Karina saw in the distance the third castle. Much like the others before, it was encrusted in the stone. Every construction in that place seemed to be made out of the very stone that composed the hole. And the magic there, impossible to explain with words. The way it flowed through the space, Karina felt as it tried to influence and manipulate the things around. It gave the girl the feeling that they should hurry this mission. Although she couldn’t explain why.

  The obsidian lights, in the candlesticks, were a sick reminder of where they were. Karina ran; she didn’t look back, not even once. That was the only way she could show her trust, even if no one watched.

  “Wren, May…” She muttered to herself, and the names almost became a mantra. “Why did I talk about that silly thing of leaving people behind? I wanted them so bad by my side.”

  But deep down, Karina knew it better. So she kept running down the steps. She didn’t look back. And tried her best to trust the friends she left behind.

  “They trusted me. They believe in me, so I must believe in them as much. If this is what it takes to complete this mission. Then this is what I’m going to do.”

  ---

  Wren felt that something pulled him back to consciousness. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he fainted.

  “Well, it must have been at least an hour, because I feel a little of my energy back.”

  Wren used the magical energy to assess the damage from the battle. He checked his ribs, arms, and legs. He healed them little by little. He wasn’t very good at healing magic, but that was something every hunter should know a thing or two about. Not being very good meant he would need to be extra careful, as he moved slowly between bruises and wounds.

  After a few minutes, he felt that the healing he did would be at least enough to help him move on. The castle behind him was completely destroyed, and he looked for Katharina’s body, but he only saw parts of it buried beneath the debris.

  Slowly, Wren started to go down the steps. In his state, it would take some time to reach the next castle. But the good part, it also meant that he would have time to recover more from the injuries.

  “I hope the girls are alright. Man, if I had trouble fighting one of these disciples, even though I’m a D-Hunter… I can’t imagine how hard it will be for those who are Base hunters.”

  Wren focused and tried to feel Karina and May's energy. Not an easy task, at least considering how messed up the energy at that place was.

  He couldn’t tell the precise time, but he felt like he had walked for a long time when he saw the second castle’s shape ahead.

  “Almost there, I hope I’m able to help whoever is fighting there.” Wren thought to himself as he got closer to the place.

  ---

  May clashed once again with Bertram. A trail of blood dripped down her forehead and down her face. Her own hands shimmered with magical light as she tried to slap the disciple. Bertram laughed as he kicked the girl on the chin. It made her fly across the room like a rag doll.

  The hunter had to fight not to fall unconscious as her body lay on the ground. She barely had time to heal herself. The disciple jumped, in his hand a sword molded of the mirror, he carved it into the ground, as May dodged. He viciously aimed for the girl, and May dodged every attack. But she knew she didn’t have a lot of stamina, so she wouldn’t last long this way.

  “Are you getting tired, May? Your movements are sloppy!” Bertram screamed, and he was able to hit the girl’s shoulder.

  A sharp pain erupted in the place, and May reacted by jumping back in the moment. She healed the injury as best as she could. But much like her stamina, her magical power ran dangerously low.

  “You know what? It should be your friend fighting here, you know? She seemed much stronger in hand-to-hand combat. While you struggle with the basics, your punches are weak. Are you good for anything?”

  May clenched her teeth and closed her fists. She wouldn’t let the disciple get into her mind. Especially because she needed to focus on the fight. The usual May would analyze everything about the fight up to now. Then, she would find a way to fight back, to defeat him. But being that smart also meant the person knew very well their own weakness and shortcuts. Of course, May thought of an amazing solution, but would she be able to pull that off?

  There was something May could try, but she needed to focus her magical energy. She collected some of it, stored it deep down. Because it would take a lot. Hence why she had to survive with only the physical combat, at least for a moment.

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  The girl ran and clapped the disciple on the front. Bertram smiled as he tried to punch her. May dodged the fist and used the disciple’s own movement to try to knock him down. The man swirled and dodged the attack altogether. He was about to kick May in the guts when the girl jumped back once again.

  “You wanna know something, Bertram. I’m really not known for my physical prowess. But you should know better that I wouldn’t be fighting like that if I didn’t have a plan.”

  “And are you really delusional to the point of thinking that you can defeat me?”

  “It’s not that I’m delusional, it’s that this is all I have. If I just lie down and accept defeat, then what’s the purpose of it all? I’m a hunter, I’m always getting into fights that have a chance, I’m not coming back alive. But this is my job, this is what I do.”

  “And you think you’re the smart one? Let me tell you something, you’re a complete fool.”

  “If I’m a fool or not, let’s see who’s the faster one with magic between us. You know, I’m not very good with telekinesis. At least not if I’m prompted to use it from the get-go. Because I need time to focus my own magical energy on it.”

  May did not let the disciple answer, as she raised a big chunk of the floor with the telekinesis. It flew in the direction of the disciple. Bertram spun, and the block of stone turned into ashes as it touched him. But May wouldn’t let the man rest, as she made a piece of the ceiling fall in his direction. Bertram jumped back and kicked the piece in the direction of the girl, so May had to lift a piece of the ground in front of her to protect herself from the impact.

  Bertram ran in the direction of the hunter; he tried to make the combat hand-to-hand again. But May was able to anticipate his intentions. So, she took a piece of one of the pillars and sent it spinning in the path of the disciple. Bertram cut it in half with his sword. May took advantage of it and made both pieces fly once again as she tried to hit Bertram. He jumped at the last minute, which made the pieces collide and created a cloud of dust.

  May manipulated the cloud of dust; she shaped it to make it chase Bertram. The disciple tried to take the cloud head-on, but May had masked some pieces of debris inside of it. The collision sent Bertram flying way back across the hall.

  The girl’s eyes shimmered with strength as she walked in the direction of the disciple.

  “I guess I really overestimated you. I thought the disciples would be stronger, but you’re weak.”

  Bertram coughed up blood as he tried to stand up. He used his sword to find balance, and he looked right into May.

  “Don’t you think that this is going to be enough to defeat me. I just started having my fun.”

  The man moved his own hands over his body. He touched his body with magic and transformed it; he morphed into something else. Where there was skin, the fur grew like an animal. The legs became bigger, the body larger. The teeth became prominent in the mouth like knives. Bertram screamed, and the whole place shook. He had become something else, something that wasn’t a man.

  “That’s your true nature, demon? I knew you couldn’t fool me. You’re disgusting. You’re a beast.”

  The voice turned into something twisted. Guttural and ancient, Bertram spoke:

  “You’re talking too much to someone who’s about to die an unimaginably painful death.” If it were even possible to describe, the beast laughed. His eyes were red with pure malice and evil. And May knew that the only thing possible was to run as fast as she could. And the girl ran past halls and rooms inside the castle. Behind her, the beast roared, a terrible sound. She heard most of the place getting destroyed by the sheer ferocity of the monster.

  Back in the main chamber, she jumped back and faced the beast. May knew she couldn’t run forever. Once again, she focused her telekinesis, and the hunter was able to lift big chunks of stone and throw them in the direction of the beast. It roared as the block got closer, and with a movement, the beast transformed the piece of rock into flames, and the monster breathed them in. Doubling in size, before he released the flames again in the direction of May. The girl knew stone wouldn’t be enough to protect her, so she jumped and dodged the attack the best she could.

  The monster took a whole pillar and threw it in the direction of May. She used her telekinesis to stop it mid-air and redirect it in the direction of the monster. But with a single roar, it became sand before it hit the target.

  “I need to be faster than him and cunning; that will be the only way to win this fight,” May spoke to herself, a habit that was frequent for the girl, every time she found herself in this kind of situation. And inside her mind, a plan started to take form.

  The beast tried to headbutt the hunter, but she dodged, and the only thing the creature hit was the wall of the castle. She took advantage of the state of confusion of the monster, and May launched the biggest chunk of stone yet in its direction. At the same time, she focused part of her telekinesis on the ground below the creature. It was all or nothing. With this attack, the girl would concentrate all the magical power she had left.

  The Bertram-beast morphed the stone into something else, sand. But this time, May was ready, and at the same moment, she used the telekinesis to destroy the ground below the creature and to make the ceiling fall on its monstrous head. The creature screamed, but he wasn’t able to transform every piece of falling debris into something harmless. And soon its screams disappeared into silence and a big pile of rock.

  May smiled as she felt her legs weakening. She fell to the ground, completely exhausted and depleted of magical power. For a minute, the girl felt scared, as some of the rocks in the pile moved.

  “That must have been enough. Even if you were strong, you should accept defeat.” May coughed. “This little girl defeated you.”

  And as consciousness started to drift away, her mind got full of images and thoughts. May hoped that Wren and Karina were alright. They needed to keep going and complete the mission. Everything about the disciples and the mysterious figure, the hunter could only think of the worst. What would happen if they lost the battle there? The answer was too scary to even think about.