Within the Demon realm of Purgatory, a monstrous creature with fox-like features was battling it out with another twisted monster. After a few powerful blows, it finally vanquished it, but then noticed the burning tree branch in a laver pit and began having flashbacks.
It began seeing an image of a goblet with water spilling out of it in the middle of a tall tree in a vast forest.
'A single drop on your tongue adds 10 years to your life, and a good swallow gives you a hundred more. Drink it all, and you'll live forever,' said a voice.
'I'm here guarding the spring,' said a female voice and then the creature suddenly grassed its head in pain. 'Protecting it from bandits like you. I'm finished trying to make you humans understand. You came here for the fountain of youth, but why do you seek it out in the first place? How do I wish it had been me that I was the one you came to steal instead of the fountain of youth. I was happy than I have ever been.'
"Shanna!" the creature cried.
It then began to transform until standing there completely naked with a long black beard and long hair was Snotlout.
"What was I doing all this time?" he said, shaken. "That was a close call; any longer, and I would have completely transformed into a beast man. I wonder how many years it's been, now how many centuries it's been since I got here."
It was easy to forget that the time in Purgatory ran a lot fast in the human world, he could have been here for decades, and minutes would only have passed back home. He would have been dead a long time, and then the fact that he was immortal.
"Hiccup!" he cried. "Where are you? You had a better answer, may?!"
Meanwhile, Estarossa had stolen Ruby away, and chasing after him were Fishlegs, Sariel, Tarmiel and Dereri.
Fishlegs looked back at Dereri. "Thank you for coming to save Lady Ruby."
"It isn't my only objective," she said. "That bastard Estarossa, I'll never forgive him."
"And speaking of him, where the heck could you possibly be heading to anyway?" Sariel pondered.
"Who cares? It doesn't matter where he is going," said Tarmiel. "Everyone put an end to this Holy War, then we've got to destroy Mael's enemy."
"I don't know why Estarossa snatched Lady Ruby, but right now, he's far too mighty and also unstable," said Fishlegs. "Enough talk; let's go!"
They then began to pick up the pace, but they were unaware that following directly behind them was Astrid riding on top of Toothless.
"We finally managed to catch up," said Toothless.
"I appreciate you helping me, Toothless," said Astrid.
"I'm glad to help, but I would still like to know why you want to chase after Fishlegs and the others," said Toothless. "As important as it is to rescue Ruby, surely it's just as important to lead the Royal Knights into battle against the demons."
"It is, but I have my own duty to fulfil no matter what the cost."
Ragnar's group was still penetrating the dark force field that covered Xeovell and Ludociel took this time to examine her companions more thoroughly.
'The way that Meliodas would expand the field of darkness and confined himself into it and how I possess the ability to penetrate it, he must have foreseen all of it,' she said, looking at Ragnar. 'You had better protect the Commandments properly, or less there we'll be stolen away from you, son of Belialuin.'
Her eyes then turned towards Eret. 'And then there is the man who possesses my dear brother's Grace… Eret. He is extremely loyal to Hiccup, but his powers were no doubt prove an asset when it comes to fighting the high-ranking demons.'
Finally, she turned towards Alvin and Gilthunder. 'As for the last two, Alvin and Gilthunder. They may lack battle potential, but they make up for it in loyalty. Both of them are willing and ready to risk their lives to protect me and my vessel. Alvin's devotion to me is particularly strong; he could serve more than just my shield. I can use him as a vessel as well.'
Meanwhile, standing in front of a giant cocoon were, Zeldris, Chandler, and Cusack are waiting for Meliodas' transformation to be complete.
"Brilliant as always, young master Meliodas," said Chandler.
Cusack nearly huffed and folded his arms.
"Once he absorbs the remaining Commandments, Meliodas will finally become the new Demon King," said Zeldris. 'And when that time comes, you had better fulfil that promise we made no matter what.'
Fishlegs and his group finally caught up with Estarossa, who apparently had taken Ruby to a floating island.
"Would you look at that?" said Tarmiel. "The ruins of a celestial theatre."
"Over there!" Fishlegs pointed.
"What's going on?" Dereri stared.
In the theatre, they could see Estarossa had ensnared Ruby with his dark tentacles and was looking down at her unconscious body. His eyes were completely black, and everything below his shoulders was encased in darkness which formed some sort of monstrous creature.
"Lady Ruby," he said as he covered her with his tendrils.
He then looked up and saw Fishlegs and the others floating directly above him.
"The Commandments, it looks like they went berserk and distorted his form," said Dereri.
"Stay away from her!" he snarled. "Ruby is mine!"
"Give Lady Ruby back to us!" Fishlegs demanded. "True Spirit SpearChastiefol! Form Five: Increase!"
Chastiefol transformed into daggers made of light, and Fishlegs sent them flying towards Estarossa. At the same time, both Sariel and Tarmiel and the least powerful burst of wind and water.
Ragnar and his group had finally managed to penetrate the force field surrounding Xeovell. Once they were inside the corrupted dark cavern, Ludociel released his shield spell. Naturally, the first thing they noticed was the giant cocoon in the centre of the chamber.
"What is this gigantic cocoon?" said Gilthunder.
"See if I we kept them waiting," said Ludociel.
They could see approaching them were Zeldris, Chandler and Cusack.
Chandler laughed. "I didn't think we would ever get our turn, but it would seem as if I was wrong."
"It was always going to turn out like this," Cusack smiled.
Then suddenly, both he and Chandler began to change into demonic forms with batlike wings.
"Who are they?" Gilthunder asked.
"Those two are known as the oldest of the demons, Chandler and Cusack," Ragnar answered. "Both possess a tremendous ability to act as mentors to Meliodas and Zeldris. They always stay put in the Demon Realms, but they never stood centre stage in the Holy War. They are shrouded in mystery."
"Now let's show them that these old-timers still know how to rage," said Cusack.
"Tremendous magical power," Alvin observed.
"Just being near the mix, we feel dizzy," said Gilthunder.
Undeterred, Ludociel, Ragnar and Eret began to approach the three Demons, and all six of them squared each other off.
"The leader of the Four Archangels, the Son of Belialuin and Eret, the one that defeated my brother," said Zeldris looking at the three of them. I let you get into Meliodas' way."
"We've never met face-to-face before," said Ludociel. "This is our first real meeting."
"And last. I'll make sure it."
"I've never sensed this kind of power in one place," said Gilthunder. "It's completely off the charts."
"No doubt about it; right now, you and I are looking at the six strongest warriors on the planet," said Alvin.
Eret then immediately swung his great sword creating a large crevice right in front of the three demons. However, they had not been his target; in fact, he had been targeting the cocoon, which had received even a single scratch.
"You satisfied?" Zeldris asked, looking undeterred.
"It looks to be completely unscathed by my blow," Eret observed.
"Bastard!" Chandler roared, looking outraged. "I'll destroy anyone who tries to cause harm to the young master."
Ragnar then immediately began performing hand signs. "I'm afraid that you can't. Double Impact!"
He then immediately blasted the three of them with a powerful blast of magic. However, when the dust settled, the three of them weren't caved in the slightest.
"Are you really the same clever brand that managed to fool the Demon King and Supreme Deity?" Cusack scoffed.
"To be honest with you, I'm disappointed," said Chandler.
'These monsters possess even greater power than that of the Ten Commandments,' said Ragnar as both Chandler and Cusack jumped at him. 'Cusack and Chandler, two of the most powerful Demon power levels of 168 and 173,000.'
Before either Chandler or Cusack could land a hit on Ragnar, Eret jumped into their path and blocked their attacks with his sword. However, their combined powers were enough to push him back.
"Ragnar!" Eret yelled as the two demons attacked Ragnar once again.
Ragnar merely snapped his fingers, and there was a huge explosion right in front of the two demons, but it had enough force to send them back.
Ragnar then looked back at the two demons. 'While it is true they both possess outrageous power, what is most crucial is how we handle this battle so that we obtain the key to restore Meliodas. That's the priority; it's not about the numbers.'
"What the hell was that?" said Chandler.
"I'm not familiar with that technique," said Cusack.
"We decided to form this alliance for a reason, you know," said Ludociel's voice behind them.
They quickly spun around in time to see her swinging her rapier, sending them flying, and they crashed into the wall.
"I see, Naping Reaper," Chandler growled. "So then that was Ludociel's notorious Flash, huh?"
"That wasn't very nice," said Cusack. "We're a couple of old geezers; it takes time for our bodies to warm up. Isn't that right, Pacifier Fiend?"
'It's not about the numbers, but still, the leader of the Four Archangels, Ludociel, has a power level of 201,000,' said Ragnar. 'The power he possesses makes him indispensable in the field of darkness.'
Ludociel then began to approach Zeldris. "Hello, Zeldris. I hear your swordsmanship is swiftest in the Demon Realm."
The moment that Zeldris reached for his sword Ludociel swung her rapier. However, both moved incredibly fast that no one could see the blades, only the sparks that came from them clashing. When both of them finally stopped, Ludociel received a single scratch across her cheek, and Zeldris received a scratch across the street as well as a scratch across his right arm.
"Master Zeldris!" Cusack cried.
"That was heartless," said Ludociel looking at Zeldris. "Damaging a woman's face without any remorse. It seems as if your clever neglected to teach you how to treat a lady."
"Damnit, how dare he hurt Sapphire's body!" Gilthunder roared.
"Regardless of that, he wouldn't do something as heinous as possessing a woman's body," said Zeldris.
Cusack then raised his hand and fired a blast of dark magic, and Alvin quickly rushed in. He then quickly tackled Ludociel just before the attack hit.
"Look out!" he yelled.
"Just who do you think you are?" Cusack growled furiously.
Ludociel looked at Alvin, who had injured his leg and gave him a scolding look. "You really think you saved me just now? I saw through his attack from the start. What a hopeless fool."
She then began to heal his wound. "While I do appreciate your readiness to protect me, stop interfering."
Zeldris then took this opportunity to attack her from behind, but she quickly spun around and raised her rapier. Moments later, there was a blinding flash of light as it consumed Zeldris.
"Burn and ride by the power of my Grace! Flash!" she yelled.
Snotlout was still navigating his way from Purgatory, trying to find Hiccup's emotions, and was now currently calling his way up a mountain. He could see a number of demonic creatures flying overhead, then saw them being eaten by a giant flying monster.
Snotlout then coughed out of a bit of blood. "Damnit, Hiccup."
He then continued to walk forwards, feeling very weak; Ragnar had warned him that Purgatory would eat away at his soul, and that appeared to be true.
"You've got to be careful; it will freeze you, burn you and rot you inside out," Snotlout groaned. "The agony of Purgatory will slowly devour your soul. Eventually, when you reach the end of this despair, you will become a monster and wonder this place for all eternity."
The weather soon changed from a volcanic landscape to arctic wind, but then it changed once again back to its original volcanic self.
He hardly slept and ate for who knows how long and eventually collapsed, but he picked himself up and kept on moving.
"Listen here, Snotlout, quick your whining and carry on. Do whatever it takes to find Hiccup's emotions. Everyone is waiting for you to return. Though it probably would help if I knew what exactly I was looking for. I mean, what do emotions even look like?"
Then suddenly, a giant wormlike creature grabbed him and swallowed him whole, but Snotlout dealt a few powerful blows while in its stomach, killing it instantly. He then immediately walked out of its mouth, covered in what he did not know and kept on walking.
"Come on, let's get ourselves out of this shit hole already. I think we both had enough by now."
Then suddenly, the ground beneath him began to crumble and began to fall.
"Well, should have thought."
He then began screaming as he fell into a deep canyon, hitting the wall as he fell. He finally reached the bottom after hitting the wall about five times.
"That really hurt, damnit!" he roared furiously, punching the ground. "Hiccup, where could you possibly be? Will you hurry up and answer me already!"
Then suddenly, he saw, jumping down into the canyon was a demonic creature with a dragon-like appearance.
"What's that?" he stared.
The creature then landed directly on top of him, and Snotlout used all his willpower not to transform into his demise form again.
"Not yet, I'm not giving up yet!" he roared and began pushing the creature off of him.
He then quickly jumped to avoid getting crushed under its heel once again and then kicked the creature back as it tried to bite him.
"Thanks for helping me cure my boredom!" Snotluot yelled as he dealt a few powerful punches while it was off balance.
The creature then opened its mouth and shocked fire at point-blank range. The blow was enough to send him crashing back into the wall, burning away his beard and long hair.
Snotlout merely chuckled. "If you want to play that bad, I'll kill some time with you. Give me everything you got, monster!"
He then attacked the monster dealing it a barrage of punches and kicks, and it retaliated by breathing fire. However, this merely made Snotlout more determined, and he attacked the creature for strength, and soon the two began trading blows with one another.
They kept on fighting like this for who knows how as Snotlout barely noticed the change of the seasons. Eventually, the two of them finally got tired and stopped fighting after several decades; he only knew it had been a long time to the fact that his beard had regrown and his hair was now touching the ground.
"Seriously, you're just getting on my nerves now," Snotlout moaned. "How many decades do you think it's been like this? I'm in the middle of searching for a friend at the moment, but right now, I'm completely exhausted."
He then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
When he woke his eyes, he found something rather perplexing; the monster he had been battling was now snuggling up around him.
"What's the deal with you? Are you seriously attached to me now?" He groaned as he leaned back on its tail. "Come on, Hiccup. Hurry up, and let's go home already! Everyone is working their asses off over there. Besides, I want to see her again. I miss my precious lady."
He then closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.
'Yeah, me too,' said Hiccup's voice.
Snotlout's eyes suddenly shot wide open. "Was that just—and where did that dragon bastard go?" He then looked down and saw sleeping next to him was a naked Hiccup. "So, it was you all along."
He continued to look down at Hiccup until he began to open his eyes.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Snotlout asked.
"Snotlout?" Hiccup stared. "Is it really you?"
"The one and only."
The two of them embraced one another, hugging one another type like brothers.