With Malar's avatar calling for the start of the Wild Hunt, the currently awestruck party sneakily breaks away from the cultists and decides to follow closely but stealthily to figure out how to stop Malar. Upon re-entering Nymora, it is a scene of pure chaos; the group sees the avatars of Nianke, Nireana, and Xidea come into corporeal form to stand against the avatar of Malar while the avatars of Aphy, Tumra, and Gosyn see to the aid of the citizens. The battle is intense and happens quickly, with Xidea delivering the death blow to Malar. With the scene dissolving, the goddess Aphy appears before the group, looking towards Zechs, and asks if they understand. The lesson was that TOGETHER, the group may overcome this next endeavor, but while this would extract Malar, this would not destroy the aspect of him residing in Zechs, nor do they have a way to contain it. This causes apparent conflict within Zechs as he doesn’t wish to let this aspect of Malar upon the planes and worries that this would only add to the other aspects already out there. Aphy explains to Zechs what he must do, including interrupting the ritual this evening at the site of his sacrifice. She does what she can to quell his concern and urges that he must try to focus on what he can do right now, as it’s not on him to try to stop Malar entirely as that is a task that he can not do right now due to time and resources amongst other things.

In the present, Hoshino is on his clandestine mission to track down Five Shadow. He finds Five Shadow at his place of work while under the ruse that he also works for the Cult as an auditor of sorts. This gamble pays off, as he successfully casts Charm Person and can begin to squeeze him for every bit of information he can on the Bloody Paw and their current dealings. Hoshino receives information on tonight's ritual, its importance, and the notable members who will attend it. Upon leaving, Hoshino meets up with Greyleaf and Shanks, who have just finished their mission, as Shanks receives word from Zechs that they’re awake. There is an exchange to determine where to meet to exchange all the information they’ve all gathered. Greyleaf reminds Shanks to let Zechs and the crew know that they may encounter some guards down in the Vineyard but not to be alarmed as they were there to keep watch. As the group reconnects, Hoshino informs Zechs that he cannot help him with the Malar extraction. Still, he has the opportunity to make a massive difference in their efforts to thwart the Constable's plans. There is a heavy conversation as the allies turned friends go their separate ways, but they know it’s not goodbye; it’s until next time, leaving each other a token of their friendship and something to keep their spirits high when times seem rough.

We pan over to Galahad, who makes his way to the “hunting club” to meet Hushed Coil under the guise of Silent Knight. He gives the guise of someone who wants to join “the cause,” and Hushed Coil is all too excited to divulge information and get this recruit. Galahad learns that most people there are waiting for tonight’s main event. Galahad ensures that these guys don’t make it to tonight’s ritual but doesn’t kill them. Instead, he gets them so incredibly drunk that they essentially can’t function. With one final act of raucous behavior, Galahad bashes through the door, vanishes into the night, and starts to make his way to rejoin the group.

There's so much happening, and that's where we pick up…

Find out what happens next in this episode of the Medusa’s Cascade: Collateral Damage!

Theme Music is written and performed by The Floating Lighthouse

Mixed by Thomas Lapierre III