"So, simply put, this whole time you knew that Amity was in danger of becoming the key to an interdimensional monster coming to our world, and you said nothing!?" Emira exclaimed. She had never felt angrier. "Dad, how much of an idiot can you be?"

Alador looked down. "I know, and you can insult me all you want when this is over, but now we have to save your sister! It's not long until midnight, Amity will soon absorb Grometheus' essence!"

"Amity won't do it" Luz protested. "She is not evil. She will not become Grometheus' key if it puts others in danger"

"Don't count on it. Amity isn't evil, but don't underestimate Odalia's manipulative ability" Alador corrected her. "Believe me, it's very easy to make wrong seem right, especially when the lure of power is involved. Odalia will have gotten her on her side by now..."

"Do they have a chance?" Hunter suddenly asked.

Everyone turned to him. "Hunter! What are you talking about? You're not approving of this plan, I hope!" Willow exclaimed.

Hunter ignored her completely. "Do they have a chance against Belos?" he repeated in a serious but trembling voice.

Alador looked surprised, but then he nodded. "If they can successfully summon all the Four Magical Rulers, it is very likely that they will win. But the whole of Bonesborough will suffer. You felt the wave of fear just now; try multiplying it a million times"

Hunter didn't seem at all upset by those words. Instead, he said: "Maybe we shouldn't intervene"

"Hunter!" Willow exclaimed in shock. "People's lives are in danger here!"

"Yeah, and we have him" Hunter pointed out, pointing to Darius. "Someone take the lamp and ask him to take Bonesborough away from here, and then let's let those witches do their work"

"I don't think it will be enough" Alador said. "When Grometheus exits the portal, he will need energy to be able to cross it completely, energy that will be provided by the terror of the people. If it isn't this town it will be another one"

"Well, at least Belos will die!" Hunter blurted out with some irritation. He appeared to be in the throes of a deep emotional conflict. "This is our chance to get rid of that hideous monster forever! Luz, don't you want to kill him once and for all?"

The puppet froze when she heard herself called into question. She knew why Hunter had done it: she of all people was the one who most wanted to see Belos dead. And in fact she couldn't deny having thought about it. But despite that, she answered confidently: "I want Belos to die, but not like this. Not if Amity has to lose her humanity because of it". She shrugged her shoulders as if she were very cold. "She can't have the blood of innocents on her hands. When she actually realizes what she's done, it will be a terrible trauma for her. We can't let her do this... she's not bad"

Hunter clearly didn't share her opinion; she could almost read the phrase "Are you willing to give up the chance to eliminate the most terrible threat in this world just to protect your girlfriend from her traumas"on his face, but before he could say anything the ground shook. Luckily it wasn't a too violent earthquake, but it was still enough to make them all fall to the ground; at the same moment, an immense column of purple light exploded into the distant sky. "It's too late" Alador whispered in a strangled voice upon seeing it. "So it begins"

Suddenly the sky above Mirkwood seemed to crack, as if it were glass and someone had just taken a hammer blow on it; a giant black shapeless mass began to emerge through that gap, screeching in the process. No one was able to remain immune to that sight; their bodies reacted instinctively and they felt as if they were facing a gigantic predator. "Is that… Grometheus!?" Luz stammered, pale as a sheet.

Amity and Odalia watched the entity emerge through the portal; the body of the being seemed to be made of pure dark slimy matter, which moved continuously, sometimes forming tentacles, sometimes teeth, sometimes sharp claws. The entity seemed to radiate pure fear, so much so that even the trees and grass seemed to tremble in his presence; on the contrary, both Odalia and Amity felt extraordinary as that immense amount of dark magic appeared before them. But while Odalia was at least a little bent by the creature's enormous power, Amity stood proudly and watched her with a grin on her face, while her red eyes seemed to tremble as if they were made of flames. "My lord Grometheus, welcome back to the mortal world!" she greeted him by raising her hands as if she were welcoming a guest into her home. Her voice trembled, but clearly not from fear but from extraordinary excitement; it was as if the mere presence of the monster made her happy.

The shapeless dark mass descended towards them; he didn't emerge completely from the portal, but still reached a few meters from the ground, demonstrating that he must have been truly gigantic given that the crack was in the sky, at least fifty meters above the ground. As soon as it was close enough, he reshaped himself and a red eye appeared on his tip which stared at Amity and Odalia, and next to it several mouths appeared and all began to speak at once: "Finally. I've been waiting for the summon for a long time"

The two witches wavered for a moment; the entity's voice sounded like a mix between a cave rumble and a shrill cry. "Lord Grometheus, forgive the long wait" Odalia greeted him back. "Unfortunately, some... complications arose that prevented the ritual from being performed the first time. We need some decades to put the pieces together again"

"Matriarch of the Emerald Witches, you have nevertheless accomplished your task" Grometheus replied to her. "You have my deepest gratitude"

"I am not my mother, Lord Grometheus. I am Odalia, and this is my daughter Amity. We are the last Emerald Witches" Odalia explained to him, then she added: "I hope that the agreement you made with the witch people is still valid"

"We supreme beings have not forgotten the agreement. It still stands" Grometheus replied. "As long as you help us complete the summoning and slay the false god of the seas, our essences will forever become yours to use as you please. You will rule and watch over this world as our heralds, and you will have all the wealth, the glory and power that you desire"

Odalia's lips curled into a triumphant grin as she heard the monster say those words. Very quickly she bowed and lowered her head respectfully. "Order and we will obey, Lord Grometheus"

The monster's attention shifted to Amity. "You, young witch, I feel that you have a part of my soul within you. So are you the one who has been chosen to be my herald in this world?"

"Yes, my lord. My mother prepared me well for this" Amity replied proudly.

"I can sense extraordinary strength in you. You are definitely worthy of the role you have been assigned" Grometheus said, narrowing his one eye as if he were observing something incredible. "If you have my essence, then you also know what I need now, right?"

Amity nodded. "Fear. You need fear, my lord"

"It is so. Unfortunately, a ritual created by mortals is not sufficient to allow my full passage" Grometheus said. "In order to fully stabilize myself in this world, I need the fear of the inhabitants of this world. Are you willing to provide it?"

"I'm ready for this" Amity answered him. "I am not afraid of having to sacrifice some people, if the result will be the salvation of this world and a glorious future for witches"

"I knew it would take the fear of people to truly complete your coming into this world" Odalia added. "I accepted that I have to sacrifice Bonesborough a long time ago. I'm ready to this"

"Good. Good! You are truly worthy of taking part in this glorious battle" Grometheus said with extreme satisfaction, and then he turned back to Amity: "Even if my essence amplifies your dark desires, I can still feel that your true emotions are aligned with such desires. You truly know what is best to do and sacrifice. Most mortals would be horrified at the mere thought, but you are able to understand what needs to be done and above all to actually do it. Your mother really raised you well. I am proud to have you as my herald"

"You flatter me, my lord" Amity replied, bowing her head respectfully.

"Let's not waste any more time! Go!" Grometheus ordered her. "Go to the town, and use my power to unleash fear! Walk among the mortals using my dark magic, and guide my nightmares in their quest for horror and fear! Feed me the terror of humans, so that I can finally descend completely into this world!"

Amity nodded vigorously. "It will be done, my lord" she replied, and she raised her arms again with palms facing upwards; an immense amount of dark magic concentrated around her as if it were a vortex, and then monstrous creatures that seemed to be made of soggy black and purple slime appeared around her, rising as if they were zombies reanimated by a necromancer, making eerie sounds that made the skin crawl; the slime creatures then changed and fused together, taking on the form six long tendrils that emerged from her shoulders and lifted her up to three meters above the ground, and then began to walk in the direction of Bonesborough taking her with them like she was a giant insect. From the palms of her hands what seemed like a dark fog began to emerge, and wherever she went that expanded and from it emerged sinister sounds, terrifying screams and monstrous sounds. "Bonesborough will be the first to know the name of the Fear Witch!" Amity screamed loudly as she continued moving towards the town.

Odalia had observed the whole scene with a broad smile on her face; her eyes shone with a triumphant and satisfied light. "Wonderful..." she whispered as she watched her daughter summon dark creatures around her. "She has become even more extraordinary than I imagined! Oh, Mittens... you will be a magnificent empress as soon as we destroy your only true enemy! As soon as Belos is dead, the whole world will bow to us!"

She was so immersed in her monologue that she almost didn't notice that Grometheus was now staring at her; she only realized it because the entity burst out laughing loudly, a cruel laugh devoid of any empathy, pleased to see the two witches who had summoned him so industrious. "It will be exactly like this. When the battle is over, no one in this world will ever be able to oppose you. You will be deities come to earth" he said satisfied. "Not more chatting now. Your daughter will take care to give me everything I need to complete my coming in this world. You, instead, will stay here. We must act quickly and call back the other three superior beings, who just like me are awaiting the summon. Follow my instructions, and prepare the evocation of the Collector's essence. I will take care of stabilizing the ritual and modifying a body enough to support it without problems"

Odalia nodded and bowed her head. "Yes, my lord. Command, and I will execute"

Amity is slightly enjoying using the enormous power that absorbing Grometheuse's essence has given her. Well, I would like to see you if you were in her place; I challenge you to find someone who wouldn't go into a frenzy of omnipotence. Light Yagami went crazy over a notebook that killed people, Amity literally became a demigoddess; it's pretty clear she couldn't keep her mind just right.

However, to better explain Grometheus' words: her essence amplifies Amity's dark desires, but still she is the one who decides what to do, she is not mentally controlled even if now any wrong choice seems infinitely more appealing to her. This demonstrates how manipulative Odalia is, given that deep down Amity is convinced that she is right to act that way because her mother convinced her of this. Grometheus' essence amplifies these thoughts, making it much easier for her to behave like an evil witch, but she still holds such thoughts.