Prologue: An end, but also a beginning.

"So, ultimately, this is all you have to show off?"

The mocking words of a black-haired man echoed across the battlefield.

"If only you humans weren't this unforgiving!"

A gorgeous, angel-like man answered, exhaustion painted on his face. He had six ethereal wings of lightning on his back, showing how much magical power he had accumulated over his life. His eyes were glowing a beautiful silver hue.

Only silence was the black-haired man's answer.

"Was it necessary to kill both of our factions!? Answer me, Elliott!"

The cries of a woman with horns resounded. She was a stunning demon beauty, with red scales growing on the back of her hands short of covering her fingers. Her tail resembled a lizard, and her eyes had a reptile-like sclera.

Elliott, who stood in front of them triumphantly, was considered a hero by the human faction. A monster capable of erasing any and every enemy of the human faction.

He, a knight who was bestowed the true power of the world, was the pinnacle of strength. No one could survive his onslaught, to the point that a title was given to his unparalleled power: The Unforgiving Elliott.

"With this shameful display, did you expect us to ignore this? You destroyed the balance first."

"Was it a question of balance? LOOK AT THIS!"

The angel pointed at the mess behind him.

Thousands of corpses laid behind him, all with wings and horns.

No one was spared a tragic end. The land was reddened by the blood of Elliott's victims.

Many spots on the battlefield showed signs of slashes, and even though the place was a mess, the sky was clear, the sun shining brightly, as if to mock the couple.

Both of them were in bad shape, breathing roughly and shaking slightly from exhaustion.

"Was the union of us angels and demons so dangerous for you humans to act against us? If you truly cared for balance, you just had to kill us both!"

The horned woman wasn't able to maintain her calm.

"I guess you are right, I could have."

Elliott mocked her with a self-satisfied grin.

"You know, since the beginning, humans tried to separate from you both. But it was impossible. As you said, balance is everything. But now that you have committed that outrageous act, time as come to bid our farewell to both factions. Humans will finally reign supreme through me!"

"Now that we are the last standing, do you intend to finish us?"

The angel asked with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

"I'm curious, you see. I want to see you struggle a bit more. I especially aim to destroy that tiny life you are protecting because it is the source of this conflict to begin with."

"YOU WOULD DARE!"

The demon woman couldn't contain her rage anymore.

"Orianne, wait."

Hurriedly, the angel stepped in front of Orianne before she could move.

"Don't try to stop me now! I need to bring that man to his knees!"

"Listen to her, Reon, the last remain of the angel faction. What can you do anyway, besides dying by my hand. At least die with a smile, since I'll be killing the three of you together."

Disdain was hidden between those words, masked partially by the mockery.

"You truly are one of the worst humans to have walked on this world!"

Orianne was looking at Elliott with pure hatred in her eyes. The tiny life she was protecting inside her was her everything.

"Orianne, we have one opportunity, a fraction of time when he lets his guard down completely."

Reon whispered in her ear.

"Reon? What are you going to do?"

"I will sacrifice both of us, for our only hope."

A pained expression slowly formed on Reon's face.

"No, you can't do that to him. We vowed to give him a wonderful life. Do not force this on him, please."

Orianne's face started to tear up.

"So you knew I would do that in the end... I should have expected this from the demon's heiress."

A strained smile appeared on his face.

"We are going to seal him with our factions' combined power. My 'Life', and your 'Death'. With this, it should give a good headache to Elliott and the human faction for the next hundreds of years. It will also successfully send our hope for a peaceful future."

Reon explained calmly.

"Are you done? I don't have the patience to look at you two disgustingly hugging each other any longer."

Elliott was getting ready to end them both.

"I'm sorry, Orianne. The least we can do is send him away, give him his name, and our combined power. I'll also give him the Key."

"He will be fine, he will be strong, way stronger than us."

Reon felt a sense of satisfaction at his words.

"Do you realize what you are saying?! He will grow up without us! Who knows when he will be born, either! It could be tomorrow, in 10 years, or even after Elliott is free!"

Orianne was inconsolable.

"I do understand, but do you wish to sacrifice him before he can even see the world? Believe in him. I do hope he won't get the same bad temper you have."

Joking around during his last moments, that was how he wanted to go.

"I choose to believe you, just as much as I believed in you until today. Our child is going to have a challenging life, like no others."

"If you give him the Key, I have to give him the Shackles, do I?"

"Yes, until he needs it, he will not know about anything related to us. This will be our last struggle, for him."

Reon's body began generating a silvery aura.

"I'm ready, Reon, give Elliott everything you have!"

Once her mind was made up, a golden aura enveloped her body.

"This is it, I suppose. The end of both angels and demons. This was fun, old friends."

Elliott smirked at them. He placed his hand on the sword's hilt and slashed at both of them.

Their last fight finally began.

Orianne and Reon both dodged the slash with precise movements.

This was not enough to end their lives, and Elliott knew it too. These two were the strongest of their factions for a reason.

He chased after them, until Orianne separated from Reon.

Orianne tried to attack Elliott's left side, but she was countered before she could damage him. He sent her a few meters away with a kick. She repeated that a few times until Reon moved.

He was waiting for that fraction of time, when Elliott would let his guard down.

"Inferno Claws!"

Orianne spoke the name of one of her abilities, unleashing a pair of fire claws capable of melting the strongest of metal.

She attacked relentlessly, but Elliott was unshakable. She attacked until a small crack appeared on his armor, which made him look away from the battlefield for a split second.

Reon took this chance to prepare his magic as secretly as possible.

When finished, he managed to enter the blind spot of Elliott's right side. Without a sound, he threw with a monstrous dexterity a few lightning feathers in from his back.

Elliott managed to defend with his inhuman reflexes the feathers, except one that was hidden behind another feather. It didn't damage him whatsoever, but the point was not to cause damage.

That feather was the catalyst needed to activate the seal, once stuck on the victim, there was no more escape.

Reon began to chant rapidly the words needed to activate the array. It was spoken so fast that it was impossible to understand a word.

"What did you do?"

Elliott was feeling dizzier each time Reon ended a sentence, feeling his magic diminish.

"We are going to seal you, Elliott, until the day someone strong enough to defeat you shows up. The humans will lose their leader too, this is great, isn't it?"

Orianne was enjoying the angered expression on Elliott's face.

"You had THAT readied? I thought by killing the leaders of both factions, I would be freed from this bothersome spell!"

It was Elliott's turn to lose his temper.

"This is the end, Elliott."

Reon finished the magic array.

As soon as the magic circles in Reon's hands were completed, a giant circle appeared in the sky, above the battlefield.

All the corpses started fading, emitting particles that were absorbed by the magic circle. Even in death, their comrades were helping them.

Reon and Orianne weren't exceptions.

"Divine Magic: Life & Death!"

As soon as Reon spoke those words, a giant pillar of silvery and golden light crashed on Elliott. His body was soon enveloped by layers of crystals.

"Mark my words, both of you! Even in a thousand years, death will never have me! Your struggle is useless in front of me! I am the str-"

These were his last words before being sealed. A total of 1.618 layers of crystals formed slowly around him.

"It's done, come Orianne, we have one last task before departing too."

Reon extended his hand to her.

"Yes, our child's name. But how do we make sure he knows it?"

Her trembling hands showed how terrified she was of dying.

"With this."

He was confident Orianne would like it. In his hand was a bracelet with the name of their child engraved on it.

"He will inherit a part of us. He should know about it."

Reon's silver hair fluttered slowly from the last breeze they were able to feel.

"I see."

Orianne smiled and closed her eyes while hugging Reon.

Her golden hair that stopped at her waist swayed the same.

"Our child will be named..."

Both disappeared, their remaining voices speaking at the same time:

"Orion."

Their child and his keepsake would one day return to the continent.