I had no idea which god was worshipped here. Likely Imperius, he had a large presence in the Empire. Then again, was that church even in use? The building looked fine but no one greeted us, despite the storm above and an angry archfey, riding a kitsune, in front of the door. I guess they could be afraid but you would expect some sort of reaction.

Lucy was less concerned about such things and simply charged the door. It looked heavy but an angry kitsune was not easily stopped. She ploughed straight through it.

The inside was a large hall with an altar at the back. There was a giant statute of someone I could not identify. It did not quite look like Imperius. While the outside had looked reasonably well cared for, the inside was clearly abandoned.

“You said underneath? I don’t see a way down.” Lucy said while looking around.

“It might be hidden somehow. I don’t see any illusions, or magic, maybe there is a mechanism? Or the church is not connected to it and the entrance is elsewhere. Could be the sewers?” I had to admit that my bond did not tell me anything about the building Iris was in. Just a direction.

“Screw it.” Lucy said and inhaled. Lightning formed in her mouth.

My eyes widened, then lightning filled the room. Of course we were both immune to the element. Otherwise this would have ended badly as Lucy unleashed a massive attack against the floor. Hopefully she did not crush our allies in the process.

Stone flew everywhere as she tore the ground apart. I drew my sword and deflected some of the debris. While Lucy’s plan was not well thought through, and rather impulsive, it was effective. When the dust settled we had a hole. There was clearly a large room beneath us. Lucy wasted no time jumping down. I was still sitting on her back and held on to her fur.

I looked around the room. It might have been a mess hall. There were clearly some tables, benches and chairs. There were also some strange looking soldiers. Their skin was grey, they were bald and their head was covered in runes. They looked human, mostly.

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They did not talk. They simply drew their weapons and attacked.

“Careful, those are magic weapons.” I warned her.

Lightning started to cover her fur. I had seen that before but now I was sitting on her back. It was even more impressive up close. I felt connected to it. I pointed my hand at an enemy and unleashed a lightning bolt. Part of Lucy’s aura reinforced my magic, just like my storm did.

While she tore into the enemy with claws and teeth I provided magical support. I still had my sword to stab anyone coming too close but mostly I tried to keep her flanks clear with magic. The enemy soldiers were not heavily armoured but their skin seemed to be reinforced, somehow. But it was not enough to stop us.

Then a cloud of smoke appeared and transformed into a man. Or at least, I thought he was a man. It was hard to tell with the hood he wore.

“Let’s talk.” He said.

“No. You have taken one of mine. There shall be no talking, no forgiveness, only punishment.” I responded.

“What she said.” Lucy confirmed, then charged. Some of his minions tried to block the way and slowed us down. It allowed the man to hastily cast a spell.

An angry black cloud shot towards us. I did not like the look of it, especially since it seemed to corrode the stone floor. I used devour magic on the cloud while Lucy dodged.

My own black smoke rose hungrily. And it devoured the spell. Sadly the man did not hesitate and was already casting again.

The corpses of our slain foes began to glow. Then their flesh dissolved and their bones began to rise.

So we were fighting a necromancer. Maybe the mage was an undead himself. I did not have anything to specifically kill undead but lightning should do just fine. But it did keep us away from the mage.

I formed a mental connection with Lucy and telepathically told her: “Deal with the skeletons, I will teleport to the mage.”

“Ok. This should not take long.” She responded.

I enacted my plan and appeared behind the caster. He almost dodged but I cut him in the shoulder. There was blood on my sword. I looked at the strange liquid and frowned. It was not red, it was dark blue.

But the sight distracted me and allowed the mage to get another spell of. He summoned something. The creature looked like a female elf with a body made of shadows. Was this an elemental? Were there death elementals?

Red glowing eyes stared at me. “Oh my. Such a nice slaughter. You should have called me sooner.” She licked her lips and displayed a lot of teeth. “I will enjoy your flesh.”

“My elemental is cuter.” I responded.

“YOU DARE? DIE!” She screeched and summoned a black scythe.