Cerberus guided the mercenaries to the corridor that led to the theatre. Wolf took the lead and ordered the mercenaries to crouch. Peeking out slightly, he managed to identify two heavily armed guards. The lack of light prevented them from seeing him. The leader turned to Cerberus and Noir and spoke to them.

"There is no other way forward. There are two guards up ahead, and behind them a large door. They must be guarding something important, surely William's chambers." Two blades appeared between the assassin's fingers as he reached underneath his belt. "Save your strength for DeLoire. I will kill these two."

Wolf rolled out of cover immediately after. The guards raised their spears as soon as they saw him, but their reactions were not quick enough. One of them took the blade straight to the neck and crashed into the colossal doors. The other, however, defended himself with his own weapon and managed to parry the blade, though the spear was split in half. The two looked at each other for a moment before the guard rushed to grab the other soldier's weapon.

"Lucky bastard..." Wolf ran towards him as he pulled another blade from his belt. The guard raised the spear when his foe nearly hit him, which left Wolf with a wound in his side. The mercenary did not back down and held the spear with his left hand, then threw the blade at the enemy with his other hand. The blade barely pierced the soldier's breastplate. "All my luck ran out on Regin's murder? Don't fuck with me!"

The soldier regained control of his spear and slammed Wolf into one of the walls of the narrow corridor. Noir and Cerberus wanted to help him as they saw him fall to the ground, but he shook his head emphatically. The soldier tried to kill him as he lay on the ground, but Wolf moved out of the way and the spearhead got stuck in the stones. The mercenary wrapped both legs around the soldier's neck and snatched the spear away. The tide of the fight had turned, and the soldier was now struggling to free himself from the pressure that was barely allowing him to breathe. Wolf released him for a moment, only to choke him with his own spear afterwards. The two grappled for a while, but eventually the air stopped coming out of the soldier's nose and he collapsed in defeat.

"That was harder than I thought it would be... I've never been scratched by a mere guard before! What's wrong with me lately!?" Wolf threw the spear violently against the doors. His anger did not last long, due to the fatigue and frustration that followed. He plucked a few hairs from his head, but it didn't go any further than that. "I'm sorry about this whole spectacle... It's not something I would do. I've been feeling very weak and tired since Noir's first kill. Cerberus, please take the lead from here."

Cerberus came out of hiding with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Leadership is only relinquished when the previous leader dies. What is wrong with you to make such a strange decision? Have you come on a mission while ill?"

"There's nothing wrong with me, buddy... Just do it. I'm sure I'll be as well as ever in a few days."

Cerberus pondered the leader's decision carefully. He agreed to do so, as Wolf was in no condition to lead, let alone fight. "Alright. Noir, you take care of Wolf. I'll be the one fighting from here on out."

Noir asked the leader to lean on him to walk, but he refused. Despite his tiredness, he preferred to walk on his own and not be a burden to anyone. After pushing the corpses aside, Cerberus put both hands on the doors and with all his might, slowly pushed them open. Noir looked up as the doors opened. The size of the theatre surprised him greatly, but it didn't seem relevant to the others. They continued on to the only door in sight, not paying much attention to their surroundings. But before they passed through the door, Wolf stopped and looked back at the stage. Noir also stopped and looked in the same direction. The boy didn't understand what Wolf was looking at, but the man was pretty sure he saw someone far off in the distance. A slender, cryptic figure.

"Is there something strange, Wolf? Because I don't see anything."

"I'd like to think I didn't see anything either... Move faster. Let's get it over with as soon as possible." Wolf was the first to walk through the door after Cerberus opened it. He was really uneasy now. Noir and Cerberus looked at each other briefly and kept moving forward. They went down endless spiral staircases, lit only by a small flame created by the pyromancer. "These stairs never end! Let's hurry!"

Wolf grew impatient and descended the stairs faster than his body was able to cope with. He made it to the end of the infinite spiral, but had to rest against a wall and wait for the others. As he was recovering, he heard screams coming from the room at the end of the only corridor. The leader wanted to find out what was on the other side of the door, but had to hide as the guard protecting William's chambers appeared.

"They were all female screams. No doubt about it, that's William's room. Will Jane be there too?" The assassins finally arrived. Wolf warned them about the guard and they ran to hide beside him. "I think the room that guard is protecting is William DeLoire's room. Something is going on in there, and I assure you it is not good. How do we do this, Cerberus?"

"If it's just one I'll kill him and break down the door. We've heard the screams too. We can't let that bastard keep torturing these people when we're so close. Come on!"

At William's baths.

"Come on, Jane! You can't let that pig intimidate you! Wolf trusts you, they all do! The girls are suffering and you keep hesitating!"

Jane slapped her face twice to clear her doubts. She picked up a small pair of scissors she had found and set out to confront William on her own. She turned the doorknob as slowly as possible so as not to attract the tyrant's attention, and opened it just as discreetly. William was still mercilessly scourging the slaves. They tried to stop the blows, but both their hands and the rest of their bodies were so severely punished that they had open wounds all over. He did not stop his whip for a moment.

"This will end now. William...!"

Jane was interrupted by the fall of the main doors. The severely mutilated body of the guard that protected them fell not far from William, who stopped his whip midway and backed up until he fell onto his bed. His strength faded and the whip did not last long in his hands. The very image of the assassins invading his impregnable fortress crumbled all his confidence and courage. Fear spread to every part of his being. He knew that ruin had come to his life.

"William DeLoire... You are unmistakable. I don't know you, but I can recognise a monster when I see one." Wolf appeared behind Cerberus, clutching the pyromancer's shoulder. His eyes fixed on Jane, who sighed and set her scissors down. "You have done well, my friend. Let us finish this. Noir!"

"I'll take care of this pig." Wolf lent him the last of his remaining blades. The boy slowly advanced towards the despot, throwing the blades into the air and catching them before they fell. William regained his senses and crawled to retrieve his whip. Noir and the maids looked at each other. They understood what they had to do. Two of them rushed towards him to slow him down and prevent him from getting it first. The third one stepped on the slaver's hand and snatched the whip from him.

"Give that back to me! You are my servant, you must obey me! Give that back to your master and call the guards! I order you not to let these murderers do what they will with me!" The desperate William turned his eyes back to his beloved Morrigan. "Morrigan, don't just stand there and help your dear man! Please...!"

"No one is going to help you, William. You're so stupid that you haven't realised that I'm an assassin. All this time I've been disguising my true intentions, and you've fallen into our trap! You're pathetic!"

"What...? No... My dear Morrigan cannot be a traitor..."

One of the slave girls handed the whip to Noir. The boy broke one of the pieces of furniture in the room with it to test the weapon's power. "This whip could open huge wounds on a hardened warrior very easily. I can't imagine what you've put these poor girls through. But you're going to know very well. Hold him!"

Blood stained the skin of the slave girls all over, but that didn't stop them from making the last effort to return the same pain to William. Two of them held the tyrant by both arms, leaving the way open for Noir to scourge him. Unlike the slaves, though, he received his punishment from the front, not the back. The weight of the whip fell across his face, down his chest, arms and legs. The steel nails opened deep wounds and stuck into his flesh like hooks. His face was disfigured and unrecognisable. His teeth flew out, his jaw was unhinged and his eyes were indistinguishable amidst all the bruises. His heart pounded aggressively with every blow to his chest, and his lungs struggled to give him oxygen even as they collided with his broken ribs. Noir had physically and emotionally slaughtered the monster, but he was not satisfied. He needed more.

"Take a good look at these blades, William. Someone similar to you tried to do to me what I'm going to do to you now. The difference is that I'm not just going to cut off your clothes." Noir briefly showed him the blade with which he would later cut his shirt to expose his reddened chest. He asked the maids to stop restraining DeLoire, as he was going to drive the blades through William's palms, which would at the same time leave him pinned to the bed. "Try to get free as much as you want, the more you move the faster you'll bleed out. Who wants to go first?"

Cerberus took a step forward, followed by a few more steps. He put a foot on William's chest, then spat in his face. "Listen to me well, William. Long before the holy war I lived with someone similar to you. He owned a tavern far away from any city. He took children off the streets with the excuse of giving them a roof over their heads and an education, but in reality he put them to work without any compassion whatsoever. He forced them to clean, cook and shop for him. Some had to serve and some had to be beaten. But not me." The pyromancer, with tears in his eyes, took off his mask and the top of his suit. The scars on his back could not be counted with the fingers of both hands. "Do you see it well, William? My skin is pale and pure like those descended from the Albna-Kori. Those filthy men wanted to possess me because of my unusual appearance. I had to sell my body to every man who passed the tavern because that monster found it profitable... Life's a funny thing, huh? I'm not on the floor anymore. Now the monster is in my place."

Stares hovered over the victim who was once the biggest predator in the city. No one wanted to touch him, it wasn't even worth expending their strength on such scum. Noir was the only one willing to take down the one who should never have been born, but more to do his comrades a favour. For the first time he was able to bring forth one of his limbs without having to stress beforehand. The mere fact that someone like William existed was reason enough for them to appear.

"I always need a stimulant to activate these powers... But knowing you're still alive is enough. I wish I could hear your last words, but I doubt you have any teeth left to speak." A single limb moved silently to wrap around William's neck. "You're not going to beg for your life either? Not even kiss my shoes? You are extremely boring, William."

"I've heard enough. You're taking a person's life. Does that sound like fun to you? What happened to the guilt you felt for your other victims? Have you forgotten about that? You're too emotionally driven. You and your whole team. This should have been over ten minutes ago. That's pathetic."

Noir didn't move at all for a few seconds. He looked both ways in case there was someone hiding talking to him, but no one besides Wolf and Cerberus could have said that. He turned to his companions and asked them directly. "Did you say something? I swear I heard a male voice a moment ago."

"My voice doesn't exist outside your head, rookie. Only you can hear me. I wish it weren't so... I've waited so many years and my only reward is a haughty, arrogant hybrid. Die as soon as possible so another Heir can take your place! You're a disgrace to the demons!"

"Shut up! I'm not going to die! Can't you see who I have at my feet!? We're heroes!"

The laughter of that entity nearly made Noir's head explode. The pain and stress was unbearable. "You're the least like a hero, you worthless piece of shit. You have completely misunderstood Castiel's mission. You haven't even managed to awaken his power, even though that's the only power you should be using. Do you know what using demonic abilities entails in this day and age? You're an idiot, kid."

"Shut the fuck up, you damn voice! You don't know anything about me or Castiel! Get out of my head!"

Noir's Born Power spun out of control again. Black flames spread through the place, burning curtains and furniture. The maidservants and his companions fled out of the reach of the flames, though the limbs were growing so large in number and length that they were still not out of danger. Noir could not remove his hands from his head, the pain caused by the mysterious voice was too much for him.

The tentacles moved aimlessly and uncontrollably towards William, severing his head along with his spine and tearing his body apart in the most violent way possible. Blood splattered on ceilings and walls, viscera hung from the limbs and the boy's face spewed dark liquid from eyes, nose and mouth.

"The same thing is happening as in Regin's murder. He's ripped William to shreds like a rag doll..." Jane stated. "In that state he is more dangerous than any human being. What should we do?" She looked at Wolf, and the leader's weary gaze then turned to Cerberus.

"You and Wolf get the maids out of this room. I'll take care of him." The pyromancer put his mask back on and ripped off a curtain to use it as protection. "A demon can only die if its heart is pierced or its head is cut off, right? That's what that young demon said. No matter how much he denies it, he is a demon. I'll try to break his neck to knock him unconscious. I hope that doesn't kill him."

"Well, we'll be waiting outside. Don't put his life before yours, Cerberus." Cerberus only nodded, but that wasn't enough for Jane. She held him back and made him look at her. "Say it."

"I will not risk my life, Jane. Leave at once." They split up to get the girls to safety. When they finally left the scene, Cerberus looked ahead and faced the out-of-control demon he was to restrain. If he missed by the slightest mistake, he was a dead man, and he knew it all too well. "We're partners, Noir. I'm just trying to help you. Don't cut my throat by accident, okay?"

Cerberus approached Noir crouching low, like a predator who doesn't want to be detected by his prey. The boy was focused on relieving a pain that wouldn't go away, and thus didn't notice Cerberus' presence until he imprisoned him with his arms. Cerberus was able to hold up well enough against Noir for a few seconds, but the brute strength of a demon was simply too much for a human. Therefore, he had to use his legs to restrain him and go beyond his capabilities to break his neck.

"This is for your own good, boy! Don't fight too hard or you'll regret it!" All the tentacles were pointing at the pyromancer. If not for the fact that they would have pierced Noir as well, Cerberus would have died before touching him. The mercenary was slow to realise that detail, but he was confident in the advantage he had over Noir. He was getting closer and closer to succeeding, and he just had to apply enough force to do it. "Don't fail me, Noir! We're not done with the mission yet! Just a little more...!"

A loud cracking sound was heard. Cerberus let go of the rookie and fell to the ground, extremely tired. But he was smiling. He had managed to bring down the relentless demon. The demonic magic disappeared after a few seconds and the chaos ended once and for all.

"You're going to wake up with a sore neck, but at least you didn't kill us all. Wolf, Jane!" They only peeked a little, as they feared being hit by a tentacle. "It's over. Noir is out cold. Thanks to his regeneration it won't take more than a few minutes for him to wake up. I wonder what made him lose control..."

"That doesn't matter anymore. Now we need to focus on getting out of this hole. We need to clean the blood off Noir's clothes and treat your wounds too, Jane. There must be some bathroom around here for that." Wolf's cough did not go unnoticed. The leader collapsed next to the guard's corpse, but sickness was not exactly the cause of his weakness. Jane ran over to him and saw a pool of blood forming on one side. "Don't worry about it, Jane... It's just a silly wound. My reflexes aren't what they used to be and a guard got me. Stupid, don't you think?"

"No... This is no foolish thing, Wolf. It's a serious wound." Jane lifted the leader and helped him to the baths even though he didn't want to be treated like a victim. "Bring Noir and the girls, Cerberus. I'll treat the wounds of all of them in the baths. There's enough material to do it. You keep an eye out for any guards."

"All right. But before that. How do we get out of this place? Whichever way you look at it, nobles walking out of William DeLoire's brothel wounded and DeLoire himself turning up dead is too suspicious. It would be so much easier if we were unharmed."

It dawned on Jane that everything Cerberus said was true. "It's true... Besides, they would never let slave girls go. We won't be able to get out of here. Why didn't I think of that..."

"It's my fault I didn't plan it right, and I'll sort that out." While still conscious, Wolf pointed his finger at the maids. "They've seen too much about us. They know who we are and how we operate. Running away with them makes things even more complicated. There's no guarantee they'll keep their mouths shut out there. We have to put them out of their misery."

"What...? You're proposing to kill them? Have you lost your mind?" In disbelief, Jane looked at Cerberus. He was her hope that this idea would go no further. "We can't do that, Cerberus. It's even paradoxical. You're with me, aren't you?"

Wolf tried to stay awake to hear his answer. As his second-in-command, he had every confidence that he would do the right thing. But the cause Cerberus had fought so hard for would be meaningless if he killed those maids. He had to decide what was more important to him: a practical decision, or an empathetic one.

"I'm not going to kill anyone, Wolf. There's always another solution." For a moment he stared at the dead soldier's armour. "Got it. I'll use that soldier's armour and take Jane and the maids out of here. If anyone asks, I'll say that William wasn't entirely convinced. Wolf and Noir will be able to escape normally through the front door if they stick to their roles as nobles. Then no one else will have to die."

Jane smiled and nodded. "I like that way of thinking. Thank you, Cerberus."

The pyromancer put his hand on his head. He didn't know what to answer. "You're welcome, I guess."