Lady Kalina repurposed the Portal and it blazed purple. She didn’t need to breathe anymore, but if she did, she would have taken a deep breath. Kalina walked through and appeared back outside the Spire.

“They are coming!” A voice called out.

Arrayed in tight formation before Lady Kalina were hundreds of Legionnaires, Ironfist Kingdom soldiers, and adventurer teams. It reminded her of the Monster Waves.

“Hold! Lady Kalina? Is that you? Oh, thank the One Goddess!” Alcard cried.

The Templar made his way through the ranks of soldiers so that he could hurry over toward her. If Lady Kalina could cry, tears would have streamed down her cheeks.

“You are well? What of Mina?” She asked. Worry in her cold heart.

Alcard replied, “Alive, but recovering.” He touched her cheek, and his hand pulled back.

“It is me, Alcard. Trust me,” Lady Kalina answered the unspoken question.

Alcard’s hand trembled toward his weapon.

“Who saved you?” Lady Kalina asked.

“Manfeld, and perhaps he could cure you of this affliction?” The Templar responded.

Kalina nodded. “Perhaps. I came only to see how you and Mina were doing. I need to head back.”

A dozen Guild officials approached.

“Lady Kalina,” Irvin greeted with a bow. He looked older, and he had bags under his eyes as if he had not slept in days.

“Irvin! You need to establish a Safe Zone,” she replied.

“Yes, of course. But…” the official stuttered.

“I am well, and it is safe for now. The Hold Core was removed, and the floor was powered down. I need to go assist the others. They are trapped,” Lady Kalina explained.

Irvin replied, “We know the first four floors were also powered down.”

This gave Kalina pause. “Are people trapped?”

Alcard nodded, “But there are stairwells. It is slow going to get people down.”

“It is good to know that the Portals could still be repurposed,” Irvin added.

“Well, it seems we all have work to do,” Lady Kalina said and turned to head back to the Fifth floor.

*****

Lev flew as fast as he could to the Hold Core chamber. Time was against him, and he was held up by the Fiends. Maybe it was a mistake letting them come back, Lev reflected. No, they served their purpose and sowed chaos. He just didn’t expect the adventurers to free the Hold Core so soon. But no plan was ever perfect, and he was close to achieving his ultimate goal. The Lich burst through the double doors and entered the Hold Core chamber. As he suspected, the pedestal was emptied, and the giant monolith of light was gone, replaced by a tall staircase.

“Huh, now that is a surprise,” Lev said.

Beside the pedestal was a glowing cloud of smoke and ash. The light was slowly fading. Kneeling on the ground was a young girl with a flat nose and a scarred cheek. Clearly an adventurer, Lev realized, she was armed and armored and had an athletic physique. She looked familiar, but Lev didn’t place the effort to recall where. His focus was on the Hold Core that she held in her hands.

“Let me guess,” Lev started with a chuckle. The irony was too good to let pass. “Couzart tried and failed to absorb the Hold Core?”

The young girl did not respond and the Hold Core remained in her hands. Lev narrowed his eyes and floated closer.

“Child, do you honestly believe you can absorb it where an Elite had failed?” He asked.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

No answer.

Lev noticed something. The girl was kneeling in a circle of Runes that were purposely hidden by the Darkness aspect. Realization dawned on the Lich.

“An illusion,” he said and waved his hand through the phantasm of the girl. The image faded and flickered away.

Frustration built up in his chest, but also curiosity. The Lich took a brief moment to inspect the Runes and saw that they were indeed a combination of the Light and Darkness aspects. The Light aspect to distort the wavelengths of light to create the illusion and the Darkness aspect to hide the Runes. That took a degree of skill, the Lich acknowledged, but there was no power source, so the spell could not last very long. Therefore, Lev deduced that the caster was still close by. He noticed something else and Shaped the shadows around him. His Will was enough to overpower the spell, and the shadows shifted away to reveal the girl. She was trying to sneak out of the chamber and she carried something large in her hands.

“No, not so fast,” Lev said and he quickly Summoned and Shaped the Force to cause the doors to slam shut.

With gritted teeth, she swung the thing in her hands. It was a dark-bladed scythe, the one that belonged to Couzart. The weapon sliced through Lev’s spell, and the doors were unlocked. The Lich used the Force aspect again, this time directed at her, but she swung that cursed scythe and dispelled his enchantment. She dropped the now powerless scythe and rapidly Summoned, Shaped, and Controlled the Earth aspect to launch a pair of Boulders at the Lich. Lev twirled his fingers and Shaped the boulders to sand, but the girl had fled the chamber.

“Nothing is ever easy, is it?” Lev asked no one in particular.

The Lich flew out the doors after her and paused. The chamber split into three corridors, and he heard footsteps running along all three. How was that possible? Lev cocked his head and realized she used the Earth aspect to vibrate the stone to create sounds. Now, he had a choice, which corridor to take? Lev scowled and tapped into the Mind aspect. He extended his Will outwards to detect her. With a snarl, he blasted off at tremendous speed after her.

*****

Jeze ran as fast as her legs could take her. She ran so fast that her chest started to hurt, but she pressed on. Jeze felt the Mind aspect brush up against her consciousness. She was familiar with it from her experience with Miss Heng. I need to learn that aspect, Jeze decided. She continued to run and knew that the Lich would catch her unless she achieved the next part of her plan. It was a crazy gamble, but what other choice did she have against an Elite that was almost Hero-ranked?

“Let me make a deal with you. Hand over the Hold Core, and I will let you live,” Lev conveyed the message through the mind Aspect.

Jeze kept running. She heard the swoosh of air behind her that meant the Lich was close. Jeze swore she heard the fluttering of his purple rune covered robes.

“I swear it. I have no reason to kill you,” Lev spoke in her mind.

She ignored him and continued to run. Jeze felt the Lich was trying to manipulate her, but her Will was strong. Her determination was even stronger! Jeze gritted her teeth and forced her legs to run faster, beyond their limits. She trained for moments like this. She lived a challenging life so that she could outsmart a powerful foe such as the Lich. The idea of winning invigorated her and pushed away the doubt and fatigue from her mind. Jeze grinned as she ran toward the sounds of fighting. So far, her plan was working. Just a little further, and she can initiate the next phase of her wild plan.

“I got you! You should have taken my offer!” Lev cried.

Jeze felt herself get lifted into the air. No! She was so close! But now was not the time to panic, she reminded herself. Jeze had contingencies in place for moments like this. The Lich held her with the Force aspect, but she was not yet fully trapped. Her arms and hands were free. Jeze retrieved the rune-covered Globe from her pocket and activated the Holy aspect from within it. It flared with bright, fiery light, and the Lich gasped. Jeze was released, and she landed on her feet in a sprint.

Ahead of her, the sounds of fighting intensified, and when she turned the corner, she saw what she was looking for. The hallway was filled with Demons and adventurers locked in battle. She weaved through them toward her destination. It was the hulking Greater Fiend with the one eye and thick beard. The huge Demon swung a flame-covered axe against Berserker Orn, Miss Heng, and Carl Jorgenson. The three high-ranked adventurers dodged and harried the Fiend. Gunhild stood behind the three and provided Rune magic support.

“Jeze! What are you doing?” Gunhild called out as the young girl ran past her.

This was it, Jeze thought. The final part of her crazy plan. Jeze slid on her knees to bow before the Greater Fiend. The large monster readied his axe to end her.

“Oh, great and mighty lord! I beseech you?” Jeze cried.

The Demon glared at her with one eye but paused for just a moment. That moment was all Jeze needed.

“I bring you the one you sought! The one who has evaded you for so many centuries!” Jeze cried.

The Greater Fiend cocked his head. Miss Heng struck it with magic, and Berserker Orn attacked with his axes. They didn’t even cause the large Demon to flinch. His wounds healed instantly.

“What do you speak of?” The Greater Fiend asked in a voice that rumbled like a volcano. “If I am not happy with your offering, I will burn the flesh from your bones for all eternity.”

Jeze groveled and pointed behind her where the Lich stormed after her. The Greater Fiend’s eyes went wide.

“You!” The Demon roared.

Lev stopped in mid-air, and his eyebrows raised. “Oh,” he said and glanced briefly down at Jeze. “Well played,” he added.

The Greater Fiend charged the Lich.