Dungeons are mysterious phenomena that break the rules of space and time. These holes in reality are breeding pits for monsters and the occasional Lesser Demon. But the sight of such a dangerous place filled Glyn with excitement as he walks inside. The walls seem to breathe as the stone shuffles and moves with him, going deeper into the hole.

“Ah, a dungeon. I never would’ve expected to find one here, of all places. I mean, it makes sense why one would be here. It’s isolated, there’s plenty of mana, and I’m sure that there being a ghost manor nearby might’ve helped improve the conditions.” Glyn says to himself.

He smiles, unable to contain himself as he ventures towards a staircase reaching into the depths. He nods as he takes a step and hears an odd rumbling coming from inside.

“I see that’s what’s happening. Something or someone has disturbed the place. That’s why the monsters are acting up. But what about the Lesser Demon?” He asks staring down into the depths.

Shaking his head, he pushes his curiosity aside and stands on the edge as he opens his book. “Best get to work on a seal. Then I’ll win my bet with the old man and he’ll owe me a debt.”

“Should I go with a level three? No, not in a place like this. No one will find me. A level one would be too weak. So, I guess a level two is the only way to go.” He turns to a particular page and stares ahead as he holds out his hand.

He chants something in a strange language as a glowing sphere forms in his palm. The sphere fires out in front of the hole as he chants as strange symbols appear floating around the sphere. As Glyn closes his fist, the symbols collide with the sphere and a bright light envelops the cavern.

As the light fades, Glyn finds himself outside of the cavern, with the area having disappeared. In front of him, a large ornate door sits with a giant lock in front of it. He examines the door and nods along, taking in his work with a smile on his face.

“For a first try at a sealing spell, it worked out quite well. Maybe if this king thing doesn’t work out, I can change into a new business?”

As he stares at it, the door shakes and rumbles. Something on the other side bangs against the door, attempting to force its way out. Glyn nods and holds out his hand. A small key forms from thin air as he plugs it into the lock and turns it. With a loud click, the door locks and stops, with Glyn removing the key as it fades away.

“What’s a good door without a lock? Although the first matter of business should be teaching people how to maintain this thing.” He nods and turns away, walking down the mountain. “I’ll save fixing what’s going on for another day. I could use a nap after using the tome so much on top of magic. Of course, I have to figure out how to sneak back in past the guards.”

As he walks along, an intense pillar of flames seems to explode into the air. Glyn’s eyes widen as he stares at it with the fires dying down quickly.

“That was….” He sighs, shaking his head as he walks ahead. “Damn it. That feels intense. Was that Mila? No, there was something else mixed in the Lesser Demon?”

He rushes ahead, moving as fast as he can. “I could feel that from here. Something is wrong if I’m right. Then Mila’s about to lose control. And at that point, she’s going to burn herself to death!”

In the field, Mila laughs as she charges ahead. She slashes at the Lesser Demon with her claws as it screams out. It throws a series of punches at her, only for her to block it with her tail. Her laughter grows as she swings her tails around to knock it back into a tree.

“Is that all you have? A little fire and some punches. I thought you’d be more of a threat.” She says, smiling.

The Lesser Demon yells, its body mutating and morphing. Growing larger to tower over her, its muscles grow larger as spikes erupt from across its body. It screams and charges in delivering a punch that knocks Mila back across the field.

“Mila!” Miller yells, forcing himself to stand.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Mila laughs as she shakes off the attack, spitting out the blood pooling in her mouth. She steps forward, pushing Miller back with her tails.

“Stay out of the way, Brother. You’re too weak for this. And besides, it’s too fun, the most fun I’ve had in ages!” She says with a distorted smile on her face.

“Mila.” Miller reaches out, grabbing her only for the flames to force him back.

“Monster.” One guardsman says.

“She’s a complete monster.”

“I knew that cursed child would be no good.”

“If we’re lucky, the two of those things will kill each other.”

Miller grips his fist as he bleeds. “Damn it. What the hell can I do? I said I’d protect her, that I wouldn’t let her do this again, and yet…” He whispers to himself.

“Now, you monster, let’s play some more. I’m not done yet!”

The Lesser Demon crawls along the ground on all six of its limbs, lashing out at her with its spiked covered tail. Mila knocks it back with her tail, only for a series of stingers to shoot out at her. They dig into her flesh as her skin turns purple as the poison seeps into her bloodstream.

“Ah, poison. You're adapting as the fight goes on. I guess this is what makes Demons Lesser or not fascinating creatures.” Mila says taking out one of the poison barbs.

The Lesser Demon laughs as it charges toward her. As it closes in, she covers her body in flames and lunges towards it. She slashes at the monster as it throws jabs at her, the poison spreading through her body the more she moves her body.

The Lesser Demon Laughs but stops as the purple marks on her body burn away. Mila laughs as she reaches out, grabbing the Lesser Demon’s arms and ripping them off as she throws them aside. The creature regrows its limbs and stares at Mila as it crawls backward. Its arms grow back and it screeches, throwing a massive fireball out at Mila.

“Getting desperate now, aren’t you? Well, that just means you’re admitting defeat. All that’s left is to kill you. So, tell me, how do you die!?” She yells out as fire erupts from her tails.

The Lesser Demon screeches and charges ahead, throwing blow after blow at her. Mila blocks the attacks, but some pierce through her defenses, piercing her flesh. But she ignores the pain, smiling and laughing as she trades blows with the monster.

“Mila!” Miller yells as he forces himself to stand.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Glyn says, appearing behind him.

“Glyn?”

Glyn nods as he looks down at Miller, handing him a small vial of blue liquid. “Got a healing potion. Stole it from your camp on the way here. Figure you’d all need some.”

“What? Why were you….”

“I needed to steal some stamina potions to make it here from the mountain.”

“Why were you….”

“I can answer all of your questions later but first we should deal with Mila.”

Miller forces himself up. “What do you mean?”

“Mila can’t deliver a finishing blow in the state she’s in. But if you can push yourself, you can kill the Lesser Demon and end this fight.”

“A finishing blow?”

“A Lesser Demon has a monster’s core. That’s why it can twist and mold its body at will. But it can’t move its core. Find it and slice it up and then the thing will die.”

Miller pauses. “I might know where it is.”

“Oh how?”

“Process of elimination.” He says.

“Good, then do it and then I can do something about your sister before she kills herself.”

“What?!”

“Her body can’t withstand the amount of mana flowing through her right now. She’s not used to it. She needs something to help her relegate her excess mana, or she’s going to burn herself out.” Glyn explains.

“You can save Mila?”

“Of course. Would I lie to you?”

“Yes. But if you’re lying about this, then I’ll kill you myself. Consequences be damned.” Miller stands and holds onto his sword.

Glyn nods as he stares at Mila as the flames spread. “It’s impressive how much mana she’s putting out. It’s like she’s burning a hole into the very world itself. If she could get control over her abilities, she’d be a worth ally.”

He smiles as he grips his book. “It’s a pretty ballsy plan, even for me. But I guess it has to be done. After all, I’m not that heartless, am I?”