"You know, I suppose I should be grateful that Edalyn, in all her recklessness, made that sword for you," Mom remarked just as Nero pulled Red Queen from its hiding tree.
"Huh?" Nero asked, "Aunt Eda didn't make this for me." Lilith raised an eyebrow before dropping the sack.
"Then where did you get that thing?"
"I, uh—Okay, seeing as we're already in the frying pan and today may as well be 'Confess Everything Day', you should probably know that this used to be your old coven saber, and I maybe sorta, y'know, stole it from your closet when I was a kid."
"You STOLE MY-"
"Mom, we need to save Aunt Eda now, so ground me again later." Mom blinked and took a deep breath before she took the sack and placed it inside the untwisted tree.
"Fine," Lilith said. "But we are going to have a talk about this, young man!" Nero cast plant magic with a nod and twisted the tree back up. Assuming they got caught, they'd be able to come back here and retrieve everything before heading to his grandparent's place since, in all likelihood, their house would get ransacked by the Emperor's Coven.
"So, do we have a plan?" Nero asked as the two of them flew off at high speeds.
"We go in, free Edalyn before she can be taken for Petrification, and get out," Mom said as wind billowed in his ears, "I know it's not much of a plan, but it's the best we have for now."
"Eh, I can work with that," Nero shrugged before he thought of something, "Wait, how are you gonna explain why I'm there?"
Mom started muttering to herself, with Nero unable to hear thanks to the wind. As the Conformatorium came into view, she exclaimed, "I've got it! Just follow my lead."
As she looked for a landing point, Nero found himself staring down at its outskirts, seeing a slowly growing crowd of people standing in front of a large stage. Seeing where his aunt's petrification was going to take place, he thought, Okay, looks like we've still got time. Just bust in and break her out. Couldn't be simpler.
They soon landed at the entrance on one of the main towers, where a pair of coven guards ran out and saluted, the one on the left greeting "Madame Lilith! It's good to see you, we need-" he stopped and looked at Nero, "Uh, why did you bring your kid?"
"He's going to be shadowing me again today," Lilith answered, "Is that a problem?"
"I don't know, just seems a bit weird for you to be letting him shadow today of all days," the coven guard replied as he stroked his chin.
"Oh, uh...well, you see..." Mom stammered, apparently hoping they would just accept what she'd said and let them through. Seeing that wasn't going to work and the guard's gaze on him with increasing scrutiny, Nero quickly slapped together a way out of this.
"It's because I asked her to let me shadow her today," Nero said, trying to muster up a passable performance despite wanting to vomit, "I just love the work you guys do for the Emperor's Coven, so I wanted to come see it again."
"Yes, he was quite eager!" Mom added way too quickly and with a forced smile, but it seemed to work, as the guards nodded.
"Eh, seems legit to me," The one on the right said.
Lilith relaxed as her smile became more natural, "By the way, could you please remind me where my sister is being held?"
"She should be down in the holding cell in the dungeon," the leftmost guard answered.
"Thank you, just needed a refresher," Mom nodded to them as she and Nero walked by and entered the Conformatorium's halls.
"I am never saying shit like that again," Nero muttered.
"Now, let's go get Edalyn," Mom said as they started running down the halls. Weirdly enough, there didn't seem to be that many guards in the prison itself, but Nero brushed that off as them being on duty for when the Petrification Ceremony started. They past by several cell blocks and down a few flights of stairs before they turned another corner, stopping just in time to see Kikimora berate Warden Wrath.
"How incompetent can you possibly be!?"
"I'm sorry, Madame Kikimora, but we were overwhelmed," Wrath bowed his head in shame.
"What happened?" Mom walked in, Nero following just behind her.
The warden looked like he was about to speak, but Kikimora cut him off, "These idiots allowed the human girl they'd captured to escape. And to make matters worse, Wrath drew her a map!"
Luz? Nero looked to his mother, who seemed to have the exact same line of thought as she turned to the annoying gremlin.
"Worry not, Kikimora. We will handle the human."
"You'd better, Lilith," Kikimora then pointed to Nero, "And what is your brat doing here?"
"You really gonna complain about the extra help?" Nero scoffed, causing the little demon to glare at him.
"Come, my son. Let's go before I decide to throw someone out the window," Lilith walked past Kikimora and the warden before she turned and glared at the former, who's expression turned fearful. Nero nodded and followed his mother, the two of them walking down the halls yet again, but this time coming across various coven guards in states of humiliation. Many were encased in ice, others wrapped in plant tendrils, and some surrounded by flames.
"Okay, so Luz is also here to bust Aunt Eda out," Nero remarked as they walked past the last of the tangled up coven guards, "Huh, she's gotten a lot better at that."
"I suppose Edalyn did teach her well," Lilith added, sounding a bit bitter.
"Better hurry it up. If she finds Aunt Eda before we do, she's probably gonna need some help getting out of here," Nero ran ahead of his mother, but stopped when he noticed she wasn't running beside him. Turning around, he asked, "Mom, what's up?"
Lilith drummed her fingers along the handle of her staff and sighed, "Nothing, I'm just...silently hoping that we get to Edalyn before the human does."
"What, why? I'd like to think three heads are better than...wait," Nero saw the guilty look on Mom's face and realized something, "Does Luz know about what you did to Eda?"
Mom nodded, "And during the duel to arrest Edalyn, I might have maybe, sort of, kind of used the human as bait to lure my sister out and...might have also used her as a shield during said duel, so..."
Nero felt another spike of anger before he pinched the bridge of his nose and swallowed it, reminding himself that there'd be plenty of time to call Mom out on this later. Closing his eyes, Nero said, "Okay, new plan. If we run into Luz, you let me do all the talking."
"Nero, I-"
"Mom, Luz is way more likely to listen to me than you," Nero interrupted, "So I need you to trust me. Okay?"
Lilith was quiet and looked unsure, but after a few seconds, she answered, "Alright, I trust that you know what you're doing, my son."
The words caught Nero off-guard, and for a moment, a genuine, warm grin etched its way onto his face. As his mother walked up beside him, she nodded and they continued down the halls, with her speeding up just ahead of him as they rounded one final corner.
"Lilith!" An all too familiar, high-pitched voice cried out as Nero and his mother looked down to see King standing in front of a large door that Nero assumed led to Eda. "W-What are you doing here?" King asked fearfully, his attention solely on Lilith.
"I take it the human's already inside with my sister?" Mom asked impatiently. King didn't answer, instead nervously rubbing his hands while trying to stand his ground. Seeing that she wasn't going to get a response, Mom said, "Step aside."
"I-If you want to get t-to them, you gotta go through me!" King stammered as he held his arms out.
"Okay, Mom, let me try," Nero stepped forward, "Look, King, we're not here to-"
"Nero, what are you doing here?" King's asked, his fear replaced with shock as he pointed to Lilith, "And why are you with her! She's the reason Eda's in this mess!"
"I know that, but listen, we're here to-"
"You know! What about how she also cursed Eda? You know about that too?"
Nero nodded, but knelt down and held his hands out in a placating manner, "I do King, but I need you to just listen for one sec-"
"Can it, traitor! You are so dead to me!" King shouted as he lunged right towards Nero and bit into his right arm. However, King's teeth failed to penetrate his skin, leaving him just sort of...awkwardly hanging there. Standing up, Nero held his arm out and shook it, with the small demon holding tight while yelling something he couldn't understand. It almost sounded like King said, "How do you like that, jerk!?"
"That doesn't hurt, does it?" Mom asked, to which Nero shook his head.
"We should probably go in now," He said as he kept right arm held out, the two (technically three) of them making their way to the doors and heading inside. Much to their dismay, Nero saw Luz in a cloak of witch's wool weeping on the floor, the platform in front of her having already risen to its height. It didn't take much to figure out what happened.
"Shit!" Nero swore under his breath.
"We're too late," Mom said, equally distressed.
"You..." Luz outright snarled as she slowly rose up, "You hurt Eda, you cursed her, put her in chains," she reached into her cloak and turned, "And now, I will take you dow-!"
"Luz, hold up!" Nero ran forward and stepped between the two. Luz looked at him, eyes wide as dinner plates, and gasped.
"Nero! What's going on?"
Nero was about to explain, but King decided then to let go of his arm and yell, "He's a traitor and he's selling us out!"
"No, we're here to free Eda!" Nero yelled back, causing Luz and King to look at him and Mom in surprise.
"Wait, huh?"
"Weh!?"
After Luz and King's respective responses, Mom stepped forward and said, "Allow me to explain, I-"
"Give me one good reason why I should trust anything you have to say!" Luz glared at Lilith and drew two pieces of paper from her cloak, ready to activate them at a moment's notice. Mom looked ready to fight back before Nero held his arms out to prevent the two from coming to blows, King having already jumped off his right and ran to Luz's side.
"You're right, I don't have any reason for you to trust me after all I've done. All I ask is a chance to explain myself, and to make things right," Mom said before weaving a spell circle in her hands, summoning, much to Nero's surprise, Owlbert and Eda's staff. Luz's anger faded for a moment as Lilith walked forward and held them out to her. The girl didn't hesitate and took them, cradling the cooing Palisman in her arms.
Luz looked back to Lilith, open but still on-guard, and asked, "Why'd you do it?"
Mom nodded and explained everything to Luz like she did with Nero back at home. While this was happening, however, Nero's eyes started looking around the room and fell on a large, glowing rectangle just to the side of the platform where Eda had been. Huh, didn't see that there, Nero thought as he walked up to it, having been too caught up to notice it before. He got close, and the light faded enough for him to see that it was actually a portal, one that led to a pristine forest in front of a rickety old porch.
As he marveled at the sight, however, he also heard Luz say, "Well, no offense, but I still don't trust you."
Turning around, Nero saw his mother kneeling in front of Luz, whose arms were crossed. While he couldn't see Luz's face from this angle, he was pretty sure she was leveling a strong glare. King, meanwhile, hid behind Luz's leg, but Nero was pretty sure he was also glaring. For her part, Mom sighed and replied, "I understand that, and you have every right not to," she looked down in thought for a moment, "If it helps alleviate things a little, I will allow you to hit me with all your strength one time."
"Whoa, hold up!" Nero ran towards them and said, "Mom, you really don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," she declared before turning back to Luz, "Now, if you have any compunctions abou-"
"Hiya!" Luz shouted as she punched Lilith square in the jaw without hesitation, knocking her face first to the floor with a loud yelp.
"Mom! You okay?" Nero asked as he helped her up.
"Ooooww," she groaned in pain, rubbing at her jaw, "Motherfucker, that hurt!"
"Never thought I'd say this, but thank you chores," Luz proudly flexed her rather skinny arms. She quickly got serious again and said, "Okay, look, I may not like your whole 'deal', but..." she sighed, "But I think we're all going to have to help each other if we're gonna save Eda."
Mom nodded and stood up to full height, "Since Edalyn's already been taken, we'll need to get to the stage to disrupt the ceremony directly," she made her way to the room's exit, but not before turning to everyone and concluding, "I know where we need to go. Follow me."
"Just give me a sec. Need to grab Eda's portal first," Luz pulled out an odd looking key from her collar and pressed the eye at its center. The portal then sunk into the ground in a flash of amber light. With that done, Luz looked between the two of them and, with King at her side, followed Lilith out of the prison chamber.
"Hey, Luz," Nero walked side-by-side with her and asked, "That place through the portal, that was the human world, right?"
Luz nodded, "Yeah. When I tried to free Eda, she wanted me to head home. She said something about Belos wanting the portal, and she also wanted me to destroy it."
"I recall Belos asking Edalyn about where she hid the portal when I captured her," Lilith added, sounding more than a little guilty, "Though I'm unsure what his designs are for it."
A rather uncomfortable silence followed after that. Wanting to break it, Nero said, "So...the human world seems nice."
"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Luz replied halfheartedly.
"You don't sound all that convinced," Nero pointed out.
"Don't get me wrong, I miss home, and I miss my mom, but I just want to save Eda right now," Luz gave him a somber, but genuine smile, "Besides, when this is all over, I can visit her and show off all the cool magic I learned."
Nero smiled back as they continued following his mother to where they needed to go. While he didn't see much of Luz's world through the portal, it did seem like a pleasant place to kick back and relax, and one he'd like to visit after they saved Aunt Eda.
If we save her, Nero snuffed that thought out. They were going to save her, come Hell or high water.
"So, what are you guys gonna do after we free Eda?" Luz asked as they all made their way through a creepy underground with a bunch of angelic statues covered in weird, rotting, slimy roots. Even with everything she'd seen on the isles so far, this place gave off a whole new level of off-putting.
"I honestly don't know anymore," Lilith said, "A part of me still wants to remain within the Emperor's Coven, if only to make sure nothing like this will happen again, but..."
"No offense Mom, but it might be a bit too late for that," Nero said. Lilith nodded while Luz frowned for a moment and looked to the floor. Despite Lilith trying to help them, she still felt anger towards the woman for everything she did. But at the same time, it was evident from the look in her eyes that she genuinely wanted to make up for things.
"If it means anything, thanks for helping us free Eda," Luz said, drawing a sad smile out of Lilith.
"Thank you, Luz."
"Are we there yet?" King asked, "We're kinda on a time table here."
"Not to worry, the platform is just ahead," Lilith pointed out, and sure enough, Luz saw it. As they walked up to the platform, however, she started getting a sinking feeling, and it wasn't just caused by all the surrounding rot. Something about this place was practically screaming at her to run, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was.
And then it hit her.
"Wait, where are the guards?" Luz asked, prompting everyone to start looking around in worry. Suddenly, Lilith and King were snatched up by the slimy roots and pulled away.
"King!"
"Mom!"
Both her and Nero's cries were met by a pair of flames igniting, revealing the Emperor slouching on his throne like about half-a-dozen evil overlords Luz had read about. "Deciding now to become a wild witch, Lilith?" Belos asked mockingly, "Such a poor sense of timing. Don't you think?"
Lilith struggled to break free before she looked to Nero and said, "You're right. I should've done this sooner," she closed her eyes and her staff glowed, Palisman flapping their wings before flying straight for him. Just as the staff came close, Nero easily caught it with his right arm and drew his sword in his left. He pointed his mom's staff at Belos while Luz did the same with Eda's.
"Let them go, now!" Nero yelled, but something seemed off to Luz. She could see that his hands were shaking, small bits of sweat falling down his face. He was scared, and honestly, so was she. After hearing about his power from Willow and seeing what he did to the Palisman in the throne room, Luz knew they were fighting an uphill battle. But they had to win, or at least come out alive. Maybe if they-
"I think not, little Sparda," Belos said with venom in his voice, halting Luz's train of thought.
Sparda, she thought, Wait, didn't that demon lord back at the Knee call him that? But that question went unanswered as she watched King and Lilith get pulled up into the spasming mass above. With a grimace, Luz and Nero attempted to run forward to save them, but something grabbed at her legs while the slime on one of the statues pulled Nero towards it. Luz looked down at her legs to see two sets of claws holding her on the ground,
"Do be quiet for a moment, I wish to speak with the human," Belos said to Nero as he commanded the slime to wrap around the teen's mouth, muffling his yells.
"I have nothing to say to you, you monster!" Luz shouted.
"Oh, if only you knew the truth, child," the Emperor chuckled as Luz's anger grew. She slammed the staff's end into the ground, letting Owlbert fly her out of the grip before she flipped forward and slammed it again, sending a wave of ice shards across the floor. The wave stopped just as it reached Belos, who remained unfazed on his throne. "Impressive, most impressive," Luz felt her stomach squirm at the Emperor's compliment, "For a novice, at least."
Luz stood up and glared, "I don't care what you have to say. You're freeing my friends right now!"
Before Belos could respond, Luz saw a bright blue glow emanate from where Nero was being held. She turned just in time to see the slime enveloping his right arm burst away as he aimed Lilith's burning staff at the Emperor, launching a wave of blue flames so large it consumed everything in its path. After a few seconds, the flames died down, revealing nothing but charred floor and molten stone.
"Woah!" Luz exclaimed as Nero freed his left arm, "That was insane! And way...too...easy..."
"Indeed," Belos' voice echoed all around, causing both of them to jump for a second in fright.
"Guess it was too much to hope he'd go down with that, huh?" Nero ran to Luz, on his guard as they stood back-to-back, looking around the room for where he might pop up. Luz felt sweat fall down her face,
"My turn," she suddenly heard to her left as she was sent flying away, Nero getting thrown in the opposite direction. She crashed into one of the statues with a loud, painful crack. Thankfully, the cloak Eda made spared her from the worst of the damage, but she had a feeling it wouldn't save her from the statue's falling ax.
"WOAH!" Luz cried out as she rolled out of the way, dodging the giant ax and using Eda's staff to fly away. She saw Belos standing a bit aways from her and pulled out a pair of fire glyphs, flying straight after him. But as she got close, a giant worm monster rose from the ground, enveloping the Emperor with its jaws wide open to devour her.
Luz could only panic, closing her eyes as she was about to fly into its maw. However, a sudden voice yelled, "Got ya!" and she was pulled out of the beast's warpath. Turning around, she saw Nero pull the end of Eda's staff as he asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah, that was close," Luz nodded as Nero let go, allowing her to fly beside him. She noticed that, unlike her, he was using Lilith's staff like a makeshift skateboard, balancing on it with his feet. Huh, didn't know witch staffs could be used like that, Luz thought before looking down at Owlbert, But I prefer flying like this anyway. Way more like Good Witch Azura when she was fighting-
A sudden roar broke her reverie, and she looked back to see the giant worm chasing them with reckless abandon. They bobbed and weaved past several statues, but the beast bulldozed its way through them, refusing to let them escape. "Got any ideas?" Nero asked as they dropped down and flew just a couple feet over the floor, the sound of upturning stone just behind them.
"I'm open to suggestions," Luz said, turning back to see the worm was getting too close for comfort as it tried to bite at them, only narrowly missing. Her panicking brain tried to come up with something, wondering what Eda or Azura would do in this situation. Suddenly, a brief wave of inspiration hit her, "I think I got it! That thing can't chase both of us, so we should split up."
"You sure?" Nero asked, "I've seen enough mystery cartoons to know that splitting up's usually a bad idea."
"Well we're not in a mystery, and one of us being bait can give the other an opening," Luz pulled out a fire glyph and threw it at the beast, the flame exploding in its face and diverting its focus on her. As she split away from her friend, she saw the beast chase after her, "Now!"
"On it!" Nero shouted, the monster roaring in pain as it stopped chasing and writhed. Luz stopped and floated, turning to see Nero hanging onto the beast's back by his sword and sporting a wide smirk on his face. He flicked his wrist and set Red Queen on fire, burning into the worm's flesh. As he looked ready to start slashing, however, the worm stopped and glared at Luz.
Luz, wide eyed and terrified, bolted in the opposite way on Eda's staff as the beast continued its chase. She turned around to see Nero holding on for dear life, even summoning a spectral arm to maintain his grip and dig ethereal claws into the monster's skin. But as she faced forward, she gasped and saw the slime in the environment start poking outward, forming dozens of pointed tips. She gasped again as one of them went right for her, forcing her to duck. That would soon turn into a bunch of random, chaotic flying as she did everything to avoid the sudden onslaught of slimy spires from almost every angle. However, as she dodged, she noticed something.
Weird, the spikes always slow down just as they reach me, Luz wondered just as she looked back at the beast far behind her, who was equally weaving around them, And that thing's not bothering to just bust through them like everything else. It's almost like they're trying to-, Luz gasped and slowed down, seeing that Nero was no longer on the creature's back. And just after she noticed this, the worm picked up its speed and was now charging her again in full force. She faced forward again to increase Owlbert's speed, but soon found herself skidding to a halt in front of a wall.
As a shadow loomed over her, she landed and turned to see the worm beast roar at her, now trapped at its mercy. But Luz swallowed her terror and gave the monster a defiant glare, holding stave at the ready as she asked, "You with me, Owlbert?"
"Hoo!" the Palisman hooted with a nod as Luz pulled out a plant glyph in one hand while the other aimed Eda's staff, ready to kick some giant worm butt.
"Stupid...fucking..." Nero picked himself off the floor, having just been knocked off the worm's back. Looking around, he couldn't see Luz or the beast anymore, Where the hell did they-
"Looking for someone?" Belos' voice whispered just behind him. Nero gasped and turned, swinging Red Queen right at the Emperor's face, only for it to be blocked by his technological staff. "Pity," he mocked before Nero found himself pushed back several feet, skidding to a halt as he glared at his opponent, "I expected something more challenging from a Sparda."
"Who or what the hell is Sparda!?" Nero yelled. First the frog bastard, then the snake bitch, and now Emperor Freakshow were all calling him "a Sparda", and he wanted answers. Instead of giving him any answers, however, Belos chuckled.
"Seems your mother never told you."
Wait, Mom knows about- Nero didn't get to think too hard on that though, as he saw the sludge on the floor move beneath his feet. With wide eyes, he backflipped out of the way as a sharp spire jutted outward, almost skewering him. He found himself doing so again and again before he landed atop his mother's staff and flew into the air, circling around Belos and launching blasts of blue flame. The Emperor was unfazed though, simply casting forth a crimson shield around him that blocked the attack.
With a grunt, Nero flew higher and jumped off the staff when he was just atop the Emperor, holding it in his right hand as Coronis ignited in blue flames. In his left hand, he held Red Queen overhead and flicked his wrist, igniting all its Exceed charges at once. The second he neared, he slammed both weapons into the shield, enveloping it in a torrent of blue and crimson fire. Nero could see cracks slowly form around the shield, and it broke not a moment later, blade and staff slashing down where Belos stood. But as the flames cleared, his opponent was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit!" Nero cursed as he looked around, "Where'd he-" but he froze as he saw the floor in front of him ooze out the the same flesh colored slime from before. It morphed and spasmed until a white staff with a crimson orb shot out, impaling him in the chest as he cried out in pain. The pain grew worse as he saw the Emperor's staff glow, electrocuting him. Nero didn't know how long it lasted, only knowing that when his voice began to crack from the screams, he flew far away and rolled along the ground. He forced himself up, clutching at his chest as the wound slowly began to heal and seeing that his weapons were now scattered away from him.
"Ugh," Nero groaned, looking down at the torn hole in his shirt. The wound had healed, but the pain was still present as he looked up to see Belos making his way towards him. With each step taken, Nero felt his terror grow, his breathing becoming more labored as his heart raced.
"You're trembling. Good," Belos commented, sounding smug, "Your kind should fear someone like me."
"W-What are you talking about?" Nero tried to keep his voice even, but between the it didn't work, as he found himself backing up, the Emperor taking equal steps forward.
"Nothing you need concern yourself with," Belos said as he walked past Red Queen and Lilith's stave, "But seeing as you know your place, I have a proposition for you."
Nero narrowed his eyes and stopped, "If you think I'm gonna join your fucking coven, keep dreaming!"
"To be frank, Nero, I don't need you in my coven," he replied, as he circled around the young witch, "But I do have need of you for a certain...hmm, let's call it a project. So here's my proposal: You aid me, and I shall allow your mother to live. She will be cast out as a wild witch, of course, but my offer buys her some time."
"That ain't happening, freakshow," Nero immediately responded.
"Shame," Belos' staff glowed and Nero felt the air shift. A sound came from his right as he looked to see a giant axe fly right for him, spinning on its side like a buzz saw. Nero bent backward, just barely avoiding getting sliced in half while everything else behind him was slashed to pieces. "To be honest, your compliance was never a factor, merely a formality." Nero turned and found himself held high in the grip of a pulsating, fleshy claw. Nero gasped for air as the claw choked him, leaving him struggling to find a way out. His sword had been knocked away, as had his mother's staff; he looked down and glared at Belos one final time, but the fear he felt before was being overwhelmed by something else entirely.
"Let...me..." Nero wheezed, pouring as much as he could muster into his right arm before shouting in rage, "GO!"
Manifesting a spectral arm, he launched it forward and slugged the Emperor right in the face, sending him flying to the side as Nero fell to the floor. He caught his breath before hearing a light clinking sound, and looked to see one of the horns of Belos' helm land near him. Looking up, he saw Emperor Freakshow picking himself up, slightly hunched in pain and clutching at the left side of his mask, now missing its horn.
I...that actually hurt him? Nero looked down at his right arm and picking up the broken horn with it. The anger that fueled his attack dying down, but the fear it replaced not returning either. His attack left his childhood terror writhing in pain. For all Belos' power, he wasn't invincible, and that thought left a slowly growing smile on Nero's face. Though as he looked back up, a tinge of that fear returned when he saw the enraged glow of Belos' blue eyes behind the mask.
"You contemptable little devil," Belos snarled, his staff glowing once more. Thinking quick, Nero pocketed the horn and ran as debris and stone began flying around. A number of statues were lifted and suddenly thrown at him, forcing him to side-step, duck, and cast illusionary copies of himself to avoid them. Grabbing Red Queen as he neared it, he held out his right arm and called to the staff like he'd seen his mother do countless times. Sure enough, it flew right to his hand as the last statue was sent straight towards him. The instant Nero grabbed the staff, he somersaulted onto the statue and ran across it, leaping into the air as he reached its end before taking flight once more.
Arcs of crimson lightning flew from Belos' staff and right at Nero's face. Conjuring up a few more illusions of himself, he zipped around with them as the electricity scattered randomly throughout the battlefield to try and hit them. Each clone poofed when the bolts made contact, but he managed to get close to Belos and slashed at his side, which the Emperor blocked with the handle of his staff. Sparks flew across the blade and stave as they slid past each other, Nero flying and jumping off Lilith's staff to land far behind Belos, who wrathfully turned to him. He looked ready to attack again, but before he could...
"LUZ CHOP!" Luz's voice echoed from the left as she flew in at high speeds, smashing Owlbert's glowing form into the right side of Belos' masked face, sending more broken pieces flying. As Emperor Freakshow tried to rebalance himself, Luz jumped back onto Eda's staff and flew to Nero's side, landing and saying, "Sorry I'm late. Had to blow up a giant worm to get here."
"Better late than never, kid," Nero smiled and looked back to their opponent, who was standing tall with pieces of the right eye of his mask broken away. He gave Luz a look that seemed somewhere between pissed off and impressed.
"I think that's quite enough playing around," Belos said as he levitated in the air, blue eyes glowing brighter than before, "Wouldn't you agree?"
Nero sent a glance over to Luz, who looked at him with the same determination, followed by a nod as she looked back to Belos, "Yeah, I agree. Nero?"
"Let's rock!" Nero let Coronis unfurl his wings and burn a vibrant blue, giving the staff the form of a flaming scythe blade. With a spin, he sent a slash of pure flames towards the floating monarch as Luz pulled two ice glyphs into her hands. As the slash was batted away by Belos, Luz slammed the ice glyphs into the ground, coating the floor ahead of them in a layer of pure ice. The frost beneath Belos jutted out shards that threatened to pierce through him, but he teleported to the side right as they were an inch away from him.
In that moment, Belos flew right for them almost too fast to keep up with, but Nero was fast enough to step forward and slam the burning scythe into the ground. Suddenly, all the ice melted and evaporated, covering everything in a white fog. As Belos' shadow could be seen, Nero spun his left finger, creating a circle that commanded the ground to swallow him and Luz. Within the floor, he heard the Emperor's attack come down on where they once were before he ejected himself and Luz out where Belos was previously.
"That was awesome!" Luz whispered before turning her attention to behind them. Nero saw Belos' shade, seeming to be trying to sense them out. Luz took out a pair of plant glyphs and slammed them together, unleashing a torrent of vines towards the unsuspecting emperor. However, Belos was able to react in time and bat the vines away.
Shit! He's too fast, Nero thought as Belos unleashed a burst of wind that began dispersing the fog. Before all of it was gone, an idea popped in his head, Let's see how "all seeing" this jackass really is. Nero turned to Luz, "Hey kid!" that got her attention even with the billowing winds as he formed a spell circle that created several copies of himself and her, "On my mark, get ready to fly!"
Luz smiled and the moment Nero took off on his stave, she did the same as he commanded the illusions to circle around Belos, the fog having fully lifted. With him and Luz hidden among them, Belos calmly looked around the tornado of copies, trying to discern truth from illusion.
"Really? You believe this childish parlor trick will work on me?" Belos asked, sounding almost insulted as Nero felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luz (the real Luz) pull out a pair of light glyphs from her cloak. Smirking as the sinking feeling vanished, he motioned for the rest of the Luz illusions to do the same.
"Hey, Bellhop!" all the Luzs shouted, "You need to lighten up!" and in that moment, they clapped the glyphs together. Nero shielded his eyes from the massive flash of light that engulfed the entire room.
"ARGH!" Belos screeched, no doubt blinded by the oversized light show. Nero moved his arm from his face and looked down to see the Emperor hunched over, clutching his eyes in pain. He gave Luz a nod and dispersed of the copies before the latter threw a fire glyph at the stunned dictator. The orange flame hit Belos right in the side as he threw his arm out, reaching with a long, mutating claw to slash at Luz, who was already behind the Emperor and out of his reach. Nero followed up by flying close to the floor, coming in hot as he brought out a spectral fist.
"Trouble seeing, Great Horned Prick!?" The second Nero got close, he delivered an uppercut to Emperor Freakshow's chin, shouting, "Then let me give you a hand!" as he knocked him into the air. Within the moments Belos was airborne and dazed, Nero spun, building up momentum. Just as Belos started to descend, he threw another spectral fist, this time right for the monarch's gut. Their opponent flew away, but managed to stop himself in mid-air, eyes glowing as Nero and Luz charged right for him. But before they could get close, a loud shriek of agony shook the air around them, sounding like it came from above. They both stopped, realizing who it was.
"EDA!" They shouted in panic. From the sound of it, they were too late, the petrification ceremony having already begun. However, they didn't have time to process that, as they were suddenly pulled from the air by fleshy tendrils digging into their arms, dragging them down to the ground. As they neared, they slowed down and were forced to their knees, the Emperor making his way to them.
"Well, it would seem that I hold all the cards," Belos said, now standing in front of them before giving Luz his full attention, "Seeing as the fate of those above lies in the balance, why don't we cut a deal, human? And I do hope you'll be more reasonable than your demonic friend."
"Oh get fu-" Nero shouted, but another arm shot out of the ground and clamped his mouth shut.
"Language," Belos snidely remarked before turning back to Luz, "Now, what I'm offering you is a chance to save your mentor. Whether she lives or dies is of no concern to me, but what is of concern is something in your possession," his eyes narrowed, "The portal to the human realm."
Nero heard Luz's breath hitch before she yelled, "No! I'm not going to put my home in danger you-"
"Danger? Oh no, nothing of the sort," Belos paced around Luz, even releasing her from the the tendrils, "The Titan has no interest in conquest of mankind. You'll understand soon enough," as another scream echoed around them, Belos stopped and stood directly in front of her, "Now, I do believe your mentor is running out of time."
"No! I-I won't..." Luz shut her eyes, tears falling before she said, "Fine! Just let us go and-"
"I'm afraid that while you still have time to save those above," Belos gestured to Nero, "This one's fate has already decided."
Nero cursed at Belos, albeit muffled, as Luz shouted, "But that wasn't the-"
"The deal was that I'd allow you to save your mentor in exchange for the portal," Belos turned his back to them and asked, "So will you let one fall, or everyone?"
Nero looked to Luz, seeing the conflict in her tear filled eyes as Aunt Eda's screams grew louder. If this kept up, it really would be too late to save everyone. Reluctantly, he faced Belos and yelled at him to let him talk. Belos twisted his head back, seemingly understanding as the hand uncovered his mouth and sunk back into the ground. Turning his head back to Luz, Nero said, "Luz, give him what he wants."
Luz gasped, "But what about you?"
"Right now, Aunt Eda, Mom, and King are more important. Go help them," he turned and glared at Belos, "I'll find my own way out, I promise."
"Perhaps you will, or perhaps you won't. What do you think, human?" Belos' question, all attention was on Luz as she looked down, another scream prompting her to pull the portal key from her robe. She pressed on the eye and summoned a briefcase, one with a similar eye design on it, and hugged it. Nero heard her whisper something in a language he didn't understand before she stood up and held the portal out for the Emperor.
"Here," Luz said, "It's yours."
"The Titan will be pleased," Belos took the portal from her hands. Suddenly, Nero was released from the arms' grip and shrouded in a crimson glow. Unable to move, he watched as Luz picked up his mother's staff and made her way to the platform, all while pulling the hood of her cloak up. Belos followed along and levitated Nero at his side, tapping his own staff on the floor the moment Luz stood at the center. As more of the flesh-like mass lifted her up, Belos said, "Now then, go on and play the hero."
"Luz," Nero began, "Tell Mom that I..." he gulped and held tears back, "Tell her I'm sorry."
Luz turned back, flashing an angry look Belos' way, "Actually, I think you'll be able to tell her yourself." She slammed both Eda and Lilith's staffs down, Palismen flashing as a glow shimmered at Nero's right. Looking to the source, he saw the portal in Belos' hands was covered in fire glyphs that were set off one by one. Belos noticed this too, but the portal blew up in a burst of fire before he could react, the loss in concentration sending Nero to the floor.
Now's my chance! Nero looked to the elevating platform and sent a spectral hand to its edge, pulling himself towards it and jumping on before it left the room. "Thanks for the save," Nero said, Luz nodding as she handed him Lilith's staff. He took it and pulled his hood up, both of them soon arriving at the petrification ceremony. Looking around, Nero saw a statue blasting a green beam at a small cell on stage, which itself contained his mother, King, and Aunt Eda, who was now in the bestial mode he saw in the picture from his first visit to her house.
"You stop the petrification, I'll free them!" Luz said as Nero gave an affirmative nod and ran to the statue. When he neared, he threw an ethereal claw out and hoisted the statue up, causing the beam to cease as he threw it like a javelin. It flew far and eventually faded from view altogether, the entire crowd cheering like it was some big sporting event.
Nero turned back just as Luz was threatening Kikimora with a ball of flames, prompting the tiny coven member to fearfully dissipate the cage. The moment everyone in it fell to the floor, Nero and Luz quickly ran to them. "MOM!" Nero shouted just as Luz did the same for her mentor. Lilith looked up, eyes widening as she embraced him the moment he was close.
"Nero!" she tightened the embrace before letting go, looking at him worriedly and asking, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine mom, but what about Aunt Eda?" Nero asked, looking at Eda's half-petrified form. Luz was worriedly hovering over her, making Nero wonder if it was too late.
Thankfully, the stone covering Eda began to fade away. The moment it was all gone, Eda snapped awake, "Ugh, talk about a headache."
"Eda!" Luz wrapped her arms around her mentor as best she could, King doing the same. Nero joined in, with Eda hugging them all back as best she could. However, the hug ended when it became noticeable that they were surrounded by coven soldiers on all sides.
Nero and Luz stood in front, ready to fight, but Eda grabbed the latter by the hood. As she set Luz on her back, she yelled, "Everyone, hop on! We're getting out of here!" With no time for arguments, Nero, Mom, and King all got on Eda's back as she flapped her wings. Within seconds, they were soaring in the air, dodging enchanted spears and gliding just above the cheering crowd before ascending higher. Nero looked back, seeing the Conformatorium far behind them as they made their way to his aunt's home.
"With this spell declared, let the pain be shared," the moment those words left her mouth, Lilith found herself floating in the air alongside her sister, both their bodies overtaken by a bright blue light as the curse was split between them. She didn't feel physical pain like all the previous uses of this spell, but she felt something else. She couldn't describe it, but it felt like a physical force of some kind was now gnawing inside her, wanting to overtake her.
The moment they landed, Lilith opened her eyes and saw her sister. Edalyn was back to the way she was before, but with the notable difference of her left eye being grey in color. As the human ran up and hugged Edalyn, Lilith felt through her hair and pulled, seeing strands of grey amidst the indigo. Hearing footsteps, she turned and saw her son look on her with worry, "You feeling okay Mom? You look kinda different."
"I'm fine, my little raven," Lilith answered, "Just getting used to things now."
Nero nodded and smiled, suddenly leaping forward and enveloping her in a hug. The act surprised her for a few seconds, eyes wide before finally closing as she returned the gesture, hugging her son as tightly as she dared. She released from the hug when she heard the sound of magic cracking up, looking up to see her sister trying and failing to create a spell circle.
"Well, that's gonna take some getting used to," Eda looked down at her hands, Lilith doing the same to her own as she tried to create a spell circle. Much like her sister's attempt, it fell apart and fizzled out, the sight of which caused Lilith to sigh.
"Seems to be the same for me," she tried to reach inward to find her magic, only finding faint sparks compared to the wellspring she had before. A fitting irony; she cursed her sister out of selfishness to take away her magic, and now she was met with the same fate.
"Don't worry," the human, Luz, said as she pulled out a glyph and placed it in Edalyn's hand, "I can show you how to do magic my way, and we can learn more about it together." Edalyn touched the center of the glyph, which glowed and shifted into an orb of light. All of them watched as it floated higher and higher, joining the stars in the sky and fading out of sight.
"Looking forward to that, kid," Edalyn ruffled Luz's hair and held her close.
"So, what now?" Nero asked, rubbing the back of his head, likely referring to what he and Lilith were going to do. It was pretty clear that they couldn't return back to their old home, so that left them with her parents place. But if she was being honest with herself, she wasn't sure on that option either. After what she'd done, the thought of facing her parents terrified her, and that was without getting into how she hadn't seen them in years. They needed to find a place to stay, however, and that was their only-
"Tell you what," Edalyn interrupted her thoughts, "You guys can stay with us."
Lilith's mind went blank for a second before she turned to her sister, "Eh?"
"Really?" Nero asked, sounding excited.
"B-But I..." Lilith stammered, "Edalyn, after what I did to you, how can you...why would you be okay with me staying here?"
Edalyn sported her usual confident smirk, "Simple sis," she raised a hand and started counting down on her fingers, "First off, you did bust me out of prison and pretty much gave up your old job and magic doing it. Second, while I ain't the nicest witch on the block, I'm not one who's gonna leave family without a home. And third, I haven't completely forgiven you for cursing me, and you've still got a lot of making up to do."
"I...I suppose that's understandable," Lilith sighed and gave her sister a determined look, "Very well, whatever I need to do to atone for my actions, I'll do so."
"Great! Cause I need someone to handle chores around here," Edalyn clapped her hands, "That includes cleaning, laundry, trash, and most importantly, Hooty duty."
Lilith heard snickers erupt from the side, glancing to see her son, Luz, and King stifling laughter, though at what, she had no clue. "What's so funny?" she asked.
"PFFT! Hooty duty," King giggled, causing Nero and Luz to bark out a laugh. Lilith felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she still didn't get it, but nonetheless, she composed herself and gave her sister a nod.
"Now, if you'll allow me, I would like to go retrieve mine and Nero's things," Lilith received a nod from her sister in return, who gestured towards everyone else to follow her inside. Nero looked between the two just as Lilith turned to head to where their things were hidden, making her way through the forest surrounding the Owl House.
"Hey mom! Wait up!" Lilith stopped, turning back to see her son catching up to her, sword still holstered behind his back while her staff was in his hands.
"Sorry," Lilith said, "I thought you wanted to stay with your aunt."
Her son shrugged, "Figured you could use some help. Besides, it's my stuff too," he held out her staff, "And you sorta forgot about this." Lilith took her staff and gave her son a thankful smile. They both decided to walk to their destination rather than fly, making their way through the mostly empty streets of Bonesborough. The only thing that broke the silence was her son's whistling. Overall, he seemed to be a lot more relaxed and upbeat than she'd seen him previously.
"So..." Lilith awkwardly broke her son's reverie, "You fought Belos?" He nodded, looking down to his right arm as they walked. Lilith saw there was still trepidation in his eyes just thinking about the whole thing, but she also saw something else as well. Clearing her throat, she asked, "And how do you feel about everything that just happened?"
Nero continued to look down at his arm, stopping in place as Lilith turned to him. She worried that asking him might of caused trauma from the unseen battle to resurface, but before she could apologize, he answered, "Being honest, even after decking him in the face, it still creeps me out just thinking about him," he looked directly to her and sighed, "Guess it's not gonna go away after one fight."
"I...I suppose not," Lilith wasn't sure what else to say to her son, but much to her surprise, the frown on his face slowly became a smile.
"But even if I'm still scared of him, it's not as bad as it used to be. Luz and I managed to kick his ass for a bit, so he sure as shit ain't as powerful as he thinks. And I got this to prove it," he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something that made Lilith gasp; it was one of the horns from Belos' helm. Without even thinking, she took it from him to get a closer look, and saw that it was indeed the genuine article.
"You..." the words refused to leave her throat for a moment, but she managed to get them out, "You managed to hurt him." Lilith almost didn't want to believe it. All her life, Belos projected the image of being utterly unstoppable. Even with his need to consume the essence of Palismen, the power he would often display to those in his coven silenced anyone who dared to bring up the weakness. But her son and the human managed to accomplish something she didn't think possible and shattered that illusion.
"Mom, something wrong?" Nero's worried question went unanswered as Lilith found her mind swimming. When Belos discovered them, she gave Nero her staff to ensure he had every available advantage he possibly could. But even with that, and even when Edalyn was about to strike her down in justified rage, all she could think about was the danger her son was in. She didn't know what the fight entailed, and a part of her didn't want to know so those worries wouldn't weigh heavy on her. Yet at the same time, she wanted to know the details, and felt something else as her mind returned to the present.
Lilith looked to her son, who still seemed worried, and picked him up in a tight hug. "I am so proud of you!" Lilith exclaimed as she spun her child around.
"Mom..." Nero rasped out, "Air..." Lilith gasped and immediately dropped her son, who hunched over with his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths. She tried to apologize, but he held a hand out as he took in air a few more times before finally standing up and asking, "So, you're actually okay with me fighting him?"
Lilith shook her head, "I wouldn't say that exactly," she looked down, "Truth be told, I don't know if I'll ever be fully okay with you taking to such dangerous actions like this," a smile formed on her face as she looked back at him, "But I'm glad you came out of it well. And as much as it scares me to think of what could happen to you, I'd like to try and support you more in such endeavors."
Nero looked at her with utter bewilderment, as if he never expected her to say that. Much like her, he was now smiling, grin almost as bright as the stars in the sky. "Thanks mom," he said before asking, "So...does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?"
"For sneaking out, not anymore, but you did steal my coven saber and turned it into that," Lilith couldn't help but smirk, "So no. you're still grounded."
"Had to try," Nero sighed, but like her, he also couldn't help but smile. After a quick laugh, they continued to their destination, but Nero stopped them again, "Wait, since we're on the subject, there's something I want to ask."
"What is it, my little raven?"
"What do you know about Sparda?"
Lilith almost tripped as she turned back, "What?"
Nero sighed and explained, "During the fight, Emperor Asshole mentioned Sparda a few times and said you knew something about whoever that is. Remember when I said I snuck out to go to the library? I was trying to see what I could find on Sparda from the forbidden areas, but the whole monster fight put a lid on that. Since you know something, I was kinda hoping you could tell me about it. A couple of demons I fought before kept calling me "a Sparda", and I just want to know what my connection is to all this."
Lilith looked up and wondered if she should tell her son. For the longest time, she wanted to keep him away from any and all possibility of encountering those monsters, to protect him from them. But considering everything she'd just learned, as well as everything her son had already gone through, perhaps it was best to just let everything out. If nothing else, the odds of more demon lords showing up was inevitable, and him knowing the truth would help him if they met.
"Alright," she said as they continued their walk, "What do you wish to know?"
It had been just a few hours after he dismissed Kikimora and left the chambers holding the portal door. As Belos entered his personal chambers, he removed his damaged mask and placed it on the nearest desk, which itself held the notes he'd written over the centuries regarding Grimwalker creation. Overall, the day had been far more of a challenge than normal for the Emperor of the Boiling Isles.
Firstly, came Hunter's questioning of him regarding his decision to accelerate the timetable Lilith had to bring her son into his coven. At the end of the day, it was little more than a means to make her desperate, but his creation's sudden bout of defiance irked him, and he made it clear that the boy's punishment would come later. While he knew Hunter's betrayal was inevitable, like all the others and his template, Belos did want to keep him around for as long as possible. If Hunter showed signs of treachery, then he'd force his hand.
Secondly was his battle with the Sparda and human, throughout which he reminded himself to hold back. After all, his plans still required that they stay alive, and perhaps he could save the human child from the delusions she clearly suffered from if she thought well of those she sought to aid. But between allowing himself to undergo the indignity of taking hits from them alongside their horrendous wordplay, he struggled not to unleash all the power he'd accumulated and tear them both limb-from-limb.
And thirdly...
"Yoo hoo! Hello? Phillip!"
…was this.
"Philly! Philly Willy Billy!" the shadow of the Collector floated around the room, taking on a variety of shapes until they rested on the wall next to him, "Why the long face?"
"It's been a long day, Collector," Belos, or rather, Phillip, since he was being addressed by his true identity, answered as he walked through his chambers, the Collector's shade following him.
"Yeah, I got to see some of it," the shadows morphed into a caricature of himself doing battle, "You fighting the human and mini Sparda," before shifting into the Owl Lady's bestial form, "Them all getting away on that lady birdy's back! Ha HA!" they laughed, changing back to their more recognizable form as they floated alongside him, arms behind their head, "Not a fun day, I'm betting?"
"Not quite, but unfortunately, it was necessary for them to get away."
"Don't you need the Sparda kid to be out and about too?" the Collector asked, "So why go through all the effort to make sure he stays put?"
Phillip didn't even face the shade as he walked up to a specific wall of his chamber and pressed a few of the bricks, "The only thing that matters is he give me what I need to rebuild this," a mechanism activated, revealing a hidden compartment containing a wooden chest, enchantments in place to prevent any but him from opening it. "How I acquire that is of little importance," Phillip said, "Only that it's done and that he and the human-"
"Yeah yeah, bla bla bla," the Collector droned, "You've explained this so many times that it's boooorriiiiing! And I don't want to be bored anymore! I want to break out of this place and have some fun! How much longer till the Day of Unity again?"
"Don't worry, Collector. Soon it will pass, and you'll be free to have your fun," Phillip lied as he kneeled down and began opening the chest, "Though I still find it rather perplexing."
"What?"
"For someone trapped where they are because of Sparda, you aren't the least bit interested in watching his kin burn?"
The Collector's shade simply waved a hand dismissively, "Eh, sure the old guy was a killjoy, but I want to see if the others are any fun to play with first. If they ain't, then I'll just go all..." they turned into an apparition of a vaguely insect-like humanoid that shrunk underneath a hand, promptly being splattered, "SPLAT!"
"Yes yes," Phillip rolled his eyes as he finished undoing the locks, "But what I want comes first and foremost, understood?"
"Fiiiiine," the shade vanished from sight.
Finally, some silence, Phillip thought as he opened the chest and looked down upon it's contents; the broken pieces of a curved, demonic saber. The very same once belonging to the Dark Knight.
The Yamato.