Belphegor closed his eye,
Extracting his nightmares regardless of his want.
And since he had no time to filter them out,
He released everything there is, around.
The moment he did open his eye,
He was dumbfounded for a while.
His heart quickly paced three times faster,
Seeing several clones of Luna,
Whom he haven't seen physically since forever.
They looked like shadowy figures,
But they all have 'her' features.
And even without Belphegor's control,
They somehow knew what to do.
They managed to make a formation,
Speaking to each clone.
Formulating a plan to take the monsters one by one,
As Belphegor was still at shock.
He tried to look around, to see if there was more summons,
And was now even more surprised, to see the angels he used to slaughter.
They emotionlessly look at him, as if waiting for an order,
And that was when Belphegor realized,
he had been haunted by guilt all along.
He then moved his fingers,
Like a puppeteer would.
And by his command they fought alongside the Lunas,
Hoping that the enemies won't last.
His tears were blurring his vision again,
Still in great disbelief.
The huge monster took his distraction as an oppurtunity,
To have him on his teeth.
Before he could even think about it though,
The Lunas quickly assembled.
The two dozen clones charged at the monster with no mercy,
And the monster did the same.
Belphegor felt like being stabbed in the heart again,
Seeing his precious Lunas die before him.
He gritted his teeth and tried to extract more nightmares,
But by doing this,
he was torturing himself.
The people he knew who died in the past,
Fell into a repeated cycle of birth and death.
He felt wrong to be using them as summons,
But he simply had no choice.
Nothing had been haunting his dreams more than the people he failed to save,
And the people he killed.
And seeing them die for his sake,
Almost pushed him to insanity.
Suddenly, he heard the familiar growl behind him.
And saw Beelzebub, had came.
"Beelzebub! You're too weak for this!
Speed and fangs won't work on them!"
Belphegor worriedly told him,
But that did not stopped the other demon's steps.
He ran towards Belphegor, persistent.
"I will always, try to help."
"But I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around.
Beelzebub, even if you're a demon Lord, you can't simply outrun them at once.
You should leave me, I'll figure out a way.
I will come back, so please, just stay out of this.
Listen to what I say."
Beelzebub angrily growled at him,
Which made Belphegor stop talking.
Soon, Beelzebub calmed down.
"I don't need your pity. I'm not deserving of it all.
I killed a lot of people, and had my greed consume me.
If I die today, then so be it.
It's better than living eternally famished."
Belphegor felt saddened hearing Beelzebub's statement,
But understanding the situation he's in, did no longer stop him.
He simply put his hand on Beelzebub's head,
Extracting another batch of his nightmares.
"Sorry for borrowing them without your consent.
Now, don't die on me. Don't even think about it for a moment.
We still have a lot of things to do to prove we've changed.
We'd still wait until Asmo gets married."
Beelzebub only smirked, as he charged at the nearest monster,
"I'll keep that in mind. But first, I need to satisfy my hunger."
Belphegor in turn, rose his hands once more,
Revealing huge venus fly-trap like monsters.
They were black, and salivating a purplish liquid that burns flesh easily,
And with the new opponents,
The advantage has been stripped away from the enemy.
Azazel's monsters soon found out that the acidic spit could melt through barriers,
Showing how Beelzebub's nightmare work.
Belphegor then concluded that Beelzebub's nightmare was about himself,
Scared that even the angels wouldn't be able to stop him.
.
.
.
"Grrrr-Ahhh!!!" Beelzebub growled as he pounced on its back.
The nearest monster shrieked and tried to hold him as well,
But Beelzebub's razor sharp claws had freed him from its grip,
Making blood, continously drip.
The aroma had him in a state of trance,
Trapping his consciousness deep in mind.
His orange eyes again turned white,
As his animalistic instincts kicked in for the while.
His stomach opened revealing a huge mouth tearing his own skin.
And soon enough, Belphegor knew it was it.
Beelzebub may or may not return to his original state,
Seeing that the huge mouth, had taken control of his head.
Beelzebub growled again, showing his dominance,
But before the monster could recover was tackled again.
More monsters tried to stop him,
But the monsters on Beelzebub's back only ate them.
They grew bigger and so was Beelzebub,
Who kept eating and eating, as if he hadn't have.
The huge mouth on his torso definitely helped him a lot,
As it helped him consume more bodies, incredibly fast.
Belphegor cheered for Beelzebub, though he knew he wouldn't remember,
As his brother was still, only thinking of slaughter.
Soon, he ordered the remaining eight Lunas to cover up Beelzebub,
As he grew bigger and bigger,
Till it faces the final round.
"I underestimated the power of gluttony,"
Belphegor could only mutter softly.
Once pure gluttony consumed him,
Beelzebub could no longer think.
All that's in his mind was to eat every living creature.
The pain, the bruises, the cuts he recieves in turn,
didn't matter.
He just kept wanting more.
And what delicious scent was behind him,
The biggest monster of all,
Who felt very frightened.
Beelzebub snarled and showed his three mouths salivating nonstop.
With the other mouths on his torso and body, growling loud.
Soon, the saliva produced by the monsters on his back,
Made him temporary wings, that look like that of a fly's.
And with the new mode of transport,
He'd be stronger than he was.
And so long as he's not satisfied,
Everything...will be food in his eyes.
...
Martha and Joseph managed to find the window leading to the outside,
And all were happy that they're finally going out alive.
Martha took the rope tied on Joseph's hips,
And told the women to be careful on their way down, so to not slip.
Joseph was making sure that no one would approach them,
But before he could speak of his joy,
had an awful premonition recieved.
His worried expression, did the same to Martha.
Who may not hear what he's muttering,
but was certain he's in trouble.
He then quickly looked at Martha,
And told her to leave with the maids.
He gestured with what's left of his hand, and pointed outside.
But Martha, still crippled, could not understand.
Joseph then slashed one of his feathers,
And pointed to where they had first been.
"My sister, I feel she's in deep trouble.
And she'd die if I do not join in."
Martha stared at the feather and instantly remembered Zeharah.
Who was still, near the arena.
She quickly stared at Joseph's expression once again,
Which just seemed to have worsened.
The growing worry in his eyes was enough for Martha to nod her head,
And even if she's scared herself,
Only tried to understand the situation they're in.
As much as she hated being alone,
Joseph needed to help more.
So she waved her hand goodbye,
As Joseph could pray they survive.
Before he completely left,
He pulled out something from his pocket.
It was a necklace he wanted to give her sister,
And if ever he does not come back,
Would want Martha to give it to her.
"I know you understand.
Now, I may not be the best brother,
But I love her a lot.
If ever my clumsiness finally claim me.
Please make sure, she recieves my gift.
Give it to her when everything's peaceful,
So she wouldn't lose it, or have it destroyed."
Martha, despite not hearing a sound,
Had known the full context based on his face.
Joseph then turned his back and ran away,
As the left woman, could only pray.
"He's Joseph. He's good at fighting.
I shouldn't be worried...
He've countlessly done this..."
And yet, so did the others.
That ended up dead.
She tried to think positively,
But no matter how much she tried,
Was beaten by the melancholic atmosphere.
What if he died?
The last maid inside then suddenly pinched Martha to get her attention,
And warned that if she does not hurry, could be caught by a demon.
She then quickly joined in, and looked for the tower.
But upon landing on the ground,
was devastated to witness,
the several bodies of children that had scattered.
Most of the maids seemed to have recognized them,
And quickly grieved their deaths.
It was clear that though she could not know what they're chanting,
It was probably the children's names.
The darkness did not helped make her read their lips,
And just assumed, they're their children.
But after realizing that the demons could be looking at them from above,
Told the maids to quiet down.
Some of them however,
Wanted to be left out.
As most of them, who now know that their offspring had died,
Lost their yearning for life.
Martha, undeniably exhausted that point, felt completely angry.
She recalled how she had sold her sanity,
Her morals, her integrity,
Just to save them out of Azazel's sick game,
Only to give up, the very moment they got away.
She then told the others that weren't crying,
To follow her, if they value living.
Martha had fully lost her patience and temper,
Knowing that their sacrifice could be wasted over.
The women who have seen that Martha was willing to leave them behind,
Soon came back to their senses and stood.
Before they followed her steps however,
Severed their dead children's finger.
They kept it in their pockets,
As they still cry of heartbreak.
Martha soon saw more dead bodies on the ground,
And sighed, as it was no different.
She then wondered when wars will come to an end,
Or if it'd continue to be a never-ending cycle.
She stopped for a moment,
As she took time to observe the path she's looking for.
But was shocked when the maids passed by her,
Severing the dead children's finger.
They carefully wrapped them in a piece of cloth,
Before putting them in their pockets.
It was a weird thing to do without context,
But as she saw how they embrace them,
Had her heart melt.
They had got out, only to find their reason and strength completely dead.
It must have truly been, weakening for them.
She now realized how painful it must be a parent amidst a war,
And that their behaviour may not be rational, but all the more normal.
Martha then observed her own behaviour,
If she had, by the circumstances, gone cold.
Still, she reminded herself not to be too soft,
As there are monsters just waiting to devour them all.
And thus, as heartless as it may have sounded that point,
She looked at them firmly,
And said, "Let's go."