Chapter 13 - "Evil shall be perished."

Act 1 - Reunion

The demon armada had finally made it to the site of the heroes' battle. Thanks to their advance unit commander, Lawrence, who shifted the terrain to entrap their enemies, and the villagers in a deep crater, the demons had the high ground advantage. Despite this, the Demon Lord, Damian still hadn't ordered his troops to attack. He was still amused by the line up of people in the area.

"Ironblade's Hero, Sahnper's Hero, and my other half. All of the pieces have conveniently gathered into this one place, I suppose I'll have to thank that human for this," Damian said as he shifted his gaze to the people below.

He then hopped down onto the sunken low ground. He landed with grace as his cape followed along behind him. Ren and Arthur merely looked at him, not making any sudden movement. Damian's gaze however, was focused on his sister at the other end of the field.

"Karis... have you been well?" he asked as he mustered his voice to sound as if he had been worried for his sister.

"Never been better," Karis coldly replied.

"What's with that attitude? I was worried you know? I've been looking for you for a long time."

"Oh save me the hypocrisy. Since when were you genuinely concerned about my well-being? All you want is my Demon Lord Essence."

"While that is true, you are still my dear sister. We grew together under the care of our late father. Even if I do want to gain ultimate power by taking your essence, I still care for you, and therefore want your life to be spared."

Damian held out his right hand to Karis in the distance, as if beckoning her to come over and take it.

"I'll give you one last chance. Fight alongside us, and I shall unlock the seal of your power. Together we will take down these heroes, and take over this world as our people's new home," he offered.

"Not a chance," Karis replied immediately without even a hint of hesitation.

"Why are you so stubborn?! Do you not want to use your power to fight for the sake of our people?"

"I am fighting for our people, although our goals aren't exactly the same. You wish to subjugate the entire human race and take what is theirs. I wish for a world where both of us can live in harmony, and that is what my master promised me!"

Damian closed his eyes in disappointment as his offer was strongly declined. He held his hand down in defeat, and took a long sigh.

"I thought you were better than that. Well, whatever, you had your chance..." as Damian trailed off, he quickly bent his knees and sprung them forward, leaping towards Karis with blinding speed. He held his arms out, pointing his claws towards Karis' chest.

Just as Damian's hand was about to make contact with Karis' skin, a black metal object blocked his path. The impact let out a loud clang, echoing throughout the enclosed battlefield.

"Heh, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy," Damian said as his eyes met with Ren who was the one that blocked his incoming attack. After successfully catching the attack, Ren swiped his umbrella, forcing Damian to jump back. He landed a few feet away from Ren's position.

"Quite audacious of you to attack her with us around," Ren said.

"I mean you could've attacked me instead while I'm targeting someone else. So why didn't you?" Damian replied.

"That someone else you were targeting is my wife so of course I'd jump in to the rescue."

"Wife? I see. It seems what I've heard about your craziness were no exaggeration."

"So you've heard about me. Oh wow, the Demon Lord knows about me, I'm getting excited," Ren replied sarcastically.

"A hero with attitude, at least you're different from those spineless fools hanging over there," Damian said as he turned his head to the three people hanging on poles, carried by his army.

"Don't turn your head away from your opponent!" Ren exclaimed as he leaped in a flash, stabbing his umbrella forwards as he targets Damian's chest. However, true to his reputation as a war god, Damian easily deflected the attack as he withdrew his crimson blade.

Both Ren and Damian formed a grin on their face as they recognize their enemy's capabilities.

"Hmph, I applaud your skills, but this is a war. Can you fight me as you protect those people behind you!" Damian screamed while he pointed his sword towards Ren. The demons took the gesture as a sign to attack as they all hopped down onto the battlefield from above. The ground shook violently as the stampede of more than a thousand demons bulldozed through the barren crater.

"Newbie! Get to work!" Ren ordered Arthur who was still pinning down Lawrence from the battle earlier. He leaped into action, quickly going over to the girls to protect them.

"Kurumi! Get on the evacuation! Unfortunately, we won't be able to have them leave normally, so use the portals and bring them to our home!" Ren ordered once more.

"Are you sure?!"

"Get on with it!"

"Right!"

As he was communicating with his group, a volley of arrows came raining down on his general area. Damian moved out of the way, leaving Ren on his own in the center of the arrow strike.

"It's raining huh. Good thing I have something to deal with that."

Ren opened the folds of his umbrella and brought it over to his head. The volley of arrows came crashing down onto the umbrella's canopy, shattering on its metallic surface and bouncing onto the ground. As the wave of arrows were about to end, the demon archers shot another one without delay, leaving no time for Ren to do anything else.

As the second wave of arrows descended upon him, Damian dashed through, dodging every single one of them, and got into point blank range of Ren.

"Mind if I share?"

"Tch!"

Damian swung his sword, aiming for Ren's neck, but Ren was able to duck in time before he got hit. Due to the trajectory of the slash however, he was forced to briefly let go of his umbrella, which was still able to block for them but if he doesn't retrieve it soon, he will lose the protective cover of it.

Damian didn't miss the opportunity to strike Ren again, bringing back his blade and targeting Ren's neck once again. Fortunately, Ren was able to re-equip his umbrella, blocking the strike with the handle.

The second round of volley was finished, and now the demons were preparing for the third. However, seeing the slight delay in their actions, Ren used the chance to make his move. He quickly aimed the tip of his umbrella to Damian, then shot a full powered AP shot towards him. Damian was able to deflect the shot with his blade, but damaging him was not Ren's idea in the first place. As he shot the blast, Ren carried his legs off the ground and let the recoil send him flying backwards. He landed safely on his back and did a roll to regain his posture.

"You guys are fucking annoying!"

Ren used a miniature version of the wind blast from earlier to swiftly knockback the waves of archer demons before him. The damage was significantly less, but it did the job well, buying time for Ren to reevaluate the state of the battlefield. However, the demons were very coordinated. A squad of buffed demons came in from behind him, swinging down their maces, not only that but Damian was also charging towards him from the front.

"Crap! I have to gamble! Come on, work!" Ren said as he attempted to use his time stop ability again. He was hesitant to use it as it didn't work somehow when he attempted to dodge Lawrence's attack so it really was a gamble whether it will work again.

Fortunately, luck was on his side this time. The familiar scenario unfolded before him whenever he used his time stop ability. Everything around him came to a halt... or not exactly as there was still some minimal movement, but Ren can still move freely. The swinging blade and maces were still moving although their movement seemed like it's getting slower and slower every second in his perspective.

"I see... I think I have a good understanding of what my ability is now..." he evaluated as he leapt out of the way of the incoming attacks. He was still not confident on when time would return back to normal so he opted for the safer option instead of going in for the kill.

Soon enough, the flow of time had returned to normal, as Damian's blade clashed with the other demons' maces, cutting them cleanly without much effort. The henchman demons backed away in surprise as they see their supreme commander suddenly attacking them.

"Interesting... interesting indeed! Yes! This is the fight that I've been waiting for!" Damian exclaimed in joy as he once again rushed towards Ren.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Karis, and Arthur were teaming up, driving the demons back as Kurumi led the villagers onto a portal that she summoned on the nearest wall of the crater. The Anthro-Demons held back on attacking Karis as they still looked at her with respect, and therefore avoided confronting her directly. Arthur, on the other hand, was stuck battling all types of demons, not to mention he was still quite exhausted after using his Unbreakable spell too early.

"Karis-senpai, it's getting dangerous here! You should fall back!" Arthur pleaded as he was worried he won't be able to protect her properly with how many enemies he was handling at the moment.

"Don't worry about me. I'm more capable than I appear... Duck!" Karis replied to which Arthur followed immediately, lowering his head and barely dodging an axe strike from a Savage demon. Karis leapt to the rescue, slashing the attacker on its chest.

"Thanks!"

"No problem!"

The two continued their defensive battle, covering for each others' blind spot. Even against more or less twenty demons at once, the two were able to prevent them from reaching the evacuation area.

Suddenly, the two felt the ground quake beneath them. Their feet became unsteady, so did the other demons but they were able to prevent themselves from falling down.

"Don't forget about me!" a huge creature appeared in their line of sight. It was Lawrence, still in his draconic form, although his right hand was still busted from the earlier skirmish. He was temporarily down when the Demon Lord arrived, but was able to quickly recover and join the fray, although his target now has shifted from Ren to his companions.

"Crap! That huge guy is awake now! What do we do?" Arthur asked.

"Don't panic. You'll only hinder your thinking," Karis replied as she turned her head, taking a quick look and evaluating the situation of the battlefield.

Behind her were the evacuating villagers who seemed like they mostly had already made it to the other side. Only a few of them were remaining. Soon enough, she'll be able to move freely around the battlefield after the portal closes down.

In front of her was the wounded demon-turned human, Lawrence in his draconic form. He was gravely injured, but still a threat that must be dealt with. Behind him, she saw the two key pieces of this battle, her brother Damian, and her husband, and master, Ren, fighting each other while the former received some support from his henchmen.

Karis' eyes darted desperately around the crater, hoping to find something that would turn the tides of the battle in their favor. And that's where she finally saw it, three pieces held captive by the enemy camp that will prove useful to her that may at the very least, ease up the burden on Ren's side.

"Knight-san, how long can you handle this place on your own?" Karis asked.

"Not much, maybe less than a minute if they were all to strike me at once," Arthur answered.

"That's plenty enough. Then, protect this place as hard as you can!" Karis said as she dashed through the enemy lines, towards the three poles on the other side of the battlefield.

"Hey wait, Karis-senpai!" Arthur called out but it was too late.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 2 - The Three Heroes

The battle situation had remained at a stalemate for quite some time. Sure, Arthur, and Karis were able to deal with the demons attacking them but that's not to say they were in an advantage. Compared to their small party of four, with one of them not even counted as a combatant, the demons had lots of units to spare in order to take them down.

Damian, and Ren were still fighting in the center, although it was not exactly an exclusive duel as some demons occasionally jump in to try and take down the lone hero.

"Impressive, as what I've heard, you're quite the capable fighter. You're leagues above the other heroes that I've encountered so far. Truly, you're no ordinary hero, the chosen among chosen ones!"

"Thanks for the praises, but I'm just a regular guy who likes to take it easy. Although I admit I am quite powerful."

"Indeed! You are powerful! So powerful in fact that I believe you may be a match for me even with my full power!"

"Who knows!"

Ren charged towards Damian with his opened umbrella leading the charge. Damian immediately swiped away the umbrella with ease, but to his surprise, Ren's hand was nowhere near the handle, but instead, two circular objects were now equipped in his hands, letting the umbrella fly away.

Ren then whipped both his yoyos towards Damian, to which the Demon Lord successfully blocked it with his blade, but then an explosion followed, catching him off guard.

"!!!"

Damian went flying backwards as he received the blast head on. Thankfully, his thick armor was strong enough to withstand the explosion so he came out with only a few scratches.

"What is that weapon? How strange... hmm?"

As he was evaluating the mysterious object that attacked him, Damian caught a glimpse of a familiar female demon, sprinting through the enemy lines.

"Karis?!" he thought out loud, but before he could observe any further, Ren's weapons were already flying towards him.

"What is she doing?" he thought in his mind as he continued his fight with the hero.

Meanwhile, Karis was dashing through the battlefield, heading straight to the enemy camp where the three heroes were being held. She had a minute at the most to make it there else Arthur might get overwhelmed defending the evacuation area on his own. She skillfully dodged all the incoming strikes, ducking down as arrows flew over her head, and maneuvering herself through hordes of Savages.

"Karis-sama?!"

"Lady Karis!"

Some Anthro-Demons saw her blitzing through the field but was not able to stop her. They saw her path heading towards the three heroes at the back and immediately warned their fellow demons.

"All troops stay alert! Karis-sama is heading to the captive heroes! Block her path at all cost!"

Everyone near the area heard the demon's call, even Ren, and Damian which caused them to turn their gaze over to where Karis is.

"I see, so that's what you're planning," Damian said.

Ren, upon seeing her plan of action, made a proud smile in response.

Damian then ceased his fight with Ren and rushed towards where Karis was headed, however Ren wouldn't allow him to have his way. He used his yoyo to grab Damian by the arm, tethering them to each other. Damian tried his best to break free, but the strings of the yoyo were too tough to break. The least he could do was slowly drag Ren along as he struggled to walk.

"Not so fast."

"Tch! Get him you fools!" Damian commanded while still trying to shake off the string from his hand. The demons followed their commander's call, taking the chance that both their leader and the hero were immobile to assist.

The assisting demons all came swarming over to Ren. They readied their weapons to strike him down, but he was prepared for their attack. Using earth magic, he terraformed the surrounding area, trapping him, and Damian in a small ring. The demons that tried to assist got pushed back by the rising earth, until the wall became too high for them to cross through.

"Should've just done this earlier but oh well."

"Milord!" the demons screamed from the other side of the wall.

"Get off!" Damian screamed as he tried slashing the string binding him with his blade. However, the material that the string was made of was so tough that even with Damian's well-sharpened sword couldn't cut through it. He then changed tactics as his sword suddenly shone red and reshaped itself. From a great sword, it was now changed into a small pair of blades, connected onto a long chain.

Damian swung the chained blades in the air multiple times before flinging it over to Ren. However, Ren was able to act fast, swinging his yoyo towards the chained blades. The two weapons collided in mid-air, then bounced back to their owners. The two then kept on clashing with each other, exchanging blows with their mid-ranged weapons while confined in the small area.

"Go Karis," Ren said in silence, trusting his wife to pull off her plan.

On the other side of the battlefield, Arthur was still enduring, holding off the demon waves that were targeting the portal area. Only a few villagers were left to cross through, and thankfully, Karis pulling some of the attention away made Arthur's job easier.

All of a sudden, he caught sight of a ball of fire heading towards his direction. He blocked the projectile with his shield as dodging it might endanger the people behind him. The fireball was able to push him back a fair distance due to the explosion, but he retained his stance.

"Heh, I felt that you bastard!" he said to the man standing before him.

"I'll burn you alive! Along with those people behind you!"

"Hehe, well shit. Karis-senpai... anytime now..."

After a long sprint, Karis was finally able to reach the area where the other heroes were being held. It was guarded by three giant Savages who were each guarding their own posts. The demon who was in charge with these giants ordered them to attack Karis who was standing fearlessly in front of their massive bodies. There were also some demons approaching from behind, and on the side, still reluctant to go on the offensive as they're having second thoughts about attacking their previous lord's daughter.

"Karis-sama, please stop this foolishness at one!"

"If you let those heroes go, we demons will get killed by them! Please! Damian-sama is already having a hard time as it is!"

Despite their attempts of persuading her, Karis merely ignored them, and headed straight to the pole. She withdrew her katana and was looking to cut the poles down so that she may reach the people confined on it.

The giant demons though, defended the poles strongly, stomping onto the ground below where Karis is. Unlike the Anthro-Demons who still have respect for the young demon, the Savages merely act on instinct and was not hesitant on killing their own sovereign.

The ground below shook violently with the giant demons' heavy stomp. Karis, however, was able to evade their attacks with ease. She jumped onto a foot of one on the giants and grabbed hold over there. The giant responded by using its other foot to stomp on his own leg, however, Karis used the opportunity to climb onto the higher foot, bringing her closer to the heroes. She jumped upwards, using the giant's inclined foot as foothold. Finally, after a long leap, she was able to jump to where one of the heroes were.

"Who are you?!" the hero called Lars asked as he saw Karis appear in front of him.

"No time for introductions, but I'm on your side," Karis replied as she slashed the pole holding Lars. She then grabbed his body as she was falling down, gently landing onto the ground below with Lars at her shoulder.

"Can you fight?" Karis asked as she cut apart the chains holding Lars.

"Yes of course! " Lars replied. He then casted a chant which made a great sword materialize in front of him. Despite his bruised state, he was still able to wield his massive sword.

While the two were conversing, the giants were already making their move as they swing down their massive clubs to the two. Lars was able to easily block the incoming strike despite the weight difference, although the impact made his knees shake a bit.

"Go! Free Zen and that girl! I'll hold them off!"

With Lars now attracting the attention of the other demons, Karis was now able to cut the poles without climbing up to the top. He cut the pole that was holding Zen, making him fall forwards, but Karis stopped his fall by grabbing the pole holding him, and gently letting him down. As he was finally on the ground, Karis cut his chains up, and then she did the same process to the last hero.

"Thank you, but wait aren't you a demon?!" Zen asked in surprise as he spot Karis' horn.

"It's fine, as I said, I'm on your side. More specifically, his side," Karis said, turning her gaze over to Ren who was still clashing with Damian.

"Can you three please take care of the other demons so that my master can fight without worry?"

"Master? So that guy fighting the Demon Lord is your master?" Zen asked.

"Yeah, my dear husband to be exact."

"Wha-!"

"Hey, I know you two would still like to chit-chat but I'm kinda holding something here you know? Could use some assistance," Lars cut in who was still holding the giant's attack.

"I'll leave this place to you, I need to head back and assist at the evacuation area."

"Right. Thanks again young miss."

Soon as she freed the confined heroes, Karis then head back to where Arthur was. The battle situation has now changed massively with the three heroes back in action. With this, Ren could now focus on taking down Damian while Karis went back to protecting the evacuation area. However, it seemed like that wasn't necessary anymore as she saw that all of the villagers had finally left. Only Kurumi was left standing at the portal area who then closed it shut, preventing any incoming demons from entering it.

Karis then shifted her focus to Arthur who was fighting the wounded Lawrence but was also busy with some other Savages. She ran full speed towards the two, taking out some Savages on the way there.

Meanwhile back on the one-on-one duel between Ren, and Damian, the two were still clashing with their weapons however Damian noticed that the three heroes' poles were already taken down, and they were now fighting against his demon army.

"Damn it, that Karis..."

"Looks like I won't have to worry about any meddlers anymore," Ren said as he finally withdrew his yoyo holding Damian's arm. He placed them back in his pockets, and picked up his umbrella that was littered nearby. He then unfolded it as well, placing it on his back. Damian, on the other hand, returned his weapon back to its original form. He made a fighting stance, pointing his blade towards Ren.

"What's this? Why are you withdrawing your weapons?!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not surrendering. It's just that now that I've got nothing else to worry about, I can now go all out," Ren said as he summoned a mini-portal in the air. He reached his hand inside the portal, rummaging through it like a bag. He then pulled his hand out, together with another of his crafted weapons, a katana that has a blade with the texture of glass. It also had the material's transparent property as Damian can properly see Ren's devious smile through the katana's blade.

Ren pulled his sword all the way out, and made a combat stance, wielding his weapon with one arm. The blade's glass texture shimmered under the light of the sun, refracting its rays into multiple direction.

"Let's settle this."

"I'm with you on that!"

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 3 - Hero's Blade

With the villagers already evacuated from the war-zone, and the three heroes freed from their shackles and helping out in fighting against the demons, Ren could now fight without thinking about anything else. He and Damian remained isolated from the rest of the battle thanks to the earth cage that he casted earlier. The two of them remained at a standstill, staring at each other, and staying alert for when their opponent makes a move.

A few moments later, Ren decided to take the initiative. He lifted his foot off the ground, and rushed towards Damian with unparalleled speed as his katana trailed behind him. Damian prepared his blade to parry the incoming attack. He waited for Ren to approach his attack range, and when the timing was perfect, he swung his blade. However, Damian was surprised as his blade cut through thin air. Ren was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, the Demon Lord sensed a murderous aura, emanating from behind him. He instinctively brought his sword over his head, letting the blade ran down on his back. The blade was able to stop Ren's attack from connecting to his body. Sparks flashed as the two blade clashed in the middle.

"Kh?!" Damian grunted as he was overwhelmed by the weight of the attack he received. The impact forced him to move one of his foot forward to prevent himself from falling.

"What is that material?! So heavy, yet he was so agile with his movement" he thought to himself as Ren's sword kept on pinning him down.

And then all of a sudden, he heard a crack. Damian took a look behind him where he heard the noise. To his surprise, Ren's glass blade had started showing signs of breaking. Cracks spread out from the part where their weapons collided. After realizing what was happening, Damian held out a bit longer with his defense, and soon enough, Ren's blade splintered into many pieces. A smile formed on Damian's face as he witnessed his opponent's weapon break in front of him. He then immediately turned around, and swung his blade to the hero behind him.

"You're mine!"

Meanwhile, nearby outside the cage where the two key pieces were dueling, Karis was kept at bay by a group of Savages. They surrounded her from all sides, leaving no room for her to escape.

"Hmm, looks like I'm in a bit of a pinch here," Karis said to herself as she analyzed the predicament she was in.

The demons slowly closed in on her, but was suddenly stopped as a voice echoed out from somewhere nearby.

"Stand back you fools!"

"???"

A silhouette of a demon emerged from the shadows. He stepped out into the light, and revealed his true form to Karis.

"It's been a while, Lady Karis," a black-haired demon said as he stepped forward, bowing slightly in the presence of Karis.

"Noir..." Karis called out to the demon, recalling his name very well as he was the one who checked up on her about a year ago.

"Never would I thought that I would face you in a battlefield as an enemy."

"Likewise, I don't wish to fight you as well, so please, help me convince my brother. Maybe we can still work things out," Karis pleaded, hoping that she may reached a peaceful conclusion in which there were minimal losses.

"I'm terribly sorry, I wouldn't do something that would is against Lord Damian's will."

"I see, you were always so loyal to the Demon Lord, even back during my father's rule. Well, at least I tried. Thanks for taking care of me," Karis said as she prepared her weapons.

Noir did the same, summoning a dark spear from the shadows. He did some elegant display of his skills with the spear as he took on a fighting stance.

"At the very least, I can't let you die in the hands of these nameless demons. Allow me to offer you a death worthy of an offspring of a Demon Lord."

"I appreciate your offer, but I have no plans on dying today. My husband is going to need me tonight for his rest after our victory."

Noir made a proud smile at Karis' remark as he dashed towards her with his spear trailing behind him.

"You've grown a lot, my queen."

On the far side of the battlefield, Arthur was having difficulty fighting the draconic Lawrence as his fatigue already caught up to him. He was still able to block every fireball that Lawrence delivered using his shield, but every successful blocked attack made him exhaust his energy some more. Not only that but it wasn't exactly a one-on-one as there were still some leftover demons, both Anthro-Demons, and Savages, wearing him down as well.

"Damn! If only I can land a hit, this would be over quickly!"

"Is this really my limits? Can I really call myself a hero like this?"

Doubt began rising in Arthur's head as he falls further and further into defeat. As his mind was distracted, contemplating his own weakness, a squad of demons managed to make it pass through his line of defense. They were headed straight to the defenseless girl behind him, the one he was tasked to protect.

"Oh no!" Arthur exclaimed as he accidentally dropped his guard, leaving an opening for Lawrence to charge in and attack.

"You're dead!"

"Shit!"

Lawrence bashed Arthur with his left hand. Fortunately, Arthur was quick enough to re-raise his shield and block the attack. However, his defense wasn't strong enough as Lawrence smacked his shield straight into his face and smashed him into the ground. The impact formed cracks on the solid bedrock, tearing the earth and causing quite a strong quake. Lawrence made a sinister smile as his fist kept on pressing his opponent down to the ground, squashing him like a small bug.

Arthur's consciousness got hazy after receiving such a heavy attack. He saw in the corner of his eye a horde of demons running past him and heading straight to Kurumi. The impending danger that the girl was about to go through made Arthur recall Ren's words for him.

"Don't get me wrong here Arthur, I'm not giving you a run-of-the-mill job. I assigned that to you because I have some degree of trust for you. I won't be able to fight in the frontlines properly if I'm not confident of my wives' safety."

"I see... so... this is an important job?"

"Extremely."

"Alright! Then leave it to me my great Senpai! I shall live up to your expectation!"

The conversation flashed by in his head, clear as it was when it happened, almost as if replaying the memory picture by picture.

"No... not like this!" he exclaimed as he suddenly jumped up from his lying position. Lawrence, who was bringing down his fist towards him for the second time, got surprised as his attack missed its target.

Arthur swept through the area, catching up with the demons that went past him, and took them down with his great sword. He then summoned all the remaining strength he had left for one last stand.

"[Unbreakable!] Full Power!" he screamed as his blade extended, and his whole body got covered with a shinier aura than what he was capable of before. His blade also seemed to have more length compared to the usual. He swung his blade with great vigor, driving back all of the incoming demons.

After making sure that all the other fodder demons were defeated, Arthur made a straight leap towards Lawrence.

"You bastard! How did you get so powerful all of a sudden?!" Lawrence screamed.

"I don't know! Power of friendship I guess!" Arthur replied as he brought down his sword onto the bewildered dragon-man.

"GAH!" Lawrence howled in pain as the blade slashed through his chest, leaving a massive wound that made him cough out blood from his mouth. However, Arthur was far from over with his attack. After the initial slash, he wildly swung his sword in every direction, attacking all the nearby demons while continuously slashing Lawrence. The flurry continued for a few more seconds until Arthur made an upward swipe that knocked Lawrence back. Finally, Arthur poured all of his might into the blade, extending it further. It grew so large that it's length almost reached the clouds above. To finish things off, he brought down his great sword, making it cut through the entire battle field.

Demons that were unfortunate enough to be on its area of effect were sliced effortlessly. The attack kept on going, even going as far as reaching Karis, and Noir who were clashing with their blades. The attack managed to reached Noir's extended hands, cutting them off. Both sides were surprised by the unexpected attack but Karis took the opportunity to deal the finishing blow by delivering a clean slash to Noir's chest, leaving an x-shaped scar.

Arthur's attack kept on going until it reached the other side of the crater. The attack exceeded the crater a bit, leaving a wide slope that connected the higher ground to the lower ground.

For a few moments, the giant aura of Arthur's blade remained on the battlefield until the energy finally dissipated. Lawrence was cleanly sliced in half as a result of the attack, however Arthur wasn't exactly in a good spot either as he collapsed onto the ground, exhausted beyond belief.

"Haah! Haah! Haah! I did it Senpai! How'd I do!" he screamed out loud.

The battle on his side was finally over... or at least that's what he thought, but there were still some demons left. Some of them have injuries while others were in no place close to the earlier attack and so was in perfect shape. They were about to jump him, but was stopped when a rain of fireballs hit them straight in the face. A man then jumped through with his great sword, sweeping the demons side by side. Three people then jumped nearby Arthur's vicinity.

"Good work there young man," the man with the great sword, Lars, praised Arthur's effort.

"Yeah, that was impressive," Zen also followed and gave his praise.

"..." however, the third person, the girl who still up till now hasn't spoke, stayed silent.

"Hey, young miss, it wouldn't hurt to spare some compliments you know?" Lars said, but the girl remained silent. However, she aimed her staff onto the exhausted hero, and green mana particles gathered around his body.

"Oh, I feel better now," Arthur remarked.

"That's our healer heroine, though she doesn't speak that much, actually not at all, she's very kind. Your injuries should be gone now but you should still take it easy and recover."

"Is that so? Then I leave this place in your hands, please protect that girl over there, else Senpai will kill me--zzz..."

"Senpai?" Lars, and Zen repeated as they gave questioning glances at each other.

"*cough* *cough* Damn, I'm beat. I wasn't expecting that," Noir said while his knees were on the ground. Both his arms were cut off thanks to the attack earlier, and he had received a fatal wound from Karis' blades, making him cough blood out from his mouth. He remained kneeling in front of her, awaiting his final moments.

"I admit defeat. Now, send me home, my queen," Noir sad as he raised his head to look at Karis.

"Ahh, you've grown so much since the last time I met you. I couldn't help but feel happy. It is an honor to die by your hands."

"I'm not killing you," Karis replied.

Noir's eyes went wide at Karis' response. He frowned for a bit then another gentle smile formed across his face.

"Of course you won't, you've always been like that. Your father was right about you. You're too pure for this world. If only the demon race didn't have such a bloody history, maybe you would've worked out as the perfect ruler for our race."

"Our race may have such a terrible history, but it's never too late to turn back. I will make this world suitable for us demons. I promise you that, along with my master."

"Is that so... then, I'm counting on it..." Noir collapsed on the ground as his body finally gave way. Karis caught his body and gently laid it down in a proper position.

"Rest well. When you wake up, I'll show you around the beautiful towns where humans, and demons are living with each other."

And now Karis' battle was already finished as well. Most of the demons in the area had been wiped out already thanks to the three heroes so now, there was but one fight left to be settled. Karis turned her head over to where the earth cage was where the most intense fight was currently going underway.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act End - Divine Intervention

The situation on the battlefield had turned to be advantageous for Ren's side. Most of the demons had already been taken down, and the generals were defeated as well. Only one significant fight remained.

Ren, and Damian were clashing blades but to Damian's surprise, Ren's weapon whose blade seemed to be made of glass, shattered as they were pushing each other. Ren's momentum as he swung the blade pushed him forward. He softened his fall by rolling, and then immediately turning around to face Damian.

"Hah! Of course, your blade is so fragile because of its material. No wonder it broke so easily. What were you thinking, making your weapon from glass?" Damian asked in a mocking tone.

"Don't be so overconfident now demon lord. This fight is still ongoing. You can't claim your victory yet unless you've taken down your opponent." Ren replied as he pointed his fragmented katana over to his enemy.

"What are you going to do with that? Prick me to death?"

"Not a bad idea, but I have other plans in mind."

Ren then extended his right hand, wielding his broken blade, over to the side. Damian suspiciously looked at him, wondering what his little gesture means. Suddenly, his demonic instinct urged him to move away as soon as possible. He did the act just in time as glass shards came flying to where he was earlier.

Damian set his gaze on the path of the flying shards, and saw them converging onto Ren's broken blade. The glass shard all assembled, sticking together seamlessly, until finally completing the blade.

"Good job dodging that," Ren commended.

"I see, so that's how it works, still it doesn't change the fact that your blade is still fragile."

"Oh? Well fine then, if you're going to keep complaining about my blade..."

Ren gripped his sword tightly and turned it around, showing its blunt, transparent side for Damian to see. Suddenly, a reddish color slowly began filling up the insides of the glass blade. It seeped up through until it reached the tip, converting the color of Ren's glass blade completely. The transparency was already gone, and in its place was a crimson shade of red.

"See? Now we're the same?" Ren said as he pointed his weapon towards Damian's also crimson-colored blade.

"My blade's color was brought upon by the bloods of countless people I've killed. The color embedded itself into the material of my blade, and therefore proves my experience as a warlord. Yours is only there for show," Damian replied.

"Just for show? Well, let's see about that!"

Ren once again dashed towards Damian with the same speed as before. Damian then responded by swinging his blade just as Ren went into his range, and just like earlier, he disappeared again, making Damian's hit missed. However, Damian was already familiar with this trick and thus turned around to where he predicted Ren would strike. As expected, Ren reappeared behind him with his blade descending upon him.

Damian didn't bother blocking the attack and made a small rotation to let Ren fall downwards, dodging the attack. As he turned, he readied his blade and went to slice Ren from behind.

"Using the same trick twice, I'm slightly insulted I must say. Now pay with your life," Damian said as his blade moved in closer to Ren's body.

Ren didn't do anything to block the incoming attack but rather let his blade continued on to the ground. As the tip of his crimson-shade sword reached the ground, a strong explosion erupted at the contact point.

The blast sent the unsuspecting Demon Lord's attack away, and he was forced to cover himself from the explosion else the incoming debris may deal some serious damage to his armor. However, out from the smokes caused by the explosion was Ren, heading straight for him.

Ren waved his sword, aiming to strike Damian on his torso, but once again, he was quick enough to block the strike with his own blade. As soon as the two weapons clashed, just like before, Ren's glass blade shattered. However, Damian's eyes went wide as Ren's weapon regenerated immediately after getting broken. The blade continued onward, finally connecting with Damian's body. Ren's katana easily cut through Damian's armor, not only that but Damian felt a burning pain that lingered as the blade traveled across his body.

Damian made a satisfied smile as for the first time in a while, he finally felt pain, and the pleasure of battle.

"Great! This is great!" he exclaimed.

The two leapt away from each other, creating a distance between them to allow each other to breath. Damian caressed the wound that he received, running down from his right shoulder to the left side of his abdomen. He raised his hand and took a good long look at the blood on his palms.

"Yes! This! This is the battle I've been waiting for! Finally! A match for someone like me!" he cheered.

Suddenly, as he was rejoicing for his long-awaited battle, Ren was again mere inches from his face, his blade trailing behind him.

"A match? Stop kidding yourself. The only reason you lasted this long is because I was too worried about everyone else," Ren said in a cold voice.

"!!!"

Ren brought down his blade, which was then met again by Damian's own, successfully blocking it and destroying it. However Ren quickly repositioned himself behind Damian, striking him once again with his already regenerated weapon. Damian did the same thing, blocking the attack but Ren was relentless with his assault. He kept swaying back and forth into battle, attempting to hit Damian who can only respond with some quick blocks that shattered the blade.

"Gh!" Damian grunted as he can feel his exhaustion catching up to him. Each time he shattered Ren's blade, he finds it difficult to block the next one. And so each time Ren attacks, his weapons comes closer and closer into making contact with the Demon Lords body.

"At this rate I'll get overwhelmed. I have to attack!" Damian thought, however that turned out to be his biggest mistake. Damian swung his blade to try and hit Ren as he was dashing in front and behind of him. He tried to catch him as he was passing through his side, but he missed, and ended up falling with the momentum of his blade. The slight opening was all Ren needed to finish the battle.

Ren unleashed a furious succession of light sword strikes all around Damian, giving him some shallow wounds all over his body. Ren's movements were practically invisible as his footwork was too fast for his opponent to see as Damian kept receiving wounds on his front, back, sides, and even from above.

Damian endured the attacks for as long as he could since he wasn't receiving any serious injuries yet, but then he felt every successive hit getting heavier than the last. Finally, Ren summoned all his strength for one last blow, as he brought down his blade to Damian's left shoulder, running it through, and creating a perfect mirror of the wound he inflicted earlier, only deeper this time. For the finishing touch, Ren kicked Damian's body away, shattering his lacquer armor, and leaving his top half exposed.

Ren stood tall above Damian's heavily wounded body. A large x-mark ran across his entire torso, it was a miracle how he still hadn't gotten sliced up at this point. It seems like the demons' sturdy body aren't just for show.

Damian attempted to stand up but was to weak to do so, and just barely raised himself as he carried his body's weight with his elbows.

"So... this is the power of a true hero. Heh, I'm not even disappointed with the outcome of this battle," Damian said, admitting his defeat.

"I can now see why my sister decided to serve you," he said in between groans as he tried to muster his strength to speak.

"My strength has nothing to do with why she decided to follow me. It's not like I defeated her in combat."

"No... you do not get it. Demons will never serve anyone weaker than them. You will find out soon. Once my sister's powers awakened, and your powers have declined, she will turn on you," Damian chuckled.

"..."

"What's wrong? You look a little shaken up. Did my words hit a nerve?"

"No, not really. I'm just a bit sleepy. Would love it if I could go home now actually."

"What?"

"Just what were you trying to do? A last ditch effort to plant some doubt in me so that I'll keep my guard up around your sister and potentially put a rift in our relationship? Nice try bud but wasn't working in the slightest," Ren replied with an unamused tone.

"For a human to put so much trust on a potential threat. It looks like what I've heard about you really were no exaggeration."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes, now do it. Put me out of my misery. I honorably accept my defeat in this battle. It's your victory."

"Hmm... I dunno about that. Might need your sister's approval for killing her only family. Let me go check up on her," Ren said as he demolished the earth cage with the flick of his finger.

"Hey! There's no need for that! There's no greater disgrace to a warlord than to be shown mercy by his enem--"

As Damian was complaining, he felt a chill ran down his spine as he saw the look of surprise in Ren's face. Damian summoned his remaining strength to take a look at what caught Ren's eyes. All around him, he saw his demon armada all massacred. There was no survivor in sight. He set his eyes further to the other side of the battlefield. He saw two of the heroes that escaped his capture, all collapsed on the ground with their blood creating a messy pool beneath them.

"What's going on here?!" Damian exclaimed.

Just then a circle of light marked the area where he and Ren was. It stayed for a while, but then suddenly, a beam of light from the heavens descended upon the illuminated area. Ren was quick to act and brought forth his umbrella and covered both him and Damian from the blast.

"Kh!" Ren grunted a bit as he failed to summon all of his strength to defend from the blast, struggling to keep the umbrella up.

After a few seconds, the beam of light finally let up. Both Ren and Damian looked up to find the source of the attack. Damian's eyes went wide in surprise as he saw a familiar face.

"You!" he shouted to the girl above... the same girl that he captured along with the other heroes.

The mysterious girl flew above them with wings sprouting from her back. She held her staff high in the sky as her flapping wings kept her afloat in the air.

Ren looked around the battlefield to see the states of his companions. Kurumi was nowhere to be seen, Arthur was still laying collapsed on the ground, and in the corner of his eye, he saw Karis, holding her shoulder which had a deep wound in it.

"Karis!" Ren shouted.

"Ren!" Karis called back, as she hurriedly went over to him.

"Where's Kurumi?!"

"She got sliced into pieces by that flying girl! But don't worry, I could see her regenerating herself from here, though it seems like she's taking quite some time!"

"I see. What the hell happened out here?"

"I don't know that girl that I rescued suddenly turned on us."

As Karis said that, the mysterious woman raised his staff once more. Thunder clouds began to gather overhead, covering the afternoon sun. Ren could feel the mana in the air growing ominous as the sky got darker. He brought Karis closer to himself, embracing her with one arm as he looked at the girl in the sky.

"In the name of our great deity, Kidul-sama..." the girl declared as her staff attracted all the lightnings coming out of the clouds.

"Evil shall be perished."