The flames burst into small spear heads that shot to Mystique's direction. The Sin raised his hands and clenched it, forming a transparent sphere around him that blocked the flaming shots.

"Priestess," Connor gasped as he watch the woman's figure emerged from the flames. Geneva walked out of the fire, carrying with her a torch.

"I am doing my duty as the Priestess of the Cauldron of Eternal Flames and protect my Ruler," the Priestess said. She slammed the torch on the ground, creating a trail of red flame-shapes line that reached up to Mystique.

The line split up in front of Mystique to forme a diamond shape around the Sin before conntecting at the back. The flame from the torch sparked into the line, making it burst into flames and trail to Mystique.

"I've seen this before," Mystique said. "This will not work on–"

Just before the fire would reach him, it along with the line turned to mist and surrounded him. Mystique started to worry and tried to step back, only for the mist to spark. "What is this?!"

"Deceitful soul who wanders too far from the light," Geneva chanted. "Let the fire from the Cauldron of Eternal Flames guide this lost sheep and may any lies uncover. Luminous Purification!"

The mist formed a vortex around Mystique in a blink of an eye, sparkling and engulfing him with the flames. Connor and Midnight watched as the Sin yell in pain while the fire ignites around him.

Just when they thought the Sin was defeated, there was a large thump that emerged from the flames. A large lizard-like claws came out of it and slammed itself on the ground, making the fire vanish.

"What is that?!" Connor gasped. He watched as a large humanoid lizard shook its head and look back at him with its large eyes. The skin of the creature was wrinkly and calloused, it eyes were large and was popping at each side of its head.

Its color was green and had an orange line on its eye, and another one on its forehead that travels to its back and to its tail. The tail was long and slender, coiling upwards and twitching as the large creature created low growling sounds.

"This is his true form," Geneva said as she stood slowly. The torch's flame was still brightly swaying in the air as if it didn't released such a powerful magic a few moments ago. "I unveiled his true form by deactivating his magic. But be careful, breaking a spell meant he didn't have to sustain it."

"So basically he's more powerful?" Connor asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because Mystique's spell was too risky," Midnight replied to him. "It can deceive you and influence your decisions and thinking patterns, even the way you attack and your overall speed."

Connor's face contorted in confusion, "What does that exactly mean?"

"Your performance when fighting someone you like and someone who's as ugly as this is significantly different," Midnight looked at him in the eyes. "I know you couldn't land a hit before."

"But whaf if Mystique casts that spell again?" Connor thought. "Casting a spell would be easy."

"That's why I binded the magic with a restrictive skill," Geneva replied. "As long as the flame of this torch lives, I can protect you."

"Well," Midnight smiled and slammed his palms together. "Now we have a new task. Let's protect the priestess."

Connor nodded. He looked at Geneva and then back at Mystique, "Can we talk after this? I want to clarify things."

Geneva was about give her reply when Midnight swiflty vanished from beside them. His movements created a strong force, making Connor and Geneva gasped in shock and surprise.

"Black Morph…" Midnight trailed off and leaped in front of Mystique. "Abyssal Angel."

Mystique's eyes widen after he saw Midnight morph. The latter's body glowed with a pitch black color. Two pairs of wings grew from his back as his legs slowly drifted closer to each other until they connected and shortened, forming a cone shape.

Midnight crossed his hands on his chest before throwing them out and let the black light burst. His skin was now white as snow while his hair and all the other parts of his body was pitch black.

"This power is from the Abyss," Mystique said. "How can a mere human harness the power of the Abyss?!"

Midnight didn't reply. Instead, he clutched his hands and conjured a sword which he used to attack Mystique. The latter responded with a growl, clashing his claws against the sword to defend himself.

"A mere Seventh Dweller cannot defeat someone like me who lives and rules over the Eighth layer," Mystique yelled. "My power is that of an Eternal. I am powerful beyond reason!"

Midnight didn't respond. Instead, he flew back and hovered above Mystique, "I was always fascinated by your power. You said that what we saw you as was the person of our deepest desires. I thought I'd see someone, but it turns out, I saw someone different."

Mystique growled, he shook his head and crossed his arms in front of him, "Blasts of Hidden Desires!"

There were nine pink orbs that Mystique fired. All nine of which vanished before it reached Midnight or Connor.

This led Connor to believe that the skill was deactivated halfway. He took a step forward and felt an attack approach him at an alarming speed. "What in the–"

"Ka-poom."

"Connor, watch out!" Midnight yelled, but it was too late. He dashed towards the boy as one of the pink spheres appeared, hovering Connor and spinning before enlarging and swallowing Connor. "No!"

In a blink of an eye, just before Midnight could reach his hands to Connor, the later's presence vanished. Midnight fell to the ground, eyes widening in shock as his body trembled inexplicably.

"Where are they? Galaxia, our teammates, and now Connor. Tell me where they are!" Midnight screamed.

"If you can defeat me, I will tell you," Mystique said with a wide grin that showed his sharp set of teeth. "In fact, I will take you there myself. Fair deal?"

Midnight's eyes bulged from their sockets. He yelled and raised his sword, charging it with a black light before slashing it to create a wide beam against Mystique.

The Sin responded by retracting both his lizard-like arms and thrusting them forward, his claws meeting the slash and blocked the beam effortlessly.

"You have to hit harder than that!" Mystique chuckled. "Ka-poom!"

Midnight felt the spheres around them. He clutched his sword tightly in his grip and felt every single one of them. There was a slight distortion in the air behind him, making him slash his sword and cut one of the spheres in half.

With a smirk on his lips, he felt a few more around him. Now he knew how to deal with the spheres. It will be easier for him to handle Mystique now.

"You look confident," Mystique chuckled. "I want to crush that confidence. Ka-poom!"

All the seven spheres revolved around Midnight. He narrowed his eyes and let his body flow, slashing in the air and hitting all the spheres with one spin. After all the pink attacks were cut in half, he burst out his wings so it would blow the spheres into nothingness.

"Well, well," Mystique clapped. "Now that I've seen your performance, I want to collect you even more."

Midnight flinched after hearing the words. There was an unsettling aura that was exuding from Mystique. The aura made Midnight's body hot, which made him uncomfortable.

"Oh, you're feeling it," Mystique chuckled. "No matter what form, I guess you're only human too. Autumn Heat."

Midnight felt a surge of pleasure burst in his body. It made him moan with a sound that he couldn't believe would escape his lips. "What is happening?!"

Mystique walked closer to him with the spinning pink orb hovering in his palm. "You know, you're also just a human filled with desires."

The Sin's form slowly morphed into the previous one Midnight saw. "Oh, no. The priestess–"

Midnight turned around, only to see the priestess unconscious and the torch's light to die out. Mystique laughed while watching Midnight fall to the ground and tremble helplessly. "She didn't realize that she sealed my true power. Maybe if she knew that, she would take care of her torch more."

The Sin had a wide smirk on his lips as he reached out his hand to let the pink orb swallow Midnight. The attack was getting closer and closer as Midnight helplessly watch it approach him.

"Goodbye–"

A spark of flame ignited right by Mystique's arm. A hand appeared from the flame and gripped his arm, pulling it aside and letting the flame it was on burn the pink orb into nothingness.

"What is this?!" Mystique couldn't believe his eyes. "But you're trapped in the Land of Desires!"

"God Mode!" Connor's voice yelled from nowhere. "Flames of the Abyssal Ruler!"