A meeting was called at the palace of Emperor Belos. A gathering of all the nine Coven Heads, the leaders of the Abomination, Construction, Potion, Oracle, Illusion, Beast Keeping, Healing, Bard, and Plant. They came at the behest of the Emperor, because the threat that faced their world was too great to ignore anymore. Not after three Kaiju appeared one after the other, at least a week or two apart from each other.
A single flying carriage flew through the air, flanked by two airships as escorts. The Coven Heads were covered in long cloaks, with their faces obscured by the shadows of their hoods. The only thing to indicate which Coven they were affiliated with was by the colored stripe on their white cloaks, and the medallions that kept their cloaks clasped together.
The Emperor's castle was built in a deep chasm. Below this chasm were hundreds of sharp rocks, ensuring that if anyone fell it would lead to a very unpleasant demise. The castle itself was built upon a huge stone block that reached all the way down to the bottom of the chasm, there were even some windows that allowed one to look out into the distance. The walls were taller than the castle, save for the castle's central tower that poked above the walls. There were barracks lined up on the back wall of the chasm, along with training areas fit for the Emperor's Coven. The main landing area for the castle rested several yards away from the castle, making it so that the only way to get inside was via a retractable bridge that connected to the other end of the chasm.
The airships and carriage touched down on the landing area, with the airships' ramps deploying and allowing the Coven Scouts to immediately file out and get into position. Once they were, the Coven Heads disembarked from their carriage. They assembled at the edge of the landing and watched as the retractable bridge extended and connected to the landing. The Coven Heads and their Coven Scout guards stood on the bridge and waited for it to retract back to the castle. At the other end stood the Head of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith Clawthorne, and the Emperor's lefthand woman, Kikimora.
"The Emperor sends his thanks for answering his summons so quickly," Kikimora greeted.
"Please, follow us. His majesty awaits," said Lilith.
The group was brought inside the palace and led through several winding hallways before ending up at the throne room. There was a long table set up for their meeting, and Emperor himself was sitting at the head of the table. He wore a golden mask that had two long, curved horns coming out of the sides of the mask, and it also possessed a long, bird-like beak. His white cloak was trimmed with gold, and both forearms were covered in gold-colored gauntlets. The eye holes of the mask were black as night, with barely any visible sign of an eye to be seen. This was the man known as Emperor Belos, the ruler of the Boiling Isles, and the most powerful witch to ever live.
"Welcome, my Coven Heads. Please, take your seats," he stated.
The nine Coven Heads took their designated seats, which were marked by the Coven Sigils. Once seated, they removed their hoods to show their faces. One that was in attendance was Mason, the Head of the Construction Coven. Across from him was an elderly witch woman with plant leaves growing out of her head, her name was Terra Snapdragon, the Head of the Plant Coven. To her right was a well-groomed witch man with blue eyes. His name was Adrian Graye Venworth, the Head of the Illusionist Coven. Across from Adrian was a tan skinned witch, with rounded glasses, mint green short cut hair, and green eyes. Their name was Raine Whispers, and they were the recently promoted Head of the Bard Coven. The previous head had retired, but the announcement had not been made yet, so for the time being Raine kept his face hidden.
To Raine's left was a tall woman, wearing a white headdress that was a half-circle shape, and had a light-blue covering over the upper half of her head and eyes. Her name was Hettie Cutburn, the Head of the Healing Coven. Across from Hettie was a demon that had his mouth covered by a yellow scarf. His white hair was stringy and long, his skin a sickly shade of greenish-gray, and had diamond shaped pink pupils with yellow sclera. His name was Vitimir, the Head of the Potions Coven. To Vitimir's right was another demon, He had white hair that ended in sharp claws, a mustache that circled to the back of his head, light-purple skin, and possessed ice blue eyes with indigo sclera. He was known as Osran, the Head of the Oracle Coven. Across from Osran was another well-groomed man, with dark skin, but his hair was alive, as if it was made of Abomination slime, because it was made of the slime. He was Darius Deamonne, the Head of the Abomination Coven. And resting soundly curled up in the middle of the table was the Head of the Beast Keeping Coven. They were a demon, with a wild mane of auburn hair to match their tail, while orange fur covered the rest of their body.
"I presume you all know why it is that I have summoned you here, correct?" Belos inquired.
"The emergence of these, Kaiju," said Darius.
"And the appearance of this being called 'Titannia'," Vitimir added.
"Honestly, I find it disgraceful that they gave that giant such a name," said Kikimora. "They liken this giant woman to our great Titan! It's nothing short of blasphemy."
"Now, Kikimora, it's just a name. No one is saying that this 'Titannia' is the Titan or connected to the Titan," Raine interjected. "And at least it gives us something to call her in the meantime."
"Well, I don't think we can completely dismiss that idea," Mason stated. "This Titannia has boasted powers unlike anything we have ever encountered. Let's just state the obvious, up until now, Titannia has been the only one able to destroy these Kaiju. These things are so big, and powerful, that our magic barely has any effect on them."
"Are you saying that the Emperor couldn't fell one of these beasts?" Terra snapped. "You had best watch yourself, Mason."
Belos raised his hand and the others looked his way.
"I hold no illusions regarding my ability to kill one of these beasts. From what I have read of the field reports, they are exceptionally big, and mustering up enough magical energy to deal such a beast a fatal blow would no doubt drain me before the next monster appeared. Kill one but have no strength for the next. That is not a feasible strategy," said Belos.
Hettie nodded and said, "Very wise milord. The Isles cannot lose you, for you may be our last line of defense. But that being said, the Kaiju have caused many injuries and deaths. If not for Titannia keeping the fights out of the more majorly populated areas, we would be seeing an untold number of deaths. Any one of those creatures could wipe out a town on their own and leave nothing but devastation in their wake."
The Head of the Healing Coven drew a spell circle and manifested several documents before each Coven Head.
"These are the casualties from the battles that our Coven Scouts have engaged in. Now take that and multiply it times a thousand, we're looking at the mass genocide of our people if we do not stop these things," Hettie implored.
"But what caused them to appear?!" Adrian asked. "They seem to just keep popping up out of nowhere!"
"Ahem." Lilith cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the other Coven Heads. "From what I was able to discern from the ruins we found underground. It would seem that these 'Kaiju' – as they're being called – existed long before recorded history. Quite possibly all the way back to the formation of the Isles themselves."
Lilith drew a spell circle and created a holographic image of a crudely drawn Kaiju.
"For whatever reason, some kind of cataclysmic event, possibly the one that brought the Titan itself down, also affected the Kaiju. But instead of death, they merely fell into a dormant state of slumber for thousands of years."
The Kaiju image showed itself going to sleep, and how the land started to form around it.
"For whatever reason, the Kaiju are waking up. Thankfully not all at once, but without knowing where exactly in the ground they are located, or what could trigger their awakening, we can only take reactive measures. Also, the paintings in the ruins seemed to suggest that Titannia was their natural enemy, as there were pictures showing her doing battle with the monsters," Lilith informed.
"Not only that, but it seems that the giant has intelligence." Darius added. "There have been at least two occasions where this Titannia protected civilians. The first time when the flying Kaiju appeared. And the most recent was transporting some young witches. All of which were unharmed. In fact, at least one of those witches was said to have aided Titannia in the elimination of the Kaiju."
"I have that report here," Lilith spoke up. "The witchling in question was one 'Willow Park'. According to my protégé, she used her Plant magic to quite literally rip the plant Kaiju apart, just long enough for Titannia to deal it the fatal blow. But it must be noted that the girl did incur serious strain to her body and bile sac from overexerting her magical power."
"That is impressive, but more importantly, I think it shows that Titannia is able to understand us and cooperate with us," Raine pointed out.
"True, but Lilith's words reinforce the point I made earlier," Hettie remarked, "mainly that we do not possess the magical power to defeat these creatures."
"What of the Beast Keeping Coven? Have they devised a method by which we can possibly control them?" Osran asked. "Or at least, found out anything from their remains?"
All eyes shifted to the napping Eberwolf. The demon man-beast seemed to have heard them speaking about them, because they lifted their head, tilted it to the side for a moment, and then shook their head in the negative.
"I have spoken at length with Eber about this. But controlling a beast that size runs into the same problem as defeating one. Too much magical energy, even with multiple casters," Darius clarified. "And as far as what they are, from what samples their Coven has been able to obtain, they don't belong to any category of demon beast in recorded history, or even our modern-day demon beasts. And their hides are unusually resilient, which appears to be the reason they can shrug off our magical attacks so easily."
"Honestly, I can't believe no one saw this coming. Osran, what are you and your Oracle witches doing?! You should be keeping us informed about threats like this far in advance!" Terra exclaimed.
Osran furrowed his brow a little as he sighed.
"The future has been hard to see lately. When I look into the future, aside from short glimpses of it, something is shrouding the sight of myself and other Oracle witches. At this point, we cannot act as an early warning system," Osran lamented.
"That's great," Mason remarked. "So, we don't even know when the next attack will come. But what concerns me is the fact that these monsters are located underground. For all we know, another one of these monsters could be sleeping right underneath a city or town right now."
Mason's words made everyone go silent as that possibility just popped into their head. Up till now the Kaiju have been waking up in random, uninhabited areas like forests or rocky areas. If a Kaiju was slumbering beneath a city right now, and if their size remains consistent, they could see an entire city or town wiped out in an instant. The damage and loss of life would be catastrophic, and they would have no way to warn the citizens until it was too late.
"And now my dear Coven Heads, this is where the crux of this meeting comes into play." Belos steepled his fingers together as he leaned his elbows onto the table. "What shall our response be to the Kaiju. The citizens are looking to their Emperor and Coven Heads to protect them, to make them feel safe in this time of uncertainty. We must deal with this Kaiju threat swiftly, before a mass panic ensues."
Two weeks had passed since the last Kaiju emerged, and so far everything was quiet. The name "Titannia" was on everyone's lips since then. Social media was ablaze with witches and demons debating the origins of Titannia, as well as her motives, and her allegiance. Considering that Titannia (Luz) saved Willow, Amity, Boscha and her crew, people now knew that Titannia was intelligent, and could understand normal language. Even if it seemed that the giant couldn't communicate back, she did understand, and could interact. These facts fueled the imaginations of every single Boiling Islander, as they kept asking who Titannia was, and just as importantly, what her connection was to the Kaiju.
"Questions that I'd love to have answered myself," said Luz as she scrolled through Eda's Penstagram account. "I'm still amazed that you guys have social media."
"Of course, we do. We're not savages," Eda commented. "While we're on the subject, Titannia give ya anymore nuggets of information?"
Luz sprawled herself out on the couch as she let out a long sigh.
"No, she hasn't. It's like the only time she does give me information is during a fight. And it's mostly connected to her abilities, and the names of these Kaiju. Not so much about herself," Luz explained.
"Huh, secretive type, well, don't worry 'bout it. Maybe you have to gain her trust a little more or something," said Eda.
"Or maybe, you have to show her who's boss!" King exclaimed as he crawled onto Luz's stomach.
Luz petted King on the head as she smiled at him.
"I don't think that's a good route to go. But in the meantime…" Luz turned her attention to Eda in the loveseat, a cattish grin forming on her lips. "You could teach me a little magic~"
Eda put down the newspaper and gave Luz a side eye glance.
"Nice try, kid. But master your own weird magic, giant powers first," Eda retorted.
"Booo…" Luz flipped around and looked at the Scroll again. "Well, at least someone on this Penstagram's got good taste."
"That being?"
"This user called 'Firebird', they seem to have some out there theories about Titannia, and they also seem to think that…" Luz's eyes widened with shock as she immediately sat up and flung King off her stomach from the motion. "He suspects that Titannia is human?!"
Eda ripped the paper she was reading in half out of surprise as she turned to look at Luz.
"Wait, what?!" Eda exclaimed.
"Okay, who blabbed?" King accused.
Eda and King gathered on either side of Luz, there was a video post from "Firebird" under the same post that accused Titannia of being human, and Luz pressed it.
{Hello everyone, Firebird here,} the video greeted in a distorted voice. {I'm sure you clicked this video because you were curious of my post. Well, I admit, it is a little confusing. I mean, humans can't turn into giants, they have no magic. But what if Titannia is a different type of human?}
The video shifted, showing the world of the Boiling Isles. And next to that was, what looked like, a comic book?
{Humans tell tales of beings from faraway places. Not unlike our own Boiling Isles. In these stories, these beings from other worlds possess technology so advanced it might as well be magic! And in other stories, these otherworldly beings sometimes look exactly like humans, but possess unbelievable powers! I propose Titannia is actually a being from beyond the stars! From a race of beings that have tremendous power! Now I can hear you all saying, "Firebird, that doesn't mean Titannia's a human. She could just as well be something else!" And you would be right, but her shape and appearance say otherwise.}
The holographic image shifted, now showing a perfect replica of Titannia, but colored a light blue. And next to the replica was a generic female witch model and a generic human female model.
{Humans and witches, on the outside, are very similar to each other. Except for our ears, as you all know, humans have rounded ears as opposed to our pointed ears. A very simple detail, but sometimes one that goes unnoticed unless you're paying attention. Now, what if I told you that perhaps Titannia has the power to change their form? We never know exactly where she goes after defeating a Kaiju, and she just seems to appear whenever a Kaiju rampages. I believe she can change her size and shape! Of course, it's just a theory, heck, Titannia could just be hiding out in the forests or mountains somewhere when she takes off. Anyway, let's get a discussion going people!}
"Huh, this 'Firebird's' pretty sharp," Eda commented.
Luz wasn't sure if she liked how sharp they were. If Firebird got enough people thinking that Titannia might be a human, they might start to suspect her. Although Luz has been passing herself off as a witch, it would only take one of them snatching off her beanie to reveal her as a human. The witches and demons could see her as a threat living amongst them, and then that would bring some heat on Eda, King, and Hooty. Not that those three didn't already have some heat, considering Eda was a wanted criminal.
Still not clear on her crimes, but after that Warden Wrath thing, I'm less inclined to believe they were that bad, Luz thought. Never mind that, I gotta find out who this "Firebird" is before people start looking my way!
"Alright, I need to find out who this Firebird is, and see if I can convince them to amend their theory!" Luz proclaimed.
King and Eda looked at Luz with raised eyebrows.
"You do realize that this Firebird could be somewhere clear across the island, right? Plus, even if you manage to track down a location, you may not even be able to find the person you're looking for," said Eda.
"Yeah, like finding a piece of hay in a needle stack," King commented.
"Don't you mean a needle in a haystack?" Luz asked.
"No, we actually have games where people dive into a stack of needles to find a single piece of hay," King clarified.
Luz blinked, and then again.
"Boiling Isles questionable sense of entertainment aside, I gotta start somewhere!"
*Knock, knock!*
Luz, Eda, and King looked at the door with confusion, as they were not expecting anyone today. The Latina put down the Scroll, walked to the door, and opened it. To her surprise, Willow was the one standing at the door. She was wearing her Hexside school uniform, which consisted of a charcoal-gray tunic, green leggings and sleeves to denote her Plant magic specialty.
"Uh, Willow, not that I'm not happy to see you, but what's up?" Luz asked.
"I came by to see if you wanted to hangout," Willow informed.
"Love to but can't! I need to find out who this 'Firebird' person is before they accidentally dox me!"
Willow blinked and asked, "Did you say, 'Firebird'?"
"Yes."
Willow sighed as she facepalmed herself.
"Okay, if you're looking for Firebird, then I know who and where they are," said Willow.
"You do?!" Luz immediately grabbed Willow by the shoulders. "Willow, I could kiss you right now! Let's go!"
"Wait up, you're gonna need something to deal with conspiracy theorists like that. They can be a bit unstable," Eda warned.
Luz rolled her eyes.
"Eda, I'll be fine. Don't forget, I can fight now," Luz retorted.
Eda drew a spell circle and summoned a box filled with potion vials, which she now held in her arms and presented it to Luz. The box had several vials filled with a rainbow of different colored liquids, all of which Luz was sure did different things.
"Still, if you wanna pass yourself off as a witch, it wouldn't hurt to have one or two on you. At least that way you can pass yourself off as a Potion witch in case anyone asks," Eda informed. "Plus, a good witch is always resourceful."
"Eda does have a point. Even Boscha has a few vials on her just in case, and she is in the Potion track at school," Willow added.
"Okay, okay. Do you at least have anything that's nonlethal? Like a flashbang?" Luz asked.
Eda looked at her vials and said, "I have plenty that give off a bright flash, followed by a really big bang! Ah-ha!"
Luz sighed.
"Seriously, Eda, do you have anything that won't injure, maim, or possibly kill anyone in that box?"
Eda deadpanned and drew a spell circle. Dozens of vials floated out of the box until only five remained. Luz looked at the five vials, and then back at her mentor.
"Really?"
"Take 'em or leave 'em, kid."
Luz decided to take them. She pocketed all five vials, and once she had, both her and Willow left the house in search of Firebird. When she was gone, Eda drew another spell circle and made the rest of the vials and box vanish. The older witch woman walked back to the love seat and plopped down in it. Prompting King to speak up.
"You really should teach her something," said King. "If you don't, you'll lose her and that's when I swoop in."
Eda glanced at her roommate and said, "First off, I'm not gonna Luz her. Second: what would you teach her? How to get lost the sleeve of a shirt?"
"That only happened one time!" King proclaimed as he jumped off the couch and onto the coffee table. "I'll teach her all about demons! How to command them, how to raise an army and conquer the world with 'em!"
"Uh-huh? Is that before or after they manage to get you out of the sleeve?" Eda mocked.
King made a squeak of rage that only made Eda laugh when she heard it.
Willow and Luz headed into town, moving into a different section than she normally traveled. This was more of a residential area. Luz had seen this area a few times, but never went into it, mostly because Eda's deliveries were more scattered about the town or were assigned to certain delivery spots. The bespectacled witch brought Luz to a house, it was fairly nice, not lavish, but if she had to put a label on it, probably upper middle class?
"So, who lives here?"
"Remember I told you about my friend who is a human enthusiast?" Willow asked.
"Yeeesss."
"He lives here," Willow answered. "I'll explain more inside."
Willow walked up to the front door and gave it a few knocks. When she did, the door opened and revealed an older dark-skinned man, with black curly hair, and a pair of glasses on his face. Luz titled her head a little as she continued to stare at the man, feeling as if she had seen him somewhere before.
"Hello, Mr. Porter," Willow greeted.
"Oh, Willow, did you come to see Augustus?" he asked.
"Yep, I wasn't planning on visiting, so, sorry for dropping in so suddenly."
"Not a problem, I need to head out anyway. And who's your friend?"
Willow glanced over her shoulder, seeing Luz who was now waving at the man.
"Oh, my name's Luz. I actually moved here not too long ago, and Willow and I hit it off. She wanted to introduce me to another friend of hers, and here we are. This is going to sound completely random, but I feel like I've seen you somewhere before," said Luz.
Mr. Porter chuckled as he straightened his bowtie and remarked, "I'm not surprised you feel that way. You've probably seen my face on the crystal ball a few times. My full name is Perry Porter, and I'm a reporter for the Bonesborough News."
Luz did a double take as she exclaimed, "That's right! I've seen you reporting on the Kaiju attacks!"
"Indeed, I have, and speaking of which, I'll be off to do an investigation. Tell Augustus I'll be home later," said Perry.
Luz and Willow nodded as they stepped aside and let Perry through. Once in the front yard, Perry summoned his Palisman in staff form, got on it, and flew into the distance.
"C'mon, let's head in."
Luz followed Willow inside, closing the door as they made their way to the stairs and went up to the second floor. It was there that they stopped in front of a door that had some human paraphernalia plastered onto it. Nothing outrageous, mostly some random stuff. Stickers, posters, and some old toys from kids' meals past. Willow knocked on the door a couple of times and then called out to her friend.
"Augustus, it's me. I need to talk to you," Willow announced.
There was some scrambling from the other side of the door. Luz briefly wondered what kind of person this Augustus would be.
He's friends with Willow so he can't be all bad. Hopefully he won't end up being like some of those crazy conspiracy theorists. I mean, some of them have a point, and others are just completely…well…stupid is harsh, but I can't think of anything better.
Just then, the door opened and revealed the person behind Firebird. Augustus Porter was younger than Luz expected, about two years or so younger than Luz or Willow. He was still in his school uniform, which matched Willows with the exception of his leggings and sleeves, which were a light-blue color. If Luz recalled this color-coding system correctly, she believed that meant he was an Illusionist. He her resembled his father, Perry, but instead of having green eyes, Augustus had gray eyes.
"Willow, did you see my latest post?! I really think I'm onto something here and–!" Augustus stopped when he finally took notice of Luz. "Uh, who's this?"
"Let's talk inside," said Willow.
Augustus gave Luz a suspicious look, but relented to Willow's judgement as he ushered the two girls inside. Most boys Augustus's age would get flustered having two girls in his room, but one of those girls was his best friend, and Luz was sure he hadn't formed an opinion on how he felt about her yet.
When Luz entered the room, she understood why Willow said he was an enthusiast. There were tons of human related knickknacks all over the room. Posters of teen idols, movie posters, books, comic books, and for some reason Augustus had one of those devices that optometrists use to check your vision. Luz wondered how something like that got here, but that was a question for another day.
"So, what's up?" Augustus asked. "And no offense, but who are you?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm sure you're a little uncomfortable since you don't know who I am. My name's Luz Noceda, and I wanted to talk to you about your whole 'Titannia's a human' theory," said Luz.
Augustus gasped as she quickly said, "Are you a Firebird follower?! Wait, how did you know…? Willow!"
"Sorry, but I knew she was someone that you needed to talk to right away," said Willow.
"Why's that?"
Luz leaned closer to Willow and whispered, "He's not going to freak out a lot or try something funny because I'm human…will he?"
"No, trust me," Willow whispered back. "Augustus, Luz is going to show you something. But I need you to be cool. Okay?"
"Willow, of course I can be spool – uh – cool," Augustus assured.
Luz glanced at the young witch teen, and then released a sigh. The teen Latina reached up and slowly removed her beanie cap. When she did, Luz wiggled her round ears a little.
"Ta-da~"
Augustus mouth hung open as he stared up at Luz's ears. The young teen rubbed his eyes a few times, making sure that what he was seeing was real and not a trick of his mind.
"No way…is…are you…you're a human!" Augustus exclaimed.
"Yep, you can touch my ears if you want to make sure," Luz offered.
Luz bent down a little and tilted her head to the left. Augustus carefully reached up with his right hand and touched the curve of Luz's left ear. The young teen gasped and pulled back his hand, verifying that this was not an illusion spell. Luz's ears were real, which meant he was looking at a real life human.
"There's a human in my room…T-There's a h-human in my…"
*THUD!*
"AAH! I killed him!" Luz exclaimed as she saw Augustus pass out.
Willow looked down at her friend and giggled a little.
"Looks like meeting his first human was a little too much for him."
Augustus's head was swimming as he blinked his eyes a few times. The young Illusionist groaned as he leaned up, holding his head as he tried to remember what happened.
"You okay, Augustus?" Willow asked.
Augustus turned to his right and noticed Willow sitting there and looking at him with concern.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Wow, I just had the craziest dream. I dreamt you brought a human into my room! Crazy, huh?"
"Oooh, you're not crazy." Augustus's left eye twitched when he heard a familiar, yet unfamiliar, voice. The young Illusionist slowly turned his head to the left, and there, sitting backwards in a chair and smiling at him, was the human girl who he thought was a figment of his imagination. But there she was, sitting, and smiling at him. "Hola amigo."
"AAAAH!" Augustus backed away and then nearly fell off his bed, but a quick levitation spell from Willow made sure that Augustus didn't knock himself out again.
"Please, don't hit your head, again," said Willow.
After being placed back in his bed, Augustus continued to stare at Luz with wide eyes.
"You're really real! You're a human! A real life human!" Augustus exclaimed. "This is amazing! Willow, when – how – did you find a human?!"
"I–"
"Tell me no one else knows!" Augustus got off the bed and grabbed Luz by the shoulders as he looked at her with worry. "Have you been approached by any weird witches or demons lately?!"
Luz blinked, looked Augustus up and down, and responded, "Well, define 'weird'?"
"Anyone show any interest in you that seems really interested in you?!" Augustus clarified.
"Well, you're kinda ticking off that box right now, Augustus," said Luz with a smirk.
Augustus quickly released Luz and sat back down as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Sorry, sorry, but…wow! I can't believe it! A real human! I-I have so many questions for you! Ah, dang it, where's my notebook?!"
"As happy as I would be to answer your questions, I actually need to talk to you about something important," said Luz.
"Y-Yeah, of course, anything!"
"Think you can revise that whole 'Titannia is a human' thing? Or put out a different theory?" Luz asked.
Augustus blinked and remarked, "Why exactly? I mean, you being here kind of validates my theory! Not that I'm saying you specifically are Titannia, but it opens the door for it all to be possible!"
"Except I am."
"What?"
"Titannia."
"You?"
"Me."
"Are Titannia."
"Yep."
Augustus turned his head to look at Willow, expecting his friend to be giggling or tell him that it was a joke. But it was the opposite.
"She's not lying, Augustus. As amazing it sounds, I saw Luz transform into Titannia with my own eyes," Willow confirmed.
Augustus looked at Luz again, and to prove she was not lying, Luz called upon the Titannia Spark and Mystic Guard with a flash of light and had both appear on her left arm.
"I was right!" Augustus exclaimed.
"Yeah, and that's kind of the problem. There's a lot that I don't know about when it comes to Titannia, and right now, with the Kaiju popping up randomly, I don't want people to think I'm something they need to be afraid of," said Luz.
Augustus put on a serious expression as he walked over to his desk, took out a notebook, and sat back down with a pencil in hand.
"Tell me everything, I want to know more about you," said Augustus.
"I'd actually like to know more about this whole Titannia thing, too," Willow added.
Luz rubbed the back of her head; she hadn't gotten around to telling Willow about what she did know about Titannia yet. She supposed now was as good a time as any. So, Luz began her explanation of how she came to the Demon Realm. Her first meeting with Eda the Owl Lady, breaking into the Conformatorium, and accidentally stumbling upon the ancient underground temple. She explained her first transformation and merging with Titannia, the giant of light. The fights she had thus far, and that she was just as clueless about Titannia's origins as everyone else in this world. The whole time that Luz was speaking, Gus was jotting down notes, while Willow listened intently to her new friend's explanation.
"And that pretty much catches us all up to now. So, like I said, I don't know who or what Titannia is. I get these flashes from her during battles, but it's only to help me during a fight. She hasn't really given me anymore information like where she came from, or what she is," Luz finished.
"…Wow, Luz, that's…wow," Willow gasped.
"Huh, so Titannia was hidden underground in the form of a statue and asked you to merge with her so that you can fight the Kaiju. Interesting…that does beg the question of what she was doing there," Augustus thought aloud. "Yeah, I can see why you got freaked out about my theory."
"Yeah, I'm not saying you have to take down your account or anything, but maybe shift it away from humans. In exchange, maybe I can help you with any human related questions you might have?"
Augustus thought about it for a moment, and gave his answer, "Nah, it's okay. I'll think of something else to say."
"Really?" Luz questioned.
"You sure, Augustus?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, it wouldn't feel right. Like I'm blackmailing you or something. But…I'd like if it we'd be friends, I've always wanted to be friends with a human," said Augustus.
Luz smiled happily as she replied, "Of course!"
"Great! And, I don't think you have to worry too much about my theory."
"Why's that?"
Augustus took out his Scroll and showed it to the girls.
"Not well received…"
Luz looked at the comments as Willow walked around from the other side of the bed to stand next to Luz and see what she was seeing. Both girls grimaced as they read the comments from Augustus's latest post.
{Boss_Champion88: Ugh, please. A human that can turn into a giant? Now I've heard it all. #getalifeloser}
{HumanFanatic34: Preposterous! "Beings from beyond the stars", what a concept! Go back to writing human fanfiction!}
{WitchChick127: Hey, check out my FanOnly account! Got some good stuff for ya!}
The comments went on like that, each less encouraging than the last. Now Luz was feeling bad about having to come all the way here and ask him to recant his theory, especially after seeing so many people pile on him like that.
"…Hey, Gus, maybe…maybe you could–?"
"No."
"What?"
Augustus put his Scroll down as he shook his head.
"I know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me that it's okay to expose you as Titannia, and that you'll transform live to prove it, right?" Augustus asked rhetorically.
"Uh…well…"
"Luz, you can't do that, not with people still on edge about the Kaiju," said Willow.
"Exactly. The Kaiju are one thing, but you're something entirely different. Plus, if you do that, people will start asking a bunch of questions that you don't even have answers to yourself." Augustus crossed his arms and then smirked. "So, why don't we help you out?"
"What? Really?" Luz asked excitedly.
"Whatever's going on with you and this Titannia, could be the key to finding out why there's Kaiju in the Boiling Isles, plus, solving an ancient mystery sounds right up my alley," Gus stated.
Willow hummed, smiled, and remarked, "I'd like to know more too. And it gives us more of an excuse to hang out, don't you think?"
Luz felt like she wanted to tear up. Not only did she find friends in the Demon Realm, but friends who were willing to help her solve the mystery of Ultrawoman Titannia.
"Uh, Luz, are you alright?" Augustus asked.
"Y-Yeah, why?" Luz inquired.
"You're kind of crying a little," Willow pointed out.
Luz reached up to her face and finally noticed that she was crying. The teen Latina rubbed her eyes again and again, but it seemed that the tears of joy weren't stopping just yet.
"I'm sorry, I…I just…I never had any real friends before, I'm sorry for getting like this," Luz apologized.
Willow and Augustus's expressions fell, without really thinking about it, both witches got on either side of Luz and hugged her. Which only made her cry more, but neither did she dislike it or wanted them to stop.
(Boiling Sea, about the same time…)
"Put yer backs into it lads!" the grizzled captain barked. "Don't make me have to keelhaul ya to motivate ya!"
The captain and the crew of his large ship were out fishing, casting their wide nets out into the Boiling Sea in order to bring in a huge catch of fish to sell in the markets. The recent Kaiju incidents have shaken the Boiling Isles, and understandably his crew was afraid as well, either for their families or just afraid to return to land right now.
"The net's heavy captain!" one of the sailors announced.
"Good, bring 'er up! That'll be our third catch of the day!" the captain exclaimed.
The sailors went to work, using a combination of their physical strength, a pulley system, and magic to haul the huge net out of the scalding hot water.
"Captain, do we really need to return to port?" another sailor asked.
"Aye, of course we do. Can't sell our fish if we don't bring it to port now can we? And we can't resupply either," the captain retorted.
"Y-Yeah, yer right, Captain…it's just that…"
"What? Are ya 'fraid of those monsters showin' up?"
The demon sailor gulped and replied, "They've been popping out of the ground recently, and–!"
"Aye, enough of this! Look, those creatures are popping out of the ground! We're out at sea. So long as they don't trample a port town, we'll be safe from any big monsters," said the captain. "Now quit being a yellow-bellied eel and get on that net so we can–!"
Suddenly, the net stopped coming up. The stop was so sudden that it caused the whole ship to jerk back. The sailors were thrown onto their backs from the stop, and all were confused as to why that had happened.
"What was that?!" the captain asked.
"I don't know Captain! The net stopped!"
"Are we too heavy in the net?" the captain walked to the stern of his ship and looked over the railing to the net that was still stuck in the water.
"Perhaps we got snagged on a rock below?" another sailor suggested.
"Aye…we were doin' so good today, I don't want to lose a good haul like this. Ready the diving equipment, let's get down there and see if we can't–!"
The captain stopped his order when an unnaturally loud sound echoed from below the water. Everyone on the boat held their breath as they waited for the sound to dissipate. The sound was so strong that it caused the water around them to ripple, which was all the indication that they needed to tell them that something was beneath them.
"Cut the net…NOW!" the captain ordered.
The captain was not about to risk the lives of his crew right now. He was now less afraid of losing his catch, and more afraid that they might've caught a sea beast of some kind, and that they might have just royally ticked it off. Several crew members pulled out their knives and began cutting at the net. The nets were specially made, just like the boats, to withstand the intense heat of the Boiling Sea. Likewise, sailors came equipped with special knives and axes that were made to cut these enchanted nets. It took a few slashes of their knives and swings of the axes, but after a minute, the net broke free, and was dropped into the boiling waters.
"ALL AHEAD FULL! GET US OUT OF HERE!" the captain yelled to the helmsman.
"ALL AHEAD FULL! AYE CAPTAIN!"
The sailor in charge of the boiler hurriedly tossed heaps of coal into the furnace, and even tossed in a fireball for good measure. The engine ignited, and the helmsman pushed the lever forward, making the ship take off towards the mainland. The ship blasted through the water as fast as it possibly could. The crew member in charge of the boiler decided that this was not enough speed and decided to feed the furnace with more coal and fire magic, trying to get as much speed out of their ship as he possibly could. At this point, if they got into port, there was no way they could slow down, but the crew could give two flying flips right now. So long as they made it to shore, they could worry about that later.
"CAPTAIN, WHATEVER IT IS, IT'S FOLLOWING US!"
The captain and several of his crew climbed to the upper deck and watched as a huge wave started rising, and then gave chase. They briefly caught a glimpse of glowing yellow eyes within the waters, along with some flashes of red, but that was all they could see. Whatever was in the water was huge, and it was coming right for them.
"CAPTAIN, THE DOCKS ARE COMING UP!" the helmsman yelled.
"DON'T YA DARE STOP! WE'RE GETTIN' TO SHORE EVEN IF WE HAVE TA FLING THIS OLD GIRL ONTO THE PIER!" the captain yelled back.
The docks were indeed getting closer, but what was more disconcerting was the fact that whatever was chasing them was not stopping at all. Normally a sea dwelling creature would stop once it knew it was going to reach the docks, but sometimes if they were really angry, they would ignore that and keep chasing the ship that wronged them. It didn't matter, there were Emperor's Coven ships docked there, surely by now they should've seen them and the wave and were getting ready to attack whatever was coming after them.
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" the captain ordered.
Just then, the wave suddenly died down, as whatever caused it seemed to submerge deeper underwater. The crew of the ship wished they could take this as a good sign, but every part of the captain told him that something worse was about to happen. And it did. Without warning, a green liquid beam of energy breached the surface of the water and made a strafing motion from the right to the left. The beam was shot an angle, and when it reached the ship, the liquid beam sliced the ship in half. The moment this happened, the half that contained the boiler exploded violently, destroying that half of the ship. But then the waters rose again, which swallowed the last half of the whip beneath waves, ensuring that there were no survivors.
The Scouts that were stationed at the docks gasped in horror when the ship sank, but that wasn't the end of it. The wave of Boiling Sea water kept coming towards them. The Scouts immediately put out a call and ordered all the available Scouts skilled in Construction magic to band together and form a wall to break the wave before it hit shore. That much scalding hot water splashing onto land would kill dozens of people and injure many more. Multiple Coven Scouts appeared, along with the local witches and demons who could use Construction magic. They gathered at the docks and together, drew a combined spell circle that caused the earth to rumble. A few seconds after, a huge wall rose forth, rising higher and higher. There was no way this would protect the whole town, but it could at least mitigate the damage done, they hoped. Everyone braced for the wave to crash against the stone wall, but then the roaring of the wave stopped.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of their worries. Another greenish beam of liquid energy pierced through one side of the wall, and then strafed across the entire wall before disappearing. That beam sliced through the wall as if it was nothing, and at the same time, caused the wall to melt. The upper part of the wall began to fall, and every witch and demon there hurriedly ran to get away from it. They made it just in time before the upper half hit the ground with a thundering "BOOM!" sound, kicking up a dust cloud in the process. That's when they heard another thundering sound, something like footsteps and the sloshing of water.
The people looked around but couldn't see anything. But that's when something strange happened, the wind shifted, and blew the dust cloud towards the sea. That's when the dust cloud moved around something invisible, somewhat outlining a giant something standing there. A roar ripped through the air as two yellow lights flashed where the silhouette was seen. Afterwards, another greenish liquid energy beam fired from thin air, cutting through the buildings, streets, and anything else unlucky enough to be in its path.
Another thundering step hit the ground, causing the buildings to shake, and the people to fall. Another roar came from the invisible force as a building was crushed under something heavy. Ye another liquid beam blasted out of nowhere, cutting through the town with deadly precision. The people were screaming and running, but without being able to see the cause of the mayhem, people were scrambling to just get as far from the Boiling Sea as possible.
"Sorry about that you guys, I…I didn't mean to get all emotional like that," said Luz.
"You don't have anything to apologize for, Luz," Willow assured.
"Better to let it out than to keep it all in," Augustus agreed. "So, since you're here. Why don't we go over the basics of what you do know about Titannia, and we can see where we go from there?"
Luz nodded, it wasn't like she was making any headway herself, having some friends who knew the history of the Demon Realm would be a boon to her finding out who Titannia is. Or was? It was kind of hard to determine which tense to use considering she was alive inside of Luz.
"Hey, do you mind if I call you 'Gus'? I used to know an Augustus back in the Human World, and we called him 'Gus' as a nickname," said Luz.
"A nickname? A human nickname?! Call me it! Please!" Gus exclaimed happily.
Willow chuckled, 'Gus' was definitely the time of his life right now. And now Luz had another friend, and so did she.
Suddenly, both Willow and Gus's Scrolls released a shrill noise. It reminded Luz of those emergency alert tests she would get on her phone. And the bad thing was, Luz doubted that this was any kind of test. Both teens hurriedly whipped out their Scrolls and saw a news alert on Penstagram.
{This is an emergency alert! There is an attack on the city of Anteropolis! All citizens of Anteropolis are hereby ordered to evacuate as soon as possible! Likewise, the neighboring town of Bonesborough should be prepared to do the same! We will continue giving updates regarding this latest attack!}
"Oh no…another Kaiju attack!" Luz exclaimed. "Uh, uh, where's Anteropolis?!"
"It's a port town to the south of us, but I don't know how you're going to get there?!" Gus exclaimed.
"Oh, don't worry about that…I do have one problem…getting somewhere in time to transform…"
Willow smirked as she glanced at Gus and said, "Too bad we don't know any good Illusionists who could, oh, I don't know, put up a good illusion to hide Luz's transformation."
Gus smirked back at Willow as he crossed his arms.
"Backyard, now."
Gus led Willow and Luz out into his backyard, it was a little small, but Luz didn't think that would be a problem considering she'll be flying here in a second.
"Which way is south?!" Luz asked.
Willow pointed Luz in the right direction.
Once she had, Luz pointed her body to where Willow indicated and said, "Alright, do your thing, Gus!"
The young Illusionist kept up his smirk as he pretended to crack his knuckles.
"Alright, time to work some magic," Gus exclaimed.
Gus concentrated his magic on the tips of his right and left index fingers, and together, he drew a wide spell circle. He waved his hands outwards, making the spell circle expand until it completely encompassed his backyard. The air distorted for just a moment before returning to normal, but the ring of blue magical energy was still visible.
"Okay, you can do whatever you need to do! I cast a glamour spell over the backyard, it should extend high enough to hide you," said Gus.
"Thank you, Gus! Just hold it for a little while longer!"
Luz summoned the Titannia Spark and Mystic Guard, and immediately was engulfed in a flash of purple light. Within the starry nexus, Luz opened the Mystic Guard and took out the Titannia Ultra Card. Once in hand she inserted it into the Titannia Spark.
Luz opened the Mystic Guard and took out the Ultra Titannia Card and inserted it into the Titannia Spark and pressed down on the center crystal.
{/|\} AWAKEN THE POWER WITHIN! {/|\}
"Arise, Guardian of Light! ULTRAWOMAN TITANNIA!"
{/|\} ARISE, TITANNIA! {/|\}
Gus and Willow shut their eyes as column of purple light shined before them. Thankfully, outside of the backyard, no one could see the light as it rose into the air and manifested into the form of Ultrawoman Titannia. Now in her Ultra form, Titannia took off with a sonic boom. Once she was gone, Gus cancelled his spell and released a sigh.
"…WOW!"
"Yeah, that's never not going to be surprising to see," said Willow. "Let's head back inside and see if we can find an account that's live streaming the attack!"
"Let's go!"
Titannia flew through the air at great speeds, honestly this was the first time Luz had gone full speed with Titannia. Thankfully Titannia was just as fast in the air as she was on the ground. The only concern Luz had right now was passing Anteropolis.
Well, if I hit the open ocean then I definitely went too far, thought Luz.
The giant of light didn't have to fly too long as she hurriedly stopped in the air, and spotted a town, and sure enough, people were running and screaming. She could hear them thanks to Titannia's enhanced hearing, the only problem is she couldn't see what it was that was causing them to run. Just then, a green stream of liquid energy blasted out of thin air and carved through the town like it was nothing.
Okay, what the heck?! This one's invisible?! Okay, okay, just wait for it…
Titannia focused her vision, then the stream fired again, and Titannia had her target.
THERE!
Titannia focused her energy into her right hand and fired an energy bolt straight to where the stream was coming from. The energy bolt managed to hit it, exploding against something unseen, but there was definitely something there. Emboldened, Titannia flew at where the energy bolt exploded and fired a few more at the same spot. The bolts managed to hit, but just then the bolts hit the waters. Titannia dropped to the ground, and got into a defensive stance, watching, and waiting for something to happen. Just then, Titannia felt something strike her in the midsection, and then another strike hit her in the face. Titannia stumbled backwards a bit and shook her head. The attacks were strong, but she managed to stay standing.
Ugh, this is stupid! How am I supposed to fight a monster I can't see?!
Another liquid energy beam appeared from thin air. The beam strafed across Titannia's back, causing sparks to fly from her body as the giant of light was thrown to the ground. Titannia managed to get back on her feet but was starting to wonder how she was going to fight a monster she couldn't see.
C'mon, Titannia, throw me a bone here!
As if to answer her question, Luz felt something, like Titannia was telling her to…
You want me to close my eyes?
The starry nexus around her flashed, as if indicating that that's what Titannia wanted her to do. Luz released a long exhale as she widened her stance and closed her eyes. Titannia mimicked Luz's actions, but instead of closing her eyes, Titannia's glowing eyes went dark. The unseen creature started to move around, watching Titannia curiously. The giant of light blocked out her sight, focusing instead on hearing and feeling. Just then, Luz felt something, and it was moving around her. The sounds of footsteps were clearer to her now.
There!
Titannia spun on her heel and delivered a roundhouse kick to the invisible enemy. The kick was strong, as the invisible enemy hit the ground hard and knocked the monster out of its invisible state, allowing Titannia to finally catch a glimpse of her opponent. The monster finally stood up, showing its whole form to the Ultra, and from what Luz could tell, it was fish-like in appearance.
The monster had yellow and gold-colored scales. It stood on two legs, with a single ivory talon on each of its three toes. The monster had two arms, with three digits that ended in an ivory white claw, and under its arms were something that looked akin to the suckers of an octopus, four on each arm. The Kaiju had a thin head, with a long nose that widened at the tip, and opened like a nozzle. It also had a reddish fin on top of its head, with a red gemstone shining in the middle of its forehead. And on its back were two larger fins, and going further down was a long tail.
The moment Luz laid eyes on the monster; the name of the creature instantly popped into her head.
MAGA-JAPPA: THE ANCIENT AQUATIC HAZERDOUS MONSTER
Maga-Jappa. Sneaky, but now it's my turn!
Titannia readied to attack Maga-Jappa, but the Kaiju took the initiative. Maga-Jappa raised its arms up and stretched them out. Immediately upon doing so, the suction cup like suckers on its arms started to create a powerful vortex. Titannia was starting to get pulled in, not sure what was happening, but if it wanted her then she was not going to let that happen. Titannia dug her heels into the ground, trying to keep herself from getting drawn in. Unfortunately, Maga-Jappa's vortex was stronger than Titannia thought as it drew her into a Kaiju sized bear hug.
UGH! If you think I'm going to let you Kaiju-handle me, you're–!
Luz didn't get to finish her thought as Maga-Jappa opened its mouth and released an extremely putrid vapor right in her face.
¡DIOS MÍO, ESO ESTÁ TAN RANCIO! (Oh, good God, that is so rancid!) UGH, OH – AUGH!
Titannia stumbled backwards a bit, her head spinning as she continued to reel from the ungodly awful smell that had just assaulted her sense of smell. And that was the opening Maga-Jappa needed. The aquatic Kaiju swiped at Titannia, causing sparks to fly from her. Maga-Jappa struck again, and again, causing Titannia to back up more and more. That's when Maga-Jappa dipped its head back and then the green, liquid energy beam came blasting forth from the nozzle nose on its face. The beam struck Titannia right in the chest, sending her flying backwards and pushed her with a tremendous amount of force straight towards the Boiling Sea.
OH NO!
Titannia couldn't correct her course as she was shot right into the Boiling Sea with a great big splash. The moment Titannia hit the waters, Luz began to panic. Eda protected her from getting boiled alive when she almost did a cannonball into it, but now she was being submerged deeper into the water by Maga-Jappa's beam attack.
AAAAAAAAH! I'M GOING TO GET BOILED ALIVE! I'M BOILING ALIVE! I'M…I'M…not dead…?
Luz felt pain in her chest from the multiple attacks by Maga-Jappa, and she did feel a slight stinging sensation around her entire body.
Huh…okay, apparently I can breathe underwater…and I can survive the Boiling Sea.
Titannia looked at her the surface of her body and noticed that there were small sparks coming off her.
Okay, so maybe not completely survive, it's damaging me, but slowly. Oh, man, that hurt…I'll just…
A huge splash hit the water as Maga-Jappa entered the waters. Now in its element, Maga-Jappa was much faster and was heading straight for her. Maga-Jappa attacked Titannia, striking her from the side, and then turned around sharply to attack again, hitting Titannia from the back. Maga-Jappa was running circles around her, and she was not accustomed to fighting underwater.
This is so annoying! C'mon, Titannia, you got to have some crazy technique to counter this, right?!
Suddenly, another vision popped into Luz's mind. A vision that showed her a new technique of the Cosmo Beast Style. Maga-Jappa watched from a distance, preparing to end Titannia, but something strange happened. Titannia began moving her arms around, and as she did this, the tattoos on her arms started to glow brighter and brighter. Maga-Jappa blinked its eyes as something began to form around Titannia. Her cosmic energy started to flare from her body, growing bigger and bigger, and then it took shape. Her aura finally took full form, becoming a huge construct snake that hissed at Maga-Jappa.
Maga-Jappa roared back that the snake construct and headed straight for Titannia. The Guardian of Light thrusted with her right hand forward, making the snake construct surge forth, unhindered by the resistance of the water as it exceeded the speed of Maga-Jappa. The Kaiju was not prepared for this as the snake construct struck it hard, sending it spinning backwards. Titannia didn't stop as she decided to give the monster a taste of its own medicine. With a thrust of her left arm, Titannia redirected the construct to turn around and come down from above the still spinning Maga-Jappa, the blow was swift and powerful as the snake struck again, ceasing the Kaiju's spin as sparks flew from its tough hide.
Titannia spun around and thrusted her right arm again, and then the left. She repeated this motion multiple times, each time causing the snake to wind back and hit Maga-Jappa, not only damaging the Kaiju, but disorienting it to the point that couldn't tell up from down at this point. Titannia felt the stinging around her body intensifying, even with the construct aura around her, it wasn't filtering out the boiling seawater as much as she thought.
Let's end this Titannia!
"HYAH!"
Titannia raised up both of her arms, keeping her hands flat as she positioned them inwards, like that of a snake baring its fangs and ready to strike. As if on cue, the snake construct curled up around Titannia, getting into a striking position as it opened its wide mouth, baring its fangs which now glowed an intense purple color.
"COSMO BEAST STLYE! STRIKING SERPENT FIST!"
Maga-Jappa finally managed to get its bearings and noticed Titannia about to attack. The aquatic Kaiju quickly fired its liquid energy beam straight towards the Ultra, but that wasn't about to deter Titannia.
"SNAKE BITE!"
The snake construct let out a fierce hiss as its eyes blazed with bright purple energy. The construct launched itself forward, ignoring the fact that Maga-Jappa's beam attack was on a collision course with it. The construct opened its wide mouth just as the beam got near it, but when it hit, Maga-Jappa's liquid energy beam seemed to disperse from the intense cosmic energy of Titannia's attack. Maga-Jappa started to look panicked and immediately cut off its beam in favor of going invisible. Once it disappeared, Maga-Jappa hurriedly swam away, believing that Titannia couldn't hit what she couldn't see.
That's not going to work on me a second time!
Titannia closed her eyes and focused her mind. Feeling the flow of the water, using her power to expand her spacial awareness and locate Maga-Jappa. That's when Titannia's head jerked to the left, and she swiftly redirected the construct in that direction. The snake construct managed to catch up with Maga-Jappa, and while still in its invisible state, the construct opened its mouth again and snapped it jaws around the midsection of Maga-Jappa's body, sinking its fangs into the beast. Maga-Jappa roared in pain as its invisibility deactivated. But Titannia wasn't done yet, she quickly raised her arms upwards, making the snake construct rise higher and higher until it broke the surface of the water. The snake construct continued to take Maga-Jappa higher into the air before the spot where its fangs had penetrated Maga-Jappa's hide started glowing even brighter before the energy released and caused a massive explosion in the air, ending Maga-Jappa.
The snake construct disappeared not long after the explosion. Some of the people who were still in the town and unable to evacuate during the attack, came out and headed to the harbor. They had witnessed part of the battle when Titannia arrived and battled Maga-Jappa, having saw how the Kaiju sent Titannia into the Boiling Sea. But then they saw a large snake-like creature rise out of the water with Maga-Jappa in its mouth before exploding in the air not too long after Titannia was sent into the sea. Now they wondered if Titannia was even alive. There were few creatures that could survive the flesh melting waters of the Boiling Sea, the only ones that could survive were fish, amphibians, and some aquatic mammals that lived in the sea.
However, their worries were alleviated as something burst forth from the water, revealing itself to be none other than Ultrawoman Titannia. She hovered in the air for a few seconds, spotting the people down below and giving them a nod as if saying, "Everything's okay now." She then pointed herself towards the sky and took off with a sonic boom, going further into the distance until she was a shining purple star.
The following day was met with a lot of cleanup work in the town of Anteropolis. There were certainly a lot of casualties from Maga-Jappa's attack, but there were still many more saved thanks to Luz and Titannia's interception of the Kaiju. Still, Luz was saddened when she found out that a ship had been destroyed out at sea. It honestly frustrated her that she couldn't get to the city in time to prevent so many people from getting hurt or dying. Currently, the Latina was at the Owl House, with Gus and Willow sitting in the living room with her. Gus and Willow were still getting used to the fact that Luz lived with the infamous Owl Lady, and it would take them much, much longer to get used to Hooty, but then again, Eda and King have lived in the Owl House for a while now and they were still getting used to him.
"I just wish I knew that attack happened sooner, I could've saved those people," Luz sighed in frustration.
"Luz don't blame yourself for that. You had no idea that that Kaiju was attacking Anteropolis until the alerts came in," said Willow.
"She's right, no one expected a Kaiju to come out of the Boiling Sea! I mean, your human comics and books have that kind of stuff in them, but we never expected Kaiju to be sleeping underground, much less probably napping underwater," Gus added.
Eda walked over and mussed Luz's hair as she said, "Listen to Goops and Willow here. The only reason you've been able to keep the death count so low until now is because the last three Kaiju have appeared in forest or rocky places away from the town, or you were close when they woke up. At this point it's just down to luck."
Luz sighed again and shook her head.
"I get it, but that doesn't help the next town that gets attacked. What if a Kaiju appears on the other side of the Isles and by the time we find out it has, an entire town is wiped out?" Luz pointed out. "Titannia's fast and can get there in time, but if I don't know the attack's happening then…"
Eda rubbed the back of her head as she sighed as well. Honestly, she was kind of annoying her. Not what Luz was feeling, but the fact that she was feeling it because of Titannia. The unknown giant led Luz into that temple and gave her the choice of merging with the giant in order to protect everyone here. In some ways, Eda kind of resented the giant of light for putting this kind of burden on a young girl like Luz. Now her ward felt responsible for the lives she wasn't able to save.
"Hey," Gus spoke up. "Even the best heroes of all time can't save everyone. You're not a goddess or anything, Luz, you're just you. And even though we don't know what Titannia is, I don't essentially think she's a god either – no offense if you're listening!"
Luz chuckled, but from what she could sense, Titannia didn't take offense at all.
"Point is, focus on the lives you can save. There are going to be times when you can't stop the Kaiju from hurting a lot people before you show up to stop it. But in that case, focus on protecting the ones who are still alive and looking for someone to save them!"
Luz smiled as she said, "Gracias, amigo. You're right, I can't save everyone, but I will protect as many people as I can!"
"HEY, HEY!" King yelled as he scampered into the living room, carrying a crystal ball between his claws. "The Emperor's about to make an announcement!"
King placed the crystal ball in the middle of the coffee table. When the orb lit up, everyone saw Gus's dad, Perry, speaking.
{This is Perry Porter, coming to you live from the Emperor's castle. Following the latest sea-based Kaiju attack, the Emperor has decided to give a public address regarding how he and the Nine Covens are going to combat these unknown monsters, and possibly how we are to regard the being known as Titannia. Oh, the Emperor's at the veranda, let's listen in.}
Luz, Gus, Eda, Willow, and King watched as the Emperor appeared on his veranda, flanked by the Heads of the Nine Covens. Once he was at the railing, a mike was brought in by one of the Coven Scouts before said Scout backed away.
{People of the Boiling Isles. As you are no doubt aware, we have recently suffered yet another attack by these vicious creatures that have been going by the name "Kaiju". Until yesterday, we only assumed that the threat was only beneath our feet, but with this latest attack, it would appear that assumption was wrong. I will not lie to you my subjects, I cannot tell how many of these monsters there are, but I fear that yesterday's attack was not the last of them. We have now determined that the Kaiju slumber somewhere deep under the ground, and apparently, some even slumber beneath the waters of the Boiling Sea. We know not their numbers, and they all have various abilities that make them extremely dangerous, not counting their massive size. In the history of the Demon Realm, our people have never faced a challenge like this before, this threat is without precedence, and conventional means of dispatching them have proven to be ineffective.}
The Emperor paused, possibly to gauge the reactions of the people in the crowd below, but it was also possible he was pausing to allow the people listening at home to absorb this knowledge. Luz had to admit, it was frightening to think about. There could be dozens upon dozens of Kaiju sleeping underground, or just off the shores of the Isles, and they wouldn't know when the next attack would come.
{However, despite this monumental hurdle, we WILL endure! The Titan has not forsaken us, my subjects! We must show our perseverance now more than ever! And that is why, as of today, I am announcing the formation of a brand-new Coven. An Anti-Kaiju Coven, whose sole purpose will be the study, detection, and elimination of this menace! As I said earlier, this foe we face is unconventional, so, we must take an unconventional approach to match it. That is why this Coven will be led by the Head of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith Clawthorne!}
Eda grimaced a little when Lilith Clawthorne took a step forward, and then bowed as she stood next to Emperor Belos.
{In addition, this new Coven will be formed from the new generation of witches and demons of the Boiling Isles. Seeing as it is the youth that have caught on to what these creatures resemble, I believe that they may be our best chance at finding solutions that we are not able to think of. Starting at the beginning of next week, Lilith Clawthorne will be heading to each of the five magic schools on the Boiling Isles. Select the best students you have, bring forth your most talented prospects, and if they show their worth, they may join this new Coven, and when this scourge is driven off our shores, they will have earned their right to join my Emperor's Coven! For the future of the Boiling Isles!}
The crowd below cheered wildly for the creation of this new Anti-Kaiju Coven. Luz smiled a little, this was good news, it meant that now they were going to at least try and fight back against the Kaiju in a different way.
"Wait, the Emperor said Head Witch Lilith would be coming to each of the magic schools!" Gus exclaimed. "That means we could be part of that Anti-Kaiju Coven!"
Willow looked at Gus and asked, "Wait, you mean me too?"
"Willow, you helped Luz defeat that plant Kaiju by – literally – tearing it apart!"
The bespectacled witch blushed as she twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment.
"T-That was different, I was just trying to help Luz out," said Willow. "I wasn't trying out for a spot in some Anti-Kaiju Coven."
"Maybe not, but you helped me out big time," Luz remarked. "And I think I want to join up too."
"Yes!" Gus shouted.
"Whoa, hold on now," Eda interjected. "Look, I'm all for creating some kind of team to stop these things, but I wouldn't exactly trust a Coven headed by her."
To this, Eda pointed at the crystal ball that showed Lilith.
"Besides that, you're not a student at any of the magic schools, kiddo."
"…Yeeaaah…that's true," Luz admitted.
"So? All we have to do is just sneak her into the school during the tryouts, make sure her ears are hidden, and Luz can get in. This'll make it easier for you to get to the action and stop the Kaiju from hurting more people," said Gus.
Eda raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
"I applaud your deception, Goops, but I still have my reservations about this," Eda stated.
"I think it'll work! Having Titannia on their team will help make sure those Kaiju know their place!" King exclaimed.
Luz smirked as she stood up and clenched her right fist.
"Alright, starting from today, we'll work on training ourselves for the day of the tryouts to become members of the Anti-Kaiju Coven!" Luz proclaimed.
"YEAH!" Willow and Gus cheered.
Eda still didn't like this, but she also couldn't deny that having Luz on the Anti-Kaiju Coven team would allow her to be in the know when it came to Kaiju attacks, and it would allow her to be right there in the action to stop the monsters. But even so, there was just something about the formation of this new Coven that didn't sit right with her.
What exactly are you planning, Belos?
LUZ'S ULTRA NAVI!
"Welcome to my Ultra Navi! I'm Luz Noceda, and today we have another special guest helping me out! Introducing Gus Porter!"
"Hey everyone! The Master Illusionist, Gus Porter is here to add some flare to this Ultra Navi!"
"Ooh, nice! I just realized you're now the fourth person to know I'm Titannia."
"Heh, don't worry, Luz. If there's one thing you can be sure of, is that I know how to keep a secret."
"Good to know, Gus-man. Now, wanna introduce the Kaiju of the week?"
"Yeah, introducing–!"
MAGA-JAPPA: THE ANCIENT AQUATIC HAZERDOUS MONSTER
"This guy's an amphibious Kaiju, and it has the ability to turn completely invisible!"
"Ugh, that was a pain, but at least I figured out a way to see it without seeing it."
"That was pretty sweet. But then it hit you with that nasty beam attack."
"Ah, yes, its Maga-Water Flow. It takes in water and shoots it out in the form of a focused, pressurized stream of water, infusing it with energy to turn it into a liquid energy beam."
"Yeah, it probably didn't help either that the water it used was water from the Boiling Sea, which is hot enough to melt your flesh off in seconds. And you're lucky Titannia's tough, that thing was cutting through stone and buildings like nothing."
"Yeah, but Maga-Jappa was tough too. I shot it with energy bolts more than once, and it didn't seem to faze it. And then it drew me in with its Maga-Suction."
"Yep and gave you a face full of that even nastier odor, the, uh, well, Maga-Odor. I didn't even know you could smell while you were Titannia."
"Trust me, I wish I couldn't. I don't need to breathe underwater, but I can still smell something that bad, ugh, so not fair."
"And what was that attack you used to defeat it in the end?"
"Oh, that was the Cosmo Beast Style, Striking Serpent Fist: Snake Bite! I basically release a lot of Titannia's energy to create a snake construct around me that attacks swift and hard. With the finishing attack using the construct's fangs to pierce the enemy and shoot a burst of Titannia's energy into it. Basically, like how snakes destroy their prey from the inside out with their venom."
"That's really cool! Do you think Titannia has anymore techniques she can use?!"
"I don't know, since she's not the talkative type. But considering we'll more than likely face more Kaiju down the road, it's a possibility."
*BZZZT!*
"And that's time! This is Luz!"
"And Gus!"
"And we'll see you next time!"
A/N: And yes, I did make a "My Adventures With Superman" reference.