34. Chapter 34

Hello readers! We've reached the climax of this arc, so make sure to grab some tissues, and not for the tears. Thanks to everyone for your kinds comments and support. It warms my heart to see that the reception wasn't terrible, even though I kinda dropped the comedy and the light-hearted tone to focus on an unholy invasion of Hell on Earth. I hope you've been having fun so far!

Some were throwing their theories out about why the genre shift didn't work with Lincoln and Luan previous to the end of the last chapter. That will be dealt with (maybe not definitely, but it will be a point of contention) in the next chapter, the closing chapter of this arc, so I wanna hear your theories on why you think it failed.

Without further ado, let's get started with the chapter!

Luan stared in disbelief at the individual who was indubitably her brother, though, at the same time, he looked like a completely different person.

After that spark that seemed to ignite in her soul, she became painfully aware of the sword swinging down in her direction. Time stood still, and all her mind could focus on was the flaming blade. Her Archetype required her to develop a close connection with death and the afterlife, so in a sense, she didn't fear it as much as other people would.

Even so, no sixteen-year-old could stare at their incoming execution and not find themselves submerged in primal fear. Even after having faced and defeated him in the past, her soul finally gave in to Diablo's aura, and terror took hold of it. She watched the blade inching closer to her neck, and she could only think of the grief her family would go through with her death.

And then, Lincoln saved her, his body turning into literal lightning to get there in time and parry Diablo's sword before it hit her. It took her a second to realize why she wasn't dead, and then a couple more to make sense of what her eyes saw.

At first, she thought someone from Sanctuary had arrived just in the nick of time, but she quickly noticed the unmistakable white hair.

"Lincoln", she realized, not understanding how he could be wearing that outfit she'd seen many times, in different variations, during her Eastern practices at Sanctuary.

He wore a green Chinese ceremonial garment with subtle orange rims and yellow edges on the extremely long sleeves. Two long tails —one at the front and one at the back— extended from the garment and under an orange sash. On the front tail and over the chest, two Taoist symbols were emblazoned. He also wore loose white pants, green sandals, and a pearl green hat with orange rims and two black onyx jewels embedded on its sides. Attached to his back was a black sword sheath, where he presumably would keep the ceremonial Chinese Jian with a red onyx jewel and two red tassels hanging from the bottom of the hilt.

He held his sword horizontally over his head, holding his ground to stop Diablo's attack. The demon, Luan realized, looked shocked and caught off guard, just like she was.

"What?!" He said. "How could you—?"

Lincoln pushed with all his strength, managing to finally deflect the attack. He wasted no time and used that same momentum to make a full turn-around swing. Diablo opened his wings to fly back, putting some distance between them.

"Don't," Lincoln began, raising his sword on a perfectly technical offensive stand, his words as sharp and cold as the steel of his blade. "You. Ever. Threat. My. Sisters."

Leaving a trail of orange lightning behind, he dashed into Diablo, getting right under his body with unmatched speed. He drew an upwards arc, but the Lord of Destruction brought down his sword, and the two clashed in a spectacle of fiery and electric sparks.

"You may have achieved a perfect Genre Shift, but your powers are no match to me," Diablo said, before lunging with his blade once again.

Like he was controlling the winds, Lincoln opened his arms wide and let himself fall backward, avoiding the attack, and then defied the laws of gravity to twist his body around and get himself in a standing position.

"Then why do you look so scared?" He quipped, a scowl still on his face.

Diablo roared like a lion and raised his free fist. Lincoln quickly turned his sword around and used both hands on the hilt to bury the tip of the blade on the ground. Not a second too late, an orange magic circle appeared underneath him, raising a magical barrier that deflected two bony spires that tried to impale him from behind.

He then used a hand to make what looked like a mudra, aiming it at Diablo and then placing his blade horizontally against it.

Clouds formed in the sky and with a thunderous roar, a huge lightning bolt fell upon Lincoln. He raised his sword to catch it like a metal rod on top of a building, absorbing it and making it glow orange. Without a word, he dashed forward towards Diablo.

The young Exorcist feinted a swing, and when the demon turned his body to block it, Lincoln once again moved at an incredible speed, getting right behind his opponent. He aimed his sword at Diablo and released his attack, hitting him right between the wings and pushing him away from the battlefield.

With few seconds to spare, he ran towards Luan, and with a single strike, he broke the chains that imprisoned her.

She immediately grabbed the side of her chest, where the sword had slashed her, and she would have fallen forwards if it wasn't for her brother catching her.

"Luan!" He yelled, and all the confidence he had against Diablo vanished, replaced by fear. "How bad is it?"

"Lincoln…" She said, not answering, and instead just nuzzling her head against his, given her inability to hug him. "Thank you…"

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. You… I can't believe you…"

He held her tighter against his chest, and his voice quivered.

"It's alright… You… You look good as an Exorcist," she mentioned, trying to keep her voice lighthearted and not letting it show how hurt she was.

He snorted, not really in the mood to chuckle. "I think I looked better before."

"No," she said. "I like this one more. A-And look… our outfits match."

They did, he realized. He didn't know much about what their clothes meant —or even what they were called—, but it made sense that he'd turned into a similar kind of Exorcist. He squinted his eyes. Maybe they shared more than just their clothing…

He knelt next to Luan and ever-so-gently placed a hand over hers, over her wound. He closed his eyes, and a newfound innate understanding of his powers washed over him. He focused his divine energy, and his hand glowed just like he'd seen hers do with Charlie.

He let the warmth flow from him to her, and for a moment, he felt like their souls touched. They melted into a metaphysic embrace, and with his eyes closed, he found it hard to remember where he ended and where she began. He felt her pain, quickly subsiding, but he felt more, much more. Her anxiety, her fear of almost dying, her determination to fix the mess he caused but she felt responsible for. Above everything else, however, he felt love. Her love for him, a fire burning ablaze with enough intensity and passion to rival what he in return felt for her and the rest of his sisters. A familiar feeling that he'd carried within for as long as he could remember, but that he had never faced quite the way he did right then.

It confused him, in all honesty. It gave him a new perspective on what he was feeling, and it didn't seem to match what he'd initially thought that feeling was. He couldn't wrap his head around it, he couldn't put it into words. And, soon enough, he didn't bother to keep trying to understand it. All he cared about was knowing that he and Luan loved each other on a deep level.

His magic did its work, and even though they couldn't see the actual wound beneath their hands and the bloodied robes, they both knew she'd healed. She sighed, her body melding against him as he slithered his hand over the side of her frame, up to her shoulder, and after hesitating, to the side of her neck, gently cupping her cheek. They stared into each other's eyes, vibrant hazel meeting electric blue, and both siblings shared a single silent sentiment.

"We need to stop him," she said, shaking her head to try to gain focus.

Lincoln snapped his hand away from her face, suddenly embarrassed at his moment of vulnerability and unexpected susceptibility. He'd almost forgotten they were in the middle of a battle against a Prime Evil.

"How can we get him out of Sid?" He asked.

"That's easy; I'm strong enough for a simple exorcism. The problem starts once his essence is out of your friend's body," she explained, as the two of them stood up and looked towards the distant figure of Diablo, recovering from Lincoln's attack. "He needs a body to walk the Earth, but he's stronger when he's not limited by a flesh vessel."

"I can fight him," Lincoln said with confidence born after the boiling rage that still stirred inside of him.

"I don't doubt it. But a demon like him can't be killed. He can only be trapped."

"In a Soul Cage?"

"Yeah… but he broke Mr. Coconuts," she said, pointing at the chipped wooden doll.

"So where do we get another Soul Cage?" Lincoln asked, picking up his sword.

"I… I'm not sure. I could maybe make one, but it'll take me some time."

Diablo began to slowly walk towards them, dragging his flaming sword against the debris. Lincoln gripped his Jian and stepped in front of Luan.

"I'll buy you time."

He tried to move forward, but her hand shot to grip his wrist. He turned to look at his sister.

"Be careful," she said, her hand moving down to quickly grab his.

He gripped it tight, and the warm feelings returned. "I will."

She let him go, watching her brother and her nemesis approaching each other, and realized he truly looked like a hero. Her hero. Just like she'd always pictured him in her heart.

As he made his way towards Diablo, Lincoln didn't look back at Luan, no matter how tempting it felt. One, because he didn't want to bring attention to her. He was Diablo's goal, the one he wanted, so he should be able to keep himself as the bait and give Luan all the time she needed, uninterrupted. And two, because he was just beginning to get a sense of what those loving feelings for Luan could truly mean, and the fact that he felt the same way about other people worried him. He wanted to keep himself busy to avoid confronting that revelation, and there was no better way than to keep his eyes straight on the glaring demon of hell that wanted to consume his soul and take hold of his body.

They stopped about forty yards from each other, their hands on their blades, the infernal four eyes fixed on Lincoln's two.

"That hurt," Diablo admitted, rubbing the partially charred blouse behind him. "I must admit, I'm surprised by your talent, Harem King."

"Don't call me that," Lincoln demanded, glaring at the demon.

"Why shouldn't I? It is written, embedded in your soul. It is your essence, it defines who you are."

"It does not. My Archetype doesn't define me," he declared, swinging his arm in denial.

"Of course it does, you stupid, stupid human," Diablo said. "Your soul dictates who you'll become, the potential you'll spend your life trying to achieve and exploit. It's your nature; dread it, run from it, reject it, but you'll always go back to your roots. And yours is that of a Harem King."

Lincoln gritted his teeth, and a couple of sparks flared from the tip of his sword.

"You don't know what your Archetype can do," the demon continued, smiling at Lincoln. "You haven't figured out the key to unlocking its power, the way it interacts with others. And yet, look at you! You borrowed but a mote of your sister's Archetype, a fraction of her essence, and you're almost as strong as she ever was. Under my command, your Archetype will bring forth the doom of your world. Starting with your sisters."

Lincoln knew Diablo was just trying to provoke him, but he couldn't help himself. He took the bait.

"You'll never hurt them!" He yelled, before charging like a lightning bolt.

Diablo spread his wings and flew to meet him halfway, and their swords clashed in a majestic spectacle of light. Lincoln's arm felt the knockback from the impact, and his muscles ached to hold his ground. Sid's body looked more swollen, slightly bigger, definitely stronger.

He bounced off and threw another swing that Diablo managed to dodge. The demon then surprised him by attacking with the sharp end of his tail, but Lincoln ducked out of the way just in time. He then threw a horizontal swipe to try to cut the demon's chest. Diablo closed his wings to gain some height and spun parallel to the blade, dancing right over Lincoln's strike, before spreading them once again to stop his momentum and try to impale the Exorcist with his sword.

Lincoln jumped back, barely avoiding the end of the blade. He took a second to think of how crazy it was for him to be able to move, attack, and defend like that. It was as if his body took over his mind, acting merely on instinct. The Exorcist within was now in control of his actions.

"Your dexterity is impressive," the many voices praised. "Once I empower your skills, your sisters will fall without offering much resistance."

Diablo's eyes flashed a red light, and a sudden vision of quick-cut images appeared inside Lincoln's mind along with a sharp, strong headache. Visions of his sisters dying, one by one, by his own doing. He screamed due to the intense pain and the sheer horror of what he was forced to see, and when he opened his eyes, they were now filled with rage.

"I won't let you!" He roared, before thunder-stepping right next to Diablo.

He threw a hit to the side of the demon, who managed to block it not without some difficulty. When their swords bounced, Lincoln threw another hit, and then another, and another one. Sid's expertise in her Assassin's Archetype, with a probable boost from Diablo's power, was the sole reason he was able to contain Lincoln's strikes. Even so, the ashen-haired boy continued to gain terrain, one step at a time.

Diablo tried to counter with a quick swipe of his tail, but Lincoln did a cartwheel to avoid it, and then he immediately used his legs to jump straight at the Lord of Destruction. Diablo swiped with his sword once again, but Lincoln blocked it, and with a circular motion of his wrist, he caught the hilt of the infernal weapon and then flung it to his left, disarming the demon.

He threw a kick that carried much more strength than his body was able to produce, hitting Diablo right on the stomach and making him stumble back. With his balance lost, no weapon to defend himself, and startled by the move, Diablo opened his eyes wide at the window Lincoln had created. The Exorcist planted his feet, braced himself, and lunged forward, ready to pierce the demon's heart…

...only to see a flash of Sid's scared face.

He stopped dead on his track, inches before his sword penetrated the red skin, and he panted with the effort. He felt an almost irresistible urge to keep going, to kill the demon, and he realized that was his Archetype speaking. It compelled him to keep going, to not rest until the evil was vanquished. But his Archetype didn't care about Sid, it didn't know that his mission wasn't to exterminate the demon, but to save his friend.

Diablo regained his composure, looking at the tip of the blade that could have killed him right there. Lincoln's hand began to shake, and the demon laughed.

"You pathetic wretch," he spatted in between chuckles. "Too afraid to do what it takes. You'd rather let the world burn than kill someone that has wronged you in the past."

"She's… she's my friend," he said, his knuckles turning white with how hard he was gripping his Jian.

"No, she's not. She fears you. She will never accept you. Just like no one will, because no one knows what you are, and everyone hates what they don't understand."

"I'll prove them wrong," Lincoln responded, more to reassure himself than to prove Diablo wrong.

"They'll never let you. They'll never treat you right. You'll forever be a pariah, a mess, a disappointment. You'll never be as strong as your sisters. You'll always fail."

By now, he'd realized that Diablo had somehow read his mind and soul on their trip to Sid's apartment. He knew that the Lord of Destruction had dwelled into his worst fears and insecurities, and he was aware of the manipulation he attempted to do.

And yet, even knowing it, he couldn't help but wonder how much of it was true. If someone would ever truly accept him. If maybe one day—

SWOOSH!

Lincoln could barely move his head out of the way of a knife that Diablo produced and shot from the palm of his hand. Even so, it managed to cut a slash over Lincoln's left cheekbone. He hissed in pain and jumped back, wincing as he felt his warm blood trailing down the side of his face.

Diablo laughed and extended his right hand. A sword, just like the one Lincoln had taken away from him, materialized in it. He then repeated the motion with his other hand, and soon the demon stood before the Exorcist, dual-wielding.

"This Assassin Archetype makes your friend ready to fight. She's been training her instincts to be those of a cold-killer. Her soul and body work in tandem to become the perfect killing machine. You stole your sister's power, but your body isn't synchronized with it. You may be powerful, but you're not strong enough to stop me."

Lincoln wiped his fresh wound with the edge of his sleeves, and then gripped the hilt of his sword tighter. Diablo was right. He couldn't defeat him, but Luan could.

He just needed to make sure to survive long enough.

Luan continued to perform mending spells to no avail. No matter how hard she tried, Mr. Coconut's body wouldn't fix itself. She tried to push the logic of her magic by defining wood as "something that used to be alive", but the Universe rejected her attempt at a loophole. Her Soul Cage was destroyed, and she couldn't repair it.

She tried not to panic. The ability to think logically in times of overwhelming stress was a skill that separated her from regular Exorcists and had helped her climb the ladder in her field. The less panicked she felt, the fastest she would come up with a solution. Besides, it wasn't like this was her first time in this exact situation. A year before that battle, she had to improvise a brand new Soul Cage with Mr. Coconuts.

She could do it again. She just needed to find the right object to use.

"Oh, man, what was that spell like?" She wondered out loud, standing up and doing her best to remember Akara's lessons. If only she was strong enough, she could use the proper runes, but alas she still relied on magic circles.

She had to give it a few tries until she found the right incantation and mudra. When she did, a magic circle appeared in front of her, and from her own locker room in Sanctuary, her personal stash materialized with a poof. A big, wooden chest with metallic reinforcements on the edges.

She knelt next to it and lifted open the first half, where she kept her Exorcist components and materials. She tried to look at the objects stored there, but nothing seemed big enough to contain a power such as Diablo's. She moved around rings, chipped gems, even a wooden leg people insisted she should hold on to for later. As far as she was concerned, it was a waste of precious space.

"Ugh! Why do I keep all this junk?" She complained out loud. "Instead of these six rings, I could've stored a full chainmail!"

Part of her brain wanted to complain about the logic behind magical inventory management, but at this point, she was over her reservations about Exorcist's logic.

She continued to search for a fitting relic to use, but nothing would work. Only then did she begin to fall prey to stress and panic. She needed an object, anything with either a Holy aura or a strong, emotional connection with herself that she could use to channel her energy and perform the ritual.

She stopped looking around and stared at the second half of the stash. The one she seldom opened at Sanctuary, and one she wished she could look into way more often than she did. She thought about it. Could she…?

Yes. Yes, she figured. She could.

She opened the second compartment.

Lincoln's initial outburst of power had begun to run out of juice the more he fought. His thunder-step ability to turn himself into actual lightning and almost instantly reposition himself had been draining him like crazy, and unfortunately, most of the time that was his only option to avoid Diablo's relentless attacks. He assumed that fighting with two swords would mean the strikes would lose power, making it easier for him to deflect and counter. But Diablo had uncanny strength, and he just needed one hand to challenge Lincoln, who only had one sword to defend himself from two attacks.

Besides, he was now actively handicapping himself. He couldn't let loose his newly acquired fighting instincts since they could very well kill Sid. He needed to think about his movements, and even though his body had assimilated the Archetype, his mind wasn't ready for it. He couldn't think that fast, he didn't know or understand his exact capabilities, and that dissonance between his Archetype and his motivations had proven to be detrimental to his fighting chances.

His enhanced mobility and reflexes had saved his life multiple times, but he didn't stay unharmed. His loose sleeves and pants had suffered several lacerations, and his forearms and legs were beginning to get covered in slashes and cuts. They hurt like hell —pun intended—, and while they weren't disabling yet, Lincoln realized that "death by a thousand cuts" was an exaggeration. Only around twenty-five were probably necessary, and he was already nearing the first dozen.

Diablo seemed to notice, and after one nasty sneak attack with his sharp tail that managed to sink an inch deep into Lincoln's shoulder, he retreated and put a reasonable distance between them. Lincoln, now panting and wincing in pain, did his best to stand straight with his sword at the ready.

"You thought you were strong, but you've merely fought mindless Husks and simply survived against a Corrupted. You've never fought a real villain until now. And as worthy of an opponent as you've proven to be, your lack of discipline and control over your Archetype is a handicap too big for you to manage."

"Can you just shut up and stop lecturing me?" Lincoln groaned, trying to ignore the pulsing pain on his shoulder.

Diablo snickered before his eyes flashed with a bright light and both of his blades lit up with hellish, Bordeaux flames. Lincoln felt a sudden chill in his spine. For some reason, he sensed that if he got hit by those blades, even a slight cut could mean the end of the fight. He held his sword tight, realizing his reserves of power were quickly draining. He needed to find a better strategy, a winning condition, a trick up his sleeve.

Diablo lunged forward, both blades ready to strike, but Lincoln had a sudden realization. A trick up his sleeve…

Much like when he became Tuxedo Linky, he felt a sudden understanding of his abilities and Genre Shifted powers. Desperate for anything that could turn the tide, he reached a hand inside the long sleeves of his outfit. For an instant, there was nothing but air, and then almost immediately he could feel a piece of paper materializing on his fist.

He hadn't seen it, he didn't even know what it was, but he knew exactly how to use it.

With one swift movement, he threw the Fulu talisman. The yellow piece of paper, with a Tao symbol at the top and Chinese symbols, seemingly drawn with a brush and black ink, floated right in front of his chest, giving him enough time to press the side of his sword against it and yell the words that popped to his mind.

"Element: Fire!"

Right away, the talisman spewed forth a giant tongue of flames. He couldn't see Diablo's face, now obstructed by his attack, but he must have guessed that he was surprised by Lincoln's new ability since he didn't dodge. He pressed the attack, planting his feet and keeping his sword against the Fulu. He was relieved to realize that the magic seemed to come from the talisman itself rather than an inner, finite magic stockpile. He could continue firing it without having his energies depleted.

He thought about his words. "Element". He wasn't a scholar in Taoism, but he was no fool either. He'd caught a glimpse of the symbol at the top of the yellow parchment. It seemed to indicate that there were five elements. Didn't the Chinese zodiac have five elements? That seemed about right. Fire, Earth, Water, Wood, Metal. Could he access those Elements as well?

Perhaps he did, but he wouldn't be able to find out right away. From the center of the flames, a red hand emerged, closing itself around the hilt of Lincoln's sword, and without giving him time to react, it tossed him out several feet into the air. The fire died and he let go of his weapon, falling painfully onto his back and rolling several feet back.

He tried to shake the pain away, but his wounds were more serious than he was used to. His danger sense triggered, though, and without really thinking he thunder-stepped many, many feet away from where he was. A second later, a flaming sword impaled the ground he'd been lying on.

The new usage of his strongest ability caused him to lose his breath, and he could barely sit up to stare at Diablo, his clothes partially scorched and his whole body leaving trails of smoke. His white, crooked teeth smiled in his direction.

"Trying to hurt the ruler of Hell with mere fire?" He mocked. "What a rookie mistake."

Lincoln could only watch as Diablo grabbed the Jian with his tail and then proceeded to throw it right into one of the rifts on the ground.

"You're disarmed. You're hurt. You're doomed," he pointed out, looking at his prey. "I don't need your body, I just need to consume your soul. I can torture you until I break your will, or you can simply surrender it to me. Either way, I'll get what I want, and you'll die. It's just a matter of how painful you wish your death to be."

Apparently, very painful, Lincoln thought. He could feel his muscles screaming in agony at the rhythm of his throbbing arteries, and the copper taste of his blood in his mouth took the discomfort to a whole new level. He didn't know how much he could hold on, but one thing was for sure: he would buy Luan the time she needed.

Fueled merely by his sheer force of will, he rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his palms against the ground. With a grunt, he managed to push himself on his feet, almost tripping over his garments. He reached into his sleeves and fished out two talismans that wrinkled in his closed fist.

"Don't worry, Sid," he yelled at the demon. "I'm going to get you out of there!"

Diablo looked delighted at his words. "She can't hear you."

And with a roar, he pounced at Lincoln.

With sweat running down her forehead and feeling on the edge of passing out, Luan finished her incantation. The last magic circle surrounded her designated object, and then all nine of them closed rapidly into it. There was a flash of radiant energy, and then her brand new Soul Cage fell limply on her hands.

She panted. As powerful as she'd grown since the previous year, the extraneous effort of fabricating a device capable of imprisoning a being as strong as Diablo still managed to push her to her limits. There was nothing she wanted more at the moment than to rest her head on the nearest rock and just pass out for twelve hours.

Even so, she picked up her Soul Cage and stood up, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. She tried to shake it off and looked around her. Lincoln and Diablo's fight had taken them away from her position, but the giant blasts of fire and the ice ridges that occupied the street let her know right away where they were. The fact that a fight was still going on was hopeful to Luan since it meant her little brother hadn't been killed yet.

Her relief was short-lived, however, since as soon as she got close enough to the action, she could see just how hurt Lincoln was. His left leg was limping, and there was a nasty bloodstain on his right shoulder, falling to most of his chest. He was currently picking up Chinese talismans to conjure wood prisons and rock formations to delay Diablo, but the Lord of Destruction managed to keep flying around, his evil grin showing just how much he enjoyed toying with his prey.

Luan looked at her mala. She only had ten more beads. She couldn't waste them.

"Sorry Sid," she mumbled to herself, putting her Soul Cage in her pocket and raising both arms. "Paladin Spells can really hurt."

"Element: Water!"

An ice wall, fifty feet tall and ten feet wide spread in front of Lincoln, shielding him from a fireball. The natural barrier shook and cracked with the impact, many pieces of ice falling from the top. Lincoln saw the ice beginning to melt, and the yellow glow of the impact from the other side. He wondered how much longer would his barricade resist the onslaught.

Unfortunately, Diablo was smarter than a Husk, and instead of trying to push through the thick ice, he flew over it before diving down towards Lincoln, swords ready to strike. Lincoln winced and took a second too long to figure out what he should do. Should he thunder-step and keep draining his energy, or could he use one or more of the Elements to aid him?

By the time he made up his mind, it was too late, and Diablo threw his arms back ready to carve Lincoln's chest…

...only for a human-sized, ethereal, radiant war hammer to run into the demon from the side with the speed and strength of a bus. The moment it hit him, the sound of a church bell rang in the air, forcing Lincoln to cover his ears. The blessed hammer continued to push into Diablo, who eventually managed to hit it with his sword. The hammer broke into two smaller hammers that began to pummel the Lord of Destruction, and the more he fought them, the more they divided into, until thirty-two regular size mallets swarmed around Diablo, hitting him every time they could.

"Luaaaaaaaaaaan!" The demon yelled in between the clobbering he was receiving.

Lincoln looked to his left, just in time for his sister to reach him. "Lincoln! Oh, God, you're so hurt!"

Her hands glowed and she lay them on him, and just like before, their essences mixed and became one, if only for a moment. Lincoln allowed the warmth to fill him in and for his wounds to slowly close and heal. He sighed in relief, embracing their communion and all the wonderful feelings they shared. His energies also felt replenished, as he'd just taken a long rest to recover his spent magic. But among that sea of positive sensations that drowned out his pain, he noticed her energies, just as spent as his own.

"Stop," he said, gently grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away from his body. Not all his wounds had fully healed, and the moment her divine powers stopped flowing through him, the pain came back. He winced but otherwise soldiered through it. "I'm fine. We need you to be strong for this."

"And I need you to be alive."

"I am, kinda," he chuckled. "Did you get a Soul Cage?"

"Yeah," she said. "But that was the easy part. Now we need to exorcise him, and then trap his soul."

"Sounds fun."

"It isn't. And the last part takes a lot of energy. Last time, I exorcised him, but we needed our High Priestess to perform the capture spell."

"Can you do it, though?" He asked, getting a bit worried. Luan sighed.

"I… can try. But I'm gonna need all my power to trap him. Which means… it's up to you to do the exorcism."

Lincoln paled. "B-But I can't…"

"Of course you can," she reassured him, holding his hand. "Lincoln, the kind of stuff you've been doing… None of my friends at Sanctuary could do them. You're much stronger than you think."

"But I… Luan… What if...?"

The visions Diablo had planted on his mind returned. Images of his failure at stopping him, culminating in the death of everyone he held dear to his heart. He clenched his fists and looked away.

"What if I mess up?" He asked her with a trail of voice. "How can you trust me to do it right?"

She grabbed his chin with her free hand and forced him to look her in the eye. "Because you've never let me down, Linc. Ever. And I know you won't do it this time either."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, but he then sighed and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against her shoulder.

"I'm scared."

"I know. Me too. But as long as we're together, nothing bad's going to happen."

"So what's the plan?" He said, sighing and taking a step back.

"Do you know how to perform an exorcism now that you're an Exorcist?"

He almost corrected her. He technically wasn't an Exorcist, he was just drawing on the energy of her Archetype and temporarily adopting its essence, or at least that's what he understood from Lisa's explanation. But time was of the essence, and it seemed like a pedantic thing to point out.

"I… I think I do," he said, and right as he did so, he knew right away that his mind and heart had the answer. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

"Then get ready. I'll hold him down for you to do it. But," she said, looking at him with great preoccupation, "be careful. The moment his spirit is released, he's gonna try to take control of your body. So get ready to hold him back."

"Sounds easy enough," he casually said, trying to sound confident.

"Well, get ready then." Luan pointed out a finger at Diablo, who had just finished destroying the last holy weapon. "He hates my Blessed Hammer, so he'll be somewhat pissed."

Lincoln reached into his sleeves and pulled out two talismans. Luan made a mudra on each hand, and two small magic circles appeared around her wrists. Both siblings took their positions, waiting for the Lord of Destruction.

"I'm EXTREMELY pissed!" Diablo said, batting his wings to stay up in the air, glaring down at the Loud Exorcists. "I take back what I said about your soul fueling the Hellforge, Luan Loud! I'll make sure to rip it into pieces! Your eternal rest will forever be spent in pain and misery! You'll regret the day you threw a damned hammer at me!"

"It's called Blessed Hammer, you foul fool," she yelled at him from the ground.

"Shut up! Shut up! I hate you! I hate you all!" He roared, and the clouds over his head seemed to charge up with lightning bolts, with the occasional sound of thunder. "I've entertained your disrespect and insolence for far too long! You pathetic mortals, insufferable teens, believing you could possibly stop me! I'll annihilate you! The kid's gloves are off!"

He raised his swords, and a bolt of red lightning fell from the clouds onto them, filling them with crackling power. Lincoln and Luan shared a glance and nodded.

"You're not even wearing gloves!" He pointed out.

"RED LIGHTNING HOSE!" The demon yelled, lowering his swords at the pair of siblings.

Lincoln had seen that attack before, and he figured it would be for the best if he didn't get hit by it. Luan had him covered, and she threw her right hand forward. The magic circle around her wrist expanded to shield them from the attack. She then whipped her left hand as well, and the second circle flew until it expanded right in front of Diablo. The center of both rings began to glow, leaving only the magical edges untouched.

The moment the lightning should have impacted the first barrier, it instead came out from the other circle, much like that one video game Lincoln liked to play. It all happened incredibly fast, but Diablo seemed to be familiar with whatever spell or technique Luan had used, and so he stopped his attack and raised a hand to surround himself in a red sphere of impenetrable energy.

Lincoln saw his opening right then and began to run towards the devil. He grabbed one of his talismans and planted it against the ground with his full palm.

"Element: Earth!"

Right where he was standing, the ground erupted in a pillar of stone, getting him leveled with Diablo. He wasted no time and immediately pressed a finger at the second talisman.

"Element: Metal!"

The talisman dissolved into about a dozen metallic cables that spewed forth from his hand and began to surround the prison Diablo had trapped himself in. Perhaps blinded by his own lightning, he didn't seem to notice the incoming strips of steel, and the moment he dropped the energy barrier, the cables entangled him. He roared, forced to drop his sword and having his limbs pressed against his body. With the extra weight and the incapability to flap his wings, he soon plummeted to the ground. As he was falling, the same flames that had covered his swords engulfed him, and the metal glowed with an intense red.

In a magnificent display of strength, he managed to break the steel cables into dozens of pieces, turning around just in time to land on his feet. He sneered up at Lincoln, but Luan was quick on her feet.

She pointed two hands forward, and with the sound of a cathedral's bell, a new blessed hammer materialized and flew to crush the demon. Diablo groaned and slashed a single finger through the air. It drew a white arc, almost like he was tearing the fabric of reality, and from the gash, a couple of giant tentacles spread. They absorbed the impact of the hammer, surrounded it in a fishy embrace, and dragged it back to the wicked dimension they came from. The chaos rift shut down, and Diablo then drew a new rune in the air. A single streak of fire launched from his hand to Luan.

"Element: Water!" Lincoln yelled, throwing a yellow ofuda. The piece of yellow paper morphed into an ice javelin mid-air and created a new ice ridge when it impacted the ground, shielding Luan from the fire.

Luan mouthed him a quick "Thank you" before she moved her hands in front of her. A magic circle appeared behind her and then moved up, almost like scanning her whole body. As soon as it did, she disappeared, appearing now behind Diablo. She readied a spell, but Diablo snapped his fingers and he disappeared with a burst of flames, repositioning himself right over Luan's head. He prepared to strike with his claws, but Lincoln covered his fist in radiant energy and thunder-stepped, moving like a lightning bolt until he reappeared next to the demon and punched him hard enough in the face to send him several feet back.

"That was awesome," Luan said with a smile.

"It kinda hurt," he said, rubbing his burned knuckles.

"Yeah, try not to touch him," she suggested.

"That's good, Lincoln Loud!" Diablo yelled, standing up and rubbing Sid's chin. "Keep wasting your energy! The faster you do it, the sooner I'll kill you both."

"Akara and all of Sanctuary will arrive shortly," Luan said.

"By which time I shall be empowered, and you will be dead!" Spat Diablo. He flicked his fingers and, from the rifts around them, skeletons rose and ran at the two Exorcists.

"Close your eyes, Linc," Luan said, spinning a finger in a wide circle over her head.

He decided not to ask and just trust her, closing his eyes and covering his face with his sleeves. A second later, he heard a whooshing sound, the hair on his neck and arms stood up with a chill, and an intense light managed to flash through his eyelids and the heavy robes. He then heard a clattering and opened his eyes just in time to see piles of bones bouncing on the ground. Diablo had a hand up and a barrier protecting him. His scowl made it look like he wasn't particularly happy with Luan's attack.

Acting out of instinct, Lincoln pressed his fingers together to form a triangle in front of his chest and then extended his arms. A magical circle appeared underneath him, and from the center of the triangle, a continuous figure emerged, quickly adopting the shape of a golden Chinese spiritual dragon that undulated the air with its mouth ready to bite Diablo. The Lord of Terror did a similar incantation, and from the circle-shaped hands, a winged black smoke serpent spawned, clashing against the dragon as they rose to the sky to fight to the death.

Luan began to prepare a new spell, but Diablo mumbled some mumbo jumbo that sounded almost Italian but that Lincoln recognized as Latin, and a shockwave spread from him. Luan tried to change her incantation but couldn't do it in time, and so she and Lincoln were hit by the attack. They were sent flying away, and they scraped their backs, arms, and knees as they rolled on the ground.

Lincoln's wounds accused the hit hard, and he winced and had to take several seconds to recover. By the time he managed to sit up, he realized Diablo and Luan were fighting ahead. His sister kept creating shield after shield in front of her, in the form of magic circles, and she kept pushing her hands forward, sending them full frontal at the demon. Diablo, on his end, kept breaking each circle with different spells, both of them keeping a consistent flow or abilities sent at each other.

Lincoln sensed a presence and turned around. From one of the rifts, a familiar blue orb appeared, their glow dim and barely visible.

"Charlie!" He said, running to meet it. He grabbed the orb with his hands to help it get out of the fissure and gently placed them on the ground. "You're so weak! What were you doing down there?"

As if to answer his question, he saw his Chinese sword pop out from the rift, falling next to him. He gasped and grabbed it, feeling it warm to the touch. At the same time, he felt his energy reserves increasing, empowered by the relic.

"Charlie, you're the best," he said. The orb merely tilted, but Lincoln took it as a thumbs up.

He looked back at the battlefield. The dynamic had changed, and now Diablo was spamming his flame-teleport ability. With a snap of his fingers, he kept changing his position, moving around Luan and shooting random daggers now and then. She raised magical shields and skipped from left to right to keep dodging his attacks. One time, she didn't react in time, and a dagger hit her right on her left foot, seemingly nailing her down to the ground.

"Luan!" Lincoln yelled, and without a second thought, he thunder-stepped forward.

"Die!" Said Diablo, diving down, leading with the sharp end of his tail.

Luan took the dagger out of her foot and prepared a counterspell, but Lincoln moved faster than either of them. Appearing right beneath Diablo, he made an upwards arc with his blade, and he separated the tail from the body with a clean cut. The demon screamed, and his roar resembled a ghoulish dinosaur yelling from inside a toaster. The tail fell next to Luan, turning into a red snake that slithered away from the fight.

"I'll kill you all!" Diablo clamored at him, producing a black scythe that dripped ichor from its blade.

"Not today!" Lincoln snapped back.

The two began an intense exchange of blows. Lincoln assumed he'd have an advantage with a weapon like his Jian that played to his finesse, but the scythe had a bigger range, and Diablo swung it with so much energy and skill that made Lincoln take a mental note of never making Sid mad near one of those. He still managed to outmaneuver the Lord of Destruction, and even allowed himself to dip into his thunder-step skill to strike some lounges that would have won him the fight had they impacted.

"That's it! Keep him there!" Luan yelled, noticing how her brother had, for now, cornered Diablo, moving around him. She picked up her necklace once again and began to repeat the enchantments she'd used earlier, creating the first of eight sigils around Diablo.

"No!" The demon yelled, realizing what she was trying to do. He tried to launch a tongue of flames at her, but Lincoln threatened to cut his wings, and he had to keep fighting. He raised a hand. "Stop this at once!"

The winged black serpent in the sky decided to ignore its brawl and tried to turn and fight Luan, but Lincoln moved his hand, and the golden dragon bit the snake by the tail and dragged it up into the sky.

"YOU WON'T STOP ME!" Diablo screamed and tried one last powerful swing at Lincoln.

Seeing everything in slow motion, Lincoln appreciated his reflection on the sharp surface of the scythe. He did impossible math in his mind, one that he doubted even Lisa could have computed in time. Or at the very least, she wouldn't have been able to get her body to react in time for them. He calculated the distance between the scythe and himself, the strength that carried, the way Diablo contorted his torso to add some punch to it, his unbalanced center of gravity, the length of his sword…

He felt that he could do it. And with blind trust in this Exorcist instincts, he decided against thunder-stepping away.

Instead, he let his body fall, crouching down just in time for the scythe to tear his hat off but leaving him otherwise unharmed. He then took advantage of his momentum and stretched one leg, gaining the leverage to spin and use the centrifugal force to make one final swipe up.

Had his instincts failed, he would have either been decapitated in one clean swing, or he would have carved Sid's chest wide open. As it turned out, none of that happened, and with a flash of light, he managed to cleave one of Diablo's horns off.

With an unhallowed scream of pain and agony, Diablo dropped his scythe and fell on his knees, one hand going to the remaining half of his horn, keeping the black blood from spilling. Realizing that it was then or never, Lincoln raised his sword.

"Raitei Shourai!" He screamed, pointing it down at Diablo.

The clouds rumbled and the biggest lightning he'd ever seen bolted down onto the demon. Diablo shrieked and his body convulsed as the lightning surged through his muscles. Taking advantage of their incapacitated enemy, Luan finished the eight trigrams, and with a ninth and her second-to-last bead, she finished the Ba Gua, her Ten-Thousand-Things Taoist Talisman Trap. The five elements materialized to once again trap the devil's limbs.

"Lincoln! Do it!" She yelled, preparing her last bead.

The lightning bolt faded, and Diablo began to fight against his chains, struggling to free himself to no avail.

Lincoln knew what needed to be done. He sheathed his sword behind his back and approached the demon. He tried to spit out flames, but the magic prevented him from attacking, and this time Luan had made sure his palms were facing down. He was ready for the taking, all Lincoln needed to do was make sure he was strong enough to go through with the ritual.

He sighed, and for an instant, the image before him wasn't that of a Demon Lord, but rather the always-smiling face of Sid Chang. He could only imagine how much she'd hate him after this, but he realized an angry Sid would be better than a dead one. He couldn't let that happen. He would get her back.

He stepped right in front of Diablo.

"You'll fail," the demon said, panting. "You'll mess it up like you always do. You're not like your sisters. You're not strong. You're a pathetic human who doesn't even know what he is or what he wants in life. You'll always be miserable, you'll always disappoint everyone around you."

Lincoln gritted his teeth.

"I can't hear you," he lied, trying to be cool by saying Diablo's words back to him. Unfortunately, Diablo didn't seem to find him particularly clever or funny and instead began to laugh.

"Keep trying to convince yourself. You know I'm right. You know you're a weight on your sister's shoulders, a helpless, pathetic, miserable—"

Lincoln closed his eyes and began to do different mudras. As he did them, more and more Chinese symbols appeared on his skin like glowing tattoos. He continued to make them, each one ringing in the air with a gong-like note until his body told him he was ready.

"Demon begone!" He yelled, pulling back his fist and preparing his whole body to deliver the final blow. "Go back to your shadow!"

An image of the Shakyamuni himself appeared right behind him like a ghostly illusion as he punched the air right in front of Diablo's chest. A shockwave spread from him, raising a cloud of dust around the Ba Gua. The glowing symbols on his body moved to his fist, and then they spiraled out and surrounded Diablo. The demon began to scream in pain —or fear—, and dissonant whispers could be heard amid the air that whirled around them, each one sharing a different prayer.

Sid's body convulsed, and with every movement, it looked like the demonic form lagged behind the original girl's physique. Lincoln, still in a martial artist pose that would have made Lynn proud, closed the palm of his extended hand, and with one swift motion, he yanked it up.

Right away, Diablo's mouth hung open at the sky, and his body began to change. It lost its swellness and all the extra muscles. The horns and wings faded away, turned to ashes, and got carried away by the magical wind. The red tone disappeared, revealing her lost freckles, and the extra pair of eyes closed never to be seen again. With the force of a hose, a red smoke escaped from Sid's open mouth, going up to the sky and creating a lower cloud of dark, demonic power.

When all of the evil essences left her body, Sid passed out, her clothes torn and scorched. The Ba Gua and the elemental chains released her, and Lincoln had to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Sid!" He called her, but she didn't respond. He quickly checked her pulse and was happy to find a pulse. He sighed and affectionately pulled a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Lincoln!" Luan yelled, snapping him out of his worries.

He carefully laid her down and stepped protectively in front of her. He took his sword out once again.

The cloud of energy was beginning to take a shape, like a demonic, giant shadow that loomed over the street they were at.

"This is just what I needed," the thunderous voice said. "You've both spent your powers, and now I'm at my fullest. You've only made my job easier."

"That's what you think!" Luan said, and from her pocket, she took out…

...a whoopee cushion.

The phantasmal eyes looked at the item in question. Lincoln, as well, turned to stare at it. Silence took over the apocalyptic streets.

"Is this a joke?" Diablo deadpanned.

"Luan, please tell me this isn't a joke."

"This doesn't seem like the right time for a joke."

"Yeah, I feel like the tension and the stakes are way too high, you can't just break the pacing with a—"

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus!" Luan chanted in quite the rudimentary Latin.

Right away, the whoopee cushion glowed with a golden light, and all air around the two Exorcists and the shadow of the demon seemed to be sucked into it. Lincoln had to plant his feet to keep himself from being dragged. The lower end of Diablo's form, however, began to be absorbed by the comedic prop.

"NO! NO! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" The demon yelled, trying in vain to step away from Luan.

"Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio!" Luan continued, her eyes closed tight and her brow covered in sweat.

"You… You're not strong enough!" Diablo said, his body still being trapped by the Soul Cage. "You don't have the strength… You won't be able to stop me in time!"

The shadow then launched itself down towards Lincoln, who barely had time to take his sword and bury it on the ground, creating a magical dome of radiant energy to shield himself and Luan as the shadow kept being absorbed by the incantation his sister performed.

The giant, ghastly fists punched the dome, making the energy vibrate and shake.

"You're only delaying the inevitable!" Diablo yelled with a malicious smile. "Your sister doesn't have the power to trap me! Your energies are running low! You've lost, yet again!"

Lincoln looked at Luan, trying to decipher whether the evil entity was bluffing or not. Unfortunately, she looked back at him, and her scared eyes told him everything he didn't want to hear.

"Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica!" She continued, regardless, waving her hands in the air.

"I'll kill her first, right in front of you!" Diablo teased him, punching the dome with both arms.

The barrier and Lincoln both shook with the impact. He had to reposition his feet to avoid falling on his knees, and the entire dome seemed to sink two inches into the ground.

"You're not strong enough to stop me!" Diablo roared, before plummeting down onto Lincoln's magical barrier. This time, several glowing cracks appeared on the surface, and the young Harem King felt as if he himself had been punched in the shoulders. He closed his eyes and moaned with the effort of merely trying to stay awake.

"Ergo, omnis legio d-diabolica…"

Lincoln sensed that the devil was right. Luan was too tired to finish the incantation properly, and he lacked the power to keep Diablo at bay indefinitely. He wasn't strong enough to stop him. He wasn't strong enough to save the day.

"You can't save your sister," Diablo said, his thousand voices resonating in his mind like a wicked echo.

Lincoln looked at Luan, who just like him, could barely stand straight. They were barely two feet apart from each other, and he could see her muscles straining and the sweat and blood running down her body. She looked tired, drained. Just like him. He wasn't used to this Archetype, and he wouldn't be able to keep the fight going for much longer.

And then Luan's eyes met his own, and he realized he remembered that look. It was the same look of fear on Lori's and Leni's eyes when they felt that they couldn't keep him safe. It was the look she saw flashing in Luna's eyes when the husks had him and Sam surrounded. It was the same look he knew he had right then. A look that carried the deep, powerful wish of wanting to save someone you loved.

He needed to save her. And in a flash of inspiration, he realized how.

He looked up at the demonic shadow looming above him.

"You're right," he said, loud enough for the demon to hear him. "I can't save her."

Luan gasped at his words, but then, he smiled in her direction and extended a hand. He let it hang in the air for several seconds until Luan reached out and grabbed it.

"No… No…. NOOOOOO!" Diablo roared.

Lincoln looked back at the Lord of Terror. "But she can save me."

And with a simple thought, his Chinese robes turned back to his polo and jeans, his Jian sword faded, and the magical dome around them disappeared along with every trace of Exorcist essence in his body. It all flowed back to Luan, and when there was no more Exorcist left in his soul, he tapped into his natural Harem King power, and he let loose.

Luan had played with water balloons before. Royal Woods could get quite hot, and without a proper AC in the house and with not enough money for a pool that could fit thirteen people, them water balloons had proven to be a fun, easy, cheap way to get the family to cool off during summer. She always filled them up by carefully opening the water hose, making sure that the water flowed slowly and easily enough not to break the balloon.

That's how she felt it when Lincoln tapped into her essence, borrowing a tiny bit of her power, a mere fraction of it. But the moment Lincoln shared his power with her, she realized what it would be like if the fire department decided to use one of the hoses in their fire trucks to fill a little water balloon. She felt every cell in her body vibrating with more energy than she'd ever had. Suddenly, she saw her previous limits being left behind, and a whole new world of spells opened up to her.

"I WON'T LET YOU!"

She opened her eyes, not aware of the trail of radiant smoke that came from her pupils like they were an incandescent flame. She saw the colossal figure raising both arms well over his head, ready to crush her and her brother.

Like Hell she'd let that happen.

She clutched Lincoln's hand tight with her right hand, and with her left one, she drew the runes she needed.

"Ber, Mal, Ber, Ist!"

Calling the power of a runeword for the first time would become one of Luan's proudest moments, as the energy from Infinity surged into her whoopee cushion. She and Lincoln remained unaffected, but the sudden void in her Soul Cage began to absorb the essence of Diablo as a vacuum cleaner absorbs a pile of dust. The demon screeched in pain and agony, its form being torn apart and sent back to a physical container.

"Adiuramus te!" She finished, closing her fist over the Soul Cage.

Right away, with a final hurricane of wails and fruitless attempts at holding on to the material plane, the shadow of the demon was banished, cast out inside a simple whoopee cushion. The cacophony of voices was silenced, and for a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then, the Earth began to shake. A thousand souls were dragged back from the endless bottoms of the rifts, all of them shrieking in agony, forced to return to the Underdark. At the same time, many small orbs were allowed to abandon Hades, and Lincoln saw them flying through the air towards the many bubbles of energy Leni had created to contain the different groups of Soulless. He watched with relief as one of them floated into the Electrician's chest, and the burly man took a sharp breath as he'd just woken up from a nightmare, shaking his head in confusion.

After all the souls returned to their rightful place, the rifts closed with uncanny speed, the earth healing like nothing had happened there. The clouds dissipated, and the red glow of the sky faded away into a radiant blue. Birds began to chirp, and rays of pure sunlight fell warmly on Lincoln's face.

"Is… is it over?" He asked, too tired to say more.

Luan sighed, not letting go of Lincoln's hands and feeling the sudden burst of energy leaving her body. She smiled, but before she could respond, several voices spoke at once with an icy tone.

"yOu FOOLS! yOu ThINK You CaN STOp mE?!" The many voices of Diablo said from the Soul Cage, speaking directly into Lincoln and Luan's minds. "I sHAll be bACk, STroNger thaN bEfore, aND WHeN I do, my viCtorY wILL—"

BRRRRRRRRAAAAP!

With a simple squeeze, Luan silenced the Lord of Terror, turning his voice into an artificial toot.

"Yeah, Linc," she said with a tired smile. "It's over."