Malachi didn’t even so much as glance at Scarlett as the woman approached, her demons slowing to trail a few meters behind. Scarlett moved to stand in front of Rosa, but the bard stopped her with a raised arm, shooting her a meaningful look.

Frowning, Scarlett stepped aside, carefully observing Malachi while also keeping an eye on the larger demon that was slowly emerging from the rift at the center of the square.

Rosa greeted Malachi with a smile that could have put any seasoned salesman to shame. “Judging by that expression of yours, I’m guessing that you’re not happ—”

Malachi’s hand shot out, gripping Rosa’s throat. Her gleaming green eyes pierced the woman. “Return us to the citadel.”

Malachi’s demons growled as Scarlett began to move, but Rosa motioned for her to stay back, even as Malachi’s nails dug into the bard’s skin.

Rosa held Malachi’s intense gaze. “Believe me, I would if I could, genuinely. Unfortunately, I think the ship’s already sailed on that front.”

A small grunt of pain escaped her as Malachi’s grip tightened and blood trickled from her neck.

Scarlett stepped closer to the two. “Malachi.”

The woman turned her head slowly, locking eyes with her.

“Release her,” Scarlett warned.

Malachi remained silent for a few moments. “…This… Was this part of your schemes? You intended to work with the Vile from the start, and you used this girl as your pawn.”

“If that were the case, I would not have aided you against Anguish’s archdemons. The current situation is as unfavorable for me as it is for you, Malachi. It will not be improved by hostility between us.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, then shifted back to Rosa. “You will return us to the citadel. The ritual is not yet complete.”

“Sure, just give me a moment,” the bard replied. “I’ll just mosey on up to the demon living inside my head and ask her to bring us all back to the place where she was about to be robbed of all her power. I’m sure that’ll work out just fine and dandy, with a pretty bow on top.”

Malachi’s expression darkened, and for a moment, it seemed as if she might lash out at Rosa then and there.

“Tell you what,” Rosa added quickly, before Scarlett could intervene. “If you bring Scarlett out of here, I’ll see what I can do to weaken Anguish before she completely returns to her domain. You managed to siphon off at least some of her Authority, right?”

Scarlett blinked. Malachi had succeeded in stealing some of Anguish’s power, after all? So the ritual wasn’t completely disrupted?

“I don’t know all that much about demons,” Rosa continued, “but I bet you’d prefer going up against an enraged Vile with a limp than one without. I’m still just getting the hang of the intricacies that come with having this stone lodged in my chest, but Anguish has infused enough of herself in me that it would definitely impact her if an inexperienced greenhorn started mucking about with things and accidentally tore a soul muscle or three.”

Malachi paused, her expression growing contemplative.

Scarlett, however, did not like what she was hearing. “Rosa, I am warning you only this once. Do not even dare attempt anything of the sort, understood? And you, Malachi.” She faced the other woman. “This is your final warning as well. Release her.”

Malachi showed no intention of complying at first, and Scarlett mentally prepared herself to fight Malachi for real this time. The woman’s watchdog demons growled at her.

“I think this is the kind of situation where you salvage what you can,” Rosa told Malachi, awkwardly nodding while caught in the woman’s grasp. “Besides, seems our guests are starting to arrive. Clock’s ticking.”

While it had taken some time, the demon that had been making its way out of the rift had now fully emerged. Its grotesque, horned visage was shrouded in a swirling maelstrom of crimson and obsidian, with molten, lava-like veins running through its onyx skin. Its eyes, ablaze with malice, seemed to further ignite the fiery landscape around as its gaze focused on the trio, another claw in the rift behind it signifying more of its kind arriving soon.

Scarlett was pretty sure this wasn’t even an archdemon, yet its presence was far more formidable than the ones they’d faced in the citadel. Since the interstitial space they were in was close enough to the Blaze it called home, the demon’s power wasn’t suppressed.

Presumably, the same went for Malachi’s three demons, all of whom spun on the spot and charged at the newcomer without needing a command. The demon was over twice their size, however, and let out a thunderous roar that slowed their advance.

“How about it, Malachi?” Rosa asked, disregarding Scarlett’s previous words.

Malachi scowled, looking between Rosa and Scarlett for a moment before reluctantly releasing the bard.

Rosa gingerly massaged her neck with a sore smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You will not,” Scarlett said.

“Sorry, Red, but we are running out of time, and I don’t think there’s much else you can do at this point. I would love if it weren’t like that, but you’re not in charge right now.”

A miserable wail escaped one of Malachi’s demons as the larger demon tore off its front leg, the others desperately biting into its shoulder and leg. Another demon emerged from the rift behind it, resembling the first but boasting a pair of massive limbs reminiscent of charred bat wings that folded over its shoulders.

“Then I will be assuming command,” Scarlett declared, shifting her focus to Malachi. “You were able to drain some of Anguish’s Authority? Do you still possess the artifact I entrusted you with, or was it left behind?”

The woman seemed indifferent to her minion’s plight, simply studying Scarlett with a cold stare. “I have it,” she eventually responded, gesturing through the air, summoning forth a green energy that slowly coalesced into [Ittar’s Genesis]. The crystal sphere’s surface had morphed into a deep black, streaked with slimmers of ominous red, exuding a drastically different aura from before.

“In that case, you will be disregarding Miss Hale’s words just now,” Scarlett said.

“Scarlett, it’s fine, I brought this on myse—”

“It is far from ‘fine’,” Scarlett cut Rosa off before the bard could finish. The anger she had been suppressing bubbled to the surface. “I will not allow Anguish to deprive me of one of my most valuable assets, nor will I allow you to do so either. Not after the considerable time and resources I have invested in bringing you to this point. I do not care for your opinions on the matter, be they reasonable or not. I, for one, do not feel like a reasonable woman at the moment.”

Malachi continued scrutinizing Scarlett before facing Rosa. “We will form a pact.”

Scarlett raised her hand, a threatening flame flickering into existence above it as a dangerous air entered her voice. “Malachi.”

“I see no reason to heed the words of someone who is powerless to do anything herself,” the woman said, not looking at her.

“I know Anguish’s name.”

Malachi froze. She turned to Scarlett, her earlier rage seeming to resurface. “You dare lie—”

“Machrelzi.”

The woman’s expression went blank, and she stood completely motionless.

Scarlett studied her.

Even in this world of fantasy, Malachi was probably a unique case. A half-demon, half-human, accepted by neither. While her human features were outwardly prominent, that didn’t mean her demonic traits were limited to just her peculiar eyes. Like all demons, she possessed a true name bound to her demonic half. Its influence over her probably wasn’t as strong as on a true demon, but it wasn’t something the woman could ignore, either.

“Wait, what did you do?” Rosa asked, staring at Malachi’s unmoving form.

“I uttered her true name,” Scarlett answered, briefly glancing over at the ongoing battle near the rift. Another of Malachi’s minions lost a limb, vainly fighting the larger demons, even as more silhouettes lurked on the other side of the rift. “You might not be aware, but a demon’s name holds a certain power over them.”The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“…And you know Anguish’s?”

“I do, yes.” Scarlett regarded Rosa. “…I believe you know better than most that I keep contingencies wherever I can.”

The bard’s eyes widened, her hand reaching for the violet Heartstone on her chest. “S-She knows you’re not lying, and she’s…troubled.”

A vicious smile appeared on Scarlett’s lips. “Good.”

“What does this mean? I was prepared to…you know. But, now…?”

“It means that I have reserved my most uncertain yet potent option for last.” Scarlett returned her attention to Malachi, hoping the woman would soon snap out of it. She hadn’t actually been sure if it would work against the half-demon. “I do not know how to properly wield it against a Vile, aside from temporary restraining it, and I had hoped to avoid relying on such uncertainties entirely. With Malachi’s expertise, however, and a fragment of Anguish’s own Authority, it should provide us with a new means.”

Another cry from one of Malachi’s demons pierced the air as it was torn in two, its remnants flung and discarded through the rift.

Soon, there would be nothing left to distract the arriving demons from Scarlett and the others. She doubted either she or Malachi could put up a significant fight at this point. Her mana was nearly depleted, even after having consumed an inadvisable amount of mana potions, and it wouldn’t take much to bring her to the brink of mana exhaustion. And Malachi wasn’t really a melee combatant.

Scarlett glanced at [Ittar’s Genesis], still held firmly in Malachi’s grasp.

Would its mana-storing function remain after being corrupted? Probably not. Even if it did, Malachi would be needing it. Scarlett also wasn’t convinced that these fully manifested demons would succumb to her magic as easily as the weakened ones in the citadel had. Not to mention that she had no idea how many demons were lurking on the other side, ready to pass through that rift.

Suddenly, Rosa jerked forward, doubling over with arms wrapped around her chest. The air around her darkened, and Scarlett stepped closer to the woman.

“S-She’s fighting back now,” Rosa gasped, grimacing. “Gods above, that hurts. It’s a lot harder keeping her down now that the rift is open. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up, and — oh.”

Another demon had climbed out from the rift, making three of them in total, all of which turned their focus to Scarlett and the others, as if on command. Malachi’s two remaining demons, who were still clinging to their opponents, had been completely forgotten.

At that moment, Malachi finally seemed to regain her senses. The woman blinked, then fixed a lethal glare on Scarlett. “How do you—”

“How is irrelevant,” Scarlett interrupted, bracing herself as the demons began to move. “What matters now is that we take action. We can use Anguish’s name. Simply guide us in how.”

While speaking, she conjured a series of fire barriers aimed at the demons, aiming to stall their movements. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the periphery of the dome that surrounded the space around them, wondering what was taking Fynn so long.

“You truly know her name?” Malachi asked.

“I do.”

“What is it?”

“I will reveal it when necessary.”

A demon’s name was their weakness, but its potency waned with each utterance in close succession. Scarlett also couldn’t ignore the risk that Malachi would pull some sort of betrayal if she shared too much prematurely.

The woman did not look happy with that answer, but she would have to deal. “…With her name, we can forcibly summon Anguish entirely and fetter her to Rosa more completely. Without any preparations, I cannot guarantee the outcome, but the Authority I’ve obtained may be enough to siphon more of it, enough that Anguish cannot resist in the future. I’m unsure if the girl can handle it, however.”

“Simply do it,” Scarlett spoke through gritted teeth, her mana rapidly dwindling as she controlled a small sea of flames to defend against the demons’ advance, also taking advantage of the fires erupting from the cracks in the ground.

A fourth demon appeared, and despite the inferno that was burning away at their forms, the demons pressed forward relentlessly. Scarlett interspersed her flames with more precise strikes, targeting the weaknesses revealed by the [Charms of Apperception] to breach their defences.

Beside her, Rosa clutched Scarlett’s clothes, still bent over in agony. “What she said. I’m willing to give it one last shot. It can’t get much worse than this.”

“It can,” Malachi stated, stepping closer to the bard with [Ittar’s Genesis] in one hand, the other grabbing Rosa’s curled hair to lift her face. That irked Scarlett, but there wasn’t much she could do at the moment.

“Keep the demons at bay,” Malachi told her, as though the impending demonic horde wasn’t her problem. Then, locking eyes with Rosa for a moment, the woman pressed [Ittar’s Genesis] to the [Astralbane’s Nexus Heartstone] embedded in the bard’s chest.

Scarlett would have liked to claim she could follow what the woman was doing, but she couldn’t. Nor could she spare the attention. She was doing all that she could to hold these demons back as it were.

And of course, as if on cue, another demon climbed out of the rift, releasing a cracking bellow that shook through the area and rattled Scarlett’s bones. Larger than its predecessors, it exuded a sinister air. It still wasn’t on the level of an archdemon, but Scarlett’s [Charms of Apperception] didn’t work against it, indicating its strength surpassed a level 65 monster from the game.

Malachi’s eyes shone with an intensified green as a viscous, viridescent energy enveloped her. Within [Ittar’s Genesis], a dark ember of red flickered, briefly mingling Anguish’s baleful essence with Malachi’s aura, even as the Vile’s presence also surged forth from Rosa.

A wicked smile crept across Malachi’s lips. “She is trying to weasel her way free.”

Scarlett felt Rosa’s grip tighten on her clothes.

“Now, speak her name,” Malachi commanded.

“Astarothos,” Scarlett pronounced the word, tone dark. “Get back here. We have unfinished business.”

The name seemed to echo through the air with its own haunting weight, reminiscent of a nightmare’s whispers. From within Rosa, Anguish’s aura intensified more than threefold, and Scarlett felt how her declaration bore unspoken intent. Despite the chill that ran down her spine from the ominous presence beside her, she saw how Malachi harnessed that intent, guiding and shaping it in ways that were outside Scarlett’s understanding.

A groan left Rosa, and the bard looked to be in even more agony than when Scarlett had implanted the Heartstone in her chest, yet she didn’t scream. Malachi’s brow furrowed in deep concentration, and Scarlett observed them for the brief moment her situation allowed.

This was going to take longer than she had hoped.

Her vision had already turned more blurry as her mana was running dry, and she could only muster her remaining strength to keep the demons occupied for a little longer. Two of the demons looked like little more than walking heaps of burnt flesh at this point, but they still advanced with slow steps. Malachi’s demons had long succumbed to Scarlett’s magic.

The fourth demon folded out a pair of wide wings, awkwardly taking flight while enduring her flames.

Would she be able to stop it from reaching them?

That was when she noticed a figure she was certain hadn’t been there before, standing a few meters to her left. Clad in resplendent red robes with golden lacework and a glowing gold mask, their brilliant blond hair cascaded over their shoulders as if enchanted. They seemed to regard Scarlett for a moment, before shifting their focus to the demons.

Behind them, several spinning nimbuses of light formed, like tiny galaxies, from which beams shot out at the demons. Caught off-guard, the demons, whose defences had already been weakened by Scarlett, were assaulted by this barrage of light.

Two died instantly, their heads and shoulders reduced to ashes. The remaining demons suffered severe injuries as the beams tore through their bodies, and the stronger demon in the air tumbled to the ground as its wings were torn apart, releasing inflamed cries in an infernal tongue. It was far from dead, however, glaring in the direction of its attacker.

“An exemplary job, as ever, in standing your ground alone, Baroness,” the masked figure said. Despite their commendatory words, however, their tone sounded strangely detached. More nimbuses appeared, firing at the demons, along with other spells that took shape. “Unfortunately, I suspect that my presence alone will be insufficient to turn this tide.”

Two more demons emerged from the rift, at the same level as the large one. Almost as if emboldened, the demons resumed their advance, fixated on reaching their goal.

The masked figure, Raimond, paused momentarily, surveying a spot on the dome that separated this space from the rest of Crowcairn, then turned to Scarlett. Under his mask, he seemed to be assessing them — her, Malachi, and Rosa.

Finally, he motioned with his hand, and the air shimmered around Scarlett as if a veil of some kind fell over her.

Glancing down, she noticed that her hands looked slightly different. Turning her head, she saw that both Malachi and Rosa’s appearances had completely changed, the former resembling an older woman with black hair, and the latter a wounded teenager leaning on her elder.

Suddenly, a bright light burst from the spot on the dome that Raimond had been considering, and three radiant figures emerged. Adorned in masterfully crafted armor of whites and golds, emblazoned with a symbol of the sun on the breastplates, each of them wore expressionless white masks resembling stoic visages with closed golden eyes.

Dawnbringers.

Their appearance here actually caught Scarlett off-guard.

The trio sprang into action instantly, confronting the demons with a speed that rivaled a Solar Knight like Leon. One Dawnbringer, wielding a long sword twice their length, cut off the arm of a demon and pushed it back before turning to look at Raimond. The person’s attention lingered on the priest for a moment before focusing on Malachi and Rosa.

Despite the illusion that hid the two’s appearance, the palpable presence of a powerful demon was undeniable.

“Allow me to handle it, Cadence,” Raimond spoke. “For now, I’ll have to ask for your assistance in stemming the breach that we have before us.”

The name sparked a flicker of recognition in Scarlett’s memories.

The Dawnbringer seemed to study Raimond for another moment, then quickly resumed battling the demons, their sword emitting an intense light that cleaved into the bodies of two demons at once. The other Dawnbringers fought with equal fervor, repelling their foes.

Scarlett briefly turned to meet Raimond’s gaze, then shifted her attention to assess Malachi's and Rosa’s conditions. Shrouded in the illusion that concealed the woman’s appearance, it was hard trying to make out Rosa’s expression, but her presence felt like a chaotic amalgamation of Anguish’s, Malachi’s, and the bard’s own, like a tumultuous tempest of conflicting energies.

Then, as if some switch had been flipped, those energies suddenly dissipated. Rosa’s grip on Scarlett slackened, and Scarlett had to catch the bard to stop her from collapsing to the ground.

Next to them, Malachi slumped over, clearly exhausted.

Scarlett frowned. “What happened?”

Did it work? If so, was that all? She still had business with Anguish, so she had been hoping to interrogate the Vile in a controlled environment if possible.

“It is…complicated,” Malachi replied slowly, her disguised face concealing her expression. She held up [Ittar’s Genesis], its center ablaze with a brilliant dark red. “I have obtained more of Anguish’s Authority, but there were limitations. I suspect you will personally want to deal with the rest.”

“Baroness,” Raimond’s voice echoed from behind them. “I believe we should have a discussion.”

Scarlett turned to face the masked man as he approached, sensing the weight behind those words. She glanced over at Malachi, then focused her attention on the man and nodded. “I believe you are correct, Deacon Abram.”