His senses were numb to everything around him. Nothing in the treasury mattered, other than the girl standing before him. The dwarves, the mindless chatters beside him – it was all disregarded.

The girl’s warm smile brought life into his heart. A decade ago, she was only a fraction of her size. He vaguely remembered their time together in the past, but her face during their departure was as vivid as her pure smile.

With a pleasant smile of his own, he brought himself back to his feet and warmly gazed upon her.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She childishly tucked her hands behind and tilted her head to the side.

“It… it has…”

Bewilderment – pure bewilderment was all he felt.

The sight of his grown little sister left him in a state of euphoria and confusion. Her face was exactly as how he’d expect it a decade into the future. There was not a single flaw on the girl who stood before him.

The pain in his chest seemingly disappeared, along with any other doubts surrounding her appearance. A part of him knew that this was all illusionary, however…

All rationality was numbed, and his senses disappeared entirely in the presence of the girl. He could not resist.

“How have you been, Frost? Are you getting along with mom and dad?”

“… not so much. And you? Are you and Kizzo still close?”

She took a step forward and hummed.

“Kizzo’s always busy now, but she’s still the same. Maybe kinder.”

Her approach was inevitable. Just past her shoulder, he barely witnessed the spearman’s face shrivel with each kiss he gave to the toxic lump of limeite.

“That’s good… did she say anything about me?”

A tiny finger brushed past her lips as her eyes softened.

“She misses you. Ever since you disappeared, she became distant with everyone but mom and I.” After a gentle skip, she leaned forward and stared with mellow eyes. “Come back home, Frost.”

Her final words were meek.

Exrite closed his eyes and painfully shook his head. Lizzo’s eyes fell onto the ground, accepting the answer.

“I thought so…”

Even if he knew the girl was just a cruel illusion, it was as if she really was there in front of him. Every detail, every emotion and every breath felt real to him.

He couldn’t break free from the spell, even if he tried to brute force himself out. Like all illusions, an external force needed to snap one free or realise the flaw of the illusion.

But for the moment, he just wanted to stay in her company for a little longer.

A hand gently patted the small ball in his pocket as he opened his eyes. In their silence, the voices from the others returned in subtle mutters, like whispers in the back of his head.

Cherishing the sight of his sister for one last time, he dug a hand into his pocket and called to her:

“Lizzo. Catch!”

“Ah- wha- what’s this?”

Her clumsy stance made him silently laugh as she juggled the powdered ball.

“Just some spices we bought on our way here.”

Curiously, she inspected the ball and poked it a few times. When she was satisfied, she pulled it close to her chest before slowly walking towards him.

There was a deadly chill that ran down his spine as a faint thud erupted from behind her. His instincts writhed within him, howling to run but the illusion disconnected his body from his mind.

Still captured in a warm smile, a trembling bead of sweat dripped from his forehead.

“Frost, let’s go home.”

“We can’t.”

“Let’s go home.”

“Lizzo- “

“Now.”

His efforts were futile. The girl’s slow patters only instilled more fear into his being. Unable to find a flaw in the illusion, or help from the others, he unexpectedly found himself cornered.

A wry smile formed on his face as he realised that death shared the same face as his little sister’s.

With a silent curse, he watched his sister reach for his face.

However, the expected warmth never arrived.

“- E…Eh…?”

Her voice was followed by a bloody churn as he felt something cold stain his face. Lizzo’s eyes broadened by a tenfold as she struggled to look down at her chest.

She seemingly grinned for a split second before her eyes drifted off, along with her body. The mangled thud was heavier than it should’ve been, and when he tried to look down at her –

“HEY!? can you hear me now!?”

An iron grip shook him out of the illusion as Khaos’ dominating figure consumed his sight.

Fearing that it was yet another illusion, he made an attempt to break free from his grasp.

“Shit! You aren’t holding back!” He growled, eventually pulling himself away from the powerful juggernaut who had almost broken his shoulder. “That strength – is that really you, Khaos!?”

“Who the fuck else!? Hey! Wake up!” His attention snapped to the others who too were stuck in the same trance as Exrite was.

In the presence of his quaking voice, Frosty curiously stared at him, then back at the limeite in the centre of the room.

“Huh!? There are two of you!? Wait – you have a soul!”

Her confused shriek caused Bailey and Allen to jolt in fright as they snapped their sights across the room in a frenzy.

“What- where did my brother go? I could’ve sworn he was just here talking about his dumb cinnamon coffee.”

“M-mom!?”

The chaos of their abrupt awakening was jarring for Khaos, who had only recently entered the treasury from the other side. Another supermassive door was opened, and it was likely where the other path from the previous floor led to.

He brandished his giant, blood-soaked blade as Exrite glanced down at his deceased sister. Even if it was an illusion, a part of him loathed the sight. In a pool of blood below, she silently slept.

The dwarves who once stood in the centre were now gone. In their place, were the small pouch of explosives. Beneath the chunk of limeite was what remained of the spearman, who was so withered of his life that he looked like he had aged a century in advanced.

His helplessly silent cries weren’t for his suffering – it was for his yearn to be united with the precious metal.

Before Frosty and the others could recover from their shocking realisation, a voice spoke from below them.

“Hmm. I didn’t expect you to break in like that. You must really be a Frostbitten, if not even Ican keep you in check.”

This voice wasn’t quite like anything they’ve ever heard. It held an unknown power and authority, enough to cause the others to retreat to the immediate entrance of the treasury.

Holding their ground, Exrite studied the figure which emerged from the fake Lizzo’s place. From the gaping hole in her chest, came the charcoal hands of an unknown creature.

“Shame that you all couldn’t just submit to your desires like the rest. The spearman was true to his desires – now look at the bliss on his face.”

The seductive voice was tantalising.

A jet-black woman stood above the now liquified corpse of Lizzo, her long, pale hair reaching past her bare thighs. Her luscious curves drew in the men of the group as they fought an unrelenting surge of lust.

Just the mere sight of her nearly threw Allen into charmed trance. Bailey too was slightly affected by her charms, but nowhere near to the extent of the men.

Exrite drilled his eyes into the woman’s golden-dark ones with a hand firmly grasped onto his crossbow. From her charms, to the illusive magic, Frosty uttered:

“A succubus.”

The woman softly smiled. Her bare body didn’t detract from her unworldly elegance and posture. Contrary to popular belief of the demons being nothing but disgusting creatures created by the foul Gods, the succubus proved otherwise.

In the darkness of her black conjunctiva, was a golden pupil. The sharpness of her gaze was enough to cause Bailey to take another step back, standing just outside of the forsaken treasury –

Which was now nothing but a haven of writhing corpses. All treasures within the enclosed space reverted back to their true forms after they had broken free from the illusion. Like the spearman, they were still alive, but in a withered, aged state. Their silent moans were music to the demon’s ears, as only she could make out their desperate pleads.

Her gaze was eternally scrutinising, as she chuckled when Exrite’s mouth slightly gaped. A violent chill ran down his spine as he froze, immediately shutting his mouth as he gulped the chant into obscurity.

“Not so fast, Exrite. I wouldn’t want to kill my only sane visitors after countless years. Be honoured that you’re free from Desire’s curse.”

Her words made no sense to them whatsoever.

She turned their backs to them nonchalantly and slowly approached the lump of limeite. Her bare feet treaded the green vines beneath her with ease, each step sapping them of their powdered light.

Frosty wanted to pre-emptively strike her with the drawn scythe but was immediately stopped by Exrite who held out an arm in front of her.

Reluctantly, she lowered her weapon.

“Now’s a good time to explain yourself, Exrite!” The shrewd whisper caused him to narrow his eyes as he briefly studied the room.

“Illusionary magic can’t be used unless the caster is within the same proximity of their targets, or at least maintaining a line of sight. She was with us the whole time, Frosty! Since the very beginning!”

“What do you mean since the beginning- the dwarves!?” She primed her scythe again.

The demon placed a hand gently onto the glowing limeite as a curious thought riddled her mind.

“… Ur and Ooh were just illusions…? That can’t- ” Allen’s eyes lazily wandered for a moment, before stopping on the tiny balls laying where they once stood. “Be…”

“You made it easy for me to deceive you. Your little slip from the first floor was perfect, Frostbitten.”

Frosty at first thought she was talking about Khaos’ fall into the pit, but then she remembered it.

The moment when all the ghosts of the first floor were given souls from seemingly nowhere.

“Ghosts – but they have no souls?”

She bit her lip and strangled the neck of her scythe.

“How a single phrase could lead to such an easy manipulation. You’ve heard of the saying ‘you don’t bargain with a demon’? Every word, every motion and every thought – we take into account. You know why?”

Her pupils dilated with the limeite’s slowly disappearing luster. Their response was nothing but deafening silence. Not that she minded. In fact, had one of them asked, she would’ve killed them on the spot.

“Because there’s no limit to the greed of the other races! Over and over, we fall to betrayal! Even in respite, we’re not safe! Even as children, we’re not safe! And even to the damned spirits, we are beyond safe from their succulent words that drip like precious honey!”

Her rage was as powerful as her charms. Beneath her confident demeanour, was someone who spoke with the experience of over a thousand years.

“When you have everything taken away, everyone becomes an enemy. Time is not a medicine for our suffering.”

Silence followed. No one dared to say a word. The demon looked down at her dark hands and softly smiled. With a spin, she faced the others with her regained composure.

“Sorry, sorry. It just all comes out so naturally after all this time. Your race is blessed to be filled with so many people, willing to listen to your stories. I’m envious”

“And killing so many people here didn’t bother you one bit!?” Allen roared when he felt that the demon had some sense of empathy.

“And believing such things is why your race is also doomed to fall!”

Her voice was like a crack of thunder. The room shook as rubble and dust hissed from the walls above.

“You humans are good at only two things – having numbers, and believing in the same thing to mindlessly fit in. Exrite, the one who tried to deceive me with the explosive ‘salt’ gift – ever wondered why this city was built like this?”

Exrite nearly gagged on his breath when he realised that the demon had seen through his scheme. Quickly recomposing himself, he too wondered the same thing.

The city was reversely built, compared to contemporary dwarven cities. An unusually high amount of explosive powder riddled the floors above, and even their prized treasury to a certain extent.

It was as if they planned to destroy the city entirely.

Even so, it brought nothing to mind. Not until he realised –

The insides of the vault doors were lined with an absurd amount of carbodix. Only knowing of its magnificent anti-magical properties, and this place being the only location to have it installed, he was left with only one answer.

“This is a prison?”

The demon’s face lit up.

“Precisely. Everything here was built to contain me, the only demon who had ever set foot into Colight. I was gravely injured before embarking on a journey to this coastal region. The scorched mountains outside were perfect – or so I thought.”

Her voice became mellow, but the spite in her eyes instilled fear into the group.

“Here, I found love. For a succubus, love wasn’t something genuine, but the man was like no other. Strong, a will of iron… a genuine heart… and an eye like yours, Exrite.”

“He was an Exrenity!?” Khaos’ blurted out in surprise.

“Unfortunately, that was the case. But he didn’t die from madness. No… He was betrayed. By his king, no less.”

Exrite’s heart dropped as Bailey and Allen immediately directed their attention towards him.

“You’re the Exrenity!?”

“No way…”

He couldn’t bear the thought of being betrayed by another king. However, the thought was miniscule compared to the trust he put in the words of his friends.

And even Black and White, who were above the kings in his eyes.

The succubus was lying.

But even she knew her words came across as such.

“Not a single thing slips by, hmm. Maybe you aren’t human anymore, not after getting that eye. But believe me, Exrenity – betrayal is more merciful than whatever your future has in store.”

“… I know. I’ve been told the same thing.”

“And you’re not going to give up? Your foolishness knows no bounds – although I admire that.”

Exrite didn’t know how to interpret that and found himself softly smiling. However, the demon’s face slowly morphed into a deadly grin.

“Where was I? Hmm… right. There was a reason behind his betrayal. A reason that couldn’t be overlooked, even by the ancient king… lend me your ear, Exrenity.”

Khaos tightly clutched the thick handle of his massive blade.

“I was betrayed by the man I loved. Left alone to sate the thousands of men as they constructed this eternal tomb. My denial, my rage, my bargaining with the Overlord of Desire, the sadness and finally – my acceptance of this unholy tomb and my newfound purpose – revenge.”

“… The Exrenity betrayed you?”

“The Spirit of Balance wished for it, after all – she couldn’t forget what I did to her mother long ago.”

Exrite was answered almost instantly.

Without a doubt, she was talking about the spirit from the realm of the Children of Balance, Phase. The cunningly psychotic spirit frightened him more than the demon before them. At least here, he had a grasp of what she was thinking.

Reminiscing, the demon shook her head and delightfully hummed.

“It took a thousand years and the help of an Overlord no less to completely heal from my deathly wounds. And now – I can finally leave.”

“Wait-! What are you planning to do once you’re out!?”

Staring at the worrisome eyes of the group, she smiled and teasingly answered Frosty.

“I’m going to pay Truebirth a visit.”

“Flames born from air – fireba- “

“STOP!”

Exrite tackled Bailey to the floor before she could finish off her chant, desperately shoving his palm against her mouth as she violently squirmed.

“Get off her you fu-!”

“We’re surrounded by explosive powder! Take a look around!” He shouted with urgency as he stole his hand from the girl beneath him.

Allen paused as he reached for Exrite and looked around the room. Stripped to the walls, were countless pockets filled to the brim with the fine-red powder.

Then, he remembered the library above.

“You don’t remember what he said, little Bailey?” The demon tapped her lips with a slender finger. “Avoid fire at all costs. You really caught me off guard with that, you know? But it’s unfortunate for me as well – we’re in a stalemate.”

“Right…” Khaos kept his guard up to the maximum as Frosty grit her teeth.

“If one of us attacks, we’re all going sky-high, huh? Exrite, got a plan in mind?”

Disembarking from the girl, he could only stare back at the demon who confidently smiled at them.

“We didn’t come here to fight. If we get the limeite, then we’ll leave.”

“Exrite-!”

“However – do not touch Truebirth. It’s for your own sake.”

The demon grew curious to his words. After all, she hadn’t seen what the capital was like after so long.

“Oh? Is there a hero of some sort there? An apostle of the Gods? Or are you, the Exrenity, going to stop me?”

“This is not a warning – this is a promise not from me, but by them. If you even graze the Capital, or any of the other towns – your strive for revenge will be cut short.”

His unwavering voice of certainty sent an exciting chill down the demon’s spine. In the depths of his eyes, she could tell that he feared them more than herself.

“Bold words to tell a demon. I was only teasing you with that – Turebirth isn’t something I want to meddle with, especially with the crazed spirit lurking in this region.”

They didn’t buy it, not even for a second.

“Doubt me all you want. I can stay here for another few hundred more years without energy. Can you say the same?”

“… what do you want?” Frosty asked, maintaining her primed posture as the demon hummed in response.

“Help. Your help, Frostbitten. There shouldn’t be a reason for you to follow the Exrenity’s death march for the Gods. You could be doing something greater.”

Khaos shoved his foot into the stone floor with a heavy thud and thrust his blade forward.

“We already have a purpose set in stone, demon. Your words won’t sway us a single bit!”

“I agree with you. It’s a damned death march forced by the damned Gods. But you know what? So is our goal!” Frosty’s eyes lit with a burning passion as the demon lightly clenched her fists.

“So you’re not just some stowaway Exrite found by chance… I see…”

Exrite drew his crossbow in preparation for the inevitable showdown. Allen quickly dropped to help his niece back up to her feet as the demon whispered something.

And by pure coincidence, so did Bailey.

Their magic was prepared, Exrite's crossbow loaded and Frosty’s stance still untouched.

“If you truly seek vengeance, then you’re not going to die down here, right? My fate could be worse in the future, so dying now wouldn’t be so bad.”

He realised – they too could hold the entire city hostage, just as how she was.

She couldn’t help but to smile as the tables were suddenly turned. However, she noticed the fear struck in the swordsman and the little girl.

“Those humans will die along with you. Their lives are in your hands!”

“No, they’re in our hands.” He smiled.

“… Shit. We’re really going to fight a demon?” Allen looked at the others like they were crazy.

Bailey wanted to say the same, but the situation called for whatever courage she could muster from the depths of her heart. The many lives what were wasted – she couldn’t forgive her, no matter what.

“Frosty – Khaos! Please reconsider! If work with Desire together, we can have all the power we could ever dream of! I’ll even let Exrite- “

“If you honestly believe that, then it’s no wonder you were betrayed so easily. You shouldn’t be surprised with that kind of mindset.”

Exrite’s voice was scolding, nearly mocking.

What could a man not even a hundred years old know? With her knowledge of over a millennium, she grit her teeth and vowed to strike him down. While irritated by his impudence, he began to discretely mouth a chant.

But not before whispering something to Frosty, who could only imagine what was going though his head.

Lines began to glow a soft pale across her body as a different source of energy scoured through her palms.

“This is your final warning. May the Overlord of Desire enlighten you hearts. Please – join me.”

“… You already know our answer.” Frosty grinned.

The demon shut her eyes and softly sighed as she pulled a hand in front of her. There, a ball of bright white shone like a miniature moon.

“Then we have no choice, do we? Engrave this into your souls – my name is Uru!”

Everything happened all at once. Her dangerous ball of energy fired straight into the group with lightning speed and passed by a flaming fireball fired by Frosty.

In that moment, a magical circle formed above the demon as Exrite screamed:

“- Barrier!”

The barrier was hastily made into a concentrated dome around Uru as the fireball made contact with not her, but the explosive balls beneath her. In the midst of the contained explosion, Bailey cried:

“Stone wall!”

The wall was erected just in time to chip the ball.

However, it exploded upon impact and sent the others flying meters out of the forsaken treasury.

The puffed smoke encasing their vision and the lack of a structural collapse caused Exrite to heave himself from the floor in relief. Without any indication of where Uru was, he fired a bolt straight into the smoke before hastily grasping Bailey by her collar.

“Use the pillars as cover!” He dragged her up before turning to the others who recovered to their feet, less so for Allen who scraped his head against the crumbled floor. “Stay safe! We’ll support you from afar!”

“Go! Just don’t stray too far!” Frosty cried, seeing a spark of white flash from within the room.

The toxic haze disbursed as another ball of the dense magic fazed through, aimed straight for Allen. She grit her teeth erected a stone barrier of her own as she dove forward at the emerging woman.

The wall blocked it, but not without another burst that send him flying to the side where he smashed into the ruined remains which scattered the edges of the floor.

“Fast!” Uru right hand grew claws as she charged Frosty and clashed with her mid-air strike. “But do you honestly think only speed will be enough to take me down!?”

Blue sparks erupted from their clash as loud stomps furiously approached, accompanied by a fearsome roar.

“Take this!”

Khaos swung his blade horizontally, missing his still mid-air sister as Uru threw herself back, narrowly avoiding his swing as Frosty barely scathed her hair.

Skidding backwards on her bare feet, she charged yet another ball of magic before thrusting herself forward with her serrated, black claws.

“With that kind of strength, I’m not surprised you were able to easily break down the walls of the maze!”

She dodged a fleeting bolt, spinning to the side as she used that momentum to throw the orb straight for the vanguards. Khaos thrusted his blade into the floor beneath him as the devastating ball collided with its lustrous surface.

Frosty leapt away in time, leaving Khaos to tank the full brunt of the attack. While his armour rattled and groaned, the only real damage he took was the sudden heat transferred into his metallic armour.

“Fucking hot!”

He endured the heat and crushed the floor in order to free his blade. With a wide swing, he sent a decimating slice onto the encroaching demon.

But with her speed and agility, which was almost akin to Frosty’s, she scraped the edge of his sword as it came crashing down beside her. She smiled as the dilapidated floors gaped to the might of his strength – the shallow crevasse reached all the way to the entrance of the forsaken treasury.

Gently, she placed a hand onto his cheek and chuckled.

“Your strength is undeniably the most powerful I’ve seen over the many years. It’d be a shame for you to die as a juvenile of such an ancient race.”

Her words were largely ignored as he thrust his free hand into the face of the demon, only to have her disappear entirely.

Instilled with immediate confusion, his eyes darted around the room as his sister quickly passed him with lightning speed.

“Keep your eyes on the enemy, Khaos!” Her cry echoed throughout the massive hall.

Exrite, hiding behind a red, vine-infested pillar, fired a bolt straight for the rapidly approaching demon unceremoniously. With utter easy, she dodged it with a leap high into the air with a pale ball charged in a reeled hand.

“Maybe killing your human Exrenity will make your change your mind!”

“Run away Exrite!”

But Frosty’s words were far too late for the vulnerable man. The demon’s prowess in combat was far different than he anticipated, however –

That didn’t stop him from stupidly grinning at the face of death.

Right now, his life depended on a gamble.

“No hard feelings, Exrite!”

The moment her arm thrust forward with the ball, he steeled himself and cried out the final words of his chant.

“- Barrier!”

Instantly, a frail barrier appeared a meter before the demon as a small magic circle encased his wrists like golden cuffs.

This time, the barrier was not invisible, but even so – Uru failed to redirect the attack in that split second. Instinctively, she encased her body with her limbs and prepared for the worse.

An unexpectedly violent explosion ruptured Exrite’s ears as the shockwave shoved him back a few meters.

Expecting another barrage, he quickly began chanting as he hid behind another pillar, where he rearmed his crossbow with shaky hands. He was baffled by the outcome of the gamble.

What he deployed was only a tier one physical barrier. He suspected that what she was using wasn’t magic, but something far different. The unknown nature of those energy balls made it difficult to plan ahead, but if there was anything he knew –

With the string taught and a bolt fitted in, he couldn’t help but to smile.

Even a bolt would be enough to set off those things prematurely.

“Not bad-!”

“- Flaming storm!”

Bailey’s cry cut off the barely scathed demon as a barrage of fireballs were fired from multiple red magic circles. Uru’s body sizzled with intense heat as she stared at the pillar Bailey hid from with an ecstatic smile.

“That’s right give me your all! Show me a glimpse of the magical world of today!”

“T-that did nothing!?”

“No. It just means that you’re far, far too weak. You underestimate the might of a demon,human.”

Beyond frazzled, Bailey pounded the pillar beside her in disbelief as Frosty blitzed from the corner of her eye with unparalleled speed.

She knew her magic was at least on par with tier five fire magic. It was her ace, and to see it do so little was devastating to her pride as a mage. No matter what creature it was – the flames would always pull through for her.

The power of a single demon was far overbearing than the legends entailed.

Frosty cracked the ground as she leaped for the floating Uru meters into the air. With her scythe, she uppercutted straight into her primed claws.

“So you can jump this high as well? Without a chant no less!” Uru’s pampering voice drowned the intense, metallic clash as blue sparks exploded from Frosty’s ethereal scythe.

She blasted herself back to the floor and threw herself in a random direction before pouncing back up at the demon with admirable prowess.

But in between her consistent attacks fuelled with unyielding rage, purple magical circles suddenly formed on her back like demonic wings.

“Bailey! Get the fuck out of there!”

Exrite’s voice was muddled by the distorted clashes as he fired another bolt. A swift curse left his mouth as he found only fifteen more bolts in his leather pouch.

“I warned you didn’t I, Exrite? Their lives are in your hands.”

The bolt was caught by her free hand where it unceremoniously melted into molten iron.

“You were a good girl, Bailey. It’s just a shame that you humans can only grow so much on your own.”

There were no symbols scribed into her magic circles – it was all entangled with chaotic writing that were like searing scars.

It was the language of the demons.

Bailey froze. Not a word could part from her parched throat. In the eyes of the demon, the reflection of death was all she could find.

“Run you stupid girl! I’ll be damned if you die here! How will I be able to face my brother if you die!? Bailey!” Allen cried from far behind.

Emerging from the green-tinted rubble, he coughed and clutched his limp, bloodied arm. Uru postponed her attack as she stared at the surprising sight, blocking yet another slash from Frosty.

“I guess you’re out of commission, aren’t you Allen? Rest assured – you’re safe. But in the future, don’t regret surviving this moment.”

Uru’s voice bewildered the injured man who stumbled on the loose pile of rocks. Exrite didn’t know whether he could believe her, but she didn’t seem as psychotic as Phase or the Commanders.

Her ambiguity was unsettling, and for some reason, she held back from killing them outright.

“Don’t resist, Bailey.”

“Stop! I’m begging you, stop! Take my life-! take it!”

Allen fell face first into rubble, slitting his cheeks open as his blood mixed with his tears.

Uru didn’t show any signs of stopping, however, she paused for a moment as she stared at the pleading man.

“… This is an act of mercy.”

“Shut up!” Frosty cried and slammed her scythe from above. “What part of this is mercy!?”

Entangled by the thousands of sparks, Uru’s eyes narrowed.

“Everything… Sorry.”

Frosty’s face distorted to the voice as she threw herself away from the demon and bee-lined straight for Bailey. However, her effort was futile.

From the magical circles, fired a hailstorm of dark-purple beams which swiftly ravaged the air with their extreme heat. They zipped past her face, the scorching heat cooking her blood as she helplessly watched them track the petrified girl.

As Bailey stared with broadened eyes, she couldn’t help but to imagine the face of her family back in the Capital.

And not to forget – the tall, armoured man.

In that instant, she shut her eyes.

And accepted her fate.

“WHY HAVEN’T YOU MOVED!?”

The tremendously loud voice jutted her awake, just in time for a reflective black object to invade her vision. The heavy clanking, the loud shuffles– it was without a doubt, Khaos.

While he passed her, he embraced the girl and threw himself across, barely dodging the homing beams which gave chase. Sprinting past the pillars along the hall with surprising speed, Frosty went back to charging the flying demon.

He could feel the heat scorching his back, but he refused to give in. The ancient pillars crumbled as the beams wasted no effort to avoid them.

“W-why!?!”

“What do you mean why!? Do you really need a reason to save someone!?”

Bailey stared up at him with moist eyes as he endured the pain for her sake. When she thought everything was over, Khaos had appeared like a prince in shining armour to her rescue, and for that alone – she was eternally thankful.

“But- still-! You’ll die if those things touch you!”

“Who said anything about me dying! Even without this armour, I’ll stomach it all!”

Bewildered by his remark, she could only smile and lower her gaze. Strangely, she was comfortable in his one-handed princess carry, despite the spiny armour pricking into her skin.

Looking across Khaos’ shoulder, she watched the relentless stream of beams pursue them. She knew that her walls would do little to the beams, but she figured she’d help by deploying a magical barrier.

“Don’t bother! Just tell me if they get too close!”

“But-!”

“Just do it!”

Unable to oppose him, she reluctantly gave in.

Explosions erupted from behind as she watched Exrite move from pillar to pillar, firing his crossbow sparsely. Every ball she’d throw, he’d shoot them out from the air and reposition himself amidst the brief, blinding blast.

Even as a human, he found his own way to fight the demon.

As the end of the hallway drew near, Khaos lightly squeezed the girl. She turned and growled to the last three pillars standing in front of them, just before the path leading out.

“Bailey, you know what – think you can help out here!?”

“I-I’ll try something!”

Instincively, she tried chanting a wind blast to throw them across the room, but when she did –

“Bailey!”

“G-give me a second!”

They didn’t budge. Khaos was far too heavy for the tier three blast of air to even budge him. The pillar behind crumbled under the might of the homing beams of death, leaving only two more to remain.

There was no way they were going to get out of this. However, with the knowledge of his dumbfounding strength and a single glance of the hilt of his massive sword – she came up with a ridiculous idea.

“Coast of the region, quench our thirst – water stream!”

From a dark blue magic circle, water gushed across the entrance of the hallway.

“Get your sword ready! We’re going to sling shot out of here!”

Khaos obeyed her command with a smile on his face and drew his blade with frightening haste.

The clanking and splashes of his heavy steps were numbered, but Bailey ensured that this wouldn’t be the case.

“Ice of the north, may the breeze of Mount Winterfall freeze your blood – frozen touch!”

The magic dropped into the shallow lake below, instantly freezing it solid. Khaos’ boots crushed the ice that foolishly tried to encase him. With an iron heart, and muscles of steel, reversed the grip of his blade and thrust it into the ground.

“Slingshot, huh!? Hold on tight then!”

Bailey’s feverishly held on tight, despite being embraced by Khaos. It was by instinct and only natural for a human like herself.

Suddenly, all the air around them rushed like she was freefalling as the force of Khaos’ spin almost caused her to lose consciousness. His metal boots provided a frictionless surface for them to smoothly sail the sea of ice. With one, mighty heave, he flung them back towards the demon.

“Haha! You’re a genius! Even Exrite couldn’t come up with something like that!”

His praise left her weakly smiling as she felt the soggy crackers poke her throat.

Exrite rearmed his crossbow once more as he hid behind a pillar. Too focused on the limited bolts left in his pouch, he failed to notice the quaking footsteps of the man far ahead of him.

Just as he was about to peak and fire at the demon, he swiftly pulled himself back and stared at the two with gaping eyes.

“Wait- why are you bringing them here!?”

His blood immediately froze as he watched the armoured man charge straight for him with the girl safely held in his arms in a princess carry.

“MOVE EXRITE! MOVE!”

While mudded by the fearsome explosions of Frosty’s ongoing battle, he heard that loud and clear. In fact, his body was already moving out of the way before he knew it. He ran out into the open and fired at a ball headed straight for him.

The blast was closer than he expected, and it nudged him backwards by only a meter. He groaned to the pain in his chest as he quickly fitted another bolt.

Every close call would rattle his bones, to the point where it became damaging. Breathing became painful as he suspected a broken rib but paid little heed to it as he knew it would just heal.

But he thought the same thing only a minute ago, and it had barely changed for the better. Now, it was worsening as their battle went on. He was fighting a battle of attrition, and the demon knew that well.

“You’re still not going to give up and die, Exrite? You won’t have to suffer the horrors of the future!”

“You think I don’t know!?”

“Then why are you still struggling!? What foolish reason could you possibly have!?”

“Foolish…?” Exrite’s voice trembled as his face morphed into grimace. “Is it foolish for someone to just want to live!?”

He suddenly snapped and fired his crossbow straight for her face, disregarding Frosty who was nearly caught in the crossfire.

“I want to know why I was cursed in the first place! Uru, not even fate will stop me from chasing my dreams of finally finding a place I can call home!”

The dreaded whispers remerged once again as a faint heat encased his left eye. With Khaos rapidly approaching, he armed his crossbow one final time as he stared up at the demon with nothing but spite.

From the bottom of his heart, those are what he wished for the most; a reason for his curse, and a home. Those honest wishes were the embodiment of his being – his old home was nothing but a nightmare; a place he could never come to call a ‘home’.

It was a forge of despair, his ultimate upbringing which made him into who he was today. If it weren’t for his close sisters and the time before the Maiden had robbed him of his life, he would’ve…

What would’ve happened to me?

“… you mean respite, Exrite?”

Uru’s words suddenly snapped him from the trance of ensuing insanity.

As he recovered, he stared at Uru with widened eyes and clamped his teeth. In that moment, she grasped onto the tip of Frosty’s blade and tossed her into the floor with monstrous strength as the lines of her body began to mysteriously glow.

“Exrite! Get out of there now! Stop listening to her!” Frosty screamed as she landed flat on her back with a decimating thud.

Blood quickly spewed with her pleads, but Exrite failed to listen. She growled and clawed the shattered floor with her unsharpened nails as she tried to pull herself up. The stamina she wasted in her fruitless fight had come crashing down under a hammer of fatigue that threatened to shut her off for good.

She knew that if she went out now, then it’d be the last time she’d ever see Exrite.

“Respite… yeah. Respite.”

Exrite seemed to reach a conclusion of some sort. He knew deep down, that what he sought after was peace. Not for the world, not for others – but for himself.

He chuckled as he brought the crossbow back into his line of sight, hearing the thunderous footsteps and quakes of the destroyed pillars from the side.

“Then, you understand that even death is a form of respite? I promise I’ll make it quick for you, Exrite.”

“But that’s not my only wish, you know? I’m a human! – and a single wish is never enough!”

Uru’s eyes shut as she couldn’t help but to smile to his honest reasoning.

Indeed, humans were complex creatures who desired many things. And for that, she couldn’t help but to feel envious.

A ball formed in both hands this time, held close to her chest. He could tell – that ball was more powerful than any of the others before.

Briefly, he looked to his side and grinned before locking his aim back onto the ball.

“FROSTY! I’M TRUSTING YOU WITH BAILEY!”

Khaos’ voice surged through his sister’s bones as she painfully giggled.

“What the hell have you been doing this entire time!?”

With a grunt, she rolled onto her front and slid onto her knees, watching her brother charge with the purple beams still following him in close pursuit.

His armour faintly shone a soft red as his skin sizzled from underneath. He was only a pillar away from them, and from there, he placed a hand beneath bailey’s butt and held her high behind his shoulders.

“W-wh-what are you doing!?”

“Playing a game of catch! Frosty! Don’t drop her!”

Before she could catch her breath, Khaos shoved his feet into the cracked stone and threw her straight for Uru with everything he had.

Their teamwork was like a well-oiled machine; Exrite fired at the charging ball held in Uru’s hands, causing it to explode into a white mist as Frosty staggered on her feet, keenly watching the sky for the girl.

Khaos smashed his entire body flat against the floor as the purple beams flew past him, charging straight for the girl in the smoke.

“My seekers-!?” Uru’s surprised voice was followed by an immediate, deafening explosion

From the other side, emerged the girl who limply flew across the sky. Frosty nearly laughed at the sight as she backpedalled with outstretched arms. In the distance, she noticed Allen clutching his hands in a kneeled position.

He was rendered speechless by what had just happened. His niece was sent flying meters from the floor, used as a bait, and was thrown straight into a demon no less.

Dumbfounded, he watched Frosty catch Bailey with her entire body as she collapsed beside her. She knew that he was pricelessly worried, and after feeling for her neck, she threw her thumb up.

“Thank God… Thank the Children of Balance. Thank you…” He fell flat on his back and stared up at the ceiling with a broken smile.

At least now, they were both safe from the demon.

Khaos rummaged out of his armour and slammed his back against the cool floor repeatedly to combat the searing pain. The armour was heated to the point where it returned to a malleable state, and the prolonged contact caused it to merge with his thick flesh.

Left over chunks of his skin remained charred on the borders of his back, as well as within the cursed armour.

The deafening silence returned as Exrite staggered backwards, seeing the states of his friends. He hoped that Khaos’ ingenuous plan had at least injured the demon enough for them to make an escape.

“… It’s just you in the end, heh.”

Frosty chuckled, watching Exrite sluggishly fit his final bolt into the crossbow.

“Shit… “ Khaos grumbled, snuggling his back into the powdered rubble. “Fuck! That’s stings!”

“You ok!?” Exrite called and slowly approached him, a hand firmly pressed against his chest.

“Just burnt my back a little. Don’t worry about me, Exrite!”

“How can I not worry about you!? Fuck… ah-! Bailey’s unconscious... Shit! Wait – Inkshard’s still in the capital! We’ll get her to fix you up-!”

His breathing made it hard to speak cohesively.

Khaos stared up at him worriedly. Surely, such a thing was minor to Exrite, but the longer he stood, the paler he became.

Exrite too realised that something was awry, and when he touched his neck, he realised.

“… I think I’ve got… something in my lungs…”

“You’ll heal from that, right?”

Exrite didn’t answer, instead, his eyes became droopy as he lightly swivelled.

“Right!?”

Suddenly, rubble exploded from behind Exrite as Uru’s bare figure stood behind him with a wicked smile. The shock threw Exrite off balance, causing him to land onto the demon’s bare body.

Her dark, crimson blood oozed all over his body. A gaping hole was all that was left of her stomach, but dark tendrils kept her body properly aligned. After all, as a succubus, or a demon for that matter – so long as they had a sufficient reservoir or mana, they could heal from any wound.

Only one of the tendrils softly glowed in her hollow abdomen and acted as her temporary spine.

Gently, she cupped Exrite’s cheeks with both hands and stared down at immobilised Khaos.

“Isn’t it painful, Khaos?”

“Let him go!”

“I will. But I want you to be on the same page as me. Does it hurt?”

“O-of course it does! But what does that have to-!?”

“Then you’ll understand that Exrite’s pain is that by a thousandfold. Please, don’t let him suffer any longer. One day, he will go mad, and in that madness, you may be betrayed.”

“That won’t happen! Exrite won’t be swayed by something like that!”

“… that’s what I thought as well with my loved one. I do not want history to repeat itself.” In the depths of her mellow eyes, he saw her resounding sincerity. “No one deserves that kind of pain.”

“That’s not something for you to decide!” Frosty cried from across the hall.

“… then what are you going to do with him now? He’s already as good as dead. His human body could only endure my orbs for so long.”

“What do you mean!?”

Frosty clawed the rubble before her as she tried to muster what little strength she had to fight.

“He’s barely breathing. Do you wish for him to still suffer?”

“We want him to live!”

She glided a hand over his neck.

“… It always starts with denial. I’m sorry, Frostbitten.”

While she checked for his pulse, an unexpected sound softly ticked away in the tips of her fingers.

Quickly, curiosity invaded her being.

“A clock…?”

Suddenly intrigued, she pressed deeper into his neck and felt the many tiny gears that slowly brushed by.

“… Surprised?” Exrite’s groggy voice startled her as she stared down into his eyes.

She was left in utter awe. That pattern – it was the same as the one she had studied back in her homelands in the region of Demora. There wasn’t a demon who couldn’t differentiate a Maiden from the others.

After all, their kind had lived alongside them eons ago. To sense one was second nature to them, even after all this time.

If this was no mere illusion set up in the cunning man’s last moments, then there could only be one explanation.

“Exrite, what is your curse?”

“Hah- some crystal in my chest. Why, think it’ll be enough for you to consider sparing me?”

Without a doubt, he wasn’t only the Exrenity. But she wanted to see with her own two eyes. There would be no other way to believe his words, unless she saw it for herself.

With a hand slithering down for his crossbow, she gently grasped it from him and placed it against his head.

“If you’re not lying – then you won’t die. And if you think that only death awaits you, then you truly have no idea.”

“That’s reassuring… but it’s too late. I don’t think my immortality can save me at this point.” He weakly looked down at Khaos and broke into a soft smile.

He was clearly misunderstanding something. It seemed like he didn’t know exactly what the crystallised fragment was.

With tears swelling in the corner of his eyes, he shut them and spoke one last time.

“I’m sorry, Khaos… Maybe… maybe… if I weren’t so weak, we could’ve made it. I’m just… a human... after all.”

His voice crackled.

But the crackling wasn’t because of a gargle. It sounded like a gem was being crushed from deep within. Khaos, who could only helplessly stare up at his best friend, yelled with every ounce of strength he could muster.

“FROST!”

The soft chink of the crossbow marked his death, and in her arms; she tightly held him like a tender mother. She eagerly waited for the outcome of his death.

The darkness behind his eyelids were eternal. Khaos’ woes were frightening, enough to sway Frosty to struggle onto her knees with a tear-filled grimace.

However, Uru detested their ignorance and with a commanding voice, she spoke:

“Shhh. Do you hear that? That’s the Heart of Time finally awakening. Looks like He’ll have to wait a while longer for respite.”

In the depths of the crackling void – something shattered.