The plan to defeat such a powerful and mighty enemy seemed very simple since all they had to do was to use the runes inscribed on the tomb that had imprisoned the demon before.
Darthañan's brilliant mind had enabled him to decipher how these ancient inscriptions worked. So activating the runes in the proper order and form would be fine. Here came the first priority for the other survivors: protecting Darthañan's life above all else. If the human died, everyone present would be condemned, because: what it took this genius in magical subjects an hour or two to comprehend would easily take others several years to understand.
But they didn’t need to protect only Darthañan.
To seal the crystal demon, they did not need the coffin in its entirety. It was enough to extract the pieces where the magic runes were inscribed. The problem lay in the destruction of the runes.
Although Darthañan understood how they worked and interacted with each other, he couldn't replicate them with the tools he had and where they were. The human estimated that having the latest technomagical technology would take him a week working full time to create a single rune. And the set to seal the demon consisted of 67 runes.
In short, if Darthañan died or one of the sixty-seven runes was destroyed, all hope of victory would be lost.
As soon as Frigglene finished the explanation, they decided how the tasks would be distributed. As Darthañan was the only scholar on magical subjects, the extraction of the runes fell on him. For some runes had magic circuits that were not obvious to the naked eye and destroying one of the key pieces for their survival in the preparation phase would be an ironic tragedy.
Therefore, while Darthañan was working on the extraction of the runes, the others began to modify the terrain of the cavern. The modifications they made outdoors were not very complicated (simple traps and different types of barriers to protect and escape while facing the powerful demon), but they were vital for their survival.
Having finished with the preparations: Frigglene, Albella, Arum, Unullk, and Gush sat down to stabilize their internal energies and treat the wounds that they had to ignore at the time, given the predicaments they were in. Frigglene thought for a moment about showing Albella the strange book-shaped box that was locked with a magic lock, but when she saw at the two multrows she decided not to. She couldn't compromise information that could prove valuable to people she didn't trust.
“Well, well, well, but what do we have here," said a voice that started sounding like a boy, but that ended up sounding like a girl's.
The five individuals who were sitting outside the tower felt chills run through their bodies when they heard the sinister voice. Controlling the tension in their bodies they rose and prepared their weapons.
Albella unsheathed her sword ready to cover it with fire at any moment. Arum on the contrary when he unsheathed his sword, which in comparison to Albella's seemed like a knife, covered it in flames. Having spoken to Frigglene, they determined that he was the most agile of all those present, so getting the demon's attention was his main task. Unullk and Gush drew their weapons forged from the remains of their ancestors that looked like a combination of a machete and an ax full of short sharp protrusions. This design of their weapons, which was ineffective against solid armor, was designed to destroy viscous and gelatinous beings. And although it was not the best in this situation, it was the only thing they had, since the firearms that might have been more useful had disappeared with the bodies of their owners when the sanc flowers attacked them.
Frigglene, unlike them, did not use weapons, since her body was much more efficient.
Her eyes turned red, her hands began to be covered in blood, forming long, sharp nails on each of her fingers. A small layer of gloomy reddish smoke covered her body.
Inside the tower, Darthañan became alarmed since he had only extracted 32 runes. His wife and the others had to survive while distracting the terrifying being, without letting him know what they were planning. <Frig, you have to survive.> implored Darthañan increasing the speed with which he extracted the runes.
“I don't see the magician.” The voice sounded now like an adult woman that turned to that of a middle-aged man.
“That little trick brought back some bad memories,” added the being with the voice of an old man that as he spoke became the voice of an old woman.
The demon's first comment alarmed them as it relieved them. On one hand, he was watching them without any of them being able to detect him; on the other hand, he inadvertently informed them that some material or barrier in the tower inhibited his perception. This meant that Darthañan was safe as long as no attack hit the tower.
“Who are you?” asked Albella scanning around with her perception. The light from her helmet was of no use in this situation.
“How low I have fallen. If any of my kind knew that I have lowered myself to speak with sacrifices due to the unbearable loneliness that I was forced to experience for so many centuries.”
Demons, despite what is believed are quite sociable species, except for some races, the vast majority of them like to engage in long conversations in which they implant their points of view and their moral system in those who listen to them.
They would have been part of the intelligent races had it not been that their principles and values differed almost entirely with the values and principles of the Telluriam, a name by which the species considered as people were known in the world.
The most accurate explanation arrived at, in the golden age of Tellurus, before the cataclysm, was that their bodies and minds react, unlike others to different stimuli. Suffering and joy is a great example of this. And bearing in mind that they are immortal and almost indestructible since their souls return to the plane of the dead with their memories intact every time their bodies are destroyed to be reborn again and return to the plane of the living without major repercussions. Their perception of death is different from that of the Telluriam.
" But no one is going to find out that I talked with inferior creatures, " he said aloud to himself.
“I am known as Ungar son of Olddoom.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Albella. She had to lengthen the conversation as long as she could.
“The same as you,” Ungar replied appearing in front of them with the appearance of Frigglene “Seeking to increase my power I fell into a trap of fate and almost lost my life.”
The demon turned to look at Albella taking her form.
“And if you refer to right now. I need you to help me regain my strength to save the world.”
“What do you mean?”
Seeing Albella's interest Ungar smiled.
“Grant eternal life to mortals.” The demon looked at Gush when he felt that Gush was the most impacted by his words.
Taking the form of the multrow he continued with his words.
“Since time immemorial, those of my class have tried to share the gift of heaven with others. But the sacrifice to get this gift is something that scares mortals. Since when have the most powerful beings feared to suffer to transcend their limits?”
A sad look appeared on Ungar's face.
" This is why I have learned that talking to weak trash is a waste of time. " His gaze returned to Albella taking her form.
“But all is not lost.” The demon smiled.
“At the bottom of that tunnel.” Ungar pointed to the opposite side where the survivors had entered.
“There are two little creatures with the power to break the chains that bind mortals.”
Those words gave Frigglene a bad feeling.
"And as it always happens with most powerful beings. Someone inferior to them sealed their power."
Frigglene's eyes widened. He couldn't perceive her children that were so far from Vorpiax.
“Is there any way we can avoid a confrontation?” Albella asked noticing the reactions of Gush and Frigglene to the words of the demon.
The two were no longer in optimal conditions for combat.
Ungar winced in doubt. None of the present, not even the magician was worth the amount of energy needed to make one of them his disciple. But the centuries of solitude in that coffin made him reconsider that a little company would have its benefits.
“Very simple, my girl. Give me a drop of your blood voluntarily.”
Albella frowned. There was nothing so simple in the world. Delivering a drop of blood voluntarily was quite a delicate subject. Spells, formations, rites, seals, contracts, summons, and thousands of magical ways to use that drop of blood could endanger or even enslave the owner.
Noticing Albella's reaction, Ungar determined that there was no need to speak further.
“I already let you waste enough time for your reinforcements to arrive. Now is the moment for you to sacrifice yourself for a greater good.”
At that instant, through another tunnel, Helvella and his men entered the huge cavern.
