Tap... Tap... Tap... the lone sound of footsteps resounded on the pavement of the grand plaza outside the castle. In the distance she could feel the overwhelming surges of mana resonating from within the depths of the castle, no doubt a consequence of the clash between Darkfang and the Champions of Earthland.

"Not nervous in the slightest about the fact you send your Champion there? I also heard a shadowy bird whisper you became quite fond of one of these Earthlanders facing Darkfang. I wonder how she would feel if she knew you are using their distraction for your own little ambitions."

Yet hearing the response of her companion and the icy glare she send her way the Voidling shrugged her shoulders in amusement. "Forget that I asked~ Anyway, it's down here."

Entering into the hidden catacomb the duo soon found themselves briefly surrounded by darkness, shrouding their sight from whatever path awaited them. "Let me quickly do something about this~" Y'shaari mused as she raised a finger into the air and whispered in an unfamiliar language, one which soon caused a collection of glowing butterflies to illuminate the corridor. Seeing her companion march past her with narry a word the Voidling mused with a smirk: "Not even a 'thank you'?" Yet the brusk way her companion shrugged her off made Y'shaari hum softly. "Truly a tyrant."

Slowly they made their way deeper into the catacombs, yet as the butterflies continued to illuminate their surroundings she overheard her companion mutter something. "It is quite odd, the kobolds shouldn't have come here, yet there are signs of something having disturbed this place recently."

Following her companion's trail the two of them soon arrived at a large spacious doorway which oddly enough had been left open! "It seems our mystery is getting even more mysterious."

As Y'shaari and her companion stepped inside the room the Voidling approached the ancient altar at the back at the catacombs and seemingly noticed something was amiss. "Shit! It's missing!"

The woman's words earned only a slight tilt of her companion's head, clearly bewildered at the situation. "The Holy Grail! The Caelish relic was supposed to be hidden here! Don't tell me these FUCKING GOOD FOR NOTHING KOBOLDS TOOK IT!"

Yet as she shouted in anger the pair heard a light clatter at the back of the room. Instantly both of them turned toward the source of the sound, which soon revealed itself with a hesitant: "Brone?" Emerging from her hiding place was a small dwarf, clutching a majestic-looking chalice in her hands.

"Guess not~" Y'shaari chimed softly." The woman crouched down at the same height as the dwarf and hummed softly. "Did you get lost deary? It's alright, just come over here and we'll take you to safety."

There was no way she would allow this dwarf to escape with the relic her master had been looking for! All this scheming and planning, even lending all that information and aid to her companion had all been part of the plan her master had set into motion!

As the void rift closed behind her Ryuko couldn't help but feel a mixture of things all at once. Despite her expression not showing it, she was genuinely worried about the state of the events unfolding in the castle up ahead. Although she was confident Drakkon could handle Darkfang, she still felt bad about not going there to help Lumikki. Even if she did promise that she would specifically be aiding the avian demoness in her war in Iceberg, it still felt unpleasant not to intervene when she knew her 'sister' was in danger.

Perhaps it was because of these thoughts that when Y'shaari asked her that question that she replied with a harsh: "I'm not here to play your bantering partner Y'shaari we're here to collect the relic." This accompanied by her icy glare silenced the Voidling, but not before she retorted verbally. God damned she truly hated this woman.

Soon they were entering into the depths of the underground catacombs beneath the castle, her steps firm and confident yet she had to admit the darkness was proving to be an issue in navigating. Of course, Y'shaari decided to give yet another showcase of the peculiar abilities she had at her disposal, earning a soft grumble from Ryuko who marched past her toward their destination.

This relic... It was supposed to grant her the power to unite Pergrande, but a part of her expected there to be some sort of catch to it all. Power rarely, if ever came for free, but that was fine. She had already made sacrifices to get this far. Soon they arrived at a spacious doorway leading deeper into the catacombs inner chamber, the sanctuary where the ancient altar stood, but it was empty? Was this a trick? Hearing Y'shaari mention that the relic was missing and soon explained its origins Ryuko started to place the pieces together. The Holy grail.... She had of course read about it before, primarily due to her interest in the mortal realm and its legends:

A powerful relic that was supposed to fulfill the wish of its owner. Yet how was never described in detail. Yet the answer to the mystery soon revealed itself in the form of a little dwarf that emerged from her hiding place, holding into her arms the majestic grail they had been looking for.

"So that is the Holy Grail?" A soft whisper escaped her lips, even from here she could sense the overwhelming magical energy that flowed from the chalice. But why had she never sensed it while she was in the void? Why did none of the Champions of Earthland sense it? Was it because of the sanctuary? Either way, she needed to act quickly.

One step, two steps, approaching the dwarf she could feel Y'shaari's eyes gaze onto her back as she addressed the dwarf. "If you wish to leave this place alive, then hand me that chalice. Only then will I promise your safety."

The dwarf tensed at her cold voice, clutching the chalice close in her hands. "B-but nothing is stopping you from killing me after I hand it over..." The Dragon Knight nodded her head firmly. "Indeed, yet let me ask a question in return: Are you my enemy?"

The lass shook her head lightly. "Then, will you attempt to defy me?" The lass paused for a moment, looking at the cold eyes of the woman whose eyes reminded her of a dragon. Indeed, despite their coldness, she sensed no hostility in her, and so when the dwarf shook her head again, this time more erratically, Ryuko replied firmly: "Then I have no reason to kill you."

Y'shaari watched with anticipation, curious to see what the dwarf would do. However, it seemed the Dragon Knight had succeeded in convincing the lass to surrender the Holy Grail. She watched the lass take a step toward Ryuko, raising both arms as she carefully handed over the chalice, as if she was worried about angering the woman. Yet it was the moment she had handed over the chalice to Ryuko that the dwarven lass had ceased being useful to the duo.

The woman raised a hand in the same moment, channeling mana into her hand from which a long obsidian tendril lunged straight toward the dwarf. The barbed end of the tendril pierced straight through the torso of the lass, sending her body backwards into the wall. Panic settled in the eyes of the young lady, yet it only lasted for a moment as her body collapsed onto the ground, the tendril withdrawing back to Y'shaari's side. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep Tyrant~"

The woman smiled wickedly at Ryuko, ignoring the glare the woman shot her way. "The lass would had been a liability, anyway: hand me the Chalice so we can be on our way." She extended a hand toward Ryuko, beckoning her to hand over the Holy Grail.

However, it was after a moment that the revelation of Ryuko's true intention revealed itself. "Hah, you wish to use its power? Might not be the wisest of ideas, the grail is quite potent and might destabilize this realm if you use it incorrectly." Yet hearing what her companion had intended Y'Shaari's eyes narrowed. "So you plan to turn against my master, after all we been doing for you? Ungrateful wretch!"

The woman glared in anger, yet when she attempted to step forward to forcefully claim the Holy Grail the words spoken by Ryuko seemed to trigger something. To think she would use the power of the Holy Grail right now, right here! The winds started to churn, and even as a Voidling she could feel the sheer Voidal Corruption surging from the grail. "Ha! you thought you could cross us?" It had been her plan all along: to lure and corrupt Ryuko by the usage of the Holy Grail, but it seemed something else was happening. Ryuko was not being corrupted in the typical sense, perhaps due to the nature of her wish, or was it her resilience as a Dragon? Ryuko did show to retain her original identity even after she had been initially corrupted in the void. But this... was different. Y'shaari had seen many people become corrupted by the void before. Even Champions from distant worlds were not immune to the corruption of the void, and yet the sight before her suggested that this was not a voidal corruption going on. The ceiling of the catacombs started to crackle under the sheer force of magic being expelled from the holy grail...

"May the void take you..." the woman groaned in frustration, a hand waving into the air as she disappeared into the rift she conjured.

It was fortunate the dwarf had been willing to hand over the Holy Grail. Despite what others might have hoped she was not a fan of needless violence, and she wanted to avoid needing to kill a total stranger. However, as she took the Holy Grail into her hands a sudden barbed tendril rushed beside her and impaled the dwarf! For the briefest of moments, her expression showed surprise, concern even. "There was no need to kill her!" Ryuko yelled out in anger as she turned toward Y'Shaari. "I made a promise to her!" Yet to think Y'shaari had forced her to break her promise to the dwarf merely because she 'was a liability angered Ryuko."

She turned her gaze downwards at the chalice in her hands. "Since you made me break my promise to her, you won't mind if I break another promise, right?" She held the chalice firmly in her hands. She took a deep breath and declared firmly: "HEAR MY WISH GRAIL!" As she shouted the grail started to pulse violently with mana as it seemed to start stirring with energy. "GIVE ME POWER! POWER TO DEFY ALL! POWER TO USURP THE VOID!" As Ryuko yelled out she could feel the grail tremble, slowly but certainly starting to crack in various spots.

A pained feeling surged through her being, intensifying as she couldn't suppress a cry of pain. Her vision grew dark, and void energy started to seep out of the chalice. As Ryuko rapidly found the energy, it started to solidify, like a cocoon wrapping around her. She could hear Y'shaari taunt her, yet Ryuko grit her teeth. "I bend the knee to neither god OR your master!" another surge of agonizing pain happened as she felt something tearing at her from within, as if her very being was being altered by the power of the void. In hindsight it might had been a silly wish. Perhaps she should have wished for immortality, but in the end she wanted power: Power to decide her own destiny, to oppose all who would try to put a leash onto her. She would not end up like her father, a slave to another's will...

Another surge of magic expelled from the chalice as she felt her being twist and distort to take on the nature of her wish, and yet by the time the energy started to fade away her former appearance seemed gone. Although she had retained her humanoid shape, it was clearly twisted by something. There was a certain presence of the void in her very being.

"Who... are you?" the weakened voice of the dwarf came from nearby, causing the woman to turn toward her. "I am..." she paused, closing her eyes for a moment. "Veles... Goddess of the Corrupted Dragonflight."

Hearing these words made the dwarf look toward the holy grail. "Please... keep the grail out of their hands... If someone wicked like her obtains it... Earthland won't be safe..."

Veles gazed down at the grail, a light nod of affirmation following as she waved one of her tendrils, causing the grail to become surrounded by a small vortex that caused it to disappear. "Rest... I will make sure none shall make me break this promise... to keep your final request."

The dwarf smiled weakly as she watched the woman start to turn her gaze toward the entrance, a step following as she disappeared into a portal of churning magic. "Brone... I'm sorry..." The dwarf whispered weakly, tears rolling down her eyes. "Seems that in the end I won't be able... to join you on that adventure---"