Wirt limped along the trail of Beatrice's feathers, his oil-blood mixing with them as his continued his trek to save her. The Beast had taken too much, but this was the straw that broke his back. Wirt could only see red. It lied to him about Greg, turned him into a beast, destroyed the unknown, and had his last friend. Wirt knew what he had to do.
Wirt could see a bonfire in the distance. He knew he found them. Slowly blending into the trees and slanting his eyes as much as he could so as not to let his moonlit eyes go noticed. Wirt quickly tried to locate Beatrice and found her inside a large birdcage, practically all the feathers on her back gone, he quickly tried to make his way over to her. The Beast was too busy focusing and chanting to the bonfire. The stars and moonlight becoming dimmer and dimmer.
Throughout the rest of the Unknown, many familiar faces were looking up at the skies with worry. The animal students looked out the window of Endicotts' mansion, the patrons of the pub looked out, as did the Woodsman. Everyone began to pray to whoever they worshiped that they'd be safe, or that someone would stop the Beast. Their prayers need not be answered, for Wirt was already on it.
Wirt quickly disposed of the undead surrounding Beatrice's cage. When she looked up to see him, she almost called out his name in delight, but wanted to remain quiet so as not to alert the Beast. Wirt quickly approached her through the cage, as did Beatrice, and through the bars both hugged one another.
"You're alive..." Beatrice whispered and kissed his forehead.
"I am...I'm sorry...I should have listened to you." Wirt sobbed and apologized.
"Don't worry...I'm fine. For now, just get me out of here." She said. Wirt nodded and both stepped back as he began to strike the wooden bars, only for them to regrow in place.
"I can't..!" Wirt said.
"Come on, just keep hitting." Beatrice said, taking out the scissors and starting on other bars, only to be faced with the same problems.
"Yes Wirt, keep striking." The Beast said as it appeared behind him. Wirt quickly turned back to strike the Beast, who promptly skipped back. Wirt kept striking after the Beast, gone was the young boy who could barely pick up the axe, and its place was a different beast altogether in human form, wielding the object that was made for killing vegetation. "You might even hit me this ti-" The Beast's taunts were stopped mid-sentence as Wirt reached forward to grab onto one of the gaping orifices that made up its body of contorted faces and pulled it toward him with strength even the Beast was unaware he had.
"Shut it!" Wirt yelled as he swugn the axe against one of the Beast's horns and cut it clean off, causing the Beast to howl in pain and hold where its horn used to be.
"You..." The Beast stepped back and looked at Wirt with angry eyes, it raised its hand and unleashed the remaining undead on Wirt. The pilgrim looked at the oncoming hoard, before looking down at all the oil seeping out of his wounds from the previous day. He held his hand out and the oil that had accumulated out of all his wounds amassed to create a writhing puddle charging back at the undead. Just as the puddle of oil reached the undead, it sprung forward and hardened like spears. The undead running into spiked-oil mass like cavalry would a spear wall. Putting them all down in the ground once and for all, turning to the Beast with killing intent.
"You're my burden." Wirt said, the mass of oil following closely behind. "To put down." Wirt said as he raised the axe as high as he could to bring it down on the Beast, who, like a cornered animal, retaliated and lunged at Wirt with all its strength. Using its one remaining horns to rush and stab Wirt's mid section in order to gut him. Wirt instinctively placed the hardened oil mass in front of him to block the charge, only for the Beast to break through. The impact severely reducing the full damage as it rammed into Wirt.
"You are nothing but a nuisance!" The Beast yelled, pinning a struggling Wirt to a tree. "You're a greater Beast than I! All the damage that's gone into the Unknown is your doing!" The Beast's voice boomed throughout the woods. It pressed Wirt harder against the tree, trying to squeeze the final breaths out of the boy. Wirt, beaten and bloodied, brought down the axe on the Beast's hand, almost hacking it off, causing the monster to fall back, before swiping at Wirt with its powerful claws. Wirt dodged in pain as it grazed his ribs. He fell, looking up at the Beast with conviction.
"To err is human." Wirt admitted, causing the Beast to look down at him with pause. "I messed up. I turned this place into something it shouldn't." Wirt's eyes began to glow as bright as the moon. "But that's why I won't stop trying to fix it. Because I have to." Wirt stood up. "Its up to man to put Beasts like you down." He said with a final look of determination. There was a pause as Wirt looked up at the Beast, determined to kill it, with the Beast having a similar ire in its eyes. Whilst Beatrice looked on and continuously cutting at the regrowing wooden bars. It then began laughing at Wirt. Much to his and Beatrice's fear.
"You stupid boy!" It boasted. "By the end of the night, I will be the God of the Unknown!" It revealed.
"What?!" Wirt was taken aback.
"You see, the bonfire I lit is a fire that cannot be put out. Using the Tome, I enchanted the fire to be everburning and will soon fuse the flame of my soul in the teapot..." It pointed to the bonfire. "Into those eternal flames. Making me immortal beyond doubt and it won't matter if I have an army, I will take control of the entire Unknown. Rest assured, it will be mine. Once I'm through with you that is." The Beast said. Wirt began to think, the Beast must not have finished the spell, for if it did, it wouldn't be worried about Wirt being so determined to stop him. There was still the opportunity to do so.
"It will never come to that!" Wirt said as he clutched his hand and the hardened oil spikes launched at the Beast, who took the hits, charging through the pain and trying to get to Wirt again, only for Wirt to charge back at it with his own antlers raised. Both clashed against one another like stags. One having the advantage in raw power even if it was crippled by missing a horn, and the other driven by sheer determination and drive to put the Beast down.
Beatrice had managed to successfully cut through one of the bars and pushed it forward so it could not reattach itself, she slid through the gap and went to the bonfire to see if the Tome and teapot were nearby. As the Beast and Wirt were fighting, the Beast looked over at the Bonfire and saw her. It soon realized its disadvantage and quickly pushed Wirt away and began chasing after Beatrice. Wirt noticed where the Beast was headed and reacted quickly, with the last of his mental strength, he yelled and redirected the mass of oil to fall on the Beasts' hide, he then lifted his finger, and just as the Beast neared a frightened Beatrice, the a stream of the oil on the Beast's hide connected to the bonfire, and lit the creature aflame.
"Oh my..." Beatrice was interrupted as the most unearthly sound she'd ever heard screeched painfully in front of her, falling on its back and writhing in pain, trying to put the fire on itself out.
"You..." Wirt limped over at the Beast and Beatrice, getting closer to the red-head as the screaming continued. "Said the fire's enchanted to burn eternally...and oil is flammable..." Wirt laughed lowly, turning to Beatrice. "I stole that from you. I hope you don't mind." He said, recalling when she lit the chimney on fire with his oil blood in Margueritte's side of the mansion.
"Hey, if it saved our lives," She looked at the screaming Beast. "Be a thief as much as you'd like." She looked off to the side and saw the teapot with the Beast's soul still in it. She handed it to Wirt. "Want to do the honors?" She asked. Wirt looked at it with worry, remembering Greg. "It is your burden afterall." She said, as he then turned to the Beast's burning form, he looked at her with a smile.
"You know," He dragged it on on purpose. "You came to my rescue and saved me and helped me throughout all this." He took her hand, that held the teapot, in his. "This burden was as much mine as it was yours. You didn't have to make it so, but you did." He smiled. He positioned them both in front of the Beast, who crawled towards them both, begging for mercy. "Together?" He asked with smile. She nodded.
"Together." She smirked as she and Wirt looked down at the Beast and lifted the top of the teapot off and both blew softly into it. Putting the flame out. The Beast's form suddenly turned to ash where it was, the fire dissipating, now that its host was no longer existing. As satisfying as it was for both of them to see the Beast gone, nothing seemed to happen. They looked around for anything to take place, but nothing.
"Now what?"