“I’m so sorry I was caught, Jewel!” Mimosa yelled up into the air. The phoenix looked down and smiled—well, sort of did—and let out a laugh.

“It’s all good. I haven’t had this much fun since we took down that flame troll!” The bird replied rather enthusiastically as well. Kyra watched the interactions between the bird and the woman and felt slightly jealous. She wanted a big bird who fought alongside her.

Someone who wouldn’t complain about dealing the last blow. She turned her head to the side and jokingly glared at the prince, who was preoccupied by the flying animal taking down the low-level timgons.

Lady Magnolia stomped her feet, and the ground shook. A dead silence then soon befell the hall as Mimosa, Jewel, Kyra, and Gabriel idly watched.

Thump

Thump

Thump

Fairly large, ground-shaking stomps shook the halls, and the group could only swallow their fear as it drew near.

“Maybe I should have stayed with my father.” Gabriel grumbled, his eyes fixated on the large metallic door. Kyra, on the other hand, had already accepted her fate. She’d probably join both her brother and father in hell, where they’d fight for eternity.

She wondered if her mother would be there as well, or the so-called heaven that folks in her village used to speak about. Maybe the woman was alive; who knew?

The stomping finally came to a stop, and an eerie trail of silence ensued.

Bang!

The door flew open, followed by a massive gust of debris and dust. Kyra’s eyes widened as she stared in horror at the hideous, behemoth creature, covered in slimy purple scales and fur. Its razor-sharp teeth, which were far too big for its mouth, were yellow and covered in slime.

Its head was neither a lizard nor a wolf, but an unsightly version of both. A massive chain collar hung around its neck, the sound of the dangling chain echoing every time it moved its head.

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“Tibius. Mama wants you to take care of these nuisance birds. You can have it for dinner as well.” Magnolia's voice was carried to the monster, and it roared with passionate glee.

Mimosa looked up at her phoenix and grinned like a child who had received their first gift ever.

“Do you have my staff, Jewel?!” She asked. The bird flew down, the wind from her wings knocking Magnolia and the rest off the altar. The bird then spat out the staff, the slimy residue covering the handle, and everything.

Kyra and Gabriel gagged, while Mimosa threw them a cheesy grin. The staff in question was a pink object with a large diamond heart insignia and golden jewels attached to its top and sides.

The timgons made their way back up on the altar, and the undead woman with the slit black dress moved her arm around, separating the trio and throwing them in different directions.

“Have them killed, Lula. We’ll have the townsmen give us another group of humans to consume. I should’ve known such powerful beings would be a hassle.” Magnolia spoke.

Kyra hit the ground with a bone-crushing thud, and the chains unravelled, freeing her from the firm grip that they had on her limbs and bones.

Gabriel was thrown towards the door, a little far away from the grizzly monster. However, Mimosa was thrown directly before the monster’s front. Luckily, both Jewels and her magical staff were with her, having grabbed the object just before she was thrown.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kyra spoke as she slowly got up. “Why does the town sacrifice humans to you? Why would they have their fellow species killed?” She asked.

Lady Magnolia stared at the emerald-eyed girl long and hard, then turned her head to the side.

“I have no need to explain my motives to you, a lowly human.” The old woman answered, grabbing the pearls from her necklace.

“But if you must know,” she began. “In order for them to have the sun, they should provide us with the necessary number of souls to satisfy our hunger. Failure to do so will bring about eternal darkness.” The mayor laughed.

Gabriel freed himself from the chains and laid up against one of the pillars. He could see a timgon approaching him, so he quickly used his water magic to blast it towards the other pillar, then closed his fist, freezing the undead creature in place.

Kyra raised her eyebrows, clearly confused by the explanation provided.

“What do you mean, take the sun? You don’t have the power to do so. No one does.” Kyra argued. Lady Magnolias laughed, irking the young girl further. “What’s so fucking funny, you old bag of bones?” Kyra spat.

“These townsmen are practically Alderonian, with how stupid they are. Lomia couldn’t tell the difference between a lunar eclipse and a massive circular blimp, even if they stared at it dead on. Have that blimp up in the air for three days straight, and they come running, stating they’ll do anything to have the sun back.”

Gabriel and Kyra growled under their breaths at their realm being insulted. The elitism dripping from the residents of Oveadale was tiring, overused, and downright disgusting.

Another thing that crossed Kyra’s mind was the possibility of most of the souls being sacrificed as slaves who escaped Kuuya Town, or other Alderonians, since the border was so close to the last town.

“Was this caused by the fact that you lot are the weakest, most benign creatures within the Oveadale realm, that even undead beings like vampires would rather drive a stake through their own hearts before being lumped in with them?" Mimosa spoke up.

Lady Magnolia’s face darkened.

“You low-life bitch, how dare you speak to me like that? Koot, kill her!” The woman instructed.

The monster roared and swung its paw sideways. Kyra and Gabriel watched as Mimosa was already in the air, with Jewels flying up behind her.

“Pink Stardust, Transformation!” Mimosa yelled, and a glowing pink light encompassed the entire hall.

Mimosa’s boots changed to thigh-high pink, platform-heeled boots. Her white dress became short, with large pink ribbons flowing from the back, as well as the sleeves being cut at the shoulders.

A pink lace collar adorned her neck. And a pair of white bows hung from each large pink afro puff.

A pair of pale pink lace gloves sat comfortably on her hands.

The staff in her hand morphed and changed into a pink-bladed scythe.

“Kyra and Gabriel! I haven’t been able to test my skills recently, so can you sit back and let me handle it?” The pink-haired girl asked. Kyra shrugged, as did Gabriel.

“Go for it!”