“It’s very simple, really,” Eric said as he turned his palm upwards, placing the small artifact right above it with the other hand, “You just press this little thing and …”

He stopped in the middle of the sentence, giving an uneasy look to the adventurers.

“Uhh …” he hesitated, “are you … do you think they will be ok with this demonstration?” He asked.

“With you casting lightning?” Phisola said.

“Yes. You said that only one god can do it in this world, so I don’t want them to get surprised or shocked. I don’t want to ruin this partnership at the very end.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll let them know.”

She turned her head to face the adventurers, “Please, try not to piss your pants after seeing this.”

Then she motioned to Eric.

“Alright,” he said, “See this little button at the top? You just press it, and the spark will fly.”

As he pressed the button, a small lightning went from the artifact to his palm, making the muscle on his palm twitch involuntarily.

“It stings a bit,” he said, “But I got used to it during my school days. I had a lot of fun with my friends and this thing. We’d taze each other for fun, enjoying each other’s reactions.”

Looking at the adventurers, he saw most of them blinking in surprise. The dwarf was even rubbing his eyes as if to wipe the tiredness away.

“Do it again,” Phisola said.

Another tiny lightning struck his palm, but the adventurer’s reactions were much different this time. Their eyes went wide, and a few had their mouths open involuntarily.

“Show me what you’ve pressed,” Phisola said as she got closer to Eric.

“This small button right here.”

“So, if I do this,” she said, taking the artifact out of his hand but still keeping it over his palm, “and press this …”

The lightning struck his palm once again.

“I see. And that’s all there is to it?”

“That’s it. It’s very simple.”

“Hmm …” She placed the artifact above her own palm this time and gave it another try.

“Aarrgghhhh!!!” She screamed in pain as the lightning struck her palm, making her drop the artifact to the ground.

Seeing that, the dwarf let out a guttural scream of horror, diving head-first to stop the artifact from hitting the ground. Alas, his short stature didn’t give him enough reach, so he had no choice but to watch in despair as the alien artifact hit the rocky floor.

It fell to the floor, making everyone recoil in fear, including Phisola, and …

… nothing happened.

Eric bent over, casually picking up the fully intact artifact from the ground. Everyone else stared at him as if he had picked a fight with a dragon.

“What made the people of this world so scared of lightning?” He asked.

“That … that … where did you get that?” Svinjko asked him while pointing at the artifact with a shaky hand.

“It’s just something …”

“No!” Phisola interrupted Eric, putting her hand over his mouth, “Don’t tell him!”

“Mhmph …”

“You never told us about that!” Svinjko said, sounding angry, “You never told us you have … whatever that thing is! Are you trying to get us all killed? How stupid you must be to … even to have that thing on you!”

“Gods, damn it!” Phisola cursed as she shook the hand that got struck, ignoring Svinjko, “That fucking hurts! It tore through my entire body! I felt it rip right through my core! Why didn’t you tell me it would hurt that much!”

“It stings a bit, but … maybe it’s because it’s your first time being hit with electricity,” Eric said.

“Stings? That fucking hurts!”

“It’s not that bad.”

“I felt it tear through my entire body!”

“Well … try to look at the bright side. If it can hurt a devil such as yourself, then it will certainly hurt the snail.”

“You …” Phisola’s expression softened at that, “you’re actually right. That’s what really matters.”

“Or … I’m not sure about this, but maybe you having magic makes it hurt more? I don’t know how magic works, but maybe it increases the potency of electricity, which is why it hurts you more than me. Maybe magic is a good conductor, so it makes it hurt more.”

“That … that could be it. There is no way you’re better at handling pain than I am, so it has to be something like that.”

“You know an awful lot about lightning,” Svinjko noticed.

“Yes. My …”

Phisola smacked her hand over Eric’s mouth again so he couldn’t talk, “I told you not to talk about it!”

“Surely, not even a devil is greedy enough to align herself with Yesis,” Svinjko said.

“That’s right. I’m not aligning myself with it.”

“What about your companion? He speaks very confidently about lightning.”

“That is none of your business!” Phisola spat back, “But for your information, no, he is not its servant either.”

“Then how can he be so confident about it? I’ve ignored some strange things about your companion so far, but this is becoming too much.”

“And? What are you going to do about it, huh?” She stared Svinjko in the eyes menacingly, “I’ve agreed to help you get your sorry asses out of here, but our contract says nothing about sharing knowledge with you.”

“I knew a devil would never help someone out of the kindness of her heart. I always found it strange you’re so protective of him. To such a point that you’d use precious blood to bring him back from death. A devil bringing someone back to life … now I finally understand what’s at stake here.”

“And? What are you going to do about it? You’ve signed a blood pact with me.”

Svinjko’s face slowly disfigured in rage. But rather than intimidate the devil, it only made her smile wickedly.

“That’s right,” she said, her wicked smile only growing wider, “Did you really think I’d be that stupid? Did you really think you’ve tricked me into making a pact that’s to my disadvantage? Did you really think a porky inquisitor could outwit a devil? Are you really that stupid?”

Svinjko’s hands clenched tightly.

“Ohh,” the devil said teasingly, “I’ve struck a nerve there, did I? And inquisitor thought he had finally trapped the devil, but now you’re realizing you’ve played right into my hands. The pact you made with me will be the end of you all. Not now, of course. I will keep my end of the bargain and help you get out of this dungeon. But you know what I’m talking about.”

The devil’s face returned to normal as she looked at the adventurers and started talking in their tongue, “Anyway, if that artifact can hurt me so much, then it will definitely kill the snail. But of course, we should make it as powerful as possible. So, let’s get to business. You mage, can you enchant this thing and make it more powerful?” The devil said as she pointed at the adventurer with the face of a fox.

But Ghilanna cut in, “Svinjko, what was that all about? What were you two arguing about?”

“We can’t let her go back to Slainall. Not after this,” He responded.

“After what?” Ghilanna asked.

“We can’t let her get out of here with that guy! Can you imagine what would happen if the demons gained knowledge of lightning? Can you imagine what will happen if we let demons get closer to Yesis? Or even worse, understand his power?”

“So, what are you suggesting? Are you saying we should fight her?”

Svinjko hesitated for a little bit, “… yes. We have no other choice. We will lose everything if we let her go.”

“So, that’s how this will go down, huh?” The devil said in a cold voice.

The adventurers drew their weapons as one and got into a fighting stance behind Ghilanna. However, she didn’t move an inch.

“No,” She said, “We’re not going to fight the devil. Stand down.”

Svinjko turned around to face her with eyes wide open and a panicked expression, “If we let her go …”

But Ghilanna cut him off, “Stand down! That’s an order!”

The adventurers looked at each other for a while before easing up.

“Do you have any idea what’s at stake?” Svinjko asked.

“My duty is to this party and this party alone. We came here to defeat the guardian and get the treasure. We’re not heroes or paladins.”

“I am!” One of the adventurers responded behind Ghilanna’s back.

“Right now, you’re not! The order is to stand down! I’m not siding with the devil here. I’m just being reasonable.”

Ghilanna turned to face the adventurers, turning her back to the devil.

“Listen guys, I know this is all crazy. But think about it. Svinjko has failed us at every opportunity. He got us into a lot of trouble, and some of our friends died because of him. Who’s to say he isn’t wrong again?”

Svinjko opened his mouth to protest, but Ghilanna raised her hand in a stop motion while glaring at him.

“But,” she continued, “even if he is right this time, it still doesn’t change a thing. Think about it. We’re not sure if we’d win against the devil under the best circumstances, let alone a blood mage at that. Let alone a devil who has a lightning-summoning artifact in her hands. Let alone a devil who has a mysterious companion we know nothing about, save that he has a deep  knowledge of lightning and has returned from the dead. Who knows what else he got? Frankly, I am much more scared of that guy than the devil right now. I know what I can expect from the devil, but that guy … he is full of surprises, and none of them have been good for us.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, miss elf,” the devil said, “This surprise is great for you because, thanks to it, you won’t have to fight the snail. Have you already forgotten that we’re on the same team? Your inquisitor might have some issues, but you don’t have any issues with me. I fully intend to fulfill my end of the bargain.”

Ghilanna approached Svinjko, putting her hand on his shoulder, “I know that the demons gaining lightning is terrible news for all of us. I’m not stupid, Svinjko. But I also know that our chances are slim, and I have no intention of throwing our lives for some random chance. I’d much rather go back to the surface and warn everyone about it. Imagine if we try killing the devil, but we fail. There would be no one left to tell what happened down here, and everyone would be caught by surprise when the lightning-wielding demons showed up. But if we reach the surface and tell everyone what we’ve seen down here, we will all be in a much better position to face whatever comes next. We can even send messengers to warn Greadinall and other continents. We can try to ally with them against the new threat. But we can only do that if we survive and return to the surface.”

She shook his shoulder, “There is a huge difference between giving your life for the cause and throwing your life in vain.”

Then she faced the devil, “So … what do you need our mage for?”