"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Eda grumbled. "We've been flying for three days now"

"For the umpteenth time, yes, we are going in the right direction!" Hunter exclaimed. "And we would have had to fly for a lot less time if you hadn't stopped at every island in our path!"

"I can't blame him on that" Lilith commented, and even Raine nodded a little.

Eda let out a grunt. "Seriously, whose side are you on?"

"From the right one, it seems obvious to me" was the simple and flat response of her older sister.

Hunter lowered his head in annoyance. Having to fly for hours over the ocean without seeing anything but water was already quite an unnerving feat, and if he added Eda's whining to that it became impossible to bear. Willow evidently realized his discomfort, because she patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't mind her, keep pointing the way. You're doing well". And just at that point she noticed a detail: "Hey, look! There's an island in front of us, and it's right where the staff is pointing! This could be a good time"

Hunter's face darkened. "Yeah... let's hope we don't just have to get over it and carry on like all the others"

"Now, now, have a little faith!" Willow told him with a laugh. She probably thought Hunter was now discouraged from continuing to search.

The problem was that Hunter wasn't making that face at all because he was discouraged; he was doing it because he recognized that island well. And he knew that if his uncle had decided to get in their way right then, it was because for some reason he was ready for action. Strange, he usually never waited less than a month before starting to do 'that thing'... was Luz really what he was looking for, to the point of allowing him to speed things up so much? Well, it didn't matter. What mattered was what would happen soon.

He just looked at Willow, sitting on the staff behind him, who was saying something to Eda while laughing; he hated himself for what was about to happen, but it was the only way to protect her. He had made that choice when his uncle had forced him to do so, and their reunion three days earlier had only cemented his feelings.


Hunter was sitting on a rock on a small island where his uncle had sent him, not far from a nearby fishing village; he was awaiting the arrival of Willow, Raine, Lilith and Eda. He knew they would arrive shortly, and in fact he had no problem spotting the two fairies approaching from the distance; within a few minutes it landed on the beach in front of him. He got up to go and greet them: "I finally see you again! I'm really..."

Willow's fist landed squarely on his teeth; although he could have easily blocked or dodged it, he let her hit him since he knew he deserved it. What he didn't expect was the force of that punch, which almost broke his teeth and knocked him to the ground. "Urgh... Willow..."

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING, HUH!?" Willow screamed as she threw herself on top of her and began slapping him. "Who the fuck do you think you are, a fucking story hero!? Going to face Belos alone, how stupid can you be!? And how dare you paralyze me!? I'll kill you...!"

Raine intervened and tried to move the furious girl off of him, but the only result was that they almost got an elbow in the side. Lilith tried to calm her: "Willow, that's enough! There's no point..."

"Don't try to tell me to stop! I have to teach this idiot a lesson!" Willow ranted.

"Yes, I admit what he did was a bit stupid... AND SOMEONE SHOULD HELP ME INSTEAD OF LAUGHING!" Lilith shouted, looking at Eda, who was doubling over with laughter and she seemed everything except than a good fairy.

"I am sorry"

Willow suddenly stopped when she heard Hunter say those words. The boy straightened up slightly and said: "I can only imagine how much you suffered, and I'm sorry for that. But I don't regret stopping you from coming with me, nor distracting Belos enough for you to resolve the situation. Be angry with me as much as you want, but as heartbroken as I am for the pain I caused you, I cannot ask your forgiveness for that, because I would do it again. I can only tell you that I am sorry for what you had to suffer"

Willow remained still and silent for almost half a minute, then she suddenly moved and headed towards him; Hunter expected another punch, but instead the girl grabbed him by the waist and pulled him into a tight hug. "You... idiot... you're still the same... brave stupid moron..."

Hunter felt her tremble slightly and he could feel a warm liquid on his neck. "Willow... are you...?"

"Of course I'm crying, you idiot!" Willow exclaimed, showing him her tear-stained face. "I thought you were dead, you moron! And finally you're here in front of me! How can I not cry? You're really insensitive...!"

Hunter didn't let her finish: he grabbed her and hugged her back tightly. "I'm sorry for being such a source of pain to you" he whispered in her ear. Willow in response rested her head on his neck and squeezed him even tighter.

Hunter could feel her shaking under his hands. Every sob of the girl was a stab in the heart for him. He didn't want to see her cry... he couldn't see her cry. That strong Willow, who seemed so fragile to him at that moment... he didn't want anything to happen to her.

He would protect her. Even at the cost of losing everything else.

He didn't know how long they remained in that position, the fact is that at a certain point Eda approached him and said: "Sorry to interrupt, but I remind you that we still have two missing people to find. So either you kiss, or stop the whining and let's get to work"

Willow turned red and immediately pulled away from Hunter; the boy on the other hand found himself reflecting for a moment on the fairy's words. Kiss her? He would have liked it very much, but no, he wouldn't have done it. Not in perspective of what was about to happen. Regardless of how it ended, it would cause Willow pain; he couldn't be selfish enough to even kiss her. "You're right. Lilith, Eda, point your wands at my staff and let your magic flow inside; I'll take care of the rest"

The two fairies nodded and raised Owlbert and Mike Socks, and their magic flowed into the stirrup; obviously Hunter didn't really need it since the staff had already been refilled by his uncle, but he had to do it to continue the act. He activated the locator spell, aimed at Darius' lamp, and he said: "We need to go that way. I don't know how far it is but... uh?"

He realized that Willow had sat on the staff with him. "What do you do?"

Willow glared at him. "I'm traveling with you, what questions! This way I'll be sure that you won't throw yourself into the jaws of a sea monster again!"

Hunter swallowed a little, but still didn't complain and took off, followed by the two fairies. And as they flew out to sea, he could feel Willow wrap her hands around his waist again and hold him tight.

His grip on the staff tightened a little as he basked in the touch. He would definitely protect her no matter what.


From that moment on they had traveled for three days, visiting the islands they encountered on their way without any success. Not that Hunter didn't know, since he knew exactly where the lamp was from Darius, but he still pretended nothing happened. And now they were finally (so to speak) reaching the end of their journey. "I really hope this is the right time" Eda commented with a grunt. "I want to return to Bonesborough as soon as possible. I still feel a little of the Owl Beast's corruption coursing through my veins"

"Yeah, me too" Lilith said.

"Is getting worse?" Willow asked her apprehensively.

"Yes, but very slowly, and as weak as it is it doesn't bother me at all" Eda replied. "Luz is probably taking advantage of my absence to skip school or something like that"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Given how much stress Amity has had lately, I wouldn't be shocked to find out that Luz or even their entire friend group has decided to take a long vacation to help her feel better" Lilith commented. Technically she shouldn't have justified that behavior, and she would certainly have scolded the kids properly when she got home, but she understood their reasons. Amity had defeated her mother and gained her freedom, but that hadn't relieved her of all her problems; that girl had had a burden on her for too long, so it wasn't surprising that she had decided to take it off completely and give up any responsibilities, and take advantage of their absence to have fun with her girlfriend instead of studying.

"You might be lucky. We're almost there" Hunter said. "The signal is strong. Darius is right in front of us"

Very quickly they reached the base of the island, and there they entered a huge cave half submerged in the water. There, wedged between a couple of rocks, was a familiar lamp. "Darius!" Raine exclaimed as they jumped out of Eda's arms and ran towards it. "Are you awake, buddy? It's good to see..."

Something suddenly pushed them away; a split second later they could see what looked like slime thicken and grow until it was the size of a person, and then it solidified into a guy with a long white cloak and a golden mask over his face. "Don't try to take it" he told them, his eyes shining evilly, pushing the lamp away with his foot. "You're late. I got there first"

Raine took a step back, and Lilith and Eda immediately got into attacking positions; that person certainly wasn't a human being, and he didn't seem friendly at all. "Sir, please" Lilith said trying to avoid the confrontation. "The djinn in that lamp is a friend of ours. We just want..."

"I don't care if he's your friend" the man said, and his voice sounded strangely sibilant. "Prepare to fight, little fairies. I want to play with you a little before giving you the real finishing blow"

And having said that he moved like a splinter towards Lilith and before the fairy could react he grabbed her by the neck; he slammed her to the ground and only at the last moment did she manage to summon magical protection to avoid breaking her bones. Eda immediately intervened and conjured a spell, but the man raised his hand and blocked it with a shield; however, it was enough to allow Lilith to free herself and escape.

The two fairies exchanged a knowing look, and then they flew in circles around him and fire emerged from Eda's wand and ice from Lilith's; normally no one could conjure up protection for both elements, but the man not only managed to do so, but he seemed to make no effort whatsoever to do so. "He's definitely skilled" Eda whispered under her breath. "Why do you want to fight us!?"

"Because it amuses me" the man replied, and climbed the rocks as if he were a hideous insect and then threw himself at them, almost hitting Lilith directly before landing on a stone and turning into slime, recomposing himself an instant later. He and the fairies began to fight assiduously.

"We have to help them" Willow exclaimed, and attempted to use her powers, but found she was unable to. "Damn... I can't even feel a bud around here... how is it...?"

"Willow, watch out!" Hunter's voice came from behind her, but too late: the girl didn't even have time to turn around before she was electrocuted and fainted. Hunter caught her before she hit her head on a rock. "There's someone behind you" he commented in a mournful voice, and then very quickly he ran into an opening in the cave and disappeared inside, taking her with him.

Eda, Lilith and Raine still hadn't noticed anything; they were too busy facing the mysterious man, who, despite his undoubted extraordinary abilities, seemed to be having a lot of trouble keeping up with both of them. Yet despite this, he seemed to be really enjoying himself, even after Eda shoves an entire stalactite straight into his belly, bringing him to his knees. "Amazing…" he said with a laugh. "You far exceeded my expectations... I did a good job in preparing this plan. With your skills, you could have very easily taken her away from me if I had acted with the same modus operandi as usual"

"What are you talking about?" Eda growled. She couldn't understand what delusions this guy was suffering from, but she didn't like them.

"Oh, I'll explain it to you very soon" the man replied while his eyes became even brighter and bluer, and his arms changed into tentacles ending in a scythe. "I'd think about fighting now if I were you!"

He swirled his tentacles through the air, and nearly hit one of them, and the battle resumed. And the more the battle continued, the more Eda, Lilith and Raine continued to corner him, yet he continued to laugh. "This guy definitely has some problems in his head" Eda exclaimed. "Do me the courtesy of disappearing!"

The most powerful fire magic she possessed formed in her wand; this time the man was unable to block it and was hit by a fireball the size of a small room. When the flames went out, not even ashes were left of him. "Is it done?" Raine asked, not at all sure about this.

But then the whole cave shook. "Surprising! You were even able to destroy that fictitious body. Ah... you are truly powerful fairies! I really did well not to take you lightly! You would surely have succeeded in taking her away from me if I hadn't taken countermeasures!"

The entire cave suddenly seemed to close in; the ceiling lowered and the ground rose, and at a decidedly unnatural speed. Eda and Lilith acted reflexively and each grabbed Raine by the arm and flew out of the cave, an instant before it slammed shut behind them. But the cave then opened again and began to move as if it were a gigantic mouth. "It was fun having you guys fight my fake body, but it's over now anyway"

Two immense blue eyes opened and stared at them maliciously. All three shuddered at the sight. "It's not an island... it's Belos!" Lilith exclaimed in terror.

"Let's leave right now! Where are the kids!?" Eda said looking around frantically, but then she let out a scream and so did Lilith; both plummeted from the sky and fell into the sea, but a giant misshapen fin rose up beneath them and served as a supporting surface. The two fairies were trembling in pain and their arms were swelling and filling with feathers. Belos chuckled at the sight: "What's the matter? Are you feeling weak?"

"Cough... what's happen...?" Eda muttered as she saw her hands turn into claws.

"It happens that you should have thought twice before connecting to a certain puppet" Belos told her.

Eda's face seemed to turn into stone. "What...? How do you know these things!? What did you do to Luz!?"

"I gave her and her little girlfriend and all their friends exactly what they want: fun and entertainment" was Belos's reply, and a strange tentacle emerged from the water, ending in a hideously deformed flower, which opened its petals and revealed a tiny eye inside; this eye lit up and projected the image of a park in front of the faces of the two fairies and the bard. "I needed that puppet for a personal project of mine, but unfortunately you had to interfere. You are a powerful fairy, Edalyn Clawthorne, and your sister is no less; if I had simply kidnapped her, you would surely have run to get her back, and with your skills you would have an excellent chance of taking her away from me. But fortunately you two lose your mind when that puppet misbehaves... and I have long since learned how to turn the most diligent kids into degenerates"

"Y-You... you bastard!" Eda tried to fly up, but she fell to the ground with a thud while her wings also began to be covered in broken and black feathers. "Luz... I have to go to Luz...!"

"Kids are nothing more than parasites who just want to have fun. Sometimes they mask their nature, but they can't eliminate it. And if you give them a place where they can spend their time playing and having fun instead of going to school and submitting to rules of adults, how could they give them up? What kid would go home, rejecting such a paradise?" Belos continued amused. "Your pupils are no exception. They never left here even if they had the chance, because they were too distracted by entertainment. And tell me, dear Edalyn... skipping school, leaving a poor defenseless little brother at home, make the aforementioned little brother worry... can these be considered good deeds?"

Eda could barely move by now; her body was almost completely transformed. "The corruption... that we felt... in the previous days..."

"Exactly. I admit that to lure her and the other guys here I used a little trick to increase their trust in me... but once they got here, I didn't do anything else. Staying here was their choice" Belos told her, and then his voice became even more amused: "Just as it was their choice what happened tonight!"

The strange, misshapen flower-shaped tentacle generated another series of images; this time it showed Luz and King inside what looked like a bar.

"You trust me, right, Luz?"

"King... it's not that I don't trust you... it's that I think you misunderstood the situation a little. It was my fault for not coming home and scaring you, and I apologize for that... but I seriously doubt that there is anything dangerous here when nothing has happened to us for five days, or that this island is moving even though none of us have ever noticed. You're right to be worried and angry at me, but..."

"So you don't think I'm right! I came all this way to get you out of trouble, and you'd rather stay here and have fun instead of listening to me!?"

"King, I didn't say that...!"

"All right! Do as you wish, then! I'm leaving! Have as much fun as you like!"

"Hurting her little brother's feelings, not trusting him, refusing to come home, even failing to stop her girlfriend and her friends while they were kicking out their father in a bad way... it's a nice package of bad deeds, don't you think?" Belos said with a laugh, and his eyes seemed to contain an excited light. "I knew this would happen, I left that young Titan behind on purpose. I learned long ago how to manipulate kids enough to make them make stupid choices, just like in this case. And now... what I wanted to happen, has happened. That puppet has behaved very badly, and you are transforming. Once that happens, capturing you will be like a child's play; you will no longer be able to use your magic or your agility in flight... you will no longer be able to interfere. And I have to admit, I'm really enjoying your transformation!"

Eda trembled, trying with all her might to maintain her sanity. "Bastard... what do you want... to do... to Luz...?"

"What I want to do to her?" Belos let out a strange excited hiss. "I don't want to do something to her. I want her. All of her"

Eda heard nothing else: an owl-like hoot emerged from her mouth, and her eyes went completely black. Her body changed and became covered in feathers, and she stood on all fours. Lilith in turn made a cry, this time more like that of a crow, and she became an even larger beast than Eda, with long black tar-like feathers and serrated ears, and even still a little hair on her head. As soon as they transformed they took flight, but their heavy bodies moved at a speed far slower than their fairy forms, and two tentacles emerged from beneath the water and wrapped around them, imprisoning them. "Eda!" Raine screamed seeing that scene.

Belos's eyes focused on him. "As for you... you robbed me of a body, so I need a new one. I still need to physically interact with the puppet, so I need a conduit" the monster said. "Give me your body. Unfortunately I cannot take it without executing a contract, and it requires your consent"

Raine was shaking in fear, but still they shouted: "I will never help you!"

"Oh, I think so. I could kill you now and take possession of a person who already has a contract with me, and who is here with us right now, but he can still be useful to me. You, on the other hand... are irrelevant. If you want to survive, you will have to give me your body" Belos told him. "And before you start your fearless hero monologue... I would like to point out that even the lives of these two fairies are irrelevant. In fact, I really think I will devour them immediately"

"NO!" Raine screamed. "Please... don't kill them!"

"Then give me your body" Belos replied.

Raine lowered their head in defeat. "Okay... you can use my body, but don't kill Eda and Lilith!"

"So the contract is now made" Belos said, and immediately a tentacle wrapped around Raine's neck; the bard let out a muffled cough, but the tip of the tentacle entered his mouth and a flow of magical energy exploded inside his body. Raine stirred as if shocked by an electric current, and then became as still as a corpse. The tentacle placed him on the ground and let him go. Raine stood still for a moment and then spasmed, and then he reopened his eyes, revealing that they had become as blue and icy as Belos's. "Mh. This body is pretty shitty compared to the one I had before, but it's still better than nothing" he said, standing up.

The giant monster opened his mouth and pulled Eda and Lilith inside; and from there also came a small flash of red light, which flew up to Raine-Belos and landed in front of him. "Uncle" Hunter greeted as he held the unconscious Willow in his arms. "It all went well, then"

"Yes. Everything went according to plan" Raine-Belos commented with satisfaction. "Now I just need to get their last escape route out of the way… it was nice of them to bring their flying ship right next to my mouth"

Hunter turned slightly and saw Alador's airship hovering a short distance from the monster's right eye. Belos moved his pupil and pointed it at it, and then moved one of his tentacles and grabbed it and threw it into his mouth. Even though the boy already knew it would happen, he couldn't suppress a groan when he saw that scene. "So… what should I do now?" he asked. "Should I go get Luz?"

"Oh, no. Why should you do so? She can't escape from here, and it's more fun to run tests while the guinea pig fights for its life" Raine-Belos replied as a monstrous grin spread across his face. "And I certainly don't intend to give up my favorite show"

Hunter shuddered at those words, but still didn't react. "I understand. In that case I will await further instructions in Kikimora's lair"

"Go ahead. I'll enjoy the fun in the meantime" Raine-Belos said, and both his eyes and those of the giant monster glowed with a sick and distorted light. He raised his fingers and snapped them hard."Let the desperation... begin!"


Yep, everything, including King's arrival, was planned by Belos. It was he who pulled the strings of everything with the specific purpose of having Eda and Lilith transform into the Owl Beast and the Raven Beast and capture them. Now that they're gone, he can finally have fun... in his own way