Adelle staggered to her feet, her hand covering her gaping wound. As she stood upright, she felt nauseous and dizzy. She became clammy as the color drained from her face. Panic arose as she realized how dangerously close she was to passing out. She quickly tried to use her magic to heal her wound. However, the Master of Nu'un wasn't about to give her that chance. He lunged toward her with a barrage of spiked punches. Adelle scrambled, barely dodging each punch.

Jin ran forward to intervene, but Matt latched onto him and stopped him. Jin furiously turned on Matt. "What are you doing?! She's going to die!"

"You aren't wearing armor. YOU will die if he hits you. Stay back here and Caitlin and I will bring her for you to heal." Matt replied, his voice calm and commanding.

Jin's hand twitched on the handle of his knife. He reluctantly nodded and stood back as Matt charged the Master of Nu'un. Caitlin leapt into battle with Matt. They managed to get between Adelle and the Master of Nu'un. Matt struck down the Master of Nu'un's punches with his sword which was fully ablaze. Each time Matt struck down a punch, Caitlin utilized the opportunity to get close to the Master of Nu'un and strike. She would then get out of the way for Matt to negate the Master's next attack.

Caitlin looked over her shoulder to see if Adelle had managed to make it back to Jin to be healed. Her eyes widened when she realized that Adelle was just standing there, staring blankly at the battle. "What the hell are you doing?! RUN!" She shouted.

Adelle was about to say something, but changed her mind. Her vision had gone completely black and it was sheer willpower keeping her conscious. She listened carefully for the sounds of the battle and walked in the opposite direction to make her escape. Her movements were slow and labored.

The Master of Nu'un quickly learned Matt and Caitlin's attack pattern. So, this time when Caitlin came close to strike him with her staff, he whipped his long tail into her, sending her sprawling. His tail then wrapped around Matt and threw him full force into Caitlin. He then returned his attention to Adelle. He swiftly caught up to her because of her sluggish pace. She heard him come close and she desperately tried to quicken her pace to get away.

Suddenly, as the Master of Nu'un prepared a final blow, Adelle became surrounded in a bright, golden light. He threw a spiked punch full force at her, however, Adelle leapt out of the way with a new found grace and ease. She smoothly dodged the Master of Nu'un's barrage of punches. She had no control over her movements; her body seemed to be acting on its own.

Caitlin stared at her glowing friend. "What is going on?!"

Matt watched Adelle carefully. "I think… that's a coup de grace. I heard about them during my training… It is rumored that sometimes when a person is in great peril, a coup de grace will be unleashed. Some say it is the Almighty intervening and others say it's a person's magic taking over. Whatever the cause, it varies from person to person… And it seems that Adelle has the ability to dodge."

Caitlin took a deep breath and got to her feet. She helped Matt stand, and they resumed their assault on the Master of Nu'un, once again drawing his attention away from Adelle. The golden glow surrounding Adelle dimmed. She turned on her heels and ran to Jin. By the time she reached him, the glow had completely faded. Her legs buckled and she collapsed, unconscious. Jin caught her and gently laid her down on the floor. Her face was completely pale, even her lips were the color of ashes. All of the movement from dodging had exacerbated her wound.

"Don't worry… I'll get you fixed up in no time." Jin said softly, placing his hands over the wound. His hands glowed as the healing spell began.

Finley looked out the window at the position of the sun. "Should be time." He then opened the door to the room and the rest of his group went out into the corridor.

Robin walked slowly, then lingered by the door as the girls made their way to the stairs. Once they were out of sight, he turned to Finley. "Before… when Chloe said that the fyggs were not meant to be eaten by mortals… and that they have terrible side effects… Is that indeed true?" Robin's face was strained and pale.

"More or less… Why?" Finley asked, eyeing Robin carefully.

Robin took a deep breath and looked Finley in the eyes. "My apologies, but I found a golden fygg a while back. I did not tell you because I had dire need of its magic."

Finley didn't look surprised. "To heal that girl in your hometown?"

Robin's face regained a little bit of coloring, a dusting of pink. "Yes, but it healed her. That is the news I received after delivering it to her home. So, is it not possible that the fruit has no ill effects?"

"The fyggs grant the desire of whoever eats them. If the desire is tainted with corruption, then the corruption will infect the outcome like poison." Finley replied.

"There is no corruption in her… So she will be fine?" Robin asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"No one is without corruption. The desire to survive can be as tainted as any other, so we can't be certain. Let's get the girls and make sure that girl has turned into anything."

The hope disappeared from Robin's eyes. "But, what about the Abbott's fygg? Won't that Celestrian get it?"

"Yes, but the Celestrians need all of them. One won't matter."

There was a sudden shriek from the floor above them. They ran up the stairs at full speed to find a mimic, a monster that replicates the appearance of a treasure chest, latched onto Gina's arm. Robin drew his sword and wedged it between the mimic's jaws. He then used his sword as a lever to pry open its mouth and rescue his companion.

When Finley and Robin had left to help Gina, a crow that had been sitting on a nearby windowsill flew down from the tower. The crow landed at the base of the tower and perched on the arm of the thief girl Jin encountered in the Abbey.

"Ah, Yume… Tell me, what did you hear?" She said as she gently stroked the crow's feathers.

Yume cawed, then did a perfect imitation of everything that Finley and his group had said while hiding in the room.

A sly grin crossed the thief's face. "So, it seems that there is animosity between the two groups. I can use that to my advantage. Excellent work, Yume. Now, I have one more task for you…"

Jin came into focus as Adelle opened her eyes. The color had returned to her face and the pain from her stomach had vanished. She slowly sat up with Jin's help. She looked over at the battle Matt and Caitlin were caught up in.

"Jin, how long was I unconscious?" She asked, noticing the fatigue in Matt and Caitlin.

"Ten… maybe fifteen minutes." He answered. "Organ damage is difficult to heal."

Adelle slowly nodded, her gaze never leaving the fight. The Master of Nu'un brought a burst of lightning down upon Matt and Caitlin just as he had earlier. Caitlin dove to the side, narrowly missing getting struck. Matt, however, with a surge of courage, ran straight for the master, the flames from his sword whipping about furiously. The Master of Nu'un threw a punch. Matt only diverted course slightly, just enough for the hit to miss its original mark. The spike tore through Matt's chainmail and pierced the top of his left shoulder. Matt let out an agonized cry, but the attack did not slow his charge. He brought his sword down upon the Master of Nu'un, slashing into him with all of his might. The Master of Nu'un's scales split open and a burst of dark energy came from him.

"No! My power! My power!" The master cried out, collapsing to the ground as the darkness dispersed.

Once all of the darkness had dissipated, he transformed back into his normal form. After about a minute, the Abbot got to his feet and looked around, confused, but unscathed.

"What… happened…?" The Abbot asked, still dazed.

Matt clutched his injured shoulder, his left arm dangling uselessly by his side. He explained to the Abbot what had just occurred while Jin worked his healing magic on Matt's shoulder. The Abbot listened solemnly to what Matt told him.

"I see… So, I was consumed by darkness… It seems that I am corruptible. Shameful." The Abbot muttered disgustedly. He then looked at Matt and Adelle. "I… am terribly sorry for the injuries I caused you."

Adelle gave him a comforting smile and laughed. "Don't worry, in my line of work, I am expected to be hole-y."

Caitlin smacked the back of her head. "Leave the morbid puns to Stella!"

Matt chuckled. "Well, at least that battle proved that Adelle had guts."

Caitlin then smacked Matt's head twice for good measure. "You're worse than she is!"

Jin was about to open his mouth to continue this terrible line of puns, but quickly snapped his jaw shut as soon as he caught the deadly glare Caitlin was giving him. He diverted his gaze and whistled innocently.

A faint smile crossed the Abbot's face as he realized that they were alright and bore no grudge against him. "Now, perhaps we should return to the abbey. I can aid your travels better from there."

With that, he left the room and returned to the top of the tower. The others were about to follow him when a glimmering, golden object caught their attention. Laying in the middle of the room was a golden fygg. Adelle picked it up and examined it. Her eyes lit up once she saw that it was authentic.

Stella fluttered next to her. "Well, well, well… Who woulda thunk a fruit could turn a mild-mannered reporter- er, Abbot, into something like that? Gives me the jeebie-heebies just imagining what it'd do to anyone else."

Adelle nearly jumped out of her skin. "Stella?! Where have you been!?"

"I was hiding- I mean – cheering you on from a safe nook…" Stella replied casually. "Well, let's not keep the old fart waiting."

Once Jin finished healing Matt's shoulder, the group left the room to join the Abbot at the top of the tower. As soon as they stepped onto the roof, a black blur flew toward the fygg in Adelle's arms. With lightning-fast reflexes, Jin swatted the blur with his halberd, smashing it into the stone roof. His eyes narrowed as he recognized what it was.

"What the?! What's a crow doing all the way up here?!" Caitlin said, nudging the bird with her foot.

The cawed menacingly and snapped at her foot before taking to the air again. It flew over the group and relayed a message to them in a voice that perfectly matched that of the thief girl. "You beat me to the tower, Thief King, but the other golden treasures shall be mine. I do not recommend standing in my way unless you wish harm to befall your little companions."

Jin spewed forth a stream of vile profanity and swung his halberd at the crow until it dove down from the roof towards the woods at the base of the tower. He leaned over the edge and shouted at the top of his lungs. "KIKA! IF I EVER SEE YOU OR YOUR **** LITTLE **** OF A BIRD, I ******* SWEAR TO THE ALMIGHTY THAT I'LL –" A list of rather horrifying deeds ensued.

The Abbot raised an eyebrow. "Jin, I see your new vocation is going well." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jin blinked and turned to look at the Abbot. A sheepish look spread across his face and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I am sorry, Sir… I… am still new to the whole 'priest' thing…"

The Abbot laughed and patted Jin's back. "Don't worry. This is still an improvement from when you first came to Alltrades asking for a new vocation. Now, let's head back."

The Abbot started down the stairs, but was stopped by Matt. Matt looked into the Abbot's eyes. "Abbot Jack, I have a request to ask of you."

The Abbot tilted his head slightly. "Yes? What is it, lad?"

"When we return to the Abbey, will you change my vocation?" Matt asked seriously.

Abbot Jack seemed stunned for a moment, before nodding his assent. "If that is what you wish, then it shall be done."

Matt nodded and headed down the stairs, closely followed by Jack. Matt's companions stared at the back of his head in complete shock as he disappeared to the floor below.