The house was in total silence, with the occasional coughing from Laphicet. His head was down, looking at something in his hand. Avernus brought him a glass of water, but Laphicet was reluctant to look him in the eye. Avernus crouched down to match Laphicet's height.

"Here, drink this."

To his surprise, Avernus' voice was calm and not angry anymore. Laphicet slowly raised his head and met his gaze. Avernus had a slight smile on this face. Laphicet slowly nodded his head and took the glass of water.

Avernus noticed the item in his hand. "A hair comb? Oh, so that's why you needed the money.", he observed.

Laphicet's eyes widened in shock. He was drinking the water, and all of a sudden, he started choking. Avernus gave him a back blow, which nearly made Laphicet fall from the chair. Afterward, he looked at Avernus with a guilt-ridden look. The sorcerer smiled at him again. The boy seemed so pure and innocent.

"Don't worry, buddy. It’s a very thoughtful gift. I'm proud of you. Going all out to show your appreciation, that's what a real man would do." Avernus then proceeds to pamper Laphicet's head.

Suddenly the front door opened, and Arthur walked into the house.

"Laphicet, are you okay?", Arthur hastily asked. Laphicet slowly nodded. Arthur turned to look at him with a fit of slight anger in his eyes.

"You were supposed to watch him.", Arthur reminded him with a scolding tone.

Before Avernus could answer, Laphicet quickly jumped in, "Avernus had nothing to do with it. I wanted to go to the cape alone. That was my own decision."

Arthur closed his eyes and shook his head, "You know how important you are, Laphicet."

Avernus narrowed his eyes at Arthur. He didn't ask about Velvet's condition.

"And Velvet’s okay too if you were wondering about that as well."

Arthur reverted to his cold and emotionless state, "Forgive my rudeness. I shouldn't have bothered you in the first place, but I'm grateful for what you have done for them."

Avernus was slightly surprised at how Arthur decided to change his tone quickly. However, that wasn't the time to argue as the bitter look on Laphicet's face urged Avernus to back down. Arthur muttered something in Laphicet's ear, and they both went to the other room, and Arthur closed the door behind them. Avernus headed to Velvet's room to check on her and saw Seres already standing beside her bed, gazing at Velvet.

He ignored her and pulled the blanket over Velvet. An item caught his attention on the other side of the bed; a small vase with the rose he bought was inside it. He picked it up and smirked, "Well, glad to see she didn't get rid of it."

Seres looked at the rose and then turned her attention to Avernus' face. He raised his shoulders in response, "What? It's a rose. Pretty girls like her receive gifts all the time."

He gently handed the vase to Seres, "It needs sunlight. Find a more suitable place for it, please."

Seres' expression was difficult for anyone to fully understand as her black mask covered her eyes, and her cold, emotionless voice governed her speech. She took the vase and placed it on one of the windowsills.

Avernus abruptly left the house in a hurry. He strode through the village and reached the shopkeeper while he was closing his store as the hour of dusk was fast approaching. After a few minutes, he came back to the house and saw Laphicet and Arthur standing in the hall. Arthur turned his head towards Avernus coldly, "Pack your belongings. You’ll be leaving early."

Avernus frowned, "Why?"

"One of my colleagues wants to speak with you. He requested to meet you sooner in Taliesin."

"Aren't we supposed to go there together? Can't he wait a little bit longer? I don't understand the haste, Arthur."

"We need your help as soon as possible, and he is the only one who can fill you in our current plans. Didn't you want to end the threat of daemons? Wasn't that your mission?"

Avernus sighed and nodded. He turned to Laphicet, slowly walking towards him. Laphicet was staring at his toes. "Don't forget about our promise. As my father always said, “Men with good intentions make promises. Men with good characters keep them”."

Laphicet raised his head and quickly replied, "Okay…"

At that moment, Arthur made his way outside, but Seres stayed in the hall. Avernus raised his arm and opened his hand, extending it closer to Laphicet as if he was going to give him something.

"Another thing, Laphicet…", all of a sudden, his hand flashed, and something appeared in his grasp; a golden compass.

"Here, this is for you. Take it.", Avernus offered, wearing a smile and an adoring gaze. Laphicet gently took the compass. His eyes went wide, but he immediately lowered his head and started to sob. Laphicet quickly hugged Avernus, squeezing him as hard as he could.

Avernus smiled and hugged him softly in return,

"Hey, hey, young man. You don't need to cry. Everything's going to be alright. Arthur and I will make sure of it.", he pampered his head and continued, "In the meantime, learn how to work with the compass. I want you to be our navigator. No mistakes allowed, OK?", Avernus winked at Laphicet, then turned his head and looked at Velvet, still unconscious. He hoped that at least he could say goodbye to her.

"And take good care of your sister. You're not a kid anymore, Laphicet. You're a man now."

Laphicet slowly nodded.

Avernus pampered him for the last time and went upstairs to get his chest. On his way down, he saw Seres still standing in the hall and talking to Laphicet. She abruptly ended their conversation. Avernus strolled to the door, smiled and waved his hand at Laphicet. He waved back at him. He took a last glimpse at Velvet, sleeping peacefully on her bed.

"Goodbye, Velvet."

Avernus shut the door and noticed Arthur staring at the tombstones.

"Go to the junction between the road to the Morgana Woods, the southern shore, and Taliesin. My men are waiting for your arrival as we speak."

Having doubts, not being able to say goodbye to Velvet, weird talks between them, and sudden change of plans made him feel worried and ill at ease. He slowly made his way towards the gates without uttering a single word.

"His name is Melchior Mayvin. You two will have a lot of matters to discuss. I suggest not to keep him waiting, Avernus.", advised Arthur.

Avernus paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and proceeded to make his journey.

In Aball, everyone was rushing to go back to their houses or was in the process of closing their doors tight. Niko was trying to get her two frightened dogs back inside her house. A few trembling men, filled with uncertainty, had their axes and pitchforks ready in hand. The sun was already down and the moon was starting to rise. The guards opened the door as soon as they saw him. He strode toward the gate and left the village.

He remembered his promise to Edna and decided to go to the ruins before meeting up with the exorcists, but part of him was concerned about the Crowes back in the village, and part of him was determined to see this through. He stayed vigilant as the forest fell into darkness, eyes scanning every corner for signs of movement. Sounds of howling and growling could be heard from afar. Either way, he continued with no exorcists in sight. Further down the road, he could hear the faint sounds of chewing and biting.

Avernus cast a light orb to illuminate the path. He sent the levitated sphere forward and noticed three werewolves devouring some exorcist corpses.

"Well… this isn’t good."

The werewolves sniffed his presence. They stood up and howled all at once, baring their teeth and claws. Avernus gritted his teeth, dropped his chest and curled his fingers. He detonates the light orb in their faces, temporarily blinding them. They covered their eyes and let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Not today…"

Avernus jumped in the air and dashed at the nearest daemon, bashing it fast with his staff. A loud, bone-breaking crunch soon followed. He immediately extended his hand towards the second monster and a stream of burning flame shot from it, melting its fur and armour in the process. As the third one was about to recover, Avernus lunged and stabbed the daemon in the head with full force. The end of his weapon pierced the top of the skull, drilling through the daemon's mouth and into its throat, killing it instantly.

Avernus pulled out his staff from the werewolf's head and wiped the blood off. The second werewolf was burning and rolled on the ground until it was no more. He took a deep breath before returning to his belongings, but the sound of an explosion and a bright flash grabbed his attention.

"No…"

Avernus sprinted to the source. He uncovered that the commotion was coming from the temple where Edna, the earth malak, was residing. As he got closer, the sounds of casting artes, shrieks, and howling were also getting stronger.

He finally reached the temple entrance and found out Edna was relentlessly fighting the daemons using her earth-based artes. Quakes shattered the land beneath them and arc energy bolts flew everywhere. He also noticed a small Normin lunging left and right, kicking and punching the demonic creatures. Edna saw him from afar and, with knitted brows, flashed him an annoyed face.

"You took your time, human."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, little one.", Avernus shouted in responses and waved his hand at her. Informing her to back off from the fight. She nodded and said something to the Normin, which made him glare at Avernus with contempt and returned to Edna's side.

Avernus started spinning the Dreamshadow, "Twisted Wind!"

He hurled the spinning staff towards the horde. It cut through them like a knife in butter. Body parts and blood were flying everywhere until it reached a more heavily armored one and it deflected the staff with a loud bang.

The daemon growled in fury and raced towards him, along with their remaining brethren.

Avernus raised his arms and conjured a new set of weapons, "Blazing Whip!"

Avernus blocked their path with his new pair of fiery whips and whipped the ground as they got closer. Their leader pounced on him, and lightning side-stepped and wrapped one of the straps around its neck. Before it could hit the ground, Avernus started whirling it around, banging and hitting the remaining daemons until none of them were left standing. He then threw the banged-up werewolf at the rocks, smashing it. Before it could get up, Avernus wrapped both whips around the beast and channeled his blood onto the leash. The creatures started to burn, and after a few seconds, it turned to ash as it cried its last howl.

Edna started running towards him. Avernus dismissed his elemental weapons and recalled the Dreamshadow back to himself. Edna and the Normin reached him. She held her umbrella tighter and coldly glared, "Hmph, for someone who thinks he’s above the pecking order, you sure can't keep a promise."

Avernus raised his left brow and abruptly extended his hand towards Edna's face. She froze in place, and pink marks started building on her cheeks. To her surprise, he picked some stones and a leaf from Edna's hair and left it to the wind, "Earthern artes are messy, you know, and not good for someone who wants to keep their looks clean at all times. Oh, and you're welcome."

Edna let out a sigh of relief, but Avernus narrowed his eyes and changed his tone. He nearly shouted at her, "What the hell are you doing up here?! These woods are crawling with daemons, and you chose now to come up?! You should’ve waited for me inside the temple."

Edna was frightened for a moment, but she immediately collected herself. Before she could talk, the Normin moved closer to them. He jumped on a tree branch to level himself with Avernus. With angry eyes and a voice suitable for a middle-aged man, he threatened, "Talk like that one more time to this sweet girl and I'm going to break your bones, you barbarian!"

Avernus, pretending not to see the Normin, aimlessly began to look around the area, "What was that? Did something blurt?"

The Normin huffed at Avernus. He switched his annoyed gaze towards him, "Oh, I see. You’re that little mutt I saw earlier this morning near the gate. Here’s what I have to say to you; Shut. The hell. Up, you old skank or I'm going to add a pathetic common spirit nudge to my kill count."

The Normin eyes suddenly flared up in anger,

"What did you say to me?! Come and see who…"

Edna quickly jumped between them, "Enough! Both of you!"

She pointed her umbrella at Avernus.

"First of all, big guy, stop acting like you’re my big brother because you're not. Second, Phoenix, don't worry about him. He helped me a few days ago despite his outrageous behavior."

Avernus scowled, "Oh, give me a break! Insulting behaviour?! All I did was try to help you malakhim, and you’re all treating me like I'm the bad guy here?!"

Phoenix shook his head and exhaled, "Fine… If you say so, miss."

Edna wore a bitter look on her face, "Stop acting like you care, human."

Avernus facepalmed himself and paused for a moment to calm himself down.

"Okay, I'm not going to escalate this any further. It’s no use, but…", he sighed, "If you had a problem, then why didn't you come to find me sooner?"

Edna folded her arms, frowned a bit and looked the other way, "You were busy with that girl the other day, mister. I didn't want to meddle."

Avernus’ face scowled and wrinkled in confusion, "What? That's no excuse. I… Wait, don't tell me you were jealou…"

"No! I was not jealous!", Edna shouted. Avernus was rapidly blinking at her reaction.

"Wow, alright. Don't get mad now. Jeez, what's wrong with you?"

Edna lowered her head and continued, "This morning, I sent Phoenix to find you, but…"

Phoenix cut Edna short, "But when I observed this brute, I concluded that we don't need the help of this overrated gratuity of a man."

Avernus glared at him from the corner of his eyes, "You know, I can spare myself from this utter nonsense you blabbering just by sitting on you. It’s starting to sound tempting."

"You dare ridicule me, human?"

Edna moved in between and extended her arms towards each of them.

"Please, stop. We need to work together if we're going to make it through this wretched night."

Avernus took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you even topside? Why not stay inside the temple and wait for me?"

"Well, stupid, it's a Scarlet Night and malevolence is creeping out of the earthpulse. I can't stay inside the temple. And besides, I had guests."

"Guests? Again?! What's with this temple that suddenly everyone decided it's the best time of the year to pay a visit?"

Edna glanced at him, "These "Everyone" you're referring to, are my friends! They always come and visit to check on me."

Avernus put his arms on his hip and cocked his head, "Where are they now?"

"They didn't want to stay with… us, so they left sooner."

Avernus looked at her with narrowed, confused eyes, "Huh? What kind of guest were they?"

Phoenix looked away and growled. Then Edna sighed in disappointment, "I’ll tell you later, Avernus. For now… would you go and find them and bring them here?"

"Well… You scolded me back there. I need to hear one more word from you before I can decide whether to go after them or not."

Edna's lip's downturned, "What is it?"

"Say ‘please’."

Edna's eyes widened and then she frowned, "What?! Never!"

"Since you won't send your little toy after them, it means that they hate him, which I can't argue with, but I'm not happy with the way you treated me before, so…"

Edna clenched the umbrella's handle. She hid her face under the umbrella,

"Fine, human… Please … go and find my friends…"

"Hmph, that's a little bit better. So who am I looking for?"

"They are two malakhim. One of them is a Normin. Their names are Grimoirh and Morgrim."

Avernus kept nodding, "Okay, Grimoire and Morgrim."

"No, it's Grimoirh , not Grimoire. And please, treat them with respect. They're ladies, after all."

Avernus exhaled and glanced at Phoenix with uncertainty, "Can this guy protect you while I'm gone?"

Phoenix turned his head towards him,

"I am the strongest Normin in the whole world, mind you."

Before Avernus burst into laughter, Edna nodded, acknowledging Phoenix's claim.

"Yeah, he kind of is. And I don't want your protection."

Avernus shrugged off Edna's behavior, then took off and ran towards the main road, looking for any signs of the two malakhim.

" Daemons are relentless when they're going for their prey, just need to look for them instead of those little malakhim. After all, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. "

After running for a few minutes, he saw two werewolves looking up and howling beneath a tree. Avernus dashed and impaled one of them with his staff, lifting it off the ground and gestured his free hand at the second one, blasting it with an energized fireball in the face. He tossed the dead body away and noticed two small figures hiding high in the tree.

Avernus cleared his throat and waved, " Ahem … Excuse me, ladies. Are you Grimoirh and Morgrim?", Avernus asked with the utmost respect. Then the two moved closer into the light, and he could see a small Normin with a large witch’s hat and a book attached to her back. The other was a chubby, white cat.

"Oh, did my darling Edna send you here to find us?", Grimoirh asked.

"She sure is considerate, my dear. Maybe we shouldn't have left her alone.", Morgrim added guiltily.

"Don't worry about it. Edna's fine for now. But staying here is dangerous, and until this night is over, you can't go on your journey."

"Is that mongrel still there?", Grimoirh asked and growled.

"Phoenix? Yeah, he's still there, protecting Edna or whatever he's doing now."

Grimoirh sighed, but Morgrim pawed her side, "Let's tolerate him just this once. For Edna."

After a doubtful glare, Grimoirh nodded and they started to climb down the tree.

Suddenly they heard howling, moving sounds, and activity near their position. Avernus looked at them and politely said, "Ladies, we don't have much time. I can carry you to the temple if you’ll let me. It’ll be faster and safer."

Grimoirh smiled, "What a gentleman."

Avernus crouched and held both of them in each arm. The daemons were getting close. He darted towards the direction of the temple. The creatures were hot on his tail. Avernus gritted his teeth and frowned.

"Damn it! Shielding Shadow!"

The staff ejected from his gauntlet and transformed into its longer form. The Dreamshadow levitated and started spinning around the Avernus as he sprinted forward. The staff fired small bolts of lightning towards the pursuing horde.

"That's a neat little arte.", Morgrim observed.

"Edna was right. You are something different, Avernus.", said Grimoirh.

Avernus eyes widened, "How do you know my name?!"

Grimoirh smirked, "Edna talked about you. Although, discounting other details such as being ‘a rude guy’, you're very resourceful."

Avernus shook his head, "Ladies, please let me concentrate."

After a mile of running, they reached the temple, but Avernus saw Edna lying on the ground beside Phoenix. He put both malakhim down and rushed towards her side.

"What happened, damn it?!" He examined her. She was shivering and a dark mist was engulfing her.

Phoenix started to squeak, "It’s malevolence! Are you blind, big guy?!"

Avernus huffed in anger, "How did this happen?! I knew leaving her alone with you was a mistake!"

"Don't blame me! The malevolence started seeping out of the temple! We didn't notice it at first until it was too late!", Phoenix panicked.

"There is a way.", Grimoirh stated. "Avernus, you are a pure vessel. You can…"

"No, I'm not.", he lowered his head, "It's even more dangerous if I bind her to my soul. But I can do something better." Avernus raised his arm and cut his wrist with the front blade of Dreamshadow.

"Silver Flame!"

From a few drops of blood, a white orb appeared and enveloped Edna's body. The dark mist then completely washed away.

"Fascinating. You have the power to wash away and purify malevolence.", Grimoirh observed.

"I can do it only on small scales, and…"

Avernus saw Edna that was barely awake. She was staring at him as if she wanted to bash his head against a tree, but her eyes suddenly went frozen. She started pointing to her nose. At first, Avernus didn't understand what she was telling him, but after a moment, he touched his nostrils and found out that it started bleeding again.

Grimorih looked closer, "Hmm… you’re bleeding after using that arte. You don't have a malak tethered to you. How can you perform spells without help from a malak?"

"I… I don't always need malakhim.", Avernus replied. The headache engulfed his skull, making it harder for him to think.

"I see. But your body is fragile…"

"Heh, what else is new? There's always a catch. Even with curses.", Avernus replied.

"This is not a curse, young man. This arte is a blessing. I've only read this gift vaguely in Avarost documents."

Avernus started to get furious.

"A gift?! You don't understand the pain I had to go through because of this ‘gift’! I've lost everything! I've lost people! I ruined lives that I swore to protect because of something I didn't ask for!"

Phoenix pointed out to their front. A large cloud of black mist was crawling out of the temple, and a group of daemons was closing in on their position from the other side. Avernus slowly rose up on his feet. They were getting surrounded by malevolence and werewolves. He closed his eyes and slammed the end of his staff onto the ground, gripped it, and squeezed it hard. The other malakhim noticed that a stream of blood was seeping into the weapon. They found the source to be Avernus' right hand, which was twisting the middle of the staff.

Dreamshadow began to glow, and Avernus shouted his arte, "Greater Flame!"

An energy bolt darted upwards and changed its shape into a silvery bubble shield. It surrounded them, pushing away the malevolence and causing the daemons to back down. Avernus started to pant as his vision blurred out. However, a deep howling came from the direction of the village, and daemons began running towards that path. Avernus' eyes widened in fear.

He looked at his companions, "I need to go back to the village. You all stay under the bubble where it's safe."

Edna accumulated enough stamina to stand up.

"Alone?"

"Yes, alone. I need to make sure my friends are safe."

He then whirled on his heels and dashed towards the village while the malakhim stayed under the silver barrier emitted by his staff. He looked up and saw the blood moon was already in full effect. Avernus spent all of his stamina to reach the village gates. The sorcerer observed the daemons were already climbing the large doors and the walls with no signs of the village defenders.

He summoned piercing artes and fired at the daemons as they scaled. The sharp, bladelike artes drilled into the werewolves. With a whimper, they crashed back into the ground. Avernus didn't waste any time finishing them off. Instead, he jumped over the gate and probed that the daemons had already overrun the whole village. He rushed towards the Crowe's residence, dodging a few werewolves along the way who sniffed his presence.

Adrenaline filled his veins. At that moment, it didn't matter whether he was sick or tired. Avernus put everything he had into his muscles.

"Damnation! Please don't be late, please don't be late…"

A familiar voice and a figure in the distance caught his attention. Avernus focused his sight on the individual and recognized Velvet from afar, shouting Laphicet's name. Avernus immediately called out to her, but she couldn't hear him. A werewolf sniffed the air and found her. Avernus scrambled in haste and tackled the Lycan into the ground. He reared his fist and it burned with bright magic.

“Lion’s Howl!”

Avernus smashed his fist into the werewolf’s face, blasting it. The beast’s body stayed motionless.

Avernus stood up and grabbed Velvet’s shoulders, checking her for any injury. “Are you okay?”

Velvet’s face was hazed with worry. She didn’t care about her own safety. “Laphi! Where is he?!”

“We’ll find him together.” He assured her and Velvet nodded.

Then, they heard howlings getting closer. Avernus spotted a group of werewolves storming them. Avernus gestured at the door. “Go!”

As they shoved the gates, the daemons piled up behind them.

Concentrating his remaining stamina, Avernus whirled back and tossed shards of solidifying mana at the daemons. The shards pierced into the daemons killing a few. The remaining werewolves turned their attention to him. Fortunately for Avernus, there was a cliff near their position. He cast a wind arte and hurled them into the pit below. But one of them managed to withstand the wind and instead pounced on top of him.

Avernus turned to Velvet, holding the monster. “Go and find Laphi! Now!”

As they struggled, Velvet nodded and escaped to the shrine.

They wrestled for a few moments until Avernus' hands radiated with energy. He surged the portation of his remaining mana into his clenched hands and the werewolves' arms exploded from the sheer magic. He positioned himself on top of the daemon and grabbed its jaw. With a strained shout, he yanked it away and the neck broke with a crunching sound.

The side effects of using constant artes took their toll on his body. The dizziness returned, and his breath shortened. Avernus shook his head violently,

"I can't die here… not now."

Avernus managed to overcome his fatigue and started running towards the cape. The blood moon was at the top, shining maliciously.

The scene came into his view. He couldn't tell whether it was because of his fatigue or a nightmare. Nothing could've prepared him for what was happening even after fighting on the battlefield for so long and witnessing gruesome scenes. This was going to e beyond what he could take.

Velvet was restrained on the ground by a fire arte. He spotted Arthur and Laphi near the shrine with Laphi looking terrified and looking pleadingly at Velvet.

Then, as soon as Laphi’s eyes met Avernus, Arthur plunged his sword deep into Laphicet's chest.

Avernus cried from the bottom of his throat, his face twisting as he scrambled toward the shrine.

Arthur held Laphi above the shrine, like a little useless ragdoll.

Everything was happening so fast. Velvet shrieked in grief and horror and freed herself from the shackles, running at Arthur.

Arthur pushed Laphicet into the gaping hole under the shrine.

It was happening all over again. Avernus' fears stroke him once more from the prison depths of his psyche. The last shreds of hope that was given to him by the raven-haired girl and his little brother disappeared into the night.

Like it never existed. Their happy life amidst the corruption was no more.

What governed him at that moment was nothing but primal rage and bloodlust to kill.

He followed Velvet in a frenzied rush. Seres noticed him and moved to block his way. Avernus instinctively conjured a wind arte and cast it at the malak.

"Dark Star!"

Seres shielded herself using her fire arte, but the force of Avernus’s magi only pushed her back slightly. She saw Avernus dash at her. He charged his fist and slammed the fiery shield with his empowered arte. Seres was thrown and hit the ground with a noticeable thud.

Arthur slowly turned to identify this new attacker. He frowned at the sight of Avernus charging him.

"No… not you," Arthur whispered.

"Whirlwind Slash!"

A column of a tiny wind twister was shot at Arthur, forcing him to evade to the side, making the way clear for him to reach the pit. Avernus raced to the shrine and jumped to grab Velvet's hand that was desperately holding onto the ledge.

Avernus managed to grab it.

"I’ve got you!" A glimmer of hope sparkled in his soul.

Avernus pulled her hand. Then a terrifying gasp escaped his mouth.

He was holding Velvet’s severed arm. She had been plunged into the abyss along with her brother.

As usual, he was too late.

His mind stopped functioning. At that moment, the world also stopped moving. All sounds deafened.

Why them? What did they do to deserve it?

Avernus wasn't a stranger to this sensation, but this was beyond a simple tragedy.

Murder.

Treason.

Betrayal.

Nothing mattered anymore. Daemons, people, malevolence, purification, hope… all of that didn’t matter.

Avernus' soul was hollow, his heart was torn from his chest.

It was like the time his mother was killed.

His humanity had plunged along with Velvet and her brother into the depths of the shrine.

There was only the beast.

“What have you done?”

Avernus growled, turning slowly to Arthur. He repeated himself.

“What have you done?!”

“Saving the world,” Arthur said without a show of emotion.

All limits were off. With bulging eyes, gritted jaws, and veins visible on his neck, Avernus broke off his chains of humanity.

"Phantom Blades."

Avernus indifferently mumbled and cast his dual spirit blades as they stretched from his hands. He dashed towards his prey. Arthur raised his sword at the last second. Avernus’ blue and transparent swords locked into his long sword, clinging with a loud metallic sound.

Arthur was pushed back by his immense power.

"Stop it, Avernus. Don't let your emotions rule you,” Arthur said, “This is the only way to cease the endless tragedy that plagues this world.”

Avernus gritted his teeth. No explanation mattered or was enough to justify this.

A man killing his family. An innocent kid and her sister.

Avernus witnessed unspeakable horrors back in his time. But this topped them all.

"Shut your filthy mouth, you child murderer! You want to save the world? You, who murdered his own family? You are scum!"

Avernus pushed away Arthur's sword and quickly plunged one of his blades into his right arm, twisting it. Arthur felt the coldness of his spirit blade and let out a hiss of pain. The icy chill was radiating from the hilt, freezing the blood.

Suddenly, the ground shook violently. And a silhouette of a golden dragon burst out of the hole. Avernus watched in disdain. He pointed at the serpent, "You wanted to wake up this abomination? You murdered them… for this ?!"

The wound on Arthur's shoulder disappeared. "Avernus, listen to me. The sin is mine to bear. I will end their misery along with them. This is the only way. Didn't you want a world without suffering? You are one of us. You have to understand."

“Their misery?! No… They weren’t miserable.” Avernus pointed one of his swords at Arthur. “You are the miserable one and I will tear your heart out!”

Avernus slashed his swords and Arthur raised his guard, deflecting it.

"A world built upon the deaths of two innocent children? With you, a cutthroat, at its helm?!" He resumed his attack stance, "I will not allow it.”

Before Avernus moved in for another charge, an unknown figure was dropped from the sky and crashed into the ground. The unknown figure attracted some of the daemon hordes that were surrounding them, and they decided to focus their attack on the new prey. The new figure used their crimsoned limb to crush the skull of one of the daemons and then devoured the creature through it. Witnessing the gruesome scene, Avernus focused his eyes towards the unknown but familiar individual,

"Velvet?!"

"A daemon that feeds on daemons; a therion," Arthur observed and clarified.

"She’s a daemon?!" Avernus froze in his place, eating the rest of his words.

"ARTHUR…" Velvet, having regrown her severed left arm into a demonic claw, started to charge at them, screaming Arthur's name.

Her scream pulled Avernus from his shock and he resumed his fight with Arthur, but a shard of energy bolt hit his back. He turned his head and discovered legions upon legions of malakhim were descending from the sky.

"How the hell?"

A group of them landed between him and Arthur protectively and immediately engaged him in combat, charging up their artes.

Avernus evaded their attacks and turned his attention back to Velvet. She was still alive. There was still hope.

"Velvet! We need to go! Now!"

But she couldn't hear him. Her frenzied focus was on killing anything and everything between her and Arthur.

"Why did you kill him?! His blood is on your hands!", she screamed hopelessly.

Avernus ran towards her, dodging daemons and malakhim along the way.

"Velvet, snap out of it!"

His voice meant nothing to her. She had lost her greatest joy; her will to live on.

"Answer me! Answer me! Why ?! He was my brother! My Laphi! What did he ever do?!"

Avernus barely managed to reach her. He discarded his weapons and went in headfirst to snatch her.

Velvet sensed the presence of another and slashed her claws at them. Everything and everyone was an obstacle between her and Arthur.

"Get out of my way!"

Blood was sprayed through the air as her mutated hand trailed a crimson arc in the air.

She then dashed towards Arthur.

"Take a look around, Velvet.", Arthur emotionlessly said.

Velvet stopped in her track, panting and slowly checked her surroundings. She discovered that the bodies of the daemons she had killed were turning back into their human form.

Her eyes widened. Those attackers that she put down, were none other than her friends and neighbours that were mutated.

But there was another one.

Velvet glanced at Avernus, standing motionless in the middle of the corpses. He was holding his neck. Blood was spewing from his nasty gash. In her confusion and rage, she unintentionally harmed the only man who wanted to protect her.

Velvet screamed in anger and jolted towards Arthur. Halfway through, A blast from Seres' fire arte cast her aside.

Arthur marched towards her, "I, Artorius Collbrande, will end your pain. Why is it that birds fly? Behold my answer, Velvet. I ask no forgiveness-"

"Thunder Break!"

A massive ball of lightning hit the area between him and Velvet. Arthur stepped back. It was an arte conjured by Avernus' last shred of energy. The aftershock left the ground, sparkling with electrical currents.

Avernus stumbled to Velvet's side and gently picked her up from the ground, ignoring all the malaks and Arthur as if they didn’t exist.

Avernus couldn't feel anything anymore, not a shred of energy was left in his body. But at least the girl was alive.

Avernus limped towards the village. Velvet could see his wounds from up close. They glanced painfully at each other. They both wanted this to be a dream, to be a nightmare. She tried to leave his arms and lunge back at Arthur. But he held her tight.

Avernus' body started to flinch. The army of malakhim resumed their attack. Energy bolts pierced into his back, and some even drilled through his body. The pointy tips tore his chest, splattering blood all over Velvet’s face.

After a few more hits, he finally dropped to his knees. Unable to move on, Avernus gently put Velvet down and managed to smile at her, shaking his head and speaking softly, "I'm sorry… I couldn't protect you."

Velvet gasped for the air but she didn’t care. Rage was the only thing she felt.

The area began to heat up. Seres started to charge a mystic arte. Avernus didn't bother to look back or prepare to evade the attack.

Avernus decided to stay there and watch Velvet instead. The last image of her that would follow him to the tomb would be her expression filled with nothing but rage and sorrow.

A loud sound was heard from behind, and the area began to lit up as the fireball was getting closer.

Then there was a flash of light. The fireball hauled his body like a ragdoll, wrapping him in a swarm of burning flames.

Void enveloped him in a dark blanket. Avernus felt nothing but regret and sorrow. The world whirled around his head in a slow movement. All of their laughter, hope, and innocent faces burned right in front of his eyes.

Only a scream was left for him to hear. A voice belonged to a raven-haired girl, filled with hope and happiness in the past, but now, with nothing left but the purest of hatred.

“Artorius!”