The iron locked clanks, and the cell doors opened.

"" The guards spouted.

Kalika quickly covered her eyes from the light of the freshly lit torches.

"Just a little longer. I wanna sleep. Just a little longer…"

Kalika was enjoying the bliss of being comforted by the hay stuffed mattress. This is the peak sleep she's received in over a month, and she didn't want it to go to waste.

"Rise and Shine!" Tilus announced.

Those three simple words just ruined her day. Kalika was annoyed that Tilus had arrived much earlier than normal.

"Do we have to?" her words slurred a little. it was obvious that she wanted to continue her sleep.

"You very well know the answer to that Kalika. C’mon."

Kalika made frustrated moans and yawns getting up. She sucked up her own laziness, following alongside Tilus. The corridors were much livelier than when she first arrived, prisoners pushed past prisoners as guards observed silently for any trouble.

Traveling through the corridor they found that guards and other demons were blocking certain sections that led to the outside of the dungeon's prison. Loud bangs and clangs echo through the halls of the dungeon.

Kalika peeked curiously, seeing them placing and inserting strange tubes and pipes within the walls and floors. Some of the demons were seemingly using some sort of magic to place the stones of the walls and floors back.

"Hmmm…" Kalika started to wonder about the changes occurring.

"Kalika."

"Oh. On my way."

********

"Argh!" Kalika fell hard on the ground by the stone wall.

"Again!" Tilus commanded.

Kalika shook herself, backing away from the wall. She ran fast at the wall, starting to run up it slightly until her feet slid down. Once again, she fell onto the ground.

Kalika was becoming exhausted.

"Okay that's enough for now."

Kalika and Tilus were still the center of attention among all the other prisoners. There was intrigue among some, curiosity from others but mostly scorn from many more who kept their distance from the two.

Kalika leaned herself on the wall trying to catch her breath after all the wall running, she did.

"What's the point of an exercise like that?"

"You need to build up stamina and strength in your legs. Your opponent will likely be relying on their own strength. So, to Simply put it; if you're faster than your opponent, then you'll be one step ahead of killing them."

Kalika looked at her arms before turning her gaze to the ceiling. "Well, the exercises seem to be getting easier, so they're probably working…"

"I would hope so. You have another month or so until you have that death match."

"Right…," Kalika silently said.

There was a silence between the two. A fight between two inmates suddenly broke out before Kalika and Tilus. They both watched the flurry of blocks and punches.

"By the way, are you still having those weird dreams?" Tilus asked.

One of the inmates got the other in a chokehold.

"Actually, this time around the dream didn't come around. It's the first time I had a regular dream in a while. It Kinda feels weird."

"How so?"

Another prisoner joined the fight, punching the one holding the choke hold.

"Well… I don't know how to put it…?" Kalika pondered for a moment. She watched as the two-inmate started to kick down the other leaving him writhing in pain.

"The best way I could put it is that the dream felt more natural. but when I wake up, I start to feel a little strange. It feels like under my skin, there's a constant tingling. Right now, it's… weirdly comforting."

Guards finally came to grab the defeated prisoner pulling him to the edge of the arena away from the other prisoners.

Tilus glanced over to Kalika. "So, you're still feeling it now?"

"Yeah. At this point I'm used to it though. Just like everything else…"

"CLEAR UP!" A voice sounded out.

Prisoners started to move and push each other aside, out of the way of a blue demon with a huge scar. This Demon was General Kel.

Kel Pointed at Kalika indignantly. "You! You're coming with me!"

Kalika Glared at the Demon. "And who the heck are you?"

"Kalika I would just go with him." Tilus warned.

Reluctantly Kalika listened and followed the Demon Kel. He led Kalika through the corridor. She could hear a constant mutter, as though he was cursing under his breath. After some time of traveling, they entered into the trapped dungeon hall that was still being worked on. Kel finally spoke up.

"You want to tell me what the hell you're playing at this time?" Kel questioned demandingly as they headed deeper inside.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act stupid. I know you're planning on escaping again, aren't you? Well don't get your hopes up. This time you and whatever idiot you bring along will find a nasty surprise."

Kel stopped, posing his arms as he introduced the hall. “Y’see this hall? its stock to the neck with traps. Spikes, fire, you name it we have it here. So, if you think about escaping, you better think twice this time.”

Kalika couldn't help but to cross her arms and scoff at the demon. "Is that what you really believe? You think I’ll try escaping again?"

"I'm not gonna fall for your little tricks like my idiot brother. After all the trouble you’ve caused us for the last several years, I know in your mind that you're still aiming to escape from here."

seemingly out of nowhere, Ek suddenly appeared from the corner of the hall. He ran down the hall with a vengeance, his anger visible. "And who are you callin an idiot! Brass head!"

Kel turned back quickly. Suddenly they head-butted each other, their horns interlocking.

"Brass head! You take that back!"

“Take what back? Idiot brother” Kel mocked.

Kel stood his ground as did Ek, and it soon became a battleground between two bickering brothers.

"Like hell I will, you were supposed to be at sub–Level Five over an hour ago!"

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Oh, and how is that my Problem!?

"It's all of our problems if Rakon finds you've been slacking!"

"Slacking!? I'm doing very important work here!"

"UUWWAAAA!! Like what!?" Ek questioned.

Kalika could only watch in bewilderment; she starts to even contemplate on sneaking away. She opted to try to get out of the situation only for both brothers to immediately take notice of Kalika.

"YOU! JUST STAY PUT!" Both brothers yelled.

The fight continues on but eventually the fight is broken up by Bjorn, who was accompanying Ek.

"That's enough, you two."

Bjorn looked at Kalika then turned his attention back to Kel. "What is this girl doing here Kel?"

"Tch! I was showing her the trapped hall and I was planning on interrogating her to see how she planned to escape this time."

Ek head butted his brother once more. "UUWWWWAAA!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN INTERROGATE HER!?"

"YOU HEARD ME! SHE'S UP TO SOMETHING! I KNOW IT!"

Once more Bjorn pushed them away from each other. "ENOUGH!!" Bjorn gave a long sigh "We still have to finish those changes to the dungeon on level five."

"Changes… To the dungeon?"

"So, Kel, send that girl back from whence she came. We can't afford to waste any more time. You know how Rakon gets." Without another thought, Bjorn began to leave.

"Yeah, yeah, Fine!" Kel spouted.

"Hold up Kel. I still want to talk to Kalika myself." Ek started to approach Kalika. "Cause this girl… STILL NEEDS TO GROVEL BEFORE ME!!" Ek dramatically poses his hand, trying to look intimidating to Kalika.

Kalika just looked Blankly at Ek, annoyed. "Uhh. I don't think so."

Frustrated, Ek ruffled his hair, angered by Kalika's nonchalant reaction.

Kel cringed at Ek. "Oi, oi. You're still on about that? It's been five years since we made that bet, just give it up already."

Ek continues to rough up his hair in frustration until he finally gives in.

"GGRRrrrrr. AARGHH!! FINE!!!"

Kalika watched on, as Ek tossed a pouch full of coins to his brother. It quickly became hard for Kalika to believe what she was witnessing seeing them argue once more.

"What a waste of time." Kalika thought.

"That's bet number thirty, won in a row." Kel happily taunts.

Ek is seen just seething in frustration.

After another few seconds of watching, she opted to leave as the brothers continued to bicker. Kalika walked a few feet before she ended up hearing her name being called. Before she knew it she felt the sensation of her feet sinking and the sense of something sharp coming for her body from her side, followed by a sudden darkness.

"Did I just die…?"

After a few moments Kalika reawakens to find Bjorn holding her up with her feet still on the ground. He let go.

She wobbled for a little until she finally found her balance.

"You dingbat! We told you to stay put!" Ek scolded.

"One of you. Just bring her back already! She's supposed to still be in the prison anyhow!" Bjorn was annoyed by them. Once again, he starts leaving the three, scoffing as he did.

"Kel. you go with Bjorn I'll bring Kalika back to the prison."

Kel grunts. "Fine, suit yourself. But don't take your eyes off her for a minute. You never know when she'll try to escape again."

Kalika could only glare back indignantly at the remark. "This again!?"

"Alright, this way," Ek said, leading the way.

Kalika simply followed, leaving behind Kel and Bjorn to go down another passageway, likely leading back to where they needed to go.

Ek gave a sigh. "Eehhhh… Sorry about my brother. He's been a little more on edge since the Heroes walked all over him and took you. Look, if you are going to try to escape again, just know that there is a lot of booby traps littered throughout the dungeon now s-."

"Shut up! I don't care about escaping anymore!" Kalika immediately stopped, Ek looked to Kalika, standing where he stood.

Kalika started to talk in a much more quiet tone. " I know that I tried escaping other times in the past. Even if I don't remember the reasons of why or when… I know it's pointless to even try. I gave up the day Lily killed the Heroes of prophecy…w"

"If even the Heroes of Prophecy couldn't help me escape-"Kalika started clutching her hands, Kalika stormed past Ek. "-Then what in the hell will!?"

"Hey wait!" Ek warned

Ek quickly grabbed Kalika's hand, and she quickly pulled away from him. "Let me go!" she shouted.

To Kalika's shock she ran into another trap, with spikes rushing from both the floor and ceiling. This time she nearly avoided it, getting a scratch on her right cheek. She stood there, breathing heavily, fists still clenched with anger. It took Kalika a moment before she was able to calm down.

Ek checked on Kalika to find not only the new scratch on her cheek, but also very dead eyes looking straight beyond the trap as if mesmerized by something beyond it.

"Are you alright?" Ek asked.

"No. I'm not."

Shortly after the trap deactivated itself. "Okay then… Just stay close until we're back at the prison."

Kalika took a deep breath. "All I have to do is honor that damn contract. That's the best option I have if I ever want to leave this hell… Even if it’s only temporary, it’s still better than nothing."

Without looking at Ek she agreed to this. Kalika was soon returned back to the Arena entrance where Tilus waited.

"Here you are. And Kalika. Don't be so damn gloomy all the time."

Kalika glared back to see him leaving her.

Tilus approached Kalika. "What was that about? Did the Warden want you for something?"

"Huh? Warden?"

Kalika looked back to find Ek had already disappeared. "Yeah. warden. From what I heard, if I'm not mistaken, he's also one of the demon king's generals, as well as his twin brother."

Kalika Thought back to when Ek and Kel were bickering with each other. "Brothers… Generals… huh…"

"They certainly are annoying…"

Kalika's thoughts then went to the powerful demon general Bjorn and Jala. She then turned her attention back to the arena

"Let's get back to training." Kalika stated.

"What got you in a bad mood…?"

Tilus followed behind Kalika back into the arena, where Kalika's training resumed for the remainder of the day.

********

Kalika now laid on her bed exhausted from overexerting herself. She could hear the cluttering of tools as Rhonda collected them. Looking over she saw that Rhonda is finally satisfied with her work and gathering all her supplies.

Rhonda smiled at Kalika, she then noticed that Kalika had a scratch on her cheek. Concerned, Rhonda got close to Kalika examining the small wound.

"What is it?" Kalika asked. she then noticed Rhonda eyeing her newly made scar.

"Oh, this scratch, don't worry about it. I'll be fine." Kalika looked away at the wall and without warning, something wet was pressed on her scratched-up cheek.

Kalika jerked up surprised, immediately feeling her face to find that the scratch was now gone. "Did she just heal me again??" She turned to Rhonda, finding her now bowing.

"Please forgive me! I don't like to see you hurt…" Rhonda gave a sad and guilty expression.

Kalika sighed, a little annoyed, but looked upon her maid with pity. She patted her head as if she was still a child. "Don't worry about it. You should get going, it's already getting late."

Looking at her maid Rhonda, Kalika could tell that she enjoyed the interaction by her flush red cheeks and the smile she tried to hide. Rhonda agreed and left with all of her cleaning utensils and the dirty sheet. And before she realized it, Rhonda had finally left the cell leaving Kalika alone.

Kalika gave a long sigh, diving back into her hay stuffed bed. "Honestly…"

The cell doors clanked locked by a guard.

"" they announced.

The pattering footsteps of the guards slowly become silent; the torches went out as if a magic snuffed out its life. Kalika was once again alone with no one around.

A weird yet familiar sensation started to overcome Kalika. Her chest started tightening and it became hard to breathe. "T-this feeling. This is..."

A heat rose within her alongside those strange urges, bubbling up to the surface.

She felt her stomach, tracing her fingers down. "M-maybe-"

"Have you been enjoying yourself?"

Kalika shook. She quickly got up and looked at her cell door to see that Rakon was leaning on it with his back turned to Kalika. "W-what are you doing here!?"

"Curiosity. It's been over a month so I thought I should see how you were doing."

"I was doing just fine, until you came. So just leave!"

"Oh. I'm wounded. Rejected by a maiden seeking thrills." Rakon laughed a little.

Flustered, Kalika turned herself to lie back on the bed on her side.

"Don't feel too embarrassed."

Rakon turned to look inside to find Kalika breathing shakily and sweating somewhat. "I'll give you a little bit of advice. Avoid coming in contact with a succubus's saliva. They tend to have a lot of unwanted side effects."

Rakon started to become amused, seeing as the temptation was starting to override Kalika’s common sense. "But Don't worry the feeling will pass in a few minutes if it wasn't a lot." Rakon chuckled a little.

"F-f-ff-fuck Y-y-you." Kalika could barely withstand the feeling. She suddenly found her arms being grabbed by Rakon. She looked back at the cell door to see that the first Rakon was still there.

"Careful now," the Second Rakon said. "Let's talk a little more. Maybe that'll help distract you a little from what you're feeling."

He crouched down to see Kalika blushing red, it's obvious to Rakon that she's trying to keep a serious demeanor.

"Ah, what a cute looking face." Rakon placed his hands on his chin, observing Kalika. "Hmmm… but it looks like you had a sour day today didn't you."

Kalika became reluctant to answer. Instead, she tried to focus on steadying her breathing.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Glaring at Rakon, Kalika gritted her teeth and finally answered him. "Y-yes. I'm having a sour day. In fact, it's become a horrible day. First the morning I was pulled into training early. Then one of those stupid demon generals came over because they wanted to interrogate me, thinking I was planning to escape. And now I have a creep that's obsessed with me in my prison cell, pointing out the obvious and making fun of me!!"

"S-so yes. I'm having a bad day. And now I'm in a much worse mood because of you!"

Kalika found herself being petted on the head by Rakon. "Now, that wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

Flustered by Rakon’s boldness she started to spout out a torrent of insults and obscene language at Rakon. Unleashing her full fury of words onto him. It went on for so long that she hadn't even noticed that he already let go of her arm.

By the time Kalika was done, she was still flush red. Exhausted from using her full knowledge of insults she had at her disposal. She watched on as the Rakon clone before her started to melt away into a puddle of blood.

Rakon by the cell door laughed. "Looks like you released a lot of stress. You should be much happier."

"Grrrr. I wish I could slap him like before!"

"Feeling much better from those little urges of yours?" Rakon tauntingly asked.

Kalika paused, realizing that the tightening and the weird heat she felt were now gone.

"You truly never cease to captivate me, Kalika. Hah, I revel for the day we can meet eye to eye.” Rakon started to chuckle to himself once again. "Here. Since you've shown me a new side of yourself, I'll tell you who your first opponent will be."

Kalika's interest peaked.

Rakon smiled sinisterly. "You'll be happy to hear that your first opponent will be… General Ek, the acting warden of this prison."