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A horde of animated souls rushed through the dark corridors, but there was no sign of their quarry. There were one of every demon found in Glast Heim. There were Evil Druids, Whispers, Zombies, Nightmares and the most abominable, major threat was the subordinate of Dark Lord, the Dark Illusion.

The first level of the castle was free of demons. That made it all the easier and faster for Abyss's group to wind their way into the second level where Baphomet and his minions awaited. Abyss chose not to follow them, for he had to stay out of Baphomet's sight to allow success of his plans. Of course, he had to remain out of Dark Lord's reach at the same time.

As he stood waiting patiently just inside the entrance of the great, accursed castle, he focused his mind to detect the whereabouts of his counterpart, Storm. That was the other purpose that led him to the castle; to confirm his speculations. He would not have wasted his efforts to do so, since he could easily assign one demon of his temporary army to hunt for Storm. But, none of the animated horde must waste any time, not even the task of looking for Storm. Their one and only job now was to seek out the great goat superior, and launch an assault.

The animated horde moved through the dark passageways. When a sharp turn led them to a sudden dead end with a hole large enough for one normal-built man to crawl through, they stopped. Although their sizes may not permit entry, but they made use of the fact that they were souls to enter it. They wended into the hole, and they started plummeting downwards. It was not that steep, but as they went down the speed picked up.

Out of an opening they were disgorged, and they realized that they were sent to the second level of the castle. Contrary to the first, the place was now illuminated dimly. Small torches with the flame slightly bigger than one of a candle provided insufficient light from the cracked walls. Certain places of it were charred, while the floors were cracked and uneven. There was a scent of a battle…

This might give someone a hint that an inferno had happened here not too long ago. Nevertheless, the animated horde made their way deeper in, and a distant noise could be heard. Though already quiet, they proceeded slowly towards the source. The area became damp as they went, with many sets of stone stairs around them. Unsure of which to ascend, they took a step in the dark.

They went up the nearest stone stairs they saw. The flight was short, and it led them onto a platform that was not exactly too high, but enabled them an overview over certain areas. But those areas were those that they trespassed before. Then, they caught sight of the longest flight of broken stairs leading deep downwards. So deep that they could not see where it ended.

The horde went up a ledge attached to the platform, and leaped off it, hoping to each the lower portion of the stairs from the gap in it. The Dark Illusion was at the forefront, leading the rest down the stairs so narrow that they were forced to go in a single file.

The right-hand man of Dark Lord, now a servant of Abyss, ushered the rest of the undead demons after him. And down they went, deep into the dark depths of it.

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The interrogations this time could not have been any luckier for Storm. For the past few times, he always ended up in a beaten, distraught mess. Baphomet waved his guardians aside and held the blue knight's head up by the jaws.

"You are not capable of such. Tell me, knight, who laid this out? Who!?"

Baphomet had no desire to hide his ire now. Pointing to the guardians, he made a motion. The Baphomet Juniors recognized the signal. Those miniature Baphomets brandished their tiny yet deceptive scythes, and plunged it through the back of the blue knight.

A howl rang through the dark lair he was locked in as the scythes met his hide. Yanking their weapons free, the Baphomet Juniors retreated back to where the other guardians stood watching in trepidation. At least half a dozen new wounds were created, driving Storm into a series of frenzied screams. Baphomet grabbed the knight by his mane, then the shouts were reduced to groans.

"Your death is not too far away. I don't have patience for a fourth round, knight. If I have to, I will end your misery unless you speak," the goatlike superior rasped.

"Then… then end it now!" Storm said with effort.

"Not just yet, knight. Not yet."

Baphomet motioned to the guardians. A few wraiths floated forward to where the knight lay, and began chewing and biting away at his hide. Storm roared in agony, the inhuman torture almost sending him into a delirium.

"Damn you! Damn you, Baphomet!"

Storm did not know his limits anymore. Now, it did not matter if the goat superior was agitated during the interrogations or not. He wished he was sleeping in the unconsciousness, rather than being sober. When he was out cold, at least he did not have to feel the pain wrecking his body, or being at the mercy of Baphomet.

When it seemed like Baphomet was about to knock him back into oblivion once more, a wave of power could be sensed. It was not too tremendous, but it was still remarkable. Baphomet stopped mid-way in his attack. Taking his massive scythe, he motioned for the guardians to provide him with support. The guardians, abandoning the blue knight for the moment, did as told. The wraiths, Baphomet Juniors and zombies flanked the humongous goat superior, awaiting the interlopers who were coming on them at high speed. What baffled Baphomet though, was the fact that his senses detected an enigmatic, formidable being leading a group of his own.

"You sorry insects…" Baphomet cursed under his breath, irritated at being interrupted during his punishment he was exacting on Storm. "To think this damned imbecile had the wits to tread my grounds, let alone discovering this lair!"

Baphomet was deep in thought for a while. There had never been any intruders to this lair as long as he had ruled the castle. If those outside were a party of adventurers, it was unlikely that they managed to come so far unscathed. In the history of Glast Heim, no humans had succeeded in surviving the first level, let alone the second. Moreover, humans certainly did not have such immense power pervading…

The reason could only be…

"Damn it!" Baphomet bellowed. He left the guardians to defend for themselves, and grabbed Storm by the throat. "So there was an accomplice indeed! I could only say, your saviour had chose to run into nothing but doom. When I'm done with him, your turn comes next, knight!"

There was a brief silence, then suddenly a blast of flame caught the guardians unprepared. The zombies who were lined at the forefront were unfortunately incinerated into ash, while the wraiths nearby were burned. There was a loud whistle, before a roar sounded. The encroachers shocked Baphomet himself. A band of insubstantial undead led by a Dark Illusion emerged into the lair, striking the first few guardians that were most immediate to them.

"Impossible…" Baphomet murmured.

The Dark Illusion was the explanation to the goat superior's doubts. The purplish skeletal mage pummelled a handful of Baphomet Juniors high up by jutting up a plot of earth, sending those tiny figures slamming against what appeared to be the ceiling, before plummeting many feet to their death. Zombie prisoners under the Dark Illusion swung their flails against their adversaries, cracking a skull or two with the crushing blow. Nightmares rammed squarely into Baphomet's zombies, trampling on the tiny Juniors at the same time. Many guardians fell at the onslaught.

"How dare he betray me…" Baphomet mumbled again. "So you had desires to own the full Intelligence, Dark Lord!"

When the last of the guardians fell, Baphomet picked up his scythe, but he did not use it just yet. The goat superior could not be wrong; the Dark Lord was behind this attack to seek the other half of the Trait, and there was nothing associated with Storm's escape. Firstly, Storm could never escape Glast Heim as long as he lived, for he was cursed to be bound within the confines of the castle. And in the second place, the presence of Dark Illusion confirmed the mastermind. Only Dark Lord himself could summon his very own Dark Illusions; that made no one responsible for this except for him.

"You'll regret your decision, Dark Lord!" Baphomet roared.

Waving his palm to encompass the animated horde, Baphomet summoned jets of fire soaring up from the fissures that were forming. The intruders began to falter, some even died. Except for the Dark Illusion, who floated calmly without trepidation. Baphomet's opponent went through the fire storm effortlessly, and the two giants confronted each other.

"You want a piece of me, huh," Baphomet taunted.

Dark Illusion wasted no time. Muttering in a demonic tongue, a blast of wind knocked Baphomet back, but the superior resistance nullified the attack almost completely. Roaring in rage, Baphomet raised a wall of fire to bar disturbance from the other minions. He needed to concentrate in this duel with Dark Illusion.

"Don't be distracted," Dark Illusion's cold and lifeless voice echoed. Following that, a stream of fire caught Baphomet in the face.

The goat superior roared again as he stumbled backwards, his hands covering his recently burned face. Taking opportunity of Baphomet's defenceless form, Dark Illusion quickly sent several strong blasts of wind in rapid succession. Baphomet, who was not paying attention, was swept off his hooves and crashed into a mossy wall. The blow caused a dent and streaks of cracks along it, while a torch near it distinguished.

The lair was made even dimmer. Storm could not, and did not assimilate what was happening. He was glad that he would not have to undergo another torture upon the disturbance by the Dark Illusion. But he knew that their purpose here was not to save him. As far as he had heard, they had planned to steal Baphomet's Trait or something.

Baphomet fell, and lay unmoving on the ground. Although the Dark Illusion felt a sense of satisfaction, his expression remained one of someone without a soul. He floated to the goat superior –and the end of a scythe impaled through his cape, then right through his thigh. Dark Illusion howled in agony, but it was too late to realize that Baphomet had feigned unconsciousness.

"Fool, do you think you can take down the great one just by a snap of a finger?" Baphomet rasped with a toothy grin.

Extracting the massive scythe from the disabled right leg of Dark Illusion, he lifted a hoof to kick the skeletal mage squarely in the chest. But it was not enough. The goat superior went to pick Dark Illusion up to a standing position, and followed up with a powerful bash that sent the bony mage flying back to the far end of the lair. A thunderous crash indicated another damaging of a portion of the wall.

Baphomet put out the fiery wall. The other minions advanced, only to be reduced to ash when the superior raised thick jets of flame from the fissures. With the disturbance now cleared, he could focus entirely on the Dark Illusion. Grasping his scythe in anticipation, Baphomet walked over to where Dark Illusion struggled to stand up.

"Behold, knight! Your fate will be no different from this!" Baphomet shouted to Storm, who was writhing over the ground, rattling the chains.

Baphomet made a circling motion with his hand. Then, an ethereal binding wrapped itself around Dark Illusion's form tightly, restraining movement from the skeletal mage. Not even casting of spells, apparently, Baphomet had silenced him with a spell. Roaring in triumph, the superior raised the scythe with two hands overhead, preparing to slam the massive war-blade down to disintegrate the Dark Illusion.

"Halt, Baphomet!" a voice akin to the Dark Illusion rang out clear. "You have been fooled. This is purely a misunderstanding."

The grand, undisputed lord himself, Dark Lord, came down into the lair. He past a scornful glance at Storm, then at Baphomet.

"This Dark Illusion you battle, is nothing more than a puppet."

"There is no room for further pretence, mage!" Baphomet howled furiously. "You are the sole superior capable of raising such insects! If you desire my half, then fight for it."

And so it came, the two greatest superiors of all stared off each other without any likes of each other. Storm stared at them with his only good eye, for the other was horribly injured. Though he hardly understood all these that were happening too quickly, he knew the two were growing hostile towards each other. And most likely an epic battle between these two significant figures was going to ensue. It did not matter to him who would emerge victorious. Either way, he was going to die.

"I am unlike those foolish ones who hope to amplify their powers through Trait stealing. I exercise and boost my own abilities; this half of the Intelligence Trait does not matter!" Dark Lord tried his best to explain to the obstinate Baphomet.

"Lies! A pack of lies, Dark Lord. These creatures originated from your graveyard and it is clear that they act under your command! Enough talk, Dark Lord, for it is time for your destruction," Baphomet replied with hatred.

"You are being the fool here, Baphomet," Dark Lord attempted a reverse psychology to stop Baphomet's advance. "Haven't you heard of the manifesting of the Four? This knight here is one of them, and my purpose here only serves to hunt the Abyss Knight out."

When the Baphomet gave him time to continue, Dark Lord pointed to the Dark Illusion tied up in the corner.

"If my guess is right the Abyss Knight had slain the Dark Illusion I sent to eliminate him. Somehow, that foul knight had means to raise the dead Illusion to do to his bidding. Apparently, the other demons following this Dark Illusion were revived by similar means in my graveyard."

"A good tale, mage, unfortunately the time spent convincing me could have allowed just enough time for me to slay you. Certainly, I do not mind another additional half to my Intelligence."

Baphomet readied his scythe and thrust it towards the skeletal mage immediately. Dark Lord merely floated off to his side, then smacked the massive pole off.

"I do not have wishes to fight you, Baphomet. However it seems my magic is the only option to tame your insanity."

Enraged by the comment, Baphomet swung his scythe at the lord of the graveyard horizontally. Dark Lord ducked as the pole sailed over his skull, but a hoof somehow scored a hit on his chin. Dark Lord floated backwards. He had no plans to be on the offensive, hoping that the Baphomet would understand the ploy in due time. For now, he would just remain uninjured by dodging those deadly swings.

"Why aren't you fighting, Dark Lord? Where are your magic?" Baphomet mocked as he went at him once more.

Dark Lord grabbed the shaft with perfect agility and hurled it aside.

"Like I said, I have no wishes to fight you. In the meantime I shall leave it to Time to enlighten you."

Baphomet gave another toothy grin to mock at the undead lord. Disregarding his statement, the goat superior extended a fist to bash the lord in between the eyes. It came too quick, and so Dark Lord was forced to put his magic to use for the first time of the night. He created a blast of wind that countered the inertia of the fist.

"Witness this, Baphomet," Dark Lord pointed to where Storm lay.

Baphomet shook his head slowly.

"You are still using the oldest trick in the book, Dark Lord. I –"

"Look!" Dark Lord repeated again in a louder volume out of frustration.

Baphomet took a quick peek to the spot where Storm lay. Strangely enough for him, Dark Lord's speech started to make sense to him. A knight clad in black overalls had worked the thick chains off Storm's wrecked body. Realizing that he had been seen, the ebony knight opened a portal. The black knight dragged the limp Stormy Knight to the portal just as Baphomet made a quick move behind the black knight.

"You, of all, dare oppose the great one!?" Baphomet roared with fervour.

The Abyss Knight gashed the Baphomet's arm with his black sword. Applying more effort on the pull, the two knights were almost into the portal…

Abyss entered the portal first, then Storm's hand went in. Baphomet dove for Storm's leg and tugged with all his might, hoping to overwhelm the strength of both Abyss and the suction of the portal. Then, a stream of fire seared Baphomet's wrist. The goat superior roared again, turning back to see Dark Lord floating over him.

"Traitor! I shall slay you after these two are dealt with!"

Baphomet waved his free hand. Several jets of fire shot into the portal, and he heard faint cries within it. Abyss had been attacked, but the grip only tightened.

"Leave them, Baphomet!"

Dark Lord finally broke apart Baphomet's deathlike grip on Storm's ankle with a stronger stream of fire.

"Before you slay me, at least do me the favour of watching this," Dark Lord indicated towards the portal.

He knew his speech would have no effect on the fuming goat superior, so he hoped that the portal would close sooner as possible. Abyss had dragged the blue knight into the portal, but what astounded the black knight was that the portal failed to close up behind them. This anomaly almost had Baphomet leaping off into the portal, but Dark Lord held him back just in time.

The blue portal sizzled and wavered violently. Lightning flashed across the portal, a thunderous boom sounded occasionally. It looked as if the portal experienced difficulties transporting its intended. The lair started trembling slightly as four pillars of electricity cornered the portal. Baphomet had totally forgotten about his intension of slaying Dark Lord, the superior watching in awe. Dark Lord, too, floated very still as he bore witness to such a phenomenon.

A deafening explosion concluded the madness, but not without rocking the foundation of the castle. The portal had closed, the electricity had vanished and Abyss was gone too. The lair was plunged back to the usual darkness, unlike the bright flare earlier. Speaking a word, Baphomet had a nearby torch lighting up. Though dim, he could still see the results. On the floor lay a blue knight known to them as Knight of Windstorm.

Dark Lord gave Baphomet a glare that looked like it meant "see what I mean". Snorting, the goat superior took Storm by the jaws.

"Nobody can save you, knight. The curse will not be broken upon my command. But the curse will be useless now…"

Baphomet cackled in triumph. Bending down to retrieve his scythe, he granted Storm's wish willingly.