Hot.

A single word could describe the climate into the infamous ruin and it was the most fitting.

The expansive cavern sported lava waterfalls, crooked towers of stone, bat-like creatures flying through the air and just a general air of…– well, hellishness.

Geysers of fire hissed, spewing flames upward while the rivers of molten rock seemed to be unending. The remains of a castle loomed in the distance, a path straight down the middle led right to it. Our other choices consisted of a path to the left and right, where two small watchtowers stood, solemn and unwavering. The only thing in this entire place that wasn’t crumbling were those outlooks that no doubt held two lesser demons.

I was vaguely familiar with the hierarchy of demons, or rather, as far as I knew, the princes were at the top. I couldn’t remember their names since the demonic aspects of necromancy were off-limits for me and the demon princes themselves hated me, but I could recall one vividly. The Demon Prince of Blood and Rage, or something along those lines. I made use of its brand while in the Forest of Nightmares and nearly died because of it. It was my own fault really.

That aside, I felt that the chances of an actual Demon Prince appearing were slim to none. Even if a class-six entity appeared, it would be weaker than a demon prince I’d imagine. I based my reasoning on the simple fact the grimoire recognized the existence of the demon princes and they even barred me from using any demonic power. On the off chance, a demon prince did appear, we’d all likely end up dead, especially me.

I put it out of my mind but I had no worries toward a situation like that occurring… Just to be sure, I avoided bringing it up to everyone present.

“This is where it really starts, will you be alright, Andreas?”

“We’ll be fine, just watch yourself, Alexandra!” Andreas spoke loudly, enthused by the whole thing.

His armor was massive and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was burning up in there. We all consumed a few temperature control potions and they were effective to an extent, but the blistering heat seemed to ignore that in an attempt to force its way into my skin.

‘Does it come with an air conditioner?’ I wondered fleetingly, sharpening up when Alexandra glanced toward me, giving a nod.

“You know the plan, stick with it and watch each other’s backs. Now, let’s go!”

And like that, we were off.

Alexandra spear-headed our formation with Kaylen and Wilson only a few steps behind her. Vincent and I kept the same amount of space between ourselves and them. I was fairly sure that Kaylen and Wilson were dating since they usually flirted with each other whenever Alexandra wasn’t paying attention during our short stint training together. There was probably some hr clause about dating a fellow guildmate, but neither of them cared so, more power to them, I guess.

“Hold on!” Alexandra shouted, coming to a halt immediately.

I activated my Spirit Vision that instant and saw it, a soul drifting over a pool of lava. It bubbled up as if sensing us drawing near, swelling and roiling before it took shape. The magma guardian climbed out of its pit, letting out a congested roar that sent its molten insides spewing forth. We were out of range, but I could feel the heat even from far away.

Like they previously rehearsed it, Alexandra and the other three raised their hands, aiming the rings they wore toward the magma guardian attempting to gather itself. Water and ice projectiles went zipped through the air, crashing into the malformed creatures of melting stone, and steam filled the air.

That was my signal and kicked off of the ground, rushing into the burning steam while sending two waves of blood forward. They traveled in a straight line before they turned abruptly and struck either side of the guardian before crystallization.

By the time it happened, everyone, except for Alexandra and I, was downing fire resistance medicines, before Kaylen moved first. With the magma guardian tied down, she couldn’t miss. She shot forward with an explosive burst, another use of her gift I noted. She arrived in front of the magma guardian and began laying into it, three punches rang out like shotgun blasts, revealing an inner core protected by a translucent crystal rib cage. Vincent stepped up next, delivering a focused strike right at the rib cage, shattering it easily.

The coup de gras was Wilson who grunted as he ripped the core out of the guardian. Before a wall of magma could encase him, I shifted the crystalized blood and formed a barrier which allowed him to retreat.

“Aw man… that was something.” Vincent sighed, he seemed relieved, but mostly was expelling tension.

“Pretty easy, right?” Kaylen asked, motivated by the short battle more than most.

“Was it?” Alexandra raised an eyebrow.

She was the only one who hadn’t pitched in and that was intentional. She and Andreas were the strongest ones here and they needed to conserve their strength as much as possible… if possible.

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I looked at the path ahead of us only to see two more souls come into view. Much like before, the lava began to take shape and we were destined to face two more magma guardians.

“Nice jinx,” Wilson muttered playfully.

Of course, his grin faded when Alexandra shot him a glance and he immediately straightened his posture.

“Same as before,” she gave her orders and we moved to follow.

…

“Watch out!” Wilson shouted from somewhere behind me.

I knew I should have been watching, but I had to move to defend Vincent. A strike was aimed at my exposed back, I was aware of that much. My instincts told me to avoid it and as I dodged I could feel something pass over me, bringing an unbelievable amount of heat with it.

I twisted my blood spear and moved for a counter-attack, stabbing the distorted form of the magma guardian directly in its chest. I summoned more blood, spreading it out like a net that wrapped itself around the fiery construct.

The hissing of liquid evaporating resonated briefly before I conjured the miasmic fire to consume the golem. Its body began to tremble as sparks of orange and violet fire intertwined, whittling away at its entire being.

Kaylen let out a shout as she arrived behind the bellowing golem, she pulled her arm back before delivering a punch that echoed throughout the entire ruin. The magma guardian split in half, its core broken, and the fight was over.

We caught our breath, Vincent shot me a thankful look for my earlier interference which I gave a nod to.

So far, we had stuck to the plan quite well. Fighting two guardians at once was difficult, but we didn’t need Alexandra to interfere so we managed. If there was one issue, it would be the fact that it wasn’t exactly possible to drain blood from a creature made of molten lava.

“Here, just in case you’re starting to get gassed,” Alexandra tossed me a canteen.

I caught it, laughing as I looked at everyone else. I had one advantage and that was the immense control over my physical body. I remembered it a little later than I should have, but I could lower my own body temperature and heart rate with ease. The heat that threatened to sap all strength from me was no longer a problem. Still, I drank whatever was in the canteen.

‘A stamina regenerative?’ I felt a cooling sensation spread throughout my body as well as a renewed sense of alertness.

I handed it back and she took that as a signal to start speaking, though she lowered her voice so the others wouldn’t hear.

“I’m not sure if we should press on from here,” she said in a quiet but somber voice.

“What? Why?” I asked, lowering my voice to accommodate her.

I thought our fight went pretty well, all things considered. I glanced at the others and they were catching their breath as expected, but our current location made their recovery process take longer than it should have. Even still, I couldn’t see a problem.

“Look past them,” Alexandra said, even quieter.

I narrowed my eyes, invoking my Spirit Vision and I saw a glowing sea that continued to expand, encompassing the entire area just ahead. Even further in the distance, the gargoyle statues sitting atop the watchtower were beaming with life. As for the watchtower, there was blindingly bright soul waiting within.

“It’s what we expected, isn't it?”

“It seems that way, right? It’s just something about it feels a bit off to me. There’s more activity than I expected.” Her green eyes shone with a cautious light.

“Let me take a look then.”

I sat down, sending out a crow to scout the area. It covered an immense distance in the blink of an eye, reaching the watchtower before I guided it in circles. I spied what I assumed was the ‘Lesser Demon’ a creature around 3 meters in height with blood-red skin, hooved feet, and tall horns. It wore pieces of armor, but nothing complete… There was a weapon in its hands, a greatsword I think–

My thoughts came to a halt as the lesser demon looked at me, or the crow rather, it raised its stone sword and drew a wide arc before my vision went blank.

A moment later and I felt a terrible pain in my right eye. It was as if a hot needle was driven directly into my eye socket and stirred around. Flashes of demonic symbols appeared, illuminating the darkness of my mind as they tried to worm themselves deeper in an attempt to reach my soul. The attack failed, but not before dragging a wave of agony like barbed chains being pulled across my consciousness.

“Ah,” I let out a suppressed groan as I settled myself. I felt blood trickle down my face from my eye. I was half astonished that it caused physical effects, but it wasn’t enough to make me panic.

“Casper?” Alexandra called out with clear concern.

I ignored her, and completely focused on recovery. I reconnected the nerves, muscle tissues, and ruptured vessels that had split under the sudden strain. My vision had returned, I blinked my eyes a few times as my sight righted itself before finally I turned to Alexandra who wore a deep frown.

“I’m not sure how this ruin is supposed to be structured, but there’s nothing out of place. At least, nothing outside of the info we went over. I was just caught off guard by that lesser demon,” I said with a dry smile.

The apparent soul attack was unexpected, to say the least. I wasn’t worried and now that I was aware of it, there was no way it could do any real harm to me. I had both the phantom heart and a better understanding of my soul which made the soul attack nothing more than a small annoyance– minus the literal eye-splitting pain.

“So you’re saying you’re good to fight?” she asked, raising her chin toward the rising lumps of molten rock that took on a humanoid shape.

Lifting crude stone swords and shields, they advanced, growing in number as they headed toward us. A high pitched roar filled the air as the two gargoyles broke free of their stationary outcroppings and flew toward us with palpable fury. They immediately joined the gathering forces and began circling above.

With a sigh, I centered myself and formed a blood spear. This was the best possible outcome for me. My skill as a Death Bringer truly shone in large engagements. There was no better opportunity to practice my Blood Dance, bringing what I learned from both paths into one technique.

As I rotated my spear, it left lingering trails of crimson streaks in the air. I felt my blood stir with growing fervor as I took a step forward and cracked a wry smile.