Born From a Forbidden Union, Humanity hates me.

After watching Miasma carefully, Orion and Elliott acknowledged a very peculiar action that was impossible to notice before.

'Tetra's source... I should've seen it coming. Of course, it is there.'

Hidden inside Miasma's own source.

Elliott knew what Miasma's source as a Remnant was. It was that jet black ink perfect pearl he threw up after breaking free from his control.

That pearl was constantly moving inside Miasma, making it difficult to pinpoint its location.

But ultimately, Miasma was unable to completely hide it from them.

'If Miasma can recover from any injuries, why did he move his head to avoid Amelia's attack? He didn't when Karteira pierced his neck.'

Orion frowned while watching Miasma stand up, his eye dripping a dark liquid after using Tetra's power.

Another detail that everyone noticed, was Miasma's inability to heal his eye, and his right arm.

Why was he unable to heal his eye was easy to understand, but his arm? Why was it still like this?

The only clear answer that came to mind was that the terrifying blast of energy he released earlier was so intense and taxing on his core that his arm remained damaged even after firing it.

And in actuality, it was exactly that. Miasma condensed too much energy into a single point, forcing himself into a state of temporary weakness.

But even though Miasma was weakened, it wasn't enough to cause radical changes to his actions. After only a few minutes, his core would recover from the shock, and rebuilt the missing arm.

Nonetheless, thanks to this weakened moment, it made it possible to find what they were searching frantically.

All traces of anxiety vanished from both Orion and Elliott's faces, as they prepared to enter the battle.

Even knowing what Amelia was trying to accomplish...

Orion glanced toward Henrietta, who happened to be looking at him with an agitated expression.

'I should say something to her before going.'

He opened a portal near her, and spoke through it.

"I'm going to recover Tetra's power."

That's all he said before closing the rift. Henrietta's eyes glistened slightly at his words, before a determined nod was sent his way.

Watching the woman place her hope in him, Orion nodded.

Then, it was time to finally join the fight. Lifting his left arm in front of him, he pointed his palm toward Amelia and Karteira.

"Eh?!"

Amelia was about to hit the ground after jumping that high, before a portal opened under her feet. The same thing happened to Karteira.

Both of them sunk into the portal instantly, and reappeared behind Orion.

"Wai- Orion!"

Amelia was about to say something, but for the first time since knowing him, he ignored her.

His body curled into a ball, with his mighty white wings wrapping around him. Miasma, confused by the sudden disappearance of his opponents, looked at his surroundings.

"What's happening this time?"

Noticing the ball of light in the air, he understood the gravity of the situation.

With a frown, he abruptly aimed his finger at the light sphere, and fired a beam.

"..."

But it wasn't that simple. While Orion was in a rather peculiar position, and was opened to attacks, someone would have to stand ready to defend him.

The one to jump in the air to defend Orion was a blond man with a radiant sword, covered in a faint light that appeared as an armor.

Elliott jumped in front of the beam, deflecting it toward another spot.

"Get out of my way!"

Angered by the sudden interruption, Miasma exploded in rage.

A wide shockwave traveled out of his body, rapidly moving toward Elliott.

"I will not allow you to interfere with him."

Dropping to the ground, Elliott tightly clenched Vanitas' hilt in his hands. He aimed the sharp blade in front of him, and slashed the energy in half.

Amelia observed the rest of the battle, knowing that it was too late to change anything, unknowing that Orion had already made up his mind after confirming his vision.

She and Karteira stayed there, their heart hanging down their throat, as Orion's wings opened widely.

*Thump*

The sound of a heartbeat echoed, stopping Miasma in his tracks. The expression on his face crumbled.

*Thump*

Another heartbeat, then another.

In rapid succession, light gathered around Orion, who aimed Alcyone to the sky. Once the last heartbeat resonated inside everyone's chest, he opened his mouth.

"The purge begins."

Firing a bolt of light that zigzagged through the air, Orion glanced at the sky. Part of the dome covering Triazils shattered in contact with the light, before arching back toward the ground.

While reentering the dome, the arrow split into many parts, who rained all around Miasma.

"What is this?!"

Each part of the arrow crashed on the ground, or exploded in the air. Those translucent spheres and luminous spheres devoured the corruption, leaving nothing of it behind.

None of the explosions happening from the magic damaged Miasma directly. Instead of focusing on Miasma, Orion purged the corruption hanging in the air, and on the ground.

Feeling his power diminish, Miasma tried to think of something, but he was too unprepared. Never in his wildest dream did he ever thought someone would remove what made him so powerful.

Another bold of light traveled in the air, before falling on the spots previously missed.

But, that was all Orion could do with his light magic. Cleansing the area was too much of a task that he was expecting it to be. With his light magic drained, he plummeted toward the ground.

The light around his body dimmed as he approached the ground slowly, until the radiance entirely vanished, leaving Orion in his angelic form without any magic to support him.

Still, this was a success nonetheless. From the look on Miasma's face, the corruption that supported his constant recovery had been removed.

Elliott walked next to Orion, his gaze glued on Miasma, and his sword radiating a dangerous glow.

A dark matter suddenly dripped from Orion's back, covering his back, his wings, and his clothes.

Darkness swallowed his body, as his demonic side took over.

*Howl*

A wolf emerged from his shadow, at least two times bigger than him. Its howl shook the mind of anyone who heard it.

The Abyssal Sovereign appeared in front of Miasma, alongside his companion, the Abyssal Wolf, Sirius.

Orion placed his hand on his companion's fur, and glared at Miasma. Sirius growled with hatred at him, ready to pounce on the Remnant at the first order given.

"Elliott, stay back."

"Are you sure?"

Slightly surprised, the blonde man glanced toward him.

"You've done your part, now, it's time to do mine. Protect the others in case something happens."

He looked over his shoulder, and glanced at Amelia and Karteira, who were anxiously waiting in the back. Then, he glanced toward Henrietta, a little further away.

Elliott sighed, before glaring at Orion.

"I'll do what I have to do. Don't worry."

"Just don't go sacrificing yourself. I'm not responsible for the aftermath if you do."

Knowing that Elliott was talking about the many people who were waiting for him, Orion faintly nodded without giving an answer.

Suddenly, Orion's mood changed entirely. His mind focused on Miasma entirely, removing any thoughts about others.

Even Amelia and Karteira together wouldn't be able to stop him. It wasn't a berserk state, but the determination he crafted during his entire journey taking form.

The long-awaited showdown between Orion and Miasma. With nothing holding them anymore, and a time limit to protect the continent, the first to move turned out to be Orion.

"You like firing beams of energy, do you?"

A mocking tone escaped Orion's mouth, as him and Sirius pressured Miasma with each step.

Lifting his hand in front of him, a dark sphere gathered in his palm, before breaching through the air in a straight line.

Miasma blinked in shock, but rapidly moved away, dodging the dark beam in time. As he looked back, he saw the fuming ground and the large ditch created by the attack.

'If I'm hit by that...'

His will to fight wavered for an instant, before Miasma shook his head.

But this was only the beginning. When he looked toward Orion, he noticed that the wolf had disappeared.

Feeling a sudden chill on his back, he turned around hurriedly, and noticed Sirius gathering energy between his jaws.

Frantically moving out of the line of fire, Miasma cursed his situation.

'Even if I give up now, I won't have a painless death anyway! There's no way I can lose this fight.'

The remaining eye of Miasma shined for an instant, as he made up his mind.

'All I need is time... That's all I need.'

Focusing on Tetra's source again, he accelerated the process while avoiding the beam of dark matter released by Sirius.

But it wouldn't be so simple. Orion leaned forward, and pushed on his leg.

"Fourth Gear."

Miasma couldn't even blink. A devastating tremor shook his body, as a hand plunged into his chest.

The shock was so overwhelming, Miasma was unable to gather what was happening. Orion was in front of him, his hand rummaging through his body.

"...!"

Orion found what he was looking for, and grasped a dark pearl in his hand, sending a painful shock to Miasma.

"Get away from me!"

Sending a powerful punch toward Orion's face, Miasma hoped to get rid of Orion before it was too late.

"Give her back!"

*BAM*

Taking the punch wholeheartedly, Orion ignored the pain and focused on the pearl. The dark magic in his body reacted to the pearl, and began to cover it rapidly.

"I said... fuck off!"

He grabbed Orion's throat, and forcefully pushed him away. Orion was still clenching the pearl in his hand as he was pushed back, which made the pearl fly out of Miasma.

The two staggered, before their eyes focused on the flying core.

"!"

Entering a full sprint with his life on the line, Miasma then jumped to catch his core. Orion flapped his wings, and leaped off the ground with such intensity that the ground cracked under him.

They met in the air, glaring furiously at the other, as their index fingers made contact with the pearl.

*BZZT*

A small arc formed between Orion and the pearl.

*BOOM*

Before sending him flying back toward the ground. Miasma grabbed his core, and swallowed him inside his body.

Without even thinking about what had happened, and before letting time for Miasma to fall to the ground, Orion leaped once again, and plunged his hand back into Miasma's body again.

Breaking the sound-barrier speed was an easy task for Orion in this form, which he made use to disorient Miasma.

"Not again!"

This time, Orion was prepared.

"Sirius!"

The wolf ran on air, and bit Miasma's arm, holding him from interfering.

'Come on, Tetra! Come on!'

Orion struggled to catch the moving pearl, but managed to find it nonetheless.

"Let me go, you fucking mutt!"

Fighting against the powerful jaws of the Abyssal Wolf, and Orion's relentless search for Tetra's core, he knew that the end was near.

Yet, Miasma was unable to give up. Even through this pitiful display, he tried to avoid his core from being destroyed.

This time, Orion wasted no time, and pulled the source of Tetra out of Miasma with his void magic, ripping it forcefully from Miasma.

"Ahk! Damn...it!"

Dark liquid gushed from Miasma's wounded eye and mouth, as a part of his soul was damaged.

But unexpectedly, something happened.

"Not yet! This is definitely not the end!"

Miasma pulled his arm with all his strength, pulling Sirius in the process. He grabbed Orion's head between his hand, and pushed him away.

Then, time stopped.

Orion and Miasma looked at each other during that entire time, their expressions painted with urgency.

The ones looking presently were holding their breaths, oblivious to the event happening out of time.

Even the two in a brawl were unaware of what was happening.

While everything was in a standstill, a storm formed above them. Dark lightning bolts crackled through the clouds, who began to revolve upward like a reverse cyclone.

The world's time suddenly ticked back again, with Orion and Miasma feeling a dangerous power well inside them both.

Orion's void responded to Tetra's source inside Miasma as he pulled her power out.

But as both noticed the swirling storm above them that wasn't there a few seconds ago, a powerful energy pushed them away.

Miasma fell to the ground holding his chest, while Orion and Sirius slid on the ground further away.

With something incredibly important in his hand, Orion opened it slowly.

In the palm of his hand, an hourglass sigil floated freely, covered in a pinkish aura.

A warm smile formed on his face, as he held the sigil over his shoulder, to let the others behind see.

Henrietta blinked at the sight of her friend's core, before tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

A sigh of relief escaped the others, as they could finally deal with Miasma without being afraid of the Remnant of Space and Time's power.

Until a sinister laugh broke through their relief.

"Hahahaha!"

Miasma placed his hand on his face, and arched his back.

"You morons! You fucking morons! Even I wasn't sure how I would be dealing with you!"

Slowly, he straightened.

Orion opened his eyes wide in shock, before staring at the sigil in his hand.

"What?!"

The Remnant's missing right arm returned to its original state, and Miasma's eye healed. As he opened that eye, an hourglass sigil appeared inside of it, confusing everyone.

Then, the hourglass turned to a digital 0.

"Thank you, Orion. Your power was helpful!"

Dumbfounded, and at a total loss for words, Orion fell silent, as the roars of the storm above them became louder.