"Do you already hate me that much?" Daena inquired with a raised brow as she stood over Denzyl. "I haven't even done it yet."

The avex released a low growl as the elder reached her hand toward him and pulled his shirt down to reveal the back of his shoulder. Denzyl jerked against the men grappling him as the cold air stung his exposed skin. "Keep him still," Daena commanded as she hovered her hand above the avex's skin. As Denzyl's mark was a shadow of the one he had placed on Devyn, it remained hidden unless Devyn's mark had been activated. However, as the elder began chanting, Denzyl's back began to burn, and the mark became visible for all to see.

Denzyl grimaced as the mark began to burn and smoke. Daena's eyes turned red as she continued to chant and hover her hand over the avex. Daena's hand began to glow golden as the mark began to flake away from Denzyl and stick to the palm of her hand. A growl from the subdued demon rumbled throughout the cave, and black whispering mist began swirling around the elder and her prey. Daena continued to chant and remove the mark from Denzyl until the avex flung the men holding him down into the air.

Silence filled the cave as Denzyl rose to his feet. Knocked to the ground, Daena stared up at the man before her in fear. "How dare you steal a mark that was already given." The voice that spoke sent chills down Klein's spine. Denzyl's dyre had emerged, and it was pissed. Black veins crept over the avex's pale skin, and his pupils narrowed as he snarled at the woman lying at his feet.

Moving toward the elder, Denzyl bared his claws and raised his hand. He had no mercy for those who wished to break his bond with his love. Daena stayed still and waited for the avex to prepare to strike with a smirk on her lips. A piercing pain followed by the injection of a chilling serum created from the waters of the Soul Sea caused Denzyl to falter as he stepped toward his target. The avex clutched his chest that had immediately begun to freeze, and the black veins retreated as his dyre was forced to withdraw.

A second needle pierced Denzyl, and another serum was injected, bringing the avex back to his knees. "Don't think you're getting out of this that easily," Daena sneered as she rose back to her feet and nodded at Ryiak who stood behind Denzyl with the two emptied vials. Ryiak backed away from the avex at the elder's nod of approval and went to bring the new heir to the elder.

Jun struggled against Ryiak as the blue-haired demon dragged him to kneel next to Denzyl who was fighting the deadly chills that crept into his body's every crevice. "This wouldn't have hurt so much if you had stayed still," Daena said as she turned to the young heir who glared at her with daggers for eyes. "You seem quite feisty," the elder observed as she watched Jun jerk against Ryiak. Turning to Klein, Daena asked, "Are you going to wipe this one once he has the mark?"

Daena lifted a brow as she waited for Klein to answer. After standing silent for a few moments, the elder pursed her lips and commented, "Well, good luck with handling this one. He's going to cause a lot of trouble if you don't wipe him."

"Just get it done," Klein said in exasperation. He was tired of dealing with the icky situation of securing his heir and wanted it to be wrapped up neatly before Denzyl recovered from the serums and entered his dyre state once more. The serums likely would not prove as effective upon their next injection, so Klein knew this was his chance to get things done before Denzyl recovered and went out of his control.

Hearing the emyr's impatience, Daena turned back toward the two demons kneeling in front of her and instructed the guards to hold them down tightly before hovering her hand above Denzyl's back once more and activating the transfer process. Jun watched with wide eyes as Denzyl's mark reappeared and began to smoke. "Stop it!" Jun yelled at the woman standing over Denzyl. "I don't want his mark! I don't want to have anything to do with you fucking people!"

A smack to the back of the head brought stars to Jun's eyes as Ryiak forced him to stop talking. Tears entered Denzyl's eyes as he felt the mark slowly leave his body and attach itself to Daena's palm. If he could not stop Daena from removing the mark completely, Jun's mind would be reset, and the boy would be forced into a clan he knew nothing of while Denzyl would be trapped in this cave with Daena until his life force had been sucked dry. Not to mention, he would lose his connection with Devyn and be unconsensually bonded to a kid he had just met who also did not want his mark.

Straining to recover from the cold paralysis brought on by the serums, the vein in Denzyl's forehead bulged from the avex's effort to move his body. Denzyl could feel his connection with Devyn begin to fade as the mark was nearly all moved to Daena's hand. Immense pressure on the avex from those holding him down kept Denzyl on his knees and unable to fight the elder as she was nearly complete with removing the mark.

Is there really nothing you can do?!! Come on, Denzyl. You must be able to do something. Protect Devyn's mark! Denzyl berated himself as he continued to fight against the effects of the serum. A loud bang brought the avex from his thoughts, and the cave grew silent as the dead. Looking behind him, Denzyl saw Daena stumble back in shock. Blood ran down her arm from the hole in her palm, and she let out a shriek as the incomplete mark dissolved from her palm and reappeared on Denzyl's back.

Everyone held their breath as they searched the cave for the source of the sound. While Klein and his advisors as well as the six other elders rushed to the injured Daena, Denzyl was stuck staring at the man standing behind the crowd with a pistol in his hand. While chaos surrounded the avex and spread throughout the rest of the cave, Devyn stood tall with a steel gaze and readied gun as the bustling crowd reacted sporadically.

Mixed emotions filled Denzyl at the sight of his lover standing in the midst of great danger. And it was all for him. Joy that Devyn was healed and well swirled with fear of the danger Devyn had just put himself in in an attempt to save him. However, although Devyn had appeared in the cave alone, he was quickly joined by Kilo and Castyr who came to stand behind him on either side. By the time Devyn, Kilo, and Castyr had assessed the situation, Ryiak had begun alerting the demons' attention to the three intruders.

Devyn did not waver when the horde of demons turned their gaze to him. Red eyes glared at the human, and claws were bared as the demons prepared to rip Devyn apart. "You," Klein snarled, drawing Devyn's attention to the emyr. Quick as lightning, Devyn adjusted his aim and fired a bullet between the emyr's eyes. Gasps filtered through the crowd at their emyr staggered back a few paces. However, the bullet was quickly spat out of Klein's head as the emyr quickly recovered, a smirk coming to his lips. "I hope you know it's going to take a lot more than some metal to kill me."

In response, Devyn holstered his gun and drew the sword that was sheathed by his side. Klein's eyes bulged when he saw the silver blade in Devyn's hands. "Where is she?" The demon bellowed. "Where is Ilya?!"

Knowing Ilya would be the only one to give the human Gallen, Klein boiled with rage. "How dare she betray me. You will all pay for this!" Heaving from anger, Klein lifted his arm and pointed at Devyn before commanding, "Bring me his heart." Klein's order spurred his horde of demons into action, and before he knew it, Devyn was being charged by more than fifty raging monsters.

To reach Denzyl, who was still being held down, Devyn would have to fight his way through the horde while protecting his mark from being stolen. As Daena had recovered from the shock of being shot, she had gotten back on her feet and started the removal process yet again. Jun continued to struggle against Ryiak, who impatiently watched the fight.

Trained to kill demons, Castyr and Kilo were efficient in dispatching several of the emyr's soldiers. Kilo's sword never stalled nor rested as he effortlessly severed the head of any demon who dared to attack him. As a trained gunman, Castyr was able to sever the demon's cervical spine with his bullets and flawless aim. Unused to fighting with a sword, Devyn sustained many wounds as he fought the demons to the best of his limited abilities by wielding a blade.

Seeing Devyn in danger, Denzyl ramped up his efforts to offset the effects of the serum. He could not allow himself to be in such a weakened state while his love was fighting for both their lives. Every time pain filled Devyn's shoulder, he knew the woman was attempting to remove the mark once again. So, he would draw his gun and quickly shoot her hand the moment he gained even a breath of relief from being attacked by the horde. This cycle continued until Denzyl stopped Daena himself.

Grabbing the woman's wrist, Denzyl twisted until he heard Daena's bones tear from the ligaments. Letting out a blood-curdling scream, Daena bared her claws and swung them at Denzyl, but the avex caught her other wrist and bent it backward until it snapped. "That is the last time you touch me." Denzyl's eyes flashed red as he threw Daena toward the platform where she landed on the sharp steps and lay unconscious.

Immediately running toward the fight, Denzyl tried to reach Devyn, but he was stopped by Klein who tackled him and brought the two of them to the ground. While Denzyl engaged in close combat with the emyr, Ryiak was attacked by Etta, who yelled for Jun to run. "Go!" Etta yelled as Jun hesitated. "You don't belong here. Go back to your family. Run while you still can!"

"Thank you," Jun said quickly before turning on his heels and racing toward the cave's entrance. Ducking around the fight, Jun managed to break out from most of the chaos. Finding himself closer to the mouth of the cave, Jun was prepared to make his escape, but a motion at the corner of his eye caught the boy's attention. Turning to observe the situation, Jun saw a silver-haired man caught in a death hold while a demon injected a vial of the deathly serum into the man's neck.

A whizz of purple flashed past Jun, and before he could even blink, the demon's head was rolling on the ground. Eyes moving from the head on the floor back to the silver-haired, Jun saw a man with purple eyes holding the one who had just been injected with the serum.

Castyr clutched his chest as his heart began to freeze and his body grew numb. "Castyr, Castyr!" Kilo called out his star's name as Castyr's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Castyr's breathing intensified as the opposing energies of dark and light began to swirl and collide within him. Glowing purple lines of electric energy began to flash all over his body as he became unstable. Still adjusting to the darkness housed within him, Castyr was not able to control the energies' reactions to the serum of the Soul Sea.

Help! I need to get help! He's going to die if I don't do something! Eager to help those who came to save him from this psychotic clan, Jun rushed out of the cave in search of anyone who would offer their aid.

"I can't stop it," Castyr said, his voice strained as he struggled to rein in the surging energy. "You have to run, Kilo. I don't know what I am capable of once I can no longer control it."

"No," Kilo refused, shaking his head. "I'm not leaving you."

"Please." Castyr's eyes held emotions Kilo had not seen since the star had come out of his coma, and the star's pleading broke Kilo's heart. But he could not leave Castyr. He would rather be torn limb by limb than leave Castyr to face the unknown dangers of his own energy alone.

"No," Kilo insisted softly. "I just got you back." The angel held his star close as he said, "Whatever happens, happens to both of us."

Seeing the star and angel on the ground out of the corner of his eye brought the human's focus to the purple lines dashing across Castyr's skin. Realizing the star was getting ready to emit a burst of his energy, Devyn frantically searched the cave for Denzyl. Kilo's warning of Castyr not being able to distinguish light from dark echoed in Devyn's mind as he rushed to Denzyl. The emyr and avex were still struggling against each other on the hard surface of the cave when Devyn reached them.

Realizing the emyr was on top of the avex, Devyn yanked Klein's head up and ran his sword across the surface of his throat before throwing the emyr off of Denzyl. Shards of electricity sparked throughout the cave as Devyn and Denzyl made eye contact. A sharp pain in Devyn's back caused Denzyl to jump to his feet, and the human turned his head to see Klein removing his claws from his skin. Shielding the human, Denzyl prepared to fend off his father, but Klein was pulled away from the couple before either could engage in combat.

"Leave my son alone!" Ilya screamed as she held Klein away from Denzyl. Denzyl moved to join his mother in holding back Klein, but Ilya shook her head. "No, this is my fight." Denzyl clenched his jaw when he heard his mother's words. Before he could retort, Ilya addressed Devyn who stood behind him. "Protect my son, please."

Devyn nodded back as the star's energy grew in reach and began shaking the structure of the cave. Throwing his arms around Denzyl, Devyn turned both of them so that his back was facing Castyr. Before Denzyl could move Devyn out of the way, the star's energy began to pulse from within him, and Castyr let out a cry as it broke from his body and filled the cave.