A Warm Welcome and Cold Farewell

In the absence of its mist, the Lord howled and cried thrashing its six arms about randomly and stomping its broad feet. Dell was slightly shocked at the sight of the tantrum, but more so at the sight of the Smith. Wielding its grand greatsword, it flew up from the floor at an incredible speed and slashed to the point where an arm connected itself to the torso, instantly severing cleanly. But its wrath did not stop there as it swung the blade once more, digging deep into the bone of Veindra's body and leaving a gaping hole. 

Returning to the floor, the smith looked at Dell, whose eyes were wide. 

" Your strength is unimaginable! "

The Nether Smith chuckled slightly, before responding. 

" Now is not the time for rest, do you have another soul to consume? "

Seeing Dell nod as he stared into the misty face of the Smith, it turned to face the wounded Lord.

" Save it for later, for now, try and help me breach into its core. But stay alive, only you can kill it. "

Brandishing his oar, Dell's body twitched from fatigue and fear. Sure, he was able to match the speed and strength of it when he had a power boost from the soul, but he wasn't sure how he would match it now. Would he simply die from a single attack? 

' Do I trust the Nether Smith enough to tear down the shell? Well... if it goes south, I can just use the soul. ' 

He scoffed as he stared into the lord's final eye. 

' Come on! One more time! ' 

And then the pair leaped forward as the lord stepped back, madly roaring while dragging three lifeless heads along the floor. Dell couldn't keep up with the speed of the smith, but that meant that most of the arms focused on the Nether Smith, which he simply deflected. As one arm came close to the smith, it spun around and used the momentum to flawlessly slice through it with his dark, grand blade. Even after swinging the colossal weapon, it still dodged the attacks of three more arms - Dell realized the gap between them was wider than he thought. But he had no time to admire.

One hand widened as it came right for Dell, which in his weakened state, barely dodged. Responding to his role, the arm swung itself to the side and crashed into him. Unlike times before, Dell felt a sharp pain in his arm at the force of the hand. But he stood against the strength of the hand, gritting his teeth. He was not the only one weakened.

" C-Can't do much without your stupid mist, huh?! "

Bearing against the pain, Dell managed to push the hand slightly back, but he knew he couldn't hold it back for much longer. However, the arm suddenly lost all the force behind it as it fell to the ground. Looking over at the upper part of the arm, he noticed that it had been severed in half and the Smith's greatsword lodged into the ground. 

' It threw THAT?! Impossible... ' 

The smith leaped up towards the torso once again with no weapon in its hands. Suddenly, all four of its hands clenched as its muscles tensed up. Veindra howled knowing what was about to happen to itself trying to bring its arms closer, but it was too late. Rearing its arms back, The Nether Smith roared back while unleashing a barrage of swift punches to the hull of the Lord. Cracks took place all over its surface, eventually combining. Finally, the Smith brought its arm fist back, before sending it forward and bursting the front of Veindra's chest wide open. The strength of the punch even sent the lord back a couple of meters, making the Smith laugh as it fell back to the floor. 

' Now's my chance! ' 

Not wasting any time, Dell dashed forward gripping the dark oar tightly. In its chest, a blinding purple light lit up the once misty hall, shining brilliantly. This, just like the entrance guardian, was its main weak spot. In a final state of panic, Veindra let off one more scream, but this was louder than the previous roar. Dell felt as if he needed to cover his ears from its intensity, but he chose to funnel all his strength into a leap. 

He hopped from the knee of the beast, and up into the cavity. Its core was double the size of his own body, but he wasted no time. Bringing the oar forward he jumped and plunged it into the giant purple glow, completely shattering it. 

As he did, its entire body lethargically collapsed over on its side, giving him time to jump down to the floor and stand beside the Smith, watching as the body crashed into the floor. The pair were silent for a moment, admiring their work. 

" Good job, young reaper. " 

" No... this was your work, I can say that proudly. And I'm not a very flattering person. "

The smith howled with laughter, echoing through the spacious hall. 

" Perhaps. The machine worked very well in extracting the mist, better than I thought. Though containing the power of a Lord is an extravagant task, it should be entirely shattered by now. " 

It chuckled again before sighing. 

" Well, let's get down to business. "

" Right. "

-

Approaching the end of the colossal hall, they saw a great, circular door frame with two large candles empty of flame on either side. Connecting the three things were strange symbols carved into the floor. As Dell approached one of the candles, he heard the roars of the guardian and the Lord in his head. 

' Won't have to hear the pair of you soon enough. ' 

" Right, you know what to do. "

Dell nodded, moving his palm to cover his eye. As he felt the soul in his hand, he moved it forward as a flame appeared in his hand. This was the guardian's soul, and compared to the ants or guards, it was overwhelmingly powerful. But Dell couldn't use these souls to fuel his power. Moving over to one of the candles, he took a deep breath before shoving his hand on top of the candle, watching as it flowed from his hand to the candle. Stepping back from the candle, he noticed the symbols on the floor glow a dim purple color. 

" It's as I thought. The guardians' souls empower the g- " 

The silence of the hall was flooded with the sound of steps, beckoning the both of them to stare into the darkness behind them as the sounds became louder. 

" Now I understand. " The smith had a hint of disappointment in its voice. 

" Understand what? "

" Why the final roar of the lord was so... mesmerizing. " 

Dell did not perceive the roar as 'mesmerizing, ' but it was special. Suddenly, the silhouette of an army of skeletons clothed in tattered cloths, wielding different weapons. The sight of the skeletons made Dell grasp his oar tightly in resentment. 

" A final call for help. "

" How are we supposed to take down all of those?! "

The Nether Smith turned to Dell, sighing. 

" Light the second candle. " 

Dell was about to respond but held back his words and went back to channeling the soul into his hand. 

" They'll be here soon, but I shall hold them off. " 

Another purple flame lit itself in his hand, more intense than any other he had ever seen - he let it fall onto the candle, which accepted the flame. Suddenly, the symbols along the floor glowed purple beautifully, causing the hall to slightly shake as the doorway birthed a strange purple light. Turning to face the Smith, who had a pair of his arms crossed and another pair grasping onto a greatsword lodged into the ground, he felt... remorse. 

' Tch. What am I thinking? It's just a dream! ' 

But he couldn't help but feel that human emotion. He was about to leave his first ally to fight alone, the one who had helped him so much. 

" What are you waiting for? Go! " 

The crowd of skeletons drew closer, but Dell moved away from them, about to step into the gate ahead. 

" Remember, your task is not a request. It's a debt! And you must pay it back! "

" I won't leave you disappointed. Thank you for all that you have done. " 

For the final time, Dell heard the smith's grand laughter over the groans and whispers of the guards behind.

" Goodbye, Reaper Dellin. " 

Stepping into the light... Dell heard nothing but silence. 

-

Arriving on the other side, Dell felt a significant temperature change. It was warmer, but not too overbearing. Looking around, he found himself underground, surrounded by strange, maroon-colored, rocky walls. 

' Colour! ' 

The appearance of a new color surprised him greatly - back in the purgatorial realm there were only shades of white and black, a bit of yellow in the sun, and a strange purple from different sources. Looking behind him, he saw the same doorway as the dark temple, but this time there were no candles beside it, which filled him with slight dread, but also joy.

' No going back now. At least this means that I'm close to finishing this darn trial. ' 

He felt an incredible mental fatigue plague his mind. Sure, there were periods when he could rest, but he was still always under the impression that something could come and take his life away at any moment. Since the start, he had survived an infestation of ant creatures, slain a guardian, met a demon blacksmith, and slain a Lord of Purgatory. Dell was tired of it all, understandably so. But he couldn't give up yet, instead telling himself that he was almost done and that all he had to do was slay some king. 

' Just some king, huh. ' 

Fighting alongside the Nether Smith made him realize the difficulty of the task. The smith was unbelievably strong compared to Dell, and he remembered it telling him that Calfa, the Under King, feared his participation in the great war they were about to enter, choosing to banish the Smith away forever. Dell regarded the Smith to be quite smart, so he doubted that the Smith was tricked into being sealed away. Could it be that the King overpowered the Smith? If so, why would Calfa not just kill the Smith instead? 

' They had been working together for a while, maybe it was some sort of... sympathy? ' 

But if the King could kill the Smith... then how would Dell fair against him? How could he, who was weaker than the Smith by a lot, defeat Calfa?

' I guess I just have to stick to the plan. ' 

He looked down at the sword given to him by the Smith, who said that this blade would take down the King. 

' I guess I have no choice but to rely on it for now. ' 

The cave seemed to lead up, where there was a light at the exit. Reaching the exit of the cave, Dell stared at his surroundings overwhelmed by an intense heat.

" So, this is hell. "