Arthur enveloped himself in his aura, fortifying his muscles and igniting a flame of courage within his heart. With each stride he took, his speed increased until he reached the edge of the tunnel. Without hesitating, he leaped from the stone ground and gritted his teeth as he pointed his spear directly at Javic. Yet from the darkness, a figure emerged, charging out from the shadows with its decaying cloak fluttering in the wind. Its charred exoskeleton blended into the chamber as it directed its bone-blade limbs at Arthur.

The violent clash in midair sent radiant and dark energy in all directions. Arthur's grip on his spear tightened as it slammed into the cloaked demon's blade. Embers danced as the weapons deflected off each other, sending both bodies to the side of the chamber. Arthur glanced behind him as he rolled off the wooden platform. His foot pressed against the stone walls in vast strides as he dashed towards Javic. At the same time, the cloaked demon met Arthur's gaze and released a blood-curding battle cry. It dug into the rigid stone walls with its bone-blade limbs and frantically charged at him. Arthur braced himself as they relentlessly collided with each other, causing dust and sparks to erupt from their exchange.

"Why does this always happen!" Welt cried out as he leaped on a nearby platform.

"I'm telling you, he gets these bad habits from Paul! They just don't fucking think!" Mark shouted as he landed beside Welt. The loud creaking sound that echoed from the dry wood caused the platform to shake. In a frantic voice, Mark cried out, "Don't fucking jump! Only two per platform!"

Without arguing, Paul and Cain immediately vaulted to a platform further away. The wooden platform shook beneath their weight, but they spared no time as they watched Raphael and Claire dangle behind Javic and swiftly began closing the distance. Javic's eyes darted around the chamber as they examined each individual. An intrigued look surfaced as it stared at Tucker, who stood still with one arm extended and another pulled back as if drawing a bow. The air slightly shifted as Javic tilted its head to the side, narrowly dodging the invisible arrow.

Tucker clicked his tongue before pulling his mask over his mouth and nose. Stepping back into the shadows of the chamber, he erased his presence while concealing himself from Javic.

A delighted hum escaped Javic's lips while they admired Tucker's technique. It was something that they had not witnessed in an eternity as several more invisible arrows pummeled against their demonic aura that shrouded the tunnel's entrance. With the sound of footsteps drawing closer, Javic's gaze shifted to Paul and Cain, who were leaping across the scaffolding around the edge of the chamber.

Once Javic was in front of Paul, he drove his spear precisely at Javic's chest but felt an unknown force cancel his divinity halfway through the motion as his iron spear passed through the barrier. The blade halted as Javic caught it between their fingertips. With a swift flick of their wrist, Paul was propelled backward towards Cain, who adeptly caught him just before he stumbled off the platform's edge. From the side, Welt held his staff before him as a single magic circle formed. Mana gathered within, and soon, a giant icicle hurled towards Javic. In an instant, it collided with the black aura barrier, drawing Javic's attention.

"A mere third circle dares to stop me?" Javic asked as annoyance grew in their voice.

With a wave of their hand, ten black magic circles formed in the air as the words echoed through the chamber, each with three outer layers. The first layer slowly spun, using the duration as a timer to gather the nearby mana. The second was set ablaze as flames emerged from the ring and approached the circle's center. Finally, the last ring had twelve smaller circles representing each cast for the spell. The color drained from Welt's face as his jaw dropped. A total of one hundred and twenty fireballs were fired one after another, sending a barrage of flames in all directions.

"Take cover!" Welt held his staff in front of him and quickly formed a translucent blue barrier before him and Mark.

Paul and Cain exchanged a quick glance at each other as the barrage of fireballs hurled towards them. They both nodded in agreement as they leaped from one platform to another, narrowly evading the onslaught that came after them.

Arthur observed the other guards skillfully dodge the incoming fireballs before shifting his gaze to the cloaked demon. In the corner of his eyes, Tucker was laying low at a platform several meters above them. Carefully disrupting the most dangerous fireballs that came toward the other guards. Meanwhile, Arthur found himself locked in a contest of brute strength as his spear pushed down against both of the cloaked demon's blades. The wooden platform quaked violently beneath them as Arthur and the cloaked demon fiercely attempted to push each other off, trying to seize the foothold for themselves.

Gritting his teeth, Arthur glared at the cloaked demon's gouged-out right eye and slowly moved his dagger from the left side of his waist with his aura. Arthur laid out his options as the dagger slid out from the scabbard. It was pointless to pierce the demon's body as its aura formed a thick protective barrier. So, with the brief time he had, an opening needed to be created. The wooden boards creaked once more as their weight shifted back and forth, and with it, a smile appeared on Arthur's face.

The dagger flew behind Arthur, concealing itself as it sliced through the scaffolding beneath the platform. Bending his knees, Arthur fell back as he hit the wooden planks. With every ounce of strength in his body, he flung the demon over his shoulders and kicked its chest with both legs, sending it crashing into the stone wall as it clawed at the surface in a desperate attempt to save itself from falling.

But before it could wedge itself between the cracks of the wall, a spear covered in flames flew from the side and impaled the demon's stomach at full force. Screams of agony leaked out of the demon as it fell several meters from the air and slammed into the ground. Leaving a sizable crater where it landed.

Arthur turned to the direction where the spear came from and saw Mark waving at him.

"Leave that piece of shit to us!" Mark yelled while glancing at the demon below. Without uttering another word, Arthur nodded in response and focused solely on Javic as he landed on a nearby platform.

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From the bottom of the chamber, the demon could be heard viciously screaming as it attempted to ascend to the top with the other cultists. Its body erupted in flames as it desperately tried to devour the inferno with its aura. But it was pointless against Mark's flames as the unique property from his aura fulfilled its role. Unlike normal flames, the fire created by Mark's aura couldn't be extinguished until he either ran out of aura or the demon broke line of sight. It wasn't common knowledge and a closely held secret only Mark knew.

"That piece of shit is persistent," Mark said while drawing his sword.

"Yeah, we'll need to buy time as they deal with the leader." Welt drank another mana potion and felt his head split from the effects of mana withdrawal.

"Nah, you rest. Let me handle this fucker," Mark calmly said while rolling both his shoulders. "Just support me if I look like I'm losing."

"No, wait-"

Before Welt could utter another word, Mark leaped off the edge of the platform, hurtling towards the cloaked demon who was scaling the scaffolding. Seizing the moment, Mark drop-kicked the demon's skull in midair and sent it tumbling off the support beams to the ground below. As Mark fell, he drove his flaming sword into the stone wall to slow his descent, leaving Welt flabbergasted.

Arthur watched Mark chase after the demon but didn't have the luxury of worrying once his gaze met Javic's. Nearly all the platforms on their level were damaged by the barrage of fireballs that rained down from Javic's attack. At this point, the only ones who could physically reach Javic were Paul, Cain, and Arthur.

As their gazes met, Arthur pointed to himself and then at Javic. They all tightly held onto their weapons and glared at Javic, who openly welcomed them. The silver dagger that floated in the air surged forth like a comet and struck Javic's barrier with a resounding impact. Its metal body spun in the air as it bounced off the surface, and once it was behind the three guards. A blinding light emitted from its blade as its aura vanished, temporarily obstructing Javic's vision.

A thrilling grin emerged from Javic as their vision slowly recovered from the dissipating light, but as they opened their eyes, Paul, Cain, and Arthur were all in front of them. Their weapons created various arcs in the air as they clashed against the barrier, each striking from a different angle to find a gap within Javic's defense. A mixture of viridescent, golden, and silver light that shined like a beacon in the darkest night pierced through the veil with unwavering determination and resolve.

It was all for this moment as the barrier shattered into tiny fragments. Their weapons cut through the open space as they thrust their spears towards Javic's bare body, but before they could land a decisive blow, numerous white arms with slash wounds appeared out of Javic's shadow and held on to their weapons. Their desperate attempt to free their weapons was meaningless before the fierce grips that restrained them.

Refusing to let go of this opportunity, Arthur extended his hand behind him as his aura reached out and grabbed the falling dagger. He swung his fist towards Javic's neck as the dagger instantly crossed the empty air with swift momentum. Right as one of the demonic arms was about to intercept the dagger, Cain grabbed hold of it, stopping it from moving any further as the blade pierced Javic's throat.

Seeing blood trickle from Javic's throat was a worthy feat, but the three of them knew it wasn't enough. In a final attempt to end the demon's life, Paul clenched his golden fist and drove it into the hilt of the dagger. Sending the complete blade through the other side of Javic's neck as their eyes rolled backward. A mouthful of blood spewed out like an endless fountain as Javic's body violently convulsed. The hands that latched onto their weapons were severed as the shadow they emerged from retracted. After a few seconds, Javic's body was motionless.

"Marvelous." The word that came from Javic's bloodfilled mouth sent shivers down Arthur's spine. Javic's eyes rolled back into place as all three disengaged with conflicted expressions. With one hand, it pulled out the dagger that was lodged into its throat and threw it on the ground as the metallic sound echoed through the tunnel.

Cain's eyes widened in shock. "Damn, are you serious?"

"It's never that easy," Paul bitterly replied.

Arthur steadily regained his composure as his anger subsided. His frustration was there, but blindly charging in was a mistake that had no place in team coordination.

"Do we have any new ideas?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe if we stab it enough, it'll leave us alone," Cain jokingly answered.

"For a high demon that we can't banish with divinity, I don't believe so." Paul observed the wound that remained in Javic's throat and said, "We'll have to render it unable to fight."

Cain glanced at the stitch marks around Javic's neck and asked, "Decapitation?"

"Decapitation," Paul replied. He then looked at Arthur and said, "Lead the way."

Arthur nodded and took a deep breath. The crumbling wooden platform beneath him was the least of his worries. It took roughly ten seconds for tiny black threads to wiggle through Javic's flesh and sew the wound on their neck closed. So they had to somehow keep Javic's limbs separated for that amount of time.

Javic stared in amusement at the current generation of denizens who lived in the Transient Plane. Their lives were short, but the emotions of the guards before them were vibrant. A desire to witness more emerged from Javic, but they could feel the restraints of the contract tugging at their soul. The cultists from below knew Javic had acquired the necessary sacrifices and demanded them to be delivered to the altar. They were simply annoyances unworthy of Javic's attention, just like the mage, but Javic was bound by the world's laws to obey their contract.

Javic glared at the cultist who had manipulated its soul with discontent. Even though it wanted to see more, it couldn't do much against the laws of the world. With a single step forward, Cain, Paul, and Arthur lunged at Javic, who descended to the bottom of the chamber.

Tucker frowned while aiming at Javic's falling figure. The demon had been aware of his presence the entire time and left no openings. When there was finally a chance for him to strike, Javic used the children's bodies as shields, rendering him useless. He could only leave the rest to the other guards as he repositioned himself to another vantage point.

The air brushed against their skin as they fell to the bottom of the chamber. Their spirits ignited and burned with a passion that remained firm against the tide of despair. Bright aura colors collided with the darkness as the entire chamber echoed their battle. Their backs were drenched in sweat as each strike was filled with determination, while the sound in their surroundings was drowned out by the beating of their hearts.

As Javic landed on the ground, their bare feet pressing against the cold stone floors. Paul, Arthur, and Cain drove their spears at Javic in midair, sending tremors throughout the area as they tore through the veil of darkness once more. But before Arthur could pull Raphael and Claire out of Javic's control, their bodies were flung toward the altar. With a delighted smile, Javic released a burst of aura against Paul and Cain that propelled them away before leaning into Arthur's spear and allowing it to pierce their chest. Their gazes met, and in that moment, the world faded to black.