The earth had crumbled under Gabrielle’s call for lightning, and for a second everything in her world was chaos, pain and clouds of dust. She had managed to stay on her feet this time, which was great advancement, but the amount of devastation in her wake seemed to only get worse this time. The redhead felt guilty, knowing that someone would have to repair the way now that she ruined everything; but it was worth it, or at least she hoped it was, for this was certainly the end for most of the horde.

“Lucy? Everyone? Hello?”

Gabi’s eyes looked all around the place for a moment. She was now standing in the middle of the stinky sewers, light reaching down from the enormous hole she had broken into them. She couldn’t see Lucrece, or anyone really… until her eyes locked on a figure. A group of figures, in fact, all robed in black clothes and reunited in front of a cauldron. Images flashed through Gabrielle’s mind, as this whole situation struck a nerve in her: the way these people were hidden, the rings on some of their hands! She couldn’t recognize their faces and yet, she could swear she had seen some of them before.

There was no doubt in her mind.

“Demiurge.”

Confusion turned into fury in a split second. A cold, instantaneous hatred pumping hard and loud through the woman’s veins, as her hand clung harder to the slab of steel she now called her sword. Recognition also came to the sorcerer’s eyes, immediately remembering the inexpressive face, the burning blue eyes and the filthy red hair of the woman who had been assailing them for so long. Had she really found them again!? How did this woman keep finding them!?

“Everyone scatter! Quic–”

One of the Demiurges turned for a second, trying to snap his dumbfounded comrades back into reality, but he couldn’t finish his sentence. Gabrielle’s sword found a way to his neck in an instant, blood pumping  and splattering all around the now headless body as her victim’s horrified expression fell to its side. Someone screamed, but no one had the time to see who: They could only stare at the bloodthirsty woman, rushing towards someone else. The four who still retained their rings were quick to squeeze them, trying to use the spell engraved in their steel.

“Cover our retreat, o Candela!”

Four lights flashed at the same time, blinding… but Gabrielle was already used to the pain in her eyes. Instead of stopping on her tracks, this time the woman continued rushing onwards, her sword swinging all the same, and even with the light advantage someone screamed again with pain shaking their entire body. A hand flew away from its arm, blood once again flowing onto the floor while people ran in all directions. 

Unfortunately for Gabrielle, that was the last hit she could land before the group of demiurges ran straight for the sewers. As soon as she was able to open her eyes again, Gabi knew in her heart that her prey was still close… this was the first time she saw so many demiurges in just one place. A unique opportunity, to say the least.

And she wouldn’t let this chance escape her, not now nor never again. 

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonitrus and Alexa had managed to escape by the hairs of their chins, running straight through one of the tunnels in the sewers without really thinking of where they were going beyond just wanting to get as far away from that girl as possible. Who was her? Why was she hunting them down!? One could easily think she was working with the church but the possibilities of them accepting a redhead in their ranks were minimal! And besides, Mustafá himself had said it: the Church was not the only thing they should fear.

But if she wasn’t with the Church, then why? Had they wronged her in some way?

Screams echoed from the depths of the sewage system. Battlecries and pained, terrified yelps… the girl was growing closer to them.

“Quick, prepare an escape spell!” Tonitrus still tried to play the leader role, even if the group had completely disbanded by now. “Do you have the ingredients!?”

“I do, I do! Just like he taught us!” Alexa thanked the heavens for giving her such foresight, she had left her things prepared to bail as soon as things got dicey. “We just need a moment to deploy!”

“Well, what are you waiting for!?”

Letting out a frustrated huff, Alexa began the process: she just needed to trace a specific circle on any surface and add the required ingredients to its center. There was no time for stating the specific coordinates or anything, for any other place would be better than this one; all she needed was to specify that she wanted to be on the surface, to avoid accidentally opening a portal to the bottom of the ocean. Taking a piece of chalk, and remembering that the wet floors of the sewers may not be the best surface for a ritual circle, the demiurge quickly began sketching the circle on one of the walls. She needed the rune for Distance, the rune for Movement, and the rune for Light. But the walls were damp and slimy, and the steps of the merciless woman grew closer and closer.

“Quickly, damn it! Quickly!”

Alexa needed a few tries before the chalk stuck to the wall, drawing a very ugly circle and then tracing the three runes they needed around it. Then, the ingredients: She pulled a flask full of a concoction made out of blood, oil and finely pulverized crystal. Now, she had to find a way to properly and carefully apply the mix on the circle.

“She’s almost here!”

Caution to the wind. Alexa grabbed the flask and violently threw it against the wall, letting it splatter all over the circle before slamming her hand on the stain on the wall. Pieces of glass and pulverized crystal were stabbing onto her skin but she didn’t care at all, she used the pain to fuel the urgency of her spell. She pressed harder against the wall, flinching and focusing as much as she could… until finally, the green flame of magic ignited deep inside of her chest.

A gust of wind pushed against them, powerfully blowing as a tear was open in the fabric of reality itself, connecting those sewers with a beautiful scene of a snowy forest, all through a very irregular-looking green portal. There was little time. Alexa immediately rushed through the portal she had just opened and reached out for Tonitrus with a hand.

“Here! Let’s go!”

The man reached out as well, for a second his fingers touching Alexa’s, only to then see a pair of cold blue eyes staring from the darkness. He couldn’t react. Right before he could hold his comrade’s hand, Tonitrus felt the weight of a massive sword sink deep into his shoulder, pushing him to the floor while the unstable portal dissipated, erasing all marks of its existence from the wall.