Moby had successfully infiltrated the castle and was making his way directly towards the throne room.

The vast hallways of the castle were rocky and faded gray, cracks littering both the ground and the walls like an infestation to the point that part of him thought that the high ceilings were going to collapse onto him at any second.

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The only semblance of colour other than the slight piles of snow were red banners that were hung on the wall, yet they were all, without exception unrecognizable, ripped and tattered, like the remnant of an old age that once was.

Prior to his infiltration, Moby identified only four auras encompassing the entire castle, the first was the shalker guarding the entrance, the three others were further within. If Moby had to assume, one of them was the high lord, the other was most likely Artorias, and the last one standing outside of that area was the final shalker.

Moby had purposefully split his team, part of him felt like he would be held back in a group with his new powers. He would rather fight all alone and leave the shalker at the gate to them.

Without a doubt, those shalkers were powerful… Moby feared that they may not win in the worst case and in the best case there might be a casualty. It was a sacrifice that he had to take yet one that he was unsure his corrupted heart could withstand.

Right now he needed to focus, fearing for his allies would be nothing but a distraction and a hindrance when he was in a race against time to save Artorias and see who this high lord was that had corrupted the people of the land.

And in the pursuit of that, there was only one thing he could do, an item that his parents had gifted him and that he had been hanging onto for so long…

As he was speeding through the hallway, he pulled out a small, glowing golden orb etched with mysterious text out of his inventory. Without him using any of his powers it floated on the tips of his fingers, and its aura made him feel a tingle spread throughout his entire system.

'Hey… You sure you wanna use that? Weren't you so conflicted in the past about it?' He heard a voice in his head.

'Yeah, but I promised myself I'd do it eventually so now is as good a time as any other. If one of my teammates dies I don't want to feel any fake emotions about their deaths that will hinder my future plans. I want to start off on the right foot with everyone here.'

'But you know this will also affect your perception of everyone else waiting for you at home,' Avilia replied.

'Yeah, but that's a risk I'm willing to take…'

Suddenly, he clasped his right hand, crushing the mystical orb that once floated there into magical golden dust fragments that were soon blown in the wind and faded away.

A sudden rush of gold invaded his body which was followed up by a zap of invigoration he had not felt ever since assigning his first stat points. It was a process more calming and blissful than he would have ever expected.

Avilia had already told him that the process was not going to slow him down nor hinder him in any major way, yet part of him expected to be hit with a wave of pain akin to that of his evolution, yet no such thing came…

The orb he had just crushed was a gift from his parents that would completely remove his demon corruption, and it was something he hesitated to use until this very moment.

'So, how do you feel?' Avilia asked with a hint of curiosity, despite how knowledgeable she appeared, the process that had just occurred was something she had never seen in her many years of living, it was all through word of mouth and analyzing the orb did she deduce her current knowledge.

'I feel… The same… I don't feel really different…' Moby replied, slightly confused if it had even worked, only for Avilia to reassure him.

'Don't worry, it definitely worked. It's just subtle, you can't force the differences out, and even if you could, those things would no longer be differences… It would just be natural. Not to mention, right now your mind is fairly busy and you're consumed by adrenaline. To be honest, I'm just as in the dark as you, I'm looking forward to see the results of this.'

'I am too…' Moby nodded in agreement. 'But first, I have many things to attend to…'

Moby had now nearly reached the throne room through the monotonous maze-like hallways of the castle. His energy sense range had greatly increased due to his higher mind, and without it he would have been completely in the dark.

Ahead was the final corner before the throne room, and seeing how close he was now, his gaze hardened and his resolve was steeled more than ever before. Out of his inventory, he released the god slayer his parents had bestowed upon him and hung it around his waist, hanging onto the hilt with his sweaty palms.

There, as he turned the corner he was met by a solid gaze from two crimson pupils that even matched his own. Like daggers, they stared at him through the long stretch lined with broken statues, a grand door of gold behind them.

The figure was sat down on the ground with his knees pointed to the sky, a crimson straight sword that seemed to have taken much punishment in the past resting upon his chest in between his legs. His single horn stood tall, and there were two red lines leaking down from his right eye towards his chest that was covered in a faded armour of black.

He had an aura of intimidation he had not sensed ever since he had fought that shalker many moons ago, yet the figure had yet to stand on his two feet.

It was almost as though he had entered a wall of fog to a different plain from where he previously stood, and it was all due to the enemy that blocked his path to the bonfire ahead.

"I had been waiting for thee… Ever since thou hast entered this domain, I had sensed thee and had been patiently awaiting thy arrival… I've seen your kind, time and time again. Your curiosity had gotten the better of you, and you had not fled when the signs had shown themselves. You have come seeking my master and your filthy friend ahead, yet all you seek is trouble… Truly foolish indeed… You forsaken, traitorous kin of forlorn… Your path ends here, for it is my solemn eternal duty to be my lord's blade and do what must be done…" He spoke in a strong, sombre voice that tugged deep within, and he slowly stood up on his two feet, sword gripped in hand.

And, with one swipe of his sword in mid-air, an amalgamation of black overcame and enshrouded it, a vigorously burning black flame with an ashen highlight, burning violently around his blade.

'That's demon energy… But it's one I've never seen before, it's odd...' Avilia mumbled in Moby's head, and he immediately grew more alert.

"These flames are a gracious gift from my master, and with them, I shall prove my loyalty to him once more by bringing you to your knees…" He swung his blade once more, and there he stood like an iron wall in front of the grand, throne room doors in a fighting stance, like a provocation telling his opponent to start, and Moby was more than glad to oblige.

All at once, he wasted no time unleashing both of his transformations, his spirit and sin modes all at once. A thick, black aura engulfed him and two wings sprouted from his back and entered his field of view.

And with a single swing of his now unsheathed god slayer, he too engulfed his blade in a flame-like aura, one of deep, purple intent, a flow of pure demon energy. Yet, he was unsure if he could still call it pure as there were hints of black and red flickering among the sea of purple, something he had not seen before yet something he could not worry about now.

He knew not if his current form had a different appearance from his prior form and he knew not what new abilities his new evolution entailed, the only thing he knew was that failure was not an option.

"Bring it…"