Chapter 3
At the Zeppelin, Ricardo and his servants were busy preparing for their ritual. Lerajie arrived with Azmaria and brought her to his master Ricardo. "Master Ricardo, look what I've retrieved!" Lerajie said to Ricardo and pushed Azmaria towards him. Ricardo then activated some kind of ring with a ruby gemstone on his finger and used it to restrain Lerajie. Lerajie screamed out of pain as the chains restrained him. "Lerajie, you play around too much. I didn't order you to set those two ablaze. I don't have much time, don't you ever forget that! As long as you have those chains around you, you cannot disobey your master. Is that understood?" Ricardo explained in a harsh, stern tone. "Yes master, as you wish." Lerajie responded weakly. One of the female servants led Azmaria to a throne like chair and chained her by the wrists, ankles and neck. Azmaria became frightened with what might happen to her. She lifted her head and saw a beautiful brown haired, naked young woman kept in some kind of huge glass container. "We're almost there Melda. I assure you. We will bring you back to life!" Ricardo said looking at the unconscious woman who was actually his wife. Meanwhile, back at the lake, Rosette woke up and saw Father Remington in front of her. "Rosette, are you alright?" The minister asked. "Father Remington, where am I? Where's Chrono?" Rosette asked and saw Chrono lying by a tree. "Chrono!" Rosette shouted his name and lifted herself up. However, she realized that her arm was injured as she saw a bandage wrapped around it. "Your arm got a little wounded, so I wrapped it up for you." The minister explained. "What about Chrono? Is he alright?" Rosette asked concerned. "I am afraid he is badly injured. His wound is quite deep and he still remains unconscious." Father Remington stated. Rosette then saw a big fire around the forest that was caused by the explosion which made her extremely concerned and worried. "Don't worry, the fire won't reach this far." The minister assured her. She saw that there were male Militia members who were trying to put the fire out to the best of their ability. They were also trying to get more help by calling the owner of the National Park to bring more personnel which made her somewhat more at ease. "How are we going to rescue Azmaria? Just what are those bastards going to do with her?" Rosette asked frustratingly as she realized that there wasn't much time for them to waste. "There is a theory that we have thought of while investigating Azmaria's identity. As you know, she was born in a small village in Portugal called Fatima. There is a possibility that she might be the 'Angel' that the third prophecy predicted." Father Remington started explaining. "Prophecy? What is that?" Rosette asked curiously. "It occurred during the Great War in 1917. Fatima is a poor village with a population of 2500 people. In front of the three shepherd children, the Virgin Mary appeared and she told them the three prophecies. The first prophecy was that the Great War would end in two years and in two years time, the war did end. The second prophecy is a Second World War which would be greater than the first one." Father Remington continued explaining. "A Second World War?" Rosette asked surprised. "Yes and the last one was sealed by the Pope in the Vatican and kept it secret to any church. Though if we believe the rumors that were floating around at that time, she might be an angel! The appearance of the messenger from God." Father Remington finished explaining the three Fatima Prophecies. "So you think Azmaria might be the one?" Rosette asked with an amazed look on her face. "Well, it's only a possibility. However, considering her spirit power, her birth location, the rumors do fit. But one thing for sure is that her powers won't benefit her. Her fate can bring her misfortune. As you should know, she doesn't have a fortunate background. She lost both of her parents after the war and was sent to several families." Father Remington finished explaining as he was revealing more about Azmaria's background story. Rosette then remembered what Azmaria had told her just before Lerajie took her. "In that case, there is no time to lose. We have got to rescue Azmaria as soon as possible and there is only one way!" Rosette said determinedly. Rosette still felt the wound around her arm hurting, but she decided to push herself towards Chrono. "Chrono." Rosette said as she kneeled in front of him. Chrono slowly opened his eyes to see that Rosette was holding onto her pocket seal watch. "No, you shouldn't!" Chrono said with a terrified tone. "Please Chrono, if we don't do something about this, who knows what will happen to Azmaria. You are the only one who can rescue her. If you called upon your powers, you can heal your injuries instantly. You can do this Chrono, you are her only hope!" Rosette said emotionally. She knew that while Chrono wanted to save Azmaria, he couldn't bear the thought of unlocking the seal as he knew what would happen to her if he did. "If I use my powers, your lifespan will be decreased." Chrono said in worry. "I don't care! We have got to save Azmaria no matter what the risks are. There's something I have to tell her. Please Chrono, I am begging you!" Rosette said in despair.
Back at the Zeppelin, Azmaria was staring shockingly at the young unconscious woman's body. She had a bad feeling that the woman in the container had something to do with Ricardo's plans for the ritual. "Tell me Mr. Ricardo, who is this woman?" Azmaria asked Ricardo as she was still petrified by what she was seeing. "She is my wife, Melda. If she gets brought back to life, she would be your stepmother." Ricardo began explaining. "Actually, she technically is still alive. Her body had exploded during the Great War and we were able to regenerate her body back through this machine. But her soul unfortunately wasn't brought back. Although I am capable of controlling demons, I cannot use negative soul power to bring someone back. At least demons aren't able to do such a thing. But maybe God can!" Ricardo finished explaining his motives behind using Azmaria for the ritual as a way to revive his wife. "Now, I want you to open the gates to heaven. It is time to begin the ritual!" Ricardo said in a stern, impatient tone. Just then, when the ritual began, some form of green, shiny light arose from the sky that at first resembled that of the Northern Lights but then began moving like that of a flowing river. "Minister, look at that." Rosette said as she was amazed to see such beautiful, colorful lights in the night sky. "The Astral Lines? Could it be that the Apostles powers come from the Astral Lines?" Father Remington asked himself. "Minister Remington, what are the Astral Lines?" Rosette asked curiously. "It is the stream of the life cycle of all living beings. The stream gives life, and when the life passes away, it will go back to that stream. It is a creation from God himself." Father Remington explained. "So what you're saying is that the Astral Lines are a creation from God that was designed to create all life on earth?" Rosette asked. "Yes, that is precisely the purpose of the Astral Lines." The minister affirmed. "I see, so that means that Azmaria's powers come partially from God. But what is God trying to make Azmaria do?" Rosette asked herself, confused with the whole concept of the Astral Lines and their purpose. Rosette turned around, walked towards Chrono and kneeled in front of him again. "Please Chrono. I don't want Azmaria to suffer like this. I know you feel the exact same way deep inside as well." Rosette said as she was desperately begging for Chrono's help again. "You shouldn't throw your life away so carelessly." Chrono said in a weak tone. "Applesauce Chrono! The longer you delay, the harder it is going to be to save Azmaria. Is that what you want to happen?" Rosette asked impatiently as she was raising her voice due to Chrono's hesitation. "Alright, I shall unlock the seal, but only briefly!" Chrono said as he finally accepted and realized that unlocking Rosette's seal watch was the only way to rescue Azmaria from Ricardo's clutches. "Thanks Chrono!" Rosette said relieved that Chrono finally agreed. Rosette then allowed the seal to be unlocked, which allowed Chrono to transform into his original demon form. His demon form resembled an adult version of his child form and it also had wings. As Father Remington watched Chrono transform into his demon form, memories from the past began to surface into his mind as he recognized the appearance of Chrono's demon form. Once Chrono was done with the transformation process, he took Rosette's hand and began to fly high up into the sky as he was carrying Rosette onto his arms. Meanwhile, Ricardo was using some sort of electrical crystal ball as he was carrying an open book in his hand. He was using the ball as a way to transfer Azmaria's powers into Melda's body which will then allow her soul to be brought back. As Azmaria's powers began to be forcefully extracted from her body, she began to scream in agony. She was being shocked with a huge amount of electricity in order to execute the ritual. "Yes, that's it, scream! It's the scream from a messenger of God! It has to work! With your scream to bring the energy from the Astral stream and using the receptors to transfer the memory, the Astral Lines will bring back the memory inside the body! Melda's soul will finally be brought back!" Ricardo talked, maniacally thrilled as he was now close in succeeding his goal to restore Melda's soul into her body. Rosette and Chrono were getting closer to Ricardo's Zeppelin as Chrono was flying as fast he could in order to reach the Zeppelin before it was too late. "Are you alright Rosette?" Chrono asked as he wasn't sure whether she was feeling uncomfortable high up in the sky. "Yes, everything is Jake!" Rosette assured Chrono. "Okay, here we go!" Chrono said and flew faster towards the left side of the Zeppelin. Rosette and Chrono suddenly smashed through one of the windows and began running their way across the hallway that will lead them towards the ritual room. Just as they were running, they saw all of Ricardo's servants walking towards them across the hallway. They looked like possessed zombies whose facial expressions made them look like starving animals, ready to eat them. "Where did they come from? Are they even humans?" Rosette asked, realizing that they were acting more like mindless zombies than actual people. "Shoot them! There are probably only two living humans on this aircraft." Chrono said as he ordered Rosette to shoot the servants. As Rosette shot one of them, its body began to break apart into little, slithery insects. "Ewww, what are those disgusting things?" Rosette asked as she was grossed out at what she was seeing. "They're legions, a low class demon that mimic's a body. Ricardo's tamer must be behind this." Chrono explained. "I thought Ricardo would have a tamer that would look more like an actual demon!" Rosette said as she kept on shooting the legions. "It appears that Lerajie is the only one that's different." Chrono stated as he transformed his arm into a sword and began attacking the legions. "Speaking of which, who is Lerajie anyways?" Rosette asked out of wonder. "He's a Pursuer. I've fought him before I met you. I had no choice at the time, although I thought he was dead." Chrono explained while continuing to exterminate the legions. In the meantime at the ritual room, Azmaria was still screaming in agony as the machine was still extracting her powers from the Astral Lines. "Yes, keep screaming! We're almost there!" Ricardo maniacally rejoiced as he was ecstatic that the ritual was nearing completion. Just then, the machine began to malfunction, much to Ricardo's surprise. "What's happening?" Ricardo asked, seeing that the container his wife was in was on the verge of cracking. At that moment, Melda finally became conscious and began to breathe heavily. Unfortunately for Ricardo, the glass container was cracking even more and it was becoming clear that Melda wouldn't be able to last for much longer. Finally, the container cracked and all the fluids that were in there gushed out. "Why? Melda, Melda! Why? What happened?" Ricardo shouted as he was deeply distraught and saddened while he looked at his wife's dead body. All of his efforts and planning that took him so long to fulfill were now destroyed. "Hahahahahaha!" Lerajie laughed at his master's loss. Ricardo looked at Lerajie, confused and horrified at what was going on. "Thank you very much, Master! Ever since I've lost to that bastard Sinner Chrono, my body became corrupted. However, thanks to you making a contract with me, I have regenerated my body once again!" Lerajie explained with satisfaction. "Lerajie, what are you talking about?" Ricardo asked him in a shocked tone. "Normally, a low class demon tamer like you cannot control me. But since those chains were in my way, I couldn't do what I wanted. It was very tiring for me to wait like this, so I used that girl. Now I can take these gears off of me!" Lerajie sinisterly smiled and he removed the chains from his body. The powers from the Astral energy were gathering around him into a receptor which was located on his chest. "A receptor?" Ricardo asked in disbelief. "Farewell, master!" Lerajie slyly said as he used some of the powers from his receptor with the intention of killing his master. Both Azmaria and Ricardo screamed as the electricity bolt came closer to Ricardo. Rosette and Chrono witnessed a bright explosion that lit out in the ritual room. They had a feeling that the ritual room was where the explosion was coming from. The very back of the Zeppelin where the ritual room was located exploded due to the powers that Lerajie had used against Ricardo. Chrono quickly shielded Rosette from the explosion nearby as he didn't want to see her get hurt. Once the explosion cleared, they saw that Lerajie was now transformed into his demon form. His demon form was more muscular, larger and he also had spread out wings and two horns at each side of his head. He also looked much more ferocious and frightening.
"Hahahahaha! What incredible powers! Not only the gears, but all of my wounds that were caused by you are finally all gone! Even my face has been healed! All thanks to 'my lady' here!" Lerajie said triumphantly as he was holding the unconscious Azmaria. "Now Sinner Chrono! It's time for us to have a return match!" Lerajie said as he was challenging Chrono to a fight. Lerajie started the duel by summoning some kind of strong wind in order to weaken his opponent. "Hahahahaha! What an amazing power this is!" The Pursuer said with joy. "What's wrong Chrono? Aren't you going to attack me?" Lerajie asked while taunting Chrono. Just then, Chrono suddenly flew towards the Pursuer and cut one of his arms off so he could retrieve Azmaria. "Damn it!" Lerajie yelled out as the blood from his severed arm spurted profoundly. Chrono had managed to catch Azmaria who woke up and saw him carrying her, much to her surprise. Azmaria wasn't sure on how to react to the situation she was now in. She realized that the demon looked an awful lot like Chrono but she wasn't entirely sure whether it was really him. Chrono flew back towards the damaged part of the Zeppelin and put her on the ground close by Rosette. "Azmaria, thank goodness!" Rosette exclaimed out of relief and then turned her head towards Chrono. "Chrono, I'm counting on you to defeat that Pursuer!" Rosette told him. "I'll try to Rosette, just watch over Azmaria!" Chrono ordered Rosette, turned himself towards Lerajie and gave him a serious look. "Well, it's about time. I have been waiting for this moment!" Lerajie said enthusiastically. The two demons then began to fight each other. Chrono first charged towards the Pursuer with brute strength but Lerajie used some kind of energy barrier that repelled him. Chrono then used his long, tail like blade that was attached to his back and swooshed it towards the Pursuer which smacked him into the Zeppelin. Chrono was waiting to see if his attack had any effect on him. "I'm afraid your attacks don't affect me one bit!" Lerajie said as he got himself up from the ground and then turned his arm into a sword. Chrono quickly realized that he would have to attack Lerajie more aggressively by using stronger tactics. Chrono summoned some type of pointy blades on the top of his arms and continued his fight with Lerajie. Meanwhile, Rosette and Azmaria were watching from the Zeppelin, the two demons fighting. "Are you alright Azmaria?" Rosette asked her. "Yes I am. Thank you for not giving up on me Rosette!" Azmaria thanked Rosette. "So, is that really Chrono?" Azmaria asked Rosette curiously as they continued watching the fight. "That's right, he has several names. 'Chrono the Sinner,' 'The broken horn.' No matter what name you call him by, he is a demon." Rosette explained. "A demon?" Azmaria asked surprised. "Yes, it's the help from this pocket watch. This watch is capable of sealing Chrono's powers." Rosette started explaining as she showed Azmaria the pocket seal watch. "Chrono drains the contractor's soul. The more he uses his powers, the more the contractor's life will be shortened." Rosette finished explaining. "Are you saying that your life is being shortened each time Chrono uses his powers?" Azmaria asked Rosette, looking at her in worry. "That's right. Judging by my fate, I most likely won't be able to live up to the age of 30." Rosette revealed to Azmaria. "How can you sacrifice yourself like that? How can you do this, knowing that you'll eventually die?" Azmaria asked out of deep wonder and empathy. "Let me ask you the reverse. How is it that you can give up so easily?" Rosette asked Azmaria, bewildered by the fact that a person could choose to give up so easily. "I cannot predict the future, but just because I can't predict it, that doesn't mean I should just give up on everything. I have to do what I can right now, and I won't give up until I have finally reached my goals!" Rosette said and started getting out four crucifix barriers from a brown bag on her hips. As the battle between the two demons continued, Lerajie took Chrono by surprise when he used one of his most powerful energy attacks, which caused Chrono to smash into the Zeppelin. "Hahahahahaha, this is truly fun! What an amazing amount of power I have! It appears that humans can be quite useful tools!" Lerajie gloated as he laughed sinisterly. "With this power and your head as a gift, I can once again return to where I belong!" Lerajie said triumphantly and with a great deal of confidence. "I've made a promise with my contractor, and it is my duty to fulfill it." Chrono said as he was looking sternly at Lerajie. "Until I can keep my promise, I cannot allow you Pursuers to kill me!" Chrono said angrily and charged towards him. He also directed one of his most powerful attacks at Lerajie. "He's tough, I have to hurry!" Chrono said as Lerajie blocked his attack with an energy barrier. "What's wrong, Sinner Chrono? She looks pretty pale. It must be difficult for her to move. Are you really that much worried about an insignificant human? How pitiful, and it's all because of you." Lerajie taunted Chrono as he saw that Rosette was becoming weaker and paler due to the contract taking a toll on her life span. "In that case, I shall help put your worries at ease!" Lerajie said and transformed his hand into a long gun. The upper tip of the gun had a design that resembled a skeleton head. The Pursuer shot towards the Zeppelin at the direction where Rosette and Azmaria were which caused an explosion, much to Chrono's horror. He couldn't bear to think of the possibility of Rosette and Azmaria getting killed. "Hahahahaha, this airship shall finally become your grave!" Lerajie said triumphantly as he believed that Rosette was now dead. Just then, a gun shot from a distance hit Lerajie's glass receptor which then began to crack, much to his surprise. "What?" Lerajie said shocked as he could not believe what he was seeing. His glass receptor began to crack even more until it finally cracked opened. All of Lerajie's powers came out of the receptor. "Aaaahhhh, my powers are leaking! The receptor has been broken! This is impossible, who did this?" Lerajie screamed out of pain as all of his powers kept on leaking. Just then, he saw Rosette and Azmaria standing on the ground of the Zeppelin which glowed in the shape of a cross. They were surrounded by the crucifix barrier that Rosette placed around them. "Considering he was thinking of attacking us, he would definitely try to show it off to Chrono. Since I quickly figured that out, we still had a chance. It's a good thing I made the barrier in time!" Rosette stated as she was pointing her gun forwards while she was explaining how she somehow predicted Lerajie's attack. "That's impossible! She was predicting my attack?!" Lerajie asked himself out of disbelief that Rosette had outfoxed him. Chrono then charged towards Lerajie and stabbed him through his chest. "Do you know why you've lost Lerajie? It's because you've messed with the humans too much." Chrono said to Lerajie while he was pulling the Pursuers receptor out. Once Lerajie's receptor was pulled out, he screamed in pain and agony as a huge amount of blood came out of his dying body. After Lerajie's body had disintegrated back into legions, the whole Zeppelin had exploded, causing Rosette and Azmaria to fall off it. "Rosette, my time is up!" Chrono shouted to Rosette. Rosette locked the pocket watch seal and Chrono transformed back into his child form. "My wings bring along misfortune. But if I try my very hardest, maybe something will change!" Azmaria thought to herself as her wings sprung out from her back. She was able to successfully catch Rosette along with Chrono before they could reach the ground. They were both smiling at her out of relief that they were all still in one piece!
The next morning, back at the Magdalene Order, Rosette and Chrono went to Azmaria's bedroom to see how she was feeling. Azmaria told the two that her powers no longer worked. "What?" Rosette and Chrono said at the same time in a shocked tone. "Your powers do not work anymore?" Rosette asked Azmaria who could not believe what she just heard. "That's right. It appears that I have used my powers too much and too quickly." Azmaria explained. "It will take a while until I recover completely. A month or two, one year, or maybe even longer." Azmaria continued explaining while looking out of her window. "So, now that my powers won't be able to work for quite a while, I guess I have no reason to stay here then." Azmaria concluded disappointedly. "Considering that I am pretty much useless here, I wonder where shall I go now?" Azmaria asked herself curiously as she wasn't sure where she would possibly end up while moving forward. "I've got an idea! There is a position opened in the choir. The only requirement is that you have to be at least 10 years of age or older. With your beautiful singing voice, we would be happy to have you, if it's your choice. So, what do you say?" Rosette suggested to Azmaria. She knew very well that Azmaria was known for her soprano singing. "Sure, I would be delighted to participate in the choir Rosette!" Azmaria accepted joyfully as she was certain that she will be able to put some of her talents to use.