Reuniting with the pain of battle was like meeting an old acquaintance for Momotaro. He recognized almost every aspect about it, but every time they crossed paths there was something new that confused him.

The young leader thought the fight would be a copy of the last time, however it felt heavier than what he remembered.

One after another, the demons fell victim to his weapons. Momotaro tried to stay focused on his actions, he tried to continue defeating his enemies without letting his feelings get in the way, but it was hard after seeing his friends die.

Luck turned in favor of the Protectors when defeat seemed to be about to fall upon them. A great golden light appeared in the center of the battlefield, the warmth that came from it restored Momotaro's hope. He recognized that feeling, even though the warmth far exceeded what he felt when he used it, he knew it was the ancient light.

Agatha had done it, she brought the light back to life. The demons disintegrated under the glow of the scepter, and the humans whose hearts had been corrupted by darkness were freed from it, joining the Protectors.

"It seems like she's getting them back. It's a shame your soul is so corrupted that there's no turning back." The voice Momotaro hoped he would never hear again appeared behind him. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me? I missed you a little, every time we caught a new member of the Protectors and I saw how they tortured them it made me want to relive our old times."

Anger threatened to take over Momotaro's being. It was fantastic how Casimir managed to get him out of his mind in just seconds. It didn't matter what he said, just his presence was enough to make Momo forget common sense.

He lowered his hearing to avoid falling into Casimir's trap and turned around. The blonde was standing in the middle of the battle with his arms crossed and a wide smile on his face.

Make him regret what he did. Why don't you let me take control and I'll erase that ugly smile?

For the first time Momotaro considered giving in to the darkness that lived within him. If he could destroy Casimir the consequences didn't seem so bad anymore.

The only thing that kept him from accepting the proposal was that he wanted to be conscious when Casimir took his last breath.

Momotaro put away his pistol and took out two knives. He didn't want the fight to end soon, he wanted to hurt him as much as possible using his own hands. The need to make Casimir pay for all the suffering he had caused the Protectors took hold of him. A single image of what he found in the torture room was enough to inflame Momotaro's fury.

Casimir spoke again. Momotaro shook his head and brought one of his hands to his ear to let him know that his power didn't affect him. Unlike the first time, Casimir didn't show surprise, instead he began to laugh.

Already tired of Casimir's attitude, Momotaro took out a small dagger from the sleeve of his shirt and threw it towards him. Casimir dodged it without problems, even so, it didn't bother Momo since his intention wasn't to hurt him but to force him into action. And it worked.

Casimir squeezed the short staff he had in his hand and it lengthened, turning into a spear. He moved a little closer and launched his attack aiming at the young Protector's chest. Even after he failed he kept the distance between them.

He is afraid to get close. It doesn't matter, we can destroy him at this distance.

Momotaro smiled as he heard the words of the voice in his head. He put away the knives and exchanged them for the daggers. He was confident, despite being better at close range combat he had the best aim within the resistance.

Momotaro aimed at his enemy's right shoulder and threw two daggers. Casimir managed to deflect one with his weapon but the second one hit its target. The blonde stretched the spear in the direction of Momotaro who managed to dodge the attack, preventing it from hitting his head but receiving a cut on his cheek.

Three more daggers were thrown towards Casimir and one of them stuck in his left arm. Momotaro was so focused on his enemy that he didn't notice the rock that someone threw behind him. He was hit in the back and fell to the ground.

Casimir approached him, smirking. On the other side, a demon walked towards Momotaro after the blonde said something to him.

It was a mistake on Momo's part to think that Casimir would play fair, he was the kind of person who used his power to avoid having to fight for himself.

Momotaro focused on the demon first. He stood up and pulled out a gun. Dodging the rocks flying towards him, Momo aimed for the demon's head, he had no time to waste. Two bullets pierced the demon's head and he turned into dust.

Casimir snuck up behind Momotaro who couldn't hear him, but his shadow alerted the member of the Protectors about his position. Momo grabbed his enemy's arm before he struck and concentrated on his energy. He wanted to make sure that he couldn't escape so he activated his new ability.

Instead of diminishing his own senses, Momotaro sensed Casimir's energy and began draining it with one goal in mind: to remove his sight.

He let go after succeeding and turned to see Casimis moving his arms in an attempt to recognize his surroundings. At the beginning Momotaro had not planned to end the fight that way, but the attitude of his enemy made him change his mind.

Momotaro raised one of his knives and stabbed it into Casimir's chest five times. The young man fell to his knees as the blood drained from his body. Momo saw that he was saying something and activated part of his hearing, after all, being so close to death Casimir would not have the energy to use his power.

"You can't save them like this," he said and blood came out of his mouth. "Peters is going to kill your people unless you give in to the darkness."

And after saying the last words Casimir fell to the ground lifeless.

What was he talking about? Either he was referring to the people who were fighting alongside him at the time, or the members who had been kidnapped and were still missing. One way or another, Momotaro hated the idea of watching them die.

The simplest solution was to search for Peters, but the battlefield was very large, and it would be a waste of time to focus on finding a single person because of a message from someone he didn't trust.

Fortunately for Momotaro, Peters did the hard work for him.

The man appeared from the crowd, looking as neat as if he had not participated in the battle. He was surrounded by a group of his followers and behind him were more people that Momotaro could not distinguish.

"There he is, the new leader of the Protectors. You had a hard time taking command, it's a shame what happened to your people," Peters said. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you. I found some lost Protectors, they are in very bad condition, I would say they need help. I brought them for you, but obviously I expect something in return. Their lives in exchange for you abandoning the battle. What do you say?"

Peters stepped aside and fury took over Momotaro as he saw what the man had hidden. The missing members could barely stand, their bodies were covered in wounds and their dirty skin still had several stains of dried blood.

Momotaro couldn't let them die, he had to save them, at least he owed them that after doing such a bad job looking for them. But he couldn't abandon the battle either, losing the fight against the demons meant the death of all his loved ones, he couldn't back down after Agatha managed to activate the scepter.

There is a solution, I could destroy them all. The voice in his head prompted him.

Momo had never thought that he would think something like that but Casimir was right. Accepting the darkness was the only solution. He didn't fully know the consequences and he didn't care either, the only thing he wanted was to save them all.

"Tick tock, you're running out of time," Peters sang.

I am going to maintain my conscience, I want to see them when they suffer. Momotaro responded to the shadow.

You can try to control me, but very few have succeeded.

"You don't tell me what to do," Momo told Peters.

He closed his eyes and allowed the darkness to expand. Momotaro expected it to feel like a cold blanket, however it felt like he had regained a part of himself that he had lost.

You're a natural, welcome back home.

A rush of power ran through him, he was ready to make Peters pay.

When he opened his eyes he met the horrified eyes of those present. He was taller, they all seemed much smaller and more fragile.

Following his desire for revenge and taking advantage of his new strength, Momotaro threw his knives at the mob of Peters' followers as he rushed to fight those nearby him. The knives went just where he wanted, it wasn't just about his aim, he could feel how he was able to control them.

Looks like you figured out what your demon power is.

He continued to take out his enemies one by one, Momotaro had control over his body, however the fury and excitement of the battle drove him to act without thinking. He didn't know how many had already died by his own hands, he only had eyes for those who were still alive.

Some members of the Protectors who saw what was happening entered the fight to help him.

"We'll take care of them, you go get Peters," one of them said.

It didn't take much to convince Momotaro, his spirit longed to see Peters fall. The man tried to escape when he saw the newly converted demon approaching. Momotaro threw a dagger that stuck in Peters' shoulder, pinning him against a tree.

"Don't go away so quickly," Momo said.

He approached the man. Without following a pattern he plunged his knife into Peters' body again and again. The victim was no longer moving, but he did not stop attacking. All the anger he had contained came out of him through the stabbing.

"Renjiro," Stefan called him by his real name and put his hand on his back. "That's enough. It's over. We won."

Momotaro let the knife fall to the ground and turned around.

The battle was over. The survivors hugged each other and cried of happiness.

A smile appeared on his face.

They were finally free.