Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.

Saga 12: Screaming for Vengeance Part 7

Governmental Building, Central District, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

The entirety of Libratium was effectively in chaos. It was inevitable that the Governmental Building itself was swarmed with Loki's troupe wrecking havoc.

Despite being outnumbered 100 to 1, everyone inside the building (including the coffee guy, who pushed off a piano from the rec room and dropped it on top of a winged lion's head and killing it) fought like demons against this horde of morose humor that only the sickest and most vile of denizens of Hell would find remotely funny.

Simply put, this was the Great Liberation ten years prior, only with less blood spilled onto the streets and pavement with less people to hang from the gallows and more shit to clean up after.

Inside the now-barricaded Command Center (the outside halls are swarming with skeletons and winged lions, both trying to break through said barricade), the wounded/mutilated were being treated/mended of their severed limbs and insides with portable MASS packs deployed all over the place. The screens were now mostly static and the speakers, while still playing the repetitive circus music, thankfully was muted due to the substantial damages to the system caused by the chaos happening outside. In fact, the latter was the only positive in their predicament, for despite Loki's "troupe" being individually weak (the winged lions and the bear tumblers are a bit higher on the totem pole of power), they simply kept coming in an infinite mob, gradually pushing them back until there were pushed to where they were at right now.

One of the operators with a severed left arm (currently being stitched back into place by MASS) was standing before one of the consoles that remained in working order until a signal was caught before receiving a report.

"Report," groaned Charlemagne as he sat against the same console where the operator was working at. At his side was the bloodstained [Joyeuse], its unsheathed platinum blade having gone through its share of tonight's carnage.

"... Just received confirmation," said the operator, "... about 75% of the overall civilian population has been successfully evacuated... the reinforcements from Avalon and Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights have arrived to help out our forces... all available Chevaliers and Paladins have been successfully deployed and are currently engaging the enemy... and the majority of the Devil's circus act has been mostly contained to their respective areas... especially coming from the girl with the [Salamander]."

"... Anything else new?" sighed the Premier, relieved that the chaos has somewhat been abated and that his people are safe.

"... Uh, yes," the operator than shows the young Premier an image of a titanic giant of molten earth and glacier whose head is quite literally in the clouds, standing at the edge of the city-state menacingly, with three people trying to reach its land on its chest while evading the volcanic eruption blasted from its left shoulder.

Almost everyone in the room stared stupidly at the absolutely gargantuan giant of earth, ice and fire as it began to walk, trampling everything below its feet of magma and glacier it as if it were mere ants on the road.

"... When did that thing show up?" asked Charlemagne.

"About a minute ago," the operator replied, "... and it's heading to where the civilians are at."

Now there was no protest of what to do next. For everyone, it's act now or die.

"... Everyone," Charlemagne stated as he stood up with [Joyeuse] in hand, "... I need you all to help me clear the way."

"Which way, sir?" asked the coffee guy.

"To the hangar," answered the Premier as his body was then covered in a giant armor of white and gold with a skull-like helmet, "can I trust you on that?"

Everyone salutes as a sign of solidarity.

"Good," spoke Charlemagne as his Relic transformed from a rapier into a bastard sword roughly the size of his own body, "get behind me, all of you."

Outside of the barricade, the barrier of wood and iron explode outwards towards the skeleton horde crowding around it, the shrapnel and splinter scattered about the halls. The charge led by Charlemagne in his [Armor Magic: Undying], bulldozing through the horde of undead and beasts as everyone else following behind attacked the flanks with their low-grade Relics and spells.

As the charge beelined towards the underground hangars, Charlemagne reaches the controls, takes out his card underneath his armor before placing it onto the console, opening the armored doors leading into the hangars. "IT'S OPEN! EVERYONE, COME ON!"

Charlemagne then swings out his [Joyeuse] towards the charging horde of skeleton clowns, sending them back far enough for both him and his subordinates (including the coffee guy) to get into the hangar before the Premier himself destroyed the console outside, shutting the armored doors shut.

"Okay, we made it," Charlemagne heaved out as he dismissed his [Undying], "... start up the hangar-"

The lights and the consoles boot up without anyone present doing anything. "Already done that for you," a gruff voice remarked.

Sitting atop the pile of skeletons and corpses of winged lions was a man with a barbaric long hair that reached all the way down to his waist, dressed in a combination of black armor plates and white military officer's clothing, with the gold-tasseled captain's coat hanging from his shoulders. There were various studs and piercing dotted around his sneering face, and an aura of overwhelming darkness that was emitted from him that surpassed the Devil's outside.

But if anything, the men's morale rose up at the pressure of the sinister aura.

"Greetings, Dark Dragon Eiha," spoke Charlemagne as he and his men knelt before the Dragon in human form.

"Oh cut the formalities, you got people to save, right?" Eiha dismissed the reverence the people gave to him as he jumped off of his corpse pile, "look, I went ahead and got your unit all booted up and even managed to clear out the creeps that came into this place before you guys did because this place is where I like to sleep. So what are you all waiting for? MOVE!"

Upon his command, the people then begin the boot-up sequence for the hangar as Charlemagne walks towards his personal unit.

Unlike the FAMAS and the TALOS that were used by the Dragoons, the Premier's unit was specifically specialized for him and his magic alone. A small, compact pod that is less of a humanoid general-purpose mobile worker, and more of an air fighter that can fly at high speeds. This unit was none other than the PROTEA, or the "Projection Real-time Operative Technical Experimental Augmented reality". Specifically, it "projects" a pilot's magic at a larger scale, and with the Premier's [Armor Magic], it's safe to say that they have a good chance fighting against the giant earth monster.

"Mana batteries installed," one operator confirmed as cylinders of blue, raw mana inserted into the small core pod.

"Fuel capacity, 100%," said another as the fuel lines disconnected from the unit.

"Mana projection units, functional," confirmed another as Charlemagne tested the unit's features before takeoff.

"Afterburners, stable," spoke another as the vents hissed with steam.

"Stabilizers, all green," confirmed the coffee guy, with Charlemagne checking his cockpit's systems being ready.

"Alright, we're clear for takeoff!" barked Eiha, "release the cables and open up the runway!"

The improv pit crew then yanks the cables off of PROTEA as Charlemagne inserts the [Joyeuse] into the hole where the controls are, fully activating his unit as evident by the pod itself facing towards the opening doors revealing an incline that leads out towards he night sky roaring with monsters and thunder alike.

However, upon the hatches opening, the horde of undead clowns and amalgam beasts ran into the vent in a rampage.

"Oh no you don't," Eiha then jumps between PROTEA and the launchpad as he gathers an unfathomable amount of dark energy in a short amount of time with only one of his hands before thrusting it outwards, "[Primal Dark Magic: Expulsion]!"

An overwhelming shockwave of darkness sends Loki's troupe erupting out of the open runway like a geyser made of bone and flesh.

"PROTEA is secured onto the catapult!" one operator confirmed as the clamps locked beneath Charlemagne's unit.

"Coast is clear!" the coffee guy confirmed, "Premier, you're clear for takeoff!"

"Happy hunting," saluted Eiha and everyone else who stood to the side, with Charlemagne doing the same in turn.

As the Premier gripped onto his controls, he then focused up to save his nation before opening his eyes with righteous conviction.

"This is Primer Charlemagne of Libratium!" he announced as PROTEA's engines warmed up and its thrusters and verniers flaring up into bright glows, "PROTEA, launching!"

The catapult lurches forward before speeding the core pod up the incline and launching the unit skywards. Upon reaching the air, Charlemagne kicks the thrusters up into full power, achieving free flight in the air full of [Wyverns] swarming the stormy night skies above.

"Sorry," smirked Charlemagne as he flew towards the flock of monsters standing between it and Ymir, "but I'm afraid this is a no-fly zone!"

PROTEA then begins its dogfight against the swarm guarding their way towards Ymir.

Commercial District #3, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

"SOME-BODY-GET-ME-OFF-OF-THIS-THING-!" Nacht's voice cried in and out as he was being swung by Roland as his weapon, flung around from his ankles like club bludgeoning against Fenrir's diamond hide.

"Error-error-error-erro-" Fenrir glitched out in his own vocal processors while he was being beaten down by Nacht being used as a club by Roland, his words cutting off after each blow, "cannot-compute-error-error-"

"I AM TOO STUPID TO COMPUTE!" Roland yelled from atop of his lungs as just kept going while Luciel's [Cnámh Sith] was already having a hard time bringing her "boy toy" back from the brink every time Nacht's skull collapsed onto itself, "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT COMPUTING IS!"

Fenrir, realizing that fighting against the abnormality named "Roland" was a lost cause, tries to disengage and find someone else to kill.

"Not on your life!" Rinaldo's [Froberge]'s rapier blade lashed out around Fenrir's ankle, "[Mercury Binding Magic: Anaconda Shackle]!"

Just as Fenrir tried to escape, Roland then punches the wolfman right across his face before Roland himself was punched back by Fenrir's own round shield. "I will not submit-"

He was then cut off my Roland ramming Nacht's head into the beast's face, causing the poor sap's entire spine to erupt out of his rectum from the sheer force of the impact that both he and Fenrir received upon contact.

"Eww, that is gross even for me," winched Luciel as she ordered her familiar to put the spine back inside where it came from before using the MASS to correctly realign said bone, "... wonder who's he seeing on the other side. Constantly."

Nacht himself was having an in-and-out family reunion between his actual Faust Family of Demonologists (by standards of Libratium, they're classified as illegal, he himself got his license to practice his speciality of the heretical arts 7 years ago out of his 15 year covert ops at Spade Kingdom) at Hell, and his brother Morgan at Heaven. At that moment, Nacht has becoming the only living being in all mortal planes to have ever visited Hell and Heaven back and forth in rapid succession and come back to the real world relatively unscathed.

And all it cost him was his dignity, which was promptly further shattered along with he rest of his more-than-twice-broken-bones as Roland keeps swinging him at Fenrir, whether the latter was blocking with his shield or parrying it with his [Ares Javelin].

"Situation-critical-" Fenrir couldn't even properly calibrate its own actions anymore against Roland's onslaught, "[Athena Aegis]-compromised-" he declared as the wild Paladin finally broke the round shield made of solid diamond with Nacht's skull (after breaking and repairing it 421 times, thankfully, MASS stymies all long-term injuries, so he himself won't suffer any permanent brain damage), "... error... error... error-"

"DO YOU KNOW WHY KEEP LOSING?!" Roland began scolding Fenrir as he lifted the construct up by his neck, "IT'S BECAUSE YOU THINK! IN A BATTLE, YOU THINK, THEN YOU DIE! THE ONLY WAY TO STAY ALIVE IS TO NOT THINK AND GO FOR IT! SO STOP THINKING SO MUCH..."

Fenrir is then thrown into the air, and as he came back down, Roland already wound back his right leg before punting the bastard across the horizon.

"AND ACT!" he roared in indignation as the Paladin sent him flying all way to the other side of Libratium.

"... Holy crapbaskets," Duhat's jaw dropped before facing Rinaldo, "you sure we were needed here in the first place?"

"Honestly, no," the taciturn Paladin replied, "we're here to make sure that Roland doesn't commit friendly fire."

"A little too late for that, honestly," Luciel remarked as she used Demon Jezebel's [Command Magic] to keep Nacht awake while the MASS strapped to [Cnámh Sith]'s back restored back to full form, "then again, I didn't exactly stop him."

Nacht then spits blood onto the elf Contractor's face while his organs were being replaced with fresh ones (using his half-exploded ones as genetic bases for the copies). "... Why?" he gargled out.

"Because I'm too pretty," Luciel smugly boasted, "that and well, it's fun to haze you. Don't worry, if Mariella joins, I'll relieve you of your ritualistic hazing."

"... Drop dead," the half-dead Nacht flipped off his technically-superior.

Meanwhile, Duhat then turns towards Roland, still standing buff and proud despite having claw marks all over his skin and body. "So..." he asked as Wadjet slithered around Duhat's arm, "... is Fenrir dead?"

"Nope!" Roland confidently answered, "that kick was only a love tap to wake his real self up."

Duhat then looks at the trail of broken-through buildings that Fenrir was sent flying through. "... Sir, are you sure you aren't from Ulster?"

"How can I be Ulsterian?" the Paladin replied, "I'm banned from there, remember?"

How one becomes banned from a country without any defined borders, was an impossibility that only a person like Roland could accomplish through sheer ignorance and madness alone. Apparently, "hunting for sport" is enough reason get a man killed there (Ulsterians consider that act sacrilege/wasting food), but due to Roland being nigh-impossible to control without telling him otherwise (only Charlemagne can say so), a legal ban was enforced by all three nation-states just not to deal with him.

Roland wasn't malicious, by any means. Rather, he a child that stopped maturing in spirit. It is that juxtaposition of why he's so dangerous to everyone, and why MASS was created and pushed for priority production in the first place.

At the other side of Libratium, after getting smashed through several buildings before hitting a wall, Fenrir's mind was drifting across a black lull while the outside world sounded dead to him.

"... What... am I?" he asked as he looked at his fractured reflection on his broken diamond shell, "... am I diamond... or am I... someone else?"

All Fenrir could remember was that he was solely built to kill. Not for someone, nor something. He simply killed, before and after he became know as [Fenrir, the Devourer].

"... Someone... told me..." he faintly recalled a girl's voice, "... that I should... use my powers... to protect-ARGH!

The beast then roars in pain upon hitting a mental block. There was something missing in his soul. There was something that was taken away from him.

... And the rage fueled by emptiness was more then enough reason to keep killing. Keep killing, until he gets that thing back.

"... I'm going..." he snarled as he crouched into a runner's sprint, "... I'm going... TO KILL!"

In a sonic boom left behind himself, Fenrir speeds back towards where he was flung from with a reinvigorated desire to kill that man who stood before him, his smile still ever present.

Still ever present, even after taking the full brunt of Fenrir's [Zeus Cestus] to the face. "NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"

Roland then returns the favor with a headbutt before drawing [Durandal] from his sheathe strapped around his back.

"SO NOW YOU USE YOUR SWORD?!" Nacht pointed out, mostly well as now his legs are now being treated for their compound fractures (over 20 for each leg), "WHY DIDN'T YOU USE IT BEFORE?!"

"Because he's done playing," Rinaldo stated, "contrary to common sense, Roland can only get serious when he actively holds back his raw strength. A disciplinary measure, more than anything. But now he's showing respect to those who he acknowledged as worthy."

"You do realize that you said a whole lot complex words that ultimately mean nothing, right Paladin Rinaldo?" Duhat pointed out.

"That is an apt description for Roland," he remarked as the two clashed blade and diamond, "within all realms of logic, Roland is the constant antithesis."

"Ugh... it's a cold day in Hell when I find someone too dumb for the Black Bulls!" Nacht growled in frustration as his legs are now finally fixed.

Roland and Fenrir finally face off earnestly against each other, one fighting with an empty heart that desired to be filled, while another fought with an indescribable feeling of euphoria that cut him off all tethers that connected him to the material world.

"[Diamond Creation Magic]!" Fenrir declared with a vengeful voice, "[Demeter Harvester]!"

A massive diamond scythe blade was formed from the construct's claws, swinging down at Roland as the latter parried the rain of blades with his cursed Relic, [Durandal]. "COME ON!" he taunted as he pressed his broadsword against the diamond dog's blade, "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!"

"[Diamond Magic]!" Fenrir declared as he then formed a diamond hammer on his left claw that resembled a seaborne [Hippocampus], "[Poseidon Break]!"

The aquatic equine hammer was swung down from above Roland's head, the latter not even flinching at the hammer breaking his skull open like a cracked melon. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" cackled the Paladin, euphoric at the spilled blood coming from his head, "I FUCKING LOVE BLOOD!"

Roland then punches Fenrir across the face with his free hand, sending him skidding across the cracked brick road. As Fenrir rolled back, he dismisses his [Demeter Harvester] and [Poseidon Break] in favor of twin combat handfans with sharpened diamond feathers adorning its construction. "[Dimond Magic: Hera Flechette]!"

Fenrir then swings out both of its arms to unleash a storm of diamond knives towards the group, with the 18 knives thrown multiplying ten times their original value in less than a second.

"[Mercury Magic: Boa Rampart]," Rinaldo then transforms his mercurial blade into that of a wide bastard sword before coiling it around themselves to shield them from the knives. However, outside, the small thrown blades kept multiplying the long they persisted to hit their intended targets, not stopping until the homing knives finally hit their designated victims. "Oh great, self-multiplying throwing knives," the Paladin rolled his eyes, "any of you folk got a way out? This barrier is airtight and I don't think these blades can be stopped through more conventional methods."

Duhat then realizes that Nacht was now fresh and ready to engage, but also the surrounding cloister was dark, meaning that [Shadow Magic] was now an option.

"Even in the darkness, I know what you're thinking," Nacht stated, "I will, on one condition," he declared, "I want Roland to apologize-"

He was the slapped by Luciel across the face. "The man is literally impossible to reason with, so don't make it any harder then it has to be!" she scolded before she looked back where Duhat's voice came from, "hey Duhat, whenever you're ready!"

"You may," he grinned as Luciel used her [Command Magic] to "convince" Nacht to use his [Shadow Magic] to allow everyone to escape properly and allow Rinaldo to let down his barrier.

Upon [Boa Rampart] dissipating, [Hera Flechette] then stakes itself onto the ashen copies of the four left behind my Duhat's [Geb Persona] spell, all 18,000 blades swarming all over the copies before all of them exploded upon the scattered knives being detected within their proximity.

"Where are they?!" Fenrir snarled as he looked around, transforming both of his claws into crystalline wings via [Herme Travel] before taking flight, looking down from above to get a better view, "where the fuck are they-"

Suddenly, a silver thorn vine constricts around his ankle before dragging him into the shadows. Upon reaching the vantablack, he finds himself surrounded by the four in this demonic playground.

"Let's try this again," Nacht's voice echoed in his spell, [Dark Prison Hunting Ground], "but this time..." he then goes into his [Dual Union: Canis x Gallus], a shadowy fusion of "pack" and "call", dressing him in a tricorne hat with a single black feather on it and his feathered cloak unfurling out into two pairs of jet-black wings of pure shadow and his body covered in claws and fangs of numerous shadowy beasts hidden until just now, "... WE'RE PLAYING BY MY RULES!"

The shadow beasts inside his cloak then disperse all over the hunting grounds as Nacht goes onto his fours with his head looking dead towards the construct. Upon surrounding Fenrir from all side, he then orders the dogs to howl. Howls so loud and torturous that Fenrir was left paralyzed as Nacht and his dogs kept belting their sonic screams that echoed throughout the pocket space he'd created from the four people's shadows overlaid on top of each other.

Fenrir covered his ears in vain with his diamond wings, but due to the shadow beasts howling from every possible direction that his ears can pick up, all the covering did was simply provide more surfaces for the voices to echo around, inadvertently turning his own defenses into a self-inflicted echo chamber for his own sonic torture. In desperation, Fenrir then transforms his wings into an urn, for which it then began absorbing the echos into itself, gathering the mana that it can catch into itself.

Rinaldo, Luciel and even Roland tried to break it before it can do anything, but unlike the rest of his spells, this urn was especially durable. Even Roland's retarded strength (regarding both his idiocy and him holding back thanks to unsheathing [Durandal]) couldn't make so much of a scratch onto it.

"He's doing something!" Duhat remarked out before looking at Nacht, the latter nodding in approval, "... alright, let's gamble."

He then begins augmenting Nacht's [Dark Prison Hunting Ground] with his own [Brimstone Magic], applying the principles of [Enchantment] and [Abjuration] to form an emergency exit strategy in case Nacht's efforts weren't enough to keep Fenrir contained.

The shadows began to turn warm, as if almost the whole pocket space was the insides of a stove oven. At the same time, the unbreakable urn is then filled to the brim with absorbed mana as soon as Nacht's throat gives out from screaming so much.

"... Need a cough drop," he hoarsely gagged as his [Dual Union: Canis x Gallus] disappeared.

"Get some in hell," Fenrir declared as his urn began to glow, "[Diamond Magic: Bacchus Fire]."

The glow became brighter as the absorbed mana began to reach critical mass.

"Alright, we're out of here!" Duhat then activates his spell, "[Shadow & Brimstone Compound Abjuration Magic: Ra Dawn]!"

The darkness of the [Shadow Magic] was then inverted into the glowing [Brimstone Magic]'s "light", as the two blasts exploded against each other. As soon as another section of the district was leveled to kingdom come, all four of them come out relatively fine, and so does Fenrir.

"Okay, what the hell was that for?" Nacht asked Duhat, "were you trying to kill us?"

"Ideally, it would've only killed Fenrir, but I guess that's wishful thinking," he answered with a sigh, "[Ra Dawn] copies whatever attribute is compounding from and inverses it to create a counter-blast to null the impact of an incoming attack. A bit of a 'high-risk, high-reward' [Abjuration] spell that got me kicked out from Kouha's workshop for that same reason. ... Okay, the backblast sent over half of the applicants to the MASS before I was kicked out."

The two opposing sides faced each other as they stood on the very same crater that they dug out.

"... This feeling... emotion..." Fenrir remarked, "... this feeling... of fear... pain... struggle... it this... what it means... to be... alive?"

"... You get it, don't you?" Roland smirked, "fighting... is the universal language... of all people..." he heaved out, admittedly winded after he took two blasts to the face before the others (the spell that Duhat set up had failed, forcing Roland to shield them from the blast, but he won't tell), "... it is only when... death approaches... that we come... to an understanding."

Fenrir looks at his own claw, the diamond structure cracking at the seams. "... I understand..." he spoke as he tightened his claw into a fist, "... I will... fight... to the very last."

A surge of mana then begins to emit from Fenrir, the energy outtake so massive that an updraft began picking up the small rubble bits surrounding him.

"[Zeus], [Hera], [Poseidon], [Demeter], [Athena], [Apollo]," he chanted.

The others tried to stop him from doing anything, but for each spell that Fenrir recited, the amount of pressure exuded from the monster became greater and too much to bear for normal people to bear, with even Roland being slightly taken aback by the amount of power coming from him.

"[Artemis], [Ares], [Aphrodite], [Hephaestus], [Hermes], [Bacchus]!" the power welling up within Fenrir peaks to its highest potential, "my last spell... not from who I was... BUT FOR WHO I AM NOW!"

"... Bring it!" Roland declared as he pointed his [Durandal] towards Fenrir.

"I WILL!" Fenrir then lets out a howl towards the stormy skies above, his diamond body expanding and growing into that of a giant diamond wolf the size of a building. "[DIAMOND EVOCATION MAGIC: PANTHEON DESTROYER - ADAMAS]!"

The titanic diamanté beast then charges towards Roland, the latter grasping the former's fangs as they began pushing against each other.

"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Roland roared as he kept pushing, "THIS IS WHAT A REAL FIGHT SHOULD BE LIKE! NO WEAPONS, NO BULLSHIT, AND NO BAGGAGE! KEEP FIGHTING AND STRUGGLING UNTIL ONE OF US DIES FIRST! THAT'S WHAT LIVING IS! TO LIVE DOWN TO THE LAST DROP OF YOUR VERY BEING!"

"SO THAT IS YOUR REASON FOR LIVING?!" Adamas!Fenrir asked as he pushed back harder against the Paladin's raw strength, "TO FIGHT AND DIE IN THE END?! HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?! WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH SUCH TRITE GOALS?!"

"JUST WHAT IS FAME IF NOT THE TRAPPINGS OF THE DISSATISFIED AND THE ENVIOUS?!" Roland asked back, "WHY SHOULD I SEEK FURTHER SATISFACTION WHEN I HAVE HEAVEN HERE BEFORE ME?! WHY SHOULD I FORSAKE WHO MY FRIENDS ARE AND WHERE MY HOME IS ALL FOR THE SHALLOW NAME OF GLORY?!" he pointed out, "TO LIVE IS NOT TO FRUITLESSLY CHASE WHATEVER OPPORTUNITY THAT WILL ALLOW OTHERS TO DEFINE YOU! TO LIVE... IS TO KNOW THAT WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE, AND THAT FACT ALONE IS SOLACE OF IN ITSELF!"

Roland then begins lifting up the diamond beast up by his fangs.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!" howled Adamas!Fenrir, "I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHEN I'M MERELY A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL!"

The realization then hits Nacht, Duhat and Luciel. That thing wasn't Mars that was simply "corrupted", but rather, Loki flat-out created a sapient living being unique from the original.

"A Devil that created a sapient, living being?!" Luciel remarked as she observed the beast's animalistic fear and panic signaled from his eyes of his [Adamas], "... how is that even possible?!"

"Forget 'not even possible'," Nacht stated in surprise, "it's a borderline antithesis! Roland's punch just woke up it's self-awareness! And I think he did it on purpose!"

"Paladin Rinaldo, what's going on here?!" asked Duhat.

"How can a soulless being create... a new soul?!" Wadjet pointed out.

"It's weird! It's weird!" Gimodelo remarked.

"It feels sad... but so... happy!" professed Walgner.

"... Can a creation learn to feel?" asked Slotos.

"Master, we're confused," Plumede pointed out.

Rinaldo shakes his head. "Ask Roland," he answered, "his mind is so detached from this world's standards that I think he's already reached enlightenment that would most likely drive any normal man mad."

Roland, with one last yell, throws the giant beast of diamond into the air. He then reached [Durandal] as Adamas!Fenrir fell back towards the earth, both meeting at the intersection off of the ground, with a single swing of the cursed blade striking the underbelly, sending the monster skidding across the ruins upon rolling across the dirt.

"NO! NOT YET!" Adamas!Fenrir then gets up before it desperately lunges towards the other four with its maws snapping, "I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Everyone then tries to slow down the beast's rush towards them.

"[Silver Binding Magic: Brutal Briar Burial]!" Luciel then cracks her whip across the ground, causing numerous silver vines covered in thorns that bound all four of the beast's legs, but not enough to completely stop his charge towards them as the metallic thorns snapped.

"[Mercury Transmutation + Enchantment Magic]," declared Rinaldo as his mercurial blade dug into the ground as multiple liquid metal chains burst out of the ground and tied down Adamas!Fenrir to the ground, "[Naga Shackles - Heaven's Locket]!"

The diamond beast struggled to break free, with one of the chains snapping its weakest link as it then dragged the earth that it was chained to behind itself to get close towards the four.

"It's not even slowing down?!" Luciel remarked as it tried to reestablish her [Brutal Briar Burial] around the beast's legs again, only for it keep going despite the bindings.

"Not if I have to say anything about it!" Duhat then summons [Geb Persona] to summon Wadjet into the physical world, "[Brimstone Trap Magic: Disaster Set]!"

The ground beneath Adamas!Fenrir turned into a swirling pit of ashen quicksand, sucking in the giant beast as Wadjet instills her own essence into the molten sand.

"[Density Magic]!" the Demon declared as each individual grain of sand inside the pit began to weigh like cannonballs while its cohesion became looser than water, "[Million Shackles]!"

Adamas!Fenrir began sinking faster into the sand pit, as evident of the brimstone sand and grain erupting like a geyser at the sudden increased flow rate.

"NO! NOT YET! NOT LIKE THIS!" Adamas!Fenrir then lets out a ear-rattling roar followed up by its entire diamanté body shining a blinding light that purged all shadow and darkness around them, as if the sun itself had set directly onto themselves.

In the blinding light, Adamas!Fenrir then purges his own head off of his body and decides to make one final desperation attack. Whomever it bit down, that person shall remember him forever as [Fenrir, the Devourer].

"I MAY DIE, BUT I WILL BE REMEMBERED!" the beast roared as it opened its maw mid-flight, with everyone too blinded to see where the beast's head was heading towards.

"LOOK OUT!"

The sounds of crystalline jaws snapping together was heard, followed up by the crunching sound of flesh and bone being torn off.

Nacht himself was shoved aside, and as the glare died out, the Paladin in nude stood before him, now missing an arm.

"... Don't worry," he reassured as Nacht stared at Roland in complete stupor at the disbelief at what he'd done, "... if I find what's left of my arm, I should be able to grow back a replacement with a MASS..."

"... Why?" the Faust Demonologist remarked, "... after everything I've said to you?!"

"Does it look like I care?" he replied, "... no like, seriously, I can't comprehend it."

"... Pardon?" he asked.

"Rinaldo wasn't kidding when he said I was stupid," the Paladin stated as he pried open Adamas!Fenrir's jaw open to collect his mulched arm, "I can't understand good or evil, so I am always open-minded. That's why I go naked. I want show everyone that we're all the same, regardless of whatever choices we make, families born into, or what faith we put our souls into," he stated as [Cmánh Sith] scanned the remains of his right arm before 3D-printing a copy onto his bleeding stump, "I'm strong, but I can't think. I can fight, but all I can do is go forward. I can move mountains, but I can't move the entire world! That's just silly!"

"... So that's why Charlemagne chose you as a Paladin," Nacht begrudgingly understood Roland's internal philosophy, "you're impartial to a fault yet your only course of option is to fight. You're all but his executioner but in name, aren't you?"

"The correct term is 'enforcer'," Rinaldo pointed out as he sheathed his now-bladeless [Froberge], "even before the Great Liberation, not even the Zogratis Clan could break him. For 10 years, they tried. And failed miserably."

"Aw man, I'm not that great..." Roland smiled like an idiot, "... those guys assumed that they could break me, that's all."

Duhat and Luciel then come jogging towards the three before they looked at Fenrir's head. "So, guess that's one down," he remarked as he looked out towards the distance of Libratium still drowned in chaos, spotting a giant made of magma and glacier stomping about where they first started their engagement, "... so, who wants to take a swing at that thing?"

"Gotta take a rain check," Luciel looked up at the swarm of [Wyverns] following a small flying pod zipping across the sky, "Jezebel?"

The silver spider Demon then physically manifests next to the elf, its frontal shell opening up to reveal a shadowy, feminine apparition covered in bits of silver armor with a rose-like motif engraved into the plates.

"We got some annoying flies to catch," the elf gets onto the silver Demon as the latter shoots a metallic web from her spinneret before taking off.

Red Lights District, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

"OKAY! THAT'S THE LAST OF THEM!" Mariella exclaimed as she brought down her [Crystal Kris] down onto the last boney clown that were sent after the three of them.

"Awesome!" Bradamante remarked as she held fast to her planted [Maltet] while Astolfo swung his [Précieuse] in its segmented blade whip form against's Hel's [Black Blade of Punishment] while his [Infernal Blade Rain of Penance] still didn't let up, "I just called for backup! They're on their way!"

The ex-Krypteia looked back at the fight, with the still-nude Paladin held his own against the half-and-half construct.

"[Blacklight Magic: Demonic Gavel of the Guilty]," Hel then drops a hammer of dark light onto Astolfo, but Bradamante assumes control over the spell's trajectory and have it land elsewhere. Hel, catching that, uses his black sword to cut up the hammerhead into numerous disks before kicking them across the battlefield as those spell fragments then turned into entirely new spells that cannot be overwritten by [Maltet]'s privilege. "[Blacklight Creation Magic: Breaking Wheels of the Damned]."

"Aw crap!" Bradamante then pulls out her lance before evading the ricocheting disks of darkness that smashed into whatever got in its way. Mariella slid under one before Astolfo saved her last minute from being sandwiched between two by grabbing her with his whip-sword and pulling her out of the way.

"Thanks," she stated as the nude effeminate man carried her over his shoulder while the disks kept bouncing around the floor.

"No prob, bro," the Paladin grinned before looking down, "okay like, is it just me, or are that half-and-half fuck's spells lingering?" he noticed that the [Inferenal Blade Rain of Penance] weren't exactly disappearing after hitting the ground. He then realized that Hel has figured out the loophole around [Maltet]'s authority being applied only once, and how the construct was making sure to not dismiss his spells without recycling them first. "Holy shitbiscuits, that guy is using the principles of [Evocation] to keep the spells active without chanting, [Necromancy] to turn said spells into pseudo-[Curse] spells to make them linger around, [Transmutation] to transform one spells into another, and [Conjuration] by turning said new spells into [Creation Magic]-adjacent spells to make them stronger than their prior incarnations! Since when did that fuck read our rulebook and already figured out how to cheat the fucking system?!"

Hel then picks up one of the blades from his [Infernal Blade Rain of Penance] as he then nocks it behind his [Pursuing Bow of Persecution], experimenting with his own spells to see what works and what doesn't, with this one experiment being the latter.

"Now it's taking its time," Bradamante pointed out as she observed the construct trying to utilize it's fullest potential with its [Blacklight Magic], seeing it combine its two swords into a deadlier sword, now proving to be a success as the [Black Blade of Punishment] inherited the serrated edge of the [Infernal Blade Rain of Punishment], "... it's learning. We gotta stop it!"

"I'll take the front," Astolfo remarked as he put down Mariella, "Bradamante, watch my ass."

"That's always my job!" said the Paladin as the two then engaged in a melee against the awakening Hel.

Astolfo lashes out [Précieuse]'s segmented blades while Hel returned favor by doing the same with his modified [Black Blade of Punishment], causing the two blade whips to tangle up together into a knot.

"Hey, no fair!" the Paladin complained as he tugged on his sword, "that's my schtick!"

"[Blacklight Magic: Howling Cries of the Abandoned]," the segmented [Black Blade of Punishment] then begins spewing out dark flames from the gaps between each blade, causing the Paladin's blade to heat up to the touch and force him to let go, allowing Hel to take the offensive as the ground was raked with a fiery lash that scarred the every earth itself.

If it weren't for Bradamante using [Maltet]'s authority to remotely pull Astolfo out of the blast zone, then he would had more than his hands burnt.

"Hot! Hot! Hawt!" hissed Astolfo as he blew onto his singed hands, "silver lining, [Précieuse] should be fine-"

A blob of melted slag splashes before the two Paladins. Due to [Précieuse] being only able to self-augment itself for one spell each, dealing with two simultaneous spells after the first was baited to be weak enough to be overwhelmed by the other, it was suffice to say that Hel figured out how to bypass the gimmicks of the Relics that controlled mana itself, mainly by cheating the rules established by them.

"... You've got to be fucking kidding me," Astolfo stared at his now-destroyed Relic, "... THAT WAS MY FAVORITE, YOU FUCK!"

Hel simply swings its segmented blade towards the two, causing them to flee while more [Infernal Blade Rain of Penance] shot after them. Mariella shot an icicle with her [Ice Magic], but the projectile got vaporized upon getting too close towards Hel.

"[Blacklight Magic]," the construct declared as a giant hammer of burning darkness formed above them, "[Demonic Gavel of the Guilty]."

The hammer of darkness landed between Mariella and the Paladins, sending them both flying upon the explosion caused by the spell cratering the earth.

... Oh my god, Mariella thought as she tried to get up, ... why am I so weak? Or rather, why is that thing is too strong?!

Out of the smoke, Hel appears before her, with his sword raised over his head as it was then swung down towards her as she closed her eyes for what's about to come next.

However, upon opening her eyes again, Mariella realized two things. First, she's neither in Hell or Heaven. And second, Hel's sword was gone from his very hands, to both of their confusions.

"That's enough," spoke a man standing behind Mariella, revealing Hama, his gloved hand snatching a paper talisman from the air with his fingers, "you there, girl. Are you perhaps Mariella?"

"... Uh, yes?" she answered.

"Do you know Fana?" asked the priest.

"... She's family," answered Mariella.

"Then that is enough," he then steps forth before throwing a talisman onto Astolfo's chest, instantly dressing him in a black cassock, "all the more reason to end this farce here and now."

"Bro, at least dress me up like a nun!" complained the Paladin, to which Hama promptly ignored as he then scattered numerous paper tags onto Hel, for which upon landing, the tags then explode into blasts of blinding light.

"I heard you were part of the Necromancy course," Hama spoke to Mariella as he produced more talismans from his sleeves, "far for me to say of this as a disgraced man of faith, but I think now it's the best of times to unlock more power within yourself."

"You sure you'll be fine on your own?" asked Mariella as the [Infernal Blade Rain of Penance] fell towards them, only for all of the blades to be sealed with Hama's paper talismans that he'd thrown into the air.

"I'll be fine," Hama reassured as he produced more talismans, "... provided if I don't run out."

"We're helping too!" Bradamante declared as she then planted [Maltet] into the ground once more.

"I'll deal with the stragglers," Astolfo remarked as he cracked his knuckles, "gotta destress after my Relic got melted to slag right in front of me!"

The four then make their moves, with Bradamante and Hama now forming a defensive perimeter against Hel's onslaught, Astolfo beating up winged lions and skeletal bear tumblers by grabbing the latter's spiked ball that it was rolling on top on and using it as an improv weapon, and Mariella, taking a hint from the priest, decides to give her Necromancy one last try.

"Come on..." she begged as a crystal bowl was summoned before her, "... come on, talk to me... please."

Mariella opens her eyes, and now finds herself in a hallway of ice mirrors. She has now entered into the domain of the departed, or rather, her own take of how she internalizes her sins.

A Tulpa, the manifestation of her own thoughts and subconscious that is rooted in her guilt. The next step of this next stage of Necromancy: confronting one's own sins.

"Finally decided to get off your high horse, didn't you?" Mariella's own reflection spoke to her, to which she herself nods, "... hmph, never thought I'd see the day you apologizing."

"Who are you?" asked Mariella, "... you aren't the people I was talking to-"

"OH FUCK THAT NOISE!" another one of Mariella's reflections roared out in merciless fury, "ALL THIS TIME, YOU DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YOU WERE TALKING TO US, LET ALONE YOURSELF?!" she scolded, the reflection distorting itself to seem bigger than herself, "JUST HOW PIGHEADED ARE YOU?!"

"... The dead... never come back..." another reflection of Mariella spoke next to the one in front of her, a brooding and downtrodden reflection of Mariella, "... they lost... their right... to speak... because... you did it."

Mariella fell to the floor in disbelief as tears fell from her eyes. All this time, she wasn't talking to her victims, nor were they the ones trying to kill her several times over during those rituals. Rather, they were pieces of herself. The pieces of her own guilt that had sewn themselves long into her heart.

"I see that look of yours," spoke the first reflection, "you knew all along that you wouldn't be forgiven, no matter how long you try to atone."

"BLOOD HAS ALREADY BEEN SPILLED!" the second reflection roared out, "THE DEAD STAY DEAD, AND YOU ARE THE ONE WHO'S DONE THE DEED!"

"... Cry all you want," murmured the third, "... your actions... were for naught... since the very beginning."

Mariella sobbed without a word. But still, even after knowing that her actions were for naught, she still wished to try. Now no longer being about forgiving herself, but rather, try to make a world where people like her will no longer have to exist.

"... I still want to try," Mariella begged, "I don't want to give up on goodness just because I was in service of evil!"

"Even if it means the world will forget you?" spoke the first.

"EVEN IF THE WHOLE OF CREATION TURNS ITS BACK ON YOU?!" roared the second.

"... Even if... they'll never forgive you?" murmured the third.

Mariella swallowed what little pride she had left in herself. "... Anything," she declared as he bowed her head, "no sacrifice... too great!"

The entire hall of mirrors then shatter, with only the three Mariellas standing before Mariella herself.

"Your guilt has been acknowledged," spoke the first as she then snaps her fingers to manifest a written form before the ex-Krypteia, "a contract, to ensure that you don't turn back on your vow."

"FOR THE PUNISHMENT IS DAMNATION!" roared the second.

"... Sign away..." murmured the third, "... your chance for your sins to be absolved ever again... all in... the name... of the greater good..."

Mariella then bites her thumb open before stamping a blood oath onto the contract.

"The contract has been confirmed," spoke the first as she then transformed into a female Demon with a dispassionate expression, "I am Megaera, the Avenger."

"I AM ALECTO, THE MERCILESS!" declared the second as she then transformed into a lanky, towering Demon with a face frozen in perpetual rage.

"... I am Tisiphone," spoke the third as she transformed into a child-like Demon that resembled Mariella in her younger years, "... the Grudge."

"May your soul never know peace," declared Megaera as she entered herself into Mariella.

"FOR YOU HAVE FORSAKEN MERCY HEREON!" yelled Alecto as she went in next.

"... Walk the path of true atonement..." whispered Tisiphone as she followed her sisters, "... for we of the Sisters of Fury... shall judge your actions... on your journey... henceforth."

The contract that was signed by Mariella then slithered into the pages of her grimoire. In it, a new set of spells were being written, and one last message from her victims that the three Demons had faced her via proxy, with the following written into her grimoire's pages:

"WE WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU."

Mariella chuckles bitterly. "... No way out but as a martyr," she sobbed as her heart felt like if it were covered in thorns, "... why was I scared to die this whole time when Heaven isn't something I deserve?"

The sin of [Martyrdom] has now burned itself into her very being.

"... Come on," she grinned as she instinctively walked out of the barricade and towards the fire coming towards her, "... I'll be your fucking undertaker!"

The [Infernal Blade Rain of Penance] all sped towards her, but rather than simply stab through her before burning her to ash, the blades themselves froze solid and shattering midair before they can hit her.

"... Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Bradamante remarked.

"I think Luciel is gonna be very, very happy that she is told that now has a new 'toy' to play with," deadpanned Hama before he performed the sign of the cross, "... may the Origin have mercy for the lost lamb."

Hel realized that Mariella was now different. He knew that there something inside of her that were controlling, or rather, directing her. Something dark, yet bright. Something so evil that it borders on self-deprecation to the lowliest degree. Something... or rather someone... who has nothing left to lose.

"... Who knew..." cackled Mariella as she was being whipped by Hel's modified [Black Blade of Punishment], her body's external temperatures being so low that it began freezing the rain and the air around her into icicles, to the point where the sun-like flames around them were extinguished by her mere presence, "... that the cold... felt so good?"

Your first labor begins, Megaera declared, hold nothing back.

Her grimoire opens towards the page where the contract has been signed, with the Demon herself now manifesting behind her shadows, overlaying herself to Mariella as she then transformed into a hooded executioner/assassin with a dagger made of the blackest ice.

"... [Union Form: Avenger]," declared Mariella before she broke into a sudden sprint, for which she then flashed face-to-face towards Hel, stabbing her frozen dagger into his chest without him noticing. "[Ice Necromancy Magic]," she declared as she let go of the planted dagger, "[Memento Mori - Oathbreaker]."

Hel then looks down and finds the ice dagger stabbed into his chest. He then breaks down screaming in agony, losing all sense of reason and calm as it then lunged towards the dispassionate Mariella, wildly shooting its [Blacklight Magic] without rhyme or reason in its actions.

QUIT PUSSYFOOTING! yelled Alecto as she forcibly took over Megaera's place, SEE IT THROUGH!

Mariella's hooded attire then transforms into an armored berserker with a pelt of a lion draped over her head. In her hands were replaced with a pair of ice talons belonging to that of a bird of prey's. Without thinking, she then grabs the swung whip-sword of darkness with her claws, the frost quickly traveling up the whip-before shattering it along with Hel's right arm from the frostbite.

"... [Union Form: Merciless]," declared Mariella as she slowly approached the panicking Hel, now missing an arm and unable to comprehend what was happening compared to what was going on with her prior. "[Ice Necromancy Magic: Memento Mori - Vainglory]."

The claws then shoot out of her hands into six boomerang projectiles that flew towards Hel. At first, he tried to shoot away those blades with his [Blacklight Magic], but due to its focus being shattered along with his arm and chest wound, Hel instead opts to flee with the only thing that surpasses Mariella's. Mainly, his speed and aerial superiority.

... Don't let him get away, spoke Tisaphone as she took over Alecto's place, transforming the furred armor into that of a light armor with a monoeye helmet while her arm transformed into a long and heavy-barreled ordinance, ... he still needs to answer for what he'd done.

Mariella then sits down, places her cannon down onto its bipod, and begins taking aim with her headpiece. "[Union Form: Grudge]," she declared as her scoped helmet locked onto the fleeing Hel, "[Ice Necromancy Magic]," the inside of the gun then begins gathering power inside the barrel, "[Memento Mori - Epitaph]!"

A single shot of a concentrated [Ice Magic] shot itself towards Hel's back, hitting him and freezing him solid before the heat of his [Blacklight Magic] could melt the ice, causing him to crash back to the ground into pieces upon landing. After taking the shot, sensing that the souls made to create Hel were now being freed, Mariella dismisses her [Union Form] before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

Good work, Megaera spoke to her host, rest while you can.

Hama then picks Mariella up by her shoulder before supporting her with his own. "... You alright?"

Mariella lets out a dry groan before answering. "... Never in my life, I thought a Demon, let alone three, would end up saving my bacon."

"Well, first time for everything," the priest shrugged as the two found Astolfo standing atop of a pile of corpses and broken bones while the metal sphere he stole from the skeleton bear clown was distorted and bent into a crude club. "Speaking of which," Hama smirked at the Paladin, "how are you doing?"

"Got it all out of my system," spoke the effeminate Paladin, "thanks for nothing, bro."

"Come on," Bradamante patted her partner's back, "Ruggiero outta find a new Dungeon soon as this is all over, plenty of Relics to replace it."

Astolfo sniffs. "... Okay," he pouted, "like that one over there?"

He points towards the giant of molten earth and glacier rampaging throughout the edge of Libratium. Before anyone can comment, a buzzing sound was heard from the Paladins' earpieces.

This is Premier Charlemagne! spoke the earpiece, I'm currently deployed and above the skies where the [Wyverns] are flocking! I got too many on my tail even with Luciel and the others helping me out! Requesting assistance, over!

"Rodger, I'm on my way!" Bradamante then begins riding atop her lance like a broom with Astolfo hitching a ride, "take care of her, alright?"

The two Paladins then fly off towards where the [Wyverns] were at as Mariella's head began to go faint as she then begins to hear someone else's voice. ... Hello? the voice spoke softly, it seems as if you can hear me. If you are, then I need your help: take me to where the serpent claims as it domain and find the man with the power of divine nature in his grasp. He's a friend, and I need to tell him something important about this chaos!

... Alright, I'll bite, replied Mariella, "... hey Hama. Can you take me to where the snake is at?"

"Why?" asked the priest, "need to see someone?"

The girl smirks. "... You can say that."

Hama then piggybacks Mariella towards where the last beast was at at the behest of a liberated soul's request.

Make it worth our time, stranger, Megaera spoke to the freed spirit, the girl has forsaken herself for the greater justice.

Don't worry, the spirit replied to the Demon, this will be vital to saving a lot of trouble later down the line.

Commercial District #6, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

The Magic Knights of Clover Kingdom, the Order of the Spade Cross, the Chevaliers of the White Lily and Black Thorns and one meathead of all meatheads all converge towards the Infinite.

Jormungandr spits out another beam of lightning towards the group, only for Shiren to block it with his [Absolute Bastion] before being followed up by Akane's [Poison Breathing: First Form - Corroding Venom] and William's [World Tree Magic: Mistilteinn Seed], with the former cutting through the snake's armor-like scales while the latter grew itself from the open wound to prevent it from healing itself.

Even after the process was done over countless times, the beast still refused to go down. The more wounds it was bearing, the more angrier it got, becoming less of a rampaging beast in pain to a wrathful god of the skies, as the rain and thunder pelted down even harder with Jormungandr's waning flame burning ever brighter as it was being pushed further towards death.

"WHY ISN'T HE DYING YET?!" Salim remarked as he shot his [Lightning Magic] towards the serpent, "THREE MAGIC KNIGHT CAPTAINS AREN'T ENOUGH TO PUT HIM DOWN?!"

"To be fair, he was called 'the Infinite' by the one who has brought him to this world," Akane remarked as the beast kept flying towards them while Nozel and Nebra were attacking the monster's eyes with their [Mercury] and [Mist Magic] respectively, "that implies nigh-invulnerability."

"Tell us that sooner," growled Nozel another [Silver Star of Execution] towards Jormungandr, only for it to piss him even further by unleashing another storm slash from its sword, "... although in hindsight, it would've mattered little."

"Okay, explain," Dorothy remarked as she tried to measure up Jormungandr to see if she could fit him into her [Dream Magic] while the other kept it at bay, "just how was he created?"

"I think souls were involved in that thing's creation," Mari pointed out as she shook off her possession, "one soul was used as a template, while everything else seemed to..." they hear the beast roar as it unleashed another rain of thunderbolts with its [Breaking Skies], "... go to size."

"Makarov!" Dorothy called out the Vice-Inquisitor from his fight as she held onto her hat.

"WHAT IS IT?!" he barked back as he swung his [Chernabog] against the serpent's seven-branched sword that was swung towards him.

"HOW MANY SOULS DOES THAT THING HAVE?!" she asked, "I CAN FIT AT LEAST 500,000 PEOPLE INSIDE MY HEADSPACE BEFORE I SUFFER AN EGO DEATH!"

Makarov then uses his [Aura Magic] to get a read on how many souls made up the construct. For starters, there was more than 500,000.

... In fact, 500,000 souls only made up a mere quarter of the serpent's length. "... OVER A MILLION!" he answered, "IN FACT, HIS WHOLE BODY IS HEMORRHAGING SOULS WITH EACH WOUND WE DIG INTO HIM!"

"HOW MANY LEFT?!" she asked.

"STILL TOO MANY TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE!" answered the Vice-Inquisitor as he blocked another swing from Jormungandr's sword with his sickle along with Bizon's axe and Nozel's [Silver Shields].

Dorothy could only let out a nervous chuckle at the revelation of her using [Dream Magic] against Jormungandr would end up killing her instantly. "... So, eh... what can I do?"

William then spots [Camelot Mk.I] buried inside Jormungandr's head. "... For now, try to save the two on board?"

"I'll help," Jericho remarked as he flew by, "your vice-captain is in there, right?" Dorothy nods at his assertion, "I'll watch your back!"

The two then make their way towards the ship inside the serpent's head.

"DIE! ALL OF YOU!" the serpent then begins mixing the sake from its gourd with the earth unleashed from its scroll to form a mudslide which was then whipped up into a tornado by the swing of his giant sword, "[STORM MAGIC: SPIRAL SWAMPING]!"

"CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!" David panicked at the tornado coming towards them, "EVERYONE! BAIL!"

They got out of the way of the storm, but however, the storm itself stops in its tracks. Below was Sirona, using her [Water Magic] boosted by Bufu's own mana surging through her bodysuit to hold back the storm from ripping through the walls and prevent further property damage.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" she cried out as the Dragon's raw mana boosted her own [Water Magic] to match Jormungandr's, if only for a little while, "I'LL KEEP THE EVACUATING CIVILIANS SAFE! YOU FOCUS ON SLAYING THAT MOTHERFUCKER!"

Sirona then tosses back the typhoon towards Jormungandr's face, causing him to recoil back from the impact.

With the storm cleared out, Jericho and Dorothy then both make a beeline towards [Camelot Mk.I] as the beast returns to the offensive, spitting lightning and swinging storms out like a cut snake. On the quaking serpent's head, both Magic Knights make a safe landing onto the deck of the ship before they wisely made a quick entry into the main cabin.

"KIRSCH!" Dorothy then ran towards her vice-captain, his head bleeding out from the back.

"Where's the pilot?!" Jericho looked around the cabin as he ran towards the cockpit before forcibly opening the pilot's cabin, revealing the pilot being still alive, trying to get the ship back into the air, "hey man! We have to go, now!"

"Gotta get this ship back into air," he muttered to himself as he kept hotwiring the controls before the lights flicker back on, indicating that [Camelot Mk.I] is back to working order, "awesome! Now where are we?"

"Inside a snake's head," Jericho pointed out as the pilot saw blood and rainwater dripping down the front windows.

"Not gonna bother asking why!" said the pilot as he then pulled the lever back, "WE'RE GOING REVERSE!"

The reverse thrusters then flare out inside Jormungandr's head, causing him to rock his head in pain, causing the ship to lurch deeper into the skull instead.

"BLYAT!" cursed the pilot as he banged his head against the controls, "THE SHIP'S STUCK! AND WE'RE OUT OF FUEL!"

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT HERE!" Jericho pointed out, "THE SHIP'S USELESS AT THIS STATE!"

"... Fine," the pilot then unbuckled his seat before taking out a stack of papers at the glove compartment, "gotta get the test results first."

"Give it here," Jericho then wraps the papers into his Black Bulls robe before carrying the pilot over his shoulder. Upon exiting the cockpit, he then finds Dorothy carrying the semi-awake Kirsch as she carried him over her shoulder, struggling to do so due to her being smaller than him. "Up and at em, pretty boy," he smirked, "about time you woke up."

"... Just get me out of here," he snapped as the four then finally abandon [Camelot Mk.I], leaving it buried inside Jormungandr's head.

However, the outside storm somehow even worsened, now being directly proportional to the beast's rage, the skies now choked to the brim with storm clouds and thunder, the rain turning into hail, each ice ball with sizes ranging from a cherry to an apple, and the winds became too intense for any stable flight, as evident by several [Wyverns] falling towards their deaths, with one landing right in front of them, now as a half-dead corpse that was being beaten to death by the hail bruising through its scales.

"... Okay, we might be in a lot of trouble," Jericho remarked.

Back down at the ground and under the patch of compacted earth created by William's [Magic Warding Ash], the group were forced to retreat lest they get wasted by the hail pelting onto their heads.

"We are officially at the deadlock," William remarked as he looked outside, Jormungandr's roar echoing with the thunder above, "unless we can come up with a plan that won't end up with our heads caved in by rains of solid ice caving into our heads, I'm afraid we are grounded.

"My [Silver Star of Execution] should be more than enough to ward off the hail," Nozel pointed out, "problem lies with the beast itself. I'm not fast enough to go for a dogfight."

"What if we used [Gravity Magic] in conjuncture with my [Compass Magic] to launch all of us?" suggested Letolie.

"And have us all turned into grease spots onto the snake's scales. Brilliant move," Bizon sarcastically clapped his hands.

"Cease all squabbling," Shiren stopped the two from arguing, "it's clear that one idea won't work. So how about instead, we... combine our ideas together?"

"Work together, again?" Nebra remarked with a sneer, "since when did we nobles had to grovel?"

"Would you rather take your chances against that false god of the skies by yourself?" Mari suggested, implying that she would leave her out to die alone.

"Enough," Akane interjected, "the foe has proven too great to face down individually. Either we fight and live together, or we can all die alone in whatever holes we end up."

"She has a point," David sighed out as he shivered at the plummeting temperatures happening due to the altering weather, "... this ain't a game anymore. We gotta go for the checkmate before we get checkmated ourselves."

Everyone then nods silently, realizing that squabbling won't get them anywhere.

"Okay, here's the plan," William then huddled up with everyone else, "Nebra, Salim, Akane, you three provide cover," he stated, "[Mist Magic], [Lightning Magic] and [Poison Magic] would be sufficient enough to create a thick enough fog to prevent us from being seen and not be blown away by the storm outside, right?"

Nebra then looked towards Akane with suspicion. "You sure her magic won't kill us?"

"I can control the lethality of my own toxins just fine, thank you very much," the Hanafudan Chevalier deadpanned.

"And why am I relegated to playing patsy?" Salim pointed out before he was then glared by Nozel's withering stare, "... ah, never mind. I stepped out of line."

"Me, Nozel, Shiren, Letolie, Heracles and Bizon, we're the artillery," said the Golden Dawn Captain, "me and Shiren will create the catapult, Nozel will forge his [Silver Star of Execution] to act as a carrier, and Bizon and Heracles will have to shoot the said carrier itself."

"Doable," nodded Shiren along with everyone else.

"I'll let you take charge, out of respect," Nozel grimaced as he and the others began to get to work.

"Mari, Makarov," William spoke towards the two, "you two are the payload," he ordered, "the latter of you two mentioned something of Jormungandr being made of more than million souls, right?"

Both nod.

"Rendevous with Dorothy," he remarked, "... but after that, you two are going to have to wing it."

"Not the first time," said the Vice-Inquisitor.

"Send us in," Mari declared as the two went inside Nozel's spell.

"What about me?" asked David.

William sighs. "Just in case, prepare to jump in if things go awry," he ordered, "bad luck can only be met with more luck."

"Yes sir," he sighed out before going into standby.

Everyone then manned their assigned positions. Nebra spreading out a thick fog with her [Mist Magic] as it was galvanized by Salim's [Lightning Magic] and thickened by Akane's [Poison Breathing/Magic]. Shiren and William are building a giant ballista made of the former's [Stone Magic] and the latter's [World Tree Magic] providing the flexible sling mount. Nozel created his [Silver Star of Execution] around Mari and Makarov at the highest form of concentration possible. And David remained sitting down, bracing himself for the worst.

"Hey, don't let it get to ya," Letolie reassured her partner, "this is only the beginning."

David chuckles. "... Yeah," he smiled, "guess it's not for me to brood."

"Wish me luck," she then patted him on his shoulder before heading towards where the others were about to launch the two.

The ballista is then loaded with Nozel's spell with Mari and Makarov inside as the payload, with the thick and reinforced fog obscuring Jormungandr's sensory organs. Letolie then summons her [Willful Compass] to calculate the trajectory of where the others were at. "Over there!" she pointed upwards, "78 degrees latitude! Longitude, 138 degrees positive!"

The ballista then adjusts its position towards where the Golden Dawn Magic Knight was pointing towards.

"Good luck," William game the Magic Knight's salute towards the two, for which the two saluted in return, "FIRE!"

Both Bizon and Heracles then punch the trigger with their [Gravity Magic] combined, firing the [Silver Star of Execution] towards Jormungandr. As the two took towards the air, the hail pelting all over them were fended off by the spell's auto-defensive measures, Jormungandr noticed them but by that point, it was alreadt too late.

The [Silver Star of Execution] crashes into the side of [Camelot Mk.I], and allowing the two inside to enter the now-officially wrecked ship. "Sorry about the mess," Makarov stated, "but we're in a rush."

"So, here to get us out?" Kirsch remarked.

"No," Mari remarked, "we're here to finish the fight."

"But you know that my [Dream Magic] can't fit all of Jormungandr!" Dorothy pointed out, "500k capacity, remember?!"

"Who says we have to go to your dream?" Makarov then offered his hand towards Dorothy as he held Mari's, "we're going in from the front door."

Dorothy digests on what he's implying before figuring out what's what. "... You don't mean!"

"Trust us," Mari plead, "it's the only way!"

The witch sighs before taking their hands as the formed a circle. "... Alright," she sighed out, "no risk, no reward!"

"You two," the Vice-Inquisitor spoke towards Jericho and Kirsch, "watch our bodies and see that they don't end up... well, anywhere bad."

"Wait," Jericho remarked, "what-"

"[Aura & Dream Compound Magic]!" the two casters invoke their spell, "[Metaverse]!"

All three fall limp to the ground as their souls enter into a different plane of reality. All three of them saw their own bodies laid before them as their etherial forms began floating throughout this bizarre parallel reality between the physical and the conceptual.

The [Metaverse]. Creation's backstage.

"Holy crap!" Dorothy exclaimed, "this place is bigger than my [Glamour World]! And that thing has an infinite space!"

"There's always something holding up the concept of 'infinity', it's just that we never see it, no matter how deep we dream into," Makarov stated, "come. We're not here on a pleasure visit."

"(Agreed)," spoke Watanabe, floating aside her vessel Mari along with his fellow Four Heavenly Kings, "(every world has their share of monsters)."

"He said he agrees," Mari partially translated. With that out of the way, the three (plus Four Heavenly Kings) all then float down to see Jormungandr's true form: a surge of countless lost souls orbiting around a singular tether powered by a bound man in his late-30s. "All of that burden..." she shuddered in horror she saw Lotus' soul being the one to shackle them to this plane, "... onto him alone?"

The lost souls take notice of them and begin to attack.

"Kill them all," ordered Makarov as he formed an copy of his [Chernabog] with his [Aura Magic], "let Sephira sort them out."

Dorothy wastes no time summoning her companions with her [Dream Magic] before unleashing other wonders from her mind to ward off the phantoms. "Fly my pretties, fly!" she chanted as she then summoned a flock of flying monkeys ridden by emerald knights with shields and spears to attack the ghosts, besieging the legion as the others moved in for the kill.

"[Aura Destruction Magic]!" Makarov then swung out a giant blue flaming slash towards the lost souls, "[Soulburner]!" The flames then exorcised the ghosts en masse as Makarov kept swinging his scythe at the phantoms swarming towards him.

"(Let me handle this)," Urabe then manifests his yumi before nocking an arrow, "([Wind Breathing: Ninth Form])!" he then runs across the air before flipping back and shooting his arrow while he was upside-down, unleashing a deadly cyclone around the arrow that was shot from his bow, sending a myriad of phantoms to their afterlife. "([Idaten Typhoon])!"

"(HEY HEY HEY! LEAVE SOME FOR ME)!" Kintoki then summons his masakiri into his hand, swinging it overhead in a circular motion as storm clouds gathered around himself before he then swung his axe towards the ghosts, unleashing a rain of thunder and lightning that drummed across the aether, purging the stray spirits back to their maker. "([LIGHTNING BREATHING: THIRD FORM - THUNDER SWARM])!"

"(Loud as always, Kintoki)," Watanabe rolled his eyes as he drew his tachi, the kamitsurugi [Higekiri], "([Water Breathing: Eleventh Form])," he then knelt down as the phantoms gathered around him, thinking that he was easy prey, "([Dead Calm])," upon declaration, the whole world suddenly froze as if time had slowed an absolute crawl. At the quiet eye of the brewing sea, Watanabe then stirs he air around him, forming waves across this calm, conceptual sea that he'd laid out before him as it slowly turned into a storm of his own. With one final swing, the calm waters turn into tidal waves that swept away the surrounding spirits, consigning them all into oblivion. "([Tidal Waves])," declared Watanabe as countless spirits just drowned to their second deaths while he then recited a haiku poetry as he sheathed his blade back into his scabbard, "(the calmest of seas/the waves below stir and sleep/before they wake up)."

"(Pretentious as always)," sighed Usui as he then manifested his flaming naginata before twirling and kicking it up into the air like a burning wheel, "([Flame Breathing: Fourth Form]!" his dance then shredded through the phantoms as more and more fruitlessly charged at the warrior only to be exorcised by the cleansing flames emitted from his polearm. "([Blooming Flame Undulation])!" the inferno spun out of control into a venerable firestorm that devoured everything that got in the middle of it, including Dorothy's own summoned minions.

"Hey! Watch it!" Dorothy called out.

"Sorry!" Mari apologized as she cut down another phantom with her [Shien].

As the battle continued on, with more and more lost souls being exorcised, another problem occurred to the three (plus four) of them.

"THERE'S WAY TOO MANY OF THEM!" Dorothy exclaimed as she threw a giant replica of her own bed at the spirits, "WE NEED TO END THIS, NOW!"

"(Don't know what she said, but I agree)," Watanabe stated as he cut down more spirits in rapid succession, "(the enemy general hasn't moved but neither have we)."

"IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS, NOW'S THE TIME!" Makarov roared as his [Soulburner] kept burning more and more spirits alive until they are sent towards the afterlife.

"SHITENNO-DONO!" Mari called out towards the Four Heavenly Kings, "(WE NEED TO USE 'THAT')!"

The four then look around before nodding in agreement. "(... Right. Good as time of any to end this madness)!" spoke Usui.

"(TIME FOR THE KILLING BLOW)!" Kintoki roared out in excitement as he punted a phantom through other phantoms.

"(They've earned the right to witness our true power)!" Urabe declared as he shot another tempestuous arrow towards the lost spirits.

"(Whenever you're ready, dear maiden)," Watanabe nodded as the four gathered before her.

Mari then grabs all four magatama around her cord as all four souls converged onto Mari's own. The Four Heavenly Kings and their designated miko now combine all of their powers to unleash their true form. Their lord that governs the Four Heavenly Kings. The Emperor of all Bushi, the Thunder of War, and the Deva of Divine Judgement.

"[Possession]!" Mari declared as her soul transformed into that of a gallant and towering warrior woman with the four weapons of her retainers along with a sheathed [Shien] being right above her own legendary tachi and one of the earliest kamitsurugi created by Susanno'O, the [Dojigiri], sheathed around her armor. "[Minamoto no Raikou]!" her voice echoed and boomed in a deep octaves akin to a thunder's rumbling, like a deity of the battlefield descending upon the mortal realm.

"HOLY SHIT!" Dorothy exclaimed as she saw five different souls merge into one, brand-new soul without compromising each others' existences, "HOW THE FUCKING DUCK DID ANY OF THEM NOT SUFFER EGO DEATHS?! THAT'S NOT HOW SOULS WORK!"

"... I... have no words," commented Makarov as he backhanded a stray spirit before torching him with his [Aura Magic].

"Whoa! Sorry about freaking out there. Give me just a sec," the Coral Peacock Captain then conjures up a dream replica of [Camelot Mk.I], "we got our ace in the hole!" she then began piloting the imaginary ship herself as she rammed through countless lost spirits before driving up towards Raikou!Mari, "get on!" she cried out, "let's end this shit!"

The possessed warrior nods as she jumped onto the ship's bow. Upon getting on board, the imaginary [Camelot Mk.I] jets towards the core where Lotus was being held. But as the lost spirits tried to follow after the two, Makarov stops them with his [Aura Magic] flaring out azure flames that torched all those who got caught into oblivion.

"Sorry, but you need a ticket for the ride," the Vice-Inquisitor sneered as he volunteered to be the rearguard.

As the flying ship sped towards he core holding Jormungandr together, the remaining spirits numbering thousands all swarmed towards the flying ship. Raikou!Mari then draws all three of her blades, with [Shien] grasped between her teeth, and Watanabe's [Higekiri] and Raikou's [Dojigiri] in her hands.

"([Origin Blade])," she declared before jumped towards the swarm before unleashing an electrified cyclone from the center that formed a giant, serpentine dragon made of neon colors, "([Dragon Spiral - Ascension]!)"

The bright dragon tore through the ghosts as it cleared the way for [Camelot Mk.I] to beeline towards Lotus' soul, with Raikou!Mari herself landing back onto the ship's bow.

"THERE'S MORE COMING!" Dorothy stated as the ship then manifested cannons onto the ship's deck before they fired volleys of magical shots, still not being enough to break through the enemy lines, "WE NEED MORE FIREPOWER!"

Raikou!Mari then sheathes her three blades back into their scabbards before taking out Urabe's yumi and nocking Kintoki's masakiri and Usui's naginata onto the bowstring. "([Origin Blade])," declared the warrior woman as she then shot the two weapons towards the horde, with the axe turning into a giant bear made of pure electricity that clawed and tore through the horde while polearm transformed into flaming tiger that did the same. "([Heroes of the Storm])," the wind fired from the bow then transforms into a peacock with beautiful tail feathers that stirred up a tailwind behind the unleashed beasts, the bear transforming into rampaging thunderstorm shaped like a rampaging deity of thunder while the tiger turned into an armored warrior with a flaming guandao that ripped through their enemies.

As soon as the line is broken through, Raikou!Mari catches both weapons before sheathing them back without wasting a movement.

"BOGEY DEAD AHEAD!" Dorothy cried out as they closed in on Lotus' soul, guarding it being the legion of lost souls that all combined into a giant phantom-like being that defended their core, "ONE LAST PUSH!"

Raikou!Mari smirked. "(And all the more foolish)," she spoke in Hanafudan as she then clapped her hands together into a prayer pose, summoning four additional copies of herself, each holding onto the weapons of the Four Heavenly Kings, while their Emperor unsheathed [Dojigiri] and [Shien]. "([Origin Blade])."

The four then disperse, with the first clone firing an tempestuous arrow towards the phantom from her yumi, keeping it in place. The second jumps from above with her masakiri struck the ghost with an overhead swing before a third raked and swept the back of the stray spirit with her flaming naginata. Finally, the fourth and fifth swung their blades from both flanks, with [Higekiri] unleashing a giant serpentine dragon made of raging floodwaters while the other unleashed a demonic-looking black bull made of storm clouds and a skeletal giant covered in blue flames pounding the spirit with a blazing fist of pure grudge and death.

"([DIVINE RETRIBUTION])!" all five Raikou!Mari clones declared as the spirit was sent flying towards Lotus' soul, shattering the orb upon collision, freeing him at last.

As his soul was freed, he spoke to Mari. "... Tell my family... that I love them with all my heart."

Mari nods as she began to fall back down from the sky, with Lotus being taken by the Angels above towards Heaven.

"... We... we did it!" Dorothy spoke elatedly as the five Raikou!Mari clones after they landed onto the deck of the imaginary [Camelot Mk.I] before all the clones merged back into one Mari as she then collapsed in exhaustion from the strain of the mass possession.

"... And not a moment too soon," Makarov stated as he left the slain spirits behind to rejoin with Dorothy to finally get out of the [Metaverse].

Upon leaving, they see that the beast itself was not actively rotting and the storms above ceding, finally allowing everyone to see the morning sun dawn from the horizon.

"WE GOT EM!" William exclaimed as everyone below cheered.

Above the now-collapsing [Camelot Mk.I], Kirsch and Jericho now see the three wake up, with Mari's whole body too sore to move at all.

"... Everything... hurts... so bad," grunted Mari as she was then carried over Makarov's shoulder.

"We should go, now," ordered Makarov.

"Uh, Vice-Inquisitor?" the pilot pointed out, "what's that outside?"

Outside of Jormungandr's rotting body, numerous stray and bloodthirsty spirits flooded out into the open, now wrecking shit in the now-dead Jormungandr's place.

"... It's still, not over?!" Dorothy's eye twitched.

"Silver lining," Jericho then punches one of the ghosts with his [Stardust Knuckles], "they can still be killed. Again."

"Then we'll do this in style!" Kirsch then unfurls his feathered fan as a storm of flower petals carried all off of the rotting carcass of the giant serpent, "[Cherry Blossom Magic: Spring Trail of 1000 Cherry Blossoms]!"

The cloud of blossoms then tore through the spirits that tried to attack them.

"Not bad, pretty boy," Jericho grinned, "time for me to contribute. [Platinum Magic: Glitter Darts]!"

Jericho then flicks the sharp pieces of metal towards the ghosts during their descent, with Dorothy sending some of them into [Glamour World] where Toto pissed on their remains after her other friends inside dealt with them with ease, while Makarov began to breathe literal azure flames with his [Aura Magic: Soulburner] at the phantoms.

However, it still wasn't enough. Even with everyone both above and on the ground fighting tooth and nail, from the Magic Knights to the Dragoons, they were facing an venerable army that did not fear death. Only pure hate and grudge spurred them en masse like a crazed mob that came from all directions.

"DAVID!" William stabbed a ghost with his [Mistilteinn Blade] while the others fought off the undead legion, "TIME TO TURN THINGS AROUND!"

David gulped as he then reached for his most powerful and the most demonic of his [Dice Magic]. The dice in question was a heavy, metallic dice with spikes for pips and its edges looking like bones. Known to few, David Swallow's family had an ancestor that made a contract with a Devil to push his family out of poverty and into prosperity.

But the price being that whenever this dice lands on 6, ruin shall come to their entire family. The curse that each member had to live with worsened with every passing generation, now effectively being a total party kill. But, there is a 50% chance for a free wish. while there being a 30-35% chance that it will only blast a stronger version of his [Gambler's Fallacy] spell instead. Also, said dice is partially-sentient, meaning that Letolie's [Willful Compass] can't do shit.

"Don't land a six... don't land a six," he plead as he slowly peeled off the sealing tape from the cursed dice, "... don't land a six!" he then throws the cursed dice, "[Dice Curse Magic: Hell's Dice - Devil's Gambit]!"

David prays to both God and the Devil that he doesn't land a six as the heavy dice thumbled across the dirt.

The edges tumble around the dirt, the rim now balancing between a 4 and a 6, causing David to collapse onto his knees in pure panic as the dice stood between the precipice of salvation and total destruction.

A wind blows, and no matter how much the Devil inside wanted to kill everyone around David, a 4 was landed. The Devil inside concedes, now appearing before David to grant his wish.

"State your wish," spoke the Devil, slightly displeased that he lost the bet (again).

"I WISH TO SEND ALL OF THESE STRAY PHANTOMS TO THE AFTERLIFE!" David requested, "LET THEM REST IN PEACE AFTER AN ETERNITY OF TORMENT AND SUFFERING!"

"Done," the Devil snaps his fingers, causing all of the ghosts to lose their hostility and move on en masse towards the morning dawn, "... until next time."

As soon as the Devil returns into the dice, David immediately tapes the dice back shut. Upon the stress and exhaustion getting to him as he returns [Hell's Dice - Devil's Gambit] into his grimoire, he promptly faints.

"... What just happened?!" Nozel remarked.

"... Luck," William the picked up David over his shoulder, being one of the few that knew of the Swallow Family's generational curse, "... luck happened."

As everyone then began to rest after an exhausting battle against both the beast and spirits alike, Hama, carrying Mariella over his shoulder runs up to them.

"Pardon me, but is this where the snake was?" he asked.

"... Yes, brother..." William trailed off to figure out what to call this priest before him.

"Just call me Hama," said the priest, "I came here because of this lass' request."

"Request?" he looked at the girl in confusion, "for what exactly-"

Suddenly, a presence was felt in front of William, resonating with Patry's own inside himself. ... That... that feeling... of warmth! the ghost elf child remarked, ... it... it can't be!

It is, Licht then shows himself before the two, his ephemeral form unable to be seen by others except for the four of them (Hama himself being attuned with the divine was able to perceive there being a ghost, but unable to tell who it is), ... it's been a while, Patry.

Licht! the boy called out as he sobbed in tears after centuries of separation.

Calm down, the Elf Chief spoke to his younger peer, before we catch up, I need to tell you the truth of what happened. Not only to all of us, but the one who manipulated the whole of history that we came to know.

What is it?! the elven boy asked.

Fana's alive, he revealed, and she and her human host are now taking on the Devil who attacked our home 500 years ago as we speak!

WHAT!? Patry cried out, almost instinctively taking over William's body before the latter suppressed him long enough to keep him under wraps.

Also, that's not the worst of it, Licht explained as he then revealed the Wizard King Lumiere Silvermillion Clover himself, floating next to him.

This little revelation causes the boy elf to start foaming from his mouth at the critical mass of information being dumped onto his poor mind, forcing William to intervene in his place.

I apologize, he spoke as he bowed before the first Wizard King, Patry's still a child even after 500 years.

Understandable, Lumiere nodded, listen, it turns out that there were actually several Devils and Demons who all attacked the Elf Village without each others' knowledge. And before you ask how did I know all this...

He turns his back as he lifted up his cape to reveal a large stab wound that was punctured right where his heart was.

... I should know, he remarked, because I was murdered by one of them.

Ymir, the Mountain, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

After flying/gliding across the sky while dodging every pelted molten earth spewed from Ymir's shoulder-volcano, the three parents finally land onto the titan's chest, which one could easily be forgiven for mistaking it for a mountainside.

"Come on!" Dominante then took the lead, "we have to find them before we get company!"

And on cue, a [Spirit Army] spawns from the very ground that they stood on.

"Ignore the golems! Just run!" Fanzell remarked as he swung his [Falchion] to shoot out an array of [Slicing Wind Emperor - Winter Wind] onto the horde, taking out enough for them to slip into the entrance.

The trio then make their way inside, the tunnels themselves littered with traps that included lava pits, ice spices, crushing boulders that rolled after them from behind. Needless to say, the three parents were dancing on the razor's edge just to save the kids from the monster devoured by a bigger and more terrible monster called "revenge".

As they traversed deeper and deeper into Ymir, a beating sound akin to a drum or a heartbeat resonated throughout the cavern walls. "... You know, this ain't my first Dungeon exploration," Fanzell pointed out, "but I don't recall going inside a living being to count as such!"

"... I think that's Atlas," Dominante remarked as she dusted her slightly-singed clothes, "of course that fuckwit is the literal heart of this darkness."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Iris gritted her teeth in bracing for what's coming next, "let's face him."

The three then enter into the very heart of Ymir, the center of this very chamber being a pulsating ball of earth that beat in and out like a human's heart. Embedded halfway inside were the kids, including the headless body of Violet.

"Hang on baby," she gulped, "momma's coming-"

"NO FURTHER."

From the heart of darkness emerged Atlas, half-buried inside his own creation, his human flesh and skin now melded with Smurf the [Gnome], turning him into a misshapen, earthen abomination that that can no longer be classified as "human".

"... You know Atlas, I kinda had a speech saved up for this," Fanzell remarked, "of how that we're going to save the kids from your diabolical grasp just to sound cool," he stated, "but seeing now of what you became? I'm going to have to cut to the chase and kill you right here!"

"THEN COME. FACE ME," spoke Atlas, now completely out of his mind, "FOR I AM THE CREATOR OF YOUR DESTRUCTION. THE ALPHA OF YOUR OMEGA. YOU DARE ASSUME THAT YOU ARE ANY DIFFERENT FROM ME. BUT I, WILL, SHOW, YOU, ALL!"

Atlas then first summons muddy copies of both Lotus and his children from the ground and from itself to attack the three.

"Bring it," Fanzell then whipped out his [Slashing Wind Emperor] around his [Falchion] to tear through the fakes. Dominante then swings her [Hammer Weave] and [Wrecking Weave] to smash through the hordes of muddy copies that failed to fake them out while Iris used her [Wind Magic] fight alongside the two.

"ATLAS!" she screamed as she shot an orb of air to destroy the fakes of her family, "I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!"

Outside, PROTEA approached Ymir after the flock of [Wyverns] tailing him finally cleared off.

"Thank you for all your help," the Premier spoke through his communicator.

No problem, answered Luciel, Jezebel's gonna eat like royalty.

Hey boss, tell Ruggiero to find another Dungeon as soon as this is all over, Astolfo whined, I MISS [PRÉCIEUSE] ALREADY!

Cut it out, Astolfo, scolded Bradamante, sorry boss. He's kinda having a rough day.

"Like everyone else..." sighed Charlemagne as he shifted gear to directly face the giant beast of molten earth and frozen glaciers, "... alright, let's kick this to high gear!"

PROTEA then opens up all of its magic-projection emitters as Charlemagne synchronized his own mana with it.

"I'll only say this once," snarled Charlemagne as he then pushed PROTEA into full gear, pushing the speed gauge past the red as an outline of a giant warrior's armor traced around the pod, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY CITY-STATE!"

Ymir was then punched across its face as a giant red armor with a pair of wings hanging by the rear half-loops materialized out of thin air, as the impact of the punch resonated throughout the whole city, the ground beneath Ymir collapses, a giant hole gaping open where one of the districts were.

"[Armor Magic]!" PROTEA then flew into the same open catacombs where Ymir had fallen into, "[Bringer of War - Mars]!" its right hand then opens and extends outwards into a giant heated claw as it drew a short sword from its left leg-sheathe, ready to take the monster down from the outside.

Inside Ymir, everyone were rattled by what was happening outside. That is, until Fanzell heard his earpiece being hailed by a buzz.

"What is it?" he answered.

Chevalier Fanzell Kruger, apologizes! spoke Charlemagne, but I'm currently engaging the monster without the knowledge of you being inside of there until I picked up your signal.

"Kinda attacking the core right now," explained Fanzell, "mind keeping him busy on the outside?"

Rodger! he answered back, good luck!

Both Ymir and Atlas yet out an echoing roar as they began their two-front war between the leader of a nation and three parents rescuing their children from both.

Magia Academia, Libratium, Spade Kingdom, Dawn

Over the now-totaled campus grounds, Fana and Loki broke through several walls, the latter not being injured in the slightest yet still be pushed back by the volcanic rage that was both Fanas' flames.

"DIIEEEEE!" Fana then grabbed Loki by his head before dragging his face across the floor before delivering a running dropkick towards the Devil which then broke through several classrooms before coming out of the building through the walls.

Son of a whore, since when was that saucy wench get so jacked?! thought Loki as he heard the girl's roar before she came flying out of the same hole where he was kicked out of before delivering another punch towards Loki's face to send him crashing into the earth, sending several of his own troupe into the air upon impact, I knew I wanted so see what her soul is like but this is more than I bargained for!

The Fanas let out another roar as they formed a giant fireball over their heads in tandem with summoning a giant hammer of crystal behind the fireball.

"[Fire & Crystal Compound Magic]!" the two souls roared in unison as the hammer struck through the flames and transformed into a flaming hammer with both weight and magic behind it, "[Hell Anvil - Sindri]!"

Loki screamed in agony as its malleable form couldn't slip out of the blazing hammer as the flames compromised his adaptive form by making it focus on the flames rather than simply getting crushed.

... This is no ordinary rage! Loki thought as he picked himself up running before being chased after the Fanas, this isn't blind akin to an animal's, voracious akin to Atlas' rage against the King, nor is it malicious like my folks back down there! he observed as Loki got a good look into both Fanas' eyes upon the latter catching up without him noticing, ... what is that look?

The Fanas then belch out an engulfing stream of hellfire from their mouth as Loki was sprayed all across the pavement, taking down several others of his own with him in streaks of charred pavement that he was scraped against.

"... Something... something I CANNOT UNDERSTAND!" Loki cried out as the Fanas landed hard onto his gut and started stomping his throat.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUPPPPPP!" Fanas kept stomping onto the Devil's throat in complete rage, "THIS IS FOR EVERYONE YOU HAVE KILLED! THIS IS FOR LICHT! THIS ONE IS FOR TETIA! THIS ONE IS FOR MARS! THIS ONE IS FOR LOTUS AND HIS FAMILY YOU TORE APART! AND THIS FOR ALL THE LIVES THAT YOU HAVE FUCKING RUINED FOR YOUR OWN GAIN!"

... I... I UNDERSTAND NOW! thought Loki as he felt blood well up inside his throat, ... THIS... THIS IS [JUSTICE]! A FACTOR THAT IS BOTH A VIRTUE AND A SIN!

The two Fanas then let loose another roar before bringing their foot down as hard as they could to finally kill the Devil, but Loki grabs them by their ankle at last moment before tossing her into another room, this time, the campus's mile-by-mile sized library, with Fanas' own heat setting everything on fire.

"... [Justice]..." hissed Loki as he walked into the library, "a juxtaposed concept where 'good' is also considered 'evil'... the source... of dynamism behind..." he growled as he drew his [Laevatein] from his top hat. "... A soul," he realized, "... yes, [Justice], a sin that is also a virtue! Give me more! SHOW ME MORE!"

A massive sphere of dark energy is then formed over his his head before he pointed his wand towards the blazing maiden.

"SHOW ME! YOUR [JUSTICE]!" screeched Loki as Fanas then fired back at the spell, "SHOW ME! YOUR SOOUUULLLLL!"

The two Fanas then push back against this spell with their combined magics. However, Loki, still not satisfied with the results, tosses another giant sphere of dark energy behind the one that was already fired to push the Fanas to their breaking point.

"GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME MOOOOORRRRREEEEE!" Loki howled as fired a third sphere of dark magic after the second, "[COPY CHAOS MAGIC: GINNUNGAGAP]!"

The Fanas refuse to yield against this evil. Not when they were so close. So close to avenging the wrongs that were committed by that fiend. So many lives ruined and uprooted by the monster, all for a sake of his own soul.

To hell with that. To hell with all of that. Neither Fana submitted, even as their hands began to blacken and char, even as their fingers began to burn off down to their very bones, even as their nerves frayed off into nothingness, consumed by the infinite paradox that has devoured too many already.

"NO MATTER WHAT, WE WILL STOP YOU HERE!" the Fanas roared together in defiance against the torrent of pure evil that was surging towards them.

"I've been waiting for this," a third voice remarked.

Behind the Fanas, covered in scars and gashes all over his scales and his wings tattered with holes and tears was [Salamander], breaking through the doors behind her upon emerging victorious from the horde of [Wyverns] and winged lions that outnumbered him ten-thousand to one.

[Salamander] has now fully awoken, to their resolve for great [Justice] against this unforgivable evil. "You've finally found yourselves! The true meaning behind [Fire Magic]!" he declared, "to never burn out... EVEN IF THE RAINS AND OCEANS SUBMERGE YOU TO THE VERY ABYSS!"

The [Fire Spirit]'s draconian form then gives out to reveal its true form: a humanoid adult-ish male with tanned skin and a wild mane of eternal fire that was his hair with a pair of horns that stuck out from the top of his head.

"My true name..." the awakened [Fire Spirit] declared, fully reinvigorating the two Fanas back to full capacity, "... IS EZEL!" he revealed, the conflagration erupting around the whole library, "NOW! CHOSEN CHILDREN OF THE FLAMES! SAY MY NAME! TO FULLY AWAKEN TO OUR TRUE POWER!"

"EZEL!" upon the two crying out [Salamander]'s true name, the spirit smirked.

"Now..." the [Fire Spirit] felt a surge of power well up to the brim in his very being, "... our true journey begins!"

Ezel then runs towards Fana holding back he three [Ginnungagap] spells as he turned into a spiraling flame dragon that consumed the two Fanas and the three sphere of evil energy. The whole room turns into a burning pit of undying fire, with countless tomes burned to a crisp and the shelves turned into charcoal, all Loki could do was watch in awe as his heroine finally reaches the climax of tonight's performance.

"So," Ezel asked the two Fanas while he was flying around the library in his flame dragon form, "... how does my power feel?"

"... Like... I know what I'm fighting for now!" Human!Fana answered.

"There's nothing holding me back..." stated Elf!Fana, "... only a conviction... to end this now!"

Ezel then belts out a triumphant laugh at their answers, pleased at their growth for which had made him return to his full prominence. "Now, say it with me..." he spoke with determination, "... OUR TRUE FORM!"

The flame dragon lands back onto the ground in a spire of fire that pierced through the ceiling and past the dawning sky above. Out of the inferno, came Fana, now covered in an armor with an open cleavage window reaching down to her upper navel with a burgundy cape and her hair becoming like Ezel's own, only held back by a headpiece that resembled the [Fire Spirit]'s horns. Her arms now sported a pair of gauntlets with each bearing two giant curved blades coming out from opposite sides of her forearms, almost akin to each of her arms now being a pair of scissors.

"The three souls converge into one..." chanted Ezel.

"To mete out true justice upon the wicked..." Elf!Fana recited.

"As a flame of justice that will never be extinguished!" Human!Fana declared as she crossed her bladed forearms before letting out a roar like a Dragon's, "[Fire Spirit Magic: True Spirit Dive - Brave Union]!"

Loki has now felt something warm. Something warm in his heart as he saw his heroine reach her apex.

"... Let the final act..." the Devil declared, intending to go out in a blaze of glory, "... BEGIN!"

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: ONE MORE PART, I SWEAR TO GOD.

Seriously though, this is easily the biggest chapter I've ever written in a span of three days. I had to cut out some scenes and an entire part just to make sense of the pacing that I have put myself through.

On a more serious note, I'm only writing this much before school starts again at late August so I want to get out as much ideas as possible before I have to wait until Winter Break. I'm using the time I'm given at its mostest, so if one assume that I'm approaching fic-writing like a Weekly Shonen Jump artist, I am because I can't draw for shit, but I sure as hell can write.

Plotwise, all three of Loki's spawns are now gone, and everyone is about converge onto one of the two final bosses, Ymir and Loki.

Regarding how sapient Loki's creations are, I like to liken to Abradolf Lincler from Rick and Morty, as in they don't know who they used to be, and the "new soul" that was created within the fusion, success tended to vary, with Fenrir reaching absolution upon death, Hel begging for his life but unable to say so (since he caan only speak while using his own [Blacklight Magic], bringing his sapience into question whether if he's more of a weapon or a living being), and Jormungandr was an abject failure due to Lotus' influence (and love for his family) being too strong, forcing the other spirits to repress him, ultimately reducing them into a barely-intelligent predatory animal with a human touch of homicidal tendencies.

As for Roland, I have plans for him. Sorry if he kinda stole the thunder, but realistically speaking, he was the best suited for direct combat against a diamond wolf monster (if it weren't for him using Nacht as a weapon and putting him out during most of the fight). At least Nacht got to show off a [Dual Union] that he never got to show off in the manga as of now, and speaking of which, read Page 332 after Tabata's three-month hiatus, and we are officially at ENDGAME, folks.

For Mariella, I turned her into a Contractor and made her efforts to atone for her sins a massive "Bait the Dog" moment. Can't afford to have two (or three) Fanas, so might as well turn her into Nacht's protege (because he could use one upon someone lower on his totem pole being introduced). Also, her spells from her three Demons are symbolic of her being unable to escape from her past, but still striving to do some good in the bleak shithole that she ended up in, kinda like John Wick.

Also, Jormungandr's "raid boss" status wasn't exaggerated. Everyone involved had to pitch in. And conceptually, the [Metaverse] is technically another form of dreams, but unlike [Glamour World]'s sleep-induced dreams of lucidity, [Metaverse] is what happens when someone starts taking too much drugs and goes on a trip. They start seeing shit that they never thought they can see. I kinda based the whole "Creations backstage" off of an idea of all religions being formed somewhat by the influence of drugs and hallucinogens. Spirituality can only be perceived just one trip away.

And finally, Ymir and Loki. The next chapter is going to be all about them, so stick around.

References:

- The piano kill scene is a reference to Sister Cynthia Knickerbocker's "Zombie Kill of the Week" from Zombieland.

- Charlemagne's [Armor Magic: Undying] is based off Arc's overall appearance from Skeleton Knight in Another World.

- Eiha, the Dark Dragon's human form is based off Gajeel Redfox from Fairy Tail, while his outfit is based off Demon King Ziggy's outfit hybridized with Jaguar's military uniform from EDENS ZERO. Also he's named after the dark-elemental spell line that debuted in Persona 5.

- Nacht spitting blood onto Luciel's face is a reference to the IRL Roy Benavidez spitting blood onto a medic's face when he was about to be carried away in a bodybag after being presumed dead before being declared to "we can save him"-status during the Vietnam War. Hence, the moniker, the "Lazarus Soldier" was given to him.

- Fenrir's [Pantheon Destroyer - Adamas] is named after the Greek word meaning "invincible". Concept-wise, it's named after the fictional "13th Olympian", Adamas from Shuumatsu No Walküre: Record of Ragnarok (Fenrir's spells are named after the 12 Olympians, with [Hestia] being sent to Fana before he got assimilated, so I didn't miss any) and appearance-wise, I kinda had the Beast of Darkness from Berserk and Sköll from Kingdom Hearts III in mind, and the invocation for said spell is based of the first verse of Future Dairy's first opening, "Kuusou Mesorogiwi" by Yousei Teikoku/Fairy Kingdom.

- Roland getting his arm bitten off by Adamas!Fenrir's desperation attack is a reference to Shanks getting his arm bitten off by the Lord of the Coast in One Piece and a real-life mythological gag where Tyr had his arm bitten off my Fenrir (after getting bound by Glephnir, which is also subtlety referenced to various [Binding Magic] spells trying to slow him down during his last charge).

- Mariella's new Demons that she was guilt-pressed into forming a contract with are based off the Three Furies of Greek Mythology, with Megaera being the one who punishes adulterers, oath-breakers, and thieves; Alecto punishing ones who committed "crimes of passion"/reckless idiots; and Alecto punishes murderers in the name of all those who they've killed unjustly. Her new sin [Martyrdom] is reflective of how now she's being "judged" by the Furies without any chance for recourse. Also, them being based off Mariella's reflections via Tupla is a reference to Kage (aka, Daiji's inner Devil) from Kamen Rider Revice.

- Jormungandr's "true form" within the [Metaverse] is based off the Demon Tide boss from Kingdom Hearts III.

- Mari's [Possession: Minamoto no Raikou] form is based off Nioh 2's Raikou with the weapons of her Fate/Grand Order iteration.

- [Dice Curse Magic: Hell's Dice - Devil's Gambit] is based off [Dark Master - Zorc]'s card effect from Yu-Gi-Oh.

- Atlas' being Ymir's core/heart is based off the Heart of Darkness from Darkest Dungeon.

- Charlemagne's personal unit, the PROTEA (Projection Real-time Operative Technical Experimental Augmented reality) is based off a Core Fighter concept from the Gundam franchise. [Bringer of War - Mars] is named after Gustav Holst's piece written during 1914-17, "The Planets" (which in turn is named after the Roman God of War), and it's appearance is a hybridization between the [Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements] from Code Geass and Fate/Grand Order's Ares from Lostbelt 5.2. Also, yes, I had Kingprotea from Fate/Extra CCC Foxtail in mind when it came to the kajiu battle aspect between it and Ymir.

- [Fire Spirit Magic: True Spirit Dive - Brave Union] is a love letter to Cardfight! Vanguard. It's name is a combination of the mechanics from two United Sanctuary Clans, Royal Paladin's [Brave] (abilities that are unlocked when having 3 or less cards in your hand) and Gold Paladin's [Unite] (abilities that are activated when units are brought out to the field from the deck). It's appearance is based off [Salamander]'s new namesake, specifically [Salvation Lion, Grand Ezel Scissors]. Speaking of Ezel, the name means "hoing abroad/departure" in Hebrew, symbolizing both Fanas' "departure" out of their metaphorical darkness of their own pasts, with [Salamander] acting as their light forward.

Hypothetical Voice Actors:

- Charlemagne: Yuka Terasaki (JPN), Shannon Emerick (ENG)

- Eiha: Wataru Hatano (JPN), John Eric Bentley (ENG)

And as usual, please leave a comment or a review, for I'd love to know what my readers think!