At that moment, on a street just outside the royal palace of Arus, the King, General Lei's family, and the soldiers assigned to protect them had been cornered by a mob of unruly commoners.
"Look at their clothes—they're nobles for sure! Grab them!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, inciting the rest to roar in agreement. Panic swept over the group, and even the soldiers looked stricken with fear.
"Calm down! This man is our sovereign, King Li, and these are the family members of General Lei," one of the guards hastily explained.
"How could the King be here? He should be safe within the palace. Don't try to fool us!" another voice from the crowd cried out.
"It's true! General Lei is currently engaged in battle with the mages. We're trying to escort His Majesty to safety," another soldier said, clearly shaken.
"Lies! General Lei fighting the mages? He was fighting with them the last time—I saw it with my own eyes!" The crowd, momentarily silenced, erupted again in unrest. Shouts of "Seize them!" and "Kill them!" rang out as fear and suspicion took hold. Pressed against the wall, the King and General Lei's family trembled in terror.
"What's all this noise?" A thunderous voice suddenly boomed from the shadows at the corner of the street.
The commotion was abruptly silenced. Every eye turned toward the source of the voice—toward the darkness.
Tap. Tap. Tap. The sound of wood striking stone echoed as a figure emerged from the shadows. Clad in unexpectedly neat clothing for a beggar, the so-called King of Beggars, Shaun, stepped into view, flanked by a few fearsome-looking companions.
"It's the King of Beggars," murmured voices rippled through the crowd. "Who is the King of Beggars?"
"So many of you, and you're cornering an old man, women, and children," Shaun said as he approached the soldiers, now standing face-to-face with the angry mob.
"They're nobles! Nobles always oppress people like us!" someone shouted.
"First of all," Shaun began in a calm yet commanding tone, "you are not oppressed by nobles, but by a man named Pikes, one of the mages' henchmen. From what I know, he's already dead. Second, this old man before you is indeed King Li of the Arus Empire." Shaun slowly removed his "clean" hat with a graceful flourish and addressed the crowd in a firm, resonant voice.
"What now? Do any of you still doubt me?" he asked.
The crowd fell into hushed murmurs, uncertainty beginning to eclipse their fury.
...
In the rear courtyard of the Arus palace—
"ROAR!" A monstrous howl echoed as the Abyssal Behemoth unleashed a burst of flame from its indistinct maw.
"The... Abyssal Behemoth?" Jin stared at the creature in utter disbelief.
"So this... this is the power of the Demonstone? A demon of this magnitude would normally require a host of black mages casting in unison to summon it—but Merlin managed it alone, just by using the stone," Lisa said, her voice trembling as she gazed at the beast.
The creature began to move, its lumbering form advancing toward Jin and Lisa. With each step, it scorched the earth beneath its feet.
"Damn it—what do we do now?" Jin muttered, unease creeping into his voice. Of all the enemies he had faced, never had he encountered one like this.
"There are two ways," Lisa said gravely. "One is to destroy it outright, but..." Her tone made it clear—that option was nearly impossible.
"And... the second?" Jin asked, reluctantly.
"The second is to send it back to the underworld. But that may be even harder—on my own, I can't manage such a spell," Lisa said as the two of them slowly retreated.
"Where do you think you're going?" Merlin cackled from above. "If you run, what becomes of this nation's people? Try fleeing, and I'll command the Abyssal Behemoth to burn them all."
At those words, Lisa halted immediately, and so did Jin. She knew Merlin well enough to be certain—he would do such a thing.
"What do we do?" Lisa murmured in despair, frozen in place. Jin, silent beside her, was equally lost. To him, the behemoth was a mystery, a force beyond understanding or countermeasure.
"What's wrong?" A voice suddenly cut through the tension—Will had arrived, his entire body glowing with a powerful golden aura.
"Will? You've recovered?" Jin turned, astonished.
"Heh, good as new. Can't you tell by the way my aura's shining?" Will grinned, brimming with confidence.
"Enough chit-chat. It's coming," Lisa said sharply, her eyes fixed on the advancing beast.
The Abyssal Behemoth crept ever closer.
"ROAR!" It opened its enormous maw and unleashed a torrent of fire. A massive column of flame hurtled toward the trio.
"Dodge!" Lisa shouted. The three flung themselves to either side just in time.
Before they could regain their footing, the beast let out another blast of flame—this time straight at Will and Jin. They stood, unprepared, frozen in place.
Lisa steadied herself, gritted her teeth, and dashed forward. "Counter Shield!" she cast a spell mid-run, a red aura wrapping around her.
Throwing herself between the flames and her companions, Lisa spread her arms wide, absorbing the inferno.
"Ahhh!" she cried out in pain. But her counter spell rebounded the fire, sending it back toward the behemoth.
Yet the behemoth was unfazed—it absorbed the flames as though they were nothing.
"Ha ha ha! Fire against fire?" Merlin's mocking laughter rang from the sky.
"Are you alright?" Lisa ignored him completely, turning to Will and Jin with concern.
"I—I'm okay," Will said, shaken.
"Just in time. Any later and we'd be cinders," Jin muttered, brushing dust off his clothes.
"I'm glad... you're safe..." Lisa whispered, then collapsed.
"Lisa! Lisa!" Will and Jin rushed to her, panic written across their faces. Without Lisa, defeating the behemoth would be nearly impossible.
"She just fainted. She's exhausted—only just recovered from her frozen state," Jin said as he picked her up and ran toward the palace.
"ROAR!" Another column of flame chased after them.
"Run, Jin!" Will shouted. Without looking back, Jin sprinted toward the palace.
"Run, all you want," Merlin sneered above. "Let's see how long you can keep it up."
"Damn you!" With a furious shout, Will drew his sword and charged the beast.
The Abyssal Behemoth, its body wreathed in fire, radiated an intense heat—like living magma. As Will approached, the air itself burned.
"It's too hot... I can't get close," he muttered, standing at the edge of its massive foot.
Meanwhile, Jin had taken Lisa to safety inside the palace. Out of the creature's sight, the flames ceased.
"Rest now. Will and I will do what we can. If we fail, I'll get you both out of here," Jin whispered to the unconscious Lisa. In his mind, he was already planning a retreat.
"ROAR!" The behemoth noticed Will and slowly lifted a massive foot to crush him. Will dashed away, but unlike Jin or General Lei, he lacked the speed to escape.
"Will, this way!" Jin shouted from the palace, but the distance was too great—Will couldn't hear him.
BOOM! The behemoth's foot crashed down, missing by a hair. Will had barely dodged it.
Panting, drained, he bent over, hands on knees, gasping for air. Another shadow loomed—another stomp descending.
Gasping, Will looked up and saw the glowing-red foot bearing down on him.
"Can't... ha... move... ha... anymore...?" he whispered in despair, eyes wide with exhaustion.
"WILL!" Jin cried out. He reached for his belt, hoping to find a vial of Firethorn Elixir like in the Bone Arena—but his hand came up empty.
"Damn it... these are Shaun's clothes!" Jin muttered in despair.