"Dammit!" Alexander shouted, slamming his fists into the black orb.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Only those three were trapped in that shadow. But not Alexander.

Not Alexander.

Enclosed Worlds. They're a highly advanced spatial spell, constructed purely of magic energy. They create miniature worlds, closed off from regular reality. Once it traps its opponents, the creator's attacks cannot be evaded.

And if they're in the demon's world...

"...Then we're now in the palm of his hands," Gabriel muttered.

"And it's just the three of us... Dammit!" Gabriel said, tracing his hand on the pitch-black wall. He turned to Anastasia. "See if you can get us out of here," he told her.

She shook her head. "This is an Enclosed World. I can't just cancel this out," she said, grazing her hand against the pitch-black wall.

They could see clearly, even though stood in a room of darkness, each of the walls as black as night. There was no end in sight, nothing but the endless view of an abyss.

Gabriel was the first to sense him.

Belphegor. Prince of Hell. Demon of Sloth. He swallowed his dry saliva, thinking, 'What the hell... is that incongruous being?'

"It's best if we stay calm. So... Where's the demon? The prince of hell or whatever?" Leonard said, stretching.

"You... You're telling me you don't sense him?!" Gabriel mumbled, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"It's just one demon, right? Nothing we can't handle, right? Right?"

"Calm down, Leonard. We'll be fine," Anastasia said. "We'll be fine," she repeated to herself.

Gabriel let out a sharp breath. "This is fine. This is okay. We attack. We win. Simple as that."

A loud yawn burst through the air, shaking the world's interior. "It's been a while since I've had a body in the World... And now, what? They're sending children to fight me now?"

Gabriel's face turned grim, as droplets of nervous sweat fell to the ground. "Everyone... Spread out. We need to limit his range of attack."

"Oh, well. At least, it'll be easy," the demonic voice mumbled. "Go ahead!" he shouted. "Make the first move. See if I care."

Gabriel nervously took in a breath. He thought to himself, 'Think, think, think. He has one weapon; that axe. He's likely the one that created this Enclosed World, which means Spatial Magic. Does he have any other affinities? Does he-'

He sharply exhaled, saying, "There's no time for fear. Got it? Let's win this. That's all."

Alexander stopped punching the orb of darkness. He let out a deep breath as he gently traced his fingers against it. With just that single touch, unease had settled in his mind, nausea in his stomach, and disgust in his heart.

His legs started to tremble.

Of course, a Prince of Hell would be capable of something like this. Alexander took in a sharp breath.

'Step 1: Concentrate the magic energy to one part of the body. Step 2: Circulate it. Step 3: Circulate faster.'

"Now!" he commanded himself, slamming his energy-dense fist into the Enclosed World.

Leonard had just noticed the whirls of wind surrounding Gabriel. The latter sharply inhaled, as he burst forth, beginning to close the distance.

Leonard immediately followed suit.

Whirls of wind and bursts of flames shot forward as the demon stood motionless. As gales and fires raged around him, the demon remained still. "Is that all?"

"Gabriel... We need to-"

Leonard's words came to a sudden halt, as Belphegor drove his fist into his chest. Gabriel's eyes widened, as he thought, 'That speed was... far too fast!'

Gabriel dashed backward, pulling Leonard to his side. 'We're gonna have to go all out to beat this bastard,' he thought, inhaling sharply.

But before any of the Virtues attacked once again, Belphegor yawned once again.

The demon was eight, maybe nine feet tall. His skin was a sickly shade of pale grey. He had wavy horns just above his long, pointy ears. His thin slanted eyes were in contrast with his enlarged, grotesque nose. As he picked his axe from the ground, his thin, pitch-black tail began to spin.

Belphegor sharply inhaled, as a grin floated unto his lips. "Now then... Would you like to try again?"

Gabriel, Leonard, and Anastasia all attacked at once.

Their attacks did nothing. Anastasia's lightning magic had no effect and was easily brushed off. Leonard's flames were put out by Gabriel's water. This matchup was terrible; they weren't a team. They couldn't win like this.

Belphegor struck Gabriel directly in the chest, the impact forcing him back. Anastasia and Leonard continued their separate attacks. Suddenly, Belphegor turned his axe, impacting them both with its side.

For ten minutes, the same events continued. The three of them attacked, usually at once, and the demon simply stood still. The demon remained unaffected, attacking every so often to further crush the spirits of these humans.

At the rate this was going, the three Virtues would die here.

It was then that Gabriel's ears perked up. The walls slowly and silently rumbled. "Do you guys hear that?"

"We're kinda busy right now, Gabriel."

"Yeah, but-"

The shaking grew louder.

Everyone, even Belphegor paused as the world shook.

The more an Enclosed World is reinforced from the inside, the more vulnerable it is to force on the outside.

Alexander's fist crashed through the pitch-black wall. Glass-like shards of darkness danced in the air as Alexander jumped through. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "Took me a second to figure out how to break in."

The domain is meant for trapping opponents. Breaking in isn't exceedingly difficult... Because a person has nothing to gain from entering. Only an uphill battle.

Alexander's eyes widened. Even compared to his nightmare, even compared to that first demon... The mere presence of that incongruous being was overwhelming. Each of his senses screamed out at him, his fear drowning out all other sounds, only focusing on that mass of energy that Belphegor was.

His eyes quickly scanned over the others. Between their movements for however long they were in here, they had scattered. In front of him, Gabriel and Leonard stood together, 20 yards before Belphegor. And 10 yards past that, Anastasia was alone. Even so... They were alright. Bruised and bleeding, sure, but better than dead.

Belphegor's ears perked up as he began to turn to Alexander. He stared at him, the corners of his mouth beginning to arch up.

Alexander dashed at the demon.

He took in a deep breath, fortifying his body, circulating his energy. Focus. 'Let's see if this'll work,' he thought to himself. His speed, his strength, and his durability. Make it more powerful. More... More... 'Raise your body past its limits,' he told himself. 'Let the magic energy flow into every damn cell in your body.'

he poured every ounce of strength in his body into his arm, every parcel of magic energy that could spare into this one attack. And then...

He drove his fist into the side of the demon's face. A solid hit.

"Holy shit!" Leonard shouted. Alexander smiled for a second, thinking, 'I think... I can beat him!'

"Insect."

The demon eyes gleamed as he gripped Alexander's arm, throwing him towards a wall.

Alexander cried out as he coughed blood from the impact. 'Nope. Can't beat him,' he told himself.

"You..." the demon mumbled. "You just made a grave mistake for someone as weak as you!"

His dull grey gauntlets glistened. Belphegor dashed at Alexander, his fist ripping through the air, impacting Alexander, launching him to the opposite end of the 'Enclosed World'.

"Alexander!" Anastasia cried in shock.

Alexander disappeared into the darkness. 'Dammit!' She winced as she gripped her now bleeding shoulder.

"It seems like this is getting serious," the demon's voice echoed. "Now, I suppose it's the girl's turn," Belphegor muttered.

"Hey," a voice shouted, shrouded in shadows. Alexander slowly stumbled forward, panting. "If you're gonna call me weak... Then you'd better kill me in one hit, bastard!"

Belphegor's smile faded as he clenched his teeth, his nostrils flaring. "I'll destroy you. You'll be shred to pieces." He gripped the axe with both hands.

Blood dripped from the inside of Alexander's mouth. Even so... He smiled, asking, "Wanna bet?"

Belphegor's grin widened. 'Let's find out how much of a beating he can take. But first...'

"This armor's horrible," he groaned, lifting the helm on his head, tossing it to the side. He gripped the pieces of metal on his forearms, removing them, along with almost all other pieces of armor. All that he left for himself was a dull grey slab of chest plate armor.

Alexander ran towards the others. "How long have you guys been here?" he asked, glancing at his watch.

"A bit over 10 minutes."

Alexander spat out a sigh. "Why is there always interference with time?"

"Well, whatever," he said, glancing at the sword on Gabriel's hilt. "We can still win, right? Anyone have a plan?"

"We don't need a plan."

Leonard audibly sighed. "We didn't have a plan earlier and now we're gonna die."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we should have a plan."

"Alright. I'll flank him from the side and wait until he's distracted to do something," Alexander said, between his breaths. "Gabriel. Now would be a good time to use the sword."

"No," Gabriel said in return. "I can beat this bastard without it."

"Dammit, just do it!" Alexander told him, running off to the side as Belphegor continued to toss off chunks of metal from his body.

Gabriel swiped his arm downward, releasing and enclosing Belphegor in a massive wave of water, all in a single motion.

"Anastasia! Now!" he shouted.

Anastasia's voice echoed, "Breath of Indra."

Nearly a dozen bolts of lightning burst from the dark walls, impacting the surrounding water. The lightning's heat immediately incinerated the water, leaving nothing in sight behind a thick screen of mist.

A deep voice pierced through the fog. The demon spoke, "If I'm being honest... that boy's punch was the only attack that actually affected me."

'Not even Anastasia's lightning did anything?!' Alexander thought as he shouted again, "Gabriel, for the love of God, use your damn sword! Now!"

The deep voice returned, "No chance." The demon's silhouette pierced through the mist with rapid movements.

Belphegor slammed Alexander at the world's end again, pummeling him with rapid attacks, each bringing tremendous pain.

But within the short interval of time between the demon's strikes, Alexander extended his hand near Belphegor's chest. As his hand once again glistened with pale blue light, a smile crept unto his lips.

Despite the relentless barrage of incoming attacks, Alexander didn't falter. He took the hits, patiently waiting for his chance to strike. The half-second in which he could unleash the power he held.

That was now.

Alexander's energy shot out, ripping through the slight distance between them, pushing Belphegor back, sending him a dozen meters away.

A thin smile formed on Alexander's lips, as he muttered, "I got this."

"I got this," he repeated to himself.

Alexander slowly began to advance on the demon, as pale blue light once again began to circulate around his fist.

His pace began to quicken, dashing towards the demon.

His fist struck the demon right on the nose, as the blue light burst down from his forearm, impacting once more.

'Alexander hit Belphegor and brought down a mass of magic energy to create another impact... Two impacts in one hit!' Anastasia thought, watching from meters away.

Alexander continued his flurry of attacks at the demon. His movements grew faster, swifter, stronger. But... "Your attacks lack power," Belphegor's voice echoed. He pummeled his fist across Alexander's head, immediately following by slamming his leg across Alexander's chest. Once again, the hope of victory was robbed of these humans.

Gabriel's eyes met Alexander's as he clawed his fingers across the black ground. Alexander had taken more hits than any of them... And yet, he still managed to get back up. Or at the very least, he tried.

"What... What good is that gonna do?" Gabriel muttered, as he stood up, his bruised arms swaying. "If we don't stop this thing now... If this damn monster gets out... A lot of people may lose their lives."

'No casualties are allowed... Not when I set foot on the battlefield. That's what it means to be the strongest. I must be perfect! I must be... strong!' he thought to himself, bringing out as much magic as he could, veiling himself in energy.

"I can still move. I can still fight," Gabriel said, clenching both his fists. "I must be strong!" he repeated, aloud this time.

Belphegor's ears perked up and he slowly began to turn to Gabriel. "You. Looks like you're dangerous, too."

The demon appeared before him. "Why are you humans so troublesome? You all keep getting up. That annoys me." His arm swung out, his forearm striking Gabriel in his chest, launching him to the wall.

'Never stop moving forward!' Gabriel grit his teeth.

"I won't lose!" Gabriel shouted. "I can still fight!" Belphegor formed a fist, throwing his punch aimed at Gabriel, his back against the wall.

'Never be outdone!' Gabriel ducked, countering with his fist to the demon's jaw, pushing him back.

"Now, Alexander!" he cried. Alexander appeared from behind as he jumped up, slamming both his fists into Belphegor's head. "Should've kept your helmet on, idiot!"

"You again?"

Belphegor was careless. This time, he wasn't just facing one of them, but now both.

Within the same second, Alexander landed another hit, Gabriel thrust his sword.

Belphegor narrowly avoided the silver blade.

Alexander's eyes widened at the dazzling sight. A silver sword with golden lining across the edges and a blue gem on its pommel, glowing with brilliant light.

"This ends now," he spoke, his azure eyes brimming with ferocity.

"Now you'll fight with your full strength? Well then... Let's get this over with," he said, yawning. "It's already been around twenty minutes since I got here. Let's hurry it up."

"Trust me... This'll be over quick."

Belphegor laughed. "That pride and arrogance... It reminds me of-"

His words were cut off by Gabriel rapidly closing the distance between them. He raised the sword above his head, bringing it down with ferocity.

The demon of sloth smiled, blocking the attack with the staff of the axe. "If the two of you are gonna fight with your full power... I suppose I should do the same."

'Wait, he was still holding back?!'

Again, gripping his axe with both hands, Belphegor brought down it down, impacting it against Excalibur's blade with ferocity.

"What a beautiful sword..." he mumbled. "I'm sure he would love it."

Gabriel loosened his grip with one hand, sending a burst of air at the demon, knocking him backward.

'If I could just hit his body with Excalibur... This'll all be over.'

Alexander dashed forward, readying another attack at Belphegor. "Gabriel! Don't let up!" he shouted, closing his fist once again.

The demon swung his attack, low on the ground, aiming for Alexander's legs. But the latter was quicker than expected. Alexander jumped up, evading the attack and driving his fist against Belphegor at the same time.

With incoming punches and slashes from two attackers, Belphegor clenched his jaw. 'Somehow... It's like... They're both getting faster.'

Belphegor's eyes weren't deceiving him. Their simultaneous attacks grew in speed and power, Gabriel with his sword, and Alexander with his fists. Now... Now it was the demon that was being driven into a corner.

The demon had to evade Gabriel's sword and in doing so, was hit by Alexander. This fight couldn't be one with just one of them, but with both... With both, there was hope.

But Belphegor was a demon. A prince of hell. It is in his power to destroy such hope. And if the two boys were simply getting faster, stronger, then the solution was simple. To go beyond their speed with his own power.

Within seconds, Belphegor found himself dodging both attacks. No, not simply dodging. He countered each slash and each hit with his own.

Again, his monstrous strength, Belphegor launched Alexander towards the 'world's end'. And with his other fist, he plummeted Gabriel to the ground.

He dug his fist into the side of Gabriel's head, again, and again, and again, until the latter couldn't attack anymore. Until the sword slipped from his fingers, sliding dozens of meters away across the black ground.

Belphegor gripped the axe beside him, twisting it around, raising it to kill the human beneath him.

And before he swung down at Gabriel... Patches of flames sprung out from the black ground. They grew in intensity, growing brighter, hotter, enveloping the demon.

Alexander dashed through the flames, with rapid speed. He shot out, grabbing Gabriel by the back of his shirt, taking him beside Anastasia.

"You wouldn't happen to know healing magic, would you?"

Anastasia silently shook her head.

Gabriel's head drooped over as blood dripped to the ground. Alexander grabbed him by the shoulders, saying, "You did a good job, Gabriel. I can take it from here." Alexander faced forward at Belphegor fending off the flames surrounding him.

"You're not seriously thinking that, are you?" Leonard asked. "None of our magic did anything. You and Gabriel were-"

"It's fine. I can do this," Alexander muttered. "I can do this," he repeated. With each heartbeat in his chest, Alexander grew more uncertain.

The demon's voice once again echoed. "Please, do me a favor. Just die, already." Belphegor's hands burst with blood-red flames.

Alexander sucked air through his teeth, his eyes quickly widening. He couldn't take an attack like that without dying. If he were to dodge, it would only hit the others.

"Dammit," he muttered. Alexander thrust out his hands, expelling every parcel of energy he could spare. After all, the only thing Alexander understood how to do was controlling his own magic energy. If he could just solidify it...

As he focused on the outpour of his magic, barely managing to solidify the energy to shield himself and the others. A glass-like pane of magic energy formed, glowing with a slight blue hue.

Belphegor flashed a toothy smirk. That level of energy manipulation was rare, but...

'That doesn't mean it's enough.'

The demon thrust out his left hand, launching a maelstrom of flames, mixing in pure magic energy with the fire. This thin glass of magic energy wasn't strong enough. Slowly... it began to crack. Slowly... Magic and heat poured through.

Alexander's arms began to tremble. His hands and fingers were melting to ash from the demonic energy. 'Hold!' Alexander urged himself, keeping his hands outreached, keeping the concentrated outpour of his energy.

"Help people." His mother's words flashed in his head.

'It hurts!' he cried to himself. 'It hurts! It hurts! It's... So goddamn painful! Why? Why me? If only I didn't agree to this! If only I hadn't killed that first demon! If only I'd just stayed home! If only...'

His hands were charred, steaming from the heat and flames. He had been bleeding, but the blood has already been dried and evaporated. His fingers were slowly turning to ash, fading away.

'Don't think! Just focus! Fight!'

"Help people."

'Run away! I hate this! I want to run away! I want to run! I don't want to die! If I died here... would that a "proper death"?'

'Don't think!'

"Help People."

'I don't want to die!'

He cried out, screaming with all in his lungs.

The magic energy burst as the flames dissipated.

Finally, his arms gave out. He fell back, his burnt, smoking hands falling, swaying in the air.

'Was I really... not strong enough?'

Even so... Alexander did not fall. He remained on his feet, struggling to stay upright. "I was conceited," he muttered, his head drooping over. "I thought I was strong. Strong enough to decide how I'd die." Tears welled up in his eyes.

"But I was wrong. I'm weak." He stared at his hands. The skin on the palm of his hands was burnt off, charred black, his fingers burned off almost to the bone.

He groaned. "I don't want to die! I don't! I really don't!" he shouted. His voice began to quiver. "But... I'm gonna die anyway."

'A proper death? How naive.'

Alexander spat out a heavy sigh. He slowly formed a fist, wincing as he clenched his left hand. Alexander raised his head, his eyes focused on the approaching figure. Belphegor.

"Didn't think I would've survived that, did you?" he said, flashing a crooked smile.

"No one dies in battle without regret."

'Even so... I wanted to be able to say that I would die a good death.'

"Emotions play an important part in bringing out power."

'In that case... Anger. Fear. Regret. Let it all out. Now!' Alexander clenched his jaw, before thrusting his left fist out at Belphegor.

His hand dropped to the ground.

Alexander's eyes widened at the sight of his outreached, severed arm, blood spewing from the wound. The blood on his severed arm, the blood gushing from the dropped hand, the blood on Belphegor's axe, all of it. His hatred of blood had been drowned out by fear for his life.

"Goddammit."

Belphegor's fist slammed into Alexander's chest, throwing him back to the others. Gabriel was still unconscious. Anastasia barely had magic energy. Leonard was badly injured.

Alexander slowly began to stand up. Try to, at least.

"Alexander." Anastasia gripped his sleeve, shaking her head. "You can't." Her teary eyes met his, only for a second. That was all it took for Alexander to understand. As soon as he saw those eyes, stained with fear and despair, Alexander understood. He understood what has always driven him to this extent.

"I hate that look."

"What?"

Alexander had seen that same terror. That same fear. He's felt it. He didn't want to feel it ever again. He didn't want anyone else to feel that.

He smiled. 'I'm an idiot,' he thought. Alexander sighed, staring at the ground. "I don't want to die," he mumbled to himself as he chuckled. Alexander pressed his hand against his eyes, wiping away tears. "I really don't."

Alexander slowly brought himself back up. "If I don't do this," he said to Anastasia. "We'll all die. Even if I do, we'll all die. Might as well, right?"

It was then that it caught the corner of his eye.

The silver blade, laying on the ground. Excalibur.

Just under 30 meters away. 'If I fortify myself, I can make it in around a second. Is that enough? No, Alexander,' he told himself. He grit his teeth and began to move, sweat already dripping down every corner of his face. 'Don't think; Do! Stand!' Alexander slowly stood up, crouching himself forward.

"Anastasia..." he muttered. "I know you barely have magic energy. But once I start running, find a way to distract him. We'll only have one shot at this."

"What are you-" she began, noticing the bright determination gleaming in his eyes. 'Those aren't the eyes of someone who seeks death.'

"Alright."

Leonard turned his head, staring at Alexander and Anastasia. 'What're they doing now? Don't tell me...' he thought, as his eyes widened. He spun his head at the silver sword.

"I only have one shot at this," he repeated to himself. Pushing his feet against the ground, Alexander propelled himself forward.

"Alexander!" Leonard cried.

"Arrogant human!"

Alexander ran with the remaining strength in his body. Belphegor swung his axe. He ducked, sliding beneath his arm. Alexander reached out, his fingers barely touching the smooth, leather hilt.

And at that same second, Belphegor spun around, twisting his arm, his axe bound to hit Alexander.

So just as Alexander's fingers grew closer to grabbing the hilt...

Just as Belphegor's axe nearly impacted Alexander...

A rapid barrage of lightning and flames shot out. The magic will not and did not affect the demon. However... it pushed him back.

And with that single second that Leonard and Anastasia bought... Alexander wrapped his hand around the holy sword's hilt.

A storm of fire and lightning continued to explode around Belphegor. Smoke and dust surrounded him. All was still until the smoke cleared and the dust settled. And all that remained standing was the black-haired boy.

The blood on his forehead was gone. His fingers were no longer charred. His left hand was restored. And with both hands... He held Excalibur.

Gabriel slowly and steadily opened his eyes, looking up in confusion. A soft gasp escaped his lips as he muttered, "He... He can..."

Belphegor resumed his attack, swinging his axe with all the strength in his body. With his attack inevitably aimed at Alexander's side, he smiled.

Alexander instinctively raised the sword to block the incoming attack. As the demon's axe impacted the holy sword, an earsplitting sound reverberated through this world. Even now, Alexander couldn't keep himself from smiling. "Don't worry!" he shouted.

"I'll... win this!"