Chapter 6: The In-Between Realm
The door was already open. He assumed this meant the coven was back with his staff. Belos entered the house and saw only five of the seven people he had sent.
"Where are the others?"
"Well, thanks to you not giving us any guidance at all, we were lost in there. We had to look through the entire building, giving the authorities enough time to realise we weren't supposed to be there. Two of us were shot down on the way out. We don't know if they're alive or not. We did get the staff though, and two golden masks. We weren't sure which one you wanted so we took both."
Belos walked closer to them. "They sacrificed themselves for the good of humanity. Now I can continue my mission to protect this world from the witches."
Belos re-entered the town square, wearing a golden mask. People were still on edge from the explosion that occurred earlier from the titan. They thought it was witches.
Trevor, with the golden guard mask on, stood behind some buildings near a large pile of explosives.
"Fellow citizens. The witches will soon begin to invade our world. None of us are safe anymore. But I can protect you. I will protect all of you."
Trevor started to throw some of the ammunition towards the people gathered around Belos.
Belos shouted, "The witches! They are here. Run! Everyone, run at once! Escape while you still can!"
The crowd began running away, screaming.
One of the explosions knocked him to the ground, as he waved his staff, conjuring an immense red wave of magic towards the source of the 'witch attack'.
He summoned a barrier to shield everyone as he moved closer.
They looked at him in awe as they saw his determination to protect them despite the risk.
With one final blast of Belos's staff, the explosions stopped and Trevor fled the scene.
After the situation was defused and the people calmed down a bit, Belos gestured for them to come closer. He looked down at five human bodies that were completely burnt. Some people in the audience gasped.
He turned and spoke gravely, "These are the consequences of witchcraft. This is what will continue to happen on far greater scales in the future if we do not act against them."
Atlas was still there watching him, but this time he no longer felt the same hatred towards him. He felt completely indifferent about Belos.
"I will save all of you from the witches. But remember this, if you are not a follower of my cause, you will be considered an enemy to those who are..."
There were a few whispers among the crowd, some people stepping away from each other with an expression of fear.
Belos went back to the same alley again and waited for Trevor to return. When he did, he said, "Good work, Hunt- Trevor." He looked down with remorse for a second, before quickly snapping back to his cold, emotionless self.
"You will make a great replacement for my previous golden guard."
Meanwhile, the small ball of light from Atlas had returned to its place of origin. With a bright flash, it transformed back into the spirit of the Titan.
The Collector, smiling widely, said, "Hehe... Did ya get him?"
"I did, finally. All it took was a meteor, some lightning, an owl, two trees, and the possession of a human. I sent him flying into the ocean. His ugly body will rot away down there forever. Take a look." He pulled a magical cube out of the water. The image on it showed Belos in the middle of Gravesfield, very much alive.
The Titan stared at him with an abhorrence unlike any other.
The Collector had a similar look on their face, but slightly less intense. Their happy and playful tone had become more sinister and vengeful, "Let me try this time. Release me, and let me go play with that liar."
He nodded, and jumped on a cube that was floating up towards them. Upon reaching the Collector's prison, he touched the surface with his titan powers, causing it to shatter.
Leaving the In-Between Realm with their newly acquired physical form, the Collector was now in the Titan's Skull, standing next to a broken tablet.
"Now... How to get to the Human Realm from here?" He snapped his fingers, conjuring up a portal out of thin air. It was quite deformed and didn't work. So they sent it back to the oblivion it came from, and tried again.
With almost everyone accepting his status as their saviour, he gathered his coven as he prepared for a new speech.
"Salutations, citizens of Gravesfield. Today I stand before you for the last time, for I have a greater purpose than this town. There are many people in this world, and I cannot protect a few hundred, while billions more are annihilated. Before I bid farewell to you all, I must ask one thing of you. Spread my message. Help me to reach the world with my promise of protection and peace."
Belos started to walk out of town, the General's Coven behind him, and the Golden Guard beside him.
The Collector discovered a tiny drop of titan's blood on the floor. It must have dropped from the key when Belos was activating the portal before.
"This could be the missing piece, why it hasn't been working!" They snapped their fingers once more, titan's blood on their hand, and as expected, a fully functional portal was created.
His red eyes began to glow, as he approached the portal.
"I'm coming for you, Philip."