It didn't take long for the pair to arrive at their destination. Even with the few cultists awaiting them inside, the pair only left a trail of corpses in their wake as they marched toward their goal of rescuing their missing master. However, even as they arrived the sight that they were seeing was one that they had not anticipated. Floating in the air high above some sort of altar was a giant crystal devoid of all light. The absence of its brilliance and radiance making it look more eerie than majestic. However, it was the altar that inspired feelings of pure anger in the Exceed and his companion. Seemingly unconscious, the silver haired elf was chained to the altar, the sight of her bandaged ears, the tears that still lingered on her cheeks and the scars on her small body caused the Exceed to glare in pure rage at the cultists gathered in front of them.

"HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO HER!" Nyancelot called out while Sebastian balled up his fists attempting to control his own anger. The leader of the cultists, the elderly man at the altar scoffed at his words. "Do what? We merely prepared our vessel for the goddess her ascension."

A vessel? Did they think of Lily as nothing more but a tool?! "Lily..." he muttered under his breath. To which the father merely crooked his nose in disgust. "HER NAME IS LILY!" The Exceed roared in anger, dashing toward the altar but already several cultists ran forward to intercept him!

Yet to Nyancelot who had been overwhelmed by his rage they might as well had just been bags of meat. His sword skillfully swept through the air at each cultist, striking each of them down with a single well-timed slash but even then it seemed like the fight was still far from over.

One of the guards of the cultists their leader stepped forward, letting out a soft groan as several tendrils erupted from the back of his robe. The Exceed was barely fast enough to parry them and be forced backwards. However, when a second guard attempted to join the fray a bolt of obsidian flames consumed his body, making the man cry out in agony as he rolled onto the ground to attempt to extinguish the flames.

Sebastian glared at the cultists, one step after the other being made as his hand was engulfed in a similar black flame that had hit the cultist just now.

WC: 400
Total WC: 400/1250

Nyancelot couldn't help but groan in annoyance as his sword was deflected by the tendrils of the Ghoul in front of him. If he had been in his true form he could have had easily dealt with these cultists but being reduced to the small form of an Exceed made it far more difficult for him to engage a foe like that. Fortunately, Sebastian was making short work of his opponents without even needing to display his true strength! It was almost depressing. It was then a voice called out in his thoughts.

"It's alright..." The voice made Nyancelot's ears twitch lightly. "M-Master?" He could scarcely believe it. To think he was hearing her voice again, not that of his dear Lily, but of his dearest master Esperia. "You have kept your word~ I give you permission to show your true identity to the world."

The Exceed nodded his head firmly. "As you command master." The cultists looked in confusion as the Exceed hopped a few steps backwards and stabbed his sword into the ground. "Hah! giving up already?!" one of the cultists called out smugly but Nyancelot merely smirked. "No, I just thought since my master gave me permission, it is high time I drop the little knight act."

A chilling cold started to settle in the Inner Sanctum, to the point the cold vapors were accompanied by a fog-like mist that settled in the room. The Exceed's form soon disappeared into the darkness as a giant creature emerged from among the fog.


The sight of the creature clearly unsettled the cultists. "What the hell is that thing?!" one of them called out, while their leader glared in anger at the figure. "That is no Exceed... That is the creature from legend, The Beast Of The End responsible for slaying Gaia's physical form all these years ago... KILL IT!"

As the cultists charged toward the shadow the moment they entered the mist their bodies became encased in ice as the large creature stepped forward, its voice much more gruff and masculine than before. "I do love it when people do the introductions for me. But please.... Just call me 'Puck'."

And with these words the creature raised a claw, bringing it down onto the ghoul in front of him! Even with their unnatural resilience, the fiend could do little to stop the claw from crushing his body. But that was not enough to appeal to Puck. No, his rage was so strong currently that he pulled the tendrils on the Ghoul's back, literally ripping them out of their body one by one. The sickening screams of the ghoul did little to stop him from this torturous act. Till the last one was pulled, which made Puck crush the cultist underneath his paw.

"I genuinely hope you don't expect to get away with anything less than a horrifying torturous death. You should have expected as much when you targeted my master."

WC: 500
Total WC: 900/1250

Between being incinerated by the magical obsidian flames of the demonic butler, or being frozen to death by the Beast of the End the cultists had no idea which end was more horrible. Not that they had much of a choice. It was clear that the moment these two arrived in the Inner Sanctum their fates had been sealed. Even as the last of the cultists charged at the two alongside the champions of the cult, it was less of a charge and more of a suicidal run.

The ones that approached Sebastian were either immolated by the black flames that incinerated every part of their being till nothing but ashes remained. And these who did happen to get past the flames were easily overwhelmed by the martial prowess of the elderly man.

No, there was clearly no escape that way. Meanwhile these that tried to charge at the Beast of the End and didn't succumb to the chill of the mist were either crushed by the massive claws of the beast or literally devoured in his jaws. This had become a living nightmare to the cultists.

After a few moments of futile resistance all that remained were lifeless corpses, maimed limbs and the one surviving cultist: Their leader.

The man snarled almost like a beast at the two. "You fools! These efforts of yours are all for nothing! The ritual is already reaching completion, and soon our goddess will descend upon these lands and bring her wrath upon you two!"

The crystal floating overhead suddenly started to glow brightly, causing the man to laugh like a lunatic. "HAHAHAHA! FINALLY! FINALLY YOU HAVE RETURNED GAIA!"

The crystal suddenly pulsed violently as a familiar voice called out to them. "Sorry to disappoint you, but your goddess is in another crystal~ The only one here is a lewdling~"

The words caused the cultist to look in bewilderment at the giant crystal while Puck felt the tears gathering in his eyes. "Master! I knew you would survive!" while Sebastian couldn't help but find his lips curving up lightly in amusement. "I'm sure both Alisa and Asmodeus will be delighted to hear their favorite lewdling went and highjacked the vessel of a goddess."

WC: 350
Total WC: 1250/1250