"You didn't have to be so aggressive."

The Joker leaned against the wall and glanced at the passing youth, who paid him no attention as he made his way upwards, toward his mysterious manor.

Hearing no response, the Magician grew impatient and annoyed, he followed Leiu and continued:

"Listen… she may have been wrong but you can't blame someone for following their beliefs."

He held the knight's shoulder, trying to stop him only for his hand to be shoved away by the latter, who abruptly turned around and gazed deep into his brother's eyes.

"Wolfram, try repeating that to Arthur while looking straight into his eyes."

Feeling a bit ashamed, the tall man dropped his head, not daring to lift it or meet the chilling glare of the youth.

"There's no more room for reconciliation. She may be your student but HE IS your brother, I don't think I have to tell you whom to support? Or is it that you feel pity?"

Though there was no response from the Joker, Leiu continued talking:

"Tell me, who was the one who came to rescue thousands of times? Is it her? No. It's not, and it'll never be. Six times did he lose his life to get you out of that cursed coffin and yet you're showing hesitation? Really? Perhaps you also need some time off in that prison to think things over…"

Slightly irritated, the Joker pushed his brother and angrily said:

"You don't know how I feel so why are you judging me?"

"I'm not judging you, only warning you. I trust you more than anyone in this world, after all, you and Arthur are the only things I have left, so don't you betray my trust."

******

Amazed, 'X' started whistling as he saw the grandiose place he was currently in. The archaic and priceless materials used to decorate the floor and tall walls, the neatly ordered dark gold pillars and the incomprehensible runes engraved on them, it was a rare sight even for an old being such as him.

Along with the silver dragon, he followed the veiled woman who kept her distance from them, mainly because of 'X's nagging. The woman reeked of Black Magic, something he abhorred as it's against his ideals and pollutes the world, slowly corrupting it.

Twenty minutes later, the three arrived at a spacious hall which lacked any form of illumination and had a dense amount of Black Energy, making X puke on the spot, dirtying the unhallowed ground.

Suspended at the center of this gloomy hall was a large figure, a female, to be exact. She was three to four times bigger than an average human, her skin that of a corpse's, her hair, as black as ink, reached the ground down below.

Yamak didn't know her, however, 'X' was the total opposite. His hidden pupils constricted as he stood there, paralyzed, either from shock or fear. His nonchalant attitude vanished and his movement became stiff, though only temporarily.

After ten seconds, he took a deep breath, resisting the urge to vomit again, and saluted the silent motionless woman. The female's closed eyes slowly opened, focusing on the new guests, her pupils like a bottomless abyss, sucking everything it lands on.

"Two lifeforms well-versed in Space Magic… good."

Her ghastly voice made both Yamak and 'X' shiver as a formless pressure forced them to kneel before her. They didn't resist and complied by lowering their heads, not daring to meet her dangerous gaze.

"Master, they both agreed to assist you."

The white-haired woman knelt before the suspended figure, also lowering her head and speak with the utmost respect. Her previous arrogance was nowhere to be seen, she also paid no more attention to the dragon or 'X'.

"Very well, you're excused."

The woman swiftly left right after, leaving her master alone with the two 'guests'.

"You do know that barging into someone else's home and causing a ruckus is impolite and unfitting for accomplished people such as yourselves, right?"

Her domineering voice echoed in the spacious hall, making the dragon and his companion twitch.

"It was but an unfortunate coincidence, O'lady of Darkness."

Hearing him call her by her old title, she furrowed her brows and focused her gaze on 'X', who was soaking with cold sweat. He inwardly cursed Yamak, who brought him to this ungodly place. His previously concocted plan wouldn't work on someone like her.

"It's rare to see a lifeform of this modern age who knows about me, should I be flattered?"

"My lady, your fame spre-"

She cut him off by saying "Oh spare me your pointless flattery."

Although she very much wanted to move, she was able to do nothing but move her lips. Her chest was pierced by an invisible weapon, rendering her in this miserable state.

Albeit being bound, she was still able to demonstrate monstrous power as long as it's within her realm. She was the one who captured the two of them and threw them in the dungeon.

Nonetheless, their unexpected appearance is a good thing for her as their assistance will quicken her plans and soon set her free.

"Let us not waste time speaking nonsense. What I require you to do is pretty simple, so simple, in fact, that any child could do."

Though she made it look easy, 'X' was pretty sure that it'll be an impossible task.

After pausing for a split second, she resumed:

"I want you to gather the Nine Cursed sword and the Nine Divine Sword."

"…"-X

'X' knelt there, dumbstruck and unable to process what he just heard. No matter how powerful he is, accomplishing such a thing is nothing short of impossible.

One has to know that the locations of the swords are unknown, except for a few. Even if he finds them, their owners are bound to be terrifying individuals, like Losha, for example.

'X wasn't crazy to the point of trying to get Losha's Divine swords, he would be killed in a few seconds, after all, there are just some people he can't offend.

The woman grew impatient as she heard no satisfactory answer:

"What? Can't you even accomplish such an easy task? Or would you rather rot in my dungeons?"

"No no no, my lady, I already started devising a plan and forgot to give you my answer, please forgive me."

Right after he said that, 'X' felt an excruciating pain coming from his brain. Yamak was also in a similar situation, the two of them laid on the ground, their bodies convulsing and bleeding like crazy.

Two black lights were emitting from the woman's eyes, directly penetrating her two guests. After one full minute, the agony vanished, relieving the two of them, who remained on the ground, feeling inexplicable numbness in their head.

"I've marked you both, now make haste."

The dragon stubbornly tried to raise its head and glare at her only to be dragged outside by 'X'.

The man didn't waste time and quickly teleported himself and Yamak to another Realm.

"Sh*t! Why is my luck so freaking sh*tty!"

"You don't have to be so dramatic."

"Do you even know who she is? F*CK!"-X

"…"

The silver dragon at X with a dumb look, unable to reply. The man angrily stomped the ground and retrieved his cane, drawing weird symbols on the ground.

"She's bloody Xyktia! Now let me, AS USUAL, try to think of a plan!"

After a short silence, Yamak asked: "What about the swords?"

"What swords? If you want to get them then do it yourself, I don't want to die yet!"

"You'll die either way."

"There's a difference between a quick and slow death."

********

With great difficulty, Lissandra dragged Lucy and slowly walked between the clustered Cthulhu, which didn't notice her presence. After a long while, she reached a desolate area so she decided to take a small rest to recuperate.

She glanced at Lucy but the latter was still in a comatose state, unlikely to wake up anytime soon. Her body needs to be healed and her consciousness needs to be nourished, her best option is to reunite with Vyncent and Arthur.

'Perhaps he knows how to wake her up…'

The frail woman emptied what was left of the small bottle of water then scanned her surroundings. After making sure everything was clear, she was about to lift Lucy's body only to hear an ear-splitting and wild roar coming from not far away.

This loud cry definitely belonged to a beast, furthermore, it seemed to be making its way towards her.

Lissandra hastily fixed Lucy on her back and prepared to run only for a dog-like beast to jump at her. The monster's body was covered in flames and its mouth was fully open, ready to rip her body into pieces.

She clumsily jumped to the side, falling on the ground along with the unconscious Lucy. Lissandra raised her hands and emitted a blinding radiance, which stopped the charging beast, slowing its movements and buying her enough time to flee.