Our story continues, and we see our friends arriving at the battlefield where MAMMON's remaining soldiers stand. They have already thrown down their weapons, stopped fighting, and are surrendering upon seeing that their leader has fallen. As they arrive, everything is in complete silence, but after a few seconds, a shout echoes from the enemy army: "We are free! Yesss!!!" This leaves our friends completely perplexed as they witness this highly unusual event.
DANTE HERALDI: What the hell is with these guys? Can someone explain this to me?
MALEKIN: It appears that MAMMON had every single one of them enslaved.
RENJIT: Hey, MALEKIN, do you think they will want to become part of our faction?
MALEKIN: It will be a matter of asking.
After a while, MALEKIN approaches the enemy soldiers and speaks with the one in command of what was left of MAMMON's army.
MALEKIN: Speak up, which one of you is in charge? But before anything else, I order my army to retreat and begin the reconstruction of the city. Move it!
A unanimous voice echoes back: "YES, SIR!" and the troops begin to pull back, leaving only the former enemy troops behind. Only a total of 30 living soldiers remained, whereas on the allied side—thanks to REX—50 soldiers were left standing, crowning MALEKIN's faction as the victors. Out of nowhere, from the 30 remaining demons, a highly unique one steps forward; he is slightly larger than the others and presents himself before MALEKIN.
ENEMY DEMON: I present myself before you. My name is SED, and I am a low-ranking demon; I am in charge of those who remain. It is a pleasure, Lord MALEKIN.
MALEKIN: It seems you have some class. Tell me, is it true that you no longer wish to fight?
SED: Yes, truthfully, we were MAMMON's slaves; he brought us by force from the island and made us fight in this stupid war. Because of him, several of our friends lost their lives, and now they have ceased to exist.
MALEKIN: SED, a question. Now that MAMMON is gone, who will take his place as the king of the island?
SED: There is no one who wants the throne; what do you think we should do?
MALEKIN: —SED, as you may have noticed, this person beside me (pointing at DANTE) is a mortal, and he defeated Mammon. But I would like to ask you a favor: I want you, if possible, to be the new king, or to find someone ideal for the position. I want us to have a trade treaty between our lands, and also explain that my city will receive humans and protect them. Explain clearly to them that I, MALEKIN, am the protector of humans, and tell them that I killed Mammon. But if they want to continue torturing them, I will not oppose it, as it is the cycle of life in this place. But also tell them that I will try to save them.
DANTE HERALDI: MALEKIN, are you sure about all of this?
MALEKIN: (whispering in his ear) What do you think the other demons would think if they found out a human killed a demon king? Everyone would hunt you down, but if they think I killed him, I will keep them at bay.
DANTE HERALDI: Thanks for looking out for me.
MALEKIN: Alright, you understand everything, right, SED? If you want, some of your men can stay and live here; I will need all the hands I can get to rebuild, thanks to you guys.
SED: There is no problem, Lord MALEKIN, everything is understood.
DANTE HERALDI: Hey, SED, I don't know if this helps you at all, but back on the island, there is a demon named BELFEGOR; I think that guy could be the king, he is very strong.
SED: I will keep it in mind. Now, with your permission, we shall take our leave.
As the enemy forces retreat, only 5 demons stay behind, promising that they will work for MALEKIN to make amends for what they did. MALEKIN welcomes them with open arms, and everyone heads toward the city; for today, everything has come to an end.
Now, night has fallen over the city, and everyone is in their respective homes. DANTE and REX are at the mansion with ELENA, conversing for a brief moment.
DANTE HERALDI: (sighing) That was a very fierce battle, don't you think, REX? Thank goodness we won. Oh, right, thank you as well, ELENA, for supporting us in this war.
REX: (lying on the ground) Yeah, thanks, ELENA, you were a huge help in the war.
ELENA: (blushing) No, what are you talking about? I only looked after the citizens who took refuge; you guys did so much for this city.
DANTE HERALDI: Don't be modest, ELENA. I didn't know you could use healing magic; you truly were a massive help.
ELENA: Well, Lord MALEKIN and Lord ACHAM taught me... (lowering her head) to think that Lord ACHAM was the traitor, it makes me so sad.
DANTE HERALDI: Don't dwell on that, we have a lot ahead of us. It's a shame that I have to leave; I'm going to miss you, ELENA.
ELENA: (thoughtfully) Yes… I will miss you too… (rising from her chair) Well, tomorrow is another day; I'm going to bed now. Goodnight…
As ELENA walks away to leave, she trips over the leg of a chair and lands right on DANTE's lap. The two stare at each other, blushing furiously, until ELENA quickly stands back up, apologizes, and runs off to her room. REX, who was watching the whole thing, looks at DANTE with a mischievous smirk.
REX: Look at you, my DANTE, hehe. Truthfully, there's nothing wrong with it. After all, you don't know if you'll ever see your family again; maybe you should just relax in this world, it won't hurt you, don't you think?
DANTE HERALDI: Don't say stupid things, REX. I don't want to hurt her; besides, I'm not going to be in this place forever.
REX: Well, I'm just saying. Ultimately, I don't fully understand the feelings of you humans. I am a dog; if I like a female dog, I jump her and that's that, jaja.
DANTE HERALDI: That is exactly what differentiates us from animals. (standing up and leaving) Anyway, goodnight, REX.
REX: (yawning) Yeah, whatever you say. Goodnight, remember there's a meeting at the castle tomorrow, so don't oversleep.
DANTE HERALDI: Yeah, I've got it in mind.
DANTE enters his bedroom and lies down on his bed, thinking about what happened with ELENA. Right before falling asleep, he muttered, "Maybe I should give myself a chance." Night completely blankets the red sky, and we see our various friends in different locations: MALEKIN in the castle gathering data, RENJIT in a cave on the outskirts of the city trying to master his new power, and ELENA in her room wondering what to do with the feelings she is displaying for DANTE. The night passes uneventfully.
The following morning, our friends DANTE and REX say goodbye to ELENA and head out very early toward the palace. DANTE, a bit embarrassed, doesn't know how to address ELENA and just blushes, while ELENA feels exactly the same way. They simply take their leave with a standard goodbye.
REX: (while they walk) Hey, DANTE, don't you think you should do something about ELENA? It's obvious that you like her and she feels something for you too.
DANTE HERALDI: I already know, dog, but it just can't be; remember that my goal is entirely different and I won't be staying here.
REX: Think things through; Otherwise, take her with you to the mortal world, my friend.
DANTE falls into deep thought, and after walking for a while, they notice that the city is slowly returning to its former way of life, which brings them joy. Shortly after, they arrive at the castle, where they are greeted by two demon soldiers who guide them to the conference room—the very place where they first encountered ACHAM. It was already cleaned up, and inside they find MALEKIN, RENJIT, and some mid-ranking demons of the city.
MALEKIN: Alright, everyone is here; take a seat, we will discuss what happened in the war and what comes next.
Everyone nods in agreement and proceeds to take their seats.
DANTE HERALDI: Fine. Let me tell you right off the bat, MALEKIN, that I cannot fully control the power I displayed during the war; I don't possess that ability yet, and the demon inside me refuses to cooperate with me. It was only for that brief moment.
MALEKIN: Interesting, that is exactly what I wanted to talk about. I managed to raid ACHAM's house, which was protected by a highly powerful barrier; it took some effort, but I broke it, and inside I found many ancient documents. Apparently, ACHAM has a brother named ASTAROTH, and he was the one who created me; I am an experiment, and ACHAM's goal was to reclaim me for himself.
RENJIT: Now that you mention it, he did bring that up during our fight.
DANTE HERALDI: And what does that have to do with my demon?
MALEKIN: That's what I'm getting at. I also found out that this guy was conducting experiments to obtain a perfect demon, all to face something highly dangerous: the "ancient demons." Apparently, during the time before the exile of the Creator's right hand, hell already existed. You all might wonder, for what purpose? If back then there were no humans to punish. But I discovered through the writings that God created three creatures with a power so immense that they surpassed Him. Fearing those creations, He created hell and locked them away there. These creatures are known as: LEVIATHAN, BEHEMOTH, and ZIZ. We don't have much information regarding where they currently are due to the new structure of the hells, but as for whether they exist—they absolutely do. These creatures, with their massive powers, unleashed energy that created the very first beings of hell, the "ancient demons." And I'm afraid, my friend DANTE, that upon being exiled, the evil one learned of these demons' existence and fused one of them with certain humans when he created mankind. It seems that inside of you resides one of those "ancient demons." That is also why ASTAROTH wanted to create powerful demons: to face those creatures in pursuit of their power.
Everyone falls completely silent at the revelation, looking rather shocked; nobody expected any of this. The demons present are left flabbergasted; it had never crossed their minds that hell was so complex. DANTE also remains deep in thought over everything he just heard.
DANTE HERALDI: So the thing inside me is one of those ancient demons; And if I manage to control it? Perhaps I'll also have a chance to escape. MALEKIN, I want to tell you that I still intend to leave, and those stories don't concern me. After all, I'm human, and this is already too much for me.
RENJIT: He's right, MALEKIN. How does any of this use to us? It's not like we are going to face those beings; our lives are right here.
MALEKIN: You are right, but it's never a bad thing to know the truth about this world. What worries me the most is this ASTAROTH guy. Once he realizes his plan has failed, don't you think he'll want to come looking for me?
DANTE HERALDI: You have a point there, MALEKIN. I would love to help you, but I'm afraid I must set out to fulfill my mission.
MALEKIN: I know you've already done so much, my friend, and I don't blame you, and...
Out of nowhere, a blue-colored fire erupts right in the middle of the table. A figure can be seen within the flames, and everyone stays alert, anticipating what is to come.
MALEKIN: Who are you?
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: I am ACHAM's brother, and I have come to discuss certain matters with you, MALEKIN—and also with that mortal named DANTE.
The mysterious voice turns out to be ASTAROTH. Everyone is taken by surprise, and nobody wants to make a single move; the atmosphere becomes incredibly tense. What will happen with this sudden encounter? We will find out very soon.