Luz turned around and saw a new person. Someone tall, someone with a gold mask and white cloak... someone... with glowing eyes. The moment she saw him, Luz's instincts were telling her to RUN FOR HER LIFE! This man- no. This MONSTER was unlike anything Luz had ever seen before!
"W-Who are you?" Luz asked with a stutter.
"Belos." Eda said, glaring at him as she looked up to him.
"I recommend you return to your cell and wait for your petrification, human." Belos said, "Yours will be after the Owl Lady's."
Luz put herself between Belos and Eda's cage.
"Not going to happen." Luz said.
Belos respected the girls loyalty. If she wanted to fight, then who is he to refuse?
"Very well then." Belos said, holding his staff, "Let's see what you can do."
Luz growled before charging at Belos, moving in a zig zag to confused him before she pounced on him! She was confused as she managed to go through him. She landed on the ground and rolled. Luz picked herself up and looked at Belos.
"What kind of magic is that?!" Luz said.
"That is something you don't need to know about." Belos said.
Belos pointed his staff towards Luz, firing small beams as she was forced to dodge while running around the room.
"You're fast, I'll give you that." Belos said.
"Like I care what you think!" Luz shouted, hiding behind an Iron Maiden coffin!
Belos walked up and held his staff up. The coffin was covered in a red glow and it was moved away. But he didn't find Luz hiding behind it?
"Hmm?" Belos let out as Luz peaked her head out, having climbed up the coffin before Belos moved it.
'Got you!' Luz thought, jumping off to attack him from behind!
Luz went through him again. Belos let out a small chuckle.
"I admire your persistence, your strength and speed. Yes, I can see why you're Spirit Animal is a jaguar."
Luz froze.
"Y-y-you... you know?" Luz asked.
"I know a lot of things that you wouldn't understand." Belos said, "But, I can help you understand, I can help you get home... join me. Together we can be unstoppable."
Luz's eyes became panther eyes. She shifted into her panther form and roared.
"K-k-kid?" Eda asked, as her breathing got heavy.
Luz looked to Eda with worry for a bit before charging at Belos, aiming to claw him or at least appear to claw him.
'Has she learned nothing?' Belos thought, letting Luz phase through him again and rush to Eda? 'Oh, so she has been learning.'
Luz shifted back and began to try and pick the cage lock.
"K-Kid, how-" Eda asked.
"Just hang on! I almost-!" Luz said before she was coated in magic and pulled away but kept her grip on the lock!
"Smart girl but you won't be saving Edalyn that easy." Belos said with his staff out.
Belos managed to pull Luz away from the lock and slam his staff against her back.
"Aaaah!" Luz screamed before she was thrown towards a wall.
"Human, just give up. You know you can't win this." Belos said as he turned to Luz, seeing her struggling to get up.
"N-n-never." Luz said, picking herself up, "My mom fought with all her might to keep me safe... who am I to give less than she would of."
"Even if you barely know her?" Belos asked her.
"I know Eda enough to know she doesn't deserve this! If anyone deserves to be petrified, it's you!" Luz shouted as she changed into a panther and charged at Belos again.
"Do it now?" Belos asked.
Luz pounced at him, but Belos caught her with his magic. Luz was frozen, unable to move as long as he has her in his grasp.
"Hmm, it would almost be a shame to make you into a rug. Last chance, join me... I can help you return to your world, to your mother." Belos said.
Belos used his magic and forced her to shift back. Luz felt uncontrollable pain. No one has ever FORCED her to shift and it hurt like hell.
"So, are you still willing to oppose me?" Belos asked, "Or will you come to your senses and join me? Again, I can skin you and use your pelt as a rug, keep that in mind with your answer."
Luz spit at Belos mask.
"How about you go to hell?" Luz asked him.
'Oh kid, you've got guts but you're crazy.' Eda thought.
"Hmm, sad." Belos said, using magic to evaporate the spit and throw Luz, making her crash into a wall.
Luz felt sharp pain as she hit the wall and fell to the floor. She looked at her arm and saw it was limp and bent in the opposite direction.
"Aaaah!" Luz screamed in pain, holding her bent arm!
"Luz!" Eda shouted in worry.
"I did warn you. You should've listened to me." Belos said as he made his way towards Luz.
Luz stood up and held her limp, broken arm.
"I... I won't stop until I have Eda." Luz said, "Or die trying."
Luz charged again and jumped for a flying kick, showing no fear as Belos stood there.
"Ah, the human spirit." He said fondly as the kick came in contract with his mask before he BURST into a smoke cloud. "There's nothing like it."
The smoke slowly began to spiral around Luz, changing size and shape before becoming a flock of crows?!
"What the?!" Luz said.
The crows reformed behind Luz and became Belos.
"You amuse me." Belos said, "Maybe I'll let you go if you win."
Luz was flung again by magic as Eda watched in the cage, unable to help.
'Come on, get up! If you don't, Luz is gonna die.' Eda thought as she looked at her shackles. 'If I use my gold tooth, maybe I can get free.'
Using her tongue with some difficulty, Eda began to unscrew her golden tooth from its place as Belos paid her no attention. Belos looked at Luz's battered body on the ground.
"Well Human, you've earned my respect." Belos said, raising his staff, "Any last words?"
Luz glared at him as blood began turning one of her eyes red.
"D-d-do... do your worst." Luz said.
"I intend to." Belos said.
Belos hit Luz with magic, making Luz scream in pain as her chest and stomach were burned.
"Don't worry, it will all be over soon." Belos said, not noticing something approaching from behind.
Belos was suddenly hit in the back of the head.
"Ugh!" He grunted, dropping his staff and hitting the floor.
He was unprepared for that and was rendered unconscious.
"Let's see you get up from that." Eda commented, holding her staff on her hands.
She turned her attention to Luz, seeing her with burn marks and taking shaky breaths. Eda quickly picked up the human girl and held her in her arms.
'Hang on, kid. I'll get you out of here.' Eda thought.
Eda quickly used her staff and teleported to the Owl House. She didn't care if it was in ruins, she needed to tend to Luz's injures before they get worse!
"Hang on, kid. I'm gonna patch you up." Eda said as she gently set Luz on the couch, "I... I should have a basic healing book somewhere!"
Digging through the wreckage of her kitchen, Eda managed to find the healing book and rushed back to heal Luz with it.
"Eda…" Luz let out, opening her eyes a bit.
"Hey, hey, it's okay kid. Just rest." Eda said, focusing more on healing Luz than herself.
After a couple minutes, Eda fell into a chair. Luz was in a temporary coma while she healed.
"She'll have scars from the burns... but she'll live."
Eda had used up a bit of energy, so she couldn't heal herself enough after she was done, but at least she herself was well enough to rest easy for a bit. At the castle, Belos walked to a door and walked in.
"This is nothing more than a minor setback." Belos said, looking at the almost completed portal, "Soon, all of my hard work will have paid off, isn't that right... Collector?"
"Hehehehehehehehehe!" A childlike voice chuckled in the darkness, moving to reveal to be a shadow on the wall! "Wow! That fight was something! You had like that girl like "AAAAAH" and you were all "This is the end!" And then you were blindsided by that witch! Hahahahahaha! That looked like so much fun!"
"Yes, well, soon you'll have all the fun you wish." Belos said, "Just a little while longer."
Originally, they were going to be Ravens, but looking back at it, Crows represent Mischief, Trickster, bad omens, just really represents Belos well. Follow, Favorite, and Review for more.