The angel of the owl house

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 17: No Gods or Kings, Only Titans

Almost two entire weeks passed following the events of the Looking Glass Graveyard, and it had been a fairly relaxing yet productive time. Eda, King, and the Hexsquad had been amazed by the story Luz, Gus, and Matt told them about their experiences in the Graveyard, and while they were apprehensive about a Coven Scout knowing Luz's identity, they'd ultimately decided to trust Steve to keep her secret. Steve himself had come by the Owl House with Matt later that week, so he could prove to Eda that he was trustworthy by offering an Everlasting Oath, though at Luz's insistence, Eda had declined. That had also been when Steve informed Luz about what had happened with Bria, Gavin, and Angmar. He'd reported their actions to their parents, and all three were now grounded. Gavin did find a silver-lining though, as his father realised his son was acting out for attention and started being there for him more, which made Luz happy. Angmar had also apparently sworn off bullying of any kind after how terrified Luz, Gus, and Matt had made him, and was reportedly being transferred to St. Epiderm to get him out of Glandus' combative curriculum. Bria was shaken up by her experience in the Graveyard and appeared to be more timid than before, but only time would tell if she'd turn over a new leaf or not.

Since that day, Matt had effectively joined the Hexsquad, hanging out primarily with Luz and Gus, but getting along with the others too. Ironically enough, this actually led him to not only having the friends he'd wanted, but also the popularity, as the Hexsquad's social standing was surpassed only by Boscha's gang's, and since Boscha was being nice (or at least nicer) that meant Matt was not only no longer picked on by anyone, but he was now a part of the popular crowd!

Gus had also experienced a huge boost in confidence, and he'd begun incorporating water and ice magic into his illusions, allowing him to trick all five of a person's senses through clever use of the element. He'd also started taking lessons in wind magic from Edric and Emira, in exchange for teaching them about water magic, making all three better Illusionists. Both he and Matt had returned to the Looking Glass Graveyard a couple of times, learning from the Keeper and helping to build up the place's defences in the event of another attack.

The day after their trip to the Graveyard, Luz used the Super Power Glyph she'd made with Matt to empower herself and finally complete the Purification Ritual for the Alchemical Silver. The result was an extremely pure liquid silver that was cool to the touch, making it look almost like mercury. Over the next few days, Luz had followed Rasiel's instructions (and gotten some help from her friends) to craft the Panacea Mirror itself; setting the silver into the shape of a mirror, then adding a crystal lens that had been made from a liquid that Eda had been brewing for them. Luz had then been required to sacrifice two feathers; one for the Purification Ritual and one for the crystal lens solution, but Rasiel assured her such a small number of lost feathers wouldn't affect her magic, and they'd regrown within a week, so it wasn't such a big deal. Finally, after a few days of delicately carving angelic inscriptions with miniscule light beams, then flooding them with her magic, Luz had completed all but the very last step of the Panacea Mirror. Now she just needed to mix her blood and another angel's into the mirror's surface (which still rippled like water, despite being solid) and the mirror would officially be complete!

The residents of the Owl House were ecstatic, and threw all their focus into translating more of Philip's diary, since it was the only lead they had to the Black Tombs and hopefully Rasiel's body. Once they found that, they'd have the blood they needed to finish the mirror!

The only other major development in the ten days that passed following the adventure in the Graveyard was a pair of visitors. The first had been Lilith, who'd come by to apologise to Luz for not showing up to her game, explaining that important business had kept her away. Since her absence had worked out in Luz's favour, the young angel wasn't upset, and ended up spending a day after school with her, just getting to know each other a bit more.

The other visitor had been Raine Whispers, who'd come by to see Eda. Luz and King had been bundled out of the house so the two old flames could have some privacy, so neither had seen or heard what actually happened during that meeting. In truth, Eda and Raine had spent the afternoon having tea and properly catching up without the distraction of a Birthday party to interfere. It was mostly reminiscing about their past as kids, and when Luz and King had come home for dinner, Raine had joined them and helped Eda tell the story of how they met and how Raine had come to transfer to Hexside. Luz had found the story adorable (though shuddered at the image of Terra Snapdragon) and when Raine finally took their leave, she'd pestered Eda on whether the two would get back together. Eda had been non-committal, saying both she and Raine had changed a lot… though she was finding she still had some feelings for the new Raine.

Beyond that, they all just continued their lives. The Hexsquad hung out together and went to classes, improving their magic. Amity continued her apprenticeship with Lilith, getting progressively stronger and becoming closer to the woman, who treated her almost like family now that she and Luz were dating. Amity appreciated it greatly, as it helped replace the maternal affection she was missing from her own mother. Luz and King trained their glyph skills together, and played with one another, while also learning more from Eda, and helping out with her potions and human junk businesses.

Luz and Amity had even gone on a weekend date together, following one of Willow's suggestions by spending a Saturday afternoon shopping for swimsuits (a fun experienced that had both girls blushing like crazy for most of the day) before spending Sunday having a lake-side picnic at Lake Lacuna. It was as close to a beach date as one could get on the Boiling Isles, and both girls had great fun splashing around in the water and playing in the sand, forgetting all their troubles and just enjoying each other's company. They'd finished the date by cuddling and watching the sunset, then Amity got to enjoy being carried home like a princess by her angelic lover.

A whole ten blissful days passed without any major incidents, which was a new record for Luz, but also had her feeling like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. As it would turn out, she was right to feel that way, as things were about to change for the residents of the Owl House…

It was a peaceful Saturday morning, and the residents of the Owl House were relaxing together in the living room, Eda sipping Apple Blood while keeping an eye on a small simmering cauldron, while Luz was hard at work on translating Philip's diary, and Rasiel and King poured over a collection of atlases and books on ruins and temples that Luz had checked out of the library for them (Amity having helped her get a library card). The two were trying to find any correlation between hot locations on the Boiling Isles and any reports of ruins similar to Caplacier, in hopes of finding the Fire Temple that supposedly housed the Black Tomb Philip Wittebane had written about.

Their peaceful morning was interrupted, as it often was, by Hooty's shrill voice; "Hoot hoot, we've got a visitor!" he declared, giving Rasiel a chance to retreat to his ring before the House Demon slammed open his door to allow their visitor inside. It was Raine, wearing the slightly forced smile that people often wore after dealing with Hooty.

"Good morning everyone." Raine greeted.

"Hi Raine!" Luz chirped.

"Hey there Raine Storm. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Eda asked, leaning forward and winking at the Bard.

They blushed and smiled nervously; "I-I came to see you, Eda. I wanted to discuss something with you… In private."

Eda blushed even as she smirked, while Luz giggled knowingly and King rolled his eyes and made quiet gagging noises. "Sure thing Raine. Let's go upstairs so we don't disturb the kids. Who knows, if you're good, I might break out my good Apple Blood." Eda said, giving a sultry smile that had poor Raine feeling like they were going to keel over.

"S-Sure. That sounds wonderful." they stuttered, before following Eda upstairs, stopping only long enough to smile and wave awkwardly to Eda's kids.

"Have fun you two!" Luz said cheekily. Eda's disembodied hand came skittering back into the room, then crawled up Luz's body to flick her on the nose, making the girl giggle before it skittered back out to join the rest of Eda. Once the kids heard Eda's bedroom door shut, Rasiel came back out of his ring.

"Well, it seems Eda is going to be occupied. I'll watch her potion for her; it's not like we're making any progress with these books anyway." Rasiel commented, going to float over Eda's forgotten cauldron.

King groaned; "Great, Eda's making kissy faces with Raine and I'm still no closer to finding another glyph! I want to grow my power so I can take back my Demonic Kingdom!" he pouted, stomping his little foot.

"We'll find one soon, King. Let Eda have her fun; she's been taking good care of us, so she deserves it." Luz smiled, petting her little brother's head as she continued to translate the diary.

"I know…" King whined, flopping over into his mountain of plushies. He hugged Francois to himself and sighed; "I like Raine; they're fun and make Eda happy, but she's been paying a lot of attention to them recently… whenever you're at school, she's texting and calling them."

Luz looked over to him; "Are you feeling jealous?" she asked. She wasn't teasing him, instead giving him a look of openness and understanding.

King shrugged. "I don't want to make a big deal of it, but I kinda miss when I had Eda's attention all to myself. Sharing with you was fine, 'cause you pay as much attention to me as Eda does, but Raine is different I guess."

"I get it. These last several weeks have changed a lot for you. It's got to be tough to adjust. But even if Eda is spending more time with Raine, you know she'll always have time for you. And I do too! So cheer up, little brother." Luz smiled brightly.

The little demon giggled; "Thanks Luz. You're a great big sister!

Luz grinned; "Well then sit back and watch, because you're great big sister has almost got this entry down, and I have a feeling it's a good one!" she said, turning back to the diary. King watched her for a moment, then frowned as Luz's grin faded.

"Aw, nuts…" Luz sighed as she finished translating the current entry; "I guess I was wrong… That one looked so promising too…"

"No luck?" King asked, coming to sit beside her.

Luz shook her head; "No. The entry is about Philip trying to solve the Black Tomb at Caplacier… he apparently found some old ledger within the temple that detailed how the tomb could be opened, but the information was wrong, so this entry is another dud." she sighed.

Rasiel looked up from Eda's cauldron; "The ledger Philip found was wrong? I was under the impression the old High Priests knew precisely how to open the tombs. How did Philip say it was done?"

"He writes that the tombs require three different kinds of magic, which we already knew. But instead of Witch, Demon, and Angel, the ledger listed the required keys as "The Blood of the Demon Realm, the Blood of the Divine Realm, and the Blood of the Titans." But since we didn't have any Titan Blood when we opened your tomb, that can't be true." Luz said, before her eyes suddenly went wide; "Unless my blood is already becoming like Titan Blood because of the Glyphs!"

King hummed curiously, while Rasiel looked between the two of them with a suspicious expression.

"Are you two playing with me?" he asked suddenly, making the two turn to him.

"Playing with you?" King said, confused.

Rasiel nodded; "Yes. Are you, what is it you say in this era…, "pranking" me?"

Luz and King exchanged baffled looks; "We don't know what you're talking about." King frowned.

Rasiel crossed his arms; "I understand the need for secrecy, but I already know the truth. There's no need to hide it from me."

That just confused them even more; "I don't think I have any secrets from you." Luz said, "Rasiel, I really don't know what you're talking about."

Rasiel's eyes widened; if even Luz was saying that, then it had to be true. His jaw hung open; "You… you really don't know?"

"Don't know what!?" King demanded, "Stop jerking us around! What are you talking about!?"

Rasiel looked at the little demon; "King, the keys listed in that ledger were correct. The Black Tombs require the blood AND magic of the Demon Realm, the Divine Realm, and a Titan to open. Luz may have Titan magic via the Glyphs, but that would only give her pseudo-Titan's blood, and it would take years for the change to happen. It wouldn't be able to open the Black Tomb."

Luz shook her head; "But then how did we open it? I obviously have Angel magic, and Amity had magic from the Demon Realm, but the third key was opened by…" she trailed off as her eyes went wide with shock as she turned to stare down at King.

The little demon stared back with confusion, before the pieces began to fall into place.

"No… No, it can't be!" King cried, getting to his feet and backing away from the two angels; "I-I am the King of Demons!"

"No King. I've known it since the day I met you, but I assumed you, Luz, and Eda already knew and were just keeping it secret." Rasiel said sadly.

"No! You're wrong! I-I AM THE KING OF DEMONS! I-I can't be…" King looked on the verge of a panic attack.

"King… I'm sorry, but you aren't the King of Demons. You're not technically even a Demon…

"Shut up! You're wrong!" King tried to interrupt.

"You are a Titan, King." Rasiel finished.

"NO! I can't be! I'm King! King! I-I just look like this because an evil spell was cast on me, taking away my powers and my crown!" King yelled, turning his panic into anger.

Luz put her hands up in a calming gesture; "King, it's okay. We can work this out." she said soothingly, still shocked to the core herself but putting that aside for King's sake.

"There's nothing to sort out! M-My memories are fuzzy, but I remember some things! I remember armies bowing before me! Being served the greatest of feasts! I remember falling from a great height as I was shrunk into this form! But when I get my powers back, I'll reclaim my true form and take back my kingdom!" King declared, again stomping his foot. With each memory he recalled, the more confident he felt about his story. He was no Titan! Rasiel was just mistaken! Maybe Titans had looked different 100,000 years ago?

"King, I know this must come as a major shock, but be reasonable. I was there, 100,000 years ago! I saw plenty of baby Titans! As far as I can see, you're about 8-10 years old; far too young to be the King of anything." Rasiel said gently.

"You're wrong! I remember my feasts and armies! I remember! Y-You're probably just mistaking me for a Titan because you lost most of your personal memories!" King pointed an accusing claw at Rasiel.

"King…" Luz said softly, reaching to stroke her little brother's back. Before she could however, King spun around and pointed at her.

"You believe me, right Luz!?" he cried.

The young angel froze; she knew King wasn't what he believed himself to be, and had done since her first day on the Boiling Isles, when she'd tried to reclaim his stolen "crown of power". At first, she'd just believed the whole "King of Demons" thing was a game that he was playing, but as time marched on, Luz had realised that King truly believed his game was real. Luz had thought about asking Eda if they should do something about it, but she hadn't had the heart. Now, faced with King's pleading expression as his entire sense of identity was being questioned, Luz couldn't bear to shatter his fantasy.

"Of course I believe you." Luz replied.

Fire spread throughout her throat, and it took every scrap of willpower Luz had to maintain a confident smile. She reached a hand behind her head, pretending to rub the back of her neck, when in fact she was casting a spell with the ice glyph to sooth the burning in her throat. It was agonising, but seeing King's little face light up made the pain worth it. He was her baby brother! She couldn't crush his fantasy!

Rasiel looked at Luz with wide eyes of concern, realising what she'd just done before a mix of anger and sympathy filled his golden eyes. King turned back to Rasiel to gloat, allowing Luz to stop hiding her expression of pain for a moment.

"Ha! See! Luz knows the truth!" King bragged, "I'm no liar!"

Rasiel frowned; "I never claimed you were lying, but you don't know the truth! I've seen Titan Babies and you look just like one!"

"Well then I must have been cursed to look like one by whoever cast that spell on me!" King retorted, "Look, I'll even prove it! Wait here!" he commanded.

King scurried out of the room, leaving Luz and Rasiel alone. The younger angel turned to the elder, wincing as she saw the angry expression on his face.

"If I had a physical body right now, I'd be pulling on your ear, young lady!" Rasiel scolded, crossing his arms; "What were you thinking, lying like that!?"

"I-I had to!" Luz whimpered, her voice a little bit crackly. She conjured some ice water and poured it down her throat, sighing as it soothed the burning sensation further.

"What possible reason could you have to hurt yourself just so King can keep living in denial!? He. Is. A. Titan!" Rasiel said severely.

"I know he's not what he thinks he is!" Luz retorted, "But this is important to King! This is his entire identity, his self-image! He's so little and young; I can't bear to break his heart and make him question his own existence! For Heaven's sake, his literal name is King! This "King of Demons" fantasy is his entire life! I couldn't just take that away from him… even if it hurts."

Rasiel's anger abated and all he was left with was pity. His desire to yank on Luz's ear was replaced with the desire to hug her, as the girl suffered to try and preserve her little brother's happiness. He understood where Luz was coming from; King really was very young and was trying to make sense of his own existence. It was no wonder he reacted with denial when Rasiel tried to challenge the nature of that existence. Who wouldn't react like that if everything they thought they knew was uprooted? But at the same time, Luz was still hurting herself and putting off the inevitable. King would have to face the truth one day, and the longer he waited, the worse it would hurt when he had no choice but to accept it.

Sighing heavily, Rasiel softly asked; "How is your throat feeling?"

"I'm dealing with it. It's not as bad as at the Covention, but I didn't have to say as much this time, and I have the ice glyph now." Luz replied. Her throat still felt sore, but it was manageable.

Before either angel could say anything more, King came running back into the room, now carrying his notepad and pencil.

"Okay Mister Amnesia, I'm going to make you see the truth! We're going to go to my castle!" King declared.

Luz and Rasiel exchanged looks; "Your castle?" Luz said questioningly.

"That's right! It's on an island beyond the Boiling Sea! I can lead us to it, but you'll need to fly us there." King explained.

Rasiel raised an eyebrow, wondering if this island really existed or was part of King's fantasy. Titan's were masters of shaping the Demon Realm (heck, their bodies were the most populated landmasses in the realm), and some had been known to build small islands to serve as nurseries for their children. Of course, if the island wasn't real, then King was leading them on a wild goose chase.

Luz was the one to answer; "Well then, let's go. It's been a while since the two of us went on an adventure together! In fact, the last one was when we met Rasiel on the Knee! It'll be fun!" she smiled.

King nodded happily and scrawled a quick note for Eda, before clambering up into Luz's arms and pointing to the door; "Onward, my loyal subjects! My castle awaits!"

Rasiel gave Luz an unimpressed look as she smiled nervously. He returned to his ring so he wouldn't be forced to float along beside the pair, then Luz headed outside with King. They said a brief goodbye to Hooty (who was preoccupied trying to eat flies without extending his body for some reason) then Luz cast an illusion over herself and King to disguise them as Eda on her staff before they took flight and began heading westward. Once they were out of sight of the Boiling Isles, Luz dropped her illusion, but kept her concealment stone on just in case they came across other people, as unlikely as that may be. King wiggled excitedly on the back of Luz's head, while Luz prayed this would all turn out okay, and Rasiel simply hoped it wouldn't end in tears.

[Meanwhile]

Eda ran a nervous hand through her hair as she led Raine up to her room and closed the door behind them, with a little spell in place to keep any curious little ears from hearing something they shouldn't. She trusted her kids, but King became clingy when guests took her attention, and Luz was an avid supporter of Eda and Raine rekindling their old relationship, so Eda wanted to make sure the kids didn't get into mischief by eavesdropping on them.

Raine was blushing nervously as they took a seat on the edge of Eda's nest. It wasn't the first time they'd been on it; in fact they'd shared it with Eda on more than one occasion when they were dating, but it felt different now that they weren't together any more. But they shook off their nervousness and blush; they weren't just here to spend time with Eda this time.

"So, Raine." Eda sat beside them, "What can I do for you?"

"I've got some news for you, and a proposition." Raine replied, looking very serious all of a sudden.

Eda was tempted to tease them, but the look on their face made her hold back; "Okay, I'll bite. What is it?"

Raine took a deep breath; "Do you remember that day in the Drake Tail Flower Field? We were sat on our favourite spot on the little hill, and I was trying to avoid having to do that performance?"

Eda smiled at the memory; it had been the last time they'd gone to their spot together… at least until the fateful day that Raine announced they were joining the Bard Coven and broke up with her.

"I remember it pretty well. Especially the part where I told you that you can't run from your fears forever, and should instead get the jump on them." Eda grinned, before sighing; "I guess I didn't exactly live up to my own example there, considering I pushed you and everyone else away out of fear of my curse."

Raine gave her a smile and put their hand on top of hers, blushing a bit; "We've both grown up since then. Seeing you with King and Luz, and hearing you actually be honest about your feelings… it's exactly why I decided to come to you with this idea of mine. But first, let me get back on topic."

They cleared their throat; "I took what you said to heart that day, but I didn't understand it until after we broke up and I joined the Bard Coven. I started out as just a teacher for the younger members, but because of that, I got some insight into how the covens recruit new members." Raine's eyes hardened; "The Emperor prioritises recruitment through force. There are no real benefits to joining a coven, or at least none exclusive to joining covens, so the only thing he has is threats. People who don't sign up are labelled Wild Witches even if they never practised wild magic, and people who objected or refused to fall in line would disappear, ending up in the Conformatorium or the Emperor's dungeons."

They looked to Eda and clenched their fist; "In that moment, I remembered what you said. About not running from my fears and rising to face them! I decided I wasn't going to stand for the Emperor's corrupt rule! I've been carefully and quietly moving up the ranks of the Bard Coven, and now I'm going to be the new Head Witch when Scooter retires, which he wants to do soon. I also found people like me, who want to change things!"

Eda's eyes widened as her face was split by a massive grin; "Well well, Raine Whispers has become a rebel! Trying to change things from the inside! I'm impressed!"

The Owl Lady had always found Raine attractive, but they'd never been hotter than when they were plotting rebellion with such fire in their eyes. It was a new side to them that Eda could very much appreciate!

Raine then smiled coyly; "From the inside yes, but I always found that a problem is best dealt with from both sides at once, so I'm also forming a group to fight back against the Emperor more overtly."

"So a public rebel group on one side, and you undermining him from within on the other! Now that is a plan I can get behind! I'm guessing that's why you want my help?" Eda asked eagerly.

Raine nodded; "Yes, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, I need to warn you about something. Some contacts within the Emperor's Palace passed along that Belos is planning something big in the coming months. Something he's been working towards since taking power."

"What could he want? Is he planning on expanding his power beyond the Boiling Isles? A war with the rest of the Demon Realm?" Eda theorised.

"I don't know. But based on various rumours and the activities of his coven, I've pieced together that he needs at least three things." Raine held up one finger; "First is the Coven System. His obsession with getting everyone to join one is suspicious, so I think the Coven System, or perhaps the sigils themselves, serve a bigger purpose."

They held up a second finger; "Second is something related to you."

"Me?" Eda frowned.

Raine nodded; "The bounty on you is obscenely high. We're talking a trillion snails, and before you busted everyone out of the Conformatorium, your biggest crimes were petty theft and being a wild witch. The bounty is far too large for something like that, so I believe Belos needs you for something. I can only think of two possibilities; your curse, or your portal."

Both of those were bad; the portal would give Belos access to the Human Realm, and Eda didn't even want to imagine what he'd want with her curse!

But then Raine raised a third finger, and what they said next had Eda's heart sinking.

"Third, and most unusually, is an Angel."

Eda gulped nervously; "A-An angel? What could Belos possibly want with one of those?"

Raine shrugged; "I don't know. But he wants one alive and unharmed. A living angel is the only thing on the Isles that has a higher bounty than you, Eda."

They reached into their pocket and pulled out a bounty poster depicting a hooded figure in white and gold robes, with a pair of large white wings on their back. It read; "Wanted: Angels of any rank and order. ALIVE and UNHARMED. Reward: 5 Trillion Snails." Eda eyed the poster warily as she felt bile crawling up her throat. Her mind conjured images of Luz's smiling face, and the Emperor's hands clasping around her.

The fact that the Emperor wanted an angel alive meant he obviously had something nefarious planned, but what? Luz and Amity had shared their theory about Belos being an angel himself, so was he looking for help? A second angel to help him create something? The Panacea Mirror needed the blood of two angels, so it wouldn't surprise Eda if other such things existed. And what if the girls' theory was wrong and Belos was something else altogether? With the power in an angel's tears, feathers, and blood, Belos could do any number of things! Heck, he may even want one to find a way to the Divine Realm and conquer that too! If it was Eda's portal he was after, Belos' ultimate goal may well be the conquering of all three realms!

Eda shook her head; ultimately it didn't matter what his goal was! Eda would not let that monster anywhere near her kid!

"So we've got some insight into Belos' plan, and you've got a plan of your own to counter it. Where do we go from here?" Eda asked seriously.

"I've begun recruiting people against the current system. A lot of the Conformatorium escapees have already signed up, including a fellow Bard who was arrested for stupid reasons. I believe you may know her; her name is Katya." Raine smiled.

Eda nodded, remembering the fan-fiction writer fairly well. Luz occasionally ran into her at the Library and brought home some of her work. Food falling in love wasn't exactly Eda's cup of tea, but she had to admit Katya wrote good romance!

"Katya and the rest of the escapees all had good things to say about you and your kids, which reinforced my wish to recruit you. I'm not leadership material, Eda, and once I'm Coven Head, I'm going to be under a lot more scrutiny. I can't fight from the inside and outside at the same time, so I wanted you to become the leader of the Rebellion." Raine finished, finally getting to their proposition.

Eda didn't even need to think about it; rebelling against Belos, spending more time with Raine, and protecting Luz from whatever evil things Belos needed her for? She couldn't think of a better way to spend her day!

"I'm in. Don't worry Raine Storm, I'll whip your little rebellion into a real force to be reckoned with! Now who and what am I working with?" Eda smiled eagerly.

Raine had honestly expecting that answer, but they were still delighted and hugged Eda gratefully, making them both blush. "Our rebellion is only about 50 members strong at the moment. Including the two of us, Katya and two of my other young students from the Bard Coven, along with around 45 escapees from the Conformatorium; a few are wild witches like you, but most are a part of the nine covens. Since most were arrested on trumped up charges, they don't have bounties and aren't being hunted. The few that are wanted are currently in hiding at safe houses around Bonesborough, Pancrea City, and Cartilia up on the Knee. We don't have any members in the Emperor's Coven, but some of us have friends there that pass along bits of information."

Eda grinned wider; "So we've got a spy network across the nine covens, allies willing to get us info on the Emperor's Coven, the future leadership of the Bard Coven, AND a force of wanted criminals who can act openly and brazenly against the Emperor without worrying about their identities getting out. With you managing the spy network and me leading the open rebellion, we might actually be able to do this!"

"That was my plan too. The name of our group is "Covens Against the Throne" AKA the CATTs!" Raine said proudly, "It was originally Bards Against the Throne, but once we expanded past the Bard Coven, we needed a new name. Katya picked it out, since it kept the animal theme! BATTs to CATTs!"

Eda smirked; it was kind of a corny name, but she could get behind that! Now the only thing she had to think about was whether to let King and Luz get involved, as hiding it from them would definitely fail since Eda had sworn to always be honest with Luz, and she couldn't treat one kid differently than the other. King would definitely want to join, and while Luz would likely want to help in some way, Eda doubted she'd want to help with the fighting. She was still afraid of being seen as another of the conquering, dictator-like angels that wild witches of the past had feared; she'd definitely have some qualms against trying to upend the status quo. Though to be honest, Eda was happy to keep her out of it… King too for that matter. He was still so little, even with his growing glyph skills…

Putting that out of her mind for the moment, Eda stood up and offered her hand to Raine; "Well Raine Storm, here's to our rebellion. We always made some sweet music together; let's show the Emperor what we can do with it!"

Raine smiled broadly and got to their feet too, taking Eda's hand and shaking it, before pulling her into another hug; "Thank you Eda. I knew I could count on you. You've changed a lot in the last fifteen years." they smiled with a faint blush on their cheeks.

Eda nodded and looked to her dressing table, where a picture from Grom was pinned to the side of the mirror. It depicted Luz, King, and Eda together in their fancy get-up, smiling and having fun. "I really have changed, huh…"

It had started with King, and gone even further once Luz joined their little family. The fact that Eda was joining the CATTs to protect them and not just to satisfy her own need for rebellion was proof of that.

"It's worth it. For the first time in my life, I've got something I want to protect." Eda said determinedly.

Raine felt their heart skip a beat as they gazed at the resolute expression on Eda's face. Raine had always found her beautiful, even when her hair had started to grey and she'd prematurely aged from the curse (Raine still insisted Eda aged like fine wine), but even disregarding how the new Super Elixirs had her looking like her real age again, Raine thought Eda had never looked as beautiful and alluring as she did in that moment. Motherhood suited Eda better than the Owl Lady would ever admit. The curse may have robbed her of the chance to have her own biological kids, but Raine doubted any such kids would have ended up being better for her than King and Luz. A mischievous little demon and a sweet and helpful young girl; each sharing a side of themselves with their all-but-confirmed adoptive mother; it was like the Heavens themselves had brought them together.

The two former lovers sat together for a bit, their minds and hearts racing as the mood in the room suddenly grew intense. They were silent as they considered their relationship; it had ended because Eda had refused to confide in them, and lied about how she felt, and Raine hadn't been able to sit there and watch the woman they loved suffer while being forbidden from doing anything about it. But now Eda had matured and opened up, and Raine had come to understand her rebellious, free spirit better than ever. Their prior doubts had faded, and both wished to rekindle what they'd once had… But both were also afraid to ruin the friendship they'd rebuilt by bringing romance back into it.

Ultimately, both decided not to broach the topic yet, mentally making the same decision.

"I'll see what King and Luz think about this first. I share my life with them, so they deserve to at least tell me what they think before I bring someone else into our shared life." Eda thought.

"I'll talk to Eda's kids first. I don't want to ruin the family she's made for herself by forcing myself into their lives against their will." Raine thought.

After a few silent moments, Eda chuckled awkwardly; "It's, uh, kinda quiet. I wonder what the kids are doing. We should probably check on them; leave King alone too long and he gets into my ingredient stores! He's surprisingly good with potions, but he has a tendency to experiment. And Titan knows Luz could stumble across a thought-to-be extinct monster while trying to heal a baby bird or something wild." she half-joked.

Raine smiled and nodded, and followed Eda out of the room (which really had begun to get a little too warm). They went down to the living room, but found that neither King nor Luz were present. The books and papers they'd been working on were still where they'd been using them, but the kids were gone.

"Where did everybody go? Hey Hooty, where are Luz and King?" Eda asked.

Hooty swung his door open; "Hoot hoot! They flew off somewhere with Raspberry, hoot!"

Eda frowned; "It's not like them to leave without saying anything. They must have left a note or something." she murmured, looking around.

Raine helped, eventually finding a short scrawled note stuck to King's stuffed rabbit Francois.

"I found a note from King. It says "Off to my real castle! Don't wait up! Love, your favourite Demon Overlord." Ha, you've got to love that child's imagination." Raine smiled fondly.

However Eda didn't smile; she took the note and paled as she read it herself. "Oh no, not again!"

Raine blinked in surprise as Eda pulled out her scroll and tried to call Luz, only to curse; "Dang it, no answer. She must already be out of range… how do humans get their phones to connect so far away?" she grumbled. She then called Owlbert to her side and turned him into his staff form. "Sorry Raine, but I need to go after him!"

"Of course, It's fine. I can come too, if you'd like." Raine offered, snapping their fingers and summoning their own Palisman. The red fox Palisman appeared in a flash, transforming from Raine's violin to her true Palisman form. Her name was Rena, and Raine had carved her themselves under the tutelage of Dell Clawthorne, Eda's father. She was as shy as they were, so usually preferred to stay in the form of a violin, but she was eager to come out and fly again, turning into a staff with a quiet yip.

Eda prepared to refuse, but decided that if the worst should happen, having another adult witch by her side would be helpful. "Okay. Follow me; King is leading Luz into danger and he doesn't even know it!"

Raine nodded, and after Eda gave an order to Hooty to keep the Owl House locked down, the two took to the sky and began flying westward in pursuit of King and Luz. As they flew, Raine had to ask; "Eda, what exactly is going on. What is this "real castle" King was talking about? Why is it so bad that he's taking Luz there?"

Eda sighed worriedly; "It's a long story Raine Storm. But we're going to be flying for quite a while, so I might as well tell you… It all started eight years ago…"

[Later]

Luz sang cheerful songs as she flew through the air, carrying King in her arms. They'd been flying for hours at this point, with King occasionally getting a funny look on his face, then pointing her in a slightly different direction. They'd seen various small islands and archipelagos (some natural earth, and some made from Titan fragments) but King had dismissed all of them on sight, saying they weren't the right one. It made Luz certain that he really had a specific destination in mind, though she couldn't see anything. Things were still a bit tense between King and Rasiel, so they hadn't talked much and Luz had instead filled the silence with singing, making King happily wiggle along.

About an hour ago, King had moved from the back of Luz's head to her arms, and ordered her to fly low enough for them to feel the heat of the Boiling Sea. It made them a little sweaty, but the ever optimistic Luz treated it like a sauna treatment, and more importantly, it allowed King to see closer to the water, which became very helpful when mist started to build up.

"We've been out here for a long time now. It's starting to get dark." Rasiel said within Luz's mind, noting the sun setting behind them. "If this island is real, we may end up having to camp there."

"Getting home tonight does look a little unlikely. I hope Eda doesn't get too upset… still, at least she'll have more alone time with Raine." Luz said, briefly summoning her scroll and finding she had no signal, preventing her from calling Eda and letting her know.

King rolled his eyes; "She probably won't even realise we're gone until we get back. You know how she gets around them. But forget that; I think we're almost there."

Luz narrowed her eyes and flapped her wings hard, trying to disperse some of the mist around them. At first, all she could see was more ocean, but then she felt something strange. King's little body seemed to briefly vibrate in her arms, and Luz felt a sudden spark of warmth that made her body tingle. She blinked hard, and when she opened her eyes again, she gasped as she saw a new island in the distance, one she definitely hadn't seen a moment ago.

"There it is!" King declared excitedly, pointing to the island.

It was a bizarre one; unlike anything Luz had ever seen. The island was covered in a dense jungle, and was surrounded by a tall rock wall with only a single opening that led into a small cove. In the centre of the island was a tall circular tower that had been damaged somehow and was missing a chunk from its upper levels. Luz gasped softly as she descending onto the island's beach, and King hopped out of her arms. Rasiel then appeared from his ring and took a look around.

"Wow… Look at the cliff walls!" Luz said in amazement. "How did something like that even form?"

"One of two ways." Rasiel chimed in; "The most likely answer was that it was created by a Titan as a nursery for its child…" King shot him a glare, so Rasiel added; "… or it could be the remains of a large dormant volcano. Rising sea levels would have submerged most of it, and the magma inside formed an island within what would have been the caldera, which would also explain the rock walls forming like that."

"You see? I told you! And that big building there is my castle! Whoever cursed me did some damage to it, but it's still mostly intact." King grinned, beginning to march through the forest.

Luz and Rasiel followed him, looking around at the beach and jungle. There was other life around, but only insects and birds; nothing else.

"I woke up here in Eda's arms after I was cursed. She carried me to safety, so I could reclaim my strength! I was even weaker back then; like a wittle baby." King explained.

"Aww." Luz cooed, imagining King even smaller and cuter.

"You were originally smaller?" Rasiel asked.

King nodded; "Yep! I've regained some of my powers, but not much… I still need my crown and a cure for this curse on me! It's a shame the same two angels can't make more than one Panacea Mirror, or I'd be asking you to cure me too! But Eda deserves it for taking care of us."

Luz felt her heart swell, seeing King's obvious love for Eda, while Rasiel raised an eyebrow and asked; "Have you not considered that you've gotten bigger simply because you've been ageing?"

King completely ignored him, instead leading the two angels through the jungle to the tower/castle. The canopy was even thicker than the Forearm Forest, and if it weren't for Rasiel's natural luminescence, none of them would be able to see beyond the ends of their noses. Eventually they made it to the entrance to the castle, which was shaped like a giant keyhole.

"Ah, home sweet home!" King breathed deep, then exhaled slowly.

"Ooh, a big keyhole? I guess that makes this castle a giant treasure chest! And I bet I know the treasure inside!" Luz giggled, winking at King.

The little fella giggled happily; "That's me!"

Rasiel rolled his eyes good naturedly at the children's banter as they approached the entrance. It was caved in with rocks, but Luz and King used vines to shift the rubble out of the way, allowing the trio to go inside. While they were working, Rasiel noted an unusual golden material that formed the frame of the keyhole door, and odd circular designs on them. The pattern was somewhat faded, and Rasiel felt his eyes go fuzzy as he tried to focus on the swirling design, though he recognised it as Titan Writing.

"These markings are definitely the written language of the Titans. They're likely Glyphs from Titans that have long since lost their magic." Rasiel murmured to himself. He didn't bother saying it louder, as King would just deny it anyway. Besides, the tower itself was certainly not what Rasiel had expected… the island itself was what he expected, but the building was definitely not normal from what he could remember. Titan Nests and Nurseries were usually a lot more open, while this place was like a fortress. What would compel a Titan to build such a place?

"And there!" King declared, his vines pulling the last of the rubble out of the way; "Come on in!"

The angels followed him into the tower, and Luz and King created numerous balls of light to illuminate the place. Luz and Rasiel gasped at the sight; they were in some kind of grand hall, with intricate pillars, golden filigree decorating everything, and painted stone carvings lining the walls. There was even some kind of star map made from gold detailing on the wall above the entrance. It looked exactly how one would imagine the entrance hall of a Demon King's palace, only partially overtaken by the elements. However there was also something odd; besides the rampant vegetation and weathering from years of abandonment, there were also dozens upon dozens of odd stone sculptures on the ground. They were each around the same height as King, and were made of two or three rocks stacked on top of each other, with a vaguely crescent shaped rock on the top.

King paid the figurines no mind, and spread his arms out grandly; "This is the chamber where I devoured the hearts of my foes! The taste was cold and bitter!" he grinned at Luz; "But I bet yours would be sweet, Luz!"

Luz giggled; "Well I wouldn't recommend eating it! If my heart is supposed to turn into a Galdorstone after I die, then you might break your teeth! It'd give a whole new meaning to rock candy!" she said, before blushing and adding; "Besides, my heart belongs to Amity. No one else gets to have it."

King rolled his eyes with a grin, while Rasiel gave them both mildly disturbed looks; "Congratulations, you two have managed to be horribly morbid and sickeningly sweet in the same sentence."

"You're just mad because I proved you wrong! I'm the King of Demons! Not some crummy orphaned Titan." King boasted.

Rasiel shook his head; "I'm not mad, and I still say you're a Titan!" he then looked around with a very unsettled expression; "But this place has me concerned. This isn't Titan architecture…"

"Then isn't it possible for King's story to be true?" Luz pointed out.

"Yeah! This is the finest of Demon Architecture!" King agreed.

Rasiel shook his head again; "No, this isn't Demon architecture either. Nor is it from any witch clan I can recall… No, these designs… the pillars, the gold, the celestial map on the wall above the entrance… This is Angelic Architecture!"

Luz and King both stared at him with wide eyes as that revelation hit them. "W-What!? You're kidding!" Luz cried.

"I'm not. I don't know how, but this place was definitely designed and built by an angel. I haven't been in the Divine Realm for over 100,000 years, but this looks exactly like a very modern version of the buildings I recall from back then. The gold that decorates everything is another clue; it's not actually gold but Aurum, an alchemical creation that was invented so all real gold in the Divine Realm can be used for currency." Rasiel explained, his hand ghosting over some of the golden detailing. Nostalgia was hitting him hard as he missed his homeland.

He shared a brief look with Luz; this had now become a mystery. King was adamant he wasn't a Titan, Rasiel was adamant that he was, and Luz wasn't really sure what to think, but the idea that King's "castle" had been designed by an angel made all of them pause.

King wanted to excuse it by claiming he'd had an angel build it for him, but he couldn't actually remember anything like that and didn't want to lie to Luz. In fact, he feared that he might have done something terrible to an angel in the past! Luz might hate him if she found out he'd preyed on her people!

"W-Well we know angels have been to the Demon Realm before. Maybe King hired one to build his castle?" Luz suggested, though the shake in her voice made it obvious that even she didn't really believe that idea.

"Or perhaps an angel once found a Titan Egg on this island and build this tower to protect and study it. Without their parent around to saturate the egg with magic, Titan Eggs can take around five millennia to hatch." Rasiel countered, though he couldn't imagine why. In fact, he had strange gaps in his memories when it came to Titans. He remembered what they looked like and several biological and magical facts about them, but little else. To him, that meant that he'd either never known anything more, or the other things he'd learned were tied up in his lost personal memories.

King stomped his foot; "How many times do I have to say it!? I'm the King of Demons! L-Look over here, there's carvings of me!"

He directed them over to some of the wall carvings. Most of them were damaged, but one was still decipherable. It depicted a figure that looked like an adult King, with a long flowing beard coming from beneath his skull mask, and clad in some kind of ancient warrior garb. The angels looked at with awe.

"Wow! You look awesome, King!" Luz praised, eyes shining. It was hard to imagine her adorable little brother looking like that grand-looking warrior!

"This figure… it resembles a Titan, but different. Titans didn't have facial hair like that; they had manes, and they didn't wear armour. They also had draconic wings." Rasiel muttered, looking closely at the carving.

"See! More proof! I may look like a Titan, but it's obvious that I'm not!" King declared, "Look at that one next!"

He led the duo to a second carving, this one depicting the adult King wielding a spear and facing down a giant monster. The top of the monster's head was missing, as the carving had worn away, but Rasiel could still recognise most of its features.

"That creature there is a Titan, I'm sure of it!" he said resolutely, "But then what is this masked person? Is that really King?"

"If that is King, then this shows him fighting a Titan!" Luz exclaimed.

King gaped at the idea of him taking down one of the Titans, but he quickly rolled with it; "I must have done! I was much larger back then, so I bet I could have handled it! I wonder if more of these carvings show my valiant battle with the Titan?"

The little Demon scurried off and began looking around at the other carvings, while Luz moved to stand beside Rasiel.

"So, does this mean King really isn't a Titan? That he really could be the King of Demons?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

Rasiel shook his head; "Luz, I can sense magic and I know for a fact that King has Titan magic! It's also the only way he could have helped open the Black Tomb!"

"B-But maybe he's just a species of Demon descended from Titans! That would explain it!" she argued, though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

"Luz, it's beginning to sound like you want me to be wrong." Rasiel frowned, crossing his arms.

Luz looked away, before whispering ashamedly; "I-I do… I'm sorry Rasiel, but I really do want you to be wrong."

Rasiel's expression softened, seeing Luz so distressed; "Why is that?"

"B-Because it means King is the last of his kind. There are no other Titans left… Eda told me once that the Boiling Isles is the youngest Titan Landmass, and no Titans have been spotted elsewhere for over 5000 years. If King really is a baby Titan like you say he is, then he was orphaned… or worse, abandoned. What do you think that will do to King if he finds out that's the truth?" Luz asked miserably. The idea of her baby brother in pain was tearing at her heart.

She then began to rub her arms as if cold; "And now there's this tower… built by an angel. If you're right about King, then why was he placed inside this tower? What if the angel who built it actually stole King's egg from his parent!? W-What if we really are the reason there are no Titans left!?"

Her mind went back to the High Priestess Zara, and her words after being defeated as an Ice Wyrm; she'd called angels "twisted monsters and enemies of the Titan!" and that they "drove the Titans to their deaths!"

Luz ran her hands through her hair; "By the Seraphim, if Zara was right about that and you're right about King, then our people slaughtered his!"

Rasiel dearly wished he could touch Luz to comfort her as she began to spiral into a panic; clinging to the hope that they were all wrong, and that King was what he believed himself to be.

"Luz, I don't know if Zara was correct or not. Perhaps angels did wipe out the Titans, though I haven't the foggiest idea how, considering a single full grown Titan should be powerful enough to take out the entire Council of Seraphim. But perhaps we were just a convenient scapegoat for the real cause. Witches and Demons are short-lived creatures, and time obscures all things eventually. The truth is unknowable for us at the moment. But I'll tell you what is knowable."

He knelt so he was on Luz's eye level; "You love King and would never hurt him. He knows that, and he loves you just as much. Would you blame King if you learned Titans had wiped out all angels but you, long before he was even born?"

"N-No." Luz shook her head.

"Then trust King to do the same." he smiled gently.

Luz took those words to heart and began to calm down. Things had become emotional and she still had so many questions, but like Rasiel said; the truth was unknowable at the moment, and it wouldn't change reality no matter what it was. Luz loved her little brother and King loved his big sister; what they were beyond those titles didn't matter.

"Y-You're right." Luz nodded, before looking Rasiel in the eye; "You're right about everything. King… he really is a Titan, isn't he?"

Rasiel nodded; "His magic is Titan magic, he opened the Titan lock on the Black Tomb, and he perfectly resembles a baby Titan of around 8-10 years old. If you recall, Zara recognised what he was too."

Luz blinked and thought back, before her eyes widened; Zara had gone pale when King had declared Luz his big sister, and had reacted with shock when she saw him. She must have known King was a Titan!

But then another puzzle piece fell into place as she recalled what Rasiel had said earlier about Titan Eggs. "Without their parent's magic, a Titan Egg takes around 5000 years to mature and hatch, right?"

Rasiel nodded, already knowing were Luz was going with this. Luz gulped; "And the Boiling Isles are about 5000 years old too, and is the youngest Titan Landmass… that means…!"

She looked over to King, who was sifting through pieces of a broken carving in hopes of restoring the image.

"The Boiling Isles Titan is King's parent." Luz whispered.

Rasiel nodded grimly, and Luz felt her heart shatter. Her little brother had been living on his own parent's body without even knowing it…

"Oh King…" the young angel cried softly, hands covering her mouth.

King didn't hear her, but he turned to face her anyway, seemingly sensing something was wrong. He saw tears glistening in her eyes and panicked.

"Luz!? What's wrong!?" he cried, running over and clambering onto the girl's shoulders to comfort her.

Luz's lip wobbled as she struggled with what to say, but Rasiel saved her the trouble; "She just got a face full of dust. Let's give her a moment to wash her face. In the meantime, you can show me more "proof" of your title."

Rasiel was obviously lying, but he couldn't feel pain as a disembodied spirit. King didn't know that, so took his words at face value.

"Oh, okay! In that case, I'll show you my throne, made from the teeth of my enemies! It was, uh, not exactly a comfortable seat…"

King began leading Rasiel away, but the spirit hung back just a moment to whisper in Luz's ear. "You have a choice to make, little one. You can choose to let King live a comforting lie, or give him the painful truth. Just remember that whether you choose truth or lies, there will be pain for you. It is up to you decide which pain you'll face."

With that, Rasiel floated off after King, leaving Luz to mull over her thoughts and feelings. She wiped her eyes and walked down a long hallway that led off from the entrance hall, since it was the opposite direction that King and Rasiel had gone in. The young angel was trying to decide what to do; she'd tried to deny the truth even to herself, but that wouldn't be possible any more… should she try to convince King of the truth? If she was in his position, she'd want to know the truth! But King wasn't her… There was no way Luz could think of that wouldn't make this all end in tears.

Luz was distracted from her thoughts by an eerie skittering sound, making her frown and cast another light spell to better illuminate the dark hallway. She almost let out a scream of surprise as the light revealed that the walls of the hallway were lined with countless large alcoves, each containing some kind of odd creature made of flesh and stone. Luz readied her lightsaber-like spell and crept closer to one of the alcoves to get a better look at the creature within. It, like all the others, appeared completely inactive. It was a tall, vaguely humanoid creature made from several stones held together by some kind of red, mush-like flesh, which looked to have partially rotted. Interestingly, all the creatures had somewhat crescent shaped heads, just like the effigies in the entrance hall.

"What are these things? Servants for the castle's owner? Or guards?" Luz whispered to herself. She continued following the hallway until she reached the end, where she found a circular chamber that stretched high up into the upper floors of the tower. This chamber was absolutely covered in these alcoves too, and each one was filled with more of the odd constructs. Luz carefully poked one of them, and it promptly crumbled into fragments, the fleshy parts having become like wet sand while the stone became like chalk. Luz squeaked as it fell on her, jumping out of the way just in time to avoid being covered in its detritus, but as she did so, she noticed something strange.

There was an empty alcove.

Luz remembered the skittering sound from earlier and gulped; she had a horrible feeling they weren't alone! She peered closer at the empty alcove, hoping to see if it had been recently occupied, but found that it was covered in cobwebs and dust; perhaps the occupant had been destroyed a long time ago? Not wanting to take any risks, Luz turned to leave and warn King and Rasiel, but just as she was about to leave the circular chamber, she walked straight into another of the constructs… one that had definitely not been there a moment ago, and one that was very much still alive!

"Ahh!" Luz yelped, swinging her light sword at the creature instinctively. She cleaved off the construct's arm, but the two ends of the fleshy segment she'd cut reached for each other, reattaching its arm.

The construct's two beady little eyes; really just small holes bored into the stone of its head, began to glow gold for a moment, then a voice echoed out from it. The voice was that of an elderly man, and it said;

"Angelic magic detected. Energy Saving Mode disengaged. Golem A17-03 has encountered a hostile. Hostile Designation: Angel Female. Classification: High Angel. Titan Magic Saturation Detected."

Luz's eyes widened; the voice was that of a person, but what it was saying was clearly cobbled together from pre-recorded voice lines. However more concerning was that it had been able to tell she was an angel! It must have absorbed some magic from her spell!

Seeing as her attack hadn't worked, Luz combined the ice and light glyphs to create a beam of freezing light to encase the golem in ice before fleeing down the hall. She didn't get far however, as the ice shattered and the golem extended one of its arms after her, catching her ankle and yanking her back. Luz screamed and tried to slice off the arm that had grabbed her, but the golem's other arm gripped her wrist. It had seemingly coated its stony nub-like hands with fleshy goo that had then turned the stone into claws, which were gripping Luz tightly. She squirmed and tried shooting light beams from her free hand, but the golem moved its head aside to dodge the beam, then promptly slammed Luz into the ground to daze her.

"Hostile Angel exhibits Beta Level Threat. Nursery Tower defences are currently offline. Golems are 99% inactive. Reactivation is required." the Golem said, dragging the dazed Luz back to the circular chamber.

Luz had hit her head on the ground when she'd been slammed, so she was mildly concussed and had to use her free hand to conjure a Crystal Lotus healing spell to fix the damage. By the time she could think straight again, she was already in the circular chamber again and the golem holding her had released her leg and instead wrapped her up in its extended, tentacle-like arm. The other hand was now being used to shift aside rubble in the centre of the room, revealing a series of concentric stone circles sculpted into the floor. The golem rotated these circles like the dial of a safe, causing a loud click to echo across the room, before a short stone pillar rose up from the centre of the room.

The pillar was about twice the width of Luz's leg, and came up to just above her waist in height. Atop if were five clear crystals sticking out of the stone like the fingers of a hand, and in the centre of them was some kind of cuff with a very thin, short spike sticking out of the inside of it. Luz blinked at the sight of it, then paled as the golem took the cuff, which had some kind of clear tube connecting it to the pillar and brought it towards her. She struggled valiantly, and expelled light from every pore of her body to destroy the arm holding her so she could escape and fly away. She successfully got away, but her freedom didn't last long as the golem regenerated its arm and extended it in her direction. Luz dodged the attempted grab, only to find that it hadn't been aiming for her at all. It instead hit the door frame leading out of the circular chamber, and twisted a piece of the golden design that lined it, causing a heavy stone door to slam shut just as Luz was about to fly through.

Luz had been trying to fly away as fast as she could, so she couldn't slow down in time to avoid slamming into the stone door. She'd managed to pull up at the last minute to avoid smashing her head against it at least, but the sudden impact still knocked the wind out of her, which was the only reason she didn't scream as she felt her ribs crack. She fell to the ground and gasped, desperately trying to get some air back in her lungs as the golem grabbed her wrist and dragged her back over to the pillar. She struggled weakly, but was too stunned to get away, so the young angel found her sleeve being pulled up by the golem and the cuff slapped around her upper arm. Luz squeaked as the little spike on the inside pierced her skin, then paled as she saw it begin draining blood from her and sending it into the little pillar.

Luz managed to cast another healing spell to fix her ribs, but the draining of her blood left her feeling weak. Shockingly, the blood was not the red that Luz was used to, but a golden yellow. Luz had no idea what was going on there; as far as she knew, angels had red blood like most creatures! It had certainly been red the last time she'd bled, and her Mami's had been too!

"W-What's going on…!?" Luz gasped out. On the pillar, the five clear crystals were slowly beginning to fill with her blood, turning gold one after the other until all five were shining. Once they were all glowing, the cuff snapped open and Luz was released, and the golem let her go as well, allowing her to scramble away. She healed the puncture wound from the cuff and yanked her sleeve back down a bit, then watched warily as the golem pushed the pillar back into the ground.

As soon as the pillar was hidden in the floor again, all of the carvings in the stone and gold detailing of the chamber began to glow golden with angelic magic. The glowing lines formed magic circuits that connected to every single one of the alcoves, which then began to shine so brightly that Luz had to shield her eyes. When the light finally faded, Luz looked up and turned as white as a sheet as most of the inactive golems suddenly began to twitch and move, their eyes shining gold like the other one's briefly had.

Golem A17-03 then said; "Angelic Magic Emergency Stores replenished to 100% capacity. Beginning reactivation of Nursery Tower Defences. Nursery Golem activation in progress."

Luz grimaced; so the golem had taken her blood to reactivate the tower's defences and awaken the other golems!? This was bad; she needed to warn Rasiel and King!

Thankfully, the other activated golems hadn't begun moving yet, likely still charging up, while Golem A17-03 began moving around and examining the golems that weren't activating. Roughly a quarter of the golems were too decayed or damaged, forcing Golem A17-03 to try and make repairs, using its own fleshy slime to patch or replace the damage to the others. With it distracted, Luz was able to fully heal the remaining damage she'd suffered, then focus her light magic into a single big blast.

"Take this!" Luz cried, creating a massive ball of light magic and dropping it on the Golem like a spirit bomb. She knew she could damage it, but to prevent it from regenerating, she needed to destroy it utterly, so she made sure her spell was large enough to consume it. Her plan worked perfectly and the Golem was utterly vaporised.

"Ha! How'd you like that!?" Luz cheered.

All the active golems in the room slowly turned to look at her, their necks making creepy creaking sounds after decades of dormancy. Luz gulped; she probably should have thought this plan through a little more…

The golem closest to her spoke; "Golem A17-03 has been rendered inoperable. Hostile Angel remains active. Beginning capture."

The golems began to creak and move, and Luz had no delusions about being able to take on all of them, so she instead took advantage of their stiffness after years of being inactive. She conjured a few more massive light blasts, destroying four more golems, then used her Lightsaber spell to slice open the stone door and fly away at breakneck speeds. The hall she flew down was also full of slowly awakening golems, but Luz ignored them and flew straight back into the entrance hall, where she found King and Rasiel.

They were staring up at a patch in the ceiling that looked like a passage covered in rubble, which King was commenting on; "I can't really remember what was up there. The only memory I have from up there is a muffled roar. Probably one of my minions praising me!" he declared grandly, before noticing Luz flying towards them.

"Whoa Luz, where's the fire?" King asked, before grinning; "Oh I get it, you wanted to see my throne too! Sorry to say that it doesn't look like its here any more, but-"

"That's not it, King! We need to get out of here! We're in danger!" Luz cried.

Rasiel was immediately on guard, while King just shook his head; "Ah, you saw the Horrifying Monstrosity Room! Don't worry, they can't hurt you."

As soon as he'd said those words, a small army of golems began crawling out from the hallway Luz had just vacated. Some remained on the ground while others began scrambling around on the walls and ceilings. King cried "Weh!?" in surprise, while Rasiel frowned.

"These things… I can sense angelic magic in them!"