A Yursarsh cultist flinched as Adamantoise, in dark purple robes and in a form reminiscent of a humanoid turtle, snapped at him. The cultist fiddled with his fingers, carefully thinking about how exactly to phrase the next few words in a way that would not end in him being gutted by his boss.
"Well, you see," the cultist started, voice surprisingly steady as Adamantoise glared, "Yursarsh did send him after the Triden Griffons after they became more than just a threat and defeated Cerebus. And he did do a great job at defeating most of them. But he made fatal mistake and, well."
"Well? What happened?"
A deep breath. "He got bisected by Alex, sir. He's been dead for years now, and he's considered Undead anyway. No body, no soul, no chance of even shoving someone's other soul inside of him to use as a puppet or something."
Adamantoise slammed his fist on the wall. "Damn that knight! Lich could have actually been USEFUL for avenging our god and possibly taking his place, but then THAT happens! Then Nue finds herself with her worst enemy as his familiar, Orochi is hardly the cunning beast that almost conquered all of Levia and revived Yursarsh anymore, and Regal... It was a mistake to ressurect him. Utterly useless!"
As several cultists watched as their leader broke a hole in the wall in anger, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper.
"I suppose I have no choice but to revive Pigface, and I have the perfect body to bring his soul back in. And of course, we still have the Shadow Dragon- foolish knight didn't even finish him off!" Adamantoise grinned. "Soon, I will be able to enact my revive! With Pigface, the dragon, and Lilith-"
"Oh, me?"
A large lamia slithered into the room, scales as blue as the deep sea. Her hair was tied neatly in a bun, with piercing blue eyes staring right at Adamantoise.
Adamantoise turned to her and snapped, "Yes, you! You're one of the few that weren't outright killed by them, capable of getting revenge for being humiliated!"
Lilith rolled her eyes. "Who said anything about revenge?" she asked, crossing her arms and casting a glare upon the turtle man. "Honestly, being beat one time is enough. And think about it: do you really think getting revenge is going to bring Yursarsh back?"
"Of course not! We do need to establish who will be our leader, but we need to get rid of-"
"The thorns at your side?" Adamantoise nodded, and Lilith gave a loud groan. "Okay, listen to me for two seconds: First, killing them will just have some other heroes later on- or sooner, if you count their friends- gut you like a pig and have your head on a pike. And two, when has revenge as a motive ever worked out for anyone? Especially any villain?"
The cultists shuddered as Adamantoise towered over Lilith and roared, "You dare question me?! I am the one leading the charge, doing everything I can to bring back the glory of Yursarsh, and you speak to ME like that?"
"Nice way of dodging the question," came the curt reply. "Guess you can't name any, so can you drop this and get an actual job? I got a nice job at the Golden Geese as a waitress and I'm pretty sure you'd make a good entertainer or something. Or maybe get a hobby; I hear knitting's all the rage these days. Anything to make you think about life or, well, not revenge on a knight who could, quite frankly, Ultima your ass to non-existance if you pushed him." The lamia paused for a second before she added, "And that's if Xavier didn't already drop meteors on you like they were sprinkles on a cupcake." Another pause. "And Sarah. Just Sarah. I don't need to say anything else to get the point across, do I?"
With every word Lilith said, Adamantoise fumed more and more, until his face was flush with green. "I will NOT quit just because they seem more powerful than me! I will outsmart them like Orochi once did, and eliminate them and every traitor to our cause! You'll see, Lilith.... You'll see!"
Lilith rolled her eyes again and said, "Oh yeah, I'll see. With a front row seat to your destruction." She gave a more serious look to Adamantoise. "Seriously, though... I'll help you out, sort of. I'm not going to throw myself to the wolves and get killed for your cause, but I'll help you out. But if this all blows up in your face like I know it will, and you're somehow still alive at the end of it? I'm getting you a job in corporate. No ifs, ands, or buts: You will stop focusing on trying to kill someone who is, surprisingly, not actively trying to murder you, and you will live a normal life and I can forget this ever, ever happened. I'm only helping you because you're a friend and I honestly don't want you to get utterly shanked because of your dumb revenge thi-"
Adamantoise beamed with joy. "Ah yes, thank you so much for your assistance! Now, be a dear and fetch that for me, will you? I must fill in Pigface, and that's no good if he's still dead!"
Lilith stared at him, mouth open in shock, as Adamantoise went along as if she didn't say anything at all. Maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised, but as she slithered off to get that, she couldn't help but feel slighted. She hoped to Ursula that maybe this was all a dream and that she would wake up somewhere in the Bahamas, but she knew that she was going to regret this as much as a friend staying sober in the middle of her best friend's sorority party.
