...and as the words were uttered, everything came flying back to him, in the snap of the moment. The impact threw Morio's body against the glass and chucked him out of the fourth floor of the dungeon.

When his eyes were open, nothing seemed to be as slow as earlier. The sun shone over his body, and the figure decided it still wasn't enough. He saw the man diving down, as the dragon wrapped around his body, growing out of his spine and leaving him transformed.

Fists now clenched against Morio's, Gloria dropped out of his hand, as they were heading for the fall. The man's armour shone in the same green, and his stare was as intense, with four times the power as earlier.

It felt like his hands were about to be ripped out, while spikes dug further into his skin. This was no time for much thought, however.

Through pain, came realisation.

He wasn't going to win this one.

There was nothing in his arsenal, except for blind faith, a weapon which seemingly worked against him and... some twig.

"This is the end, Morian." the man spoke. "Give up now and I'll spare-"

Morio dared to open his eyes as the wand moved out of his sleeve and barely found itself waving against the dragon's armour.

Trickling down the wall, the man's eyes widened.

The twig found itself in Morio's palm, as he pointed at the man, almost instinctively.

The Morian screamed as the two of them neared the ground.

However, something seemed to snap out of the moment.

The entire temple shook, leaving debris further crumbling out of the walls, before everything was coated in a strange silence, soon broken by a few gasps.

Jyuzou helped the Paladian up with his shaky wounded hand.

"O-Oh my..." Atomu put his hand against his hip, stumbling on one leg.

"Did you break anything?"

"Just my courage, I guess..." the Paladian gasped, walking over, as Chyuuichi shook his head a couple of times, coughed and turned to the two with a black eye. "A-Again?"

"What?!" Chyuuichi stood up. "It's not the casino this time but a- ahh..." he fell on one knee, with the pain quickly seeping in.

Atomu ran up, while Jyuzou stared, his eyes finally landing near the ripped-out part of the wall and broken glass around.

"Morio," he muttered to himself, walking over as fast as he could, before something stopped him.

A figure, to be precise, opened the door to the upper staircase and gazed at him with a smile. His eyes were closed, and his grey hair was tied into a bun. With a quick nod, he strutted over towards the same point of interest, glancing down.

Jyuzou and he stared, as the dragon's punch punctured the grassy ground and left him in a hole in the middle. The green apparition was gone, and the spiky aura faded away within that very second. Small wounds appeared over the exposed bits of his darker skin, as he found the courage to stand up and glance at the other figure.

Morio held onto the wand, barely standing still. He grasped it tightly, ready to cast something perhaps, but when his hand was raised, he tumbled into the same hole.

The man breathed in and out, crouching.

"Morio!" Jyuzou yelled out. "D-Don't touch him, you bastard!" he readied his spear, as the older man signalled something.

"Zhen. That's enough," he muttered. "The boy's finished."

Zhen quickly raised himself again, with the wand now in both hands. "No, osta," he muttered, with a shaky voice. "They weren't enemies."

"What?" Jyuzou muttered.

Atomu and Chyuuichi glanced out. Two other figures waited by the staircase, with folded arms and smirks to accompany all that.

"Osta," Zhen spoke again. "This... This is Bancho's wand!"

He raised the item into the sky, and the gleam flew through the air, meeting the fading sunlight.

The old man laughed, as Jyuzou glanced at him, shaking a little.

Atomu and Chyuuichi blinked a couple of times in united confusion, and as for Morio, he didn't budge for the next few hours.

Only one conclusion was brought to light, there and then.

The four lost that battle.

***

All over Grimmora, a similar sound echoed throughout the walls and reflected onto the demons present at every turn. Blades crashed against each other, dull swords were thrown into the air and a few let go of that limit to engage in a real battle, with blood spewing over even more of its dried-out contrast, just for the bigger devils to step in and brutally fix the wrong fight.

At that point, staring at it from a distance, Leopold didn't flinch when each scream sounded or something else happened. After all, it was expected to be of demons, as literally every sign in the world said so.

Brutal, relentless, only carrying for the blood without any merit to their actions. However, there was, seemingly, a reason why all of this was happening.

Peeking into the underworld would reveal everything that needed to be known. Even the groups that distanced themselves from whatever that massive heap wanted to bring couldn't help but glance forth and eventually join the courses, which was most of the reason why Leopold stared out of that same balcony.

He wondered how far these armies stretched, and what they could've been preparing. It was obvious now, that after all those months of keeping as silent as back then, someone planned to initiate something again.

As they always did. Even though every time, in those recent years, things came fruitless, and all of them were still as lowly as beforehand.

Even those strong ones here couldn't help but budge.

"You're still waiting for his order?" a voice asked, sitting in the shadows. Leopold slowly straightened out, turning back to Isak who tapped the sides of the caves with his hand, dismissing his glimpses.

"What about you? I thought you'd be the first to join him. Even though, at the very end of the day, the demons still lose and nothing is accomplished."

"Well-spoken for a human invading our ranks. What about that other guy? Maybe all of us should listen to his words too, Leopold?" he blinked a couple of times.

"He chose his path, I guess. Haven't seen him since."

"Guess he's not as blind as you are." Isak huffed, now angrily grinding a brick-like pebble against the ground.

Leopold fixed his mask, fully turning away from the demons and taking the next few steps toward Isak.

"What's your plan for this whole thing, then? What do you propose?" he spoke.

"Me?" Isak chuckled. "It's like you never caught on. I said what I said and I'll keep repeating myself until bloody death. Just want to be the demon without anyone telling me otherwise. Did you catch it this time?"

"Then why not Leiru? He'd lead you to it." he turned. "With everyone else."

"You seem a bit lost around the idea, Leopold." Isak finally stood up, towering over the other. "I don't want any damn leader anymore. I don't care how good Leiru presents himself. My path doesn't have every stupid step of the way that would guarantee us losing again, because unlike them, I can tell what's important!"

As Isak clenched his scarred fist, the crushed chunks of the stone rolled out of his palm.

Leopold stared at the symbol for a second longer, before Isak hid his hand and waddled towards the balcony.

"I'll keep waiting for Shi Hon. Leiru doesn't seem to fit the bill."

"Of course you will. Doesn't matter to me, though." he moved back. "Haven't seen the man in months at this point and his voice is nowhere, just like back then."

"Lisbeth assumed the same things."

"...and look what happened to her because she let his flimsy words get to her. I'm stronger than that, and if you still think Shi Hon has even the tiniest idea of a well-thought plan, then you let the wrong man get into your head."

Leopold kept silent, before putting his hands together.

"At least I guess I'm glad you're not listening to that green manipulative thing. If I had one last request for the big guys, it'd be for him to put him and his smirk down for good." he grinned. "But I don't, and I won't. No more relying on bastards who can't fulfil their promise. Maybe Lisbeth understood too if she weren't Leiru's lapdog now. Tsk, bother." he rolled his eye, putting his hand on the wall, slowly moving down the first step.

For a while though, both hesitated. Leopold couldn't utter a word to make anything different, and it seemed as if there was something on Isak's mind.

Either way, the demon shut his eye and sighed.

"From now on, Leopold, the three of us walk down different paths. I doubt they'll cross ever again. If you see me somewhere out there, we're not pals anymore." his voice echoed. "Demons never make friends."

Leopold stood still. He adjusted the chains wrapped around his belt, with his hands finally landing near the mask again.

It wasn't an urge, obviously, but the cursed mind inside him wondered if there was any benefit to trying to fight against the tide.

Maybe it dulled his reaction. After all, Isak shouldn't have meant much to him in any world.

Demons weren't supposed to be compassionate. They were supposed to kill and fulfil their purpose. Isak took those words to his heart, and Leopold hesitated for another second, before letting go.

Clenching his fist, he looked back at the demons, wondering if Shi Hon knew what was to come.

***

"I never thought it would've been you." a voice echoed through the darkness, breaking the earlier established silence.

Lisbeth stared forward, for a second, before letting go of the chains that bound him.

The caves of Cirim, otherwise, spoke of the same thing. Gloom soon turned into greener caves, since they were near an entrance, or exit, for that matter.

She didn't know, however. Maybe it was about getting deeper and deeper until the light couldn't reach, but someone else thought it was already safe enough for the three to halt.

Lisbeth turned too, letting go of a clenched fist and staring up.

A shadow met her, obscuring most of his five-meter stature. Red eyes gleamed against purples, before meeting hers which were covered in a similar blackness.

"I never thought that you'd come back for the right thing. So curious, dear Lisbeth."

"It's not about the right thing." she shook her head. "The Zimorron's gone. I don't expect anything to change in that regard."

"Of course. You hold the power now. I was weak when he did it."

"So I'm finally strong enough for you?" she picked the chain up, wrapping it around both hands.

"I believe the answer doesn't rest in my tongue anymore, dear Lisbeth. It was a peaceful conduct afterwards. You're his warrior, not mine."

"Shi Hon doesn't want to see me, but..." she tightened the clench, before pulling forward, with another step. "I know someone who'd be proud."

The demon behind her chuckled, not resisting her command. "Of course. Even though it's been years?"

"Just short enough for me to believe, because he is still out there. That's as far as he ever went for my sake. Since then, it's been me and everyone else fighting for the same thing. Leiru asked me to do this."

"To find me?"

"To find great warriors. I didn't want to look for you, Rottwan." Lisbeth huffed. "I thought the dream was shattered there and then and even glancing at you reminds me of it." she pulled harder. "It still hurts."

Another chuckle, much to her annoyance. Even though she deemed herself the strongest in this situation, and had everything under her control.

It was Rottwan who was too weak to resist being captured. It was his fault that someone she treasured passed, and left her a desperate warrior.

It was because of him, that everything spiralled.

It'd be wiser if he were already dead, but that laugh, echoing through, kept haunting her.

Not wanting to step over too many lines, she closed her eyes, waiting for it to pass.

"I get it now." Rottwan almost whispered. "It's no longer about my dynasty, but his. You long for that convenient iron fist because you're too scared to tread that path alone. Without him."

Lisbeth breathed in.

"I'm all for throwing Silver." he continued, as she turned, finding him sitting against the rocky backdrop. "Fine, toss me into the same fire if it means seeing everything unfold again. Just know, Lisbeth, a demon like me saw everything in life. I know what makes them weak and scared. Likewise, with the army." he chuckled. "I don't doubt it, though. It's thee Leiru after all." he chortled again, as the demoness let go of the chain and walked up to the other figure dragged by the same item.

The old man opened his eyes, slowly, as he met the cold, still glance of hers.

"...and I wanted to ask." Rottwan butted in the moment. "What do we do about Axel?"