44 Malicious Ambition

Deeper into the belly of the unknown, Ashewyn had been leading Miles and Adam through the underground maze. Suddenly, the red haired Amygdala halted in his tracks with the look of panic in his eyes. The others stopped, confused by his sudden stop, with a view of bodies from a deceased horde of monsters not trailing too far behind their path. Ahead of them was a deep pit of darkness with only a single rickety old wooden suspension bridge, held together by stumps of wood lodged in the ground, that joined the two ends of the underground valley.

"Hey Red, what's the problem?" Miles looked to Ashewyn in confusion.

Ashewyn lowered his head, casting shadows over his eyes as he grimaced. "...The rain stopped." He spoke up.

"Huh? You didn't say anything about rain before...Then someone-?" Miles gawked, seeming conflicted about the sudden mention.

"I thought it was the fiends at first, but..." His head shifted to glance back to the bodies behind them. "...It only just stopped."

Adam coyly stepped closer to the two of them, gazing over to Ashewyn gently. "... This might not be my place to say, but didn't miss Nye separate us to avoid worry?"

Ashewyn bit his lip, as he turned away. "She did, but that doesn't stop me from being paranoid. I got this bad feeling..."

Miles sighed, crossing his arms as he quirked a brow. "You got a whole lot more to be paranoid about rather then someone dying. Besides. The others are fighting too."

"That's what worries me." Ashewyn grunted, before taking another step forward onto the bridge.

Footsteps approached ahead of them suddenly, emerging from the shadows casting over the far end of the bridge. "Well, ain't this the surprise." A familiar female voice spoke, drawing Ashewyn's attention to her.

"Looks likes we found them~." Sing-songed a second female voice.

Standing there was Darkness, the horned purple skinned fiend that Ashewyn remembered all too well. She wasn't alone however, a couple other fiends accompanied her. One appeared to be a androgynous specter with flaming head and body with a tail like a monkey's, then the other was a red and black haired woman with what seemed to be a massive mouth at the end of her ponytail; drooling acid from it's fangs like some beast.

"You. It's been a long time now, but I definitely remember you. You're that wandering trader who informed me about Vex taking off. Vex even mentioned your name when he tried to kill me." Ashewyn gripped to his sword.

"Pfft, if you know my name, then say it! You don't remember, do you? You're as stupid as ever, ain't ya? It's Darkness." She snorted in agitation. "I'm sure you've figured out what my job really is."

"Don't care. Where's my brother?" Ashewyn sneered.

"Oh, he'll be around. Just wait and see." Darkness scoffed.

"Hold on a sec! You're not seriously looking to fight him again, are you!?" Miles gasped, urgently looking to Ashewyn.

"Depends what happens when we cross paths. We got other problems now." Ashewyn replied, eyeing down the trio ahead of them.

Both parties readied themselves for combat, before clashing in the center of the bridge into an all out brawl. The red haired lady fiend snapped her hair at Adam, trying to sink her venomous fangs into his mutated arm. He wasn't too keen on fighting her, mostly trying to evade her continuous snapping motions. Miles took on the fire fiend, clashing his sword with the enemy fiend's sickle. Ashewyn formed his dragon armor from flames, engaging Darkness with his sword. Flames whirled around, but her forging hammer countered the blade without hindrance. The fire didn't even seem to phase her, as she fought back with a great force. Ashewyn tried to parry her attacks by shoving his blade against her hammer, only to be met by a horned headbutt to his skull.

Ashewyn staggered, holding his head as he was plummeted back to the bridge by the force of Darkness' hammer. This caused the suspension bridge to rumble, swaying violently and accidentally thrusting the flame fiend off the bridge into the dark bottomless pit below. The others had managed to hang on for dear life. Now Only two opponents remained, both closing in on the three like wolves to their prey. Neither even seemed to care that their ally fell to his doom, seeing they were still on the attack.

"Your ally just fell to their death, and you don't even care!?" Miles snapped.

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. We are a cult after all." Smirked the red head.

"Ain't like these dolts understand. Waste of time, explainin', Raz. " Darkness scoffed, gripping tightly to her hammer.

"Guess you're right, Kness." Raz, the red haired fiend giggled, raising the mouth of her hair over them, as it drooled through soft growling.

"Sheesh, you broads aren't even tryin', are ya?" A male voice came from the far end of the bridge, drawing the attention of Ashewyn's crew. Standing there, was Pythagoras, with each foot planted onto the stumps of wood holding the bridge onto the edge of the cliff. "Now that I got your attention, I wanna know which one of ya killed Hase."

Adam flinched a bit, recalling the name of that wolf fiend he encountered in the desert. The very thought of it made him uneasy. Miles and Ashewyn were also feeling it upon seeing another enemy appear, the very one who killed Molliana. It made Ashewyn angry.

"Why am I not surprised, Pyth? Get lost already, this fight is mine. Besides, chances are it ain't them, probably was one of the others. I mean, look at 'em! The only fiend amongst them is trembling like a leaf, not some powerful mutant who would be able to fend off, let alone kill, Hase."

"Mutant, eh?" Pythagoras shifted his attention to Adam, making deliberate eye contact with the timid fiend. "So sure it ain't him?" He asked, growing more focused on Adam.

"Shove off already!" Darkness demanded.

"Yeah Pyth, it's our turn to play!" Raz added, with a hiss.

Pythagoras leapt to his feet, taking steps closer to the battle on standby. "Ya see, I'm pretty fuckin' sure I remember stating' to you softies that the fuck who killed Hase was MINE. You broads are gettin' IN MY WAY!!!!!" Pythagoras snarled, as he charged across the bridge like a missile.

"Look out!" Ashewyn instructed, forcing Miles out of the way as he hurried to his feet. His eyes quickly shifted to Adam, who was no longer within reach.

Pythagoras came at them roughly, knocking passed the lot of them to reach his target. Adam was in his sights, being quickly slammed apart from the group in a wild rage. The motion of them lunging to the other end of the bridge however, caused the ropes to begin tearing.

Pythagoras crashed himself through the wooden floor boards, dragging Adam with him, as they fell rapidly down into the darkness of the pit below.

"Oh shit!" Miles yelped, as the ropes holding the bridge up suddenly snapped.

Both parties gripped to the bridge tightly, as it slammed into the rocky wall of the other end of the cavern. Miles was struggling to hold on with his missing digits. He looked up to Ashewyn who was not far above him.

"Red!.... I... I think I'm gonna fall..!" Miles whimpered, his fingers slowly slipping from the hold.

"Hang on, Fluffy!" Ashewyn called, sliding down the torn rope to attempt reaching Miles.

"I...can't..." Miles sweated, just as his fingers lost their grip. "Ahh!?" Miles gasped, as he felt himself slip down towards Darkness.

Darkness was holding on not far below the feline, but as he came her way, Miles grasped urgently to the rope. He had bumped into her, causing her hammer to slip from her hand. Her eyes grew wide, as she scrambled to grab it, but it fell too far and she couldn't reach it before it vanished into the dark pit below. This immediate shift though, also caused her to lose her grip on the rope, forcing her to grab Miles' by his long bushy tail since there was no longer any bridge to hold onto.

"AKKK!!?" Miles cried out, feeling her full weight hanging on solely by his tail.

"If I fall, I'm taking at least one of you with me!!" Darkness shouted, angrily.

Ashewyn took notice of this, quickly reaching them. He clasped onto Miles' good hand, before he could slip again. Forming his wings, Ashewyn took off into the air, while hanging onto Miles.

"Dude!" Miles snapped, getting the redhead's attention. He shifted his gaze to the fiend holding his tail.

Ashewyn realized Darkness wasn't letting go, and quickly decided he had to get her off them. With his boot, Ashewyn stomped at Darkness' horns, forcing her to release Miles' tail. The two were still airborne, watching the female fiend crash down to the pit below. Thoughts of Vex and her together sped through her mind, as she vanished from sight.

"Kness!?" Raz gasped in panic. She quickly ascended the broken bridge, attempting to flee.

"Hey, that other one's getting away!" Miles exclaimed.

"Then we better catch her. If she gets to the other cult members, they'll catch onto our plan." Ashewyn replied, flying after Raz with Miles. "Let's just hope Adam is alright."

Elsewhere, Zyron was pacing through the rocky tunnels of the underground with Nikolai floating not far behind him. The Vulpis seemed annoyed and anxious as he pressed onward seemingly alone. Jackyn was nowhere to be seen, albeit except the remains of bodies scattering the corridor with dust floating into the air. Zyron uncomfortably stepped over one, his eyes looking away from it in disgust.

"Dammit, Jackyn seriously means business. Where the hell did he run off to though?..." Zyron groaned, pressing his forehead into his palm with a sigh of unease. "I can't believe I'm following a trail... of corpses... This is very unsettling." He shuttered, lifting his head to gaze towards the deep darkness ahead of them. His staff was still in hand, as he nervously pondered to himself.

"Ignosce mihi, et moratus est in conspectu haud procul a nobis." Nikolai floated around from behind him, with a concerned tone.

"I have no fucking idea what you're saying..." Zyron replied, anxiously peering passed the reaper, before continuing on the path.

"Non est periculum praemisit!" Nikolai exclaimed, hurrying after the canine

Zyron looked to Nikolai with irritation. "I don't understand. How many fucking times do I have to explain that!?" Zyron stated, in a disgruntled tone.

"Periculum!" Nikolai persistently tried to explain, before being blasted back by a spell of fire.

"Nikolai!?" Zyron gasped, urgently looking around. His frantic eyes spun around the area but were unable to spot anything. "The fuck....?!"

"Hmhmhm." Chuckled a female voice, that echoed through the chamber. "By the flame that burneth bright..." It trailed off, as Zyron's heart sank, his body halting in panic. "...We call thy name into the night." The voice continued to chant.

Zyron was frozen in fear, as his eyes met the illuminating red hair of his past master, and the eyes that belonged to her. Inferna had descended down from a crack from the upper cavern, by broomstick. Zyron felt like his body was paralyzed, her words only passing through his body. "(Not again.)" He thought.

"Thee we invoke, by the moon-led sea, by the standing stone and the twisted tree." Inferna continued, floating down before Zyron, her eyes linked to his. "By moonlit meadow, on dusky hill, When the haunted wood is bushed and still."

Zyron was trembling, his body unable to move even as he struggled to even shift his fingers. His eyes felt heavy, but he noticed something he hadn't during his last encounter with this spell. A large dark shadow was hovering over the area from behind Inferna, as if it was being drawn in by her evoking chant. It was most puzzling, shifting around like smoke that took the form of a monstrous marionette.

"Come to the charm of the chanted prayer, As the moon bewitches the midnight air..." Her words continued to breach her luscious red lips. The shadow mimicked her as she raised her hand out to Zyron, with a sharper gaze.

"(Why couldn't I see the spell before?... Was it because of that magic suppressing gem I had before?)" Zyron pondered, his body still paralyzed as his expression still the same.

"...In fiery flame by starlight pale, in shadowy host that rides the gale." The witch spoke her incantation, with a curling smirk, and her voice faded from his ears into silence.

Zyron's vision dimmed into darkness, lost inside his mind as his body was under Inferna's spell once again. He felt himself standing in darkness, like rippling black ooze beneath his feet. He tried to run, his path seeming endless and unmoving as he exhausted himself without any likely progress. Zyron closed his eyes panting as he hunched forward to place his palms to his kness.

"I'm... getting nowhere... like this..." He struggled to say as he caught his breath. Lifting his head up, he examined his surroundings, seeing endless darkness. "...Where the fuck am I? Is this place even real?" He asked himself, touching his chest to feel his pauldron resting there.

He then noticed the black ooze, giving off a reflection of his figure like a watery mirror. Zyron paused to stare at it for a moment, practically entranced. The reflection suddenly began to rumble, no longer mimicking his movements, as murky black fingers began to pry it from the ooze into the form of a doppelgänger. Zyron urgently took several steps away from it, watching as the faceless shadow of himself stand up to face him.

"The fuck is that!?" Zyron cringed, quickly forming his staff once again from his pauldron.

The cloned canine's form was swirling around with shadowy clouds and ooze dripping from it's body. The head vibrated like it had a twitch in it's neck, purely focused on the original Zyron from it's hunched position. The sounds it produced was very unsettling, like creature struggling to breathe with a raspy exhale of breath.

The shadowy clone growled, as it kept closer, before lunging at Zyron on all fours, rushing like a feral beast on the hunt. Zyron watched it dash his way, keeping distance as he gripped to his staff with both hands. He whirled his staff forward, casting out a fireball, quickly whirling it again to cast another and then another after that. He continued this, despite how much the gap of distance had been minimized by the engaging doppelgänger that continued to evade the incoming fire incantations. Quickly it was closing in, and was about to be on top of him within the next moments. Zyron was practically cornered, but he didn't ceasefire, Just as the shadow clone came within range of him, he physically struck it back with the end of his staff, slamming the beast roughly back by the flaming pointblank range attack. The beast cried out with a foul ear splitting screech of pain as it collapsed at a distance.

Zyron halted, watching it as he panted heavily from his excessive use of mana. "..." He refused to take his eyes off of it, as he caught his breath. He seemed mostly relieved, but still wary of the murky clone.

It was motionless, laying there in the endless puddle of black. Then like a grinding sheet of metal, it wheezed loudly. This made Zyron tighten himself, his focus more intense than before. Hunching backwards suddenly, the beast hobbled to it's feet in an odd sideways manner. It's face blankly leered at Zyron, as it's mandibles opened up through tar like slime holding it together, to release a louder, more disturbing inhuman sound. Zyron couldn't handle the noise, collapsing to his knees to holding his palms tightly over his floppy canine ears. The doppelgänger placed it hands down, to slowly approaching on it's hands and feet like a wild dog.

Zyron was gritting his fangs, as he warily peered up to the nearing beast. His mind however, was racing, causing his eyes to close. "Master? What was that spell you used just now?" A voice of a younger Zyron echoed through his mind. "That trespasser's eyes... they felt so... dead." His voice went on softly.

"It's a very ancient spell, my pet. The incantation allows the user to control the host body much like a puppeteer, while the host faces their inner most turmoil." Inferna's voice replied in mind with an echo following it.

Zyron's eyes suddenly snapped open, focusing on the creeping doppelgänger rising to its feet as it came into range once more. It snarled with putrid ooze dripping from its jaws, as it's face hovered inches from Zyron's. He felt himself thrusted backwards, crashing into the liquid floor with a slash. Zyron winced, rolling to his side as he held his gust, his eyes weakly shifting ajar to watch the shadow clone stretch out from the dark abyss, hovering over Zyron with it's arms and teeth elongating over him, releasing some sort of glittering powder from the secretion of it misty body.

"Go to sleep now... Good night, Zyron." The gravely inhuman voice spoke softly, as Zyron felt his eyes growing heavy, he began to nod off.

"Solitaire..." He weakly spoke, as his eyes shut, making his vision entirely dark.

Suddenly, the hue shifted dramatically to a fiery red. His face felt like it was burning, hurting with stinging pain. Reflexively, Zyron shot up from the ground, partially holding himself up by his arms on the rocky surface of the underground. He practically laying on the ground, and his face stung like mad, causing him to reach a hand to his chin to feel some blood coming out a few tiny scrapes, that felt painful to the tough. He winced, also noticing the several cuts on his elbows.

"(Did I fall or something?)" He wondered. Listening closely, his eyes caught shadows on the cave wall of two figures fighting with fire. He was a bit dazed, but noticed something was weighing down his back.

Shifting himself, he spotting what seemed to be Grave sitting on his back, with her hands to his shoulders as she nervously watched the battle of fire commencing. She then noticed Zyron staring at her with a dumbstruck expression.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Zyron gawked, in confusion.

"Saving your butt, obviously! Anyway, it's about time the spell wore off. Master Vaugn can't handle that witch by himself." Grave muttered, in an impatient tone.

"I could have told you that. Now get off!" Zyron grumbled, shoving the female dog off of him.

"Hey!" Grave snarled.

Zyron was finally able to turn to face the ongoing combat between Vaugn and his former master. Flames were casted back and forth, only distinguishable by the differentiating colors of each users magic. Vaugn was also using his voulge while Inferna furiously continued to rely solely on spells from her Grimoire. She seemed more intense than earlier, livid even.

"How dare you interfere where you don't belong, you abomination!!" Inferna shouted, her torch hair blasting up with flames, as she floated out of his attack range by broomstick.

"As I said before, I don't care if he's your pet or not, he's part of the alliance that we're here to help." Vaugn sneered, keeping pure focus on the witch, his voulge in hand.

"Hmhmhm! Your efforts are futile! Darkness will devour everyone, can't you see that death is imminent?!" Inferna snapped, half laughing as she continued to viciously blast flames Vaugn's way.

"You need to help Vaugn!" Grave demanded, getting up behind Zyron.

Zyron tried to tune her out, as he attempted to gather himself. He quickly realized he was no longer in the same chamber as he had been earlier. Nikolai was no where to be seen, and he had to cooperate with these two, whom he barely knew.

"(Who knows how long I was aimlessly following her before they arrived. Fuck!)" Zyron gripped to his staff on the ground, before rising to his feet. He held determination in his eyes.

Grave stood up behind him, tapping the skull pendant on her hat. It shifted, forming into a magic scepter, with a purple crystal sphere held on by a metal skeletal bone hand clasping it, with refined patterns of sorcery. It was roughly about arm's length, vastly smaller in size compared to Zyron's staff.

Grave held to it, focusing to Zyron. Magic enveloped around him, with a healing effect to his mana. "Restore thy power from within! Mana charge!" She enchanted, fully restoring his magic energy.

"Support magic?" Zyron seemed surprised, glancing to her briefly, as she then aimed for Vaugn and began to enchant again with a different spell.

"Enchant thy blade with strength and might! Power boost!" It glowed red around Vaugn, as his power increased.

Vaugn noticed this, shifting to focus entirely with melee based attacks, thrusting heavy blows as he lunged for Inferna while she was within range. Zyron turned his undivided attention to the ongoing struggle, as he gripped both hands to his staff. Magic energy surged through him, drawing the power to his staff. He spun it at Inferna, casting out ice based spells that caught hold of her broom.

She was stunned, watching as the dark wood began to shatter from the ice coating it. With a sudden shriek of panic, the broom shattered into ice particles, casting the witch to the ground with a thud. Quickly she rose up, into the air with both hands reaching into the sky. Her flaming hair began to sky rocket with fire as the veins on her face angrily pulsated with rage.

"Souls of the damned, and the shadows who flow across the land-" She began to chant, her teeth grinding as she tried to hold back her rage.

"Goddamn it!" Zyron flared his fangs, knowing all to well what she was up to. His eyes quickly turned to Grave. "We need some serious defense support!"

"-Thou who lived in years since past, I call thee from thine astral plain. I beckon thine will to manifest before me, surrender thine power!" Inferna continued.

Spiraling in from darkness, the spirits of the dead began to appear from the ground around them, like a black plague. They wailed, while circling around like a whirlwind of horror. The area felt like it was darkening around them, as the apparitions continued to circle closer. The only light source was now Inferna's fiery hair that glowed vigorously in the darkness.

Grave held to her scepter, beginning to enchant a defensive boost. "Grant thy power of protection and-" Grave had chanted, but was suddenly cut off as a vast swarm of spirits came flying her way. She had been thrusted back to the ground, and her scepter knocked from her hand.

"Grave!" Vaugn shouted, witnessing the sudden swarm target his canine companion.

"Do not assume I was not aware of your little pet intervening. The end is coming, and no one is going to save you!" Inferna cackled, closing in on Vaugn.

Vaugn whipped around, immediately rushes Inferna with wild slashes, and thrusts of his voulge as he coated it with flames. The flames suddenly clash, as Inferna continued the pressure with her fire mana. The spirits were whirling around above them, focusing on Grave and Zyron's location as they flew from the swarm to rush them with ghoulish cackles and shrieks. Zyron continued to fend them off as he could with his ice magic. Due to how dense the cluster was blocking their line of sight to Inferna, he had no choice but to fight it. Grave recovered her footing, enchanting more boosts to aid Zyron within the endless pit of souls.

"FUCK!" Zyron shouted, getting fatigued from the constant spell channeling.

"Come on!!!" Grave growled, exhausting herself as well, as she recovered his mana once more.

Zyron flinched as elongated black claws reached out to strike him from the circling spirits engulfing the vicinity around them. He had a brief recollection of his last experience in this situation against Inferna, recalling how wind based spells warded the dead off. His focus returned, shifting tactics to unleash a gulf of wind blasting through the swarm like a morning light breaking the dark of night. The spirits quickly retreated, scattering urgently as he broke through.

Inferna's gaze took notice of this, growing more enraged. "Zyron." She clenched her teeth. "You persistent DOG! I should have killed you in those woods! Now, I'm going to make everyone you care about suffer for disobeying YOUR MASTER!!!!" She practically roared, as her hair went completely insane with fire power.

She let loose massive spells of smoldering flames from her palms, that roared wildly with rage. The erupting embers crashed into Vaugn's weapon, blocking back the fire as much as it could take. It suddenly grew more intense, blasting to either side of him, as it scorched the ground and came rushing Zyron and Grave's way.

"Master Vaugn!" Grave cried in panic, as the flames flew in their path.

Zyron urgently grabbed her, leaping out of the line of fire. They had just barely dodged the blast, but Grave was trembling, the complete look of terror in her eyes. The fire was within her gaze, as she sat there, petrified with fear. Her eyes then began to dance around in panic, looking for Vaugn.

"M...Master V... Vaugn?.." She whimpered, her body shaking.

Zyron turned from her, looking to the desolated ground of the cavern around them. Flames caught to the roots and vines of the ground and ceiling, with massive destruction to the soil below their feet. Cinders of the flames burned violently, with the crackling of fire surrounding them.

As the flames began to clear briefly, a quick glimpse of Vaugn caught Grave's relieved eyes. He was still standing, his cloak burned to a crisp and the clothes from his back burned through in patches. He seemed uneasy as his gaze was focused where Grave was, but quickly regained the look of determination in his eyes upon spotting her unharmed. He wasn't about to give up the fight against Inferna any time soon.

Zyron took a step beside where Grave sat, his focus on his former master. "I think, I might know how to fucking kill her..." He muttered with a somewhat melancholy tone.

"Wha?..." Grave glanced up to the male canine. Suddenly a sprinkle of water hit her face.

Zyron had casted a water spell, forcing it to rain inside the underground chamber. His focus was intense, but he did not have a rage like Inferna, his expression seemed almost sad or stricken with guilt.

He had Inferna's attention now, Vaugn wasn't even of interest to her now. The fire witch was enraged further, as she levitated into the air with flames wildly appearing around her. "All this time and energy I gave to raise you, yet you turn the very power I told you NEVER TO USE AGAINST ME!? I MADE YOU IN TO WHAT YOU ARE, ZYRON!!! YOU BELONG TO ME!!!" Inferna screamed in anger.

"Don't assume that gives you dispensation, Inferna. You put me through fucking hell and back. So I made up my mind a long time ago..." Zyron replied, channeling his power.

The rain began to flood the area even more, seeming to be held in by an unknown force. It was filling up fast, surrounding around Inferna like a sphere. "ZYRON!!!" Inferna yelled furiously, as she began to cast out an endless barrage of fireballs.

Vaugn dove in the way, deflecting each incoming spell based attack, so that Zyron could finish his spell.The area around her had filled up so high, there was barely any space left for water to go. The fireballs ceased, as the flame witch had been completely engulfed inside the bubble of water. Air pockets surfaced from her red lips as her body began to violently sting. She began to pulsate, jittering from the water evaporating her flesh. It was like she was in a vat of acid, as her body was quickly decaying with her internal organs and bones becoming exposed from the contact with the water on her skin. Her body continued to move violently as the flames surrounding the group started to diminish.

Vaugn kept a cold gaze focused on her as he got to a distance, where he could reach Grave. His canine companion was also intensely staring at Inferna's body being torn apart, but in a more curious manner. Zyron's focus remained, until he released the water sphere with a snap of his fingers. It popped, dropping the witch's mangled body to the rocky ground, twitching as she gazed to her former pet. The flames of her hair laid absent, but still smoking. The puddles of water around her began to evaporate as it fizzled into steam from the heat coming from her body.

Inferna shakily held her hand out to Zyron, staring at him through terror stricken eyes that were drowned in tears. "Zy...ron.... How... How COULD... Y-You...." She gurgled, as her body bled around her into the surrounding puddles. "You... were like... a son... to me... urgh.... Please.... Don't... let me.....die....Think... Think of.... Of....S-Sherry...."Her body suddenly dropped forward, as the violently flames began to eat away at the remainder of her body.

Zyron stood there in silence... the look of restrained sadness on his face. He didn't want to kill her, even after everything she put him through, but he had no choice. Inferna wasn't going to change, she never would have. He knew that.

Zyron turned from the burning corpse, his eyes concealed by shadows. "(You gave me no choice, Inferna.)" He raised his head, avoiding looking at her. "This has me worried about Solitaire, I need to make sure she's safe. So, are you two coming, or what?" Zyron asked, glancing to them with a concerned expression.

"Yeah." Vaugn nodded, following after Zyron.

"Hey! Don't leave without me." Grave rushed after them.

The scene panned into the pit of darkness, seeming to descend very deep into the planet's crust. It was pitch black down there and incredibly hot, Adam was laying on the ground unconscious. His wary eye was shifting around under his closed eyelid before finally peering open to barely see his own hand in front of his face. He took a step to stand up, nearly stepping in the mangled body of the fire fiend was barely lit the surrounding area with lightly. It was growing dimmer by the second as it's body began to disintegrate into the air.

There was a slight sound above, with pebbles hitting the ground not far from where Adam stood. The scrapping seemed to be knocking rocks from the chamber's walls, but suddenly stopped as the figured leapt down to the bottom. They landed close by, vivid yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as they loomed closer.

"Ain't no escapin' me now." Pythagoras's voice spoke, as he inched closer to Adam.

Behind the enemy fiend, a hammer and Darkness' body crashed to the ground, with the sound of broken bones crunching from the impact. Immediately her body began to evaporate into the air, much like the now absent flame fiend.

"I know what you did to Hase, and I'm gonna make you bleed for it." Pythagoras growled.

"You're the one who killed Molly, aren't you?" Adam sneered over to the other fiend.

"Might be. It's Pythagoras by the way. Everyone should know the name of the man whose gonna end their life." The fiend scoffed.

"..." Adam prepared himself, fully aware what was about to occur.