133.) You Are My Hostage.

Morpheus: "W-Wh-What did you just say!?"

Morpheus takes a step back as he slowly grabs his collar.

Nubia: "We're your hostages? Surely you jest!"

Luke: "This can't be happening right… NOWWWW!!!"

He attempts to yank off his collar several times. The darn thing just wouldn't budge.

Power Scale Rating: 21

Birthright: Chakra

Element: Light

Study: Scroll Master Necklace

Age: 16

Amera: "Morpheus! Does our Mayhem work on these stupid things!?"

Power Scale Level: 23

Birthright: Mayhem

Element: Force

Study: Blackhole Rod

Age: 16.5

Morpheus: "N-No!!! I've already tried that, Strife, and even Zenchi. None of them seem to be working on this collar!!"

He attempts to pull off his collar once more.

The rest of the gang joined him as they too, tried to remove their collars. Going from punching them to flowing their essence into them and attempting to tear them apart from the inside. They resorted to blasting each other's collars and even striking them with their enhanced weapons. Alas… nothing actually worked out for them. They were instead stuck, stuck within their own frustration. Billiam's words only managed to make this feeling even worse.

Billiam: "You may all cease in your efforts and lie there as you're held captive by a Baby Beel specialty. These collars were the very first things I made when I mastered my concept of Control gifted to me by my Birthright. Meaning it's a piece of my Origin Essence/Concept. Heh!"

He grins at the children as he watches their faces well up with rage.

Susanne: "You dare do this to your own fellow clan members!? What type of God are you!?" *SMASH*

She smashes the ground repeatedly with her feet. Throwing a sort of tantrum as she lashes out in anger. Tearing and punching at her collar.

Billiam: "My own fellow members, you say? Tuh!"

Elizabeth: "Mentioning such a thing to him is pointless."

Lancelin Sr: "Extremely."

Mackey: "And why is that? What makes you say that, HUH!?"

Billiam: "Because I could give two focks, mate. You're all puppets to be used by me as I am now. Whether you be blood related like some in the Rebellion are to me. You could be a fellow clan member, stranger, or even a full blown enemy. It matters not to me… so long as you're a useful puppet, understand?"

He walks towards their group while smiling like a lunatic.

Sammy: "He's mahd!"

Zoshen: "More than mad, he's diabolically insane."

Billiam: "You ants can say what you will, just know that you'll be the device used to wage this final war. The Luminarian Civil War!"

He spread out his arms as he looked up into the cosmos above them.

Billiam: "It'll be a grand and festive event where my puppets will take on your families and their forces. A true bloodbath between nothing but Light Clansmen! A grand tragedy, innit!?"

Morpheus: "Shut your mouth!" *WOOSH*

He stomped on the floor and forced his essence to spike. This caused a whirlwind to form around him and the others.

Billiam: "Ah, you're Morpheus, aren't you?"

Morpheus: "Grrrgh!! What… OF IT!?"

His essence spiked once more. This time, the sudden stir caused the ground to implode for more than eighty meters all around.

Billiam: "Ah, a Gahwardian through and through. Love to see it, mate. But don't try anything stupid, alright? You'll regret it." *Bloop*

He flicked the tip of Morpheus' nose. Which only managed to make the young God boil over in rage. Thus…

*WOOSH*

Billiam: "Hm- *POW*

A heavy roundhouse kick sent Billiam flying into the wall of his very own home. Smashing and thrashing through more than five rooms. He found himself lifting a portrait of his mother that was now ripped to shreds. Mind you, Beel's mother is actually the current owner of the estate as she is the second eldest child of the creator of Luminaria, Xenophia. Easy to say Beel's mother founded the House of Beel. This actually irritated Beel quite a bit. And his face definitely showed it.

"You brat!" He muttered to himself as he stood up. Flashing out of the rubble and outside of the Manner. Smashing his feet into the floor just a few feet away from Morpheus.

Elizabeth: "Heh, you let the whee, lit~tle brat blow you away. How careless."

Lancelin Sr: "Tsss- Ah… that's gotta suck."

He shook his head in disappointment as he held Lancelin Jr to his chest.

Billiam: "It doesn't matter one bit. I'll just have to teach this child a lesson!"

Morpheus: "Tsk, just try it!" *PEW*

Morpheus rushed towards Billiam with his leg held back for a heavy kick. Another roundhouse was shot out and blocked by Billiam. He goes on to fend off a series of bicycle kicks as he steps back. Holding Morpheus' foot as he smiled in his face. Slamming him into the floor just after Morpheus snarled at him. To his surprise, Morpheus was quite durable and kicked Billiam in the face when his guard was down.

Billiam: "Cheeky little brat!"

Morpheus: "Don't… underestimate me!!" *FWIP*

Amera: "We have to stop him!"

Kenny: "What makes you think we can? I can't even summon Merlin right now. I can only hear him in small spurts."

Amera: "Uh…"

Zoshen: "Same here, Atomen's been throwing a fit!"

Fong: "I'm no different. Sorry to say."

Amera: "Tss… tch! Dammit!"

She shook her head in frustration. Looking up to see Morpheus fighting with all his might and rage!

Billiam could be seen ducking beneath a haymaker from Morpheus. Followed by a flurry of toe-kicks that are blocked by Baby Beel's excellent defense. A left hook comes flying and he grabs a hold of Morpheus. Tripping him before flipping with him and forcing Morpheus to land on his face! Before they knew it, Morpheus was being held down with his right arm being forced behind his back. His arm was perfectly locked. This displayed a high amount of combat skill for Baby Beel. Someone who seemed like he'd… mostly rely on his powers and study.

"Nrgh!" A grunt could be heard from Morpheus who was beaming with anger. He forced his tail to form and used it to snack Billiam into a nearby wall.

"GRKGH!!" Billiam went as he came bouncing off the wall. He stared at Morpheus who had now sprouted his wolfish half. He dug his nails deep into the ground and flashed forward towards Baby Beel. Slashing at him just as he got up to his feet. Beel managed to duck under the blow and kicked Morpheus upwards with a blow to the stomach.

Morpheus: "Nrghk! (Th-That was a heavy ass blow!)"

He goes flying into the air. Staring down at Baby Beel with a glare of fury. He was ready to leap back in for another go at Billiam. Doing so by creating a platform he could leap off of. Thrusting himself forward with his palm at the ready.

Billiam: "Oh?"

Elizabeth: "So he's going with his signature, eh?"

Lancelin Sr: "Death-Yu Tempest!"

Morpheus smashes his palms into the forearms of Billiam. He was thrown back a few meters by Billiam. Billiam then chose to dash at Morpheus at great speeds. Morpheus was able to intercept the strike with a stepping side swipe. He tossed the strike to the side with his right hand and struck at Billiam's torso with his left palm. Billiam managed to block only for Morpheus to pull back once more. Taking a false step forward as he plants his foot behind Billiam. Billiam chose to leap into a single leg position and fired off a barrage. Morpheus went ahead and countered the barrage with his own fist blitz. Leaning forward as he delivers one final blow to Billiam's guard. Bringing his foot back and tripping the Light God with ease. He forced Billiam into the floor and proceeded to mount him for ground and pound.

Morpheus: "You will release us!!"

Morpheus struck at Billiam with a series of heavy downward strikes. Attempting to break through Billiam's guard with all his might. Billiam simply sat there with a smile on his face. Gaining a bit of excitement from the strikes received by Morpheus.

Billiam: "You're pretty good, but allow me to show you the difference!" *FLASH*

Billiam dodged the final strike and forced Morpheus to tear the ground beneath them asunder. He flashed back in with a heavy knee to knock Morpheus back a few feet. The boy went tumbling towards his team. Jumping to his feet and sliding back a few more meters before stopping.

Morpheus: "NRGH!!"

Kenny: "Let me help you at least! He's too much for just you alone, Morphy bro!"

Morpheus: "Shut up and stay out of my way! He's mine!" *PEW*

Kenny: "Tch!"

Maeli: "He's lost it. But… his ability to grow in battle is extraordinary. Why is it even greater than you other Gahwardians?"

Fong: "Simple, he's half Wolf God as well. They also are a part of the Senkozen line along with the Ape Clan and Gaia-Minettia. But… I never thought there was the Senkozen bloodline within the Dark and Light Clans."

Maeli: "But what does the Senkozen bloodline have to do with it?"

Kenny: "All Senkozens are capable of gaining strength in battle. Morpheus has two times the potential thanks to being a Wolf and Gahwardian Senkozen. Get it?"

Maeli: "Wait… wouldn't that mean…"

Mackey: "That guy over there, the one Morpheus is fighting."

Sammy: "Billiam… Billiam is also growing. He has the Senkozen crest on his neck as well."

Zelibus: "If that's the case, we need to stop Morpheus."

They look onward as Morpheus and Billiam flew upward. They clashed and thrashed about as Morpheus made use of his Mayhem. Wrapping his essence around his fists along with Zenchi. He relied on his Death-Yu style to gain small openings in Billiam's defense. Getting nicks and grazes in with each and every other strike. Billiam noticed what the effect was right away. He was seeing glimpses of images from the Mayhem realm that Amera and Morpheus have access to. To make matters more interesting, each blow landed by a ghoul from the Mayhem realm. Was a blow that affected him in the real world.

Amera: "That technique… it's one we developed together. Good to see it works!"

Ellie: "That's quite the sneaky little move you've made. To be hit and knocked around by ghouls of another realm. How wonderful."

Power Scale Level: 23

Birthright: Chakra

Element: White Wind

Study: The Library

Age: 16

Ju'Mosi: "That's some strong Mental Zenchi ya got there. I can only see glimpses of them with mine."

Kenny: "Tch! That's not all I see though… I see a bit of the future and it keeps turning out the same."

*BOOM*

Morpheus smacked Billiam into the ground. Leaving him to be pummeled by the ghouls of the Mayhem Realm. He lied there smiling even more wickedly as he took the beating. He then proceeded to coat his eyes with Presence and Physical Zenchi. He also made use of his Mental Zenchi to predict the next strike. It took about two seconds before a force of essence came flying at Morpheus, wiping out the Mayhem he had on his fists.

Morpheus: "What the!? (He wiped away my damn essence in an instant.)

"Indeed I did!" Billiam states as he appears behind Morpheus.

Morpheus: "WHAT!?"

*SMACK*

A heavy heel kick sends Morpheus crashing into the floor below. Kenny and the others watch onward as Billiam floats down to follow up on his assault. Morpheus comes running out of the cloud of dust that formed and threw a spinning, flying dragon kick. Flashing into the guard of Billiam as he turns his body to the side. Rolling Morpheus' kick to the side as he rotates his shoulders and blows Morpheus back with a right hook to the face. Morpheus could be seen rubbing his face just before jumping back in. Attempting to stomp on Billiam's foot, but he misses. Following up with a flurry of rapid jabs.

Billiam: "That won't be enough, kiddo!"

*PRCH* *PSH*

Morpheus was being forced to slowly retreat as his moves and technique began to be countered. Billiam's ability to block and evade strikes was a site to behold. Each and every counter was precisely timed with a well balanced offense to defense ratio. Morpheus' version of Death-Yu couldn't help him get out of this beating.

"Mayhem of STRIFE!!!" Morpheus yelled out as he rushed in once more. Now having a split lip and a busted brow that continuously leaked blood. Morpheus ignored such injuries and rushed at Billiam nonetheless. Thrusting forward with a mighty kick that set off a large explosion within the vicinity.

Billiam: "Like I said, mate. This won't be enough in any reality you set us in. We're just too far apart!" *WOOSH*

Morpheus was sent flying into a nearby wall that was attached to the side of the mansion. He was shaken to his core by the impact and had no time to react to the kick Billiam let off. It made his stomach and back go numb from pain. It even caused him to spit up a bit of blood, but none of this was enough to get him to yield. Morpheus grabbed Billiam's leg and swung him into the wall to his right side. Jumping out and turning to send another large scale attack at Billiam while he was still stuck.

Morpheus: "Conflict KIICK!!!"

He launches a large attack with a condensed range of power behind it.

Billiam: (This little piece of shit is trying to cause my inner sanctum to come down on itself.) "How posh of you, but a nitwit like yourself could never do what Lancelin can. You're too green, too fresh… a mere ant."

Morpheus: "Tssk~WHAT YOU SAY!?"

Billiam: "Here… allow me to show you. Essence Control; Redirect!"

Billiam takes control of Morpheus' attack and sends it back at him with an extra boost. Morpheus was left speechless from this development, but that didn't stop him from blowing the attack to smithereens. Morpheus looks up to find Billiam right in his face. He attempts to block the oncoming strike only for it to go right through his guard. A heel kick to the chin sent Morpheus tumbling away with blood spewing from his mouth.

"Guuuaargh!! Morpheus grunted as he tried to stop himself from tumbling any further. He dug his claws into the floor and proceeded to put a halt in his tumbling.

Morpheus: "Tch… where is h-

Zoshen: "Morpheus, LOOK OUUUT!!!"

Morpheus: "What!?"

*WHAM*

Morpheus was struck in the stomach by a horrendous punt kick thrown by Billiam. He goes flying back into yet another tumble. Only this time, he barely had the strength to stop his momentum. Landing on his back as he hit his head on the ground. His body was beaten and battered, blood flowing from the cuts on his face and his mouth.

Kenny: "I'm going to stop all of this!" *STEP*

Billiam: "Nuh-uh-uuuh! You'll be doing no such thing! Shackles Deploy!"

Billiam wrapped the wrists and ankles of all the kids present on the battlefield.

"You'll all sit there and use this as a reminder of the situation you've been forced into!" He says as he places his foot on Morpheus' head.

Morpheus: "Get… your damn… your damn foot. Get it OOOFF- *BLAM* GYACK!!!"

His stomach was pushed in by the heel of Billiam's boot.

Billiam: "You're nothing more than a subject that'll be used to wage war. A war where everyone will die, including that troublesome brother of yours."

Morpheus: "N-Nrgh… y-you could… you could never… n-never! You could never… *HACK* defeat Shiishii!"

Billiam: "Oh… but I can. But first…" *C-C-CRRUNCH*

Morpheus: "AAAUUURRRRRGH!!!!"

Morpheus sat in agony as his ribs were slowly cracked and fractured.

Mackey: "T-This isn't right!"

Amera: "Morpheus, hang in there, baby!! DAMN… I have to get these damn shackles off!!"

Maeli: "T-There has to be a way. I can't sit here and watch this!"

Billiam: "Heh, guess I can wrap this up right about now!" *WOOSH*

Morpheus: "GAH!!"

Zelibus: "Cease this, you beast!!!"

Billiam proceeded to repeatedly punch Morpheus in the face until it was swollen. Forming lumps and bruises around the nose, cheeks, lips, and eye areas. Everyone could hear the crunching sound of his facial structure slowly shattering. Flesh repeatedly splits as Morpheus tries to heal himself. Stubbornly clinging onto his consciousness until it completely faded.

*BLAM*

Billiam: "Finally… The damn kid finally fell asleep. Hmm… here." *GRIP*

He grabs ahold of Morpheus who was still healing himself even in his unconscious state.

Amera: "Oh my prono, Morpheus! Babe! Please tell me you're ok!"

Kenny: "I hope you know…"

Susanne: "You'll pay for such treachery. Even as a Luminarian, I'll kill you for everything you've done. Because there's no doubt in my mind."

Maeli: "Not a single one!"

Sammy: "Indeed… he has to be the one that's behind the corruption in our home!"

Ju'Mosi: "A plague to this clan and its ways. Makes sense that he could do something so vile to Morpheus. His own distant cousin, brah!"

Billiam: "You idiotic children spew nothing but cliche plots that have little to do with the success you wish for. You want to escape? Impossible. You want to defeat me? You're too green. And if you want to oppose me for what I've done… call the Rebellion. Oh, but wait! I've already done that by capturing you, so you're useless in that regard."

Mackey: Tsk… you bitch!"

Lancelot: "This pathetic man is who you follow, elder brothah?"

Lancelin Sr: "Backoff baby brother… I have my reasons!"

Lancelot: "Hmph… better be good if you're choosing to serve a prick like him!"

Billiam: "Ah… you're all getting ahead of yourselves and talking a bit too much. How about I put a bit of hurting on all you brats- *GRIP* Hm!?"

Lancinian: "You w-watch your step… lowly peon."

Billiam: "What!? (The beast can break through my collar control!? Son of a…)"

Lancinian: "Y-You won't keep… you won't keep hurting… h-hurting… my… friennnd- *THUD*

He fell back into a deep slumber whilst still being in his father's arms. The limb that grew from his right arm had retracted back into his body for the time being.

Elizabeth: "Best we call this quits before one of these beasts find a way beyond your collars. Plus… your anger could cause you to kill someone and then your whole plan would be undone."

She waltzed over to Billiam's side.

Billiam: "Teh, I guess you're right, Auntie Elizabeth."

Elizabeth: "Mhm-hmm. Now leave your child here and come along Lancelin. You too, Beel. We must go and prepare for war with the other three."

Kenny: (WHAT… there's three more of them!?)

Maeli: "I didn't expect to hear that."

Susanne: "Oh bleh, how irritating!"

They all watched as Billiam and the others proceeded to walk away. Heading towards the mansion with their essence being poured into the building itself. It was their way of repairing all the wild amounts of damage that came from these events.

Billiam: "Ah… wait! I almost forgot, but I can't have you imbeciles running around the House of Beel all free and wild. So to stop that… I'll be using my study. A power based around Pacifiers… a storage study!"

Kenny: "A Storage Study!?"

Maeli: "That's a type of Study that only comes as a Legendary Class. The highest class a Study can achieve!"

Billiam: "Indeed… now for my Domain Study that I acquired from a past massacre. It'll do nicely for keeping idiot brats like you in line, mates. *Smirk* Heh!"

He raises his left hand, removing the shackles from the group. Each member prepared to go at him with their full power. But that was stopped in its tracks by a sudden change of scenery.

Billiam: "Now have fun within this lovely new setting created by a Study from my collection. Maze Man."

Ellie: "WHAT!?"

Loraine: "Where are we?"

Amera: "This is very unprecedented… he has trapped us with little to no effort!"

Billiam: "Indeed I have. You fools have been trapped within a domain with a maze that stretches as far as the divine eye can see. And then… it goes even further than that. You kids can have fun in there with the many beasts and ghouls that inhabit those lands. Maybe you can train a bit. Gehehahahahaaaa!!!

…

You are all my hostage!"

The children are now given a full look at their current predicament. Hostages to the man who has throttled their home into chaos. And with Morpheus down for now, what are they to do as they enter the Mad-Man's Maze? Their fates are likely sealed as the Civil War draws near!!!

Next Chapter: The Mad-Man's Maze!?