You sat, Filo's reigns in hand, watching the big bird draw the carriage, with Naofumi in the back, and Raphtalia standing behind you.

"What do you think the problem is, Y/n?" Raphtalia asked. You shrugged, speaking.

"Some town has gone batshit crazy, forming some kind of cult over something. They perform rituals to try and convert people, but most of the time, they simply die. We are going to figure out the issue, and see if we can fix it." You told her. Raphtalia sat down, hands in her lap.

"Well, do you know an easy way to fix their madness?" She asked. You handed the reigns to Raphtalia, who grabbed them, before reaching into a pocket. Out of your pocket came a bottle of a pungent red substance.

"A good sedative can drug your mind, meaning if we somehow manage to sedate the entire town, we can shut down whatever's making them go mad, and simply pray. But..." you put away the vial. There were two main problems with that plan.

"Is it too late after they've gone mad?" Raphtalia asked. You nodded grimly.

"You remember the Winter Lantern, the blood it forced out of Naofumi's head?" You asked her. Raphtalia nodded, her ears flattening.

"The instance of that happening, blood getting forced from your head before it simply explodes, is called Frenzy. My sedatives can counteract it, but that's all it can do." You told her. Raphtalia swallowed, nervously.

"Will I need to use some of these sedatives, just in case?" She asked. You shook your head, pocketing the bottle.

"Let's pray not." You told her. Raphtalia nodded, holding the reigns tight in her hands as Filo began to slow down.

"Master, look at this." Filo spoke up. Naofumi stepped out from behind you, looking ahead.

Ahead of you, a wall was crudely built from logs of fallen trees, blocking the road ahead of you. You stepped off the carriage, slowly approaching the wall. You could just walk around it, but that could pose a threat of ambush.

"Ah, who could it be? Could some people wish to see the truth?" You heard a faint whisper from behind the wall. Immediately, you stepped back, drawing your rakuyo. From the top of the wall, a head poked itself out.

"Travelers, are you? Come, come." The head poked down, and a door in the wall opened, revealing the figure behind it. They were definitely female, and bore skinny, almost starved limbs. Knobs of wispy silver hair cling to her scalp, which was almost red with scabs and infected cuts. She had not had it well in the past.

"Come on inside. We'll be happy to have you in our fair town." She spoke in a hoarse voice, the type you'd expect from a witch. You looked back at Naofumi, who was giving her a glare that went unnoticed. Reluctantly, he waved you and Raphtalia towards her.

"I'll get the wagon parked, and catch up with Filo." He told you. You nodded, turning towards the witch.

"Fine." You spoke. Wordlessly, the witch beckoned you and Raphtalia through the doorway, which simply led to the other side of the road. From here, you could clearly see the town in question in the distance.

"Are we sure about this?" Raphtalia asked. You shook your head, walking after the witch, who shambled onward. You kept a tight grip on your Rakuyo, watching Raphtalia slowly unsheathe her sword.

Blood dripped off the head of the witch as you reached the towns walls, adding to a long line of dark stains that stretched across the road. Seems this woman often made the trek.

"Many adventurers have come before you. Many showed interest in the Great One, and some have even tried to slay us. Why, I do not know." She crooned. You passed the walls, and immediately, whispering erupted from everywhere. People ducked behind buildings, beneath windowsills, even hiding behind barrels and trees as you and Raphtalia walked through.

"The Great One?" Raphtalia asked. Her ears were flicking, and the witch let out a cackle.

"Oh yes, the Rotten and Terrible Great One is always watching over us, Lass. He grants us knowledge, he gives us eyes." She spoke adoringly. Raphtalia looked at you, at your stern face. You glanced at her, lightly shaking your head.

"Would you adventurers like an audience with the Rotten and Terrible Great One?" She asked.

"No, we would not." You interrupted. Behind you, more whispering broke out. The witch turned her beady black eyes towards you.

"Oh, well that's a sorry shame. Please, do come with me then." She requested. You cautiously followed as she made a 90 degree turn, walking into a building.

"We keep all the guests who wish not to have audience here. I'm sure you'd love to see them. Lovely folks, they are." She told you and Raphtalia. You began to grow skeptical of what you were hearing, as you were guided inside.

It was dark, humid, and you didn't like it.

"Come this way." You felt Raphtalia grab onto your shoulder as you were brought through a doorway. In the darkness, you caught sight of a cellar door.

"Now, go and join the other fools." With those words, you felt hot metal strike your back, sending you toppling forward, straight down the cellar. A moment later, Raphtalia fell in, landing on top of you.

"Ow..." she groaned. You felt her roll off of your back, allowing you to stand and look up.

"So, it was a trap." You stated, looking up. There were no stairs leading out of the cellar, only an impossibly deep pit. The stench of death and rot around you made you shift uncomfortably. Raphtalia, however, was a different story.

You heard gagging, followed by liquid splashing as she threw up at the foul smell. From another room of the cellar, you heard coughing.

"Are those new visitors I hear?" You heard a weak, male voice speak. You patted Raphtalia on the back as she finished spewing chunks, before turning to the source of the voice.

"It's been a while since someone said no to those cultists. Wonder what made you do it?" He spoke again.

"Let's not talk about that yet." You answered. You pulled out your torch, giving off a warm glow, and revealing the source of the voice.

A figure draped in crow feather robes held a hand to their face, which was covered by a mask belonging to plague doctors.

"Ah, that hurts! Haven't seen light in quite a while either." He told you. You narrowed your eyes at him as he slowly lowered his hand, coughing into his fist.

"Excuse me. The dust and mold here has been getting to me." He looked at you, blinking rapidly.

"The name's Aleister Crowley, Alchemist and Necromancer extraordinaire. I came here feeling the sheer amount of death coming from this town, and told the folks that I wouldn't be seeing their god. They didn't take that too well, and now I'm here." He told you. After a moment, he gave you a violent cough, and you sighed.

"I am Y/n L/n, Hunter of beasts, Kin, and the like, master of the arcane and blood arts, and mentor of Raphtalia, the lass beside me." You introduced yourself. Aleister nodded, reaching into his bag. From it, he drew an empty bottle, which he simply fingered as he spoke.

"Well, I hope you're ready to spend the rest of your life here. Everyone else did, anyway. Did themselves in with whatever they had. Anyone who's attempted escape has only had their fingers crushed by the hot irons of those hags." He continued. After a moment, he gave a raspy sigh.

"Only survived so long because of my magic. Food isn't gonna last more than a day here, and the water's tainted. Even with my methods, I'm not long here." You sighed, shaking your head.

"Were you wounded?" You asked. Aleister nodded.

"Struck across the back. Wound's probably infected. I would show you, but I haven't moved in at least a week." He told you. You reached into a pocket, taking out a bell. Approaching Aleister, you gave the bell a light ring, as a circle of glowing blue light emanated from around you. Aleister let out a cough as you willed the light to flow towards him, swirling around him.

"Healing magic, huh? I must be quite the lucky bastard to get some company with it before I finally give in." Aleister let out a chuckle as you put away the Choir Bell, holding your hand out.

"Will you need help standing? I have a cane." You told him. Aleister shook his head, taking your hand and hoisting himself up. Leaning on you, he weakly pointed towards a wall, just out of the torch's light.

"I left my sword leaning against that wall. If you could get it for me, I can make do." He told you. You nodded, looking back at Raphtalia, who was still looking a bit green.

"Raphtalia, go grab the sword." You ordered. Raphtalia nodded, holding a hand to her mouth. She trudged over towards the wall Aleister pointed to, reaching into the darkness. You heard a faint ring as Raphtalia lifted a great sword into view.

"Yup. That's the one." Aleister reached out, grabbing the handle from Raphtalia, and planting the blade in the ground, leaning on it as he regained his footing.

"Alright. Time to escape." You announced, walking back to the entrance of the cellar.

"Didn't you listen? They'll just knock you back in. Their strength is inhuman, and anyone's just overpowered before they can even fight." Aleister told you. You didn't listen, looking up at the open door. You drew a Molotov from beneath your coat, tossing it up and out of the cellar.

"Eh?" You heard footsteps echo as one of the witches shambled towards the bottle, which began to flash with a red light. Turns out they were silently guarding the door.

"What're you cretins doing down there? You're not-" the witches speech was interrupted as the Delayed Molotov went off with a fiery explosion, knocking the witch into the cellar. She landed at your feet, as you raised your Rakuyo.

She didn't get the chance to scream before your blade went through her head. You raised your blade, flicking the gore from it, and looking back up.

"Raphtalia, boost me." You told her. Raphtalia nodded, centering herself at the Cellar entrance, and squatting, knitting her fingers into a foothold.

"... heh, of course." Aleister muttered, watching as you stepped on Raphtalia's hand, getting sent up to the cellar entrance.

"We probably don't have much time. Raphtalia, give me Aleister's blade." You told Raphtalia.

"Yes, Y/n." Raphtalia turned to Aleister, who began to back away, still holding himself up.

"Hey hey, I'm not just gonna let you guys rob me now, you know?" He spoke cautiously. You sighed, taking out the threaded cane.

"We're rescuing you, Mister Crowley." You spoke, looking around. Your stunt didn't seem to draw too much attention, thank goodness. Aleister looked up at you as you activated the weapon's whip form, wrapping the bladed end around your fist, which was suddenly covered in metal armor to protect it. You lowered the handle of the cane towards Aleister, who finally relented.

"Well, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, huh?" He muttered, handing Raphtalia his sword. He walked slowly, but he eventually grabbed the cane, which you used as a rope to pull him up slowly.

After a few feet of elevation, he reached up with a hand, grabbing the edge. You immediately held out your other hand, which Aleister shifted his grip to grab. It took a bit of effort, but the necromancer was pulled up, and out.

"Ah, it's nice to see another room after so long." He stood, leaning against a door as you reached back into the cellar, taking out his sword. Aleister accepted it graciously, before you pulled out Raphtalia, who leapt up to grab your outstretched hand.

"Naofumi and Filo are probably here as well. Be ready to fight." You ordered. Raphtalia nodded, drawing her sword as Aleister stood on his own, wobbly at first. He hefted his great sword after a moment.

"Sure thing. I'm all for some revenge." He kept quiet for a few minutes, while you approached the door that led to the hallway. The coast seemed to be clear, so you looked back at the two you had with you.

"Raphtalia, stay with Aleister. We're getting out." You ordered. Raphtalia nodded, but you caught a glimpse of Aleister narrowing his eyes.

"Hey, I can fight too, you know." He told you. You looked at him, scanning him.

"You're also still recovering, and probably starving. Besides, if these hags are as tough as you say, you may be best not fighting at all." You insisted. Aleister groaned, shaking his head.

"Fine, lets just go." He urged you. You nodded, splitting your Rakuyo and pressing onward.

The initial trek out of the house was easy enough. No other hags were in the house to stop you as you quickly approached the front door, slightly opening it to look outside.

In the center of the street, followed by chattering and quiet cackling, one of those hags followed Naofumi and Filo, in her human form, as they walked down the street.

"So, would you-" The hag started to speak.

"Not interested." Naofumi shut her down faster than Ludwig when you first entered the Underground Corpse Pile.

"Really? Well, that's a shame. Come this way, then." The hag reached for Naofumi's cloak, tugging him towards the building you were in. You stepped back, preparing your blades as you hid behind a neighboring doorway. You heard shuffling and creaking as Raphtalia and Aleister hid behind their own doorways.

Light flooded the hall, and you heard rapid footsteps as Filo ran down the hall, excited for whatever she was going to be shown. Naofumi walked past next, looking straight ahead. The door was softly shut, and the hag came next, slowly shuffling along and muttering to herself.

"Oi, where are you planning on-" Naofumi turned to look at the hag, just as you sprung from cover, ending her life with a well placed slice to the neck.

"...if you're asking where she was taking you, it was to a basement to rot." You answered his question. Naofumi looked around him as Raphtalia emerged from cover, hand on her blade hilt. In between you and Naofumi, Aleister slowly emerged, his sword on back. Naofumi looked at him, and even through the darkness, you saw his glare of distrust.

"Naofumi, this is Aleister Crowley. He's gonna be staying with us for the duration of our time here." You explained. Aleister looked Naofumi up and down, noticing the shield on his arm, before extending his hand to shake.

"As Y/n said, the name's Aleister." He introduced himself. Naofumi waited a second, before slapping Aleister's hand away, pushing past him back to the door.

"Y/n, you're our intel on the scourge. What's the Rotten and Terrible Great One?" He asked you, waiting with a hand on the doorknob.

"As the name implies, it's a Great One, effectively an Elder God. But for what it actually is..." you took a deep inhale, sighing.

"Imagine if a Winter Lantern took some very strong steroids." You told him. Naofumi stopped for a moment, before groaning in annoyance.

"Dammit. Do you know how to deal with it, if it's a god?" He asked you. You scoffed, shaking your head.

"It may be a god, but it's more of a glorified punching bag once you get to it." You told him. Naofumi nodded.

"If it's the source of this town's madness, then it needs to be dealt with. Think these people will leave us alone if we request audience?" He asked.

"Not worth it. I'm the only one who could possibly survive getting looked at by the thing. We may need to just kill the populace, no matter what." You told the group.

"Hey, you really think we can just take on all of them? They hit like a falling boulder." Aleister protested. You sighed, before an idea struck you.

"Actually, I do think you can take all of them on." You stated, standing straight and sheathing your Rakuyo. You turned your gaze to Naofumi.

"Naofumi, I believe there is an item in your pocket that you can use on your shield." You told him. Naofumi reached into his pocket, and a brief look of surprise crossed his face as he drew his hand out, holding a silver gemstone. You watched as his shield began glowing at the exposure to the gem, before Naofumi dropped it in. Beside you, Aleister whistled.

"So, you're the Shield Hero then. I've heard lots." He admitted. You shook your head as Naofumi shifted his shield. It now took a more glassy look, with several antique metal carvings adorning the edges and center of the shield.

"Teardrop Shield..." Naofumi watched as you walked to the door, opening it.

"Use that to protect Raphtalia, Filo and Aleister. After I'm done, Raphtalia has to personally drag me away, got it?" You asked. Naofumi and Raphtalia gave a nod in confirmation as you stepped outside.

Step after step, and you were soon in the center of the street, as whispers slowly grew clear.

"I am here to kill the Rotten and Terrible Great One." You spoke. Your voice echoed across the town, carrying a heavy weight. After a few seconds, the first scream erupted.

"Blasphemer! You would dare make such a presumptuous claim!" From in front of you, a hag showed up, wielding a red hot iron on a stick.

"I'll personally rip you to shreds!" Another shouted. One by one, an army of hags slowly appeared, all hefting weapons as they gathered in front of you.

Satisfied by the amount, you spread your arms out, peeking to your left, where Naofumi's shield was in sight, and glowing with a gentle blue color.

"Stop me if you can." You said. That stirred the hags into action.

As the wave of murderous crazy ladies closed in on you, you slowly shut your eyes. The feeling of immense power, of untapped rage built up within you, and you threw your head back, releasing a guttural scream from somewhere in your throat.

You felt your power discharge as the air around you rippled, and all the hags screeched, holding their ears or stumbling to the ground. You felt your body grow stiff, and you fell to a knee.

"Y/n!" You heard Raphtalia running towards you, placing her arm over your shoulder as she helped you up.

"Come on!" Naofumi's rallying shout stirred Filo and Aleister into action as the Shield Hero, The Heavenly Fowl, and the Necromancer Extraordinaire all leapt into battle.

"Where are we going?" Raphtalia asked. You weakly nodded behind you.

"Wherever they tried to take us first. To where they do their rituals." You told her, completely incapable of more than a twitch of the finger or nod of the head. You felt yourself move as Raphtalia dragged you along, looking back at your companions. What should've been a battle of the century had become a slaughter. It took only a single cut from Aleister's blade or Filo's claw, or a punch from Naofumi to kill.

"What... what was that?" You heard Raphtalia ask. You twitches you're lips into a grin as feeling began to return to your fingers.