"What do you mean nuh-uh? She's the one who saved you!" Atomu's voice was weak. "Let me see for once!" he raised his voice, and Chyuuichi let out a large sigh, hesitantly grabbing onto Zuimu's body, acting like that was some big burden.

The Paladian traversed forwards, without a direction to follow, as the sounds of distant conversations were muffled, hidden behind rocks, and each time he tried reaching them, he failed. Chyuuichi suggested that he should take the lead, but, ironically, that led to even more confusion. They stepped down a few stairs, conveniently placed behind the wall with the painting, and to their surprise, the darkness seemed to consume more and more of everything from there.

Atomu now had to try and make the best of things, while Chyuuichi finally strained his eyes.

They heard some sharp noises at the end of the hall, passing by empty jail cells with open doors, leading to small and cramped rooms, filled with different materials, foods and even drinks.

Through the pile, Atomu recognized an item he'd seen on the neck of the person who hired him in Magna, a small crystal necklace. He picked it up, stuffing it into his pocket, while Chyuuichi kept walking, following the noise. The Paladian joined in too, and when they inched closer, they substantially slowed down.

Atomu extended his arm, hoping that the match's weak fire would light the prize at the end, but alas, there was no need to. It revealed itself.

Lisbeth sat on the floor, with a bloodied knife in her hand, and with the same velvet liquid dropping down to the ground. Atomu's eyes widened, and Chyuuichi opened his mouth.

Within a second, she stood up, tilted her head and reached her hand out.

"Found you," she muttered.

The two yelled out, instinctively, and even though they took both of their weapons out, they started running, throwing the match to the side, while Lisbeth chased after, at first in leaps, then back on both legs.

...and that's exactly when Bancho and Jyuzou heard their screams, and decided to turn back, even though they faced quite a similar scenario. They weren't going to leave their friends, newly found companions, behind.

Atomu crashed into the wall, unable to see, while Lisbeth grabbed his arm, and sent him flying through the formation, in a bloody gust. Chyuuichi struck her back, but she immediately moved one hand, jumped around and kicked the ceiling, sending a rock flying towards the Mirillian.

He hesitantly let go of Zuimu's body, as it slid across the ground, leaving a dark mark on the rocks, but fortunately landed far enough for Lisbeth to ignore her.

Atomu coughed blood, and his hand landed on the Knrhum's Blade. Its tip elegantly pierced through the wall, creating a wave of dirt that wounded Lisbeth's arm. Chyuuichi ran back a bit, and then sprinted towards the demon, putting Morgana up into the air with a vigorous yell.

Lisbeth screamed out, as a massive, gleaming red bloody rope appeared in her hands, connecting to both their weapons, stopping them mid-strike. With one swift kick, she kicked the wall down, separating two corridors and pushing both away.

She clenched her fist, letting go of the weapon.

She gracefully floated towards them with a chuckle, feeling a strange sense of power rushing through every bone in her body.

Lisbeth felt like this was the exact moment she could kill the enemies that caused so much trouble, to begin with. Even though that was not their vow.

"If you want war then so be it," she uttered. "I'll keep fighting and carving out my path before they do!"

Lisbeth picked up on speed again, swinging her hands back and forth. All of a sudden, though, something stopped her. Bancho threw Saxyo forward, and it stuck to the wall, creating a massive spur of water that shot out towards her face. The old Morian ran up to the weapon, and with a cough, pointed it at the demon, furrowing his eyebrows.

She brushed something off her face, stepping around for a bit, before balancing out in a snap. Her shining eye met Bancho's, and the two threw everything they had into combat.

"Ah!" Atomu stood up, touching around. "Chyuuichi?" he asked, moving his hands.

"Yes, yes, I'm here!" The Mirillian duly noted, obviously weakened. "Right h-here, Atomu!"

"Huh?" Atomu turned to the side, hearing Chyuuichi's voice from the right, but feeling someone's clothes to the left. "Who am I holding onto?"

Heavy, annoyed breathing sounded, and an arrow suddenly lit itself up, clearing the shadow that covered Rowan's face. "You're alive," they muttered.

"Hah!" Atomu smiled. "R-Rowan!"

"Wait, huh?!" Chyuuichi's voice echoed before a torch flared. Anna-Pom looked directly into Chyuuichi's eyes, sniffing something out of the air.

"Did you come to save us?" Atomu sounded. "Oh, Rowan!" he hugged them.

"No, no! Not just you, morons!" Rowan raised their voice. "Everyone!" he pushed the Paladian away, and he stumbled into Chyuuichi. In the rather wide corridor the two stood in the middle of, an army of Tributals and guards revealed itself, all holding lights in their gloved hands. Kashmir had a weak grin on his face, as he met the two's surprised gaze.

"Where is he?" Ambrosia asked, revealing themselves from behind Rowan, and clapping their hands.

"Eh." Rowan sighed.

"Who?" Atomu tilted his head.

"Bancho." Ambrosia smiled.

"We have him right here." Atomu pointed. "S-Somewhere there!"

"Shi Hon, then," Kashmir spoke, fixing his hair.

Rowan sighed. "Shi Hon this, Shi Hon that, but I think we've got a bigger obstacle standing in our way." Rowan shot the arrow into the darkness, as it slightly illuminated a silhouette revealing itself from the shadows.

Isak stood still, with a grin, breathing heavily, while clenching his fists.

Atomu gulped, blinking, and Chyuuichi got ready, grinding his teeth. Rowan spun another arrow on their hand and placed it right where it belonged, drawing the bow.

"You know what to do, don't you?" they asked.

Chyuuichi nodded, and Atomu followed after, slower.

"Then, forth, attack!" Rowan raised their voice and shot another one.

***

Bancho's and Lisbeth's battle moved into singular chambers of the corridors that laid out the path to Shi Hon's throne.

They went up and down, and much like during the fight with Leopold, Bancho kept creating watery paths that were just enough to outspeed the demon. A few scratches here and there, and more of the liquid appeared in the holes in the walls. Lisbeth crashed into a stalactite, piercing through to another room, finding herself on the ground in the grand hall leading to Shi Hon.

Her eyes immediately turned to Jyuzou, who gulped, terrified. With her fist punching the ground, she leapt forward, and the Morian ground his teeth.

Through all the thoughts that he articulated to himself, he started spinning the spear like a madman, just at the off-chance that it would work again, and he kept rotating and rotating until the wind was strong enough to slow Lisbeth down. Unsure, she started running, but whenever she got close, she kept being pushed, slightly off the edge of the ground and her sanity, but alas, the red chain appeared again, wrapping itself around Jyuzou's weapon.

At that moment, however, Bancho took a stance behind her and threw Saxyo into the air, before catching it. He raised his voice triumphantly, before striking, and although the wound on her back was shallow, it was enough to knock her out.

"Ha." Jyuzou breathed out, clenching the spear.

"Come on." Bancho, although exhausted, stuck his hand out, signalling for Jyuzou to take it. "They came."

"W-Who?" Jyuzou asked.

"Everyone." he smiled. "But it's up to us to save Morio."

Jyuzou's eyes lit up, and he reached his palm out towards his. The two ran up the few steps and into the coated darkness.

Isak vowed to fight in a larger chamber, and he successfully achieved that by smashing the walls while the others tried striking him from a distance.

Knowing that the stakes were much higher, now that he stood in front of many enemies, he opted into a defensive stance, and finally, some of them had enough. Anna-Pom started running through the dust and debris that was created and unearthed the weapon sitting on her back underneath a thick, grey cloth.

In her hands was a long, silver rope that she put toward the ground, creating an even line right across. She noticed that Isak looped after a while, so she used that opportunity to jump up above him and snatch the weapon into the air. It made a loud whip sound and crashed into Isak's leg. Beforehand, it pulled out a big wall of ground, even with small green plants on top.

"Huh?" Atomu raised his voice, shocked at the sight, and Chyuuichi was awestruck.

"I forgot, oh, I forgot!" Chyuuichi yelled out, taking the rope out from an attachment in his pants. "I can help!"

"No, idiot, stand back! You don't have your Guardian Demon on you!" Rowan pressed on his shoulder.

"This is good enough of a weapon!" The idiot didn't listen to their advice, and ran straight into combat, trying his best to help Anna-Pom. Rowan sighed, knowing that they had to carry the burden of looking out for the defenceless Mirillian, but to their surprise, oddly enough, Anna-Pom and Chyuuichi worked in strange unison, despite her rolling her eyes a few times here and there.

"Come on, stop hiding!" Isak screamed out, frustrated, before Chyuuichi's rope tangled around his body, and the Mirillian pushed him to the ground. He started waving his hands back and forth, untying himself, but buying enough time for Anna-Pom to wrap her rope around him, tightly squeezing. Plants came out from right where it hurt the most, and Rowan shot an arrow, piercing through Isak's shoulder.

***

"You'll move," Morio muttered, grinding his teeth.

"I won't move, promise, fella." Shi Hon put his hands together. "I'm right here, waiting to be wounded."

"I can't trust a word out of a demon's mouth. Never!" Morio found the courage in his heart to utter such statements.

"You trusted so many demons beforehand. That's why you're here. If it wasn't for their advice, you wouldn't be standing in front of what some would deem the strongest." Shi Hon chuckled at the idea. "Why aren't you taking this opportunity?"

"I won't let anyone lie to me any longer. I carve my own path!" he screamed out.

"I h-hope, and pray, that you'll remain the Morio you are. Happy, curious, and courageous. D-Determined to become an amazing Demonear, and someone who'll once make a grandeur atlas of this entire world." Atomu smiled. "I can lend you a torch to illuminate the path I one trod, but... the rest of the road is for you to create."

Shi Hon furrowed his eyebrows, and in a snap, the weapon disappeared from Morio's hands, landing elsewhere. He didn't have enough time to reach it, either way, as Shi Hon pushed him once more and Morio almost tumbled.

Out of the blue, Shi Hon put his hand against the wall of his chamber, and the formation behind shifted, breaking down into small bits and pieces.

***

"What did they think they'd get out of me, eh, Bancho?" Lisa asked.

"You said it already," Bancho uttered. "I'm not sure if I could've handled three of those demons. One's a problem."

"Eh, whatever. I'm sure you would. You always make it out, don't you?" Lisa bumped his shoulder with her elbow. "The hero always saves the day."

"The hero?" he raised a brow. "I could name many here."

Jyuzou turned upwards, before his eyes landed on the others, pushing through the entrance.

"Seems something is happening," she commented, turning her head.

"Must be up here!" one guard raised his voice.

***

Before Morio, a grand landscape revealed itself. A moon shone above a clear Morta, the Harm Lands were visible, and all the places they had been to seemed bright and clear, surprisingly. It stopped raining as well, and the sounds of very distant night birds chirping and standing on branches of the nearby trees echoed back to the Morian. The Yuman Swamps seemed much smaller than they once were, and the Plateaus didn't seem as dangerous. The ruins were just small dots on the map that lay before his eyes.

"It's tiny," Shi Hon muttered. "The things you've gone through were just this small." he signalled with his hand, while Morio kept breathing, in and out. "Think of how tiny you were in comparison to all of this." Shi Hon raised an eyebrow. "You won't grow, but the world will only keep getting bigger. Don't you want to stop that, Morio? Don't you want to make something of it?"

Morio's delusional sight was quickly cleared by all the foggy words that didn't seem to make sense in the grand scheme of things.

He turned to Shi Hon, immediately grabbing Victis' handle, as a small bit of lightning went through its stone blade. Shi Hon took a step back and placed a sharp nail into the back of Morio's neck.

The Morian took one final glimpse at the demon, as his eyes closed, and he hit the ground, unconscious. Shi Hon crouched, ready to take things further, sharpening his nails. However, something was amiss. Through the dense atmosphere, he heard steps, even words that seemed to get closer and closer.

One finger reached towards the silver end of the necklace, but he turned his head up, grinding his teeth.

A light revealed itself from around the corner. There it stood, to put it simply, humanity, even though not everyone there was human.

Shi Hon's eyes shrank, and theirs widened.

In the span of a second, he disappeared within a dark mist, leaving Morio's body on the ground, and everyone else, in shock.

Jyuzou took a step back, gulping.

"It's real." one of the Tributals uttered. "Shi Hon is real."

Kashmir gritted his teeth, before unsurely turning towards the others.

"S-Search for the demon!" Kashmir instructed, moving his hand around. "He can't leave Mount Aria!" and as said, a few guards started running about, still terrified.

Atomu and Chyuuichi moved in, flabbergasted.

"S-So..." Rowan uttered. "It's true." they looked at the two.

The Paladian gulped, and the Mirilian went silent.

Jyuzou squeezed through the crowd, running towards Morio.

He crouched, immediately placing his hand on his heart and feeling a weak pulse. This reminded him of the sight he had encountered at the end of the Yuman Swamps. However, this time, everyone surrounded the two, as if waiting for a miracle.

Tears rolled down his eyes, and he kept repeating his name, holding his hand. Rowan finally shook off all those thoughts that clogged their mind and immediately went in with their medicinal handbag, taking out plasters, liquids, and whatever they could find that would hopefully bring Morio back.

"Please, Morio, please!" Jyuzou uttered.

"Don't give up!"