The man wiped his tears on the sleeve of his robe. The fallen emperor had given his last order. Protect the people. Even if he hadn't mustered the strength to speak, his actions up until now would have echoed the same request. There was no time to be wasted. The mourning would have to wait. At least the rift spawned away from the main areas of the town, which had seen enough devastation already. It bought the people of Crocus some time and gave Icarus a chance to rectify the situation Edian had created, minimizing the loss of innocent lives.

Racing to the arc and upon ensuring it was devoid of any members of the disbanded guild, Icarus piloted it to reach the rift with haste. Demons were already crawling out of it earnestly, ready to populate and conquer Earthland once again. Theseus was still in the process of evacuating the citizens from the area that would soon be infiltrated by the abyss dwellers. Icarus couldn't rely on the weapons equipped in the Ark just yet. He exited the ship to challenge the demons himself. In the distance, he could see them gathering. Their appearances were barely humanoid. In a tongue that sounded like the language he spoke, he heard one of them talking to him.

The greedy creatures flocked to him, each more eager than the other to tear down the human. He sidestepped one attack, ducked away from a second, and swiped to make an arc with his blade, that shone as a bright light. Any demon within his range was sliced in two. The arduous battle commenced. He hacked and slashed his way through countless demons, corpses collected in piles around him. His breathing finally got heavier as the exertion made the man break a sweat. He couldn't recall the last time a battle took so much out of him. Having defeated nearly a hundred demons, he noticed more than a hundred more herding towards him.

A quick scan of his surroundings revealed that the citizens were yet to be escorted far enough to not be within the range of the Ark's weapon. However, perhaps, the man would have a chance to pull out the big guns if he could get the ship to hover a little higher. That way, he would have a better shot. His limbs ached, but he couldn't give up yet. With an outcry, he cleared the region around him, issuing a blinding light from his sword to aid him; it made quick work of the critters and gave him the access to the ship again. He dashed into it, sealing the doors. Slowly, he hovered as he waited for the demons to get close enough. Within moments, large pulses from the Etherion Cannon tore through the ranks of the infiltrating devils. Icarus groaned, it still wasn't enough.

The tools provided in the Ark gave the man better vision of Theseus as he continued gathering the residents and ushered them to safety. Meanwhile, the infernal creatures he was battling had swarmed around the Ark and destroyed the Etherion Cannon. Icarus cursed. It was time for his next strategy. He maneuvered the Ark to make it seem like he was fleeing. The demons lapped it up, chasing after him, perhaps mocking the man for turning tail like this. A wide grin spread across his face as they began trying to clamber onto the ark. He waited till copious amounts of the creatures had succeeded. Once a large percentage of them were aboard the ship, he began flying it skyward. The fabric of space that had been torn to create a portal between the abyss and the Earth, was sowing itself up slowly. The time was ripe for his act.

"Sorry, brother. It seems I won't be able to see the future the three of us dreamed about either. Theseus will have to ensure your will lives on. I will keep my promise to you and save the citizens."

His voice was drowned, as the ship rumbled and began losing a few of its functions, as it soared higher. His grin became a grimace as he struggled with the vessel's controls. The stubborn demons maintained grip, now attempting to claw their way in. Higher and higher he rose, keeping a wary eye on the townsfolk. His gaze turned sharply to the large windows through which he could see the numerous abyss dwellers that had accumulated, the ones that lost their footing on the surface of the ship, would die from the fall. Momentarily the ship hung in the air, and even time itself seemed to be suspended. He smiled, just like Arthurias had earlier that day.

Boom.

The explosion, while harmless to the citizens below, was still quite the spectacle to witness. The sound tore through the chaos below, the light that flashed felt like it could blind any observer. The demons that had clung so dearly to the ship were decimated with Icarus's final act. He believed he had completed his task and succeeded in carrying out the orders of Arthurias—the only one he called his Emperor. The brothers knew their demise was not in vain; it reflected the choices they made in life. They lived for the people, and had now died for them.