As the heroes continued their journey, they had passed by Valkyrie Palace, Freya's beloved home. Zilong, Chang'e's older brother, was very excited to see her again.

He kept a wide grin on his face, that is, until he saw what the palace had become...

The palace was slowly being swallowed by fire. Each citizen ran around, attempting to keep them and their family safe.

A minute later, Freya, had come out of the palace, attempting to save her people. The heroes approached her and asked her what was going on.

"Alice attacked just a minute ago! They had out numbered us and were able to slowly destroy the palace!" Freya stated.

Her expression dropped and turned into a frown.

"I failed my duties in protecting my people... AND my land..."

Tears slowly formed in her eyes. Zilong walked over and gave her a comforting hug, slightly lighting up the young Valkyrie's expression. She gave a weak smile at the dragon born as she hugged back. She couldn't ask for anything more...

Melody sighed as she approached Freya.

"May I ask... Are any of Alice's henchmen still in the palace?"

"yes, I believe the remaining henchmen are at a minimum of two hundred"

Melody had sighed once again.

"I can help you restore your land, but I need your help in doing so."

Freya's expression brightened, yet, continued to fill with determination. She nodded, willing to help with watever Melody needed.

"I need you to lead me to the heart of the palace. I need to confirm my suspicions before I take action."

"putting that aside for the moment, we can't come alone. There are demons still wandering the palace, probably looking for a target."

The rest nodded as Tigreal had started assigning people to come with Melody. As everyone was assigned, the group was left to help the citizens out of the palace, except a certain feline and a starsoul.

The two mages were separated from the rest of their friends. The feline's expression saddens as she looks at her lover. Her ears drooped at the thought.

Seeing this, the mage genius had to comfort her. "hey... It's okay... You'll be fine! Your a strong and beautiful girl that never gives up!" he said.

The girl gave him a weak smile as she leaned in to kiss him. In the background, was Chang'e and Cyclops, cuddling before they parted.

Along with Cyclops and Chang'e, Harith and Tigreal were arguing about being separated.

"I can't let her go in there without me! I've protected her for almost my entire life! I can't leave her now! Especially when there are numerous demons inside that castle!"

"Listen here lieutenant! It doesn't matter if you've protected captain Melody for the longest time! I believe she's perfectly capable of defending herself! Plus, there are others coming with her! They can help her if needed!"

"but what if!--"

"stop!"

The two look over in her direction as she walked over to them.

"Harith... Tigreal's right... I'm perfectly capable of defending myself... I get that it's your job to protect me... But I can handle this!" Melody stated.

"but I--"

Before he could finish talking, Melody pulled his collar to bring him down to her level. She gently pressed her lips against his in the process. Harith was shocked, yet he didn't pull away.

Instead, he made it easier for her. He lifted her up as he straightened his posture.

Tigreal sighed and turned to Natalia. She was speaking with Freya. He turned back to Melody and Harith. The two hugged before parting.

As everyone was ready, the first group had slowly made their way to the castle.

As they entered the castle, they were immediately greeted by several demons who were guarding the entrance.

The rest prepared for battle as Melody remained unphased. The demons quickly closed in. They were deadly close, Melody snapped her fingers when one was about to hit her.

A shockwave knocked all of the demons away from them.

"Why'd you need our help if you could just snap your fingers?" Cyclops asked.

"Cause, it takes up a lot of energy, so I can't do it every time. Now c'mon, we need to get there asap"

The small group hurried along, they quickly wiped all the demons that tried to stop them. They immediately got to their destination and cleared the way. They gave Melody some space as she approached the heart.

It was damaged. There was a huge crack, but it wasn't big enough to fully destroy it.

Melody gently placed her hand on the heart. She slowly started fixing the crack. As the heart was almost fully fixed, a demon came out and knocked Melody away from it.

A legion of demons continued to come out of the darkness. "IT'S AN AMBUSH!" Natalia yelled. The five of them all got into stance. As the demons charged, they did too.

Meanwhile...

His head perked up and his attention was withdrawn from what he was doing. His ears twitched and his tail moved with caution. He immediately recognized this feeling. He began running at an inhuman pace. "Harith! Where are you going?!" Tigreal called out. "Melody's in danger! I have to save her and the others!"

Back to the battle...

"The night has fallen... Let the killing... BEGIN!"

"That voice..."

"HAHAHA! TREMBLE!"
Darkness fell as the voice was heard. Melody was quick to recognize the situation.

"Helcurt!" Melody spat, poison in her voice. Nana was quick to react and threw her boomerang at the location the voice came from. As Helcurt leapt out of the darkness, he was immediately hit by Nana's boomerang.

Nana smiled and mentally celebrated. Yet, as some people say, NEVER celebrate TOO EARLY. Nana yelled in pain as a demon striked her in the arm. Cyclops, who was behind her, was alerted. Cyclops casted his ultimate with haste. "Don't run!"

Freya saw the two young mages in trouble and reacted as fast as she could. She threw her sword at the demon and pierced it through it's chest. Helcurt once again leaped out of the shadows. Melody backed up and cast some sort of shield in front of them, right on time. Melody struggled to keep the shield up, they were in a tight situation.

Meanwhile...

He ran faster and faster in an unspecified direction. He didn't know where was going, all he knew was Melody was somewhere close.

His eyes widened as he suddenly felt pain. 'It can't be!' He thought. His body, filled with energy, ran faster than anyone else could. He arrived at the scene. Melody was on the ground with a wounded foot, yet, she continued to fight for her life, the only problem was... she couldn't move. As she was fighting off other demons, Helcurt leapt out of the shadows. Melody turned her attention to Helcurt, but was too late.

Harith didn't hesitate, and immediately intervened. He jumped in front of Melody as Helcurt was about to pierce her through her chest.

"Harith!"