Kaiser stood at the edge of the cliff, the sound of the crashing waterfall echoing his desperation. "Rei! Rei, where are you?!" he screamed, his voice cracking.
Suddenly, the air grew cold and heavy. A monstrous figure stepped out of the mist—a demon.
"Rei is close, right" the demon hissed, his eyes glowing with malice. "You two are connected, after all. But honestly, Kaiser, I'm much more interested in killing you than Rei."
"Who are you?" Kaiser demanded, gripping his sword.
"I am Daimao," the demon replied. "In the Great Demon Wars, you wiped out my entire fleet with just a glance. I've lived for the day I could get my revenge."
Kaiser frowned. "I've never done that. I don't even know who you are."
"Oh, you haven't done it yet," Daimao laughed. "But you will. You'll be ruthless. I'm here to stop that future."
Kaiser realized talk was useless. He dropped into a battle stance, calling upon the Saint Sword Style.
Miles away, on a high mountain peak, Ben watched the confrontation through binoculars. Beside him stood Emilia and Selene.
"We have to help him," Ben said, his brow furrowed. "Demons like that can regenerate their entire bodies just by thinking about it only holy magic can stop their regeneration powers. Kaiser can't kill him alone."
"But what can we do from this far away?" Emilia asked.
"What about the missile launcher?" Selene suggested. "Will it reach?"
"It'll reach," Ben muttered, hoisting the heavy weapon onto his shoulder. "But the targeting system is useless at this distance. I'll have to aim by feel."
Down on the cliff, the battle was brutal. Kaiser unleashed waves of fire slashes, but Daimao didn't even dodge. The flames cut into his flesh, but the wounds closed instantly. Kaiser charged, severing the demon's hand, only to watch a new one sprout in seconds.
Kaiser switched to water slashes, then followed up with a burst of lightning that left the demon paralyzed for a moment. He hacked away at Daimao's body, but it was like cutting water—the demon simply wouldn't stay down. Daimao laughed, his claws raking across Kaiser's chest injuring him gravely.
"It's over, Kaiser," Daimao sneered, looming over him. "Time to die."
Up on the peak, Ben took a deep breath. He remembered a lesson from Levi. when he was being trained by Levi a new gun had come where Rei used a laser light in the front to get everyone better view of where their attacks will land and while Ben was using it in training Levi said "Don't rely on the laser sights, Ben," Levi had told him. "Keep your gaze and your hand straight to your target. Trust your instincts."
Ben adjusted his aim slightly to the left, compensating for the wind. "There goes our last missile," he whispered.
BOOM.
The missile streaked across the sky. Kaiser saw the trail of smoke and realized what was happening. With a burst of strength, he kicked Daimao square in the chest, sending the demon stumbling back. The missile slammed into Daimao's chest and exploded.
As the smoke cleared, Kaiser saw glowing Holy krystallite at his feet a present sent by Ben. He grabbed it and jammed it into the demon's open wounds.
"No! Stop! AHHH!" Daimao screamed. The holy energy acted like a poison, stopping his regeneration and turning his body into a pillar of white flame. Within seconds, the demon was nothing but ash.
Exhausted, Kaiser raised his sword and fired a piercing beam of fire straight into the sky. It was the signal for everyone to regroup there.
Far below, Garth and Xander saw the pillar of fire. "Everyone! Piers said that if we see a fire pillar, we've lost. We have to leave now!"
They activated a massive teleportation ritual. Across the battlefield, the remaining devil holders and guardian holders began to vanish from there. Astarte, lying wounded in the forest, reached out a hand. "Master... no... don't leave me..." she sobbed, but the ritual was cold and indifferent. She was whisked away against her will.
The Royals, the Devil Holders, and the Guardian holders cheered. To them, this was a total victory. But the leaders knew better. This battle, later named the Battle of Einn Fundur, had shaken the loyalties of many and laid the groundwork for a much darker war to come.
Back in Astria, Bart, Eugene, Daina, and Ava were huddled inside a dark cave, hiding from the Paladin patrols.
"How many days are we going to stay here?" Bart groaned.
"Until those Paladins leave," Ava whispered. "Didn't you see how strong they were? We didn't stand a chance."
Daina gritted her teeth, her hand trembling on her sword hilt. "We couldn't even handle a Paladin leader. How are we supposed to kill the Fate Demon? He has thousands of demons under him." She turned to Eugene, who looked pale. "By the way, Eugene... how did you get that mark?"
"What mark?" Eugene asked irritably.
"The Mark of the Holy," Daina explained. "There are several legendary marks—sin of Pride mark, Chaos mark, the mark of the Holy etc. They have a consciousness of their own. They choose a user they think is worthy. My master said that having a mark means you are a true master of your field. It lets you draw power directly from the source instead of just using bits of it."
"I don't care," Eugene snapped. "This mark is nothing but trouble. I'm going to stop using it."
"You should at least train with it," Bart suggested.
"Why?" Eugene countered. "look if I already have an unlimited supply of the holy power and only rely on it what's the use to train the path to holiness is slow and steady one step at a time I will understand both the mark of holy and the holy magic at the same time"
As he spoke, the mark on his forehead glowed with a brilliant, golden light, as if it were nodding in agreement with his stubbornness.
"I'll never understand why the Holy Mark chose you," Ava sighed. "You're not exactly the 'ideal' saint type."
Eugene looked at her with a strange expression. "That's because 'Holy' doesn't just mean light and goodness. It always has a little bit of evil tucked inside."
Daina nodded slowly. "If you say so."
The group fell silent, waiting for the cover of night before they dared to step out of the cave and continue their journey.