“That way, Yes! Elf-man down that way,” Xalefore said urgently, pointing down the hall.

No sooner had he said that when Abernach’s voice roared throughout the keep. “Kill Them! Kill them all! Block all the exits. Let none of them escape the keep, and two pieces of blood steel will be granted to whoever succeeds!”

“Let's go,” Eliza said, starting in the direction Xalefore had pointed.

“Are you sure you can trust it to give the right directions?” Leah asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. Eliza couldn’t fault her for it; she had been the same not even half an hour earlier.

“He led me to you,” Eliza said as she started down the hall.

“That right, Xalefore trustworthy, Yes!” Xalefore nodded vigorously, his miniature patchwork top hat precariously close to falling off his head.

“...I see,” Leah said as she started to follow Eliza, the concern still present but subdued.

Isradine laughed joyfully, the small shadowy mass shaking with the sound and bouncing alongside Eliza’s head. “ I haven’t seen him that mad in ages! You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day.”

“Is now the best time to be gloating? We’re still in the middle of his fortress.” Eliza reminded her as they came to an intersection. As they neared, a Beastman guard came barreling from the right path and immediately turned down the hall that Eliza and Co were in. When his eyes lighted upon Eliza, they widened in horror, and he slid to a stop.

“H-How, how did you get here already?” He stammered and took a half step back as Eliza and the others neared him. Then gritting his teeth in a snarl, he readied the short sword he held in his hand and yelled, “If I can’t run, I’ll take you down with me.” And charged, swinging his sword in a side cut toward Eliza.

To Eliza, the attack appeared both sloppy and predictable. Already moving, she ducked sideways under it and stepped inside his guard. Then she summoned her Naginata and swung.

The guard's eyes opened wide in shock as the naginata appeared out of thin air, the blade already poised for his neck. He had no time to stop as his momentum carried him into the slashing edge.

The Naginata easily cut through flesh and bone, and a moment later, the guard’s head tumbled in the air as his body flopped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Isradine continued speaking as if nothing had just happened, “Now is the best time to gloat. If I do it later, it just won't be the same.”

Eliza sighed as she stopped a few feet away from the fallen body.

“That way, that way,” Xalefore said urgently, pointing in the direction the guard had come from.

“I know,” Eliza said, looking at the guard's head that had landed nearby.

“What are you doing?” Leah asked as she, too, came to a stop.

She twirled the Naginata once before unsummoning it, causing it to dissolve back into the shadows.

“Give me a sec,” Eliza said as she kneeled and looked at the Beastman's head. She had a sneaking suspicion as to why a guard she had never seen before was terrified of her. But just to be sure she didn’t recognize him, she picked it up and examined the Beastman's head. She was sure she had never done anything to this particular guard, and so that left only one possibility that she could think of.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard an appreciatory whistle from the hall the guard had come from. Looking up, she saw another her leaning up against the wall with her arms folded.

“With how easy you made that look, you should become a head-hunter. I think it would suit you quite well.” Other, Eliza said with a half smile accentuating the specks of blood that coated other Eliza’s face.

“What? Why are there two of you?” Leah said, utterly confused as she looked between the two Eliza’s.

“If I became a headhunter, I would be the end of your career as a thief. How about you drop the illusion already, Demitrus. You're confusing Leah.” Eliza said as she casually threw the head over her unoccupied shoulder, and it landed next to the guard's body.

“I don’t know about that.” other Eliza said with a wry smile as Eliza stood up, “ It was a simple matter to appear weak when I looked like this. So many guards underestimated me it was almost comical when I gutted them. Perhaps I could show you a thing or two about appearing feminine.”She said as she casually flung her long hair over her shoulder.

Eliza gave him a frosty glare. Other Eliza evenly met her gaze for a few moments before finally holding up both her hands palms out. “Alright, I give, I give,” Demitrus said as his features began shimmering before reverting to his old look.

Eliza sighed, “ Please tell me you actually looked for Leo instead of ‘appearing feminine so you could gut Demons.”

“Naturally, I’m hurt; I thought you knew me better than that, Eliza.” He said with an exaggerated hurt look on his face.

Ignoring his antics, Eliza asked, “ Where is he then? We need to get moving.”

The hurt look on his face instantly disappeared underneath his usual smile, “I broke into the room like the dashing heroine I was-”

“Get to the point.” Eliza cut him off.

“-Ahem,” Demitrus coughed before saying, “ long story short, I saved him and left him somewhere they would never dare to look due to him still being injured. I spent the rest of the time diverting the groups and drawing them away from him to open up a path of escape. That guy was the last survivor from the last group I ambushed.” Demitrus pointed with his chin at the headless guard.

Leah gave an audible sigh of relief hearing that Leo was okay and then said, “ What are we waiting for? Let's go get him and get out of here.”

“Before that, I couldn’t help but notice the strange company you keep; mind elaborating?” Demitrus said, looking between Xalefore and Isradines small mass of shadows that floated behind Eliza.

At Demitrus’s gaze, Xalefore hid behind Eliza’s head and didn’t say anything.

“Hey, Hey~” Isradine greeted by extending a small shadowy tendril out in what could be construed as a salute.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Demitrus looked at Isradine for a moment before looking back at Eliza.

Eliza sighed, “They helped save Leah; I’ll explain when we’re with Leo because we don't have time for me to explain it several times. Hurry up and bring us there.”

“Whatever you say,” Demitrus said, shrugging before turning around and heading back in the direction he came from.

Everyone followed him as he led them through several hallways, many of which contained at least two Demon corpses. Demitrus wasn’t lying when he said he had been busy.

Eventually, the hallways were devoid of corpses, and they didn’t encounter anything until they reached a portion of the fortress that seemed vaguely familiar to Eliza. When they started to descend a staircase, Eliza knew where they were at.

They passed through the door at the bottom of the stairs leading into the cell block containing the rows of Demon's prisoners.

“You hid Leo in a demon prison?” Eliza asked incredulously as she stepped inside.

“Am I smart, or am I smart?” Demitrus asked with a hint of pride.

“Is he insane?” Leah asked Eliza.

“Debatably,” Eliza responded.

“And it is for that reason the guards would never expect it,” Demitrus said, walking forward into the room.

“He’s right, you know. Aside from Abernach and a couple of his goons, most of Abernach’s followers have the critical thinking ability of a toddler.”

“Thank you, at least one of you recognizes my greatness.”Demitrus said, turning around and walking backward, “ Is it just me, or have you gotten a lot bigger?”

Demitrus was right. Where she was just a tiny mass of shadows before, once they had entered the prison, she had grown to be about half the size of Eliza.

“It's because it’s a lot darker here, it’s hard for me to maintain a form in the well-lit hallways of the keep. It takes a decent amount of power even to maintain this.” Isradine generously explained as they walked through the prison block, the eyes of many demon prisoners on them.

“I see, '' Demitrus said as they came to the trophy room door and knocked on it in a rhythmic pattern before opening it. He then gave the rest of the group a dramatic bow while sweeping his arm toward the door. “Ladies first.” He said.

“Xalefore not lady though.” Xalefore quietly remarked, still holding onto Eliza’s shoulder as she walked through the door.

“Don’t worry about it.” Eliza quietly said back as they all entered the room. Eliza looked around the trophy room, unable to see Leo.

Demitrus entered the room and closed the door behind him, and Eliza looked at him questioningly.

“You're good to come out, Leo; it's just the rest of the gang,” Demitrus said, and from the shadows of one of the larger trophies came Leo.

Immediately Leah rushed forward and hugged Leo, eliciting a gasp from Leo as she barreled into his stomach.

“I’m so so glad to see that you're alright,'' she said, her voice sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

Leo chuckled, “And I as well.” He then looked up at Demitrus, “ Glad to see you back as well, Demitrus, and… is that you, Eliza? Your aura feels different, somehow it seems… darker.” he said, furrowing his brow.

“A lot happened, but at least we’re all alive,” Eliza said, a tinge of anxiety flaring up inside her.

“Don’t forget about me; I am Isradine, Eliza’s new contracted Demon. Nice to meet all of you!” The source of said anxiety spoke up of her own volition. The shadowy mass beside Eliza converged and formed the image of a small girl in a dress who curtsied before dissipating again.

Xalefore jumped down from Eliza’s shoulder and ran forward a couple of steps, “Xalefore introduce self too, yes! Xalefore best-looking imp in the fortress, Yes! All other Imps jealous of Xalefore’s clothes. That why they hit Xalefore, yes! But Xalefore tired of it so Xalefore go elsewhere with strong lady, Yes!” Xalefore said, giving an enthusiastic bow after taking off his little top hat.

“You're working with Demons? And you even made a contract? Are you insane” Leo said in shock and pushed Leah behind him.

Eliza sighed, “First of all, I don’t like the fact that I made the contract either, but as much as I hate to admit it If I hadn’t made the contract and been guided to find Leah by Xalefore, Leah and I would be dead right now. So even though they are Demons, they deserve gratitude for saving our lives. Not that.” Eliza said.

“Wow, you’re the last of us I ever expected to side with a Demon,” Demitrus said with his usual smile.

“Shut it.” Eliza threw a glare at him, and he merely chuckled.

Leo looked down at Leah, “ Is what Eliza’s saying true?”

“More or less, Abernach threatened to eat me if she didn’t accept a contract with him, and she made a contract with Isradine instead. Things went to chaos after that, and I managed to escape while Eliza fought Abernach, and here we are.” Leah explained as she pushed herself out of Leo’s grip.

“That's something I’ve been wondering. How did you escape?” Eliza asked

“While all the Demons were distracted by you, something cut the ropes binding me, and I managed to break one of the weaker support beams holding up the scaffolding. When they tried to drag me up after you had started fighting Abernach, the stairs broke under the guard's weight, and you know the rest.” Leah said with a smile.

Xalefore started jumping up and down excitedly, “it was Xalefore, Xalefore the one that cut the rope!”

“Really? Why would you do that?” Demitrus asked.

Xalefore sniffed, “They already want kill Xalefore, so Xalefore sabotages what Xalefore could before dies."

“...I see; both of you caused the distraction I needed to knock Abernach into the pit; thank you.”

“It wasn’t intentional, but I'm glad to help,” Leah said, smiling, and Xalefore nodded happily.

“Don’t forget I created the pit in the first place,” Isradine said.

“She’s also helped me escape and showed me where to find Demitrus. Suffice to say, all of us are indebted to her.” Eliza said; she started to feel a little lightheaded, so she leaned back onto the wall where all of this started.

“ I see; thanks for the help, but I doubt you did it for free. What are the terms of this contract that you’ve made?” Leo asked skeptically.

“She promised to help save you guys and help me take revenge on everyone who has wronged me,” Eliza said.

“And the price?” Demitrus asked with keen interest.”

“That she becomes my vessel and gets me out of here to get revenge on those who put me here,” Isradine interjected.

“What does being a vessel entail?” Leah asked.

“The closest equivalent to what you would already know would be a designated champion of one of the Gods in the overworld,” Isradine answered.

“Isn’t that a really good deal? It's way better than what Abernach offered me at the very least; why so generous with your terms?” Demitrus asked.

“Other than the inherent value of making a contract with someone like Eliza? Try being trapped in a place staring at a wall for fifteen years and tell me you wouldn’t take your first chance to escape.” Isradine said flatly. “ I know it's hard to trust me because I'm a Demon, but do know that I’ve given Eliza my word, and as I am right now, breaking my word would spell the end of me.

“On that note, we can save any further questions for later when we don’t have a Demon Lord hunting us down,” Eliza said.

“ ‘almost’ Demon Lord,” Isradine corrected.

“What's the difference?” Eliza asked.

“If he were a Demon Lord, he would mean something. Right now, he's just a wannabe surrounding himself with rejects in the fringes of his clan's borders. In other words, a nobody.” Isradine said with a bit of spite in her voice.

“And you’ve been trapped in this nobodies fortress for fifteen years because?” Demitrus prodded.

“Politics, too many pranks that weren’t taken as jokes, you know, the usual.” she said and didn’t elaborate any further.

"Ah,” Demitrus nodded as if that explained everything.

“If everyone's good, shall we move on to what we’re going to do to escape this place?” Eliza said, looking around the room.

Both Demitrus and Leah nodded, and after hesitating a few moments, Leo finally nodded.

Eliza let out a pent breath of relief. “Alright, at the start of all of this, Abernach gave his word that if we rescued both Leo and Leah, he would let us go free. If we fail, I would make a contract with him, and those are the terms of the game he has us playing right now.”

“Wouldn’t that mean he needs to let us go now?” Leah asked.

“Most likely, to him, rescuing both of you from the fortress is what he meant by saving you. It’s a classic trick in the system. In other words, once both of you make it outside the fortress, we’ll be good to run for at least half a day.” Isradine said.

“Could we not just climb back up the hole where we came in? Demitrus asked.

“It's unlikely that Eliza would make it with her broken leg. Besides, it would be best that she not go to the overworld for a while,” Isradine said.

“Her leg is broken? It doesn’t look like it.” Leah asked, concerned.

“I can hold it together using the power that Isradine gave me, but why wouldn’t I be able to climb out of the hole?” Eliza asked with a hint of annoyance.

“Remember when I said you used fifteen years' worth of power to make that weapon? While I admit you used it effectively, surely you can feel that we’ve used most of our supply? That weapon won't do you any good when you can't walk anymore.” Isradine said with a huff.

Eliza felt annoyed, and something Isradine had said earlier came to her mind.

"You said that manifesting yourself like this costs a decent amount of mana?” Eliza asked

“...Yes,” Isradine said cautiously, not knowing where Eliza was going.

“Then wasn’t that big display in the kitchen in front of Abernach extremely cost-heavy?” Eliza asked.

“That's different.” Isradine immediately said.

“How so?” Eliza asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It is imperative that grand entrances be suitably grand. Especially so when you’re ruining the day of your arrogant captor of fifteen years.” Isradine said

“To throw my two cents in, I agree with Isradine about the grand entrance. It's simply the right thing to do,” Demitrus said.

“Thank you, at least one of you is cultured,” Isradine said, bobbing her mass of shadows in his direction.

“Just returning the favor,” he said, smiling at her.

“Either way, arguing about this won't get us anywhere; since we can't get out through the hole, what other options do we have? The front gate of the fortress?” Leo interjected, cutting the argument short.

“But wouldn’t that leave us out in the Demon realm?” Leah asked.

“That’s for the best. Once we get out, we can seek asylum with my grandfather. He’ll be able to protect you guys and give Eliza a safe environment.

‘Why would I need a safe place?” Eliza asked with a hint of trepidation.

“For your transformation, remember?”

“...oh, right,” Eliza said, afraid of even asking, but she still did anyways, “How much of a change can I expect?”

Isradine's voice became somber, “Your bodies' going to change to withstand the magic now residing within you. I’m sure you’ve already noticed one of the changes, your dark vision. I don’t know how many changes you’ll go through, but at the very least, I can guarantee that the transformations will be based on your current form; you won't go growing an extra head or something like that.”

“I've been wondering why her eyes were suddenly violet. Would that be the reason?” Demitrus asked.

“That would be,” Isradine confirmed.

“...My eyes are what now?” Eliza asked.

“Your irises have turned a bright purple color,” Leah said.

“I see.” Eliza looked around the room but didn’t see any reflective surface she could check to confirm, so she would have to take their word for it. A small pressure began to pound behind her forehead. Thinking it was a headache, she started to rub her temple hoping that it would alleviate it.

Sighing and pushing her concerns aside for the moment, she said, “Alright, I guess we’re going to see this grandfather of yours. Let's figure out how to break through the blockade Abernach put at the front gate.