The world stretched my insides, but I flexed and my mana solidified, resisting the tearing chaos that was the transportation between dimensions.

Magnus and Zharia were protected in my arms, and they hunkered down.

I scrunched up, keeping Sereza's legs trapped and attached.

I wouldn't let go.

We zipped through the whirling colors until the light flashed and the stretching stopped. The limb wrapped around us continued to pull forward, forcing us into a roll across solid ground.

Magnus bit down, and sucked in the mana, while Zharia sank her talons into the appendage and released a torrent of flames.

The arm expanded like a balloon before it blew up and coated us in sizzling liquid. We rolled and I held out my arm to stop us.

Snap!

My wrist broke and I swallowed the yelp while Sereza banged her horns into my back.

"Fuck!" I spat.

"I heard something break," Sereza whispered.

"Yeah, my fucking arm."

I channeled my mana and weaved it into Verdant Healer. Áine appeared and slapped her hands onto my chest. Her skill activated and mana rushed to repair the broken bone.

After it was healed, I had her heal Sereza while I stood up and brandished my spear.

We were alone.

The portal had spit us out in the middle of an empty square. Abandoned buildings surrounded all sides, dilapidated and in varying states of ruin.

"See anything?" Sereza asked as she stood up.

"Master! Are you okay?!" Sturmrorex shouted in my head.

"Yes. How's Eodyne and the others?"

"Eodyne is good. Others are gone! Where are you?!"

"Unknown, still in the Underground. Protect Eodyne."

Sturmrorex's worry bled through the link, but I pushed it to the back of my mind.

"On my honor!" he agreed.

I exhaled and watched Áine heal the rest of Sereza's injuries. Broken pinky and, effectively, road rash on her arms, it was healed within seconds as the little fairy pumped her full of mana.

When she was done, Áine rushed into my hoodie and secured herself behind my neck while Magnus stood by my feet and Zharia clutched my shoulder.

I scanned the area, even closed my eyes and tried to sense for mana signatures.

"No," I said. "I sense nothing."

"What in the hells? We're still in the Underground, but I don't recognize where."

Sereza placed her back to mine and we circled slowly, but a minute went by and nothing attacked us.

"Magnus? Do you feel anything?" I asked.

Magnus shook his head.

"Zharia, be careful, but go scout."

"On it!" she chirped.

She took off and I closed my eyes.

"Look-out?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Zharia flew up past the rows of destroyed buildings, but not before zipping outside the windows and checking each floor.

It was a long shot, but the enemy could be hiding anywhere.

The first quarter to our left was barren, the buildings in an even worse state than the ones near us. The northern quarter had a massive crater leading into an abyss so I had her ignore it and move on.

Where the hell are you?

"Go east," I instructed.

Zharia flew up and crested above a tall tower-like structure before she stopped.

"Master!"

"I see it, come back, we'll-"

Zharia squawked as something heavy bound her wings tight and dragged her to the ground.

"Zharia!"

I canceled the skill, and my soul was yanked as mana rushed toward me.

"Cyrus?" Sereza asked.

I grunted as Zharia's weight slammed into my chest, the ethereal mana-like jagged edges of glass.

"Zharia was captured. Robed dude in a blood circle to the east." I panted. "Shadow lady by his feet."

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"The Gatekeeper is still alive? Why? Why grab her?" Sereza scowled.

"No idea, but I think she was the target. We were simply collateral."

"Engage or retreat?"

I licked my lips and rubbed at my chest. Áine tried to heal, but it didn't help.

I didn't recall my familiars when they were far away for a reason; I knew instinctively that it'd fuck me up and strain my soul.

"Up to you."

She bit her lip and her tail lashed the air. "I don't like it. I want to know, but we shouldn't be stupid. Let's retreat for now and try to regroup with the others. If we can't find them, we go to Teddy's parents."

I wanted to skewer the bastard, but she was right.

"Fine, let's go."

She patted my shoulder and reached down to scoop up Magnus.

"If you're hurt, I'll carry him. Let's get out of here."

We made it to the edge of the square before I sensed a pillar of mana to our right. Magnus roared and I dived, slamming Sereza to the ground.

A massive, clawed hand swiped through the air.

Magnus slashed with his claws and sent out five lines of crimson energy. They impacted the forearm of the creature, but instead of damaging it, the slashes rippled and were sucked away.

What?

The creature was bipedal and huge. It stood over seven feet with shoulders wider than me and Sereza combined. Two clawed hands, each claw the size of our fist, dragged across the floor. it stared with a gaping maw.

It had no eyes, only a stretch of bright red skin across a bulbous face.

I rolled to my right and slashed forward. The blade of my spear sliced through its arm but was stopped halfway as it impacted something hard.

Damnit.

Sereza was up, and she sent a salvo of spectral daggers that were absorbed.

She pulled on my robe and lifted me up while moving backward. Magnus was at our feet but he kept his energy contained.

We backed up, but the creature didn't move.

"Surround and destroy?"

"My attacks did no damage."

I sent mana into Galarion's skill and he appeared. He kept himself transparent, instantly diving into my head before extending his tentacles outward.

Galarion recoiled.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"No thoughts!"

My eyes narrowed. "Galarion says it has no thoughts,"

We continued to back up, but its finger twitched, and we stopped. I held my spear in front of us, ready to intercept, while Sereza funneled mana into her daggers.

"Go right, I go left?"

I nodded and bent low, but Galarion screamed a warning.

"Capture!"

Blood met bone. Toxic mana was sucked away as the creature's flesh enveloped my spear. It swung downward, but Sereza jumped, spinning her tail as it cut across its head.

Her tail met the same resistance as my spear, but the creature was staggered.

I tugged my spear back and Magnus slashed his claws across its ankles.

A torrent of blood-red energy was siphoned away, and he slashed again before a meaty foot launched him across the square.

I charged in and thrusted upward. I aimed for the chest. The blade met something hard and stopped but pushed the creature back.

Sereza hopped onto my spear and twisted, slamming her daggers into the same spot. An explosion of yellow acid bubbled away and she wrapped her tail around my waist before pulling me out of range.

"Think I got it?"

I couldn't see; the acid created thick smoke as it ate away the stone.

"Stall!" Galarion shouted.

Before I could shout the warning, another blood appendage snatched Sereza's belt and dragged her backward. I turned and stabbed forward, but something heavy barreled into me and slammed me down.

I coughed blood and my fangs chipped. Áine rushed to heal me. She couldn’t as I was dragged across the ground before being lifted into the air and carried like a sack of potatoes.

"Master!" Magnus roared.

I extended my arm and channeled Spirit Lord's Invocation. His body broke apart and the motes of light rushed into my skin.

Fur sprouted, and crystals grew a second layer over it. I clutched onto the creature's shoulder but didn't activate Magnus' skill.

The creature holding me was smaller, more compact, and its form reduced after Sereza's acid. It moved fast, chasing the arm that carried Sereza through the winding maze of broken buildings.

If the size reduced its physical capabilities I couldn't tell.

Sereza didn't scream but continuously stabbed at the appendage and unleashed her skills. She locked eyes and saw my claws. She nodded and stabbed her daggers into the appendage. Mana swelled, but she didn't release.

"Galarion, thoughts!"

"Return to Master!" Galarion shouted.

"Come out,"

He exited my skull and flopped onto my face. I stabbed into the creature's head and sucked away the mana. Its form destabilized, rippling outward.

But it didn't stop running.

"Go inside, try to wrestle control."

I had no idea if it would work, but it was a better option than nothing.

The thing had to be a puppet or a summon. It didn't think on its own.

Galarion slid forward and dyed himself red, becoming nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the creature's body.

I pulled out my claws, and the skin surged into place.

Where are you taking us...

It didn't take long with the speed of the limb and the creature, we arrived at the square with the robed figure within seconds.

Before the arm retracted, Sereza unleashed her skill and exploded the limb before turning into a cloud of gas. She flew up and solidified behind me.

As she fell, she sliced into the arm carrying me and I activated Magnus' skill. Mana rushed into the receptacles, swirling inside.

Solid blood.

The mana tasted, smelled, and felt like congealed blood. I pulled enough and slipped free. As blood rained down, I rolled and slammed into the creature's back, knocking it forward.

It landed an inch away from the ritual circle, coming to a stop as if held back by an unseen force.

The robed figure lowered their hands and stared.

At his feet, looking a hell of a lot more pale than before, was the Gatekeeper. Her wrists were slashed open, with her eyes rolled back.

The creature slowly sat up, but its movements were jerky and its body was smaller than before.

I checked through the link and Galarion was still whole.

"Well, you got us here, weirdo. What now?" Sereza shouted.

No response.

Instead, he lifted his leg and slammed a booted foot onto the Gatekeeper's chest. Blood gushed out and joined the circle, squirming into sigils and runes before settling.

Sereza sighed and flicked a spectral dagger. It zipped through the air, but the creature extended its arm and caught it, absorbing the attack.

Another stomp. Blood oozed and the Gatekeeper groaned as she frothed at the mouth.

I could feel it. The amount of mana leaking from the woman and into the circle was insane. As a tier three her mana pool had to be high, and every ounce of it was sucked away as more of her blood flowed into the ritual.

It felt like solid air against the crystal skin. I didn't siphon it, the figure would know.

"If you let us leave, we don't have to fight," I said.

A third stomp.

I crouched low and gripped my spear. Acid dripped from the tip while Sereza dipped her daggers into one of the vials she kept in her bandolier.

"Galarion?"

"Ready!"

I grinned.

The robed figure raised their arms, and lines of hazy red swirled before their palms. A long arm snaked out from behind their robe and grasped the air.

"Now."

Galarion drained away an entire chunk of my manapool but the creature stilled. The robed figure turned in response but couldn’t react in time. The creature grasped the robes and slashed up. Fabric tore and the man yelped. Before the creature could grab him, its arm exploded and was torn to shreds by a wave of red flames. It scattered the blood mana and drove it across the ground before the flames morphed into black dust.

Sereza stood up and gaped.

Now exposed, the man clutched their bleeding arm and thumped the ground repeatedly with his tail.

A felkin?

"You!" Sereza shouted.

The felkin stared like a deer in headlights and took a step back.

"Sereza?" I asked while standing up.

Galarion floated through the air and landed on my head before diving in. He was exhausted, but he managed to escape the creature's body before it was torn apart.

Sereza visibly shook and her tail stabbed forward like an accusing finger.

"Lezka?! What the fuck are you doing?!"