“A fucking snail,” the devil said.

“A fucking snail,” Ghilanna said.

“A fucking snail,” Vulin said.

“I’ve never imagined I’d curse like a cubus demon, but a fucking snail,” Svinjko agreed.

“What is the best way to kill a snail? What type of attack?” Ghilanna asked.

“Blunt attacks should be the most powerful since those can crush their shells easily,” Vulin responded, “but this is a huge snail we’re talking about. I don’t think any of our blunt attacks will hurt it. Magic doesn’t work. Fire doesn’t do the trick because the mucus makes it fire-resistant. Slashing attacks won’t do a thing because it can heal quickly, and its skin is too thick to pierce due to its mass.”

“Attacking the eyeballs should still work, right?” Ghilanna asked.

“We don’t know. If the snail is powerful enough to be a guardian this deep, then I highly doubt it will be as simple as that. Sure, we will attack the eyeballs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it could regenerate them somehow.”

“Let’s not forget that we’re probably dealing with a magical snail,” the devil pointed out.

“That too,” Vulin agreed, “So, attacking it head-on is clearly out of the question. Its slime is too slippery and all over the floor. And I don’t think anyone wants to be eaten alive by a giant snail.”

“Can we feed it some poison then?” Ghilanna asked, “It’s a stupid animal. Do you think it would work?”

“It’s worth a try, but I don’t think it will work considering its regenerative properties. While the snail mucus is doing most of the regeneration, I bet a high-level snail like this has regeneration all around.”

“It could throw it off balance a little bit. At least cause it some digestive problems,” Ghilanna said.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Rutmuik said in a voice filled with sarcasm, “The last thing I need is that snail squirting our poison back in my face.”

“Speaking of squirting, some snails can squirt acid at you,” Vulin said.

“Oh, yeah. I ran into those a while back,” Ghilanna said.

“So,” Vulin continued, “if this one can do it too, I doubt its acid would cause some light burns. A snail as powerful as this one can probably melt armor with its acid.”

“I think it’s safe to say our armor is useless in this battle,” one of the adventurers said.

“No!” Ghilanna raised her voice, “I don’t want anyone taking the armor off, at least not until we are absolutely sure it’s only the snail we’re fighting against!”

“Ghilanna is absolutely right,” Vulin agreed, “We don’t know if the snail is alone. Our scouts didn’t check what is in those rooms behind the snail, didn’t you?”

All the scouts shook their heads left to right as soon as Vulin said that, “No, we didn’t. Our orders were to report on the guardian.”

“So, the snail may not be the only foe we could be facing,” Vulin pointed out.

“What do you think, should we scout some more?” Ghilanna asked him.

“It certainly can’t hurt,” he responded, “Why not send someone who is useless against the snail and have them try to sneak past it?”

“That’s a very dangerous order,” Rutmuik pointed out, “How will we get them out of there if the snail wakes up?”

“We can get its attention,” Ghilanna said, “We can attack it and then retreat into the corridor. If it’s big as the scouts say, it shouldn’t be able to follow us.”

“And what if it has a ranged magical attack?” Vulin asked, “Bunched up in a tight corridor ...”

“Ok, ok, I get it,” Ghilanna interrupted him before he could finish.

“I’m not opposed to sending someone to check the other rooms. I’m just saying we need a better plan,” he clarified.

“Devil, can you fly?” Svinjko asked.

“No, I can’t,” she responded.

“Wait, wait,” Ghilanna’s eyes lit up, “I know it may be a stupid question, but we are desperate here. I know that you are a blood mage. But by some chance, can you move the slime or affect it somehow?” She asked the devil.

“I’m not a booger mage,” the devil responded, sounding somewhat insulted by the mere thought.

“So, you can’t?”

“Of course not!”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to rile you up.”

“But I am very good at athletics. And I can use my magic to increase my physical abilities. I might be able to get in and out quickly.”

Everyone’s brows rose up, “Oh? You can?”

“A quick dash in and a quick dash out. I will be back before the snail even notices me.”

“In that case, why didn’t you offer sooner?” Ghilanna asked.

“Because I wanted you to become desperate. Now you will appreciate me more.”

“Well, she won’t be very useful during the fight anyway, so it’s only fair that she takes that one responsibility,” Svinjko pointed out.

“Says the inquisitor!”

“If you could do that, I would be very grateful,” Ghilanna said, “We need to know if there is anything else in those back rooms before we can commit to the attack. And if nothing is there, we may use those rooms as cover.”

“One of those rooms leads to the hoard,” the devil said.

“And you know which one it is, right?” Ghilanna asked.

“Of course. But you need a guardian’s body part to access it.”

“That goes without saying.”

“I do have one condition, though.”

“Which one?”

“I will go and scout those rooms out, but we will delay the attack for the next day.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I will need to use magic to move safely. And I don’t want to fight without having as much mana as possible.”

“You can just drink a potion,” Svinjko said.

“But if we delay our attack for tomorrow, you won’t have to use the potion, right?” Ghilanna asked.

“That’s right.”

“You, of all people, are forgetting that she is a blood mage,” Ghilanna said to Svinjko, “Her potions aren’t like ours.”

“I mean, if he insists on fighting the snail right away, I can make a potion out of him,” the devil said.

An awkward silence ensued.

“That was a joke.”

-----

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” the devil said once they reached the end of the corridor, “It would be safer if you’d stay back.”

“I want to see the snail with my own eyes,” Ghilanna responded.

“Ah yes, sure. You know, I have nothing against you being honest. Low-level demons might get upset when they hear people say something they don’t like, but us devils know better than that.”

“I want to see the snail with my own eyes, and I want to make sure you’ve done your job right.”

“Can’t you send someone else to monitor me though?”

“I can, but I don’t want to.”

“You’re being very unprofessional now, pointlessly risking your life and the well-being of your entire party.”

“I don’t want to argue. Go.”

“Alright, alright.”

The devil started stretching at the end of the corridor. What began innocently turned sexual very quickly once she started bending over excessively with no clothes on. Ghilanna sighed while rolling her eyes in disbelief, but she said nothing.

“Wish me luck,” the devil said.

“As if you need any,” Ghilanna responded.

The devil smirked, entering the large room. A huge snail-like shell was in the middle of it, and it looked exactly how the scouts described it. What they didn’t describe though, was that the shell was almost reaching the ceiling.

There was slime all over the room, covering most of it. The devil walked towards the slime, kneeled in front of it, and poked at it with her finger. The slime clung to her finger as it dribbled down from it, but it didn’t cause her any discomfort.

“At least it’s not toxic or acidic,” the devil commented out loud.

Standing up, the devil walked back some distance. Then she turned around and started running towards the wall on her right. Running as fast as she could, she used the inertia of her movement to run on the wall for a few steps, over the slime, before jumping with all her might towards the smaller rooms on the other side. Her devilish strength allowed her to jump far enough to reach one of the beehive-like walls and grab onto it without touching the ground. She pulled herself up effortlessly, entering the room through one of many windows.

Seeing that, Vulin whistled next to Ghilanna before commenting, “I must say, that was quite impressive.”

Ghilanna nodded in agreement without looking at him, “I never thought I’d say this about a devil, but let’s hope she has a few more of such tricks up her sleeve.”