It's been many weeks since they last met, but those horrendous red eyes under the dark hood would never disappear from Glavas' memory. This time, however, he was determined to fix his past mistakes. This time, he would not let him escape. Instinctively, he reached for his holster. His fingers twirled around the grip of his firearm. Or at least they would if there was any firearm in the first place. At that moment, his memories returned. About how he dropped the weapon and couldn't find it, and how the dragons told him that they will look for it again tomorrow after the sun would rise and illuminate the drylands. It didn't matter. The gun was not necessary. With a terrifyingly swift motion, he rolled up his sleeve and pulled his black blade out of the tattoos.

"WAIT! PLEASE!" Ruun shouted at him, pointing to the hidden passageway he came from.

Glavas already took a stance and was ready to rush the demon, but for a brief moment, his eyes turned to the side. In that concealed corridor stood two little hatchlings. Judging by their height, they must've been much younger than Surdi. The tears in their eyes spoke clearly of what had happened. The hunter broke his stance and took a better look at them. Namely, at the two massive leech-like creatures stuck to the sides of their necks.

"See? Not wise to act now, alright?" Ruun spoke once again. As he did, Glavas' eyes turned to him once again. The demon knew the situation was dire. Tiny hands of dark magic were reaching out of the hunter's hair. If it wasn't for the hostage situation, Ruun was sure Glavas would tear him apart.

"You monster... So my children are not enough for you?! How many has it been?! How–"

"Over seven hundred. Namely seven hundred thirty-two," the demon spoke and his eyes turned to the floor. "I still see them, you know? Every night. The children are the worst. Their faces are always the clearest. And they never show any resentment. They just stand there... scared."

"For someone so touched by their fate, you sure love to hurt them!"

"I have no choice, Glavas!!" Ruun shouted. "I have decided a very long time ago that I would free my kind, no matter what. If I stop now, all the previous deaths will be pointless. No, that would be way worse. This way, they at least have a purpose." He took a deep breath to calm himself and then straightened his back. "But don't worry, I am not as terrible as you think. The leeches don't do anything. At least yet. On my command though, they will cause quite a lot of pain. Nothing lethal, but... well, let's just say that after our last encounter, Glavas, you helped me realise something. Good parents will always do everything they can just to protect their children from even the tiniest harm. Even if it means going against logic itself. But I didn't threaten the kids to blackmail you, Glavas. I did it so that we could have some privacy. So as long as we remain uninterrupted, nothing will happen to them, alright?" He turned to the dragon chief, who replied with a slight nod. The demon then waved his hand, showing the little hatchlings that they were free to go to their father. Without a moment to waste, they rushed over to him with tears in their eyes, hugging him and refusing to let go.

"Don't worry, it's gonna be alright," their father whispered.

"See, Glavas? I am not a saint, but not a monster either. I knew you would try to kill me on sight, so I used them as a little... safety measure. So that you would let me speak. At least at first."

"What do you have to tell me? Nothing will change my mind!"

"Oh, I know. But I like to give people a chance, you know? A second one, a third one, or even a fourth one. Guess that's not a very good personality trait though. You see, I came to ask you if you would like to reconsider my offer. You and your children can come with me. Then Alma will open the door to hell, and you will be free to go wherever you want. I will no longer bother you ever again. You can even come along, to make sure they are alright."

"Kiss my ass!"

"I'd rather not." Ruun sighed. "Are you sure about this? You think that this meeting was not well thought-out beforehand?" He pushed open his robes, revealing not one but two pairs of arms. Two of them reached upwards, pulling his hood down from his head, revealing much larger horns glowing with magic.

"You evolved..." Glavas gasped. "You ate people!"

"Yes. A whole town. I confess. There was no other choice. In order to even try to match your strength, I had to make some sacrifices."

"Sacrifices?! SACRIFICES?! You sacrificed NOTHING!!! You are a monster! A whole fucking town?!?! And for what?!"

"Yes, for what indeed. Tell me, for what did you destroy Rotler?"

Glavas blinked. For a moment, he felt like he was standing on the other side of the room, staring himself in the eyes.

"You destroy a city for your children and consider it what? Heroism? I wipe out a city to free my people, and I am a monster? Does that seem fair to you?"

"I..."

"Besides, you are the one to blame, Glavas."

"Me?! What the fuck did I do?!"

"Everything! You pushed me to harm so many people! I finally had what I wanted! I created a soulless being! After over a hundred years of killing, I could've finally stopped! But no... You came into the equation. You selfishly decided to adopt the children. And then, I come and offer you peace. I reason with you. I ask for your cooperation that will cost you nothing but some time. And you decline. Not because your children might be in danger or that they would be threatened, but simply because you selfishly want to keep them from me. Even though if you came with them, none of my men could do anything to take them from you. No, you just decided you didn't want to agree with me because of that nonsensical parental fear. So I was forced to kill again. First the city, then the relic keepers from the nearby kingdom to get to the artefacts we needed. Then, my own men died when we tried to brainwash the serpent. Of course, when we sent it against the hive to punch us a way inside, I didn't think it would have some otherworldly parasite inside. That part was my mistake. But seriously, who could've thought that the meat of Disronden the snake had consumed would essentially turn it into a living cocoon? Guess that's what happens when one tries to eat a decaying eldritch being."

"That serpent... you did that?"

"Yes. Just to get to you and past the hive's defences."

"The hole in the wall..."

"Yup, precisely. All that just because of you. So the dead hunters are on your hands. At least partially. I take responsibility for the ones killed by the parasite. And don't worry, I am pretty sure I will pay for their lives with mine, one day."

"No. I didn't kill them. My conscience is clear. You're the one who has to make up all these lies to cope with reality."

"Hahaha! I really cannot reason with you, huh? Final offer, Glavas. Are you coming with us, or not?"

"Fuck off."

"Hmm. I thought as much. You know, I prepared for this. You can't play your music, there are innocent people here. Your weapon is lost and your staff is still stuck in the skull of the serpent. Your knee is injured, slowing you down, not to mention you had no proper rest. And of course, I evolved in ways that would help me against someone like you. This, I think, balances out our chances."

"Oh yeah? I think you will be disappointed. I never go down without a fight."

"Yes, I know. I know. You see, I truly hate you Glavas. My goal is so close and yet you guard it for no reason. For that, I truly, utterly despise you. So while I may regret the hurt I've caused to others, believe me, I will thoroughly enjoy this."

At a blinding speed, the demon lunged himself at Glavas. Ruun smiled. The new muscle fibres in his legs were working nicely. He was much faster now, capable of matching the hunter's speed. Nay, given his injured knee, he may have even been a bit faster.

Glavas raised his blade and just in time blocked the incoming claws that approached his face. His arm erupted in a splash of blood and his spear flew out, but unfortunately, not fast enough to catch the demon's knee, which soon after delivered a powerful kick to his abdomen.

The hunter slouched slightly, his body reacting instinctively to the blow. The pain was multiplied by the large bruise sitting in the same place, which Glavas had received during his battle earlier that day. It was clear that Ruun was not playing around. His attacks were targeted at all of Glavas' weak spots, and he knew them well. Before the hunter could react, the demon grabbed him by his coat and tossed him over his shoulder. The sudden enormous strength he possessed threw Glavas all the way to the far end of the room, even over the chieftain's table. Only barely did he manage to land safely on his feet, almost losing balance due to his injury.

The moment another one of Glavas' tattoos began bleeding, Ruun rushed him again. The hunter tried to toss his spear at him, but the zigzagging patterns of the approaching foe were too unpredictable and fast. Just as he crossed the distance between them, a light blue sickle finally finished emerging out of Glavas' arm. Before he could grab it, however, he saw the demonic claw twist its fingers around it and toss it aside. He swung his sword at the creature, but all of his attacks proved to be mostly ineffective. Although Ruun was certainly not managing to avoid all of Glavas' attacks, his exoskeleton was too tough. Numerous times did the sword manage to leave a mark, but it never cut deep enough to draw blood or let its poison seep into the wound.

For a moment, it seemed as if the demon's blows were becoming more shallow. His claws never cut deep, and the blunt strikes were nothing compared to what Glavas was used to. What he didn't expect was that Ruun would suddenly grab him. He rushed him and wrapped his arms around the hunter as if he simply wanted to give him a hug. No matter how much Glavas tried to punch his carapace, the demon's grasp did not seem to get any softer.

In the next moment, Ruun jumped. His new strength carried them both high up and through the beautiful stained glass. As it shattered to pieces, the dragons standing outside yelled and began taking cover from the falling shrapnel.

"You like festivals?" Ruun asked as they were flying through the air.

Glavas did not even have time to say anything. All of a sudden, they both fell into a bubble of cold water, which was floating in the middle of the big central room, at the top of the hole that was going through all the floors of the hive. Casting a spell was therefore impossible now, with no way to take in the necessary air to form the words.

It didn't take long before gravity began dragging them both down to its clutches. Glavas squirmed and fought, but it seemed that nothing worked against the demon. Even when he tried to poke the demon's eyes out, they simply sunk into his skull and reappeared elsewhere.

"Neh–" Glavas tried to recall at least basic magical words when a sudden impact knocked the wind out of him. They fell a floor down, hitting the glowing magical rock that the locals used as decoration for their celebration. As they fell, it broke and shattered, not keeping them from descending deeper.

They both picked up speed, Glavas couldn't even manage to catch his breath before they fell into another spell. Since he was falling first, the demon used him pretty much as a living shield, forcing the hunter's back to absorb all the spells they fell through. It did not matter that they were used as decorations for the celebration. The elements were still painful when approached at such velocity. Soon, Glavas didn't even know what was happening around him. The different kinds of pain kept hitting him so quickly that it was almost impossible to recover in time. In one last feeble attempt, he tried to conjure up his sealing scroll, but the time necessary to imprison the demon was way longer than the fall. Ruun felt the glowing letters of the scroll pulling him inside, yet his grip did not loosen. The few seconds of fall were agony for Glavas until they finally approached the bottom floor.

Ruun extended his legs, using his freshly evolved muscles to absorb the fall. The damage he sustained caused his eyes to twitch, but through sheer will, he kept himself from making a sound. Once down, he dropped Glavas to the ground. The nearby dragons quickly started running, looking for anyone brave enough to face this new sudden threat.

Glavas lay on the ground, barely able to comprehend what had happened. His body was twitching and squirming and yet refused to move in a way he wished.

"I'm not going to lie to you. This does make me slightly happy," the demon crouched beside Glavas. "All those elements really did a number on you. Still feel that heat of the fire? The sting of lightning? Yeah, I bet you do. That helplessness you feel? That's how I felt. That's what it was like knowing that you were in the way towards my goal. Everything you desire is so close. You are so close to killing me, and yet, you can't even move. You can't do anything about me." He placed one of his hands on Glavas' chest. "Now, before we part ways, I want you to know that I still didn't come here to kill you. I need you out of my way, yes, but when I am done, Alma will probably still want her family back. So rest assured that your life will be spared. But..." His hand sank into the hunter's chest, emanating a bright blue glow. Glavas couldn't make a single sound as an invisible grasp played with something inside his body. It was like all of his organs were being shuffled and put into places where they didn't belong. "You have a big soul. Quite surprising. Bigger than most people. It would be a shame to take it. You see, certain skilled healers can restore your body almost marvellously, but souls? If those get injured, well, nothing can really help you but time. So I apologise for this, but I need you out of my way for long enough," He slid his claw against the soft surface of the soul, ready to dig into it when the heat in the room suddenly rose. Ruun only barely managed to pull his arm out in time. One moment later and Darmok's burning sword would cut it off.

The demon jumped away, looking at the incoming danger. The sound of rattling chains came from behind him, as another fighter joined the fray. In front of Ruun stood a red dragon swordsman with a burning blade. Behind him then was a yellow dragon hunter with a single weapon attached to a long chain, which he was now spinning around, letting yellow sparks fly off of it. Glavas had no idea they came to his rescue. For him, the whole world faded the moment Ruun began playing with his soul.

"I have no business with you," the demon spoke. "You are both tired and injured. I would prefer if we would both avoid the risk of unnecessary death and simply went our separate ways."

"You invade our hive and demand to be let free?" Darmok asked.

"You fuck up my bestie and think you can walk away?" Veloc coined in.

"We'll cut you down where you stand!"

"Yeah! I'll fucking carve you right open!"

Ruun sighed. "Well, if that is what you wish."