Hector stared at a grand screen.

He was back at the Eagles' Fortress. Underground and safe, healed and secure, standing in silence and in a cold, stone room. The room, like most of the others in the subterranean division of the fort, was walled with stone bricks all throughout. Each wall, as above, so below with dull grey bricks.

Hector didn't mind it for an underground operation room. But his mother attempted to adorn such rooms with furbished chairs and tables, rugs and lights, even colors on occasion. Those attempts always made him smile.

It was time for Mammon to be summoned into the realm of Midgard. Or just about, at least. For each of the previous demons, the Golden Dawn had sent a group of summoners in order to finalize the project.

And yet, their sights hovered over a forest. No blinking lights or radiation to dictate people or positions. Arnhild's magical familiar of a crow flew above and circled around a general location.

No indication of anything.

There was nothing worth seeing for Hector, just the simple sight of dense layers of branches and their leaves, stacked tightly and pushing against each other with the close trees.

He spat out a sigh. Turning to the side, he noticed the Titan sitting in silence, his face buried in his phone. Well, Hector thought it was a phone. But according to the Atlas, it was something far different.

So he said.

Hector stared at him and called. "Atlas."

"Yo."

"Why don't we have summoners on Midgard?"

"We do," he responded, his sights still focused on his glowing screen.

Hector spat out a sigh. "Okay. Why don't we have summoners... on the land that we're supposed to summon the damned demon?!"

The Titan finally looked up. "Which demon?" he asked, forcing himself to his feet and digging his device into the pocket of his long, black coat. And with it, he shoved his hands into his pockets as well. "Mammon?"

"That's right," he told the Titan.

He began approaching Hector. His back was rounded off and his neck leaned forward, just as it did with his head. His eyes were sunken, with black undereyes already formed. His black hair was always the same, left shaggy and unkempt with each time he ran his fingers through it.

Atlas was a tall and skinny man. But his handsome face was stained with his own lack of sleep. And lack of health for that matter. Had it not been for the reasonable amount of muscle he carried, the Demon-Born would look like nothing more than a skeleton.

And even with his saddening posture, he stood a handful of inches above Hector.

His obsidian eyes fixed themselves on the massive screen on the wall. His dull gaze remained. Nothing more than a simple stare and a slight groan from his lips.

"You really called me over for this, brat?"

"Huh?"

One of Atlas' wide and bony hands grasped hold of Hector by his face. "Are you an idiot?"

Hector quickly smacked down Atlas' wrist and broke his grip. "What are you talking about, dude?"

"We have no summoners there because we have no need for summoners there."

"But we summoned the past two!" Hector proclaimed, quickly disregarding what Atlas had just done to him. He had already judged the Titan's lack of sanity, and he had already confirmed it for himself more than a year ago.

"That's why we don't have to summon this one." Atlas rubbed his bony wrist. The impact of Hector's hand was alone for a slight sense of pain to settle in. Sure, Atlas wasn't ready to receive any contact, just as Hector's cursed strength naturally and instinctively made him stronger than he could have intended. But... To feel pain of any kind was enough for Atlas to remember the potential that kid held.

"The summoners were only to get the ball rolling," he continued. "Now... The World is doing it on its own. Each one will be automatic. It's happening on every realm now." A light laugh left his lips. "So the Golden Dawn... just has to wait. All we have to do is preserve the Tribulation and we'll be fine. The culmination of energy and destruction will burst into basically a small Big Bang. Populations will be mostly eliminated and bam, a new world. Isn't that exciting?"

Hector furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, we're done? We just... keep it going and nothing more?"

"Pretty much. You really called me over for this?"

"Well... Yeah?"

Atlas clicked his tongue. But on another note, he finally asked his own question. "That familiar... It's been there for how long?"

"Mother put it there nine hours ago, I think."

The Titan paused. "And Mammon hasn't ascended to the World yet."

Hector shook his head.

This was a risk for the Golden Dawn. If the Prince of Hell didn't end up in the World, the mission would have been a failure. Even if they could summon him within the window of time... It would all be meaningless if the Tribulation wasn't working properly. All of their efforts in the years prior would have been nearly in vain.

But...

"Eh."

That was all the Titan spat out. "It'll be fine."

Hector remained confused, his eyebrows remained furrowed. "Dude, what? Aren't you gonna do something?"

"There's nothing to do. Nothing for me, at least. So just relax. It'll work out. The Prince will get there on time. So what if he's a little late?"

"Are you serious?"

"As humanly possible." Atlas couldn't help but smile. "Besides... If our familiar has known the location for nine hours, then surely the Association has as well. And if they know the location... Then they're there too.

His smile turned into a crooked grin, flashing his pasty teeth as his eyes practically swirled with excitement. "Those kids have been running around for nine hours. The sun will be rising soon. Don't you think that'll be entertaining? Those exhausted kids against the demon of greed?"

Hector swallowed his dry saliva. He wanted the Virtues to lose, especially after each time he had met them in person. But... He wasn't sure if he wanted to watch the battle with his own eyes.

He couldn't shake the feeling, the understanding that blood would be shed. That single poke in his heart unnerved him. But... "Let's hope for the best, Atlas. And for their worst."

Atlas' grin remained. He patted Hector on the back. "Let me know when the demon arrives," he said, beginning to head for the stone arch that was in place of a door. "I gotta go talk to your uncle."

"He's not my uncle," Hector muttered.

The Titan couldn't help but stop. His slight smile returned. "He's Arnhild's brother. That makes him your uncle, doesn't it?"

Hector's eyes were once again fixed onto the screen before him. "I don't like Arnold. Not as a person nor as a commander. Vice-Commander, that is. He may be my mother's brother... But he's not my uncle."

A chuckle left Atlas' lips. "Alright, then," he let out. "Have fun with whatever ideal you have. That's the whole point of the Golden Dawn."

It was only a few more of Atlas' steps that took him out of the room. And so, Hector was alone to the screen, alone to what would happen next.

And just as Atlas entered the other room, across dozens of meters of the stone hallway, he found the Vice-Commander to be seated alone.

Atlas entered the other room, only to find Arnold seated. An empty seat and an ivory board of chess sat before him. Pieces of each color were moved apart, scattered and used.

"What do you want, Arnold?" the Titan asked.

Arnold's face lit up with a flashy smile and his gleaming golden eyes. "Let's play chess." He spoke with no hesitation, quickly putting the pieces back in place and organizing the chessboard. "Sit. Take a seat, Atlas."

A sigh left Atlas' lips. "I hate chess."

"Chess was invented by humans, Atlas. Your own species and all."

"That doesn't mean I like it," he muttered, sitting down across from Arnold. "Were you playing chess by yourself here?"

Arnold nodded as he replaced the pieces. "I've been trying to get better. Who else is better to practice against than a genius like Arnold Norr?"

He looked up to meet Atlas' stale, pitch-black eyes. "You do know how to play chess, don't you?"

"Of course," Atlas said with a nod. "My dad taught me. When I was a kid."

"Your real father?"

"No, I killed that guy. My other dad was the one who taught me."

Arnold furrowed his eyebrows. Atlas always spoke so plainly about his past. It was always that, or he didn't speak on it at all. As much as Arnold knew, he didn't know every detail of Atlas' life.

He was a Demon-Born. And his cursed life had taken many turns and drops. Nothing Atlas said would be too surprising in a life where anything could've happened.

"So I wanted to speak with you..." Arnold said, making the first move with his ivory pieces. "And I wanted to use chess as a metaphor."

Atlas quickly proceed and the two joined a rapid battle within the game.

And so, Arnold spoke. "There are two people that are dangerous. The unpredictable pieces of chess. Whether it's because I don't know enough about them, or because of their power... Their existence doesn't allow us to win. I've thought about this a lot, as you can see."

"Yep," Atlas said with a frustrated groan. As he mentioned, he had always hated chess. But the worst part was that he was actually good at it.

If Atlas had been unknowing of the rules and methods and techniques, he would've lost already to Arnold's intelligence. But unfortunately, he was trained too well.

Arnold continued. The Titan of the Skies cleared his throat and spoke, "If we are to win this war, we must fulfill two conditions."

Atlas looked up to find the Vice-Commander holding up a pair of fingers.

"Firstly, there is the Paladin. It is quite literally possible he is the strongest in human history. Charles Archibald. He has more magic than me, and he uses it well. Without a doubt, he is the strongest being in the World. The strongest of all Nine Realms."

The Titan of Space couldn't help but smile. He thought back on many months prior, when Arnold had first encountered the great Paladin.

Even with Atlas' warning, even with Atlas' attempts to dissuade him, Arnold still chose to fight. And that left him with the worst beating he had experienced in his long life.

"Simply put... We must kill Charles Archibald."

But a sigh left Arnold's lips. He was dejected, his head drooping over and his shoulders dropping forward. "Unfortunately, I don't believe that's possible. Any attempt would result in failure. And all-out destruction... A city, for example, wouldn't work against him. And so, I've given up on that. Instead, we must focus on something of equal importance. We must make Charles Archibald unable to fight. One way or another, he must not be allowed to continue. Each move he makes is a threat against us. If he cannot be killed, he must be stopped at the very least."

Atlas smirked. He had always dreamt of killing the Paladin, ever since he first saw him all those years ago. But as strong as Atlas was... It wasn't difficult to conclude that the Titan would lose.

"We have time to figure that out, however." Atlas smiled. "You can put your faith in me, Arnold. We'll bring the paladin down."

The Vice-Commander nodded, his golden eyes glistening. He clapped his hands, squeezing his palms together as he once again began to speak.

"The second is the boy known as the Virtue of Diligence. Alexander Lane, a Demon-Born who, until a few days ago, was just 15 years of age. He harbors an unspeakable darkness within him. I saw it in my battle against him. Not only does he have to potential to bring down our plans... In terms of pure magic power, Alexander Lane has the potential to surpass me. And so, in order to win... He must die."

Atlas nodded.

"Or at the very least, we must make him our ally." The corners of Arnold's lips twisted with an arching smile. "But I doubt that's possible. Considering what I did to him, after all."

The Titan of Space furrowed his eyebrows. "Arnold. What did you do?"

Arnold grabbed one of his ivory pieces. His king. With a slight swing, he knocked down Atlas' rook. The piece of carved ebony clattered down onto the board and rolled down the table. It rattled onto the floor, just as Arnold began to smile.

He rubbed his chin, just as his teeth began to flash through. "Well... Let's just say I am a manifestation of his curse."

- - - - -

Giovanna threw herself onto a dull stone and spat out a sigh. "Can we-" she said in between her exhausted breaths and pants. "Can we take a break?"

Gabriel shook his head and kept moving, stepping on more and more rocks to get ahead. "We've taken too many breaks today. We have to keep looking."

"We've been out here for ten hours!" Giovanna exclaimed. "We ran out of water like five hours ago."

Gabriel remained silent. He reached into the bag he had over his shoulder and pulled out a metal canister. He uncapped it, and slid a single finger into the container. Within ten seconds, it was filled.

He walked over and handed it t Giovanna.

She looked at him with her weary and confused emerald eyes.

"You could've done that hours ago!" she said, taking the container with a swipe.

"That's what you're concerned about?" Lumiel asked. "It's unsanitary to drink things from with other people's bacteria. Much less drink something Gabriel made with his fingers."

Giovanna didn't listen as she gulped down the water. She spat out a sigh after she emptied the canteen. "I don't care. I just don't want to die."

"Bold of you to say that right before we fight a Prince of Hell," Leonard said.

"Shut up, Leonard. You didn't put deodorant on, and you've smelled like shit this whole time."

The Virtues collectively spat out sighs.

The remaining ones, at least. Liam was nowhere to be found. He had lost contact with the Virtues just hours before they set out to kill Mammon. Anastasia's sickness got worse in a matter of hours, and in the day after, she was bedridden.

And as for Alexander... Even before they left, he went off on his own. It had been days since they had last seen him, and now they could only hope he continued to search for the demon.

The four Virtues continued to trek through forests and fields of New York, just miles away from the city, encircling and crossing through the area the demon would be summoned into.

And after ten hours, nothing. After ten hours, the sun began to rise, golden glimmers extending into the empty grassland they stood on.

To their side stood a thick forest, hundreds of thousands of trees, even millions put together for as far as the eye could see on each end.

In any case, it would be a beautiful sight. But now, each of them only wanted to lay down and die.

But that immediately changed the instant a shrill pierced their minds.

There was no sound nor sight. Only an undeniable feeling.

The demon had appeared. Summoned, ascended, it didn't matter. Mammon, Prince of Greed had manifested into Midgard.

"Guys-" Giovanna choked out.

"Yeah, I got it, too," Lumiel muttered, wiping the sweat off of her forehead with her sleeve. "Leonard?"

He nodded, swallowing his dry saliva and shutting his eyes. 'Where is this damn thing?' he asked himself.

Each of the Virtues could sense the demon. That indisputable pressure that alerted every being in its vicinity. Birds sprung out of the forest by the dozen, all crying out in fear of what could come.

They were animals, after all. Their instincts were too loud to drown out. But as for humans... As for the Virtues...

They had to make the choice to reject those instincts. Those feelings of fear that gripped their hearts and constricted their throats... They couldn't afford to listen to it. They had to move.

'We have to fight,' Gabriel told himself.

It was at that moment his phone began to ring.

He swung it out and took the call. It was the Magecraft Association. They had already located the demon. Hurried sounds and fearful voices scrammed into Gabriel's ears. And then...

"Thank you."

That was all Gabriel said before he hung up and pocketed his phone. "He's just over two kilometers away from us," he told the others, pointing a finger towards the forest. "We can make it there quickly. We have to, anyway."

Leonard's eyes burst open. He wrapped his hands around the sides of his head. "Oh, shit."

"Huh?"

His eyes widened. "We're wasting time..." Leonard muttered.

That was all he could choke out as his face, beaded with sweat, twisted with fear. His eyes were wide, his breaths were growing shaky as he continued to sense that demonic presence. "They- They summoned him just outside the city."

"Huh?!" Lumiel repeated.

"We've wasted too much time!" he cried out. And that was it. He didn't speak a single word more. He only burst with pace and towards the grand forest before them.

Lumiel paused. "Oh..." she muttered. She finally understood what Leonard shouted about.

With only a breath, only an inhale, Lumiel chased after Leonard and ran towards the demon. "Those two kilometers...!" she shouted at Gabriel. "They're at the end of the park. Mammon- He's right at the edge of the city!"

Gabriel's eyes widened. But there wasn't a single other second wasted.

The Virtues ran forth. Only the four of them.

Liam and Alexander were still nowhere to be found. Those two were the strongest out of the seven. And without them, without Anastasia's support...

He finally processed the true gravity of their circumstance. If they arrived late in a matter of seconds... People would die. If they failed to stop him...

Moving at his rapid speed, the chilled morning wind stung his skin like ice needles. He gripped Excalibur's scabbard to keep it in place, to keep it steady. 'Dammit all,' he thought to himself.

Gabriel only clenched his jaw.

This...

'This is the worst-case scenario.'