I watched as Dad tried to knee-kick Hyosetsu in the stomach, only to get slammed in the chest by a sphere of energy.

I turned to look at Takuya and noticed that a brown aura reminiscent of Second Heaven engulfed his left hand. Somehow, he managed to activate the form for his hand alone.

Grace jumped in and released several vines lined with metal. Dad squirmed as they grabbed his arms, legs, and abdomen. "

"Nice job," Hyosetsu said as he slid his swords into their white sheaths. Wisps of white fog covered his hands as he cupped them, gathering ice mana between them.

I turned away. Did we need to go to these lengths to stop Dad? Hopefully, Ximena and Nori could arrive soon. Or Grace and the priestesses here could free him. However, I didn't have high hopes for them doing so. Xeleria as a whole didn't have the experience with demons that Zionia did.

"Frigid Gale!" Hyosetsu yelled, unleashing a blast of cold air on Dad. Ice encased the metallic vines and encroached on his arms and legs. He let out a roar, shattering the ice, including that on the vines.

Grace covered her ears. "Make him stop!" she yelled as Dad continued to screech.

I raised my drones, which laid on the ground mentally, and fired a couple of weak beams at his lower jaw, closing his mouth.

Before he could open his mouth, I knee kicked to his back, knocking him down. "Sorry, Dad." I grabbed his arms and pulled back, holding them together as if I were arresting him. White crystals appeared from the tips of my fingers and encased his wrists. That was the closest I could get to handcuffs.

"Woah, where did you learn to fight like that?" Takuya asked.

I smiled. "Ocarina taught me." I wanted to polish my martial art skills. I didn't ever want to find myself low on mana or became unable to use my angel weapon like on the night of the ball.

"Seems she's a good teacher," Hyosetsu said.

"Yeah, she is." I glanced at Grace. "Mind tying him up again? I'm not sure if my crystals will be enough. This time, his jaw too."

"Will do," Grace said, running over. Vines emerged from her fingertips as soon as she laid hands on Dad's wrists.

Hyosetsu walked over to Dad and placed a hand over his mouth, covering it in a thick layer of ice. "There, hopefully, that'll take care of the screeching."

Takuya smiled. "I'm glad that he wasn't as hard to take down as I thought."

"Are demon possessions usually more severe than this?" I asked, walking toward him. The closest thing I knew of was Dan's case, but he hadn't transformed into an actual demon. While Suzuki did turn into one, she wasn't possessed but corrupted.

"Yeah, usually a person's physical strength increases greatly instead of diminishes like in this case. Then again, Mammon seems to be controlling him from a distance."

I rubbed my chin. "But where could she be? If we can find her, we can free him."

Takuya lowered his eyes. "It's not always that easy. Most often than not, a curse is placed on a person."

"Is it like a marking?" Hyosetsu asked.

Takuya bit his lip. "Sometimes it is. But not always. It depends on the demon. Those who place a physical sign enjoy marking their territory, while those who don't tend to like pulling one's strings from the shadows. A demonic symbol often allows one to control a victim from a farther reach. But most often than not, they let them roam free in their chaotic state. They find it more fun."

"Sadistic bastards," Grace said under her breath. She covered her mouth as soon as she noticed us staring. "I mean, cruel creatures."

Takuya laughed. "No need to hold back on them. They are a bunch of connivin' bastards."

Dad shook around like a serpent. His muscles twitched, and the ice on his face shattered.

"Get back!" Hyosetsu yelled.

I jumped back and drew my drones in front of me, forming an energy barrier.

Dad rose and let out a louder screech than before.

"Ugh, I'm going to end up deaf from this," Grace said, covering her ears and shaking her head.

If only I could cancel out noise like Roa.

"Dad!" I yelled, inching closer to him.

"Don't get closer!" Hyosetsu yelled.

Takuya activated his Second Heaven aura again and fired spheres at Dad, knocking him back. As Takuya did that, Hyosetsu swung his sword, unleashing a blizzard across the room, covering the floor and even the walls in powder snow.

"What was that?" Grace asked, pulling her feet free from the two feet of snow Hyosetsu dumped over us.

I smiled. "It's to absorb some of the sound!"

Hyosetsu smiled. "Surprised that you figured that out quickly."

I pouted. "Stop treating me like an idiot! I read as many books as you do."

"Yeah, but most of your catalog are romance books."

Grace leered at us. "Alright, you two. Save the flirting for later. We got a possessed man to tie up."

"W-we weren't flirting!" I yelled.

Hyosetsu didn't say a thing. Instead, he approached my dad. He seemed to have calmed down after receiving that last attack from Takuya.

"Can't you free him, Grace?" Hyosetsu asked.

Grace stepped closer. "I am not familiar with this, but I'll try." She put her left hand over her right and held them toward Dad. A green glow radiated from them, covering my dad. She gritted her teeth. "Something seems to be pulling on my prana."

"Break the spell!" Takuya yelled.

Grace stepped back, but her hands were still glowing. Her energy was rapidly pouring out.

Takuya held his aura arm up and swung it down on Grace's prana, cutting the spell.

"Are you okay?" Hyosetsu asked.

Grace panted. "Yes, but what was that? Since when could demons pull in sacred energy?"

"Normally, they can't," Takuya said. He stepped forward. "Then again, the one who turned him like this is an Archdemon. Their techniques are greater and more insidious than those of lesser demons."

I held my drones toward Dad and began draining the energy he pulled.

"Hey, be careful! You might absorb the curse!" Takuya yelled.

"I need to save him! If I can tire him out, I might be able to stop him."

Dad sat up suddenly and fired dark spheres at each of my drones, knocking them into the snow-covered floor. Black bat-like wings sprouted from his back.

"He's quiet now. I don't like that," Hyosetsu said.

Grace stepped back. "Me neither."

Nor did I. This felt like the quiet before the storm. Not to mention, he just used an energy-based attack. Dad's connection to mana had been severed until now. Wait, it wasn't mana he used, but Grace's prana. Did Mammon have that skill? Or did Dad develop it independently upon becoming a demon?

Dad moved his head left and right before vanishing.

"Where did he go?" Grace asked, looking around her.

I gasped as Dad knocked the drones behind. He grasped my neck with his right arm and began choking me.

"Let go!" I yelled, grabbing his arm. I pulled it off, lifted him into the air, and slammed him into the snow. For good or worse, the white powder broke his fall.

"Are you okay?" Takuya asked as he pounced on Dad and held him down.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, rubbing my neck. He didn't do as much damage as he should've, even with his decreased strength. It was as if he had held back.

I smiled. Dad, are you fighting back?

As if answering me, Dad grabbed his head and started to convulse.

"Is he having a seizure?" Grace asked, horrified.

"Dad!" I yelled as he shook his head. Foam rose from his mouth. "Dad!" Was Mammon getting rid of him? Demon disposing of their 'puppets' after they'd failed their purpose was common.

"Hey, King Osamu!" Hyosetsu said, grabbing Dad.

Grace knelt down and placed a hand over his chest. "Calm down, sir!"

I grabbed my dad's right hand, which had reverted to normal. "Dad. Please hang on! We're going to save you!"

https://youtu.be/VaukH3XtNZA

I found myself amid a great void. It resembled the outer parts of Munil. I walked and walked, but it felt as if I were trekking in place.

Occasionally, I would hear Rosa's voice. I'd even heard Setsuko cry out for me. I called back to them, but they didn't appear to listen to me.

I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest. Shadows covered them. Even though it didn't seem very inviting, the darkness was the only thing keeping me from going crazy in here.

How long had it been out there? Was I even alive anymore? For all I knew, this was my punishment. I did always push other people away.

I raised a hand to my face and laughed. "Seems that I got what I deserve."

"That's right," a voice called out. It belonged to Mammon.

I turned around and saw the cloaked figure standing behind me.

"You! What are you doing here?" I asked, jumping to my feet.

She laughed. "Weren't you just contemplating whether this was your punishment? If this is hell, then, of course, I would be here."

I bit my lip. So, this was really Cianio, huh? It was a lot different than I had expected.

"Don't listen to her!" a voice shouted out.

I gasped as beams of purple light shot out of the void. Mammon jumped back and glared. "So, the dead decide to intervene."

I looked over my shoulder and saw an old face.

"Sofia!"

"Look at you," she said, glaring at me. "What were you doing, sulking? That's unlike you!"

I lowered my head. "S-Sofia!" I averted my gaze. "I'm sorry, Sofia. I failed to protect the kingdom and our daughters. Our little girl even got taken advantage of by Takeshi's youngest son."

"I don't think Tetsuya did that. I'm pretty sure it was Eiichi," another familiar voice said.

"Eiji!" I said, eyes wide. I collapsed to my knees. "I'm sorry. You died because of me."

"Get up, Osamu," another voice called out. I glanced up and saw my brother-in-law walking over to me. He held his hand out to me. "You need to get out of this void."

"Void? This isn't Cianio?"

Mammon laughed. "I can see that you're almost as gullible as your youngest once you've dropped your guard."

I spun around and glared at her. "Seems that I am. But I won't drop it anymore! Now, get out of here!"

"If I do, you'll die. Like you were thinking, the shadows around you are the only things keeping you alive.

"He doesn't need them!" a fourth voice yelled. My eyes widened as I saw Takeshi join the other three.

"That's right. Osamu has us!" Sofia said, running toward Mammon. She delivered a kick against Mammon's abdomen, freezing it.

"Nice ice kick, Sis!" Bastion yelled.

The demoness gritted her teeth and jumped back. "Damn it!"

Eiji swerved around and hit her on the neck, sending her falling to the ground.

Mammon vanished and reappeared directly above us. "Why do people keep intervening?"

"Because Osamu has friends who will defend him!" Takeshi said as he transformed his nails into claws. He jumped up and slashed her frozen cloak, revealing a black void underneath. It wasn't the real Mammon but a fragment of her.

Why was Takeshi here? Had he died?

"This is the part of me that died that day seventeen years ago," Takeshi's voice echoed in my head.

"Get out of here. We'll hold her back," Sebastian said, squeezing my shoulder.

"Do I deserve to live?" I asked, keeping my head low. "All of you died because of me."

He let go of me and stepped forward. "Hard for me to say who does and doesn't deserve to live, but I will say this, your girls need you. Didn't you hear them crying out for you?"

My eyes widened as mist obscured him and the others.

"Don't let Mammon nor depression keep you down. Now, go. Our Rosa is waiting for you on the other side," Sofia's voice echoed in my head.

"Yeah, Bug-eyes. Don't be acting like a crybaby again," Eiji said.

"Shut up, idiot," I said, laughing as I wiped my tears.

He laughed. "You're the idiot here. Say, once you're on the other side, tell Eiko that I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to her."

"Tell our families that we love them," all four said in unison.

"I will," I said, turning around. On the other side was a door made up of light, though I couldn't make out many details of it thanks to my tears. I couldn't stop myself from crying. It seemed I was still the same crybaby that used to follow Azami around after all.

I took another step toward the door. Four pairs of hands nudged me forward, supporting me even as I lacked the strength to stand.

All this time, I thought I was alone, but that wasn't true. Not at all. My only regrets were being unable to appreciate them more when they were alive and not saving them. No, that wasn't entirely correct. I could still rescue one of them. Takeshi, hold on. I'll go and free you even if I have to plunge to the deepest depths of The Abyss to do it!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter ^_^. Thoughts on the story thus far? Predictions/Theories?**