Moments ago, on the nameless island, Tisha stands on the beach staring off into the distance. Zanrit joins her as the two look towards each other.

  “You sense that?” She asks Zanrit.

  “Yes, the Piece inside of me is reacting. They're drawing on our power right now.”

  “That means they are fighting.” She steps forward. “And it feels close. That means they're fighting more than bandits or monsters.”

  He nods. “But what can we do? We don’t have a boat and even if we get one now, we wouldn’t make it in time to where they are.”

  She scowls. “Well, we have to do something! I can’t stand waiting here while our allies are in danger fighting for their lives!”

  “I know but…”

  “I know we can’t do much in our current state, but….” Tisha lowers her head.

  “There might be something you can do. Not directly, but it’s the perfect way to save your friends and put an end to some of Morgan’s pawns.” Quila walks up to the pair with a wide grin.

  “How?” Zanrit asks.

  “The poison.”

  She nods. “Yup. Testing it on my current subject has led me to an impasse. I need a new Demon to run tests on. And if they’re fighting Morgan’s forces, they will be fighting a Demon.”

  “I get what you mean, but are you sure it’ll work?” Zanrit asks.

  She nods. “I’m nearly certain. But it’s worth the risk. So, what do you say?”

  “Fine. If you can get us there, then let’s do it.”

  “Good. Now let’s get to my boat. I’ll get us there before the sun goes up, so be ready. We’ll be moving as fast as the wind.” Quila says with a wide grin across her face.

  In the present, Tisha fires a poison-soaked arrow into the body of the giant. The arrow is absorbed into the giant’s body and the poison spreads across within its body. It writhes in agony as the outer layer of its body slowly erodes. Its fingers crumble as it stares in horror, letting out a horrid scream.

  “What is happening!? What is this?” It screams.

  “It’s a special poison of my own making. Made especially for your kind Demon,” Quila says with a grin on her face. “So try your hardest to survive for as long as you can. So I can see just what happens to you under its effects!”

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  “You bug!” The giant screams.

  It raises what remains of its hand and swings it down towards Quila. Fiona and Faye rush to the scene and mash into the hand, shattering it to pieces as chunks fly across the area. The monster screams in agony as it swings its other hand at the group. Ivar and Otso rise, attacking the arm and breaking it, causing the hand to collapse to the ground. Before the giant can move, Rufus fires off a shot of ice that lodges itself within the giant’s body. It spreads within, causing it great pain as it struggles to force it out with its tendrils.

  “Why how? You’re are bugs. You are meaningless beings compared to me!” it screams out.

  Tan flies in, kicking the ice shard through the Demon leaving a large hole in its chest. Miller and Sam turn to each other and nod, rushing ahead as they draw their swords. They slice through the giant's body, splitting it in two as its lower half collapses to the ground and its upper half slides off onto the ground.

  “How can I? How could this be..” It screams out from within the upper torso.

  A humanoid figure emerges from the top half of the body, sticking out of the head. “I refuse to die here!” It yells.

  Tendrils and spikes shoot out of its body at the group. Sam raises their shield, blocking the attack as Miller plants his sword into the ground. Metal spikes shoot up around the body, running it through as the giant cries out in pain once more. It struggles to try to force itself away from its now vestigial body.

  “Die here and now, you monster!” Miller yells.

  “I refuse. There is still so much to do! So much slaughter to cause. Bodies to devour. People to kill! I can’t fall here to such worthless beings!” It screams out. “I haven’t even witnessed the Great One’s birth. I wanted to eat it! I wanted to devour it from the inside out and make its power my own!”

  Everyone stares at the Demon as its face takes shape, forming into Talia’s features. “I wanted to become the new Demon Lord. I would have ruled over this world of slaughter and made it into my paradise!” It proclaims.

  As it rants, a figure flies down from above. Still injured and bloodied, Xia Bia lands before the Demon as its eyes widen.

  “Xia Bai, help me escape. We can return to base and I can put in a good….” It begs. Begging for its life, it stares at Xia Bai as its only salvation. “Take me and let's escape from…”

  Xia Bai holds out her hand, staring down at the Demon as it tries to claw itself free. “Xia Bai! Do as I say, or your master’s life is forfeit!”

  Xia Bai stands staring down at the monster as she holds out her hand. “Pathetic.”

  “What did you say!?” it says in a distorted, mangled voice.

  “You love to hurt others, but can’t take the pain yourself. You play at sacrificing, but in truth, you are just chipping away at your host or whoever is nearby. A true parasite.”

  The Demon screams out, shooting tendrils out of its body out to Xia Bai. She takes the attacks but does not move an inch, stomping forward through the attack. Her body ignites into flames as she holds out her hand. She leaps forward, dodging through the tendrils as she makes her way to the Demon.

  She swings her arm, slicing the demon in two with her claw. Flames burn on both edges, rapidly consuming the Demon as it writhes in agony, shouting tirades to the group. Everyone watches on as it burns to an ash, leaving no trace behind. It was never there, aside from the damage to the surrounding area. Its body is eaten by the flames as Xia Bai watches, ensuring nothing escapes from the flames.

  “Goodbye, you evil monsters.” Xia Bai watches and smiles as it fades away. “I hope we never meet again.”

  The Demon laughs. “We’ll meet again. That I’m sure of. And when we do. I’ll kill you with all I have left.”

  Tendrils shoot out towards Xia Bai. But as they draw in closer, Miller stares ahead. “We did it.”

  “We did it!” Everyone yells.

  “And nobody died,” Ivar says. “We should call this the nobody-dyed raid.”

  “Great name,” Rufus says.

  As the battle comes to a close, Xia Bai stands in the forest, staring up at the clouds as the sun rises in the distance. “Now what should I do?” She asks herself. “Isaac, I wish you were here.”