The stairway to the third level was made up of the glowing bricks. This time, they were colored a bright red. Stepping onto them, the bricks hissed like a hot stove under Vivi's boots. With each step, the lines on the ground blinked, the ether within reacting. The whole dungeon felt alive, as if feeling every step the invaders made. Vivi had to protect the soles of her boots with ether.

"There's still a lot to clear on the second level," Aang said. "There's probably another fifteen thousand ether and an elite."

"We can probably clear all of that today," Vivi said. "I want to see the third level first, while we still have energy. If we can see what we're up against, I'll head back to the smithy and craft a weapon that counters the monsters."

"The third level is similar to the first," Aang said. "It's just a lot harder."

"Let's try to clear the first room," Vivi said.

"That's going to be difficult," Aang said. "We can peek in. You'll see what I'm talking about."

Vivi raised her eyebrows but did as suggested. She stepped down the hot brick stairs.

The gates of a hellish castle awaited.

The third level was nothing like the first. The ceiling was high—at least a hundred feet—covered in magma gemstones. Droplets of lava dripped from cracks in the ceiling. The landscape was rocky and uneven with far more variance from the cubic rooms of the first level. The glowing brick path led to the portcullis ahead. To their left and right were small hills.

The castle itself stood atop a hill, a lake of lava surrounding it. Its walls were black and adorned with skulls, lava flowing down the skulls' empty sockets. The castle's two towers burned with ethereal flames, wisps rising into the magma above. The gemstones seemed to react with the wisps, causing more lava to drip into the towers. Lava flowed down the battlements into the lakes below.

Fifteen or so skeletons were spread across the grounds outside the castle. Some stood atop hills with bows. Four blocked the path ahead. They didn't seem to be activated yet. Each skeleton wore knightly armor with red ethereal plumes rising from the top.

Um, Lucius…? How much ether do those skeletons have?

Lucius was silent as he examined the closest skeleton. "At least twelve thousand each."

Aang entered after Vivi. "This is as far as I've dared to descend. I'm guessing my father's hunting group went deeper and died here. The skeletons here are insane, and there are fifteen of them."

"This will be difficult…" Vivi conceded.

"A lot more preparations are needed," Aang said. "Realistically, we'd need an entire hunting party loaded with your runeswords. It's possible to fight one, maybe two skeletons at the same time. To clear this alone, you'd need to reach the fourth elevation at minimum."

Vivi didn't want to agree, but she saw Aang's point. Luring these skeletons one-by-one would be more difficult in such an open area. And with thirteen thousand ether on each skeleton…

"We'll have to think of strategies," Vivi said. "Let's head back and clear the second level for now. After that—"

A loud thump sounded from behind while Vivi was speaking. She flinched and turned her head.

A slab had fallen on their exit. Exactly the same type of slab that had trapped her in the wraith skeleton's arena.

Vivi and Aang watched it, standing in silence. The last time Vivi tried, she found the slab impossible to open. Her runesword hadn't left the slightest of dents.

Behind them, Vivi heard a bow string stretching. She turned her head, and her heart dropped.

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Every skeleton had become active, slowly closing in on Vivi and Aang.

*

"How do you have an inside-carved runesword?" Uundref asked.

Ven's mouth was frozen in place. Think, he told himself. Ven was usually good at coming up with nonsense on the spot. This wouldn't have been the first time he bullshitted his way out of being caught. His head ran through every word he could possibly say to explain the situation.

Realistically, there was nothing he could do.

So he grabbed his mug and took a small sip of beer while his hands were still untied.

Uundref's scowl deepened. He slashed at the air in front of Ven. The tip of the katana grazed Ven's forehead. A droplet of blood formed from the surface wound.

"We, uh, bought that from a house elf," Ven said. "For five thousand ether."

The whole bar was silent. Staff had stopped searching around. Eventually, Uundref said, "Tie them down."

The order was followed immediately. Staff had come prepared with rope and ethereal cuffs. Ven let them tie the ropes around him. Resisting was useless.

With everyone tied, Uundref said, "Clear the room. I will speak with the demons alone."

One of the guards objected, "Sir Steward, is it safe to leave you alone with—"

"Leave!" Uundref repeated. "You can stay." He glanced at a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat, carrying a suitcase.

The room emptied in under thirty seconds. Staff members exited silently. Only Uundref, Lomir, Rensfig, and Ven remained.

Uundref examined the sword again, feeling its runes and pushing ether into the blade. He took a test swing at the air. Then he took a more serious swing. He slashed at the cavern's wall, hitting the stone. The katana slashed cleanly through the stone as if the walls were butter. A slash-mark was left on the wall.

"This sword…" Uundref said. "A real inside-carved runesword. This sword alone is probably worth over a hundred thousand ether. The method of its creation could be patented with millions upon millions of ether. This sword… What is it doing in Zand?"

Ven wasn't sure if that was a question or a command. He certainly didn't know how to respond. "We pulled it out of a skeleton's ass," he said.

Uundref swiped the sword again, this time cutting open Ven's right cheek. Blood sprayed.

"We bought it from an anonymous seller for five thousand ether!" Ven said. "That's the truth. I don't know how that sword was made or where it came from!"

Uundref studied his expression for an uncomfortably long time. "It's the girl, isn't it?"

Ven raised his head. "What? No?"

"She was a hundred thousand ether in debt," Uundref said. "She's weak with no presence whatsoever. Nobody knows where she came from. The two guards that brought her in were both killed. She claims she's from the surface, where the weakest of all humans live. Yet, all nimrods chase after her. Somehow, she has earned over twenty thousand ether to clear her debts."

"It's not her…" Ven said.

"In our papers, her name is written as 'Vivian Runeblessed.'" Uundref's stare saw right through Ven. "Curse the abyss, but the girl herself tried to convince the examiners that she was a runesmith."

Ven had nothing to say. He couldn't admit it. Yet, he also couldn't lie.

Uundref retracted the sword. Ven's expression must have given it away. He bit his bloodied lip.

"Where is she?" Uundref asked, scowling.

"She has left," Ven said.

"A lie?" Uundref asked.

Ven chuckled. He let out a laugh. Vivi was probably in the main dungeon. That was the only place where she could have earned so much ether.

"You'll die, Uundref," Ven said, laughing in between words. "Zand is over. Don't go looking for Vivi. You'll die."

Uundref was no longer grinning. This was serious. "Then, it seems we will witness an expert at work." Uundref glanced at the man with the wide-brimmed hat.

The man stepped forth and opened his suitcase. The room filled up with the scent of rotting flesh. The suitcase was filled with uncleaned tools. There were bloody handsaws, rusty scissors, tearers, thumbscrews, and a dozen more nasty tools Ven certainly didn't want to interact with.

"Nice portfolio," Ven said. He tasted blood flowing into his mouth as he spoke.

"Let me ask this again," Uundref said. The torturer was pillaging through his tools, picking his favorite. "Where is she?"

"Rot in the abyss, Uundref…" Ven said.

The Steward let out an exaggerated sigh. He glanced at the torturer. "The job is yours."

The torturer faced Ven with thumbscrews and a saw. Ven cursed the gods. Why was he even defending the girl? He knew he wouldn't last under torture. It wasn't like he had any reason to get himself tortured for this.

Vivi… You fucking idiot, you better clear the dungeon.

Just as the torturer was performing the final setup, rushed footsteps sounded from outside. Ven lifted his head to see two guardsmen run in with panicked expressions. "It's a disaster!" the guard called, speaking while out of breath. "We need assistance!"

Uundref faced them with a scowl. "I believe I told you to stay out."

"A boss is destroying Zand!" the guard said. "Every monster from the forest is attacking all at once! It's urgent—all guards and Stewards have been called!"

"Then defend it," Uundref said. "I have more important business to deal with."

"The walls have been breached!" the guard said. "It's a Twilight Shaman. The hub is filled with monsters. We're being overwhelmed!"

Uundref paused. Ven had never seen such frustration on a Steward's face. Uundref held the katana and headed out. "Torture will wait."

Then he followed the guards to the hub.

Ven's heart raced out of his stomach. He let out a chuckle. Then he laughed. What the hell was going on?

Zand was being overrun by monsters?

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