The sudden change in Armis's demeanor brought a gasp from Alan's mouth, instantly replaced by a retching of sheer pain as Armis kneed Alan in the gut, almost pushing it out the other side. Armis then turned, grabbing Alan by the neck and hurling him to the ground.
"You!! Your foolishness! That is what got her killed!" Armis mocked Alan, his tone, expression, and movements exuding newfound ruthlessness and brutality—traits Relecta had warned Alan about.
"Ahhh!!!!!!!!" Alan spat blood and yelled out in rage, jumping from the ground. He lunged at Armis, summoning his blazing sword, and spun, swinging down a strike while screaming,
"YOU LIAR!!!!!!!"
———cllaaanggg!!!!!———
"NO!!! You are the liar!!!!! Ahhh!!!!"
——-dhhaammmmmm!!!——-
Armis retorted, his smug smirk relentlessly mocking Alan's emotions. No longer pushed back in defense, Armis took the strike upon his armor before devastating Alan with a back kick to the gut. But Alan's rage and resolve were undeterred; each strike from Armis only fueled his ferocity.
"They were right, ALL OF THEM WERE RIGHT!!!!"
——swish!!—-thhwapp!!!—-
Alan lunged back at Armis, summoning the golden whip and hurling it at him. Armis moved with a bizarre speed he hadn't shown until now. Before the whip could recede, Armis grabbed it, mocking Alan before yanking him forward with force.
"They were!!! But you!!!"
——swishhh!!!——-dhhhshaaamm!!!!!—-
Alan tried hard to resist, but Armis's increasing strength overwhelmed him, pulling him like a pebble. A crushing back elbow strike disintegrated Alan's whip, crash of his strike and Armis's mock echoing together as Alan was hurled away,
"Were deaf!! Deaf with your foolishness!"
Armis closed the distance step by step, pushing and throwing Alan back, mapping the route from which he had been hurled earlier. Alan, numb from the sheer blood of vengeance running through his veins, now felt every crushing sensation inflicted by Armis. Staggering, he spat out the venom of bitter realization and stood back up,
"Longiseus, Lyco, that demon! All of them warned me! Told me to stay cautious of a MONSTER LIKE YOU!!!!!!"
Alan lunged at Armis, extending his teal-glowing hands. Armis smirked and instantly moved out of the way, appearing behind Alan with blurring speed. Their backs touched as Armis grabbed Alan's arms, yanking and snapping his chest and shoulders with such force that the sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh was louder than Alan's pained screams. Armis then grabbed Alan's head from behind and pulled him in front, mocking him with a chuckle and piercing words,
"But you didn't listen! Blinded by your emotions, YOUR FOOLISHNESS!!!!!"
Armis yelled, straightening Alan's body before spinning into a back kick that hurled Alan further ahead. The crash of Alan's pain and Armis's mocking laughter echoed through the labyrinth.
"This facade, this charade, why?!!! WHY?!!!" Alan screamed, leaping forward and summoning a war hammer. He swung it at Armis with blurring speed, but Armis moved even faster. He grabbed Alan's face in his iron fist, smashing it into the ground with a resounding clash that reverberated through the entire floor. Armis's venomous words followed, mocking Alan's simplicity,
"Why?! Why do you ask? You don't understand a damn thing, do you, Alan?!! You think fighting me will solve anything?!!!" Armis lifted Alan's battered and bloody body before him, his smirk rubbing salt into Alan's wounds, fanning the flames of his vengeance and fury even more.
Gritting his teeth, Alan summoned yellow gauntlets on his hands and swung his arm, prompting Armis to dodge. Using the distraction, Alan landed a devastating kick on Armis's chin, causing his grip to falter. Alan jumped away as Armis stumbled back, rubbing his chin. But instantly, Armis's mocking smile returned, replacing his expression of pain and rage.
Alan staggered, holding himself together, raising his fist toward Armis. Spitting out blood, he remarked, "I know it won't bring her back. Nothing will. But killing a monster like you will bring me PEACE!!!!" Alan bellowed and lunged at Armis with a punch, which Armis dodged. But he couldn't avoid the following elbow, which landed directly on his face, sending him staggering backward. Alan followed with a kick, but Armis dodged it fluidly, grabbing Alan's leg and halting his follow-up strike. Armis's blood-soaked eyes held relentless mockery as he spat,
"Peace? Monster? Look at yourself, Alan. The irony is crushing. Right now, you appear more monstrous than me!
Aaahhhh!!!!——-dhhdhhaaaammm!!!!!" Armis bellowed, pulling Alan in and smashing their heads together, sending Alan staggering back. Armis followed with a low sweep, hurling Alan off his feet. He grabbed Alan's hair, spinning him like a rag doll before hurling him through three destroyed openings of gates and walls. Armis spat out blood, wiping dirt and blood from his face. He took a step and instantly vanished from sight.
Alan's hazy gaze caught sight of Armis appearing before him out of thin air. Armis sat down, his smirk fueling Alan's rage despite his slowly shattering form. Gripping through his pain, Alan glared as Armis grabbed his hair, lifting his head drenched in darkness and blood. Armis's face contorted with rage and pain as he spat more venom,
"You were always too foolish, hardheaded, rushing into everything without much thought. You claimed to see the bigger picture, but you never truly did, did you, Alan…?"
"I…w..wwill…e…end…you…!" Alan's broken voice seeped out from his tattered lips. Even though he was now in a dire position, his will remained too arrogant and furious to give in. His hand, trembling but clenched, moved toward Armis's face. Armis smiled even more widely, then grabbed Alan's hand in a crushing grip. The sound of Alan's bones breaking rang out alongside his groans and wheezing of pain.
"See, just like now," Armis lifted Alan's limp body, speaking with a smile before tightening his grip, crushing Alan's fingers. "You're only focused on killing me. You never noticed how I used the very techniques you taught to beat the life out of you. None of your attacks from the beginning ever scratched my armor. Even with these weapons that I GAVE YOU, YOU ARE STILL POWERLESS BEFORE ME!"
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!AHHHH!!!! AHHHH!!!!! ——-thuuudddhhh!!!!!——-"
A scream of true pain and terror tore through Alan's heaving lungs and rasping throat as Armis exerted more strength, crushing Alan's fingers into mush along with the five rings, shattering them into pieces. Alan writhed and recoiled in agony before kicking Armis's face and jumping away.
A soft grunt of strain left Armis's lips as he opened his eyes and moved toward the writhing Alan. The darkness around Alan faded, bursting into blinding light as the rings turned to dust, falling to the floor from his crushed hands. Alan screamed in sheer agony, his pain echoed by Armis's mocking words, rubbing salt on the wounds of his vengeance.
"It's a shame. I gave you those rings so you could fight alongside me. But well, maybe death was written early in your fate."
"Heh..heh..Ha!! Hah!!hahha!!!! Ha!!" Suddenly, the mocking visage of Armis turned to shock. He stopped his advance, his relaxed body gaining vigilance. With echoing laughter, Alan's body rose to its feet. The darkness on his body writhed with his pain but halted slowly as Alan began to speak, his tone now laced with mockery, mocking Armis's arrogance.
"You really think these rings were my true power? THEY WERE JUST INSTRUMENTS!!!!" Alan's voice lost whatever touch of human tone it held, transforming fully into the grumbling of a demon. Darkness infested his whole body, and a white streak appeared on his chest, speaking instead of his mouth, which had completely faded into darkness along with his other features.
"Instrument of my vengeance. Don't be fooled. Rings or not, even if I have to beat the life out of you with bare hands, I SWEAR ON MY LIFE THAT THIS CONFLICT, THIS DREAD, THIS DESPAIR, THIS CHAOS, I WILL END IT, END EVERYTHING ALONG WITH YOU!!!!!"
His threat exerted a pressure heavier, more repugnant and vile than before. Alan's form radiated such strength and power that it kept Armis on guard—this time, no bluff, no games. Armis knew for sure that one wrong move could make Alan's words reality. And his fear proved true when Alan moved.
Armis's eyes didn't even register Alan's disappearance; it was as though time froze for Armis, unaware and unobservant of Alan's movements until Alan appeared inches before him. Black mist seeped from the white streak on Alan's chest as he slowly moved and uttered,
"Reserare Scaena III PALMA GIGANTIS!!!"
Armis witnessed everything until Alan's hand stretched toward him, palm barely touching his armor. Suddenly, Armis felt a force, the magnitude of a towering mountain crashing down on his body in a single strike that threatened to hurl him away at blurring speed. With jaws clenched tight, Armis resisted against the piercing force, his will and strength aiding him as he was pushed back several feet. He skidded, firmly planting his feet, leaving a trail of struggle on the floor.
"Try all you want, you could never b—"
Armis's words choked as he heaved breaths, his sinister smirk fading as he squinted ahead, only to find Alan vanished from his sight. Apprehension replaced mockery in Armis's tone as he felt a chill run down his spine, berating himself for letting his guard down. His apprehension turned to certainty when Alan's calm, demonic grumble whispered in his ear,
"Reserare Sceana II….Ruptor..Sonus….!"
Before Armis could react, a crushing punch from Alan followed the misty whisper, sending him hurtling forward. This time, however, Armis was prepared. Just as he was about to crash into another wall, he spun quickly, planting his feet on the wall and using its momentum to redirect his fall downward, shattering the wall into a spiderweb of cracks.
Armis scanned ahead. To normal eyes, it might have seemed like faint flashes of light and blurs, but Armis discerned Alan's dark silhouette appearing closer and closer. In an instant, Alan materialized inches before him, his eyeless visage exuding a chilling pressure that Armis met head-on, ready to counter Alan's back kick.
Alan's kick came with the force of a mountain, but Armis held it off with his arms, resisting with firm palms to keep the blow at bay. The overwhelming momentum behind Alan's kick shattered debris and walls behind Armis, sending them flying until Armis bellowed a battle cry. With a spin fueled by sheer force, Armis hurled Alan into the next wall, the impact resounding with a crash and explosion of debris.
Armis crashed down, rolling amidst the destruction before swiftly springing to his feet, fists raised high, his breaths heavy and eyes fixed on the shattered wall, waiting for Alan's next move.
As the echoes of destruction subsided, the air filled with Armis's impatient breaths. Mockery dripped from his words, impatience curling on his tongue.
"Is that it, Alan? I knew you were useless, but giving up this early is not like y——"
"Researe Scaena V….Dei…Celeritas…"
Alan's calm grumble emerged from the crater in response, cutting off Armis's taunts. Armis froze, shifting into position with not just vigilance but a newfound confidence that stretched his lips into a wide grin. His body trembled in the still air, every fiber vibrating until he vanished. Moments later, their bodies reappeared in a clash — Each of their fist meeting the other's chin, each absorbing the force of the unison blows. Their collision emitted a thunderous sound, waves of raw strength hurling debris and cracking the very floor beneath them.
They vanished again, reappearing just before another collision — kicks and fists meeting with such force that the labyrinth wall shattered around them, sending both combatants hurtling back toward the passageway leading to the chamber where their conflict began.
The passage reverberated with the destructive echoes of their collisions, each brick trembling under the intensity of Alan's silent grief and fury, countered by Armis's mocking retorts.
"Reserare Scaena IV …..Dei…..Mallus…!"
From the ivory streak on his chest, dark mist emanated as Alan's grumble rumbled with his next attack. He clasped his hands together, leaning back before bringing them down with the strength of a thousand men, unleashing a devastating strike upon Armis who stood below.
——Dhdhhhdhdhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!———-
A destructive shockwave shattered and crushed the walls around them. Instead of being crushed, Armis braced against Alan's assault, holding it back with sheer strength.
The force and momentum resisted by his body erupted beneath his feet, carving out a deep crater in the ground. Then, with gritted teeth matching the intensity of his glare at Alan's darkened visage, Armis seized Alan's hands, twisting them with crushing force before hurling him away with a wind-breaking dropkick. Alan crashed into the rugged floor of the passageway.
Before Alan's pain could fully register, Armis pounced, burying Alan deeper into the ground and dragging him further along, the trail of blood marking their violent path.
"Doesn't matter what you try, how much you struggle, or how many times you attempt it, this is not your STORY!!!——Stomp!!!!!!——" Armis's voice echoed with sinister reality and mockery, emphasizing Alan's helplessness against his raw strength. As the bloody drag of Alan's darkened body across the floor came to a halt, Armis advanced, stomping on Alan's face before seizing his hair and dragging his limp form forward with each deliberate step.
"This tale belongs to me, Alan. I am the hero here; you were merely a pawn, a step towards my victory, just like the others....——Swishhhh!!!!!——-Dhhhdhaaaam——" His words ended with a brutal action as Armis ruthlessly flung Alan's body back into the chamber of the Lord of Monsters.
With a splatter and resounding clash, Alan collided with the gate leading to the next and last floor. The gate, golden and shiny like Armis's armor, bore ancient etchings now filled with Alan's blood, just like his armour as if forging a fateful connection between the two.
As Armis approached, Alan's blood-trailing body slid down, seemingly defeated. But in the stillness, the echo of Armis's steps faded beneath Alan's broken grumbling, rising with unyielding will. Tattered and bloodied, Alan staggered to his feet, collecting his shattered resolve. While one crushed hand hung limply, the clenched fist of his other hand spoke of determination. His voice, now tinged with a demonic edge, carried his defiance.
"You..are no hero…! You're a monster in disguise…! Wearing a facade… that I should have seen long ago…!"
"Yeah, but you were blind with weakness, emotions, friendship..!"
"Mock me all you want… but I know that the person I once called my friend… the soft, humble, and brave Armis… existed in that body long ago…!"
"So you're going to call me out for moving past my weaknesses? Haven't you had enough of the irony, Alan?"
"Y..You fool… those… those were not his weaknesses. Those were his biggest strengths..! He was much… much stronger than a monster like you!"
"Yeah.. but not strong enough to survive this hell, Alan. If it was the old me, I would have been the first one to die. But see! I am going to survive the longest!! He he.. hehe.."
His mockery turned to amusement as he watched Alan slowly approach. Alan spoke through the demonic grin etched on his chest, his determination clashing with Armis's growing confidence.
"No… you are going to die, and whatever is waiting inside. Before I die, I will make sure that both of you are burning in hell…!"
"Ahh!!! Enough of this!!!" Alan's resolve cut through Armis's mockery, sending a shiver of frustration down his spine. He burst out, getting into position for his final strike.
"C'mon, Alan! Time to d——-"
And then suddenly, time halted. Its pace slowed to a crawl, even for Armis's supernatural perception. He froze in motion, stilled in the still air, as he heard Alan's rumbling whisper,
"Reserare Scaena X…..Nunc..! Aut…! Namquam!!"
Everything in the chamber remained motionless except for Alan, who took two deliberate steps forward. His chest heaved, emitting heavy streams of dark mist before his rumbling voice echoed through the stillness,
"Reserare Scaena XX… Svengali…"
Suddenly, in the stilled time, Alan's darkened form writhed and jerked bizarrely. The darkness coalesced on one side, revealing his withered human body and a bloody visage with bloodshot eyes burning with revenge. The darkness transformed his crushed hand into a long, dark blade. As his body straightened into position, a half-white streak on his chest moved along with his tattered human lips, black mist seeping from both as he uttered in a demonic rumble,
"Reserare Scaena XI… Momentum Mora…!"
And even within the crawling time, his movements blurred and vanished, a checkered silhouette against the frozen reality. Alan's body appeared inches before Armis, his human hand clutching the motionless Armis's neck while his demonic leg pressed against his chest. The duality of his nature echoed in the still air as he began to speak to Armis before delivering his final strike,
"I'm sorry, Armis… I know, even if you won't say it, no one else would… I know that I am responsible for your condition. I broke my promise, and you paid the price… But don't worry. I will ensure that the one who did this to you will face the abyss of pain before meeting their end… But for now, sleep, my friend. I hope that in the next life, our friendship may find…"
His words trailed off as he became motionless, not due to any external force but from the hesitation creeping over his hand. It trembled, memories of him and Armis flashing before Alan's eyes—their first meeting, how they had become friends. His hand resisted what his vengeful mind commanded as his heart recalled the shared struggles and laughter with Armis, their camaraderie. The grip on Armis's neck began to loosen as Alan remembered the pain in Armis's eyes when he first lost, the innocence that had once been there.
Alan's foot pressed against Armis's still chest almost slipped as he recalled Armis's suffering, his own anguish upon finding him maimed and broken by that monster. Despite the burning hatred in his mind, the hesitation in his heart brought forth memories—both joyful and sorrowful—of their time together. Part of him wanted to let go, to give Armis another chance, but deep down, he knew that if Armis were to live, only chaos and despair would follow from here on.
So Alan steadied his stance, tightened his grip, and leaned in closer, a tear escaping his eye as he gazed deep into Armis's frozen eyes. A rumbling emerged from his lips and chest, shaping into his final words,
"A chance… Goodbye, my friend——"
"Mmphh!! Mmmphhh!! What?!"
Suddenly, as Alan brought the dark blade of his hand closer to Armis's head, he encountered resistance. A force surged through him, rendering him motionless. His eyes froze just before widening in shock and dread as he heard a familiar voice,
"Awww!!! That was so sweet, Alan."
As if shattering through ice, Armis shattered the frozen silence of time, his lips curling into a mocking smirk as his entire body surged forward. His words pierced through the frozen Alan with dread and horror, disbelief washing over his immobilized form as Armis leaned in close, mere inches from his face.
"But as I've said, this is my story, and I will decide how it ends, and… FOUND IT!!!"
His gaze taunted Alan, sweeping over his half-human, half-darkened form before settling on his target. With a sudden, blur of movement, Armis coiled his body, executing a lightning-fast spin. His leg shot out like a spear, delivering a crushing, stabbing kick to the darkened side of Alan's abdomen. The impact was so powerful that crimson cracks spiderwebbed across the swirling darkness that enveloped Alan.
Time abruptly snapped back to its normal pace, and Armis's vibrating kick completed its devastating trajectory. It gouged out a sizable chunk of Alan's abdomen, sending it hurtling through the air in a violent spray of blood. Alan's body went limp, crashing brutally to the floor, while Armis landed gracefully back on his feet.
Armis looked on with a satisfied smile as Alan's limp body lay sprawled on the floor, the darkness receding from one side of his body and flowing back towards the piece of his abdomen that Armis had kicked out. Alan's form reverted to its frail, withered, battered, and now bloodied state, devoid of the strength that had once animated it. Same as the blood as only a few drops of blood seeped from the gaping wound on his waist.
Armis shifted his gaze, locking onto the writhing, almost sentient piece of Alan's abdomen that lay nearby. It squirmed and shrieked like a wounded creature. Armis approached it, his voice carrying a tone of realization in the stagnant air.
"You know, Alan, from the beginning I was skeptical of your newfound strength. At first, I thought maybe it was the rings, but even after I destroyed them, you remained resilient. Powerful. You matched my speed, if not surpassed it."
Armis's mocking gaze abruptly shifted to a grim sternness that echoed with each deliberate step he took towards the demonic piece of Alan's flesh. His voice carried weight as he spoke.
"Don't misunderstand me, Alan. I always knew you were powerful, perhaps even beyond measure before my own transformation. Your strength seemed like the peak of a mountain I could only gaze at, never dare to climb. But then… circumstances changed, and your existence began to appear to me as a waste of extraordinary talent."
"But today…" Armis reached the squirming piece of flesh, which bizarrely began to crawl away from him until he halted its movements with a firm step. He placed his foot on it, asserting dominance.
"It was different. Sinister." Armis gripped the flesh in his hand, his gaze turning towards Alan's motionless body. Holding the dark mass before his eyes, he continued, his voice tinged with curiosity.
"Believe me when I say I know almost everything there is to know. But this…" He scrutinized the fleshy anomaly with a mix of amazement and suspicion. "This is something new. Care to enlighten me? What is the source of your 'monstrous' power?"
Armis's curiosity was met with only silent groans from Alan's lifeless body, which strangely satisfied him. Smiling through his stern demeanor, he brought the writhing piece of flesh closer to his eyes.
"Well, whatever you are, now you'll help me achieve my goal," Armis murmured with a chilling grin.
And with that eerie gaze and even more disturbing words, Armis unleashed upon the empty chamber the true depths of cruelty and ferocity. Like a savage beast, he began to devour the dark piece of meat he had torn from his friend. The flesh writhed and squirmed under his teeth, each bite tearing it apart until it was consumed whole by Armis.
An invisible connection between the meat and Alan sent waves of tearing pain through Alan's limp body, which convulsed in agony, thrashing amidst its own blood. Weak groans of pain wheezed from Alan's strained throat until finally, everything fell silent when Armis finished his grisly meal.
Suddenly, a surge of darkness surged within Armis. His body jerked and writhed, not in agony, but in the overpowering rush of newfound power. The dark etchings that once adorned Alan's body now manifested on Armis's armor, transforming its appearance into something terrifying and malevolent. As Armis gritted through his transformation, his teeth changing shape and his visage taking on a faint resemblance to that of a demon with crimson eyes, the gold hue of his armor was overtaken by a deep red, marked with sinister etchings that exuded an aura of horror.
Through Alan's strained, bloodied gaze, amidst unbearable pain and numbing despair, he could only see the demonic armor that now adorned Armis. It resembled the very nightmare that had haunted Alan's sleep. As Armis let out a prideful cry, waves of dark energy surged through the chamber, shaking it with tremors that seemed to reverberate throughout Relic Castle. Finally, Armis had transformed into what Alan had always feared him to be—a true demon.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!! AHH!!! Oh my!! That was satisfying!!!" Armis exclaimed. Alan, through his weary, hazy gaze, saw Armis approaching. Though Alan's numb ears couldn't hear the eerie clangs of Armis's new armor, the devastating aura exuded by his presence was unmistakable. Armis stopped before Alan's limp body, lifting Alan's head by his hair. A horrific smirk spread across the pale red skin of his demonic visage. A repugnant odor seeped from his mouth as he spoke.
"Thank you for bringing me such a gift, Alan. You really are a true friend. Tell you what, as a thank you, I'm going to tell—or rather show you—'why?' Remember the question you kept asking at the start?"
Armis's voice, now a mix of his own and the grumbling of a demon—much like Alan's but more sinister and devilish—betrayed the amusement dripping from his tone and eyes as he continued, "For easing my work, I'm going to answer everything for you. C'mon, let's not keep him waiting…"
With a cryptic smirk, Armis stood up, turning and dragging Alan's withered, bloodied body along the floor, leaving a faint trail of blood as they moved toward the gate leading to the 100th floor—their final destination.
No matter how hard he tried to close his eyes, halt his breathing, or stop his heartbeat, something deep within Alan kept him from slipping into the peaceful embrace of death. His pain and agony intensified when Armis, just before the gate, violently dropped him onto the debris-ridden floor. Helpless, Alan watched and listened as his hearing returned, revealing Armis engaged in a grotesque, monstrous act.
Armis opened his mouth wide, pushing his hand down his throat. The sight was sickening, his silhouette of a hand protruding grotesquely from his cheeks with the sound of wet shuffling. Finally, his hand halted, and he retrieved it, now holding a Lord Orb with a violet glow gleaming from it.
Licking his saliva from his lips, Armis glanced at Alan before turning toward the gate, raising his hand that held the Orb. "Pretty neat, right? Learned it while fighting the monsters of this floor."
Alan's weary mind didn't even want to imagine the grotesque scenario where Armis had learned such a disgusting trick. He could only watch and listen as Armis raised the Orb and began chanting the inscription on the golden gate,
"Hail, traveler, to the temple of Jupiter,
Where mortals are united with divine grace.
Eternal life and divine gifts may be sought,
If only you dare to stand in the sight of the god!!!"
Armis's voice echoed through the chamber, the words dripping with irony in Alan's current state. Each word he heard felt like a cruel mockery of his suffering, but it didn't stop Armis. His eagerness grew as he neared the end of the welcoming inscription that glowed brighter with each word he spoke,
"Enter within, trust in your prayers,
For the divine power and benevolence bestow all.
Rejoice, travelers, who have reached this place,
For you are regarded with the kindly providence of the divine!!!"