Tarak led their group down below into the village, passing by several other demons who boasted the similarities to King, but with different variations in eye and hair color, along with varying hues as far as their skull heads were concerned. They seemed to be a thriving village from what they could tell.
"I've never seen so many demons that look like me," said King with excitement layered in his voice. They passed by three of his kind who were wearing armor and wielding spears. These warriors were in the middle of training, which King couldn't help but marvel at. "Look at them go!"
Tarak stopped and turned to face the group as he informed, "We are Titan Trappers, under oath to protect the world from giant monsters of death and destruction. But, uh, not many of us have seen a live one, of course. Ahem, anyway, come."
"So, it was these Titan Trappers who killed off the Titans?" Luz speculated.
"I find that hard to believe. Considering that just their blood alone is powerful. I feel as if such creatures wouldn't be felled so easily. Or perhaps they know of a weakness or hidden method to take down such behemoths. Now I'm more fascinated," said La Lechuza.
"You got that look in your eye whenever you find some new tidbit of information," Luz pointed out.
"Oh, don't act as if you're not curious as well, Niña. Besides, this may give us some answers regarding the Boiling Isles' Titan as well."
That was true. Perhaps there was some truth to them being monsters? Or maybe it was just a case of some being good and others being bad. Or maybe the Titan of the Boiling Isles was the exception amongst his kind, only being driven to his more destructive tendencies due to Belos' corruption.
Belos…I will stop you, thought Luz.
As they got closer to the tower, a thought popped into Luz's head. "Wait, you said you're training to fight against Titans. But aren't the Titans extinct?"
Tarak led them to the spire at the center of the village and opened the doors. Luz, King, La Lechuza, and Hooty gasped as they beheld a huge Titan skeleton wrapped around a winding, spiral staircase, along with different models of planets. To Luz, it was as if she had stepped into museum, albeit a more magical themed one. The tower went up higher and higher, no doubt filled with more artifacts and displays of Titans, and of the Titan Trappers' past and present hunting methods. Luz could practically feel La Lechuza vibrating with all this new knowledge waiting to be consumed.
"To answer your question young one. Not all of them. The Grand Huntsman says one remains, so we sharpen our spears until the vile creature rears its head, and a new hunt can begin!" Tarak informed. "And now, dear King, you can join us and become a Titan Trapper yourself."
"Weh?" King uttered.
The other demons cheered in favor of having King join their ranks. Luz gasped as she got down on one knee and held Kings claws.
"Oh, my gosh. King, this is amazing!" Luz released King's claws and stood as she addressed the other demons. "Well, we don't know any Titans, but the world could definitely use your help."
"That's right!" King remembered. "It's a lot of to explain right now, but could you – I mean, we need your help! The people of the Boiling Isles…There's someone there who's planning on killing everyone, including the family who took me in."
One of the other demons stepped forward from the crowd and said, "Any enemy of yours is an enemy of ours!"
"The Titan Trappers are a family! And no one messes with our family or their adopted family!" another demon added.
The entire crowd cheered louder in agreement. Honestly it made King's heart swell with joy and pride to hear this. These people have only just met him, and they were already willing to fight in a dangerous battle against Belos, no questions asked. The crowd ushered King away, with promises to show him more of their – or rather his – culture.
It was at this point Tarak stepped forward and said, "Alas, we can make no vows. For that you must beseech our elder, the wisest hunter of them all…Bill!" Tarak then gestured towards the top of the tower.
Hooty blinked.
La Lechuza blinked.
Luz waited for more to be said, but Tarak didn't say anything else. "Is Bill short for something?"
"Nope, just Bill," Taraka assured. "He's so cool, he actually met our god, the Grand Huntsman! He's my best friend. It's no big deal."
"Well, that was anticlimactic," La Lechuza mentally commented.
"LUZ!" The Latina turned around saw King approach with a rather large and unique looking weapon made of bone and sinew. I resembled a battle ax, with the top half made from the jawbone of some unknown beast. "Look what they gave me!"
Luz jumped back a little as the weapon started opening and closing its mouth as if somehow still alive. "Oh…uh…That looks awfully pointy, buddy."
"Don't worry, it's mostly papier-mâché. And bone," King assured. "Luz, they said they're going to show me their Titan Trapper ways!" King gasped. "I guess they're my ways too."
La Lechuza hopped off Luz's shoulder and landed on King's head. She then pecked the top of his head causing the little demon to dance in place.
"That is for calling me a 'pet'," La Lechuza scolded.
"Weh! I'm sorry!" King apologized.
The silver owl harumphed and then patted his head with her wing.
"And this is congratulations on finding a place among your kind, Niño," the owl Phantom praised.
King, having gotten over the pecking from a moment ago, smiled happily at the Owl Phantom. "Thank you, Lala."
Luz didn't want to drag King away from this. For the longest time he had been longing to find his place in this world, to find others like him. And now he had a chance to learn more about his people.
"You know what, why don't you go and learn your ways from the others. And while you're doing that, we'll speak to the elder of the Titan Trappers to request his help," Luz offered.
King joyfully leaped into Luz's arms as La Lechuza hovered in the air, giving Luz a tight hug. "This is a dream come true!"
"Just be careful," Luz urged.
"I will!"
Once King had left, Hooty extended himself so that he was face to face with Luz and asked, "Are we really leaving him alone?"
"He should have time to get to know his family," Luz answered.
"True." The Owl Phantom returned to her spot on Luz's shoulder. "With the battle for the Isles looming closer. We won't have much time to prepare. Better he enjoys this time now. It may even give him something more to fight for when it comes time for the fighting to commence."
"I'm not exactly looking to have King get involved if we can help it, but you do you have a point," said Luz. "C'mon, let's go see…um…Bill."
"Hoot! Onward to Bill!" Hooty announced.
Luz walked up to Tarak and asked, "Um, Tarak, sir, could you take us to see Bill? We wish to speak to him."
"Ah, verily, let us go to see him. Follow me."
Tarak led Luz, Hooty, and La Lechuza up the winding stairs, and through the maze-like halls until they arrived at a pair of double doors. Presumably, Bill's dwelling place.
"Now, I shall take my leave," said Tarak as he began walking away. "Tell Bill I said, 'hi'!"
"Strange that one is," La Lechuza commented.
"Agreed. Anyway, let's do this."
Luz pushed open the door and peeked inside.
"Hello?"
The walls were adorned with various types of weapons and armor. Along with this were shelves and cabinets filled with books, scrolls, and numerous other knickknacks that Luz couldn't identify.
"Whoa. Guys, look at this stuff," Luz marveled. "This stuff's gotta be part of a magical arsenal since it was used to fight Titans. There's no way Belos can stand up to this stuff."
Luz grabbed a sword from a wooden bucket, but as soon as she did, the blade crumbled to dust. Literally, most of the sword's blade turned to dust.
"If Belos has a dust allergy, then, yes, this will definitely defeat him," the Owl Phantom snarked.
Luz grumbled as she tossed the remains of the sword and made her way to a bident spear. It was red with a spiral construction, as if the metal was twisted together and the remnants forged into two sharp points. As soon as Luz grabbed it, the two points of the spear unraveled and went limp.
"…"
"…"
"Yes, I know, don't say it," Luz insisted.
"Tarak? Is that you?" came an annoyed voice. "I told you to stop rummaging through my stuff!"
The trio turned their attention to the end of the hall which opened into a large room. There they saw someone short sitting in a large armchair. This person, possibly Bill, held a book in their hands, hiding most of their face. Sticking from the top of his head was a black candle that was half melted and had a blue flame flickering at the top. The person sitting in the chair lowered the book and revealed their face. His skull face was like the other members of King's, demon race except it the white coloring had become beige, possibly an indication of his advanced age. He was shorter than the other demons, about a few inches taller than King, at least that's what Luz assumed. His right eye was a dark teal color, while the left pupil was shrunk to a pinprick. The book he read was titled "The Last Titan: A Study of The Boiling Isles".
Luz moved closer as she said, "Tarak's not here, sorry. It's just us." The Latina cleared her throat as she gave a respectful bow. "Uh, greetings. My name is–"
"Huh?! What's that? Speak up!" Bill requested as he brought an old-style hearing aid up to where his ear would be. "You barge in like an angry Titan only to whisper like the wind?"
Luz stepped a little closer, got down on one knee – in dramatic fashion – and spoke louder while La Lechuza hovered next to her. "Greetings! Uh, this lowly traveler begs an audience with the great Bill!" Luz crawled closer and pretty much stuck her head into the hearing aide. "Mayhaps we might perchance to venture–!"
"Oh, for the love of – Tarak sent you here, didn't he?" Bill asked.
Luz stepped away and chuckled nervously. "Heh…He said you were the wisest of all the Trappers. And also, his friend. He says hi."
"Of course, he does," Bill griped as he rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"I'm here to ask if you would lend me your mighty warriors." Luz became serious as she added, "You see, Emperor Belos has threatened to–!"
"HA! That upstart on the carcass kingdom?" Bill interrupted. "He's no big deal. I've got battle scars older than his reign as Emperor! Wanna see?"
Without waiting for an answer, Bill raised his tunic and showed off some of his scars on his bare chest. Hooty, Luz, and La Lechuza winced upon seeing them, despite not wanting to.
"We're good," Luz assured. "But please understand, Mr. Bill. A lot of people are in danger, and they don't even realize it. You may not be aware, but he's gained power, a terrible power. I've been fighting against him, and now I need help to make sure his plan doesn't happen."
"Yeah, that dude is straight up evil!" Hooty added.
"Don't worry. We'll help," said Bill nonchalantly.
"Wait, just like that?" Hooty asked.
Luz hurriedly smacked her hand over Hooty's beak. "Not that we're incredibly grateful, mind you! I guess, we were expecting a little more…bargaining? Or conditions?"
"Bargain? Conditions? Ha! Please. I heard one of our own found their way back to us, and that they lived on that Titan island," said Bill.
"Uh, yes, he does. His name's King. He's practically my little brother," Luz replied with a smile.
"'Nough said then. You mess with one Trapper; you mess with all of us. Plus, I never liked that upstart to begin with. There was always something that rubbed me the wrong way with him, and it looks like I was right. So, no worries, we'll give you a hand in taking him down," Bill assured.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Bill! You have no idea how much this means to me and the people of the Isles!" Luz exclaimed with relief.
"Huh, surprised that went so amazingly well," La Lechuza commented.
See, Lala. Sometimes you just need to have faith in people, Luz thought.
"But if you think Belos is evil, then you've never seen a live Titan." Bill turned around and looked out the window of his room as he reminisced about the past. "The children out there haven't seen one either. Don't know a thing about their ravenous appetites, or their terrible cries! Even their babies act like littler monarchs. The last living Titan, I saw it once before it disappeared. Its hateful roar blew out my eardrums. How did it go you may ask? Like this…'WEH!'"
Luz and La Lechuza froze upon hearing that description. A very detailed description that matched someone they both knew very well.
"So…to recap…Titans are always hungry, act like little monarchs and say, 'Weh'?"
"Yes. The Huntsman wants us to find the last one." Bill gestured to a poster pinned next to the window that read "The Lost Son of the Boiling Isles: The Grand Huntsman cannot return to us until the lost son is found by someone worthy!" The poster depicted the image of an egg that was lightly cracked. Which only filled Luz with greater dread. "Only a Titan's power can free him from his prison. But we've had no luck. I-I took a printmaking class once. Not sure about the font though, I feel like the serifs…"
"Luz…you do know who he just described…"
I…I do…but…that means that–
"Luz!" Hooty whispered, bringing Luz back to the moment. "Follow me!"
Luz and La Lechuza followed Hooty while Bill was off on his tangent. The bird tube brought them to a curtain, and upon opening the curtain, Luz and La Lechuza beheld something grim. It was a wide rotunda of a room. The walls were littered with painted images of Titan Trappers capturing and killing Titans. The doorway they passed through had a large Titan skull adorning it, and in front of them was a small bridge that led to a kind of altar. Around the altar, and the pit surrounding it, were dozens of slain Titan bones, along with skulls. Most of them looked eerily, if not dangerously similar to how King's skull face looked. But aside from the macabre decoration, which was already disturbing enough, there was something else that drew both the human and Phantom's attention. Behind the altar was a statue that depicted the sun, with two eyes, and half of the sun's face was painted blue and shaped like a crescent moon.
"Oh, hey! Thought I'd get Lulu some souvenirs," said Hooty as he grabbed a snow globe with his beak and showed it to Luz.
Luz and La Lechuza looked closely at the snow globe, spotting another sun and crescent moon symbol. The two of them had seen that symbol once before, And now things were starting to become clearer.
"Their god…is that collector kid?!" Luz exclaimed in shock.
"This is not good," La Lechuza commented.
The curtain suddenly parted as Bill showed himself in. "Ah! You've found the shrine to the Huntsman. It's been my little DIY project for years."
"W-Wait, so you're not…Titans?" Luz asked.
"Ahahaha! Heck no, kid! But I'm glad we fooled ya." Bill reached for the sleeve of his tunic and rolled it back to reveal that the claw hand was nothing more than a glove as he showed off his real, furless skin.
They're…They're costumes?! Luz thought.
"You like our disguises? You gotta look like a Titan to trap one. But if I ever find that missing Titan, I'd hunt it down, tear it limb from limb, and mount its head in pride as we release the Huntsman! Then we can finally go from being Titan Trappers to Titan Slayers!" Bill belted out with pride. "Say, who's your buddy's tailer? His costume looks so real!"
Luz was stunned into silence. While Hooty dropped the snow globe as his beak fell open, feeling the same stunned emotion that Luz was feeling.
"I take it back; this is much worse. We need–!"
Way ahead of you!
Luz quickly grabbed ahold of Hooty and hefted his lengthy body out of the shrine as she hurriedly made her way out of Bill's room.
"Uh, this has all been super cool, but I gotta go check on, um, things! So, we'll be heading back to the Boiling Isles!" Luz quickly stated as she, Hooty, and La Lechuza kept moving faster to the door.
"But what about you're…What were you talking about? The – The – Your quest to stop Belos? Shouldn't we come up with battle strategies or something?" Bill asked as he watched the three leave.
"Oh, ha, I'm sure it'll work itself out! Really. Okay, bye!"
"Uh…Hoot!"
Luz and La Lechuza swiftly exited the room, unfortunately, Hooty's head got caught between the doors for a moment before Luz pulled him free. Once out of the room, Luz broke into a full sprint as they hurried off to find King.
"They're going to kill King!"
"And use him to release the Collector! That being taught Belos how to cast the Draining Spell, and if he is, as they say, a god, then we cannot under any circumstances allow him to be released!"
"Belos is already a threat on his own, but if they release the Collector and Belos teams up with him…Yeah, I'm really wishing I had a hotline to Mr. Tsukasa right now!" Luz exclaimed.
"Well in that case…RUN FASTER!" Hooty urged.
"I'M TRYING!"
Luckily Bill didn't hear any of that, he was mostly confused as to the human's sudden rush to leave despite having come all the way here to request their help to topple Belos.
"WEH!"
However, that train of thought derailed as he heard a familiar sound. Something that Bill thought he'd only thought he'd hear in his nightmares. Bill rushed to the window and looked down as his people were joyfully tossing the newcomer into the air, and each time he did, the newcomer, King Clawthorne, repeatedly went "Weh!"
"No…It…It can't be! He…HE'S HERE!"
Bill now realized why the human was in a rush. They had to move fast before the girl could thwart them. This was their only chance to release the Grand Huntsman from his years' long prison.
King was having the best day of his life. Forgetting for a moment about the terrible things that were to come once they returned to the Boiling Isles, and the battle for the fate of its people as he enjoyed communing amongst his people. He had spent the last few hours learning to become one of them. He learned how to meditate under a waterfall, which apparently was boiling water from the sea, but somehow didn't harm him. Eh, something to unpack for later. He blew into the war horn, and accidentally knocked a griffon out of the air. It got back up a moment after. And then he used a bat to destroy a piñata and spill its candy guts.
After completing those tasks to prove his kinship with his fellow demons, Tarak came and decided to have some one-on-one time with King and gave him a tour of their armory. The larger demon moved the curtain aside and brought King into their weapons storage. There was everything from shields, spears, different swords, chests filled more weapons, maces, and battle axes.
"Now, behold! Our armory," Tarak announced.
"Whoa! There's all sorts so of things I shouldn't touch," King noted as he entered further into the armory.
"Aye, for now. But when you grow older, I would be delighted to show you how to dismember your enemies," Tarak offered with a hint of pride.
King's eyes widened as he turned to the larger demon and excitedly asked, "You would?" King looked down at his tag and was reminded of something. "Hey, do you know what this means?"
"I'm not sure with that is," Tarak confessed as he crouched lower. "But maybe we can find out together. I assume your father was lost in a hunt of yore. But a Titan Trapper is never alone. I'm just happy to see he passed down this." At this, Tarak gently rapped his knuckles against King's skull.
King felt happy, whether Tarak was doing it on purpose or not, his words resonated with King. The little demon started to sniffle, as some tears started to manifest in his eyes. King wiped them away, and asked tentatively, "Can I ask you a favor? It's…a little silly, but, uh…can we play…catch?"
Now it was Tarak's turn to be stunned. He hadn't thought about being a father figure to this little one, but, in truth, he had become somewhat fond of King. And the little demon's request was so innocent, and sad, that it was almost heartbreaking.
"I believe you may find some equipment thither," Tarak answered as he pointed to a crate behind King.
"Thither?" King gasped as he ran off to get the equipment.
King hurriedly scampered off to find the equipment that Tarak had spoken of. The larger demon rose to his full height, feeling happy to give King this moment that the little demon had longed for. Just then a crow phone entered through the window. Tarak held out one his fingers, allowing the crow phone to land on it.
{Tarak you there?!}
"Ah, Bill! Tis Tarak, what sayeth you friend?"
{Shut it! Listen. That kid you're with…he's a Titan. The last Titan!} Bill informed.
"What?!" Tarak exclaimed. He momentarily glanced over his shoulder to make sure King hadn't overheard him. "But Bill, are thou sure King Clawthorne is as you say?"
{I'm sure of it! That human and her bird tube are probably on their way to get him! Take him to the altar, quietly, and get things ready. Spread the word to the others. I'll have some of our own keep that human busy, so she doesn't interfere.}
"I…I understand," Tarak spoke.
As Tarak finished his talk with Bill, he felt something bump against him. He slowly turned his head and looked down, spotting King who had found the ball and catchers met.
"Tarak, I found them!" King announced as he held the ball up eagerly. When King didn't hear an immediate response, he asked, "Is something wrong?"
Tarak continued to stare down at the little…Titan. He looked so innocent. Tarak had grown up hearing all the stories about the Titans being absolute monsters even as young ones, but this little Titan…all he wanted was to play catch, just as a child would want with their own father.
"Uh…I must apologize, young King. But our game must wait," said Tarak. "The time has come to celebrate your, uh…induction into the Titan Trappers! Come!"
"Really! I get to become a full-fledged Titan Trapper!" King inquired.
"Uh…Y-Yes, yes. Before we journey off to fight side-by-side, it is necessary to make our bonds official," Tarak answered.
"Cool! I can't believe I get to join you guys, officially, and become a warrior!" King caught up with Tarak and tugged at his long robe as if he was a child not trying to lose his way. "Tarak, thank you. You don't know how much it means to me that you guys are accepting me like this. I love Eda, Hooty, Luz, and everyone back home, they're my family. But knowing that I have another family here, one that looks like me, it…it makes me feel…whole in a way."
Tarak spared a glance at King. He'd be lying if he said that the little Titan's words didn't strike a chord with him. The way he looked up at him, it was almost as if he was looking at his own father. Tarak never had the chance to have children, actually he never thought himself to be fatherly material. However, he was a Titan Trapper, and King was a Titan, a monster that needed to be slain. A monster who's spilled blood would release their fabled god from his centuries long prison.
"…Think nothing of it, young King. Now, let us away, we have much to prepare."
Luz was looking around the village, but for some reason she couldn't locate King. In fact, she couldn't find anyone.
"LALA, DO YOU SEE ANYTHING?!" Luz shouted as she looked towards the sky.
The silver owl flew around the village, it wasn't very big, but even with her keen eyes, she still couldn't see anyone. La Lechuza flew down and hovered in front of Luz as she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I cannot. I don't understand, this village isn't that big, and it was crawling with those people until not to long ago," La Lechuza informed.
"You think Bill told them about King already?!" Hooty asked.
"That's not good. If that's the case, he figured it out faster than we hoped. But where could they have taken King?" Luz pondered as she paced the ground. "Okay, we'll widen the search. I break out the Witch Speeder and we'll spread out."
"WATCH OUT!" Hooty warned before jerking Luz to the left.
La Lechuza flew upward as Luz was pulled away, just in time to miss a beam of magical energy heading right for her. The beam hit the ground a few feet away and generated a small explosion upon impact. Luz was spinning around, but Hooty managed to stop her, so she didn't fall.
"Whoa, thanks Hooty!"
"That's what I'm here for. Hoot!"
"But who shot…?"
Just as Luz asked the question, the air began to shimmer and became distorted. Like a veil being pulled away, the space a few feet in front of them parted and revealed five Titan Trapper warriors. Each of them was fitted with black and gold armor, and wielded swords, spears, and axes ready for battle.
"By order of Bill! You are to come with us," said the first warrior.
"Do not try to resist," said the second.
"Whoa, wait a minute, we haven't done any–!"
"Do not lie to us, Titan lover!" the fourth accused.
"We know that you have brought the last Titan to our island! We will not let you interfere with the release of the Grand Huntsman!" the five stated.
"The jig is up Luz! And they're going to sacrifice King!" Hooty exclaimed.
"Guess there's no point in trying to act dumb. Where is King?! Where did you take him?!" Luz demanded.
The first warrior twirled his sword around and got into an attack stance as his fellow Titan Trappers began to spread out, slowly getting into a star formation to attack Luz from five different directions.
"You can ask all you want, but we will not tell you!" the third warrior told them.
La Lechuza lowered her altitude until she was next to Luz.
"It seems we will have to pry the information out of them the hard way. My favorite way," La Lechuza mused.
"I was planning on using just my glyphs to stop them, but King's life is in danger. We can't afford to go too easy on them!" Luz concurred as she slipped on her Driver ring and placed her right hand over her Hand Author buckle.
[Driver On, Please.]
Luz put on her Light Style ring as she switched the Hand Author to the left position.
[Shabadoobi touch to henshin!
Shabadoobi touch to henshin!]
"HEN–!"
"WAIT!" La Lechuza yelled.
Luz stumbled as La Lechuza interrupted her transformation. "W-What?! What's wrong?!"
"Did you forget your passenger? Do you really want to transform while Hooty's still on your back?!"
Luz paused and turned her head to look at Hooty. For a moment, Luz wondered what would happen if she transformed with Hooty still on her back. Would the Porta-Hooty merge with her Rider armor? Would Hooty share in her Rider powers? Hooty…with Rider powers…
"I'm ready to rumble! Hoot! Hoot!"
Luz, without a word, took off the Porta-Hooty backpack, placed it a couple of feet away from her, put an extra foot of distance from him just in case, and continued where she left off.
"HENSHIN!"
[Light, Please.]
[HI~KA~RI!]
The Witch magic circle appeared under Luz's feet and rose over her. Once the circle had completely passed, Luz was transformed into her alter ego, Kamen Rider Witch. Afterwards, La Lechuza disappeared, and Witch placed the Porta-Hooty backpack on her back again. The warriors were shocked upon seeing the transformation and got even more on edge.
"Last chance! Tell me where King is! Now!" Witch demanded.
The warriors responded by drawing spell circles and firing beams of magical energy at her. Witch jumped into the air just in time to dodge all four five beams as they converged on her previous location and exploded a moment later.
[Connect, Please.]
Witch reached into the subspace pulled out her WizarSwordGun. She switched it sword mode, and once on the ground, she dashed straight for the fifth member of the warrior group. She warrior hefted his mighty ax and brought it down. However, Witch countered by slashing with her sword. The two weapons connected, and upon contact, the ax shattered into tiny shards. The impact created a shockwave that blasted the warrior backwards and into a wagon. The other warriors were shocked upon seeing how easily one of their weapons was broken, and by the fact that one of their own trained fighters was sent flying like a ragdoll.
"Whoops…I thought I was holding back more than that, sorry," Witch apologized.
"I have no doubts these warriors would put up quite a fight against Belos' own Scouts, but against us, they're not much."
"HOOT! Luz, behind you!"
Witch pivoted on her right foot and raised her sword just in time to deflect the mace strike of the fourth warrior. The deflection was enough to make the warrior stumble, allowing Witch to swap out her ring for another.
[Abomination, Please.]
A magic circle appeared over Witch's right hand as globs of Abomination goo formed. Once Witch had summoned enough of the substance, Witch commanded the goo to lash out towards the warrior. The fourth warrior drew a spell circle and slammed his palms against the ground, creating a dome of dirt and rock to guard himself against the incoming slime. Witch retracted the slime and jumped into the air. With a mental command, Witch had the goo take the form of a drill bit. The drill spun rapidly as she descended and slammed it against the shell. The drill pierced into the rock dome, and within seconds the dome shattered, exposing the fourth warrior. Before she landed, Witch delivered a roundhouse kick while in midair, hitting him right in the face as he too was sent flying.
"Uh, Luz, we kinda need at least one of them not knocked out," Hooty reminded.
"I'm seriously trying, but I'm worried about King!" Witch realized that her worrying was making her not hold back as much, because every second she was spending fighting these guys, King could be getting hurt. "In that case."
[Potion, Please.]
Witch held out her left hand as a flask appeared. A combination of different colored liquids appeared over the top and mixed within the flask to create a green colored liquid inside of it as a cork appeared, sealing the flask. Witch glanced about at the remaining three warriors and designated her target. Witch dashed straight for the leader of the warrior group. He brandished his sword and readied to slash; despite having seen how easily she had destroyed their weapons. But Witch wasn't about to waste time with that as she switched the WizarSwordGun into gun mode and shot a few silver bullets at the warrior's sword.
The sword was instantly shattered by the two silver bullets, disarming the warrior. Witch pitched the flask straight at the first warrior, and as soon as it hit the warrior, it shattered. The flask itself disappeared as the liquid rapidly expanded and coiled around the leader, ensnaring him and even going the extra mile and wrapping small tendrils of green goop around his fingers to prevent the leader from drawing any spell circles. Once he was bound the leader fell to the ground, unable to move as the goo restrained him.
"Good work, Niña. Now dispatch the last two," La Lechuza suggested.
Witch didn't waste any time in doing just that. She dashed for the second warrior, dodging his spear thrust as she struck him the face with a palm-heel strike, followed up by a spinning thrust kick to the gut that sent him through the wall of someone's house. Not missing a beat, Witch rushed towards the last warrior standing. The third warrior abandoned his spear and drew a large spell circle as he fired a huge beam of magical energy at her, deciding to go all in to try and stop her. Seeing this, Witch opened the Hand Author on the WizarSwordGun and scanned her Light Style ring.
[C'mon shooting, shake hands!
C'mon shooting, shake hands!]
} LIGHT, SHOOTING STRIKE {
Witch stopped, took aim, pulled the trigger, and fired her own energy blast. A bright yellow beam of light emanated from the barrel of the WizarSwordGun and slammed into the opposing beam of the third warrior. The Titan Trapper struggled to maintain his attack as he tried to push back against Witch's beam. However, it was a losing battle as Witch's Shooting Strike overpowered the warrior and caused an explosion that knocked out the third warrior, throwing him onto his back. Witch huffed as she turned her attention to the one she had captured and walked over to him.
"Okay, now, same question. Where is King?!" Witch demanded for the second time.
"Do what you want with me! I will never tell you!" the leader obstinately replied.
"He actually doesn't need to tell us."
Ah, I'm picking up what you're puttin' down.
Witch dismissed her sword and slipped on her Illusion ring.
[Illusion, Please.]
Witch placed her right hand over the leader's forehead. His eyes shined with the same cyan color as Witch's ring. A portal of light appeared above him and created a fuzzy image. Witch concentrated, like adjusting TV antenna to try and find a better signal. After a few seconds, the image became clear. The image showed another kind of altar. It was made of three raised stone, square shaped platforms, with four long protruding bones coming out of each corner. At the center of the altar were two tall basins lit with blue fire and set between them was the main altar itself with a strange, broken disk object that resembled the one that Philip obtained in the past. It was then that Witch saw Bill as he talked to the leader of the warriors.
"I don't care how, either capture or eliminate that girl. Once you have, come back to the altar. I want everyone here for when the Grand Huntsman returns to lead us to glory!"
Witch closed the portal and concentrated, searching the warrior leader's mind for the location. After a moment, Witch deactivated her spell, allowing the warrior's eyes to return to normal.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Witch.
"You will not stop the rise of the Grand Huntsman! The Titan will be slain!" the leader spat.
"No one's hurting mi hermano."
[Ride, Please.]
Witch's magic circle appeared and produced the Witch Speeder. The hero of hope quickly mounted her flying bike and zoomed off into the sky to stop the sacrifice and save King before the Collector could be freed.
The Titan Trappers had gathered, and all were abuzz knowing the reason why they had come together. For tonight was the night that the Grand Huntsman would return to them. The last Titan, by an act of providence, had been brought directly to them. And now was the time. However, they had to keep playing their part, the Titan believed that he was one of them. If he realized the true reason he was brought here, the little monster could destroy them. Two of the Trappers stood behind King as he was brought to the altar. Tarak and Bill were already there and waiting for him. Some of the Trappers banged the butt of their spears against the ground in rhythm as the ceremony was about to begin.
King was dressed in a blue robe and fur cloak, and upon his forehead was a crudely drawn blue crescent moon. The little demon looked upon his garb and smiled appreciatively. "You don't have to go all out like this. I'm fine doing a small thing. Family and friends kinda thing."
Yet again, King's words felt like a knife being twisted into Tarak. He spoke so innocently, but that was to be expected. King was but a child, he knew not what was about to happen to him.
"Your presence is very special to us, King. This ceremony is important for you and us," he assured.
"Oh, okay," King acquiesced happily.
"Now, we can release the Grand Huntsman from his prison and be granted power and glory!"
The rest of the Titan Trappers cheered loudly in response, with King not knowing they were cheering for his impending death.
"In the ashes of your old life, your destiny awaits." Tarak, with a torch in hand made from a horn, lit one end with the blue flame off Bill's candle. "Carry this torch to the tablet and set it aflame."
King stepped forward and held out his claw ready to receive the torch. Tarak slowly presented it to him but paused midway.
"Tarak? You okay?" King asked.
"Yes, Tarak, are you okay?" Bill inquired with a slight edge to his voice.
"Uh, yes, yes. This is just a momentous occasion, I had to bask in it," he lied.
Tarak sighed heavily and gave King the torch. Once in hand, King turned to face the altar with the broken disk in the center. King stepped closer to the altar and raised the torch towards the disk. The blue flames touched the disk, and in an instant, the disk was aglow with blue and green flames as red and yellow stars flickered off them.
Something else happened when the disk was on fire. King's eyes glowed, and for a moment he swore he could hear the laughter of a child. King whipped around and tried to see who it was that laughed, but as far as he could tell, no one had.
"Did you hear that?" King asked.
"The connection has been made," said Tarak. "And now we can summon him."
"UGH! You're taking too long!" Bill exclaimed in annoyance as he rushed past Tarak and draped a piece of cloth over King's face.
The cloth was gray in color and had the symbol of a sun with a crescent moon inside of the circle. The moon half had a closed eye and a curving smile, while the other half had a closed eye that had a teardrop, and unlike the curved up smile the mouth curved downwards into a frown.
"Don't worry, child. We're almost done," Bill assured as he reached behind his back and brandished a crooked dagger blade.
The leader of the Titan Trappers gripped the deadly weapon with both hands and raised it, preparing to stab King, literally, in the back.
King, completely oblivious to his impending death, made an innocent request, "Then we can play catch, right, Tarak?"
"…Yes, we can play catch as long as you want once we're through…just…be still until it's over…" Tarak urged, each word feeling heavier than the next.
Just before Bill could stab King, the dagger was suddenly blasted out of his hand, sending it spiraling into the air. Three more shots rang out, each one hitting the same dagger until it was blasted far away from King. The Titan Trappers were confused, and so was Bill and Tarak.
"W-What's happening? What was that?" King asked as he removed the covering from his face.
Their attention was brought towards the sky as something passed over them. That's when they spotted a being dropping from the air. Bill and Tarak backed away quickly as that being landed on the platform with nary a sign of discomfort or injury from the drop. King was less surprised by who it was and wondering more about why Luz had transformed into Witch and disrupted the ceremony.
Witch immediately whipped her WizarSwordGun and held it out in a threatening manner. "BACK AWAY FROM KING, RIGHT NOW!"
"DON'T MAKE ME INVITE YOU TO MY TEA PARTIES!" Hooty threatened as he spoke the last part in a deep, menacing voice.
Witch and King shivered as they knew exactly what that meant.
"LUZ, WHAT THE HECK?!" King yelled. "Put that thing away! Why are you threatening my people?!"
"King, little buddy, these aren't your people!" Witch stated. "They aren't even demons! These Titan Trappers are planning on sacrificing you to release their god!"
"Who just happens to be the Collector! Hoot!"
"What?! Luz, Hooty, have you both lost your minds?!" King turned towards Tarak. "Tarak, she's lying right?"
"King, trust me. I've never lied to you, and you know I would never make something up or do something like this if I didn't have a good reason to," said Witch.
King knew that. He knew that Witch would never lie to him like that. Especially when she knew how much this meant to him. But the alternative was…
"Tarak…Bill…say something, tell her she's wrong or maybe she just got the wrong idea! If you explain it to her–!"
"Tis true, King…"
King went silent.
"This ceremony was intended to bring forth the Grand Huntsman from his prison. And the requirement is to spill the blood of a Titan," Tarak confessed.
"What?!" King shouted. "Why me?! W-Why would you want to kill me when…when…"
Witch looked down and watched as King's eyes widened. It seemed that the little demon had finally put two and two together.
"You understand now, kid? That's right, you're a Titan!" Bill confirmed. "And only your blood will allow us to release the Grand Huntsman!"
"No…N-No…but I-I'm one of you!" King shouted in denial.
Tarak sighed heavily. This was necessary, for his sake and for King's. The tall Titan Trapper reached up and placed his hands around his skull and removed it like a mask. He tossed it aside and revealed his true face, that of a male witch with a haggard face, the beard was connected to his real face, complete with a mustache. The right side of his face was painted blue with a cyan crescent moon above his right eye, while a navy-blue star was painted over his left eye. It was then that all the other Titan Trappers began to remove their own skull masks, revealing to King that not a single one of them were like him at all.
"You were never one of us, King…"
"Then…t-that means…I…I really am a–!"
"Yeah, yeah! You're a Titan! You get it now?!" Bill shouted as he removed his own mask, showing his elderly face. In the center of his forehead was a teal-colored sun symbol with two cyan colored bands on either side of the symbol, making it look like it was wrapped around his head. "With this gift, the Grand Huntsman will return, and I shall ride cloaked in glory above all others! Let the new hunt begin! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Tarak, as well as the other Titan Trappers, all looked at Bill with confusion.
"You mean, 'we', right?" Tarak pressed. "You promised the Huntsman would grant all of us glory and power. Right, Bill?"
It seemed that Bill let his ego slip.
"Are Titans even evil?" Hooty questioned.
"How much have you been making up, Bill? Are they really the monsters you say they are?"
Bill began shifting his gaze between Witch, King, Hooty, and his fellow Titan Trappers. It seemed Bill wasn't exactly truthful in his claims about the Titans.
"D-Don't listen to her! She's…She's trying to trick you into siding with the Titan! They'll kill us all, I've seen it! Now hurry, before the Titan gets away!" Bill ordered.
The Titan Trappers seemed to snap back to their warped senses as many of them drew spell circles and began shoot several magic bolts in Witch's direction. Witch switched her weapon to sword mode as she began slashing at the incoming balls of magical energy, cleaving through them and dispersing their energy upon doing so. Bill drew his own spell circle and created a rope that whipped towards King. The whip managed to wrap around King's leg as the little Titan was dragged towards his would-be-killer.
"KING!" Witch cried out.
"I GOT 'EM!" Hooty cried out as he stretched himself towards Bill and rammed his head into this chest, throwing the small Titan Trapper backwards.
"UGH! Curse you! You ungodly sock puppet!" Bill shouted.
"If you want King so bad, then you can have 'em!"
Witch slashed through a few more magic bolts before Hooty retracted and used his body to create a shield so that Witch could switch out her rings.
[Illusion, Please.]
Witch pointed her hand in King's direction as he disappeared, and then in a flash of cyan light, multiplied into dozens of Kings that began running in different directions. Tarak watched as the dozens of Kings ran around the entire area, weaving through the different Titan Trappers and going "Weh!".
[Invisible, Please.]
Bill watched as Witch and Hooty disappeared, leaving the King copies stilling running about and "Weh-ing" every time they passed by someone.
"Don't bother wasting your time with these! They're just fakes! Head towards the dock! They're going to try and escape!" Bill ordered. Then he paused and shifted his gaze about before he asked, "Where the heck is Tarak?!"
The dock was in sight, and a couple of yards from the dock Witch, Hooty, and King appeared out of thin air as the Invisible ring's effects wore off. King was being carried in the crook of Witch's left arm as she made a mad dash for their way out. However, the ground began to rumble, and a few feet ahead of them an explosion of dirt and rock went off. From the hole that was created was Tarak, with two spell circles hovering around his wrists. Witch put King down and got into a fighting stance as she prepared to do battle with the Titan Trapper.
"Do you really want to do this?" Witch asked as she stared the man down.
"It is who we are," Tarak answered.
"Is it? Or is it because Bill told you? He even told me himself that none of you have ever seen a live Titan until King arrived! Are you really about to stand there and tell me you think King is a creature of evil and destruction?!"
Tarak looked down at the little Titan, who was now hiding behind Witch's left leg as he looked up at Tarak with hurt and fear. The Titan Trapper's hands lowered and went lower until they were now resting at his sides. The spell circles around his wrists dispersed into particles, as if he had given up.
"…Strike me."
"What?"
"I ask thee, warrior. Strike me!" Tarak demanded.
"Luz, do it."
He's not even–
"It's for his honor, and to protect his life. Get it?"
Witch thought for a moment, and then nodded as she understood the meaning of Tarak's request. The hero of hope swiftly dashed towards Tarak and delivered a strong elbow strike to his stomach. Tarak let out a painful grunt upon impact. Witch retracted her elbow and took a step back as Tarak fell to his knees, he then glanced in King's direction and smiled.
"Make haste…treasure your family…"
"Tarak…?" King gasped as he watched Tarak go unconscious as he hit the ground.
"Hoot! We got company!" Hooty warned.
Witch glanced in the direction they were running from and spotted the rest of the Titan Trappers. "Shoot, they must've figured it out! Let's go!"
The young hero rushed back to King, picked him up, and ran towards the dock. Once there, Witch slammed her hand on the center of the same pattern that was on the other Titan's finger where they were first teleported. The sky came alive as the portal of light appeared above them. The weightless feeling overcame them as Witch, Hooty, and King were lifted into the air before they were transformed into particles of light and shot up into the portal.
On the other side, the three were returned to the island where they originally arrived. Unfortunately, they were returned high up in the air. As they fell, Hooty stretched out and wrapped himself around the Titan's finger. Their fall suddenly stopped as Hooty gently lowered them to the beach. After retracting himself back to where they were, all three of them looked up as the portal had not disappeared. From where they were standing, they could see the Titan Trappers gathering at the dock and preparing to follow them through.
"We have to destroy this thing so they can't come through! I'll–!"
"No…" King interrupted. "I'll take care of it."
Witch remained where she was as she watched King step forward. The little Titan inhaled deeply two times before unleashing his power.
"WEEEEEEEEHH!" King cried as a huge shockwave of energy was released from him.
King's Titan Cry slammed against the finger of this different Titan and made it form cracks along its surface. The cracks spread, widening with each passing second as they traveled up the finger. All the cracks finally took their toll on the finger as it snapped in half and began to crumble. Witch hurriedly got next to King and scanned one of her spell rings.
[Defend, Please.]
A shield of light appeared around them as a plume of dust and dirt shot out in all directions, along with a powerful gust of wind that buffeted the shield. Witch maintained the shield until the dust cloud finally dispersed. When it was over, all three looked upon the ruined finger of the other Titan. With the finger gone, the portal had disappeared. Now the Titan Trappers were essentially trapped on the other side of the world. If they wanted to try and come after them, they would need to sail for days, possibly weeks, before they got to the Boiling Isles. By then things would be different, one way or another. Witch released the shield as she stood to her full height. Her armor disappeared, returning the hero to her civilian form.
Once she had changed back, King walked up to Luz and hugged her left leg as he sniffled and said, "Luz…I wanna go home."
All three got back into the bathtub dingy and returned to the ship. Thankfully, Salty was asleep for most of it, only waking after the Titan's finger crumble. Once he raised the dingy Salty wanted to ask what happened, but decided better of it when he saw the looks on their faces. He had seen such looks before, whatever happened when they passed through the portal of light, it had rocked them emotionally. The captain merely patted King and Luz on their backs in a gentle manner before heading to the helm and turning the ship around. The ride back was silent as they all came to terms with what they learned on Titan Trapper Island. So many revelations, so many things to ponder.
"Luz…I'm sorry," said King.
"King, what are you sorry for?" Luz asked in confusion. "None of this was your fault. You were looking for your people and…your dad."
"I was…but that wasn't the only reason," King confessed. "It was also because of you, Luz."
The Latina glanced down at the little Titan with shock. "Me? Why?"
"Look, I know we're working on making a portal to get you back home. And I know we said we'd help you convince your mom that being on the Boiling Isles is a good thing. But there's also the chance that she may not let you come back. I know how these things work, I've read your Azura books. I just thought I had to prepare for a world without you in it."
Luz gave King a hug. As Luz kept hugging him, something clicked in her mind. She had almost forgotten it with everything that has happened in the last couple of months, but after everything that just occurred, it came back. The last words of the Titan…
"…Tell my son…"
"King…there's something I need to tell you. But I don't know if I should after what we went through," Luz confessed.
"What is it?" King asked.
"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Luz asked.
"Luz, it's okay…just tell me."
Luz took a deep breath.
"Do you remember I told you guys that I defeated the master of the Phantoms. The very first Phantoms that tried to destroy the Boiling Isles?"
King nodded.
"And do you remember when I explained to you that Hunter got possessed and was used by the Phantoms' master?"
King nodded again.
"…What I never told you and Eda was who was the master of the Phantoms. The master of the Phantoms was the spirit of the Titan…"
"WHAT?!" Hooty and King exclaimed.
"Let me finish," Luz urged. "The Titan's spirit was corrupted, driven mad because of the evil that Belos was doing in the background. When I fought him, and released his spirit, he said something to me that I didn't understand until now."
King gulped as he asked, "What did he say?"
"The Titan's last words were…'Tell my son'. I didn't understand what those words meant. But now it makes sense. King…your dad has been with you since the day Eda brought you to the Boiling Isles," Luz revealed.
The ride back was silent once again as everyone digested that information. It wasn't long before they reached the Boiling Isles, their home. The light of dawn pierced the darkness, giving way to the morning, illuminating the giant skeleton was the Boiling Isles. Although now, the giant corpse that was their home took on a different meaning to all of them. As they got closer, King made his way up the mast to the crow's nest. He had seen this sight more than once, but now it was different. This wasn't just some random giant being that gave life to all the witches and demons on its body, it was so much more than that.
"Uh…hi…Dad…"