A bunch of Rudels came out of the crevice.

Seeing them, Sara commented.

"Lucy. Can you explain?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Lucy averted her gaze from Sara who was looking at her with a very serious face.

The reason for that look was due to for some reason, all the Rudels were taller than the original, their shirt was open showing their strong, toned muscles.

Even his face was attractive, totally different from the original.

Deep down, this was the ideal Rudel image for Lucy.

It seemed strange to Sara that everyone looks like this, she muttered.

"So you like him being rough with you, huh?"

"..."

Lucy didn't deny it, but she didn't turn to look at her either.

Zorn yelled.

"Who the fuck cares that you have the same numbers as us! We're superior to all of you! We're demons─!"

"Ah! Shut the fuck up already."

One of the Rudel threw his katana as if it was a spear, it penetrated the neck of one of the demons near Zorn.

That demon began to writhe in pain.

"Hey. What's wrong with you?"

Zorn asked him quizzically. They could take damage, but it would have no effect on them.

His brother was bleeding black liquid as he was just like a person suffering from suffocation.

Next moment, the demon collapsed on the ground turning into ashes.

Zorn and his brothers began to sweat.

"... No kidding. They have the same positive properties as the tree to be able to purify us?"

His eyes focused on the entire Rudels army.

His face that looked just like Lucy's mother's began to distort in anger.

"Don't fuck with me! Don't think you're such a big deal, you piece of shit!"

"Everyone! Kill those human scum! We won't let anyone get in the way of our mission!"

The demons shouted in glee.

"Kill the humans!"

"I want their brains!"

"Inferior beings like them can't compete against us!"

The demons went straight for Lucy and the others.

But one of the Rudels smiled.

"Did you all hear that?"

"These assholes think they can beat us."

"Let's show them that we can't lose since we always win using cheats!"

Rudel's copies was a mental image of Lucy manifested by her power as the sapling's priestess queen.

The entire army ran straight at the demons, it was there that it was realized that they were indeed thinking like Rudel.

Giant steps approached the hole. There came out several Battlers running with their axes.

The demons were surprised.

"Are you serious?"

"It's unfair to say they were just like us."

All the Rudels smiled.

One of them jumped to the front and shouted.

"That's because all you smug idiots know best when you face true despair!"

Rudel used his katana and plunged it into the demon's head.

"It burns!"

"It burns me too much!"

The demon grabbed the katana, but his hands began to burn.

Removing his hands, Rudel punched him in the face breaking his nose.

"Welcome to pain city. Population you."

"Your worst mistake was messing with my women and picking fights with me!"

"Let's show them they're just ugly-faced bitches! All of them!"

All the Rudels began to fight the demons.

The advantage should go to the demons... that's what they thought.

A few Battlers approached some demons, swinging their axes, slicing them in two or several slices like cheese.

While a group of Rudel grabbed a demon and began to beat it as if it were a toy.

His teeth came out, black blood ran down his face, but they didn't stop.

A heavy punch landed on his face, he wasn't the only one suffering.

Battler grabbed one of them, treated him the same way as a toothpaste when he opened it.

Another Battler was wringing a demon like a wet towel.

The sounds of demons in agony went on and on.

Zorn couldn't believe it.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. As he turned to look.

Rudel was smiling at him.

He tried to pretend because of his face just like Beatrix's.

"Y-you wouldn't hit your mother-in-law would you? And a big-busted one like me either, wouldn't you?"

The next moment, a hard enough punch impacted against his cheek.

Knocking out some of his teeth, black blood spurted from his mouth.

Zorn covered his mouth.

(It hurts.)

(It hurts so much.)

(This pain is only possible because of the positive energy around him.)

(I must find a way to defeat it or it will be─)

"Hey."

Rudel stepped on Zorn's hand. Lifting his head, he noticed several Rudel surrounding him.

"Do you really think you'll get out of this?"

"You can take anyone's face, even if it's Leonis' I'd really appreciate it."

"For having been the cause of all this. You're in for the best punishment a dirty piece of shit like you deserves."

Zorn was frightened.

"I!"

Was all he said before a flurry of blows came down on him.

◇◇◇

Meanwhile outside.

The real Rudel was attacking Grappler with all his power.

Their battle escalated so much that they ended up in Herring territory razing some mountains.

Battler and Grappler ended up falling to the ground, it was full of mud, but that didn't matter to them.

Rudel used his scythe to try to cut Grappler, but Grappler used his spear to block the attack.

Sparks were flying everywhere.

Due to the power of the sapling, the positive energy was weakening Grappler who was made of negative energy.

The small hands coming out of the spear were becoming the shield so that the positive energy emanating from the scythe would not touch him.

Despite this, Battler's strength increased dramatically with each passing second.

Grappler could not stand it and moved away.

As he was out of Rudel's reach, a mouth opened in his belly.

"Die once and for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!"

The ether in the air was gathering and darkening, forming a kind of radioactive black cloud.

It was growing with great speed. Battler was rapidly approaching.

The beam of negative energy was launched straight at Battler.

Rudel used the attack he was going to use to defend himself.

The impact was so powerful that some remnants of the attack were shot against the mountains and forests causing destruction and fires.

After a while the attack stopped.

Battler reported to Rudel.

"The scythe is about to be destroyed, it won't withstand more than one more attack, either to defend itself or damage the target."

"I see. In that case, I must end it right now."

Rudel stepped back, Grappler laughed at him.

"Gyahaha! This is the end for you human, I won't let you escape."

Again the pit of his stomach opened and a sphere of corrupted ether formed.

Rudel ordered Battler.

"How much energy do I have left to use the gamma ray?"

"According to the calculations, you can only use it two more times."

"Right."

Rudel pointed at Grappler.

"I want you to focus all the energy from one of those shots on Thors, we'll use it for a final blow."

"That would leave Battler with only 50% of his power."

"It doesn't matter. We must defeat that bastard at any cost."

"Aye, aye."

Rudel watched on the board as power was sent directly to the scythe, as if it were a wireless network.

After seeing it charged, he went straight to finishing this.

Grappler sneered at him before firing the death ray.

"You've always been a nuisance to us. But this time it's over, you'll never bother us again, it's time to die!"

He fired his black beam which came close to Rudel.

His emblem glowed and a shield manifested in front of Battler blocking the attack.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Rudel screamed full of rage, his eyes were becoming bloodshot.

As he was two meters close to Grappler, the shield broke and Battler was struck by lightning.

"Gyahaha, what an idiot!"

He sneered, Battler's body was slowly eroding away.

An alarm was telling Rudel that the defense level was drastically reduced.

Rudel didn't care.

"If I don't defeat you now... then you'll kill everyone!"

"That I will not... allow iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"Uwoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"

Battler was getting closer and closer, the scythe began to disintegrate, but the blade was still just as white from the positive energy so that its glow looked like the sun.

Grappler was terrified.

"How is that possible!"

"No... stay away. Stay away I said."

"I don't want to die. Help me. Please help me. get away from me. get away from me!"

Grappler used all his power, but when the energy beam ran out, Rudel arrived in front of him.

He gave him a few last words as they placed the scythe blade behind his back.

"It's over. stop fucking around alreadyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

Swinging his scythe across his stomach, Grappler used his hands to fend off the attack.

"No... no... noooooooo!"

He screamed in desperation as the blade pierced his body and in a single slash.

"It's over I said!"

Rudel snapped him in half.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Was what Grappler shouted as his body being cut by positive energy swelled up like a balloon and after a few seconds it exploded.

Battler was informing Rudel as he was breathing heavily.

"Target elimination confirmed, his remains are fading as well."

Battler showed on a monitor as Grappler's remains turned to ash as if he were just another monster.

After rearranging his breathing, he took the controls.

"Alright. Time to take care of the monster tree."

As he took to the sky and approached the center of all the chaos, he shouted.

"Uwaah! What the hell is that? A giant Airi and a naked one too! She's fighting the monster tree!"

◇◇◇

The battle between the giant Airi and the monster tree was crazy.

Both were throwing punches at each other at high speed.

Right jabs like lefts.

Kicks.

Punches to the stomach and chin.

They didn't take a second to get into a fighting stance and send their blows at each other.

Airi backed up because of the monster tree pushing her back.

When that happened, Ixion aimed his cannons at the monster's eyes, arms or knees to give her a chance.

Ixion commented.

"The battle has gone on too long Airi. The country has been 60% destroyed. The number of dead can't be calculated."

The real Airi had a lump in her throat.

"I understand. I was trying to minimize the damage and casualties to a minimum, but it's impossible in this situation. I'll use everything in my next move to defeat it."

"Dianaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The monster tree screamed in Lugh's voice.

"Why? Why did you do that?! It's unforgivable that!"

Using Lugh's resentment, the monster tree pulled out several cannons from its mouth aiming at Airi.

"This is bad."

She said as she watched a dozen cannons charge.

"I won't allow it."

Ixion said as he fired several missiles straight into the monster's mouth, causing a huge explosion.

The explosion was so large that it destroyed the monster's jaw.

That jaw disintegrated as it fell to the ground, but it still didn't stop it.

It used an emblem to manifest its attack.

"I won't allow it!"

Airi said as she expanded her hands so as to manifest a large sized circle with a winged heart in the center.

The monster launched its beam of evil energy straight at the shield.

It knocked Airi backwards pushing her backwards.

The remains of the beam fell on the cities, Airi tried to use all her strength to send the attacks into the sky, but it was too strong the enemy for that.

"It finally charged."

Ixion threw a small bomb which was gathering the energy emanating from Airi. He sent it straight into her mouth.

At that instant, a huge explosion occurred.

Half of the monster tree's body was destroyed. It was writhing in pain.

"Now, Airi!"

Ixion shouted, next Airi ran towards the monster. She jumped on top of it and inserted her hand to the bottom of its mouth to start expanding it.

◇◇◇

"Don't back down, kill them!"

Inside the sacred tree, the battle between Rudel's army of copies against the demons was already decided.

For a while now the demons were nothing more than Rudel's toys.

Zorn was being pulled as if it were a game.

After beating him up, they used him as a mat.

They wiped his shoes all over his body, then Battler used him as if he were a towel.

Instead of being killed, the demons were ridiculed.

Sara even asked a few Rudels to use some demons so she could jump rope.

Lucy laughed at what was once a terrifying situation to be a comedy.

Zorn couldn't take it anymore and exploded.

"Don't screw with meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Shaking off the Rudels surrounding him, he returned to his original form. From his hands a black mist manifested and several snakes went straight for his enemies.

"We are demons! We are superior beings to you humans!"

"We lived for thousands of years while you can't last a century which for us is a blink of an eye!"

"I won't let any of you see my face as an idiot anymore!"

The black snakes attacked the Rudels, touching them made them disappear. Even when cut they regenerated again.

"I'm using my full power. I didn't use it before because they weren't worth it, but it's over."

"I recognize that you are dangerous. For that reason, I must kill you now!"

"Brothers! Release your full power! It doesn't matter if it's humiliating to admit it, but at all costs we must win!"

The demons who were treated like toys broke free and all manifested their true power.

"Your fun is over, you scumbags."

Zorn went straight to attack several Rudel, the snakes ate some of them and even Battler was no match for them.

The released demons manifested different attacks full of malice against the Rudels.

These attacks were manifestations of all the suffering they had stored up.

Unlike before, the demons had the upper hand.

The negative energy devoured the power of the sacred tree.

(It doesn't matter what is happening outside. If I win in here that's all that matters.)

(Losing is unforgivable!)

Zorn was looking for Lucy to kill her once and for all. Sara was being protected by some Battler.

Zorn finally spotted Lucy who was being escorted by some Rudel.

Zorn's smile with his black teeth was one of joy. He was shouting euphoric about it.

"Gyahaha! You won't escape this time! Victory is ours and you will die!"

"Demons are the only ones who deserve to rule the world! We are the ultimate life forms!"

After recounting his impending defeat. Zorn sensed something strange.

(What's that?)

He looked up.

(Something is approaching. But what is it?)

Cracks began to appear in the place.

Zorn sweated as he saw chunks fall.

"D-don't tell me..."

The top of the white room fell apart.

There, Airi's head was staring at them.

Zorn and the other demons screamed.

"No... no... Noooooooooooooooo!"

She thrust her hand inside the place. The demons seemed to know why reason made her do it.

"Everyone go back home!"

"I don't want to stay in this world!"

"Fuck you humans, who wants this planet anyway!"

The door that was still open began to close after several demons entered it.

Zorn was trying to reassure them.

"No."

"Go back."

"We're so close. Don't run away you wretches!"

The hand was slowly approaching, giving them a chance to escape.

Almost all of them did.

Watching as the hand reached around the door and gently grasped it, Zorn panicked.

"No."

"Don't..."

"Don't you dare! That's my only door to get back!"

Each demon had its own door to go to come between worlds. When destroyed, Zorn would not be able to return.

He rushed over to stop her, but it was useless.

"It won't do you any good since you won't run away. You will die here."

"Airi's" mature voice told him that as she squeezed the door hard.

Within seconds, cracks formed and from one moment to the next it was destroyed.

The remaining demons were destroyed by Airi's aura.

Leaving only Zorn.

Seeing that his only escape route home was gone, he totally freaked out.

"You miserable son of a bitch!"

"You get in our way again!"

"You... you fucking bitch in white!"

Airi disappeared walking away, her last words were.

"All yours."

Zorn realized those words were directed at Airi.

He went straight for her.

From his body mouths opened and his face was so deformed that it was no longer the same as before. It was like a kind of black cloak with red eyes.

"Give me your body!"

Lucy didn't run away, she pushed away the Rudels escorting her and decided to face Zorn to put an end to this chaos.

"No. I will not run away. For I am not afraid of you."

As she said those words, Zorn's speed slowed.

The Rudels and Battler were closing in to stop him.

"You are responsible for all the tragedies that happened since centuries ago."

"As you are responsible for the death of my parents and family members."

Zorn used his snakes to get rid of his enemies.

"You are responsible for the Acting Chairman suffering for something he didn't want to do, as well as the reason Diana saw Rudel as her enemy."

The snakes acted as a shield for Zorn who was showing a monstrous appearance each time.

"Not only them. Also Zack, Lugh. Many other people like Jude and Romeo."

Zorn was approaching faster and faster, Lucy's escorts went to stop him.

Zorn vanished them all, Sara used her magic, but the ice floes were too slow.

"Lucy, run!"

Sara shouted, Lucy ignored her. She was calm.

She opened her eyes and pronounced her victory.

"I hate you. You are just full of hate and malice."

"You want people to be afraid of you so you can feed on their fears and emotions like sadness and regret. You are a repulsive being."

Zorn was getting closer and closer, there was no one who could stop him.

"For that reason, I will not lose to someone like you who crawls just like a worm. You don't know what love is, nor affection nor friends."

"A being like you disgusts me so much that it makes me cry. But you know something?"

"Not only am I not afraid of you. I pity you."

"If only you didn't have a black heart, you would know how important it is to have people by your side."

At that moment, different people came into Lucy's head. The last of them being Rudel.

She squeezed her chest and her emblem glowed.

"For that reason I won't let you hurt anyone again."

"Here and now I will see to it that you are eliminated forever."

Zorn was about to touch her.

"Fear me! Fear me! Dive into despair!"

Lucy clenched her fist tightly and punched Zorn hard sending him backwards.

But that fist wasn't that strong.

Driving him back one more time.

Lucy proclaimed victory.

Zorn was just inches away from her.

"The only one who will taste despair..."

"It's you!"

Behind her, commenting on her sentence. Rudel appeared with his katana. Bringing it down at high speed, giving a single clean cut to Zorn. 

"Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"

Zorn let out a strange rat-like squeak.

After being split in half, he was quickly punctured by several Rudels who quickly came to finish him off.

Zorn's body was mercilessly attacked.

The sound of pain he made as his body turned to ashes was proof of Lucy's victory.

"Nooo!"

"I don't want to die!"

"I haven't fulfilled your wish yet!"

"I ask you to please forgive me!"

Almost his whole body was in ashes, Zorn uttered the name of his king...

"I'm so sorry... Lucifer-sama──"

Before disappearing forever from this world.

After disappearing.

The inside began to tremble.

"What happens now?"

Sara asked in terror.

One of the Rudels said to her.

"Having finished with that cursed one. His power that corrupted the tree has vanished, but the tree still has Lugh as a host. So now it will take its true form."

"You must leave as soon as possible. The tree is finished, there is no way to save it or to Lugh. But you cannot let it die, you must immediately plant the sapling and give it your power so it will take over to replace the sacred tree."

Battler opened a portal that would send them straight into their bodies.

The whole place crumbled as copies of Rudel and Battler shimmered to disappear.

Lucy and Sara thanked them.

"Thank you so much for your help."

"Without you guys we couldn't have won."

Sara walked away first, Lucy trailing behind her. But she stopped and looked at a Rudel to say.

"Is there really no way to save the tree or Lugh?"

"No. It's too late now, at best you can do is give him a quick death."

Lucy saddened.

(We defeated the evil that corrupted the sacred tree, but we still can't save the one who needs it.)

She was on her way out when she was stopped by Rudel.

"Lucy. It's all thanks to you, without you this country and everyone would be dead and the world would be ruled by these things. Thank you for saving it, you really are a real heroine."

Lucy was embarrassed and went straight after Sara.

The copies of Rudel disappeared and so did the inside of the sacred tree.

The whole spirit world was collapsing.

Lucy watched as a light swallowed Sara. She quickly approached... but watched as something approaching engulfed her.

◇◇◇

Sara opened her eyes.

Bell and some robots were with her.

Bell approached her and asked.

"How nice. Are you feeling all right?"

Sara touched her head.

"What was that, a dream?"

She thought what happened was a dream until she saw her hand. There was a new emblem there.

Touching it she said.

"I see. It wasn't a dream... It's true!"

"Lucy, answer!"

Sara called out to Lucy, but she was unresponsive.

Lucy was still inside the spirit world.

◇◇◇

"Where am I?"

Lucy opened her eyes and she was in a familiar place.

Her home from twelve years ago.

Everything was exactly the same as she remembered it.

"Why am I here?"

She walked around looking for a way out or explanation for being here.

After opening several doors and finding nothing.

She went straight to her parents' office.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Standing there inside were her parents.

Calvin and Beatrix.

"Howdy, Lucy. You've grown up a lot."

"It's true. I almost didn't recognize you."

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes.

"No... this is just a bad dream."

Beatrix walked over to her, hugging her like she couldn't before.

"Lucy, good job. We watched everything. You really are a true heroine."

"No. You're the only real priestess we need."

Her father hugged her too.

"We're sorry for everything you had to go through with Diana. I'm so sorry, we're awful parents. Forcing you girls into something you shouldn't have to experience."

Lucy held back the urge to cry, but couldn't hold back.

She released what was keeping her heart hidden.

"Why did they do it!!! Wasn't there another way to avoid that outcome?"

"Do you know how much Diana and I suffered because of your secret? Do you know how much the Acting Chairman has suffered because of it?"

"You have caused so much pain just by keeping a secret! Many people have even died because of it! You are awful, irresponsible parents!"

They both began to cry.

Beatrix was the first to speak.

"I know. That's why that fire wasn't our punishment. Our souls were swallowed by the sacred tree, like so many others."

"Lucy, the souls of the dead belonging to all the noble families throughout the history of the country lie here."

"How is that possible?"

Lucy was confused, her father explained the following.

"We learned that because of your mother who managed to travel several times to the spirit world. She found a hole where all the souls that couldn't rest in peace were brought."

Calvin said something frightening to his daughter.

"Because of what we did, we will go to the land of the dead. A place where the dead who don't deserve to rest in peace go."

Lucy was terrified to hear that.

"N-No. I said you were bad parents, not that you deserved that punishment."

Behind her father, a portal opened, small hands pulled him inside.

"Bea. I'll wait for you inside."

"Yes. I won't be long."

Beatrix smiled at her husband, who in the next act was sucked through that hole.

Lucy was horrified to see her father disappear.

Her mother hugged her with all her might.

"Lucy, you are right, we committed a heinous sin. For that reason, we will pay our punishment in a place where our conscience will torment us. It's not even hell to say we deserve it."

She lifted her daughter's face to stare at her.

"For that reason listen Lucy. I'll tell you these last words."

"It's not over yet."

"Even if you defeated the demon. The danger of this world is not gone."

"Ask the guardian and the saint for help so that you can confront them in the future."

"Also... tell Rudel that the 'Sky Knight' is not his enemy. They are more similar than he thinks."

After saying that, small hands grabbed Beatrix.

She hugged Lucy with all her might as she was pulled into a hole.

"I'm so sorry, I know I was a lousy mother. I don't deserve your forgiveness or Rando's one."

"I really love you. So, be happy. Save your sister please, that's all I ask, you don't have anyone else in your family anymore, so save her."

"I would also like you to say this for me to Rando."

Beatrix said a few words to Lucy which were accompanied by her last moments.

"Lucy. Be happy, that's all I wish for you."

Her mother smiled one last time before everything went dark for Lucy.

As she opened her eyes.

Sara was looking at her next to Bell.

"... This place is..."

Lucy tried to lift her head, Bell avoided it.

"You shouldn't do that, your body is in a bad state still."

Lucy heeded her, moved her head to look at her right hand. There was the new emblem there.

She cried as she saw that everything she experienced was not a dream.

"Mother... father... I love you both so much."

Lucy cried as she understood that her parents became villains to save this country.

◇◇◇

After seeing how part of the giant Airi came out of the monster tree, Rudel asked Ixion.

"What's going on here?"

The latter answered truthfully.

"It's very hard to explain, but it looks like it's all over now."

The giant Airi was backing away, she said something and then started to turn white as a cloud.

Ixion translated that message.

"Thank you for everything. The world was saved again because of you."

"That was not my intention."

Ixion said as if he would have liked to be congratulated for something he didn't want.

After turning to dust and rising into the sky.

The real Airi collapsed to the ground.

Her eyes and hair returned to normal.

Alisa came to her aid.

"Airi! Are you all right?"

"Umm. Alisa? What's wrong?"

"... What am I doing on the ground?"

Just like last time, Airi doesn't remember why she was being held by Alisa.

Alisa herself thought.

(This is the second time this has happened.)

(Airi, could it be you─?)

Her thoughts were interrupted by a strange scream.

It was the scream of a monster.

The monster tree after standing up started to mutate, this time it was according to the game's setting.

It became a centipede-like insect monster.

Rudel approached the lower part of the monster.

"Ixion, redirect all power to my right hand."

"Understood... Master. will you be able to kill Lugh?"

Rudel thought of Lugh who lay inside the sacred tree.

"Lugh is not a bad guy, he is a person I would have liked to be friends with. But... that thing is not Lugh."

He pointed his hands to the sky.

"The real Lugh is gone. What I see there, it's just a monster like any other!"

"Gamma ray!"

Rudel pressed the button and a large amount of energy shot out of Battler's palms, cutting him from the bottom to the sky. 

As if it were a cheese heated by a knife, the gamma ray cut the monster mercilessly.

The sound of pain was evident.

Rudel's hand trembled as he heard Lugh's voice through the monster.

But with all his will he continued to press the button without hesitation.

In less than a minute, the gamma ray hit the head shattering everything.

The monster tree was defeated and with it, the final boss thus avoiding the bad ending.

Rudel sighed as he saw that it was all over.

But he sang victory too quickly.

"Master get out of there!"

Rudel noticed that suddenly everything went dark, as he raised his head he saw part of the tree's body fall on him.

"Oh please. Not again!"

Rudel moved the controls to get Battler away from there quickly.

He was about to make it, but the energy began to drain.

He looked up at the sky and all he could do was curse.

"Why must this happen again!"

He exclaimed that as he was crushed by the body of the destroyed tree.

And so, the war ended.