"Answer my call, Elois," Ian says, and his silver cross necklace glows brightly, forming the shape of a large scythe.

As the prince walks forward, Raiden, Nathan, Sunshine, and even Raia widen their eyes. Raia can see his hands trembling as he grips his weapon, despite his determined expression. The scythe is black with gray trim, and its large curved blade glints in the light of the chandelier. It emits a dark flame that dances like shadows.

He's being influenced by his emotions, but he's still having doubts, Raia thinks as she scrutinizes him.

Of course, he should be. Ian knows nothing about purifying a corrupted soul and lacks the courage to do so. After all, he still hasn't awoken from the nightmare of killing his mother.

"No," Raia flat-out rejects Ian's request. With an effortless swing of her sword, she brushes aside the ball of light Katherine aimed at her as if swatting an insect.

Ian looks at her with his mouth parted, weighing a response, then averts his gaze and closes his mouth.

"Ian! W-what's going on? What are you holding . . . " Hadley's voice trails off, unable to bring herself to continue as she stares at the scythe.

"Don't be stupid," Raia tells Ian, her gaze fixed on Katherine.

Sunshine fires an arrow at Katherine, but it ricochets off her and fades away. The demon, still standing and unharmed, tilts her head.

"Without the angel's guidance this time," Raia continues, "you're nothing more than a clueless human."

Ian grits his teeth in frustration, unable to make a remark.

"So stay there and don't get in our way," Raia adds. She seals off her Blessing, and the long silver blade reappears, surrounded by purple flames that reflect in her eyes. Raia can't afford to wear herself out too quickly, so she must tone down Raphael and reduce the mana it feeds on her. After all, a released Blessing is too draining for Aragons.

The Outcast seems to to be on the verge of transitioning already. But let me check it out on my own.

With that thought, Raia kicks off the ground. Her purple hair whips behind her as she leaps upward, closing the gap between herself and Katherine. But as she swings her sword down, it collides with an invisible barrier a few inches away from the demon, and a powerful force sends her flying backward.

Nathan catches her before she hits the ground hard.

"You okay?" Nathan asks as he puts her down.

Raia clenches her teeth and glares at Katherine. Once an Outcast begins to transition, they become temporarily immune to all attacks, and their transformation cannot be interrupted.

Dammit, we're too late!

"So she's really transitioning now, that's why we can't hit her," Raiden snarls, staring wide-eyed at Katherine, terror overtaking his features.

Nathan's expression hardens. "Now shit's about to happen. Again." He glances at Raiden. "Look after the people. Don't let them go anywhere. We can't be certain that there aren't any other threats out there."

Raiden nods.

"Another life has ended, and a sinner has been born," Sunshine says, her gentle voice tinged with pity. She casts a sidelong glance over her shoulder at Ian, her face is almost expressionless. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but there is no hope for your cousin."

Ian stiffens at Sunshine's remark, his face drained of color. He looks at Raia.

"What does she mean?" Ian asks Raia.

"Watch," Raia says, her voice deep and resonant, and Ian follows her line of sight, which leads to her possessed cousin.

A dark and malicious aura surrounds Katherine and swirls like a whirlwind. A strong gust of wind fills the palace hall, causing their clothes and hair to flutter wildly. They cover their eyes with their hands and wait for the wind to die down. The dark aura that surrounded Katherine dissipates, as does the wind, revealing a completely different being.

Katherine raises her head. Her once dull eyes come to life, and her tight-lipped mouth curves upward, revealing a wide diabolic smile. She looks down at her palms and her shoulders shake as she bursts out in a fit of laughter that echoes throughout the palace hall.

"What . . ." Ian starts, but Raia cuts him off.

"That's no longer your cousin," Raia says as she re-grips her flaming longsword and gets into a stance. "That's a pest that must be destroyed."

Katherine leaps down and lands with a soft thump on the carpeted floor. She raises her hand and aims a finger gun at them. Her index finger emits a faint light.

Another summon-type, Raia thinks with furrowed eyebrows. What a hassle.

The light brightens as it doubles in size before Katherine lets it go.

Nathan spins his spear before hurling it forward.

The spear tip collides with the massive circular energy, causing a violent wind to ripple out. Like a swarm of fireflies, the light disintegrates into harmless particles. But then Katherine uses her finger guns to fire a never-ending barrage of energy bullets as she jumps from wall to wall.

The Aragons swing their weapons to defend themselves from the deadly projectiles.

Sunshine wields her gleaming longbow like a blade, swinging it sideways.

Some energy-made bullets pass through their defenses and penetrate their flesh. Raia and her comrades yelp in pain, but they continue to swing their weapons around in fear of being hit again.

Amidst the cacophony of hissing gunfire, Raia hears a sharp cry from behind her that belongs to Ian. Raia grits her teeth and bears the pain in her left arm, where two energy bullets have buried themselves.

I can't waste any more energy and let this fight drag on any longer. Besides, I have another job after this.

"Kara -" Raia starts.

"I know! Cover me!" Raiden interjects.

Raia leaps in front of Raiden, brandishing her sword to protect both him and herself from the energy bullets. Behind her, Raiden thrusts his broadsword into the floor, and a thick wall of vines forms behind them, acting as a barrier to protect the people, including Ian.

"They're safe for now, so let's not waste time and put an end to this fight!" Raiden announces.

"Nathan, keep the demon occupied!" Raia orders.

"Aye, aye!" Nathan responds with a grin and leaps forward, spinning his spear in one hand.

Nathan unleashes a barrage of spear strikes, leaving wounds all over her body and the demon continues to block them with apparent difficulty. Blood splatters every time the speartip makes contact with her skin, blood splatters.

Raia casts a glance at Sunshine, who nods with a firm expression on her face.

"Leave it to me!" Sunshine declares. When she pulls the bowstring, an arrow emitting a bluish light appears out of thin air. Light particles gather around the arrow as if absorbing the surrounding energy. She points her bow upward and fires.

"Rain of needles," Sunshine whispers.

The arrow flies through the air. When it collides with the white ceiling, it splits into countless arrows and rains down on Katherine and Nathan. Sensing the impending danger, the demon looks up, her eyes widening in horror. Raiden swings his whip sword and restrains the demon before she can make a break for it. A bone-chilling shriek resounds as divine needles descend on her. A faint whiff of steam wafts from her as the glowing needles penetrate every part of her body.

That demon is mine, Raia thinks as she pounces on Katherine. She slices the demon's arms with two swift movements of her flaming longsword. Blood pours from the demon's wounds and floods the ground beneath her trembling body. Instead of finishing her, Raia stands above her, her boots stepping into the pool of blood, and jabs the sword tip into the demon's chest while staring down at her with cold, merciless eyes.

"What? Are you going to torture me first before finally killing me?" Katherine snarls, her breathing becoming faint as her life slowly drains from her. She directs a venomous glare at Raia.

Raia remains silent and buries the tip of the blade in the demon's flesh. Katherine writhes in agony and screams. Raiden's whip sword is still wrapped around her, the razor-sharp blades digging into her already wounded body.

"I guess she's yours? I didn't finish her so you can have her," Nathan says, glancing at Raia.

Katherine speaks up before Raia has a chance to say anything.

"Can't you see what you're doing? If you want to kill me, do it now!" Katherine growls. "Torturing a demon will not make you a saint! Don't you realize I still have a human appearance?" She coughs up a mouthful of blood.

"Kara," Raia says as she looks Raiden in the eyes. "I'd like you to take a look at this demon."

Raiden scrunches up his eyebrows. "What?"

Nathan and Sunshine mirror Raiden's puzzled expression as they look at Raia.

"Look at the demon with both of your eyes and tighten your weapon around her until her body tears apart," Raia says, her eyes unblinking.

Horror crosses Raiden's face. He takes a step back, staring at Raia in disbelief.

"What the hell are you saying, Raia?" Nathan blurts out, but Raia ignores his presence.

"R-Raia," Raiden says, trying to compose himself. "I know you want me to grow stronger and gain control of my emotions. But this . . . this doesn't make sense. This is cruelty. I don't mind killing her, but not in the way you're asking."

Of course, that isn't what Raia is thinking. The main reason she's asking Raiden to do such a cruel thing is to observe his reaction and subsequent behavior. Back in Gerland, when Raia forced him to kill the demon, the disciple adopted a strange demeanor befitting a cold-blooded warrior. Raia expects to see Raiden's other personality again and hopes to solve the mystery surrounding his true identity.

Raiden seems oblivious to his own peculiarity. He's even unaware that the people he trusts are withholding information from him.

Just who is he and why are the officials so desperate to keep him safe?

Knowing that nothing will happen, Raia buries the blade deeper into the demon's chest until the sword tip touches the beating heart, the holy flame licking up her internal organs. The demon screams. Katherine's eyes well up with tears, stilling Raia's movement.

"My life as a human was a mess!" Katherine cries out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I hate it. I hate everything about it. I hate this world. People despise you for no apparent reason. People pretend to like you to gain your trust and then take advantage of you! Nothing in this world is genuine!"

Raia's heart skips a beat as she flinches.

Nothing is . . . genuine?

"And now I'm strong. I've finally discovered happiness," Katherine continues, her teeth clenched. "I felt so good. Someone heard me and answered my prayer. The Darkness accepted me and and my life was born anew!"

Raia stares at the demon with listless eyes.

"But you . . . you Aragons came and ruined everything!" Katherine growls, her body trembling, and her breathing becoming shallow. "Have you realized you're a bunch of selfish jerks? You aren't the only one who is always right!"

Irritation surges up inside Raia. She tightens her grip on the hilt of the sword.

"We're not selfish. We're just doing our job," Nathan says, his facial expression indecipherable.

"So what if I'm selfish?" Raia says in a cold voice. "Don't we all have our own desires? To achieve it, we must eliminate impediments, and you are one of them!"

Raia thrusts the sword deeper, piercing the demon's heart and ending her life. The flames around the blade spread out and swallow the remains of Katherine. The blood on the ground disappears, and the Aragons' weapons become pure once more.

"This world taught me to be selfish," Raia whispers, staring at the empty spot where the demon used to be.