Episode 2-53

Season 2, Episode 53: Dire informs Silver-Lion of the harsh truth behind Lightning's schemes before smashing the aged hero's face in, killing him. Just then, Metheos and his villains appear, much to Dire's displeasure as he hadn't had time to recharge. They note the scene of heroes killing each other, before one of them lunges at Dire and severs his left arm. In retaliation, Dire bites into the villain's neck before being attacked by a cyborg villain. Tanking her hit, another villain slashes Dire's side before the cyborg villain fires a Beam Burster at him. However, Dire tanks it (much to Iblis' surprise) and gets ready to take the cyborg villain out before Count pierces his heart with a finger-shot Beam Burster. As Dire succumbs to his injuries, he telepathically tells Phoenix and Limpid not to let the Anima Stone fall into the hands of the villains.

Meanwhile, Phoenix continues to brutalise Lightning for hurting his master, Limpid. Banshee tries to intervene, but Phoenix nullifies her Ghost skill and quickly puts her down. With Phoenix temporarily distracted, Lightning uses the Golden Candle enabling him to retaliate and strike Phoenix away. With the candle also negating Apache's petrification, the old hero succumbs to the radiation and immediately dies. Banshee quickly retrieves the Anima Stone and picks up the Golden Candle much to Lightning's delight. Telling her to give them to him, Banshee willingly agrees before mercilessly cutting him down...