A large cave. A few bones here and there. Not to mention the enormous claw marks on the stone walls.

This had to be the place.

It seems that no mere man would DARE to enter this place. Thankfully, HE has no such weaknesses.

Wargon only grinned smugly as he stepped inside, sword in hand. He'd need no shield nor armor. After withstanding the flames of the lower levels in Nether, Dragon fire was nothing to him.

He wasted no time with stealth, allowing bones to be crunched under his feet. The sounds echoed through the massive cave. Until finally, the demon found his prey.

The slumbering mass awoke, a glowing orange eye glaring at him. The massive red dragon soon rose, towering above the intruder like a house, and sniffed the air. And then, it growled.

"Who…ARE you…?" It bellowed. "You are…different. Where…do you hail?"

"From a world far beyond your own." Wargon said, without even a hint of fear in his voice. "I simply request something of you. I either take your fire…OR your head."

"Hmmmm….where IS it?" The dragon asked. "I do not smell even the SLIGHTEST amount of fear in you. Unlike the others of this land. Do you know what stands before you?"

"A dragon. What else? But where is the wizard that keeps you as a pet? Where is the princess or the pile of gold that you are said to guard with your life? Where is the hunger to feast upon mortals?"

"I NEED NO TRIBUTES!"

The roar bellowed through the stone halls, yet Wargon was not phased.

"Prisoners and fortune are of very little use to me. WHY would the great Smolder the Sinister request such feeble trinkets?"

"I have heard tales of your kind countless times. It must've been humiliating, slain by a mortal with a puny stick."

"Then why do you seem like such NOW?"

"I believe you're mistaken." Wargon said. "I am no mere mortal human. I am Wargon, a Makai Warrior from Nether, and the Deadly Sin of Wrath!"

Smolder only sniffed the demon. And his teeth were bared.

"I can sense your air. It is…demonic. EVIL. Hellish. You are NOT welcome here…"

"The same has been said about MY kind by humans for just as long as it was said about yours. We're no different, you and I. Beings of fire, seen as a menace, and nothing but powerful monsters. But…in SOME stories…your kind are heroes. While mine remain simply chaos incarnate. It's almost an insult."

"And why is that?"

"Because I came here to SAVE a life."

"By throwing yours away? How foolish." Smolder laughed. "It matters not if your flames burn hotter than mine, demon. All that matters is how you will TASTE. And I will take pleasure in ripping the very flesh from your bones…"

"Fine, then. I wanted to do things the hard way myself…"

Smolder roared and stomped forth, trying to crush the demon under a claw. Wargon only flipped out of the way and gave it a hard punch in retaliation. That made the dragon roar and, as molten lines moved up the scales on the neck, he retaliated with fire breath. But he stopped suddenly, seeing how Wargon easily laughed it off.

"I have been burned by a fiercer fire than yours before…"

He charged with a yell, slashing out with his sword. Smolder growled in pain as the blade actually managed to hurt him, where no other could even come close. The dragon lunged out to close his jaws around the demon, but they were effortlessly held back.

"And I learned a similar trick in hellish training!"

Wargon let out a roar of rage as he shot out fire from his mouth into Smolder's, making the dragon reel back in pain as the hellfire scorched his tongue.

"It seems like you're only fireproof on the OUTSIDE, beast." Wargon chuckled. "And before this is over…I'm going to ride you like a pony…"

"WRETCHED ONE! I AM NO UNICORN!"

Smolder swung down his tail, but Wargon managed to catch it and swing the massive beast into the cavern walls! Once the dragon was stunned, the demon of Wrath punched him across the face. This bewildered the beast. How WAS it that he was being so easily bested by someone when no one else could come CLOSE to such a thing?!

The clash between the angered beings continued. Another hellfire breath was blocked by a massive wing, and once he learned that even HIS blade couldn't pierce the scales on the dragon's neck, Wargon simply tossed it aside. He would wrestle the beast to the ground if he had to.

He was the Deadly Sin of Wrath, after all. His rage was nothing compared to that of a dragon's. And it mattered not how long a dragon could live. He could survive for thousands of years.

Wargon continued putting up one hell of a fight, spilling both blood from himself and his foe in the process. Eventually, he managed to wear the dragon down, at which point he readied his blade and pointed it to the beast's face.

"Now, you will relinquish your fire," He threatened. "Or I will flay you alive."

Smolder only chuckled. "None have faced me with such ferocity in ages. Only my fellow kin could match me. You fight like them, in a smaller form. Consider me…impressed."

"So I've won your favor."

"While no Fire Dragon like myself can be robbed of their flame, I shall grant you enough. What do you seek my fire for?"

"A cure. Monster's Bane. The heir to my lord is being robbed of her humanity, soul, and free will. Right now others gather it as we speak. I'm simply doing my part."

"So…no wonder you have come here. A serious matter indeed. Be grateful that this was not because of a Thread of Death."

Smolder then unleashed another breath of fire, this time concentrated into a magical orb on the ground before him.

"This much of it should do. Wizards and sorcerers would pay high prices just to obtain it. For it has the power to evaporate entire oceans, and melt even mountains."

"The cure is of higher importance. The heir may be, in the end, our only hope against a great evil. One that seeks to bring the world into eternal darkness."

Smolder paused. "I have heard stories of such an event. How the Dark Lord Dracula, King of the Vampires and God of Monsters, seeks to bring forth this age of chaos and shadow. Is it happening now, as we speak?"

"Indeed. Others are sent to collect the Moonstones he needs before he can."

"The sun is nearly setting in this land. Should the Eternal Night come to pass…NO world will be safe from the claws of the monsters."

It was Wargon's turn to be confused. "You mean to say that the Eternal Night will allow the monsters to conquer ALL worlds?"

"Within this universe. Their power will be permanent under the blood moon. Once the human world is overrun by the creatures of the night, the others will follow. Including yours…and mine."

Even the flat land with heroes? The planets beyond this one? The digital landscape? And…would even the Makai be powerless to stop it?

Wargon clenched a fist. In another time, in another life, his home had been conquered by living shadows and darkness. Such a tragedy could NEVER happen again.

"Then I have ANOTHER reason to ensure that the cure is made, and the stones secured." Wargon stated. "The mad mastermind orchestrating all of this seeks to corrupt this universe, and if it succeeds, there will be no multiverse, let alone no universe, that will not be drowned in chaos. Everything that has ever been, ever is, and ever will be in creation is in danger. We fight back now, so that no other world needs to."

"Interesting. Such tales have never reached me. Perhaps, in time, I shall discover more of these…other worlds." Smolder says. "You have until midnight to stop the darkness. If I am in need of aid, I will be waiting for your return."

"I pray that we will not need it."

THAT would be for a last resort. Wargon collected the magical orb of dragon fire and set off with it. The sorcerers should be priming portals back to the Keep by now.

Well, if not, at least he still had that map.

Hold fast, Lucille. Wargon thought. We are making as much haste as we possibly can…