"Wait, Tad. Do you mean real demons? Not the cute kind like Zanna?" asked a nervous-sounding Nico.

"I think there is just one. The big ones were very powerful when we were in the hell plane, and I could easily sense them. This one is different, and I don't know-how. There is also some sort of magic shield up ahead, " said Tad tapping his staff on the floor.

Zanna was starring hard at Nico now. She said in a low, angry voice, "Cute ones like me? If that were one like me, all of you would be charmed and begging the succubus to kill you first as you knelt before her. No, this one smells like a devil, but I've never felt chaos magic like this. I've seen a thousand years of chaos magic. This magic is, as Tad said, " she paused and closed her eyes again, sensing, "different."

Lamruil loosened his swords in their scabbards. He held his bow, and he had one arrow left.

"Fine, I'll hang back and come in when I think it is needed. I have no defense against demon claws or magic, " said Nico.

Tad thought about that. They needed armor of some type. Can a Lynx wear armor? How would that work?

Tad had two lights circling above them now. He channeled some energia into his bracer, forming into a thin gauntlet over his hand. He moved the wrist, and it felt supple.

"Kettle, let me know if anything important happens, don't interrupt me once we go in, " projected Tad.

Kettle responded, "Sure thing. Don't get killed."

Tad nodded to the others and pushed against one of the doors. It swung inward. Tad sent a light in and down the corridor on the other side. The entrance was roughly ten feet, and then it opened into a chamber beyond. There was the glow of mana coming from the room and a darker glow of something that felt wrong. Tad looked on the floor. Spread across the floor were several smaller winged skeleton bodies.

"Imps," said Zanna stepping inside both hands on her mace, and Bubbles flared up. Before, Bubbles had remained dim, but now she was almost blazing as she circled Zanna. Tad wondered what she was thinking. That was brighter than Tad had ever seen her. He just nodded and stepped forward, ready to shield if needed.

Lamruil followed with Nico pacing behind in cat form, clothes in a pile in the corridor.

Zanna reached down and touched one of the skeletons on the floor. The bones looked gnawed on, and some were missing pieces. Wings were broken. Tad had killed one of these before. They were small but smart and fast.

Tad stepped to the edge of the chamber and looked inside. The chamber was a large oblong-shaped room, and there was a large pattern to one side of the room. A large altar with a huge glowing gem on it was in the back of the room. The gem was doing something to the Life mana flowing into it. The pure yellow mana was being sucked in the one side of the gem, and below, a dark flow of corrupted mana was leaving it flowing into the floor of the chamber. A thick magic shield was around the altar, Tad could sense the wrongness of the magic. Tad could sense the shield over the gem and the altar as it sat there slowly spinning, spewing its corrupted mana.

A cowled figure across the room stood in front of the altar wearing a tattered black robe. Tad couldn't see its face, but the shadow of folded wings behind it told Tad all he needed to know. The creature looked wrong, very wrong in Tad's magic sight.

A deep growl of a voice came from the robed figure, "Ah, visitors. What a delight. "

Tad heard a scuffle behind them, and Nico hissed. Two Huge Dire Rodents had entered behind them. These were much bigger than the previous ones they had fought.

Lamruil turned around, dropping his bow and pulling his blades. Lightning crackled across them as he moved back to help Nico. The creatures were five feet at the shoulder, and one leaped at Nico. The two creatures also had a ribbon of corrupted energia and mana in them.

Tad turned quickly back to the robed figure as the door boomed shut behind them sealing them all in.

Looking at Zanna, the cowled figure growled a laugh, "I've been gifted a present. You are exactly what I need. "

Tad cast a fire nozzle spell through Galadinidú, pointing it at the cowled Devil several feet away. Zanna circled to the left. The Devil just stood there as its robe and cowl burned in moments. Tad didn't think this would hurt a Devil at all. But something worried him. Demons and Devils were prideful to a fault. Why was this one covering himself? The magic he saw dancing around the monster looked wrong. Where Tad should be seeing chaos red, he was seeing brown like the color coming from the altar.

The Devil stood there for a few moments staring at Tad as his clothes disintegrated in the heat. Tad stopped. The demon was unlike any he had seen before. More than half the creature was brown, the same brown as the corrupted mana. Even its bat-like wings now spreading out were mottled with the color. It had a strong humanoid build. Its hands had long dangerous looking claws descending from each digit. The only red skin the Devil still had was its right arm and shoulder. The rest of it was an ichor-looking brown.

"We haven't even been properly introduced, and your already getting so friendly. " growled the Devil. Its right arm shot out towards Zanna, and the red of chaos fire shot from his hand in a ball. She stood there as the ball enveloped her then dissipated, and she was untouched. Bubbles continued to circle Zanna.

"Ahh, you are a demon, " said the necrotic devil creature smiling in a horible fanged tooth grin.

Tad launched at it now, dropping the flame for a shield blade on the end of his staff. He started to whirl it, and it slashed through the brown skin of the demon. The magic blade left cuts that healed almost immediately. Brown ichor flowed from its body, sealing up the wounds as fast as Tad made them. The demon used its other hand and cast a ball of brown magic at Tad. He deflected with a soulmancy shield that showed gold with multiple energia, and the shield crumpled. The brown ball stopped, but it ate the magic of his shield as if absorbing the energia.

Tad felt his internal energia drain a lot more than it should have. He slashed the Devil again, trying to hit the red of its left arm. Then, the creature turned, using a large four-foot folded wing to block Tad's staff and the magic energia blade at the end. It was healing faster than Tad could cause damage to it.

"Tad, it is cursed. That altar has infected it or cursed it. That is life magic corrupted. " said Kettle quickly.

The necrotic Devil cast a ball of brown magic at Zanna. This time Bubbles moved between it and Zanna. The brown ball hit Bubbles and curled around the spirit. Tad could hear the sizzling, and he redoubled his efforts. He was using the staff now to hammer the Devil's wing blocking him. He swung low at its legs. The demon grunted, but brown ichor healed it almost immediately.

Zanna let out a war cry when Bubbles stopped moving and stepped in fast, swinging down with her large mace hitting the Devil on his red arm. This made the demon hesitate, and it bellowed and spun around again, using its other wing to hammer Zanna, flinging her several feet back to the floor.

Well, perhaps we can hurt him on that side, thought Tad. Tad had continued to circle the Devil as he hit it. The demon turned now to Tad. Two more flaming balls flew at him: one red and one brown. The magic appears different from each of its hands.

Tad shielded against the brown flame again and dodged the red one as he stepped quickly behind the soul shield.

The brown ball of flame again absorbed his shield as it hit, but it also exploded out this time, and some of the brown flames sprayed across Tad's feet. Sizzling and burning, Tad screamed in pain as he moved back farther, throwing up another soulshield and casting heal upon the smoldering skin on his legs. Most of the material of his lower pants was charred and smoking.

The red fireball had hurled across the room into the magic of the altar. It exploded, but the altar and gem didn't flicker. The fireball had been stopped several feet from it.

Bubbles flashed then, and the brown that had covered her cracked and disappeared like mist. She glowed bright yellow. The demon turned to attack her again, shooting flames and brown magic balls of energia at her. Bubbles moved up, then she flew directly back to Zanna and started circling her again. Faster now.

Tad glanced once back at Nico and Lamruil. Nico was on top of one of the large white creatures his claws were dug deep. Lamruil was easily dodging his as blood leaked down its fur in several places.

Tad looked to his legs. The brown had been absorbed and changed by the yellow energia of the healing spell. What?

"Galadinidú, do you remember when you told me you could project my healing? Do it now," projected Tad as he again cast a heal, but this time into Galadinidú, who started to glow yellow. Tad again moved against the Devil, who was busy casting more fire and magic at Zanna as she moved in to get another swing. Bubbles was a blur as she circled the half-succubus.

Tad reached the Devil first, though, and he started tapping the Devil, hitting it, working more for speed than impact. Tad's staff hit everywhere. Red spread out as the yellow energia of the healing spell pulsed against the creature's skin. The brown was disappearing. Tad pushed more energia into the staff. As much life energia as he could. He was a whirlwind now, and the Devil was trying to block with its wings, then its arm. It tried to cast another fireball, and Zanna swung again, and the Devil had to dodge back.

The creature was changing. Initially, the thing towered over Tad, and now it was about his shoulder height. Tad kept at it. The creature's skin was changing to the familiar red of a devil.

Galadinidú spoke, "You are removing the cursed energia. "

The Devil was shrinking. Tad's light hits were now causing it to scream in pain as he thumped it over and over. It tried to fly, but Tad smacked it back down to the ground.

Galadinidú had once told Tad that he could heal something as Tad was beating it. The staff had said it in such a way that Tad should never consider doing that. But that was then, and this is now.

"Tad, don't' kill it. If you do, it will go back to the abyss, and they will know where I am, " said Zanna, who had stopped trying to hit the creature and was just watching it.

Tad kept hitting it. If it tried to run or fly, he hit it harder. Soon it was the size of a small, medium-sized dog.

"Stop stop, I surrender," screamed the Imp in common.

In infernal, Zanna said something to it and stepped forward and wrapped her hand around its neck. Tad stopped and watched, and she spoke more words of infernal, the Imp responded.

The carnival charm for languages didn't work with infernal speech. Tad could feel chaos magic building between the two. Zanna shouted some words at the creature, squeezing tighter. The creature scratched at her hand and arm, leaving scrapes. She shook it. The little creature screamed a word, and Tad felt something. It felt like the magic promise that Tad had made when the Lich had made him swear to protect its phylactery.

"It is done, " said Zanna and let go of the Imp as it dropped to the ground, stunned.

Tad heard something behind him. He looked back to see Nico with claws dug in, riding the giant white rodent around the room. Lamruil moved up behind it and sunk his sword into the side of the creature, and both the rider and the creature rolled as the giant rodent screamed in pain, then the giant beast spasmodically kicked. Nico came trotting from behind the now dead beast a few moments later. Blood all over his fur. He gave Tad a feline smile that looked downright scary, then padded back out to the corridor door. Hopefully, to get his clothes, Tad thought.

"The Imp will obey my commands, " said Zanna. Then she said something infernal to the Imp who stood up hands before it groveling to Zanna.

"Tell it to speak common," said Tad.

Zanna said a few more words in Infernal. The language to Tad sounded guttural and evil, and he was glad he didn't know it.

"Yes, it can understand common, and I've told it to answer your questions to the best of its ability. It is bound by magic to follow my directions exactly," said Zanna.

Tad looked at the Imp. The little Devil was two feet tall, standing on squat legs. Most of its height was the torso where bat-like wings spread out behind it, fluttering now and then as it looked at the party.

"What is that on the altar?" asked Tad.

The Imp turned to Zanna and said a few words in infernal. She nodded to it.

"That is a cursed crystal of life, stupid human. " said the Imp in a high-pitched voice.

Zanna stepped forward and punched it hard. The creature flew several feet and hit the wall. It shook its head and stood up. Zanna said a few more words in infernal and pointed at the spot she had just projected it from.

The Imp moved forward and stood before Tad again.

"A thousand pardons master, I did not know you defeated a Demon Prince," said the Imp. It gave an evil toothy smile that Tad hoped never to see again.

Tad had defeated a Demon prince with the help of a large pool of mana. He hadn't told Zanna that part. He wondered if he should have opened this conversation intimidating the small Devil.

"What does it do?" continued Tad.

"It converts the life mana from the flow in these very walls into necrotic energy. " said the Imp.

Tad realized this was going to take a long time. The creature clearly didn't intend to volunteer the information. Tad wasn't interested in a thousand questions.

"Imp, tell me why that is here and everything about how this came to be, " said Tad, then he waited.

The Imp looked at him. Then it looked up at the ceiling expecting something terrible to happen. It waited, then it turned back to Zanna, who was leaning back to take another swing at the creature.

The words rushed out of the creature now. "It is here to divert cursed mana to the river of the undead. " it looked back at the ceiling, then continued as it eyed Tad a third time.

"The shield left by the goddess to protect her people was too powerful, and they could not destroy her. So the gods that won the war placed this here to subvert the mana and power the cursed storms. " said the Imp. Then it covered its head as if expecting to be destroyed.

"Why are you here? Also, explain why those skeletons are in the hallway," said Tad.

The little Imp puffed out its chest. "I slew them and drank their essence. I am powerful, " said the Imp.

Tad waited.

The Imp settled down, "My brothers and I were summoned and tasked to protect this altar and failing that to alert the god who summoned us if anyone should breach the room."

"You alerted them? You have been here since the war? " asked Tad. Shees, no wonder the little Imp sounded crazy.

"Yes. " said the Imp.

"How did you absorb the necrotic mana from that crystal? " asked Tad.

"I didn't, " said the Imp.

Thump, the little creature went flying again as Zanna struck it a second time. Tad was amazed at the toughness of the little being.

This time it took a few seconds longer for it to stand back up. Zanna shouted at it this time, and she was pointing again to the spot in front of Tad.

The Imp hobbled back over. Tad looked behind to see Lamruil and Nico watching the interaction.

Tad looked at Galadinidú. He cast a healing spell into the staff and took a few swings over its head, leaving a trail of sparkles behind it. A little extra light he threw in for the show.

He eyed the Imp again. Then looked at Zanna, who nodded. The Imp gulped.

"You know I'm growing tired of half-answers," said Tad.

The Imp gulped, "I didn't absorb cursed mana from the crystal. After defeating them, I held the other imps one by one in the flow and then drained their demonic essence. It's why I wasn't complete and why your magic worked on me. If I could have eaten one or two more, I would have become a god, " said the Imp slowly.

Tad pointed at one of the dead giant dire rodents. "Why didn't you use those? "

He chuckled, then looked up at Zanna, then flinched, "Devils and Demons can only absorb demonic energy. The Gretchics would not work. "

"Those are Gretchics?" asked Tad.

Kettle chimed in, "They are Dire Gretchics, your book just updated with the name. "

"Yes, " said the Imp.

"How did you get past the shield over the crystal," said Tad.

The Imp looked up at the ceiling, quivering. That caused Tad to look up.

"What are you looking up for Imp? " asked Tad

"The gods who placed me here would be very angry if they thought I had told you this. They might even slay you and your friends. " said the Imp in a worried tone.

Tad thought about this for a few moments, "I think if they cared, they would have already shown up Imp. "

The Imp considered this then continued, "There is a magic item in the Temple of the Sun that can be used to bypass the shield. "

"Tad, your quest updated. " projected Kettle.

"Which one, Kettle? " asked Tad.

"Both of them. Release the spirits and A safe place to live: Solve the Mystery of Statues, " responded Kettle.

"How does this magic artifact work? " asked Tad.

"You pick it up and carry it, and you can bypass the shield. " said the Imp.

"How far is this Temple," asked Tad.

***