We find ourselves in front of an old house where the Leviathan Axe was lodged in the ground when suddenly a powerful gust of wind blew the battle axe out of the ground through a glowing door.

Through the door we find ourselves in the Boiling Isles as the Leviathan Axe flew into Ardyn's hand and the Owl House Title logo appeared.

Iki wo sutte haitara kurushii koto

Kizu ga hitotsu fueru tabi ikiteiru koto

Looking around Ardyn sees the Owl House with Hooty and King watching Eda teaching Luz magic.

Tsukaifurusareta sonna kanshou mo itsuka kitto

Yoru ni tokete kieru

We then find ourselves at Hexide as Willow and Gus wave at them while Amity merely looks away with a small blush on her face.

"No enough" yugandatte

"No escape" machigattatte

"No fear" koroge mawatte

Susumeba iin deshou

As Eda struggles to fight off the curse she briefly fights off the feathers before we see Romani chained up against the wall before a large shadow grows.

Looking up they saw Emperor Belos glaring down at them with staff at the ready and all his coven ready to attack. Standing behind him is a shadowed figure with a demented grin on his face.

Sore wa marude shinwa no you na

Iro, katachi no jubunairu

Spinning her staff Eda creates a powerful blast blowing the guards away before Lilith leaps in and the two sisters clash making magic explode all around them. From the smoke Ardyn, Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus ran towards the top.

Summoning an ice glyph Luz makes a bridge of ice allowing Amity's abomination to charge forward ramming them away as Willow made a road of vines for Ardyn to run ahead.

Ibitsu na mama hibiwareteiru

Kono sekai de hitotsu kagayaku

Kirei na tsuki

Running to the top, Ardyn and Emperor Belos clashes axe and staff before the shadowed figure fires a powerful blast knocking Ardyn back.

Holding out his hand a gilded sword forms in Ardyn's hand before he thrusts his weapon clashing with Belos and the shadowed figured creating a bright light.

FATE/BOILING ISLES

Book 1

Chapter 14: Enchanting Grom Fate.

When Ardyn woke up, he sighed in misery. He looked at Luz's bed and saw she wasn't there. Likely downstairs having breakfast or learning new forms of magic.

Ardyn has not been able to sleep well for the past few days, as the nightmares of the burning mud were still plaguing his mind. Especially now, after he'd seen the memory photo. The photo showed the memory of his Assassin Servant: EMIYA involving an event called the Great Fire of Fuyuki that happened in 1994. From what they learned from EMIYA's past; the fire was caused by the Holy Grail that was infected by Angra Mainyu, the Persian god of darkness, and the Corrupting Mud spilling from the pathway opened by the Greater Holy Grail of Fuyuki. It killed over five hundred residents, and it burned down 134 buildings.

It was a literal hell on earth and nothing that the others could say anything else about it.

Sitting up, Ardyn put on his school uniform and walked down the stairs. As he entered the Owl House's living room, the blonde boy saw King was watching videos on Luz's phone while she was lying on the ground, using a magnifying glass to look at a flower while Musashi was watching.

If you, the reader, where wondering where the hell she was during Willow's literal metal breakdown, she was out training her swordsmanship, so she didn't get rusty. She didn't even know until she went back inside to get a drink when she heard the loud bells and went to investigate. When she learned about what happened to Ardyn, Luz and Amity, she was surprised at first but was proud when they successfully helped Willow.

"Any luck?" He asked, pointing to the flower.

"Not yet, but I'm close…." Luz said, drawing a replica of the plant glyph. The plant glyph resembled a flower that was drawn with an upside-down triangle with a line across the bottom, resembling a flowerhead. It was connected to a line heading down to a circle at the bottom, containing a dot in the center. Two other lines stuck out at the top of the ring, resembling leaves.

Ardyn walked over to the girl and knelt next to her. Luz took a deep breath and activated it. She gasped in amazement when a flower successfully grew from the paper.

"Yes!" She cheered.

"Well done." Musashi said with a small smile on her face as Luz jumps up and hugs the woman, who gave her a pat on the head.

"Let me try," Ardyn said, scooting over and picking up the magnifying glass. He looked at the glyph on the flower to memorize the pattern. "Got it."

Stepping away from the others, Ardyn focus energy into his hands, and his markings formed the plant glyph. He then slammed his hands on the ground, creating multiple flowers.

He then looked at Luz with a smirk. "Think we should tell Willow she's got competition?"

"You think that's impressive? Check this out! Two warriors battling to the death!" King said as he watched a video of two cats meowing on Luz's phone. One prepared to pounce on the other but fell on its back.

But how was King able to get wifi to see the video? Ardyn found out when he looked behind and saw the portal door. It was opened, allowing the phone to get a wifi signal. "Sooooo, this is how we're using the portal door now?"

"Just to get wifi for cat videos," Luz said, sitting down on the couch next to King.

"I'm still amazed as to how humans came so far with their technology." Musashi said as she looked over the little demon's shoulder to see what was going on.

"Senseless violence. Yes, attack! Death is your god!" King declared, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"I regret teaching you about the Internet," Luz said, rolling her eyes.

"Hah! What possible regrets could come from the Internet?" King asked, looking at an article he had opened on Luz's phone. "Oh! Did you know that the Earth is flat?"

"Okay, no more internet for you." Ardyn snatched the phone away and tossed it to Luz, who caught it.

"Yeah," Luz said, just about to turn off her phone. However, before she could, it vibrated. She'd gotten a text from her mom.

[How's camp today, cariño? 3, Mamá.]

Luz froze up and gulped in fear. Opening the door to earth not only allowed her to get wifi. It also allowed her mom's text to come through to her phone. Luz never told her about the Demon Realm, fearing the way Camelia would react to the knowledge of another world existing and that her daughter and best friend were in it.

Struggling to think of a response, she started by typing "I", but then deleted it. Shen tried "I'm" but backtracked. "It" was her next option to start, but Luz quickly deleted it. Luz ended up sending a thumbs-up emoji.

"Good enough." She sighed.

"Ah, a severed hand! Perfect response." King said as he and Ardyn looked over her shoulders to see her response.

Groaning, Luz flopped down on the couch and put a pillow on her face. Muffling her groans as Ardyn sat down next to her. "Luz, why don't you just tell her about this place?"

"What am I supposed to say, Ardyn!?" Luz exclaimed, making Ardyn raised a brow. The Dominican girl then stood up and started pacing around while talking in her normal cheerful voice. "'Hey, Mom, not at camp, actually! I'm in the demon realm learning to be a witch! Also, did you know that demons and magic are real?' She. Will. End me."

She curled up on the ground with her hands on her head. "Oh, come on, Luz. Your mom's not that cruel," Ardyn said.

"Nah, she'd be freaked out by our world anyway. So, by keeping the truth from her, you're doing her a favor!" King said, resulting in Ardyn flicking him on the head.

"Not helping, you twit."

"Hm. The angel on my left shoulder is telling me to do the right thing," she said, leaning on Ardyn's leg for a moment. She then leaned to King. "But the demon on my shoulder makes a good point."

"Always trust a shoulder demon!" King said, taking the phone from Luz and opening YouTube again.

"Look Luz." Musashi started as she leans over to the two teens. "IF you ask me, I'd listen to Ardyn. You must tell her sooner or later. The longer you wait, the more stress it will bring to her."

Luz looked down for a moment as if in thought. As much as she hated to admit it, The Saber Servant is right. "I…"

Suddenly, Hooty opened the door and greeted the two kids with his usual cheery attitude. "Hoot hoot, Ardyn, Luz! Time to fill up that darling little head of yours with…." Hooty extended his neck and regurgitated a stack of books onto the ground. "Mm-hmm. Delicious knowledge!"

Ardyn, Musashi, and Luz looked at the owl thing with disturbed looks, before seeing Gus and Willow peeking from the doorway. Both were looking at Hooty uncomfortably.

"Please hurry!" Gus begged his friends from the human realm, wanting Ardyn and Luz to hurry up so that they could get away from Hooty.

"The more I look at him, the more uncomfortable I get," Willow added.

"Hoot hoot!" Hooty shouted, making Gus and Willow flinch.

Though Ardyn found it funny, he didn't want to see his friends suffer too much. "Alright, alright," he said, helping Luz stand up. Before leaving, the Dominican girl kissed King's head while the blonde boy patted his bony head.

"Don't spend all day watching YouTube, 'kay?" Luz said with a smile on her face.

"I forge my own path!" King yelled at the two as they ran out of the house and set off with Gus and Willow to school. With the kids gone, he played another video. A fluffy black cat chased its tail in the video, making the little demon snicker. "What a dum-dum."

However, he too was distracted by his own tail wagging. He tried to grab it with his hand but flopped on the couch after a second. "Ugh. Who has the energy?"

Musashi only shook her head in amusement before petting the young demons head, who tail wags happily, before looking back to the door with a concern look on her face.

When the group of friends arrived at Hexside, they noticed something rather strange about the place. People were excitedly decorating the hallways of the school, with a spider kindergarten teacher decorating the halls with streamers. The school halls were decked with balloons made from abomination goop and other decorations. And then there were the students, who were all acting all lovey-dovey like it was Valentine's Day.

Stopping in the hall, the hybrid and human looked around in wonder and confusion. "What's going on with everyone? Is someone famous coming?" Ardyn asked, pointing to the streamers.

"Oh yeah! I forgot you've never been here for the social event of the season." Willow said.

Gus stepped in and said with a big smile, "Welcome to your first—"

"Out of the way!" He was interrupted when a pair of masked health workers suddenly rushed past the group of friends. They were rolling a stretcher and making siren noises.

The workers rushed over to Skara and her boyfriend, a bat boy named Marcus, and surrounded the Oracle Track student. "Come with us immediately! Your disease—it's advancing!" The head paramedic said with urgency as he held a bone saw in his hand.

"Oh no! Marcus!" Skara cried as they helped the bat boy onto the stretcher.

"Is there a cure, doc?" Marcus asked, sounding scared.

"Only one…" the worker said grimly. But then his personality did a complete 180 and placed his hands on his cheeks. "Finding the perfect date to Grom!"

"...Uh, say what now?" Ardyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If that's the cure…." Marcus turned to his girlfriend. "...then, Skara, will you go to Grom with me?" He asked excitedly as he held out a beating heart with "GROM?" written in red ink on it. And this author did not mislead you, reader. The bat boy pulled out an actual beating heart from his pocket.

"Ahhhhh!" Skara squealed as she threw her books away and jumped onto the stretcher. Hugging her boyfriend as tight as she could. "Yes! Yes! Of course, I'll go to Grom with you!"

She made out with Marcus, and the onlooking students and teachers cheered for the couple. Luz gasped and started smiling a big grin on her face. On the other hand, Ardyn didn't really care as much as she did. He's never been to a dance before.

"You guys have a version of prom on the Boiling Isles? I was kicked out of my last school dance for dressing like an otter," she said, striking a sexy pose with her hand behind her head and the other on her hip. Ardyn blushed and smiled lovingly at her as she did this. "But here, I can be your Grom Queen!"

However, Willow and Gus grimaced. "That's, uh, not something people usually sign up for."

"Really? You dance around with someone special and are given a crown for being the prettiest," Ardyn said indifferently. "Who wouldn't want that—"

He was interrupted when Amity entered from behind. She was looking down at the stack of books and the note she was carrying. Meaning she wasn't looking up and unknowingly bumped into the boy. Causing her to drop everything on the ground and knock the Hybrid on the floor.

"Watch it, nitwit!" Amity snapped at him until seeing it was her friend. "Oh. Hi, Ardyn…"

"Sup, Amity? Are you ok?" Ardyn smiled at her.

"Hi, Amity!" Luz waved happily at the green-haired girl.

"H-Hi, Luz…. and co." Amity nodded to Willow and Gus. "Sorry about that." She stood up and quickly started gathering her belongings.

"It's fine. Let me help you." Ardyn said, helping Amity pick up her book. That's when he noticed the little pink note that she had dropped. "Here's your note back."

The moment the word 'note' left Ardyn's mouth, Amity snatched it away as quickly as she could in one swift motion. Luz jumped to Ardyn's side.

"Man, you got some quick grabbers." She giggled and did her grabby hands.

"It's just—It's... private." Amity sighed.

The conversation was cut when the P.A. speakers screeched on. Alerting everyone as they looked at it. "Attention Hexside students. This is your principal speaking." Principal Bump said over the intercom, which was a purple monster mouth with sharp teeth and the speaker for its throat.

"Oh, man, this is it!" Gus said nervously.

"What? What's going on?" Ardyn asked, looking at him with suspicion.

"He's announcing who'll be this year's Grom royalty," Willow explained.

Luz raised an eyebrow. "But…isn't supposed to be announced—" She was interrupted by Amity shushing her. The Blight girl looked at the intercom with a concerned expression.

"This year, I have the privilege to bestow our highest Grom honor to… Ardyn Pierce! Our Grom King!"

Everyone in the hall gasped before turning to Ardyn, who was surprised to have been picked as Grom King. Having just started school not too long ago, the young man didn't expect to have been selected. "…really? Okay."

"Whoo! Ardyn, get it, king!" Luz yelled, pointing to Ardyn before holding her hand up for a high-five, which he gave. "Oh yeah!"

Ardyn smiled and looked around, only to be confused by the looks that everyone was giving him. Some were wincing, some were wiping sweat from their heads, and others looked at him with pity, fear, and anxiety.

"What's with them?" Ardyn asked, turning back to his witch friends. That's when he saw them all looking at him with extreme worry.

"Ardyn, do you even know what that really means?" Willow asked, looking at him with a frightened expression.

The hybrid and Luz glanced at one another in confusion before glancing back at the others. "It means people like him, and he'll get a cute little crown and dance with the Grom Queen, right?" Luz asked, secretly imagining herself dancing with Ardyn like in those Disney movies.

"Oh my Titan, you really don't know," Gus said, wide-eyed.

"Really? Where've you been for the last few chapters?" Ardyn asked sarcastically, breaking the fourth wall.

At the same time, Amity looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Ardyn being Grom King was horrible. Would he even be able to handle it? The thought of it made her grip her books tightly as if she would tear them apart from the fear and worry, she felt for the blonde boy.

"Okay, can someone tell me what the hell's going on?" Ardyn asked, before Amity grabbed his wrist.

"It's…best if I show you." She said, holding her books and note in the other hand. The green-haired witch pulled Ardyn's arm as she led him to the gym. However, Ardyn then felt someone grab his other arm and walk alongside him. He looked to see that it was Luz who was clinging to him.

"I'm going with you," she said.

"Um, okay. The more, the merrier," Ardyn said, following Amity with Luz.

When the three friends walked into the gym, they saw students setting up decorations while Principal Bump oversaw. The Snaggleback that had broken into the Owl House was there too. Only he was hanging from the ceiling by a rope and spinning. Diamonds were embedded in his shell, making him like a disco ball.

"Very good. Lower the streamers, fill the punch bowl, and—how's my disco ball?" The principal asked the little demon.

The spinning Snaggleback said, "Nauseous."

"Great. Just keep it up for 36 more hours." Principal Bump said, before walking towards the exit, leaving the poor demon hanging there.

"Ah. My first school dance experience on the Boiling Isles." Luz said, letting go of Ardyn's arm and doing a little twirl.

"You're really excited about something that people are afraid of," Ardyn said as Amity released Ardyn's hand.

"Heck yeah, I am! I can't wait to get overdressed, take awkward photos, push all the buttons—wait, what?" Luz saw a red button on a black-and-red pedestal with insect legs on the bottom. "Well, hello~. Don't mind if I do."

She cheekily went over to push the button when Ardyn stopped her. "Wait! Luz, think for a moment. When has pushing buttons ever worked out for us?"

Luz thought about it for a minute. There was that one time….and then the other time…and then that awful time….

"Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Click." Luz pushed the button.

When she did, the gym floor began to rumble before splitting open to reveal an underground arena with pearly white columns and chains hanging from the walls. The only way down was a ramp leading into the dark area.

"Whoa!" Ardyn and Luz said together, as they and Amity looked down into the arena. That's when two walls come up from the floor on either side of the three students. On them were several weapons displayed, including swords, shields, a club, mace, a scythe, an ax, a flail, and a gold knuckleduster.

"Good God," Ardyn said in shock. "If this is a theme you guys have for prom night, then I don't want to know what you do for graduations."

Luz looked at the weapons and thought for a moment. "Medieval torture seems like a strange theme for Grom, but hey—"

"They're not for decoration," Amity said grimly, grabbing a sword from the right wall. "This arena's where you'll make your debut as Grom King, Ardyn."

"Right. Why don't you seem happy for him?" Luz asked.

"Because this isn't just some dance party." Amity pointed to the blade down into the arena.

"Oh, come on, what could it…." Ardyn trailed off when he saw what Amity was pointing at. His eyes widened in terror as a strange black goop rose from the stone floor, rumbling and growling. As quickly as it appeared, whatever it was disappeared back into the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" He yelled, backing away from the opening and pointing at the floor, where the black goop rose from.

"That's Grom. Short for Grometheus, the Fear-Bringer. It's a monster that lives under the school." Amity said. To help them understand, the witch cast a spell that showed Ardyn and Luz a tapestry telling the story of Grom. Showing a student fighting the monster as its shape shifts. "Every year, it tries to break out, and a student has to defeat it before it invades the town. Ever the optimist, Bump holds a party and calls it a tradition."

As the tapestry faded, Ardyn looked at Amity with a confused look. Not seeming to be afraid of going down and killing the monster. "So, all I have to do is beat this thing up?" He asked, wondering why everyone was so afraid of the beast. Especially considering they were all very powerful in their own ways. Some more than others, like Willow. "Why are people afraid of it?"

"Because the worst thing about Grom is that he can read minds and shape-shift into your worst fear," Amity said, watching as the realization of the severity dawned on both Ardyn and Luz's faces. "Don't you see, Ardyn? If you don't stop Grom tonight, it'll go out into the Isles, shapeshifting into everyone's nightmares, and lay waste to everything."

"Oh… crap." Ardyn said.

"Honestly, I'm surprised I wasn't picked," Amity said, trying to lighten the mood.

"How come?" Luz asked.

"Well, I am the top student in this school. But my fears are…." Amity gazed at her reflection in the sword. "...embarrassing. But, since you've done a lot in the Boiling Isles, I guess that's why Bump picked you," said the green-haired witch as she placed the sword back on the weapons wall.

"...Lucky me."

"Come on, Ardyn!" Luz nudged him. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You don't have any phobias that I know of… other than fire." She said before quickly changing the subject. "But that's not really something to be afraid of."

Ardyn sighed. "I'm not scared of fire, Luz. That's just…something else I'm dealing with." He averted his eyes, having not told his best friend about his inner turmoil. He then gave both Luz and Amity smiles. "Girls, listen, whatever Grom throws at me, I won't let it stop me. And I'll make sure Grom's never coming back up again."

Luz and Amity looked at their crush with eyes filled with amazement at the determination blazing in his eyes. Both couldn't help but shiver and admire that strength of his. Their hearts beat so fast in their chest. The Hybrid was indeed a fantastic person. Unlike anyone that the human and witch had ever met.

"Put down a tarp, I'M GONNA PUKE!" the Snaggleback yelled. The three students quickly rushed out.

"We're home!" Luz sang her announcement. After a long day of classes, filled with students wishing him luck or how they'll visit his funeral if he dies, Ardyn and Luz returned to the Owl House and walked up to the doors to Eda's room, which was open.

"You have a great singing voice," complemented Ardyn, smiling at her as Luz blushed.

The two of them heard a poking noise coming from the room and Eda crying out in pain. "Ow!"

"Aunt Eda?" Ardyn asked as the two best friends walked into the room.

"Careful with those pins," Eda told King, scrunching her face. The Owl Lady was in a brown tuxedo. King was standing on a stack of books, wearing a green apron. Musashi was wearing a kimono that fitted her well and Romani was wearing a white tuxedo.

"Why am I doing this? I don't even wear clothes!" King yelled back at her.

"Because believe it or not, you have nimble hands." Musashi said with a smile on her face as she pats the top of King's head, causing the young demon to swish his tail back and forward. "You would do well with fixing clothes."

"…Really?" King asked with curiosity as Romani nodded.

"Indeed. Incase the King of Demons doesn't work out, you can work on clothes." The Male Witch said as King jus chuckles happily.

"Hey, sweet duds, guys! What's the haps?" Luz asked as she sat on Eda's nest while Ardyn gave her a blank look.

"Luz don't. Street talk isn't your thing. So, got a hot date tonight, Aunt Eda?" Ardyn asked, walking over with his arms crossed. "Gone steal from him too?"

"Heh, not tonight, kid," said Eda while smirking, flipping her hair back with a smirk. "I'm chaperoning Grom tonight. So, I have to look sharp."

"And Gus asked me to co-emcee the fight!" King said, holding up a poster of him and Gus, standing back-to-back in sunglasses, Gus holding a microphone. "We're going to turn this bloodbath into a fun-bath!"

"Eda asked me to help her, so I agreed to chaperone." Musashi said as she places an arm over Romani's shoulder. "And Romani here is also coming along to help."

"Begrudgingly, yet it beats saying home with Hooty. So, have they announced the King or Queen yet?" Romani asked, being curious just like the other were as well.

Ardyn glanced at Luz, then back at the others. "You're looking at him."

Musashi, Romani, Eda, and King looked at Ardyn for a moment, silent. The moment stayed like that until the little demon dropped the poster. Letting it float gently to the ground. Then they burst out laughing, believing it was a joke. Seeing them laugh confused the two kids, but all they could do was watch as the witch laughed hysterically with her little pet.

"A great joke, Ardyn! But seriously, who's fighting Grom?" King asked as he stopped laughing.

"Me, King," Ardyn said, pointing to himself. "I'm fighting Grom."

…

…

…

"…Wait, you are!? Are you nuts?!" King suddenly yelled in a panic.

"I didn't even know I was going to be selected!" Ardyn argued back. "Or what Grom even was until today!"

"That just makes it worse! Eda, talk him out of this!" King grabbed Eda's tux and shook her before she pushed him off.

"Listen, kid. You're tough and very powerful, but Grom is a little above your pay grade." Eda said, crossing her arms. "You're a human. You're... fragile."

"Excuse me?" Ardyn asked with a glare as he walked up to her. Not liking that Eda was looking down on him and underestimating him. "In case you had forgotten, I'm half-human. And I have the Servants within me to help out."

"True, but even we have our own fears. Don't think that we are fearless either because we still have them." Musashi said, causing Ardyn and Luz looked towards her with surprised looks on their faces.

"Wait, really?"

"It's like Musashi said. Don't get too cocky, kid. Grom will use your fears against you in ways you can't imagine. And need I remind you of… The Fuyuki Fire?" Romani asked, knowing Grom would use Ardyn's trauma and fears against him to get out, especially his Servants. It had only been a few days since Ardyn saw the memory photo, and the others could only imagine what the monster would turn into to exploit those fears.

Ardyn paused for a moment before continuing. "Y-Yeah, well, if Grom wants to use that against me, then it's welcome to try. But I'm putting that asshole in the ground! I am not scared of him or anything!" He said with confidence.

"Uh, Ardyn, there's a horrifying spider in your hair," Luz said, nervously pointing at the back of his head.

"Nope. I'm not as fragile as you think. And I can't be so easily fooled, either." Ardyn said to his best friend/crush. He turned around, revealing there was, in fact, a horrifying spider in his hair. And for some reason, he didn't feel it.

The five watched as Ardyn slammed the door as he left. "Uh, maybe you were too hard on him," Luz said, looking at Eda with a frown.

"He's saved you from multiple monsters, remember? Even with those Servants that possess him, it's still him." King stated.

"Facing Grom means facing your worst fear, you two. And I don't think Ardyn knows what that means yet." Eda said, glaring at herself in the mirror. She paused for a moment. "Do you think I could pull off red eyeshadow?"

"Girl, you can pull off anything! Up top!" King said, holding up his hand. They high-fived together while Luz, Romani and Musashi rolled her eyes with a smile. "We're style geniuses!"

Ardyn groaned as he woke up in his and Luz's room again. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. The Hybrid had another nightmare, causing him to wake up earlier in the morning. Going back to sleep, he, fortunately, had no other dreams and slept peacefully.

Sitting up, he rubbed his face. Not noticing that Luz was still in the room with him. She was trying to rummage through a chest of clothes on her side of the room as quietly as she could, holding a black tuxedo in one hand and an otter suit.

"Another bad dream?" She asked, startling Ardyn and making him look at her in surprise. "You looked like you were last night."

"You…You knew?" Ardyn asked, a little nervous.

"Well, it's hard to ignore when you sleep next to me. Which I'm…not complaining about." Luz said, looking away with a blush on her smiling face. But then her embarrassment turned back to concern. "Ardyn, is there something going on?"

Ardyn sighed as he got up. "I'm fine, Luz. I'm… I've just been having trouble sleeping." He said, not wanting her to know about what he saw in the photo and his terrible theory surrounding the death of his family.

Luz didn't believe him and was about to press further with her questions. However, when she opened her mouth to talk, her phone buzzed. Pulling it out of her shorts pockets, the Dominican girl saw it was another text from her mom.

["Mira! Visiting our fav after-school snack spot!"]

Then there was a selfie of Camila holding a sandwich outside a store called Chimichurri Sandwiches!

["Miss you BEBE! XO."]

Sadly, Luz replied with a yummy face emoji as she frowned at her phone. "Seems like you're having some trouble yourself," said Ardyn as he walked over.

"I'm just…responding to her," Luz said, lowering her phone on her lap.

"You still don't feel like telling her, do you?" Ardyn asked, sitting down next to her.

Luz sighed. "I really miss her, Ardyn. But I can't leave here yet. I've made so many friends here and learned so much about magic and…about myself." She said, pulling her knees to her chest and holding them.

"I know what you mean," Ardyn said, looking at his hand. He then wrapped his arms around Luz's neck and hugged her while nuzzling her face. "But I'm still here for you, Luz, my awesome amigo."

Blushing, Luz pushed him away with a giggle. "Stop that! That tickles" She laughed as Ardyn hugged her again, nuzzling her face again.

"Oh, come on! You love doing this to me!" Ardyn laughed with her as they messed with one another. After a minute, they stopped and turned their heads to one another, smiling with bright blushes on their faces. Not noticing that their faces were drawing closer to one another.

However, the tender moment was interrupted when Hooty entered and smooshed his face against Ardyn's. "Hey, you two! You have a guest!" He said, wrapping himself around the two of them. "And she's beautiful."

"Hooty, if you don't let us go, I'm killing your head off." Ardyn held up his hand and summoned the Leviathan Axe to it.

Sensing the impending doom upon him, Hooty quickly retreated out the window, making Ardyn and Luz twirl around and fall on the floor. They got back up when their door opened, revealing their beautiful friend, Amity.

Amity entered through the door, picking feathers out of her hair with a sour look. "If that bird-tube ever talks to me again, I will destroy it."

"Amity!" Luz quickly ran over to her and hugged her. Making the green-haired girl blush until the Dominican girl pulled away. "What brings you around this neck of the woods?"

"I'm here to help train Ardyn," Amity told her, turning to look at the Hybrid.

"Oh! Then you can help us figure out what he should wear for Grom!" Luz ran over and picked up the outfits she initially pulled out. First, she holds up to black tux that would have made Ardyn look like Tuxedo Mask. "This one says, 'witch with a dark side.'" She then held up the otter suit, putting on a matching smile. "But this one says, 'I'm an otter... with a dark side.'"

Ardyn thought about it with his finger tapping on his chin. "I do like otters…."

"Ardyn, you need to take this seriously. If you can't defeat Grom, everyone on the island will have to live out their worst nightmare." Amity said with the utmost urgency to her crush. "We need you, Ardyn. I need you to stop that from happening."

Once again, the moment was ruined when Hooty entered the scene. "You want to hear my worst nightmare?" He asked, pressing his face right up against Amity. Amity scrunched up her face.

He's dead.

The next thing anyone knew, Amity began attacking the house demon as his body writhed around. He screamed out hoots as Ardyn and Luz desperately tried to get her to stop.

"Grom will transform into your darkest fears," Amity said. After the two friends got her to stop trying to kill Hooty, Amity brought Ardyn and Luz outside in front of the Owl House. She paced in front of them with her arms behind her back. Behind her, Hooty was now wearing an eyepatch and bandages.

Stopping her pacing, she turned and pointed at the group in front of her. "What do you fear most?"

The group in front of her consisted of Ardyn, Luz, Amity's siblings Edric and Emira, and Ryker. The other hybrid came over after being invited by Emira to help Ardyn with his coming fight with the nightmare monster.

Ardyn took a moment to think it over, while the others answered the question. "Want to say our greatest fears?" Edric suggested to Emira. "On three. One, two...

"Being alone forever! / Being stuck with you forever." Edric and Emira said at the same time. But when the brother heard her, he looked surprised and sad as the sister looked away like it was nothing.

"Monkeys," Ryker said.

"What?" Luz asked, looking at him with confusion.

"Monkeys, okay? I'm afraid of monkeys," Ryker said, crossing his arms and looking away with an embarrassed frown.

"Guys!" Amity shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Focus!"

"Right. In preparation, I've made a list!" Luz said, pulling a list from her pocket and holding it out to Amity.

"You made a list of my fears?" Ardyn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's not your list?"

"Maybe I know you more than you think I do," Luz said with a smug smirk. "Plus, I know you're too proud to make one."

Amity took the paper and read it over. Most of the things on the list were rather strange and seemed like things that would bother people. Overall, the Blight girl wasn't impressed. But when Edric, Emira, and Ryker read it, they chuckled. Finding it weird that Ardyn would be creeped out by this stuff.

"Uh, Luz, what did you put on that list?" Ardyn asked as she and the others backed away from him. Nonetheless, the three each draw a spell circle to create each item on the list.

A massive version of Luz's phone appeared next to Ardyn, flapping its bat wings. The screen showed a man with the next Andy John on it. "AAH! Conspiracy theorists!" He yelled, punching the phone.

A piece of paper puffed in front of him, and Ardyn caught it and read it. "No! Bad fanfics!" He yelled, crumpling up the paper and throwing it towards Luz.

She caught it and read what the fanfic was. "Hey wait a minute! You said you liked my stories!" Luz yelled angrily at him.

"I lied! I'm sorry!" Ardyn cried.

"Why do you hate my fanfics?!"

"The grammar mistakes, poor plot and character development at times, contradictory cliches that don't make sense for the characters, and you sometimes throw yourself in there out of the blue." Ardyn listed off, not realizing how meta he was being.

"...yeah, I got to work on character development."

The last thing on the list appeared as a poorly made claymation character that resembled Gumby. "AAH! Claymation!" Ardyn yelled, cutting its head off with the Leviathan Axe.

Ryker raised an eyebrow; "You're terrified of animated clay but not of Abominations?"

"Abominations are not made of clay, meaning they're not made of NIGHTMARES!"

Amity, however, was not impressed. "Not good enough!" She said, walking up to Ardyn as the illusions vanished. The hybrid looked at her wide-eyed as Amity got in his face. "I know you're brave, Ardyn, but that bravery has to come from fear. I know you don't want us to be worried about you, but we need to go deeper."

Ardyn stood there for a moment, trying to think of what would freak him out. What would it be that would make his knees shake if Grom found out? There was only one option for Ardyn, and it was one that he wouldn't like. But he had to face it if he wanted to save the Boiling Isles.

"Okay…I want you all to stand back. I'm…I'm going to use a fire spell, and I'm going to make it as big as I can."

Luz and Amity gasped when they heard that. "Ardyn, are you sure?" Luz asked, walking up to him.

"Yeah…Amity's right. Besides, I've wanted to do this for a long time." Ardyn said, backing up from the two girls to give himself some room.

Taking in a deep breath, Ardyn visualized the fire spell in his mind. Allowing it to form on his hands. Then, he channels energy into his hands.

In her bedroom, Eda looked at herself in the mirror as she put on a yellow bowtie. Seeing that she was still hot and sexy looking, even for her age, she smirked and gave herself the bedroom eyes. "Me-ow. Still got it."

There was a sudden blast of hot air that shattered the giant eyeball window of the house. This startled the witch, who looked through the splintered glass. Seeing a massive pillar of fire in front of the house, she quickly rushed out of the room.

Eda ran out of the house's front door and onto the front yard, Staff in hand. Emira and Edric looked impressed, Ryker looked amazed, and Luz and Amity looked nervous.

"Okay, I'm here! What's going…." Eda stopped mid-sentence and gasped at the sight in front of her.

The massive pillar of fire was being shot into the sky by Ardyn. The blonde boy was holding his arms in the air, struggling to keep the fire up and not freak out. He kept his eyes shut as he gritted his teeth, trying to keep his mind focused on the fire and nothing else.

"Dang, kid," Eda said, chuckling with an impressed expression. But then she realized what Ardyn was doing. "Wait a sec. You're training to be Grom King!"

"I…have…to!" Ardyn said, struggling to speak as he tried breathing deeply. Feeling his body burning up in his sweater. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked up at the fire. But that was when his mind had images of the nightmare flash before him. "Nope, not yet! Can't look at it!"

"That's it. I'm going to Bump, and I'm having him pick someone else!" Eda said, about to get on her staff to fly off. However, she was stopped by Luz grabbing onto Owlbert.

"Eda, don't! Let Ardyn do this!" Luz pleaded with her master.

"You think training will help him against Grom?" Eda asked, gesturing to Ardyn as he continued trying to control his fire. "Luz, you and Ardyn always go overboard, and I end up bailing you out. Now, what's the fun of watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it's my kid?"

"That's not going to happen!" Ardyn yelled over the raging inferno he was holding above his head. Sick and tired of hearing Eda doubt his abilities because of his fears. "I'll beat Grom and conquer my fears! My power doesn't CONTROL ME!"

Opening his glaring eyes, Ardyn took a deep breath and pulled the column of fire he had created down towards his hands. Everyone watched in amazement as he compressed the fire down into a large ball that he held above his head. Then, like a Spirit Bomb from Dragon Ball Z, the Hybrid yelled as he threw it over the cliff and across the sea. Letting it hit the water before the compressed flames were released, creating a massive fiery explosion.

Panting, Ardyn looked at the powerful spell he'd just cast with wide eyes. Amazed by his own power. Everyone else looked at him with eyes as wide as plates and their jaws hanging down.

"WOOOO! That was amazing!" Luz cheered as she rushed over and hugged Ardyn. The Blight Twins and Ryker quickly ran over and cheered for him after witnessing him overcome his fear.

But Eda still looked at her nephew with worry.

At that moment, Amity walked up to Ardyn, prompting the boys and Luz to stop so she could speak to him. "Wow, I've got to admit, Ardyn, that was…incredible!" She said with a big smile.

"Oh. Thanks, Amity," said the Hybrid with a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head, prompting Roswell to give him a playful nudge.

"You know, when I first met you and Luz, I honestly thought you were a bunch of dumb idiots that would have amounted to nothing and were just some jerks, but you've really proven me wrong."

"Uhhhh, cool. Thanks, dude." Ardyn glanced at Luz, feeling like this wasn't going the way they expected.

"Sure, you're still really young with your whole life ahead of you, and you're about to be put in a situation where your life would be cut short. But you've shown that no matter the challenge, you've always managed to find a way to come out on top. And that's something extraordinary."

"What's going on with you?" Ryker asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at her.

"Me? Nothing." Amity said, trying to play innocent.

"No, you're acting really weird," Luz said.

"I just want you all to know how much I appreciate you," Amity told Ardyn. "...That's it."

But Ardyn finally caught on and yelled, "YOU THINK I'M GONNA DIE, DON'T YOU?!"

"No, I don't!" Amity quickly denied it.

"No, you do, you definitely do! You're getting all sentimental and that's a serious red flag!" Ardyn yelled, pointing at her.

"Nooooo, Ardyn. Come on. You'll be fine! I've got total faith in you. You're one of the best witches I ever knew." Amity said with a nervous smile, not realizing that she just used a past tense line.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT PAST TENSE CRAP?!"

Amity finally gave up. "Okay, look, you are by no means ready for Grom, but we're literally out of time. So, get dressed and get ready for the fight."

"...That was the worst motivational speech, ever." Ryker said. "Of all time. But we'll take it!"

"We'll take it!" Luz said as Ardyn facepalms.

"Y'know what… I freaking hate you all."

"Arms so tired," said the Snaggleback in exhaustion as he kept himself up. Down below, the decorated Hexside gym was bustling with students dressed to impress on this night to remember. Rockabilly-style music is playing in the background by a band of living instruments. Couples were awkwardly dancing on the dance floor, while Willow was using her magic to don corsages onto some guests.

Emira sat alone on the bleachers, trying not to be jealous as she watched her brother dance with a girl from their track. Just like everyone else, both were very nervous. However, it was clear to Emira that her brother genuinely liked the girl and she the same.

But who was going to dance with her? Just like Amity, she was the hottest girl in her grade. So why wasn't anyone asking her to dance? Emira looked around, thinking someone was going to walk up to her and ask her to dance.

But when she looked behind herself, Emira caught sight of a particular person. A person she found to be unique and had piqued her interest as she got up and was about to go greet that boy until she ran right into Viney. Both girls looked at each other for a moment before looking towards their target of affection. Without saying a word, the two headed towards their target,

Sitting a few rolls up the bleacher was Ryker Goldmark. The boy was dressed nicely, just like everyone else at the party, but he was sitting away from the crowd, working on fixing a scroll. He was so focused on the device that he didn't notice someone walking up to him.

"Hello, Ryker." Ryker looked up from his work when he heard her beautiful voice and saw the older Blight sister and his oldest friend standing before him. Smiling at him with that gorgeous smile of theirs while leaning over with their hands behind their back. Happy to see them again, the young man smiled.

"Hello Emira. Hello Viney." he said as he got up to greet them properly.

But while everyone was happily dancing and having a good time. Eda, Romani and Musashi were waiting nervously to the side. She looked at her watch, which had an image of King as the arms. King then approached her. "Why so twitchy, witchy? Trying to remember if I've ever seen you this nervous before."

"Well, of course I'm worried! I'm going to have to save Ardyn from a nightmare monster! Ugh, so much for Mama's fun night out." Eda complained.

"Things will be fine Eda. Just relax." Romani said as Musashi nodded.

The lights dimmed, and Gus got on stage with the microphone. "Ladies, gentlemen, and assorted demons!" He said, wearing a gray tuxedo with a white shirt and a blue bow tie. The younger witch stood in the spotlight, speaking into the microphone as everyone looked at him. "It's almost time for our main Grom event. Please, please, take a seat, and be aware that the first three rows are designated splash zones." He pointed over to one of the guests, who was sitting in the first row, wearing a raincoat and opening an umbrella.

The students cheer while Eda, Romani, Musashi, and King sit towards the back of the bleachers. "Wow, Gus is really good at this. They're hanging on his every word!" King said, watching as Gus encouraged the crowd to applaud.

"I see we've got Principal Bump in the house! Now, sir, I hope you won't throw us in detention because, uh, we're going to raise the roof." Gus told the crowd, as the spotlight went onto Principal Bump, who was sitting in the bleachers. He made a raising-the-roof motion with his hands and smiled nervously as the students cheered.

"Whoo, I, uh, hope my material's up to snuff." King nervously said, pulling out his cards. However, he dropped the cards and fell back into a sitting position. Sitting on a whoopie cushion that was randomly placed there. "What do you think will go better with the youths, close-up magic or impressions?"

Eda grabbed King by the collar and held him up. "Oh, King. Teenagers are brutal. They'll boo anyone, and that kind of public humiliation can stick with you for life." She warned her pet demon, making King scream in fear.

"Nice going, Eda." Both Romani and Musashi said in unison, causing Eda to chuckle nervously.

Ardyn stood outside the school, wearing a blue leisure suit, with a yellow shirt and dress shoes. Waiting for Luz to catch up, he tried fixing his tie, trying not to be nervous. The isles were counting on him to stop Grom, and he didn't want to fail them. Talk about no pressure.

"You ready, Ardyn?" asked the voice of Luz from behind him. Ardyn turned around and was amazed by the dress she was wearing.

With her hair combed back, Luz had what could be described as a mishmash of clothes. She wore a black tailcoat with purple accents over a white dress shirt. And around her waist was a pink tutu, with purple leggings and brown boots.

Ardyn smiled and said, "You…You look wonderful."

Luz blushed hard and looked away with a sheepish smile. "Thanks. You look handsome. N-Not that you didn't before!" She quickly said, making Ardyn blush too. "Sorry I was late. I was trying to figure something out."

"Like what?" Ardyn asked as Luz looked away for a bit to remember what she did a couple of hours ago.

[Flashback]

Luz looks around in her room to make she is alone for a while. She needs to handle this strange feeling she had for a while. And knows only one person that could possibly help her out. And that person lives inside of her. "Hey, Nero. You there? I need your advice." Said Luz as she taps her chest a few times.

A red energy orb comes out of her chest and then slowly grows and forms Nero, the Red Saber before her eyes. Nero opens her eyes. "Yes Praetor? Is there something i can help you with?" asked Nero.

"Yes... it is a serious matter one. You see... I have begun to have feelings for not only my friend Ardyn, but also Amity at the same time. I don't know which one to start to have feelings for. And it is making my insides hurt. And i sometimes feel like they are turning outside out. Please... Nero, do you have suggestions on what I should do." Said Luz as has a slight blush on her face.

"Ah... The feeling of love. Truly, my Praetor has become in the eye of the beholder for two people. The answer is simple. Why not just love them both?" asked Nero.

"Huh?" asked Luz as a like a confused question mark appears above her head.

"My Praetor. It is okay to love two people. In my time, harems were allowed. So, it would be okay to love two people at the same time. And won't that me that the both of them will be happy and not be sad." Said Nero as she smiles while making this suggestion and advice to Luz. Hearing this makes Luz entire face blush and her body stiff straight up.

"I... harem... okay... thank you Nero. I... think that will work for me. And... it makes more sense now. If I love them both and accept their love at the same time... we would be like one big couple!" Said Luz as Nero advice suddenly becomes perfect logic to her. "But here's the thing. There's this dance coming up called Grom night and I need your help. Will you help me with some dance moves?"

Nero smiled at her Master's request. "Alright Praetor. Before this so called Grom comes up, I am going to help you learn how to dance. The first step is learning how to dance with your feet. And dance in unison with your dance partner." Said Nero.

"Um... and How do I do that? I don't know if I can. I think I got two left feet when it comes to dancing." Said Luz as she tries to demonstrate her to dance only to misstep and nearly falls forward. Only for Nero to gently catch her and gently hold her right hand and place her left hand around Luz waist.

"Here. Follow my lead and mimic my moments." Said Nero as she begins to do a stylish version of a slow dance. It took a little bit of time, but Luz was able to mimic the footing just like Nero during this slow dance.

Nero smiles as she begins to kick things up a notch by doing a twirl dance with her Praetor with her being the one being spined gently and Luz holds her in her arms. Before then feeling being dipped backwards into Nero arms.

Nero then spins Luz a bit before doing this while holding her in the air gently. Luz giggles a bit from feeling her Heroic Spirit, Nero is teaching her on how to dance with her partner for Grom. This makes her happy.

[End of Flashback]

"Just some dancing tips from Nero. Nothing to worry about." Luz said, without adding the harem part from her memory. "Sooooooo, you ready?"

That was his Luz, always thinking about others. Ardyn took a deep breath and said, "Let's do this."

Together, they entered the school and made their way toward the gym.

At the same time, Amity stepped out of the gym's entrance and looked around. Hoping to see Ardyn before he went off to battle. As she waited, she looked down at her note from this morning. Gently smoothing it out with her thumb.

"Ardyn and Luz, will you go to Grom with me?" -Amity.

To say that the two friends had changed her life would be an understatement. Ardyn and Luz had significantly impacted the people around them in less than two months and generally improved their lives. Amity being one of those people. She wasn't proud of the person she used to be, but Ardyn and Luz helped change her into a better person. The same person that used to be friends with Willow. The girl that would read to kids and was loved by them. They make her want to be a better woman.

Someone that they would be proud to fall in love with.

Obviously, Amity had started to develop a crush on not just Ardyn, but Luz too. Polyamorous relationships were not an uncommon thing on the Boiling Isles. Yet, she didn't know if it was the same thing in the human world. Would Amity regret the idea of asking them? Did they even feel the same way she felt? Amity knew that Ardyn and Luz liked each other the same way yet wouldn't admit it. Would it be okay if she asked to join in their relationship?

"Hey, Amity!" Ardyn said as he and Luz walked up to her. "You look beautiful."

Amity blushed at the compliment and approached the two of them, pocketing the note as she examined their outfits. "Thanks. You look handsome," she said, before looking at Luz. "Uh, you look nice. Strange, but... nice. So, are you ready?"

Ardyn looked away before glancing at her. "Honestly…I'm still really nervous. You girls know I'm dealing with many problems, and now everyone is looking to me to beat this thing."

Luz placed her hand on Ardyn's shoulder. "We know, and we're here for you. The moment you start having trouble, we'll jump in."

"She's right," Amity said, taking Ardyn's hands into her own. "Honestly, despite what I said earlier, I'm kind of amazed by how fearless you are most of the time. You've done things I could never do."

"Wow, that's like the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Ardyn said with a smirk.

"You going soft on us, Blight?" Luz asked, crossing her arms and looking at the pretty girl with a raised eyebrow.

Amity laughed and smirked back at them. "In your dreams." She said, only for them to hear Gus through the microphone in the gym.

"Now, introducing our Grom King," Gus said as Principal Bump joined him on stage. "You know him; you love him; you've seen him kick butt. Ardyn, the hybrid!"

The students cheered as the spotlight went on Ardyn as he walked through the doorway.

Ardyn turned to look at Luz and Amity. "Wish me luck!" He said, drawing Leviathan Axe from his back and walking forward.

Amity and Luz, both nervous, quietly said together, "Luck."

Back on the stage, the pedestal with the red button skitters up to Gus. Gus pressed the button. Everyone standing on the dance floor gasped as the floor opened to reveal the Grom arena. Skara and Bo were about to lean in for a kiss when they heard the floor opening. They then rip off their formal clothing to reveal their Grom jerseys.

"Yes, Ardyn!" Skara screamed with colossal intensity. Bo just laughed and swung her dress over her head in the air.

The weapon racks rose on either side of Ardyn. However, already having his weapon in hand, he walked past them. Standing at the top of the ramp, Ardyn looked at his battle axe and concentrated. The markings of its glow with his magic flowing into the blade. Smirking at it, he held it in both hands and ventured into the arena.

Walking across the arena, Ardyn looked around cautiously, knowing Grom could be anywhere. That's when he heard something behind him. Turning around, the hybrid saw something slowly forming behind him.

"Alright, you slime ball. Let's rock!" Ardyn said, ready to fight the monster.

Grom splits into several forms and turns into poorly made claymation monsters. They looked like they wanted to be made by Ray Harryhausen but missed the mark by miles.

"You cheap knockoffs made me miss out on an outstanding movie genre!" Ardyn yelled, before charging at the monsters. He swung his battle axe at them in a broad arch, shooting shards of ice at the beast, and impaling them. Making them dissolve back into their black goo forms.

The crowd of students cheered for him as Gus and Bump watched from the stage. "And there he goes, folks! Using that characteristic power of his to keep Grom at bay! And now, to hand things over to my co-emcee: King!" Gus said as King hopped up on the stage.

Walking over to Gus and taking the mic from him, King faced the crowd. "Hel-LO, Hexside! So…" He dropped his cards when he pulled them out, again. To make matters worse, the microphone feedback screeched. Feeling very nervous, King tugged at his collar. "Oh, oh gosh. Um... whoo. Wow, these lights are warm. Observe! Ardyn, is um... he's down there, all right."

"FOR GOD'S SAKE, KING, LEARN GRAMMAR!" Ardyn yelled from the pit.

"And, uh, yes, he is! There he goes! Folks, he's battling the thing, and uh…." King started sweating while choking up. This caused the crowd to begin booing at him.

"Bring back the funny kid!" One of the kids said.

"You will clap for me! Please?" King begged. Hoping that something would happen to turn the booing into claps. But nothing came. When he wasn't getting what he wanted, he threw down the microphone and ran offstage, wailing.

"King!" Gus said as he followed him.

Back in the arena, Ardyn was fighting the illusion of the online conspiracy theorist. "You may think that you're informing the public about the dangers of the government, but all you're doing is projecting your insecurities onto others and causing division in the country!"

He roared and fired a blast of flame at the illusion. Burning it and making Grom scream in agony. As the illusion disappeared, the students cheered for the hybrid. Eda crossed her arms and looked at Ardyn with a smile. Perhaps she was wrong to have doubted him.

"Ardyn has lasted surprisingly long. But what form will Grom take next?" Bump said as he pulled out his own microphone, eager to see what would happen next.

"Is that really the best you can do, Grom!? Come one! I'm right here!" Ardyn shouted as he looked around for Grom, twirling his battle axe. That's when he heard something behind him, making him turn around to see the monster's new form.

While still looking like it was made of black goo, the illusion took the form of Eda's curse form. It had glowing eyes and growled as it crept toward Ardyn. In the stands, Luz and some kids looked at Eda, who groaned and hid in her hair.

"Okay, that's scary. But I've faced Eda before and beaten her monster form, and I can do it again!" Ardyn said, narrowing his eyes at the monster. He concentrated a light spell into the blade of the Leviathan Axe, making the battle axe glow a bright light.

Grom tried to shield its eyes from the light and reached out to Ardyn's head. But the Hybrid quickly stepped out of the way of the monster's arm and cut it off with one slash. Grom retracted its arm and reformed it before lunging at Ardyn. The Hybrid jumped back before the monster could land on him.

Everyone watched as Ardyn continued to avoid being killed by the monster as it attacked him with slashes with its claws. But remembering what he learned from the Construction Track, Ardyn stabbed the battle axe into the floor and concentrated the magic he took from the power glyph.

Grom tried to attack again, but never got the chance. Shooting out of the ground at it was a pillar of earth as sharp as a razor blade. It cleaved the illusion of Eda's monster form by the waist. Making the top half fall and splat on the ground.

The students once again cheered for Ardyn as he approached the deformed goo. "Oh yeah! Don't mess with this hybrid. Four!" He yelled, ready to swing his battle axe into Grom like a golf club.

But suddenly, the weakened monster reached out with a black tendril and touched Ardyn's head, making his eyes glow. Grom's eyes reformed and glowed as well. All the monster's body pieces gathered and condensed back in on itself. There was a bright light, making Ardyn shield his eyes. When he opened his eyes again to see what form Grom took, the Hybrid was confused.

Standing before him was a humanoid being that looks like the whole body is covered in shadows.

A hush fell over the crowd as they didn't expect the Fear Bringer to assume such a weak form. Why would someone as powerful as Ardyn be afraid of this little boy?

"Wha…What the heck?" Ardyn asked, unsure how what he saw was supposed to scare him. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Really? You don't know? Allow me to show you." The being then held up its hands and opened them.

Suddenly, the arena was engulfed in a raging inferno. Students standing near the opening were knocked back by the intensity of the powerful flames. Everyone started getting worried, especially those closest to the Hybrid.

"ARDYN!" Eda, Romani, Musashi, King, Luz, and Amity screamed.

Down in the arena, Ardyn's body froze as the fire surrounded him and the illusion. Too scared to even move as he realized that he was staring at this being of shadow.

"Now, do you remember?" The illusion asked, forming into his overall appearance is based on himself but with darker skin, black hair, golden eyes, and glyphs tattooed all over his body. His clothing consists of a tattered red waist cloth, a bandana of same color, and black bandages on his forearms and shins. "The fate that awaits you? Like what happened to Kiritsugu Emiya."

Up in the stands, Luz gasped when she heard this. "What?"

"Kid, don't believe a thing that comes out of Grom's mouth," Eda said, looking down at the arena with an expression of anxiety.

Ardyn took a step back, sweating profusely. "No…No! What happened will never happen here!" He yelled at the illusion in anger.

"Is that what you think?" Grom-Ardyn asked as another illusion appeared. This one was of Eda, who stood near the raging fire. "That you have control? Over the powers you were blessed with."

"What the hell do you know?!" Ardyn yelled back.

"More than you, apparently." Grom asked, looking up at the ceiling. Listening to students groaning in pain after being thrown on their backs. "Do you not hear their pain?"

Hearing another illusion forming behind him, Ardyn turned around. His eyes widened at the sight of a vision being formed. These took the form of Luz, Amity, King, Eda, Willow, Gus, Musashi, Romani, Ryker, the friends he made in the Detention Track, and Bump. They stood around Ardyn and Grom, just inches away from the flaming wall surrounding them.

"Who's to say that everyone wouldn't die because of you? Your lack of will to use your Servants."

"No…"

"BECAUSE YOU'LL DESTROY EVERYTHING!" Grom-Ardyn shouted at Ardyn. The magic lines when he lost control appeared, covering the illusion's body. "EVERYONE WILL BURN!"

That's when Grom-Ardyn and everyone all caught on fire. Ardyn was forced to watch as his friends and family started melting like clay candles, much to the horror of everyone watching.

"NO!"

"YOU ARE A CURSE, ARDYN PIERCE!" Grom-Ardyn transformed into a giant and terrifying-looking flaming head that glared at the Hybrid with fire in his empty black eyes. "YOU BRING DEATH TO ALL WHO FOLLOW YOU!"

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ardyn cried out in an agonizing yell as he dropped the Leviathan Axe and fell to his knees. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he grabbed his head. Staring at the nightmare before him, unable to cope with the horror in front of him.

Everyone watching couldn't describe the horror, dread, and fear they felt for the poor blonde boy. They had all heard about Grom bringing their worst fears to life, but this was beyond anything they could have imagined. Seeing its chance, Grom's eyes started glowing. The monster morphed into a massive, monstrous form. The fire disappeared, and the beast lunged at Ardyn.

Ardyn didn't have time to react before Grom was already upon him. Opening its massive jaw, it shot out black tendrils and entangled Ardyn before pulling the Hybrid. Ardyn tried to escape but was helpless when the monster's jaws closed on him. Taking him inside its body.

Everyone stared down at the arena in horror. Unable to believe what they'd just seen. Luz and Amity were the most torn up. Both had tears rolling down their faces. They had just seen their boy crush being eaten by the same monster they were so confident he would defeat. The school chose Ardyn to beat Grom and take down the monster, hopefully once and for all. However, everyone was now frightened and backed away from the arena's opening.

For the first time in the school's history, a student has failed to stop Grom. And the door was still open.

Sweating nervously, Bump simply said into the microphone, "Oh dear."

Grom let out a loud roar of victory. After decades of being trapped under the floor of Hexside, one of its champions finally failed. Seeing the path to freedom opened and without a child to try and kill, the monster seized the opportunity. It ran up the ramp, making the kids in its way run for it as it reached the top. No one was in its path as it ran out of the gym and down the school's hallways. Busting out the main doors and into the wild.

"Grom has escaped!" Principal Bump shouted in wide-eyed terror. Everyone in the gym started to panic.

"ARDYN!" Luz cried with tears rolling down her face. She was about to run down the stands when Eda stopped her.

"Get on!" Eda said, already on her staff with Romani. "Ardyn may still be alive inside that monster, but we had to stop it!"

Hearing of the possibility of Ardyn being alive, Luz quickly wiped her tears away and got on the staff. With an urgency she'd never felt in a long time, Eda kicked Owlbert into high gear and rocketed towards one of the windows. The Owl Lady formed a shield before smashing through the glass, protecting herself and Luz. Then they sped off after Grom.

However, inside the gym, as the principal tried to calm everyone down, someone else heard what Eda said. And while Gus may have been convincing King to try and face his fears and tell jokes to calm everyone down, Amity wasn't just going to sit around and listen to the demon.

Looking down at the arena, she saw the Leviathan Axe was still where Ardyn had dropped it.

"Pick it up." A voice spoke out as Amity turned to see Musashi with a serious look on her face. "Ardyn's going to need that back."

The trees zoomed past below the flying staff. The monster was running as fast as a speeding car through the woods. Eda and Luz stared down at it as they kept up with Grom.

"We have to get Ardyn out of there! He could be suffocating!" Luz exclaimed, wanting to save her best friend's life.

"Not as much as everyone's going to be if we don't stop Grom from reaching the ocean!" Eda said over the rushing winds.

"What?" Luz asked.

"Grom was trapped underground because it needed water to grow! If it reaches the ocean, it'll grow into a giant monster. Large enough to overrun the isles!" Romani explained the severity of the situation.

Luz looked ahead and saw Grom's destination. It was heading for a cliff that dropped off into the ocean. Now she knew how significantly bad things were about to get, especially if Grom jumped off that cliff.

"I'll stop it!" She declared.

"No, I will!" Eda told her. "You're not ready for this."

"Ardyn is inside of that monster! I must save him! Please, Eda!" The Owl Lady and Romani looked back to see just how desperate Luz was. However, in her eyes, she saw the determination Luz had to save Ardyn.

"You really do like my nephew, huh?" Eda asked with a smirk, making Luz blush brightly. "Alright, but we're stepping in the moment things get bad."

"Good luck Luz." Romani said as Eda increased her speed and flew past Grom. Once the group reached the cliff, Luz jumped off. Landing on the ground, she rolled before coming to a stop just before she went over the cliff.

"Well, I'm not doing that again," she said with a smile.

Grom's roar brought her back to the situation at hand, and Luz quickly stood back up. The monster busted out of the treeline and stopped when it saw the Dominican human.

Luz quickly pulled out her glyphs and prepared for battle. "Alright, Gromarama, you ready for a beat down, human-style?!"

With a battle cry, Luz rushed at Grom, and the monster charged at her too. Luz was about to attack with a fire spell. However, just as she was about to unleash a torrent of flames on the monster, Grom formed another tendril and reached out ahead of itself.

Like Ardyn, when Grom touched Luz's head, the eyes of both the human and the monster glowed. Retracting the tendril away from her, Grom's body started to reform. With Ardyn's body still inside, the Fear Bringer changed into Camila Noceda.

Camila looked at her daughter, who looked at her in shock. "Mija?"

"M-Mom!?" Luz exclaimed, backing away as Camila approached her. "What are you doing here?

Over by the trees, Eda saw the exchange and immediately started to worry. "Oh no."

Camila, looking concerned and confused, looked around at their surroundings. "Luz, what is this terrible place? Espérate un momento, this isn't camp. Have you been here all these weeks?" She asked, looking at her daughter with a look of suspicion. "Where's Ardyn? Weren't you supposed to keep him safe?"

"I—I can explain!" Luz said, believing that she was talking to her real mother.

Seeing the situation fall back into its hands, the illusion of Camila morphed back into Grom's actual form. It towered over Luz as the fake mother glared at her daughter. "Mija, have you been lying to me?!"

"N-NO!" Luz cried out, backing away from Grom. She grabbed her head and shook it while shutting her eyes tight. "T-This isn't real!"

"Why would you lie to me?! What have I done to make you keep secrets from me, Mija?!" Grom said through Camila's voice.

"You're not really my mom!" Luz yelled, turning away.

"How can you say that cariño?! You're breaking my heart!" The monster raised its claw to strike down on Luz.

Hit before it could, it was hit in the back by a fireball from Eda. "Alright, that's it! I'm not letting you take away my human, you misshapen excuse for a monster!" She said in a fury, just about to cast another spell.

However, just before the Owl Lady could, Amity shouted as she jumped out from the trees with the Leviathan Axe in hand. The battle axe felt heavy in her hands, forcing her to hold it with both as she rushed towards the battle.

Amity quickly put herself between Luz and Grom and stood in a fighting stance with the Pierce' family battle axe. "Stay away from her!"

Grom growled and reached out an inky arm towards Amity, grabbing her body and lifting the witch high above the ground. Amity tried to free her arm to cut the arm with the battle axe, but Grom's arm was out of reach for her to use the anti-magic blade.

"I'm sorry, Ardyn," Amity said, looking at the barely visible silhouette of the Hybrid's body floating around in Grom's body. Her voice carried the immense regret she felt for not being able to save him, and she started to tear up.

Grom's eyes glowed blue, reading Amity's mind as her eyes glowed too.

"Amity! No, your fear!" Luz yelled.

Grom grew, becoming more blob-like as it rose into the air. Its body bubbled and boiled. With staff clenched in her hands, Eda watched as Grom transformed again until it finally shrunk.

Ardyn's body was pulled out of Grom's body and held in the monster's arm. Its goo wrapped all around Ardyn's body, arms, legs, and hands to control his movement, while the Hybrid remained unconscious.

"Ardyn!" Luz yelled at her hybrid friend. However, things only became stranger when Grom's main body placed Amity and Ardyn down on their feet and morphed into a humanoid body. "Who is that?"

Amity's eyes stopped glowing, allowing her to see Ardyn's body and the humanoid silhouette as it held her shoulder.

"Ardyn," she said softly.

However, before she could do anything to wake him up, Grom reached into Amity's pocket and took the pink note out of it. The humanoid looked up at Amity while forcing Ardyn's head to do the same.

Then it ripped the note in half, letting it fall to the ground. Amity closed her eyes, embarrassed while clutching her dress. Unable to take the sight of what was supposed to be Luz taking Ardyn's hand and walking away. Grom reformed around the Hybrid again, trapping him back inside its body.

Amity picked up one half of the note from the ground and held it to her heart. Curious about the other half of the letter, Luz walked over and picked up the other. She unfurled it and read it.

"Will you go to Grom with me?" -Amity.

Gasping at what it said, she looked up at Amity. "You were afraid of getting rejected," said Luz, but was still confused by why Grom would use Ardyn's body. Sure, it still wanted to keep him for his power, obviously. But one thing that didn't make sense to Luz was the beast showing the Hybrid's face. What was the reason for letting her see his face?

But that's when Luz came to a revelation and looked at Amity with wide eyes. "You have a crush on Ardyn, don't you?"

Amity looked away from Luz, her face turning bright red with embarrassment. "Y-Yeah…"

"Amity…why didn't you say anything?" Luz asked.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to Luz. "Because of you, Luz. I know that he likes you a lot. And… I know that you have a crush on Ardyn."

The Dominican girl blushed with embarrassment and quickly tried to deny it. "What?! No…" Luz trailed off when she saw Amity giving her a knowing look that said there was no use in lying to her. In the end, Luz relented and threw her arms up. "Ugh, okay! Fine! I like Ardyn."

Amity smirked at her. "Feel better?"

"I guess…" Luz twiddled her fingers as she started explaining, "I've always liked Ardyn. He's just such an amazing guy with a heart of gold, even if he is rough around the edges. But that's part of what I love about him. At first, I saw him as a great friend, but…ever since coming here, I've seen a side of him I've never seen. He's bloomed in this world and being around him makes me so happy. He inspires me to become a better witch. I… guess that's why I'm falling in love with him." She said, as a smile of admiration and love formed on her face the more, she thought about the Hybrid.

Amity stared at Luz wide-eyed, amazed by the Dominican girl's confession. The beautiful green-haired witch talked next and smiled a little. "I admit that I wasn't the best witch to Ardyn—or you, but that didn't stop him from wanting to be my friend. And as time went on, and as we continued hanging out, I realized just how much of a remarkable guy he really is. He helped me remember the person I used to be and made me feel things I've never felt for any other guy."

Lost in their own little world, Luz and Amity stood together by the cliff, thinking about their mutual feelings for the Hybrid. "Huh, and here I am, worried about his crush on you," the Dominican girl admitted. This made Amity look at her in surprise. "I've got an idea! What if the two of us take Ardyn to Grom together?"

She held out her hand for Amity to take. Surprised again, Amity felt her smile grow. Even though Luz didn't know about her crush on her, Amity still felt this was the human's way of accepting her feelings for her. "Really?" She asked, reaching out to Luz's hand.

"That's what friends do," Luz said with a beaming smile. Amity shared the smile until she looked sternly at Grom as the monster growled. Having waited long enough, it rose and towered above them, roaring menacingly from its massive jaws.

"Well, then, let's teach this bastard what happens when it takes our date!" Amity declared, determined to rescue both their crush. Turning to Luz, she stabbed the Leviathan Axe into the ground and held her hand out to the human girl. "May I have this dance?"

Looking at Amity's hand with wide eyes, the other girl grinned at her. Luz took her hand, and both the human girl and the witch girl pulled themselves close to one another. Their faces were inches from one another, with a hand clasping the other's while their second hand was placed on their waist. The moon shone brightly behind them as they were ready to dance.

And dance they did. Both girls started dancing with each other, with Luz spinning Amity around as she lifted her up by her waist. When she came back down, Amity spun around and cast a spell with her feet. Forming a giant abomination below them, which rose from the ground with both girls on it. Fanning out her plant glyph cards while giving her partner a seductive look in her eyes. Pulling her back towards her, Amity dipped Luz, and she slapped a glyph onto the abomination. They jumped off, and the abomination launched itself toward Grom.

The monster roared and charged at the abomination and ate it when it flew into its mouth. However, a green light started moving within it.

Luz landed and caught Amity, spinning her around several times before putting her on her feet. As they finished and held hands, striking a pose, and looking at each other, Grom's chest was ripped open by vines that pushed Ardyn out of its body. Making the monster roar in agony. Ardyn hit the ground and rolled a bit toward the girls. Seeing their crush out of the monster, they let go of each other's hands and ran towards him.

"Ardyn!" Luz and Amity cried out as both girls knelt beside him.

Hearing their voices, Ardyn groaned and opened his eyes. Seeing both looking down at him, he smiled. "Hey, girls."

Luz and Amity sighed in relief and helped Ardyn sit up. "You had us scared for a moment," Amity said, smiling as Ardyn groaned and rubbed his head.

With a sad sigh, Ardyn looked down in shame. "I'm…I'm sorry you had to see that. What Grom showed you all."

"Ardyn, stop," Luz said, placing a hand on his cheek and turning his head towards her. "I don't believe a single thing that Grom said. I don't believe for a moment you're a curse."

"Me too," Amity said, placing her hand on Ardyn's thigh. He looked at her, and the green-haired witch smiled. "We both know that you'd never do anything to hurt us. Please, don't destroy yourself thinking you are."

"I don't want you girls to get hurt," Ardyn said, shaking his head.

"Then you'll have to protect us, just like we'll have to protect you," Luz said, with Amity nodding in agreement.

Ardyn looked at the two beautiful girls and their beautiful smiles. Making it clear to him that they didn't think less of him for what his fears were and for failing to stop Grom. Denying the claims Grom made and showing him that they would stand with him through anything. Hearing their words made his love for both girls grow, and his determination to master his power grew along with it.

Standing on his feet, Ardyn turned towards the Leviathan Axe and held out his hand. On command, the battle axe flew into his grasp.

"Then let's finish this. Together, girls." Ardyn said with a smile as they stood up with him. Expressing the same determination as their Grom King as the monster started to reform again.

Ardyn pointed the Leviathan Axe at Grom and charged it with his magic. Amity came to his left side and stood close to him. With her shoulder pressed against his, the green-haired witch placed her right hand on his left hand. Then Amity drew a magic circle around the blade with her left hand. Luz did the same on Ardyn's right side. Standing close to him with their shoulders touching, she placed her left hand on his right. Then she put a plant glyph on Leviathan Axe.

Grom growled at the kids and charged.

Ardyn unleashed a large beam of energy from his battle axe at Grom. The largest beam was blue, while the two smaller beams that spiraled around it were purple and green. Representing the combined powers as they slammed into Grom head-on. Creating a massive explosion of blinding lights as tendrils of wood were briefly seen shooting up.

When the light faded, Grom was no more. In its place was a massive tree with pink and purple leaves with glowing blue lines shining from the trunk and branches. Nothing was left of the Fear Bringer.

Grom was defeated.

Lowering the Leviathan Axe, Ardyn, Luz, and Amity smiled at the tree they had made together. The girls looked up as a gold tiara with a purple flower jewel appeared on both their heads. As for the hybrid, a golden coronet with a purple flower jewel at the top was placed on his head.

The three young adults smiled brightly at each other, having never felt as happy as they did at that moment.

"So…as Grom King, will you take your Grom Queens to the dance?" Luz asked, smiling teasingly at Ardyn, making the boy blush.

Rubbing the back of his head, Ardyn said, "I-I guess. Only if my Queens will join me."

He was then surprised when both girls took his hands and interlaced their fingers with his. Luz and Amity looked at Ardyn lovingly.

"We'd love to," Amity said softly. But the moment was interrupted by King running to the side of the three kids. With a microphone, he said,

"And there you have it, folks. A happy ending for this year's Grom. Let's give a big hand to our Grom King, Ardyn, and his Queens, Luz and Amity!" Ardyn laughed sheepishly while Luz flashed a toothy smile, and Amity blushed awkwardly.

Having arrived after the three of them defeated Grom, the students pop out of the bushes and run toward them, cheering for the Hybrid and his Grom Queens for beating Grom one and for all. They picked up the three of them and paraded them toward the school. Ardyn laughed as Luz put a hand on Amity's shoulder. Standing away from the kids, Eda smiled at Ardyn and the girls while clapping for them.

Next to her, Gus ran over to King and gave him two thumbs up. "You did it, buddy!"

"Of course, I did it! I'm the King of Demons, and I've never had stage fright in my life!" He yelled into the microphone. The parading students grabbed King and passed him up to Ardyn, who held him over his head. "They love me!"

Ardyn, Luz, and Amity laughed and smiled at each other warmly. The reign of the nightmare monster was finally over, and the Hybrid had saved the Boiling Isles.

However, the night is still young… and will soon be filled with terror.

It was night and the sea seemed calm or at least as calm as it could be in the Boiling Islands, when suddenly something began to emerge from the sea. The moonlight illuminated the place, and it was possible to distinguish that it came out of the water. It was a tall figure but seemed to be hunched over. It was wearing some kind of ragged robe with a white hood. When the moon illuminated the figure's face, all that was seen was a skeletal face. It seemed the very personification of death.

The being stood for a moment before kneeling towards an individual in front of him that materialized in front of the hooded figure. It is a tall and muscular man, he has a handsome, aged appearance, with a cross-shaped beard, long, curled white hair, crimson eyes, and a tall crown upon his head. He adorns golden armor and a white and black body suit, with gold line details. A golden cross is also placed at the center of his chest, and black cloth drapes from his pauldrons.

"This is my command!" the armored man said with an authoritative voice. "My Master wants you to retrieve three individuals: Ryker Goldmark, Ardyn Pierce, and Luz Noceda. Bring them to us. Thou haven't to fear of a simple task. Now go!"

The hooded figure nodded as he left the beach heading to Bonesborough as the armored man disappeared in a shower of magical energy. After a while it arrived in the city while walking through the night streets. A guard who was talking to two others saw it and found him suspicious.

"Hey you! The one with the hood! Wait a minute!" Said the guard, but the hooded figure ignored him.

"You're deaf!? Did I tell you to wait-!? " Said the guard and then run towards the stranger and try to grab it by the tunic. But before the guard's hand touched the cloth, the hooded figure turned and grasped the guard's hand with its left hand.

"What are you doing!? Let me go!" The guard ordered the hooded man. The hooded figure said nothing as he simply ripped off the guard's hand, causing blood to gush out.

"Aaahhh!" The guard screamed in agony as he knelt on the ground and grabbed his bleeding stump as the hooded figure threw the guard's hand aside.

"Partner!" The second guard yelled to go to the aid of the first. He drew his sword and attacked the hooded figure, but it grabbed the sword by the edge without even cutting itself. Then with its force it split the sword in half and used the part that was still in its hand to stab the guard in the head, killing him on the spot.

"Oh, my titan! " Said the third guard scared.

"Call the emperor's coven and warn more guards! Runs!" The first guard yelled at his partner.

"But ..." The third guard said.

"Do it!" Ordered the guard. The other guard did as he told him and ran off leaving the kneeling guard to his fate. The guard looked at the hooded figure for a moment before speaking.

"Do what you have to do monster!" Said the guard and suddenly everything went black as the hooded figure raised Its hand towards his chest before he felt a squeeze.

Meanwhile someone was watching them from a distant distance.

An elderly man dressed elegantly in black with white gloves and holding a cane watched from the top of the Titan's skull as the hooded figure head into the city. He had gray hair, a thick beard that covered his lower jaw, and bright red eyes. This was Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshall, an ancestor of the Dead Apostles who possessed the power of the second true magic, the Kaleidoscope.

"So, it has already started?" a deep voice spoke up causing Zelretch to look towards a being covered in shadows like a veil to hide their identity.

"Indeed. I hope you don't think it's bad that you gave a certain girl and two boys a little nudge. You know as well as I do that, they will have a very important role to play in this war." Zelretch said to the person covered in shadows. "Especially when they meet them: The Wielders of Calamity."

"Perhaps, but sadly we're on a time clock and I want to meet those three, especially Ardyn Pierce and Ryker Goldmark." The one in shadows spoke, the voice echoed like it was in a voice modulator to make it sound muffled but clear to understand, as the shadowy being disappeared on the spot. The Dead Apostle only just chuckled.

"Whatever happens during this Ultimate Holy Grail War, one thing is clear. This place, along with many others, are going to be shaken to the ground. " Zelretch said with an amused smile before disappearing as well.

We are in the gym at the Hexside school where the Grom dance was taking place as we see Luz, Ardyn and Amity relaxing on the benches.

Luz and Amity had defeated Grom's beast and had become the king and queens. Now they were having fun at the party and even took photographs with their friends. The party was going great, and everyone was having fun.

"This party is great; nothing could spoil this wonderful night." Luz said as she danced with her friends.

"Yes, the truth is that everything turned out better than I expected" said Amity with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, but let's make sure I don't get eaten again. One time is enough for me!" Ardyn said with a sigh Luz and Amity giggled at his remark.

"Your dance was wonderful you three!" said Willow with a smile on her face.

"I have to agree, you did a good job." Said Eda with a big smirk on her face.

"I agree. A little hectic at the start but you pulled though." Romani said with a smile on his face.

"Agreed." Musashi said as she pulls the young Hybrid into a one-armed hug. "Though this means that you will have to go through some training if you don't want to go through that again."

"If that's the case, I'll take those odds. Also, can you let go? You're chocking me a bit." Ardyn asked as Musashi nodded and let goes of his head.

"Our little sister is great. Don't you think Edric? Ryker? " Emira said to her brother and boyfriend.

"You're right sister" Edric said with a grin.

"Though, I got to say little buddy, you could have told us about that fire thing, and we could have helped you out." Ryker said as Ardyn gave him a deadpan stare.

"And be put in a ring of fire, literally. No thank you!" Ardyn said as the other just laughed it off.

"Bah, I could have put the beast at my command, I'm not afraid of anything." Said King, trying to sound tough even though he fainted from the sight of Grom.

"Yes of course, in your wildest dreams." Eda said amusedly, which made the little demon angry.

"In any case it is getting late, we should go home," Luz said.

"You're right, I'm already tired of all this night. I'd better go home now, "Amity said.

"Yeah, I'm beat," Ardyn said as he yawned.

CRASH!

Suddenly something entered the gym breaking one of the windows and landed on the floor forming cracks. It was the hooded figure again. This surprised everyone present and scared some.

"Who or what is that!? The Grom is back!? " Asked Gus, who was scared out of his mind.

"It is impossible! We defeated it and it won't be back until next year! Plus, the Grom takes the form of your worst fears! " Amity said worried. Whoever it turned up is not the Grom but it gave her a very bad feeling. Everyone present started muttering things about what the hell was going on.

"Who are you and why are you breaking in one of the windows!? Identify yourself!" Ordered Principal Bump and he didn't seem happy. The hooded figure ignored him and it walked slowly to the center of the floor as he was looking for something or rather someone. Everything was silent and only the footsteps of the hooded figure could be heard.

"Who is that guy?" A pointy-eared girl with long brown hair and freckles on her face asked worriedly. Her name was Bo.

"He sure is a weirdo" Said Boscha.

"I am talking to you! Answer to me!" Bump screamed again even angrier. The hooded figure continued to ignore him. Bump was fed up and formed a magic circle in the air and a series of circles tried to restrict the movements of the hooded figure by binding it like a rope. The word was tried because the moment the circles contacted the hooded figure the magic circles disappeared. This surprised everyone present, a magic spell disappeared without further ado. Bump tried again with the same result. The principal was getting more and more frustrated.

"I don't like any of this guys, it's like those mysterious enemies that appear in fantasy stories where no one sees them as threats but then they can end up destroying everyone." Luz said worried and a little excited. It gave her chills. That skull-faced hooded figure looked like the grim reaper itself.

"Stop reading those pompous Azula and Ordis books." Eda said in exasperation.

"Azura and Ordan!" Corrected Luz, Amity, and Ardyn.

"Whatever. It looks like Bump is going to explode. Right guys?" Eda commented amused seeing how the principal gritted his teeth, but the truth was that the hooded figure gave her a bad feeling and she was worried about her apprentice. "…guys?"

"…" Both Romani and Musashi were silent as the grave as they both have looks of great focus as if they know who this hooded figure is.

"Well ... students please stay as far away as possible!" Bump said to his students as they did what their principal said.

"Woho! The Grom continues! Go! Fight! " Yelled Skara.

"Come on principal! Destroy it! You can!" Several students cheered. Everyone thought they would see a super cool new match, but they were about to realize how wrong they were.

"If I can't catch you, I'll have to finish you off!" Said the principal and then shoot a powerful fireball at the hooded man, when it contacted the stranger, it formed an explosion that shook the place a little and formed a cloud of smoke.

Principal Bump believed that he had destroyed the hooded figure because it had not even tried to dodge the attack. But later to everyone's surprise when the smoke disappeared the hooded figure could be seen completely fine and without any scratches. The fireball did nothing to it.

"This is impossible! It hasn't even protected itself; it should be a pile of ashes!" Bump said as he launched several more attacks on the hooded figure. Lightning, sonic attacks, energy but nothing affected it. He was starting to freak out because no matter what he did, the hooded figure didn't flinch.

Suddenly several guards and members of the emperor's coven entered the gym.

"We finally found you! You are arrested in the name of the emperor for the murder of several Emperor's Coven members! Surrender or we will use force! " Said one of the bird-masked men.

The stranger at that moment looked at them for a moment and then bowed its head. The guards and members of the emperor's coven slowly approached to catch it, but the stranger began to move and raised its head.

"Groaggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!" the hooded figure monstrously roared at full volume breaking up scaring some.

Before anyone could realize what happening the hooded figure moved with insane speed and with a movement of its left arm, which was dark orange, thin and long, it split the guards in two. Blood and guts spilled onto the ground. The hooded figure swerved to the right to punch a guard who was saved from its first attack. When the stranger's left fist contacted the guard's head, it exploded into a mass of bone, blood, and brain matter that splashed onto the stranger's robe. The headless body made several erratic movements and then fell to the ground. With the last of the guards the stranger plunged its hand into his chest and took out his still beating heart and crushing it. The guard watched in horror as his heart was ripped out and crushed before he fell to the ground dead.

"Zabanya." The hooded man said, his voice raspy and hollow.

"Monster!" Shouted one of the members of the horrified emperor's coven. A millisecond later something shot out of the hooded figure. It was long, purple, and meandering impaled all the members of the emperor's coven. When it finished dying it could be seen that it was its right arm that had been lengthened to a great length. Its arm was crimson with some strange tattoos. The hooded figure lifted all the impaled witches into the air with its extended arm.

"Aaah! Ggrghhgghkk! Ahhh… "One of the impaled ones said between death throes and indescribable pain with blood coming out of his mouth until the life left his body.

But that was not the worst. The tattoos on its arm began to glow orange and all the impaled, even the ones still alive began to dry up and decompose as they screamed in agony until only their bones remained. Then the bones turned to dust, thus destroying all its enemies. There was a great silence at that time, and no one said anything. What onlookers had just witnessed was the most grotesque sight they had ever seen.

The Boiling Isles may have been said to be a place of pain and suffering, but that only referred to the oldest and wildest demons and witches. The truth was that most of those present were teenagers who only a few years ago had abandoned their mothers' skirts and seeing something heinous as several people being brutally murdered in front of them was something they were not prepared for. So, they did what a normal person would do in this situation: Some screamed, others vomited, others were unable to control their bladders or sphincters, others passed out, and some suffered various of the above.

No one was enjoying the fight anymore, not even Skara who had wet herself and was shaking.

This was different from fighting Grom's monster. This was just a slaughter.

They had just realized that this hooded guy could kill them all if it wanted to and they couldn't do anything to stop it. That terrified them and they wanted to go home to their families. Some ran to the exit while others were paralyzed with fear.

Principal Bump had lived most of his life in the wild era and he was more used to these things, and he loved fighting, but he will not enjoy watching men who only do their job slaughtered and he made a bad face.

Luz and Gus had vomited but King, Ardyn, Ryker, the Twins, Willow, and Amity had been able to control their bodies but were shaking with fear.

"Kids! Get behind us! "Eda yelled as she summoned her magic staff while Romani drew a circle in the air as Musashi draws her katanas. The three adults were staring at the hooded figure and they were prepared in case it attacked. The stranger withdrew its right arm, then went back to the center of the court and ducked a little. It raised its left arm and clenched Its first toward the ground.

"What are you going to do?" King asked puzzled.

"I don't like this." Principal Bump said having a bad feeling about what is about to happen.

Suddenly it quickly lowered its fist.

BOOM!

The moment the fist met the ground it caused such a strong impact that it created a large crater in the ground and created a shock wave that sent everyone present flying and shattered all the remaining windows.

"Ah!" Yelled Luz as she flew off but was caught by Ardyn and Musashi. "Thanks guys"

"Hey no problem." Ardyn said as Musashi nodded at her thanks. The trio turned to the stage, showing that the ground cracked and the basement the Grom came from was exposed as the stranger started down the stairs. At the top of the gym everyone present was getting up after the shock wave that sent them flying. Luckily no one was seriously injured.

"Ugh… What a headache I'll have tomorrow. Are you all okay!? Whoever has internal bleeding raise their hands. " Eda said as she got up and looked at the teens.

"I think I can have a few ..." Mattholomule barely said lying on the ground on his back surrounded by rubble.

"I think I have broken my shell ..." Said the Snaggleback sunk in the wood of the stands.

"…You guys are fine." Eda said casually.

"We are fine." Emira said helping her brother Edric.

"Mostly fine" Ryker said as he helped up Viney.

"I think we're fine Eda." Luz said as she got up with a bit of difficulty.

"Luz! You're bleeding!" Amity said concerned as she approached the human girl. It was true. Luz had a trickle of blood coming from her head that ran down her forehead.

"Are you okay Luz?" Willow asked concerned as she approached. One of the lenses in her glasses had cracked.

"Easy guys, it's just a little scratch" The human reassured her friends as Ardyn tore off a piece of his torn suit to bandage her wound. "Ardyn? Wha-"

"Until we find a healer, keep that on to prevent further bleeding." Ardyn said as Luz nodded at his request.

"Luz! Help me!" King said with his horn nailed to the wall.

"King! I'm coming!" Luz said to later go to help the little demon.

"Tonight, has gone from great to nightmare. What the hell are we still doing here when we should go? " Edric said.

"Yes, you're right but ... Where did the hooded guy go?" Amity asked looking at the crater.

"Who cares! We shouldn't be in this place when it comes back!"

"Calm down it hasn't even attacked us directly," Eda said.

"So what!? Are you going to stay here to see if it is violent with those who do not attack it!? Am I the only one using the brain right now!? " Edric yelled more and more exasperated.

"Easy just take a look at the crater and then we leave" said her sister to reassure him.

"Emira's right. We need to calm ourselves." Ryker said as the others nodded. Principal Bump got up and when he saw how the gym was, he was horrified.

"My gym! What have they done to it!? I'm going to destroy that guy even if it's the last thing I do as principal of this school! " Bump yelled totally furious. This was going to cost the school money and they weren't there to waste any more.

They all approached the crater to see what was happening below. The hooded figure was standing motionless when he suddenly plunged its right hand into the ground and began to pull something out of the ground as the tattoos began to glow again.

Everyone was surprised to see what it was pulling out of the ground. It was the Grom and the hooded figure had forced it to come out again even after being defeated and this time it was with its original body.

"It has brought the Grom out of its dream!? Why!? This time it is with its original body and not a copy, it is stronger but vulnerable "Bump said without knowing what the plan of the hooded figure is.

The Grom snarled at the hooded figure and a tentacle shot from its body toward the head of its rival. Once the tentacle made contact with the stranger's head, it took a few seconds for the beast to open its bright eyes, releasing the tentacle from its rival's head and slowly backing away as it moaned like a injured animal.

"What!? Is it scaring Grom Itself!? That's possible!?" Eda asked alarmed.

"I don't know Eda. The Grometheus is the embodiment of fear. This means that this hooded monster… is worse than fear itself. " Bump said theatrically, which made everyone start to be very scared to learn that such a creature existed in the Boiling Isles.

"It's death itself." Ardyn said as the hooded figure looked at the Grom for a few seconds before grabbing its robe with its left hand and then pulling it off, showing everyone what it looked like.

He was a man (or looked like one) tall and lanky but he was hunched over. He was wearing what looked like a dark white spandex suit (at least it looked like it was spandex) tight around the body and regarding his physique they couldn't tell if he was fit or malnourished. He wore white cloth armbands on his left wrist and biceps. He wore a threadbare white cloth tied around his waist and ran down his legs. His right arm as he already said was orange with strange tattoos and it was longer than the left. But the most terrifying thing was his face. He wore a gray skull mask that resembled a human skull that seemed stapled to his face. This is Hassan of the Cursed Arm (Altered).

Everyone was shocked and scared by the appearance of this man. He seemed drawn from the deepest pits of hell.

"Okay, if nobody is going to say it, I'll say it, the guy is horrible," said Eda

"What the hell is he!?" Gus asked King.

"I don't know! I had never seen anything like this!" King said alarmed. In his vast knowledge of demons he had never encountered anything like this.

The Hassan slowly approached the Grom and with his right arm grabbed the creature and the tattoos began to glow. The Grom tried to escape but could not escape from the skull man's clutches and before he could do anything else the skull monster opened its mouth and bit the beast.

It didn't seem like anything would happen but in less than a second the Grom began to be sucked into the skull man's mouth at high speed as if he were a shake, taking out even the parts of the monster that were still under the ground. Within ten seconds the Grom was devoured in its entirety without a trace.

The viewers couldn't believe it.

"Holy crap!" Ardyn said in surprise.

"Has he eaten the Grom!?" Said Amity said surprised and alarmed.

"I guess Grom's dance is officially canceled forever, right?" Gus asked the director that he couldn't believe what he saw.

"With what I just saw guys, now I'm leaving here. If you want to be his second stage, that's your problem. " Edric said grabbing his sisters ready to leave.

"If we should go now that he is quiet and does nothing. Let's go "Luz said as she and Ardyn started to go to the exit and started to run with Gus and Willow who grabbed Matt and the Snaggleback and followed Luz.

"I second that!" Eda said with King on her shoulder following the light with Romani and Musashi and everyone else but before anyone present could get through the entrance the skull monster had exited the crater and moved towards the entrance faster than their eyes could catch him. The Blight siblings were the closest to him and they started backing away in fear. The red man raised his left hand and pointed at Luz, Ardyn, and Ryker.

"Ardyn Pierce… Ryker Goldmark… Luz Noceda…" He said in a deep and chilling voice causing the three back a bit.

What did the monster want from them?

The skull man began to walk slowly towards the three said people but Eda got in her way.

"Stay away from them, monster!" Eda said to then shoot a beam from her staff. But she could not do anything to the skull man who became a blur that quickly approached the witch and cut off her head with his left hand and then grabbed her body and threw it through one of the windows.

"Oh my," Eda's head said on the ground.

"Eda!" Shouted Luz.

"Alright monster, take this!" Bump said to fire several attacks with the same result as before.

The skull man grabbed the headmaster and threw him at Edric who was knocked unconscious by the older man.

"Edric!" Amity and Emira yelled.

"What can I do!? What can I do!? Ardyn and I not strong enough and neither Eda nor Principal Bump could do anything to him!" Luz thought in concern as she considered her options. She suddenly remembered something.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Luz said as she pulls Ardyn and Ryker close before whispering into their ears. They both have nodded at what she was saying at first before their eyes widen before looking at her in conformation. One nod from Luz was need to confirm it, causing the two to nod as well.

As the skull man in white kept advancing towards them, they all nodded as Luz, Ardyn and Ryker running from the monster. Suddenly an abomination rose from the ground and grabbed the monster.

"Get away from them!" Amity yelled as the monster grabbed the abomination with its right arm and the abomination began to dry up and turn to earth. After getting rid of an annoyance, he continued his walk. Then some big creepers with thorns tried to suggest him.

"We won't let you hurt our friends!" Willow said trying to hunt the monster, but he was easily released while he continued the march without even paying attention to the illusions of Gus and Emira. Gus, being desperate, stood in the monster's way with his arms outstretched.

"You will not pass monster! I know of many fighting movements that I have seen in human magazines! Wa-tah! Hia!" Gus said to start doing kung-fu movements and sounds. The skull man crouched at Gus's level and stared at him through his dark eye sockets.

"Boo." Said the monster.

"Ah!" Gus yelled terrified and then passed out.

"Child's play," the Servant muttered as he turned to go hunt to his targets…

And just barely managed to pull his arm back before something sharp chopped him in half.

"What-?" Assassin stumbled away, eyes trying to track the attack. That's when he realized his mistake; a katana blade was shooting towards his neck. Assassin was forced to flip out of the way of the attack, his movements more erratic than before. He was rattled by the unexpected attack, and that had affected his timing. Blood dripping from his arm where it had been cut, the Servant landed in a crouch.

A fist surged towards his face that he barely managed to block, but the force of the blow still pushed him back toward the crater he made. Assassin desperately crouched low and spun to put some distance between himself and his attacker.

"You intrude on private grounds, Leave now…" A velvet female voice spoke, moonlight glinting off the blades of the katana resting between her slim hand, swinging the weapon to the side that had thwarting his hunt of blood. Then she took a step closer, allowing Assassin to see his enemy clearly underneath the moon. It was Musashi Miyamoto, and she had a smile on her face, but her eyes showed that she was ready to fight and kill him. "Hassan of the Cursed Arm."

The Assassin did not say anything else except raising his right arm, ready to attack Musashi. The Saber-class samurai frowned at her enemy as her mana began to flare up. Her attire returned to its original state as she drew her second katana.

"Mortal combat is really becoming troublesome~" Musashi said with a sigh. Then she was suddenly in front of the Hassan and he didn't have any time to think. Assassin sidestepped a punch and redirected a knee meant for his stomach, then his left hand shot for her throat, a knife flashing. But the female easily batted it aside and dislocated the arm with one swift jab.

Grunting in pain, Assassin planted his foot against her and kicked, widening the room between them, only for the enemy Servant to reach by her side. The next second, something purple slashed against his ribs and sent him tumbling across the floor.

On all fours, the Servant could see even through a fog of pain his opponent gracefully twirling her katanas. She spun the blades once more and swinging them to the sides, causing a light tremor in the area from the swing alone. This was her Noble Phantasm, then, the symbol of her class. The Saber.

"Surrender," the Servant of the Sword intoned, "and your death may be a quick one."

"Neither idea appeals to me," Hassan shot back, throwing a spread of pebbles right at her. Even as she spun the katanas in front of her, turning it into a circle of purple flames that reduced the projectiles to rock powder, he leaped simultaneously to the right, forcing his left arm back in place while its hand still clutched the knife.

It wasn't enough. Musashi's whole body whirled clockwise before he could reach her, then the left leg struck his back with great force. For a moment, the Servant thought he would snap in half from the dual blows as he collapsed back on all fours in front of Musashi. "And now?"

Assassin panted through his cracked Hassan mask. He knew it, he didn't have a prayer of a chance against her in an open battle. She was stronger, tougher, he couldn't even outmaneuver her in speed or flexibility. And he had no clue if that damnable pole had some secret power. Probably, it had to be her Noble Phantasm. The result of the battle had been obvious from the start.

So, the only thing left to do is… Get the targets and run! With quick reaction, Hassan slammed his right arm into ground causing to explode once more to create a smokescreen. Musashi had to cover her eyes, but had to look around to find Assassin. Her eyes widen as she saw the white shrouded Servant escape through the window that he broke out off.

"DAMNIT!"

Meanwhile at the bottom of the track was Luz, Ardyn, and Ryker who was on guard duty while the first two were trying to gain access to another Heroic Spirit within and one of them was deep in thought.

"Why has he not attacked anyone other than those guards and the members of the emperor's coven, my friends have attacked him, and he has done nothing to them, but he has cut off Eda's head. It was as if he knew that she would survive. It seems like he only wants me, Ardyn, and Ryker but why?" said Luz while trying to make sense of this.

"Well, it doesn't matter we have to make contact with one of our Servants. Focus Luz." Ardyn said as Luz nodded and began to focus harder. As they focused, Ardyn felt time began to enter a crawl as a sphere appeared in front of him. The sphere was golden, and it radiated pure power. The sphere entered his body as he felt a humongous surge of power within.

"Install: Archer." Ardyn said as Luz and Ryker looked at him before a pillar of golden energy erupted around the Bronwyn hybrid. However, when the pillar of energy disappeared…

"Uhh…Where's Ardyn?" Ryker said as Luz eyes widened as she looked over to where Ardyn is but saw no body or the Servant that he summoned.

"Ardyn!?" Luz said as she looked around for her friend however her eyes in surprise as she looked up to see the skull man in white standing in front of her.

"No," Luz thought in fear for her life. King stepped between the monster and the human.

"Stop their horrendous creature! Don't you dare hurt them! I, as the king of demons, order you to bow down to me! " King said only to be grabbed by Luz and hugged.

"King! Enough! Leave him only wants me. I can't allow it to hurt you" Luz said with a resigned face.

"But Luz ..." King said sadly.

"Luz! Ryker! No!" Eda screamed still like a head on the ground.

"Luz!" Amity and Willow yelled desperately.

"I can't look!" Gus said that he had woken up and then covered his eyes.

"Sorry guys," Luz said and then tossed King aside as both teenagers stared at the monster.

"Do it" Luz said accepting her destiny as the red man raised his right arm.

"Luz! Ryker!" They all yelled as the skull monster began to quickly lower his arm towards the human and hybrid.

"No!" Luz yelled with her eyes closed as tears came from them.

"Damnit!" Ryker said, ready to fight back.

Before the monster's arm touched either of their heads, a light stopped him. A golden spear ripped through his shoulder and nailed him to the ground. Luz and Ryker were surprised at what just happened as a pair of gold chains surrounded their waist and pulls them to the stands nearby.

"Hahaha! For me to be summon like this, I see your luck has run out, Mongrel!" a new voice spoke over Assassin's pained groans. He could barely move his head back to see who had thrown the spear. Assassin made to scream out his thoughts, but a golden sword slashed his throat, silencing him, and went through his forearm.

"I care not if one or two worms writhe about in the dirt," that voice from before sneered, haughty and merciless. As Assassin tried to look up, weak voices coming from his now useless mouth, more weapons rained down upon him. Swords, spears, halberds, no two of them appeared to be of the same build, but they all tore through his flesh effortlessly. Shockwaves erupted from the ground where those weapons that didn't hit him landed; even other nearby needed to get out of range lest they become a casualty.

There was no way… no way to win… no way to survive… not against this Servant… and certainly not against… Archer.

"Who gave you pardon to gaze upon me?" The Servant stood arms proudly crossed in front of his chest atop the roof of the stands where two of Assassin's target is located. Standing on the roof is a dignified man with golden hair standing up like a blazing flame. His face is described as handsome, and his eyes, crimson like blood, are visibly not those of a human and give off a mysterious radiance that makes people wither that glared imperiously down at him, like he was even less than worm. He has a "perfect, Golden-proportioned body" described as emanating majesty that makes flames surrounding him afraid to come close, and his very soul glows golden. Golden armor adorned every part of his body except for his head while a tailing red cloak hung from the waist. And behind him, the entire sky blotted out by rows and rows of golden circular portals. Each housing a weapon.

'He… said.' Assassin's dying thoughts stoked what was left of his fire. 'I… needn't… fear. Needn't… fear… THAT MONSTER?!' Had the one who summoned him lied to him? His mind cursed them in every tongue he knew-

A jeweled sword went through his head, knocking loose his damaged mask, the symbol of the Old Man of the Mountain.

The dying Servant barely managed to hear Archer's dispassionate words from above. "You lack the right to gaze upon me. Lowly creatures that they are, worms always face the ground when death comes for them."

The Archer class looked towards the downed Assassin with little interest before his gaze turned to the two that his chains had pulled to him and the rest that was nearby coming towards him.

"Who is that!?" Emira asked fascinated by what just happened.

"Another human!?" Gus asked surprised and excited to find another human.

"He seems like someone out of the pompous books that Luz continually reads." Said Eda that she had been greeted by Willow.

"Who…are you?" Luz asked as the Archer-Class looked down on her for a moment before scoffing.

"Archer, Gilgamesh. I have materialized in this form to see this unknown world, not in response to your lovers summon. Don't get cocky, pup." The Heroic now known as Gilgamesh said causing Luz's eyes to widen.

From one of her history class lessons. Gilgamesh is one of the oldest heroes from her world. The great half-god, half-human King of Heroes born from the union between the King of Uruk, Lugalbanda, and goddess Rimat-Ninsun. He ruled the Sumerian city-state of Uruk, the capital city of ancient Mesopotamia in the B.C. era. He was an ultimate, transcendent being so divine as to be two-thirds god and one-third human, and no others in the world could match him. He was a despot possessing high divinity who believed he was invincible. He is not merely a legend and is said to have actually existed and ruled during the Sumer Dynasty five thousand years ago. He was the King of Heroes who possessed all things in the world, whose tale is recorded in mankind's oldest epic poem, the Epic of Gilgamesh which portrays Gilgamesh as a hero, destined to be king and achieve great feats, who is driven to meet his destiny, facing challenges together with his best friend Enkidu.

His title, King of Heroes, is not meant to call him a king who is a hero, but instead implies that he is the king over all heroes. He is mankind's oldest hero, the origin of all myths and model on which heroes are based, so his story is copied within the mythologies of all the countries of the world. The heroes of various myths are derived from his legend, so his Gate of Babylon possesses all of their Noble Phantasms. Though there are numerous kings with titles such as the King of Knights or the King of Conquerors, he is the only one in all of heaven and earth crowned with the title of "King of All Heroes."

Before anyone can ask any more questions towards this golden armored man, Musashi steps forward towards the Archer-Class hero before she kneeled towards the Heroic Spirit.

"I am very grateful for your help tonight… King of Heroes, Gilgamesh." Musashi thanked the now dubbed king as she bows before him with a small smile with her face. The king opened his eyes and gazed towards the Saber as if he reacted towards his True Name. "Your actions tonight will establish your prowess as the King of Heroes. They will also reveal that there are foes in this world. Please stay your hand a little longer."

Archer, now known as Gilgamesh, just sighed in annoyance. "Hmph. Think nothing of it, mongrel. For the time being, I shall amuse myself with some exploring within my Subject's mind. This age is rather fascinating to me."

"Is the modern world to your liking?" Luz asked, which caused the King of Heroes to look at her, which caused her to stop moving from just his gaze alone.

"It's unspeakably ugly. But there are ways I can enjoy myself when my Subject returns to the human world. What's important is whether there are any treasures here that are worth adding in my collection. If nothing in that world is worthy of my adoration, your lover will pay dearly for summoning me and wasting my time." The King of Heroes declared as he slightly moves his head to face the young woman.

Luz, now ticked off at the threat towards Ardyn, stood her ground.

"Hey you jerk! Ardyn didn't have much of a choice when summoning you! So don't blame him for that, your Highness!" Luz said, causing the others to look at her in surprise while The King of Heroes looked at her with a raised brow. At first, he was going to open his treasury to silence her for the outburst against him. However, he felt a pull from within himself as saw the [Chains of Heaven] around his arms. They were not holding him back but rather as if they were asking him to stay his hand for this girl. Gilgamesh looked at the chains for a moment and realizes that these chains were not his.

They were his chains. His old friend's chains.

Seeing this, The King of Heroes just smirked before turning his gaze back towards the human.

"Perhaps, but that is something for me to determine." Archer replied, not convinced by the young woman's words. "Well, I'll be leaving now. Everything of value in this world belongs to me. No matter how precious a treasure may be, I won't let mongrels fight over it without my permission. I'll leave the details to you, pup." The king ordered as he dematerialized into a mist of golden particles the same way as he appeared, leaving Ardyn behind who was wobbling. Luz and Amity were quick to catch him before he fell.

"Did we win?" Ardyn asked as the two girls that he cares for nodded at his question, causing him to smile. "That's good."

And so, the party continued into the night until Bump finally announced the end of it. It was a night to remember for Ardyn. He laughed and hung out with all his friends and their dates. Having the time of his life with everyone. And when it was time for the Grom King to dance with his queens, he took Luz and Amity together, and the three of them danced together. It was a magical night that any form of magic in this world couldn't replicate.

When the residents of the Owl House returned home, Eda rushed in with her fists pumping. "Whoo! Watch out for this kid! The Son of Anna Bronwyn is here! Oh, you did good, kid." She cheered, pointing to Ardyn as he entered the house with Luz and King.

Ardyn took off his coronet and tossed it on the table. "Thanks, but... I'm going to go to bed." He said, looking down.

Everyone looked at him in confusion. Seeing his chance, King climbed onto the table, picked up the coronet, and placed it on his head. "There can only be one king! And his name is King!"

Entering his room, Ardyn stripped off his tux and threw it to the side. With a sigh, he opened the window and sat on the windowsill, looking out at sea. Ardyn reached into his pocket and pulled out the memory photo Eda pulled from his mind. He stared at it and the Fuyuki Fire that he witnessed. Wondering how things could have been different if he'd just faced his fears.

"That's the memory?" Ardyn looked behind to see Luz standing at the doorway. She still had her tiara on but looked at him sadly and worriedly.

"Yeah," he said, hopping out the window and sitting on the house's roof. Luz followed him, and they sat together and looked at the photo.

"I wish that… EMIYA had better memories than this." Luz said, rubbing her finger on the photo. "He didn't deserve that."

"Same here," he said, a sad look on his face. "I…I'm sorry you had to fight my battle, Luz. You and Amity shouldn't have…."

"Ardyn, I've told this before, and I'll say it again. You'll never be alone. Your battles are our battles," Luz said softly, reaching up and caressing his cheek. "Besides, I didn't do so great either. I couldn't face my mom."

That's when her phone vibrated. Pulling it out of her pocket, she turned it on to find two texts from her mom.

[How was your day? 3, Mamá!]

[Miss you, mija :).]

Luz thought for a moment about how to respond. She typed a duck emoji. But then Ardyn's finger reached over and tapped the backspace. Surprised, the girl looked at him with wide eyes as her crush smiled at her. "I don't know when there'll be another time to face my fears. Don't let this one slide."

Thinking for a moment, Luz realized that he was right. So, she typed a new message.

[Miss you too, Mami].

She sent the text. Luz sat next to Ardyn, thinking of what she could write next before continuing to type. The Hybrid stayed with her and looked back at the sea as the wind howled. Blowing the clouds away to reveal the moon.

[I won't lie. Today was kinda hard. And I don't always feel like I'm supposed to be here. Ardyn has it worse than me. He feels like he doesn't belong anywhere. But when things get tough, our friends help us out. I think you'd like them. Te extraño también, Mami. One day, I'll tell you all about this.]

When Camila received her text, she texted back to her daughter.

[Can't wait! P.S. love receiving your letters!]

Lying in bed, the young girl's mother smiled at her phone, so happy to hear how she and her best friend were doing together. Camila turned it off and placed it on her nightstand. Knowing her daughter was happy and safe, she turned over and fell asleep.

However, something wasn't right in the human realm. And it wasn't what the mother thought it was. Camila was texting her daughter, and Luz was texting her. There was no doubt about it.

What was wrong was that next to the phone was a pile of papers. The letters Camila mentioned in her last text were handwritten letters that Luz seemingly wrote, with the most recent one being placed on top.

"Hi, Mom! I am having a great time at camp. Today we learned what mortgages are! I can't wait to get home and see you. Let's do lots of fun mother/daughter activities forever and ever. Love, Your Daughter, LUZ".

But these weren't written by Luz.

She never sent letters through the door. Someone else had used her name to send these letters to Camila. Who could it be? No one knows. But if Camila knew that these letters weren't coming from her daughter in the Demon Realm, she would be best to take caution. It's unknown what the person's intentions are.

Only time will tell.