Temptation lay in the boy's hands. The broken sword promised him the power to save his friends, yet he could not bring himself to use it. There was still that faint distrust that Jin had towards the demon.

"Manuel!" he yelled out, his shout echoing throughout the caverns, all the way to the bottom of the dark abyss.

The other friends quickly followed. "Manuel! Manuel!" They all repeated, hoping that their words would reach the wizard. Oh how much they'd love to see those golden sparks of his magic. Unfortunately, they were alone, and all their yelling did was annoy the beast even more.

"He's not coming! There is no way he can hear you! I know you don't want to rely on me, but what is better, death or my powers?" Rudy barked at the boy.

Jin's eyes jumped from the eye on the blade onto the creature ahead of him, and then back again once more.

"Alright! Do it! Help us!"

"Fine, then focus up!"

Streams of black ink slid up the boy's arms, coating him in a thin layer of transparent red. The aura climbed all over his body, spreading a comforting feeling of relief as if the terrible thickness of the local magic was no longer an issue. For the first time since coming here, the young farmer could move unrestrained.

"The armour will protect you but it can't withstand everything. You need to move in for the cut as soon as you can. Just like we practiced, remember?"

Jin nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt amazing. A protective ward around him and a magical sword in his hand. This was the closest he had ever gotten to becoming a wizard.

The creature dashed towards him, determined to cut down this annoying pest and feast on him.

"Don't panic. Block it!" Rudy yelled out when he saw Jin take a single step back.

The sudden call to action steeled the boy's heart. When the monster's claws approached, he raised his sword to meet them. To his surprise, the weapon was suddenly so much lighter.

The glowing red blade of the sword clashed with the creature's front leg, but the other appendages quickly followed. Jin's arms moved the sword to the side just in time. He got faster, there was no doubt about it. His whole body felt like he had been training for years. Although he had no knowledge of how to actually use the weapon, he now had at least the physique of a professional warrior.

The others stood there in awe as they watched their friend, clad in a red aura, as he blocked strike after strike, until eventually, even his quick movements betrayed him.

Jin yelped at one of the claws slid over his body, starting on his side and all across his belly. He was hit. There was no point in defending anymore. The young farmer swung the sword at the beast. It managed to dodge just in time, but not completely unscathed. It backed away and limped. The red blade of magic passed through one of its legs. It was still there, firmly attached to the rest of the body, but the creature could barely move it. It was as if the sword had stolen all the strength from it.

Jin looked down. His heart raced as he prepared himself to see the nastiest of wounds. Instead, all he saw was a shallow cut in the red aura, which soon disappeared.

"Told you. The armour can protect you. Not forever, but you can take a couple of more hits like these. Don't be so afraid! Move on to the offensive!"

Jin's panic and fear turned to strength. He had dreamt of this for far too long. His early childhood was spent reading and listening to the stories of heroes. Now he was one. He had the power to defeat the monster. He bent his knees and took a stance. The grip on his sword strengthened. Whatever anxiety he felt was now transferred onto the monster.

The boy rushed forward. With the thick air no longer holding him back, he felt himself move much faster. So much so that it scared even the creature he faced. The bug jumped around, from the wall to the floor and back again while trying to strike the boy down. No matter how many times it tried, however, there seemed to be no chance of penetrating Jin's armour. The creature climbed up, as much as it could and quickly eyed the boy. He wasn't able to climb walls. Not with the blade in hand. That was the monster's advantage. It arched its back and took a deep breath, ready to spit again, when something stung it to the side of its face.

A bang resonated through the cave. The creature looked to the side just in time to spot another attack. Bang! Something exploded right in its face. Cia was passing her tiny explosives to Kaili, whose unwrapped vines served as a perfect slingshot. With it, hitting the monster even when it was further away was a child's play.

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The bug's mouth clicked. The boy was hard to defeat with no visible weaknesses, but the other three seemed much more vulnerable. It licked the spit from its mouth. There was not enough time to weaponize it. Instead, it charged along the wall. The explosions banged against its carapace. It managed to avoid some, but those that hit left behind ugly burn marks. Nevertheless, those would heal in due time.

"It's coming!" Airo yelled out and Pecker prepared himself to leap at the creature should it be necessary. However, even the serpent was afraid of getting injured. After all, his symbiotic form offered him very little in terms of defence.

Kaili crouched down and hugged Cia, shielding her. Should the creature pounce on someone, it was best if it wasn't the smallest of their group.

Jin's heart rate flared up. Not out of fear, but in anger. How dare the creature ignore him? How dare it even think about hurting his friends? He firmly planted his feet and raised the sword high above his head. His eyes focused on the point where it would most likely go for a leaping strike.

"Sever!" he yelled the command word out, despite its pronunciation out loud not being necessary. The sword came down and the red glowing blade disappeared. The magic reorganized itself into the shape of a crescent moon, which shot out of the weapon and towards the monster.

The bug bounced off the wall. Its claws were almost touching the young dryad when the spell hit it from the side. A feeling passed through the monster. Something cold and tingly, which spread all throughout its nervous system. It fell to the ground, twitching for a moment before its body surrendered completely. It lay there, nervously contemplating what the outcome of such a paralysis would be.

"Are you alright?" Jin rushed over to his friends. Kaili and Cia gave him a quick thumbs up. It seemed that the boy's magic arrived just in time.

"We should get moving. Quickly," Airo suggested after he looked at the limp creature lying on the ground. None of them knew how long exactly the effects of the spell would last.

Something clicked above them. They knew the sound. It was the exact same the bug made, only this time there was more of it. Like an entire crowd of creatures snapping with their mandibles. One look up at the wall was enough to send shivers down everyone's spine like an army of tap-dancing ants. Eyes of various colours glowed in the dark. Soon after, more and more bugs began crawling their way down towards the youngsters.

"Move!" Cia yelled and began pushing onward with as much force as possible. The dense aura of the mine may have been preventing them from running, but that didn't mean they would stand there and simply wait for the creatures to eat them.

A few stray droplets of yellow liquid began dripping down the walls, leaving behind smoking patches. The four friends looked up above them in sheer terror as a massive wave of acid slowly began descending upon them. Airo's eyes turned to the pit to their left. If he was to jump, he'd most likely safely glide away, but what about the others? Should he take them along with him, they would only weigh him down and therefore they'd all plummet down to their deaths. Neither of them had any more ideas. It seemed that their luck had truly run out.

There was the blow of a horn. A sound so loud that it shook almost the entire cave system. It was like a call to arms that would summon an entire army. In this case, however, it seemed to only announce the incoming tsunami.

A powerful stream of water swept away the acid, leaving the four teenagers completely stunned. Rudy's eye widened. He was the only one who immediately noticed the ink-like outline of the liquid. It was magic. Powerful magic.

The children immediately turned their heads to the side to see where exactly this life-saving stream came from. A woman with short black hair was standing further down the walkway. Judging by her enormous muscular arms, she was one of the miners. Next to her stood something that looked even worse than the army of bugs—a massive elephant covered partially with brown hair. The most terrifying part of the creature, however, was the singular enormous eye sitting on its forehead. Waves of marine-blue magic were swirling on the ground around her.

"A summoner?" the demon gasped. What would a wizard like her be doing here?

She touched one of the tattoos on her arms. Due to the brown tank top she wore, the inkwork on her body was clearly visible. She slid her fingers over a picture of a bird and peeled it off like it was nothing but a sticker. Once she let go, the tattoo formed itself into a ball of liquid, which progressively grew as it slid down her body. It picked up the same marine-blue shade of magic until it eventually hit the ground where it turned into a strange yellow bird with bat-like wings.

As soon as the creature came into existence, it bolted towards one of the bugs. It crashed into it directly with its beak, cracking the monster's exoskeleton. Before the crawlies could retaliate, the bird turned and flew away, focusing its attack on a different creature.

The woman used her time wisely. While the bugs seemed to be occupied by her creations, she summoned forth yet another animal. A beautiful jellyfish illuminated the whole place with the azure light emanating from its body. It swam towards the children while growing in size until it was not much smaller than the elephant.

The tendrils of the jellyfish began gently wrapping themselves around Airo. He struggled and yelled out as they slowly pulled him towards the insides of the creature. Kaili and Cia rushed to help him, but soon they began fighting for their own freedom in the same predicament.

"Rudy!" Jin yelled at the demon, snapping him out of his shock. "I need the blade, now!" The demon listened and a new red blade quickly grew out of the remnants of the broken sword.

Jin's main objective now was to set his friends free. With a precise horizontal cut, he might be able to–. All he managed to do was raise his sword. The bird suddenly dove towards him out of nowhere and rammed into his stomach. That was a hit Jin most certainly felt. He fell to his knees, clutching his belly, while the red armour he wore shattered and disappeared. He tried to stand up again and fight, despite the pain, but another of the bird's attacks swept his legs and he fell onto his back.

The jellyfish caught up with him. His friends were now all trapped inside it. He felt the tendrils wrap around his ankles and lift him up. Quickly, he wanted to cut them with the sword, but another of the creature's appendages grabbed him by his wrist. A quick twist forced him to release the blade.

"Rudy!" he managed to scream and hoped for help as he got pulled inside the translucent creature.