K'xug overpowered his opponent, making him fly back and land on the ground. The demon coughed out a mouthful of blood, struggling to push himself up. K'xug did not waste this opportunity, one of his twin swords glowing with light magic and he put his other sword away.

Earlier, he heard Hana screaming and he could not find her in this thick mist.

I should have remained by her side.

Even though she told me she was confident enough.

He proceeded to plunge his sword down onto the ground, a wave of light magic bursting out from his sword. The dark mist started to clear gradually and their visibility was slowly growing back to normal.

Just then, Xue started to realise Zeau and his clones moving in a strange manner. It was when he noticed they were switching places constantly, and Xue widened his eyes in recognition.

"Everyone, watch out!" he yelled out with a hint of panic. "Zeau is using his own clones to move around!"

K'xug searched around quickly and he rushed forward when he saw Zeau landing a hit on Hana. Haru and Kiyae noticed as well, hollering her name. K'xug let out a panicked breath, slashing Zeau with his swords.

Zeau only smiled, dodging the swords and as he did so, he called upon his clone to replace his spot. His clone summoned out another dark mist and K'xug swung his sword, traces of light magic clearing the mist in an instant.

His clone had disappeared.

K'xug paid it no mind, only hurrying to Hana's side and crouching down beside her.

Hana shook her head. "I'm okay, I'm fine."

She rubbed at the back of her neck.

"It only hurts a little."

K'xug clenched his fists.

What did he do to you?!

Hana shook her head again. "I don't know what he did, he only hit me on my neck with his needle."

She touched her neck again, blinking rapidly. "It's...not there anymore."

K'xug swept her hair aside, checking her neck and he dared not touch it.

Needle.

What kind of needle was it?

He isn't someone to leave things undone.

What did he do to Hana?

What the hell did he do to her--

"K'xug," Hana patted his hand gently with a reassuring smile. "I'm fine!"

He furrowed his eyebrows in response, a hint of rage in his different-coloured eyes.

"Behind you, K'xug!" Hana exclaimed and K'xug raised his sword behind him, still keeping his eyes on her.

Clang!

The demon from before began to chuckle lowly.

"We are not done yet, K'xug."

K'xug stood up, attacking the demon with his other sword that he conjured out and the demon leapt back to avoid it while creating some distance. Standing in front of Hana and shielding her, K'xug fought against his opponent once again.

***

Cecil knew she was doing well.

She worked hard in meditating and opening her gates, despite the exhaustion she went through every single time.

Her training lessons with K'xug and Xue did not lessen either.

She had grown strong enough to hold her own against a demon. Moreover, she wasn't affected by dark magic compared to other ordinary mortals.

Moreover, though this dark mist made her vision obscure, she could still rely on her own senses and strength to fight her way through.

"...!"

At that moment, she caught the subtle eye movement of the demon attacking her, their red irises looking at something behind her.

"I'm prepared this time." Cecil murmured out, her vine daggers growing thorns and she swiped it at the demon.

The demon dodged her attack and Cecil took that chance to do a spinning kick, her legs hitting something behind her. She glanced up hurriedly, her eyes widening in shock when she realised it was a shadowy figure, and it countered her attack with its own leg.

She heard Xue shouting a warning to the others at the same time, gasping in realisation. The demon was running up to her from behind now, and she was still occupied with the clone of Zeau.

She hastily tried to create some distance, but the shadowy figure did not relent.

All of a sudden, the shadowy figure rushing towards her was replaced by the real person itself. Seeing the genial smile on his face, Cecil could only feel a chill down her spine.

So he wasn't here to target Xue at all?

The demon neared her and Cecil sent out her rock to distract him. Making the rock buzz around the demon like a fly worked tremendously well.

"...!"

Cecil felt a familiar ominous presence leaking out from Zeau, and this time, it came from something hidden within his palm. She defended herself with the dagger, catching a glimpse of his enclosed palm.

All of a sudden, his palm disappeared and appeared in front of her eyes. Cecil barely dodged it, a drop of nervous sweat slipping down her cheeks.

I can't let that touch me!

"You dodged it," Zeau noted in surprise. "I underestimated you."

Cecil narrowed her eyes at him, not speaking a word back and she glanced behind. The demon wasn't attacking anymore, it seemed that Zeau had gestured for him to stop.

"No matter," Zeau smiled slightly wider. "You won't be able to beat me."

This time, Zeau's entire figure disappeared and Cecil clenched her daggers, scouring her surroundings carefully. She noticed some movements from the demon behind her and Zeau appeared right there the next second.

However, reacting in time was a different thing.

I can't defend myself in time!

Cecil felt the ominous presence in his palm finally revealing itself. She noticed it was a needle coated in dark magic and something more sinister, looming in on her neck. She moved her body, but it was just too late.

Clang!

Just as the needle landed on her neck, a blinding light burst out from her body. Stark white particles hovered around her and floated down, completely surrounding her body like a protective barrier.

Cecil glanced down, noticing the feather that K'xug gave her was glowing within her kimono. Eventually, it lost its glow but it managed to serve its purpose.

"An angel's feather?" Zeau spoke in alarm.

She smiled to herself, gripping her dagger tightly.

Thank you, K'xug!

Cecil spun her daggers around expertly and stabbed it into Zeau's shoulder. The vine dagger was still covered in thorns and with her earth element now enhanced, it was an attack that would hurt.

Nevertheless, her opponent was no simple demon.

Zeau avoided it without any difficulty, and this time, he no longer underestimated Cecil. He rushed in, increasing his speed and disappeared from sight once again.

This time, Cecil had no way of tracking him.

Fortunately, the mist was starting to clear after Cecil felt the ground trembling, but she still couldn't see any movements around her.

She could not locate where Zeau was.

"Cecil!"

Xue burst through the mist that was beginning to disperse, holding his spear in his hand as if he was preparing to throw it.

There was a desperate look on his face.

It seemed as if Xue knew he wasn't the target of Zeau.

"To your left--!"

Cecil widened her eyes in horror, glancing to her left.

Zeau was already closing in with the needle on her neck, a merciless glint in his eyes.

He's even faster now!

Xue tossed the spear and Zeau avoided another fatal attack once more with a flip, he turned his head slightly, giving Xue a smug expression.

Seeing his spear miss, Xue wore a wretched look on his face.

Ah.

Cecil saw his expression.

I never wanted to see such an expression on you.

She smiled lightly. "Xue, don't worry."

Xue recalled his spear, rushing in with the same wretched look.

How could he not worry?

At that second, he noticed something that made me pause.

"Don't worry, this won't kill you--"

His needle and palm landed on someone's chest, making Zeau blink in shock. He caught a glimpse of navy blue hair and a familiar presence from this mysterious stranger.

"Even if I said I wanted to see her tears again, this isn't it."

Jehan's appearance was now back to normal, since K'xug had removed the dark magic within him and he bore an uncanny resemblance to Xue except for the colour of his hair and eyes.

Jehan smirked at Zeau, holding down onto Zeau's arm as he kept the needle stuck in his chest. His face was extremely pale.

"I won't let someone like you hurt her."

Zeau clenched his jaw. "Move aside!"

A blast of dark magic crashed right into Jehan, and he coughed out blood.

The next moment, an ash-blonde haired man lunged for Zeau with his spear, sending both of them flying.

Jehan still had some strength remaining, flipping himself in the air to regain balance as he landed on the ground. However, he didn't last long and collapsed onto the ground.

Cecil rushed forward, wearing a conflicted look on her face.

No one knew that Jehan had woken up in the chaos, and the first thing he did was to sacrifice himself to protect Cecil.

"...Jehan."

He coughed harshly, blood still pouring out. "Ah, damnit, looks like the needle is already destroying this weakened body."

"..."

Cecil crouched down just as Jehan sat up. She saw as Jehan brought out a familiar orb and unlike Xue that had a pure colour, the orb Jehan possessed was tainted with dark magic.

"What are you..."

"It got me thinking..." Jehan said with a smug expression. "How I killed the two fragments that sacrificed themselves to protect you and how you cried for them."

She paused.

"So if I protected you, and did this as well..." Jehan crashed the orb in his hand, and wisps of smoke drifted out of it, heading in the direction Xue was at. "You'll cry for me as well."

Jehan turned to look at Cecil.

She could see his pale face and bloodied lips, the light in his eyes slowly dying out. The two of them knew he wouldn't last any longer.

This time, her expression became more miserable.

"Heh, seeing you sad for me like that makes it more worth it."

He reached forward, stroking the corner of her eyes with his fingers. Though there were no tears, her expression was worth everything.

For Jehan who has lived his life, learning that taking what he thought was his and doing whatever he pleased was the right way, as long as he came out alive.

However, he was not going to come out of this alive now.

...but he couldn't be more satisfied.

"It's you, and only you."

Jehan's body began to crumble away.

Cecil bit on her lower lip.

It wasn't only once or twice.

Every single soul fragment that she has met, almost everyone of them would get themselves hurt on her behalf.

"Each and everyone of you..." Cecil ducked her head, her voice shaking. "Why are you all such idiots?! Why only for me?!"

He stretched his crumbling hand out and tilted her head up with her chin.

"Because it's you, Cecil Lan."

Jehan smirked arrogantly.

[ Secret Mission #9: The Arrogant and Overconfident Fighter
Objective completed! ]

His body had completely crumbled away, leaving a trail of grey-white smoke that followed after the direction Xue went to.

***

Raz was holding his own against a demon of equal strength. He lamented that his fighting prowess had weakened, since he had never fought against angels or demons for decades.

If it was the past, in all his glory, he would have won against this demon eventually. Alas, it was now at a stalemate.

He was thankful that the mist had been dispersed halfway into their fight. His partially damaged vision did not help with the situation.

Boom!

There was a loud commotion that interrupted his fight and the two turned to look at the chaos. It was Xue and Zeau clashing weapons with one another, their light and dark magic constantly battling against one another. However, since Xue wasn't in his optimal state, his light magic seemed pathetic compared to Zeau.

Zeau did not specialise in using weapons, simply fighting with pure dark magic.

Nevertheless, Zeau did not seem to be in a good state either. His face was partially pale and he had lost his usual genial facade.

A trail of white smoke followed after the path Xue travelled moments later, and Raz narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The white smoke picked up its pace when it located its destination, speeding up rapidly towards Xue.

"...!"

Raz left his opponent, heading towards Xue.

His opponent was quick on the trail.

Xue felt a force slamming into his body and it reinvigorated him. He stiffened, staying rooted to his spot as his eyes closed.

There was a reason why he never absorbed his soul fragments when enemies were still around. However, it seemed like Jehan voluntarily triggered the absorption process from his end.

"So he had some use after all." Zeau smiled.

"My Lord!" Raz called out, not surprised that his habit of addressing Xue was still here.

Raz defended the temporarily unconscious Xue from Zeau's attack.

Zeau, on the other hand, was growing tired of the constant interferences. It seemed like today wasn't his day for all of his plans to succeed.

Raz's opponent did not want to miss this chance to take him down, and suddenly, an arrow shot out from nowhere. Traces of light magic were present on the arrow and the demon dodged it hastily.

Raz and the demon turned to look.

Hana gave Raz a wave with a bright smile, holding her bow in her hands.

Meanwhile, K'xug was standing beside her and he was fixated on Zeau. His expression was dark, and anyone could tell he was infuriated.

A battered Kiyae was scurrying around Hana with a concerned look, making the red-haired woman giggle. Hana clearly thought there was nothing wrong with her.

Haru poked at the unconscious demons on the ground with a disgruntled look, his state almost as bad as Kiyae. Albeit, they still won their own fight.

"Hey, I'll take care of this end for ya!" a voice hollered out, jumping into the fray and striking the demon with his halberd.

"Argh!"

"More interruptions?" Zeau sighed.

Raz glanced behind him.

It was Ryo, his earrings dancing with his movements.

"Just take care of that crazy strong Supreme God or whatever!"

Despite being as equally battered as the rest, he still wore a broad grin on his face. In his silver eyes, there was excitement.

Raz widened his eyes in disbelief.

These three mortals managed to fight off these demons on their own?

Who even are they?

Raz was shocked to know that there had been strong mortals like these hiding in the shadows the entire time.

Yun was the only one who believed that his own friends would win against the demons. After all, he had been with them the entire way.

Yun adjusted his glasses, smiling to himself. "They said they would never lose yet again, and they won't."

"Are you sure you have strength left to fight?" Raz questioned.

"Yeah!" Ryo grinned. "More than enough! I'll show ya!"

Zeau sighed. "I didn't expect to exert this much strength here..."

His demonic wings burst out from his back, and Zeau flew into the air. He summoned dozens of swords made out of dark magic in the air around him. The sheer amount of it caused Raz and Ryo to be taken aback.

K'xug pushed Hana towards Kiyae and Haru, rushing forward with an uneasy look.

Although, Zeau who brought out the swords himself was faltering. He furrowed his eyebrows, squeezing his eyes close and a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

"Get under the barrier!" Raz exclaimed, his wings spreading out and white particles surrounded the air around the group.

Cecil had already joined with the group, after seeing the heavy injuries Haru and the rest had.

"K'xug! Hana!" Raz called out. "I need your help in enforcing the barrier!"

"I got it!"

K'xug nodded.

"Raz, you've grown weak, and so did K'xug and Hana," Zeau stated, coughing lightly and wiping the blood from his lips. "You can't expect to stop my attacks with a measly barrier."

Zeau split the swords into more pieces, and the entire cavern room was shrouded in darkness.

"Are you sure we are going to survive this?!" Kiyae hissed out.

"Yes!" Raz answered. "...probably!"

"Probably?!" Haru exclaimed in alarm.

"Haha!" Ryo jumped into the barrier at the last moment, kicking the unconscious demon towards them. "Told ya I'll take care of him!"

Yun sighed, shaking his head.

"Keep the barrier up."

Everyone looked towards the ash-blonde haired man that was finally awake.

"Xue! You are back!" Cecil said in relief before frowning. "What are you..."

He stepped out from the barrier, glancing back at Cecil with a smile.

"This time, it's your turn not to worry."

The entire cavern was covered in darkness with a hint of sunlight still seeping in. In that darkness, Xue walked forward and stark white orb-like particles began to hover around him, before coalescing together and forming a blinding aura around Xue.

He swung his spear and tossed it into the air.

His spear proceeded to clone itself into dozens of pieces, and this time, every single one of them were bathed in light magic.

Raz and K'xug watched on, wearing a small smile on their face.

Even without his long hair, his large stark white wings and his trademark armour, his back still looked so broad to all of them. The same back that faced them when they were in trouble, and stood before them, protecting them all.

Right now, this man before them had regained half of his powers.

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

How could I not worry?

This was the same way I lost my parents.

The same way I lost K'xug and Hana.

I never want to lose anyone like that again.

Especially not you.

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

It's only you, Cecil Lan.

The only one in this entire world.

The only one I'll make an exception like that.

Why, you ask?

I wonder why myself.

It is as if, somewhere and somehow, long ago...

I made such a promise to myself.

《 stop 》