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Iris saw the glazed look in the Captain’s eyes as he hefted his shield and began walking towards her with his saber in hand and she began backing up behind the pillar.

The big man held his hatchet up for throwing and faced down the Dark One, “What the hell was that?”

The Dark One turned around while slowly raising her hands. “The old woman that owned this house is locked up under guard in the place across the street. So whatever that thing was, it’s just another dungeon creature and it’s best if we put it down without any debate or delay. It was my call.”

The big man, who had no clue that the house across the street was currently half engulfed in flames despite the best efforts of some men that showed up to spray water on it, seemed doubtful, but not enough to attack the Dark One.

Instead, he looked at the other two soldiers. "If she tries anything else, gut her, I'm going to help Addams with the "Monster."

Addams meanwhile had walked into the first shallow flooded section, only for Kelvin to jump out from behind the central pillar and plunge his copper wired wrapped broomstick into the half inch of salted water and channel electricity into it.

Did you know the military of this world puts their soldier in boots with thick soles made up of something that electricity won't go through? I didn't.

Fortunately, the Captain just walked right by my Champion, dead set on killing Iris who was running out of room to back into as the big man was walking around the other side of the center column to cut her off.

Kelvin watched the Captain walk past him, looked at his stick, shrugged, and jammed it into the soldier’s rear end before channeling another surge of lighting.

Addams went down to his knees shaking as the Kobold kept the staff firmly pressed into his rear while keeping the electricity flowing into him.

Iris had turned around to see the big man facing off with her and threw a punch at him. As the big man leaned back with a smirk, she opened her fist and let the capsaicin dust fly out of her hand.

She had wanted her gun, but since hers wouldn’t work either, the dust had been my best offer.

I got to admit the big man had good reflexes, he threw up an arm to try to protect his eyes, kicked out at the old woman, and almost got his eyes shut in time. "Son of a…!"

On the other side of the room, the Dark One turned to look at the yell, and from behind her back plunged her two unseen wings into the chests of the Rogue and Porter. “Die!”

Both dropped limp to the ground.

Just as Addams came back around the corner. Shaky, pale, but with an angry look in his eyes.

“Don’t know who, or what you are, but this stops here.” He held his sword point first at her. “Stand down special agent.”

She grinned at him. “I don’t think so Captain, I have a mission to complete.”

With that, she brought her wings back as she prepared to slap them together with the Captain in the middle.

But since he appears to be on my side now. “Spirit vision.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Addams's eye went wide as the Dark One snapped her wing out even as she started to bring them together on either side of him.

He barely got out the words, “Holy Aura.” Before they slammed into the blazing white fire that had engulfed his body. One that scorched the ends of her wings as then came into contact with the flames, and she screamed.

What?

=Ping=

Captain Virgil Addams

Paladin Silver 1

What the blue hell is a Paladin?

With the big guy swinging his knife and ax around wildly, Iris had to turn around and run the other way, only to see the Paladin engulfed in white fire as he charged forward at the Dark One and lunged at her. Burying his sword into her guts, hard.

Without any effect, only his body was covered in the white flames, a point to which the old woman gleefully pointed out. “You need magic to hurt her G.I. Glow, try punching her.

The Dark One had jumped back, pulling her knife out from her belt as she did, and bent over to pull up the Porter high enough to put the blade to his throat. The younger man groaned as he was lifted up. I guess her “Die” command didn’t work so well on a Copper rank six Porter as it did on a Copper three Kobold.

“Keep back Addams, I’m still in command here.”

The Paladin shot her a look of disbelief. "Somehow I doubt that. Reese, wash your eyes out with the water on the ground. I'm going to need you." He sheathed his sword and tossed his shield aside, instead holding up his two fists. "Let Zucker go, and we can talk."

The Dark One sneered at him. “Your commander in chief is well aware of who and what I am, and it changes nothing. We were sent in here to take the dungeon core, those were our orders, both of us, and nothing had changed about that.”

Addams stared at her, cursed under his breath, and slowly began to lower his fists while Iris raised hers with one finger extended on each hand.

Neither of them mentioned my wife slowly rising from underneath the floor, looking somewhat translucent as well as incredibly angry as she grabbed the Dark One’s arm and yanked her to her feet, pulling the Porter out of her grip to flop down on the floor.

Before the two of them could even really begin to struggle, the Captain was across the room and snapping out a punch right into the Dark One's face. The old woman was right behind him.

She yelled "Magic strike" Right as she buried her knee right between the Dark One legs.

Wait? That work on girls? Is this another Earth thing?

Whatever it did to the host, the magic backed knee knocked the naked red skinned spirit out of the Special Agent. Stunned by a punch and out of breath from the knee to the gut, the Dark One’s true form went reeling back away from her host.

Shaking her head, she glared around the room for a moment, before bending her knee to spring up with her wings outspread to fly up through the roof.

Only to slam face first into the dungeon ceiling and back down to the ground. Alelen had come through the floor near the edge of the room where the floor was just plain old stone. The ceiling was part of the dungeon and infused with magic to keep the whole poorly designed place from collapsing.

Iris rushed forward. “Magic Strike.” and kicked the Dark One in the side as Alelan joined her in a game of who can crack the most ribs.

Why does everyone here feel the need to shout out the name of their abilities?

"Addams." The Paladin looked around wildly. "The hosts serve the Dark Ones willingly, the red woman could not have done anything without the cooperation of Lucia.”

The Captain looked down at the woman looking around from the floor with a calculating look. Then he looked over at the big man who was watching the old woman kick at what appeared to him to be an open area at the edge of the room with a bemused look on his face.

"Reese, secure the Special Agent." Then he stood on the host's knife as the big man grabbed her, rolled her over, and secured her wrists and ankles with plastic ties.

"Miss Deslover, and… elf lady? Do we have any way to secure the demon, or to kill it?"

Demon… Like Demented. Good name. "That's my wife Alelan. We don't have a way to kill the Dark One, but we can contain her. Sweety, Iris, could you drag her over to Spirit Prison? Actually, could you help Iris Addams? It can’t do anything to you and I don’t mind that much if Iris gets hurt.”

The old woman held up a finger for me. Being able to see me at the moment, it was the first time she had ever been able to aim it in the right direction.