"Delia, listen to me," Caius said in a low voice taking more steps back and making Delia take those steps as well while Belron just eyed them with amusement.

"Huh?" Delia answered, confused.

"I need you to run," Caius said and there was no mistaking the urgency and fear that had crept into his tone.

"What?" Delia asked, now stunned. She suddenly stopped in place, refusing to let him force her backward.

"Now," Caius said, like he hadn't noticed that she stopped even though he stopped as well when his back hit her front, "Go now!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Delia said.

Caius frowned and despite the risk of turning his back on Belron, he turned around to look into Delia's face.

"Is this about wanting to fight?" He asked and before he even got an answer, he was already talking again, "Because I'd hope that you can see— feel that things are about to get far more serious than that."

"How dare you?" Delia asked and she looked upset now.

"What?" Caius asked and it was his turn to look stunned.

"I'm not going anywhere," Delia said.

"Please don't be stubborn," Caius said and then gestured behind him at Belron,

"You can't beat that thing."

"And you can?" Delia asked, with a brow raised in challenge.

She had heard it in Caius's tone. He didn't say she should run and he'd follow or catch up. He intended to stay.

Caius managed a smile but it wasn't the confident one he usually had when he talked about facing an opponent and especially facing her.

"It'll be fine," he said.

"That was a lie," Delia said with certainty. He was a good liar. He didn't even have any real tells but the situation and the urgency with which he had told her to run exposed him.

Delia hefted her Warhammer, slamming the handle on her other hand as she held it with two hands and steeled herself.

"I'm staying," she said and stared hard into Caius's face, "Ask me to run only if you'll follow. Or better still lead the way."

Caius opened his mouth to say more but Belron's voice cut him off.

"More godlings?" Belron asked and he sounded shocked.

Caius was confused at the 'more godlings' comment and he turned toward the direction Belron was staring at. A few seconds later, there were the sounds of three sets of hurried—running—footsteps. A minute later and Kaya came into view out of the thicket of trees. On her heels were Eloise and Aylin.

"Caius," Kaya called with urgency. Her eyes landed on his face the moment she arrived.

She, Aylin, and Eloise had reached out to the connection they had with him due to the part of him he had ingrained within the Arcane Circle that granted them their Divine Seeds. They had simply traced it right back to the source. Following whatever path made the connection feel stronger.

Just like Kaya, the eyes of Aylin and Eloise were on Caius's face and only after they let their eyes rake over his body to confirm he was well, did they allow their sights to roam the field.

First, they spotted the massive centipede that had been split in two, and then they saw Aurelius who kept his eyes ahead, unmoved by their arrival. And finally, they looked at the light crimson Fiend whose swirling hellish black eyes had been on them since they arrived.

At once, all three ladies recoiled. Not only because the Fiend's face—shifting unnaturally between good-looking and ugly—with those horns jutting out of its head was unsettling, but because the energy that made the creature's existence possible was revolting to their Divine Seeds.

Belron threw its head back and laughed.

"By Hell's planes, just how many of you are there? This is incredible," it said and then its laughter became subdued and its expression immediately became cautious as it added in a more somber tone,

"This is worrying."

Belron grabbed its chin with its claw-tipped hand, musing to itself as its eyes moved from Kaya to Aylin to Eloise to Caius to Delia and finally stopping at Aurelius, the actual target of this sojourn to the mortal plane.

And for the first time, there was a crack in Belron's confident and jovial expression.

The First-Years just stared like they were held in place by some unseen force that demanded that they watch the Fiend gather its thoughts before even thinking to do a single thing.

And then Belron clicked his fingers.

"Well, nothing to it then," it said with a sigh like he really didn't like what it had to do.

"I'm afraid, dears," Belron said to the trio of Kaya, Aylin, and Eloise, "Three is more than enough."

With that, a giant pentagram appeared in the ground marked with what could only be demonic scripts as a substitute—or most likely an upgrade—for Arcane symbols.

Caius knew what was about to happen and he grabbed Delia's shoulders and shoved her towards Kaya and the others.

"Join them," he said urgently, " Now!"

Delia stumbled a few steps and then rooted herself.

"No!" She answered.

"Caius, what's happening?" Kaya asked.

"Pull her to you," Caius told Kaya immediately.

Kaya didn't think about the request. She just acted. A green spell circle appeared and she conjured vines that shot out.

"I'll pull you too," she said, and sure enough. A couple of vines were making their way to Caius.

"No!" Caius answered, slicing his sword through the vines before they could take hold, "I have to stay."

"So do I," Delia said and with a slight twitch of her fingers, she cast a wing spell that sliced the vines.

Kaya frowned. In the corner of her mind, she scoffed at how those two had been able to easily destroy her vines. If she had the time or the intent, she would have created vines that were not so breakable.

But now was not the time for such thoughts. She needed to retrieve her friends. She had no idea what was happening but it didn't take much reasoning to know she needed to get them away from the crimson half-goat thing whose stare was giving her the creeps.

"Delia, don't be stubborn," Caius said through gritted teeth.

"Push me again and I'll bash your head in," Delia promised.

More of Kaya's vines drew near and managed to wrap around both Caius and Delia's waists before they could destroy them.

But it was already too late.

Like an afterthought, Kaya noticed Aurelius and stretched vines to grab him as well. No one should be close to the half-goat creature.

Alas, before the vines around Caius and Delia could begin to pull them and before any of the vines could reach Aurelius, the Pentagram on the ground oozed Demonic energy that spread about and created a large square border. A split second later and a red hellish energy burst forth growing thick until Caius, Delia, and Aurelius were sealed in a cube that was 30 feet tall and wide.

They were sealed in with Belron and the few spinning discs that drew close to avoid being kept outside just to give those outside the Forest a view of the happenings.

Because outside the cube, there could be no looking in. It was like a thick red wall. Eloise probably knew this better than anyone as she was the first to approach it and place her hands against the cube and try to peer through.

She saw nothing.

"Fuck!" She let out in frustration.

Kaya just stared dumbfounded at where her vines had been cut off by the erection of the walls of the cube.

"What the hell was that thing?" Aylin asked after what seemed like forever just staring at the scene she and the others had arrived to witness.

Neither Eloise nor Kaya had the answer to that question but they did know they were going to try their darned hardest to get through the wall.

At least they planned to.

That was until vapors of the same red energy that made up the Cube began to rise from the Forest floor to collect and create an ominous fog.

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