Kalika was now staring at a group of strangely dressed individuals in armor and cloaks that were unfamiliar to her.

"What's going on? Who are these people?" Kalika was confused, as it was impossible to tell if they could be human, too.

Kalika became dumbstruck as she saw the knight's face. He looked very handsome to her. She blushed a little, becoming a little embarrassed. It's been a very long time since she's seen a decent-looking human guy. She was immediately brought out of her trance as the knight asked her again.

"Where's the Demon King? Are you him, hiding in disguise or something!?" Jarred readied his sword.

"No," Sylph immediately responded. Her eyes glowed blue, which took Kalika aback. "She's a human."

"W-wait a minute! I recognize her! She's Kalika Archelion! The woman chosen to be Saintess by God!" Ragnar was in shock. He immediately kneeled before her.

It felt like one shock after another. Although she wasn't against other people bowing before her, she wanted to understand what was going on.

"W-whats going on here??"

A little confused, the group looked at each other before Jarred spoke up. "We traveled here to kill the Demon King and end the war. We volunteered to meet with this country's rebel forces alone. But we uh… found you, instead it looks like." Jarred looked away as he said the last statement.

"Perhaps this is what God wanted. He wanted us to save the Saintess to finally end the Demon King." Ragnar seemed much too excited for Kalika's taste.

"And why do we need the Saintess now?" Sylph questioned.

"Perhaps the powers are necessary to finally kill the Demon King and end his reign of terror!" Ragnar got up excitedly.

Jarred pondered this thought for a moment. "You're probably right. If this is true, then God will want us to retreat with the Saintess until we all get much stronger."

Eh. Why are they referring to me as the Saintess?" Kalika was a little confused until she remembered that she had stolen the title that actually belonged to her sister. It seems that her past deeds convinced the world's populace to believe this lie.

With this fact in mind,Kalika felt a little awkward as she now had to break the news to these people. "Uh. Hey-"

"If the Saintess is alive, wouldn't that mean the heir of Dahlia would be here, too?" Jarred suddenly asked.

"Perhaps, the Royal family may be just a prisoner of war." Sylph pondered.

Ragnar started to burn with Passion upon hearing this. "So maybe the Lord is alive too! And if that's the case we must keep fighting to release them!"

The group was so entrenched by the possibility that the Royal family was alive that they almost forgot about Kalika. Jarred noticed Kalika's sad demeanor and turned to her.

"Do you know where your sister might be?"

Kalika was surprised to hear this question. "…My sister? …. She's-"

Kalika was so deep in thought about what to say that she failed to notice that she was starting to get closed off and captured by an ocean of blood.

This was clearly Rakon's doing.

Like lightning, Jarred jumped over to grab Kalika, and with a kick from his leg on the wall, he escaped the trap, almost being enclosed with her.

"A Demon!" Ragnar readied his shield.

A clone of Rakon formed from the blood. And started walking to the group with an angry expression. His fingers became long claws that scratched the floor with minimal effort.

The Rakon blood clone attempted to swipe at Kalika and Jarred. As if Ragnar teleported, he blocked the attack, and his eyes were now glowing blue.

Sylph followed Ragnar up with a wind magic attack that pierced the clone like a bullet, then rapidly expanded in its body. Separating the top and bottom half of its body. It then instantly turned back to a pool of blood.

This shook Kalika. She had no idea that he could make a clone of himself out of nowhere.

"We should leave now," Jarred said.

"What about the heir?" Ragnar retorted.

"There'll be other times." Jarred eyes were glowing blue. "If we don't leave now, we'll be overwhelmed. They have guards on their way now."

Sylph quickly felt the wall to sense the dungeon floor. "They're blocking our paths of escape!"

"Is there another exit Sylph?"

"I-I Don't know. Let me check" Sylph took a moment and focused until she seemed to have found something.

"There's an exit on the side of the mountain, but it's on the second floor of this dungeon." "That's three floors up!" Ragar was surprised to hear this.

Jarred readied himself. "Alright we'll just have to fight right through them. Alright just follow us….

Uh-"

"No. I'm not going." Kalika interrupted.

The heroes were shocked by what Kalika just said.

"I'm not the person you're looking for. You're better off just leaving me behind." a trace of uncertainty laced in her voice as it trembled. Her eyes darted away instinctively.

Her fear was evident to the heroes to the point where they noticed her instinctually returning to her cell. as much as she wanted to be freed from this hell, she had a sharp feeling in her gut telling her it wouldn’t end well.

"If I leave then-" Kalika instantly fell asleep, collapsing forward. Sylph forced her to sleep with one of her spells.

"God knows what they've done to her." Jarred kneels down to pick up Kalika. To Jarred's surprise, Kalika's body was much sturdier than he'd expected. He couldn't help but look at Kalika in shock.

"Unforgivable. Let's show no mercy to these beasts!" Ragnar was angry.

Jarred brought Kalika to Ragnar. "Alright, lead the way, Sylph. Ragnar and I will be right behind you!"

Ragnar wasted little time using his immense strength to grab the now sleeping Kalika, tucking her under one of his arms.

With Kalika in hand and a destination plotted out, they ventured towards the dungeon exit.

Although they had just turned the corner, guards were already waiting.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Sylph took the initiative to blast the guards with fire spells. Jarred followed her up, slicing the heads off of the remaining guards. More guards appeared to attack Jarred, but he fended them off easily.

With the guards dispatched , they continued to rush forth to the waves of enemies they would face. They're ambushed left and right, but the demon guards' plans are foiled each time.

"Come on you bastards! Is that all you've got!" Jarred's fierce determination shined through.

They finally made it through to one floor.

Soon they turned the corner to be met with a flurry of fire blasts. Using his one free hand , Ragnar got in front of the group and blocked the incoming attack with his shield.

"Crap. Thanks Ragnar! Sylph!"

"Rodger!" Understanding Jarred's desire Sylph places a magic spell on Jarred.

Jarred ran to the demons firing the magic fireballs. Seeing him, they attempted to kill him only to find their spells being repelled!

One last fireball hits him, shattering some sort of magic barrier. But by then, it was too late, as the demons were slaughtered easily.

"Alright! Clear!"

Ragnar and Sylph raced down, and they continued to run into demons of mixed talents. It was becoming harder and harder to fight their way out of the dungeon.

To any normal warrior, however, fighting a horde of demons these Heroes encountered would've taken an army to escape at their pace.

Once again, they passed another floor, then another floor reaching their target dungeon floor.

"Alright! We're almost there, guys." Sylph was starting to run out of breath. Fighting all the demons they were encountering was starting to take its toll on the heroes. Sylph then paused.

"What is it, Sylph?" Jarred started to get concerned.

There are three demons with immense magic powers. There are two above us, a couple of floors, There's two above us, a couple of floors and another on this floor.

"Where is it on this floor?" he quickly asked.

"Right here," a voice said.

Jarred turned to find a blue demon with black hair. He turned upside down in midair, posed and ready to strike at Jarred with a strange red dagger. This was demon general Kel.

"When did it-!"

Jarred quickly blocked its attack. This greatly impressed Kel. "So, you're quick on your feet, too. This'll be fun."

********

Elsewhere , Lillian and Lucius were rushing through the dungeon. They kept coming across the corpses of guards after guards. When Lucius was informed about intruders in the dungeon, He never expected a graveyard. It dressed like a battlefield with cuts and blood on the wall, along with stains of soot from fire

He looks at Lillian, seeing her dead seriously. It was like she sensed something that he couldn't.

A gut feeling, perhaps.

Lucius couldn't help but narrow his eyes, realizing they had to ensure these intruders didn't escape their grasp at all costs.

********

Back with Jarred, he clashed with Kel. Their swords clashed constantly, faster than any normal warrior would be able to accomplish. It was becoming harder and harder for Sylph and Ragnar to find an opening to fight back against the demon.

It wasn't long before Kel started dodging. He jumped around the corridor from wall to wall. "You're very strong for a human. You three must be the Heroes of Prophecy the humans have

been going on about for years."

Kel then paid attention to Sylph who was still out of breath. Seeing an opening he attacked her.

Luckily for Sylph, Ragnar protected her with his shield, blocking the attack to Kel's surprise. Kel then got a glimpse of Ragar holding Kalika.

Kel retreated some distance from the heroes, becoming more serious.

Jarred regrouped with Sylph and Ragnar. Sylph then dug into one of her pouches to bring up a beaker of green liquid. She wasted no time opening it and drinking it.

"Sorry guys, that's the last of our vitality potions. I'm sure you two understand."

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Sylph," Jarred assured. Ragnar also agreed with him as they stared down the Demon General before them.

Kel only cocked his head slightly, seeing them not yet attacking.

"I thought the Heroes of Prophecy would be here to kill our king. Not steal our queen's favorite toy." Jarred instantly got infuriated by this statement Kel made.

"Toy? This woman is not some toy!" Jarred yelled.

"I heard that the Demon Queen was cruel. But I never imagined that she would use the royal family as their own form of entertainment. Your kind must've tortured her, keeping her alive this entire time, too. How despicable" Sylph was now starting to prepare some magic in her hands.

Kel could only chuckle. "I didn't know the Heroes of Prophecy were idiots too. I almost feel sorry for you poor saps."

"Truly unforgivable monsters," Ragnar stated.

Jarred stepped up taking points. "I won't need your shield, Ragnar."

Jarred's eyes glowed green as did Sylphs and Ragnars. Magic fire rained from both sides of Kel who easily dodged the flurry of attacks of fire and earth spikes. Finding an opening, he used the opportunity to jump from the wall to close the distance between him and Sylph.

Jarred blocked his attack. "I don't think so!"

Kel backed off avoiding all the fireball attacks being pelted at him. Tendrils of water magic reached out to grab him, each one missing its mark

Running on the wall, he clashed blades with Jarred once more. They exchanged parries and blocks; all the while, Kel was easily dealing with the pressure of the fireballs.

Eventually, Kel used his trump card, extending his dagger and transforming it into a sword. Jarred blocked it, but the sword scratched the side of Jarred's face from the sheer force of the wind.

"Should've known it was a demon blade. Cursed weapons that only demons can use, huh?" Jarred sneered.

"I wouldn't say that it's demon-exclusive." Kel responded, cracking a smile.

The blade quickly reverted back into a dagger. And like an acrobat he continued to jump around at blinding speed. Switching it up between a long-bladed weapon and a short-bladed weapon.

Kel's speed was starting to get overwhelming. He was starting to run in circles around the group. He started taunting them, where they stood. It was starting to feel like he was just trying to buy time. A time that they knew they needed.

"Sylph, could you slow him down!?" Jarred yelled.

She immediately started using a spell only to find that this was what Kel was waiting for. He was completely behind Sylph and Ragnar, a blind spot to take out their Mage.

He instantly made his dagger become a sword and slashed through Sylph!

But to his surprise, his sword went through her like she didn't exist.

Sylph glanced back at Kel, smiling contently. "Thanks Ragnar."

"Don't mention it."

Ragnar proceeded to trade places with Sylph , who was holding his armor, and bashed the baffled Kel in the face. Now stunned, Sylph started to pummel the demon Kel into a nearby wall with her immense fire magic. She continued pelting him until Jarred was ready.

Jarred’s sword was now posed to do a vertical strike. And despite not being close enough to slash Kel he still opts to swing his sword down as hard as possible.

"Take this!!" With that, he created a blue air slash, cutting Kel and defeating the general!

Kel now leaned on the wall. But by some miracle he was alive. The slash seemed to have missed Kel's head completely, as he now had a visible vertical cut on his torso. He attempted to grab his blade, but it was in vain. All he could do was breathe shallowly.

"We should finish him," Ragnar said.

"No. We can't waste any more time. The other powerful demon will be here any moment." Ragnar and Jarred complied with Sylph, and they headed to the exit..

All Kel could do was watch on. "D… Damn it."

The sound of running was heard before Kel passed out.

Back with the group of Heroes, they arrived at the desired location. Unfortunately, the exits have been heavily blocked, likely to keep people from escaping.

Kalika, to their surprise, woke up.

"W…what? Where am I?" she muttered, sleepily.

"It looks like she woke up. Isn't the spell supposed to last a day?" Ragnar asked. "Yeah. Perhaps she has a high resistance to magic."

Jarred was looking and examining the rubble before them. "Hey sylph. Can you take care of this?"

"Easy." Sylph raised her hand, and to Kalika's shock, She blew away the rubble in front of them as if she were able to control the earth itself. Kalika couldn't help but be amazed by this show of power.

"Alright let's go!" Jarred yelled and he started to run outside concerning Kalika.

Everyone started running outside, including Ragnar who was still holding her. "W-wait no!

There's a cliff!!"

Kalika was instantly blinded by the light and adjusted to find they were all falling down from the cliff.

"We're all dead. NO. They're dead…"

To Kalika's absolute shock, she found that they had floated the last few feet down. They all landed with no problems.

Ragnar kneeled down to release Kalika safely on the ground. Kalika wobbled, still trying to grasp the situation.

"Heh. sorry about that… Kalika right?" Jarred started to approach Kalika, reaching out a hand.

She looked up and found the man more captivating in the moonlit sky. He smiled gently and patiently waited for Kalika's response. She was instantly smitten with the man and blushed.

"I…was rescued."

Kalika grabbed his hands. and started to well up with emotions. "Thank you!" Kalika cried from joy for the first time in a long time. Jarred chuckled a little. "Of course."

We can't stay here for long. Are you able to walk?" Sylph suddenly asked.

Kalika wiped the tears from her eyes. Before checking her own body internally. "I… I think so-" Kalika tripped over herself.

Ragnar wasted no time in presenting Kalika with his own back and offering her to climb on. "I'd be honored to carry you. if you see fit, milady."

Kalika cringed a little at Ragnar’s offer. "He's actually quite the gentle guy," Jarred reassured.

With some reluctance she took Ragnar's offer, riding on his back into the nearby forest and going south.

As happy as Kalika was about leaving the dungeon once again. She couldn't shake the feeling that staying with these Heroes would only lead to a disaster.

********

Back with Lillian and Lucius, they're looking after Kel. Lillian just finished using healing magic on Kel, saving his life. On closer inspection, Lillian doesn't seem to be wearing the Ring given to her by Lucius.

A guard approaches the two with the news.

"She's gone," He stated.

Lillian's eyes turned black upon hearing this. "FIND HER."