"Finally. We won... Anastasia. Get us out of here," Alexander said, cracking a smile. Alexander dug his blade into the ground as the azure sky above them began to crackle with storm clouds. Anastasia clapped her hands together as the sky, the clouds, and the ground all began to mesh together in a flash of pale blue light, all beginning to fade.

The warm magic energy that had enveloped them dissipated.

Alexander let out a heavy sigh. Droplets of sweat dripped down as he winced. Even with Anastasia's "Spatial Cast", his arms were burning with pain. He raised his head. The rising sun's golden light shone on them. Warm streams of light rushed in from behind. But...

They were surrounded by pale grey stone walls.

'What the- A cave? When did we get here?' Gabriel stared at the cavern wall.

"How'd we get here?!"

"I don't know!"

"Anastasia, get us out of here!"

"O-on it!"

"Alexander! Behind you!" Lumiel shouted. He quickly turned his head. A cloaked man was dashing at him, knife in his hand. But Alexander couldn't react in time. He shifted to the side as the sharp steel slashed across his chest.

'I- I didn't sense him...'

Just a second slower and the knife would've been dug into his chest. Alexander balled his fist, landing a reinforced hit at the side of his chest, knocking him back a few meters. But he was still on his feet.

'Wait... Where's this guy's energy?' Alexander thought.

'Is that why we couldn't sense him? He's keeping his magic extremely suppressed.' Lumiel swallowed her saliva. 'But he's so fast?! No, not that. Could it be that... That he has no magic?!'

'The reason none of us could sense him... is precisely because he has no magic!'

"Alexander!" Lumiel shouted, a bolt of light shooting from her hand as Alexander dashed backward.

The cloaked attacker leaped away as the light flew past him. It struck the far end of the cave, illuminated the path that seemed to be almost a hundred meters.

Alexander suddenly fell to his knees, gagging, coughing. 'What the- Poison?!' He looked up at the retreating attacker, gripping his throat as he continued coughing.

"Dammit," the attacker muttered, scratching the back of his head. "I only had one chance. Now it'll take minutes for you to die. Should've been a few seconds, but you had to dodge, didn't you? Now the whole surprise attack won't work."

Based on his build and his voice, Alexander estimated that he couldn't be more than eighteen. His cloak was the same that almost all Golden Dawn members wore. But his was black. It hid his face as well as any amount of weapons he took with him.

'Whoever the hell this guy is... He has no magic, and he uses non-magic weapons. So he-' Alexander's head got dizzy, his vision blurry. "Fu-"

Gabriel gripped his blade with both hands, as Liam picked Durendal up from the ground.

Gabriel faced the attacker, his azure eyes gleaming with determination. "Lumiel, try to heal Alexander. Anastasia, get us out of here. Liam... Let's bring this guy down."

"He's got no magic at all!" Liam shouted, sprinting forward, twirling the sword in his hand.

Gabriel and Liam dashed towards him, their swords gleaming with the glimmers of golden sunlight.

Liam appeared behind him, cleaving his sword at the boy's neck.

Hector ducked.

Liam's sword clashed against Gabriel's. Hector launched his fist into Gabriel's stomach, with nothing more than a black blur and a sudden indentation in Gabriel's chest.

Excalibur fell to the ground as Gabriel collapsed to his knees.

Hector dashed backward, his swift feet dashing from side to side, evading each of Liam's attacks.

He smiled. "I'm not good at fighting headstrong people like you guys," Hector said. He raised his voice. "Take me back, please!"

A high-pitched pop was heard. And with that sound, he disappeared.

"The spatial mage is close. Stay on guard, everyone!" Liam reminded them.

Gabriel forced himself to stand up, despite the pain still burning within his chest.

Alexander coughed before groaning. "Maybe being a Demon-Born is a good thing," he grumbled, beginning to sit up. "Resistance to poisons, I think. Probably something like that," he said, smiling at Lumiel as she took her hands off his back.

He coughed, asking, "What's the situation?"

"Spatial magician. Magic-less person. Probably more attackers from the Golden Dawn," Gabriel said, still facing forward, his eyes scanning their surroundings. "We don't know their numbers or positions. Or our own location."

Alexander pushed himself up, focusing not on his physical senses, but on energy itself.

His eyes widened. "Guys-"

An arrow pierced Gabriel's heel.

"Almost, almost," a voice muttered from a few meters away. Again, the attacker was cloaked. He held a wooden longbow in one hand, and two arrows in the other. He readied another arrow into his bow, aiming directly at Gabriel.

Gabriel glared at him, gripping the arrow, and pulling it from his heel. He stared at the thin wooden arrow in his hand, before snapping it as he clenched his fist.

He understood what the archer was aiming for. If the arrow struck just one centimeter to the side, his tendon would've been sliced open. Gabriel swallowed his dry saliva.

He won't give the archer another chance.

Just as the archer wouldn't give Gabriel another chance.

Gabriel threw the snapped wood to the side, still glaring at the archer. He let out a sharp breath.

The next arrow shot out.

Gabriel swung his sword in front of him, deflecting it with the side of his blade.

The archer let out a soft whistle. "Fast," he mumbled, readying the other arrow.

Gabriel smiled. 'I can do this,' he told himself.

"You're not my only target, though," he said with a smile, letting go of the bowstring.

The arrow rapidly shot out, bursting past Gabriel's head, slicing through the air itself.

Gabriel's eyes widened. That was faster than the other two. Far faster.

It struck Liam in the arm.

The archer chuckled. "Wow. I intended on killing with that. All of you guys are so much faster than we expected. But fast enough?... Well... I wonder."

His eyes turned over to Alexander.

Alexander was upright, standing still and holding a blade. The archer swallowed his saliva. "That's not how it's supposed to work," he nervously muttered. "He can't be resistant to poisons, right?"

He nervously readied another arrow, beginning to aim at Alexander. For a second, he looked down to prepare the bow. And with that, he looked up.

To see Alexander. To see the Demon-Born, who was already dashing at him. Poison flowing through his veins, and broken arms swinging as he ran, struggling to hold his blade.

Alexander was almost unfazed. His entire body was screaming out at him in anguish. He was far too exhausted for this. But he kept dashing at the boy with the readied bow.

"This is why I hate Demon-Borns!" the archer shouted in fear, letting go of the bowstring and letting the arrow fly free.

Alexander took in a sharp breath and cleaved his blade down, crashing upon the arrow and slamming it to the ground.

Just two more steps. He could reach the archer in just two more steps.

That was all Alexander had to do. Being an archer, that boy's only advantage was his range. Eliminate the advantage, and you'll be in control. That's what Alexander knew.

And so... 'Get in close! And give 'em hell!'

A flash of light shot out, crashing down onto Alexander penetrating his thigh. The impact alone shot him back, dragging him across the gravel ground.

Alexander howled as he stared at the blade of light that entered from one side of his leg and peered out from the other.

"Alexander!"

"Go!" a voice shouted, from the far end of the cavern.

The archer nodded as a thin circle of darkness appeared at the ground by his side. "See y'all later," he said, stepping into the darkness and disappearing.

"Get us out of here, Anastasia!" Liam urged, pulling the arrow from his bleeding shoulder and wincing. He spun around in every direction, searching for the source of that light, that attack.

"Are you kidding? I'm literally running on fumes at this point," she muttered, her breaths shaky. "Creating an Enclosed World... wasn't the most efficient thing to do."

She slowly stood up, struggling to stand upright as she pressed her hands together. "Gimme a minute... and I'll-"

Her eyes widened.

Gabriel spun around as Alexander looked up.

All seven Virtues gazed up at the dark silhouette surrounded by light.

A figure stood on a massive stone, almost a monolith, near the cave's end. "You must all be tired," the figure muttered. It was Arnhild Norr.

Anastasia swallowed her saliva. "Everyone, move!" she shouted.

The Virtues all jumped away to different sides.

Nearly half a dozen rays of light randomly collapsed from the cavern's ceiling, exploding the ground as soon as they hit.

Had it not been for Anastasia's warning, they would've died.

'I've never felt anything like this before!' Gabriel thought, raising his head at the attacker in the pale cloak.

He could barely see past the dense cloud of dust, but he knew she was there. A light magic user, just like Lumiel. But this one... She was far stronger. 'This energy... It's- It's overwhelming!' He swallowed his saliva. 'Any move we make... may as well mean our deaths!' Gabriel slowly began to raise his head at the shining light.

'Stop! Just think,' Lumiel urged herself. 'Breathe! Is it even okay to breathe? She won't kill us just breathing, will she?'

Liam began to push himself up as the dust settled. "You... You're the leader of the Golden Dawn!"

She smirked. "I am."

'This energy is unfathomable!' Giovanna thought, swallowing her dry saliva.

'What the hell is with this... This bottomless magic?' Alexander slowly began to raise his head, gazing at the pale yellow aura surrounding her.

Of course, this sight was all in his mind. His advanced perception of magic energy allowed him to see the dense cloud that surrounded each of these attackers. And the one that stood at the center... Her energy was akin to a well-honed flame, with warm, golden light enveloping her, radiating power.

Below the cloak covering the top portion of her face, the corners of her mouth began to arch upward. She spoke in a gentle voice, "Have you ever danced with fate? Come, dance with me."

"You're all mere children. Children sent to fight an unjust war."

The blade of light in Alexander's thigh dissipated. Blood dripped down his leg as he wobbled upright.

Light magic was too fast to block. Too fast to sense. He couldn't take another hit like that. Alexander understood that. His mind was slipping, he was barely standing, and his broken arms didn't help his condition at all.

Alexander grit his teeth as he slammed his fist against his knee. 'Concentrate. Feel the flow of her energy. I can do this.'

"Gabriel," Alexander whispered.

"On my mark, we're charging her. Seven to one. If we do this right, we can win," he said.

Gabriel shook his head. "We can't take that risk. She could kill us all in half a second. Right now... our priority is survival."

He was beginning to understand. In each fight, Alexander became different. Maybe it was because of adrenaline, maybe it was because of the fact that he's part demon, but Alexander would change.

The normal Alexander wouldn't risk the others' lives. Gabriel knew that much.

Another thing Gabriel knew was that they wouldn't escape. Their only options were to comply and die, or fight for the slim chance of survival.

Even if Alexander hadn't suggested it, Gabriel would've thought about it.

Anastasia began to raise her arm, her hand aimed directly at Arnhild.

Alexander slowly raised his head. Blood and sweat dripped to the ground as he let out a sharp breath. His eyes were fixated on the woman as he ran his fingers across the gravel. As he swallowed his saliva, he gripped Ascalon's hilt. The blade began to emit a faint glow of golden light.

His eyes slowly turned to Gabriel. The corners of his mouth began to arch up.

Gabriel nodded.

Alexander's arm shot back as the light materialized into a spear. He slammed his foot into the ground as he poured every ounce of strength in his body into his broken arm, every parcel of magic energy he could spare into this single attack.

His arm, drawn like a bowstring, shot forward, ripping apart the air.

Anastasia's lightning ripped through the air.

She suddenly fell to her knees, her arms sprawled across her chest. Her stomach gurgled as she lurched forward. Anastasia gagged and heaved, before puke burst from her mouth.

The pale yellow-green fluid splashed onto the gravel-reduced ground. Her stomach was clenched in pain as the vomit pooled in front of her. She gripped the side of her chest, her eyes welling up with tears, forcing herself to raise her head once again.

Arnhild's white robes flapped in the wind as she appeared behind Alexander and Liam.

They all froze.

'Too fast,' Alexander thought.

Leonard's eyes widened. 'Way too fast.'

Droplets of sweat dripped down Gabriel's face.

Arnhild reached out, gently tracing her hand across Anastasia's cheek. "Don't fret. Things will be alright soon," she said in a soothing, motherly voice. She raised her other hand to the sky as it began to glow with pale yellow light.

Anastasia let out an anguished shout and clapped her hands. The cloaked woman disappeared. A ray of light crashed down the ground.

She smiled. Arnhild had reappeared in her original location, about a hundred feet away. And not just her, but the ray of light had been moved too.

"That was brilliant," Arnhild said, her eyes still focused on Anastasia.

Anastasia clenched the side of her chest. Blood spewed from her mouth. Magic exhaustion was setting in. Connections in Crete, an Enclosed World, keeping Alexander's arms together, and dozens of lightning bolts all throughout the battles.

The fact she was still conscious was nothing short of a miracle.

"I'm glad to see how much you've all grown. But it won't be enough." Several orbs of light appeared from behind her. One of them floated towards her hand, thinning out, dancing with her fingers.

"It's a shame, really," she continued. "I had expected you all to have become stronger over these months. But I suppose not. Oh, well. I suppose this is the end for you."

"Lumiel," Gabriel said. "Help Anastasia," he said, gripping Excalibur in one hand and Durendal with the other.

"Let's start with the Demon-Born, shall we?" Arnhild asked as she began to grin.

A soft gasp left Alexander's lips before he urged himself to block.

And just as that ray of light shout out...

Just as Alexander, put his arms up to protect himself against it...

A blur of darkness surrounded the air, blocking out the light.

"Looks like we got the right coordinates. How're you holding up, kids?" a man asked as he stepped in front of the Virtues.

"Nero?!" Lumiel gasped.

Alexander hadn't met him before, but just from his fearsome aura, he understood who this man was. He was a Paladin.

His name was William Nero. His pitch-black hair was messy and unkempt, and his skin was a ghastly shade of pale olive. He had sunken, pitch-black eyes that glistened like obsidian stones. He spoke with grim resolve, "I'll take it from here."

The hooded woman looked up, "Who said you could interrupt this? We've only just begun."

"I've never fought a light magic user before," he said, cracking a smile. "This'll be fun."

Suddenly, a wall of darkness emerged in front of Alexander. Low pitch thuds impacting the wall immediately followed. That was a shield against her light attacks.

'Is that-'

He anticipated each of her light-speed attacks and reacted without hesitation. That's the power of a High-Grade magician.

Nero grasped a black sword hilt from behind his belt. A wry smile floated unto his lips, as he pulled out the hilt.

As he grasped the hilt with both his hands, a blade began to materialize purely out of darkness. "Now then..." he muttered, putting his sword in front of him, readying himself for the coming fight. Like smoke from a flame rising into the air, darkness itself floated from his blade.

"When was the last time that I've gone all out?"