Chapter 28: An Unlikely Alliance
The three crow beasts that survived the skirmish with Akira, Jun and Kaim had returned to their hideout and had now reported to Higa, the Crusader of Fire, directly in his quarters of how their greatest enemy and the mighty Amon himself had come to the pachyderm creature's aid and had slaughtered 22 of their siblings.
"I see. You may all leave." simply spoke the tall brown haired man, dismissing the three surviving beasts. But beneath that stoic exterior, Higa was brimming with eagerness and enthusiasm. Finally he was going to fight worthy opponents after a long time. Despite being easily the most belligerent, violent and bloodthirsty of the Crusaders, Higa had quickly grown tired of torturing those puny humans. Sure, he would follow his master's every order without question but there simply wasn't any fun in killing such fragile creatures who needed machines to even mimic a fraction of his power. And even those were no match for his mastery over fire as evidenced by his slaughter of an entire army battalion comprised of tanks, anti-aircraft guns and missile trucks who had foolishly tried to attack their former lair, Tsukuba Island many months ago.
Much like his colleague of lightning, Kotura, battling strong opponents was what excited Higa's blood the most. But unlike his colleague, the battle, the angst and the destruction was ultimately the purpose of his existence. And in a way, despite not trusting Atun, due to the demon not sharing the same ideology of him, his master and his colleagues, Higa respected him, for the demon hero shared his same purpose in life. And it was the reason why he decided to serve under Satoru: the thrill of battle, the opportunity to just go berserk and cause as much destruction as possible. As a human he would have never been able to do such things, due to the limitations of being one. Becoming a beast, transcending his humanity and becoming a superior being, standing above everything else was the greatest thing that ever happened in his life.
And now, creatures from another world, the demons had arrived. And Higa was eagerly looking forward to prove his strength as the Master of Fire. Having heard from Atun and Lilith of many strong warriors the demon race had to offer and having just now heard that two of them were now coming to them, along with the same woman that vanquished them five months ago, brought him joy. The mere thought of battling such opponents enthralled him.
"Hehehehe…. At last i will be able to fully let my flames loose again." he mused to himself while a wide grin formed on his lips as he removed his clothes and walked towards the balcony of his quarters, gazing towards the view before him under the cloudy sky of the mid to late afternoon. He then chuckled evily and assumed his true form, growing to 2.75 meters of heigh, dark red feathers covering his whole body, his muscles growing, large wings forming from underneath his arms, with the feathers attached on his third finger. A head resembling that of a bald eagle with a large mane of dark red feathers adorning it and a yellow curved beak filled with small but sharp teeth, sprouted from his human head which was pushed downwards in the center of his torso at the same level of his shoulders. A feathery tail emerged from his rear and his legs elongated themselves and became covered in yellow scaled from his knees downwards while the digits on his feet were reduced to two, each terminating with recurved claws and a third one sprouting from the ankle, giving him grasping feet.
"I have waited too long." mused the eagle beast to himself with a gleeful smile on his human head in his torso before he spread his majestic dark red wings and with a monstrous screech, he took off, heading to meet his opponents in combat. There was no point in needlessy sending their crows one after another towards certain death. They were no match for their enemies and they were needed for their plans. And even though his master had explicitly ordered him and his colleagues to remain here due to them still outnumbering their enemies six to three, Atun and Lilith included, his eagerness and thirst for battle had gotten the better of him.
Umberknonwst to him, his colleague of Ice, Izumi had watched him from the shadows. She sighed upon seeing Higa going against what he was told and storming off to meet his opponents in battle. But she coudn't really blame him for that. She just hoped that his bloodlust and thirst for battle woudn't lead to getting himself killed for he was too valuable for their cause, unlike their crow foot soldiers.
Meanwhile, in the forest
The natural silence of the forest was interrupted by Kaim's thunderous charge through the trees, his stomps echoing through the whole forest due to the weight of the demon's massive frame being displaced with each step.
Akira and Jun, riding on Kaim's back, were greatly surprised to see just how fast the pachyderm demon was running, even knocking down several trees along the way with his massive horns. Despite being the same size of an indian elephant, Kaim was as fast as a car, maybe even more.
During the first two minutes since Kaim began to thunder his way towards where he believed their enemies's hideout to be, Jun, seated just behind Akira and holding onto him by his sides, had deeply immersed herself in thought and was still thinking back to what had happened just minutes ago. Of how she had given in to her inner beast within again. Of how she witnessed Akira apparently going through the same, descending into a ruthless and cackling frenzy as he ripped that crow's eyeball out.
Umberknownst to Akira, much like him, witnessing the man she loved descending into such brutality wasn't what scared Jun the most. No matter how much she tried to deny it, a part of herself was enthralled, bewitched by him. The wide, malicious toothy grin he had, his animalistic growls and roars, the sheer ferocity he displayed, the sheer glee he took in inflicting pain to those monsters and how effortlessly he had torn his enemies apart, had deeply aroused Jun, or rather the beast within her. She quickly realised that her inner beast had been attracted by the part of Amon that dwelled within Akira, perhaps recognizing it as a potential mate. And influenced by the demon he had fused with or not, Akira unfortunately just happened to be the most handsome half-devil she had ever seen what with those powerful, flawlessly scuplted muscles, black fur, tail and dark red head wings. No wonder her inner beast had been attracted by such a strong and fit male such as him.
And that was why Jun was left utterly terrified. Because her inner beast had copied what Akira was doing due to it being aroused by the sheer violence, glee and ferocity the spitting image of Amon had showcased. It felt wrong on so many levels. She should be horrified by what she had witnessed yet at the same time, she coudn't help but find herself fascinated by it. She will definetely need to talk with Akira about this: she feared that in the long term this could jeopardize their relationship.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Akira's voice "Kaim, if i may, can i ask you something?"
"What is it?" asked back the pachyderm demon, while still running, not slowing down at all.
"How were you able to find us that night, eight days ago? I thought Takae managed to call you but from what i was told you didn't answer." he spoke again wanting to know the answer to a question that lingered in his mind for eight whole days, while Jun listened in curiosity, hiding her slight surprise at learning that Kaim also knew that horned girl and probably even her friends.
Figuring out that Akira was referring to the night he and Sirene were reunited and with his gaze still focused forward the pachyderm demon answered "I happened to come across a television store while i was going to work. On the display window of it there were several Tvs and it just so happened that they were broadcasting the latest news report that night. That was how i learned about it. As soon as i saw the images i knew exactly what i had to do. What happened afterwards of course goes without saying. And i discovered only the day after that Takae did in fact try to call me."
Both Akira and Jun were surprised to learn that Kaim learned about the ongoing battle between the latter and the Demon Bird purely by chance way before Takae had any chance to call him by the phone.
"I see…. It was all by chance that you found out…." spoke Jun hesitantly, greatly astounded at the reveal that had Kaim not walked that street by chance, things that night could have ended very differently and for the worse. Thanks to this fluke, Kaim was able to arrive in time and stop Akira and Sirene from drawing each other's blood again. She coudn't even imagine what would have happened had he arrived even a minute or two later than he did.
"Indeed. I do not even want to imagine what would have happened if i had not." he began, with much relief and solace in his voice before he declared "And truly, i owe it only to you Akira. You had every reason to spill her blood, to make her suffer for what she was about to do to your lover and for all the pain she unjustly inflicted upon you and those you cared about in your previous life. But despite all of that, you tried to reason with her. You even stood up for me, for the feelings i harbored in my heart towards her. I shall never able to thank you enough for what you have done for me, for one who used to be your enemy in a previous life."
Akira and Jun coudn't help but smile soothingly at the amount of gratitude and joy present within Kaim's voice, while the latter hid her surprise at Kaim having already figured out that she and Akira were lovers. The latter then replied with an equally gentle and soothing voice "No, i should be the one to thank you, Kaim. You taught me that even among your kind there are good people and that even they, if they want it to, can find the strength within themselves to let go of the past and become better people. You consolidated my belief that everyone deserves a second chance, even people as misguided as Sirene."
A content and heartening smile made its way on Kaim's lips as he realised that it was all thanks to his humility and altruism that his former enemy spared the woman he loved. He was overjoyed to learn that his kindness and honor, something he had been ridiculed for many years by many of his fellow demon brethren had led to this.
"I am greatly overjoyed to hear that, Akira. Now i know that for what it was worth, my efforts led to our friendship. Hopefully one day, Sirene will also find the strength within herself to forgive you just like i did." replied joyously Kaim, his heart warmed by Akira's words.
Jun then chimed in after hearing the optimism and hope in Kaim's voice "You really do love her with all of your heart, do you Kaim?" she asked him with a slight smile.
"I would do anything for her. I would even give away my body for her, without a second thought again, as i did the first time she and Akira fought, after he mortally wounded her. It is a promise i made to her mother when she died, giving birth to her many eons ago." declared solemnly Kaim with a hint of melancholy upon remembering those past events. Both Akira and Jun's lips parted away in surprise and mild shock upon hearing that, their cheerfulness dissappearing from their faces. Their eyes began to shake in disbelief upon learning that Sirene had a mother. And that not only was she a friend of Kaim, she died giving birth to the Demon Bird.
A somber and commiserate look made its way on Akira's face as he realised how Kaim must have felt upon witnessing the mortally wounded Sirene. Truly, the pachyderm demon must have felt no different from how Akira felt when he witnessed Miki's demise. An equally saddened look formed on Jun's face upon realising that much like her, he had been through a lot. She could tell by the melancholy she heard in his voice.
However before both of them could voice their empathy for him, Kaim's nose picked up a foul, fetid stench coming from nearby due to his excellent sense of smell. He then abrubtly and sternly declared "This smell… Something is not right." catching Akira and Jun by surprise.
With a serious look forming on her face, the latter asked "What do you mean?" only for the pachyderm demon to suddenly stop in his tracks, near the opening of a small clearing. And sure enough, the Devil Lady got her answer not too long afterwards.
"Jun, look." simply stated Akira, his gaze fixed on the clearing in front of them. His girlfriend did as he told her and promptly froze upon spotting five corpses all around the clearing.
"It appears that someone has preceded us." simply declared Kaim without any emotions in his voice as the spitting image of Amon and his lover dismounted from his back. Then all three of them went to inspect some of the corpses and upon a closer look recognized four of them as belonging to the same type of crow-like beasts that attacked Kaim earlier. What's more, all of them had been brutally sliced apart, one crow having been cut in half at the waist, another had been decapitated, a third one had its stomach being cut open, insides having fallen out and a fourth one had been decapitated from above the lower beak and had its upper torso sliced in half vertically.
Not too long after they began their inspection, Akira spoke "Kaim, Jun, this one is different." earning their attention. Then Kaim came at his right, in the center of the clearing and promptly noticed that Akira was crouching down and inspecting the corpse of what could only be described as a giant, grotesque grey rat that had sharp teeth including two very long sharp incisor teeth, short ears, a pair of short grey forearms that ended in two short but sharp claws, a second pair of skeletal forearms that projected from its shoulders that were a lighter shade of grey, hindlimbs much bigger than the forelimbs, whose thighs actually projected way upwards, each one adorned with a row of seven sharp spikes that projected outwards on the sides of the thigh all the way to the upper knee. Said hindlimbs ended in three toed feet and a naked segmented tail came from the creature's rear, much like that of a normal rat would. Yet, the most unusual and disturbing feature of said slain creature was that its ribs seemed to be exposed. They covered the creature's underbelly and even the creature's back was covered by what it seemed to be it's exposed vertebral column, including several other rib-like bones, and most disturbingly, at the upper end of that column, a human skull was attached to it. A strange, monstrous and grotesque creature it was indeed. And now it layed on the ground in a pool of purple blood, sliced apart in three pieces, its main body split in two, the entrails having been spilled out and with its right leg separated from its body.
Kaim visibly frowned before stating "Mmmm….. I can hardly see any signs of struggling. Whoever did this must have dealt a quick and lethal blow." earning a nod from Akira who replied "Yeah. And to cut something like this apart would require great strength and precision…. As well as sharp claws." while folding his arms over his chest in contemplation.
Both of them were in for an even bigger surprise, however.
For as soon as Jun came to Akira's left, they both could only watch as the demonic amazon let out a horrified gasp, her jaw dropping and her golden eyes widening up and beginning to shake in distress, sorrow and perturbation. She was so shocked, so shaken by what she was seeing, that she took a step backwards and began to tremble like a leaf as memories of pain and sorrow came back to her. The events of that night once again flashed back in her mind. On that fateful night, Kazumi was brutally thrust in the same nightmarish world Jun had entered. All because she knew her.
Akira's face immediately filled itself with much concern and surprise upon witnessing Jun's reaction. He then unfolded his arms from his chest, gently placed a hand on his lover's right shoulder and calmly asked "Jun… You've seen this creature before?" trying to sound as concerned and tender as he possibly could.
Although still thorougly shaken, Akira's gentle touch calmed Jun slightly and after gulping, she weakly managed "This… This is the beast that murdered Kazumi's parents…." her voice getting more sorrowful with each word, remembering very clearly to this day, more than a year later, how Kazumi just layed there on the floor of her house, the rat beast mere inches away from her. How she let everything go and transformed for only the third time and procedeed to annihilate that monster who dared to hurt her friend, taking her parents away for the only crime of being associated with her. How their battle caused the house to collapse and how she smashed that foul beast's head with her fists until it caved in completely before she crushed the cackling human skull on the grotesque rat's back.
Akira's eyes widened as a look of pure shock and disbelief filled his face at the revelation. He then took his hand off Jun's shoulder and looked once more at the corpse of the slain rat beast before hesitantly saying "It….. it was this one?"
The weak nod he received from Jun caused him to gulp and his heart to sink. For what it was worth, Akira was able to save Miki and her family from Agwel and Ghelmer. Jun could not arrive in time to save Kazumi's. And given how much she had blamed herself for nearly all that happened ever since her awakening, he knew for a fact that the murder of Kazumi's parents was only one of the many things she blamed herself for. But, if it was any consolation, at least now they had been avenged for their killer had been slain and now they could rest in peace.
"Kazumi?" asked Kaim in curiosity, pulling Akira out of his thoughts and causing him to turn towards the pachyderm demon. He shot him a stern and serious glare while simply replying "A friend of Jun." without any emotion in his voice. That look was enough to let Kaim know that it wasn't something his new comrades were in the mood to talk about given the situation at hand.
Akira then turned his gaze back on the corpse of the slain beast and suddenly let out a "Hmm?" upon noticing something in the midst of its bloody remains that stood out due to its brightness. Jun and Kaim simply watched as Akira took two steps towards the corpse, knelt down and picked up a white feather.
Pulled out of her recollection, Jun spoke in slight surprise and perplexity "A white feather? That's odd. It's not the same color as those of the crows." while rubbing her chin with her left index finger in thought.
Akira didn't respond and kept staring at the feather in thought until Kaim approached him and politely asked "If i may." while extending his flexible whip-like tail towards it. Akira nodded, hiding his surprise at how flexible that tail was before it picked up the white feather from his hand and brought it in front of Kaim's face.
Kaim then procedeed to sniff the feather with its nose for a few seconds before his yellow eyes widened and he gasped slightly in shock and incredulity earning a concerned look from both Akira and Jun. The former then asked "What is it?"
With his suspicions being proven correct and having recognised the scent, the pachyderm demon answered "I thought as much. This feather….. It belongs to Sirene." causing both the Devilman and the Devil Lady to gasp in utter shock and bewilderment, their jaws dropping and their eyes widening.
"What? She's here too?" was all Jun could manage, not believing what she was hearing. Kaim, just as stunned as his new companion then spoke "It would seem so. And it is rather perplexing because the last time i saw her was on that night, eight days ago." without any emotions in his voice but his stunned look gave away the perplexity that was going on in his mind. The Demon Bird expressed to him that she needed some time to ponder and come to terms with everything Kaim revealed to her on that night, from her origin to what really happened to Amon.
"You haven't seen her since?" asked Akira seriously causing Kaim to turn towards him and reply "I have not. She expressed to me that she needed some time alone to come to terms with everything i revealed to her." he then averted his gaze from Akira before adding "This cannot be a coincidence. There must be a reason for her to have come here." concern and puzzlement filling his voice. Kaim knew her far too well: she was too intelligent and untrusting to just walk right into a trap. She wasn't here by chance. Could it be that she had also heard about those so called "Crusaders"?
Akira and Jun were just as baffled as Kaim was. The former thought that a lot of time would have passed before he would have crossed paths with her again. That time had arrived much earlier than he had anticipated. And the latter, in spite of having seen the Demon Bird's tears and having been heartwarmed by the realisation that in the end, Sirene was a sentient being like any other, still resented her former friend for her betrayal and for how she had played with her emotions, using her as nothing more than a tool to lure out Akira in battle.
All three of them were suddenly pulled out of their thoughts by a loud and deafening explosion coming from the direction Kaim was initially heading to. Great surprise and astonishment filled their faces as soon afterwards, a gigantic pillar of fire, dozens if not a hundred meters high erupted in the same direction the initial explosion came from.
"What….. What is that?" Was all Akira could let out, his jaw hanging open, stunned by what was happening in front of his eyes. There was no way that giant pillar of flame was the result of a human-made device or the result of volcanic activity. Something supernatural had to have caused it.
Kaim, however quickly regained his calm and composure and commanded "Whatever it is, it is not far from here. Follow me!" before storming off to discover who or what was behind this. Akira and Jun promptly ran after Kaim, not wasting a second. The two Devilmen managed to keep up with Kaim's surprising speed and the more they ran towards the direction the pillar of flame was seen more and more explosions followed.
And the moment they were about to came out into another clearing all of them froze in their tracks in shock at what was happening in front of their eyes, in part because the clearing in front of them was lying in utter devastation and ruin, a good portion of the ground scorched by the explosions and the pillar of fire, devoid of any grass or other forms of vegetation. Many trees had been destroyed or were simply incinerated beyond recognition and many small fires and columns of smoke and burning ashes of the various trees and plants surrounded the whole clearing. But, most shockingly above the center of the clearing a cloud of smoke could be seen. And soon afterwards a white winged creature, fell out of it onto the ground. One all three of them knew.
"S-Sirene?!" called out Kaim, not believing what his yellow eyes were seeing. And indeed the Demon Bird had landed on the ground on one knee, using her right hand to support herself while with her left one she clutched her left side. The pachyderm demon and his two new companions were stunned to see that many burns and scorch marks could be clearly seen all around her body as well as the occasional laceration on her upper chest, shoulders and arms.
All three of them, still hidden behind some of the last remaining trees and foliage were pulled out of their jaw-dropping stupor as soon as another voice came.
"Is this the best the mighty Sirene has to offer? Or were all the legends dissappointingly untrue? Was i truly wrong to expect too much from you?"
Akira, Jun and Kaim's eyes widened even more and their gaze immediately turned towards where that arrogant and dissatisfied voice came from, immediately spotting it's owner, the tall and muscular humanoid dark red eagle, with a human face engraved in its upper chest, hovering several meters off the ground with its arm-wings folded over its chest, staring down the Demon Bird with a arrogant but at the same time dissappointed smile on its chest face.
"What the…" was all Akira could let out, not believing what he was seeing. Sirene, the strongest opponent he had ever faced, with the exception of his former best friend Ryo, forced on her knees, at the mercy of whatever this demonic, fiery humanoid eagle was. And most disconcertingly, said humanoid eagle barely had any scratch on its body, save for some cuts on its muscular arms and a single cut on its left chest.
Kaim was also left thunderstruck and shocked beyond all belief. His beloved Sirene, the mightiest of all demonesses, forced on her knees, utterly defeated? Just who or what was that creature? And how could it possess such power?
Jun, meanwhile was left utterly petrified and aghast upon recognizing one of Satoru's four elemental henchmen, the same humanoid dark red eagle that breathed its fire on her during her desperate attempt to rescue Kazumi from Satoru's clutches when she invaded his lair, the Tsukuba Island Skyscraper.
They were pulled out of her thoughts by the Demon Bird, somehow managing to stand up and flash a grin before declaring "It would be a mistake to underestimate the power of i, Sirene, mightiest of all demonesses!" she then let out a battle cry, propelled herself in the air with a flap of her wings towards the humanoid eagle and brought back her left arm, intending to slash the creature in front of her apart with one swift motion of her left talons.
However as Sirene unleashed her attack, to her shock, the humanoid eagle, not even bothering to unfold its arms from its chest, simply became engulfed in a fiery, orange aura, before swiftly sidestepping to the right, effortlessly avoiding her attack with shocking speed, a speed bosted by its elemental ability of fire.
As the Demon Bird kept going forwards, Higa finally unfolded his arms and with the grin on his chest face growing even more he mockingly declared "Mightiest of all demonesses, you say? Your strength isn't enough even to entertain me." he then raised his arms, straightened them to the front, resting his palms on each other and splaying his fingers wide. As a sphere of fire formed in the space between the palms of his hands he finally roared "This is the end for you! CHAOS FLARE!"
But mere microseconds before he could fire his finishing attack, a purple bolt of lighting struck him from behind, causing him to screech in pain and throwing off his aim causing his attack, an orb of fire to instead struck several trees behind Sirene, obliterating them in an explosion. The bolt of lightining also sent Higa crashing down on the ground and allowed to Sirene to land harmlessly away from harm.
Quickly recovering, getting back on his two clawed, scaled feet and turning around, an enraged Higa bellowed "WHO DARES….." only to cut himself mid sentence upon spotting Kaim, smoke still coming out of the tips of his horns which gave away that he was the one responsible for attacking the Crusader of Fire from behind. What's more, he was flanked by the same woman who had thwarted their plans many months ago on his left and on his right by a male devil who looked almost like their greatest enemy.
(OST: "The Jaws Of Ice" = Xenogears Soundtrack = watch?v=yQhcAH5mVvE )
Meanwhile, Sirene, who now stood a dozen meters away turned around and promptly gasped in disbelief at what her blue eyes were seeing. Instinctively, she immediately called out "Kaim!" in a mix of relief, surprise and astonishment. She could not believe that her friend had once again come to her aid. And much to her incredulity, her former enemies, Devilman and Jun were at his side.
After seeing that his lover was alright, Kaim's yellow eyes turned towards the monstrous, humanoid eagle beast, a dozen meters in front of him and filled themselves with much disdain. The pachyderm demon then spoke "You must be one of those murderous Beasts i was told about. Tell me, foul creature, why are you imprisoning and torturing your own kind? What have they done to deserve your wrath?" he demanded, his voice clearly filled with much contempt and scorn.
In response, having recognized the scent of Kaim as being different from that of a Devil-Beast, the Crusader of Fire, scoffed in annoyance and spat back "Insolent demon. You have some nerve to condemn our sacred cause, after everything your kin-" only to stop as soon as the red eyes on the face of his chest fell on the one that stood at the pachyderm demon's left.
Silence reigned for a few seconds before an amused smile quickly replaced the anger and irritation on Higa's chest face as his gaze fell from the pachyderm demon to his master's greatest enemy. He then assumed a relaxed stance, rising to his full height of 2,75 meters before he began "Mmph… I see. What Lord Satoru spoke of was true. It has been a while….. traitor." taking the time to put emphasis on the last word just to spite Jun.
Akira and Kaim could only watch as in response, she gritted her teeth in pure fury, narrowed her golden eyes towards the Crusader of Fire and clenched her hands into fists before roaring "You monsters… Haven't you done enough already?! HOW MUCH MORE BLOOD WILL YOU HAVE TO SHED BEFORE YOU STOP?!" she demanded, her voice filled with so much anger and hatred that it even shocked Sirene to the core. She was never this angry, during their battle, eight days ago. She quickly realised, much to her disbelief that they shared a common enemy and little did Sirene know just how much hell this creature and others like it had put Jun through.
In response, Higa chuckled maliciously before replying "After all this time, you still don't understand, do you Fudo? All we ever wanted was to take back the world that is rightfully ours. We, the ones that have been chosen by evolution to take humanity's place as the rulers of this world. You, a killer of its own kind, who refused to evolve, foolishly clinging on your weak human origins, will never understand our sacred crusade. You should have stayed out of our affairs when you had the chance."
Kaim visibly frowned and Sirene's eyes widened slightly in surprise as they both saw Jun's face fill with not only even more anger and hatred but with sadness and gloom as she gritted her teeth even more and her eyes began to shake as all those painful memories came back to her mind.
However, Higa's amusement and glee derived from his taunting of his master's greatest enemy, quickly turned into puzzlement and annoyance as Akira let out a mocking chuckle, stepped in front of both Kaim and Jun before crossing his arms over his chest and taunting " Hehehehehe….. That's rich coming from you, given all the beasts you and your partners in crime have captured and imprisoned. So tell me, bald eagle, what would that make you, huh? Isn't it a bit hypocritical for you to say that after all the crimes and atrocities you pieces of shit have committed in the name of "Evolution"?" making no effort to hide his contempt and scorn for the feathered scumbag in front of him and for the ideal he stood for, taking his time to put emphasis on the very last word he spoke just to taunt him.
Jun could not believe what she was hearing and witnessing. Akira had put himself in front of her and not only was he standing up for her, he was also insulting the very cause that drove Satoru and his henchmen to cause all the pain and suffering they had. The bravery, courage and nonchalance Akira had just shown left her speechless, once again in awe and in admiration of him. The man she loved had demonstrated once again just what a just and noble individual he was.
Caught completely off guard by Akira's insult, Higa nearly lost it. The human-like face on its chest visibly clenched its teeth and contorted itself in pure fury and outrage at the belittlement he and the cause he stood for had received. Nonetheless, the Crusader of Fire somehow managed to regain his composure upon seeing that in front of him, now stood the one his master's new ally spoke so much about. With another smug smile, replacing his raging scowl, Higa spoke "Ah…. You must be Amon, the one our master's new allies spoke so much about." catching Kaim and Sirene completely by surprise. How could this fiend now about him?
The latter, having now stood and facing the fiery humanoid eagle demanded "What?! How do you know Amon?!" with a spiteful scowl forming on her face.
At the same time, Kaim also chimed in and demanded "New allies? Are you referring to the demons?" in a much calmer tone while still making no effort to hide his confusion and contempt.
Higa merely chuckled deviously once more in amusement before he crossed his arms over his chest and answered "That would be correct, my four legged friend. Some of them, have kindly offered their service to us in return for us helping them claim retribution against the one who betrayed its own kind." he then closed the red eyes of the face on his chest before continuing "It's shameful really. How the greatest hero of demonkind turned out to be its greatest and most infamous traitor. For all his might, he coudn't even take over one puny human. How the mighty have fallen indeed." earning a look of utter spite and contempt on the pachyderm demon's face, his yellow eyes narrowed in scorn towards the Crusader of Fire at the mockery of the one that used to be his companion, millions of years ago.
Higa then chuckled even more before he reopened the red eyes on the face of his chest, eyeing both Akira and Jun before declaring "You two are perfectly made for each other. A failure of evolution clinging to its weak human roots and the pathetic empty husk of skin and bone of what used to be the greatest warrior of a proud race." causing both of them to clench their teeth in spite and anger and narrow their eyes in contempt towards the monstrous and vile creature in front of them.
However both of them along with Kaim were greatly astounded to see Sirene letting out a mighty roar before charging towards Higa and roaring "BASTARD! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SHAME AMON'S NAME!" while attempting to slash him apart with her left talons. As if his answer to Kaim's question didn't already piss her off, those last words the Crusader of Fire spoke, drove her over the edge. Who did this arrogant, insolent fool think he was to insult the name of the one she used to care so much about, of the one who deeply cared about her and her comrades?
Jun was taken completely aback by Sirene's reaction. She sounded outraged, infuriated and most of all, distressed. The way she sounded was no different from that night, eight days ago, when she voiced her indignation, sorrow and resentment of Akira for what in her eyes, he had done to Amon, the one she harbored feelings for. Only now, was Jun beginning to realise just how much she deeply cared about the demon Akira had taken over.
However, much like before, Higa became engulfed by his blazing, orange aura, spread his arm-wings and simply took off the ground with astonishing speed, causing Sirene to slash nothing more than the air in front of her. Finding herself in the position, Higa used to be, the Demon Bird turned towards him, baring her teeth towards the fiery humanoid eagle that now hovered above the ground. With an amused laugh, he taunted "Such impatience and irritability. Hardly becoming for a creature as beautiful as you." enraging Sirene even more due to how this vile creature had made a complete fool out of herself.
But before she could voice her anger once more, Akira, having lost his patience for the fiery Eagle Beast's haughtiness and disdainful attitude, demanded "What have you scumbags done with all those people?! They had nothing to do with all of this!" while lashing his right arm backwards.
Jun then added, just as indignated as her lover "How can you still do this? Haven't you learned by now how pointless all of this is?" while pointing her left clawed index finger at him.
Higa merely chuckled back in amusement before unfolding his arms from his chest and declaring "As much as i would like to entertain all four of you, i am needed elsewhere. But worry not, you will all get your answers soon enough." beneath his glee and taunts however, the Crusader of Fire knew far too well that he was now outnumbered four to one. As much as he wanted to satisfy his bloodthirst and hunger for battle, there was no point entering a battle in which the odds were now heavily stacked against him even though he had proven himself to be more than a match for the Demon Bird. No, he was far too invaluable to his master's cause to take such careless risks.
He then spread his wings before declaring "Come traitors! Your bloody fate awaits you in our haven!" and with those last words, the humanoid eagle beast, became engulfed in his blazing orange aura before flying away, heading back towards its nest, gradually dissappearing in the cloudy sky.
(Soundtrack Ends)
Jun could only watch with her teeth clenched, hateful scowl on her face as the humanoid dark red eagle dissappeared. She then lowered her head towards the ground as a look of dejection and sorrow formed on her face. Why? Why was all of this happening again? And how could those monsters still do this after all the pain and misery they had caused?
As all those questions were forming up within Jun's mind, Akira's voice pulled her out of her thoughts "Jun, he was one of them right? One of those so called "Crusaders"?" he asked her grimly, causing her to lift her head back up and meet Akira's black eyes with her golden ones.
With an equally stern look forming on her face, she nodded before answering "Yeah. Each one of them has the ability to control a specific element. As you just saw, that eagle can manipulate fire. The other three have the ability to control ice, lightning and wind respectively."
Akira grimaced even more at the revelation. Not only were all four of those beasts incredibly powerful, each one of them could control a specific element. Not only that but the humanoid eagle they had just confronted was more than a match for even Sirene, the one who, after Satan, came closest to actually killing him. Which meant that the other three had to have been at least, nearly as powerful as him if not just as powerful.
"Good grief." mused Akira in his mind, having lost part of his confidence. Not even what Takeshi told him had prepared him for this. He now understood why the only reason Jun was able to defeat them was because of a friend of hers sacrificing himself to give her the chance to finish them off. Even if she could have been able to hold her own against one of them, she was alone against all four of them and they had later fused into a much more powerful beast that managed to overpower her with little difficulty. And even if this time she would not be alone, those four beasts weren't the only problem for they had allied themselves with some demons whose identity was unknown to Akira. Things were now starting to look far from bright, given that Akira was now beginning to realise just how much the odds were stacked against them.
Nonetheless he was pulled out of his thoughts by Kaim, who had come to Sirene's side. He overheard him calling out in worry "Sirene. Are you alright?" upon seeing the various scorch marks on her otherwise pale, pristine skin.
The Demon Bird with a slight smile met Kaim's eyes with her blue ones before replying "Do not worry. These burns are nothing compared to what i have experienced in the past. But i must thank you, Kaim. I was not expecting you to have come here." surprising both Akira and Jun due to how much gratitude her voice held. Truthfully, it was the first time, Akira heard her sounding like this.
Then her gaze spotted both the spitting image of Amon and the Devil Lady and once again her face assumed her trademark stone-cold expression. Why were her former enemies here too? And what was it that drove them to come to her aid?
After all three of them glared at each other in a silence that seemed to last for several minutes, Sirene turned towards Kaim and asked him "What is the meaning of this, Kaim? Why are they here?" with a frown on her face. The pachyderm demon merely glanced back towards the demonic couple standing several meters away and answered "We merely share the same goal and the same enemies. That beast you fought belonged to an organized group that seeks the genocide of humankind and the conquest of this world." he then turned back towards Sirene before concluding grimly "They have captured quite a few Beasts and are now holding them hostage in their own stronghold, hidden somewhere within this forest, presumably to force them to join their cause."
Sirene merely listened, her serious and ice-cold expression not changing in the slightest but beneath that icy exterior, she was greatly surprised. She had in fact been told by Kaim on the night they reunited, eight days ago, what Devil-Beasts, the many animal-like creatures she had come across ever since her rebirth on this world, the ones she had mistaken for members of her own kind, actually were. Humans that had been forcibly and suddenly evolved into animal-like, demonic creatures by an activation of a specific factor hidden within their DNA. At first Sirene coudn't believe it. How could the weak and fragile humans suddenly aquire the power of the demons by a mere and sporadic change of their genetic code? It was preposterous for her to believe that such humans could, in the span of mere seconds and minutes, aquire the strength that many demon warriors, including herself, had to fight for many years to obtain. And yet, the humanoid eagle that controlled fire, that she had just traded her claws with was the unrefutable evidence that something so absurd and far-fetched was real.
"I see." she began, her face filling up ever so slightly with surprise and intrigue. Then she folded her arms over her chest, beneath her exposed breasts before turning towards Akira and Jun and asking "And i take it that you have come here to set them free?"
As their eyes met the piercing gaze of the Demon Bird, in spite of her stoic face, Jun had to admit that Sirene' light blue eyes were utterly beautiful. It was like staring into two calm lakes yet at the same time they held a haunting and intimidating aura. Then again, the eyes were the windows of the soul and from what she could see, Jun could clearly see that not a hint of fear or dread were present within them and yet this time they held no bloodlust or evil unlike the night she fought the Demon Bird. Was this truly how a proud and fearlesss warrior's eyes were? Was this piercing gaze truly the result of countless battles or was there more to it? And was this truly what Sirene, the true identity of Lisa Kamitori, was? Jun could tell that beneath those eyes, no matter how much they were hidden, the more positive emotions a human could feel were also present. Perhaps the one she used to call friend truly wasn't all that evil as she came to think when they fought.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Akira stating "A friend of us is held there. They used him to blackmail both of us to seek them out. Not only that, but they have a score to settle with Jun, for she was the one who thwarted their plans many months ago, before we even came into this world." with a stern and emotionless tone. However his distrusting and hostile expression betrayed his stoic tone. Even though he had kept and fulfilled his promise of reuniting her with Kaim, the Demon Bird was still the same woman who attacked Miki and her family just to lure him out in battle and who blew up that small town in order to kill him without any regard for all the people that inhabited it, on top of having attacked Jun for the same reason she attacked Miki. Needlessly to say, he had still not completely forgiven her for what she did but unfortunately, despite not looking forward to it at all, they needed her help due to how much the odds were stacked against them.
Sirene in return raised one of her eyebrows in great surprise and astonishment, her eyes widening slightly. Ever since she had come into this new world she had heard a few tales here and there of the so called "Saviour of the Beasts" or "Devil Lady" and how that entity united the two races. Little did she know that it was in fact the same woman that now stood before her, the same woman she had clashed with on that night and the same woman she met at the agency.
She then traced one of her scaled, eagle-like fingers across her jaw and with an amused smirk, she scoffed in amusement and began "Mmmm…. So it was you then. I had my suspicions given how much you resembled my greatest enemy and by extension, Amon." while focusing her gaze on Jun, meeting her golden eyes with her blue ones. The demonic amazon's face softened slightly while still keeping his sternness as Sirene continued "And now i know. You, the strong, proud and beautiful warrior i had the honor to fight eight days ago was the fabled saviour of not one but two races. And i had been completely oblivious to it." actually surprising Jun and to a lesser extent even Akira and Kaim due to how polite and respectful her voice was.
What happened afterwards took Akira and Jun completely by surprise. Sirene removed her finger from her jaw, unfolded her arms and began "And for what it is worth, i apologize. For everything i did to you on that night." while closing her eyes.
Jun's lips parted away in astonishment as her golden eyes began to shake in disbelief as Sirene continued "I never truly wanted to hurt you, Jun, nor anyone else on this world. I was blinded by my own pride, by my desire of retribution for the one i believed took Amon away from me. That was until Kaim told me the truth eight days ago and revealed to me that it was never Devilman's fault for what happened to him."
Akira's face visibly filled itself with incredulity while Kaim merely closed his eyes and smiled. For the first time, he had witnessed the mighty Demon Bird, Sirene, his greatest enemy, apologizing to someone, for the first time showing altruism and unselfishness. But he was still not convinced. She needed way more than just words to prove to him that she was starting to change.
On the other hand, Jun's heart began to fill itself with warmth and empathy and her face visibly softened up upon hearing clear regret and shame present in the Demon Bird's beautiful voice. She wasn't wrong after all. Sirene, her former friend was merely misguided and overcome by pride, anger and retribution. But now, as if witnessing her tears eight days ago didn't give it away immediately, she was seeing her for what she truly was. A woman just as broken as her, someone who had been through a lot and lost many things she held dear.
Instinctively, she called out "Sirene….." her voice now filled with empathy and understanding before the Demon Bird continued "Of course, i do not expect you to understand me nor to forgive me for the pain i unjustly inflicted upon you. But i want you to know that it was never my intention to hurt you." she concluded, reopening her beautiful blue eyes.
Kaim then came at her side and declared "And i can assure you that she will no longer come after you two again now that i have told her the truth. But for now, let us avoid that subject for we have far more concerning matters at hand." he then paused while turning his head towards Sirene and asking "Why have you come here, Sirene? Surely you must have a good reason to have come here."
After exchanging a look with her lover, Sirene declared "I would rather prefer to keep it for myself rather than share it with two people i do not trust in the slightest." causing the frown to make its way back on Akira and Jun's faces.
"I knew it. She hasn't changed one bit." mused Akira in his mind in exasperation. While she may have begun to change, there was one thing of Sirene that hadn't changed: her pride and arrogance. Old habits die hard, indeed.
Jun then sighed before declaring "Very well then. Each one of us has a different reason to be here. Let's leave it at that for now." earning a nod of approval from the Demon Bird. Akira then added in a casual tone. "That said, it sure is nice to have another helping hand given how outnumbered we are."
He was in for another surprise when Sirene closed her eyes and turned her head away from the two devilmen before stating "Helping is not the right word." she then turned fully away before glancing back towards them and declaring coldly "Kaim may regard us as equals but i do not. Once inside the enemy stronghold, i suggest you stay out of my way. As far as i am concerned you two will only slow me down." she then narrowed her blue eyes towards Akira in mistrust and contempt before pointing towards him and declaring "And make no mistake, Devilman. Manipulated by Satan or not, i have not forgotten what happened to Amon because of you nor that you were the one who slew me. My heart may now belong only to Kaim but he too, was a dear friend of mine. If you expect me to get along with you in the near future just because i now know the truth, you are sadly mistaken."
A stern and serious look made its way on the two devilmen's faces at Sirene's hostility, distrust and haughtiness. However Jun could clearly see that it was because her former friend was not comfortable at all with having to work with the one who in her eyes was the means through which a friend of hers was taken away from her, on top of being the same person who killed her in her previous life. And how could she blame her for that? After all, beneath her prideful and cold exterior, Sirene hid her same pain: the pain of having lost the person she cared about the most. Now she knew why even when she asked her to finish her off eight days ago after she had momentarily overpowered her, she harbored those emotions of regret, sorrow and sadness.
Akira on the other hand was annoyed by her behaviour. Even after having learned the truth, she still harbored much animosity towards him and not only that, she even had the nerve to belittle him and Jun and threaten them to stay out of her way after everything she did to him, his lover and the people he used to call family on his original world, including Miki.
So he decided to remind her of one particular detail. As soon as Sirene began to walk away, expecting the rest to follow her, Akira came towards her and placed his right hand on her left shoulder stopping her in her tracks due to how firm the grip was. The Demon Bird promptly turned her head towards him but before she could voice her irritation at her former enemy's insolent gesture, she stopped as soon as her blue eyes met the stone-cold black eyes of Akira which held a gaze so powerful, stern and determinate that it would have stopped a bear in its tracks.
So powerful was that gaze that she coudn't find the strength to speak. Kaim and Jun could only watch in contemplation and silence as Akira began his speech "Don't misunderstand, Sirene. I haven't forgotten what you have done to Miki, her family and all those people in that village you blew up just to kill me." his voice dead-serious with a hint of antagonism. Jun's face visibly frowned in slight shock as she heard what her former friend had done in the past. What she heard on that night was true then. Sirene had indeed destroyed an entire village, without any regard for the people who inhabited it just to kill Akira.
"And make no mistake, the only reason you're not rotting in hell right now is because, for a strange twist of fate, Kaim and i have become friends and i promised him to reunite him with you. He taught me that even among your kind there are good people and i saw for myself just how much you truly care about him." continued Akira with more antagonism filling his voice before it softened up upon recalling what Kaim had taught him. The pachyderm demon standing several meters besides Jun merely watched in silence, a faint smile on his black lips as he heard the respect and fondness the spitting image of Amon held towards him while Jun's face softened as she heard the compassion in his voice. She could only imagine just how much the kind Kaim had influenced him.
Both of them were pulled out of their thoughts by Akira, narrowing his black eyes onto Sirene's unyielding, cold gaze before concluding "You said that you never truly wanted to hurt Jun or anyone else on this world. I don't know if you truly meant it. You might have but i could be completely wrong. What i do know is that you have been given a second chance at life, Sirene, and i expect you to change for the better from now on, wheter you truly meant all that crap you said or not. Trust me on this, because unlike the vast majority of your kind i hold true to my word, if you so much as attempt to hurt my friends or the woman i love again, or even anyone else on this world, i will hunt you down and rip you apart limb from limb." he then inched his scowling face closer to Sirene before demanding "Have i made myself clear?"
Kaim merely closed his eyes and sighed. Of course this was bound to happen. After all, Akira and Sirene had fought each other to the death (well, near death in Akira's case), so there was no way they would have immediately come to terms with what happened and apologized to each other as he hoped. Still, it went much better than what he expected their next meeting would have. If anything, he was grateful that his kindness had influenced Akira and had allowed him to at least spare his beloved Sirene and accept her help against a greater evil.
Meanwhile, Jun coudn't help but watch in a mix of awe and contemplation, her golden eyes slighty wide and with a slight smile on her lips. Despite threatening to kill her again if she would dare to hurt the people he cared about again, in Akira's stone-cold and serious voice she could also hear leniency and indulgence in it. He was willing to give her a second chance, a chance to redeem herself for her past crimes. Of course in part it was due to everything Kaim taught him. Even still, now she was seeing him once again, for what he truly was: a kind, gentle and compassionate soul who tried to see the good in everyone, just like her. And of course, hearing him express his love towards her again, warmed her heart.
For the first time in her entire existence, in spite of her usual cold and emotionless face, Sirene didn't know what to say. Because everything her former enemy said was the truth and nothing could deny his words. Fate had granted her a second chance at life. And after what Kaim revealed to her on that night eight days ago, she learned that ultimately, none of what happened to Amon was Devilman's fault. No, the one to blame was Satan himself who purposely manipulated Amon into possessing the human known as Akira Fudo, knowing full well that Akira's pure heart and soul would have conquered Amon. And no matter how much she hated to admit it, now she knew why Amon coudn't overtake Akira. Because in the eyes of her former enemy in spite of the animosity they still held towards her, she had seen the same light that Amon's eyes held. A light of compassion, indomitable willpower and unyielding determination. The human he failed to possess was just as noble as he was, maybe even more.
And so, after a silence that seemed to last for an eternity, Sirene closed her eyes, smiled in amusement and with an amused scoff replied "Mmph. You have. And as much as i do not trust you in the slightest, there is no denying that i need your help just as much as you need mine." she then reopened her eyes, took a step forward, leaving Akira's hand before turning back towards him one final time and declaring "So be it, Devilman. We have entered an alliance and i am not the type to break it." she paused before her grin grew more before she concluded "Of course after this little endeavour of ours will be through, i cannot guarantee anything. But, for the time being, you may count on my claws for we share a common enemy."
Akira merely nodded and simply stood still, watching as Sirene began to walk towards the direction the fiery humanoid eagle came, while Kaim began to follow her. As the pachyderm demon passed besides Akira, he spoke "Give her time. I am sure she has begun to let go of the hatred and bitterness she held towards you." in an encouraging tone, having seen the hostility and untrust Akira still held on his face. Kaim was confident that the woman he loved had already begun to change. All she needed now, was time, time to prove her former enemies that deep down, in her own strange way, she was a good person.
In return Akira nodded once more before he lowered his head towards the ground in contemplation. He coudn't believe it. Sirene, his greatest enemy, the one who nearly killed him, joining forces with him. Even something so unlikely, had now became a reality. And even though she had a lot to do in order to redeem herself and much time will certainly pass before both of them would forgive each other for what happened between them in the past, fate had once again played its cards. Maybe, just maybe… this could be the start of something more than just an alliance….. maybe…
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Jun's voice, his lover having come to his right. With a positive tone she asked him "Well, what do you think?"
He then turned towards her, meeting her golden eyes before stating "I still don't trust her. Not one bit. Besides, her arrogant and vain attitude still gets on my nerves. I guess some things never change."
Jun sighed at Akira's reply, due to the wariness and hostility he still harbored towards the Demon Bird before she replied "Don't worry. I'm sure that given enough time, she will learn." her voice beaming up ever so slightly in encouragement while leaving Akira's gaze and beginning to walk, following Kaim and his lover.
As Akira began to walk besides her, he raised one of his eyebrows in perplexity and asked her in great concern and seriousness "Jun, she nearly killed you. How can you be so generous and lenient to someone who almost did that to you?"
The demonic amazon in response kept her gaze focused forward, for a few moments remaining silent, due to not knowing how to reply to those words. Then her face filled itself with seriousness and a hint of dejection before she replied while lowering her gaze downwards slightly "Because in her eyes i witnessed the same pain i saw in your eyes and in the eyes of all those unfortunate souls i had to put down. That was all it took for me to realise that much like you and i, she had lost people she cared about."
Akira's face softened up and filled with the same melancholy Jun's face held at the realisation that it didn't take long for her to figure out the true feelings Sirene held beneath her cold and arrogant exterior. Then she lifted her gaze back up and continued "But, as it turned out, she was merely misguided. And wheter you believe everything she said just now or not, including her apology to me, she is correct. We need her help just as much as she needs our own. As you just saw, even one of Satoru's four elemental bodyguards is strong enough to fight evenly with her. If all four of them had attacked her at the same time, she would have died." her face and voice becoming more stern before she lowered her gaze downward again and with an expression of visible melancholy she declared "Just like i almost did, many months ago."
Akira's eyes widened in shock at those words. As much concern and perturbation replaced the melancholy on his face, he asked her in an equally concerned tone "You….. You fought all four of them at the same time?"
As her melancholy turned into sadness upon recalling those memories, Jun answered "I had no other choice. They had kidnapped Kazumi. They used her as a bait to lure me into a trap. But their combined powers proved to be too much even for me. I only survived that night, because the air force intervened and launched an attack on their lair, distracting them and giving Kazumi the opportunity to carry me out of harm's way."
Akira could only listen in sadness to Jun's response of sadness and sorrow, while the same emotions filled his face and black eyes. He had now understood why they needed even Sirene's help due to how much truly was at stake and the odds that were stacked against them. Instinctively he put a hand on Jun's right shoulder and spoke encouragingly "This time, it will be different. This is no longer just your fight, Jun. All three of us have been dragged into this mess in one way or another. " referring to himself, Kaim and Sirene before continuing "Right now, we have to put aside our differences if we want to see the end of this day and save our friends." Jun then turned her golden eyes towards him, meeting Akira's black ones before the latter declared affectionately "And no matter what will happen, know this: i will be with you to the end, Jun."
Those encouraging and affectionate words brought a warm smile on Jun's lips and restored her resolve to fight. And Akira was right: this time she wasn't alone. With her confidence boosted, her gaze left Akira's eyes and she declared "As will i, Akira. Let's go."
Meanwhile Sirene and Kaim who were walking several dozen meters away from the two devilmen had begun to share their knowledge of their enemies to each other when the former revealed to the pachyderm demon her reason for being here.
"Are… Are you sure?!" asked Kaim in disbelief but with a low voice in order to avoid Akira and Jun from overhearing given how Sirene had explicitly expressed her unwillingness to share her reason for being here.
"Yes. Two days ago i stumbled upon her, in the process of recruiting her servants." she began grimly, not even bothering to look Kaim in the eyes "After i cut down several of her minions she revealed to me that our dear friend was held here. That is the reason i came here. To rescue her, out of the debt i hold towards her." she declared, her usual stone-cold voice filling up with concern for her imprisoned friend's wellbeing.
Kaim was utterly shocked to hear all of this. Amon's lover was still alive? She had been reborn too? He coudn't believe it. Could it be that she was captured with the intent of luring out Amon from the start, without knowing that he was overtaken by Akira?
With a grim and serious expression on his face, Kaim asked his lover "Sirene. Why have you not told Akira this? I can understand keeping this hidden from Jun but Amon still lives within Akira. He should at least be informed of this."
In response, Sirene rounded her blue eyes on Kaim's own and replied "You are so naive at times, Kaim. Did you really expect me to forgive and trust the same man who killed me so soon, even after all everything you told me?" with an annoyed and at the same time mocking tone while Kaim simply remained silent with his gaze locked with Sirene's own before she turned her head away from him, staring back towards the path before her, while scoffing in amusement and declaring "A lot of time will pass before i shall even remotely consider the idea of trusting him, let alone forgive him for what he did to me. But, luckily for you and him, for now i shall collaborate with him to rescue Nike, our dear friend."