Piers, standing on top of the cliff, looked down at the three combined armies. "So many of you come to kill me," he observed.
One of the generals from the Guardian Holders army called out, "We would not have gone to this length to kill you if you were not so evil! You are like an Evil Lord."
Piers smiled. "So, this is my new title? Evil Lord? I kind of like it. From now on, I am Evil Lord Piers."
The Royal General then taunted, "At least look at the ground." Suddenly, a huge beast emerged from the earth and pierced Piers's chest with its claws. However, Piers calmly reached out, extracted the soul of the beast from its body, and threw it away.
(Piers had gained near-complete control over his Mephisto powers, including spirit summoning, Hellsfire, illusion attack, regeneration, hypnosis, body possession, teleportation, soul extraction, and elemental control.)
Piers pulled the claw out, his wound instantly healing. "Is this it?"
The Royal General yelled, "Everyone attack!" With that, the armies charged toward the cliff.
Piers commanded his forces, "Everyone, hold your position! Fire Black Arts and White Arts from here! And those who are not well-versed in it, cut and secure the area from where some of these insects will come from!"
Piers used Umbrae Vocare to summon black spirits, which he instantly turned into infernal spirits using Hellsfire. He then used Umbrae Vorax to send the infernal spirits to attack the Royal Army. Being a conventional army, the Royals knew nothing about spirits and died quickly.
The Guardian Holders Commander intervened. "Everyone, help the Royal Army!" The Guardian Holders joined the fight, destroying the infernal spirits.
Meanwhile, Ben gave the signal. "Levi, it's time!"
Levi, with a huge cannon, shouted, "I was born for this!" He fired the cannon at the cliff base, causing it to collapse. Piers and his army, being well-trained, easily jumped down.
Though the 3 commanders did not knew what happened they were glad with what happened. The Devil Holder Commander yelled, "Everyone, show them now!" Now all three armies charged toward Piers's army.
Piers drew his Holy Sword and Phantom Insignia sword. "Everyone, cut each of these scums and show them your power!" Piers and his army roared their battle cry and charged.
Silas transformed completely: his body turned huge, his skin blackened, and his head was replaced by that of a lion. Holding two axes, he charged. Astarte's face was covered with red tattoos, and her hair was long and dishevelled. Severin's entire body was engulfed in black mist, his eyes black, as black energy floated toward him while he flew. Garth and Xander summoned large beasts and rode them into battle. Vera was covered in silver armor, with swords floating around her, carrying a sword and shield. Titus radiated energy, with white tattoos covering his face. Kade flew, supported by four balls of white energy behind his back.
Piers, charging with his two swords, heard the Phantom Insignia. Today I am going to give you all my strength! Get ready, pal!
Suddenly, Piers's right hand's skin turned black, with red power cracking through. A black horn sprouted from the right side of his forehead, black tattoos covered most of his face, and a black devil wing formed on his right side. His Holy Sword shone brightly, forming silver armor on his left hand and a half-halo around his left head, as an angelic wing formed on his left back.
The armies met, and the fight began. Piers used his infernal spirits to aid his troops. Silas killed relentlessly, his impenetrable skin shrugging off attacks. Astarte fought with deadly speed. Severin's black mist quickly killed the enemy.
Piers was on a killing spree when the Royal Commander interrupted. "How do you say we should fight, commander to commander?"
Piers was about to extract the Commander's soul, but he was slashed by a Devil Force. The Devil Holders Commander and the Guardian Holders Commander had arrived.
"Fine, let's fight," Piers accepted. However, the commanders' intention was to lure Piers away. The Royal Commander (a demon) was the most effective in this.
In front of Titus, the Devil Holder General appeared. Similarly, three more Devil Holder Generals came for Vera, Kade, and Xander. Astarte, Silas, Severin, and Garth faced the Guardian Holder Generals. Piers, surrounded by the three commanders, suddenly saw four Royal Generals approaching. With a deep breath, Piers prepared himself for the upcoming chaos.
In Astria, deep in the night, Daina woke up due to a sudden movement—a sound she was trained to notice. She followed the sound, knowing that only she, Bart, Ava, and Eugene were staying at the unpopular inn. She saw a shadow heading to the yard. She followed the figure, drew her sword, and attacked, but the person stepped away at the last moment.
"Wait a minute... Daina, what are you doing here?" It was Eugene.
"Wait, Eugene? What are you doing here?" Daina asked.
"I was just going to do a ritual, because today is the first death anniversary of someone close to me," Eugene explained.
Daina was surprised and concerned. "Whose death anniversary is it?"
"My death anniversary."
Daina was shocked. "What? Your death anniversary?"
"Yes, because I am not Eugene, at least I think so," he confessed.
"What do you mean you are not Eugene?"
Eugene began, "Let me tell you a story. Once, there was a boy practicing in a forest. That boy's name was Eugene. He practiced magic by meditating with the holy power to understand it all. Eugene would practice daily and would then see visions and auras of other people. However, as the days went by, Eugene got more and more sick. Soon, Eugene felt like he was on his death bed. The sickness was now rooted deep inside him, and he could not even move, but still, he kept meditating, and soon he fainted. After a month or so, I woke up, completely different from the Eugene everyone knew. So, I am not sure who I am or what even I am, but I know one thing: for some reason, my connection with holy power is strong."
Daina listened intently. "I don't care who you were before, but right now, for me, you are Eugene."
"Thanks, Daina," Eugene said.