The darkness swallowed her.

Voices screamed in the icy vortex around her. The shock of the sudden return of the chill, the buzz, and the burning was enough to overwhelm her, but the pain sharpened her focus around Jeru's words.

Find something you're more afraid of losing and use that as your strength.

Ula's face flashed in her mind. The Hispanic grandmother smiled at her. Her soft brown eyes and warm energy pushed back the storm swirling around her for a moment before the image was replaced by the scene in the alley, where the older woman's broken body slumped over against the building.

A pit formed in Penelope's chest as the scene changed to Judah on top of her, a content look on his face as his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell into her. Tears built in the corners of her eyes as she embraced the memory of the dead man. An embrace that only added to the hole in her heart.

The hopelessly inaccurate Caster vanished and the body of Marlow appeared at her feet. The pained look on his face broke the dam holding back her tears. Penelope didn't try to hold them back as she sank to her knees.

Large drops of water fell on her friend, then his body was swept away by the swirling storm, leaving her alone again.

Ice gripped at her heart as the emptiness grew. Her friends were lost in the past and even though all it would take was to let herself go, she wasn't strong enough to save them yet. To do that, she needed to move forward.

YOU'RE WEAK

Fear ran down Penelope's spine, but instead of locking her feet in place, it pushed her to stand. The storm was still raging around her, but she was starting to understand what Jeru had meant. This Demon was tearing at her mind, using her social anxiety as a weapon against her, but there was something that she feared more than facing a crowd.

Losing her friends.

Her lips cracked as she whispered her spell. "Light Torrent."

She grabbed the light, merging them into a single ball, twisting it around her like a cocoon, bathing herself in the spell and forcing the darkness back. Penelope poured more Mana into the spell, reinforcing it as the darkness gnawed at it and the needles of air magic poked holes in it.

"You don't scare me anymore." Penelope leveled her gaze at the darkness. She took a deep breath, then shouted. "YOU DON'T SCARE ME ANYMORE!!!"

LIES

The Terror Bug rammed into her, knocking the wind out of her as she flew backwards.

Before she could slam into the barrier, she <Blinked> in place, dropping to her feet with the light spell still radiating around her.

The storm raged around them, but she could see the gloating Demon in the darkness.

I SMELL THE FEAR ON YOU.

An impossibly long tongue for the human-sized mouth ran over its teeth.

YOU'RE TERRIFIED

"Fine!" Penelope's hands trembled. "I'm SCARED!" She clenched her hands into a fist. "Happy?!?"

AH, SO… DELICIOUS!

"I'm scared of you. I'm scared of the pain. I'm scared of what's waiting on the next floor. I'm scared of the surface. I'm scared of never being good enough!" Penelope screamed at the Demon. Each admission rolled over her opponent like an orgasm, spreading a larger grin across its face.

"But you know what I'm most afraid of?" Penelope gritted her teeth as a wave of calm replaced the chaotic energy inside her. The fear was still there, but instead of it being a chain to hold her down, it became fuel for her spell. The light around her flashed, burning out the darkness completely.

"I'm more afraid of what you'll do to my friends after you're finished with me."

NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! THE FIELD WAS CAST! YOU CAN'T DISPELL IT WITH YOUR GAME MAGIC!

The Terror Bug's face contorted as it built Mana to cast the spell again.

Penelope <Countered> it with a thought.

YOU DIDN'T USE SYSTEM MAGIC! IMPOSSIBLE! HUMANS DON'T HAVE MAGIC!

Penelope <Blinked> over to where she'd dropped her wands and picked them up. She ignored the notification about her class upgrades going back to what she'd had, instead taking comfort in the stats the two weapons gave her.

YOU HAVEN'T WON! I STILL HAVE MORE MANA THAN YOU!

Penelope downed her second minty potion as she watched the boss do the same.

Jeru? It's got better stats than me, doesn't it?

"Mana and Magic aren't going to be the issue." Jeru pointed at her stats.

Penelope glanced at where he was pointing.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

17/60 Stamina

Great. Penelope fed more Mana into the aura of light around her. I guess I need to end this as fast as I can. How are—

"Focus on your fight." Jeru stopped her from turning around to check on the others. "If you get distracted, you're going to reset."

Fine. Penelope channeled the spell around her into a beam. The radiance burned into the Demon, charring the exoskeleton protecting it.

The Terror Bug howled and charged her, closing the distance in a few steps. The brown chitin turned black as the spell cooked it. Pieces flaked off as it swung, kicked, and tried to headbutt her.

Magic blasted into her, driving her back, but the aura around her absorbed most of the damage.

"Mana just hit single digits."

Penelope downed her last Mana Potion. She was burning through Mana too fast, but she didn't have a choice. She wasn't going to win a battle of trading blows, so the time for efficiency was over. Magic crackled along her arms as she tightened the beam, forcing the Demon to block with both of its arms crossed in front of it.

Air and dark spells collided with the beam, but they couldn't stop the intensity that Penelope was channeling. Each spell chained into the next, with each <Light Ball> flattening out and layering over each other. The entire process gave the spell a different shape and while it was very wasteful, it overpowered what the Demon could throw at her.

The spell burned a hole in the Terror Bug's arms, piercing the plated chitin covering the Demon's chest. Its face contorted as it sank to its knees, then fell over on its side.

Ding!

Experience +4.8

The number hit her across the face as her shoulders sagged. Even as tired as she was, her brain was able to math out that she'd received almost twice as much experience as she should have.

How many people died? Penelope looked past the smoldering corpse of the Demon she'd just defeated to where the remainder of the group was toiling away against the Vairfly.

"Nine." Jeru lamented. "Eldri tried to off-tank when the bosses ignored the taunts and got crushed by the Lady Mane. Rockwell fell to the Spotted Stalker before Nina could get to him. Everyone else from your side is alive."

Derek?

"Seven from his group." Jeru didn't bother listing off names. "He and Dawson are still alive. Most of their group fell apart in the initial wave."

Let's go help end this. Penelope stretched her arms as she picked up her pace to a jog. Both groups had come together to fight the glowing Demon, with the Tanks trying to box in the winged Demon. The Vairfly was ignoring their attempts, jumping over the armored men and charging the Healers.

Circe had shot holes in the wings, but those tears were closing back almost as fast as she was making them. Frederica and Nina were staying in between the last boss and the squishier people. Fae-Anna was in Riva's arms as the Debuffer fled with the injured woman.

"I'm tired of this!" Dawson threw out his hands and dropped a <Toxic Cloud> on the entire group.

"What are you DOING!?" Frederica hopped out of the cloud, coughing and gagging as she sucked in unpolluted air.

"We can heal through it!" Dawson dropped another cloud on top of the boss. "The Tanks just need to pin it down!"

Isaiah tackled the larger being from behind, wrapping his armored arms around the Vairfly's golden waist. The Demon's fur took on a green hue as it struggled to knock the Human off of it. Oakley charged into the cloud and rammed into the Vairfly's chest, wrestling with the stronger being but keeping it in the cloud.

Penelope <Countered> the Demon's healing spell, dimming the glow that lit it up inside the cloud.

"KEEP OUR BOYS UP!" Patrick motioned at the Healers, then turned to Dawson. "This is not the way to fight!"

"What do you know?" Dawson dropped a third cloud on top of the struggling group. "You just stand there and take a beating. Leave the fighting to people who do something."

"I'm out!" Grayson, the only Healer left in Derek's group, lowered his hands, the red aura on Isaiah vanishing. He moved over to the left side of the struggling trio, where everyone else was gathering.

"I've got it!" Skylar moved her healing off of Oakley and focused it on the other Tank.

Nina stepped up to the edge of the cloud; the thick green mist issued as she touched it.

"We've only got two Healers; nobody else go in there!" Frederica pulled the younger woman back.

"We need potions!" Dawson held out his hand. "Come on, I know you've got extras!"

"I'm out." Penelope <Countered> the Vairfly's healing spell again.

"It won't be long." Dawson sneered, then took the Mana Potion Patrick gave him and downed it. "Thanks, Pops."

"I'll pop you alright." Patrick raised his hand like he was about to slap Dawson over the head.

"Careful…" Dawson flinched, backing up behind Derek. Anger flashed in his eyes. "I lose focus and I might detonate the cloud…"

"You hurt Oakley and I'll…" Frederica tightened her grip on her swords as she advanced on the pair of men.

"You'll what?" Dawson shouted from behind Derek. "I take his levels and you think you can take me!"

"Let's just calm down…" Derek held up his hands. "It's almost over."

Something's not right. A pit formed in Penelope's stomach as she watched the group outside the cloud. Riva had moved to the front of the barrier, near 19E, and laid Fae-Anna down. Nina was standing beside Patrick in front of Caleb and Skylar, who were focused on healing the two Tanks. Circe was behind them, her shoulders sagging, but she was still firing arrows into the Demon.

Derek and Dawson were focused on the group, their eyes on Frederica instead of the fight. Aiden, their Buffer, had a dagger in his hands and was walking towards her, along with Grayson, their Healer, who had a crossbow in his hands, yet he wasn't firing despite taking a Mana Potion Patrick had given him.

"It's a PK!" Jeru pointed at Dawson. "Stop his spell!"

What? Penelope tore her eyes off the men that were approaching her.

She saw the smirk on Dawson's face too late.

BOOM!

Ding!

Experience +5.14

A bright light washed over Penelope as she watched the scene, too stunned by the brutality to react.

"NO!!!" Frederica ran into the cloud as Oakley fell backwards.

"NOW!" Dawson turned his attention to the cluster of people.

A crossbow bolt pierced her neck. Penelope turned to the men in front of her, but Aiden stabbed the dagger into her throat.

Bright light washed over her.

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