“Almost done. I’m already feeling much better.” May said, and she looked in the direction of the third castle.

  “Thankfully, because you seem very anxious to run and go help K. You should trust in her.”

  “I am! But it’s not that I don’t trust her. It’s that as a friend, I’m always eager to help her and be by her side.” May said, and she turned to Wren. “You know, everything here, the fighting, and even when I went to rescue. It’s the first time Karina and I are doing these kinds of things alone. We have always done everything side by side. So it’s strange to me to be fighting on my own.”

  “But you’re not fighting alone. Neither of us is fighting alone, May. Even when you’re on your own face-to-face with one of these disciples, our trust in you it’s like we’re by your side. Giving strength. At least that helped me at the first castle. And you know how magic can work sometimes. Our faith in each other is important.”

  “You’re right, Wren. We’re never truly alone. But knowing that doesn’t help with my anxiety.”

  “I know, I know. But soon we’ll be there, and we will help Karina. You’ll see.”

  May nodded and waited for the healing to be finished. The time she waited for her physical wounds and injuries to get better, she already felt that part of her magical energy had returned. It wasn’t good to be fighting that much, bringing our magical power close to zero over and over. But they didn’t have any other option. If they wanted not only to finish the mission but to stay alive and get out of that hell, they needed to fight.

  “I want to get out of here. Report this mission at the Agency and go back to the usual missions. Fighting weak monsters and all that stuff. I swear I won’t ever again complain about that.”

  “Me neither, Wren. Everything here… I don’t think I ever imagined we would be facing something like that.”

  “May, there’s one thing bothering me about it all. And I know you’re thinking about the same thing. You said back then that the mission was rigged. Do you think there’s someone related to that Master or the disciples inside the Agency?”

  “That’s a good question. I’m not sure, I mean, I can’t think of any other reason why they would send us here. But there’s another question, why us? We’re not that important inside the Agency. I mean, sure, we’re weak compared to higher-level hunters, but what do they gain with that?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t even know if we’ll ever discover the reasons why.”

  May didn’t answer. The girl felt that she had healed completely, and so she got up and tested her arms and legs. After that, the duo descended the steps in the direction of the third castle. Their steps echoed through the whole place. May tried to feel Karina’s energy, but that was hard, considering the magical flow inside the hole.

  “Wait just a little more, K. We’re almost there,” May said to herself as she saw the forms of the third castle in the distance.

  ---

  Karina felt her blood as it ran down her chin. She wiped it away as she ran again in the direction of Gisela. But when she tried to punch, her hand passed through the woman. The disciple laughed. But the girl wouldn’t give up that easily. She closed her eyes and focused on everything around her. She gathered energy around her fists and aimed for the disciple’s shoulder. Gisela defended from the movement with one hand, the other hand, she punched Karina in the guts, and it launched the girl back.

  Gisela aimed both of her hands at the hunter, and the girl felt the magical energy of the place as it flowed in that direction. With a devilish smile, the disciple released an intense gust of hot air that exploded some of the pillars of the castle. Karina tried to defend herself from the attack, but she felt her skin burn, and her body was pushed back. She jumped to get out of the attack range, and when Gisela tried to tower the ceiling, Karina ran again and tried to catch the disciple off guard. But being experienced was the greatest advantage of the woman, as she stopped the attack and blocked Karina with her palm.

  Before the girl could jump back, Gisela grabbed Karina’s pulse and knocked her to the ground. The hunter felt the air being expelled from her lungs. While on the ground, she tried to catch her breath, and she noticed the disciple observed her.

  “What a pathetic sight. And to think that you believe you had a chance. Because you were able to twist my plans and vision a little. I’m stronger than that.”

  “There’s no point in fighting if you don’t think you have a chance,” Karina said, and she got up. “And my friends believe in me and trust in my strength.”

  Karina spun and tried to kick the disciple in the legs. But the woman read the movement and jumped with the right timing. Swiftly, she moved as the disciple attempted to hit Karina on the head. But the girl was ready for that, and so she blocked the movement. And took a page from the woman’s book, she grabbed the disciple’s leg and used Gisela’s own momentum to throw her against a pillar. The attack destroyed the stone, and this time it was the disciple who tried to catch her breath.

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  “Now, what were you saying about that being a pathetic sight?”

  Gisela looked at Karina with pure hate in her eyes. She smirked with malice while she closed one eye.

  “I didn’t think I would have to use that with you. I don’t like to use it. But if this is what it takes to make you pay for your words. Then I’ll gladly do it.”

  And when Gisela opened the eye again, her iris was completely yellow, and it glowed with power. The yellow eye moved on its own, and it focused on Karina’s right leg. At first, the girl felt nothing, but then her leg got weak. Almost hard to stand up.

  “Oh, Karina is having difficulty standing on her own legs?”

  Gisela closed that eye again and ran in the direction of the girl. She took advantage of Karina’s confusion, and she hit the hunter in the head. That made Karina lose her balance completely.

  The girl placed one hand on a pillar to help keep from falling down. But she couldn’t rest, so she focused on her good leg to jump back. Standing back, Karina took some time to analyze her leg. From the outside, it seemed normal, but there was something strange about it. She had to use magic to heal it a little, or she wouldn’t be able to keep fighting.

  Gisela walked in the direction of the girl. Her mysterious eye still closed, a smirk on her face.

  “I can’t imagine how much regret you’re feeling now. But let me throw you a bone: this is my eye of the curse. It can curse anything it focuses on.”

  Karina felt sick; she wasn’t very good at dealing with curses. That was something May did way better than her. But the girl didn’t have the option to count on her friend’s help. So she ran once again in the direction of the disciple. She tried to punch the woman, but her eyes opened and focused on the girl’s arm. And the hunter felt her arms getting weak. But that wouldn’t stop her, so as the woman closed her eye, Karina spun and kicked her on the side. The disciple was barely able to defend from it. Anger was stamped on Gisela’s face.

  “I won’t let that take away the best of me. I’ll still fight until I find a way to defeat you. Even if it costs my life in the process.”

  Pride stood in the way of Gisela; she could fight with a style that suited her better. But she wanted to win against Karina in what the hunter was best at: hand-to-hand combat. So, the disciple kept exchanging blows with the girl. She cursed parts of Karina's body and combined it with surprise attacks. It was hard for the hunter to keep the rhythm during the fight.

  But Karina wouldn’t give up; every time a part of her body was cursed, she forced her magical energy to that part. If something was taken from her, she would compensate for it. She had felt insecure in the mission, back in the Hotel, while she had to do things on her own. But not anymore, even in that short period of time, she grew up. So Karina focused most of her magical power in her hands, and in a split second, she saw an opening. She hit the woman in the gut, and the disciple flew back. She coughed up blood as she looked at the girl. Her mouth tried to form words, but she wanted to say, “How?”

  But even Karina wouldn’t be able to explain. Call it fighting instinct or something else, somehow she had defeated a disciple.

  ---

  When May and Wren got into the castle, much time had passed since the fight had ended. They found Karina on her knees, as the girl tried to recover her magical energy. The disciple’s body was lying close to the door, a lifeless figure. At various points, the destruction of the castle caused some of the walls and pillars to fall. May ran to Karina and helped her friend get up.

  “Hey, K. You did it, you defeated one of the disciples, too,” May said, and Wren heard the relief in the girl’s voice.

  “I did it. And I guess you guys did it too. But damn, that was hard.”

  “From the moment we decided to go down here, I thought we’d have a hard time. But we’re going even farther than I had imagined.” Wren observed.

  May thought for a little while, and she placed her hands on her hips as she tried to remember something.

  “You know, I heard it once. I always took it as a myth or stuff like that.” May looked at Karina and Wren. “But now I’m starting to think there’s some truth to it. They say witches and wizards can get strong when in a tough spot. It’s like your magical power pushes from inside of you, to make you grow stronger when needed.”

  “Well, this is the only thing that can explain us being able to defeat these disciples. At least considering how strong they are. But there’s one thing bothering me: to which deity are they related? Don’t you think…” And Karina cut short her own words; she was scared of the possibility.

  “That they’re tied to demons?” May said and completed. “I don’t think it’s a possibility, K. I believe it’s the truth. These are demonic temples, they said it themselves. This is the reason we can’t grasp their magical power; it comes from a source different from ours. A cursed one, if I might say.”

  “This is crazy, May. People making dealings with demons? Don’t they know that demons always take more? And that their promises are empty?”

  “Wren, there are people in this world who would do anything for power. Even if it costs their own life in the process.”

  May words echoed through the place, as Karina and Wren were sure that the words were right. That made the disciples scarier, because they were people willing to risk anything.

  “It’s no surprise they’re that strong, considering everything. And that Master, who is this person?” Wren asked, and something passed through May’s eyes; it was a glimpse of something, although the man couldn’t say what it was.

  “I guess… I mean, there’s a person I suspect, but I won’t be sure until we’re face-to-face with him. And if he’s the leader of it all, he’s probably strong. Stronger than all of the disciples.”

  “And this is the person we have to defeat?” Karina asked, but she didn’t need an answer, as May's expression told the girl everything she needed to know.