"Who are you calling a 'mod' like that?!"
"Who do you think, you stinking rat?! It's you!"
Alora and Rogue watched Jacob, who was unrecognizable after Tony's words. He no longer spoke, stared at the ground, and remained motionless. His typically jovial and jester-like demeanor had vanished, replaced by a cold posture and an icy expression. His eyes were hidden by his blonde hair, which fell across his face.
"I admit I've hurt many people on Earth, and I deeply regret it. But seeing someone like you, who lives only to torture and kill... It makes me want to vomit."
With a serious demeanor, Jacob reached out his hand and conjured a simple iron sword amidst a flurry of pixels.
"Whether you're dead or alive... You're the same to me."
To emphasize his point, he released his yellow-colored mana in a blazing aura explosion, holding the sword with both hands. He lifted his head, his expression both determined and stoic.
"A killer remains a killer, a monster remains a monster... and scum like you will remain so your entire life!"
As soon as he uttered these vengeful statements, Jacob charged at Tony, intent on taking him down for his crimes, driven by the same anger that Yanis had in his eyes. Tony, in turn, brought out his two nunchaku and began to run towards Jacob.
"Here we go! Ahah!", Tony laughed.
His sword clashed with Tony's nunchaku in a one-sided battle, where Tony had the upper hand. His weapon mastery was clearly superior to Jacob's, who merely managed to defend against the aggressive blows from his opponent.
"What's with that weak sword?!"
"I'm here to protect my friends, and your nunchaku won't save you!"
"You remind me of Yanis on Earth, ahah!"
Tony took a running start while overpowering Jacob, then leapt as high as he could into the sky, spinning at a dizzying speed. His nunchaku glowed with a blinding demonic hue, illuminating the plain where they battled.
"Say your goodbyes, 'mod'! And tell Léa for me that I'll see her in Hell!"
"Léa?!"
Tony sped towards Jacob with the kinetic energy from his spinning move, creating a powerful surge in his nunchaku. When he struck Jacob, a massive dust crater formed, covering the area. Emerging from the dust was Rogue, who bravely positioned himself in front of Tony, firmly holding the two nunchakus, which seemed frozen in a stream of digital coding.
"What?!"
"You won't be killing anyone tonight!"
Tony slipped his nunchaku into the shadows to neutralize Rogue's power. With a merciless and cruel look, he dealt a series of bloody punches to Rogue. One, two, then three, Tony's aggressive strikes landed on Rogue's face, who struggled to catch his breath from the unparalleled speed of the blows. Covered in wounds and blood and not possessing the same physical resilience as Yanis, Rogue eventually fell to the ground unconscious.
"And here we go! You keep your big mouth shut now."
Behind them, Alora was on her knees, tearfully and desperately trying to revive Yanis, who lay unconscious, covered in injuries and blood.
"Yanis... Wake up, please..."
Yanis's breathing was weak, his body battered by Tony's nunchaku blows. Alora's words and efforts couldn't awaken Yanis from his concussion.
"Yanis... I've always dreamt of having a brother. A brother to protect his sister. A brother who gives advice and watches over others..."
Embracing Yanis in a tender and desperate hug, she whispered the words revealing the fraternal love they shared.
"Ever since we got here... I knew right away that you were a good person. I've always seen you as a brotherly figure, so please don't die. I know you're a good person. I just know it... And nothing else will make a difference..."
*
Returning to Dasra and Yorgor, their battle was exceptionally intense and action-packed. In the sky, no blow was left to chance, and the speed of their combat choreography was hard for the human eye to track.
Kalen, meanwhile, tried to find a way to free Gwendoline from Yorgor's mana lasso. He attempted repeatedly to cut it, whether by brute force or magic, but the lasso was as hard as diamond, without a single crack.
"Don't lose hope, Gwendoline. I'll get you out of this!"
"You see that it's hopeless!"
"Listen, Dasra is fighting a monumental and tough battle. It's my duty to save you and your friends!"
He then raised his hand, forming a point, and wrapped it in an opaque green bubble.
"What are you doing?!"
"A temporal technique to cancel Yorgor's mana lasso... But there's a good chance I'll faint afterward... It drains a lot of energy."
Kalen struck the lasso with a quick, sharp blow. The temporal bubble absorbed the lasso that imprisoned Gwendoline, and it vanished in a shimmering scarlet green cloud.
"You're free now!"
Kalen took Gwendoline's hand in a gesture of compassion to help her up. But she soon noticed a daze behind his eyes, as if his thoughts and words were struggling to come together.
"Good... luc... next..."
With those final words, he slumped into Gwendoline's arms, unconscious.
"SIRIUS!" she cried out.
She stopped herself mid-sentence, surprised to have uttered the wrong name, which was uncharacteristic of her.
"What's happening to me?!"
Her power awakened in a new form. This time, love surfaced. From her perspective, this emotion painted everything in pink, and she could see a soft rosy hue within Kalen's brain.
"Is it his emotions? But why did I say 'Sirius'? I clearly knew his name was Kalen."
Gwendoline shook off her confusion, lifted Kalen onto her back with her remaining strength, and began a race against time to the cart at the village entrance.
Meanwhile, Dasra was fighting with her last bit of strength. Her blows grew slower, and she found it challenging to fend off Yorgor's aggression. She used her last reserves to buy time for the Lost Ones.
I can't hold on much longer, he's so much faster and stronger than me!
Yorgor began to tire of the battle with the Phoenix woman. His previously arrogant stance shifted to one of irritation, wanting to end the battle.
"Enough! You've entertained me long enough, woman!"
Without much effort, Yorgor pierced Dasra's abdomen with his arm. Blood spurted everywhere, and her white wings began to dissipate into smoke of the same color.
"When you rise from your ashes in two months, know that the world you'll return to won't be the one you once knew."
As Dasra struggled to voice her final words due to blood filling her lungs, she was once again ready to leave the world and draw her last breath.
"What do you mean?"
"We, the Archdemons of emotions, are back. The world is witnessing its final moments of happiness before entering a new era of domination and anarchy!"
"You'll dominate the world? Again?"
"We? No. We'll resurrect the two most powerful demonic beings Trillia has ever known. They will restore order and chaos, just as they did eight hundred years ago!"
"What—"
In a swift move, he violently hurled Dasra's body to the ground, annihilating the village. Floating above, he then spotted what sealed the battle's outcome: thousands of knights and mages approaching the village.
"Well, the party's over. I'll get the girl and Tony, and we're out."
Glancing towards Gwendoline's last known location, he was horrified to see she had vanished with Kalen. He growled, clenching his enormous fists tighter than ever.
"Damn it!"
*
Back with Jacob and Rogue, the two were still deep in their heated battle against Tony, helped by Igdifir. Tony was brutally thrashing the two teenagers, his swift movements with the nunchakus too fast to track. Blows landed again and again, resulting in a frenzied noise, accompanied by splatters of blood on the ground. Jacob and Rogue were left badly disfigured. Igdifir was hurling fireballs and water waves at Tony, but his demonic energy helped him neutralize them all.
"Well, weaklings. Can't keep up with me?"
As he uttered these words, someone grabbed him firmly by the shoulder from behind.
"Shut your mouth, bitch. Remember it's me you're fighting!"
Yanis glared at Tony, his gaze cold and merciless. Tony whipped around swiftly, trying to strike him with his nunchaku. Effortlessly, Yanis dodged Tony's lethal blow and retaliated with a high-kick that surpassed hypersonic speed. Tony crashed onto the cracked ground, drooling with a bleeding head.
"Guys... Thank you... You protected both Alora and me...
"Don't worry. We're friends, after all," Jacob chuckled.
"No... From tonight... You're my brothers."
As Jacob and Rogue looked on, Yanis, looking fatigued and injured, walked over to them. Unexpectedly, Yanis tenderly pulled both of them into a hug, gratitude evident in his embrace.
"I owe you guys an explanation now...
"We'll talk back at home. Don't worry about it," Rogue replied.
Unbeknownst to them, Tony had roused from his lethargic state, powered by his demonic energy. He was poised to strike Alora with a dark machete, its aura as foreboding as the shadows, held against her neck.
"Hey! Get on your knees now! Or I'll kill this busty girl!"
But Tony didn't get the reaction he expected. All three boys sported mocking smiles, their nonchalant attitude throwing him off.
"What's gotten into you, jerks?!
"Sweet dreams! Hope they're nightmares!" taunted Yanis.
Tony dropped to the ground, peacefully asleep, thanks to Alora's touch. She had bewitched him with her dream-controlling power. After the commotion, the moon cast the shadow of a giant figure hovering in the sky. It was Yorgor, landing to retrieve the body of his protégé.
"You put up a good fight against Tony. But be warned, the next time we meet, things will be different. Until then, enjoy your short-lived lives, brats."
"Hey! Are you the Archdemon of anger? Why was that jerk Tony here?"
"You'll find out soon enough, kid."
Without another word, he flew away from the ravaged village. The mission was over, and the young Lost Ones hadn't quite realized how fortunate they had been in that encounter.