After returning home, Lucien immediately collapsed onto the bed.
"You always do this — lie down to rest right away," Lily said, hanging her clothes on the back of a chair.
With a faint smirk, Lucien replied:
"You know, I was stabbed not long ago, so I don't really have much strength left."
Shaking her head from side to side, she went to the kitchen to make tea from special healing herbs.
Lucien remained lying on the bed, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.
This time everything is different. Not like always. The power I used worked differently — it felt like I came closer to that very black figure, flashed through his mind.
[Ellie's Shop]
Ellie, as usual, was sitting at her small table, gloomily staring at a fashion magazine she had already reread several times.
"I can't take this anymore. It's too boring. I need a new magazine," she muttered, resting her head on the table.
Suddenly, the pleasant voice of an unfamiliar man made her lift her head.
"Hi. Are you Ellie, by any chance?"
I've heard this voice before… but where?! Ellie thought, narrowing her eyes.
Folding her hands in front of her, she calmly replied:
"Yes, my name is Ellie. How can I help you?"
The stranger immediately leaned closer, reducing the distance between them. Resting his hands on the table, he continued:
"Oh, trust me — you'll help me a lot if you tell me where Lucien Graves is."
Ellie looked at him with a contemptuous gaze and answered:
"I don't know anyone like that."
The stranger smirked.
"Don't lie to me. I know you worked together before — more than that, you were on the same team. By the way, my name is Grey Duskcrend. The very same fallen son of the head of the organization."
He immediately grabbed her and immobilized her with a single motion.
[Lucien's Apartment]
At last, a moment of silence arrived. No sounds, no thoughts — only dead silence, soon broken by the Sirin bird.
"URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!"
Lucien leapt from the bed and rushed toward the table where the bird was screaming.
As he approached, Lily entered the room.
Another feather burst out of the bird — and then it suddenly fell, dying on the spot.
The message contained an address where Lucien was supposed to go — under the bridge where Ruby had once disappeared.
Clenching his eyes, Lucien muttered:
"I have to go there."
"I'm coming with you. This is not up for discussion," Lily said, immediately throwing on her clothes from the chair.
Running to the location, they encountered several other exorcists along the way.
This is very suspicious, flashed through Lucien's mind.
When they arrived, a horrifying scene unfolded before them: Ellie's head was hanging on strange threads.
Nearby sat Grey, his smile as horrifying as the second demon standing to his left.
Slightly behind them stood two more — all of them unusual demons, the very ones Lucien had been hunting all this time.
"Bastards, I'll destroy you!" Michael shouted, rushing into battle as a golden sword and shield ignited in his hands.
"I'll take him. You deal with the others," Valtrius said.
The chaos of battle engulfed the space — flying arms and legs, everything imaginable.
Lucien dashed forward, delivering a lightning-fast strike with his flaming hand at the demon with the golden monocle.
Abizar dodged and summoned a wave of sinners of the sin of Gluttony.
Tall, fat humans with huge mouths emerged and immediately rushed at Lucien.
Lucien was about to use a horizontal line of hellfire to slice through the creatures, but Georgiy shoved him aside.
"I'll deal with you later. Right now, I need this demon," Georgiy said.
Lightning surged behind his back. Two small blades wrapped in lightning appeared in his hands.
Throwing one forward, he instantly followed after it — but was pierced by Sintherion, the demon with the enormous grin.
"Brother… hee-hee… time… here… hee-hee," Sintherion giggled and leaped toward Lucien.
Abizar summoned even more sinners and ran toward the hiding Lily, who was sheltering behind a small lamppost.
Grabbing her, he said:
"And here is our vessel."
He vanished and reappeared beside Grey, who was waiting.
Piercing the necklace together with her heart, he ordered her to be released so that the blood would fall onto the second necklace sealed in the ground.
"NO!" Lucien screamed.
His body exploded, engulfed in the flames of Hell. His speed reached another level — in a single second, he destroyed Valtrius and Sintherion, piercing their hearts with his spear and sending them to Hell.
Appearing beside Lily, he lifted her body — but as he took a step, a hand pierced through his chest.
"You…" he whispered and collapsed to the ground.
"How ironic. You saved your own death," Lily said — but in a different voice.
Her face, her body — everything changed. She was no longer Lily.
"I greet you, Mother," Abizar muttered, bowing.
With a wave of her hand, she immobilized Michael, and Abizar immediately ordered his sinners to devour him.
They consumed him instantly.
The demons won.
[Author's Message]
I'm sorry that I had to end the story so illogically and quickly. Due to urgent circumstances, I had to finish it this way.
Thank you for reading and supporting me until the end. I'm very happy that you read my stories, and I promise that the next one will be much more interesting and better.