Chapter 30
"There are a few things about us you probably don't know about. To be fair, it's already been fifty five years since we last met Lilith." Aion said to Pandemonium while she was silently breathing. "On that day, the rite of passage took place along with the day of refinement." Aion reminisced as he was remembering the day when as a part of the rites of passage, he underwent a process that was called by the Elders of Pandemonium as a refinement procedure. "It's a real shame. Your generation should have been able to reach an even higher position, even higher than that of the senior guard." The leading Elder said with extreme disappointment while Chrono, Viede, Genai, Rizel and Shader watched the ritual through a glass window from the outside of the ritual chamber. "However, during the refinement procedures, you attempted to access the sacred legion. You have resonated with the central core of memories where access has been forbidden since ancient times. You have penetrated too deeply!" The lead Elder further explained while Aion was kneeling on the ground all wet from the procedure while his hands were placed onto both sides of his head. "It looks like we won't be able to give them any noble ranking." One Elder commented. "Sure enough, we shouldn't have let Lilith's illegitimate offspring live." The lead Elder said with tremendous contempt. "Chrono as well?" The Elder beside the lead Elder on the right asked. "Yes, in that case, Lilith's offspring after the two hundred sixtieth set should be eliminated." The lead Elder decided as he viewed Aion and Chrono's presence to be a tremendous danger for Pandemonium. "This is the true face of the world? This is utterly senseless, completely senseless." Aion thought to himself horrified as he had an extremely traumatized, worried look on his face while his hair slowly started to turn white. Chrono, Shader, Genai, Viede, and Rizel were looking through the window with a deeply worried, shocked look since they could see that Aion was obviously deeply traumatized by the procedure. Back in the present, while still gazing at Pandemonium, Aion said with a creepily calm tone "Don't worry, Chrono doesn't know! Since he's still unaware of this, let's settle this once and for all!" Aion then pulled out his sword and directed it sideways close to where Pandemonium was. "Come Pandemonium, let me release you!" Aion commanded in an aggressive tone as he then directed his sword at Pandemonium. In the meantime, Chrono, Rosette, Joshua, and Azmaria had reached the outside of Pandemonium where they all looked at Pandemonium's Imperial palace which was straight ahead. "Well, here we are! I'm sure that this time, we'll definitely put a stop to Aion! I just know it!" Rosette commented with huge determination. "So, now that you brought us here to prevent the Grand Apocalypse from happening at its fullest scale, how are we going to do that?" Joshua curiously asked Azmaria. "Now that you have mentioned it Joshua, I brought you all here not only to stop Aion, but to also prevent Pandemonium from taking over the Holy Woman's body." Azmaria revealed. "Pandemonium taking over the Holy Woman's body? Then that means Maria is in grave danger!" Rosette concluded. "Yes, that is exactly what I am saying." Azmaria confirmed. "Since Maria is indeed the holy woman, Pandemonium needs to take possession of her body in order for the apocalypse to take full swing. When that happens, then all of humanity is doomed!" Azmaria began to explain while Rosette, Chrono and Joshua looked at her with an alarmed look. "However, it's still not too late for us to prevent such a tragedy from happening! Joshua and I shall go back to Eden to retrieve the other Apostles who may know some way to put a stop to the Grand Apocalypse. Rosette, Chrono, you two better hurry to Pandemonium's Imperial Palace now before it's really too late!" Azmaria further explained in an urgent tone. "Alright, what are we waiting for Chrono? Let's get going to Pandemonium's Imperial Palace!" Rosette impatiently announced. "Even so, there's a real possibility that things will be more difficult to fix." Azmaria worriedly said. "What do you mean Azmaria?" Chrono gently asked. "Since Aion is only one step away from his goal, this means that parts of the Apocalypse had already begun to take place." Azmaria stated while reminding the three of that fact. Meanwhile, Pandemonium continued roaming its way across the sky while loudly howling and a tremendously bright light had begun to emit from Pandemonium itself. "Pandemonium is emitting a tremendous amount of light! Simultaneously, the surrounding spiritual energy is also increasing quickly!" Sister Claire reported from her headphones. "There seems to be some sort of particle matter that is intermixing with spiritual matter." Sister Mary reported from her headphones. While Sister Kate was listening to the sound recording, she heard the howling sound of Pandemonium and with an alarmed tone asked "Just what has happened?" The Elder suddenly entered and walked into the reporting room while having a very serious look on his face. "We have to hurry! Something big has occurred!" The Elder said urgently. "I know exactly what has happened! I know what Aion's true purpose is." The Elder revealed as he was holding a paper clipboard. In the meantime, Chrono had finally reached Pandemonium's Palace and landed in the room where Aion and Maria were in. He then walked slowly across the room towards the stairway that led to the altar where Pandemonium's body was at. Chrono saw his brother Aion standing right by the stairway holding Pandemonium's severed head. Aion turned his head around and saw Chrono looking at him with a deeply angry look on his face. "So, you're here Chrono!" Aion said while having Pandemonium's head extremely close by his face. Pandemonium's face had a small amount of blood coming from her mouth. "What do you think? Doesn't she look like she's fast asleep?" Aion asked while Chrono continued to angrily look at him while gritting his teeth. Suddenly, Chrono transformed his arm into a long sword and charged at Aion who quickly pulled out his sword and charged back at him. The two brothers however did not strike each other but instead, had their swords directed at each other's throats. "Tell me Aion, did you really destroy the core of Pandemonium?" Chrono asked in a cross voice. "Why are you suddenly so angry? Of course I killed her!" Aion revealed while at the same time confused by Chrono's reaction. "Now we can consider this as a sign of gaining our freedom! Once Pandemonium has successfully taken over the Holy Woman's body, the rebirth of the world shall then begin!" Aion triumphantly said while showing Chrono Pandemonium's severed head on his hand. "Soon the outer shell will begin to crumble. All the chained demons will immediately start to disintegrate! All the chained demons in this gigantic structure will mix into the atmosphere and fall to the surface. All of the humans and other creatures alive on the surface will corrode in vast numbers all at once, causing their eventual destruction. Even the face of the earth will substantially be altered!" Aion explained while imagining what the world will look like once the apocalypse has actually taken full effect. "This is not at all a rebirth! It is doom!" Chrono angrily said to Aion since he knew that such a crazy plan will eventually wipe out humanity and all other living things off from the face of the earth. "Doom you say? I'm just using our hands to reshape this world! A strong will of mind will reign over this demon army." Aion explained as he was trying to justify his actions. Just then, Aion turned his head around and saw some blood coming out of Pandemonium's mouth. "What? The core system has been terminated already!" Aion said in a deeply surprised tone as he didn't anticipate that Pandemonium's core would be terminated so soon while the head had a petrified look with its mouth wide open. Meanwhile, Shader was still in the control room where she was checking the databases on the screen in regards to Pandemonium's core. "An alternate loop is forming I see. Pandemonium is separating herself from its core. This means that it soon will be time for Pandemonium to transfer herself into the Holy Woman's body." Shader stated to herself as she knew what the next step was for Pandemonium once it had separated itself from its core. "So, the time has finally come! The final step for achieving full rebirth of the world shall now take place! It appears that victory is on my side!" Aion exclaimed with intense enthusiasm since the last step in starting the apocalypse at its fullest scale was now beginning. Just then, Aion heard a gunshot coming straight towards him and he quickly dodged the attack. After the bullet failed in hitting Aion and instead exploded, Rosette walked her way across the room with a serious, determined look on her face while pointing her gun forward. "Rosette Christopher!" Aion said her name in an irritated tone while she continued walking as if he hadn't said a word. "Aion, you will not get away with this! I will never let Pandemonium to take possession of Maria's body just so you can accomplish that crazy goal of yours!" Rosette said in an intimidating, serious tone while still having her gun pointed at him. "Rosette, I can see that you have caught up with me." Chrono commented. "Yes, indeed I have. Now that I'm here, I shall retrieve Maria by any means necessary!" Rosette said to Chrono with great determination. Suddenly, Aion began to power himself up as a fierce wind surrounded both Rosette and Chrono. "Hahaha, don't think that you can stop me so easily! I am only one step ahead of achieving the rebirth of the world, and I don't intend to have my plans ruined by the likes of you two!" Aion chuckled sinisterly as he was hell bent on accomplishing his goal. "Rosette, go on ahead of me and meet up with Maria. I'll battle with Aion from here!" Chrono instructed Rosette. He then quickly flew towards Aion and charged at him while screaming slightly as Aion did the same. Rosette took the opportunity to run on ahead of the two demons straight to the altar so she could reach Maria on time.
In the meantime, Shader was observing Chrono and Aion's battle from the control room on the screen. She found the battle to be quite intense as she was wondering how it would end. "My, what an intense battle this is. I'm worried about those two outside. I wonder how it will all end!" Shader commented in a somewhat excited yet suspenseful tone. "Oh crap, I've lost track of Pandemonium's soul! I didn't think the transfer would happen so quickly." Shader said in a shocked, alarmed tone since she got distracted by Aion and Chrono's battle. "It doesn't matter. Anyways, it has already reached Eden! This is like a race against time." Shader stated with a confident tone. "I wonder if Pandemonium will arrive first, or will Aion? Also Chrono, will you really be able to succeed in defeating Aion?" Shader asked curiously since she couldn't tell what the outcome would be in regards to Aion and Pandemonium. While the two demons were fighting, a huge explosion erupted right by the outside of Pandemonium and Aion then wielded his sword towards Chrono. This caused an aggressive wind to set off. As Chrono charged towards Aion with his sword transformed hand, Aion raised his sword up and used it to block Chrono's energy attack as if the sword was some kind of shield. Aion was laughing with amusement at how useless Chrono's powers were against his sword. Chrono then summoned his strongest energy powers from his hand. He stretched out his hand towards Aion and released a very powerful form of freezing energy. Unfortunately for Chrono, his energy powers failed to hit Aion since he was using his sword's blade as a shield against Chrono's attacks. "Unbelievable, freezing is useless against him?" Chrono thought to himself confused as he didn't know what protected Aion from his attack. "In case you have been wondering Chrono, this blade can withstand all demon capabilities! Don't think that you can stop me from that distance!" Aion explained while gloating at his sword's strong power. Aion then lifted up his sword again and quickly wielded it around at Chrono which caused a huge explosion right on the walls of Pandemonium. Chrono however, managed to evade the explosion as he promptly flew his way up and charged towards Aion. "In that case, I will directly block you! I won't let you through!" Chrono determinedly said while charging at the Sinner. Meanwhile, Rosette was still in the altar room at Pandemonium searching for Maria. She heard the explosion from outside which made her worried about Chrono's fight with Aion. "Whatever is happening out there, I do hope that Chrono will be alright!" Rosette said in a worried tone. Just then, someone walked right behind her which caught Rosette's attention. She turned around to see who was approaching her, and to her surprise, it was Maria. "Maria, is that you?" Rosette asked in disbelief while Maria looked at her with a monotonous expression. "Yes Rosette, it's me!" Maria confirmed in a tone that was so dry and soulless that it sounded as if she was stripped of all emotions. Rosette was overwhelmed with joy that Maria was alright. She then ran towards her and gave her a big hug. Such an action from Rosette put Maria off as she wasn't exactly expecting her to do so. "We were all so worried about you Maria! Considering that you are now under Aion's grasp, I'm happy to see that you are okay!" Rosette told Maria in an overwhelmingly grateful tone as she backed from Maria and took her hand. "Let's get out of here before Pandemonium takes over your body! Azmaria, Joshua and the rest of the Apostles should be waiting for us by now! Let's go!" Rosette said as she then rushed to get Maria out of Pandemonium. Maria however let go of Rosette's hand who looked at her surprised. "Maria, what's the meaning of this? Aren't you happy that we all came this way to get you and to put a stop to Aion?" Rosette asked confused. "You really don't understand, do you Rosette?" Maria asked in a dry, unimpressed tone. "What do you mean? What is it that I don't understand?" Rosette asked perplexed since she didn't know what Maria meant. "You should know that my reason for siding with Aion was so I can make sure that he is eventually defeated!" Maria revealed. "You mean you chose to side with Aion just so we would be able to defeat him quicker?" Rosette curiously asked. "That's right! You of all people should know that my hatred for that demon knows no limits. What better way to see your enemy being defeated just by siding with them!" Maria said in a callous tone. "Maria!" Rosette said her name in a surprised tone as she couldn't believe what Maria was saying. "Don't worry Rosette! All what he did to me was deprive me of my family by kidnapping me. He also had the nerve to rape me after I was captured a second time just because I didn't accept his 'love.' I am more than happy to see Aion get what he finally deserves for wishing to wipe out humanity just so he can accomplish that crazy dream of his! To die a horrible, painful death!" Maria explained in a vengeful, callous tone as she walked towards Rosette. "Once you and I meet up with Chrono, I shall use my holy blood on Aion in huge amounts which will certainly kill him in the process! Aion will then be remembered as the evil demon that he is! It's a shame I couldn't have killed him earlier." Maria continued explaining to Rosette callously. In the meantime, Azmaria and Joshua reached the organ chamber at Eden and started searching for the rest of the five Apostles. All five of the Apostles were standing right above the organ player. There were three boys and two girls. "Considering that the remaining Apostles haven't left, they should still be here somewhere." Azmaria commented as they began searching, while the five Apostles were watching the two from above. "Little do humans know that there will come a day when all living things will come to an end." The Apostle girl in the kimono said. "This is the way it is. Even we Apostles are unable to change that. It is because we are only death's Apostles!" The black boy Apostle explained. "Our adversary, Pandemonium, will consume souls and its source once it has taken possession of the Holy Woman's body. It is this planet's greatest enemy! Pandemonium will lead to earth's destruction. Her existence weakens souls and brings death to the next generation!" The blond haired Apostle boy with glasses explained. "However, let's continue to see what happens! The wisest answer is something we still don't understand." The blonde haired Apostle girl advised. Outside Pandemonium, the battle between Aion and Chrono continued with great intensity. Aion stroked the walls of Pandemonium again with his sword and it began to collapse rapidly. Aion then flew his way towards the direction to where the Organ room was at. Chrono managed to evade the crumbling bee hive shaped walls as he was fiercely determined to stop Aion at all costs. They finally arrived by the windows of the chamber where the Oratorio ritual took place and suddenly, Aion directed his sword at the walls of the Organ chamber. He then wielded it towards the large windows, which caused Chrono to have a very alarmed, worried look on his face as he feared the worst to happen. "Is something wrong Joshua?" Azmaria asked as Joshua abruptly stopped walking. "That noise. It's coming from outside. I can hear it." Joshua answered since he was hearing a loud banging sound coming from outside. Just then, the large glass windows across the chamber had shattered into a thousand pieces all at once. This took Joshua and Azmaria completely by surprise. "Well, well. Look who we have here! You two, along with that interfering nun are really causing me quite a few problems!" Aion said to the two Apostles as he was slowly flying his way into the chamber. "Too bad it's all over!" Aion said victoriously as he then landed onto the ground. Joshua abruptly ran towards Aion and once he reached him, he then spread out his arms in protest. "Aion, stop this madness at once! If the core of Pandemonium is destroyed, then humanity and all other living things will cease to exist." Joshua desperately pleaded Aion. "You idiot! Why would I stop here at this final stage? You're a fool to think I can lose to Chrono!" Aion said in a cold, slightly impatient tone since he was not willing to give up on his goals. Just then, Chrono arrived into the room as he landed onto the ground facing Aion and began to charge at him. Aion quickly turned around and used his sword to shield himself against Chrono who was trying to attack him. Azmaria and Joshua were watching the battle with deeply worried looks on their faces, worrying of the outcome since the battle became so intense. Suddenly, Joshua and Azmaria saw the remaining five Apostles flying towards them, much to both their relief and surprise. "All of you! Did you come to tell us something?" Azmaria curiously asked. "The outcome is clear!" The black haired, kimono wearing Apostle said. "We cannot allow Pandemonium to take over the Holy Woman's body!" The black Apostle revealed their intentions. "Even though there's only a slight chance of stopping Pandemonium, we will help you!" The blonde haired Apostle girl said to Azmaria as she took her hand. Joshua and Azmaria's wings had then sprouted out from their backs.
"You really are getting on my nerves! Why are you working so hard against me?" Aion asked in a heavily annoyed tone while Chrono continued to use his sword transformed hand against Aion's sword. Suddenly, Chrono felt some strong pain on his sword arm to the point that he begun to grunt and moan. Just when he dragged his arm away from Aion's sword, Chrono's sword arm began to crack as he screamed loudly. Just a few moments later, it shattered into many pieces, with blood coming out of the arm. This took Aion completely by surprise. With his left arm now completely destroyed, Chrono abruptly turned around and saw all of the seven Apostles had left the room. "The Apostles, could it be that they are heading to where Rosette and Maria are?" Chrono asked himself as he had a hunch that was the case. Chrono then began to fly out through the window at full speed while Aion looked at him with an unimpressed look. "Hmmm, what can they possibly do now? It will soon all be over. They can't stop Pandemonium from taking over Maria's body now." Aion said with slight confidence and began to laugh sinisterly as he believed that the final step in his goal will soon come into motion. Meanwhile, back at the altar room, Rosette and Maria witnessed Pandemonium's soul emerging into a nude, horned female vision of itself with multiple Pandemonium lookalikes on the bottom of its soul like body. "Oh no, Pandemonium is emerging!" Rosette said in a shocked tone as she knew what will happen to Maria once it takes possession of her body. As Pandemonium began to howl, it charged right towards Maria while its hands spread out open and a strong energy started to flow across the room. "Why are you standing there, Maria? Hurry! Get out of the way!" Rosette alarmed her but Maria did not respond as she looked at Pandemonium's appearance as if she was hypnotized. Once Pandemonium had gotten close to Maria to the point that it was about to take over her body, Rosette ran towards her and shielded Maria from Pandemonium. As Rosette stood right in front of Maria, Pandemonium instead went into Rosette's body all at once. Pandemonium's energy was so intense that Rosette slowly began to feel weak and after a short while, she passed out onto the ground. Pandemonium was now inside Rosette's body which now made her unconscious as its energy was unbearably strong. Maria looked at Rosette's body lying on the ground and tears began to fill her eyes with sadness. "Rosette?" Maria said her name in a sad, weak tone and slowly walked towards Rosette's body. Once she knelt down on the ground, she gently took Rosette's hand and looked at her with a sorrowful look on her face. "No, this can't be true?! Why? Why did you sacrifice yourself to save me? Why?" Maria yelled in a broken tone as she couldn't believe what she just witnessed. The tears flew even more down her face while as she was crying heavily over the loss of her friend. "Rosette!" Maria cried out her name as she was embracing her body in grief. Chrono and all of the seven Apostles had finally reached the altar room where they saw Maria weeping over Rosette. "Maria!" Chrono called out her name as she turned her head around facing him. "Chrono, I am afraid it is too late." Maria explained in a broken tone and turned her head away. "What are you talking about? What happened to Rosette?" Chrono asked in shock. "Rosette sacrificed herself to save me from Pandemonium taking control over my body." Maria explained in a heartbroken tone. "What do you mean?" Joshua worriedly asked. "Since Pandemonium has taken control of her body, Rosette will not last much longer." Maria sadly revealed while Chrono rushed towards Rosette and started to hold her hand. He became overwhelmed with sadness as tears began to fill his eyes, and with a broken voice, yelled "Rosette!" The five Apostles looked at Chrono, Joshua and Azmaria with deep empathy as they knew how hard it must have been for them at the moment. "Rosette, open your eyes! You are strong! You won't lose to anyone! Don't you dare die on me Rosette!" Chrono emotionally said in despair since he couldn't believe that such a thing would happen to her. "Please Rosette, answer me!" Chrono brokenly said while Joshua looked at him as he knelt to the ground. "Is there nothing else that can be done for Rosette? Will she really die soon?" Joshua asked in fear. "In this sort of situation, Rosette would not give up! She definitely wouldn't give up!" Azmaria said with huge confidence. "Azmaria." Chrono said her name in a surprised tone as he didn't anticipate that Azmaria had become so emotionally strong. "Rosette isn't really dead yet! Her soul should still be in contact with her body! Because of that, this means that the pocket watch is still moving!" Azmaria began explaining. "I see, so there is a way to save Rosette after all! But how?" Chrono asked in a hopeful yet uncertain tone. "I can use my healing powers to try to prevent Rosette from dying by bringing back her consciousness!" Maria revealed. "Maria, you're saying that you can actually bring Rosette's consciousness back?" Chrono asked in an amazed tone. "Well, I'm not entirely sure if my healing powers will be strong enough to do that, but I can certainly try!" Maria explained with hope and grabbed Rosette's seal watch. Chrono then teleported Maria and the unconscious Rosette back to Eden while the seven Apostles flew back after them.