Hearing his words, Ares loosed an utterly alien wail of anger before rushing towards them. He didn’t run inasmuch as he leapt 30-50 feet at a time, his tentacles propelling him through the air before crashing to the ground. The mountain under their feet shook as he increased his speed, each leap causing more of the buildings around them to crumble from the vibrations.

Eli steeled himself as Ares neared, examining his eldritch form. He seemed to be even larger than the last time Eli fought him, though it was difficult to tell given the way his tentacles squeezed together and flopped around to distort his true height and size. Looking closer he realized that the tentacles dragging behind Ares were decaying, with large sections of fused bone poking through the dead skin.

Well, I guess that answers how he got moving again. Eli thought to himself as he fought back a wave of bile. He grew some new tentacles and is letting the old ones rot away.

His thoughts were interrupted when a tentacle pointed towards Eli and unleashed a beam of pure golden light. Eli instinctively dodged to the side, his Nephilim form moving faster than his conscious thoughts could form. As the beam adjusted and tracked him he continued to pirouette, barrel roll, and perform a host of aerial maneuvers that would make a fighter pilot jealous.

When the initial beam was joined by two more though, Eli’s luck ran out. The three beams managed to converge on him from different directions, raking across his torso. Physically he was no worse for wear – his abilities allowed him to absorb the mana from the attack – but the spell managed to shred both his pants and his bandolier. As they fell to the ground Eli realized he was suspended midair, naked.

“I liked those pants!” Eli shouted, leaning into his role as the antagonist. “Lilly made them for me and you ruined them!”

The sight caused Ares to stop his advance for a moment, seemingly confused as to why his target hadn’t been killed. Either he hadn’t recognized Eli in his Nephilim form or his madness had progressed so far that he’d forgotten that Royal Bloods can absorb spells. His confusion seemed to only last a moment longer though, the bestial part of Ares’ mind reasserting itself as he resumed his charge towards them.

Just a little closer. Eli’s grin widened as the tentacled beast leapt closer. Come on, you overgrown octopus.

Coiling his tentacles beneath him, Ares leapt high into the air one final time. His gargantuan form came down directly on them, aiming to squash Eli beneath him like an ant beneath a boot. Eli grinned as Nyxie opened the portal under them while the corrupted Royal Blood was still midair, seemingly leaving him nowhere to go but to fall into the green swirling circle beneath them.

Using all his newfound agility, Eli quickly darted out of Ares’ path to get himself clear. A crashing sound above him caused him to twist midair so that he could look up, moving just in time to avoid a grasping tentacle. He summoned his mana before another could grab him, focusing on a shadow on the other side of the tower.

"Síl!”

The familiar whirlwind of colors passed in front of his eyes in a millisecond before he reappeared on the other side of the portal, safely out of Ares’ reach. When Ares didn’t fall into the portal like Eli had planned though, any feelings of triumph were washed away and replaced by frustration. His eyes flicked up to see that Ares had extended his unnatural limbs outwards, grabbing hold of the tower to stop his fall. To make matters worse, Eli saw that the tower was starting to buckle under his weight – something that would no doubt crush Nyxie beneath it.

With a groan Eli shot forward once more, centering himself above the portal and shouting to ensure Ares would hear him. “Come get me you overgrown calamari! I’ll turn you into seafood soup!”

Slowly, impossibly, four large eye-stalks extended downwards from Ares’ body to look at him. They took him in for a moment, each of them blinking in turn before fixing on his angelic form. A high-pitched whine began to sound from somewhere within the writhing mass – one that started softly, but quickly ramped up to the point where Eli had to cover his ears with the palms of his hands.

To his dismay, the portal beneath his feet began to flicker precariously as the noise became louder. His eyes darted over to see that Nyxie was desperately trying to stuff part of her cloak into her mouselike ears one-handed, the other hand occupied with trying to keep the portal open. It continued to fall out and she sank to her knees, a look of intense pain crossing her face.

Mousekin are sensitive to noise. Eli thought to himself as he summoned his mana and exposed one ear. Fuck.

“Zraeth!”

The fireball Eli summoned danced across his hand for a moment before darting forward, slamming into the closest eye-stalk before exploding dramatically. While he knew Ares would just absorb the mana, the distraction was enough to make him stop emitting the awful grating noise. Sure enough, when the bright light faded and the smoke cleared a blissful silence was all that was left – even if the corrupted Royal Blood seemed no worse for wear.

Unfortunately the effects seemed to linger for Nyxie. Her face was still a mask of concentration as she fought to stabilize the huge portal beneath them, her entire body shaking from the mental effort. Eli’s eyes darted between her and Ares for a moment longer before he realized what needed to happen next.

“That’s right you hentai reject! Remember me? The one who kicked your ass the last time I was here?” He forced a grin to spread across his face. “Come and get me!”

Ensuring Ares was watching Eli flipped midair before diving into the portal underneath them. He glanced backwards just before he touched the surface to see the crazed former god of war let go of his perch on the tower, causing it to buckle and crumble further. His smile turned genuine at the sight, even as the feeling of hundreds of small hands tickled his back and wings, pulling him into the Underpath.

He emerged into an enormous cavern that was not all that dissimilar from the one he’d seen during his last trip to the Underpath, albeit much larger. The stench of diseased water hit him and a dull glow around him illuminated the wet red walls of the cave, reminding him that they were inside an enormous beast. He grimaced as he flapped his wings, sending droplets everywhere as he got airborne once more.

A moment later Ares dropped to the ground with an undignified thud. His tentacles scrambled against the smooth walls as he pulled himself up, the eyeballs in his eye-stalks darting around frantically. He stretched his body upwards until he brushed against the roof before pushing his tentacles outwards, filling almost half the space immediately.

Just as Ares found Eli’s floating form, Eli’s eyes caught a brown-cloaked figure falling towards the ground. The two Royal Bloods moved in unison, with Eli tearing towards where he thought Nyxie would fall and Ares reaching out with dozens of tentacles to stop him. He successfully avoided the first few appendages but quickly realized no amount of agility would help him against that many.

I hope the things Nyxie said about not using magic in the Underpath were overblown. He thought as he summoned his mana.

"Síl!”

Eli disappeared and reappeared, catching the mousekin resistance leader’s falling form and cradling her just before she hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered weakly as he spun and flapped his wings once more, leaving several more tentacles grasping at air. He glanced around in search of an escape route, casting another spell the moment his eyes landed on an opening to their right.

"Síl!”

Another hurricane of color later, and the two of them reappeared inside the mouth of the opening. Eli wasted no time in re-establishing his momentum, flapping his wings quickly to send them flying through the tunnel. As soon as he was far enough away that he was sure Ares’ bulky form couldn’t follow them into the comparatively narrow space, Eli called upon his mana to cast another pair of spells.

“Guérir líkami! Guérir Patientia!”

His hand glowed gold as he steadily fed mana into Nyxie’s injured form, repairing her ears and restoring her strength. He set his feet on the ground as her eyes fluttered open, blinking several times before she truly saw him. She opened her mouth to say something before glancing around and noticing the fetid red walls – the sight of which caused her eyes to go wide in fear.

No. She mouthed.

He grimaced before nodding. For a moment he considered how he could speak to her out loud without drawing any more attention than they already had. He debated casting the spell that allowed him to speak to Freya’s and Isla’s minds directly while in their bestial forms, but he had no idea whether it would work for her.

Probably not worth risking it. He thought to himself as he wracked his mind for ideas.

His internal debate was cut off when he heard a set of sounds. In the tunnel ahead of them hundreds of barefoot footfalls echoed alongside the noise of rustling clothing and odd clicking. Behind him was a low rumble interrupted at regular intervals by heavy thudding. The two of them glanced back and forth for a long moment before meeting one another’s eyes.

“Eli.” Nyxie said finally as she scrambled out of his cradling arms so that she could latch more securely around his chest once more. “We need to go back to the main cavern.”

“Are you sure?” He questioned.

“Yes.” She nodded. “We need to go. Now.”

Eli reversed course as he spoke again. “I thought we needed to be quiet.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” She explained. “They’re already attracted to the noise.”

“Who is they? Ratkin? I’d rather take my chances against them.”

“No. Shades.” She answered.

He stopped suddenly when he found the source of the thumping: a pair of enormous tentacles which extended deep into their tunnel. Between them was a singular eye-stalk that turned and blinked in the darkness as it searched for them. To Eli’s horror he saw that Ares managed to flatten his body in the same way an octopus might, squeezing through the narrow tunnel to chase them down.

Deciding that returning through the tunnel wasn’t an option anymore, Eli turned around to find an equally-horrifying sight. Clawing their way across the floor, ceiling, and walls was an army of bony, pale creatures. Their faces were vaguely humanoid with two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth, though their mouths were far wider than they should have been and their eyes were a milky, unseeing white color. The wrinkles on their hairless skin gave them an almost-elderly appearance, like someone had resurrected an old elf and turned them into a zombie.

Tearing his eyes away from their grotesque faces for a moment, Eli saw that the long claws extending from their many-fingered hands were black. There didn’t seem to be a ‘standard’ number of limbs – instead each creature had somewhere between six and eight of them, with each of them using their talons to climb effortlessly up the tunnel walls and across the ceiling. As they neared, the front ranks opened their unnatural mouths to reveal several rows of sharp teeth, shattering any remaining comparisons to their being humanoid.

Well that’s gonna be some nightmare fuel. Eli thought to himself before turning to Nyxie and gesturing to the creatures. “How tough are those things?”

“No one has ever fought them and survived.”

Eli glanced back at Ares’ still-advancing form before shaking his head. “Think we’re better off fighting big ugly over there?”

She looked back and forth before an idea occurred to her. “Get closer, but don’t fight him.”

“What?” Eli asked, bewildered.

“Trust me! Just do it!” She urged Eli.

Deciding to trust in her instincts, Eli took off once more towards Ares. Even in the gloom of the tunnel the eye-stalk found them almost instantly, causing the corrupted Royal Blood to let out a deep roar. Nyxie pressed her ears to Eli’s chest to protect them as he neared the crazed beast, grimacing through the pain.

Risking a peek behind them for a moment, Eli saw the shades were hot on their tail. Several of them were literally salivating at the prospect of attacking them, their tongues lolling about as they continued their strange loping charge. Deciding to abandon all pretense of stealth he summoned his mana once more as he landed, pressing his back to the wall before casting.

"Aegis! Protego!”

The first spell summoned an enormous tower shield over the arm Eli had slung across Nyxie’s back, covering him from his ankles to his neck and protecting her completely. The second spell called forth an ice elemental on his shoulder – one that looked suspiciously like a foot-tall buxom woman. She immediately saw the danger for what it was and created thick sheets of ice on either side of them, blocking anyone from being able to flank them.

"Seraph! Vraath!"

A bullet materialized in Eli’s hand just as the first shade scrambled around the wall of ice and launched itself at them. It cannoned out of his hand and caught the shade underneath its chin, causing it to explode backwards in a shower of flames. He ducked to avoid the inferno, allowing the flames to pass over his wooden shield and char the outside.

Suddenly, a beam of golden light shot down the tunnel. To Eli’s surprise it blasted past the two of them and into the oncoming horde, tearing through the front ranks of shades easily. He bashed the shade in front of him with his shield only for it to fall into another lance of golden light, severing it cleanly across its midsection and killing it instantly.

The moment the golden beams faded Eli bore witness to a horde of shades rushing past him, screeching as they attacked Ares’ tentacles. The realization that this was Nyxie’s plan all along washed over him, causing him to risk a glance downwards at her and grin. When he looked back up he saw that another shade had broken away from the group and decided Eli was an easier target, its legs crouching as if to try and leap over them.

Eli readied his shield and summoned his mana once more, but he never had the opportunity to use either tool. Instead, the tunnel around them started to shake and constrict as an otherworldly groan rang out all around them. The sound caused the shade to pause before turning and rejoining the charge towards Ares’ tentacles only to be met in the face by another beam of golden light.

The tunnel around them continued to shrink, causing the ice walls on either side of them to crack ominously. His ice elemental worked frantically to reinforce them, but it was obviously a losing battle. Deciding they needed to move Eli glanced at the ice wall next to him before speaking to his magical construct.

“Can you make a hole here? I need to see what’s happening.” He said to the ice elemental.

She huffed in reply but did what he asked. A small, circular hole appeared in the wall allowing him to glimpse Ares’ fight against the shades. The former god of war was performing admirably, its tentacles turning shades into bloody smears against the walls as he let out controlled bursts of golden mana beams to kill more of them.

And yet, he was losing.

The horde of shades seemed to be never-ending, with dozens of them latched onto his eldritch appendages using their teeth and claws. Every moment seemed to tear flesh out of him, causing a pool of red blood to coat the passageway. What’s more, the tunnel continued to constrict, trapping Ares in place and preventing him from wriggling out.

Realizing the way was well and truly blocked Eli turned to his elemental once more. “I need a hole on this side too.” He said, indicating the direction that the shade army was coming from.

The sight that greeted him wasn’t much better. Shades continued to scramble down the tunnel towards Ares, leaping and clawing their way across every possible surface to increase their speed. Their seemingly never-ending forces chittered and slobbered as they advanced, eager to meet their doom while taking a chunk out of Ares.

His mind made up, Eli glanced at the elemental. “Take a seat on my shoulder. This is going to get rough and I’ll need your help.”

“What?” Nyxie asked, confused.

“Not you.” Eli shook his head, adjusting his grip on her while summoning his mana. “You just…stay there.”

“What are you going to-ah!” She squeaked as he cast his first spell.

"Síl!”

The trio rematerialized further down the hallway, surrounded by shades on all sides. They immediately reacted by trying to leap and claw at him, only for their attacks to be repelled by thick blocks of ice. Unwilling to test his elemental’s limits Eli focused further down the hallway and cast the spell again.

"Síl!”

Somehow the concentration of forces was even denser here, the shades packed so closely together that they couldn’t move without bumping into at least two or three of their comrades. They tried to leap on him and drag him down only for Eli’s elemental to begin casting faster than he ever thought possible, her ice blocks appearing at the speed of thought. Determined to match her effort Eli caught a glimpse of shadows further down the tunnel before casting again.

"Síl! Síl! Síl!”

The repeated casts caused them to burst into another open cavern, this one filled with shades. They dropped from the ceiling and leapt from the floor in equal measure, eager to tear into the intruder in their midst. He prepared to cast again before Nyxie grabbed hold of his arm and shouted through the chaos.

“They can sense your magic!”

Grimacing, Eli pirouetted to avoid a leaping shade. As he did he saw a tunnel embedded in the ceiling – one that seemed to have fewer shades around it than everywhere else. Seeing no other immediate alternatives he flapped his wings hard, sending them flying at breakneck speeds into the passageway.

He continued through the passage for a full fifteen minutes, choosing branching paths at random to try and lose their pursuers. His elemental kept them safe as they moved, blocking attacks before they even registered with Eli. When the crowd finally started to thin she slumped onto his neck and disappeared, exhausted. At that point though he could rely on his Nephilim form’s natural agility to keep them safe, dodging and rolling midair as he soared through the narrow tunnels.

Well that was fucking terrifying. Eli thought to himself as he finally eluded the last of the shades.

Dismissing his shield spell, he landed and let Nyxie down. She looked at him for a long moment before holding one finger to her lips in the universal sign for quiet. When he nodded to show his understanding she turned slowly before setting off further down the tunnel, leaving the sounds of the shade army far behind them.

Without a sun, moon, or watch it was impossible to tell how long the two of them walked for. Every tunnel, cavern, and crossroads seemed to look the same to him, blending into one monotonous living cave. When they eventually found a small room with a green portal swirling on the ceiling he almost cried out with relief, his aching body having been pushed right to its limits. With a final glance at each other the two of them reached up into it, allowing the multitude of small hands to carry them up and through it.