The dragon began its rampage. With a sweep from its bony tail, it bisected the soldiers behind it. Only those who stood behind the redheaded inquisitor survived, thanks to her barrier. It then flapped its wings, sending a shockwave of wind that knocked everyone in the room onto the walls. Well, almost. Anyone on Felicia's side, including me, was kept in place by her shadow hands coming out from the ground. 

The dragon then let out a roar right at my direction (quite the frightening experience if I might add) before it started to stretch itself. It had been summoned into a cramped space so naturally it wanted to make the space around it bigger. And thus, the entire room began to shake as it strained against the powerful force the dragon was exerting.

Yeah, don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t know what she’s thinking, summoning something that big to an underground dungeon like this.

Yep, I better scram.

I drew my wand and blasted a hole onto the stone slab blocking my passage. Before I left, however, I gave a glance towards Felicia.

“Go. I’ll be fine. Leave this place.” She spoke, without looking back.

Yeah, what am I worried for? After what she just did, I don’t think I’m going to help her after all.

And so, I ran, just in time before the entire room came crumbling down. It set up a chain reaction, causing the corridors connected to it and the other rooms surrounding it to crumble apart as well. I let my legs carry me as fast as it could. If a camera was at me, I would probably look like Indiana Jones running away from a crumbling ruin. Uhh, not that I was insinuating I was anywhere as cool as him though.

I’m glad I didn’t bring in those three. I’m not confident enough that my Wind Wall can survive all that rubble falling on top of it, not to mention the problem of being buried by them afterward.

When the dust settled (I blew them away from my location using my wind magic), there was a massive rubble behind me. Stone and dirt piled up like mountains with the massive bone dragon standing in the middle of it all. It let out another roar as it shook all the rubble from on top of it. It looked completely unharmed too.

The ceiling still remained, preventing sunlight (or moonlight, come to think about it) from pouring down. As for the floor, it had collapsed entirely, creating this chasm that allowed the dragon to finally have the freedom of movement it wanted. If I had to guess, half of the entire dungeon had collapsed thanks to it. 

Hmm, looking at it now, its size was about the same as that ice dragon I beat months ago. Makes sense for all dragons to be about the same—

...Oh.

It hit me.

It wasn’t that it was a different dragon.

It was the very same dragon I had defeated.

Felicia, whom I left its bones with, had resurrected it using her necromancy. 

And not only that, she had bound it to be her summon as well.

I’ve been had.

Felicia and Berault were nowhere to be seen. The same applied for the inquisitors and the soldiers. Had they all been buried by the rubble? No. It can’t end that undramatically, can it? And the dragon hadn’t disappeared so at the very least, Felicia should still be alive, if we’re following the usual summoning rules.

Hmm? What are those?

I then noticed them, on the bottom of the chasm, large crystals around the size of an adult man, with some being taller, were scattered all over the floor. They were pitch-black in color. Squinting my eyes, I could see another peculiar sight. There was a massive magic circle etched onto said floor. None of the rubbles and dirt fell inside said circle, giving me the impression that it had some sort of a barrier of its own.

Those crystals… they’re mana crystals, aren’t they? They’re powering that magic circle, most likely.

I had read about mana crystals before, though this was the first time I saw one in the flesh. They were valuable mining goods as they could be used for various alchemy and magical crafting-related purposes. Essentially, they were ambient mana, concentrated into crystallized form over the ages.

They weren’t supposed to be black though, so if I had to guess, they were concentrated dark mana instead.

Putting two and two together, it was only a natural conclusion to take that Felicia may have something to do with it. That, or it was something the demons set up a millenia ago when they first turned this mausoleum into a dungeon.

Hmm? Someone’s coming!

At the distance, across the chasm, I saw figures stepping out from an archway that were still intact. It was another mass of soldiers, with what I imagine was the general and two more inquisitors leading them. They weren’t exactly blending in, what with the general’s cape and large double-bladed axe and the woman’s blue dress. The other man beside the woman wore white as well, which didn’t match with the dull green and silver the rest of the soldiers wore.

I hid myself behind a stray rock. Didn’t want them to suspect I was siding with Felicia yet again.

The bone dragon let out another roar before flying from the chasm and towards the soldiers. It landed with a tremor, and it didn't waste time before blasting them with its cold breath, only to find that it was blocked by the inquisitor lady's barrier.

As the two sides fought, I moved my attention back to the chasm. I had a hunch that whatever that magic circle was for, it was related to Felicia's goal. And I wanted to know what that was.

To my surprise, however, there was already another battle going on down there. As expected, Felicia and Berault were still alive. And so did the four inquisitors. None of the soldiers made it though.

I climbed down slowly, taking care not to alert them with my presence. I hid behind another large piece of rubble, until I was close enough that I could hear their voices.

“Stop her! She’s activating the circle!” The blue-haired youth shouted.

Sure enough, Felicia was standing right in the middle of the circle. She was stabbing her staff to the ground, holding it with both hands as she closed her eyes and chanted. Meanwhile, her subordinates, Berault and Diona, protected her from the four inquisitors, while the dragon distracted the soldiers above.

“O Great Power of Darkness! I offer thee these foolish souls so you would grant me the key!”

The circle began to pulsate, and the four inquisitors immediately yelled in pain as they fell down to their knees.

It didn’t need to take a genius to figure out what she was doing.

She’s sacrificing them! She’s sacrificing them for her ritual!

A surge of dark mana surged forth from the circle, concentrating itself at the center, right at the tip of Felicia’s staff. 

“I offer thee my words! Ha’atu! Ren’ah! Trillium! Eredion!”

She raised her staff upwards, firing said dark energy to the ceiling. It tore through the stone, going all the way to the outside.

“I offer thee my body! My flesh, blood and skin shall be shrines to the dark!”

At this point, shivers started to form at the back of my neck. The amount of mana she was channeling was unbelievable. It was as if I was staring at the fountain overflowing and bursting with magic power, and me, having some sensitivity towards it, felt as if I was being suffocated by it.

“I offer thee my soul! So grant me thy key and open thy gate! Manifest the truth upon this world!”

More dark mana flew towards Felicia as slowly but surely, the crystals containing them vanished into the wind. I instinctively raised a Wind Wall, as I didn’t feel comfortable facing off against that much surge of power without having any protection.

Holy shit, is she serious?! What kind of spell is she casting that needs this much power?!

“Come forth! Grant my wish and break the barrier between life and death!”

The spell reached its apex. The mana now actively swirled around her like a tornado. More and more of the ceiling was being consumed by it as she fired the mana towards the skies.

But then, something happened—something that made the mana she had gathered to not fire towards the skies like she wanted. The mana started to shower, raining upon the area instead of continuing its journey upwards.

And then, I saw it—the pulsating magic circle she stood on slowly dissolving itself away.

Uhh, this isn’t good, is it?

My suspicion was confirmed by the panicked look drawn on Felicia’s face.

“N-no! T-the ritual… i-it’s not stable enough! I-I’m losing control!”

*CRACK*

*SHATTER*

Her staff, unable to bear the unstabilized power coursing through it, shattered into a million pieces, sending her tumbling down to the ground.

The spell, however, refused to end on its own. It continued drawing more and more power into itself from the dark crystals, before spreading it around in a shower of darkness. Some headed at my direction, but thankfully, my Wind Wall was there to protect me.

Yep, this isn’t good at all!

I noticed out of the corner of my eyes the four trapped inquisitors. Now that the magic circle was severely weakened, they once again regained their movement, and wisely, they used it to run away from Felicia as quickly as they could.

And I really better do the same.

I swiftly ran back upwards to the outside of the chasm as fast as I could. I took one last glance towards Felicia. She was now stuck inside the spell’s shredding tornado, with Berault and Diona beside her.

Sorry, but you’re on your own for this one.

Using my Wind Step, it was an easy matter for me to reach the top of the chasm once more. When I did so, however,

Hmm? What’s that?

I noticed something peculiar from the corner of my eye. Looking upwards, I noticed that the once pitch black sky had instead been infused by light. The two were fighting against each other for dominance.

And then, I saw it—across the chasm, the lady in the blue dress—she too was in the middle of chanting something, as she was raising her matching blue staff to the sky.

Wait, where did the dragon go? She couldn’t have defeated it in that short amount of time, could she?!

I looked back upwards. And then, it hit me.

“Wind Wall!”

I immediately hardened the wind above me as I braced for impact.

“Fairies! Come out and build me the strongest wall you could!”

The two girls promptly responded to my call. Earth Sprite raised a hut made out of hardened mud around us while Spring Fairy covered it with her water wall.

“W-what’s going on, Master? All these mana… I-I’ve never seen anything like it!” Spring Fairy spoke with a panicked look on her face.

“I don’t know either. But I know for sure that a big attack is coming our way, from above.”

Why did I think so? Because I realized the light that was up on the clouds was forming a magic circle of its own.

That woman…  she’s going to bathe this whole place with her holy light. A powerful spell that rained light from the heavens. If I had to guess, it’s a Grandmaster-level spell.

I still remembered like it was yesterday, when Vera used two spells of a similar caliber. No, perhaps this was even stronger. Vera had to split her mana into casting two at once after all.

I put every bit of my mana that I could fit into my spell. There was no escaping this. The range was simply too big.

And then, it fired.

A massive beam of light descended from the heavens. I closed my eyes and focused everything I had on my spell.

“Graahhh!”

The moment it touched my Wind Wall, I immediately felt the immense pressure bearing down onto me. T-this is— this is too much! I can’t possibly defend against this!

“M-Master! I-I can’t—”

“U-uhaaaaaa!”

My two summons were clearly struggling as well. It was immediately clear to me that even with us three, we couldn’t withstand such an attack. Even so—

“Use my mana as much as you want!” I yelled to them.

Grghh! It's no use! This spell… it's too powerful!

"M-Master! I-I can't— I-I'm sorry!"

The fairy vanished, taking the water wall with her. It was now only us two.

Graahhh! I'm not… dying here… not before I apologized to Marina and Erika… not before I met Sherry again!

...

Wait! I can— I can use that! If I can nullify the spell, just like she did!

I gritted my teeth. Using the strength I had left, I began channeling my raw, untransformed mana in a way that could deconstruct other spells back into scattered, harmless mana. I only managed to do it once before, with the help of Amelie, but it was no time to doubt myself. It was either that, or I die, right here and now. I would have wasted my second chance in life.

And that, I refused to do, even if I had to bleed for it.

"Aaaahhh! Deconstruct Magic!"

My Wind Wall shattered. Now there was only Earth Sprite's wall to protect me.

"U-uuuuu...aaaahhh!"

I didn't need to look at her to know how much she was struggling. The girl might not talk much, but her determination to aid me was unmistakable. I didn't know what made her so loyal to me, but I was thankful for it nonetheless.

I-it worked!

I could feel it. My Deconstruct Magic was now aiding her wall, weakening the light before it could hit it.

However, it wasn't enough. The spell continued to rain down, unrelenting. And I knew Earth Sprite was at her limit.

"Must… not… falter… must… protect… Master…"

This girl…

"I-it's alright. If it hurts you too much, then you can leave."

I wasn't sure why I said those words. I knew I would die if her wall crumbled.

But, seeing her like this… no, not just seeing. Feeling. I could feel the great pain she suffered by keeping her wall intact. Perhaps it was our contractual bond at work. Or perhaps I simply didn't want to make a little girl like her suffer for my sake.

"No.. not leaving… Master…"

"It's fine. I'm… not that good of a human being anyway." I gave her a grim smile.

Aah, I didn't want to die here, being turned into ash by some holy light. I want to die on my bed as an old man, with a loving family at my side. I would have my wife, my children, and even my grandchildren.

But, it seems that's not going to happen. Sorry Anton, Amelie, Anne. I ended up doing something stupid anyway. I just hope you guys aren't nearby when this spell rains down from the sky.

"D-don't… don't give up… I… become stronger… strong enough to protect Master…"

And then, the brown-haired sprite began to shine.

My eyes went wide as the child-sized figure grew to be a tall woman. Her outfit changed completely as well, from a modest robe to a skimpy brown-colored two-piece bikini. Her legs and arms were covered with little stone bricks, or rather, they were her new, not-human skin. Her brown hair reached all the way to her behind.

She just evolved from a little girl to a sexy woman.

"I have grown, Master." She gazed at my speechless self. "I am now a Sprite of "Sacred Stones."

The hut she had erected evolved with her as well. It was now made out of solid, glowing bricks. I could feel Holy mana emitting out of them. Thanks to that fact, it was now much more durable against the holy light hammering it from the outside. 

And thus, with the last remaining inch of my strength, I kept up my Magic Deconstruction anti-spell until the barrage was finally over.

We made it. Barely.

I fell to my feet, panting. My clothes were now drenched by my sweat.

“M-Master, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I-I’m fine. My mana… I just need to recharge them, that’s all.” I gave her a reassuring grin.

The girl, no, woman, immediately brightened by my response.

"I'm glad! Now I can be more useful to you, Master! As you grow stronger, so would I!”

“R-right…”

I eyed her up and down. God damn, she’s a bombshell right now. I don’t think having a summon this attractive is healthy for my perverted self, especially since she keeps calling me “Master” and all that.

“Master?”

“A-ah, nevermind.” I quickly averted my (no doubt) lecherous gaze.

And yet, her mind is still as naive as that of a child.

Dangerous. That combo is dangerous. If I’m less of a good person, I could easily take advantage of her and do all sorts of stuff to that hot body of hers.

I told her to remove her rocks. Still weak, I stood up gingerly before examining the aftermath of the spell.

Holy crap…

What I saw took my breath away.

Gone was the dungeon we were in. Surrounding us was a massive hole around the size of a city. Only the small patch of ground we stood up survived, thanks to us blocking the spell from vaporizing it away. Thus, we were now standing on top of a tall ground pillar in the middle of said hole.

Far away, in front of us, was another pillar. The blue-dressed woman stood here, unharmed by her own spell. The same couldn't be said by the people accompanying her, however. They were gone, perished in the spell I presumed. Only she and the man standing beside her survived, and he should be another inquisitor just like her.

I had no inkling to how they survived it, but it's probably related to their barriers. They might be zealous enough to kill innocents with their spell, but they wouldn't be dumb enough to kill themselves.

As for the darkness, it had vanished as well. To my surprise, however, Felicia and co. managed to survive at the very center of the hole. Not only them, too. The four inquisitors survived as well. Clearly, they had a spell designed to keep them safe from that powerful holy magic.

The woman and his aide descended off her pillar, using the same barrier stair technique Mother once used.

I'd better get off as well. Who knows how long it would remain stable?

I told Earth Sprite of my intention and she nodded. 

"Then, I shall rest for a bit. Please call me if you ever need me with anything."

She sure has gotten a lot more talkative since her evolution.

And I soon realized she had gotten more forward as well as instead of asking first, she grabbed me and forced me into a hug, burying my face in her lovely bosom.

Aah, heaven! This is what heaven is like!

"Master is so little! I'm bigger than Master now!"

Yeah, something's definitely bigger alright.

It didn't last long, however, as after taking her payment, she disappeared with a smile, leaving me on my own once again. Probably with a perverted grin as big boobs really are a weakness of mine.

With her gone, I descended down the pillar, using my Wind Step magic yet again while keeping myself out of sight. 

I just hope that lady in blue hasn't noticed me.

Once again hidden away from sight, I continued to examine the situation for a safe distance.

In retrospect, I probably should have run away instead, especially after that near death situation I just brushed with, but I just had to know how this whole situation would be resolved. It was all-too-obvious that Felicia had been defeated. Whatever that ritual was intended to do, it had failed. Terribly. Not to mention that it had broken her staff into pieces in the process as well. And with the inquisitors surrounding her like this, I don’t believe she could escape.

-------

Felicia

"W-why? Why did it fail?! It shouldn’t have failed! It shouldn’t!”

All my labor these past years… disappeared into the four winds, just like that.

She was right. That elf was right. The ritual was indeed flawed. It wasn’t stable enough. It couldn’t contain all the mana it needed without imploding on itself.

But, even without that, it would’ve failed anyway. That searing holy light from the heavens would have destroyed the Gate the moment it came into being.

Somehow, I survived that, thanks to the swirling darkness protecting me from it.

I wish I hadn’t.

“Foolish woman! What do you think you hope to accomplish by that spell?! If it weren't for my Divine Judgment, this whole region would have drowned in demonic mana! I see it now! You wish to flood the kingdom with monsters, don't you? To destroy it and turn its citizens into your own personal undead army. Truly, you are beyond salvation."

Those harsh words made me look to the side. There she was—the Vice Head Inquisitor herself, the one responsible for all my troubles. She was the caster of said spell. A Grandmaster-level Holy spell. I hadn’t foreseen that. I didn’t believe she would be capable of such a spell.

She could’ve easily destroyed the entire dungeon with it from the start. If I had known, I would have abandoned this whole place, even if I had to lose years worth of progress on my research.

But now…

“Milady! Stand up! It’s not over yet!”

It was Berault. He drew his blade, guarding me from the inquisitor.

“I’ll buy you time for your escape, so please! Do not lose faith! You can always try again!”

“B-Berault…” I returned weakly.

“I believe in you! You! Who returned my dear Rowana to me once more! And make no mistake! I have no plans to die in this battlefield either! They… that woman… she took away my beloved Rowana once more with that accursed light! But you! You can resurrect her again! And the next time, it would be her own soul returned to this world! Not a chunk of your soul masquerading as her!”

...I was left speechless. Never before had I heard him being this passionate before.

"No, I don’t deserve your trust.” I gave a bitter smile. “All this time, I've only been using you for your strength. I didn't resurrect your wife out of the goodness of my heart. I did it to gain your gratitude and loyalty. Same with you, Diona.” I looked to the side towards my ghost familiar. “I only made a pact with you as you shared the same hatred I possessed towards the king. No, your hatred is much, much bigger. I came to him and gave my body willingly. But you… you never had a choice in the matter.”

Diona was born out of the lingering hatred and regret a certain commoner girl once had. She had received the fancy of the king, and as a result, was forced to serve him as his maid at the castle. Of course, she had no love for him. She already had a lover of her own. And they were perfectly happy, until that one fateful day where the king, who would often do a visit to the capital’s brothels, laid his eyes on hers.

Before she knew it, she was forced by her soldiers to go back with him to the castle.

At first, she reluctantly gave him what he wanted. He promised to her that once he was satisfied by her, he would let her go. It wasn’t like she had any other choice. She had begged the people in the castle to help her, but naturally, none came to her aid. She was even lectured by the head maid, an old, decrepit, and generally unpleasant woman, that she should be honored to give her body to the king, being the commoner that she was. And a lot of the people in the castle held the same belief. Especially that general, who would willingly die in service of his corrupt king. He believed in the absolute power of a monarch, and how a knight like him should only obey, and not think for himself.

Well, he’s dead now, I presume. A silver lining in these storm clouds I found myself in right now.

And so, the poor maiden lost her innocence to him, not to the lover whom she adored so. They were believers of the purity doctrine of the Church, so they decided not to share a bed until they could afford enough money to be married.

Her lover, defying all common sense in the name of love, decided to infiltrate the castle to rescue her.

Only to find himself captured, and then tortured, right in front of the poor maiden.

The king was having a bad mood that day, so he was especially cruel with it. The poor maiden was forced to watch as her lover screamed in pain for hours on end, until eventually, her mind broke and she opted to take her own life by stealing a guard’s sword and stabbing herself with it.

Her spirit wandered the castle’s dungeons from that day, until I made a contract with it. And that spirit was Diona—a malignant soul that had denied the cycle of rebirth by its sheer sorrow and hatred it possessed.

“Mistress Felicia! Please do not give up! You have given me my revenge and so I swear to serve you until the day you die! So get up and flee! There is still time! You can try again! Bring me back my lover like you promised me too!”

Her expression was wholly earnest. She genuinely still believed in me, even after my failure.

...S-she's right. I can try again. I still have a chance. Even if I have to run away once more, even if it takes many more years, I can do it! I must do it! I've sacrificed so much to give up now!

Gingerly, I stood up. That inquisitor and her aide were getting closer. And at the corner of my eye, I could see those other four inquisitors recovering themselves. Somehow, they managed to survive that light, though it seemed to take a lot out of their energy.

I just need to— I just need to figure out my escape route…