Deep in the former cave where Diablo once stayed…

A massive pillar that was as thick as mountains and as tall as the sky itself fell from a portal and began to dig through the ground. It was like a nail that pierced the mountain cave. But the mystery of its approach didn’t create earthquakes or booms, but it began to bury itself into the crust of the Earth slowly.

The nearby kingdom witnessed the shocking sight, and even Merkley and Trithefert were horrified.

The monsters in the forest hid that night, and some even fled out of the lands, for a great evil power was moving within.

In the lowest region of the tower stood Diablo on a throne made of bones.

“The teleportation was a mess. It destroyed and annihilated a huge portion of my army.” Diablo frowned.

Nearby was a man donning a large robe.

“I have failed you, Lord Diablo.”

“Your failure is one of long ago. Had you not allowed that assassin to sever my soul like that, I would have reigned in Martsirt! But even without it, the enemy's attacks in the two kingdoms are… rather curious. Both have their means to be unconquerable, yet the enemy manages to attack. Out of safety, I have to risk it. Now my forces are here, but it will take time before the death energy will give life to the countless souls shackled on each floor.” Diablo began to stand up.

“Right now, I am investing in my own body. I called my brothers to help me fight and conquer Merkley. But those skeletons have proven strong, and Ciroel, who now calls himself Leoric, has gotten stronger... And there is also that knight! Do we still have any word from the Serpentari?”

“They are trying their best, but they cannot send more men. The Pope and Molibus have also started to act wildly, sending orders to kill the slightest suspicion of traitors. Unfortunately, those that did manage to reach the mine couldn’t get the teleportation device to work!”

“You are all useless!” Diablo roared.

Lazarus and the nearby mages, including Char, all cowered.

Diablo’s rage was growing, but then he felt it.

The pillar had nailed itself so deep into the land that it reached the realm of the dead on the planet.

Diablo could feel the pillar that had been damaged and weakened hungrily devour the energy and was repairing itself.

“Needless to say, this planet seems to have more death energy than I thought. Perhaps someone sent here is reaping the powers of the dead… But who? Regardless, I will have to act myself. Defend this tower from any attackers! We are reaching the depths of the realm of the dead. This is the grave of the planet. Where all the dead souls gather. Things have changed as I and my other rivals have changed the flow of the world. But I am too weak and desperately need to harness this power. The soul and death energy will be used to recreate my body. The realm of the dead of this planet will create all forms of dead and demonic beasts on the floors above. My powers of granting dark wishes from the obsessions of these souls will cause them to be born as they seek to fulfill these unfulfilled desires…”

Dark energy spread through the forest, and many undead monsters and beasts began to rise.

Hidden in one small cave was a strange cocoon. Dyne and his allies left behind this cocoon, as it was very difficult to carry it around. Ever since Dyne and his allies came out of the mine, Lachdagonan fell into a strange state after devouring the souls of the soldiers harnessed by the Mist. But as the days passed, the cocoon did not break or change.

Emera decided to leave the cocoon of Lachdagonan in a safe place and continued to feed it with more souls they found. But when Dyne arrived, she had to go and meet her Master.

When Emera informed Dyne of Lachdagonan’s state, Dyne decided to let it stay in the forest as the current cocoon was too dangerous to bring in Legaia, which the Mist had polluted. Even in Biron, the dead souls and desires would affect the cocoon of Lachdagonan.

But now, the obsession and desires of Diablo had spread throughout the land.

Lachdagonan’s form had changed inside the cocoon. Meeting Dyne was a new life for him and a new vow to fulfill. But his heart was heavy as he still bore the shame of failure when he lost fate to his king.

Never again, he vowed. And in this desire, he yearned to be a strong sword to cut his lord’s enemy. He had failed Ciroel, which caused the kingdom to go against his king. And now, he saw how it led to Ciroel’s descent to madness.

CRACK!

The cocoon broke, and Lachdagonan emerged once more.

He had transformed. The armor he wore had changed, and a dark Y-shaped horn was on his head.

“That place…” Lachdagonan looked at the pillar.

“I must journey to its core!’ Lachdagonan moved and flew as his Revenant body enveloped great power.

“Not yet. I need more power! I will become the blade of my Lord!” Lachdagonan decided as he flew.

Back in Legaia, Leoric had made a tour and rushed towards the northern caves in the Drake Continent.

Leoric and his Skeletons had captured many Serus.

“This is… quite strong.” Leoric laughed as he wore a Theeder.

Even in the madness of the Mist, Leoric could resist it.

Dyne watched in amazement. Even he won’t dare to do it.

“So… We offer Trithefert these Serus. With these, we could fool them into fighting the three Afarit brothers.” Leoric smiled.

Behind him were Dyne and a few members who could resist the Mist.

But Meta, Terra, and even Jedo were amazed at how Leoric could resist it.

“I wonder…” Leoric smiled and glanced at another Seru. Leoric took a Gimard and started to wear it.

“My King!” Ardnula warned.

Dyne was also worried, but he waited.

As Leoric wore it, the power of the madness increased due to the Mist, and Leoric’s form began to change. A skeleton aura began to form as the powers of the Mist condensed and created the armor.

“This… is perfect! But… it’s a pity that the Mist is just here…” Leoric sighed.

“Amazing. It’s not even a problem for you! Tetsu, how is the East Voz Forest? You’ve seen the power of my allies. Is it possible to attack it?”

Surprisingly, Tetsu shook his head.

“The forest has changed. Half of it is petrified and is under the control of a plant demon. The other half is frozen. The Ice Seru Koru has grown stronger. All the beasts there are now equal to a level 2 Seru in power. Strange darkness replaced the loss of Jedo, and when the Hunters went there to check on the Tree, half of it was Petrified, and the other half was frozen. We would need to kill both to conquer. Of course, we could send our forces, but the attack will definitely draw in the enemy's attention.” Tetsu answered.

“I see… Too bad. If Leoric could combine with Koru, he would become the Lich King…” Dyne sighed.

“ These Soul weapons would be a great temptation to Trithefert!” Leoric admired.

“Capture these Serus, and offer it up to them. Force them to attack Diablo. The pillar that fell in the sky would definitely give them more reason to attack. Whatever being that is controlling Trithefert will be forced to attack with such benefits.”

“Oh? You’re not going with us?”

“No. This gives me time to complete another mission.”

“Another mission?”

“I need Jaden’s team, Emera, and the rest of the Legaia team to go through that door.” Dyne pointed at a massive stone door.

“What lies beyond it, Master?” Emera asked.

“Sebucus Islands. We are moving there to acquire more Ra-Serus. And when we return, we liberate Drake Continent!” Dyne smiled.

“How will you plan to open the door?” Jedo asked. He knew that in the story, the door could never be opened because of the suspicious old man.

“It’s easy.” Dyne smiled and moved towards the door.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Dyne punched it with all his might. Yet even then, the stone didn’t move or break.

“Hey, Old Wizard! Open up! We’re humans! We want to pass through this cave!” Dyne shouted.

The Old wizard inside had long heard strange whispers beyond the door and believed it was serus.

“Humans?” The old wizard wondered.

“Lies! There are no humans outside the Mist!” The Old Wizard shouted back.

“There are! We can resist the Mist because of our power! I am a survivor of Biron Monastery! We used a massive fan to blow the Mist away! You should have seen those massive contraptions at the entrance of Biron when you traded with us!” Dyne shouted again.

The Old Wizard heard it and began to hesitate. He did know of these things.

"A seru can't make up these things...!" The Old Wizard thought.