Mael moved his gigantic head through the rift to flash Basillius a maddened grin. His face lacked most distinctive features aside from the thousands of purple-green eyes covering his head, the sickly and slimy yellow skin, and finally, the twisted and savage mouth that resembled an angler fish.

He pointed at Basillius with a long, barbed tentacle, "You, I might not be able to kill easily in the veil. However, out here? You have these disgusting livestock that you want to protect."

As Mael said that his tentacle moved from Basillius to a seemingly empty point in the void. A flash of yellow light enveloped his limb and his grin widened. Basillius quickly realized as he tapped into the fleet tac-net. He forced an explosive amount of power to his feet before pointing himself in the same direction Mael was.

Maels' face twisted further until it looked like his lips had gone completely around his head, "Bang."

With that word, both his attack and Basillius shot towards the empty space. Basillius was barely faster than Maels' bolt of energy and he began to slowly shunt himself in front of it. "Maleficus haksha demo ah helkata ved mortia!"

He sent almost every single remaining scrap of the veil energy he had just gathered into the spell. His body shuddered and cracks spread across it as the fiery green runes etched themselves into his body. A massive black tower shield with a dragon's skull on the front formed in his hands. With the shield complete he used the last remaining dregs of power he had saved to shunt himself back into the full force of the attack.

The attack from a god wasn't something that Basillius could just take outside of the veil. He angled the shield to try and deflect the bolt of pure energy Mael had fired off. The bolt had started to liquefy the shield as it pushed unceasingly against Basillius. He looked back and could faintly make out the metallic glint of a small ship hanging in the void. He grit his teeth and braced for the worst.

The bolt had dug through most of the shield now and he could feel the searing heat even through it. His mind seemed too slow as he calculated the distance between the small GC ship and the bolt Mael had casually shot. A solemn grimace overtook his features as he realized he could not deflect the bolt before breaking the shield.

He also knew that he was getting further away from the temporal sovereignties sphere of influence. Mael's bolt was pure veil energy imbued with his authority of time. Those aboard the ship would experience time slower and slower as the bolt got closer. If he couldn't deflect this, they would be forced to feel themselves being obliterated in slow motion.

Mizan and her crew watched as the golden light flew towards them with shocked expressions. The ship was blaring off warnings coupled with numbers and readings that made no sense. The numbers seemed to change with every second and there was no way to avoid it in the few seconds she had to react.

As the crew blankly stared at their incoming demise, Vella roared out with fanatical glee. "The gods protect us! It is not our time to battle alongside our brothers in the myriad hells!"

The rest of the crew shortly made out a black speck in the middle of the golden light as it took the form of a man. The man looked incredibly tiny from their perspective, but they couldn't help feeling as though they were watching a sturdy mountain as it weathered a devastating storm. They were but small beings finding shelter in the valley behind this mountain.

The golden light dimmed slightly and they heard a pained roar echo through space. The light had started piercing through the man as he twisted to direct that attack away from them. Using his body as the final defense the bolt had dug into his chest and he tried to hold it back with his hands.

With one final twist, he managed to throw it off course, but it had torn a searing trench through his upper body and he had lost his right arm. The crew on the small ship watched in slow motion, seeing Basillius get whipped around by the forces of the passing bolt. His melted mechanical insides spilled out like red hot blood into the void. However, his expression wasn't one of pain, but satisfaction.

Mael giggled to himself as he watched the scene. He savored the dark expression on Basillius' face as he realized he'd have to take the full force of the bolt to save the livestock. But, in the end, the look of satisfaction on his face irritated Mael.

He pointed once more with a disgusting grimace and fired at Basillius. "Old friend, after you die... I'll commemorate the occasion by bathing this galaxy in despair. I will feast upon the terror and malice of your untouched galaxy before finishing this universe."

A rift opened between his bolt and Basillius as a gigantic black-scaled hand snapped out of the rift and crushed the bolt of energy into fragments of golden light. The hand, though singed was largely unaffected. Mael's face darkened considerably as he hissed, "Maleficus! How are you here?! You should still be running around the veil destroying everything in sight!"

The rift slowly widened, revealing a sinister black dragon with crimson eyes. The dragon was over a hundred feet tall on all fours and several hundred feet long discounting the spiked tail. "Dear brother... I couldn't let my Basillius die in battle with you. Especially not after he helped me out of your little spell. Also, weren't you wondering who taught him the ancient words? A little daft on your part don't you think?"

Basillius looked at the massive dragon and let out a mock groan. "Took you long enough..."

Maleficus smirked at him before turning her attention to Mael. He was clenching his teeth so hard in anger that his mouth started bleeding. "So, Mael. There you have it. This battle is over. Crawl back into whatever shithole you birth your kids in and stay there. Unless of course, you wanted to fight it out right here and now."

Mael's face twitched in anger and he visibly shook. "Dear sister... You aren't one to use cheap provocations like that mortal there. Usually, you are one of stubborn action. Could it be, that you are weak right now? Should we step into the veil for a proper chat?"

Maleficus' gaze turned cold, "No, I haven't weakened. You are simply that mortal's prey. I won't kill you myself no matter how much I want to unless he asks me to. Also, those 'cheap provocations' are fun, you should give them a try next time."

Mael let out an enraged screech before heaving for air and making a maddened declaration. "Basillius! Because I could not kill you today, I will turn this fury towards those livestock. I will make them suffer! I will force them to watch as their families are skinned alive! GRAHHHHHH!"

With a final, indignant screech he yanked the two priests back into the veil and closed off his rift. Maleficus reached out cautiously to Basillius, wrapping him carefully with her clawed hand. She pulled him into the veil slowly before setting his mangled form down on the ground and closing the rift. "Basillius... Are you sure you don't want me to handle this?"

Her voice rumbled throughout the hellscape like a dragon's roar, yet she still managed to sound worried to him. "Yeahhh... The whole I'll handle it thing was when I was just a guy running around the veil with no responsibility... just hate. If Mael has come back then it's no longer something I can handle as a mortal. I can't draw upon the veils infinite energy while I'm out there. I need you this time. Please help me, old friend."

Maleficus frowned at him as she thought. After a few moments, she looked away slightly and cleared her throat. "Ahem... If you would be willing... I uhhh. I can make you stronger..."