The black-masked figure hesitated at the doorway.

Vivi hit her hammer one last time, then picked up her sword. The blade was still red-hot. She walked calmly to the tub of water and quenched the blade. The veins of her right hand were glowing a subtle blue. She was feeling light-headed. She'd need a venerium antidote quickly

"It's her!" the black mask called in a distorted voice. "The human!"

"What?" someone behind him shouted. "Catch her!"

The black mask unsheathed a runesword. A simple single-runed red hardsteel longsword. He went into stance and charged forward.

Vivi grimaced. The water in the quenching tub had turned purple. She pushed ether through the runes and lifted the sword directly into a swing.

Vivi couldn't feel her fingers. But she could feel the terrifying ethereal presence of her sword in her hands. The venerium greatsword stared back at its wielder with deep purple eyes like a hungry snake. Vivi felt chills.

The venerium blade was dark in some parts, a shiny purple in others. The surface was vaguely translucent. Inside flowed a river of wisps. The wisps looked like a shiny liquid. The veins were difficult to see inside the sword. Their presence was concealed by the void-like flow of ether.

The venerium ingots prior to forging had looked nothing like this. Vivi had no idea what sort of reaction her sword had gone through. But holding it in her hands, Vivi felt like anything the sword touched would die without time to scream.

Her greatsword clashed against the black-mask's poor single-runed toy, and a snap resonated in the smithy. The one-runed sword snapped in half like a twig, pieces cluttering on the ground.

The sword's tip cut deep into the man's chest, cutting halfway into his spine. Venerium left its rot immediately; the wound was black like void, purple ether oozing from within. The man opened his mouth but no sounds came; his eyes lost their light, and he collapsed on the ground. Lucius collected his ether, reserves rising to 5289.

Blood didn't stick to her blade. Her creation didn't look like a runesword. Rather, the blade was like a void in reality.

She stepped out of the smithy, into Ven's lair. The base was infiltrated by the black masks.

The room was the size of a small lecture hall with a ceiling tall enough that an indoor balcony had been built. Hardwood railings circled around the balcony. A fog of ether filled the air. Tables were snapped, couches were filled with slash-marks, weapon racks had toppled, and a crystal chandelier lay shattered in the middle of the room.

Beneath the mess were the signs of a lively parlor. There were carpets and homely flowerpots—even artwork on the walls. Wood paintings depicting monsters and scenery hung on the walls. The artist had used a carving knife and black ink to draw on wooden boards.

Half a dozen black masks were spread across the parlor with their weapons out. Vivi spotted two crossbows with ether-fueled arrows, three runeswords, and the quarterstaff wielder that she and Ven had escaped from.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Ven, the rune-carver dwarf, and two women were tied with rope, cuffs clamped around their hands. The armored man sat lifelessly against the wall, his chest plate cracked, blood forming underneath his feet.

There were at least two more corpses on the ground. One of them was a young man lying next to a regular asmite sword. The other was an unarmed woman.

And I'm the one with a reputation for murder, Vivi thought. Her head was clouded by venerium's rot. She wasn't thinking straight. Anger flowed within her.

Two of the black masks' runeswords were single-runed, and the wielders had simple auras. The crossbows had ethereal arrows, but they didn't feel as scary as the archer skeletons in the main dungeon.

The strongest opponent wielded a sword Vivi recognized right away. It was the two-runed asmite sword with the same wielder—a maxed-out swordsman of the first elevation. He held a stance with his full powers active, baring the same aura that had utterly overwhelmed Vivi just days ago.

His aura was smaller than Andre's.

Vivi took a step forward. The demons stood their ground, but they were clearly hesitant. Their eyes were on her sword.

She activated Shadow Swipe and charged at the nearest demons.

Both crossbows released their arrows instantly. Vivi swiped down the first one, blocking the second with her blade. Her greatsword was larger than anything a girl her size could ordinarily lift, but it still had a swiftness rune, and Vivi was strengthened by ether. The sword felt as light as a wooden club.

While the crossbow men were reloading, Vivi swung at the first man. He was frozen on the spot, staying in a defensive stance. He held his single-runed sword to block.

Vivi's swing hit his sword directly. The single-runed sword snapped in half, and the man behind followed, spine snapping, insides poisoned by venerium's rot. Vivi barely felt any resistance as the man collapsed instantly.

The remaining attackers stepped back. They grabbed sacks and whatever valuables they'd stolen and ran for a trapdoor in the corner of the room, leading down.

The two-runed swordsman held his ground, protecting the escape. His aura was double the strength of his underlings'. His stance was a lot more confident, and his sword was larger.

Vivi charged forth. She threw a claw-swipe, prompting the man to defend. She followed with a heavy sideways slash.

The impact sent her opponent flying off of his footing. A crack sounded from his asmite runesword, its veins blinking dangerously bright as a thin line snaked across its surface. One more hit, and it would snap. The man collided against the wall.

He recovered quickly, running for the trapdoor. The last of his allies had just escaped.

Vivi ran after him.

Two steps into the run, her legs wavered. Her head lost balance for a moment. She recovered just before falling on her face. The stinging feeling had made it all the way to her neck.

Vivi gritted her teeth. By the time she had recovered, the black masks had all escaped.

She stood in place for a moment, feeling her body. Um, Lucius? Am I dying?

"Your body is, uh, a weird color, Vivi."

She looked down at her hand. The veins of her right arm were a dark purple. Not the shiny void purple; her body was rotting from the inside. A wave of nausea flowed within Vivi. Her vision blurred.

She quickly hid the sword in spatial storage to stop the venerium poisoning from spreading. But the damages were already done. The poison would keep spreading.

Holy hell. Was she dying? Like this? To some stupid poisoning?

"Um," someone said behind her. It was one of the captured women. She was a small woman with dark skin and short horns, black and yellow eyes, and brown hair not too different from Vivi's own. Her voice was soft and nervous. "I, um, have an antidote."

"Where is it?" Vivi asked.

The woman looked afraid of her but simultaneously determined. "Free me. You might have ten minutes to live. Keep as much ether in your body as you can. I'll try my best."

Vivi could barely stay standing. Words were losing their meaning. Even if the woman told Vivi where the antidote was, Vivi doubted she would have the strength to search for it.

Her legs gave up. With her last strength, Vivi used Lucius's claws to cut open the ropes holding the demon.

Her vision went black.

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