Act 5 - Chapter 5, Part 1

Chapter 50: Ajal; Sharaun 48th, 344SR; 23:22

"What's wrong, puny angel! Fly away with your wings, haha!" the giant chortled with spit-filled breaths.

"Ah- Ack!" the soldier of Helios coughed as he tried to run away.

The golden armored giant took massive steps through the street, it grasped the tops of the buildings as it leaned over the road. The angel ran toward the dead end, then looked up, and froze as he made eye contact. The giant clenched its fist and raised it, grinning with excited eyes. The angel ran as fast as he could, panting and limping all the while as blood further stained their white clothing. The giant's hand swiftly descended.

Ajal ran across the top of a building and then jumped to the giant's side. 'Spirit Ignition!' Ajal planted his foot into the giant golden legging, cracks spread out in a circular divot around the point of impact. The giant's eyes lit up, and it wailed in pain, tripping over the building and falling over. Ajal landed and then turned to the angel, they looked back with wide eyes. Reinhardt hurried from the alley, helping them up and then making his way up the street. A rhythm of steps approached as druids made their way up the road. Ajal ran for the giant's leg, clutching the edge of the golden greaves behind its knee.

"Huh! What the?!" the giant was taken aback as its body was suddenly moved quickly. "Wait-" the giant mumbled but ate a faceful of debris.

"Rgh!" Ajal started to turn the giant. "Raaaah!" Ajal dragged the giant's body through the buildings.

The druids stopped as they watched the giant's body crash through the buildings. Ajal swung it with all his strength, focusing his spirit on his feet and back. As the giant's head smashed into the buildings across the street he let go. Its body flew silently through the sky down the road.

"Aah!" the giant screamed out loud for several seconds, its air time even longer.

The druids turned and started to run as the giant smashed into the road and took several buildings with it, its body tumbling over the pavement and shaking the ground. The giant's legs and upper body crashed through several houses, coming to a stop under the nook of a bridge and blocking it.

"Holy shit..." Reinhardt and the angel both uttered in shock.

"That'll slow them down..." Ajal huffed to himself as he gulped.

"Yo Ajal!" Ando called from the top of the street. "We rounded the rest up!

Ajal swallowed his spit, he was dehydrated, and his throat was dry from the heat. Green flames scorched the city, smoke was the only thing in the air. Ajal raised his collar and covered his mouth as he took a deep breath and hurried up the road, jogging past big chunks of debris and stepping over smaller ones. As he turned the corner of the street he was met with a road that ran parallel to the inner wall. A group of injured angels took cover behind the building, only two of the seven soldiers could still stand despite their wounds.

"That's it?" Ajal asked.

"Yeah, that's the rest of them from lower Helios, and some from past the gate," said Ando. "I'm not sure what went down, but the east gate into the inner city is destroyed..."

Ando rubbed the sweat off his skin, then twitched to get the sweat out of his eye. He had short fuzzy hair and a well-defined jaw, he seemed to have a genuinely relaxed attitude despite the situation. His white shirt had blue decals around its edges, and the insignia of a mask closely resembling Angela's gift. 'It's surprising how calm and ready to take orders he is... Considering the situation I thought most of these angels would panic, House Rover is quite adept.' Ajal adjusted the blue coat he got from Angela. The black cheetah with silver spots sat nearby, Kiril was rubbing its back.

"Ack-" one of the injured angels coughed. "It took down so many of us... We tried to defend the gate, but a whole bunch of us ran when they saw him..."

"Who?" Ajal asked.

"A bald guy... Had this- twisted mask... the mask looked like grinning teeth..."

Ajal vaguely remembered one of the two druids he saw before he fought Oaraun.

"He didn't try to kill us... That's the only reason some of us survived..." the angel groaned.

"He... He tortured us..." An angel with a ragged bloody cloth wrapped around his left arm spoke fearfully. "He... He knew things about us... He-" The angel breathed heavier, he huffed in and out frantically. "He'll kill my family! Please! Please don't let him near my wife and kids!" the angel begged.

Ajal squinted as he knelt down and manipulated the shadows. 'He knew things about them? A lot of the druid gifts seem to deal with the mind in some way...' A black wall surrounded the angels. 'Dark Passage...' The orb disappeared, revealing the wall and several spots lightly stained maroon. Ando watched in disbelief, he walked forward and felt around the area. Kiril brushed the black cheetah's chin, it held its head low and rolled as it shook.

"It's okay Silver, it's okay..." Kiril praised the spirit blessed by the Celestial.

Ajal walked forward and leaned against the wall. His eyes felt heavy, and his feet hurt. The worst was the pain from the wound in his chest.

"Are you... Alright?" Ando asked.

'No...'

"Yeah... I can keep going," Ajal lied. "The cat's named Silver?"

"Uh- Yeah... Its full name is... Silver Shadow... I got my gift when I was six, like fourteen years ago... I never had a name for it so..." Ando mumbled.

"It's a cool name..." said Ajal.

"What?!" Zeus yelped.

"It is right! Zeus never stops making fun of me for it..." Ando replied with an annoyed expression. "I mean, mhm!" Ando cleared his throat

"Wow... An idiot agrees with an idiot," Zeus spoke with a mocking tone. "Who woulda guessed..."

"Yeah yeah, says the guy who can barely read and write!"

"Stay focused! Angela and Lawrence are trying to gather the angels in the inner city right now, Zeus, Ando, let's go," Kiril scolded.

"Yeah I'm on my way," Ando turned and walked backward. "One last thing, how old are you? I'm curious since you and Alexander Rael are like... Divine beings or whatever..."

"I'm two hundred and eighty-four," Ajal replied.

Kiril, Zeus, and Ando, all looked at Ajal with wide eyes.

"His birthday was actually five days ago," Reinhardt chuckled.

"Two hundred?!" Ando shouted.

"Two hundred and eighty-four?!" Kiril shook her head.

"Twenty-eight-four? How big is that? How big is a big age?" Zeus mumbled to himself.

"You're going to age slower too since you're an ethereal, Zeus," said Ajal.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?" Kiril asked.

"Divine beings, ethereals, and the wielders of harbinger's gifts all are blessed with longevity, divine beings are practically immortal and don't age, but ethereals and harbingers' aging is slowed, they spend much more time in the prime of their lives."

Ando got on the back of Silver Shadow, and Kiril sat behind him. Their expressions were flabbergasted. Zeus looked up for several seconds.

"Wait, then... Hah! I'm going to outlive both of you!" Zeus laughed and pointed at his squad mates.

"That is... Way too much to take in right now..." Ando shook his head. "Let's go," Ando patted Silver Shadow's neck.

The black cheetah took off quickly toward the main road. Zeus followed after them on the back of Yycan.

"Ando seems like a good leader for those two," said Reinhardt.

"Really? I felt like it takes both him and Kiril just to lead Zeus?" Ajal replied.

"All forces! Defend the castle! What are you doing?! The enemy is here!" the king of the angel's frantic voice echoed across the city.

The cannons of the ship above Helios's inner wall boomed, their thunderous impact outside the city rattling the ground and surrounding buildings. The druids approaching the forest road were forced to go around. Ajal and Reinhardt listened to their march through the side streets.

"You think Alexander's up there?" Reinhardt asked.

"Yeah... Definitely..." said Ajal.

"How many more spirits do you sense behind the wall?"

"A lot... Strong druids included... The forces behind us are pushing through the city easily now that the number of angels has dwindled..." said Ajal. "There are still more within upper Helios..."

"Hopefully the angels who are evacuated aren't trying to rejoin the battle..."

"After you guys and the angels are out, then..." Ajal looked up, they were directly underneath the massive ship. "I take that thing down to stop it from killing more druids..."

"How are you going to get up there?"

"I- Don't know yet... It's too far for Dark Passage..."

"You improvise a lot of plans you know that," Reinhardt commented.

"Well, the plans I make rarely ever go the way I want..."

Ajal and Reinhardt hurried along the road, reaching the path split by the inner wall. They went right and through the gate, only to immediately find themselves in the line of sight of at least fifty angels. Each of their arm cannons started to glow.

"Ah fuck-" Ajal grabbed Reinhardt and got ready to dodge.

"Hold your fire!" Lawrence commanded. "They're with us!"

"Isn't that the off-worlder?", "He's helping us?" The angels whispered amongst themselves.

"Stop getting distracted! Eyes on the gate! Anything else that comes through is a target!" Lawrence ordered.

Lawrence turned to Ajal and Reinhardt. A platoon of angels hurried up the road, most likely to their king's aid.

"I'm assuming you heard that announcement earlier..." said Lawrence. "Alexander flew through here a few minutes ago, he was being followed by Yami..."

"There's no way he can stop Oaraun..." Ajal muttered.

"Go save the king... If we can get the Lightbringer to the front lines then we can turn the tides..."

"I can't do that... If Oaraun and I start fighting, we'll destroy everything around us... You'll all be wiped out in the battle that starts..."

"Saving the king is the biggest priority..." Lawrence stated with a serious tone. "The lightbringer is a harbingers gift... I assume you know how powerful they are and how those gifts are passed on... If Oaraun kills Lucifer, the gift will go to him... He'd be even stronger than he already is..."

Ajal looked down, a bright white light from Castle Patheon lit up the streets. 'He has a point... If Oaraun got the Lightbringer that'd be really bad...' A pillar of green flame shot upwards, lighting the entire city green. Lawrence and Reinhardt both looked up in awe at the blade of fire as it descended upon the castle. A bright explosion echoed through the streets.

Ajal squinted, far down the road he could see a giant in front of the bright green light. It wasn't like the others, this one had no armor, and its shoulders were massive, but its legs were tiny. Platoons of angels charged at the creature, Ajal watched as the silhouette of the creature bludgeoned them with its fists, viciously smashing the ground in front of it over and over. Ajal flinched as a severed arm flew down the road, flopping against the ground before coming to a stop.

"Well, there goes the fucking backup..." Lawrence shook his head. "I don't know how or when some of these druids got past the inner wall, but they are strong... It's much worse over here than it was in lower Helios..."

"I'm going... There are more-" Ajal paused as he looked down and noticed a turquoise mist slithering over the ground. "Shit!"

Ajal turned to the gate of the inner wall, and a similar dense mist flooded through with the smoke. Ajal opened his third eye, and a bright purple light glowed off his head.

"Dark Blast!" Ajal fired the beam at the ground before the gate, blowing the smoke away.

"Don't breathe that shit in! You'll hallucinate!" Lawrence shouted at the angels. "You need to get to Castle Patheon, right now!" he stressed.

"If I go there, these angels aren't getting out... Until House Rover can bring the angels here. I can't go and fight-"

A loud clash of steel came from behind, followed by the dragging of someone's boot against the pavement. Ajal, Lawrence, and Reinhardt turned away from the inner wall and saw Angela in the middle of the street. Her mask was on and her bright yellow eye was locked on something to the left. A black figure dashed onto the road with a spirit ignition. Their clash echoed through the street.

'He was one of the druids from before!' He wore significantly different clothing compared to the rest of the druids. A trench coat covered its dark and stitched skin, and a simple hat rested upon curly long hair. Multiple layers of clothing covered his body, held by rattling chains. What struck Ajal as strange was the fact he held a black scythe similar to his own shadow scythes. 'What the...' Ajal started forward, but a spirit spiked behind him.

"Target spotted!" an angel shouted.

Ajal turned back, he clenched his fist as he saw a headless knight walk forward from the smoke. 'Aw fuck it's him... But that spirit... That's not coming from him-' The field of turquoise mist behind Reygar started to glow.

"May my soul take root, becoming the foundation for the druid within," a familiar voice uttered. "Spirit Bloom!"

"Open fire!" Lawrence shouted.

Henry Gordon's spirit fluxed as a silhouette slowly grew from behind the smoke. The angels looked up in terror as the figure came closer. The figure looked to expand, it was harder to see now. The angels released a volley of projectiles upon the gate, Reygar stood still as several flew past him, he swung his sword and split another green fireball in two. 'The illusionist knows how to use a Spirit Bloom!? Shit- Do they all know?!' The angels stopped firing, they looked at each other with disbelief as Reygar walked forward unscathed.

A cloud of turquoise mist rose over the wall with a figure slipping out of it. Its arms almost appeared like that of a wooden doll, with lines clearly separating where the limbs connected, it even had pegs that connected its joints. Its arms covered its face, but Ajal could see a body bonded to the wood of the creature's sternum. Three tendrils flowed underneath it as it floated into the sky.

"Weapons high!" Lawrence shouted. "The damned are upon us!"

"Fear! Fear!" Henry repeated as he extended his arms, his monstrous voice echoing through Ajal's head, similar to the scream of Terra Gerrenwalt.

Ajal quickly covered his ears. Henry Gordon's morphed face was hideous, disturbing even. A head with an evenly spaced network of black holes, the turquoise substance spilling out of each one. The angels struggled to move an inch. Ajal felt a strange throbbing in his head as he stared at Henry's monstrous form. The more he stared at it, the more his head ached.

"Fear!" Henry's voice echoed again.

***

The darkness from within the holes in Henry's face spread out and filled Ajal's vision. The sounds all faded away. Lawrence and Reinhardt were gone. A spirit approached from in front of him, he instinctually conjured a scythe and raised it. A sudden strike knocked him onto his back. However, upon hitting the ground, he felt like he had fallen into a pool of water. ' It feels like I'm drunk! Dark-' Ajal opened his third eye, but in that instant, a light within the darkness flooded over him. Ajal covered his face but felt nothing, he lowered it to see a field of white all around him. Snow fell slowly from the sky, so slow that it looked like it wasn't moving at all.

"Snow?" Ajal looked around, he got to his feet.

"Ajal," a woman's voice echoed from in front of him.

Her black hair was mostly gray, and some of her bangs were snow white. Her lazy eyes were jet black and wrinkled. A lit cigarette hung from her lip. The familiar winds of Nava's coastal regions blew by the two of them, the cold was nothing compared to the chills running down Ajal's back. Her black robes flapped in the wind. The snow was up to her knees, but there wasn't a footprint around her or any disturbed snow.

"Natalia..." Ajal uttered slowly.

"What a perplexing fear..." Henry commented. "I wondered what a divine being would fear, why would you fear that weak woman?"

Ajal turned to his left and saw Henry in his regular form, he stood next to him with the same white robes with triangular decals on its edge. Despite the winds blowing rapidly, his hat, mask, and robes did not move. Ajal reached forward and tried to touch him, but his hand passed right through.

"I've accessed the deepest part of your consciousness and pulled out the deepest fear in your heart, my Spirit Bloom allows me to send a clone of my consciousness into somebody and-" Henry stopped. "Huh?"

Henry looked around, and more and more people rose out of the white snow. Ajal felt like he recognized each of them. He grimaced as a figure rose in front of him, an old man in white and red robes. 'Even you... Even someone as bad as you... Anor Ranad...'

"That's incredible, you really can use the Spirit Bloom, that chant, it was so strange... You druids, your gifts are all incredible..." said Ajal.

"Huh- What- Don't underestimate me!" Henry spat.

"Huh... No, I mean it, being able to achieve the Spirit Bloom is incredible..."

"Shut up! What's with you?! Wait- This is... What is this?" Henry asked. "You don't fear her? Then what is this, what do you fear, who are these people!"

Ajal looked down, his hands and clothes were covered in blood. The snow on the ground was like a mirror. His reflection faded in the white snow, but he could clearly see the blood all over his face. Henry looked around with confusion.

Natalia laughed softly, "You finally understand..." she smiled.

"Understand what?!" Henry cried. "Why can I still not control your mind? Answer me!" Henry spat angrily.

"You just don't get it," Ajal sighed and looked up, several dragons flew high in the sky. "This is my fear... The consequences of my wrath..." A tear rolled down his cheek.

The see-through tear hit the snow, it rippled like water. The spot where it landed suddenly ignited, and a wave of black flames that glowed with a hint of purple spread out. The white snow didn't melt, it continued to fall. The black flame didn't extinguish anything, Henry simply stared at Ajal's back in confusion. 'Dark Abyss...'

***

"Ajal! Lawrence! Somebody get up!" Angela cried. "Gah!"

A sudden crash came from the direction of the voice of the noble. Shattered bricks of concrete rained over the ground.

"Ah! Aaah!" an angel dropped his weapon and turned, running off into an alley frantically, however, he stopped as the black and white wave passed over him.

Ajal opened his eyes quickly to the sound of screams and a strong scent of urine. However, he was immediately met with Reygar's headless form looming over him. The knight's boot was on his chest, and his sword was raised overhead.

"Dammit! Reygar I can't stop him! Finish him quickly!" Henry shouted.

Reygar thrust the sword down over Ajal's chest. Without thinking, Ajal quickly focused his spirit on his fingertips and caught the blade. The tip was just inches away from his sternum. The wave covered the people under an illusion as well, breaking them free from it.

"Rgh!" Ajal grunted, and his third eye started to glow.

Reygar was about to jump back, but Ajal locked his legs around the knight's greaves and kept him in place. The purple beam struck Reygar, and the empty armor set was launched off. The armor collided with the wall and somehow stayed together.

"Agh!" Ajal rolled onto his front, his head aching.

"Mother I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Lawrence was on the ground curled up into a ball.

"Huh?" Ajal looked down at the normally calm angel.

"I... I was wrong, I was wrong, I was-"

"Hey!" Ajal grabbed Lawrence's shoulders and shook him. "I broke the illusion! You're okay, come on get-"

"I can't lead... Not without Adam! I'm no leader, I can't, I can't, they'll all die if I lead!" Reinhardt sobbed.

The red-haired man was on all fours crying, 'What the hell did they see...' Ajal paused as he looked at Lawrence's face, the tears flooding down his cheeks. His mouth quivered, 'He's not under an illusion... Fear...' Ajal picked up Lawrence, then ran for Reinhardt and lifted him up as well.

"Vincent!" Henry shouted. "Focus on the divine being! He's been getting the angels out of the city!"

"What?! That's impossible!" Vincent turned, and he immediately entered a full sprint for Ajal.

"Dammit... They know..." Ajal grumbled.

"Put me down... I'm okay..." Lawrence uttered, he sounded out of breath.

Ajal didn't think about it, he let go of Lawrence and Reinhardt. The two dropped to his side, and at the same time, he conjured a scythe. Vincent swung his similar scythe down, and Ajal twirled the weapon in his hand gracefully, countering Vincent's attack the moment he stepped in range. Ajal spun the scythe again for another swing.

"Spirit-"

Vincent didn't back away, instead, he stepped forward and tackled Ajal. A sharp pain rippled through his leg at the same time. 'Huh-' Vincent held a knife stabbed halfway through Ajal's thigh. 'The fuck, where did-' Vincent pulled the blade out and went for his foot on the same leg. Ajal raised his knee the moment the blade slipped out and struck Vincent in the jaw with a spirit ignition. His hat fell off as he was knocked upward, Ajal glimpsed his face for just a second.

Vincent had pale white eyes and two rows of stitches along his hollow sockets. The druid's eyes quivered, and he fell on his back, rolling backward and jumping further. Vincent breathed in and out as he held his chin, his knee buckled and hit the ground as he tried to move.

"Ah! That fucking hurt!" Vincent sneered as blood poured out of his mouth.

"Yeah, it fucking did..." Ajal grimaced, he held the deep wound in his leg.

Vincent cracked his jaw back into place as he tried to stand. Ajal felt Reygar's spirit approach, he turned to see the knight captain. Reygar swung his blade, only for a white cape to get in the way and block it.

"Rgh!" Angela grunted, her mask muffling her voice.

Reygar simply pushed forward, his spirit alone forced Angela back. Vincent charged forward, this time he reached behind and pulled out a logorite arm cannon.

"You can't be serious..." Ajal uttered.

Ajal quickly grabbed Angela and planted his foot into Reygar's chest. The knight stumbled back. Ajal jumped as Vincent fired, and the green blast of logorite struck where they stood. The flames licked at Ajal as he shielded Angela, it barely bothered him.

"Fear!" Henry roared.

Angela was about to glance at Henry.

"Don't look at it!" Ajal scolded. "If you look at his face you'll see some awful shit!"

"Is that what happened?!" Angela replied as she glanced at Ajal. "Above us!"

Ajal turned to see the creature from down the road now right above him. It had two massive muscular arms, with massive fists held overhead, and giant shoulders. It glared down at Ajal with a horrific skull face, its bright green eyes almost looked like it had no emotion. The moment the arms swung down, Ajal noticed a figure floating behind it, a figure in green robes with half a face. 'Dark Abyss!' The black and white wave covered the giant, and it disappeared immediately.

"Tsk!" the druid in the sky kissed his teeth.

The moment Ajal landed, he slid against slanted ground and fell. Angela and Ajal rolled to a stop, the two of them didn't notice the shadows around them. Ajal opened his eyes to see a woman with blonde hair and a mask looking down at him.

"Hello!" she greeted cheerfully.

Ajal quickly jumped to his feet the woman moved out of the way. Ajal and Angela quickly ran up the road. He glanced back at the young woman in a black dress, she simply looked puzzled as Ajal took off.

"Wren! What are you doing?! Don't just let him get away!" Vincent shouted as he ran up the road alongside Reygar.

"What? I don't wanna hurt him... I wanted to talk to him..." Wren groaned in an annoyed tone. "How come you don't yell at Uncle Ardel?"

"Because he did something!"

"That was Walbur!" Wren shouted back. "Stop yelling at me for no reason! Didn't know druids had double standards!"

"No reason-?! Ugh!" Vincent groaned.

"No groaning either!" Wren shrieked.

"Who the hell is that and what's her deal?" Angela asked.

"I don't know but this works for us!" said Ajal.

"Yeah... One less person trying to kill us..."

Ajal let Angela go and the two turned back to the wall. The angels continued to scream as Henry flew above them. They grasped their faces, curled up on the ground, or even started hurting themselves or others in the confusion.

"I need to deal with Henry... It'll be bad if I don't stop him..." said Ajal.

"That guy in the coat is mine..." Angela growled.

A bright green light from behind lit up the road, Ajal took a deep breath. Reygar, Vincent, and Ardel focused their spirits across their spine as they approached. Vincent and Ardel clutched a golden scepter with a green gem embedded within the triangle at the top. Reygar held his sword up, the golden staff was embedded into his blade.

"Shit..." Ajal muttered.

"May my soul take root, becoming the foundation for the druid within," Ardel and Vincent both chanted, Reygar couldn't speak but he held his golden scepter straight up as well. All three of the druids started to glow bright green. "Spirit Bloom!"

A shockwave of spirit flooded through the street.

"Change of plans, I'm getting you, Lawrence, and Reinhardt, out now," said Ajal.

"What?! But what about you?" Angela asked with a concerned tone.

"I'll be fine," Ajal assured calmly, despite the pain across his torso.

"No, no you won't- Be-"

"You're only going to get in my way if you can't use Spirit Arts... Trust me and just go..."

A bright white light lit up in front of the two of them, a tree was growing right in front of their eyes. Its pale bark glowed a bright white. The trunk of the tree split into several branches and eventually spiraled together like a cocoon.

Vincent's appearance didn't change but behind him was a creature that looked like a smaller version of Henry's monstrous form. It was shrouded in a black cowl and hood, and then two red eyes flashed open and locked on Ajal. There was a set of three small root-like branches protruding from beneath the cowl.

Ardel was similar to the other transformed druids, but the right half of his body was infested with purple tendrils that looked out of place. The thickness of the tendrils was much larger than Ardel's branch-like limbs. His head was flat for some reason and the left half of his face looked like a dying old tree. A hollow eye socket and mouth were made from the chipped wood, and the tendrils fully covered the left side of his face. It was a purple creature with the spirit of an abyssal being and a piercing yellow eye. Multiple short purple tendrils unraveled and made his figure appear larger in the dark night sky.

"Go... Get around them and go assist Lawrence..." said Ajal.

Angela started backward toward the alleyway, her eyes locked on the tree moving behind Reygar. The cocoon sprouted a white beam of light straight upwards and spread out into branches. It was about half the height of the skyscrapers to the left and right of the main road. Thick white lines of flame burned off each branch. The tree on Reygar's armor started to glow, he didn't transform, but instead, a white flame started to rise out of the collar of his armor.

"Divine being..." A forming skull atop the armor spoke. "You seek to save these people... That's noble, truly... It matters not to me, release your full might! Release your Spirit Bloom and fight me with all your strength!" skin formed over the grinning skull.

Wren gasped, "Reygar's face!"

"So he can talk... I didn't expect someone so chipper..." Ajal muttered with a nervous grin. 'This is going to be tough...'

Reygar's face fully developed, finishing with straight white hair sprouting from his head. He opened his eyes and revealed glowing white sockets. His jawline was well-defined, and his hair looked exactly like Gungnir's. He had no facial hair, but his skin was just an ivory-colored substance that moved like a fog. Even his two fellow druids stopped as they witnessed his face.

"I, am Reygar Von Aegis, son of giants and Ammonians, Knight Captain of the druids! Face me in combat, divine being. You there, angel, move aside or die to my brothers, you are merely in the way of our great battle!" Reygar grinned, his spirit flowed excitedly. "I call upon thee!"

Eight white lights shot up from behind the wall and stretched in the sky, each arching and pointing in the same direction. 'Heh, his spirit seemed enthusiastic before, but this is even more than I thought...' They landed right in front of Reygar, eight headless knights with silver armor and green capes.

"Woah!" Angela gasped.

Each of the headless knights held swords of varying lengths. Each of their heads reformed, starting from the skull to the flesh, then to the skin. The knights all turned around and rushed down the road. 'They're going to kill the angels!'

"Go, just go!" Ajal ordered Angela.

"Go where?" Reygar replied from behind him.

Ajal turned and his eyes widened to see the knight in dull gold behind Angela, the noble's eyes widened as she heard the voice behind her. Ajal focused his spirit on his feet, grabbed Angela, and then jumped for the building. Reygar didn't react, the moment Ajal was about to step into the shadows of the alley, two hands extended out of them.

"What the-" Ajal slammed into the burly palms and was immediately thrown back. "Rgh-!" Ajal dropped Angela as he was launched backward.

"Agh!" Angela grunted as she hit the ground.

"The shadows are no longer your ally, imperial," said Ardel.

Ajal flipped in mid-air and landed on the rail of a balcony, and Angela quickly got to her feet on the street below. Vincent opened up his cowl by spreading both arms out quickly, revealing twelve golden scepters. 'Huh... He can conjure multiple weapons at once... That's right, a Spirit Bloom will upgrade any gift you have as well... Did he copy each druid's scepter... They are individually gifted?' All twelve of the golden scepters with flat triangle-shaped crowns floated in front of him in an organized matter and began to spin in a circle. The creature that remained back where Vincent bloomed was lighting up a bright red as it clasped its hands together.

"I'll end you quickly..." Vincent threatened as he glared at Angela.

"He's focusing a lot of power!" Ajal shouted.

Vincent held up his own golden scepter, each scepter of the crown lit up with bright green flame. As they spun in that flaming circle, it enclosed and focused all the flame to a single point. Angela raised her sword and guarded using her left shoulder as a brace, realizing her mistake as she felt the heat from the center of the flaming circle. She held the catalyst embedded in the wrist of her gauntlet with one hand while guarding.

"Ice Magic! Ice Armor!" Blocks of solid water formed around Angela.

"Embrace your retribution," said Vincent. "Alpha Cannon!"

Angela stepped back as the ice melted, and the water almost instantly evaporated. The green flames shot forward in a single focused line, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. It was so fast that she barely even reacted. It melted straight through Angela's sword, then drilled a hole straight through her shoulder.

"Ah!" Angela cried at the touch of the searing fire, the ice melted instantly.

Angela tumbled against the ground. The ice had been vaporized off, mixing a dense fog with the dirty smoke. The noble writhed as her entire body caught fire. 'Dark Abyss!' The black and white wave extended out and extinguished it.

"Tsk- You annoying pest..." Vincent spat as he pointed his scepter at Ajal next. "Alpha Cannon!"

Ajal ignited his spirit and kicked off the wall, just barely dodging the blast of flame piercing through the building. "He can fire that more than once?!" Ajal grunted before igniting his spirit again, dodging the third blast.

"Knights of Pathos! Slay the wretched angels!" Reygar ordered.

Angela winced from the pain. Her skin was burnt black, and all of the ice melted and soaked her clothing. Vincent glanced at Ajal as the golden scepters vanished, he looked winded as he held his left arm up. The knights Reygar summoned all started toward the gate, Ajal kept one eye on them, but his attention was quickly stolen. A golden gauntlet appeared on Vincent's hand. 'That's- Wilo's Talon?!' The golden hand shot forward quickly, connected by a strong cable. Ajal dodged, only for the hand to grasp the ledge of a window and pull Vincent forward. The gold arm vanished, and Vincent flew at Ajal. 'He's hiding his weap-' Ajal tried to move but couldn't, he looked down to see two massive hands grasping his ankles.

"Use your Spirit Bloom! What are you waiting for!" Reygar demanded.

Ajal quickly ducked as Reygar swung at his head. The blade passed over as Vincent closed in. The man in the trench coat held his hands behind his back, hiding his next weapon. Ajal quickly dived into the shadow, Vincent pulled out charging logorite cannons on both arms. As he fired the shadows shifted and moved as the bright green light lit the street. Ajal looked up from within the shadow, he slowly sank as the bright light entered the void.

"Three-on-one is tough..." Ajal muttered. "I need to-"

Ajal froze as he noticed the bone-chilling faces of Walbur in the shadows. The uncommon sight slightly startled him. 'Huh-' Thousands of them as far as the eye could see were all around him within the shadows. Ajal's heart skipped a beat, their harrowing eyes grew bigger as their faces moved toward him.

"You cannot hide in the shadows against me..." Ajal heard Ardel's voice echo all around him.

Ajal felt a physical force push him back to the surface, but he couldn't see anything but the silhouettes of black hands against the white faces in the shadows. 'Fuck!' Ajal was forced out of the shadow, quickly conjuring a scythe and then guarding his blindspot. Reygar's longsword clashed with his scythe, but then the knight vanished once more. Ajal remembered Vincent had jumped to the balcony, he turned to see the druid had taken his stance. He raised a small golden hammer overhead. 'Shit- I'm wide open!' Ajal focused his spirit on his left side, his eyes locked on the triangle engravings on the hammer's cheek.

"I hate this gift, but it'll be interesting to see how it does against you!" Vincent exclaimed.

Black sparks rippled between Ajal's skin and the hammer, he gulped as his spirit sense started to react wildly to the incoming attack. Vincent struck Ajal's side, and a black torrent of energy rippled outward. 'Huh?!' Ajal saw flashes of all the lives he had taken as he was hit. The buildings all around them were forced backward from the massive amount of pressure. Ajal went flying through the city, crashing through six different buildings and well over ten layers of solid stone, straight into the inner wall of Helios.

"Agh!" Ajal cried, his body ached from the repeated impacts.

Ajal had soared to the western part of the city, he opened his eyes. The buildings in the distance fell, and the crashes rumbled the ground repeatedly. Ajal dropped onto the street, bones in his ribs shifted back into place. A torrent of blood came up his throat. The screams of soldiers who were defending the gate continued to fill the night.

"Ah- That... Tiny hammer... Did that much?!" Ajal asked himself in disbelief as he saw the rising pillars of smoke further north into the city where he just was.

Every muscle and every bone rattled. His entire torso screamed in pain, he struggled to his feet. He felt a spirit appear in front of him.

"Oh, you're alive?! Wow!" Reygar grinned. "That really surprised me... That hammer he used is another druid's gift..."

"Rgh! Blerh-" Ajal coughed up blood, and it splattered over the ground.

"Fear!" Henry screamed at several angels within a building.

Henry emitted the turquoise mist from the holes in his face. The angels were smothered in the gas and continued to struggle. 'Lawrence and Reinhardt are in there... I have to get them out...' Henry conjured the golden scepter, it was tiny compared to his current form. Green fireballs appeared around him, then suddenly descended upon the angels. The screams became louder as they burned at the same time as the visions plagued their minds.

"The impact of the hammer will become stronger based on how many sins its target has committed..." Reygar explained. "You must have a very checkered past..."

"Oh..." Ajal looked up, blood stained his chin. "That makes sense..."

"I judged you to be a good person since you are trying to save these people, even if they don't deserve it, it's noble. But this, this makes you even more interesting!" Reygar grinned as he took a stance.

The knight dashed forward and trusted his blade. Ajal spun around quickly, raising his leg to strike Reygar. However, the moment he did, Reygar was gone. His massive spirit was now above him. The white embers floated to the ground, and the tree they fell from lit the battlefield.

"The confidence and conviction you display are beyond my understanding," Reygar spread his hands out. "But I know it's real! I'm good at reading people, even if I have no head!"

"Huh?!" Ajal looked up, puzzled by what the knight was getting at.

Reygar smirked as he looked back. The knight vanished into thin air, Ajal looked around briefly, and a white ember fell from the tree Reygar sprouted. 'What is his Spirit Bloom changing?! He's no different...' Ajal looked down at the white spec of flame, as it touched the ground, Reygar appeared crouching in front of him now. 'This guy- Is teleporting!' Ajal jumped back, and Reygar stepped forward to remain in range. 'He's still reading me perfectly too!'

"You're gift is annoying!" Ajal blocked the next swing from his golden sword.

"Yeah, I suppose it is annoying, I actually dislike it myself!" Reygar laughed as he swung Ajal off his blade with a spirit ignition. "The Rite of Path is a burden on an innovator like myself"

"An innovator?"

"The best strategy is always on my mind! It makes things so boring and rigid!" Reygar complained as he clashed with Ajal.

"Well, I was almost right!" Ajal grinned.

"Ha? Is that so!" Reygar chuckled, he flipped his blade and parried Ajal's scythe. "Then, can you guess what my Spirit Bloom does?"

Reygar vanished again. The gold knight teleported a short distance, moving from in front of Ajal to the right. 'He's using an ability similar to Dark Passage... He can teleport where the white flame touches... But...' Ajal gritted his teeth, his scythe was in his left hand and he couldn't bring it down in time to block. Ajal let go of the scythe, 'Imperial Battle Arts!' He leaned forward and reached for the ground to Reygar's surprise. The blade grazed his shoulder, Ajal lowered his body, just barely dodging perfectly as he held himself up with one hand. Ajal pushed off the ground toward Reygar, locking his legs around his neck and arm.

"Plier!" Ajal twisted his body and pulled one of Reygar's arms straight off.

Reygar stepped back in surprise, there was no blood, and he didn't look to be in pain. The armor just hit the ground and separated into its individual pieces. Ajal stepped into Reygar's range with a short scythe. The knight captain swung his long sword with one arm. Ajal blocked and continued forward, the sword grinding against his scythe as he slammed his shoulder into Reygar's chest.

"Damn!" Reygar grunted as Ajal grasped his collar and pulled him over his shoulder.

"Rah!" Ajal slammed Reygar down, then turned.

Ajal dashed for Henry, spinning his scythe and adding shadow to it, extending it to a massive size. However, before he could attack, Reygar teleported in front of him as he swung. Ajal quickly blocked with the scythe but was forced back. 'Damn!' He opened his third eye, it glowed a bright purple as he aimed for the illusionist in the sky. As he fired Reygar teleported to a falling ember in front of the beam, and cut through the blast with one arm and his spirit behind it.

"You can't get rid of me that easily!" Reygar laughed.

"Rgh!" Ajal grunted.

Ajal jumped back and dodged Reygar's swing, the red-hot blade struck the ground and sparks flew between them. Reygar swung wildly, but with precision, aiming for where Ajal was most open. He teleported behind, Ajal quickly turned and blocked his strike as he teleported a second time to the same spot but with his sword held high. The knight brought the blade down on Ajal and clashed repeatedly.

"To think there are other worlds with warriors as powerful as you! It excites me!" said Reygar.

"Most would be afraid... You're a real weirdo you know that!" Ajal laughed.

"Weirdo? That's rude, but I don't deny it!" Reygar slammed his sword into Ajal's scythe, igniting his spirit and launching Ajal back. "After all, confidence and conviction are simply second to character!"

Ajal flipped backward, and before he landed he glimpsed more of Walbur's hand's exit the shadow he descended toward. Ajal landed on its fingertips, 'Double Ignition! Spirit Manipulation, Sense!' As Walbur's hand closed he ignited his spirit once to block the finger. Ajal focused his spirit on his chest and forehead but left a small portion on his right foot.

"He ignited his spirit... In three different places..." Ardel uttered, sounding genuinely surprised.

Ajal jumped for the wall, 'Reygar can't teleport into a building-' Vincent charged from the left with a similar longsword to Reygar's in his left hand. 'Shit-' A white light flashed and blinded everyone. Steel slammed together. The white cape rested as a woman in a white mask stood between Vincent and Ajal. Her blade was half as long, the end of it spread like thin horns after being melted straight through

"To hell with Spirit Arts!" Angela roared, she tilted her blade as her feet dragged back. "I'm not letting you fight our battle alone!"

Vincent attempted to push forward but Angela redirected his sword, then slashed down Vincent's chest with the jagged edge of the broken blade. Vincent winced as he stepped back, conjuring a scythe, and swinging down at the noble. Angela twirled the blade and blocked in time, however, the spirit ignition knocked it out of her hand.

"Rah!" Angela pounced forward and tackled Vincent. "Ice Magic!"

"Rgh!" Vincent stumbled backward and lost his footing.

"Frostbite!"

Vincent hit the ground, he raised his legs to kick Angela off. However, the noble tightened her grip on Vincent's shoulders and dug her fingers into his skin. Ajal's eyes widened as he watched Angela's spirit focus on her hand. As Vincent kicked her off, Angela crushed his frozen shoulder. 'She's becoming conscious of Spirit Arts... She doesn't even realize she's using it!'

"Ah!" Vincent cried as a layer of frost climbed up his neck.

Angela rolled over her shoulder and clutched it as she crouched. She breathed in and out heavily, her left collar had been burned off and a black circle was engraved on her skin.

"How dare you hurt my brother!" Henry shouted. "I'll rip you to pieces!"

"Soul Magic! Ether Ray!" A girl yelled from somewhere up above.

A red bolt of energy shot forth from the roof of a building, striking Henry in the back.

"Ah!" Henry cried.

Ajal and Reygar both looked up to see Nova on top of the building, her red hair swaying in the wind. Smoke rose off of the end of her staff. 'Nova? Did they round up the angels?' He looked down and noticed several angels running into the streets to help combat the headless knights. Ajal focused his spirit into his legs and dashed at the distracted Reygar.

"Hey-" Reygar hesitated as Ajal slammed his foot into his side.

"Triple Ignition!" Ajal kicked Reygar into a building with one ignition and then used the other two to dash for the angels under illusions. 'Dark Abyss!' The black and white wave washed over the area filled with smoke, and the screaming stopped. Lawrence swung his sword wildly at the headless knights around him, as one approached from behind they turned to the rapid steps of Yycan. Nova and Zeus rode on the swift wolf down the wall of the building.

"Solid Light Magic! Sword of Yycan!" Nova chanted as she held her staff low.

The headless knights attacking Lawrence and the angels were struck down by the giant red blade. Many of their armor sets shattered and rattled against the ground. Lawrence turned in surprise as he watched a platoon of angels run in and start fighting the druids. 'This is it!'

"Everyone get in position! Angela, come on!" Ajal shouted, his voice frantic.

"Agh-" Angela grunted.

The noble of House Rover tried to stand, but she grasped her shoulder and fell to her knee. Ajal picked her up and started sprinting, he lifted her over the shoulder with one arm.

"Hey!" said Angela. "What are you doing?!"

"Sorry, there's no time!" Ajal pulled his arm back and got ready to throw her.

"Huh- Woah!" Angela yelped as he tossed her.

Ajal's feet came to a stop, but Walbur grasped his legs.

"What are you planning fiend!" Ardel spat viciously.

'This is close enough!' Ajal leaned over and put his palms on the ground. The shadows spread out around all of the angels. Nova, Zeus Yycan, Ando, Kiril, Angela, Lawrence, and Reinhardt looked down at the ground as the shadows moved around them. They all looked up at Ajal. The blood ran down his head, the scars on his face and torso burned, and the bruises across his body ached. Despite all of that, Ajal simply smiled.

"No- wait! Come with us!" Reinhardt shouted as he extended his hand, but paused.

"I'll be fine," Ajal smiled. "Dark Passage."