Lord of Entertainment

(3rd Person POV)

The Blood Seal Tome's weight defied its appearance. Even with Jier's strength - equivalent to a hundred men - he required his fellow knights' assistance to transport it.

Thirty minutes later, they presented the book to Lance. The Champion studied it carefully before proceeding with the ritual. After several minutes of contemplation, he read the front page and performed the blood pact. The Tome's pages spread wide, and from its depths emerged the Staff.

It manifested as a cobra-headed staff of pure obsidian, crowned with eyes that seemed to burn with inner malevolence. The moment it fully materialized, waves of dark power poured from its surface.

Blood-tinged lightning crackled through the air as the ground trembled beneath their feet. The sheer force drove Lance back ten paces, while Jier and the other knights leaped thirty feet away for safety.

Lance approached with grim determination, fighting against the invisible force pushing him back. Each step forward felt like wading through solid stone. Finally, after several grueling minutes, his fingers closed around the Staff's length.

"Be still," he commanded in the ancient tongue. The Staff's violent eruption of power gradually subsided under his will.

Lance and his knights released a collective breath as the artifact stabilized. But their relief proved premature - dark energy began seeping into Lance's mind. He clenched his jaw, fighting against the Staff's attempt to overwhelm his consciousness.

***

In the Dionysus headquarters, the followers had grown relaxed. Despite being confined underground, their earlier fears had melted away.

Joshua, exercising his role as Festive Organizer, launched into party preparations.

Followers eagerly transferred their Faith Points to fund the celebration, and within moments, Joshua had acquired ample supplies - wines, grapes, various meats, and fresh fruits.

The atmosphere turned jubilant. To generate more Faith Points and earn additional provisions, followers organized into performing groups. Some danced while others delivered collective singing performances, their celebrations echoing through the chambers.

Joshua watched their revelry with satisfaction until Elena approached, concern etching her features. "Should we really be celebrating while a Champion hunts us?"

"Don't worry," Joshua began confidently. "They can't even breach the barrier, much less interrupt our party—"

A violent quake cut his words short. While the celebrating followers dismissed it as normal underground movement, Joshua and Elena's status scrolls flashed urgent notifications.

"They've broken through?" Joshua muttered incredulously, meeting Elena's worried gaze.

"The control sphere - quickly!" Elena urged. They sprinted to the control room, where the monitoring system revealed the horrifying truth.

Outside the main entrance, the Champion wielded a cobra-headed staff, directing blood-tinged lightning against their barrier. To their shock, the protective field began to fail.

"They found a way to damage it!" Elena's voice shook.

Joshua's expression hardened. "We need to activate the secondary defense system - the maze configuration."

Before he could finish speaking, the barrier shattered, leaving a breach large enough for the Champion's team to pour through.

"Now!" Joshua shouted, fingers flying over the control sphere's surface.

Joshua and Elena activated the sanctuary's secondary defense system. With precise button combinations on the control sphere, they initiated the maze configuration. The underground chambers began their transformation.

---

Lance led his men through the breached barrier, satisfaction evident on their faces after hours of effort.

"Finally..." Burt breathed out in relief.

"Let's see where these cultists hide," Jier's smile carried dark promise.

They descended the entrance stairs, expecting to find the cult's lair. Instead, they emerged into a vast labyrinth of shifting stone passages. Walls moved and reformed before their eyes, corridors stretched and contracted, and new paths materialized while others vanished.

"The entire underground structure is transforming!" A sacred knight called out, watching stone flow like water.

Lance's expression darkened. "This artifact isn't merely generating barriers - it's completely reshaping the terrain at will."

"Such layered defenses..." Jier's voice carried newfound respect. "This suggests power far beyond what we anticipated."

"Multiple defensive capabilities?" Another knight spoke up. "This must be Abyssal tier at minimum, possibly even higher!"

"We severely underestimated this cult," Burt admitted, watching another passage seal itself shut.

The sacred knights watched as their seemingly straight path split into dozens of branching corridors, each one morphing and changing direction. Their victory over the barrier suddenly felt hollow in the face of this new challenge.

Lance tightened his grip on the staff. "This maze is merely an inconvenience. With this staff and our combined power, we'll crush through!"

He thrust the staff forward, unleashing torrents of blood-tinged lightning. With his free hand, he smashed through a rising wall, reducing solid stone to dust.

"Use everything at your disposal!" Lance commanded his knights. "Magic, strength - destroy anything in our path!"

The sacred knights unleashed their full might, tearing through the shifting maze with raw power.

***

From the control room, Joshua and Elena watched their second defense falter. Though the Sanctuary Sphere continued powering the maze, it barely slowed the invaders' advance.

"We need the third phase," Elena said urgently. "The illusion defense."

Joshua nodded grimly, activating the mind-invasion protocols. Almost immediately, they saw the invaders' movements become less certain, their advance hesitating as the illusions took hold.

Yet the Staff of Annihilation in the Champion's hands continued to tear through their defenses with frightening efficiency. Its destructive power exceeded their worst fears.

In the main chambers, the celebration had long since died. Followers clustered around their status scrolls, watching the invaders' progress with mounting dread.

Their earlier confidence evaporated as they witnessed the Champion's relentless advance through their supposedly impregnable defenses.

***

(Arthur POV)

I had overestimated the Sanctuary Sphere's capabilities against these Solarus warriors. The Champion and his Sacred Knights not only breached the barrier but now rampaged through our maze defenses.

Though the barrier's hole had regenerated, the damage was done - they were inside. Their destructive advance through the maze triggered waves of desperate prayers from my thousands of followers underground. Please lord, send your most powerful servant to defeat these enemies!

Their pleas echoed in my mind, drawing a weary sigh. Should I intervene directly? The Champion's team, despite their impressive show of force, remained far from reaching the main chambers.

Studying the Champion's display of power, particularly with that staff, I knew I could easily overcome him in my {Prime Morningstar} phase two form. The calculation was simple - his strength, while formidable, couldn't match my transformed state.

After careful consideration, I decided to act. I activated {Prime Morningstar}, feeling the familiar rush of power as my body transformed.

My frame stretched upward to seven feet, horns extending into elegant goat-like curves. Wings erupted from my back, no longer the bat-like appendages of phase one, but magnificent dark plumage that spoke of divine authority. My ears lengthened to delicate points, while my eyes retained their phase one scarlet glow - a reminder that some aspects of power remain constant across transformations.

I was about to intervene when my eyes widened at the sight of my followers mobilizing to defend their home.

They rushed into the maze-like terrain, coordinating perfectly with Joshua and Elena's control of the shifting passages.

Their resourcefulness impressed me as they deployed items from the Follower Shop - explosive tags that detonated on command, smoke bombs for cover, and senbon needles for precise strikes.

Some carried Senzu beans to heal any injuries, while others used magic-amplifying wands to strengthen their spells.

These items, purchased with Faith Points or received through my blessing, showed how cleverly they'd prepared for potential threats. Though my followers might lack raw power, they proved remarkably ingenious in using every resource at their disposal.

***

(3rd Person POV)

Despite the mind-invasion and illusion attacks, the Champion and his knights pressed forward with unwavering clarity.

But they found themselves increasingly frustrated as followers deployed strange weapons.

Paper bombs exploded along corridors, filling passages with smoke and debris. More bewildering still, cultists they'd definitely wounded would suddenly appear completely healed moments later.

"What sorcery is this?" a Sacred Knight shouted as another explosion forced him back.

"Those papers - they're rigged with some kind of explosive magic!" Another dove for cover as kunai embedded in the wall behind him.

Burt charged after a cultist carrying a wand, "Just wait until I catch you!" But the follower tossed down a smoke bomb and disappeared as walls shifted to protect their escape.

Though fear still gripped many of the followers, their determination to protect their sanctuary overcame their terror.

Working in coordination with Joshua and Elena's maze control, they struck from multiple angles - throwing explosive tags from one direction while healing their companions with Senzu beans from another.

The headquarters had become more than just a hideout to them - it was home.

They darted through shifting passages, using every blessed item their Lord Dionysus had granted them, turning the maze into a deadly labyrinth for the invaders.

---

~1 Hour Later~

The followers utilized every resource at their disposal, but after an hour of fierce resistance, their defenses began to falter. Their supply of explosive tags was nearly exhausted, and the Champion's relentless advance showed no signs of slowing.

Hope was slipping away. The defenders retreated, desperation etched into their faces—until an overwhelming presence shattered the tension.

A streak of black tore through the air, faster than the eye could follow. The demon didn't just appear; he descended upon the battlefield like a meteor, landing with a force that shook the ground.

Towering at seven feet, his form radiated unearthly majesty. Dark, leathery wings unfurled like shadows swallowing the light, and the oppressive aura he emanated made the air itself seem heavy.

Lance barely had time to react. "A noble demon..." His words dripped with grim recognition, his grip on his weapon tightening.

Before the thought could fully form in anyone's mind, the demon blurred into motion, a streak of impossible speed. In an instant, he was in front of Lance.

With a flick of his finger—a casual, almost disdainful gesture—he struck Lance's forehead.

The Champion's body was launched like a cannonball, crashing through the maze's walls as if they were paper. Each impact sent debris flying, the cacophony of destruction echoing through the battlefield.

In the control room, Elena froze, her hands flying to her mouth as her mind raced to process the impossible. Beside her, Jier and the other Sacred Knights stood paralyzed, their faces pale with disbelief.

Lance, the mighty Champion whose strength could level entire districts, had been reduced to a ragdoll in a single, effortless move.

The demon stood still, unmoving amid the chaos, his piercing gaze locking everyone in place like insects trapped in amber.