The various battles against the Loewe clones were challenging, but they all shared a common theme, where they seemed to be far less difficult than a fight against the Bladelord would seem...

But the fight against Weissmann in his Angel form was a difficult one indeed, mainly due to the sheer power that he was able to tap into thanks to the Aureole. But this time, Cassius and Vita were around to carry a lot more weight, and their collective experience was highly useful to Kevin and Joshua.

Vita in particular had multiple spells she could use, showing off just how incredible a Hexen Witch could be. She had no trouble with keeping her allies full of energy while also pelting Weissmann with blasts of elemental energy.

And Cassius used his superior skill in the martial arts to keep Weissmann at bay regardless of what The Faceless tried. Since Cassius was forced to leave the fighting last time to his children and their allies, it was intensely satisfying for him to be able to fight against Weissmann in person. His tactical knowledge was just as invaluable to them, as he frequently directed the others in order to best utilize their unique skills.

Kevin used a combination of high level arts and his Stigma, electing to stay farther back and attack Weissmann from afar. He also used plenty of support arts, making sure that Cassius and Vita were almost constantly under the influence of Saintly Force, since they were already the strongest members of this team.

This arrangement was beneficial to Joshua as well, since Weissmann seemed to focus much more on Cassius and Vita. Due to that, he was able to remain in the shadows and strike multiple times without Weissmann ever reacting in time.

Despite all of that, it seemed like Angel Weissmann had a nearly limitless amount of stamina, to the point where the conflict remained fairly balanced. They'd need something truly unexpected for the situation to actually change with Weissmann.

Thankfully, Weissmann unintentionally pulled in one of the biggest wild cards in from the society, and he was starting to grow bored again…

In one of the other battlefields, McBurn continued to battle against the two Loewe clones without any signs of slowing down. In fact, as the battle raged on, McBurn seemed to only grow more powerful. At one point he begins to laugh while saying "Either I've improved drastically or Loewe ain't as tough as I remember. And that can't be right..."

Following that, he pushes one of the Loewe clones back before summoning fire in his palm and shouting "Flames of Judgement!" That attack was enough to bring down one of the clones, causing him to click his teeth and mumble "Yeah, way weaker than the Loewe I remember…"

He then looks up at Weissmann and says "Yo Professor… You weren't trying to trick me, were you? None of these guys hold a candle to Loewe."

Weissmann was in the middle of fighting back a team of truly talented individuals, but McBurn's question caused everyone else present to immediately stop and listen. And since he was fused with the Aureole, he wasn't in a position to answer McBurn, but he also didn't want to. The fear that Loewe instilled in everyone, mainly due to his reputation, was what kept them all from pestering him at the same time. McBurn quickly emphasizes his point by targeting the other Loewe clone and shouting "Hellhound!"

That clone failed to avoid the flames in time, finishing him off in a single blow. When Vita sees that, she taps her chin and says "Typical of The Faceless to deal in lies… It seems he used our prior knowledge of Loewe against us…"

After that, McBurn takes a deep breath before saying "I really was looking forward to this… And now I'm just pissed off... I need something to work off my frustration with..." Then he looks at the Aureole-fused Weissmann and says "But maybe I can let off some steam with that..."

Suddenly, black flames begin to flicker around McBurn, before his normally light blue hair to turn white while odd glowing markings appear along his body. And after that, he grins and says "I wonder if that'll give me a good time..."

Right after that, he jumps up between Weissmann and the team fighting against him, before yelling "Let's see if you can entertain the Blazing Demon, professor!"

Then he summons forth an extreme amount of power, causing Vita to say "Watch out! When McBurn gets like that, there's no telling what could happen…"

After hearing that, Kevin says "Everyone, to me!" Right after that, he brandishes what seemed like an artifact, before uttering a prayer, saying "I hold in my hand the chalice of heaven; may its holiest of light act as our shield. Grail Sphere!"

Due to that, a shining barrier surrounded Kevin, Joshua, Cassius, and Vita, offering them protection. And while they were protected, Joshua says "I've never seen McBurn like this. There's a reason why he's the number one enforcer…"

Cassius nods and says "That's true… It doesn't seem like he's pleased with Weissmann at the moment though, so this may work to our advantage."

At the very same time, the black flames surrounding McBurn continued to spread as he says "Time to turn up the heat!" After that, McBurn fires off a series of small fireballs, creating a massive tornado of fire, which Kevin's holy shield barely was able to resist. And right after that, McBurn creates one more ball of flame that hovers above his open palm for a moment, while he yells out "This one's a scorcher!" He then throws it in the direction of Angel Weissman, causing the fireball to grow in size as it spun forward while he shouted "Incandescent Hellfire!" The fireball continued forward until it collided with Weissmann and created a gigantic explosion of dark red flames.

That attack covered the entirety of their specific battlefield, inflicting enough damage on Weissmann to forcefully defuse him from the Aureole. The shockwaves alone were enough to crack Kevin's Grail Sphere, making him wonder just how monstrously strong the number one enforcer of Ouroboros was.

Cassius then sighs to himself and says "The Blazing Demon truly is in a league of his own… I doubt even I could subdue that beast."

Joshua nods and says "I think I've only seen him lose to the Seventh Anguis. And that was only a draw…"

Vita then smiles to herself and says "Well, she's a special case too. But McBurn truly is a force to be reckoned with."

Weissmann, forcefully removed from the Aureole, clutched his chest while muttering "That damned McBurn… If only he didn't interfere…"

The sheer energy from that attack grabbed everyone's attention, regardless of where they were...

Estelle's jaw drops as she says "Is that guy even human?"

Tita nervously frowns and says "He's scarier than that dragon Loewe rode…"

Claire was equally shocked by that display of power, causing her to mumble "Someone like that could topple nations if he wanted…"

Agate nods and says "Yeah, ain't it terrifying? Luckily, he doesn't seem the type for that kinda stuff."

In another area of the battlefield, Prince Olivert pinches his brow and says "It baffles the mind that any one person could hold that much power…"

Principal Vandyck nods in response to that before saying "He truly is an enigma. At least our goals are aligned for the moment."

Major Neithardt then parries Loewe's blade before repelling him and saying "We shouldn't lose focus! Though he may have been correct. What do you think Mueller?"

Major Vander then strikes while the Loewe clone was stunned, severely damaging him before saying "I've seen Loewe's skills personally, and this thing isn't close to matching him…"

Prince Olivert then sighs and says "It seems we were all fooled. The Faceless did specialize in tricks and lies after all…"

And in another area, Sara looks to Thomas and asks "Is there anybody that strong in your group?"

Thomas taps his chin, before opening a portal above their Loewe clone, forcing him to dodge falling rocks. And as Thomas kept him far enough away, he says "I doubt Kevin or even I could handle a prolonged battle against that one. But when it comes to our leader, I'd consider it a more balanced fight."

Viscount Arseid takes the initiative and cleaves the Loewe clone in half, causing it to fade away, before he says "I've heard many stories about the legendary Carneria. I'd love to spar with her one day…"

And at a different battlefield, Walter lights another cigarette before grumbling and saying "Well this was a waste… Woulda been fun to fight Loewe again."

Bleublanc laughs to himself and then smiles before saying "We should have guessed the outcome when he was the one arranging everything. But I will relish being able to fight alongside Severing Chains again. Not to mention our precious Renne…"

Renne proceeds to giggle before saying "Why thank you, Bleublanc… All things considered, this was fun. But remember, we'll be enemies next time…"

Walter casually nods and says "Yeah, we know kiddo. You'd better keep gettin' stronger, because I want a good fight outta you…"

Sharon then respectfully bows while saying "I must echo lady Renne's sentiments. If the society, or anyone else, threatens Chairman Irina or Class VII, then I will show no mercy…"

Since they all seemed to be disinterested in the fight, even though the fake Loewe clone was not yet dispatched, Duvalie grumbles to herself and finishes it off in a single strike.

After that, she folds her arms and says "All you enforcers are a pain. Can't you at least focus until the enemy is dispatched?"

Renne proceeds to laugh to herself while saying "But you did such a good job…"

Duvalie just sighs and says "Quiet you…" But then she smugly smiles and adds, saying "I did do a good job, huh… The Steel Maiden would be proud."

While that happened, the rest of the battle groups managed to make relatively short work of the Loewe clones, now that they realized that they were just weak imitations.

For Class VII, they had managed to defeat the Reverie, leaving them to all breathe a sigh of relief. But a few moments later, the ancient archaism rose back up, while Estelle shouted from afar "Be careful! That thing gets a second wind!"

By this point, the members of Class VII were exhausted, leaving Rean to say "I don't think I can do this even with my Stigma…"

Crow silently grumbles to himself, while muttering "Is this it…?" Then be thinks to himself, wondering 'I could probably take that thing with Ordine, but I don't want to reveal that just yet…' Then he bites his lip, before saying "Heed my call, Or-"

Right after that, Renne begins to laugh and jump in front of the archaism, before saying "Well done everyone… Allow me to handle things from here…"

When Rean hears that, he mutters "W… what?"

After that, Renne lifts her arm and says "Come forth, Pater Mater!"

Following that, Estelle's eyes widen as she says "No way…"

Joshua just smiles and says "I should have guessed…"

To those unfamiliar with Renne, the resulting sight was stunning, where a massive archaism fell from the sky, before she jumped into its palm while saying "I heard that Estelle and Joshua had help from Cassius Bright by this point, so this should be fair."

Then she points at the enemy archaism and yells "Now, crush him! Double Power Cannons!"

Pater Mater proceeds to bend at a 90 degree angle while two massive energy cannons popped out of its back. And when it fired, it completely obliterated the Revarie, ending that battle without any additional trouble. And in response to that, Crow sighs with relief while muttering "Guess I can keep that card hidden for another day…"

By this point, the only obstacle was Weissmann himself…

While he was stunned because of being forcibly separated from the Aureole, the other battle groups slowly and carefully moved to surround him. When he sees this, he grips his magic staff and yells "Back away you damned pests! I haven't lost yet!"

He then channels his magic again, causing the landscape to shift until strange black and green lines formed and stretched out to the distance, before he mutters "Now… squirm for me!"

By this point, Kevin wasn't ready to activate his Grail Sphere again, and there wouldn't have been enough time to cast an Earth Wall art. Due to that, he says "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

In response to that, Vita waves her arm and says "Allow me to demonstrate the depth of power that the Hexen Clan possesses…" Her eyes then begin to glow red like crimson, before she begins to chant, saying "Harken to the Aria of the Abyss…" That alone was enough to shatter Weissman's technique, summoning an ethereal opera stage in its stead.

"Humankind are evil-doers; shackled by emotion.

Fear, misery, agony, enmity.

Behold the abyss! For it longs to be forever at your side."

Following that incantation, a shallow pool of water formed around Weissman, before skeletons grabbed and pulled him underneath, as if his soul was ripped from his body for only a moment.

He could only clutch his chest in a mixture of fury and exhaustion, before muttering "You damned witch…"

Before he could recover and attempt another trick, Kevin wordlessly glares at him while pointing his crossbow, causing Weissmann to scowl and say "A simple crossbow bolt isn't enough to end me, and you know it, Kevin Graham…"

Kevin just arms his crossbow while emotionlessly saying "I'm aware…"

After that, he fires off a shot, piercing Weissmann in the chest, filling him with a horrifyingly familiar sensation. His then begins to harden, quickly covering his chest with an off-white stone-like substance, as he shouts "Again…? No… How?"

Kevin then smiles and says "Did you forget? In Phantasma, our strongest thoughts and emotions can be made material, and how could I ever forget the way I put you down the first time? All you are is a phantom of my past. This is your fate, you heretical bishop…"

While the stone-like substance spread out through his body, Weissman makes a futile attempt to move while yelling "Damn you… Kevin Graham!" Soon after that, his body fully hardens into a statue of pure salt, before shattering into tiny pieces.

That exchange left everyone silent, as Kevin looked at the pile of salt which was previously Georg Weissmann in an almost nostalgic light...

But now that Weissmann seemed to be dealt with, Kevin brushes himself off and says "With this, I should be able to just open a doorway back to Trista. Sorry for the trouble everyone..."

Right after that, Prince Olivert walks up and says "Just what was that, Kevin?"

Kevin smiles and shakes his head, before saying "I'm afraid that's classified, Your Highness…" Then he takes a deep breath and adds, saying "But I didn't bring that bolt with me. It's something that only exists due to the nature of Phantasma." Then he turns to Vita and says "You don't oppose a cease fire, do you, Ms. Abyss? This has been a fairly drawn out affair…"

Vita simply nods and says "That's acceptable to me." Emma attempts to call out to her, but Vita quietly casts a silencing spell on her, while telepathically saying "I'm so sorry Emma, but now isn't the right time… I do hope you manage to find your awakener though…"

Following that, Kevin summons a magical doorway, ushering everyone to walk through it. One by one, they all woke up feeling as if they were just dreaming, but they all knew for sure just how real the experience was.

At least for now they could all place the sudden threat posed by the copy of Weissmann behind them...

Notes

One, Happy New Year!

And for the rest of this, it will probably seem like I did a cop out with this chapter, with how I made it so the Loewe clones were just fakes. I didn't plan for that at first, but after really reflecting on the whole thing, I realized that it was a dumb premise to begin with. I went for it because it seemed cool, and while it's still a dumb kind of fun idea, there's a reason why it should have just remained an idea. Looking back, I feel like it was an artificial jump in stakes, where the threat was just bigger numbers.

But with the whole Phantasma/Weissmann stuff sorted out, I can actually start pushing the story forward toward the civil war. I've got some ideas on how to proceed, so expect things to go somewhat differently, since I had Prince Olivert preemptively gather up a bunch of allies, including General Le Guin.

Hopefully you've all enjoyed this first arc well enough. And I hope I wrapped things up with a bang, since I really wanted to give McBurn his due, especially seeing how scary he can be in Cold Steel III. I'll try to manage things a bit better going forward, when it comes to scale and things like that.

Take care!