Agni Asura

Later in the day, three of Rakna's Tail Clones could be seen sitting in the sky above the city, joining forces to create batches of hearts that would mysteriously float down to the ground.

The soldiers from the Earth, Sun, and Moon armies were all catching and distributing them to the masses who had decided to stay and fight, while the rest were being evacuated to the moons.

"…that is a traumatizing sight," Lilith uttered from atop a small mountain off the east of the capital city, eying the three clones' handiwork. She looked tired and dirty; and the cause of it stood right in front of her.

"Focus," a cold feminine voice echoed and the demoness sighed miserably.

A female version of the Sentinel… of all things, the gorgeous woman currently training her was not something she expected to see in her life.

'Ranka, he said?' Lilith furrowed her eyebrows. Earlier, Rakna had unceremoniously forced her to evolve into a new demon race and after calmly saying that she therefore needed training, one of his tails literally detached itself from his back and turned into this woman.

"…should I even ask?" She grumbled to herself.

Ranka raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Well…" Lilith sheepishly waved at the wolf girl. "All that."

To her credit, the therian snorted in amusement. "Why am I a woman, you ask? There isn't a deep reason. Frankly, I could be anything. But that is beside the point. I'm not a simple clone like those over there," she pointed at the werewolves in the distance. "You could call me a vessel of sorts. I'm the power he taps into when he needs to surpass his limits. I come from a combination of countless energies he possesses sublimated into one extra container."

"I see…?" Lilith tilted her head. "But… why do you feel so different from him if you're his clone?"

"At my core lay four of the Cardinal Sins. Above that orbits Infernity and Divinity to keep them in order. I represent that. In essence, my current form is a purposefully distinct safety mechanism."

"That's… fascinating, actually," the demoness admitted.

"Hm," Ranka smiled. "'We' are complicated like that. Now then, break's over. If you're done gawking at those three, maybe we can continue your training, hm? We don't have unlimited time."

Lilith blushed faintly and glanced one last time at the macabre 'waterfall' of hearts. "I still stand by my opinion… think of all the children you're going to traumatize with that."

"Then, they'll be happy to care about it once they survive," Ranka smiled coldly and her aura began to press on the surroundings.

The demoness shivered and fought against the pressure. It's already been a few hours since they've started this 'training' and she still couldn't believe that a clone had this much power.

"Now, again. Transform."

Lilith pursed her lips and clenched her fists. Taking a deep breath, she reached out for the wisp of green demonic power at the core of her being and pulled with all her might. The sensation of the mask resting on her face and the horns on her forehead returned at once. She felt her body expand and her muscles being filled with strength.

Ranka watched it happen with a calm gaze. "…four seconds," she commented after the completion of the transformation. "Much better than the initial twenty-eight, but still not good. 'We' can turn into a werewolf in less than half a second."

"How is that a fair comparison…" Lilith's voice echoed through the mask, lower than her real one, and doubled tone as well.

"Now, your flames," Ranka crossed her arms, and the evolved demoness could only grumble as she reached for the ring of flames behind her and grabbed it with her bare hands.

The bright lime-green fire bristled her skin but didn't harm her. Quickly, a mass of fire spewed out and turned into an indented saber releasing considerable heat.

"Good. The second one."

Lilith nodded and promptly duplicated the saber, mirroring her usual weapons of choice.

"The arms," Ranka's cold instructions continued.

This time, the Asura spent more time concentrating before a pair of large arms sprouted from the inside of the fire ring. They were almost as big as her torso and clad in some kind of solid light, an armor almost.

"Sabers."

Lilith clicked her tongue at the next command and for a moment, sparks appeared in the palms of the two arms, until vague and unstable constructs were gripped by them.

"New record," Ranka snorted. "Then, the second pair."

If the demoness could afford it, she would have glared at her. But she swallowed her dissatisfaction and attempted to form a second pair of arms. However, she lost control and the ring returned to its initial shape, both the arms and sabers disappearing.

She breathed out tiredly but didn't undo her transformation. "I can't do this…" She groused. "Why do you keep making me do this over and over again?"

"You're an Asura," Ranka deadpanned as if that was meant to explain everything. "Listen, 'we' have a friend whose pet is part-Asura."

"…a pet," Lilith repeated blankly.

"Yes. He consumed an Asura's Tear and gained its abilities. What you should know about Asuras is that they each possess a 'specialty' that is essentially a racial trait of their own. In legends, it usually was a gift given by a god. That pet I mentioned is a Nemesis Asura; Anti-Magic. You…" The therian's eyes glowed golden. "Are a Guardian Asura. And specifically, you are an Agni. You wield one of the five Inert Impermanent Elements; an authority of fire, lightning, and sun all at once."

Lilith pursed her lips as she saw the golden crosses shine in the female clone's eyes. "You also have the same abilities as him…" She muttered slowly. "What did you even do to me? What was inside that heart I ate?"

"Don't overthink it. We didn't do much," Ranka retorted. "It was your potential. The only thing we did was pass on some disposable Divinity, Infernity, and Mystic Energy to you. The latter especially had an effect on you and unlocked your current form; your latent aptitude. What worked out in an unexpected way even for us though was the Agni. You overpowered the Lunisolar Flames we gave you and changed it into something completely different, but not any weaker."

"…"

"Now, you have to learn. As a Guardian Asura, you should be like a mountain. Your resolve should never run out. Neither your stamina nor flames. As long as you're alive and conscious, collapsing is a ridiculous idea. But currently, you're showing none of that."

"Even if you tell me that…" Lilith frowned, glancing over her shoulder at the Agni Ring that refused to listen to her. And there were two more variations to it too? How?

"What is it that you don't understand?" Ranka scoffed. "Being a Guardian; don't you already know what it is like? Where is the woman who burned her life force to protect her army? Where did all that resolve run off to?"

The Asura Demoness fell silent.

"What is the reason you sought power? Wasn't it for justice? Wasn't it to protect?" The therian said and extended her arm, conjuring an obsidian Guandao. "Well, now you have all you need to do both those things. 'I' am not as gentle as 'him'," she stated. "You will have to prove yourself. If you fall to me… then that power is worth nothing in your hands."

A beat of silence swallowed the entire area after Ranka spoke. Her body tilted forward and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into a blur.

In that same instant, a green spark flared between the horns of the mask.

* * *

On the opposite side of the city, at one of the three array points currently enclosing the corrupted hill, Rakna sat in his werewolf form. A magic formation was glowing underneath him and linked to hundreds of runes sourcing back to Ramsa and Soma in two other spots around the hill.

To the untrained eye, it would look as if they were sitting silently, but only those with the proper means could sense the terrifying cluster of power currently growing between the three of them.

"{At this rate, the Ritual will reach maximum capacity within two days,}" Soma spoke up through the telepathic channel. "{Considering the speed at which the 'presence' is approaching… it will be barely on time.}"

"{Will it even do anything?}" Ramsa retorted.

"{Frankly? At best, it will probably slow the 'Shades' but not harm the Fiend,}" the Moon God shook his head from where he sat and looked at the ground. "{Not to mention… Bhumi…}"

"He'll be on the side of the Shades," Rakna interjected out loud, simultaneously sending it to them.

Astraea quietly listened to their conversation as she stood not far from him.

They had named Shades the beings made of pure demonic or corrupted energy that they expected the Fiend to summon; such as the Reverie Eaters. Since the werewolf had already purified all the demons on Earth, those should have been the only things to worry about other than the 'Final Boss' itself. But there was still the very worrying issue of the Demon God's return.

"Can I ask what we can expect from him?" Astraea curiously asked the pair of Gods.

"{As the former Earth God, he ruled over the four elements and was a master of the sword; enough so that he could cut a planet in two if he put his mind to it,}" Soma recounted.

The werewolf huffed. 'That alone implies great martial prowess and an extremely refined Spiritual Intent… much more powerful than mine.' He already knew a bit about Bhumi thanks to his repeated use of Clairvoyance during the First Act, but nothing too detailed.

"{After turning into a Demon God, that hasn't changed. In fact, his physical prowess only doubled afterward. His Divinity changed nature, however, and his mind became less sharp. Regardless, he did not get any weaker. His innate battle sense adapted to the changes, you could say. Additionally, he learned to wield demonic energy better than anyone.}"

"…the more you speak, the bleaker it gets, huh?" Rakna grunted.

Soma chuckled wryly. "{Well, of course. Ramsa and I created you for a reason. We alone didn't stand a chance in a direct confrontation.}"

"…you might have to fight him without me though," the werewolf said. "Assuming the Shades will be taken care of by our people, it still leaves Bhumi and the Fiend. I will probably tackle the latter, but you will have to hold off the former."

"{Indeed. But, this time, we have the Demon King and Tarasque on our side. With the help of those two at least, it should be feasible,}" Soma theorized.

"Right…" The werewolf mused to himself before his lips abruptly curled into an amused grin. "But we have a third helper to consider, you know?"

"{Hm? Who exa—!}"

Soma was interrupted by a flash of green light coming from the distance. Thunder accompanied it like lightning, followed by a wave of heat Ramsa felt intimately familiar with. When they looked at the cause, they froze in stupor at the titanic figure overtaking the horizon.

It was as intimidating as it was imposing. It had a body made of dark red flames, clad in armor of green blaze, and possessing six arms, as well as three faces. One pair of hands held blazing sabers. Another held lightning. And the last held orange, plasma-like energy.

For a moment, everyone in range of sight lost their breath. But, as fast as it appeared, the titanic silhouette vanished and only left the heated-up atmosphere as proof of its brief existence.

Rakna smiled, receiving his Doppelganger's sentiments of approval.

"This planet earned itself a Guardian."