When Raze laid eyes on the woman, he realized that they were in danger unlike anything they had seen before.

"We have to get out of here, now," Raze said, stepping backward, his back hot against the dungeon.

"Hmmmm? It seems one of you might actually know what I am," she said.

"Gavin, can't you sense it?" Raze yelled. "She is a demonic beast!" he yelled, and as those words left his mouth, the air instantly became heavy. Everyone froze, their eyes locked on her.

"Hahahaha, so you do know," she said. "Sadly, that knowledge will be your downfall.

"I am Eliath, demonic beast under the rule of one of the seven Demonic Beast Kings, Aragon, the Lord of Greed, and this town is my little experiment, one that you dirty fingers have tampered with, and I will show no mercy for that," she said.

She had yet to show any power, but the four of them could already feel her darkness and power radiating from her.

"We have to get out of here now," Raze said. "If we fight against her, we're not going to survive."

His voice was sharp, serious.

The three of them began backing away slowly, keeping their eyes locked on Eliath as they moved.

She looked at them with a smile.

"The four of you look like you would make very good experimental subjects," she said. "Since you tampered with what is mine, I'll take your bodies."

She didn't even take a step, certain they wouldn't escape.

But the moment the three got closer to Raze, without hesitation, Raze stepped forward and created a gate. Eliath froze for a heartbeat, shocked to see the gate—but before she could stop them, he leaped in, followed by the three.

The gate closed.

Raze had aimed for Ribest—he wanted to get as far from here as possible and warn Lady Rose about everything. But much to his surprise, when the gate opened…

…it opened inside the same town.

They didn't go anywhere.

They fell out of the gate and slammed onto the ground.

Raze and everyone quickly got up, panic rising.

"We're still here," Ella said.

"This isn't supposed to be happening," Raze muttered. "We're supposed to go home… we're supposed to go back to Ribest…"

"Something's not right. Something's not right."

And then they saw her.

High in the sky.

Wings spread wide.

Looking down at them with a wicked smile.

She cackled like a witch.

"Did you really think it would be that easy to leave after entering my domain?" she said. "This is my experimental ground. Your presence here is a foreign body, and now you must follow my laws. Since you tried to escape, my offer for you to be my subjects has been rescinded."

Her eyes burned with madness.

"You will die a cruel death."

A dark sphere of twisting purple and black energy formed in her hand.

"Scatter!" Raze yelled.

They all sprinted in different directions as the blast shot downward.

It struck the street—

BOOOOM!

Houses uprooted.

Streets shattered.

The shockwave hurled all of them across the ground.

They rolled, thrown into walls, tumbling from the sheer force.

Raze got up first. He looked at Eliath, then at the edge of town. He cast fire, flames flying outward as far as he could. But the fire slammed into something—an invisible barrier.

A transparent wall.

"We're trapped here," he said.

The others pulled themselves up.

"So what do we do?" Emily asked, breathing hard.

"We fight," Raze muttered.

"But we're going to die," Gavin said. "That one attack alone could have taken us out."

"Why are you talking like that?" Raze shot back. "She's a demonic beast, the very thing you hate, right?"

Gavin's jaw tightened. His body screamed with hatred toward her. He could feel the demonic energy pouring from her. But her strength… it pushed him down. It overwhelmed him.

Raze looked at him sharply.

"Is your rage only active when you think you can win? Or is your rage truly against the demonic beasts?"

Emily stepped forward.

She pulled out a crystal and crushed it in her hand.

Eliath narrowed her eyes. "And what is that supposed to be?"

"This," Emily said, "is a crystal linked to my brother, a captain of one of Vermilion's knight chapters. He'll be here in minutes. And when he arrives, he'll kill you."

Eliath threw her head back and laughed, cackling.

"Let him come. By the time he arrives, you'll all be dead. A minute is all I need."

A black sword formed in her hand.

"Now die."

She swung.

A black sword arc tore through the air.

Raze and the others jumped away as it exploded against the ground.

Eliath shot downward, thrusting her blade toward Raze's face. He channeled all his qi and parried, but when her sword touched his bat—

BOOM!

He was thrown like a ragdoll, smashing through a wall. Gavin rushed from behind, roaring as blue flames engulfed his blade. He slashed downward. Eliath turned her neck a full 180 degrees, eyes locking onto him before her body twisted to follow. She parried effortlessly, then kicked him in the side.

CRACK.

Ribs shattered.

Gavin flew through another wall.

"Fireball!" Ella shouted, launching multiple fiery spells.

Eliath sliced through each one with surgeon-like precision.

Emily rushed behind, conjuring dozens of light swords.

"LIGHT SWORD FALL!"

They rained down, but Eliath vanished. She appeared behind Emily, grabbing her neck.

"Little girl… you shouldn't sneak up on people."

A massive light lance suddenly fell from above, slamming into Eliath and breaking her grip.

Emily stumbled free, gasping, but Eliath vanished again. She reappeared behind Emily and kicked her in the chest, sending her rolling across the ground.

Eliath turned.

Ella was the only one still standing. Ella began casting, her voice trembling:

"Inferno fireball!"

A massive fireball formed, bigger than anything she had ever cast.

A Rank 2 spell.

She hurled it.

But Eliath vanished before it hit. The fireball exploded uselessly, then Eliath appeared in front of her and jabbed Ella in the stomach. Ella coughed blood and collapsed to her knees. Eliath raised her sword; she aimed for Ella's back, ready to kill her—

When a bat slammed into her head.

WHOOOSH—CRACK!

Her head snapped back from the hit.

Raze teleported to the bat mid-flight, grabbed it, and swung down with everything he had.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"

The bat smashed into her head again.

Her head twisted a full 360 degrees—

But she was still smiling.

Her body followed the motion unnaturally, and she drove her fist straight into Raze's gut—

BOOM

Sending him crashing through yet another wall.

"You're a really… pesky one," she said.

Her smile didn't fade.

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