- Saint and the five -
Saint stood among the demons she had broken, her body more red and black than white. She looked over at the rescued that were staring at her in disbelief. She stepped over one of the numerous corpses she had made and walked back to the five.
"We need to move," She said to Lao. "There's no guarantee they won't send more our way."
"Does it matter?" One of the rescued ask. "You were able to handle all of them."
Saint's expression shifted from irritation to fatigue. She wasn't sure what to say to that. She felt like her reasons for wanting to leave were selfish.
"Just because we can fight alone doesn't mean we should," Lao said to the rescued.
"Don't burden her further," Sabu said.
"Sabu!" Yvere exclaimed.
"He's right," Lao defended him. "She shouldn't even be here. This wasn't her fight in the first place."
Saint closed her eyes and exhaled. She always hated this kind of situation. What was the right thing to say? What was she morally obligated to do? She would stick to her beliefs if pushed but she would prefer not needing to put her foot down. She opened her eyes and spoke.
"Come on," She motioned to the group. "I think we should meet up with the resistance."
The suggestion surprised Lao. The whole point to their position had been to avoid conflict. The change in her reasoning made sense to him but he still didn't expect it.
'Satan...' Saint thought. 'Why are you helping these monsters? Are you truly that bored with existence?'
Saint started to quietly head towards the resistance. She didn't want to argue or even speak. Whether the rescued followed her or not didn't matter anymore. Her objectives had changed.
- Saint and Satan -
(Past)
Saint and Satan were sitting in front of a chessboard making moves.
"Do we really need to play this while we talk?" Saint asked.
"Would you prefer just sitting at an empty table?" Satan responded.
"Yes," Saint was quick to answer. "Whatever..." She made her move. "You wanted to speak, you wanted to play, so go on."
"I'm worried about the fallen," Satan made his move. "I don't know what Death hopes to accomplish having him work with me."
"You know what he wants, you just don't accept it." Saint moved her piece. "Is he really that difficult to work with?"
"No," Satan said. "He's actually quite proficient at his job. That's what worries me."
"You're worried?" Saint chuckled. "Really? You think an archangel is going to usurp you?"
"No," Satan picked at his teeth. "I'm worried that Death will try to remove me from my position."
"What?" Saint said in disbelief. "You can't be serious? Where is this distrust coming from?"
"You know where, you just don't accept it," Satan smiled. "Check."
"It's not the same," Saint shook her head. "Don't create problems because you're bored."
"I'm always bored, that isn't what this is about," Satan picked his teeth. "Check."
"What happened to you?" Saint mumbled. "I'm clearly going to lose."
"Obviously," Satan joked.
Satan paused for a moment. He didn't make a move or say anything. His mouth shifted from a grin to a scowl. He made his move and spoke.
"Just...just promise me that you won't let him take this place from me."
"I'll always help keep you from killing each other," Saint sighed.
Satan smiled and checkmated Saint. The two exchanged stories before parting, Satan telling of humans he's processed, and Saint the things she saw on her travels. Saint looked back at Satan as she left Hell, concerned about the future.
- Team one -
(Present)
Everyone on team one retreated back to meet up with team two as the large force of demons pursued. Peter and Yamato were staying near the back. They weren't stopping to fight but they both wanted to be close in case their pursuers caught up to them.
"Thanks for healing her," Oliver thanked Hyou.
"In your opinion as a Grim, what are our chances?" Hyou asked.
"Depends how quickly Death catches up with us," Oliver's tone was confident.
"I still have my contract activation if I need it," Ming signed to William.
"Do you even have the mana to sustain it?" William questioned her.
"I'm just saying I have it," Ming signed angrily.
Ming's response was curter than she meant to be. William didn't take offense by her tone, instead deciding to just smile and say "I trust you."
- Death, Lucifer, Kahvis -
Death rode into Bolotano. Hrom's maneuverability in the mud was nowhere near what it had been on the prior battlefields but it was still fast enough to outrun the demon armies. He tore through the backline of demons that had been pursuing team one.
Lucifer had been keeping an eye out for any magic coming towards the three of them. He was essentially Kahvis's protector in his current position.
Kahvis only had enough strength to hold onto Lucifer. Any chance of them responding to a magic attack was practically zero. They were curious as to how Lucifer still had mana given that the two of them have fought the same amount over the last two days.
- Moloch, Baal, Urdros, Baastra, Mileera -
"Two commanders gone for nothing!" Moloch shouted.
"Why wasn't your healer with them?" Urdros questioned.
Moloch looked at Urdros with fury. He barely tolerated disrespect from his own commanders, much less Baal's. He was about to yell at the large curled-horn demon until he saw Baal giving him a warning stare not to.
"It doesn't matter," Baal grunted. "We need to keep pushing forward while we can. If we keep the fighting going we'll be sure to win once Satan's army arrives."
Baastra was staring at Molakar and Jahkar's bodies. They had been practice partners in the past. He had always been the best among the three when it came to fire magic but he never expected them to die. He looked at the warped face of Jahkar and then glared at an unaware Moloch.
'You made him take that thing's contract and then leave your best healer in the back!'
Baastra was furious. Once this battle was over he would have a lot to say to his father about the alliance with Moloch. Their potential victory had only been possible due to their joint efforts but the loss of his friends had made him question whether it would still be worth dealing with the four-horned torturer.
Mileera showed up to give a report to Baal about what had happened on the battlefield.
"She was decapitated?" Urdros said through his teeth.
"I'm not sure what happened," Mileera shook her head. "The sharp-eyed one's eldritch contract must give them the power to paralyze through eye contact."
Baal looked at Urdros. He was still furious for Urdros's past actions but he wasn't so tactless to tell him to get over it.
"She was unlucky," Baal said to Urdros.
Urdros didn't respond. He closed his eyes and pictured Moloch in his mind.
(Past)
"I don't trust void-eyes," Baastra said.
"Too bad," Urdros huffed. "If ours don't work with his we'll be destroyed."
"I've spoken with your sister about him," Baastra informed. "Did you know he's asked her to assist him with healing his victims?"
"I've heard," Urdros sighed. "I don't know why Kut'thar is never around to help with that stuff..."
(Present)
"Let's go, Lord Baal," Urdros asserted. "This isn't just about her, but every demon that's fallen today."
Baal smiled and started to run towards Bolotano with Mileera alongside him. Moloch flew above, bringing his wave of blood with him. Baastra and Urdros stayed back for a moment.
"I know my father didn't care for them but Jahkar and Molakar deserved better," Baastra said.
"No point in thinking about it now," Urdros sighed. "Let's win this war, then we'll discuss our alliance with void-eyes."
- The resistance -
Death, Lucifer, and Kahvis caught up with team one. Lucifer hopped off and asked Peter for information while Yamato ran up to Death.
"What happened, Rider?!" Yamato shouted at Death. "How did you let two commanders get around you?!"
Oliver struck Yamato in the face before being grabbed by William and Hyou.
"Watch your fucking mouth!" Oliver shouted as he struggled out of Hyou's grip. "Sorry he didn't kill an ENTIRE ARMY for you!"
Ming ran over with some of the other commanders, wondering what was going on.
"There's no time for this!" Death shouted. "We still have actual enemies to deal with!"
"He's right..." Kahvis said in a delirious tone. "We still have Satan's forces to deal with eventually, we can't afford to waste...to waste our time fighting each other."
"Saint?" Death said as he saw Saint approach with the five.
"WHO NEEDS HEALING?" Saint shouted.
Yamato's anger with Death hadn't faded until he saw him return to his normal form.
"Are you helping us?" Death asked Saint.
Death's body horrified the resistance soldiers. His body was heavily perforated. His robe barely covered his skin with how little fabric it had left. Saint put her hand on his body and started healing him quickly while leaning in and whispering.
"They don't stand a chance otherwise. I don't know why Satan is doing this but I do know I don't want these monsters winning"
Peter and Lucifer brought the five up to speed with everything that happened.
"Three commanders dead is a good start," Sabu said.
"It's a start," Lucifer said. "Unfortunately though, I might be nearing depletion."
The six members of Lucifer's team were in complete disbelief.
"Did using your wings as a shield really burn that much mana?" Elijah asked.
"Yes," Lucifer sighed. "Using angel wings as a shield isn't unheard of but using them over and over again is one of the first things my kind tells new angels not to do."
"How "near" are we talking?" Elijah asked.
"Enough to fight Moloch and Baal, maybe," Lucifer said. "As far as fighting Satan's forces go, I'm not sure."
"So our chances lie with Death?" Peter asked.
"They always did," Lucifer responded. "Now it's just more so."
Lucifer had a lot going through his head. The fact that Moloch went to help Baal and the brief attempt at strategy from Molakar seemed out of place. His original confidence in challenging the two armies came from their dysfunction and brain-dead way of fighting. It wasn't a massive change, and whatever was happening hadn't cost his side anything but it did give him concerns for the future of this battle.