Chapter 30: Lit Fuse
(OST: "Destiny Awaits" = Bleach Soundtrack)
Finally, after many more dozens of minutes of marching, the unlikely alliance of two demons and two devilmen had arrived near Satoru's stronghold, now revealed to their eyes after they came out in a clearing, after passing through several trees. The building stood ominously with the four stories tall tower with a green roof dwarfing all the small trees that surrounded it, under a very dark sky. The setting sun and the occasional sounds of thunder only served to make its appearance all the more ominous.
Kaim, the first to come out in the clearing, flanked on his right by Sirene, spoke "This must be it."
"Yeah, i can see it alright." came Akira's voice followed by him and Jun emerging out of the last trees of the wood behind them. Coming at Kaim's left, he added "Fancy place he's got for himself, i'll give him that." while folding his arms over his chest. He had to admit it, it was one HUGE mansion. And he doubted it was built just for one rich man or family. No, a mansion this size must have been built for a precise purpose, far beyond satisfying the greedy needs of whoever milionaire or rich family that might have owned it.
Looking at it in contemplation and worry, Jun chimed in "I wonder where all those people are being held." with much anxiety in his voice. Akira then turned towards her and spoke "In an underground basement, most likely. And judging by the size of it alone, i think it's safe to say that there must be at least dozen of dozens of prisoners held within. Maybe even a hundred or more." the seriousness in his voice earning a concerned and apprehensive frown on Jun's face. Umberknownst to her, he knew from experience what such sinister buildings hid within their deepest basements, having seen for himself the many cells and torture chambers housed within the Anti-Demon Special Corps's Center of Biological Studies, the same research center in which Mico was held and tortured, as well as their Headquarters, a gigantic skyscraper that was the unholy mix of a gothic castle and modern military installations. It was in that monstrosity of a building that Miki's parents were tortured to death.
Kaim then spoke "If that is the case, it means that there must be just as many of those vile beasts guarding it." an equally concerned frown making its way on his face. Sirene then took a few steps forward and the pachyderm demon and the two devilmen could only watch as she closed her blue eyes and her two yellow antennae that sprouted from her forehead began to wave around. She was using them to detect just how many beasts and demons were guarding the mansion, due to them being the catalyst of some of her psychic powers. But at this distance, she wasn't able to tell them apart from each other aside from their power.
After a few more seconds she gasped slightly in surprise, reopened her eyes and her antennae stopped moving. Kaim then approached her and asked "What did you sense, Sirene?"
Not bothering to turn around, she replied emotionlessly "At least 70 of them. Most of them are concentrated in the front of the stronghold and are not much to speak of, but i could sense seven presences that are much more powerful, each one more so than the other."
Behind her stoic face, Jun was greatly impressed. To be able to precisely detect so many creatures with such precision was something she had never before seen any beast do. She was also greatly dismayed to learn just how much they were outnumbered.
"Five of them must be Satoru and his four elemental bodyguards." she declared, her anxiety growing even more.
"What about the prisoners? Did you sense them?" asked Kaim, causing the Demon Bird to glance towards him and declaring "I could not. If they are indeed held in an underground basement, at this distance i cannot sense them. It is much more difficult for me to sense presences that lurk under the ground."
Surprised at having learned of a limitation of Sirene's powerful psychic abilites and grimacing even more, Akira turned towards Kaim and asked "So what's the plan? We can't just charge in blindly with so many of those creatures waiting for us." while unfolding his arms from his chest.
The pachyderm demon in response, having already come up with a sound strategy, replied "That is why you, Jun and i will attack from the front." earning a perplexed look on both Devilmen's faces before he turned towards Sirene and added "That way they will send most of their forces at us, giving Sirene the distraction she needs to quietly infiltrate the stronghold from behind undetected, find the prisoners and free them."
While the Demon Bird nodded, a concerned look formed on Jun's face before she spoke "Are you sure, Kaim? Even if we can handle their troops with little effort, Satoru's bodyguards are all extremely powerful, not to mention those other two strong presences Sirene felt. She may be capable of fighting one of them on equal footing but what if two or three of them attack her at the same time?" earning a surprised look on Sirene's face. She didn't expect Jun, who was her enemy only a week ago, to already express concern for her safety, whether it was only because of how much they needed her in the coming battle or not.
Before Kaim could reply, Akira put his right hand on Jun's left shoulder and, meeting her golden eyes with his black ones, he declared "We have no other choice. If we want to save all those people, it's a risk we have to take."
Kaim then chimed in "He is correct. We know nothing of the stronghold's layout. However, Sirene's psychic abilities should allow her to easily figure out where the prisoners are being held, once inside."
Akira then removed his hand from the demonic amazon's shoulder, turned towards Sirene and with a slight smile, declared "And besides, it takes a lot more than just a couple of fireballs to take her down. You saw for yourself how hard to kill she actually is."
In return, the Demon Bird, scoffed in amusement, closed her eyes and returned the smile due to the respect in his voice. It was the first time she had heard her greatest enemy speak highly of her. She then replied in amusement "How considerate of you, Devilman." before reopening her blue eyes, turning her gaze towards Jun and adding "And you need not worry about me, Jun. If you were able to defeat those beasts on your own, who is to say that i, the mighty Sirene, cannot do the same?" while running her left yellow eagle-like clawed hand from her chest, tracing the fingers on and in between her breasts, down to her toned abdomen.
For a split second, Jun was mesmerised by the Demon Bird's beautiful and confident voice and the sensual way she had run her clawed fingers on her equally beautiful, slender and well toned, athletic body. Nonetheless, after sighing in slight annoyance at her display of arrogance and confidence matched only by her haughty voice, Jun replied "Just keep in mind that all four of them can control a specific element. You already saw how that eagle can manipulate fire. The other three can control ice, lightning and wind respectively."
Sirene's smirk left her lips upon learning the abilities the other three Crusaders wielded. A part of her was concerned of the extent of the strength of those abilities. And another part of her was eagerly looking forward to fighting these beasts, in particular that dark red feathered humanoid eagle who had made a complete fool out of herself, in order to return the favor with extra interest.
Nonetheless, she nodded before declaring "I will keep that in mind." then as she began to walk away, she stopped and after a few seconds of pondering, decided to share a piece of information to the two devilmen as a way to thank them for what Jun told her "Oh, and one last thing." she began before turning towards them "Once you make it inside, beware of the demoness Lilith. She is one of the demons who have allied themselves with those beasts." earning a surprised look on both Akira and Jun's faces.
"How do you-" began the spitting image of Amon before Sirene quickly interrupted him "I fought her yesterday. It was from her that i learned of this nefarious alliance's existence and the location of this stronghold. If you do come across her, do not let her illusions deceive you. Many demons have foolishly tried to claim her for themselves across the eons of time only to end up becoming her slaves."
Akira and Jun both frowned at what they had been told. A demoness with illusionary powers among their enemies. Just when they fought things coudn't get any worse.
"Great, as if we didn't have enough things to worry about already." mused Akira sarcastically in his mind. Having already fought another demoness with extremely powerful psychic powers, the one and only Psycho Jenny and losing badly to her, he was not looking forward to run into this "Lilith". And umberknowst to him, the only reason she and her underlings didn't slay him on the spot that day was because Satan had explicitly ordered her not to.
Jun on the other hand, was even more concerned than Akira because the memory of what Asuka did to her when she conjured that illusion of the fabled plane of heaven before she used her psychic powers to paralyse her and rape her, thus receiving the final data she needed to complete her metamorphosis into the God Child, was still firmly rooted in her mind. She just hoped that this Lilith's powers weren't as powerful as the woman who had manipulated her all along.
Nonetheless, she broke out of her recollection before she replied "Thank you for telling us. We'll make sure to keep our guard up at all times." earning a nod from the Demon Bird. And with that she turned away from them, spread her white feathered wings and declared "For now i shall make my way to the back of the stronghold and wait. As soon as you three begin your assault, i shall quietly make my way in. And Kaim…" she paused earning the pachyderm demon's attention.
"Be safe. If we are lucky, we shall reunite inside the stronghold." the surprise on Kaim's face turned into a heartwarming smile upon hearing the concern and care in Sirene's beautiful voice. He then nodded and let out an approving "Mmm." before the Demon Bird took off and silently flew at low altitude, dissappearing through the trees on the right of the mansion in order to quietly flank it and make her way into its back entrance, if it had any.
(Soundtrack ends)
As Akira and Jun also watched in silence as Sirene dissappeared through the trees, both devilmen were happy to hear just how much she cared about Kaim. Once again she had showed herself to be fully capable of feeling and expressing such positive emotions.
Both were pulled out of their thoughts by Kaim declaring "Well then. If there are no more questions, i would suggest we make our move. Follow me." he ordered, his voice becoming unusually stern and commanding. And so the two devilmen began to follow after the pachyderm demon, making their way towards the main entrance of Satoru's hideout while at the same time a bolt of lighting struck nearby, illuminating the ominous building that stood before them.
At the same time, Sirene had made her way towards the back of the hideout and perched herself on a branch of a tall tree, its dense foliage hiding her from two humanoid crow beasts who guarded the back of their master's hideout. As she hid herself and waited for the signal to infiltrate the stronghold, she took the time to think back to what Kaim revealed to her on the night they were reunited, after they shared their first kiss.
Flashback
(OST: "Never Meant To Belong" = Bleach Soundtrack)
She coudn't believe what she had just been told.
Had Satan truly planned from the start to sacrifice Amon, instructing him to possess the human known as Akira Fudo with full knowledge that he would have been overtaken for the mere petty reason of having befriended that human and wanting it by his side after humankind would have been wiped out?
Unsurprisingly, Kaim watched as pure fury and outrage filled every inch of the face of his beloved Sirene and she balled her clawed hands into fists with so much force that her claws actually dug into her palms, drawing blood.
"All this time…. He knew it would have happened and yet, he sent him anyway…" she began, her voice filling up with even more rage with each word but at the same time with grief and sorrow.
"He….. HE THREW HIM AWAY! FOR A MERE HUMAN!" She screamed in outrage while slamming the back of her left fist on the ground, actually creating a small crater into it due to her immense strength. Kaim then could only watch as Sirene closed her eyes and fell on her knees again as well as on her hands. Her rage gave away to sorrow as tears began to fall once again from her closed eyes onto the ground, her face facing down towards it while her wings once again fell on the ground.
Instinctively, Kaim began to walk towards the woman he loved and stopped mere inches away from her and looked in commiseration and empathy at her emotional breakdown which wasn't too different from his own when he learned the truth from Akira.
Trembling like a leaf and crying even more, Sirene weakly continued "A….. All this time….. It… It was never Devilman's fault…. I… I….." she coudn't find the strength to speak and instead squeezed her eyes even more as the tears kept coming even more. She attacked that human girl's family….. She blew up that village just to kill the one who in her eyes was responsible for taking away Amon from her. But now, the truth had been revealed to her. Satan was the one at fault for having willingly sent him to the Black Sabbath, instructing him to possess that human, knowing for a fact that Akira's pure heart would have overtaken him. He was the one entirely to blame.
Blinded by revenge, Sirene went after that girl's family simply because they were associated with the human who took over Amon and destroyed that village full of innocent people in an effort to kill Devilman simply because they happened to be in the way. But she didn't care, for the only thing that mattered to her was killing the one who took the first person she ever developed feelings for. But now….. after learning the truth… for the first time in her entire existence…. She felt it…..
Regret and guilt. For those lives she unjustly took simply because they were in the way. They may have been weak and fragile creatures….. But they were still sentient beings like her. And they had nothing to do with all of that. And that meant…...
"Kaim….. Forgive me… You…. You died because of me…" she began to speak again, her voice filled with even more pain, sorrow and grief as soon as it dawned on her that Kaim's sacrifice had been completely in vain from the start, for Devilman was never the one truly responsible for Amon's fate.
"No." he declared simply without any hint of doubt in his voice, causing Sirene to lift her head up again, meeting the pachyderm demon's yellow eyes which were just as full of resolve before he continued "None of this was your fault, Sirene. You simply did not know the truth. That is all there is to it." trying to reassure the woman he loved.
But even still, would it have made any difference? Would Sirene have believed such a thing at the time? No, of course she woudn't have. She was far too prideful and arrogant to believe something that she would have considered so preposterous. There was no way that Lord Satan himself, the one who betrayed God, the creator of the universe, his own father just to save the demon race would have stooped as low as callously sending Amon, one of the strongest and most noble warriors of demonkind to certain death for the mere petty reason of wanting a human by his side, one he had somehow fallen in love with, at the twilight of the human race. And yet, it was the truth and nothing could deny it.
"You fool…" began Sirene, lowering her head towards the ground again, surprising Kaim slightly "Even if i had… I…...I…" She tried to speak, but coudn't. She didn't know what to say. She was too heartbroken by everything: by Amon's fate, by the unjust violence she had inflicted, by what happened to Kaim because of her.
As her voice cracked completely once again and turned into incomprehensible wails and cries of sorrow, Kaim lifted his left forelimb off the ground and gently wrapped it around Sirene pulling her into an embrace, while resting his head on her left shoulder. She gasped as soon as she was pulled into the tender embrace, her tears momentarily dissappearing. Kaim then closed his eyes and spoke soothingly "Whatever you may believe you have done, know that i will never blame you for everything that happened. As i said earlier, i would gladly give my body to you again, a million times if i have to. It never mattered to me that you had such feelings for Amon. All i ever wanted was for you to be happy. That was the vow i made to your mother when she died, birthing you. And that vow brought me here."
Sirene's eyes widened up and all the pain, sorrow and grief left her at once, affection and warmth replacing them. She then called out "Kaim….." her eyes shaking, filled with nothing but passion before the pachyderm demon declared "Fate has granted us a second chance, Sirene. Now that the truth has been revealed to us, we now have the possibility to let go of the past, to let go of the hatred, of the resentment, of all of it. And i swear it to you, you will not be alone in this journey. I will always be with you, to bear all your doubts and insecurities, to be your strength in the times your resolve will waver." he then paused, tightening the embrace even more before he finally declared affectionately "I love you, Sirene. I have and will always love you. And this time, i will be with you to the end, until death will inevitably set us apart again."
Those four words took away the last remnants of the sorrow and grief in the Demon Bird's heart and replaced them with joy and affection. She finally returned the embrace, placing her hands on Kaim's body, rubbing her face on Kaim's armored but at the same time smooth skin, crying no longer tears of sadness and sorrow, but tears of joy as a heartfelt smile formed on her lips before she closed her eyes slighlty and declared "Kaim… I love you too. And thank you…." her voice becoming even more beautiful than that of an angel due to the amount of affection and love it now held.
End Flashback
Closing her eyes, Sirene put her left hand on her chest, near her beating heart as she recalled those words "Letting go of the past, of the hatred, of the resentment, of all of it…." now a great doubt lingered in her mind. Could she really find the strength to do that? To forgive the one who unwillingly, was the means through which Amon was stolen from her, the same man who killed her?
"Kaim…. You went through so much in order to protect me. You always believed that deep down, i was a good person in spite of my nature." she mused in her mind, realising that Kaim always believed in her, no matter everything she did. And if he had found the strength to forgive Devilman, who was to say that she coudn't do the same?
She then reopened her eyes and looked at her left hand's claws, recalling all the battles they had seen and all the blood they had spilled. The glory of battle was what she lived for. The glory of having defeated many powerful demons in combat and having survived many harsh and bloody battles was what defined her pride as the self-proclaimed strongest of all demonesses.
But right now, for the first time in her existence she questioned it. What did it amount in the end? Everything she believed in was a lie. And through that lie, she dishonorably used her powers to harm and kill innocents, all in order to get her revenge on the man she believed took away the only demon that before Kaim, managed to conquer her heart. She threw away her honor for a lie and in the end, not only her life but the one of Kaim.
But now, after having reflected on her past for an entire week, she had found a new reason to fight. And Kaim was right. For some strange reason, fate, in its unpredictability had given her a second chance. A chance to become what she never was in her previous life. Something more than just a ruthless, bloodthirsty but also proud and honorable warrior.
"I promise you, Kaim. I will do everything in my power to redeem myself for all the crimes i commited in my previous life. It is the least i can do to repay you for everything you have done for me." she declared with resolve and determination while closing her hand into a fist. Even though a lot of time will pass before her resentment towards Devilman will dissappear completely, Kaim's words had opened Sirene's eyes and had made her realise how wrong she was all along. And this time, she will not let it all be in vain. Never again.
And with that, she retreated into her silence, awaiting for the signal to infiltrate the stronghold from the back.
(Soundtrack Ends)
Meanwhile Kaim, Akira and Jun were quietly making their way to the front of the mansion, the outer wall,surrounding it now revealed to their eyes. Now they were hidden behind several trees at the right of the road that lead to the main gate of the massive building. They could see several of those humanoid crows patrolling the skies above the mansion but apart from that, not a single creature lurked in the courtyard.
"I have a bad feeling about this. This has "Ambush" written all over it." remarked Akira, knowing far too well from all those years of experience that it was way too quiet for comfort, given that their enemies were waiting for them.
Jun at first didn't reply and simply weighted her options. After much thinking, she came to the conclusion that assuming her Giga Form was out of the question because she would have made herself an easy target for the enemies that greatly outnumbered them and even if she could easily crush the many lesser beasts, the four Crusaders's elemental powers combined would have been too much even for her, not too mention how much her massive size would have slowed her down.
No, she needed her speed to keep up with the agile crow beasts, their masters and whatever type of demon would also be participating in the coming battle.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by Kaim declaring "Even so, we should not have too much trouble with those creatures. Of course, once their leaders will enter the battlefield, it will be a different story." he then turned towards the two devilmen and added "Hopefully the tide of the battle will change as soon as Sirene will find and free the prisoners. But until then, our goal is to keep most of their forces busy until she finds where they are being held."
Akira and Jun both nodded, seeing that there was no other way. The pachyderm demon then turned back towards the entrance of the mansion, commanded "Follow me. And whatever you do, stay close to me." before he sprinted out and charged towards the entrance of Satoru's hideout, flanked on his left and right by the two devilmen.
However, a dozen meters before the entrance Akira stopped in his tracks as soon as he stepped onto something strange. And as he looked down, his eyes widened, upon seeing that the object he had stepped on was a dark green circular device.
"Shit…" he muttered, causing Kaim and Jun to turn towards him and their eyes to widen as well. Immediately, Kaim yelled "DON'T MOVE!" as he and Jun went after him but then…
Inside the hideout
The quiet that lingered in the hideout ever since Satoru and his henchmen made it their lair was interrupted by the first of a series of loud explosions that were heard by every single demon or beast that inhabited the massive building.
In her tower, Nike was violently pulled out of her silent meditation by those sounds. Immediately she sprang on her feet and walked to the only window of her prison, gasping at the sight of the massive explosions that, umberknownst to her, were triggered by a series of landmines that had been laid by the previous owners of the research facility disguised as a mansion.
"Amon….." she called out, her green eyes widening in realisation, while putting a hand on her bottom lip, as relief began to fill her soul. He had finally arrived to rescue her.
Meanwhile, in the lower basement, all the imprisoned beasts were startled upon hearing the explosions, their sounds having been loud enough to even reach the underground dungeon.
Takeshi and Mico both gasped in astonishment before sharing a look. Could it be what they both thought it was?
"Mico… he's here." proclaimed Takeshi, his voice and face filling with relief and elation. Even though he had only been held held captive for half a day, he could only imagine how much others like Mico or Hitomi had suffered in their much longer time of imprisonment without any food or water for days.
The green haired young woman, smiled in joy before she turned towards the cell in which her yellow eyed friend was held. She then spoke "Hitomi, help has arrived! I told you he was coming to save us, remember?" trying to cheer up her feline friend.
But there was no reply much to Mico's dismay.
Indeed after what she had been forced to do, she hadn't spoken a single word. What's more the corpse of the beast she was forced to kill had now been pulled deeper into the cell, most likely due to Hitomi not wanting her friend to see her feasting on it in order to regain her strength.
A look of dejection formed on the scarlet eyes young woman's face at her friend's silence. And she coudn't blame her for it after the horror that had been forced upon her. But now it wasn't the time to give in to despair. Soon they were going to be freed. And their captors will pay dearly for what they did to all these people, she swore.
Finally, in the mansion's main office hall, Satoru and Atun along with Lilith and the Crusaders of Fire, Ice and Lightning were discussing the recent developments as well as Higa's earlier skirmish with the Demon Bird when the sounds of the multiple explosions came.
With a smile making its way on the Demon Hero's lips, Atun chuckled evily and declared "They have come, at last." looking forward to finally settle his eons old feud with his greatest rival.
Turning towards his boss, Kotura asked "That being said, were those landmines really necessary, boss? 'Bit overkill if you ask me." not understanding why his boss didn't bother to remove them.
Flashing his trademark sadistic smile, Satoru, seated on a chair with his hands clasped, replied "You can thank Miss Izumi for them. She kindly went all out to get her hands on them after succesfully infintrating back into her previous position."
In response, the Crusader of Ice simply smiled slightly and adjusted her glasses before saying "You know what they say Kotura: it never hurts to be too prepared."
The tall brute shrugged before admitting "Yeah. Gotta say though, those humans are even dumber than i thought. How in the hell did they accept you back in the military after more than four months of abscence is beyond me. Didn't know they were that desperate." deriding those humans for their naivety and stupidity.
Izumi's smile grew even more before she replied "Desperate times require desperate measures. Our first campaign left the Eastern Army in shambles. You would be surprised to know that they even went as far as recruiting several beasts to fill their ranks. Reinstating my position as Colonel was as easy as stealing candies from a child, given that they weren't even aware of what i truly was four months ago. And that is something i am planning to take full advantage of." she paused, before turning towards her master and concluding "With your permission, of course."
Chuckling darkly, Satoru replied "All in due time. Your knowledge has truly done wonders for us, Miss Izumi. Without it, we would have never managed to come as far as we did four months ago, before that woman ruined everything." complimenting his subordinate while at the same time expressing his frustration for the thwarting of his first campaign.
"And indeed, without you and your knowledge of that fallen organization, we would have never managed to learn of this abandoned facility's existence and make it our haven. But i have another task for you." he began, praising Izumi even more before ordering "Go fetch Mister Kitano and relieve him of his duty of guarding the prisoners. I believe it's time for him to get his fill, along with Mister Kotura's." earning a satisfied smile from the tall, brutish, grey haired man, eager to fight not only the Devil Lady again but the fabled Demon Warrior Amon.
As Izumi simply nodded and headed to the underground basement to take her colleague of Wind's post, Higa stepped closer to his master, bowed slightly and proposed "With your permission, master, i shall go with Kotura and Kitano. With the power of the three of us combined, we shall smithe those fools and make them regret ever challenging us."
With an amused chuckle, Satoru replied "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Mister Higa, but you seem to have forgotten that our friend here, Mister Atun, has explicitly expressed that he wants Amon all for himself." while extending his right arm towards the Demon Hero in human form seated on a chair on his right, with his disguised consort sitting on his lap.
Then Kotura came at Higa's left and placed one of his large hands on his left shoulder before adding casually and with a wicked grin "You're not the only one who wants to have fun, you know. 'sides you already had plenty of fun with that so called "Demon Bird"."
Atun and Lilith merely watched in amusement with a smirk on their lips at the antics of Satoru's henchmen. They really weren't all that different from many demons they had fought with or against, what with the eagerness to fight and spill their enemies's blood along with the enjoyment of the battle. It really was ironic that these creatures once used to be nothing more than puny humans.
(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho Unreleased menacing Track = watch?v=R0OPoCExwr4 )
Sighing in defeat, Higa replied "Very well then. I shall remain here to guard Master Satoru then." while glaring in mistrust at the Demon Hero and his consort, earning an amused chuckle from the latter.
As Kotura took his hand off his colleague of Fire's shoulder and took his leave, Atun clasped his hands together and with an amused chuckle that matched his consort's own, he stated "Things are about to get really interesting." curious to know just how much these so called "Crusaders" would measure up against Amon. He then eyed the Crusader of Fire, who went at his master's side one last time before focusing his senses to measure his power. He was surprised to sense that out of the four, he was the most powerful. After hearing that he had clashed against Sirene herself, one of the most renowned warriors of his kind, at first he was surprised to hear that he had given her a hard time. But after having analysed his strength, Atun was impressed to find out that his level of power greatly surpassed that of many warriors he had faced. He now looked forward to measure his strength against him, after he would be done with Amon.
Alerted by the explosions, a horde comprised of more than 30 of the crow beasts and Lilith's servants began to make their way into the courtyard with a few of them emerging from the mansion's entrance door, others hovering in the sky with their wings and a few others landing or coming out of the roof of the massive building, gazing at the massive 15 meter tall fires and smokes that the exploding landmines had caused.
Much to their great surprise, through the fire, they spotted three shadowed figures marching towards them, the one in the center much larger than the two that flanked it. Soon afterwards, a sphere of purple energy that surrounded the three figures blew the flames away, revealing none other than Kaim, flanked at his sides by the spitting image of Amon and the Devil Lady.
The two devilmen and the pachyderm demon stopped, after coming out of the fire completely unscathed, gazing at the enemies that stood before them, the purple energy with the properties of lightning generated by Kaim crackling around them. As it turned out, before any of them could get hurt by those explosions, Kaim had managed to create a barrier with his energy that shielded them from the blast of the landmines and the resulting fires.
After seeing just how many of those crow beasts and grey demons stood in front of them, growling, hissing and with drool coming out of many of them's mouths, Kaim declared "Remember, our goal is to keep them occupied for as long as we can. Once Sirene is inside, we shall storm into the stronghold from the entrance right in front of us." earning a hum of approval and a nod from both Akira and Jun before both of them narrowed their eyes on the enemies in their path and assumed a stance, preparing to charge towards them.
From the tower of the mansion, Nike could only watch in awe from the window of her prison as not only her beloved Amon but also another friend of hers and a statuesque demonic woman that almost looked just like him emerged from the blazing fire unscathed.
"Kaim… he is here too? And who is that woman?" she mused in her mind, her green eyes shaking in a mix of disbelief and astonishment. She could not believe how similar that demoness (or at least she believed her to be one), closely resembled her beloved Amon. And she was overjoyed to see that even the pachyderm demon had come to rescue her.
And so, she put her hands together, linking her hands's fingers with each other, closed her eyes and prayed for their safety.
"Amon, Kaim….. Please….. Be safe."
(Soundtrack Ends)