The team finally came across what they believed to be the final stretch of the palace.
Unfortunately.
"How is this NOT an RPG at this point?!" Ryuji threw his hands up. "It was fun at first, but having to backtrack in reality sucks!"
"What are you talking about now?" Morgana chirped at him, looking in the direction the irritated blonde was pointing.
"That!"
It was a long bridge leading across a gap that was impassable otherwise. Ryuji reached into his bag and pulled out an empty soda can.
"Watch, I bet—"
SLICE
He had tossed the can towards the bridge gently, and before it could even cross the threshold of the room, it was sliced in half by a huge scythe that was hanging from the ceiling.
"I could outrun it," Ren said.
"You're really coming out of your shell, huh?" Ryuji commented in exasperation.
"Don't listen to him, take a look at what he's doing," Ann giggled.
"Another gross statue," Shiho spat. "Pull down its jaw again, Joker."
Ren agreed and reached into the statue's mouth, pulling its jaw down.
Nothing happened. No clicks, no rumbling, the statue just went back to being a bust of Kamoshida's irritating face.
"I really want to smash this thing," Ren sighed. "Take a look, guys. It's probably missing a key or something. Again."
"Looks like its eyes are missing," Morgana said.
"Yeah, I don't know how we missed that," Ryuji frowned.
"I think we were just annoyed with Kamo-Shithead."
"Likely."
"I don't wanna talk about him," Shiho said as she wrinkled her nose. "Do you think the missing eyes are the key to get this thing to work?"
"I'd assume, but we don't even know what it does," Ren said worriedly.
"Think they're in chests or something?" Ryuji suggested. "Like a safe?"
"I feel like the treasure would be stored in some kind of safe rather than a statue's eyes," Ann replied.
"They're likely being carried by Shadows," Morgana announced.
"Shit, the cat is probably right," Ryuji muttered.
"I'm still not a cat," Morgana snapped before calming down. "Ignoring the monkey with his peanut brain… Joker might be able to tell with his Third Eye power."
"I'm not sure, but I think I should be able to," Ren trailed off, half-confident.
'Hmph, don't look down on the Third Eye, nor on yourself, Trickster,' Arsene snorted.
'My liege, I believe that Arsene is correct. Have more confidence in yourself. I would not have chosen to serve if I did not believe you were capable,' Berith said, breaking his perpetual silence since the negotiation.
'Why have you been so quiet, Berith?' Ren wondered.
'I am your knight, my liege,' Berith said. 'You are intelligent and have other advisors. I am your sword.'
'Well, you're still me, right? You don't have to hide from yourself,' Ren replied inwardly.
---
The team began to sneak around once more.
"I still don't understand how these things don't see us," Ryuji whispered to Ann, who was crouched beside him in the shadows.
"I don't really mind. I don't wanna fight every Shadow we see," Ann whispered back.
"Looks like those two don't share your thoughts!" Morgana called out as Ren and Shiho pincer-attacked a Shadow guard, knocking it onto its bottom and causing it to explode into a swirl of mist.
"I think this one has... something!" Ren said. "No, it definitely has something!"
"What is it?" Morgana asked as the team took their combat stances.
"I don't know. The guard was simply glowing like it was of interest."
ROARRRRRRR!
"...It also had a really intimidating red aura swirling around it," Ren weakly revealed.
"You could have warned us!" Ann retorted.
"I AM ELIGOR!" the Shadow announced as it took form.
"Looks like Berith," Shiho noted.
"Hmph, don't confuse me with that low-ranking garbage. I am a great DUKE OF HELL!" the Shadow said as it exposed itself entirely.
"More Ars Goetia stuff, huh?" Ren whispered. "Wait, doesn't that make Berith a Duke of Hell too?"
"Not anymore, Trickster," Berith announced as he materialized.
"You will fall before my liege, Duke Eligor!"
"I spit! You discarded your twenty-six legions for… this?!" Eligor roared, his horse neighing in frustration.
"En garde!"
---
"You know not the power of the Wildcard!" Berith declared, galloping towards the Duke.
"Come, Trickster! Show this Duke what true nobility looks like!"
"Joker!" Ryuji called out. "Tarukaja!"
"Power Slash!" Berith and Ren called out as their respective weapons clashed with the Shadow.
"WEAK!" the demon duke declared, blocking the straightforward strike.
"Show your conviction, friends!" Berith declared loudly as Captain Kidd roared into existence.
"You're right, knight!" he said as he rammed into Eligor.
"Never thought that a thief and a pirate would fight alongside a knight," Zorro said as he materialized.
"Zorro! Lucky Punch!"
A boxing glove materialized in thin air and launched towards the rampaging duke. It barely missed him. His eyes turned to Morgana.
"What was that, Cat?" Eligor scoffed before suddenly being hit with a headbutt to the flank.
"Shut up and fight!" Shiho yelled with a big smile as she backed up. Her forehead was a bit red from hitting the Shadow's red armor.
"You know you don't have to actually headbutt him physically," Morgana groaned as he dodged a strike.
"It's fun though!"
Ann had been casting Agi almost the entire fight. But there was little to no reaction from the great duke.
"SO FRUSTRATING!!!!" she exclaimed, pulling out her gun and emptying her clip.
Unfortunately, the bullets just bounced off him.
"Hahahaha!" Eligor laughed.
"Silky, Bufu!" Joker yelled as the Shadow left an opening with his mocking laughter.
"Take this, Duke," Silky gently said. "Bufu."
A large ice-blue glyph appeared in front of Silky before it shattered and reformed on the chest of the Shadow, exploding.
"Agh!"
"It's weak to ice!" Morgana confirmed.
"Joker! Knock it down!—OOF!" Ryuji yelled before being smacked across the head and passing out.
"Skull!!!!!!!" the team yelled.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Joker started to swear.
'Does anyone have a healing spell better than Dia?' Joker pretty much mentally yelled.
"RECARM!" Morgana called out before panting.
Ryuji basically jumped to attention and said, "That hurt! Get over here, bastard!"
"I need a break! Joker, Panther, be sure to heal! I'll come back ASAP!" Morgana said as he jumped away into the shadows.
"I'm still here! I just need to recover my mental energy!"
"That was a hell of a spell, Mona!"
"He wasn't dead!" Morgana assured.
'Well, he almost was,' he thought with a shiver.
The team backed up and took battle-ready stances while catching their breath. Eligor did the same.
There was a moment of silence. Perhaps shared respect?
"Come, Trickster!" Silky yelled.
"Bufu!" Silky and Joker's voices overlapped, knocking the giant duke off his horse and to his knee.
"I see," Eligor said quietly as the team surrounded him.
"I will not YIELD!"
"EVERYONE GO ALL OUT!"
The lights dimmed as the team attacked the grand duke in tandem. Berith gave the final blow.
"We will meet again, Duke."
"Very well... Knight."
BOOM.
The Shadow and its horse both exploded.
"Show's over," Ren said with a smirk, adjusting his gloves and cracking his neck.
---