Tracy felt her grip tighten on her spear as she heard the voice. As if in response, the monster cackled. It shook Tracy to her core. She knew that she had a plan. But as she thought about facing the expunger face-on, with the power it had shown already, Tracy couldn’t help but doubt herself.

She looked to her side. Lula wasn’t doing so hot either. She stared blankly at a wall, probably out of fear. Her hands were over her mouth. She was afraid, and she needed Tracy’s help. Tracy pulled together all of the courage that she had. This princess had called her. She wasn’t going to fail now.

“Face me!” The expunger mocked. “I’ll make sure that it is a quick death. Eh heh.” The expunger stated. Tracy did a quick sweep of the cathedral area. Where They were in the open, they needed cover and quick. Seeing that the princess was in a daze, Tracy grabbed Lula by her collar and ran from the place they were at. There were cracks in the broken-down statues, something that she could run through. Pushing Lula forward, they swiftly ran against the edge of a figure and through one of the cracks. Tracy grabbed the princess and pressed her and herself against the wall of the statue as they heard the expunger shriek.

Lula, awake from her daze, looked at Tracy. “You said you can’t defeat the expunger without my help. What do you need me to do?” The princess said. Her stern expression returned to her face. She held up her hands, ready to cast any magic Tracy needed.

“Something to enhance this weapon, that should be it,” Tracy whispered.

Lula nodded before she waved her hands in the air, beads of blue light forming again. This time, the beads gathered together into an orb before changing into a yellow color.

“Thunder enhancement.” The princess spoke. Tracy watched as the yellow orb burst, the yellow fragments traveling to the tip of her spear. As Tracy examined the spear, it hummed in her hand, and the tip crackled with electricity. Tracy looked in surprise at the princess. “I don’t know what plan you have.” The princess said. “But this is the best spell that I have.”

She tried standing up before the princess grabbed her by her jacket. Tracy turned around to Lula. She embraced Tracy. “Thank you.” She said. Tracy smiled, hugging her back and patting her on the head.

“Everything will be okay,” Tracy said. Then, as if fate overheard their conversation, she heard something snapping, something bone-like. It was followed by the same tearing of flesh that she had heard before.

Tracy stood at the ready, looking from side to side for where the expunger would strike. When Tracy didn’t see it, she looked up. The head of the Expunger had popped up from above the statue where they were at. It was the head of a half-human, half-snake. Something that snarled with long fangs curved together into a twisted grin. Tracy’s eyes met the expunger’s slitted pupils before it opened its fanged mouth.

Tracy held her spear in a defensive position, just like she had seen in Future. The head sprang down at her, its neck elongating as it struck. Tracy braced as its head hit her spear. She used all her strength to push back against the attack, but she still felt herself slide on the rubble. Her feet barely found purchase against a stone, pushing back against it.

She looked into the eyes of the monster. A deep hatred filled its red pupils. As if attacking Tracy was fulfilling a deep grudge against her. Using her head, Tracy headbutted the expunger. The head grunted before reeling back behind the wall. Tracy huffed as she changed her stance to one ready to pierce the expunger as it came through.

That plan quickly changed as Tracy saw part of the statue in front of her crack. Tracy and Lula stepped back. The statue exploded into dust and rubble. Tracy watched as Lula transitioned an orb from grey to bright orange.

A horrifying combination of scale and skin walked out in front of them. The expunger was tall and slender and wore a blue ball gown. It wore a sadistic grin complemented by claws that twitched, ready to tear through flesh. It walked forward gracefully towards them.

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“Flame Burst!” Lula shouted as the orange orb shot at the expunger, streaking the air with flame. The expunger set out its hand. Tracy saw the flesh on its palm contort before the ball struck the expunger. It exploded, bathing the monster in sticky flames.

“Nice try, princess.” The expunger said as it walked out from the flames unscathed. “But I’ve learned something to help against the flames.” It mocked. Tracy held her spear steady, but she felt her heart rate increase as her hands shook on her spear. Tracy ushered Lula behind her. She tensed her muscles like a spring, ready to strike at the expunger if it tried anything.

“Eh heh HAHAHA!” The expunger laughed, holding its stomach as it doubled over in a fit. Tracy kept her posture, but her heart sank as the expunger laughed at her. “Aren’t you a cute little thing!” It continued, walking up closer and closer to Tracy. A smile on its face as it closed in.

Tracy pointed the tip of her spear right at its face. The expunger put up its hands before backing up. Tracy felt her heart beat out of her chest as she looked at the monster’s folded arms and sly expression. It was toying with her.

“Quite a find that you got here, princess. This one is much more brave than the last one you pulled here.” Tracy gritted her teeth before she stole a glance back at Lula. Lula was looking at the ground with her hands in fists. “What was his name, something like Brian? He sure was a tasty one. How he begged for mercy as I ripped into him was so entertaining!”

It looked over at Tracy, barring its fangs. “Move aside, earthling. You can’t win this fight.”

“Wrong!” Tracy said as she looked firmly into its eyes. “I have been looking forward to a fight, and you seem like a good warm-up.” She mustered all of the bravado that she could. The expunger displayed no reaction.

“Really?” The expunger questioned. It moved forward, closer and closer to Tracy’s spear. It got close enough that it was only centimeters away from its head. “You really think that you can take me on with this?” It scoffed. Tracy tried to hold her resolve as much as she could, but even then, she felt her arms quiver.

“You're an ant! One that scurried away from its hive!” The expunger said. Tracy backed up until she hit the wall behind her. “I just need to squish you! That wouldn’t be too hard for me. I’ll give you props for your bravery and show some mercy.” It held out its hand. “Give me back the princess. She scurried out of her cage again.” It reasoned.

Tracy refused to move, even though she felt more of the questions well up inside herself. However, the expunger cut the thought quickly as its hand made a horrid ripping sound. Tracy watched as its claws grew longer till they were almost the size of knives. Tracy still stood her ground.

“If anything, an ant like you needs protection as well. Stand there like a good, obedient girl, or I’ll kill you.” The expunger said, lowering its claw.

Tracy felt her heart begin to pulse with the expunger’s insults. If anything, this creature pissed her off and crossed the line. She had a plan. She needed to go forward with it, no matter how afraid she was, even if it was to prove to herself that she was something more than a dainty little flower.

“You’re a bully!” Tracy stated. “And I’ve got news for you. Piss off!” As Tracy finished. She jabbed her spear at the expunger. Its head cracked, elongating its neck, going in for a bite on Tracy’s neck. As Tracy saw this, she released her backhand from her spear and threw a wad of concrete dust and pebbles into its eyes. The expunger screamed as Tracy jumped to the side. The monster’s head slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch.

“Move!” She shouted to Lula. They both ran, dodging the randomly thrown stones during the expunger’s fit.

“YOU INSECT!” The expunger said. Tracy looked behind her. The expunger was still reeling from the pain as it used its head to smash into everything that was close by. “ DON’T THINK YOU’LL ESCAPE ME. I’LL HUNT YOU DOWN! I’LL MAKE YOU SCREAM!”

She watched as the monster contorted its body, pulverizing everything and anything in its path as it shrieked. Still, it had also created a massive dust cloud in its rage. Tracy smirked. The monster was playing right into her hands. Tracy looked over at Lula, who had a grey orb in her hand.

“Hide Presence!” she shouted as the orb burst, each of the particles filling both Tracy and Lula. Tracy silently thanked her. It was the one thing that was integral to her plan. Lula split off from Tracy, hiding among the ruins on the outskirts of the room.

Tracy noted that she couldn’t even hear her once she was out of sight. It was probably the magic, meaning the Expunger would feel the same. Tracy spun her spear around before she looked back at where the expunger was. It was her turn—time to see if her insane logged hours in games translated to being a hero.