Well, the fight with the demon ended faster than Liam expected, and it definitely went in his favor this time.
He had been staring the thing down for what felt like forever.
His sword heavy in his grip, sweat dripping down his back even though the underground air was cool and damp.
His heart hammered against his ribs. This was it. He thought ’I should go for it’.
This is the only chance I’ve got. No room for mistakes, no second tries.
He lunged forward without another second of hesitation and drove his sword straight into the demon’s head.
The blade sank in with a wet crunch, and the creature let out one final.
A Gurgling roar before its body went limp and dropped to the stone floor like a sack of rocks.
Liam yanked the sword free, breathing hard, his arms shaking a little from the effort.
Alright, I got it, he thought, a quick rush of relief hitting him. One less monster to worry about.
But the relief lasted maybe two heartbeats.
From near the door, Anos the black knight lunged at him like a shadow coming to life.
Liam barely had time to turn before a gloved hand clamped around his throat and lifted him clean off the ground. His feet kicked uselessly in the air.
The grip was iron-tight, cutting off his air, and panic flared hot in his chest.
He grabbed Anos’s arm with both hands and pulled, trying to pry it loose, but it wouldn’t budge an inch.
It felt like trying to bend a steel bar with his bare fingers. Come on, damn it, he thought, vision starting to spot.
In a desperate move, he glanced at his level through the system window that popped up in his mind.
His stomach dropped. Fifty-two. "You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered, or tried to the words come out as a choked rasp.
Anos’s level had shot way higher than before. How the hell was he supposed to fight something like that?
Crya, standing close by, had already been one step ahead.
The moment the black knight showed up, she had started muttering the words for a mega-level cryo spell under her breath.
Now she has finished it. A blast of freezing blue energy shot out and slammed into the arm holding Liam up.
Ice spread fast, thick and white, locking the limb solid in seconds.
Liam saw the opening and swung his sword hard.
The frozen arm cracked like glass under the blow and shattered into pieces.
He dropped to the floor, knees buckling, and coughed violently, sucking in greedy breaths.
His throat burned like fire. Once he could talk again, he glared up at the knight and shouted,
"How the hell are you present whenever I go anywhere? It’s like you’ve got a damn tracker on me!"
Anos didn’t answer right away. Instead, the knight reached up with the remaining hand and pulled off the helmet.
Long white hair tumbled out, cascading down the back of the dark armor.
Liam’s breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t a man under there at all.
It was a girl white hair framing a face with the most striking blue eyes he had ever seen.
She was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that made his brain stutter for a second. He had never seen anyone who looked like that.
She stared at him with that same cold, calm expression, like none of this bothered her. "It was you," she said simply.
Then she reached into a pouch on her armor and pulled out a small piece of cloth. "I could find you with this."
Liam tilted his head, still rubbing his sore neck. "How? Did you just follow my smell all the way here or something?"
She shook her head once. "No. I have a skill that lets me track you if I have something of yours like clothes."
Liam nodded slowly, the pieces clicking together even though it still sounded crazy.
"But why did you work for Simon? You were with him the whole time?"
She tilted her head a little, like the question surprised her.
"It was the only way to get inside the walls without drawing attention.
Plus, it wasn’t just me. There was a whole army of monsters waiting."
Liam wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Why did you want to meet me again, then?"
Her voice stayed flat and cold. "To resume our duel from last time."
Liam gave a wry smile. He remembered that last fight all too clearly he had almost died.
And from the way she was looking at him now, she wasn’t about to accept no for an answer.
Without another word, both of them raised their swords.
They clashed right there in the middle of the chamber, metal ringing against metal.
Liam swung and blocked, but he could barely keep up. She moved like water fast, smooth, every strike precise.
He was already breathing hard, muscles burning, while she looked like she still had all the time in the world to breathe easy.
Then she lunged forward. Her blade grazed his cheek, a sharp sting followed by the warm trickle of blood.
Liam pressed a hand to the cut and stared at the red on his fingers. This is dangerous, he realized, stomach twisting.
He had barely pulled his head back in time. One slip and that would have been his neck.
He remembered the cryo spell Crya had used earlier. "Crya!" he yelled. "Hit her with that spell again!"
Crya’s voice came back strained. "This one takes time to prepare!"
Liam cursed under his breath. No time to wait around. He glanced at the other girls still in the room. "Help me out here now!"
They didn’t hesitate. Olivia darted in, dodging and weaving to distract Anos and pull her focus.
Beatrix flung dark-type spells whenever she had a clear shot, shadows snapping out like whips.
Pyra stepped up big this time, throwing up fire shield spells around Liam every few seconds to block the worst of the attacks.
It felt like they fought for ages, but finally Crya shouted, "Liam! It’s ready!"
His heart jumped. "Great! Hit her with it!"
Crya released the spell. White, glass-like ice exploded outward and locked Anos in place from her legs all the way up to her upper torso. She stood frozen solid, unable to move.
Liam didn’t waste the opening. He spun toward the cage in the corner of the room where the other girls were trapped.
He rushed over and started working the locks open with his sword and hands. "Hurry up! Follow me, I’ll take you to a good place, I promise."
The girls nodded, eyes wide and scared, but they moved fast once the bars were open.
Thanks to Crya and Beatrix throwing extra spells to clear the path and keep the way safe, everyone got out without any more trouble.
Liam stayed at the front the whole time, leading them through the twisting underground tunnels and up toward the surface.
When they finally reached the edge of the alley, fresh night air hitting his face.
Liam stopped and looked back at the dark entrance to the underground.
He thought Anos wouldn’t leave his ass anytime soon.