Leopold shot up, and put the hammer into both, gloved hands, before closing in on Bancho, who, at that moment, caught the Julai midair. With one stroke, he moved backwards, creating a thin line of fire separating the two, and the hammer made contact in the middle. Throwing Saxyo forward, a small fountain of water was created, freezing Leopold in one place and forcing him to hang off a cliff that would soon crash down as well.

Bancho put his leg on the side and managed to gain enough speed to move towards the streams and rivers below, hopefully, able to land in a safe spot.

Leopold's eyes pulsed, and he breathed out heavily, climbing onto the hammer's handle, putting one leg in the front and then pulling the weapon out of the set restraints. He flipped, before flying atop for a few seconds, and then sliding downwards like a pendulum. Bancho turned back and saw Leopold heading straight towards him like an arrow zooming through the air.

There was no way out at this point, so the Morian braced himself, putting both hands and weapons in front of his body, taking the hit, which sent him flying into the thick stone wall, revealing a blue river, gracefully flowing inside and slowly making its way downwards. The insides were lit with shining Matten crystals, which were the same source of light used in the town of Soban in Mirillis.

Named after the person who unearthed them, the Mirillian miners discovered the stone a hundred years ago on possibly the deepest voyage into the heart and core of Errarion. Their primary objective was finding the rumoured dragons, but they stumbled upon something that would battle the evergrowing darkness of the small place they inhabited.

Leopold started falling, but reached his hand out towards the edge, barely hanging off. With one swift jump, he looked in, seeing Bancho lying on a rock on the other side of the river, with his body making unsure moves. Soon enough, he sat up, with a bleeding face and one closed eye, but that didn't deter him from teasing his enemy, even if for a little longer. Looking deep into Leopold's white, shining pupils, Bancho smiled, like the bastard he called the demon earlier.

In the face of a deadly enemy, he had the guts to beam, even chuckle for a moment. As if he was sure that he'd be the winner, even if the odds were as impossible as any plants growing in Lapida during Yule. Bancho stood up, extending his arms.

"Come, demon," Bancho said aloud. "Come and fight me." he signalled with one hand and Leopold wasn't there to just stand and take such insults. He leapt forward, sure that he'd be able to make it to the other side. However, at the moment when things were about to unfold, the rock above Bancho shifted, turning into a small pedestal that slid into the water and started swimming in its streams. Shocked, Leopold took one glance at the Wise and fell into the liquids below.

Bancho took the Julai sword out of the rock that he split in half and looked at its shining, fiery letters, in old Manjuno. "Ku chun uf ku gewon." he read out loud, before eyeing the demon.

Leopold jumped out of the water and onto another rock that carved out the deep river they flew atop, now following Bancho through the currents.

He readied the hammer, breathing in and out rhythmically, and for moments there, Bancho swore he could make out the quietest of words uttered under that mask. His eyes shrunk for a moment, but then again, he smirked.

"You were lucky." he pointed. "You found yourself in an environment where you knew you had the advantage over the strongest of Demonears. You went along and waited for that moment. But, as the old Wise saying goes, a great warrior wins a battle with one limb only. You might strike thousands of times, snap through the air and reach your prey, but it'll never change the fact that you're weaker than a fly."

Leopold clenched his fist, fixing the skull.

"A hammer, hm?" Bancho chuckled. "That's funny. I see they make demons a little bit different now. What that old fool thought of." Bancho stuffed the Julai back into its sheath. "Prove me wrong, demon."

***

"Oh, my." Atomu looked down, extending his hand. "Oh, my!" he raised his voice.

"Calm down, Atomu." Chyuuichi folded his arms.

"C-Calm down? Mr Bancho disappeared into the hole and I'm supposed to just stay calm?!" The Paladian stood up, angered, grabbing Chyuuichi's scarf.

"Mhm." Chyuuichi nodded.

"Why can't you at least act like you care?!" Atomu screamed out.

"Hmmm." Zuimu moved her hand around.

"Jeez, Atomu." Chyuuichi slapped his hand, taking a step back.

"Everything you've said or done proves otherwise!"

"Why are ya lying?"

"I'm not lying!"

"If I didn't care for ya, we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for that stupid plan of yours Mr Bancho would be standing next to us, at this moment!"

"It wasn't a stupid plan!"

"Mh!" Zuimu stood in front of the two. "Mhmmh! HMH!" she raised her voice, even though it was muffled. "Hm..."

"I'm not trying to hurt any of ya, trust me!" Chyuuichi said, and his voice echoed through the open caverns. "Atomu, what about those things ya said in the minecart? Are they there, or are ya just pretending?"

"Wh-what?" Atomu raised his head.

"That ya care for me," Chyuuichi muttered. "...and what Bancho mentioned too. I've heard them, and Zumu did as well. Are ya going to back out on that because of something that was out of our control this entire time?"

Atomu ground his teeth, closing an eye. He pushed his hand and his nails onto his forehead. The Paladian didn't say anything else, though. Neither did Chyuuichi, or Zuimu.

The Mirillian turned around, breathing in. "If so be it, let's do what Bancho said. Let's make it to Morta."

The drips of water as well as the sounds of the hidden rivers bounced around the caves and travelled into their ears, going out the other side. "We can't just leave him behind," Atomu added.

Out of the blue, something interrupted their conversation. A loud banging, coming from behind. The three turned their heads towards the noise, and it grew louder and louder, and more rhythmical each time. Voices, groans, moans and muffled sounds came from the thick rocky wall.

"Mirillians?" Chyuuichi shot up, straight as an arrow.

"I don't think they'd come here," Atomu uttered.

"Well, the first instinct ya have when hearing a loud sound is to investigate and find its source! ...and to dictate whether it's something to worry about." he continued, taking a few steps towards the thick wall.

The sounds went silent, and Chyuuichi opened his mouth, but closed his eyes, carefully listening in. "Someone's on the other side, that's for sure!"

"Mhhm?" Zuimu asked.

"N-No, they can't be. It took us quite a while to reach this place, even by other means of travel. I'm not even sure how many days have passed, and Mirillis is far away, isn't it?"

"Mhm." Zuimu nodded, at turtle speed. The two looked at each other, gulping, yet Atomu insisted on attempting to keep calm, despite everything surrounding them. "Chyuuichi," he uttered. "Step away from that wall."

"Shh!" Chyuuichi shushed him. "I think I hear a voice! Ha! Isn't that the-"

"Chyuuichi!" Atomu raised his voice, reaching his hands forward and taking a few cautious steps. "Please step away from that wall," he said through his teeth.

"Oh, what? Do ya want to hate the hospitality of our people? I'd say, ya'd be surprised that they might even be kinder than those Moria-"

Suddenly, a massive, sharp and rocky fist went through the wall, barely missing Chyuuichi's face.

The Mirillian moved back, with a strange expression on his face, while the two stood still, sweating. The fist moved back, and before they knew it, the thick wall that separated the big cavern and a dark, hollow corridor was open. When the mist cleared, an army of demons revealed itself, all with different quirks, with wings or without, sharp teeth and all spotting great, grey horns.

...and obviously, they didn't hesitate either. Seeing the three standing still, they immediately rushed to attack.

Atomu screamed out, terrified, and started running alongside the edge and towards the other opening waiting at the end of the cave. The others followed, with their weapons in their hands and seldom using their abilities to propel forward and further away from the horde.

The demons too, were loud, spitting out, screeching, howling and growling, and with their combined effort, meaning pushing one another forward, they started catching up. Some of them fell into the hole, and that's when the realization hit.

There were at least thousands.

He gulped, before raising his voice towards Chyuuichi: "I can't fight them!"

"Why not?" Chyuuichi asked.

"We fought like ten in Magna and that was already too overwhelming!" He swung his hands back and forth. "Even with Rowan's help! There's no Rowan here!"

"But they'll catch up, we need to fight!"

"We'll die! We'll die a sour death!" Atomu continued.

"Yeh, sure, Atomu! Give up and surrender if that's what ya feel like giving!" Chyuuichi put a hand on Atomu's shoulder, speeding up, ever so slightly. "Back then ya didn't hesitate!"

"I'm just honest!"

"...and think about everything that we've gone through to get here! We're special, remember?!" Chyuuichi uttered. "Don't ya forget that!" he pointed, almost jumping on his back at one point.

Once again, a familiar image flashed, deep inside Atomu's brain. He once again, felt the wounds created by Lisbeth, which still seldom bled to this day. He thought of, how he stood still, much like the now beheaded statue. A courage, that he somehow couldn't find again, as if it was just barely out of reach.

Did weakness or stupidity propel them forward?

"I saw as all those rocks avoided us as if we were demons and them, humans!" Chyuuichi walked forward, signalling with his hands. Zuimu squinted her eyes. "Us, against the cruel forces of nature, and yet, we came out victorious!"

What once Atomu considered quite the stupid notion seemed more and more reasonable with each step or leap forwards, that was less and less effective. It was such a simple mindset too, but maybe, that's why things don't seem so strange in hindsight for the Mirillian.

Atomu glanced at Chyuuichi, who, despite everything, stared towards a feeling one couldn't simply describe. It felt powerful, raw, and... simple.

Maybe they really were the special bunch.

Atomu's eyes shone, before he took a stance, readying the sword and sticking it in the ground, grinding his teeth. A shockwave travelled below, at reasonable speeds, knocking away a generous amount of demons, before it ended, right as they caught onto his schemes.

The Paladian gulped, lifting the sword out of the ground and staring right into death's eyes. His heart was pumping, but, courageous enough, he took a step forward, as if to show all those devils that he wasn't going to falter.

Chyuuichi and Zuimu stopped, surprised by the welcome change and immediately went into action.

"It's c-clear!" Atomu raised his voice, as Zuimu jumped above the Paladian and into the heat of the battle. She swiftly bounced off the ground and the surrounding pillars like a ball full of dark energy, majestically flipping around and swiping in, as well as stabbing the enemies with her three-pronged Purpur Warfare.

Chyuuichi yelled out as if nothing had ever scared him beforehand. Much like the last battle, he went back to his strategy. Accidentally lifted by Zuimu's bounce, he took the opportunity to spin around on his scythe and freeze a big open area, deterring any from coming. However, knowing it wouldn't last long, he pushed onto his weapon and blindly swung in, hoping that would be enough to work.

Atomu wasn't going to stand back and watch either. Seeing Chyuuichi's moves, he thought of doing the same, before spotting how the Mirillian slowly got lost in the never-ending horde, he backed out, breathing in, and slashed forward, saving his friend. The two worked like a niche mechanism, one pushed the other demons towards the other, but that only worked when the ice arena was still present, and it seemed to fade with each second that passed. With simple courage, they kept pushing without being afraid to take on the potential risk but were soon overwhelmed either way.