Ira took off with a powerful leap, gracefully flying over the pool of blood and landing on the far left side of the room in front of a wooden door. She grabbed the pole that was on her back and jammed it into the ground, forcing it to stand upright.

In a swift movement, she threw off the cloak that she had on, revealing the shorts and tube top she wore. Emil’s eyes were quickly drawn to the cloth that was wrapped around her chest and her right arm. Similar to the pole on her back, there were array papers plastered on top. Her right leg was wrapped in similar fashion.

He realized that his previous assumption that her weapon had protective wards on it was wrong--they were sealing arrays. Because now, he could sense something pulsating underneath. The longer his eyes focused on the seals, the slower his heart rate became… there was something strange.

Ira became more of an enigma.

A sinister grin formed on Ira’s face as she turned to look back at him. “I can smell them. Come.”

Emil nodded and walked over to her. “A basement?” he surmised as she opened up the door, seeing the staircase that lead downwards.

“This place must not have been the necromancer’s originally. There’s still an artificial sun that emits light. The ghouls are weak to it, so they’ve been ordered to wait underground before feedings.” Ira could easily deduce what was happening and began walking down the old, rickety staircase after grabbing her weapon.

“It’s possible that the previous owner of this space died and they stole the array. They’re not skilled managing it, though, which is why it’s shattering.” Emil closed the door and followed after her.

“Why bother with this then? They won’t be able to utilize this area much longer and won’t have any other choice but to let their ghouls out.”

Emil considered her words. “There has to be a reason why their upgrading their undead in this manner. After all, if they continue on, people will figure it out and place a bounty on them.”

“They’re in a hurry,” Ira guessed based off of what he said. “Or else they wouldn’t need to get this much fuel within a short amount of time. Could be that they’re trying to get the most out of the space before it breaks.”

“That’s possible.” Emil tried to think as they continued on the way. After all, they were going to have to confront the necromancers if they wanted to get out after handling the ghouls. He wanted to leave now, but there was no way that would be possible. If they tried to leave by avoiding the necromancer, they’d be confronted by the trio waiting outside the dimensional gate. “What do you think our chances are of getting out?”

“The ghouls shouldn’t be too much of a problem. We’re expecting them and without the necromancer’s direct control, they’re nothing. That old man outside seemed pretty powerful. I didn’t get the usually sticky feeling from him that necromancers have, though,” Ira said. “One of the women must be, right? Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention to them.”

Emil shook his head. “I think the necromancer didn’t show their face. They might be in the group that went inside.”

“Oh?”

“Like you said, without the undead being controlled, they can be dispatched pretty easily. Mindless beasts wouldn’t stand a chance against fifty mercenaries, even if there was double the amount. Ghouls aren’t powerful enough on their on. But, with the necromancer directing them, their strength increases substantially. If they want to succeed, they came in here with everyone else. My guess is that the necromancer is going to try and weaken the group some before attacking. They more than likely took control over the majority of the mercenaries here and would be able to mislead them when they see the foyer… So, we should have time.”

Ira clicked her tongue. “They’ll probably charge here when they senses that we’re attacking their ghouls, though.”

“Damn…” Emil felt a bit irritated. If they hadn’t charged off immediately, they might have been able to find out who the necromancer was based off their reaction when they entered the portal. But at the same time, they were completely ignorant to everything up until five minutes ago. In fact, if they hadn’t rushed ahead… Emil didn’t think that he would’ve died, but they would lose the advantage they had gained now.

“The necromancer takes care of the people inside and if anyone escapes, the old man probably deals with them,” Ira stated to speak. Her voice trembled, “He’s stronger than both of us right now.”

Emil glanced at Ira, positive that he hadn’t detected fear. Sure enough, her eyes were wide open and shaking with excitement and he could feel her bloodlust leaking out.

She’s crazy.

Emil was not a coward, but he had planned on running from Reynold. The only way he stood a chance was by revealing his strength, which he had been ordered not to do. Which meant that his best bet was to get away to the safety of Alma City.

“Reynold’s probably at the Aurum or Adamentam rank. You don’t stand a chance… especially if it’s the latter.”

Ira grabbed her violently trembling right hand with her left. “I know.”

“So, you shouldn’t fight him.” Emil’s eyes focused on how the writing on the array papers emitted a faint, red glow.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Ira responded plainly as they reached the end of the staircase. There was another wooden door, and the foul smell of the ghouls was at its strongest. “Can’t you see we’re birds of a feather?”

At her words, he glanced back up at her face only to see her smiling dryly at her wrapped arm.

“I wonder.”

He did not think they were. But, there was certainly a similarity.

Emil pinched his nose as Ira pushed the door open, allowing them to step inside before shutting it behind her.

There was the faint sound of many voices moaning in the distance. There were no torches down here, so they were completely in the dark. Emil was not very bothered by it and neither was Ira, but she still light a small flame using magic. The softly glowing orb bobbed above their heads, allowing them to see a few feet in front of them.

“I’m going to charge forth,” Ira said. “There’s no point in wasting any time.”

“All right…” She wasn’t wrong. It was better to move quickly right now.

Emil watched in mild interest as she adopted a strange stance, holding the pole tightly. Her eyes began to glow, white magic circles appearing and spinning in her irises. At her feet, two crimson circles appeared and spun rapidly. The stone underneath her showed signs of caving in and Ira shot off, disappearing in a flash of red light. The blast of wind made Emil’s clothing and hair whip around wildly for a second and she had disappeared from his vision.