Hestia ran through the dark and corrupted tomb, angry at herself for putting her people at such enormous risk. She quickly crossed the torture chamber and discovered that fortunately, all the corpses that should be here were nowhere to be found. The chamber was additionally sealed by a very powerful barrier, and judging by its colour and mana signature, it was the result of Irene's magic. Hestia took a breath of relief, since they wouldn't have to cut their way through the hordes of undead. She warily entered the sacrifice chamber where she immediately spotted the rest of the party fighting for their lives. They tried to destroy the Soul Ripper Dagger, and judging by the crumpling blade, they were close to being successful. Hestia looked at the mutilated body of Tisiphone's daughter and the immense sorrow she felt almost made her cry. She shook her head angrily and, after shedding a tear, she let the Praetorians out of her storage space. The twenty faithful guardians rushed towards the enemies, mercilessly pushing them away.

"Queen Hestia!" Ian bowed quickly while drinking a healing potion.

The presence of the Goddess dispelled the last remaining debuffs that Lanka was struggling to lift. The exhausted party was able to take a breath, since the Praetorians created a defensive ring around them. Queen Hestia looked around as if she was searching for something, but after a while, she exhaled, visibly relaxed.

"You are all alive." She smiled and pointed at the dagger. "No one touched that?"

"No, my Queen!" Lanka confirmed, still pale from exhaustion.

"Alright." She raised her hand at the dagger and the light that was focusing on it from the gilded rods set by Lanka intensified substantially. "Impossible!"

Everyone from Ian's party looked in shock at Hestia, who was staring at the horribly maimed body that lay on the altar. Horror, dread and finally, a hint of happiness crossed the face of the Goddess. Hestia, using her free hand, took out a scroll from her storage space and gave it to Lanka. "Lanka, listen to me carefully. Once this cursed weapon is destroyed, you must use this scroll on this girl. She is still alive, but the flame of her life is very dim. After that, use your healing magic on her. You will have to maintain the healing until I tell you to stop, so better restore as much mana as possible."

Everyone continued to stare at Hestia, but no one dared to question her order. Lanka drank one of the four mana potions she had left and prepared herself. The Praetorians were fighting on equal terms with the monsters, but it was apparent that sooner or later, even the formidable Royal Guard of Avalon was going to struggle against these golem-like creatures. One of the Praetorians staggered back after receiving a mighty blow that shattered his helmet. The Praetorian took off the deformed remnants of his headgear and turned his flaming skeleton face at the adversary. He raised his sword and, after enveloping it in the blue flame, he struck the golem, cutting it deeply. The golems visibly struggled against the Praetorians, but the damage done to the most elite Death Knights of Avalon started adding up, slowly impacting their performance.

Hestia desperately tried to speed up the process initiated by Lanka, but destroying the cursed dagger was not an easy task. While she had confidence in the Praetorians, she was anxious that she had brought just twenty of them. The party was able to rest, hidden behind servants of their King, and they were almost completely restored when Queen Hestia warned them that the worst part was coming. A few minutes later, the cursed dagger vanished in a haze of golden particles, prompting Lanka to use the scroll as ordered. A column of golden light descended upon the young woman's body like a waterfall of molten metal. They couldn't see what was happening inside, but Lanka trembled, feeling the power of the spell. Despite her class, new powers, and unbelievably powerful items, Lanka couldn't even fathom a fraction of Queen Irene's power. The magic from the scroll slowly ran out, and they saw the girl writhing in pain on the altar.

"Healing Link!" Lanka, true to the Queen's orders, immediately cast one of the most potent healing spells at her disposal. As long as she has mana, her target would be constantly healed without the need to recast the spell.

The artifacts they used to try to destroy the dagger started turning into dust in the silence of the room. The young woman calmed down a bit as she felt the healing magic fill her body. Hestia approached her and patted her head. "It's all right now, child. My name is Hestia. Do you hear me?"

"Ysss..." The girl tried to agree, but she was so weak that she barely managed to hiss something incoherent.

"Thanks the Heavens!" Hestia looked around. "Lanka, can you heal her constantly until we get out of here?"

"I'm doing that already, Your Highness! It should be possible since I can restore mana with potions right now, but I'm starting to run out..."

"Take mine!" Hestia gave Lanka ten vials, but as soon as the Nekomi took them, a deafening roar rolled in the chamber. "Ian, take that girl and keep her safe! Everyone, run!"

Hestia drew her sword and activated her Aegis. With Verka taken from the altar, the Victims, or, as Mortals called them, golems, all fell dead, finally free from the torment of the Chaos gods. A dark, hazy rip in reality opened on the opposite wall from the exit. Hestia looked in fear at the mass of claws and tentacles belonging to a creature that tried to break free from the realm of chaos, trying to remain calm. Suddenly someone tugged her by her arm and she realized that Re-kari was screaming at her.

"Run, my Lady!" The scared Elf was holding her arm, trying to make her retreat with them.

"We can't let this thing out of this room! If it runs too far from the chasm, it will free itself from the Chaos Realm!" Hestia replied, shaking his hand. "You all must flee!"

With surprise, Hestia felt the strong arm of the Elf still pulling her towards the exit as he braced his shield, protecting her from the blow of the lesser Chaos god.

"I told you to run!" She pushed Re-kari out of the room. "Praetorians, attack the Mad God!"

Hestia wept, knowing that she was not going to see Theon or her sister Queens again. She would never again see the green and serene Avalon. She hated herself for that in the end; Theon was going to lose all the mana he wasted to save her back then. Right now, she was far too weak to face that monster. But she had to. The entire world was at stake. Hestia allowed herself a moment of grief at her loss, but she couldn't allow them to fight in her stead. They all were far too exhausted and under-equipped to fight the nascent Chaos god. She turned towards the Mortals that screamed at her to run and smiled through her tears.

"Tell King Theon that I'm so sorry. I couldn't run..." With that, she smashed the passage and jumped into the middle of the large chamber, collapsing everything behind her.

She took a deep breath and tried to teleport, but as she thought, it was blocked. With a grim and sad smile, she raised her sword towards the Mad God and she proudly exclaimed, "My name is Queen Hestia va'Theon, the Goddess of Avalon, the Empress of Flames, the Caring Guardian! I will stop you here!"

She engulfed her sword in crimson flames, and as the Praetorians attacked, she jumped towards her enemy. Propelled by the flames of wrath she felt at that moment, Hestia slashed the neck of the Mad God. He roared in anguish, spraying his foul and corrosive blood everywhere. One of the Praetorians was doused in that black ichor and the powerful shield that was incorporated into his gear just flashed, shattering with the sound of broken glass. His armour melted almost instantly when the blood touched it, melting the Praetorian himself as well. But the wound Hestia inflicted was far deeper than she had anticipated. She jumped away, preparing herself to attack the monstrosity one more time when she was hit with something, crashing her into the rubble behind her. She coughed blood, but her wounds were already healing by the Healing Rune hidden in her armour. The World's Words notification, informing her that an Angel Feather life-saving effect had been activated, flashed in front of her eyes. She noticed the boulder as big as herself that hit her and she paled. A stupid mistake almost killed her because the most powerful shields grafted into her armour were dormant. With a trembling hand, she picked up her sword and clumsily prepared to attack one more time, but then she suddenly found herself in the second chamber of the cursed Tomb.

"What's going on?!" She looked around at the concerned faces of Ian's party.

"My Queen!" Ian replied with sorrow on his face. "We must all run now! The entire cave is going to collapse in a few moments!"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hestia was still in shock after being hit by a huge boulder, desperate to know if Mad God would be held long enough before it was sucked back into the void rift. She coughed up blood again, looking around as she was dragged by Idna and Iris away from the cave.

"Where is Re-kari?!" Hestia screamed in shock.

•••

When the Goddess pushed them away, they ran towards the rest of their friends, determined to help their Queen any way they could. They crossed the sealed chamber and reached the chamber with the exit where they met the others. They looked relieved, but once they noticed that Hestia was absent, their faces turned serious.

"Where is the Queen?!" Rose asked, terrified.

"She ordered us to run and save this girl, but she stayed behind," Ian replied with pain in his voice.

"We must return for her!" Iris drew her swords and was about to run towards her, but Re-kari crossed her way. "Let me go!"

"No! You won't reach her. Ian! Set the charges everywhere and prepare to blow this cursed place into oblivion once Queen Hestia joins us!" the tall Elf screamed as Ian nodded and gently left a mutilated woman in Iris's hands.

"You're right!"

Ian took out of his storage a big container and, after planting it in the adjacent room, started setting smaller charges in the room they were in. Re-kari drank a number of potions with a very serious face as he observed Ian. It took the engineer almost twenty minutes to set all charges, but after he finished, he nodded back at Re-kari. "Everything is ready. When will the Queen join us?"

"Ian, promise me that once Queen Hestia joins you, you will take her safely back to Avalon!" Re-kari yelled at a confused Ian.

"Of course, I promise! We are getting out of here as soon as she is here!" Ian began to notice the strange facial expression on the young Elf.

"Tell her that I am sorry for disobeying her order, but she is far too important to die in a shithole like this!" Everyone looked at him in shock and Idna started screaming something, but it was too late. "Sacrificial Exchange!"

Re-kari vanished and where he once stood appeared the Goddess Hestia, panting heavily and holding her stomach.

•••

Re-kari grinned as the skill worked flawlessly, instantly feeling the trembling of the cave behind him. Stone dust rained from the ceiling, entombing the Phoenix Knight along with something that Queen Hestia had called the Mad God. He smirked, knowing his instincts were right, that the Queen’s plan was questionable. He had placed a mark that allowed him to use his Sacrificial Exchange on her when he tried to drag her away from the danger. The three remaining Praetorians valiantly tried to hold the monstrosity at bay, surprising Re-kari because they defied all odds for this long. The twisted abomination that hardly resembled anything known was writhing and howling, trying to force its way through the rift. Its claws and tentacles were swirling in an impossible way, sometimes even phasing through each other. Its twisted face, which was not entirely humanoid or animal, had far too many eyes for Re-kari's comfort, but he swallowed and prepared himself to buy as much time as he could. He used all his self-buffs and braced the shield as he dashed towards the enemy.

"Shield Bash!" The Elf yelled and smacked the monstrosity in what he thought was its unholy head.

The Mad God was pushed back into the vortex that had started forming near the rift. The monstrosity focused his bloodshot eyes on Re-kari, who trembled in maddening fear, but he somehow resisted its mental attack. The Elf managed to land a few more hits on the large body of the enemy, but his attack was not that powerful. In the end, he was a Tank class. The Praetorians focused on supporting his efforts, aiding him in pushing the monster away, but with a bloodcurdling screech, a large tentacle smashed one of the Royal Guards into pieces. Re-kari had no time to be afraid anymore. His sword and shield blocked and hacked away any tentacle that tried to grab him or pull the Mad God from the abyss. His magic shield that was grafted into his armour to protect him flashed from time to time, taking away his mana reserves, but Re-kari was determined to win, even if he was going to ultimately die.

He knew he was going to die the moment he swapped with his Queen, but that was his decision, so he wasn't in despair. The Mad God shrieked once more, but Re-kari responded with laughter, which surprisingly dampened the Mad God's power. The offended entity raised all its tentacles and lost its grip on this world, being quickly sucked into the vortex. However, it used all of them to attack Re-kari, who simply was overpowered by this attack. A burning pain in his chest made him want to scream, but Re-kari, gazing at himself through the quickly falling darkness, realized that he had been cut in half. He viciously smiled, spitting at his enemy as he hit the floor. The darkness overtook him quickly and with it came the calmness. The Mad God roared victoriously, grabbing the remnants of the insolent vermin that tried to oppose him. He drank his still warm and sweet blood, anticipating the moment when he would devour the vermin's carcass. Burning pain in the appendages that held his prey, however, forced him to stop. He roared again in unspeakable pain as something tried to burn away his intestines, forcing him to throw away his prize.

"Soul of the Phoenix!" Re-kari panted heavily as he wiped his face from the sweat. "You bitch!"

Re-kari was impressed with his own skill as it resurrected him, but he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to use it again anytime soon, not only due to its cool-down but also other conditions. He drank all the remaining potions in his storage, using the moment in which Mad God tried to extinguish the flames that were eating away his body. A bright light suddenly engulfed him and he felt an otherworldly power invigorating him.

"I am proud of you, Re-kari of the Elves. I regret I cannot save you, but I will grant you the power to fight your enemy until the end," a voice from above announced and Re-kari just knew it was Eriar.

The Phoenix Knight straightened proudly and, after looking above, he smiled. "When I die, allow me to be reborn."

"That I can help with," Eriar promised, making Re-kari proud that he was one of the few who heard the Silent God twice.

Re-kari rushed towards the still-burning enemy, regretting he had not focused more on the fire spell part of his skill tree, but what he had would need to suffice. His body felt light like never before, and he was moving faster than ever. The monstrosity was now in defence, pushed hard by the relentless fury of the Elf's attacks. In a panic, the Mad God started flailing his tentacles around and screaming with a voice full of hatred. Even with Eriar's blessing, Re-kari was not invincible, however, thankfully for him, two remaining Praetorians were watching over him. One of them covered the vulnerable side of the Elf, sacrificing himself but saving Re-kari's life. He and the remaining Royal Guardian pushed onward together, forcing Mad God into the rift and inflicting a horrible wound on its body. Its furious scream shook the entire room, throwing back the servants of Avalon.

"Ultimate Defence!" Re-kari screamed in desperation, seeing one of the tentacles a mere meter away from him.

The monster flung its appendages at him with wild rage, but they bounced harmlessly off the Tank, who stood up and defiantly cried at the monstrosity. He was tired after fighting with a much more powerful enemy, but he was so close to pushing it back where it belonged. He gave himself a few minutes to take a breath and inspect the Mad God's condition. Re-kari noticed a deep, scorched wound on the neck of the monster that must have been inflicted by his Goddess-Queen. With a cold resolve, Re-kari started again, running towards the Mad God, ignoring everything since his Ultimate Defence was protecting him from any harm. He leapt into the air, and mustering all of his mana, he screamed; "Phoenix Talon!"

The effect of the Ultimate Defence wore off, and the Elf activated his lesser skills that increased his defence stats. His sword blazed with flame and Re-kari cut into the same place where Queen Hestia sliced the enemy. While the size of the wound she inflicted made him realise how insignificantly weak he was, he still was proud of his act of defiance. He smiled when his blade left another cut on Mad God's throat from which gushed a black, thick blood. A few droplets landed on his armour, melting holes inside it and in his body. With a scream of excruciating pain, Re-kari aimed his shield at the enemy and almost gently put it at the head of a monster.

"Shield Rush!" He screamed and felt the drag of his magic skill that pushed him forward, forcing his enemy back into the howling vortex.

Re-kari panted heavily, his body aching all over. He staggered back and dropped his shield and sword. The Phoenix Knight screamed defiantly one last time into the howling vortex as the realisation that he won settled in. He cried tears of happiness while his body gave up on him. The last Praetorian caught him and helped him to reach the rubble on the other side of the room. Re-kari continued to exhale heavily as the poisonous blood of the Mad God destroyed his body. But he did it. He defeated the monster from beyond this world. The Phoenix Knight looked at his sole companion and only then noticed that the Praetorian had lost one of his arms and his armour was in ruin. With gratitude in his eyes for the help of the most elite of the Death Knights of Avalon, the Elf sat on a big stone and faced the rapidly closing wound in reality. The rift closed with a wail of rage and Re-kari spat towards the place where it opened.

"Tell my King that I vanquished our foe," he said weakly.

"I will." The Black Skeleton saluted him in a knightly manner, smashing his fist on the remains of his breastplate. "But I am not going to die here so I can simply respawn in Avalon. I will be standing guard until our King comes to reclaim your body, Lord Re-kari, the Hero of Avalon!"

Without regret, Re-kari simply smiled in response, content with the knowledge that he had vanquished his foe and saved his Queen. There, in the darkness of the tainted tomb, the proud Knight of Avalon drew his final breath.