It took them several long minutes before they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase. On the way down, they both noted several bizarre petroglyphs drawn into the stone wall every few dozen steps. Primitive images depicting a tall, lanky figure surrounded by several small ones. It was hard to judge exactly what they had been looking at, as drawings from that era were much too simple to garner any details from. Heloise proposed it as a simple monument to a primitive god made by some ancient group of people that found their way down there and were probably the ones that carved the stairs they had been walking down. Afterwards, they found themselves treading down another corridor, this time illuminated by the blue flames of magic torches lining the walls that sparked on as they walked.

“Wait, so how did people from that long ago get their hands on magic?”

“Well, there have been cases of ancient cults versed in strong, primeval magic but I’m gonna assume the treasure we’re looking for was buried down here at a point way later.”

“Speaking of which, what exactly is this treasure anyway?”

“Isn’t the surprise where true magic lies?” Heloise gave a wink.

“I’m leaving.”

“Hey! Okay. It’s just some books here and there, some treatises on magic, maps. The usual dungeon coffer.”

“I don’t think I’ve played that video game.”

“I’m serious! You know what a nerd I am about this stuff. It’s not a chance I could just pass up.”

“I just don’t know what you really expect to find down here, especially when you’re getting this info out of dusty old tomes bought from shady merchants.”

“Alma, my dear. I don’t pay you think,” joked Heloise.

“You don’t—” Alma let out a dejected sigh. When her best friend sets her sights on something, it’s almost impossible to talk her out of it. "If you needed a bodyguard, you could've just hired one."

"Why would I do that when you always offer your services to me?"

"I’m not running a damn service!"

"Well! Maybe you should!" Heloise stopped walking. There was a grave look in her eyes, cast in the flickering shadow of the torches' blue flames. "Your skills are going to waste in that country. I'm still against you wanting to join the Crusaders, you know. Imagine. Dying senselessly so some fascist religious zealots can gorge freely on spoils covered in your blood. All they do is invade their neighbors to throw them onto the ever-growing annexation pile. All in the name of some freak god—"

"Stop. What I do with my life is none of your business. Just like your choice to study magic was none of mine."

Heloise scoffed. "You know damn well my reasons for living the way I do and it in no way compares to your self-sacrificing bullshit."

"At least I'm willing to help people that need it. Everything you ever do is in service of yourself. You've almost gotten me killed more times than I can count so take that hypocrisy and stuff it up your—"

A loud howling blared from behind them. A piercing siren that refused to cease and only seemed to grow closer and louder. The two girls immediately stopped their bickering and turned towards the dark end of the corridor the noise was emanating from.

"W-What is that?" Alma stammered.

"I don't… I don't know. There wasn't any mention of any kind of living guardian down here. We should've been totally alone. I don't get it."

The cry continued. Its pitch, akin to a Shepard tone, grew louder and closer with every passing second.

And then it suddenly stopped.

From the murky black of the cave leading back to the stairs, an amorphous form stood silently in the dark. It loomed towards the ceiling of the cavern tunnel which reached upwards of up to 10 feet.

"Should we run?" Alma whispered, brushing her fingers along the grip of her pistol.

Heloise struggled to speak. Only sputtering sounds came from her mouth.

Alma looked to the opposite end of the tunnel. She had a decision to make. One that caused her to steel herself before the situation ahead of them. The markswoman grabbed the witch by the arm, who was still standing frozen in place and staring at the shadow in the darkness.

"Heli, we have to run. Without any info, I don't know if we should even fight that thing."

Heloise turned her head slowly to Alma. She had been afraid of taking her eyes off the creature who was still standing at the edge of the dark. The glow from the torch next to it was gradually dimming.

"Alma…" she said pitifully. There was a look of terror in her eyes. "The light... It's not just putting out the flame from the torch. It's... eating the magic keeping it lit."

"So your magic…?"

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Heloise shook her head.

Alma gave her friend's arm a slight tug. "Run."

The torch nearest the creature had gone out. Another scream began to bellow from the dark.

"Run!"

The two girls sped down the dreary, ancient corridor. The light from the self-awakening torches unable to catch up to the two girls as they ran, forcing them to navigate blindly. The sound of approaching footsteps grew steadily from behind. There was no doubt it was giving chase.

The witch turned back to see at what distance the pursuing monster was at. Her eyes widened in horror. It had reached far past the dark barrier and was slightly visible in the blue light of the flame. What she saw could barely be described as anything that could be considered a part of the natural order.

Behind them, a gaunt creature was stumbling over itself in an attempt to run. Despite its supposed clumsiness, its speed wasn’t far below theirs. Its elongated body was hunched forward as it moved; extended arms dangled lifelessly at its sides. Contrary to when it was standing menacingly in the shadows, it now appeared to be even taller than they had initially estimated. Its emaciated body was nothing but smooth, disgusting wet flesh—the only hint of color being the miles of darkened blood vessels bulging from under its pasty skin. The head, which sat on a neck far too long for its body, was unnaturally massive and bulbous. Its crown pulsated with an eerie phosphorescence under the arcane light. The odorous wailing that had been echoing throughout the corridor had been coming from an impossibly tiny mouth filled with much too big teeth. Its sunken eyes were pitch black.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck…”

“Heli!”

Alma’s voice snapped the witch out of her terror-stricken stupor that was gripping her.

“I have a plan! But I’m gonna need your help!”

“W-What could we possibly do against that thing?” Heloise was fumbling over her words. “I’ve never even heard of a creature that eats magic.”

“Exactly. He eats magic. I doubt bullets will hurt him so maybe we can give him something more appetizing than us.”

“Whatever’s better than having my soul getting shat out of that thing!”

Alma slowed down and took aim at one of the flaming torches ahead of the beast. Without a moment’s hesitation, she fired, bringing the torch crashing to the floor.

“Sunbolt! Now!”

At her friend’s signal, Heloise thrust her staff, using its balance and her momentum to spin around and yell the incantation as quick as she could. She tried her hardest to drum up what little bravery she had to stand her ground.

Solis Fulmen Natura!

A streak of bright light fired from the tip of her staff, blasting the torch on the ground and causing it to explode. The force of the blast destroyed several more torches, causing their magic flame to coat the cold floor and create a small barrier of fire ahead of the rampaging beast.

A small hindrance completely ignored by the creature.

It had not even slowed down. Their plan to entice the creature with a distraction ended in failure, causing the girls mild panic.

"Of course that stupid plan wasn't gonna work! This rancid, pus-filled, puke factory probably wants to suck out my magic essence with a straw! Or worse! Qui sait quel genre de chose débauchée il va faire à mon corps ! Fuck! Shoot it, Alma! Just shoot it!"

Alma aimed for the biggest spot on his body, the head, and delivered three quick shots in succession.

A sickening gush could be heard as each bullet sank into its vulgar flesh. The menacing monster remained unfazed and continued its dogged pursuit unabated. Its daemoniac howl grew angrier, indicating some change in its mood. Alma's attack only served to irritate the creature, as it seemed to hate prey that struggled. The hunched creature fell completely forward, placing its palms against the rocky ground. It was now chasing them on all fours, gaining a significant boost in its speed.

Alma racked her brain for anything she could try. They were running out of time. The tunnel was either going to end or they were going to drop dead from exhaustion. The monster was also getting dangerously close. It was at that moment that she finally noticed something.

"Heli!” yelled Alma. “The light from your staff is still active! What if that's what he's sensing?"

Heloise was panting roughly. She was losing air and stamina fast, causing her mind to blank out every few seconds. But still she understood what Alma was saying. Without a word, she placed her hand against the staff's crowning crystal and tapped the bottom of her ring against it, snuffing out its warm glow.

"We only have a few seconds before the torches light up and reveal where we are, so back up against the wall! As soon as it's in range, use the brightest magic you can think of!"

"Alma, you genius! But what then?"

“We passed a door a little ways back.” Alma’s breathing was ragged and she could barely speak. The only thing keeping her from paralyzing fear was the adrenaline and the drive to protect her friend. “All we need to do is get behind him and run for that door.”

“Huh? But I didn’t see any—”

“Now!” Alma pinned herself to the wall and hoped her friend would do the same.

Heloise grit her teeth and sputtered out the only spell that came to mind.

Natura Flagro!

An extreme flare rose up from the darkened staff, lighting up the entire corridor. Its various tips were almost touching the monster’s face. It covered its eyes in vain with one of its hands, causing it to stumble forward at an extreme speed and crash miserably to the floor.

Alma struggled to swallow, barely letting out an audible “Come on.” while grabbing her witch friend by the arm. She hurriedly led her to a flat, indiscriminate wall they had passed.

“Alma?! Where is the door? Merde ! There’s nothing here!” The witch’s ragged voice filled with panic once again.

The markswoman glared at the blank slab of stone, staring at a distortion superimposed upon the wall that was right in their face but only visible to her. Almost like an otherworldly projection overlapping with our own. She slowly attempted to place a hand against it, her hand phasing through without trouble. She hopped through fearlessly, pulling her friend in tow.

Heloise jumped as the cry of the beast sped by behind them. She struggled to keep the tears from forming in her eyes. She was embarrassed by how weak she felt, especially around her best friend, but she knew Alma wasn’t the type to ever judge her for it. After the loud howling faded completely, Heloise wrapped her arms around Alma and squeezed her tightly, her large hat falling to the floor.

“Oh my Dark God, Alma. You saved us. I knew you would! You’re like, so fuckin’ cool and reliable and I’m just like… so weak and pathetic. I’m… sorry about what I said earlier. Please… Please don’t leave me. Je me sens seul.”

Her friend clung close, not letting Alma go. She kept breaking out in her native language, which she only did in moments of extreme agitation. Her sweat was causing her perfume’s Baie de Lune scent to grow stronger. The soon-to-be-soldier remained silent, letting her friend weep into her shoulder before being swiftly pushed away a moment later. An intense blushing betrayed the witch’s look of disgust.