"Thank you," Laura said as she dug deeper into Sebastian's chest. Then she looked up and her eyes met his.

"Thank you, Sebastian, thank you for being there for me. But I can't risk losing you anymore," Laura said. Her eyes were still wet. Lines of tears that trickled down her cheeks shone in the pale moon light. "This must not go on," she said.

Sebastian wondered what she was talking about. What knowledge followed his revival was a thousand times worse than what caused his destruction. The truth behind her existence had terrified him. It put him in a kind of daze; his mind had become numb.

But not numb enough that he'd miss a scream.

"What was that?" Laura asked, her eyes colouring with fright.

"Pamela!"Sebastian said and saw her face turn even paler.

They didn't need to exchange another word. Soon they were running along the long stretch of the lake, ignoring the tiny stones cutting in their feet. It hurt him to see crimson glitter in moonlight as Laura made her way through the treacherous terrain. Her breaths were shallow, her steps painful but a strange determination lingered in her glassy eyes.

There was another scream and Sebastian was certain Pamela was in serious trouble. She wouldn't scream. And she wouldn't scream twice if she was attacked by a lowly demon.

They quickly left the well established track that led to the cavern and decided to rush through a risky short cut.

"We shouldn't have left Pamela alone," he whispered as the slope grew steeper and the mouth of the cavern rose in his vision.

It was hard to make out what path would bring them down the terrain toward the cavern; moonlight wasn't enough. They'd no time to search for another route. Neither could they just jump in the darkness. One wrong step and they'd fall right in the Scorched Vales, a fall that'd shatter them into a billion pieces.

There was another scream, and Sebastian gave up searching for another track and decided to jump into the darkness.

Fortunately he landed on a rock, slippery, yes, but safe. A thud made him look here and there frantically.

"Laura, stop!" He said when he noticed Laura following another path; one that ran parallel to his but far more dangerous than his. 

"Laura!" He shouted, but she wouldn't even look in his direction. There was something odd about her.

He called out to her one more time, hoping she'd respect his desire of her staying out of whatever mess Pamela was in now. But Laura paid no attention to him.

Without caring whether Laura's path would lead him to death, Sebastian decided to follow it. He couldn't just let her slip in the infinite darkness. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her, or Pamela.

"Lau-"

Before he could yell he heard a snap and Laura disappeared, the cavern vanished and he found himself stranded in an ocean of darkness.

Then, in less than a second, there was another snap and he was back in the troublesome reality, struggling hard not to slip over the rocks.

He paused for a moment, wondering what just happened. However he didn't have luxury of time.

"Laura, stop!" He shouted one last time when he saw Laura at the mouth of the cavern.

Sebastian hurried after her. The difficult part of this short cut had ended and he could speed up.

When he got to the cavern, he pulled out a soulblade from a belt which was attached to his hip. Then he finally entered the cavern, and what he saw surprised him beyond imagination.

Pamela was pressed against the wall of the cavern with eyes full of confusion and mouth wide open. Laura stood beside Pamela, her face developing similar expressions. And before them stood Aunt Jane, who looked as frightened as Sebastian now was.

Sebastian lost his grip and the blade fell in the water. Aunt Jane stood before him, but it wasn't his Aunt Jane. Something was different. Her eyes were different. Black they were, as black as those of the demons.

"Please don't hurt me," she said and stepped away from the trio. She seemed as terrified as anyone else in the cavern.

"Give me your name, demon," Laura said.

"Please don't hurt me," Aunt Jane said again. Sebastian noticed it wasn't just her eyes that was different, but also her voice. The once slightly raspy but soft voice of his aunt had now grown further hoarse.

"Wait," Sebastian yelled when he saw Laura advancing on his aunt.

"She's possessed, Sebastian. A demon lurks inside her, so she must be destroyed." Laura said.

"Laura!" Sebastian said. He was surprised to hear her say something so insensitive. Was this his Laura? Or Anahita?

"I'm sorry, Sebastian. I know we are talking about your aunt here. But nothing should cloud a hunter's judgement," she said. But she did stop.

"Please let me go. Please... " Aunt Jane said. Tears began to slide down her sunken cheeks.

World was strange but never had he seen a demon cry. What was going on?

"I swear I'm not like others. I've never hurt anyone ever. Please let me go," she said.

"Laura, do it," Pamela whispered as soon as she got her cool back.

"No!" Sebastian said as he put his arm in front of Laura, thereby preventing her from approaching his aunt. "I will not let you hurt Aunt Jane," he said with clenched teeth.

"I've never hurt anyone, please Anahita, don't hurt me," she whispered.

"How do you know her real name?" Pamela confronted her.

"I'm...it doesn't matter. Please let me go," she said.

"You've possessed my aunt and you think I'll just let you walk away. Who sent you? And what's your purpose here?" Sebastian said.

"This is no time for FAQ, Seb. If there's a demon here, others must be around. We must get out of here," Pamela said but Sebastian ignored her.

He kept glaring at his aunt with eyes so angry and scary.

Aunt Jane closed her eyes. Red mist began to swirl through her mouth. The mist thickened, but suddenly all of it collapsed.

"Strange," Pamela whispered in Sebastian's ears. "She's crying, she doesn't know how to fight neither can she do that weird demon teleport thing."

"Sebastian, please let me go. I'll help you evade Alzaknos' forces in return," she said.

Sebastian laughed. "This is the funniest deal I've ever heard. How can a scared little demon help me fight Alzaknos?"

"I'm his daughter," she said meekly.

As soon as Sebastian heard of her identity, he quickly took a defensive stance. Something white shimmered around Laura's hands while Pamela backed away by two steps.

"No, I'm his daughter, but I'm not on his side. Please just listen me out," she said.

"And why should we?" Laura said.

"Because I wield the power to seal away the Angel's Moon once and for all," she said.

"And how will that help us? " Pamela said.

"Long story short, Anahita is the key to release the Devil's Moon," Sebastian said and saw Pamela's eyes widening with disbelief and a sense of betrayal.

"You knew that and you didn't tell me?Brutus!" She said.

"And why would you help us?" Laura said.

"I promised Aunt Jane that I'd," she looked at Sebastian in the eyes. "She helped me a lot, and now it's my turn to repay her kindness."

"Shut the fuck up, whoever you are. First thing, my aunt would never help the likes of you. And second thing, I know you're not Pellucia. She never came to Behemut's Castle," Sebastian said.

"The woman you met wasn't me, I'm well aware. She's some witch my fiance fell for, and he betrayed me. She's the reason I'm trapped in Aunt Jane's body and all my efforts to escape prove useless," she said.

"A witch?" Laura said.

"Oh God, I can't believe you guys are actually listening to a demon. Have you forgotten the basic principle? Demons lie!" Pamela said.

"I know it's hard to believe but I am telling the truth," Pellucia said. She extended her hand toward Sebastian as if it was some kind of proof. "I don't know what this symbol is. But it's the only thing that's keeping me bound to this vessel. It's witchcraft we demons know nothing about," she said.

Pamela, after having a short conflict of thoughts, decided to see the mark more closely. She'd no reason to put trust in the words of a demon. But she couldn't ignore such an interesting claim. Witches binding demons? World was getting interesting.

"Oh my God," Pamela said when she studied the mark, "I know this mark. She isn't lying," she said.

"Wow," Sebastian said. "But why were you trapped in Aunt Jane's body? Why not some other vessel?" He said.

"I...I don't know," she said.

"She's hiding something. I can tell," Pamela said.

"Here's your chance. You come clean to us and we let you go. Otherwise we'll exorcise you and believe me, I'll use the worst kind of exorcism known to us," Sebastian said.

"I don't know anything. Maybe it was my fiance's idea, or the witch's. Or maybe..." she said.

"Pamela, start the exorcism," Sebastian said as he pulled out his locket.

"No, please! I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything," she said, sobbing.

"I was kept in the Dungeons of Gebrollah for months. Delroy tortured me day and night. And so did his new girlfriend. My father had no clue at first, or so I believed. As it turned out, he was also behind all this. I had always been a lesser demon. I never caused harm to anyone and maybe that ashamed him. That's why he put me in this cleansing process where I'd first be beaten and then I'd be made to hurt others,

"At first I avoided this. But the punishments grew and everything became unbearable. It was then I decided to follow my father's twisted wills and succumbed to sin. After a month or so, I came across your aunt," she sobbed.

"At first I began hurting her like usual. But Aunt Jane didn't fight back. Soon it became too unbearable for my heart. If someone hurts you, it's easy to hurt back. But if someone forgives you, hurting that person hurts you the most. I couldn't hurt her anymore and we sort of became friendly. Strange things happen when you share a prison cell at the Dungeons of Gebrollah," she said.

"But the witch found out about our strengthening affection and she approached Alzaknos. He trapped me in her body and made me an offer," she paused.

"He said if I succeed in tricking you and bringing you to the Awakening where Devil's Moon is prophesied to rise, he'd emancipate me and never cause me any trouble," she looked below, wondering what would happen now.

"So that's why you're here," Sebastian laughed. He'd never met such a dumb person who would so foolishly let out a plan.

"No. I obviously couldn't trust Alzaknos. He is my father. But he is also a king of demons. The only reason I said yes was because of Aunt Jane. She said it's the only way to escape. She said you'd help me and Pamela would know how to reverse this seal," she looked at her.

"Sorry, but I don't. This is a very complex spell and though I know how to cast that spell, reversing it is way beyond my expertise," she said, "that and I'd be foolish to believe what a demon princess says."

"Pamela, can you attach me to Aunt Jane's psyche?" Sebastian said.

"It's difficult but not impossible. But why?" She said. "To verify whether she's telling the truth? Come on, Sebastian, you're better than this. A venator believes a demon? The world is ending."

"There's no need of that," Pellucia said.

She closed her eyes. And opened them again.

"Aunt Jane?" Sebastian hugged her so tightly. He was so glad that the black of her eyes was gone and he could now see the same old tired and gentle eyes he'd seen his whole life.

"Trust her, son. It's the only way out," Aunt Jane whispered.

And then she was gone. Her eyes turned black again.

"Let me talk to her!" Sebastian yelled at her.

"She's weak. Besides, there's no time. If the prophecy is true, Anahita will soon assume full control and once she blossoms to her totality, no one can quench her desire of vengeance and she'd rise Devil's Moon. And their dance of wrath will be apocalyptic," she said.

"Quick. Do as I say-" she said.

"I don't know about you, Sebastian. But I don't believe her, not for a second," Laura said.

"Laura, Aunt Jane said herself that it's okay to trust her. I mean, yeah, it's insane to trust a demon. But well, strange circumstances demand strange solutions," Pamela said.

"Pamela, quick, she's about to rise. I can feel it. Bind her using this spell!" Pellucia said while pointing at her palm where the pentagram and few other runic symbols were etched.

"I guess it's too late for that," Laura said.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, none could see anything. Innumerable streams of white light radiated from her eyes. Along the walls and through the water, everywhere the light went. Her hair turned so bright that they no longer looked like hair. Like lightning they began to flutter and zap.

"Take me to the Awakening, Pellucia. Or let my wrath obliterate your foul existence," said Anahita.