Case #11-The Daughter of the Devil, part 2

"Just because it's a three on one…" Crimson growls. "YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?!" Crimson then roars as she ignites her fist on fire and swings it backwards, slamming it into the fontrain behind her, and reducing it to charred rubble.

"Aw, I liked that fountain!" Kardos wines.

"There goes our taxes," I sigh.

My battle against Crimson continues when Crimson aims a palm at Sniper, Kardos, and I, and releases a devastating blast of fire our way.

Kardos hops to one side to dodge, and I attempt to hop to the other side to dodge, but my plans are foiled when a rush of pain courses up and down my entire body, causing me to crash back down to the ground. But before I'm incinerated by Crimson's attack, Sniper leaps to the side as well, scooping me up in the process, and helping the two of us dodge Crimson's attack.

"Th-thank you," I stammer, embarrassed by the fact that I'm so weak right now Sniper has to carry me in his arms.

"This is why I told you to scram, Reaper," Sniper apathetically replies as he drops me to the ground. "In this state, you're dead weight.

"Yeah, I know," I grunt as I struggle back up to my feet.

"What can this Devil do, Reaper?" Sniper asks.

"She's the daughter of Satan, the ruler of Hell," I answer. "She can produce and manipulate flames hot enough to melt anything they touch, but if she goes too hot, they'll burn her own flesh."

"I see…" Sniper replies as he aims his dual revolvers at Crimson. "Agent Kardos, you go on the offense, I'll support you."

"Right!" Kardos replies as she draws and activates her plasma sword, before charging Crimson. Once in front of Crimson, Kardos swings her plasma sword towards the Devil, who counters by igniting both of her fists in Hellfire, and launching a punch towards Kardos, which colides against her plasma sword in a burst of dark red flames and blue plasma energy.

Sniper then fires a volley of bullets Crimson's way, who then knocks Kardos off of her with a second flaming punch then raises another wall of fire to melt Sniper's plasma bullets before they can touch her.

"Not good," Sniper grumbles as he reloads his revolvers. "Her flames are hot enough to even melt plasma bullets."

"Then let's see how much this Devil likes plasma swords!" Kardos shouts as she swings her plasma sword towards Crimson again, who limbos under the blade to dodge, then uppercuts Kardos in the gut with a flaming punch.

"Hellfire Mace!" Crimson shouts as the force of her flame-boosted punch sends Kardos flying into the air as she vomits up a glob of blood.

"Agent Kardos!" Sniper cries.

Crimson then aims her palm at Kardos again and fires off another rush of Hellfire, but before her attack can connect, Sniper rushes over to Crimson and tackles her to the ground, causing her attack to miss her mark.

"Shit…I have to get in there…" I grunt as I attempt to take another step, but when I do so, pain so severe that it paralyzes me shoots up and down my entire body.

"Get off of me!" Crimson roars as she ignites her entire body on fire, but before Sniper can get burnt to a crisp like Koga was, I swoop in and yank Sniper off by his jacket collar, carrying him to safety.

"I suppose we're even now, Reaper," Sniper says.

"Yeah, I guess we were," I reply as I drop to the ground on one knee.

Meanwhile, as Kardos begins falling to the ground after being launched into the air by Crimson, she swings her plasma sword downwards, slashing Crimson across the chest and causing the Devil to let out a howl of pain, before retreating.

"Well…that's one attack landed…" Kardos comments.

"How…are we supposed to beat her…?" I ask. "Sniper's bullets don't work, I can barely move, and she beats Kardos in melee combat!"

"I know how-" Sniper begins to say before turning to face me. "Your father -the Grim Reaper, I mean- Sniper then asks, causing my entire body to tense up. I can feel myself grow woozy for a moment, as all the blood rushes to my head. "Where is he?"

"What about him…?" I growl.

"If the Grim Reaper were here, he'd kill this Devil instantly, unlike you. We need him to help us, not y-" Sniper continues, but before he can finish his answer, Sniper is interrupted when I rush over to him and grab his shirt collar, hoisting Sniper towards me.

"Hey!" Kardos shouts as her grip on her plasma sword tightens, but Sniper holds a hand up to her, causing Kardos to apprehensively slink back.

"Don't ever say that around me…ever again!" I snap.

"Why not?" Sniper asks as he leers down at me.

"I'm more than enough to defeat this Devil, and I'm gonna prove it to you, and everyone else! Especially him!" I answer.

"Tch," Sniper grunts as he slaps my hands off of his shirt collar. "If you could manage that, then you would have done so already, I take it."

"So how do we kill the Devil anyway?" Kardos asks. "I'm at a loss."

"Well…there is one thing," Sniper replies as he clutches his eyepatch. "I can use that."

"NO!" Kardos cries, shushing Sniper up. "You know what using that does to you, and I won't let you go through with it!"

"Um…what's that?" I ask.

"But we'll die if we don't, Kardos!" Sniper shouts.

"But if we win, then…then…then you'll die prematurely!" Kardos shouts back.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sniper asks as he motions to Crimson, who slowly begins trudging towards us, her unexpected wound from Kardos having slowed her down. "Because if you haven't noticed, we don't have much time on our hands!"

"I'll just have to use that," Kardos answers.

"You can't use that, it's too dangerous!" Sniper shouts.

"Can someone please fill me in on what that is?!" I snap.

"I'm going to awaken my plasma weapon," Kardos explains, but her eyes remain trained on Sniper. "It'll make my plasma sword way stronger."

"Great, then why haven't you done so sooner?" I ask.

"Because it's taboo to awaken a plasma weapon that hasn't gone through extensive training yet," Kardos explains as she turns towards me. "There's a chance that it can explode and kill us all. Literally."

I gulp. "Then how is it different from Sniper using his that?" I ask.

"Because Sniper's that-" Kardos begins to say, but Sniper cuts her off.

"Is a secret, especially from you," he finishes, causing me to roll my eyes.

"We're fighting side by side, but you're still on that?" I ask.

"All I'm telling you is that my that…doesn't involve my revolvers…" Sniper continues, causing me to raise an eyebrow at him

"Either way, it's either Kardos awakens her Devil weapon and we maybe die, or she doesn't and we do die," I say. "And personally…dying in a badass explosion sounds a Hell of a lot cooler than slowly roasting to death."

"Alright…" Kardos begins to say as she takes a step in front of Sniper and I and faces Crimson. "Here it goes…" she continues as Kardos grabs the guard on the hilt of her plasma sword and pulls it down, forming a longer handle. Kardos then grabs either side of her handle and pulls them apart, causing the handle to extend just a bit longer and revealing a mysterious symbol underneath, as steam begins spewing from the two halves of the handle. Kardos' plasma sword then grows longer and wider, until the blade of her plasma sword grows so large that she can no longer support it with two hands, and allows for the blade to fall to the ground, which crashes to the earth in a cloud of dust. When the dust settles, a crater remains in the wake of Kardos' plasma sword.

"Plasma Sword…awaken!"

"Did…did it work…?" I ask.

"We'll find out in a moment," Sniper answers. "In combat."

Kardos gets into a running position, then takes off. "What?!" Crimson cries as Kardos reappears before her in the blink of an eye.

"Woah, how did she do that?!" I cry.

"Plasma Weapon awakening doesn't just involve the weapon growing stronger, it involves the wielder growing stronger, as well," Sniper explains. "You see, plasma weapons are all linked to the DNA of their wielder, so when the plasma weapon awakens, it sparks a reaction in the wielder's body that increases blood flow tenfold, allowing for the wielder to become stronger, faster, more durable, and increase their reaction time for the brief period that their plasma weapon is awakened. This is Kardos' first awakening, so we have, say, maybe fifty more seconds for her to take the Devil out?"

"Fifty seconds?!" I cry. "That's not nearly enough time to defeat Crimson!"

"Then you're massively underselling Agent Kardos," Sniper replies, causing my eyes to widen.

Once in front of Crimson, Kardos swings her giant plasma sword towards the Devil, who counters by launching another flaming fist towards Kardos, but unlike before, rather than clashing, Kardos' plasma sword instantly overpowers Crimson and slams into the Devil with a mighty explosion of plasma energy, sending Crimson flying backwards.

"Holy crap!" I cry.

"Go…Agent Kardos…" Agent Sniper whispers under his breath.

Kardos then dashes towards Crimson again, and cleaves into her with another powerful slash, causing Crimson to spit up a glob of blood.

Kardos then unleashes a flurry of slashes upon Crimson, who counters with a flurry of flaming punches, the two women exchanging dozens of blows back and forth in a matter of seconds.

"Le'ts join this battle, Reaper!" Sniper orders as he aims his dual revolvers at Crimson.

"Right!" I reply as I draw my sickle-sword.

Sniper fires off another volley of plasma bullets at Crimson, while I charge her, and since the Devil is too busy focusing on the newly powered up Kardos, this gives Sniper's bullets and my sickle-sword the chance they needed to strike Crimson in the back, causing the Devil to unleash another howl of pain.

"We…we can do this!" I exclaim. "With the three of us together, we can really win!"

Sniper, Kardos, and I then go to unleash another combo attack upon Crimson, but before my sickle-sword can strike here, Crimson a point-blank flaming blast in my face, sending me flying backwards and slamming into the building behind me in a cloud of dust.

"R-REAPER!" Sniper cries.

"Dammit…" I grunt to myself as I slump to the ground in a pool of my own blood. "Sniper's right…we need him to win this battle, not me…"

"I'm so…weak…"

And then…everything goes black…

***

"Now that the Reaper's gone, only you two stand in my way now…" Crimson growls as she turns back to Kardos, who swings her awakened plasma sword towards Crimson, while Sniper fires off another volley of bullets her way. Crimson counters Kardos' plasma sword with a Hellfire Mace, which still manages to push Crimson pack a bit. As for Sniper, Crimson releases a wave of flames to melt his bullets, but a few plasma bullets manage to slip through Crimson's defenses and blast into the Devil

"Keep up the assault, Kardos!" Sniper orders. "The Devil…it's giving!"

"Right!" Kardos replies as she lands back on the ground, but as she does so, she flinches.

"You alright?" Sniper asks.

"Yeah…" Kardos answers with a weak smile through grit teeth. "The awakening is just starting to take its toll…"

"Don't push yourself too hard," Sniper says as he fires off another volley of plasma bullets towards Crimson.

"Save that for after we win," Kardos replies as she charges Crimson again.

"I've had…enough of this…" Crimson growls. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Crimson then unleashes another powerful rush of flames, one much weaker than before, yet one still strong enough to send Sniper and Kardos flying backwards.

"I'll defeat you here!" Kardos shouts as she pops back up to her feet then leaps high into the air, bringing her plasma sword high above her head as she does so. "PLASMA SWORD DECAPITATION!" Kardos roars as she swings her plasma sword downwards with all of her might, but before her blade can crash into Crimson, the Devil reaches out and effortlessly catches it one handed.

"She caught her awakened plasma sword?!" Sniper cries.

"Hey…what…gives…?" Kardos chuckles through grit teeth as she struggles against Crimson's grasp. "You aren't supposed to be able to just grow stronger when I'm about to defeat you…!"

"You…" Crimson growls as she tilts her head up and fixes an ominous glare on Kardos. "I've had enough of your shenanigans…"

Without another warning, Kardos then releases a powerful rush of flames point blank upon Kardos, but rather than burning the woman herself, Crimson's flames engulf Kardos' plasma sword, shattering it to bits.

"My…plasma sword…?" Kardos whimpers as her eyes widen in fear. "She… broke it…?"

"KARDOS, NO!" Sniper cries as the agent slumps to the ground, unconscious.

"Since a plasma weapon is tied to its wielder's DNA, when it's broken, it sends the wielder into a state of shock," Sniper nervously explains through grit teeth. "I shouldn't be telling you all this, but it's an agent's biggest weakness. In exchange for monstrous power, that is."

"Now, you die…" Crimson growls as she aims her palm at the unconscious Kardos.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY PARTNER!" Sniper roars as he rips off his eyepatch, revealing…another eye underneath? Though unlike Sniper's natural eye, this eye is a dark green pigment, with a red X shaped pupil. "The Eye of the God Garuda…GRANT ME YOUR STRENGTH!"

With a roar, Sniper drops his dual revolvers to the ground as he charges Crimson. As he does so, Sniper begins to say, "Magical Construction: Lucky Number Seven…" as he aims his palm at Crimson, dark green energy gathering around his hand. "BLUFF BULLET!" Sniper then shouts as he fires off a huge plasma bullet towards Crimson. Sniper's bullet then blasts into Crimson, causing the Devil's body to convulse as blood erupts from her wounds, but Crimson's too pissed off to even notice Sniper, and remains infatuated with Kardos.

"Hellfire Scream!" Crimson shouts as she unleashes a weakened rush of fire upon Kardos, roasting the woman to bits.

"KARDOS!" Sniper roars as he fires off a volley of point-blank magical bullets upon Crimson, causing the Devil to stumble backwards and ending her attack. Kardos' body has been charred black, but she's still breathing. She's still alive.

"You're annoying too…" Crimson growls as she shifts her attention back to Sniper, who attempts to fire off another volley of plasma bullets, before he can do so, Crimson unleashes yet another rush of flames, one hot enough to incinerate Sniper and Kardos to a crisp if left unattended long enough.

"D-dammit…" Sniper grunts as he's enveloped in Crimson's blaze. But before Sniper and Kardos are roasted alive, a hero swoops in. The hero rushes straight into Crimson's blaze, slashes the Devil across the chest with a powerful blade, forcing her attack to end and causing Crimson to howl in pain and stumble backwards, before snatching up Sniper and Kardos, and retreating for good.

And that hero…was me.

***

I drop Sniper and Kardos to the ground a couple dozen feet away from Crimson, before dropping to the ground on one knee as well, and panting heavily for breath. My back feels like it's on fire, literally! That last stunt there, must have finally burnt me completely black for good!

 "Reaper, you…saved me…" Sniper weakly croaks.

"Yeah, you saved once and I saved you twice, so you owe me now," I weakly pant in response. "Still think we need my old man to save us?"

"I'm still…going to kill you…" Sniper weakly replies before his eyes flutter closed for good.

I stare at Sniper in silence for a brief moment. "I lied, Sniper," I then finally say as I push myself back off of the ground one last time and draw my sickle-sword. "You don't owe me, in fact, I owe you. Sorry for sacrificing you and Kardos to Crimson to buy myself enough time for me to get my strength back, it was our only way of victory. Koga …Sniper…Kardos…you guys did amazing, I'll take it from here."

I then turn back around to face Crimson again, but before I can say anything, another voice calls to me.

"Zach!" A voice cries, and I spin around to where I heard the voice, seeing two people emerge enter the Town Square behind me

"Evelyn?! Raiden?!" I cry. "What are you two doing here?!"

"You and Koga went to meet up with Crimson a while ago, but you never messaged us as to what happened…" Evelyn timidly explains. "So we grew worried…"

"Well you shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous!" I cry. "You'll die!"

"What's the matter-" Evelyn begins to say, but when she lays eyes on Koga's charred husk, her eyes widen. "Oh my goodness…" Evelyn whimpers as she covers her mouth with her hands. "Is that…Koga…? And the Supernatural Investigators…?"

"Yeah…" I answer as I turn away in shame. "They fought valiantly, but it wasn't enough."

"Are they…a-al-" Evelyn stammers, but I cut her off in order to spare her from saying the words that she's too afraid to say.

"They're not dead, at least," I answer. "But they're not exactly alive, either. Especially Koga. Evelyn, would you do me a favor and carry him to safety for me?"

"But Zach, what about you…?" Evelyn asks as she looks me up and down, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "You're…so burnt, and so covered in blood…"

"I'm fine," I lie.

"But-" Evelyn begins to say, but I cut her off.

"I'm FINE!" I snap, causing Evelyn to flinch.

"Remember our promise, Evelyn!" I order. "Do as I say and carry Koga to safety!"

"Right, Zach," Evelyn sobs as she scoops up Koga the best as she can and begins dragging him out of the Town Square.

"And Zach, I take it I'm with you?" Raiden asks as he takes a step forward.

"You've gotten used to this gig now, you used to wine every time I told you to fight by my side," I answer with a weak smile.

"Well against this opponent, I don't have time to be afraid," Raiden answers. "If I do…we die."

"Right," I nod.

"Zach…" Evelyn calls to me.

"Yeah…" I ask as I peer over my shoulder at Evelyn.

"Come back to me…alive…" Evelyn whimpers, as she wipes her tearful eyes one more time, before continuing on with dragging Koga away from the Town Square.

"I will, Evelyn," I nod as I turn back around and aim my sickle-sword at Crimson. "I promise I will."

"I take it this is your final ally, huh, Reaper?" Crimson asks me. "So if I defeat him, then I can finally complete my mission and kill you."

"You're wrong," I answer. "You forgot about one very important detail."

"And what may that be?" Crimson asks.

"That I'm the best boss ever," I answer with a smirk. "And I'll never let you lay a finger on my employees."

Before my battle against Crimson can continue, I take a moment to spin in a small circle, surveying our environment. Almost every building, bench, and structure in the Town Square has been burnt to ash or reduced to rubble from the heat of Crimson's flames. The ground and rubble of the Town Square has been charred black and is littered with black soot and scorch marks, and the Town Square itself is on fire. There's not a civilian in sight, luckily everyone has been evacuated.

"We've…really made a mess of things…this …isn't how Reaper's Paranormal likes to do shit…" " I say to myself under my breath. I then turn back around to face Crimson again. "After I defeat you, we're cleaning up your mess. We're going to make it look as if you've never even shown your face in this town."

"Do as you wish," Crimson replies as she aims her palm at me again. "But you won't be leaving his battlefield alive. I almost killed you once, Reaper, what makes you think that now, all of a sudden, you're able to defeat me?"

"Because now I've got Raiden on my side!" I answer, causing Raiden's eyes to widen, as I reach up and rip off my bloody jacket, which has almost been burned to ash already, revealing my charred, muscular chest.

"SILENCE!" Crimson roars, and my battle against the Devil resumes when Crimson ignites her hand on fire, and unleashes yet another rush of flames my way. "Hellfire Scream!"

"Woah, she's strong!" Raiden yelps as he watches Crimson's attack fly towards us.

"Yeah, but we're stronger!" I shout as I swiftly draw my sickle-sword and swing it downwards before Crimson's rush of flames can engulf us, slicing right through her attack.

"WHAT?!" Crimson cries. "How is the Reaper even stronger than before?!"

"Raiden, remember that combo attack?" I ask as I begin dashing towards Crimson.

"A-are you sure?!" Raiden yelps. "That could hurt you!"

"Can't hurt more than this Devil's flames!" I reply as I leap into the air above Crimson.

"Oh…alright, you asked for it!" Raiden nervously replies as he begins frantically flipping through his spell book, before stopping on a specific page. As Raiden waves his wand through the air, the wind around us begins spiraling rapidly and howling like the lost souls of purgatory. Raiden's wand begins crackling with blue sparks of lightning, causing all of the lights in the Town Square to flicker, as he aims it at me. "Fulimins Ure!" Raiden shouts as he fires off a powerful blast of lighting towards me. In response, I raise my sickle-sword into the air like a lightning rod, which draws in Raiden's blast of electricity, which crackles around and electrifies the blade of my sickle-sword.

"Thanks, Raiden!" I exclaim as I swing my electrified sickle-sword down towards Crimson.

"What?! An electrified blade?!" Crimson cries as she counters by launching another flaming punch towards me.

"SOUL THUNDER HUNTER!"

"HELLFIRE MACE!"

Mine and Crimson's attacks collide in a giant explosion of fire and lightning, reducing what little of the Town Square that was still standing to ash.

"Woah!" Raiden cries as he's sent stumbling backwards due to the shockwaves of wind flying off of the force of the collision of mine and Crimson's attacks.

Crimson and I struggle back and forth for a bit, taking turns pushing each other back, until my electrified sickle-sword pushes past Crimson's Hellfire Mace for good. With a roar, I swing my sickle-sword downwards, slashing Crimson across the chest yet again with my lightning blade, electrifying Crimson as she howls in pain.

"Soul Thunder Hunter!" I shout again as I slash Crimson with my sickle-sword one final time before the electricity crackling around it dissipates, sending Crimson flying backwards and slamming into the wall behind her in a cloud of dust, convulsing from lightning in the process.

But I don't give Crimson much of a chance to rest, nor do I even say anything. I simply draw my sickle-sword and get into a running position. I then disappear, moving faster than I've ever moved before, before reappearing in the air in front of Crimson, causing the Devi's eyes to widen. "His eyes…" Crimson softly says to herself. "They've completely glossed over! The Reaper's in total concentration, he's...HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

Raiden flips through the pages of his spell book before stopping on a specific page. As Raiden twirls his wand through the air, the howling winds pick up even further. "Turris Turbo!" Raiden shouts [Towering Tornado] as he aims his wand at Crimson, causing the howling of winds around her begin to spiral around Crimson, trapping her in a powerful rotating tornado.

With Crimson caught in Raiden's tornado, this gives me the chance to dive straight through his howling winds and attack Crimson yet again, unleashing another flurry of slashes with my sickle-sword, causing blood to erupt from Crimson's chest. Crimson attempts to counter with her Hell flames the second that she ignites her body on fire, the powerful winds from Raiden's tornados blow the flames away instantly, extinguishing them. This gives me the chance to slash Crimson across the chest with all my might with my sickle-sword one last time, sending Crimson crumbling to the ground, as I land back down on the ground across from her.

"How…have you grown even stronger…?" Crimson weakly asks me as she spits up a glob of blood.

"I…I just can't bring myself to fight at my fullest power when humans are around…" I answer, causing Crimson's eyes to widen. "Every time I feel myself going "Reaper Mode," I always ask myself. "How would Evelyn feel if she saw me like this?" If Evelyn watched me fight you like this, she'd be horrified. She'd be scared of me. Sorry about that, but that's why I have a bad habit when humans are around…"

I take a deep breath in…then out.

"BUT NOW THAT IT'S JUST RAIDEN AND I, I FEEL LIKE I CAN GO ALL OUT TO KILL YOU."

"Th-this entire time, the Reaper hasn't been at his full power…?" Crimson stammers as she struggles to push herself back up to her feet. "HE'S BEEN HOLDING BACK THIS ENTIRE TIME?!"

"Then allow me to show you my unburdened strength!" I roar as I draw my sickle-sword and charge Crimson again.

"Th-this cannot be…" Crimson says to herself, under her breath as she stares down at her feet. "I couldn't imagine that I'd have to do it in a battle against a Reaper aided by humans, but it seems like I can't hold back any longer…"

Slowly, Crimson then turns back up to face me again, with a new murderous gleam in her eyes.

"Careful, Zach, she seems to be plotting something!" Raiden calls to me.

But I don't listen to Raiden. With a roar, I swing my sickle-sword towards Crimson, but it's in that moment where Crimson unleashes her strongest rush of flames yet, causing my charred body to be sent flying backwards

"Zach!" Raiden cries as he aims his wand at me, catching me with his wind, before setting me back onto the ground.

"Ugh, what…happened…?" I groan as I slowly push myself off of the ground and rub my head.

"That!" Raiden answers as he points to Crimson, where I see her body engulfed in powerful Hellfire. From within the maroon blaze, Crimson lets out an eerie growl as curly, tan ram horns jut out from the top of her head.

"Wh…what's happening to her…?" I ask.

"I-I don't know…" Raiden stammers.

After a few more moments, Crimson's blaze of fire flickles out, revealing her new Devilish form, outfitting with those same horns as before, a long red tail ending in a pitchfork, black scales spread across her body, maroon red claws and talons, and black eyes.

"This is my true form, my Devil Form…" Crimson ominous growls as she begins approaching Raiden and I. "Now, with my true power, you'll never be able to win…"

"Crap, she was holding back too?!" I cry.

"Z-Zach, what do we do now…?" Raiden stammers.

"I don't know what we can do!" I reply.

"Where's your dad, Zach?!? Raiden panics. "Nestant Town is his territory, right? Just where is Grim Reaper?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I snap. "But we don't need him to save us, dammit, I can do it all myself!"

With a roar, Crimson charges me again, reappearing in front of me with the blink of an eye. Crimson aims a flaming fist towards me, which I attempt to counter with my sickle-sword, but Crimson flaming fist pushes straight through my defenses, crashing into ym guy and sending me flying into the air.

"Zach!" Raiden cries as he watches my ascent.

Crimson then ignites a finger on fire then moves it in a circle, drawing a ring of fire in the air. "Hellfire Halo!" Crimson shouts as she sends her ring of fire flying towards me, which blasts into me in an explosion of flames, sending me crashing back to the ground.

"Now…for you…" Crimson growls as she turns to face Raiden causing the boy to flinch. "Hellfire Scream!" Crimson shouts as she aims her palm at Raiden and unleashes a powerful rush of fire his way.

"Oh no…oh no, where is it?!" Raiden stammers as he desperately begins flipping through his spellbook. "Ah-ha, here it is!" Raiden then exclaims as he stops on a specific page, before turning back to Crimson and aiming his wand at her. "Gravitas Ventus!" Raiden shouts as he fires a powerful gust of wind Crimson's way, but Crimson's Hell flames instantly push past Raiden's attack, before engulfing the boy in a rush of flames. Raiden lets out a howl of pain, before dropping to the ground after Crimson's flames subside.

"Now…to kill the Reaper, once and for all…" Crimson growls as she begins marching towards me.

"Dammit…" I grunt as I watch Crimson march over to me. I attempt to grab my sickle-sword to fight back, but I don't even have the strength to move my fingers. "Move …Zach…" I grunt to myself in between grit teeth. "You need…to move…IF YOU DON'T MOVE EVERYONE WILL DIE!" But it's futile. I can't find the strength to even grab my sickle-sword, much less stand up. It's over. I can't face Crimson any longer.

I've lost.

"Z-Zach…" Raiden weakly grunts as he slowly pushes his charred body off of the ground. "Remember…what I said to you, after I first joined Reaper's Paranormal…?" He asks, causing my eyes to widen. "You were the one who first gave me the courage to stand up and fight for myself, Zach!" Raiden booms. "And because of that…I vowed to dedicate my Storm Magic to you! Now, I know that I may not be strong, but with a little bit of help, even I can use some powerful lighting spells!" Raiden continues as he aims his wand at the power lines above him.

"Raiden, don't-" I cry, but it's too late.

"Fulminis Ure!" Raiden shouts as he fires a weak jolt of lightning into the power line above him, causing the powerline to snap then fall onto Raiden, shocking him with electricity. "By using my body as a conduit…I can cook up even stronger lighting spells that I could before…" Raiden grunts as he struggles to aim his wand into the air. "And now, for my final spell…FULMEN DE COELIS!" Raiden shouts [Lightning Bolt from the Heavens] as he fires off a somewhat stronger bolt of lightning into the air, but…nothing happens…?

At least, nothing at first. But when Crimson stops before me and raises a flaming claw up to deal a finishing blow, that's when a giant bolt of lightning falls down from the Heavens itself, crashing down upon Crimson, and causing the Devil to howl in pain.

"R-Raiden…!" I stammer as my eyes widen.

"Take her out, Zach!" Raiden calls to me one final time before crashing to the ground, slipping unconscious at last. "Don't let her disrespect Reaper's Paranormal!"

"R-right…" I grunt as I summon each and every last droplet of strength I have left, and find the courage to push myself off of the ground to face Crimson one final time. "This fight ends here, Crimson!" I roar over Crimson's howls of pain from Raiden's bolt of lightning.

And then, as if on cue, my messenger bag begins to wiggle, catching my eye. "Huh…what's happening…?" I ask as I peer over at my messenger bag. Five souls then float out of my messenger bag and begin flying through the air towards me. "Woah, what the-?!" I stammer as I take a step away from the souls, but they begin swarming me and floating around me in a circle. "Alright, this is creepy!" I cry as I spin in a circle, observing the five souls as they begin floating closer to me.

And that's when I hear a voice.

"You may have been the one to kill me, but if you die, then that Devil will probably destroy our souls too…" I hear a faint voice say.

"Wh-who said that?!" I stammer as I look around frantically.

"I'd rather have to deal with you than that Devil…" another voice faintly says, causing my eyes to widen.

"No…way…" I softly say to myself. "Am I…hearing the voices of the souls I reaped…?"

"Take our power, Reaper…" a third voice faintly says.

"And use it…" says the third soul.

"Use it to kill the Devil…" finishes the fifth soul.

The souls continue spinning around me in a circle as they draw closer, and then, I feel the power of the five different souls begin to flow into my body, even without me consuming them. With my new found strength, I turn back to face Crimson as the five souls hover behind my back in a star-shaped pattern. Purple flame-like energy then bursts from my eyes and sickle-sword as well, as if I'm using my Soul Sight.

"Is this…Soul Energy?" I ask myself as I look down at my hands, which are brimming with power. "No, this feels…different than a Reaper's Soul energy. It's as if…I'm wielding the power of the soul's I've reaped themselves. I've unlocked…a new pinnacle of my abilities…" I begin to say as I aim the tip of my sickle-sword at Crimson, which is brimming with power. "I'll call this…Reaper Drive."

"Call it what you want, it won't help you win!" Crimson roars as she aims another flaming punch towards my face, one strong enough to reduce everything behind me to ash in a powerful explosion of flames. But this time, when her fist slams into me…I don't even flinch.

"Was that…supposed to hurt…?" I slowly ask as I peer back at Crimson from behind her knuckles, causing the Devil's eyes to widen.

Crimson then unleashes another flurry of flaming blows upon my body, but just as before, they don't even leave a scratch.

"The Reaper…he just keeps getting stronger!" She cries.

Slowly, Agent Sniper opens his eyes, and strains them over to mine and Crimson's fight. "This battle…" he begins to say. "Is far behind human intervention…"

After Crimson's pathetic attempt at an attack, I swing my sickle-sword upwards, slicing Crimson across the chest and causing her head to violently snap into the air as bloody bursts from her wounds. Crimson's eyes widen. My newfound strength has left her speechless.

Next, I chamber my right fist as it begins glowing bright blue, the color of souls. "SOUL FLASH!" I roar as I launch my fist forwards, slamming it into Crimson's gut, causing her eyes to widen as she's sent flying backwards.

I then leap into the air high above Crimson, who angles both hands behind her in response, emitting a steady stream of fire which Crimson uses to fly into the air around. Once in the air, Crimson and I shower one another with dozens of blows, slashes from my sickle-sword and flaming punches from Crimson. Until, after hundreds of blows are exchanged, I knock Crimson to the ground, who crashes into the earth with a cloud of dust, before I land back on the ground as well and begin approaching Crimson. Swiftly, I reach into my messenger bag and pull out a soul, before flinging it over to Crimson. Crimson aims a hand at the soul and launches a fireball at it, causing the soul to explode. Crimson howls in pain as she's wrapped up in the blue explosion.

"SOUL GRENADE!"

I then swing my sickle-sword towards Crimson again, but this time, the Devil scrambles to her feet and leaps backwards, then flings two fireballs my way. "S-stay back!" Crimsons stammers, but I slice through both of her fireballs with ease before charging her yet again, my entire body glowing with bright blue soul energy, which reinforces the strength of my body many times over.

"I SAID STAY BACK!" Crimson roars as she brings both hands above her head, charging up an extra-powerful fireball, before swinging them downwards and lobbing the fireball my way. Just as before, I slice through Crimson's fireball with ease, before continuing on towards her, using the speed boost granted to me by the energy of the souls I consumed.

Crimson unleashes a final Hellfire Scream upon me, but this time, I simply push past it as I continue onwards towards the Devil. I then stop before Crimson, looming over her, as the Devil peers back up at me with fear in her eyes.

"H-how are you still standing…?" Crimson stammers. "I knock you down again and again, but you keep getting up, even stronger than before!"

"Because you forgot one thing," I answer as an evil grin spreads across her face. "No matter who or what you are, at the end of the day, when your time is up…the Reaper will have your soul!"

Crimson lets out a whimper as she trembles beneath me.

I lift my left knee high into the air before stomping it forwards, shattering the ground and leaving a small crater in the earth in my wake. Next, I hold my sickle-sword straight out, as the purple flame-like energy begins to grow and expand, morphing in the shape of a giant sickle sword.

"Raiden…Koga…Sniper…Kardos…Evelyn…" I begin to say as I raise my extra- powerful sickle-sword high in the air above my head. "This…is for you…"

"I won't…let this end now…" Crimson grunts as extra-powerful Hell flames explode from her body. Crimson then uppercuts her fist towards my sickle-sword, sending her flames flying upwards.

"SUPER SOUL HUNTER!"

With a roar, I swing my sickle-sword downwards with all of my might. The powered-up blade of my sickle-sword then collides with Crimson's flames in an explosion of Hellfire and purple energy.

At first, Crimson's attack begins to overpower my own, but with a roar, I summon the rest of my strength and begin to push Crimson back. Crimson grits her teeth and digs her heels into the ground, but slowly, my sickle-sword pushes her backwards.

"I won't…LET YOU FOIL MY FATHER'S PLANS!" Crimson roars.

"This battle…ENDS HERE!" I roar back.

With a roar, Crimson and I up the strength of both of our attacks, sparking a mighty explosion that causes both of us to go blind as pain courses across my entire body. But then, when the explosion subsides, I look down at my feet to see an unconscious Crimson lying on the ground, soaked in her own blood.

But then…I crash to the ground as well.

"I've…won…" I pant, as a goofy grin spreads across my face. "Finally…it's over. I won…"

But then…the unthinkable happens.

After letting out a small groan, Crimson's fingers begin to twitch. And as her ram horns and pitchfork-tail shrink back into her body, slowly, Crimson begins to push herself off of the ground. All I can do is watch in dismay as Crimson sways back and forth, hardly able to find her balance in her bloodied, battered state. I don't have the strength to move, I don't have the strength to stand. All I can do now is watch.

Oh no…

The damn Devil is still kickin'.

"You were…quite the troublesome opponent…even for the son of Grim Reaper…" Crimson croaks as she takes a single, shaky step towards me, followed by another. "I didn't think that you would be able to bloody me up so badly. Now if your father were here instead…then this would be a different story."

"Where is he, anyway…?" I weakly ask. I don't even have the strength to dispute Crimson's taunts about my weakness. She's right, anyway. My dad is strong. I am weak.

"My own father is taking care of yours as we speak," Crimson answers as she takes another step towards me.

"No…" I gasp as my eyes widen. Satan and my dad…are fighting…? And God isn't going to stop them?!

Crimson and I say nothing as she continues approaching me. And once she's directly in front of me, Crimson pauses, looming over me, as the light of the sun is instead replaced by Crimson's shadow.

"Now…" Crimson begins to say as she raises a fist. It's slow to the start, but flames eventually begin flickering around Crimson's hand, before engulfing it in a full maroon blaze. "Say goodnight."

I close my eyes and wince as Crimson's flaming fist flies towards me. It's all I have the strength to do. But before I am pierced by Crimson's surly fatal attack, a voice calls out: "Sorry I'm late, Zach!"

My eyes widen.

"NO!" Crimson gasps as she stumbles backwards, her maroon flames extinguishing. "You…father should have taken care of you by now!"

"No…way…" I grunt as I weakly push myself up and turn to peer over my shoulder to where I heard the voice. And that's where I see him approaching behind, wearing his standard pitch black dress pants, shoes, belt, and shirt, with the top few buttons open, revealing a muscular, hairy chest. With slicked back black hair and piercing bright blue eyes.

Grim Reaper.

"Sorry, Zach," my dad apologizes again as he reaches a white gloved hand outfitted with an expensive silver wristwatch up to his mouth and pulls out his fat cigar, letting out a puff of smoke. "I was a little, uh… preoccupied talking to an old friend."

"D-DAD?!" I cry. "Why are you here?!"

"I heard someone was running amok in my territory and needed to be punished," my dad smirks as he turns to face Crimson.

As my dad speaks, a familiar stench wafts through the air, causing me to turn my nose up, sniff, then gag. "Are you…drunk?!" I ask as I turn back towards my dad, and after smelling that certain smell, I notice the unusual redness of his face as well as his wobbly way of moving.

"N-no!" My dad stammers, followed by a burp.

"Dammit…this is too much for me to handle…" Crimson whispers to herself. "I must retreat."

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" My dad booms, causing Crimson to flinch. "Destroying my town…harming its civilians…and attempting to kill my son…for all of those crimes you committed, you must be punished tenfold!"

"Notice how I'm last," I snort as I roll my eyes.

Crimson begins trembling as she peers up at my dad's huge, looming stature. "N-no…" Crimson stammers. "Please…spare me…"

And it's at that moment that I see something that I never would have imagined I would see a Devil experiencing. As I look into Crimson's trembling, tearful eyes, I am reminded as to why I hate my father.

Because only he can make a Devil tremble in fear.

"SILENCE!" My dad booms as he reaches a second white gloved hand across his back, this one decked out with various rings. My dad then pulls out a large black staff with a curved, jagged sickle blade at the end.

The scythe of the Grim Reaper.

My dad brings his right knee high into the air, before stomping it forwards, kicking up a cloud of dust and forming a crater in the ground. My dad clutches the end of his scythe tightly with both of his hands, as its large blade begins glowing with a purple energy, his Soul Energy.

I haven't seen my dad use his powers in such a long time. Since that day. The day I became the son of the Grim Reaper…

"I don't know what you were planning to do by attacking my territory, but your reign ends here!" My dad booms. And then, my dad swings his scythe towards Crimson with all his might, sending a huge crescent-moon shaped projectile of purple Soul Energy flying towards Crimson.

"GRIM REAPER'S HUNT!"

Crimson lets out a scream of terror as she aims both palms at my dad, firing off a useless blast of Hellfire, which is instantly overpowered by my dad's Soul Energy. My dad's attack then blasts into Crimson in a mighty explosion of purple light and flames. By the time that the blast subsides, Crimson is lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. 

Defeated.

"Did you…kill her…?" I meekly ask.

"No…" my dad answers as he sadly furrows his brow at Crimson's unconscious body. "She may have tried to kill you, but me killing the Devil's daughter would lead to no good, only more bloodshed."

"Figures…" I sigh. "You wouldn't care enough about me to kill he-" I begin to say, but then, everything goes black.

"Zach?" My dad answers as he turns to face me. But when my dad lays eyes on me, they widen in shock. "ZACH!"

And then, I lose consciousness.

***

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" I cry as I sit upwards the second I wake up.

"Zach, you're awake!" Evelyn cries as she flinches and jumps out of her seat.

"Wh-where am I…?" I ask as I begin looking around, seeing that I'm in my room. "You…brought me here…?" I then ask as I turn back to face Evelyn.

"No, actually, the Supernatural Investigators brought you here…" Evelyn answers as she rubs the back of her neck. "But when I heard what happened, I rushed over here as fast as I could! It's weird, this is my first time in your room but you were asleep…"

"Really?" I ask as my eyes widen. "Why would they do that?"

"They said that it felt wrong to kill you while you were half-dead yourself," Evelyn explains with a small smile. "And also that you deserve a chance to rest after saving Nestant Town."

Raiden, Koga, Sniper, Kardos…what happened to them?!" I cry.

"Raiden is home, he's receiving medical treatment now," Evelyn explains. "He's actually in worse shape than you are, surprisingly, but he'll live. As for Koga, he actually woke up shortly after I carried him away from the Town Square, but then he just, uh…disappeared in a cloud of dust. But Koga's resilient, so I'm sure he's fine."

"Sounds just like Koga!" I laugh.

"As for the Supernatural Investigators, the investigators who arrived on the scene helped carry them off, so I'm sure they're fine…" Evelyn explains, but she then sadly peers to the floor as her voice trails off.

"What's the matter?" I ask.

"It's just…" Evelyn whimpers, as tears begin forming at the corners of her eyes. "I-I've never seen you like that before, Zach…I mean, you're so strong, so I thought that you could never lose, but when I saw that even you were about to die to the Devil, it…it scared me…here you are, after having almost died, and you're still asking about everyone except yourself…"

Tears then begin streaming down Evelyn's cheeks.

I turn away from Evelyn and stare down at my bed in despair. This entire time, I was hiding that powerful Reaper side of me because I thought that Evelyn would be afraid if she saw me like that, but…this entire time, she wasn't afraid of me.

She was afraid of seeing me hurt.

I let out a small sigh, before spinning around towards Evelyn and wrapping her in my arms in a tight embrace, causing her eyes to widen.

"Z-Zach?!" She stammers, as a blush creeps across Evelyn's cheeks.

"You're scared, I know," I whisper into Evelyn's hair. "All of this is new to you, especially that. I'm used to watching people die, but for you…it must have been horrifying. And I know that this is incredibly selfish of me to say, but Evelyn, I…I need you. So please don't be afraid, everything's alright now. So please…continue working for me…"

Evelyn hugs me back and smiles. "Where did you ever get the idea that I was going to quit?" Evelyn whispers back, causing a smile to spread across my own face.

"Then it's a promise, right?" I ask.

"What is?" Evelyn asks.

"That you'll keep working for me," I answer.

"Of course, Zach," Evelyn replies. "Of course…"