Raia whimpers in pain and her clones do the same. When she opens her eyes, the ten clones that surround her disintegrate into puffs of smoke, just as Loki's clone did earlier.

"It worked," she breathes, surprised.

She can't hurt her clones without taking a lot of damage, so the only thing she can do is hurt herself. It's better to suffer in one blade than several. Because the clones are mirroring everything she does, she must sacrifice some blood.

She clenches her teeth and pulls out the longsword, grimacing as the blade grazes her already wounded skin.

Her eyes widen as she turns. Raiden is coughing up blood. The Blood Demon is bouncing around in front of him like a child. Raiden wipes the scarlet stain on his lips with the back of his hand.

"Dying already?" Loki says with a bored expression on his face.

Raia activates the divine power of her Blessing, and the bright orange fire returns to life.

"We're not . . ." Raiden starts. His shoulders move up and down as he breaths heavily.

Loki tilts his head and stares at him with feigned innocence, waiting for him to continue.

"We're not abandoned by the Light," Raiden says, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.

Raia pauses, her eyebrows furrowing as she wonders what her comrade is on about. However, it gives her time to calculate her attack.

"Because if we are, this world should have already fallen into darkness," Raiden continues, his face pale. "However, there's still hope in this world. Humanity still has hope. Because the Light is here to bring peace to our souls."

Loki's expression darkens. He raises his hand and smacks Raiden across the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Stop talking about your God as if he's a savior! He's nothing but cruel! He doesn't care about anyone. He has abandoned us. He lets people suffer on their own. The gods, they play with our souls, and we're nothing but pawns. That's why I'm here to change that. I'm here to change this world!" Loki's face flushes. His hands are balled into fists at his sides, and he's breathing raggedly as if he's been running fast.

Raiden's face softens as if he sympathizes with the Blood Demon. He rolls onto his back and looks up at the gleaming oval-shaped mirrors on the ceiling. Based on his current state, he no longer has the strength to fight the demon.

"You're wrong," Raiden says in a soft voice. "Just because you can't have your way doesn't mean the world is wrong and needs to be changed. Besides, you can't change the world . . . to your liking."

Loki raises his foot to kick the defenseless disciple.

Seeing the opening, Raia leaps forward.

Loki looks at her and uses his mirror to deflect her attack. A loud metallic clank resounds as their weapons collide.

"You can't harm me even a little bit. We're surrounded by my mirrors, which serve as my eyes. I can see everything you do," Loki says, his eyes drilling into hers.

Another Loki appears behind Raia, but she has already anticipated this. She jumps reflexively, her body drawing an arc above Loki's head, then tosses her flaming longsword behind her. As predicted, Loki's cat-like eyes follow the movement of the sword, turning his head to the side and looking behind him, as if expecting something to happen to the flaming weapon.

Then the sword emits a bright light before it disappears.

Create a diversion!

Raia spins around. She raises her leg high and swings it down, landing a powerful blow on Loki's head. Then she executes a roundhouse kick, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying across the ground, not giving him a second to catch his breath.

Reaching for the necklace that appears around her neck, she utters her summon. "Answer my call, Raphael!"

She lunges at him and delivers a downward strike as soon as her flaming longsword materializes in her hand.

Loki springs to his feet and deflects her attack with his mirror. As he looks at her, a grin spreads across his face, but it disappears soon when he notices Raia's calm expression.

"Release thyself," Raia whispers.

Loki blinks.

Raia's sword blade bursts into flame and passes through the demon's weapon. He jumps backward before the holy flame touches him. And, as if he finds everything amusing, he bursts out laughing.

"You're a sly one, for sure. But it's a shame because I'm faster," he says, grinning at Raia.

Raia ignores him and braces herself for another attack, but the wound in her stomach throbs painfully and her legs give way. She collapses on her knees, coughing up blood. Her eyelids struggle to stay open.

Loki's grin widens. "Well, I guess your time is up." He begins to make his way toward her. "So, any last words? Or perhaps one last prayer?"

Raia clenches her fists. Dammit! I can't die. Not yet. Give me more strength.

When Loki reaches her, his steps come to a halt. "Copy," he says, and his mirror morphs into a longsword, a replica of Raia's weapon but without the holy flame. "Now beg for your life, little lamb."

Vines wrap themselves around Raia and snatch her away. When she opens her eyes she finds herself looking at Raiden's bloodstained face.

"Dammit, you look pretty bad," Raiden says. "Can you heal yourself?"

Raia snorts, which is followed by a grimace. The vines that surround her body vanish, leaving her in Raiden's arms. "Guess what? I can't heal myself, my body heals itself. And it takes time."

Raiden's face crumbles. "Why?" he asks, not to anyone in particular.

Loki lands in front of them with a gentle thud, a sinister smile on his face. "I thought you'd already run out of strength. Well, I guess I'm mistaken." He shrugs nonchalantly.

Raia keeps her eyes open just enough to catch a glimpse of Loki. Raiden's arms tenses around her as he grits his teeth.

Loki roars with laughter, his body shaking with delight. "You two look like lost lambs. It's almost fun to just watch you bleed to death."

"I'm sorry, Raia," Raiden whispers, but Raia no longer has the strength to convey her confusion. She just stares at him, her eyes half-closed.

"Eh?" Loki says as thorny vines sprout from the ground and encircle his feet before climbing up his body. Nonetheless, a smirk remains on his devilish face. He's not even struggling to get out, instead allowing the vines to wrap around his body, confining him.

"Divine cage," Raiden utters. Vines emerge from the base of his broadsword's blade and surround him and Raia in a circular cage resembling a rattan ball.

"I'm sorry, but we have to retreat," Raiden whispers as the spherical cage bounces through the wooden walls and out of the tavern.

Raia's eyelids droop ever so slowly as the surrounding grows silent.

Then darkness swallows them both.

***

"What a pity," Loki mutters to himself. The vines that encircle him stifle his words. A flash of light bursts out his body, and the vines shatter to pieces, evaporating in an instant as they hit the ground.

The thorns have scratched his face, but he couldn't care less. He doesn't even mind tasting his own blood dripping from the tiny wound on his lips.

"I'm wondering if that withdrawal hurts their pride?" he says as he licks his lips.

He looks up at the broken wall and heaves a deep sigh of disappointment. He can go and chase them, and even finish them - but he's not doing any of that. He's more than satisfied to leave a deep wound on them. Maybe he has injured their dignity and even their faith. That thought alone brings joy to his heart.

He has no intention of killing them anyway.

"Maybe it's the right choice," he muses, tapping his chin. "Besides, I'm curious about that boy. I'm looking forward to seeing his expression soon."

He shoves his hands into his pants pockets and spins. His heavy footsteps echo around the place as he walks toward the door. He hums with a smile on his lips.

His thoughts drift to Raia, and he recalls how she denied her comrade.

"Interesting. It's the first time I've seen a human, particularly a disciple of Light, who lacks the empathy of the average person. She looks like a . . . weapon." Loki lets out a chuckle. "It's funny how she keeps referring to demons as weapons when she acts like one herself. What a strange one, but . . . "

Loki opens the wooden door and strides out into the night. He looks up at the dark sky, his capelet fluttering in the breeze. His silver cat-like eyes gleam as hope ignites within him.

Hope. He hasn't felt that in a long, long time . . . until now.

"One of them can grant my wish," he whispers to the night.

One of them can change the world.