Luz shivered as she saw the way Belos was looking at them, and especially at her; and judging by how her friends and family were reacting, they too must have been feeling a great sense of danger. She could feel Amity's body going rigid under her hands, so much so that she was sure that if she tried to throw a rock at her it would bounce as if it'd hit a wall.
The entire ocean seemed to split open as Belos' body emerged from the waters; tsunamis hundreds of meters high exploded in all directions and orientations, and the sea became rougher than ever. It was as if a storm was brewing, with the difference that the sky was still clear and the violence of the waters was greater than that of any cyclone. Belos' roars were louder than thunder, so much so that Luz and Amity put their hands over their ears because it felt like their eardrums were about to explode. "We really made him mad this time, didn't we?" the puppet murmured.
"I'm afraid so. It's the first time I've seen him so furious!" Hunter said in a strangled voice. He couldn't remember ever feeling so afraid of Belos until that moment, and he had lived alongside that monster for sixteen years, which was saying a lot.
The sea monster swirled around himself, creating a true vortex of continental proportions, so powerful that the entire sea floor was torn apart and rocks as large as houses were throw away and traveled through the water for hundreds of meters before settling down back to the bottom. The force of the vortex was so powerful that it split the deepest parts of the seabed as if it were a drill. Now Belos was basically facing the air, exposing his belly to the open, and he took advantage of his position to open his jaws again and spit numerous blue balls of energy towards the sky, which exploded, generating shock waves so violent that they threw the airship away as if it were made paper; Amity and Luz found themselves spinning on the broomstick, desperately trying to hold on, and by a miracle Eda and Lilith didn't make Camila and Hunter fall.
Belos' power was unleashed in the sky with such violence that the clouds for several kilometers around were blown away. The light from the blue fireballs it spit out was such that day and night continually seemed to alternate, and no one would be surprised if suddenly even the moon and the stars began to fall to the earth. Even the Collector had to lock himself in a bubble to avoid being torn to pieces by the extremely powerful shock waves.
"Urgh... we won't last long!" Alador screamed as he tried to steady the airship, which continued to capsize in the throes of convulsions. "Darius, any help?"
"I'm trying!" the djinn exclaimed, but trying to stop the violence with which the airship was being thrown from side to side was impossible even for him. They could only grit their teeth and try to survive while everyone else on board screamed in terror.
"Hoot hoot!" Hooty shouted as he continued to roll his neck, moving from corner to corner to give the airship more thrust. "We won't last long like this...!"
"I can confirm that!" Odalia exclaimed as she tried to protect the giant balloon from exploding and causing them to fall.
Luz gritted her teeth at the sight. "We have to go help them...!" she tried to say.
But Amity wasn't agree with her. "I really don't think we can do that!"
"Yeah, before saving anyone else we should save ourselves!" Stringbean said gritting her teeth.
Belos raised his enormous hands and clasped them in front of his chest; before he couldn't make such movements since he was half submerged, but now that his belly was facing upwards, he could easily use his upper limbs. Blue chains like his eyes exploded from his fingers and flew up and wrapped around them; and no matter how much they tried to escape, the chains tightened and dragged them down with such force that they almost tore them to pieces in mid-air. Luckily the chains vanished before they could hit the ground, otherwise if they had maintained that speed they would have been reduced to pulp; by doing so, however, Amity managed to direct her broom enough to land without her and Luz getting hurt, and Eda and Lilith also managed to do the same... although they landed rather badly and fell together with Hunter and Camila.
Once he had dragged the airship low enough, Belos raised one of his hands and wrapped it around it; the entire cabin shook and the windows exploded, causing many people to fall including Willow, Vee, Boscha, Skara, Viney, Jerbo, Barcus, Cat, Amelia, Edric, Emira and even Raine. Only the combined intervention of Odalia, Darius and Hooty prevented the airship from being torn to pieces, and surely even they would have failed if the Collector had not come to support them, wrapping wrapping paper around the monster's fingers and pulling with all his strength to prevent him from crushing them.
"YOU LITTLE MISERABLES, DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD ESCAPE THE GREATEST AND POWERFUL BEING IN THIS WORLD!?" Belos roared with a voice more powerful than any volcano, and then with one of his tentacles he grabbed Hunter and wrapped himself around him so much that the boy was no longer visible.
"HUNTER!" Willow screamed as she tried to run to her aid, but hideous giant paws knocked her to the ground and crushed her so hard that she screamed in pain. Matt fell from his shoulder and rolled away, and ran to Gus who had also fallen from Hunter's back, but they were both engulfed in a mass of raw flesh that closed in on them with such force that they nearly suffocated, and they both felt their exoskeletons crack.
"GUYS!" Luz screamed seeing that scene, but a titanic-sized tentacle hit her and sent her to the ground; Amity tried to help her, but that same tentacle wrapped itself around her and Ghost, and from the scream that escaped her lips it was clear that her back was on the verge of breaking.
Eda and Lilith immediately opened their wings to run to the aid of their charges, but the ground under their feet became slimy and moved, enveloping them like the slime of a snail, anchoring them to the ground and blocking their movements, making it increasingly difficult for them to breathe. Camila, not knowing what to do, tried to use her bat to hit at least one of the tentacles, but it hit her full on, sending her to the ground, and then it divided itself into multiple smaller tentacles and began to crush her, while with a sharp blow it broke her weapon in two.
Seeing her mother so in danger, Vee tried to intervene, and Masha with her, but other huge tentacles wrapped around them and made them scream in pain as they crushed them. Needless to say, Boscha, Skara, Cat, Amelia, Viney, Barcus and Jerbo also met the same fate. Edric and Emira tried to use their illusions to hide and sneak up on someone to help him, but Belos simply closed off the entire area where he had seen him fall with huge deformed fins that then grew tighter and tighter. Raine ran towards Eda to help her, but numerous fangs appeared around them and the ground beneath their feet cracked and closed on them as if it were a mouth.
"I'M THE ONE IN CHARGE HERE!" Belos roared again. "YOU ARE ON ME! DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE SMALLEST CHANCE!? DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED WHERE THOUSANDS OF ARMIES AND MILLIONS OF EXPERT SAILORS, WARRIORS AND HEROES HAVE FAILED!?"
Hunter squirmed inside the tentacle that had captured him; he was convinced that he would immediately die of being crushed, but instead it was hardly hurting him, which was unusual. But his confusion was completely dispelled as numerous eyes opened around him. "I need you one last time" Belos told him. "I have to teach that puppet a lesson without risking hurting her too much. Your body will do just fine!"
"Urgh... no!" Hunter murmured, trying in vain to resist. "I won't let you…!"
"The moment I created you, a dark contract was already made between the two of us. I can take possession of your body whenever I want, regardless of your permission" Belos said, speaking more to himself than to Hunter. "Come on, boy. You knew after all that this was the fate that awaited you since you were born!"
Luz struggled to her feet after being hit by Belos' tentacle; her head was hurting a lot, but nothing seemed to be broken. The monster had probably measured his strength to avoid damaging her body. She looked at her friends and family who were being crushed, and immediately she looked for Stringbean so she could help them; she discovered that the magical scepter had fallen a short distance from her, and she seemed to have fainted. She tried to reach her, but suddenly the tentacle holding Hunter opened and the boy fell in front of her. Luz's eyes widened as soon as she saw him: "No..."
Hunter was no longer the same as before: several wounds dripping unhealthy liquid filled his face and arms, very similar to the ones Raine had had when Belos had possessed him. His eyes had become blue and wild, and two curved horns had appeared on his head. "It's time to teach you a lesson, puppet"
"You bastard... leave Hunter alone!" Luz exclaimed, but Belos punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
"Do you worry about him now, after you were so angry because he betrayed on you?" the sea monster asked her rhetorically. "Worry about yourself. I don't intend to destroy you, but now that I have a body with which I can measure my strength on a human level, nothing stops me from beating you properly!"
He grabbed Luz by the hair and pulled her up, and then punched her vigorously in the stomach. The puppet spat saliva, but Belos didn't stop and threw more until she felt only pain in that part of her body; then he dropped her to the ground and gave her a powerful kick, making her roll. "Did you really think you could refuse my offer and leave? Did you think you could deny your destiny? You were born to be my vessel!"
His hands became green, long and tapered, and his nails elongated into sharp claws. Stringbean finally recovered and noticed what was happening, and she flew towards Luz to help her, but Belos hit her with his claws and sent her tumbling to the ground as well. "I brought you here for a purpose, and you will fulfill it! Whether you like it or not, you will be the one who will get me out of this watery prison!"
Luz tried in vain to get up, but a new kick hit her in the chest and made her fall to the ground gasping. But just at that moment someone came to her rescue: Flapjack appeared and began pecking at Hunter, clearly trying to annoy Belos. For nearly a minute he succeeded, but then he caught him with his right hand and held him firmly. "Mph. You really made me angry this time, you stupid magic wand" Belos told him with a growl. "I really think I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart"
Flapjack chirped in fear, but just then the other hand tried to grab him as if to free him; Hunter's face trembled a little and his voice emerged from his mouth: "No... you won't... hurt him... you monster...!"
"Hunter...?" Luz murmured, and her eyes lit up. "Hunter! Yes, come out! Fight him!"
But immediately a grin appeared on the boy's face again. "I'm afraid he can't do that" Belos told her, and his fingers tightened around Flapjack; the Palisman gave a sharp crack and a strangled chirp, and then a few drops of what seemed like pure magic emerged from him. Belos dropped him to the ground, revealing that he had been crushed and the wood he was made of had broken in several places.
"NO!" Luz screamed as she grabbed the little bird, who was barely breathing. "You... you're a monster!"
"And he is the one who created this monster. He and his stupid fairy" Belos answered her without any remorse. "He will only be the first of a long series. I really think I'll enjoy breaking the spine of every person here before devouring them alive and sending them to my gut to suffer eternal torment!"
Luz couldn't hold back her tears. They had lost... she had lost. No one could beat Belos; he was too strong, too powerful, too intelligent. Their every attempt to escape him had been futile.
She looked at Flapjack who was lying on the ground, who looked back at her and stared at her with heartbroken eyes. He almost seemed to want to apologize to her in some way.
And suddenly, a tremor went through Luz and her eyelids opened slightly. She stood still for a second, thinking carefully about what she was about to do.
It was crazy... but she didn't have much choice anymore. "Fine" she said.
Belos stopped and looked at her confused. "What?"
"You win" Luz replied. "I'll give you my body, but on my terms"
"LUZ, NO!" Amity shouted at her.
"LUZ, DON'T DO IT!" Camila screamed back with tears in her eyes.
Belos raised an eyebrow slightly. "Why this sudden surrender?"
"Because you're right. This is how it has to end" Luz answered him without any fear in her eyes. "You said it yourself, didn't you? There's no point in being afraid of the inevitable"
Belos brought his face slightly closer to hers. "And what are these conditions?"
"That you make everything right" Luz replied. "I want you to return to normal all the people you have transformed, both today and in the past. And then, you must not touch any of the people here; you cannot kill them or hurt them or make them suffer in any way. Do this, and I will allow you to enter into my body. This is the only deal I am willing to accept"
"Luz, no!" Stringbean exclaimed. "If you let him take your body, he will become invincible...!"
"Stringbean" Luz stopped her. "Don't interfere until this deal is concluded. Consider it an order. I am your mistress, right?"
Stringbean opened her eyes slightly, and then a strange realization dawned on them; as if she understood something, she nodded and stepped back.
Belos chuckled. "Altruistic to the last, hm? As you wish. I can let these people alive since I will have the rest of the universe at my disposal" he told her, and then he held out his hand. "Is the contract done, then?"
Luz looked at the open hand in front of her. Her subconscious was screaming at her not to do it. And it wasn't the only one. "Luz, don't even think about it!" Gus exclaimed.
"Luz, we won't be friends anymore if you do this!" Willow yelled at her.
Amity was crying like a fountain. "Luz, please... don't... don't do that!"
"Luz, I don't know what you have in mind, but this is a terrible idea!" Eda screamed at her. "Don't shake that hand or I'll ground you for life!"
"Luz, I've forgiven you everything so far, and I'll forgive you everything forever... but not this!" Camila told her trying not to cry. "If you'll do it, I won't forgive you!"
Luz was silent for a moment, and then she turned to them. Everyone fell silent under her gaze and reflected in her beautiful brown eyes. And then she smiled at them. "Sorry, guys" she whispered as a few tears fell from her eyes. "But after all, I've always been a stupid bad girl who doesn't listen to others". And after those she turned to Belos and grabbed her hand.
She felt as if she had just shaken hands with a snake, a scolopendra and an octopus at the same time; her entire body trembled in fear and she instinctively retracted her hand in disgust, but found that a hideous glowing green matter remained on it that was rapidly spreading like cancer. Belos laughed heartily and suddenly emerged from Hunter's body, taking the form of some kind of dark green ghost, who stared at her with a face similar to a horned skull.
Hunter fell to the ground and remained there, unconscious, with numerous new scars all over his body. The ghost of Belos continued to laugh louder and louder, and as he laughed magical power exploded from him; suddenly, Amity's donkey ears and tail disappeared completely, and so did everyone else; Gus and Matt abandoned their arthropod bodies and went back to being two boys. Normally they would have rejoiced at this, but at that moment, none of them even cracked a smile.
All around the world, suddenly, numerous donkeys began to transform back into kids under the astonished gazes of their owners; the dark magic left their bodies in the form of a beam of dark energy that flew into the sky. It was like watching an immense meteor shower in reverse, and they all coalesced into a single great ball of evil magic above every town or village, and then they flew out into the ocean. All the orbs gathered at the point where Belos was, forming a giant dark ball above the giant monster, which then contracted until it became no bigger than a shard of glass and descended until it reached the ghost of Belos who devoured it.
At that point the monster's whole body shook; the tentacles, legs, and everything else that was holding Camila, Eda, Amity, Gus, Willow, and everyone else loosened, finally freeing them and no longer looking like they were about to be crushed. Beams of dark energy emerged from the ground, merging with the ghost that was becoming increasingly larger and more imposing; even the souls he kept imprisoned flew into him. The life suddenly left the giant monster's eyes and they went out, and the whole body suddenly became stiff as if it were actually dead; and at that point, Belos' soul flew towards Luz and penetrated inside her hand, where that horrible slime continued to expand on her, and which accelerated enormously, covering her more and more, until the puppet couldn't almost move anymore.
Luz turned her head again, looking at all the people who had made her life wonderful up until that day. As the dark slime began to cover her face, one last small tear leaked from her eye and she murmured: "It's strange... even now... after all this time... I don't know what to tell you". And then she was completely covered.
"NO!" everyone screamed in unison as they watched her disappear.
The dark slime stirred, and then merged with the puppet's body; Luz began to grow, becoming at least ten meters tall, and the wood she was made of became green and unhealthy. Her hands elongated and her nails became claws, and on her back several blue eyes opened where her spine should have been. Six hideously fin-shaped wings spread across her shoulders, and a long tail ending in a scorpion-like hook grew between her legs. Her head shook, and then suddenly it seemed to split: every corner except her face opened up in a mass of putrid tentacles that reached out and tossed like hideous hair, and in the midst of the tangle appeared two enormous curved horns. She opened her mouth wide and a roar emerged from it that made even the sky tremble. As soon as that sound was released, the whole world seemed to tear apart; everywhere in the sea enormous whirlpools formed, hurricanes descended from the clouds, and rents opened in the sky as if it were glass that was being broken.
Several kilometers away, the residents of Bonesborough were awakened by a sudden earthquake that began to shake the city, as the sky above them cracked and dark, black clouds formed. Morton barely had the courage to go out of his shop and observe that strange phenomenon. "What the...?"
In Masha's hometown, the earth began to shake and the sky turned black, and it seemed as if chaos was being released into the world. The Inspector came out of her palace and looked at the sky in fear, and many of those who had been members of the resistance did the same. From his prison, even the Warden Wrath leaned out of his little window to look. "From what corner of hell is all this evil emerging?"
In Gravesfield, the citizens were awakened by a string of green, sickly-looking bolts of lightning that lit up the entire town like daylight, and some of them fell into the surrounding countryside and started fires. Everyone ran to their homes in terror, and even the infamous Principal abandoned his job to escape. Tibbles ran to hide under one of his tables, shaking like a leaf. "What's happening!? The apocalypse!?"
On a small country road in a corner of the world where it was still day, the caravan carrying the old Bump's great circus was suddenly stopped when the ground began to shake and the sky seemed to split. The horses neighed in terror, and a bead of sweat formed on Bump's forehead. "I may be old and close to death..." he murmured to his Palisman. "... but seeing something like that, I'm afraid the world will follow me to the grave"
In a distant forest, a half-blind cat and a lame fox who had once been Adrian and Terra were wandering around looking for food, when suddenly everything started shaking and the sky became stormy. They both looked at each other in terror, and then each fled for himself, thinking only of saving their own skin even if they weren't sure how.
All around the world, everyone witnessed that spectacle. And not just in the mortal world; in his realm, Grometheus perceived very well what was happening. "No...!" he muttered, truly scared for the first time in his long existence. "He found a body...!"
In the Great Archivist's realm, he shuddered on his throne, and all the Archivists around him made frightened noises, putting their hands in their hoods as if trying to tear out their hair. "This is not good...!" the Great Archivist murmured in a voice that seemed that of the wind. "The universe is now near to its end!"
In Papa Titan's realm, all the Titans felt the immense dark force emanating from the mortal world, the same force they instinctively hated being composed of light magic, and initially roared in anger, but then made frightened noises when they felt it. become increasingly stronger and more violent. Papa Titan narrowed his one good eye and let out a strangled snort. "So it has begun. The monster has found his key"
While the whole world trembled and all the other worlds felt what was happening, Belos continued to roar, but that roar soon turned into laughter that made everyone's skin crawl. "YES... YES! IT'S STABLE! IT WORKS! AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!"
Belos turned his face towards Luz's poor friends and family, revealing the wooden face so similar to that of the puppet, but whose eyes were now blue, empty and haunted, and whose mouth was open in a grin far too large and through whose lips it was possible to see teeth as sharp as those of a shark.
"I WON!"
Don't worry, the story certainly doesn't end here. Even though we are now almost at the end