It wasn't supposed to go this way.
These were the thoughts of [Elven Spellcaster] Belladonna D'Gardenia as she lay partially collapsed on the polished marble floor of the Demon King's fortress. To her right lay their healer, the human [Mage] Chaucer, his main casting arm gone after taking a hit by [Dark Fire Magic] that consumed it to the bone. Their [Archer], Bonderous, a [Halfling], hung impaled on the crystalline chandelier dangling on the vaulted ceiling above. The only member still fighting was their [Paladin], a [Ork] named Cain.
Belladonna cast [Appraisal] on her ally to gauge his strength, but the results didn't inspire confidence. His [Health Points] and [Stamina], though supernaturally high due to years of intense training and leveling, were crashing. The Demon King, by contrast, had the points to spare and seemed to merely be toying with the chivalrous Ork.
Suddenly, Cain activated his [War Song] and boosted his stats for an unstoppable slash across the Demon King's chest. The overlord stumbled backward, a toxic stream of ebony smoke pouring from the wound in his chest. Just as hope began to swell in her heart, it shattered in an instant when another image of the Demon King came crashing down on Cain from above. The wounded Demon King collapsed into a pile of ash that scatted across the floor as the other laughed. It had only been a copy.
Belladonna was on the verge of collapsing out of despair. This whole time we hadn't even been fighting the real Demon King?
A weak voice next to her cried out. "Belladonna, take this..."
It was Chaucer, a vial of blue liquid clutched in his remaining hand. This must have been his last healing potion, no doubt brewed to its absolute maximum in terms of healing effects.
"Chaucer, I can't..." Belladonna began to reply before the mage thrust it into her arms.
"None of us have the strength left that you do, it'd be a waste on anyone else."
She was about to think him right as a burst of green-black flame torched the rest of Chaucer, reducing the human to nothing in an instant. Belladonna screamed in agony as the last member of her party died. Turning to face the Demon King, her despair was rapidly boiling away into a white-hot rage.
The Demon King crossed his arms behind his back and smiled. "Now that the rabble is taken care of, perhaps I might have more of a challenge."
Taken out early in the fight, perhaps intentionally based on that statement, Belladonna could now get a good look at her enemy. The Demon King stood at a staggering 10 feet tall and was clad in the fine clothing of a marquis. His skin was a mottled grey like that of a decaying corpse, but unlike a corpse, he was bursting with well-developed muscles barely contained by his clothing. Large black horns like those of a ram crowned his head and faintly sparkled. The worst part in her estimation though were his teeth, hideous fangs stained green from the blood of one of Cain's arms that he was snacking on.
Belladonna wasted no time on words and cast [Spears of Longinus], a spell that covered the entire area with spears of holy light magic. The spears pierced the body of the Demon King whose initial grunts of pain were quickly replaced by a chuckle.
"Good. Good. But do better."
The Demon King used [Transmutation] on the remnants of Cain's arm to turn it into a large scythe. He lunged for her, but the scythe only cut into empty air as she countered with [Warp]. Belladonna emerged behind the beast and started stacking numerous [Health], [Mana Regeneration], and [Armor] buffs to herself. The Demon King tried the same attack again but was stopped by the spellcaster's own hand using [Giant's Grip].
She wrenched the scythe from his hands and sent a powerful arc of [Chain Lightening] towards the Demon King. The electricity surged all across his body, but he quickly shook it off as he cast more [Dark Fire]. A column of flame that stretched across the whole room cascaded towards Belladonna. All she could do was cast [Warp] to evade the flames, but the Demon King anticipated that and punched her as soon as she reappeared.
"I will give this to you, child," the Demon King said as he strolled up to Belladonna's injured frame, "You're the only one of your party who even managed to hurt me, if only slightly."
The Demon King grabbed her by her head, nearly swallowing it in his titanic claws. "But alas, it wasn't enough. Once I'm done here, I'll make my way to the battlefield and end this little futile effort. The time of the living is over dear Elf. The dead shall inherit the world."
Only one option was left to Belladonna. She had hoped to avoid it because to use it would require a heavy toll. Reaching into the sachel on her hip, she pulled out a scroll.
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The Demon King caught the act and looked at the unassuming parchment. What surprised him was Belladonna using her other hand to reach up to the claw holding her head, intentionally cutting herself, and smearing her blood on the scroll. The scroll was consumed by an azure fire that was then replaced by an orb of blinding light.
The Demon King looked at the spellcaster and grinned. "[Banishment] magic, my my my I thought that branch of [Holy Magic] was lost to time?"
Belladonna could only crack a smile of her own. "Not lost, just incredibly costly."
"I certainly hope you aren't counting on your pathetic life being enough to cast one as powerful as I into the realms beyond space and time."
"No, that would be foolish."
"So what could you possibly offer as the toll?"
Belladonna steeled herself for the answer. "Everyone fighting on the battlefield this instant."
"WHAT!?!"
Even the Demon King could not so casually accept the desperation of such a toll. Not only would his undead forces be sent to their final death, but so would the allied armies fighting them. It was effectively mass murder on the scale of a natural disaster like a volcanic eruption or deadly hurricane. Yet Belladonna was prepared to be considered a monster if her role was ever uncovered to seal away the evil of the Demon King.
"You bluff," the Demon King snarled.
"You helped, you know. Maybe you're a sucker for aesthetics, but the pentagram foundation of your fortress makes for a great [Sacrifical Sigil]. I just secretly completed the circle throughout many nights of laborious digging as the allied armies encamped around your fortress."
Streams of red light shot through the fortress walls and into the ball of light. As more streamed in the ball became redder until it shone as a brilliant crimson. Before long, both Belladonna and the Demon King were swallowed by the blood-red light and left the world entirely.
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[WAKE THE FUCK UP, SAMURAI!]
Belladonna awoke suddenly at the strange command. She found herself floating aimlessly in nothingness seeking in vain to find the source of the voice. All efforts to orient herself only made her present state worse without any solid support to assist her.
[Quit squirming around and just settle, would ya?]
She stopped and let herself naturally spin in place until she found herself looking at a humanoid figure. They appeared to be a man with black hair that reached his shoulders, his eyes obscured by a pair of dark spectacles. His manner of dress was strange, they only seemed to be clad in a black vest with maroon pants. The thing that truly caught her attention was his left arm which seemed as if one had ripped the arm off of a knight, armor and all, and replaced the man's own flesh and blood appendage.
"Who are you?" asked Belladonna, "Are you the Creator?"
[Me? A god? Wouldn't that be a riot? Nah, gonk, the name's Johnny. Johnny Silverhand.]
She didn't know what a "gonk" was, but it didn't sound endearing. "Okay then, Johnny, then do you know where I am?"
[Honestly? Couldn't tell ya. One minute I'm cruising the Net with my ex and now I'm here jabbering with someone who looks like they crawled off a fantasy BD set.]
A ringing sound began to emanate from the being known as Johnny Silverhand. His eyes lit a sinister-looking orange as it seemed like he was talking to himself. Once the conversation was over, Johnny shrugged and took off his glasses.
[Alright, well I guess that was God or whatever. Seems like I'm here to get you ready for your next destination. Lucky me.]
Belladonna was now completely lost, but she felt like trying to chime in would probably only make things more confusing.
[Good news and bad news, choom. Looks like you get to keep your magic, but most of this stuff is going to the shiter.]
Johnny opened up a sea of menus and windows all displaying Belladona's magic skills and statistics. This was the first time she had seen her abilities laid out in such a manner. Back home, one could feel the progress made in developing their skills with a feeling that flooded their body in euphoria. Yet as suddenly as the validation of years of hard work appeared, they were gone.
[All junk data for where you're going. Let me show you what you're working with now.]
Body 3 Reflexes 3 Cool 3 Technical Ability 3 Intelligence 3
[Easy shit first, kid. Body'll handle how strong you and how much punishment you can take. Cool'll handle your stealth skills. Reflexes'll help you dodge bullets and other hazards to your health.]
"I'm following so far," Belladonna replied.
[Good, because the rest will be a learnin' experience for you. Intelligence'll will help you with Netrunning and surfing the digital waves of cyberspace. Technical'll will be the big factor in whatever cyberwar you pick up and how much you can handle 'fore turning cyberpsycho.]
Belladonna was lost again. "None of that made any sense."
[Well, guess you'll have to sink or swim, but that's Night City for 'ya.]
"You are incredibly unhelpful, SIlverhand."
The figure of Silverhand raised two of his middle fingers in a gesture Belladonna could only assume was derogatory.
[I don't make the rules, choom. All I can say is try not to die out there. My best advice would be to find a little hole-in-the-ground bar called the Afterlife and try to make yourself useful to a good fixer. If Rouge is still kicking let 'er know Johnny says hi.]
Belladonna could feel herself being tugged away from SIlverhand. "Wait, I still don't know what I'm supposed to do. Is my world safe? Did we beat the Demon King?"
She received no answer as everything went to black.