Humans are as complicated as they are simple.

Newgate City. Jin had gathered the remaining members of Silver Crow for a meeting.

“I called you all here because there’s something I want to confirm. I want to know about your feelings regarding this war after everything you’ve experienced.”

“Are you saying that you want to check our resolve?”

Axel asked.

“You guys have experienced betrayal, cruelty, agony, and powerlessness. Any of those things can easily break a person’s will to fight. I want to know if your will is still there.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I still wish to fight!”

Ryker shouted.

“You’ve experienced those things with us and you look more determined than ever, so how can we not still wish to fight?”

Nico said.

“Jin, you said that we experienced powerlessness, right?”

Sapphire smiled at him.

“It’s because we’ve experienced it why we want to prevent feeling that way again.”

“….I see. Your resolves have reached me.”

He placed four briefcases on the table in front of him.

“It’s because of those strong feelings that I can give you these without worries.”

“What are these?”

Sapphire felt a sinister aura coming from the briefcases. She could even feel like something inside was calling her. She stretched her hand out and it was grabbed by Jin.

“Inside of these briefcases is something called a Zodiac Parasitic Suit. It was created by MYTH and it’s purpose is to grant the wearer immense power rivaling that of the original Zodiacs of legends.”

“Amazing. Then if we wear these then we’ll be able to win this war?”

Jin nodded.

“These suits can grant the user Divine level strength, but that’s in theory.”

He released Sapphire’s hand.

“Only a handful of people can bring out that much power. As for everybody else, they get devoured by the suit and becomes its fuel.”

“What?”

The color drained from Sapphire and others’ faces.

“By devour…”

“I mean that the suit sucks out your life force until you’re skin and bones. Once you’re dead it’ll look for its next user(meal).”

Jin lifted up one of the briefcases.

“These briefcases and chains are made to contain them. If after hearing what I said and you still want to wear the suits I’ll undo the chains and hand the briefcase over to you.”

Jin’s voice didn’t have much emotion in it. He looked like he had no intention of complaining no matter what they chose.

“If…If we don’t take the suits, what will you do?”

“Nothing. I’ll do as I’ve always done, fight.”

Sapphire bit her lip.

(It’s just like what happened with Bloom.)

Anguish stained her face but Jin showed no reaction to this.

(He’s reverting to his old cold self.)

“So, what will you all of you do?”

“….I’ll do it.”

Sapphire reached out again but this Jin didn’t stop her. She picked up a briefcase.

“If it’s for you, I’ll do anything.”

Ryker, Nico, and Axel went up and took up briefcases as well.

“We feel the same way, Boss. If it’s for you and the queen, we’ll gladly dive into the pits of hell.”

“….I see. I’m grateful and I’m sure Bloom is too.”

He showed a smile and nodded.

“You guys should go to your rooms and opened them alone. If multiple suits are freed in one place at once they’ll start fighting each other. Also, if there’s more than one person when they are freed, they will go to the one with the most life force, so avoid that.”

They nodded and then left one by one. Jin watched them leaving before dropping all emotions from his face.

“Alright. All that’s left is for Bloom to wake up.”

He sat on a chair and smirked.

“I can tell that she’ll be awake really soon.”

When pushed into corners, humans are worse than wild beasts. They become monsters that would go to any lengths to survive.

Elon.

“Hahaha!”

A joyous laugh came from Gear’s office.

“This is great! I’m glad they allowed me to call you guys back.”

He grinned while looking at the two men sitting in front of him. They both had silver hair and eyes and were dressed in business suits.

“Well, we never thought that you would need us with our little sister here to protect you.”

Answered the larger of the two men. His silver hair was short and he had a larger build.

“Well, things got complicated, Didier.”

“Miko, right?”

The smaller of the two had a huge smile on his face.

“He’s the whole reason why we were allowed to get involved in this battle. The Kaiser is really hellbent on pushing him to limit.”

“That kid is a monster, Sami. Since I got permission, I’m making it my top priority to kill him.”

Gear said.

“Isabel seemed excited about fighting him again. The only thing that can make that sword-maniac excited is a skilled fighter. As her older brother, I’m ashamed.”

Didier shook his head with a sigh.

“We’re allowed to give you a hand but it will cost you, Tommy.”

Sami rubbed his fingers together with a grin on his face.

“Don’t worry. If it’s the services of the Luna Clan then I have no problem paying any amount of money.”

Gear smirked.

(This is great. Sami and Didier are at least equal to Isabel which means I have three Slaughter Moon Style swordsmen on my side. If I add the strength of Bastian, Shòuxíng, and Natasa I have a powerful force on my hands.)

His smirk turned into a huge grin.

“I also got my Kingslayer Suit…I’ve won….I’ll be the last man standing!”

He burst out laughing while the brothers watched him with amused expressions.

In the face of greed, humans tend to become delusional. They become desperate and would often unknowingly cause their own demise.

Romix.

Shòu was sitting on the floor in one of the many training rooms in the city. He sat with his legs cross and his eyes closed. His body was scorching hot, so hot that a heat haze surrounded him. His skin slowly became dyed by the color red.

*Boom!*

The room shook and the spot he was sitting in sunk.

“Grrr…”

A low growl came from his body and an image slowly appeared behind him. It was the image of a red elephant-like beast that stood on two legs, had claws, and had six black curvy tusks and a long trunk on its face.

“Behemoth.”

Shòu called out the name of the monster with a low voice. His skin then slowly became dyed with gold.

*Flash!*

His body emitted a bright light and illuminated the room in gold.

“Rawr!”

A loud roar resounded in the room and an image formed beside Behemoth. It was a giant golden dragon with clouds of poison coming from his mouth.

“Fafnir.”

The beasts faced each other and the roared in confrontation. Behemoth slashed at Fafnir with his claws. Fafnir sunk its fangs in Behemoth’s neck. Behemoth started pounding it with its huge limbs.

“Enough!”

Shòu shout caused the monsters to halt. They released each other and then turned their fangs at him. They pounced at him and chains appeared around their bodies and forced them to halt.

“You two may have been fearsome monsters who made the world tremble in the past….”

Shòu’s eyes opened to the max, revealing red and gold eyes.

“But now you’re just means for me to become stronger!”

The monsters started struggling to no avail.

“Shut up, monsters! Obediently become my strength! Help me become the beast that will make even the heavens tremble! Make me into the Golden Chimera!”

Chains burst out of his body and dragged the monsters into him.

“ROAR!”

A thundering roar then came from his body. His skin remained gold but had a red hue to it. Seeing this, Shòu sprung to his feet and burst out laughing.

“I did it. I finally did it! I’ve tamed them both!”

The floor burst apart and golden light filled the room.

A beastly grin appeared on his face and his eyes became golden with red slits in them.

“I can go further. I will go further. I will become the golden chimera dyed in blood and decimate my enemies!”

He threw his hands into the air and shouted towards the sky.

“After that, no one will dare to take anything from me again!”

Humans won’t hesitate to throw away their human skin if it’s in order to accomplish their goal. They won’t hesitate to become a monster or a beast.

Elon, a few days later.

“Bastian, fight me!”

Natasa challenged Bastian in front of Gear, Isabel, and her brothers.

“If I win, let me attack Miko!”

“………..”

Bastian didn’t answer immediately. He stared at her in silence.

“What’s wrong? Fight me!”

He shook his head.

“Natasa, fighting you have made me stronger. In fact, I’m far stronger than I was when I fought Miko a month ago.”

“Then it’ll be a fun fight for you too! Come on!”

“No. Even though I’ve been growing stronger it’s far slower compared to the rate you’ve been growing. Natasa, you’re growing too strong too fast. If I fight you there’s a chance that I will get injured, and that can’t happen now of all times.”

“What? You’re backing down?”

“He is but for the greater good of the group.”

Gear intervened.

“We need to be in our best conditions at all times. We can’t afford for either of you to get injured.”

“That’s unfair, Gear.”

Natasa started glaring at him.

“Then, I should just sit back and wait just because you say so? I refuse!”

She clenched her fist.

“Gear, I acknowledge that you’re a King but you also need to acknowledge something.”

She pointed at herself.

“I’m a King too, not your servant! We’re at least equals!”

Her fangs started peeking out of her mouth.

“So don’t try to order me around or I’ll turn you into a peasant!”

Gear didn’t say anything and just looked at her.

(Well, this is bad. She’s been under control for too long and is starting to lash out. This is why I hate free spirits. The harder you try to restrict them the greater they lash out.)

He sighed.

“This is the problem with beasts.”

A person with no self-control cannot be called a human. That is because some humans aren’t humans at all. They’re beasts in human skin. These beasts cannot be controlled and are slaves to their desires. These beasts cannot fit into society, because only a greater beast can tame them.

Newgate City.

“…………”

Bloom had just opened her eyes and was looking at the ceiling. She sat up and looked around before looking down and seeing a scar that stretched from her shoulder to her waist. Images from her battle with Luka flashed in her mind. She clenched her teeth and her eyes became bloodshot.

“Insolent!”

“I figured that you would wake up around this time.”

She turned her head and saw Jin standing at the door.

“From the look on your face, it’s safe to say that you're overflowing with anger.”

“What happened while I was out?”

Jin sighed.

“A lot.”

He then told her everything that happened in her absence. From Natasa’s rampage to Miko’s awakening.

“Unforgivable! They dare act so brazen in my absence?!”

She sprung to her feet.

“It’s time for me to teach them a lesson.”

Fifteen minutes later, Bloom was floating at 1000ft in the air. She looked at the scenery of the city and then the sky. She looked at it until she saw a cage overhead. She looked again and the entire country was in a cage. She saw images of a girl that was just skin and bones lying in a cage in a dark room. This girl would always glance at the wide blue sky that she could only see from a window, with envy in her otherwise lifeless eyes.

“Tsk.”

Bloom clicked her tongue.

“Never again.”

She lifted her arms overhead.

“I’ll show this world just what lengths I would go for freedom!”

Romix, Elon, Sawyer, and the Red Light District. Giant shadows cast over these cities causing everyone to look up.

“My god….”

All who looked up in the sky had terror painted over their faces. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“Me…Meteors…Meteors are heading towards us!”

Bloom had a cruel smile on her face.

“All who stands in my way must die!”

Four meteorites fell from the sky and crashed into their respective targets causing the whole country to tremble. Despite the meteors hitting targets, Bloom didn’t rejoice. As she expected, each city used different defensive methods to protect themselves. However-

“The people are frightened.”

Bloom said with a smirk. It was as she said, there were countless citizens with terrified expressions. Many held her hands against their chests and were breathing heavily; some were even unable to stand.

“This was a mere announcement for all of you fools.”

Bloom’s voice could be heard across the country.

“Your queen is back and she’s out for blood.”

She spread her arms and shouted.

“Let the final battle begin!”

Fear causes humans to be irrational. They can no longer think straight and will sometimes act out the extreme. A human whose mind has been clouded by fear but holds immense power is the most dangerous human out there. This is because this human will destroy everything around them just to feel safe.

Red Light District.

Miko was sitting on the top of the Demon Fortress, which was summoned because of the threat to the city. He looked towards Romix in the west, Sawyer in the south, Elon in the East, and the capital in the north. He stood up with a smirk on his face.

“Humans are foolish beings who often bring forth their own destruction. They let greed, fear, anger, and love blind them. They are simple-minded and short-sighted. Truly foolish and dangerous beings.”

His smirk turned into a grin.

“That’s why I can’t help but love them as much as I hate them.”

Humans are dangerous, even more so than any beast or monster; but even they pale in comparison to a being who believes that destroying everything is the right thing to do. Not even humanity is anything special in the face of a True Satan.

“Now then, shall we begin?”

The beginning of the end.