The Mausoleum of Living falls as the impact is too massive, that it makes Van and Sylvia jump off and the whole town gets wipe out. Any demons nearby becomes a collateral as Amun is floating through the air, observing if he is able to get the interveners with his massive spell.
"That massive spell can only be done three time before I'm out though." Amun thinks as the massive spell falls. Soli then put his hands overhead to block the said massive sand. Sylvia doesn't want to make this chance passby as she lunges as Van is sizing up if he can assist her. Harker attempts to get in her way, only for Van to kick and slash her out if the way. Sylvia swings her longsword with such energy that it creates a lightning crackle on the air.
As she almost connect, something blocks her blade. Soli then reconstruct the massive sand falling into a gigantic ball of glass, something that is so massive that it almost creates sunray reflection and makes more chaos through the surrounding. The glass serves like a laser reflecting light through every direction. It quickly hit Amun back. The light hits the forest near Gran and Gina.
"Tch, Stillness if the World!"
The Exorcist is forced to use his time stop ability to drag Karina and Gina out of the said forest. He drag the two into a place where they can protect themselves from the shade, to a house. "And the world goes on." Gran commands as his time continues. This surprise Gina and Karina about what happen and where are them. "I move ourselves out of the way! I have no way to dodge that laser razing the whole forest to the ground." Gran explains as Mayuri and Eugene is dragging Leon and they are able to get out of the forest as well.
The trio is able to reach the entrance of the cavern instead. They can hear the intensifying battle inside. Faffy the dragon is trying to flatten Conquer while Veronica is firing her flame spells against the Skeletal Herald. Rinko is quick to use her shield to try bashing the opponent and trying to trip Blaze. Her strength makes it for Blaze to stop on its track from moving.
"Infernal Embrace!!!" Veronica casts her most powerful spell, only for Conquer to jump out as he prepares to slice out Veronica. Faffy then open its mouth and unleash a quick fire breath, a lethal fireball that will take Trismegistus a 5 layers of barrier spell to block with. Conquer fill his double edged sword with Mana and he slice through the fire instead. He lands near the pink haired mage, as he attempts to slice her up. Rinko then dashes and bash Conquer towards Faffy, who intercepts this as he spins to hit the skeleton with its tail, sending him to the ceiling.
"What a combo! Infernal Embrace!!" Veronica remarks as she aims her staff at the ceiling imprinted Conquer and her flame spell connects, making him fall while scorching. Blaze then uses its full speed to ram himself to Faffy and tries to turn and hit Rinko, only for her to generate Mana through her shield to defend herself. "Fireball!" Veronica shouts as four spell circle appears to shoot from her behind. It flies through Blaze, and Veronica thought that it connects and hit.
"Does it got the horse?" Veronica ask but she sees Rinko pushed out and tumbling out of the way. "Rinko!!" Veronica shouts out as she points at Faffy, who is looking to where the fiery steed may go. It doesn't know that Blaze is already at his back, unleashing something from its forehead.
Veronica then turns and sees the Herald's steed and it fires a blue flame to the crimson dragon. Faffy then scream in pain as Veronica tries to shoot Icicle Bolt to her pet dragon as it whimpers in pain. "You'll pay for that!!" Veronica shouts as Rinko jumps into the fray while Conquer is shaking his head in disappointment. "What's this? Why am I being driven into a corner by a bunch of weak humans?!"
The skeletal Herald then calls his sword into his right hand. He then puts the sword upward, creating a tornado of Mana that surrounds him.
"This shall imprint the power a Herald of the Demon King holds!" Conquer screams out as his steed is blown away by the combined efforts of Rinko and Veronica, whom the dragon is seeing what Conquer is doing. It roars loudly that it tries to match the power that the Herald is trying to unleash, but it feels a power that he can't comprehend.
The crimson dragon then crawls back. Veronica and Rinko are now looking at Conquer while he is now turning his blade into his right side.
"This is how the power of the Demon King is truly marvelous! I shall cut this world... Finishing Move." Conquer says this in a low, unassuming voice. His blade sears with sheer force as he swings his blade horizontally. Rinko grabs Veronica's head and they duck the attack. With one swing, the whole cavern, nay the whole upper top of the said hising place of the Sacred Beast, is destroyed in an instant. The damage is comparable to what Gran did when he destroy the mines, but this is much cleaner than that.
Faffy is able to fly out of the way that time. Conquer is able to hit Blaze instead, who's body slides out and the horse then falls to the ground. "What?! You killed your own pet! That's cruel of you!!" Veronica screams out as Rinko stands back to prepare for the fight again.
"Whatever reason for you to harm your horse is not for us to complain." Rinko says as she involuntarily answers her comrades statement. "But I will not let you harm anyone else!" A resolute statement of courage from Rinko. Unknown to everyone there, Conquer have planned this moment. "Foolishness Humans, Foolishness..." The Skeletal Herald declares as his sword becomes filled with dark aura and blue flames.
"Blaze's role isn't to survive, his role is to serve me. He serve me well, and this is the time to show you how powerful I am!!" The Skeletal Herald exclaims as several Ice Bolts fly through the air and tries to hit him. The spell melts before it hit Conquer. "Tch, I need more powerful spell then!!" A voice says as Veronica and Rinko turns. Mayuri and Eugene have join the battle.
The red dragon descends as the group is prepared to take one the lone demon deep nestling deep in the cavern. Mayuri holds her blades as Veronica and Eugene stand side by side as they prepares their signature spells, Ice spell and Fire spell. Rinko stands guard as she lifts her shield. Conquer then raises his sword and put it in a overhead position. The Skeletal Herald then steps deep into the ground, and with a thunderous flash he starts the battle anew.
Conquer lunges at the mages, but Rinko blocks as she push him back. The skeleton jumps out, swerve to her left and attempts to slice the mages. Eugene is quick to shoot his Ice Bolt, but Conquer tilt his body to the left, and Mayuri position herself to slice his head off. The skeleton then grab her hand and drag him inward his range. Then he headbutts her so hard that it send her to the walls of the cavern.
Veronica fires her spell, Infernal Embrace. Such powerful spell being fired at close range almost hit everyone, but Eugene manage to cast an Ice Barrier to protect himeslf and Rinko. Conquer tanks the spell strike as he raise his sword and slashes both of the mages, only for Rinko to stand between the two and take the hit. Her shield is able to block the said strike, but the shield's end bent our of shape and Conquer swings his sword two more times.
"What force!!" Rinko complains as she plants her feet firmly to continuesly block the attack even if her shield deforms. The two mages then goes from Rinko's side as they shoot a barrage of spell to Conquer and it hits him. The dust fills the Herald as that particular spot is filled with steam and debris.
"Naive!!" The three looks around as Conquer almost slice Veronica in half, but the crimson dragon Faffy fires a controlled fireball to hit and send Conquer into the cavern walls. Mayuri then jumps out and proceed to do her lethal move.
"Finishing Move!!"
As soon as she lands, she unleashes a flurry of slashes, stabs and slices through the Skeletal Herald's whole body. Conquer attempts to defend himself, only for his hand to detach and his sword fly off. Mayuri ends the combo attacks with an axe kick, creating a crater so great that it sends her flying back to her allies. "I bet that skeleton feel that one." Mayuri smirks as she says to her friends.
"Yes you're right. I feel a great tickle and annoyance!!" Conquer then stands up and put his bony hands on the ground. He then lifts a slab of earth, then throws it at the group. The group opt to evade it instead of blocking or staying there. As soon as one of them separate, Conquer lunges with his sword to take them down. The first one to move separately from the crowd is Eugene, whom the moment he steps out of distnace from Mayuri and others are taken out of commission by the skeleton with a blinding two slashes.
"What the... He didn't even holding his... Weapon..." Eugene mutters as he is thrown by Conquer into the cavern ceiling as it stabs his torso with a stalagmite formation there. "Eugene!!!" Mayuri screams out for her student as she lunges back at Conquer, only for him to catch her in the throat and slam her to the ground. It make her spit some blood because of pressure, and the skeleton throws her to the shield maiden.
As soon as Rinko catches her, the skeleton then gut punch Veronica. He follows with a hook kick that send her reeling to Faffy outside. Conquer then finish the assault with Rinko being spike down when Conquer jumps over her. It is a double hit as it also hits Mayuri as well. Faffy doesn't let this go unanswered as he fires five powerful fireballs, only for Conquer to telekenetically calls his sword back on his hand and slice them all cleanly.
"Too much stupidity..." Conquer utters as he unleashes a left diagonal downward slash theough the air, but the wicked force and Mana sent to the dragon is as powerful as it makes Faffy concentrate on blocking its attack using his wings. The force is so great that it makes the dragon drop Veronica and it sent him back to the forest. Veronica then struggles to wake up and get back on her feet, feeling weak but she needs to stand still.
"You bastard... What did you do to Faffy?!!!" The pink haired mage ask as she points her finger out to cast a spell. Conquer shakes his head in disappointment. "You foolish girl." The arrogant skeleton express as he lunges to battle once again.
Meanwhile...
"Your highness do we need to mobilize all of the Holy Knights in the city? Are you sure leaving the defense with the hands of the adventurers are wise?" Princess Lucy's male servant ask as she receive a summon from her father the King. "We don't have any way to avert this crisis unless we put force! I need for Father to understand what's at stake here." The Princess answers in a resolute voice. She opens the door to the throne room herself as she can't believe that her Father is acting like a King all of a sudden.
"Lucy, mobilizing troops to march into the Eastern Border are outrageous! What are you thinking?" King Roan ask while Queen Victa is just sitting beside him, trying to understand the situation to be able to contribute. "Our enemies will be able to learn how many forces that we currently have if we deploy the Holy Knights all at once there." The King add as the Princess, who is kneeling, decides to address this once and for all.
"Your highness, if losing that border to our enemies are worst than having the demonic invasion on your kingdom, I can't even find the words to convince you then. The world is falling, the appearance of the so called Heralds are no joke and we still need to supply them for it!" The princess, who's never been showing her emotions as much as she wants to be, are now expressing so much in order to make her point go across.
"Dear, aren't we at fault as well about this? We consume each time for ourselves but this kingdom may come to an end if we're not active enough to participate in it." Queen Victa intervenes. A much needed intervention indeed.
"Guess you're right my love. We need to handle things from here." The King recognizes his own negligence on the matter, and he looks tenderly to his daughter. "I apologize my daughter. I dump all of this work to you." The King drops the king act as he acknowledges and apologizes to his daughter.
"It's fine Father, as long as you act, nothing is too late." The princess reply as the King commands to make the guest room as the Command Center.
Meanwhile...
In the midst of the erased Vulcana Sylvia and somebody are having a contest of strength with each other. The Holy Knight Captain remembers this strength as she fought with him before. As she lay gaze upon who protected Soli, she couldn't believe her eyes as she wants to drop her longsword entirely. "Lenny!"
The Vice Captain of the Holy Knights, the reconstructed Lenny, is standing in front of her, alive but not reacting to her call. She calls him again, but Van grabs her as she's not seeing that her ex suitor just raises his axe to chop her down. Van then fills his ebony blade with Mana, and the singe of power rises through it. In just moments, he swings his sword towards Soli, which made Sylvia scream out.
"Lenny! Van what are you doing?! Lenny's here!!" Sylvia desperately calls out to the Sword Saint, who knows better as he can see that it isn't Lenny they are seeing, they are seeing husk of a man being violated by Soli's twisted sense of beauty. "Sylvia!! Get a grip of yourself! That's not the man you've come to love!" Van calls out to his friend that is now delusional, thinking her lover is back.
"Lenny! It's me Sylvia! Don't you remember?" The Holy Knight Captain regresses while Soli is smiling as he finally shatter the gigantic ball of glass that he is holding. The debris of the said glass shattering hits Harker while Van the Sword Saint starts to attack Soli instead. He swings his sword diagonally and horizontally against the otherworldly monster, only for Soli to wave his hand to unleash Deconstruction.
Van, even though he can't see the power that Soli releases, instinctively raises his Mana and creates a magical barrier. It manages to block the Deconstruction for a moment, only for the Barrier to disappear and prompts him to jump out of there. Van then shifts his focus with Sylvia, who's longsword drop and tries to approach Lenny, who is now raising his axe in a standstill. He is witnessing this and he is starting to believe that Lenny might come to his senses.
"Don't you believe in the power of love? I can see a very beautiful reunion happening right in my eyes." Soli monologues out as he is pointing his fingers to his knight puppet, but he then drops his hand, commanding the knight to drop his axe to his lover.
"Finishing Move!"
A familiar voice from afar shouts as a searing heat of a spear hits Lenny's chest. The Vice Captain falls as Sylvia screams out and cries. "No no no no not again! Lenny!! LENNY!!" Sylvia screams her heart out as Soli just shrugs it off and the Sword Saint uses his superior speed to try cutting Soli off, only for him to slice his right arm off. "You'll pay for toying with everyone's feelings here! The people! Sylvia! Anyone you have trampled here!" The Sword Saint declares as Soli gestures for Harker to now play.
"Heh, vengeance... Such ugly expression you are showing to me. Get out of my sight." The monster declares as Gina stands to protrect her friend and rival. "Hey you okay?" The Valkyrie leader ask as Sylvia continues to grief.
"Why did you do that? Why do you kill him?" Sylvia ask as she rises from her agony and grabs her rival by the collar. "Why did you kill him! He is there, alive!" Sylvia ask right on Gina's face. She pushes her friend back and points her spear at her. "He's already been dead! He is being controlled by the same man who killed him in the first place. The monster is posing to kill you on your delusional stunt earlier." Gina explains as she withdraws her spear.
"I have no words that I can use to console you now. Just know that we are in the middle of a battlefield, and we need warriors here, not bleeding hearts." Gina coldly added in order to drive home how badly they need to focus on finishing the enemy first.
In the midst of the falling glass at the moment, the last shards are falling soon. The Sword Saint is standing on the opposite end and he is near Sylvia and Gina. But on the other side, a familiar face are quickly recognize by the monster, someone he is very familiar with. The last shard falls, and the cracking noise of the shard that is step on can be heard.
"Long time no see..." Soli says to the man, a man who feels hatred down to his bones, but he is calmly breathing to his nose as he is staring down while being flooded by memories back on his world.
"I really hope that I would never see you again monster." Gran retorts as he approach his target with a heavy step and heavy emotions visibly filling the air. Gina and Van can feel the palpable intensity in the air. They want to help Gran in anyway that they can do, but the atmosphere between the two is too choking.
"What is this pressure? Are they doing this? Unbelievable!" Van quietly thinks as he remarks that the two is possibly distorting their vision right now.
"Hey! Gran! You can win this!" Gina, even though she can't raise her legs or her foot to stand beside her lover, tries to cheer him on. This make Gran smile, and he points at them.
"They are the reason why I fight. Even in an asymmetrical relationships it can be beautiful too." Gran says as he takes his stance to fight.
"Pfft, what a joke. I'll show you the flaws and mistake you are willing ti commit right now!" Soli answers as he also takes his stance.
Meanwhile...
In the midst of being blown by Conquer's attack, Faffy wakes up again and he flaps his wings to return to his master's side. Right now Mayuri is trying to fight Conquer while she is focusing on dodging and parrying his strikes. While this engagement is happening, Rinko and Eugene are now trying to recover and stand back at their feet. Rinko cast a spell on herself, making her plant her feet on the ground and let out a deafning scream.
"War Cry!!" A spell that making an opponent shift their attention to her. Conquer is able to ignore this completely, but Rinko is able to recover thanks to the effect of the spell as well.
"That's a brilliant move! War Cry is usually a suicidal move if you done it with mindless monsters, with somebody like him it will only annoy him and let you gain some energy back from doing it." Eugene remarks as he starts tearing up the torn off left sleeve of his shirt. He then points his staff at Conquer and mutters.
"Finishing Move!!"
As soon as Eugene declares that, Mayuri jumps away from the attacking Conquer and the Skeletal Herald's feet, and later his whole body, become frozen in ice. Veronica then added a cherry on top when she fires at the pointy ceiling of the cavern and fire her fire spells there in order to make it drop towards the Herald. This move hit his skull.
"Not enough!! Finishing Move!!"
And Mayuri follows this up with her flurry of dagger attacks, by which Conquer have tank with and he frees himself from the icy bondage with brute force. While he tries to advance, Eugene cast another ice spell to hold him in place again.
"Tch, I just hope this works!" The sage's apprentice hopes for as he intensifies his ice spell to bind the Herald just take it to the next level.
"Say, you like this?" - Eugene