The cold of Germany became unbearable for an instant. Not because of the weather... but because of the magic.
Deep within the enchanted forest that hid the Einsbern Castle, the four Maou watched from above as the siege progressed. Golems destroyed, homunculi slain, barriers shattered... the battle was almost over.
Until the air split.
A wave of dark, putrid, dense magic expanded from the heart of the castle, in an explosion that made the ground rumble and froze the blood of those present.
Ajuka looked up, his eyes narrowed.
—Did you feel that...?
—Impossible... —murmured Sirzechs, frowning—. That's not just magic... that's a divine presence... and a profaned one.
A pillar of black energy with crimson hues rose from the center of the castle, crashing against the sky as if the world were trying to spit out its existence. The magical barrier surrounding the Einsbern mansion collapsed like shattering glass, and the remains of its architecture began to tremble, crumbling piece by piece.
In the central hall, hidden in an underground laboratory, the Head of the Einsbern House, with trembling fingers and bloodshot eyes, laughed like a madman as he watched a chalice floating over an altar, held by a silver-haired female figure: a homunculus.
—Yes! I've waited my whole life for this! The Third Magic! The path to the soul! The Heavens Feel is mine!
But it was not so.
The homunculus opened her eyes. There was no light in them, only emptiness.
Corrupted magic gushed from her body. The chalice began to melt from within, its energy taking on an unstable, chaotic form, as if resisting to contain what it harbored.
The Einsbern Head fell to his knees.
—W-what... is this... energy? No! This is not... what we planned...!
He began to cough blood, his body aging rapidly as if the dark magic were devouring him from within. His bones cracked, his veins burst, and he finally fell to the ground with crimson foam on his lips. His family's legacy was extinguished in a puddle of his own ambition.
The homunculus screamed. But not with her own voice.
A laugh echoed from within the chalice.
A guttural, distorted, inhuman sound.
—More... blood! More pain! More despair! Soon... I will be free!
The Maou watched from afar as a part of the castle collapsed. Dark magic gathered in the sky like an ethereal tornado, and the trees around withered, unable to withstand the curse that was being unleashed.
Serafall gritted her teeth.
—This was not part of the original ritual. This grail... has been corrupted.
Ajuka deployed an emergency barrier.
—It's not a simple chalice. There is something else. A will. A personified curse.
Sirzechs turned to his companions, his dark aura releasing with seriousness.
—Prepare yourselves. If this continues, the Grail will declare war on us all.
Falbium, for once, dropped his lazy demeanor.
—Who would have thought that the stupidity of a few elders could summon absolute evil...?
The Grail had been activated.
And Angra Mainyu had awakened.
The ruins of the once proud Einsbern castle were shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere. Residual magic swirled like an invisible hurricane. Even for the Maou, the magical pressure was almost unbearable.
A crack in reality opened among the charred rubble. From it emerged something. It was not a man, nor a spirit. It was a concept taking shape.
A humanoid silhouette, faceless, made of liquid darkness and pure malice. From its back sprouted deformed wings as if made of smoke and ancient screams, and its mere presence distorted the air around it.
The sky blackened. The trees died. The ground cracked as if the earth itself feared that which stood before it.
—That... cannot be —whispered Serafall, her face twisted.
—This is not a servant —said Ajuka, scanning with his spells—. This is... a concept.
A living curse.
The figure floated a few centimeters off the ground. It emitted no heat, nor cold, nor recognizable magical aura. What it transmitted was more primal... a pure, absolute hopelessness, that seemed to tear at the soul.
—Finally... the world calls me again...
—Humanity and its sins must pay their price. I am the accumulated debt. The unforgotten hatred.
—I am Angra Mainyu!
Its words, more than spoken, were heard in everyone's mind, like psychic blades.
Sirzechs, Falbium, and Serafall unleashed their power. Ajuka conjured multiple magical circles. Energy accumulated.
—We will not let you threaten this world! —shouted Falbium, his voice thundering.
But just before the first attack was launched, Angra Mainyu stopped everything with a gesture. Its body seemed to shake as if something, somewhere else, had caught its attention.
It fell silent.
Then... it smiled.
—... Interesting.
—There is still something useful in this rotten existence...
—An imperfect vessel... but familiar...
—I have waited too long. I will not waste time here.
Before the Maou could react, Angra Mainyu disappeared. It did not teleport in the conventional way. It left no trace of its magical presence, no signature, no direction. It simply... ceased to be there.
A sepulchral silence covered the field of ruins.
Sirzechs lowered his arm, energy still gathered.
—Where... did it go?
—I don't know —replied Ajuka, noticeably frustrated—. There was no detectable magical distortion. It left no trace.
Serafall gritted her teeth.
—That means... it could be anywhere in the world.
—And worse —added Sirzechs gravely—, it could be in any plane of existence...
Fear spread among them. For the first time in centuries, the four Maou had felt a threat on par with the end times, and now... they didn't know where it was.
Ajuka closed his eyes, thinking.
—We must alert all allied factions. Angels, grigori, Asgard, and the human forces as well. This... could affect the entire supernatural balance.
And so, unknowingly, as the world prepared for war, the enemy already walked among them.
The afternoon in Kuoh was calm... too calm.
Daniel and Tamamo were outside the house, resting after days full of conflicts, political decisions, and mixed emotions. Tamamo, standing next to him with a curiously relaxed expression, talked about how nice a hot spring bath with him would be. Daniel smiled slightly... but then, everything stopped.
His eyes snapped open.
The air changed. His Observation Haki flared like an alarm. A presence, dark as night itself, evil to the core, materialized near their home.
—Tamamo... —murmured Daniel, his tone dropping into absolute gravity.
—I felt it... —she replied, her tail bristling, her ears stiff—. That's not normal magic... that's pure corruption.
But Daniel was no longer listening. He had taken off running. His mind only thought of his family. Of his home.
Of Sakura.
When he arrived, the scene before his eyes was devastating.
His house was in flames.
Furniture destroyed, windows broken, the garden reduced to ashes, and amidst the blackness and smoke... a figure was standing.
Sakura.
Her hair waved as if an invisible wind surrounded her. Her aura was no longer human. Dark, purple, wrapped in liquid shadows that clung to her skin. Her eyes were a bottomless pit... empty, inhuman. A twisted smile adorned her face, and her voice, distorted, deep, and alien, laughed with an unnatural echo.
—This body... yes... is perfect... so much pain, so much repressed hatred... So easy to corrupt!
Daniel felt a dagger in his heart. Right in front of Sakura, Hikari and Hibiki were standing, wounded but firm, protecting Alya, who was on the ground, bleeding with part of her clothes burned.
—DANIEL! —shouted Hibiki upon seeing him—. BE CAREFUL!
Sakura —or rather, Angra Mainyu— raised her hand. Shadows shot out towards him like spears of pure darkness, but Tamamo appeared with a leap, intercepting with a barrier of spiritual fire that neutralized the attack.
—So it's you, you damn bastard! —growled Tamamo, her expression fierce.
Daniel couldn't move. Guilt, pain, terror gripped him.
Angra Mainyu was there. Inside Sakura.
Now he understood. Sakura's body, already accustomed to torment, to pain, to the constant poison of the magic worms, was the perfect vessel. Her soul was broken, her heart hardened... it was fertile ground for that living curse to take root.
—See, Daniel? —said Angra Mainyu with Sakura's voice, still smiling—
She opened the door for me. I didn't have to force her. I just had to promise her something you failed to deliver...
Freedom. Love. Purpose. You had her close... and yet... it was easy to enter.
—You're lying! —shouted Daniel, clenching his fists—. Sakura wouldn't accept something like that!
—And how can you be so sure... if you don't even know how broken she was?
The mockery hurt. But Daniel would not be defeated.
He approached, step by step, while Tamamo protected his companions, launching containment spells to prevent the corruption from spreading through the neighborhood.
—I will not let... you control her. I will not let you use her for your plans —said Daniel, his voice trembling with contained rage.
Ddraig, in his mind, spoke for the first time in a serious tone:
—Daniel... if you don't stop it now, that thing will completely fuse with her soul. And there will be no turning back.
Daniel gritted his teeth.
He was going to save Sakura.
Or die trying.
The duel for Sakura begins... and unexpected reinforcements arrive.
Flames danced in the air like hungry red serpents. Daniel's home, once warm and full of laughter, was now in ruins, devoured by magical fire. At the center of the disaster, stood Sakura Matou, or rather, what remained of her.
Her body trembled, wrapped in a black aura with crimson flashes. Her distorted voice was a mix of a demonic whisper and the cry of a broken girl.
—Ahhh... what freedom... What delight... What sweet destruction awaits us...
Daniel breathed heavily. His clenched fist trembled. He couldn't lose his composure, not when Sakura was being consumed by Angra Mainyu.
Beside him, Tamamo-no-Mae prepared for combat, her staff floating and a protective barrier forming around them both.
—Daniel... if we don't stop this quickly, she will disappear —she murmured with sadness in her eyes.
Daniel nodded.
—I don't plan to give up. I won't let another person die in front of me if I can prevent it.
He quickly turned to Hikari and Hibiki, who were protecting a wounded Alya.
—Take her to Sona and Rin! Now! Tell them Angra Mainyu is here and needs to be stopped now!
The twins hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the gravity in their Ashikabi's eyes, they nodded and left at full speed.
Now, only two remained against an entity capable of destroying worlds.
The battle began without mercy.
Shadows in the shape of spears, curses you could hear screaming, purifying fire, dispersal seals, and physical bursts. Tamamo and Daniel gave everything they had, but Angra Mainyu, through Sakura's body, was simply... overwhelming.
Then, a figure cut through the smoke with a slash that dissolved the darkness. A perfect, clean, pure line.
—W-what...?! —exclaimed Tamamo.
From the distance, a young man with brown hair and a nervous expression came running out of the forest, panting.
—Muramasaaa! What are you doing?! You got us into another mess without warning me!
The swordsman beside him, with white hair and eyes sharp as blades, stopped in front of the battle.
—Can't you feel that energy? This creature... corrupts everything it touches. We couldn't just ignore it.
Yuuta, the young Master, stopped next to Daniel, almost stumbling from the intensity of the heat and magic in the air.
—T-This isn't like in the books... Is this a war or the apocalypse?
Daniel barely had time to look at him.
—Who are you?
—Yuuta... I'm Yuuta. He is my Servant, Muramasa. I didn't know it was... like this —said the boy with a tone of genuine regret.
Muramasa, meanwhile, solemnly unsheathed his blade.
—Do not fear. I have not come to kill.
I have come to cut away what does not belong.
—Then help us! But remember, Sakura is still in there! —shouted Daniel.
Muramasa nodded.
—I understand. A sword should not destroy what can be saved.
With that, the three combatants —Daniel, Tamamo, and Muramasa— launched themselves together into the fight. Yuuta, although nervous, began to provide the magical support he could from the rear, focusing his energy on sustaining his Servant.
Sparks. Malice. Light and darkness. Hope and despair.
Every blow was a statement. Every broken barrier, a plea.
And in the midst of it all, Daniel screamed internally:
—Hold on, Sakura... just a little longer...
While the flashes of spells and explosions of cursed energy shook the foundations of Daniel's home, Hikari and Hibiki moved with all the speed their reinforced bodies allowed, running through the streets towards Kuoh Academy. Every step they took was a plea for help, a silent cry that could only be understood by those who understood the chaos that was coming.
In their arms, Alya, wounded and semi-conscious, breathed with difficulty. Her blood stained her companions' clothes, but still, Hibiki held her body firmly, and Hikari forcefully cleared any obstacles from their path.
At that same moment, Sona Shitori, student council president and ice lady of Kuoh, was in her office, surrounded by documents, magical detection barriers, and open communications with the underworld. Her gaze, normally firm, was now charged with a latent tension.
She felt it.
Not just any magical disturbance. It wasn't a servant.
It was something older, purer... and yet more impure than anything she had felt before.
Shortly after, another figure entered her office with an equally tense expression: Rias Gremory. Her long crimson hair moved with elegance, but her eyes showed concern.
—Did you feel it too, Sona? —she asked, not bothering to greet.
Sona nodded seriously.
—As if a corrupt deity had awakened. Something... is wrong.
But there was more on Rias's mind. Although her heart was with her friends and the safety of Kuoh, her personal world was also crumbling: her family had decided to accelerate the wedding with Riser Phoenix.
It would no longer be upon graduation. No.
Now it would happen right after the current school year ended.
—Not only is magic spiraling out of control —whispered Rias—. Everything around me is falling apart.
Sona pressed her lips. There was little she could say. Both were trapped by the duties of their houses, even as the supernatural world began to crack.
At that instant, the doors of the student council burst open. Hikari and Hibiki rushed in with a wounded Alya in their arms. Sona and Rias stood up immediately.
—Daniel is fighting a monster at his house! Sakura was possessed by something horrible! —shouted Hikari.
—That being... that thing... wants to destroy everything! It's inside her! —added Hibiki, her eyes overflowing with worry.
Sona needed no more.
She took out her magical communicator and activated it instantly.
—Serafall, we have a level one emergency. It's about corrupted divine energy... and it's not from a fallen angel or from the heavens. It's something else. I'm going to need reinforcements. Now.
On the other side, her sister's voice became serious immediately.
—Understood. I'm on my way.
Rias, without wasting time, also contacted her brother.
—Onii-sama... chaos has come to Kuoh. Daniel is in combat. Something called Angra Mainyu has taken possession of a girl named Sakura. We have wounded.
On the other side, Sirzechs responded with tense calm:
—Gather your people. I will take care of mobilizing mine.
Kilometers away, Tohsaka Rin and Archer were preparing to leave. Rin had felt the same dark torrent of energy as everyone else.
—Is that... the source of the grail? —she asked, alarmed.
—That... is something that should not exist in this world —replied Archer gravely.
Both rushed towards the battle without losing time, crossing streets, roofs, and shadows, driven by urgency and the threat that grew with every second.
Because it was no longer a war for a wish.
It was a war for the world's survival.
The sky over Kuoh was covered by a dark blanket of clouds, not from natural causes, but from the dark energy emanating from a single person: Sakura Matou. Her body, covered by a dense, corrupt purple aura, trembled from the immense power of Angra Mainyu, the absolute evil that possessed her.
In front of her, the battle intensified.
Daniel, sweating and panting, used his Observation Haki and the initial magical impulse of the Boosted Gear, without fully releasing it yet. He moved fluidly, gracefully dodging the dark projectiles that corrupted everything they touched.
—I can't get close enough! I can't even talk to her! —he shouted, frustrated, while his boots scraped the ground as he stopped from inertia.
Tamamo no Mae, his companion and Caster Servant, executed spells and counterspells with superhuman speed, erasing corruption, blocking cursed energy, and maintaining a protective field around her master.
—Daniel-kun, we can't go on like this! You can't save her while she's still awake. Angra Mainyu clings too tightly to her consciousness! —she shouted, while a golden magical circle activated in front of her to block a spear of darkness.
To the side, Muramasa, the Saber Servant, executed clean slashes with his spiritual katana. He was a warrior with a severe gaze, the cold expression of a veteran.
—I can't help but think that this enemy... should not exist. This presence... is unnatural —he murmured while destroying a burst of dark tentacles with a horizontal slash that parted the air.
Daniel, hearing Tamamo, understood the plan. They had to knock out Sakura, even if only for a moment. Then, he could enter her subconscious thanks to his emotional bond with her and, with his will, tear Angra Mainyu out from within.
—Then we'll do it! But I need an opening... —said Daniel.
Just when the tension seemed unbearable, a metallic sound cut through the air.
—Kanshou... Bakuya! —shouted Archer, throwing his twin swords towards Sakura's left flank. The weapons caused no damage, but diverted her attention.
—Rin! You arrived just in time! —shouted Tamamo.
Tohsaka Rin, panting after the hurried journey, aimed her charged gem and launched a containment spell.
—I won't let you lose to that monster, Sakura! Not again!
Sakura, or rather Angra Mainyu, responded with a distorted laugh.
—Do you really think you can save her? She's already mine...
A dark ray burst from Sakura's body, unraveling trees, part of the ground, and what remained of the house's entrance.
At that moment, a portal opened and Sona Shitori and Rias Gremory emerged, each surrounded by their respective entourages and active demonic power.
—That is... corrupted divine energy! —murmured Sona, activating an analysis spell with her magical glasses.
—It's as if the essence of evil were alive... —added Rias, transforming instantly and letting her demonic power explode around her.
Both nodded at Tamamo's plan.
—Capture, neutralize, free. Not kill. —summarized Sona, calmly.
—We will save Sakura. —confirmed Rias with determination.
Everyone took positions.
Archer covered the left flank with projection fire.
Muramasa charged from the right, seeking a breach with precise cuts.
Sona created magical restraint fields.
Rias concentrated her destructive power to pressure and keep Angra Mainyu occupied.
And Tamamo channeled all her magic into a single spiritual purification seal.
At the center of it all, Daniel waited... for his opportunity.
The moment came when Muramasa landed a precise slash on Sakura's leg, forcing her to kneel. Rias and Sona acted instantly, closing the space and restraining the dark entity's movements for a moment.
—Now! —shouted Tamamo, releasing her spell with a mystic war cry.
The dark aura contracted, and for one precious second, Sakura collapsed, unconscious.
Daniel closed his eyes.
He felt the thread of his emotional connection with her, held onto it...
...and leaped into Sakura's subconscious, guided by Tamamo through a spiritual ritual.
The physical world was left behind.
The true battle was about to begin...
...inside the mind of a girl broken by pain, and now, possessed by absolute evil.
The world Daniel stepped into upon entering Sakura's mind was not a simple mental landscape.
It was a living nightmare.
Thick fog. Muffled screams.
Walls formed of broken memories, stained with blood and darkness.
Everything felt... sick.
Every step hurt. Not physically, but in the depths of his soul.
It was as if suffering permeated every corner of that space.
And there, among the shadows, he saw the memories.
A girl with purple hair crying, dragged towards a dark mansion.
Her family coldly saying goodbye, without looking back.
The old man Zouken approaching, smiling with rot in his eyes.
Later, the cages.
The insects.
The screams in the darkness.
Nights without solace.
Days without hope.
Daniel felt the air leave his lungs.
"How... how could anyone live like this?"
And then, the laughter.
A hollow, distorted laugh, echoing from all directions.
The fog swirled, and Angra Mainyu emerged, like a formless entity, with a thousand eyes and mouths, wrapped in a putrid aura.
—Does her pain move you, human? —the creature purred—. Don't you understand? She called me. I am her salvation. Her justice. Her vengeance.
Daniel took a deep breath.
—No... you are the corruption that feeds on suffering. The only thing you did was take advantage of a broken girl.
Angra Mainyu laughed, shaking the air like thunder.
—And what are you? An improvised hero? Another mortal with a savior complex?
Daniel took a firm step.
—Maybe... but even so, I chose to be here. She did not.
From among the shadows, an image emerged: Sakura, floating in a fetal position, as if asleep, surrounded by dark chains.
Daniel felt an enormous pressure on his body, as if the entire weight of the world were crushing him.
Angra Mainyu's laughter grew... its tendrils of darkness attacked him relentlessly.
And then, it happened.
Deep within himself, in the most primitive part of his soul, something exploded.
An invisible roar.
A heartbeat stronger than thunder.
An indomitable will... screamed to be released.
Daniel closed his eyes.
And when he opened them...
The air trembled.
A wave of invisible energy exploded from him in all directions.
The shadows recoiled.
Angra Mainyu shrank back, surprised.
—What... is this?! —it exclaimed with fury.
Daniel's eyes shone with a golden glow.
His aura burned like blue fire.
—This... is my power!
I won't let anyone else suffer like her!
NOT IN MY DAMN PRESENCE!
King's Haki.
Haoshoku Haki.
The power of the dominant soul.
The roar of a king's soul.
The entire mental dimension shook.
The chains binding Sakura cracked.
The mental world groaned.
Illusions shattered.
Angra Mainyu shrieked, staggering from the brute force of will that struck it directly in the soul.
—IMPOSSIBLE! You are nothing but a human!
Daniel slowly walked towards Sakura, each step leaving a shockwave around him.
—I am many things... but more than anything... I am the idiot who is going to pull you out of this darkness. HOLD ON, SAKURA!
He extended his hand.
Sakura, still trembling, opened her eyes.
The warm glow surrounding her began to grow.
Her aura tinged with pure light.
She... smiled.
And took Daniel's hand.
At that moment, an explosion of pure, luminous energy expanded throughout Sakura's mind.
Angra Mainyu was repelled, expelled, torn from that place.
The nightmare collapsed.
And Daniel fell backwards, dragged out of the subconscious.
He awoke with a sharp gasp.
The smoke of battle was still in the air, but before him...
Sakura, kneeling, with tears in her eyes, free.
Her dark aura had disappeared.
Tamamo and the others breathed with relief.
Sakura murmured weakly:
—Daniel... am I free...?
He nodded, a tear falling down his cheek.
—Yes... you are free, Sakura.
And then, she fell towards him, crying, her head against his chest.
The world could burn around them...
But at that moment, all that mattered was that a life had been saved.
And a new flame had awakened in Daniel's soul.
The air became dense.
The temperature dropped.
Before them, where Sakura possessed had once stood, Angra Mainyu was rising...
...now in human form.
It was ironic.
A slender body, pale skin, dark hair, and eyes without luster... he looked like any young man.
And yet, every step he took made the world tremble.
—Tch... —he muttered disdainfully, looking at his own hands—. Even without her as a vessel, I can exist. But you... —he looked straight at Daniel with eyes not of this world—. You took my host from me. You... stole my rebirth.
Now, you will be the first to fall.
Daniel didn't respond.
He had already done everything inside Sakura.
But now he had to stop this real threat... alone.
Tamamo was standing beside him, panting.
Rin, Archer, Muramasa, Sona, Rias, Yuuta... they all fought with him.
At first, the fight was even. Coordinated. Strong.
But Angra Mainyu resisted everything.
Every blow was useless. Every spell, countered.
With every passing second, his allies fell one by one.
Sona and her entourage were the first.
They used all their power to seal him, but fell from the effort.
Rias and her companions, even with the Queen and the Knight giving their best, were defeated.
Rias fell to her knees, cursing her helplessness before fainting.
Yuuta, already out of energy, fell while Muramasa tried to protect him...
...but without a source of mana, Muramasa weakened with every moment.
Rin and Archer held out until the end, launching precision attacks, until Rin's mana ran out and Archer was forced to disperse.
Tamamo, worn out from maintaining support spells and defenses, fell into Daniel's arms, who held her for a moment before gently laying her on the ground.
Only he remained standing.
And Angra Mainyu still smiled.
—Look at you... alone. Fragile. Do you still believe you can change anything?
Daniel trembled. Not from fear.
From rage.
He saw them all.
His friends.
His allies.
People who fought to protect this world.
People who believed in him.
"I can't leave them... not now."
The pressure grew in his chest.
"I can't lose!"
It was then that, with no other option...
—BOOSTED GEAR —he whispered forcefully.
The red, scaly gauntlet appeared on his left arm.
The sapphires shone with contained energy.
「BOOST!」
A voice resonated from the Sacred Gear.
And with it, Daniel began to release his power.
One.
Two.
Three.
「BOOST!」
「BOOST!」
「BOOST!」
Energy accumulated.
His body burned.
The air around him sparked.
His muscles trembled.
Reality itself began to distort from the force of the sleeping dragon.
Angra Mainyu raised an eyebrow.
—That's what you were hiding...? The power of the crimson dragon...? Curious. I didn't expect it so soon.
Daniel shouted, his energy pushing back the aura of the dark being.
His eyes ignited with determination.
His feet planted firmly on the ground.
And then...
"Ddraig... lend me your power! There's no more time!"
The dragon's voice resonated in his mind, serious for the first time.
—As you wish, partner. Show them what it means to oppose a dragon emperor!
And so, the world seemed to explode in crimson light.
「BALANCE BREAK!」
The gauntlet burned.
Red crystals extended.
The scarlet armor covered his body completely, with draconic wings unfolding behind.
His eyes, shining with limitless energy.
And his voice... resonating like a roar.
—BOOSTED GEAR SCALE MAIL!
The earth shook.
The sky turned red.
And Angra Mainyu... retreated for the first time.
Daniel walked towards him.
Step by step.
—I'm no longer fighting alone...
Every one who fell... gave me this strength.
And you... are going to pay for everything you did.
Angra Mainyu smiled, for the first time without arrogance.
—Interesting... THEN SHOW ME THE POWER OF YOUR WILL, HUMAN!
And the definitive battle began.
The roar of the dragon... against the shadow of all human evil.
An explosion of air shook all of Kuoh.
The shockwave from the clash between Daniel and Angra Mainyu expanded like a storm.
Trees bent violently.
Windows shattered.
And the unconscious bodies lying on the ground were swept aside and abruptly awakened.
Rias stood up dazed.
—W-what was that...?
Beside her, Sona opened her eyes with effort, and her glasses were broken.
She looked at the sky...
And saw it.
A man in scarlet dragon armor, with wings of red energy and a crimson glow burning like a sun.
—It can't be... —murmured Akeno—. The Red Dragon Emperor?
Muramasa, still kneeling, recognized the pressure of the aura.
—That power... I've felt it before. In legends.
It's the Boosted Gear...
Yuuta, Muramasa's master, regained consciousness thanks to the magical impulse.
—Where is Daniel? Who is that?
But the answer was obvious.
Daniel was no longer among them.
Daniel was the warrior facing evil itself.
Rin and Archer looked at each other in confusion.
The magus didn't fully understand, but recognized the power.
—That's not common magic... that's something else. Something beyond human.
Meanwhile, the world trembled under the combatants' feet.
—Ddraig! Boost, again!
「BOOST!」
Daniel, wrapped in his Scale Mail, charged head-on.
Angra Mainyu received him with a dark punch.
The clash created a shockwave that split the ground.
The fire of hell and the corrupt essence of Angra Mainyu clashed with the dragon's power and a human's determination.
Daniel breathed heavily.
He felt the exhaustion.
He couldn't yet mix the King's Haki with Armament Haki...
But his Observation Haki sharpened.
Every attack that was once hard to follow...
now was clearer, more defined, slower.
I feel it. I see it coming. I anticipate it.
He began to dodge more precisely, counterattack better, find openings.
His Armament Haki, though basic, grew stronger.
Every time Angra Mainyu landed a blow, Daniel resisted better.
His arms vibrated with the impact, but didn't break.
—You're making me stronger... every second that passes! —roared Daniel.
Angra Mainyu stopped for an instant.
—What...?
Daniel lunged with a new impulse.
「BOOST!」
A powered punch struck Angra Mainyu's abdomen, making him retreat for the first time since taking physical form.
From below, everyone watched in astonishment.
—That power isn't just magic... —said Sona—. That's the true potential of the Boosted Gear. Every 10 seconds... its power doubles.
—But that's only the beginning... —Rias said quietly.
Rin, still confused, asked:
—Who... is Daniel really?
Alya, wounded, but smiling weakly from an improvised stretcher, responded:
—He's an idiot... but he's our idiot.
And he never stops advancing.
In the air, Daniel kept pressing.
Slashes, fire, curses, screams.
And yet... he remained standing.
Every cry of rage from Angra Mainyu was met with a determined gaze.
Every blow, answered.
Every fall, turned into momentum.
And Daniel knew why.
Not just because of Ddraig.
Not just because of his power.
But because he had a reason.
To save everyone. To save Sakura. To save the world.
His gaze burned.
His soul roared.
And Angra Mainyu...
began to retreat.
The battlefield was in ruins.
The earth was scorched, magical energy still floated in the air like a thick miasma.
The bodies of his allies lay scattered all over the place, unconscious, wounded, drained of everything they had left.
Sona, Rias, Muramasa, Yuuta, Archer, Rin, Tamamo...
All were out of combat.
Only he remained.
Daniel.
Covered in cuts and blood, panting with difficulty, the crimson armor of the Boosted Gear shattered in several parts.
But his eyes, shone with contained fury.
Before him...
Angra Mainyu, in its humanoid form and eyes of infinite hatred, floated above the ground with an aura of absolute darkness.
—Why won't you fall? Why won't you break like the others? —growled the cursed spirit.
Daniel remained silent.
He had no strength to spare.
No elaborate plans.
Only... will.
—You don't understand what it means to fight for others, do you? —he murmured, raising his fist covered in glowing black energy.
An energy that looked like solid fire.
Dense, vibrant, clinging to his arm like armor.
No one else could understand it.
No one knew what it was.
But he did.
—"Armament Haki..."
A technique that did not belong to this world, that existed in no grimoire, nor in the magical history of this plane.
Only he knew it.
Only he could use it.
And now, he was taking it further.
—Come on... just a little more —he said through gritted teeth.
Angra Mainyu lunged, its body wrapping itself in total darkness.
But Daniel, with his gaze fixed, whispered:
—...Advance.
—...Protect.
—...Strike with everything you are.
At that instant, an invisible shockwave swept the field.
Trees split.
Clouds dissolved.
And the unconscious bodies were dragged a few meters as if a gust of pure pressure had hit them.
Several woke up abruptly.
—What was that...?! —exclaimed Rin, astonished.
—It's not magic... then what is it...? —asked Muramasa, between gasps.
—That power... I've never felt it in any supernatural being... —murmured Sona, in shock.
But no one had answers.
Only Daniel knew.
It was the awakening of his other power.
One even deeper.
Conqueror's Haki.
An ability that cannot be learned.
A pure manifestation of the spirit of a true king.
Daniel took a step forward, and for the first time, united that power with his Armament Haki.
A brutal aura exploded from his body, resonating like a silent roar.
Angra Mainyu retreated, feeling something even he couldn't comprehend...
Fear.
And then... Daniel attacked.
A single punch.
Not with magic.
Not with infernal energy, nor with divine power.
Only... pure will.
The impact was so devastating, that an explosion of scarlet and black energy consumed everything.
Angra Mainyu screamed, his body crumbling into dark particles.
His cursed essence was annihilated.
And with him... the Holy Grail collapsed.
The magical connection binding Muramasa broke.
The cycle of the war... had finally ended.
Daniel fell to his knees, breathing heavily.
The field was silent.
Tamamo, though barely conscious, used the last of her energy to form a special magical contract, a seal that would permanently bind her to Daniel to prevent her from disappearing.
—I told you I'd stay... until your last breath —she whispered, before fainting.
Daniel smiled softly, looking at the sky.
Everyone was safe.
No one understood what kind of power he had used.
And he... had no intention of explaining it.
After all, Haki was not of this world.
It was his secret.
His advantage.
And perhaps... his curse.
But for now, all that mattered...
Was that they had won.