Flakk, Dio, and Brun were being led by Bretta to the warehouse where she and Alida encountered the monster. The building had been cordoned off with tape, forbidding anyone other than Coven Scout authorities to enter. Bretta was donned in her Coven Scout uniform, minus the mask, and armed with swords, knives, and a crossbow weapon that she had bought from Blight Industries. She led their group to the back where her and her partner discovered the hole in the fence. The witch woman paused when she saw the hoofprint in the dirt, the same one she saw when she first came to this place.

Flakk followed her gaze and saw the hoofprint. He got down on one knee and passed his fingertips over the print. "Was this from the creature?"

"Yes…this was the first piece of evidence that we discovered that led us to believe it was possibly some beast that had wandered in from the forest," said Bretta.

"Hmm, Dio, give us a visual. I want to see what we're up against." Flakk ordered.

Dio, Cerberus, took out a crystal ball and drew a spell circle. A violet glow enveloped the ball and his eyes as he released an aura around them. The hoofprint glowed, as it did, something began to take shape. But after a moment, the only thing that formed was a large shadow, they were barely able to make out any distinguishing characteristics.

"C'mon, little brother, you can do better than that," said Brun.

"I'm trying, but it's as if whatever left this print, has a strong will and will not let me scry it," Dio retorted.

Flakk glared at the amorphous shadow, whatever this thing was, it was doing all it could to remain an enigma to everyone who tried to see it.

"Do you want to go inside?" Bretta asked.

"No, I'm more interested in where it came from." Flakk glanced in the direction of the forest. "Did anyone try and track down where the hoofprints led?"

Bretta shook her head. "We couldn't find any more. Since I couldn't see it clearly, we're assuming it might be able to fly and walk on land."

As if this thing wasn't troublesome enough, having the ability to fly will only make this more difficult.

If Bretta was right, that meant that the search area for the mysterious creature would now have to include places of high elevation. Places like the Knee, the rib bones of the Titan, or, heck, the skull of the Titan itself. But there was hardly a creature that Flakk was unable to track. The Phantom in disguise drew a spell circle, creating an orange-colored hoop before layering it over the dirt that was closer to the forest. His spell worked as something lit up from behind some bushes.

Flakk directed them to that area and once they got behind the bushes, they found more hoofprints. The Phantom of the hunt looked around for more signs, there were signs of broken branches overhead, showing a hole had been made through them by something big. Flakk glanced from where the fence was to this point and judged it to be about a hundred meters.

"Clever beast," said Flakk.

"What?" Brun asked.

"This thing jumped from here, all the way to the fence line over there." Flakk directed their attention to the broken tree limbs, and then to the spot where the fence was torn up. "This thing is intelligent. It threw us off its trail by making us believe it is airborne, but it's not. Observe."

Flakk expanded his field and showed more prints leading further into the forest.

"It's been here, stalking its prey. It knew that people would come to this place, and it just waited for them."

"So, whatever it is, it's not just a mindless beast, it's doing this on purpose," said Brun.

"This just got more interesting," said Dio.

"I honestly don't care," said Bretta. "A beast is still beast, and we'll hunt it down and kill it like any other."

Flakk nodded and narrowed the field, making it become rectangular and jut forward. More hoofprints lit up, providing the group with a path to follow. "We may not find it at the end of this trail, but we may at least be able to find out where it goes when it's finished its attacks."

Brun, Dio, and Bretta nodded.

They followed Flakk as he ran ahead, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings as they headed further into the woods. Not knowing what they were going to expect, but they did know one thing for sure, whatever this monster was, it needed to be destroyed.

Amity and Luz cautiously walked through the halls, they needed to, for not only was Malphas floating around, but apparently, he was accompanied by the Golden Guard. Luz still disliked the witch boy from their encounter with the Selkiedomus all those weeks ago, since then she had not run into him, but that did not mean she wanted to. Especially not with Amity here. He may know that she was Witch, but the Golden Guard did not know that Amity was Heka, and the longer Luz could keep Belos in the dark about that the better.

Amity brought them to a section of the Forbidden Stacks labeled, "Donations: Deadwardian Era -1600s-" This was Philip's time, so the diary had to be here. Luz and Amity split up, each taking a different shelf and scanning the contents for the diary itself. Unfortunately, the girls had to hide when they heard voices nearby.

"Thank you for your service, Malphas. The Emperor will be glad to have this for his research," said the Golden Guard.

Luz and Amity peeked through some shelves and watched as Malphas led the Golden Guard out the way they came in. Both girls waited for about three minutes, in order to ensure that they were alone and hopefully out of earshot. After about one more minute of waiting, they decided that they should be far enough away and continued their search. Amity went through one shelf, she tried to pick up one of the books but the moment she touched one of the books it crumbled into dust.

The teen Latina searched another shelf and picked up one of the old leatherbound books. She blew off the dust and found the fancily scrawled name of "Philip Wittebane" on it. Luz quietly signaled to Amity that she found it, prompting the witch girl to join Luz's side. Both girls were excited, the answers to finding a means of going to the Human Realm was just one page turn away.

Luz opened the book, but when she did, she found the entire middle of the diary had been eaten, every single page. The culprit was one of the skull headed mice, who was still inside and chewing on a piece of it. Luz could not believe this was happening, her one ticket to finding a way back home, to her mother, was eaten by some rodent.

"You little RAT!"

Her voice echoed loudly throughout the entirety of the Forbidden Stacks. And that's when an ominous feeling befell them both. Amity looked fearful, and Luz became worried, but both of their fears were realized when a shadow was cast on them from behind. That's when Luz and Amity turned around and watched as Malphas appeared. The cone shaped cloak was not a cloak at all, but two large feathery wings. Upon unfurling them, it was revealed that Malphas was a bird-like demon, with two glowing yellow eyes and a long beak.

The Master Librarian looked down upon the two girls, more specifically, at the green haired witch next to Luz. And with a deep, bellowing voice he uttered her name, "Amity?"

The hunting party was on the trail of the monster, they had traveled deep into the woods, and all the while they were weary of their surroundings. Flakk stayed at the head of the pack, but he quickly threw up his fist, signaling the others to halt. Quietly, Flakk followed the glowing footprints to a large bush. He cut of his spell and carefully parted the bush to see what was on the other side. Beyond the bush was huge cliff that ascended upwards, and in that cliffside was a large hole, a natural cave structure. It seemed as if they had found the monster's lair.

Flakk slowly moved back and waved for his team to come closer. Once they had, he spoke in a low voice and said, "This thing's lair is just beyond this point. We are all clear on what we're here to do, correct."

"Easy enough, kill it," said Bretta.

"Exactly," said Dio.

Brun nodded.

"Alright, I'll take point, Dio, Brun, you take my right and left flank. Bretta, you stay in the middle. I don't want to take the chance that this thing may see you as a prize that got away."

Bretta furrowed her brow and retorted, "With all due respect, Flakk. I want to take point! I owe that monster some serious payback for my Alida."

Flakk was not about to argue with her, besides, bait was much more useful when it was willing to become it. "Very well, same formation, but I'll bring up the rear."

With their formation settled on, the four hunters pushed through the row of bushes and walked across the barren land between the forest and the cliff. Once they got to the mouth of the cave, all four cast a light spell, creating four different colored light orbs that floated above their heads. Bretta unsheathed one of her swords into her right hand, while keeping a firm grip on her Blight Industries Crossbow. She used her sword as a mount to steady the weapon, keeping her eye down the sights as the traversed further into the cave. About two minutes of walking later and they still had not found anything.

"I don't like this, Flakk," said Dio.

"I feel more like the hunted rather than the hunter," Brun commented.

Flakk hated to admit it, but he was getting that same feeling as well. Going into this monster's den was a huge gamble, they were essentially giving it home field advantage, they knew nothing of the terrain, or the area in general. Furthermore, they had no idea how far this cave went. If it was like the ones that the Generals used for their meetings, there could be miles of tunnels that the monster could hide in, and if there was a full tunnel network, then this thing could be using it to pop up anywhere on the island and nobody would be the wiser.

Thankfully, it seemed that the tunnel did end. The four hunters raised their light orbs and funneled more mana into them, making the glow brighter…and that's when they saw something disturbing.

The walls were covered in deep claws marks, but these claw marks were not just some random strikes, this thing had carved words into the stone walls. "GET THEM!", "MAKE THEM PAY!", "HURT THEM!", "BRING FEAR TO ALL!". These words were carved into the rock, the same phrases repeated over and over again as if this thing were creating its own mantra, not wanting to forget what its goal was.

"Wha…What is this?!" Bretta asked in shock. "This isn't just some random scratches, it…it's after someone!"

Flakk brushed his hand over the words. "No, not just one person. Multiple. It keeps referring to 'them' again and again. Someone has harmed this creature in the past, and now it seeks revenge."

But if that's true, who is the target of its revenge? The Generals? Can't be…this feels like a grudge long held, it was biding its time, waiting, and watching, looking for the right time to bring itself out of hiding, and until then it made sure not to forget why it was doing this by carving these words into the wall. Is this thing insane or is it just hyper focused on its quest for vengeance?

"I hate to say this, Flakk, but I think this is more than what we initially thought," said Brun.

"Yeah, I'm not one to wuss out, but this thing might be insane on a different level," Dio added.

Flakk growled under his breath, he was not one to turn tail and run, but Lady Tiamat had given him direct orders to eliminate the monster, but to not fall prey to it and accidentally provide it with more power than it already possessed. . "We should fall back for now. We know where it lives, and so long as we know this, we can always return with greater numbers and sufficient weaponry. Bretta, I know you want revenge, but doing so now will–"

"Let's go," said Bretta. "Alida taught me enough about beasts to know when to back off and hunt another day. This thing…it's not just some wild animal, it's intelligent enough to hold a grudge, and it's smart enough to evade notice. I'm not so driven by hatred that I can't see the obvious."

Smart, for a mortal, but then again, self-preservation is a strong motivator.

The hunting party ran out of the cave and headed for the entrance. Once outside, they were about to follow the same trail they took to get here but stopped when they heard rustling in the bushes up ahead. All four tensed up when they heard heavy footfalls accompanying the rustling.

"Flakk…" Brun spoke.

"Yes…?"

"What are the chances that that's just some wandering creature?"

"…Very, very little."

Bretta gulped, she knew what was coming, it had to be the monster. There was no doubt in her mind, it was almost as if she could sense it.

"Hate to say this, 'Flakk,' but I think we need to drop the act if we're going to survive this," said Dio.

Flakk glanced over his shoulder at Bretta and said, "Listen to me, Bretta, we have no intention of dying out here. However, the information about this creature must reach others. This thing is a menace, a dangerous entity that threatens the existence of not only you mortals, but Phantoms as well."

Bretta blinked at that. "What? 'Phantoms'? Why would you care about those things?"

Flakk smirked under his mask as a violet and black light wrapped around his body. Orange and black energy erupted around Dio, and blue and black light around Brun. Bretta took a step back out of sheer shock, not understanding what was happening. When the fields of energy dispersed, the witches and demon were no longer standing before her, instead, she bared witness to Barbatos, the Hunter Phantom.

To his right was a Orthros, he sported two canine heads, was bulky, and had a shaggy blue mane that covered most of his shoulders, back, and around his necks. His back was covered in aquamarine scales which lead into a dragon-like tail that whipped back and forth. His fur was beige color, long arms with black claws, and three toed feet with similar black claws. To the left was Cerberus, both of his forearms had bracers that had iron chains wrapped around them. His claws were gray as ash, and upon his chest he wore ashen gray Romanesque armor. His shoulder pauldrons were in the shape of two fierce canine heads, with glowing red eyes. His middle head was canine and matched the ones on his shoulders, he growled and bared his rows of razor-sharp teeth, as his eyes burned with embers, his black fur sheening in the sunlight.

All three canine, lupine Phantoms got into attack stances as they readied to do battle. Cerberus made the chains on his bracers extend until they pooled on the ground. Those same chains began to heat up, turning into red hot chains that were now on fire. Barbatos raised his right hand and smashed it into the ground, and from it he pulled out a huge metal mace that had four corners on it, and with his left hand, he pulled a single edged sword from the. Orthros did not care for weapons, instead, his aura raged and made him bulk up even more, his claws were wrapped in the same black and blue energy, transforming into construct claws that were twice the size of his hands.

"Y-Y-YOU'RE PHANTOMS?!" Bretta screamed.

"That's right, sorry, not sorry for the deception," said Cerberus.

"Truth be told, you were going to be our bait to get that thing to come us, but it seems that we ended up being the bait instead," said Orthros.

"Don't forget what I said, Bretta. This thing is a threat to mortals and Phantoms. Remember the last phrase on those walls?"

Bretta did remember, "It said, 'Bring fear to all…'"

"It won't stop at the ones it wants to kill, it will seek the destruction of everyone and everything on this island! Now…RUN!" Barbatos ordered.

Bretta could not believe what she was hearing, these Phantoms were going to keep the monster occupied long enough for her to get away and tell others about where it lives. Phantoms, the very monsters who wanted to harm the people of the Boiling Isles. However, in this case, the enemy of her enemy was her friend, if this thing sought to harm Phantoms, witches, and demons, then it was a true threat to everyone.

"Okay…Okay!"

Bretta ran as fast as she could to her right, but as she did, a black arm came rocketing out of the bushes and right towards her. Orthros saw this and slashed the air with his claws. The slash released four crescent energy blades that carved the earth as they intercepted the monster's arm. All four claws made contact and exploded upon impact. The blast was strong enough to throw Bretta forward, making her roll on the ground before she came to a stop. The monster's arm retracted and went back into the bushes.

"I'm tired of not seeing you! TIME TO SHOW YOURSELF!" Barbatos roared as he readied his sword.

Violet and black energy wrapped themselves around his sword, and with a single, horizontal slash, Barbatos released his own crescent wave, a huge one that sailed right for the tree line. That blade of energy slashed through the bushes, the trees, and everything in between for about fifty meters, and was at least a hundred in length. Multiple trees could be heard falling over, smashing atop one another in a symphony of destruction.

"We ain't done yet!" Cerberus stated.

The two metal head pauldrons rose up, showing that they were attached these metal arms to the back of his armor. Those two heads opened their mouths, and so did Cerberus' middle head. And altogether, they released three streams of hellfire straight for the forest in front of them. The three fire blasts set that portion of the forest on fire, turning it into a blazing inferno. Cerberus smirked, believing he had at least given the monster a nasty burn. However, what everyone saw made their blood run cold.

Silhouetted amongst the flames, was the creature. Its body was still wrapped in shadows, which undulated against the burning flames that were now engulfing the forest. The flames helped to give the monster more detail, as far as its silhouette is concerned, allowing everyone to make out two long arms, two, possibly four legs, two red eyes around its midsection, and another pair of red eyes higher up where its head was. And coming from its head were four horns that gave it a crown-like appearance.

"What are you…" Barbatos asked. "WHAT ARE YOU?!"

Amidst the crackling sound of the flames, one could still hear the heavy hoof stomps of the monster before them. A red crack formed on its face, which was revealed to be its mouth as it opened wide and showed sharp points that were its teeth, and a red glowing inner maw. The creature then made a sinister chuckling sound that somehow echoed louder than the flames behind it.

"I…Am…FEAR!"

Today was not turning out to be a good day all around. After being found out, Amity and Luz were escorted by Malphas to the entrance of the library. Both girls hung their heads low in shame. For Luz, it was the fact that she just got the girl she had a crush on in trouble, if she had not reacted like she did earlier, this would not be happening right now. For Amity, it was the fact that she did this at all. Normally she was much more cautious, much more careful about her actions, but instead of taking a different, safer route, she did something foolish that just cost her a job that she enjoyed.

Bast and La Lechuza had dropped into the private subspace to speak as they watched this go on from the inside.

"Well…this did not go well," said La Lechuza.

"Hmm, you know, normally I'd find something like this delightful, since it would make Little Miss Perfect possibly dive into despair. But…I'm strangely melancholic about this."

"I would have to agree. I, too, feel a strange sense of…empathy for these two."

Malphas had not said a word all the way through other than when they were first discovered, but once they reached the front doors, he led them outside of them and said, "Amity, I'm just, like, super disappointed in you. I can't even process these feelings right now."

Amity gripped the ends of her blouse hard when she heard Malphas speak, she could feel his disappointment in the words he spoke.

"Gosh it's…really hard for me to say this, but, like, you're fired."

Malphas drew a spell circle, layering a magical aura over Amity's staff badge. Luz watched as the card was snapped off the lanyard and floated over to Malphas, and once he had it, the Master Librarian floated back inside and shut the doors behind him, leaving the two girls standing there.

Luz's gritted her teeth, feeling the guilt well up inside of her. "Amity…I am so –"

"Not right now, Luz." Amity interrupted.

Luz winced.

"Everything's changed since you came here, and in more ways than one. Being around you makes me want to do stupid things, and I wish it didn't!"

Amity finally turned her teary eyes to Luz and saw how Luz was crying as well. Crying for her.

Luz sniffled as she said, "It's okay, I…I do stupid things around you, too, Amity."

Amity could not look at her right now, her heart was feeling too many things at this moment, and she needed to process this. "I…think I need to go home."

Luz said nothing as she watched Amity walk down the steps of the library and disappear further into town and out of sight. The young teen took a deep breath, wiped her face, and pushed back her hair as she steeled herself.

"Nada funcionará a menos que lo haga funcionar! (Nothing will work unless you make it work!)"

She was determined to make things right for the girl who liked her for her, the first girl since Zoe she had had a crush on, and a girl who did not see her as weird or a nuisance. Luz marched through the front doors and walked up to the front desk.

"I would like to speak with Malphas, please!" Luz asked, politely yet sternly.

The staff worker gave her an apathetic look and called for Malphas to come down to the front desk. It took about a couple of minutes before the demon floated down to them. When he did, Malphas looked upon Luz and sighed.

"Oh, you were with Amity a moment ago," said Malphas.

"Look, Mr. Malphas, what Amity did, she did for me! It's my fault that she even took me in there in the first place! If you want to punish anyone, punish me! But, please, give Amity her job back! She loves working here, and she loves reading to the kids. Have you seen how she smiles when she does? I have, and it's beautiful!"

Malphas rubbed his beak and said, "Kid, I hear you, but she went against the rules. If she wanted to explore the Forbidden Stacks for something, she could've just asked me or a senior staff member. Junior staffers aren't allowed in there."

"I've been working her for fifteen years, and I'm still junior staffer," said the front desk worker.

"Terry don't start with me right now," Malphas retorted.

"I understand, I do. But Amity wouldn't have ever done that if I hadn't pushed her into it! I was so focused on finding this one book, and in the end, it was chewed up by a rat!" Luz's eyes lowered as her hands balled up into fists. "I got her fired, and in the end, it was for nothing. Ban me from the library if you want to, I don't care! Amity deserves her job back! And I'll do anything to make that happen!"

Malphas narrowed his gaze as he looked upon the human girl. He could tell that this human was contrite, and he could hear the hurt in her voice. She was blaming herself for getting Amity fired. She must really like her to go this far. Huh, okay.

"Okay, human, like, let's see how far you're willing to go. You must complete a series of trails, and if you fail, Amity will remain fired. Permanently. Like, no chance of being rehired now, or in the future. Are you okay with that?" Malphas asked.

Luz gazed up at the demon and with a look of determination she said, "Bring it!"

Malphas smiled a little as he drew a spell circle and transported them to another area of the library. There were five cabinets that were sealed with chains, each containing five large drawers, and the cabinets themselves were rattling back and forth as if something was inside there that really wanted out. The room they were being kept in was spacious, with only one way out being a metal door behind Luz.

"You're first trial is to, like, categorize the man-eating books."

Luz looked up at Malphas with confusion as she asked, "Why would you keep books that can eat people?"

Malphas shrugged. "Once you give 'em a good thrashing they calm down. And afterwards you can read them. I'll be right behind that door if you need me."

Luz watched as the Master Librarian headed towards the metal door, but right before he closed it, he drew a spell circle that made the chains fall off the cabinets. The door slammed shut as a lock could be heard snaping into place, sealing Luz inside. She turned her attention back to the cabinets, and one by one, the drawers opened and released dozens of books, each one hopping out and baring their fangs.

For Amity!

The Latina decided that she was going to make this up to Amity, she held no delusions that Amity would forgive her for this, nor did she expect her to. She was just going to clean up a mess that she made. And do to that, she was not going to hold back for these trials. Luz slipped on her Beast Keeping ring and activated it.

[Beast Keeping, Please.]

Luz held out her right hand as a Dire Wolf, Griffon, and Chimera appeared at her side. With her summoned guardians, Luz reached into her pockets and pulled out a couple of Light Glyphs. She crushed the papers in her hand, funneling mana into them to make the glyphs activate and form two light swords in her hands.

"It's showtime!"

Her summoned beasts roared and screech as the books made mangled screeching sounds in response. Luz and her beasts ran towards the man-eating books and engaged in a brutal melee. On the other side of the door, Malphas floated back and forth, his form of pacing, as he debated whether or not this was the best course of action. He did cast a spell after he closed the door that would release a magical blast that could stun the man-eating books long enough for the human to run to the door. But, then again, if she as the stubborn type, then she might not give up that easily.

"Oh, why do I do this to myself?" Malphas questioned. "I mean, I like Amity, she's a good worker, and really great with the kids. But I'm the Master Librarian, it would look bad if I showed leniency to her for breaking the rules. Aww, kid, just give up so I can at least say you tried."

Malphas could not hear much of what was going on in there, but he could hear some muffled roaring, and the screeching of the books.

"Yesh, that girl has one fierce war cry."

Right about then Malphas heard a knock come from the door, he quickly opened it, half expecting the human to be injured. However, that was not the case. Instead, Luz was standing there, a little scuffed up, but otherwise alright, and the books were all strewn on the floor, completely beaten.

"Mr. Malphas, I forgot to ask, how did you want them categorized?"

Malphas' jaw dropped.

Dang…

"Um…Alphabetical?"

"Okay!"

Malphas watched a Luz carefully categorized the books by alphabetical order, it was not really important if she did it well or not, the fact that she got that far and did it at all was already an amazing feat for a human. About ten minutes past and Luz was finally done. The young teen wiped her brow as she walked out of the room.

"Whew, okay, that was slightly traumatic, but that's done! What's next?!" Luz asked.

Okay…I respect her tenacity. But let's see how she does with this.

"Alright, now for the next task."

Malphas drew another spell circle, transporting them to another part of library. Luz found herself and Malphas in a large, almost coliseum-like pit.

"For your next trial, you, like, have to tame the paper dragon," said Malphas.

"Oh, paper dragon, so like a little dragon made of paper?"

"Hmm, well, he is made of paper…"

A great roar shook the room as Luz turned around and watched as a huge, four winged, six-legged, three horned dragon made entirely of paper came stomping out of the gate on the far end of the pit. Its entire body was made up of pages that were tightly compacted together to form its body, its head had two eyes which the eyes of an illustrated dragon that was on paper.

"Oh…okay…not little. Well, at least it can't breathe–"

The paper dragon opened its mouth and released bellowing flames, spewing them into the air above it and lighting up the entire pit.

"Of course, it breathes fire, because why wouldn't a dragon made entirely of paper not be able to?" Luz groaned.

"Good luck, kiddo."

Malphas disappeared again, leaving Luz alone with the beast.

"For Amity?"

Luz slipped on her Abomination ring and pulled out an Ice Glyph.

"FOR AMITY!"

Bretta ran the through woods, panting and huffing the whole time, and while she did, the sounds of a raging battle could be heard in the distance behind her. Even after running for many yards, she still could not escape the crackling sounds of the flames, nor the heat that stinged the back of her neck. Cerberus' fire was fast spreading, but Bretta was determined to get back to Latissa HQ, she had to report the location of the lair, she had to make it known where it was staying.

Part of her believed this was futile, even if she did manage to get back and tell everyone, what was the point? The monster was intelligent, so it would more than likely abandon its lair if it thought for a second it was compromised.

Or maybe…Maybe those Phantoms weren't expecting us to do anything about it all?! Witch and Heka! The other Phantoms that haven't been destroyed, that must be it! Those Phantoms want me to get the word out, and somehow let them know! The Emperor's Coven may not have the resources to deal with that thing, but those two Kamen Riders might be able to!

With this new line of thought, Bretta doubled her pace. The identity of Witch and Heka was not known by anyone on the island, but if she was lucky, she could spread the word of this monster, and if in so doing, that word would reach the two Kamen Riders and they could end the monster that was a danger to all on the Boiling Isles. Bretta's breath hitched when she heard the sound of a thundering gallop. Her first instinct was to turn around, to see how close the monster was. But another part of her told her not to, she had to keep running, just keep running and do not look back no matter what. She ignored the galloping and ran. She ignored the feeling of impending dread and kept on running. She ignored the fact that she could see the long bony white claws of the monster on the periphery of vision on both sides, but still ran.

Suddenly, two red hot chains burst through the flames and wrapped themselves around the monster's arms and pulled them back. The monster was forced to stop as it watched Cerberus wrapped up its arms with the burning iron chains, but despite how hot they were, the monster either felt no pain, or did not care enough to voice any discomfort. Barbatos came in swinging with his sword, aiming to lop off the monster's head. However, the monster intercepted the attack by opening its mouth and chomping down on the blade. Barbatos' attack was stopped, and with the tightening of its jaws, the monster snapped the Phantom's sword in two, keeping one half of the blade secured in its jaws.

The monster dashed forward and swiped its head across, slashing Barbatos' chest and causing sparks to fly from his body as a glowing gash formed. Orthros jumped in and readied to attack, but the monster jumped backwards, and wrenched its arms back as if reeling something in. Cerberus realized his folly too late as the monster's incredible strength dragged him forwards and right into his older brother, sending both of them to the ground. The monster smiled sinisterly as it jerked the chains back again, using the abnormal strength to pull Cerberus towards him.

In a rather, cheeky show of strength, as Cerberus flew towards him, the monster raised its arms and snapped the chains apart. Showing that it could've easily freed itself at any point it wished. Cerberus opened his mouth, along with the dog head pauldrons, and shot three streams of hellfire at point blank range. The resulting explosion was massive, sending a flaming plume into the sky. The shockwave buffeted Bretta, sending her airborne for about ten seconds before she fell back to the ground hard and into a roll. But that didn't stop her, she quickly got her feet back under her, and in spite of the daze and ringing in her ears, she kept going.

Cerberus stood before the monster, which was now engulfed in flames, standing still as it was being burnt alive. However, the flames were quickly snuffed out by the monster's shadow aura, and just as quickly, Cerberus was impaled right through his chest by the monster's claws. The whole thing happened so quickly that Cerberus had a delayed reaction as he looked down and saw the wound in his chest. The monster brought him up and opened its jaws wide. Orthros and Barbatos watched in horror as the monster bit off Cerberus' head and one bite. The damage was so great that it caused his entire physical being to disperse into particles, particles that the monster sucked up into its mouth. Once all of the Phantom was consumed, its body seemed to grow bigger, and its shadow aura raged even fiercer.

"You…You killed my brother…" Orthros' body began to flare up with black and blue energy. "I'll kill you…" That aura only grew bigger and bigger as his rage built up until he unleashed his war cry, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Orthros' body erupted as his entire body transformed into the bestial form of his namesake. His mane was made of black and blue energy, while the same energy formed a spine down his back and all the way to the tips of his serpentine tail. All four of his paws were coated in that same energy, forming long construct claws that dug into the earth like a hot knife through butter. Both pairs of eyes had blue flaming embers coming with white pupils at the center, which keenly fixed on the monster.

Barbatos believed there was no other choice at this point, it was do or die time, and if they did not at least wound this thing enough for them to properly escape, then there mission would have been a failure. The great hunter Phantom ditched his mace and called on all his power, his eyes shined red as energy whisked from the corners of his eyes in the form of lightning. His body bulked up as his golden claws extended, the blade tail detached and began winding up like a cobra ready to strike.

"Time to die…"

Barbatos and Orthros howled into the air as they dashed for the monster, one going right and the other to the left, flanking it from both sides. But the monster was not even trying yet. The monster opened its mouth and released its horrible screeching roar, the force of it pushed the flames away, snuffing them out in an instant. But sound was not the only thing this roar was carrying, in doing this, the monster used its ace in the hole, its absolute terror field. The moment this field was up, Orthros, Barbatos, and Bretta all froze with fear.

It was such a contradiction what was happening inside their minds right now. They felt an uncontrollable amount of fear, they wanted to run, but at the same time, their bodies would not permit them, as if afraid to move. Barbatos and Orthros tried to fight against it, with Orthros' rage seemingly doing enough for him to at least raise his heads at the monster.

"You…You were toying with us, weren't you?!" Barbatos questioned.

"Toying? That implies you stood a chance…You didn't."

"Why are you doing this?! I saw your lair! Who are you after?! What is your purpose?!"

"Purpose? I am fear. And I exist to bring it upon this world. As for who I am…That is not for you to know. I don't need anyone stealing my prey before they have reached their peak. I will bring despair unto them, but in my way…"

"If that is what you are after, then why not fight for us?! Phantoms are beings of despair, too! We can help each other!" Barbatos bargained.

"Heh-Heh-Heh…I AM a Phantom."

Barbatos and Orthros' eyes widened with shock, this thing, this monster, was a Phantom just like them. It was cannibalizing its own and gaining power from it. This thing truly was a menace to both mortals and Phantoms alike. While this was going on, Bretta could hear it all, and now, she knew this thing was even more dangerous than she first thought. She already knew this was it for her, she was going to meet her end here. But there might just be something she could do, one last act of defiance, if she could only reach her knife.

The Cannibal Phantom raised its left hand and speared Orthros through his back, causing the two headed dog Phantom to release a yelp of pain. A glowing hole formed around the wound as he was brought up close to the Cannibal Phantom's mouth. Barbatos shut his eyes as he heard the sickening crunching sound of that monster eating Orthros. There was one more crunch before Barbatos sensed his comrade's presence disappear. When he opened his eyes, only Orthros' essence remained hovering in the air, but that, too, was taken care off as the Cannibal Phantom sucked up the particles, its power growing in conjunction.

"Now…for you."

The Cannibal Phantom readied its claws to attack, but just then it sensed a powerful presence. The monster thrust its right arm forward at Barbatos, but at the last second, something grabbed Barbatos and took him away, but that something was not fast enough. The Cannibal Phantom's claw managed to slash off Barbatos' left arm, causing the hunter Phantom to howl in pain. The monster shrugged, grabbed the arm, and began eating it as it transformed into particles. Even though it was not all of Barbatos, just his arm alone was enough to grant the Cannibal Phantom even more power than it had before. The creature glanced to his left and that's when he saw what saved Barbatos, a black cloud with red lightning raged, and from it appeared Set, and an injured Barbatos.

"My apologies, Barbatos, I was not able to save all of you," said Set.

"I'd rather lose an arm than be consumed by that monstrosity," said Barbatos.

"Coming from a fellow monster…that's very ironic."

"So, you are the monster that's been causing Lady Tiamat and the rest of us a headache recently. State your name!"

The monster hummed as it thought for a moment, placed its right hand on its chest, and then finally answered, "The name of this Phantom…is Nuckelavee. As for my real name…you don't deserve to know it."

"Be careful, Set, it's a cannibal! A Phantom that eats Phantoms!"

Set glared at Nuckelavee, Phantoms like these were an extremely rare breed. While there was a hierarchy of among them, these types were not ranked in that same hierarchy, because as they fed, they got stronger and could eventually rise Set's level, or even Tiamat. But again, it was extremely rare for one to be born into existence. Did this world have an effect on this Phantom? Cause it to go mad? Or somehow altered its body in such a way that it can now do this? If that was the case, then why haven't any of the Phantoms born on the Sabbath been able to do this? Which reminded Set…

"I don't remember seeing you that night," said Set.

Nuckelavee only smirked.

"We're leaving."

Set used his chaos power to wrap both himself and Barbatos in his chaos cloud and whisked them out of the battlefield. Nuckelavee only shrugged, his prey ran today, tomorrow he would hunt for more. Phantoms like Set were already afraid to engage with him, and it would not be long before he found this "Lady Tiamat." Nuckelavee suspected she must be the strongest of them all, why else would Set speak of her with such reverence and respect. More importantly, there was one more little something he had to take care of.

Nuckelavee walked until he was right behind Bretta, he then circled around to her front and smiled right at her. "I remember you…I was saving you…hoping you might come after me."

"You…You hurt my wife!"

"Oh…did I? So sorry…" Nuckelavee's claws began to shine with bluish flames. "Now…time to eat that little Phantom inside you."

A flash of light went off in the forest, and when it was done, Bretta was lying on the ground, motionless. Nuckelavee glanced about the area, there was no doubt that the sounds of their battle would have alerted someone, and that's not counting his own roar. He decided that his lair was compromised, not that he cared, it was time to move from there and to someplace closer to his real prey. Nuckelavee galloped away, leaving Bretta on the ground.

But had Nuckelavee paid any attention, it would have noticed that the sleeve around Bretta's left forearm was bloody, and that her discarded knife had traces of blood on it as well.

Meanwhile, another bit of drama was taking place. Amity had returned home, thankfully her parents were at work, which was fine as she really did not want to deal with her mother. Edric and Emira were home, but Amity walked past them without a word right up to her room, plopped onto her bed, and curled up into a ball while hugging an Otabin plushie.

For the first five minutes, Edric and Emira gave their little sister some time alone, but when it seemed like she was not doing anything other than just lying there. The twins decided to check on her.

"Hey, Mittens, what's wrong?" Emira asked.

Amity remained silent.

"We can't really help if we don't know what's up. Or maybe we can't, don't know unless you say something," said Edric.

The young Blight child still remained silent.

The twins glanced at each other for a moment, then Emira looked over at Amity's vanity and picked up a hairbrush. She sat on the edge and said, "Hey, why don't I brush your hair like I used to when you were little?"

Amity finally uncurled herself a bit and looked at her big sister, and wordlessly nodded her head. Emira and Amity walked over to her vanity and sat down on the floor next to it, while Edric sat on the stool and began looking himself over for his date later.

Emira began brushing her little sister's hair, taking notice how much the roots had grown. She was wondering if Amity had any intention of dying her hair again, not that she liked it. Their mother wanted them all to match, and practically forced Amity to dye it green. Personally, Emira liked Amity's brunette hair, but their mother had to have color coordinated children.

"I lost my job…"

Edric paused and looked down at Amity, while Emira kept brushing, but was no less surprised to hear that.

"How did that happen?" Edric asked.

"I…I did something stupid…or…I don't know, it didn't seem stupid."

"Go on," Emira urged.

"Luz needed help finding a something that was left here by a human hundreds of years ago, his diary. She thought it might be able to help her find a way to crossover back into the Human Realm, but it was located in the Forbidden Stacks," Amity explained.

Edric and Emira figured this had to be Luz related, there was no way their little Mittens would do something like that if it did not involve helping Luz.

"We found it…but an Echo-mouse ate it. Luz got angry and yelled, accidentally, and alerted Malphas. He escorted us out of the library and fired me…I don't know what's making me feel worse, the fact that I lost my job, the fact that I did something like that, or the fact that Luz was crying…crying for me."

Emira kept brushing as she said, "Mittens, it's not unusual to do some stupid things for the person you care about. You remember how much of a wreck I was when the Phantoms came after Viney. It's the same with you. And it'll be the same for Ed if he can manage to keep one."

"Hey!"

Amity sighed. "Ever since Luz came here, things have just gotten confusing. I'm thinking things I've never thought before. I'm feeling things I never used to feel!"

Emira stopped and brought Amity closer. "Is that such a bad thing, Amity? You weren't happy before Luz came along, but ever since she has, you've been acting happier than we've ever seen you – Ed stop picking, you'll make it worse!"

"Too late!"

Emira rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's not a bad thing. Luz has, what's the phrase? Broadened your horizons? I think that's it. If it weren't for Luz, you would have never been able to stand up to Mom like you did. You wouldn't be spending as much time with Dad as you have. And you'd still be hanging around – eek – Boscha. Seriously, that girl is such a…well, you know."

Amity had to admit, Emira was right. Luz has made her grow in ways she had never thought about, in ways she did not think was possible. Before Luz, she would have never become a Kamen Rider to protect people just because. She would have continued her toxic relationship with Boscha and continued to shun Willow and treat her like dirt. And if Luz had not arrived, Willow would be stuck in the Abomination Track and eventually fail, instead of flourishing in the Plant Track like she is now. Bonesborough, and dare she say, the Demon Realm, was changing because of Luz, in small ways, and in big ways. And some of those ways they probably would not see until later down the line.

Bast rested within the Underworld as she looked at Amity. Her tail ticked back and forth, as she assessed her host. She admitted as much herself, Luz Noceda has changed Amity. The tendencies that she once embodied for this girl were no longer there. Perhaps it was time that she changed as well?

"I don't know…"

"Hmm…" Emira found a bottle of the green hair dye under the vanity mirror and asked, "You're roots are growing out. Do you want to dye it?"

Amity looked at a lock of her hair. Things were changing all around her, and inside herself. Maybe it was time for another change?

"Actually…change the color," said Amity.

Edric stopped what he was doing and looked at Amity, while Emira's eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh, okay. What color do you want it to be?"

"…lilac."

Edric and Emira looked at each other for a moment before smiling, happy that their little sister was finally starting to break out of the shell their mother had put her in. Emira had Amity take a seat at her vanity mirror, afterwards, she drew a spell circle and changed the green liquid inside the flask into the lilac coloring that Amity requested. What followed next was a combination of dying and cutting, with Amity directing Emira, and in some instances having her big sister hand over the scissors to do some detail work. The entire process took about thirty minutes, but in the end, it was done. The twins took a step back and looked at Amity for a moment, her hair was now lilac colored, with only a strip of her hair showing the original brown color on both sides of her head close to her ears, and it was cut short.

"So…what do you think?" Amity asked.

"I think you're about to get in big trouble with Mom," Edric teased.

Emira smacked her brother on the arm. "I think you look great, Am. But, uh, yeah, maybe don't tell her I helped."

Amity ran her hand through her new hairdo and smiled a little. "I won't, but thank you, both of you."

The Blights heard a knock at their front door, Amity got up and went down to see who it was. When she opened the door, she immediately started to hear Luz talking.

"I'm sorry about everything and I'll understand if you never want to see or speak to me again and–" Luz stopped her rambling and paused when she saw Amity's new hairdo. "Whoa…you're hair…it's…different."

"Oh, yeah…Mom always liked it green…I thought I could use a change."

Both girls were blushing as an awkward silence befell them both. But that's when Amity noticed her old staff card in her hands.

"Hey, how did you get my card back?" Amity asked as she took the offered card. That's also when she noticed Luz's current state. "And what happened to you? Did you get into a fight?"

Luz looked at herself and dusted herself off as she explained. "Well, to get your card back and convince Malphas to hire you back I had to go through some trials. Categorize some man-eating books, and then another one was taming a paper dragon…that guy was not fun."

Amity deadpanned. I'm going to have to have a little talk with Malphas tomorrow.

"Oh, hey guys," Luz greeted as she waved.

Amity raised an eyebrow questioningly, until she looked over her shoulder and saw her big brother and sister peeking from around the corner in the back. Amity rolled her eyes and stepped outside as she closed the door behind her. The young Blight witch looked down and noticed a mouse was attached to Luz's right leg.

"Looks like you made a new friend," said Amity as she pointed at Luz's leg.

Luz looked down and noticed that that was not just any mouse. "You're the one that ate the diary!" Luz shook off the mouse, but she was not about to let it get away. She dove right for it and landed on the ground but managed to capture the little rodent in her right hand. "I hate you."

Amity noticed something about that mouse, and it just now struck her what it was. "Wait, Luz, hold on! That's an Echo-mouse."

"A what?"

Amity helped Luz up and took the mouse from her, the little rodent calmed down in her grasp as it sat there. "It consumes knowledge through writing and can play back anything it eats. We dealt with them a lot a work. Watch."

Luz watched closely as Amity gently rubbed the top of the Echo-mouse's head. Almost immediately, the mouse's back began to glow, and its eyes shined bright as it projected light onto the front door and opened its mouth wide. Luz and Amity looked at the door, watching as it projected the diary's contents like an old timey movie.

"My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st…I think. My name is Philip Wittebane, and I found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have, and perhaps they shall. For the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm."

The Echo-mouse finished projecting.

"W-Was that it?" Luz asked.

"No, there's most likely a lot more, but it'll only play back parts of the diary. Performing a prolonged projection can take a lot out of this little guy," said Amity.

Luz looked at the Echo-mouse with newfound kindness as she gently took the little thing into her hands. It was no longer fidgeting, now sensing Luz's kindness instead of her hostility earlier. "Thank you, little mouse. I hope you and I can become good friends." Luz booped the Eco-mouse's nose with her own.

Amity felt transfixed on Luz, she went through all of that to get her card back. Luz did it even without the promise or guarantee that she would be forgiven, but she did it anyway, for her. "Don't worry, you always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts."

What happened next was a total shocker to not just Luz, but to Amity as well. The lilac haired witch casually leaned forward and kissed Luz on the cheek. When it was over, Luz's eyes were as big as saucers, and so were Amity's.

Up above, Emira and Edric were watching over Amity, literally. Edric crossed his arms as he nodded approvingly and said, "Bold move, sister."

"Uh…wow…" Bast uttered.

"Heh, well, well, Amity Blight, you finally took the leap."

Luz slowly turned her head to Amity and gasped slowly, as if her mind had just finally comprehended what just happened. Which was more than could be said for Amity as she was processing all of it, and (gay) panicking as her face became as red a goremato.

"Uh – okay – good to see you! Farewell forever!" Amity swiftly made her way up the steps of her front porch and repeatedly muttered, "Why did I do that?! Why'd I do that?! Why did I do that?!" before closing the door behind her.

Luz was still stunned; she felt the strength leave her legs as she collapsed onto her rear. "Did…Did Amity just kiss me…?"

"She did."

"Amity kissed me…I just got kissed by Amity."

"The Echo-mouse is scurrying away, just so you know."

Luz snapped herself out of her daze and noticed that the mouse was no longer in her hands and was now making a beeline for the forest. The Latina ran and dived, snatching the mouse back in her grasp. The slight spike in adrenaline managed to get her legs working again as Luz stood up and walked down the paved pathway off the Blight property, the whole way down her face would not stop blushing, she could still feel Amity's lips against her cheek, it was such a fleeting moment, but it felt as if her lips never left that spot. She took one last look up at Blight Manor before going off into the woods and using her Connect ring to take her back home.