Jax Travain, Prince of the Demon Court, ran through the hallways, screaming at the top of his lungs. He had seen better days. But those that saw the Prince run by them, gripped by panic, could not help but understand in a way, why he threw away his pride and dignity. He looked like he saw a ghost. He saw something that terrified him. Even strands of his pristine hair turned completely white.

But who would be stupid enough to kill a Prince?

Either way, the fact that Jax was running meant that whoever was after him was an existence that few could deal with. Therefore, they were less inclined to help. In fact, they didn't want to help at all. They left.

Back in the ruined hallway, Ain was still waiting for the Pit Fiend to recover. Senon, despite the commotion and screaming, remained in her meditative state. After all, an opportunity like this was extremely rare. One needed terrifying luck to have the chance to comprehend a Concept - especially one so close to the raw principles of Balance.

"Who is your creator," Ain asked of the Pit Fiend. His tone was icy, devoid of that polite and approachable demeanor. The human that stood over the Pit Fiend was the kind of devil not found in the Demon Realm. He was truly heartless; whatever ember of flame there was in the core of his being was dedicated only to one thing: Eternal Peace.

The demon slowly rose to his feet, and even with his limited intelligence realized that physical blows won't harm Ain. "Adjusting method," the Pit Fiend whispered as he drew his sword.

Ain flashed a cold smile. "I know you understand me," he said. "Who created you? Give me a name."

The demon approached. Ain's skin crawled - he felt a vast amount of energy flowing into the demon's body, and through his body into the sword. The sword became suffused with a dim, black light, almost like a mist glimpsed in the sunlight that shone through the broken walls. Very similar, but at the same time not similar at all, to Senon's earlier technique.

"Aes Kido," Ain uttered, pointing a finger at the demon and then flicking that finger down.

Immediately, the demon fell to his knees, the ground cracking beneath him. Nearby debris began sliding towards the demon, as if they were attracted by something there. Even the ceiling collapsed, falling on top of the kneeling demon.

It was gravity; an idea seldom understood in the Demon Realm, but well known in the Human Realm.

The sound of bones snapping filled the hallway, but the demon's expression never changed. He kept trying to stand up, despite not having the strength to resist the pull of whatever it was that pressed on him with such incredible weight. Strangely enough, the demon understood that the heaviness came from his own body.

"Cursed thing," Ain grumbled.

There was a reason Pit Fiends were forbidden knowledge. They were cheap warriors - an empty shell going through the motions of life with an artificial Origin. Creating an Origin would undeniably draw attention from the Radix, and punishment would follow. But simulating one, or modifying one, was a different matter. Pit Fiends were products of the more forgivable crime - at least as far as the Radix was concerned. Morally speaking, it was profane.

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Whoever created the Pit Fiend must be related to the military. Only they would be interested in such an abomination. In terms of strength, a Pit Fiend ranked among the Archfiends. One of them was worth a hundred Greater Demons. Perhaps more.

Ain released the Aes Kido spell. Powering a spell for Ain meant constant magical contribution. Because he could not store magic power, he had to commit a portion of his magic current, weakening his body in the process. It was dangerous to do, but he wasn't worried about a Pit Fiend.

The demon rose to his feet and rushed Ain, swinging the sword enveloped by the black energy. The sword-tip arced through the air majestically, containing within it a memory of love and adoration towards the path of the Sword. Ain understood that kind of thing. The desire to stand at the pinnacle of the world, and he knew first-hand the kind of loneliness that came with it. But he also could not forget the hope and ambition that came before that, and the sense of discovery.

One moment the demon was swinging his sword at Ain, and the next moment Ain's hand was plowed through the Demon's chest, all the way through. It happened so fast, that there was no blood even. It was a pristine, clean wound. In his hand, Ain was grasping the Demon's heart.

The sword fell out of the Demon's hand, and death was swiftly descending on it.

"Cae... Ide..."

Ain covered the Demon's mouth. "Shh. Rest," he whispered, a measure of respect for the swordsman the Demon once was.

The demon closed his eyes, a single tear streaming down his cheek.

Seeing the tear, Ain resented himself. He took away a glorious death from what was once a proud swordsman. The way of the sword was to die by the sword, not slaughtered like this - like vermin.

In his heart, Ain thought of demons as just that - vermin to be slaughtered. But even they followed such things like the path of the Sword - even they dedicated themselves to justice or villainy. It was not the righteousness that mattered - but the path itself. The sword was a cruel thing. It was a weapon, and as a path, it was as unpredictable as life. Neither fair nor concerned with such things as 'good' or 'evil'.

"I am sorry," Ain whispered, laying the demon's corpse on the ground and extracting his hand from the demon's chest. "I will avenge you. I will find who did this to you, and I will make them pay. I swear this to you."

Ain felt the demon's last vestige of soul become calm and peaceful. It flickered like a candle-light, and then disappeared.

Ain's expression changed again. He was once more heartless. The smile frozen on his lips disappeared. Ain's mind was filled with thorns. There were many things in this world he could tolerate - it was all for becoming the Calamity Lord one day, and protecting the peace - but some things he could not allow.

He could not forgive himself either, for showing such cruelty to the Pit Fiend. Back then, he did not know; it was only after he saw the sword technique and the demon's tear that he understood what the Pit Fiend desired. To be allowed to die with dignity - yet someone turned him into that barely intelligent shell.

Ain glanced at Senon, and seeing that she was still occupied with her sudden enlightenment, turned around and stepped through the broken hallway wall, into the courtyard outside.

Then he jumped.

Jax had finally managed to escape the Academy facility, and he was in the vast courtyard when a shadow flitted across the sky and landed right before him. His soul nearly left his body when he recognized who it was.

Ain landed with such force that the stone tiles beneath him cracked and exploded into tiny debris.

"Wait, pleas--"

"Aes Kido," Ain uttered, this time holding nothing back.

A magical circle appeared above Jax, and within a heartbeat, he was a red smear on the disintegrating pavement.

Several nearby demons saw this, and even they were shocked. It happened too fast for them to see the gruesome details, but even they found what happened to Jax to be beyond distasteful. They thought that the human was the real devil in this place.

Unfortunately, Ain was just getting started.

"Idona," Ain uttered calmly, his eyes glowing with a cold, pale light.