A couple of years passed since Lillian and Kalika visited their father's final resting place. She watched her maid Rhonda do her normal duties of cleaning the prison cell and keeping it pristine. Kalika could see that the girl was improving as a maid. It even seemed that she was starting to grow horns from the top of her head. It almost looked cute.

Rhonda brought a new cup of water for Kalika. "Thank you." Kalika took the cup and drank its contents.

Kalika always avoided eye contact with the girl when she could. She still couldn't fully accept this young maid since she was a demon, along with everyone else in the castle.

The maid finally finished her work and bowed as usual to Kalika before taking her leave. Kalika could only watch as the girl disappeared down the dungeon hall.

Kalika sighed, got up to jump around a little to wake her body up, and did a couple of stretches. She then started exercising her body a bit, doing jumping jacks, jogging in place, and even running back and forth from the two ends of her cell.

After completely exhausting herself, she sat on her makeshift bed of hay to catch her breath. She quickly looked out of the cell, thinking she heard something, but she saw nobody outside. This exercise routine was her little secret, and she wanted to keep it that way.

Kalika glanced at her body and sighed somewhat disappointedly. "This is probably as good as I'll be able to get…" Kalika looked at her hand and then around her cell.

"I can walk and run again, but I still need a way to get those keys from that demon girl."

There was nothing more than a pile of straw hay, a bucket and chains that were hanging from the wall. Kalika looked at her arms too. There was no real use for the chains. The straw from the hay was no help, and a bucket wouldn't knock that girl out either.

"Maybe I should've done those push-ups too."

Kalika jumped as she looked back up to find a pair of piercing green eyes through the cell bars.

They were unnatural and the only thing that truly stood out. This was obviously a demon, although she couldn't see its face.

A brown-looking crystal is tossed by the cell bars. Kalika was taken aback by this. "A gift," the voice says. The demon with the green eyes looks away and leaves before Kalika can ask him a thing.

Looking like it was safe , she went ahead and curiously grabbed the crystal through the bar. "This contains earth magic!" This mysterious demon gave Kalika an opportunity she couldn't even fathom. With this crystal, she could finally escape if she wanted to.

Then Kalika looked at the crystal again questionably. "Why did it give this to me…?" This was puzzling to be sure. But regardless of the demons' intentions, she doubted they knew she could put the crystal to use.

Kalika sat down, examining the crystal more closely. "The power is very weak, but I think I can use this. I think I only have one shot to do so…."

Kalika took the crystal she had hidden in her straw bedding. "I'll have to choose the time to escape wisely… I just have to endure a little longer, then I can escape this hell…"

Unknown to Kalika, a red demon with a similar visage to the Demon King was smiling to himself knowingly. "So, you need an opportunity, huh?"

Days passed since the strange demon gave Kalika the crystal. She made sure to keep the crystal a complete secret from her demon maid and her sister, who came to visit her. It would be the same ongoing routine, that was, until… Lillian stopped coming.

A couple days had passed since she last saw Lillian. This was strange since Lillian never missed a day to see and torture her. Kalika certainly didn't mind the peace that it gave her; in fact, she was quite happy for it. However, Kalika could tell that something was awry just by her demon maids' uneasiness.

The third day had passed since she'd seen Lillian, not to mention that her maid was now late. After a long time of waiting Rhonda finally showed up. However, it looked as though the entire castle was starting to go on high alert. The demon guards of the dungeon were running back and forth between Kalika's cell, almost like there was some sort of panic.

Rhonda looked worried, which made Kalika curious about the ongoing situation. "Hey, Rhonda, what's going on?"

The last of the guards seemed to have finally retreated from the dungeon. The maid girl seemed to have ignored her as she entered the cell with her cleaning supplies.

"Hey," Kalika said again.

Rhonda forced a smile and gestured to Kalika not to worry about it. Kalika could only narrow her eyes as the girl went on to start cleaning the cell.

"All of those guards just now. They usually patrol the dungeon. The only possible explanation for why they're leaving is that reinforcements are needed above for something…" Kalika looked back at her maid and then the hidden brown crystal. "I may not get another chance."

Kalika resolved herself, grabbing the brown crystal. Grabbing the brown crystal, she clutched it with one hand and posed her other, pointing to the maid. Kalika formed a rock chunk the size of a man's fist and launched it at the girl's head.

Rhonda was none the wiser as the sudden impact of the attack knocked her out. the sudden impact of the attack knocked her out. Kalika didn't hesitate to look at the girl's body, searching for the keys. With the keys now in hand, she went on to figuring figure out which key was for her cell door until finally… the door was open.

Kalika smiled excitedly as the first step of her plan had been achieved. It was almost a dream that she was finally able to get out of her cell without retaliation. She then looked at the crystal in her hand. The crystal seemed to have become gray and dull. Knowing it had no further use for her, she simply tossed it to the side and gave one final look to her cell.

The well-kept cell with a makeshift bed and a now bleeding maid. Kalika stopped, seeing some of the blood leaking from the girl's head. "S-she'll be alright."

Kalika took a step outside the door but stopped once more. She then turned back once more and seemingly growing conscious, made her way back to the girl. She looked at the poor girl bitterly and ripped off a piece of her prisoner's clothes. "Don't take this the wrong way. I still hate your kind."

Kalika carried the limp and unconscious girl to her makeshift hay bed. She left her cell without much else to do, scurrying down the corridor as silently as possible. She made sure to peek down every corner in case guards remained.

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She still remembered the layout of the castle dungeon like the back of her hand. all from the time’s that she would reluctantly play and explore the dungeon halls with Lillian. Memories began to flash from a long time ago when Kalika first entered the dungeon with Lillian.

********

They were running through the dungeon as children with Lillian pulling Kalika along by the hand. "H-hey, where are we going??" Kalika whimpered, her eyes, darting around the creepy dungeon hall..

"It's a secret. Just come with me." Lillian spouted.

They ran through the dungeon corridor which in Kalika's eyes was just a terrifying place to be. "I-I don't like it here, I… I wanna go back."

"But we're almost there! See!" Lillian pointed to a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

They erupted through the exit, finding a vast forest with a nearby village by a huge lake. Amazingly enough, they could also see a stream that was connected to a nearby waterfall and sparkled like jewels. And beyond that, a mountainous range that seemed to peak even the heavens.

Kalika found the sight to be very captivating and awed at the beauty of the Landscape. "See I told you it was great!" Lillian was very proud of herself.

"We're outside the city walls right now… Father once told me that beyond those two mountains is where God was born." Lillian pointed to the range of mountains to Kalika.

"He said the Mountain were sooo big that it was considered the mountain of the gods. And that God Cassell came down to make it smaller."

Kalika furrowed her brows a little. "But… Why would he do that? Especially if there were other gods." Kalika didn't seem convinced.

"It's because all the other gods were greedy and selfish. God wanted to give us hope in times of darkness. While the other gods… they wanted us to live in fear for our lives." Lillian now overlooked the forest at the edge of the cliff.

"And that's why the mountain isn't here anymore. Plus, that's also why we have the heroes of prophecy in our greatest time of darkness."

Lillian seemed to be shining very bright in Kalika's eyes, but she wasn't sure why. the Radiance only became brighter. "Heroes of prophecy…?"

"That name sounds dumb." Kalika couldn't help but giggle. Lillian followed suit, giggling alongside her newly adopted sister.

"I guess it does, doesn't it."

Kalika looked back upon the mesmerizing view, taking in the spring breeze. "Do you think we'll ever meet God?"

"yeah. When we meet him. he'll give us a choice."

"A choice?" Kalika asked, cocking her head back to Lillian.

Lillian explained. "According to father, He'll ask if we want to return, reborn to live another life. or if we'd rather stay with him and his angels."

Kalika became flushed, awestruck by this newly discovered information. "I think I know what I'd want," she declared. "I'd live with God and his angels!"

"Huh? Really?" Lillian questioned.

"Yeah! If God lives in heaven I'd get to enjoy and have fun with the angels everyday!" Kalika reached her hands out to the sky. her eyes filled with wonder. "a life after death with no worries. That's what I'd like."

Lillian chuckled. "I'd like to be born again and enjoy a new life."

Kalika looked back more curiously. "Hmm? Why is that?"

"Cause then I'd get to see more of this world. And I think that's exciting!" Lillian flashed a joyous smile. But as she said that, Kalika shelled back away. Her eyes dimming as though remembering something dark,

Lillian quickly noticed the change in Kalika's demeanor. "Did I say something wrong?"

"The outside is scary. I don't like it. C-can we go back now?"

Lillian grabbed Kalika's hand with both hers. and with a reassuring smile, she agreed. Not long after, they both entered back into the dark dungeon.

********

"Why am I remembering this now?" Kalika thought bitterly. Kalika, back to her senses, focused back on escaping as she silently moved through the dungeon corridor.

"This is it!" Kalika remembered this corridor. It was only a straight path to the exit, and she could tell by the subtle light in the distance. It made her heart flutter with the prospect of finally leaving this dungeon.

It was like nothing had changed in the years she had been trapped. But this was different. She started running through the corridor carelessly and without worry. She kept running and running with all her might.

It was almost shocking for her, but the exit was still there! The light was a blinding beacon of hope. Although it was hard to see, she kept running, knowing that she was almost there.

Finally, Kalika has made it out of the dungeon. After all those years of torture, she finally escaped.

Kalika overlooked the same cliff that she and Lillian visited as kids. The light was so bright that she could barely see an inch in front of her, so she had to wait and adjust her eyes.

To some miracle the entire scenery seemed to have remained the same. It looked like an unchanging landscape that even time itself couldn't touch. Kalika couldn't help but cry a little as her escape was practically complete. All she had to do was work herself down the cliff.

Looking down the cliff the fall would kill just about anyone if they were clumsy enough. Kalika wasn't a fan of climbing down, but it was necessary if she wanted to get as far from the demon army as possible.

She slowly began climbing down. She tried to find one good footing after another, and it went well for a time until her foot made contact with a sharp piece of rock on the cliff side.

Kalika yelped in pain, loosening her grasp on the cliff wall, dooming Kalika to fall to her death as she screamed. Kalika was met with darkness upon contacting the ground like all those other times. After a few seconds she awoke, quite disappointed in herself.

Kalika got up, turning to the forest. The forest was still a distance away, so Kalika couldn't waste any further time. Kalia looked back at the cliff she had fallen from and back to the forest, resolving to get to the lake village as soon as possible.

Kalika sprinted to the forest, finding herself losing breath really quickly. She was only able to reach the edge of the dreary forest before needing a break.

"Why does that stupid village have to be so far?"

Kalika gritted her teeth, and without wasting further time, she entered the forest, knowing that the village was still some distance away.

Kalika ran into the forest, trying to formulate a new plan once she made contact with the village. "Okay. Once I get to the village, I'll need to get a horse and some, and then I can head west to Caledonia. I'm sure the demon's army hasn't reached there yet!"

Kalika stopped and looked around feeling some sort of presence. "I-it couldn't be! No, that's impossible!" Kalika continued to run.

“It's gotta be my imagination. There's no way she can be here!"

After some time, Kalika finally made it to the outskirts of the Lake Village, which she and Lillian had seen way back as children. Kalika was completely out of breath and felt relieved to see the village. Happiness welled up as she ventured closer to the village. It was almost unbearable.

All the excitement and happiness… soon became emotions of horror and confusion. The happy villagers that Kalika saw in the distance all had horns and the skin of demons.

Seven years ago, this village might have still been populated by humans. But it was now the home of demons!

"N-no. This can't be happening!" Kalika was bewildered and terrified. She realized that she'd made a grave mistake. She foolishly thought a simple village like this still belonged to humans.

"I… I have to get out of here!” Kalika took off running in the opposite direction. "I should've known that this village was already doomed!" Flashbacks of the pile of dead corpses from the day of the demon invasion rang through Kalika's mind.

Kalika quickly hid behind a tree even though there were no pursuers.

"I… I need a new plan. I-I should go south to Nirenberg. No! That would be the first place they'd have marched their armies! B-but I can't head north either. The city of Bellerin is too far. And if I tried to travel there, Lillian or other demons might catch me on the way!"

A panicked Kalika started to hear a rustling in the bushes, alerting her to a presence that seemed to have been watching her.

"Who… Who's there?" Kalika was on the edge as her plan seemed to be falling apart.

A rough, roguish-looking man comes from behind a tree. He sported a goatee with a scar close to his left eye and was dressed down in loose leather armor. It looks as though he had fresh blood on his armor and arms, possibly from hunting or from doing something far more sinister.

"A-a HUMAN!" Kalika was shocked and happy, but quickly realized that he likely had very bad intentions.

"W…What happened to all the other humans?" Kalika wanted answers.

The Man gave a wicked smile. "It's been a while since we've seen a girl round these parts."

Kalika was suddenly grabbed from behind by another man. He was choking the air out of her. "S-shttop…Pl...p..." Kalika was starting to wheeze but couldn’t finish any words. Kalika was starting to lose consciousness.

"I think Harry will like this one. Hehehe."

Before Kalika knew it, she was knocked out cold. She was now at the mercy of these rogues.