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Lance, Frey, Elero, and Thomas reached the end of Mage\'s Shadow, where a long, narrow stairway stretched towards the light above. As they climbed the stairs, the inanimate statues periodically placed within the walls seemed to draw closer each time the ancient steps creaked. Frey looked over his shoulder at Lance for the dozenth time. "Is there something wrong?" Lance asked before noticing that something was off. Frey\'s focus was directed at Lance, but he wasn\'t the one being stared at.

"She keeps following," Lance barely understood the giant\'s mutterings. Frey cleared his throat. "It\'s nothing. I\'m still seeing the twisted souls, and there\'s one that is a little more persistent then the others."

"Wait," Lance said. "What did you mean by her? Can you describe-"

Thomas lifted his nose into the air and sniffed. His pupils dilated to the point that his eyes had become pitch black.

"What is it boy?" Elero asked as if talking to a dog. "Do you smell something?"

Thomas\'s pupils shrunk to a normal size as he sent a glare Elero\'s way. "I smell…" he sniffed again. "Blood. Frey, behind you!"

The light atop the stairs shifted as a large demon brandished a dark wood longbow and blue life essence emerged from its skin. With one fluid motion it released an arrow that skidded off Frey\'s shield. Thomas and Elero charged before the projectile hit the ground. "Wait!" Frey tried to grab them, but he was too late. 

Thomas returned fire with his crossbow but the demon flicked the bolt away and calmly retreated. Elero was only one step behind with rapiers drawn. "I said wait!" Frey yelled again to no avail. The rush of battle had possessed them. He charged after his friends, cursing and muttering. As soon as the three disciples left Lance\'s sightline, dozens of war cries rang out.

Lance hesitated. He hadn\'t regained much of his mana, so he couldn\'t be much help to the knights in training. He could, however, sense a spell being cast just ahead. He hurried up the stairs and peaked his head over the last few steps.

The stairs going up to the second and third stories lay in ruins, most of which spilled out of a hole in the side of the academy. The Head Mage\'s defensive measures hadn\'t anticipated that the enemy would make it inside the academy. Defensive spells and runes prevented all entrances and exits from being opened. One door bore more scratches than the others, as if the demons had been chipping away at it.

The demons must have grown tired, hence the spell Lance had sensed. Floating ten feet off the ground was a half-formed emerald door with two heavy chains to hold it shut. They had stumbled across a summoning ritual, still in progress.

Two identical shamans stood in the door\'s shadow, chanting in unison. Dozens of demons protected them, all but one of which charged towards the three disciples. The captain remained behind, standing intimately close to the twin female shamans.

The formerly fearsome trio was separated. Elero dodged all manner of weapons within a hair\'s breadth, never getting the chance to counter attack. Thomas darted through legs, ran along the wall, and fired off random bolts towards the door. Neither of them could stop moving to catch their breaths.

Frey was closest to the stairwell, looking like he would murder his companions before he would the demons. "I said stay back you insubordinate deadweights!" There was a hardiness in his voice that stemmed from heavy experience, and slight tremor of urgency. Having already split-up in a room swarming with demons, the paths to reunite with each other were cut off. He retreated, purposely letting his back hit the wall so he could have eyes on all his opponents. Numerous but weak, the demons converged on the three attackers.

Frey blocked more hits than he was willing to dish out. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises appeared on the three disciples\' skin. Grabs were far more dangerous than blades, for if either Thomas or Elero were caught, they would be executed.

The captain ordered formations around with assured victory to calm his mind. It was like watching animals fight through an ants nest. No matter how many demons were crushed, there would always be more. "Lance," Frey roared. "That door, is it as bad as I\'m guessing it is?"

"You have to kill the casters!" Lance yelled back. "That\'s the only way to stop the summoning ritual!" The captain scrunched up his eyebrows and turned his attention towards the stairwell. Lance ducked, unsure if he had been seen. \'That was close,\' he thought. \'There\'s nothing I can do. I can\'t fight like those three, not with the little amount of mana I\'ve regained.\'

The shamans\' chanting quickened. Each word that left their lips was louder than the last, steadily drowning out the battle. With a reverberating blow the black chains around the emerald door rattled. An otherworldly being had been called from another plane of existence, and it had answered.

Frey glanced at the loosening restraints and grit his teeth. "Thomas, Elero, make your way to me."

"No," Elero protested. "I can do this. We have to hurry." Her rapiers flashed and blue blood splattered on the ground, mixing with her own. She took heavy breaths but pushed herself further.

"I can take it," Thomas said. "I can keep going. We\'ve been training, haven\'t we? We are stronger." He exchanged his crossbow for two daggers, which he dunked in vials at his waist. Each swipe froze his victim as paralyzing toxins entered their bloodstream.

Frey clicked his tongue and assumed a strange expression. Veins surfaced on his forehead. His eyes shifted from brown to red, then back to brown again. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He extended his magic shield around his body along with thick layers of life essence. He braced himself, and sprinted. He vanished in the mass of demons and emerged with a confused human under each arm. Deep gashes ran along his arms and back. Elero and Thomas squirmed out of his grip and attempted to cover the injured giant, but something happened: he completely lost it.

Frey let out an incoherent scream with foam flying from his lips. It was like a cornered animal finally lashed out. The next unfortunate demon who approached him was split in two with a single downswing of his blunt mace. Blue blood splattered on his entire body. He continued his animalistic display by stepping in front of the formation and holding his shield out towards the oncoming demons. "Slow down you two chuckle fucks and cover my damned back while I carry you to victory! Got it? Good." He blocked three swords at once and gritted his teeth as the stone cracked under his feet. "Elero!"

Elero lashed out as the demons recoiled, opening holes in two of their necks. She withdrew and their bodies slumped to the ground. Frey shifted his weight to the other side as he deflected more blows with his ragged shield. "Thomas!"

The young noble flinched back as if he feared his own teammate more than the demons, but managed to fire off a single shot. He missed. His face paled to a near-pure white and he blurted out an apology. The three sped up the pace as a second thud splintered the corners of the emerald door.

The frame would give out before the chains. Green mist poured out from cracks, filling the chamber with a distinct odor. \'Oh no,\' Lance thought as he recognized the unique mist. \'Those demons wouldn\'t dare.\' He alternated his gaze from the door to the rage-filled giant to the shamans. \'They\'re not going to make it in time.\'

Lance squeezed his body behind one of the inanimate statues and closed his eyes. He had never been so uncomfortable while meditating, nor had there ever been so many stray thoughts to distract him. \'Remember what the Head Mage taught you,\' he thought. \'Follow the rules of meditation. Relax the body. Relax the mind. Focus on breathing in and out, slowly. Maintain a constant rhythm.\'

Summoning rituals were slow and prone to interruption. He didn\'t need enough mana to kill those novice shamans. He just needed to stop them from chanting. \'Don\'t die,\' he thought. \'All you have to do is hold out. If that creature is what I think it is then we can\'t let it be brought into this plane of existence.\'