I watched the remains of the oak burn as I stood there, physically exhausted, but feeling great, mentally. Ah, damn, It's been too long since I'd destroyed anything defenseless, and this was just what I needed to vent some steam.

"Ah... that felt gooooood..." I sigh, relaxing my shoulders and breathing a heavy sigh of relief, and the pooka are just standing there, eyes wide in horror at what I did. Hell, even 'she-who-gives-no-fucks', Kinua, is looking at me like I tore a manticore in half with my bare hands... but, in reality, I just blew up a tree with extreme prejudice. Still, it was pretty cool, and I feel better for it.

"You... How did you do that?..?" Whinn asks, getting closer to the exploded stump of the tree I just killed.

"I zapped it. What do you think?" I ask, and Whinn and Dinn just stare at me, mortified. Really, they act like they've never seen a guy overload a magical entity before. Pfft, filthy casuals.

"Well... that's one way to do it..." Whinn says, staring at the tree's mortal remains. Hmm... there's a lot of oddly dark smoke coming from it... Ah, never mind. Now, to escape this depressing-as-fuck woodland!

"Well... I guess, since it's destroyed, I'm gonna take off... now?" I trail off, as the ground below me begins to shake, and the stump explodes from the ground, showering dirt and wood chips everywhere. As soon as the hail of debris ends, I see the ground where the tree once was well up, and heave everywhere, like a volcano was erupting, and, finally, a dark, gloved hand rose from the dirt, and another, and they both grabbed the overturned earth, and Whinn and Dinn practically jumped for joy as the arms pulled at the dirt, and a dark, shadowy, cloaked body arose from the ground, and it stood, the figure's robes blowing in the slight breeze. God, He really WAS a necromancer, wasn't he? However, he had no armor, just a robe, and a hood that shadowed his face. What was this guy, Casual?

"Ehhhn... That was quite a nap... Ah, Whinn! Dinn! My favorite assistants!... Oh, hello Kinua." The figure said, his voice raspy, but not ancient, like I thought it'd be. Still, he gave off some freakish Silent Hill vibes, and I was not okay with it. On a high note, though, he seems to like Kinua as much as I do, which is to say, not in the slightest. Kinua, though, despite this, still seems to give no fucks.

"Virgil! Oh, yay! You're free!" Whinn and Dinn cry in unison, and Kinua just 'hmph's, looking away. Kay, more issues... lovely.

"Yes... I'm back... and I assume this interesting character had something to do with it." Virgil says slowly, glaring curiously at me. I, for one, want no recognition for this, I just want to get the fuck out of this dark wood. So, I hit him with my dry wit:

"Yeah, now can I go home?" I ask, slightly shaking, and Kinua rolls her eyes at me, sighing. Oh, fuck off, runt.

"In time. First, though, tell me... who are you? I at least want to remember the name of who I owe for this great assistance." Virgil says, tilting his head. God, his voice creeps me out... like whispering death. Still, he doesn't seem evil... just really fuckin' pissed at someone. Oh, I just got it! 'Wrathborne', 'cuz he's angry! Oh, that's funny! Okay, now back to the story.

"I... Am Malideus, Scourge eternal!" I say loudly, flicking my cape for dramatic effect. However, no one seems awed by this, so quickly cough, and continue, hoping to make a better impression this time.

"Ahem, yes, I'm Malideus, and your... friends... said that they won't let me go until I helped you. So... you're free! Congrats!" I say, and Wrathborne's green, glowing eyes seem to lose their anger, and he chuckles softly.

"Yeah, They'll do that. My apologies, pooka can be quite... tricky to handle. But, thanks to those fetid princesses, they're quite rare. But now that I'm back, thank mostly due to you, O scourge eternal, I can get them back for what they did to me. If there's anything you need in the future, Malideus, be it supplies or forces, please tell me." Virgil says, and two of the three pooka sisters nod in agreement, bowing to me all Japanese-style. Ugh, I appreciate the gesture, but god damn, do it some other way, please.

"Yeah, thanks. I appreciate the offer, but... how do I get out of here?" I ask, causing Virgil to look at me disappointedly.

"It's a damn forest, man. Just go straight." He says, and honestly, I love this guy already for that one bit of advice.

"Oh... yes, of course." I say, embarrassed, before turning around. But as I do, like every time I have something important to do, something goes horribly, horribly wrong. The ground then starts to rumble without warning, startling me and the pooka, and all of us lose our balance as the ground proceeds to shake, and even Virgil seems shocked as the earth heaves and upturns, in a massive display of raw power unseen by my eyes in a long time. In fact, I honestly don't remember the last time I saw the ground do this. Nonetheless, I was having none of it.

"Virgil, would you kindly tell me what the ever-loving fuck is going on!?" I say, using my staff to keep my balance as the planet continued to throw a hissy fit.

"How the hell should I know? I was a vegetable until now!" Virgil says, and my question is answered as a horrible, ear-splitting roar, and a big, spiky arm grabbing at the ground, and hoisting itself up, causing me and my current company to stare in horror at what was coming out: Basically, a giant, bony demon, with six red eyes on what looks like a bull's skull, and many, many spikes all over its arms. Good god, it looks like something out of dark souls! Solaire, save me!!!

"Well... looks like the princesses were a bit paranoid back in the day..." I say, watching as a monstrous demon rose from the ground, up until only its lower half remained below the ground, its six eyes locked onto me, then Virgil, then back to me, and they stayed there as it selected me as its target. What the hell, why is everything going after me?!

"Look out!" Whinn cries, pointing at the demon as it brings its weapon, a massive, evil mace, down on us, and I did the most logical thing I could do in such a stressful situation: I jumped out of the way, leaving the others to their fates. What? I'm not gonna waste my time on a bunch of losers I don't even know. Besides, Virgil can handle himself. Indeed, he has already gotten him and his three friends out of harm's way. Oh, now the demon is getting back up again.

"Virgil, what the fuck is that!?" I ask, completely terrified. Why wouldn't I be? This thing was bigger than Khorne, and that guy was fucking huge!

"Some kind of monster, what do you THINK it is?! Listen, I know you've done a lot already, but could you PLEASE help me kill it before it wrecks my home?" Virgil says, whipping his staff around, and I find myself oddly inclined to help him. Whoever he was, he must have been a damn good leader, and a damn good talker. So, along with the Pooka, I nod, then I go up, and I point my staff at the fucker, willing a giant ball of fiery death to materialize at its tip, and as it appears, I unleash it at the behemoth, which flinches as the bolt hits it, and turns its ire at me, swatting Virgil and his lackeys away like chaff, and bringing its mace into the air, in preparation to squash me. As the demon lowers the mace, though, I raise my staff, and cast a teleportation spell, and end up just outside the blast radius of the mace's impact. God damn, that was close. And with no bonfires nearby... I shudder to think if that had hit me. However, to snap me out of my thoughts and shuddering, the massive demon raises its mace again, staring at me with all six of its red, fiery eyes, and Virgil runs up, panting.

"Ugh... of all the times for a fail-safe to activate, it had to be RIGHT AFTER I woke up..?" Virgil says, and I see the pooka run up, and transform into a manticore, a dragon, and some kind of wurm, and attack the demon, who tries its best to ward them off, but with limited success... at first. It's quickly gaining the upper hand, though, and I feel my window of action closing, and fast.

"Yeah... I don't like this guy either, but I have no idea on how to beat him..." I say, seeing no weak spot on the massive dark souls-esque demon as it turns to us, having knocked the pooka down. Christ, I never thought I'd go out this way. Sure, it's badass and flattering, but it's not what I'd thought: I always thought Celestia would finally do me in, not some giant, boneheaded demon.

"Well... guess we'd better start hacking at him, eh?" I say, gripping my staff tightly, and Virgil looks to me confusedly, but nods, nonetheless, seeing no other way.

"Right... Let's end this fucker." Virgil says, and we're off, narrowly dodging the demon's mace as it brings it down on us. God, this is going to be a long night...

Meanwhile, Kherrie's perspective... again.

So, here we are in the cave, and Mizzy is now talking to her uncle... And by Ragnek, this guy is terrifying, maybe even more so than Ragnek himself. He's freaking ginormous, at least thirty feet tall, with gold skin, giant horns, and drapes over his shoulders, and his aura alone... Jeez, no wonder Mal was scared of him! This guy puts Kragda-Maul's ultimate form to shame! Finally, after I finish sizing him up, he nods, as Mizzietta finishes explaining the details of our unfortunate situation to him.

"...So, that's the deal, so I hear. So, can you tell us how he is?" Mizzietta asks, and Nicol Bolas rubs his head thoughtfully, his eyes closed in heavy thought, as he groans under his extreme mental pressure. Finally, after a good four minutes, he opens his eyes, and focuses on Mizzy, before speaking:

"Ehn... yes, he is alive... but I can barely trace him... he's being overpowered by some...thing. I suppose it's some kind of demon, but there's someone else there, too..." Bolas says, stroking his chin-horn-thing thoughtfully. Mizzy then perks up, along with me, but I beat her to the question, unsurprisingly:

"Where is he?!" I ask excitedly, and Nicol Bolas turns to me, an inquisitive expression on his face. It's not malevolent in any way, but it's aura alone makes me cringe under his scrutiny.

"Hmm... I can pinpoint him... but I doubt I can direct you to him, much less let you try to defeat what is currently assailing him, even you, Kherrie." Bolas says, getting up, and he stretches his wings, loosing a loud, roaring yawn, as he advances to the cave's outside.

"So, what do we do?" Mizzietta asks, and Bolas chuckles slightly, and finally exits the cave, before replying:

"Why, dear niece, we're going to find your questionable boyfriend." He says, flexing his wings. Ah, I think he's going to lead us to Mal! Isn't that nice?

"He's just my mate, uncle..." Mizzy says, looking awkwardly to the side.

"Same thing. Now, let us be off, before whatever's trying to kill the poor boy succeeds." Nicol says lazily, before he rises into the air, all flying minions in tow, and I quickly grab hold of Mizzy, afraid to even consider touching her godlike uncle. Soon, all of us that can fly, and me, are off, and those who cannot stay back to guard the cave. Fair enough, I suppose: I doubt anyone would get past Crush, much less Hezafen. I'd love to see them try, though.

So, we ride, and in such an odd direction... how the heck did Mal land so far away from his own city? It's weird. Still, the world works in odd ways, and I guess it blew Mal here, into... some creepy forest? Okay, world, there's a fine line between mysterious and outlandish. How did he get blown so far away, so many miles from home? Dammit, Maul... I know you have something to do with this. Suddenly, my thoughts are interrupted by a loud, planet-shaking roar, and I hear Bolas shout out, as he points toward the center of the massive, depressing forest, where a column of dust, and several more horrible roars, are coming from:

"There! That's where he is! Brace yourselves, people... Whatever Malideus is fighting, it's big." Nicol Bolas says, before we begin our descent to the center of the dreary, foreboding forest, where I catch my first glimpse of the single most terrifying thing I'd ever seen before...and Malideus, along with some other guy, was running right for it, head-on.

And, back to Malideus...

I only get so close to the massive demon as I run toward it, before it swats me and Virgil aside, and punches us both into the ground... for the fifth time. God, I need to work on my timing, I'm getting rusty. Suddenly, the demon roars again, triumphantly, and locks its gaze onto me and Virgil, and it raises its giant mace high into the air, prepared to end us both in one fell swing. Before he does, though, I turn to Virgil, and voice my thoughts:

"Ugh... Well, that's it... we're dead." I say, straining to talk, my stamina depleted. Virgil then looks to me, and chuckles.

"Well... even this giant fucklord can't kill me... but I don't think I'm getting up for a while, after this..." He says, and I groan in annoyance, knowing he's gonna live, but I'm not.

"Great. You get to go on, but I'm gonna die here. Just great." I mutter, and Virgil, puts a hand on my shoulder, gripping it.

"Don't worry... I've got a plan. Just stay down, and I'll draw this thing's attention. Then, you run that way, and get some help..." Virgil says, but is cut off by a massive roar, even bigger, and far more terrifying, than the demon's. In fact, the demon has now turned away from us, to see what was making the roar... and just got rewarded by a massive blast of golden fire to the face. Then, as the thing recoils, I take the opportunity to get up, and I lower my hand to Virgil, who takes it, and I help him up. Finally, we turn as another roar sounds, and the demon swings his massive, deadly weapon at... a giant, golden dragon, even bigger than it. Wait... those horns... good god... Is that Nicol Bolas?!

"What the fuck..?" I ask tiredly, gazing as the demon misses Bolas by mere inches, and the dragon responds with another blast of golden fire, causing the demon to flinch before its heat, and it finally falls, dead, after sustaining a barrage of golden flames from Nicol Bolas himself. Of all the people to save me... I actually expected him to be the last on the list. So, you can imagine the surprise on my face as I gaze to the sky, watching him and his niece descend to where the demon fell.

"...Nevermind." Virgil says, and I barely have the situational awareness to respond:

"... Yeah..." I say, still staring. Before I can say anything else, Mizzy sees me, and runs up to me, tackling me without changing sizes. Believe me, the demon's fist hurt less than this: at least IT was pulling its punches.

"Oogh... Good... to see you, too... Mizzy..." I wheeze, and Mizzy gets up, scolding me about doing my job ever again, and about how they were worried, and that if I ever leave on such ominous last words again, she wasn't going to bother finding me again. Honestly, I didn't hear a word of her rant, but I forced to pretend like I cared, on account that NICOL MOTHER-FUCKING BOLAS was here. Seriously, were they all that worried about me?! Well, I did fall from a cloud... But still, this is a bit excessive, isn't it?!... Not that I'm complaining: The demon DID almost kick my ass. However, that also meant no bad-mouthing Mizzy... as much as she deserved it.

"... Now, that's done, let's get you back. Kelias said he had some kind of present for you." Mizzy says, and I perk up immediately, knowing just what the 'present' he was talking about was. Plus, the sooner I got out of here, the better. But, not before an excessive goodbye, to assure that I was never coming back here.

"Well, I am off, Virgil. You take care now! I'm not coming back." I say, waving, and Virgil just laughs, waving back.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Frankly, you're far too harsh with my assistants. But worry not, we will keep in touch." Virgil says, and I grin and nod outwardly, but, inwardly, I sincerely hope he's joking. So, we're off, back to Mizzy's lair, and we arrive, thank Bolas for his help, and go to bed. I, for one, CRAVE sleep, and I fall to it like a sack of rocks.

God, tomorrow is gonna hurt like a BITCH.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for another short chapter, but here it is. And, pretty soon, Malideus's newest rival will be revealed!

Prepare your respective anuses, heathens!