A sudden burst of freezing wind exploded from the center of the battlefield.
BOOM!
The shockwave knocked everyone back the witches stumbling, rubble flying.
I landed near Augusta's headless corpse, sliding across the cracked ground. Frost quickly spread under my feet, turning the pavement white.
Then I saw it.
The doll.
It moved.
Slowly, almost gently, the ice doll reached out and wrapped its arms around Lavinia. Her body trembled, but she didn't pull away.
Then I heard it.
A voice.
It was Lavinia's… but not just hers. Something overlapped with it. Colder, older, filled with grief and fury.
The doll's eyes glowed blue, and the suddenly they began to chant.
"Heed me, daughter of frost."
"I have obeyed. I have endured. I have restrained."
"But my voice is silent. My tears uncried."
"I cast aside mercy. I shatter my chains."
Lavinia's body shook as magic swirled around her. Her tears froze on her cheeks, glinting in the icy light.
"You who slumbered in silence—rise!"
"My despair is your crown. My sorrow, your throne."
"Let the world kneel beneath our winter."
The air became so cold, I could see my breath freezing midair. Ice crawled across the ground like living vines, reaching the witches' feet. Walburga backed away, shaking.
"Become one with me—"
"Absolute Demise!"
Then, with a thunderous crack—
"Imperium Judgment: Gelum Tyrannis!"
A blizzard erupted from Lavinia, swallowing the forest in white.
Glenda's eyes widened as the blizzard intensified. She was already forming a teleportation circle under her feet.
"W-What are you doing?!" Walburga yelled, staggering as the wind howled.
"We have to retrieve Incinerate Anthem from her corpse!"
Glenda didn't even glance back.
"If you wanna die, be my guest. I'm not staying for this!"
Her magic circle lit up.
"Tch. Damn coward!" Walburga hissed, but at the last second, she groaned in frustration and jumped into Glenda's magic circle. Both vanished just before the storm reached them.
Then the world turned white.
Everything, the sky, the forest, the ground was swallowed by frost. Ice covered every inch of the forest, crackling as it froze through trees and stone like paper.
"Ah, shit—!" I gritted my teeth and slammed my hand into the ground.
A multi-layered magic circle flared to life. I summoned barrier after barrier, stacking them outward like domes.
Frost slammed into the first layer with a sharp crack.
Then the next.
Crack.
Snap.
Boom.
Each shield shattered under the weight of the cold. My skin prickled from the sheer pressure of magical frost biting through the layers.
"Come on… hold!" I muttered, throwing more demonic power into the dome.
I switched to fire magic igniting flames around the barrier, trying to hold back the advancing cold. But normal flame magic wasn't enough. It hissed and sizzled, barely pushing the ice back before it crept forward again.
Then I saw it.
Near Augusta's dead body, the ground there was untouched. A faint purple glow shimmered, the holy flames of Incinerate Anthem still burning.
I narrowed my eyes. "Of course…"
Only that divine flame could resist this level of frost.
I took a deep breath, bracing myself.
As I stepped closer to the flame, a sharp pain slammed into my head.
Voices, dozens of them. They whispered, screamed, begged.
I staggered, dropping to one knee. My vision blurring.
"Ugh… what the hell—?"
The world around me twisted.
I saw flashes of my worst moments.
A girl crying because I was too late.
A friend dying because I hesitated.
Lavinia… blaming me for not saving her.
It's your fault.
You always fail.
You can't save anyone.
Why did you let us die...
I clenched my fists.
My breathing grew heavy but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it.
I forced my body forward, one step at a time, until I reached the core of the holy flame.
The voices screamed louder as I extended my hand. The moment I touched the flame, it tore into my flesh like white-hot knives.
"Gahhh—!"
Smoke rose from my skin. It was burning straight through me. But I didn't pull away.
I poured healing magic into my arm, over and over, just to keep it from melting.
"I know I'm a devil" I said, voice strained, eyes fixed on the fire. "You're not my mine. And I'm not worthy."
From my coat, I pulled out a single piece, a Mutation Pawn. It shimmered faintly, different from the rest.
"But I need your help to save that girl."
The fire pulsed.
"I don't care if you kill me after. Just help me save her."
For a moment, the flame held still. Then it flickered… and leaned toward me.
I took a deep breath and let my demonic power rise. Crimson energy slowly bled from my body, curling like mist, then crackling like fire, swirling around me in thick, burning waves.
Suddenly, when the flame swirled around me, everything went black.
I woke up in a room made of fire. The walls and ceiling danced with bright, merciless flames. The heat was unbearable, but I pushed forward.
"ARGGHHHHH"
My skin burned and peeled away, my limbs seared and fell off, again and again. But each time, I poured my power into healing magic, regrowing my limbs.
Voices echoed around me, cruel and venomous.
"You are not worthy."
"A devil should never wield the holy relics."
"You left them to die..."
They hissed and roared, the voices of the Incinerate Anthem's previous users, trying to break me, to corrupt me.
I kept walking.
Again, I was set alight, my blood boiling, my vision blurring, but I kept going. I wouldn't give up.
Each step felt like wading through molten lava, but I forced my body to heal, to keep moving forward.
Finally, I reached the end.
An angel was nailed to a cross, chains wrapped tight around its limbs. Around it, the bodies of the previous wielders of Incinerate Anthem were tangled together, their malice binding the angel in a prison of flesh and soul.
I clenched my fists, my jaw tightening.
"Fuck… that's fucking messed up," I muttered under my breath. "They used one of their own angels as the source of the sacred gear."
My voice was hoarse, but I refused to look away.
"I offer a contract," I declared, my voice firm, unwavering. "In my name—Leandros Gremory."
The flame hissed, almost like it was listening.
"You, Incinerate Anthem. I resurrect you back to this soil… as my servant. And have you reborn as a Devil."
The piece trembled, rattling on the ground. The flame danced wildly, rising higher.
"You, my [Pawn]…" I raised my hand toward the fire.
"Begin your life anew."
With that final command, the mutated [Pawn] piece glowed with a crimson brilliance before slowly sinking into the angel. The fire pulsed, then burst upward in a spiral of purple and red, the power of rebirth taking form.
And then, all at once, the flame surged forward, wrapping around me.
My barriers shattered behind me with a deafening crack, and the cold reached.
Then, a woman's voice echoed through the snow-covered world.
"Balance Breaker: Devil's Regalia."
The air trembled.
A violent burst of purple flame exploded outward, tearing through the frost and snow like a divine roar.
I gasped as warmth surged into my limbs.
The fire wrapped around me, fierce, uncontrollable and then hardened into armor.
I stood up slowly, panting, steam rising from my body.
"Damn… I really thought I was gonna die."
I looked down at my hands. A sleek jet-black purple armor clung tightly to my skin, trimmed with crimson, glowing faintly with light purple energy. A tattered black cape fluttered behind me in the wind.
My eyes snapped to Lavinia.
Or rather, what she had become.
She is floating mid-air, eyes cold and distant, completely merged with her Sacred Gear. Her aura howled like a blizzard.
She saw me… and didn't hesitate.
"You will harm her no longer."
Her arms rose. Dozens, hundreds of spears of ice formed above me. And then, they fell.
Glaciers rained down from the sky.
My boots struck a falling shard of ice and I jumped, using the glacier as a platform.
I kicked off another mid-air, leaping from one crashing ice block to the next. The world blurred around me.
Each landing exploded beneath me, but I kept moving, dodging, weaving, sprinting straight through the storm.
I wasn't fast enough to avoid them all, but I didn't need to.
"Higanbana."
The words left my lips in a whisper, and then—
Purple flame bloomed like flowers.
Dozens of them spiraled around me, tracing elegant arcs through the air.
As the next wave of ice came crashing toward me, the flames erupted.
They didn't just melt the glaciers.
They annihilate them.
Each spear that came close disintegrated into nothing petals of purple fire consuming everything in their path.
I pressed forward through the blizzard of ice.
As I closed in just a few meters from her I took a deep breath and small magic circle flared beneath my foot.
"Flare Accel."
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap."
In an instant, my body blurred.
The world around me vanished as I became a streak of light and flame. And then I was right in front of her.
Her cold, empty eyes widened as I reached out and grabbed her.
Without hesitation, I spread my wings and shot into the sky with her in my arms, breaking through the blizzard.
Wind tore at us. Snow swirled below. But I held her tightly.
As we soared above the chaos, I scanned her body checking for any signs of damage.
'Damn it… Her life force was fading fast.'
I tried to dispel the fusion, but it didn't work. Whatever was draining her was deeply rooted. And now she was trying to freeze me again.
But I wasn't going to let her go.
I intensified the flames, pushing them through my body. The ice cracked and melted on contact.
"I'm sorry about this," I muttered.
Then I punched her right in the gut shattering the doll's abdomen with a burst of force. A sharp crack echoed in the sky as the connection splintered.
The ice queen's control faltered.
The fusion started breaking apart.
With fire blazing in my hand, I raised it toward the sky.
"Shigetsu."
A magic circle formed on my hand.
Power surged violent, overwhelming. The flames gathered into a colossal sphere of purple fire, swirling with crimson.
And then I released it on the doll.
The sky lit up as the fireball surged downward, swallowing everything in its path. The explosion spread wide like a blooming flower a purple moon bursting across the sky, casting a glow over the frozen land.
The shockwave rocked the air. Clouds tore open. Ice shattered below.
As the frozen world melted away, I saw her falling through the air.
Without thinking, I dove after her.
The wind howled around us. I caught her just before she hit the ground.
She was bloodied… her skin slightly charred… but the ice doll had shielded her at the last moment. It had used her life force like a battery keeping her alive, but draining her to the edge.
I gently laid her on the ground, careful not to move her too much.
"Lavinia… are you okay?"
Her eyes slowly fluttered open. Weak. Tired. But still there.
"Mr. Gremory…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, as she reached out toward me.
I grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Yeah. I'm here."
I focused my magic and healed her wounds. The bruises vanished. The burns faded. Her body looked as if nothing had happened but I couldn't fix her lifespan. That was still burning away.
There was only one option left.
"Am I… going to die?" she asked, her voice trembling.
I shook my head. "Nonsense. You'll live."
She blinked, tears starting to gather in her eyes. "Do I deserve to live…? They said… they said my parents died because of me."
Her voice broke, soft and raw.
"It's my fault… isn't it?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks as her grip on my hand tightened.
I didn't say anything at first. Just held her hand a little tighter and pulled her into a careful embrace, letting her rest her head against my chest.
The place was quiet now. Only our breathing and the fading warmth of the purple flame remained.
I gently stroked her hair, brushing away the frost and blood. She was trembling like a leaf in a storm.
"No, Lavinia," I whispered, voice soft. "None of this… none of this is your fault."
"But… they said…" she muttered through her tears.
"They lied," I said firmly. "Your parents didn't die because of you."
She tried to argue, but I cut her off gently.
"If anything… maybe it's my fault. I should've been more careful. Maybe those witches found you because of me. Maybe I wasn't fast enough. Maybe I wasn't strong enough to stop them in time."
She weakly shook her head, sniffling. "No… don't say that… It's not your fault."
I smiled softly and rested my forehead against hers.
"Then promise me something," I said.
She looked up at me, her eyes still glossy with tears.
"Promise me you won't blame yourself either."
She hesitated, her lip trembling, then slowly nodded. I held her closer.
I tightened the embrace. "And I'll make sure you don't go through it alone anymore."
She finally let go. Her walls, her fear, her guilt, they all poured out as she cried in my arms.
I held her gently, still cradling her in my arms. Her breathing had steadied.
So I asked her, voice firm but gentle, serious in a way that cut through the silence.
"Lavinia Reni… do you want to live?"
She looked up at me, surprised at first. Her lips trembled, then she nodded, slow but sure.
"Yes…"
I gave a soft smile, then leaned back slightly.
"Then I'll give you a new chance."
I reached into my coat and pulled out a small, glowing object. A crimson chess piece, ornate and regal. The [Queen] piece.
"This," I began, "is a part of a system called Evil Pieces. Devils use them to reincarnate others into Devils, turning them into members of their peerage. This one here…" I held it up, letting the red glow reflect in her eyes. "...is the Queen piece. The most powerful among the set."
She stared at it, eyes wide with wonder. "It's… pretty," she whispered, almost childlike.
I nodded. "It is. And it's yours, if your willing to take it."
Without hesitation, Lavinia gently placed a hand over her chest. "I… I accept."
I pressed the piece to her chest. My hand lingered there for a moment. Then I began to pour my demonic power into it. Crimson light surged from my body.
"I order, in my name—Leandros Gremory," I said clearly, my voice echoing slightly as power rippled through the air. "You, Lavinia Reni. I resurrect you back to this soil as my [Queen]… and have you reborn as a Devil. You, my [Queen]… begin your life anew."
The Queen piece glowed brilliantly, pulsing with light, before it slowly sank into her body. At the same time, the icy doll that had once protected her dissolved into particles of snow—and was drawn into her chest like it was going home.
Once the energy flow calmed, I cut off my demonic power, breathing out slowly. The ritual was complete.
A moment passed in silence.
Then, Lavinia stirred.
"...Huh?" Her voice was soft, confused. She slowly sat up, looking around as if waking from a long dream. Her eyes finally found mine.
"...Mr. Gremory?"
I smiled warmly, with a tired sigh of relief. "Welcome back…" as I fell on her fainted on exhaustion.