The steady thumping was only getting louder as she walked down the hall, the ground even trembling with each thud. The smell of dirt and grass was getting stronger as well. Joan wondered just what kind of fresh horror awaited her at the end of the hall.

Then the thudding stopped. She paused, listening for the sounds of any more strikes, but there was nothing. She narrowed her eyes and started walking again.

She got to the end of the tunnel and let out a low groan when she saw it. A pillar with a large red sphere. Scraps of metal all over the place. A great anvil with a silver sword resting on it. All of it on a field of thick grass, with only the occasional clearing of dirt and stone breaking it up.

Memories of the flaming elemental flooded her mind. Had Francis REALLY managed to kill one of those? Well, she’d already killed one herself, she could fight another one. At least there was no giggling this time. Slowly she stepped out onto the grass.

The ground besides the pillar began to rise up, wrapping around the red sphere and soon looking like her, if she were made of dirt and grass. There wasn’t any giggling, yet. Then the dirt began to change to silver, as if it was coated in it. “Penthe,” the elemental said. “It has been too long.”

Joan glanced back at the hall she’d come through. It wasn’t blocked off by a wall of dirt or anything. She glanced back towards the elemental. “You’re… not hostile?” she asked softly.

“Why would I be hostile?” the elemental asked. “It is I, Ninhursag.”

Joan blinked a few times. Oh there was absolutely no way she could repeat that name. “Uhhhh, can I just call you Nin?”

Ninhursag merely chuckled. “As you wish, you humans and your tongues always have such difficulty. I take it if you are here, the time has come?”

“The time to break that barrier?” Joan asked.

“To slay Nergal,” Ninhursag said, its voice going cold. “How long has it been since we made our pact?”

“Quite a long time I imagine,” Joan said before lifting a hand to rub her head. Well, helmet. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about being encased entirely in dark magic metal like this, but at least the armor didn’t seem to be hostile. “So you’re a friend of Penthe’s?”

The elemental stared at her.

“Did she bring you here?” Joan asked. “Wait, are you a friend of Gibil’s too?”

“You’re not… Penthe?” Ninhursag asked.

“No,” Joan said. “I’m an ally of hers, but well… its been a while. If you’ve got time, I could go over things with you. But the important thing is that Nergal is likely already dead. I opened the--”

Her words were cut off and she appeared across the room, opposite herself. She could see the spikes of stone, impaling her body from behind before it collapsed into a puddle of water.

The amulet still worked properly. Good to know. Joan stared for a moment, her heart pounding and adrenaline surging through her. The elemental looked around for a moment before its eyes focused on her. Joan shrieked and activated her boots, managing to narrowly avoid a second spike of stone before leaping away. “What are you doing? I thought you were friendly!”

“I know who you are,” Ninhursag said before lifting a hand. The ground rose up, forming a barrier over the tunnel she’d taken to get here and also wrapping around the elemental, anvil and sword. Within a few moments the elemental towered over her like a giant, body wrapped in a thick, silvered coating. “The Corrupted.”

Joan leaped into the air, flying over another spike that tried to impale her. “W-wait! Wait, no! I’m not! The Hungry One is dead, it--”

“Spare me your lies,” the elemental said before lifting a massive fist and smashing it down at her. Joan yelped and rolled back, narrowly avoiding the blow. “I know all about you. I never thought you’d manage to make your way in here.”

“It’s not what you think!” Joan yelled. “Please, listen to me! I swear, I—”

“I will hear nothing from you, deceiver!” Ninhursag yelled, before slamming its fists down. A wave of dirt and stone rose up, washing towards her. “I know well how skilled your tongue is!”

Joan gulped and stared at the wave of dirt flying at her. Oh no. She wasn’t sure she could avoid THAT. But maybe she could blow through it. “Don’t let me down now, Guardian Nova,” she said. She held up her sword and formed a small ball of flame in her palm, placing it against the blade. It erupted into blue flame. She then dashed towards the wave, slashing her sword down.

The blue flame struck out, searing through the dirt and cleaving it in two, allowing her to race through it and towards the elemental. “LISTEN TO ME!”

“So you’ve managed to break Gibil,” Ninhursag said before waving its hands. Boulders shot free from the ground and at her. She cleaved through the first, activated her boots to jump up and kick off the second, leaping higher into the air and over the others. She lifted her sword up, readying to cut through the elemental.

Only for both its arms to come together to try and crush her. She cleaved the one on her right, cutting through the arm with the blue flame. Unfortunately, the left one struck her from behind and sent her flying through the air and then toppling across the grass. She rolled for a while before coming to a stop, though she still felt as if the world was spinning.

“But you shall never break me,” the elemental said.

Joan tried to get up, only for what felt like a house to fall on her. Fortunately she was already flat on the ground, so she wasn’t smashed back down to it. But she couldn’t move as whatever it was came down on her again and again.

The only reason she wasn’t dead was because of the armor around her body. While she could feel the pressure from each strike, the armor itself held and didn’t bend or break from the blows. The pounding stopped for a moment and she felt the dirt wrap around her. Oh. That was not a good sign.

“Goodbye, corrupted one,” Ninhursag said. She could feel the dirt around her gripping her by the legs and then by the upper torso.

It was going to twist her in half.

Panic began to surge through her and she tried to come up with a counter. She had to have something she could do. Some spell. Throwing knives, no. Hiding, no. Fire sword, no. Boots of wind, no. BRACER! She activated it and once more the flaming barrier erupted around her. The dirt and rocks were pushed away, making her fall to the ground with a shriek. She laid there for a moment, staring up at the elemental. “Y-you almost killed me!”

The elemental raised a fist and slammed it down against the barrier. A small crack formed in it, but it didn’t break. Yet. Joan held out her hand and her sword returned to her hand. “Please! Listen to me! I’m not your enemy! I’m Penthe’s ally! This is all a misunderstanding!”

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A second blow struck the shield and the crack only grew.

“PLEASE!” Joan yelled. “You’re going to regret this!”

“Unlikely,” the elemental yelled before bringing both fists together and slamming them down on the barrier. The barrier shattered and Joan dashed forward, amplifying her speed with the boots once more. She leaped erratically across the field towards the elemental, wishing there were walls she could leap off of like when she’d been back in the embassy. Doing it on a grassy field was so much harder. Especially when boulders and massive fists tried to catch and smash her as she went.

But she was almost there. She slashed with her flaming sword, cleaving a boulder coming at her in half and then leaped forward, trying to cut through the massive body. If she could just cleave through that gem, the elemental would be dispersed. She’d done it once, she could do it again.

Joan swung the sword with all her might, the blade cutting into the elemental’s massive body.

Only for her leg to be jerked back suddenly. She shrieked, losing her grip on her sword and being pulled back to the ground. A moment later she was buried up to her waist in the dirt. She summoned her sword to her hand again, stabbing the dirt and trying desperately to free herself. “No no no no!”

“Good bye, corrupted one,” Ninhursag said before spikes of stone erupted out of the ground in front of her, aiming to pierce her through the chest. She couldn’t help it, she closed her eyes.

There was just warmth and she felt like she was floating. Joan didn’t move, but couldn’t open her eyes. As deaths went, she’d certainly had more painful ones. This had at least been quick and painless. Perhaps an advantage of just being a mostly normal human girl. The Chosen were going to be furious at her.

“You really can’t make anything easy, can you?” a familiar voice asked.

Joan slowly opened her eyes. She stared up at Penthe, the woman wearing the same dark armor that she’d worn when she’d come for the Demon Lord. The two were in the air, falling. Not floating after all. “Penthe?”

“Ninhursag!” Penthe yelled, looking up at the elemental. “STOP!”

The elemental, to its credit, did stop. “Penthe?”

“Indeed,” Penthe yelled before landing. She then dropped Joan on the ground.

“Ow!” Joan objected. “H-hey!”

“What is wrong with you?” Penthe asked. “Why are you even here?”

“That’s a long story,” Joan said. “Why are YOU here?”

“Because someone came through THAT gate,” Penthe said before looking to Ninhursag. “I don’t know what she told you, but she’s a…”

“Friend?” Joan asked, just a little hope in her voice.

“Ally of mine,” Penthe said. “I don’t know why she’s here or… where… she got that armor from, but she’s not… she’s the one who finished off the Hungry One.”

“Truly?” Ninhursag asked before the dirt began to melt away, this time forming into a small suit of armor much like Penthe’s. “Then our side of the deal is finished?”

“Indeed,” Penthe said. “I was planning to come here to deal with Nergal once a few more things had been dealt with. But it seems that SOMEONE decided to accelerate my plans. Joan.”

Joan gave a light, nervous chuckle. “Uhhhh. Sorry? I think? Maybe? This wasn’t exactly… a planned thing. There’s a djinn and a whole cult and… well. I kind of got roped in. Oh, and some more elementals who apparently think I’m Gibil. Enki and… uhhhh… Nini… something.”

Penthe just sighed and lifted her hand to her face. “Wonderful. Can you stay out of my way while I deal with Nergal?”

“I mean… I think Nergal is already dead,” Joan said.

“Wait, what?” Penthe asked.

“Long story,” Joan said sheepishly. “But… ummmm… I kind of agreed to go and break the seal over its prison, to release it. But it’s already dead, for a few centuries at least.”

“… What?” Ninhursag asked.

“Joan, what are you talking about?” Penthe asked.

“Uhhhhh… I kind of… met it,” Joan said. “When I was the Hero. Later on. It had been dead, for a while.”

“It had been dead?” Penthe asked. “Or its host was dead?”

Joan blinked a few times and stared at her. “Host?”

Penthe gave a soft sigh. “By the gods how are you still alive? She’s going to kill me for this…”

“Korgron?” Joan asked.

“Amongst others,” Penthe said. “But yes. Ninhursag, you’re free. Is the sword ready?”

The elemental gave a small nod and hold out her right hand. Slowly, the silver sword rose out from the ground. “And Nergal?”

“It will be destroyed as agreed upon,” Penthe said, reaching out to grab the silver blade. “Thank you for your aid.”

“Aid?” Joan asked. “How do you know… uhhhh…”

“Ninhursag and Gibil helped me create the weapons and armor I wield,” Penthe said. “Fighting the Chosen requires tools beyond normal ones. Not just any flame can soften the pieces of demons and not just any hammer can shape them.”

“THEY made your armor?” Joan asked. “Wait… so I’m definitely not Gibil, right?”

“… No,” Penthe said. “I know exactly who you are now.”

“So you’ll let me help, right?” Joan asked.

“If I told you to go where it’s safe, would you listen?” Penthe asked.

“Uhhhhh…”

“Of course not,” Penthe said before glancing down at her. “What happened to your armor? Why is it all…”

“Death curse thing,” Joan said. “I’m honestly more concerned by how it followed me from under the sea when I summoned my sword. Guardian Nova isn’t supposed to be connected to my armor.”

“Can you please wait behind and let me deal with this?” Penthe asked.

“I would, but every time I don’t go with people bad things happen,” Joan said. “I’m useful! I killed the Hungry One, didn’t I? Kind of.”

Penthe just gave an exhausted sigh and muttered something under her breath. “Fine. Ninhursag, it’s time I release you. Your core?”

The elemental nodded and slowly the red sphere rose out from the ground.

“That’s an eye, right?” Joan asked.

“It’s the focus for the elemental,” Penthe said. “But yes, it was an eye once.”

“I think I broke Gibil’s,” Joan said sheepishly. “Uhhhhh. And it’s why my sword is able to do those blue flames.”

Penthe glanced towards her. “… Destroy this one.”

“What?” Joan asked. “With Guardian Nova?”

“Yes,” Penthe said.

“Are you sure?” Joan asked. “Not like, a trick, right?”

“Must you second guess everything I say?” Penthe asked.

“Kind of,” Joan said sheepishly. She then ran forward, gathering the blue flames to the blade once more. It cleaved through the sphere, though it felt like she was cutting through incredibly thick clay. The two pieces fell to the ground and she stumbled forward a few steps. The elemental began to fall apart, its dirt drifting to the ground. Penthe gave a soft sigh before holding out her hands. After a few moments a small, silver light formed between them.

“Thank you for all you have aided me in,” Penthe said. “May your world be safe as you have helped make mine.” Then the small, silver light began to fade away.

“Is that it?” Joan asked. “Are they… gone?”

Once the light faded, Penthe nodded. “Yes. Come along, let’s go uphold my end of the agreement. I made countless deals in order to get here, Joan. To defeat the Hungry One. You don’t intend to try and help me with all of them, do you?”

“Can I?” Joan asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

Penthe stopped and just looked at her. She then gave the most exhausted sigh imaginable. “Stars, Fates and Gods give me strength.”