Story of Darkness

Sleeping Demon
Azazel sat on his chair, in a dark lit room, the only light coming from several monitors he was facing, showing various imagery, some having violent scenes of battles, others simply following a single individual, or some barely having anything happen in them, among others. The light of the monitors perfectly lit his skeletal, pitch black face, while his pupiless eyes simply wandered from screen to screen. He adjusted his coat well, even removing his hood, revealing his bald head, and leaving the coat open, exposing his muscular build.

He sighed, bored "Ah, I need more hobbies." Azazel said, toying with a rubix cube in his hands while watching the monitors with disinterest "Nothing of excitement has occured for the last few days..." Azazel sounded like a spoiled little child, disappointed that he didn't get what he wanted.

"Maybe we should focus on freeing the other Thirteen Calamities?" Diana suggested to Azazel, as she simply sat at the corner of the room, with his Archive monitor lit.

"No, that's not the time yet." Azazel shrugged off Diana's words "Besides, I already sent Belial to get me the required ingredients. The other seals require extra time. Simply breaking the weakest one took me five years to succeed." Azazel said, recalling the intense research he performed in order to break the seal of even Midi, one of the weakest of the calamities. "My current priority is the Grand Demon however." Azazel rubbed his chin, putting down the complete rubix cube on a table "Yet, Archard is showing such promise. But, at the same meantime, so are the others." He rubbed his head in aggravation. There was simply too much work to do "This is what I get for being so dedicated to my work.".

"Wouldn't Hanzo and Kugoku be a problem however?" Diana said, projecting a monitor next to Azazel, showing images of Hanzo travelling alongside Kugoku "They set out to kill all the Thirteen Calamities, starting from the weakest in Midi and Enca.".

"...Hehehe." Azazel chuckled, truly amused "It's a shame they'll only find them dead." Azazel got up from his seat, hearing footsteps draw near. Turning around, he saw Marx, or Belial as he addresses him, enter the room, having returned carrying an unconscious and still nude Carmina, as well as Deviot's heart in his hand "Ah, right on time. Excellent work, Belial.".

"Where shall I put them?" Marx asked Azazel, sounding impatient.

"Oh, wherever. Just be gentle. I need them still active." Azazel said, and Marx laid Carmina on a table, and placed her brother's still beating heart on a stool next to the table. "As expected of a Demon's heart, it still beats even after being torn out." Azazel said, commenting on the vigor still remaining within this demon heart "How fascinating.".

"Cool. Anywho." Marx took off his bloodied left glove, tossing it on the ground, exposing his pale skinned hand "I'll be off." He said, turning around, preparing to leave.

"You're going to visit the missus?" Azazel asked Marx, almost as if he was taunting him. "Tell her I said hi.".

"...Heh." Marx seemed to twitch in irritation, but kept his composure "Don't worry, I'll make sure I tell her the doctor said hi." And with that, Marx left the room. As he did, a hologram of Diana appeared next to him, beginning to follow him.

"How're they doing?" Diana asked Marx.

"Fine." He didn't sound like someone in the mood for chatting.

"Should I keep Azazel off for a day or...?".

"A week." Marx said.

"A week?!" Diana tried to keep her voice down, immediately after that outburst "Are you insane...? Keeping Azazel occupied for a day is a pain, a whole week is impossible!".

"Please." Marx said to Diana "I have urgent matters to attend to." Marx snapped his fingers, vanishing from sight, and leaving a preplexed Diana behind.

"...Goddammit." Diana didn't like the thought of keeping Azazel occupied for an entire week. It would be downright impossible for her to. Mainly because Azazel is difficult to keep at bay once he's set his mind on anything.

"Diana! Come back, I require you to gather info!" Azazel called to Diana, who immediately reappeared in the room with him "I am going to spend quite some time working on these two..." Azazel said, as he placed Deviot's heart in a tube of water, to keep it from rotting and stabilized "Both shall be very important. Good for Belial, he'll have quite some time off." It was as if he was just playing with these two.

"Ah...Hahaha, I-...I see." Diana said, awkwardly laughing as she projected another Archive monitor before her to begin working.

"First, we must see if she's alive." Azazel said, grabbing Carmina's arm, and placing his fingers on her wrist to check for a pulse. "Yes. She's alive. But, I sense nothing from her. She truly became human. How disappointing..." Azazel sighed "But...that won't stop me. I can still work with this. This isn't a loss. This is a challenge!" He began to sound excited, rubbing his hands together. Azazel grabbed a nearby syringe, and proceeding to clean it, through a mundane sink, funnily enough. He washed it clean, and inserted the needle into his careful, extracting pitch black blood from within his veins "This amount should suffice.".

"Wait, Black Blood? On her?! But, if she's humanized, doesn't it mean the Black Blood will just kill her?" Diana asked Azazel "Even Mitera only survived through our assistance. There's no guarantee this lady will too.".

"Hehehe." Azazel chuckled "That is what a scientist does. He explores." Azazel shrugged off Diana's concerns, getting closer to Carmina, and getting a good hold of her arm "If a scientist simply sits and does nothing when an oppurtunity for "testing" presents itself, then he is a disgrace." Azazel said, as he injected the needle into Carmina's veins, releasing all the Black Blood within the syringe into her veins "That's one reason why I rather like Lamia. She fascinates me with her research. In only a few short days, she created a lifeform using my Black Blood, after only being introduced to it. I love it when someone researches new methods of usage for my things.".

"Even if you say that..." Diana looked over at Carmina, and by the reading she recieved from her monitor, her temperature began rising "It's taking effect already...? That's too fast!" Diana seemed to panic, as Carmina's body heated up even more, as if she was having a fever.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Azazel rubbed his chin "I guess her immune system is incredibly weak...so it recognized the Black Blood as a negative force. Turning human made it also perform the opposite protection mechanism. She is becoming sick from her own immune system, killing her. Could this be the result of freeing her from her seal?" Azazel deduced, placing his hand on Carmina's forehead. She was truly sick, and with a serious fever "Such a cruel jail. The moment you leave it, you are powerless, and easy to kill.".

"B-...Brother..." Carmina began speaking in her sleep, as her breathing became heavier "Deviot...".

"..." Azazel knew whom Carmina referred to, and it was of no matter to him, unfortunately for her. "Diana, get clothes for her, a bed, and make her some soup maybe. I'll begin working on more medicine." Azaazel ordered Diana, who seemed surprised at his orders "I'll need to work extra hard to support for both Mitera and Carmina.".

"...Okay, boss." Diana said, projecting two more physical holograms of herself.

"Don't call me boss. Makes me feel official." Azazel said to Diana.

It only took around an hour for Carmina to wake up after being given a patient's uniform, and being put in bed. Carmina rose up, feeling incredibly weak, in addition to a killer headache and dry throat "What is...?" Carmina was afraid to speak, her throat felt like she swallowed a wasp or something.

"Oh, you're up! Right on time." Diana entered the room, holding a tray with a bowl of chicken soup and spoon "Good morning. Hope you had a good dream there, missy." Diana laid the food tray on Carmina's lap, its four wooden legs standing neatly, with her legs inbetween them "Eat up. It should make your throat hurt less.".

Carmina simply glared at Diana, and then at the soup. She was very skeptical about the situation. It feels like it's been only a few seconds since she was in a bloody war, fighting against countless human soldiers, before being seperated from her brother. "...D-..." Carmina tried to call out her brother's name, but only pained grunts came out.

"Don't talk, I said. You're not in no condition to even walk out of bed." Diana said, sighing "You need to get used to your new body." Carmina simply stared with confusion at Diana "Oh, right." Diana projected a monitor infront of Carmina, using it as a mirror.

Carmina looked at her reflection, seeing a human face. She blinked rapidly, and then did a silly face, and then was sure. That was her face "...?!" Carmina's expression quickly changed to absolute horror. She looked at her hands, seeing she had human flesh. "My claws! My feathers! My...My wings!" Carmina clutched her shoulders, clawing them even. She had lost, not only her original body, but her identity as well...

"H-...Hey, careful now." Diana tried to calm down Carmina, since she was looking like she was about to have a breakdown. Carmina glared at Diana, her eyes watering and filled with rage, causing Diana to back away.

"Now, now." Azazel entered the room, shaking a vial with a blue liquid inside it, while holding a syringe in his right hand "No need to cry over losing your form. Because, I can restore it." Azazel said to Carmina, standing next to her bed "But, you don't trust me, do you?" Carmina shook her head, giving Azazel the reply he expected  "Diana, show Carmina her brother." Carmina's eyes widened as she heard that, infact, she was almost excited.

"But..." Diana sounded hesitant.

"I said, show it to her." Azazel's words sounded more persistent, and almost threatening towards Diana.

Diana pressed several buttons on her Archive board, projecting imagery behind Azazel, but still clear enough for Carmina to see them. Slowly, Carmina's smile and excited expression changed to a frown, and had a mixture of fear, sorrow and grief. Because what she wasn't her brother Deviot, but his last moments. A crumbling corpse on the ground, mutilated and breaking to dust, being picked up by the wind. Carmina broke into tears upon finding out about her brother's fate "D-...D-..." Trying to call out to him was even more difficult with tears running down her cheeks.

"It is painful, isn't it?" Azazel injected the substance from the vial into the syringe, and tossed the now empty via away, patting Carmina's shoulder with his free hand "I have one question for you, Carmina. If I told you who is responsible for your brother's death, would you accept my offer in gaining power far greater than before...and kill him?" Azazel asked Carmina.

Carmina looked up at Azazel's face. Despite his naturally menacing face, she didn't fret. Infact, her tears seem to have dried up, and her expression changed from sadness to determination, as she nodded "Y-...Y-...!" Carmina still struggled to speak, however.

"I can't hear you." But that simply nod didn't suffice to Azazel anyway. He wanted to hear her own words "Do you accept my offer?" This was just cruel by this point, trying to force someone with a pained throat to speak.

"Y-...!" Carmina took a deep breath, and began coughing painfully.

"I guess that's a no..." Azazel said, disappointed. As he turned his back to Carmina, ready to leave "Keep our guest welcomed though.".

"Wasn't that a bit too cruel?" Even Diana questioned Azazel.

"Such hypocrisy coming from someone like you." Azazel said to Diana, as he rasied his arm to Carmina, as a means of waving goodbye "It was nice seeing you're alive, Carmi-...".

"I will!" Carmina suddenly shouted, causing Azazel to stop dead in his tracks and silence "I will...take up..." Carmina coughed a bit more, she wasn't exactly fully ready to speak fluently again "I...your offer...I accept it!" Carmina still forced herself to speak though "So give me...give me the power to kill the bastard who took away Deviot from me!" Immediately as she stopped, Carmina began coughing violently, it almost looked like she was suffering heavily too. She covered her mouth as she coughed, and found blood dripping from her mouth as she did.

"Hehehe." Azazel turned to Carmina, his syringe raised and pointing upwards in his hand "Well said.".

"W-...What will that do...?" Carmina asked, as Diana was getting her a glass of water.

"Haha. You see..." Azazel was just about ready to begin a speech "Life...is like a river.".

"Wow, real original." Diana sarcastically mocked Azazel's beginning words.

"Excuse me." Azazel sounded offended by Diana's intervention "I am trying to make a marvelous philosophical speech that cements me as a genius.".

"Oh, yeah, sure. What's your next piece? Trees are blue and the sun is green?" She was enjoying this.

"Oh, you are just a top-class comedian. As if you have anything better." Azazel coughed, composing himself "Now, back to my speech.".

Night of Winter
Marx walked out of the door of the base. It's appearance was akin to a mansion from the outside. Very simple in design, but still quite big from the outside. The inside was less than impressive, however, being simply a collection of a few rooms in total, most of which Azazel uses to store his research and test subjects. The mansion's location, however, was the intriguing part, because it was located beneath the earth. Within a cave, to be more specific, surrounded by a deep, bottomless crater, with a four way bridge connecting to the center, where the mansion stood.

Marx walked on one of the bridges. However, suddenly, ten heads of pitch black skinned serpentine demons rose from the bottmless pit, staring down at Marx. With their size, they could devour him with one bite and swallow him whole "I don't have food for you today." Marx shrugged of the gigantic monsters, walking away and ignoring them, as all the heads looked back at Marx, appearing disappointed "Goddamn that Azazel.".

Passing through the cave system, Marx eventually found the exit. A wall. As humouros of a brick joke as it was, it was simply an illusion, and Marx easily phased through it, walking outside, to the snowy mountains. "Ah..." Marx breathed out, and as expected because of the cold weather, it was visible. Marx pulled out a card from under his sleeve, crumbling it in his hand, and opening his fist to reveal the card became a pocket watch, showing him the time "Huh, I have time. I'll go visit Hakuya then." Marx dusted himself, placing the watch in his pocket, and walking off.

It took a few hours, 6 infact, until he reached a forest, with leaveless trees, frozen and under mountains of snow. It was winter time in this section of Bosco. It was an area called "Tundra", because of its magical nature, it snows more often, a perfect simulation of actual winter, rarely ever having hot days. It was nowhere as bad as Iceberg however, but it had very few people living here. A perfect place for Azazel's secret place, as well as escapees from the cruel life in most of Bosco's cities and towns. Though, Azazel's base was located in the mountain side more than the lower parts, where most people would choose to live.

He continued down, until he reached a village. From afar, it was a simple place, possessing small huts and houses, but had heavy snow surrounding it. But, that wasn't what mattered, the frozen sculptures of humans and demons, with some lunging at the other, fallen on the ground, or broken, is what mattered. It's as if a battle took place, and all of a sudden...stopped.

"Hakuya! Hakuya, are you there?" Marx called out, looking around the village, being careful not to bump into any of the sculptures. He eventually reached one house, which had the least amount of snow around it. A woman exited the house, holding a broom, and wearing a rather odd outfit for this weather.

The woman had light grey hair, short and barely reaching her shoulders, and her eyes were light blue and pupiless. She wore a white kimono, revealing her shoulders, as well as exposing her cleavage. Yet, she seemed barely bothered with the cold. "Oh, Marx, is that you?" The woman, Hakuya, squinted her eyes to get a better look at him "Ah, it is! Come, come! I'll make you some tea.".

"Why are you still wearing that...?" Marx sounded bothered by Hakuya's kimono "I told you, cover up some more. I swear, just because you live in the least likeable place to be in, doesn't mean you're not in danger at all." Marx berated Hakuya over her attire, as he sat down on the house's porch, with his feet in the snow.

"Come now, you know I can take care of myself." Hakuya replied to Marx, igniting the stove's fire, and placing a pot of water to heat up "So, how was your job? I'm assuming you were busy, since it's been a few weeks since I've last seen you." Hakuya asked Marx, as she prepared the cups with the teabags in them.

Marx held his hands together, his fingers interwining, as he looked down before speaking "I...met my son's wife today." Marx said, mentioning his meeting with Lamia.

"Oh?! You did?!" Hakuya sounded excited "You always told me about your son, but never his wife! How is she?".

"Hehehe...She's perfect for him." Marx said, lying his head on his palm "She's stubborn, and isn't afraid of standing up against forces far greater than herself." Marx took a moment to recollect himself, trying to remember more things about her "Ah, she's also quite nice once you get to know her. Even willing to help out scum just to get back with her loved ones. Any man would be happy with such a woman." It was obvious Marx was mostly lying about certain things, or hiding the truth from Hakuya, giving vague explanations if nothing else.

"Sounds like your son found a woman like his mother." Hakuya said "It's nice how your son is already married. I bet he's happy, ain't he?".

"Haha, indeed. He even has a child on the way." Marx said, referring to the still unborn child of Amon and Aph. He managed to get that information thanks to Diana, who was doing her usual thing of spying from afar without being detected.

A few short minutes later, Hakuya sat on the porch next to Marx, holding two cups of nice hot tea in her hands, handing one over to Marx, that he grabbed "Oh, right, so how's your little girl and wife doing?" Hakuya asked Marx, taking a sip of her tea after blowing into it first.

"Ah, I haven't visited them yet..." Marx said, blowing on his tea, waiting for it to cool down a bit more. Shouldn't take too long with this weather "I decided to pay you a visit first.".

"Aww, I'm flattered." Hakuya said, giving Marx an "oh, you" hand gesture "But you should probably see them first. They probably miss you more." Hakuya said to Marx "I appreciate you caring, but, I'm sure your wife would love to hear all about her future grandchi-..." Hakuya stopped when she heard the sound of the cup breaking, shattering in Marx's hand because he gripped it to tightly, dripping the tea all over his right hand, and the snow "Oh, no!".

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt." Marx said. He didn't exactly lie, but his hands movement was a bit laggy because of the heat.

"Hold still." Hakuya grabbed Marx's right hand, as a blue aura emitted from her own palm, cooling down the heat of the tea splashed on Marx's hand "There, now don't move. I'll go get you some bandages.".

"It's fi-...".

"No! It's not!" Hakuya shouted at Marx, as if scolding him. She went back into the house, putting her cup of tea down, and returning with a medkit. "Gimme your hand." Marx did as Hakuya said, extending his hand to her. Hakuya began placing ointment on his burn marks, which were pretty clear, being bright red on his pale skin. She then wrapped his hand in bandages for the finishing touches. "There, better?".

Marx moved his hand. It was even more laggy because of the bandages restricting his movement. As he is, this would heal in less than a day, but, he can't tell that to Hakuya "It is. Thanks." Marx thanked Hakuya, as he stood up, adjusting his hat "Sorry, but I'll need to leave now. I'll drink tea with you next time.".

"It's okay." Hakuya said to Marx "Go to your family, I'll wait here as usual. Just come visit soon." Hakuya said to Marx, waving goodbye to him as he left.

Marx walked through the sculptures, putting his hands in his pockets, as he looked at these frozen figures. Something about them angered him. A...unshaking feeling that he wants to break all of them. But, he didn't let it get to him, and he just continued walking.

Hakuya picked up the broken cup pieces, carefully picking them up in her open palm, and throwing them into the trash can in her house, sighing "Again, I didn't manage to tell him..." Hakuya said, feeling frustrated. She splashed water on her face. Hot water to be specific, in order to calm herself "Calm down! You'll get your chance next time!" Hakuya said, determined "I will...tell him! But he's married..." Hakuya slumbed down on the floor, sitting down with her back against the wall, feeling depressed "I can't bring myself to get in the way of a married couple...I'm not that kind of woman! I can't be! But still...It'd be nice to not have these feelings stuck in my heart...What do I do...?".

"Hello?" A new voice called out, catching Hakuya's attention "Is anyone here?" The voice sounded young, and Hakuya quickly rushed outside, seeing a young boy, wearing an old ragged cloak, carrying a large bag, with a staff tied to his back, with a hood covering his head and shadowing his face "Oh! Hi miss!" The boy cheerfully waved to Hakuya.

"Oh, who are you?" Hakuya was surprised to see a new face in this part of the area. This area was one of the colder places, very dangerous for hiking, or just plain travelling.

"My name is Lancelot, but everyone calls me Lance." The boy, Lancelot, took off his hood, revealing his short spikey red gradient hair, and red eyes, in addition to a single scar on his left cheek "Are you Hakuya?".

"How do you know my name?" Hakuya tilted her head in confusion, keeping her hands behind her back as she faced this young man.

"I'm sorry, miss, but..." Lancelot suddenly vanished, only a flash of lightning remaining, as his clothes and baggage remained behind.

"Wha-...?!" Suddenly, Hakuya coughed blood. Looking down, she saw an arm going through her stomach, bleeding and drenching her white kimono crimson. Her blood dripped on the white snow, becoming extremely visible. Hakuya felt on her knees, but still tried to stay conscious. She turned her head, seeing Lancelot, wearing a chinese-style attire more fitting for battle beneath his cloak. "You...this magic...the same as mine...!".

"Devil Slayer." Lancelot answered to Hakuya call, frowning, as lightning generated around his palm "Don't take it personally, but this is a job.".

"No!" Large icicles rose from the ground, attempting to impale Lancelot, but missing him as he travelled a fair distance away, turning his body temporarily into lightning to dodge it effortlessly "I will not die...!" Hakuya stood back up, freezing her wound, stopping bleeding "I can't die yet!" Hakuya swiped her arm across in a vertical line, sending a blizzard of sharp icicles towards Lancelot, which quickly developed into a rain of small sharp icicles that could take down a small army with its numbers alone.

"Thunder Devil's..." Lancelot muttered under his breath, as the icicles drew closer, and lightning began to gather around his arm.

Lightning Strikes
"Ice Devil's...!" Hakuya clapped her hands together, gathering cold thermal energy around her "Mountain!" Hakuya seperated her hands, forming a blue sphere inbetween her palms. She threw the sphere far above Lancelot. "Crush!" Hakuya snapped her fingers, as the blue sphere began rapidly freezing the air around it, until it eventually turned into a gigantic jagged block of ice, falling down towards Lancelot at great speed due to its weight.

"Strike!" Lancelot clenched his hand into a fist, timing his punch accordingly. The moment the block reached him, he delivered a powerful punch, a spear-like figment following it. The moment he struck the block of ice, a large spear of lightning shattered the ice mountain in half, and into pieces.

"W-...What...?" Hakuya looked in horror as Lancelot was unscathed by her attack "Urgh...!" She fell on her knees, as she began to give into her wounds "D-...Dammit...!".

"You're not used to fighting another Mage, are you?" Lancelot deduced, walking closer to Hakuya "You've always slain demons I've heard. You never fought an experienced Mage, correct?" Lancelot looked around at the frozen figures "You froze this entire village while it was under attack by a clan of demons. I know the story of this place, and yours, Hakuya." Hakuya twitched, almost as if angered at Lancelot for his words "You...are the reason why you're so alone. Because of what you are.".

"Shut up!" Hakuya coughed blood after shouting "I...I am not...alone. I am surrounded by my family...I am...urgh...!".

Lancelot sighed, as if he's about to regret what he's about to do "Forgive me. But, this is my job." Lancelot gathered lightning around his hand, preparing to use it to impale Hakuya "Don't feel bad. I have many more years of experience, compared to you atleast." Lancelot stopped right infront of Hakuya "In addition...your eyesight is quite poor, isn't it?" Hakuya's eyes widened in shock at how Lancelot managed to deduce that.

"You used large attacks only. You can't aim properly either. In addition, your eyes..." Lancelot said, deducing Hakuya's poor vision "It's sad. But, I'll make sure you won't feel a thing after this. Sorry the first hit missed your heart. This one will be quick and swift." Lancelot raised his arm, preparing to strike down Hakuya.

"I...".

"You have set your fate in stone." Suddenly, a hand appeared infront of Lancelot's face, as he was smacked and sent flying by the owner of said hand, Marx, appearing as if out of nowhere.

"Mar-...!".

"Don't talk." Marx silenced a smiling Hakuya, causing her to frown in confusion "You're injured. Don't waste your breath." Marx clenched his hands into a fist, ripping the bandages off of his right hand, showing that his skin fully healed, no longer showing any signs of the burn marks "You, what is your name, boy?" Marx asked Lancelot, keeping up his usual jester tone.

Lancelot recomposed himself, rubbing his nose, now red from that strike "I didn't see him appear..." Lancelot thought to himself, stunned by Marx's speed "I am...Lancelot Verne, and you are?" Lancelot replied, and asked Marx back.

"I am Marx Dagonet..." Marx replied, chuckling "And I have been about to visit my wife and child...and then...a sudden flash was seen. And I...came rushing back." Marx adjusted his mask correctly on his face, pressing it against his face to keep it on firmly "So...I will ask this once. Why have I returned to crimson snow?".

"...I am here to get the bounty set on Hakuya's head." Lancelot replied "I was offered quite the bounty too, and my a batch of demons no less. Apparantly, they're too afraid to battle the woman who took out their entire clan in one swift move." Lancelot explained himself, but his guard was still up and sharp regardless.

"Ah, I see!" Marx clapped his hands to Lancelot, as if congratulating him "Goody! Goody! That gives me even more reason to murder you!" Marx charged at Lancelot, leaving behind a trail of his foot prints, as he closed the gap between the two in mere seconds, extending his open plam towards Lancelot "I will crush your skull first!".

"Tch." Lancelot vanished in a flash, without a trace left behind. He appeared next to Marx, delivering a powerful kick to his stomach, sending the jester flying up into the sky, the strength of his leg, channeling lightning, erupting into a spark of lightning in the moment of contact, damaging Marx even further.

"Hehe." Marx chuckled, despite having flown a fair distance into the sky by Lancelot's kick, his stomach exposed after the kick and lightning burnt his shirt and a part of his blazer "Lightning...Oh, how lovely." Marx came falling back down like a missile, aiming directly at Lancelot "Come at me, boy!".

"Thunder Devil's...!" Lancelot grinned, as he channeled lightning across his arm "Strike!" Lancelot and Marx clashed fists, erupting into a shockwave of lightning and air pressure at the moment of contact. Marx quickly stepped back, seeing his right arm was paralyzed, and bleeding heavily. Even though he hit with alot of power and momentum, he was still damaged just as bad, if not worse. Lancelot himself wasn't any better, his left arm was bleeding, and almost broke from that, if it wasn't for his lightning augmenting his speed and power.

"Hehehe, Thunder Devil Slayer?" Marx said, deducing what Lancelot's magic is "Pitiful. Is that truly the lightning of a Demon?" Marx raised his right arm, beginning to move his finger, and stretching his arm "The woman has more might than you!".

"Keh, I guess I need to guess serious." Lancelot said, extending his hand, as his staff levitating, shooting forth towards him. Marx narrowly dodged the staff as it came flying behind him. Lancelot caught the staff in his hand, taking a stance with it, as the fake image of a wooden staff it possessed vanished, revealing a straight staff made of metal. "Devil Synchronization." A large burst of magic power erupted into a column of lightning, as Lancelot's form changed, gaining long white hair, while an aura of lightning surrounded his entire being, and he grew a long, serpentine tail, as well as claws.

"Oh, impressive." Marx said "You didn't fight me full on yet. Well..." Marx clenched his hands into fists, preparing himself "I suppose I'll get a bit serious too!" Marx extended his arms forth, keeping them below his chin, and curled up into fists, almost mimicking a boxing stance, however, he kept his arms closer to his body than usual, and kept a space inbetween his legs, with one foot being more forward, compared to his other. "Dagonet Style." Marx muttered, preparing to go all out against Lancelot "Third Stance.".

Finishing Move
A few days have passed, and Azazel stood infront of an unconscious Carmina, sleeping in her bed "Diana." Azazel called to Diana, who immediately appeared before him.

"What is it?" Diana asked Azazel.

"I've done all I can for now with her. Go get Belial. We must now advance our plans a bit." Azazel ordered Diana "Tell him...there is a blonde woman, not Lamia, her name is Lucy Heartfilia. She has Golden Zodiac Keys. It is the same as his...salvage quest at Mercurius II. I am going to return to working on my Eclipse Gate soon, so I'll require them.".

"Right." Diana nodded in understanding, vanishing.

Diana knew exactly where Marx was, she has been watching him for the last few days, in order to warn him in case of something like this, Azazel calling him. She was already there infact. Her hologram was hiding on top of a tree branch, watching Marx tending to Hakuya's injuries, though he wasn't any better himself.

Marx and Lancelot's battle lasted a while. Infact, it only ended yesterday, with Marx being the victor. Diana scanned the area, seeing Lancelot's unconscious body lying in the snow. Marx's injuries extended as far as new scars, shaped like lightning bolts. Even though those will vanish overtime.

Diana landed on the ground, walking towards Marx "Hey, Marx." Diana called out to Marx, who sat next to a sleeping Hakuya. While he was fighting, she took it upon herself to tend to her wounds, surviving her severe injury, and now, Marx was letting her rest after a few sleepless night, simply watching and hoping Marx wouldn't die, keeping her out of the fight for as long as he could.

"What is it?" Marx held his hat in his hand, as if trying to guard it. It had not a scratch on it, amazingly enough.

"Azazel wants you to do a job for him. It's an important order." Diana said to Marx "A salvage quest, as he calls it. Get him the other Golden Keys from a woman named Lucy Heartfilia.".

"..." Marx sat, silent and did not reply to Diana "I haven't seen my wife yet...and now it's time for work again." Marx chuckled, standing up, and putting his hat back on. He looked back on Hakuya, being relieved she's still asleep "...Hakuya...wake up." Marx lightly shook Hakuya, waking her up.

"Marx...? Are...you okay?" Hakuya said, still trying to recollect herself after recent events.

"I'm fine. But...I'm going to have to leave...and so will you." Marx said to Hakuya.

"Leave? Wait, me? Why?" Hakuya rose up from her bed, which was really just a futon and blanket "I don't want to leave my family!".

"You're in danger. He was probably their first, and most likely not their last. If...I am not here, and you are attacked, I am worried you'll get hurt or worse." Marx explained to Hakuya, putting his hands on her shoulders "Please, listen to me. You have leave this place. It's too dangerous, and I am too worried to just leave you alone.".

"But, I'm not alone." Hakuya said to Marx "I have my family around me." Hakuya looked over at the frozen figures, referring to them.

"They...?" Marx took his hands off of Hakuya, beginning to chuckle "They...are not family. They abandoned you, didn't they? Because of your power?".

"Ah..." Hakuya looked back at Marx "I-...It was just for my own good! I could've been hurt or hurt som-...".

Marx suddenly walked towards one of the frozen figures. It was on one knee, looking up at the other figure, a demon about to club it. "This." Marx put his hand on the demon's head, crushing it "Is dead. And this..." Marx then put his hand on the human's head.

"Wait, what are you...?!".

"These aren't family!" Marx crushed the human's skull, shattering the entire sculpture down "Family does not abandon its own kin for a reason as pitiful as power difference!" Marx shouted, as he walked over towards another sculpture, this time of a woman "They do not reject you for any reason!" He raised both arms up, smashing the sculpture to pieces, much to Hakuya's horror.

"Stop it!" Hakuya tried to stand up, but her wound was still painful "Don't hurt them!".

"Hurt?!" Marx turned back to face Hakuya "They hurt you!" Marx openned his palm, facing the other side, charging magic power in his palm "You can't be this naive!".

"But...they raised me! They took care of me! They...!".

"Are disappointment!" Marx fired an enormous beam of magic power, tearing through the village and sculptures, tearing the earth, and exposing the not-so-often seen dirt beneath the snow "You...deserve better than being in this graveyard." Marx walked back to Hakuya.

"I..." Hakuya broke into tears, covering her eyes.

"...Diana, do me a favour." Marx turned to Diana "I want her to be safe. You know where to take her.".

"Are...are you sure?" Diana asked Marx, surprised by what he was saying.

"Yes..." Marx walked pass Diana "She'll be safe with my son. Just...make sure she forgets me.".

"That process can take a while...Are you sure?".

"What are you? A computer update? Get to it. Now." Marx said to Diana "I'll trust you to do an extravagant work as usual." Marx began running, rushing through the forest, in order to get done with this job as quick as possible.

As Diana looked back at the crying Hakuya, she also noticed Lancelot was no longer on the ground, having left without anyone realizing "...Goddammit." Diana gritted her teeth in frustration. She walked over to Hakuya, patting her on her back, as a means to comfort her.