Before I could even ask the question, the answer was given to me.

“A demon and from feeling that pressure a pure breed too!” Serin said from next to me.

“How do you want to handle this Lillia?” Asked Altria.

“We want to question them, but only if we can disable them safely. If that proves to be too much, we go all out and kill them.” Answered Lillia.

The party all got ready to spring into action, but before we could move the clapping stopped and the mysterious person at the top of the stairs begun to speak.

“Congratulations on making it this far. For a moment there I thought my golems were going to stop you. I was surprised by how you handled them so easily, but this is as far as you come. I have only one question before I send you all to your graves.” She said, her voice unnaturally echoing throughout the room.

“You won’t get any answers from us!” Lillia shouted back defiantly.

“Oh, come now, I only wish to know which one of you did that to my succubus. It’s a sad sight to see her hungry yet unwilling to feed on her prey. An awful fate.”

“It was me!” I said without thinking.

“Theo!” Serin said trying to quiet me.

“Oh, the hero. Murdered and enslaved by the guild, I wonder why you have chosen to work with the breakers of the taboo? You would do better to support my lord.” The woman responded.

“That may be true, but they have only been driven to these lengths because of the destruction and terror you lord has brought to this world. My only hope is also theirs and that is the death of the demon lord!” I shouted back.

The woman laughed then responded.

“Oh my, are you really this clueless even when you come here with two that carry their bloodline?”

“Taboo, bloodline… What is she talking about Lillia? Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“I have no idea what she is talking about either. My guess is she is trying to stir up some confusion amongst us.” Answered Lilla.

“It’s the first I heard anything about this too.” Altria added backing up Lillia.

“But this demon clearly knows something, we need to take her alive and question her. This is exactly the sort of thing we came here to find out.” Serin was right, it was.

“Yes, but that isn’t going to be easy.” Lillia said, the look of unease evident on her face.

“So, you are playing innocent?” Asked the demon woman. “Not to matter, you’ve answered my question. Hero prepare yourself, you will be the last to die and I will make it slow for what you have done to my succubus. The rest of you die now.”

A bolt of lightning shot from her hand straight at us, there was little time to react. Lillia had already raised her staff that was now emitting a faint red glow. The bolt hit something invisible just a few feet above all our heads. Lightning was sent in every direction around us, outlining an invisible domed barrier that Lillia had erected.

“As soon as her attack finished move. Serin and Siofra take a side each and Altria cover them. Theo you’re with me.” Lillia ordered. “If we can take her alive fine, but don’t take any chances, a single slip here will mean death.”

Lillia was deadly serious, the strain from deflecting the attack was clearly evident. Her expression was almost pained.

Once the woman saw her attack wasn’t going to penetrate the barrier anytime soon, she stopped. The moment she did so Serin and Siofra both ran for the stairs at full speed. Altria shot off two arrows, but before they could hit their mark they burst into flames and disintegrated.

“Tch, this isn’t going to be easy Lillia. I doubt we are going to be able to capture her… We might be lucky to get out of here.” Altria said clearly worried.

“I know.” Lillia answered as she opened a mana potion.

It was the first time I had seen Altria show any kind of concern like that from an opponent. Siofra and Serin didn’t need telling either, their experience as adventures was telling them that she was bad news. As they both ran in a pincer movement approaching the demon woman from either staircase they were already building up for powerful attacks.

Serin’s blade was enveloped in a glow and Siofra’s axe was giving the red glow from before. They were each preparing the attacks that had brought down the golems before. The plan had switched to trying question her only if she survives long enough to speak, without a word being said among them. It was impressive just how well they could work as a team.

The demon woman wasn’t going to just stand there and be killed though. She started hurling bolts and lightning left and right as they approached. Chunks of masonry were blasted into the air from the stairs, but somehow Serin and Siofra managed to keep going unharmed.

As they both reached the top of the stairs, they unleashed their attacks. There was a blinding flash from Serin, and red streak followed Siofra’s axe as she brought it down on the woman. There was a deafening boom as dust and stone was thrown everywhere. My line of sight was blocked for a moment, but I had no doubt that the demon woman must have taken heavy damage from those strikes.

“Serin!” Altria screamed at the top of her lungs.

A dark shape flew through the dust, it was only the moment before it hit the ground, I could make out it was serin. She crashed into the ground; blood puddled underneath her body. She was heavily injured, one of her arms was bent backwards and broken from the fall. Lillia ran straight over and begun trying to heal her.

“She’s breathing!” She shouted.

As the dust cleared, I could finally make out the top of the stairs. The demon woman was unhurt and, in her left hand she was holding Siofra by the neck. She was holding her in the air like it was nothing. Without thinking my feet started moving on their own and before I knew it, I had reached the bottom step of the stairs, starting to run up them.

“Theo no!” Yelled Altria.

“Don’t worry she’s going to kill me last remember! Just cover me I’ve got a plan. Lillia get ready.” I shouted back.

Lillia just lifted her head up and glanced over for a moment before looking back at Serin. I reached the top of the stairs unharmed just in time to see electricity course through Siofra’s body. I activated “disarm”, in an instant the demon woman went from being fully armoured to being completely naked. There was a look of absolute shock on her face and she almost dropped Siofra, as she instinctively moved to cover herself. Her confusion bought me just enough time to cover the two steps to her.

I crashed into the demon woman and pressed my sword deep into her gut. I activated “special heal.” Siofra had fallen to the ground with the demon, her body was still steaming, but I could see that she was breathing, and she was in range of my skill. I activated “disorient” as I sat atop the woman, my sword still deep in her gut. She had a look of pain and confusion as she coughed up blood.

“How long do you think it will take you to die like this while I heal you?” I asked her.

“You… W-what is this?” She murmured.

She was trying to battle the side effect of pleasure from the technique and the pain from the sword in her gut.

“Just answer my questions.”

“Never.”

I leant on the blade and pushed it forward opening and even larger hole in her stomach that was slowly healing behind the blades edge. The woman screamed in agony. I waited for a moment until she stopped screaming before speaking again.

“I’m going to kill you either way for what you’ve done to my friends, but if you answer my questions, I’ll do it quickly.”

She coughed up more blood, but realising her situation and seeing the hate in my eyes she nodded.

“Tell me about the demon lord.”

“T-the one you call the demon lord isn’t what you think, they are…”

Before the woman could finish her words, her body was engulfed in a dull flame and turned to ash almost immediately leaving just a pile of dust underneath me. The tada noise rang out with a message notifying me of the experience for an assist and then a message telling me I had gained a level.

“What the hell?” I asked out loud.

The surprise of what had just happened was quickly replaced by concern for Siofra. She was still in an awful state and I turned my full attention to her. I placed hand on her body trying to concentrate the effect of “special heal” on her while fumbling around with my potion pouch with my spare hand. Eventually I grabbed a healing potion, I pushed off the top and poured the bottle’s contents down her neck.

It was several seconds until she opened her eyes. She looked up at me, the colour returning to her face a little as she healed.

“Mnnn Theo, what are you doing to me and here of all places?” She asked.

“I’m sorry Siofra, just bear with it for now.”