I searched the house. Just as I’d searched all the houses Thomas and I had passed through. Just as I’d searched the hospital before we left.

Sure enough I found a little something special. A glowing orb with a picture in the middle. This orb was a ‘focus’. The core of the powerful, reality-bending, illusions that had been cast over this house and most of the town.

Once I took the focus, disconnecting it from the magics that covered the town, the entire building seemed to age by fifty years. Growing dingier. The wall paper peeling off of the walls. The windows cracking or falling out of place completely. The food in fridge rapidly beginning to spoil.

I walked out of what was now a crumbling ruin and joined Margot and Thomas on the curb. Whistling a merry tune despite all the death and decay that surrounded us. Finding treasures rarely failed to put me in a good mood.

“Alright, baby birds. Papa’s back...Let’s shake a leg and make our way to the final confrontation.” I said.

“Huh?” said Thomas. Seeming just as confused as he’d been when he and I struck up a friendship while talking through the tiny wire netted windows of our padded cells.

“Final confrontation? What about the rest of the town?” asked Margot.

“It’s safe to assume that ‘you’ picked up the ‘exorcise the town’ quest, right?” I said. Referencing the data packet I’d sent to her interface shortly after Thomas and I had started exploring and I’d started to get a gist of the situation in the town.

“Oh, yeah...I figured it was important. Plus I would have felt bad choosing the quest that didn’t involve saving all these people.”

“Hm, how admirable...You also got the focuses, right?”

“*Ahem*...Well, if I’m already there doing good deeds I might as well make sure we get something out of it too, right?” said Margot. Blushing. Making my chest swell with pride as I realized she was starting to really understand what it meant to have a treasure-king as your familiar.

“Excellent. In that case, I’m assuming you rescued all twenty-five of the victims that I marked out for you, and collected all thirty focuses.”

“Yes.” said Margot. Nodding.

“Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Then between that, the fifty focuses I collected, and the forty people Tommy and I rescued, I’m pretty sure its safe to say that there isn’t anything in this town left for us to care about.” I said.

“Now we just have to go and do something about that damned music, right” said Thomas.

“Oh, so you can hear it too? Good, I was kind of worried my tinnitus was acting up again...Heh..” said Margot. Laughing nervously at her own awful joke.

*************************************************************************************************************

We made our way through the town. Nothing attacked. Nothing leapt out at us. Everything was as dead and silent as it was supposed to be.

We reached the conservatory a tall, hollow cylinder, built with vague mediterranean influences. Its front lawn marked by the gigantic statue of a composer facing an unseen orchestra.

“I don’t know, guys...Do you think we’re here? I think we’re here.” said Thomas. A long blade made of glowing, yellow, radiance appearing in his hands.

The boy shouldered the two handed sword made of light. Grunting as he hefted it onto his shoulders. He took a step forward and I said,

“Hold on for a second.”

“Eh, why?” said Thomas.

Margot just looked at me with a question on her face.

I smiled at the both of them. Shaking my head.

“Come on, guys...You don’t just waltz into the final dungeon without a plan and few preparations.” I said.

Margot and Thomas shared a look then Thomas looked back at me and said,

“Okay, what’d you’ve got for us?”

“For you, these.” I said. Tossing Thomas a small packet that I’d pulled out of my subspace.

“What are these?” said Thomas. Frowning at the packet.

“Candy. Special Candy. Magic Candy. The green ones heal your body. The blue ones restore stamina and energy. The yellow ones have random buffs.”

“That’s...actually pretty cool. Why are you only bringing them out now though? They sound like something that would have been useful while we were clearing out all those houses.” said Thomas.

“Because we didn’t need them till now...but now there’s an actual chance of you getting hurt. It’d be remiss of me not to give you something to mitigate those odds.”

“Ah, look at you getting all mushy on me.” smiled Thomas. Snickering. Scratching the bottom his nose.

“Eh, shaddup...If you don’t like ‘em you can give them back.”

“Nah, no takesies-backsies. These are mine now ...Thanks.” said Thomas.

“Anything for me?” asked Margot.

I nodded and opened up my subspace again, using my telekinesis to withdraw a black and silver band of metal with rectangle of black crystal as its pendant.

“This is...This is actually super pretty.” said Margot. Eyes wide as the choker floated into her hands. Her curiosity and excitement over the new gear brief jostling the vague funk I’d felt settling over her since she’d joined up with Tommy and I.

“I’m assuming it’s not ‘just’ pretty ...” said Margot. Staring at necklace with the eyes of someone trying to solve a puzzle.

“You’d assume correctly. Do you remember that book and knife we found during our first job?”

“Oh, yeah...Those.”

“Yes, those. Well, when I cut away the crap. Got rid of the curses, and useless spells that were either too inefficient or too period specific for them to be of use, I took what was left of the two items, combined them with my magic and my tech and came up with this.”

“Wow? That sounds nifty...Wait, does that mean I won’t be able to read that book now?” said Margot. Her elation deflating a little.

“Don’t worry. I copied the contents of both the book and the knife so that you can study them if you want. There’ll be some semi-functional, replicas of both, in our library at home if you look.” I said.

The girl immediately brightened as her interest in the preservation and study of magical history was appeased.

“Yay!” said Margot.

“Okay, so what does the choker do.”

“I call it the Mantle of Titania...Put it on and you’ll see.”

“Alright…Help, me fasten the back?” said Margot.

“...Er, sure.” I said. Blinking.

Margot shifted her long orange-brown locks and pressed the choker against her neck. I stepped forward and hooked the back finding a strange nothing filling my mind as I did so.

She stepped away and then she winced.

“Ow…”

“Sorry about that…” I said.

“Was that the choker? Or was that you.”

“Mostly me, though the mantle does have a tutorial-mode to assist new users. I figured the mantle would be no good to you if you didn’t even know how to use it. Normally I would have just prepared another simulation to let you build up some experience in using the device but I only finished making the item the day we left for this job and hadn’t gotten around to creating the training simulation yet.”

“Ah, well from the knowledge filling my head...it looks like you’ve made something pretty neat.” said Margot. The choker expanding, becoming a cloud of black light that quickly resolved and settled into the form of a small cloak.

“So that’s why you call it a mantle, huh?” said Margot. Looking down at the cloak. Lifting the hem of the cloak to get a better view of the material.

“Well, yeah...But it’s not just a fancy coat. It can be a shield, a sword, and a grimoire for collecting spells and magical effects. I named it after one of the more powerful of fae royals for a reason. That mantle of yours could destroy worlds if you learn how to use it properly and feed it long enough.”

“N-, Nifty...I guess I’ll have to play with those options later.” said Margot. Looking anxious. Trembling slightly as she tugged on the hem of the cloak.

“Uh, huh. For now, you can just trust that it’ll keep you from getting too banged up if things get rough.”

“Oi, I’m sensing some favoritism here! Monty. What the hell!?” called Thomas.

I smirked.

“Well, that’s because Margot ‘is’ my favorite. My most special person in this whole wide world.”

“Heh, well shit. When you say it like that even I feel like blushing.” said Thomas. Giving Margot, who was now as red as a beet, a smirking sidelong glance.

“Okay, now that all the goodies have been given out...let’s fuck some shit up.” I said. Turning towards the entrance of the conservatory.

“Sounds like a plan.” said Thomas. Giving his solid-light sword two test swings.

“Mhm.” said Margot. Nodding. Her flustered expression replaced by a look of focus and determination.

*************************************************************************************************************

We stepped inside the conservatory. I stomped my foot and suddenly, I was six foot nine again. Dressed in my usual crisp black suit. Margot was wearing the pleated skirt and sweater she’d been wearing when we’d teleported out here. Thomas was wearing the tan trousers and blue blazer of his school uniform.

“The hell?!” said Thomas. Stumbling mid-stride and swaying in place. His body adjusting to the sudden change in its reality.

“I figured it’d be best if we fought at our full faculties.” I said.

“Could you do that this whole time?” said Thomas. Gawking at me.

I snorted.

“Course I could, mate. Look who you’re talking to. Honestly it’s a miracle that the illusions in this place could affect me at all.”

“Then why the hell didn’t you do that before?!” said Thomas. All but yelling. Leaning into my personal space.

I pushed him back a tad with my finger. Then I turned his head to the right so he could take a look at what was coming down the hall at us. A screaming horde dressed in ruined evening wear, and tattered day clothes. A grand army of alien horrors.

“That’s why? Weren’t you paying attention last chapter? Being kids protected us. Now that we’re adults we’re fair game and the monsters are almost certainly hungry for fresh meat.”

“Oh….Shit. Shit!”

“Margot, are you leading the charge as always or am I?” I said.

“C-, Charge? I’m thinking it might be best if we turtle up for a bit otherwise those things will tear us apart and then you know, tear us apart.”

I chuckled. Considering things from her perspective and finding that her choice was probably a good one.

“Well said. Still we’ve got to move forward. Staying still will probably get us killed and this lobby doesn’t really offer us much in terms of defensive options. How about we keep it tight. Keep it slow. And grind our way through them?

“Alright, that sounds doable.” said Margot. Her cloak lengthening, becoming a form fitting suit of body armor. Only the hood remained, and even that took on the qualities of a visored helmet. The nanites that made up the majority of the mantle’s physical form flowing over Margot’s body like water.

“Tommy don’t wander off. If those things separate you from the group it’ll be your ass. I’m in no mood to pick up and sew back together the scattered pieces of some cocky highschooler.” I said. Inwardly reminding myself be extra careful because there was guest in our little party. One that I’d actually taken a bit of a liking too.

“Hmph, same to you, bud. I can handle myself just fine.” said Thomas. Getting into a fighting stance as all of hell prepared to wash over us.

I clucked my tongue at the young man’s sass and clapped my hands using my telekinesis and alchemically printing to create a series of tempered glass blades. The glass daggers floating around me in a circle. Charged with an occult energy that made them especially dangerous for the monsters that were approaching us.

The tide of rabid chorobasnu finally hit us and they hit us hard. All the tough talk in the world couldn’t prepare you for that. It was a nightmare of yawning, sharp-toothed- maws, and overlong chitinous limbs.

Even I with all my in the various battlegrounds of the cosmos experience felt just a tinge of panic settling in as they overwhelmed us. My glass blades whirled at hurricane speeds creating a cutting wind filled with a mist made of gray-blue blood and liquified flesh.

Just as I thought I might end up having to pull out the big guns early, Margot saved the day by firing out a mono-directional spell with decent area-of-effect.

“[Aether Bullet]” chanted Margot. Using the goody but oldie to devastating effect.

The spell flew free from her palm and smashed into the crowd of monsters. Tearing through them like they were nothing. The entire ground floor of the building shook. Those windows that hadn’t already been broken blowing out and all the doors were shattered into splinters or twisted metal scrap.

“Hells bells?! What the fuck was that?” said Thomas. Cutting down the last of the handful of chorobasnu that had managed to slipped past Margot and I. His sword of light searing through the boogeyman’s flesh and briefly setting its clothing ablaze.

“Uh ...Monty?” said Margot. Staring at her gloved palm.

“I told you already didn’t I. The mantle is meant to be the ultimate sword and shield and I made it for you... What do you think a mage would need most as their primary weapon? ”

“A stave? Is this basically a full body stave?!” said Margot. Quickly coming up with an answer.

I nodded.

“ It’s more or less attuned to your soul and it’s physical materials are mostly based on my own nanotech, so if you overdo it’ll just drain your blood and life essence to make up the difference. Hell, it’ll even grow stronger as you do so you never end up outgrowing it. Honestly, it’s kind of risky letting you use this without running you through a training simulator first, because there’s barely any hard limits to how much it can amplify your spells...but right now this is kind of emergency so just be careful not to use anything big because as you can see even little spells will have big effects.” I said.

“Th-...Thanks for the heads up.” said Margot. Her voice flat. Her expression unreadable behind the darkness and dark glass of her hood and visor. Her accelerated heart rate and breathing telling me that she either loved the mantle or was on the verge of a panic attack.

Lucky for us the being in charge of the Chorobasnu had blown its load by sending the entire hoard after us the instant we stopped being children.

Thus after I quickly collected all the loot from the fight, making our way through the rest of the conservatory was pretty much a breeze. There were only a few straggler monsters to try and get in our way.

The only difficult part was seeing the occasional corpse. The smaller, newer, corpses were desiccated with the faces missing. The older looking corpses were a mess, with the bones all torn out. Torn out and smashed open so that the killer could get at the marrow inside.

Our little group was making its way to the main auditorium of the conservatory. I kept sneaking glances at Margot because she’d almost immediately shifted the mantle back into its cloak form.

I wasn’t sure but I had this hunch that she was a little pissed at me. I was even getting some pretty negative vibes from her through our tether. Which I suppose was fair. I did kind of make her into a person of mass destruction without telling her.

The young woman presently had the body of C-class hero. Enough magic to dwarf that of an archmage. As well as a suit that could amplify that magic to an extent that ensured that she’d be able wipe out most non-major cities before the super heroes or the army’s anti-mage elites could be called in to stop her.

My bad. I probably should have thought this through more. I could only hope she’d calm down if I apologized sincerely, and prepared that training simulation pronto.

The one bright spot was that despite looking freaked out and royally pissed off, Margot hadn’t actually taken off the choker. Which hopefully meant she didn’t completely hate the mantle or me.

We reached the auditorium. The cloak became body armor again. I paused at the door. Taking the lead so that the two mortals at my back didn’t get “RFED”-ed the very instant we met the boss.

I turned to Thomas and reminded him.

“Remember, stay next to me and stay in back. Margot gets the lead because she’s our striker. Despite her being a mage and you being some kind of superpowered swordsman, you are the squishy one in the group so keep that in mind, Tommy.”

“Yeah, yeah...I’m pretty sure you already gave me this speech when we were walking into the building.” said Thomas. Giving me a look of annoyance but still obediently switching out his claymore from some glowing yellow throwing knives.

We entered the auditorium and were greeted by the sound of a grand stage that was occupied by an ancient looking grand piano. All covered in dust, and soot, and cobwebs. At the piano sat a woman’s silhouette. Semi-transparent and filled with holes.

We could now hear the music that had been playing in the background the whole time we were in the town played clearly. Righteous and booming like thunder. A furious, tumultuous, melodious, apocalyptic sound.

Above the piano and its player was a twisted creature. A dark cloud of chitinous limbs, and countless yawning mouths. A thing with countless tongues that all rasped at the world with hunger. A formless horror that was evolved for the sole purpose supping on nightmares and men’s souls.

“What the fucking fuck?!” said Thomas. Speaking in a frightened whisper. His eyes turning bloodshot, with tears of red running down his cheeks.

“Try not to look directly at that thing...What you think you’re seeing is probably nowhere near as terrible as what the thing actually looks like but the creature’s actual visage leaks through clearly enough that you probably are gonna end with some serious sanity slippage and severe cerebral hemorrhaging if you’re not careful. I’d rather not have to mercy kill you, Tommy. So be careful. ” I warned.

“What?! What have I gotten myself into?!” said Thomas. Wiping his eyes with one hand while stout heartedly whipping knives at the creature with the other.

“Chorobasnu are just figments aren’t they? Fragments of a greater whole? Monty, are we up against and elder being here?” said Margot.

I gaze Margot a look. Wondering which reply she was looking for. Then I just nodded.

“....Yeppers-Peppers. That ugly beast there yonder is called Ustachorobasnu. The mouth that whispers nightmares and drinks the dreams men. On a scale of one to fucked, most people would be fucked, but I think we both know you can probably do a little bit better here, M.” I said. Giving Margot a look that I hoped showed her exactly how much faith I had in her.

“You’re insane you know that.” said Margot.

“You bet your ass I am. You don’t get to where I am in life without becoming a bit donkey kicked...doesn’t mean I’m not right.” I said. My smile nearly splitting my head in two.

Margot glared at me for a solid ten seconds and by the eleventh second I was ready to break and handle the issue on my own because I was well aware that I pushing things.

Then Margot shook her head, the corners of her lips turning upwards.

“If...If you say I can do it. Then I guess I can do it. But if I die you best believe I’ll haunt you forever.”

I smiled. My teeth shining so brightly the room grew a little lighter.

“Bah!...If you die I can just bring you back...Sure it might take me awhile to gather the energy necessary to do it and it’ll get us in hot shit with the various powers-that-be that govern death, but don’t you worry, M. Good old Monty’s got your back.”

“Heh...Guess I’ll just take your word on that too. I definitely won some kind of fucked up lottery when I summoned you.” said Margot. Her smile growing wider, and just a little beastly, as the gaze she cast on the monster in the center of the room became less fearful and more speculative.

“That’s the spirit. Get out there and rip that monster a new asshole...Assuming you can find its ass.”

I did my part by creating a stabilized field of isolated time-space that would keep the goings on within the conservatory from going too out of control no matter how much anomalous power got thrown around.

Margot strode forward. Her hood down. Her hair flowing in a wild wind created by the clashing auras of herself and the two otherworldly creatures that dominated the room.

“Ladies and Gentleman, are you ready to rumble!” I called out. Closing the space I’d created and signalling Margot to let her know that it was safe for her to go all out.