Like a wave of dull, red flesh, the horde crashed into Zeke, nearly overwhelming him with the sheer weight of so many hulking bodies. Only the most powerful of the demons had survived the fall of the ceiling, and they were, one and all, packed with bulging muscles, sharp claws, and gnashing teeth. Luckily, Zeke and his party had chosen to position themselves at the top of a steep rise and between a series of stalagmites that served to limit the demons to a narrow path that restricted the effects of their overwhelming numbers. Pudge retreated to the rear, watching for the cleverer demons who would doubtless attempt to flank them. The others, save for Talia, were positioned between the pair, where they could bring their devastating ranged attacks to bear.

Zeke took the first demon on his shield, and to his surprise, was knocked back a few inches before he managed to arrest his momentum and return the surge with a vicious overhand strike that crashed the lead demon’s sweeping horns. It cracked, breaking off under the weight of Zeke’s blow, but the demon paid it no mind. Instead, it returned Zeke’s attack with one of its own, raking his claws across the warrior’s hastily raised shield. Before it could recover, Zeke shoved forward, intending to make enough room to swing his mace. However, he wasn’t just pushing against one demon, but rather a dozen that had piled into the narrow space.

Zeke was strong – probably one of the strongest people in the Radiant Isles, after everything was said and done – but the demons were huge, heavy, and possessed of their own significant might. Despite putting everything he had into it, Zeke’s shove was ineffective, and he was forced to abort his initial plan and adapt his swing to something more abbreviated and far less powerful. Even so, it thudded against the demon’s thick skin, the studs at the end of the weapon digging into its flesh and drawing black blood.

The creature howled in fury, and an instant later, black fire exploded across its skin. More than that, a spectral claw sprang into being, superimposing itself over the demon’s more corporeal hand, before it swung once again. Zeke raised his shield to intercept, but to his surprise, the ghost-like claw passed right through the bulwark and raked itself across his chest.

Zeke screamed in agony. The pain was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Even his ill-advised usage of the blue-spotted mushrooms combined with the mana water, which had felt like his entire body was melting from the inside out, couldn’t hold a candle to the sheer torture wrought by that spectral claw. In his time in the Radiant Isles, Zeke had endured quite a lot of pain. In fact, he’d long considered his tolerance one of his chief strengths. Through his many battles, he’d been disemboweled, burned, eviscerated, and much, much worse. Bodily pain, he could handle. However, the agony that coursed through him at the hands of that spectral claw was more than just physical. It was mental, as well, feeling as if his very soul had been ripped to shreds.

But with pain came adrenaline, and Zeke had long since learned to channel it into fury. So, he was only distracted for the space of a brief instant before he recovered his wits and bore down on the demon, who seemed shocked at Zeke’s rapid recover. Zeke backhanded the demon with his shield, staggering it backwards. It was a risky move, because it left him open to further attacks, but that was what [Life Scythe] as well as his high endurance and vitality were for.

Having accepted that one of the other demons would take the opening, Zeke gave his mace a short, compact swing. It wouldn’t harness his full strength, but anything more would throw him completely off balance, and the entire fight would devolve from there. Even as his mace connected with the first demon’s face, shattering its nose and sending it reeling, Zeke saw another demon step in with wicked-looking obsidian shortsword. With an expression of glee mixed with triumph, it stabbed forward, and there was nothing Zeke could do about it. He braced for the attack, hoping that his mostly ruined armor would divert the blow enough that he wouldn’t need to use his skill’s scythe mode so early in the fight.

He needn’t have worried, because a shadow spear erupted from the ground, impaling the surprised demon. An instant later, a silvery arrow found the creature’s exposed eye. No lightning followed, but it wasn’t necessary, either. The demon slumped, briefly held aloft by the spike of darkness, before the shadow dissipated and the red-skinned creature fell, dead before it hit the ground. It was trampled a second later by the next demon in line.

Zeke kicked the new arrival in the knee, following it up with a backhanded mace strike that nearly ripped its jaw from its face. That backhand flowed into another shield bash at the still-recovering first demon before he brought his mace down onto its exposed head. It gave a satisfying crunch as it was crushed, and the hulking demon collapsed into a twitching heap. Zeke didn’t have time to revel in his victory, because another demon stepped in to replace her fallen brother.

The female demons were no less massive than the males, and they had just as little use for clothing. Nor were they any less lethal, as the demoness gave a screeching roar before falling upon him with an obsidian axe that Zeke barely managed to block. Rather than redirect it with his shield, like he normally would’ve done, he was forced to take the full strength of the blow on his shield. Obsidian hit chitin with a clang, and the sharp edge cut right through. It didn’t go far enough to do any real damage, but Zeke felt the axe bite into his forearm. The power of the attack sent him down to one knee. Seeing Zeke’s vulnerability, the demoness sneered as she raised her battle axe to deliver what she expected to be a final blow.

Zeke erupted from the ground, using his entire body to propel his mace in an uppercut that took the demoness directly on the chin. Even as Zeke’s mace connected, a tiny, glittering ball collided with her neck, and a series of metal spikes exploded into the demoness’s red flesh. Normally, Tucker’s grenade wouldn’t have been a lethal attack, but it served to weaken the creature’s neck enough that, when Zeke’s blow landed, it tore the demoness’s head clean off her shoulders. It sailed through the darkness only to land somewhere in the middle of the seething horde.

With that, the battle was truly on, and Zeke could only hope that he would be up to the task.

***

Talia stalked through the forest of obsidian stalagmites as she circled the basin. Dust and debris filled the air, and hundreds of slain demons and possessed miners lay beneath the fallen ceiling, but the strongest of the demons remained unscathed, sheltered by the shield skill used by the robed figure in the center of the lake, who Carlos had labeled Julian Asino. The name meant nothing to her, but given how sheltered her life had been, that wasn’t the least bit surprising. Nor did she care about the man’s identity overmuch. Not with what else was at stake.

The dust cloud combined with the deep shadows and the stalagmites to let her slip around the horde unseen. She wasn’t as stealthy as Carlos, with his shadow teleport, but she was good enough to evade detection from a pack of rabid demons. So, she remained unmolested as she skirted behind the charging horde.

A lone demoness, smaller than most of the rest at only seven feet tall, sprinted past her hiding place. She was armed with a pair of obsidian daggers, and judging by her lithe movements, she served much the same function as Talia herself. That was fine by Talia; in a head-to-head matchup with another skirmisher, she liked her chances. So, she abandoned her shadowy hiding place and followed the unsuspecting demoness.

Under the effects of [Alacrity of Undeath], she had little difficulty catching up to the horned creature, and without preamble, Talia’s claws flashed, hamstringing the female demon, who immediately stumbled with an agonized hiss. Talia pounced, her claws finding her enemy’s every weak spot as she ripped through red flesh, leaving a mess of black blood and corruption behind. In seconds, Talia ripped the demoness’s throat out, ending the creature’s suffering.

Talia was gone in an instant, leaving the body behind as she continued her hunt. Another three demons fell to her poisoned claws before the dust from the manufactured cave-in settled completely, and things got more difficult. In the distance, she heard repeated clashes, thunder, and Pudge’s bestial roars mingling with the more human-like growls from the demons. However, her attention soon fell on the island in the center of the lava lake, where Julian Asino had been busy.

The robed figure stood, waving his arms in an intricate pattern. Talia had seen ritualists back in Beacon – mostly belonging to the Church of Purity, who used such rituals to quickly treat diseased people – so she could recognize Asino’s actions for what they were. Even if she couldn’t, when the blood mithril rune began to glow, she would’ve been alarmed. However, panic gripped her still heart as she saw a bright flash of light, which preceded the sudden appearance of a dozen hulking demons, who immediately tore off across the small island and waded into the lava lake, only to emerge a minute later. They wasted no time in joining the horde as roaring reinforcements.

Talia remained still, watching as Asino began to repeat the process. Each time he did, a little of the blood in the bowls on the altars drained away, but if Talia had to guess, she would have estimated that there was enough for a dozen or more rituals. Certainly, they’d have to restock the blood via sacrifices if they wanted to create a permanent portal, but if the demon horde overwhelmed Zeke and the others, that would only take a little more time. There were plenty of people in Jariq, after all, and Talia expected that Asino wouldn’t hesitate to abduct and sacrifice as many as it took to get what he wanted.

Her feet were moving before she’d consciously decided to intervene. In the back of her mind, Talia knew it was a bad idea. She should’ve continued according to the plan, protecting her group’s flanks. But she was the only one, save for Carlos, perhaps, who could get past the horde and make a difference. And given that a bunch of seven- and eight-foot tall demons were between the group and the ritual site, the others probably didn’t even know what was going on. No – it was up to Talia to intervene. It was, after all, what Zeke would do, wasn’t it? She could only hope to live up to his example.

Talia pushed herself to her limit, practically flying across the jagged landscape. When she reached the lake of lava, she didn’t hesitate to leap. Her momentum carried her across the expanse of magma, covering almost seventy feet, before she landed on the island with a deft roll. She came to her feet, armed with a singular purpose. She needed to end the steady stream of reinforcements; otherwise, her friends would be overwhelmed.

Eyeing the robed figure, who looked upon her without a hint of surprise, she darted forward. Low to the ground, she reached him in an instant, and her claws flashed in quick succession. Once. Twice. Three times.

And all she hit was purple-tinged smoke.

Suddenly, her back erupted into a volcano of pain that cut through her undead placidity, targeting the part of her mind that was still human. She let out an unholy screech before collapsing to the ground.

“You are very fast,” came a cultured voice. Talia rolled over with an audible groan to see the slender Julian Asano standing twenty feet away. A series of small birds flitted around his fingers, each made of smoke and darkness. “But not fast enough.”

With a simple point of the man’s finger, the birds darted in Talia’s direction, almost faster than she could perceive. By this point, Talia had an effective agility in excess of four-hundred and dexterity to match; however, as she sprang to her feet, twisting and turning, she could only avoid one of the birds. When the others hit, it was as if her entire body had caught fire, burning from the inside out. But that wasn’t the extent of the pain. Rather, it was barely the beginning, because with every passing second, it felt as if her very soul was being flayed.

“Demon fire is a useful thing,” said Asino, stepping closer. More smoke coalesced around his hand, gathering together into a much larger bird. When he reached Talia, who was still writhing in agony, he continued, “I can tell you from personal experience that there is nothing in this world more painful than having your soul burned. That’s how they make demons, you know? They start out just like everyone else. Just normal people who made bad choices in their past lives. But after being baptized in agony, day after day, week after week, they begin to change. Some break. You’ve seen those flitting about in this very cavern. But others use that pain to become something else. Something stronger. I wonder – which would you be? Would you give up? Or would you embrace the pain?”

The larger bird, which had finally finished forming, suddenly moved, tearing through the air as it sought Talia out. But while the slim man was distracted, she’d managed to push past the worst of the agony and regain some of her faculties. So, when she saw the bird, she sprang to her feet and threw herself out of its way. Using every point of her agility, she exploded into motion, moving faster than she’d ever moved before. With a snarl, Talia swung her claw. Empowered by both [Chill of Undeath] and [Plague Strike], it raked a deep wound into the man’s thigh.

He didn’t even flinch. Instead, his hand darted out, and his fingers wrapped around her throat. Talia instinctively clawed at his forearm as he lifted her to her feet, but it was like trying to attack mist. Wherever she struck became incorporeal the moment her claws made contact.

Asino cast his gaze at his wounded leg, and he said, “Interesting, but ultimately useless.”

As the man spoke, Asino held up his hand, and another bird – bigger than any of the others – began to form. Talia clutched at the man’s vicelike grip, but it was useless. Finally, when the bird – which resembled a raven – took shape, he lazily cast it forward. The moment it hit Talia’s face, everything went white. Unknown to her, an agonized scream ripped itself free of her throat, echoing through the cavern.

***

Aiming it at a particularly hulking demon in the center of the horde, Abby fired an arrow, imbuing it with [Thunder Strike]. The moment it hit, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, scorching the demon and sending it into convulsions. The demons were incredibly durable – even more so than the possessed miners – so it wouldn’t be enough to put it down for good. However, the attack did put it out of commission for now, which was the best Abby could do.

As soon as she loosed the arrow, she’d embraced her most recent skill, [Earthen Bonds]. Dozens of obsidian hands exploded from the ground, gripping the legs and hooves of the various demons in the front lines. If she focused on one, she could keep it in place for as much as a minute, but when she forced the skill into a wider area, it was little more than an inconvenience. Even so, it slowed them down and distracted them enough for the others to finish them off. Or failing that, at least enough to keep Zeke from being overrun.

In the front, Zeke steadily hammered away, showing more skill than she’d ever seen from him. All his training had paid off, and he deftly maneuvered both his shield and his mace in the narrow confines of the passage between the obsidian stalagmites. She watched as he stunned one of the demons with a vicious headbutt that sent it reeling, which he followed up with a [Life Scythe] imbued swing of his mace. He still limited the skill to the toggled mode which mimicked the unevolved version of the skill, so it did little extra damage. What it did do was enable him to stave off fatigue and minor injuries, giving him the ability to keep going well past the limits of his endurance.

As Abby continued firing one arrow after another, she only imbued every third one with [Thunder Strike]. Any more, and she would quickly run dry on mana. If that happened, she would be less than useless, because even her ammunition was summoned via a skill. She’d worked on her melee abilities, but she was honest enough with herself to admit that she wouldn’t last more than a few seconds if she waded in next to Zeke. So, Abby had little choice but to ration her energy.

Tucker wasn’t so limited, throwing one glittering glass grenade after another. Some were small and had fairly localized effects. Others were much larger, and when he threw them, he could injure large swathes of the demon horde. The only reason he didn’t do it more often was because, as they weren’t technically skills, they were unaffected by Zeke’s [Mark of Companionship], which usually protected them all from each other’s detrimental skills. So, he’d been forced to adapt, which, thankfully, was one of his strengths. Abby was loathe to admit it, but the man had proved his worth time and time again, and she knew they’d have died a dozen times over without his participation.

Carlos also made his presence known, utilizing his exploding shadow spears to great effect. However, she got the feeling that he would be even more useless than her if it came down to a melee, and she could tell from the strain in his eyes that he was quickly reaching the bottom of the barrel in terms of mana.

The only one who seemed completely unaffected by the dire situation was Pudge, who had finally found something that could stand up to more than one swipe of his huge claws. However, because he was tasked with guarding their backs, he was not nearly as busy as everyone else, which probably accounted for the lack of fatigue. Still, Abby couldn’t help but remember how helpless he’d been back when she’d first met Zeke. He had come a longer way than any of them, and he likely still had much, much further to go.

Assuming they survived, which seemed less and less likely, especially when Zeke was blindsided by a giant demoness’s obsidian club. It crashed into him, slamming him against one of the stalagmites and making room for the other demons to flood past him. However, all three of the ranged specialists responded quickly. Four shadow spears, two arrows, and a grenade hit the lead demon at the same time. The spears served to root the demoness in place, the arrows embedded themselves in her face, and the grenade exploded into a localized black hole that, in the space of a millisecond, tore a hole in the demon’s torso. Even so, that wasn’t enough to kill the creature, but it gave Zeke time to recover, and he managed to pulverize the demoness’s head and regain his position.

Abby breathed a sigh of relief. That had been close to disaster. She was about to say something when she heard a familiar scream. She had heard its like more than a few times, all of which had occurred in the dead of night when Talia had been beset by nightmares of her time in the abyss. Abby, as her de facto therapist, had been the only one capable of comforting her. Hearing it now, in the middle of a battle, could only mean one thing. Talia was in trouble.

Abby glanced at Tucker, saying, “Cover Zeke. I need to see what’s going on.”

Tucker, who’d heard the scream and, given his history with Talia, was probably even more acquainted with what it meant, nodded. As Tucker refocused his attention back on the horde, Abby nimbly climbed one of the stalagmites. It was jagged, so there were plenty of handholds, but she received a few cuts and scrapes as she scrambled to higher ground. She ignored them, a premonition of disaster floating in the back of her mind.

That feeling was borne out when she reached a decent vantage point and cast her gaze across the cavern that had become a battlefield. There were dozens of dead demons piled on either side of the narrow gap; they’d been thrown aside by their brethren so that they wouldn’t further obstruct the narrow path, but there were hundreds more howling and screaming as they impatiently awaited their turn. After scanning the horde and failing to find anything to indicate where Talia was, Abby’s gaze focused on the island at the center of the lava lake. She gasped as she saw Talia being held aloft by the robed man’s grip on her neck. She clawed and scraped, but his hold didn’t waver. A dark mist congealed above his hand, taking the shape of a bird, and after a moment, it shot forward, disappearing into Talia’s face. She screamed a bloodcurdling scream, and the man dropped her to the ground, where she began to shake uncontrollably. Then, he turned away from her as if she was no longer a threat.

“What do you see? Is she okay?” shouted Tucker.

Abby shook her head in disbelief; Talia wasn’t rising. “No,” she said. “No, she’s not. We need to help her.”