The In-Between

“This meeting is now over,” King Oberon declares as he and every last one of the princes and princesses of the fae float in the In-Between, in the Void, right in front of a large breach where void creatures are starting to make their way out and into the void. But as they are merely the bottom feeders of the void creatures, they avoid the group of Royal Fae without hesitation.

Tar feels anxious as he awaits the final words his father gives, wanting more than nothing to return to check on the war between the demons and the humans, since the last time he checked, the humans were losing badly.

A couple seconds pass as the Fae King looks over the royals before he states, “Make sure to inform all of your contracted partners of this news. You are now dismissed.”

Without any hesitation, Tar immediately returns to Earth where he was before his father called for the fae royals. And what he finds is a wasteland in the place of Republic’s Military Headquarters, with the Knights all defeated and Satan fighting to get to the Red Knight, who is being protected by crimson lightning. Crimson lightning that Tar can’t figure out the source of.

Tar bounces back and forth in the air, wishing he could help somehow. But he knows that if he were to get too close to the battle, even if Satan noticed him before his magic vaporized Tar, all Satan would likely do is send Tar to the demons for his own safety.

He wouldn’t stop the fighting.

Please wake up soon Scarlet!

Ever since she entered her coma, Tar has felt lost. And if it weren’t for Amelia asking Tar if he wanted to go with her while waiting for Scarlet to wake up, he probably would’ve still been at her bedside, lost in his own weakness. Weakness that allowed his contracted partner to get hurt so badly her own soul was almost ripped apart.

His own failure to get past the lunatic’s barrier and contact the Demon King sooner.

Tar continues watching the battle, hoping against hope that something might save the Knights. That something might save the humans before the demons fully win the war.

He’s already felt his contract with Scarlet weakening over the past year thanks to the reality damage she took, even if it’s still holding on and merely needs a bit of her mana given to him willingly to repair. And now he has to sit by and watch as what she’s been fighting for, for a long time now comes crashing down while she herself isn’t even capable of helping.

Tar feels tears beginning to form in his eyes. Something he didn’t even realize was possible.

Satan continues striking blow after blow against the crimson lighting, gradually pushing the massive force of weaker magic back until it can no longer do anything and simply vanishes, the source apparently deciding to pull back. Then the oni directs his full undistracted attention to Red as he grabs the Red Knight by the throat and proceeds to burn him alive with his hellfire, keeping him alive in the process.

But Tar can tell it won’t last long just by how Red’s voice is growing weaker in his screams.

Everything around him feels like it’s beginning to slow down to a halt as Tar watches the hope of humanity begin to die. Because he knows that if even one of the Knights dies, especially one of the combat focused ones, humanity will lose any sliver of a chance it had of winning against the demons.

The other Knights all try to rush to save him now despite their own injuries making it incredibly difficult for any of them to move.

Even Tar begins to move towards him in a feeble attempt to stop Satan. But he pauses almost instantly when he feels a faint resonance coming from his bond.

Then a loud howl echoes out through the area, stopping everything and everyone in their tracks.

Silence fills the area as everyone looks around. Satan even stopped burning the Red Knight in the process while the other Knights all stopped moving towards him.

No one hears anything for several seconds before finally, a sonic boom echoes through the area and a wave of wind along with it as a large beast appears standing in the middle of the devastated land. One that has tears flowing down Tar’s face even faster than before.

But these tears are happy ones.

The beast is three meters in height and four in length, with black fur streaked in crimson. Meanwhile red and black lightning arcs across its body, its eyes glowing a blazing red as it lets out a low snarl.

As she lets out a low snarl.

Satan stares at her in shock along with the other Knights, but Tar just reaches out through their bond now that they’re close enough, instantly feeling Scarlet reaffirm their bond by somehow giving him mana without even touching him.

That’s when he notices a tiny drop of blood leaving his body and returning to Scarlet.

The oni flat out drops the Red Knight of Humanity, making him fall down to the ground while letting off red and black smoke. Unconscious, but still alive.

Then Satan’s face takes a turn as he sighs at the same time that Scarlet deactivates her transformation and returns to her human form, somehow floating up into the air to a point several meters away from Satan at the same elevation. And Satan mutters, “Guess I have no choice.”

Tar frowns at his words, only for Scarlet to speak, “Did you have fun playing around during my nap?”

And Tar can truly feel the anger behind her words. Anger he’s never heard from her before. Not at this degree.

To Tar’s surprise, Satan just looks up into the sky with something akin to resignation, then he looks at Scarlet again and says, “His Majesty suspected something like this might happen.”

“Oh?” Scarlet utters, clenching and unclenching her claws slightly in the process as if having difficulty controlling her anger. “And what did dear old Grandpa say about this?”

Tar’s eyes widen in surprise at Scarlet’s usage of the word Grandpa instead of her usual Gramps.

Oh she’s hella pissed.

“If the Princess awakens and arrives before the moon falls and the last drop of blood is shed, she is bound to be a lot stronger than she was before her coma,” Satan says as if he were quoting the Demon King. “So you are you give her a test of your own making. And should she pass this test,” Satan’s eyes narrow. “You are to withdraw all forces back for the time being and not strike again until one month after the assault.”

Silence fills the area as shock spreads to every last person in the devastated lands. Even Scarlet shows extreme shock at the order.

The silence is eventually broken when Satan states, no longer quoting the Demon King, “And I have a test prepared just for you should you wish to challenge it.” His eyes narrow. “But know this. Should you challenge my test, I will not save you even if you are to die as is the oni way.”

Scarlet stares at him for several seconds before asking, “The test?”

Satan grins and spreads both of his arms out as he raises his voice, his words echoing all throughout the continent, throughout the warzones, “Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron, should you manage to defeat a Class V demon whose exact level is of your own choosing, then the demon forces will withdraw and not attack the humans even if a Fracture appears on Earth for the period of one month!!!” His grin grows wider and he narrows his eyes. “Do you accept?!”

No one says a single word for nearly ten seconds before, to Tar’s and Amelia’s horror, and even Satan’s own horror, Scarlet opens her mouth and answers, “I accept.”