Hunter stumbled from the throne room, having put his mask and cloak on quickly and switching to the Golden Staff. Lucky for him Kikimora wasn't eaves dropping like usual. This gave him more than enough time to get the hell out of the castle as FAST as he could. He was still hearing Belos' roars of pain and confusion as the man struggled to contain what was left of The Beast, even with the door closed. Hunter smiled to himself in slight delight...wait, was this his delight? No...yes? Maybe? Probably both.

Quickly he slammed his staff against the wall, triggering the A.H.O.D. protocol. He sneered with delight at the castle flashed with magic, alerting all of the Emperor's Coven to attackers at the front gate. Attackers that were not there, this will give him enough time to slip into the stables and free the Quetzalcoatl without being harassed. Perfect.

"I am proud of how smart you are, my child." The beast spoke up, shifting in his mind as he held his staff out and started the rapid teleports away from the throne and to the Beast Stables.

"We are not out of the woods yet." Hunter whispered back. He felt Lil' Rascal, still shaken by what happened, shivering on his neck, but nuzzling him as the three….two? Three? Whichever many made their escape. Soon Hunter was finding scrambling scouts, he was glad that with the alarm set they would know better than try to talk to him or stop him and ask what was happening. Right now they just had to worry about getting ready for the attack. But guilt shot through his heart as he saw his special task force out of the corner of his eye…

Captain Magz was giving Steve, Diyanna, Giffin, Bortaboglly, and Perci directions. It was probably suspicious that he wasn't turning to join them...but, they would be better off. Hopefully, they didn't see him pass.

In a few minutes Hunter was now in front of the beast-stable's door, opened with the animals still left inside making a fuss. With one last teleport Hunter found himself ramming against the far wall before sighing with relief. He quickly looked around, no scouts or others were here like he predicted. He reached his hand up, quickly drawing his metal coven sigil and placing it against the wall, then ordering it to release all the animals. He heard all the gates around him open, the animals making a mad dash out. Hunter smiled to himself again as he turned, the Quetzalcoatl was now sitting up, staring down at him. Her cage needed a manual override. Hunter ran over, quickly putting his sigil to the cage, about to release it before-

He knew he should have felt more pain from the fireball that just hit the side of his head, but...he didn't even flinch.

"...Kikimora." Hunter stated.

"I-I don't know WHAT you did, but I always KNEW you were going to be a TRAITOR!" She yelled, forming another spell circle and launching it. Hunter raised his hand, the fireball hitting his palm...was this the power of The Beast?

" Let's just say I am proving a point." Hunter said, finally turning to Kikimora who gasped and stepped back slightly. The fireball to his head had made the cloth inside the mask burn away, The Golden Guard's glowing magenta eyes were now staring at her. " For far too long I was a prisoner to Belos… My own Uncle who marked me with scars, abused me, forced me to be the leader I didn't even want to be!" Hunter spat.

"W-w-what?" Kikimora stepped back, looking scared, baffled, and...was she crying?

" Let this be my parting words to you and Belos, Kikimora." Hunter rose his fist. " I refuse to play a part in this anymore. I gladly accept my fate here today, a free man, then ever be bound in that cage ever again!" Hunter slammed his fist down on the coven sigil, the cage powering down then opening. Kikimora watched with horror as the Quetzalcoatl lowered its head, and made its way out. The serpent started to glow, a sign that the magic they were draining from her suddenly filled her. " I would run if I was you, Kiki...after all, if you die here too, then who will lead my uncle's precious coven?" Hunter picked the sigil up, tossing it to Kikimora's feet.

She didn't notice the sigil, her eyes were wide in panic as she watched the Quetzalcoatl, now fully out of its cage hiss. Its eyes shifted from purple, to a deep dark crimson of anger as it stared down at The Golden Guard who lowered his head. In a deep breath, the Quetzalcoatl let out a roar of fire and rage down upon the teen, smoke filling the air as the stables around caught ablaze. Kikimora turned, running then diving out of the beast stables before looking back, seeing the serpent had picked up the limp body of The Golden Guard…

Then devoured him whole.

Willow had just gotten home from school, she was sitting on the couch to relax with Eun before she headed to her room to put everything away. She had already done her homework earlier at school when her last period's teacher decided to let the class have a 'free' day to do homework and chit chat. She used her time wisely, and now didn't have to worry about doing work.

Eun and her quietly conversed about their day, Gilbert had yet to get home from his work at the Beast-Keeping coven's butchery. It appeared that the day was relaxing all around for the two of them...but something just felt so strangely off. Willow could not put her finger on why she had this feeling, but it felt like it was deep in her bones.

'This is BBN-HXN breaking news!' Perry Porter's voice broke through on the crystal, the graphic of the news channel cutting through the sit-com that was on. Willow raised her brow at the crystal ball as Gus' father appeared on screen, standing in front of the Emperor's Castle. 'I am Perry Porter reporting live in front of the Emperor's Castle where a rumored attack just took place!' Willow felt her heart sinking as she sat up, her eyes going wide at the crystal ball. Eun shifted as well, frowning as he glanced at his daughter, then back the ball.

'Details are sparse on what exactly happened. However what is known is that The Beast Stables of the castle have been completely and utterly destroyed. Early reports we are receiving are stating that there are 13 people unaccounted for, but no reported deaths.' The camera panned from Perry to the scene behind him, showing the destroyed stables. Coven scouts looked to be working on digging out the rubble.

"...H-Hunter has talked to you recently, right?" Eun asked, hesitating in his voice slightly before looking at Willow...her wide-eyed expression and paled face giving him the answer he was looking for.

"I-I…" Willow thought back to the letter. Was this what Hunter meant?

'A rumor is stating that rebellious groups were able to enter the castle and released the newest addition to the Emperor's stables, an adolescent Quetzalcoatl, who then rampaged through the stables and made its escape.' Willow felt Eun move to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

"I-I am sure he-he is fine...This is just…" Willow wanted to scream, she wanted to run to the castle, and find Hunter herself. She was so confused...was this part of his plan? Eun gasped loudly, unable to stop himself as he smacked his hand over his mouth. Willow barely registered why, until the camera zoomed in on a scout, who was shaking like mad, holding something gold in their hands. They turned, walking carefully down the rubble before hesitating.

They offered the mask of The Golden Guard out to Kikimora, who hesitated before taking it slowly. She turned, walking with a slow hesitance as the camera followed her, trying to zoom in on the well known mask in her arm, until she disappeared inside the castle, more than likely to alert Emperor Belos of what was found.

'I-It appears as though something was pulled out of the rubble. We cannot confirm or deny yet what exactly happened, but we will keep you all updated by the minute until a clear picture is revealed.'

But someone at the news station already jumped the leviathan as text appeared at the bottom of the screen.

'The Golden Guard slain in attack?'

_AN_

Dawn of the Final Day, 24 hours remaining

I will need this short and simple, since tomorrow I will have a lot to say.

This whole journey with Of Balanced Stones has gone so much further than I could even imagine. I really do owe it to you guys who gave me the will to write my first real fanfic, and watch it grow and grow.

I love you guys so much...