No one moved. You and the others faced off against Galand. Hawk's observation of Galand's Power Level resonated almost physically through the people around you. Slowly, Galand started to walk forwards, each clanking footstep rattling your bones.

'A Power Level of twenty-six thousand?' asked one Holy Knight in disbelief.

'I can't stop shaking,' said another.

'We must evacuate the townspeople.'

'A demon sealed away for three thousand years. Galand of the Ten Commandments,' said Slader. You wondered if saying it made him believe the words more.

'His Power Level may be more than we imagined,' said Merlin, her voice somehow as calm as usual, 'but something about this seems odd. Hey, Hawk, what's his Magical Power?'

'Hm? I don't know. Let's see ...' Hawk paused. 'Looks like ... zero? What's going on here? Is this Magical Eye busted or something?'

'I see.' You could imagine Merlin's eyes narrowing. 'Must be the lingering effects of the Goddess race's seal.'

Out the corner of your eye you saw Diane lean forward and clench her fist. 'All right. That means now's our only chance to attack.'

Beside you, Meliodas leant forwards too. His nose scrunched up. So many emotions right now. There were no soothing words you could say. Most would lose their meaning in this situation.

Elizabeth, said Meliodas. You blinked and stared at him. We're gonna protect Elizabeth.

You turned back to Galand, your grip tightening on Cosain. Yeah.

'So this is where the humans nest,' said Galand. He looked around at the houses and stroked the pointed bit of armour on his chin. A tiny part of your mind wandered off to debate with itself whether that counted as Galand's beard or not. 'Seems there've been quite a few changes over the last three thousand years.' He turned to look at where the citizens of Camelot were watching and whispering. 'But as usual they're all clumped together. I suppose some habits never change. It's too cramped.'

Galand's voice turned more sinister and he raised his halberd. Before you could do more than think not good, Galand swung his weapon twice.

Everything disappeared in a cloud of dust. It stung your eyes and tickled your throat. You reached back blindly, your hand searching for Elizabeth but you'd settle for anyone. Feeling something warm, you latched on, a small gasp letting you know it was indeed Elizabeth. Disembodied screams were louder in your ears than the bangs and crashes. Your stomach heaved.

The dust cleared slowly. You blinked it out of your eyes, letting go of Elizabeth to rub at them because what you were seeing couldn't be right. The houses of Camelot were gone. You were standing in the middle of a wide expanse of dirt. But no ... wait ... You were standing in the exact same place as before. The buildings weren't gone. They'd all been shunted to the sides, pushed away by Galand's strikes.

A wobbly gasp. Arthur. 'The city is ...'

Elizabeth and Diane gasped too. Hawk squeaked, his whole body shaking.

'Ah.' Galand sighed, his voice calm. 'That should make things a little roomier. Now, where was I? Meliodas, I've been waiting for quite some time to fight you one on one.'

Wait for an opening, said Meliodas and then he was gone from your side. He leapt, sword cutting through Galand. Darkness burst from Galand like blood, his mouth gaping wide, in shock or pain you couldn't tell. Or maybe neither. Without looking, Galand speared Meliodas like a fish.

Even though you knew that wasn't the real Meliodas, everything inside you lurched. Elizabeth whimpered. Your left foot shifted slightly, closely watching Galand move.

Two more Meliodases jumped at Galand and were disposed of just as quickly. The force of Galand's attack tore through the air, whipping your hair and clothes back. You took to the sky, flying out of range of the racing wind. It didn't stay for long, though, probably thanks to Merlin.

Down below, the red figure of Galand had frozen, every inch of him on alert. You saw Meliodas flit through the dust, a clone at his side. They both jumped at the same time. A feeling of dread closed up your throat and you dived.

'Ark,' you shouted, flinging out an arm. The glowing sphere appeared between Galand's hand and Meliodas's face. Meliodas slammed into it and bounced off, landing poorly. Galand recoiled from the light and turned to glare up at you.

'I thought I asked for a one on one,' said Galand. 'Why do you Goddesses always interfere?'

You just stared at him. The kicks and grunts of clone Meliodas filled the silence before Galand stopped it without looking away from you. You flinched slightly but kept your gaze on Galand, watching the real Meliodas from the corner of your eye.

Now.

You both attacked. You from the front and above. Meliodas from behind and below. Galand pivoted gracefully on one leg. His weapon seemed to rise up out of nowhere. The staff slammed into your side. You folded over the cold metal. Everything cracked. Something forced its way up your throat and you choked, warm salty blood covering your tongue and dripping from your chin. The ground rose up to meet you. Your head bounced on the stone and everything started to spin.

Through the ringing in your ears you heard choking. Somehow your eyes found Meliodas. Galand had grabbed your husband by the throat. Meliodas kicked weakly at Galand's arm.

'Nice try,' said Galand, 'but I'm not fond of cheap tricks.'

You sat up slowly, holding your side with a glowing hand.

'King Arthur, are you all right?' asked a Holy Knight.

A wavering purple light shone through the dust. Your knees went weak with relief. Arthur was in one Perfect Cube, Elizabeth and Hawk in another.

'Fine,' said Arthur. 'Now don't worry about me.'

Gripping Cosain tightly, you got to your feet, pleased to see the ground had stopped moving. You wiped the blood from your chin. There was a tightness around your throat as Galand squeezed Meliodas tighter and tighter. Your eyes narrowed, you gritted your teeth and you charged.

Cosain's blade started to glow. It tugged your forward and you followed it, your hand swinging back before slicing through the air. It was so close to Galand's chest. So close. It was going to hit. This was it.

But something was rising up in front of you. Something red. You blinked at it. And Galand's foot collided with your chin. Your head snapped back and watched the ground and sky switch places before skidding to painful stop. You laid there, not really sure what was going on, a tinny ringing in your head and wild thumps that got faster and faster. What was that? You frowned and winced as the small movement sent pain slicing through your brain. Slowly you understood that the banging was Meliodas's kicking, getting more frantic as Galand kept squeezing.

Galand spoke from far away. 'Are you actually the same Meliodas from all those years ago?'

The tightness increased so much you actually raised a hand to your own neck, certain Galand's hand would be there too.

'Get your hands off of him right now,' said a familiar voice you couldn't quite place. The running footsteps grew louder, heavier. The ground shook and you held your head, trying not to throw up. The same voice rose to a battle cry and you finally realised it was Diane. You watched as Gideon appeared in her hands from nowhere. 'You hear me?'

Diane swung. The pointed end of Gideon flew straight at Galand's face. Or rather, straight at Galand's foot. The demon had raised it at the last second, too late for Diane to do anything but widen her eyes in shock, and now Gideon was headed for its master instead.

The hammer struck Diane in the face. Your own head throbbed in sympathy. Diane fell with a thump. Gideon fell with a clatter. A huge cloud of dust rose up, obscuring everything. You got up stiffly, staggering blindly forward.

'Let's take a moment to strategise.' Merlin's disembodied voice floated through the dust. A click.

You arrived just in time to see Galand disappear. Meliodas fell limply to the ground. Ignoring the cries of shock, you limped to Meliodas's side and knelt, your hands starting to glow. But Meliodas grabbed them. His grip was strong and when his eyes met yours, they were focussed and unwavering.

Not yet, he said.

You pursed your lips. Can you at least stand?

Not breaking eye contact, Meliodas got to his feet. It was difficult to watch. He gritted his teeth but was unable to stop the tiny sounds that betrayed his pain.

See? Perfectly fine. Meliodas staggered over to Diane. You rolled your eyes but hurried after him. The amount of blood streaming from Diane's forehead was getting bigger. She wouldn't refuse your administrations.

'Diane, you all right?' said Meliodas, his voice sounding like he was not-quite-successfully forcing it to stay steady.

Diane groaned, unable to form words. The blood was flowing into her eyes. You stepped carefully around Gideon and examined the wound on Diane's forehead. It was bigger than you thought. You licked your lips and shook your hands, pushing aside your own pain to focus on Diane. This time you'd heal everything, including whatever had been making her go funny before.

In the background, you could hear Arthur's voice.

'Looks like Galand vanished,' he said.

'That was Big Sister's teleportation,' said Slader, a hint of pride in his voice.

You rubbed your hands together and held them out over Diane's head. Your palms began to glow.

'I didn't have anything to do with it,' you heard Merlin say. 'In a matter of seconds, he leapt miles beyond the range of my power so I can only assume that he's retreated.'

A loud crash.

The light on your palms disappeared. You turned around so fast you stumbled, almost falling to one knee before catching yourself.

Galand had reappeared right behind Merlin. His body loomed over hers, one beady green eye swivelling down to glare at her.

'You know,' he said, mouth opening unnaturally wide, 'it's deceitful underhanded mages like you that I despise more than any other.'

Noises of shock from the people around you. You could only blink.

'Run, Merlin,' shouted Arthur. 'Right now!'

Galand's fist blurred towards Merlin. She was frozen in what you assumed was shock. Thankfully, something appeared in between her and Galand. It was Slader.

'Overpower,' he said. Slader started to glow with a strange purple light. Behind him an image appeared, one of Slader but giant.

Galand roared. It was an unearthly sound, one that burned down the back of your neck, spine and prickled the soles of your feet. Run, they said, run.

But you didn't run. You watched as a giant image of Galand appeared, much bigger than Slader's. Now it was Slader's turn to be whacked with Galand's halberd. Slader's body was tossed to the side, his right arm no longer attached. He didn't get up.

With a creaking of metal, Galand straightened, his piercing gaze locked on his next target.

'Wait,' said Merlin, clear and loud. Galand turned to her instead. 'Why don't we make a deal?'

'Oh?' Galand's eyes narrowed.

Merlin started to talk, not saying much in particular. She was trying to think of something, biding time, her mind probably flicking through different scenarios. You wished you could do that too. But then Merlin's words changed direction.

Stop, you shouted, raising a hand. Meliodas turned to you and raised an eyebrow. Oh. You had meant to say that out loud.

Meliodas turned from you to Merlin and gasped.

It was too late. Merlin stopped speaking suddenly, her words cut off by something more deadly than a sword.

'That won't work on him,' called Meliodas too late. 'Galand can't be –'

Strange black lightning started to flicker around Merlin.

'You lied,' said Galand, deadly glee in his voice. 'You lied to me, didn't you?'

The black lightning travelled over Merlin leaving grey stone in its wake. Merlin tried to move, her fingers twitching feebly, but it was too late. Nothing would stop the Commandment now. Her breaths became quicker, her eyes watching in horror. You couldn't look away.

It was over quite quickly. Merlin's chest expanded for the last time. Her last breath. And now a Merlin-shaped statue stood on the battlefield.

I'm gonna do it, said Meliodas, his voice hollow. He's going to pay for that.

You looked at your husband. His face was set, his fists clenched.

Meliodas's eyes flickered to you. Don't let me go.

Never.

The black flames started slowly, twirling around your finger like a single ribbon in the breeze. They grew, dancing up your arm, a living sleeve. Meliodas's eyes became flat, the black crest appearing on his forehead. And he leapt at Galand.

Galand blocked Meliodas's attack with one arm. Lostvayne didn't slice through. You heard Hawk's shout of disbelief and briefly turned to him and Elizabeth. They were still fine. The Perfect Cube was still functional despite Merlin's incapacitation. You turned back to Meliodas and Galand.

Your own Power Level had risen in response to Meliodas's. It fizzed and fed the flames. With a shout, you joined the battle.

Vaguely aware of Slader snatching Merlin away to safety, you smiled before dodging Galand's fist. You and Meliodas switched places, keeping Galand on his toes. But none of your strikes were doing much. Cosain's blade scraped against Galand's armour, sometimes leaving what looked like burn marks and sometimes not.

'Follow Sir Meliodas and Lady [Y/n]!'

Galand's blade almost hit you as you twisted to see the knights of Camelot charging into battle. You ducked just in time and the swing went wide. Meliodas took the advantage to get in close, but Galand was too quick and kicked Meliodas back.

The knights swarmed at Galand's feet. The demon laughed in mad delight. You tried your best, weaving in between Galand's strikes and the knights, trying to protect everyone and push them back. Cuts began to open on your body, each one stinging and drawing a hiss from your lips. As you tried to block one of Galand's strikes that was heading for a knight's head, his halberd came up from nowhere and cut into the joint of your left wing.

You dropped to the ground, head spinning. Your wing trailed limply behind you, dragging through dirt and blood. Meliodas didn't stop his attack but you felt his concern and hurried to reassure him. You could still fight.

But when you looked up, you and Meliodas were alone in the battle. The bodies of the knights littered the floor around Galand's feet. And outraged cry burst from your lips. It drew Galand's attention and he watched with a wide grin as you charged.

Cosain drew you forwards, its blade lighting up like a beacon. Sparks flew as it found its target. Your chest heaved.

And Galand laughed.

He drove the pointed end of his halberd into the ground and used it like a pole vault to flip over you. You watched his journey with wide eyes and mouth open, too slow to see his leg snake out again. This time it connected with your injured wing.

You were jerked back. Muscles tore. Sinew snapped. Your head fell back, mouth open in a silent scream. The pain reached a new crescendo and you retched. Galand had yanked his halberd free and used it to cut your other wing almost completely off.

Everything turned fuzzy. You were vaguely aware you were lying down on something hard. The sky was above you. Bangs. Crashes. Shouts. You struggled to make sense of it all, trying to see past the pain that kept rising up like wave after relentless wave. More pain in your arms. Meliodas's voice in your head.

Don't let me go.

Something to hold on to. The warmth. Familiar. Up and down your arm. Hold it. Hold it. You could feel it more. A tiny thread. Twisting. Tugging. Trying to escape.

Don't let me go.

You held on.

Never.

—

It kept replaying in Meliodas's head in slow motion. [Y/n]'s attack. It landed. Sparks falling. Galand's laugh. And then ... and then ... it made Meliodas's head fill with anger and his hearts ache with a pain that wasn't his. He watched the blade slice into [Y/n]'s wing. He saw the blood arcing through the air and staining the white feathers red.

He was so stupid, so dumb, so awful. How could he just stand and watch as she fell?

And her wings. Already injured by that bastard. Already forcibly taken for some sick trophy. And now this.

Meliodas's attacks got faster, sloppier. The darkness raged and fought to be set free. But he could feel [Y/n] at the edge of his mind, her touch fluttering weakly, and held on.

But Galand was too good. His blade appeared from nowhere and the next thing Meliodas knew was incredible pain. He couldn't feel Lostvayne's reassuring weight in his hands. He couldn't feel his hands at all.

Through the fiery haze in his mind, Meliodas heard Elizabeth's panicked shout.

'Oh no,' she said. 'Sir Meliodas is hurt!'

'This is crazy.' Hawk's voice was shrill. 'He's way too powerful.'

'Please end this! Leave here and stop killing everyone!'

Meliodas hit the ground hard. It was as unwelcoming as ever. He coughed twice. He could just make out [Y/n]'s limp form on the other side of Galand. Her chest was rising and falling barely. Her wings were now more red than white.

Guess there's no choice, he said, unsure if she could hear. I'm gonna have to do it.

Even as the darkness spilled through Meliodas's blood, he felt her. Even as his heartbeats sped and his inhibitions melted away, he heard her.

Not ... letting you ... go ...

–

This was fun. If the other Commandments had known how much fun this was, Galand was sure they would have come along too. But then again, he pondered, if they had come, surely the amount of fun would had to have been divided between them. And that wouldn't do.

The dirty Goddess blood still dripped from his blade and he watched with delight as it pooled on the earth. Good.

Another delightful thing was the pain on Meliodas's face. Damn traitor. What was he muttering about now?

Galand watched Meliodas struggle to his knees. A strange feeling shivered over the battlefield and Galand tilted his head. How interesting ...

The darkness grew from the stumps of Meliodas's arms. It stretched, heading for the severed limbs and, once it had found them, snapped them back into place. So he still had the power then. Galand's grin widened. Even better.

Meliodas walked forwards slowly, darkness writhing up and down his arms like liquid night. The disgusting humans were talking but Galand tuned them out. He couldn't look away. Because those eyes staring at him from the traitor's face were ones Galand remembered so vividly from so many years ago.

Galand peered down for a closer look. 'That appearance of his ...'

A sinister wind began to blow. Galand couldn't feel it, but it whipped around Meliodas, carrying the darkness up like smoke.

He was so wrapped up in staring, Galand didn't see Meliodas jump. He felt it though. Meliodas's foot collided with Galand's stomach and he was forced back with a grunt. Meliodas jumped again, his sword swinging again and again without pause. They were strong blows, Galand supposed, and they certainly took him by surprise. But this wasn't right.

Meliodas stopped suddenly. He started to shake. The tendrils of darkness grew wilder. If Galand looked closely he swore he could see blood dripping from Meliodas's mouth. How amusing.

'Don't let the darkness swallow you,' said Meliodas in a choked voice. 'Keep it under control.'

What was he babbling about now? The darkness wasn't something to be controlled. It was to be embraced. The darkness around Meliodas convulsed and grew and whipped madly through the air. Still wrong. So very wrong. And what was that dim light on his left hand?

'What is it you're mumbling about?' asked Galand, head tilting to the other side. But then he straightened, eyes widening.

Meliodas's answer was a grunt and an arm flinging out and an eruption of darkness that slammed into Galand, caging him in a bombardment of power. Galand's head was forced back and he grunted. What a feeling. A rush. What a ... disappointment.

There was something hidden in Meliodas's power. Galand let it wash over him as he tried to figure out what it was. It was small and off, like the wrong spice added in a dish. The more Galand thought about it, the more he noticed it, the more it annoyed him. What was it?

The anger and frustration rose through Galand's body, from his toes to his head. This couldn't be Meliodas. No way. There was none of the burning, none of the shock or awe or strength that Galand had once admired. They were going to pay for this. And Galand was going to have fun.

'Wait,' Galand stammered. 'This dark power of yours is ... Who'd have thought ... that it would weaken to this degree?'

And as the words burst from his mouth, Galand's halberd burst from Meliodas's attack. It slammed home, impaling Meliodas through the middle. Blood splattered through the air. Beautiful.

Galand leapt to Meliodas's side. 'Now I've lost interest. Time can be painfully cruel, can't it?' Galand grabbed his weapon and yanked it free. 'The traitorous warrior Meliodas.' He turned to the audience and raised his halberd high. 'And you other pathetic fools who would even dare to stand against us, may you spend the afterlife regretting your pitiful weakness.'

With all his might, Galand drove his blade into Meliodas's skull. Another swing and the Giant girl was disposed of. A well-placed stab got rid of the foolish knight and severed the mage's stone head from her stone shoulders. It rolled free before Galand crushed it to rubble.

'As for you,' said Galand, turning to the one who had ruined it all, 'I wish I could make your death more painful. But unfortunately, I'm out of power right now.' She looked up at him with eyes clouded in fear, pain, anger, sadness and hate. Galand had never seen eyes that gave him such vindictive pleasure. He glared. 'So this will have to do!'

Galand's blade fell faster than ever, a blur to even his own eyes. In a flash, the Goddess was broken. Snapped in two and tossed aside. Now there was only one last thing to do.

Galand stalked over to the glowing cubes slowly. The humans inside shivered and whimpered like the insects they were, unable to run. How he loved watching them tremble. But all good things must come to an end.

And what an end it would be.

Galand swung again and again. Over the metallic sounds he heard screams like the harmonising line of a song. Delicious.

Something slammed into Galand's stomach. He grunted and was pushed back. Oh. He understood.

'Perfect Cube,' he said with begrudging admiration. 'A secret technique from the Demon Realm. Somehow even I'm having a hard time destroying it. Well well, today's your lucky day. After all, very few have ever stood before me and lived to tell the tale. Farewell.'

And Galand jumped into the sky. It would only take seventy steps to get back.

–

Silence and dust and death. They were the only things Galand had left behind. Elizabeth stared through the walls of the Perfect Cube wishing so much that the distortion was what was making the amount of blood look so much and [Y/n] and Sir Meliodas's chests look so still. It had to be. It couldn't be anything else.

Footsteps.

'Hey, it's you,' said Hawk.

Elizabeth felt herself turning stiffly. Someone was moving through the dust. A wonky shape. A silhouette. And now a body. A face.

Gowther walked closer and laughed.

–

The familiar rocking of the horse beneath him soothed Gilthunder. With the fresh air and warm sun, it was easy for the rhythm to lull him almost to sleep. His mind and heart were full of Margaret back at the castle. He could almost see her, almost touch her. She turned to him and opened her perfect mouth and the voice that came out was –

'You wanna fight?'

Howzer's voice burrowed into Gilthunder's mind, swiftly followed by Griamore's retort and together they smashed Gilthunder's vision to pieces. Gilthunder frowned and sighed, his head hanging limply. Maybe the three of them going on this journey together wasn't the best idea.

Before he could wallow any deeper into his self-pity, something told Gilthunder to look up. He followed his instincts and saw something strange.

Three peddlers stood in the middle of the road ahead. They were stiff and unmoving, their faces blank. A broken cart lay nearby an immobile horse. Did they crash and get hurt? But no, there was no blood, no sign of injury. This didn't bode well.

'Howzer. Griamore.' Gilthunder turned to look at his companions. They stopped their childish squabble and followed him to the peddlers. A heavy air of seriousness hung over the three Holy Knights.

Gilthunder dismounted. He walked slowly up to the three people. His senses ranged out, searching for any nearby threats. There were none. But his heart sped and his palms began to sweat. These people looked so empty. Almost ... hollow.

'What's come over these people?' Gilthunder wondered aloud. The peddlers didn't react to any of the Holy Knights getting in their personal space. Not even when Gilthunder waved his hand right in front of one of their faces. He felt the warm breaths of the man and could see his chest rise and fall shallowly but that was it. 'They're alive but don't seem conscious.'

'So do you think they ate bad mushrooms or something?' said Howzer with his usual tact.

'It's almost as if they're just empty shells,' said Griamore as he peered at the old man before turning around and hoisting the man onto his back. 'All right. We should carry them into town for now.'

A piercing scream cut through the air. Gilthunder turned. That was coming from the village. Propping the three peddlers against trees at the side of the road and promising to come back for them, Gilthunder, Howzer and Griamore ran. Trees blurred past and slowly the rooves of the village came into view. Screams and yells and hurried footsteps got louder.

In the centre of town, something was walking. Gilthunder gasped, hearing the sound echo twice behind him. He had seen this creature before, though it had been suspended in a cavern and quite clearly dead. This one was not dead. There was a burning yellow glow in its eyes. It was moving and talking and laughing. Gilthunder, Howzer and Griamore stood and watched a demon walk by.

The people of the town fell before it, turning into the same empty shells as the peddlers from before. The Red Demon spoke with a low, evil voice and strange lights rose from the fleeing villagers. Gilthunder's stomach turned. He unsheathed his sword.

Gilthunder charged and swung. Lightning collided with the Red Demon's body. It turned to stare at him. Gilthunder pointed his sword at it.

'I am a Holy Knight of Liones,' he said. 'Gilthunder. And you are about to take your final breath.'

The demon frowned. And then its body was obscured in swirling wind. That could only mean one thing: Howzer had arrived.

'Rising Tornado!'

Through the attach, Gilthunder could just make out the hulking shape of the demon. It was tossed about by Howzer's wind, one of its arms twisting so much it snapped off. Gross.

The gale faded and the demon fell back to earth with a solid thump. It lay there in the middle of the street looking just as unnatural as it had done standing.

'Wait, you've got to be kidding me,' said Howzer. 'I've seen this kind of ominous power once before. It was back when we were fighting off the New Generation!'

The Red Demon grimaced before opening its mouth wide. Fire started to glow in the depths of its throat. Before Gilthunder could do more than blink, the flames were contained in a familiar purple sphere.

'Perfect Shell.' Griamore's sword pointed unwaveringly at the demon. Howzer whistled in appreciation.

An explosion shook the ground. The Red Demon rose with a groan. Half its face and neck had been blown away by its own attack. Gilthunder glared at it and concentrated.

'Lightning Beasts Chase.'

The lightning crackled down his arm and fell from the sky. Its light obscured the demon and tore it apart until nothing remained but an unpleasant smell drifting on the wind.

The strange lights flew through the air back to the villagers. The people began to move again, their eyes filling with light and life. Gilthunder blinked. Could those lights be ...? Well, no point worrying about that now.

'Look! Some Holy Knights from the kingdom have rescued us,' said one villager. Gilthunder smiled.

'Thank goodness. They've saved us all,' said another.

A loud bang. Gilthunder started. That sounded like a footstep. Was there another Red Demon terrorising this village?

A massive stone-grey hand reached around the corner. Each finger was tipped with long pointed nails. A face followed the hand, just as grey, just as huge, with sinister glowing red eyes.

'It's not over yet,' said Gilthunder, readying his sword again. 'Everybody should leave this place immediately. As far away as you can.'

Gilthunder watched long enough to see the lingering villagers run out of sight before turning. He almost wished he hadn't. This demon's toenails were longer than Gilthunder was tall. Its face was like a sun. Its grey skin was covered in wrinkle-like cracks.

'What is that thing?' cried Howzer. It loomed over them, even taller than the Red Demon.

'It doesn't look like the same kind as that red one,' Griamore observed. The demon rumbled.

Gilthunder frowned. 'There's a dark magical power. Same as when Hendrickson turned into a demon.'

Howzer raised his lance. 'I don't know what it is, but I'm ready to take it down right now.'

'Yeah,' said Griamore, shifting into a fighting stance.

'It's known as a Grey Demon,' said a different voice. Gilthunder froze. A familiar voice. 'If you think it's on the same level as a Red Demon, you're sorely mistaken. To defeat this beast, the four of us will have to join forces.'

Gilthunder turned slowly from the piercing eyes of the Grey Demon, vaguely aware of Howzer and Griamore doing the same. Griamore had also started to shake.

'But ... you were ...' Howzer stammered before trailing off.

'Impossible,' said Griamore, his shock forcing him back slightly.

Those familiar turquoise eyes burnt into Gilthunder's.

'How are you still alive, Hendrickson?'

~~~

I feel so weird writing from other characters' perspectives ngl. Especially Galand lol like what the frick was going on there???

Sorry for the late update. Too many assignments.

And now I'm gonna promote one of my friend's songs again 👀

https://youtu.be/vX5IDatfE-o

Stay safe! Love you all <3