As Astaroth grins and removes his mask he draws his sword, throwing the mask onto the ground, Qiang follows suit, drawing the dagger he was given by Fa Jin while Ezra also summons his golden chain whip. Yue attemps to activate her Vanguard but she is immediatelly impaled in the chest with the longsword

Ezra swings with his whip and with a single slash of Astaroth's sword the whip is destroyed. Qiang dashes towards Astaroth, who creates swords above his head which fly towards Qiang, making him back away in surprise upon seeing the swords dissolve into water once they hit the ground.

Qiang stares in shock, standing across from Astaroth while Ezra faces his back, "one down." He says, "honestly, defeating the strongest opponent so easily is very disapointing..." He slashes towards Qiang and water gushes out of his sword's tip in a slashing pattern. Meanwhile, Azazel is standing before Helena, his expression neutral as he stares down at her body, laying on the ground naked.

"Have you anything to say to me, father? Or do you merely come here to see me in this miserable state?" She says, taking deep breaths between words to try and calm down her pain, Azazel continues to look at her silently, "i came to say my farewell to you." He finally says, to which Helena chuckles in pain. "i hate you, so you shouldn't have visited... You gave me trauma i barely recovered from as 'training' so you can go fuck yourself..."

"It made you stronger, child, you knew escape was impossible and yet you still ran, i have to say this fate is deserved." He replies while Helena stays quiet, "and yet, my dear daughter, this is still merciful compared to what Lord Lucifer would've done..."

Astaroth's battle continues until a cut from Qiang's dagger takes Astaroth's arm, Astaroth stares at wound which had started regenerating. Once his whole arm had regenerated he chuckles, looking impressed while he speaks to Qiang, "how interesting... I can tell you're blind and yet you fight at a level higher than most other pigs with weak Manna, hwhere that possible?" Qiang laughs, "you thought i'd be easy to kill? For a Principle, you seem quite dense." Astaroth's eyes narrow slightly at that, Ezra slashes with his whip but Astaroth cuts it again with his sword.

"what an annoying duo these two are... The blond boy boy is supporting with his whip and wide range of spells while the older man's dexterity and usage of that dagger gives me too much trouble... I suppose i'll kill the kid first!" Astaroth thinks to himself and dashes towards Ezra, he swings his sword to slash him but is flies to the side. His eyes widen after standing up, seeing a tree next to him and Qiang sitting on the trunk of the tree, his dagger resting on his shoulder while he is grinning.

"Your fight is with me, brat, lets keep it that way." He laughs and stands up, dashing towards Astaroth who blocks the dagger and shatters the blade of his longsword. He jumps back and scoffs, rolling his eyes as he throws the longsword away and puts his hand forward.

"I hereby summon forth, Sword of Justice!" He says, his eyes closed while a longsword apears in his hand, the blade of the sword pale blue, the handle being a dark blue color while at the bottom of the handle having scales hanging below. Qiang stares in shock as the scales tip onto the side. "How do you like it? It's a beautiful weapon, capable of instantly killing all that is unjust."

Qiang laughs, "you think a thing like that scares me?" He dashes and immediatelly disarms Astaroth, he then immediatelly stabs Astaroth in the chest. The next second though, the sword again apears in Astaroth's hand and is now piercing Qiang's chest. He pulls the blade out and Qiang falls down to the ground, a wide smile now on the Principle's face.

"Two down."

He dashes towards Ezra, slashing down with the sword, Ezra swings his arm and Manna gathers like wind around his body, the sword of justice is blow out of Astaroth's hand while Ezra immediatelly uses a "Flatus" to blow a hole in his chest. He jumps back a second after, in his eyes burns a flame of determination, the sword returns to Astaroth's hand and his chest wound heals. He looks into Ezra's eyes which still give off an ember glow due to his Manna.

"How annoying of you... What even is Helena to you...?" Astraroth asks in annoyance, "You and your useless little friends have barely known her for a month and yet you still waste your life to help her? How pathetic!" He laughs.

Ezra grits his teeth, "so? What's your point? A month is more then enough time for friendship! Plus... She reminds of someone i used to know..." Astraroth sighs at that dashes again at Ezra who uses a spell and phases through Astaroth, leaving only a slight scratch on his arm Ezra again blows him away with a spell into a tree.

Astraroth gets up and smirks, "he can change his spell type? Thats quite a level of mastery..." He thinks to himself. Ezra then looks at his wound which confuses him, if he used phase then he wouldn't be injured? It makes zero sense for the scratch to be there! Astaroth notices his confusion and chuckles, "what, did you think that spell you used was gonna save you? You dumbass!" He holds back a laugh. "Allow me to give you a heads up, child... The sword cannot miss. Every strike, regardless of defense, shields or anything similar, will connect to the target. Furthermore, a sword designed by the judge of all that is unholy to extrerminate sin and sinner alike will have an effect, regardless of the size of the wound."

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Ezra stands confused before he immediatelly falls to the ground while screaming in pain, tears in his eyes. The pain almost as if he got his arm severed off. Astaroth walks over to Ezra with a deep chuckle, pointing his sword downwards while Ezra slowly looks up at him, "why... Do this...?" Ezra asks, his voice strained.

"Why? Allow me to ask you the same thing. Why do this for someone who you had known only for a few weeks...? Why not roll over and die already, worm?" Astaroth says with a look of disgust.

"I do this because it's right... She deserves better! She deserves to live!" Ezra yells, his had already stopped bleeding.

"Are you sure...? See, this simply shows how little you know about her and the things she had done as a Principle!" Astaroth laughs, "i'd say she has killed a lot more than me! You see, you are a mere nobody, a naive child that doesn't understand anything."

Ezra seems to look down and contemplate something, "i... I know... But she wishes to change..."

"Change? And how exactly will that happen? I don't think killing thousands is something you can attone for on a mere whim. In this world, you are either born to do good or to do evil. That's why i believe you should've rolled over and died. There is no place for villains like yourself in the new world of Lucifer's creation."

"And... How are you not evil? You kill and destroy, is that not evil...?" Ezra stands up and his eyes narrow, annoyance growing in him.

"Oh, those are insignificant lives that i, as a judge, should have the right to end." He grins as he sees Ezra's anger, "i don't care about you, or Helena, you both are sinners who's life shouldn't exist, genetic mistakes. I'm doing the world a favor by ending the lives of both of you... Helena may be my sister but she will not get special treatement."

"S- sister...?" Ezra grits his teeth, "you... Would hurt your own family, you sick fuck?!" He lunges at Astaroth, his fist and eyes glowing with Manna. Astaroth sighs as he sees Ezra rush at him and rapidly cuts Ezra across the chest in an X pattern, telling Ezra to not get in his family business before picking up his mask again and walking away.

The sun is now raised in the middle of the sky, indicating it is already noon while Fa Jin is preparing to leave to the towards the Capital alone, the family which had taken him and his siblings in along with Ezra had prepared gifts for his journey along with some supplies to help him, thanking him for his help around the house while their young daughter who looks around five or six years old gifts him a singular flower which puts a smile on his face, he didn't like the family since they were ordinary and he could tell they were weak people, but after some time in this village he enjoys his time here.

He bows slightly and thanks her, he looks out of the window to see children laughing and playing, they seem to dance leasurely. He looks away to his backpack as he packs some stuff but is interrupted by a sound of something hitting the window and crying from the little gorl next to him. He looks over at the source of the sound and see a severed arm of a child on the window, staining the glass with blood.

He tells the girl to leave before he takes his sword and runs outside only to see a pool of blood where the children were playing with only bits of meat left of the children. He grits his teeth and looks over at a roof of a house and sees a young tan girl with blonde hair and a Vanguard in the shape of a flower across her eyes as she holds the severed head of an adult man in one hand and in her other a sword made of Manna with a sinister smile on her face. Fa Jin stares at the girl, who looks to be no more that fifteen or sixteen years old, and he readies his weapon, taking note of her Vanguard.

"Realm: Endless Flower Garden." Fa Jin's realm envelops the both of them as they now stand face to face with only a few meters difference between them.

Meanwhile, Astaroth is walking down the steps to the basement where Helena is kept locked up, the theater mask still covering his face and the Sword of Justice in his hand as he steps in front of her.

"You two had a nice chat? I apologize for leaving, but i had to take care of a few... Nuisances..."

"And what would that be?" Azazel asks impatiently.

"Intruders, the boy Ezra and Yue who caused our lord Lucifer much trouble have been defeated. Now... All that remains is this rotten whore..." He says with a chuckle, looking over at Helena before raising his sword above his head.

Azazel looks at her with a grim expression, looking down with an almost sad look. Once he swings the Sword of Justice, the sword ends up blocked by Azazel's sword, to which Astaroth looks shocked and angry.

"What is the meaning of this, Azazel?!" He screams, "i take it this is treachery, no? What do you think Lord Lucifer will say when he finds out you stopped my blade?!"

"You're right... I suppose... I apologize, i let my feelings and emotions get in the way." He pulls his sword back and sheathes it while Astaroth prepares for another strike, Helena closes her eyes and prepares for the slash but the slash never comes. Upon opening her eyes again she sees Astaroth on the ground by a wall and Qiang cutting the chains that bind her legs, she looks at Yue who is pointing her bow at Azazel while he stands unfazed by the events.

Qiang brings her over to a table, putting her earrings back on and her arms start to slowly regenerate again, Qiang then holds her and comforts her as she begins to silently cry. Yue still points a bow, now alternating between pointing it at Azazel and Astaroth who is just now standing up.

"Where is the boy?!" Astaroth yells towards Yue but she simply chuckles, "oh, Ezra? Don't worry, he'll show up when the time is right."

"How the hell are even alive?!"

"Don't underestimate a healer, and always double-check your kills." She gives a sly smile.

"How amusing..." Azazel says, scratching his chin, "but don't think i can let you leave alive..."

TO BE CONTINUED...