Episode:
7: The Seal of Arybailos
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Stuck in a place he can't possibly escape, against an opponent he can't possibly defeat, Adam desperately tries to stay alive.

All four core rules of combat echoed in Adam's mind. He recalled Glossaryck stating each and every one of them. The Mewman knew to allow Calysto to attack him first, so that he could gauge the abilities of the knight. Underestimating him would be a foolish, amateur mistake. So would not being prepared for almost any eventuality.

Calysto didn't look that strong, compared to a wielder of magic, but Arybailos named him his greatest soldier. That title wouldn't come without some level of prestige, so it would be stupid to assume this fight would be easy. Not to mention, the Demon King was evidently well aware of Butterfly magic. The fact he still declared the Underworld knight that title, despite being aware of Adam's potential power, was very telling of the threat Calysto posed.

Despite Adam's desire to avoid underestimating Calysto, he also was wary not to overestimate him. As the paladin began charging towards him, Adam was reminded that Calysto was, most likely, still just a knight with predictable tactics. He could account for that, at least.

Plus, it was a good time to use some of those new Battle Magic spells he had made.

'Crystal Trap Attack!' He yelled out, pointing his hand directly at Calysto. [16]

The ground split open beneath Calysto's feet as he sped towards Adam. Numerous pink crystal spikes shot out from underneath the cracks. They were sharp but weren't able to piece his lower armour. Instead, the crystals formed around his legs, slowly running up to the rest of his body, stopping Calysto in his tracks and trapping him in place.

Calysto grunted as he desperately tried to move.

'Serpents of Cunning,' the Mewman cast, leaving no room for hesitation. His star-mark glowed bright yellow in recognition of the spell.

Four slippery snakes slid out of his hand, all of them seeping out steadily onto the ground. Once they left his hand entirely, they raced towards the knight. They hissed and snapped their teeth at Calysto.

Meanwhile Calysto was straining his legs and arms against the strong crystals. As the snakes began to approach him, the knight pressed harder. Adam's arms widened as the crystals – which were the strongest he could create – began to crack.

It only took a mere second before the crystals shattered and the Underworld Knight was free from his trap.

A snake pounced at him, but Calysto merely grabbed his head and slammed it on the ground. He took his sword and sliced the head off, before spinning around and swiftly decapitating the other three in two sword strikes.

'Is that all you have?' The knight finally spoke. 'Simple parlour tricks?'

'I have much more than that!' Adam persisted, apoplectic at himself for the failed attempt.

Calysto left no room for argument. He swept in with a fast sword swipe. Adam dodged the blow, but the knight swung the blade back around at the last minute, scraping his waist.

Adam cried out in pain and stumbled forward, hastily blocking another attack with a forcefield. Calysto pressed his sword against the energy shield, facing the Mewman.

'Your magic is useless,' the knight warned him, glaring at him from behind his mask. Adam frowned.

'What do you –?'

'Arybailos has commanded me to end you,' Calysto interrupted. 'I will not fail him.'

'I'm not giving up!' Adam yelled, before pointing his hand at the ground. 'Obscurus!' Almost instantaneously, their immediate surroundings were enveloped in smoke. 'Pressure Compression!'

Slowly, tiny pockets of air – smoke included – began to bunch up into small spheres. They began to compress themselves smaller, as though invisible hands were pressing them together. Steadily, the air pressure increased as the spheres pressed closer and closer together.

Until finally, they exploded. They were like multiple mini explosions of harsh wind, sending the magical smoke billowing out further. Owed to its magic properties, the diffusion of the smoke didn't cause it to fade; in fact, it just meant the smoke spread even further.

Adam opened a portal out from under it and exited it at the other end of the arena.

He leaned against the stone wall and looked down at his waist. Part of his shirt had been ripped by the sword, revealing the cut underneath. Blood oozed from the thin gash, and he could feel a light, ambient soreness in reaction to the hot air. There wasn't anything he could do about it so for now he was going to have to bear it.

There was a sudden blast of wind that snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see that the smoke was blown away until there was no evidence it had even existed.

Adam found himself confused. The Smoke Bomb Spell could not be dissipated by conventional means, only by magic. The knight wasn't using any magic he could detect, so…how did he manage that?

Calysto stood on the other end of the arena, impassive and unaffected. Adam could have sworn he hadn't even moved from his position.

Adam forced himself off the wall to face off with Calysto. The knight made another charge towards him. The Mewman responded in kind, running towards him as well.

Shield Block Lock! He cast in his head.

Several globes of light spun around him, glowing as they began to take shape. They formed eight shiny metal shields, orbiting him like moons around a planet. Adam raised his hands and threw them at the paladin, causing two of the shields he had created to be propelled at Calysto, a projectile speeding towards him. Calysto held up his shield.

The two shields clashed with him, causing him to slow down slightly. A high-pitched sound reverberated through his ears as they hit him.

'Hraaah!' cried Calysto, swinging his sword down at him. Adam moved his six remaining shields to block his attack. His blade pressed down hard on him, much harder than he could have expected. The so-called Knight of the Underworld was far stronger than Adam had given him credit for.

The Mewman reacted, kicking Calysto away with all his might. Before the paladin could recover, he was hit with the remainder of the magic shields Adam had summoned. They clanged against his obsidian armour with extreme force, almost knocking him over.

'Crimson Comet Inferno!' The warlock cried, pointing his hands at his opponent.

Numerous balls of searing yellow fire appeared in the air around him. They formed a huge wall of magical fire in front of Adam. One by one, they fired at Calysto. They sped towards him at breakneck speed, their bright yellow light in contrast to the dark red ashy floor of the arena.

Adam expected a loud boom when they hit Calysto. At the very least, he thought his armour would be scuffed.

Instead, Calysto merely stood still, only shifting his shield slightly. The fireballs collided with him and his armour simply absorbed it, their energy causing the armour to glow before fading away. The Underworld Knight was barely fazed by his spell, still and unmoving after the spell hit.

Worried, Adam altered his stance and began rotating his arms, spinning into a fighting position. He called this spell "Skulls of Damnation". A series of glowing orange fiery skulls formed in the air around him. In one swift motion, he punched the air before him and caused the skulls to immediately shoot towards his opponent.

Once they reached the knight, they combusted in a fiery explosion. He could feel the heat on his face despite the distance between him and Calysto. Unfortunately, his opponent was left completely unscratched.

Calysto ominously began pacing towards him.

'Tornado Torpedo!' Adam shrieked desperately.

A whirlwind of air blasted from his hands, shooting towards his ferocious enemy. Unfortunately, when the missile collided with Calysto, his armour once again absorbed the blast. He didn't even move, simply continuing to walk menacingly towards him.

'Solarian Blast!'

Nothing. His armour merely consumed that blast, eating it up without any effort.

'Brutum Fulmen!'

This one proved just as fruitless as the last. The knight easily soaked up the bolt of lightning.

'Spectral Aim!'

This time, the spell did hit Calysto. The arrows struck his armour all at once, but the paladin seemed completely unaffected. He removed the arrows that impaired his movement and continued on as though nothing had happened.

Adam had to think of something, and fast. He didn't know what was going on, or how Calysto was doing this, but he couldn't afford to stand still.

'Ropes of Binding!'

Adam aimed the ropes at the Knight's feet. All four of the strong ropes wrapped around his leg, trapping him together to freeze him in the place.

Calysto was not impressed. One swing of his sword later and the ropes were sliced through completely. The ropes fell limp at his feet before glowing orange and disintegrated into pure magic. Completely useless again.

The Ropes were designed against this kind of thing. They couldn't be sliced through by conventional means, though enough force could overcome them and pull them apart. Yet, despite how he had intended it, his opponent had easily sliced through them like a hot knife through butter.

Adam couldn't even cast another spell before Calysto sped up to him and slashed his sword down at him. The Mewman narrowly dodged it before strike came down at him. The warlock had to then avoid a series of attacks from the knight, each one attaining near superhuman speed.

He was able to block one of Calysto's strikes, holding it back with all the strength he could muster.

'How are you doing this?!' Adam demanded, referring to his absorption of his spells. Echoes of laughter vibrated through the Underworld Knight's helmet.

'Idiot,' he chastised.

Adam heard the sound of something whipping through the air before he felt the full force of Calysto's metal shin-guard colliding with his stomach. A violent wave of nausea reverberated throughout his whole body, forcing him to keel over in pain. He fell to the ground and spat out some blood.

Another kick smashed into his neck, knocking him back over onto his back. He could barely focus as Calysto thrust down his sword onto him. Adam held out a hand and narrowly, desperately, formed a portal in front of him.

Calysto drove his hand through the portal, unable to prevent the force of his weight. The Mewman managed to catch the paladin's foot and push him through the portal. Calysto fell through, landing on the ground with a thud several feet away.

Adam groaned in pain and rolled on his side. He saw Calysto slowly standing up, only temporarily fazed by the incident. The Mewman forced himself up to stare down the Knight of the Underworld.

As the warlock held up his hand, ready to cast another spell, the entire crowd laughed. He hadn't noticed how they were reacting before, but the Mewman was now almost certain that they had been mocking him every time he'd cast a spell at his opponent.

'Fool!' Arybailos mocked, his voice echoing throughout the entire arena. 'Haven't you figured it out yet? Calysto's armour is impervious to magic-based attacks! All your energy-projecting attacks are merely absorbed by this armour!'

'What?!' Adam yelled in shock, glancing between Arybailos and Calysto. 'Why didn't you tell me this?!'

'Who said this fight would be fair?' The demon ridiculed with a toothy grin.

'As if I would reveal such a…beneficial…advantage,' Calysto added. 'I would rather Arybailos not have told you – and let you wear yourself out with spells – but it seems the Demon King was getting bored with your constant, futile attempts.'

Adam coughed up blood. He guessed that wasn't good, but right now, he didn't care.

So…no magic, he thought, as he wiped the blood away from his mouth. Crystal Trap Attack seemed to work for a little while, though. Maybe he can't absorb spells that don't directly hit him with some kind of energy.

Adam had created a number of spells designed to immobilise his opponent. It was great if he wanted to subdue or quickly kill them, or torture them, or keep them still until they could be imprisoned and interrogated. There was also the fact these spells could be used with high versatility, possibly altered in a few ways for different situations.

Even so, they were offensive spells meant to be auxiliaries for others. He couldn't possibly win by constantly trapping his opponent until he inevitably escapes.

Magic had been his only weapon for years. Glossaryck rarely educated him in many situations where he couldn't use magic. Or any, for that matter. Fortunately, Adam was skilled in sword-fighting – he was self-taught over the years, though at first he did practice with Beru.

Except he only used his swordsmanship when using the Light Sword Spell. A spell he couldn't use because Calysto was impervious to magic!

Adam had to get hold of a sword. The only one he could see was Calysto's. Brilliant – he had to disarm a trained knight.

'Just give up!' Calysto ordered him, sprinting towards him. Adam's eyes narrowed.

'Barrier Force!'

Calysto snorted.

'When will you learn, kid? Magic doesn't work on m–'

The Underworld Knight was cut off when a large transparent red cube forcefield formed around him. The forcefield looked like crystals, formed out of bright crimson rubies. The cube was soundproof, silencing him completely to the outside world. Calysto threw his sword down at the bottom barrier, but the forcefield simply absorbed the blow.

Adam raised one of his hands, his palm flat and pointing upwards. His other hand carried a mystical air, a kind of controlling gesture that magicians do. As his hand rose, the barrier cube floated directly upwards into the air. Calysto's legs rumbled against the force of the movement.

Next, the warlock pushed his hand forward, causing the box to go flying backwards. It smashed against the arena world, eliciting dissatisfied cries from the crowd. His knees wobbled slightly. The forcefields containing Calysto showed no sign of damage, as Adam drew back his hand and caused the box to fly through the air back towards him.

Calysto had fallen over, but he still had his sword in his hand. Spinning his hand over, Adam caused the barrier cube to spin around at breakneck speeds, making several complete turns.

Finally, the strong force and angular momentum ripped the sword from Calysto's hand. Once the Mewman spotted this, he willed the sword to phase through the forcefield.

The sword clattered to the floor. Adam wouldn't even give it time to settle before he formed a portal below it. It fell through and came out a portal directly above the warlock.

Reaching up, Adam caught the sword and held it tightly. Just like that, he had disarmed his opponent.

Unfortunately, the Mewman had very little time to celebrate, because he heard what sounded like glass shattering. He looked towards Calysto to discover that his opponent had overcome the forcefields' shock absorption qualities. He freed himself from the cage by continuously punching it. No doubt his armour had made the job easier.

'Clever,' Calysto praised, nodding to his sword, which now rested in Adam's hand. Even though it was a compliment, he still managed to make it sound like an insult.

Arybailos's champion glanced at Arybailos and back at Adam. A small pillar of fire formed in his hand. It burned bright for a few seconds before whisking away to reveal a new, identical sword in his hand. Adam's eyes narrowed at his demonic opponent.

'I figured we could level the playing field a bit,' the warlock taunted, grinning at him cheekily. He let out a guttural yell and charged at the paladin.

The knight quickly blocked his first strike and countered immediately. As Adam had expected, Calysto was fast and powerful in his strikes. The Mewman had hoped he could predict the knight's movements, based on the way Mewman Knights fought. Except the humanoid champion utilised hardly any of those tactics, and if he did, they were so fast that he barely had time to respond to them before the next one was thrown.

The two engaged in a ferocious blade battle. They exchanged a flurry of blows, though Adam knew Calysto was clearly faster than him.

The Underworld Knight aimed at his leg. The Mewman quickly blocked it and used all his strength to upturn the sword and pinning it against the ground on the other side. Adam put all his might into his shoulder, pushing him back and grabbing his wrist and pulling it forward.

It was an attempt to takedown Calysto, subduing him on to the floor. Calysto figured this out already, cushioning the blow with his shield and pushing Adam back.

The Mewman stumbled back, scarcely dodging the series of attacks from his opponent immediately afterwards. Adam instinctively formed a purple forcefield in front of him and pushed it back, forcing some distance between himself and Calysto.

'Melting Point!' The Mewman cast, pointing at the ground in front of him.

Bubbles began to form in the rocky ground. The ground heated up and liquefied beneath Calysto's feet. Slowly, the Knight of the Underworld began to sink through the molten floor, latching to his legs and steadily up to his torso like quicksand. Calysto wrestled against the adhesive force of the molten ground, but he was helplessly stuck. Once the knight was in place, the ground began to solidify, forcing him in place.

'Arybailos said your armour absorbs energy-based magic,' the Mewman explained, as the knight struggled to escape. 'But not all spells project energy. That's a trap spell right there.'

'You can't beat me in a straight fight, so you resort to…dirtier tactics,' Calysto sneered. Adam merely smirked at him mischievously.

'Who said this fight would be fair?'

Personally, the warlock thought his remark was hilarious. However, Calysto didn't take too kindly to his cheek.

Adam wasn't in the mood for patience. He swung down his sword at the knight's neck, hoping to at least damage the hardly scuffed armour. The Underworld Knight yelled as he ripped his unarmed hand out of the melted ground.

There was a loud clang as Calysto's gauntlet collided with Adam's stolen sword, blocking it in his path. Granted, the metal was dented and damaged from the force of the blow, but the paladin caught it nonetheless.

Adam's eyes widened in shock, as he hastily yanked back the sword. In that time, Calysto was able to tear out a leg and force himself out of the molten trap.

The Mewman was not willing to simply allow his enemy to escape. He smashed the end of his sword into Calysto's leg with enough force to cause his leg to collapse onto the ground. The lack of balance caused the demonic paladin to lean over, providing Adam with the perfect angle.

'Absorb this!' The warlock disparaged, violently swinging his sword vertically upwards at his enemy's neck.

The blade slashed into his helmet, catching it in a small groove. The metal piece of armour slid up in tandem with the sword, unmasking his opponent. As a result, the helmet propelled into the air, flying far across the arena.

With his helmet off, Adam finally got a good look at his face.

He was a grey-skinned humanoid with a square chin and rugged features. His eyeballs were completely crimson, burning a hellish hue. His hair was deep midnight black, cropped short. He had a circle beard and stubble in place of a moustache. His ears were pointed and elongated, like an elf's. Along his face was now a bloody injury, running up from the base of his jawline and up his cheek. The Underworld Knight glared at him for giving him that new scar.

'You'll pay for that one, kid!' Calysto threatened angrily. The knight groaned loudly in pain as he pulled out the rest of his body. Steadily, his armed hand rose, cracking the solidified rock and effectively drawing the sword from the stone.

Calysto's sword threw down at him at near impossible speeds. Adam stumbled to block it, their blades locking with a loud clang.

The battle continued from there. They exchanged multiple, fierce blows. Adam mainly focussed his aim on Calysto's neck and head, for this was the only part exposed and unprotected. Unfortunately, it seemed the paladin had spotted this and was quickly able to anticipate the Mewman's attacks and counter them appropriately.

Adam was acutely aware that he was being pushed backwards towards the wall of the arena. He attempted to put his own pressure on Calysto, counteracting his attacks, but the Underworld Knight was too damned fast. He resorted to going mostly on the offensive.

While Calysto was largely unharmed, the Mewman merely received more, bloody injuries. He felt the bruises forming and blows connecting with force. Adam could barely keep up with the paladin, having to keep a distance between him and Calysto just to recover.

Unfortunately, his enemy refused to give him much space. Adam redoubled his efforts to keep up, several times having to use forcefields to block the many, perilous sword strikes.

Using trapping spells was impossible now that Calysto was constantly in close proximity. The knight was not happy that he'd knocked off his helmet. There was an advantage to that – not all of his attacks were calculated and coordinated. Many of them were sloppily aggressive, therefore much easier to counter.

However, as Adam was being pushed back towards the arena wall, he found himself getting too tired. An opening in his technique – which was already failing – became more apparent to Calysto. He continually left part of his stomach unprotected, and the Underworld Knight spotted this.

It was easy to take advantage.

The world came to a screeching halt as Adam felt the full force of metal armour smashing into his stomach. The wind instantly escaped his lungs as waves of sharp pain reverberated throughout his entire body. His sword clattered to the floor. The Mewman fell to the ground, resisting the urge to vomit onto the ash. He couldn't escape it, as the floodgates opened.

A suffocating, pulsing pain waved through his back as he felt cold metal sliding through his body. Calysto's sword drove its way through his back and out his chest.

Vomit was replaced by blood.

Dark crimson blood rose up through his throat, escaping like an endless waterfall. It pooled on the ground below Adam, seeping into the ground and staining the ash a dark red. It almost felt surreal, like the whole world was draining away from him.

'You lose,' Calysto declared confidently.

Adam fell onto his side, still vomiting blood. It was warm and rough against the inner walls of his throat, but much better than suffocating on his own blood. His very insides were rejecting him; his muscles were burning and his lungs felt rough and weak.

No… he thought. I…can't give…up. I…refuse!

Summoning all the might he could, Adam forced himself up off the ground. He let out all manner of groans and cries of pain, along with a series of expletives. His limbs trembled as he steadily rose to his feet.

'Why do you still bother?' Calysto wondered, throwing a punch to his face.

Adam screamed in pain as the metal smashed into his face and instantly sapped him of the strength he had built up.

The Knight of the Underworld groaned as the warlock reached his hands out to grab some leverage on the ground. As he did, he once again began pushing himself up again.

A small puddle of blood had formed where he lay, drenching his clothes crimson red.

'Why do you persist?!' The champion cried out in frustration, stepping his heavy foot down on Adam's back. Despite the excessive force, Adam still resisted and pushed against the weight.

'I…will not…lose!' He wheezed, hardly able to hold back against his opponent's weight.

'You have already lost!'

Adam disagreed. Managing to form a portal under him, he landed on the ground several feet away with a harsh thud. It closed before Calysto could jump through, but he didn't care all too much.

The paladin approached the teenager with demonic fury. Despite all that Calysto had done, Adam continued to attempt to rise up off the ground. His third attempt was but a diminishing return, but nevertheless, the warlock tried. Seeing his victory as inevitable, Calysto allowed Adam the time to get back on his feet, slowly but surely.

The Mewman's state was almost laughable. He was covered in cuts and bruises, his clothes – which were hardly that protective anyway – were ripped, dirty, damp and torn. A huge dark spot spread out from his lower chest where Calysto had stabbed him through the back. His face was red and blotchy, a bruise slowly forming from where the knight had punched him. His eyes were reddened, bloodshot and dirty, while his hair was caked in sweat, grime and ash.

'You can't win!' Calysto warned him, the frustration in his voice steadily rising. 'What's the point in trying? You've been fatally wounded!'

'You think…I'm just gonna…give up?' Adam breathed out, his voice sounding faint and weak. 'Not…happening.'

'Pathetic,' the knight sneered, grabbing him by the neck and smashing his head against the arena wall. The warlock fell back down again, lying face up on the floor. Calysto stared down at him.

'I…will not…stop…fighting.'

Arybailos's ultimate champion snorted at him. He grabbed his sword with both hands, pointing the sword directly downwards.

'You are only Mewman,' he insulted, before plunging his sword down towards Adam.

Except the blade stopped before Calysto had expected. He stared down questioningly, his eyes searching for interrogation.

Adam caught the tip of the blade with his bare hands. It was only his Mewman resilience that prevented the sword from simply driving straight through his hands. The desperate teenager let out numerous guttural screams of agony as the blade pressed against his palms and drew more blood.

Even with such intense pain, he resisted against all of Calysto's weight down the sword. He heaved and wheezed desperately against him.

His hands were slowly sliced across, a tingling pain emitting from the point of contact. His adrenaline negated most of the pain he should be feeling. All of might was concentrated on stopping the sword in its tracks.

Adam felt his consciousness slowly slipping away.

As the darkness began to engulf his vision, the Mewman fought the intensifying temptation to let go and return to Beru, Janna and his parents.

'Die already!' The knight commanded, pushing his sword through his hands. Quickly, Adam began to lose his grip on the sharp metal blade. 'You should have just given Arybailos your soul. You can survive that at least – vegetated, but alive. Now you're gonna d–'

'STOP!'

Calysto froze for a second before turning to look at his master. The Demon King had his arm outstretched at the Underworld Knight.

'Retract your sword, Calysto,' Arybailos ordered him calmly, his eyes zeroing in on the champion.

'What?!' The paladin gawked. 'But I've won!'

'DO AS I COMMAND!' The infernal deity boomed at him.

Reluctantly, Calysto ripped the sword from his hands and threw it away. Adam howled in agony, his hands falling limp to the ground. He felt himself rapidly losing his grip on life, when he was saved. A coffin of fire burned around him, overwriting his entire vision in a bright orange light.

Inexplicably, he was now standing on his feet. One of his hands went to his chest, only to find there was no trace of the fatal injury Calysto had given him. Suddenly, he felt much spryer, as though all his energy had been restored to him. All his other injuries, bruises and lacerations remained, and his entire body was still burning, but at least he wasn't going to die.

'I have not seen such sheer determination before,' Arybailos claimed. 'Of all who have fought Calysto, none have ever beaten him. Few would even try. Yet you, despite sustaining a fatal injury, continued to pick yourself back up and keep fighting.'

'But…I still lost,' the Mewman pointed out in defeat.

'Nonetheless, you refused to concede,' the Demon King persisted. 'In the past trillion years, few mortals have ever been able to impress me. Consider yourself one of those individuals, Adam Butterfly.'

Adam opted not to complain about, once again, being referred to as a Butterfly. Annoying Arybailos with his contrariness probably wasn't the wisest thing to do.

'My King, what are you saying?' Calysto enquired, frowning at his demonic master. Arybailos simply ignored him.

'Such an impressive mortal should not be underappreciated,' he decided. 'I have made up my mind. I will alter the terms of your contract. Not only will I allow you to keep your soul, I will allow you to continue to use this "Seal of Arybailos" to borrow a fraction of my power. It will still, however, drain your soul.'

Adam breathed an immense sigh of relief. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. For all intents and purposes, the Mewman had lost the fight. Then again, Arybailos never specified the terms of victory, and could decide them for himself at any given moment. Calysto heavily implied the single criterion was to kill the other, but nobody ever confirmed this.

'Thank you, Arybailos,' he rasped, hunching over in pain.

'Know this, boy,' the Demon King addressed seriously. 'I grant you permission to use this spell. Only you. For others to cast this spell would be to form a separate magical contract from yours. Others who use this spell will be required to hand me their soul as specified in the arrangement. Is that absolutely clear?'

'Understood,' Adam agreed. Reluctantly nodding in agreement, Arybailos leaned back in his throne in acquiescence.

'It appears we are done here.'

'It would seem so,' Calysto agreed begrudgingly. He turned to face Adam, angrily prodding him in the chest. 'Let's make this very clear: you got lucky, kid. You might have impressed Arybailos but you haven't impressed me!'

'You bore me, Calysto,' the Demon King commented blearily, waving a disinterested hand towards him. A pillar of fire surrounded Calysto, burning crimson, before whisking away to reveal the Underworld Knight was now gone. 'You may return home now, Adam Butterfly.'

Once again, a bright orange wall of fire surrounded him, cutting him off from his surroundings.

Not long after Adam returned to Mewni, he was sent to the medical bay for recovery. Despite Arybailos healing his fatal injury, the other lacerations he had sustained were left untouched. Moon was able to heal him up with her Restoration magic, though of course she couldn't heal the bruises and worn out muscles. Those things were physiological.

Star was pleased to know he had succeeded. Initially, Adam considered not telling her he had been granted permission for full use of the Seal of Arybailos. However, given she'd already learnt about it, there wasn't much point in lying about it. The princess had already conceded that he was going to use it whether she liked it or not.

Adam made a pointed warning to her about the spell. Star could never use the spell, not under any circumstances.

First use of the seal instantaneously formed a magically binding covenant between the user and Arybailos. Nobody could use it besides Adam because of that. It was fortunate he had not yet taught the spell to Eclipsa – there would have been no end of problems if he had.

Currently, Adam was lying in his medical bed. It was the same he had been confined to last time, and he was starting to treat it like a second home. He looked about the room, finding himself alone.

Adam groaned slightly as he slid out of bed. A jet of pain shot through him as he placed a foot on the ground. It took a little while before he could adapt, but the Mewman nonetheless chose to plant himself back on the top of the mattress. Absentmindedly, he picked at the bandages around his arm. He thought them superfluous, given most of the lesions had been healed by Moon, but the physician insisted upon them anyway. Honestly, the warlock lacked the energy at the time to care, so he chose to listen instead.

Some of his bandages were stained with blood. It wasn't a heavy amount of blood, more or less a few cuts here and there. He wanted to take them off as soon as possible, but Adam knew he should allow himself the break and simply relax.

He had just gone through a near-death experience.

'Penny for your thoughts?' A voice asked from the end of the hall. Adam looked up to see who it was. Eclipsa Butterfly stood at the entrance to the medical wing, leaning casually on the doorway.

The Mewman nodded and got up off the bed. He groaned in pain. As he did so, Eclipsa held a hand up to halt him. Adam fell back on the bed as the Queen of Darkness walked towards him.

'They're probably worth more than a penny,' he quipped, straightening himself on the medical bed.

'I heard about what happened,' Eclipsa commented, planting herself on the bed next to him. 'With Arybailos.'

'If you're going to say what I did was stupid, save it. I've already heard enough of that from Queen Moon.'

'Well, actually I was going to say you did the right thing.'

Adam perked up at that. He frowned at her.

'I didn't even know the Seal would form a contract,' she pointed out. 'You couldn't have known – and when you did, you did everything you could to solve the situation. It looks like it went well.' She giggled to herself as another thought came to mind. 'It's a good thing I didn't try to cast the spell yet.'

Adam smiled slightly.

'Yeah. I guess.'

'It's a powerful spell,' Eclipsa praised with a smile. 'I've never seen a spell like it before. Consider that a crowning achievement, my dear.'

The Mewman allowed himself to smile a shade more brightly.

'It seems today went quite well,' she added happily.

'It doesn't really feel like it,' Adam confessed, shrugging. 'It's definitely taken its toll.'

'I understand. Fighting Calysto must have been tough.'

The Mewman's eyes widened as he stared up at her in surprise.

'How did you know about Calysto?' The warlock enquired in confusion.

'I suspected Arybailos would pit you against his favourite champion,' she claimed, pursing her lips. 'There are many tales surrounding Calysto.'

'Who is he?' Adam asked.

'It's mostly a mystery,' Eclipsa told him, looking down in contemplation. 'What is known is that, in his first life, he was the greatest warrior in his dimension, serving a wise and noble king. He is thought to be the greatest soldier in the multiverse. The legends vary. Some say he went mad, some say he plotted against his king, others say he messed with magic he didn't understand. Whatever the case may be, they all agree that he ended up in the grasp of Arybailos.'

'How?' The puzzled warlock queried.

'Well, in the book, The Calysto Chronicles, Calysto was executed after betraying his evil king. Arybailos discovered him in between the moment of life and death. He offered him an ultimatum – welcome death, or be reborn as a champion of his army. I'm sure you can guess which one he chose.' Adam nodded in compliance. 'It's just a story, though. Nobody really knows exactly how the two came to their…situation. Apart from Arybailos and Calysto, of course.'

'How long has Calysto been in Arybailos's service?' He asked curiously.

'Oh, hundreds of years, I should think,' Eclipsa presumed. 'Arybailos often pits Calysto against all manner of opponents.'

'And he always wins,' Adam concluded sadly.

'Until now!' The Queen of Darkness exclaimed happily. Unfortunately, the Mewman didn't share her ebullience.

'I didn't beat Calysto, Eclipsa.'

She frowned.

'Then how –'

'How did I convince Arybailos not to take my soul?' Adam completed, looking down despondently. 'Calysto injured me – badly. I was gonna die, but…I didn't give up. I kept going anyway. I managed to impress the Demon King himself.'

'And you're…upset about that?' She determined, frowning at him. Adam breathed out a depressed sigh.

'Let's just say I don't like losing,'he admitted. 'I haven't felt that close to death since…since Janna died.'

'Oh, you poor boy,' Eclipsa sympathised, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. 'That must have been terrifying for you.'

'Yeah…there was a moment that I thought…that I really thought…I was going to die.'

Eclipsa nodded sympathetically.

'I know the feeling,' she assured him. 'Over the years, I've been through many life or death situations.'

'So have I,' Adam pointed out, folding his arms. 'I've been through a lot, but…there were few times I really felt like I could die. I guess I learned to adapt. So when something new comes along, I'm out of my element.'

'Perhaps you need a distraction? To relax?' The Queen of Darkness suggested. Adam breathed in deeply and began to get off the bed. Eclipsa warily held a supportive hand on his back as he groaned in pain.

As he was about to answer the question, he spotted people moving past the entrance to the medical bay. They were carrying numerous decorations of some kind, though the teenager barely caught eye of what they were. From what he could tell, there were sashes and crates containing something with bright colours.

'What's going on?' The confused warlock inquired.

'Hm?' Eclipsa hummed in perplexity, before glancing to where he was looking. 'Oh! Well, the royal hall was damaged when Arybailos showed up, so they're putting back together all the decorations for the Royal Flower Show.'

A jolt of realisation shot through him. The Royal Flower Show! He had completely forgotten all about it.

'Oh, right,' he remembered. 'I'd better go help out.'

Eclipsa stared at him in concern as her student painfully limped towards the door.

'Don't feel like you have to!' The former Queen of Mewni told him, holding a hand out in his wake.

'I want to. Besides, you said I needed a distraction.'

With that, he left.

By the time he'd made his way to the Royal Hall, he found numerous construction workers and volunteers in the room to help. Adam looked around the room, trying to spot where he could help. The ground had been split apart, he recalled, but it had sealed itself up quickly thereafter. However, the Mewman did notice a few cracks left behind, scars of what had been. The sashes that previously hung on the wall were either burnt or torn, now being replaced with newer, cleaner ones. The case was the same with the numerous flowers that decorated the room, emphasising this significant cultural festival.

In the middle of the room, he spotted the damaged chandelier lying in the centre of the room. Most of the previous damage had been repaired, only a few dents and fractures remaining. It was nice of Arybailos to destroy everything in his wake and leave without any concern for what had happened.

Adam spotted someone standing by the chandelier, about to move it.

It was Star. She took out her wand and cast Levitato, causing the chandelier to gently rise up above the ground. What he noticed was that the chandelier was clearly heavy. Star was visibly straining to move the intense weight of the chandelier, her arms and legs trembling. As he came over, without her notice, he realised that the Butterfly Princess needed some help.

The chandelier harshly dropped from her grip. Right before the chandelier could smash to the ground, it froze in mid-air.

Star looked up to see Adam, with his hands outstretched. Allowing Instinctive Magic to flow through him, the Mewman created a purple, glowing mystical aura around it.

'Need some help?' Adam asked with a small smile, trying to resist the trembling in his arms.

Star beamed at him and recast her levitation spell. The two collaborated to steadily move the chandelier into place. Adam next chose to cast Melting Point to melt the chain to solder it back into place. Star caught on to the idea and cast a spell at the chain, encasing it in ice for a moment. It only took a few seconds to melt away, leaving the chain perfectly connected again.

'Thanks!' Star acknowledged brightly. Adam shrugged his shoulders.

'It was nothing.'

'Are you doing better, then?' The princess enquired caringly.

'Yeah, I'm alright.'

Star stood awkwardly on the spot, absentmindedly pivoting her foot on the floor. Adam immediately knew that the girl wanted to ask him something. If only she would just be out with it.

'Star?' The warlock prompted. 'What do you want?'

'Well, since you're doing better…' she began warily. '…I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out around the Flower Show.'

Adam frowned.

'Wouldn't you rather go with Tom?'

'I was, but, y'know, you did just go through hell. Literally. I figured you might need to relax.' She held up her hands defensively. 'Besides, sometimes I just wanna hang out with my friends.'

Adam blinked at the mention of the word "friend". He supposed it was worth accepting at this point. The Mewman shrugged in acquiescence.

'Sure.'

'I understand. I wasn't meaning to intrude, it's just that –' Star began, before cutting herself off. 'Wait, what did you say?'

He rolled his eyes.

'I said yes, Star.'

The Butterfly Princess's face instantly brightened to over a thousand kilowatts.

'Really?' She asked again excitedly. Adam sighed exasperatedly and nodded. 'Yay!' She wrapped him in a hug that he didn't reciprocate but also didn't object. 'Let's go!'

Her near-constant ebullience only slightly irritated him this time. Happier, Adam slowly got to work helping her clean up. He supposed it couldn't do any harm to go around the Flower Show. Besides, the Mewman could at least contribute to the economic growth, considering he had inadvertently hampered it with Arybailos's appearance.

'Hey, Star?' He said after a while, almost too quiet for her to hear.

'Yeah?' The princess asked.

'I've decided,' he replied cryptically, prompting a confused shaking of her head. 'I'm…I'm not going to use the Truth Binding Spell.'

Star blinked in surprise.

'Uh, okay,' she stuttered. 'I-I mean, I'm glad, but…what made you change your mind?'

'After that experience, I know what it's like to be forced into something against my will,' Adam confessed. 'I never cared to consider what it was truly like…to be forced into the open until all that you know is laid bare. Now…I get it, I understand – maybe you're rubbing off on me – but I guess I'm more empathetic about it now.'

'Wow,' the princess stammered. 'I never pegged you for the introspective type.'

'Yeah, whatever,' he dismissed.

Star hid a bemused smile, knowing he was trying to hide his sincerity. The Mewman beside her straightened a loose bulb and looked up at her.

'What?' He asked agitatedly. Star merely strengthened her smile.

'Nothing.'

Deep down in the lower depths of the Butterfly Castle, celebrations were soon to be in order. For a completely different reason. In the dead of night, one would consider that the unknown catacombs would forever remain abandoned. Nobody would ever find this place, not behind a legion of disguises and misdirection. Unless by pure accident.

In one particular room, dark and dingy, something strange happened. A burning purple spark appeared in the air. It fizzled out a few times, struggling to maintain its own existence. Eventually, it began to build resistance to its hateful, rejecting surroundings. Inevitably, the spark of magic began to grow in power and strength.

It only took a few minutes before the spark found its release.

As if by magic, the spark blew open to a massive size. It formed a dark, destructive purple gateway. A vortex of wind spurted out of it. Numerous crates, armour, swords, and other assorted items flew out of it. Seemingly from nowhere, their origin entirely indiscernible.

Not long after that, something more notable exited the colossal, impossible purple gateway.

A dark figure stepped out from it.

All that could be determined was their flowing long hair and muscled build. They seemed unsurprised by their surroundings, merely ready to advance their objective. Various objects flew past them, never hitting them or even so much as touching them.

No. This person was ready. They stood directly in front of the portal as it slowly dissolved, collapsing in on itself. The impossible gateway closed, leaving the shady silhouette apparently stranded in their new location.

A vaguely visible smile stretched across the stranger's face. They had achieved what they wanted for now. All that remained now was the next mission.

The next conquest.

[16] All new spells shown in this chapter were created by Adam.

I hope y'all liked this one! I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter myself.

Especially the scene at the end with Eclipsa and Adam, where Eclipsa explained a bit of Calysto's backstory, and in general their mentor-student relationship. I just quite like the two of them, and perhaps necessary since Eclipsa and Star lack a lot of the hallmarks of a proper mentor-student relationship (in my opinion). I plan on having the two of them play guitar together at some point, since both of them play guitar, and it would kinda be remiss of me not to include a little detail like that. Additionally, the bitter-sweet ending is something I think was nice to write, as Star and Adam's relationship is improving but it's not totally there yet, and Adam was clearly traumatised by that fight he had with Calysto.

Speaking of the fight? What did you think? I hope it wasn't boring. I tried to make it somewhat balanced, but largely in favour of Calysto, but Calypso literally has centuries more sword fighting experience than Adam, and the only thing Calysto had to really improvise against was Adam's magic. Hence why he ultimately lost. It would have been ridiculously unrealistic for Adam to win that fight, but I didn't want him to be completely incompetent - after all, Adam is still capable of sword fighting, and really, how much experience do you need before you become skilled? It's fair to point out, however, that Arybailos being impressed by Adam and deciding to relinquish his soul is a large plot convenience as Adam didn't even know that option was on the table. However, a plot convenience isn't a plot hole, and besides, I think this really was the only way to allow Adam to keep his soul whilst still losing the duel against Calysto. I'm wary of making Adam a Mary Sue, so I keep trying to inject reasonable flaws that simultaneously don't make him an unlikeable character, or worse, seem like the dreaded self-insert. I've fallen into the Mary Sue trap before, and I'm still learning how to write narratives, but I like to think I'm improving.

As for the final scene, well that's a set-up for the next episode, "Is It Just Me?". I've been looking forward to this episode for a while now. It's kind of like the midseason finale. It's the end of this fic, but not the saga overall. This is only Volume I after all!

I don't want to spill all the beans yet, even if it may take a while before the chapter itself materialises, but a LOT of things will happen that contribute massively to advancing the overall story arch.

Anyways, see y'all in the next chapter! Thanks so much for your support!