The hidden gate under the altar opens wide, and shortly after, a man emerges from the hidden room that used to hold the barrier’s core.

That man is Origen, the Black Paladin.

He is still the same imposing black man as he has always been, with that very same huge stature and his dreadful holy shield by his side, but now his iron armor is soaked in dried blood, not to mention the lack of his right arm - a parting gift from Bjarni, or so Akuma heard from Lapidoth’s words. Akum is no fool, he never thinks losing an arm would hinder Origen’s ability to devastating everything that dare to challenge him. But now, his faith in an invincible Origen has been shaken.

In Akuma’s memory, Origen was a man in his prime, probably in his forties and still full of strength. The Origen before him however is hardly a man in his prime, there are wrinkles on his face, and his black beard has already turned white like an old man in his sixties. There are barely any life left in his brown eyes. He struggles just to stand on his feet, it’s already a miracle that he managed to drag himself out of the hidden room beneath the altar. Akuma is shocked when the man who almost killed him has been degraded into a husk of his former self. Rather than hours, the man before him looks like he just spent years inside that hidden room.

‘Just what in the world…’

-Ettore…is that you, young lad…?

The man speaks. He continues to drag himself out of the hidden entrance, without even recognizing the one standing before him is not the soldier working under his wings, who pledged his life for him to complete their duty.

-I’m sorry…my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be…I can only see a blur figure in front of me. If it’s you…please…tell me you are there…

Slowly, the man walks out of the altar, painfully moving away in search for his soldier.

-I thought…you’ll be happy…knowing you completed the duty I gave you…I’m here…Ettore, you protected me…you did it…young lad! We’ll win this war…and return back home…you’ll be able to start chasing skirts…and drinking booze…and have a kid or two…Isn’t that something to look forward to?

Origen just stands there, monologuing, before his soldier’s killer, with his soldier’s blood dyed his face and clothes in red, while his soldier’s corpse lies lifelessly on the ground with a wound in his throat, and he doesn’t know it, unless Akuma says something to break this charade, to make this easier for both Origen and himself.

-Ettore is dead.

Origen halts his track the moment Akuma’s words reach his ears.

-I killed him.

-This voice…who are…you?

Akuma didn’t talk much during their brief encounter earlier. Hard to find a mood for talking when Akuma was busy fending for his life.

-My name is Akuma. The kid you failed to kill.

-You are…the young man from that time…the one saved by Bjarni…his student…But how? Those wounds…

-I got better. I don’t know how, but I got better…

Even now, Akuma still can’t believe how fast he recovered from that mortal wound.

-So…Bjarni saved you for a reason…I killed him…and now, you killed my soldier…and came for me…Such is the cycle of war and conflict…

Origen resumes his steps. Slowly, Origen walks toward Akuma while he continues to speak in the tone of a dead man.

-Neverending…and inescapable…

Akuma looks disturbed. This is too painful for him to endure anymore. He can’t bear to watch the former prideful paladin staying like this any longer. The young man readies his black handgun and points it at Origen’s head.

-Is that…your weapon I see…young man? Such a wonderful weapon…if we had them, maybe…winning the war…won’t be such an impossible dream…

-My reinforcement are coming, I don’t know what they will do to you when they arrive. The very least I can offer you is the same mercy you offered me.

The man halts once again.

-Mercy…?

-I will make it quick and painless. So please…

Suddenly, Origen starts laughing. His voice is that of a dying man, without any life left in his body, but it’s still a laugh nonetheless. It’s weak, barely making it out of the room, but it’s haunting like the cries of a raven. A dead man’s laugh. A lamentation from a victim of himself and his duty.

-I’m sorry…

As Akuma in the middle of speaking, suddenly…Origen rushes into his place, with his shield readies on his remaining hand, and as quick as lightning, he rams it down the place the young man is standing.

BRRUMP!

If not for his drug is still in effect, his reaction won’t be fast enough to dodge the sudden strike from Origen, and Akuma is glad that he did. The attack leaves a small crater on the floor, just from Origen’s attack with his shield alone. It’s unbelievable to think this is made by the strength of a half-dead man knocking on death’s door.

-My life…isn’t yours to take…young man!

At this very moment, Akuma knows the fight already begua, and it’s solely his fault to think Origen can be brought down so easily.

-Not to you demons…

BANG!BANG!

Akuma fires his black gun as he moves away through the pews in search for a cover. Two shots, enough as a warning shots. His ammo are too scarce for him to thoughtlessly fire away. Though, if Origen still has the same strength in their previous fight, no amount of ammo can stop this man from finishing the job he started.

CLANG!CLANG!

The half-dead man effortlessly blocks Akuma’s bullets with his trusty shield, and activates its blade mode at the very same time. Even with only one arm, Origen is still a far more deadly enemy than anyone Akuma has ever faced. Maybe this is a good time for him to feel regret.

-Only the humans can take this life away from me!

The man charges forward, and focuses strength into his arm. With a powerful swing, he blows away the wooden pews standing between him and Akuma. One of the pew hits Akuma’s arm and pushes him to the ground. Kardia’s cloak protected him from the pew, but when he falls down, his body reminds him the kick he took earlier from Ettore hasn’t healed yet.

-Damn it…!

Despite the pain, Akuma forces himself to stand up once again, lest he falls prey to Origen’s shield. The stone pillar is just nearby, Akuma drags himself behind it for a cover, away from Origen’s slow but powerful onslaught. His enemy is strong, but whatever damage he took back in the hidden room is still present and is hindering his feet. He may not move very well, but when the time to attack arrives, he unleashes everything he has in one stroke, with the strength to shatter rocks and men. Such a formidable opponent.

-Ettore...Gust...my soldiers...they didn’t pay their life for me to fall this easy...I will return...and face the punishment for my sins...I cannot die here! I won’t allow it! Ugroaahhh!!!

Origen suddenly roars like a dying beast. Despite being safe and sound behind a sturdy stone pillar, Akuma can’t help but feel a chill down his spine, as if this little safe haven isn’t as safe as he thinks it is. From a little peek outside, Akuma sees Origen approaching, slowly, but he makes no movement to try and catch Akuma behind the pillar. Instead, he readies his shield, preparing himself to do something Akuma can never imagine that he would do it.

BRRUMP!

With a single swing from his shield, Origen crushes the bottom part of the stone pillar, smashing them into bits by bits. Akuma luckily awares of Origen’s plan, and swiftly takes flight away before he gets hit by the stones, but the young alchemist does not emerge unscathed. A few small debris hit the young man, some get blocked by his cloak, but one manages to luckily hit his temple. A piece of rock, not too big, but with its flying speed it isn’t any different than a non-lethal bullet. Akuma once again falls down to the ground with his temple bleeding. His head is dizzy like it’s spinning inside, but he still knows better than to stop here and allow Origen to finish what he started.

-Araghhh!

Akuma shouts. He stands up and fires his gun at Origen like a madman. Perhaps not the sanest move, since Origen blocks all of them easily with his shield until his black gun has no ammo left, but someone with a wound in his head can hardly make a sane plan at a moment’s notice.

Suddenly, the ceiling starts to crumble. Losing its foothold, the ceiling can no longer support the weight of the damaged pillar. The pillar begins to fall out, and will make a huge mess when it does.

‘This is my chance!’

Akuma swiftly puts away his emptied black handgun and takes out one of his pipe bombs. Right when the stone pillar falls down, before it makes contact with the ground, Akuma throws his pipe bomb at Origen’s feet and quickly runs away.

BRRUMP!

The remaining of the pillar crashes. It doesn’t break away into pieces, but it does create a fog made of dust and stone bits from the impact. The fog blurs away all sight of the opposite, but quickly after, Akuma can hear the sound of his pipe bomb going off.

BOOM!

Akuma doesn’t think that small bomb can do the job, but if it works and Origen doesn’t notice the bomb he dropped prior to the pillar’s fall then maybe he can still stand a chance in direct combat against the Paladin.

But, in a very unexpected way, or maybe it is expected considering the kind of opponent he’s facing, Origen flies through the fog, with his shield somehow is guarding his back instead of his front. But from just one brief look, Akuma understands everything.

Origen used the power of the blast in conjunction with the protection from shield as a momentum to propel himself through the crashed pillar and the fog. And when the man notices the shadow of Akuma behind the fog, he switches stance and strikes his shield down at his enemy.

-Argghhh!

The shield’s blade edges make a deep cut on Akuma’s right arm. Not deep enough to make him become a one-armed man like his enemy, but it’s still a serious wound that will hinder his battle efforts. The blood from his arm keeps flowing out and wet the floor in red as he distances himself from the dreadful Paladin. With his left arm, Akuma uses his white handgun to shoot at Origen and keeps him distracted.

-Your explosive toy won’t work twice, young man...My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, but my ears can still pick up the sound of it rolling at my feet…

One by one, Akuma’s bullets once again bounce off Origen’s shield, but at the very least, he has already went to a safe range away from Origen. But if it continues like this, Akuma will never be able to win this fight. Maybe his reinforcement will eventually come, but Akuma afraid he might already be a dead man by the time they finally arrive.

-Give it up, young man...you cannot defeat me…

Akuma breathes heavily. The bleeding continues to drain his strength away. Origen’s surprise attack sure did a number on him, if he attacked his body instead of just his right arm, then Akuma is already a goner.

‘Wait a minute…’

Something doesn’t feel right, Akuma thinks. Origen could have killed him right then, his surprise attack was the perfect chance to finish him off, yet...he went for his arm instead…

‘That’s it…!’

-Origen, prepare yourself. My counterattack starts now!

He still has some cards left to play. Before Origen has a chance to do something, Akuma brings out the smoke bombs inside his cloak. He activates and throw them all across the room. Soon, the chapel is quickly filled with a veil made from dust fog and black smoke. Akuma quickly disappears from sight when his alchemical smoke kicks in.

Origen continues to stand by in the midst of the fog. Staying passive isn’t really the brightest battle plan, but Origen knows his young enemy won't make a scene like this without something in mind. The best plan Origen can think of is to wait and witness, but not without vigilance.

BANG!BANG!BANG!

The shots fire through the smoke, which get blocked by Origen’s shield from his own reflex. Not only that, the half-dead paladin can pin-point the exact location of the one firing the bullets, based solely on feeling the direction of the bullets touching his shield and the sound of his weapon firing off. Origen has fought Akuma long enough to know when his gun fires off, someone will die, but not Origen. If Akuma keeps relying on his guns alone, he’ll never able to defeat the Black Paladin.

When he finishes mapping Akuma’s position in the smoke, Origen rushes at his side and swings his shield down. As if expecting this from the start, the young man hiding behind the smokes dodges away when Origen’s shield makes another mini crater on the stone floor.

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BRRUMP!

Before Origen regains his stance and makes a second attack, Akuma swiftly flees away into the smoke once again without making a fuss. Certainly this isn't something Origen expected.

-So this is your counterattack, huh!? Hiding away and attacking behind the smoke like a coward? You’re shaming your teacher’s death, you know!? How about you start fighting like a real man!?

Origen shouts, which is replied with silence. He guesses even that brash young man isn't foolish enough to reply to such an obvious taunt and reveal his location. This makes their battle back to square one, a game of cat and mouse chasing each other.

-I won't miss next time…

Origen continues to stare into the fog, which is useless considering his damaged eyesight. Maybe it would be better if Origen fends off the fog, but the damage he took inside the hidden room is starting to hinder him again. He lacks the power for anything but separating his young enemy into half, and he needs to make it quick, before his own timer runs out.

The next attack will be the last, either for him, or for Akuma.

BANG!BANG!BANG!

Another bullets barrage. The experience earlier makes Origen reacts faster. He charges forward with his shield on, blocking all the incoming bullets without stopping his track. When he arrives at the site, Origen swings his shield with all his might before Akuma can have a chance to dodge and escape. The attack to end everything.

CLANK

...only for it to hit an empty stone wall, with his enemy nowhere in sight.

-What…?

On the wall are magic circles, empty circles that served their purpose, which a non-alchemist like Origen can't tell from their design. But those aren’t Origen’s concern, the magic circle he’s stepping on with a box inside is what he should be worry about.

BOOM!

The box turns out to be a bomb, not the pitiful type Origen encountered earlier, it's something strong enough to destroy a huge cauldron made from thick iron, and Origen gets caught at point-blank of the blast, without him being able to react fast enough to defend himself. The blast sends Origen flying away along with a portion of the smoke.

When he lands, Origen can do nothing but groan in pain. It’s a miracle he isn’t blown to bits, but the miracle ends there. The bomb burns Origen’s front body into a crisp, but it does nothing to stop his bleeding from the burn. Origen’s body trembles from the shock and pain. Yet...he continues to struggle despite everything. With willpower alone, he commands his body to stands on their knees, but that's already his limit. Origen can barely feel anything, even the shield on his remaining arm. He can do nothing but be at Akuma’s mercy, who’s standing behind his back with his white handgun in hand.

Akuma’s trick for his victory wasn’t something very special, just a good use of whatever he has left in disposal, and Origen’s own physical status. The man is half-blind and half-dead, so he mostly relies on sound to execute most of his actions, which is why he stays rather passive for most of the fight. When he missed his sudden attack from the fog, Akuma knew he could exploit this with his own smoke bombs. The first barrage of bullets was solely for distraction, to lure Origen at a place he knew his enemy wouldn’t move away until he continued to attack, and to give Origen a false lead that this counterattack of his wasn’t different from a standard hit-and-run tactic.

That led to the next step of his plan, the trap. Akuma knew Origen would know the location he was shooting from. By making use of the spare bullets left when he changed the magazine of his black handgun before the fight with Origen, using some Image Magic to attach them on the wall and fire them away when activated, Akuma lured Origen into the location of his main trap, the RG bomb. With a magic circle that detonates the bomb when being stepped on, the rest was simple enough. And Akuma’s plan worked, all thanks to his wounded right arm, which is still as painful as ever.

Akuma points his white handgun behind Origen’s bald head. With Origen on his knees, this looks a lot like an execution site. He’s too wounded to retaliate back in any form. ‘Willpower alone can’t make up for the lack of strength’, Origen once said something like that to his young enemy, only to find how ironic it is for their role to be reversed.

-So I lost…

Says Origen as he awaits his inevitable death. At least Akuma’s gun will make it quick for him.

-Kill me…young man…you won…But my death…won’t stop the inevitable fall of the demons…

The barrier has already been destroyed. Origen’s death will change nothing. Even so, the young man cannot simply let him be.

-The humans will come…Our heroes will come…Soon…they will put an end to this…meaningless war…once and for all…And I will watch everything unfold…in the nether realm of 「Ardahat」…I shall await you there, brave young man…

BANG!

Akuma fires his gun, the bullet goes straight through Origen’s head, killing him instantly. His dead body falls to the ground, no longer moving. Origen is dead, killed by Akuma.

-Let them come. We’ll be ready.

Akuma walks away after putting his white handgun back inside his cloak. Seems like reinforcement won’t be necessary, considering Akuma finished the job by himself. That being said, despite killing the one that needed to be killed the most, Akuma’s feeling is mixed. He wonders is it because he killed a half-dead man on the brink of death? Or is it because of Origen’s last words? The barrier has been destroyed, just like what Origen planned. He may not live to see the result, but Akuma’s afraid what Origen said will spell doom for all the demons.

‘Well, no matter. Origen’s gone. I’ll deal with everything else later.’

After he assures himself of his own victory, Akuma starts to walk away, thinking about what should he do next and who should he blame for the lack of reinforcement, completely unaware of Origen’s dead corpse rising from the ground and charging at him as if the dead paladin has never died in the first place.

“Ackk!”

The corpse catches Akuma by surprise. It grabs his neck with its sole remaining arm and slams him into the nearest wall. His cloak protects him from the impact, but that doesn’t cover his neck which is being strangled by the living corpse.

There is no life in Origen’s closed eyes, and neither is any voice or sound to make his corpse sounds alive. His corpse just stands up and strangles him like an act of vengeance beyond the grave. Maybe Akuma knows why…

Origen’s shield, the paladin’s deadly weapon. Despite being a mere shield, it’s no longer there, rather, it has somehow morphed itself into some sort of wicked gauntlet, with steel tentacles attaching into the corpse’s remaining arm like a parasite, controlling this dead corpse as its meat puppet to avenge its master.

-Damn…it…!

Akuma takes out his white handgun and emptied every single bullets he has left into the parasitic gauntlet, yet none of his bullets can get it off nor stopping the corpse from taking him to the grave following Origen’s turn. The lack of breath starts to blur his vision. Akuma’s strength disappears, and his own death soon approaching.

But someone saves him.

Akuma doesn’t know who, nor how they appeared, but he is saved. With a swing from a glaive, his savior lops off the arm strangling him as easy as cutting a piece of butter. As the arm falls to the ground, that person kicks the corpse out of the way, it responses by doing nothing and returns to being a mere corpse, free from the manipulations of the wicked holy shield.

“You…are…”

As light returns to his eyes, Akuma looks at the appearance of his savior from behind their back. Grey wizard robes, a big hat, waist-length long grey hair, and a magic staff with a red orb conjuring a magic blade that Akuma mistakes for a glaive. This person is probably his own headmaster, Nilrem Erramun. But why is she here? Akuma asks himself.

“Everytime trouble arises, it’s always because of ‘his’ toys…”

The person supposedly to be Nilrem walks toward the lopped arm and slams the parasitic gauntlet with the wooden end of their staff. When being attacked, the gauntlet’s tentacles start retreating back to its core and reassemble themselves into the same holy shield belonged to Origen earlier, as if that nightmarish parasite is just simply an illusion.

“Just what…is that thing?”

Akuma coughs and breathes back some more air. At the same time, that person returns to his side for a talk, and her appearance surprises him.

That person is Nilrem alright, but the Nilrem he knows was an old woman who looks like in her thirties, but was probably older than that. But the Nilrem before him…is a young girl, maybe even younger than him, and cute as well. Even so, the wickedness of a witch still resides in her wicked smile as she realizes his sudden attraction to this new vessel of hers.

“Nilrem…? You’re Nilrem, right…?”

“Yes, I am. Don’t act so surprised. You can flirt with me later, I’ll allow it if you have the heart for it.”

Akuma sighs. Somehow, Nilrem is even more annoying to him as a young girl rather than as an old lady.

“Why are you here…?”

Akuma asks.

“Your reinforcement, of course. If I didn’t come to save your sorry ass, you would have joined the ranks of the dead with your latest achievement by now. Congrats on your victory by the way, Mr.Akuma. You killed the dreaded Origen.”

Despite being praised, Akuma can’t feel happy nor proud after what he went through from the start of this war. But Nilrem doesn’t care about that. The woman, or girl, extends her hand to offer a help for Akuma to stand up, considering he’s still sitting on the ground and brooding.

“But the victory feast must wait, Mr.Akuma. I’m afraid the worst is yet to come.”

---------------------------

「Forest Outskirt – Dawn」

At the humans’ summoning site, most of their summoners are already dead from soul energy exhaustion, only the chief summoner remains to maintain their summoning formation. The ritual is almost done, and can be released right this instance, but he needs to keep the ritual in check before the signal arrives. The signal that announces the destruction of Melas’s barrier.

-He did it! General Origen did it!

A scout soldier quickly arrives at the site on horseback, bringing the news everyone in this place want to hear.

-He destroyed the barrier’s core! Now their protective barrier is gone!

All the guarding soldiers look at the sole remaining summoner, awaiting an order from the one in charge.

-Good…your job here is done, soldiers. I’ll take it over from here by myself...

Suddenly, all the remaining soldiers salute the summoner, before their leader opens his mouth.

-History will brand us as traitors and rebels, but your sacrifices here…we will never forget them.

-Heh…right…I leave everything to you, then…

The remaining summoner replies, his voice grows weaker and weaker.

-All men, charge forward to Melas castle battleground! That castle is now ours to take!

All the remaining men obey, and soon, they flee from the site, leaving only the chief summoner behind.

-I’ll leave everything to you…General Origen…it has been…an honor…

The last of his power disappears along with his life force, and the chief summoner joins his fallen fellow brethren. At that very moment, the summoning circle stops glowing…

BOOM!

And from the earth, something gigantic emerges. It continues to grow, and grow, until its huge body blocks away the light of the morning sun. It is humanoid in shape and face, but its body is completely made from wood, only with tree leaves on its face as its mighty beard. Its total height is taller than eighty meters. A being from another dimension, with the power to change the tides of war in a single morning and leaves behind forests upon forests after its wake.

The ancient [Archtree Ent], Origen’s army last trump card.

From afar, a small army of demons arrive while riding the fearsome wargs, all of them witness the emergence of the giant Ent, and it fills them with fear and anxiety.

"I hope we are not too late. The central army of the Demon Realm! We will not let Melas castle fall today! Charge!"