Deafening crashes, and the sound of glass shattering followed. All the mirrors, with no exception, exploded into a thousand glittering shards. And, along with them, so did too, the floor.

Before I could even scream, we fell into a void.

"Lashfera!" Elizabeth shouted; despite the ripple of water catching us both, the spell was too slow to form and we both hit rock bottom, the impact knocking the air from my lungs.

Fortunately, even if barely, it managed to cushion the fall, but more giant shards and debris were raining from above.

"Elizabeth, watch out!"

I tried to evade them rolling out of the way, but at some point, pain exploded through my body. I screamed, and I couldn't move anymore. Looking down at my leg... a large slab of stone had crushed it, pinning it to the ground. It was twisted. It was in pain; a pain that clouded my whole mind. Bloody. Nauseating. I couldn't look at it.

"Elizabeth..." I tried instead to call out, but my voice came out strained and low because of pain.

Where was she? Was she alright?

"Elizabeth..."

I gasped, trying to free myself. I couldn't; the weight, the pain was just too much. I struggled, only to hit the cold ground with my hands, unable to do anything.

I twisted my head, trying to search for her. "Elizabeth!"

Nothing. She was not replying! Tears welled up in my eyes. Where was she?! "Elizabeth..."

"Selena!"

A sigh of relief escaped me. "Elizabeth..." I murmured as my eyes finally fell upon her running towards me.

She dropped to her knees at my side. "Selena...!" Her eyes brimmed with terror, while her hands hovered above my leg. "I... I'll get you out of this! I... This is my fault... This is my fault..."

I reached up and grabbed her hand, squeezing with all the strength I could gather. "Relax, my love."

She whimpered. "I..." Taking a deep breath, she managed to steady herself. "I'll get you out of here..."

As Elizabeth grabbed her staff, however, amidst the sound of the debris finally settling, a new sound mingled; a slow, rhythmic clanging. Metallic and heavy. She shuddered upon hearing it, and I glanced past her. "Elizabeth... what is that?"

Through the dust and dim light, a pair of glowing crimson eyes burned, locking onto us. A living armor with a long sword in its hand stepped forward.

"Is that..."

"It's a mid-boss," Elizabeth murmured, trembling. She gripped her staff tighter, and slowly moved away from me, keeping her eyes on the figure as it followed her movements with its head.

"Elizabeth...?"

"Don't speak, Selena," she said, raising her voice. "It must focus on me..."

A cold sweat broke out like an icy rain had fallen over me while my heart pounded in my ears. "Elizabeth... you're not seriously thinking of facing it alone, right?"

Brandishing her staff, she offered a small nod. The figure stepped towards her dragging its sword behind it. "Sanguis Aqua," she cast. From Elizabeth's arms, blood seeped, wrapping around her staff until it morphed into a sword. She gritted her teeth, letting out little whimpers of pain.

"Elizabeth... what is that spell?"

"I can't use my standard spells here," she quickly murmured, her eyes never leaving the living armor. "I'm not capable enough to control them, and I might hit you, or I might push the mid-boss too far away from me and it could target you... I can't allow it."

"So you'll... face it?!" I said, instinctively moving my legs to reach for her, only for pain to shoot up my body. I winced, gasping in agony. "Do... do you even know how to wield a sword?" I continued, glancing at her once more as pain and tears blurred my vision. "And... your arms! What even is that spell?! What is it doing to you?!"

She shook her head, tightening her grip around the blood-forged blade. "No... I don't know how to wield it, but this is the only option," she replied, totally ignoring my question regarding her arms.

"Don't be stupid!" I shouted at her. "You'll only get yourself killed like this! You don't know how to control your standard spells, so you choose to go for one that is even riskier and unknown?!"

She smiled softly, stepping further away from me as the mid-boss closed in on her, disregarding me completely. "If you get to live... that's fine by me."

"What..."

I felt the blood drain from my face. What was she trying to do? And I couldn't even do anything to help her! I couldn't get up! I couldn't run to be by her side!

The mid-boss stepped closer; it swung its sword, aiming toward Elizabeth's torso. She raised hers, blocking the blow, but the creature immediately twisted and shot its leg out in a kick to her stomach. Elizabeth flew across, slamming into a jagged stone wall. Only then did I realize... we were trapped in a cave.

"Elizabeth!"

She collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as her face twisted in pain. Yet, with trembling arms, she pushed herself up.

"Elizabeth..." My eyes felt wet. My cheeks... felt wet. "Please, Elizabeth... use your spells. Don't think about me!"

Elizabeth grinned at me, forcing herself to her knees, gripping the blood-forged sword as the mid-boss took another step closer. "Don't worry, Selena."

The mid-boss raised its sword, ready to strike again. It was high, sure to hit Elizabeth, cutting her in half. The image flashed in my mind, sending me goosebumps of terror all over my skin. I couldn't just stand by and watch! I had to do something!

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"Heaven's Scriptorium!"

With the pen tight in my hand, I invoked it; my latest, and strongest spell. As I invoke it, angel wings unfurl at my back and everything stops for five seconds. In these five seconds, the world in front of me is within reach of my pen; I can write anything in the air, a command, and it would fly straight toward its direction as the seconds end.

Five seconds... I have five seconds to write something to save Elizabeth!

But the commands couldn't be anything; I couldn't just order the boss to die or to cut its own head with its sword. The commands that would take effect were dictated, tied and proportionate to my strength, my power, or 'mana'. So, I could never be able to use this spell against Elizabeth; she is just too powerful for my magic to do anything against her, and the monsters of this dungeon were no less. However, I didn't need a powerful command; I didn't need to overpower it... This is my strongest spell, and even if the enemies were far stronger than me, something could have its effects.

I just need something. Something so little that could save Elizabeth and give her the time she needs to strike back!

Something... Anything! What could I write?! Think Selena, think!

The mid-boss seemed to act based on what it saw. So, maybe...

I scrawled my words to the air, each letter glowing as they formed. "Look at your right!"

Were the boss to move its head to the right, its eyes would fall on me; just a lethal second of distraction, a little glimmer of hope...

Finishing writing, time resumed, and the glowing command shot forth, going straight to the living armor's head. It turned to me. "Elizabeth, behead it now!"

Elizabeth curled her fingers to the sword even tighter; with a scream, she swung. The blade cleaved through the air in a crimson arc, slicing cleanly through the mid-boss's neck. Its head hit the ground with a heavy clang, and a moment later, the rest of its body collapsed, crumbling into lifeless pieces. She fell on her knees, gasping for breath, while a shaky sigh of relief escaped me. "Elizabeth..."

Yet, we didn't even have time to recover; the Deity appeared once again, humming. Both Elizabeth and I snapped to attention. As the hum grew louder, silver flames engulfed Elizabeth, flowing over her like liquid fire.

"Elizabeth!"

Her eyes opened wide, and her pupils burned with an unnatural light. She gazed up at the Deity as if mesmerized, while her codex shone brightly. Just as abruptly, the Deity melted, cascading to the ground like a waterfall. Silver flames flared up once more from the shimmering pool left behind; from them, new monsters emerged.

"Damn it! Even more?! Elizabeth, do something!"

Elizabeth blinked, dazed, too slow to react. Living armors sprinted towards her, quickly closing the distance. Before they could even reach her, however, a voice rained from above.

"Oceanum Incantatum!"

Massive waves of water crashed down flooding the entire space, relentlessly dragging every monster in its wake, meticulously avoiding me and Elizabeth at the same time.

I looked up. "Laura?!"

She descended from above, her staff in hand, controlling the water's flow as she rode elegantly a flying broom. The water caressed her with grace, freeing me from the debris with as much care as it did force. Her spell showed no signs of abating as wave after wave crashed through the area; every monster met its end in its brutal current. Just like Elizabeth, she was beautiful, and the calm with which she controlled such an amount of destructive power was just as mesmerizing as it was frightening. I could do nothing but admire her in awe, and so did Elizabeth.

As the torrent subsided, the water gently receded, and Laura floated lower. "Hi, dear!" she greeted her daughter with a warm smile.

"Mom!"

Laura chuckled softly as she glided toward me on her broom. She pointed her staff above my injured leg and cast a healing spell; little ripples of water swirled around the wound, spreading a soothing warmth that quickly faded the pain away.

"Laura... I'm so happy to see you," I breathed.

She laughed. "I'm glad you two are alright."

"Mom, how are you here?" Elizabeth asked her with wide eyes.

"I was asked to lend a hand. It's been a long time since you all entered this dungeon. Even though it remained unexplored for so long, it's a surprise to see the top three guilds taking so much time to clear it," she explained. "Even more help is on the way."

"How did you find us?" Elizabeth asked her, still dazed. "Selena and I got teleported here by a flame..."

She offered her answer with a wink. "I followed the traces of mana; there are many hidden passages in this dungeon."

Elizabeth's shoulders relaxed, and a small sigh escaped her. "I see..."

"Come on, we have to catch up with the others."

"Wait a moment, Laura," I said, finally rising on my feet, shaking, and grabbing Elizabeth by the shoulders. "Elizabeth... never, ever do something like that again."

"Selena..." she murmured in response.

My vision blurred with tears; I had to hug her. "You gave me a heart attack..."

"Sorry... I just wanted to protect you..."