I have another question, and I'll knock this thread to the top of the list by posting again to ask it.

Why is Aion so much stronger than Chrno in the present time, even though they have both lost their horns?

Aion doesn't have a contractor to give him a source of astral like Chrno has Rosette's clock. And, in the flastbacks to the revolt in Pandemonium, it's pretty clear that in their original states, Chrno was quite a bit stronger than Aion. Remember when Aion shielded himself from Duke Dufoe's blow? He had a trickle of blood rolling down his forehead and looked pretty banged up. Yet Chrno managed to parry a good number of the Duke's blows, AND had an explosion of power that earned him the nickname the "100 Million Killer."

Yet, now they both don't have horns, and Aion has no source of astral like Chrno, what gives??