Author's note: please enjoy and tell me what you think of this chapter in the comments! :)

########################################################################

“Milord….can you hear me?” A female voice spoke.

“……Yes….” A grave male voice answered.

“I am sorry, milord…We have failed you.”

“….Ha…all hope is not yet lost…We still have them…and her…They are our last hope..in bringing Alastor back…”

“But they are weak and fragile…How can they stand up to him?”

“…Hope, my child….Hope that destiny has yet to offer its full course….And even if it is fate’s will that this happened….then change it! As the Goddess of Fate, you should know this….”

“But….”

“…We cannot do anything from here….But let’s put our faith in them….so that one day, our world will be freed from this curse!”

* * *

“Exterminate! Exterminate!”

The army of clones was currently raining down from the sky in a hail of iron husks. Crashing down like a meteor, each created a small crater upon impact before opening its hatch and released a young woman in white dress. These girls all looked so similar with the same face down to each and every detail. Her cold beauty was unmatched by all and the presence of so many made it as if we were in the gates of heavens, being received by the godly maidens. If only it was the case as the instant these maidens appeared, they immediately took out their weapons and attacked everything around them. Some wielded swords, others great axes while some simply punched her enemies to death, dyeing her pale clothing with blood. And yet, they were able to commit these kind of atrocities without batting an eye or any sign of compassion. Anyone they encountered, they killed. Anything they found, they destroyed. And there was no stopping them.

At this moment as we spoke, four brave individuals were leading their assigned units to engage with the army of dolls on the North-Eastern front.

“” Mephisto swung his claws in an arc, cutting down five dolls at once. The feat might seem impressive if not for the others who have quickly taken the place of their fallen comrades. “Damn it, there is no end to them!”

“Come at me, you bastards!” Naberius dived into the battalion of dolls with his giant axe and span around in a circular motion, showing his prowess as he devastated them.

“Army of the deads, heed my call!” Amelia raised dozens of skeletons and zombies from the ground and commanded them to defend her against the incoming dolls as she launched a volley of offensive spells onto the battlefield.

But unexpectedly, it was the last member of the demon royal guards who appeared to be the most efficient in what he was doing. Just before his beastman comrade went into berserk mode, Azureus was thrown on air by Naberius toward the march of the dolls. Once at the highest point, the small body of the slime began to flashing brightly into a ray of white lights, evaporating everything within its vicinity. And yet amazingly, he quickly reformed his shape in an instant as if the explosion before has never happened, except for the charcoaled carcasses around him.

“They are not that strong but there are so many of them.” Azureus uttered.

“Be careful around you! Do not let yourself be trapped by them!” Mephisto advised.

“…It’s not just them we should worry about.” The slime spoke.

“What do you mean?” the devil asked.

“The big guys are here!”

All of the sudden, six enormous presences appeared from outside Tartarus, releasing their aura that sent shivers to the spines of anyone who could feel them. One in particular stood out from the rest because of her unimaginable power. Furthermore, the danger has not passed just yet. The iron titan might have been immobilized but it could use long range weaponry or simply crushed anyone foolish enough to go within its arm length, which expanded for miles.

From above, the fallen celestial Lucifer declared. “Let the Game begin!”

* * *

“Report!” a soldier rushed into the base of command where Edward and a few other leaders were discussing strategies. “Sires, we have spotted six individuals coming out of the giant. They are extremely powerful and are now ravaging through our ranks.”

“It must be them.” Sullivan uttered. “The other six demon lords are now moving.”

“Then we must go out there and join our troops.” Celdora spoke.

“I agree.” The commander Edward said. “We aren’t much use sitting here anyway.”

“Then let us go!” Kaiser said.

“Wait a minute, anyone knows what is that dragon Xenes doing? Since he is a demon lord, his help will be much appreciated.” Edward raised his concern.

“Last time I heard, he was gathering all those moonstones together with that sea dragon Abalone. He has instructed me that we should not engage in a battle with Asmodeus until he finishes.” The dragon lord conveyed.

“But that monster is not going to sit there and let us do our things. Someone must keep her busy while we take care of the others.” Edward said.

“…I will!” a small figure walked in.

“Lilith?” Sullivan asked in shock. He was aware of the fact that Asmodeus was the one who once killed Lilith in a rather brutal way. That experience could not have been easy and now the woman wanted to face it again?

“I won’t be able to kill her but at least I can buy you guys some time....Let’s just hope that you will finish before I am!” the Goddess uttered solemnly. Anyone could see that her hands were clearly shaking, although she was doing her best to keep her cool. Naturally, the fear that was instilled in her that day has not faded away even after all these years. And yet, despite all that, Lilith was determined to confront her fear once again.

“…Then I will go with you!” Sullivan volunteered.

“You think you can take her on?” Lilith asked.

“No…but two are better than one. At the very least, I can take us out of there in dire time quicker than anyone could. I may not be an expert in battle but I am a master in running away.” The dwarf joked.

“Hihi! Then I think your skills would prove to be useful here.” The Goddess chuckled.

“Wait, then I too will go with you!” the cat girl Viviana jumped out nowhere and volunteered herself. She refused to stand on the sides of this war. Even if she herself was nowhere near as powerful as the demon lords, her only hope lied in the Spirit tree Yggdrasil.

“…If I say no, you will still come right? Then fine, go ahead! But try to keep up!” Said Lilith.

“Then it’s decided. I will go with Lilith and miss Viviana to keep Asmodeus at bay.” inquired Sullivan.

“Very well! Please be careful! As for us, I will gather a few elites of our army and together we will confront the other demon lords. Hopefully we will finish them and join you later.” Edward spoke. “As for the other generals, they will keep the doll army busy.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!”

“Then let us go!”

* * *

Back to the two sea dragons, they have just finished gathering all the moonstones which were handed to them by the rest of their clan under the authority of Celdora and a few words from Kaiser. Never in her life had Abalone the chance to lay her eyes upon so many precious gems all gathered in the same place like this. The intense power emanating from them…now she finally understood why they felt so strange..so outlandish before. All these years, she thought them as mere catalysts to cast spells or conduits of mana much like a mana stone. But if that was the case, then why did they need to be under the moonlight to charge themselves? Couldn’t they simply need a mana source? The reason was simple: the moonstone didn’t use mana at all. In fact, it used a special energy, one that no one has really understood how it work or what it even was. In short, it didn’t belong to this world.

“Xenes, tell me….what are the moonstones actually?” Abalone questioned the nature of the thing she has been holding onto since her birth.

“Why do you ask that? Didn’t you have one of them for years?” said Xenes as he stared at Abalone.

“I did but…it’s only now that I realize I know next to nothing about them…It’s a difficult feeling to explain…” the young dragoness conveyed.

“The feeling of wanting to uncover its secrets, the desire to pursue the path of knowledge, to find out the truth hidden underneath…that kind of feeling?” Xenes said.

“Yeah…how do you know?”

“Because I was the same.”

“The same?” inquired Abalone.

“What if I told you that your whole life was a lie? What if I told you that your every action was actually not of your own will? Your thoughts, your personality, what you like to eat, the one you love, everything…what if they were all parts of a script and we ourselves are merely actors playing on the stage?

We live, we kill, we save and we dance! All that for their amusement.” Xenes uttered.

“They? Who are they?”

Ignoring Abalone’s question, Xenes continued. “But I am fine with that. To play a role of this masterpiece called ‘life’! However, if I am to play, I do wish to be recognized. But they can be very shy you know. Always manipulating their puppets from their seats, sneaking in the darkness of the theatre…

I will not allow it. I will drag the audience on the stage and let them have a taste of what is like to be performing in front of others.” The dragon spoke with a hysterical grin, one that belonged to madness as he muttered to himself while staring at the sky above. “

“Hum..Xenes? What is wrong with you?”

Waking up from his delusional state, the dragon quickly regained his composure and smiled gently at his supposed assistant. “Oh it’s nothing! Just me getting old and senile! Forgive me for that awkwardness! Now let us begin! Please give me your stone, Abalone!”

“……..” Abalone showed a perplexed expression, reluctant to give into the dragon’s demand.

“It will be done in just a second. I promise I will give it back to you.” Xenes said.

“…Alright…here it is!” the dragoness handed over the last fragment of the original moonstone. If this could really save the world from inevitable end, then this would be a small sacrifice to make. Departing from her stone, the girl reverted to her dragon form. She could not hear Heru speaking to her anymore, even though he was right next to her. It was the scariest moment of her life, being unable to communicate with her friend while looking at him helplessly.

Holding Abalone’s moonstone in his hand, Xenes finally revealed his insidious grin. This was what he died for. It was all for this moment. He might have made a mistake by shattering the heavenly stone into pieces and distributing them to his people. However, that mistake has now been corrected. At the time, the pale dragon didn’t fully understand it but the longer he stayed with it, the more secrets it revealed to him. But so did the other dragons who have received this miraculous stone refused to give it back to him when he asked. And so he killed them all, just so he could make the thing he once splintered whole again.

That strange sound, a seemingly combination of intangible words, has once again begun to echo inside the minds of the two dragons as the piles of moonstones shined brightly.

“ᴈᴑᴌᴌᴑᴪ ᴑᴝᴚ ᴔᴝᴉᴅᴁᴎᴇ!”

“Xenes, are you hearing this?” Abalone uttered.

“Shhh! Quiet!” Xenes whispered.

“ᴛᴂᴇ ᴤᴛᴑᴎᴇ ᴉᴤ ᴪᴂᴑᴌᴇ ᴑᴎᴄᴇ ᴍᴑᴚᴇ!

ᴈᴑᴚᴔᴇ ᴛᴂᴇ ᴃᴌᴁᴅᴇ!

ᴝᴤᴇ ᴉᴛ!

ᴑᴘᴇᴎ ᴛᴂᴇ ᴘᴁᴛᴂ!

ᴃᴇᴄᴋᴑᴎ ᴛᴂᴇ ᴃᴌᴑᴑᴅ ᴍᴑᴑᴎ!”

The eerie murmur continued and repeated itself. Strangely, the more Abalone listened to it, the more she could understand this strange language. Its voice stuck in her head, echoing inside her mind.

“Hey!” Abalone woke up upon feeling a tap on her shoulder. “Don’t doze off now!”

“Oh…I …What was I…?” asked Abalone with a heavy head as if something has struck her in her, making her a bit dizzy.

“You were sleeping. Now wake up and stand aside! I will begin the ritual now.”

“Ritual? For what? I thought we are just putting the stones back together?” inquired Abalone.

“And then what? Bash Asmodeus’ head with a giant stone hoping it will do? Don’t be stupid! We will make a weapon out of it.” Xenes spoke.

“A weapon?”

“Yes! We will make a sword!”

* * *

Arriving at the battlefield, young Edward has started to fight his way through the endless horde of dolls lunging themselves at him. He might be small but it would be foolish to underestimate the Deus mage. Not only did Edward do a lot of research on ancient forms of magic, giving an edge in term of knowledge and spells that even masters could hardly know about but the boy also possessed the mysterious brand on his chest that could help him getting away from danger. Yet, even though he managed to get this far by himself without a single scratch, his next opponent was not someone he would expect to face with, not in a million years.

“No way!” Edward uttered upon seeing what seemed to be a general leading a squadron of dolls around him. Drawing his sword instantly, the figure charged at the boy. Quickly generating a magical sword in his hand, Edward repelled the attack and pushed back the figure. “Your Majesty?”

The person who attacked him was Charles Noctugal, the one and only King of Ceadric whom everyone thought was dead during Alastor’s usurpation.

Without uttering a word or a single warning, Charles fired a series of fireball at the young noble along with a few wind blades coming at his way.

“Your Majesty please stop! Why are you doing this?” shouted Edward desperately at the king as he dodged the incoming attacks.

But Charles simple ignored the call and just rushed into for the kill. His eyes were cold and his face expressionless as if there was no ounce of emotions left inside his mind.

“He won’t answer you, you know?” a voice spoke from above as another landed down not far from the battle. The first demon lord has revealed himself and it was Beelzebub, the Archetype of Gluttony. Being a beastman of origin, Beelzebub possessed a dark fur on his body that covered all his skin. His sharp tooth and canines along with his long jaw like that of a sabretooth tiger showed the remains of the distinct beastly features of the old bloodline, indicating how old he must be to still have them, unlike the descendants nowadays.

“What did you do to him?” Edward yelled while fending himself against Charles.

“Me? Nothing! But he fell under Asmodeus’ spell. A little bit of resistance at first but he gave in eventually.”

“You!!!”

“Don’t look at me like that! Focus on the opponent in front of you first!”

“Damn it!” Edward shouted as he turned back at his king. “Your Majesty, please don’t make me do this!”

“What will you do?” Kill him and free him from that spell? Or let yourself be killed instead? The decision is yours.” Said Beelzebub.

“Fuck you! I won’t kill him!”

“Cursing me won’t do anything, you know? Use that strength for your battle!”

“…..” Clenching his fist, Edward decided to resort to use the skills he has secretly developed at Helios. From his sleeves, the boy pulled out three pieces of paper with some kind of writing on them. Quickly dodging Charles’ attacks again, the boy closed in and stamped the three papers on the king’s chest.

“, , ”

In an instant, Charles’ magic was cancelled and his spells vanished. In addition, the king fell to ground before strings of light appeared around him and tied him up cleanly. Unable to do anything, Charles quickly succumbed to the spells thrown at him and remained motionless like a log.

“…That’s a weird magic you used there. I have never heard or seen it. Where did you learn it boy?” asked Beelzebub.

“Nowhere! I devised it myself.” The boy answered.

“You created a new school of magic by yourself? At your age? Impressive! You are much more interesting than I thought you were. Perhaps this is the potential Alastor saw in you when he took you in?” the demon lord said.

“Is this your way of lowering my defences? Flattering me? I know that compared to you, I am like a bug.” Edward admitted upon seeing the pressure coming from the demon lord even though he has not even entered a battle stance yet.

“And yet you still decide to face me. I like your guts, boy! Let us delay this no further! I am demon lord Beelzebub, Archetype of Gluttony. Tell me your name, boy!”

“I am Edward Osborne, royal guard of his Majesty, King Charles of Ceadric! Let us battle!”

“Edward, I will remember that name as I engrave it on your tombstone. ARRR!”

……

The head of the Hunters has engaged in battle with her enemy: a winged figure holding a sword as he looked down on her with a smug face like watching a tiny insect under his feet.

“Take this, vermin! ” A column of fire appeared from the ground below Maria, setting her on fire as it burned everything on its path.

But as the fire subsided, the burned body of the huntress quickly recovered from its wounds as her flesh and bones regenerated to before. But those pains she felt on every inch on her skin, they remained.

“Argggh!” Maria uttered in agony as the last injury on her body healed itself.

“Quite a freak aren’t you? But that’s where you will regret not being able to die that easily.” Lucifer declared arrogantly. “I used to be a believer in the teachings of the Gods. I followed it like my life depended on it. And it did. But what did I get in return for that faith? Nothing!”

“What the hell are you babbling about?” Maria shouted tiredly.

“I was not the only one who shared the same sentiment: the doubt of our own creators. Plenty of others did. And so we left Avant-Heim and created a land for ourselves. Let me show it to you what I, Lucifer the Fallen Apostate, am talking about!

Come to me, brothers and sisters! It’s time for this world to have a taste of true Hell!

”

A wall of flame rose from the ground in front of Lucifer. But these were no normal flames as they didn’t burn anything at all. In fact, no one was harmed or could even feel it even though they tried to touch it. But then suddenly, horrifying deformed winged creatures of flesh and bones appeared from the flame like walking out of a portal. And it was exactly what it was. The Gate of Hell has been opened and its fiendish residents were now free from that prison to unleash chaos upon the world.

“Ha…ha….ha *heavy breathing* “ the situation did not look good for our dear huntress. Her opponent was a demon lord, a foe of a whole different calibre, one that she could not hope to defeat in her current state. Even with the blood from Lilith turning her body nearly immortal, Maria still had no way to even come closer to the flying celestial. Furthermore, the army of Hell was pouring out of that wall of flame and charging toward Maria and her units.

“KILL THAT WENCH!”

…..

“Be careful, Amelia!” the beastman royal guard roared as he used his giant axe to chop down the dolls jumping at his comrade. Pushing his back again the panting witch, Naberius held his axe in a defensive stance. “Are you alright?”

“ *heavy breathing* I am…fine…Just tired…” the witched expired heavily.

“I didn’t know undeads could get tired.” The beastman joked.

“We don’t….but…our mana can get exhausted…which will…slow us down…and…”

“Okay okay no need to answer that! I was just joking.”

The couple has been surrounded completely without any possible escape route unless if they could fly. Meanwhile, Mephisto and Azureus were desperately fighting through the horde of Stellas in order to get to their friends in need.

“Wait for us! We are coming!” shouted the two.

“Those idiots…why are they running away? At this rate, they too will get caught up with us.” Muttered Amelia.

“It’s because they care about us. We are friends, right?” Naberius grinned.

“…Stupid…” Amelia grunted in an annoyed voice. Yet, she could not help herself but smiled a little when hearing that comment.

Without any care for anything, the dolls drew closer to the couple.

“Doesn’t seem like they will make it in time though…” the witch uttered. “We have arrived at road’s end.”

“……” Naberius stayed silent.

“Hey, Naberius, if worst comes to be, then….whhh???” Feeling herself being lifted in the air, the witch was unable to grasp what was going on before hearing his last words.

“Take care, Amelia! Save the world….save Alastor!” Grabbing her small body firmly, Naberius threw the witch on air toward his two other comrades.

“NO YOU IDIOT!” the witch shouted at the smiling beastman before being caught by Mephisto. “NABERIUS!”

“Come at me, you lifeless junks! AAAAAAAAAA!” the beastman swung his axe in a berserk state without any care for the wounds inflicted to him by the dolls. Fighting like a mad beast that has been cornered, Naberius released his full power as he cut down the horde of robots coming at him. Bravery or madness? Perhaps both. The trail of blood from his head reddened his vision. His scream when the sword plunged deep into his body. The smell of his own blood filling the air g only made him stronger.

In that seemingly slow motion of a beast unleashing his fury, a dismembered doll that has lost its bottom half was still able to move by crawling with its hands. Maybe it was because the thing was so close to the ground that it escaped the swinging axe but the beastman was unable to see it coming toward him. Within reach, the half broken doll pushed its arms against the soil and jumped on the beast’s back as it strengthened its grip around his neck.

“Self-destruction sequence activated….Five…four…”

In that moment of panic, the beastman took the decision to release his axe and used both his hands to try to remove the doll hanging on his back. However, it was a mistake as the other took advantage of that opportunity and jumped at him altogether. Each latched itself onto a part of his body until he was covered by them. Their weights became too much for the beastman to even move as he roared a loud scream in despair.

“…Two…One….Zero”

“NABERIUS!!!!”

BOOM

The explosion of a dozen dolls created a crater while blasting away the others in the surroundings, friends or foes. Thankfully, Mephisto and the other two were outside the blast, keeping them from harm. But the same could not be said about Naberius. There was no trace of him left at the scene, only ashes and dust.

“No…no…!” Tears dropped on the soft cheeks of the witch as she came to realization that he died to save her. Those bland jokes, his laughter….she could never hear them even again.

“….So he died like a dog huh? Quite fitting!” a voice spoke as a small figure appeared from the smoke. “Hello there, Azureus! It has been a long time yeah?”

“You!” the blue slime uttered upon seeing another of his race. Only, this one had a pitch black body. “Devas!”

“What? One of the demon lords?” Mephisto said in shock. He didn’t expect to see one of the enemy commanders this soon.

“Indeed! But I am much more than that. You didn’t tell them, Azureus? Or should I say…dad?”

“Dad? Then you are?” the devil uttered.

“….He is my son.” The blue slime confessed. “…Why are you all doing this? What does Alastor want?”

“Do I look like I care? I just want to have fun, dad. But you just had to kill me that day couldn’t you? How does it feel, to kill one’s own son? Delightful I take it since you seem to enjoy your current state.” Devas spoke.

“So not even death could cure you of your idiocy. Fine then! I did it once and I will not hesitate to do it again. It’s my responsibility to put an end to this!”

“Hahahahaha! You think you can? Unlike before, this time I can actually control my power properly. Let’s see how you will fare against me!

I am Devas, the Apotheosis of the Mire! Come fight me, dad! Ahahaahahaha!”

……

Kaiser was now standing across an open-field with no one in sight. His army has cleared out the area and made sure that no one would interrupt the coming battle between him and his opponent. Only, his opponent has not moved for a while now. In fact, ever since he showed up, the person in question was sitting crossing his legs while holding onto his staff with his head crouching down in a mediating position.

Due to his own nature, Kaiser refused to fight an unprepared opponent, no matter the circumstance. Furthermore, he felt like this could be a trap. Unable to decide which was what, the True Monarch called out to the figure.

“Hey, you there! What are you doing?” Kaiser shouted at the old man.

“…….” But he received no replies.

“HEY! I am talking to you. Answer me!” Kaiser pointed his sword at the old man’s neck.

“…….”

“If you don’t move then I will…. *BAM* “ Without warning, Kaiser was struck by an invisible force that sent him violently to the sides a few hundreds meters away from the motionless old man.

Quickly recovering from the blast, the monarch looked around to see what hit him but before he even realized it, he was sent flying on air again before being crushed down to the ground.

“Foolish one, the battle has already started long ago. You are simply too blind to see it.” A disembodied voice spoke out loud.

“What the?” Kaiser muttered as he slowly stood up from the floor. Still no enemy in sight! Not even a presence! So who hit him? “Show yourself, coward!”

“Show myself? I am right in front of you the whole time.”

Suddenly, the sky darkened and a rain of meteors fell from the sky, crushing down onto the field.

“I am Nyx, the Dreamwalker! Kaiser, the True Monarch, show me that you are indeed the son of Alastor!”

…..

“You witch! Stop it!”

Celdora shouted in anger as he grabbed the woman in chains and smashed her down in a puddle of blood. That attack was a dead blow. He was sure of it. But something was definitely strange. Celdora has been repetitively killing this woman for a while now. On many occasions she should have died already. And yet she didn’t. Even like just now, that should have killed her. He broke her bones. He saw her bleeding. All the injuries he has inflicted to her, they were still there. So why didn’t she die?

“Why? Why don’t you die?” Celdora uttered in shock when the woman slowly rose from the ground again like the many times he saw. Could it be that she had a special body like Maria? No, that wasn’t it. Somehow Celdora could feel something much worse from her. Especially when he saw her devious grin each time he killed her. It was as if the woman found joy in death.

“Death is but a state of being. Just like life itself. Me? I am in neither of them. How can you kill something that is not alive or dead?” the pale woman muttered.

“What?”

“I don’t expect you to understand, dragon lord.” In an instant, the woman has closed her distance and casually touched the dragon’s head to his surprise. He could not move at all. Because of her touch? How was it possible? “My name is Beatrix the Accursed. Now please….just…slip away!”

* * *

Back at the central camp of the coalition, the pope Maximillian has finished healing the unconscious celestial. There was nothing else he could do for her but to pray. However, like many times, praying along was not enough.

A soldier rushed into the tent. “Father, please come with me! We need your healing power at the front line.”

“Alright! Wait for me outside! I will take my things and come right away!” Maxime spoke.

“Of course, Father! But please hurry!” the soldier rushed out.

Turning back at the celestial, Maxime sighed in despair. Ikarus was no longer in danger and her wounds were all healed up. Yet she still didn’t wake up. Perhaps the trauma of her lover trying to kill her was too much for her frail mind. Whatever the cause was, Maxime could only hope and pray for the girl.

“Please lead the way!” Maxime said to the soldier waiting outside and followed him closely.

All of the sudden, with only the celestial left alone in the tent, something unexpected happened.

“What was supposed to take place did not. What was supposed to be dead was alive. And…the threads of destiny would be broken.”

In an eye flash, a man wearing a white mask appeared by the bed. Wearing a modern suit of white and black shirt, he crossed his arms behind his back as he looked down at the slumbering celestial in an intense manner.

“Hello Ikarus! It’s about time we rebalance the Game!”