Donna Day holds on for dear life as the pegasus swoops up into the air. She would have fallen had the Devil not created a belt to strap her down.

The giant snake raises his head and hisses at the flying steed. Its glowing yellow eyes capture the horse’s every movement. With a sudden move, it strikes forward with a speed that shouldn’t be possible for its side.

The pegasus dodges aside, but then the snake changes its trajectory midair and tracks after her.

The two mythical beasts chase each other under the red sky as Donna tries to hold her gun steady.

She pulls the trigger, and this time the shot lands on its mark, thanks to the target being too large to miss.

The bullet containing liquid mana hit the giant serpent square on the head. The container bursts open on impact and explodes into a blue mana flame.

The snake screeches as the explosion scorches its scales.

Donna unloads more bullets, pushing the snake back.

“So you can be useful if you try. About damn time.”

“Ms. Eleanor, please head for the transport point!”

“I don’t need you to tell me that, freckles.”

The pegasus and her pink-haired rider dives for the small crack shining at the top of the pyramid. But a large object suddenly strikes at them.

The snake’s massive tail crashes against the silver pegasus, sending her flying.

The pegasus strains her wings to regain her momentum.

The snake hisses angrily and coils itself around the pyramid, blocking the crack from view entirely. One of its eyes is bloodied, while the other glares at them with intense hatred.

“Delicious hatred.” The pegasus licks her lips. “Sorry, cutie, but this much isn’t nearly enough to satisfy Mama.”

“Um … Ms. Eleanor?”

“Guess there’s no choice but to skin this snake. Freckles, I need you to do exactly as I say. We’re going to fly high up, then when we drop, I need you to pour my bombs straight down. Just dump the whole payload—can you do that?”

“I … Yes, I can do that.”

“Great. We got one chance, so don’t miss—or we’ll be snake shit by this time tomorrow. No pressure.”

Donna gulped and hugged the pegasus’s neck tightly.

As the snake prepares to strike, the pegasus ascends to the sky. They fly higher and higher until the air thins out and icy winds bite into the pegasus’s skin. Donna looks down and sees the snake reaching up for them, its mouth opens wide.

“Okay. One chance, freckles.”

The pegasus’s back opens up and ten grenades present themselves before Donna.

“Ms. Eleanor, are you sure you want me to dump all of them? What if we run into something more dangerous in the next dungeon zone?”

“Don’t worry. I still got ten more.”

“May I ask … where do you store all this?”

“I told you—you don’t want to know.”

Donna looks at the open wound on the pegasus’s back with disgust. She gives the silver gun and the extra bullets back to the Devil and exchanges them for the grenades.

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Holding the tools of destruction so closely in her arms makes her face pale.

“Okay. Dive in five … four … three … two …”

The pegasus closes her wings and dives head first.

Seeing its prey coming closer, the snake widens its mouth in anticipation.

“Dump it now!” the pegasus commands.

Donna Day lets go of the bombs, and the pegasus quickly opens her wings to break the fall. Ten mana bombs impact the snake, a couple even go into its mouth, and they explode in spectacular fashion.

The snake barely has time to react before its giant head is torn into multiple chunks.

With the enemy dead, the pegasus rushes for the transport point—not wanting to wait for something else to pop out.

The second the pegasus and Donna touch the purple crack, the surrounding world melts away into a bright light.

The scene is blindingly white … and cold. So cold.

Donna Day finds herself floating in midair before crashing down to the ground. Something cold and soft breaks her impact.

She regains her senses and pushes herself up from the snow. All around is an endless field of white with snow drifting under the gray sky.

“Ms. Eleanor! Ms. Eleanor, where are you?”

Donna looks around. Her wide eyes search for her only friend in this desolate land.

Then, amid the whiteness, she spots a drop of red. Then more and more red mixed in white the snow.

“My God!”

She cups her mouth when she lays eyes on a red figure lying in the snow.

It doesn’t look human or even look like an animal—just a bloody husk that is squirming and spaying blood from its orifices.

Donna wants to turn away from the disgusting sight. But something about it seems so familiar to her.

“Ms. Eleanor … is that … you?”

The Devil is too tired to answer. The biting chill is stabbing into her brain, causing unimaginable pain.

“Ms. Eleanor …” Donna moves closer and touches the Devil’s wet face. “You’re burning up. I need to get you somewhere warm.”

“... Warm … Cold … so cold … cold …”

“Can you get up?”

Donna lifts the Devil by her arm. Her small frame struggles to move the bloodied figure.

“... It hurts … You’re hurting me …”

“Please, Ms. Eleanor, you can’t stay here. You’ll freeze! One more time, we need to get you up. Come on, Ms. Eleanor.”

Donna takes off her coat and wraps it around the shivering figure. Then she grits her teeth and gives everything she has to lift the Devil.

“Please Lord, give me strength.”

She heaves and starts carrying the Devil forward through the snow. Her thin legs track through the bitter coldness as the Devil mumbles incoherently.

Donna peers through the scene of white to find some kind of shelter, but all she sees is endless snow.

“… Cold … so cold … You’re hurting me … Cold … I don’t wanna walk … I don’t …”

“I know it’s cold, and I know you’re in pain. I’ll take it all away for you if I can. But right now, we need to keep moving or we’ll die. Do you understand me, Ms. Eleanor?”

“But it’s so cold!” Red tears drip down from Eleanor’s eyes. “I’m tired … I don’t wanna walk anymore… I’m tired! Carry me!”

“Okay. Okay, I’ll carry you. Please get on my back … There you go. I need you to hold on tight, alright?”

Donna, with the red devil on her back, tracks forward in the white world. Her legs trudge through the knee-deep snow and her thin figure endures the frosty breezes. The Devil weighs heavily on her, but she only keeps going.

She walks for minutes, or maybe hours. Directionless in the white field. Her lips are seeping blood and her toes are frozen solid.

“... Lord Ceram, in my darkest hour, in my lowest moment, I turn to you for guidance. I ask you not to lighten my burden, and I ask you not to save my weak vessel, for I know this body is temporary and my spirit is eternally in your embrace. But I ask, O Lord, to guide my path, and for protection—not for me, but for Ms. Eleanor Ambrose… She is a heretic. Her soul has yet to be saved. But she is a good girl, Lord. She can be mean, sometimes, she can even be cruel, and her way is unorthodox. But she is a good girl at heart. She has touched many lives and has saved more people than I could ever hope to do. I know she shall become your greatest asset in your battle against evil … if you only give her a chance. To this Lord, I pray.”

Donna stumbles and collapses.

“I’m pathetic, aren’t I, Ms. Eleanor? Before, you easily carried me on your back and took me up to the sky, but now that it’s my turn to carry you …”

The pink-haired girl punches the snow and pushes herself and the Devil up.

“Huff … Huff… Alright … one more time … Lord Ceram, in my darkest hour, in my lowest moment …”

Donna starts her prayer anew and keeps moving forward. Ever forward …