The 3 combatants eyed each other warily, each seeking to exploit any openings that the other party offered. However, there were none as everyone was on their toes, ready to counter.

Judging that striking first was in his best interest given that he had the upper hand in terms of raw destructive power, Amon drew his right arm backwards swiftly, primed to unleash his characteristically devastating shockwave.

After all, there was no defence that could withstand his [Revenge Counter] if Amon was afforded the time and space to accumulate his power.

Unfortunately, the 2 ladies before Amon recognised his intention immediately and sprung into action instantly. Akame instantly disappeared in a flash, utilising her speed to close the gap instantly as she sought to curb any time and space that Amon enjoyed.

Amon instinctively knew that he no longer had the luxury to perform a full swing, with Akame's blade inching every closer to his exposed neck. Pressed to defend himself, Amon was forced to cut his move short, opting to use the quicker elbow jab to intercept Akame's blade instead.

Sparks flew haphazardly as Amon's mana-armed elbow went head to head against Akame's sword, which demonic energy worked constantly to erode the stubborn defence before it.

Nonetheless, a standstill resulted, as both couldn't move a single inch from their position less their opponent took advantage of their momentary lapse. Seizing her chance, Adeline joined the fray, approaching Amon from his right where it would be most difficult for him to defend.

Amon laughed, "You think you've got me! Think again!" before he twisted rapidly in an anticlockwise fashion, ramming his backhand against Adeline's gut.

A grin crept up Amon's face when he heard a shattering sound. However, the grin swiftly turned into an expression of alarm when Amon realised that he had simply broken an ice block, courtesy of Adeline's [Ice Clone] spell.

Now, Amon was caught in a more awkward position than before, as the real Adeline dashed from the opposite direction of her clone. Adeline's timing was impeccable, as Amon had no time to react to her actual assault.

Adeline's blades struck their target cleanly, slashing across Amon's torso in an X-like fashion. Pearl-white ice instantly seeped outwards from the cross-shaped wound on Amon's body, encasing him completely.

Adeline exhaled slowly after successfully immobilising Amon. Now, she and Akame could take a breather as the threat had been negated, albeit temporarily. Eager to finish Amon off, Akame streamed her demonic energy through her katana like a chainsaw, ready to butcher the foe before her.

However, Adeline, with her keen sense of sight from her Luminos, quickly held Akame back, as she could see microscopic cracks emerging on the ice block entrapping Amon, which were growing in number and size at an alarming rate.

True enough, it was only a matter of seconds before Amon's vile mana seeped out from the conspicuous cracks on his frosty prison, followed swiftly by an explosion which tore his cage asunder, yielding numerous sharp icicles which flew towards the ladies relentlessly.

The 2 ladies swiftly defended themselves, as Akame slashed the incoming shrapnel with smooth consecutive swings while Adeline spun her [Phasewalker] blades before her, grinding the incoming ice shards into slush.

However, to their horror, the time they spent defending against the wave of icicles was time afforded to Amon to accumulate his mana into his right fist, as he stood in his characteristic stance, with his right shoulder facing the pair, arm drawn back.

Amon swiftly swung his right arm outwards, shattering the air before him instantly as he generated a humongous shockwave far larger than any of those he had released earlier. Akame was first to react, as she quickly retaliated with a smaller version of her [Majin Sword], having no time to accumulate her demonic energy any further.

As expected, Akame's technique offered paltry resistance, having only slowed the advance of the lethal shockwave for seconds before it was completely vanquished. Fortunately, before Amon's attack could obliterate them, Adeline murmured, "[Radiant Snow Citadel]." as she concentrated her mana into her twin blades before plunging them into the ground.

Within a blink of an eye, a gigantic snowy white castle emerged from the ground before the pair, exuding a formidable presence. However, its grandeur didn't last long, as Amon's shockwave tore it down instantly, with momentum to spare as the resultant strong winds blew the ladies off their feet.

Akame materialised her demonic energy instinctively from her back, extending it in the form of a huge hand that grabbed onto Adeline, pulling the Sylph towards her. At the same time, Akame created another huge hand which dug into the ground, the friction slowing them into a standstill.

Both Adeline and Akame were panting, exhausted after barely surviving their ordeal. Adeline spoke first, "Thanks Akame, without your help, I wouldn't know how far I would have flown. I didn't know that you could use demonic energy like that though, that's pretty cool!"

Akame replied gratefully, "No, I'm the one who should be thankful, if not for that ice barricade of yours, we would have been blown to bits by that shockwave. Anyway, enough of the idle chatter, I don't think our enemy would give us time to talk."

Meanwhile, Amon was analyzing his approach. He was pleasantly surprised that the 2 ladies were able to survive his [Revenge Counter], especially given the fact that the last shockwave was one of the strongest he had produced thus far.

Even though Amon had power, his key weakness lay in sustainability, as his power was fuelled by damage to his body. If the pair could drag the battle long enough without inflicting any damage before going for the kill with an incisive blow when he had run out of juice, the pair might actually be able to defeat him.

Amon rationalised silently, "I'm confident of dealing with the demon girl when she's alone, but it's the other girl who's been posing problems due to her guile. Guess I'll have to separate them and take the Sylph out first."

Amon immediately shrouded his body with mana which gave off a visible hue that Akame recognised. Before Akame could open her mouth, Amon vanished in a flash, appearing between them as he performed a downward chop with his [Vengeance Cleaver], causing the ground between Akame and Adeline to split open. The impact of Amon's strike created a violent gust of wind that blew the 2 ladies apart from each other.

Akame cursed, "Darn, he intends to separate us, knowing that he can't take us out easily when we coordinate our attacks. Got to get back to Adeline's side fast…" At the same time, Adeline was attempting to recover from being blown back when she realised that Amon was already right on top of her.

Noting that Amon was aiming a punch towards her left cheek, Adeline quickly crossed her blades before her face, coating them with her [Radiant Snow] in an attempt to chill and slow Amon's approaching fist to reduce its power.

The next instant, Adeline's eyes could only widen in horror while a smirk was etched on Amon's face. One of Adeline's blades fell towards the ground, as it made an ominous "clang" sound before resting on its fuller, transforming back into its original form shortly.

Amon had actually used a feint once again, quickly changing his mind from a hook to a diagonal slash with his [Vengeance Cleaver], cleanly tearing Adeline's body into two from her left shoulder to her right hip.

Akame, who could only watch the horrifying scene unfold before her, screamed, "Adeline!!" before gripping her katana in fury and sorrow as she resolved to seek vengeance for her fallen comrade.

Amon felt extremely satisfied from his latest handiwork, but his joy was short-lived as he soon realised that Adeline was now raising her sole remaining blade over his head before bringing it down swiftly in an overhead fashion.

Adeline whispered, "[Ice Dominion - Frostmourne]" as she slashed Amon from head to toe. Unlike before, this time round, ice did not immediately emerge from Amon's wound to engulf him. Instead, Amon's skin began to emit a sickly, dark blue glow which spread rapidly over his entire body.

Consequently, from underneath Amon's skin, black ice emerged, encapsulating him completely and giving him an appearance of a sculpted ice figure, devoid of life. Adeline huffed as her [Perfect State] got to work quickly, clearly evident in her glowing blue eyes, mending her wound so swiftly that within seconds, it left no trace of the horrific injury that once existed.

Akame heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps she had truly underestimated Adeline. Akame had previously thought that Adeline was only a good healer, but this battle had proven that her combat abilities were top notch too.

After all, Adeline had perfectly utilised her Luminos Ability to catch Amon off guard, outwitting someone who had attempted to outsmart her. Adeline's end product was excellent as well, as she learnt from her previous mistake to trap Amon in a more resilient prison than before.

Now, Akame understood why Kai had selected the girl to be his partner. They were both pretty similar, apart from their ancestry, they were also rather headstrong in their refusal to give up till they had achieved their objective, regardless of the odds against them.

Giving Adeline some time to catch her breath, Akame walked up to her slowly and asked softly, "Well done. You OK? Guess it's time to end this menace once and for all, I'll shatter him where he stands."

Adeline shook her head as she replied despondently, "The spell I used earlier is an extremely strong spell meant for sealing. Of course, it's best if Amon can remain frozen for eternity, but I doubt even my spell can stop him for long.

Nonetheless, the ice that surrounds him isn't that easy to break, with your current power level, I don't think you would be able to break him completely. In fact, any attack against the ice might be counterproductive, for it might make it easier for him to thaw out of it."

Akame enquired further, "In that case, what do you propose we do? If we stay here and do nothing, we'll become sitting ducks in a matter of time! I don't think that either of us can recover our strength to 100% in the presumably short span of time we have before Amon escapes."

Adeline replied calmly, "You're right. My original intention was never to buy time for us to recover our strength to engage in another pointless fight with Amon." before she turned around to look at Kai's motionless body.

Akame followed Adeline's line of vision before sighing, "You're still placing your hopes on the boy, I see. Hmph, is he really that reliable? From my point of view, he's still a wimpy whelp that needs more help than he can provide."

Adeline spoke softly, "I've seen Kai produce miracles more than once, with his never-say-die attitude. Even though he may not be the strongest as of now, as his partner, I think that the bare minimum I can do is to have faith in him, right?" before smiling brightly.

Akame's expression was cynical for a moment before it softened, as she placed a hand on Adeline's shoulder, "Guess you're right. In the mean time, we'll do the best we can too and recover as much as possible." The 2 ladies then sat quietly, prioritising their recovery as they prepared themselves for another hard battle ahead.

Unknown to the ladies, Amon's consciousness was not lost amidst the ice as he could hear their conversation perfectly. Nonetheless, it was a rather close shave as Amon swore that if the ice had spread any faster through his blood, he wouldn't have had enough time to protect his brain and heart from getting frozen.

However, the fact remains that Amon was frozen in place, and the chill throughout his body was unbearable. Amon slowly attempted to thaw his body by increasing the flow of mana throughout his body, to melt the ice coating his blood vessels to restore normal blood circulation before he dealt with the ice on his exterior that held his body in place.

As Amon's body temperature started to increase, he began to laugh silently in his mind, "The fools! I'll get my revenge soon enough and seeing that both you ladies are so thoroughly exhausted, this would be like taking candy from a baby, hahaha!"

Amon was so self-absorbed in his presumed triumph that he nearly failed to notice a bright glow in front of him until it began to hurt his eyes. Amon wondered, "What's going on? Who's that?" before fear spread throughout his body.

Amon stammered mentally, "T-This sensation, it's almost like Lord Astaroth is here in person! Who else in this world could wield such power?" Amon got his answer soon enough, as he noticed that the glow was emanated from Kai, as his eyes slowly fluttered open before the glow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Amon felt relieved the moment the heart-wrenching sensation disappeared from within his body. Amon snickered mentally, "Ah, it's just the kid once again. What can he do anyway? There's nothing for me to fear…"

Amon wasn't the only one who noticed the bright glow. Adeline and Akame detected it as well as they swiftly turned around, only to see Kai regaining consciousness as the glow faded. Adeline was overjoyed as she immediately pounced onto Kai, crying, "By the heavens, you're finally back! You had me worried you know! Even though I had faith that you'll return."

Kai wiped away the tears on Adeline's eyes as he said, "You silly girl, when have I never kept my promise to you? Hhhm, I see, good job on holding Amon back. Now, let's finish what we have started once and for all."

Akame added cynically, "You're saying that you finally figured out how to use the triple fusion element? Prove it." To her surprise, Kai smiled confidently and replied assuredly, "Sure, otherwise, how are we going to defeat Amon?"

To the surprise of the girls, Kai's mana pressure as well as demonic energy suddenly shot up, as Kai held his still active [Cavalier] in both hands. Both girls were stunned to see a white mask materialising rapidly over Kai's face, but the mask was unlike the one Akame was familiar with.

Kai's new mask was not only adorned differently, it had a completely unique shape, since it did not cover Kai's entire face unlike his previous mask. Instead, this new mask covered all of Kai's face except the area around Kai's left eye including his left forehead.

The mask gave Kai an extremely intimidating appearance, which was only exacerbated by his dual-chrome eyes; his left eye shining bright blue with the power of his Luminos while his right eye glowed deep red with demonic energy.

Within seconds, Kai focused his mana and demonic energy into his left and right hands respectively, as they cackled with white and red electricity respectively. Kai muttered to himself, "Harmonious diversity, just like a mixture…" as both types of electricity streamed through Kai's weapon towards its middle.

When the 2 types of electricity met, Kai willed them to revolve around each other rather than collide head-on, and within seconds, the 2 types of electricity began to blend together, forming a seamless, rapidly spinning, single stream of electricity that covered Kai's spear with stripes of red and white.

Both Akame and Adeline gasped in amazement involuntarily, as fear gripped Amon once more. Amon thought, "Impossible…mixing mana with Celestial energy-like properties with demonic energy…that's something only the gods can do! What's going on?"

Adeline mumbled without thinking, "It's…beautiful. Do you have a name for it?" Kai was caught off guard for a while before he replied casually, "A name? Well, how does [Vermillion Spark] sound to you?"

Adeline clasped her hands together and said excitedly, "That's a great name! I really believe that this new power is what we need to beat Amon!" Akame nodded in agreement before Kai said, "Well, this wouldn't have been possible if not for you guys. Thank you, Adeline, Akame."

Both girls smiled shyly before Kai turned to face the immobilised Amon. Kai declared, "It's time to end this, Amon. Prepare to die, [Vermillion Storm Spear]!" The white-red electricity around Kai's spear began spinning even more violently than before as Kai lunged towards Amon, prepared to impale the Chaos General through the chest.

Amon thought frantically, "If I get pierced by an attack of such calibre without resistance, I would die without doubt. I refuse to go down like this!" Amon's mana pressure suddenly escalated rapidly as the ice covering his body instantly melted, much to everyone's surprise.

Amon drew his right arm back, concentrating all of his remaining mana into it before releasing his final punch. Amon howled, "This is it, [Ultimate Revenge Counter]!" as he threw his punch straight onto Kai's incoming spear head.

Both the air and the ground were shattered by Amon's fearsome attack, as sparks flew erratically from the tip of Kai's spear. Despite the power contained in both attacks, both combatants did not move an inch, firmly standing their ground against their formidable opponent.

After all, even though in terms of raw force, Amon's attack emerged on top, Kai's technique was very much like a drill that focused its power into a single point, explaining his ability to keep in toe with Amon. Currently, the situation could be likened to a tense game of tug-of-war, with both parties equally matched.

Thus, both Kai and Amon sought to leverage on any advantage they could create. Instinctively, Kai activated his Luminos as he muttered, "[Erase]" while staring straight at Amon's fist. Instantly, Amon could feel that his attack was weakened, as Kai eliminated a chunk of mana powering his shockwave.

Kai was not done yet, as he kept his Luminos ability active while pressing on with his own technique. Amon grunted with the sudden increase in weight of the force before him, as he panted, "Ha! You think you can drain me off all my mana before finishing me off? I'm not that weak, you idiot!"

This time, it was Kai's turn to be overwhelmed as Amon let out a war cry before infusing more mana into his right fist, increasing the power of his shockwave against Kai's spear. Kai's feet skidded a few inches backwards as Kai laboured to hold his ground.

Kai thought, "Darn, he really is a monster. Despite all those gruelling battles before this final showdown, he still has so much mana to spare. I don't think my [Erase] can drain him fast enough before my own attack succumbs to his…"

Kai's thoughts of defeat were immediately vanquished when he felt new energies surging through his [Cavalier]. Looking up, he was surprised to see Adeline and Akame each placing a hand on his weapon, infusing their own power into it.

Adeline said gently, "We're in this together, Kai. Take our powers and combine them into one, to defeat this nemesis before us!" Akame added coolly, "Only you possess the ability to combine our powers in the form of the triple fusion element. We'll rise and fall together as one!"

Kai nodded before displaying an expression of newfound resolution. With Adeline and Akame's input, Kai mixed all their energies together into his attack as they screamed in unison. Now, with the combined efforts of all 3 of them, they were able to push against Amon's attack, holding him in an uneasy stalemate which could go either way.

Adeline enquired, her breathing irregular due to her exhaustion, "Holding him in a stalemate is no good, he's likely to outlast us. Do you have any good ideas, Kai?" Kai replied, panting himself, "Yeah, truth be told, there's one more person whose power we can tap on. Ikari! I know you're there listening! If you can hear me, now's your chance to do the right thing! For your wife and village, whom this demon had killed in cold blood!"

Amon was initially worried at Kai's declaration, but it wasn't long before he laughed it off, "Hahaha, foolish mortals. Ikari can't hear you, I've kept him in a dark place far, far away, hahaha! Death awaits you all, so struggle as much as you can, hahaha!"

Ikari sat alone in an empty dark space, which was completely silent. He hugged his legs together as he leaned forward, burying his face within his knees. In this place, Ikari felt no solace but rather sorrow, as the only things that accompanied him here were pieces of his memories, which constantly reminded him of the tragedy of Casimir.

Despite his discomfort, Ikari also didn't feel like returning to reality, where he knew his wife and family were no more. At least, in here he could relive those occasional joyous memories he had with his wife that popped out, even though they would no longer be real.

Apart from old memories, Ikari did have a few glimpses of what was happening outside in reality through the eyes of Amon, who had completely possessed his body by now. Initially, Ikari was not the least bit interested in Amon's torture of his opponent, Kai, for he no longer had an attachment to the physical world.

However, all that changed when Amon revealed the truth behind the tragedy of Casimir, how his wife and fellow villagers were manipulated by the Chaos Legion in order to trick him into giving in to his rage, thereby allowing Amon to successfully possess him. Ikari clenched his fists in frustration as he berated himself silently for trusting the words of a demon like Amon so easily.

Ikari gritted his teeth angrily when he realised how great of a folly he had made all this time, not to mention that he had dragged his 2 best friends with him as well into this living hell. Ikari instantly felt an overwhelming sense of regret for all the things he had done after the Desolation of Casimir, which included bringing his brothers into the Chaos Legion.

Ikari hated himself even more for his actions, for they were simply done in order to avenge those feelings of indignation he suffered over the supposed betrayal of his wife and village. His simple-minded hatred for the world just because of his own suffering had caused him to unwittingly inflict that unfair suffering to others around him, triggering a never-ending vicious cycle. If only there was something he could do to put an end to it…

Ikari's daze was rudely broken by the words of Kai, who was urging him to take action for the sake of his wife and village. Even though Ikari couldn't hear Kai clearly, he could tell that the young man was encouraging him to stand up for himself and use his own strength to erase the darkness that plagued him.

Motivated by Kai's words, Ikari slowly got up onto his own 2 feet, his fists clenched tightly not in hatred, but rather determination to finally set things right…

Amon's laughter was only temporary, as he soon found, to his horror, that his control over his body was waning. Amon thought as an expression of panic emerged on his face, "What's going on? I'm losing control of my body as I feel that my consciousness is fading…this is impossible, I'm sure I've completely engulfed Ikari's soul!"

His worst fears were confirmed when another cold voice rang in his head, "I trust you no longer, Amon. Let us repent for our sins, together." Amon screamed mentally, "NOOOOO!! I'm not going to die again!"

The last thing Amon heard before his consciousness faded fully was, "Don't worry about that, this is the last time you'll experience death, I promise you…"

Meanwhile, to Kai's surprise, Amon's eyes suddenly went white as he stopped emitting mana abruptly. Seizing this opportunity, Kai pushed one last time as his electricity filled spear easily broke through Amon's resistance, its tip swiftly finding its way towards Amon's heart.

The instant Kai's [Cavalier] had penetrated through Amon's skin, Kai's [Vermillion Spark] immediately rippled through Amon's entire body, electrocuting him from the inside as sparks slashed all over Amon's body, scarring it completely.

When Kai's attack had finally completed its course, all that remained was Amon's charred and mutilated body, as Amon collapsed onto his knees, seemingly devoid of life. Adeline and Akame were about to heave a sigh of relief when a charred hand weakly reached out to grab Kai's wrist.

Adeline and Akame were instantly on guard when Kai dismissed them. Kai said softly, "You did it, Ikari, thank you. If not for your intervention, Amon would never have been defeated." The figure looked up weakly before opening his mouth slowly, "No, thank you, Kai. Thank you for giving me another opportunity to do the right thing.

Now, the anger within my heart has dissipated, leaving nothing but a sense of calm. Surreal, isn't it? I guess this is the feeling one experiences when he has finally let go of the stone within his heart, right?"

Kai answered with a warm smile, "Yeah, I'm glad that you learnt the truth about your wife and villagers, even if it was at the very end." Ikari nodded solemnly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check, "I'm so…thankful that my wife had loved me till the bitter end. She was a brave woman, and a virtuous wife. If only I had a little more faith in her…"

Kai advised gently, "I'm sure she would understand. Now, do you have any final wishes? I want to do something to give you a peace of mind if possible." Ikari wheezed, as he neared his final breath, "If my subordinates, the other 2 members of the Casimir Trio, are dead as well, I wish to be buried together with them back in our motherland, Casimir. One more thing, take this. It would bring you to a secret base where you'll find the answers to all the important questions..."

Ikari gasped for air after handing a slip of paper to Kai before completing his final sentence, "Promise me that you'll never let the Chaos Legion ignite another tragedy like Casimir…" The eyes of the great warrior then closed slowly, the smile on his face evidence that he had passed on without regrets before his body began to turn into dust rapidly, his remains carried by the wind to the corners of the world.