(October 3rd, 2017)

The world burns and the time of humanity reaches its end. And as the earth burns, the people kneel and pray for their gods for salvation. As humanity fights desperately to repel the demon hordes' invasion, more and more of the planet falls into chaos and ruin. As it burns, the earth calls to its protectors in the sky, but the deities can only watch, powerless do quell the enemies of light. And as the spawns of the underworld continue to wreak havoc, the skies turned red with the fires of hell as it slowly consumed the planet and all who lived on it. Cities fall, countries crumble, and lands wither and die. And the one deity destined to save the world knelt in the midst of all the destruction, holding the ashed of the world he calls home. 

"Can you stop them?" A voice spoke from behind the blond god, asking silently while he watched. "It took a deity dying to deliver this world thousands of years ago. Even if you plan to do the same, your power is nowhere near that of your predecessor. With his death, he ushered in a realm free of hellspawn and darkness, but it did not take long to undo his work. I regained my lost power and the demons now plague every corner of the earth."

"If that is what it takes, I do not mind," Justin replied. "But I will be sure to take you with me this time."

"Accept my offer, and I will make sure you and everyone you love can live in peace. You will know no pain, no suffering, no grief. Let my choice answer the cries of humanity, Justin. Do that, and humanity will finally know salvation."

Justin shook his head. "Oh, how about I give you my answer?" The deity conjured his sword and turned around, slashing the dark entity, only for the body to disintegrate into nothing. 

"Your struggle is futile, boy. You are powerless to stop this. Even if you unite the entire world under you, you will still lose. It's pointless," The harbinger continued. "It's useless, your power is hopeless. It would be only a matter of time until you're weakened, and even the simplest demons could overpower you and strike you down."

"I'm not losing hope. I'll fight until the end, and even in death, my spirit will live on." Justin turned around once more and struck the apparition, and it disappeared as well. 

Disembodied, the harbinger spoke. "You still have time. Think it over. And once you surrender, you need only call. I'll be here."

Justin was once again separated from his group. Immediately after whisking him away, the harbinger revealed to the young deity the chaotic war that rages throughout the world and the pleas of countless innocent people for salvation as they fight and die to an enemy they cannot hope to match. All countries, all factions, all armies, all creeds, and all facets of worship fall prey to the demon armies and hordes with no hope of victory. Those who believe in the god of war fall to their knees and pray for deliverance, but their prayer offers little power to the lord they worship. And after the harbinger's failed attempt at convincing him, the deity finds himself without partners and his ear device missing. His worries were exacerbated when the sight of a winged demon as long as two busses with four spiked wings strafed in his direction and rained down explosions. 

Justin leaped to avoid the attacks and rolled on the ground before getting on his feet and summoning his railgun. As he fired, the winged creature roared loudly and fired from its mouth as it dove down to attack. Justin avoided it once again and ran in the opposite direction while shooting at the winged terror chasing after him. The deity rolled to the side once more as it bombarded him. And after that attack, Justin found himself facing insect-like flying demons with poison spewing out of their mouths. As they flew at him, he avoided and killed as many as he could while the bigger dragon-like demon kept firing at him from high altitudes or strafing in his direction. Using his daggers of lightning, the deity attacked with swiftness and strength, killing many demon insects while avoiding their poison. As the greater demon flew in the night sky, more insect-like creatures attacked the deity. One of them was a mantis demon with a hardened metallic exoskeleton and guns attached to it. 

It screeched as it swung its spiked arms at Justin, who swiftly avoided them and retaliated with his railgun. But one shot was not enough to bring the monster down, so the deity charged his weapon for a killing shot. Before he could pull the trigger, one of the flying insects latched onto the weapon and tried to pull away, only for it to get blown up by the release of build-up weaponized energy, killing it and several like it while destroying a significant portion of the mantis and leaving it to screech in pain and slowly die. In his struggle against the mantis, Justin missed the bigger demon charging a ball of demonic energy and firing it at him. The attack destroyed most of the surface of where Justin stood and left him with little room to avoid him. And as the demon insect attacked him, the dragon-like demon focused his energy once again and fired, destroying even more of the roof that Justin stood at. Leaving the deity with little room to stand on, The dragon prepared for the final attack. And as Justin knew the demon's final target, he swiftly decided to kill the insect demon and leap off the building, and hope for the best. 

Justin found himself too surrounded to make the leap and knew that he could not defeat them in time for the demon's attack, and so he braced himself for the impact. Suddenly, however, giant bolts of light strike the flying demon and its insect allies around Justin, staggering the bigger one and killing the smaller ones. When the deity looked at the origin of the beams of light, he spotted a silhouette of a man standing on a higher roof and illuminated by the light of the moon. The unknown figure wielded a lance in his right hand and donned an armor with large, fang-like blades protruding from the armor's back, elbows, shoulders, chest, and shins. The helmet he wore possessed demon-like horns and a red glow from the eyes. The armored man jumped off his rooftop and landed in front of Justin, who stood in his place and gazed at what appeared to be an unnatural human walking towards him in cutting-edge black and gold armor. The figure stood in front of Justin, eyeing the young deity without saying a word. Justin noticed that he and this man were similar in height, with the difference being an inch or two in favor of Justin. 

"Thanks for your help," Justin spoke.

"So, you're the guy, huh?" The masked figure replied. "You're very much as I expected. If not a little stronger."

Taken aback, Justin replied: "Excuse me?" Unsure of what to say, the deity stood silently.

"I know who you are, deity. You're the dragon god. I know what you want, who your allies are, and what your end goal is, so there's nothing to hide from me." The voice was very robotic and deep, perfectly hiding the identity of the speaker. "And I'll be upfront with you. You and I share the same goal. If we want to survive, you and I will have to work together. My name is the scourge in the shadows or Shadow Scourge for short. You don't hear my name often anymore."

"You?!" Justin replied in utter shock. "You're the one who-" The deity cut himself off and sighed. "You know what? I'm not even surprised anymore. With the number of crazy things happening, anything is bound to happen at some point. But why aren't you taking advantage of this chaos for your own profit? Isn't that what you and your group are known for?"

"I can't afford mistrust between us right now, so I'll be straightforward. I only target those in the wrong. Criminals on top and in the bottom. You and I have ideals that do not differ that much from each other, but I handle my business differently. We don't have much time, so we need to move south. You've been taken from your previous position in the west and your team is nearly at their destination. If I know the harbinger correctly, he would want to see how far you can go before you presumably fall."

"You know the harbinger of the darkness?!" Justin exclaimed. "Just who are you?!"

"Yes, I do. And he knows me as well, so let's leave it at that. I also know that he was prepared to kill you at some point, but something changed. What that could be, however, I do not know. Despite what he may have told you, he believes that you have a chance at defeating these demons. So unless you have time to spare, I suggest we go and deal with these problems at once." The scourge turned around and walked to the edge of what remained of the roof and looked down to see flashes of light coming from far below to the south of them. When Justin walked to him, he pointed at what he saw and said: "There. If we can make it there in time, we can stop further loss of life. I take it you have a solid grasp over light magic?"

"Yes," Justin replied. "I can conjure light magic as easily as any other type of magic. I can close as many portals as I can."

"Good. I can as well, but not to your extent, unsurprisingly. So my plan is that we fight our way there rather than immediately skip to it because there are a lot of people that could use our help along the way. Also, some of these roads lead to evacuation zones, so clearing them out is a priority."

Justin chuckled lightly. "I like the way you think," He said. "For someone with such a bad reputation, you certainly care about people."

The scourge looked at the deity and nodded. "Don't believe everything you see online or on tv. I'm pretty sure since you lived an entire life of concealing yourself to the general public, you should know that, right?"

Justin sighed. "Whatever." And the scourge conjured his lance, spinning it in the air before leaping through the sky and diving down vertically like a missile, destroying the ground and everything that stood on it. Justin jumped after him, but the latter landed normally in a three-point pose. What he saw around him were several demonic creatures dead or injured, a group of soldiers alongside civilians hiding inside a shop. "Stay down," The god said. "This'll be over in a flash."

As Justin conjured his sword, the scourge pulled his lance out of the ground and pointed it at the demons. "It's time to see if you live up to your reputation, god of war." And with that, he leaped at the demons, stabbing one's chest as Justin ran and stabbed another demon, antagonizing the rest to attack him. And as Justin fought the opposition, the scourge kept leaping from one point to another, destroying demons and preventing them from reaching Justin or the civilians. While being busy with the enemies, Justin could not help but feel amazed at how the scourge moved through the air with speed and control like a bullet flying from a gun. And as Justin finished the demons, he heard the screams of a child from within the store. But before he could act, the scourge was already there. As the demon charged at him with a sword in hand, the scourge merely dodged and grabbed the other hand. But rather than finishing him off, the scourge simply stood there. And from the demon's hand, Justin noticed cracks forming and glowing with a bright red hue as they moved from the hands all the way to the rest of the body. And soon after that, the demon exploded like a balloon of flesh, sending what remained of it flying all over the place and in every direction. Nothing remained from the demon, except for chunks of flesh and blood splattered everywhere. 

Justin's heart skipped a beat once he saw the demon's explosion, realizing that what he just witnessed was the exercise of dark magic that he has never seen or heard of before. Years of learning of forbidden dark magic that plague the world, he never once happened to come upon such a spell, if he could even call it that. For Justin, who is well-versed in magic, the action that the scourge took was more akin to natural ability than a spell, such as his fighting abilities or conjuring weapons. They are magical in nature, but they aren't spells by definition. Nevertheless, what he saw was definitely dark magic at play. "What... What was that?" He asked.

"Oh, this?" He replied. "A gift from your arch-nemesis. It is something I despise about me, but I'm not gonna lie and tell you that it hasn't been useful."

The scourge turned to Justin and walked towards him. "Worry not. I can keep myself in check," He stated with obvious sarcasm before walking past the deity. "Now, I believe we have somewhere to be."

Justin sighed heavily and shook his lowered head. After making sure the people were safe, he followed his current ally and proceeded to his previous allies' supposed destinations. As the two fought their way through the demon army, Justin got to witness firsthand what a ruthless and brutal fighter the scourge is. Not only that, Justin got taken aback by his new ally's use of elemental magic in tandem with his lance. His lance thrusts were calculated and precise. His elemental attacks varied between earth, fire, ice, and air. Justin also noticed that whenever the scourge used an elemental attack, different parts of his armor would light up with symbols the deity could not read. This immediately reminded him of Axel and how Alpha-One talked about his runes. But as Justin lost himself gazing at the scourge, a sudden vision interrupted him of what appeared to be a man with dark armor doing the same moves. And within a flash, the vision vanished and Justin returned to witness reality. From what he saw, he instantly discerned that the person in the vision was the harbinger. That alone led him to believe that the scourge is closer to the harbinger than he let on, as seeing his moves triggered the vision for a reason Justin doesn't understand. The vision caused him slight dizziness and made the deity lose his footing, only to immediately fall on one knee and hold his face with one hand.

As the harbinger finished a demon, he turned to the deity to see him on his knee, not knowing to a demon raising an ax at him, so the scourge flew through the air and impaled the hellspawn through the chest, killing it. "Are you alright?" He asked the weakened Justin, who didn't respond. "Justin, are you alright? Can you stand?"

"Just... Just who are you?" The blonde boy replied. "I... I know you're not him playing tricks on me... But who are you?"

The armored man stood silently and did not respond. He immediately realized that something just happened to the blonde boy that prompted him to ask this question after falling on one knee. "I told you all you need to know. Knowing more will not make you stronger or get you to our destination faster."

"Just tell me who you are!" Justin yelled, gazing at the scourge angrily, the rage and animosity building within him. "I'm done waiting for answers..."

"I'd tell you, but there is no guarantee you'd keep me alive after you know."

"I can't sense anything from your body, but I believe that is due to the armor you wear, yes?" Justin asked, piecing together information gathered from mere assumptions.

"This armor..." The scourge replied. "This armor prevents any aetheric or spiritual energy from attacking me, giving me resistances both physical and magical. This armor also prevents magical auras from exiting my body unless I want it to. Think of it as car exhaust. Shooting out gas when you turn the vehicle on, but when it's off, nothing comes out. Or let me give you another example. Think of it as an infrared shielding of sorts. It hides the existence of my soul, and thus no one can know who I am. At first, I did not know why this 'feature' was needed... until I met you."

"So you're saying the dark warrior gave you this armor?" Justin asked. 

"I'm not saying he did, but I'm not denying either."

And from that, Justin deduced that he, himself is also closer to the scourge than he ever thought. 'Is he related to me by any chance? Why else would he shield his soul? And why would a member of my family work alongside the evil that wants to destroy this very world?'

"Think of me whatever you wish," The scourge said. "But know that my goals align with you, not him. I, too, want to live in this world. This place is my home, and even if I hate how cruel and unforgiving it can be, I still have things that I love in it. People that I love. I believe you too share these sentiments?"

"If you want to gain my trust, then why still hide your soul? Nevermind your face, for I don't need to see it. Your spirit is what's important to me."

The scourge nodded. "If that is what will make you trust me, then so be it."

And with a snap of his finger, the scourge disabled the shielding on his spirit and Justin instantly felt the same bond that links him to the Astralis family. "And now... Did I earn your trust?" The masked man asked.

"Nearly there," Justin replied before being offered a hand by the masked man. When he grabbed it, the latter pulled the deity back to his feet. 

The scourge nodded. "Then at least I can call it a start. Whatever this is is better than nothing."

Meanwhile, Mia and her group battled with the demon's old mentor. As she collided blades with her old master, he overpowered her and pushed away, causing Kevin and Selena to rush at him to attack. Ikaryuu, however, had other ideas in mind for the rest. He conjured aetherial swords from the sky and dropped them in front of the two. The glowing swords shattered and from the pieces emerged smaller versions of the swordmaster demon, each of them holding a katana of their own. Leaving Mia to fight him, Ikaryuu sheathed his katana and twisted his body to the right while holding the sheath with his left hand and the hilt with his right. Remembering his lessons, Mia knew that he was charging for a big attack. Using what little defensive magic she knew, she used her stored mana to conjure a barrier to block his attack, but when the demon unleashed his sword, the giant barrier broke like glass and causing a shockwave that pushed Mia and her team a few feet into the ground. 

"Protective magic... You would not have used that if you were the only one on this battlefield, am I right?" Ikaryuu asked.

Slowly get back onto her feet, Mia fell onto one knee. The demon then continued, saying: "You are considerate of these people who fight by your side, little red rose. But even then, you still cannot protect anyone."

"Enough..." Mia replied. "I'm not your little apprentice anymore. I will not have you call me that..."

As the demon girl got back to her feet, she conjured her katana once more. "And I will NOT have you hurt them or this world!" She rushed at the lesser clones and cut them down with ease they approached her allies, leaving her old master to watch in awe as she struck his doppelgangers down with beauty and grace, fused harmoniously with the rage of an unstoppable demon. With the swiftness of her moves, she reminded him of his lost love, moving his once dead heart. Moved by his apprentice's passion for saving others, Ikaryuu remembered what it meant to be human and in an instant relived the memories of once being a human, fighting for a righteous cause.

Feeling himself alive after countless decades of emptiness, the demon samurai held his sword in his hands and looked at his reflection before looking back at his young apprentice. "So this is the passion that you confine within your heart... Very well..." He pointed the tip of his blade at Mia and said "Mia! Grant me this final wish! Let that flaming passion go through your blade and fight me without holding back!"

With their newfound passions, the two crossed swords and battled furiously, putting everything on the table. Ikaryuu fought with newfound vigor in the name of the humanity he once lost. Mia, on the other hand, fought with the passion of a raging beast and the love she harbors for Justin, in the name of the humanity she has acquired. As the battle raged on, the battlefield twisted around them into an old samurai field through the aetherial power of two demons clashing and some meddling from the harbinger of darkness. As he fought without holding back, Ikaryuu fought with the fulfillment of knowing his pupil is guided by the selfsame love he once harbored for humanity and having finally witnessed her mature into her own person, unbound by the shackles of her origins. Whether he emerged victoriously or fell by her blade, Ikaryuu was fulfilled. Knowing so, he sheathed his sword for one final charged attack, drawing upon all his demonic power for one final slash. As Mia did the same, her power was fueled by her own love and desire to save her home, boosting her aetherial essence and granting her even more power to strike down her master. And with one dash and slash of the blade, The two were left on the opposite sides, their back pointing towards one another. 

Ikaryuu fell on one knee, having finally been overpowered by his pupil. Knowing his deep wishes fulfilled, the demon could not help but shed tears of joy before the entire fabricated world vanished around them, broken like crystal shards and falling from the sky with an etheric glow. When Ikaryuu planted his blade on the ground and looked at it, he saw the reflection of the noble warrior he once was and said: "A-... Ai... Forgive me... A-And... Watch over her..."

Ikaryuu's body started to disintegrate like glowing etheric dust in the wind, having pushed his power to the limit. As Mia looked around, she watched as her old master sat on his knees and looked at the sky, having seen what his pupil has become. "Mia... Hold onto your humanity... At all costs."

As the master vanished, he left behind him a red rose, glowing with aetheric light and beckoning to the apprentice to pick it up. When she did, she held the flower close to her heart and closed her eyes, letting a tear fall down as the rose fused itself with the essence of her soul, granting her more power and control over her demonic power. And as the pocket dimension completely vanished, Mia's group approached her. "Are you alright?!" Roxanna asked. Mia only nodded while holding her right hand at her chest.

"I'm fine... I know what I need to do now."

"A human turned into a demon by his love and a demon who wants to become human for her love. Clashing together to preserve the humanity that drove them to clash blades... This is rather poetic..." Selena stated, followed by Kevin nodding.

The latter then approached his mistress and said: "Are you feeling well? You shouldn't overexert yourself, especially after such a battle." But Mia disregarded him and contacted Zack.

"Zack, this is Mia. Any news on our high-value individual?" 

"None," Zack replied. "But we have reports of demons getting slaughtered by two individuals while approaching the demon gates from the north. I have no idea if it's our man or not, but I'll keep you informed if anything happens. Give me a situation report."

"Was slowed by a group of demons, but we're heading towards the objective. Only a few minutes and we'll arrive."

As Justin and the scourge made their way to the objective, they found themselves in front of a dying man who held a gaping wound in his chest. Justin rushed to his side, seeing as the man was alive and hoping to find a way to heal him. The scourge, on the other hand, walked slowly and with little care, knowing the man was beyond saving. When Justin saw him, he saw that the dying man was a soldier from their own military. He grabbed his hand and held it close.

"Mom..." The soldier spoke... "M-Mom, I... S-Sorry..."

"Hold on, man! Stay with me!" Justin shouted, but the man already knew his fate was sealed. He looked at Justin with a smile and shook his head slowly.

"Don't... Don't bother..." He spoke with a weak voice. "We have... A-A god now, f-for crying out l-loud. We..." The man coughed blood as he tried to speak.

"My comrades, they... W-Were afraid they'd be fighting a-a meaningless f-fight. In the name of a fictional b-bedtime story, but... I told them to stay strong... I told them I put all m-my hope in him... I-If I'm going to heaven, I-... I want to tell him that I-... I still believe in him... So, please... L-Let me... go..."

And with his final words, he looked at a disconsolate Justin and said: "I... Believe in you... My lord." Soon after, he shut his eyes and passed away, having finally seen the man who he put all his faith in.

Justin got on his feet and punched the wall next to him, letting his emotions explode with a raging fist. But even that fist shook with sorrow as Justin could not help but blame himself for the deaths that happened all around him. Seeing all those people fight and die in his name certainly took a toll on him, but it still drove him forward. Justin rested his head on the wall and looked at his feet and said: "It still hurts... I've seen this exact same scene happen over and over again, and it still hurts, dammit..."

"So this is how gods feel when men die in their name." The scourge crossed his arms. "Never have I envisioned a time where I could see a god weep for his own followers, but here we are. Let me remind you that this man didn't die because of you. He died believing in you. So are you going to honor his memory by fighting, or are you gonna fail him? I won't let you bottle up your emotions and just watch you swing your sword around, but let me tell you something. We've both cried for people, but these tears will mean nothing if you don't go and make a difference."

Justin sighed. "My mind is already set. It has been so for a long time, but man..." Justin took a deep breath and gathered himself before looking at the fallen soldier and saying: "I won't let you down. I promise."

And the two then walked away from the deceased soldier and continued on their path to find and defeat demons. And as they near their destination, they climb the roof of a nearly collapsed building and gaze down at their enemy, seeing a colossal demonic centaur with wings protruding from its back. A demonic face unlike any of the rest and a trident with demonic thorns wrapped around it. The demon's body was reminiscent of a horse with scales akin to a demon of sorts. Its hoofs were sharp like a giant blade. The most striking thing would be how most of its body is either made or infused with metal, as it is impossible to discern. Some parts of its body look as if the metallic weaponry was forced painfully into the flesh, while other parts, such as the chest and the hands, look fully robotic.

"A giant cyborg centaur demon," The scourge commented. "I take it they infuse themselves with demon technology to become more efficient killers."

"Yeah, but I see it as more than just infusing. Some parts were chopped off and replaced with cybernetics," Justin added. "So is it more demon or machine?"

But Justin was struck by the thought that Mia might have suffered the same fate if she remained within the demon realm and never escaped. The thought sent chills down the deity's spine. "If she didn't emerge in the human world..." Justin spoke out loud.

The scourge looked at him and replied: "Your demon lover? She would have either been turned into something akin to this demon or left untouched depending on whether she could take it or not. On my travels, I overheard a group of demons discussing whether they should turn their units into cyborgs. But I don't believe it's rather simple, or if they can easily transform them. I think it's not as easy as it sounds."

The two's conversation was cut short by the appearance of Mia and her team. They charged at the demon horde on their own and surprised Justin with their attack. "Speak of the devil and she doth appear," Justin spoke with a chuckle. But then he spotted Axel alongside them, wielding an ax and rushing at his enemies like a raging bull.

"So he decided to join them..." The scourge mouthed to himself, which caught Justin's attention.

The deity quickly turned to look at his new ally and asked: "You know him? Is he an ally of yours?"

"An old acquaintance, you could say. It has been a while since I last saw him, however. We... parted ways to ensure he and other acquaintances of mine stay out of harm's way. But don't worry. He's not connected to the dark bringer unlike me, which is precisely why I split from him and the rest of my group."

Mia's team rushed into battle against the demons, ruthlessly fighting and defeating many of them with ease. That did not last long, however, as more demons emerged and compensated for their fallen comrades. Axel's ax-wielding prowess impressed Justin as he watched from afar the red-headed boy cleave his enemies with raw power. But as the fight went on, the group struggled to maintain the upper hand and got slowly overwhelmed by the sheer force of the demonic horde. Seeing his allies struggling to defend themselves, Justin prepared himself to go down and support them. The scourge, however, grabbed the deity's shoulder and held him. When the blonde boy looked at him, the scourge pointed at other rooftops near the spawning point where demonic machines were installed. From one gaze, Justin could tell that these are defenses put in place to protect the centaur creature and the hub for the gateways of the underworld. A group of demons was assigned to each weapon, which was either to operate it or guard it. At first, the demon operators pointed the weapons upward to fire at other targets, but after Justin's team arrived at the location, the weapons were pointed at them, making it even more difficult to defend themselves.

"I don't think these weapons were designed for a singular purpose," The scourge spoke. "They look like anti-aircraft, but I've seen them used on buildings, personnel, and vehicles of every type, ranging from military to civilian. They pack quite a punch, but for you or me, they won't be much of a problem."

Justin nodded and replied: "And to help our allies down there, we must destroy them. I got your point." Justin looked down at his allies to see them struggle against the demon horde and the giant centaur firing at them from laser weapons protruding from his body and swiping around with his trident of demonic steel. The centaur would also occasionally rear with enough force to shake the ground beneath his enemies and deploy tiny drones from his back to follow Justin's comrades around and fire condensed demonic energy beams at them. 

"So let's do this quick," Spoke the scourge. "I'll take the right, you take the left."

The two then split up and each went for a direction. When Justin made it to one of the cannons, he witnessed demons charging it and firing at his allies. When the other demons around it noticed, they charged at the deity with swords and demonic rifles in hand, only to be cut down with ease. Justin stabbed one of them with his sword and with his sheer strength, flung him at the machine. The demon operator turned to Justin and fired, only for the deity to narrowly dodge it and fire back with his crossbow at the operator's head, killing it. Justin then rushed at the two remaining demons, stabbing one of them with his lance and kicking the other into the air with his weapon leggings. With no one left to defend the machine, he walked to it with his ax in hand, ready to destroy it, when he recalled how Zack used the enemies' weapons against them back in the mainland. The deity then put his weapon away and grabbed the turret, pointing it towards another installation. 

Unfortunately for him, operating demon machinery was not something taught in his curriculum, leaving him with nothing but to play a guessing game with the machine. After a few minutes of random button presses that seemed to charge the weapon, Justin started looking at the buttons before him and wondered which one would fire the concentrated aetheric energy. One black button stuck out to him like a sore thumb, to which Justin wondered whether he should press. But with time not on his side, he risked it and pressed the button anyway, firing the cannon. The target cannon on the other side exploded, leaving Justin amazed and terrified at the power the demons wielded within simple turrets. He shook that thought off quickly however when he realized what he needs to do to operate the machine. Soon, he used it to destroy two other turrets before he realized that the last turret aimed at him and fired. Within a split second, Justin avoided getting blown off the rooftop by the other cannon. Dodging the blast, he fell on the ground and paused to take a deep breath before getting back on his feet and rushing to the last cannon. On the other side, the scourge simply destroyed the turrets without the need to use them, moving faster than Justin and destroying all of the turrets he assigned himself.

As Justin made it to the last turret, he swung his ax around and destroyed demons with his sheer force of will. Slaughtering the demons was the easier thing to do, but as he fought the guards around the turret, he noticed the operator still adamant about destroying him with the canon. Justin immediately ducked down and summoned his gauntlets and boots, kicking the cannon's cylinder into the air. As the operator fired, the cannon shot a beam straight into the sky that caught the attention of everyone fighting within the city. After defeating the rest of the demon guards. Justin grabbed the operator by the neck and pinned him down before stabbing his chest with his sword. Looking at the scourge, Justin saw that he too has finished with his cannons. Justin nodded to the man and looked down to see Mia and her group staring at him in shock and disbelief, with Mia being on the verge of tears.

The centaur too took notice of Justin and roared at him, which the masked scourge saw as a great opportunity to leap into the sky and dive down like a meteor of condensed energy. As he reached the ground, he unleashed a shockwave of energy, killing two dozen demons around him. But he did not finish, as multiple aetheric spears fell down like rain around him, impaling multiple demons and each unleashing a smaller shockwave that did not do as much damage as him, but combined together, left the demon horde with a considerable amount of loss and closed down three portals through the pure light energy they unleashed. 

"You?!" Axel shouted. 

The scourge readjusted himself and looked at his former comrade. "Why are you surprised to see me here? I'm the one who should be surprised that you and the others are here as well. Speaking of the others, where are they? I've seen you all here, so they should be around somewhere, shouldn't they?"

Axel did not respond. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the shadow scourge, evidently showing a form of pain in them. Kevin looked at him and asked: "You two know each other?"

"Y-Yes... He and I are-... were... allies..."

"I see," Kevin replied, nodding. Before he could ask anything else, however, the demon centaur roared at the scourge, filled with murderous intent. 

"To believe that the human world can possibly have enough might to overcome our onslaught," the centaur spoke, much to the shock of everyone. "Your petty races are nowhere near powerful enough to stand against us, and you've seen it with your own eyes. You are nothing but imperfect beings born out of your gods' need for power. Without a threat that can unite you all under the same banner, you all fight amongst yourselves for petty reasons such as owning lands or power. Even your creators fight amongst themselves and use you as pawns to achieve their bigger schemes. Soon enough, your imperfect races shall die out in favor of us. Your souls shall suffer for eternity as your masters watch in horror. We will turn this world of yours into yet another world of eternal punishment and infernal chaos just like we did many before! But fight, if you must. I relish a good battle, even one I know I am going to win."

"You know that hubris can be your downfall, right?" Justin asked from above. "Many a demon shared the same beliefs as you, and they all perished in the name of humanity. You might believe yourself strong and powerful, but that did not stop you and your kind from failing for millennia to take over this world. We might be weak, different, used by our gods, or whatever you claim, but even so. Look around you. You are yet to defeat even one of us, let alone all of us. So tell me can you truly claim that we are weak if you hide behind layers upon layers of protection? So put some truth behind your words and fight!"

Justin then jumped down from the roof and walked courageously towards the demon as the centaur launched his drones from his back and aimed them at Justin. "You... You're not a mortal at all, are you?"

The scourge leaped to Justin's side and pointed his lance threateningly at the demon centaur. "He's not going to fight you alone!" He replied and readied for battle. "You'll suffer the same fate as the rest of your kind and will think twice about ever coming back. This fight will haunt you for eternity, demon... I'll make sure of it."

The demon roared, making his turrets fly around and attack Justin and his allies. He used his trident and the cannons within his body to fire at the deity and his lance-wielding allies while other demons emerged from demonic portals and kept the rest of the group occupied. As Justin ran around with his railgun, he fired back at the demon's internal cannons to suppress their fire and potentially destroy them. The scourge leaped around the battlefield, attacking the centaur's limbs and body in different areas and occasionally switching to aid the other team with their enemies. With sheer brute force, the centaur planted his lance on the ground and unleashed a circular wave of demonic energy which Justin avoided. Seeing this, the centaur reared and slammed his hoofs on the ground, shaking it beneath everyone's feet. He then tried to stab the deity, only for Justin to grab hold of the lance and propel himself in the air when the centaur shook him off. From there, Justin concentrated the built-up mana within his body and shot it as a beam at the centaur, damaging his body and most of his internal turrets. From the back of his horse-like body, he launched missiles at random areas around the battlefield, causing more destruction while making it hard for Justin and his team to dodge his attacks. From three portals emerged a bird-like demon each. They strafed in a straight line at Justin and his team, who narrowly avoided them before they prepared for another run. 

"Leave them to me!" The scourge shouted, leaping through the air to land on the back of one of them.

"I can handle them as well!" Mia jumped onto another bird. As the two fought a bird each, they could not stop them from strafing but delayed the two by two seconds from the last bird. Roxanna jumped to Justin's aid and started attacking the centaur from the rear before Ian jumped on its back. The werewolf attacked the missile silos of the centaur and tried to claw them out, but the metal was too sturdy. But when the centaur launched another round of missiles, Ian came up with a risky plan that involved him grabbing hold of a rocket and redirecting it. The plan worked, much to everyone's surprise. But as Ian got distracted with his victory, he failed to see the birds strafing once again. The bird with no one attacking it struck his chest and sent him flying towards a building. 

"Ian!" Kevin shouted before running to his friend's aid. Enraged, Justin charged at the centaur with his sword in hand, using all his remaining energy to enlarge it as much as possible. With one swing of his blade, Justin slashed the centaur's humanoid chest and broke his trident simultaneously. The blow was strong enough to make the centaur stagger, so Justin swung his sword a second time, damaging the centaur even further. Justin then swung his sword once more, only for the centaur to grab it with his hands.

"What?!" Justin exclaimed before the centaur pushed him and his sword away.

"You... Who are you, boy?" The centaur asked, only for him to be answered from above.

"Don't worry about him, worry about me!" The scourge shouted as he dove down and struck the centaur's missile silo back. Justin then charged once more and leaped at the humanoid chest with enough force that he pierced through it with his sword and emerged from the centaur's humanoid back.

The centaur fell on the ground, dying from his injuries. He looked at Justin in shock, finally realizing who the human who smote him was. "So this... This is who you are... No wonder you stood a chance... But can you survive that?" The centaur pointed at the sky, where the colossal flying demon opened its mouth and prepared to fire an immense amount of condensed demonic aether in a beam towards Justin and his group.

"We must run!" Selena shouted. 

"No!" Ian replied, emerging in his human form with his arm around Kevin's shoulders. "The blast radius is too enormous. We don't have the time... or anywhere to run to, for that matter."

As the group contemplated what to do, the centaur laughed as he disintegrated away into nothingness, his essence returning to the underworld. The deity, however, did not bother with the dying centaur's mocking laughter. His chief concern was the survival of his friends. It was at that time that he looked deep into himself to see what he could and could not do. Every ability he mastered, every magic he learned, every weapon he wielded, nothing could serve him in this fight. He knew that it was useless to try and stop it with what he has already used. But Justin knew that there was still one weapon he did not use. A weapon he recently obtained but felt it too powerful to be called upon. The power of it was so overwhelming that it made the blond boy too afraid to summon it into battle, but knowing that, he did not even know what the weapon looked like, much less what it was. He required a lot of power and energy to summon it, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Going deep into reflection, Justin's surroundings slowly vanished and everything around him faded into nothingness. When he opened his eyes, Justin found himself surrounded by nothing but the pitch black of darkness and the skies lit by myriad stars shining with aetherial light down onto the dark abyss he was in. "Mordaelyth?" Justin called. "Where are you?"

"The young successor of my long fallen deity finally calls to me..." The dragon spoke, his deep disembodied voice giving off a slight echo. A moment later, he emerged in the distance, fully formed and unbelievably majestic. A white dragon with gold-plated pieces on his head, body, and limbs. His eyes glowed with a blue hue. "The power he bestowed upon me was too much for me to bear, but with it, I was able to reach out to you and give it to its rightful owner. However, I can see you are yet to summon this power and mold it into a weapon and I fail to see why."

"Well, i-it's just too overwhelming," Justin replied. "I don't know what to do with it. I'm also sure it isn't just any other weapon, now, is it?"

"That shall be up to you. You only need to allow yourself to channel this power of yours and absorb it into your being, just like you did with what powers my brethren bestowed upon you. You are a deity, Juxtynoktrios. You have a responsibility to your subjects. To wield this power is not just your right, it's your duty and responsibility. But you already know all of this, so I fail to see the reason why you are overwhelmed by it. Could you be worried that such power is beyond you to control? Or is the weapon too big for you to wield?"

"Y-Yes! That sort of thing!" Justin exclaimed. "I also don't want to cause destruction on a humongous scale as collateral damage."

"Your fears are not unfounded, young lord. A power such as this could level entire cities if used with reckless abandon. There is indeed wisdom in your words. Still, you and your allies are in mortal danger, and you require the aid of this power of cosmic proportions. When you obtain a portion of your powers from my brethren, your subconscious form gives this power physical shapes as armaments that you are familiar with. Weapons that you have been trained to wield and use effectively. What I bestowed upon you, however, is something that cannot be contained within a simple weapon."

"I remember when I obtained my railgun. The power I wielded was way more than I was used to at that point, and yet it adapted to form a complex killing machine that utilizes multiple factors and parts to make it work. Not an ax I could swing around, or a sword, or a spear..." Justin spoke to himself.

"Then your next path is clear. Your subconscious cannot meld and forge such power on its own, which means you must forge it with your own willpower." Hearing this, Justin took another deep breath and closed his eyes, letting his mind drift and imagine.

The dragon then continued: "Focus on this power and imagine the shape it must take. Envision all the complex variables used to operate your weapon and split this energy into manageable parts that work harmoniously with one another." 

Justin started to imagine. He began by remembering every weapon he ever wielded and seeing what could work, then he moved onto things from his memories, seeing people and places that and reminding himself of his journey. He recalled all the fighting that brought him here. All the struggles and all the sacrifices. Justin remembered how he fought within the city against all the imperial robots and drones. All the warships and even the mother ship he destroyed. He reminded himself of the destruction he witnessed and the chaos that came from deploying so many weapons upon his city. And that is when he realized it. Justin smiled, finally forming his latest weapon, one that is no mere plaything. It would be a weapon by name, but it would house many other features too. It would be a tool of destruction at astronomical proportions. But it would be something that is totally within his control so that it can only hurt those who deserve it. Once he finalized the weapon, Justin opened his eyes to find that he returned to his full-consciousness and found himself among his allies. The gargantuan demon in the sky was still readying his destruction beam. But unlike a moment ago, there would be no need for running away or hiding.

Continuous beeps played from his watch, and when he looked at it, he saw a text that said: "TARGET CONFIRMED." Smiling, he pressed on it, knowing exactly what will happen.

Suddenly, multitudinous missiles struck the demon and exploded in its face, interrupting the attack. The monster roared in the direction of the missiles, only to hear an earsplitting horn blasting right back at it.

"What was that?!" Mia shouted, looking at Justin to see him looking at the sky and smiling. 

"My new weapon."

Everyone in the city watched as a cosmic ship emerged from the far north, blasting turrets and missiles at the demons within the city and slowly approaching Justin and his allies. The ship's form was something literally out of the world. Its length was about nearly 20 kilometers and no amount of demonic firepower could bring it down. As the demon roared at it and fired its energy beam, the ship was only shaken by the attack, but not damaged whatsoever. It fired back with a bunch of missiles and aimed a laser cannon at the monster before waiting for Justin to issue the command. The young deity looked at his group and said: "Go to the oracle. I'll return in a moment."

A beam of light emerged from the ship and whisked Justin away to the bridge. Inside, it was filled to the brim with screens and buttons, each having its own purpose. But since the ship was powered by magic, there was no need for a crew. Justin took a seat in the captain's chair and watched as a screen popped up out of nowhere, indicating the laser weapon was ready for firing. Pressing the fire button, Justin fired his cannon at the monster. But suddenly, more and more demon portals emerged, spawning similar monsters, to which Justin engaged the automatic turret defenses and readied the missile launchers. As the creatures fired at the deity's ship it shook in the air and caused Justin to lose his balance. Justin did not give up and continued firing his missiles and cannons before readying the ship to fire its laser cannons again, having switched some auxiliary power from the ship to the cannons to charge them faster. After a few minutes of struggling, Justin used the ship's commands to contact Mia. 

"Justin is that you?!" She shouted as she saw his face as he sat in the captain's seat.

"Are you all alright?" He asked. 

"Justin!" Zack snatched Mia's phone from her hands. "What in the world is going on?! Did you summon this spaceship?! Is it yours?!"

"It is, now I need you to-"

"How in the hell did you summon a spaceship?! A SPACESHIP!!!!" Alex shouted. 

Justin also heard Ethan's voice in the background, saying: "Is this Justin's doing?!"

He sighed and closed the call soon after, leaving him to focus on the enemies' attacks. As the demons bombarded his ship with attacks, he fired back with a manually-controlled turret to take down those who decided to flew onto the ship. "Come on, come on, come on..." He said to himself before the cannons loaded, and when they were ready, "FIRE!"

Justin fired his aether-charged laser cannons at the demons, killing them all swiftly as everyone below watched them as kids would watch fireworks. But even as the demons in the sky perished, many demons on the ground remained. Justin knew that, and he would not spare them from the wrath of the war god. 

"It's time for us to turn the tables. I'll erase you all out of existence. This will be my divine retribution!"