Zaveid shoved open Haria's gate. The air reeked of misery and desperation.

Theodora gestured in the middle of the village. People were roaming, radiating malevolence from their bodies.

"There they are."

Zaveid instantly pulled out Siegfried and fired at the closest villager. The bullet washed away his malevolence with a magical silver wave. He trained his gun and fired another follow-up shot at the next villager beside him. Theodora glanced at the glowing Siegfried with curiosity,

"What is this? How can it function like that?"

Zaveid smirked in confidence. "The weapon is not mine nor its ammunition. They were entrusted to me by two of my friends."

"Was one of them that long-haired blond guy who went back into the temple?" Theodora guessed.

"Yeah."

"Hah. He felt strange."

Zaveid fired three more precise shots into another group. They clenched their heads in pain as the malevolence washed away. Some of them passed out from enduring the process, dropping to the ground.

"What do you mean by "strange"?" Zaveid asked.

Theodora checked one of the passed-out children for life signs and pressed her hand gently, sending healing waves. "I don't know how to explain it; He felt familiar and strange at the same time. He was like a collection of paradoxes, good and horrible. Haven't you felt the same thing about him?" Theodora described.

"No. He looked perfectly normal to me." Zaveid fired his last shot and reloaded Siegfried.

They heard several footsteps running behind them. The team had finally caught up. Laphicet pointed to someone and yelled. "Zaveid! There! The innkeeper's daughter!"

He finished loading the next set of bullets. "Sure thing, little guy."

A silver beam was fired and straightly travelled to the girl, washing away her malevolence. She fell to the ground, shaking and hugging herself tightly.

Eizen observed the villagers as they were confused and struggled to stand up. "There is a problem of moving the residents out of Haria."

"We don't have time for this,” Velvet raised her voice, looking displeased. “Clear up, and let's go back to Yseult."

Zaveid and Theodora turned to her with disapproval. "We're not leaving until everyone here is cured of malevolence."

Velvet tensed. She was angry about Avernus and the situation at the same time. "I don't care about these people or this malevolence that everyone keeps talking about."

Eizen slowly nodded, siding with her. "I've to agree with Velvet. We don't need to waste our time here or people we don't know about."

Zaveid cleansed two more villagers. He was going to follow Avernus’s request to the end. "You guys go on ahead. We will meet up at the docks."

Theodora was carrying the unconscious children out of danger. She leaned them near the inn's wall. "And certainly, we don't need the help of daemons and rogues."

Eleanor wanted to help, but the air was getting thicker, and Laphicet was in danger of being exposed to corruption.

Magilou knew the area was getting too dangerous for their malak companions. "What if Avernus fails to stop the malevolence? Then your efforts would be for nothing, and you two will turn into drakes or, even worse, dragons, killing the very innocent people you're trying to save in a blind rage." She told Zaveid and Theodora.

Zaveid clenched his jaw. "I know him; he will not fail."

Magilou raised her eyebrows at his sudden change of heart and putting his faith in Avernus. "Oh, and how do you know? You only knew him for a few days, and you were accusing him of just another killer. Even Velvet doesn't want to take the risk, and she knows him for a long time."

Theodora moved to Zaveid’s side. "I don't know the guy at all, but he saved me. If Zaveid trusts him, then so do I."

Velvet sighed and moved toward the exit. "Whatever, it's your funeral."

Zaveid looked back and waved at Eleanor and Laphicet. "Go back to Yseult. We’ll handle it. After all, the Shepherd has entrusted us with this task, and we're not going to fail that stubborn man."

Eleanor and Laphicet nodded, and they both quickly exited the area, following Velvet.

Back at the temple entrance, a new group of exorcist reinforcements had arrived, getting ready to pursue Velvet’s group.

All of a sudden, the sky flashed, and an enormous ball of lightning was hurled at them. They didn’t have time to react as the sphere burst between them, electrocuting and paralyzing exorcists and their malaks.

Avernus jumped down from his hiding place and scanned the area, ensuring that the arte had got all of the exorcists. "I think we've bought enough time for them to clear out the village." Avernus sighed and stretched his neck and shoulders. "Now for the earthpulse itself."

Tia emerged from her orb. "I guess we will meet Lucian down there again."

Avernus nodded. "That's my goal. He's mine."

"How do you plan to shut the earthpulse point?" Tia wondered.

"That's where you come in."

Tia raised her brow. "Me?"

"Yes. I will need additional mana concentration to close this "wound" created by this parasite Innominat. It will act like a cauterizer. We'll burn the wound, making sure no malevolence will come out of it.”

Tia began to rub her chin and agreed."Not bad. Very well, I'll help. But before we move on, there is something else I need to ask: Why won't you two sit and talk like two grown adults? Don't you have questions? About home? About what is happening? I know that you didn't part on friendly terms but is this hostility necessary?" Tia asked.

"There is nothing to talk about, Tia. He didn't hesitate to attack me before, and with him following Artorius's plan to the core, I doubt that he can sit and talk. Besides, everything we had is in the past. We're different people now."

"Don't you think you're taking it a bit far? He's your closest friend."

"He was,” Avernus made it clear. “ My friend wouldn't turn people into daemons and monsters. You and I know him; when Lucian is committed, there is no chance to talk him out of it."

Tia sighed quietly and merged with Avernus. “If it’s what you want, then I’m with you,” Tia said disappointedly, and she readied herself for their inevitable confrontation.

Avernus shoved open the door and rushed inside. His senses were nearly overwhelmed as the area was now wholly polluted with malevolence.

“Are you feeling fine?” Avernus asked Tia.

“I am okay. The purification in your core shields me enough.”

Avernus pounded downstairs and stormed into the chamber. Suddenly out of nowhere, a beam of blinding light came crashing down from the ceiling. Avernus covered his eyes as an unknown power washed over him and his soul. Avernus felt that his ears were clogged, his hearing silenced, and he sensed dizziness in the head and nausea in his stomach.

After a few seconds, the light went away, and he immediately waved his hand and cast a restoration arte. Everything slowly went back to normal, except for one thing.

Avernus couldn't feel Tia anymore. He searched his psyche for her presence, but nothing was there like one of his limbs was amputated.

Zap!

The air distorted around him. He dodged the attack at the last second, sidestepping smoothly to the side. Avernus turned and saw Lucian, grinning but gasping for the air. The warp arte tired him out. Without malaks to amplify his powers, each spell he used had taken a toll on his body.

"I will send my sincere apologies later to lady Tiamat. But you and I must finish it between ourselves. Right here, right now." Lucian insisted, sticking his chest out.

Avernus extended his staff and readied himself for the attack. "One of Melchior's artes, I presume?"

Lucian sneered, enjoying the rush of adrenaline in his veins. "Yeah, that old geezer is resourceful. Imagine having him back in Hyland. Our casualties would've been far less than what he had to endure."

Avernus gripped the middle of his staff, and the sceptre lit up. Without Tia, the time had come again to use his life essence once more. Lucian did the same. The two warriors locked their eyes into one another, and with a roar each let out, they jolted at each other.

Outside, on one of the rocks near the shore, a bolt of lightning hit the stones, and Tia landed forcefully. She breathed slowly and began to giggle continuously. " Oh, Lucian, you clever boy. I will let you two have your fun together, for now. "

She crossed her arm and looked up into the sky. "Insignificant humans and desperate malakhims. Haven't had this much fun for a long time."

Back in Yseult, near the shipping docks, the team gathered to take a break. Thick dark clouds covered the sky, and the sun was entirelysurrounded by darkness. Velvet suddenly broke the awkward silence. "The malevolence, all of that energy spilling from the villager's bodies, that's what causes the daemonblight?"

Eizen avoided her questioning stare. Magilou grinned, and Grimoirh jumped on a crate, settling down. Eleanor walked towards Eizen intently. "Do you know what daemonblight is? What daemons are?"

Eizen stood silent. Laphicet noticed Zaveid and Theodora coming towards them. "They're back!"

The duo reluctantly joined the group. "The malevolence is getting worse,” Zaveid said, “We barely managed to get the villagers out to safety." Zaveid checked the sky, groaning in anger.

Velvet suddenly strode at Eizen. "All right, you're going to talk about the daemonblight and malevolence." She demanded.

Eizen turned to Grimorih, and she raised a brow, sensing that Eizen was going to spill the well-kept secret. "Are you seriously thinking of breaking the malak taboo?" She asked.

Unknown to them, Tiamat had returned and was leaning behind the wall of the warehouse near them, hiding for now and eavesdropping.

Eizen finally spoke. "That depends. This is about more than just the daemons. You could say it's the truth behind how this world works. Knowledge can be devastating to humans, throwing into question everything they think they know.”

Tiamat chuckled to herself. " How this world works… I bet you don't know that much either, Eizen."

Grimoirh decided to chime in. "And so the malakhim agreed to withhold it from humans. For their protection."

Everyone stood silent.

"Do you still want to know?" Eizen asked.

Zaveid and Theodora glanced at each other, nodding slightly.

"Does it even matter now? The world is going downhill already." Theodora said.

Velvet stared vacantly into the sea. "It's not like I'm a human anymore." She glanced at Eleanor, waiting for her response. Eleanor mustered enough confidence.

"I can't keep lying to myself. I can't go on unless I know the truth."

Eizen looked over the horizon. "First of all, this thing, this illness you call daemonblight, does not exist. Any human carries the potential of becoming a daemon. All it takes is for the malevolence lurking in their heart to overflowing."

"So what is this malevolence?" Eleanor asked.

Magilou decided to help Eizen. "Impure emotions beyond what reason can suppress. Think of it as the "sin" buried in men's souls."

"So, you knew," Eizen said.

"Of course I knew, I'm a witch,” Magilou shrugged and continued. “Malevolence is the darkness in all our hearts. Make any sense to you guys? Any at all?"

Rokurou rubbed his forehead, "To us daemons, yeah, I think it makes sense when you put it that way."

"By nature, humans are incited by negative energy,” Eizen said, “It is easy to turn them towards impurity, creating malevolence. Most people are constantly generating it."

"It might even be possible that daemons are people's true selves, and what little reason they possess is all that keeps them in human form," Magilou added.

Discovering the real reason behind the daemon mutations, Velvet finally found the purpose of that lie. "If the masses realized this, the realm would be thrown into utter chaos. That's why the Abbey propagates the lie of "daemonblight.”

Eleanor resisted the idea. The weight of the truth pushed down her mind. "That can't be true! You know yourselves there weren't any daemons before the Opening!"

"It used to be that humans couldn't see daemons or Malakhim. Not unless they possessed a unique spiritual talent we call resonance." Eizen replied.

Magilou nodded. "All your average human would see was someone turning extremely violent. Unable to explain what was happening, they'd just call those people "possessed" or "feral.”

"Then what made people see them all of a sudden?" Rokurou asked.

Eizen shook his head. "I don't know. I would guess that something triggered greater resonance among all of humanity. And then, on the day of the Advent, all humans gained the ability to perceive malakhim. And in the following days, the exorcists' numbers swelled."

Laphicet stepped forward. "But if there's no sickness, why were Haria's residents going to turn into daemons at the same time? And what were those bullets made of? What ability does Avernus have that can disrupt malevolence?"

Eizen closed his eyes. "I have no idea about what or who Avernus really is."

Laphicet suddenly remembered a part of Innominat's poem. "Eight-headed is the Lord of the Land, with seven mouths to devour malevolence.” His eyes glittered. “Humans produce malevolence, which therions consume and transmit to Innominat. Bet when we removed Kamoana from the earthpulse point."

Magilou bent over near with an approval grin on her face. "Clever boy. That's right, with no therion to absorb their malevolence, the villagers could no longer contain it. No head means that there would be a wounded neck spewing corruption. The malevolence that still existed in the veins."

Velvet quickly turned to Magilou, "Did Avernus know about it too?"

Magilou straightened her body. "You mean Avernus? Yes, definitely he knew about malevolence, but he probably discovered the last part when he sensed that the malevolence was getting stronger because of what you did."

"So you're saying it's all my fault." Velvet concluded.

Magilou smirked, "He knew what he was doing, rushing to clean up after you. It's so hard to distinguish whether he did it out of responsibility to the people or just to make you feel better. It's sometimes unclear to understand his morality, especially for someone they used to call The White Devil."

Velvet lowered her head to avoid their gaze.

Kamoana slowly walked in the middle of them, "Hey, what's going on? You all look so sad. It scares me."

Velvet collected her thoughts and turned to the rest. "On the other hand, at least now we know we can trust the contents of that ancient book. We tear the therions away from their earthpulse points, Innominat's power will wane, and we'll prevent this awakening."

Zaveid frowned and clenched his fist at Velvet. "Why don't you look for another way? We barely managed to get people out of the village! Who knows what will happen if you decided to tear away more therions from earthpulse points."

Laphicet agreed with Zaveid. "But if we take away the therions, then more and more humans will turn into daemons."

Velvet was determined, and she would not back down. "It's the only way to kill Artorius."

Theodora sighed. "Speaking about killing Shepherds and whatnot, is there any news regarding your friend?"

Zaveid glanced at the sky once more, "The malevolence is still dense. I think he might have met some complications along the way. Why don't you daemons go and check up on him? Malevolence won't affect you as it does us."

Velvet gave him a disapproving glare. “No.”

Anger bubbled behind Zaveid’s eyes. "What?! Why?!"

"It was his decision. I told Avernus that I don't need distractions. He wanted to do this himself. Let him be."

Theodora looked at Velvet with disdain. "Isn't he supposed to be your companion? Comrades put trust in their colleagues, and you, daemon or not, don't bat an eye?"

Eizen folded his arms and nodded, taking Velvet’s side. "Velvet's right. It was his own decision, without properly consulting it with the rest of the group. I can't risk the life of my crew for something I don't even know it's possible to perform or not or even benefits us."

Zaveid was showing his teeth in anger. He specifically looked at Velvet and pointed his finger at her. "I saw him risk his life for everyone in this group. I saw him risk his life for the therion kid and those malaks. He's endangering his life again to clean up your mess, and you don’t even want to help."

Velvet returned his tantrum with the pout and skulking of her own. "Don't talk to me like that. I didn't ask for it. I didn't ask for any of it. Our mission was clear; kill Artorius at any cost."

Zaveid continued his accusing stance on Velvet. "I didn't join your group to let people die for nothing, and you're leaving him to the hands of fate?! If it weren’t because of this poisoned air, I would've gone and helped him in a heartbeat… But you… All I can say is that you disgust me, woman. You're nothing but trouble and misery!"

Velvet narrowed her eyes, showing that she was neither impressed nor intimidated by his outburst. "What did you expect? I'm a daemon. You're travelling with daemons and pirates."

"Then it's not the place for me anymore." Zaveid looked at Theodora, and she silently nodded, reading his thoughts.

Zaveid turned to Laphicet and comforted him. "Take care, kid and don't worry about Avernus. He'll come through. When you see that stubborn man, tell him that I'm grateful for what he did for the malaks and the people of the village.”

Zaveid had one promise left to say. "Don't forget, Eizen. We will settle our score later."

Eizen slowly nodded in agreement. Zaveid and Theodora left the docks to finish their mission.

Eleanor and Laphicet came to Velvet's side, "You can't be serious! Are we going to leave Avernus like this?"

Then Velvet suddenly remembered the morning, where Avernus promised to be there as her partner. The bitter feeling of Velvet’s betraying him disgusted her, and her body instinctively turned toward the way back to the temple.

Tia observed them with interest. They were unpredictable and exciting. Tia admired them and pitied Avernus at the same time. "I guess they need a nudge."

Tia appeared from behind the warehouse. Eleanor saw her first, "There you are!... wait… Where is Avernus?"

"We've encountered a problem,” Tia informed. “We were hit by an arte that interrupted our pact. I had to leave."

"Avernus didn't come back with you, I suppose?" Velvet knew his stubbornness.

"No. He's fighting Lucian as we speak."

Velvet turned to Rokurou. He nodded and joined her as only daemons could go back to the temple.

The rest group up with Eizen. "We'll meet you on the other side of the Island."

Without wasting more time, Velvet and Rokurou raced towards the temple.

Inside the temple, the battle raged on. The non-stop metallic echoes of weapons clashing and occasional shouts reverberated through the ancient halls. Without their malaks with the pressure of malevolence pushing down on their psyches, they were tiring themselves out. Avernus forcefully slammed the Dreamshadow into Lucian's chest, thrusting him to the other side of the room. Lucian drifted along with the ground tiles. Avernus, tired, used his staff as a cane to hold on to. Lucian, laying on his back, started to laugh,

"Look at us, Avernus! Two dogs are fighting others' battles for them."

Avernus twirled his staff, reading himself for another round. "I'm fighting my own battle."

Lucian managed to collect enough stamina to sit up barely. "Yeah, you're right. You never cared about anyone other than yourself. We were so unfortunate to have you as a Shepherd. People lost their faith because of you."

As much as he wanted to avoid such arguments, his old friend would use any opportunity to wear him down, both physically and emotionally. "I sacrificed everything for the people and my kingdom. I've lost Rosa because of something I didn't ask for!"

Lucian pointed his sword at him and raised his voice. "You were supposed to help the masses! You had the power of Tiamat and the purification, yet you used them for your petty revenge! I believed in your judgment! I was with you until the very end! Yet you ran away when you got your vengeance! You had forsaken the very people that had hoped you'd bring an end to their suffering."

Avernus clenched his staff. "You think I didn't try?! I thought that I had a chance to find a permanent solution to this eternal cycle by coming here, but there was nothing here but betrayal and cruelty. Nothing!"

Lucian chuckled manically, "You weren't wrong, though. When I came here to find you, I met Artorius. He told me about everything, and at that moment I knew that he was the true one. The Shepherd that we needed. He understood the big picture where you couldn't even see the smaller ones. I gave up my duty to find you and decided to stay and help him instead. To make up for your mistakes!"

"Did he tell you that he murdered his little brother? Plunging his sword into his chest and throwing him off into a hole as a sacrifice to awaken that vermin Innominat? Did he tell you that he threw his loving sister into the prison to devour daemons for life?"

Lucian was calm about it and grinned. "Yes, he told me all about it. Those were necessary sacrifices to bring peace. Everyone had a role to play. You wanted this too, didn't you? A world without misery? These therions have their purpose, and you don't get a say in this. I will bring the therions you stole back to the Abbey. After all, I had to put so much work into turning Kamoana, and I will not let this chance go to waste."

Avernus stared him in the eyes. Their brotherly moments that they had together passed like leaves in the wind. None of them were the same people. Those two died way back in Hyland.

"Even though I killed a lot and made a lot of mistakes, I never killed a child in the name of the greater good. I never extinguished a life that had hope, had a will to move forward so others could live in solace. This time I will find another way to give everyone a second chance. But you, I can't grant you that opportunity, Lucian."

Avernus’ judgment bothered Lucian’s mind. "Is this because of some petty daemons and malakhim? Like when you ruined a nation because of a worthless malak, you thought that was your mother?"

Avernus remembered his teaching about being calm and stoic. "I believe in something greater than myself—a better world. But there is no shortcut to it. People need to live and learn from their mistakes. That's how they'll find a way. I will give them that chance again." Avernus stared at his opponent once more like a dragon digging into Lucian’s soul. "The idea that one man can decide he makes the rules, and when someone crosses him, he can take everything from them disgust me."

“Then you want to kill us so you can live in safety with your daemon and malak friends?”

"I'm not going to live here with them,” Avernus said. “There's no place for me here, any more than there is for you, Lucian. Don't be delusional. What you're doing is evil. Hiding behind some "Grand Plan" philosophy to justify these atrocities is nonsense."

Unknown to them, Velvet and Rokurou had already reached the inner chamber. Rokurou was waiting for a cue from Velvet, but she leaned behind the wall, listening to them.

Lucian smashed the end of his shield on the ground in anger. “Tell me, why do you want to let them live? Why are you throwing your life away for them ?”

Avernus raised his staff, holding it in front of his face. “Because they know how to lead lives. People like us are just killers. We didn’t make anything. We didn’t let anyone live. It’s time for us to go for good.”

Velvet felt a chilling surge throwing her nerves. Is he genuine, putting his complete trust in them? To the point that he forgoes his life?

Rokurou patted her on the shoulders, pulling her out of her reverie. "Come on! What has gotten into you, Velvet?”

She shook off the feeling and dashed into the fray.

As Avernus and Lucian charged at each other, Velvet and Rokurou leaped in the middle and disrupted their fight. Velvet turned to Avernus. "Stop with your blabbering and do what you wanted to do!"

Rokurou brandished his blade in excitement. "Yeah, leave this talking corpse to us!"

Avernus’s face beamed up suddenly, pulling his head at Velvet. He didn’t expect her help. “Take care then.”

As Avernus went for the main chamber, Lucian gazed indifferently at Velvet and Rokurou. "The Lupus therion and the Yaksha. Honour among daemons, ha? This is going to be interesting."

"So that's your classification, Velvet,” Rokurou found out. “You weren't a hag after all!"

Velvet glared sideways at Rokurou. "After I'm done with him, you're next."

Lucian opened his left hand, and a small dark orb appeared beside him. The blackness stretched and shifted into a doppelganger of the legate.

Rokurou groaned. "Oh, Avernus can't do that.”

Lucian chuckled. "There are a lot more, Yaksha. But you won't be alive to see them. Now get ready to die."

Velvet put her left leg forward and held her left arm towards his adversary. Her stance piqued Lucian's interest. "That's a self-taught battle-stance. Let's see how you fight!"

Lucian and his doppelganger dashed at Velvet and Rokurou. They constantly switched sides, flowing to the left and right, making it harder for Velvet and Rokurou to identify the real one. Velvet pounced at the nearest as it got close. Up-close and personal, she performed her swift kicks and constantly hit him with her vicious stabbing attacks from her gauntlet blade and greaves one strike after another. Her martial artes left Lucian with little room to maneuver, but he wasn't out of his tricks.

Lucian’s speed was matched with Velvet and defended against each of her attacks. "Like a bloodthirsty wolf! So much anger and rage! Let's see how far your primal instincts can take you, Lupus."

Lucian disappeared and teleported behind Velvet. His long sword was already on his way to cut her torso in half. Velvet immediately bent backward smoothly, and his blade barely missed her, slashing above her chest. She quickly used her foot blade and hit him in an upward cut. Lucian raised his shield at the last second, but he didn't come out unscathed. He felt a deep cut wound in his arm.

Lucian vanished again in blue light. Velvet heard his disembodied voice.

"It's a shame that we've to fight. But you leave me no choice but to put you down like a feral dog you are, Velvet Crowe!"

Velvet, however, was ready for him. Several apparitions of Lucian manifested around her, and each one charged at Velvet with great speed. But they were no match for her skill. Like an agile wolf, she evaded to the sides until Lucian himself materialized out of thin air above to surprise her one last time. But suddenly, Rokurou, having already dealt with the fake one, leaped towards him and slashed him with his dual swords, breaking his attack and forcing him to back off and land on the other side.

Velvet saw the opening and charged him. "No mercy! You thought I'd stop there?"

She thrust her gauntlet blade right through his shoulder. Lucian ground his teeth in pain. Velvet opened her demonic hand and rammed it at Lucian. "Annihilating Crash!"

Lucian noticed her eyes turned red, and a vortex of red and black swirls followed her claw. He was blown away and impacted the wall on the other side of the room as the strike hit his chest. The debris fell on him, and everything went silent.

Velvet transformed her arm back into its standard form and uncaringly grinned. "You were lucky I made it quick, legate."

Suddenly they heard a laugh echoing through the hall, and the whole room began to shake.

In the main chamber below, Avernus positioned himself in the middle. " This is the place. Time to do your magic ."

Avernus breathed and forcefully slammed his staff on the ground. His weapon shined, and its light extended towards the ceiling. He began to put his remaining mana into the weapon.

"Thou who governs the flows of life/calm and peaceful/wild and unsettled/aid me and my light to cleanse this wound/to banish the trespasser.

Avernus groaned loudly, his body surging with power.

"If your will is still present/make haste and help me purify your domain!"

Avernus sensed the hollow ground beneath. The vast underground caves were flowing with natural powers along with dark mists of malevolence. He began to absorb mana and malevolence at the same time. The corruption started to take its toll on his soul, but he tried to balance it with each purified shock wave he sent back into the earthpulse.

Avernus squeezed the staff harder, and his stance stood firmly. The walls began to crack up, and small amounts of ocean water found their way inside.

On the top, Van Eltia was near their position. Laphicet quickly felt a surge in the earthpulse.

"He's doing it. I can feel it." He declared to everyone. Bienfu turned to Magilou and asked, "Bienn… Do we need to stay here? If the earthpulse point explodes."

Magilou raised a brow. "Don't be absurd. Earthpulse points don't explode. But they might shift, so an earthquake and a small tsunami aren't far from prediction."

Eleanor looked at Magilou with horror in her eyes. "An earthquake and a tsunami?! Are you joking?"

Eizen gave Magilou a blow in the back head. She nearly fell off the ship. "Hey! Why did you do that?!"

"Just shut up, we have enough trouble, and we don't need you to add more to it."

Laphicet stared at the deep blue ocean, sensing struggle. He prayed and wished for their safety. Tia was standing on the ship’s bow, and like Laphicet, she was well aware of what was happening down there. She looked at Laphicet with approval, sensing the potential the kid held and almost forgot about Avernus.

Down in the main chamber, the ancient wall etchings started to glow. The mana flowed through the stone and began to engulf the room. Amidst his wrestling with the earthpulse, AVernus suddenly felt another otherworldly presence coming from the earthpulse. The invisible force passed him like a gust of wind and travelled upstairs in a blink of an eye.

“This is not good.”

Avernus poured the last remaining pool of mana he had into the stream. A quake was felt in the temple. Avernus looked at the stairs and saw Velvet and Rokurou jumping down as if running from something. They threw themselves on the ground and covered their heads. A silhouette of a colossal creature passed above their head. Avernus eyes widened in shock;

A giantgolden-horned golden horned serpent was slithering through the air and came right for him. He released the grip on the staff and docked to avoid its bite. The creature turned upward and stopped, gazing at them from above with its blank dark eyes. Avernus looked up and noticed someone was standing on the head. He focused and recognized his old friend,

“Lucian!”

The legate was riding the serpent with a leg above one of the horns. His hands were covered with yellow lightning as he was controlling the entity. The creature itself was emanating a bright gold flash.

"I've to say. Your daemon friends are resourceful. I had to awaken a small part of Innominat. He was displeased that you cut him out of his meal." Lucian sneered.

Velvet stood up, scowling at the creature. "Is that one of Innominat's heads?!"

Lucian was calm and prideful. "Partially, yes. I've had to ‘reimagine’ it into reality. Enough to put you and your friends down, Lupus."

Another quake hit the temple, and the cracks inside the walls began to widen. Lucian looked around and checked the damage to the walls. Lucian growled in anger. "If we have to lose this earthpulse point, then so be it. But I will make sure that this temple will be your tomb!"

Avernus ran towards the staff that was still locked in its place. The Innominat opened its mouth and started to charge an arte to fire in the middle of the room. Avernus decided to stay and hold the staff tight to finish the closing ritual out of mana and energy.

Velvet immediately dashed to his side. "What the hell are you doing?! Get out of there!"

Avernus took a deep breath and continued the ritual. "If I don't close it, then all this effort and suffering would be for nothing!"

The dragon fired its white beam from its jaws at Avernus without wasting time, but he stood his ground. Then all of a sudden, everything stopped in their place. The room dissolved into tiny pieces of texture and new scenes unveiled around him. Avernus saw five new figures. He couldn't figure out if they were humans or malakhim. Each one of them had a different aura around them and had other weapons in hand. They were standing on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. Avernus followed their gaze and watched as a massive dark storm approached them. He could feel a presence inside the storm. That presence to him was familiar, but he couldn't tell its nature apart. Whatever it was, the entity was hostile, and the five were preparing for a grand battle.

The scene abruptly ended, and he saw a clear night sky instead. The stars began to connect and constellations were formed; Alpha Lupi star brightly lit up, and the Lupus constellation shined like a howling wolf. Under it, another set of stars appeared, and they took the form of a bow. He instinctively reached out to it and grabbed the weapon.

Then everything turned to white. Avernus floated there, motionless. He understood their message, not with words but with visions. The weapon was a gift from the water Empyrean. The process of sealing the earthpulse was now complete.

Avernus fell back into his body, and the time resumed itself. The white fire was still on his way, but he had no time, and no mana left to deal with it. Suddenly, Velvet jumped high in the air. She transformed her hand and guarded against the attack, putting herself between Avernus and the Innominat's spell. The fire hit her, and she was thrown towards the ground violently.

Fear enveloped his mind. Seeing Velvet getting hit by the spell pushed him farther to gather enough energy to jump at her. Avernus managed to catch her body in mid-air before she could hit the ground, and he landed in the middle of the room.

Velvet slowly opened one of her eyes and glanced at Avernus's pale face, mumbling to him,

"You… owe me for this, dumbass."

Avernus smiled in relief and nodded his head.

Lucian sneered at them,

"How romantic… and pathetic at the same time."

They suddenly heard Rokurou yelling and wall-running to reach a greater height. He jumped and slashed the neck of the horned serpent. His blades didn't leave a scratch. Lucian shook his head in disappointment,

"Such a waste. Time to die. For good this time."

Innominat's mouth opened and started to charge another spell. This time, it appeared to be much stronger than before. Avernus turned to Velvet and gently put his hand on her cheek. A calm and serene feeling wrapped around her body. Her wounds washed away, and her energy was restored.

"What… happened? What was that?"

Avernus gasped for air. These new artes were etched into his brain by that vision. "I don't know… Can you swim?"

Velvet looked him in the eye, unsure why he asked that. She slowly bowed her head in acknowledgment. Avernus began to gleam. "Then I put all my trust in you, Velvet."

A blue aura gradually covered him. Light emanated from the cracks on the ground and the walls. Water drops levitated in the air. He opened his hand, and Dreamshadow flew back to him. In a matter of a second, it changed its shape into an ornate longbow, shining brightly.

Lucian's eyes widened like he saw the most inconceivable thing in his life. He then frowned and clenched his teeth in anger, "No! The bow... The Amenoch relic! That's impossible! You're no malak! You're not worthy to wield it!"

Avernus aimed the bow horizontally at Innominat's apparition and pulled the bowstring. A shining blue arrow appeared. With each pull, different glyph manifested circularly around the arrowhead.

"It's time to put all those archery trainings into good use!" Avernus said to himself.

Velvet and Rokurou took cover near the wall.

"Oh, Lucian definitely can't do that,” Rokurou observed.

Lucian pointed his finger at him and screamed. "Kill…Him!"

Innominat cast his dark fire, and at the same time, Avernus released the arrow, "This is all I got! Pierce right through it! Azure Assault!"

The air around them is distorted. The arrow split into twelve smaller ones. They travelled fast and purged the fireball Innominat shot along their path. Lucian watched in terror as arrows approached him like lightning bolts. The storm of arrows swiftly pierced all around Innominat’s head and tore it apart. Lucian covered his face and shouted as Innominat’s summon head exploded in a white blast, throwing him off.

“Curse you, Avernus! Curse you all!”

On the topside, they felt a shaking then the water glowed brightly. The water blasted into a white foam, and A swarm of spirit arrows came out of the ocean. They joined together and formed a heaven-piercing stream of water. It shot into the sky and broke the sound barrier. The screeching echoed through the sea, and the column of light was stretched towards the clouds. The atmosphere immediately began to clear out, and the sun illuminated the ocean.

Zaveid and Theodora saw the light and felt that the malevolence had been purified to normal levels instantly. Zaveid raised his hand in excitement. "Way to go, Shepherd! I knew he could do it!"

Theodora, hands-on hip, smiled and gazed at the clouds that dispersed. "Then there's still hope. For everyone."

Back on Van Eltia, everyone was looking over the churning sea for a sign of their friends. After a few minutes, Rokurou surfaced and swam towards the ship. Then, Velvet came up and started to look for Avernus. She instantly dived down again. After a brief moment, she jumped high out of the water with Avernus. They landed on the deck, tumbling. Soaking wet, Avernus struggled to rise on his feet and coughed hard. Eleanor, Laphicet, Kamoana, and Tia ran towards them. Their excitement knew no bounds.

"Tell us what happened!"

Avernus waved his hand at them. "Later, I’m tired."

Eizen strode to his side. "You can't sleep on the deck with wet clothes."

Avernus clicked his tongue and walked to his quarter uncaringly. The rest gathered around Rokurou and Velvet. They began to tell their story of what happened back there, down in the sunless temple.

A few hours passed. It was almost sunset. Avernus woke up and went outside. He saw the team was talking to Grimoirh. She was standing on a barrel with the ancient book in her hands,

"Do you all remember the second verse of that song Laphicet read earlier?" Grimoirh asked.

Laphicet began to reread the verse,

"Four Empyreans may tear him asunder, but so long as there is one receptive to divine power, therions shall be forever reborn insight of the full crimson moon."

Grimoirh smiled, "Right. That's what I've gathered you all here to discuss."

"And we think that passage means that Innominat and the therions will be revived by a chosen one, right?" Velvet wondered.

"Yes, but the "shall be forever reborn" part kept bothering me,” Grirmoirh voiced her concern. “ I've reconsidered my analysis… suppose that instead of someone being chosen by Innominat to create therions, the song means that Innominat chooses who becomes therions?"

As the rest went silent, Avernus joined them. His stream of new knowledge from the temple brightened his mind. "But so long as there is one receptive to divine power, therions shall be forever reborn. This means that there are and will be people receptive and connected to Innominat's power, and they can be reborn as a therion."

Velvet narrowed her eyes, recognizing who helped to pinpoint the therions and turning them "Lucian."

Sadness nearly overcame Eleanor as she remembered Kamoana. "Why?”

Velvet looked at her from the corner of her eyes, "Are you that surprised? Artorius has always been one to prioritize the many over the individual."

Grimoirh turned to Avernus. "About these therions being "forever reborn" … what do you make of it?"

"It's like a Hydra," Avernus replied.

Laphicet eyes widened in wonder, "What's a Hydra?"

"A Hydra is an eight-headed sea dragon. It can regrow its heads even if you cut all of them. Its body can still function until it regrows a new head. Therions act as Innominat's heads, which means that there are more in line to take their place if you kill them. Velvet made the right call. We need to do the same with others, removing them from their earthpulse points, but the problem is; we need to protect them from the Abbey too."

Laphicet clenched his fist and, with seriousness in his eyes, stared Avernus in the eyes,

"We need to protect my bug too!"

Avernus smiled, "Definitely, he is one of our priorities. You also need to look after him more from now on."

Rokurou rubbed his chin. "In that case, we should probably work on securing a good hideout for ourselves. You got a secret base or something, Eizen?"

Eizen sighed in disappointment, "It's every man's fantasy, but sadly… I don't."

Avernus sneered. “Boring.”

"We need a hard-to-find spot, one where we can guarantee a steady supply of malevolence for the therions." Velvet suggested.

Eleanor put her hand on her forehead, "With the Abbey in control of the entire continent, finding a place like that will be easier said than done."

"Then our best bet is to collect our therions while we search for a hideout. In the meantime, we'll head to Loegres." Velvet sorted their plan, but an angry Eizen moved forward.

"Not so fast… Everyone assemble!" He shouted.

"What's with the bad mood, Eizen?" Avernus asked.

"It's because rumours are going around that Aifread's pirates have gone soft. They're with a bunch of bizarre oddballs, they say!"

"I guess oddballs mean "us,” Rokurou said.

"It's an outrage!” Eizen yelled at them. “Do you have any idea how hard we worked to build up our image as ruthless masters of the high seas?"

"…Alright, what can we do about your "reputation"?" Avernus asked.

"I won't rest until I've made all of you at least look the part of proper pirates," his frown was gone and replaced with a grin, "Let me tell you what you need to wear."

Velvet narrowed her eyes at him and moved further away. "He gets worked up over the strangest things. He can be such a bother."

"I agree, but he'll dig in his heels if we fight. Let's just play along." Magilou advised.

"You're up, Laphicet. We're going to sell you as a young Viking who can outwit anyone. You can blow on the helmet horn, sounding a note to signal our attack and our enemies' doom."

Laphicet jumped in joy. "Like a hunting horn? That's awesome!"

"Next is Rokurou. You're a barbarian marauder who came from a distant land. You don't understand any language. You're a wild, raging beast with a thirst for battle. Your hobby is headhunting." Eizen described.

Rokurou then began to utter something gibberish, melting instantly in his role.

"Now it's your time, Avernus. You're a ruthless Necromancer who lives in the underworld. You'll use your blood magic to summon vicious monsters from Tartarus and raise the army of the dead from the river of Styx! You're infamous as Avernus the Doomweaver."

Avernus raised his clawed hands, and orbs of darkness began to form between them, giving dark shadows under his eyes, looking menacing."Well, that's good! I think I know what to summon later."

Velvet huffed scoldingly at Avernus. "You boys are all the same."

"On to Velvet! You'll be a cruel, cold-blooded piratess who will exploit any weakness. You'll be known as Sanguine Velvet the Bloody."

Avernus slowly nodded in approval, "Hmm… That fits right in."

"Fits right in?! It's redundant. He used blood twice in my nickname." Velvet complained.

"I like it, though," Avernus whispered.

"Now, Eleanor! You'll be the traitorous fallen angel. You're a stalking panther from the stygian darkness that no man, nor even a kitten, would trust."

"Am I an angel or a panther?" Eleanor wondered puzzlingly.

Avernus looked at her with a straight face. "You're a dark angel with traits of a panther."

She was now more confused than before. Her imagination wasn’t as profound as Avernus and Eizen. "Then I… Shall do my best."

"And Magilou! You're a wanton devil who lives for nothing but pleasure… and is immersed in its stormy waters. We'll call you Loose Cannon Magilou."

Avernus nearly burst into laughter. Magilou gazed at both him and Eizen, "I think you two are the wanton loose cannons here."

"And last is me. I need something to reflect my stature as the acting captain of Aifread's pirates. My weapon of choice will be a hook, and that'll make me: Eizen Hook!"

"An excellent ageless choice, Eizen." Avernus approved.

"Avernus is right. That's a classic pirate style!" Rokurou agreed.

Eizen was fired up like a little kid. "I know, right? Sometimes you have to stick to tradition."

The girls were watching them in annoyance.

Tia giggled. "Oh, look at them. They fight like lions and dragons. But they have the hearts and minds of little boys. That's just men for you."

"Tia is right. Boys can get like this sometimes." Velvet agreed.

"Yes, when they're around fourteen, right?!" Magilou protested.

Avernus quickly picked up the outfit's chest and went to his cabin. Velvet and the rest of the girls decided to try their outfits for the next day. Avernus came out after half an hour. He went straight to Velvet. She turned and saw him in his new pirate outfit;

He wore a long white coat, not like his regular outfit but without Sleeves and much like a vest. The shoulder guards were curved upward. He wore nothing else under the coat as the front was opened. Only his right arm was covered by dark black armour with metallic spikes coming out of them. Demonic tattoos covered his left arm. He also wore white trousers with wide bottoms and pointy metallic greaves, much like Velvet's regular outfit. He tied a long red shawl on his waist as a belt.

Also, she noticed that he was wearing a headband now. His hair was loosened. She thought that the outfit made him more attractive rather than intimidating, showing all those muscles and skin.

"Well, what do you think?" Avernus asked.

Velvet immediately noticed that she's staring at him more than usual. She maintained her cold glares.

"that's… fine, I guess."

Avernus smirked and strolled to her. "I want to say something."

Velvet suddenly gasped, her innocent mind flooded with romantic thoughts, and she blushed. "I think not."

Avernus paused for a moment and then raised one of his brows, "Ha? What? But I haven't even said anything."

Her cheeks turned redder, although she didn't know about it. She frowned, "I know what you want… simply because we were close before does not mean I am obligated to be close to you, so at every snap of your fingers! I will not leap at your command like a trained dog!"

Avernus' mouth was slightly open. "What… brought this on? I just wanted to tell you about a new blade's schematics that I had found in the temple that you can use."

She was frozen. Her face was red from shame. Velvet wished that she had the power of invisibility or to punch Avernus hard in the head so he could forget all about it.

"You didn't want to … I… I simply… I don't have anything to say to you. Leave me be!"

She dashed towards her cabin and disappeared, leaving Avernus still baffled and confused.

Near the shores of Yseult, Lucian carried his wounded body to the land. He laid on his back and laughed loudly as Oscar, along with a group of exorcists, were approaching him.

"Things are starting to get interesting, and next time, I will win."