and it was no joke. She didn't think he could easily defeat Stella or Miyabi or Reina, but there was no need for her to step aside and let them try their luck.

So Ruki would stand in Balance's way. The question then became how was Balance used to fighting?

Ruki mostly relied on magic during fights, meaning she hardly ever got close to her opponents. Ruki doesn't have any fighting data on Balance, but she doubts he has a Devil Sword, which basically left the option of him being a physical fighter of a magician fighter.

If he was a physical fighter, then Ruki would have the advantage so long as she held her distance. Things might get a little complicated if he also relies on magic, but she'd just have to overcome him in that case.

But, before she could even finish thinking of her plans, Balance disappeared from Ruki's view. Before she knew it, her face hurt and it felt hot, and she had fallen to the floor.

Balance had just used his incredible speed to punch her in the face. At least it solved the mystery of how he preferred to fight.

"Oh, excuse me, I should have asked first. Please tell me, are you a boy or a girl? I have heard rumors both ways, so I'm unsure."

"What's that all the sudden? But I'm a girl if you must know."

Ruki answered while holding her bleeding nose. Because of that, her voice was a little strange.

"I see, then I must apologize. A man should never hit a woman, even more so on the face. So, if you stay down, I promise to not do anything to you anymore."

Balance didn't actually want to fulfill that promise, but he was afraid Temperance would make him lose his power if he wasn't careful.

"No matter how much you pretend, I can see your true nature. But don't worry, you're not catching me off guard again."

[Hey, pathetic excuse for an angel, switch with me. I can kill him with Last Judgment.]

No, I'll take care of him myself. Ruki told her Arcana. A bit of an unknown disadvantage Ruki has is that she can't use her Characteristic Magic, Last Judgment, without letting her Arcana take over her body.

But even if she can't properly use Last Judgment, she's still a mixed-blood devil with angel blood on her veins. Even if she wasn't a Devil King Candidate, she could rival one in terms of power.

Balance, letting his face betray his happiness, tried to attack the same way again, but this time, Ruki was prepared.

She used Transite to dodge that attack, and even left a present in the form of a Destrcushear, which blew up right on Balance's face.

"Gaaah! It burns!"

"Now we're even about that."

Now Balance was holding his bleeding nose, much like how Ruki had been a little while back. Except she was already fine due to using healing magic on herself.

Balance was mad, and he almost let rage get the best of him, but he managed to hold back at the last second.

"You're right, now we're even. Now then, if you don't mind."

Balance was simply going to leave. After all, if his objective was to save his ally, there was no need for him to pick unnecessary fights. But deep down, he hoped Ruki would make this fight necessary.

And she didn't disappoint. It was a simple Figa she shot in his direction, but the message was clear. She wasn't letting him go without a fight.

Right after that, Balance disappeared again, investing in another attack against Ruki. But this one didn't fare as well as before.

Balance was caught by some kind of electric net. Ruki had made some modifications to Thundergia to create that. And she had also controlled its power just enough so that it would only paralyze Balance without hurting him too much.

"Now it's time for me to say it, I guess. If you give up now I'll let you go without hurting you."

Balance couldn't answer, but his facial expression said a lot. If the situation was reversed, he would be likely doing unspeakable things to Ruki.

There was no way for Ruki to know that, but Balance hadn't always been like this. These dark desires were always on his heart, but he never had the courage to act on them, much like most people. That changed, however, when he became a Devil King Candidate.

Those dark desires were the biggest reason why Balance could hardly make use of Temperance's power. It begged the question if the Arcana was actually to blame for them.

In any case, while she had the chance to, Ruki didn't feel like killing Balance, or anyone for that matter. She decided she'd just keep him here until Stella, Miyabi and Reina were done, and then she'd join up with them.

Balance was, of course, trying to break free of his restraints, but wasn't finding much success. But that changed after a few minutes.

"Woah!"

The ground rumbled. Even on the rooftop, Ruki and Balance could feel it. That was the end of Aspite and Noda's battle, though they didn't know about it.

And Balance didn't care to know. That created just enough of an opening for him to set himself free. Ruki was distracted and couldn't react in time.

"Gaah!"

Despite what he had said earlier, Balance grabbed Ruki by the back of the head and smashed her face against the ground. And he did that repeatedly, clearly more to get revenge than to simply stop Ruki from fighting.

How long did it pass like that? But now was Balance's turn to be distracted by the end of another battle.

This time, it was the end of Summers and Stella's battle. Balance clearly saw Stella's Galaxy Zero end Summers' life, though obviously he had no idea of the quick chat the girls had before that.

Still, that presented another interesting situation for Balance.

"Aah, how could I let this happen? Even with Temperance's help, I was unable to save my friend. But I must at least avenge her. That's why, give me more power! Balancing!"

Balance's objective changed from saving his ally to avenging her death, and as such what he needed to do to achieve it also changed. He needed more power, after all, there would be no meaning to it if he couldn't defeat his enemies.

Balance's power grew. And now, it was even to a point where he could challenge the Triumph, as long as it was just in raw power. But his power kept growing, and that made Balance confused, but he soon understood it once he looked at Ruki.

She now had wings on her back, 6 of them, 3 white and 3 black. Ruki had stopped holding back and escaped Balance's grip, then she healed herself.

One could find this move questionable, after all angels were the stuff of myths, very few people actually knew they existed. But now, Ruki was basically confirming such a thing to the whole world. That said, she knew what awaited her if she didn't take Balance seriously.

The only thing she's avoiding using for now was her Characteristic Magic, but she'll be ready to do it if she has to.

"Ooh, oooh! An angel! It's actually real!"

"Don't look at me like that. You're creeping me out."

Many thoughts were going through Balance's head, like how happy Lost would be if he presented him with a real angel, instead of Marios' fake, or a certain rumor about angels that surely came up on a lot of people's minds now that Ruki confirmed herself as an angel.

But right now, what mattered most was the fight. And it soon resumed.

Balanced launched himself at Ruki. She tried to do the same, but it seemed she wasn't a match for him, at least while he was using body enhancement magic.

They both crashed through the roof's door. Normally, that would send them tumbling down the stairs, but it's worth remembering that space was still bent at that moment.

So, instead of going to the stairs as one would expect, Balance and Ruki ended up in the infirmary.

Such a closed and small space was perfect for Balance and troubling for Ruki, but she wasn't going to be defeated over such a small thing.

Balance tried to attack Ruki again, but his fist was stopped by chains of pure light. He tried to attack with his other hand, but the same result happened.

"It doesn't matter if we're close to each other if you can't move."

"Damn it!"

Training with Yuuto and her father had made Ruki's light power that much stronger. She never really used it before, partially because she's supposed to keep her angel side a secret, so she could only do some basic things with it. Now, she can confidently make use of it in battle.

Balance was trying to set himself free by pulling on the light chains, but it didn't seem like he'd be able to do it anytime soon.

In the meantime, Ruki was going to take this chance.

"Destructshear."

She fired not 1 spell or 2 spells, but 3 Destrucshears at Balance. Not just that, she also aimed them with the intention of knocking out Balance. The idea was to make use of these explosions to shake his brain, like an uppercut to the jaw.

After those 3 spells landed, Ruki stopped to observe Balance for a second. She still didn't feel like killing someone, so this would be the end of it so long as he was knocked out.

But Balance was being stubborn.

"Raaaaaar!"

With a roar, Balance pulled himself out of the light chains and once again tried to attack Ruki.

But his punch was met with a light shield. Ruki formed a sword of light on her other hand and aimed for Balance's other arm, which was closing in for another punch.

And, just as the light sword made contact with Balance's arm, it shattered.

"Hahahaha! Seems like my Arcana made me stronger than an angel. Why don't you give up alrea-! Gaaaaah! My arm!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You did shatter my sword, but all I have to do is make it stronger."

Indeed, as Ruki said, her first sword was shattered on Balance's arm, but that just meant she had to create a second one that was stronger.

The second light sword sliced through Balance's arm cleanly, making it fall to the ground with a thud.

Ruki expected that the loss of an arm would put Balance into shock, or at least make him give up on fighting her, but it didn't quite work out.

As soon as Ruki lowered her guard, Balance punched her again. That punch was strong enough to send her flying to the infirmary beds.

"Gaah, it burns! Bitch, I won't forgive you. I was going to give you to master Lost, but now I don't care anymore. I'll make you suffer in every way I can, and you'll beg me to kill you."

"… I'm starting to get angry…"

Balance used fire magic to cauterize his own wound, Ruki once again used healing magic to stop her bleeding.

If this were a videogame, Ruki's health bar would still be at max because of her healing, while Balance's would be depleted. Making it very clear who had the advantage.

That said, Ruki wasn't fond of the idea of just sitting there being hit. That's why she was really considering letting her Arcana take over.

But an announcement came to stop the battle. It came from the Devil King, Barbatos Gandou.

{Everyone, this is an emergency announcement. I'm suspending the bending of the space that made this into a labyrinth, you can now walk or fly about in Ginsei Academy like normal.}

It was so surprising for both Balance and Ruki that it stopped their battle in its tracks. But the most surprising part was yet to come.

{Listen well, the Labyrinth Battle Royale is officially suspended. A Disaster has happened in this world sensei put you all in. sensei will be there in a few minutes, so try to survive for as long as you can. If you see a black liquid, avoid it as much as possible.}

That was all Barbatos said, but it was hardly enough to answer anyone's questions, except for those who were seeing the referred Disaster firsthand.

But Ruki and Balance's doubts wouldn't last much longer. Soon enough a black wave broke through the infirmary's walls. And soon after it, something that looked like black tentacles came in.

"Is that… master Lost? Not, but… w-wait."

While Balance seemed distracted by his own thoughts, one of the tentacles grabbed him. Once it did, it seemed to almost dissolve Balance and absorb him. Another tentacle also grabbed his cut off arm.

Of course, Ruki was attacked as well, but she wasn't caught off guard and defended herself with her light. Still, she could tell it wouldn't last long, so she used that chance to take flight, since it seemed like the ground level was the most dangerous.

Once she reached the skies, Ruki could see Neith's Top Runner at a distance. She figured she might as well join up with them.

[Oi oi, this is… if I'm right, this is really bad.]

What? What is it? Ruki asked her Arcana.

[If this is what I think it is, everyone is going to die, unless that guy Barbatos arrives soon.]

Ruki still wasn't too sure what her Arcana was talking about, but she could tell things were dire. For now, her goal was to join up with her friends and make sure everyone is alright.