The prisoners immediately formed into groups of five. Many of them were volunteers who were part of Reaper teams previous to their capture, and those who weren't were very familiar with the five-man system.
In secret, they had appointed each other their roles in the event of a battle. Three dozen men equated to roughly seven full Reaper teams consisting of a Meister, Duelist, Fisher, Trickster, and Saviour. While their abilities weren't completely suited to their given role, there were methods that had been devised by Looking Glass for any person to fulfill certain roles even if they weren't completely suited to it.
While they had been weakened by the poisoned water, unbeknownst to them, they were inundated by the natural bloodlust of a Reaper. They were a deadly force ready to stand against the Lower Demon.
Only one Lower Demon had ever been killed- the one defeated by Looking Glass in order to cause his ascension to the Beta Echelon.
They were absolutely sure that Gremory would become the second.
They all rushed forward in unison.
A man with grey hair bit off one of his fingers, immediately transforming into a gigantic, horrifically misshapen form of himself. His forte turned him grotesque, a massive creature seemingly made of volatile liquid that crashed into Gremory, pinning him in place as soon as he had removed the metal spike.
Another man reached forward, grabbing an illusory blade out of thin air, wielding it as he rushed forward. Even despite his weakened state, he was able to summon enough strength to slash at the heel of the Lower Demon, causing it to falter and cry out in pain. That anguishing scream was like a thunderous boom, echoing endlessly in the quarry pit.
All Reapers recoiled, placing their hands against their ears as the pain reverberated in their head.
Mercury, who had experienced an even deeper pain the moment he had used the ability of the Miasma Imp's Shade was nearly unphased, rushing forward as he brandished the bone rapier.
Even he felt fatigue gnaw at his every movement. It was painful just to breath, his lungs feeling as if they had lost most of their capacity. His legs felt like they were wading through liquefied clay, and his arms felt weighed down by the heaviness of boulders.
But the innate bloodlust surged within him, propelling him forward.
He almost felt happy to be so exhausted.
He pierced the large toe of the Demon with the point of the Bone Rapier, spearing straight through and pinning it to the ground. Gremory howled once more, but this didn't cause him to hesitate. He lurched backwards, pulling away at the Rapier. Unlike when he had snapped the thinnest edge off of the Titan Centipede's spine, it had still derived from a creature all about hardened defense.
As Gremory pulled away from the sturdy Rapier, the flesh of his toe began to separate from his foot. The skin and sinew hung and stretched like strings between the two parts of the Demon as they separated, the bone fragmenting and snapping as his toe came off completely, crimson and molten pus leaking out from the wound.
Growing used to the booming cries of pain emanating from the Demon, the grouped Reapers had regained their composure, brandishing their tools and weapons as they rushed back towards him, pooling around his legs as they began to hack at his legs. His movement had already been hindered. It was now a matter of taking him out completely by overwhelming him with their numbers.
However, Gremory had also regained his composure, his maddened rage causing him to overlook the anguishing pain. He raised his fist, slamming down on the forms of one of the Reapers. Blood and flesh instantly spattered outwards, covering the Reaper's comrades with sinew and greyish brain matter. The two closest to the man that had been killed recoiled, an urge to vomit overtaking them, forgetting where they stood in that moment.
Suddenly, each one of the prisoners froze. Their limbs felt heavy, as if their blood had turned into stone. They collapsed to the ground, struggling for breath. To a lesser extent, Castrelle felt the same strange feeling course through him.
Instantly, he understood where it had derived from.
'The poison! But why is it suddenly affecting us now!?'
His eyes widened, seeing the stance Gremory had taken amidst the liquid giant that had engulfed him. His hand had raised, palm turned towards the ground. Small crystalline fragments swirled like a windstorm against his palm, emanating from each of the prisoners like strings attached to them.
Castrelle came to a horrifying realisation.
'We never discovered what Gremory's ability was! If he has some historical connection to this place- if his entire purpose here was that he can control the crystals, then he might have willingly and knowingly fed us the poisoned water! It's now the case that those crystalline fragments infest our body! If he can control them, he can control us!' Castrelle's gaze shook. 'But why!? It can't just be that he intended to limit us. Has he been trying to lure out Looking Glass!? No, there must be some greater reason! If he's sane enough to think up a plan like this, then he definitely meant something in his ramblings… but what!?'
Still able to move slightly, Castrelle turned towards Quincy and the unfamiliar man. That man had a grimace on his face, glancing at each individual fallen Reaper with an inquisitive, plotting expression.
"What's wrong with them!?" Mercury yelled out, looking over at Castrelle.
"The water we've been given by the Demon, it had fragments of crystals in it! I think this Demon has the ability to control those crystals!" He replied without thinking, as if compelled by the mysterious man. It felt like in that moment, he had been speaking to Looking Glass. The man just gave off that sort of feeling, as if he stood calmly above all.
Mercury bit his tongue, pulling his hood over his head, scanning his surroundings.
'They've been poisoned. If I can cure this with Sana, then the problem will be solved! But will Sana even work on a foreign entity!? It's not exactly an ailment! Moreover, there's nowhere for me to hide and use my ability! If I can find some way to remove their perception of me, I can test it out!'
There were many problems and contingencies that this plan depended on for him to even have a chance to test Sana out, not knowing if it would truly work. First, it would depend on the severely-weakened Castrelle and Quincy to fight alone against the Demon for an extended period of time. Second, he would have to get far enough away that no one would be able to perceive him. There was no guarantee that he would be able to find a suitable place to hide.
His eyes widened. 'No, there is one!'
His gaze shot over towards the massive iron spike that one of the men, Fare, had summoned from the Earth below. Because it had separated the prisoners from the Demon, they were perfectly positioned on the opposite end of it, giving him a place to obscure himself. If he could get past the Demon, he would have a short amount of time to try using Sana.
"Quincy!" Mercury called out, his voice turning rushed and serious. "I need time! Can you take him on!? You- Castrelle! I need you to fight him too!"
Castrelle, hesitant, raised the rusted ancient jian. 'How does he know my name!? So, he's a companion who followed my sister! He must have been told all about this situation! Can I really trust him though!?'
Immediately, Quincy rushed forward, brandishing the thin silver dagger. This made Castrelle reflect in an instant. If his sister trusted this man to this extent, he really must be a powerful figure as he first assumed. If that was the case, then he shouldn't hesitate to trust him either. Standing on two weary feet, Castrelle sprinted forth to meet his sister in battle.
In unison, Mercury took the long route, wary to avoid the gaze of the Demon that had begun to focus on the two siblings. His grip on the bone rapier tightened, his bloodlust churning within him like an unquenchable fire.
He really wanted to kill the Lower Demon himself, but there were more pressing issues at hand.
When he arrived at the large metal spike sticking out of the ground, he ducked behind it. It was about the width of two people, generously obscuring him from everyone's view. This was crucial, as being perceived by others as he was now would cause his abilities to instantly fail.
In a hushed tone, he whistled the note corresponding to the 'Sana' requiem.
He first consciously targeted this ability towards Castrelle, hoping that the distraction would be bolstered by his recovery, giving him more time to use Sana.
Castrelle dodged to the right as Gremory slammed his fist into the ground, causing it to rumble and crack underneath him.
Suddenly, bright sapphire lights surrounded Castrelle, runic emblems surrounding him in a circular shape as they rose high into the air, suspended. As the aqueous lights bathed his entire form, he was momentarily distracted, glancing around to gauge the cause of the sudden appearance of the lights.
However, he could not determine them. At the same time, they didn't have any seeming effect on him, so he willingly ignored it and continued dodging the slamming attacks of Gremory's fist.
Seeing this as he peered behind the metal spike, Mercury cursed underneath his breath. He tried once more, directing it towards Fare, the man who had initially summoned the metal spike. However, that man remained motionless on the ground, paralysed by the poisoned water.
Sana truly had no effect on the poisoned individuals, as the crystals that invaded their body did not constitute an ailment.
Cursing, he whistled the notes for the Vita requiem, causing Castrelle and Quincy to be enveloped in a bright emerald light, their fatigue and wounds slightly alleviated.
Each use of the requiems caused his fatigue to be sapped even further. At best, he had three uses left before he would fall to the ground due to excessive exhaustion. Already, his body had begun to shake violently, struggling to stand. His vision darkened at the edges, unconsciousness seeping inwards.
Willingly, he still began to whisper underneath his breath, undeterred. "Stasis."
A bright yellow aura radiated through the quarry pit, forming illusory golden chains that stretched high into the sky above, binding Gremory's hands. With his movement already hindered by the wounds he had sustained to his foot and heel, he was essentially a sitting duck.
However, this was only the case for the next ten seconds.
Mercury cried out from behind the pillar, shouting with the last of his strength.
"YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS!" His voice echoed out from behind the spike, reaching Castrelle and Quincy's ears clearly. "HIT HIM WITH ALL YOU HAVE! KILL THAT BASTARD!"
Hearing this, seeing that Gremory had frozen in place, struggling with the illusory golden chains, their motivations were bolstered. Wielding their weapons, the siblings rushed forward, dashing back and forth in unison, pushing past the painful exhaustion.
Frozen, Gremory grinned maddeningly. He opened his mouth, sticking out his cracked, pus-filled tongue. In his cheek, the two siblings saw several speared fragments of crystal embedded in his mouth. The Demon closed his mouth again, spitting out the fragments of crystal.
They pierced the sibling's flesh, the force knocking them to the ground. Their shoulders, legs, and abdomens were speared by the crystals. Gremory's hands were bound, but that did not mean they were unusable. The familiar strands of crystal emanating from the two siblings connected to his palm, and without a single movement, they were driven deep into the ground, pinning Castrelle and Quincy agonisingly to the stone floor below.
They cried out, helpless and in pain. Their muscles shook with fatigue, and their vision darkened.
All seemed bleak.
Then, the golden chains shattered. Seeing this, Mercury watched the two siblings pinned to the ground as the Lower Demon staggered forward, his movement still hindered. It was certain they would die. Mercury could no longer move, his muscles weighed down by exhaustion. It felt like he was carrying a mountain on his shoulders.
Gremory stood above the two siblings, a monstrous grin crossing his expression, revealing the rows of thousands of needle-like teeth behind his lipless mouth.
'Damn it!' Castrelle's mind raced. 'Will we really die here! If only I hadn't used Revenant Trial, then I might be able to find a way out of this! F-ck!'
Gremory pointed at the two siblings with his elongated finger, and then at the fallen Reapers.
"We feed the crystals… to the trees."
Suddenly, a resounding 'bang' rang out through the quarry, sounding like thunder booming in the distance. A metal object pierced through Gremory's neck at high speeds, causing blood and pus to erupt from a wound that had carved its way through Gremory's flesh, bursting through the other side.
Gremory clutched at his neck to stop the bleeding, glancing up at the tree-line on the cliff-face high above. Atop a pine tree, a masked figure let out a hollow-sounding breath, relaxing himself as he aimed down his rifle once more, pointing it towards the Lower Demon.
Looking Glass had arrived at the quarry.