Alain was the second one of them to enter the spire, just behind Az. He wasn't sure what he'd expected inside of it, but it certainly wasn't this. Somehow, it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside – the exterior of the spire took up a city block, while the interior stretched to cover multiple. It was nearly pitch-black inside, with the only sources of light coming from the holes in the walls, where the moonlight mixed with the falling rain of blood cast a dim crimson glow across the floor; this provided just enough light that they weren't moving around completely blindly, but even then, their sight lines were massively reduced even compared to how things were on the outside outside.

One thing was clear, though – the spire was far too big inside for them to move as a group and expect to cover all that ground in time. They were going to have to split up.

"Okay…" Father Alex ventured. He pointed to several of his priests. "You, you, and you – split into groups and start searching. I'll take a group of my own." He looked over to Alain. "You four as well. If you find the right path, send someone back to alert the others."

Sable's eyes narrowed. "Is splitting up truly wise at this point in time?"

"No, but we don't have a choice. This place is enormous – we won't be able to cover enough ground in time to find what we're looking for, especially not if we run into opposition like I expect us to."

"He's right," Alain interjected. He motioned with his head. "Come on. Let's not waste any more time."

With that, they all split into groups, each of them taking a different part of the spire to investigate. Alain, for his part, looked around until he found a set of stairs leading down further below. He swallowed nervously at the sight of them; they'd entered at ground level, meaning that the stairs were going to take them deep underground.

Of course, he didn't get a chance to back out, as Az suddenly pushed past him and began to descend.

"Into the belly of the beast, it would seem," Az grunted as he began to move down the stairs.

Sable went after him, and that was enough for Alain to swallow his fear and apprehension and follow their example. Danielle required no coaxing as well; she simply brought up the rear right behind him, though judging by the way her grip on her rifle was shaking, he could tell she was afraid.

Alain was about to try and reassure her when a series of far-off gunshots shattered the silence that had fallen over them, causing Danielle to jump a bit, her grip on her rifle turning white-knuckled.

"Easy," Alain assured her. "Those aren't nearby."

"I know," she replied. "But just the thought that some of the others have already encountered resistance… Christ alive, this place gives me the creeps…"

"Yeah, you and me both. But we'll get through it in the end – the three of us have been through worse, after all."

"You sure about that?" Sable asked without looking back. "Because last I checked, it wasn't raining blood in New Orleans."

Alain's brow furrowed. She certainly had a point – for as bad as New Orleans had been, it hadn't been quite this strange. Something big was coming, the only question was what it was and how close it was to making its appearance.

The staircase began to wind down, and through the darkness, Alain was able to make out pinpricks of light down below – torches hanging on the walls. That was enough for the four of them to double their pace, all to reach the light a little bit sooner. Once they got to the first torch, Alain slung his shotgun and drew his revolver in one hand, then took the torch off the wall with the other, then continued walking.

"Is that wise?" Sable asked. "You'll be painting a target on yourself by carrying that thing."

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"That may be so, but at least we'll be able to see easier," he said. "Personally, I'd rather not be in the dark in here. Just a bad feeling I've got."

"You're not the only one…" Danielle muttered. "Doesn't anyone else find it strange that we haven't encountered anything yet? I mean, the outside world is swarming with demons right now."

"It's not just you. They're planning something, we just don't know-"

At that moment, they finally reached the base of the stairs. And the instant they did, Alain realized they were at the end of a long hallway.

They'd inadvertently walked into a perfect firing position for anyone set up at the other end.

"Down!" Alain called, tossing the torch down the hallway as far as he could before diving to the ground.

The moment he hit the floor, bullets began to fly at them from down the hall. Rounds cracked over Alain's head, missing him by inches; he grit his teeth as he carefully unslung his shotgun, then looked around at his friends. Az was the only one who hadn't bothered to take cover; instead, he'd opted to simply soak up as much ammo as possible, all while readying his Gatling gun. His front side had been riddled with bullets, but he remained standing, injured but very much still alive.

And then he began to operate his gun's crank, and the incoming rounds vanished under a trail of .45-70 rounds.

The earlier gunshots had been loud, but in these confined spaces, Az's gun was downright deafening. Alain winced, covering his ears with his hands; Danielle did the same, all while Sable rushed over to Az with more ammunition at the ready. After just a few seconds, his Gatling gun ran dry, and he began to reload, all while Alain carefully uncovered his ears and reached for his discarded shotgun.

"Sable, I need you with me," he said. "Danielle, Az, keep us covered."

"What are you going to do?" Danielle asked.

"Make sure it's clear," Alain answered as Sable came up alongside him.

Together, the two of them advanced through the hall. It was dead silent, with not even the sounds of wounded men there to reach their ears; either Az had killed all of them with his initial volley of fire, or the survivors had gotten wise and retreated after being met with an onslaught of bullets. Either way, one thing was clear – the end of the hall held nothing but bullet-riddled bodies.

"Guess we know where the cultists are…" Alain muttered, his gaze landing on a figure in a red robe who was now missing most of his head.

Sable nodded, then turned back down the hall. "It's safe!"

A moment later, Danielle and Az came running up. Danielle visibly recoiled at the sight of the mutilated bodies and gore coating the floor and ground, but offered no protests. Alain, meanwhile, couldn't help but eye Az carefully.

He was covered in bullet wounds across his front, though thankfully, none had struck him in the head. His upper body was a mess, and his suit was ruined, but he seemed no worse for wear. Still, Alain couldn't help but be concerned for him.

"You okay?" Alain questioned.

"Perfectly fine," Az replied. "Shall we keep moving?"

"Are you sure? Because you're currently riddled with bullets and leaking like a sieve-"

"I will be okay, believe me."

"You sure you don't want to do that thing you did to heal yourself-"

Az's eyes narrowed. "Not here and not now. Come, we should press onwards."

He stepped past Alain, continuing down the hall. Danielle went after him; Alain paused long enough to share a glance with Sable, but she only shrugged.

He let out a small, tired sigh, and then the two of them kept moving.

XXX

Alain covered his ears yet again as Az's Gatling gun roared, the sound reverberating off the walls of the underground. Bullets soared through the air, impacting against flesh and bone, leaving nothing but carnage in their wake.

It hadn't taken them long to find where the surviving cultists from the first room had fled to. They'd retreated deeper into the underground, and tried to set up a chokepoint at another hallway. Apparently, they hadn't expected Az to have enough ammo to spare for them. They'd been wrong, which was why they were all currently lying on the ground, dead or dying.

With the fight now over, Sable helped Az reload, then advanced upon the few dying men still clinging to life and finished them with a stomp to the head that shattered their skulls. A disgusted look crossed her face as she kicked brain matter and bone shards off her boots, but she otherwise showed no reaction to what she'd just done.

"Come," she said to the rest of them. "The way forward is clear."

Alain stepped up to her, the rest of them flanking him. Az again moved up to the front, prompting Alain to take a careful look at him. He didn't seem to be slow or lethargic in the slightest; if anything, he actually seemed to be slowly but surely healing. The rivers of black blood from his myriad bullet wounds had tapered off to little more than even flows, much to Alain's shock.

"Az," Alain said, getting his attention. Az looked back at him from over his shoulder, prompting Alain to say, "Why are your wounds healing on their own?"

To Alain's surprise, Az actually hesitated before letting out a small sigh. "...Don't ask questions you're not prepared to hear the answer to, Alain."

"You say that all the damn time," Alain growled. "However bad you think it is, we can handle it-"

"No," Az replied, cutting him off. "No, you cannot. And even if you could, the terms of my contract are not up to me. Or did you forget that?"

"Az," Sable gently chastised.

Az let out a short, sharp exhale. "...Sorry, my lady; I did not intend for my tone to be so sharp."

"That's not what I meant. Alain has a point. When are you going to start telling us?"

"Again, that isn't up to me. But even if it was, there are certain things that I still cannot reveal, for reasons I cannot say."

"Alright, fine, whatever," Alain conceded. "Just as long as you're on our side."

"You have my word that I am," Az instantly replied.

"Fine, then. What's your ammo look like?"

"I believe I have enough to handle another engagement or two like that."

"Good. Hopefully, we don't-"

Alain suddenly paused as the four of them turned down another hallway, a strange sound washing over them. It only took a moment for him to realize what it was – there were more cultists up ahead, and they were chanting. Instantly, Alain snapped his weapon to his shoulder and took off running, the others following after him. He came bursting out into a large chamber well-lit by numerous torches, in the center of which about two dozen red-robed cultists stood gathered around something. Alain was just about to raise his weapon and start firing when Danielle cut him off with a single word that made him freeze.

"Father?!"